Umme Yusuf

Month O'Socks: Wind Up

2012-02-20T09:46:00.001+05:00

The Month O'Socks ended a few days ago and I managed only the foot section of another sock. I ran into sizing trouble with the pattern I started on before this one and lost a considerable amount of knitting time. This pattern is going smoothly, Alhamdolillah. But I am a bit bored with knitting at the moment and am slowing down for a while, waiting to be inspired again. Maybe I'll try some embroidery for the time being or some beaded crochet..or..cooking....!

Month O'Socks: Froot Loop

2012-02-12T13:27:00.000+05:00

Today, I completed another pair of socks for this years Month O'Socks (MOS). These socks are for my husband. The pattern is Froot Loop and the yarn is Knit Picks Felici (Firefighter). The pattern was quite simple and straightforward and the bright color sequence in the yarn kept things interesting. I am happy that the stripes match up in the two socks. No modifications here.

Next I am going to cast another pair of socks. I had wanted to finish that too in the Month O'Socks but it is not possible now with only three days remaining till February 15, when MOS ends. Let us see how much I can manage.

Family Hands Portrait

2012-02-06T18:03:00.001+05:00

I saw this on Pinterest a while back. It seemed so simple and just right for our family, as we have hands of all sizes right now, mashaAllah! So, here is ours.

I stacked the hands in a more regular fashion. Boys of the family get to have blue hand outlines and girls get pink. It had been a long while since I last did embroidery and I enjoyed it very much. It was so very relaxing and fun way to unwind. I already have some ideas for another embroidery project in the near future.

Month O'Socks: Knee Warmers

2012-01-31T09:31:00.001+05:00

Here is my second finished project for the Month O'Socks, a pair of knee warmers in worsted weight. I modified the pattern to knit the knee caps in contrasting solid color and made the lower leg longer. I have also weaved in several rows elastic thread along the upper edge. Still, these have some tendency to slide down. But overall, these have turned out quite nicely, though I will not recommend the weaving in of the elastic to the faint of heart. It is far worse than having to sew up your knit pieces, but in this case, it was necessary and worth the effort.

Month O'Socks: Stashbuster Spirals II

2012-01-28T15:57:00.000+05:00

This is my first completed a pair for the Month O'Socks. The pattern is Stashbuster Spirals knitted in child size for my son. I used three different leftover sock yarns to knit these up. I love this pattern, the spiraling keeps it interesting and the results are unpredictably wild.

Poppy

2012-01-25T10:15:00.000+05:00

I took a break from Month O'Socks to knit a hat. This is to be my daughter's school hat this year. She had grown out of her old, generic one and I thought a little variation from the plain uniform hat was in order. Happily, her school is very appreciative of hand knits. It has a lovely shape, covers the ears and has enough stretch to accommodate the ponytails! And the crochet flower adds to the cuteness.

As for the pattern, it is a variation of the Aviatrix baby hat. I had knit one of those for my younger daughter and loved it. The pattern covers many sizes and yarn weights. I knit it in DK weight. The yarn is local acrylic.

Month O'Socks 2012

2012-01-24T16:09:00.003+05:00

It is time for the annual Month O'Socks (MOS) at the Sporum Forum (ravelry). This year it runs from Jaunaury 16 to 15th of February. I have had a slow start but I hope to knit at least two pairs of socks and a pair of leg-knee warmers. Right now I am working at the first pair, stashbuster socks for my son, who has grown out of the pair I knit him last year. I have one complete sock and the other knit up the the heel.

This first sock is not among of my finest works, I experimented with different knitting styles while knitting it, and also messed up the color spirals in the foot section. The second sock is looking much better. I have also started the leg-knee warmers. And I just might knit one hat too, this month, in addition to all the MOS knitting.

Girl Friday

2012-01-17T13:58:00.004+05:00

My Girl Friday cardigan is all done. The pattern was straight forward, the lace pattern, easy to memorize and execute. It was a totally relaxing knit, especially after the aborted attempt at Vine yoke cardigan. The only modification I did was knit all body pieces together and knit sleeves in rounds to minimize seaming. It is just right for the chilly January we are having, with its snug shawl collar and extra-long sleeves. The yarn is Knit Picks Wool of Andes (Grizzly Heather). I am still undecided about how many buttons I want, one single large one or multiple smaller ones. As I do not normally wear my cardigan buttoned to the bottom, I am inclined to go with a single button.
Next, I have a long line up of smaller projects for the coming month. More about those in the next post, inshaAllah.

Kaptaan Cabled Pullover

2012-01-13T13:50:00.000+05:00

It took me eleven months to churn out the pattern for this pullover and get it test knitted. It is finally up for sale at my ravelry store. I had a great set of test knitter for this one too and you can also see their FOs at the store. Kaptaan is the Urdu word for captain, which is what my cricket-crazy son aspires to be one day.
This raglan pullover is knit in rounds from bottom up till the armholes, then the front and back are worked separately. The sleeves are done the same way.

Yarn weight: Aran / 10 ply (8 wpi)

Gauge: 20 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches in cable pattern with 5 mm needles

Needle size:US 6 - 4.0 mm, US 8 - 5.0 mm

Yardage: 475 - 1300 yards (434 - 1189 m)

Sizes available: 2 (4, 6, 8, 10, 12) years

Finished Measurements:
Chest: 26 (28, 30, 32, 34, 36) inches.
Length: 16 (18, 20, 22, 24, 26) inches.
Sleeve length (to underarm): 9 (11, 12, 13, 14, 15.5) inches.

Well Begun is (almost) Half Done

2011-12-30T16:21:00.003+05:00

After ditching the Vine yoke Cardigan, my friend Shells and I decided on Girl Friday (We are doing a knit along). She also had encountered some issues with the former pattern in an earlier attempt and was wise enough to wait the outcome of my project before recasting. Anyway, we both liked Girl Friday and started it. I am happy to report that it has been such a pleasant knit so far, no issues at all. The lace pattern is very easy to memorize. I am knitting both fronts and back together and am almost at the point of splitting for armholes. Shells is well pleased with her cardigan too, you can see it here.

Disappointment

2011-12-22T11:50:00.000+05:00

It was the time of the year to knit cardigan for myself. I had picked out the pattern and yarn in advance. It was to be the Vine Yoke Cardigan in Knit Picks Wool of Andes. Going through the projects on ravelry, I discovered there were some finicky details which could be potentially troublesome. The cardigan was too short, it tended to grow quite large and had to be knitted a couple of size smaller, the button bands hung, the yoke lace was bulkier than the body. However, there seemed to be modifications around, for most of these problems, so I went ahead and cast on. A week on and well into the first sleeve, I feel unsure with the way this cardigan is progressing. There are many things that could go wrong and probably will. And that makes me uneasy while I knit on it. It is no longer fun. I will probably rip it and start anew with some other pattern. Now to go and look for that elusive pattern. In the meanwhile, I am going to start on a pair of socks.

A Hoodie

2011-12-13T09:54:00.002+05:00

For a long time and especially since I knit Steggie, my older daughter has been asking me to make her a hooded sweater. So my sweater for her this winter had to have a hood. It was a quick knit in worsted weight yarn. The pattern is my own, though it is nothing very original, just some ribbing and cables around the chest and sleeves and two pockets to match. It is seamless, except for the pockets which are knitted separately and then sewed on. I briefly considered making it full-sleeved but that did not look so right. In all, it turned out quite nice and she is very happy to have her hoodie.

Hundreds and Thousands Quilt

2011-12-06T10:32:00.001+05:00

My first quilt is all done. Since last posting about it, I added borders to it, put the top together with the batting and the inner layer, quilted and put a binding to the whole thing. It might not be perfect but I am very proud of it. And the positive experience I have had with it probably means more quilting in my future.

Dying camera batteries did not let me get a better photo.

Hedera

2011-11-28T13:03:00.000+05:00

My hedera socks are done. It was such a simple, uneventful knit. Perfect to knit at the end of the day, when all your work is done, kids are in bed and you are too tired to tax your mind with more involved knitting. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Tonal (Canopy). I love everything about these socks, the yarn, the color, the pattern.

Stay-on Booties and More

2011-11-17T11:33:00.000+05:00

So I knit some stay-on booties, two pairs of these and it took me nearly 2 weeks. Actually it took more time to photograph them then to knit them. The final verdict...these are very cute and do stay-on a while longer then the regular socks, that is, about five minutes. Which is not long enough to keep the little feet warm, so the baby is currently using the booties with drawstrings. Maybe drawstrings would work for these too. I am going to try and add drawstring to these booties, inshaAllah.

Actually I did a bit more than just the booties, the past two weeks. In addition to celebrating Eid and writing a pattern, I worked on a quilt. This is my first attempt at quilting and I am learning a lot. The squares are not not perfectly aligned and all, but I will go ahead and add borders anyway. Soon, I hope.

Butterfly Pullover

2011-11-01T10:01:00.000+05:00

As the nights get chilly and we can feel the winter finally approaching, I decided the baby needed a warm pullover to wear around the house. I did not have enough of a single yarn. Getting more yarn would mean having to wait and I am not good at that. So, I decided to mix and match using the red and brown leftovers in my stash. These are probably aran weight acrylics. To make it more interesting, I added the butterfly to the front of the pullover from the butterfly garden socks pattern.

Morning sunlight makes it look orange, however the actual color is a definite red. Next, inshaAllah, I will be knitting some booties/socks that actually stay on her feet for more than a few minutes. Thus the baby will be all set for the winter.

One Green Sock

2011-10-27T09:48:00.002+05:00

Here is the first finished sock of the pair I am currently knitting. The pattern is Hedera and the yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Tonal (Canopy). Love the pattern, love the yarn and love the green color. That makes for a fun ongoing project.

Fabric Flowers

2011-10-21T11:21:00.002+05:00

I have been making these fabric flowers to embellish my daughters' clothes and to use as hair accessories. I happened on the idea at Pinterest and a bit of search brought up a wealth of tutorials on these singed fabric flowers. Here are some which I used:

1. Handmade Flowers. The purple and green ones use this technique.

2. Versatile Mini Clip Hair Flowers. It is only different than the above in that all petals are more or less equal in size. These are the fuchsia ones.
3. Ruffled Satin Fabric Flowers. The ones in yellow, orange and light pink. These use a strip of satin ribbon to make the flower.

All these look really pretty in action. Great accessories for little girls. I may make many more yet.

Cloud Chaser

2011-10-11T10:05:00.002+05:00

This has been the reason for my long absence from the blog. At first glance, Cloud Chaser is a vest, and a vest can take only so long to knit. But, in actual knitting experience, it eats up almost as much yarn and time , as a full, sleeved sweater. Both fronts almost equal the back in dimension and then there is this long span of collar.

However, it was well worth the knit. The pattern is well-written and interesting. It has turned out beautifully, especially if you take into account that the yarn is a local wool that I dyed with KoolAid and it felted during the process, so much so that I had lost hope of its being salvageable.

We have some hint of cold in the weather, so hopefully, I will be able to wear it soon. Now I am at a loss as to my next project. In any case, I will try to be better at blogging and post progress.

Bulky Baby Cardigan

2011-09-21T10:58:00.001+05:00

I was recently gifted three balls of Nashua Handknits' Painted Forest, which amounts to 165 yards of super bulky weight. I decided to find out if it were enough to knit a cardigan for the baby. I figured I could extend the body and arm lengths, if need be, with some other yarn. And that's what I did. Here it is, a quick cardigan, sized 9-12 months, in lovely, thick, variegated wool.

The pattern is my own, a generic bottom-up raglan, with seams (I had no circulars in 7.5mm size). I picked up twice the number of stitches, using fingering weight yarn, at the body and sleeve bottoms and knit a small length of st st with a picot edge. It is going to make a great, warm, top layer for our baby this winter, inshaAllah.

Butterfly Garden

2011-09-08T10:41:00.001+05:00

This is a pair of socks I started around Eid. The yarn is Knit Pics Stroll Tonal (springtime) and I, very non originally, decided to knit a pattern which was featured in same colorway. So, no surprises in the FO, it looks almost identical to the photo featured in the pattern. However, I did a few modifications and added the lace strip at the back of the leg and did a couple of extra repeats.This toe-up pattern is easy enough to fellow and memorize and I made sure I bound off very loosely, so as not to have a tight picot edging. And I am particularly partial to the butterflies on the top.

Rose Trellis Shawl

2011-08-27T02:58:00.001+05:00

It is knit, blocked and photographed. In the end, I did not have enough yarn in the end for an elaborate edging so I did a simple garter st border with a (k2tog, yo) row in the middle, for both ends. It turned out quite respectably proportioned at 27 X 81 inches, blocked. I am very happy with it, looks prettier than I had hoped. Now, on to look for a new project.

Shawl In Progress

2011-08-17T17:58:00.002+05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, I opted to resume knitting the Rose Trellis Shawl during Ramadan, to keep me from starting any new projects (that has been mostly successful, except for a pair of baby sandals :)).

Knitting lace has been my way of winding down after a long day. I work on it after the kids are in bed and Isha and taraweeh prayers are said. I am happy to report that I am now at the last section of the shawl. If I have enough yarn, I might add an edging at each end to lengthen the shawl.

Ramadan Mubarak

2011-08-01T19:49:00.000+05:00

Ramadan moon has been sighted here in Pakistan. This year finds me a little ill prepared for this holy month- what with a new baby (who is currently running a post vaccination fever), a bit messy house, inadequate pantry and all. But I still feel more motivated to make the best of this blessed month, than last year, inshaAllah. Meanwhile, I won't be posting much as the crafts take a backseat.

May Allah make this blessed month beneficial for us all!

Basic Ribbed Socks

2011-07-29T14:27:00.000+05:00

For once, I feel a little sad on completing a project. These socks were so much fun to knit. So relaxing to sit down and knit a few rows in an otherwise hectic routine. The regular color change also add to the fun.

I had knit this pattern earlier _ Sassy Stripes Socks. This pair is for my husband. The yarn is Aktiv Effekt

Steinbach Wolle.

Now, I have resumed knitting the Rose Trellis Shawl I had started last year. It's about time too. No new project for now, Ramadan begins in a few days and I do not plan to knit much during the month.