Category Archives: Knitting

Destined for frogging

Posted on 30 May 2016 by Kris

I still knit the occasional dud project; in fact I’ve knit two over the past couple of years. I did want to document them before I rip them out, so… here goes.

I wanted a cropped sweater for a couple of outfits, so I whipped one up:

Minimal

Yarn: Cascade 220 in color 4002
Needles: US5 / 3.75mm and US6 / 4.25mm Clover bamboo circulars

No pattern; I pretty much winged it, though it was kind of inspired by the Minimalist Cardigan from an older Interweave Knits. There was also minimal shaping (a little in the back, none in the front). So I called it Minimal. It wasn’t a particularly noteworthy sweater, construction-wise. Stockinette body, knit in pieces, with set-in sleeves and 3×1 ribbed edging.

So there’s two issues with this one:

  1. I really don’t like this sleeve length on me.
  2. The fronts were way too narrow.

Hence the need to rip. I plan on knitting a better open-front cardigan that addresses these two problems and is also longer, because I’m now over the cropped sweater thing.

The other project destined for frogging actually uses the same yarn, which is convenient, since I’ll need more yarn for the sweater’s second attempt:

Strange Loop

Strange Loop

Pattern: Strange Loop by Morgen Dammerung
Yarn: Cascade 220 in color 4002
Needles: US6 / 4.25mm Clover bamboo circulars

I love the idea of this pattern so much, and I decided to try it out because I was going to the snow for the first time in years, and needed some warmer accessories. And it fit perfectly fine as a hat, and was lovely and warm for weather in the negative 10s (Fahrenheit), but was just a little too snug as a cowl.

So I ripped the whole darn thing out, cast on more stitches, and knit it again. That was better but not by much. The issue is that I used significantly heavier yarn than the pattern calls for, and I did a poor job of accounting for the thicker fabric.

Next time I knit this pattern (and there will be a next time), it’ll be out of fingering weight yarn.

So, there you go, proof that not everything I knit is awesome!

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ETA: End of May

Posted on 27 April 2016 by Kris

I previously mentioned that I have two projects that are going to be taking up the bulk of my knitting time for this month and next. These need to be done in time for my lovely BFF Jessica’s wedding in early June. I’m making fairly decent progress, given that I just started both at the beginning of the month.

Ewyn - April 2016

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you’ve probably already guessed that this project is for Jessica. (I appreciate pink a lot more than I used to, but it’s still not really my jam.) The pattern is the crescent version of Ewyn; the yarn is Anzula Breeze in Hibiscus, doubled. I’m replacing all the nupps with silver-lined clear Miyuki seed beads. Between the beading and the 28-row edging repeats, this shawl requires a good amount of active attention, but I’m actually really enjoying it so far! This construction is new to me – you actually knit the edging first, and then pick up along the edge to knit the center section. Picture shows only about 2 1/2 repeats, though I’ve completed 10 so far.

Henslowe - April 2016

The other shawl is Henslowe, using Anzula Milky Way in Lapis, and it’s for me. I know it doesn’t look like much right now, but that’s unblocked garter stitch for you. I haven’t done this particular construction since knitting my Tina Shawl 10 years ago. Different shape, but still: knit the center section and bind off, pick up stitches along the edges and knit the next section, then knit the edging on perpendicularly. It’s going much faster than Ewyn because Henslowe is 1) pretty mindless and 2) smaller (appropriate, given that I’m a good foot shorter than Jessica).

Most of my other projects are on hold for the time being. But at the rate I’m going with these two, I should be able to pick the other ones up again by the end of the month!

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Small stashbusters

Posted on 15 April 2016 by Kris

I finished Cauchy on the first of the month, so pretty close to what I was aiming for! No pics yet – I’ve got some of the socks on my blockers, but am still trying to talk T into letting me take a modeled shot. We’ll see what happens with that.

In the meantime I’ve still got quite a bit of catching up to do! Nothing too exciting to show off today, just couple of small projects to use up some random leftovers:

Garter Coaster Beer Cozy

Pattern: Garter Coaster Beer Cozy by Jessica Landers
Needles: US2 / 2.75mm Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs

As for the yarn, I’m really not sure what it is, since I seem to have lost the label. I know I got the partial ball from Jessica ages ago, because I wanted to swatch it and then maybe get more for a tank top, and I know it’s from Knit Picks. And I’m pretty sure it’s a cotton blend. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine!

I made modifications for gauge and size (since as you can see, this is for a can). Easy, quick project.

The cozy basically lives in my camping backpack, since camping trips are pretty much the only time I drink anything from a can. Also it makes it easier to tell my drink from someone else’s, if I’m not the only one in the group who’s opened a can of something.

The other small stashbuster is one of my own design:

Fitbit One strap

Fitbit One strap

Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah Sock in Midnight
Needles: US0 / 2.00 mm Hiya Hiya circular

It’s a self-designed wrist band for my Fitbit One, because the strap it came with is incredibly uncomfortable and so I kept taking it off in my sleep, basically defeating its purpose. This one, on the other hand, doesn’t bother me at all!

The construction’s pretty simple – it’s basically a mostly 3×1 rib cuff with a knitted on pocket. Still, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

That’s all for the small projects; bigger ones to follow!

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Socks in progress

Posted on 23 March 2016 by Kris

As evidence that I actually am knitting again and not just catching up on documenting old FOs, a quick (and admittedly not great) shot of two WIPs:

WIPs: Cauchy and Slide

Two pairs of socks in progress! Both Cookie A patterns, which is a bit unusual for me – while I love her patterns, some of them are a little more mentally intensive than others and so I don’t like to have two in progress at a time. That, and I generally don’t have more than one pair of socks in progress at a time, period. But I find both of these fairly intuitive, which helps a lot.

Cauchy is on the left; I’m making these for T with Cascade Heritage Sock. In my opinion it’s perhaps not the best yarn-to-pattern match in the world, as the pattern is a bit subtle thanks to the heathering. But T is actually digging it so far and that’s the most important part. He picked out the pattern, which I’ve modified for a larger circumference. The pattern isn’t very stretchy, so he can’t pull the sock on over his heel if I knit the sock as written. (I had to frog and reknit the leg on the first sock twice before I figured out the right stitch count for him.)

Slide, on the right, is for me. It’s in Mountain Colors Bearfoot, which I have used before (for Snicket), and it makes a lovely toasty house sock. Too thick for most of my shoes, but perfect for indoor lounging (and it even stands up nicely to our carpet, which, as I’ve mentioned before, is awful for socks).

I’m hoping I get at least Cauchy done before the end of this month, partly so that it’ll be done before his birthday and partly because I’m about to start two time-sensitive projects that will take up all my April and May knitting time. Should be doable. Probably.

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Socks, socks, and more socks

Posted on 18 March 2016 by Kris

I promised some knitting, so here goes! First FO catchup post is all about the socks. I only finished five pairs for myself since late 2012 and don’t have too much to say about all of them, so let’s just tackle them all in one post, shall we? In order of completion:

Evening Socks for a Young Lady

Pattern: Evening Stockings for a Young Lady by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Navy
Needles: US0 / 2.0mm ChiaoGoo steel circular

I had neither enough yarn nor any desire to make long socks, so I just made these my preferred length in the leg, omitted the calf shaping (not that there would have been enough for me anyway), and kept the stitch pattern all around.

Sunstone

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silkie Socks that Rock in Sunstone
Needles: US0 / 2.00mm ChiaoGoo steel circular

No pattern. Basic top down sock, using 1×1 rib for the the cuff and 3×1 rib for the rest of the leg and the top of the foot.

Mingus

Pattern: Mingus by Cookie A
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in Aquaboy
Needles: US0 / 2.0mm Hiya Hiya steel circular

Other than making this shorter, I knit this pretty much as written. Took a while since it required more active attention than a lot of my other projects at the time (no matter how I tried I just could not memorize that chart) but I think it was worth it. I really love the result!

Plain Jane

Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah Sock in Midnight
Needles: US0 / 2.0mm Hiya Hiya steel circular

Believe it or not, I hadn’t knit a plain old stockinette sock since 2005. But this yarn didn’t really want to be anything else; the colorway wasn’t playing nicely with any of the other stitch patterns I tried. It’s just as well, I really like how these turned out! They’re way better than those first plain socks I ever made, but that’s the power of experience for you.

Angee

Pattern: Angee by Cookie A
Yarn: Elann Sock It To Me 4-Ply in color 7725
Needles: US0 / 2.0mm Hiya Hiya steel circular

Another Cookie A pattern, which I found more intuitive than Mingus. I made a tiny error in one of the feet (thankfully not visible in this photo) that I didn’t notice until, oh, six months later? Oh well. No way I’m ripping it back and fixing it now. It was great to finally use this yarn for something – I’d bought it very early on in my knitting life and it was the only yarn I had in my stash thin enough to actually use on socks for myself with this many stitches around, so it was basically the perfect match. I didn’t love working with it (and couldn’t get more if I tried anyway), but it’s standing up well to wear.

So those are all the socks I made for myself and hadn’t yet documented. There’s still a few more projects to share… but not today. Soon, though.

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