Knitting Battlemaidens

November? Seriously?

S-

You have a newborn to excuse your absence, but I had no school or work all summer and still didn't post a thing.  Yes, the last time I posted was November.  Unfortunately, I don't have a whole stack of sweaters to show for it.  But I dug through the closet and came up with some FOs (dating back to summer '07) that I haven't blogged about yet.  Every summer I think I'll get so much knitting done, but the truth is I only knit while watching movies, and only about half the time.  So, with daylight lasting from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm, I'm to busy to sit and knit.  There are still more items that I made and gave away without photographing (I'm the type who darns in yarn ends in the car on the way to the party).   I'll post some more as I track down people and make them pose.

First, the Jamison gansey from the last two Christmases, actually finished in time for the last one.  It looks pretty lifeless on that little hanger, as the recipient has broad shoulders and fills it out perfectly.   

On the right is the Anthropology Caplet, in bright blue shade of Berkshire Bulky that is unflattering to my complexion, "Light Blue" I believe.  I like the quick little pattern, though, and ordered more in "Stone Blue" -  a toned-down pale grayish blue.   I really am pleased with the Berkshire Bulky.  It is a very even bulky singles of alpaca and wool that makes a great substitute for Rowan Polar.  I'm also adding a lacy crocheted border to this next one instead of the ribbing, to make it a little dressier.  I'm still not sure if boleros/ caplets are a good idea for me, as I have a flat chest and high, square shoulders.  On me they tend to say "football player" instead of "sexy."

Next is Ysolda's Cloud Bolero (slightly modified) in discontinued Jaeger Chamonix on the left and Alchemy's Ingenue (please don't be scared by the model or the description, the pattern is quite innocent- is that a snarl?) in Classic Elite Premiere on the right.  They both have shedding problems, though.  The Chamonix isn't bad for an angora yarn, but the Premiere annoys me.  Little fibers rub off on the waistband of my pants when I were this top, and a  cotton/ tencel yarn just shouldn't preform like that.  I can't find any real pills on it, and it is as soft as butter, but I have to be careful what I wear with it.  I will definitely knit this pattern again, but maybe picking a smaller size with no ease.

Later I'll post some sewing projects I did this summer.

-M

More (what else) baby sweaters

M,

Three more baby sweaters to report.  The first is a Dale of Norway cabled sweater (like the one I made for some friends here) in a rustic tweed wool.  I found some lovely deer antler buttons that work well with it.  I think I'm keeping this one, in case the bun in my oven turns out to be a boy.

The next is a mini version of the Tulip Cardigan I made for your daughter.  I used alternating stripes of blue and green, and found a cute hook clasp for the neck instead of I-cord ties. 

The third sweater is actually a matching set - I have two former co-workers who are both expecting girls in the coming months (the same two who had boys at the same time and received these - their wives must be secretly coordinating the timing and genders of all this babymaking).  I wanted to make sweaters that would work in spring and summer weather, so I picked a recipe for a yoked lace sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac.  I decided to use the handdyed handspun yarn you gave me for my birthday this year, since you had given me about 6 oz and EZ's sweater recipe called for 3 oz of a Shetland or baby-weight wool.  I made a  modification to EZ's recipe ("Baby Sweater on Two Needles, Practically Seamless") because it originally called for knitting the sleeves flat and seaming them, but I knit them in the round and made the sweater truly seamless.  It's a cute pattern, and you can crank out a lovely baby gift in a few hours with a small amount of yarn.  I'm definitely keeping it on my short list for when I'm desperate for a gift idea.  I still haven't figured out what to do for a clasp at the neck - I omitted the buttonholes and figured I'd look for delicate silver hooks like the one I used on the mini-Tulip.

Next on my list, after EZ sweater No. 2 is done this afternoon, is to start on a long-term project. I ordered a large batch of Jamieson & Smith cobweb wool and plan to start Gladys Amedro's Sheelagh Shawl to use during the bump's eventual baptism this fall.  The pattern is in her out-of-print Shetland Lace book, which I scored at a used book store a while back.

S

Yes, I have been knitting

M,

Okay, here's what I've been up to...

A Debbie Bliss sweater - lilac cashmerino yarn, seed stitch, cute bow at the neck for a closure.  My husband appears to have deleted the image from our camera and I can't find an image to "borrow" from the web, so you'll have to imagine it.

The Tulip Cardigan - details here.  It was a really easy, intuitive pattern that you can memorize; I enjoyed making this so much that I ordered extra skeins of green and blue yarn and am making a little striped one for a baby boy.

The Swallowtail Shawl - details here and here.  Again, an easy, intuitive, memorizable pattern.  This was also so much fun that I am enthusiastic about tackling a Shetland lace shawl - something I never thought I had the patience or skill to try.  A big thank-you to M for the beautiful skein of yarn for Christmas and for the idea to use this pattern - it was my favorite gift this year!

And in non-knitting-related news, I spent last week's knitting time making pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs) to donate for a charity auction.  Here they are displayed in all their glory in a basket lined with a rushnyk, a traditional embroidered linen.  The designs on the eggs are not my creation - I was too busy to invent my own.  These are from the wonderful series of books by the folks at the Ukrainian Gift Shop in Minnesota.

S

S's Baby Sweater Addiction Continues Unabated

Um, so after promising publicly that I would be knitting only for myself this year, I just fell off the wagon and made another yet baby sweater for yet another pregnant friend.  Details here.

M, I have to finish the Kimono sweater and a pair of socks (oh, and another baby sweater for yet another pregnant friend), but then I'm on board to Rogue-along with you!

S

Groove is officially back

I have been on a roll the past few days.  After I completed the Branching Out scarf (details here), I rummaged through my piles to find another half-finished project that has been laying around for ages.  I found part of a hat that I had begun months ago, using leftover red, orange, and green yarn from the kids' fruit caps (here and here), along with the hand-dyed hand-spun yarn that M gave me for last year's birthday, so I finished that in about an hour while watching American Idol on Tuesday night.  Chunky yarn on size 7 dpns goes surprisingly fast after doing several socks on size 2s!  The hat is cute - it barely fits me, but would be perfect for a slightly smaller kiddo.  I think I'll donate it to the annual charity auction that I help out with each year in November.   I had the hat blocking for the past day and now it's good to go.  Here are the details.

I still have a baby sweater (in pale yellow Dale of Norway) and that kimono shawl on the needles, but am feeling like I need to continue a bit of a break from them.  Neither project is inspiring me at the moment.  As a reward for getting out of my several months' long knitting funk, this morning I ordered the yarn I'll need to make the Knitpicks Kimono Styled Sweater.  Time to dive into the world of adult-sized sweaters once more.  Maybe this time I can avoid turning the darn thing into a felted crop-top.

S

A little progress

I'm slowing getting my knitting groove back, thanks to two Knitty patterns.  I've been sick for over a week and managed to complete another set of Pomatomous socks (for myself this time - the last pair went to my mom).  Here they are in the gallery of completed projects, and here's a close-up of the lace pattern:

I'm also blocking the Branching Out scarf on my couch.  It's made from Art Yarns Regal Silk...I've never blocked silk before, so I'm not sure how it will dry, but I guess we'll see.  I'll take a glamour shot of it once it's done (instead of posing it on an old towel!).

S

Sweet Sassy Molassy!

Wow, M.  WOW.  You need to be doing this for a living - I can't believe you can created all those patterns from scratch.  The shawl is gorgeous, but you need to promise that the next one you do will be for yourself.  And the hats on those girls make them look like hobbits - adorable!

To the left is the only thing I've accomplished lately, a crocheted scarf for a charity auction.  It's a free pattern I found online, and it was so quick to make.  I did it in about an hour.  I haven't crocheted anything for a long time so it was a surprise to be reminded of how much faster it is for me than knitting.  I guess since I've been on a baby sweater kick lately with tiny yarn and tiny needles, it was good to work with something labeled "chunky" for a change.  I used a little more than a ball of Jamieson's of Shetland chunky marl wool in the "wildflower" colorway, #2105.  The yarn is made from one strand of blue, one strand of purple, and one of a muted yellowish color.

Not much else going on here.  I have been so busy starting my new job this fall that I've been slacking off in the knitting department.  I did start a pair of socks yesterday, though - the Pomatomus pattern from Knitty, using some  camouflage-colored yarn I got from A Swell Yarn Shop (a local online company based in Redmond or Kirkland - somewhere on the Eastside.  They have cute stuff).

S.

Proof that I did some knitting this summer...

Sorry for my long absence, S., but now the DSL is up and running again.  Looks like you had a lot of fun with your secret pal exchange.  Maybe after my mad Christmas knitting, I'll consider joining (yes, I'm what the Yarn Harlot calls a Phase 5 knitter, occasionally descending into the "IT" phase). 

So, how about an update on my summer accomplishments?  First was a big and beautiful shawl for a friend who was married in August.  Inspired by Folk shawls, I used the shaping from the "Wool Peddler's Shawl,"  the foaming waves lace stitch from the "North Sea Shawl,"  and the edging from the "Highland Shawl."  This shawl was going to be a bargain at three balls of Alpine 10 ply Aran (100% New Zealand wool color 2007), but then I added an extra lace rep in the border.  So I get 3/4 of the way through the edging only to discover I need another huge skein.  Oh well, it turned out  gorgeous and has a nice heavy drape to it.  I believe the blocked measurements were 90" across the top and 45" deep at the point.  This was definitely hard to part with, mostly because I haven't even knitted a shawl for myself.

Next is the hat I made for my neice's birthday.  I based the shaping on a hat from Anna Zilborg's 45 Fine and Fanciful Hats that I had knit for my son about five years ago.  The Karaoke soy and wool yarn I used really relaxed when I washed the finished hat, so I unraveled the bottom band off and reknit it on smaller needles so it would stay on the kids' heads.  It turned out really cute oversized, as it can be worn tilted to the side or the back.  Eventually I'll type up the pattern for the blog; I'm very proud of my vine and roses chart.  I really like the effect of the Noro-like color transitions against a solid color.  I knit another of these with the colors reversed for my other 3 yr old niece this Oct.

Here is the new hat (left) and the original (right).

I also knit double layered hats for both the hubby and my son, but I'll post later when I have pictures.

M.

As if we needed any more proof that my cat is an idiot...

...I present Flashy McFlash, sleeping in the guest bed:

And here's a shot of the ribbon scarf I made for myself a while back - it was nice to have some mindless garter stitch to do after that itsy-bitsy Norwegian sweater:

I'm not sure what my next project will be.  I think I have the energy to do one more baby sweater (a co-worker is due mid-October), so I might start that tonight.  I also have a few feet of I-cord to make for a felted bag, but I keep procrastinating because it's sooooo boring.

S

Chemo cap

This weekend I finished the Shedir chemo cap for my aunt and am sending it off tomorrow.  I used the Fleece Artist 100% merino that my Secret Pal sent me - it was soft and warm and I hope will be very comfortable.  It was a dark variegated color so the cables don't show up very well in the photo, but in real life I like the way it turned out.  The cables give it a very subtle texture all over.  Here it is:

 

S