11:01 am - February 14, 2014 - AngelaH

Hodgepodge

Every year, at about this time, I find myself suddenly and desperately in need of new mittens. A few weeks ago I darned a hole in my current mittens (I Instagramed the patch job) and thought that would be enough to get me through this winter. Then last week I was carrying a coffee to work and noticed that the inside of the thumb on the right hand mitt was almost completely worn away. Literally, it was holding on by a thread. The left thumb wasn’t far behind.

My darned patch has held up well, but the thumbs were a whole new issue. I could cut them out, pick up the stitches again, and knit new thumbs, but there were other weak spots making themselves known, and a hole in the cuff I’d been ignoring, so… Clearly the best and only choice was to knit new mittens.

I actually love knitting mittens, and was planning a new pair anyway, so I’m pretty pleased that this whole situation meant I didn’t have to justify to myself why I had to buy new yarn and cast on right away. Not that I really feel bad about yarn buying or casting on whatever I want, it’s just nice when doing those things happens to also fill a pressing need.

I went with Classic Elite Fresco for the yarn. I used it to knit these mittens as a wedding gift, and it is so soft and cozy that it seemed a natural choice. It’s also nice a sticky, which is great for stranded colourwork, since it helps the floats stick to the main fabric. It also means that if you happen to drop a stitch, it won’t unravel far (this has actually saved me a couple of times and I can’t figure out what I’m doing that’s causing me to lose stitches, but it’s annoying.)

After casting around for a pattern (my first choice was the Divelish Mittens by Rachel Coopey, but they aren’t available as an individual pattern, at least not yet) I settled on Hodgepodge Mittens by Annie Watts. They are so much fun to knit! The rows are similar but not the same, and the all-over colourwork means my hands will be toasty warm. I’m into the top part of the second mitten now, so assuming this weekend doesn’t go crazy, I should have new mittens to wear on Monday.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: mittens

10:26 am - February 10, 2014 - AngelaH

Game Plan

I wasn’t going to do any Olympic knitting this year. I love the Olympics (Canadians, in general, really love the Olympics, or at least love watching), but this year I found the political back-drop so deeply troubling I thought about not watching at all.

This isn’t a political space, so I’m not going to get into it, but suffice it to say that same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for my entire adult life, and I while I know that isn’t the case in most other countries, I find Russia’s anti-LGBTQ laws deeply troubling. Certainly, this is not the first Olympics to take place in a country with a sketchy human rights track record, but I think Sochi is different for a few reasons: one is that the images of the oppression and crackdown are widespread and disturbing and targeted at love, and certainly another one is that we see Russia as western and developed, and so we expect more from it than a country we perceive as developing. There are a lot of other reasons, but I think those are two big ones.

Anyway (I did get into it) I didn’t really watch the opening ceremonies on Friday, but then on Saturday two Canadian sisters won gold and silver in the women’s moguls and I lost my resolve. I love watching countries come together in what is, generally, friendly competition, full of respect for the accomplishments of their competitors and pride in their own achievements. Watching people do amazing things is exciting, and I’m just as happy to watch Canadian sisters win as to see a Swiss man come back from injury to win the men’s 30km skiathalon in a a crazy sprint. It’s wonderful, and I think I/we can celebrate the athletes without celebrating the politics of the country that is hosting them.

All of which is to say I’m knitting rainbow socks. I cast on yesterday, they may not get finished during the Games (I have some mittens on the needles too), but that’s fine. I dug around in my stash and came up with the Three Irish Girls colourway Love Wins, released after the tragedy in Newtown. It’s perfect.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Olympics, socks

1:20 pm - February 4, 2014 - AngelaH

Still winter

There was a brief moment last week when I thought the end was in sight. The temperatures crept up to the -9 to 0 range (15 to 32 F) and I spent the weekend in my pea coat instead of my parka for the first time in ages. But winter is back. It’s going to snow and snow this week, and although the temperatures aren’t going to drop horribly, it is definitely still winter.

I am such a fan of this colour.

The one up-side to all of this is that it means I didn’t knit these super-warm socks in vain. These are Rye, by tincanknits, one of the great (and free) patterns from their Simple Collection, knit up in Tosh Vintage in the Amber Trinket colourway.

I may not be totally over the thrill of how quickly worsted-weight socks knit up. These took a week. A week in which I worked six of seven days, and worked long days for about half that stretch. These socks took a week from start to finish without even trying. I swear, if you just hunkered down, you could probably knock out a pair of these in a weekend.

For some reason, when I first saw this pattern, I thought the garter stitch panel looked like it would be bulky, or uncomfortable to wear inside boots or shoes, but I was totally wrong. The texture is a great way to show off a fun colourway, but the garter nestles right in and doesn’t add any extra bulk. Plus, combine a two-row repeat and worsted-weight yarn and, well, I mentioned they were fast, right?

Weirdly, both cuffs/legs of the socks were knit from the same skein, despite looking totally different. The feet (top photo) are different dyelots, though. (I should also say that the socks are in the same order in each photo. So, the right sock has a light leg and a dark foot, and the left sock as a dark leg and a light foot. The entire right sock and the left leg are all knit from the same skein.)

I used just over one skein of yarn (you can definitely see the difference in the dyelots) and I’m already planning another pair, using these leftovers for contrast cuffs/heels/toes. I was predicting a long cold winter back in the fall, so if I find myself casting on another pair of these, I won’t beat myself up about it. It’s still winter, and another pair of warm socks won’t go amiss.

Details
Pattern: Rye by tincanknits
Yarn: Tosh Vintage in Amber Trinket
Needles: 3.25mm
Notes: I used the small needles for the whole pattern, rather than changing after the ribbing. I also did my normal slip-stitch heel, rather than the stockinette heel in the pattern. I stopped the foot pattern 1/4-inch before indicated so the toe would be smooth, and if I go ahead with my contrast-toe plans I might stop the garter a few rows earlier still. Ravelled here.

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Madeline Tosh, socks, winter

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

10:22 am - January 10, 2014 - AngelaH

A little roundup

I thought I’d have something finished to show you today, and since I actually finished a really cute baby sweater (still need to take pictured) a week ago and am into the toe decreases of my socks, I really ought to. Instead, I realized that I’d never shown you what I got, knitting-wise, over the holidays, and if I hold out any longer it’ll basically be too late.

I actually wasn’t going to do a gifts post, but then I remembered that I actually love those posts on other people’s blogs (such a great way to find out about new things) and that it’s a great way to say thank you again to the people who came up with these ideas in the first place.

This was a gift from Claudia. It’s an Offhand Designs Scottie bag, and it is gorgeous. It was carry-on when I went to Switzerland, and it fits way more than you’d think (right now its being filled up with an afghan, if that helps for scale).

My sister Jenny is doing most of her masters research in Yellowknife and farther north in the Northwest Territories. These are buttons made of caribou antler that she bought at an art gallery in Yellowknife. I clearly need to knit a classic white-cabled Aran cardigan or something to go with them, don’t you think? They’re 1-inch wide at their widest point.

Another button, this one from my parents and made by a local (to them) potter. It is so, so lovely, and would be perfect for a shawl or a cowl. It’s 1.75-inches wide.

Last but not least, this skein of yarn, also from my parents. It was produced, from sheep to skein (or so I understand it), including the dyeing very near where I grew up. I don’t know what kind of sheep it came from or its yardage (though it weighs 105g and is fingering weight-ish, so I’m guessing 300-350 yards) but it’s soft and rustic and I’m thinking it will become a shawl. Maybe this one. What do you think?

There will be actual knitting on Monday, I promise. Happy weekend!

Category: Uncategorized

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