Archive for ‘January, 2009’

Finished Object: Wham Bam Thank You Lamb!

on January 4, 2009

Over the holidays I knit a ton of small projects, including cowls, neck warmers, and several pairs of Toast mitts, all of which I’ll blog about. This neck warmer is the most functional of the bunch, and my new favorite.

Pattern: Wham Bam Thank You Lamb! by Insaknitty
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Polar Morn, held double
Needle: 10.5 US
How Long to Knit: 4 out of the 7 episodes of Deadwood we watched on New Year’s Day. We watched the last 7 episodes with a Boston friend who was out visiting and who’d watched the whole series with us on DVD over the last year. I saw the series when it was on HBO, and thankfully managed to hold myself together for the ending this time. Last time, I burst into uncontrollable sobbing at the closing credits. Is The Wire going to do that to me, as well? I’m a little scared and we’re only on season 3. I might love Omar a little too much. (Don’t spoil me!)



Mods:
I cast on 35 sts. instead of 25 and knit until the yarn ran out.

I did a provisional cast on and when I got to almost the end of the yarn, cast off 20 or so sts., grafted the rest together, then cast off the remaining sts. No pesky seam. :) Don’t forget to have the last row of stitches on the top needle be knits and the bottom row (last knit) have purls up against the needle when you graft in garter.

I’m a Malabrigo convert. This is so soft I forget I have it on. It looks awesome with my new coat, as well. :)

Fiber Club!
It’s been shipped. This is a newish fiber, which I don’t sell in the shop, but will right away. It’s great stuff!

Take a peek?

It’s good to be the dyer (spoiler). The fiber club has gotten so big that my formerly little bag of fiber tails has grown to a 2 lb. 10 oz. bag of tails this time. I was planning on making Mr. HelloYarn a vest (he’s been alternating his two knitted vests every other day, the poor sausage), but cripes, I can make a vest and a sweater from this haul! Maybe matching Adrian, Mark, and Pippa sweaters?

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Finished Object: Handspun Rayne Wrap Cardigan

on January 2, 2009

This project had to be a secret because it was my mom’s Christmas present. It was a big one!

It was fun, too. This sweater is as simple as sweaters get, which makes it such a great canvas for interesting yarn. The yarn I used was my handspun 2 ply from some gigantic wool/alpaca batts purchased at Rhinebeck from Spinners Hill. I liked spinning it so much, I bought another 2 lbs. of batts last fall at Rhinebeck. Their booth is heavenly!

The Facts:
Pattern: Rayne Wrap Cardigan by Laura Chau
Yarn: my handspun 2 ply worsted weight yarn, approx. 1275 yards, or 155 fewer than the pattern calls for. Why so much less yarn, I don’t know!
Needle: 6.5mm
Gauge: 3 sts. per inch
Size: 48″
Started: May 2008 (spinning) and November 2008 (knitting)
Finished: December 2008

The Spinning:
The prep was a little on the rustic side, so it was a fun spin. The yarn is lumpy and bumpy with streaks of red and orange alpaca set in an olive green wool base. This was the perfect yarn for such a simple garment. Any fancy stitch pattern would have been lost with all the blobs and bumps and streaks. The alpaca gives the yarn great drape, which is fantastic in this pattern. This, in addition to the loose gauge for the yarn weight makes the sweater flowing and so comfortable, as well as flattering.

The Knitting:
The knitting of this sweater is very simple. There’s minimal shaping and seed stitch is the most complicated stitch. It would be perfect for the beginner who doesn’t mind spending some serious time knitting. The 6 foot long rectangle took even speedy me some time to knit!

The Verdict:
Success. Mom likes it, it’s flattering as hell, and so comfy. It’s beautiful enough for dress up and so comfy I’d want to wear it to snuggle up in on the sofa all evening.

Many apologies for the lack of modeled shots. I meant to get some, but the holidays took over and I just plain forgot. Now, the sweater lives far away.

Fiber Club!
It’s going out today and tomorrow. Again, many apologies for the lateness. Losing Shambles and the holidays kicked our production’s butt.

Sign-ups for returning fiber club members will start in about 2 weeks. I’ll give plenty of notice here. I’ll also be putting up a self-signup for new members who want to be in line for the club.

Shambles:
So many thanks for your kind words about him. I haven’t responded to all the comments, as it’s really hard to read them, but thanks. Your thoughts mean the world to me.

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