Pans & Needles

Category Archives: finished

2:20 pm - December 4, 2012 -

Problem solved!

2

Standard Holiday Warning: If you are a member of my family, I love you, but if you read any further do so knowing that you will ruin Christmas.

I rather suspect it’s too much to ask for you to read two posts in a row about a stupid tea cozy, so I’ll keep this short: I figured it out. Yes, it took me four hours yesterday of ripping and reknitting and ripping and reknitting to get it right, but when I did, oh, I felt so clever I could have cried. Truly, there is nothing like knitting to make you feel smart (and sometimes also stupid, but lets leave that aside for now).

I as I mentioned, I wanted to try and use the moccasin sock technique for the top. Mostly, that’s because I wanted the tea cozy to be rounded on the ends, allowing for an easy fit over the spout and handle of my parents’ generously sized teapot. Often tea cozies are designed pretty flat (that is, the two sides could basically be knit flat and then seamed together) and while this is a tried and true method, I wanted something a little different.

Behold, the moccasin-topped tea cozy:

So much better than my previous attempt!

So much better than my previous attempt!

I love it. I kind of hated it while I was doing it (you try meticulously tinking about six ever-increasing rows stitch by stitch and see if you don’t hate it by the end), but I’m very pleased about the result. Now all it needs are its ends woven in, its side duplicate stitched (I think the beginning of the round side looks sloppy where I was simultaneously decreasing and starting/stopping the stripes), and a lining sewn. Truly, all of that seems totally doable now that I’m conquered the top.

Side view. This is very generous in size and an accurate portrayal of the colours.

Side view. This is very generous in size and an accurate portrayal of the colours.

Now, I promise there will be no more tea cosy talk until I have a proper FO shot after Christmas!

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , ,
11:40 am - November 30, 2012 -

Milestones

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Standard Holiday Warning: If you are a member of my family, I love you, but if you read any further do so knowing that you will ruin Christmas.

No, I am not buried under some big pile of yarn. Nearly, but not quite. That pile I showed you earlier has gotten a little smaller, but it still looms large every time I sit at my desk, which was meant to be inspiring but it starting to be just plain intimidating. It is the last day of November, and I’m not quite where I want to be.

I did finish the mittens for my grandmother (photo and details at the bottom of the post, just in case my family is trying to sneak a peek), and I am very pleased with them. They were a speedy and fun knit, and I now want a pair for myself more than ever. And, in fact, I had had the pattern queued (with the dark brown Maritime Wool in mind) for months. I love this pattern, and I hope my granny will too. So, that’s one more finished thing into the Christmas bag.

The tea cozy continues. I did end up running out of wool, and that plus the mittens has put it back a ways. It only has a couple of inches more to go, though, and since my decreasing has increased (if you see what I mean), each row is getting shorter and quicker, and I think I can buckle down and get it done this weekend. The knitting is only part of it though, since I plan to sew a lining and then sandwich a bat of wool between the lining and the knitted shell. It never ends.

I also cast on and ripped out (twice!) the hat I’m knitting for L. I knit him a hat last year for his birthday and it’s quite fuzzy and sad looking now, so he’s due for a replacement. I love the yarn, found the perfect pattern, and have somehow managed to screw it up twice. I’ve been thinking about it, though, and I have a plan of action now, so I’m thinking third time’s the charm. (Cross your fingers.)

Also on the needles are my grampa’s bed socks (also known fondly as foot tubes). He is a tall man with big feet, so yes, these are going to be big. They are my walking around knitting, and I will be knitting them for the next twenty days – I really, really, hope that’s enough time (bearing in mind that there are a few other knits to fit in too).

Not yet on the needles are my sister’s mittens (these ones), which I estimate will take two weeks or so, and my dad’s hat, which I have yet to chart out. Um, yes. That seems crazy. Twenty-five days – here we go.

grannymitts2

I will get a nicer photo one of these days.

Details
Pattern: Wood Hollow Mittens by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Goldenrod (#7827)
Needles: Addi Lace 3.75 mm
Modifications: Not many, actually. I knit these in the magic loop, so to keep the stitch count even on both needles through the ribbing (I like to end my ribbing on a purl), I cast on 44 stitches and then, after the ribbing, increased to 46. I also needed a little more height before decreasing for the top, so I flipped the chart. After decreasing, it seemed that, despite all the socks I knit, I am incapable of working a smooth Kitchener Stitch in worsted weight (I tried it three times, every time it came out with purl bumps and I have no idea why), so I just turned the mitten inside out and did a three-needle bind-off on the inside. I don’t know if that’s a thing, but it worked. My other work around was that since I seem to have lost my 3.75mm dpns (how? where? I have no idea) I used 3.25mm needles for the thumbs. To compensate, I picked up four extra stitches. You can hardly tell and I suspect (hope) that the difference will block right out. (Ravelled here.)

All in all, this pattern was fun and super fast. I will be making myself a pair (with other modifications) in the New Year.

Categories: finished, in progress, Knitting Tags: , , ,
11:39 am - November 16, 2012 -

Tentatively on schedule

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I say that despite not getting by sister’s Christmas socks finished on the weekend (I didn’t even knit on them over the weekend, if we’re being honest). Nonetheless, it’s mid-November and the most time-consuming item (at least, what I think will be most time-consuming) is finished. Oh sure, I still have fair isle mittens, hats and a not-yet-designed tea cozy, but I’m not worried. In my head, that all seems doable and straightforward. I’m going to miss working on these socks, though.

I’ll have real photos after Christmas. Promise.

I’m placing an embargo on shots of the finished items until after they’re gifted, so while I’ll post some photos as the knitting progresses, the finished shots will be a little vague. Even though you can’t see them properly, know that I am totally happy with these socks. I’ll post details below, but I just want to give a shout-out to indigodragonfly, whose Merino Silk 4-ply sock was the perfect substitute for the A Verb for Keeping Warm Metamorphosis yarn the pattern called for. The indigodragonfly has a higher silk content and is slightly lighter weight, but it was perfect for Cookie A.’s pattern.

Colourway: Don’t You Have an Elsewhere to Be? (Cordelia)

Also, second sock syndrome? Not over here. I’m not sure why, since these socks are basically a repeat of the same 12-row chart from top to bottom, but honestly, I think I just enjoyed the yarn so much that watching the same shapes come out of it never got boring. I can’t decide if that’s sad or not, but maybe I don’t care? I can tell you that I seriously want a pair of these socks in this yarn for myself, but that will have to wait until after the New Year (and after L’s birthday).

Are you embarking on Christmas knitting this year? How’s it going? I feel like it’s early enough to be optimistic and still be enjoying the whole process, so for heaven’s sakes let’s engage in a little of that before the manic must-finish stress rolls in. (There’s no way that’s just me.)

Details
Pattern: Daphne by Cookie A.
Yarn: Merino Silk 4-ply sock by indigodragonfly in Don’t You Have an Elsewhere to Be? (Cordelia)
Needles: 2.75 mm bamboo dpns
Modifications: Not many to be honest. I made the largest size (we are a family of big feet), but instead of using te sport weight wool called for, I used a fingering weight. I don’t think it really made much of a difference. Other than that, I used Cat Bordhi’s hungry stitch ssk method for both the gusset decreases and the toe shaping. The biggest change, I guess, was that to get the right length in the foot before starting the toe, I ended after row 6 in my final chart repeat (that’s the half-way point). It worked out fine and I don’t think it looks weird. Each repeat for me was 1 inch, so it was easy to calculate. I also have yarn left over (enough to do surprise toes on a future pair of socks, or work in as stripes somewhere), so considering I made the largest size for size-10 feet, that’s pretty awesome yardage. It’s ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , , , ,
6:35 pm - November 3, 2012 -

Jaywalkers!

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Finished at last!

These are serious contention to be my new favourite socks. I finished them last weekend and have already worn them three times, which is a pretty solid indication of knitterly satisfaction (and also why the heels look a little dull in this photo – they need a wash).

I think it’s funny how on one sock the colours are pretty randomly stacked on the other they flash in a pretty orderly way down the leg.

I have too much Christmas knitting in front of me to cast on another pair of these socks for myself, but there will be more pairs in my future. I’m going to poke around for a good self-striping yarn, I think, for my next pair, because how much fun would that be?

That being said, I loved watching these socks come together. Maybe I’m just easily amused, but watching the colours stack up was really enjoyable, as was seeing the way the colours slowly made their way around the socks. Honestly, I’m not sure this yarn is capable of pooling (or I just got lucky with the dye lot). My favourite colours in this yarn, though, were the ones that appeared as the main colours shifted. There’s a green/grey/blue in this yarn that is the exact colour of the underside of spruce needles, and every time it arrived on my needles I got a little excited to see where it would land. Those in-between colours never lasted more than two or three stitches at a time, but they were so glorious I didn’t even care.

I will say that these are among the more rigid socks I’ve knit. It might have a little to do with the yarn, which was lovely but not super stretchy, but in general the chevron pattern is not very stretchy. The width of these socks is perfect for me, but my high arch means I have to tug a little to get my foot into them. I did add a few rows to the heel flap, but next time I might add a few more, just to add a little more stretch in that area. It’s something to think about if you’re planning to knit these and, like me, have high arches.

Details
Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Yarn: Fleece Artist BFL Sock in Spruce
Needle: 2.25mm Clover bamboo dpns
Modifications: The main modification I made was to cast on the number of stitches required for the small, knit the ribbing, and then increase eight stitches evenly across the first plain row so the rest of the sock was knit in size medium. I originally planned to just go up a needle size after the ribbing, but I liked the fabric I was making, so I stuck it out. I also added a few rows to the heel flap, and just knit my normal toe instead of the one in the pattern (mostly because I didn’t even think to look at the toe in the pattern until after the first sock and then decided they should match, so I did it the same way on sock 2.) Ravelled here.

I started these way back in September (here I am knitting them on our camping trip), but if I’d focused on them, they wouldn’t have taken more than two weeks.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , ,
12:34 pm - October 29, 2012 -

Jaywalking to the camera shop

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This fall has been rough on my electronics. Specifically, my expensive electronics. September saw my hard drive have a complete meltdown, and although I did have have a mostly-recent back up to restore things from, it was still stressful, especially when I wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to need a whole new computer or not.

I was doing really well in October tech-wise until last night, when L picked up my camera, and flicked it on to look through the recent photos. Or, that’s what he would have done if flicking the on switch had worked. Instead, nothing happened at all. We figured the battery must have died (I mean, the thing worked fine on Thursday and I haven’t touched it since, so…). I charged it overnight, popped it in this morning, flicked the switch, and nothing happened. My camera, it seems is a brick.

I know it’s just a piece of electronics. I know I shouldn’t have a sentimental attachment to it, but I do. I bought this camera (a Canon Rebel XT – the second Rebel DSLR Canon made) shortly after my twentieth birthday. It was the most expensive and grown-up purchase I had ever made, and I bought it with money I inherited from my Grampa Hunter, which felt like a big deal. Three months after buying my camera I moved to France. This camera – in a Ziploc bag, no less – travelled with me around Europe. It came with me to Nepal. It took many, many pictures of my parents’ gardens, my friends, my family, and my cat(s). I took this camera to the States, to the Caucuses, and to work. I have taken a lot of photos of my knitting. I went from relying entirely on the automatic settings to taking photos almost entirely with the manual settings, taking it from a glorified point-and-shoot, to a proper DSLR. A lot has happened in the last six-plus years, and it seems corny to say, but this camera has been a really reliable companion. I’ve dropped it on cobbled streets, taken photos in the pouring rain, and almost never used a camera bag, and it has always, always worked.

Six years is a long time for a digital camera, especially considering how much things have changed in that time. With that in mind, I’m a little excited about getting a new camera. I moved beyond the limits of my camera a while ago, but I’ve been reluctant to upgrade because, like that Ikea commercial, I feel a strange loyalty to all the stuff we’ve been through. This is totally silly, and I know that, but still.

Hopefully the lack of photos in this post is self-explanatory. My BlackBerry camera is woefully inadequate, but I did snap this photo of my finished Spruce Jaywalkers. I will hopefully be getting a new camera this week (I’m thinking of the Canon 60D – what do you think?), so I will have a full post with photos and details when that happens. In the meantime, here you go:

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags:
2:49 pm - October 16, 2012 -

Wedding Mittens

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On Sunday, I got a front-row seat (well, I was standing, but you know what I mean) to watch two of our very dear friends get married. It was wonderful. You know how sometimes you get the feeling that a moment couldn’t be any more perfect, that everything is right and nothing could be added to make it any better? Yeah, that was Carmen and Sam’s wedding.

Yes, their wedding had an ice cream truck. Amazing, right?

We were worried it was going to rain, and it did rain a little in the morning, but it was over before we had to head to the church, and the light was perfectly flat for the photos, and everything was lush (thanks to the rain) and everyone was happy and beautiful. Truly, a perfect day.

Anyway, remember those mittens I was knitting? Well, I totally got them done in time. I finished them last Wednesday, giving them a good three days to block and dry – I spent the night before the wedding in the hotel with Carmen, which is when I wanted to give them to her. I didn’t post photos last week because I didn’t want to risk spoiling the surprise, but now that she has them I can show you how they turned out.

I had to take photos on kind of an overcast day. Nonetheless, they look okay.

I’m really pleased. They fit perfectly (thank goodness) and after a little swish in some water, they smoothed right out. The yarn also bloomed every so slightly, making them softer and filling out all the stitches. The recharted tops look pretty natural (although I’d do the palm side a little differently if I were doing them again), and all in all I think they were a pretty good gift.

Details
Pattern: Mittens with a Red Thread by Annemor Sundbo
Yarn: Cascade 220 Sport in Silver Grey (1946) and Royal Purple (803) – I used almost the entire skein of purple, but have almost half of the grey leftover.
Needles: 2.75 mm ChiaoGoo Knit Lace Red
Modifications: Probably the biggest mod was recharting the top of the mitten to add an extra half-inch to the overall length. I also chose to knit these entirely in magic loop (including the thumb), because it was easier to follow the chart when the palm stitches were on one needles and the back of the hand stitches were on the other. Otherwise, I pretty much followed the pattern as written – the only red thread I used was to hold my thumb stitches. I thought that was fair. (They are ravelled here.)

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , , ,
12:21 pm - October 12, 2012 -

Thanksgiving shawl

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Last weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada and we spent it with L’s parents. They live about four hours away by car, which is a bit of a ways, but great knitting time. I brought the wedding mittens with me, but between the finicky knitting and the tiny chart, they proved too much for the car. Luckily, I also brought Oaklet, which was perfect car knitting.

After all my previous indecision, I decided to stick it out. I trust that the Fleece Artist knows what she’s doing when she dyes her yarns, and wouldn’t you know it, she does! As the rows became longer and the colour repeats changed length the shawl opened up and turned almost caramel in colour (it looks a little like a chocolate bar, to be honest). Once I got into the lace, the purples and the greens started to pop, and even though I still ended up with light and dark pooling, I don’t mind one bit.

The colours are perfect for fall, no?

The finished shawl is 49 inches across the top and 18 inches deep, which is – surprise surprise – smaller than I would have liked, but still an entirely comfortable length to wear as a shawlette under a jacket, which is perfect for fall. (I should note, perhaps, that I’s actually longer (though not as deep) than the pattern measurements, which is a first.) On the pattern notes, Megan Goodacre makes specific mention of the fact that her shawl took an entire 350 yds. Although I had two skeins of this yarn, I decided I only wanted to use one, so I stuck to the pattern notes precisely – and ended up only using about 3/4 of the skein, despite going up a needle size. If I were to do this again, I would absolutely add four or eight more rows to the stockinette section, just to gain a little more length. But oh well, now I have enough Earth to knit any fancy pair of socks I want!

I also kind of wish I’d added more lace.

Details
Pattern: Oaklet Shawl by Megan Goodacre
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Earth
Needles: 4 mm Addi Turbos
Modifications: I went up a needle size because I may have finally learned that I knit more firmly than most patterns. Other than that, nothing!
Notes: If you decide to knit this shawl, when you get to the lace portion make sure to read both the written instructions and the charted ones, because they don’t entirely match at the beginning of the right-side rows. I kind of fudged this a bit and then just made sure my first set of leaves matched up so everything could flow from there, but you do have to pay attention to avoid ripping.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , , ,
9:32 am - August 31, 2012 -

August? Paging August.

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I don’t know how it is where you are, but over here I’m a little disoriented. I mean, it was just July wasn’t it? What the heck happened to the last month? This was how I felt about November and March when I was at university – two months that were so jam-packed that they sucked up your life and didn’t spit it out again until you were already on the other side.

That’s when I realized where August went: work. All month, I’ve been working two jobs. I’ve been in the shop or doing shop stuff in the morning, and then come early afternoon I get ready and head off to the Post, where I stay until it’s too late to do anything but go to sleep when I get home. My weekends, while mostly work-free, have also been full. It has been a month of fun and learning and newness, but definitely not a month I would describe as restful. Clearly, this calls for a holiday, and lucky me, tomorrow L and I are getting on a plane and heading east: Nine days in Nova Scotia. Oh heck yes.

We’re going to spend the first four days in Cape Breton, hiking and camping and (hopefully) visiting Baadeck Yarns (I’ve already planted this seed in L’s ear, so he’s prepared). After that, it’s back to the Annapolis Valley for five days of hanging out at my parents’, visiting friends, and being relaxed. There will be sight-seeing, there will be friend-visiting and shopping and all that, but there will also be free time, and unscheduled hours, and oh my gosh, I cannot wait! (Yes, yes, there will be blogging too.)

Because of the camping portion of the trip, packing is a little trickier this time than it was the last time I went. Nonetheless, there will be room to bring some knitting with me, and also to bring some wool home with (we all know what happened last time I went home, after all).

This is a very accurate depiction of the colours in these socks. I love them. I wouldn’t even rip this back (despite my Jaywalker desire) if I wasn’t already feeling they were going to be to big. Sort of serendipitous really.

I am bringing my Fleece Artist Spruce Socks – which I cast on as regular socks and, despite being three inches in, have ripped back so they can become the Jaywalkers they want to be – and something else as-yet undecided. I can’t bring the Christmas socks, because my sister will be visiting home at the same time we’re there. I was planning to bring the wedding mitts, but the yarn still looks like this and I’m not sure I’ll have time to wind to before we leave.

This will be mittens. It will. I’ll wind it just as soon as I’m home.

I feel fairly confident that the Spruce Socks will take more than a week, but there’s a lot of driving and flying built into this trip (L and I will split the driving though) and I don’t want to run out. Considering my yarn-buying plans, this seems like a silly worry, but still, I think I’ll pack an emergency skein just in case. The only question is, where to put it?

One thing I will definitely find room for (and, let’s be honest, I will definitely fit in that extra wool) is my finished Georgian Bay shawl. I cast on in the car on the way to Tobermory the first time we went this summer, knit on it for four days, got home, and promptly got distracted (we talked about busyness, yes?). The weekend of the baby shower, though, I was so filled with productive glee (read: caffeine) that I stayed up and finished it. That was two weeks ago, but since we were going back to Tobermory, it seemed only right to take pictures in the place it was meant for.

This is kind of a little shawl, I admit, but under a light sweater or jacket it’s perfect. I already want to make another one (though maybe slightly larger).

While it’s slightly smaller than I’d choose (dear self: go up a needle size; just figure it out already), I love it. I love the colour, I love how soft the wool is, I love the eyelets, I love it. I was convinced I wasn’t a triangle-shawl person, but I take it back.

Details
Pattern: Doublish, by Alex Tinsley
Yarn: Madeline Tosh Merino Light in Nebula
Needles: 3.25 mm Addi lace circulars
Modifications: None! I can hardly believe it either. It’s ravelled here if you’re into that sort of thing.

I bought two skeins of Nebula because I was worried about yardage (I am always worried about yardage, but the pattern was pretty specific on this point) and have an entire unwound skein leftover. I was thinking about exchanging it for another colour – unless you have a better idea?

Categories: finished, Knitting, Out and about Tags: , , , , , , ,
12:00 am - August 19, 2012 -

Tiny garment at top speed

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Dan and Jess. You can’t see it, because Jess is wearing a black shirt and sitting in a black chair, but she is very pregnant. It totally suits her.

See these happy people? These are my friends Jess and Dan, and they are expecting their first baby (gender unknown). Last week, Jess’s sister e-mailed to say she was planning a baby shower for Jess, for Saturday – a week and a half away. Jess is 32 weeks along, so I knew the baby was coming, I just didn’t know the shower was going to be so soon. Obviously, I decided to knit something, confident that despite the fact that the store opening was imminent (it was great, and there’s a post forthcoming), and that I work full time, and that I had freelance work to do, I could do it all.

I looked at a ton of patterns – I wanted a cardigan, not too fussy, and easy to knit here and there – and after considering this one, this one, and this one (which I think is more unisex than “boy”), I settled on the the Garter Stitch Baby Kimono, which is cute, all garter stitch, and a little stylish (also, thousands of people have knit it, and they can’t all be wrong, right?). After a false start with the yarn (I originally chose a very variegated yarn, before getting scared and trading it for something more subtle) I cast on. That was last Tuesday, Aug. 7 (and I literally only managed to cast on that day. Baby steps, as they say).

By Sunday, I had the better part of the body knit, and I was feeling pretty smug about how everything was going. I mean, look at this! The shower is a week away and I’m mere rows away from separating for the fronts and back!

Sunday. (Somehow, the fact that it took me six days to reach this point didn’t worry me.)

Also, check out these buttonholes. I am beyond proud. I find that yarn-over buttonholes (which the pattern calls for) can be a little messy and hard to find (especially in garter stitch), and if you’re dressing a squirming baby, you don’t want to be struggling with their sweater. These are very neat (as in tidy and interesting), and I found the tutorial here. I will probably make all my embedded buttonholes like this now.

Just look at how smooth and easy to see they are!

Anyway, that was Monday. By mid-afternoon on Thursday I was only here. I got the shoulders kitchenered together and a couple of rows into the first little sleeve and then had to go to the opening party.

Kind of funny looking, right?

By midnight on Friday (the night before the shower) I was barely into the second arm, and totally exhausted from a week of late nights, early mornings, and entirely full days.

Midnight on Friday (Saturday?). I am now getting worried. Also tired.

I stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish the sleeve, soak the sweater, and lie it down on a towel to block. In my head, I was all It has all night to dry, it’ll be fine.Of course, “all night” actually just meant five hours, so when I got up on Saturday morning to weave in the ends and sew on the buttons, it was still wet. I sewed it all up anyway, drinking in the smell of damp wool as if it were just as good and heartening as coffee.

Saturday, 2 a.m. The shower is now less than 12 hours away.

It dried on the way to the shower (a two-hour drive away), because I laid it on a tea towel on the back shelf thing in my rental car. Here it is, not quite dry, but very much finished in time.

Saturday, 10 a.m. It isn’t dry, but it’s a finished sweater, albeit a tiny one.

It made the top of one of the gift stacks, and was passed around to all the relatives. It’s my first baby sweater and was the only handknit there. Jess was thrilled.

Folded and on top of the pile. I know I shouldn’t read anything into that, but I am anyway.

When I wasn’t frantically trying to knit this in between doing a million other things, I had time to really think about what I was doing. This is the first thing I’ve knit for someone outside my family (I count L as family), and that was a big deal. My family will forgive small mistakes, appreciate it because it came from me, and because they have an understanding of the work that goes into knitting, and while I know Jess gets hard work, I was feeling an extra push to be perfect.

This was a sweater for a baby being born into a family I care a lot about. It will keep him/her warm and cozy and cuddly, and possibly do the same for a future sibling. It’s a physical representation of love, and I wanted them to see that. Jess and I haven’t seen each other in over a year (jobs, addresses, etc. always seemed to interfere), so I wanted this to also show her how much I value her friendship, even when we’re out of touch, and how much I care about her family. That’s a lot of work for a little sweater, but I think I did okay. I hope it fits.

Details:
Pattern: Garter Stitch Baby Kimono
Yarn: Koigu KPM in colourway 1180 (somewhere between ruby and ripe raspberry)
Needles: Addi Turbos, size 3mm
Modifications: A bunch, but nothing crazy. It’s ravelled here, in case you want to make one just like it.

I loved knitting this. Garter stitch is wonderfully squishy and warm and perfect for a little wee newborn. I also like how easy it is to alter this pattern – a little double-breasted version would also be adorable, and totally easy to mod up; I also want to try a DK or worsted-weight version, which would definitely have been faster. The yarn was a great choice because not only did I not get tired of looking at it, but it was soft enough on my hand for me to know it’ll be nice on a baby, but also tightly enough spun that I know it will last to be handed down (assuming more kids come along down the road).

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , , , , , ,
10:13 am - June 11, 2012 -

Stripes on stripes: Colour Affection is finished

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I was going to wait, and blog about Baku before anything else (it was the last stop on my trip and I swear I’ll get something up about it in the next couple of days – it was gorgeous), but then I finished Colour Affection on the weekend and I’m just too pleased to wait.

Behold:

So summery. So soft. So stripy.

It really worked out so much better than I ever thought it would. As I mentioned, I started it just before I left because I hate casting on in public. I was only a few rows in, though, when I left for the airport. It was about 24 hours door-to-door on the way to Tbilisi, and although that included switching planes several times (and this lots of security lines), as well as, in theory, some sleeping, I still had lots of knitting time. By the time we got into Tbilisi, I was only a couple of rows shy of having the first two pattern sections finished.

I finished the two-stripe section in Tbilisi and began the three-stripe short-rows in the car to Yerevan, but then, I got sick and couldn’t do anything but sit with my eyes closed and try to sleep. I got through a couple of pattern repeats in the short-rows before I realized I’d made a mistake. Each repeat is six bands of colour (12 rows), and I had knit 24 rows before I decided my short rows were really looking too short and something must be up. I went back to the pattern and, sure enough, I was one stitch short. For the next 12 rows I knit the way Veera intended, and then I added another stitch to my short rows and carried on that way for the rest of the section, which I finished on the flight from London to Halifax. (From Halifax to Toronto, 24-hours into travelling, I couldn’t knit any more and instead just slept. It was glorious.) It then took me a week to finish the two-inch border, which I attribute to the fact that a) those border rows are stupidly long, and b) I was back in my real life, and had other things to do.

I bound off (using a 5 mm needle) on Saturday and then blocked it (I bought blocking wires for the occasion), and on Sunday, after going for a photo shoot/walk with L, I brought it to work, because my office is a fridge. I am quite pleased.

Inspection.

I have to say, though, that I am surprised by how much I like it. I was really worried there for a while. The thing is, when you start with dark colours, you get used to how that palette looks. I like the grey, I like the green, and together, they played of each other nicely. Then, when I got to the short rows and introduced the yellow, I felt like everything was suddenly off. Somehow, the nice greyish tones in the yellow disappeared, the subtly colour changes in the green were gone, and what I was left with was garish and, I thought, a little too tropical for my wardrobe. I was seriously afraid that after hours and hours and hours of knitting, I was never going to wear the thing. I couldn’t figure out how I’d gone so wrong – I mean, the colours had looked so nice all stacked up.

Thank goodness I persevered. That two-inch border at the bottom saved it for me. The trouble is, when you’re knitting top-down, it’s hard to see how it will all come together, and for most of the knitting, the dominant colour seems to be the one you started with (in my case, grey). In the end, though, the short-row stripes are stronger than the other sections, and the band of colour along the bottom balances everything out.

It was really hard to get the whole thing in, but here it is (can you imagine it with an extra 40-inches of length? It was be huge!).

Details
Pattern: Colour Affection by Veera Välimäki
Yarn: Tosh Sock in Charcoal and Candlewick, and Tanis Fiber Arts blue label fingering weight in Mallard (Aside: Tosh Sock is like butter, and I would knit with it forever is that was practical.)
Needles: 4mm addi turbos
Modifications: I listed them above, and it’s ravelled here (if you’re into that sort of thing). I’ll say also that I didn’t check my gauge because, well, how is a shawl not going to fit? Somehow, though, this means I’m about 40 inches shorter than I should be, according to the pattern (only 2 inches shallow, though). I have no idea how that’s possible, but there you go.

This was perfect, perfect travel knitting. The next time I have a big trip, I would absolutely consider knitting another one, or at least something similar. As a bonus, I have enough wool left over for a pair of multi-coloured socks, which might be fun to knit up in the winter, when I could use some bursts of bold colour. (Full disclosure: I never did start those Monkeys. I will soon, though.)

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: , , , , ,