A Wonderful Spindle Tool November 11, 2009

Fleegle found this tool, so I got one too – it’s lovely and multifunctional for the spindler.

I’m using it in a pretty basic way at the moment, but Fleegle shows all the possibilities.  And the result – I’m back to spinning.  Yay!

BTW – the downloads of the shawl pattern are pretty amazing!  Thanks! The Stash Hat pattern will be finished soon – I’m awaiting a couple of final tweeks, and it’ll be ready to go.

Pattern: Lacy Prayer Shawl (free) November 10, 2009

I am on a board of women clergy types that I’ve now known for 15 years. Fifteen years! They’ve seen me through a lot of ups and downs along the way, and hopefully I’ve done the same.
Isabelle is dealing with a move and surgery at the same time, plus a loss of income while she is recovering. I’ve knit other prayer shawls in the past, but this time, I wanted to do something a little different. As I am want to do, I just cast-on, and created my own little lace pattern.

I’m pretty happy with it – it has a nice rounded look which works well with the Malabrrriiiggo (Malabrigo) merino worsted yarn. It only took two skeins, so you get a lovely shawl for about $20 – what a deal! It has an option crocheted border, which I think works well, and gives structure to the edging. You don’t have to do the crochet, but it’s only single crochet for three rows, so why not learn a new skill?

The shawl pattern is free, and contains both written and charted directions. Go here to download, or save to your Ravelry library.
download now

Magical Blocking (FO: More than 198 Yards) November 7, 2009

The whole blocking thing is simply amazing every time that I do it.

This is the “198 yards of Heaven” pattern, using a lace weight yarn – 6 1/2 repeats in Misti Alpaca yarn – only one skein used here. In it’s pre-blocking state, it looks rumpled, but you can see the pattern.

After a wet-mist blocking using my blocking wires (bought long ago), the difference is amazing:

This is a Christmas present for my mom, who lives in Southern California, and rarely needs something very warm. Lace-weight is about the only thing she’ll need.

I do have a quibble with the pattern itself- the edging chart as written does not match up with the lace pattern in the body. So I finagled my own version to get those yarnovers to nicely match up in my version. There’s a variation in the projects on Ravelry that does a similar thing for those who have a bit of fear of doing this themselves.

FO: Handspun mittens November 3, 2009

I’ve finally taken my first “real” handspun (Blue-Faced Leicester from A Verb for Keeping Warm) and made myself some fingerless mittens. Yum!

Using Up the Little Bits October 30, 2009

Most thrifty knitters find that the leftover yarn for their projects can begin to accumulate over time, and eventually, you have to figure out what to do with them.  I have three different leftover categories:

1. Enough to knit something.  Often the item is small – like a potholder, scrubbie, iPod cozy, etc.  There is enough to do something with it.
2. Needs to be combined to make something.  This is often a few yards left-over even from a knitted mitten, sock or hat.  On it’s own, probably not going to make anything, but with something else, Walla!
3. The bitter ends.  This is the trimmings of ends after weaving in.  I save them for stuffing little cat toys that I knit out of #1 and #2 yarns.

Today I present a hat knit out of category #2 yarns, mostly leftovers from Afghans for Afghans projects. I’ve been collecting wool worsteds in a tote bag, and try to use up the small bits in stripes and the like.  But this time, I realized it was all mostly #2, so I adapted the Slip-a-Color pattern in Knit Hats! for a colorful hat that won’t make this shipment for Afghans for Afghans, but will make someone warm in the future:

 

The Slip-Stitch pattern (which I’ve adapted and written entirely on my own) is a six-round pattern with even number of stitches:

Round 1: Knit with Color A
Round 2: With color B, * k1, slip 1 (with yarn in back) * for the whole round.
Round 3: With B, * p1, slip 1 (with yarn in back) * for the whole round.
Round 4: Knit with Color C.
Round 5: With Color D, * slip 1 (with yarn in back), k1 * for the whole round.
Round 6: With D, * slip 1 (with yarn in back), p1 * for the whole round.

Repeat 1 – 6 rounds, switching in colors as you feel like it!
If I only had enough yarn for a round, I used it for a Round 2 or 5, since that creates the purl bump, and gives a “pop” to the round.

A Toe-Up Book That’s a Keeper October 28, 2009

Notice to the FCC – I did not get this copy of Chrissy Gardiner’s lovely book: Toe Up! Patterns and Worksheets to Whip Your Sock Knitting Into Shape as a review copy – I bought mine like everyone else.

With that out of the way, I want applaud Chrissy Gardiner on a great book for the toe-up fans.  This is a book that will stay in my library for a while.

1. It includes the basics:  construction of a toe-up sock with lot’s of photos and instruction.
2. A good variety of sock patterns for the whole family, including slippers and knee highs.  Everyone can get socks!
3. Some fancier patterns for the (mostly) women who will knit them.  These are lovely ones that rival the patterns I’ve seen in sock of the month yarn clubs.
4. Worksheets. The best part of the book is that Chrissy has developed worksheets for the knitter to create basic or fancier socks with their own choice of yarn and a worksheet to calculate all the requirements for a particular style.  I used her hybrid heel worksheet, and it was terrific!  The worksheets can be downloaded on the book’s web site (although they won’t make sense unless you have the book), so I can print out the ones I need anytime!

My only quibble, and this one is with the publisher, is that the book is not spiral bound, so that the pages will lay flat, and the paper is a bit light.

FO: Mitten Magic October 23, 2009

I’ve been knitting mittens for the youth campaign for Afghans for Afghans as well.  They take less time than socks, and less yarn.  I used the leftovers from the sweater, plus a black skein I’d bought at the same time:

Ann Budd’s basic mitten pattern from her Handy Patterns book. The center mitten has the same spiral top, but I changed it up for the other mittens to side decreases just because. I’m like that.

And my last project for the youth campaign is finishing a pair of socks.  I was afraid they might look like a Franken-sock, but on the feet, they are comfortable and look pretty good! I’m doing them toe-up from Chrissy Gardiner’s lovely book: Toe Up! Patterns and Worksheets to Whip Your Sock Knitting Into Shape. I must say that this is a wonderful book, with many great features. Maybe I’ll do a mini-review soon.

Close to Home October 22, 2009

I live on the edge of open space leading to San Pablo Bay.  Sunsets can be simply gorgeous here:

FO: Youth Raglan Sweater for Afghans for Afghans October 19, 2009

The sweater is completely done – including blocking and ends tucked in:

I’m very happy with this, especially since I fudged my way through the pattern.  It’s one of those sweaters where the appealing colors and design help disguise the fact that a.  I did not plan the colors or the patterns ahead of time for the yoke, and b.  the stitch count for the yoke was off, and I just hid that little problem along one side of the back.

This points out a really important thing about knitting:  most of the time, little problems are things only you will notice, and others will look at the big picture.  If it is an item going thousands of miles away, where you will not see the little error daily, then it is a great time to simply let it go.  Really, you can.

I did have to re-do the ribbing at the neckline.  I started with doing a tubular cast-off which worked very well for the sleeve and body:

but turned out way too tight for the neckline.  So, I regrouped and used the new Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind-off, which worked like a dream, and meant that I, the big-headed one, could get the sweater over my head with no problem.

I must also sing the praises of this lovely yarn (Misti Merino), which I got in the spring sale from WEBS.  It is very soft, gains a wonderful drape in the blocking, with a lovely halo.  My plan for the leftovers was to make socks, but the softness and Merino wooliness makes me cautious, so I’m making mittens instead, and will hunt my worsted leftovers for more appropriate sock yarn.

Back from the Mountains October 17, 2009

I was a lucky girl who got to teach up at Lake Tahoe for the second time this year. The beauty of the place is pretty amazing. This is the view just a couple of steps outside of our meeting room for the week:

Experiencing the storm was pretty cool – the winds blew through the area, swinging the lamps, and blowing through the sealed windows. We had snow up at the tops of the mountains (about 7500 feet), but by the lake (6000 feet) we just had cold crisp weather. By the time we left, the weather was warmer and crystal clear.

I had a great time working with newer pastors, and the whole week was lovely. I could even knit when I wasn’t leading the session, so I’m happy to report that my sweater is done with the knitting, just needs some ends woven in and a good blocking:

I used a tubular bind-off for the sleeves and bottom of the body, but when I applied this to the neck, it came out too tight – I could barely get it over my head. So I took it out, and decided to use the newly-published Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bindoff. It worked perfectly! Brandy approves of the sweater too:

I have lots of leftover yarn, so I think I’ll work on a pair of socks, and maybe a pair of mittens after that.