Haven’t done one of these in an age in a half. I’ve been posting Work in Progress Wednesday pics on my Facebook page but I haven’t taken the time to write up what I’ve been doing.
I started this way back on October 17th. Started off with Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Oak, Nutmeg, and Golden Hickory. Finished the first section only to find out that I had read the instructions wrong and had to frog the whole thing. Got through the second section and started the third when I realized the Golden Hickory had too much green in it and blended in with the Oak, so I ordered a skein of Sequoia and that did the trick. I finished the knitting on it about two weeks ago and am only now getting a chance to block it so I can gift it on Sunday. Once I got into the rhythm of it it was a great watching/listening to TV knit. Not super portable once you get to three colors, I had to arrange the balls around me in a certain way so I didn’t get tangles. I have yarn to make myself one which I’ll most likely be starting next month.
These were started about the same time as Color Affection, but they were finished on the Sunday before Christmas. No real problems with these except for my needle bending which made them painful to knit. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Deep Sea Flower. Despite the painful knitting, the yarn was a dream to work with. I was worried that they would be too small for their intended recipient since the pattern called to start the toe 1.5″ from the length of foot and I’ve always done 2″, this was one of the first times I was working directly from a pattern and not just a lace chart and my own measurements. I went with the 2″ and they fit her perfectly.
Snowmen
These were the bane of my existence this holiday season. The plan was to have the pattern go live the beginning of November with a stock of finished ornaments and kits to make them to sell in my Etsy Shop. Illness got in the way and that launch date got pushed further and further back until I just decided it wasn’t happening this year and I’ll try for next year. I managed to get 4 bodies done but only finished two of them to give as teacher gifts.
This was a quick and dirty knit for my son who needed something to keep his neck and face warm. I used my Neck Warmer pattern but instead of the pattern stitch I did 2×2 ribbing since it was for a child. It does look nicer than this in person since the ends have been woven in and it’s been blocked. Only problem is that Thing 1 declared that it’s too itchy so he hasn’t worn it. This is some Patons Classic Wool I had in my stash so next time I’ll have to go with something softer since he does have sensitive skin. It’ll be a good back up for my husband.
I call these my Earth and Sea socks. They are knit from River City Yarn’s Adam & Eve, a merino, cashmere, and nylon blend in a color way called Walnut. The yarn was a gift from a friend in Canada and the yarn made exclusively for the yarn shop. I have always loved Pomatomus, but I was afraid that the sock would be too tight on my big feet so I used the advice in Cookie A’s Sock Innovation to alter the leg chart to a 14st repeat and altered the instep chart accordingly. I was a bit nervous about the instep chart since it has those two bits on either side, but when it came time for me to do the second instep repeat it worked! I probably could have done another half a repeat before starting the toe, but it still looks good.
This is the head and neck of Monkey Jacobus. The first snag came when the Knit Picks Bare Merino Fingering (which they don’t make any more) I was planning to use for the face was moth eaten, so I had to use Knit Picks Palette instead which is a different base from the Knit Picks Stroll Hand Painted Sock in Carnival (a discontinued color) that I was using for the body. Second snag is that knitting this pattern in fingering is a study in frustration. I’m supposed to gift it on Sunday and I don’t have any real worries about finishing it on time but weaving in ends and using new techniques are that much harder when using US Size 2 (2.75mm) needles. I’m sorely tempted to see what I have in stash to do this in worsted weight, but I’ve already come so far that I’m going to see it through to the end.
This is actually my third go round with this pattern. The yarn in Three Irish Girls Glenhaven Cashmerino Sock in Kathmandu that I bought last January. After some searching for a pattern for my larger than average hands, I settled on Ann Budd’s basic glove pattern from her book, The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns. I decided to start out with a woman’s large at 8sts/inch. Turns out that I get 7sts/inch on my US Size 2.5 (3.0mm) needles, so I frogged and decided to try the women’s large at the proper gauge. When I got to the finger I knew that this wasn’t going to work since I could barely slide it on. I’ve decided to go back to my original 8sts/inch women’s large (basically a men’s medium) knowing everything will be a bit larger because of the gauge difference but I’m sure I’ll get a better fit.
There’s a lot coming up – a sweater for me, a shawlette pattern that I need to do one more time before I have it tested and published, two shawls to finish and one to start, and stockings to make. Due to illness, I didn’t get much knitting done in 2014, but 2015 will be different. TTFN!
Knitty Keen 