2018 is winding up......

This year, I have done a lot of knitting.   Most of the projects have been gifts for others. 

What do I give?   Mostly socks as the people I give them to like them very much and use them.  This year I also did a lot of toys.

One of the fun things I have done is to use leftover sock yarn to make small Christmas ornaments.
The mitten is one of two that I did - the other was a small sock - and put away to give away later.

The small things can be really fun to knit....and teach one a lot about patience.   There were things about this project that were surprisingly difficult.  I dropped more stitches on this one mitten than I have in some sweaters I have made.

Like the people who design toys, the people who design these ornaments are genius at shaping.    This year I hope to make more of these.  Either I will use them when I wrap a gift or give them to someone who is just starting to collect ornaments for their own tree as I don't put up a tree anymore.

Mallorie loved her horse hat this year and really liked the new version of the hat she received a couple years ago.    I did not like the new version as I was not happy with the crown shaping.   I am not a shaping genius and have decided to take the time to learn more so that the 2019 version for Mallorie makes me happy too.

While I have gifts for others in queue, I am going to take some time to do some selfish knitting.  Things just for me!

From Little Red Window....

Every Friday, I get the post from Cassie at Little Red Window.   Cassie shows a lot of crafty patterns, but I pay attention to the knit patterns more than anything else.

Last Friday, she put out the Skull Hat Pattern.  This, I thought, was perfect for Owen.  It did not take

long to do and was a fun knit.   I liked it so much, I am sizing it up for my brother-in-law.  He and Owen can have matching hats.

The best part?   All of the yarn came from the edges of the stash...I did not even have to go beyond the first layer.

This was not a project I had planned to do but I really perked up with the unscheduled fun project.

With a little bit of work, the second hat can be completed today and both can leave in the mail tomorrow!

OH NO! My home yarn store is closing....

September 17 as I was knitting in the recliner at home, I got an email.  Depth of Field, my favorite yarn store is closing December 1.

This has been a year of many changes.  This is not one I expected.   It took me a few minutes to get back to my calm center.

Depth, as I call it, has been a happy place for me for over 20 years.   I started going there when I could really afford "nice" yarn.  I did have a stash from working for yarn and not money in a store in the early 80's.   That place never had the same feeling as Depth.

Like many yarn stores, Depth of Field has a great community of knitters.   Many of us mourn the loss of a wonderful place to knit communally.

The going out of business sale has been visited by me...a lot.   Fortunately, I know what I need for projects that are coming up and could plan accordingly.  I bought only three matching skeins because they were too pretty to leave behind.

Between now and December 1, I am going to spend as many lunch hours as I can knitting there...and soaking up the goodness while I still can.

What does a single girl in the big city do on a Friday night?

She finishes the unicorn!

Now that the unicorn is finished, I will take a break from stuffed animals.   It is time for socks, washcloths, and hats for the holiday season!

A Month of Stuffed Animals

Helen, my sister, told me about a very new baby who needed a stuffed buddy.  The new baby has a slightly older brother who has not gotten a stuffed offering.   To Ravelry and Etsy and my own pattern stockpile I went!

Looking through the stuffed animals was a lot of fun.  There are so many good choices.   I looked until I had that A-HA moment.  Rebecca Danger is a really fun designer.   She is known for her monster patterns.  Her work is imaginative, colorful, and downright cheerful.

For new baby Henry, I chose Tofu the Gentle Dachshund.  The yarn, Willow Burrow Worsted, came out of stash.  This is one of my go-to yarns for knitting for children.  Tofu is a small toy and great for little hands.  This is a quick knit.  I really liked the way Tofu is constructed.

Each time I make a toy, I am struck by the work that goes into these designs.  Each designer whose patterns I have knit has a slightly different way to shape and assemble the toy.  Each time I knit one of these patterns, I learn a lot.

Henry's brother, Ethan, received a pair of knit combat boots when he was born.  The boots were useful, but certainly not cuddly.  Ethan is entering the age at which dinosaurs are a source of great fascination.

For Ethan, I chose another Rebecca Danger pattern - Terence the Tap Dancing T-Rex.   Got to love a smiling dinosaur!  This toy, when seated ended up being taller

than my cat who sat next to it but moved so quickly I could not get a picture.  This pattern had an really interesting construction.  I admit that I had to start it about 10 times before it worked out.  It was not because the pattern was not clear, it was because I was tired and this needed me to be alert and attentive.   The dino get stuffed as you knit it.   Stuffing the dino when it is done would be....unpleasant if not nigh on impossible.  The pattern was not so challenging that I was not willing to do another right away.

Ruby's T-Rex was done in pink to match a blanket her great-grandma made for her. The second time around I still had to start the dino multiple times.  No...I did not learn from the first round.  T-Rex II went more quickly and I did things a little differently which made the second round much easier.

Love the tail shaping on this dino...it does stick up....and helps the dino balance nicely when sitting.

Ana's blanket featured unicorns.  A while back I had found a unicorn pattern that I wanted to do for Ana.   This seemed like the perfect occasion...and the yarn for this was also all in stash.  Cutiepatootees' Snow White the Unicorn is coming along nicely.  My favorite part of this project is the hoof shaping which gives a flat-bottomed hoof.   With a little push, I will finish Snow White this evening.

 As I was not using the yarn specified, I have had to make some adjustments.  The head, I knit according to the pattern.  When I had finished the body according to directions, I held up the head to the body and the proportion was WAY off.   It would be a ...mutant.  I picked out some stitching and

added length.  That worked.   As I was doing the legs, I checked proportions carefully on the first leg.  The legs would have been too long.  With a slight adjustment, the legs are just right.   I am looking forward to attempting the mane and the tail.

After some discussion, the mane and the tail will be purple and pink...which I have the stash as I knit for a coterie of little girls.  Picture of completed Snow White coming soon!

Intarsia managed ...and then I went to the dog(s)....

Susanne Bryan's videos really helped me with the intarsia project.  Even after sewing in ends for two and three quarters hours, I was not unhappy with the project.  Corey, who knows he is getting something knit for his birthday, is a big superman fan.   Using a really great superman logo chart

The Superman Hat completed and freshly blocked.

from Ravelry - why re-invent the wheel - I used Corey's measurements and the gauge to make the pattern.

What would I do differently were I to do this again?   First of all, I would use fingering weight yarn instead of DK weight.  I think, though it would have made the had a MUCH longer project to complete, I would have liked the end product much better.   I may have tried intarsia in the round....maybe....maybe next time.

From the Superman Hat, I went to knit Tofu the Gentle Dachshund.    Rebecca Danger has impressive spatial intelligence.  I could not have designed this...and stand in awe of what she can do!

Tofu was a quick and really fun knit.   He will go to live with a new baby who is three weeks old today.

Tofu from the rear...

Front view of Tofu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I have moved to the next animal on my list.  Details to follow......

Knitting in the time of YouTube.....

Back when I started to knit - ten years after I first learned - if you wanted to learn something your choice was seeking out someone who knew how or finding a book.   That was okay as long as you could find the person or the book.   Pictures or a person with great patience helped.

Then came YouTube.

Although I have been knitting MANY years, I still have a lot to learn.   I like having a DVD to learn from, but I have had a growing love for the world of knitting help available on YouTube.

Right now, I am working on an intarsia piece.   Last night, I looked at it, grimaced, and put it aside.  I restarted the project as I have enough yarn.   I decided to look and see what I could find out that would make my intarsia work more fun (and that is using the term loosely) to do and look more like the vision I have for this project.

YouTube had a lot of resources.   Suzanne Bryan has a wonderful tutorial:

Not only did I learn a better way to do intarsia, but she very clearly showed short rows and tying in ends.   It gives me much more hope for round two on the project.

Provisional Cast On with Waste Yarn

I am getting ready to launch into a project that will push my skills.   One of the things that I want to do is to do a provisional cast on really well.  I can do it...just not as smoothly as I would like.  This video was on YouTube and I thought it was genius.

30 (or so) years after the first try....

When my nephew Mike was small I made him a polar bear cardigan from one of the old Nomis pattern books.   Mike, and his parents, really loved the sweater.  When Mike grew out of the sweater, the sweater was given to another child who could wear it.   This made me very happy.

30 or so years later, it was time to knit this again.  Henry, my sister's grand nephew, loves polar bears.  Last summer I bought the yarn and put it away.  A few months ago, I pulled everything together and swatched.  After a couple of tries to get a firm fabric that was not so firm as to stand up

Round 2 of Sleeve 1

on its own, I began.

For my last few stranded knit projects, I had practiced knitting with both yarns in my left hand.  I started a sleeve and tried that out.  When the sleeve was done, I was very displeased.  RIP!  For round two, I used both hands and was much happier with the result.

Merrily, I started the second sleeve.   The chart for the polar bear on the second sleeve has to be reversed.  Is this actually charted out?   No.  One has to do this in one's mind.

Flipping the chart was a humbling process.  I spent a day and a half trying, ripping, and retrying before I had it.  Lesson to self:   create a chart that can be read easily. The point is to enjoy the process.   By the last few tries, I was definitely not enjoying it.

This was a good practice peace for stranded knitting.  As a small person will be wearing it, I wanted to be very mindful of the floats.  Small fingers catch more easily.  I want this to be a sweater that Henry enjoys wearing rather than one that is a trial to put on.

As I was progressing with the sweater, I kept thinking of Mrs. Gaspar.   Mrs. Gaspar was my 4-H sewing leader.   She was lovely and very patient with us.   One of the lessons she drilled into us was that the inside of your work should be as tidy as the outside.  Her daughters, who were also lovely

Inside the sweater back in progress...

people, talked about this too.  I think about this when I need and try to achieve that goal.

The back completed...

My goal on this project, as I said, is to make the floats short enough so that little fingers don't get caught.  On this part, I did well.   The polar bear section was a little more challenging. 

Normally, I knit the button bands right on to the sweater.  I have done this successfully for a 

loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.  This sweater was simply not having it.   I fell back on the original directions and knit the bands separately.  It did work well and was not too tedious on a child's sweater.  The bonus was finding the buttons for this in my stash.

Waiting for button bands.....

 While I am very glad to see the end of this sweater....I am eager to practice this technique more.   There are hats that need to be knit.....

And...done!

 Using the needles that work the best...for you...is important.  I did the smaller pieces on straight Karbonz from Knitter's Pride.  That was ...okay.   I did the back on a circular need from a set made by Lykke.  Wow!   Next time I will do the whole project on circular needles.   Experimenting is ALWAYS good...I learn about how my knitting style is evolving...and what feels best on my hands for marathon knitting sessions.  My preferences.....wood or Karbonz.   Metal needles are okay...but not as comfortable for me.  The square needles that a lot of people love, cut off circulation in my hands.   I was given a set of wooden square needles after my initial failure with a metal set.  I may revisit the squares.  In the meantime, I use what feels good.

Pretty yarn is like kryptonite......

Let's start by agreeing going on Etsy when bored, stressed, or tired is a bad idea.   Pretty things find

Cardinal Colorway from Yarn Loving Lady

you.   Hand dyed yarn can glow off the screen wiping your resolve to not buy more yarn completely away.   This happened to me last week.

After the cabin fever last winter, I do try to stay off Etsy.   I know I am weak.  I know I don't need more yarn, more knitting bags, more tape measures...or much of anything else.   Sometimes, a woman just has to browse.

Yarn Loving Lady is definitely an Etsy Store to check out. She has beautiful colorways...and there is a choice of bases for each.  As sock yarn doesn't count...thank you Yarn Harlot.... my skein arrived on Monday.   Today it will become a ball of yarn ready to be knit into socks for me.

Socks keep coming from the needles...

While I am working with a cardigan for a boy that has me miffed and will not be mentioned at this

time, I have also been knitting socks.  These socks have all been for me.   Do I need more?  Sort of....the slightly thicker kind for Minnesota winter bus commutes.

Today a pair of Regia Design Line Arne and Carlos 6 ply socks got finished over lunch. 

This pair, I did not even try to make match...yet somehow, the socks pretty much do.   My feet will be matching and stylish this winter.

As I work on different projects, I often feel the need to sharpen my skills.  Sometimes it is a matter of finding a better way to do something...other times, I need to learn (or re-learn) a technique.  YouTube is a godsend.  It is great to be able to watch, repeatedly if need be, the same motions over and over explained by someone who is really skilled at both knitting and explaining what to do.

As part of the small cardigan I am not speaking of, I wanted to learn a better way to catch floats in stranded knitting.  During this research, I found Nancy Wynn and her fabulous tutorials.   I highly recommend spending time on this site.

I had tried to work the cardigan using both colors in my left hand.  The knitting was tedious and bothered my hands.  Returning to my two-handed stranded method, my knitting even out and I have been much happier.   Lesson:   While it is good to try new things, it is okay to go back to doing what makes you happy.

Lambs appear in the spring.....

Much of my knitting has been given as gifts.   This year is no exception.    One of my friends has a new and beautiful granddaughter.   This baby has more clothing, at six weeks, than she will ever wear.  Earlier, I made her a sweater from a yarn I wanted to try.  At the end of the month, the baby and her parents will visit.   For the gathering for us all to meet the baby, I need a gift.

Stuffed animals are a lot of fun to make.  My nephew Owen has received many from me and will likely receive more.   As I was in the mood to make another, I decided Ameerah should have one too.

As well as having an embarrassing large yarn stash, I have a trove of patterns.  That does not stop me from collecting more.  At least being able to store them electronically until I want to use one cuts down on the clutter.  I am spoiled for choice.

A few months ago, I saw the pattern for Sawyer the Sheep.  I knew I wanted to do that but have just been waiting for the right recipient.  I found the yarn and got ready to go.

This is a quick and fairly fun knit.   Using Wendy's Eider Chunky, I knew I could get a nice woolly critter.  I used Encore for the feet, hands, and face.   All gear assembled I was ready to go.

Gauge swatches are ALWAYS important.  I started the head as a gauge swatch on the needles I thought would work.   After ten rows, I knew that the fabric would be too stiff.  That yarn is not fun

to rip out.  I started again with the next size up.   Still a little stiff.  One more size up and I knew I could make the cuddly toy that I had in mind.

Working fairly steadily over several days, the lamb is done.   The face was easier to embroider than I thought it would be.  I still need practice but I am pleased.   On to the next gift!

The Peril of Regia's Arne and Carlos Pairfect Pair Design Line

A couple of months ago, I was in Depth of Field in Minneapolis.  This is one of my happy places. 

The first sock begun...

When perturbed, I go here and feast in the textures and colors and then come away calmer.

I do try not to buy more yarn as my personal store has become just a bit overwhelming, almost oppressive and I really need to shop there rather than ANYWHERE else.  Sometimes I see something I really want to try.

Resting on the shelf in Depth was a very bright purple and orange skein of yarn.  Intrigued, I picked it up to read the label.   Arne and Carlos...who are a color genius duo...have come up with a way to make a matching pair of socks from the multi-colored sock yarn.   One just begins the sock at the end of the yellow stretch of yarn.

That same day I cast on the first sock using my favorite Karbonz size 0's.   The colors...which also

I begin to feel fear.

include a bright pink.....rolled off the skein.    The first sock looked good.   I set out on the second sock and was knitting away.   The sock did look like the picture on the skein! After I marveled at how the sock really did match the first once I rounded the heel and did the gusset, I looked at what remained from the ball.  

A shiver of fear shot through me.   The small ball left did not look as though it was enough.  I went on through the foot (or the straightaway as I fondly refer to this part of a sock).   I kept glancing at the remaining yarn.  I kept knitting.  In my head I kept coming up with solutions for what I would do if.....I......ran.....out before the end of the sock.

As this was making me a little nervous I pressed on quickly.  The yarn continued to go down.  In my head I tried to do calculations to see if this was going to work.  Finally, with not much left over, the

Whew!

socks were done.

The socks are now tucked in a drawer.  I had flirted with the idea of giving them away and decided these really did need to be mine.

Regia Makes a Dang Fine Sock Yarn

Regia was really the first actual sock yarn that I used.  I liked the feel of the yarn as it slipped through my fingers.  I liked the way the socks wore and the way they laundered.

When Regia came out with self-striping yarn, it was like....magic.  Since then the variety of colorways has expanded.   This particular pair is a 6 ply colorway designed by Arne and Carlos .  Whoever sets up the dye sequence for this yarn makes the best use of math EVER.

Living in Minnesota, I like the 6 ply socks for a little extra warmth during my commutes in the cooler months.

While I do knit with a wide variety of sock yarn, Regia will always have a soft spot in my heart!

Things have gotten done!

All hail the Queen!

This queen dishcloth was too good not to do for one of my friends.  The project took less than a day.   My favorite dishcloth yarn is Willow Yarns Sudsy.   Sudsy has several versions.   This would have been much better in a solid color, but I did not have a color I liked at home when I wanted to knit this.   I will likely restock as dishcloths are a nice gift and quick to do.  During the summer this is a great project as it is small, easy to carry, and even in the heat, easy to handle.

Knitpicks Felici is a very nice sock yarn.   Felici comes and goes off the site.  The colorways also come and go.   The last time I was buying something from Knitpicks, Felici was available in a worsted weight.   Goth Kitty is the colorway I chose partly because I loved the name and partly because I really liked the color combination.  This was a soft yarn to knit.  Handling this yarn was as nice as handling fancier, luxury blends.  The yarn is a bit softer than the German-made workhorse blends that I like to use for socks.   While it is really luscious to wear, I am concerned that it will pill and develop holes sooner than the hardier yarns.  Time will tell!

My friend really wanted this hat for a trip that is upcoming faster than he would be able to produce it.   Kind soul that I am, I stepped up and knit this.   As I was ill and not up to doing much but knit, this took a week.   The small stitches in black were not bad until the shaping.   That had to be done twice and sworn over a lot.   Now that it is done, I am pleased with it.  I also realize that I need much more light for small black stitches.....I had to lean into the sunlight to work the shaping.   All is well that ends well as Rick loves it and wears it often. 

After doing this hat in the fingering weight, I decided to give myself a break and do the next hat in DK.   That is a stealthy project that is in the design process.   Details to come.

A month or so ago, I saw a yarn in the Willow catalogue that I really wanted to try. As a baby girl who could wear it was about to be born, why not?   The lovely soft shade of pink in the Peter Pan Petite Fleur begged to become the Aida Top Down Cardigan.  While I think I might have liked the cardigan a bit better in a non-fuzzy yarn, it turned out well and the baby's grandmother liked it.  That is what is important.

Would I use this yarn again.  I don't think so.  While the yarn is pretty, it had no elasticity and was not that much fun to knit.  The girly-ness of the color kept me at it.   It can go through the washer and dryer which is a plus.   The down side is that laundering it gave it a static which needed to be toned done.   Glad to have done it and gladder to be done.

Sock yarn comes out in new and interesting offerings.   Regia has a colorway that is called Pairfect

Pair.   The idea is to start at the end of a yellow stretch of yarn.....and each sock will be the same...or that perfect pair of striped socks than are the dream of many and difficulty to achieve. The colors drew me in and I began.  

The first sock is partially done and the colors are rolling out.  I love the way it is knitting up.  Time will tell if I make the match!   

February has flown by....

This month, I have been turning out socks....for me.   One pair, made of Opal Tiger, has been in the works for more years than I care to remember.   The last time the Tiger socks popped out of the stash, I decided it was time.   Today, I am wearing them.

The carrot to finish the Tiger socks was a skein of 6 ply Regia Arne and Carlos....the first of those socks is coming along nicely.   I am also doing a pair from a Berroco socks colorway that I liked so much...I think I bought it twice.

As this projects come along, I also pick up the pink baby sweater...one sleeve and done...and more sporadically....a wedding present.

My goal?  Finish things up that I have started...and use what I have.  This year....I do want to get closer to the center of the stash.

Thoughts on thrummed mittens....

Both pairs of thrummed mittens are getting me through my subzero commute to work each day.  As I have worn the mittens, ways to make the mittens better keep coming through my mind.

The mittens, as knit from the pattern are much too wide in the hand and in the thumb.  The stitches that show roving on the outside of the mitten are taking a real beating.  Maybe if I made the thrums much thinner and twisted them tighter?  The final thing is that I would like a longer cuff.

These changes are pretty straightforward.  All I need is a careful checking of measurements accommodating the thrums on the inside of the mittens, and the time to work on this project.

If you live in a climate that gets really cold, these are wonderful.  Working on these mittens and figuring out how to do it better has been interesting....and I have warm hands!

Being January, a new hat is a good thing.....

Stranded knitting is fun...most of the time.   Lately, I have been working on improving my technique.  When I saw the North Star Hat, I was itching to take on this project.

Last fall I decided I was tired of my hats.  I gave a couple away and was looking around for a few ideas when the North Star Hat popped up on Ravelry.   I had yarn left over from the thrummed mittens.  Off I went!

As I new my gauge for this yarn from having just done a project with the same yarn, I daringly skipped doing a swatch.  Fortunately, this turned out not to be a mistake.

It seems that I have THREE sets of 16" interchangeable needles.   The Karbonz were first to hand...and a lovely need for this kind of work.

When I got to be fairly skilled at color knitting, I used to hold each color in a separate hand.  That was fine, but I wanted to see if I could do better.  Keeping in mind that the yarns have to be worked consistently -- one from the bottom and one from the top -- to achieve the color dominance -- I used this to practice holding both the yarns in my left hand.

In my knitting stuff, I had a Swedish thimble.  As I started this, I gave it a try.  The yarn thimble

proved to be a disappointment.  I thought it was clunky to use and did not want to continue.  Maybe I will try again on another project....or not.

This project sped along.  When I finished it a week later, I was pretty happy with the result.  I took a picture.   I looked at it closely.   OH.  NO.

Yes, I HAD checked this as I went along and did not see this.  The only explanation that I have is that it takes place at the jog between rows.  Yes, I should have caught this.  Did I take it out and fix it?  No.  I even opted not to fix it with a duplicate stitch as I thought that would end in drawing more attention to the error.  Lesson learned.  The hat fits well...and is nice and soft.....

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adventures in thrumming....

More years ago than I care to admit (or actually....remember), I was intrigued by a kit from Mary

The beginning of the second pair of mittens.....

Maxim for a pair of thrummed mittens.  Last fall, the kit magically rose to the top of the stash.   Finally, late in December after all the gift knitting was done, I got to it.

Thrumming is a technique from Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.   A thrum is a bit of twisted wool knit into the mitten at random intervals.   When the mittens have been worn a bit, the thrums felt and form a soft inner layer to a mitten.

The directions on how to put in a thrum in the kit were not giving me what I wanted to see.  The wonderful world of the internet helped me find a way to do the thrum that made more sense to me and with which I was much more successful.

Even with the new instructions, I miscalculated how much roving should be in a thrum.   I ripped out the first mitten multiple times...at least five.  Though my interest began to flag, I pressed on.

Of course, I ran out of roving.  Depth of Field to the rescue!  As the thrums were made from undyed wool, I could match the shade despite the number of years the kit had rested in the stash.

This pair of mittens was test driven in a real Minnesota cold spell.   I can attest to the warmth of the

The completed second pair out in the wild.

thrummed mittens in a sub zero windchill.   I was really glad I had them.

With the thrumming technique fresh in my mind, I did a second pair.   This pair went much more smoothly.  I used much smaller thrums and did a better job of twisting them.   On my prior roving run to Depth of Field, I had gotten the roving for a second pair.  I tried to remember how much had come in the kit.....and how much more I had to buy to finish the first pair.  What I had guesstimated was short by one thumb and about half the mitten.   Back to Depth....and these were done in a flash.  

The second pair of mittens did turn out much better than the first.  Both mittens will be worn a lot by me.  As the cold is bothering me more this year, I am very grateful for them.