FO Friday: Scalloped Lace Toddler Cardigan

Pattern:

My own

Yarn:

KnitPicks Shine Worsted in White, Cosmopolitan, Grapefruit, Dandelion, Citrine, Reef, Sky, French Blue, Pageant, and Iris

Notions:

The buttons are, again, from TessaAnn on Etsy. Aren’t they perfect??

Notes:

I love(1000) this sweater. It might be my most favorite project ever. And the munchkin informed that she “yuvs” it, too, which is high praise indeed.

It’s a little bit big on her right now, but hopefully that means she’ll get a bit of wear out of it. The round yoke is quite roomy and the sleeves could be worn as 3/4 length on a larger child.

Time to complete:

Just under three months, which is pretty good considering that I forgot the yarn on vacation and then lost the last skein of white yarn and had to order more.

Friday Funnies: Packing the necessities

I found this particularly funny given my packing failure for our vacation this year…

I think I need this one on a yarn-stuffed tote bag!

FO Friday: Striped Baby Hoodie

 

Pattern:

Easy Baby Cardigan by Diane Soucy

Yarn:

Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in bison (3 skeins), light blue (less than 1 skein), and honeydew (way less than 1 skein)

Modifications:

To avoid grafting, I started at the top of the hood with Judy’s Magic Cast-On, flipped it over, worked across a purl row, and then used magic loop to continue the purl row across the opposite side. This made the top totally seamless, so hopefully it will be more comfy for a little newborn baby head.

The pattern calls for a garter stitch edging and i-cord ties to close. I worked one selvedge stitch at either side and then picked up stitches at the end for 2×2 ribbed buttonband, worked on size 4 needles (to accommodate the difference in gauge, I picked up every stitch around the neckline). I found perfect buttons on Etsy, from Tessa Ann. I also worked the bottom in 2×2 ribbing on size 4 needles, increasing once every 7 stitches this time to accommodate the difference in gauge.

As written, the pattern goes straight from the hood into the body. I was concerned that it would stretch out there and not fit properly (since babies tend to have rather rounded shoulders and not much in the way of necks), so I added a stabilizing neckband, which I adapted from a post on the Yarn Harlot’s blog as follows: I ended the hood after a knit row. Then I used a crochet hook to work a loose row of single crochet into the purl bumps of the previous row. Put last loop on the needle and started next knit row by k2tog this loop with the first stitch.

I used my favorite raglan increase method: *knit to one stitch before marker, knit into right side of stitch below first stitch on left needle, then knit stitch on left needle and drop it off needle, slip marker, knit next stitch, then knit into the left side of the stitch two rows below first stitch on right needle, repeat from *

The pattern is worked in a solid color, but I added some sporty little stripes.  

Time to complete:

About a month.

The verdict:

This was a gift for a co-worker of my husband. I am told that it was quite a hit!

Also, I loved this yarn. It gets a bit fuzzy as you’re knitting, but it feels like cashmere, knits like wool, and is machine washable. Doesn’t feel like cotton yarn at all. I think I’ve found my go-to yarn for baby knitting!

FO Friday: Scalloped Lace Baby Sweater

Pattern:

My own

Yarn:

Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Cotton, Colorway# 332

Notes:

I adore the way this sweater turned out! The scalloped lace pattern was perfect for this yarn, as the color changes really show off the scallops. I have already bought yarn to make another one, this one white with the scallops in various bright colors.

This is a gift for my son’s teacher. She had a baby right before the start of the school year. Her husband got a new job, and she is moving out of state as soon as the school year ends. I wanted to give her something to remember us and know how much she will be missed!

Time to complete:

A little bit over two months, including numerous frogs and the time it spent in Time Out. 🙂

FO Friday: The Haruni Shawl

 

Pattern:

Haruni by Emily Ross

Yarn:

Sundara Sock Yarn in Lunar Landing (1 skein, 370 yards)

Needles:

Signature Needle Arts circular needle, US size 7 (4.5mm)

Susan Bates Crochet Hook, US size 9 (1.25mm) for beads

Boye Crochet Hook, US D (3.25mm) for fringe

Other Materials:

Miyuki Japanese Seed Beads (6/0 round) in Heavy Metals Mix, 2-20g tubes

Modifications:

Lots. I knit the body plain (similar to the body of the Ishbel shawl). I used my yarn scale and Excel to calculate how many petals I could get out of the single skein of yarn I had. I added extra clusters of petals at either end to maximize my yarn use. (And I ended up with only 3g of yarn when all was said and done). I added beads along the stem and the edges of each petal, using the crochet hook method.

The crochet bind-off was new to me. A little slow to execute, but again, well worth the effort. It might have looked a little bit better with a slightly smaller hook. I’m very glad I learned how to crochet before I tackled this!

Time to complete:

Less than a year. 🙂 I cast on for this in May of 2011, right after MDSW. I finished the plain portion in a week or so, and then it sat through the summer and into the winter, while I bought beads and figured out what size to make. The dark yarn and the beads made this project slow going.

The verdict:

Love, love, love it! This may be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made.

Projects and parties and spinning, oh my!

Yesterday was the Homespun Yarn Party, and it was a blast. It’s a small indie fiber fest, and it really does feel more like a party than a festival. My partner in crime had to cancel on me at the last minute, and I considered (for about twelve seconds!) just staying home and knitting on the sofa (which is generally a pretty good way to spend a rainy day in my opinion). But then I came to, thought about what I’d be missing, and hopped in the car.

Plus, I admit it… I wanted to show off my new finery! I finished both the Haruni shawl and the Lanesplitter skirt over the weekend. (More details on both to follow.)

I’d noted on the HYP website that they were offering free drop spindle classes. I’d purchased an Ashford Turkish drop spindle and some lovely fiber last summer at The Mannings, but hadn’t worked up the nerve to actually test it out. Since I was on my own yesterday, I grabbed it on my way out the door and threw it in my bag. The first class was just starting when I arrived, so I decided to shop first and catch the second class later.

The thing I love the most about fiber festivals, and the HYP in particular, is getting to talk to each of the vendors about their products. It’s one thing to buy some lovely yarn in your LYS or online, it’s quite another to get to talk to the person who spun it or dyed it or raised the alpaca it was came from! These are people who love the fiber arts so much, they’ve made a career out of it. They’re all so happy to talk about what they do and why they do it. Even if I hadn’t made a single purchase, just talking with them was inspiring.

But yes, I did made a few purchases. I told myself that since I had time to shop quite leisurely, I could circle the room once without buying anything, just looking. If something called to me so strongly that I kept looking back across the room at it, then I’d go back and get it. Yes, this approach meant that I might miss out on a few things. (I heard that there was a long line at the door before the HYP officially opened, and lots of things disappeared within moments. But there was still plenty to choose from when I got there, so I wasn’t sorry to miss the worst of the crowds!)

Sock yarn is usually my downfall, but it takes me so long to finish a pair (when I keep interrupting them to knit sweaters) that I have quite a stockpile already, so I told myself it had to be a really unusual, special skein to come home with me. There was a gorgeous skein from Ashton Studio Arts that I would have scooped up, but alas, it was already in someone else’s hands when I spied it. (They assured me that they’d be at MDSW with more skeins in that colorway.) That Clever Clementine had some lovely fabric bowls, but they were mostly sold out by the time I got there, so I’ll be keeping an eye on her Etsy store.

My camera hates dark colors! Much prettier in person. (Neighborhood Fibre Company, Studio Worsted in "Easterwood")

My big splurge was at the Neighborhood Fiber Company booth. She had several skeins of her Studio Worsted (superwash merino) in a colorway named “Easterwood” which is an absolutely gorgeous dark green colorway with hints of dark blue. While I was admiring the color, Karida told me that she actually dyes the yarn periwinkle first, then over-dyes it with the dark green to get the gorgeous shading I was admiring so. When I looked closely at it, I could see hints of the periwinkle in the blue sections. I hemmed and hawed (how many sweaters’ worth of yarn do I already have waiting in my queue?), but then I decided that I couldn’t leave it behind, so I purchased two skeins (800 yards) for a top-down lace sweater with 3/4 sleeves. 

Look, Ma! I made yarn!

Then I made my way over to the drop spindle class. Because it was later in the day and the crowd was thinning out by then, I was the only person who showed up for the second class. Can’t argue with getting a hands-on private class! I’ve been admiring this gorgeous bundle of merino and silk fiber since I purchased it, but I was too convinced that I’d ruin it to try actually spinning with it. But in no short order, Lauren had me drafting and spinning with my drop spindle. Yay! It’s not the most gorgeous yarn ever spun, but I’m having a blast experimenting with thicker and thinner yarns. Of course, my fiber obsessions didn’t really need any help. Now at festivals I’m going to have to go in all the booths that have spindles and roving, too. Oh, dear…

One of the other neat aspects of the HYP is its location. Historic Savage Mill is a former textile mill that has been restored and converted into an artisans’ village. The shops are truly unique, and I enjoyed poking around in them almost as much as the HYP itself! One shop that I made sure to visit was Bead Soup. I purchased some very pretty beads there last year (which were similar to but smaller than the ones I used on my Haruni shawl). This year I picked up some pretty glass, stone, and silver beads. Not quite sure what I’m going to make with them yet… stay tuned!

The day turned out to be pretty terrific. Learning to spin was a huge plus for me, and probably something I wouldn’t have done if I’d been with friends. All-in-all, it was a great experience. I’ll definitely be back next year!

If you’re a knitter, have you tried spinning? Is it as addictive as it seems to be??

FO Friday: Serpentine Socks

Pattern:

Serpentine Socks by Wendy D. Johnson

Yarn:

Knit Picks Stroll Sport in Hollyberry, 3 skeins

Modifications:

For the most part, I followed the pattern as written. I used the magic cast-on (which was rather tricky on DPNs; I’ve found it much easier to work on circular needles). I got a slightly tighter gauge, so I went up to the largest size, which fit great. I didn’t like the large holes the YO’s in the pattern gave me, so I substituted M1L and M1R. And I finished with 1×1 ribbing instead of 2×2, so I could use the tubular bind-off (which I now love, despite having to fiddle with kitchener).

Part of the reason I chose these socks was to learn how to make socks toe-up. This method is now my favorite, since it allows me to make socks which both fit my big feet and are long enough to suit me, without running short on or wasting yarn. I’ve not been particularly happy with short-row heels, in either fit or execution, so the gusset heel in these socks was also very appealing. Basically, you increase your heel stitch count by approximately 2/3 and then work a heel turn similar to those worked on top-down socks, working back and forth until you are back to the original number of stitches. It was easy to work and seems comfortable to wear, and there are no strange gaps or ugly stretched-out stitches that I’ve gotten with wrap-and-turn short rows.

This pattern was from Wendy’s book Socks from the Toe Up. If you’re new to toe-up socks, I highly recommend this book. There are good descriptions and diagrams of the various cast-on, toe, and heel methods, as well as some very lovely sock patterns.

Time to complete:

Okay, this is embarrassing. I cast on for these socks right after Christmas… 2009. Yes, more than two years ago. I finished the first one (or at least, I got to the end of the first skein of yarn) pretty quick. I had just enough yarn for a couple of rows of ribbing and then I bound off. I immediately cast on for the second sock, ignoring the fact that the first sock really wasn’t long enough for my taste (and didn’t have enough ribbing to stay up well). I was nearing the end of the second sock when I, er, had a mishap with the rest of the yarn. (It fell out of my bag when I threw it in the car, but I didn’t realize it until I looked into my rearview mirror and saw it rolling around in four lanes of rush-hour traffic. Yes, it’s funny… in retrospect. At least it was the unused yarn that fell out, and not the 3/4-completed sock!!)

So I ordered another ball of yarn, finished the second sock (now longer than the first), added 1″ of 1×1 ribbing, and used the tubular bind-off to finish. It looked and fit great! Went back to the first sock, undid the bind-off and the rounds of ribbing, made it the same length as the first sock, and… put both socks in the UFO (unfinished object) basket for more than a year. No idea why. I pulled it out the other day and in less than an hour, I’d finished the cuff, worked the tubular bind-off, and woven in the ends on both socks. I love them, and I’m kicking myself for not finishing them up sooner!

Pretty red socks… just in time for Valentine’s Day!