03.31.08
On my to-do list…
…is the Quant from the Winter 2007 Knitty. I bought this super-soft Manos del Uruguay silk and merino yarn. I’m intending to make it as a Christmas present, but I’m a little worried the wool content will make it too itchy for the recipient. If it is I guess I will have to keep this one for myself (not the worst thing in the world since it matches the Evangeline fingerless mitts I just made) and find an alternative, non-wool yarn for the recipient.
Evangeline mittens
I finished a pair of Evangeline mittens a few weeks ago, and I’m super happy with them. I made them with some of the leftover Cascade 220 from my Circle Square hat, and even after these two projects I still have a small ball of yarn left. I made them with 5 cable repeats instead of 3 or 9, and I think they are just the right length. I made the thumb hole a little tight, trying to compensate for the overly-loose thumbhole that my fetching mitts have. I also picked up many more stitches around the thumbhole than the pattern called for, which makes the fabric around the thumb less holey and more insulating, like a mitten should be.
Fingerless mittens work great for me on weekday mornings when I’m rushing to the bus stop, knowing that I won’t be spending much time outside and that I’ll have to dig thru my purse for my bus pass.
I reversed the cables on the mitts, so they are mirror images of each other.
Lily of the Valley
I finished my Lily of the Valley Perdita bracelet just in time for Easter:
03.17.08
Leaf T
I’ve been working on a Leaf T lately. I’m using Knitpicks Cotlin yarn, of which I have 6 balls. So far I’ve made three modifications to the pattern: doing a 1×1 rib for a few rows of the neck, casting on a few stitches in the armpit rather than simply joining the front and back together at the bottom of the armhole, and doing some short row bust shaping. My theory is that the short row bust shaping will eliminate a coupla problems I’ve had with previous sweaters: the front of the neckline creeping up while the back of the neckline creeps downward, the fabric puckering a bit under the arms, and the need to decrease a bunch of stitches for the waist. I’m hoping that with the short row bust shaping this tshirt won’t need any waist or hip shaping. We’ll see.
There may be a few more modifications in store for this tshirt. I’ve yet to decide if I want to keep it sleeveless, add cap sleeves or 3/4 sleeves. That depends on how much yarn the body of the sweater takes. I’m intending to make the sweater pretty long, and maybe into a sort of tunic with slits in the sides or short row shaping to make a shirttail-like hem line. Again, we’ll see. Right now I’m on my second ball of yarn and just past the bust shaping, so I have a long way to go.
03.07.08
Just what everyone needs…
…a furry bowl…
Pattern is from the “One Skein” book. Made with un-labeled single-ply wool yarn from my stash.
03.06.08
Lily of the valley
This is what was soaking in the cup yesterday… a Perdita bracelet. This is the Lily of the Valley version. Lily of the valley are one of my favorite flowers. I love the way they smell. I love that they look so delicate, and yet they are poisonous. Not that I’m especially fond of poisonous things, but it’s the poisonous-ness that keeps the wildlife from eating them, and therefore keeps them coming back every year.
Anywho, I made this bracelet with DMC pearl cotton yarn and some glass beads with size US1 needles. It didn’t take very long… maybe 3 movies worth of knitting. All that’s left is to crochet some button holes and attach buttons. And to wait for the weather to be warm enough to wear a short sleeve shirt so I can show off my new bracelet… there is still at least a foot of snow in our yard so it might be a while :/
03.03.08
Felted clogs
These clogs are great! I made them for my husband to replace the plastic-bottomed slippers he’s been wearing for a couple of years. These fit way better, will be much warmer, and won’t be so noisy. Plastic slippers shuffling around on wood floors is surprisingly noisy.
My husband wears a men size 9 shoe, while the slipper pattern is for a size 11. So these started out pretty big and took a l–o–n–g time to felt down to a size 9 in the washer… I’d estimate over an hour of felting. And strangely, they felted at different rates. Perhaps my gauge was slightly different in them… I don’t know. Anyway, all the knitting and hovering over the washing machine and trying on wet squishy slippers paid off – he really likes the slippers. I just have to wait for them to dry, then I’ll sew the leather soles on and they’ll be ready for use.
I did have to clip a lot of fuzzies off these slippers. For some reason this Cascade 220 didn’t felt as smoothly as the stockings. I’m a little worried that these slippers will be a magnet for cat hair, but I’m hoping the leather soles will keep that to a minimum.
I embroidered ‘R’ and ‘L’ in the slippers to differentiate Left from Right. It was a little difficult to do, but worth it. I love the detail. I used Cascade 220 for the embroidery, so it will (I assume) eventually felt into the slipper bottoms and be less defined and less readable. By that point though, I think the slippers will have molded to the feet, so the R and L shouldn’t be necessary any more.
