Category Archives: Knitting

10:53 am - June 3, 2014 - AngelaH

Make, do, mend

I really love that sentiment. I know the original is “make do and mend,” but I like that punctuation can subtly change the meaning and modernize the sentiment. For me, the “do” here is about use. Make something, use it (wear it), and mend it.

I’ve written about mending before (and since that post I’ve darned so many other parts of those gloves that replacing them entirely is on my summer to-do list), but it seems to be in the air these days: Karen did a great post about the resurgence of mending and the corresponding shift in attitude; Ysolda linked to a Guardian piece about the popularity of mending shops; and last fall Julie posted some shots of how she made the best of her moth-eaten sweaters.

L’s gloves, still in need of some mending. After the first few darns, I started darning on both the inside and the outside, to make the areas prone to holes double-thick. After the first time, I gave up on trying to make the mending invisible.

Not that it’s a new idea or anything, but it feels like there’s momentum right now. I have definitely noticed that the more I knit (and now, sew) the more particular I am about what I buy and the more interested I am in fixing what I have. I certainly would never have mended any of the store-bought wool socks I used to wear (which inevitably wore out after one winter) but last week, as I was plodding along on Grace, I took a break to darn some holes and weak spots in a couple of pairs of my hand-knit socks. Both pairs were already a couple of years old and, as some of my first hand-knit socks, had been in heavy rotation, that they only now required repair makes me think of the darns as badges of honour – they lasted well; they’re worth repairing.

The orange socks needed repairs to both heels and both toes. The purple ones wore through in a weak spot I knew would probably be trouble.

The question I have, though, is where do you draw the line? I am happy to darn a few holes to get more use out of a pair of socks, or put a patch over the elbow of a sweater, but at some point items do need replacing, and when that time comes, I don’t want to feel guilty about it. Take L’s gloves, for example. He has worn the heck out of them, and I’ve darned them close to a dozen times, but in the last few months of cold weather it really felt like there was a new hole every week (a combination of hard wear and lofty, woollen-spun yarn). He loves his gloves, but I’m tired of fixing them and ready to just knit a new pair, which is fine, except what do I do with the old ones?

I wear through this part of all my mittens far more quickly than any other part. When he thumbs started to get threadbare, I knit myself a new pair.

I wear through this part of all my mittens far more quickly than any other part. When the thumbs on these started to get threadbare, I knit myself a new pair.

Similarly, I have a pair of socks that’s been in need of new heels for months. I know I could remove the old heels and re-knit them, but to be honest, they’re not the most comfortable socks I’ve ever knit and I don’t miss wearing them. Aside from the heels, though, they’re in good shape, so what do I do? Replace the heels and give them away? Let them sit at the bottom of the drawer for a while longer and then throw them out? I did not have these qualms with store-bought items!

What do you do? Do you say “oh darn” as you drop them in the trash (as the Yarn Harlot suggests) or do you mend them until there’s nothing original left? Do you wonder/worry about this too?

Category: Knitting Tags: darning, gloves, mending, mittens, socks

12:42 pm - May 31, 2014 - AngelaH

Everything’s coming up Grace

The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur. Work has been busy, the weather has been gorgeous, and my head has been filled up with summer project ideas. There are so many things I want to make this summer, but as the weather gets better I know my knitting and sewing time will decrease, so I’m trying to rein in my ideas to something more manageable.

Due to my yarn shortage I had pretty much given up on hitting my June 1 Grace deadline. Quince & Co. shipped my yarn very quickly after I ordered it, but there’s a border and customs between them and me, and it can be hard to gauge how quickly things will get through (I have a vague memory of my original order taking a while to arrive, for example). To make myself feel better, I decided to spend the weekend sewing — L will be away pretty much all day both days, so my taking over the living room to sew inconveniences no one (except Ganymede, but she’s a cat, and thus gets no say).

My weekend, in a pile.

I bought fabric in anticipation of two days of sewing, during which time I planned to knock out three tops. But then the very best wrinkle appeared in my plan: my yarn from Quince arrived yesterday! I’m starting to feel like this cardigan is fated for success (I really hope I didn’t just jinx myself).

I finished the first sleeve this morning and have only half of the second one to do, so I might still make my self-appointed deadline! I do still want to get some sewing done this weekend, though, so I’m my current plan is to knit today, with a little break to cut the fabric for one top. Then, tomorrow, I’ll be able to sew up at least one top in a reasonable amount of time, which should leave me plenty of opportunity to finish any remaining knitting.

This plan relies heavily on today’s productivity, though, and since it’s already early afternoon I had probably better stop typing and start knitting! Goog luck with whatever you’re planning for your weekend!

Categories: Knitting, Sewing Tags: Grace

9:45 am - May 23, 2014 - AngelaH

Bad news/good news

Are you tired of looking at pictures of this sweater? I swear I’m going to finish it soon. I’m actually really right on schedule, but then on Wednesday I realized I was for sure going to run out of yarn.

In the interest of everything matching, I’ve started the second sleeve.

I knew my yardage was going to be tight. I don’t know why I didn’t order an insurance skein a year ago (something I always do now), but I didn’t — maybe I thought I’d want 3/4 sleeves? This is the tricky part about letting a project languish for so long. Anyway, I knit the button bands and collar on the weekend, because if I was going to run out of yarn, having two perfect sleeves and no closures wasn’t really the way I wanted to go (for me, that’s pretty much a recipe for not finishing).

After knitting the button bands, I weighed my remaining yarn and came up with 41g per arm. I don’t know what made me think that I might be able to get away with that, but suffice to say that this picture was taken after knitting about 38g of yarn. For a minute I thought about just starting the ribbing there and calling it a day, but the more I knit on this sweater the more I get attached to the idea of wearing it all the time. You would think I’d hate the sight of it by now, but instead I’m liking it more and more. So, although I do tend to push up my sleeves to mid-forearm, making this a possibly suitable length, I know that it would annoy me not to be able to pull them all the way down inside coat sleeves and whatnot.

So I ordered more yarn. Two skeins, just to be safe (I’d really feel like an idiot if I only ordered one and then ran short again). I actually decided to add a second skein part-way through the order process, and I guess I didn’t do it properly, because I realized once I’d paid that I’d only ordered one, so I went back and ordered a second, just to be sure. Then, because I’d been billed twice for shipping, I emailed Quince & Co. to see if they could just bundle the two skeins together. In my email, I mentioned the yarn and dye lot, and miracle of miracles, a year later they still had two skeins of yarn from my original dye lot! I was fully prepared for not-quite-matching forearms, so I am thrilled to pieces about the match.

The yarn shipped yesterday, so if all goes well with the post, I might even get it in time to finish by the end of the month! Cross your fingers for me!

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Grace

4:38 pm - May 10, 2014 - AngelaH

On top(s)

This week has been a little all over the place, but thanks to a productive weekend (last weekend) and a lovely meet-up with Andrea and Sara this morning, it hasn’t been a total write-off.

Grace is all wrinkled because I unceremoniously shoved it into a bag and then shoved the bag into my pannier. That’s the price of patio knitting.

I was decidedly behind my self-imposed Grace schedule until today. To get this finished before the end of the month, I need to be finished the body and button bands (I’m worried about my yardage, so I’m leaving the arms until the end) by the end of next week. I haven’t had much time during the week to knit, and now that the weather is improving my weekends have been filling up with outdoor time – I’m not complaining, but it is making it more difficult to get this cardigan finished! Anyway, I’m heading toward the final hip increase now and after that there’s just the ribbing and the body is done. I was thinking about adding length, but the body measures 14 inches now with three inches to go, so I think I’m going to be fine, assuming I can find some knitting time.

Of course, knitting time would be easier to come by if I weren’t distracted by my sewing machine. Something about the warm weather and all the lovely fabric my LYS is now carrying has got my thinking about summer tops and dresses, and while I’m always game to knit some, sewing it so fast! Ahem, that is, assuming you don’t spend an entire afternoon sewing something that is (at least) five sizes too big. That’s what I spent last Saturday doing, and let me tell you, while I certainly learned from my mistakes, I kind of wish I had learned faster.

I really like the test-pattern-ness of this print (Color Me Happy by V & Co.), which gets totally lost if you’re not right up close.

Anyway. I was tackling my third (and then fourth) attempt at the Scout Woven Tee. This is a boxier style than I typically wear, but I like the idea behind it and I think, once I get the pattern figured out for my body, that it’s a top I’ll wear a lot in the summer. This version took me two tries (the enormous one, which did not get photographed, and this one) and I’m mostly happy with it.

What do you think?

Looking at the photos, I think I could take some width out of the waist area and the neckline might be a bit too wide, both of which I think I know how to fix. The pulling at the armhole is another issue. I suspect this means I need to go down a size and do a full-bust adjustment, but I’m not sure (do you know?). I like the idea of this top enough to keep tinkering with it, so if you have ideas/comments about it, please let me know!

Categories: finished, in progress, Knitting, Sewing Tags: Grace, Scout Woven Tee

11:14 am - May 3, 2014 - AngelaH

May in the making

For the last two years I’ve followed along with Me Made May* from the sidelines. I find it incredibly inspiring to watch as women (there may be men who participate, but I’m not aware of any) spend the month showing off their handmade wardrobe. More than anything, I think its these makers who made me want to try my hand at knitting (and now sewing) garments.

This pile of fabric represents (I hope) three tops and a dress.

I love to knit socks and mittens and shawls and whatnot, but for me, knitting and wearing my first sweater felt like a really big deal. A lot of it, I think, is the visibility. I wear hand-knit socks everyday, but in general, they’re inside my shoes and not something people around me are aware of (I do try to wear my fancier ones to parties though). Knitting a sweater, though, or a skirt, is a real statement. When someone asks you where you got it, you get to tell them that you made it, and then it’s out there.

When I started knitting, I was kind of self-conscious about it. I simultaneously wanted people to notice and comment on it and desperately hoped no one would notice. I’m well past that now, and a few weeks ago, when my stylish and deeply talented colleague asked me where I’d gotten my sweater, I was proud to tell her I’d knit it myself.

I sewed this Scout Woven Tee a few weeks ago. It’s basically just a wearable muslin, but it’s so much better than the actual muslin I made that it feels like excellent progress. I’ve even worn it out!

Knitting, and making in general, is definitely losing its dusty reputation, in part because I think people are realizing the stereotypes they associated with “handmade” just didn’t make sense. Events/series like Me Made May help with that, because seeing a parade of beautiful and stylish handmade garments, made by people from all over the place with different body types and differing amounts of “free” time is a statement about who makers are. Which is to say, potentially anyone.

Grace got put aside again in April, but now I’m determined. I even figured out how much I need to knit each week to finish by the end of the month. (For reference, I’m nearly done the waist decreases.)

I had hoped to participate in Me Made May this year, but I’m not sure I have enough garments to properly do so. So instead, I’m committing to spending this month making clothing I can wear next year (and also, I hope, next month!). On the knitting front, I am determined to finish Grace by the end of the month. I cast-on on June 1, and I’m not sure I want this WIP to turn 1, so I’m buckling down. On the sewing front, I have plans for a couple of new tops and, I hope, a dress. Given that it’s already May 3, I guess I should get to it!

*Here’s a great little primer on Me Made May if you’re not familiar with it. You can also search Twitter and Instagram for the #MMM14 hashtag to find people who are participating.

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Sewing Tags: Grace, MMM14, Scout Woven Tee

10:21 am - April 22, 2014 - AngelaH

Going Coastal

L and I had a great time in Nova Scotia last week. Mostly we spent our time hanging out with family and friends and eating really good food. It was a short trip, so there wasn’t too much sightseeing (unless you count various restaurant interiors and living rooms), but here’s a taste of our trip.

The famous lighthouse in Peggy’s Cove. It was a bright and sunny day in Halifax, but when we got to Peggy’s Cove it was quite chilly. The upside, of course, was there was almost no one else there.

Besides the lighthouse, Peggy’s Cove remains an active fishing village (lobster being the main catch, I think).

This is the classic view as you drive into the Annapolis Valley. The tide is in and that long dark peninsula is Blomidon, a provincial park and legendary home to the Mi'kmaq god Glooscap.

This is the classic view as you drive into the Annapolis Valley. The tide is in and that long dark peninsula-looking thing is Blomidon, a provincial park and legendary home to the Mi’kmaq god Glooscap.

The beach at the base of Blomidon. The tide is somewhere between a third of the way and halfway out. That speck in the middle is L.

We walked along the beach for a little while and, despite the sun, it was freezing. The point up ahead is the very tip of the mountain (which looks like a peninsula from farther away).

Crocuses! My parents have amazing gardens, but at this time of year all the glory goes to the crocuses, which offer a welcome riot of colour after the winter.

I mentioned before that one of the things I was hoping to do was find some yarn. Specifically, a match to this skein. I am thrilled (and, honestly, pretty surprised) to report success! The woman who dyed this yarn lives quite close to my parents, and she invited my mum and I over to see if she could find a match. She raises sheep and has a Suri Alpaca, spins and dyes yarn. Marilyn is amazing. I didn’t take any pictures, since we were in her house, but the big basket of handspun sitting in her living room was incredible. Anyway, it turns out that the yarn I was trying to match is a wool/mohair blend dyed by her but spun at the MacAusland woolen mill in PEI. The mill doesn’t use any harsh chemicals, so there is still some VM in the finished wool, but that doesn’t bother me. Plus, Marilyn explained that the chemicals actually weaken the yarn, so if that bit of VM means my garments will last longer, I’m doubly fine with it.

I think the grey is soft enough that I’m not worried about the bumblebee effect.

She had one skein left of the colourway I wanted, so I snapped it right up. She also had a few other colours – a really beautiful green, a variegated green/gold/grey, and some undyed skeins. I was really taken with the green, but I’m trying really hard not to buy single skeins unless there’s good yardage (or a plan), so I resisted and went with the two undyed skeins instead, which gives me just under 400 yds of each colour. I really like the grey/yellow combination, and am thinking this will either become the small version of Westloop (the leading contender) or the Great Divide shawl.

The full haul, l-r, top to bottom: Two skeins undyed yarn from Marilyn; Swan's Island Organic Fingering weight in Vintage Lilac, two skeinds Swan's Island Washable DK in Midnight (for a new hat for L), yellow/gold skein from Marilyn; Four skeins Fleece Artist Wool Tweed

The full haul, l-r, top to bottom:
Two skeins undyed yarn from Marilyn; Swan’s Island Organic Fingering weight in Vintage Lilac, two skeins Swan’s Island Washable DK in Midnight (for a new hat for L), yellow/gold skein from Marilyn; Four skeins Fleece Artist Wool Tweed

Of course, that isn’t all I picked up. I was in a bit of a mood I guess, and before I knew it there were 10 skeins of yarn to fit into my bag on the way home. The bottom row (above) is all from Gaspereau Valley Fibres, which had a ton of new stock (at least compared to my last visit) and is definitely my LYS-away-from-home (or at home, depending on how you define things). The Swan’s Island is from Loop, a yarn shop in Halifax that I’d never been to but had a chance to check out this time. The Lilac is for me and the Midnight is for a new hat for L. I have at least tentative plans for everything I bought, and have already cast on some of the Fleece Artist — spring knitting, here I come!

Categories: Knitting, Out and about Tags: Nova Scotia, photos, travel, yarn shopping

3:22 pm - April 19, 2014 - AngelaH

Splish splash

I was going to write about our Nova Scotia trip today, but I finished my Splash striped socks the other day so Nova Scotia will have to wait. I feel like it has been ages since I finished a pair of socks, which is weird since I always have a pair on the needles.

Stripes!

I really meant to finish my Pheasant socks first, but I couldn’t resist these stripes. Ganymede decided to help out with the winding of the second skein of yarn (it comes in balls, but I wound them into cakes because I find them easier to knit from) and the resulting tangle meant I spend half my knitting time sorting out lengths of yarn to knit with. I finally fixed the problem on our way home of Nova Scotia and the rest of the knitting flew.

Besides the stripes, there’s nothing very exciting about the socks. They’re my standard 68-stitch sock (knit at 9 stitches = 1 inch), though with contrast heels. Choosing the contrast colour was pretty fun, actually. I wanted a real contrast though, so I resisted the blues and greens in my leftover bag. I was originally planning to use yellow, but against the greens it looked more sallow than sunny. The purple is unexpected, but I think it works.

When I ordered all that Felici, I bought enough for four pairs of socks (with shipping, it makes sense to buy in bulk, ahem.) I am definitely not over the stripes yet, so it probably won’t be long before I cast on another pair.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: socks

10:12 am - April 13, 2014 - AngelaH

On the road

In a couple of hours, L and I are heading for the airport. We’re going to Nova Scotia for a few days to visit my family and hang out. I haven’t been home since July and the last time L and I were there together was nearly two years ago, so it’s definitely time. The forecast isn’t very promising (rain, maybe rain, and rain) but that’s Nova Scotia in April, so we’ll pack rain coats and just suck it up. It’s my sister’s birthday tomorrow, and birthday lunch and dinner with friends are the only concrete plans we have. I’m hoping to get in trips to my favourite yarn shop (and a nearby vineyard) and Lamb’s Run Farm, where my mum got me this lovely skein of yarn. It’s a long shot, but I’m going to try and get some more so I can make the Moon & Stars shawl (my back-up pattern is Norby, so it’s not a disaster if more yardage doesn’t exist).

I really love this yarn. It’s luminous and wooly and I can’t wait to knit it up.

In terms of actual knitting, I thought about bringing Grace, but sweaters take up so much space in a carry-on. I might still bring it for knitting around the house, but my default travel knitting is socks, and since I have two pairs on the needles, I’m bringing them both.

Plain socks, knit up in Hedgehog Fibres BFL/nylon sock in the Pheasant colourway.

I’ve mentioned my Pheasant socks before, but the other pair has yet to make an appearance here. It seems like everyone is having a bit of a self-striping moment right now (see Tanis, Cassy and and Wei Siew as examples) and I couldn’t resist either. I loved watching the stripes unfold on my Christmas socks, so I’ve had my eye out for fun self-striping yarns ever since.

Felici in Splash.

I found out recently that Knit Picks is discontinuing Felici, which I had never knit with but heard nothing but good things about. I decided to go see what colourways they had left, and then found myself buying eight skeins (enough for four pairs of socks). It was a gamble, but so far, totally worth it. This is the Splash colourway (with a contrast heel to preserve the stripe sequence) and I love it. The colours are fun, the yarn is soft and firm, and they’re perfect spring socks. In taking these pictures I realized that I have to pairs of socks a little more than half finished. It feels like ages since I finished a pair, but clearly that’s my own fault, since I should have just finished the Pheasant socks before starting with the stripes. I just couldn’t resist, though. With any luck, by this time next week I’ll have two finished pairs of socks to show off – and, in all likelihood, another pair on the needles.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: socks

9:13 am - April 11, 2014 - AngelaH

Hello, Shaelyn

A while ago, I did a post about all of my works-in-progress. In truth, nothing much has changed with most of them, but the act of getting them all out so I could take fresh photos sparked a renewed desire to see them finished. I have since picked Grace back up and, to my deep satisfaction, finished the longest-standing WIP in the pile, Shaelyn.

I’m not sure what L was doing with the camera here, but I was definitely standing upright.

I cast this on over a year ago, and it is a prime example of a project being the victim of its circumstances. Mainly, that the yarn I used (Handmaiden Casbah in Lupins) was awful to wind. Both skeins had switchbacks that required cutting the yarn and untangling it on the swift. I think I ended up winding the skeins by hand (each one in two halves) before re-winding them into cakes. I probably shouldn’t have cast on right away, because I was ticked off, which made it really easy for me to put down this shawl at the first moment it became less than intuitive (by which I mean, my stitch count was off and I couldn’t be bothered to figure out why). We’ve all had these projects, right?

Anyway, after I finished Flukra and found myself wearing it pretty much every day, I decided I wanted another big shawl immediately. I could have cast on for something new, but Shaelyn was three repeats in, so figuring out where I went wrong seemed faster — and since Leila Raabe offers a little guide to figuring out where you are in the pattern, it only required me to rip out a couple of rows to get back on track.

I knit on Shaelyn steadily before putting it down to start New Girl, and then last weekend I decided to finish it. I was nearly finished the seventh repeat when I put it down (I wanted a big shawl, after all) and the remainder of the repeat, plus the edging and the bind-off took most of Saturday (the rows were all 300+ stitches), but it blocked out beautifully and dried over night, in time to take pictures of it with New Girl. I really wish I’d measured it before blocking (we had friends over, so after finishing the cast-off over drinks, I just put it in to soak), but I’d guess it blocked out 12 inches are so larger in both wingspan and depth.

It’s huge, but the loose and drapey fabric make it light and easy to wear, and it needs no adjusting to stay put around my neck. I love it, and I am so glad that I both waited so long to finish it (I was annoyed with it originally, so might not have pushed ahead with the extra repeats) and that I picked it back when I did — it’s perfect for spring!

Finished measurements: 66 inches across x 36 inches deep. Enormous.

Details
Pattern: Shaelyn by Leila Raabe
Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah Sock in Lupins
Needles: 5mm
Notes: I had two skeins of the yarn, so I added two extra repeats of the chart before the edging. With one skein I would have been fine to have knit this as written (the extra two repeats + edging took about half the second skein). I used Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off, which gives a nice edge especially for blocking out the slightly-scalloped edge. Ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: shawl

9:27 am - April 7, 2014 - AngelaH

New Girl!

I am so, so happy with this skirt.

If it works with a t-shirt and a cardigan, it is basically a lock in my wardrobe.

I’ll admit that I was a little worried. Not that it wouldn’t fit, but that I would finish it and put it on and just feel meh. There is nothing worse that working really hard on something with an image of how it will look when you’re done, only to discover that it looks great on the hangar, but maybe isn’t quite your style. I have been admiring this skirt since it was first published, but I was never quite sure if I could pull it off.

I’m getting better at listening to that little voice in my head that points out things about a pattern that might be a problem, or cause regrets, and this time I listened. I didn’t want quite such a full skirt, so I did some math and decided I could get away with half as many increases as the pattern calls for. I also added 1.5 inches to the length (after the pockets) and left off the pocket cuffs. I also thought a lot about colour. Cassy and I talked a lot about colour before we cast-on, and although I was draw to both a dark, forest green and cranberry as possible main colours, I went with blue because that’s a colour I’m used to wearing. I’m not always good at integrating new styles into my wardrobe — especially if they’re different from what I usually wear — so I wanted to make this something I wouldn’t overthink.

I added stripes to the insides of the pockets, just for fun. (L suggests I not make a habit of posing like this in public.)

At risk of repeating myself, I am thrilled with how this turned out. I put it on yesterday for our little photo shoot (we got double-digit temperature yesterday! It was incredible) and it was the first time I’d really worn it apart from fitting the waistband. L thought it looked great, so when we went out last night to trivia night with friends, I didn’t change, and I got compliments right off the bat. One of our friends actually said she thought it was vintage (high praise indeed).

Way back when I was casting on, Audry asked about my yarn choice. I went with Zitron Unisono, which I’ve previously used for socks, and so far I’m really happy with it. Unisono is 100% merino, but infused with aloe and jojoba, which sounds weird but feels amazing. It has five plies, so it’s very round and very springy, so it keeps its shape well but also stretches, which is necessary for this pattern because of the elastic waist. It also made doing the daisy stitch edge much easier. Based on the socks I’ve knit, this is a yarn that wears really, really well. Those are knit at a much tighter gauge, though, so I’ll have to see how this skirt holds up — I foresee it seeing a lot of action this spring.

Details
Pattern: New Girl by Allyson Dykhuizen
Yarn: Zitron Unisono in #1155 (blue) and #1163 (grey)
Needles: 4.5 mm
Notes: My gauge was slightly tighter than called for in the pattern (25 instead of 24 stitches per four inches) but since there’s a lot of positive ease it was fine. As I said above, I did half as many increases for the skirt (k1, kfb, all the way around) which worked out really well, as did adding the extra length (1.5 inches, below the pockets). I also left off the pocket cuffs, though I considered knitting them but leaving out the daisy stitch. If I knit this again, I think I’ll use a smaller needle for the waistband. This one is fine, but I ended up needing to use a black elastic band because I was worried a white one might show through the stitches. I think I’d also make the waist band just a little bit taller — 1.25 inches or so. Ravelled here.

I actually finished something else this weekend, so our sunny photo shoot was a double-whammy. I’m saving that for another post, but here’s a preview. (I cannot believe I was outside in a t-shirt! There was still snow across the park, but in the sun and out of the wind, it really felt warm.)

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: New Girl, skirt