‘Knitting’ Category

  1. holiday crafting plans!

    October 2, 2010 by sassenach

    Blanket WIP for my momI know the holidays are months away (two and a couple of weeks?), but darn it, I want to be prepared! The past few years, I’ve made gifts for my family and I think they’ve come to expect something handmade from me. I have mixed feelings about continuing to do this because last year, I knit one of my sisters a scarf and she immediately gave it to my other sister because she claimed she wouldn’t be able to wear it in the Florida climate. :| Never mind that it was a very light, lacy scarf and I thought it would be nice for cooler nights…eh, whatever. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my other sister wearing it, either. Remind me again why I craft for these people?!

    Aaaaanyway, I figured this year I would start with my parents (who generally are grateful) and figure the rest out later. I’ve never made my mom a blanket, but I didn’t want to get stuck in a rut trying to knit her one because the idea of that just seems so daunting. I know I could knit one on size 35 needles, but I’ve done that once before (for myself) and it was rather awkward because those needles are *huge* and it becomes very painful on the fingers.

    So, we turn to crochet. I decided to make my mom a ripple afghan, which I made in the past for M’s mom and she really liked it. Once again, I’m modifying the pattern for super bulky yarn–Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, which I think is a great choice for someone who is going to be machine washing it. Plus, I had a coupon at Michaels, and we ended up getting 10 skeins of yarn–$70 worth–for 20% off. Score! M and I worked out a nice arrangement where he bought the yarn and I’m making the blanket; so, we can claim that it’s “from both of us.” :)

    I’ve been working on this every evening and it really does work up quickly. Each stripe is one skein of yarn, so I’m 30% done already and that’s only 3 nights’ worth of crocheting. My plans were foiled a few days this week when my allergies knocked me out of commission, but I’m going to add another stripe today, at least. It’ll be done in a few more days, I think!

    Now, I just need to figure out what to make for the rest of my family. I’m thinking a knit hat for my dad and possibly the same for one of my brothers-in-law. (Florida brother-in-law usually gets a giftcard of some kind.) One of my sisters is getting a knit vest, which she requested and bought me the yarn for (months ago…and I sort of forgot about it, oops). As for Sister Who Gave Away Her Scarf, I’m really not sure what to make…she actually asked for a poncho instead, which makes no sense to me because she still lives in Florida and isn’t a poncho warmer than a lacy scarf?

    Category: Crochet, Knitting | Tags: | 2 Comments

  2. let there be light(box)!

    July 31, 2010 by sassenach

    I made a lightbox. Look:

    Lightbox Setup
    I decided to build one in order to get better quality shots of my yarn and knitted objects. I found this really awesome tutorial from jyoseph.com and pretty much followed it step by step.

    Here are the materials I used and where I found them:
    - 5 sheets of Elmer’s foam board (20″ x 30″) from Michaels craft store. They were $2.99 each, but I got them on sale–buy 1, get 1 free!
    - 4 clamp lights (5 1/2″) from Lowe’s, $6.48 each
    - 60-watt GE Reveal Full-Spectrum light bulbs from Lowe’s, $3.48 for a 2-pk
    - 2″ white masking tape from Lowe’s, $2.48
    - power strip from Lowe’s (didn’t have an extra one at home–4 lamps = 4 separate plugs)
    - box cutter (already had this at home)
    - straight edge & cutting mat (already had these as part of my sewing tools)

    I wound up spending around $50. Not too bad, considering the results look pretty good! Voila:

    Lightbox Test (2 Lamps)
    Originally, I only bought two lamps but I could tell from this shot that I needed an additional two. The colors look great, but there are some grayish shadows around the edges. (The yarn is Crystal Palace Mini Mochi, btw.)

    Lightbox Test (4 Lamps)

    I bought an additional two lamps (for a total of four) and the result is much better. Still a wee bit of shadow, but I think that’s more because the skein is so puffy and not because of lack of light. (The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Handpainted.)

    Lightbox Test (4 Lamps)

    Here’s another test with all four lamps turned on. (Knit Picks Imagination)

    Ditto Sock WIP

    Lastly, I took a pic of a WIP. I think this shot turned out so well since the sock-in-progress is flat (no shadows). (Just a basic toe-up sock; yarn is Universal Yarn Ditto.)

    I’m really happy with the results of my lightbox. Now I don’t have to try to find daylight or perfect indoor lighting before taking pics of yarn, WIPs, and FOs. It was easy to assemble and (best yet), affordable! Can’t beat that. :)

    Category: Knitting | Tags: | 5 Comments

  3. rainbows on my feet

    July 18, 2010 by sassenach

    Rainbow Jaywalker WornJaywalker Socks in Knit Picks Felici fingering weight, colorway Rainbow
    @ Ravelry

    It’s certainly not the most original idea (search: Rainbow Jaywalker on Ravelry), but I finally made myself a pair of rainbow Jaywalker socks. I’ve knit the pattern before, so I thought about making these toe-up to be different. However, there seem to be some fiddly issues with the sizing on the toe-up Jaywalker pattern, so I knit these cuff-down to make things easier.

    The yarn I used is Knit Picks Felici. It’s very soft and I loved watching the colors change. However, I noticed a few negative things about the yarn. First, there are bits where the dye is kind of muddy–like there is green on the yellow parts, or orange on the yellow parts. It’s really not noticeable in the pics, but I could point out the spots if I looked for them. It doesn’t affect the general appearance of the socks, so it’s not a huge deal, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Second, I found knots in each ball of yarn. Not cool–especially with self-striping yarn, where abrupt color changes will be obvious. Luckily, both of my knots were toward the end of the toe, so I was able to work around them, for the most part. But I was disappointed because knotty yarn is just a pain.

    When I bought the yarn, I noticed that Knit Picks had it listed as a Last Chance colorway. It’s now no longer available on their site. Maybe the aforementioned quality issues are to blame? I have another two balls of Felici in my stash (the Marine Life colorway, I think), so I’m hoping they won’t have the same issues as the Rainbow colorway.

    Having said all that–I really do like the finished product! They’re happy and cheerful and I have dubbed them my Rainbow Brite/Care Bear Stare socks. They’re by far the most colorful socks I’ve ever made, and small gripes about the yarn aside, I love the way they turned out.

    Footnote: not only is the Knit Picks rainbow self-striping sock yarn discontinued, but so is another rainbow colorway I have in my stash, Regia Nation Color in colorway 5399. I’m puzzled as to why both manufacturers have discontinued such an awesome colorway. Looking at stashes and projects on Ravelry, both yarns seem pretty popular; so why discontinue them? It’s a mystery to me.

    Category: Knitting | Tags: | 2 Comments

  4. thirty.

    July 6, 2010 by sassenach

    Yesterday I turned 30. I wasn’t too distressed over it–my 20s were pretty tumultuous, so in a way I was relieved to leave them behind. I’m hoping that it’s gotten to the point where I’m no longer phased by numbers. In my mind, I’ve always felt much older, and not just in an “I’m very mature” way, but rather, “Sometimes I feel like I’m 80 on the inside,” if that makes sense. I never really had a wild youth, haha. So anyway, I’m hoping that my 30s are much better than the decade that preceded them. :)

    I had the day off work anyway for July 4th, so I pretty much lazed around the house and took naps. lol I received some awesomely AWESOME yarn from M, which I love and will make pretty things with. :)

    Birthday yarn of awesomeness:
    Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky Dream in Color Smooshy
    KP Stroll - Blue Yonder KP Stroll - Blue Violet
    KP Stroll - Deep Waters KP Stroll - Royalty

    I also ate way too much ice cream cake, but one’s birthday is the best time for making excuses, like being lazy and eating too many sweets, right?

    Category: Knitting, My So-Called Life | Tags: | 4 Comments

  5. smitten with toe-up socks.

    June 12, 2010 by sassenach

    As a knitter, I like to stick with what I know because that’s A) easier and B) more comfortable. However, lately I’ve been making a lot of socks, so I figured I’d try some different techniques to prevent myself from getting bored with sock knitting. In the past I’ve shied away from toe-up patterns because they always seemed fussy. My first pair of toe-up socks was a pair of knee socks [Ravelry link]. I didn’t enjoy the experience–I’m pretty sure I used a provisional cast on, which to this day is a technique I still don’t like. Also, I had trouble with the heels because I didn’t knit the wraps properly. Having several more years of knitting experience, I figured I’d give toe-up another go.

    Toe-Up Socks WornWendy’s Fingering Weight, Toe-Up Socks with Gusset Heel in String Theory Caper Sock, colorway Atlantis
    @ Ravelry

    I had much better success with these! The toe was simple and the gusset wasn’t too complicated. However, although the gusset was interesting to knit, these socks don’t have heel flaps and I definitely prefer heel flaps because they fit better on my feet.

    Caper Sock is really nice to work with–super duper soft and cushy. I doubt I’ll wear these all the time, though, because I don’t want them to pill too much. I think they might, due to the nature of the yarn. I have more Caper Sock in my stash–including a shawl in progress–and I think it’s much more suitable for shawls.

    Next up is another pair of toe-ups:

    Lacy Ribs Socks WornLacy Ribs Socks in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, colorway Glacier
    @ Ravelry

    This is another Wendy Knits pattern, but the socks are different for me because I knit them using Magic Loop! :) Like toe-up, I’ve avoided ML in the past–I liked my dpns just fine and didn’t see the need to switch. However, I now see the utility in ML. I was less worried about my stitches falling off the needles since I used a circ with a pretty long cable (40″). Also, there was less chance of laddering since the stitches were only divided between two needles instead of three or four. I’m not ready to turn in my dpns just yet–in fact, I’ve started another pair of socks that I’m knitting on dpns and cuff-down at the moment. But for my next toe-ups, I’m going to use ML again.

    As for the pattern itself, I found it very easy and memorized the lace repeat quickly. I’m also very fond of the heel flap, for reasons mentioned above. I’m definitely a bigger fan of Wendy’s patterns now, having knit a couple and enjoyed them. They’re well-written and easy to understand.

    Fleece Artist is one of my favorite manufacturers–their base yarns are nice and their colors are really great. However, with these socks, I found myself thinking that the colors looked nicer in the skein. I don’t dislike the end result, but I thought the colors would interact differently once knitted up. Also, curiously, one of my socks is noticeably darker than the other–even though both socks came from the same skein. That was kind of weird, but it’s only really visible on the foot/sole portion, so I’m not overly bothered by it.

    As for current WIPs…I just started a shawl, but I’m sure I’m not bored with socks yet since I’ve got another one on the needles. :)

    Category: Knitting | Tags: | 2 Comments

  6. more vanilla socks! (& the final word on school)

    May 29, 2010 by sassenach

    First things first–in my previous post, I mentioned some school drama, which thankfully has been resolved! To make a long story short–I applied for graduation back in January and my school approved my application in February. I finished my classes earlier this month, so to my knowledge I had unofficially graduated. When my grades were posted, I pulled up my student record to make sure that all my grades had been applied to my transcript. But when I did, my record showed ONE outstanding course. ummmm? :eek: So I went back and forth with the college trying to get an answer and finally got one: whoever advised me in February made an error, so they waived the final course and I really have graduated! My degree will be awarded on 5/30. PHEW! I really didn’t want to have to take one more class, so thankfully I don’t have to now.

    On to pleasanter things, such as yarn and knitting and socks!

    Tess' Designer Vanilla Socks WornVanilla Socks in Tess’ Designer Yarns, unmarked colorway
    @ Ravelry

    I love these socks! The yarn was so nice to work with–in my mind, the base yarn seems like a cross between Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock and Wollmeise sock, if that makes sense. It’s slightly thicker than Lorna’s but softer than Wollmeise. Either way, it has great stitch definition and I think these will wear well. Also, I made the cuffs pretty tall and had a bunch of yardage left over. This is a yarn I’d definitely knit with again.

    I’m still on a sock kick and I’ve got another pair (in a different yarn) almost off the needles–it’s so fun to be making socks again! :)

    Category: Knitting, Miss Education | Tags: | 2 Comments

  7. embossed leaves & vanilla socks

    May 16, 2010 by sassenach

    Sooooo, this weekend I had some school drama, which I won’t know more about until I call the advising office tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I am distracting myself with knitting and other pleasantries.

    I have some sock FOs to share!

    Embossed LeavesEmbossed Leaves in Madelinetosh Tosh Sock, colorway Windowpane
    @ Ravelry

    Embossed Leaves is one of my favorite sock patterns. It’s simple lace and the motif is really pretty. I don’t normally knit sock patterns more than once, but this has become my favorite go-to lace sock pattern. This was my first time knitting with Madelinetosh Tosh Sock and I really like it. It’s somewhat pricier than other sock yarns–I bought it from The Loopy Ewe at $24.50/skein, but I’ve seen it elsewhere for $26/skein. However, the yardage and stitch definition are excellent and I’d like to work with it again.

    Interlacements Vanilla SocksVanilla Socks in Interlacements Tiny Toes, colorway Fireplace Embers
    @ Ravelry

    Thanks to the Knitmore Girls, I’ve decided to embrace the simplicity of the vanilla socks. I started this pair before Maryland Sheep & Wool and finished them at the after party. These socks were all about trial and error. I modified the number of cast-on stitches (64 instead of 56). But I ran into some difficulty at the heel flap, which I wound up making too long, which resulted in a really large gusset/top-of-foot section. The socks still fit, but for the vanilla socks I’m currently making, I made the heel flap shorter, which produces a much better result. However, I do like the pattern as a guideline for plain socks; I just had to make some modifications to get the best fit for my feet. With my mods, I plan to knit many more pairs of vanilla socks.

    Category: Knitting | Tags: | 2 Comments

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