OhSewCrafty

FO: Kernel Scarf + Christmas Baking

• Pattern: by Bonnie Sennott, from Knitty Fall 2009
• Yarn: Handmaiden Silk Twist, Stardust, almost 1 entire skein (437 yds)
• Needles/Size: 9.5" wide x 61.5" long, on US 4 needles
• Time to knit: 12 days in October/November 2009

 

This is a great pattern; I love the diamond lace and the bead detail on each end.  The chart is clear, though I had trouble memorizing the stitch pattern.  I think that was due to the fact that my home was in major upheaval at the time due to unexpected repairs and renovation.  In fact this project helped preserve my sanity.  As for the yarn, it's possibly the nicest yarn I've ever knit with.  Supremely soft, wonderful drape, subtle shimmer, and it also feels sturdy, unlike many fancy fingering weight yarns.  Silk Twist is ideal for anything worn next to the skin.  The hand-dyed colorway, Stardust, is a subtle meld of blues and grays.  Next time I need a luxurious hand dyed, I'll definitely take a look at the Handmaiden line.  

 

For the finishing, I used the blocking wires that my parents gave me for Christmas.  I soaked the scarf in warm soapy water, rinsed, then spun it out in a salad spinner.  I threaded the wires through the edges but by the time I got it all laid out and pinned down under tension, the scarf was pretty much dry.  So I spritzed it and steamed it.  A day later, it was dry, I removed the wires and the size remained static, the lace open and flat.  Probably not a surprise to those who knit a lot of lace, but for me it seemed like a miracle as I've only knit a few large lace pieces in the past, and none of those projects really blocked successfully, perhaps due to yarn choice (why oh why did I knit my diamond fantasy scarf in cotton?).  It was a chilly twilight when these photos were taken, but here's one more to show that the scarf is indeed long enough to wear folded.

 And now for something completely different, the Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart I made for Christmas dinner.  The recipe is by Barefoot Contessa and it's just fabulous, part of my winter holiday repertoire.  I've never been a big fan of pumpkin pie, but this dessert has a much lighter texture and brighter taste due to a few notes of citrus.  It was delicious, as usual.  Merry Christmas!  

 

FO(s): Twilight Set!

• Pattern: Phenomenon by Carine Ancel (free on Ravelry)
• Yarn: Same as above, used double stranded, 406 yds
• Needles/Gauge: 3.5 spi in stockinette on US 10
• Time to knit: 1 week in Nov/Dec 09 (off and on)

 I am inordinately excited about these mittens, which happen to be my first mittens ever.  They are a copy from the car crash scene in Twilight, and also made an appearance on the beach in New Moon.  The pattern is excellent, I made the first one using the written directions then worked the second one from the chart, which was much faster, probably because I knew what I was doing.  There is a minor error in the last 2 rows of the written finger directions, and the final row of the thumb chart is misleading.  The crisscross pattern on the palm/thumb looks really cool but it took some time and frogging to learn how to read my knitting and execute it properly.  It definitely did not help that I started with the palm pattern in a very dark room (dark room + dark yarn + fiddly stitch pattern = disaster).

The mittens are very warm.  I do wonder about their practicality, as I don't live in the arctic or anything, but hey I'm always cold so I'll make it work.  They did come in handy, when cleaning up after our first snowstorm of the year.  For the daily commute, when I need to take them on and off while wearing a coat, not so much.  The yarn is a serviceable, basic wool, but I found it splitty.   Knitting it double stranded was annoying.  I feel like I spent as much time untangling the yarn as I did knitting it.  I had to cut it a few times, but that's no biggie as it spit splices like a dream.  In fact, I'm worried that these will felt with wear, but time will tell, eh?  Next time I'd just use a bulky, but this time, hooray for stash reduction! 

• Pattern: Bella Hat (new version) by Nancy Frye
• Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, dk grey mix, 105yds
• Needles: Size 7, 6 for bottom hem
• Time to knit: 3 days in November 2009

 

This little hat, a copy of that which Bella wore during the "La Push" scene in Twilight, is a fast, easy knit.  My gauge was a trifle small (like 19.5 st/4"), so I knit the medium size, and put a few extra rows in the third section before beginning the decreases, to get a hat that would fit my rather small head and also accommodate my hair when I wear it up.  I"m not crazy about the decreases, which are abrupt enough to create a little spikiness when worn- this is less noticeable when my hair is up because the volume stretches it out.  The pattern calls for bulky yarn knit on 7s to get a gauge of 19 st/4".  I swatched, doubling the worsted weight yarn to obtain a bulky, and got about 16 st/4" on 7's; the fabric was thick and unflexible.  I don't like the idea of knitting a bulky weight at worsted gauge anyway, so I knit the hat single-stranded and I'm happy with it.  It's probably not as warm, but it's more comfortable and drapes better.

WIP Update: Vivian again

So I'm finally done with the body on Vivian.  Sorry for the slightly blurry mirror shot but I'm exhausted, hence lazy photography.  I detest long drives on holidays but I suppose they are good for something- I tend to be highly productive on my knits when trapped in the car!  I've started the hood and should be on a track for a finish before Christmas, despite gift crafting commitments.  I'm so glad that I found an extra 2 balls of my yarn in the proper dyelot; not exactly the easiest feat as the color is discontinued.  I'm into the last of the 10 balls I originally bought, so I think the yarn requirements are a bit short, at least for the 34" size, 1080 yds definitely isn't going to cut it for me.  Re: sizing, the 34" seems tiny; I'm counting on some growth when blocking.  On the other hand, the sweater is insanely warm, so I can't imagine wearing anything more than a t shirt under it.  Vivian is too big to carry around, so I knit up a few hats, etc recently.  Pictures soon, I hope!

My love affair with Twist Collective

So, I am a Twist fangirl.  Go check out my guest blog, the November 19, 2009 post, here, if you're so inclined. 

WIP Update: Vivian

Vivian is coming along, slowly but surely.  I'm done with the body up the armholes, and the left sleeve.  The sleeve was on hold for a while since my row gauge in seed stitch was seriously shrinking down when knitting in the round on dpns.  I ripped the sleeve in progress twice before settling on size 9 needles and a few mods to improve the fit, especially in the lower arm. 

According to the pattern, you start with bell sleeves, flared to accommodate the hand, decrease down to a small diameter for the wrist, and then work even for ~6.5" before beginning increases for the upper arm.  This wasn't working for me- my lower arms start getting bigger about 2.5" above my wrist.  The tight lower sleeve was creating an encased sausage effect- so not attractive.  So I started my increases after working even ~2.5".  I did the number of increase rounds that the pattern directed, spacing them more widely, so that I finished my increases on the same round as the last pattern increase round.  I'm really pleased with the fit now.  If you want more details, feel free to ask or check my project notes on Rav.  It was a simple modification and would probably work for most people, I think the shape of my arms is pretty average. 

I'm working on the right sleeve now and it's coming along quickly.  I think I need a new project, as this project is approaching a point where it's all in one piece and therefore too big too carry around.  Hmm.... I'm considering casting on for Lorelai, for which I have gloss dk stashed, or maybe working on a vest for participation in Vestvember...

New WIP: Kernel

I really wanted a new scarf, so I nominated this free pattern from the recent Knitty for the SKC's 4th quarter KAL, and was happily surprised when it became one of the winners.  I chose the Stardust colorway, but unfortunately it was out of stock in the called for yarn (Mini Maiden) at Colorsong.  So, I got a skein of the Silk Twist instead.  Silk Twist supposedly has a subtle glittery effect (from the slender thread of silk wound around the wool), and I''m not really seeing that, perhaps it will be more apparent after blocking.  Regardless, the yarn is incredibly soft and feels stronger than one might expect since it's so skinny.  It has a nice firm twist and lovely, subtle color variegation.  My friend Laura said that after knitting with this yarn, my next project would feel like sandpaper and I believe she's right!

The pattern is straight forward, but not exactly easy.... I didn't really have the lace pattern memorized until the last few repeats.  I did my grafting a little differently, after another raveler had trouble getting an invisible join.   I won't say this is errata, since I didn't try it as written in pattern, but I know my way works: work to row 2 of the beaded band on the scarf body, leaving 1 yd tail (end with RS row), work to row 3 of the beaded band on the upper edging (end with WS row), then follow grafting instructions as written with the tail from the scarf body, which should be on the right side of the work as you hold the scarf body against the upper edging, wrong sides together, the upper edging facing you.  Note: I'm never happy with my grafting on the first try, especially in garter stitch, and I continued fussing with the tension after taking this picture, just to get it even.  The graft looks better now, but you'll have to take my word for it.

Ok, so this isn't exactly a new WIP... I started it about 10 days ago, and the knitting is complete.  The night I casted on, a hot water pipe sprung a leak and flooded my living room.  Since then, my condo has been turned upside down.  So I have no place to block it at the moment, but I hope I can finish it soon.

FO: Vine Yoke Cardi

• Pattern by Ysolda Teague, Twist Collective Fall 2009
• Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool, kettle dyed color #55, 2.9 skeins (700 yds)
• Size/Gauge: 34" (0 ease), 4 spi in garter on US 9's
• Time to knit: 12 days in Sept/Oct 2009

Here's my latest, part of the SKC 4th quarter KAL.  The knitting is fast, and it's no surprise that the pattern is quite popular on Rav.  The pattern is well written, with no errata (I was working with the 2nd version, issued 9/15/09).  I had a hard time finding cast on that was neither too tight nor too lose, plus made an invisible transition to the garter stitch, but eventually I did a knitted cast on with size 8 needles (1 size smaller), twisting each st before I placed it on the left needle.  The hardest part for me was keeping track of my progress when the directions are essentially "work even for 100 rows".  A lockable and removable stitch marker came in handy, to mark the beginning of such sections at the bottom hem, and then I only had to count the number of repeats of the vine pattern.   The garment looked tiny, and especially short, while in progress, but I was able to easily block it to size.

The yarn is a middle of the road (not too soft, not too rough) wool with 4 plies, that I would knit much tighter than the suggested gauge of 4.5 spi if I were knitting stockinette.  I got gauge of 4 spi in garter on 9's, but the finished fabric is rather lightweight and thin.  This works fine for me, I think it may decrease the stretching over time, and it seems like more of a fall sweater anyway, with the shorter sleeves.  It's still warm!  My only problem with the yarn is that the skein used for the back had much more variegation than the other skeins (which is to say, the other skeins were almost completely solid).  I was worried that the two fronts would look mismatched, but thankfully only the one skein differed from the others.  In the end, I used way less yardage than pattern requirements.  The buttons are from G Street Fabrics.

The pattern was repetitive at times, but it's so quick that it never became a slog.  I found the sideways construction novel and fun.  Also, there's very little finishing, so if you hate sewing seams, this may be one for you.  I like the style; fun, young, and a bit quirky.

New WIP: Vivian

Here's my newest project, Vivian by Ysolda Teague.  I've got about 12" done on the body, and I'm not convinced that I have  enough yarn... I have the amount called for, but I think it will be close.  I'm using Plymouth Tweed in color #5319, dark ocean teal.  I love the yarn!  It's a traditional tweed, but softer than some, and it makes a firm fabric that will be helpful in this jacket-type garment.  The yarn has a bit of veggie matter, but it wasn't enough to really annoy me.  (I measure this sort of thing relative to Noro Kureyon, with which I knitted a sweater and meanwhile picked out enough twigs, straw, etc to build a small bird's nest.  That got on my nerves!)  By the way, the true color is somewhere in between these two.  It's practically impossible to get good photos in my condo at night, but as I never seem to be home during daylight hours, these will have to do.    

The first time I saw this pattern I noticed how the large central seed stitch panel in the back called attention to the model's rear.  Depending on one's body type, this may be the desired effect.  But for  someone like me, who wishes to minimize the junk in the trunk, it wasn't going to work.  Nevertheless, I liked the pattern, so I decided to "make it work".  Basically I reworked the back of the garment, so that the two large cable elements were more central, and there were three seed stitch panels, instead of one large central one.  I distributed the decrease rows evenly, so that some decreased the side panels, while others decreased the center.  By the time I got through all the decrease rows, my stitches were distributed as per pattern, and I followed along without further modification.   I'm really enjoying this project- it's not exactly a quick knit, and it does require some concentration, but it's fun.

FO: Uhura

• Pattern: by Connie Chang Chinchio, Twist Collective Summer 2009
• Yarn: Elann Callista (50 viscose/25 cotton/25 linen), 4.6 balls in "Boysenberry"
• Size/Gauge: 33.5" (slight negative ease)/ 5.75 spi in Stockinette on US 3, US 4 for the lace
• Time to knit: 12 days in September 2009

Here's my last summer FO for 2009, and my final project for the SKC 3rd quarter knitalong, for which incidentally I won a prize.  I'm not sure how the winners were determined, but I was most happy with my prize, three of Connie's independently published designs.  As for Uhura, thankfully today was warm enough, in the 80s, so that I could get outdoor photos. 

The pattern was easy and fun.  The racer back was a fun and somewhat unexpected detail.  I found the shaping a bit odd- it seems that the bust shaping (decreases) starts at a point that would be above the biggest part of the bust (only 1/2" down from the horizontal band at high bust).  I considered moving the shaping down and/or adding short rows, but ultimately decided against it.  A secure fit around the bust is a good thing for a tank top, especially one with a keyhole.   As for mods, I knit stockinette selvages throughout- I find these easier to work with than garter, and I made a regular picot hem (yo,k2tog across) because I preferred it.  I skipped the crochet edging because it seemed unnecessary.

The yarn... well I already wrote about my gauge issues.  When blocking, I found that the stockinette portion of the garment had shrunk both widthwise and legthwise after a soak in lukewarm water.  I was baffled- my swatch on US 3 needles had grown!   Before blocking-33.5" bust, 15" long.  After soaking- 30" bust, 13" long.  Some aggressive reshaping was necessary.  Aside from that, Callista is a lightweight cotton blend with good stitch definition and drape, excellent for lace.  

Overall, knitting success!  The style is pretty and a bit unusual.  The arrowhead lace pattern is cool.  The weather is rapidly cooling off, but I'm sure this will be a favorite next summer.

New WIP: Vine Yoke

I started this pattern on Tuesday last week, and on Thursday the SKC chose the pattern (among others) for the 4th quarter KAL.  Fortuitous!  I'm using Araucania Nature Wool in the smoky purple colorway, which is slightly semisolid-some balls more than others.  The yarn is rather thin-for stockinette, I'd probably use a gauge of 5.25-5.5 spi- but I got gauge (16 st/32 rows/4") on US 9's.  The sweater in progress looks and feels small, but I'm sure this will grow both in blocking and wearing.  The construction is side to side, shaped with short rows, and fun in a novel way.  Aside from the vine pattern, the sweater is garter stitch.  This is the first time I've used garter in any extensive way since I learned to knit with undyed Lion Brand Fisherman's wool and massive size 15 plastic needles.  The pattern was a garter stitch beanie knit flat and seamed (it was a teach-yourself kit from Michael's).  So yes, I typically shy away from garter stitch because I think horizontal ridges running around the body tend to be unflattering.  In Vine Yoke, however, the ridges are vertical.  Ingenious!