skein

Acer Cardigan

My second garment for IntSweMoDo2012.   Another aran weight garment, from some matured stash yarn.  I thought that I'd never get around to knitting this up!  It's a dark olive tweedy aran weight yarn. 

Pattern:  Acer Cardigan

Started: 1st February

Finished: 26th February

Yarn: Classic Elite Kelso Tweed, 6 skeins.  Pleased, as I only had 8 skeins and didn't think this would be enough for a garment.   The yarn is a bit scratchy, but not as bad as I thought it would be. 

Needles: Started with 4mm for the neckline, went to 4.5mm for the body and sleeves, and finally 3.5mm for the bottom border, which I had originally knitted with the 4.5mm, but it was far too loose.

No mods, except changing the needle size.

The photos are a bit washed out, the colour is a dark olive.  Unfortunatly Mr C was rushing off to the boat and so we had to take these outside in bright sunshine.  In most of them I'm squinting against the sun, hence the sunglasses (Mr C's prescription ones!)

The pattern suits this type of yarn well.  A basic, plain cardigan with a ribbed yoke.  The only thing I would change is the width of the sleeves.  I like mine a bit more snug.  I'd either decrease down after the ribbing section or cast on fewer stitches at the start of the neckband on the sleeves section.

Overall, pleased with it.  I have used stash! 

Urban Troubadour

 

Pattern: Urban Troubadour

Started: 26th December

Finished: 19th February

Yarn: Renaissance Dyeing 4ply Organic Poll Dorset.  I bought a kit.

Needles: 3.5mm circular.

Mods:  I really couldn't see me wearing this as a hooded cape, so I stopped the ribbing 50 rows earlier, and intend to wear the ribbing seciton turned over, so it's a high polo neck.

 

The size is medium and I'm not, so this was never going to be a cape, but more like a shoulder wrap.  this is exactly what I want.  I can't see me wearing a hooded cape!  I've worn it pulled down for the photos...

 

I bought the kit from Renaissance Dyeing, but the pattern as a pdf downlaod from ravlery, personal preference, I like my patterns in one place.  It's a great stashbuster too, and should be fairly easy to resize, with just the bottom lace and the second chart which might need retweaking.  the rest of the patterns have short repeats and would be easy to work with on different stitch counts. 

 

I really like this yarn.  It's a bit hairy but seems very sturdy.  No way can I break it with my hands, I need to cut it!  The Hall of Fire tam I've just started is also a kit using this yarn.

 

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!

 

 

 

Acer progress

Not a great lot of knitting done this weekend.   Whenever I go home to see the family I always take far too much stuff with me. Not clothes, but knitting, audio books and ebooks to read on my phone.  
Audiobooks - had 2.5 books to listen to, managed 0.5.

Kindle books - had 2.5 books to read, managed none!

Knitting - took Acer cardigan, with four skeins - knitted just one skein.

Noro hat - took restarted project and FINISHED it!   Took photos yesterday and have left the sd card at home.

Ghastly socks - took 1.75 balls home, did hardly any knitting on them. It's pretty hard to get motivated...

I have had a lovely weekend.  I nearly brought a very cute 3yo and a 10week old back with me. Their mother held onto them tightly!  And a fabulous eight week old puppy, a little pug/shih tzu mix (I think).  Who would have thought that a little dog with a squashed face would be so appealling?  She was such a happy little thing, very cuddly, lots of tail wagging and face licking.  She is half the size of the cat, though the cat currently has his winter outdoors coat  and looks large.  She looks big here, but the person holding her is a petite teenager!  Very puppyish, I took a few photos but most were 'action' shots, and a bit blurred. Hope her new owner will be quick to catch her.  Early reports are that whenever she wanders over to the big German Shepherd,  the latter runs away, she's frightened of this little puppy!

Back to Acer.  This was taken on Saturday afternoon.   The sund was shinging and showed up the ribbing well. Not so the colour, which is a dark olive.  Once past the ribbing it's just plain knitting.  Front bands are knitted as you go, so that's the only bit I have to remember to do (it's a garter stitch band).

I've finsihed that third skein and have worked about 20" of the body.  It's only about 55" in length, and I'm thinking of adding a few inches to this.  However, I've just worked the sixth buttonhole.  Now, do I work another one nearer the bottom and have seven or do I have a longer bit wit no buttonholes?  Not sure what to do.  I've been 'trained' to always do a buttonhole an inch up from the bottom, it is a very difficult habit to break!

I need to wind some more skeins, so I guess tonight it's Urban Troubadour ribbing instead.  I really must get a few things finished!

 

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!

New garment alert!

I'm always a bit reluctant to blog a new wip until it's established,  but I think it's a keeper.

 

It's Acer, a top down cardigan in a heavy aran weight yarn.  Tension is 4sts per inch.  I'm using some stashed yarn, always a plus.  It's Classic Elite's Kelso, a dark olive tweedy yarn.  Not soft, though it might soften up after a wash.   I may need my tension square so I can't wash it to see.  I'm going to wear this as an overgarment, it won't be next to the skin, so I'm ok with the scratchiness.

 I wanted a fairly plain pattern, no point in doing detailed work which wouldn't show up.  The yoke has some 2x1 ribbing, and the rest will be plain.  Second garment for IntSweMoDo12, keeping up!

I've four rows until I stop the ribbing, and then thee's a few rows of garter stitch before the plain knitting.  A pleasant knit.

AND just so I don't get bored I've cast on not one, but three new things. Plain socks (wait until you see the colour and pooling, horrendous!) lace socks and a plainish hat.  Plenty of carry-along knitting,in case I have long commutes if we get more snow, London can't cope at all with just a few inches!

 

 

Polska Mittens

 

My last pair of mittens for NaKniMitMo12.

Pattern: Polska Mittens

Started and finished 25th - 31st January. 

Yarn: Wollmeise, natural, bluebell, farn (I think) and jultomte (red)

Total weight is  g, about   yards.

 

Mods:

I worked the body of the mitten on 70, not 72 stitches.  the repeat is over 10 sts, and these two extra ones just meant the pattern wasn't quite centred and they looked odd, a partial circle on the outer edge of the mittens.  I didn't realise that the pattern wasn't centred until I had nearly finished the first mitten decreases, so had to reknit virtually the whole mitten.

When decreasing I had fewer circles on the palm side of the mitten.  So I changed the thumb placement on the second mitten so that I could work this palm on fewer circles. 

One mod which I didn't mean to do was to omit the first pattern row, worked in blue,  It  would have been a divider between the cream ribbing and the cream circles.  Oh well, should I knit these again I'd work the row!

Thoroughly enjoyed knitting mittens this month. Of course I have a dozen more I'd like to do and idnd't get around to.  Sadly none of these mittens are good for this cold weather.  I've gone for last year's NaKniMitMo11 - a pair of stranded mittens worked in worsted weight at a tight tension.