FF: No spinning, double FOs for Project Spectrum

It's rapidly moving in to that sad time of year when the spinning wheel starts to get a little dusty. I haven't quite managed to fold it up and put it away in the Stash n' Gear Room yet, but the brake band and the drive band are both off, and it's looking a bit neglected. Which is unfortunate, because I received 12 oz of Hello Yarn goodies in two different colorways this week, and I'm itching to spin them up. However, it is That Season, and so the spinning is taking a back seat.

In order to try and make it up to you, I present instead, not one but two FOs in my favorite color. One is a start on the gift list, the other is for me. So here goes...

The giftee:

Pattern: Jack in the Box Mittens by Robin Melanson, from Knitting New Mittens and Gloves
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted (100% wool, 245 yds/100g), left over from a sweater knit for my MIL long ago, color Touche Teal (icky name), and I used less then one skein.
Needles: US 6/4.0 mm for cuff, and US 7/4.5 mm for rest
Gauge: 5.5 stitches/8 rows per inch.
Start/finish: 4 Oct-8 Oct 2009. Really they were finished today when I sewed on the buttons. But so quick!
Comments/mods: I made the "mens" size, and the finished measurements are 10.5 inches long (from edge of cuff) and 8 inches around. They are roomy on my hands and about an inch too long for me. Which is ok, they aren't for me. The pattern was well written, quick to knit and fun. All good there.

Some details:

This cuff was fun...

I love the Staghorn Cable down the back of the hand - it's such a great texture

I can't believe it's taken me so long to jump on the mitten bandwagon. They are great projects! And, given that you can knit them in something other then fingering weight, they're a lot faster then socks...

FO #2 (for, ehem, me):

Pattern: Indigo Playmate by Wendy Bernard, from Custom Knits
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair (70% wool/30% mohair, 140 yds/2 oz), colorway Glacier Lake. I had 11 skeins of this originally, but I ended up with about 9 skeins worth (weight-wise) in this sweater.
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
Gauge: 4.5 stitches/6.5 rows per inch after blocking.
Start/finish: 3 Sept-8 Oct 2009 (knitting was actually finished about a week earlier, but I have a blocking block).
Comments/mods: I repurposed this yarn from a Moriah's Wildflower Cardigan that I knit PR (pre-Ravelry), and then didn't wear much in Texas. I subsequently discovered that someone had chewed a wee hole in the bottom of it, and decided to rip it out and reuse the yarn in something else.

The yoke and body knit up really quickly. I found that I liked the way this yarn knit up on 4.5 mm needles much better then the US 9/5.5 mm needles I had used for the cardigan; the fabric is thick and cushy and snuggly, but still fluid, while the previous incarnation felt a bit too loosely knit.

I did modify a few things. The collar was supposed to be three inches wide at the bottom edge (so not including the short rows for the shawl collar), but I was wary of yardage, and only knit it two inches wide. Still works fine, but the shawl collar isn't quite as dramatic. I think I like it better this way - this is my first shawl collar, and I was a bit dubious about the full sweep shown in the book. But I like how it looks on (pardon the crappy modeled shot but my photographer is busy eating gelato and looking at rocks in Pisa, so this was the best I could do) (PS - Honey? I'm gonna be so glad when you get home. Be warned that I'm dumping the kids on you and vanishing out the door ASAP).

The other modification I made was to knit the belt and then decide I like it better without. I'm a bit...thick around the middle, and as knit, the belt made this ride up a bit too much and get too short. So I've decided to leave it open. If it needs to be closed, there's always a trusty shawl pin around that would work.

I do love this yarn though. It's got great depth of color, and just feels so nice and soft. I guess it wouldn't be that great if you have an issue with mohair, but I love it. I wish it weren't quite so pricey, but there you have it. Gorgeous stuff.

Make do and mend

I've been catching up on the latest Cast-On series, the focus of which is reusing and recycling stuff you already have. In that spirit (and because if I buy any more yarn I will move dangerously closer to SABLE territory), I've been doing a bit of recycling myself.

First up is a (gasp!) sewing project. There are a number of clothes lurking in my closet that have not been worn in a shameful period of time, because they don't fit anymore or the style isn't quite right or whatever. One of these was a nice skirt that I've had for years, 100% silk with buttons down the front, which I haven't worn in eons because it was a very unfortunate mid-calf dowdy length. I've been meaning to shorten it for a long time, and last week while Boo ventured off to daycare and it was just me and the Wee Devil, I did just that.

Much better. The picture is courtesy of Devil, who is showing unholy fascination with my new camera. Methinks she'll need one for Christmas so she can fulfill her destiny of being the next Ansel Adams.

The other repurposing project ongoing is the reclamation of 11 skeins of GMS Mountain Mohair from a sweater I knit long ago, and really enjoyed for a while, but put away when we got to Houston. And then I pulled it out and discovered this:

So last week I also turned that sweater into a pile of yarn cakes, which were then washed, dried and are in the process of being reknitted into Indigo Playmate, from one of my recent book purchases.

Blue spaghetti!

I finished the yoke Monday morning while both of my children were at (gulp!) school, and am making good progress on the body. It's stockinette with occasional increasing/decreasing, so it's perfect for TV knitting. So far it's seen "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Oceans Eleven". Quality cinema at its best!

FO: Chickadee Cowl

This past Sunday, I picked up my handspun Briar Rose BFL, and wound it up to cast on for the March/April project, the Chickadee Cowl.

Approximately 30 hours later, I was done. Wow. Fabulous, instant gratification, assisted by the fun of knitting with handspun, and a totally addictive combination of pattern stitch and color progression.

Pattern: Chickadee Cowl by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: BFL handspun singles, dyed by Chris at Briar Rose Fibers for the Ply By Night SAL/KAL group on Ravelry.
Needles: 16 inch US size 10.5/6.5 mm circulars.
Gauge: totally off from the pattern, which called for 13 stitches/4 inches. Mine was about 20 stitches/4 inches. Thankfully, it stretches enough to fit over my big head, so anyone who might get it as a present should be ok.

The yarn is lovely and soft, and has a phenomenal sheen. I will definitely be getting more fiber from Chris in the future, since it was so fun to spin and knits up so beautifully.

Hey there stranger!

It's been a while, no? We have made it out of Houston (just ahead of a Flood of Biblical Proportions) and are comfortably ensconced in Vermont at the moment. I've taken advantage of the Grandmothers to get some knitting done. But in order to have at least a few posts over the next few days, I will not talk about all of it here.

First up: ta da! The first of the TdF socks is done in it's first incarnation (the cuff is going to be adjusted when I get to London and the rest of my yarn for this project).

Pattern: my own, to be available in late June.
Yarn: Cascade Fixation (98% cotton/2% elastic), 100 yds/50 gr. For a women's size 10 I used about a ball and a half.
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm
Gauge: 7.5 stitches/12 rows per inch.

These anklets are knit from the toe up, with an easy lace pattern reminiscent of the switchbacks on Alpe d'Huez, one of the most famous and storied climbs in the Tour de France. Easy, peasy and quite comfy for the hot days of summer, whether or not you're riding your bike!

Sad Day

So last night, I finally finished dropping down and picking up all the stitches on the back of Aleita, knit the last inch and a half, and sewed up the shoulders so I could try it on.

Umm...well...no. Just...no.

Where do I begin? I guess the good news is that the length overall is ok (I was worried I would need to add length below the waist decreases). But the bad news is that neckline. Dude. That sucker needs to come up at least three inches. At least.

And while I'm at it? A couple inches longer before the waist decreases is probably a good call. Survey says frog pond.

So I guess that week I spent slaving with a crochet hook was worth it, hunh? Grrrr....

FF: A blend

About a year ago, one Thursday evening, I ventured out of my home-bound knitting realm and joined a group of people I didn't know in public to knit. It was the first of many, many Thursday nights spent out of my house ingesting wool fumes with other like-minded fiberholics, and is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I am typically prone to inertia (not to mention being somewhat introverted), and leaving my house after dark doesn't happen often unless IM and I are headed out on a hot date. But all that changed last spring, and now I chomp at the bit every Thursday until I can get out the door.

In the last month or so I've been exerting my powers to convert some of these lovely folks over to the spinning side of things. I've been thinking about handspun giftees for everyone for a while, but felt it my duty to see if I could entice anyone else over to the dark side. There was one spinner already, and I managed to get another convert, but some others have been vehemently against any spinning-type things at all. Hopefully they'll come around soon...

This week I've been working on the last of my handspun giftees for The Ladies (most of whom are grouped over there under a ridiculous jumble of letters). In almost two years of spinning, I've done lots of pure fibers - Romney, merino, BFL, Corriedale - but not so many blends, and certainly never one with three different fibers in it.

Fiber: alpaca/merino/silk (65%/20%/15%) from Little Barn.
Spun/plied: 9.25:1 (I finally checked the actual ratios on my wheel).

I found this vendor by searching for CVM roving (California Variegated Mutant), and ended up leaving their site with 24 oz of fiber; the CVM, a tweedy wool blend, and this gorgeous green stuff. It was described on the website as a turquoise color, but it is really really green. Kelly green, leprachaun green, bright green. Not exactly a green that I do a lot of, but still gorgeous stuff.

I spun up the singles really quickly - I managed 2 oz in one night even! - and then plied together with a fair amount of twist. This is intended for someone who likes more of the blue colors, and since I'm in such a frenzy to use up some of my dyes, I tried overdying this with some blue to get more of a teal color.

It's lovely soft stuff, and I hope there's enough here for a lacy scarf or something like that. I'll update with final specs once it's dry.

And just to whet your appetites ladies, here's a mosaic (with original fiber and final yarn): any predictions on who's getting what?

That screeching sound you hear is the brakes

Being put on the Aleita Shell.

I had been cranking along in good style on this piece. Did both fronts, noticing and fixing my annoying edge mistake on the left front before it became visible, successfully negotiating neckline and armhole shaping without too much recounting and/or swearing. So I moved on to the back, feeling quite swell about how things were going.

I had noticed when I started the ribbing for the bodice that my stitch counts did not match the ones in the pattern. I don't know if I cast on a some extra stitches or if there's a mistake in the pattern, but in any event, I had an extra stitch on each front and two extra on the back.

This was not a big deal when working the fronts in pattern; I just kept that extra stitch as a purl on the right front and mirrored it on the left. But for the back, my mind apparently went on vacation stopped working had a serious brain fart, because I started the ribbing as directed in the pattern. It took me longer then I care to admit to realize that this meant that the ribbing on the back was shifted to one side by a stitch.

Being categorically averse to tinking unless there is no other option, I elected to soldier on, figuring that a one stitch shift wasn't going to be noticeable.

Can you see the storm clouds gathering? Yup, me too. Might be hail up there as well - best take cover.

This was the case until I got through the armhole decreases on the back. And I realized that on one side of the back, it looked like this: (I = knit stitch, O = purl stitch, offending stitches are blue):

IOOOOIOIOI

And on the other side it looked like this:

IOIOOOIOOOOI

It may be hard to visualize from those representations, but on one edge it looked like k1 p1 ribbing next to a large purl block, and on the other it was k1, p1, k1, p3, k1, purl block. Not a big difference, but for some reason, every time I did another right side row, it bothered me more and more.

Now the smart person would have stopped there (a couple inches into the armholes) and, either ripped back to the start of the bodice (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh hell no!), or dropped back the offending, miscentered k1 columns on the right side, replacing them with a purl column and shifting over the knit column to the right location. Guess what I did.

That's 12 inches of back ribbing. 12. One.Whole.Foot.

This is going to take a long time. 13 sets of columns to be fixed. I'm on number 5.

My armholes are 7 inches. I am not smart.

Green stuffs

After a disastrous attempt to start the Aleita Shell (Rav link) last week at Knit Night (I cast on the entire thing, counted, had the right number of stitches, knit several rows and discovered I'd twisted the row before joining. Mobius Vest is not my thing. Ripped out. And by then, what with the talking and gabbing and screeching and such, it was time to go home), I made it past the first few rows. In fact, thanks to five hours on the confocal microscope yesterday, I've made it all the way up to the bodice and am working my way through p4, k1 ribbing galore.

This one is a fun knit. I like the yarn (Silky Wool), the pattern is fairly straightforward, but interesting enough to keep me from getting bored. And my new toy is making finishing one skein and having to start another a lot of fun.

However, this evening I am casting on something new (slut!). No project monogamy here, no sirree. This is the only yarn I picked up in London on our house hunting trip:

Indie Dyer Mini (fingering weight 100% superwash merino), in the colorway Dad's Den. Purchased at I Knit London, right by Waterloo Station. Given that my commute will involve changing from the train to the Tube at Waterloo, I suspect I may be stopping by on a weekly basis. This could get ugly...

The North

If it's March, it must be time for another round of Project Spectrum.

Lolly has come up with a great theme this time - the four Cardinal Directions, each of which has an associated color, season and element, as well as different materials. For the next two months, Project Spectrum Participants will be focusing on the color green, the season winter, the element earth and incorporating stones, gems and rocks in whatever way appeals to them.

I usually use Project Spectrum to focus on colors, particularly colors that I might not typically use. I went through my stash looking for green-ish yarns, and came up a number of possibilities.

I've got some sage green sock yarn that could be used up,

Some heathery green Wool of the Andes destined for a sweater,

And a bunch of dark green Silky Wool left over from the bag that I cracked open for the Peapod. I've got designs on a vest with this stuff.

But the most pressing project at the moment are the TdF socks. I've lined up test knitters for two of the four pairs, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic about getting them done in the time frame I'd like. This week is dedicated to swatching, and the yarn currently getting a workout is the green Fixation, for the Sprinter's Jersey socks

I'm also going to be working on the King of the Mountains socks, to tie in with the rock/stone theme for this section - I've finished the swatching for that one, but I need to write up the base pattern for the socks and start plugging in the lace charts and (gulp!) doing the math. My favorite part! I'm going to be doing the knitting on this pair, so I can hold off for a bit while I get the other two patterns to the test knitters. But I want to get started!

Hmmm. I thought I wasn't going to have much to do for this round. Looks like I'm going to be very busy!