Archive for the ‘Knitting’ Category
Like a Hobbit
Like a hobbit, I like to give presents away on my birthday. So when you are tired, feeling stressed out and wishing away the cares of life, watch this. If your computer will support it, watch it in HD on full screen. I love this video. It makes me so happy to know I like in the same world as this magnificent creatures.
Enjoy
More give aways to come. Cheers
Off To See The Wizzard
Off to collect the new knee tomorrow. A tincy bit nervous. I am a real coward when it comes to pain. My computer is in the room over the garage, so climbing up here has been painful. I got the folks to move the older computer downstairs. Wonder why I didn’t think of that before. I have a new very cute notebook. Once I have stopped crying like a baby I can check in online. I want to thank everyone for all there good thoughts. Much appreciated.
Grace I love you beautiful new shawls. It is like watching someone make magic. Marie, I love your new sock madness! You can stop buying sock yarn now. Opal Uni is a bit thinner then the patterned Opal. The stuff wears like iron.
Looking for some eye candy? Check out this Beautiful shawl. It will probably show up on Rav, when she gets its around to posting it. Consider it a sneak preview 
How about these socks. From the new German Knitting book Socken aus aller Welt. I love this pattern, but I think I can do it without the book. I need another sock pattern book like I need an hole in my head.
See y’all in a few weeks. Dawn is watching for me. And she will let you know if I am still around or if there will be a big yard sale on knitting stuff. Toodles folks!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful Christmas, and a peaceful New Year. Next year Santa is going to bring me a new knee and I will be dancing again.
We are having fishcakes spaghetti and cole slaw for Christmas Eve. And we will be watching the Griswald Christmas. Our holiday tradition. I think you need to be from the north east to understand the food. :-}
Christmas we switch geographic locations and will be having ham, sweet potatoes and greens of some sort. Heading out to the Farmers Market to see what they have. Collards really taste best after a freeze. And we have had one. If my mother were still alive we would be having home made ravioli. Ain’t going to happen, I am too lazy.
Still working on Dawn’s Gnome. I know it is a quicky pattern but I have lost my knitting mojo. It will get done soon. And it isn’t really for the holidays.
Merry Christmas Everyone, even the Brits.
Jean’s Hat Drive
Another hat for Jean’s hat drive. If you hate knitting hats, try mittens or scarves. These people are cold. And if you hate knitting those items, but love winning prizes head over to Jean’s http://scottishlamb.typepad.com/ and check out the goodies. Holy Cow knitters. It is like knitters heaven.
What if you are knitting for the holidays. Is everyone on your knitting list crazy about handmade goodies? I know some people would rather not. But here is a group of men (mostly) would will love and cherish the things you knit for them. They live on the streets and they are cold, really cold. Why they are living on the streets, isn’t our concern just now. What is our concern is helping them to warm up. We can do this, right now. No big expensive programs, no politicians or even church leaders. Us, all of us we can help someone we don’t know, and will probably never, know be warmer this winter.
Forget Uncle Max’s scarf, you know in your heart he would rather have something from the shops. Knit one thing for someone who will be grateful and think warm thoughts back at you at least for a moment. And moments are all any of us has.
Off the soapbox
This hat is knit with Elann Highland Chunky wool. On size 8 needles. The whole hat is slip stitched for extra warmth. I threw in a few rows of Elann Highland Wool, ruby doubled. It broke up the sea of dark blue. And the yarn is really dark in person, Navy blue dark. My camera seems to have a mind of its own today.
As a break from hats, I cast on this morning for a pair of mitens. Elann Bag yarn. Which is yummy and soft. I have to give my hands a chance to heal, after being poked to death by those #$@%^ Options needles. The only needles I had in size 8. I have bandaides on the index and thumb of my right hand and on the index finger of my left hand. I keep swearing I will never knit with them again. I need to buy some non lethal needles in larger sizes. Who knew I would ever need needles that weren’t sock needles
Hats for Jean
Jean The Scottish Lamb is collecting wool hats to be given to the homeless in New York City. Please go to her site and check out the super fabulous prizes she is giving out. You won’t believe how wonderful they are.
I have managed one hat. Double strands of Elann Highland Wool on size 10 and 10 1/2 needles. It is just 1×1 ribbing for most of the hat, then stockinette stitch for the top. It looks better in person then in the picture. The yarn is one strand ruby one strand grey heather. I hope it keeps someone nice and warm.
Please, please go visit Jean’s blog and maybe knit a hat
Only my affection for Jean, could make me knit 7 inches of 1×1 ribbing. I Hate ribbing
Fetching
I think this pattern can be a quick holiday gift. I also think you could get a pair out of one ball of Elann Highland Wool. I made the cuff a bit longer on mine so I used more then the one ball.
The pattern as written is too large for my hands. My wrist only measures 6 1/2 inches around. So some mods were needed. I decided to do one less repeat of the pattern and work 40 stitches, instead of the called for 45 stitches. I also didn’t care for the flared out cuff that most of the pictures of the finished mitts showed. I believe this is caused by the cable starting just four rows from the beginning of the mitt
Elann Highland Wool, Bright Blue (discontinued color)
Size 5 and 6 circs.
With the size 5 I cast on 35 stitches. I did 4 rows of garter stitch. Then increased to 40 stitches and started the pattern. I did 5 rows of the ribbing before the first cable crossing. This has reduced the cuff flair.
I could have done more cables, since I wanted a longer cuff. But decided to just do the ribbing.
After the thumb, I did 5 rows of the ribbing pattern. Then the cable, then 5 more rows of the ribbing. I decreased back to 35 stitches and did 4 rows of garter stitch.
On the first mitt I did the cable just above the thumb. I really didn’t care for how this felt. Sort of bunching where you thumb and hand come together. On the second mitt I eliminated the cable above the thumb and it feels a lot more comfortable.
Thumb. The pattern calls for the Afterthought Thumb. If you can wrap your mind around the fact that you are going to have holes and they can be fixed. You will be a lot happier with your knitting. I repaired mine by using only two ply’s of the yarn. This makes the repair a lot less bulky.
I worked the thumb with the size 5 needle and decreased two stitches. Ended with garter stitch. I think I would skip this or only do two rows, when I do this pattern again.
I am knitting this pattern for my daughter who has larger hands. I will add a purl stitch between the cable columns and only do the cable crossings on the front of the mitt. Which means you need to be careful where you place the thumb.
It is pouring rain outside so the color is not really true.
Afghans For Afghans Socks
I think this will be my last pair of socks for the current campaign. The yarn is Ella Rae Classic something. It runs like mad. Five washes before it ran clear. But the socks still seem nice and bright.
Winging Worsted Weight Socks from Stitches of Violet. But I broke out of the box and did Fleegle’s short row heel.
I can’t tell you how proud I am of this heel. First short row heel that didn’t look like Swiss Cheese heel. It is dead easy. And that is saying a lot from someone who only likes to decreases.
Cast on 40 stitches. 1/3% of the 40 stitches for the ribbing. 2/3 of 40 stitches for the leg. Short row heel. 40 stitches for the foot and decrease away for the toe. Done and Done.
Dawn’s gloves. The glove pattern from Ann Budd’s Knitting Patterns. Very basic. Only one change. Instead of casting on two backward loops between the front and back of the finger. I kfb in the last stitch and kfb in the first stitch. I am doing this with two circs. I think it makes a neater join. A lot of cheek since I have never knitted a glove before.
The yarn is Opal Lollipop purple something. The band is long gone. I am using 2.25 needles getting 10spi. Since I have so much yarn, I offered to match the fingers up yarn pattern wise. Dawn told me to get over it. She likes the weird effect. She has been looking at glove patterns at Ravelry.
This would have been much easier if I had some sportsweight yarn. Which I don’t, but I will soon. They fit so far and she likes them. What the heck else could a knitter ask for :-}
Thats My Girl
Dawn has been asking me for fingerless mitts to wear when she is out photographing in the cold weather. She picked out the yarn from my stash. Fearless Fibers Hendricks. A beautiful merino in shades of purple. It is hand wash, probably not a clever choice for gloves of mitts. And it is fingering weight. The pattern calls for DK or Sportsweight. The pattern is Spirogyra from the Spring Knitty. If this patterns looks familiar it is very like the Tidal Wave sock pattern. What I had were hands that were larger then the pattern, and yarn that was finer then the pattern. Nothing like a bit of a challenge, right? I swatched a bit. Adding one repeat was still too small, adding two repeats made it too large. Instead I added a stitch to each repeat. This gave me 8 extra stitches around. Perfecto. It also made each repeat two rows longer. Also good for Dawn’s larger hands. I cast on with the 3.25mm needles and did the ribbing with them. Then I switched to the 2.75mm for the rest of the mitt. This gave me a nicer fabric. The best part is they are done they fit and she loves them. I would like to give making gloves for her next. She always ends up having to buy mens gloves. And that is no fun at all. I think (hahaha) I can do fingers. We shall see.
Great News
I pestered anyone who had the Elann Puzzle yarn in their stash at Ravelry. I have no shame. I pleaded charity knitting, I begged, I threw freezing children into their minds. A wonderful lady LisaknitsinGAanswered me. She was glad to get rid of the yarn and I was glad to buy it. I have the yarn at hand now. I am going to frog the front down to the ribbing. Then add the new yarn so the front and back match. For the sleeves I think I will stick to just the blue on blue sock yarn. And I will be so glad to sew that puppy up. I have till Oct. to get it done.
In the mean time I have been knitting socks for the RavOlympics. These are also for A4A Youth push. Patons Classic Merino in the brightest colors I could find. I am using
stitchesofviolet sock generator. Works like a charm. It is based on a percentage system. Sort of like EZ. I cast on 40 stitches. 1/3 of the cast on amount for the ribbing then the remaining 2/3 for the leg. One third for the heel flap and the remaining 2/3 for the foot. This system will also work on adult socks in fingering weight yarn. The only thing I would do different for an adult sock is to make sure to measure for the heel flap and adjust the rows knitted for that. I knitted the heel flap on the kids socks a bit longer. If it is too large the sock will bunch up around the ankle. But if the heel flap is too short, the sock will pull under the foot and be uncomfortable and wear out more quickly.
The green pair are knit plain. Eye of The Partridge heel stitch, with a garter stitch edge. The toe is a bastard version of round toe. It took me a day to do each sock. But I am a really slow knitter. People are knocking out a pair in a day.
The Hot Pink sock (It is s truly eye blinding pink) is Garter Rib with the same heel as the green pair. I should finish this tonight and cast on for the second one.
Thank you everyone for you suggestions on fixing the sweater yarn debacle. I really appreciate it
oh crap
I finished the back of the garter knit sweater. As I said before I was using two strands of sock yarn with the Elann highland wool. The carry along yarns are a rather violent mix of yellow, blue, green and red. I am about half way up the front and took a good look at it. The two balls of sock yarn I have left are blue, green, red and white. No yellow. If I had look more closely I would have seen they were different color numbers. But I didn’t 
As a result the front look much lighter and cooler then the back. I don’t know what to do. I don’t see much chance of finding anymore of the yarn with the yellow. I tried Elann and Ravelry, no luck. I could frog the back I guess. What do you think?
