Archive for ‘November, 2008’

More November Knittings

There are three finished objects to show today! I’ll get off that Shame Train, yet.

I’ve been on a utilitarian kick, lately, even more so than usual. We’re cold. We want warm stuff. Adrian has yarn and makes warm stuff. :)

Harrisville Striped Vest:

Pattern: made to measure
Yarn: Harrisville Designs New England Highland in Hemlock and Tundra, about 1.5 skeins each, or about 550 yards total
Needle: US 8/5mm and US 6/4mm
Size: 40″, no ease to speak of
Started: October 26, 2008
Completed: November 14, 2008

I knit this in the round, carrying the yarn not in use up the side. This has 7 stitch steeks at the neck and armholes, which I reinforced with crochet (see Eunny Jang’s article) before cutting. Edgings were picked up and knit as usual. For the v-neck edging, I decreased with a K2tog, ssk at the center point every other row. It looks nice, eh?

This yarn’s fantastic. It’s nice and dense-feeling and woolly, but it’s pretty light, so you get a lot of warmth without feeling like you’ve got this big heavy thing on. You can’t get much better than these colors, either.


Another Seaman’s Cap:



Pattern:
Seaman’s Cap by Brenda Zuk, our all time favorite man hat pattern
Yarn: my handspun Shetland wool yarn from my Gannet hand-dyed top, approx. 200 yards of worsted weight
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm and 6/4 mm
Size: Large
Started: October 22, 2008
Completed: November, 14 2008

Mark loves these, they look good on him, so I keep knitting them.

See that church in the background? The priest SPINS. I intend to make him my friend, pretty much whether he likes it or not. (ETA: Small world! It turns out I actually know him, already. I just didn’t know he was a priest. My plan is coming to fruition. Mwuahahah.)


And finally, leg warmers for me!

Pattern: made to measure
Yarn: my handspun Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club May 2008 selection, “Rosebud” Corriedale wool, 250 yards of 14 wpi/sport, plus some extra bit of another handspun yarn for the top ribbing, because I ran out of Rosebud.
Needles: 4? I’ve already forgotten.
Started: November 1, 2008
Completed: November, 18 2008

They’re 15.5” tall, 11” around the top, and 9” around the bottom. My calves are 15” around at the widest point and ankles are 8”. These are fitted and stay up well, but aren’t too tight, even with 4” negative ease at the widest point.

These are knit just like a sleeve. Cast on and rib a bit, and then start increasing 2 sts. per increase row with the increase rows spaced about an inch apart, until you get to the desired upper leg measurement. Work straight and do a bit more ribbing. These are knit at a firm gauge and stay up with absolutely no problem.

This is my third pair (second made for me) and I’ll keep making them. They’re comfy, super warm, and the colors make me happy. You can’t lose!

ETA:

The little Ravelry logo links are courtesy of Max. Find info here (scroll way down).

29 Comments

Favorite Favorite

I’ve been knitting, but obviously not blogging, so I’ve got four (four!!) finished objects to roll out: these mittens, a handspun hat, a vest for Mr. Hello Yarn, and my Noro Taiyo sweater, which still needs to be washed and blocked. I’m on the Shame Train and am determined to get off. Here goes.

FO #1:

Pattern: Chevalier Mittens by Mari Miunonen
Yarn: Rowan Cork in Vapor- a little more than 2 skeins
Needle: size 5 US/3.75mm
Gauge: 5 sts. per inch
Size: women’s medium- about 11.5″ long, 5″ from where thumb is joined to palm and tippy top.

These are just great. I started these in worsted weight (the pattern calls for fingering doubled) and they were loose and wimpy. When I switched to Rowan Cork I hit paydirt. The gauge is TIGHT for Cork and the resulting fabric is really firm, yet soft and cozy- perfect for warm mittens. I think the gauge will help the fabric wear better than Cork usually would.

These were fun to knit and are an ingenious design. The ribbing at the wrist really nips in and makes the mittens fit so well, and the top decreases on the palm side are so attractive. Love them!

These are kind of long in the cuff, at least compared to the mittens I usually knit, so if you wanted to come in under 2 skeins of Cork, you could leave a repeat off the cuff ribbing without a problem.

Stuff I Love Lately:

Tattoos! My husband has a bunch and I have a little one from way back when, but I’ve hemmed and hawed over getting a nice big one for years. My friend Siobhan Creedon has been tattooing Mark for awhile, and I’ve seen her skill go through the roof (she’s relatively new), so when she offered a tattoo, I took her up on it with glee.

I’ve been obsessed with Scherenschnitte lately, particularly Elsita’s, and told Siobhan to go to town with her design, only pointing her in the right direction with a couple of links and my required cast of characters. She sent back a drawing that stopped my heart. A few days later, it was on my arm and I couldn’t be happier. Well, I’ll be happier when I have another one on the other arm. :D

True Blood! Is everyone else watching? Gosh, I love a vampire show.

My new spin dryer. If you dye any amount of fiber or yarn, this thing will make your week! I just used it to spin water out of some handknits and they’re barely damp. I thought our new washing machine (also love, by the way) spun an amazing amount of water out, but wow, the spin dryer goes three times as fast and stuff comes out almost dry. They make a smaller size, too, if you only need one for a single sweater at a time.

The New House- We’re settling in so well. Our neighbors are fantastic- one made me a wool-drying basket as a housewarming present and has taken me antique shopping, another educated us in where to shop for smoked meat (boy, was she right), we’ve been to a movie at the local theater, complete with bat flying around while we snacked on dollar popcorn, and the house renovations have been slow, but sure.

Fiber Club-It’s going out this week. My new dye room is fantastic. Have I shown you the sink? I am in love with the sink. I’ve got everything working like clockwork in that room. It’s small, but I laid things out very well, so it’s completely comfortable and I zoom along.

As soon as the club ships, I’ll be in there, dyeing up a STORM, I’ll tell ya. I plan on doing some Fiddlehead Kits that I’ll put up for sale in a sneak-attack fashion and a shop update, which I can’t wait to do.

I’ll be back soon with more knits!

56 Comments