Category Archives: Knitting

9:33 am - September 10, 2013 - AngelaH

Lit Knits Giveaway

Oh my, am I excited about today. I am a knitter, there’s no question about that, but long before I ever picked up a knitting needle, I was a reader. I was the kid who would rather sit and read than do most other things and would often go through multiple books on holidays and camping trips (something that caused me a lot of anxiety when packing because, what if I ran out of books!?).

Lit Knits by Audry Nicklin

When it came time to go to university, studying English was a no-brainer, and I remain a voracious reader, and while I’m discerning, I’m not a total snob. I read a lot of new books, but one of my favourite things is to go back and reread books I loved as a kid, and thanks to Audry Nicklin’s new collection Lit Knits, I have added 10 classics to my bedside to-(re)read pile.

Deep Sea Wanderer, photo by Audry Nicklin, from Ravelry

Chances are, you recognize Audry’s name, either because you read her blog or because you’ve seen her designs pop up on Ravelry (among many other things, she designed those incredible pie-shawl star maps, Celestarium and Southern Skies). Her latest collection is ten designs, each inspired by a classic children’s novel – including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Anne of Green Gables and Wind in the Willows. Clearly, Audry and I had similar childhoods, because with the exception of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I’ve read (or been read) all of her inspirations.

Sail to Treasure Island, photo by Audry Nicklin, from Ravelry

Knitwear inspired by literature is growing genre, but Audry’s take on it is different. Rather than creating garments that are mentioned in the novels, or intended for a specific character, she is inspired by the novels, which makes her designs stories in themselves. For example, Sail to Treasure Island is a blanket that is also a map to the treasure. The border is the ocean, followed by the beach, the forest, and the mountains, and in the middle, X marks the spot. This is the kind of design I imagine wrapping around a child right before bedtime stories. Of course, I also imagine it knit in a lighter weight yarn and wearing it as a shawl while curled up in a chair reading. It’s a beautiful and versatile design, full of thoughtful details that would make it both interesting to knit and a pleasure to wear.

Motoring Madness, photo by Audry Nicklin, from Ravelry.

I also love the Motoring Madness fingerless mitts, inspired by Toad’s awful driving in Wind in the Willows. I have been meaning to make myself a pair of fingerless mitts for over a year now (every fall and every spring I wish I had a pair) and these are perfect. Simple enough to be a quick knit, but still stylish and fun. I even have some Acadia yarn in my stash, so it’s clearly meant to be.

Lit Knits is a really comprehensive collection, including socks, shawls, a scarf, a cowl, mittens, a blanket, and an incredible hoodie (that most of these designs are unisex just adds to the possibilities). But not only is there breadth in patterns, there is also a range of design elements. Audry uses lace, cables, twisted stitches and stranded colourwork, offering up a little of everything. Even better, she includes detailed technical instructions, which makes Lit Knits a great collection for knitters looking to expand their skills as well as more experienced knitters. It is so good.

Black Beauty Rides On, photo by Audry Nicklin, from Ravelry

Lit Knits is available in both e-book and print versions, but from now until Sept. 25, if you pre-order the print book you’ll also get a download code for the e-book. I love having both a physical copy of a book to flip through and a digital copy for easy chart printing, so clearly I chose this option. Both versions of the book are available on Audry’s website, and through Ravelry.

As a bonus, Audry has offered to give away an e-book copy of Lit Knits to one of my readers! This is an incredibly generous offer given how much work and time Audry has put into this book, and I think it’s awesome. To win, just leave a comment telling me what your favourite pattern in Lit Knits is (bonus points if you’ve read the source material) by noon EST on Monday, Sept. 16. I’ll post the winner next Tuesday! (edited to add: please include your Rav ID of another way for me to contact you in your comment.)

Avonlea, photo by Audry Nicklin, from Ravelry

To read more about the inspiration behind each pattern, head over to Audry’s blog – she’s doing an excellent series of posts with photos from the book (and photos that didn’t make it into the book) and stories about each pattern.

So, what would you knit from Lit Knits?

Category: Knitting Tags: giveaway, Lit Knits

9:32 am - September 9, 2013 - AngelaH

Marriage mittens

A little while ago, I read Nancy Bush’s Folk Knitting in Estonia (yes, read; there’s a lot of front matter on customs and traditions before you even get to the patterns) and I was amazed by the role mittens played in Estonian traditions, especially marriage. For example: by the time they were brides, women were expected to have at least 50 pairs of mittens in their dowry chest. And not just regular mittens, either, fancy mittens they could present as gifts to their wedding party and their groom and his family and the guests. Mittens were also traditional gifts for an Estonian bride because, as Nancy Bush says, in Estonia people would often go through three or more pairs of mittens a winter.

I read all this after having knit a pair of mittens as a wedding gift for my friend Carmen last year. They were the fanciest mittens I’d ever knit and, for reasons I couldn’t quite express at the time, seemed like a perfect wedding gift for an October bride.

This October, my good friend Jacq is getting married. I knew I wanted to knit her a wedding gift, and after reading Nancy Bush’s book, I knew that mittens would be perfect. She is someone with a deep appreciation for tradition, especially where women’s work and wisdom are concerned, and I knew she would appreciate not only that the mittens were hand knit, but also that they relate back to marriage tradition – albeit, one from a country and culture that neither of us are related to.

The trouble was, of course, what mittens to knit? There are a lot of patterns out there and I wanted them to be pretty but also suitable for everyday wear. Jacq often walks to work, so they needed to be warm (Toronto winters can get cold), but not so thick that she couldn’t easily hold a coffee cup or use her phone while wearing them.

I looked at a lot of patterns before remembering how much I liked Rachel Coopey’s Chamomile mittens and hat set from last winter’s Twist Collective. I knit them up in Classic Elite Fresco, which is a blend of wool, alpaca, and angora, making it lightweight and super warm and perfect for stranded colour work. The pattern also suggests traditional lace edgings to me and, although I have not yet seen the wedding dress, I just know it’s going to feature lace detailing.

Jacq’s bridal shower was yesterday; she didn’t open any gifts during the shower, but she e-mailed me this morning to say she opened the mittens last night, and, in her words, “they’re perfect for me.” Her wedding is in October, and while I hope it isn’t yet cold enough for her to need the mittens, I hope they keep her hands warm and cozy through the first few winters of her marriage, and, when they wear out, I will happily replace them.

Details
Pattern: Chamomile by Rachel Coopey
Yarn: Classic Elite Fresco in Cornflower and Parchment
Needles: 2.5 mm
Mods: I knit the pattern almost entirely as written. My only real change was to rechart the middle row of the colour work (between the “lace” borders). As written, the charts would make mittens to fit my hands perfectly, but I am probably 7 inches taller than she is, and her hands are thus proportionally smaller than mine. I took nine rows (!) out of each colour work repeat, which shortened the whole mitten by about two inches and the finger area specifically by about an inch, which was perfect. It took me a few tries to figure out a mod that I liked, but after that, the knitting flew. Ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: gift knitting, mittens

9:32 am - September 5, 2013 - AngelaH

Something new

In the interest of being organized (and keeping the house clean, since we have a ton of house guests coming over the next few months), I bought a basket. I love baskets, and this one is big enough to hold not only all my in-progress knitting, but also all the associate yarn (so, not just the parts of the sweater that are being knit, but also the many skeins of yarn waiting to make it to the needles). It is perfect.

Ganymede included for scale (and also because she was curious).

I actually saw this basked at the end of June, and then didn’t buy it (why? I don’t know). The shop had about sixty of them, so I felt no pressure. Last weekend I went back expressly to buy a basket and this was the last one! And you know what, I would have been so sad if they’d sold out, so I am quite pleased with this purchase.

Interior.

Having all these knits in one place does force me to realize that I have rather a lot on the go, though. This basket is currently holding: three pairs of socks, two sweaters, a cowl, and a shawl (the secret knitting is next to me on the table, almost finished!). In light of this, I may not cast on anything new for a little while – well, at least not this month.

Category: Knitting

4:24 pm - September 2, 2013 - AngelaH

Back at it

There is nothing like a long weekend to help you regroup. I don’t know where July and August went, but somehow it is now September, which means we’re heading into my favourite season. Whether it’s the product of canny marketing or just the subtle change in the air, September always feels like the start of something new, which drives me into a frenzy of organizing and cleaning and taking stock.

This long weekend has seen lots of that, and – hooray! – lots of knitting too. After nearly three weeks off (how did that happen? where did those weeks go?) I got back to Burrard. I finished the back this morning. I have another little project on the go, but I’ll wrap that up this week and then start the left front and the other arm. Everything will feel quick after the back, so I’m hoping that a few good knitting weeks lie before me and I’ll get this sweater done just in time for the air to turn crisp.

Did you enjoy your (long) weekend?

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard

9:38 am - August 16, 2013 - AngelaH

Slightly odd socks

iPhoto tells me this was taken July 5.

It turns out that maybe the best way to finish a pair of plain socks is to cast on an intricately cabled sweater. These socks have been on my needles since April. They were my backup knitting: something I could knit a few rows on here and there when I needed a break from whatever else I was working on, or we were spending an afternoon with friends, or I thought I might finish my book on my way home from work and maybe I should tuck my knitting into my bag just in case. And they were perfect.

The first sock languished at the toe decreases for a while (they’re easy, but not totally mindless) and then I finished it up and cast on the second sock back in June, when I thought I might need a stretch of plain stockinette. And then the second sock just sat there with two inches knit until my recent cabling issues. I wasn’t in any rush to finish them, but then after turning the heel on the weekend, I decided I was pretty close to done should maybe just buckle down and finish them off.

After the weekend.

There has been a twinge of fall in the air here this week, and it has been getting decidedly cool at night, two things that should make me want to finish a big sweater, but instead drove me to knit socks. I can’t explain it.

The two skeins knit up really differently. The first sock barely pooled at all (except around the gusset, which is to be expected), but the second sock flashed like crazy. This is why hand painted yarns are fun.

What I can explain, though, is why they don’t quite match. This goes back to casting on when I needed something plain. I had most of two skeins of this Koigu KPPPM (#P123), so I went for it. Two skeins of Koigu will make me a pair of plain socks almost exactly (that is, minimal leftovers). I knit these socks at 9 sts to the inch, because without the benefit of nylon the tighter knit makes them last longer, so they’re dense, and I have big feet, but one skein per foot is perfect. I, however, did not have one full skein per foot, and instead of altering my standard sock pattern – say, knitting a 5-inch leg instead of my normal 6 inches – I just went on autopilot and then ran out of the first skein just before the toe of the first sock, and then ran out of the second skein in almost exactly the same spot in the second sock.

I had some leftover Koigu (colourway number forgotten) kicking around, so I just used that. They don’t quite match, but I don’t mind so much. I have a soft spot for surprise toes (toes of a different colour, whether just one or both) and when the yarn is this wild and not-matching anyway, I don’t mind at all.

Details
Pattern: Basic 68-stitch cuff-down socks
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM #P123
Needles: 2.25mm
Mods: Besides the toe, none. These are knit more tightly than my normal socks, which is why there are more stitches. Notes are here on Ravelry (thank goodness, because I couldn’t remember the exact numbers of things by the time I got to the second sock!)

Oh, and yes, even though I meant to go right back to Burrard, I may have slipped accidentally and cast on for more socks. Simple Skyp Socks have been popping up all over the place and now I know why.

Super addicting. (Knit in Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in the Admiral Benbow colourway.)

Categories: finished, in progress, Knitting Tags: Dragonfly Fibers, Koigu, socks

9:52 am - August 12, 2013 - AngelaH

Second verse better than the first

So, after much internal debate, I sat down after work on Friday night and ripped. And you know, it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be (not that I want it to be by usual Friday night activity or anything).

Late-night phone picture of frogged yarn. It felt so good to get past the crinkly yarn into fresh stuff again.

Thank you all for your helpful and supportive comments. Seriously, it is very reassuring to see so many people who would also choose the painful path of perfection (how’s that for alliteration?). If I hadn’t already ripped, I think Audry’s comment would have put me over the edge. To do all that work and then not wear the sweater? Ugh.

I also realized that if it bothered me now, it would both me far, far more when there were six or seven properly worked repeats above it. Yes, it’s the back and it’s low on the back, so I wouldn’t be able to see it while wearing the sweater, but I’d know it was there. And sure, it sucks to rip out basically half of your progress, but in this case it was only 26 rows, and I more than made up that ground by the end of Saturday. And don’t you think it looks better?

I have colour coded the cables to prevent mis-crossing from happening again.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, ssKAL

9:24 am - August 9, 2013 - AngelaH

Oh damn

So, here I was, all prepared to do my Burrard progress post and report that I was almost through the waist decreases on the back with nary a problem and then I looked at the photos, and yeah, miscrossed cable. One full repeat back.

Can you spot it? Let me give you a hint:

Sigh. The only reason I even noticed it is because I was going to say how it’s a shame that this dark yarn hides the details in the knotted parts of the cables, and so then I looked at them more closely, and yeah. I almost made the same mistake in the row I just knit (which is hard to see, but is right under the cord at the top). Maybe if I had repeated the mistake then it wouldn’t be so noticeable? Because it would be continuous? I don’t know. That mistake is about 26 rows back, which is several thousand stitches, and I’m not sure I have it in me to rip that. If I really hate it later, I can always duplicate stitch, right?

(I can’t decide whether I want you to encourage me to be a perfectionist and rip, or tell me it’s okay and let me carry on.)

Anyway, before I noticed that, I was also going to say how I had to rip back all the ribbing after I started the cables and realized I was three stitches off in the ribbing (despite checking the errata) because I apparently can’t count. Ribbing isn’t such a big thing to rip out, though. I actually ought to be somewhat farther along, but this has been kind of a long week work-wise, and by the time I got home (often at least an hour later than usual) all I could handle was plain stockinette, so I turned to these, which were cast on months and months ago at another time when all my brain could handle was plain stockinette. The splash of colour was a welcome distractions as well, and I figure that if I knit a few rows a week, I’ll get both some colour therapy and that much closer to a finished pair (the first one is done), so it’s win-win.

Maybe I’ll pick them up now while I debate what to do about this cable situation.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, cables, oops

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

9:18 am - August 1, 2013 - AngelaH

Jangly cables

I am making progress on Burrard. I’m actually tempted to say I’m making good progress, but a) I don’t want to jinx myself, and b) that’s all relative. I’ve never knit a sweater in pieces before, so the sense of satisfied completion I got when I cast off the right front on Tuesday is likely illusory. I mean, I still have the left front, the back, a sleeve and a half, and all the finishing, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

Sorry about the boring photo – the lighting around here sucks today. Anyway, I pinned it out for the photo, but I’ll wait to block it with the other front, so they match.

Nonetheless, that little gleam of accomplishment? That will work wonders at pushing me through this project in a timely manner. One of the reasons I’m drawn to smallish projects (such as socks and mittens and things) is, I think, because on the way to a finished project, I get to feel like I’ve accomplished something. I tend to think of myself as a process knitter just as much as I am a product knitter (by which I mean, I choose projects that I will both enjoy knitting and enjoy wearing) and finished pieces satisfy both sides of that coin.

But lets talk about Burrard. I am so entirely enchanted by the various cables that they can occupy me for hours (or could, if I had hours and hours of free time to knit). I love that each column of cables is different, and that the orderly ones are offset by the sort of jangly (as in: jingle jangle) motif that is the real star of this cardigan. Those cables are orderly too, but the way they slosh from side to side is so much fun. I am really looking forward to the crazy cable that winds its way up the centre of the back, which I think I’ll cast on for next, while I still have some momentum.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, ssKAL

10:23 am - July 25, 2013 - AngelaH

It starts now

So, after a fair bit of thinking, I decided to go with Burrard for the Summer Sweater KAL. I have had this cardigan in my queue pretty much since the the Winter 2012 issue of Twist Collective came out. I love the symmetrical, geometric cables and the shawl collar (especially the shawl collar), and I don’t have anything like it in my wardrobe, so I know it will end up in pretty heavy rotation once the weather gets chilly.

To be honest, though, I came very close to going with the Everyday Linen Raglan. I liked the idea of a speedy project that would probably allow time to also finish Grace by the end of September. What made up my mind, though, was that I wanted to take advantage of the KAL to learn something new. I’ve never knit a sweater in pieces, and this seems like a good time to tackle seaming and piecing.

So, here we go. I cast on for an arm when I got home last night – I wanted to cast on for one of the fronts, but an arm functions like an extended swatch, so it seemed like a better, if less exciting, choice. Once I get through a few more inches and know what my gauge is saying, I’ll cast on for a front and then had two pieces going at once: one in plain stockinette and one with cables. That’s a good balance and should keep me pretty focused as things progress.

Did you decide to join the KAL too? Do you think it’s crazy to knit a heavy sweater in the middle of summer? If you’re worried about being subjected to nothing but purple/grey knitting photos for the next two months, don’t be – I cast on for my Daphne‘s last week and finished the first sock yesterday, before casting on for Burrard. I want theses socks on my feet, so I promise to pop flashes of colour in here from time to time, because they are beautiful.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, ssKAL