Sunday Craft Update -- February 5

I recently finished these fingerless mittens, from the Jody McKinley's Merletto Mittens pattern, available for free on Ravelry. I used fingering weight yarn from one of my favourite yarn companies, Montreal-based Tanis Fiber Arts.

I also received a few weeks ago my 2011 cross-stitch exchange ornament from my sister-in-law Jill, who is turning 40 tomorrow (actually today, if you're going by Singapore time). It's lovely and I'm looking forward to putting it on my Christmas tree in December. You can see it here.

Sunday Craft Update -- December 4

I finished another two pairs of socks from Cookie A.'s wonderful Sock Innovation book. The first, from the pattern Bex, was made from Cascade Heritage sock yarn, and the second, from the pattern Glynis, was made from Elann Sock It To Me Shades. I loved the complexity of Bex and enjoyed the challenge of knitting it. Glynis took about a third of the time to complete, and it's also a great pattern -- interesting enough not to be tedious, but also very fast to knit up, as all the twists are made with K2tog and SSK stitches (no cable needle required)!

Sunday Craft Update -- October 9

I'm still knitting socks from my Sock Innovation book by Cookie A. This pattern is called Wanida, and the yarn is Elann's Sock It To Me Panoply.

Sunday Craft Update -- September 26

I'm on a quest to knit all the socks in Cookie A.'s fabulous book, Sock Innovation. The pair above is from the Sunshine pattern in Elann Sock It To Me Shades. They're modelled by Kate, who's not afraid to wear socks with her Birkenstocks.

This pair is from the Vilai pattern and is made from Cascade Heritage yarn. As you can guess, this one involved hours of tedious chart-reading.

Cookie A. has a huge fan club on Ravelry. They claim that knitting her socks is addictive and I'm beginning to understand why.

Sunday Craft Update -- August 21

It's done!! The Philosopher's Wool Color Your Own sweater with set-in sleeves is finished. Doing the shaped armholes with steeks wasn’t all that difficult after all. I ended up working the top two inches of the body back and forth to shape the neckline. (I always hated cutting out the neck hole and “wasting” all that yarn and knitting effort.) I also did the top inch of the sleeve caps back and forth, but otherwise, the entire sweater was knit in the round.

I made the armholes roomy enough, so the extra seam allowance doesn’t feel uncomfortable when I wear the sweater. However, the additional bulk prevents the seam from lying completely flat. I may have to do some extra blocking and/or clipping of the seam allowance to make the seam smoother. Otherwise, I’m happy with the finished product and will likely use this procedure again.

What I will not do next time is read the instructions quickly and carelessly. I had to rip out 6 inches of the body because I had decreased too many stitches when shaping the armholes. Often, when I talk to beginner knitters, they are embarrassed to tell me about their "stupid" mistakes. Well, this goes to show that 30 years of knitting experience doesn't protect one from totally idiotic mistakes.

Sunday Craft Update -- August 14

Here, finally, is the fourth and last baby blanket made for Bernat's Project Linus Blanket Drive. I made it with the leftover Bernat Baby Coordinates and Baby Softee yarns from the first three blankets, using one of Bernat's patterns from their extensive collection of free patterns. And here, below, is the stack of blankets that my stitching pal Laura and I made this summer during the Bernat KAL/CAL. (The two on the top are hers.) They've been sent to Bernat and hopefully are on their way to the children who can use them.

Sunday Craft Update -- July 3

I'm working on a very ambitious project: a Philosophers Wool sweater with set-in sleeves. I've done several of these sweaters before but have never tried changing the drop-shoulder style to a set-in-sleeve style. At STITCHES South, Melissa Leapman convinced me that it is indeed possible to do a shaped sleeve cap entirely in the round. (She explains the process in her book, Mastering Color Knitting.) And voila ... here are the sleeves. The shaping is done by binding off a number of stitches at the armhole, casting on a steek over the gap, and then using SSK and K2tog decreases. I knitted the final few rows back-and-forth to shape the very top of the sleeve cap, but otherwise, the entire piece is knitted in the round.



Now, I have to finish the body (the photo at the top shows the progress so far), cut the sleeve and centre steeks, knit the front and neck bands and sew up. I'm hoping that the steeked sleeves won't add too much bulk to the armhole seems, and that I'll have a wearable garment in the end.

Sunday Craft Update -- June 12

I've been spending way too much time with the Harry Potter Knit & Crochet House Cup group on Ravelry, mainly because they've had awesome Quidditch projects this term. For example, there is the Gryffindor bookscarf, shown with The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum, a very good book about the development of forensic science in the early 20th century. The pattern, which uses DMC Perle Cotton #5 and tiny 2mm needles, can be found here.

Then, there is the Hedwig Illusion Dishcloth pattern from Freshisle Fibers. When you look at the dishcloth one way, it's a plain old boring striped dishcloth, but look at it from an angle, and the surprise is revealed!



Finally, I have a complete set of Pocket Potter Puppet Pals, based on the famous Mysterious Ticking Noise video. This pattern is also free from Inner Child Crochet. I really, really hated doing all the fiddly seaming, and I was going to abandon the project after completing Snape. However, Kate begged me to complete the set, and once I adopted an assembly-line approach, it wasn't such a struggle.

STITCHES South

In mid-April, I went to STITCHES South in Atlanta, accompanied by my friend Laura. I'd been wanting to go to a STITCHES event for years, and now that I've gone, I have no idea why I'd waited this long! For the non-knitters reading my blog, STITCHES events are held several times each year, in various U.S. cities, and each is a multi-day convention devoted entirely to knitting. There is a full range of knitting classes from beginner to advanced levels, a huge marketplace and fashion shows.

These were the classes I took:

• "Fully Fashioned and Fabulous" taught by Melissa Leapman. Melissa is an excellent teacher, and in this class, she covered ways in which to use fully-fashioned increases and decreases to shape garments. The best part of this class was having a conversation with Melissa afterward and getting tips on how to do a set-in-sleeve with a steeked, knit-in-the-round fair-isle sweater. More details in a future blog post, I promise.
  
• "Reversible Cables" taught by Lily Chin. It's worthwhile to take a class from Lily Chin just to say that one has done so. Apart from being a big knitting celebrity, she also has a one-of-a-kind personality. This class was all about designing cabled fabrics that looked as good on the front as on the back, though both might feature completely different cable patterns. It's easy enough to follow Lily's patterns, but designing one's own (which Lily encouraged) was a challenging, albeit fun, mental exercise.
  
• "Stitch Strategies for Hand-Dyed Yarns" taught by Laura Bryant. This class was about how to avoid undesirable pooling of colours when using hand-dyed yarns and how to highlight and stretch the use of expensive high-end hand-dyed yarns by combining with solids. This class truly made me look at my stash in a different light. I now have ideas for all those partial skeins of hand-dyed yarns that I'd thought would never be used.
  

Now onto the stash ...

• I bought 5 skeins of Cascade 220 in bright colours, plus books by Melissa Leapman and Lily Chin, all pictured above. I also picked up a kids' sewing book for Kate.
• The two skeins of brown and tan HiKoo yarn in the photo were part of the gifts we received at the Student Banquet. I also got an Addi Turbo circular, which I gave to Laura, as I already own a full set of Addis, and a Skacel lunchbag to hold everything.
• At the Student Banquet, I also won a door prize, a gorgeous huge skein of purple Skaska cashmere/silk lace-weight yarn, which I gave to Laura. What prompted this unexpected show of generosity? (Normally, I'd never voluntarily give this kind of prize up, not even to a very good friend who's crazy about purple yarn.) Read on ....

As if the classes, shopping and door prizes weren't enough, I was the lucky winner of the grand prize at the Student Banquet -- a full registration (4 days of classes and admission to all events) at a future STITCHES event (any within the next two years)!! I offered the purple yarn to Laura in the hope that she'll go to the next event with me, but I don't think I'll have to work too hard to persuade her. I'm hoping some of my other knitting friends will join us next time!

Sunday Craft Update -- Feb. 13

Here's the latest project, made from more of my Mille Colori stash, from the Ravelry pattern 198 yds. of Heaven by Christy Verity. It's a smallish shawlette or scarf and not terribly difficult to do, once you figure out how the pattern works.

Sunday Craft Update -- January 23

I finally got around to using up the remains of the Philosopher's Wool kit I'd used for this project. I added a few left-over Elann yarns and used fair-isle bands from Philosopher's Wool's Light 'n Easy sweater pattern. Todd says the hat is nice and warm, and the Globe and Mail claims tuques are back (or rather, still) in fashion.

A Month of Sundays

I've been negligent and haven't updated my blog with my usual Sunday Craft Updates (or at all), so here's a summary of all the projects from the past month. First is a scarf and hat, with a ridiculously large pompom specially requested by Kate. I made this from a purple pack of assorted yarns from Elann I bought recently, with leftovers from a similar blue pack I bought last year.


I'd bought this hat kit from Mount Lehman Llamas a couple of years ago, knitted the hat, but procrastinated for a good long time before doing the final finishing. It's finally done now, with extra pompoms, again requested by Kate. Go check out Mount Lehman Llama's Web site. It's full of interesting and bizarre stuff (e.g., stereoviews of llamas from the early 1900's).


Finally, I used up 2 skeins from the huge J.J.'s Kaleidoscope Mohair stash I acquired earlier in the year to make a scarf for Julia. Somehow, despite my strong resolution not to buy any more yarn until I go to Stitches South next year, I managed to order 4 more skeins of J.J.'s mohair from Elann last week. At the deeply discounted price of about $7 for a 200m skein, it's pretty much impossible to resist!

Sunday Craft Update -- November 7

I spent a few nights this past week knitting a sweater for Kate's llama, Llambardo. It's made of llama wool, of course, bought from Mount Lehman Llamas. You should check out their very cool Web site, which answers every imaginable question (and some unimaginable questions) about llamas.

I made this for the Ravelry Harry Potter Knit & Crochet House Cup, which may sound a little bit ridiculous if you don't knit and you're not a fan of Harry Potter, but for those of us who do and are, it's loads of fun.

I'm particularly proud of the no-seam construction. I made the sweater like a sock with two heels, and added buttonhole-like openings for the legs and tail. I'd put in too many rows in the front flap, which makes Llambardo look like he is sporting a bust or beer belly. Kate wants me to make him another sweater in purple, so I will try to improve the next version. I'm not sure if there is any demand at all for a Webkinz llama sweater, but if there is interest, I will work on writing up and posting the pattern.

Sunday Craft Update -- August 29

Got to show off my new toy. After having the Addi Click set on my wishlist for a couple of years, I finally ordered it from Elann. Over the past 10 years, I've been slowly building up my collection of Addi Turbo circular needles, in a variety of lengths and sizes. I even have duplicates of some, as I prefer using two 60cm circulars to double-pointed-needles for small numbers of stitches. Though they cost two to three times as much as basic plastic or metal needles, they are worth every penny. They are super-slick, the joins are smooth and best of all, the cords don't kink up. There's a reason these are called "Turbo"!

Two weeks ago, I needed an extra-long 6mm needle for an afghan I'm working on. I have a set of Denise interchangeable needles which have served me well over the years, but I'm such a knitting snob now that I can't bring myself to use plastic unless I'm desperate. So then came the dilemma: should I get the 120mm that I really needed, or the 80mm as it had more potential for future use, or a 100mm as a compromise? After agonizing over this decision for a while, I chose the obvious solution, which was to get all of them.

The Addi Click set has pairs of tips from 3.5mm to 10mm, and it comes with three cords in 60cm, 80cm and 100cm sizes. There's even an extra connector to combine two of the cords together to get an extra long circular needle. I tried the needles out as soon as they arrived, and I'm happy to report that they are as wonderful as I thought they'd be. The tips and joins are as smooth as the regular Addi Turbos, and the parts connect easily. I sure wish I could meet the engineers on their design team!

It was a big purchase, but I do intend to be knitting for the next 40 years. In response to this statement, a friend said, "Not 50?" Well, why not 50 indeed?

Sunday Craft Update -- June 13

Elann had this amazing sale on JJ's Handpainted Kaleidoscope mohair yarn. A knitting friend and I couldn't resist and we split a massive order. There are still a few colours left, if anyone wants to take advantage of the 70% discount off regular price. Julia is modelling a mitred-square shawl, made from Elann's Sunbeam Stole pattern, free if you create an account on their Web site.

This week, there are a number of World Wide Knit in Public Day events. Unfortunately, I have a busy week and won't be able to make it to any near my home. In any case, I'm never shy about knitting in public and do so at least once a week. I don't need any extra encouragement, but it would have been nice to support the more timid knitters. So, please, go out this week and knit in public!

L-Shaped Wrap

Finally found a way to use up my leftover Louisa Harding Flotsam yarn. I made this L-shaped shawl with a feather-and-fan pattern (one of my favourite patterns -- so easy to do). The design is by Jill Gutman and the pattern is from the Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2010 issue. The shawl ended up a little smaller than planned, as I'd run out of yarn, so I'll have to find some way to make it stay on more securely. My lovely model in this photo is Julia.

Sunday Craft Update -- March 28

Every Christmas, Laura and I do a sock-yarn exchange. This year, she gave me a skein of hand-dyed Indigo Moon merino wool in this crazy and wonderful colourway. I decided to go for a hat instead of socks this year, and it took me some time to finish, given that the yarn was fingering weight. However, I made it in time to wear for one of the last cold spells of the season.

Sunday Craft Update -- March 7

It's been months since the last Sunday Craft Update, but I've not been completely idle. Here is Kate's afghan, knitted according to specs (her specs, of course). I didn't bother writing up the instructions as it's a basic feather-and-fin pattern with random stripes. The yarn is from the gigantic stash of discounted Needful Yarns Santa Ana that I bought from Elann last year.

Kate's Pompom Hat Pattern

I wanted to make another slouchy hat for Kate with the purple Tanis yarn I got at the Knitter's Fair, but she had other ideas. She insisted on a brimmed hat with a big pompom. So here it is, and I've included the pattern too, even though it's pretty basic. It's sized for an older child. However, this one turned out to be fairly stretchy and can probably fit a teen or small adult.

Instructions

Size: Child's large. Final circumference is 45cm/17.5in but will stretch to 56cm/20in.

Yarn: 1 skein Tanis Fiber Arts Hand Dyed Yarn (100% superwash merino wool), Green Label Aran Weight (115g/4oz, 196m/215yds per skein) in Grape.

Gauge: 20 stitches and 26 rows over 10cm/4in square using larger needles.

Needles: 3.75mm and 4.5mm (set of 4 double-pointed needles or 2 circular needles in each size) or size to achieve gauge.

Abbreviations:
K: knit
K2tog: knit 2 together

Instructions for Hat:

With smaller needles, cast on 88 stitches. Join in a round, making sure the row is not twisted and do rounds of 2x2 rib (K2, P2 around) for approximately 10cm/4in.

Change to larger needles and start stockinette stitch, knitting every row in the round. Continue in stockinette stitch until the hat measures 24cm/9.5in from the beginning.

Start shaping for crown.
First round: (K9, K2tog) 8 times. (80 stitches)
Next round: Knit.
Next round: (K8, K2tog) 8 times. (72 stitches)
Next round: Knit.
Next round: (K7, K2tog) 8 times. (64 stitches)
Next round: (K6, K2tog) 8 times. (56 stitches)
Next round: (K5, K2tog) 8 times. (48 stitches)
Next round: (K4, K2tog) 8 times. (40 stitches)
Next round: (K3, K2tog) 8 times. (32 stitches)
Next round: (K2, K2tog) 8 times. (24 stitches)
Next round: (K1, K2tog) 8 times. (16 stitches)
Next round: K2tog 8 times. (8 stitches)

Draw yarn through all 8 remaining stitches and close tight. Secure yarn in a knot. Weave in ends. With remaining yarn, make a pompom with diameter of 10cm/4in and attach to top of hat. Fold ribbing to form brim.

Sunday Craft Update -- December 5

It's been a busy few weeks, with holiday parties and concerts, including a solo recital, orchestra concert and strings school concert for Kate these past three weekends. We're also enjoying a visit from Todd's brother, Tim. Consequently, crafting time has been scarce, but I did manage to complete a hat for Kate (photos and patterns to appear shortly). I'm also more than two-thirds of the way through the cross-stitch ornament for Jill. It's going to be a challenge getting it to Singapore in time for Christmas, but I'm still hopeful!