Dec/Jan FO update

Picture heavy post! These are the latest projects off my needles; some were secret holiday presents and others are the result of knitting up holiday gift yarn.

Puzzle Stripe Mitts

Circle Scarf with cables

Scallops Hat

Another infinity scarf in super happy rainbow colors

More to come soon....

November roundup

Baby gifts, socks, and stripes seem to be the theme of my November knitting projects! I'm looking forward to more hats and socks in the next couple of weeks (lots of secret knitting for Christmas gifts).

FO: Opus Spicatum

Pattern: Kate Gagnon Osborn's Opus Spicatum hat
Yarn: Cascade 220 heathers in Galaxy (purple) and Olive Heather (green). I used the purple as the MC or background color. There is a ton of yarn left over.
Needles: The pattern calls for US 9 needles, but I used US 8s in the hope that I'd end up with something more fitted than slouchy. Seems to have worked.

As you can tell, I was having some trouble capturing the colors of these yarns accurately in my apartment living room. The shots where it's actually on my head are closest to how the yarn actually appears.

Verdict: This was a pretty quick knit, finished up over the course of a week without much time to dedicate to the knitting. I love having a new hat just in time for the really cold weather, and these muted, low-contrast shades are pretty flattering with my eye color, if I do say so myself.

My knitter-friend Julia helped me choose the color combo during a stop by our favorite Chicago yarn joint, Loopy.  Her advice about finding a green to go with the purple was spot on.

Ravelry project page here.

FO: Sparkle Bee (most exciting FO yet)

Guys! I have another sweater to show off!

Yarn: Dream in Color Starry, in a mysterious brown colorway that might not actually be for sale anywhere (ooh, how exclusive!). I acquired three skeins of this yarn through the Hyde Park knitting group when the Dream in Color people brought a bunch of new colorways and discontinued colorways and one-off "irregular" skeins to a knit night.  All of us immediately pounced on the piles of beautiful yarn and started plotting what kinds of sweaters and accessories we would make. 

Basically I would like to knit with Starry all the time, because then everything I make will have sparkles on it. Is my spirit animal a magpie? Why, yes!

Needles: US 4 circular. That's pretty much as small a needle as I'm currently willing to use to knit an entire adult-sized sweater, but obviously the results are worth it for intricate lace and a nice fabric on the stockinette sleeves: the smaller gauge handles the puffed shoulder detail really well.  

Pattern: Laura Chau's Honeybee Cardigan.  The pattern is really adaptable; there is a cropped version of the cardigan, and obviously sleeve lengths can be adjusted at will.  There's also a wide range of sizes. Mine is knit up in the long cardigan version (obviously) at the 42.5" bust size. That sizing makes for positive ease and the possibility of wearing the cardigan over a tshirt without having too much fabric bunching up under my arms.

Mods: By the way, that lovely little puffed shoulder detail might have been the result of my misreading the pattern and handling the shoulder decreases incorrectly. This was my first bottom-up sweater, plus it is a cardigan, and the whole concept of working back and forth and then sort of in the round to make a yoke with sleeves that look set-in instead of raglan was... difficult for me to conceptualize.  I'm a pretty visual person, so it didn't make sense to me how all these separate pieces were going to fit together on the needle and get joined up and eventually be one sweater until I'd done the knitting. Anyway, I got to the final few rounds of decreases and realized that I had (way) more stitches than I was supposed to; instead of ripping back and correcting the error, I said to myself, "EFF! Well, I guess I'm going to wing it!" Normally those would be famous last words, and you never would have seen this sweater or heard it mentioned.  But the numerous rapid k2togs I added to the pattern resulted in one of my favorite features. So there. Take that, planning ahead and following instructions!

Verdict: While it took me about a hundred years to actually finish this cardigan (I started in April 2010 and kept putting the thing down for months at a time, plus it still doesn't have buttons, oops.), the end result is well worth the amount of true knitting time invested in it (disclaimer: if you work on this project with any sort of dedication, it should not take you two and a half years to finish it).  The lace pattern, though intricate in appearance, is simple and fairly intuitive after a couple of repeats.  Even the potentially boring stockinette sleeve portion of the knitting was made more enjoyable by the sparkly sparkles of this sparkle yarn.  It might have been all that sparkling that distracted me from, you know, actually reading directions.

As you can see, I am pleased.

Ravelry project page here.
Thanks again to Lauren for taking the pictures, especially the horrifying one that I am not posting, in which my face looks like that of the very unfortunate love child of an elf and walrus union.

Overdue FO: I Heart Aran

Best. Sweater. Ever.
This was a fast knit, and it was my first real seaming project. I think it turned out a-okay. At long last, I am able to share some modeled shots.

Pattern: I Heart Aran by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers
Needles: US 7 and 8, circular

Ravelry project page
Photos by Lauren (thanks, Lauren!)

FO: Brocade II (Ninja Turtle style)

Welcome to November! I love the last three months of the year, and I'm very pleased to start this new month with a newly finished pair of wool socks.  It may be getting significantly cooler, and the trees outside my windows may have lost nearly all of their leaves, but that just means it's time for the daily rotation of cozy knitted items, especially hats, shawls, and socks.

Yarn: main color (green) is Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Canopy and the contrast color (pink/purple slow change) is Marks and Kattens Fame Trend.
Needles: US 3 dpns, set of 5

Pattern: Brocade, by Lauren Osborne of Hungry Knitter fame; I knit the large size using large needles. The yarns this time around were a bit less sturdy, so the resulting socks are softer and more drapey, if socks can be called drapey.

 

Verdict: Ninja Turtles 4-Evah!

In all seriousness, I think the color combination on these is pretty great. There are certain points where the magenta shade starts to look almost luminous against the green, and the high-contrast combination is particularly striking along the bottom of the foot.

I was excited to make these and excited to finish them, not only because I seem to have broken through the 95% complete curse, but also because now I get to knit some more stashbusting socks. I have a great set of colors picked out; I can't wait to show you!

FO: tiny blue beehive

Latest in the lineup of quick knits is this tiny blue beehive hat, for friends' soon-to-arrive baby.

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Fjord Heather, less than 1 skein
Needles: US 7 circular and dpns for crown

Pattern: improvised, but pretty basic. CO 48 sts and alternate between 3 rows of stockinette and 4 rows of reverse stockinette, doing 4 sets of crown decreases (for a square shaped top) in stockinette rows only.
Verdict: Fast, easy, cute. Tada!

I immediately cast on for a baby sweater, too, so photos will be coming shortly...

FO: Homely

My couch throw pillows used to be red. Now they are about 10x more awesome because not only are they a neutral, calming shade of off-white, but they are also knitted.

You can see that before this marvelous change took place, Gus would frequently give me the evil eye as his way of encouraging me to hurry up and make the pillows more pretty. The afghan was not made by me, but my mom's friend gave it to her, and it is very lovely.

A close up. Ooh. Aah.

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick super bulky in the Wheat colorway. I think it was probably a total of 4 skeins, but the first three came from a scarf I bought at a local thrift store and unraveled.  Total yarn cost was $7.99 because the one skein I had to purchase was on sale. This worked out to be way less expensive than purchasing new throw pillows, plus I get to be proud of my domestic skillz (yes, when I am talking about domestic ability, the z is necessary).
Needles: US 13s
Pattern: none. I cast on 40 stitches and knit in stockinette until the resulting rectangle was long enough to fit around the whole pillow. I did mattress stitch on the two sides and what I am calling a decorative seam along the top/bottom.

Verdict: I love the look of oversized knitted texture, the neutral shade is a better fit for the bold graphic background of my Ikea couch, and I feel resourceful.  These pillows are definitely a success.  Furthermore, Gus approves!

Next up, bulky yarn and a fast (I hope. Haven't really started yet) sweater vest...

FO: Francis III

Goal: get my hat pattern written up and ready for sale.

Action Step: knit more colorwork projects in awesome color combinations. Not a problem since I love the stuff and seem to be addicted right now.

Progress: so fast. I originally hoped I'd have a "work in progress" post for you guys, but nope, it's just another FO.

I cast on for this yesterday while I was being a proctor for a calculus placement exam some of the incoming university freshman take and finished weaving in the ends last night with the help of some episodes of Supernatural season 7. Netflix is my best friend right now, mailing me season 2 of Downton Abbey, offering Supernatural and Vampire Diaries on Watch Instantly, and it just e-mailed me this morning to inform me that Gossip Girl season 5 is available online.

Expect more knitting progress and a pattern soon.

FO: Brocade on Parade

Okay. I am WAY OVEREXCITED about this project. SO so great. And it's not old/vintage/revived from the yarn pit; it's all new.

Yarn: I do not read the language that appears on the yarn label, however, I am pretty sure the brand is Snaeldan, and I have two shades - 24 (purple) and 1 (white/natural). The yarn was a gift from the wonderful N., who brought it to me in Chicago all the way from the Faroe Islands, where, according to our Dutch source, the men are uniformly unbelievably attractive. The yarn is not too shabby, either.

Pattern: Brocade socks by Lauren Osborne (Hungry Knitter), size M/L on US 3 dpns
Notice how these socks are designed by a friend and made from yarn a friend bought for me? The whole thing feels like a lovely collaboration between all my friends to make my mom some slipper socks that she is going to luuuuuuuurve. I love projects like this.

Mods: This yarn is pretty solid, so I didn't knit the heel flap with two strands of MC held together, as instructed. I think the heel will probably hold up anyway. Also because the yarn is heavy, I knit fewer rows for the heel flap before working the turn rows. It just meant fewer decreases down the gusset, which is no big deal. Hooray for less work, really.

Verdict: I am completely thrilled. The end result is fabulous, and the knitting was the right balance of challenging and simple.  My knitting group would also make some pointed comments about how fast I knit these up (start to finish in 5 days). Look, colorwork is addictive, and I'm pretty speedy. That's my excuse.

Here, have another picture. THESE ARE SO GREAT!!!