skein

Knitvent jbuttubg

Not going too well.  What a surprise!

Pattern #1 - Dust of Snow stole.  I haven't worked on this for weeks, but it's not UFO status. I'll pick it up soon. It's the one using mini skeins with optional mohair/silk laceweight.  I like the mohair/silk yarn so much that I've bought a few more skeins to use with a 4ply yarn. 

Pattern #2 - The Peace of Wild Things shawl.  I've stash dived, fourn some yarn, wound it up and decided... not to knit it. I'm currently not interested in crescent shaped one skein shawls and prefer shallow triangles with sligtyly longer tails.  This might be  a phase and maybe one day I'll knit this. Just not now.

Pattern #3 - How Quiet Hat.  I've knitted this 1.7 times.  First time (70%) it was coming out too small and i didn't notice,  Onoly using 2.75mm!  Second time it came out too largem despite knitting the child size. That could have something to do with my tension and using the correct needle size instead of going down a little.  It fits me and is too long!

{atterm #4 - How Quiet Mitts.  Again, knitted 1.8 times.. The first attempt was knitted in the leftover yarn from the hat, which should have been enough, especially as I'd knitted the child size, but no, I lost the yarn chicken game!  I've reknitted using some of the yarn MrC brought back from Berlin last month. 

Pattern #5 - Winter Sleep socks.  I stash dived, found two suitable skeins of DK weight sock yarn and then decided not to knit the socks. I may change my mind, the yarn's still out, but it's a lot of 1x1 ribbing.

Pattern #6 - not known yet, but it's using super bulky and dimensions are somewhat cowl shaped. I've two choices of yarn, some Rowan Big Wool and Countess Ablaze pencil roving.  I'd like to use the latter, let's wait and see if the pattern can take a little variegation.

Apart from that, I've nearly knitted MrC a pair of DK socks. I'll finish those off tonight, ready for this last Knitvent pattern.  This weekedn I'll be finishing and blocking, casting on and wroking on that first pattern.  I have a Skein Queen Advent calendar too, but think I may just look at ht emini skeins and not rush choosing a pattern :)

Knitvent patterns 2, 3 and 4

Today the third and fourth Knitvent patterns are out. 

I'm still on the first pattern!

It's been started FOUR times. 

First attempt - I knitted 5% with the number of stitches as per the patern.  I thought it' looked wide, and abandoned.

Second attempt - I reduced the stitch count by one pattern repeat, made it to 20%, held it up to admire and realisd it was too narrow.  Yes, it's knitted on the bias, so the width on the needles is not the width of the scarf.

Third attempt - getting a feel for the pattern now.  I added a pattern repeat to make it wider,  abanoned the knitted as you go I-cord (mine was messy), re-using my first attempt.  Bad idea.  The mohair/silk blend did not wear well in frogging. A bit like KSH.

 

Fourth attempt - I'm still happy with the garter edging, the wider scarf, but this time I'm using new mini skeins and a new ball of the Kid Silk.  I'm going to run out of the Kid Silk and will order more today.  I'm now up up to 5% again!

Last week's pattern was a one skein, crescent shaped shawl.  I stash dived and found a skein of Skein Queen's Wriggle, which has the same yardage as the suggested yarn.  But I've not started it/  IA mix of time and not rally fancying a small shawl at the moment.  Maybe later.

Today's patterns are a hat and mitts, in dk yarn.

I'm thinking of reclaiming the yarn from this cowl, another SImple yet effective cowl in CA's Lord of Silk DK.  SThe one with the too tight cast off.  So here;s a photo before it's frogged.

 

I must get a move on wiht knitting.  MrC brought me back some thick sock yarn and I must get his socks on the needles, as well as Knitvent!

Dust of Snow

I've knitted exactly one inch.  

This is a rectangular stole.  It's about 575 rows, and I'm ostill in single figures.

I didn't start until Saturday evening, as the laceweight yarn didn't arrive until after six (DPD...)  I opted for the Garnstudio Kid Silk.  Half the price of the Kid Silk Haze and a fifth of the price of the Shibui Silk Cloud (though this has more yardage).  OK, I don't have any KSH to compare this with, but from memory, this Garnstudio seems so much softer and fluffier and doesn't irritate me the way that the Rowan KSH does.  Very pleased with it.

I've had a few false starts, all due to my inability to knit iwuth two yarns held together.  My first attempt (one inch) was to wind the laceweight yarn around the knitting and had to cut and try to weave in the ends.  Frogged. I managed to knit 10% before the second frogging. This time it was down to dropping one yarn, not noticing and picking up the abandoned yarn at some stage, leaving long loose trains of yarn!  Rather than frog and try to pick up double stranded fluffy yarn.

At least I know that I like the drape and look of the stole.  The Off White silk/mohair is thicker than the Shibui Silk Cloud, it's not so much a dusting of snow as a few inches :).  The striping mini skeins are more subtle, so I'm not following Helen's colour sequence. I'm just going to knit each mini skein until it runs out, or I'm started a pattern.  A great idea. having a fluffy carryalong yarn. Might try this with other patterns.

Cast on again last night and knittied this one inch.  I very much doubt that I'll be finished by this Thursday!  

 

Frogging and starting

I frogged the socks for MrC, for the second time.  Because the first time I froged I didn't rewind the yarn, just left it beside my chair in a tangled heap.  Reknitting was a nightmare, I had to cut the yarn numerous times and finally decidded to abandon the socks. They're not really MrC's colour, anyway.  He's going to bring me back some sock yarn in his colours when he visits his son in Berlin.  I'll ask him to bring back thick yarn, so that I can knit hime two pairs before Christmas.

Which means no knitting on the needles!!

So Knitvent pattern #1 was published yesterday.  Yes, it's a shawl, but I misunderstod the yarn suggestions and how they are knit up.  I thought that the 4ply was knitt double, as was the lace mohair/silk blend - four strands.  It's one strand of 4ply and one strand of laceweight.  The lacesweight is optional, but after looking at the pattern I 've decided that I want to use laceweight as well, not just the 4ply.   Nothin in stash with this yardage, so I'm not going to knit Knitvent from stash.  I had four yarnbs lined up.  The suggested yarn, Shibui Silk Cloud (to expensive in this instance), Cumulus (love, but maybe a bit too thick). Kid Silk Haze (too scratchy for what it is) and Garnstudio Kid Silk.  I've gone for this last one. It'll still be a little scratchy, but it's under half of the price of KSH!).  Then the colour choice.  As the pattern is called Dust of Snow, I've reluctantly gone for Off White, It might look dreadful, I really wanted either a dark purple or a blue of some sort. But this is Knitvent and Off White might look a little like snow?

The 4ply will be from my mini skeins Goddess Knits stash, I spent last ngiht windup up skeins frmo various packs I've bouht. I'm not going to be fussy about order, will just pick up a ball from the bag and knit with it.  Hopefully starting this wekkend :)