Happy Thanksgiving everyone. So much to be grateful for this year! – new roof, new old car that runs better than the last old car – old dog still bouncing around the house and lots of family and friends!
And of course lots of knitting projects!
Here is the progress I’ve been making on my latest freeform jacket!
tons of fun and loving these fall colors.
I have a great collection of mitten and sock pattern books that I love to page through and look at the designs. Sometimes I crave a small knitting project in color work but I don’t want to spend the time it takes to knit a pair of mittens or socks. . . so I came up with a great idea.
Fulled coasters in Fair Isle knitting!!
Thinking that the fulling would prevent the dreaded stockinette roll I was sadly mistaken. Taking a different approach, I knit the second one starting with 3 stitches, increasing each side to approx 30 stitches wide, then decreasing each side down to three stitches. I ended up with a square coaster that didn’t roll. For some reason working the color pattern on the diagonal resulted in flat coasters! COOL!
I had odd amounts of 100% wool yarn from Gale Woods Farm that worked out great; the worsted weight worked up really fast, the wool fulled easily and I could use up my odd amounts. I knit these on size 9 needles and fulled them in the washing machine.
It was a little tricky changing the orientation of the designs. If the design was set in a diamond already it was easy to knit the Fair Isle and work the increases and decreases without worry. But a few of these I had to rechart to keep my place while knitting and shaping.
It was also a fun way to see how the pattern looks when different colors became the foreground or background.
These coasters are the same design but the colors are reversed.
I’m going to remember this. Next time I knit a big project using color work, I will first knit a few coasters while experimenting with the color.
I’ve been working on this lace shawl for a while. Here is the first one I knit in linen. I used size 9 needles and it is very airy and light!
I’m trying to decide if I should dye it or not. I’m thinking of maybe dying it a dark indigo blue.
Increases on the front are generous and allow for a very nice fit! it won’t fall of your shoulders. In this view you get a sense of the gentle ruffle around the bottom. (in the other photos I pulled out the ruffles so you could see the pattern)
The pattern repeat across the back is only 10 stitches and very easy to follow!
Here are a couple close up views of the lace work.
I knit this shawl from notes and scratches and bits and pieces of graphs. I was lucky to figure out what I did so I could re-write it.
I re-worked some of my charts and created pages ins Illustrator. After all that computer work I knit another shawl. This one is in Bamboo. However it is still in the unblocked stage and not ready for public view.
I found some errors and some things to change to make it more symmetrical. So now I’ve fixed the charts and started writing the directions. (I like to include charts and written directions in my patterns).
During the my Olympics viewing this weekend I started a third one to triple check my pattern before publicizing. I am knitting this one in a 4 ply superwash merino that is supplied by Wool2Dye4. I love knitting with this yarn! It is so soft and comfortable, yet firm and holding the lace patterning very well! Can’t wait to finish it. This one is a “natural white” and I might look around to see if an indie dyer has some of this in a blue colorway. (For some reason I’m into blues this year)
So stay tuned for my first lace knitting pattern!
I wanted something fun and easy and colorful to knit. I worked up this wrap using two strands of silk. I also did a few rows in Glace from Berrocco and then some novelty yarns that I had in my stash. Unfortunately the labels were lost long ago. The dark blue stripe(s) near the bottom were knit in a novelty yarn I bought in France in 1992. . . finally used up the last of it here.
I knit it from the top down using garter stitch.
The fronts are increased like EZ’s pi shawl and the back is increased along a center 10 stitches, similar to faroese shape.
This shawl definitely cured my itch.
Charlotte’s Tam pattern is now available on my etsy site! I’ve made three of them now and they work up so nicely!
The one shown on the pattern is knit in Gale Woods Farm’s sock yarn and it was perfect. I knit another one using two skeins of Mission Falls 136 Merino and that turned out very nice as well. 136 Merino is sooo soft and fun to work with.
I tried one in a worsted weight to see what would happen. . .it is a bit big! The diameter across the top is 13″. . . looks a bit funny on my head!
I’ve found a new love!!! Twined Knitting.
While at the library at the Minnesota Textile Center I found a book “Twined Knitting, a Swedish Folkcraft Technique”. The book is full of great pictures, mitten, glove and hat patterns and history. I became so entrigued I started a project right away. I have some New Zealand wool I picked up at a sale somewhere and it is perfect for twined knitting.
This must be the definitive book on Twined knitting since I’ve been searching on line for one and the cheapest one I’ve found is 86$. . ouch. . .too much or my book budget, but I’m keeping it on my wish list.
I was given about 6 oz/ 311 yards of the new wool available at Gale Woodes Farm to see how it works up and create a project.
The yarn is a 2 ply, sock weight, about 10 wpi and available in this natural white color. It has great stitch definition and I can’t help thinking what a wonderful cabled cardigan I could knit in this yarn! I love knitting with natural whites and though I am not a dyer of yarn, I bet it’d be fun to see how this yarn dyes.
Here is what I came up with this weekend. The travelling stitch goes around the leg and when they meet there is a small medallion. It will be very easy to knit these in any size. After knitting your swatch to get gauge, cast on as many stitches as you need ot fit your leg and then knit around and around till it is as long as you want. I’m still contemplating the top of the leg warmer. I have a few options in mind and I’ll have to wait til I get there in my knitting to see which end I’ll feel like using.
I think I’ll work up the other one to this length and them work them both at the same time. I did a rough measurement of my swatch and figured out the area to see if I’d have enough yarn for 11″ leg warmers. If my math is correct I’ll be okay.
Knitting with such a strong intent to finish feels different.
Sunday I watched swimming, beach volley ball and gymnatics. . . but the event that allowed me to get the most knitting done was the women’s bike racing. I could actually look away from the screen at my work.
I got another row of champagne flutes done on the first sleeve on Sunday morning. They don’t look exactly as I imagined, and I still don’t know if I like it or not. hmmm.
Then last night, (Monday) I watched swimming, men’s gymnastic finals and volleyball. How is a person supposed to get any knitting done with that kind of excitement?
Can’t wait to see what tonight will bring!
Shawn
Yes it has been cold here. . . last night 15 degrees below 0. . .and I just finally warmed up. (meaning, I’ve been too cold to blog). Believe it or not
Though cold and chilly with numb fingers, I have been busy knitting. . . I started a bohus sweater. I got THE book on Bohus knitting, “Poetry in Stitches” and decided I HAD to start a sweater. Only one slight problem. Yarn. I actually had 15 oz of Fairy Hare fiber (called for in many of the patterns) but not enough of one color for the body&sleeves. Being the compulsive person that I am, I decided to forge ahead and just fill in the colors on the body and sleeves as I used up the yarn. The top part looks pretty good. But keep in mind I only have about 3 more oz of the burgundy color and will then have to switch to one of the other colors you see here. I decided to go for “blocks” of color and not “stripes”. 
I also started a freeform knitting project. My friend Ellen, went to Beijing and brought back some yarn for me. It is a mutlticolored earth tone yarn. . . .but don’t know what it is. I gave it the old test of fire. . . and it, smouldered, melted and burned. Seems to me like it may be a blend of poly/wool/and?? It flamed, smelled like burnt hair and part of it squiggled and danced like melting plastic. I can’t even guess at the fiber content from the label because it is in Chinese characters. Anyway, I found some complimentary colors and started knitting. I haven’t done one like this before. . . I am knitting on the piece itself as I change directions. (I usually knit pieces and them sew them together)Here is an almost finished back.
And I have been knitting a pair of socks. I don’t necessarily liked striped socks, so when this yarn was on sale I bought it but decided I would try to knit wavy stripes. Ah ah, feather and fan results in waves, add a few cables and here you have it.
It’s a bit difficult to see the Feather and fan pattern but I am getting a nice scallop. Of course I didn’t swatch and this sock will fit Ellen. (it is small and she wears a size 6 shoe) and for me ( a size eight) I will have to add about 12 stitches. And I already know where I will add them. . . hee hee. Now I’m anxious to finish these so I can start the pair for myself. Since I started knitting socks, and wearing them, I only want to wear hand knit socks. mmm mmm good. got to get knitting. . .
Here’s one for ya. . . a knitter walks into a bar . . .
Yup, that’d be me. I went to the MN knitters gathering at a local pub/restaurant on the right day, wrong week. I was so excited to meet some ravelry knitters that I went a week early. It was a very pleasant experience actually. I knit for about 1 1/2 hours on a comfortable sofa. The wait staff was very friendly and helpful. . . they fed me dinner and didn’t laugh at me. One of the servers is a knitting fanatic and sat and chatted with me about two color knitting, as she examined my colorful mittens, inside and out. She tried them on and found the hole in the thumb. (one of these days I’ll fix that)
On Christmas eve about 2 years ago I woke up wanting a new pair of mittens. I knit one on Christmas eve and the other Christmas day. I knit them from the top down, making the design up as I went along. The increases for the thumb are in the middle of the front/back of the glove. Thought I’d try that for a change from the more common thumb gusset. The yarn is a blend of wool/angora I purchased from Fairy Hare Fiber. They are really soft and cushy. Obviously, they are also worn often, i.e. the key hand thumb has been chewed off by keys.
I’ve digressed from my knitting in the bar. . . but that’s all there is to it. I am totally looking forward to the coming Thursday and hoping I won’t be knitting alone again.
I had a fun little side trip during our Thanxgiving trip to Chicago. . . on the way home to St. Paul we stopped in Mount Horeb at Blackberry Ridge Mill. We saw the mill running and I had nightmares about all the cones of wool that were hooked up and plying. After about an hour of oohing and awing at yarn, patterns and knit samples, I bought some 4 ply yarn to knit a fisherman sweater. Enough to fit me. This color red is great! It isn’t very traditional for a fisherman knit with lots of cables etc, but oooh this color says power.
Don’t know when I’ll get to designing this sweater but I’ve got the best yarn for it!
Off to a Holiday Party! Cheers,
Shawn
Well, I tried the knit/purl leaf pattern for my new pair of socks and it didn’t work. I thought the design might get lost in the variegation of the yarn and it did. So, I have worked up another great scheme.
It is a 2/3 rib using a slip cable. I don’t know if there is any other socks out there like this, but I think it will be fun. Especially since I learned to purl while picking, it will take no time at all to knit these up. Good thing I am traveling over the Thanxgiving weekend. . . lots of car time for knitting socks!! WOOHOO. I love traveling when I don’t have to drive. And we may get stuck in a snow storm so it will take even longer to arrive in Chicago! Who but a knitter looks for reasons to take longer to get some place?
I just joined a couple new groups in Ravelry. One of them is Musical Knitters. I thought I better introduce the musical part of my personality. I play Old TIme Appalachian fiddle music. I play for fun with friends, for square dances and once in a while in concert. I am a member of an all girl band, Lulu Gals. I also am a square dance caller. Dang I lead a good life!
Well, time to get to work and dreaming about knitting!