26 June 2006

FO: Norwegian Stockings...

Finally!



Pattern: Norwegian Stockings from Folk Socks by Nancy Bush.
Start/Finish: April 2006 to 23 June 2006
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull in neapolitan ice cream (ha!); approx. 2 skeins brown, 1.5 skeins pink, little bit of cream.
Needles: Clover bamboo DPNs size US2/2.75mm
Mods: Used tubular cast-on, shorter than called for (my leg isn't 15in. long), yarn sub, and grafted toes instead of drawing the yarn through the stitches.

Notes:

I technically made three stockings. The first had been ripped out so many times that the yarn pretty much wore out. I decided to just leave the first stocking as is (I'll probably have to throw it out or use it for tiny projects) and start over. I found that my stranding worked out better by knitting the main color (brown) English style (my preferred method) and the contrasting colors continental style.

I really didn't like the way the heel was worked--so much cutting and joining (not to mention the ends I had to weave in later). I found purling in the stranding technique to be quite difficult although this may be because I have trouble purling continentally. Next time I make these (and yes, I'm sure there will be a next time!), I'll try using an afterthought heel. I didn't know how to make one until the stockings were almost done. The pink is also darker than I'd like, but I suppose that's the problem with ordering online. I would have preferred something paler but they still turned out okay.

Overall, I love my stockings. So cute and comfy. I found, on the second stocking, that it only takes me a few days to make one. I guess my struggles with it were a combination of getting my tension right and second sock syndrome.

More photos:

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17 June 2006

Back on track...

This is where most of my attention has been this month:




It's a little hard to tell from the sketch (apologies for my inability to draw 3-D images), but this is a sleeveless, backwards cowl I'm designing. The yarn is the Jaeger Java that my mom got me in Hong Kong (it's now discontinued but for anyone curious, she found it at Nathan Woollen). I haven't been able to find any info on it aside from what's on the ball band (silk/acrylic/rayon). It has a nice sheen, and I thought it would be nice as a summery top with some sort of drapey element. However due to my lack of, erm, curves, cowl necks don't look very good on me. I've always like tops and dresses that used modest fronts and interesting backs, though. Plus I was a fan of Daniel V's 13th design (the cashmere cowl dress) on Project Runway.

I'm hoping to achieve a similar double layer look like Daniel's dress, but I'm not really sure the best way to go about it. I have a couple ideas that I'm going to try out. The hardest is how to make the layered cowl without adding width to the shoulders. I want the neck to be a little on the wide side so I'm thinking the edges of the cowl (where they meet the shoulders) will end up being the shoulder edges as well. So at some point, I just need to gradually decrease as I get higher to get the width I prefer.

FO: Hedera...

After Dulaan knitting, rather than soldier on with my current projects I took a fun little break:



Pattern: Hedera by Cookie A. from Knitty.com
Yarn: Sunbeam St. Ives in "heather" (#3032); approx. 300yds/273m
Needles: Addi Turbo DPNs size US1-ish/2.5mm
Mods: Shortened heel flap.

Notes:

I originally started this late last month as a traveling project when I met up with a friend in London. I got about halfway through with one sock and forgot about it until I mailed off the Dulaan donation. It's a pretty quick and easy knit, and the pattern was simple to memorize. I would say it took me a little over a week to complete. Would have taken less except I had to go back and fix mistakes when I found out the pattern had quite a bit of errata. I also had a problem with the height of the heel given in the pattern. I tried on the first complete sock, saw that it was much too loose around the ankle (not to mention it looked funny), so I frogged back to the end of the leg. I ended up doing 16 repeats of the heel flap instead of the 24 for a total of 32 rows instead of 48. I also worked 16 lace repeats instead of 14 on the leg but that was an accident I decided to go with. That little bit of extra length worked out since I shortened the heel, anyway.

Admittedly, that's not a great picture I posted. It seems socks on feet, especially lacey socks, are rather difficult to photograph properly. I'm sure the lack of natural light (I live on the ground floor/basement of my dorm with a tiny window) and the unblocked state of the socks didn't help much, either. The thing about how I block socks is (well, for the very few times I've ever knit socks) is that I just throw them in wash with the rest of my laundry and then I lay them out to dry. Hey, I already find sock knitting enough of a chore, may as well make something a little easier, right?

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09 June 2006

FOs: Dulaan Project 2006...




Hat
Pattern: None--based on basic beanies
Yarn: Sirdar Country Style DK left over from Sirdar sweater knitted for Mom for Christmas.
Needles: Addi Natura DPNs size US6/4mm

Socks
Pattern: None--referenced Socks 101 on Knitty.com.
Yarn: Opal Elemente left over from socks knitted for my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas.
Needles: Addi Turbo DPNs size US1-ish/2.5mm.

Scarf
Pattern: None--basic garter stitch.
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun from an abandoned project.
Needles: Denise Interchangeables size US10/6mm.

Sweater
Pattern: None--based on what I know of Icelandic yoke sweater construction. Knit body in round, knit sleeves in round join sleeves to body, and continue knitting around for yoke and neck.
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun from an abandoned project.
Needles: Denise Interchangeables size US10/6mm; Brittany Birch DPNs size US8/5mm

Notes:

  • I left my US10/6mm DPNs at my parents' house and the stores here don't carry anything higher than 5mm. I used my set of US8's and knit a little looser than normal. This worked out just fine.
  • This whole project took about two weeks to complete. Childrens clothing just really zooms by. On the sweater, it also helped that the yarn was much thicker than what I normally use.
  • I finished the last bit last night and posted the items today. Yay for helping to keep Mongolian kids warm and finding an excellent use for leftover yarn!

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  • 06 June 2006

    We interrupt our regular programming...

    All personal knitting has been on hold for the last week and a half in favor of knitting for the Dulaan Project. It's also somewhat of a de-stashing project in that I'm using up my leftover yarn and yarn from failed projects for which I don't have any use. So far I've knitted a pair of children's socks, a scarf, a sweater, and a hat. I just started a second pair of children's socks and, if I have time, I'll make another hat. Brenda Dayne of Cast-On, who lives in Wales, has offered to collect items for donation from the UK/EU and send them on to Arizona in one package. This means I have to get these done ASAP so they get to Arizona by the deadline.

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