FO: Mormor’s Shawl

My kids call their grandmother Mormor (Swedish for grandmother) so I was so excited to find a pattern called Mormor Shawl one day while I was looking around in Ravelry.  Of course, I had to make this for her as a Christmas Present.

This shawl is a very interesting (and quick) knit.  It is basically garter stitch with a lace insert and the increases on each side are stair-steps.  My mother-in-law loves earth tones so I think she will really love the color and I hope she get a lot of use out of it…if not, I may steal it back!

Pattern:  Mormor Shawl by Randi K. Design

Yarn:  Araucania Ranco Multy, colorway 308

Needles:  US 5 Knitpicks Options

Date Started:  October 15th, 2008

Date Finished:  November 9th, 2008

Mods:  The only modification I made was to make the stair-step decreases at the neckline match the increases at the outside of the shawl (the fact that they weren’t symetrical was really bugging me!)

 

FO: Prickle and Nana’s Socks

As I have mentioned, I have been very busy knitting up Christmas presents and while I will never, ever match the extreme mastery that is Bezzie’s Cheap Ass Christmas, I can honestly say that the vast majority of the items I am knitting for Christmas presents are from the stash.  There has been a little yarn that I have had to buy but five skeins of Dark Horse Fantasy Yarn have netted me two hats (knit with yarn doubled) and a 6 foot long scarf – all for $25…you can’t beat that with a stick!

Here are my latest FO’s…both from stash yarn:

First up is Prickle.  For quite a while I have wanted to attempt a moebius project but I was just never sure which one to tackle and then about a month ago I got a message on Ravelry from ewephoric who asked if I was willing to swap my Verde Malabrigo for some Emerald Green Malabrigo that she had in her stash.  I jumped at the chance because Emerald Green is one of my favorite colors of Malabrigo and I have had the Verde for a while with absolutely no idea what to do with it.

In the back and forth messages, she mentioned that she was planning to make something with the Verde for her swap partner and she was thinking about a Prickle since she had already made one for herself and really liked it.  Once I took a look at hers, and the other variations of the pattern, I was hooked and bought the pattern the same day.

I chose Option 2 with the lace edging and in addition to being a very quick knit, it is lovely and soft and although I plan to give this to my cousin for Christmas, I definately see another one (for me) in my near future.

The moebius cast on can be a bit tricky but once you get the hang of it, you can do it in your sleep.   I love the moebius but I can’t decide if Cat Bordhi is a genious or seriously demented!  She definately thinks outside the box and this cast on is a prime example!

Pattern:  Prickle by Huan-Hua Chye

Yarn:  Malabrigo Worsted, Emerald Blue colorway

Needles:  US 10 Knitpicks Options, 40″ cord

Date Started:  October 8th, 2008

Date Finished:  October 11th, 2008

Mods:  None at all.  This is a very well-written pattern and I particularly love the lace edging which also serves as the bind off.  I was worried about running out of yarn but I ended up with enough left that when I knit this again (and I definately will) I will probably add a few more repeats of the porcupine lace pattern before starting the lace edging.  I love this one so much, I am going to have a hard time letting it go.

I also finished the socks for my Nana:

Pattern:  There really isn’t one.  It is a basic toe up sock with a short row heel.

Yarn:  Cascade Fixation, Purple

Needles:  US 2 Addi Lace for the toe, US 3 Addi Lace for the rest of the sock

Date Started:  September 8th, 2008

Date Finished:  September 25th, 2008

Mods:  None since it isn’t a written out pattern…it is all in my head. 

Nana loves ankle socks and these are soft and stretchy so I think she will love them!

 

Back in Black (and Orange)…

Another list of items to knit for Christmas presents and another batch of orange and black items to be sent to my cousin’s house for Christmas.  This year, at least, they kept their requests simple…hats for the kids and a scarf for my cousin’s husband.  My cousin is getting a non-orange and black gift that will be blogged about later.

First up…Center Square Hat for Caitlyn (graciously modeled by DS#2)

Pattern:  Center Square by London Nelson, Knitty Winter 2006

Yarn:  Dark Horse Fantasy, Orange and Black

Needles:  US 11 Knitpicks Options

Date Started:  September 28th, 2008

Date Finished:  September 29th, 2008

Mods:  I had a major issue with gauge on this.  In order to get the gauge in the pattern, I had to go down to size 9 needles but when I cast on the called for amount of stitches I ended up with a hat that could never fit comfortably on an adult-sized head.  I tried a few larger sizes before ending up with the needle size suggested in the pattern (but no where near the called for gauge)…go figure. 

Anyway, this was a very fast knit – I love the hat and I think my cousin’s daughter will too.

Moving on…Tychus (also modeled by DS #2)

Pattern:  Tychus by Brooke T. Higgins, Knitty Summer 2005

Yarn:  Dark Horse Fantasy, Orange and Black

Needles:  US 9 Knitpicks Options

Date Started:  September 27th, 2008

Date Finished:  September 27th, 2008

Mods:  Absolutely none.  This is a great pattern…well written and easy to make!

And the last one…a Garter Stitch Scarf knit on the bias

Pattern:  None – I just made it up as I went along

Yarn:  Dark Horse Fantasy, Orange and Black

Needles:  US 10 Knitpicks Options

Date Started:  October 11th, 2008

Date Finished:  October 19th, 2008

I would have been finished with this scarf much quicker but I ran out of yarn and had to wait until last Saturday to get some more.  As it was, I got the last skein of Dark Horse Fantasy black yarn that my LYS had in stock!  Boy was that close!!!

 

WIP’s

Ok, Ok…I’m a day late on this but here are the projects I am actively working on….

Mystery Stole 4

I got a late start on this since I already had the yarn and some beads I mistakenly thought I didn’t need to purchase anything for this stole.  Unfortunately, I later discovered that there wasn’t enough contrast between the beads that I had and the yarn so I scrambled around to find some suitable beads.  By the time the new beads actually got here (last Wednesday) I had to start furiously knitting to catch up.  I still haven’t started the other end of the stole but I will get there eventually.

It is hard to tell from the above picture, but there is actually quite a bit of contrast between the clear rainbow beads I am using and the yarn.  This is my second mystery stole (I won’t mention the first one I attempted)…the first I just never got in to the pattern – it just wasn’t my cup of tea.  This one I just love!  I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Nana’s Socks

My grandmother has always told me that she wanted me to knit her some socks and she only seems to wear ankle socks so this seemed to be a good way to use up some of the Cascade Fixation I have hanging around. 

As usual, I am knitting these toe-up with a short row heel.  The only difference is that I am actually using dpns!!!  When I started this sock I couldn’t find my size 3 circulars (I was planning on magic loop) so I pulled out my Knitpicks Harmony dpns and got to work.  I have had these needles since the Harmonys came out but this is the first time I have actually used them for something other than stitch holders and, although I really love magic loop, it has been a lot of fun working with the dpns again.  I love the Harmonys – they have just enough grab and now that I am caught up with the Mystery Stole, I should be able to knock out the second sock in a couple of days (and mark another Christmas present off my list).

 

Let the Christmas Knitting Commence…

Every year, I say that I will knit less gifts for Christmas but each year I fall into the same old trap of saying “…but I have the yarn in my stash so it won’t cost any money.”  The big thing I forget is that what it does cost is time…which I am usually in short supply of.

Anyway, I am again starting my list of 15 knitted gifts (not to mention about 10 washcloths that I need to make for various teacher gifts, etc).  After a very productive Labor Day weekend, I am pleased to report that I have made a dent in the list by completing 2 gifts as well as two washcloths.  Since none of the recipients knows about my blog, I am free to post pictures of the FOs:

Horcrux Socks for Mom

Pattern:  Horcrux Socks by Susan Pierce Lawrence

Yarn:  Panda Wool, Seascape colorway

Needles:  US 1.5 Addi Turbo, 40 inch

Mods:  Since I like to knit my socks toe up, two at a time I adjusted the pattern accordingly.  I also substituted a short row heel and made the length of the cuffs shorter since that is what Mom prefers. 

These were actually cast on during the Olympics (boy, am I glad that I didn’t join Ravelympics because I REALLY would have lost big time!).  My Mom wears a size 10 1/2 shoe so these socks seemed to take FOREVER!  I love this colorway and although many on Ravelry have complained about Panda Wool being too splitty, I didn’t have a problem with it.  I will definately use it again.

 

Dad’s Fingerless Mittens (modeled by hubby – he of the hairy arms!)

Pattern:  Twin Rib Fingerless Mittens by Dawn Adcock

Yarn:  Brown’s Sheep Lambs Pride Superwash, Midnight Pine colorway

Needles:  US 4 Knitpicks Harmony circulars (magic loop)

Mods:  The only mods I made to the pattern was to cast on 48 stitches instead of the required 42 because my Dad has HUGE hands and to shorten the cuff. 

This pattern is really stretchy and I think my Dad will love them.  The yarn I used is actually a left over skein from a scarf that I made him last Christmas so now he will have fingerless mitts to match!

I don’t have pics of the washcloths yet – I will probably wait until I finish a bunch of them and do one massive photo shoot.  I have definately found washcloths to be the perfect mindless project to knit while listening to all of the political speeches that have been on lately!

 

YPF: Noro Daria

My LYS is having Christmas in August and I am knitting some items for display.  As a result, I picked up this lovely yarn

This is Noro Daria in colorway 27.  It is 54 yards of 55% cotton, 45% rayon gorgeousness!  I am making a cabled choker and a bracelet for the display but will have enough left over to make at least one more choker and a couple of bracelets.  After living at my LYS for a few months, these will become Christmas presents for some teenaged cousins. 

I can’t really say that I have enjoyed working with this yarn…first of all, it is a bitch to wind into anything resembling a yarn cake or yarn ball.  The yarn is so slippery that it just won’t stay put so I end up with tangles everywhere!  Knitting it is interesting because it is a bit stiff but also slippery as hell so if you are crazy enough (like me) to attempt cables with this yarn, definately don’t use metal needles if you want to keep your sanity!

Regardless, the FO’s are gorgeous (pics to come later once I find the appropriate clasps) and you just can’t beat the Noro colors!

 

Christmas Pr0n

This year my wonderful husband, Peter, went to my LYS and the lovely ladies at Strings & Sticks in Ellijay helped him pick out some wonderful presents for me…

A desk calendar…

A couple of books that I wanted…

A few odds and ends…

And (finally) some yarn…

This is Berroco Keltic, an Aran weight yarn that is 50% Wool, 40% Acrylic and 10% Rayon.  He bought me 11 balls in Tartan …

and 11 balls in Peat

And before you ask, yes there is already a project that this will be for…You see, I have always subscribed to the “jump in with both feet” approach to knitting and I wanted to learn Entrelac this year I figured why start with something small like a scarf.  Instead, I am going to knit Koo Koo from Berocco.  This will be a long-term project and is going to be for me so I’m not under any sort of a deadline.  My LYS is offering this pattern as a class and I had mentioned to the ladies that I was interested and even looked at colors and told them the ones that interested me.  What I didn’t know is that they went ahead and ordered the yarn for me and my wonderful hubby went and bought the yarn, pattern and paid for the class.  Yea!!!

 

What have I done lately?

Happy New Year!

 I know that I have been MIA lately but the holidays have kicked my butt and I just got some time to take a breather and update the blog. 

First of all, my Christmas knitting…I somehow managed to finish it all (although 2 presents were delivered on New Year’s Day).  Unfortunately, I was so focused on finishing the projects that I didn’t take pictures of most of it!  I am, unfortunately, having to count on the queen of un-downloaded pictures…my Mom…to take some pictures and e-mail them to me so I can post them here and on Ravelry.  I’m not holding my breath…I took some pictures with my Mom’s camera yesterday and when I looked through the pictures stored on her memory card there were pictures dating back about 3 years!!!

There is one FO I can show you…I did get my Mom’s Tweedy Vest finished!

• Pattern:  Tweedy Vest by Mona Schmidt from Fall,2005 Knitscene
• Needles:  US 6, 7 Knitpicks Options
• Yarn:  Misti Baby Alpaca Handdyed, Colorway 04
• Started:  August 2007
• Finished:  December 20, 2007
• Mods:  Since I have a hate/hate relationship with seaming, I decided to knit this in the round.  I also adjusted the needle sizes to get close to gauge.  Other than that, I didn’t modify anything else.  This is a well-written pattern although I don’t think the yarn I used is the ideal…I think a tweedy yarn (yeah, maybe it is named that for a reason!) would be better.  I also didn’t like the way the colors pooled in the middle and around the color but that is what you get with hand dyed yarn.  I sheepishly gave this to my Mom for Christmas and prefaced it with a disclaimer that if she didn’t like it I would be very happy to make her another one with a different yarn.  Luckily, she loved it!  The only comment she had was that she would have preferred the armholes to be a little bigger but I think that is just a personal thing.

In addition to knitting, I have also been job-hunting and there is some good news on that front also…I had an interview with a local manufacturing company on New Year’s Eve and it went very well.  I got a call from them later that day and have a second interview scheduled for this afternoon.  Hopefully, that one will go as well and I will have a job by the end of the week!  Keep your fingers crossed!

 

FO: Notting Hill Vest

I know…I have been a bad blogger lately.  All I can say in my defense is that Christmas is kicking my ass!  I stupidly decided to knit a good portion of the Christmas gifts I am giving and I have come to the realization that I either need to start on presents a lot earlier or limit the number of hand knit gifts.  I still have a couple of gifts to finish but I think that I will be able to get them finished…luckily, most of the remining gifts are to close family members who will understand if I give them an IOU.

Now that I got that off my chest, here is Notting Hill Vest.

This was a pretty fast knit (It took 9 days to complete) and I am very happy with the results.

Here is a closeup of the cable pattern…

As I said before, this is a gift for my Father-in-Law and I know that he will love it.  Luckily, he has bad eyesight because he lives with us and I have basically knit this entire vest right in front of him without him knowing it!

Here are the details:

• Pattern:  Notting Hill Vest by Kathy Zimmerman (Fall 2007, Knitscene)
• Needles:  US 7, US 8 Knit Picks Options
• Yarn:  Knit Picks Shamrock in Dougherty colorway
• Started:  December 4, 2007
• Finished:  December 13, 2007
• Mods:  I only knit 4 repeats of the neckline ribbing in order to keep the ribbing symetrical with the arm hole ribbing.  I would also like to note that for the size that I knit (size 44) the pattern calls for 9 skeins of yarn.  I was knitting at gauge and it took me 9 1/2 skeins.  If I had done all 8 repeats of the neckline ribbing I would have used all of 10 skeins.  From reading the notes of others who have knitted this pattern on Ravelry, I am finding that this is a fairly common problem.  For anyone who plans to knit this pattern, I would definately recommend buying one more skein than the pattern calls for. 

 

I’ve been busy…

I’m free!!!  Friday was my last day at work and I am very happy to be rid of that place!!!

In the meantime, I have been knitting like a mad woman trying to get my Christmas knitting finished so here are the pictures and details of my latest FO’s…

• Pattern:     Odessa by Grumperina
• Needles:     US 4, US 6 Knitpicks Options (magic loop)
• Yarn:           Cascade Pima Tencel in Black
• Started:      December 1, 2007
• Finished:    December 3, 2007 
• Mods:           None – it was perfect as is

 

• Pattern:     A Hat fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole
• Needles:    US 8 Crystal Palace dpn’s
• Yarn:          Valley Yarns Berkshire in Black and Orange
• Started:     November 28, 2007
• Finished:  November 30, 2007
• Mods:         Due to gauge issues, I cast on 95 stitches instead of 100 and adjusted the pattern accordingly.  I also added about 1 1/2 inches to the length because hubby said it wasn’t long enough and added two orange stripes just to make things interesting.

• Pattern:     Dashing by Cheryl Niamath from Spring, 2007 Knitty
• Needles:     US 8 Crystal Palace dpns
• Yarn:           Valley Yarns Berkshire in Black and Orange
• Started:      November 25, 2007
• Finished:   November 28, 2007
• Mods:          Added a couple of Orange stripes for some interest and shortened them by 13 rows after the 3rd cable.

• Pattern:     None – just cast on a bunch of stitches and knit it lengthwise
• Needles:     US 9 Knitpicks Harmony
• Yarn:           Valley Yarns Berkshire Orange and Black
• Started:      November 13, 2007
• Finished:    November 24, 2007
• Mods:           None – I just made it up as I went along

Whew, well I guess that is enough to show you for now.  I am happy to say that I have finished the orange and black portion of my Christmas knitting program and it will be a LONG time before I knit with that color combination again!!!

I am starting a new WIP today that is definately NOT orange and black but you will just have to wait until tomorrow to see it!!!