WIP: Ginny's Cardigan

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You might think that with all of the work I have been doing on the house that I have been neglecting my other pursuits, like sewing and knitting.  The truth is that I still try to sneak these in whenever I have a bit of downtime (e.g. when I am too exhausted to stand).  Ginny’s Cardigan if from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits Special issue of Interview Knits that was published in 2013.  The issue features several great looking patters inspired by the Harry Potter books, and even has a few good patterns for men.  

Ginny’s Cardigan is a DK weight stocking knit cardigan with a lace owl motif on the back. I have been knitting it for a few months now, and I am finally nearing the sleeve.  So far the knitting has gone very well, and I have found the pattern well written and easy to understand.  The designer has also written a few helpful blog posts to assist in altering it.  The only alterations I have made so far are changing my needle size to get gauge, adding a few extra short rows to the bust shaping, and lowering the bust shaping slightly to accommodate my curves.  I really love how it is turning out so far, and I am excited to finish it. 

 

FO - Hitchhiker Shawl

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Pattern: The Hitchhiker Shawl by Martina Behm 

Yarn:  Gerwerken Knits Socks (yes, it’s my hand dyed!  Stay Tuned!)

Needles: US 2,

Began: Approx. 5/1/2013

Completed: Approx. 6/8/2013

  

Martina Behm is my new favorite pattern designer!  Her shawls are wonderful.  They use simple shapes, lots of garter stitch, and are designed to use the amount of yarn that you actually have, so they are great for stash busting or a special skein.  I love that they are feminine without being lacy.

I have been very inspired by all of the wonderful garter stitch shawls out lately.  Designers like Martina, Veera Välimäki,  and Ysolda Teague have recently shown how beautiful and versatile garter stitch can be.  It is nice to focus on color and form without worrying about which stitch to use, and whether you will be able to block the finished object enough that the edges don’t roll up.

I already have Martina’s other patterns inspired by the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, and will probably start another one when I am finished with Liesl, although her Leftie shawl is very tempting as well!  All of the little leaves would showcase some hand dyed yarn very nicely.  Then again, there is a world of patterns out there that is growing all of the time…

 

Asheville Yarn Shops

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While Fire Beard and I were in North Carolina I visited a few yarn stores up in Ashville.  Ashville, if you are not familiar with the city, could easily be referred to as the Portland of the South East.  It is packed with Locally Owned stores, coffee roasters, breweries, street musicians, and crafters.  I am a big fan.

Downtown, on Wall street, a few store fronts from a climbing gym and vegan friendly restaurant, is Purl.  It is the only yarn store I have ever been in that had more male customers than female, and the only yarn store I have ever been in that is organized primarily by color.  I expect it would be a dream come true for a yarn driven knitter, but as a pattern driven knitter, the yarn organization is not my cup of tea.  I find it hard to find what I am looking for at Purl without asking for help, but it is wonderful visual inspiration.

I was very happy to see truly local, North Carolina Spun yarn represented at Purl.  The local yarn was a surprisingly competitive price, but I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the spinning.  The local yarn that I saw was inconsistently spun singles.  It looked lumpy, rather than artistically thick and thin.  I did not buy any.   Nevertheless, it was very nice to see a local product, and I plan to buy some next time if the quality is better.

We also stopped at Yarn Paradise, on the south side of Ashville, and there I did buy a couple of skeins.

Yarn Paradise is a fairly average, but well run yarn store.  It has a large selection of well-known yarn brands, and the staff was friendly, helpful, and quick to steer me toward the sales.  I picked up two skeins of Malabrigo Finito in Paloma, a yarn Malabrigo produces only once a year from the finest quality wool available.  It is incredibly soft and beautiful.  I think it may become a scarf or small shawl.

I still have a few yarn stores to visit next time I’m in Ashville, and I am hoping I will find one that has the character and personality of Purl, with the management of Yarn Paradise.  Any recommendations?

A is for Angora

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Angora Bunny Three in a row that are all about fiber!  I know, I found it frustrating too.  That is just how things popped up in alphabetical order.  I promise the next 2 will not be fiber related.

On with the show:

Angora fiber comes from the Angora rabbit, a group of domestic rabbits bread for their long silky “wool.”  Angoras come in several arbitrarily defined breeds, based on their physical appearance.  The most common breeds in the US are the English, French, Giant, and Satin (the English – my favorite – are the smallest and look most like giant cotton balls).

Regardless of their breed, angoras produce a very fine, extremely light weight, and warm fiber.  In fact, Angora fiber is only 10 microns in diameter, far finer than even cashmere.  Like Alpaca, it is also 8 times warmer than sheep’s wool.  It will even keep you warm when saturated with twice as much water as sheep’s wool can hold.  As a result of its warmth and diameter, angora is often blended with other fibers like wool or silk to reduce the yarn’s density and increase its wear-ability.

Angora fiber can be harvested thru traditional shearing or clipping methods, but the fiber also sheds in tufts and can be painlessly plucked from the rabbit during grooming.  The best part is that the plucked fiber is also considered the highest grade. This fiber can then be spun directly off the rabbit, and washed after it is spun.

Angora yarn is known for being extremely fuzzy and somewhat delicate.  While this is often true, it is the result of using low quality, short fibers that have not been spun tightly enough.  Since angora has little crimp and the individual fibers are smooth, angora must be spun rather tightly to get a structurally sound yarn.  Correct twist, combined with higher quality, longer staple length fibers yield a strong, stable yarn.

I have been trying to find an excuse to get an English Angora for a while now, but using it’s fiber to enhance my stash is not a viable excuse so far.  Here in Florida it is simply too hot to wear more than about 5% Angora fiber on even the coldest days.  Even one bunny would produce more fiber than I need at my current knitting rate.  Maybe if we move farther north……

Knitting ABCs: A is for Acrylic

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I have been working on a project tutorial for you all, but it is taking me a while.  It has allowed me to do a bit of thinking however, and the current tutorial in the works inspired the Knitting ABCs.  Today.....

is for Acrylic

Acrylic yarn is a synthetic yarn made from a polymer of about 1900 monometer units. At least 85% of that polymer must be acrylonitnile monometer in the US to be called acrylic.  The yarn is made by dissolving the polymer, then extruding through a spinnerette, which spins what it extrudes.

Although acrylic yarn often resembles wool, it doesn’t need to be taken care of as carefully as wool.  Acrylic yarn is machine washable, and dryable on cool settings, and unlike wool, moths hate acrylic.  It is also much lighter weight than that other favorite machine washable, cotton.   It also tends to be inexpensive compared to natural fibers and other synthetics, and is safe for people with wool allergies.

Acrylic is very susceptible to heat however.  Steam blocking acrylic will “kill” it, getting rid of all of its bounce back.  That is not really a problem though, because acrylic doesn’t really block anyway.  It can also irritate sensitive skin, or in the case of really cheap, plastically acrylic, all skin.  Additionally, it is not as warm as wool or absorbent as cotton.

Lion Brand Jiffy Yarn 100% Acrylic

What would I make with acrylic?  Something I have to wash, a lot, and needs to be lighter, and cheap.  What do I make with acrylic?  Almost nothing.  Just about the only things I knit in acrylic are gifts that I would rather knit in wool, but I know the recipient would machine wash.

Do you have a suggestion for the Knitting ABCs?  Let me know by leaving me a comment.

FO - Grandma's Knit Slippers

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My Grandmother lost her husband this last year.  I know that I can't give her anything to make up for that loss, but I wanted to give her something that would comfort her in her greiving.  I hope she feels that these slippers are like a little hug from me every time she puts them on.

They were made from the Plain of Flowerly Slippery Pattern, which is available as a download from Ravelry as well.  I made them in Lion Brand, Jiffy Solid, an Acrylic yarn, that I knew my grandmother wouldn't have any problem careing for, and was already familiar with (unlike the newer superwash wools, which she is sure to treat like regular wool).  
Even though the flowers will make them slightly harder to care for, I thought they were important to add.  They are my version of my Grandmother's favorite flower, a yellow rose.
~Merry Christmas

Welcome to SAFF

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The event floor.

Last Thursday Gadabout Knitter, myself, and our husbands set off in pursuit of fiber, and were awarded with SAFF. This was my first fiber festival, and while the event was a bit smaller than I expected, I was not dissapointed. There was fiber galore, of various types, and price points, and quantities, as well as in every state from unwashed, to hand dyed pencil roving, to finished yarn. Even in this relatively small venue the sheer amount and variety of fiber was a bit overwhelming.

I quickly became glad that I came armed with a plan of attack and a set amount of spending money (I gave my husband the plastic, just in case). I had planned to find small amounts of a variety of fibers. I did not want blends (although I did buy a few), because I want to spin each fiber by itself to see how it feels and behaves, and take notes on my preferences - like a wine journal. I purchased a very wide variety of fiber types (details and pictures to follow), and was able to stay well within my budget ... to my surprise.

Since we have been back life has been in chaos getting the kids back on schedule, unpacking, and finding space for all of my loot. In addition, Halloween is tomorrow night, and costumes must be made.

More of SAFF, my "new" office space, and Halloween to come.

Leaving for SAFF

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Tomorrow Gadabout Knitter, myself, and our husbands leave for SAFF. I am very excited, but already feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fiber I will be exposed to. It should be fun.

Unfortunately the Holly Jacket is STILL not finished, but I still have a 8 hour car trip to North Carolina during which I can work on it. If Dramamine does it's job, I may have two finished sleeves when I get there.

Wish us luck in fiber foraging.

Holly's Front is Finished

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I don't know how it is possible, but it happened. About an hour ago I bound off the front panels of the Holly Jacket. I still have sleeves and the finishing to go, but it seems possible that I could actually finish this sweater in time for SAFF. Thank God for half sleeves!

In other news....
One of my best friends came to visit us this past weekend, just in time for Violet's party. He had to leave today, but it was wonderful having him visit. He seems to be able to come home, sit down, and magically integrate as if no time had passed at all. His birthday was a few days before the party, and even with the craziness of the party planning, I was able to make him a special little something for his birthday (probably because I started several weeks in advance of his visit).

He is a doctor currently in his residency in Maine. Hand knits seem the obvious gift, but after a conversation in which he told me that "everyone" in Maine was knitting, I decided to make him something a bit less ordinary. The following was the result;I did an embroidery of a human heart, mounted it, and framed it. The original mat was white, which did nothing to highlight the needlework. So I painted the mat blue, to bring to mind blue blood, in contrast to the red blood implied in the work.

Off for now to cast on the sleeves.

Turning 3

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The first event of my holiday season, my daughter's birthday, is officially over, and I couldn't be more happy. Yesterday we had a Super Secret Super Spy birthday party. The theme was taken directly from the Backyardigans special, "Super Spy." My daughter wanted to dress as the Lady in Pink, the bad guy in the story (I hope that doesn't imply any more than a love for pink). Jack-Jack was dressed as Agent Secret, Mr. Incredible as Henchman Tyrone, and I as Ms. T, head of the spy agency, per Violet's request.

Everyone was asked to dress in full spy garb for the party. This request was taken very seriously by some.

Those who didn't come prepared were outfitted with spy costumes at the party.

Then all of the "secret agents" went on super secret missions to find four secret containers, which contained a super secret recipe for........chocolate milk. It was great fun, and even the adults got involved; however, they didn't dance when the mission required it.

Now that the party is over I can focus on finishing my Holly Jacket. I still think I have a chance at finishing it before SAFF, if I neglect the housework and let the kids watch far more TV than normal. I finally got enough time after the party today to finish the arm hole decreases, and the front panels seem as if they are on the home stretch, which always motivates me to finish. Only about 5 more inches.

Obviously the party planning has been keeping me away from both my knitting and my blog, but it is not the only thing I have been doing. With luck I will get the opportunity to give you a glimpse of those other things that have been in the works.

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The weekend is finally here, and I have found some time to knit. My husband has had to work late nearly every night for the last two weeks leaving me at home for long periods with two toddlers. While I have very good kids, and I love them very much, they can be trying at times, especially when they don't understand why Papa is not home yet. I also rely heavily on my husband to give me time for myself during the week, and his not being home reduces the amount of time I can spend pursuing my own interests (such as knitting and blogging). My wonderful mother-in-law understands this, and took the kids to the park this morning, leaving to luxuriate in yarn, and uninterrupted time. This morning has seemed like quite the luxury!

My Holly Jackets is slowly creeping toward completion. The back, and half of the front is now complete. As the sleeves are about half length rather than full length, I still have hopes that the jacket will be finished in time for me to wear it to SAFF. I would like to have a few more hand knits to wear to SAFF, but despite the insane amount of knitting I do, I have found that I actually spend very little time knitting for myself. I knit mostly for others, and gift nearly all of my projects. I don't feel that this is necessarily bad, knitters in general seem to knit for others very often in very unselfish ways. However, my situation reminds me of the plumber who fixes leaks for a living, yet has leaky pipes in his/her own home. I shouldn't knit for others at the expense of myself. Like the loved ones I take care of by wrapping in hand knits, I need to take care of my self as well. I think that caring for others at the expense of oneself is a trap that many care givers fall into, and we have to be reminded at times to spend time on ourselves.

In the spirit of doing for myself I cast on the bag pictured above. The basic pattern is The French Market Bag from Knitty. I made the same bag for my sister in a more subdued color scheme, and have wanted one for myself ever since. The color work shown in this bag is my own doing, and has been designed on the fly, by pulling scraps out of my bag and guessing by the amount available the design I can make. I am really loving this project, and am finding it calling my name when I should be finishing the Holly Jacket.

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The weekend is finally here, and I have found some time to knit. My husband has had to work late nearly every night for the last two weeks leaving me at home for long periods with two toddlers. While I have very good kids, and I love them very much, they can be trying at times, especially when they don't understand why Papa is not home yet. I also rely heavily on my husband to give me time for myself during the week, and his not being home reduces the amount of time I can spend pursuing my own interests (such as knitting and blogging). My wonderful mother-in-law understands this, and took the kids to the park this morning, leaving to luxuriate in yarn, and uninterrupted time. This morning has seemed like quite the luxury!

My Holly Jackets is slowly creeping toward completion. The back, and half of the front is now complete. As the sleeves are about half length rather than full length, I still have hopes that the jacket will be finished in time for me to wear it to SAFF. I would like to have a few more hand knits to wear to SAFF, but despite the insane amount of knitting I do, I have found that I actually spend very little time knitting for myself. I knit mostly for others, and gift nearly all of my projects. I don't feel that this is necessarily bad, knitters in general seem to knit for others very often in very unselfish ways. However, my situation reminds me of the plumber who fixes leaks for a living, yet has leaky pipes in his/her own home. I shouldn't knit for others at the expense of myself. Like the loved ones I take care of by wrapping in hand knits, I need to take care of my self as well. I think that caring for others at the expense of oneself is a trap that many care givers fall into, and we have to be reminded at times to spend time on ourselves.

In the spirit of doing for myself I cast on the bag pictured above. The basic pattern is The French Market Bag from Knitty. I made the same bag for my sister in a more subdued color scheme, and have wanted one for myself ever since. The color work shown in this bag is my own doing, and has been designed on the fly, by pulling scraps out of my bag and guessing by the amount available the design I can make. I am really loving this project, and am finding it calling my name when I should be finishing the Holly Jacket.

Travel Knitting

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I actually accomplished a lot of knitting while traveling to and from Austin; however, I didn't even take the Holly Jacket despite the fact that I am trying to finish it before SAFF. When I left for Austin I was working on the two front panels of the jacket, each with their own balls of yarn. I would have had to take the jacket, both balls of yarn that were being worked, and at least one extra ball in case I finished either of the first two. It being a short trip we were packing carry on bags only, leaving only the room in my purse/knitting bag for all of my knitting supplies. The Holly jacket was just too big to take on the trip.

Instead I decided to start the Tuscany shawl from No Sheep for You, by Amy Singer. I already had the beautiful Handmaiden Sea Silk called for in the pattern, purchased and waiting for me cast on. As I would just be starting the shawl, and one skein for the Sea Silk would be more than enough for the trip, I decided it would make much better travel knitting, and cast on. Granted I really didn't need much convincing.

The sea silk is a joy to work with. Like the cotton I am making the Holly Jacket from, it has very little elasticity. Unlike the cotton, the sea silk slides gracefully from one needle to the next forming elegant and well defined stitches. As an added bonus, the unblocked lace pattern formed in the sea silk, actually looks like the finished lace pattern, making it very easy to catch mistakes early on. Despite it's high price (about $40 US per skein), Sea Silk will be high on my list of yarn choices for future lace patterns.

The Width of Ribbing

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A quick and easy way to add curve hugging shape to a boxy sweater is to add ribbing. The question is, how much ribbing? Equal ribbing (ex. 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, etc.) is about half as wide as StSt in the same stitch count.

For example, if 20 sts in StSt is 4 inches wide, the same 20 sts would be 2 inches wide in equal ribbing.
x inches in StSt = x/2 inches in equal rib

Holly Jacket

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I finally finished the back of the Holly Jacket from Interweave Knits' Spring 2008 issue. I had to modify it a bit, because I have a VERY long torso, but my waist is the same distance from my hips as a "normally" proportioned person. I ended up adding a few inches (yes, I said inches) to the length between the arm shaping and the shoulder, making it 9.5" long - the same length as a 50.5" jacket, even though I am knitting the 37.5" jacket. Based on my measurements I should actually make it longer, but I am counting on the cotton to stretch under it's own weight.

The was a few instructions in the pattern that I found rather vague. When you begin the neck shaping for the back, you cast of a middle section of sts, and then are instructed to work on both sides at once. The pattern then states, "At each neck edge, BO 2 sts once, then 1 st once - 10 sts rem each side. Shape Shoulders: BO 5 sts at each shoulder 2 times - no sts rem."

Which side of the shoulder are you supposed to BO? Your guess is as good as mine. After carefully reading the instructions for the front portions of the sweater, this is what I came up with;

on the set of sts 1st presenting (the set that has the original ball attached)
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: BO 2, P to end
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: BO 1, P to end
Shape Shoulder
Row 5: BO 5, K to end
Row 6: Purl
Row 7: BO 5 (no sts remain)

on 2nd set of sts
Row 1: BO 2, k to end
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: BO 1, k to end
Row 4: BO 5, P to end
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: BO 5 (no sts remain)

Okay. Off to Cast on the fronts.

Husband Interview

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I saw this little interview on Gadabout knitter's blog, and I had to interview my own husband. So here goes...

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
Him: It’s a hobby that you really enjoy that also produces really practical things.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Him: Sometimes you tend to get “tunnel vision” regarding your projects.
Me: What do you mean by “tunnel vision”?
Him: A hyper focused state where every spare moment is spent seeing that to completion.

Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as being good?
Him: All of the sweaters you have done have been beautiful. I really get a lot of use out of my socks, and I tried to eat the sushi. I coughed it back up, it was too dry.

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Him: Compared to cyclists, no.

Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Him: (Evil smile) Oh, yes.

Me: What are your hobbies?
Him: Cycling, rock climbing, automotive repair, civil disobedience.

Me: If we compared money spent on hobbies, who would win?
Him: Are you seriously asking me that?
Me: Yes.
Him: I think this is the first time I have won something that I had completely and totally no desire to win.

Me: Has my knitting in public ever embarrassed you?
Him: Of all the things you could do in public that is probably the least likely thing you could do to embarrass me.

Me: Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Him: Malabridgo. Is it?
Me: That is one of my favorites.
Him: Ah…... wait, ohh. The kind you are going to make with the bag of wool in the garage.

Me: Can you name another blog?
Him: (cracks knuckles), Gadabout Knitter, um, that chic that runs wooly bully has one, there is a thread on Ravelry about willy warmers, Debbie Stoller (hopeful look), the Australian guy that gets looked at funny on the railway (Sticks and String).

Me: Do you mind that I want to check out yarn stores everywhere we go?
Him: Nope.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Him: (thinking) I think I do; you use it to figure out if the gauge needles you use work for the yarn. Essentially you use it to size up and yarn and needles for the project.

Me: Do you read my blog?
Him: Uh huh (Nods head)

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
Him: (nose scrunch) I think I have.
Me: I don’t think you have.
Him: If I didn’t I’ve meant to.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
Him: I think the house has been cleaner since you have been knitting.

Me: Is there anything you would like to add in closing?
Him: A closing statement? I think any hobby is beneficial in that it provides relief from our life’s work. The point at which a hobby becomes an obsession is when it needs reevaluation. I am qualifying obsession as something that would cause you to loose site of your responsibilities and duties.
Me: Are you trying to tell me something?
Him: You specifically, no. This is for everyone.

The Knitting - Free Patterns

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It has, yet again, been a while since I have posted on the knitting, but fear not! Knitting has been accomplished.

This ice cream cone was made on the trip to NOLA (no small feat since I get really bad motion sickness). It is from the scooped pattern by I like lemons.My daughter was also a big fan of the corn I made.

Ravioli - Free Pattern #1
I love this quick, little sewing pattern.
Directions: Cut off-white felt into 3"x3" squares. With two pieces of felt together, sew around three sides (leaving 1" seam allowance), stuff the square with a small amount of filling, then finish sewing the last side. Using pinking shears cut a small amount off the edges of the piece. Voila! Quick , easy, adorable.

Spicy Tuna - Free Pattern #2
This one is mixed media, but mostly knitting. Some hand sewing is involved.Using worsted weight yarn in US6 needles.
CO 10 in yellow.
Knit in StSt for two inches.
Switch to white, and knit in seed stitch until the seed stitch portion is long enough to loosely wrap around the yellow part two times - about 5 inches.
BO.
In red CO 3 sts in work in i-cord till the cord is 1 inch taller than width of previous piece. BO.
In red CO 3 sts in work in i-cord till the cord is 2 inch taller than width of previous piece. BO.
Tie in all ends.

Place red pieces on yellow part of roll. With red pieces flush with one side of the roll, and beginning with the yellow end, tightly roll the sushi until the white part has wrapped around twice (adjust rolling tension if necessary). Fasten end of roll to the rest of the roll.

Cut dark green felt the height of the roll, and long enough to wrap around the roll once. Using invisible thread, fasten the ends of the felt together.

Run a few pieces of invisible thread the entire width of the roll, being careful to catch the red middle pieces. With invisible thread fasten anywhere else that needs to be secured.

Hop you like it!