A Few Finished Projects

I haven't really been feeling the blog for a while; I've had an attack of unbloggables. It all started with the Supreme Court Virginia Tech Jerry Falwell Mother's Day my mom's yarzheit. Maybe some day I'll be able to write about all those things in the manner they deserve, but for now, I'll just show you some knitting:


The February Baby Sweater from Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann

This is for my friend Holly's daughter, Bronwyn. I just barely finished it in time for the baby shower (back in March!), where it was suitably admired.



I've also finished a Fake Isle Hat:



This was my first major colorwork project, and I really enjoyed it. I'm definitely going to do more. (Good thing I liked it - I have the yarn for several more colorwork projects already!)

I finished spinning a few things. (Quite a while ago now, but who ever accused me of being prompt?)


Spring Breeze 100% Merino, Navajo-plied

I spun this single when I was first learning, before I knew that beginners shouldn't spin Merino. I didn't make nearly the mess of it I expected, and plying hides a multitude of sins. I'm very happy with this yarn; it's wonderfully soft and squishy. It's hovers around Aran weight.




Seattle Garden, three-ply merino/mystery wool

This is the leftover from the Spring Breeze plied with the last of the grey mystery wool that came with my wheel. It's roughly worsted weight.

Really, I Do Finish Things

The Steppe Sweater is done. I'd been putting off weaving in the ends because, hello, have you seen the Avalanche yarn? We're talking two stitches to the inch, here, people! I wasn't even sure it would fit through my darning needle. But the other night I sat myself down and did it. (Netflix helped - movie review to come when I finish processing it.)


Pattern: Steppe Sweater
Yarn: Dulaan Avalanche yarn from Ryan
Needles: US 10 KnitPicks Options
Notes: I found it really difficult to pick up stitches and work decreases with yarn this chunky. I had planned to do more striping in the sleeves, but found that having a color change round anywhere near a decrease round was too much to deal with. That said, it's a great pattern and a very quick knit, if not exactly portable. I got guage on my swatch with the tens, but the sweater came out a bit smaller than it ought to have. No matter; it will fit someone. I think the pattern could easily be adapted to a worsted weight yarn for a nice ski sweater, particularly if you added toggle buttons and loops at the neck opening.

The ladybug hat and its companion are done, and have been mailed off to Isabella. I hope she's not too big to wear the newborn cap already.

Two hats, all done

Newborn hat

Corrugated ribbing takes a very long time

Pattern: Fiber Trends Lovable Ladybug Hat; Seat-of-My-Pants-Different-Every-Time Baby Hat
Yarn: Classic Yarns' Cashsoft DK
Needles: US 5 KnitPicks Options; US 4 bamboo DPNs
Notes: I didn't love this pattern. I thought it used the hard way every single time when there were far simpler solutions. If I'd read it more carefully before I started, I could have made adjustments, but I was too eager to get started. Lesson learned, maybe. I also didn't love the yarn (I know, bitch, bitch, bitch, huh?) - it was very soft, but I think the microfiber dried my hands out if I knit with it for too long.

The Almanac baby sweater is all done but the seaming, and then it will be button-sewing time.

Mermaid

My little mermaid had her photo shoot in the lilac tree over the weekend:


This is a two-ply Colonial wool, dyed by Ruby's Daughter, in her Bluesy Purple colorway. I had the same problem with this yarn that I had with Carnevale; there are sections that barely seem plied at all, where the singles seem to just lay next to one another, but I have to ply it that loose to get them to balance. I assume I'm just not putting enough twist into the singles to start with.

I was also forced to admit that my bobbins are nowhere near four ounces. Mermaid is actually two skeins, because I filled my first bobbin to the point where my wheel refused to turn anymore, and still had about a third again left over. Yet another good reason to pick up a plying bobbin/flyer unit this weekend.

Carnevale

I finally got around to plying the forest green roving that came with
my wheel. I have no idea what it is, or how much there is. I had spun
the singles up a month or so ago, and they've been staring at me
balefully ever since.

This is a two-ply yarn. The singles were around sport weight, but it bloomed like crazy when it hit the water, so the final yarn overs between Aran
and bulky weight. it's super soft and squishy; Jessica thinks it might
be Merino, but if it is, it must be a blend, because it held the twist
too well during the weeks that I abandoned it to be pure Merino.

My favorite thing was seeing all the other colors come out when the yam bloomed. It went from being a deep green to a whole cacophony of jewel tones. It reminds me of a scene from a movie (no, I don't remember which one) full of vaguely menacing masked and cloaked people at Carnevale in Venice.

Carnevale, meet the internet:


Internet, Carnevale:

Gifties

It is now safe to post photos of the Chrismukkah gifts I made for my step-mother and brothers. Finally. I'd been holding off until they were actually gifted, since Laura pops in to check the blog now and again, and between exhaustion and illness, we didn't make it down to visit until this past weekend.


Laura in the Le Slouch hat, which is kind of Le Fitted

My brothers make strange faces; I cut off bits of their heads:

Brother #5 models his new gremlin hat, which he refused to take off all weekend


Brother #4 in his Gryffindor scarf

NB: Brothers 1-3 are in different familial sets, and were neither visited nor gifted with hand-knits this time around. This is not neglect; this is a natural consequence of having eleven siblings. Their turn will come.

Im in ur laundry room, feltin' ur hand-knitz

Attention Knitters: Please resume breathing; it was on purpose.

Last night, I engaged in a veritable felting orgy. The Highland Bag took another trip through the washer, since the strap was still too stretchy for my taste. The first time I used a chunky trade paperback to block it; this time it only took a modest mass-market paperback. I'm happy with the new, petite bag, since I was looking for something that would hold the basics (wallet, phone, and keys) without letting me pack a million other things just in case I might need them.




Pattern: Elann Highland Wool Felted Bag, Fancy Version
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Wool in Redwood and Allspice
Needles: 24" KnitPicks Options, Size 10

Next up were two pairs of Fuzzy Feet: one for my dad and one for me. Dad's were a challenge, since they were a gift - I had planned to give them to him unfelted, and then shrink them up when I was visiting, to make sure they came to the right size. Then I remembered that he has a front-loading washer, which would be difficult for a novice felter. I checked the measurements for his shoe size online, and hoped for the best. I've held this post back until I gave them to him, and it turns out they fit perfectly: hooray for seat-of-your-pants solutions!

Pattern: Fuzzy Feet
Yarn: Cascade 220 in 7815; 8891 & 9903 (I'm guessing on the colors, since I've lost all the ball-bands)
Needles: 10.5 bamboo double-points

I know some knitters think felting is a good way to ruin knitting, but I have to say that I'm having a lot of fun with this. I'm trying to use my felting projects as a chance to even out my stitch tension, since anything funny won't show up in the final product, and the Highland Bag was a good introduction to stranding a second color along behind the one being worked.