Category Archives: Knitting

10:24 am - January 24, 2014 - AngelaH

Twin set

Last week, my childhood friend Morgan had twins. Twin boys. Obviously, we knew she was expecting twins, so back in the fall I decided to knit little sweaters for her babies, then sex-unknown. It’s a joint gift from my mum and I, since our parents are friends: my mum bought the yarn and I did the knitting, which is a pretty good deal, really.

Besides the yarn choice, I had to choose a pattern. I wanted to do something complementary, but not completely the same, so either the same pattern twice in different colours, or the same colour twice in different patterns. My mum and I both preferred the first option, and after that it was a pretty easy choice to go with Sunnyside by Tanis Lavallee.

I picked out the yarn before Christmas. I will admit that I thought she’d have a boy and a girl, so I picked unisex colours that played into that a little. I cast on the first little sweater after finishing my holiday socks, and it was my first finished knit of 2014. Then I got distracted and knit other things before casting on the second sweater. I wasn’t even through the raglan increases when Morgan had the babies, but that’s okay. Twins are little (just over 5 lbs each!) so it takes them a bit to fit into full-sized baby clothes.

I knit the smallest size almost exactly as written, but I mashed up the two options a little. I really liked the back and forth of the lace pattern, but for a more unisex look thought cables would be better (not that babies care). So, I just did back and forth cables. I was initially going to mirror the cables on each sweater, but then I thought it was more fun to mirror one sweater to the other.

I’m really happy with the results, which will go in the mail later today/tomorrow. The yarn (Malabrigo sock for both) is so soft and snuggly and I really like the colours, even if the blue does kind of obscure the cables a little. After knitting this little sweater twice, I can definitely see myself going back to it. I’d like to knit it as written, and maybe also with braided cables, and I do like the lace option. So fun.

Details
Pattern: Sunnyside by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Lotus (pink/green) and Caribeno
Needles: 3.75mm
Notes: Pretty much knit exactly as written. I started the buttonholes later (on the ninth rather than the fifth row) and then carried on every 20th row as written, which ended up working out perfectly at the bottom spacing-wise. I also did back-and-forth cables instead of the rope cables in the chart. So: on sweater one I alternated cable right and cable left, and the second sweater I alternated cable left and cable right, which gave me zig-zag cables that mirrored each other. I also did five rows of garter stitch at the cuffs and the bottom hem, to match the neck. They’re ravelled here and here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: baby, gift knitting

1:14 pm - January 18, 2014 - AngelaH

To the Brig

Every year for the last three ~~years~~ winters, I have knit L a hat. (I can’t say years, since I missed 2013 entirely, but oh well.) I still haven’t gotten it quite right, but there’s nothing like a challenge to keep you on the case.

It comes so close to matching the scarf I knit him! Maybe a Brig scarf is in order some day?

This year, for his birthday (which was yesterday!) I knit him Brig by Veronik Avery, which was part of Brooklyn Tweed’s BT Men collection. I even used Shelter, which I picked up when I was in New York in October. I know that some people find Shelter a little scratchy, but I love it. It offers a rustic look but is, in my opinion anyway, very soft and pleasant to wear, especially after blocking.

For some reason, I thought it would knit up tightly (my Scrollwork came out a bit small, you may recall) so while I didn’t go up my usual needle size, it didn’t even occur to me to go down a needle size. But, the thing about Shelter is that it’s loosely spun. This makes it airy and light and warm, but it also makes it a bit fragile, so where I might usually pull on the yarn to keep it tight, with Shelter I didn’t. The result is a hat that fits, but maybe not with the amount of negative ease you might want in a hat.

L doesn’t usually go for the slouchy look, but I have to say, I am a fan, especially for the days when he’s working at the computer and wants to keep the hair out of his eyes.

Long story short, I will probably knit this again. L really likes the classic watch-cap-ness of the design and the colour, and since he’s wearing it today, I know this version will get worn and loved. It won’t be the toasty hat, cold day go-to that I wanted it to be though, so maybe this will be the year of two hats! We shall see.

Details
Pattern: Brig (hat) by Veronik Avery
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Artifact
Needles: 4.5mm
Details: I knit the hat until it measured 8.25 inches from the cast on. Then I started the decreases, doing the first section all at once (rather than every other row) because I was worried it was getting too long. I knit the rest of the crown as written. Ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: gift knits, hat

9:45 am - January 14, 2014 - AngelaH

Toasty toes

I still haven’t taken photos of the first official FO of the year, so instead, how about some socks? I finished these on Friday and even though the weather has improved, I’ve already been wearing them like crazy.

Last year I knit two pairs of Stepping-Stones (the excellent and free Clara Parkes pattern from her equally excellent book The Knitter’s Book of Socks) for my mum. I’ll admit to not being totally convinced about the pattern after the first pair (although I quite like how they look), but after the second I knew I wanted a pair for myself. That it got so friggin’ cold here just pushed me to knit them sooner.

These socks took a week, almost exactly, which was great. I can knit a pair of fingering weight socks in a week when I really want to, but these socks felt like they were knitting themselves, and they flew off the needles. My original plan was to give them contrasting toes, because I was pretty sure one skein of Tosh DK wasn’t going to be enough for my big feet and because I wanted to use up my leftover Hudson, which was a pretty good match.

As it turned out, contrasting heels and toes would have been a better plan, but oh well. I kind of like the asymmetry of these socks, which are still clearly a pair, despite their differences.

Details
Pattern: Stepping-Stones by Clara Parkes
Yarn: Tosh DK in Cosmos and Jill Draper Makes Stuff Hudson in Chestnut
Needles: 3.25mm
Notes: I followed the pattern pretty much as written, though I changed the heel because I’m set in my ways and like a slip-stitch flap heel best. Ravelled here.

It has gotten warmer over the last few days, but I’ve been fooled by January before. I’m not totally over my love of this pattern, but I’m thinking I might try Rye by tincanknits for my next pair of quick and thick socks. I already have the yarn and everything…

Tosh VIntage in Amber Trinket. Two skeins this time.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: socks

10:56 am - January 6, 2014 - AngelaH

Weekend getaway

I tend to look forward to the weekends as time I get to spend at home. After a long week (and some weeks are longer than others) the prospect of an unplanned, low-key weekend is really appealing. For me. L often has other ideas, since he recharges in a totally different way. He tends to draw me out and get me to do things I might not otherwise choose, and generally, I’m thankful for it.

This weekend, which would have been my first full weekend at home in a month, I was ready to return to routine – farmer’s market, do stuff around the house, snuggle under a blanket and knit, etc. – when our friend Josh, home from Germany, invited us to to his parents’ place in the country to spend the weekend cross country skiing. It was an offer too good to pass up, even when I was wistful for a quiet weekend, so early Saturday morning we set out, along with Josh’s friend Anna. And you know, I’m so, so glad we did.

Wooly cows!

Josh is a good friend, and someone we don’t see often enough. He came to spend New Year’s with us, though, so that plus a weekend away was pretty fantastic. He’s an excellent host, and the weekend featured great food, new games (Tichu!) and lots of outdoors time.

There was too much storm damage to ski through the woods, so on Saturday we set off across the fields. There was a thing layer of surface snow over hard-packed try snow, over a thick layer of ice, so tracks weren’t really necessary and we all skied together. I’m not a very experienced cross country skier, but we weren’t doing anything technical and it was nice to get out all together.

It snowed Saturday night, making for much trickier skiing on Sunday. Neither Anna nor I are all that proficient, so after Josh’s binding broke we decided to go for a wintry hike through the woods instead. I’m so glad we got to do both – there’s something magical about the woods in the winter. It’s so quiet in there, and the colours are so stark. We were out for over an hour, and I’ll admit to being quite cold by the time we got back to the house. L jokes all the time about wanting a pair of knitted long johns, but I think I need them more than he does.

Stepping-Stones in Cosmos, with surprise toes in Chestnut leftovers!

Speaking of knitting, I manage to get in a little bit in and around all the other activities of the weekend. I cast on for a pair of Stepping-Stones (for me!) on Friday night, and cast off the first one last night. I’m knitting these up in some stashed Tosh DK in the Cosmos colourway, and they’re ticking right along, which is a good thing, because the temperature is going to take a dive tonight (they’re calling for -25C, which is -13F) and I’m going to need another pair of thick socks.

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: photos, socks

9:28 am - January 2, 2014 - AngelaH

The year in knitting

When I was thinking about this list, I was pretty sure I knew what to expect. Last year, I just broke down what I knit into categories, and I meant to do that again this year, but then Andi did her year in review with photos and I thought that would be a fun way to do it (and much more manageable than a big collage of everything together, which Ravelry basically does for me). So, here’s what I knit, month by month, in 2013.

January

Clockwise from top left: Cedarvale mittens, baby hat, and moose gloves

February

Puerperium cardigan and Everyday Socks

March

Scrollwork hat, Seafoam socks, Stepping-Stones, plain socks

April

Hummingbird socks and Woodstove Season cardigan

May

Happy Street shawl, Monkey socks

June

Sproutlette

July

Willowherb socks, Kit Camisole

August

Plain Koigu socks

September

Camp-out Mitts, Simple Skyp Socks, Camomile Mitts

October

Burrard cardigan, Stepping-Stones (again!)

November

Saltburn socks, Rift hat, Charade socks, Charm shawl, Riverbank cowl

December

Holiday Jaywalkers, Hot Chocolate hat (which I finished, despite the photo), Plain dad socks.

I have to say, I was pretty surprised by the way my projects were spread out. I’ve organized everything by month finished (rather than month started or worked on), so in the months where I only finished one thing I was generally knitting other things at the same time. But still, it’s interesting to see everything spread out like this.

This year I finished 30 projects:
Socks – 14 pairs (5 gifted)
Garments – 3 (2 cardigans, 1 tank top)
Baby things – 3 (2 cardigans, 1 hat)
Mittens/gloves – 4 pairs
Hats – 3
Shawls/Cowls – 3

For fun, I thought I’d break things down by colour too, since I’m pretty sure I knit with the same colours over and over again (blue and green, I’m looking at you). In the case of variegated yarn, I just slotted the project by the dominant colour.

Blue – 7
Green – 5
Purple – 4
Red – 3
Striped (no dominant colour) – 3
Yellow – 2
Grey – 2
Brown – 2
Orange – 1
Pink – 1

I didn’t break things down by colour last year, but it will be interesting to see if the blue/green bias holds this year. On my (active) needles right now, I have a pink-ish/red sock and a green/pink baby sweater, so for now at least, I’m turning over a new colour leaf.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: year in knitting

12:43 pm - December 31, 2013 - AngelaH

Thinking ahead

I am a list person. I write lists on my phone, on bits of paper that end up floating in my coat pockets for months, and in my day planner (because, yes, I still keep a paper day planner). Like most people, I like crossing things off my lists, and I’ve been known to add things I’ve already done just so that I can check them off. But that isn’t the real reason I like lists.

Lists help me organize my thoughts. I’m a visual person, and putting things down on paper, or into my phone, helps me understand what I need to do and evaluate (and re-evaluate) my priorities. I do revisit old lists, but more often, I write new ones, and if some things don’t make it from one list to another, that’s okay. Priorities change, needs change, time changes. Incomplete lists are, to me, more telling than most diary entries because who is trying to be introspective with a list?

Anyway, all of this brings me to this season’s big task: my to-do list for 2014. You can call the items goals or resolutions (be it resolved I’ll knit more socks?), but I’m calling them plans. Right now, at this moment, these are the things I want to do this year (well, not all of them, but a selection), presented in no particular order.

1. Knit more socks. Specifically, knit more whenever/everyday socks. I like fancy socks as much as the next person, but I also like plain ones. I like the rhythm of stockinette (or even basic ribbing – I would include Simple Skyp socks and Jaywalkers in the plain socks category), and the way it lets the colours unfold, and I would, ultimately, like to have enough plain socks to get me through two weeks. That’s 14 pairs. Right now, I have nine pairs, and I’m thinking six or seven more would not go amiss. I’ve gone through my stash and pulled out pretty yarns I want to spend some time with, and I’m looking forward to having these colours on my needles throughout the year.

Future socks. From top to bottom, left to right: Koigu KPPPM P615; Jill Draper Makes Stuff Splendor Sock in Violet’s Wardrobe, Tosh Sock in Spectrum; Hedgehog Fibres Twist Sock in Peasant (already cast on), Manos del Uruguay Alegria in A9537, and Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Autumn, Blackberry, and Earth.

2. Knit from my stash. This is a perennial goal, really. I buy lots of pretty yarns with loose (or nonexistent) plans, and then they sit in my stash and get, if not forgotten about, at least passed over in favour of other pretty yarns that come my way. Stored properly, yarn doesn’t go bad, but I am just about at my limit space-wise. And besides, I have some nice stuff in there.

3. Pullovers. Last year I knit a couple of excellent cardigans, and this year, in addition to finishing Grace, I want to knit a couple of pullovers. I plan to start with Stasis, which I’ll knit in that gorgeous grey Kettle Yarn Co. Falkland I wrote about ages ago and a skein of Plucky Feet I somehow managed to snag during a crazy Etsy sale.

4. Quilt something. I want to do more sewing in general, but I especially want to try quilting. I plan to start small (with a project bag or something) and then we’ll see. Mostly, I’m just curious.

4b. Sew. This is a general resolution to just use my sewing machine more, since the more I use it the less hassle it will seem to get it out. I would like to sew myself some simple clothes this year, but we’ll see how things go.

5. Cook more. Another perennial plan, but working evenings makes it harder. Nonetheless, I want to try planning better so I can cook at least one good meal on the weekend without it feeling like a hassle or a last-minute scramble.

What are your plans/goals/resolutions/ideas for 2014? If you’ve posted about them somewhere, leave a link in the comments so I/we can find them – there’s nothing as inspiring as reading about other people’s plans!

Category: Knitting Tags: planning

7:05 pm - December 29, 2013 - AngelaH

Holiday socks

For the last three years (basically since I started knitting) I’ve taken the holiday break to knit myself socks. Two years ago (the first year) those socks were only the second pair I’d ever knit and I still wear them (you can see them here). Last year, I knit these, and after they stretched in the wash I gave them to L, who wears them quite happily.

The stripes look off in this picture, but they’re actually a perfect match until the tips of the toes.

For me, holidays socks needs to be a couple of things: They need to be good for social knitting, since I spend a lot of knitting time with family and friends; they need to be at least a bit interesting – I haven’t knit plain socks since that first holiday pair, and even they had surprise toes for interest; and, perhaps most importantly, the knitting needs to last about a week. I always pack a back-up project, but in general I like my holiday socks to last for just about the whole time I’m away, which tends to be about a week. The combination of social knitting and not-too-quick can be a little tricky, but Jaywalker fits those requirements nicely.

Jaywalkers have a nice two-row repeat that is easy to memorize and, once you’re a few rows in, requires no counting. Because of their structure, though, they need way more stitches than a normal pair of socks (I’d normally cast on 64 or 68 stitches for plain socks; for Jaywalkers I use the 84-stitch size), which means they take longer to knit. As a bonus, when using self-striping yarn the pattern looks very dramatic.

I’m very pleased about this heel.

And can we just talk about the yarn for a minute? I was all geared up to use stash yarn for my holiday socks, but then I was on Etsy and this Gynx yarn caught my eye. It’s Gynx Strong Sock in the Christmas Bells colourway and it was a total pleasure to knit with. I used almost the entire skein, with just one repeat of red leftover. The yarn is soft and squishy, and the stripes blend so seamlessly between colours that there’s no jogging or obvious break points anywhere. I loved this yarn so much that I’ve been keeping an eye on the Etsy shop just to see if more self-striping yarns will be added.

I would have loved these socks anyway, but somehow the drama of losing them and then getting them back and still finishing them on time (on the plane home, with hours to spare until my self-imposed deadline) makes them that much better.

Details
Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Needles: 2.25mm Addis – I knit these entirely with a magic loop, not my preferred method, but so much better for travelling.
Yarn: Gynx Strong Sock in Christmas Bells
Mods: None really. I cast on for the small size and knit the ribbing and then increased evenly up to the next size for the rest. The next time I knit this pattern I’ll probably go up a needle size, as these are a bit tight to pull on over my heels. I’m really happy about how matchy they are, and I’m especially pleased about the heels. I’d pretty much resigned myself to having the heels mess up the stripe sequence, so when they totally didn’t, I was thrilled. They’re ravelled here.

I know I should be annoyed about that little red toe, but I kind of like it instead.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: socks

6:14 pm - December 28, 2013 - AngelaH

What I knit this Christmas

Now that all my knits are gifted, I can post photos and details of the finished items!

I really love how this turned out.

The first gift I finished was not the first one I started. This is the Riverbank cowl (by Melissa Thomson) I knit for my sister Jenny. I knit it up in SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted in the colour China Doll. This was the perfect match of yarn and pattern, and the finished cowl is squishy and drapey, with just enough structure to support all the texture. I especially love that she can wear it as a cowl or a caplet.

Even with all the cabling, I have almost half a skein of the main colour left.

My sister Connie requested a pair of socks, so I knit her Saltburn by Rachel Coopey. I used Jill Draper Makes Stuff Splendor Sock (sadly discontinued) in Cobalt and Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in Natural. Connie is a huge fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, so knitting her socks in their colours was an obvious choice. The cables meant the socks aren’t very stretchy, though, so they are a bit snug. So snug in fact that she couldn’t get them on until she soaked them and stretched them wet over her heels (and she does not have big feet). I think they’ll be wearable, but I said I knit her another pair of plain socks in the same colours, since I have yarn left over.

My mum requested a shawl ages ago. Just something small she could wrap around her neck to fight a draught and look nice. I looked at a lot of patterns before settling on Charm, which turned out to be perfect. I knit it up in Hand Maiden Casbah in the Ruby colourway. She wore it all Christmas day, so I’m declaring it a hit.

Dad socks.

Both my dad and L got socks. For my dad, I went with something fairly plain, since I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear exciting socks (and by exciting, I mean other than white socks with jeans or black socks with suits). There’s nothing wrong with a great pair of plain socks, though, especially when they’re a perfect fit, as these turned out to be. I knit them up in two shades of Zitron Unisono, which I intend to stock up on, because it is such a pleasure to knit with and really nice to wear (I knit myself a pair of socks in it almost a year ago).

I have not managed to get a proper shot of these since finishing them, but oh well.

I went a little fancier for L and went with Charade in Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in Mushroom Hunting B Side. I wrote a fair bit about these socks as I was working on them, but suffice to say, L has been wearing them and says they’re a good fit.

The last gift I knit was a hat for my Uncle Michael. I forgot to get a photo of it before I mailed it off, but I knit it using some Jill Draper Makes Stuff Hudson I had in my stash. This yarn is some of the nicest I’ve knit with in a long time. It’s super soft, springy, and takes Jill’s dyes beautifully. I knit the hat in Chestnut, which is a really warm brown, almost the colour of a cup of hot chocolate. I was worried it wouldn’t arrive in time, but my Uncle e-mailed to say it got there just before Christmas, which is perfect.

How did your Christmas knitting go? I got back from Switzerland on Boxing Day, so there’s a proper post-holidays post coming about pretty yarns and mountain views – I just need to re-acclimate to this time zone first.

Categories: finished, Knitting, Uncategorized Tags: Christmas, gift knits

3:38 pm - December 24, 2013 - AngelaH

A Swissmas miracle

Thank you all for your crossed fingers and sympathy! I’m never sure whether to post about bad news, but sometimes you just need to talk to people who understand. Anyway, this is a story with a happy ending: I got my knitting back!

Holiday socks!

The day after it went missing, my dad, Jenny (my youngest sister) and I went to skiing at Verbier. We left early, so I didn’t have a chance to go into the village and look for my knitting. I was pretty sure all was lost (I’m optimistic by nature, but sometimes it’s best to prepare for the worst), so on the way home, we searched around for a knitting shop where I could at least get another set of needles. It took a while, but we managed to get to a Migros, which is sort of like a Swiss Walmart, and they had needles! The selection was limited, but I wasn’t in a position to be fussy, so I snapped up a set of grey 2.5 mm dpns.

When we got back, though, my mum and Connie (middle sister) had big smiles. They’d been into the village to make some inquiries. Their first stop was the ski outfitter, where I was sure my knitting had fallen out of my bag, and it was there! Apparently, when they owner had arrived in the morning, my little knitting bag was sitting on the windowsill. They were apparently totally baffled by magic loop, but thought the self-striping yarn was cheating!

I finished the first sock this morning and am a couple of inches into the second one. I won’t have a new pair of socks to wear tomorrow, but I suspect I’ll finish them before my flight lands in Toronto on Thursday.

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope your holidays are wonderful (and wooly)!

The view from the refuge (at about 3,000 metres) where we took a coffee break yesterday. (Photo taken by my sister Jenny)

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: Christmas, socks, Switzerland, travel

11:49 am - December 20, 2013 - AngelaH

The view from here

On Monday, I finished all my gift knitting. I can’t believe it took me this long to say it. I think, as crazy as this will sound, that I was worried that saying it out loud/in writing on the Internet would be the trigger to realize I’d forgotten about people and leave me scrambling. But that didn’t happen (yet) and now it’s too late – I’m in Switzerland.

The view off over the village. It’s like a Christmas card over here.

Surprise! Yesterday, I left Toronto in huge scrambled hurry: not only did my sister realize her passport was expired – thank goodness we’re dual British citizens! – but it turned out my flight was not at 10:15 p.m. as I thought but instead at 5:30! Yeah, we’re disasters all around. But, it all worked out (holiday miracle!) and this morning/the middle of last night (depending on your point of view) we landed in Geneva. Tomorrow my other sister joins us and all five of us – my parents, my two sisters, and I – will all be together for the first time since last Christmas. Very exciting.

We dawdled on the way from the city to the little town where we’re staying, and the market in Lausanne had yarn for sale at the first booth, which I take as a good sign (I didn’t buy any, because I didn’t have any Swiss francs. Sigh) It got dark about an hour after we arrived at the apartment, but I’ll have more photos soon.

It’s late in the day so the light is kind of crappy. The green isn’t actually quite that dark, but you get the idea.

In the meantime, check out the progress on these Christmas socks! The striping is just perfect, if I do say so myself – they look just like the vintage Christmas balls that (I’m guessing) inspired the colourway.

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Out and about Tags: Christmas, socks, Switzerland, travel