What Am I Doing?

This is for a class on the brioche stitch which is good for teaching the stitch, both working back and forth and in rounds and increases. It also uses the Channel Island Cast On, so is a good teaching project. It took awhile to get used to the pattern and it was easy to make mistakes. Ripping out was a pain! And I did a lot!

Pattern: Baby Brioche by Jen Hurley a free download on Ravelry

Yarn: Knitting Fever Painted Desert

Needles: US #6

 

No, I'm not in a dishcloth mood but the shop has a lot of new knitters so we're trying to offer classes for them. One series we're doing is a dishcloth each month, so I try to use a dishcloth which will teach a new skill.

Pattern: Heart Shape Cloth by Mary Marcontell-free download found on Ravelry.

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Fantasy Naturale Solid

Needles: US #8

Since before Christmas I've wanted to make this sweater and I finally found the yarn I wanted and got it started. The pattern is Woodburne and the yarn is Ultra Alpaca. The sweater is seamless with shaping taking place between the cables in the back.

This is such a fun knit. I'm enjoying every stitch. Celestarium is growing. The color is really a darker blue so the silver lined crystal beads really shine. I have about 40 rows left plus the border which is a 5 stitch (I think) attached garter stitch edging.

Ravelry has a new feature where every day they show you patterns you might like. This is one of the recommendations. When I saw the little girl modeling it she reminded me of my 3 year old great grand daughter. She wants to have hair like Rapunzel, so it is always hanging in her face and won't wear barrettes or binders. She loves anything princess so this crown headband should be perfect and maybe she will wear it. The yellow one is hers and the orange one is for her 5 year old sister. "Fitting" will take place Saturday.

Isn't this done yet? It seems to be taking forever but I am past the half way mark. The pattern is Matsuri by Berroco. My first comment was that I didn't like to work the blackberry stitch but this stitch is called berries in a basket and doesn't have purl 5 together so is much easier to work. It is also for a class. It makes for good social knitting-so it should be done!

This project got frogged. I test knit and am "tech editor" for Kimberlolly in Germany and this is her next pattern which just went out to testers after it has been "tech edited".  At first I was real excited about it, but I couldn't live with the way the edge looked where the yarn was carried up the side so on this piece I tried adding the darker yarn to both edges and tried I-cord which didn't work because it wasn't elastic enough and then tried doing the edge garter stitch in the darker/heavier yarn but I'm not going to go through with that hassle. It really is a beautiful shawl but not for me.

Finished Projects

Amazing Threads has been having many Learn to Knit classes so we are starting to offer a Dishcloth of the Month class to help beginning knitters learn new skills. This is the February cloth.

Pattern: Free download on Ravelry-Purple Heart Knit Motif

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Fantasy Naturale

Finally finished this sweater. I think I knit it twice as I ripped it so many times. The yarn is Malabrigio Rios. Wonderful yarn. I've used Malabrigio before and did not have a problem with the skeins not matching, so I knit one skein and when I added the second one, there was a definite change of color which I could not live with.

The pattern is by Rosemary Hill and is available in Knitscene, Fall 2012.

Needles: Sizes 5 and 8.

My sweater does not have buttons at this time. I don't like to sew in buttons! If I did it again, I would make the buttonholes larger. The pattern is a 3 stitch buttonhole and I would do 4-5. I also thought the buttonholes were messy using the directions so I substituted a one row buttonhole which Carol Anderson uses in her patterns. It is so invisible I can't find the buttonholes in this sweater.

 

I made the sleeves wrist length instead of elbow length. In Minnesota I need a warm sweater.

This doesn't look like much knitting, but I have been busy. Lots of projects in progress. I finished a test knit for Cottage Creations, but have not received permission to post pictures yet. A pair of socks should be finished this weekend. No shawls for 2013 yet.

Off and On the Needles

I'll start with finished projects:

 

Thistles by Kimberly Gintar is another winner and another test knit. This shawl is number 17 in 12 Shawls in 2012. The yarn is KnitPicks Shadow, something I found in my stash; knit with US size 5 needles.

Shawn the Shelf Elf is based on the book, Elf on a Shelf and is another test knit for Kimberly. (Kimberly is living in Germany and is my unnofficial adopted daughter- found each other on Ravelry.) I used left over sock yarn from my stash and knit it on US size 1 1/2 needles. He is so cute!If you are not acquainted with the story, the child is given the book and the elf and when the child names the elf it comes to life. Each day it sits in the home and observes the child's behavior (hopefully it is good before Christmas) and at night goes to the North Pole and reports to Santa. When he returns in the morning, he will sit in a different place, so the child has to fine him.

On the needles:

This is Firebird by Rosemary (Romi) Hill. The yarn is the yarn I got from Ann Swanson's stash sale at Vesterheim last month. For some reason this shawl has given me lots of trouble. I can't seem to count! But it is progressing.

 During the busy Holiday season  this is a fun knit which takes me away from the hectic times (Actually, I haven't even started preparations) to relax and think about the meaning of the season and hopefully to enjoy the days more. It is Lila and Claudine's Advent Scarf for 2012. Each day they send a new stitch and very short meditation. I'm already behind- only 3 days done.

This project is the one that is taking me forever, mainly because I've ripped most of it out twice. The first time was because of a noticeable stripe where I changed balls of yarn. We are told when using hand painted yarn to knit from 2 balls, alternating every 2 rows. But, who am I to follow directions? I had used Malabrigo yarn before and never had any trouble, but this one was very different. I know where I started the new balls, but it is much less noticeable than it was before. The second time I had done something wrong in the pattern because I had 2 extra stitches in one of the fronts. I tried just decreasing them out, but then my stitch count was wrong and one front was smaller than the other. I tried to live with it, but the sweater won out and it was frogged again. This sweater is a good "public" knitting project at this point.

I Have Been Knitting

Maybe I haven't been keeping up with my blog, but I have been knitting. Granted, it has been all for the shop for upcoming classes, but it's knitting.

 

This is the Ferrous Wrap made from Angora, Merino blend of yarn. Yummy. It is a huge wrap-I made the L-Shaped version (I would call it V-shaped) in the smallest size without the extensions. There is also a rectangular version so there are several version/size options. The lacy stitch is simple YO, P2tog which was a pain to do. I experimented with YO, K2tog, and K2tog, YO, but it just wasn't the same.

 

This is the Seamless Katarina by Julie Weisenberger. The construction of this sweater is exquisite! The yarn is Madeline Tosh DK and is wonderful to work with. I love this sweater and can't wait to get it back from the shop after I teach the class.

It is seamless, except for the two shoulder seams and the underarm seams.

The sleeves were provisionally cast on and when the sweater was finished, the stitches picked up and completed to be sure the length was correct. They were supposed to be bell shaped, but I didn't want that, so I just did the ribbing and garter stitch which matched the front bands.

Checking my past posts, I have missed posting many of my shawls for the year, I think. (Or else I just didn't label the posts, so forgive me if I'm repeating some I've already included.)

 

This is Sharktooth by Stephen West. I did not have enough yarn, so I modified the edging.

This is the second Haruni that I've made. I love this pattern and it is a fast knit. The color is questionable-quite striking.

This is another test knit from Aino in Finland. I love her patterns as she works the increases into the pattern so well you can hardly see them. I'm sorry that she is pretty much not designing right now as she is a new mother and is busy with 2 small children.The yarn in this one is Three Irish Girls McClellen Fingering, merino, bamboo and nylon. It turned into a beautiful shawl.

Another test knit for Aino. The is Golden Orchid. The yarn is Decandently Divine, 100% merino.

 

 

Finished Projects

Two projects completed. One was started in October and took me this long to finish.

Rivel  Cardigan.

Yarn: Three Irish Girls McClellan DK (Wool and bamboo) Wonderful yarn!

Needles: US # 4 ad 5

The sweater sat around for a long time waiting to sew the pieces together. Sewing in the sleeves was a pain! But the finished project is great. The yarn is so soft and the drape perfect. Shaping on this sweater was very unusual. Waist shaping was done on the back only. Bust shaping was done on the front only. Back neck was shaped with short rows. The pattern was for sleeves just to the elbow, but I made them long-cast on 56 stitches. If I did it again I would probably cast on about 12 fewer stitches.

Cardioid Shawl from Knitters' Brewing Company. A portion of the cost is going for Susan G. Komen Foundation. It came as a kit with the pattern, yarn, and a stitch marker.

The yarn is a new yarn from the Brewing Company, Sock-aholic Serene Fingering Weight  which is 50% Alpaca, 30% fine Merino, and 20% Tencel.

When I blocked it, I put the flexible wires at the bottom of the shawl just before the points on the edge, pulled it out and pinned, then pinned the points.

 Love it!

Works In Progress-WIP's

What am I currently working on besides my long term sock blankie? I have knit and written a pattern for Propaganda Yarn Club, but can't reveal that yet. It is the only finished project so far this year.

I always have a charity project on needles-which I work on on Tuesdays. This is the current hat. The yarn and pattern were a give away at Yarn Over from Yarn Garage, specifically to be knit for charity.

This is the Rivel Cardigan which I started a while ago. It will be a class at Amazing Threads starting the end of January. The shaping and construction of this sweater are unique which makes it fun to knit and I love the Three Irish Girls merino and bamboo yarn.

The sleeves are supposed to be knit flat, but I'm doing them in the round up to the armholes. They are also supposed to be elbow length, but I'm making full sleeves. I'm going slow because they are so boring and I'd much rather be knitting...

a shawl. This is Sharktooth by Stephen West from his shawl club.

This is Blathnat, a mystery sock from Sock Knitters' Anonymous. It feels good to be knitting socks again.

This project is barely started, but is Beaded Stress Ball from Heartstrings. Just stringing the beads is a project.

Repairs

Several months I made the Tea Leaves Cardigan and when I hung it up to photograph noticed that the front bands were too long. It has been hanging in Amazing Threads since then and has bothered me everytime I had to walk by it. (I must admit, I would avoid going down that aisle so I wouldn't have to look at it.)

Well, the other day I took it home and reknit the front bands. It looks so much better!



Three Lace Cardigan

The Three Lace Cardigan is from a pattern book published by Juniper Moon Fiber Farm. It is a new brand of yarn which is just lovely-comes in 3 weights: Lace, Aran, and Bulky. I've knit with both the lace and aran and like both of them. The pattern is another story. It is full of mistakes, so it took some time to make the sweater. Watch my Ravelry page for errata as the last time I checked Juniper Moon Fiber Farm's websit, the errata is wrong! I will be teaching this as a class after the Holidays, so can help with the pattern problems.

Yarn: Juniper Moon Farm Findley-used only 2 balls as it has such great yardage.

Needle: Size 4

This is one time when I actually washed and blocked my gauge swatch.

I wish I had remembered to take a picture before I blocked the sweater. It was quite fun to pull it out of my knitting bag and tell people it was for me. It looked about the size to fit a 5 year old. I blocked it before I picked up the stitches for edgings and sewing sleeves in.

It turned out beautifully. It will be a perfect top for summer.

Tea Leaves Cardigan

This sweater was a delight to knit as the yarn is so nice. I used MadelineTosh DK and it is just heaven.

Needles Size 6 and 7.

I am going to redo the front bands as they are too long.

 I did have a fun incident knitting on this in the car on the way to Milwaukee. The yoke is done switching needle sizes and it came time to use the other size and it wasn't in my knitting bag. It was still a long way to Milwaukee and home again, so I dug out my telephone and found a yarn shop in Eau Claire, about 20 minutes away. So, we detoured through town and found a fun shop,  Yellow Dog Knitting. www.yellowdogknitting.com

Maile Sweater

I thought this was the cutest baby sweater. The bottom yellow one is done as the pattern is written, except I exchanged the raglan decreases-SSK for K2tog and K2tog for SSK. The other 2 added the pattern to the sleeves and I did all the increases after the garter stitch cuff rather than tapering the sleeves. To make it easier to join the sleeves to the body I put 4 underarm stitches of both the body and sleeves on yarn and grafted together when finishing.

Maile is a fragrant vine endemic to Hawaii, and it is traditionally used as a kind of very special lei. The lei is traditionally worn open, draped over the shoulders, and the leaf pattern in this sweater echoes that.

Pattern: Maile Sweater from www.whattoknitwhen.com

Yarn: (Green Sweater) Milk by laines du nord-63% Merino extrafine unshrinkable, 30% Milk Fiber, 7% Cashmere.

(Yellow Sweaters) Dream in Color Smooshy. Almost got both sweaters out of 1 skein. I did make the body of the all yellow one a little longer as my gauge was off.

Needles: US #4

Aran Camisole

Pattern: Aran Camisole from Interweave Knits, Spring 2010.
Yarn: Rowan Linen

This is not a style I normally wear but knit it as a teaching project. The cables, short rows and picking up stitches make a good class project.I probably would wear it with a tee or under a blazer.

I did not make the lenth to joining as long as the pattern said as the armholes would be very large and if I were going to do it again I would make the straps a little shorter.

Traveling Sweater

This was a long, but soothing knit. I was intriqued by the construction, so just had to make it to figure out how it went together.

I blocked both sleeves together as I then only had to measure and shape it once, plus it used so many pins-I didn't have enough.

I also folded the mail body and collar piece in half to block-and good thing I did because I had not done one of the wedges. If I did it again I would block the main piece while I was knitting the sleeves-again because of the shortage of pins and blocking the pieces double it took longer to dry.


Too short!

This kind of shows how it goes together. I never would have figured out the assembly without this blog: http://akabini.squarespace.com/akabini/2010/11/28/traveling-sweater-assembly.html

And the finished garment! I love the way it fits and feels. The yarn I used was Cascade Sport Superwash and am wondering if it is going to hold the ribbed blocking.

Pattern: Traveling Sweater by Blue Moon Fibers.

Needles: US 3.