February 28, 2011

Familiar Feeling

Familiar Feeling

After getting only two hours of sleep last night (due to staying up for the Oscars broadcast), I'm not quite firing on all cylinders tonight, but I think this is simple enough a project to post about with only half the brain capacity. This is an improvised scarf meant to both use up the Cascade Heritage Silk I bought recently and to have a neutral colored accessory to wear with my various knitted hats. I'm quite happy with the result, it's pretty much exactly like I wanted it to be.

The yarn is apparently a sock yarn, but I would not use this on a pair of socks, at least not as the main yarn. It's weird how the mere 15% silk content makes this feel very different, lacking in structure, compared to regular sock yarn. I think it's much better suited for something that benefits from great drape, like shawls and scarves.

February 21, 2011

Welsh Country Stockings

Welsh Country Stockings

I've thought about knitting this pattern from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks for a while now, and finally got around to it when I thought of this color combination. I had always thought of using dark brown, and the socks I've seen in brown and white yarn look very nice, but my teal colored leftovers of Araucania Ranco Solid from KawKawEsque inspired me to combine the brown with teal. I have not felt inspired to knit plain brown socks, but this combination made the brown Ranco seem a lot more interesting. I had already considered trading or gifting that yarn, because I always passed over it when choosing yarn for a pair of socks. But, as this and some other recent experiences have taught me, sometimes the old, boring parts of my stash come to life with the right kind of a project.

The three rows of stranded knitting were just about the ideal amount of colorwork in a project for me. I have to admit I really enjoy knitting plain stockinette socks, even though it seems that knitters are sort of socially conditioned to always say they enjoy challenging projects and find stockinette boring. This makes plain stockinette projects almost a guilty pleasure. Lately I've found it particularly difficult to find the willpower to finish a full-on colorwork project. That's why I don't have proper, warm mittens at the moment because I wore a hole through my favorite pair and haven't managed to knit a replacement.

February 14, 2011

Cablicious Beret

Cablicious Beret

It's starting to look like the hats come in sets of three. Next it's gotta be something else. It's just that they are such an instant gratification, and, unlike with socks, there is no such a thing as a second hat syndrome.

This one was a test knit for Circé Belles Boucles for a pattern that hasn't been released yet. It has cables and bobbles, kind of like Laurel that I knit lately, but this pattern has a more grounded and organic feel to it. Kind of hard to explain what I mean, but this hat makes me think of gardens and vegetables. I used the same yarn, Berroco Ultra Alpaca, on both hats, but this one is, or at least feels, thicker.

February 12, 2011

My 6th Porom

My 6th Porom

There can be several reasons for knitting the same pattern six times. In this case, it was because I wanted a slightly improved version of the previous Poroms I've been wearing.

Of the five previous ones I've only really worn two. The first one was a disaster, because I stretched the brim too much during blocking, and, frustrated, threw it into the washer, which, of course, felted it into an unrecognizeable shape (having been knit out of Rowan Felted Tweed). The second time was more successful, but it turned out slightly too big and stiff for my taste (knit with Pirkanmaan kotityö Ohut pirkkalanka doubled). The next three were quite successful, and one of them was gifted to Denise. All the successful versions were knit with a 100% alpaca yarn SandnesGarn Alpakka, so I figured an alpaca blend such as Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light would likely also work well, and the 50% of wool would give it some sturdiness and make it a good compromise between too stiff and too relaxed.

I also wanted this one smaller, less slouchy, than my other Poroms, so I started the decrease chart earlier. I also blocked it quite conservatively, actually using the same "speed blocking" method I developed with Norie: Pull a dry hat over a small balloon, spray just the top of it with water, and leave the brim, which you don't want stretched, dry. Then blowdry so you can take pictures before daylight runs out. It worked perfectly.

February 8, 2011

Fenimore

Fenimore

I think this project, Fenimore by Jared Flood, holds the unofficial record for the most different sets of needles I've used on one project. By default, with my knitting style at least, it required three: A smaller (3.5 mm) circular needle for the brim, a large circular needle (4.5 mm) for most of it, and DPNs for the top. However, I started to experiment with different set-ups to see which I liked the best, since I've been buying a lot of new needles lately. I used a fixed KnitPro Nova circular, a fixed Addi circular, an interchangeable Prym/KnitPro circular, a longer KnitPro Rose for magic looping, and an Addi Lace Click circular (at two different lengths, 40 cm and 50 cm). And the KnitPro Symfonie DPNs. The wooden ones I found too slow. I did not like magic looping a circumference this large. And I preferred the Addi Lace tips to the regular Addis for cabling without a cable needle (and for everything, really, I can't think of an occasion where I'd want blunt tips). The fixed KnitPro Nova needles were also good, but I only had them in the smaller size, so I could only use them on the brim. This, naturally, sent me to an online knitting supply store to buy some more needles.

The pattern was fun to knit (easier than it looks, and fast, too), but I'm not crazy about the end product. I did not stretch it during blocking, but I'd still like a more fitted style. So, it's probably going to be gifted. But I do love how the pattern is integrated into the crown decreases seamlessly. Guaranteed Jared Flood quality.

February 6, 2011

Pogona

Pogona

Since I've decided to take part in the 11 Shawls in 2011 knit-along (in addition to the 11 hats and 11 sweaters challenges) on Ravelry, by the end of January I was starting to feel pressure to have at least one finished shawl soon. That's why I thought it might be a good idea to start with something simple and fast, just to build up some confidence and show myself I can do it. So, I went with Stephen West's popular Pogona pattern, which was a good decision for many reasons.

First, I got to use up the rest of the Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 that I received in a trans-Atlantic yarn swap almost two years ago. Second, I got to test my new 3.75 mm 80 cm Signature Needle Arts circular needles, which turned out to be just heavenly (and made me wish I could knit exclusively with their needles for the rest of my life). Third, considering this pattern asks for 20 stitch markers, I also got to test the majority of the new stitch markers I just made.

I'm not completely in love with the color of this shawl, so it may end up being gifted. Nevertheless, I'm quite happy with the finished product overall.

February 1, 2011

Gentleman's (Olive) Half Hose

Gentleman's Half Hose

My second time knitting the Gentleman's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I recently sort of rediscovered the pair I knit almost two years ago, realizing it was great for wearing over stockings with a skirt and a pair of boots in the winter. I wanted them in a different color and decided the olive green Katia Laine Nylon I bought a few years ago would be suitable. The last time I knit this pattern I made a mental note to use a tighter gauge the next time, so I went down to needle size 2.0 mm, and it worked out great (the pattern is written for a man's foot). The socks are also shorter as a result, but the staying up thing for these "almost knee socks" is not a problem when I wear them over stockings. I'm very happy with them and might end up knitting a third pair some day.