Sunday, April 28, 2013

Another FO

It feels good to be putting my mind to working on projects and bringing them to a conclusion.  I've finished the Malabrigo Linen Scarf, worn it, and am thinking of making another some day in the future.  Next time I'll likely make one with yarn that I already have as it's such a good stash buster.  .

I also picked up another project that has been languishing for a while, the Damson shawlette.  When I set it down before moving to Calgary I only had a few rows done in the garter stitch section.  This week I found that it was a good knitting-with-hockey project and I'm now about 95% finished.  It's been working up quickly - only 5 more rows to go, plus the bind off and blocking.

And....I'm ready to start a new from-the-stash project:  the Sprössling Cardigan by Anne Hanson.  More of these last two projects later on.

For now....here are the details for today's FO:


THE DETAILS

Pattern: Malabrigo Linen Scarf
Kit purchased at The Yarnery

Yarn:  14 colors of Malabrigo Worsted
Some were variegated, some solid

  Needles: US 11 / 8.0 mm

Notes:  When the kit arrived the first impression I had was that it didn't look like much yarn.  As it tuns out, I was right.  I ran out of yarn on a number of rows and found a knot on the yarn for the bind off row.  On one of the rows I ran out of yarn with only 8 stitches left to do, plus the length needed for the fringe.  On another row I ran out with 36 stitches left.  I found this to be very frustrating.  True, it was easy enough to splice yarn left over from other rows (and there wasn't much left over), but it shouldn't have been necessary.  I've read various posts that this is a common problem with these kits.  Other knitters seemed to be okay with the shortages and the need to splice the yarn.  I think that the kits should have been stocked with enough yarn.

I did the two-color cast on, so that's not why I was short on yarn.  The fringe is 8” but I admit that it might have been 8-1/2", maybe even 9" in places.  I would have gladly paid a little extra in order to have the peace of mind that I wasn’t going to run out of yarn. By the way, my gauge is correct. 

I did the bind off in rib as I thought it looked tidier.  I finished the fringe a little differently than described in the pattern.


I twisted one single strand, then a second, and then tied them together.  Since there was an odd number of fringe ends, one of the fringes on each end of the scarf has 3 strands and it blends right in. You wouldn’t notice it unless you were looking for it. This method gave me thinner fringes and more of them, which is what I was going for.

All in all, it's a good pattern and the colors are beautiful.  If I make another Linen Scarf in the future I'll use stash yarn, or share skeins of Malabrigo with friends in order to keep the cost down.  However, I won't be buying another kit.  The frustrations with yarn shortages diminished the enjoyment of what is a very nice project.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Wacky Wednesday

I've been enjoying Pinterest lately.  It's quite addictive.  I'm finding things of interest, of great beauty, of inspiration.  Here are a couple of weird things that I found this week.

This was photographed on a fashion show runway.  Doesn't the model look thrilled?  Could you say that your UFO is an FO?


Even if I knit every last thing on earth and was struggling to find a new project, I still wouldn't knit, or crochet, this.


I wonder if these guy ever looked at themselves in these outfits.  Horrors!

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Struggling With ADD

My major knitting goal (I don't do resolutions!) for 2013 was to finish up some languishing projects, ones that have been sitting around for more than a year.  I don't always remember why I set these aside.  It wasn't because I no longer like the project because I love them as much today as when I started them. 

I think that the main reason was ADD.  No, not the medical diagnosis.  ADD is Another Darn Design.  For a while I was seeing so many intriguing projects and I wanted to do them all.  I gave into temptation and started some.  For the rest, I would bookmark the pattern for later.  I have lots of bookmarks.

Since these would be considered major projects, I'd be very happy to finish 3 before the year is out.  More than three....bonus!


"Large Lace Collar" - a Bohus sweater.  I have more completed than you see in this picture.  The rest of the sweater is only black, no colorwork, so that may be the reason I set this one aside.  I'm very anxious to finish this as there are other gorgeous Bohus designs that I'd like to make in the future.  I worked on this project with a group of friends, each making her own favorite Bohus sweater.  It was great to see so many Bohus designs "in person". So many temptations.


The cardigan you see on cover of Jo Sharp's book is called "Tashkent".  I taught a class at A Knitted Peace on working intarsia and this sweater in particular.  When the class was over, I set this sweater aside, can't remember why, maybe preparing for another class.  I love all the colors and the design. 
This is "Whistler" by Dale of Norway and another sweater that I started for a class that I was teaching.  The picture is one I found online.  I don't have a photo of my unfinished sweater.  I wanted to finish this in time for the Olympics in Vancouver, but obviously that didn't work out!


It's a good thing that my taste in sweaters hasn't changed over the years as I purchased the kit to make this at the TKGA conference in Branson, MO in 2007.  Once again, I started it to teach a class.  It's time I finished.  I could have been wearing it all these years.  I call it the "Orange Sweater" from Poetry in Stitches



This is the last project on my short list and I do remember why I set it aside - I was moving from Denver to Calgary.  It's not exactly a carry-along project.  This is Kaffe Fassett's "Triangle Squares Cushion".  The cushion is about 1/4 finished, as you see in the picture.  This is what it looked like when I put it away.  

So, I have my to-do list.  There are other projects that I want to complete but these are at the top of the list.  When these are finished I'll start a whole new list.  I'm still struggling with ADD!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Travel Afghan - Block #50

I can't believe that, after all these years, my Travel Afghan is so close to the end.  Of course, it'll probably be another year or two until it's totally finished but it's at the point now that I can curl up under it.  Block number 50 is finished, out of a total of 55 blocks, plus a border.  Just in time, too, as I'm heading to Santa Fe in less than three weeks for a girls' weekend.  All five of us are also knitters so it should be a blast and it will be so good to see my friends again.


THE DETAILS

Pattern:  Rambling Rows Afghan from Cottage Creations
I started with 80 stitches for my rectangle

Yarn:  Copper Corgi 100% Organic Merino Wool

  Needles: US 7 / 4.5 mm

Note:  I chose this yarn for the Savannah, GA block as it was dyed by Sarah, the owner of Copper Corgi, who lives in Savannah.  I like her yarns a lot and have used them often.  The color is "Spanish Moss", which is something you see hanging from the trees all over the area.

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Spanish Moss

I don't know about all of you but I'm more than a little tired of winter.  The calendar says that it's spring but when I look out the window today, here in Calgary, all I see is the snow coming down.  At least it's good day to stay inside and knit.  It seems that I've said that a lot since last October.


Has it really been 6 weeks since I was in Savannah where it was warm and the flowers were blooming?  Whenever I go on a trip I like to visit a yarn shop and pick up a skein of yarn that is indicative of the area....e.g. the name of the yarn, a local yarn, the color, etc. 

For my Savannah trip I added a block to my Travel Afghan from The Copper Corgi, a Savannah dyer, in a color that's called "Spanish Moss".  I love the dramatic look of the Spanish moss hanging from the trees in the area.  This picture was taken on February 24th in Forsyth Park.  You can see a little of the beautiful fountain in the background.

Click on photo to enlarge

The Spanish moss looks rather green in my photo, above, picking up the colors of the vegetation around it, but it's really more gray, as it is in the yarn.


I'll take a picture of the finished afghan block and the details in my next post.  For now, it's time for some hot tea!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter Shoes, I mean, Booties!

A girl cannot have too many pairs of shoes, right?  Well, that also goes for baby girls and their booties, in my mind.  So, I made Makayla a pair of Easter booties.  She has lovely booties already, but what's one more pair!


THE DETAILS

Pattern:  Christine's Stay-On Baby Booties
The pattern is free, click here.
See the notes, below, for the changes I made.

Size:  I used DK yarn instead of fingering to make the booties larger than the pattern describes, but I'm not sure what the finished size is.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
Color #340054, pink
and #340100, white
Less than a ball of each (~1/3?)
and
About 5 yards of Sandnes Garn Lanett in light pink, #4402, for the stripe

  Needles: US 1/ 2.25 mm double-pointed
Notes: 
After the foot was finished I did the following:
Knit 3 rounds in pink.
Worked eyelet round for the shoelaces.
Knit 2 rounds in pink.
Knit 1 round in white.
Worked 2x2 ribbing in white for 22 rounds.
Purl 1 round in Lanett light pink.
Work 1 round, 2x2 ribbing in Lanett light pink.
Purl 1 round in white.
Work 2 rounds in 2x2 ribbing in white.
Cast off loosely in ribbing.
The ribbing is folded in half to create a cuff.
Shoelaces: 2-stitch I-cord for 16 inches.

I'm not making a goal of 13 pairs of socks in 2013 or anything like that, but it will be interesting to see how many pairs I complete by the end of the year.  This is pair #2.