Spooky knits!

Bitterroot, revisited, and charming socks!*

Spooky — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:31:29 +0000

As promised, here are a few additional pictures of the Bitterroot shawl I detailed in the previous post. It does seem to have relaxed a bit post-blocking and I will block it more aggressively next time to allow for this.

This one is the truest representation of the color. It is definitely more purple than blue.

A close-up of the beading:

I am now knitting the second of a pair of Hermione’s Everyday Socks (free pattern available here). I love this pattern. It is simple, easily memorizable, and looks great. It reminds me of a waffle knit which, to me, is the most comfortable garment IN LIFE and I am actually wearing a waffle knit pajama top AT THIS VERY MOMENT. The pattern is written to be knit with 2 circular needles but I don’t know how to do that and prefer to knit on DPNs so I have just adapted it to that and things have been fine thus far. I am about midway through the gusset decreases and should have a finished pair to show off later this week, if all goes well.

Knit happy!

*Get it? ‘Charming’ socks? Hermione? Harry Potter? Spells and charms? Heh.

FO: Bitterroot shawl

Spooky — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:07:11 +0000

This post has been a bit delayed only because I have been working nearly every day and haven’t had the opportunity to take pictures of the shawl in natural light. I still don’t have a great ‘action’ shot but I am hoping to get that in the near future (as soon as I, you know, find the battery to the camera and charge it and get a day off).

To recap, this is Bitterroot shawl (full-size), pattern available here.
Yarn: malabrigo lace (AWESOME), in cuarzo colorway. I used 1 skein and just a bit of the second.
Needles: size 6 circular (KP harmony tips)
Beads: cheap variety pack from Michael’s. I think they were $3.99. I used an itty-bitty crochet hook to add them after I worked the stitch rather than pre-stringing them.

I blocked on wires. I probably could have stretched the shawl out a bit more but I ran out of room on the dining room table. Must devise a different method for my next big lace project.

Blocking pics:

And a close-up:

These pics were taken with my HTC Thunderbolt. It wasn’t until enlarging (embiggening?) them that I realized how poor quality they truly are. Or maybe it is this screen. Not sure. Regardless I will update with better pics in the near future.

I have cast on for a pair of socks, am nearly through the body repeats on the first (knitting top down on DPNs).

I’ve also decided (foolishly, perhaps) that my next shawl will be Rock Island, knitted in a variegated blue laceweight. I plan to wind some yarn today (still hoping for a swift and ball-winder, hopefully this year!).

There is lots of knitterly stuff going on and that makes me happy.

WIP: Bitterroot shawl

Spooky — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:14:55 +0000

I’m nearly finished with my first FO of 2012, , from Knitty’s winter issue 2009. I started this back in July of last year but last year was a poor knitting year with no finished items to speak of due to a mysterious and intense chronic pain syndrome that I now know is fibromyalgia (and my pain and happiness level is much improved with appropriate medication, thank God for my rheumatologist!). This shawl is, I think, my first full-sized shawl (I am partial to the smaller shawlettes for fashion and also for ease of knitting) and also my first beaded one. I have discovered that my true joy is knitting lace — the more challenging, the better, with nupps and beads and fancy edgings, etc. The problem is I’m not exactly the shawl-wearing type and I wouldn’t know what to do with a stockpile of lacey shawls. Hmmm.
At any rate, this one is finished. I have to cast off and soak and block it and I hope to do that this evening when we are back from Annapolis. I will update with full project details then but it is knit from malabrigo lace (lovely, smooshy yarn and I need more of it, MUCH MORE) on size 6 circular needles with multicolor beads picked up from Michael’s. I did fall in love with a pinky-purple crystal japanese seed bead but they came in tiny little tubes and I needed 500 or so of them and it didn’t seem economical so I bought a coordinating variety pack instead. I actually bought 3 of them, underestimating the number of beads per pack. I still have the receipt so I will probably return the other 2.
Here is a sneak peek:

Pretty, right?
What is next? I’ve been wanting to start a circular shawl for years. I like to do a ‘palate cleanser’ of sorts between big complicated projects but the unseasonably warm weather is not inspiring me to knit mittens or a scarf or hat. Perhaps a beret with the remainder of the malabrigo, I have nearly an entire skein left.

2012 will be a good year, filled with many FOs and good knitting mojo. <3

Nothing to see here.

Spooky — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 17:59:22 +0000

Well, at least nothing you haven’t seen before. I frogged the emmaline in progress after I tried it on and it was WAY too big. I ripped it all the way back and started over and am currently in the middle of the raglan increases. I have 4 more sets of increases, I think, before I separate the sleeves from the body. After the sleeves are done I will try it on again and hopefully this will be a better fit.
I’m not sure I’ll try it a third time if it isn’t.
So I have a sweater in progress but it looks exactly the same as the last time I showed you so I won’t bother with putting another pic up. I spent this morning doing household chores so I could knit without guilt this afternoon and that is what I intend to do.
Tomorrow we will be cleaning out the closet in the spare room and probably taking up the carpet. I peeked underneath and was surprised to see that there is tile underneath the carpet and underneath the tile is subflooring and then the original hardwood. It is a most unfortunate sandwich of poor flooring choices. If the tile is in good shape I’ll probably leave it and if it isn’t then maybe we will pick up a carpet remnant to cover it. Ah, the joys of 100-year-old houses.

FO: Brandywine Shawl

Spooky — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:53:45 +0000

This was a little thing I did to help Haiti. I also donated money directly to the cause, of course, but I bought this pattern because I thought it was pretty and also because the money was going to help the Haiti effort. It took me longer to knit than was really necessary but I lost my knitting mojo in the middle of the project and let it languish in the living room knitting basket for a couple of months.
To recap, this is Brandywine shawl, knit with Knitpicks Stroll kettle dyed sock yarn in gold on size 6 needles.
I pinned it out and blocked it yesterday. I ran wires through all three sides of the triangle and pinned out the bottom point and let it dry overnight. I didn’t take pictures of that, though.
I rarely take pictures of shawls on my body (just because I am usually alone and it is difficult) but here is a decent one (it also makes me laugh that you can see half of my dog in the background):

On the porch after this morning’s rainstorm:

A picture that shows a bit of the drape and the smooshy garter stitch section:

It’s pretty. I’m happy with it. It is warmer than most lace items because of the thicker yarn and smaller needles and the large garter stitch section in the center but it will be good for this fall/winter.

In other news, I found the sweater. Will be working on that while deciding what lace item to cast on next.

FO: Annis shawl

Spooky — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:56:33 +0000

This shawl is more of a shawlette. It is a very shallow crescent which is perfect for wrapping around the shoulders or perhaps around the neck and tucked into a light spring or fall jacket.
I blocked it with straight pins. After soaking it for half an hour or so I pinned it to the blocking board, starting with the far edges and then the bottom center point. I pinned out the top edge a bit to prevent scalloping the top while pulling and pinning out the bottom.

I let it dry overnight and discouraged the cat from sleeping on it as much as possible. The unpinning and photographing (and weaving and trimming of ends, I do that after blocking) happened early this morning. I particularly love this one:

And this one makes me happy I spent so much time on those perky little nupps:

It is so delicate and sheer, I love it. I am very pleased with this project. It was an easy, mindless knit with a great result.
Next up: blocking Brandywine. I will do that today. I imagine I might also cast on for something new. But what?

A good day.

Spooky — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:27:00 +0000

The pattern I am knitting, Annis, is a crescent-shaped shawl described as ‘piquant’ (which, according to Knitty, means ‘A little something for the seasoned knitter. Daring but not exhausting’). I’d say this is overestimating the difficulty. The lace rows were simple but there were nupps involved which tend to freak people out. The rest of the shawl is simple knitting and purling with short rows. It’s definitely a TV/movie knitting project.
This morning I knit while watching The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I have seen quite a few Philip Kaufman films lately.
I’m almost through with the short row section which essentially means that I’m nearly finished with the shawl.

This yarn is very soft and is kettle-dyed so there is a bit of color variation. I like how there is a subtle striping effect in the body of the shawl. I am looking forward to seeing this blocked.
Speaking of blocking supplies, I still haven’t received the blocking wires I ordered. For some reason they shipped separately from everything else. I did receive the yarn (because I had to have enough in my cart to qualify for free shipping and there is always room for more laceweight) and it was not what I expected. I ordered ‘deep waters’ thinking it was a deep, murky marine suitable for a Shipwreck shawl. What I received was this vibrant, royal blue yarn:

I’m sure this would work but it wouldn’t be what I pictured which is really what I want for that shawl — a deep, murky color with a bit of glittery beads like grains of sand or light dancing on water. Perhaps I’ll use it to make Forget-Me-Not; I received that pattern in a swap last year and have it around here somewhere. Or maybe I’ll use it for something more ambitious, I have 3 skeins of it after all.
Still, I’m disappointed it isn’t what I had envisioned.

In non-knitting news, today I baked blondies loosely based on Dorie Greenspan’s recipe. I ran a bit low on chocolate chips so I used what I had and added sweetened, shredded coconut; roasted, salted almonds; pecans. I’m thinking they will still be good.

There was also time for a rousing game of tug.

Life is good.

Nupps!

Spooky — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:56:53 +0000

I love the way nupps look in a finished shawl — cute and perky, lace’s version of a bobble. I fell in love with them when I made the Percy shawlette. I do not, however, love making them.
It’s a bit fiddly, really, figuring out how to make 1 stitch into 7 and back into 1 and being able to purl all those loops together on the return row. I know some smart knitters have figured out how to do this with a crochet hook but I’m the first to say I am hopeless with a hook. I even do a provisional cast on without it. I do it with an extra needle in the mix to prevent the loops from shortening too much and for ease of purling on the return rows. It works, though, so I don’t mind doing it even if it’s quite time consuming.
The lace chart is finished and I will be starting on the short rows this afternoon, as much as I can do before I’m sucked into the black hole of work tonight and not spat out until Sunday.
The malabrigo lace is nice but it is a bit uneven and slubby. This is a quality I’ve noticed in the worsted and sock weights as well so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.
Here are the nupps — a bit overly loopy but that all blocks out in the end.

In other news, Benny had surgery yesterday. Here he is resting on the couch and generally looking pitiful:

He had a rough night last night — wasn’t eating or drinking although he did take his pain medication. Today he is back to normal and I am struggling to restrict jumping and running (he is not supposed to romp around for 1 week — really? a lab not romp? Is this possible?).

Emmaline (and how the author can no longer count in multiples of ten).

Spooky — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:30:14 +0000

My Brandywine shawl is still exactly as it was in the last post, folded neatly and tucked into a knitting bag. I placed an order for blocking boards and wires so I will give it a proper blocking when that is delivered.
I cast on for Emmaline with Comfy bulky yarn from KP in honeydew (which is much closer to celadon). I swatched with 10s, 10.5s, and 11s and was closest with the 11s so that’s what I used. I have knitted through most of the raglan shaping and am up to the sleeve portion. I need size 11 DPNs to do the sleeves and so I’m waiting for those as well. I did try it on this morning and I’m hoping the sleeves add a bit of structure and take away from the neckline a bit or it will end up being entirely too big. With bulky yarn and big needles it is a quick knit and I won’t mind (too much) ripping back and starting over.
With that in mind, here is a pic so far:

In the interim I’ve cast on for Annis, also from Knitty, with a skein of malabrigo lace in Polar Moon (it is the top skein in the following pic):

It is a looooong cast on and I used a simple knitted cast on and somehow forgot how to count. I am missing 10 stitches. I could lose a stitch repeat and futz the numbers later at the short rows and stockinette portion, or I could unravel and start over. Knowing my perfectionist knitter’s heart I imagine I’ll do the latter. I’m only 3 rows in, after all. It is discouraging to imagine casting on all 363 stitches again but it will be worth it in the long run.

This weekend I am supposed to be seeing Splice. I should actually be there now but the friend I’m going with is getting a cut and color at the salon that apparently has run over a bit. So we’ll go to the 7 pm showing instead. Tomorrow we are going to Ocean City for the air show. Monday is back to work as usual.
Sigh.

Not quite an FO post.

Spooky — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:18:28 +0000

But almost. I cast off the brandywine shawl this afternoon while watching ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (thoughts: I love Meryl Streep and I covet the dark chocolate color of Anne Hathaway’s hair). I did the reverse i-cord bind off called for in the pattern and it took some time but the result was lovely.
It is finished but for blocking and weaving in ends. I snapped a quick pic outside (it is storming here and so humid I am surprised you cannot see the steam rising from the porch) but will save the blocking for tomorrow.

I will say this: I am happy it is ~~done~~ almost done and I am eager to cast on for something else. Coming up: Emmaline and the Annis shawl, both from the most recent issue of Knitty.