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!