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Guernsey Wrap

March 13, 2012

The Guernsey Wrap is finished but – surprise – it’s a different color! When I started this wrap, I began it in Madelinetosh Vintage (a superwash yarn) in Bark, but as I knit it up, I decided I didn’t like the color in that particular pattern. So I ripped it out (you have to be brave when you knit) and ordered a different color for the Guernsey. While I was waiting for that to arrive, I began knitting up the Bark in a different Jared Flood pattern – Autumn Leaves.

I so love his patterns. So I knitted half of the Autumn Leaves stole and then the new Madelinetosh showed up and I started the Guernsey Wrap in Moorland. I don’t know why I didn’t like it in the Bark, but it just didn’t look right to me.

The pattern calls for casting on 58 stitches but I cast on an extra 12, which is 1 repeat more. In reading a lot of project notes on Ravelry, I felt like a lot of people were not getting quite the width after blocking. I’m glad I did because even with an extra repeat and fairly aggressive blocking, the wrap is only 16″ wide! I don’t know how the heck Jared got his to 17″ with only 58 stitches.

This pattern is very easy. The charts, at first, look daunting because the symbols change every other row – how are you supposed to remember that? Someone on Ravelry said she went through and highlighted all the purl stitches so she could remember. But a few rows into it, I realized you don’t need to do anything like that – if you remember that every single row begins with 3 knit stitches, then you know in that particular row what the knit symbol is going to be. The purls are just the opposite symbol. Easy!

Jared recommends a stretchy bind off and so I did Elizabeth Zimmer’s sewn bind off. It was perfectly stretchy and easy to execute. I’m going to post how to do it as a separate follow up to this post.

Pattern: Guernsey Wrap
Needles: US#8 Addi Lace Circular
Yarn: Madelinetosh in Moorland
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, knitting, Shawls/wraps | 33 Comments »

Slouchy Mitts

January 22, 2012

I saw some mitts earlier this year in the Sundance catalog and clipped them out. I thought, “gee, I could really make those so easily”. The only thing I feared was the stripes – I have a loathing of weaving in ends. That’s why I don’t knit stripey things – I do mostly two color stranded work. And since I am knitting my Granny Stripes Blanket at the same time, I have really put myself to the test. That blanket has some serious ends to weave in.

Sundance Catalog Mitts

I probably didn’t even need a pattern but thought I would look on Ravelry to see if there was anything similar. Sure enough, there was – “The Ultimate Fingerless Mitts” by Erica Lueder. I used the pattern as a guide and kind of did my own thing with it.

I looked through my fingering weight stash and came up with some similar colors, mostly in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine. I liked the greens because I thought they would go with my Stockholm Scarf.

First of all, the pattern calls for casting on 60 stitches. I did that but it soon became apparent that was going to be a little too big, so I decreased right down to 50 stitches. This is what I cast on for the second mitten and it was just right. Of course, I knit them using Magic Loop instead of DPNs. Those days are over.

Also, the mittens in the catalog used 1×1 ribbing for the entire length of the forearm. I debated about doing that and decided to just do pure stockinette stitch. I would still be interested in knitting a pair and using the ribbing and see if I liked that any better.

I really like these mittens. I like the rolled stockinette ends a lot. Since they are knit in a fingering weight and without any stranded colorwork, they are a light mitten and will be for milder weather.

Pattern: The Ultimate Fingerless Mitts
Needle: #2 Addi Lace 32″ Circular
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Black, Pea Soup, Salt & Pepper, Peat Mix
and Yarn Hollow Bitty in Jade
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, knitting, magic loop, mittens | 7 Comments »

The Incredible Northman Mitten

December 12, 2011

This may be my favorite mitten of all time. After I finished all my Christmas gifts for my family, I felt I had the time to knit one last pair of mittens for another friend. She loves the lined mittens I make so much that I figured she deserved a pair.

This design is by David Schulz, who runs Southern Cross Fibre in Australia. The pattern is just about perfect – it has a braided edge, which I love, rather than a ribbed cuff. The thumbs have gussets, which are more comfortable to wear and the pattern is so well written. The pattern includes charts for two kinds of mittens – dark/light or light/dark. Most patterns don’t do this and it is SO helpful. Thanks, David!

I used one of my all time favorite yarns, Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light. 50% wool, 50% alpaca. So toasty warm. The lining is of luscious Brushed Suri by Blue Sky Alpacas. Brushed Suri is the most incredible yarn to use in the lining of a mitten – so lofty and soft. The color I chose is called “Snow Cone” and I thought it complimented the colors of the mitten so well.

The pattern calls for a braided edge done in one color, which I think kind of loses the purpose of doing a braided edge. So I did the edge in two colors. If you do a two color edge, make sure to do a two color cast on or it won’t come out right. The two color cast on will be your set up row for the braid.

I even do the thumbs using Magic Loop

If you’ve never knitted lined mittens before, you should give it a try. They are so special and warm to wear. You can have all kinds of fun with the colors.

Pattern: Northman Mitten
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light and Brushed Suri
Needle: #4 circular, using Magic Loop
Ravelry Page

Posted in finished objects, gifts, knitting, magic loop, mittens | 19 Comments »

My Christmas Knitting is Finished!

November 27, 2011

17 projects. 8 months. I’ve been working every spare minute on this enormous project and I’m finally done – I knitted the last lining for the last hat on Thanksgiving weekend. I knitted everyone in my family a different project – I did not repeat a pattern. That wasn’t easy, because I had so many favorites. But to be honest, in that same time frame I knitted 13 other projects for me or as gifts for someone else. So I was busy. Very busy. That’s 30 projects in 8 months.

I also sewed a tag into every item I made. I got these tags from Mountain Street Arts on Etsy. I dislike almost all of the labels you can buy to sew into handmade items and these were the only tags I found that I liked a lot.

There are seven hats, all lined!

None of the hat patterns called for linings, but I picked up stitches and knitted a liner in every single hat. They are so much nicer that way – thicker, sturdier and warmer.

I started this project in March and I spent every single spare minute I had knitting. I finally sat down with my family this weekend to watch a TV show and, for the first time in months, I did not pick up my knitting basket to work on a project. It felt weird but I’m also relieved. When I started this project, I did not know if I would be able to finish. But I did it with 4 weeks to spare!

Nine pairs of mittens

I knitted seven hats, eight pairs of mittens and one pair of socks. As you can see, I’m not the biggest sock knitting fan. But the pair that I knitted for my sister-in-law was amazing. I loved them.

After I present everyone with their gifts at Christmas, I can finally tell them about this blog. It’s been a secret, of course, to anyone in my family.

If you want to see details on any of the projects, just go to my Ravelry page – they are all posted there.