Tag Archives: knitting

FO: handspun mittens.

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See? They’ve already found a home in my basket o’ warm stuff near the door. These are mittens out of Paradise Fibers oatmeal bfl and local undyed jacob, initially intended for my brother, but due to inexplicable (or, more likely, subconscious) sizing issues, it looks like I’ll have to keep them. (Life is really tough sometimes.)

I used the Alex’s Mittens pattern, and modified for gauge/size. I cast on 36 st, increased to 42 st after the ribbing, followed the thumb gusset instructions but only up to 15 st for thumb, and did one more uniform increase row (up to 48 st) on the last thumb gusset increase row. I followed the pattern for the decreases at the top and for the thumb.

I love these: they are rustic, cozy, and wide enough that I can probably wear these as an outer layer over close-fitting mittens or fingerless mitts.

Now that I’ve freed up these needles, I can cast on a pair for my brother — for real this time. (Unless he fails to email me his hand measurements. If I don’t get them soon, he’s getting a hat!)

tea and seed stitch.

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This year, instead of way too many truffles and Guylian hazelnut shell chocolates, I asked Santa to fill my stocking with something that would last longer: a collection of loose leaf teas. I am having so much fun trying different varieties. This mug is filled with a lemongrass blend of organic herbal tea from China that also includes clove, roses, and schizandra berries: perfect for appreciating the snowfall and below-zero windchill from inside my apartment.

I’ve been welcoming the new year with some soothing seed stitch — a perfect pairing for this tea. I’m knitting a sample, and since I don’t get to keep the finished object, I was given the yarn: luxurious Schaefer Laurel in the Elizabeth Blackwell colorway. Usually I’d say that knitting with cotton is not my favorite thing to do, but this stuff is heavenly. Here’s a seed stitch close up:

Boh thinks it is pretty cool, too.

Or he just likes that I sit next to him on the couch while I work on it, doing my part to keep us both warm.

Actually, I’m just using Boh to transition to this super cool pair of yoga socks that my friend H. (who introduced me to yoga here) knit for me! She knit them (beautifully, I might add) out of Noro, and I absolutely love the color transitions. Also, they fit perfectly! Gifts between knitters are extra special.

Hope you’re staying warm on this blustery Sunday morning!

twentyten.

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I made my list of things to remember to do or think about this semester and tacked it up on the fridge, and then I snapped a picture of the snow falling outside.

My knitterly goals for 2010? Not goals so much as ideas and possibilities: handspun socks, something cabled, spinning for a sweater, a nice balance of knitting that calms me and knitting that challenges me. I also plan to keep working on my spinning — which will allow me to keep something handspun on the needles all (or most of) the time.

And with that, how about some knitting and spinning progress to kick off the new year?

This stuff is awesome. 155 yards of about 3.5 oz of Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino in Albatross, destined to be mittens for my brother.

You know, because I’m keeping these:

Boh is so ready for 2010. (Or dinner.) Happy New Year!

albatross.

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Let’s be honest: I’m probably keeping those handspun mittens I started for my brother for myself. After all, that lumpy, bumpy stuff is my first ever wheelspun. I can’t give that away, right? Besides, the first mitten wouldn’t even fit his hand, because it just happens to fit mine perfectly.

Enter this awesome CMF superwash merino in the albatross colorway. Deep blues, pale yellows — masculine enough for my brother, and super soft. I separated about 3.5 oz from the 8 oz that I have, and began spinning for a squishy 2-ply. I’m going to call my brother for a hand measurement later so that I don’t accidentally make these in my size as well…

Here’s the cuff of the second mitten.

And here’s my silly dog in the background.

Boh and I have plans to ring in the New Year quietly, and perhaps a little bit early, with delicious farm food and an evening of knitting and spinning. (We’ll also take a walk in the snow before it gets dark.)

Whatever your plans may be this evening, Boh and I hope that you are able to ring in the new year with people/pets/crafts that bring you joy.

oh-nine.

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Well, here they are: the 2009 knits still in my possession. This year I knit 3 sweaters (4, if I manage to get the GYC butons on today), 3 pairs of socks, 10 hats, 4 baby gifts, 2 pair of toast mitts, 4 shawls, and a cowl (in a pear tree).

I took a look at my oh-nine goals, and I’m feeling pretty good about my fibery progress this year. I wanted to finish 28thirty, and I did. I wanted to knit toe-up socks, and I did. I wanted to successfully knit a short row heel, and I did (though the pair isn’t done). I started knitting socks on 2 circular needles. I wanted to learn how to ply on my drop spindle, and I did. I wanted to spin a 3-ply sock yarn, and I did (though I did it on the wheel, not the spindle).

Things I didn’t quite get to? Cabling without a cable needle, knitting more of the sweaters on my list.

Things not on the list? I knit my first “real” lace shawl, for my friend H’s wedding. Oh, and I bought my wheel, and learned to spin on it.

In life beyond knitting, this was a huge year for me. 2009 contained some of the best and some of the hardest moments of my life. I’m pretty sure I fell in love this year, and those of you who read regularly know that I also had my heart broken. (Apologies for the passive voice, but I’m not sure it is totally fair to say that he broke it. Heartbreak was certainly the result, but the experience of trusting someone enough to allow myself to become more codependent than I imagined I’d be — and then dealing with the aftermath — was very much about me.)

I’ve spent quite a lot of time in my head this year, wrestling with my own dreams and expectations, and I imagine that will continue. It isn’t always easy, but it is important, I think, to keep doing it.

This year I started canning. I discovered a passion for pickling. I found yoga. I taught my first section, gave my first lecture, did archival research for the first time as a grad student. I made a home here, and then set about making it anew, slowly reclaiming places that had been “we” places for me.

2009 was not what I expected. I’m not sure I’d change it, but I’m rather relieved that it is time for 2010.

monday mitten.

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Two pictures, one mitten. This is the first mitten that I am ostensibly knitting for my brother. This is my first wheelspun yarn, oatmeal bfl from paradise fibers, and while I had to cast on about 5 times to get a cuff that seemed snug enough with my lumpy bumpy yarn (note to self: 36 st), I am in love with this mitten. The thing is, this mitten is probably not long enough to fit my brother with a bit of ease, despite my constant measuring and re-measuring against my mom’s hand (bigger than mine).

I think the decreases occurred much faster than I was anticipating (I mistakenly expected that the decrease rows would occur every other row), but it is possible that my subconscious wanted me to knit these to fit MY hands instead. I finished this first mitten (well, sans thumb) before Christmas, but I haven’t decided whether to rip back and make this bigger and knit another, or to finish the pair and keep them, and knit a new pair for my brother. What a dilemma, right?

Also, last night I cast on a lacy baktus in my handspun AVFKW merino/silk in A King’s Ransom colorway. Believe the hype: this pattern is addicting.

Today, Boh and I are doing laundry, cleaning the house, frolicking in the snow, organizing the closets — and eating this delicious traditional Czechoslovakian bread called hoaska that my dad makes every year for Christmas. (Boh is not eating the bread. Or helping with the rest of these tasks.)

Yum. I can’t believe they let me leave with almost a third of a loaf! It might be time for another piece…

for chunk.

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(He has a real name now, but I sort of prefer Chunk, at least for this post. After all, he was known to the world as Chunk while I was spinning and knitting for him!)

This is based on the Pebble vest — and many of the modifications I found on Ravelry. I decided to knit this in the round and eliminate the side buttons. I must have cast on 4 times, each time decreasing the number of stitches in order to arrive at something that looked appropriate for a newborn but would also offer some room for growth. (I may have more details scribbled on the pattern I printed out, but I’m at my parents’ house now and don’t have those handy.)

I looked at a lot of different baby hats to get a sense for the number of stitches to cast on, and then used the Thorpe pattern as a guide. I used every last scrap of that FLUFF superwash merino handspun in Beach Day to finish binding off the hat. Whew!

I also wanted to make something soft and cozy for Chunk’s mom, A, so I got out the leftovers from two of the seaman’s caps I knit this fall and crossed my fingers that there would be enough yarn to make a pair of toast mitts. The handspun makes the gauge and color changes a bit wonky, but these are supersoft, and exactly the kind of thing I wanted to tuck into this package. These treats arrived in the Southwest on Wednesday, and I cannot wait to see how handsome Chunk looks in his new handspun duds.

Also — I’ve taken a bit of a digital vacation these last few days, so my apologies in advance if I don’t manage to motivate myself to take some finished photos of my mom’s Multnomah. I think I managed 5 repeats of the feather and fan lace. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out, even though I had to wrap it at 11 pm on Christmas Eve. I’ll be back to see my parents in January, and I’m intending to give it a good blocking then.

Boh and I are heading back to our bright green kitchen in the morning — more soon!

dashing through the snow.

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We only have a few inches here, but since I’m trying to get into the holiday spirit and Boh and I are hopping in the car this afternoon to head to my parents’ house, I’m going with “dashing through the snow” today.

I’m also dashing through my knitting, or trying to. Here’s mom’s Multnomah shawl. I’m three repeats (of 11) through the lace section, and I can get through a repeat in about half an hour. I’m planning to crank through as many repeats as I can tonight, early tomorrow morning, and tomorrow night (as I’ll be AT my parents’ house) — okay, maybe the next morning too — and then try to surreptitiously block and wrap this. I’m still packing/planning, but I think I’m going to tuck my blocking mats into a tote bag and try to do this right. We’ll see…

Also, my brother isn’t coming home for Christmas this year — he has to work the day before and the day after, so it just didn’t make sense. I mailed him a little something this week, but I am behind on his knitted gift. With the academic calendar as crazy as it is in December, I really need every last minute between the end of the semester and Christmas Day to get everything done! (And this year, I totally prioritized new baby knitting, but I’m not sorry about that! I’ve been excited about his arrival for months!)

Anyway, in keeping with my plan to knit everyone (well, everyone who likes wool — see Multnomah shawl above) something out of handspun, I’m making my brother some mittens out of oatmeal bfl (the lighter stuff) and dark grey local jacob. I’m going to use the Alex’s Mittens pattern by Rebekkah Kerner (whose handspun is awesome, by the way). The pattern has a nice, full hand, which I really like.

What else am I bringing home? I’m going to cast on the Lacy Baktus, finally, out of my AVFKW A King’s Ransom handspun, and I’m also bringing my GYC cardigan so that I can finally sit down and sew on the buttons. And that’s it! I always bring way more knitting than I can ever complete whenever I go home, and while options are nice, I’m working on developing more reasonable expectations so that I’m not just lugging a lot of things back and forth unnecessarily.

This is a little something I got myself for Christmas — 2 bumps of FLUFF bfl in Turkey Two-Step. I decided that I am not bringing my wheel with me this week, which means it has never left my house, despite the fact that it folds and has a carry bag. I am, however, planning to spend a week at my parents’ house in January, and I think I might bring it then. This fiber will have to wait until next week!

Also, yesterday I made peanut brittle, from Deb’s recipe. (Of course.) I made two batches, and I must not have cooked the first batch on high enough heat, because it did not solidify, and I ended up having to toss it. It stayed chewy, like caramel, which would have been fine, except that it was impossible for me to get the wax paper (even though I greased it) off of this batch. Boo. Glad I made a second batch, though because this brittle is fantastic — crunchy without being too hard to bite into, sweet and salty, yum. I think this is the perfect treat to counter all the Christmas cookies I’ll be baking with my mom tonight!