epic knitting fail

Since I'm currently working on stuff that's taking awhile I thought I would amuse you with something else. About 2 months ago I decided to make cookie a's Clandestine socks from 'Knit.Sock.Love' and I swatched with many yarns until deciding on some fabulous Malabrigo sock yarn in a deep red (tiziano). Putting aside my misgivings about using a yarn without nylon content for durability I succumbed to its velvety softness; likely swayed by the word 'sock' in its name.

I proceeded to spend many hours knitting happily along, progressing through the charts (which are much more complicated on the leg than the foot. By then you're home free). Very time consuming but very enjoyable as well, so I was looking forward to sock #2. However, as I went along the nagging voice in my head persisted and it said "you've knit a million socks. You always cast on over two needles to ensure there's enough stretchiness on the cuff. You didn't this time because you're insane and you followed the instructions to the letter and they just said 'cast on' not 'cast on over 2 needles' and you were busy thinking about the charts and you weren't really paying attention to what you were doing and now you.are.screwed."

Of course, I completely ignored the annoying nagging voice until the very very end when I was confident I could try on the sock without pulling out a needle (thus letting fall a row of lace stitches I would never recover from). And, as you've guessed, there is a certain undeniable tightness to the cuff I am completely unable to come to terms with and the sock has been banished out of sight ever since. It doesn't even deserve a colour photo right now.

I'm starting again. LATER. With something with a bit of nylon, over 2 needles. Because it has to work next time.

apiary

Pattern: mine

Yarn: Lioness Arts Smooth Merino Fingering in colour 'Mr. Jarndyce'

My plan was simple: come up with a neck accessory that would use as much of a single skein of lovely handdyed yarn as possible. I swatched many many times on many different needles with many different ideas until I got here. I love the honeybee stitch and on 5 mm needles doing it is like knitting acrobatics. Using bamboos helped immensely. It was easy to memorize and fun to make. It has a reckless, loopy quality I love and it looks great on either side. Plus, I used all but a few metres of the skein. Score.

intrepid

Pattern: Intrepid (not yet released) by Connie (yellowcosmo)

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in colour #41

This was a test-knit for Connie, who is, I think, one of the most amazing designers in the world. The patterns she's released are gorgeous, and many of her projects are originals as well. Some of them I visit periodically just to have moments of bliss. Like this. And this. And this. (For those of you not on Ravelry, I apologize).

This dress has a fabulous shoulder method and top-down construction. The cable on the front is great and the pockets, too. The Hempathy is a good yarn choice for its drapiness and light weight. My gauge meant a slight airiness to the fabric which, for modesty's sake, prompted me to don a sheer black and blue skirt underneath which acted as a pseudo slip. I will try it with only tights once the temperatures are cooler.

All in all a great summer knit and a totally enjoyable pattern.

why I knit

Both my maternal and paternal Grandmas knit and they found the time to teach me how when I was a young and impressionable girl. I remember making a garter stitch scarf and even a whole cardigan (which I don't remember actually wearing) before wandering off to other things.

I didn't get back to knitting until many years later. Too late to enjoy knitting with one of my Grandmas, which I greatly regret.

This week, my other Gran passed and I am still in a state of disbelief that she's gone. Both of them were utterly amazing and wonderful women and I feel extremely grateful that they were my grandmas.

I'll miss you very, very much Gran.

fleece project, part 3

The wool I am in the process of washing-carding-spinning-knitting is a fleece from my friends' Welsh Mountain sheep. I've been doing some reading and the typical staple length is 8-10cm and micron measurement is 35-28. What I have is a lovely mottled brown / grey and reminds me of some shetland I spun last year.

I'm spinning a 2-ply

resulting in a roughly dk weight

I have about 230 yds so far. When setting the twist I gave the yarn a final bath of hot water with detergent to get out the last of the lanolin. You can probably tell my carding and resultant spinning was not the smoothest in the world, but the end result exhibits a certain rustic charm I'm enjoying.

I'm getting some prepared Welsh from Lisa soon, so I'm looking forward to spinning more of this lovely breed. My friend has chickens in her backyard. I'm sure no-one (but my dog, maybe) would notice if I had a little sheep in mine...

wip wednesday

miscellaneous works in progress...

messing around with light scarf ideas and fingering weight yarn. fabulous skein from Dani.

test-knitting this piece of brilliance from Connie

(the crazy heat ended, so back to) spinning the fleece I washed and carded

making these. they rock.

starting obedience classes next week. though she's already perfectly awesome.

more on everything soon.

contiguous study

Pattern: SusieM's Contiguous Method for the shoulder seams and sleeve caps, then the rest was from my head

Yarn: Madelinetosh Sock Yarn, 3 skeins in colour 'kelp'

I love top-down construction for sweaters, so I wanted to try out this method for establishing the shoulder seams and sleeve caps. It differed quite a bit from other methods I'd tried...I kept thinking of it as sort of an amalgamation between a raglan and set in sleeve method. You work along a single line of back of neck stitches, increasing on both ends to form the front and back shoulders, then increasing again to make the sleeve caps.

From there I just stayed simple, making 3/4 sleeves and easy stockinette with some garter trim. Nice loose gauge in fingering weight yarn in an absolutely fabulous deep teal colour. Great summer knitting.