Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Daybreak Shawl (Scarf)


Here it is, the 12th - 12 shawls in 2012 post!  I thought it would be appropriate to share Keith's "Shawl (I suppose when making a shawl for a man it is more kind to call it a scarf) on his 29th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Keith!  I selected the Daybreak Shawl by Stephan West in size Small for Keith.


Palette (1 ball each) of Mongoose (A; 33g consumed) and Verdant Heather (B; 49 g consumed).  I love the way the mongoose plays off of the brown heather flecks in the green.  I checked the color combo with Keith before I started knitting and he approved of it, too.  Even though this was to be his Christmas present, I had shown him the pattern months before I decided to start knitting it for him to see if he thought it were appropriate for a man.  (The shawls was designed to be unisex BY a man, but I still needed to double check that Keith would approve of it!)


I have never successfully done a garter stitch tab before.  It was easier to do this time because I was using size 4 needles with palette yarn rather than size 7.  In the past I've just CO 7 sts and then knit a second row. You really cannot tell if you didn't know what you were looking for...  But in the spirit of trying new things, I decided to suck it up and give it a go this time.

Notes from the constructions:

  • Section 1 - for 133 sts, 66 sts-center-66 sts.
  • I decided to do 13 stripes rather than 12. I have plenty of yarn (50 g remain after 12 stripes completed) and I wanted the scarf to be a tad bit bigger.
  • I stopped counting stitches, I figured that if I missed a M1 it wouldn't be too big of a deal.  
  • 46 g remain after 13 stripes.
  • I used a stretchy bind off (K1, K2tog-tbl)

The unblocked shawl
This pattern is superbly written and clear to follow.  It was a huge pleasure to knit, I just couldn't put it down!  I know that I will make another one of these in the future.

How I might have blocked the shawl if I were making it for a woman.
Blocking a straight edge was pretty difficult for me.  I cannot wait to get my hands on some blocking wires, they would help me make a straighter edge.  
I wish I had done the Color Affection YO trick with the edge so I could have blocked it bigger.  The reason why I hadn't needed to do this in other sideways shawls is that they were either knit on larger needles to begin with or had a YO after the edge for the increase.  YO's add more yarn to the row when you are making a stitch, M1R/L reduce the width of the previous row a bit.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

More Hanks in the Hood Silk


Last year, I spun some stunning silk Hanks in the Hood (cascade Head Silk) hankies purchased from KnitPicks. Unfortunately, I did not have enough yardage to make much of anything.  I purchased two more sets of these hankies so I could spin some more.  (I also purchased more because I was unsuccessful at dyeing my own silk very dark to coordinate with what I've already spun.)


AND now I have a spinning wheel.  Guess where I am going to spin this silk?  Sorry good old drop spindle buddy, I have moved on.  Since the silk is hard to draft, I am still planning on doing a lot of pre drafting, but we'll see how well I do as I start spinning.


There is no dye lot... and there are very different amounts of color between the two different sets of hankies. I am not worried about this because it is a completely handmade project, and it will still look lovely.I could mix the two hankies together (alternating from either batch), but I am not going to bother.  I pulled each hankie apart in the pink section, always connecting pink to pink which each new hankie.

The quality of these hankies are MUCH nicer than the ones I purchased and dyed myself off of etsy.  They draft MUCH easier.  I am therefore doing much less predrafting than I originaly thought I would.


I am spinning much tighter (thinner?) than I did last time.  Maybe from the picture it isn't as bad as I thought.  I always forget that the yarn can relax and plump up a bit as you are setting the twist.  My spinning isn't as even as I had hoped it to be... but this is ultimately a good thing.  Some of the imperfections are almost like nupps.  It means that the finished product will be more similar to what I created on the drop spindle.  I am using the faster (smaller, 8:1 I think) whorl since the predrafting makes the spinning go really fast.


Last time it felt like it took forever to spin the silk.  This time around, it only took me an afternoon to spin an entire 0.5 oz stack of hankies.  Wahoo for the speed of the wheel!  Two days and I was done spinning this project.  (Since my plan is to use this for a shawl, I want it light an airy, so no plying this time.)


I realized part way through that I got lazy and was drafting multiple hankie layers at one time.  The only problem with this is that the color repeats are going to be completely erratic and not consistent with the first hundred+ yards of this silk that I spun.  Whoops! (But it will still be LOVELY.)


One piece i measured was 27 wpi, but there is a fair amount of variation from really lace to fingering.  This will be pretty (and hopefully not too fragile.)


I jinxed myself!  I was explaining to Keith how i had some breaks in the yarn when I was winding from the drop spindle to niddy noddy and that this wasn't happening with my new Lazy Kate... and the yarn broke with a few yards left to wind.  At least this was because it was too thin and not because it was unwinding like with the spindle!

294 wraps = 1176 ft = 392 yards.  Wahoo!  With the other that I spun this is absolutely enough for a shawl!   34 g.



I love the way the yarn almost looks like it is one color but there are these wonderful flecks of pink, blue and green.   I cannot wait to make something out of this yarn!  (I am considering making another Annis Shawl.)


finished spinning 12/17/2012

Friday, February 15, 2013

Mom's Polaris


When I went to visit my Mom over Thanksgiving, she surprised me by taking me to a Local Yarn Store just around the corner from the house.  She wanted me to pick something out for myself, but instead I had HER pick something out so I could make a shawl for her!  She has loved my Polaris Shawl, and I had planned on making it for her for a long time.


Initially I was going to make Polaris in Lace weight and I planned to add 4 extra repeats of the chart.  This should also end up making the shawl deeper because there will be extra short rows.  However, now I have a worsted weight yarn (Blue Heron Rayon Metallic).  I have 233 g of yarn, more than the ball was supposed to have so I know I have 550 yards.  I decided to increase the number of repeats by 2 and to go up to a larger needle size.

To supplement the yarn with gold flecks, I will use Toho Round 6/0 crystal/gold lined beads.  This time, I will use tiny crochet hooks to add the beads to the yarn.



I cast on 409 (361 + 2*24)  for a total of 17 repeats onto size 11 needles with the backwards loop cast on method.  I will then P the next row with size 8 needles and knit the rest of the shawl on size 8 needles.  Beads are always added to the stitch before knitting it.

I love the colors and the sparkle of this yarn, but I do not love the texture.  When you hold the hank, it feels soft and cool, but it is a bit rough and scratchy to knit with.  


I regret using beads on this project, or at least using THESE beads.  Since the yarn has a gold shimmer throughout the gold beads do not add anything and are lost in the pattern (see above photo).  With a normal yarn, the beads would add hints of shimmer even if they did not stand out colorwise.  It is a shame you cannot really see them, but I will continue adding them.

Notes during Construction
  • After row 5 (7 rows knit total) 201 g remain.  32 g consumed.  This is just over 4 g per row.  There should absolutely be enough yardage to make the whole pattern, but the short rows may need to be cut a tad, well, short.  I may have made a huge mistake by adding two extra repeats.  We will have to see how things go.  
  • after row 6 - 197 g remain.  4 g per row is pretty accurate.  worst case scenario... it is a cool scarf.   
  • After Row 12 - 172 g.  14 rows knit, 4.35 g per row.  Well, consistency is good.  34 rows left, would require about 150 g of yarn.  This is good, since we know that the yardage will decrease as the rows increase.  I think I may add in a decrease a little bit sooner.  
  • After Row 16 - 155 g.  I am starting to feel worried, but looking back at my last polaris, the lace chart consumed ~75% of the yarn.  I keep reminding myself that the ABSOLUTE worst thing hat happens is that I have to frog this project.   
  • After Row 21 - 136 g remaining.  Half way through the lace (23 rows total, 46 rows total for lace) just under 100g consumed. I am much less concerned now! 
  • I decided to move the centered double decreases to Rows 31, 37 and 43 between repeats.  This gives one extra set of decreases, thus reducing the stitches for the short row section even further.  
  • When I hit row 33, I was confused by the number of stitches still remaining when I had a revelation.  The new YO is right above where the last YO was placed. I discovered this when my first center stitch was one st too far to the left.   I hope that I didn't mess things up too badly.  90g remaining. 
  • After row 46 - 55 g remain.   K 5 sts past the last SSK or K2tog before turning in the short rows.  (start by knitting 5 sts past center stitch, then knitting 5 past the other direction and turning again.  
  • 18 g remain before the last P short row.  After this row, 16 g remain (which means each row from her on out will take ~2 grams.)   201 stitches after the short rows, which is also consistent with needing 2 g per row since we started with 409 sts.  
  • I decided to skip the beaded rows 1 and 7, and do rows 3-6 of the top lace before binding of project.  The math works perfectly.  9 + 32* 6 = 201!  Since I have plenty of beads remaining, I decided to add beads to the center stitch on row 3, and on the first stitch of the row 5 repeat.    They may not show up, but at  least it will give a little hint of detail that can be seen up close.
  • Before Bindofff, 9 g left.  Darn, I would have had enough for 2 more round of the real lace pattern.  I decided to go ahead and knit rows 7 and 8 of the lace.  (With the beads)  5 g left before bindoff now.  
  • 3 g remain after binding off. 

I wet blocked the shawl for 30 min before pinning it out.  Surprisingly, the yarn bled a fair amount during the soaking.


I blocked the shawl aggressively, and even needed to place some books on the mats so they wouldn't curl up.  However, once the shawl was done drying, there was still a lot of stretch and it felt like I could block it even more aggressively.  I made a video of blocking this shawl, but still need to edit it and upload it to YouTube.  (Knowing me, this video will be released in 2-3 months.)


Even though I did not love knitting with this particular yarn, I loved creating this shawl for my mom.  I cannot wait to see her again so I can give it to her!  


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

60 Quick Baby Knits

60 Quick Baby Knits: Blankets, Booties, Sweaters & More in Cascade 220 Superwash


This book sure does have a little bit of everything!  With 60 amazingly adorable projects, I cannot touch on them all.  I am going to point out what I consider to be the highlights of the collection:
  • #2: Sheep Hat - This is the pattern that got me to request the book from the library.  The wooliness of the sheep is created by a trinity stitch, and the sheep head and tail are knit separately and then attached.  This is amazingly cute, and something I know I'll need to knit in the future.  
  • #3: Sporty Cardigan - This is a a simple unisex striped cardigan, but it is so darling and classic that it deserves mention here.  
  • #5: Fan Stitch Blanket - A beautiful ginkgo leave shaped fan pattern over a baby blanket.
  • #13: Textured Stripes Hat - An earflap for your toddler is fun, but I never thought about mixing stripes and a checkerboard ribbing before.  This is still a really simple pattern, but it gives the finished garment some nice dimension. 
  • #17: Flowered Jumper - I happen to love little knit dresses.  This has some very simple colorwork to create little flowers and sripes at the top and bottom of the dress.  The vibrant colors are part of what really make it sing.
  • #26: Boatneck Pullover - What a darling little cabled sweater!  This would work for every day or as a dress up sweater for your little guy.  
  • #35: Porcupine Blanket - This is too cute to being describing.  The stripped baby blanket has little procupines walking on 3 of the stripes.  This almost deserves to be decoration!  The porcupines are set up with Intasia and the using french knots they are made "spiney"
  • #53: Tiny Tux - Who isn't a sucker for a baby in a little tuxido?  Well this faux cardigan has a white shirt, black vest and red bow tie!  To die for.  
  • #60: Bobble Beanie - I love colorwork baby hats.  This has some intersting cables, diagonal colowrok stripes, bobbles and checkerboard.  This would knit up so fast and would be great to use up any yarns you have laying around.  If the book weren't due back at the library right now, I would cast on immediately!  
I know that this is a book produced by a yarn company, but I happen to love the concept that all of the projects in the book can be knit out of the same yarn.  It would make a great gift for a knitter with an assortment of amazing worsted weight colors.  

This is not a great book for beginners because there are no "how to knit" instructions, but with the internet I'm not sure how many people go to books to learn nowadays anyway.  Many of the patterns are appropriate for beginners who know how to do the basic stitches.  I love the tabs to make it easy to open.  

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Arm Knit Cowl - Finished in Under 1 Hour!

When I came across Simply Maggie's video and blog post on arm knitting, I loved her amazing idea for a fantastic chunky cowl.  (If you want to purchase one of these cowls, she has some for sale.)  The problem is that while there are tips to make your own infinity cowl (holding 2 yarns together, cast on 12 stitches) there is very little other pattern information.  I decided to write down what I did when I made my own arm knit cowl so that it can be easier for others to make their own.

 

The video is fantastic because it shows you how to cast on, and knit both forwards and backwards... With extra tips to orient things correctly and use your arms rather than knitting needles.



It is really good that this project takes under an hour to knit up, because it is hard to set aside your knitting while your arms are the needles.  What should you do if you really do need to step away?  Transfer the stitches onto a random needle and gently set aside.

Materials
  • 120 yards (60 yards held double) of Super Bulky Yarn.  The yarns in this sample were Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Denim (Blue) and Black.   (Each ball of yarn comes with 106 yards, so there is plenty for this project.)  My Cowl Weighs 185 g.  
  • Needles - You don't need needles, you're using your arms!  Depending on the size of your forearms
  • Notions - You may want a yarn needle for weaving the ends of the cowl together, but the holes are big enough that you can use your fingers. 
  • Finished Size - ~13" x 42" Flat (before sewing the ends together.)  
I arm knit a little differently from Maggie, but I think her video is really good so I provided links to the relevant parts of the video below.  Maggie knits by holding the working yarn in the hand belonging to the arm you are knitting off of.  I prefer to put my hand through the loop I am to knit and then pull the yarn through, much like using knitting needles.   Therefore, I put the terms for the stitch you are making in terms of knitting terms (i.e. knitting forwards and knitting backwards.)

Pattern Instructions
  • Cast On 12 stitches to you right arm holding two strands of the super bulky yarn together.  (0:16 of the video)
  • Row 1: Knit 12 stitches backwards (from Right arm to Left Arm.)  Take care to see the Knit Stitches facing towards you.  You may need to fiddle with the technique a bit to find what works best for you to create untwisted knit stitches.  (2:17 of the video)  
  • Row 2: Knit 12 stitches forwards (from left arm to right arm.) Again, take care to keep your knit stitches untwisted.   (4:05 of the video)
  • Repeat these two rows 10 more times (for 22 rounds total) ending on Row 2, or until the scarf wraps around your neck twice comfortably.  
  • Bind off loosely.  (6:27 in the video)  At the point the piece should measure (ROUGHLY - when laid out on wooden floor) 13" x 42"  (The gauge is so loose that you can easily pull it longer or wider, so these measurements are very rough.)
  • Because this is a stockinette fabric with a right side and a wrong side, we are not going to make a mobius (or infinity) cowl.  To sew it together, fold it so the RS fabric is on the inside without any twists.  Sew the Cast on edge to the bind off edge.
  • Weave in any remaining loose ends.  With a gauge this loose, weaving in ends securely may be hard.  I knotted them very well and then cut the ends.  
  • Wrap your new cowl around you neck twice and feel super cozy!  Marvel at the fact that this took you under an hour to put together.  

Oh, and it really did take about 30 minutes to knit this cowl.  Maybe I would be faster the second time around because I'm not taking notes while I'm knitting!  Time yourself and tell me how long it took you to create in the comments below.  

Thank you Maggie for this amazing inspiration!


This knitting instructions were written by ChemKnits for your personal or charity use.  Inspiration for this pattern came from the Simply Maggie's "How to Arm Knit" Video. You are not to distribute or sell this pattern without the permission of ChemKnits. © 2013 www.ChemKnits.com  

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Wonderful Gift

 

A few weeks ago, I received the most wonderful gift.  I starting a thread on Ravelry asking spinners about their favorite fiber to work with.  Since I am purchasing most of my spinning fiber online, I wanted to get recommendations of reputable sources and not get stuck using the same fiber type over and over.   I met an amazing local spinner who put a bag of different fibers together so I could practice.  

I am completely blown away by this gift.  Not online is there unknown wool (the ? bag), but there is Merino, Rayon, Cotton, Alpaca, Dog (breed unknown but I'm guessing Samoyed), Llama and Montadale.  The spinner selected natural colors because she saw that I like to dye yarn.  I will never be able to thank her enough for her generosity!

I am so excited to expand my spinning skills.  I hope that I will be in a position someday where I can help other new spinners get started! 

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Single Breed Yarns

Karia from Kouture Crochet is currently Kickstarting a line of handspun single sheep breed yarns.  Her plan is to make more than 24 yarns available, each spun out of the wool from a single breed of sheep!  Karia sent me some samples to help me out with a dyeing experiment I've been wanting to try: How well do different types of wool take up dye?


Karia provided me with handspun 2-ply Wesleydale, Devon and Texel in addition to some single ply Merino.



All of the samples took up dye beautifully.  It is a little hard to see from the picture, but of the 10 samples, the Commercial Peruvian Highland wool took up the most color (or at least is the most blue green because it started out as a pure white rather than ecru.)  The handspun breeds that took the most color are the Devon, Texel and ? Wool.  The Acrylic/Nylon/Wool Blend has a color that is very different from the rest, even though it didn't appear very yellow compared to the rest at the beginning.  Maybe this is just the way that nylon takes up food coloring...  Finally, I am excited to see that you can also dye non-conventional animal fibers (i.e. Dog) with this method. 

 

I learned something else from this dyeing experiment.  This is something that I've noticed in the past, but haven't payed to much attention to... Hot water fluffs up yarn.  A lot.  This made all of the hand spun yarns open up and be bouncy and beautiful.  I've been worried about over twisting in some of my own handspun yarns, maybe I should try giving them a hot water bath.  (I know that some people soak the yarns in hot water and smack them to set the twist... maybe this is what I need to do rather than just wet and dry on the niddy noddy.)  Please let me know if you have any insight to this!  







I am really impressed by Kouture Crochet's inspiration to create single breed yarns.  I am trying to spin as many types of wools as I can myself so I can figure out what I like to work with the best.  This is a great opportunity for knitters, crocheters and other types of fiber crafters to learn about different breeds of sheep.  Make sure you check out her Handspun Single Sheep Breed Yarns Kickstarter Project