Knitting at the Movies
They’re knitting at the movies over in the UK. But I have yet to run into another person knitting at the movies. But I know I’m not the only one out there.
Thanks to Cirilia’s idea, I now have added a handy little light to my knitting tool kit. No longer do I need to fear the dreaded drop stitch or a tricky increase/decrease while at the movies.
Finished Project: Nature Wool Log Cabin Blanket
Project Specs:
Pattern: I used the “How to Log Cabin” instructions from Mason-Dixon Knitting as a starting point.
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool Chunky, 4 skeins of color 130; 2 skeins each of colors 121, 129, 102, 123, 116, and 125
Needles: US 10 circulars, various lengths
Size: 37″ x 56″
Finally, a finished 2007 project. I love this blanket but it’s a gift. So off it goes. I have enough Nature Wool left to make another, but I think I’ll save those for some matching pillows. It’s a good sign that as soon as I finished this project, I wanted to cast on for another log cabin blanket. It’s a great project for knitting in a dark movie theater, where the bulk of this was knitted.
With this project out of the way, now I can focus on the other 12 unfinished projects I’ve started. TWELVE! What happened? I started last year with only one unfinished project. Maybe it’s not my growing stash that makes me anxious, but the growing number of unfinished projects.
Finished Square: #2
Striped Stockinette Stitch
With the holiday knitting done (well except for that one big project), I’ve picked up the Learn-to-Knit Afghan again. While trying to figure out which square we’re on, I discovered square #2 already finished and blocked, but never posted. No surprises here with striped stockinette. I’ve done it before.
Spring Swatches
The new spring yarns are starting to arrive at the store. And I’ve tried out five of them.
Berroco Pure Merino Heathers I knit a swatch of the Pure Merino last fall and fell in love with it. I love how even the stitches are and it’s so soft and squishy. I thought there was a good selection of colors before, but the addition of the Heathers is even better. And machine washable to boot! I need to make something with this.
Berroco Love It Colors Hmm, I’m not so in love with this yarn. Well at least not the Colors. I don’t like spotty transition between colors. And be careful when you choose one of the Colors since it may not be apparent what colors are hiding inside the ball. For instance, this colorway has a peach color inside the ball which I didn’t get to in my swatch. The yarn is quite elastic which makes knitting easier. And again, this is machine washable. So if you want a worsted weight yarn with the feel of cotton, but not the weight, this could work for you.
Rowan Handknit Cotton I’m not the biggest fan of 100% cotton yarns. I find them difficult to work with and I usually don’t love how my stitches look. But there was something about the Handknit cotton that made me want to keep knitting with it. The smooth, soft cotton was actually enjoyable to knit. I’m thinking of using it to make some of the absolutely adorable toys in Zoë Mellor’s book Knitted Toys.
Rowan Denim I’ve been hearing about this yarn for awhile. I made two swatches, and yes, this yarn really does shrink in length, almost 20%. And with just one washing, it has noticeably faded too. I wonder how challenging this yarn would be to use in any pattern other than ones written for it? The shrinkage is definitely a factor.
S. Charles Collezione Ceylon This 100% silk yarn has only 68 yards on a ball. So I wasn’t even able to make a 6×6 inch swatch. And only a few rows into the ball I came to an end. But the yarn does have a nice texture to it. So I would imagine this would be good for trim or an accent in a garment. But with a whole garment, there would be so many ends to weave in.
Closer…
365 Days of Experiments
Have you seen what Nona is doing this year? She’s doing one new swatch every day for a year. I love this idea. You get to experiment with different colors, textures, patterns every day. There’s no pressure to produce something that’s going to work out since it’s only a swatch. Some days you’d make something unexpectedly great, other days may not work out. But at the end of the year you would have this amazing collection for ideas and inspiration. I don’t have the knitting time for this kind of endeavor right now. But I would love to try out a mini version of this during the summer. Maybe 31 days of swatches.
Mittens Mended
I’ve finished mending the mitten thumbs, and it was a good learning experience. First I found a 2/6 Donegal Tweed cone in the warehouse about the right color and wound off just enough for the mend.
Next I grabbed a set of 2.75 mm double points and picked up stitches at the bottom of the hole. I added some thread as guides for picking up stitches along the sides.
The trickiest part of the mend was to figure out how to graft 1×1 rib with access only to the right side. I used Vogue Knitting as my grafting guide. I separated the two sets of stitches onto four needles, dividing the purls from the knits. Since I couldn’t graft the purls on the wrong side as suggested, I went ahead and grafted them on the right side. Then on top of that I grafted the knit stitches.
Looks ok since the grafted purls sort of just disappear between the knit ridges, just as I hoped they would. And there you are. A thumb without a gaping hole.
WEBS Has a New Blog & Podcast
Some of you may already be aware of WEBS‘s new radio show, Ready, Set, Knit!, which is now a podcast too. It’s been fun listening to the Elkins get more and more comfortable on the radio over the weeks.
And now WEBS has a blog too. So far it’s a nice mix of the store’s happenings, Kathy’s projects, and a glimpse into the Elkins’ lives.
Drinking Before Noon?
I’m about to tackle mending the thumbs of these mittens.
If it wasn’t before noon, I’d start with a glass of wine. As it is, I’m going to jump in and start. I’ve never mended anything like this yet. At first glance, the mittens seem to be done in a rib stitch. But as I stretch the fabric and see the criss-cross of threads, there’s some other stitch happening, unknown to me.
So I’m just going to go with a 1×1 rib for the patch. Wish me luck.
2006 Favorite Projects
Here are my five favorite finished objects of 2006. (in order of completion)
Pink Picot Hat: Still the only hat that I’ve made for myself. Since I felted it down to my size, I love this hat even more. The Malabrigo is utterly soft.
Midwest Moonlight: Unfortunately this scarf was for a knitting exchange, so I will never see it again. But I fell in love with Silky Wool and now have 23 skeins in my stash.
Purple Maze Messenger Bag: I haven’t seen it since I dropped it off at the store. But I’ll be making another one for my sister-in-law as soon as she chooses the colors. And I’ll have another chance to work with Amherst again. Such a nice yarn.
Inspiration Scarf: Between the soft cashmere goodness of the yarn, and the wonderful drape, I almost wish I kept the scarf for myself. But it sounds like my dad loves it so I’m glad I sent it.
Log Cabin Socks: These socks felt so good when I tried them on (again before sending them off). And I have plenty of Berroco Pleasure left in my stash. I can make a few more pairs and maybe keep one for me. But next time I think I may reinforce the heels. I have a pair of socks I made a year ago that already need some mending.
Amazingly, I only finished two projects for myself this year. Between knitting gifts and things for the store, there wasn’t much time for me. I also ended the year with far too many unfinished projects. I’d love to spend January finishing up a lot of these projects. And for the rest of 2007, I hope to do more sweater knitting.
