Ignorant Bliss

Bláthnat

2012-01-23T10:50:00.000+02:00

In the past few weeks I've been working on three different projects, and now they are all being finished within a few days of each other. This one is the January 2012 Mystery Sock at Sock Knitters Anonymous by Irish Girlie Knits Designs, which I've knit during four Sundays in January, on each of the days that one of the four clues was released. The nice thing about mystery socks is that when you only have a part of the pattern at a time, even a more complicated design doesn't feel overwhelming. This is only my second time completing a mystery project, and it was a nice experience. It was my first time working with madelinetosh tosh sock, which was also a pleasant experience. A soft, non-splitty yarn in a beautiful colorway called Duchess. I see a future for myself and more tosh sock.

The Ravelry project page

Delicious Knee Socks

2012-01-21T15:27:00.000+02:00

Originally these socks were supposed to be my entry to the Solid Socks January KAL for a black, white or gray pair while, at the same time, using up some stash from 2007. However, as I was knitting the first sock I realized the black ONline Linie 3 Supersocke 100 was not going to be enough on its own, so I had to use another yarn for the ribbing, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid in a colorway that has a brown tint. So, no official KAL entry this time, either, but I was glad to be able to use two yarns that previously hadn't particularly inspired me. Using up old stash gives me a satisfying feeling, even if any amount of yarn knit will likely be replaced by twice the amount of new yarn.

This was my second time officially using Laura Chau's Delicious Knee Socks pattern, even though I've used the basic stitch amounts as a guideline for some other knee socks I've knit. It's a very nice generic toe-up knee sock pattern that comes in various foot and calf sizes and two different heights: regular knee socks and an over the knee version. I will likely be using it in some form in the future, as well, possibly substituting the heel with something else. I knit these with 2.0 mm needles at a pretty tight gauge, but with the mostly stockinette stitch pattern, with just the one cable in the back, they didn't they too long to finish. Since these will be mostly worn over wool leggings, the hiking down problem with some knee socks shouldn't be an issue.

The Ravelry project page

Ishbel #3

2012-01-19T19:16:00.001+02:00

This shawl was supposed to be my first entry to the 12 Shawls in 2012 knit-along on Ravelry, but it turns out it's 8 meters short of the required 250 meters of yarn used for qualifying shawls. Nevertheless, I'm quite satisfied with it. The yarn, CASSIOPEIA fingering weight singles by Pigeonroof Studios, is a great yarn for shawls. It has very nice drape, a beautiful sheen (possibly created by the small amount of silk in it), it's very soft to touch, and the colors are lovely. This particular colorway is called Black Violet, and I like it how there is subtle variation in color, but not too much to dominate over the pattern. I have ordered some of the laceweight equivalent to use on larger shawls, and I'm interested in seeing how those will turn out.

I'm still lacking an official entry to the 12 Shawls in 2012 challenge, and I'm anxious to have at least one by the end of January, so I see another smallish shawl in my near knitting future.

The Ravelry project page

Leaves of Grass

2012-01-08T12:25:00.000+02:00

My first finished project of the year, Jared Flood's Leaves of Grass, is also one of my favorite shawls ever, although this does not count towards the official 12 shawls in 2012 challenge, because I started it in December. However, it was so enjoyable to knit that I don't regret starting it too early.

As I expected, it was very similar to Girasole in construction, all the way down to the knitted-on edging. As I also expected, the edging, which used up 20% of the total yarn, was my least favorite part of this project, but it was still more enjoyable than that of Bridgewater, and also, for some reason, a lot easier for me to memorize. For the majority of the edging I only needed to glance the chart every once in a while, in those moments of temporary amnesia when a part I'd repeated tens of times was suddenly escaped my consciousness. Overall the various charts used in it were easy to memorize row by row, so, for the circular rows, I only needed to check the chart at the beginning of each row, which in chart D meant only once in every 580 stitches. The stitch patterns are also very "logical" in the way that the previous row gives you plenty of clues what's going to happen next. All in all, I'd consider this easy as shawl patterns go. I really love knitting circular shawls, and I think there will be a few more coming this year. But I think whatever I'm knitting next will be sans knitted-on edging, though.

I used my trusted shawl yarn, Ohut Pirkkalanka by Pirkanmaan Kotityö Oy. I used the same yarn for both Girasoles, this time in purple. This shawl feels quite a bit stiffer than the Girasole I've been using for three years, which probably means it'll limber up over time. The stitch pattern would probably benefit from more aggressive blocking, since the bottom of the chart D part looks a bit bunched up, but I'm not sure I want the shawl any bigger. I did use 1368 meters of yarn, which is over a 100 meters more than the pattern estimate. Based on my previous experience I knew to expect this, though. I recommend for all those knitting this pattern to buy more yarn than the recommended amount. Someone on Ravelry is knitting this with the official pattern yarn LOFT, and instead of the 5 recommended skeins it looks like she'll need 7.

I definitely recommend this pattern, and I'm surprised there are so few projects so far on Ravelry, compared to many other Jared Flood shawl patterns. It's beautiful, easy and enjoyable. Definitely in the top three of the most beautiful shawls in the... room ;).

The Ravelry project page

Needle Giveaway Winners

2012-01-06T08:41:00.000+02:00

The response to my previous post about the needle giveaway has been overwhelming! I think it has attracted the most traffic to my journal in its 3-year history, and certainly the amount of comments was unpreceded. Over a hundred people have expressed interest in one or more of the sets of needles available. To keep track of who wants what, I created an Excel spreadsheet, listing all the names of the interested people for each set. The most popular set turned out to be the KnitPro Symfonie Rose Interchangeable Set with over 50 "applicants". To determine the winner, for each set of needles separately, I used an online random number generator. The winner of each set is listed below. Some people asked to be considered in an order of preference for different sets, but that was not possible. Each person who was interested in a set of needles had equal chances of winning it. Now, I ask all the winners to contact me via email at ignorant.bliss@gmail.com, letting me know which address the needles should be sent to. I ask you to do this no later than Friday January 13th. I will reply with a confirmation to the email within 24 hours, so that you know I received your information for sure. If I don't hear from a winner by Friday next week, the set(s) in question will be randomly assigned to one of the other people who expressed interest.

The winners:

Set #1 (KnitPro Symfonie Rose Interchangeable Needle Set): Ivy package mailed

Set #2 (Addi Lace Click Interchangeable Set): megan package mailed

Set #3 (KnitPro Nova Metal Interchangeable Set): ANDIGAL package mailed

Set #4 (Prym KnitPro Natural Interchangeable Needles): melanie package mailed

Set #5 (Addi Fixed Circular Needles): melanie package mailed

Set #6 (Addi Lace Fixed Circular Needles): Jessica package mailed

Set #7 (HiyaHiya Stainless Steel Fixed Circular Needles): fowlervilles deb package mailed

Set #8 (KnitPro Symfonie DPN Set): Isabel package mailed

For the record, I am not quitting knitting! I'm only giving away the needles I would not be using in the future. Since many of you asked, the needles I'm keeping include KnitPro Nova, Signature Needle Arts and DyakCraft DPNs and fixed circulars. I'm also expecting to receive some DyakCraft interchangeable needles in the coming months, but the wait on them is pretty long at the moment.

I hope all the winners enjoy their needles, and I hope the non-winners aren't too disappointed! There were so many of you that most were bound to not win anything, which is a bit sad. But this has been so much fun for me that I'd consider using the same kind of method for destashing yarn, for example, some time in the future.

New Year's Needle Giveaway

2011-12-31T10:37:00.000+02:00

As of January 6th 8 am, this post has been closed for comments. The winners have been announced in a separate post.

In an effort to rid myself of some clutter, I'm going to give away a chunk of my knitting needles that I no longer (or never did) use. Those who are interested, leave a comment to this post, indicating which set(s) you are interested in, by Friday January 6th 8:00 am Eastern European Time. If there is more than one person interested in a particular set, the winner will be chosen randomly. After I've determined who gets what, I will make a separate post announcing the winners, and after that the winners can contact me with their information, an address to send the needles to. I will pay for shipping to anywhere in the world. There will be no cost to the winners (but if the package causes some customs duties in your country, those you will have to take care of yourself). Even the needles that are not really a set, like the fixed Addi circulars, will be given out in one batch (as numbered), not separately, to keep this somehow manageable.

1. KnitPro Symfonie Rose Interchangeable Needle Set

Wooden interchangeable circular needles in sizes 3.5-8.0 mm and cables to make 60 cm, 80 cm, 100 cm and 120 cm needle lengths. The cables are otherwise identical to regular KnitPro cables, but they are brown in color. The needles are made of the same wood as the regular KnitPro Symfonie needles, but colored as rosewood.

2. Addi Lace Click Interchangeable Set

Nickel-plated needles in sizes 3.5-8.0 mm and red cables to make 40 cm, 50 cm, 60 cm, 80cm and 100 cm needle lengths. A connector to join cables into longer ones. There is a noticeable bump at the join of the needle and cable that bothers me, but there are many people happy with their Addi Clicks, so I'm hoping these will be of use to someone.

3. KnitPro Nova Metal Interchangeable Set

Nickel-plated brass needles in sizes 3.0-6.0 mm and cables to make 60 cm, 80 cm and 100 cm needle lengths. Stops and cable keys included. (I think I originally bought the Starter Set with 3 needle sizes and added 3 more to it.)

4. Prym KnitPro Natural Interchangeable Needles

Prym needles that are identical to KnitPro Symfonie needles, the only difference is that the cable is black. The needle tips and cables are interchangeable with KnitPro ones. Needles in sizes 3.0-4.5 mm each in two different lengths. The shorter tips will make a 40 cm circular needle with the shortest cable, and the longer tips will make 60 cm, 80 cm and 100 cm needles with the longer cables.

5. Addi Fixed Circular Needles

The regular nickel-plated brass Addi circular needles which are marketed as "Turbo" in North America. Gold-colored cables. Size 2.0 mm in 40 cm, size 2.5 mm in lengths 40 cm, 60 cm and 100 cm, size 3.0 mm in length 40 cm, size 3.5 mm in lengths 40 cm and 60 cm, size 4.0 mm in lengths 40 cm, 60 cm and 80 cm, size 4.5 mm in lengths 40 cm and 60 cm, and size 5.0 in lengths 40 cm, 60 cm and 80 cm. The tips on these needles are too blunt for my taste, but they seem to have a lot of fans among other knitters.

6. Addi Lace Fixed Circular Needles

Brass needles with red cables in sizes 2.5 mm/ 80 cm, 3.5 mm/ 60 cm, 3.5 mm/ 80 cm, 4.0 mm/ 100 cm
One gold-plated needle in size 2.0 mm/ 100 cm

7. HiyaHiya Stainless Steel Fixed Circular Needles

Very lightweight stainless steel needles in sizes 2.0 mm, 2.25 mm, 2.5 mm and 2.75 mm in the 80 cm length. Used for Magic Looping socks, but the bump near the join bothers me when knitting at a tight gauge.

8. KnitPro Symfonie DPN Set

Wooden DPNs in sizes 2.5-5.0 mm in the 20 cm length.

Ribbed Hats

2011-12-26T20:16:00.000+02:00

Some last minute Christmas knitting for my two brothers, improvised ribbed hats. The red one was knit with Cascade 220, the black one with Artesano Superwash Merino. Not a whole lot to say about knitting these, just thought I should post them for "closure".

The Ravelry project pages for the red and the black one.

Fortnight

2011-12-21T16:06:00.000+02:00

Yet another Brooklyn Tweed pattern. Jared Flood's Fortnight is a very well written pattern, and obviously thought has been put into making it well fitting. However, unexpectedly after completing a project like Bridgewater, I felt I wasn't making progress with this hat fast enough, the cabled part seemed to be taking too long for my impatient mind. Go figure. I would also like to try knitting the version with the sort of earflaps, but maybe not immediately after completing this one. Yet I'm itching to start Leaves of Grass, an obvious two-week shawl project. I don't always understand how my mind works. But before I can do that, I need to finish some last minute Christmas knitting first.

This hat was knit with Cascade 220, which I've found a good yarn for hats for its softness. However, for cabling without a cable needle, it felt a bit splitty, so I don't plan on doing any intense cabling with it in the future.

The Ravelry project page

Bridgewater

2011-12-18T12:04:00.000+02:00

While I'm happy with the finished project, I did not enjoy knitting Jared Flood's Bridgewater pattern as much as I would have hoped. Both the garter stitch center square and the fiddly knitted-on edging mostly made me feel I just wanted to be done with it already. I only really enjoyed the middle part, the Horseshoe lace pattern, which was no more than 25% of the knitting time, if even that. The knitted-on edging took the most time per amount of yarn, and after I'd calculated that with my normal knitting speed it would take at least a week to complete, I decided to finish it in a knitting marathon this weekend, just to be over with it and able to move on to other things (if I left this brewing while starting new projects, I would never pick it up again). So, yesterday I spent the majority of my waking hours working on the last half of the edging, and finally finished it around 10 pm. Never before have I been so exhausted from knitting! (I calculated that if I'd knitted this whole shawl full-time like yesterday, it would have taken me about a week to complete. If I were to knit something like this for money and have a decent hourly wage, this shawl would have to cost several hundreds of Euros.)

I did not make any intentional modifications to the pattern, but there is an unintentional modification (I don't call them mistakes) where I systematically knit the stitches on the wrong side of the edging that should have been purled. I was so far into the edging when I finally noticed this mis... er, modification, that there was no way I'd rip the whole thing, so I decided to repeat the same thing for the rest of the edging. It looks fine to me, so I don't really mind. If the big picture looks good, I don't have a problem with details such as that.

I did enjoy the yarn, madelinetosh tosh lace, quite a bit, even though on metal needles it was a bit slippery. I bought the yarn from a craft fair recently specifically for this project, and I think it was a good yarn-pattern match. I'd love to work with this yarn again, but not on this pattern, though. I think one go at Bridgewater was enough for me! I'm thinking Jared's new Leaves of Grass shawl pattern will be more to my taste, since it reminds me of the construction of Girasole, but I have a different yarn planned for that one. However, in the year 2012 I seriously plan to knit 12 shawls, so there will probably be several possibilities for working with tosh lace again. I'm thinking maybe the Briar colorway, which looks very pretty in pictures. The colorway I used on Bridgewater is called Glazed Pecan.

The Ravelry project page

Mustard Laurel

2011-12-01T16:43:00.002+02:00

Knitting worsted weight yarn after so many fingering weight projects felt unnatural at first, but my first time working with SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted was still a pretty pleasant experience. It was a particularly suitable yarn for a cabled hat, even though when I picked it up at a craft fair I didn't yet have a clear plan for how I was going to use it. I just knew I had to have it, and would find a way to justify the purchase later.

This was my second time knitting the Laurel pattern by Jared Flood. It's a lovely pattern, but I was somewhat disappointed to find out the errors I informed them about last January, when I knit this pattern for the first time, still haven't been fixed. I have a feeling this is more due to Classic Elite, who published it, rather than Jared, because the latter is usually very good about keeping his patterns error free. I've had wonderful knitting experiences with all the rest of them. (Having knit the Porom six times and the Girasole twice, for example, should tell something.)

This is the time of the year when taking pictures in natural lighting is starting to get challenging, particularly on work days. Today, the sun sets at 3.15 pm. There is still some lingering light for some time afterwards, since the sun sets slowly this close to a pole, but the last bits of daylight aren't really ideal for photos where you want to reproduce the colors as accurately as possible. The next time I photograph a knitting project probably has to be on a weekend, since it's only going to be closer to the winter solstice.

Ignorant Bliss

Bláthnat

Delicious Knee Socks

Ishbel #3

Leaves of Grass

Needle Giveaway Winners

New Year's Needle Giveaway

Ribbed Hats

Fortnight

Bridgewater

Mustard Laurel

Jaffrey

Carlisle

Burnham

Super Cupcake

Lintilla

Stripe Study

Still Light

Cria

Lettuce Beret

Girasole #2

Windschief

Familiar Feeling

Welsh Country Stockings

Cablicious Beret

My 6th Porom

Fenimore

Pogona

Gentleman's (Olive) Half Hose

Turmeric

Hedera

Laurel

Eggplant Beret

Norie

Garter Yoke Cardigan (The Pea Soup Version)

Rosebud Socks

Monkey

Rose Teal

Non-Tacky Legwarmers

Guernsey Wrap

Lilac Leaf Shawl

Suit Yourself Socks

Dove Socks

Knee-High Cabled Riverbed Socks

Knee-Length Riverbed Socks

Belle Vitini aka March 2010 SKA Mystery Sock

The Portland Gussets

KawKawEsque

Olympic Raspberry Beret

Olympic Porom

Milkweed

BFF

Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern

Conwy

Gusset Heel Socks

Simple Coriolis Socks

Riverbed Socks

Waffle Rib Socks

Garter Rib Socks #2

Garter Rib Socks

Rose Red

Baktus

Cabled Cap

Snapdragon Flip-Tops

Garter Yoke Cardigan

Rosamund's Cardigan

Damson

Diminishing Rib Cardigan

Olive Ishbel

Kai-Mei

Porom For Denise

Delicous Over-The-Knee Socks, Part II

Delicious Over-The-Knee Socks, Part I

Sunshine

Child's French Sock

Hourglass Eyelet Socks

Porom #3

The "Apple" Shoulder Warmer

Gentleman's Half Hose

Baby Cable Socks