skein

Another not very productive week of knitting

Knitting has been foiled again!  A bad back (now much better) has thwarted any attempt to pick up the knitting and do some actual knitting.  Most people find knitting calms and relaxes them, soothes them when they're poorly.  Me, I can't knit when ill, anxious or stressed.   My bad back was only a little poorly, but enough to put me off knitting.

So my May goals will not be met.  The hat and baby garment are not cast on,  the May socks are only half completed and Flagstone will not be finished in four evenings!  I have been working on this though, and have completed the body.

Mr C looked a bit worried when I held it up to show him; he thought I had unintentional big holes on the front and hadn't noticed...

I've sleeves, pocket backs and front borders to knit now.  

I finished the body Saturday early evening, and then wasted the rest of the evening, Sunday morning and most of the afternoon messing around on ravelry, trying to decide which crochet pattern to use for a bedside table cover.

My origianl idea (because this is a circular table) was a circle ripple pattern.  I'm determined to use my Rowan 4ply cotton stash.  I've kept hold of this for ages, thinking I could make a lovely striped top or a cute baby cardigan, waiting for the right project.  Not any longer, it will be used!  

A little foray into quick crochet dishcloths for a few hours - using the remnants from my Handknit dk cotton remnants. Unsuccessful. 

Back to ravelry.  I also have some lemon Patons 4ply cotton, reserved for baby blankets but never used.  My second idea is to sue this as a background and maybe crochet squares.   I'm not too sure I'd like a round ripple blanket.   I love circles though, and thought about circles make into squares using the lemon.  But in the end I've gone for the pattern which half of ravelry seems to have crocheted, the Flowers in the Snow, except mine will be Flowers in the Sun! 

This pattern is dead easy.  It's just trebles and chains, and is easily memorised.   And I like the join as you go idea, I know after crocheting a large number of squares I'll put off finsihng if there's lots of seaming to do.  

My Plan is to crochet a lot of circles and join them after I've done a few.  It's gong to take HUNDREDS  of these blighters to make a blanket, as it's 4ply and they're small. Well, maybe a few hundred.  I'll be able to tell once I start joining htem.  I was thining of crocheting about 20 circles at a time,  then adding the last round.  Maybe having a crochet day or a few evenings a week.  

The colours I have aren't that inspiring, but I'm hoping the light lemon will lighten up the overall blanket.  First square completed, and about four circles crocheted in hte evening. 

Flagstone progress - and a new project!

I've not worked much on Flagstone.  I'm past the patterned bit and it's just stocking stitch now, pretty boring.  I'm now 6" into the body, just about to start increasing after waist shaping. 

 

And a new wip!  I finished two pairs of mitts and cast on - a shawl. First one this year.  I've gone for a simple garter stitch shawl, in two colours, blue and pink, not my usual colours at all.

 

The blue is from IKL sock club, the pink was won in a competition on the SKA ravelry board.   

The beginnings of Different Lines:

I fully intended to start a crochet blanket for my table (in some stashed Rowan 4ply cotton) but relaly fancied a shawl, despite the weather forcast being Good and Sunny and Warm this week. 

 

Introducing the next garment

I've started my next garment for IntSweMoDo2012.  It's from the latest Twist Collective (as if I don't have enough patterns to choose from).

Flagstone, a top down, sport weight cardigan.   I'm using stash yarn again, this time it's Louisa Harding's Aimee, a cotton cashmere blend. 

To get tension I've gone down to a 3mm needle.  In my book this makes this garment a 4ply one.  It's at times like this I wish I was three stone lighter! 

I'm past the divide for armholes bit and am now working the body. In fact I'm on the waist shaping (though alas not at the waist yet!)/

Shame on me, I didn't take any photos all weekend, except for one just after reaching the armhole, couldn't even be bothered to go outside (in the rain) to get some sort of daylight photo.  So here's the indoor mobile shot. the colour is slightly deeper, less washed out than this.   It's all scrunched up because I am using a 60cm circular.  Good job it's thin yarn!

I still have this mad urge to crochet, and spent a good time over the weekend crocheting a second crochet mitt - only to find it was significantly smaller than the first one!  I blame it on using a different crochet hook.  Same size, but the head of the second hook seemed more compact.  The mitts are in the naughty corner for a while, but I shall have another go in a week or two.

And.... Tunisian crochet!  I ordered a cheap set of hooks (as I wasn't too sure what size to buy)  but have realised that I don't like them this long, a bit like straight knitting needles.  I kept banging my chair arm as I was wiggling them around.   Not to be put off I've found patterns where you don't need the long hooks and might have a go at one of these.  I'll try to finish a few things off first, this could be quite addictive!   I'm not a huge fan of the Seventies type crochet, with big holes and clunky stitches, but I do like plainer crochet, either with a regular pattern of little holes or just plain trebles or half trebles.  I think Tunisian crochet might also fit the bill.  Trying very hard not to start anything!  

 

 

Knitting going slowly

It's not going well! 

By today I thought I'd have completed the knitting of both cardigans, and most of my sock.  Instead I haven't even picked up the sock nor Ormond.  Just Deco.

 

Yesterday I knittd the button band.  Took a few attempts to pick up the correct number of stitches, because as usual I hadn't made notes, so couldn't remember the rate of pick up (which turned out to be a bit odd!).  These bands are wide too, 26 rows!

Once I'd done the button band I sorted out the exact sleeve length.  It's coming out a bit tight, so I needed extra length, and have added about half an inch to the cuff.  Should it stretch or I decrease, I can always unpick that last half an inch.

Next up, the neckband.  This is a slipped stitch 1x1 ribbing.  Lots of stitches.   By bedtime I had finished the  neckband, went to cast off - and realised I hadn't done a buttonhole! 

But the good news.  I picked it up this morning, and had a look at the buttonhole placement.  I had decided all those weeks ago to do the top buttonhole on the body, and leave the neckband as us.  Joy!  I cast off, darned in ends, gave it a pressing.  I just need buttons, its all done!

Here's the finished photo, and it's ot purple, that's the indoor lighting/mobile phone combination.

Now for Ormond!  Knit knit, knit.

 

Deco progress

I have returned to Deco.  I really want ot finish this in April.  And leaving it for a while means that I have had to try to remember what I had done with the first sleeve.  I tend not to make notes but put stitch markers at various important places.  That, and my memory usually works.

I'm up to the cuff of the second sleeve!  Hopefully will finsih this tonight.  I'm going to knit an extra half inch of cuff as the garment is, well, tight.  I'm hoping a good steaming will loosen it up a bit!  My tension was a bit too small, and I'm a bit fatter than I think I am!   

So, this weekend will be all about Deco and Ormond.  I reckon I can finsh both, though a finished post might have to wait until May.   I may not be able to fit in fingerless mitts, Other or that second sock!!

Here's an indoor gloomy mobile photo of Deco, so far.

A not very productive weekend of knitting

I was determined to finish the body of Ormond, and then see how much yarn I had left for the two 3/4 length sleeves.  

2.2 balls of yarn left.  That's one and a bit for each sleeve.  Considering I used nearly eight balls for the body meant I really, really wouldn't have enough for two sleeves.

I tried.

One ball plus half of the remnants equals this:

nearly a 3/4 sleeve, just shy by about 2.5".  An over-the elbow sleeve.

Next attempt was an above the elbow sleeve, startig with eight more stitches, to allow for a wider part of my arm.

Going well, until I was a few inches from the top of the sleeve cap. 

Still not enough yarn!  

I counted the number of stitches short and thought that if I frogged back six rows on the sleeve I would have enough. 

Third attempt:

Success, I hope, if the last remaining ball has the same yardage.  

This Roma yarn has the same yardage as the pattern yarn, but I'm at least a ball short.  As I've not seen anyone complaining about this on ravelry, and I noticed what seems like variations in the amount I knitted with each ball, I suspect the yarn is the culprit.  It's a fsorly stretchy yarn and I AM SURE that they measured it when stretched out ;)

 

So, Ormond will not be as I expected, but, due to the summery colour of the yarn, it looks ok with short ssleeves.  I hope.  

I'm on a tight knitting schedule, should I wish to accomplish my goals this month.  In six evenings and two days I need to:

* knit Ormond's second sleeve, darn in ends, sew in sleeves and sew down neckband

* knit Deco's second sleeve, knit button border, knit collar, find and sew on buttons, darn in ends

* knit an entire sock (though it has a shortish leg and is plain)

* knit a pair of mitts

* knit something else under my category of Other

Rather a lot ot do in a short space of time!

 

Orrmond progress

Yes I ought to be knitting on Deco but the warmer weather and summery colours appealled too much.  So Ormond went with me for a family visit this weekend.  Just Ormond and a apair of socks and I've just worked on Ormond  Great progress.  The body and borders are worked in one piece up to the armhole.  Sleeves are worked separately and joined.  I intend knitting the whole body plus back neck and then the sleeves, dividing the yarn up so that I don' run out. 

I won't run out!

From this on Friday evening:

to this just now (Monday afternoon)

The colour is Summer Berries more vibrant than in these mobile photos taken indoors.

Here's a close up of the pattern very pretty and very easy.

I still have knitting time left today, hopefully I'll get up to the armholes. Just 1.75" to go!

 

Knitting catch up

Phew!  I can't quite believe that I haven't posted all week, despite having four days off at Easter.

Easter =  four days off work knitting. Not quite.  I spent a day getting out the summer stuff, a day looking at patterns on ravelry, a day knitting a Deco sleeve and a day knitting (and reknitting)  Deco buttonhole border.   Plus a bit of swatching!

 

So, Deco.  It's not finished yet, but I now know I can knit a sleeve in  a day and the button band and collar in a day.  That's a weekend's worth of knitting.   I've also knitted the second sleeve cap, before I forget what I did!  Here's the progress photo.  IT IS NOT PURPLE!!

I haven't quite finsihed that first sleeve, am leavig it not cast off, in case I need to adjust the sleeve length.

And the next garment. 

I have had a bit of an obsession with a lace design for this one,  I remembered knitting a cardigan years ago and went on the hunt for the design.  It was a Mission Falls design, calle the Trudy Jacket.  I found the booklet!  It calls though, for an aran weight, and I fancied knitting with some dk weight.   Twist Collective to the rescue!  There was a design in Spring 11 which I liked, but not enough to buy it. Instead I bought several other designs.  A year later I want to knit it!  It's Ormonde.  
First swatch was some matured Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere.  

Really, really wanted to knit this yarn, but I coudln't manage to get tension.  Back to the drawing board.  

Next up was some discontinued Jaeger Roma, in Summer Berries. 

MUCH better.  I don't normally do this sort of colour but it  seemed very summery and just what I wanted to knit with at this time.

It's knitted in one piece up to the armholes, and so far so good.

The only dark cloud on the horizon is that it's discontinued - and from a quick look on ravelry and ebay isn't readily available, and I seem to be eating up the yarn!  This is the second ball, and I've just knitted four inches.  Here's hoping that the sleeves take no yarn at all, and the armhole depth is shallow!  

I'm going home to visit the family this weekend, and this is the knitting I'm taking.  Just this, and a sock.  Unheard of!

 

 

More Deco

Slowly getting there.

The upper back is finished. 

I wasn't looking forward to starting the sleeves.  My row tension was off, and I thought that  the short rows might need to be recalculated.  And the instructions looked a bit detailed! 

The sleeve caps are created by knitting a  series of short rows, getting longer by one stitch each time, centred around the shoulder seam. 

First of all, though, you need to pick up the stitches around the armhole.  The pattern instructs thus:

Using a small needle, pick up and knit the stitches all the way around the armhole, starting at the left of the on-hold underarm stitches, and ending at the right of the on-hold underarm stitches.  Break yarn.  LYou now have all the armhole stitches (except underarm) on one circular.  But you want to start the short rows from, say 6 stitches before the shoulder seam,  so you then use a second small needle to slip the first lot of picked up stitches onto it until you get to the place you are starting the short rows.  Rejoin yarn here, and using larger needles start the short rowing. 

Late Saturday evening I did just this.  But it was far too fiddly for me, trying to manouvre the four tips of two small circulars, flapping all over the place, NOT helped by trying to use 3" lengths of yarn for the short rows, which kept falling out. Or the fact that the only 2.75mm circular I could find was 150cm!

Sunday I pulled it all out and restarted. 

Instead of fiddling about trying to pick up stitches, break yarn, slip stitches, I just picked them all up, all the way around, including the underarm stitches. I don't think the extra partial row will bother me at all.  I also switched to one of those locking stitch markers to mark the turning point.  MUCH better.  I still used a smaller needle to pick up though, as it keeps that first row of stitches small.

It's not really much of a problem having the wrong row tension either.  I'm knitting the smallest size sleeve cap (which means it will be narrower but that doesn't bother me either!) and I've cut the number of short rows I need to work by having that initial short row an extra 6 stitches longer, meaning six short rows less to work.

Long story short, here's the outcome.   I prefer a slimmer sleeve cap and this seems to be working out, so far!

 

Deco progress

Well, one thing's for sure,  I won't be finishing this in March!

I've knitted the body up to the armholes, and the two upper fronts.  So it means, if I want to finish this in March, I have an upper body, two sleeves and borders to knit in two evenings and a day.  I think not! The last time I tried to knit a sweater in a short time I was up all night finishing it off  and swore that I'd never do this again.  I'm going to dedicate the rest of the month to working on Deci, hopefully I can get a good bit done!