KnitMe

How Sweet It Is To Be Gloved...

The Herringbone Gloves are finished.

I fed the pattern into this translator, and between the fractured English I got, and help from Lisa, I was able to puzzle it out.

These gloves are so elegantly designed that they're a pleasure to knit. I had three problems to be aware of in the pattern. First, I had trouble getting a couple of the graphics to print (the thumb gusset chart and the finger charts), and I had to save them to my hard drive via right-click in order to print them and paste them into the printed pattern. Then, there are two errors: Pattern stitch B is knitted for 8 rows not 16, and in the bottom left finger chart (the beginning of the little finger), the 4 stitches from 17-20 really belong between the first 8 and the second 8 (got that?).

On Lisa's advice I did the thumb from the top two finger charts, the little finger from the bottom two finger charts, and the index/middle/ring fingers from the middle two finger charts. She was obviously correct, as I ran into no problems this way.

While Lisa decided not to use grafting to finish the fingers, I decided to, for a change of pace. On the right glove, I grafted with the dark yarn. On the left glove, I tried grafting with both yarns held together. I haven't decided yet which look I like better, there is not a huge noticeable difference.

I had to get a second hank of the dark blue Koigu from ThreadBear, but I can't have used more than about 15 yards of it (I ran out halfway up the last finger). I'm playing around with something to do with the remainder. It's beautiful yarn. The pattern originally calls for Rowanspun, but I can't imagine a nicer pair of gloves than something made from Koigu.

Lisa has some links on her blog to Japanese knitters who've made these beautiful gloves as well.

Vital statistics: size 2 needles for the hand, size 1 for the fingers, just under one hank of light blue Koigu and just over one hank dark blue. I can't remember when I started but this only took a couple of weeks.

I'm Fluffy!

Here is a quick knit scarf (25 sts on size 13 needle, garter the whole way - whoopee!) that I made from a mohair/novelty yarn I bought from Myra (Fancy Image Yarn) at Gig Harbor. One ball (120 yds) produced all this fluff, which I think really sets off the beaded cuff. We are going out to dinner tonight, which is the occasion for getting dressed up. Going out to a nice dinner happens about once a year around here, so I am going to do it right!
My husband just saw me and his one comment was, "Are you going to finish the other cuff?" Sometimes the glass is just half empty, isn't it? I only have about 16 rows left on the second cuff, but I just don't feel the urgency to get it done before dinner, thank you very much!

Anne

Aran sleeve "swatches"

I am knitting two sweaters at the same time, which really makes the process drag out. But I have a good reason. The darker sleeve is for a present for my husband (Shh!) It is the Torgeir by Lavold, in Silky Wool. The decoy sweater, to throw him off track in case he sees either sweater, is the A-line Aran by Kathy Zimmerman, from Knitters Winter 1998, in Cascade 220. Both sleeves are blocking exactly to gauge, so my sizes are OK and I should have enough yarn, which is a relief! One of our cats, Rajah, seems to think this makes a nice cat bed in the sunshine... just his colors!

Anne

Wouldn't It Be Gloverly

... if the second glove would appear by magic once the first was completed? Now that I've got this, I have to start all over:

It's really gorgeous and I can't wait to have a whole pair - but, I am afraid it's going to make my head explode to figure out how to knit a mirror image. For now, I'm turning the charts upside down and knitting them from the top down. We'll see how that works out.

Still plugging away on LOTSS, I hope to start the edging maybe tomorrow - I have about 12 rows left on the last repeat of chart C.

Meantimes, I'm spinning my wool/mohair roving that I bought at Maryland Sheep & Wool last year from the Barefoot Spinner. I have 11 ounces and hope to get DK weight so I can eke out the Clock Vest from Folk Vests.

Gig Harbor knitting

I had a wonderful time with Madame and Karen at the Gig Harbor retreat. Here are some projects I worked on while there. The bag was done with a technique called Baltic Braids, which is also known as twined knitting. I lined it with denim and think it looks pretty spiffy. Madame MADE me do the beaded cuff. What recourse did I have after she waved the pattern right in front of me and led me to the store where the supplies were laid out? What is a knitter to do? She also is responsible for my starting the sock. She bought the first kit - she started it! It is of very soft machine washable merino wool, and knitting with it is pure pleasure. Once I started I couldn't stop, and finished the whole thing. I am working on the mate, now. The weekend was a soiree, dahling, an absolute divine one at that. Wish you were all there! (Wish I was STILL there!)

Anne

Beautiful Butterfly Berries Tam

Here is Sheila, glowing in her beautiful tam. Isn't she lovely?

Anne

This Tam Thing

I seem to practice a Last-In-First-Out approach to knitting management. Exhibit A, my tam (see Tamalong here):

I think it proves that I have no eye for color. That is, I can pick out a bunch of pretty colors that look nice all in a group, but to guess in advance what they'll look like knitted up in a fair isle is beyond my brain's capabilities. I do wish that the sage had popped out more clearly over the lilac, because the top center is a pretty pattern of hearts that I thought would have made a nice tie-in to the OXOs on the underside and added up to my Valentine's Day tam. But alas.

These colors were all my favorites from my Catriona cardigan. There's a reason why Alice Starmore is famous and I'm in information technology.

I wore it today, it's as light as a feather and keeps the tops of my ears warm. But, where can I go for the definitive photo of how to properly wear a tam? I was not sure I was doing it right!

Nice things about knitting tams: You only have to knit each chart once - none of that sinking feeling when you reach the last row. It gets smaller and faster as you go along because the decreases for the top happen so fast. You can get it done in a week.

This didn't get stretched while blocking over a 10 inch dinner plate, only properly shaped. I could have wished for about a 10 1/2 inch plate.

Still working on my herringbone gloves but no pictures today, the fingers are giving me fits. As far as Legends of the Shetland Seas, I'm up to row 20 of 56 on the last repeat of the border chart, so I hope by the end of the week to begin puzzling over the edging.

spinning me

I was up til 1 am playing with my new toy--the Lendrum. I always think Lenny cause that is what Sheila named hers but til I come up with a clever name Lendrum it is. I have wanted to be a spinner for almost 20 years now and have taken many classes. Each and every time my teachers threw their hands in the air and assured me I would *never* be a spinner. However 2 years ago, during yet another class, I got it and have been happily spindling away. Spindling because my one week with wheel convinced me the contraption was too advanced for my skills. Eventually I did want a wheel so that I could spin more per sitting--for consistancy's sake. As you look at the above picture, with Koigu underneath as a reference of relative thickness please know: It was spindle spun about a year ago. This is my wheel spun:

Obviously a learning curve. Off to play.

This is my daughter,

This is my daughter, Deborah, modeling her birthday present, a sweater knit from a Vogue Knitting pattern. I am Karen's friend from Portland and she says I need a witty introduction. Maybe later. I have knitting to do! I cast on tonight for the Autumn Tam by Sandy Blue. It is winter now, but better late than never.

Anne

I've made some progress on

I've made some progress on the herringbone glove although twice I've had to pull out the needles and swear my way through ripping out 6 or 8 rows because I had lapse of attention. I do hope these fit me when I'm done as they are just so beautiful in my two colors of Koigu.

This is the back of the hand, which is all the herringbone pattern:

This is the palm, which has a column of 'spot' stitch for each finger. I am 4 rows from finishing the thumb gusset, and at the very top of the thumb gusset another column of spots opens up for the index finger.

I followed Lisa's lead, and used 2 colors of Koigu and size 2 needles (I'll switch to size 1 for the fingers). She has links in her pages to the blogs of 2 Japanese knitters (Noriko and Mariko) who have finished theirs, using Rowanspun yarn. I also used the double start caston from Nancy Bush's book 'Folk Knitting in Estonia', which Lisa suggested, and which makes a pretty edge. You can't see it because it's rolling - maybe there was an instruction in the pattern to purl a row or something and I just missed it. I will lightly block these to even out the stranding and unroll the pretty edge.

I can't wait to wear these. I do worry that I'm going to run out of the dark color before I'm done, but since it's not going to be hard to get another hank, I'm not letting it bother me.

I didn't work on LOTSS at all last night because I had to go through a rip-and-recover session on the glove - the Koigu is slippery and stretchy so it can be a bit of a pain to pick up stitches after ripping back. I also didn't work on LOTSS because I've been distracted by the tam knitalong at ASOFLIVES. I had a bunch of yarn left from knitting my Catriona cardigan, and fished these colors out to see if I could color up a tam for myself, and although it's coming out with some obvious weaknesses as to color design, I like it enough to continue. Pictures of that in a few days.

This is the first time I've knitted with Shetland wool since finishing St Michaels early last summer - I'd forgotten how wonderful it is.

Prudence

Photos of Round Trip

Sorry for the photo problems, but I have resolved them and can show you my Shinano Roundtrip.

I really like the Shinano. As I said earlier, it has a rustic feel to it as you knit, but softens and becomes a bit more wooly after washing. Here's a close up of the yarn.

the color is actually not this bright -- the browns and grays quiet it down.

The following photos show the construction of the sweater pretty well I think. This is a Knitters pattern (Fall 2003), and for those who are not familiar with it, the construction is very interesting.

You knit the back, then start a separate garter band, connecting it eventually to the back at the bottom and later the top via provisional cast ons and SSKs. You then pick up stitches to knit the arms (and front and sides) out. The first photo shows the sweater in progress with one arm almost completed. You pick up stitches within that 0 for sleeve #2.

Here's a profile view.

For a whole day after finishing this I decided to take a break from what had become obsessive knitting. But that lasted about 24 hours, and now I am studying, examining and rolling around on my stash yarn to decide what to do next.

Rob

Finished!

Hi -- I stayed up late and finished Round Trip last night. UInfortunately it was still damp this morning, so I couldn't wear it -- I think that newly FO should be worn immediately, like new shoes. I haven't yet found the camera manual but I have taken pictures of the sweater -- it's the uploading info I need. I did howver find the power screwdriver, which had been missing for a while, so I will try again tonight for the manual... Then I have to figure out how to upload the photo files to Pink Tea...

Rob

I finished my little Field

I finished my little Field of Flowers scarf yesterday.

It ended up being 5 inches wide and 28 inches long, just long enough to snug up around my neck. I blocked it with my pins and wires, to open up those adorable little flowers. It's a tiny bit itchy, I guess from the camel, but it's quite warm under a jacket. The buttonhole idea was great, I get the effect of a knot without having to take up length in a knot, or having to have bulk at the throat from a real knot.

This was a camel/silk blend that Denise sent me awhile ago. It was just about one ounce and spun up to about 110 yards of 2-ply. It knitted up more like DK weight although I was hoping for sport - it seems to me that my handspun stuff fattens up in the skein after I wash it!

I used size 5 needles, 25 stitches (19 pattern and 2 3-stitch garter borders), and I was inspired by the Field of Flowers scarf pattern that Sharon Miller created for the HeirloomKnitting yahoogroup. I also tried the Double Start caston that Nancy Bush explains in her book Folk Knitting in Estonia, and the Icelandic bindoff that someone was talking about on Fibertraditions last week. An old dog can learn new tricks!

I started my Koigu gloves yesterday, inspired by Lisa. Photos in a few days. Meanwhile, for your amazed amusement here is a kind of glove I'm not sure has ever been knitted before.

It's intended for a pool player. A friend hated his all-nylon pool glove and asked if I could knit one, so I said what-the-heck and hauled out some blue Froehlich Blauband sock yarn that was given to me, and started in. This picture shows it in use although it's hard to see in this photo how the fingertips can touch the felt of the pool table. No pool cue available so use your imagination.

I cast on 60 stitches and knitted a 2x2 ribbed wrist band (should have made it longer), then bound off 30 stitches, knitted up a ways, centered a thumb gusset on the 30 stitches, and made fingers at the top. For the edges that go up the palm and back of the hand, I used the kind of edge stitch you'd use on a sock heel flap (always knit last stitch and slip first stitch) to get an edge that would not flop around or roll.

What'll they think of next??

Prudence

still working on the camera

... and on the Round Trip. I am at the stage where I am SO close to done, but still need to keep going. According to the pattern I would be done by now, but I am lengthening the sleeves. I have also, amazingly, been cleaning the house primarily in order to find the manual for this digital camera. It's got to be here somewhere.

As I said in an earlier post, I love the Shinano yarn. But I think the next project should be with something that feels very different. The Shinano feels more like the silk (30%) than the wool -- not very elastic, and it has a very rustic, i.e, rough, texture. As soon as I can get those sleeves done, and wash it, I'll see what how the yarn changes. The swatch softened up quite a bit. I have more Shinano, in other colors, but I think the tactile experience of knitting is demanding a change. It's also good for my hands to start using a different size needle, so I might use some of the sport or DK that I have. But definitely something soft.

At a LYS last week I saw a pair of mittens made with one strand of boucle and one strand of something smooth, and the mittens looked and felt as if they had been fulled or felted. Super soft, super warm. They would also be super quick -- combining the old Alpaca boucle that I have with a worsted should give me a gauge of about 2.8 st/inch. That's using a formula someone has mentioned on the knit lists -- to guestimate the gauge when combining two yarns, add the two gauges together and then divide by three.

I still have to put the zipper into the Vittadini sweater, so I shouldn't count that as a finished project.

rob

I'm down to 2 WIPs,

I'm down to 2 WIPs, although as you'll see that's going to last about another half a day... anyway here they are.

Big WIP: Legends of the Shetland Seas, here it is with about 3/4ths of the first repeat done on the second border. It's coming out huge even without the edging and the amount of stretching I know will happen when it's blocked. I guess I'm just knitting too loosely - but I hope it won't matter in the end and that it'll still be beautiful. The yarn is Skacel Merino Lace which seems to be very elastic.

Here's a detail where you can see the end of the center panel, and the mesh, fan lace, and ring lace of the border pattern.

This is really a work of art, and it makes me feel that I don't need to fear to tackle most lace that would interest me in the future.

The pattern, in case this makes you covetous, can be found here.

Meanwhile, I've started a little scarf out of my handspun camel/silk that I finished last month. The lace pattern is 'field of flowers'. You can see the nifty buttonhole that LisaN suggested - it's theoretically about 1/3 of the way from one end, and it allows the other tail to be pulled through and snugged up so the scarf will stay in place and not allow drafts down the back of one's neck. Cool idea!

Meanwhile, I'm getting picked up by Lisa's Glove Train! Here's some Koigu I ordered from the guys at ThreadBear, to make the same herringbone gloves Lisa's been doing:

OK I fell off my LINT diet - but I will immediately knit and then immediately wear these, and it's the first fiber I've bought in a month, so I don't feel too guilty... I practically fell over when I opened the pretty pink tissue paper and experienced Koigu for the first time - it's stunning stuff. I can see myself easily following Lisa into a feast of Koigu gloves using Nancy Bush's book 'Folk Knitting in Estonia." What beautiful ways to have warm hands.

Prudence

testing one two three

Sheila-mama kindly welcomed me to Pink Tea several months ago and I haven't posted. Am waiting for my camera to be all ready but since that is soon... a test!

Socks from the ground up

I finally completed my "big swatch," a pair of socks from the handspun merino finished at the holidays. Here they are.

Because they're a surprise for the intended wearer, I couldn't exactly take measurements, so I did some educated guessing and got some feedback on how long and wide people make socks for the size I guessed. Then, I used K2P2 ribbing to make them as forgiving as possible in the size department. That's why they look slightly mutant - the legs and feet are K2P2 and the heels and toes are stockinette. They become miraculously foot-shaped when placed on a foot. I also used commercial sock yarn for the toe area, so they'd wear a little better.

Here's a closeup that really gives an idea how pretty this fiber was that Denise gave me.

They'll age in my cedar chest for about a week now before getting giftwrapped. Here's hoping they actually fit!

I'm on the second border of Legends of the Shetland Seas, maybe I'll post a photo over the weekend. Other than that, I'm in the mood to knit little things. I did an interesting project this week that I'll photograph soon, a specially shaped glove for a pool player. And I'm going to make a little scarf out of my handspun camel/silk too. I seem to be having an aversion to starting another big project right at this moment.

Introducing myself

When I first heard of this communal blog I thought it was a great idea, got signed up -- and never wrote!! But I have been thinking more and more of blogging about knitting, so here I am. I am a strong believer in the importance of photographs in knitting blogs, so I am off to figure out my new digital camera and will post again with photos. Just a quick preview of what I have on the needles, and some designs in progress:
1) I have finished the knitting for a K2P2 ribbed zipped cardigan from a Vitadinni pattern. Now I have to put in the zipper.
2) I am making the Round Trip bolero from Knitters fall issue, using Shinano instead of Kureyon. I am crazy about Shinano -- slightly more subtle colors in the stripes and lots of tweed flecks.
3) I have some gorgeous discontinued Rowan DK Soft in the rose shade. I love the yarn so much that I have not been able to settle on a pattern, especially since there is no more of this stuff to be had.
Pictures to follow!

Rob in PA