Amelia Earhart
One costume down, one more to go.
Softball Washcloths
I’m planning on knitting some washcloths as holiday gifts this year. Yesterday I was searching the many aisles of WEBS looking for an inexpensive option. I noticed some cones of 2.2 Softball in natural in the warehouse. I wound off a bit and knit up a swatch when I got home. I used a double strand on US 6 needles, tossed it in the washer/dryer and gave it a test run. It did shrink some in the width and a lot in the length (that’s garter stitch for you). But now it’s even softer and squishier.
I really like this yarn. I can’t stop touching my swatch. I think I’ll buy a cone of it today. Did I mention that it’s also really cheap. Maybe I can play around with dying it too.
I’m probably one of the last people to post about Rhinebeck. I’m getting to it. Things are a little busy right now. And I did finish my top-down raglan sweater too, wore it twice already. But I’m planning to go back and make the sleeves a little longer before blogging about it.
25 Slick Tricks
I spent six hours today at the 25 Slick Tricks of the Trade class with Candace Eisner Strick. It was a great class and I learned a lot.
My favorite tricks from today…
1. Crochet hook cast-0n–so much easier to use than a provisional cast-on with a crochet chain. I’ll be using this for my next provisional cast-on
2. Knitting & Purling backwards–I’ve always wanted to learn to do this, but haven’t figured it out until now. Entralac here I come!
3. 1 row buttonhole–OK, I’ve never tried ANY buttonhole before, but this one is so slick, I can’t imagine doing a 2 row one.
4. Knitting in ends–I wonder how secure the ends are, but if they’re sufficient, I’ll be knitting in my ends as I make my first log cabin blanket.
5. Latvian braids–so pretty and cool, maybe I’ll try this for the edge of my next mittens.
And if I didn’t already now how to do a tubular cast on and cabling without a cable needle, these would have been included in my top tricks from today.
I enjoyed Candace so much that I’m a little sad that I won’t be taking her class this weekend–Strickmuster, the Beautiful Twisted Stitch of Austria. But I will definitely be taking another class from her next time she’s in town.
Finished Project: Ty’s Red Scarf
Project Specs:
Pattern: mistake rib
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, color M-197 Red Hot Passion
Needles: US 8
Size: 3″ x 36″
Now I’m into holiday mode, making lists of gifts to make, and trying to finish one a week to finish on time. First up, a quick red scarf (his request) for my nephew Ty. And I’ve made Mr. Spino a scarf to match.
Thanks for modeling for me Liam. I know how you don’t like that scratchy wool.
I’m a Square
Yes, I’m a square for Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo for Saturday. I plan to be at the festival all day. So if you’re looking for me I’ll be carrying my Lexie bag.
And I’m knitting like a crazy woman, trying to finish my raglan sweater tonight, so I can wear it tomorrow. Hopefully, I will finish.
See you tomorrow!
Nice Neck
I’ve just about finished my sleeve for my top-down raglan sweater. Inspired by my Dreaded Disasters class yesterday I decided to tackle my neckband before moving onto the next sleeve.
Following some of the advice of Maggie Radcliffe, I attempted a shaped border. Using needles two sizes smaller, I picked up lots of stitches for the neck, more than I normally would. I then continued knitting in the round.
Row 1: Purl.
Row 2: Knit all of the stitches, decreasing 10% of them evenly.
Row 3: Purl.
Row 4: Knit, decreasing one stitch at each raglan seem.
Row 5: Bind off firmly purlwise.
The neck is quite sturdy and lies nice and flat. But I’m going to redo it, the same way, but only neater. I picked up the stitches too loosely, and half of the back stitches were picked up on a different row so the join looks off. But hopefully the second time will be just right.
…later the same afternoon…
Apparently when you pick up many more stitches on one side of the neck, you’ll end up with a crooked neck. I should have known. Onto my third attempt.
Finished Project-Target Wave Mittens
Project Specs:
Pattern: Target Wave Mittens from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan
Yarn: one ball each of Berkshire in colors Blue Ming and Rose
Needles: US 6 and 8
Size: medium
Pattern Alterations: Since I used a bulkier yarn, I felted them to bring them down to an appropriate size for a 7-year old. Also the thumb looked obscenely long, so I shorted it by four rows.
Well the felting did help the mittens. But the target thumb shaping is still really weird. There’s just too much fabric between the thumb and fingers. I wonder how the pattern could be adjusted to fix this. But Ella said they’re wearable enough to be given as a present. So once they dry, I’ll wrap them up.
My Blog Links: Dreaded Disasters
Dreaded Disasters
I’m looking forward to my Maggie Radcliffe classes this weekend. And it looks like I might have another candidate for the Dreaded Disasters class.
And this is after I made the thumb four rows shorter.
It is meant for a 7-year old. And looking at the fit on Liam, it’s clearly going to be too big. Not a surprise to me since I used bulkier yarn. So I’m hoping that a little time felting in the washer will make things better. Or worse, then I’ll just go out and buy the girl a present. I still like the basic idea of the pattern. But I think the thumb target could use some better shaping.
The Science of Sleep
I went to The Science of Sleep this week and saw the most peculiar/interesting knitting machine in the movie. It had a keyboard which appeared to control some sort of intarsia knitting. I’ve never seen a knitting machine before. But, this can’t possibly be how they work, right? This must of been just another piece of this crazy, imaginative movie.
I also particularly enjoyed the dream sequences with the giant hands. That’s exactly how I dream. Totally normal, boring dream happening, then suddenly one of my appendages become huge, just like this.
This happens to you too, right? Oh, now you think I’m crazy.
Where Do You Get Your Patterns?
Annie Modesitt’s question got me thinking, “Where do I get my knitting patterns?” I was a little surprised how many I’ve been making up and that I still haven’t completed something from a knitting magazine.
Single Patterns–4
Knitting Books–10
Internet–10
Write Your Own–16
So, where do you get your knitting patterns from?
