Crochet

I brought out the crochet that's been sitting under my coffee table for months, and in between readings and musings and during phone conversations, finally managed to finish one of two bolster covers.



This used to be a XL men's cotton cable sweater that I thrifted something like six summers ago. If feels very gratifying to have:

• practiced crochet


• reupcycled


• finished!

Only one more to go! Let's hope it takes about six weeks rather than six months this time. And let's not even talk about years.

FO: Selbu Modern

If you've seen any of my weekly photo mosaics (which I'm terribly behind on, I know) you may have glimpsed my first FO of the year: a Selbu Modern beret.  A fantastic pattern! It's knit in a skein of Lang Jawoll sock yarn (white) and Elann Baby Cashmere (purple), both of which I've had in stash for years now. My stranding skills leave much to be desired, but blocking really helped even things out.

I finally took a couple moments after work to take some snapshots, which proved more difficult than I'd anticipated.  Here are the best couple of the lot.  They don't show off the hat exceptionally well, but well enough I suppose.

The pattern is simple enough to knit, because it's so well written and the chart is so clear.  The pattern adds just enough a pop of texture and contrast to my usual attire of mostly solids, yet doesn't overwhelm some of the prints I occasionally wear. This, along with an Urchin hat I knit up about three (!) years ago, has been keeping me warm and toasty all winter. A beret is the best hat for this head.

FO: Knee-highs!

These are the inspiration shot (from this trip), along with the final product (started here):

I did simple M1R and M1L increases for the calf, up until I had 80 stitches all around.  There are neat and symmetric little slants on each side, which I quite like.  I finished off with 2x2 ribbing for 18 rows.  They hit just below the knee.

I'm in love! Warm and colorful legs this fall (or whenever it gets cold enough around these parts)!

Cast off and away!

Ecclesiates tells us that "for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: ...a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew..."

I love crafty references in the Bible (amazing detail -- God is definitely the Great Craftsman)! And for me, the time has come.  Today is the day that I cast off* a project that's been on the needles for a while now.  Here's what I did during the lunch hour:

This, gentle reader, is what casting off looks like (nice, finished edge on the right).  And yes, this is the second sock.  I'm later at it than I would be if I hadn't knit this in 1x1 ribbing for 15 rows only to realize it should've been 2x2 ribbing (which is more elastic), which is how I knit the first sock. An exciting blog post awaits as both socks are reunited when I get home, and the full rainbow effect of Noro Kureyon in color 092 is unleashed for all to see. Hold your breath, reader!

Okay, okay: it's casting "off" and not "away."  I'm totally taking the verse out of context, and even using the meanings improperly, but -- honestly -- I couldn't help myself.

Cowled

There's a small and not-so-known section of my office that's open to the public, meaning that a part of my job is fielding questions from people who come in. Because it's small and not-so-known, there aren't a whole lot of visitors; but there are some regulars. (This is sometimes good, sometimes not.)

One such party stopped by not too long ago (they ask for me by first name, like we're old friends; it's kinda weird but what can ya do?) to say hello. We struck up some smalltalk as we usually do. And suddenly the conversation heads thusward:

Mr. A: So...if I may... May I ask, how old is Jean?

Me: Jean is old enough.

Mr. A: You're not in your 50s, are you? 40s?

Me: [Incredulous, unsure if this is a joke] ... Umm... Try somewhere in my 30s...

Mr. A: oh, really? Because you seem so old.

Me: [Incredulous, unsure if this is a joke] ... Umm, really? Are you serious? Is that a ... compliment?

Mr. A: Oh, of course! Young people these days are just so .... But you're nothing like that. You've always carried yourself with such maturity. ... And I have this friend, who I thought, maybe... He's 61--

Me: [Still incredulous, still unsure if this is a joke, but not caring to find out] -- That's almost double, sir.

Mr. A: Oh, well... [mumble mumble]...

Me: I have to go back to work now. Bye.

Good grief! I've never been told that I look old before! Is it because of my new haircut? I don't think so! People have told me that I look more like my mom, but also that it's a cute cut. What do you think?

[self, cowled]

While I'm at it, allow me to introduce my first FO of the year. It's the Stripes to Keep Me Warm pattern (Ravelry link) with a few mods: knit in fingering weight yarn, with shortened neck part, because I knew I would never use it as a hood/wimple. I actually didn't quite like the 'scrunch' factor, either, so ended up folding the edge inside. I wore it the other day over a sleeveless black dress and grey flats, and felt very chic.

Halloween

It's probably my least favorite 'holiday,' but I simply must post a picture of the Goo's first Halloween.

[monkey, crawling]

[monkey, getting up]

[monkey, standing]

[monkey, playing]

He went trick-or-treating around the block with his parents, while Ifixed myself a quiet dinner (leftovers, I admit) and called it an early night.  

In keeping with the Goo's costume, here are some old Halloween pictures I found, from about two years ago (?).  It's the last dress-up party I went to, hosted by Monkey+Banana.  I came as Jack Skellington: work clothes + hand-knitted mask.

  [mini pumpkins]

 [mr. monkey]

[mrs. banana + me]

 [costumed college crew]

FO: Nursing cover

Dear Baby J,

My sincere and humble apologies for getting this to you so late (I can hardly believe you are already 3 1/2 months old!).  As it turns out, I underestimated not so much my skill at sewing (although don't scrutinize so closely; I know you are the granddaughter of a professional) but rather embroidery. I hope that you find much use for this piece during the remainder of your breast-feeding days -- and perhaps thereafter, your parents are a resourceful pair.  Please know that each stitch was made with much

Love,

Aunty J

[gallery link="file"]

From top left, First row: 1. starting out supplies 2. box of embroidery floss 3. flosses chosen; second row: 4. chalked lines 5. bled transfer lines 6. hexagon pattern in progress; third row: 7. ironed 8. the entire nursing cover 9. scraps

I followed this tutorial using organic cotton fabric purchased at JoAnn's.  Sashiko patterns were from an old library book.

I've wanted to try sashiko for a long time now, and I'm glad I finally sat down and did it.  Such a large-scale project did wear me out, but I think I'll come back to it one of these days as it's quite soothing to do and simply stunning to look at -- especially for someone who likes geometrics like I do.  Maybe accent strips on place mats or coasters.  For now though, I have my Summer Project list to wind up... and start on.

FO: Baby hat

I don't even remember how long ago I started this hat.  The only documentation is this shot, taken for Project 365 on March 9!  A quick series of emails with the mama -- an old and estranged-utnil-recently elementary school friend -- and we had a meeting set up.  I couldn't show up empty-handed.

There was actually just the crochet edging and ties that had to get done, as well as blocking.  So I put the hat on a metal mixing bowl, sprayed it down with water, and let it sit overnight.  In the morning, I braided.  Seriously, why did it take me so long?!

It took some fiddling with the numbers because I knit it in fingering weight yarn for a baby (as opposed to heavy worsted weight for an adult, as the pattern is written).  The earflaps are a bit far back, but in the end, it fits BabyC with a little room to grow. He'll get a bit more wear out of it in the cooler SF Bay area where he lives, which makes me happy.

[baby Thorpe (pdf)]

Now on to knitting for the three other babes and two more that are on the way!

Christmas knitting

Hope all your Christmas knitting got done in time, and that their recipients are enjoying them!  

Knitting For Me came to a halt as the idea to knit hats entered my mind, oh, somewhere around October.  I vastly exagerrated my knitting prowess and decided that I could knit 30 hats in 30 days.  I scoured the Internets and Ravelry and had an entire army of patterns lined up in my mind and on my shelf.  The dream faded quickly as it took me five days to knit the first hat (Stella's).

I plugged onwards, to see just how many hats I could churn out in a month's time.  Next up: Urchin.  I'd been saving up a skein of thick-'n-thin(ner than usual) Malabrigo in a lovely teal color -- purchased two (three?) Thanksgivings ago at Imagiknit in San Francisco (how and why do I remember these things?) -- for something special, and it turned out just how I'd imagined:  lovely!

[urchin -- to keep or to give?]

I frogged and made some mods, so Urchin, too, took me nearly a week to complete.

Then it was on to a simple hat in a purple yarn my parents had acquired for me.  I wanted to use up as much of it as possible so there was some frogging involved here, too, as I went back and forth with the when and how much of crown increases and decreases.  Another week gone by...

[three weeks = three hats... (x_x)]

I hadn't intended on knitting the Turn A Square hat, but in a quick moment pulled out a skein of Noro Kureyon and some leftover Patons Classic Merino.  It only took one day to knit one, and in a fraction of the time it took to knit the above, I had four hats!  If only I'd started with this pattern!

Some modifications were made: decreasing the number of stitches cast on, elminating the additional stitches made after the ribbing, knitting 2x2 instead of 2x3 stripe pattern.  I used the entire skein of Kureyon in three hats and knit up the leftover solids (pea green, olive, gray) into a fourth.

[four squared]

It was an awesome stashbusting experience!  Another cool tidbit:  the grey came from the leftovers of my Forecast sweater -- whose buttonband was reknit ages ago but never blogged -- which I've been wearing practically nonstop the entire season.  It now looks like this:

[finally finished forecast]

So: seven hats total (one claimed by DC, two by *ahem* moi-meme!).  A lot less than I'd aimed for, but, on the flipside, a bit of a head-start into next year's gift giving.  Now: back to KFM!

Blue Baktus

This was my no-brain knitting for Hawaii--which was tossed by the wayside in favor of a coupleTwilight books (what can I say?).

It got done sooner rather than later, though the posting about it here has been the reverse.  No changes to the original pattern.

Pattern: Baktus 

Needles: US3 Addi 16" circular

Yarn 1: ShiBui Knits Sock, Gekiryuu/Rapids

Yarn 2: Patons Kroy Sock, Chelsea Tweed

Yarn 3: Navy merino leftover from the first FO.

 

 

[looks nice on the reverse side, too, no?]

 

The edge where the yarn ends are carried up looks ropelike and much neater than I thought it would (sorry, no pic).  The most tricky bit about working with three yarns was the different amounts I had of each.  This one turned out smaller than the first Baktus I knit, but still wrap-around-able and tie-able:

I wanted to keep this one for myself, but instead gave it to my friend for her birthday last weekend.  Oh, sacrifices.  I'll just have to dig up combo of sock yarn leftovers and knit another one, I suppose... darn. (^o^)

Knitting For Me: Whisper Cardigan

This little number was finished and blocked in time to be worn in Maui.  There were tons of mods, the details of which I no longer recall, and which may not help anyway because there is no method to them at all... but here's my best shot at a recap of what I did:

Pattern: Whisper Cardigan (Hannah Fettig for Interweave Knits, Spring 2009)

Yarn: Recycled cotton/cashmere from a thrifted I.Magnin sweater

Needles: US6 aluminum dpns + circulars; US3 Addi turbo circulars

    
[difficult to take pics of a piece that is the same color as one's walls...]

I wanted straight sleeves so knew from the get-go that I wouldn't be casting on 90 stitches.  From sock-knitting, I knew that 60 sts in the round on US1 needles could be a sweater sleeve for me, which helped me determine 64 as a cast-on number for the Whisper Cardigan -- with positive ease from the larger (US6) needle size.  As you can see from the photos, the sleeves are not tight around my arms at all.

Accordingly I decreased the number of stitches cast off at the underarms.  The only other change I made was to do increases for the 'flaps' every 4 rows, instead of every 2 as called for.  So the sweater still drapes, just not a whole lot.

Although you can't see it in the photos, the back/shoulder is a bit longer than ideal:  it got stretched out a bit in the blocking.  Doesn't make it unwearable, but it does fall off my shoulder every now and then.   If I were to knit this again (a great gift knit) I'd make the shoulder length a couple inches shorter than called for in the pattern, to account for the slight stretching. 

Here's another shot I took -- in my kitchen this time instead of the living room -- so you could see it a little bit better.  

[Please excuse my peeking pajama bottoms!]

The cotton/cashmere makes this sweater sooooo buttery (like the color) soft, and so warm!  In sum: a great sweater, clever design, and definitely wearable -- success!

FO: (slightly) backwards Baktus

Here, as promised, is the full-on photo of the Baktus scarf.  Please nevermind the unwoven ends. 

Pattern: Baktus scarf

Needles: US3 Addi 16" circular

Yarn 1: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, Camouflage

Yarn 2: ShiBuiKnits sock, Moss

Yarn 3: Regia, olives

Mods:  I basically did the increases and decreases at opposite ends of the work, resulting in a diamond rather than triangle shape.

The width maxes out at 65 stitches across, which is substantial enough for me!

You'll notice that there are three yarns used.  I ran out of my main yarns with 15 stitches on the needles!  Luckily I found a stray leftover skein of the Regia that was in the same color family, so the difference is subtle.

Going through my sock leftovers all at once has shown me that I've knit a lot of socks--at least 20 pairs!  But, I rarely wear the three pairs of socks I have for myself.  It could have something to do with SoCal weather and the fact that I'm in flip flops most of the year, but I've learned that I'm just not a knitted socks kinda gal.  So: no more knitted socks for myself (no matter how cute the pattern).  And much thanks for this pattern!

I leave you with a snapshot of some Queen Anne's Lace that I picked up at the farmers market last Friday (yes, I buy weeds).  I've always loved the daintiness of this flower; I even enjoy its slightly weedy smell.

You should know one thing, though...

...it's hella messy.

FO: Camo socks for Dad

Just a few rows of ribbing, binding off, and weaving in.  And still, these didn't get finished on time.  And now my parents are out of town, so my dad won't be getting these until even later.  *sigh*  Oh well.

An interesting thing, though.  I turned the sock inside-out to weave in the ends, and discovered that I quite like the look of it that way!  Check it out (the one on the right):

   

The difference is subtle, but very textural.  Here's another shot, which shoes the soles:



What do you think?  I like both!  I'm going to tell my dad he can wear them either way.  Knowing him, though, I suspect he'll opt for the traditional stockinette side showing.  Well, he can do as he pleases. They're his socks, after all!

Re: the yarn.  This was my first time knitting with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, and I really enjoyed it!  There were no knots or snargles.  The yarn is not sproingy like Koigu, Cherry Tree Hill, or ShiBui, but feels smoother than Regia or Opal.  It's defninitely a yarn I'd use again (and again), and not just for socks!

These still need to be blocked, and I promise they will be before my parents' return from their travels. 

Happy (belated) birthday, Dad!

Knitting For Me: First FO!

Been plugging away at the Shetland Shorty, and it got done a couple of weeks ago.  And I've actually worn it!  I've been knitting for a several years now, but this is probably the very first successful garment I've knit for myself.  Just call me a late bloomer...

In any case, once I reestablished a feel for the pattern it was easy going.  There are tons of modifications--not because I'm one of those genius pattern tweakers or customizers, but just to work around the mistakes I made without having to frog any more than necessary!  Looking at the various versions and notes on Ravelry helped me make the biggest change, which was knitting only 12 repeats of the Birds Eye Lace pattern for the left and right fronts (instead of the 17 prescribed for the XS size).  I figured it out by trying it on, as best as possible, while knitting.

When I rejoined the yarn, I realized that I'd mixed up the front and back, I knit the neckline and front edging in reverse garter (purl every row).  Because of that, I knit one extra row before binding off so that the bind-off edge would show on the right side of the garment.  You'd think a body couldn't mess up on simply purling, but somewhere along that part I managed a dozen or so knit stitches, which went unnoticed until I was weaving in the ends.  Oh well.  Thank goodness I'm not that much of a perfectionist!  And besides, the flaw is on the wrong side; from the right side you can't really tell.  So I'm not showin' where it is!



What I will show you is how much yarn I had leftover.  What a relief, after having woried that I'd totally run out!  At the beginning, I tried to conserve by knitting only seven of the nine garter rows for the lower band and ties.  I don't know how much that would have helped, but in the end it really came down to knitting five less repeats on the left and right fronts. 

I love this shrug!  It fits comfortably, and both color and pattern add a cheerful pop and some texture to my mostly-darks-and plain wardrobe.  I also like that it's a bit longer on me, not tied right below the bust.  My younger brother, the art student and one of the most stylish people I know, was surprised to hear I'd knit it myself.  He said it looks like I bought it, and expensively.  Huzzah!

Here are the specs:

Pattern:  Shetland Shorty (Gundrun Johnston for Knitty, Summer 2008)

Yarn: Hand Maiden Sea Silk, Pumpkin

Needles: US3 Addi turbo circular, US4 aluminum straight

I took advantage of a day off and the morning light to take a couple of additional photos.  To tell you that Shetland Shorty is my most successful garment requires me to show you my past failures.  These were worn after they were completed, but due to dissatisfaction on various points, have, over time, been demoted to the back and bottom of the drawer.  I thought I'd post and talk about them now, before they get frogged.



First we have the Apricot Jacke from Rebecca 27, which was, incidentally, my very first sweater (finished in 2006).  It's a lovely sweater, but I think my first mistake was yarn choice.  GGH Samoa is 50% cotton and 50% microfiber, which is great for the machine washability, but does not have the "pullback" of wool, which is obvious especially at the elbows.  The other major flaw is the sagginess of the arms, which you can see pretty clearly in the photo.  I learned a lot, through this, about knowing my own measurements and knitting garments to fit me (what a concept).

I adore the pattern too much (and forked out too much money to get it) to go without this sweater, so it will be knit again, in either a wool or wool blend yarn, and fully taking into account the lessons I learned the first time around. 



Next up we have the Spring Fling cardigan, also finished in 2006.  I'd wanted an openwork cardigan to stave the blast of the A/C at the office, which had me bundled up like it was winter in high summer.  Like the Apricot Jacke, my initial mistake was yarn choice (hmm, is a pattern emerging here?).  I used Baruffa Aerobic, a 100% merino wool that ended up too warm, despite the open pattern.  I also had problems with width, which were exacerbated when the cardi was blocked and the lace really stretched out.  You can't really see it too clearly in the photo, but the arms are really baggy and bunchy, uncomfortably so.

Were I to knit this sweater again, I'd also add a proper band around the neckline and down the fronts (although it's not in the original pattern).  I did add one row of crochet, thinking it would stabilize the edge more, but, unfortunately, that didn't quite do the job.

I was so discouraged at those two failed sweaters that I haven't even attempted one for three years!  I don't know that you could call the Shetland Shorty a comparable project, but I put it in the same category because it's for me.  With the high from this success and the resolution made at the beginning of the year to knit for myself--not to mention a few more years of knitting experience to back me up--I am exited to begin to knit a sweater for myself again.  Here's to future successes!

First FO

The kniting's been complete for a while, but it wasn't until last week that I wove in ends, did some sewing, and finally completed this project.  My brother's hands will be toasty, especially these days that the weather has taken a dreary turn towards rain.

This is the third man-hand project I've knitted recently, having completed my first pair of "glittens" for a friend and a pair of gloves for my Supernova before last year's end.

At first I tried to follow a pattern, but then decided it would be easier to make things up as I went.  Six iterations later I've had lots of practice to refine my pattern, and have a basic recipe for cuff-to-finger hand warmers.

My guys requested a finer fabric, so I used fingering weight yarn (XXL Trekking; ShiBui sock yarn; and here, a washable merino whose name I forget) and my favorite US1 dpns.  Here's what I basically did for the convertible mitts:  Cast on 60 sts and knit in a ribbing pattern for 4 inches, then increased one on each side of the first 2 sts every three rows until there were 20 gusset stitches.  Put those stitches on a piece of scrap yarn, then cast on 2 sts by backward loop, and continued knitting on 60 sts for a half inch before resuming the ribbing pattern.  Cast off after 1.5 inches of ribbing.



To make the finger "cup":  Three rows before the ribbing for the fingers, picked up 30 stitches (first 30 for left hand; last 30 for right hand), then used backward loop to cast on the other 30 sts (to create an opening that woud slip on and off).  Knitted the half with picked-up stitches, ribbed the half with cast-on stitches for 1.5 inches, then knit all stitches until the cuticle of the index finger.  Use the try-as-you-go knitting method, too, because people's finger lengths tend to vary quite a bit.

On the first pair of mitts I did decreases like on a sock toe: K1, KSSP, K to last 3 sts on Needle 2, K2tog, K1; repeat for Needles 3 and 4; K one row; etc.

On this pair I did decreases like on a hat: K 8 sts, K2tog; K one row.  K 7 sts, K2tog; K one row.  K 6 sts, K2tog; K one row.  Etc.  Until 6 sts remain.  Cut yarn leaving a foot-long tail.  I then crocheted an 8-st loop and added a button to  the cuff, to eliminate any flapping finger covers.

I saw the "glittens"  in action when I met up with my friend for dinner a few weeks ago; he told me that his mom was jealous!  DC wears his gloves all the time, and makes it a point to tell people that I made them for him.  I'm excited to give this pair to big bro at dinner tonight.  I think he's gonna like them.