Continental and the Norwegian Purl

So remember my comments in my last post about wanting to switch to Continental knitting? Well, I realized that I do actually have a project on the needles amenable to a switch partway through. A very basic shawl. Gauge is not so crucial on this shawl, so I figured why not and I changed it up partway through. I quickly learned, though, that purling in the Continental style is a finicky endevour at best.

Enter the Norwegian Purl. In researching the best ways to purl with the yarn in my left hand, I came across this nifty little way of purling that may have just changed my whole knitting world. Purling with the yarn held in back instead of the front? Yes, please. The Norwegian Purl is easier to do and less tricky than a traditional Continental purl. I am already having visions of all the seed stitch projects I am going to do now that I don't have to bring the yarn back and forth between my needles each stitch.

Here is a video from Knitting Traditions demonstrating.

My knitting mind is blown! How has it taken me so long to discover this method?

You can also see my abacus stitch marker and row counter in the photo. Picked this nifty and pretty little tool at Etsy. I actually found many unique stitch markers on Etsy and am enjoying using them much more than the generic ones you can get anywhere. Jewelry for my knitting. And who doesn't love a little jewelry?

 

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Variegation on a Shawl

This week, I started a project that satisfies my need to have an easy project on my needles that allows me to read or watch TV while knitting (I think the break in the middle of the last season of Mad Men will nearly kill me). As an added bonus, the large amounts of stockinette stitch in this shawl happens to show off hand painted or variegated yarns beautifully.

I love to buy beautiful yarns that have lots of interesting color variation, but struggle to find patterns that show off the beauty of the yarn, and don't have so much patterning in them that either the color or the pattern get lost.

This is the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief, and it is a free pattern on Ravelry. The yarn is Schaefer Yarn Company's Anne, which has been discontinued, in a color way called Mr. Green jeans.

 

I can see already that this pattern will be a quick knit, and the pattern can easily be modified to do more or less repeats to make a bigger or smaller shawl to utilize maximize yardage. It's amazing how addicting plain old stockinette can be.

 

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A little February in May

I posted about this finished project a long time ago, but had to show you some pictures of M actually wearing it. The Elizabeth Zimmerman February Baby Sweater:

 

 

 

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February Baby Sweater

Until recently, I have not blogged in a very long time, mostly because I had not been knitting much at all.  But now that I have twins on the way very soon, I have been on a mission to finish old projects and get some items done for them.  This will be for Baby Girl (We are having a boy and girl).

Pattern: Baby Sweater on Two Needles from Elizabeth Zimmerman's
Knitter's Almanac
Needles: I wrote down US 2.5, but I think I actually used closer to a US 5 but I can't remember for sure.
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport colorway Grass

Started: December 18, 2010  
Completed: December 16, 2012

 I used modifications made by PAKnitWit as described here. Namely:
-Widening the neck hole by Casting on 62 stitches.
-Work 8 rows in garter stitch. 
-Work the first increase round as follows: K7, (M1, K6) 8 times, M1, K7 (71 sts)
-I also Slipped the first stitch of each row for a neater edge and only worked 3 buttonholes, as many other have.

Blocking really gave some shape to this sweater and I am pleased with the results.  And as always I love working with Shine Sport.  It is just so soft and has such a nice drape!

Sidetracked

Just a quick one today. Those of you who are EZ fans should recognize this one.

And yes, this means the baby Mary Janes are on hold for a bit. I just couldn't get excited about them with those Size 0 needles and K1 P1 ribbing. This new project was a welcome diversion and I have already made quite a bit of progress in just one day.

Another One Bites the Dust

I have been frantically working on Lotus Blossom Tank over the last several weeks. I am not sure if it is the weather (I love the brisk fall days) but I have really been on a knitting kick over the last month.

I am not sure why I liked this pattern, as like many others, I found the pictures in the original pattern to be ill-fitting in a boxy sort of way.

I have worked the modifications that Lickety Knit describes on her blog. These modifications make the tank longer and give it a much more feminine fit.



The only additional modification that I made was to make the armholes a full inch smaller than the pattern called for (versus the 0.5 inch modification that Lickety Knit made), to make the armholes 7 inches instead of 8 on the 39 inch size. In keeping with the smaller armholes I picked up slightly less stitches for the armhole edging (86 stitches per armholes) and 32 stitches for each side of the neck. I solved the disconnected flap that is formed by the picked up neck edging by knitting it together at the junction with stitches from the top of the knitted on front edging.


Although this pattern took me awhile to complete, it is actually a very quick knit, and once my summer knitting hiatus was complete (reading a book was just more appealing to me when sitting by the pool), it knit up rather rapidly.


Pattern: Lotus Blossom Tank by Sharon Shoji
Size: 39 inches
Made for: Me
Yarn: Artful Yarns Cliche, 7 skeins
Needles: US Size 4 for body, US Size 3 for front neck bind-off, and US Size 5 for first 9 rows of the pattern.
Started: April 29, 2010
Completed: November 19, 2010

The yarn is a linen/cotton/acrylic mix, and I love the color and thought the fiber content perfect for a summer tank, but it was prone to splitting. I got a great deal on this yarn at Slip Knot in Newtown Square, when the yarn was discontinued.

I worried that the 39 inch size might be a bit big for me, based on comments from some other knitters, but it ended up being a pretty good fit. I could have tried to modify it the be a custom size, but going down a full size would have likely been way too small.

Sorry for the indoor photos, but I couldn't stomach an outdoor photo in a tank top with the recent cold weather.

All I have left on my needles right now are two pairs of socks, so it will be time soon to pick my next big project. I am thinking of doing an easy Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater that would provide hours of stockinette which although boring, does allow me to give my attention to other things at the same time (namely reading a book). I have a perfect yarn whose beauty lies in the variations of thick and thin, but could not easily be used for say lace or cables for the same reason.

I also have enough yarn for two other sweaters that could be more patterned. Plus some shawl options! I need to think about what I want to do next.

In the meantime, I may be starting some baby knitting for friends soon. I love starting new projects!

I Dream in Green

After a relatively unproductive summer of knitting, the cool weather has me in a fiber-friendly mood. I have been working on Lotus Blossom Tank over the last few weeks.

Too bad this is a summer top. I always seem to be a season off when finishing projects!

I am hoping to have this completed by the end of the weekend.

In preparation for summer....

I have started Lotus Blossom Tank, a pattern from The Best of Interweave Knits: Our Favorite Designs from the First Ten Years .

I am using yarn I bought from my LYS, Slip Knot that I got on sale and couldn't pass up. It is Cliche by Artful Yarns.

I only have 7 skeins of the yarn, and after completing almost 1 repeat, I am a little worried it may not be enough. A Ravelry search for yardage used by other knitters put me at ease a bit, but I am also planning to do the modifications described by Licketyknit, which includes adding lace repeats and length to the stockinette portion.

We will see. I am hoping the switch after Row 9 to smaller needles will eat up less yarn.

Alaskan Mobius

This blog comes a bit late, as this has been complete but not photographed for awhile. This was my Ravelymics project.

Pattern: Moebius Cowl by by Cat Bordhi
Needles: US 10 Circular
Yarn: Raven Frog Fiber Arts Marvelous Merino ; 1 skein
Started: February 12, 2010
Completed: February 28, 2010

I picked this yarn up on our honeymoon to Alaska, and it reminds me of the rich, earthy colors that surrounded us on this wonderful trip.
See my previous post for a video link for the cast-on.

I am glad I tried this technique, and it was a fun project with a beautiful result, but I don't think that I will be doing many mobius projects as they are somewhat limited in their scope of usefulness.

Ravelympics!

Did anyone else notice the lovely hats and sweaters Team USA had on last night?

In the spirit of the Olympics I am participating in Ravelympics this year and have chosen a Mobius Cowl as my project in this lovely yarn that I picked up on my honeymoon in Alaska.

The colors remind me of the rainforest of Alaska and the Canadian coast of British Columbia, so I thought it a fitting choice given the Olympics location in Vancouver.

I have already made significant progress on this, and I think I will be done with it long before the Olympics are over.

I thought the mobius cast on would give me a bit more trouble than it did, but a great video here demonstrates it beautifully.

Proof that I have been knitting......

I haven't posted in awhile. Its been a little hectic, but this one has actually been off the needles for awhile and awaiting a photoshoot. I brought it with me on my 2 week Hawaiian cruise in October and did a lot of knitting on it during that trip. I really wanted to try to get some outdoor photos but the snow and bitter temps are not cooperating with my interests.
So here it is:





Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud - Colorway: Tide Pool;
3 skeins (knit with two strands held together)
Needles: US Size 6 AddiTurbo Lace
Started: March 8, 2008
Completed: November 15, 2009

Despite taking me a year and a half to complete, when I actually devoted some time to the project, it is a relatively quick and easy pattern. And the Tide Pool colorway is a rich mix of teal, blue and flecks of gold. Pictures just don't do its beauty justice.

The past week has been devoted to seaming and finishing up projects that have been neglected in finished but unfinished states. Perhaps the new year has convinced me to tidy up and finish the unfinished and move on to bigger and better things.

I don't think I did very well on my 2009 New Year's knitting goals, but let's see. Last year I resolved to:

1. Finish my unfinished business.
2. Knit more socks.
3. Knit my man a sweater.
4. Shop from my stash.
5. Try Mobius knitting.
6. Try Entrelac knitting.
7. Knit more, now that I have the time.

Well finishing unfinished business is an ongoing problem. I go through spurts with my knitting and hate seaming, so whileI did manage to finish some projects, I still have a few that have been in hibernation and haven't come out yet.

I finished 1 pair of sock this year and started another, but did not knit very many pairs of socks.

I did not knit my husband a sweater, mostly because I still have a sweater on the needles for myself that is unfinished.

I did do a bit better at not buying a lot of yarn. I think I realized that my yarn buying was far out pacing the speed at which I actually knit, and that if I did not slow down the buying, our small apartment would be overrun with yarn! Additionally, toward the end of the year, my husband and I developed a new resolve to increase our rate of saving for a house, and expensive yarn doesn't jive with that goal.

I did not try mobius or entrelac knitting. And lastly I did knit more at times, but my knitting time comes in spurts. One accomplishment I was proud of was learning how to read and knit at the same time (although both the knitting and the reading have to be reasonably non-challenging in their own right to combine such tasks).

So what are my knitting goals for 2010? Well this year I am going to make it simple.

First, I want to continue the ever present goal of finishing what is on my needles and make a new resolve to only allow myself to have three different projects going at any one time. I at times have had up to seven going in the past, and although this does give a project for any sort of mood, it also means I tend to work a little on each one and never finish any of them.

Second, enjoy the knitting!

And that is all. This year I am going to keep it simple.

Tangled Basket

In taking of stock of where I am with finishing the projects on my needles:
a) Secret Gift Project AKA Hemlock Ring Blanket Finished
b) Snowflake Socks Finished (pictures to follow soon)
c) Bell Sleeved Jacket (65% complete)
d) Flower Basket Shawl (45% complete)
e) Baby Mary Janes (10% complete)
f) Smock Jacket (30% complete)

I have been making a serious commitment to FBS over the last few weeks and am up to 275 stitches. Unfortunately when I started the first row of the next repeat I noticed that one of my flower baskets from the previous round was not quite right. Feeling supremely confident in my lace knitting abilities, I decided that instead of ripping out the whole last round back to my lifeline (and then re-knitting all those stitches), surely I could just drop the affected section and knit it back up again on double points, leaving the rest of my perfectly correct flower baskets intact?



Alas, after 5 attempts last night, my malformed flower basket is still in disarray. It was not as easy as it might seem. I finally walked away from it and into the warm comfort of some Twilight reading. Once my mind is rested I will return to the basket and perhaps be able to do what I set out to do. But for now, it is only vampires for me.

Shades of Grey

This has been complete for awhile now, but was a secret and needed to get to its intended recipient before I posted about it.



Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood
Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool 2 skeins (956 Yards) Color 8049 a dark grey
Started: December 13 2008 Completed: January 18 2009
Needle: Size 10

I am quite pleased with the final project and am yet again amazed by the power of blocking lace, even with worsted weight yarn.

This was a wedding/shower gift for friends who were married in November, but I have a feeling I will be knitting one for our home in the future.

I basically just kept knitting as far as the two skeins wound take me for a slightly larger lap blanket, and almost payed for it. I finished with 6 inches of yarn to spare.

I took the pattern to Row 75 of the Charted feather and fan pattern for a total of 121 total rows.

Progress

No pictures to show, but my weekend was filled with a fair amount of knitting due to my husband being in Annapolis this weekend for a tux fitting/ghost pub crawl, and the fact that I wasn't feeling all that well, so I didn't push myself to do my usual weekend workouts.

I worked on three different projects: I did a few repeats of my Flower Basket Shawl, for some lighter knitting during movie watching I worked on the Smock Jacket with some easy moss stitch. Today I worked a bit on my Snowflake socks and am now through the heel and into the gusset. I need to free up my size 2 circulars for later in the Smock Jacket.

My husband has charged himself to help me in my resolution to finish what is on my needles by discouraging me from starting any new projects. Except, or course baby gifts for some upcoming little ones on the way. For this he will whole-heartedly encourage me to cast-on.

Lucky

This is how much yarn I had left over at the end of my secret project. The ball was looking like I had a lot to go, but about halfway through the castoff row, I started to worry. That skein was looking awfully small. Would I make it of have to rip back? With 600 stitches in the last round, this would be no small feat. And with the 600 stitches translating into 3600 bind-off stitches, I had no way to accurately judge if I had enough yarn or not....Luckily I made it, with 6 inches of yarn to spare.

It is blocking now and is lovely.

In other news, I went into Joanne Fabrics to buy blocking pins on Saturday and walked out having ordered a sewing machine. I couldn't help myself, I found fabric that would make the perfect drapes to match my new bedding, and I have been unable to find the perfect drapes anywhere. But not owning a sewing machine presents a problem. I could do the project on my mother's machine, but she doesn't live here, and our visits are usually too short to accomplish such a project. So I meandered to the sewing machine section intending just to look....I should have known I would buy one as soon as I saw that just too perfect fabric.

A leap of frog and a lot of unfinished business.

Here is a recent finished project of mine. This frog hat was knit for a coworker's child so that she could match dad's outfit for Philadelphia's Mummer Parade.

Pattern: Frog Hat (Free Cascade Yarns Pattern)
Yarn:
Filatura Di Crosa Baby Zarella 1 ball each in colorway 1 & 15, plus some scrap worsted weight black yarn
Needle Size: Size 8 for Cast-on and Size 6 for body of the hat
Size: 6 months





Next are two projects that probably you probably won't see for awhile, as I am trying to finish a secret gift project, and have many other projects on the needles that need to be finished.

This one is a pair of Mary Janes from pattern 18305 in Dale of Norway Baby Designs/ Dalegarn #183 knit with what else but Baby Ull

Next is the Smock Coat from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby Book knit with Knit Picks Shine Sport.

Since it is the beginning of the new year and I had set a few goals for myself last year, I decided to revisit those goals and see how I did and make some new knitting goals for 2009.
In 2008 I kept my knitting goals simple due to my crazy school schedule. They were:

1. Try fair isle - I already have some yarn and all the tools I need.
2. Finish at least 1 sweater
3. Delve further into lace knitting : I plan to try the flower basket shawl, and have yarn to do at least 1 more shawl (maybe a Niebling)

Well I did try fair isle with my snowflake socks, and actually had some success. Unfortunately these socks remain unfinished, but as I will discuss later in the post I have a plan for my unfinished business.

I did finish 1 sweater with my FLS, but I also have an unfinished Bell Sleeved Jacket to complete. I just couldn't resist the bandwagon for the FLS!

As far as the lace knitting goes, I finished my Branching out Scarf and started a Flower Basket Shawl, but alas this project too remains in the unfinished category. I have delved into some worsted weight lace, such as FLS, and my current secret gift project as well. As for Niebling, well.....I purchased a Niebling pattern (Lyra) while I could get my hot little hands on it at a reasonable price. Maybe someday I will knit it.

Okay, so I tried out a lot of my resolutions, but have had a little trouble with follow through.

My knitting resolutions for 2009? Well number 1 is no surprise, but here they are:

1. Finish my unfinished business. I have many projects on the needles that I need to finish before I get swept up in all that new project fever. In order of how I will do this
a) Secret Gift Project (70% complete)
b) Snowflake Socks (65% complete)
c) Bell Sleeved Jacket (65% complete)
d) Flower Basket Shawl (20% complete)
e) Baby Mary Janes (10% complete)
f) Smock Jacket (10% complete)

Of course, I always like to have about 3 projects on my needles at all times anyway, so there may be some overlap. Usually I have 1 lace project, 1 sweater or bigger project and 1 small project like socks that is very portable on my needles at all times to fit different knitting situations.

2. Socks. I have developed a habit of collecting skeins of sock yarn. Everywhere we go, I find the local yarn store and find a skein that reminds me of the place we visited or that has a simply beautiful dye job. I need to get in the habit of using these skeins to make even more beautiful socks to keep my feet warm.

3. Knit my man a sweater. Gasp! I have been married for over a year, and have not knit my husband anything except a hat. Although my husband is generally not into sweaters, I did find a pattern that appeals to him in the Best of Interweave Knits book called Cambridge Jacket by Ann Budd. I think it is about time to knit my man a sweater. (And maybe some Dashing mitts as well).

4. Shop from my stash. I have a lot of yarn. Probably not as much as some of you, but even so. I currently have enough yarn for 3 sweaters in addition to the yarn to finish the sweater on my needles. I also have enough yarn to knit about 9 pairs of socks, and 3 shawls. I also have a lot of skeins that would be great for smaller projects.

5. Try Mobius knitting. I have had my eye on the Cat Bordhi Mobius Cowl for awhile, and already have a skein of variegated yarn picked out for it.

6. Try Entrelac knitting. I may start with a pair of socks, but I also have the Forest Path Stole in the back of my mind.

7. Knit more, now that I have the time.

There are a lot of other things I want to accomplish, but for now this seems like a reasonable list of goals. I look forward to a year of knitting in 2009.

Who's that Lady?

My February Lady Sweater is Complete! I managed to sneak a photo shoot in between rain storms today and here she is!

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne (AKA Flint Knits)
Size: Small
Needles: Size 9 and Size 10.5 for the Cast Off
Yarn: Rowan Calmer 6 skeins
Modifications: Not many, but I did try a suspended cast-off for the first time. Very stretchy! Usually my bind off is way too tight, so I was happy to find this method.

I am very happy with how this sweater came out. The Rowan Calmer is so soft to work with and wear, and the sweater is light enough for spring/fall or even a cool summer night. I may redo the buttons, as they pull a little bit. This sweater has turned me onto Elizabeth Zimmerman and I recently picked up Knitting Without Tears and the Knitters Almanac.