Cables all around

Posted on 21 April 2011 by Kris

At the time I started this particular project, Beret Gaufre was the only knit hat left in my possession. So I wanted to change that, even though I don’t get much opportunity to wear wool hats in San Diego.

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood
Yarn: Cascade 220 in color 7631
Needles: US6 and US7 Clover bamboo circulars, US7 Clover bamboo DPNs

I knit the M-L size to account for a different row gauge, and ended up with a practical and cute hat in an appropriate size! Which has seriously never happened before.

I kind of wish I’d made it a little bit longer. I’m sure I could have figured how to chart an extra few rows at the bottom. But, oh well. I’m still pretty happy with this!

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First FO of 2011

Posted on 19 April 2011 by Kris

I’m starting to feel like I’ll never be done with my FO backlog. But I’m getting closer! Today we have my first FO of 2011.

Remember how I mentioned that I’d already used some of the yarn from my frogged projects? Well, here’s what I did with some of the Fairways leftovers:

Pattern: Musica Fingerless Mitts (Ravelry link) by Anne Neumann
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull in colors 7436 and 7502
Needles: US0 Inox grey DPNs and US2 Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs

For those of you who don’t know me that well, music’s always been a part of my life, whether it’s playing an instrument, singing, beatboxing or just listening. So when I stumbled upon the pattern in Ravelry, I thought it was a great idea. Especially since my first – and somehow worst – instrument is piano, and piano music uses both of the clefs in this pattern. (Well, vocal music can too, but my own parts only use the treble clef!)

However, there were a few things about this pattern that I didn’t like. The clefs on the pattern are a bit out of scale with the staff. Also, I didn’t care for how the staff slanted in the same direction on both mitts.

Finally, my gauge was completely different from that in the pattern, and would have resulted in a too tight, too long mitt if I’d used the same number of stitches and rows.

So, I basically drew brand new charts, using Anne Neumann’s as an inspiration.

I sort of messed up the center stitch on the thumbs – I’d neglected to include them on my charts so the color pattern’s a bit off. Oh well. I’m still pretty pleased with these overall!

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Matching with my knitting group

Posted on 14 April 2011 by Kris

I wasn’t actually that excited about the Lune Shawl at first, but then I saw a few in person, since several other folk in my knitting group have one. And then I realized it was awesome and eventually decided to make my own!

The yarn is Schaefer Anne. I’m using the yarn reclaimed from my Shetland Shorty, plus the partial ball that I had (fortunately) never used or given away since.

As for the pattern itself, I’m obviously doing the stockinette version. I find it rather intuitive and don’t need to bother with the charts at all – which makes this a perfect project for work knitting! (Yes, I’m allowed to knit while on the clock! Only while on the phone though.) Not that it’s been my work project lately, but still.

This makes yet another WIP with fingering-weight yarn. I actually have absolutely nothing in progress in heavier yarn at the moment. I really need to change that and get some variety in my knitting life again! I’m just not sure where to start…

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Roam around the world

Posted on 12 April 2011 by Kris

I haven’t had a lot of luck with knitting adult sweaters in the past. I mean, I’ve knit a short-sleeved Tubey, but that doesn’t even fit me anymore and I’m not sure it really counts as a sweater anyway. Every other attempt has failed, for one reason or another.

Well, until this past December. I present to you, my first real sweater and my final FO from 2010!

Pattern: Roam by Laura Chau
Yarn: Tess Superwash Merino
Needles: US5 Denise circulars

I adore this sweater – it’s cute, comfy, warm, and a ridiculously bright (and very “Kris”) color. That being said, it is not the perfect sweater. It has its little quirks. They’re not deal breakers, but they’re things I need to keep in mind for future sweaters:

– It’s probably hard to tell from these photos, but when I zip the sweater up all the way, it hits me at an uncomfortably high point, just at the hollow above my collarbones. I’m not entirely sure whether it’s because of the length of the knit pieces, the length of the zipper, the weight of the hood (more on that in a bit), or some combination of the three. Luckily, I don’t usually wear outer layers zipped all the way up anyway, but still, it’d be nice to have the option.

– Speaking of the zipper, the bottom of it tends to curl upward.

– The bottom hem in the front tends to sit a little higher than the back. There are two major factors at play here. One is the weight of the hood, which tends to pull everything back a bit. The other is my own figure – I’ve gotten a bit bustier in the past couple of years, and didn’t completely account for this when I knit the fronts.

– There’s much more ease overall than I’d like. Luckily, the pattern includes waist shaping, so at least I don’t look completely boxy.

– Finally, the sleeves are still too long, despite the fact that I had shortened them by several inches.

But quirks aside… I still love this sweater!

Sadly, I am not thrilled with either the needles or the yarn I used. The Denises are too light for me – I like a bit more weight in my needles. And one of the tips kept coming unscrewed at the join. But I didn’t have any other size 5s at the time I started this project, and I didn’t want to switch partway through and possibly affect my gauge, so, well… yeah.

As for the yarn, it’s a pretty color, and it’s nice and soft, but it was a total pain to wind. And there was an absolutely ridiculous amount of excess dye in it – or rather, is. It didn’t really rub off onto my fingers or needles while I was knitting, but I lost track of how many times I rinsed the finished sweater before I finally gave up. Luckily the dye doesn’t rub off on things when the wool’s dry, but still.

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Frying up some rice

Posted on 10 April 2011 by Kris

I love fried rice.

My absolute favorite is sinangag, or garlic fried rice. Not surprisingly, I grew up eating it made with white rice, but I find it so much more satisfying with brown rice somehow. Eaten alongside a fried egg and sometimes a couple of bacon slices, it makes a fantastic breakfast.

However, I am also incredibly partial to garlic rice fried with egg and bacon, and veggies besides. A complete meal in and of itself, and one that’s actually pretty balanced.

This, of course, includes the aforementioned garlic, bacon, and egg (three cloves, two slices, and one beaten, respectively). I also used green onion, a bit of regular onion, carrot, red bell pepper, and some frozen green peas when I made this last night, but you can use what you like; this is just what we happened to have on hand. Seasoned pretty simply, with just salt, pepper, and a bit of toasted sesame oil.

Made for a lovely dinner, with enough leftover for tonight!

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