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 :)

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

Yarn Thrifting: Part 1 - Buying and Prepping

Previously I talked about my second hand yarn obsession and how I prefer to wash my yarn before using.  If your interested, here's the details on that process from bargain bin to finished object.

First, the primary reason I wash thrifted yarn is I don't know where it came from.  Sometimes there is a smoky smell, or a musty smell and those items are first in the wash bin.  There's also a very distinct "thrift store item" smell which seems to permeate everything, be it yarn or clothing or furniture. Maybe they use a deodorizer for items before it goes to the floor...who knows?

At my local Value Village, they store the yarn and miscellaneous bits and bobs for crafting in a bin with half open packages of incontinence products.  True story.  Maybe they think the two go hand in hand?  Old ladies need incontinence products and yarn...why not put them together?  Hilarious.

Here's the bin:

I sort through the random skeins and bags, pick out the ones I think I'd use, usually in a multiple of 6 if I can (there are a LOT of novelty yarns which I don't tend to go for), then head to the counter. Once home, I take everything out and give it a good once over.  I check for obvious stains or defects (I once found a skein that had been sliced by something through the label and a good inch in, the yarn was in short strings...I salvaged about a half skein), then I photograph each skein with its intact label (if it has one) so I can identify it after washing.  If it has no label, no photo until after washing.

A typical haul looks like this:

Next, I get out my beautiful swift and start turning each skein into a hank.  Please note my lovely assistant in the background who much prefers playing fetch over playing with yarn.

Once everything has been turned into a hank, it's ready for the wash basin.

Stay tuned for Part 2 - Washing Process.

Web Stumblings - YarnSub.com

As a thrifter and "random yarn" buyer, I rarely have the yarn suggested in a pattern. Often, the suggested yarn is something a bit beyond my payscale or specific to the designers region (i.e. a common UK yarn may not be a common Canada yarn), or I may just not want to spend any more cash on yarn when I already have a room full.  I have searched for advice online for substituting yarn (this blogpost from Tumped Duck was very handy) but there are not a lot of resources that I found which actually show you how yarns compare.  Ravelry has its database of yarn in which you can manually search for a yarn with similar parameters.  You select the parameters, search through each yarn and compare. This is very useful but can be time consuming.

Then I found this site:

Basically, you plug in your yarn name, and they generate a list of yarns which are comparable based on yarn weight or category, texture, fiber content, recommended needle size, gauge, ball weight, yardage/meterage, and care instructions.  Crazy right?

Check this out.  I entered Loops & Threads Charisma.

And....drumroll....

Is that not awesome?  This is just a sample; there were 22 on the list, each with a description of how it matched.  You can search for comparable yarns that have certain parameters, such as an acrylic free version of Charisma.  For more how-to on that process, see this article.  Try it out; you won't be sorry.

Happy subbing :)

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!

Tools of the Trade for Yarn Thrifting

I'm very lucky in that I have a dedicated room for my hobbies.  This room has a designated knitting corner which is slowly spreading across the room (This pic was taken a few months back...things have "expanded" since then).

With my penchant for thrifting yarn, a swift and winder are very, very useful.  The winder I had no trouble finding and purchasing.  The one pictured above I got on Amazon for $25.  It's a bare basics hand crank model which works great.  The swift was made by my husband.  It was the temporary model while he worked out the plans for a more permanent version:

Isn't it lovely?  Don't ask me about the mechanics...all I know is it works great and is smooth and sturdy.  I use this swift when I'm making hanks from thrifted yarn; its sturdy construction allows me to quickly dismantle a ball of yarn into a hank I can then wash and dry, like these lovely darlings:

 When the hanks are dry, I either leave them as is but twisted (like this).

Or I wind them using the ball winder.  Unfortunately, because the wooden swift from the hubby is not adjustable, and sometimes the hanks shrink after washing, I bought a cheap plastic umbrella swift to make life easier.  It also works for yarn I buy new as hanks like the Cascade Heritage pictured above.

This thing works but I'm not sure how well it will hold up.  It feels rather flimsy compared to the wooden version but it is easily adjustable so it makes winding from a hank easy.  I did try making hanks using this swift and it sucks.  Its ok for lightweight yarn but anything heavier than DK and this baby is bouncing around like crazy.  It is adjustable from horizontal to vertical which is nice but I still prefer the wooden version for making hanks.

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.

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.