skein

Odessa Hat

My fourth hat for the year, one which I'v been menaing to knit for a few years.  It's Odessa. a free pattern, using one ball of dk yarn and beads, if you want to.

Pattern:Odessa

Started and finished: April 1st to 6th

Needles: 3.5mm

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto, one ball.

Shhhh I haven't blocked it yet!

It's a very quick knit. If you can manage to cast on first time.  I cast this on a total of SEVEN times!

*ran out of yarn uon cast on

*accidentally used the tail yarn in the rist row

*deliberately used the tail yarn (long!) for the first row and ran out

*made a mistake on the first round, easire to frog

*decided after a few rounds to change needle size, easier to frog

*new needle size - after a few rounds found I had twisted the yarn in joining

*success!  I knitted two round before joining.

Even experienced knitters have problems!

I've had a good Easter break so far. Not much knitting though.  It was sunny enough on Friday to do the yarn swapover.  That's getting out the vacuum packed summer (cotton) yarn packs and putting away SOME of the winter wools and jumpers.   That part took a morning (with the help of Mr C doing all the lifting and vacuuming)  but putting away the cotton packs took me all afternoon!  It shouldn't have!  More  a case of yarn fondling!   The evening was spent looking for cardigan patterns on ravelry.  A good job Mr C was in charge of the cooking for two days!

 

Yesterday I picked up Deco and knitted the first sleeve.  Today I'm doing the buttonhole border, and I may start playing with some of the summer yarn, see if I can cast on for the next cardigan.  I shall be sucked into ravelry again! 

 

 

 

 

Meilenweit green socks

First, the finished socks.

Started March 4th, finished March 30th.

Yarn: Meilenweit Colortweed in greens

Needles: 2.25mm

Top down, ribbed leg and plain foot.  These will be for my brother, another stash yarn knitted up.  My third pair of socks this year, so I'm keeping up!

This means that my March stash totals are down by 1637yds, some knittd and some destashed.  NO new purchases!  Year to date is 3080 yds out.   That's two months in a row!  April might have a bit of yarn  acquisition though ....

The next socks are already on the needles.  It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd's sock, for me. The colour is Glenwood, one I've had in my stash for years.  Always overlooked, I pulled it out over the weekend and thought how nice it was, a bit Spring like. So it's wound up and cast on.

So unusual for me to like this colour, but I do!

1

Cairi Sweetheart socks

 

These were for the SKA February challenge.  Fortunately they only had to be started in February, and can be finished by the end of March!  Hearts seemed apt for February.

 

Pattern:  Cairi Sweetheart Socks

Started: 5th February

Finished: 17th February

Needles: 2.25mm

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Sock, Antique Rose, 70g

A very easy pattern, worked on 56 sts , so it's a relatively fast knit, should you devote time to it.  Mine has taken this long because I've been working on other stuff.

These are my second socks for the eyear.  Trying to do twelve pairs. Must knit faster!

 

A few new things on the needles

Nothing fantastic.  Just some plain commuting socks and a baby garment.

The socks were started on 4th March.  The only decision I had to make was which yarn to use.  The pattern is my usual one for plain socks - top down, 3x1 ribbing on the leg and a plain foot.

The yarn is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Colortweed,  a mix of greens - not quite as blue as in this photo. 

The second new project took a little more planning.  Five hours on ravelry planning, to be exact!   Such a long time choosing yarn and pattern for such a little garment! 

First of all I chose the yarns. Well, short-listed the yarns.  Four different weights, 4ply, sport, dk and worsted.  That meant four different search criteria on ravelry, and then browsing through all of the projects and yarns. That's what took up so much time!

I wanted to knit two baby cardigans this month and so I went for the thicker worsted and dk weight yarns.  Starting with the worsted first, this is the Seamless Kimono, by the same designer as Small Things, which is an ideal baby gift.   This is Dream in Color Classy.  I've a ball of pink and one of purple.   I've opted for the textured middle, just in case I run out of pink!

 

It's going quickly (which is more than I can say for Deco) and I've onother few inches before starting the bottom border. 

I don't have anything planned for he dk weight cardigan, better start planning that one now!

 

Hall of Fire Tam

Pattern: Hall of Fire Tam

Started:February 19th

Finished:February 28th

Neeldes: 2.25mm for the ribbing and 3mm for the hat.

Yarn: Renaissance Dyeing 4ply organic Poll Dorset, a kit, total used 61g 229 yards

Mods: none!

A lovely, interesting kit. The yarn is the same yarn used in my Urban Troubadour. Cikiyrs are lovely.

Note to self:  next time I block a hat over a plate, use the regular sized dinner plate and bubble wrap.  This softens the edge of the plate and eliminates that sharp line.  teh minute I took the hat off the plate and put it on Mr C glanced across at me and said 'you look like you're wearing a plate'.  And it did resemble a plate!  I'm going to steam that sharp edge soon! 

Hence the lack of photos!  We took dozens, but I'm either wearing a plate, a shower cap or laughing too much.  Most of them I've got my eyes shut too!  I love kniting hats, but am pretty uncomfortable wearing them, they never seem to suit me!  One day ...

Anyway this is hat #2 this year, just another 10 to go!  I haven't quite decided ont he next one yet, will do a bit of ravelry surfing first.

 

 

Knitting catch up

Ah, if I title a post with the words 'knitting catch up' it usually means that I haven't any finished knitting to show, and haven't managed to do much knitting.  This is the case today, despite my best intentions.  This is  a short month, and I have a long list of knitting goals!

I brought the new hat into work to knit on during lunch. I only manage about four rows a day, but there is still some progress.

And Acer.  I've brought this one in today too, but only to take a photo!  I am jsut not orgainisd enough to get one before work.

I'm 10" done on that first sleeve.  I wouldn't care, it is such an easy knit, why haven't I finished it yet??

 

The knitting should be feverish - I have these two things to finish, plus seven hexipuffs, and a whole pair of fingerless mitts to knit, all in four evenings and two days (and I have housework and cooking to do!).  Realistically, I think that I can still finish Acer, and knit the hat, and knti the hexipuffs.  The mitts might be a dream!

One project done, a new one started

I finished Urban Troubadour over the weekend.   Saturday I knitted and Sunday I steamed it and added little nupps to the corners of the lace section. 

Photos to come, but here's a teaser from the weekend.

 

This is meant to be a hooded cape, except mine is more like a shoulder warmer!  And the hooded bit - well, not really something I'd be wearing, so I finished the ribbing 50 rows shorter than the pattern stated, and will just turn the ribbing down and wear it as that.  I'd ran out fo the red too, so finished with soe lime green. 

And I can't get enough of the yarn!  So I've started a hat, again, bought as a kit from Renaissance Yarns.  It's the Hall of Fire tam, and there's only one project on ravelry!

 Really, just started, that pigging ribbing took me a whole evening.  It's knit colour A purl colour B, and soooo slow.   I'm on the charts now.

New projects tend to distract me from my other wips, so this is staying at work, for lunchtime knitting. I need to get a move on with Acer.  I have another three inches of body, then the seeves to do.  That will be mindless evening knitting.  If I lok at my February goals, in the next eight days I need to finsish this hat, Acer, start and finsih some fingerless mitts and knit 7.5 hexipuffs!!!

Ghastly socks

 

Right, where do I start?

I'm making 12 pairs of socks this year, and none done so far, so I opted for the thick sock yarn in the 'German' sock stash. 
This is yarn which Mr C chose several years ago, when we went to a German yarn shop.  It's about aran weight.  Very bright.  I bought three balls thinkign that this would be enough.  It was.  But somewhere oh ravelry there was something about needing three for a woman's size foot, so I've kntited these toe up, with a short row heel to conserve yarn. 

Pattern: Toe up, starting with 10 sts, increasing to 44 sts.  Short row heel worked until 8 stitches are left, then 3 rows of plain knitting, before starting the 3x1 ribbing on the leg.  I decreased down to 40 sts for the leg and larger needles.   It's snug! 

I tried a different cast off for these, and I love it!  It's one on Knitty, where you do yarnovers before knitting or purling the next stitch, and pass this YO over the stitch, before doing the usual passing stitches over.  Stretchy!

Needles:  mm for the foot and  mm for the leg.  This yarn is just wool, no nylon, so I wanted a denser fabric on the foot, and Mr C has been banned from wearing these around the house without slippers or shoes on (we find the carpet really wears down socks - his felted clogs at the boat are still going strong, but the ones he wore here wore out a while ago)

 

Hey, it's stash and a quick knit.  I can't believe the pooling!

 

 

Noro Hat

I'm aiming to knit twelve hats this year.  This is the first.

It was raining when we went outside to take photos, so there's only four, two with me and two with Mr C.  I forgot that I was over seven inches shorter, so these ones of me are the only ones where you can see the top of the hat!

Pattern: Noro Hat

Yarn: Noro (of course) from stash, vaguely Autumnal colours, 83g.

Needles: 4mm (I knit loosely and wanted a tighter fitting hat)

Started and finished: 5th-12th February.  Would have been a bit quicker, but I made a very basic knitting error - joined in the round and twisted!  After four inches I realised...

A very easy pattern, just purl and knit ridges.  I thought briefly about knitting a flatter top, but went with the pixie look.

This hat was made for no-one in particular, but when I went to look for it mid week it had disappeared!  Mr C had taken a liking to it, and it had gone over to the boat with him.  Officially his, now!

 

 

 

Three new things

I've done hardly any knitting this week, yet I have three new WIPs! 

 1) Nice socks

In honour of the month I've gone for pink (Old Rose) and a heart lace pattern. 

The start of Cairi's Sweet Heart socks.  These will be for SKA February challenge.  Very simple lace pattern, in Lorna's Laces.  Great to be using the stash!

2) Noro Hat

A simple  knitting project, this is using up stash, so very pelased. I've realised that the Noro I have left will not be knitted into garments.  I might as well use it for accessories. 

 

Not much to show.  the colours are autumnal, greens, orange, a bit of purple.  I'd have four more inches to show you - except I knitted a moebius strip by mistake!  You'd think that I'd have mastered the art of joining into a round without twisting by now!

3) The ghastly socks,

About four years ago Mr C and I visited a yarn shop in Heidelberg.  I bought some lovely Harry Potter Opal for myself.  Mr C chose this wool,  bright and thick.  As I wanted to knit from stash and catch up on the sock knitting (trying to knit 12 pairs this year, amongst other knitting targets) I've finally cast on.   These are toe up, so that I don't run out of yarn for a man's large foot (otherwise I might find myself wearing them).  One ball does on foot plua a bit of leg,  I have three balls,

Ready??????

I forgot to mention the pooling.  At least they'll be a quick knit!

I[m off to visit family this weekend, leaving Mr C to enjoy his manly food - he has chosen chicken drumsticks, pork chop and sausages - and late nights.  I'm taking the Noro hat, these ghastly socks and Acer, anticipating lots of knitting.  See you next week!