FOs and resurrected projects
I did promise FOs upon my return from Dallas, and here's the first one! Forgive the awful picture, my sister does not like having her picture taken so I kind of stealthily sole this shot at dinner. . .
I knit this for my Adriana's birthday present, this is my 3rd Halfobi and I wouldn't be surprised if I make more of them in the future. It's so easy and quick, and it goes with everything!
This one used Koigu in color P432 held together with Karabella Lace Cashmere in color 88. Here's a much better shot of the true color:
Sis loved it and I'm sure she'll get tons of wear out of it!
I also finished something else . . . .
This is the big one, folks. I ended up using 10.5 skeins of yarn and I'm hoping it blocks out to 6 feet square (it might be a little less but that should be fine) . . . the blocking won't happen for a while, but I sure am relieved to know the chuppah will be done before July!!
As for the resurrected project, I wonder if anyone will recognize this:
That's right, I picked Katherine Hepburn back up and almost finished the 2nd sleeve. Amazing how much I got done, actually, makes me wonder why I let it sit for so long . . . oh yeah, cuz it got really BORING after not much time! Hopefully, since there's only one front and the rest of this sleeve to do, I'll manage to get this one off the WIP list in no time . . . we'll see.
I'm going to try to post more frequently again -- I haven't been feeling well lately and even though it hasn't affected my knitting output, it makes me want to zone out on the couch which doesn't lend itself to blogging . . . hopefully this will clear up and I'll be back to my old won't-shut-up self.
FO I forgot to Blog
So, during the photo shoot for Soho this weekend, I realized I had never posted a picture of the finished Kersti log cabin blanket I finished, oh, 6 months ago. What a shame! So here it is:
Each section is knit with its own ball of yarn and used up almost the entire ball, so they get progressively narrower towards the edge than they were in the middle. The blanket came out a bit small because I got bored, but I do have a few more skeins of Kersti leftover so I may one day return and add a few more sections.
This is such a dead-easy project, aside from picking up stitches all of it can be knit without looking at it, so it's perfect blog-reading knitting or homework-reading knitting. It wouldn't have taken me so long to knit except I got stuck picking colors! For someone who had bought random, leftover Kersti balls, I sure ended up with a LOT that looked the same. I didn't want to do all this knitting and end up with something that looked lopsided and unintentional, so I tried to think about what colors went where as I knit it up. Here's a more detailed shot of one of the corners:
As you can tell I decided to stack lights and darks instead of going the more conventional route of making the darks and lights into L-shaped sections on each side. I like it well enough but I think I might see why the convention exists, it's hard to tell there's a pattern at all in mine!
I actually use this blanket A LOT, it is really soft and very warm. I'm not sure how it will hold up to much wear since Kersti does tend to pill, but so far it's holding up very well. I did knit it fairly tightly on size 5 needles, so that should help it in the longevity category.
All in all I'm very happy with this project!
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Thank you to everyone for your kind words about Soho, and of course for purchasing the pattern!
I have to say I've worn Soho almost every day this season and it is versatile and warm, I wear it as a scarf unless I get a chill, at which point it becomes a wrap! On days when it hasn't been that cold (ie every 8th day this season, it seems) I just wear it, and I expect to wear it well into the Spring that way. I've worn it far more than most of my handknits, and that really says something since I wear something knitted almost every day! I'm thinking of making another one in some mostly-solid navy blue Koigu that's in the stash . . .
Now available for purchase: Soho!
At long last I've finished writing, editing, and photographing that shawl I was designing in Koigu Cashmere! Introducing Soho, a wrap that can be worn as a scarf or stole!
I designed this wrap specifically to work with Koigu and other handpainted yarns. Knit on size 5 needles and worked in a combination of a few simple patterns, this wrap knits up quickly and lets the gorgeous yarn be the star. The unusual construction plays up the variegation of the yarn and helps keep your interest! Here's a shot of the gorgeous center panel:
I knit the sample with 6 skeins of Koigu Cashmere, but you can use any one of the many gorgeous sock yarns that are on the market today.
Requires size 5 circular and double pointed needles. Pattern is suitable for an advanced beginner, as it requires only Knit, Purl, and YO.
Available as an immediate PDF download for $5.00. Click here to go to the pattern page and purchase through PayPal.
Yet another new sock!
Yes folks, you read that right. I cast on for another sock, but this time it wasn't my fault . . . this color of Koigu just jumped into my hands and demanded to be cast on RIGHT NOW.
This is Koigu color P221 and I am so in love with it, it might be my new favorite Koigu color. Seriously. That's a pretty bold statement. That's how much I love it.
I happened to be in Purl last week (did I mention my new job is literally 3 blocks from Purl? We order breakfast from Once Upon a Tart, the shop next door!) and this color called to me from the corner of a bin. Now, I usually don't buy much from Purl because I know their prices are higher and in most situations, I don't NEED yarn . . . I can usually talk myself out of buying, knowing I can pay less elsewhere (and keep in mind I've been buying yarn with a distount for the last 3.5 years!), unless it's something like this. I absolutely can justify spending a little extra to have this color Koigu socks!
Anyway, crazy ranting aside, it's a sock. Again. And you may notice I'm knitting it toe-up. Again. I really don't know what's gotten into me. I've always claimed to hate knitting socks toe-up. Next thing you know I'll be knitting them toe-up on circulars . . . nah, probably not. But never say never!
The problem isn't really the toe-up as much as the short-row heel -- I'm aware of the other toe-up heel choices that have popped up recently, but when I'm knitting a mindless stockinette sock I don't really want to learn new tricks. I just want to knit.
Anyway, back to the short row heel. I don't mind the heel itself, the narrow bottom fits my heel very well. The problem I have is that I have skinny feet but a very tall top arch and almost no bottom arch, leading to a very thick area right around where the short row heel is shaped. Most of my short-row-heel socks fit OK, but they stretch out in an ugly manner across the top of the foot. With this pair, I decided to experiment a little (and only a little, remember the mindless requirement!). About 2" before the heel shaping, I increased by 4 stitches and worked those extra stitches into the heel, then shaped the heel, worked another inch, then decreased back down. You can see in the picture above that there's still some stretching, and perhaps in a later attempt I may try increasing even more . . . but for this sock I'm very pleased with the results so far!
Anyone ever tried this silly idea before? It seems inelegant but I can't think of a reason it shouldn't work . . .
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Not at all relevant, but I joined a gym today! Don't know if I'll end up posting more or less given this new time commitment, but I'm very optimistic that I might actually work out regularly this time . . . since this time I have the wedding dress as motivation!
Getting things done
This is what my Koigu Cashmere shawl looks like from my perspective as I work on it:
This baby is LONG. And I'm only about 2/3's done with it. It's about 22" wide and will hopefully be about 65" long after blocking . . . I had to buy another skein as it was clear I didn't have enough, I'm hoping 7 will be enough to get the length I want. Here's a closeup of the fabric, this is the best short to see what the color really looks like:
I really really like this colorway. As I knit it the colors keep surprising me, like every once in a while there is a little bit of a bright green that I didn't notice until I was on the 4th skein. And as different colors fall on top of eachother they always look different, so I'm never bored. But you knew that about me already, didn't you, this thing between me and Koigu? I should hope so after all this time!
This shawl is now too big to knit on public transportation so I'm trying to rush through to the finish before I lose the momentum. We all know my track record with getting distracted . . . I'm trying to avoid my usual MO!
Today I managed to tear myself away from knitting long enough to go to the garment district to get buttons for the Vivian cardigan. I found the perfect non-shiny black buttons and came straight home to do the buttonbands and finishing. This is how much yarn I had left after sewing the sleeve seams:
It's about 13". I actually have a whole other ball of this yarn, but there was no way I was breaking into a new ball just for a few measly inches (this stuff isn't cheap!). I found some similarly-colored yarn in the stash and used that to sew the neckband in, and no one will ever know unless I show them the inside of the sweater. Here it is blocking on the living room floor:
I haven't sewn on the buttons yet or woven in the ends, but other than those details it's completely done and I absolutely love it. I think I even love it more than the designer original it's based on! After all, mine's cashmere and that one was just a wool blend!
I think you can tell from this picture that using a handpainted yarn to do short rows creates a very interesting, yet subtle, effect. I didn't really think about it before I started, I just knew I wanted to make this cardigan and I had this gorgeous yarn, but in the end it feels like this yarn was destined to become this sweater. Sometimes things just work out! I love it when that happens.
I'm planning to have it completely finished tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some modeled pictures for you then.
Hope you're having a productive weekend, too!
