Dolman sleeves are back?!

Apparently they are and I just finished knitting one up to wear this summer.  I didn't set out to make one, in fact the yarn, Comfy fingering by Knit Picks, has been in my stash for over a year now.  Initially it was earmarked to make a Tempest cardigan, but I was really unsure about how the stripes change sizes in odd areas, like towards the bottom of the bust, but not under it like an empire waist.  So I rethought and decided perhaps Paulie would look better, some easy garter stitch at the shoulder and the same size stripe after that for the rest of the sweater.  The yarn however continued to sit as I worked on other projects that excited me far more than this cardigan did.  Until the fateful day while perusing the patterns on Ravelry I discovered the Roxborough Dolman by Courtney Kelley and was smitten, I had to have it.

Okay, the dolman sleeve thing was a bit odd I thought, and I wasn't really sure how the fit of it would work on me with my remaining post baby belly (still working on reducing that sucker down), but when I looked into the sizing I realized it was given in ranges so it would fit me now and if I ever manage to make my goal of losing 10-15 pounds it will still fit, awesomesauce!  Even better, I just happened to have a discount code from Interweave that I was able to use to purchase the digital verision of the magazine.  It was in my hot little hands, er, my laptop and then my ipod within minutes.  I did my gauge swatches that night.

The pattern is simple, just change the color after a set number of rows, and work increases on each side seam after another set number of rows, repeat endlessly.  It made for great tv knitting.  The yarn makes for a really nice light and so soft fabric when knit up, I am in love with it!  Now that it is all done I am hopeful I will be wearing it quite a bit over the summer and am again perusing patterns on Ravelry looking for fingering weight tops, they take awhile to finish but are oh so nice.

Of mysteries and frustration

I have two big projects on the needles right now, and funnily enough they are both on US 7 needles (really glad I ordered those nickle plated ones now!).  One is a mystery KAL by Susanna IC as a thank you for her support group on Ravelry reaching 1,000 members.  The other project is from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard, the Backwards Cabled Pullover that I am making the backwards version of.

My mystery project is just that, a total mystery except that I know it will be a crescent shaped shawl designed by Susanna IC that uses beads.  I ordered some Valley Yarns Charlemont in dusk for this project and am enjoying the yarn thus far.  You can really feel the silk content in the yarn, it has that same dry crispness that silk fabric on the bolt has.  The yarn is a tad splitty, but not enough to keep me from ever using it again, the limited colors available will do that (only jewel like tones available and I prefer brighter colors).  The beads are from ArtBeads.com, TOHO 6/0 silver lined gray, and look amazing with the yarn to my eye.  I wanted a more subtle effect than the silver lined clear beads I also ordered were giving me, just too much bling for me.  The first clue of six came out last Saturday and I was done with it by Sunday.  Unfortunately for me the clues will be released about every 10 days or so meaning I'll probably do a lot of knitting on it and then it'll sit for a week until the next clue is released.  Of course, that leaves me plenty of time to fight with the other project...

That other project isn't too difficult if one actually takes the time to carefully read the pattern which I failed to do.  I misunderstood part of it, 'Repeat Increase Row 1 every other row", I read that as being every other right side row but she literally meant every other row.  Due to this mistake I had to restart after getting the raglan shaping finished, and then had to restart it again after I missed a raglan increase and it would have driven me crazy to leave it as is (yes, I am that much of a perfectionist, I would have seen it every time I put it on and it would have bugged!).  Being on the third try now it is going fairly smoothly, I hope to have no more issues with it.  I am finally getting a chance to use up some Knit Picks Swish dk in beach glass that has been in stash for quite awhile now.  I always knew it would be used for a sweater of some kind but had no idea which one, after looking through this book trying to decide what to make I think it will look great with this one!  Hopefully I'll have enough yarn to make the sleeves longer, full length or 3/4 length.

Needle Love

I'll admit it, I've been a wooden needle snob, I turned up my nose at needles made out of any other material.  I used to prefer wood or bamboo to anything else but after discovering the harmony interchangeable needles from Knit Picks I hardly ever touched my collection of straight needles.  Then a few weeks ago I got my first nickle plated interchangeables with my Knit Picks order.  I must say that I am hooked!

They are fantastic with stickier yarns, so much easier to knit the Lion Brand fisherman's wool I was working with than my wood needles.  Don't get me wrong, I still love my wood needles, but after fight5ing with the wool yarn it was a real relief to have it just slide pleasantly along my needles. They probably won't be all that great with slippery silk or cotton yarns but for those stickier yarns like wool or acrylic they are perfect.

I have also found they don't hurt my hands as the metal straights I have used will, I have always felt that wood just warms nicer to my hands and the flexibility is more comfortable but I must say the nickle plated needles are just as great to use as wood.  I have had problems in the past with fatigue from using metal crochet hooks, but I can say I definitely did not have that problem with these nickle needles.  They are nice and light and don't make that annoying clicking that drives me crazy with the aluminum straights, I don't like to hear my knitting, I much prefer to feel it.

I guess I'll have to make myself a new interchangeable knitting case to make room for a whole new set of needles.  One row for harmonies and one row for nickle plated!  Because of course now that I have tried them I must have a full set of both. I foresee lots of little orders from Knit Picks to fill out my collection!

I think my needles are smoking

Because this cardigan knit up crazy fast!  It took me 13 days from start to finish to make it, usually it takes me at least a month to make a sweater and far more than that when I make mistakes (like my Nantucket Red that took almost a month and a half).

The pattern is Lilas by Hilary Smith Callis, and is a very easy to follow top down raglan sleeve construction.  It seemed kind of odd at first since you are knitting that huge collar first, but as I went along it made more sense to me.  There is very little shaping to this cardigan as it is meant to be more of a casual summer layering piece.  All of this made it great for tv viewing, I just placed stitich markers between the stockinette body of the sweater and the border stitches so I could happily knit while engrossed in catching up with my DVR (mostly Falling Skies which shows a lot of promise to be a great show, here's hoping they keep making it better).  As for changes, I just made the body of the cardigan about 2.5" longer than indicated, yes the pattern is for a cropped sweater but since I am a bit squashed through the body a longer length looks better on me.  I also briefly contemplated making the sleeves 3/4 length but then realized part of the reason I loved the sweater was the great picture of Hilary wearing it over a long sleeve shirt so I followed the pattern exactly in the end (I need to go shopping for long sleeve tees once the stores get their fall collections in, I could wear all my short sleeve cardis this way!). 

For the yarn I picked out Comfy worsted by Knit Picks in the sea foam colorway that was purchased for me as a birthday gift from Chatty-Cathy and Grumpy.  I lurve this yarn!  It's a blend of cotton with acrylic which gives it a bit of stretchiness making it very easy and comfortable to knit with, unlike most cottons.  One of the reviews of this yarn on Ravelry describes it as feeling like your favorite tee shirt that's been washed a million times into comfy softness and that is exactly how it feels!  I will definitely be using this yarn again.

I am looking forward to wearing this sweater again soon, well at least when it starts to cool down again!  I really like the casual look to the floppy collar when the cardigan is left hanging open and that it can be pulled together for added warmth but still looks great.  Another great addition to my growing collection of hand knit cardigans.

Kudzu shawlette

The main reason I decided to even make this shawl (beyond the whole, ooh pretty knee jerk response) was to get my mind back into the lace knitting mindset before I started on a wedding veil for Crafty Auntie.  Kudzu was the KAL for the Beginning Lace Knitters group on Ravelry for June and as soon as I saw it I added it to my favorites thinking I would get to it some day.  Then I realized I was planning on making the veil out of kidsilk haze which I hear is a rather difficult yarn to knit with so thought maybe working on something that gets me back into the place of mind I need to be to work on lace just might be a good idea.  Then of course Knit Picks went and had a summer sale, I was a goner I tell you (yes, I bought much more than just the yarn for this shawl, darn their sales)!

The pattern is really easy to follow and is both written out and charted, I loved how I was able to memorize the short repeats in no time at all, which was nice since the rows were incredibly looong!  There was a time halfway thorough where I though I'd never get done but that feeling went away pretty quickly thankfully.  I think the yarn is a pretty good match to the pattern too, it's KP Comfy sport in the honeydew color, of course it wasn't on sale, but the yellow yarn that was the backup color I ordered was which will end up being a top for Lil' Miss someday.  It is so soft too, definitely feels like your favorite cotton t-shirt as some have commented, I just want to cuddle up with the thing!  The nice cotton/acrylic blend is perfect for wearing here in sunny So Cal on those days or evenings when there is just a hint of coolness in the air.

I have now decided this crescent shape is my favorite for shawls, I have a rectangular shawl that I barely wear and did try on the various triangular ones I made as gifts last Christmas but this shape is definitely best for me.  Since it has a nice curve to it already it tends to stay put much better, which is my main complaint with shawls I hate how they fall off the shoulders, when I put something on I expect it to stay where I put it, I don't want to have to repeatedly mess with my clothes.  Apparently The Momster likes it too, she was seriously coveting this shawl over the weekend at a barbeque we had.  I think I know what her Christmas gift will be, now just to settle on a pattern, maybe Indian Feathers but with heavier yarn...

A case for Options

I have become addicted to the interchangeable Options knitting needles offered by Knit Picks, specifically the harmony needles.  I love these things, you can change needle sizes or cable lengths easily and quickly, the cables in combination with the little end caps work great for holding your stitches for you as you finish off another part of the project.  It is also very easy to try a garment on using these as I discovered while knitting my hell-sweater.  I am also quite happy with the fact that I can fold them up rather easily to fit into a little project bag to take with me just like fixed circulars.  The needles are constructed of laminated pieces of birch wood that have been stained different rainbow colors, really quite beautiful to work with; and if I am going to be spending that much time creating something shouldn't my tools be just as beautiful as the finished object?

They have just enough grip to hold my yarn without it falling off but are slick enough that the yarn will slide off when you need it to.  Plus they are nice and quiet, I hate the click-clacking of metal knitting needles, drives me absolutely batty!  A number of ravelers have complained of the needle tips coming out of the metal sleeve that attaches to the cable or of the whole needle unscrewing from the cable whilst knitting but I have had none of these difficulties.  I use the tightening key every time I attach the needles to a cable and make sure it is nice and tight thus eliminating any loosening problems;  and I suspect the metal sleeve issue arises from holding the wood while twisting the needle onto the cable rather than holding onto the metal sleeve itself.  I really can't say enough nice things about these needles, except that I want one in every size and I don't have them all yet!

Recently I have found that a way is needed to store my rapidly growing collection of these suckers and with Mister Vonkysmeed being currently out of work we really don't have the funds for me to go out and buy a mass produced case for my lovelies.  Also, I like to try to create for myself if at all possible and since I made my own knitting bag, accessory pouch, knitting needle roll, and assorted project bags I decided to use what I already have and make my own case for the options needles, can't be that hard can it?  After looking at many, many images of cases for interchangeable needles online I had a design in mind, a trifold case with the needles in the center portion, the cables at one end, and a zippered pocket on the final flap to store the tightening keys and cable caps. I assembled it roughly the same way a needle case is constructed (sorry for the minimal pics of it in progress, promise to do better next time!), layering together outside fabric, then interfacing and light batting, than the inner fabric, than the pouch pieces.

First I made prepared the fabric I would be using to make the pockets for the needles and cables by sewing a 9.5" x 11.5" piece of fabric in half (I basically made a tube), pulling the right side out and then sewing the tube to the lining fabric and the interfacing {measuring 11.5" x 18.5"} along the bottom of the future pocket.  I then made the little pockets to hold the needles by sewing straight lines about every inch along the strip of fabric I just sewed onto the lining (I sewed these lines only along the pocket fabric, lining, & interfacing, this way the seams would not be visible from the outside of the case).

Isabella: a tangy tank for summer

When I first saw the images of the Stroll Tonal yarns from Knit Picks I knew that I had to have some.  Yet, I don't knit socks (yet!) so what would I do with beautiful yarn like that?  A quick search on ravelry yielded the lovely Isabella pattern that was in Knitty a few summers ago, I remember admiring it last year but felt it was beyond my abilities.  Well, no more!  I decided to further the difficulty by knitting this in the round, and not just in the round but using the magic loop method.  It took about 5 tries to get it cast on right, but now that I am about 7 rows into the project it is getting much easier.

Casting on was fine, it was the whole dividing the cast on stitches in half and pulling the cable into position while ensuring the stitches didn't twist or get super tight that was a total bitch.  I had actually given up after my first try, thinking maybe I should just stick to the pattern as written and not make things too hard on myself; but after another failed start I thought that if Granola-Mama can do the magic loop for two at a time socks, than by gawd I can do it for one bloody shirt!  Destructo-boy assisted a little in this decision, I had foolishly left my knitting on the couch where he could reach and he pulled all the stitches off one needle after I had started to knit the back piece back and forth rather than both front and back together in the round.  After that I decided to try the magic loop method once again (did I mention that I am also much slower at purling than knitting?).  I waited until the ankle biters were in bed and was able to get it started with a little bit of patience and a lot of luck.

Since the hem will be a picot edge I realized that is okay for the first few rows to look hideous as they will be folded under to be hemmed in place, which really allowed me to relax as I started working through my fear of this project/technique.  I don't know why, but whenever I attempt anything new it seems I have to work my way up to it, giving myself little pep talks just to get over the hump of getting it started.  For the record this is my first time working with fingering weight yarn and my first time using US 3 needles, and using the magic loop method of knitting, a lot of firsts for one project.  It will take forever (maybe I'll get to wear it by next summer!), but I am loving how the colors of the hand dyed yarn are flowing from one to the other so far. Maybe with a lot of luck and patience I'll even get it done in time to wear it by the end of this summer!

Boxes of happiness!

My mailman brought me two boxes of happiness this week, both came from Knit Picks.  They were the results of my shopping with gift money from Christmas and my birthday as I mentioned in a recent post (thanks Pops-in-law!).  Inside were the makings for a Hey Teach! cardigan, a fall cardigan (probably Central Park hoodie), a very warm and bulky Josephine jacket, also were four skeins of the new Stroll Tonals (I must have more, one in each colorway preferably!) two for a Isabella shell, and one each of two other colors for Haruni shawls, some Palette (I have no clue what for I just wanted to try it out!) and a few more skeins of Swish dk weight.  I wanted to spread it all out on the floor and roll in it all, throwing the skeins up in the air with my hands and feet like a cat hopped up on catnip.  What?!  Haven't you even had that urge when you get a whole lot of something that makes you feel good?

Lil' Miss was fascinated by the fact that I was photographing everything as I removed it from the boxes (I have to add photos to my stash list on ravelry!)  she thought it was such a great idea she even went and got her camera to take pictures too.  She was most disappointed when I was finished and hid all the yarn away in storage boxes.

So now I have to finish one of my several projects in progress so I can break out some of the new goodies.  I currently have a half finished Clapotis scarf/shawl, an Elenka dress for Lil' Miss, and a Capitan hat for Destructo-boy on my needles.  I have decided three knitting/crochet projects at a time is a reasonable number if I want to have any hope of getting anything done.  And no, not all of the yarn I got is for me, just most of it.  There are the making for at least two Christmas presents in there, but I'm not disclosing what as the people who get them may be reading this!

I think I need to join a Yarnaholics Anonymous group or something because I have already been perusing more yarn to order, sigh, I think I might have a problem!  Darn you Knit Picks and your lovely budget-friendly yarn!

The gift of shopping

My birthday came around again just recently and I received the thoughtful presents of gift cards and cash from a few people.  Some consider it impersonal, but I love these kinds of gifts.  Not only do I get something for nothing (yea!) but I also get the gift of choice, of searching around to find what I want the most.  I know some people hate to shop and being given a gift card would be tortuous, but I am just not one of those people, at least not when shopping for toys for myself!  Sometimes this takes awhile, I still have a Christmas gift from Pops-in-law that I haven't spent yet, but it will happen just as soon as knitpicks emails out those darn 10% off codes! 

Birthday money is good I reflect while gleefully perusing the knitpicks website trying to decide what I will spend my ill gotten gains on.  Do I want to make the scarf, or the shawl, or the sweater, or the shell, oh the choices!  I think maybe I will finally get the $80 worth of yarn to knit myself the lovely Josephine sweater coat I have been eyeballing for over a year.  Pops-in-law was a bit aghast that I would spend that much on yarn, but you do get what you pay for (100% merino wool and machine washable to boot) and I want something NICE.  I also got a lovely Amazon gift card from some friends and am also looking over my wishlist there and at new items to see what to spend there, maybe a book of knitting patterns?  Hello, my name is Missus Vonkysmeed and I am a yarnaholic.  So thank you my thoughtful friends and family, I do love the gift of shopping best of all!

Fighting the sweater monster!

I have been arguing with my Silken Scabbard pattern off and on now since March 4th. The argument started even before I cast on any stitches with the Knit Picks website picture of the Aegean color of their Elegance yarn being completely WRONG as to the actual color of the yarn. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely shade & I am still using it, but the color is nowhere close to what I expected based on the website image. As for the beginnings of the actual sweater, I'm going cheat a little and copy and paste from my project details on Ravelry so you can see what has happened thus far. After starting on March 3rd, and getting the joy of re-reading each line of the pattern about 5 million times to understand it, this happened on March 14th:

Getting ready to put the sleeves on waste yarn after knitting only 6 repeats of the raglan increase pattern (pattern calls for 7 1/2 repeats). I am concerned about having enough to go around my upper arms for the sleeves, (should have listened to that inner voice!) but I don’t want the neckline creeping up any higher, I may end up ripping some out if it seems to high to do less raglan increases. We’ll see how it goes! Later: Yup, as feared the collar was much too high so I frogged back to 5 raglan increases, I’m afraid if I drop it to 4 repeats the bra straps would show and that’s just tacky!