Birthday Girl

Of course I had to make many things for the 1st Birthday of my Granddaughter.   We were out to celebrate with her and have a birthday cake in December.

I made her a Dale of Norway cardigan.  Everyone should know how much I love the DoN patterns and yarn.  Sadly, when my stash is gone, I will not be able to get the yarn that I love for these projects.  In the meantime, I am loving knitting with it.

That photo is unfortunately a bit fuzzy, but her parents are always putting her in the things that I make for her.  She wore this to the Drs office for her 1 year old checkup.  Apparently the staff was greatly impressed by the sweater.  Myself, I think that the model is far superior.

She will have a bit of wear on that sweater.

The other item that I made for her birthday was this poncho type pull-over with a hood, a bit big right now, but hopefully will come in handy in the future.  Again, another DoN pattern, but this is the Daletta yarn, so a worsted weight.  I love how this turned out, and will post when I see it modeled.

And lastly, a pair of mittens with thumbs for the Colorado winters.  I think that these are the favorite mittens that I have ever made.

The pattern is from Jorid Link’s Big Book of Knitted Mittens.  I made the previously posted squirrel mittens from this book also.  I love the patterns, and have some on the list for myself to make.  If you love fair isle and mittens, I highly recommend purchasing this book.

Procrastination

Many many times I complete the knitting portion of a garment, and it sits waiting and waiting to be finished, mainly sewn together.  Blocking to me is fun, but piecing a garment together is not, and I need to get over this.  Today I sat out all of the pieces for my Batwing Pullover.   I thought for sure that I would do it this afternoon, now it looks like tomorrow.

There are only 4 seams…

Then, I would get to knit the cowl, which looks fun.

Pullover Progressing

Batwing Pullover pieces

All but the collar is knit up on the Batwing Pullover that I started a couple of weeks ago.  Aurora 8 by Karabella is one of my favorite cabling yarns, it is so soft and squishy to knit with, holds the structure of the cable beautifully.  Unfortunately, I have to agree with comments on Ravelry that this yarn is expensive ($10/98 yard skein), and has way too many knots in it.  Someone had to tie the knots, so they know that there are a lot.

Batwing Pullover Detail

I had 20 skeins of this yarn in deep deep stash.  Finding a use for it was exciting, and I knew that even with that amount, I would run short of the yardage required to complete this sweater. While Aurora 8 is still produced, my Turquoise color had been long discontinued.  Searching the internet, I found 2 skeins in a clearance warehouse that I ordered.  There were some on people’s Ravelry pages, but I did not have luck acquiring those.  I did yet another google search this time using the color number, not the name.  Bingo!  I scored, and found a stash.  I purchased 6 skeins, hoping that that will be enough to finish the collar (which is big).

I really want to finish this, but the sewing of the pieces needs to happen first, and I need to be in the right frame of mind, with the right lighting.  I guess that it will not be completed to take to knitting tomorrow.

Diane will be Proud

On a recent post, my sister Diane noted that it was really good that I was starting a hat using yarn that I already had in my stash.  On a trip to the bookstore last week I purchased the Holiday 2015 issue of Vogue magazine.

All of my magazine subscriptions have been let go, some for a long time now.  I vowed to only purchase a magazine when there was a pattern, or perhaps a particular article that I really wanted.  Well, this is the pattern that made me choose this magazine:

Batwing Pullover

I just love the look of this sweater, much like a cape or poncho, but I think more practical.  So, when I was looking at the pattern, I remembered some Karabella Aurora 8 yarn that I had in stash.  20 skeins, I thought for sure that would do it.  I love Aurora 8, it cables so beautifully, and holds it’s structure well. Turquoise would not have been my first choice of color, but the amount of yarn needed for this sweater would be a major investment, the stash yarn that I have was purchased at a deep discount years ago.

When I started comparing the recommended yarn and yardage needed, I was very disappointed, as I was still quite short of what was needed.  A search of Aurora 8 found this to be a discontinued color.  I decided to swatch the yarn for gauge and see where I was, thinking that I could just make the lower band and collar of a different color.  To my surprise, my gauge was such that I could knit the small size and achieve a large version.  That really helped with the required yardage.  Online I found 2 skeins at an outlet on sale, and one person on Ravelry has agreed to trade me 5 of their skeins.  One store still has some at full price also.

So, I started, and even though this color of yarn bleeds onto my hands as I am knitting, I am in love with this yarn once again.  Very anxious to complete this.  I think that it will make a superb Fall/Spring sweater for outerwear.

Batwing in progress

 

PB & J

I love the name of these socks.  For many years in elementary school I would only take PB&J sandwiches.  My mother said I was adamant about nothing else.  Probably had a lot to do with the amazing array of homemade jam that I had to choose from to put on those sandwiches.   I even received the book Bread and Jam for Frances as a gift one year.
I remember it well, as we owned very few books, using the Public Library instead.  I still have a fond affection for that particular sandwich, so was tickled when this pattern came as a club selection with this name.  The color of the yarn is gorgeous also, very reminiscent of a berry jam.

I finally finished these socks on our little trip.  They have been washed, and are being reserved for me, as nobody else would give the proper acknowledgement of how much time went into them each time that they were put on.  They did take quite awhile to finish.  I ended up making the small size, for my 9 1/2 sized foot, which is really crazy.  The test knitter must have been an extremely tight knitter.  Her gauge does not match that of any of the other socks in the CookieA books.  I had no interest in trying all of these cables on size 0 needles, and bending them in the process.

Pattern: PB & J
Pattern Source: CookieA sock club, April 2011 pattern
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Sock Yarn; new type with Outlast, custom color
Needles: US 1 dpn’s
Date Started: 4/3/11
Date Finished: 5/26/11
Finished Dimensions: Directions for the small size, ended up being a Large

T he color is much more accurate in this photo, also shows the meandering cables along the side of the sock.

Now, off to the Farmer’s Market to get some Rhubarb, Raspberries and Strawberries.  It is jam making weekend.

Spinning and Knitting

Still working on my second PB&J sock from the CookieA sock club.  The pattern has 2 different columns of twisted rib stitches that travel down the leg and cross over each other.  One side, the Jelly side I assume, with squiggles, looks the same on both socks.  The angled traveling stitch pattern, the peanut butter, looks very different form one sock to the other.  I started with the left sock first (got all my papers mixed up).  And am now on the right sock, which most people started with first.  I understand the desire to mirror image these socks, but it just does not work with the angled pattern.  There is a very different effect with the twisted stitch traveling to the right versus the left.

The sock on the right was my first sock (the left foot according to the pattern), and I am working on the opposite foot (left in the photo below).  The curvy pattern looks fine from both, but the angled pattern is very different.  I showed it to my knitting group last night, and the comment was that they do not even look like the same stitch.  I prefer the left hand photo, others liked the right.  Hard to tell from the photos in the pattern if the test knitter had the same issues.  Clearly much more stitch definition in the sock on the left.

On the spinning front, I finished plying and washing my 3ply Louet yarn.  I am not real pleased with the pastel colors, they got very washed out and muted.  I got 400 yards of a 3 ply out of 8 oz. of pencil roving.

No Deadbud any more

Over 10 years ago, we planted a Redbud in our front yard.  I love the beautiful pink flowers that run the length of each branch in the spring.  I was so excited the next year, waiting to see all of those gorgeous blossoms.  Only leaves the first year, a couple of buds the second (and by that I literally mean 2 or 3 clusters).  By the 4th year I was very frustrated, called arborists and tree clinics. My husband joked that they thought we said “deadbud” not Redbud when we bought the tree, and we not-so-affectionately called it the Deadbud tree.  I was told that the tree probably had some fungus known to the Redbud, break off a branch and you will see dark circles inside. Nope.  Finally, I think that I got the correct answer.  The tree was planted in an area where the stump of a huge cottonwood tree had been.  We had removed the stump (the tree’s demise predated our arrival), and waited a couple of years before planting a tree. Mushrooms would pop up in the area every spring.  I do believe the correct call was that the acidity of the soil was preventing the tree from blooming.  Mushrooms have faded away, and each year there were a few more blossoms.  This year, it was finally the whole tree in bloom.  I was elated.

And I finally finished the first of my PB&J socks.  The pattern was tedious, but I finally got in the groove, and I think that the second sock will go much better. I ended up making the size Small, which is crazy since I wear a 9 1/2 shoe.  The test knitter had to be one of the tightest knitters around.  I could have gone down to size 0 needles, but I did not really want to do that, and I still would have made only the size Medium.  I think that this pattern would be difficult to execute for a tiny foot.  I love the way it turned out, except for the K2tog every 6th row.  It has a lumpy jog that I am not happy with.  The mirror SSK decrease is quite smooth.   The yarn has Outlast in it, a phase change material which is supposed to help both cooling and warming your foot.  But it is 90 degrees today, so I don’t think even that would help me to want a pair of socks on my feet. On to the mate:

Socks for Dan

I received this yarn from my first installment of the CookieA sock club.  It is String Theory sock yarn.

I wasn’t wowed by the colors, but set about knitting up the pattern included.  The yarn is incredibly soft, and I love the subtle color changes.  This is a mix of greens and browns (although some of the photos of others from the sock club have a more blue-green hue to them).   While I was working on the first sock, before I had determined the calf length, my husband commented to me on what beautiful colors those were.  Now mind you, he is extremely supportive of my fiber addiction, goes to yarn shops and festivals with me, and encourages me in all my knitting and spinning pursuits, but he usually gives no comment about colors or yarns.  So, problem of my not loving the color solved!  I asked him if he would wear the socks with the cable panel down the front, and he enthusiastically answered yes.  So, I extended the calf length a bit and made the Haleakala without the traveling rib.  The yarn is knitting up incredibly soft, most likely due to the cashmere content.  There are occasional small slubs on the yarn, but they are easily pulled off.  I am almost finished with the second sock on which I reversed the center cable here to the back, not noticeable by most.  I am waiting for the next club shipment to arrive (I have already peaked at the spoilers, and am very excited about those socks), and should have these complete in time.  Perhaps tomorrow.

Manning surprised me at SnB on Monday with this beautiful roving, aptly called “Lady of the Lake” that she got while at a sheep farm in Wisconsin.  I can’t remember the sheep breed, help Manning?  Love the colors, and I will get back to spinning shortly.

Spider socks

I finished these spider socks a couple of days ago.  I am not sure if I am keeping them for myself, or giving them away.  I made them with Malabrigo sock yarn, color Leaf.  I really like this yarn, it has great colors, is the fine gauge that I love, and knits up beautifully.

I really like the gusset increases at the bottom of the foot.  I am, however, still not a fan of the toe-up sock.  I find it much more difficult to calculate the desired foot length, and even when done, it never seems to be exactly right.  The only advantage that I see is that you can knit the leg of the sock until you run out of yarn.  Hope you can make out the gussets between the photo above, and this one:

It was really hard to photograph these myself.  This is why I need sock blockers (or a foot mannequin)!  I should have put them on my Christmas list:

Libby on the Label

Remember the song from the 70’s for Libby’s canned food.  “If it says Libby, Libby, Libby on the label, label, label, then you will like it, like it, like it, on your table, table, table.” That is one of those advertising limericks that always seems to be buzzing around in my head (and not all are welcome, I just can’t figure out how to delete them).  So, when I met a real Libby a few years ago, it was front and foremost.   Libby is needing to take better care of herself these days, so I made her a pair of socks, naturally.  I started by doing a cable down the sides with straight ribbing, and that quickly became mundane.  So, I made cables that cross over and around each other and travel across the front of the sock.  My first “pattern”, and I am calling them Libby on the Label. I need to figure out how I can write these up these on a program.  I found one online that would have worked, but was a bit cumbersome to use.  Does anyone know of a good knitwear design program for a Mac?

Here are the socks, knitted with Panda Wool by Crystal Palace Yarns.  (46% bamboo – 43% wool – 11% nylon), it is a very soft yarn.  And of course, that tune kept playing over and over in my head as I knit these for her.: