Brown Eyed Purl Knits

Diagonal Rib Socks

2011-07-08T11:45:00.000-05:00

I love knitting when traveling. I don't always do it, and every time there's the threat of security taking away your needles, but it is really rewarding to use that time for something I like. Instead of seething that the plane isn't taking off on time, I was turning the heel on the first of these socks. These socks will always be the ones I made while traveling to and from Italy for my first season of field work as a graduate students. Which I like.

I first cast on as written for the Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks pattern in Interweave Knits' 25 Favorite Sock Patterns, but that led to some pooling of the yarn. I switched it up and CO 64 (a more regular number than the original 70, which was for man-feet) in a 6x2 rib. This allowed me to use the strategy given in Favorite Socks without being a slave to the sizing.

In fact, as it turned out, these are the best-fitting socks right off the needles that I've made. The first socks-for-me that I made are like slippers to me now because they fit over at least one thick winter pair. They are definitely not for wearing out of the house. Then I made a pair that were absurdly small and had to frog them. These other socks were made in the 2010-2011 break of the blog, so I'll link up pictures if I backlog, but for right now, use your imagination.

Overall, I'm quite please with the yarn - Knit Picks Stroll Tonal - although I don't know how it will stand up to wear at this point. The sock pattern used a basic heel flap and toe closure, which are fine with me. I need to make sure I've got the basics down before I start doing different heels and toes willy-nilly. The one thing I contstantly frustrate myself with is correctly gauging how tight a cast-on needs to be for socks. Obviously, it can't be too tight, or the sock will never fit over your heel. But the past couple have been a little too loose and change the shape of the leg. I think it will just be a matter of finding the perfect medium through trial and error.

Almeara Gloves

2010-11-08T11:56:00.000-06:00

This is the second iteration of this Jared Flood pattern that I've made. The first was given to my mom for Christmas 2009. They fit so nicely that I made a new pair for myself in red. Once again, I used Knit Picks City Tweed DK. This yarn is not great for gloves. Maybe it would have helped to knit it at a tighter gauge or to use a thicker yarn, but it's flattening out and pilling up quickly. On the up side, the red gloves look great with my black and white patterned winter coat!

Something to work on in the future for me will be sewing in the ends of fingers on gloves. There are usually holes where the fingers connect to the body of the glove, and I'm not sure what can be done to solve this problem. It is not that harmful functionally, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I'd like to be able to spread my hand out without feeling like the fabric is giving way.

Granny Square Blanket

2010-08-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

At some point in the past few years (probably when she moved into her new house), my mother gave me a big shoebox full of her old needlepoint tapestry yarns. Of the crafts I do, needlepoint is not one, so this left me with a yarny conundrum. What do I do with hundreds of yards of (kinda crappy) yarn in a million different colors? Some of it I used for a Christmas-themed scarf in a 1x1 rib. I'm fairly certain I was working on this during a business trip to Dallas, which felt a little funny. Knitting a winter scarf in a place that only goes down to the 50s or 60s in January is pretty ridiculous.

The strategy was to always have green and red stripes, but to alternate which one ended its skein. So at any visible break point, the opposite color is still continuous. There were a variety of greens and reds to choose from, so this wasn't too difficult. All of the skeins were 40 yds - I suppose if I wanted to, I could then figure out the yardage that went into this scarf, but I don't care that much. It's about 6" wide and 70" long and after a bath in a some Eucalan wool wash and a little extra conditioner thrown in, it's quite nice. Again, since it's scratchy yarn, you wouldn't want to make an against-the-skin sweater with it, but for a decorative accessory, it's fine.

Still, that left me with dozens of these little mini-skeins. The next thing that occurred to me was to use them to make granny squares. I looked up a great series of videos on YouTube that helped me learn how to crochet them, and made a plan for how best to use the yarn. I selected 6 colors without any thought to coordination or matching and made the first square, then for the next, I shifted each color in towards the center by one space and added a new color to the outside. This way, each square was a little different and I didn't have to worry too much about having the right amount of any given color. I did try to vary the value of colors, so there wouldn't be more than a few pastels or bolds or darks in a row. Towards the end, I had to start reusing the ends and get a little creative with combinations that would allow me to use the most yardage possible, but I ended up with 52 squares.

The biggest rectangle I could make with those was a 6x8 blanket with a total size of about 4'x4'. It's good for the foot of the bed or on the couch, even though it won't cover your whole body. Wool in this form is amazing because the holes mean that it breathes like crazy, but amazingly it still traps a lot of heat. My local yarn store supplied some Nature Spun Sport in a lovely teal for me to slip stitch the squares into rows and the rows into a blanket. Then I did one border round to hold everything together.

I've been thinking that aestetically, I might want to go back and add a couple more rounds to the outside. The picture makes the blanket look much more asymmetrical than it is in person. Can you spot where there are clusters of related squares?

Gloves for my Aunt

2010-07-10T11:59:00.001-05:00

When I got Selbuvotter for Christmas, I was all excited and asked my family to look in it to see if they liked any of the patterns enough to ask me to make them as a gift. This seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, I was over-excited about it, and people probably asked me to make them things that they wouldn't otherwise want. Nevertheless, I made these gloves after having learned a thing or two during the Christmas gift-extravaganza of 2009.

Pretty nice, no? This is before blocking, right after I finished them (while at work at 3am at my overnight job.) I've since left, and I will tell you what: while it may seem like a great idea to be able to knit between customer service phone calls since you're at a night job anyways, it's not worth the stress of working. Here's a lovely co-worker of mine modeling the gloves:

So, I suppose for a small-handed woman they're a bit large, but I'm fairly certain that EZ and YarnHarlot agree that there's nothing worse than a too-tight mitten or glove. Anyhow, the colors are a dark grey and white in Palette from Knit Picks. The pattern from Selbuvotter is Annemor #8. I like how the rose motif is in both the hand and wrist and the thistle is in the hand and fingers. It's a very connected pattern.

Ode to Selbuvotter, Part 1

2010-03-10T07:27:00.002-06:00

This entry is Part 1 because I can only assume that there will be many future Odes to Selbuvotter. I got this great book for Christmas because I asked for it. (Knitter's rule! If you don't tell them they'll never know what to get you!)

It's chock full of beautifully rendered classic Norwegian mittens in the Selbu tradition. One or two are modified from this tradition, like one where the note explains that Icelandic tricks are used in the thumb. But even before the patterns, Terri Shea takes the time to lovingly share the narrative of how one woman started this national piece of heritage on a dare. Love it!

Here is another case where Ravelry shows off so brilliantly everyone's different variations on a theme. The charts in Selbuvotter have been modified to flip-top mittens, fingerless gloves, and even some matching hats! I was able to look to my fellow Ravelers for color inspiration, as well!

These mittens are labeled Annemor #5, since they come from Annemor Sundbo's collection. I propose a different name, inspired by the visionary Ron Burgundy and his litany of uncommon exclamations. "By Odin's Raven!" were originally children's mittens made in jumperweight yarn. I used yet MORE leftover worsted from my Christmas patterns (that black is the last vestiges of Kent's Beret). And I modified the cuff because I didn't much care for the plain old checkerboard on the original mittens. Now they're a little more feminie but with a childlike charm. I think the hearts make these grownup mittens a bit more whimsical.

Once I was convinced I could understand the charts used in this book, I moved on to gloves in a finer gauge. I think modifying little girls' mittens was a pretty creative test-run, don't you? The second pair is Annemor #7, also known (to me) as "I Saw a Moose!" I'm allowed to name it after a family inside joke, right? Right.

My color choices on these gloves might be up for a little debate. I knew that I wanted this turmeric and eggplant combination to appear in some form, but I think in retrospect, I would have preferred to go with a more traditional color combination. They're fine and very interesting this way, but I'll go back to MC=white, CC=gray or black for a while.

One more note on this pattern is that the charts were off on count between the palm and the hands. The basic instructions say just to follow the chart, but you have to be creative in where you cast on or pick up stitches in order for the stitch counts to make sense as each finger is starting. I would add another two plain rounds to the rest of the hand once the pinky is done. I saw that technique in my first pair of gloves, and it just now makes sense to use it in order to make the finger joints line up correctly.

Bird on a Wire Hat

2010-01-31T08:07:00.001-06:00

Bird on a Wire Hat (Ravel it!), modeled by the lovely McKey from America's Next Top Model, in Vogue Knitting's Fall 2009 issue. I was getting sick of the white covers in their 2009 issues, but some of the hats in Fall 2009 made up for the cover-blahs. Some of them were a bit crazy (too BIG, too TALL), but what are you going to do? Designers are designers.

Size and gauge-wise, this pattern was spot on. I worked it in Malabrigo sock and enjoyed the subtle variations in the colors. When we were in Naples, Florida for Thanksgiving, I dragged my sister to the local yarn shop so that she could pick out her yarn. (She has a yarn-phobia, no joke, it can be anxiety-attack-inducing!) She made it through the store just fine. As long as I wound up the hanks into skeins, it was more of a solid object instead of a stringy nightmare, so she could pet her options and feel what she was getting into. The blend in this yarn made it nice and smooth, instead of the itchy wool she was expecting.

So hopefully I've made a double-knitting fingering-weight hat that will last for a while. Lord knows it took long enough to make, as far as beanies go.

Winter gifts for work friends

2010-01-25T06:36:00.001-06:00

You might be asking yourself, "Why is that dog wearing a hat? It does not look very pleased to be doing so." In fact, Dizzy was thrilled to wear this Kent's Beret, but she is a very subtle pup. At least when it come to fashion.
At least the human recipient, who delights in black clothing and black hats especially, looks a little happier to be modeling it. Or maybe smugger. It's hard to tell sometimes. This free pattern by Kent Turman, available on his blog is super. It calls for Cascade 220, so you know exactly what you're looking for when searching your stash for an appropriate yarn. In this case, I used an old ball of black Lion Wool.

I no longer believe in black yarn. It's a belief I hold on principal: it's too hard to knit with black yarn because it is so dark and even if you make something really great with it, no one can see it because it just sucks in all the light. Shawls might be an exception to this, but really, why not do a great burgundy or evergreen or navy or sapphire if you're going to all the trouble of knitting a shawl. It will probably be worn over dark clothing anyways, so punch it up a little! But I digress...

And gosh, I wish I had made the sweater she's wearing here, because doesn't the mitten complement it nicely? These mittens were special request from a work friend. I taught her how to knit (since we have time to at our jobs; isn't that great!?) this past fall, and while she's still progressing through her first scarf, she asked me to make her some mittens if I had time. Some red red red mittens, in fact! These Harvest Mittens come from my favorite issue of Vogue Knitting, from Fall 2008 there are two great sections in that issue: cardigans and mittens. This pair took just under one skein of Malabrigo worsted. I have big hands, and they were a bit snug on me, but fit the tiny-handed recipient perfectly. Big smiles all around.

Christmas Gift-a-thon: Hats

2010-01-18T08:04:00.001-06:00

As promised, here are the hats that I gave away for Christmas. Some of them, like all of my Zeebees (Ravel it!), really deserve their own post. But since I'm already playing catchup, they just won't get one. Plenty of people love this pattern, plenty of people have blogged about it (sixty bloggers, by last count on Ravelry). At least I'm still showing you my finished items!

These are shown in the order I made them. The main color on all three is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted. This free customizable pattern from Shmeebot is great for stash-busting. I have only been knitting for six years and have been working on a reduced budget for most of that time. So I rarely found myself with extra yarn after a project was finished. Recently, though, I combined the worsted wool in my mom's stash with my Christmas leftovers. It was a pretty impressive pile. Thus the unusual color combinations in these three Zeebees:

This color combination was described by family as very Nana-esque. I guess navy and red was something she would have worked with. My grandma was the queen of bits and stripes, since her main project in the last 20 years of her knitting life was making children's mittens for charity. She would work up a big basket of them through the year and give them away for the holiday season. Maybe that's what I should do with the hats that don't have a home yet...

This one was fun. I found just enough blue and grey tidbits to make the following stripe pattern in rows all the way around: 12 MC, 4 CC, 4 MC, 2 CC, 2 MC, 2 CC. Each sequence was done in a new blue or gray for a pretty effect all the way around. The base color is black, which happens to match her coat, but what I really liked about it was that using some lighter blues made the background look almost navy. It was a very ninja backdrop to the stripes. The picture doesn't quite show the hat off in the way I planned, but doesn't she look nice in it?

This is a cream hat with a purple chunk and red inset. The other side is just cream. I feel like this should be someone's high school colors - it's just the right mascot purple! It hasn't quite found a home yet, but I'm sure it will.

The above hat was not intended to be child-sized. And I DID check for Errata on the Interweave website. There were none. What kind of crazy hat only has 2" of working straight before starting decreases? The Fresco Herringbone Hat from Interweave Knits Winter 2008, apparently. I love the candy cane coloring using garnet and cream in Knit Picks Palette yarns. All in all, this hat turned out well, but obviously some modifications would be necessary if I ever used it again.

A classic Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern for a classic guy. This Swatchcap can be found in EZ's Knitter's Almanac. It continues to surprise me that my maternal predecessors did not read Zimmerman. She so embodies my grandma's style of knitting. In any case, it appears that she only left my grandpa one had and he has been hurting for a new wool one. Mission accomplished, tradition loop completed.

Oh Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed! You are the best! This simple Turn a Square Hat, a classy, simple pattern found on his blog provided an interesting way to use up tidbits. Since a lot of my Christmas-gift-yarns coordinated, I had fun choosing what to use to emulate the Noro yarn called for in the pattern. If this reminds you of the second Zeebee above, it's no wonder. I used this hat as the inspiration for the striping on that one. The background here was navy, in case you were wondering. Most of the stripes were on the black-grey-white scale.

Saving the best for last, here, I think. This double-thick hat is also known as EZ's Very Warm Cap and is worked both ways out from the middle (using a provisional cast-on). It is also a hat in the Knitter's Almanac. Ravelry had some lovely variations that people had worked with Norwegian stars, so I charted up my own based on the measurements I wanted, and voila! The other side is the opposite and the hat is reversible. It must be noted, though, that a double-thick worsted hat with some stranded work is a pretty THICK HAT and would only be necessary for the coldest of winter days. Or the longest of dog-walks. I guess that expands the usable dates.

Christmas Gift-a-thon: Mittens and Gloves

2010-01-10T06:34:00.000-06:00

Wow. After gathering photos, I have decided to split this into two posts: one for Christmas hats, and one for mittens. Let's take mittens and gloves first, shall we?

You will find below all of the Christmas mittens given to various family members in 2009.

Some of them have already been blogged, but now hats have heads in them and mittens have hands! I think this makes said accessories feel much happier in life and look much better in photos. This pairing should also make the aforementioned appendages happier. I know the gator mittens have been featured in daily life, Facebook photos, and a friends' reality tv/home video "show."

Only minimal pattern information is included. May be expanded later, but... probably not!

One of the things I like most about this series of pictures is the different ways in which people interpret "let me take a picture of you wearing your new mittens/gloves/hat!"

Because kneeling on the ground made sense to her... These are Brooklyn Flood's Almeara Gloves, done in Knit Picks City Tweed DK. A lovely gray colorway.

But going up three stairs and demonstrating the chomping action of the Gator gloves made sense to her. These are See You Later, Gator Gloves from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. I really like that book. I haven't loved all of the patterns in it, but when I was first starting to knit, it was an exciting and thorough introduction to modern knitting. Very not-your-grandma's-knitting.

Oh, and these particular Gators are made in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted. Grass and red, with scrap yarn for the white teeth, and 14mm googly eyes. When buying the googly eyes, I really struggled with size, but ended up with these because they're not big enough to mess with your mittens or look like muppets, but suit the size of the puppet/mitten well.

These Herringbone Mittens are a free download from Elliphantom Knits and are great. I especially liked the thumbs and cuffs. Once again, these are in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. And an afterthought modification was added: photographer's shutter finger. I did single crochet around a hole worked in the afterthought method, and she loves it! In fact, I'm working on a special request for next year's gift.

Finally, a pair of mittens worked from leftover Christmas yarn. Why yes, it's from Knit Picks, too, how did you guess? These are leftovers from the projects in Palette. The yellow is called Turmeric, and I just love it. It's rich but vintage with the cream. Don't ask me how a color can be vintage, it just is. They match up perfectly with my reddish-brown leather jacket. It's the kind of look that aviator glasses would complete the look. I made up a pattern for these. Should have made the thumbs a bit wider, but nobody's perfect.

A post on hats is forthcoming!

Nora's Hat

2009-11-23T08:31:00.003-06:00

Pattern: Kim's Hats

Source: Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson

Yarn: Scraps of Tahki Donegal Tweed (Oatmeal) and ~50 yds of my very first handspun!

Needles: US 7 dpns

Started: November 20, 2009

Finished: November 21, 2009

Modifications: I did a garter-stitch brim here, with no earflaps. I don't know yet how well this pattern fits, but being that there is no ribbing for stretch, I find it frustrating that the only printer sizes are "toddler, child, adult" because kids come in a lot of sizes, and I can't measure the 6 year old girl that I'm making this for. It was a great way to use up some of my heavy worsted and the fuschia stripes make it cute and girly. The cousins have largely been forgotten in the Christmas batches of knitting because they are funny-sized. At the very least, I plan to have a hat for each. Maybe I'll get around to making them some mittens, too. Poor leftover kids. That's what you get for being small!

Fishtrap Aran Hat 2

2009-11-21T07:22:00.001-06:00

Pattern: Fishtrap Aran Hat

Source: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Blue ink, 2 skeins (220 yds )

Needles: US 7 dpns

Started: November 8, 2009

Finished: November 20, 2009

Modifications: Version #2 of this hat - the other pictures show of the cables much better. Theoretically this hat is supposed to be for a colleague for Christmas. But he has kind of been peeving me off "demanding" scarves and socks and all sorts of ridiculous things, and when I suggest they will take forever and maybe he should learn, he says, "Oh, no, that would take forever." ...But continues to list off all the things he wants. It will probably go into the Christmas mix for the family and if it comes out the other side, I suppose he can have it. But he'll have to do something really nice for me.

Not-really Turn a Square 2

2009-11-18T02:00:00.003-06:00

Pattern: Turn A Square by Jared Flood
Source: Brooklyn Tweed Blog by Jared Flood
Started: November 15, 2009
Finished: November 17, 2009
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
Needles: Set of 5 US #8 dpns

Modifications: I changed the rib to k3 p2 and continued it all the way up. The striping and decreases are based on Turn a Square, though. I think that qualifies it to be the linked pattern, right? Right?

Ok, I did not think this through carefully enough. It turned out fine as a shallow beanie but (1) stripes do not look the same in stockinette and in ribbing. I do not like stripes quite so much when the purls show too, as inevitably occurs when a ribbed hat is worn, and (2) cute turn-a-square decreases don’t work when ribs get in the way!!! Nor is the typical k8, k2t the same speed of decrease as the “mitered” decs on the original hat.

So my new one is about one inch shorter than intended but fits me nicely, which means it will fit many people, since I have a giant head. There. It’s fine. Mission accomplished.

Wavy Japanese Pattern Socks

2009-11-11T08:25:00.004-06:00

Pattern: Undulating Rib Socks
Source: Favorite Socks by Interweave Press
Started: October 24, 2009
Finished: November 10, 2009
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock in Rainbow (not real name of colorway)
Needles: US Size 2

Modifications: None. This yarn is supposedly well-loved, but it's a little steel-wooly during knitting. This project was a little bit of a surprised for me, since not all of the colors were visible in the skein of yarn when I started. That wouldn't be a big deal except I thought that I could see all of them. So after knitting merrily along, I discover that this is a full-stop rainbow colorway. Love it!

Craft Show Fun!

2009-11-10T10:54:00.002-06:00

Well, fun but low-key on the Craft Show part. My Etsy shop is stocked by both myself and my mom, and her office building (about 500 employees) has a yearly craft show. We did it last year and at least made enough money to cover our purchases at the other booths... but it was way worse this year.

Last year, the recession had just hit in the summer, and the thought was, "Gee, this is pretty low traffic and lower spending. Doesn't look as crowded in the booth arena as last year, either." This year, the though was, "Dang! Where the hell is everyone! Do you not take lunches? Do you not Christmas shop? How lame!" And the consensus is no more free craft show that no one cares about. *Sad face.*

However, Brown-Eyed Purl is doing better than in its first few months. We haven't put up a lot of new items, but people are buying, at the crazy rate of about one order per month.

Cable Ribbed Socks

2009-10-26T06:36:00.004-05:00

Pattern: Cable Ribbed Socks

Source: Favorite Socks by Interweave Press

Started: October 19, 2009

Finished: October 24, 2009

Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock in Brick

Needles: US Size 2.5 (leg) and 2 (foot)

Modifications: Received this yarn for free from the "will trade or sell" section of Yarn on Ravelry.

As my first pair of socks for myself, I am pretty happy with these. They could have been a lot tighter, but I actually knit them with the recommended one size up needles because I have large feet for a girl. My friendly LYS owner told me during Lunch Bunch last week that socks will always stretch sideways and you can always knit them longer, so a smaller needle is better because a denser fabric will last longer.

Roger that!

Purple Sonata #2 (flip it, reverse it)

2009-10-19T09:55:00.000-05:00

Pattern: #07 Pink Sonata (Ravel it!)
Source: Vogue Knitting, Fall 2008
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Eggplant and Hyacinthe
Needles: US 2 dpns
Started: September 24, 2009
Finished: October 18, 2009

Modifications: These mittens are a flipped version of the same pattern that I completed a few months ago. But this set is for me instead of a Christmas gift. I bound off the fingers a little looser so they'd fit my fat fingers better. And that worked, but...

I had to shorted the two-color rib on the flip top because I ran out of Hyacinthe yarn. It still looks okay. What has been driving me crazy in the first few days of wearing these is I think I shortened the second flip top by just 3-5 rows and it's too short. Darn.

I had to dip into a few yards of the Eggplant that I was saving for Vespergyle Mittens later this year, which is why the second top is shorter. Curse trying to be economical.

Later Gator Mittens

2009-10-11T07:47:00.004-05:00

Pattern: Later Gator Mitts by Laura Grutzeck

Source: Stitch 'N Bitch Nation

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Red and Grass

Needles: US 5 dpns (cuff); US 7 dpns (body)

Started: August 3, 2009

Finished: October 6, 2009

Modifications: note! errata on the book's website corrects the number of rows in the straightaway of the red garter-stitch mouth pieces. 56 rows as listed in the book is ridiculous! Thank goodness I caught this after just one mouth was knit instead of later.

The two pieces on each mittens are tough to line up in order to sew them on correctly. Next time, I think some minor modifications of the mouth pieces (like not using garter stitch) would help them line up much better with the corresponding "body" pieces.

15mm was the perfect googly-eye size and the package of 12 eyes was only $2 at Hobby Lobby. I used dental floss to sew them on but green thread would blend in better. At least the dental floss will hold those eyes on through whatever battles they may face.

There are some really cute variations on this listed in Ravelry: dinosaurs, sharks; all manner of great puppet-animals. Even monkeys - my favorite!

Bulky Flip Top Mittens

2009-09-27T14:12:00.002-05:00

Pattern: Bulky Flip Top Mitts (free)

Source: Life in Cleveland (blog)

Yarn: Noro Iro in super-rainbow!

Needles: US 7 dpns (cuff); US 8 dpns (body)

Started: September 5, 2009

Finished: September 26, 2009

Modifications: I used a bulkier yarn than recommended and changed my needle size to achieve the correct gauge. With mittens, where drape is useless, I pretty much figure the denser the better, and boy these puppies did not disappoint! They are thicker than a malamut's butt!

Striping self-striping yarn is always and interesting effect, and I thought (a) with such a small project, the colorway will barely get once through and the mittens won't match and (b) since I was cannibalizing a vest, I had a lot of shorter ends anyways, so why not use them in crazy stripes!

I'm very pleased with the end result, where the mittens still don't quite match, but they really go together. Love it!

Turn a Navy Square

2009-09-11T08:50:00.002-05:00

Pattern: Turn a Square (Ravel it!/free)

Source: Brooklyn Tweed (blog) by Jared Flood

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Blue Ink (main) and CCs Dove Heather, Onyx Heather, Arctic Pool, and Cream

Needles: US 6 dpns (ribbed brim); US 8 dpns (body)

Started: August 29, 2009

Finished: August 31, 2009

Modifications: none. I'm not so sure about the sizing on this hat; my yarn was a bit thicker than the recommended Cascade 220, which made for a slightly bigger but denser hat than recommended. I also didn't use a self-striping yarn for the stripes, but instead created a colorway from related scraps that I had leftover from other Christmas projects.

Herringbone Mittens

2009-09-03T10:44:00.001-05:00

Pattern: Herringbone Mittens with Poms (Ravel it!/free)

Source: Elliphantom Knits (blog)

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Dove Heather and Arctic Pool

Needles: US 4 dpns (cuff); US 7 dpns (body)

Started: August 24, 2009

Finished: August 29, 2009

Modifications: no poms :-(

Fountain Pen Shawl #2

2009-08-29T01:57:00.002-05:00

Pattern: Fountain Pen Shawl (Ravel it!)
Source: Interweave Knits, Spring 2009
Yarn: J. Knits Lace-A-Licious! in Nebraska
Needles: US 3 24" circular
Started: May 31, 2009
Finished: August 17, 2009
Modifications: I only completed 9 of ten main-body repeats. This came out to about the same size as my first Fountain Pen shawl, despite having 2-3 more repeats, because of the different gauge. The previous shawl was a 2-ply on US size 6 needles, this was a 1-ply on 3s.

Chevalier Mittens

2009-08-21T01:52:00.005-05:00

Pattern: Chevalier Mittens (Ravel it!/free)

Source: MadeByMyself (blog)

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Kettle Dyed in Grasshopper

Needles: US 5 dpns

Started: August 5, 2009

Finished: August 20, 2009

Modifications: eliminated optional repeat in the fingers section; decreased with simple paired decreases along the side, instead of the more complicated charted manner.

Very Warm Hat (EZ pattern)

2009-07-27T10:49:00.002-05:00

Pattern: Very Warm Hat (Ravel it!)
Source: Knitting Without Tears, by Elizabeth Zimmerman
(Find it on Amazon or at KnitPicks)
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cloud and Chestnut
Needles: US 7 dpns
Started: July 21, 2009
Finished: July 24, 2009
Modifications: I added Norwegian star pattern in contrasting color on each side

Almeara Gloves

2009-07-23T01:46:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Almeara Gloves (Ravel it!)
Source: Vogue Knitting, Winter 08/09
Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Tahitian Pearl
Needles: US 7 dpns
Started: July 14, 2009
Finished: July 21, 2009
Modifications: none

Love these! I wish I didn't have to give them away... but maybe I'll make another pair in the recommended "Oatmeal" color later. They are very squishy, but I can't tell how warm they'll be. Usually for gloves or mittens, a needle at least two sizes smaller than the recommended size is used. For these, the needle is the same or one bigger than the recommended 6-7 US needles. Of course, the cables tighten things up considerably.

The garter stitch palm side makes them curl in a decidedly hand-like way, which makes them adorable when they're just sitting on the table.

Another rock-star pattern from Jared Flood!

Puple Sonata

2009-07-11T13:28:00.001-05:00

Pattern: Pink Sonata (Ravel it!)

Source: Vogue Knitting, Fall 2008

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Hyacinthe and Eggplant

Needles: US 2 dpns

Started: July 2, 2009

Finished: July 11, 2009

Modifications: none

Fake Isle Hat

2009-07-10T22:39:00.001-05:00

Pattern: Fake Isle Hat (Ravel it!)

Source: Spunky Eclectic

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Onyx and Dove Heathers

Needles: US 6 dpns

Started: July 10, 2009

Finished: July 10, 2009

Modifications: Added motif in the "petals" of the crown pattern (because I was nervous about running out of Dove gray. Shortened the crown by three-ish rows because the hat was starting to look enormous.

The idea behind the "fake isle" of this hat's name was to use a self-striping yarn as the background color to mimic the color gradations in a true fair isle. I, however, in an effort to make as masculine a hat as possible am opting for solid neutrals.

It turned out fairly large, which could probably have been predicted from the comments on Ravelry, but if it's a problem for boy's head (which is significantly larger than mine) I can always felt it a little. I'm still pleased that I didn't have to felt the Fishtrap Aran from a few weeks ago, so I might be due for an off-sized hat. We shall see - fitting will be tomorrow!

Update 7/11/09 : Dang. It's too big even for my model's giant head. I will try to felt it a little and see if I can get an appropriate size.

Update 7/12/09 : First felting didn't help. I hate having to do it by hand in the kitchen sink. Hmph. I hear you starting to worry to yourselves - don't! I use laundry soap, not dishwashing liquid, to do the job.

Bulky Flip Top Mittens and Fishtrap Aran Beanie

2009-07-07T11:53:00.001-05:00

Pattern: Bulky Flip Top Mittens
Source: Life in Cleveland Blog
Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool in Medium Brown, .25 skeins (119.5 yds)
Needles: US 6 and 7 dpns
Started: June 22, 2009
Finished: June 26, 2009
Modifications: Used k1 - p1 ribbing instead of seed stitch for the cuff. This yarn was also smaller than the recommended bulky weight, so this pair is really only good for some little lady hands.
This is the second time that I've made this pattern, and I just LOVE it! The instructions on how to make them into a flip-top set were taken from another source, I believe, but the designer here at least made it easy for me to understand. Doing a sort of after-thought opening makes it really easy to do the whole body of the mitten and then open it up after.
Pattern: Fishtrap Aran Hat
Source: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Evergreen, 2 skeins (220 yds )
Needles: US 7 dpns
Started: June 26, 2009
Finished: June 28, 2009
Modifications: none
Present number one for the boy's list for Christmas. I'm doing Yankee swap among the half dozen boys and half dozen girls in my family for all of my gifts this year. Hopefully that means that Christmas presents for 15 people will cost me less than $100. Oh, and hopefully it will be more successful than three years ago when I also made gifts for everyone... but they all kind of sucked. The only one I know of that went over well were the stuffed rabbit and bear for my little cousins.

Farmer's Market Bag

2009-06-29T11:02:00.004-05:00

Pattern: Farmer's Market Bag
Source: Folk Bags, Interweave Press
Yarn: Madil Yarns Eden in Frost Blue, 5 skeins (545 yds total)
Needles: 24" US 6 circular, 24" US 11 circular, US 11 straight needles
Started: May 11, 2009
Finished: June 29, 2009
Modifications: I used a bamboo yarn instead of the recommended linen, figuring that it was also a pretty strong plant fiber and would allow the same properties as the Euroflax.

See the earlier post on this bag for more details, but it was pretty straightforward - so much so that I put it down for five weeks and almost forgot about it! But I really don't like to have more than two or three works-in-progress going on at the same time. I also don't like to keep a huge stash if I can avoid it. Maybe later in life when I have the room to keep more than one or two banker's boxes worth of stuff... maybe then. But not in a tiny one bedroom apartment with a knitting-averse boyfriend.

Looking forward to going to the market this weekend with my cool new bag!

Fountain Pen Shawl #2 (in progress)

2009-06-17T01:21:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Fountain Pen Shawl
Source: Interweave Knits Spring 2009
Yarn: J. Knits Lace-a-licious in Nebraska, 1 skein (1200 yds)
Needles: 24" US 3 circular
Started: June 5, 2009
Finished: May 22, 2009
Modifications: Possibly 8-9 repeats instead of the recommended 10. I'd like the size to be somewhere between the pink scarf and a full shawl.

Now, I'm not one to wax patriotic, but there is a BIG soft spot in my heart for the big flat heartland of the northern Midwest. Road trip = corn fields! The name of this colorway is Nebraska - it's so "amber waves of grain", and so Midwest-y. Not only did I buy this while on a weekend trip to visit friends in St. Louis, so the corn fields aesthetic fits in with my driving scenery, but it gives me an excuse to buy a (otherwise horrifying) mustard-colored yarn. Props to the ladies at Knitty Couture for helping me with my usually incapacitating color choice.

This skein originally started as a Swallowtail shawl, but the light weight of the yarn compared to the 2-ply I worked with last made me nervous about the shape. Besides, Fountain Pen is really fantastic and doing it again will be a helpful excersize in the importance of yarn choice in a project. Especially in a lace project. Pictures to follow - I'm currently 3 repeats in.

Knitting Lull

2009-06-11T01:20:00.000-05:00

Not much knitting on the home front, here.

A new job working overnights is really cramping my style. That and the effort to get out a little more, like socially. It happens. I'll be back on track soon!

Fountain Pen Shawl

2009-05-27T02:10:00.006-05:00

Pattern: Fountain Pen Shawl
Source: Interweave Knits Spring 2009
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Pink Frost, 1 skein (470 yds)
Needles: 24" US 6 circular
Started: May 4, 2009
Finished: May 22, 2009
Modifications: I did only 7 repeats instead of the 10 recommended in the pattern, so that the shawl would be smaller and more scarf-like. Also, I'm cheap and was a little concerned about my first lacey lace project.

This is the thinnest yarn I have ever worked with! It was a great project, and since it used just one 50g skein, was super portable. However, it was still not really a few-minutes-at-a-time project. You have to be able to focus for at least a couple of rows. As the width of the shawl increases, a few rows at a time becomes quite a challenge.

I bought the yarn in Naples, FL on vacation and had someone else pick the color for me. If I hadn't, this would be the same avocado/celery/lettuce/olive greens as all of the rest of my accessories. The charts for this pattern really made me appreciate charts in general. I'm definitely more of a visual person, but I don't see how anyone would shun a chart in favor of written instructions! You can see how the rows make sense together - "these 6 k2ts all line up vertically/diagonally, now I know that there will be a slant here for a while."

Plus, I think it looks super-stylish and goes with everything. Maybe I'm wrong, but no one can stop me! I sense more lace projects in the future. Gotta finished up a WIP or two first, though.

Farmer's Market Bag (in progress)

2009-05-12T16:39:00.005-05:00

New, springy projects are in the air! Well, in my knitting bags anyway - I haven't finished any of the supposed summer-projects... yet.

The newest, started just yesterday is the Market Bag by Vicki Square. I've known about this pattern for years, from Folk Bags (book from Interweave Press, 2003), but just never got around to buying the linen for it. Fortunately, my recent obsession with natural fibers and their respective qualities has allowed me to see the options I have besides too-expensive and nowhere-stocked Louet Euroflax linen. Thus, I purchase some pretty light blue Italian bamboo yarn at my LYS, Knit 1. It's almost metallic, it's so shiny, but the tight woven band is a bit more time-consuming than it would otherwise be, on a sport-weight with an astonishing 10 plies.

Oh! And I wanted to mention, since it came in so handy for me, that this pattern is also available free online at Knitting Daily. That's where the hyperlink above goes. Not many people have made this bag (only 19 on Ravelry) BUT I have faith in Vicki when she says that the mesh won't over-stretch. She seems very wily.

Since I'm out of town (and had to corner this pattern online after the "read it over the phone to me, honey" plan didn't quite work), no pictures yet. The bag should be 14"x14" - just in time for Farmer's Market season! Yay!

Ooh, and my other almost-finished secret spring knitting project was also started while I was out of town. A scarf made from a shawl pattern. More pastels. More exploring! More info later!

Moss Stitch Beret

2009-04-27T17:07:00.002-05:00

Pattern: Moss Stitch Beret by Kent Turman [Ravel it!]
Source: Kent's Craft Blog
Yarn: Tahki Donegal Tweed in Midnight; just barely under one skein

Needles: US 3 and US 7 circulars

When: One April Weekend

I loved this hat when I made it in Encore wool blend in a great lime green but thought it would be better warmer or in a lovely tweed. Fortunately, Tahki Donegal Tweed was just right for the job, and fun to work with. The hat feels just a little different, but I think that's because it hasn't been broken in yet.

Green Gable Sweater

2009-04-24T01:56:00.005-05:00

Here are pictures of the aforementioned recent projects, including one of the ongoing Green Gable Sweater. I'm working it in the largest size since my yarn is smaller than the recommended Wool Ease Chunky. Oddly, my needle size is the same, so I suppose the finished item won't be as thick as the original. On the other hand, it's 100% wool instead of just 25%, so it will probably be just as warm.

One Sleeve Down: Green Gable Sweater

2009-04-19T21:16:00.004-05:00

My next big-sized project (though not horribly complex) is the Green Gable sweater from Vogue Fall 2008. Like a few others on Ravelry, I'm making it with Cascade Ecological Wool. This particular wool is a continuation of the Hemlock Ring blanket that I made earlier this year. One hopes that this will be the year of expanding into larger projects with relatively fine gauge and inexpensive wool.

Did I write about my wool-epiphany? I love it, for all of the reasons that everyone else does. I just finally decided it was worth it not to buy crappy acrylic.

I have one sleeve down on this sweater (done first to check gauge, then continued on), but no pictures yet. I have also worked a moss-stitch beret, a mitered beret and a pair of mitered mittens. Ravel them through their hyperlinks, while I work on pictures of my recent endeavors.

Still happy that I remade matches for all of the lost mittens this winter. It makes me happy every time I look at my winter-woolies stash that no mitten is lonely and that I have 2 of my favorite tam, but in different warmths/weights.

On second thought, I have also worked away some of the lonely balls of sock yarn that were clogging up my stash, and if I do say so myself, I have improved my photography skills considerably since I learned a few new tricks. See below (and at my Etsy website):

Hat and Mitten Replacements

2009-03-31T18:42:00.003-05:00

As a follow up to the post on 3.28.09 regarding all of my sadly lost items, here are some pictures of my new wardrobe staples. The hat is Ashley Hasse's Cabled Beret located here on Ravelry. The mittens were Yellow Harvest Mittens from the Fall 2008 Vogue Knitting Magazine. I modified the mittens to be flip-tops, for access to the all-important bus pass.

Saturday I went to my very last ceramics class then picked up D's finished hat to fix it up for her. I am the Knitting Fairy. It actually worked out pretty well. I felted most of the top portion of the beret and left the band unfelted, to the extent that was possible. She'll be much happier with the new shape, but I'm not sure how she'll feel about the felting.

With the nicely refracted natural light going on in the afternoon, I also headed up to the roof to take some pictures for the shop. The best thing that can be said about it is that it was a learning experience. I guess some of the photos were all right, but I would really like to have someone help me ahem, and he's either sleeping or I'm not around during daylight.

This weekend, I replaced the missing Fetching in Rowan Tapestry (a very saggy yarn) as well as the first Bulky Flip Top mitten, repurposing the ribbed headband that I had made out of the leftovers (no one around here wore it). That leaves only one hat and one mitten replacement. I will need to have the Donegal Tweed swifted next time I go into the store.

Learning About Etsy

2009-03-28T18:46:00.000-05:00

It's interesting starting a store like this. The last time I tried to create any kind of a website was circa a full decade ago, and all I remember is being pretty baffled by HTML. The new idea of Web 2.0 (an interactive, more user involved publishing process, Wiki-net to me) is brilliant. The accessibility of creating websites like Facebook pages, blogs, and Etsy shops is new to me, and I'm loving it.

Etsy is especially great at communicating with its users. I've already been to three virtual labs and learned how to better present and market my store. Just being in these groups has given me greater visibility. Here are some things that are on my list to improve from my first-posted shop three weeks ago.

_check!_ Improve banner to include items for sale and continue store theme
_check!_ Improve avatar in the same way
_check!_ Increase number of tags so that our items show up in search engines more easily
_check!_ Edit shop title for the same reason
_check!_ Price items to reflect the real amount of work that goes into each item, instead of just trying to cover the cost of the raw materials
_to do_ Describe items in better detail, including measurements and more adjectives
_to do_ Improve pictures by using natural light, macro setting, and models or the outside world

It's fun working on these things, talking to people and learning more about other shops as well as my own!

Lost Items Catastrophe

2009-03-28T01:03:00.000-05:00

My personal life has been full of lost accessories this winter. I've managed to lost one of all three pairs of mittens I owned, along with two hats. Depressing, since this is the first time I've kept AND worn my own knitted creations. (I have a good? bad? habit of giving things away willy-nilly.)

In any case, the mittens/hats post from last month ended with me in the tragic situation of being mittenless. I can now happily report that I have replaced my lost things with one functioning set of warm woolies. Pictures of the hat to follow, but first let us mourn the lost items of Winter 2008-2009:

Learning About Cottage Licenses

2009-03-23T14:40:00.000-05:00

So while simplifying a pattern for baby shrugs for my Etsy site, I saw that the designer required written permission to sell for profit. Now normally, I think that because I don't actually make any money off of things like this, it won't matter. But in this case, it seemed like a good idea to contact her. Since she has a Ravelry profile and blog etc, it was pretty easy to find her email address. She said I can sell up to five before I am required to buy a cottage license.

Now, I had no idea what this meant, so I Googled it. I have to pay some crazy amount like $100 in order to use the pattern for profit. We'll see. One sale so far, and a rocking 17 items up!

I've gone back to some Two-Tone Socks in self-striping superwash yarn etc. Hopefully, I won't forget to do my own queue while working some of this other stuff.

Etsy Shop!

2009-03-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

First off, I did not get Needle Nerd as my Etsy shop name. Bummer. And my second choice, DuckDuckMoose, was taken too!

My new Etsy shop can be found at BrownEyedPurl.Etsy.com!!!

I just started it, in collaboration with my mom, last week. Our first sale came within a few hours, but since then I put up my vacation setting, and traffic slowed down quite a bit. I didn't know it put the whole shop into sleep mode! Oops.

Well, we have some matinee/layette sets, a few purses, and these great cotton baby shrugs I've been spitting out lately. I would love feedback, in case anyone reads this and visits the shop!

Hemlock Complete!

2009-03-05T19:26:00.000-06:00

I finished it in time for Mammay's birthday!

Hemlock Ring Update 2

2009-02-18T09:26:00.000-06:00

This is getting ridiculous. I am so close to finishing. Finally, I got almost to the end of the chart and thought, "Hey, I wonder why this one line is shaded a little darker." Turns out it's where the designer ended the blanket. So I have worked to halfway between his end and the end of the chart. Hopefully I will do the bind off this weekend.

I will start bobbled Vogue Knitting Mittens on my trip to Maryland this week.

Little progress on the pink baby blanket. I'm really sick of losing mittens - the sparkly white one is really a blow because they're the prettiest thing I've ever made.

Knit Night 2/5/09

2009-02-06T09:50:00.000-06:00

Little knitting happened last night, but it was nice to have a homecooked meal. Even though I've been cooking for myself, Addie's shepherd's pie was lovely. I have done 13/70 rows of the chart on my hemlock blanket now, and as with most large things with me, it seems much more daunting halfway through than when I started. I just knit along, lalala, then think ,"Wow, self, well done, this is going swimmingly. What do you mean you're only 25% done? That's crazy kookoo bananas! This will take forever."

Dana says she's done with the band for her hat, but left it at home, and the baby booties... did not go as planned. She creatively cut the amount of knitting required in half, because the first bootie turned out for a giant monster baby. Addie, unfortunately is too busy with work, school, and homework to have any time to relax or knit. She spent all of her time off yesterday cleaning for us to come over. Her sister got a new puppy, I'm so jealous, it was soooooo cute.

Hemlock Ring Update

2009-02-05T10:35:00.001-06:00

I finished the vintage chart and am ready to move on to Jared's Feather and Fan increase chart! I have 31 days to finish for Mammay's birthday. This goal looks much more feasible with the tough middle behind me - a feeling which may fade as the circumference increases to a crazy size and each pair of rows takes many many minutes.

The other worry is the bind-off for me. On the Knit-A-Long group I've seen quite a few messages where people say things like, "Whew, ok I'm 2/3 of the way through the bind off now." Which means to me that this bind off is complicated and will take forever on many hundreds of stitches. I hope my circular is long enough for the outer realms of the blanket...

Mittens

2009-02-03T09:50:00.000-06:00

This post will look a lot like the Berets one from earlier this month. But mittens. I have made more mittens than berets, but probably the same as hats. I'm going to pop over to Ravelry and investigate these numbers now.

Count:
Hats, inclusive............................21
6 = the same baby beret over and over
Adult Berets..................................6
Mittens..........................................7
4 = the same kids mittens for charity
Fingerless gloves..........................3
2 Fetching, 1 Dashing

This makes me think that overall, I knit pretty wide. Most things, I've tried a few times, with the glaring exception of adult sweaters. And, I suppose, lace. But I'm still working towards that, and openwork is no problem. The thing with me and mittens (or any genre of pattern, for that matter) is that I have a very steep learning curve. Read: act like an idiot until something clicks, then make significantly fewer stupid mistakes from there on out. Like the idea of a nice firm fabric being key to mitten warmth. Or the importance of using wool instead of acrylic on things that are supposed to be warm. Or how I've been weaving in ends wrong for five years (I always wondered why my ends popped out all over the place).

That said, the actual construction of mittens has given me little to complain about. From my first pair, I just read the instructions on how to make a gusseted thumb, and then when I saw what I had done, it made more sense. Now, my skill at picking up stitches has improved greatly, and I think there are fewer holes around thumb creases, but mostly I understood.

History:
1. Four pairs of two-needle mittens.
Pattern: Family of Mittens (Lion Brand free pattern)
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun (sea teal and coral)
Started/completed: for Christmas 2005
Comments: I gave these to the Hinsdale Food Bank in my grandma's name, because she endlessly knit children's mittens for charity. I can't even think how many tiny balls of yarn she kept to use as stripes. She filled a large floor basket with the mittens every year. I was pretty happy with mine, but shocked that a bulky yarn was being knit on 4s. Using two needles was great because I didn't feel like I was doing too many complicated things at once.

2. Cabled mittens
Pattern: from Mom's Accessories book
Yarn: Red Heart Tweed
Started/completed: Fall 2007
Comments: I don't remember much about making these, but I do remember not wearing them. To the point that when I accidentally threw out a bag of clothes for charity, they went with.

3. Fetching 1 - rainbow
Pattern: Knitty's Fetching
Yarn: Rowan Tapestry
Started/completed: Winter 07/08
Comments: Even though I made these in a DK instead of the recommended worsted, they were pretty warm and I loved them a lot. They went so well with my black coat and allowed me access to my fingers. I lost one only a couple months ago. Only one year of happy use, but actually they were getting a little loose, and even when I washed and reblocked, it was hard to keep them from scrunching up and sliding down my knuckles.

4. Sparkle Druid Mittens
Pattern: Jared Flood's Druid Mittens (Vogue Knitting, Fall 08)
Yarn: Sterling Silk and Silver - 63% Superwash Merino, 20% Silk, 15% Nylon and 2% real silver fibers
Started/completed: August-October 08
Comments: These were pretty much amazing to make and wear (except for one repeated mistake reading the pattern, ended up with a few sl2 wyif that looked silly). They're not very thick or windproof but they are so pretty. They are the most commented on of all my FOs on Ravelry. I started them just before I went to Mexico on business for the first time, and ended up begging a paperclip from a newsstand in the airport to use as a cable needle. I kept on with it even after I got home!

5. Fetching 2 Olive
Pattern: Knitty's Fetching
Yarn: Bernat Satin Solids
Started/completed: November 10, 2008
Comments: I made these on a business trip, then gave them to Cassie. I'm not sure how they wear, but they were noticeably thicker and more solid than Fetching 1.

6. Bulky Flip-top Mittens
Pattern: Bulky Flip-Top Mittens
Yarn: Handspun wool from a farm in Wisconsin
Started/completed: November 8-11, 2008
Comments: Oh, woe is me! I lost one of these last week and have been lamenting since! They were the super warmest most amazing mittens I have ever had. They kept me warm on the -13*F day - the coldest day in Chicago in 15 years! Oh, they were so tight and solid and had fantastic flip tops that I can now add in to any standard mitten pattern, but oh, the sadness of losing my best mitten. So sad.

And now, where do I go from here? Probably to the other featured mitten from Vogue Knitting Fall 2008 (like the Druid mitts). And hopefully quickly, too!

WIPs and Knit Nights

2009-02-03T09:27:00.001-06:00

Bleh. I'm having trouble working through the WIPs. There are only two, and they're both blankets. One is the Hemlock Ring Blanket, and the other is a one piece baby blanket in a snappy jacquard. Extra colorwork, no fuss - love that. But they're on the extremes of interesting. The baby blanket is mind-numbing, but now too big for bus-commute knitting. Hemlock is a serious brain exercise, and I barely made it through the first 37 rows when I was alone in a quiet apartment this weekend. I tried working a couple rows while the boys were over, and that failed miserably. I'm one stitch off, but hell if I know where.

I have stash matched up to queued items, but starting another project when I have two so far from being completed is a horrifying idea. I really do need more mittens, though as my Knit-a-Day calendar reminded me yesterday, if I start something warm now, it will probably be finished just in time for toasty spring weather.

On a different note (can't decide whether it's an upside or what) Knit nights with Dana and Adrienne have been going really well. I think they both hold themselves up to some kind of standard like "we should be able to knit like Emily" which is ridiculous. Haha! No one can knit like me! But seriously, they've only done two or three projects each, and are doing really well. It's going pretty quickly, and they can both knit, purl, decrease, cast on and bind off - more than some knitters learn in their whole lives! We've been frequenting the Knit1 yarn shop on Lincoln Ave, just north of Addison - the owner is open late both Wednesdays and Thursdays, and I just happen to be in love with the selection there. Fortunately, I haven't gone in with a shopping list, since I can never find what I want if I know what that is going in. Does that make sense? Can't have a mission. Never works.

We've started rotating apartments to hang out at each week, and I suppose we'll throw in the yarn shop whenever necessary. It was kind of nice to give them each some yarn from my stash. Love to get rid of that stuff. Just some Homespun and baby yarn, but helpful nonetheless. I'm trying to mature into a new era of quality yarns, and getting rid of anything from Hobby Lobby and Michael's, much as I love them.

Knit Night 1/29/09

2009-01-30T10:14:00.000-06:00

Dana thoughtfully had us over for Knit Night last night, since no one needs to buy from our LYS. Addie didn't make it over until almost 8:30 because she was working and then, as usual, "stopping at home" became a 45 minute ordeal. Oh well - she's one of the busiest people I know, and I won't begrudge her any "home time." I brought some stash to give to each of them. Addie now has a great red and green (but not Christmas-y) 2x2 rib scarf going, as well as another 2x2 in pink baby yarn... for her dog. Why she thinks that her pit bull won't eat that scarf in about three seconds, I have no idea. She did manage to get a pretty cute picture of the other, bigger dog wearing her scarf, so I suppose the attraction lies there? Unknown.

Dana wanted to make baby booties in 24 hours. Since this is almost impossible for a beginner knitter, I had a hard enough time finding her a pattern for booties at her skill level. A free pattern, mind you, my library is too small for such a specific request (booties with no shaping? Don't hold your breath.) But I did find a crafty origami-like bootie that only required garter stitch squares be sewn together in a certain way. I gave here more Homespun, since she liked the dark blue-brown colorway that she received as a gift with her first needles. I am totally over Homespun, but see its appeal, and really like the simple bias-knit black blanket that I made with it. Dana finished a scarf for her mom for Valentine's day with the old Homespun just a couple days ago. The new skein was a green-grey-teal sort of colorway, and will become a similar scarf for her dad for Valentine's Day.

For dinner, Dana served us cheese ravioli with shrimp and caprese. I nommed on the mozzarella but not the tomato and balsamic. The ravioli were fantastic. Addie said her hours got cut at the shop, so she won't be working next Thursday and is going to take that opportunity to claim next week's Knit Night as well as dinner. I brought all of my magazines and books for everyone to look through, and as a confidence booster because they could make almost anything in there pretty soon. I think a cabled hat or scarf might be a good idea soon. Something added in.

Berets

2009-01-25T15:47:00.000-06:00

Slouchy hats are really driving me crazy.

I have made about half a dozen in the past two months, and roughly half of them come out nicely.

1. The very first one was too stiff of a fabric and looks like a wierd Rastafarian hat. Fortunately, Cassie likes it, but dammit, it was supposed to be pretty and subtle, not acceptably bizarre.

2. The second was a fantastic beret (Kent's moss stitch beret), but I lost it. I wanted to give it to Liz, but couldn't because I lost it.

3. I made a replacement for that one next. The shape was modified just a bit to give a wider band and deeper hat. Also, the second moss stitch beret is a fantastic limey yellow and part wool, so a little warmer than the first one. The shape and drape worked out just right for this pattern - medium worsted weight yarn on 3s and 6s.

4. Next, I used a lighter worsted yarn (Nashua Worsted) to make a beret that was designed with this yarn in mind. This one had a loose band, but the shape is pretty great. I would use even smaller needles for the band if I were to make it again.

5. Vogue Knitting magazine had this phenomenal neon yellow bobbled and lace hat that I wanted to do. It sound ridiculous, I know, but really looked fantastic, if a little less slouchy than desired. The use of a different gauge yarn than recommended ended up in an extra-big hat. No head has been found to be big enough for this hat quite yet. It looked especially mushroom-like on Marilyn's petite head.

6. What looked great on her was the waffle-pattern beret made with the same Nashua alpaca-wool blend as the cabled beret. It was a bit small for my tastes, but blocked out a little bigger, and looked great on her. I used Kent's folded band but the top pattern and decreases from the Beret Gaufre on Ravelry. Yarn was in short supply during the decreases and I wish there had been about three yards more, but such is life. I improvised to close things up a little faster than expected.

Next, I have mittens to replace.