Category Archives: finished

9:03 am - August 6, 2013 - AngelaH

Oh, this old thing?

Yeah, it has been a while since I finished Kit, but you know how summer is: running around and plans and travel and it can be tough to find a few minutes to take pictures. On the weekend L and I finally managed to be together, in daylight, with a camera, so we dashed out the door and snapped a couple of photos of me wearing Kit.

I love it, and yet I wish it was longer. Next time (and, honestly, I will almost certainly knit this again) I’ll go up a needle size or two and add a couple of inches to the overall length. The only other mod I’d make would be to attach the straps a bit closer to the middle. I’m not horrified by the sight of bra straps, but on the other hand, I do feel weird about wearing this to work without a cardigan or something over it.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Kit, photos

9:20 am - July 23, 2013 - AngelaH

Meanwhile, behind the scenes

Remember Willowherb? The socks I cast on way back in mid May? Yeah… I knit up the first one really quickly and then started the second one and then got distracted. You know how that is. The seasons were changing, other things seemed more pressing and one thing led to another and then a month had gone by.

That’s something I love about socks, though: they’re great little side projects. Whenever I didn’t quite feel like working on whatever was my main project, I’d knit on Willowherb. A few rows here, a few rows there, and by the time I was finished Kit, I was most of the way through the leg, so picking it up to finish didn’t feel like any big thing. And, of course, it wasn’t.

These socks were on the needles for almost two months, but in actual knitting time they didn’t take longer than two weeks to knit. (This is what I love about charted socks. There’s so much motivation to just finish at least this repeat or this section of a repeat before putting them down, which for me often results in knitting at least two or three more rows after deciding I’m done for the time being.) Sometimes coming back to a project that’s been sitting around can feel a it like a slog, but let me tell you, I enjoyed knitting these just as much in July as I did in May. I loved watching the stitches twist their way across the sock and holy moly, did I love this yarn. I have several more skeins in different colourways stashed and I can’t wait to use them!

Details
Pattern: Willowherb by Rachel Coopey
Yarn: Indigodragonfly Merino Sock in Safety Pin or Safety Pint: Discuss
Needles: 2.75mm
Mods: I was sort of in between the sizes listed, and rather than trying to knit the larger size at a tighter gauge, I opted to knit the smaller size a little looser. I didn’t need to loosen it up much, since it was a 68-stitch sock (my usual), but the twisted stitches and the way they cross over the top does tighten things up a bit. In the end, I got a sock that fits like a dream: tight enough to show off the lace and stitches, but not so tight that it’s hart to pull on or uncomfortable. Other than that, I deepened the heel by four rows, and I think that’s it.

I didn’t plan to leave so long between the two socks, so my notes are pretty bad and thus, they don’t quite match. Part of that is my own fault since I realized about four rows too late in the first sock that I’d somehow missed a couple of pattern rows. It’s in the foot and I considered ripping back, but I would have had to tink every row because ripping would be impossible with all the yarn overs and whatnot. It didn’t bother me that much, and I suspect only knitters will notice.

Categories: finished, Uncategorized Tags: socks, Willowherb

10:10 am - July 16, 2013 - AngelaH

Kit Kit Kit Kit Kit

Sorry. I’m a little excited. On Sunday, I finished Kit and this morning it is finally dry and that means it is finished! Honestly, it wasn’t a difficult knit or even particularly big, but I am feeling triumphant! Also, I love it.

I don’t have any finished shots of me wearing it (L and I have not had many daylight hours together in the last couple of days), but oh well. I thought about waiting, but no, I’m too pleased. Because of my tighter (firmer?) gauge, this is not the flowy, beachy tank that you might expect based on the pattern pictures; instead, it’s a more fitted top, knit at just about zero ease. I really like this version, and I’m actually seriously considering casting on for another one, but going up two needle sizes so I’ll get a slightly different look. As I said, I love it.

Generally speaking, though, the things I love in the finished garment were not really things I loved in the knitting of the garment. The half-linen stitch border, which I could actually consider making a half inch wider in a second version? I hated knitting it. It was so, so slow. (Although, to my great surprise and delight, knitting it flat was a total pleasure, and looks nicer too, so go figure.) I was also totally dismayed to realize that after finishing the straps and sewing them down there was more finishing to do. I actually thought about not doing it, but then, well, it looks so nice and polished.

Details
Pattern: Kit Camisole by Bristol Ivy
Yarn: Louet Euroflax Sportweight in Golden Rod
Needle: 3 mm
Mods: The main mod was my gauge, which as substantially tighter than the pattern’s. To accommodate that, I changed the following:

I did fewer decreases. I decreased four times total, basically following the pattern for those four and then just stopping (rather than spreading them out over the course of the whole piece). (I should note that this threw off the stitch count in terms of restarting the half-linen stitch pattern at the top of the back, so while the pattern worked for me, that means it won’t work for you if you follow it. Cassy talked to the designer and it’s being fixed.)
Because I had more stitches at the top of the back than the pattern said I should have, I had to rework the number of stitches to bind off for the back. To do that, I just counted all my stitches (269) and divided by two, allocating 134 for the front and 135 for the back. From the 135, I subtracted 21 (the stitches in the centre panel) and the divided that number in half so I’d know how many stitches needed to be on each side of the panel to keep it centred. The end result just meant moving my beginning of round marker back one stitch (adding two stitches to the front).
I did an extra set of decreases on the front for two reasons: 1. My gauge opened up a lot once I started knitting flat, and 2. I had two more stitches because I did fewer decreases on the back.
I knit my straps on 13 stitches and made them 11 inches (rather than 9.5), and kind of wish I’d made them even slightly longer. The finishing looks really nice, but it snugs things up.

And there you go. I’m not sure I’ll cast on for a second one right this minute, but I’m already thinking about what colour to knit it in, which is definitely a sign. My Kit is ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Kit Camisole

6:03 pm - June 30, 2013 - AngelaH

Signed, sealed, delivered

Ta-da!

It was right down to the wire, but I finished Sproutlette on schedule, which meant it was blocked and ready yesterday when we went to visit our friends, who loved it. It was too warm for the baby to show it off, but it looks like it should fit her well.

What a fun little pattern. It has so many fun little details, and although I thought the scalloped eyelet cast off would take forever, it was surprisingly quick (I had considered switching to a picot bind off and am really glad I stuck with the pattern on this one, because those little eyelets under the leaves just kill me.)

Honestly, if had been any cuter I might have passed out. Or, at least succumbed to fits of giggles every time I picked it up. The super girly-ness of it is mitigated by the colour though, which suits both the parents and the baby, I think. (I was very tempted to knit it up in this, but I restrained myself.) I’d had this skein in my stash for almost a year, so I was happy to use it, and then half way through I decided I also needed something in this colour and went out and bought another skein. Sigh. I’m thinking cabled socks.

Details
Pattern: Sproutlette Dress by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Lettuce (with 32g left over)
Needle: 3.25mm
Mods: I mostly just followed the instructions for the middle (6-12 months) size. I knit it at a tighter gauge, though, to get something a bit in between sizes. So, I followed the pattern as written and then after dividing for the arms I cast on three stitches in each armpit. I knit the stockinette portion of the skirt to 5.5 inches, then cast on eight stitches evenly for the leaf chart, giving me 14 leaves around the skirt. Then cast on two stitches for the scalloped eyelet cast-off and you’re golden. It’s ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: baby knits

9:18 am - May 28, 2013 - AngelaH

Cheerful toes

It’s a grey, wet, rainy day here in Toronto, so let’s look at some colour.

I actually finished my Monkeys last week, on a day rather like this one, and it was a perfect pairing. I know the wisdom is that during the winter you should avoid knitting grey and white things so your entire world doesn’t become one monochromatic colour, but frankly I find grey spring days far worse than grey winter ones, and the bright colours of these socks were an excellent antidote to all the rain (and friggin’ cold weather) we’ve been getting.

Monkey, of course, is a hugely popular pattern, but I wasn’t a knitter when it was published in 2006, so this is sort of catch-up for me. I will undoubtedly knit another pair – there are books I try to read every year and I suspect that, when it comes to knitting, spring will be greeted by a pair of Monkeys.

Details
Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. (I used the original pattern, published in Knitty’s Winter 2006 issue, but she rereleased the pattern in her book and offers more sizes, etc. there)
Yarn: SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in Honey Fig (I know this yarn has Tough in its name, but honestly, it was wonderful to knit with. It feels strong and like it will last, but it’s still soft on your hands as you knit. I loved it.)
Needles: 2.75 mm
Mods: None. I used a larger needle so the pattern would fit my 9-inch feet, and I used my normal slip-stitch heel instead of the stockinette heel in the pattern, but otherwise, I worked it exactly as written. Details, such as they are, are ravelled here.

I’m including this so you can see what the yarn did in stockinette. I love the way the swoops of the pattern broke up the flashing.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Monkeys, socks, SweetGeorgia

8:51 am - May 21, 2013 - AngelaH

Happy Street

L and I found a few minutes this weekend to get some proper shots of my finished shawl. It was actually harder than expected to photograph because it’s so big – 85 inches long and almost 16 deep.

It’s almost more of a scarf than a shawl, which will be perfect for fall and winter (I purposefully chose colours that will go nicely with my red winter coat for that very reason). The looser gauge means it wraps nicely around my neck, twice, so it fits well under a jacket or, wrapped just once, it’s perfect as an extra layer in the air-conditioned office.

Overall, I’m really pleased with this! (Details on it are here and/or here)

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: photos, Sweet Street

10:23 am - May 14, 2013 - AngelaH

Almost as planned

Yesterday was my birthday. I’m lucky enough to work somewhere that believes your birthday should be a holiday, so I had the day off. It was lovely. I knit, I watched some TV, I baked a cake (chocolate zucchini cake with cream cheese icing – delicious).

My original plan, as you may remember, was to have my Happy Street shawl finished by my birthday, and I have to say, I almost made it. By the end of Friday I was finished all the repeats and only had the border to go. I figured that with the weekend to knit 12 rows and cast off, I’d be home free. Then I got sick. I barely knit four rows on Saturday (24-hour flu) and then had to work on Sunday. I got really close, but I still had to finish the last row, bind-off and block the shawl on my birthday. The bind-off row was nearly 600 stitches.

This is a big shawl. I knew it was going to be big, but this is really big. After blocking, it’s 85-inches long and almost 16-inches deep. It dwarfs my Colour Affection and I can comfortably wrap it around my neck twice. The garter stitch is soft and squishy, and the short row turns tightened up nicely.

I haven’t had a chance to get proper FO shots yet, but in the meantime, here are the specs.

Details
Pattern: Happy Street by Veera Valimacki
Yarn: Sweet Fibre Yarns Super Sweet Sock in Luna (MC), Early Spring (CC1), and Spanish Coin (CC2)
Needles: 4mm
Modifications: None. I knit in my ends (at least at the leading end of each stripe), which was a great time saver. Also, on my last WS row (I bound off on the RS), I didn’t do any increases. My shawl is ravelled here.

More photos to come.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: shawl, Sweet Street

10:08 am - April 23, 2013 - AngelaH

Two Hummingbirds and a Hedgehog

Sounds like the title of a nursery rhyme, doesn’t it?

Finished socks, bad camera angle. Sorry.

I finished my Hummingbirds last night (apologies for bad photos – I decided to try out my camera’s timer rather than wait for L, clearly I need to practice). This is the second pattern I’ve knit from The Knitter’s Book of Socks and, like Stepping-Stones before it, it was a well-written, clearly presented pattern that will almost certainly become a standard. In the book, Clara writes that these socks (designed by Sandi Rosner) were designed expressly to be used with multi-coloured variegated yarn. That’s unusual for lace, but the idea is that the trellised pattern shifts the colours up and down, breaking up the stacking that would ordinarily lead to pooling and flashing.

They’re definitely fun to knit, and the 12-row, 32-stitch repeat is an easy rhythm to get into. I didn’t get quite to the point of memorizing it, but a quick glance at the chart was all I needed at the beginning of each row. I did make some modifications (detailed below) and I have some others that I plan to try on the next pair of these I knit (probably with this yarn). I do find these tight to pull on and off (though they’re comfortable to wear, pesky high arches), but, as you can see in the photos, the first sock (which I’ve tried on a few times) has stretched and grown noticeably longer than the second sock. It’s superwash wool, too, so I suspect these will stretch a little once they’ve been blocked (no, I didn’t swatch).

Speaking of the wool, let me tell you about the Hedgehog. This sock yarn is by Hedgehog Fibres (an Irish dyer) and it is one of the loveliest sock yarns I’ve used. It’s smooth and round and so, so soft (85% merino), but its tight twist and 15% nylon content suggest it’ll stand up well too. It isn’t especially springy, but I do think it’ll grow a little. The stitch definition is beautiful and, perhaps best of all, the yarn is hand-painted in such a way as to prevent pooling. No two skeins are alike, and even though this yarn did tend to feature similar colour repeats again and again, even in the stockinette portion of the feet there’s no pooling. I love this yarn so much that I’ve ordered two more skeins. I also have 23g left of this colour, which I will probably use to knit up some more leftover socks one of these days.

Part of me kind of wishes the charts were shifted so the lace was over the front of the foot and the purls stitches were on the sides, but I guess these are socks meant to be enjoyed in profile.

Details
Pattern: Hummingbird by Sandi Rosner
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Sock Yarn in Sunflower
Needles: 2.5mm
Modifications: I knit the leg as written, but changed the heel from a short-row heel to my normal heel flap (I’m hard on my socks). I also added an extra chart repeat to the foot, though next time I’ll add another one. Depending on how these wear, I might also knit them on 2.75mm needles next time. As I mentioned above, these are quite tight to pull on over my heel. The fit is pretty good, though, so maybe a compromise would be to just knit the leg on the larger needle and then make the heel flap a few rows deeper. I also made the toe really wide for some reason (I did the first one a few weeks ago and can’t remember why now), but next time I’ll just knit my normal toe. My notes and whatnot are Ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Hedgehog Fibres, socks

3:53 pm - April 20, 2013 - AngelaH

Still in season

So windy. Also, it was brighter than it looks, hence the sun glasses. Sorry.

On Thursday it was 20C, this morning it snowed. What I’m saying is, I have been wearing my Woodstove Season cardigan quite a bit and it has been lovely. I’m so used to knitting small things and accessories that to knit an actual garment and then get to wear it around is a whole thing. It took me two months to wear the first socks I knit (I thought it was weird, but I was a fool) but it only took me a week (during which I thought I was going to knit pockets) from finishing to first public wear. I could get used to this whole sweater thing.

It has taken us a while to coordinate, so when L had a minute this afternoon we went for a walk to finally take some proper finished photos. Of course, it was freezing, and insanely windy, but you have to take what you can get. I swear, my hair is usually less wild than this.

It typically flaps less when worn open, but you get the idea.

I am really happy with the way this turned out. The sleeves have enough ease to be comfortable with a long-sleeved shirt under them, but they aren’t loose, so they don’t add bulk under a jacket, and the buttons are spaced properly so there isn’t any gaping. I do wish I’d knit the collar a little longer and the body a little shorter, but honestly, those are such minor details that they’re pretty much inconsequential. This is designed to be a long cardigan, and it is, which is something I’m sure I’ll appreciate during the winter (no lower back draft!).

And buttoning the million buttons back up.

It hasn’t been long, but so far the yarn seems to be holding up well too. It’s a superwash, so it doesn’t have quite as much structure as an untreated yarn, but there haven’t been any signs of pilling yet and it’s holding its shape just fine.

Crispy crispy chevrons.

Details
Pattern: Woodstove Season by Alicia Plummer
Yarn: SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted in Cyprus
Needles: 5.5mm for the body, 5mm for the collar and 4.5mm for the cuffs and bottom ribbing
Modifications: The biggest change was really the gauge. I knit this at 4.5 stitches to the inch instead of 4 stitches to the inch because, honestly, I just didn’t like the fabric when it was looser. This led to a false-start because I chose the wrong size initially. What I ended up with was something between the medium and the large, which was perfect. I made my buttonholes every 14th row (every 7th right-side row) instead of every 12th row, in part because my gauge was tighter so I could get away with it and in part because I wasn’t paying attention at the beginning and didn’t want to tink back two rows when it wasn’t going to make a difference anyway. To make my buttonholes work out I added two pattern rows to the body (after the end of the hip shaping and before the ribbing). I also picked up way more stitches in the armpit and decreased quickly and then slowly. All the details are Ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: photos, sweater, SweetGeorgia, woodstove cardigan

10:31 am - April 8, 2013 - AngelaH

That wet wool smell

I can’t believe I didn’t mess up a single chevron.

It’s the smell of triumph. On Saturday, I cast off my Woodstove Season cardigan, wove in my ends, and wet blocked it. My first sweater, and it actually fits. I don’t know why I let sweaters intimidate me, but it feels like a real accomplishment to finish one. Obviously, I already have the yarn and pattern for my next one ready to go.

Because Woodstove took all weekend to dry, I don’t have any nice photos of my wearing it yet. I’m also not 100% sure it’s finished yet. It grew a few inches in length with blocking, which is fine, but I am now feeling that the pockets I had previously decided not to knit would suit it. Pockets aren’t a huge knitting burden (and I have yarn left) so I think I might whip them up this week and see. Proportionally, I think it needs something to balance the ten million buttons. Thoughts? (I’ll do a proper FO post when I have better photos and likely also pockets.)

This funny ombre effect is not there in real life.

To balance all the worsted weight knitting I’ve been doing lately, and in keeping with decidedly spring-ish weather, after getting Woodstove into its bath, I cast on something fun in laceweight.

Despite the greys in the photo, this is knitting up to look just like tarnished copper.

I’m tend to forget about cowls, but with bicycling season upon us, the Hunter St. Cowl by Glenna C. seemed like the perfect balance between pretty and light and something practical that won’t fly off. I’m knitting it in Tanis Fiber Arts Pink Label in Lucky Penny. Even if I put it down in favour of pockets, this won’t take long to finish.

Categories: finished, in progress, Knitting Tags: cowl, sweater, woodstove cardigan