skein

November knitting and December knitting goals

Yes, I know it's not the end of the month, but I can't see myself finishing anything else in the next two evenings, and I need to put down all the stuff I need to do!

Do for November

BLOG

1 Shetland MKAL shawl - done

2 Quill shawl - done 

FINISH

3 Mr C's hot water bottle cover - done

4 Newborn baby cardigan - done

CONTINUE

5 Storm Mountain cardigan - hmmm, done but barely a dozen rows.

START

6 The sixth TSS shawl - done (and finished!)

7 Mr C's Birthday socks - done

So a very successful month!  I'm sort of getting swamped with stuff I need to knit for Christmas and the Giftalong so December is going to be the month with a big list (but smaller goals)

So for December

BLOG

1 Stitchnerd's Knitaly MKAL cowl - it's knitted and washed I jsut need to TAKE A PHOTO

2 Sonder (TSS) shawl - this still needs blocking!  

3 Knitvent #2 pattern, the Boreal Forest cowl.  It's drying and needs the ends darned in

FINISH

4 Knitvent #1 Alpine Sunset shawl - still plugging away on this. Im about 50% done

5 Knitvent #3 dk weight socks. I've not blogged, nor set up the pattern yet on ravelry. I'm about 25% done

6 Mr C's birthday socks!  I've hardly touched these.  I need to knit them when Mr C is not about, and will have to discipline myself to pick them up at any free moment

CONTINUE

7 Storm Mountain cardigan.  It's been put on the back burner but I'll try to gt the yoke, at least, done.

START (finishing would be GREAT, to clear WIPs in 2016)

8 Mr C's Christmas socks 

9 Knitvent #4 - due out on 1st 

10 Knitvent #5 - out 8th

11 Knitvent #6 - out 15th

AND LET'S NOT FORGET GIFTALONG 2016!!!! This year I've bought

• 2 hat patterbs
• 2 fingerless mitts patterns
• a baby/child vest
• a baby/child cardigan
• 2 cowl patterns

I doublt that I'll be casting on another eight patterns!  let's just say

12 Stitchnerd's hat pattern

13 One of the cowl patterns by Hilary Smith Callis (these are shawl/cowl hybrids and i want to try one out, see if I like it)

14 A pair of mitts - I have two, from Jane Richmond and or Irish Girl Knits

15 Eight eh baby vest or cardigan.

ORGANISE

16 All the accessories (hats. mitts, cowls etc) and baby knits which I've knitted throughout the year as gifts. These need to be located, rewashed if necessary and either given or posted to recipients.  Mr C' son and girlfiriend get a big bundle which they take for themselves and friends. My nieces have friends with new babies (yikes) and a  few friends and other relatives have small children. I swear, if I didn't work I'd have to knit full-time to knit ALL of the things I want to knit!

I'm predicting that, yes, I'll be going forward into 2017 with a grubby flat (no time to clean) and lots of WIPs to see me through to the Spring!  

Deepdale

This was formerly know as the Shetland Trader MKAL. 

The pattern was written for a main colour and three contrasting colours. As I was knitting from stash I chose one main colour (navy) and one contrast colour (silver).

For most of the pattern I used navy fr MC instructions and silver for all contrast colours,

Clue 1 - the central triangular striped section. 

Clue 2 - pick up the yarnovers at the beginning of each row and work the first border section.  This is where I perhaps should have used a bit more navy to balance out the shawl a bit more. As this was a MKAL I didn't know what Clue 3 would bring.

Clue 3 - the second border. This was bigger than I tought it would be and I wanted to end on silver, so there's lots of silver in these two clues.

Clue 4 - a narrow garter strip at the top of the shawl. 

Clever Clogs thought I'd carry the yarns up the side instead of doing whtat hte pattern has you join ends of each colour at the end f the row. I have one side which is a bit tighter and messier now.  If I were to knit this again I'd follow the pattern's instructions!

 

ó
Very pleased, another great MKAL!

Knitvent 2016

Rather than knitting MrC's birthday socks I'm joining KALs!  

Giftalon (GAL) is starting tomorrow!  Until then I can't search the patterns, though I can now see all of the designers and their bundles.  There's a few that I had my eye on last year who aren't participating this year, but I'm sure that I'll find a good few new to me designers.

On to Knitvent 2016.

 

The first two patterns have been released.  The first one, Alpine Sunset. is a small shawl, with garter stitch beginning and then lace and beads.  This shawl has a greater lace sectin, so although I'm about to start the beading and lace, I've only done 20% andthat's the fastest bit!

The yarn ihas lost its label, but this is a lovely deep red with possibly some silk content.   I didn't get around to taking a progress photo (on Saturday, when it was sunny!) so this is an indoor shot this morning, with no daylight! It's a lovely deep red, that obvious here.

It's chevron shaping, involving (so far) a double decrease and mirrored increases.  M1r and m1l.  After the frist m1r I decided to just do the whole lot as m1l.  I'm not as fussy these days, and don't think it's going to show that much once the shawl's blocked. When I think back to my early days of shawl knitting, when I'd only knit laceweight and used a measuring stick to block out shawls!   I foudn that I'd never wear the lacewegiht ones, especially the bigger ones, so now knit with 4 ply and sometimes thicker weights.  

The second pattern is Boreal Forest cowl.  The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn in thrtee colours,  In the pattern it's teal, natural and sand. you need contrasting colours, and I don't have much in the way of lighter colours, so I pulled out what I call the baby box yarn. This is Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, some soft oddballs (all washable!) and intended to use the Baby Cashmerino as I know I have plenty in stash. But found some cream and denim Cashmerino Aran - excellent!  I cast on last nigt and am 40%  done!  This might have something to do with the fact that I'm knitting a smaller circumference cowl and using aran weight yarn.  The measurements in the pattern are 30" circumference and nearly 13" deep - just not right for me. I like either a narrower single loop or a double loop which I can fold twice.  

I've cast on 88 stitches instead of 168 and will work each pattern until I feel it's long enough, Think that I'll stop at about 10" (depending also on yardage I have!)

 

Quill Shawl

I was going to blog about the KALs and GALs today, but that can wait unti lnext week.

Here's Quill, one of the Shawl Society patterns.  I'm afraid thee's only one photo!  That's becaues on that weekend Saturday was a dismal dark and wet day, so we had to take them on Sunday. That's MrC's day at the boat, and I have a small window of time (like, five minutes!) before he sets off. It was a bit too bright and I think that the colours look a little washed out. 

I used felted Tweed leftovers. Always satisfactory to use leftovers!  Balck, |Avocado and a red. Such an easy knit, and very pleased that of the four colours I have in FT I can match up three well.

Out of the four TSS shawls which I've knitted this is probably my favourite (though the last one, in chunky yarn, is the snuggliest).  

A new MKAL and the first pattern from Knitvent

 

 

Not one but two new patterns this week!

On Thursday the first of the Knitvent patterns was released, a shawl, which I oculd have done without  :)

As it's Knitvent, i thought that I'd try to knit them all in Ch
ristmassy colours - green, red, white, sparkly,  So I went stash diving and found some lovely deep red 4ply.  But after a few rows I gave up, didn't like the yarn and needle combination.  Stash diving again, and this time it's a wonderfully soft cashmere blend in mid-grey. I ought to mention that these yarns are nlabelled and I have percentages, so I weighed the yarn at cast on, kntted 5% and reweighed the yarn. I had a sneaky suspicion that this yarn was a bit thicker than 4 ply, and I was correct!  So it's back to the stash dive. I'm considering some Wollmeise (because it's green and already wond up) but I may wait until the weekend and have another proper good rummage.

On Friday Stitchnerd released her MKAL cowl pattern.  This also involved stash busting.  This pattern calls for three colours - MC, contasting CC and a stirping AC (accent colour).  Could I find any  lighter shades in my oddball DK stash? I found plenty of brightly coloured CC which would have contrasted nicely with a dark MC, but as I'm using Noro for the AC I thought I'd go for fairly  neutral MC and CC.  

FINALLY cast on late on Saturday.  I'm fairly sure that the navy is aran weight, but it's a cowl and I can live with a bigger cowl!  As I haven't looked at the next clue I don't yet know how it's finished off. I'm thinking that the side with short rows will be at the bottom. Ic ould be worng of course,

It's just mosaic and short rows, very easy pattern.  now that I can see how it knits up, i can see this in brighter bands of mosaic, with a plain or tweedy yar for the short rows. Also a great way of using up small oddments on the short row section, don't you think>

 

 

 

Gidday baby cardigan

My second Gidday.

Ticks all the boxes.

• quick knit
• only two buttons 
• seamless
• borders knitted as you go
• yoke increases are yarnovers

It's ment to be knitted with dk yarn, but i prefer to use sportweight, and my favourite baby yarn Baby Cashmerino. 

I'm so tempted to cast on a Milo vest now. 

I found time to darn in ends of the two blocked shawls,  Shetland Wool Trader's MKAL (which probably has a proper name now) and Quill.  AND finished the knitting on another TSS shawl, Sonder.  This one is in chunky yarn and I think I may not block it.  I like the squishiness of it and bocking (just washing it really) might flatten it out a bit.  I'm not adding tassles. The yarn's a single chunky and will get tatty quite quickly.  I just need to find time and daylight to get some quick photos of these three shawls.  

Another And.  I'm in Knitvent 2016, where we receive a weekly pattern for the next six weeks. Guss what?  The first pattern's a ... shawl!  I haven't picked out yarn yet, but will cast on over the weekend.  I think it might be ok with speckled or variegated, if the colours aren't too dreastic.  

I really should be knitting MrC's birthday socks!

Hot Water Bottle Cover

Mr C uses a hot water bottle over at the boat. It's like an ice box in winter!  This hot water bottle has a cover.  He bought one for home and has been asking me to knit a cover for it for a few months now. He can't put his feet on the bottle!

The yarn's Yarn Yard superwash merino dk.  I originally thought I'd knit a plain green one, but quickly got bored and started with some red stripes.  I used Judy's Magic C at the bottome, inclreased every othre row at each side and then knitted plain until I hit the 'shoulders' where I started decreased.

I really hadn't given this much thhough. i decreased every row until I was ready for the ribbed polo neck.  Only then did I try to fit the bottle in and couldn't!

So I spent an hour frogging back and restarted the shoulders.  When MrC came back from his walk and I told him about my problem he laughed and said that it WOULD go in - you just need to empty all air out of the bottle and roll it up!  Anyway, I did a 1x1 ribbing and it's done.  

Not blocked :)

If I were to knit this again, I might consider knitting it from the top down and working one of those fold over bottoms (as in pillow cases). It would make it much easier to get on and off.  Thought it means more knitting and I'm not sure how frequently people wash their hot water bottle covers!

 

 

Another shawl!

I had a day off work yesterday.

I finished darning in ends and sewing on buttons for a newborn sized Gidday cardigan. for my niece's friend.  It's a great design, seamless, yoke increases are just yarnovers and the bands are knitted as you go.  I'm still thinking of more newborn garments for Christmas - but tiime is running out (sorry to remind you!) and I may just knit a few Milo vess.

I've also blocked Quill, one of TSS shawls.  I'm hoping it will ook alright, as when I took it off te bed last night I realised that I hadn't pinned the wires on one side! I just hope that the washing will have made it look 'finished'.  What an idiot!

And I've cast on the last pattern from TSS.  It's Sonder, and knitted in a bulky weight yarn on size 8mm needles.  I'm using stash, Elann Seta lana. a wool silk blend.  It's not as bulky as the given yarn (but fluffyish) and my tension with this thickness is TERRIBLE. so I'm usign 7mm needles.  

Only a little bit knitted. A few years ago I gave away most of my needles, especially the large sized needles. I have only one longer 7mm circular. And it's soooo old that the cable's not that flexible any more.  They're Addis and a bit slippery with this yarn. It might be the cables making my work more difficult, so i've ordered two new pairs, one metal, one birch. 

Mr C's birthday socks are also cast on. His birthday is in the first half of December which is a real pain with Christmas around the corner (knitwise!).  

I'm forbidding myself to do any sort of stash diving this weekend. I have yarn out alfready for baby stuff, and don't need any more temptation, thank you!

October knitting and November knitting goals

Only one more monthly knitting goals before Christmas, yikes!

This will be as much of a revelation to you as to me, i havne't even checked to see what I wanted to accomplish in October!

FINSIH

1 amulet - fail!  It's in hibernation

2 Big Waffle scarf - fail!  I lost hte second skein so had to reastart this as a one skein project

3 Sheltand Wool Trader's MKAL - success!  I need to darn in ends and blog,

4 Quill shawl - success!  I need to block and blog

5 Wavy Bias scarf - fail!  Frogged it, as I had n time and was in GARMENT mODE!

START

6 The fifth shawl in TSS - fail!  I decided that I'd had enough of shawls, and choosing six colours was beyond me :)

7 Something else - fail!

Wow. This must be the worst month, ever!  I'd better pull my finger out and get knitting!

So for November

BLOG

1 Shetland Trader MKAL shawl

2 Quill shawl (which also needs blocking

FINISH

3 MrC's Hot Water Bottle cover

4 Newborn baby cardigan

CONTINUE

5 Storm Mountain cardigan

START

6 The sixth shawl in TSS.  It's chunky and will be quick!

7 Socks for MrC's birthday. Got to get a move on with these.

I've had to consciously stop at seven. But I have other things I want to knit

Milo vest for newborn

Milo vest for newborn's 18month old sister

A couple of cowls

A couple of hats

A few cardigans for me

Christmas jumpers (or vest!) for my great neieces and nephew. That's 0, 4 and 8 year old.

Ovviously I'm not going to manage these, but it's good to get them written down!