Knit and Learn

Documenting a Process

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 13:58:00 +0000

I know it has been some time since I have posted to this blog. It is not because I have stopped knitting! Mostly, it is because life interfered. I am picking this blog back up to document a process I have recently started. (I will link any podcasts I mention in the body of the blog post.)

A few weeks ago, I watched a podcast in which the podcaster showed all the sweaters she had knit in 2020. This is not someone I normally follow, but it popped up in my suggestions feed. One of these sweaters was a vintage pullover. She mentioned how hard it was to either source vintage yarn or to find a modern equivalent.

I then watched a live video of an unboxing of yarn and material kits. The kits contained a pattern, enough yarn to knit the pattern, and enough wool material to make a skirt. Evidently, these kits were popular during the 60's, but are no longer available today, unless someone has one sitting around in their house and they decide to sell it. The idea set my mind to working. I looked for one of these kits online, but struck out.

Blue Plaid Skirt

My mind continued to work. I really liked the idea, but how could I follow through if I could not buy the kits. Then the idea struck and the crazy began.

I have wool material in the house that I had bought to make a skirt. I bought two lengths, one in blue and one in pink. The blue one is already made up into a skirt. The pink is sitting in my stash waiting for me to sew it.

As for the yarn, when it was mentioned that vintage yarn was thinner than most modern fingering weight yarns and was also knit at a very fine gauge, I immediately thought of Holst Garn. Many of their yarns are a light fingering weight, a characteristic which would make them perfect for vintage knitting.

Pink Plaid Material

Then the crazy kicked in, I could make my own kit! I have the material and I can acquire a yarn that would work for my purposes!

I pulled out the material and my Holst Garn shade cards in Supersoft and Titicaca. I also pulled out any of their yarns that I have used over the years. I have yarn in:

Supersoft, a 100% wool blend of Shetland and Merino wools,
Titicaca, a 100% alpaca yarn
All of my swatches so far
Noble, a geelong and cashmere yarn
Tides, a wool and silk yarn

Then the swatching began. I am using US2 needles or 2.75mm needles. I ordered the shade cards in the other yarns they sell that would work for my project. I also ordered the Coast yarn. Coast is a cotton and wool blend.

This is as far as I have gotten so far. I will keep you posted on the progress as I knit and learn!

Challenge Accepted!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 15:41:00 +0000

So the Winter Olympics took place in February. As any of you who are on Ravelry know the Ravellenics take place at the same time. This year, I wanted to really challenge myself, so I set my goal at one WIP (work in progress), one baby hat, and one sweater for myself. I won a 'medal' for the WIP and for the baby hat, but failed miserably at the sweater. I talk about what went wrong on the project page, but for right now it is in 'time out' thinking about what it did wrong!

I was able to finish all of the projects I mentioned in my last post. I loved making the Max sweater and the recipient loves wearing it. The recipient of the socks has worn them almost every night since I gave them to him! Following are some pictures of the finished items.

I am also participating the the Striped Socks KAL hosted by the Knit Girllls. I finished the pair for January with some time to spare, but February's socks are going right to the wire! The red striped pair are for January and the purple striped pair are for February.

Future projects include a Comfort Fade Cardigan I am trying to finish by the end of March. Another KAL! The sweater brings together some smaller lots of yarn in green and grey. I have been having so much fun planning and knitting this sweater. I think it will be a beloved addition to my wardrobe.

Knit and Learn
A couple of things I have learned over the past few weeks. When modifying your sweater, make sure to include all the increases needed. Also make sure you count your stitches before moving on to the next section of knitting. Both of these will save you lots of time and heartache! Until next time, keep on knitting and learning!

Hello all!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Wed, 03 Jan 2018 14:12:00 +0000

I have finally finished my master's degree so maybe now I will have more time to blog. Challenge for this year: Blog once a month!

To start off the year I would like to share what I am working on.

Baby sweaters!

I am working on two baby projects. One for my sister who is pregnant with number 5! She is getting an Antler Cardigan by Tin Can Knits as well as an already finished Antler Hat. I am inverting the colors of the hat and the sweater.

The second is for a couple in my church. It is their first baby and the baby shower was unexpectedly moved up by 2 weeks! AHH! She is getting a Barley Light Hat (again by Tin Can Knits. If you have never heard of them, check them out! They have a lot of classic patterns in sizes ranging from baby to very big ;). She is also getting a Beyond Puerperium sweater in 0-3 month size.

Octopus from the Octo Project for Preemie babies

Both are also going to get an Octopus made from the OctoProject pattern.
The project in Portugal is called Polvo de Amor (Octopus of Love). I have been trying to promote this project in the two schools where I teach. (Also one of my goals for 2018.) These octopus are designed to help premature babies survive. The tentacles, by imitating the umbilical cord, give them a sense of security and help to prevent removal of the various tubes attached to them. The project here in Portugal gives them to babies in the Neo-Natal units in 10 different hospitals.

Birthday Presents

My coworker's middle child, Lib, has a birthday in January. She asked for a sweater. As she is an avid reader, I asked her what her favorite book was. She replied with a few, but one of them was the Book Thief. I had recently seen the movie of the same title and so was familiar with the story line. I went looking for some patterns and found nothing. Bummer! Then I searched for photos of the characters looking for a sweater style that would fit Lib's style. I came up with a photo of Max in a shawl collared grey sweater. Since she had asked for either grey or blue, this fit. I showed her some different pics of shawl collared sweaters and she picked the style she liked. Then away I went and designed the Max Sweater! We will see how it turns out. I had to put that aside for the baby sweater due in 10 days!

About half of Max's Sweater

The other birthday present I am working on is for a young man in our youth group. He asked for a pair of wool socks. I think that he will appreciate them so I said, "Maybe." After some thought, I cast on a pair of Blueberry Waffles socks in a black tonal yarn. Good thing these are easy to do by feel! I have noticed lately that black yarn and I are having problems. Namely, my eyes "ain't as good as they used to be!"

Goals

Some of my knitting goals for this year:

Knit Sweaters for my sister's children (It has been a while since they received sweaters from me)
Knit/Crochet at least one blanket for the Mount of Olives Camp
Participate in the Ravelenics in February - I want to knit a sweater for myself, but that may change
Knit up some of the sweater quantities I have in my stash (I recently purged my closet of many of my commercial pullovers, I would like to replace them with handknit pullovers. Not my normal mode as I prefer to knit cardigans).

Knitting and Learning

In the last couple of years, I have learned that some things have to give when you have too much on your plate! Hopefully, I can pick them up again now that I have less on my plate. Until next time!

The importance of GOOD notes!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 17:19:00 +0000

First an update on my goals for this year. I finished the sweater for my coworker's daughter. She loved it and it prompted her sister to ask for one, too!

Emerald Lilies-of-the-Valley of May shawl has been frogged and restarted. I am making a half-pi shawl utilizing the charted patterns from Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark as the lace sections of this half-pi. So far so good.


Not the best photo and before blocking!

I have also completed two projects from my bag of stash. A couple from my church has been very helpful to me over the last couple of years. I recently realized that I had never made anything for them. Soooo ... I made a pair of socks from Patons Kroy Sock in the Gentry Grey colorway for the husband and made a cowl and mitts set for the wife out of Knit Picks Palette in the Whirlpool colorway. Both turned out well.

Now for what I learned in the last week. Make good notes! It makes it so much easier to pick up a project that has been hiding for awhile if you do. This example is actually a positive example this week.

Following my goals for this year, I picked up the Fire and Ice cardigan out of my WIP's (Works In Progress) pile and started to work on it. Because I had kept good notes, I was able to just pick it up, see where I was and start to knit. Really good feeling!

Since picking it back up, I have finished the yoke and divided for the sleeves. I will be steeking this sweater to make a cardigan. I love the colors I chose at the beginning of the project. I have always loved bold color choices with neutrals or contrasts. My dad used to tease me that my clothes were battery operated.

The knitting on this sweater should go easily now that I have most of the colorwork out of the way. We will see!

In the mean time, keep on knitting and learning!

I'm Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 17:48:00 +0000

It has been a long time since I updated this blog. One of my goals this year is to update it at least once a month. We will see how this goes.

This year I thought I would share some of my goals for knitting and use this space as a way to keep myself accountable. Along the way, I would also include what I have been learning as I knit my way through the year.

First, 2016 goals!

Blog once a month
Knit from stash as much as possible
Complete several projects that have been languishing on the needles *The ones with links have photos

Knit a Christmas present for each member of my sister's family
Birthday presents for my coworker's children
I also filled a big bag with yarn for future projects (all from stash)

Because I want to go to a fiber related event later this summer I am trying to only buy what I need to complete Christmas and Birthday presents.

Now on to something I learned

I am making the Parcel pullover by Carol Feller as a birthday present for one of my coworker's children. I have made it before in a smaller size yarn as a cardigan for myself. This time I am using a yarn I have worked with before from Lanas Stop, Extra Merino. It is a wool and acrylic blend that allows for machine washing. What I learned this time was that even machine made yarns do have dye lots. This is something I know from working with hand dyed yarns and sort of knew was true of some pure wool yarns. However, I learned this lesson, always buy enough to finish your project in the same dye lot and you can´t always use your leftovers from a former project even if they are the same yarn and same color. I have it all straightened out now. I am just happy that they had extra skeins in the same color. Next time ...!

That is all for this time but I will try to keep you up to date on the projects in my bag and on my WIP list. Until next time, keep knitting and learning!

Cables? Again?

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 14:07:00 +0000

As much as I hate knitting cables due to the pain they cause my hands, I seem drawn to patterns that envolve them. Witness my latest project, theBlackberry Cabled Cardigan.The yarn I chose for this sweater doesn't help either. It is a cotton blend from Lanas Stop. Cotton hurts my hands when I knit it (not so much when I crochet with it, oddly enough.) Add in cables and I am just asking for a knitting injury.

In spite of the drawbacks, this has been an enjoyable knit. The cables look great and the sweater fits well. On top of that, it is machine washable! This sweater was modified from its original design. I removed the Blackberry stitch from the front and back of the cardigan. I did this to make it easier to add in the shaping I wanted. Using principles from Amy Herzog’s Craftsy class, Knit toFlatter, I added waist shaping toward the center of the garment instead of on the side as the pattern is written. I used vertical bust darts instead of horizontal bust darts. Having used both types of bust darts, I much prefer the vertical kind. They can be added into almost any design and look better on the wearer. Other than making sure that the cables on the sleeves were straight out of the ribbing, I knit it as written. Setting up the sweater involved a lot of math, but once I got to knitting, all the setup paid off.

I learned a new technique from the most unlikely place, the KnitPrincess cartoon. The technique is knitting cables without a cable needle. This technique from the outside looks daunting, but is actually fairly easy once you get the hang of it. The technique requires the dropping of some stitches and then picking them back up in a different order. For example, crossing a cable with four stitches would look like this:

Insert needle into back of stitches 3 & 4 on the left needle. Slide stitches 1-4 off the left needle. Stitches 3&4 should be on the right needle and 1&2 should be hanging from work. Use left needle to pick up 1&2 and then slide 3&4 back onto left needle from the right. Sounds complicated, right? It is much easier when you have pictures in front of you. So here is a video showing you how. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6DB6WhAKvY

Next time on Knit and Learn, I will be talking about my other project, Elijah. Stay tuned and keep on knitting and learning.

Edited to include link for the Knit Princess cartoon.

Where have you been?!?

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:11:00 +0000

Wow, it has been some time since my last post. In that time, I have been to the States and back. My trip went well and I am now settling back into my routine here in Portugal. Since my return, I have been thinking about how I want to structure my blog. I have decided to change a few things in my format. Instead of telling you about all the projects I have on my needles, I have decided to choose one or two to follow. This way I can go into more detail about the projects and hopefully be more regular about posting. We will see.

For now, I have chosen two projects with which to start. First is my yearly birthday project. Three years ago, I finished a project in time for my birthday and it sparked an idea for a birthday project every year. Last year's was the Argonath stole by Susan Pandorf. Remember when I walked into my LYS and saw that gorgeous yarn that screamed at me until I bought it? The stole turned out beautifully.

This year I chose to knit the Blackberry Cabled Cardigan for my birthday. I also entered it into the kal for the Must Stash Podcast May/June Sweater Kal. I chose a Jade green yarn from Lanas Stop. It is a cotton/acrylic blend. When I first picked the yarn up, I thought it would be murder to knit with. Especially since the sweater I chose has cables. (I am sensing a birthday theme here, cables last year and cables this year. Hmmm!) My experience with cotton has never been good. However, the acrylic keeps the yarn from killing my hands. I am happy with the results. Because the yarn is a cable plied yarn, the stitch definition on the cables is amazing.

The second project I chose to follow is actually a Christmas present for my youngest niece. I am making the Elijah Elephant by Ysolda Teague. The yarn I will be using is one I have worked with a lot I the past, Baby from BGM affinitas, ltd. Every time I knit something for a baby I usually use this yarn. It is a sport weight acrylic that is machine washable and soft to the touch. The color is a light gray, of course. I have not started it yet but it is next up for casting on.

As we follow these two projects, I hope you can learn along with me. Until next time, keep knitting and learning.

Disappearing Act

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Starlight Shawl

No, I have not disappeared. I am still knitting but have been extra busy and not in a position to blog for a few weeks. However, I have finished the Starlight shawl and it blocked out great. It is a little over 5 feet in diameter. The design is so beautiful. I would consider making this shawl again, even with the beaded edge. The yarn was so beautiful to work with and is so soft. The color was perfect for this project. I used Rebel Yarn’s Laceweight Merino and Silk in the Selene colorway. It looked like moonbeams and is as smooth as butter, especially after being washed and blocked.

The ever popular edging from Evenstar

In the last month, I have finished one project for Christmas. This is for my sister and because she promised not to read my blog until after Christmas, I will talk about what I am making. I have been wanting to do a special project for my sister, my mom and myself. I had been on the lookout for something special that I could knit for us. This is especially difficult because my mom lives in Africa only 18° off the equator, I live in Portugal where there is no central heating in the houses and in the winter it rains a lot! My sister lives in the States where she may get snow but is more likely to get ice storms. At the beginning of the year, I found Goddess Knits’ Birthstone Yarn Club. On offer was laceweight and sock yarns dyed to match the birthstone of each month of the year. Socks would not be a good choice because my mom would probably not wear them. (My sister and her husband are always asking for more socks though.) So, I choose the laceweight yarn and started looking for patterns. Since it was laceweight yarn my first thought was shawls. However, there are so many shapes to choose from and I only bought one skein of yarn. I finally settled on stoles in a design that would relate to the birthday theme.

Aquamarine Tulip of March

My sister, born in March, is getting a Spring Tulips Lace Stole made in the Aquamarine yarn with a few minor changes. I did not like the edging, so, not having had enoughto tax my sanity, I used the edging from the Evenstar shawl. It looks great. I started in the middle with a provisional cast-on and worked down to either edge,then knitted on the edging. Using this stole as a general template, I have planned a stole for my mother, born in June, using the Rose Trelis Shawl Vest. I will again be using a different edging, Betsy’s Rose Leaf lace. The yarn is in the Alexandrite colorway. For myself, I will be using the Swallowtail shawl pattern to make myself a stole in the Emerald colorway. I was born in May. Hopefully,I will get these done in time for Christmas so we can wear our matching stoles.

Sleeves for Rhapsody in Blue Sweater

Also on my needles this month, has been the Rhapsody in Blue sweater. I have reached the sleeves. I worked through the bust darts, not sure if they would look good. They turned out better than I thought they would. You can tell where they are but they do not stand out like a sore thumb in the striping. I am hoping to get thisfinished so I can wear this on the plane home. We will see.

I have been plugging away at the Green Feet socks. One is completed and I am now on the second sock. I also finished the sock cards and they work great. I was even able to complete a set for sweaters. Now I just need measurements or shoe sizeand I can make a sweater or a pair of socks.

I have finished most of a sweater for my new niece/nephew. I worked on this while at camp and am now working on the sleeves. I used the Garter Yoke Baby Cardi and changed the edging. Seems I am changing a lot of edgings lately!

In the last month, I have learned that redesigning a project is not as hard as I thought it would be. That you can find knitting time anywhere if you only look (and have a project always on hand). That children’s socks are faster than adult’s socks. And I don’t knit as fast as I think I do.

On the Edge

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:21:00 +0000

Beading on the edge of the Evenstar Shawl!

I don't know if the edge I am refering to in the title is the edge of insanity or the edge of the shawl I am working on. They seem to be very similar at the moment. I am almost done with the Evenstar shawl. I just have the border edging to finish. The beads I chose look great with the yarn. They are dark beads against the light of the yarn and pop off it nicely. I enjoyed knitting this shawl but I underestimated the amount of time it would take. I was not sure I would get it done in time. I will probably need a few days in August to complete it, but with one week of camp in the middle of July, I think that is acceptable. Especially as there is no one standing over me telling me I must finish it on time. I am looking forward to blocking it and seeing it in all its glory, so to speak. I will need to purchase some bigger blocking boards, however. The ones I have are not large enough for this shawl! It is supposed to be 5 feet in diameter, mine might be a bit larger. I used a size 4US needle instead of the 3 called for in the pattern. We will have to see how big it is when I block it!

POV Socks

I have finished two pairs of socks in the mean time, the POV socks and the Gentlemen’s socks. The POV socks look great and feel better. I have noticed, however, that they need to be reserved for winter as they are very warm. That does not bother me though, I love wool socks in the winter and am looking forward to using them.The Gentlemen’s socks are very soft and look great. I have not seen the gentleman they were knitted for so I still have them. I am sure I will see him before I leave for the States though and they are a weight off my mind. I had taken them to camp to try to finish and they were the only thing I knit on. It was very hot at camp with temperatures over 100°F. With limited time to knit, I am proud of myself for finishing them with everything else that was going on.

Gentlemen's Socks

I am working on a set of laminated cards for myself. These cards will be used for sock knitting. They contain various styles of heels, cuffs, and toes as well as charts for the number of stitches used for which shoe size and how long I need to knit them to fit a certain size foot. Basically, I condensed a lot of my sock books into a set of cards for knitting socks. The only thing they will not have is the pattern for the instep and leg. There are too many options to choose from to do that and if I did, I would have a stack of cards that would reach the ceiling. They will allow me to choose a leg and instep pattern and make a pair of socks without having to lug around a lot of books or charts. I am thinking of making a set for various sweaters as well, for the sleeves, at the very least. I like the set in sleeves from Knitting Workshop by Elizabeth Zimmerman and the set in sleeves from Knitting from the Top by Barbara Walker. They are both easy alterations to make to any pattern and fit me very well. Set in sleeves are the best type of sleeves for my body type, but I don’t like carrying around the books. As I am trying to keep my luggage to a minimum on furlough, the card system will be better and easier for travel. Best of all, I will have to means to make either a sweater or a pair of socks at my fingertips without having to carry heavy books with me.

Work sheet for Socks Cards

I am still working on Green Feet and will test-drive my new sock card system with these socks. I also am planning next month’s projects. I have a tiny sweater planned for my new niece/nephew, a present for Christmas and the Green feet birthday gift. The next couple of months may be a bit sparse in regards to blogging. I am getting to the part of the year where I cannot talk very much about my projects, but I will try to at least blog about what I am learning with each one. Some of the recipients read my blog and I don't want to spoil any surprises.

This month, I learned that a slow consistent knitting pace will accomplish more than hurried knitting. That some socks are not meant to be blocked (they turn out too big to wear if you do). And that books on tape make great knitting companions. So, until next time, keep on knitting and learning.

Done At Last!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:24:00 +0000

Argonath

I have finally finished the Argonath stole! It only took me three week longer than I thought it would. However, I will have to say that all the work was worth it. It turned out beautifully. The cables look spectacular. I have left the fringe at the edges uncut. I like the look of the loops rather than a cut fringe. The second border at the top gave me a bit of trouble. I started out and it seemed to pucker, not laying flat like the bottom edge. After frogging it three times, I finally figured out how to make it lay flat. The last little bit seemed to take forever but with persistence I was able to finish.

Starlight

I started on the next project, the Evenstar shawl. I have called it the Starlight shawl in my projects because the yarn looks like spun moonbeams. I have knit to the start of the first chart and hope the work on it goes fast. I have one week marked out for camp this month and am not planning to take this with me. Since lace seems to knit up faster for me I expect that I will be able to get it done by the end of the month using what I have learned this month. Use every little bit of time you have wisely.

As far as camp knitting, I will be taking a birthday project with me. I also hope to finish the two pairs of socks I have left. I am on the second sock for both pairs. One is at the heel turn and the other is almost to the ribbing on the cuff. They should not take a great deal of time to complete but you know how it is with the best laid plans of Mice and Men.

Green Feet

I found out that although I did not win first prize in the Mithril KAL, I was eligible for another prize. The person who won deserved it. Her vest was made with a gradient yarn from the Unique Sheep. She started with one color at the bottom and worked her way up to another at the top. All who participated did a great job and every project inspired my creativity in some way. That is what I love about being in touch with other knitters. They inspire you in so many ways.

I love the cabling in this shawl!

This month I learned to make the most of small moments of time, always have something handy to knit and don’t sweat the small stuff. Until next time, keep on knitting and learning.

Learning that Sore Hands Means Less Knitting Time

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:24:00 +0000

So, I am continuing to work on the Argonath. I have just completed the tenth repeat,which brings me to the halfway point in my journey on the river. The yarn is just as yummy and the cabling looks so beautiful. However, (and must there always be an however?) cabling tends to leave my hands sore. So much so that I don’t want to knit on anything else after having knit a few rows on the Argonath. So, I have learned to space out my knitting through out the day instead of bunching it all up at the end of the day. Any other project I would knit at night when I am relaxing. This stole demands that I break up my day and knit just a little at a time. Good thing I work from my house! My plan is to knit a couple rows, then move on to something I need to accomplish. Then take a short break and knit a couple more rows. This way I get what I need to get done, done and I can still get the knitting done on the Argonath. As an added bonus, my hands don’t hurt so much at the end of the day!

Argonath Halfway

I should not have had to relearn this painful lesson. A couple of years ago, I knit a cabled sweater for my sister. While I don’t begrudge her the work that was involved,my hands nearly fell off knitting it. I hope that in the future, I remember this lesson. If I ever make a project with lots of cables, I need to allow time and realize that it will be slow going. Happily, I don’t knit for my job which would require me to have things done in a reasonable amount of time.

The sweater that nearly made my hands fall off!

Planning is done on my future projects. A couple of birthdays are coming up so I have two pairs of socks to knit before I leave. I have two projects to finish as well. The Gentlemen’s Socks and the Pov Socks. I am on the second sock on both projects so I only need a few days time to finish them. The Evenstar shawl is lined up for next month and the yarn bought (hopefully a much-needed break for my hands). I am going to knit it out of a silk and merino lace weight I bought from Rebel Yarns in the UK. It is a lovely silver color called Selene. When I waswinding the balls, I thought it looked like spun moonbeams. As the shawl has a beaded edge, I bought some beads in a hematite color. They pop against the wool and I think they will look stunning in the edging. Can’t wait to cast on!

Selene yarn and Hematite beads. YUM!

Speaking of winding wool, I have begun the physical preparations for my furlough. I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done in the next three and a half months. The first item off my list was to wind all the wool I am taking with me (as this is a relatively easy thing to cross off the list ;). The yarn is for the projects I have planned for the rest of my selfish year. I don’t plan to take much as I will only have three projects left and they are all lace knitting. I also have to plan how many knitted items to take. I have a limited amount of space and will have even less on the return trip. I am planning to take two sweaters, two shawls and a cowl. I am afraid that if I take more it will get left behind for lack of space. Now on to my next item on the list,cleaning the house.

Wound up yarn.

Since my last post I have learned that slow and steady is better than fast and in a sling. And when knitting cables it is better to be the tortoise than the hare. I also learned I like to knit lace more than cables. Until next time, keep on knitting and learning.

In Which I Learn a Sad Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:41:00 +0000

I have putoff writing this post because I have not wanted to admit that I messed up. Asyou know from the previous post I am working on the Isengard Stole by SusanPandorf. However, due to differences with the yarn, I had to frog the stole.The yarn I chose was not right for the project. It was too thin almost laceweight. That may have been fine for some, but I prefer a more substantial yarnwhen working with this pattern. So I have learned a sad lesson. Sometimes theyarn just screams at you ‘Don’t knit me into this project!’ I guess it isbetter to learn this now than later after much work. I had only knit about 4inches of the pattern so I was not very far along. The good news is I love thepattern and am already looking for a better yarn. I have some Bare Gloss yarnfrom Knit Picks that I am thinking of dyeing and using for this pattern. Thiswill probably be a project for next year when I get back from furlough. As forthe yarn, I think it will end up being a lightweight sweater for summer. In themean time the year of knitting selfishly continues.

The yarn that screamed.

Instead ofIsengard, I have been knitting on the Argonath stole. I am up to the fifthrepeat of the center motif. So far, the yarn and the pattern are working outgreat. Since I no longer have Isengard in the lineup for this year, I havedecided to substitute this pattern in its place. The pattern is very fun toknit and fairly intuitive. After reading the Argonath thread on Ravelry, I havebeen able to avoid some of the mistakes that others made. I mentioned last postthat I appreciate the fact that I can look up a pattern on Ravelry and see whatothers say about the pattern. This saves me some hassle and stress, both ofwhich I do not need right now. The yarn I bought for my birthday is yummy. Ilike watching the color changes and feeling the soft yarn as it glides throughmy fingers and onto the needles. Beautiful!

The Argonath

Thecraziness is still ongoing, however. After frogging the Isengard, I cast on asweater in Gloss and Essential from Knit Picks. Some months ago, I watchedLaura Bryant’s video ‘A Knitter’s Guide to Color.’ She stated that you couldtake any three colors in the same value family and make a fabric that appeared tobe a different color by using a single row stripe in the three yarns. I just ‘happened’to have three different colors in the same yarn and in the same value family. (Infact, they were in the same color family too. I do like my Blues.) So I swatchedto see how the colors would interact and decided to try it. I have added afourth blue in Essential to be a stripe at the waistline and across theshoulders. It is also the lining in the turned hems. I am using a variation ofElizabeth Zimmerman’s set in sleeve in the round pattern for the sleeves and adeep v-neck. I am hoping that instead of reading as stripes, the differentcolors will look like one color. We will see how this experiment turns out. Ihave named it ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’

The yarn for Rhapsody in Blue.

Since thelast post, I have learned that yarn DOES scream at you sometimes when you are knittingit into the wrong object. I had heard of this happening but had not reallyexperienced it yet. I have also learnedthat designing is a lot of fun and I may do more of it in the future. Until thenext time, keep on knitting and learning.

And the Craziness Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:35:00 +0000

Well, since the last time I wrote, I have finished the Mithril vest. I have worn it several times and I love the way it looks and fits. The only thing I might have done differently was to put the beading on it. Maybe next time! I do not usually reknit a project but I can see myself knitting another Mithril. This was a fast knit. I just could not put it down. I have yet to get pictures of the completed vest on me, but have pictures of it on the blocking boards.


Blackened Mithril blocking!

I have also completed my Crazy project. The shawl turned out beautifully. I used a variegated yarn I have had for about 6 years. It was some of the oldest yarn in my stash. Even though it was variegated, I went ahead and used a lace pattern. The lace pattern does not show up as well as if it was made of a solid yarn, but I just wanted a shawl with this yarn. Since I did not have very much, I decided to use a lace pattern to get the most out of the yarn. As it was I had to leave off a few rows, but it still turned out the way I wanted. An over the shoulder lace shawl I could wear this summer with tank tops and on cool evenings. Here it is on the blocking boards.

The crazy shawl!

A few days before my birthday, I went to the yarn shop looking for some beads for the Evenstar Shawl, when some yarn jumped off the shelf and wanted to go home with me. It made me feel like Gollum asking his friend for the ring, ‘We wants it cuz its our birthday.’ Only I do not see myself killing someone for the yarn. So,for my birthday, I bought enough yarn to make the Argonath stole by Susan Pandorf. Ever since this project came out, I have been looking at my stash trying to find a way to make it (my mom even asked me ‘When are you going to make this for me?’). I just did not have enough of any one color in the right weight to make it. This yarn made me immediately think of that pattern. So, to continue the craziness, I have cast it on in addition to my other planned projects. I hope that I can get it done in time to wear on the airplane when I go back to the States for furlough.

My stash of birthday yarn with part of the Argonath.

I have also cast on for the Isengard stole. I have called it Orthanc in Ravelry. I have about an inch made and about 71 more to go, but I have a feeling that both this stole and the Argonath are going to be like the Mithril vest… hard to put down. I am making it in black merino wool from Rosários 4. I like the fact that this yarn was made here in Portugal. I have made socks out of this yarn before but I really like the way it is working up as a stole. There is a subtle sheen to theyarn so the twists and turns of the pattern should show up somewhat. It reminded me of the description of the Orthanc.

First inch of the Orthanc

I have learned that some craziness goes a long way and that it is ok to be crazy occasionally. I have also learned to read the Ravelry notes on patterns. If not for them, I might still be stuck at row 57 on the Mithril vest. It helps a lot to go and see what someone else who has made a particular pattern says about it. Sometimes it saves you a lot of time, hassle and of course your hair. Until next time, keep on knitting and learning.

Mithril almost complete

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:50:00 +0000

Just a quick update today. I will write more when I have more time.

The Mithril vest is almost complete. As I write, it is on the blocking wires. All that needs to be done for it to be complete is the back neckband. It was a relatively fast knit, but it was also hard to put down. This allows some time for me to complete my craziness.

Until next time, keep on knitting and learning.

Progress and some craziness

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:21:00 +0000

Prana Socks

Now that the birthday’s I was knitting for have come and gone, I can share what I made for the girls. The first birthday gift was a pair of Flutterby socks by Cat Bordhi. They used her new sweet tomato heel. I like how the heel was made and will probably use it again in the future. Sorry I did not get a picture before I gifted them, but they were made of a lime green yarn that you can see here. The second birthday gift was a pair of Prana socks from the Knitter’s Book of Socks. I enjoyed knitting these and since they had no heels or toes the knitting went faster than normal.

The lovely silk and merino Blackened Mithril vest.

I have made some progress on the Blackened Mithril vest. The pattern calls for beading but I could not find any beads that I liked so I am just knitting it plain. The yarn is Knit Picks Gloss fingering weight in Black. Knitting with the silk and merino mix is lovely. I have to stop occasionally to pet the vest. I am nearing the part of the pattern where it makes its first deviation from straightforward. However, the vest itself is lovely to knit. It is a challenge and because of the complexity of the charts, it is a home project. I learned this the hard way. I unexpectedly was able to go to a football game and thankfully had brought my knitting bag along. However, the only thing I had with me was the Mithril vest and it is not conductive to sitting in the bleachers with a big binder holding the pattern. I had to settle for knitting on the sock I keep in my purse. Live and learn.

Today ,I am borrowing a segment from the Knitmore Girls. My knitting attacked me. Actually I did not pay attention to the chart and therefore made several mistakes. I was able to use a couple of double point needles (DPNs) to drop down and fix the problems in just the affected areas. The fix is unnoticeable and is much easier than ripping out a couple rows and then trying to pick up the stitches hoping and praying that you will not lose any.

My bit of craziness.

And now for some craziness. As if I did not have enough going on this year with planning my furlough, ministry here and the year of knitting selfishly, I decided to cast on something extra. Here it is, the EZ 100th Anniversary CampingHalf-circle shawl. Yes, this is my bit of craziness in the midst of all the normality. I have named it Crazy for casting this on. It is made from Lorna’sLaces Shepherd sock multi in the Devon colorway. I have had these two skeins of yarn for almost 6 years. I just could not find a sock that it wanted to be. Therefore, I finally pulled them out and said this year I will make something with these. Voila, the half-circle shawl idea was born. I wanted to wear these next to my face and since I am planning my furlough wardrobe to revolve around peach and teal, this would satisfy both. I have no set schedule for when this will be done so you may see it for a while or I just may surprise myself and whip through it.

This last week has taught me that a bit of craziness now and then is a good thing. To be thankful for double points that can fix mistakes in the middle of knitting without ripping back. To have two projects on hand, one of them simple. I also learned that masking tape makes a good chart marker when you use it in combination with plastic sheet protectors. So having learned a lot in the last week, I admonish you to keep knitting and learning.

Dreaming and Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:06:00 +0000

I have started the Mithril vest. In honor of knitting this pattern, I watched thefirst Lord of the Rings movie. I thought it was apropos. The vest is about an inch and a half long but so far I am enjoying the pattern. At this stage, I am finding that it is less complicated than the In Dreams shawl that Susan designed at the beginning of last year. However, I think that it will complicate itself soon.

The first inch of the Mithril vest

In addition to the Mithril vest, I am still working on the last part of the second gift. I must finish it this week as it is for a birthday in the early part of May. I think that I will be able to finish in time, but who knows the future … only God and I am not Him.

Corrie Vest pattern

I have also been plotting and planning a sweater that I will be knitting in September. I will be using Palette yarn from Knit Picks and the Corrie vest pattern from the same company. Because the vest pattern is a strong horizontal, I will only be using part of the pattern as an accent to emphasize the waist. I am planning for it to be a long sleeve, deep v neck cardigan with the pattern only at the waist and a bit at the cuffs. My sister, the artist, helped me pick out the colors. I would not normally pick the peach color, but the blues are my favorite colors.She said the contrast would be good and peach looks good on almost everyone. The photo above is the portion of the pattern I am using along with the color choices. Also pictured is a small sketch of the sweater shape. What do you think? Leave me a comment about the design.

The sketch

I think that I have a lot of learning in my future. I will try to share the lessons here on the blog as I learn them. ‘Till then keep knitting and learning.

Finished ... Almost!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:36:00 +0000

I finished the knitting on Drily Amused last night. I wove in all the ends and popped it over my head. I made a good choice in making the sweater a size smaller than normal. I modified the sweater by making the waist shorter and the ribbing not as long. However, the sleeves were supposed to be 3/4 length and ended up at my wrists because I forgot to allow for the armhole. The armhole is a little longer than I normally make it. My gauge had less stitches in the height than the gauge called for in the pattern and so I ended the raglan shaping early and just cast on the needed stitches at the underarm. Still it is longer than I usually calculate for and so my sleeves by extension are longer than I normally make them. I am going to rip back the cuffs and reknit them at a shorter length. I will also use a smaller needle to make the ribbing at the cuffs tighter. I am going to try to have this done so I can wear it this weekend.

As far as my other projects, I am half way through my second gift so I should be able to finish it on time. If I can get some dedicated knitting time. The first half went a lot faster than I was anticipating. When I have given the gifts away, I will post pictures of them here on the blog. Until then you will have to make do with the hints I have given you.

My shoulder is doing better and this allows me a longer knitting time. I am still taking frequent breaks, however. I don’t want to be in a position like that again. I missed the knitting.

Next month’s project is the Mithril Vest by Susan Pandorf. She is running a KAL (Knit a Long for you newbies) that runs through the 10^th of June. I am hoping to get this one done before the end of May. As this will be my only project, I have a good chance at getting it done but it is also a complicated piece of knitting. The charts alone are complicated enough. However, I am looking forward to the challenge as the last few months have been mostly in stockinette. I have named this one Blackened Mithril because I am using black yarn. I was thinking of the black armor that was used in medieval times.

I have learned this month to take things slowly. Sometimes the race is not worth the pain. I have also learned (again) that the height of stitches on a gauge does make a difference. For now, I am signing off and looking forward to learning more in the months to come. Keep on knitting and learning.

One Down and Two to Go

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:09:00 +0000

Remember my challenge for this month? Well I am one third of the way done. The first of the birthday gifts is done. I have started on the second of the birthday gifts and hope to have it done in time. I have three weeks to complete it.

The Green

Meanwhile the Amused sweater is coming along. I have reached the ribbing at the waist. After that I just have to finish the sleeves and the collar. I think I have made pretty good progress considering that I took on three projects this month and I have done something to my right shoulder. With my shoulder acting up I cannot sit and knit for very long. I have to take a break and then come back to it. Guess I will be taking Jasmin from the Knitmore Girls Podcast's advice, knit for about 50 minutes, then take a short break. With the regular rest periods, the shoulder is doing better.

Guess what I have learned so far this month is to take it one day at a time, don't stress your body just to complete a ridiculous time frame set by you and take regular knitting breaks to rest.

The Red

Now to leave you with a hint of what I am making for the second birthday gift. Remember I said that this month's colors were Green and Red? Well, you have seen the Green and here is the Red. Until next blog post, keep on knitting and learning.

A Hint

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:22:00 +0000

The following picture is just a hint of what I am working on. It is for someone's birthday so I can only give you a hint. The good news is that you only have a month to wait to see the finished project.

Birthday Surprise

I am also working on the sweater Amused. It is going well in spite of the fact that I only get to knit on it after having worked on the birthday project. Such rules we impose onourselves! No one is demanding that I finish a project a month for myself and two projects for birthday's in May, however, what do I find myself doing? Just that and on a schedule no less! Ah well, the life of the project knitter.

Drily Amused

To correct a misunderstanding, I put forth the following. My sister and I were talking the other day and she corrected my spelling of Blood Oranje. It is spelled this way on purpose. The original sweater pattern is named Oranje from Dutch. Because of this I chose Blood Oranje as my project name because the yarn reminded me of the color of a blood orange. However, I kept the original name of the pattern to provide a sort of continuity. Just in case I did not make myself plain, here is the explanation.

Speaking of Blood Oranje, I have been able to wear it a few times. I have to say that it is a warm sweater, good for spring nights that are a bit nippier than they should be. I am enjoying the little details that went into the sweater.

The last couple of sweaters have taught me a couple of things. First, I prefer a princess style decrease in the front (stitches are decreased under the bust instead of from the sides). In the back, I prefer the decreases to be in one central location up the back (or down the back depending on what way you knit it ;). Secondly, I need a bit of a bust dart to accommodate a larger bust line but if I knit a yoke sweater it is NOT necessary (learned that one the hard way!).

I am enjoying this year of selfish knitting. It is pushing my knitting into new areas and stretching my technical skills. I think that it will make me a better and more confident knitter and thus will increase the quality of what I knit for others when I go back to knitting unselfishly. That is all for now but stay tuned and keep on knitting and learning!

What's Next?

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:24:00 +0000

In April, I set myself a big challenge. I am working on two birthday gifts and a sweater. The birthday gifts will be revealed in time but the sweater I can talk about right now.

The sweater is made of Miltons in an olive color. Luckily for me, it is a worsted weight yarn. This means it will knit up faster. YEAH! The pattern is Amused from Knitty. It is a pullover style and is knit from the neck down and the collar is added later. The directions are straightforward and I am enjoying the knit.

This month the colors are green and red. Last month they were brick, white and black. Next month they will probably go back to black. I plan to work on the Mithril vest from Sunflower Designs. She has started a KAL for the vest and since it was already on my list of things to do this year, I rearranged my schedule a little so I could join.

It took me four months but I just realized that I am spelling Challenge wrong. My dad always told a joke about missionary kids speaking two languages and not being able to spell either one. That is a little too close to home. If I did not have spell checker my Prayer letters home would look like the floor of an editor’s office. Please accept my apologies and I will try to do better in the future.

In the mean time, I have some gifts to complete and a sweater to knit. Keep on knitting and learning.

Done On Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 12:19:00 +0000

I finished Blood Oranje last night. I just need to block it. The last couple of days has been a bit of a knitting marathon. I would rush through all the other work I had to do then sit down and knit.

The sweater was knit from the top down and when I reached the end of the skein after the sleeves were joined I decided to knit the sleeves before completing the rest of the body. Once the sleeves were done, the body worked up fast. Yesterday was taken up with knitting the button bands, stitching the collar and hem to the sweater, sewing grograin ribbon to cover the steek edges and sewing on the buttons. I chose some irridecent glass bottons and black grograin ribbon.

The day before that I took my courage in hand, set scissors to knitting and cut the steek. I then picked up stitches along the sides for the button band. I marked the places for the button band as you can see in the next picture.

The result of all this work was the best fitting cardigan I have ever made and also the most polished. I think that this is one cardigan that reflects the care and thought I took in making it. It truly looks like a well-crafted cardigan.

Aside from all the new techniques I learned with this sweater, I also learned that the finishing touches that go into making a sweater truly pay off.

Keep on knitting and learning.

Half Done

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:41:00 +0000

The Blood Oranje sweater is coming along. I have 11 days to get the sweater done if I am to stay on schedule. I have turned the sweater upside down and left off the last stripes on the yoke. So far so good. I have really enjoyed working on this sweater not only because of the patter but also because of the yarn. I am using Happy Baby, a cashmere blend yarn. It is so soft and cushy!

I learned how to do the Latvian braid and how to strand with three strands. It is not as hard as I thought it would be, but I hate the way the braid tangles up the yarn. Oh well, that is life.

Keep on knitting and learning.

Blood Oranje

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:35:00 +0000

I know the title sounds a bit grusome, but the yarn I am using for the main color on this sweater reminds me of a blood orange. I am having a lot of fun with this sweater. I have already learned how easy the Latvian braid is and am looking forward to learning how to strand three colors. As you can see by the date I wanted to start this one so badly that I started it early. I have reconfigured it a little bit so that it is knitted in the manner I prefer. I am knitting this one upside down. (I know do I have to change everything?) I have finished the collar and am starting on the yoke.

Keep knitting and learning, as I will be this month.

The collar of the Oranje Sweater.

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:41:00 +0000

I am taking a Sweet Sabbatical with my sister. At least that is what we call it. It means that we are not eating sweets and trying to cut back on the sugar in other things. This being the case I have not had Chocolate for a month and a half. The Chocolate Jacket is my substitute.

Chocolate Jacket

Knit in a beautiful dark chocolate brown merino, the Chocolate Jacket is a loose interperetation of the Shocking Jacket from Interweave Knits. I finished it last night just in time for me to wear it on a retreat this weekend. I just need to find the perfect buttons.

The beautiful shawl collar

The modifications I made where to knit this in the round and to knit the collar with the body. My shoulder width is less than the width that was called for in the pattern, so I had to heavily modify the pattern in order to get a sweater that would fit in the shoulder and the bust. I used the set in sleeve from Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top. The collar I knit to the shoulder seams then knit around the back picking up the stitches from the neckline. I then Kitchner stitched it to the other side of the collar. (Can you tell where?)

This sweater taught me a lot of things. It taught me that I can take an idea and transform it to fit my needs and tastes. It taught me that I can use the Kitchner stitch for something other than socks. It taught me that if I ever do Princess seams in something again I need to decrease for the underarm so that I don't have a lot of fabric under the arm. It taught me to be bold and confident in my own design skills. It may not turn out perfect but who wants perfection. I also steam blocked for the very first time. When I have a picture of it on me I will post it. Until then here it is on the blocking boards minus the buttons.

This is the second of my selfish projects. I have one for every month of 2012. The next project I will be working on is the Oranje Cardigan by Ann Weaver and published in Knitty. I will be knitting this cardigan out of a cashmere blend yarn in a tomato red, black and pearl.

In the mean time I will keep knitting and learning and I hope you do the same.

Sweet Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Aurora) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:57:00 +0000

Since my last post I have been very busy. I finished this lovely shawl from a Knit Picks kit called the Chinook Shawl. I bought the neutral colorway and added a Sherry Shimmer yarn for the edging. I finished it in time to wear it to our Gala banquet for the teens. It is very big and is wider than my arm span. I really like the colors though and it is very warm. Just right for cool spring nights to come.

I also cast on for the brown merino sweater I mentioned in my list of selfish knitting projects. I am making a modified version of the Shocking Jacket from Interweave Knits. I dislike sewing up a sweater after having knit it so I modified it to be knit in the round. So far it is turning out. I have knit up to the arm holes and am working on the back up to the neck. The shawl collar I knit into the edging of the sweater. I will post pictures when I can. I am trying to finish it in time to wear it for the retreat we have coming up with the teens. The retreat center is in the mountains so it will be colder than it is here. Just right for knitted sweaters!

I am also in the planning phase for my next selfish project the Oranje sweater from Knitty. I have the yarn bought and the pattern printed. I am planning to make it out of a yarn called Happy Baby. It has 10% cashmere so I am the one who is happy. I don't know why they labled this yarn as a baby yarn, it felts in the wash. Not the ideal yarn for a new mother or baby. However, it is very soft. The colors are a tomato red, black and pearl. Yum Yum!

I have been learning lately that slow but sure wins the race and that knitting is great when you are sick. It takes you mind off the yukies and lets you relax a bit.

That is all for now. More next time on the Chocolate Jacket and the Oranje sweater (also time for a birthday pair of socks). Until next time keep knitting and learning.