Train Mittens

My DIL asked me to make a new pair of mittens for my grandson, as he had grown out of those from last season. When we were visiting in November, I asked what kind of mittens he would like, and his older sister piped up: “Train Mittens!”. A search of Ravelry brought up a couple of ideas;

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rainbow-express—real-train-mittens

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/victors-train-selbu-mittens

But we settled on these:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tuut-tuut-said-the-train

While the pattern was free, it was no longer posted. The author said that you would message her for a chart. It wasn’t until we were visiting after Christmas that I finally had the time to work on these mittens. Since I was planning to do them on a train trip with the kids, I needed the chart sooner, so I decided to make my own chart, using this as a guide.

I had a couple of false starts, and needed to change the needle size and the stitch count. But while riding on a long train ride, these were coming to fruition. I used these old mittens as a guide to size up from. All my knitting boos were at home.

First mitten was finished, and I left my handwritten pattern at the house! So the mitten became my pattern for the second one.

Can you spot the difference between the 2 mittens? One has the blue yarn held in front, and one the black. I always knit Fair-Isle with both yarns in my left hand, and only use my right hand if I have a third color. I had never noticed a dominance before. I am wondering if it has anything to do with being on DPN’s as opposed to circular needles. It will also be interesting to see how/if these even out in tension as he wears them.

I made the back and thumbs very simple.

And Voila, finished before we left. I opted to knit the train engine on both mittens, as opposed to a tender on one of the mittens. If I did it again, I would reverse the pattern. When I gave them to my grandson, he put them on and said CRASH as he smashed his two little hands together.

Mostly knit on Amtrak riding through the beautiful Colorado Rockies.

#trainmittens

#daleofnorway

#babyull

Advent Socks

This is the second year that I chose to knit the Advent socks. You knit one stripe/day during Advent. There is enough yarn for a second pair of socks. This is the perfect Advent required knitting, as it only takes a few minutes each day, and at the end you have a pair of socks to keep or gift. I chose a white accent color for the cuffs, heels and toes.

And, I did not peek until December 1st.

In my previous posts I documented the progress, along with opening my other Advent boxes. Here is the finished pair of socks, I knit 2 at a time (with DPN’s). I used an afterthought heel with a gusset. Need to modify my gusset a bit on the next pair.

And here is the comparison to last years socks, which I gifted to my husband for Christmas last year. This years socks are sitting in the to-be-gifted pile.

This year feels like much brighter colors, although you can see some of the same colors in both socks.

Looking forward already to next year! And I still have the yarn for 2 additional pairs of socks.

#TheCozyKnitterAdvent

#24-StripeAdventSkein

Advent Completed

Boy, I got too busy at the end of school then the Holiday rush. I did not post the rest of my Advent openings or my Advent socks. Here goes in one big post. I now wish that I had posted daily.

As a reminder, the Advent boxes with fiber related items are ones that I packed for myself. I did several of them months ago, and while I remembered a few items, I did succeed in happily surprising myself.

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24 & 25

Opened these on the 24th, as we were heading out to spend the Holiday weekend with our daughter.

And here is most of the items all put together:

This was fun to have something to open every day. I made myself knit the daily stripe on the Advent sock before I allowed myself to open any packages.

I did get carried away with the daily yarn Advent, especially given that I had nothing in mind to knit with them. While I love the colors and transitions, I would only do this again with a pattern in mind, and knit each day.

Here is the total Hue Loco transition, I absolutely love it. Thinking of a simple garter stitch Faroese shawl to show off all the beautiful colors. The boxes were very cute to open.

And here is the Moonglow yarn Advent. I had not planned on purchasing a second one, but when I heard the word Rainbow, I was hooked. These were all small numbered bags inside a larger tote, and came with a large skein of white yarn for accent.

Where it all started at the beginning of September.

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#HueLocoAdvent

#MoonglowYarnsAdvent

#TheCozyKnitterAdvent

#24-StripeAdventSkein

Sweetheart Socks

I finished my Sweetheart socks, and could not be more pleased with them. They are so fun and playful. I have not decided yet if I will keep these or not.

I reversed the color sequence to make them a bit more interesting.

There were a lot of ends to weave in! When doing the heart section, I had woven them in as i knit, but it still required some more fastening.

And, there is enough yarn left for some anklet socks. I think that I like the rainbow in this sock using less rows better.

#moonglowyarns

#sweetheartsockalong

Making Lemonade

Last summer I decided to subscribe to the Good Vibes Yarn Tour. I thought that their graphics were so cool, and the videos looked like it could be a fun option. I have had minimal knitting companionship for the last 2 years except for my beloved Zoom Stitch ‘n Bitch meetings. It is an expensive club, but I thought that I would treat myself, so I signed up. And, didn’t hear anything, nothing, until after a bit I sent out 2 emails asking about it (the money had transferred), and finally got an email back with some details.

The first package arrived in September, and I was looking forward to it. In the box was a Plastic travel mug with their logo (which I was able to give away to another person in the group), cookies (gluten free here), and some lovely hand dyed BFL. I did try to make the shawlette that they had given the pattern for. It was on size 11 needles,and had a goofy cross-over stitch. My husband asked what I was doing with such big needles.

So, fast forward several months, and I took this yarn and made The Ruffler by Mrs. Peterson. I am so happy with how that turned out. I did have to increase the stitch count to 100/round, which meant casting on 300 stitches. The other change that I made was to add a twisted rib at the top, and do a tubular bind-off.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-ruffler

It sits so nicely on my shoulders and fits under my coat to keep me warm.

This has been my go-to this winter since finishing. I love it, warm and so soft. I almost lost it, as it dropped at school, and my husband found it.

I have most of the second skein left, and will look to pair it with another yarn to make a pair of mittens.

Next, the repurposed package #2

#GoodVibesYarnTour

7, 6, 5, 4

No, not a countdown to New Years Eve, but rather a countdown of needle sizes to find the one that works best.

This Christmas I gave Dan 14 skeins of yarn.  A brilliant gift, that gives back.  (Plus I had a $50 Gift Certificate, it was also 20% off, so a great bargain as well).  This yarn has been on my wish list to knit with.  It is Shelter by Brooklyn Tweed, the color is Birdbook (not sure exactly what that means).

The sheep are all American, and it is processed in the US as well.  And soft to boot.  Here is the story of the sheep from Wyoming, and the yarn processed in New Hampshire.

The yarn is  a soft woolen spun :

The distinctive character of Targhee-Columbia wool shines in Shelter, our versatile medium-weight yarn. Shelter is woolen spun, meaning the fibers remain in a lofty jumble that traps air and offers remarkable warmth and lightness. Its two plies are gently twisted to preserve that buoyant quality, so Shelter is a little more delicate than most commercial yarns. Woolen-spun yarns are also more adaptable in gauge, as they can compress to a dense sport weight or bloom to cohere as a gauzy fabric when worked on large needles. Shelter has a dry, soft hand and a faintly rustic nature; woolen spinning sometimes results in slightly thinner or thicker sections, and you’ll find the occasional fleck of vegetable matter that proves our wool is never treated with harsh chemicals. Garments knit from Shelter achieve their full beauty after a wet blocking, as each stitch relaxes and bonds with its neighbors to produce an even, light, plush fabric with a halo. You shouldn’t notice any change in gauge. Shelter is designed to be a workhorse yarn that invites cables, ribbing, textured stitch motifs, open work, plain stockinette and garter stitch. We think it’s ideal for sweaters of every variety, winter accessories, and blankets.

The green tweed is lovely, but I really wanted to make sure that Dan liked it as well, which he did.  Gauge on this yarn says 20 sts/4″ with size 7 needles.  I started with that, but it was so loose and sloppy that I tore it out, it probably would have been good to keep as an example.  Then I progressively went d0own in needle size, I was thinking that eventually the fabric would just become too dense, but it didn’t.

Size 6 was still wonky, with large gaps between the rows.

Size 5 was getting better, but not the fabric drape that I was looking for.

Amazingly enough, size 4 was a perfect fit.  18 sts/4″.

All the time while working these swatches, I was thinking that I wanted to make a sweater using the English Tailoring method that I had learned in a couple of Vogue Knitting Live classes from Julie Weisenberger, aka cocoknits.

I chose the pattern Antonia/Antonio.  This pattern has a gauge of 18 sts/ 4″, a perfect fit.  I was prepared however to adjust the sizing once I got the fabric density correct.  I am not sure who could get the gauge of 20 sts/ 4″ with this yarn on size 7 needles.

The sweater starts at the top and is knit down with no seams. I will add hidden pockets to this, and most likely a bit longer in the torso, as Dan is fairly tall.   A brilliant gift if you ask me, this makes gift giving so much more pleasurable.  Plus I can try it on him as I go.

A bit of sparkle

It seems that I have been busier the past couple of weeks, so my knitting has been mainly socks and shawls that do not require a lot of concentration. These socks were knit with yarn that I purchased at YarnCon in 2015; from The Cyborg’s Craft Room, color way is Bangarang.  I loved the colors and the sparkle.

The yarn did not disappoint (as happens from time to time).  It was a joy to knit with, and the colors are gorgeous.  The sparkle is just a little bit of bling here and there, and does not overwhelm the socks.  Because of the strong colors and the sparkle, I knit a simple twisted rib sock, perfect for this yarn as a pattern would have taken away from the material.

Here are a couple of detail photos.  They are really much prettier in person as they catch rays of light when you move.

I love carrying the twisted rib on the top of the foot.  It helps to keep the socks snug when wearing them.

And on a gardening note, we got a lot of plants in the ground last weekend.  Dan started everything from seed in our basement.  He set up an elaborate system of lights and pulleys and timers and heaters.  I am sure that our house glows at night.  In spite of planting a lot, and already giving some away, we still have a lot of starters.  Some things need to wait for a bit warmer weather.  Basil especially, as we killed it twice last year by putting it out too early.

This was our Rhubarb last weekend.  My friend Stephanie came over to draw the flower.  I don’t remember ever seeing it flower like this.  Quite interesting.

 

Best in Show!

Won Best in Show, and Best Garment this weekend at YarnCon!!!!!!

YarnCon has been around for about 5 years now, and I always enjoy going there.  It seems to get better every year.  This year they added a knitting contest.  There were 5 categories:  Best of Northern Peaks, Best Accessory, Best Garment, Best Handspun, and Best Toy.  I entered 3 of the categories, it was fun to think about what to choose to bring.

As they were photographing the winning entry for Best in Show, I walked up to 5 women holding up my sweater.  I asked if that was a winner, and everyone cheered yes.  They were all surprised when I said that I had knit it!  How fun, normally I have no luck.  Perhaps being rewarded for skill instead of luck is more fit for me.

You can see the Instagram photos here.

I won loads of gifts for both Best Garment, and Best in Show, right now I can’t remember which was for which, but here are my prizes:

Projects bags, kits for tiny toys, the buttons represent a kit that will be mailed to me.  Love the yarn bowl with some Mrs. Crosby’s yarn in it:

And these little pins made with vintage rulers.  I was coveting them at the event, but choose not to purchase one, so I was really happy to see this in the gift bag.

And, I will receive a print copy of this book:

 

Look here if you want to see more of my Polar Bear sweaters, it was knit in 2008 for Ravelympics.  I did it all in 3 weeks, the first being while we were on vacation at the beach. I have always loved this sweater, but it really requires a very very cold day to wear it.

Good Weekend, YarnCon followed a weaving show at the Chicago Weaving School that I attended on Friday with my friend Jane.  Next step is to take classes there and finally learn how to use my Inkle loom.

 

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.

Sheep 1, Sheep 2

Both of my sheep hats are finished.  The first, Sheep 1, was the pattern Baa-ble Hat by Donna Smith. I used the colors specified and the yarn as specified, Jamieson’s Shetland Heather Aran.  It is warm, but I think that I would have liked to brighten it up more.  My friend Jane made a bright version of this for a child with Dale of Norway Baby Ull, will keep that in mind for a baby gift in the future.

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I cast on with the size 6 needles (per the pattern), and was unhappy with the result pretty much from the beginning.  The Fair Isle portion was knit with size 7, and that works well.  So, when I was all finished knitting, I cut back to the start of the Fair Isle and knit the ribbing down with size 3 needles.  Much, much better.  And I did a double rib tubular bind off.  I will discuss how to do that in a later post.

Here is the inside of the Baa-ble hat.

 

Sheep 2 hat is the Sheep Heid tam by Kate Davies.  Kate designed hers using many of the natural colors of Shetland wool, Using Jamieson’s Spindrift yarn.  I had some of that yarn in my stash, but not all the correct colors.  So mine is a bit more colorful.  And very warm, I am really liking it.

and this inside of this hat…