A Mascot Project - 4KCBWDAY2

Yesterday, I discovered that I am in House of Bee (if that makes no sense at all, check out yesterday's post, google 4KCBWDAY1, or go straight to the source at Eskimimi Makes).

Today's prompt is:

Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal. It could be a knitting or crochet pattern – either of the animal itself or something that makes you think of the qualities of that house... Whatever you choose, decide upon a project and blog about how and why it relates to your house/creature. You do not have to make this project! It is simply an exercise in blogging about how you come to decide upon what projects to make.

Ok, so, House of Bee... I could talk about the Honey Cowl, but I've already made one of those. Black and yellow stripes? Probably not - I don't tend to buy yellow yarn ;)

Although this prompt is about how I choose my projects, the connection to bees did make me think of something slightly different... An ongoing mission to try and identify a stitch pattern. 

How does it relate? Well, it's a honeycomb pattern *laughs* That's pretty bee-like, I think ;)

Years ago (before I started knitting) I bought a cardigan. Once I started knitting, I decided that I wanted to identify the stitch pattern so that I could use it on other projects. The problem is, I have not managed to find the pattern anywhere :(

I've searched every stitch dictionary I can find, looked up every variation of stitch that includes the word "honeycomb" and I still haven't found it. 

Here's a picture of the wrong side - which leads me to conclude that there is some type of slipped stitch involved:

This is a project with no real conclusion - so I'm throwing it out there as a request. Dear reader, do you have any idea what this might be? 

Maybe my project should be to learn more about construction, and experiment with some yarn to see if I can replicate this pattern. 

I took a picture of the stitch pattern against the window, to see if that might make it easier to identify - I'm not sure it helps though *laughs*

Any ideas?!

Presents :)

Today is the 1 year anniversary of boyfriend and I getting together. Sappy, I know, but any excuse for presents, right? *laughs*

Boyfriend is excellent at present buying, and I'm very pleased with my goodies...

A couple of small/silly ones, because I am a big kid at heart *smiles* I love my bubble kit - so many differently shaped implements to have fun with ;)

Boyfriend bought the little package of bouncy putty for one reason only. Close up of the package...

He was so amused by the fact that the little pouch actually says "in envelope" that he just had to get it. It made me laugh so much that I have decided that more things should be packaged in envelopes, and state this information clearly on them *laughs* Ok, maybe you had to be there ;)

And the main present, Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting *grins* He bought me the first book for Christmas and knew how much I liked it, so decided to get the follow up. I'm very pleased with this, I like the way the books explain things, and there were a couple of tips I noticed last night that were so obvious and so simple yet I'd never even thought of them.

There are also a couple of patterns that I will probably make, especially the one below. I love it *grins* I'll change the length of the arms though... Those aren't entirely flattering for shorties like me ;)

Of course this will have to wait until I have got through some of my ever increasing stash (none of which fits this pattern unfortunately!) but all the more incentive to get through what I have ;)

Quick, Sharp and Lively

During my crafting intermission, I started and finished a very quick and satisfying project.

First I felt like dyeing some yarn. I didn't have any undyed/cream yarn available, but I did have 4 balls of the grey Fez yarn I used for my Narragansett. So, armed with Wiltons dye and Kool Aid, I had a lot of fun playing in the kitchen (although, if you saw my post on Monday, I did make one crucial mistake *laughs*)

So grey became a rusty sort of colour...

I hadn't initially got a plan for the yarn, but after it had dried I found myself really wanting to make something thick and chunky. I don't tend to buy chunky yarn, but as the newly dyed yarn had no plan I decided to knit 3 strands of it together. This had the added bonus of avoiding any strange pooling.

So, I knit a cowl. Thick, bulky, snuggly and really fast *grins*

I made the pattern up pretty much. I wanted to have the stitches sideways, so I used a provisional cast on, knit flat and then used a 3 needle bind off to seam it together. The "pattern" is just 1x1 rib for 4 stitches, stocking stitch to the last 4 stitches and more 1x1 rib.

Because of the chunkiness, I particularly like this with the reverse side showing...

But it works with the knit side out too. 

A perfect project for a quick break from my current projects *smiles*

It's Friday, so you know what to do... Visit Tami's, Natural Suburbia and Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Have a great weekend  

My Queue

I thought it would be a good time to look at my queue of patterns I want to make; as the new Nerd Wars challenges are up, I'll be trying to knit things to fit into specific categories on there! But also, I tend to have a quick queue review *laughs at the rhyme* every now and again, to remind myself what I want to knit, and to remove anything I no longer love.

Plus, it's a really helpful way to line up my stashed yarn with actual projects, so that it might actually get used *laughs*

I've mentioned this before, and it is probably next on my to-knit list *grins*

I've had 3 balls of burgundy fingering/sock weight yarn in my stash since a couple of months after I started knitting... About time I chose a pattern for it really!

I've mentioned this next pattern before, probably some time ago. I didn't cast on as, at the time, everything I was knitting was 2x2 rib and I couldn't take any more ;) Of course, now everything I'm knitting seems to be grey, so it might still be a while before I get around to this *laughs*

  

 The Debbie Bliss yarn I bought in a destash will most likely become this...

  

And one last pattern, that I don't yet have yarn for. It will have to wait until I've achieved more in the stashbusting, but it'll be a nice reward I think *grins*

Completeness, Wholeness, Health, Peace...*

My Shalom *grins*

I'm really pleased with it; it fits just like I wanted and I love the modifications I made (detailed on my Ravelry project page). I loved the pattern, but I don't find cardigans that button only at the neck particularly flattering. Plus I wanted to make it in aran/worsted weight rather than chunky, which I think makes it a little more wearable.

Luckily, quite a few other projects on Ravelry had similar ideas, so I combined a lot of different mods to get it the way I wanted.

I love the twisted rib yoke, and I'm really happy with the buttons I chose - the goldy/bronzey colour works really well with the yarn:

Yarn: Stylecraft Special Aran with wool - a 400g ball on mostly acrylic with about 20% wool. It's not a luxurious yarn, but it wears well and I think it works pretty well for cardigans
Pattern: Shalom by Meghan McFarlane
Modifications: aran weight, added button band all the way down (with additional waist and hip shaping as required), added sleeves

And the obligatory shot of me wearing it and trying not to look stern or unhappy (because I'm not - I love it *laughs*)

It's Friday, you know what to do... Visit Tami's, Natural Suburbia and Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Have a great weekend  


* According to Strong's Concordance Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.

New Yarn, With Plans

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been feeling reinvigorated after a brief period of feeling blah about my knitting. This, of course, means that I am now full of ideas about things to make after I finish the things I am working on now *grins*

I also had a quick review of some of my yarn, to see what I am excited about working with. I decided that, as gorgeous as it was, the Wollmeise that I had bought last year just wasn't a colour that I could imagine using. So, I traded it for a new one in a gorgeous emerald green.

Then I bought a grey skein to go with it...

And together, they shall become...

It's one of the patterns boyfriend bought me for my birthday, and I know he's excited for me to make it. I can't wait either, plus it makes a nice change for me to buy yarn with a specific pattern in mind *laughs* And I'm much happier having gorgeous yarn that I have a plan for, rather than gorgeous yarn sat doing nothing because I didn't know what to do with it ;)

Swatch

Check it out, I did swatching *grins*

I'm usually pretty lax, and don't bother, but I thought it would be a good plan for this pattern as I love it and want to make it look fab ;)

I'm using this yarn:

To make this pattern:

© 2011 Splityarn

It's one of the patterns that the cunning boyfriend bought me for my birthday during his Ravelry adventure *laughs*

As the gauge for the pattern is given after blocking, I used 3 needle sizes to swatch (so that I didn't have to swatch, block, wait, see if the gauge was right, swatch again...) and got gauge on 5.5mm. The swatch also tells me that I love the way the yarn drapes at that gauge.

I followed the advice in Little Red in the City, and swatched appropriately for the fact that the garment is knit in the round - not a lot of point swatching flat as I know my gauge with purl rows is different.

I cast on last night, thanks to the fact that I have finished the knitting of my Shalom (though it needs blocking and buttons though, so not sure it'll be ready for Friday!)

Cunning

I realised that I haven't shared a couple more brithday presents that I got.

Firstly, my brother kindly got me Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac from my wishlist. I thought it was about time I read some of her work, so I was really pleased with this. I haven't actually started to read it yet, I want to be able to sit down and look at it properly ')

Secondly, the lovely boyfriend wanted to get me something knitting related. He's so supportive of my crafting, and likes to show this when buying gifts. As he'd bought books and yarn in the past, he decided he wanted to get patterns this time. But, of course, had no idea where he might procure these...

So he went to Ravelry, realised that he needed to be a member and got himself an account *smiles* Then spent a while trying to find me, before wondering what to do next. Luckily he located my queue and discovered the wishlist function, so he picked out a few of the patterns that I had put on there.

And he chose some great patterns:

Narragansett by Thea Colman. I've only had this in my queue a little while, but I love it. I think I'll use my grey Debbie Bliss Fez yarn to make it (which means I don't have to wait!)

© 2011 Splityarn

Peacock Shawlette by Kitman Figueroa. It's a lot more lace than I have tried before, but I love how it looks so I queued it for future lace attempts *laughs*

© Kitman Figueroa

And the Stripe Study Shawl by Veera Välimäki. I love this pattern, I've seen some beautiful FOs and it is so striking for a garter stitch project. Boyfriend chose this as soon as he saw it because he was so taken with the picture *smiles* I don't know that I have the right yarn for this yet, but perhaps my Candy Skein with another colour would be a good choice ;)

© Veera Välimäki

Oh, and the best part - the ravelry username boyfriend chose is CunningBoyfriend *laughs* Not that I expect him to ever log in again, but I thought that was so cute ;)

Blog Hub Swap Day 4

So, this morning I got to open day 4 of my swap packages *grins*

I guessed that today might be the patterns, based on the shape of the parcel, but there's another flat one waiting for day 7, so I'm very intrigued!

I was right about today though ;)

The note with these said that I have expressed a desire to knit socks that are a little more interesting than the plain ones I have been making until now, so Tink hunted through Ravelry to find some interesting patterns for me *smiles*

So I have 3 new pairs of socks to make, and I didn't have to hunt through the many, many pages of patterns to find them myself ;) I particularly like the pattern on the right of the picture, "little minx", really interesting texture that I'm excited to try out.

Even better, I still have three days of packages to open *grins*

Yarn Cocktails

I realised that I completely forgot to tell you about a new knitting book that I bought after Christmas. It was in the sales, and I probably wouldn't have picked it up had it not been for the fact that it was only 50p *laughs*

The Knitter's Guide to Yarn Cocktails.

If I'm honest, I was most drawn to it by the picture on the cover, and the price ;) The book is slightly strange, with all the patterns named after cocktails - most of which don't bear any resemblance to the pattern or even the colour of the yarn used. But it is a bit of (cheap) fun, especially the slightly bizarre pattern descriptions!

There are a couple of patterns that I may consider making at some point. And there are a few that are, quite frankly, terrifying:

The Banana Boat Men's Boxers, for example.

Funnily enough, boyfriend has requested that I do not, ever, under any circumstances, make these for him *laughs*

The Foundational Key*

Success at last! Cria is finally finished *grins*

Which is about time really, considering my Ravelry notes show that this was cast on at the beginning of July! Yikes, it did take me a long time.

The pattern shows most of the pictures with the cardigan fastened like this:

Cute, but not entirely flattering I don't think. So I will probably wear it more like this:

Much more my style *grins*

So, details:

Pattern: Cria by Ysolda Teague. I didn't love the way the pattern was written, there were parts that I thought were needlessly complicated. But there were some good features, like the one row buttonholes.
Yarn: Jaeger Monte Cristo Cool Crepe DK. The yarn (which is discontinued) was a gift from boyfriend's mum, as she no longer knits. It's a heavier weight than in the pattern, so I used smaller needles to get the same gauge (mainly so I didn't have to calculate any changes to the pattern!) - which does make this a more dense and heavy cardigan than the original.
Modifications: I omitted the faux seams down the sides, I didn't really see the point of adding seams when I was knitting it seamlessly! I added some extra increases towards the end to fit my measurements more accurately.

I really like this cardigan. I don't 100% love it, but that is usually what happens when I finish knitting something, especially something that has taken a lot of work and wasn't too much fun to knit. I need a little space from it first I think *laughs*

This picture is probably the most accurate representation of the colour, and shows the buttons too. I got these from ebay, for not a lot of money at all. The first set I found that I liked would have come to £25! No way was I paying that for buttons *laughs*

I'm toying with changing the sleeves, I didn't have enough yarn to make them as long as I would like, so I will most likely wear them at 3/4 length. So I may unravel and just make them that length anyway. I haven't decided yet but I did have them rolled up when I wore it earlier in the week.

Overall, I'm just glad this is finally off the needles! Finally getting down to some action on it recently really helped move things along.

* "Action is the foundational key to all success" - Pablo Picasso


As ever, please visit Tami. Natural Suburbia. Wisdom Begins in Wonder for more Friday Fibreyness!

Finished Friday Reveals

Well, I can finally reveal some of the projects I was working on before Christmas... Well, I could if I had managed to take photos of all of them *rolls eyes at self* I do have some though, so here goes:

The first one wasn't a secret project, it was the scarf I was knitting for mum that I have blogged about before. I didn't expect to finish it in time before heading off to meet mum and brother for Christmas, but I actually managed to get it done that morning *grins*

Yarn: Colinette Art in Lagoon
Pattern: A Little Bit Bohemian
Thoughts: A lovely easy pattern, really enjoyed knitting it and the yarn was really nice to work with too. If I made it again I would make it longer, but it's actually quite a nice length with just one ball. I wish I'd taken a picture of mum wearing it though.

Second reveal is one that I sneakily mentioned a few weeks ago, with a teaser shot. My brother's Christmas present was this pair of handknit socks:

Brother had asked for handknit socks for Christmas, to wear with boots, so I made him a cosy pair in DK weight. As explained in my previous post about these, I dyed some stash yarn to make them and I love the way the yarn came out *smiles* You may have noticed the uneven number of red stripes on the tops of the socks - well, he has feet that are slightly different sizes and as he was having custom made socks he asked for this to be accomadated. So, the 3-stripe sock is marginally longer than the 2-stripe *laughs*

The biggest present I worked on is the one I stupidly forgot to get a picture of. I made a cardigan for my mum. I do have a very crappy picture of the pattern:

Yarn: Stylecraft Brushstrokes Chunky (in a White and grey colourway rather than the one on the pattern)
Pattern: Entirely in 2x2 rib. The whole thing. It felt like it went on forever! Also, I used the Eastern European method (wrapping the yarn clockwise on the purl stitches) to make a tidier rib, so the entire thing was done in a completely different technique to the one I am used to.Mum chose the pattern, as it seemed like a bad idea to spend ages knitting a gift if I didn't know that she would want it!
Thoughts: Didn't love making it if I'm honest, but I still knitted every stitch with love as it was a gift for mum. It's quite a lot of knitting, even if I did make it a few inches shorter than the pattern (by request - I didn't just get sick of it!)

And I posted about the dishcloths for my granddad - thank you for all the lovely comments about them. I really wasn't sure what his reaction would be but he seemed to really appreciate them. He looked at all the different stitch patterns and then said "But I can't polish brass with them". When I asked if brass didn't react well to cotton, he said "No, it's not that, they're just too nice" *grins*

I told him I expect to see them filthy and ragged next time I visit, and that I can make him more so he mustn't save them for best ;)

So, it doesn't seem like a lot, but it certainly felt like it *laughs* I enjoyed giving the gifts and they were all well received. Mum has worn her cardigan out a few times and had some lovely comments from other people, which makes me very happy.

Anyway, that's it from me today, it turned into quite a long wrap up in the end! But you know where to go for more: Tami. Natural Suburbia. Wisdom Begins in Wonder

Refrigerator of the Mind*

I finished boyfriend's hat last night (more on which tomorrow, of course!) and had an excellent realisation...

I seemed to have quite a lot of yarn leftover. In fact, having weighed the yarn and the hat, I have just over half left *big grin*

So, boyfriend's hat is safe from my grubby little mitts, because I can make one for me too. Which is good, because trying on the finished hat yesterday made me want it all the more, not just because the colour works so well with my cardigan, but also because it really is crazy soft ;)

Which means I now get to choose a pattern for me. I somehow don't think I want a matching hat *laughs* I won't cast on for a while, plenty to get finished in a short period of time, but I can start choosing now, right?!

I could go with a simple beanie sort of shape, but I'm thinking something a little more interesting...

Hurricane Hat:

by Abandonada

Or perhaps the Eyelet Rib Beanie:

© Beka Inman

I have about 110 yards of yarn left, and a fairly small head, so if you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them!


*"Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories. Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart". - Thomas Fuller

What Next?

Well, last night I finished my socks *big grin* So you will see them tomorrow when I happily show them off. 3 pairs of handknitted socks for me, putting me on track to have an entirely handknit sock drawer by, oh about 2020!

Of course, this means I only now have 2 projects for myself on the go (plus a few gift knitting projects) and that just won't do... But this means choosing what to cast on next, and that requires far more brain power than you might expect *laughs* I have a lovely stash of yarn, and a groaning Ravelry queue, but what I can't decide is the type of project I want to knit next.

• I'm excited to use my pure alpaca yarn, which is destined to become some kind of tank top/vest. But my 2 current projects are garments and perhaps I shouldn't start another one until those are done
• I have yarn and the pattern to knit the gorgeous Owls sweater, but again, it's a garment so I'm hesitating
• It's getting cold out now, so maybe fingerless mitts to keep my hands warm?
• Or legwarmers, I want legwarmers and they shouldn't take too long, and will free up some room in the stash faster than the mitts
• Also, I have lots of sock yarn and I love socks and I want many more handknit socks...
• I have yarn to make a scarf for my mum, which she would probably like before it gets completely freezing!
• Maybe casting anything on is a bad plan and I should concentrate on the gift knitting - which would be good as Christmas isn't far off, but bad because then I'd have nothing I can blog about

So, dilemma *laughs*

This means that I am not casting on anything straight away. Which does actually result in me appearing to have superhuman willpower against the knitter's desire to cast on all the things. Plus, I can work on my current projects while I decide, instead of getting wrapped up in the excitement of new project on the needles, hopefully resulting in some extra progress. 

But really, I just want to be able to knit all the time and cast on everything I could ever want, and knit so fast that nothing takes longer than a week *laughs*

Yarn Shopping with Mum

A couple of weeks ago, when I posted about my Hitchhiker, my mum commented to say that she wanted one. When she saw that the pattern wasn't symmetrical she wasn't quite so keen but I wanted to make something for her anyway. After trying to work out if I could make the pattern symmetrical (with the saw tooth edge on two sides) and deciding it was a little complicated, I decided to look for a new pattern *laughs*

Trying to find a shawl/scarf with a triangular, symmetrical shape, a triangular style edging in a garter stitch pattern was a small challenge, but we finally settled on Pimpelliese. There are some modifications mum would like, that I will need to figure out (shallower at the back to be more of a scarf than a shawl), but it looks like it'll work beautifully.

Of course, this required a trip to find yarn *grins* Like me, mum is quite specific in what she wants, so the brief was:

• Something that won't stripe
• Variegated but not clown barf (so, similar colours rather than a rainbow)
• Preferably colours to match winter coat (green)
• Soft and tactile

I added a couple of provisos - well, just the one really... It had to be something I wanted to knit with *laughs* So cotton was out, and for speed 4ply was out. 

The first yarn shop we went to didn't have anything suitable (although I did spend a while stroking the Debbie Bliss Andes yarn, I very excellently didn't buy anything). Luckily, the second shop came through...

Colinette Art in the colour Lagoon. 79% Wool, 21% bamboo, similar enough colours to hopefully avoid any unpleasant pooling, soft and strokeable and enough green to match the relevant coat. Phew ;)

Better picture of the colours, which are gorgeous:

Now, as mum has chosen the pattern and bought the yarn, this is a project I can blog about - which is nice. I just need to get a few things off my needles before I can start it!

I did manage to buy some yarn for myself in the second shop, which may seem like it has broken my yarn diet... However, it is the same as some I already have and means that I will be able to make something a little more useful with it (first time round I hadn't really bought enough for anything I wanted to make, ooops!). So, although I don't really need to justify my yarn purchases, I'm still pleased that I have actually made some stash yarn a little more attractive *grins*

Princess Soles

So, after quite a few comments on my Friday post asking what a "princess sole" is, I thought I should pop up a quick post to explain!

Essentially, a princess sole is where you knit the sole of the sock so that the knit side is on the inside of the sock, against the skin.

So, your foot rests on the smoother side:

While the rougher purl bumps are on the outside:

Does that make sense?! The princess part obviously comes from the old princess and the pea story *laughs*

I decided after knitting my first socks that I would knit socks this way for the boyfriend as he has sensitive feet and I wasn't sure if he'd like the feel of walking on hand knit socks. At this point I didn't know what they were called, I just figured that I should purl the base of the sock to make them more comfortable for him.

Unfortunately I can't remember on which blog I read about it, but I recall seeing a post about a pattern called the Daylong Socks, where the pattern was designed so that you didn't have to purl the entire sole. Good plan I thought ;)

In the end, although I bought the pattern, I didn't really follow it. I just knit the top of the foot and the leg in rib and knitted the sole, then flipped them inside out *laughs* The pattern does have a more involved approach, so that the toes and heel look better, but I figured that they're inside a shoe anyway, so it doesn't matter too much ;)

Boyfriend tested out his first sock and came to the conclusion that he does indeed prefer the knit on the inside (and was surprised how much of a difference it made).

So, I'm not an expert on the topic, and I don't know where the idea or the name originated, but I hope it's a bit clearer now!