Tag: <span>knitting</span>

Tag: knitting

Socks

Netherlands Vacation Socks

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Netherlands Vacation Socks
Started: October 2022
Finished: October 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in “Mill Ends”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I started these on a trip to the Netherlands in October, but apparently didn’t write down the start or finish date, though I did note that I finished them just after returning.  Usually I bring a project to work on during flights and while relaxing in the evenings, but apparently I didn’t get a chance to finish these while on vacation which is fine too!  The colors are really fun together, and a quick peek on Ravelry says I got these at Rhinebeck in 2009, so, yikes, definitely time to use that yarn!

knitting, Sewing, Sweaters

Love Note Sweater & Gypsum Skirt

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Posting some old photos since for whatever reason, this never made it to the blog, but I did put them up on Instagram.  Weird?  These were finished/photographed in the early days of the pandemic (May 2020).  I thought I’d put them into the blog here and talk more about the modifications and whatnot.

First up, the skirt!  The skirt is the Gypsum Skirt by Sew Liberated.  I’ve found their patterns to be very well written, sized well, and be really easy to follow in terms of instructions.  This went together pretty quickly – I chose a size that matched my waist measurement the closest since the hips were a little more free.  The extra details with the felled seams and those MASSIVE pockets (yes, you can hold an entire knitting project in that pocket) really make this a nice finished project.  The fabric is from JoAnn Fabrics and I think it was a rayon/linen blend or some kind of faux linen because it’s got a nice drape to it, but just enough structure to have crisp seams.  I’ve worn this a bunch already and I still love it.

Love Note Sweater
Started: 22 January 2020
Finished: 8 February 2020
Pattern: Love Note by tincanknits
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Roslyn (65% Wool / 35% Silk)
Needle: US 7 & 10
Notes: –Ravelry Link–
This was obviously a super quick knit for me and it went together in no time at all.  I ended up using a plain DK yarn instead of the fingering+lace combo held together.  I don’t really like that fluffy, halo-y yarn look, so this sort of rustic, tweedy yarn fit better for me.  I got gauge perfectly on a swatch, so I forged right ahead and knit size L per the size chart which came out right.  I want to say I might have shortened this by an inch or two from the instructions since I’ve got an absurdly short torso and wanted this to actually be cropped instead of falling to my hips.  The sleeves I also knit shorter, only to 11.5″ length so it comes about to 3/4 sleeve length.  I wear this one A LOT with all kinds of things underneath – dresses, jeans, etc.  Easily one of my favorite handmade sweaters!

Socks

Fall Market Socks

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Fall Market Socks
Started: 8 September 2022
Finished: 27 September 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in colorway “Autumn Leaves”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Yet another pair of plain old socks using yarn I picked up while visiting the husband in the UK.  This yarn also came from Seeded in Portsmouth, UK, and I absolutely LOVED the colors.  These were also brought with me to keep me busy during lulls while selling honey at farmers markets and I love how they knitted up!  I used my usual trick to preserve the striping pattern and switched to the other end of the yarn cake to work the heel.  As usual, these are fraternal twins since I like each sock to begin and end wherever the yarn falls rather than waste yarn to get a perfectly matching pair.

Socks

Market Socks

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Market Socks
Started: June 2022
Finished: 01 Sep 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in colorway “Blue Lagoon”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I picked up this yarn at Seeded while visiting my husband in the UK.  Any good knitter will go ahead and look for local yarn stores while on vacation because it’s always fun to find something new and now the memory of this trip comes to mind whenever I wear these socks which is pretty great!  There’s something fun about buying a craft/art supply somewhere, creating something with it, and then having the finished object be something functional and also a memory of the vacation.  Anyway, these are my “Market Socks” because I knit these mostly at farmers markets over the summer.  Markets are longer in the summer and there’s usually a little bit of down time between customers or after getting set up, so I always had this project with me to keep me busy.  Triple memory here maybe?  Either way, love the color, the yarn is great, sturdy and yet soft stuff, and I hope I get years upon years of wear out of these!

Socks

Black Forest Socks

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Black Forest Socks
Started: 22 March 2022
Finished: 29 March 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits Ewe Know Who in colorway, “Black Forest”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: Basic socks in a really neat green/black color that is absolutely named perfectly.  Knit up in only a week!

Home

Recycled Sheets Doily Rug

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Doily Rug
Started: 14 March 2022
Finished: 15 March 2022
Pattern: Rag Doily Rug by Coco Knits
Yarn: Recycled sheets
Needle: US 19 / 15 mm
Notes:  I have a few sets of old sheets lying around that  I keep meaning to upcycle into something usable.  Well, it was finally time!  This set of sheets, I actually ripped a hole in the middle when I got into bed, that’s how thin they had gotten.  So, first step was to cut them into size.  These were for a California King bed, so I folded them over a few times to make it a shorter pass and went to town with my rotary cutter, cutting 1.5″ strips.  To join strips together, I want to say I used the looped hole technique shown here, but it’s also been over a year and I can’t quite remember? I don’t think I bothered sewing the ends together, but my strips were pretty long.  The needles were something I grabbed from online since I definitely didn’t have a size that large on hand, and I’m not going to lie, I’m used to knitting socks, so knitting something this big on needles that large was a full arm workout and definitely tiring on the hands.  Thankfully, it was a pretty small project and went rather quickly!  The fabric, IIRC, was some kind of microfiber fabric, so the weave is SUPER messy – it split and frayed all over the place while I was knitting and there was just no way to control it – it was nothing like ripping/cutting a plain old cotton sheet.  In the end, things came together well and the resulting rug does look a little fuzzy, but it hasn’t shed anymore.  I did wash and lay this out to shape it before placing it at our back door, and I think that helped a bunch.  SUPER fun to do this and I’m happy with the final result!  I still have a bunch of this ‘yarn’ leftover too, so I should be able to make another one too.

Socks

Sparkly Socks

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Sparkly Socks
Started: 09 Feb 2022
Finished: 01 Mar 2022
Pattern: Plain Old Socks (my pattern)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Super Sparkle in colorway “Supreme Black Dalek”
Needle: US 1.5 / 2.5 mm
Notes: I have written down that I knit these on the plane to and from going to visit my husband while he was stationed in the UK, and interestingly enough, I wore them back to the UK for this last trip just a few months ago.  Yes, late posting is late.  Every year I swear I’m going to get on top of things and post on a regular schedule and then beekeeping season happens, and well, blogging isn’t as important.  Anyway, I absolutely love the color and the sparkle in these, and BMFA yarn has always been a huge favorite.

Gloves/Mittens

Evja Mittens

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Evja Mittens
Started: 28 Jan 2022
Finished: 5 Feb 2022
Pattern: Evja Mittens by Skeindeer Knits
Yarn: Locust Hollow Alpaca/Sheep in natural colors black and white
Needle: US 4 / 3.5 mm and US 6 / 4mm
Notes: I picked up the yarn from local farmers market friends and calculated it was somewhere around a DK based on the number of wraps per inch and the weight of the skein and reported yardage.  The white skein clocked in at about 14 wpi and was 4.2 oz (1.9 oz remaining at the end) while the black skein was about 12 wpi weighed 4.7 oz (2.4 oz remaining at the end).  Both were listed as approx 200 yard skeins.   Overall, this was a pretty quick knit, I found the needle sizes to be spot on for the yarn and pattern, the length and width fit perfectly, and the blend of sheep and alpaca fibers make for a delightfully warm and comfortable pair of mittens!  So, now here’s where I admit that as much as I respect the Norwegian thumb and the history of the knitting tradition, I deeply dislike how they fit and sit on the hands.  Our thumbs sprout out the side of our palm, not the center, so the Norwegian style thumb where there gusset begins just off center of the palm tends to twist the pattern on the top of the hand when worn and it just _feels weird_ to me.  Usually I’d hack the pattern and transition this to a “sore thumb” style (the thumb gusset starting on the side ‘seam’ of the mitten) instead, but I’ll be honest with you, it was a hell of a month and I thought just this once, I’d go ahead and do the pattern as written since I didn’t have the brain power to make the adjustment anyway.  I mean, it’s okay, and they fit, and they’re really pretty, but it’s definitely not my preference when it comes to mittens.  In the end, I’m still pretty damn proud of how they came out and will absolutely wear them tons!