Not just socks

I do work on things other than socks. ;-)

I finished these a while ago, but wasn't able to get a good picture of my own hands. I had my daughter take this picture and it came out pretty good! I'm going to have to ask her to help out with picture taking if I'm going to continue designing things like these.

These fingerless mitts were made using modified charts from my Unicurve sock pattern. I plan on writing and releasing this pattern soon. I just need to work on the thumb numbers some more. What I really like about these is that they use less than 50gms of yarn and that the pattern is really stretchy. This is the medium and it's loose on me.

These are the scarves that I had drying on a rack in the last post. I'll show some close-ups of the patterning that each yarn made.

Yarn used from left to right: Fiesta Baby Boom, Fleece Artist BFL, Cherry Tree Hill, All Things Heather, and Jojoland Quartette

Yarn used from left to right: Yarn Pirate, FlyDyed, and the last three are Red Heart

The Red Heart scarves were a fun experiment in weaving with 2 colors. I need to work on my technique when I change the colors on the side.

I've started a new and simpler sock pattern. I've also reminded my self why I like twisted stitches, cables, and large charts so much. This sock is boring me. I don't really have too much motivation to work on it because it such a small stitch pattern. I have it memorized and it just seems endless while knitting it.

I did shake things up a bit by trying out a different short row heel. This one is called the double stitch, yo yo, or sister stitch short row method. I like it. It does seem easier to do than my usual wrap and turn. But I'll have to figure out how to add this to a pattern without being too wordy.

I did start another lace sock, but I don't have pictures of that one yet. It has a larger chart and a lot more interesting to work on than this one.

Presenting....Arabian Nights!

It's done, blocked, and the ends are woven in and trimmed. Let's talk about the grafting. OMG did that take forever. Okay not forever, but about an hour and a half to do the actual grafting and then another hour to fix the wonky parts.

It's huge, but so pretty. For the first time, I tried blocking it to the specified size. It didn't look so good and I reverted back to my usual blocking method. I do a full wet-blocking for lace. Then I lay it out on the floor and smooth it out with my hands until it looks okay. After that, I start securing the crochet yarn that I threaded through the straight edges. From there, I start really stretching it to get the lines straight. This shawl was different because it has beaded sides that aren't straight. I pinned those out individually--ugh! That took forever. In the end it wanted to be around 35 inches wide (!) and 91 inches long.

Overall, I'm happy with the look. I do need to go back and reinforce the beaded fringe. Some of them stretched out during the blocking process. Actually, I would recommend not doing a full wet-block with beaded fringe. I need to add some beads to the center where there is a visible line in the beaded diamonds. I think it will look perfect after adding in a few beads to fill the gap.

Final details:
Pattern: Arabian Nights by Sunflower Designs
Yarn: Hengyuanxiang Knitting Wool - used 210gms
Needle: size 2 (3mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Hook: size 11 (1.05mm)
Beads: 8/0 Iris blue
Changes: I grafted the center.
Blocked size: 35 inches by 91 inches
Start: February 26, 2008
Finish: April 2, 2008

What I'm not happy with are the pictures. This purple yarn is so hard to get the color correct in photos. And why is it that the colors look different from Photoshop and Flickr? I take the photo into Photoshop, adjust the color and size, save it, and upload it. It seems that flickr must do something or my eyes are getting old. No laughing from you--Dwight. :-P

My secret project has been delayed in getting to me, so I have been trying to fill my time with small knits. I decided to try Anne Hanson's Orchid Lace mitts. I bought this pattern to use up leftover bits of lace yarn that I have saved. For my first try, I tried using the leftover Dream In Color Baby yarn from my Irtfa'a shawl. I only had a little under 40 gms of yarn left, but decided to give it a try anyways. I had enough--just barely enough. These mitts are so quick and easy. I finished these in one day. What was difficult was getting a good photo of my own arm with the whole mitt in the shot. I managed to do it thanks to the swivel lcd on my camera.

Details:
Pattern: Orchid Lace mitts by Anne Hanson (Knitspot)
Yarn: Dream in Color Baby in Gothic Rose - 36 gms
Needle: size 2 (2.75mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Start: April 1, 2008
Finish: April 2, 2008

I also finished a wash cloth--exciting! ;-) I still haven't gotten word on my project, so I'm off to find another quick knit.

Lost that lovin' feelin'

Whoa, it's gone, gone, gone... I just can't be motivated to work on lace right now. My Spring Surprise Stole has stalled at clue 4. I did knit a few rows of clue 5, but I'm just not in the mood to knit something that needs so much attention. There are so many other great mystery lace alongs going on right now, but my attention is somewhere else. Maybe it's the beautiful sock yarns that are so distracting to me.

Those are Wollmeise 100% superwash sock yarn in Emil, Paul, Johannisbeer und Brennessel, and Franz. Wollmeise is so hard to get from the Loopy Ewe. I ordered these direct from Germany. They sat on my desk for a few days before I wound them into balls. I still don't have a ball winder, but I've found that I did enjoy winding these by hand. I get to watch the colors go by and think about what I want to do with the yarn. I usually wind yarn if I'm having trouble deciding on what to knit. It's not like I don't have enough projects lined up, but I'm having trouble getting motivated to work on the bigger ones.

I finished the cross stitch block fingerless gloves for my sister. Those were such a quick knit. The cross stitch block is one of my favorite stitch patterns. It's easy enough to memorize, but it's entertaining enough to keep boredom away.

I like the individual fingers, but they are uncomfortable when I try to knit wearing them. These type of gloves are great to wear while taking pictures outside in the cold. I used to just take one glove off, but now I just wear fingerless gloves and my hands stay warm. In between pictures, I do put my hands in my pockets or my finger tips do get a little cold.

Details:
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Midnight Derby (used 55gms)
Needle: size 1 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Pattern: my own basic fingerless glovepattern with the Cross stitch block from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Start: February 6, 2008
Finish: February 8, 2008

After the fingerless gloves for my sister, I wanted to make another pair out of the pretty Wollmeise yarn. Now I have these, Very Terhi fingerless mitts. The pattern is by Yarnissima. They're so pretty! The yarn is Wollmeise sock yarn in the Brombeere color. This one is such a deep, dark color.

This pattern is written for thicker yarn, so I had some adjusting to do. I ended up adding two stitches to either side of the main section on the top of the hand. I also added 4 stitches to the palm. The thumb had to be adjusted too. I messed with that while I was knitting until it fit comfortably. I only used 45 grams of yarn and there is a lot left over in the skein. I'm thinking of using the main criss-crossed section on a pair of socks.

Details:
Pattern: Very Terhi by Yarnissima
Yarn: Wollmeise sockenwolle in Brombeere (used 45 gms)
Needle: szie 1 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Classic Circ.
Changes: I added 4 stitches to the front and 4 to the palm to accommodate the thinner yarn.
Start: February 9, 2008
Finish: February 12, 2008

Speaking of socks, E was wearing some socks that I made for her last October. They're too small--already! I'm back into sock production mode. I want to make a few pairs for E and then a few pairs for D too. I've noticed that he fits her socks better than his own. But he doesn't really want to wear her socks because of the colors. He likes bright colors like orange and yellow. She likes girly colors like pink and purple.

E and D love their socks that I knit. They don't wear the regular white store bought socks anymore. Dwight made a crack that I was saving money, since we don't have to buy socks anymore. Right....that's because sock yarn is so cheap. *insert eyeroll* At least the socks I make fit. Both kids have very narrow feet and my socks fit their feet so much better. For example, E's foot is 7 inches long and 5.75 inches in circumference. According to the chart in Sensational Knitted Socks, a foot that is 7 inches long is usually 6.75 inches around.

I like knitting socks for them, even if they do outgrow them so fast. It only takes me two days to finish a pair. I'm off to finish E's new socks.

It's easy!

It's easy. I think that some people probably don't like to hear those words from anyone. I find myself saying it or wanting to say it a lot. I don't know if it's natural talent or just an uncanny ability to read directions and actually follow them through. Dwight would say it's a natural talent. I would give the second reason. I always feel a bit strange when someone who sees my work and says, "wow, I bet you can make anything." I feel like telling them, that I can indeed make anything, especially if there are given directions. And if there are no directions, I will try to do it on my own.

I've found this true for myself with sewing or knitting. To me, sewing is just following a pattern. You cut out the pieces and put them together how the directions tell you do it. Just a few days ago, I've found that it's also true for doing our taxes. I do our taxes by hand. That's how I've always done them, but this year proved a little more difficult. I ran into a snag, read the (insane) directions, and figured it out. To double check, I used a tax program and I did get it all correct!

This is another thing that was easy for me. The directions for Jean Greenhowe's dolls are so thorough. I did try to make things a bit less complicated by knitting in the round. That messed with my row gauge a bit, but I like how it turned out anyways. This is the second doll that I made for E for her birthday yesterday. I gave the doll to her and then remembered that I didn't take pictures of it yet. So, Miss Sophie is looking a bit rumpled. This doll stands at around 12 inches high. She can stand on her own. I used whatever leftover acrylic yarn that I had on hand already. That's why her pantalets are pink instead of white.

I was a little worried about making dolls for E. She has so many dolls already, but none of them were handmade. Well, I had nothing to worry about. She has declared that the two dolls that I made are the best simply because I made them. That was such a sweet comment for her to make. I've kept the pattern book hidden while I was making these. I showed her the pattern books yesterday and she's picked out Jemima Jane as the next doll for me to make. I want to make the pirate doll for D. I'm not sure when I'll get around to them, but they're on the list!

In knitting, I've started to branch out and do my own thing with socks. And now I'm just winging it with these fingerless gloves. And I've found that once again--it's easy. It was all about finding a pattern that works for me and plugging in a stitch pattern. Finding a good stitch pattern is the tricky part. I've found that I can plug in just about any stitch pattern that's used in a sock and it will make pretty fingerless gloves.

Here are the completed Wollmeise fingerless gloves. These took up 60 gms of yarn. That's less than half of the skein. They are quite snug because of the pulling in that this stitch pattern likes to do. The stitch pattern is Stansfield 304 that can be found in the More Sensational Knitted Socks book. I wore them out yesterday and they do keep my hands warm. I have a few more skeins of sock yarn that I want to make into fingerless gloves now.

To recap:
Fingerless gloves made up by me.
Yarn: Wollmeise sockenwolle in Drachenblut (60gms)
Needles: size 0 Addi Turbo
Notes: These are knitted with 72 stitches around, due to the stitch patterns nature to pull in. The gloves are quite snug.

I've started this pair with Dream in Color Smooshy in the Midnight Derby color. This pair is for my sister. She loves blue and I think this one just about matches the color of her car. My sister is all about being matchy-matchy. This is the Cross Stitch block stitch pattern that can also be found in the More Sensational Knitted Socks book. I have found it in one of the Barbara Walker treasuries too, but I can't remember which one. This glove is knit with 64 stitches around and I did use a larger needles. My sister has larger hands than I do and I was worried that 64 stitches around on a size 0 might be too snug for her.

The color is more accurate in this picture, but you can see the stitch pattern detail better in the first picture.

Details so far:
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Midnight Derby
Needles: size 1 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Classic Circular
Glove pattern: my own
Stitch pattern: Cross Stitch Block




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Now playing: My Way - Frank Sinatra
via FoxyTunes

Gothic Irtfa'a has flown off the needles

Irtfa'a is finished! Actually, it was finished last week and I had to wait for the floor to clear to have enough room to block it. I love this shawl. The design is just beautiful!! This is my first faroese shaped shawl. How do you pronounce faroese? The pattern was really well written and so easy to follow. But this one was never boring. Those rows got really long, but I never grew tired of knitting them. It's not just the pattern, but I love the yarn too. This is Dream in Color's Baby (lace) yarn in Gothic Rose. It's such a tricky color to photograph. This is what it looks like in direct sunlight. It's really a darker color with very subtle shades here and there.

Those are some detail shots that I took for putting up on ravelry. The bottom edging starts at the very tips of the "wings" and is knitted onto lives stitches until they meet in the center. I wasn't sure about my grafting, but I think it looks alright.

Details:
Pattern: Irtfa'a by Anne Hanson (knitspot)
Yarn: Dream in Color Baby in Gothic Rose(1.75 skeins)
Needles: size 3 Knitpicks Classic Circular for the neck edge and edging, size 4 Knitpicks Options for the rest
Start: January 14, 2008
Finish: January 25, 2008

I've finally gotten around to taking a photo of E's fingerless gloves. She requested ones where the fingers are separate. She says that they're loose, but I did that on purpose. I want these to last a bit and hopefully she'll still like them when they fit how she requested. I followed a generic glove pattern and just didn't finish the fingers. If I were to make these again, I would shorten the thumb and make the cuff longer. Fingerless gloves seems to be my thing right now. Lace is still around, but I need something to do while waiting for the next clues.

I have some fingerless mittens that I made from a pattern in Interweave. I like them, but I wanted another pair that was more snug, had actual fingers, and in thinner yarn. This is what I made! I used one of my favorite stitch patterns and tried to adapt that into a glove. It was working until I hit the fingers. I don't like how the fingers are just plain up there. I'm going to leave this one because I like how this glove fits. The yarn is Wollmeise sockenwolle in Drachenblut. I'm using a size 0 Addi Turbo and it's make a nice, snug, and comfortable fingerless glove. In fact when I was outside taking these pictures, I left this glove on my left hand while taking pictures of the shawl. This hand was nice and warm while my right hand was cold.

Now, I'm off to knit the second glove.