Tag Archives: FO

FOs: a finished object and a face-off

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The good news: my new apartment has a full length mirror with some natural light. The bad news: Boh hasn’t learned how to take FO pictures for me yet.

Pattern: Sassymmetrical by gaysknits

Yarn: Malabrigo in Cinnabar, just over 2.5 skeins

Mods: I used a worsted instead of a dk weight, so I adjusted the math (see project page) accordingly. Also, because of the thicker yarn, I shortened the sleeves by a row, eliminating the fourth row of knitting. I knit the body until it measured closer to 10 inches from the underarm. Could have done a few more repeats with the remaining yarn.

I heart this sweater. I wore it immediately (someday I’ll block it), fastened shut with a cable needle. I finished it about half an hour before plans to have dinner and play croquet at the home of some new friends. It was the perfect layer for an August evening, and my sassymmetrical has already been romping through the bushes to pick blackberries.

I also have a silly dog picture to share. Check this out:

Yep, that’s Boh, staring down a young deer in the yard. I snapped this less than ten minutes ago. Given all of the activity in the yard, Boh has done an excellent job of re-entering civilization over the last week. I’m so proud.

Not sure what I’ll work on next — stay tuned!

show and tell.

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First:

Whoa. I stood outside, mug of locally brewed honey wheat beer in hand, staring at all of this for at least an hour on Tuesday night. We’re getting quite a bit of rain this monsoon season, and watching the storm clouds build is starting to rival knitting as my favorite Base Camp activity.

In the land of knitting, I have much to share — things both finished and received.

I received an unexpected gift this week in the form of this stunning merino-silk lace knit scarf. One of the parents I’ve met through work has become a dear friend, and in honor of my departure, she wrapped this up and gave it to me — and she didn’t even know that I am a knitter! This is absolutely gorgeous (second picture is truer to the color, first shows the detail a bit better) and I am overwhelmed by all of the love and effort that went into this.

This picture doesn’t quite do this super-cute cabled headband justice, but I love taking pictures on this quilt at the home of dear friends here in town. I taught one of our staff members to cable and together we puzzled out this pattern — intending to replicate a knit gift she had received — and then she made me one! There are several folks around Base Camp with their dirty hair fashionably accessorized/tamed by one of these cabled headbands. I’ve been wearing mine almost daily.

On to my super big news:

Can’t believe it took me 8 months to finish this — lost steam in the middle, but I picked this up again last week and it moved super quickly, perhaps because while I was knitting, I was daydreaming of wrapping myself in this while buried in grad school reading.

Pattern: You know the one.

Yarn: Brooks Farm Riata (2 large skeins)

Mods: Only one — I was nervous about having enough yarn, and at halfway through my supply, I noted how far along I was and decided to do one less repeat (11 instead of the 12) of the straight section. This turned out to be a brilliant move — I completed the shawl with a few yards leftover.

Thoughts: I love this — and despite how long it took me to complete it, I really enjoyed the process. I also learned quite a bit about dropping stitches, and way back in November, this pattern taught me how to purl into the front and back of a stitch.

I’m sure I’ll have lots of photos of my clapotis (and other recent FOs) in action come fall. An FO also means a new project — what could it be?

This is the beginning of sassymetrical, by gaysknits. I queued it awhile ago, but when I saw The Plucky Knitter’s version, I knew it needed to be next on the list. This pattern seems to be the perfect use for 3 skeins of Malabrigo in the cinnabar colorway. I’m excited about this, and a bit nervous because this is the first pattern I’ve modified to accommodate a yarn choice in a different weight. The pattern recipe is written for a dk weight, using size 6 needles, and thanks to gaysknits’ instructions, I’ve calculated my gauge, the number of inches I want my finished cardigan to be, and then made some guesses about proportions, particularly with respect to the sleeve stitches. Here’s what I’ve got:

The original is 28 inches around, made to fit a 32 inch bust (this makes sense for the way the cardigan hangs). I want to make mine to fit a 39.5 inch bust, so I want my finished sweater to be 36 inches around. My gauge in the Malabrigo using size 8 needles is 4 st/in, so 4 st x 36 inches = 144 stitches. I am unsure about how to determine the number of sleeve st to cast on when making a larger size, but I am hoping that I can just see how it feels as I go because of the top down raglan construction. I decided to cast on 36 for each front (because of the overlap, each front is the size of the back), 36 for the back, and 18 for each sleeve. Wish me luck!

Whew — lots of pictures and projects to share. In case you’ve been wondering about my houseguests*, I’ll leave you with this shot of them resting peacefully during the daytime (they’re out exploring when I am sleeping in my cabin, so I only see them when I return to grab things during the day):

* Please don’t worry about this — these bats are not aggressive, and the space they’re inhabiting is an open air structure — minimal risk for bites or disease transmission (which tends to occur, also rarely, in contained spaces without good air circulation). Additionally, the friends I’m staying with would like you all to know that I’m wearing my cross, eating garlic, and throwing salt over my shoulder. More soon!

blue button, purple project and a sweater’s worth…

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Check out my sweet button! One of our interns at Base Camp surprised me with this after one of our weekly food-buying trips. The colors are a bit weird in this shot (in town, enjoying a bed, a ceiling fan and a leisurely morning, and the shades are still drawn) but let me assure you that the mustardy green of the sweater makes the blue button really stand out. Perfect. I am really proud of this sweater, but it may take a bit of wearing for me to feel like it is “me” enough to get someone to take some modeled pictures for me to post. (Also, it doesn’t *quite* fit with my Base Camp wardrobe…)

A fast internet connection and the ability to post in bed this fine holiday morning means I have a lot to share with you. In my last post, I mentioned a new project: Fad Classic by Wendy Bernard. I’m using Araucania Nature Wool in a purpley-grey color, and I really love how this stitch pattern looks with the subtle variegation of the yarn. I’m also feeling really good about the progress I’m making as a knitter. I tried to start this project last fall, and I just couldn’t wrap my head around the way the straps are knit — 2 at a time from the top shoulder seam, doing the front first, pulling out the cast on and knitting the straps down for the back before joining in the round. While it was a bit fiddly and I was slightly paranoid about twisting everything, it is clear to me that my knitterly abilities and confidence are growing with each project I tackle. (Yay!)

Alright, onto the yarn purchasing. As we’ve covered here before, yarn buying is a valid form of therapy. There’s lots going on over here with work, family and my upcoming cross-country move and transition to graduate school, and some of it is a bit overwhelming. In packing up my stash (and sneaking peaks at all of your stashes via ravelry), I realized that though I have plenty of yarn, I don’t have much in sweater quantities, and so I’ve been focusing on addressing that whenever I get stressed out. Also, as this is my first summer as a sweater knitter, I’m having a hard time saying no to all the beautiful fall/wintery yarn that seems to be on sale while the weather is hot. A quick look at some of my latest acquisitions:

Sooo, from the top: Queensland Kathmandu DK in light grey and rust, Malabrigo in Chestnut, Nashua Creative Focus Worsted in delphinium, and Nashua Creative Focus Superwash in Brite Orange, along with some discounted books I’ve had my eye on. (Full disclosure — there’s some Peace Fleece in the mail.) Though that orange is much “briter” than I expected, I think it will work nicely in something stripey. As you can see, there are many sweaters in my future.

In other news, the rains have begun. People always give me a funny look when I mention that the Southwest has a monsoon season, but it’s true — Right around the 4th of July, the afternoon thunderstorms increase in regularity, and sometimes we even get a full evening of gentle rain. Here are a few pictures of an approaching storm earlier this week:

And Wednesday’s (blurry) sunset:

Feels good to get all of this uploaded and shared. I’m way behind on comments, but I’m still here, and I’m almost caught up on blog-reading. Hope you have a lovely 4th of July — I’m spending mine at the rodeo!

sunday market shawl — and snow!

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I know it is a little blurry, but there is just something I like about this picture, so it’s what you get. I am very happy with how version 2 of the sunday market shawl (Dream in Color Smooshy, size 10 needles) turned out, though I must say, it grew tremendously in length, but not so much in width. I may make a massive version of this for myself someday — maybe double in width?  It is way longer than I am. (Note: the lack of growth in width could be related to the way I blocked it — sans pins, on a beach towel on a backyard table with the ends draped over chairs because it didn’t quite fit on the table…) I can’t wait to give this to the friend who has been waiting ever so patiently for her birthday scarf — I’ll do that the next time I’m in town.

This is what I woke up to yesterday, here at Base Camp. Crazy — but lots of fun. Fires were built, layers were donned, and the dog frolicked. It melted by mid-morning. The fact that I am posting today means that I finally got everything networked (hooray), so it looks like I will be able to blog this summer, though it will likely be far more sporadic than my almost daily posts of the last few months. I am certainly knitting — more of the yoke of the gathered cardi to share soon!

FO: super simple short socks

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I love them. LOVE. I finished these in two weeks, while working on other things, and I am super proud of them. The heels look far more awesome than my last pair of socks, and I even kitchenered a bit better (though on the second one, something weird happened and I was left with a loop I couldn’t tighten. I finally just used a scrap piece of thread to help me pull it to the inside, where it will hopefully stay). Anyway, I love them. Despite the serious pooling:

Also, they look so cute with my purple crocs:

I wore this combination around the house while packing this morning, even though it is really too hot for socks and shoes. I also had a tea date with my landlord — I live in her backyard, so she came over this morning to learn how to knit. She is a natural — was able to do a long-tail cast on after watching me cast on 3 stitches. We had a lovely visit — such a nice way to end my 2 years here. (I move out on Saturday.)

This post is harder than usual to write, not because of the content, but because I just took Boh for a run, and it is far hotter outside than I anticipated. I am working on rehydrating now — should’ve had more agua last night and this morning before our run. Also, my body is a bit sore, as I went on my first run in quite awhile on Saturday. Yay for number 2. Here’s what the dog is doing:

Ooh — and this is unrelated, but I made some color choices this weekend:

I may be leaving the Southwest, but I’m bringing its love of color with me. Hope you’re having a great 3-day weekend. I’m off to a badminton yard party for the afternoon…

FO: rusted root.

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Excuse the mirror. I am super happy with the way this turned out. I wore it to work on Friday, out to lunch with a friend, and then to see Wilco last night. (Perhaps the best show I’ve ever seen. Period.)

Here’s one more shot of the neckline:

I also have a few goodies to share. These arrived in record time from The Loopy Ewe. My favorite bag was stolen a few weeks ago when my car window was smashed, so I decided to look for another cavernous bag to haul around with me. I settled on the Namaste Malibu, and I love it.

This bag is deceptively large — I can easily imagine a sweater’s worth of yarn tucked into one side — and the center zip pocket is the perfect size for a sock or a dishcloth in progress. Since I was already placing an order, I picked up some gorgeous Shibui sock yarn in honey. (It matches the bag.)

WordPress was a bit cranky last night, so it has taken me roughly 10 hours to actually hit publish. Planning to do some frolicking with the dog this morning before heading up to Santa Fe for more high school rugby and touristy fun stuff. Maybe I’ll remember to take some pictures…

okay, now it’s rusted.

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Victory! (It only took 7.5 months to complete.) It has been said a gazillion times already, but this is a fantastic pattern. I can’t remember why or how I lost momentum with this one. I literally had about 3 inches of the body left to knit before the ribbing on the waist, sleeves and neckline.

I made one sort of intentional modification: instead of picking up the same number of stitches for the neckline ribbing, I picked up about 15 fewer, ostensibly to stop the rolling and to help the lace lay flat. The overall fit is accurate, in that I made the medium (36-39) and I have a 38 inch circumference. This baby is blocking now, and because of the cotton in the yarn, I’m confident that it will relax ever so slightly. Modeled FO pictures once it is dry.

I haven’t posted a sunrise picture in awhile — the sun and I are about neck and neck these days in terms of rising time. The days are growing longer on both ends now, and I love it. Here’s what I saw this morning when I took the dog out:

Also, hooray! I won some tangled yarn from The Plucky Knitter! This is the first time I’ve won anything and the blogosphere, and I did a little dance at the mailbox when this arrived on Monday. Thank you, Sarah. Before and after pictures of our detangling adventures are on the horizon…

distraction #2.

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Again with the need to be knitting something that isn’t fiddly. I had at least 120 yards of leftovers from the third skein of the Cascade 220 I used for the pinwheel blanket, and somehow the magic of ravelry led me to cast on for the hurricane hat by Andrea Goutier (size 7 needles). This is a fast, fun pattern with lovely crown decreasing that maintains the purl ridge swirl ’til the end.

I may have a problem. How many hats does one person need?

I mean, I don’t have a grey hat yet…

Off to work.

distraction.

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Oops…I may have accidentally knit a beret — Le Slouch, by Wendy Bernard, to be exact. How did that happen?

I wanted something simple and soft to work on…and even though spring weather is definitely here, early desert mornings remain cold enough for beautiful headgear all through the summer.

I didn’t want a full-on beret, but rather a comfy hat that wouldn’t flatten my curly hair in the morning. I followed Wendy’s instructions for the stockinette version, using US 8 and 9 DPNs, and began the decreases at just under 5 inches. The yarn is Malabrigo in colorway verdeazul, and while the pattern called for roughly 200 yards, I’m wondering if I can get another full hat out of what is left — looks like I used just over half the skein.

I also managed to cast on for the Lace Ribbon Scarf. I can see how folks get into a rhythm with this pattern, as I sat down to get started and looked up 10 rows later. This Yarn Pirate booty is tough to photograph, as the tencel in the yarn seems to make it super shiny to my camera. In real life, it has a subtle sheen that I think will really add to the beauty of the scarf.

Also, more evidence that my dog is absurd:


baking…

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Happy Birthday! I presented this cupcake to someone who is a VERY good sport about all the knitting his wife and I both talk about and do when we are together.

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(I also did some “real” baking — there is a loaf of banana bread on the counter, ready to take to Easter brunch.) I loved making this cupcake (pattern from One Skein by Leigh Radford). I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, given that I do not own any novelty yarn for frosting the cupcake, but I used Cascade 220 for the chocolate base and then 2 strands of Cascade 220 Heathers and 1 strand of Madil Kid Seta (all leftover from the LMKG legwarmers) and then used some leftover cotton to make a cherry on top.

More knitting to share:

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These (Baby Bibs O’ Love, from Mason-Dixon knitting, made from Peaches and Creme dishcloth cotton) have been languishing for at least a month, mostly because I couldn’t find a needle that would fit through the buttonholes…needed to dig out my misplaced travel sewing kit. Let’s hope I can get these in the mail faster than I was able to sew on the buttons! (Still thinking about adding a little bit of embroidery to the red one. We’ll see.)

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Beaufort, completed! (Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, Size 8 needles.) I am a tad nervous that this will be too small for its recipient. It fit me snugly, right off the needles, and I have a small head. I dunked it in the sink with some wool wash and gave it a good tug, and it is almost dry. I think the yos in the pattern will open up with time, just like my Foliage did. I hope she likes it.

I had a Nutkin realization yesterday. You know, after I did 5 more repeats on the leg portion.

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That lovely doubled cuff I was celebrating a few posts ago? (Don’t get me wrong — it is very pretty.) Mine doesn’t quite fit over my heel. Good thing I checked before starting the heel. The thing is, I am in LOVE with how this yarn (Yarn Pirate Kalamata — my first Booty Club installment) is knitting up. I’m thinking I can add a thumb hole and do another pattern repeat or two and I will have the first of a gorgeous pair of fingerless mitts. (Does that also mean I get to decide on another sock to begin?) I will certainly keep you posted on my sock to mitt progress. Seems fitting that I was listening to the last few chapters of Frankenstein yesterday on CraftLit when I made this discovery.

Time to settle down with another cup of coffee, Boh, and some knitting. I love weekend mornings — I am always up with the sun, and on these days, I get to watch the morning become mid-day: sun rises in the sky, roosters crow, air warms up and I can fling open the doors and windows…

Enjoy your day.