I have attempted and not succeeded in knitting four (4!) sweaters in the past year. What I have finished is eight hats, two scarves, and a handful of dishcloths. Yay for me, but for all my ambition I am tiny bit down on my inability to see my big projects through to completion. I guess that's not entirely fair because I did finish one sweater that was too big after washing & blocking -- so it got frogged. I'm just trying to get right with reality in my knitting.
At any rate, I cannot fret over sweaters with the holidays upon us. I'm going to make some socks ... this is my hope anyway. Everyone on my list really deserves a nice pair of socks, but I will be thrilled if even one lucky person gets a pair handmade by me. I suppose I could give yarn with IOUs attached ... and then, you know, take it right back.
It's scary, this sock business!
There are so many knitting videos on you tube ... and even though I'll probably go toe-up, this is good viewing ...
I've been checking out ball winders for some time now, and while they aren't insanely expensive (not all of them anyway) I haven't been able to settle on a model. I don't remember exactly where, but I read somewhere about a nostepinne (nostepinde) and that it was used for ball winding. This is possibly common knowledge to seasoned knitters, but I'm self-taught & still relatively wet behind the ears -- what's a nostepinne?! Thus I started snooping around online to find out what this thing was. It's basically a little wooden baton that you wrap yarn around -- nothing more, nothing less.
Check it out...
While I can't say that I've made much headway on this year's gifts, I certainly have been productive in the knitting sense. Four pieces of head wear (not all pictured), half a shrug and a sweater also half done just in the past couple of months--not bad. Basically all the little projects have been brief diversions--pick-me-ups!--from the lace cardigan that will likely drag on into the new year. Starting and finishing a project in a short amount of time is reeeeaaaaalllly satisfying, so it's easy to justify the knitterly tangent
What fruits and vegetables are in season where you live? Have you incorporated them into your recipes?
Okra! And, yes, I'm making a creole sort of dish right now: okra, tomatoes & and wild rice.
I got my Ravelry invite the other night, and it's pretty much every bit as addictive as I expected. I'm "picnique". Anyone else on?
Show us something you made by hand.
Yep, I did it.
A baby hat ...
... made from the same yarn as the ol' Calorimetry. Super soft! Knit in the round on size 8 DPNs, 2x2 rib. I cast on 64 stitches and knit rather loosely until it looked to be a good size for a little guy. I love this yarn -- it both hugs & gives.
And now, back to the cardigan.
Making good progress on the cardigan, 7 inches or so into the back panel. I think I deserve some Americone Dream!
I love the vertical eyelet lace. The stretch is awesome. I modified the stitch pattern (row 3) to make the eyelets perfectly shaped since the book's instructions weren't right. I'll share:
Cast on 12 stitches
1st row: k12
2nd row: p12
3rd row: k4, yo, sl1 p-wise, k1, psso, k1, sl1 k-wise, slip both stitches back to the left needle, pass slipped stitch over k stitch from left to right, slip k stitch p wise without twisting, yo, k4
4th row: p12
(repeat rows 3 & 4 ad infinitum)
If my camera sucked less, I would provide a nice close-up shot of the pattern. It's super easy though and very much worth swatching :)
I haven't finished my pink raglan yet, but ever since I got the idea of making a lace cardigan in my head I can't stop thinking about it. So I figured it doesn't hurt to have two projects going at once. I can bounce back and forth between the easy worsted (chunkier yarn) and the slightly more laborious lace. I have a game plan!
So I cast on starting with the back using the tubular cast on. I've practiced it once before, and it wasn't too terrible to knit. This technique gives you a somewhat invisible edge. You begin using a single cast on with contrast yarn, you cast on half the number of stitches you expect to end up with. From there, you start the first row with your main yarn doing a combination of slipping, knitting, bringing the yarn from front to back and so on. It's not hard really.
Here's what it looks like several rows in:
At this point you can remove the contrast yarn, as everything is pretty well held in place. Once you do, you end up with ribs that have lots of stretch:
So I'll knit another half inch of ribbing and then start the lace pattern. I'm both excited about this project and filled with a tiny bit of dread over the prospect of seaming. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Here it is, a cute hat ...
The stitch pattern is sort of difficult to see in this pic, so I'll describe. It's knit in the round in stockinette, where every other row you slip the 4th stitch. This creates a ridged effect that is more subtle than ribs, and less springy, too.
I worked the pattern from a picture online--a friend saw the hat and it was no longer for sale. I got pretty darn close, I must say. I hope it fits her son!
