FO FRIDAY: At last, a completed knitting project!

Way back in October 2021, I cast on a Veera Välimäki pattern that I absolutely loved. It took 18 months, but I finally finished it in mid-April 2023.

Pattern: Little Bird by Veera Välimäki, from Interpretations Vol 4.

Yarn: Findley Dappled by Juniper Moon Farm, discontinued colorway “Rost Turkey,” 1437 yards

Needles: Hiya Hiya steel circular interchangeables; US 1 for the ribbing, US 2 for the body

Size: Medium

Satisfaction with end product: Sooooo happy! It fits perfectly. The laceweight yarn is light and feels fabulous against my skin; and has just the right amount of warm due to the wool and cool due to the silk.

A number of things occurred to keep this project on the needles for so long. For one, knitting with laceweight yarn means it takes forever to feel like you’re making progress.

Also, I made the mistake of not trusting the pattern when I got to the shoulder shaping. I thought I had screwed up the front, frogged everything, and started over.

Once I understood the short row instructions for the back shoulder were correct AND that I hadn’t screwed up the front shoulders, I realized this way of shaping shoulders is pure genius. Anyway, from this point forward, I will adapt every pattern I can to use this method. NOTE TO SELF (and others): Veera’s pattern writing skills are excellent. TRUST THE PATTERN.

Then, I retired from the day job at the end of 2021 and pretty much took a months-long leave of absence from everything, including knitting, while I decompressed from 26 years of service to the people of the United States. Spouse and I took a trip to Vegas for our 20th anniversary last April, and then a trip to Arkansas with my parents to visit family. After that, my father’s health declined precipitously and I spent a lot of time on the road between Georgia and Alabama. Daddy passed away in September 2022. I stayed with my mother for a while, and took her to Missouri to see her brother after Thanksgiving. Once the holidays were over, I finally buckled down and started working on this pullover in earnest. In between all of that, I did two plays, had Covid three times (ugh), shot three short films, four industrial training videos, and a couple of commercials.

Yep. It’s been a journey.

My current project is a fingering weight shawl. Fingering weight feels huge in my hands after so long handling the laceweight. And it’s going so much faster! It’s a big shawl, so I don’t expect to finish it especially soon, but maybe by June. We’ll see. I hope to start blogging a little more frequently, so look for a WIP Wednesday post next week.

It’s A Blue, Blue Summer

I finished my beach tunic in plenty of time for the scheduled trip to California. Take a look!

Pattern: Summer on You by Svetlana Volkova. Click here for my Ravelry project page.
Yarn: Isager Strik Japansk Bomuld, colorway 10. No actual color name, so I’m calling it Sea Glass. Used just under 2 skeins (630 meters/689 yards, total).  This is a 100% cotton laceweight tape that feels almost like paper.  It’s really cool and crisp and a little hard on the hands, but it has amazing texture.
Needles: US 6 and US 7, Addi nickel-plated circulars
Size: 41.3″ bust
Satisfaction with end product:  Mostly good.  It turned out larger than I expected, but I knit it three sizes larger than I usually wear, because I was using laceweight yarn rather than the sportweight the pattern calls for.  I also didn’t do a gauge swatch.  Oops.  So I’ll consider this my bi-annual reminder to NEVER SKIP THE GAUGE SWATCH, ANGELA!

So, yes, it’s big, but big isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a beach cover-up, which should be loose and light and breezy. Achievement unlocked. Now, it may shrink some once I’ve run it through the washer and dryer, but if it doesn’t, I’m still okay with it.

I added a few extra rows of stockinette and eyelets for length, since I was going for coverage to about mid-thigh.  Other than that, knit as written.  If I make it again, I’ll definitely do a gauge swatch and I’ll take a good hard look at that neckline, since it turned out so wide and deep (again, that may be due to the size I chose, but some mods may be in order).

I have two skeins of the yarn left, and the yarn store where I bought it is closing, so they’re not taking returns.  Thus, a summer tee or tank may be forthcoming to use up the rest of the yarn.

Okay, ready for my trip to California now!

On the needles: three projects

I’ve got three projects going right now (and am fighting the urge to cast on/start crocheting another).

The oldest WIP is a pullover for my mother. I intend to have it done by her birthday in November.

It’s knit from side to middle, and then side to middle again, with the center seams front and back joined by grafting, if I remember right. I set it aside a while ago to work on something else, so I don’t recall exactly.

Mom’s pullover got thrown over for this cardigan, as part of a Ravelry Vogue Knitting group KAL.

It’s top down and mostly seamless (there will be a short seam under the arms, and that’s it). But I set it aside, too, because it’s summer and I desperately need a new bathing suit coverup.

This is also a top down knit in a tiny cotton tape that’s so crisp it almost feels like paper.  It will soften up once washed.  I love the sea-glass color.  I need to have it done no later than the end of July because I’m going to California the first weekend of August.  And I’ve promised myself that I will spend at least one of those days in California on the beach.

While at Stitches, I bought some linen yarn and a pattern to make another bathing suit coverup, but I decided to go with this one instead.  I may repurpose the linen, or I may use it for the coverup at a later date.  Won’t hurt to have two.

New FO: V-Neck Cardigan

Ravelry sometimes chooses my next project for me.  Such was the case when the Vogue Knitters group decided that, for 2018, we should knit pattern #18 from any Vogue Knitting magazine.  As it happened, I had a couple of #18s in my queue, so I picked one and cast on.

Pattern: #18 V-Neck Cardigan by Anniken Allis, from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2016
Yarn: Naturally Caron Country, colorway 0017 Claret, roughly 750 yards (4 skeins and maybe 20 or 30 yards from a fifth skein to finish the button band)
Yarn notes: Super splitty, and definitely not an Aran weight. More like a DK or sport weight. Discontinued. I wouldn’t buy more even if it weren’t because the splitty nature was a real pain. But it knit up with nice stitch definition that made the lace pop.
Needles: Addi circulars, US 6
Buttons: Resin buttons from stash, purchased at a Stitches South booth so long ago I can’t remember the vendor
Mods: No waist shaping; shortened sleeves by 1 inch; shortened body by 7 inches. My gauge was slightly larger than what the pattern calls for, so a little bit of math resulted in casting on for the 38” and expecting to get the 39.5”. My bust is 37”, and the pattern calls for 2-3″ of ease, so we’re good there.
Satisfaction with end product: I love it. I’ve already worn it to work. It’s perfect for this cool spring weather, even if it is sort of an autumn color. It will be useful when autumn rolls around again, of course.  By the way, here’s the link to the Ravelry project page.

The knitting of this little cardigan was a bit of a chore. The body to the yoke is all one piece; the sleeves are knitted separately and joined to the body at the yoke; then the whole thing is knitted as one piece.  I got to the sleeve/yoke join and was merrily knitting and decreasing along.  Nearing the end of the decreases for the shoulder, I suddenly noticed the front edges between the lace charts weren’t matching up: one was considerably wider than the other.  Vogue errata, grah! On the VK site, I found the error.  Unfortunately, to fix it, I had to rip back nearly a week’s worth of knitting, all the way back to the joining of the sleeves, and start that whole section again.  Frustrating.  But I may have finally learned to check EVERY SINGLE VOGUE PATTERN for errata before casting on.

Another issue with the pattern is it doesn’t really explain how to manage the continued decreases across the lace once the lace charts meet up at the top of the shoulder.  So I muddled through by studying the magazine photos thoroughly, and then decreasing across the front edge charts and maintaining the stitch count by doing plain stockinette when I didn’t have enough stitches to make the yarn over and its accompanying decrease.  It worked out, so I was happy about that.

The last real struggle was with picking up the stitches for the button band and neck edge.  Because I shortened the cardigan by 7 inches, the pattern instructions for how many stitches to pick up went right out the window.  So what I did was fall back on the standard method when you don’t know how many stitches you need.  I picked up 3 stitches for every four rows as follows: 89 from cast on edge along right front edge to marker, knit according to pattern to next marker, from marker pick up 89 down left front edge to cast on edge.  Perfect!

And now, one last photo.

The cheesecake shot

New blog entry, with actual yarn content!

With all the rehearsals going on over the last six months, you would be forgiven for thinking that I’d forgotten how to turn yarn into usable items, much less actually complete anything.

Ha!  I haven’t!

Okay, I didn’t get much accomplished in that time, but there were a couple of things.  First, this baby blanket for a colleague who was expecting his first child was started in November and finished in January.

Pattern: Taylor Baby Blanket (my original design)
Yarn: Bernat Pipsqueak, in four different colorways (see Ravelry project page for details), approx 275 yards total
Needles: Addi circs, size US 15
Size: Approx 36″ x 24″
Satisfaction with end product: It’s soft and squishy and perfect for a newborn. My colleague and his wife loved it, and that’s the most important thing.

Late last summer I made this tank top.

Pattern: S7365 Damentop mit Ajourmuster by Schachenmayr Design Team (Thankfully, it was available in English)
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Sunseeker Multi in Candy Cane, approx 628 yards
Needles: Addi circulars, US 5 and US 3
Size: Medium (34″/36″)
Mods: Gauge with this yarn was a little wide and tall, so I cast on for the small to get a medium, and began the armholes at row 120 instead of row 148. Did 4 rows garter stitch at bottom edge before beginning lace pattern. Also 4 rows garter stitch at neck edge and armhole edge instead of stockinette. Did not turn over arm and neck edges for a hem. 2 inch shoulder seams instead of 2 cm as called for in the pattern.
Satisfaction with end product: Made for me, and I love it. It’s cool and comfortable and looks pretty good under a jacket, so I can even wear it to work.

You can see a few more pictures on the project page.

And finally, I made this hat in February:

Pattern: #24 Cabled Pompom Hat by Annabelle Speer (from Vogue Knitting Holiday 2012)
Yarn: Schaefer Chris in Pomegranate, approx 215 yards (a now defunct yarn company; this was my last skein)
Needles: Addi circs, US 7
Mods: Smaller pompom due to lack of the appropriate size pompom maker, a situation that has now been remedied
Satisfaction with end product: This was a gift for a friend who helped out the production of Old Love by sending us authentic Tim Horton’s to-go cups from Canada to use in our coffee shop scene. A small detail that the audience probably never noticed, but we did. I think the hat turned out lovely, but more importantly, my friend did too. You can see a few more pics on the Ravelry project page.

FO: My Own Best Friend Socks

In keeping with the idea of using all that sock yarn I own on actual socks, the sock-making binge continues.

Pattern:  Friendship Socks by Amy Palmer, from Interweave Holiday Gifts 2011

Yarn: Chelsea Sock by Nooch Fibers, colorway Arizona (caveat: that colorway name is a best guess based on the colorways that were available at the time; when I bought this yarn, the tag did not name the colorway; and, incidentally, it’s no longer available on the website, so we may never know)

Needles: Knitter’s Pride Karbonz, US 1 1/2 DPNs.  I bought these DPNs sometime last year, and they languished unused until I started knitting socks again.  Now I won’t use anything else.

Satisfaction with end product:  They’re gorgeous, they’re soft, and they fit.  I’m a little concerned that the cashmere content in the yarn may make them not quite durable enough for regular wear, but I can always use them as house socks.  I’m wearing them as I type this blog entry, and love how they feel on my feet.

The pattern itself was easy as pie; the lace pattern at the cuff is charted and easy to follow.  After that, it’s just straight stockinette all the way down, so this would make a good first sock pattern for a newbie.  The flap for the heel featured a somewhat different slip stitch pattern that I like much better than any other flap I’ve made — it looks kind of like a honeycomb, and that makes me smile.  I’ll be adapting future flap-and-gusset sock patterns to use this flap.

This project is part of the Knit Your Library Challenge, although Snapdragon Crafts seems to have gone dark and hasn’t provided a link up recently.  Regardless, you can click that badge over there for more details.

FO Friday: Oh, look, a new cowl!

Lots of book reading going on here lately.  And some knitting, too.  I finished this cowl at the end of September.  A three-month delay in blogging any finished project seems normal these days…

Pattern: Um, mine. Right now I’m calling it Lacy Moebius Cowl.  The name will probably change.  It’s yet to be written down in any sort of publishable form, but that may be coming soon. I hope to get a lot of “housekeeping” stuff done while I’m off work after surgery.

Yarn:  The luscious Cashmere Aran by Lotus, in Ecru and Dark Teal.  100% cashmere, 100% indulgence.  1 skein each, 200 yards total.

Needles:  Size 9 Addi Turbos.  I didn’t need to use circular needles because this is knitted flat across the short way, but I’ve gotten to where I hate using straights.

Satisfaction with end product:  It’s soft and warm and beautiful, and will keep my neck and ears toasty warm on those occasions the Atlanta winter day dips below 45F.  I’m having some second thoughts about the moebius twist that exposes the back side of the lace pattern.  It’s interesting visually, and makes for a nice texture contrast, but I worry that it may be too much because of the yarn color contrast.

Here are a few more pictures.  Let me know what you think.  (Click the pic to make it bigger.)

December 2016

 

 

FO Friday: 2015 in Review, Yarn Edition

So here it is, January 1, 2016, the start of a brand new year.  As is my custom, I’ll start the new year by taking a look back at the old.  And, because today is Friday, this look back will include all the FOs that haven’t been seen yet because, um, Christmas.  In fact, let’s start with that first.  You can click on each of the pics to be taken to the Ravelry project page for all yarn and pattern details.

Two of my colleagues had babies near the end of the year.  Colleague number one received a version of what has become my go-to quickie baby blanket, the Great Granny, from the sadly defunct magazine, Crochet Today.  This one was made with acrylic worsted left over from the Tunisian Terror.

Colleague number two received something I called the Jets Stroller Blanket, from another Crochet Today pattern.  This was also a repeat use of the pattern: I made my mother a larger version of this blanket several years ago.  Why “Jets Stroller Blanket”?  My colleague is a huge New York Jets fan; he was expecting a baby boy, so naturally said boy will become a Jets fan (unless he suffers through a major teenage rebellion phase, but that’s years away, so let’s not worry about it); therefore, the color scheme of the blanket is the Jets’ team colors.  This is made with a chunky washable wool that feels marvelous.

A young friend (the woman who was the stage manager of the play I did in May) had a birthday late in the year.  She is a big Harry Potter aficionado, so I found out her Hogwarts House and made her a Gryffindor Scarf for her birthday.  This is my own pattern because I couldn’t find one I liked that I could knit fast enough (I found out about her birthday late late late).  I haven’t decided if I’ll write it up and put it on Ravelry — there are so many other Hogwarts scarves out there already.  Regardless, she loved it, and that made me happy.  The yarn is Universal’s Uptown Worsted, which is fast becoming my preferred acrylic now that Bernat Berella 4 has been discontinued.  (I borrowed my husband’s college robes and mortarboard for the picture.  You must imagine him rolling his eyes while shooting.)

Now let’s take a look at the Christmas gifts.  I started working on gifts early in the year — and have posted blog entries about several finished projects already — but even with that head start, I had to rush rush rush to finish the projects shown here, and a couple of them didn’t get finished until the weekend AFTER Christmas.  Oops.

First up is the Saroyan Scarf, a free pattern made using Cascade 220 Superwash in a brilliant red.  I like making these crescent scarves knit from side to side.  The knitting is more manageable when done along the short edge, not to mention the ease of casting on.

Then there’s the Gansey Cap from Vogue Fall 2015, using Cascade Longwood in Navy.  The Longwood is an Aran superwash, silky soft and perfect for people who, while not allergic to wool, may have sensitive skin and get itchy with wool worn right next to their skin.  This wool is not itchy in the least.  It may become my new 100% wool hat yarn.

The Harald Watch Cap is an Elsebeth Lavold pattern that kept my interest the whole time I worked on it.  I had to pay close attention to all those crossing cables.  Unfortunately, the photographs turned out like crap, so you can’t really see the intricate detail in the finished hat.  The yarn is from Copper Corgi Fiber Studio and is a deep chocolate brown worsted that somehow showed up as nearly burgundy when photographed.

In another photograph fail, this striped watch cap (using Ann Budd’s Basic Hat pattern) is made from the same yarn as the Jets Stroller Blanket shown above, although you’d never guess from the picture.

I learned the braided yarn technique while making the Brim Braid Hat (an Interweave Knits pattern).  I also economized a bit by using Cascade 220 Superwash left over from previous projects.

I used Cascade Longwood again, in a bright blue, for the Vermeer Hat (free pattern if you’re a Rowan member).   The pattern also includes fingerless mitts with the same cable pattern, so you can knit a matching set if you wish.

Back to the Cascade 220 Superwash for the Windsor Hat, another free pattern from Rowan — part of their 2012 Jubilee Collection to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year on the throne.

Finally, I pulled out an old old finished scarf that had never been blocked and plopped it into the gift pile.  The yarn, as best as I can remember, was Plymouth Encore, and the pattern is the Forever Scarf from Interweave Knits.

And that’s it for the FOs.  Well, at least the FOs that can be shared.  I actually finished a project today but it hasn’t been blocked or photographed, so we’ll save it for another blog post.

Now for the rest of the year in yarn.

Projects completed in 2015: 19 total, and every single one of them a gift for someone else.  I didn’t make one single thing for myself this year.  If I have to make a New Year’s resolution, it’s that 2016 will be the year of selfish knitting.

Techniques learned:  The braided brim technique shown on one of the caps above, which involved two colors in the same row, convinced me that, yes, I can indeed handle Fair Isle.

Yarn used:  This is the reason I use Knit Meter.  The visual representation is cool, plus it’s easier to keep track in one spot, especially since it does the math for you.

Yarn purchased:   59 skeins of lusciousness, including a couple of skeins of 100% cashmere and several more skeins of cashmere blends.  A number of yarn stores within a reasonable drive of Atlanta closed their doors and put their stock on sale at a deep discount.  My friend Alice and I went hog wild.  Plus I went on a couple of trips.  I always have to buy local yarn when on a trip.  *sigh*  I don’t even want to add up the yardage acquired.  Another friend and I were discussing our stashes recently and she figures that, if I never bought another yard, and if I knit at the rate of three sweaters or seven small projects (such as scarves and socks) per year, I have sufficient yarn to last the next 40 years.  I’m in my mid 50s, so that’s enough yarn for the rest of my life.  Personally, I think I’m good for more knitting per year than that (ahem, 19 projects this year!), so let’s call it a 20-year stash.  I’m ready for the apocalypse,or retirement, at the very least.

I can’t find anyone to link to for an FO Friday round-up.  If I thought I had enough self-discipline to manage such an undertaking, I’d start one myself.  If next week is the same, I’ll investigate further.  Perhaps an automated post with a “Mr. Linky” set-up might work.

Stay tuned, please.  A project planning post is forthcoming in the next day or two, as is a post about the year in books.

Oh, yeah, and Happy New Year!

FO Friday: Weekend with the Swan Princess Shawl

I finished up this beauty Monday evening.

Pattern:  Le Weekend Shawlette by Jan Henry.  Click here for my Ravelry project page.   The pattern is a bottom-up short row crescent, and very easy to follow, although I made a few modifications.  After all the short rows were done as written, I didn’t really like the look of the edges, so I picked up the slipped stitches along the edges (11 stitches each) and continued the short rows until all stitches were knitted (200 total on needle).  To mitigate the stockinette roll at the top, I added an eyelet row (K2tog, YO), then two rows of garter stitch before binding off.

Yarn:  Miss Babs Cosmic Sock, 304 yards, colorway Swan Princess – hence, the name of the shawl.  The colorway was a limited edition “Babette” and is no longer available.  The yarn is spectacular with a gorgeous color spectrum and a smooth hand.  It had some minor bleeding when soaked for a wet block, but a dash of vinegar in the sink fixed that little issue.

Needles:  Addi Turbo 32″ circular, size 7 for the body, size 9 for the bindoff.

Size:  After blocking and relaxing, 65 inches wide, 12 inches deep.

Satisfaction with end result:  I love this so much I’m tempted to keep it myself rather than put it in the gift pile.

One more picture to show off here, but you can see several others on my Ravelry project page.

This post is part of Freshly Finished Fridays, a link round-up normally hosted by HardKnitLife, but she seems to be a little late posting the linkup.  Regardless, Shadow’s KnitKnacks stepped into the breach.  Click the badge to be taken to the roundup.  Add your link and read a few others!

FO Friday: The Gallatin Scarf

Today’s featured finished project was completed so quickly it didn’t even get its own Work In Progress Wednesday blog entry!

Pattern:  Gallatin Scarf by Kris Basta (click here for my Ravelry project page)

Yarn:  Kudo by Plymouth, colorway #45 Cream Blue Gray. It’s too bad this yarn is discontinued. It’s surprisingly warm, given that it contains no wool, making it the perfect choice for people with wool allergies.

Needles:  Addi Turbo circs, US 10, with a 29-inch cable.  The pattern calls for US 10.5, but I didn’t like the look of the lace with that large a needle.  Dropping down a needle size made the scarf somewhat smaller, but not enough that it made a difference in wearability.

Size:  68 inches wide by 9 inches deep, unblocked

Satisfaction with end product:  Very pleased.  I didn’t block this scarf because I liked the rustic look it has unblocked.  Even without blocking, the scarf is plenty long enough to wrap around the neck twice, or wear kerchief style as shown on the model (um, that would be yours truly). I love how Kudo’s long color repeats worked out to accentuate the striping effect created by the alternating stockinette/reverse stockinette above the lace edging.

The long cable was a little unwieldy at the beginning, considering the pattern starts off by casting on just four stitches.  If I make this again, which is a possibility, I’ll use a shorter cable at the start and switch to a longer cable midway through.

Also, this makes one more Christmas gift down, once I figure out the appropriate giftee.  🙂

This post is part of the Freshly Finished Friday round-up hosted by HardKnitLife.  Click the badge to see who else has finished items to show off this week.