Possessed to Knit

Birthday Bookmark

I knitted this bookmark for my friend Lawrence's upcoming birthday.  He and his partner, John, are very talented and creative and we often exchange handmade gifts.   Years ago, as I was making the transition from English style knitting to Continental style knitting, I sent them one of the many cotton dishcloths I knitted to retrain my hands.  When I visited them at Christmas, they had the cloth in a basket, nicely displayed.  I explained that they could use the cloth, though the colors would fade over time, but still, it was just a dishcloth.  They told me how much they treasure handmade items, even my little dishcloth. This bookmark is knitted with spindle spun yarn.  After I spun the cotton singles, I plied them twice, creating a cabled 4-ply yarn.  Even with the cabling, it is still very thin yarn.  I used my 2.75 mm Knit Picks circular needles which are nice and pointy for this lace knitting.  The pattern is from last year's Knitting Pattern - A- Day calendar.  Their version used Koigu and size 3.75 mm (size 5) needles.  I did an extra pattern repeat to make it more of an appropriate bookmark size.  This is a great pattern for my small amounts of handspun yarn. 

Regia Tip & Top Sock

I've completed my first Regia Tip & Top cotton/wool/nylon blend sock.  I used my Hiya Hiya size 00 (1.75 mm) 40" circular needles and 80 sts instead of my typical 72 sts on size 0 (2.0 mm) needles.  My gauge turned out to be 10.5 sts and 14 rows to the inch making it a slow sock to complete.  I have found that the cotton blend yarns tend to stretch as I wear them and I will be curious to see how these socks will compare to my other socks.  I have to knit the other one first and that will likely take me a little while. 

Ocean Lace Cardigan Update

I've completed the back of the Ocean Lace Cardigan in Sea Song for my sister, Maria.  It needs some serious blocking.  I like the yarn, but the lace pattern is very slanty and easily distorted.  The armholes, for instance, are really just one row apart, not an inch apart as it appears in the photo.  I had gotten up to row 90 on my first attempt and decided it was just not going to work.  It was looking too small and the row gauge was too tight.  For my latest attempt, went up to size 7 needles which has helped me to get closer to the 6 rows per inch.  I had swatched and blocked a sample on size 6 needles.  I thought I met the gauge requirements, but this lace pattern worked over an even larger area showed me otherwise.  I started the cardigan fronts on one needle so I can knit them at the same time.  The pattern describes the right front in detail and then says just to reverse everything for the left front.  Knitting them simultaneously will help me to create two similar fronts for this sweater. 

Fuscia Print Socks Completed

I've completed my Fuscia Print toe-up socks.  I prefer top-down socks, but I did not have enough yarn to knit these from the top down.  I started each sock in a section with a large block of color so I could avoid the stripiness that occurs with shorter blocks of color.  I started each sock with a provisional cast-on of 32 sts and a short-row toe on size 0 Addi Bamboo dpns.  I worked the heels with the size 0 Addi Bamboo dpns and the remainder of the sock with 2.5 mm Knit Picks 32" circular needles.  I did a k2,p2 tubular bind off which turned out to be a little tighter than I like.  I may have loosened the bind off on the top sock a bit much, but it feels and looks better when I wear it.  I'm glad to use up the rest of this brightly colored sock yarn leftover from my Fair Isle socks.

Pearls on the Pulse Cuffs Completed

Here is a pair of beaded cuffs I recently completed from the Pearls on the Pulse book that I like so much.  The yarn is leftover from my Fair Isle socks and I found the beads at The Knitting Zone.  I enjoy knitting beaded cuffs, they are quick and fun and a nice change of pace.  I get one cuff completed and then move on to other projects.  When I return to complete the second cuff, sometimes I am at a loss to which needles I used for the first cuff.  I guessed that I used my 2.5 mm Knit Picks Harmony dpns as they were a little jumbled in their case (they are part of a set ranging from 2.0 mm to 3.25 mm in 0.25 mm increments).  The second cuff turned out to be larger than the first cuff, not that anyone will notice when I wear them.  To prevent this issue, I need to knit the second cuff quicker or at least put the needles aside with the yarn for future reference.

Lace Rib Watch Cap

 I completed this hat today to send to the Dulaan Project.  It is the Lace Rib Watch Cap from Hats On! by Charlene Schurch.  I used size 6 (4.0 mm) Addi Turbo needles (16" and 32" for the crown using the Magic Loop) and some leftover worsted weight yarn.  This hat starts with a tubular cast-on.  I found the whole thing to be a bit fiddly.  I didn't want to start the hat too tightly, but I think I could have made it a little tighter as the ribbing edge is not very stable.  The ribbing felt like an eternity, all that k1, p1 over 120 sts.  I find that my gauge is very similar to hers so I just start off with whatever needle size she used.  I like this book a lot except some of her patterns (such as this one) decrease too quickly for the crown giving it a gathered look.  I did not have the inclination (or much yarn) to redesign the decreases for this cap.  I have adjusted the crown on some of her Fair Isle hats and was much happier with the results.  I'm just glad to have this cap done in time to send it off to Arizona before July 1st.

Felted Hats

I had about 6 oz of my handspun Icelandic yarn leftover from the raglan sweater and I decided to give felting a try.  I've never felted on purpose before and I found this free hat pattern from Crystal Palace yarns.  These hats were very quick to knit on size 11 needles and I used my Denise needles (which I bought for the rare occasion that I need a larger size needle).  These hats were so huge before felting, I thought I had done something wrong.  I put them in hot water in my washing machine with some Euclan woolwash.  There was hardly any felting after the first 15 minutes.  I then added a pillowcase to the mix and felting took place much more quickly, almost too quickly.  I rinsed them in cold water and then placed each one over a plastic bowl.  I put them out in the sun this afternoon to accelerate the drying process.  Now I have two felted hats to add to my Dulaan Project donation.  I am clearing out some of my stash, too, creating a win-win situation. 

Icelandic Raglan Completed

I've completed my Icelandic Raglan sweater for the Dulaan project.  I used size 9 needles for the body and sleeves and size 7 needles for the ribbing.  The gauge was 4 sts and about 5.5 rows per inch on size 9 needles in the stockinette stitch.  This sweater was a good review of button and buttonhole placement for me.  I took a "7 Things that Can Make or Break Your Sweater" class in March at Springwater Fiber Workshop.  Our instructor told us about using the actual row gauge to determine how many sts to pick up for the button and buttonhole bands.  With 5.5 rows per inch along the sweater edge and 5 sts per inch on my size 7 needles, I picked up 5 sts for every 6 sts.  I think it worked okay, but the buttonhole band turned out wavier than I like.  (Please feel free to add your insight, Patrick).  I see that I also need to work on my buttonhole spacing, at least this sweater was practice for me.  I found my Denise needles especially helpful as I could just change the tips depending on what I needed next like when I used the size 8 for binding off.  This is not the softest sweater I have knitted, but I am hoping it will still keep a Mongolian child warm this winter. 

Icelandic Raglan

I started this child sized raglan sweater for the Dulaan Project.  All knitted items received by July 1st will be sent to Mongolia to help the Mongolian children stay warm during the winter.  I have put my other projects aside as I hope to complete this sweater and put it in the mail before the deadline.  I am using my handspun Icelandic Chloe yarn.  I was going to knit myself a vest with it and then realized it would make a warm cardigan for a child.  I expected to get 3.5 sts per inch on size 9 needles like I did when I swatched.  The sweater is turning out to be 4 sts and 5 rows per inch so I am making a child's size 8 sweater instead of size 12 as I had planned.  I am adjusting the recommended increases and decreases to accommodate the gauge difference.  This pattern is Ann Norling's Kid's Top-down Raglan (#53) and does not mention the addition of any stitches at the underarm for the body and sleeves.  I will likely be picking up 2 extra sts when I start the sleeves to minimize the hole I expect to have on the first round.  The pattern recommends knitting the sleeves back and forth.  I will be knitting them in the round with my 40" Denise needle using the Magic Loop.  I wasn't sure how much I would like these needles when I bought them and it turns out they are perfect and convenient for this type of project.

Fuscia Print Toe-Up Socks

I've been knitting these toe-up socks with the extra On Your Toes yarn from my Fair Isle socks.  This yarn looks very different when knitted by itself.  I don't knit toe-up socks very often as I like the top-down style toe better.  I had just enough of this yarn leftover to make a pair of socks so I couldn't be too fussy about making them match either.  I started with a provisional cast on and worked a short-row toe down to 10 sts (on size 0 Addi Bamboo dpns).  I like to use the large blocks of one color to begin the toe and keep it all the same shade.  Shorter blocks of color would create an asymmetric toe.  I started the foot with 64 sts on size 2.5 mm Knit Picks 32" circular needles and knitted about 64 rounds before working the short row heel down to 12 sts on size 0 Addi Bamboo dpns.  I knitted 18 rounds on the 2.5 mm needles followed by 45 rounds of k2,p2 ribbing.  I ended the sock with a tubular bind off for k2, p2 rib that I found in the Knitter's Handbook.  Two rounds of working 1 stitch then slipping the next stitch are completed before the grafting and this helps to make the edge look a little neater.  These socks are the perfect travel project.