Knitting, There Has Been Knitting, Part 1

It may not seem that way, with many of my ABC-Along posts not being knitterly-related, but There Has Been Knitting!

For this post, there is a top-down in-the-round raglan jumper for JJ. He's modelling it here. One of the beauties of top-down is that the jumper can be tried on as I knit. So far it's not too bad.
I will need to make sure the arms don't get too wide when I pick them up at the raglan end. JJ has slender arms. I will knit the arms on circular needles too, which will mean no seams.

The yarn is three different colourways of Moda Vera Crave, blue-to-black, grey-to-black and green-to-black. Rather than just joining in a new colour, I've done a transitions stripe of 1-4-2-3-3-2-4-1. Add this to the already colour-changing nature of the yarn, and the striping looks a lot more complicated than it is.
I have superimposed this row pattern on the close-up photo above.
The photo below shows the bottom rib border, which I finished after JJ tried on the jumper
And, bonus, JJ says he likes it! Must finish it while it's still winter.

B Is For Bag

This is NOT the bag for the Australian Knitters group’s Bag Swap (on Ravelry).

But as I hadn’t knitted a bag before, I thought I should at least try one before choosing a pattern for the swap. Neither the colours nor the style are what I think my swapee would like (but I could be wrong)

I started this on Boxing Day and finished on 3^rd Jan.

This IS my first ever bit of (deliberate) felting.

The yarn is Cleckheaton Vintage Hues.

The base was knitted in the round on circular needles; I used two circs when the centre diameter was small. An increase of 8 stitches every second row makes a flat circular base.

I made a welt of three rows of reverse stocking stitch, for the turn for the side.

I then knitted the side, and the second-last row has eyelets. I threaded a non-felting nylon cord through the eyelets before felting, to preserve the holes.
The unfelted diameter was 27 cm (10.5 inches) before felting, and 22 cm (8.5 inches) after felting. The height was 18 cm (7 inches) and shrank to 11.5 cm (4.25 inches).

I gave the bag a very light rinse before felting, checking for colour run. It didn’t seem too bad – a slight red tinge in the water. I have a front-loader washing machine, so it really was a case of "chuck it in and hope for the best”. I was pleased with how it felted.

I popped it on the open-mouth end of a bucket to dry it.

While it was drying, I knit the top part longways like a scarf.

I was going to pick up stitches and knit upwards, but decided against that. The felted part was a bit heavy and bulky, especially for the hot weather we've been having.

It is kind of like a sampler; I was experimenting with different stitch patterns and tried to make the panel lengths match the colour changes. I only had to undo one panel to get the colour right, and one other because I didn’t like how the stitches looked.

I joined the "scarf" with a three needle bind-off, seam to the back. Then I sewed the top to the felted side. The finished height of the bag is 25.5 cm (10 inches)

I didn’t felt the top part. I wanted it to stay soft and flexible for ease of opening. Both edges had a row (column) of eyelets. One row was to make it easier to sew the top to the bottom, the other became the casing for the drawstring cords.

Each drawstring cord has two wooden beads – different colours on each cord. These make it easy to close, and easier to open. Instead of having to push or pull apart the top to open it, a gentle pull on the beads will loosen the top enough for an easy opening. A pull on the opposite beads will close it again.

One thing I didn’t take into account was the height or width needed for stowing straight needles. You see, I usually use circs, even when doing straight knitting. Doh. Currently a pair of straights is poking out the top – dangerous! The bag is big enough for one project, because I usually knit smaller items, or part of a jumper project.

The design of the bag is my own, although I’m sure you knitters out there will see similarities with other bags out there. I thought it looked a bit like a circus tent, but Mr M called it a yurt as soon as he saw it, so Yurt Bag it is!

B Is For Booties

These are, of course, the famous Saartje’s booties.

How could anyone look at these and not want to knit them? 1221 projects, in 1868 queues of Ravelry knitters would agree with me, and that doesn’t count the non-Ravelry knitters who have knitted them. It was quite rightly voted a “Bobby” for best free pattern.

I knit these because I just had to. They’re not for a grandchild, not yet anyway.

Mr M & I are a ‘blended family’ with three boys, a ‘his’, a ‘hers’ and an ‘ours’. The ‘his’ is married, divorced and two school-aged children. The ‘hers’ is married with no signs of imminent children, but that may happen once they return from five years overseas. The ‘ours’ doesn’t have a girlfriend (or a boyfriend). So, no grandchildren to knit for. But when they come, I’ll be ready!

The yarn I used is Cleckheaton Merino Bambino.

Booties with a knitted teddy friend. I didn't knit him - I'm not sure where he came from - maybe my mum knitted him.

This photo shows a bootie I knit more than two decades ago. I don’t know why there’s only one or what happened to the other. I know I didn’t use a pattern, just knit it to the shape I wanted, and sewed it to a sheepskin sole (fluffy side inside of course). The wool has felted a bit, so I know it’s been worn, and washed.

And this photo shows another Saartje’s bootie, this time knitted in a self-striping cotton. For some reason, I really didn’t like how it knitted up. I only knitted one.

It seemed too big, particularly the height. This may be because I had just finished the other ones. I used the same needles and stitch numbers, but it cams up bigger. It may have been all right if I had had a tame baby to try it on and see if it really was too big.

But, I’ve ripped it. I may re-knit it down the track, but next time I would pay more attention to where the colour changes start, and put the dark blue at the sole and the light blue at the top.

In The Pink

The domino effect continued. Who could believe that one small change would lead to so many others?
So, I now have the new chest of drawers, flower arrangement, and curtains.

Then the old rug just had to go! It was just a small one, in an aztec-southwest sort of pattern in blue, green and tan - a left-over from another time and place.. It didn't go, so it had to go!

I've replaced it temporarily with a brown and white small rug (more mat size) that almost looks knitted. Admittedly giant stitches on jumbo needles, but feasible. Must take a photo...

It isn't necessarily the final choice, but it's way better than the aztec.

And no, Cindy, my dear, I didn't knit a toilet - it would leak! (hehehe)
Nor a toilet seat cover (shudder)

But (hangs head and blushes) this is almost as bad.

It's a soap dispenser cover.

You see, once I'd changed the colour scheme with those pink floral and feminine curtains, the blue liquid soap and its blue-topped dispenser just looked so wrong.
I guess I could have just replaced it with a more compatible one, but that would be wickedly wasteful. And too easy - where's the challenge in that?

I found a stitch pattern I wanted to try, from my ancient Mon Tricot stitch dictionary. They've called it Fishtail 2, but Barbara Walker calls it Horseshoe.

It's the first lace pattern I've tried. I've knitted plenty of stuff with holes, but they were unintentional, and definitely not decorative.

I had about three of four starts - first to establish gauge, then to work the purls the way ordinary folk do. You see, I have a strange knitting style; it's given a name these days, "combination" but I'm not sure I even do that the way others do.

The wonderful Toni, referred to as The Bionic KnitterWoman by Cindy, helped me identify how and why my knitting isn't standard, and it seems to be the way I wrap the yarn to form a purl stitch. The knit stitch (knit into the back, which is the 'leg' closest to the needle tip) uncrosses the stitch, so I don't have unintentional twisted stitches.

I haven't mended my wicked ways - I like the way I knit.

HOWEVER, there are consequences. One of these is yarn-overs don't work the way they should. My stitch-forming closes up the holes!

SO, I have to try to knit "properly" in order to do lace. I keep forgetting. Old habits...

I'm not convinced I've got it right yet. The first needle size I tried gave a too-loose effect, and it was all holes - the decorative holes got lost. The smaller needles worked better, but the holes still seem to be less 'holey' than the dictionary illustration.

I may have kept notes, somewhere, and there is possibly a ball band to identify the yarn - it may have had cotton in it, but I could be just making that up. It is pink - PINK. Heh. What's next? Twin-set and pearls?


I managed to finish the piece, and here it is cosily covering the dispenser, hiding all the hideous blue soap. I also obliterated the blue colour of the dispenser top with lavish layers of nail polish (it sticks to plastic better than paint does).

What's next? A knitted tissue-box cover?

My Cup Cosy

A little while ago, I knitted a tea cosy for my non-standard shaped tea-pot.
It works well to keep the tea hot, so I thought I would knit a matching cosy for my teacup.

Here is the bare cup.

I measured up, and cast on. Then ripped, and cast on. Then ripped again, and cast on. And again. You see, I had decided to use the stitch pattern from Stacey in her My So Called Scarf. What I didn't realise was that it drew in the gauge a lot. I mean, A LOT!
I got it in the end. It used almost the same number of stitches as the tea-cosy, and the cup was a much smaller diameter.

It's interesting how that same yarn used for the tea-cosy looks quite different in this stitch pattern, which gives a dense, compact texture, just right for insulation.

I did a few rows of rib to start it off. I then thought I would do the same when I got to the other end. That didn't work - it flared out like a little ruffle! I guess that was because of the difference in stitch gauges. I took a photo, as a record, in case I ever want to deliberately recreate that effect. (yeah, right!)

The casting off (bind off) only took two attempts to get it right. I needed the shape to curve a little to fit snugly under the bottom curve of the cup. I got that by modifying the last row and not doing the "make 1 " stitch which is an integral part of the stitch pattern. This halved the number of stitches. I then cast off fairly loosely.The height of the cosy doesn't go all the way to the top of the cup, so that it doesn't get in the way while drinking.

I decided against buttons, as I figured they might get in the way. I've used a bit of hat elastic to hold the cosy closed above and below the handle. The elastic allows the cosy to be easily removed for washing.

And, the cosy works! It definitely keeps my tea warmer than a bare cup.

Not Quite A Smidge

It's not really a Smidge, which is the nickname given to the home-made Pidge look-alike on Ravelry. It doesn't have that zig-zaggy stitch that I swatched in that nasty green cotton. I am working on a Smidge that does use that stitch; but I find the double-kmitting slow.

But this IS a short scarf, held closed with two buttons.

The pattern I used is the one for a Multi-directional Diagonal Scarf, but only a fraction of a usual scarf length.

The yarn is Cleckheaton Vintage Hues. The colourway is 1268 - they don't seem to name the colourways, but citrus-and-grape seems about right.

The ball band says to use 6.5mm needles, but I used 5.5mm, as I wanted the garter stitch to close up a bit. With the two-colour strands of this yarn seen on the diagonal, it almost looks like linen stitch.

The finished length is 76cm/30 inches; width 11.5cm/4.5 inches.

I modified the cast-off (bind-off) end of the scarf to have a point or triangle end - I thought that looked better than just flat across.

I like this one.

Fifty First Dates Starts

Fifty First Dates Starts

Here I am doing real-time full-scale prototype paradigm modelling.

Or, if you’re a knitter, swatching.

The rust coloured wool shows rows of experimentation, trying different ways to get the right stitch pattern for a Pidge. I had come across this through Ravelry, where the home-made version has been nicknamed the Smidge.

They had worked out a stitch pattern that looked right, but it involved double-knitting. I had never done double-knitting, so I was looking for another way.

I didn’t find a satisfactory one.

I then started experimenting with the stitch pattern which did involve double-knitting. I wanted a particular look for the yarn, so I tried a sage-green cotton.

This was a Really Bad Idea.

Firstly, the yarn feels quite un-soft and stringy, so it’s not all that nice to knit with. (un-soft is not the same as ‘hard’)

Second, the cotton has no give at all, which makes it hard to knit.

Third, the ply is very pronounced, which makes it too easy to accidentally hook just a part of the yarn.

And lastly, because the ply is so obvious, it did not have the smooth, silky luxury look I wanted. The ply became more obvious knitted up than it looked on the ball.

I made about fifty first starts on this scarf. Well, maybe about eight. I now wish I had taken photos before I ripped back, but I was not in the mood for taking photos, I was more in the mood for chucking the lot on the bin and going out and kicking the cat for a while.*

I knit as far as you see, and then stopped. I haven’t ripped it yet. It’s just sitting there, reminding me how to do those stitches.

* No cats were hurt in the making of this post.

Wedge-y Might

The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.

I am now so far behind with blogging, that I don’t think I’ll ever catch up.

If I write posts for August, then I’m not writing posts for October. So I get further and further behind.

I am having so much fun on Ravelry, I don’t have time to blog.

There, I found Charisa’s gorgeous Wedge Hat and just had to try it. I started knitting it straight away!

I'm sure I didn't get it quite right. For example, I didn't know what size circumference I was aiming for at the welt. "plate" sizes vary so much! I think I may have been a bit timid on that.

I liked the way the colours knit up in this yarn - Cleckheaton Vintage Hues . It didn't seem to knit up as bulky as the one Charisa used. (Wouldn’t have any idea where to get Zitron Turmaline in Australia!) The recommended needles for this yarn are 6.5mm; I used 4mm to get the firm texture, It's such a dense fabric now, it feels almost like it's been felted. That's good - it hides all the holes!

The welt doesn't seem to have the same "presence" of Charisa’s welt; I wasn't sure if that was due to the difference in yarn thickness, or if it should have been more than just one row of purl. Or if I didn't go back far enough with the stitch pick-up.

I've blocked the top of the hat by putting a plastic picnic plate up in there, given it a light misting of spray water, and just left the brim unblocked. I rested it upside down on a towel for a while - now it's sitting on edge in front of the woodfire. The photos were taken before I blocked it. It should look more wedgey once the blocking is done.

I made the band longer so I could fold it over to give a chunkier brim.

The circumference of the welt at rest (unplated!) is 73cm (29 inches); and my head circumference (where I place hat-brims) is 56.5 cm (22 inches). I wonder if there's a magic ratio of welt:head which will make this work the best?

I learnt a lot doing this project.

I love the hat; but sad to say, I don't think it suits my head shape.

***********************

Update: I popped a bigger plate up into the hat last night, spritzed a bit more, left it to dry.

The photos are now the post-blocking ones. The top sits a little flatter with the stitches distributed better.

Then today I wore the hat out into town, and got two complimentary comments/questions about it!

I may well change my mind about this hat not suiting me!

PS: If you're an Aussie, you may get the pun in the message title ;-}

Two Stripe Scarf 11

It’s another scarf!

I was enjoying the interplay of the stripey colours with the first one, so I was itching to start another. With this one, I wanted to play with peacock colours or ocean colours. I used a blue-to-black shade and a green-to-black. Moda Vera Crave is the yarn.

The green knitted up differently that what I expected. In the transitional areas from black to green, it looks almost yellow, which isn’t the effect I was after.

Oh well.

Two Stripe Scarf 1

It’s a scarf!

I got all inspired by this beautiful, no, magnificent, two-stripe scarf by Jared.

But I didn’t have Noro, nor does the budget extend to getting some.

I wanted a nice blokey look, maybe a little less colourful than the Noro. So I tried it with a couple of balls of yarn that shade light to dark; one shades from tawny brown to black, (it’s Moda Vera Crave) the other shades from light grey to dark grey (must track down the ball-band for this one). I would have preferred a black-to-grey shade, but I didn’t find one.

I’ve only ripped it once, just a short way in after starting, because I didn’t like the width. With the method of cast-on that I use, it quite often takes a few rows before the actual width becomes evident.

I like a narrow scarf, so there’s less bulk around the neck. So I restarted with fewer stitches.

It’s now 29 stitches wide over 13 cm (5 inches). Don’t quite know why there’s an odd number of stitches, but it doesn’t bother me.

So far so good.

Except, I’m really not all that happy with the light-grey to dark-grey. It doesn't have enough contrast between the light at its lightest point and the dark at its darkest point. Do I try to find a substitute? If I find a substitute, do I rip back what I’ve done, or just work the new colour in?

Decisions, decisions.

Byzantium Moebius Scarf

I had some Katia wool (Nordic Print) left over from the “Byzantium” hat , so I decided to make a scarf. Now, a normal scarf with a couple of wraps around the neck would have been very bulky in this yarn, so I decided to try a Möbius scarf.

Yeah, I know – probably a bit ambitious for such a newbie knitter. It’s not uncommon for my ambition and enthusiasm to greatly exceed my abilities and knowledge. But that’s how I learn stuff – jump in feet-first and hold my breath till I know which way is up!

It’s interesting what such a tricky cast-on and first few rows does to my mental state. I approached it in a kind of Zen frame of mind. Just do one stitch, see how it goes. I can do one stitch. Okay, I did one stitch. Now do another, I can do just one more. And so I did. And another. And another. It did get easier.

I used the simplest of cast-ons, it’s the one I usually use. Mainly because I haven’t learnt any others. Yet.

I don’t know what the cast-on is called. In macramé terms, it’s just a half-hitch.

It’s one needle in the right hand, and a loop of yarn across thumb and index finger on the left.

It’s very quick, no fuss. As the stitches aren’t really formed until the next row is knitted, it is also neither too tight nor too loose.

Its major disadvantage is with working the first row. The yarn between the made stitch on the right and the waiting loops on left needle grows and grows. I get round this a couple of ways – use that extra yarn to make extra loops on the left and drop the same number of loops at the end, or simply work with it until the end, where it just becomes a tail, long enough for sewing up. I always cast on with an extra loop at the end anyway, and that gets dropped off too. This can be a problem with knitting in the round, as there is no “end” from which to drop off those extras.

I didn’t use any specific pattern for the Möbius – just the instructions from here

I also didn’t want a shoulder-width shawl kind of scarf. I wanted a neck-hugger. I knew how many stitches I had cast on for Byzantium, and what circumference that many stitches made, so I just worked it out from there – how wide I needed it to fit over my head, but not have it sit too far away from my neck.

The stitch pattern I used was the “One Row Scarf” from the Yarn Harlot . I didn’t quite get the first couple of rows right – it was quite hard work getting those at all! I knew the pattern wouldn’t quite line up because of the off-set from knitting into the bottom loops of the cast-on.

Oh well. It is what it is, and I still quite like it. I can get my head through it, and it fits snugly. What more could I want?

The Naked Teapot

In a moment of blood rushing to my head, I bought this yarn:

I think it's Moda Vera Spell, but as I tend to forget to put a sample of yarn around the ball-band, and I have a lot of orphan ball-bands, I could be wrong.

Now, when I buy yarn, I usually have a project in mind, even if I don't have a specific pattern. I didn't have anything specific in mind for this.

I was just intrigued by the discussion with two fellow shoppers, Cindy and Toni, who said the pooling of the colours makes it look a little like embroidered flowers.

Some time later, I was making myself a cuppa, when the lightbulb went on! Aha! My naked teapot could use a teacosy, and maybe I'd get my second cuppa without having to microwave it hot (doesn't taste quite the same).

So I measured the circumference around the top and the bottom, measured everything else that needed measuring, did a quick swatch, did the maths, especially how many stitches to decrease, and then did the knitting!
The colour pooling does look a little like flowers, or perhaps a flock of butterflies in a meadow.




Finding the right coloured buttons is what took the longest. Of course, I didn't have two that matched. I don't mind - I quite like the quirkyness of mismatched buttons.

And now my teapot is roasty-toasty cosy, and my tea is hot!

(wanders off to have another cuppa ...)

Salsa Scarf

Crocus is having a holiday. It's reached a decision point, (what colour to do the next row), so I'm just letting it rest, with the philosophy that the answer will reveal itself when it's ready.

In the meantime, I've knitted a scarf.

It's the first scarf I have knitted in over 25 years. I used a simple reversible pattern of k2, k1b, P1, as espoused by the Yarn Harlot for her "One Row Scarf".

The yarn is Katia Venus, 50% wool, 50% acrylic. It's lovely and soft. Did I mention I'm a sucker for soft?

I call it the Salsa scarf because that's what the colour reminds me of.

Having finished it, I don't like it. The shading is supposed to give it interest, I suppose, but it just doesn't work for me. To me, it just looks like sections of the scarf have gotten dirty. Maybe the transisitons are not marked enough, or maybe the colour combinations don't quite work.

Maybe those gradations were supposed to work better in a wider garment, such as a jumper - the colour pooling might have made the relationship between the colours work better. Or maybe not ...

Beanie Bonanza

Oh, it's another beanie.

Here's how this happened:

Me to JJ:"Why aren't you wearing your new beanie?" (this one)

JJ:"It's a bit too tight."

Me:"Why didn't you tell me!"

JJ:"I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

later, JJ:"Oh, and if you're going to pull it apart, can you make it a bit longer too?"

Men!

That beanie did fit me, and Polly, without feeling tight. JJ must have a much bigger head than me!


So, I quickly knit up this one, as I didn't know how long it would take me to pull apart the other one, or how far back I would have to rip it back.

This yarn, a Katia one called Katrine, has an unusual texture - thick and chunky sections interspresed with thin sections not much thicker than thread. I figured it would have a fair bit of "give".
I bought two balls, and a ball of a contrasting colour, as I had no idea how much yarn I'd need with a texture like this. As it was, I had enough without having to use the contrasting colour.

I knit this top down and made the rise part extra long, and then kept knitting, and then a bit more. JJ said he likes to have it sit right down to the nape of his neck. That's what he got.I did block it, Polly helping out as usual. It would have been very lumpy and puckered otherwise. JJ immediately put it on once it had dried completely, and gave it the thumbs-up. Then he handed over the other one for modifications.

The frogpond is noisy today ...

Swatching for Seashore

I can’t resist a bargain, so when I found this cotton blend at only $2.00 a ball, I succumbed to temptation rather quickly.

I had in mind a jumper I had seen in my vintage pattern book. When I say vintage, I mean from the mid-1980s, which is the last time I had done knitting.

I have to finish Crocus first, but I just had to try a swatch, firstly to see how it feels to knit this yarn, and secondly to see how the stitch pattern comes together.

The colour is impossible to photograph accurately. It’s called Oxford, and it’s a bluey-greeny-grey. My photos don’t show it right, and I’ve no idea what colour it will show up on other people’s monitors.

The yarn felt nice to knit up. The pattern was fairly easy once I got the hang of it. It seems to be a row of moss stitch in between rows of knit, with rows of purl as ridge rows.I have to decide whether I want to follow the pattern as it is, or do these pattern rows spaced further apart. Decisions, decisions!

Hocus Pocus Crocus

I unpicked the duplicate stitch row from under the light-green reverse stocking stitch ridge.

I then had to decide whether to rip all the way down to the light green, or do something else. I had vowed to rip without hesitation if the situation demanded it, but when it came to the crunch, I couldn't face reknitting the bits that were okay.

I also knew I wanted to break up the solid brightness of the light-green.


So I threaded in a safety line top and bottom, and snipped the yarn. I then had live stitches which were the top of the bottom piece and another lot of live stitches which were the bottom of the top piece. Confused? Not as confused as I was, when it came time to rejoining the two pieces.

I thought of doing a three-needle bind-off, but I thought it would make the area of the join too bulky.

Just messing around, I threaded a long strand of the purple yarn through the upward pointing loops and the downward pointing loops, alternating them one on one. I liked the effect. I was careful to make the thread loose enough to match the tension of the knitted stitches.

Still just messing around, I then threaded the purple yarn back the other way, this time weaving it through every second loop. It gives a really interesting effect, and the tension is good. I hope you can see in the close-up photo how it worked.

Now the question remains: do I do the same thing at the top of the light-green stripe? My pattern doesn't have to be symmetrical.


Oh yes, I break all the rules, and join colours in on purl rows too. I really like the nubs showing. It almost looks like top-stitching in sewing techniques.

I can see the yarn play -
purple:"It's my turn now"
green:"No, I'm not ready to go!"
purple:"Okay, just a little bit more then."

I've been doing that purl row colour joining quite a bit throughout. I don't know why all the advice books say don't do it. I like the effect.