My winter break is finally winding down and all that I can think about right now is what I'm going to knit next. There has been some drama with the whole boys and myself situation, and I find myself knitting, watching TV online, and eating French Truffles. Amazing therapy, I assure you.
I just finished my armwarmers in what I believe to be in record time so I'm going to start a scarf that will hopefully match with one of the jackets that I bought earlier this holiday.
Materials:
- Size 7 US straight needles
- Aslan trends Guanaco Color 37 (Looks like a natural color)
- Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran Color 200005 (Looks like a blue gray)
Scarf Pattern:
CO 27 sts
Work in 1x1 rib and 2 row stripes until length desired.
BO
THE END! Easy squeezy
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Hope Springs Eternal
In all honesty, part of the Natayla pattern is a free form adventure. I found that I do not fall into the category of "average" when it comes to most knitting patterns. In the end, I modify a pattern so that it fits me. Which is why I tend to do things like scarves, or hats, or things that are easily modified to fit me, which isn't all bad. But I have a problem when it comes to things that require fine-tuning for it to fit. Like the Natalya arm warmers.
Let me set the stage: I have already guessed/estimated/taken-a-stab-in-the-dark about the circumference of the pattern. I went down a needle size to compensate for the fact that I understand that I'm smaller than average. I work the pattern until I feel that it's time to work the thumb gusset.
The thumb gusset in the pattern is, well, really long. I do not have large hands, so I try it on and estimate that I should stop when I have approximately 9 gusset stitches. Then I realized that it's wayy too long, so I rip back and set it at 7.
I then estimate what's supposed to be the top of the hand. I apparently start on the wrong row or something, probably because I didn't do the thumb gusset the way that the pattern tells me to. So estimate that the top of the hand would be a repetition of 4 and an extra one (I probably should have done extra two instead).
Then I estimate the size of my fingers compared to the rest of the population that makes up "average." Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. That takes approximately 400 million eons to work out. I take up the normal 11 stitches for the index finger, then realize that I should probably decrease. Takes me 3 tries. I start with 11 and decrease to 8. Then my middle finger is taking 10 stitches and then keeping it that way; it took 5 tries to get that figured out. My ring finger uses 8 stitches and keeps it that way; that took 5 tries as well. The pinky needed to add two stitches to the leftover 6 stitches; that took 3 tries. The thumb needs me to add 3 to the 7 from the gusset; that took me 4 tries. All five fingers required me to rip out 20 times. I am learning to hate this project.
To add insult to injury, the fingers had gaps between them that needed to be repaired, stitches would fall when I ripped back, I needed to add yarn because there wasn't enough to go all the way for a finger...
And there's one more to go. I am not terribly excited about it. But the hope that through all this trial and error the left hand will go more smoothly and I can remember to cross the cable the other way.
Let me set the stage: I have already guessed/estimated/taken-a-stab-in-the-dark about the circumference of the pattern. I went down a needle size to compensate for the fact that I understand that I'm smaller than average. I work the pattern until I feel that it's time to work the thumb gusset.
The thumb gusset in the pattern is, well, really long. I do not have large hands, so I try it on and estimate that I should stop when I have approximately 9 gusset stitches. Then I realized that it's wayy too long, so I rip back and set it at 7.
I then estimate what's supposed to be the top of the hand. I apparently start on the wrong row or something, probably because I didn't do the thumb gusset the way that the pattern tells me to. So estimate that the top of the hand would be a repetition of 4 and an extra one (I probably should have done extra two instead).
Then I estimate the size of my fingers compared to the rest of the population that makes up "average." Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. That takes approximately 400 million eons to work out. I take up the normal 11 stitches for the index finger, then realize that I should probably decrease. Takes me 3 tries. I start with 11 and decrease to 8. Then my middle finger is taking 10 stitches and then keeping it that way; it took 5 tries to get that figured out. My ring finger uses 8 stitches and keeps it that way; that took 5 tries as well. The pinky needed to add two stitches to the leftover 6 stitches; that took 3 tries. The thumb needs me to add 3 to the 7 from the gusset; that took me 4 tries. All five fingers required me to rip out 20 times. I am learning to hate this project.
To add insult to injury, the fingers had gaps between them that needed to be repaired, stitches would fall when I ripped back, I needed to add yarn because there wasn't enough to go all the way for a finger...
And there's one more to go. I am not terribly excited about it. But the hope that through all this trial and error the left hand will go more smoothly and I can remember to cross the cable the other way.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Giving In
I would like to think that despite who I am and what I do, I'm a rather practical soul. I mean, it's not like I have my little, secret, in-the-closet-only joys, but there's always going to be a part of me that will demand that I be practical. It's not something that I can avoid, but it's not really something that I think that I should avoid at any rate.
Thus, leading me to my problem with arm warmers. I don't understand them, I really don't. I don't understand where they're supposed to sit on my forearm, I don't understand why they never have fingers, I don't understand how they're supposed to keep my hands and fingertips warm, et al. I just, don't get them. I understand why someone would make them. I usually wear long sleeves under the jacket in the long, cold Davis winters anyways, so the only part of me that really feels the cold isn't my arms, but my fingers. Arm warmers would warm the part of me that is already warm and leave my fingers to deal with the bitter cold. Granted, I'll admit that not having the whole mitten or a full glove gives far more finger mobility and usefulness, but fingers aren't useful if they've gone numb.
But I have given in because I found Natalya by Jody Pirrello. They're amazing. I'm overlooking the lack of full fingers, which I could add on my own, I'm overlooking the fact that getting them on when I'm wearing long sleeves will be a pain in the ass, I'm willing to overlook a lot of things. It's a quick knit and I'm doing it at a tighter gauge so that it'll fit better at the wrist. I'm enjoying it, we'll see if I can make it through two of them and not crap out half way.
Thus, leading me to my problem with arm warmers. I don't understand them, I really don't. I don't understand where they're supposed to sit on my forearm, I don't understand why they never have fingers, I don't understand how they're supposed to keep my hands and fingertips warm, et al. I just, don't get them. I understand why someone would make them. I usually wear long sleeves under the jacket in the long, cold Davis winters anyways, so the only part of me that really feels the cold isn't my arms, but my fingers. Arm warmers would warm the part of me that is already warm and leave my fingers to deal with the bitter cold. Granted, I'll admit that not having the whole mitten or a full glove gives far more finger mobility and usefulness, but fingers aren't useful if they've gone numb.
But I have given in because I found Natalya by Jody Pirrello. They're amazing. I'm overlooking the lack of full fingers, which I could add on my own, I'm overlooking the fact that getting them on when I'm wearing long sleeves will be a pain in the ass, I'm willing to overlook a lot of things. It's a quick knit and I'm doing it at a tighter gauge so that it'll fit better at the wrist. I'm enjoying it, we'll see if I can make it through two of them and not crap out half way.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Desperation
It's been raining hard here in Davis, and it's getting a mite nippy for my tastes. So I've started a scarf in the round for myself. It's in a dark, peacock color and a light, sky/winter blue color. I planned to do them in equal sized blocks. Then I realized that it would be harder than it looked. I knew that the stitch gauge was just about the same for both yarns, but I didn't check row gauge.
Then I started having gauge problems. I did the math for both sections after I noticed that the two blocks were of different sizes. Both were 6 roundss to an inch, so 26 roundss in one would equal 26 rounds in the other, right? Apparently not. Clearly, I was mistaken somehow, perhaps I was a quarter of a stitch off or something, but the sizes were still clearly different. So I measured again, the length of the peacock colored block was about 4.5 inches instead of 4.73 inches as calculated. But, I rolled with the punches, and measured the winter blue block. 5 inches. So I frogged back about 4 rows so that I would be somewhere in the ballpart of 4.5 inches. I was at 4 inches. So I just shrugged then knit the rounds back. Then it was back to 5 inches. I swear on my yarn that I had a very interesting "skip" in my knitting, just like there are in scratched CDs. A break in the time-space continuum. Something... But it has finally worked itself out with much flinging of tape measures and pillows.
I'm worried about this project and what it will do for my sanity.
Pattern:
In A, CO 42 sts, pm, join
Knit 26 rounds
Break A, switch to B
Knit 24-ish rounds
Repeat until length desired.
I love these plain, vanilla, stockinette scarves. Love them.
Then I started having gauge problems. I did the math for both sections after I noticed that the two blocks were of different sizes. Both were 6 roundss to an inch, so 26 roundss in one would equal 26 rounds in the other, right? Apparently not. Clearly, I was mistaken somehow, perhaps I was a quarter of a stitch off or something, but the sizes were still clearly different. So I measured again, the length of the peacock colored block was about 4.5 inches instead of 4.73 inches as calculated. But, I rolled with the punches, and measured the winter blue block. 5 inches. So I frogged back about 4 rows so that I would be somewhere in the ballpart of 4.5 inches. I was at 4 inches. So I just shrugged then knit the rounds back. Then it was back to 5 inches. I swear on my yarn that I had a very interesting "skip" in my knitting, just like there are in scratched CDs. A break in the time-space continuum. Something... But it has finally worked itself out with much flinging of tape measures and pillows.
I'm worried about this project and what it will do for my sanity.
Pattern:
In A, CO 42 sts, pm, join
Knit 26 rounds
Break A, switch to B
Knit 24-ish rounds
Repeat until length desired.
I love these plain, vanilla, stockinette scarves. Love them.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
SURPRISE!
So my latest project is on ravelry, the Persephone scarf by Smariek knits. Forgive me if I misspelled that.
But what I discovered today is that I was going through a box of my stuff that I moved after I moved out of the dorms, is that I have yarn in there! A lot of it! As in, a lot! And I don't really remember buying some of it. Should I worry about the size of my stash now? ^^;;
But what I discovered today is that I was going through a box of my stuff that I moved after I moved out of the dorms, is that I have yarn in there! A lot of it! As in, a lot! And I don't really remember buying some of it. Should I worry about the size of my stash now? ^^;;
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Danger! All Cals Hat!
Well, this hat was started for no particular reason other than the fact that I was going to be on a 4 hour car ride, one way, for a fencing tournament. I picked a random ball out of my stash and started knitting a hat. It's kinda sad that I didn't really finish it until lately, but that's alright, I guess. During the trip, I promised it to a member of my fencing team, Danger, I'd disclose his name, but I don't want to invade his privacy that way. But here is the pattern!
Note:
I did all of the cables without a cable needle. I'm not really sure how to explain but this website will help.
http://media.wendyknits.net/knit/leftcable.htm
Instead of using 3 stitches to slip, I did only 2. The cable uses only 4 stitches overall.
C4L = Cable. Put tip of right hand needle into the back of the 3rd and 4th stitches on the left hand needle. Slide all stitches off, catch 2 free stitches with left hand needle and slip the two that are on the right hand needle back onto the left hand needle. Now the order of stitches would be 4,3,1, 2 from the tip of the needle. K all stitches.
Materials:
- Size US 6 dpn
- 1 Ball Patons Classic Merino Wool in Natural Mix
- Yarn needle
Pattern:
1. With yarn, CO 100 stitches, pm, join without twisting.
2. Work in 1x1 rib for about 2 inches (Or until you get tired of it).
3. K2tog, then knit 2 rounds (99 stitches)
4. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
5. *P5, C4L, rep from * to end of round.
6. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
7. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
8. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
Rep 5 - 8 3 more times for a total of 4 repeats.
9. *P2tog, P3, C4L, rep from * to end of round.
10. *P4, K4, rep from * to end of round.
11. *P4, K4, rep from * to end of round.
12. *P4, K4, rep from * to end of round.
Rep 9 - 12 3 more time for a total of 4 repeats.
Crown shaping:
13. *P2tog, P2tog, C4f, rep from * to end of round.
14. *P2, K4, rep from * to end of round.
15. *P2tog, K4, rep from * to end of round.
16. *P1, K4, rep from * to end of round. (55 sts)
17. *P1, C4L, rep from * to end of round.
18. *P1, K4, rep from * to end of round.
19. *P1, k2tog, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. (33 sts)
20. *P1, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. (22 sts).
21. K2tog to end of round (11 sts).
Finishing:
Break the yarn, using a yarn needle, thread the yarn through the remaining stitches and pull to close the crown. Weave in all ends. Block.
The END!
Note:
I did all of the cables without a cable needle. I'm not really sure how to explain but this website will help.
http://media.wendyknits.net/knit/leftcable.htm
Instead of using 3 stitches to slip, I did only 2. The cable uses only 4 stitches overall.
C4L = Cable. Put tip of right hand needle into the back of the 3rd and 4th stitches on the left hand needle. Slide all stitches off, catch 2 free stitches with left hand needle and slip the two that are on the right hand needle back onto the left hand needle. Now the order of stitches would be 4,3,1, 2 from the tip of the needle. K all stitches.
Materials:
- Size US 6 dpn
- 1 Ball Patons Classic Merino Wool in Natural Mix
- Yarn needle
Pattern:
1. With yarn, CO 100 stitches, pm, join without twisting.
2. Work in 1x1 rib for about 2 inches (Or until you get tired of it).
3. K2tog, then knit 2 rounds (99 stitches)
4. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
5. *P5, C4L, rep from * to end of round.
6. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
7. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
8. *P5, K4, rep from * to end of round.
Rep 5 - 8 3 more times for a total of 4 repeats.
9. *P2tog, P3, C4L, rep from * to end of round.
10. *P4, K4, rep from * to end of round.
11. *P4, K4, rep from * to end of round.
12. *P4, K4, rep from * to end of round.
Rep 9 - 12 3 more time for a total of 4 repeats.
Crown shaping:
13. *P2tog, P2tog, C4f, rep from * to end of round.
14. *P2, K4, rep from * to end of round.
15. *P2tog, K4, rep from * to end of round.
16. *P1, K4, rep from * to end of round. (55 sts)
17. *P1, C4L, rep from * to end of round.
18. *P1, K4, rep from * to end of round.
19. *P1, k2tog, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. (33 sts)
20. *P1, k2tog, rep from * to end of round. (22 sts).
21. K2tog to end of round (11 sts).
Finishing:
Break the yarn, using a yarn needle, thread the yarn through the remaining stitches and pull to close the crown. Weave in all ends. Block.
The END!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Replacement Scarf
I really, really honestly thought that I had uploaded the pattern to my replacement scarf, but I guess that I never really got around to it since the new quarter started and there were a few doubts in my mind about the goodness of the project. But since I have actually come a long way on this project, it really would be such a shame to frog it, especially since people have told me that it is rather cute. Nevermind that it is spring in Davis now and I really have no particular need for it, but remember, boys and girls, winter comes again every year.
I'm using the left over yarn from other projects, so to be honest, I'm not really 100% sure about the yarn requirements, but this is just a guess.
Materials:
- 5 US 7 dpn
- 2 balls Patons Classic Merino Wool: Winter White (A)
- 2 balls Plymouth Encore Worsted Weight Yarn: Navy Blue (B)
- 2 balls Ella Rae Worsted Weight Yarn: Red (I'll look it up later) (C)
- Yarn needle
- Crochet Hook
Directions: (Realizing that I nearly typed in "Procedure" like in a chemistry lab report make me a little sad inside)
1. In C, CO 48 stitches and divide evenly between 4 needles (12 sts per needle). pm.
2. Join round.
3. Work striping pattern until you get so sick and tired of it you want to set it on fire, or work until length desired.
4. BO and weave in ends. To be honest, I just let the ones in the middle dangle.
5. Make and attach fringe using the crochet hook.
http://z.about.com/d/crochet/1/0/f/Q/swsk62005fringe.jpg
Striping pattern:
24 rounds in C
8 Rounds A
4 Rounds B
8 Rounds A
24 Rounds C
8 Rounds A
4 Rounds C
8 Rounds A
The End!
It's very basic and it's just a replacement for the other scarf that I made that randomly disappeared. I am very distraught over its loss, but it happens sometimes. C'est la vie. Still think that la vie is super unfair though...
I'm using the left over yarn from other projects, so to be honest, I'm not really 100% sure about the yarn requirements, but this is just a guess.
Materials:
- 5 US 7 dpn
- 2 balls Patons Classic Merino Wool: Winter White (A)
- 2 balls Plymouth Encore Worsted Weight Yarn: Navy Blue (B)
- 2 balls Ella Rae Worsted Weight Yarn: Red (I'll look it up later) (C)
- Yarn needle
- Crochet Hook
Directions: (Realizing that I nearly typed in "Procedure" like in a chemistry lab report make me a little sad inside)
1. In C, CO 48 stitches and divide evenly between 4 needles (12 sts per needle). pm.
2. Join round.
3. Work striping pattern until you get so sick and tired of it you want to set it on fire, or work until length desired.
4. BO and weave in ends. To be honest, I just let the ones in the middle dangle.
5. Make and attach fringe using the crochet hook.
http://z.about.com/d/crochet/1/0/f/Q/swsk62005fringe.jpg
Striping pattern:
24 rounds in C
8 Rounds A
4 Rounds B
8 Rounds A
24 Rounds C
8 Rounds A
4 Rounds C
8 Rounds A
The End!
It's very basic and it's just a replacement for the other scarf that I made that randomly disappeared. I am very distraught over its loss, but it happens sometimes. C'est la vie. Still think that la vie is super unfair though...
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