And I am getting really excited to start a project with my May-designated laceweight yarn. I've settled on Maluka, a crescent shaped short-row shawl with a lovely little lacy edging. I picked up some beads for sale at a local bead shop that might work with the coppery linen from Habu Textiles.
Meanwhile, I am working on the second Green Dragon sock, about to cast on the second Leyburn sock, and casually ignoring my scarf-and-hat in progress (it was for a birthday that passed. so it will now be for the coming winter. Plenty of time. Now if only I could get it to stop bleeding!)
If I were to start working on some hibernating objects, I would add thumbs to my freshly revived Extragalactic mitts (I just finished the second one last night! yay, it only took a year! stupid second-mitt-syndrome), and finish putting buttons on my Spatterdashery. Oh, and I suppose I should *try* to finish my long-desired Shipwreck Shawl (almost halfway done! the netting +beading takes forever!) and my Brown Sweater that is so comfortable and lovely.
My big goal for summer (aside from my various WIPs) is to work on things for my older sister, who has gotten the short end of the needle for several years now. The hat I made for her is pointy and needs to be ripped out, and the mittens I was making for her barely made it past the cuff by the time I left for the holidays. I've got the yarn for those two projects, + another lovely yarn for this holiday that I can't wait to try out. This is Level A Priority, people--knitting depravation! how dreadful. Oh, wait, she did receive that lovely cashmere cowl from me, buuuut I don't know if it counts as it wasn't knit specifically for her.
Other than that, I want to spiiiiiiin. It's a pity I can't get some serious spinning done while traveling, because lately it's the only thing I want to do. I have half of a rainbow yarn and half of a subtle earth-toned orange and purple yarn that I need to spin up (not together! ew! they are their own things), and I want to start spinning this dark purple and black yarn into some laceweight (if I can; I'm not normally fantastic with merino, and most of my stuff is dk-fingering nowadays) as soon as I can. And then I got a lovely heathered red blue and green fiber, and some fresh plump braids of bright yellow! Oh spinning, why do you make such beautiful results?
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
April showers bring ... knitting progress and goals
The weather has been so variable, I don't know what to hope for. First I was so pleased that it was warming up, and the grass was growing and the flowers were exploding everywhere (can you tell I don't have seasonal allergies? I am sure if you do you must hate me now. Especially because I like seeing the huge piles of pollen on the ground and drawing in pollen on peoples' cars. I mean, I like the flowers, of course--but I like the pollen too!). Then it got up to 90. "Whoa there!" I said to spring. "Slow down, buckaroo!" Except I don't actually talk like that. But we (the astronomers) all agreed that it was far too frickin' hot and we declared the weather "stupid".
Then it rained. For about a week. And was grey.
And then the sun came out.
And then it dropped to the 40s over night.
And then it rained again. It was less miserable than winter rain, despite the greyness, for two reasons. First of all, there was more daylight, even if it was an insipid and dull daylight. Secondly, every day of rain made the spring greenery all the more vibrant--like the grass was just saying, "bring it on!" as it lifted weights and ran cardio. Or whatever.
So, overall, it's been kind of crazy. In response, I have been---working. Okay, and knitting, I won't lie :).
My April goal was to knit a baby-thing out of that pink Grignasco Champagne that I first show-cased in this blog, and that I've had in my stash for years. I don't like pink, and I especially don't like insipid pale pink yarn. It's just not my thing! I mean, sure, it's also similar to a pale rose, and that sounds rather pleasant, doesn't it? But I don't wear it, and it's not that exciting to knit with.
Fortunately this stuff made up for its color in drape, slink, happy silkiness. Also, I have a friend who enjoys dressing their offspring in very girly pretty colors. So I made a little dress, and it might even fit. I'm not really good with child-like sizes, but it looks about right. I am debating sewing on some cute flower buttons that I've got in my button jar. On one hand, this is perfect for them. On the other hand, babies like to chew stuff and have been known to swallow buttons.
So, aside from buttons, that's finished. The downside? I STILL HAVE A BALL OF YARN LEFT. I can't move it from "stash" to "all used up" on ravelry. In desperation I've put it in "will trade or sell" but no one wants it and I don't blame them. Plus, not that many of my friends like pink! I should really use it up on another baby item of some sort. But I am sick sick sick of knitting it.
Promptly ignoring that dilemma, I've been churning away on my Hitchhiker out of my own handspun. I didn't finish it swiftly enough to enter it in the prize drawing for geeky knits that one of my podcasts did, but that's okay. I worked very hard on it for several days, and after a careful calculation and one late night, I have figured that I have three rows and a bindoff left, and that it should take less than an hour to finish.
However, I can't finish it yet because I'm on a trip and I Left It At Home. It wasn't worth the investment of bringing with for less than an hour's worth of knitting. *sigh*. It's also delicate and I don't want to risk the thin lace yarn on travel. But it is going to be the FIRST thing I finish when I return in a week.
I finished my twin sister's birthday socks. Well, I just tested them out and the bindoff on one of them is too tight, but that's quite easy to fix, so I'm counting them as finished. One 262 yard ball made two 10.2"-foot socks with 3-4 inches of a ribbed cuff; I am impressed! This is a complete reassessment of what type of yardage is necessary for socks. And that's an entire ball of yarn out of stash! Good work, me.
I immediately cast on for a pair of socks that I have long been desiring--the Leyburn pattern from Ravelry, in Green Dragon Yarn Sock based in the Somerset colorway. I've been working for less than a day, off and on, and I'm almost done with the foot of this toe-up sock. Sizing is a bit challenging but the result is amazing and I can't stop knitting it.
Slowly, when I am at home, I churn away at the Badger Gift Set (red scarf and hat with a band of white in each) for one of my oldest friends. The problem is that the red coloring comes off on my fingers as I knit, even though I soaked it four times and even tried adding vinegar to the bath. It bleeds. A lot. Fortunately it seems to only bleed when it rubs, but it makes me question whether or not I should bother finishing something that would go around a neck and be exposed to both rubbing and to damp. Still, it gets some work because it is easy and mindless at this point in time, and late at night that's what I turn to.
Finally, back home I started a pair of Nutkins in Little Red Bicycle Spark Sock in the Dagon colorway. I'm on the second sock and I've gotten past the fiddly little hem on the cuff (it's... not that bad, really. I'm just impatient). So with the right amount of work I will soon have TWO pairs of new socks for me. Delightful.
In order of how I will work:
1) finish 1 Leyburn sock
2) re-bindoff twin sock
3) (on the train ride, probably) knit my second Extragalactic mitt (Strawberry Victorian pattern in black and sparkly blue). It's rather fiddly colorwork and I've been ignoring it for a solid year, but I bet in a six hour train ride I can make a lot of progress
4) Finish Hitchhiker when I get home
5) knit a child's shrug out of that pink stuff GAAAH MAKE IT GO AWAY
That'll take me up to the end of the month--I am participating in the cold sheep knit-and-spin-along to use up stash, so I'll re-total my stuff then.
My goal for May (besides moving, having surgery, teaching a graduate-level lecture, and presenting actual research findings at my committee meeting) is to knit my coppery laceweight linen yarn. This will undoubtedly be complicated by all the socks I have on my needles, but my goal is to not cast anything on in May except that linen. If I finish it quickly, I have at least five lingering hibernating UFOs that can be poked at, but I don't need any more distraction. This includes, alas, a limit on spinning (but I have three fiber halves that are UFOs/waiting, so it shouldn't be a problem). But the spinning progress and thoughts and plans and finished yarns--those are for another day.
Then it rained. For about a week. And was grey.
And then the sun came out.
And then it dropped to the 40s over night.
And then it rained again. It was less miserable than winter rain, despite the greyness, for two reasons. First of all, there was more daylight, even if it was an insipid and dull daylight. Secondly, every day of rain made the spring greenery all the more vibrant--like the grass was just saying, "bring it on!" as it lifted weights and ran cardio. Or whatever.
So, overall, it's been kind of crazy. In response, I have been---working. Okay, and knitting, I won't lie :).
My April goal was to knit a baby-thing out of that pink Grignasco Champagne that I first show-cased in this blog, and that I've had in my stash for years. I don't like pink, and I especially don't like insipid pale pink yarn. It's just not my thing! I mean, sure, it's also similar to a pale rose, and that sounds rather pleasant, doesn't it? But I don't wear it, and it's not that exciting to knit with.
Fortunately this stuff made up for its color in drape, slink, happy silkiness. Also, I have a friend who enjoys dressing their offspring in very girly pretty colors. So I made a little dress, and it might even fit. I'm not really good with child-like sizes, but it looks about right. I am debating sewing on some cute flower buttons that I've got in my button jar. On one hand, this is perfect for them. On the other hand, babies like to chew stuff and have been known to swallow buttons.
So, aside from buttons, that's finished. The downside? I STILL HAVE A BALL OF YARN LEFT. I can't move it from "stash" to "all used up" on ravelry. In desperation I've put it in "will trade or sell" but no one wants it and I don't blame them. Plus, not that many of my friends like pink! I should really use it up on another baby item of some sort. But I am sick sick sick of knitting it.
Promptly ignoring that dilemma, I've been churning away on my Hitchhiker out of my own handspun. I didn't finish it swiftly enough to enter it in the prize drawing for geeky knits that one of my podcasts did, but that's okay. I worked very hard on it for several days, and after a careful calculation and one late night, I have figured that I have three rows and a bindoff left, and that it should take less than an hour to finish.
However, I can't finish it yet because I'm on a trip and I Left It At Home. It wasn't worth the investment of bringing with for less than an hour's worth of knitting. *sigh*. It's also delicate and I don't want to risk the thin lace yarn on travel. But it is going to be the FIRST thing I finish when I return in a week.
I finished my twin sister's birthday socks. Well, I just tested them out and the bindoff on one of them is too tight, but that's quite easy to fix, so I'm counting them as finished. One 262 yard ball made two 10.2"-foot socks with 3-4 inches of a ribbed cuff; I am impressed! This is a complete reassessment of what type of yardage is necessary for socks. And that's an entire ball of yarn out of stash! Good work, me.
I immediately cast on for a pair of socks that I have long been desiring--the Leyburn pattern from Ravelry, in Green Dragon Yarn Sock based in the Somerset colorway. I've been working for less than a day, off and on, and I'm almost done with the foot of this toe-up sock. Sizing is a bit challenging but the result is amazing and I can't stop knitting it.
Slowly, when I am at home, I churn away at the Badger Gift Set (red scarf and hat with a band of white in each) for one of my oldest friends. The problem is that the red coloring comes off on my fingers as I knit, even though I soaked it four times and even tried adding vinegar to the bath. It bleeds. A lot. Fortunately it seems to only bleed when it rubs, but it makes me question whether or not I should bother finishing something that would go around a neck and be exposed to both rubbing and to damp. Still, it gets some work because it is easy and mindless at this point in time, and late at night that's what I turn to.
Finally, back home I started a pair of Nutkins in Little Red Bicycle Spark Sock in the Dagon colorway. I'm on the second sock and I've gotten past the fiddly little hem on the cuff (it's... not that bad, really. I'm just impatient). So with the right amount of work I will soon have TWO pairs of new socks for me. Delightful.
In order of how I will work:
1) finish 1 Leyburn sock
2) re-bindoff twin sock
3) (on the train ride, probably) knit my second Extragalactic mitt (Strawberry Victorian pattern in black and sparkly blue). It's rather fiddly colorwork and I've been ignoring it for a solid year, but I bet in a six hour train ride I can make a lot of progress
4) Finish Hitchhiker when I get home
5) knit a child's shrug out of that pink stuff GAAAH MAKE IT GO AWAY
That'll take me up to the end of the month--I am participating in the cold sheep knit-and-spin-along to use up stash, so I'll re-total my stuff then.
My goal for May (besides moving, having surgery, teaching a graduate-level lecture, and presenting actual research findings at my committee meeting) is to knit my coppery laceweight linen yarn. This will undoubtedly be complicated by all the socks I have on my needles, but my goal is to not cast anything on in May except that linen. If I finish it quickly, I have at least five lingering hibernating UFOs that can be poked at, but I don't need any more distraction. This includes, alas, a limit on spinning (but I have three fiber halves that are UFOs/waiting, so it shouldn't be a problem). But the spinning progress and thoughts and plans and finished yarns--those are for another day.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
yaaaaaaaaarns
So I might as well come back to the true purpose of this blog (to ogle really gorgeous yarns and knitting projects and spend a lot of time lusting after more yarns and plotting what to do with them) and post some pictures. These are my favorites from the last year.
These are the Sister Socks I referenced in the last post (or the one before?). They're done in Berocco Comfort Sock, and they fit like a dream. They are also crazy soft and warm, and I love the subtle variegation of colors as they stripe. I turned out a pair of 8.5 W socks with a 5 inch cuff with 2/3 of a skein, and yes, I do have enough left to make an entire separate sock. Berroco Comfort Sock (and just Regular Sock, or Sox, whatever they call it these days) is really enjoyable to me for 2 reasons. Firstly, it knits up at a decent gauge, so you needn't have 80 stitches to go around your feet. I got gauge quite well using my standard 2.5mm (1.5 US size) needles. Secondly, it comes in a lot of exciting striping combos. Striping sock yarns are sort of harder to come by--indie dyers charge more for them, since they are harder to make--and Berrocco produces some of the more accessible of the self-striping yarn on the market.
Did I mention that they're soft? very soft. Like a cloud. Plenty of nylon in them too so they wear nicely, but I think there's some bamboo in them to make them so soft. So, pros: cost, striping, thickness of yarn, and generally soft FO. Cons? Well, the bamboo makes the stitches a little splitty, so if you're a tight knitter, this is gonna be tough. And even though they do stripe, they don't make exciting combinations, you know?
This is not my offspring. He's the child of a friend of mine, and I discovered that knitting for babies is very fast and therefore satisfying. Here's the surprising thing--this is really crappy yarn. It's some horrible fat aran-weight acrylic I got at Michael's a long time ago, and it does a horrible camouflage thing. I tried to knit stuff for me out of it but I couldn't help but feel like I should be in the army, doing salutes. Turns out it's pretty good for kids (though my friend contributed the wee hat and the wee chair, which definitely make the whole outfit come together. Oh, and the baby.). (This is the Baby Sophisticate pattern off of Ravelry, if you're interested. Fast and easy.)
I am very sad that I can't find this last yarn any more. It's Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece, a 50/50 blend of wool and cotton. It's aran weight at the least, and it has the stiffness and stamina of cotton, but it blocked out beautifully like wool and carries some of the drape with it. (This is the Tsu Wrap pattern off of Ravelry if you're interested). The color didn't bleed when I washed it--I was very relieved. Pros: good way to blend two fibers to increase the overall usefulness of the yarn; excellent colors and color-fastness; makes a lovely fabric and knits up fast. Cons: If you don't like cotton, well--you know what to expect. It has a heavier or stiffer hand to it that might tire out your joints.
Ah, Berrocco Peruvia. This is a single-ply 100% peruvian wool that comes in amazing blends of colors. There's no way to capture the deliciously subtle nuanaces glinting in that brown, green, and blue. This yarn has a shimmer and depth to it. It's a worsted/aran weight, quick to knit and very soft and toasty. Wearing these mittens is like using little wool pocket heaters. I have maybe 5 more balls of this stuff and I really want to churn out some more mittens (if only I still lived in a cold climate!). I've also done a scarf up in fisherman's rib/brioche stitch/broken rib pattern, and it turned out lovely and soft and warm as well. Pros: amazing colors, soft as down fabric, great for warmth. As a single ply it's still very sturdy and did not give me any problems. Cons: This stuff fuzzes like crazy, and felts like crazy. You can shave it of the fuzz, but these mittens have gradually been felting as I play in the snow with them, which is a process you can't undo. If felting is bad for your project (it isn't, for mittens, so I don't mind), you might want to use a less delicate yarn.
There's a little recap of some of my stuff (mostly just because those are my favorite pictures).
March was a busy month with work and trying to get things taken care of. I knit a whole cowl and a whole sock, and half of everything else. Too many works in process! But my March Goal for the year was to knit some baby clothes out of stash wool, and I did finish a Leafy Cardigan that'll probably fit a six month old (not so good with sizes), and half of a stuffed turtle. I think I'll try to do more toys--I want clothes to at least look decent, and my old stash pile is mostly hideous variegated stuff that one really can't expect anyone else to wear.
I also did some serious spinning (6 oz in March; I finished a 7th oz on April 1 and will polish off the 8th oz this week) in an attempt to compete for some cool prizes in a podcast I follow. Unfortunately only 4oz increments count, so I only got one entry. It was good to get inspired, though--I really love a lot of this fiber, but it always produces something very different than what I expect, and it's so exciting to find out what that is.
On the needles: red-and-white badgers scarf; 1 sock for my twin, almost at the heel; almost 1/2 of a hitchhiker that I am doing in handspun and which is very delicate and annoying to work with; and I cast on yesterday for my April goal, to use up this pink Grignasco Champagne that I've reviewed here before. I'm not a pink fan, and especially not a fan of something so pale and delicate, so I'm making a baby dress for another work friend's offspring and I hope that'll get it out of my stash. My sweater still lingers, as does my Shipwreck Shawl, my Spatterdash mitts, and my blanket (I only finished the 1 square).
obligation knitting: I'm down to christmas presents for the most part. Surprises for my older sister, socks for my twin, a big fat fluffy scarf for my friend Robin, and several pairs of complicated fingerless mitts for friends. The mitts are what I've been putting off for years--I love colorwork, but right now I don't feel like doing anything complicated. must be why everything on the needles is garter stitch....
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