Matchy Matchy

I knit my second pair of Align Mitts this summer and they turned out exactly as I wanted.  

I made them slightly shorter in the cuff and fingers which suit me better than the longer version.  The yarn I used was Meilenlweit Magico II by Lana Grossa in the overly descriptive colorway 3513.  It's a beautiful yarn to work with although it is a single ply so it can be a bit splitty.  The colours flow like the caribbean - hues of oceans and beaches.

When I finished I realized I had more than enough of this yarn left to make myself a hat.  And since I was in an adventurous mood, the Zigs and Zags Hat was created.  It is my first published pattern ever!

It's a really simple knit, mostly stockinette, with a zig zag pattern in purls.  It worked perfectly with the self-striping yarn by breaking up the texture without messing with the striping.  Who knows, this could be the start of my designing career...only time will tell :)

Hitchhiker Take 2

I decide I needed another Hitchhiker in my life.  Having knit my first Hitchhiker last year, and having worn it frequently, I decided I needed another for variety sake.  

I had hand-dyed sock yarn earlier in the year in a blue speckled green that screamed garter so off I went.  Based on my first go round with this pattern I knew one skein was not enough for 42 teeth so I decided early on that I would add something on the end to extend.  I debated blues and yellows but the black...ohh the black, it was meant to be.  I added the black in a few lines at a time and finished with a wide stripe.  

I love it!

I'm over my Hitchhiker itch for this year...maybe another for 2017?  

Hats!

Sorry for the long delay in posts...I've been dealing with some medical issues lately and am finally (FINALLY!) getting back to normal.

How about a look at some hats :)  I had a flurry of hat making at one point in the late summer/early fall and banged out 3 beauties. I did all three as test knits through Ravelry and all came out lovely.

Hat #1: Oak Hat 
This hat is a slouchy beanie with oak leaves and an acorn and knitted up quite fast using a worsted weight yarn and 5.0 mm (US8) needles.

The leaf tips are a little fiddly but it all turned out in the end.  I used Cascade 220, my first time working with this yarn, and it was beautiful to work with.  I foresee many knitted things in the future from this yarn.

The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry and is called Deciduous Hat.

Hat #2: Cresmont Hat
While the Oak hat was for me, my other half also has need of a warm head this winter so I decided to make my second hat in a more manly size.  It looks much more complicated than it actually is and the pattern is well written with very clear and precise instructions.

It uses small cables and twists to create the effect which makes the hat beautifully squishy and warm. And it fits too!

I may need to make this hat again in the smaller size (it has multiple sizes in the pattern) and maybe in more of a blue tone so I can have one too.

I used Patons North America Classic Wool Worsted yarn in colour Mercury

The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry and is called Cresmont Hat.

Hat #3: Crunchy Leaves
With quite a bit of leftover wool from the Cresmont and some of the same yarn in a pink, I decided to do some mosaic knitting and chose this lovely hat which uses a houndstooth pattern.

There is no stranding, you only knit with one colour at a time; slipped stitches create the pattern. This was a really fun pattern to knit but be warned, it takes longer than a traditional hat because of all the slipping.  Not exceptionally longer but it was slower going than usual for me.
I love how the patterning came out though.  I shortened the hat from the pattern because I did not want a slouchy look but a more fitted style.

The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry and is called Crunchy Leaves.

Whoop Whoop for warm heads this winter :)

A Visual Guide to WPI

I recently discovered this item while reading a Knitty blog post:

It's basically a quick visual reference to check yarn WPI while spinning to ensure your getting the weight you want.  However, I noticed a lot of comments here and there that its a good quick check when determining yarn weight of an unknown yarn rather than actually wrapping and counting. Since I thrift a lot of yarn and a lot of it has no label, this would speed up my identification process. 

As a cheap, quick visual reference card, I just wanted a printable version.  I found one (that's it...only one) that I could print but try as I might, I could not get it to scale.   I then decided to make one myself using Excel, and it turned out great.  I printed it at actual size and it matches up perfectly to sizing.  I added a few things for easy reference based on Ravelry's Standard Weights  and voila...a super handy reference which can be printed and laminated.

Click here to download the Printable PDF

Web Stumblings - Knitulator

Behold!  The Knitulator!

This handy little tool (brought to us by the uber helpful blog Eskimimi Makes) helps calculate where to place increases and decreases so its evenly spaced.  For example, you select whether you want to increase or decrease, then enter your current total stitch count (i.e. 20), then your total required increases  (i.e. 10).  The calculator then returns this:

Isn't that awesome?  I can see this being very useful in future projects.

Summer Knitting

Being a newcomer to knitting, I was unaware that summer knitting is viewed by many as an odd thing to do.  Who knew?  Numerous times in the past month or so I've heard the phrase "Shouldn't you wait until its colder to do that?" or "Knitting is for the winter" or "Why are you doing that now?". I'm not sure where people think knit items come from when it get colder, but apparently they magically get knit on the first day of winter for immediate use...

I have noticed that I'm less inclined to knit heavy items (sorry, not sorry Brighton Cowl...we'll have a reunion in October, I promise) and am leaning more towards socks and lightweight pieces.

I'm currently working on a sock test knit.  It's an ankle sock with a really clever pattern on the top which using decreases followed by increases every few rows to create ridges on the top of the sock. This is my first non-vanilla sock pattern and I love it so far.  Here's a sneak peek (from when I was knitting in the Halifax Public Gardens yesterday).

You can see the texture lines to the right of my stitch marker.  

The yarn is Red Heart Heart & Sole in Green Envy.  Its especially fitting for summer knitting with its bright greens, oranges and yellows.  I'll link to the pattern once it goes live You can find the pattern here for purchase :)

Here's to summer knitting!  Cheers!

Fingerless Mittens

I'm always of two minds when I look at a fingerless mitten pattern.  They are one of those items that are fun to knit, gratifying in that they don't take long, but I never quite know when I'll wear them.  I live in Canada so if it's cold enough for gloves, you need your fingers covered too.  Wearing them in the house is an option but I find knitting awkward while wearing anything on my hands and I just feel silly wearing them while watching TV...what's a girl to do.  Well, they do make quick and easy gifts.

One of my very first projects after a garter scarf was a pair of fingerless mittens.  They were knit flat and seamed on the side, leaving an opening for the thumb.

I loved them.  I had made them all by myself and they actually fit AND they looked good...I was very proud.  That being said, I never really wore them that much.  They were a cheap scratchy acrylic with no give so they weren't ideal.  Looking at the pattern projects on Ravelry now, the pattern looks so much nicer in a lighter, softer, yarn.  Maybe I'll revisit this pattern in the future with a nicer yarn.

Anywho...

I decided to make a "finer" pair of fingerless mittens.  I saw this pattern from Courtney Spainhower on Very Pink Knits and decided I'd give it a shot.  VeryPink also has a great YouTube video that covers the pattern.

These turned out great.  They're well fitted, colourful, and comfy.  I haven't quite decided if I'll keep or gift but either way, I'm happy with how they turned out.

Recent FOs

I am bringing my WIPs total down!

I finished my Strong Heel Socks on July 31st :)

And they were Titan approved!

I also finished the test knit I started after the socks.  Behold the Razzle Dazzle Cowl!

There were two option: a long infinity scarf or a short cowl.  Based on my yarn amounts, I opted for the short and snuggly cowl.  I definitely made the right choice; I think I'll keep this one for myself!

I'll add a link for the pattern once it goes live for purchase.  

Pattern is live and can be purchased through Ravelry by clicking here!

Many thanks to Stana (Fifinka on Ravelry) of Stana's Critters Etc. for inviting me to test knit.

Adventures in Sock Making - The Well-Heeled Edition

So far in my knitting adventure I have only knit socks cuff down.  Some day I may try toe-up, but for now, I'm happy as a cuff down knitter.  I have been testing out different heels though.  So far I have tried a standard heel flap and gusset using Susan B. Anderson's tutorial, an afterthought heel (with modifications), and am almost finished a pair with a strong heel.  

My very first socks were large, worsted weight and knit based on this awesome tutorial from Staci Perry (she has, by far, some of THE best tutorial videos).  This was my first introduction to the heel flap and gusset.

For my next two pairs, I went to smaller needles and sock weight yarn but stuck with the heel flap and gusset using Susan B. Anderson's tutorial for stitch counts.

Wanting to change it up a bit, I then tried an afterthought heel.  I researched it a bit and found this fantastic post which provided excellent guidance and instructions on adding lifelines to make adding the heel easier.  The heel didn't look as nice as the standard heel flap and gusset so I'm not completely sold on this one just yet.

I also misjudged the sizing and these socks were quite large...they fit my husbands size 10 rather than my size 8.  If I use this heel in the future I'll have to adjust my "sock before adding the heel" length.

My current in-progress sock has an intriguing "strong" heel.  This heel doesn't require picking up stitches and reminds me a lot of the thumb gusset in mittens.  The heel is increased forming a gusset, then you turn the heel and rejoin, continuing on in the round.  It is the most convenient of heels so far.

As I enjoy knitting mittens, the paired increases were familiar too.  The only thing I don't like is the tiny hole when you begin working in the round after the heel turn.  It's small, but annoying (you can see it in the picture below in the skinny brown coloured row that comes across the heel).  I did try picking up the stitch between but its not ideal.  I'll have to work on that.

I might take a small sock making break when this pair is finished but I think the strong heel may be my go to from now on.  I may experiment with adding slipped stitches in the heel gusset (similar to a heel flap) to strengthen it...I'll keep you posted :)

WIP Anxiety

I am discovering that multi-tasking knitting projects is not my thing.

Up until about a month or so ago, I sailed along completing one project before starting another. Then, halfway through a sock project, I started a second so I could "mix -it-up".  Then I started a MKAL, and another, and suddenly I had 5 projects underway.  There were 2 pairs of socks, a pair of fingerless mittens, a softie, and a cowl.  I was stressing over neglecting one while working on another, and trying to budget time for them and...so much for my relaxing hobby.

So, I prioritized.  One pair of socks and the fingerless mittens were MKALs and I really wasn't enjoying them so I frogged both.  The designs were more complicated and labour intensive than I wanted and I knew I would probably never wear either.  I was also HATING the yarn I used for the socks....TANGENT TIME!!

Loops and Threads Pizzazz (Rav link) is not a pleasant yarn to work with.  I tried...I really did.  

The yarn is very scratchy and the metallic thread is really rough.  I have other metallic yarns which are similar sock weight make with wool and nylon (such as Red Heart Stardust) which are not scratchy at all.  Even the pure acrylics with metallic are softer and nicer to work with (i.e. Red Heart Holiday).  

I attempted the MKAL for Bovary:

I then tried the Baktus scarf (it was horrible, I didn't even take a picture).  I've since re-started this pattern for the third time (this time I'm using Paton's Blue Ragg) so you'll see that on here in the future I'm sure.

This yarn was not for me and will probably stay at the bottom of my stash until I give it away.

Ok, back to the projects.  I was now down to a pair of socks,  a cowl, and a softie.  I finished the MKAL Softie, Cecile. She turned out lovely.  I was quite proud of my first knit toy.

I still have the socks (just half a foot and the toe to go!), the cowl (which I haven't touched in 2 weeks), and restarted the Karius verision of Baktus (Karius is stockinette, Baktus is garter).  I also have some recycled yarn drying from a recent Value Village haul to start a test knit for an infinity scarf.

The plan: I will have the socks done before the end of the month...or die trying.  Then its the infinity scarf, then the Baktus, and then the other cowl.  Hopefully.  Wish me luck.

Hitchhiker

A few months back I completed the Hitchhiker scarf by Martina Behm, becoming 1 of over 20,000 knitters to start this project according to Ravelry.  It was a great knit.  It's one of those scarves that immediately jazzes up an outfit without being fussy.  Here's my version knit in Special Merino Lace from Loveknitting.com (an awesome place to shop for yarn BTW).  The yarn was being discontinued so a grabbed 4 skeins (2 in a mottled purpley colour and 2 in green) at a steal of a price.  Its 100% Merino and beautifully soft and squishy.

I learned several things from this scarf.

First, this yarn is a dream to knit with.  Its soft, not splitty, and glides across the needles.  Its a shame its been discontinued.  I foresee more Merino purchases in my future.

Second, if you want the same size as the pattern, you need to swatch and match gauge.  I didn't swatch so my scarf was a bit smaller than I would have liked and the fabric a teensy bit on the dense side.  Blocking stretched things out a bit but bigger would have been nicer.

Third, and most humbling of all, sometimes math and logic will fail you if you don't look at the big picture.  I was happily knitting away and realized my scarf was coming out small so I checked the gauge and then the finished measurements and did some math.  Based on my math, things didn't add up.  I huffily kept knitting, thinking I was mislead about the size.  Then, I stretched my knitting and realized I was an idiot...the scarf stretches on a diagonal because of the construction.  I contritely continued knitting and apologized (in my head) to Martina Behm for doubting her.

Yarn Shopping - Thrift Style

I love thrift shopping. Most of the clothing I own comes from Value Village and a good chunk of my yarn stash has come from there as well. I frequently stop in and comb through the craft section. Sometimes I walk away empty handed; other days, I'm the crazy lady at the counter with 18 balls of yarn. Yup, that's how many I had last week. You have to purchase a multiple of 6 to get the best deal (don't ask why... Its cheaper to buy 6 than 4) hence the 18. Here's the round up:

1 ball Cascade Heather in green
1 ball no label pink worsted weight 100% wool (as far as I can tell) (112 grams)
1 ball Red Heart Stargazer sock yarn
1 ball no label blue sock yarn (25 grams)
3 balls no label good quality boucle cotton blend (150 grams per ball)
8 balls Cotton Fantasie in pink
1 ball Nature Spun fingering wool (50 grams)
1 ball no label mohair blend multi colour (25 gram)
1 ball Garnstudio Vivaldi in a purpley-blue (50 grams)

Total cost: ~$15.00

I always wash thrifted yarn because you never know where it's been. The yarn is frequently loose and rolling around in bins or on the floor so I always wash it before using it. That may be overkill but it works for my piece of mind.

Of my recent score, everything has been turned into hanks, washed, and is currently drying. Wooohooo for thrifted yarn.

Awestruck by Mittens

Some people are too talented for words.  Whenever I scroll through projects on Ravelry, I'm awed by the intricacies that some knitters achieve.  Then there's these mittens from Kat Lewinsky at justcraftyenough.com.  Size 0000 needles people!!  Amazing.  Blue ribbon worthy for sure.

Garden Knitting

Is there anything better than knitting in the sun near a beautiful fountain  with a giant lilac tree perfuming the air? You can't help but love the Halifax Public Gardens.

New Beginnings and New Found Passion

Recently I discovered I have a passion for knitting.  I know, I know, it shocked me too.  A few years ago I tried my hand at the craft but a few garter projects and one pair of seamed fingerless mitten later, I lost interest.  Fast forward to November 2014.  A friend at work suggested a lunchtime knitting group and I thought, why not.  I had a ribbed scarf that had been hibernating for more than 3 years, so I figured I'd plod through that during lunch and enjoy the company.  Then, something marvelous happened.  I finished the scarf, and tried a dishcloth; finished the dishcloth, tried some seamed stockings for ornaments; finished those and went to mittens, and more mittens, then hats and socks and scarves and more socks and OH MY GOD I'M A KNITTER!  Being entirely self taught, the internet was a Godsend.  The BEST resource I found was VeryPink Knits.  Her YouTube Channel is a treasure trove of basics, techniques, tutorials and answers to questions you never knew to ask.  Of course, Ravelry is also amazing.  I'm very data oriented so having a resource like Ravelry blows my mind.

SO, here I am, 8 months after that first lunch meeting.  I'm having so much fun and learning so many new things I wanted a way to chronicle my journey.  So it begins :)