FO: Bedazzled Christmas Stocking

The next Christmas stocking in my queue was this one,  a “Vintage 1945” stocking.  More sequins had been added than the original pattern called for. Again, this stocking was a “Make one exactly like the original” except I managed to find the pattern online, which made life much easier. I did check that the pattern and the stocking matched before starting to knit and then verified along the way that what I was knitting corresponded to the original.

John’s stocking was the commission, while Stefanie’s was the original.  Finding the multicolored star sequins took FOREVER. I went to every single craft store in a 20 mile radius (or so it seemed) until I went on-line and discovered that Jo-Ann’s only carried them on their website. So I had to pay $5 in shipping for a $.63 purchase. Argh.

Again, matching both stitch and row gauge was difficult, but for two different knitters creating the stockings at different points in time with different yarn, I got as close as I could.

 

FO: Baby Gifts

Friends and family members have been busy having babies this year which equals a lot of baby gift knitting for me.  A few poor infants have not even received their gifts even though they were born first.

Jamie’s best friend Brad and his wife had their first baby at the end of July and I was actually prepared. Mostly.  I had a blanket and a toy knit way back in April for him except that I hadn’t assembled the toy.  I procrastinated on that for a few weeks and got their package out the door only a month late.

Pattern: Vinny V from Knit a Monster Nursery by Rebecca Danger

Yarn: Cascade Heritage in Orange and Anis with yellow scraps

Needles: US 1 or 0 – I can’t remember.  I went down in yarn size to make him smaller for tinier hands to hold more easily.

The blanket was an old favorite at the Woolie Ewe – 4 balls of Berroco Plush Colors, each color block using 1 ball. Uber-soft and easy-care,  it is also easy-knit!

Needles: US 11

Pattern:  CO 80 (?) sts and work in garter stitch until there is no more yarn.

Yarn: Berocco Plush Colors, 1 ball each of 4 colors

 

What a Backlog

I have so many finished things to share! One of the reasons I haven’t been posting is because I’ve been knitting so much. Mostly commissioned things, but you’d still like to see all the varieties of Christmas stockings I’ve knit this year, yes?

It cracks me up in a knitterly sort-of way whenever I get handed a knitted item and am then asked to “make one exactly like it” without a written pattern.  I have to roll my eyes, but I do try to replicate things as much as possible. Including some of the poor choices the original knitter made. (Hey, if you want one exactly like it, the crappy cast-on is what you’re looking for, right?)

So, these two stockings were part of the “make one exactly like it” series, although the name needed to be changed on one of them. When knitting these sort of things I wonder about the people who receive them. For instance, does Laura Jean actually want both her names on her stocking? Why does Joey not have a middle name? Did Joey marry into Laura Jean’s family? If their birthdates are so close to mine, why haven’t they learned to knit so they can make their own Christmas stockings?

The middle stocking is the original. I wasn’t able to match both the stitch and row gauge exactly, but I got as close as I could. They’ll stretch out a bit in length if they are hung with anything in them. 

 

FO: Larch Cardigan

For once, the yarn and pattern purchased for each other were actually knit together and the project was started fairly quickly after the purchase.  The sweater body worked up fairly quickly but then got set aside as other projects needed to be started or deadlines approached. It sat for all of July, until early August when I decided to work the collar and front bands. I saved the sleeves to the end, which I didn’t work on until the final week of August.

I encountered a few areas within the pattern where I wasn’t sure what the directions meant, but I muddled through by looking at other project pictures on Ravelry.  My shawl collar ended up having a great many more stitches than the pattern called for, but since I didn’t check my row gauge against the pattern, a difference in that is the likely culprit.

The shawl collar was what initially drew me to this pattern – I’m not normally a big fan of cardigans that only have a closure at the top.  The overall classic shape of the cardigan and its clean look fit my style and I’m excited to have a new sweater just in time for autumn.

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino is one of my favorite yarns and the deep chocolate brown color complements the rest of my clothes nicely.

Pattern: Larch Cardigan by Amy Christoffers,

Size: 35″ (about 1″ negative ease at the bust)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino color #11, 10 balls

Needle: US 4

Mods: slightly shortened body length, knit the sleeves at the same time on one circular needle (so they would be finished at the same time).

 

FO: Gingham Baby Blanket

Baby blankets. meh. I’m not so keen on knitting baby blankets.  I usually choose to knit a toy or sweater for babies instead. But this pattern caught my eye and I wanted to try stranded colorwork with intarsia.  The baby blanket size seemed like the perfect size – not too small, not too big.  And so…

The only issue I had, which is pretty common, is that my stranded colorwork gauge is MUCH different than standard stockinette. The play between the two gauges pulls the knitting so the squares are not so square. More like bulging squares. I rather like the effect and I’m not sure (other than switching needles every stranded section. BLECH.) how to combat the gauge difference.

The pattern called for a single crochet edging, but my crochet consultant suggested a half-double instead, which is THE ONLY CROCHET STITCH I CAN EVER REMEMBER, so I readily agreed.  The half-double greatly reduced the curling of the edges.

Downside of this (as with all intarsia). LOADS of ends to weave in.

I got lazy near the end and just started weaving them in any which way.

Pattern: Gorgeous Gingham by Loren Cherensky, from 60 Quick Baby Blankets

Yarn: Cascade 128 Superwash, in Pacific (#1960) and Ecru

Needles: US 10

Mods: Half-double crochet edge

 

FO: Mudra Cuff

Well and hello again.  Erm…as usual, time has escaped me. I’m just going to jump back in.   Yesterday I knit this cuff/bracelet.  I’ve seen Laura Nelkin’s knitted jewelry come up on Ravelry, but me + jewelry = hmph.  But then….oh then I chatted with Laura at TNNA and came away thinking that I really should try knitting with beads and that her knitted jewelry was much more appealing in person and that I could actually now visualize myself wearing a bracelet or cuff.

I ordered a kit while I was ordering a pattern book on-line and both arrived yesterday.  And lo! this morning I wove in the ends with satisfaction.  The kit came with everything (except dpns) to make the cuff – beads, yarn, bracelet link, dental floss threader and pattern.  There is a video on her website demonstrating how to string the beads (easy peasy!).  From start to finish the whole project took less than 2 hours. BAZAAM! I  am now very intrigued by all of her other jewelry/accessory patterns with beads.

Both the process (learning beads!) and the product (finished project!) knitter were satisfied with this project.

And let me tell you – this knitted bracelet is much more comfortable when using a keyboard and mouse than any others I’ve given a (5 minute) try. The yarn is against my skin and is padding against the indent of the beads.

Pattern/Kit: Mudra Cuff by Laura Nelkin; colorway Cayenne

Kit included Sweet Georgia’s Tough Love Sock yarn (12 yds) and the size 6 and size 8 beads.

For whatever reason, I really love the right shade of orange as an accessory color.  It just adds a nice little pop of cheeriness without being overblown.  The other (two) bracelets that I own are also orange.

 

Hand Quilting

An unofficial goal for this year has been to delve more deeply into crafts that I’m interested in or have started something in many years ago.  Over the past year or so, I’ve begun the bad habit of collecting fabric, so now I have a yarn stash AND a fabric stash.  I’ve been interested in quilts for a long time, but they seem so daunting and large and precise.  Right before I started working full time at a LYS, I took a beginning quilt piecing class and came out with a bright and colorful quilt top that I am pretty sure I could not replicate without someone watching my fabric cuts to make sure they are straight.

This quilt top has been on a hanger in the closet since this class and I take it out every so often and think that I need to actually quilt the darn thing.  Quilting materials were on sale at a craft store this week and I discovered this TINY and SUPER-FRIENDLY quilt store less than a mile from my house, so Friday afternoon I pulled out the top, I pulled out batting and I pulled out backing and pin-basted all three things together, watched several on-line videos demonstrating how to hand quilt and off I went.

Straight lines are easiest, plus, I often find the quilting lines too distracting from the fabric design.  It’s pretty slow, I’m not great at always following the straight line and some of my stitches are quite large, but…I’m learning something new and I’m excited about all the ideas I have for all my fabrics.

(The two greens and I think the red fabric are from Mary Engelbreit. I have no idea about the orange, blue or yellow… they are also from five years ago)

 

FOs: Brownstone and Bend Hat

Catching up on the Christmas gift knitting…

My youngest brother, in August, sent me this text:  Want you to knit me a Christmas present. Ask next time you see me.

I, thinking it was from someone else (a knitting friend named Erika, my brother’s name being Eric and I being too lazy to read the “sent from” properly), thought it was a funny text and ignored it.  Then I came across it while looking for a different text and realized who it was actually from. I got really excited and texted Eric that very minute about it.  He…neglected to respond.  I finally managed to get an answer from him by calling my parents while he had stopped in to visit (Finnegan, of course, not my parents).  He wanted….

A Hat.

I tried to get some more specifics out of him, which was harder than trying to spit-splice bamboo, and at last got three essential pieces of information: Grey, beanie-esque, no brim.  And so with that I had to roll. This is about mid-October.  Plenty of time until Christmas, right?  Yep.

Since he asked for a hat, I, naturally, started looking at sweater patterns. I had 10 skeins of Berocco Vintage in Cracked Pepper in my stash – plenty for a sweater and a hat.   In early November, I settled on Brownstone by Jared Flood. Mostly stockinette stitch, with a nice shawl collar. I got through the body, up to the sleeve join, in 3 days, using the Cubix needles (they are square).   Then I realized that I did not have matching DPNs to knit the sleeves, so I put the project on hold while I waited for the needles to arrive.  Fast forward to early December.  I drove up to Indiana for my great-grandmother’s funeral, planning to stay through Christmas, so I had to pack ALL the knitting I needed for the next three weeks. I put off working on the sweater, decided on a hat pattern the day before I left and then didn’t feel like knitting for a week.

Once I got started on the sleeves, they went pretty quickly (and, yeah, I ended up working on them in front of Eric, but I told everyone I was knitting a sweater for myself) then the yoke and finally the collar…which I finished up mid-morning on Christmas Eve.  Then I remembered I still needed to knit the stinking hat.

I steam-blocked that while the rest of the family was at Mass Christmas morning. But all ends were woven in and everything was wrapped up in time for gift-giving.

He reluctantly let me take a picture later that afternoon.

Both fit perfectly…which I was very pleased about.  Knitting for a brother who has not requested one of the knit items is pretty risky.

Patterns: Brownstone by Jared Flood  and Bend Hat by Irina Dmitrieva

Yarn: Berocco Vintage Worsted in Cracked Pepper

Mods: I moved the neck opening of the sweater to be higher (level with the bottom of the armscye) and left off the toggles.  My gauge was also just a tiny bit tighter, which was okay, because Eric is pretty thin and the smallest size still had a TON of ease built into it.

I haven’t heard if he’s actually worn either item when I’ve not been around to witness it, so… I’m hoping that he wears them when I’m not there to placate.

 

FO: Midtown Skirt

I am doing a superlative job of procrastinating today and based on preferences, writing a terribly delinquent blog post ranks above almost everything else on my to-do list.

My great-grandmother died in early December (age: 97).  GG was the one who originally taught me to knit (purl, actually) and every single member of my extended family has at least ONE crocheted afghan from her.  I, lucky to be her oldest great-grandchild, have six: Crib, twin bed, XL twin\college, first apartment, wedding, plus one to spare.  When she gave Jamie and I the afghan for our wedding, she was delighted to find that it was long enough to cover Jamie head to feet (6’6″).  She told me she “just kept going and going and going” to make sure it was the right length.

I knit this skirt to wear to her funeral.  Both she and my grandmother loved red (in fact, my grandmother was notorious for her bright red lipstick and the stains it left on her coffee mugs) and my mom and I take after them (in that respect… my pie-making abilities, not so much).  I stopped buying red yarns for a while because I was only knitting red sweaters.

It is very toasty warm and I’ve worn it out a couple of other times.  Normally I don’t care too much for wearing skirts, but this one fits so nicely and isn’t too chilly.

The waistband has elastic inside it and a zipper opening on one side, but I don’t feel like the zipper is needed (for me at least).  I can pull this on and off  without unzipping.

Pattern: Midtown by Sandi Rosner

Yarn: Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock in American Beauty and Truffle

Mods: I left off the button/loop closure over the zipper

 

FO: Gramps Cardigan

This has been sitting around finished for at least two months…just waiting for buttons.  Buttons duly found..and then sewed on two weeks later, I can finally wear this sweater.  I tried wearing it with no buttons, but I was too cold without the front being closed.

I originally thought about silver buttons, but found some grey-ish blue buttons with a silver floral pattern.  They don’t detract from the Cable Magnificence, but they also aren’t Blah Boring.

I shortened the body by approximately 3 inches and added 1.5 inches to the arms.

Bluejays were making a ruckus in the wilderness nearby.

 

I really love the detail of the welts on the back – they add a lot to the finished item, making it look more polished and higher fashion.

Also, Saturday, I got my first real hair cut in 5 years! I’ve just been trimming the icky ends every so often, but I was getting tired of wearing it in a ponytail all the time, so  it all got cut off.  New sweater, new haircut!

Pattern: Gramps Cardigan (adult) by Kate Oates

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran, 12 balls (I think..I lost track for a while during the summer)

Needles: erhm…whatever the pattern said

Mods: shortened body, lengthened arms