10:10 am - July 16, 2013 - AngelaH

Kit Kit Kit Kit Kit

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

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

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

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

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

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

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: Kit Camisole

10:24 am - July 10, 2013 - AngelaH

Sticking with it

I am normally way more about the process than the product when it comes to knitting, but man, I cannot wait until Kit is finished and I can wear it. The smooth dryness of linen is the perfect antidote to the crazy humidity and rain we’ve been getting (and don’t worry, L and I made it through Monday’s storm with just a few hours of no power and no flooding; we were definitely some of the lucky ones).

Anyway, I buckled down on Kit over the weekend and have been knitting on it every spare minute I can find and slowly, slowly, I am starting to see the finish line. I’m a few rows from casting off for the back, which will just leave front and straps to knit. In my mind, that’s nothing and I’ll be wearing this by the end of the weekend. Reality may have something different in store for me, but I’m starting to feel that end-of-project buzz, so lets not dampen that.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Kit Camisole

9:25 am - July 5, 2013 - AngelaH

Restless, restless

I don’t know if it’s the weather, work, or what, but I just cannot seem to settle on anything these days. I love all the projects on my needles, but for some reason don’t really feel like knitting on any of them. I’m restless. It hits me every year around this time, so maybe it’s a hold-over from my (long ago) days in elementary school, when the beginning of July meant the beginning of freedom and now means, well, nothing (not true: July 1 is Canada Day and that means quite a lot, but you know what I mean).

Clockwise from top left: Dragonfly yarns Dragon Sock in Mushroom Hunting B-Side and Djinni Sock in Admiral Benbow; Tosh Sock in Celadon and Cousteau; and Malabrigo Sock in Lettuce. These are not all destined to become garments for me.

Sigh. The thing about being restless with my knitting is that even when I don’t want to work on what’s right in front of me, I still want to knit, so I go on Ravelry and read blogs and get all revved up and buy yarn. Being restless can be expensive, is what I’m saying.

It’s that Cousteau that’s calling my name (it wants to be a shawl and it wants it now!). It’s saying that I finished that little dress and finishing means getting to cast on something new, but I’m going to ignore its siren song and plow ahead with Kit. I’m about a third of the way through the body and it’s the perfect weather to wear it and, truth be told, the mindless knitting of the body suits my mood.

Of course, it took three inches of plain sock knitting to realize that, but these were already on the needles from a time when I needed plain, plain knitting, so they’re fair game I think. Plus, I miss working on socks. I can’t seem to settle myself enough to actually spend time on them, but I can feel that magic coming back, so I’m going to give it a little time. Maybe once Kit is finished?

These have been on the needles forever, and I like that they’re there when I just need a row or two of mindless knitting in fun colours.

The main thing, when I hit these sorts of doldrums (holy nautical metaphors in this post – sorry) is just to keep knitting. Eventually I’ll re-find the spark that got me into the project in the first place, so it’s just a question of stitch following stitch until that happens. It isn’t as if the knitting isn’t enjoyable; even less than riveting knitting is still soothing.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Kit Camisole, socks

6:03 pm - June 30, 2013 - AngelaH

Signed, sealed, delivered

Ta-da!

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

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

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

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

Categories: finished, Knitting Tags: baby knits

9:46 am - June 24, 2013 - AngelaH

Little green leaves

You know, monogamous knitting isn’t so bad when your project is this cute. I was trying to explain to L last night about what makes knitting a little dress so entirely captivating and it’s hard to explain in words. I kept sort of giggling and then showing him the little arm holes and how the back will close with a little button and explaining about the leaf lace trim yet to come and, well, he did not get it (although he did concede that small things are cute).

I’m about halfway through the stockinette portion of the skirt. I love how it bubbles out from the little bodice.

Anyway, if you have a baby girl coming into your life, Sproutlette is the dress to knit. The pattern is straightforward, adorable, and easy to modify. To wit, The baby I’m knitting this for was born in March, which makes her about three months old; the pattern offers three sizes: 0-6 months, 6-12 months 12-24 months. For a three-month old baby (who I have not yet met, and thus don’t have proper dimensions for) this is a bit of a puzzle. I want to knit her something that will serve as a little dress in the summer and early fall, and then transition to a tunic when it gets chilly. Ideally, that’s four to six months of wear, depending on how fast she grows and whether her parents are as entranced by this little garment as I am.

Teeny tiny leaves!

So, I’m changing this slightly to fit a baby approximately 3-9 months old. So far, this has been pretty simple. I normally have to go up a needle size to get gauge, so instead of doing that I’ve gone up a size (I’m making the medium) but used the needle recommended in the pattern, giving me a slightly tighter gauge of 30 (instead of 26) sts = 4 inches. I’m working out a couple of other mods, but I’ll explain all those once this is done and they make sense (and I know they work).

When I cast this on I realized all my project bags were occupied, so instead of taking that as a sign, I just sewed up another one. It’s my new favourite I think.

Okay, if I’m going to going to get this finished by Saturday (which really means Friday morning so there’s time to block it) I need to sneak a few rows in before I go to work. it’s funny, because as much as I’m enjoying this knit, I am already looking forward to getting back to Kit, which Cassy has just announced she’s knitting too and, well, now I really just want us both to be finished to see how they look! Is anyone else knitting this tank too?

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Sewing Tags: baby knits

9:12 am - June 20, 2013 - AngelaH

Kit is coming along

There was less of this than I was hoping for, but I snuck in backyard knitting where I could.

Linen! Right? I mean, it’s so sort of rough and crunchy in the skein, but then you start knitting with it and it gets all soft and drapey and wow, I’m a convert. I was worried its stiffness would make my hands hurt or tire out my wrists, but you know, I’m a third of the way through Kit (maybe more than that, actually) and I’m fine.

I will say, though, that the border took forever. I tend to feel like that about edgings (especially when you start with them) but this one really forever. I actually gave serious thought to skipping out early, but then I’d look back at the pattern pictures and admire the wide hem and decide the slog was worth it. And you know, if I can block the thing flat I think it probably will be.

That 2.5 inches of rolled hem represents close to eight hours of work. So sad.

The panel up the back is the same texture, and although some people chose to skip it and just knit the body in stockinette, I really like the detail it gives the piece. I also like how the decreases run up the back, rather than on the sides, making it feel a little swingier and less structured.

My version won’t actually be as swingy as I would have liked because my gauge swatch lied big time. Like, it was off by about six stitches. Sigh. I knit most of this on the train to and from Windsor (about four hours each way, minus sleeping time since we were up early both days) and on the way back, once I was well into the stockinette portion, I decided to check my gauge. With wool, my gauge is the same flat as it is in the round; not so with linen, it seems. I tried on what I had when I got home, though, and the fit is fine, but not quite as airy as the pattern photos.

I really like the fabric I’m getting, though (the stitches are close enough together that I won’t need to layer anything underneath), so to ad drape I’d pretty much have to rip it all back and knit another size. That is, quite frankly, unappealing. So I’m going to keep going, but alter the decreases a bit so it fits nicely across the chest.

It might be a little while before I get there, though, since in a week and a half we’re meeting our friends’ baby for the first time (she was born in March, and gifted this little hat and sweater) and dammit I’m not showing up without an adorable gift. That gives me about a week to turn this (still unwound) skein of Malabrigo Sock into a Sproutlette. That’s doable, right?

Malabrigo Sock in Lettuce.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: baby knits, Kit Camisole

10:21 am - June 14, 2013 - AngelaH

And we’re off! (almost)

This has been a long week. The weather has been off and on and a bunch of side projects all managed to converge at once to result in non-stop work. In the long run, I really don’t mind that (I’m not one to string things out) but that plus rain plus plumbing issues at home made for a week I’m glad to see the end of. Partly, though, it felt like a long week because something fun was waiting at the end of it.

Tomorrow, L and I are going away for a sort of mini-holiday. We’re taking four days to visit his parents and then go down to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to visit his sister and her fiancé. Despite visiting Windsor pretty regularly to see his family, we’ve never gone down through Detroit or into the States from there at all (well, obviously he has, we just haven’t been together). I’ve been wanting to for a while and now we’re going. Exciting!

Even better is that we’re being leisurely and taking the train to and from Windsor. While this does mean we leave at a rather unhappy hour tomorrow morning, it also means neither of us has to drive (it’s four hours) and that we aren’t taking the bus (which takes 6 hours!) and that I’ll have lots of knitting time. Oh glory, what a great way to bookend a trip.

This will become a tank top. Yes it will.

I’ve saved Kit for my trip knitting. I’ve swatched (pre-wash I was three stitches too loose, post-wash I’m one stitch too tight, so I’m calling that gauge) and wound two skeins of Euroflax (the second ball was much more successful) and I’m going to cast on on the train. It’s mostly stockinette, with a little texture, so I think it’ll be good social knitting. In case I decide I need a little more action, though, I’m also going to stow Willowherb in my bag.

I finished the first sock almost two weeks ago and then got distracted by Grace, which is coming along nicely. Willowherb is such a good pattern, honestly, you should knit it. It’s interesting and fun and, despite there being little chart repetition, it builds into a great rhythm. Also, the first sock fits so well it’s crazy. I suspect it’s those little twisted rib inserts, which hug the fabric in that are doing it, but it’s pretty amazing and I can’t wait to have the finished pair on my feet.

So, that’s my wind-down plan. Do you have one? Have you been to Ann Arbour? Are there any must-sees? Any good yarn shops I should be sure to check out? I will report back on the whole adventure early next week!

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: socks, tank, travel, trip knitting, Willowherb

10:40 am - June 10, 2013 - AngelaH

A lemon

Well, it seems I am not the only one who finds it impossible to concentrate on my current projects (however much I’m enjoying them) when there are other enticing things out there. Audry made a great point in her comment, saying she can only settle when she’s cast on. I don’t want to totally drop Grace , but I must admit that the Kit Camisole has been calling my name, and getting more insistent, since the pattern was released.

On Saturday, I thought I’d cave a little and wind the yarn (Louet Euroflax in Goldenrod) so I could swatch. L and I are going away for a few days next weekend, so my grand plan is to bring Kit as my travel knitting (we’re taking the train, which is a great place to knit) and concentrate on Grace until then. So, I wound one skein.

In the course of the winding, though, the end at the middle got lost. I like a centre-pull ball, so I was annoyed and I decided to re-wind the ball (I do this with yarn all the time and have never had a problem. Ahem. I got maybe a quarter of the way through the original ball when, to my shock and horror, the ball forming on my ball winder flew off the ball winder and landed on the floor several feet away.

Three partial balls and a giant tangle.

Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like that before. So, I decided to try again. Not even halfway through the smaller ball and the stupid thing launched itself off the ball winder and flew over the table and landed on the floor. Honestly. I was speechless. I just – what the heck? Clearly linen is a slippery little beast of a fiber and should come with some kind of warning. As far as I can tell (and I haven’t wound another skein yet, although I’ll need to before we leave) it winds up just fine the first time when the swift provides tension, but after that, just forget it.

The result? This rather loose and annoying hand-wound ball. Linen has no stick, so while wool will happily sit smooth and still in a ball, linen has no interest in it. This is a lemon. Nonetheless, it has certainly satiated my desire to get started on Kit, which I have swatched for and can now set aside until Saturday. Phew.

Category: Knitting Tags: Kit Camisole, linen, winding

9:23 am - June 7, 2013 - AngelaH

Flip-flop

The weather here has been all over the place. I don’t know what I was expecting (not true, I was expecting summer), but this is not it. One day is hot the next day is so cold I feel justified in still having my wool cardigans in my closet. All of which is to say, as the weather shifts, so does what I want to be knitting.

I was actually going to buy purple, but I even changed my mind about that when I saw the yellow.

Three days ago I was just about ready to put Grace down and wait till the end of the summer to finish. I even went so far as to buy some linen (Louet Euroflax in Goldenrod) to knit myself the Kit Camisole. Then the weather turned and I’m back to Grace and the linen remains unwound.

I was going to take a picture of Grace, but even though it’s bigger than it was, until I actually make some proper headway all the photos will look the same. So instead I present my latest distraction: this lovely skein of 60% seacell/40% silk laceweight that sort of fell into my lap the other day at the shop (truly: it was a gift).

What I want to do with it (knit double into a crescent garter stitch shawl) seems so boring that I’m convinced there’s a pattern out there just waiting for me to find it. I don’t know what’s going on. I have numerous lovely projects on the needles and all I can think about is casting on more. (Even though I rather suspect they’d just languish on the needles too.)

The one bright note is that I finished the first Willowherb sock and it is both lovely and fits well. So that’s something.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Grace, Willowherb, yarn shopping

5:52 pm - June 3, 2013 - AngelaH

Something orange and something blue

This is a new something orange, and it is the reason that I didn’t finish the first of my Willowherb socks this weekend. It’s actually entirely counter-intuitive, because this weekend was so oppressively humid I changed three times on Saturday and I wasn’t doing anything high-energy. Clearly, then, this was the weekend to cast on for Grace. I mean, who doesn’t crave wool cardigans when the humidity is hovering at 100%?

I actually cast on twice. Once, on the needles that my gauge swatch told me were the right size, and then again, with a larger needle, when it was clear my swatch had lied. Somehow, I am now getting an even tighter gauge (!?) but rather than rip out again and start with yet another needle size, I’m chalking it up to the knit-ripped-and-reknit yarn being a little tight. It’ll block out, right?

So that’s the orange. The blue is a bit of a surprise, at least to me. Remember all that time ago when I sewed that project bag? Well, I haven’t sewed a thing since, but last week I got it into my head that I was going to make myself some summer clothes. I don’t know what got into me, but I just decided I could do it, without any sort of evidence backing me up.

Yesterday, I went to The Workroom and picked up some fabric (twice as much as I needed, just in case the first attempt didn’t work out) and the pattern I had in mind: the ubiquitous Wiksten Tank.

I got down to business today (I had the day off) and, after five hours I have a shirt! And it even fits. This is the first piece of clothing I’ve ever made, unless you count the boxers I had to make in seventh grade Family Studies (I do not). L isn’t home yet, so proper finished shots will have to wait. In the meantime, check it out:

Ta da! (It’s hanging on a slight angle, it isn’t actually crooked. Promise.)

Not bad, right? I know it isn’t perfect, but most of the faults are hidden when I’m wearing it. And, that print! I love that print. I have lots left, so short of making the exact same thing again, I’m not quite sure what to with it. I’ll come up with something though.

The print is actually bicycle sprockets! I love it. It’s from the Ride collection by Julia Rothman.

For the top, I had planned to make the XL, but after sewing the side seams I tried it on and it was a tent. I based my pattern size on my bust, but since my waist is 10 inches smaller than my chest, it can be tricky. To fix it, I took 3 inches off the width (1.5 inches per side, tapering up to 1 inch at the armpit). I also took two inches off the back neck by adding a box pleat (totally inspired by Linda). This small success has inspired me to start planning more sewing projects. Although, given how long this simple tank took, it may be a while before any of them are seen here.

Edited to add: L got home right after I hit post, so he agreed to take some impromtu shots. Not the best photos of me (I was freezing, in addition to not styling myself at all), but oh well.

Categories: in progress, Knitting, Sewing Tags: Grace, sewing, sweater, tank, Wiksten