Posted in: "FO"
Pattern: Ditty Bag by Maia Discoe
Yarn: Araucania Rancho leftovers from the Science Geek socks, no idea of the yardage
Needles: US 0/2.00 mm
Comments: Fun, quick way to use up some sock yarn leftovers. I finished the knitting on this before we moved, but didn't weave in the ends or do the cord until last week. So now it's finally finished, and Devil has appropriated it as her new purse. Unfortunately its not pink, but she seems to be muddling through anyways.
This past Sunday, I picked up my handspun Briar Rose BFL, and wound it up to cast on for the March/April project, the Chickadee Cowl.
Approximately 30 hours later, I was done. Wow. Fabulous, instant gratification, assisted by the fun of knitting with handspun, and a totally addictive combination of pattern stitch and color progression.
Pattern: Chickadee Cowl by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: BFL handspun singles, dyed by Chris at Briar Rose Fibers for the Ply By Night SAL/KAL group on Ravelry.
Needles: 16 inch US size 10.5/6.5 mm circulars.
Gauge: totally off from the pattern, which called for 13 stitches/4 inches. Mine was about 20 stitches/4 inches. Thankfully, it stretches enough to fit over my big head, so anyone who might get it as a present should be ok.
The yarn is lovely and soft, and has a phenomenal sheen. I will definitely be getting more fiber from Chris in the future, since it was so fun to spin and knits up so beautifully.
It's been a while, no? We have made it out of Houston (just ahead of a Flood of Biblical Proportions) and are comfortably ensconced in Vermont at the moment. I've taken advantage of the Grandmothers to get some knitting done. But in order to have at least a few posts over the next few days, I will not talk about all of it here.
First up: ta da! The first of the TdF socks is done in it's first incarnation (the cuff is going to be adjusted when I get to London and the rest of my yarn for this project).
Pattern: my own, to be available in late June.
Yarn: Cascade Fixation (98% cotton/2% elastic), 100 yds/50 gr. For a women's size 10 I used about a ball and a half.
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Gauge: 7.5 stitches/12 rows per inch.
These anklets are knit from the toe up, with an easy lace pattern reminiscent of the switchbacks on Alpe d'Huez, one of the most famous and storied climbs in the Tour de France. Easy, peasy and quite comfy for the hot days of summer, whether or not you're riding your bike!
I am far from the first, or one hundred and first, or even possibly the one hundred thousand and first knitter to have ever made this observation, but Elizabeth Zimmerman was some kind of genius. How else can you explain how something that looks like this,
becomes this adorable little number.
Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman, Knitting Workshop version
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Natural (dyed yellow, orange and green) and coral (overdyed red). I'm not sure of the exact yardage, but probably somewhere around 350 yds.
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
Comments: I intended this for approximately a 6 month size, so I used worsted weight yarn. Loved the construction and the knitting - mindless garter stitch and spinning are just about the only things my brain can tolerate these days, so this was perfect for the evenings. Total knitting time was approximately a week.
Buttons are small wood ones from my stash.
I ran out of the requested colorway, and had to dye another skein to finish it off, but I think the red fits pretty well with the handpainted stuff. I was worried I was going to get pooling, but somehow I managed to avoid the worst of that.
I love the miters and how they look with this yarn. Very cool.
So when I blocked this thing, it grew. Quite a bit. Now it looks more like a one year old size. But so be it - the niece will live in Boston, so hopefully she'll get some use out of it next winter and spring.
Pattern: Biological Clocks by Janel Laidman, from The Eclectic Sole
Yarn: Araucania Ranco, 1 skein
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Gauge: 9 sts (!)/12 rows per inch
Comments/mods: These socks have been on my list for a while now, and I finally cast on for them in January. With one thing and another, the knitting was finally done on the last day of February, but I did not get a chance to sew down the cuffs. So here they are for March.
I did change the pattern a bit from what is in the book. First off, the pattern in the book is written for a smaller foot then mine. That wasn't so bad for the circumference of the sock (62 stitches), but the number of increases for the gusset was a bit wonky. I forged ahead, continuing the increases to what I thought was a reasonable number for my foot, did the heel, got through 3 of 4 charts, and then bowed to the inevitable realization that the sock was too big. So I ripped back to the midfoot and used Cat Bordhi's Riverbend sockitecture for the rest of the foot, did an eye of partridge heel and went on with the charts. This worked much better, and they fit great!
I really enjoyed this yarn - it's got a very nice, substantial feel to it but is plenty soft enough for next-to-skin wear, and the colors are just lovely. I can't really justify any more yarn purchases (look for a dramatic update on the amount of Knit Picks Palette I own in the near future), but when I get back to that point, I'll get some more of this.
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Book update for Feb/March:
16. Whiskey and Water - Elizabeth Bear
15. The Alton Gift - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross
14. Dragon Singer - Anne McCaffrey
13. The Bull from the Sea - Mary Renault
March
12. Careless in Red - Elizabeth George
11. New Amsterdam - Elizabeth Bear
10. In the Moon of Red Ponies - James Lee Burke
9. A Different Light - Elizabeth Lynn
8. Little Brother - Cory Doctorow
7. Darwinia - Robert Charles Wilson
February
6. Undertow - Elizabeth Bear (I needed some aliens to recover from the overload of teenage vampire hormonal angst and wizard vs. werewolf shenanigans)
5. Fool Moon - Jim Butcher
4. Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyer (phew!)
3. Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer
New Moon - Stephanie Meyer
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson, translated from Swedish by Reg Keeland.
January