Start with a bang

OFF MY NEEDLES:

I finally decided what to knit with the Handspun yarn I made with all those Phat Fiber samples.  I cast on the Spectrum Scarf on December 24th using size 9 needles (5.5mm) and just knit until it was wide enough.  I finished on January 20th and used about 290 yards.  I still have one skein and a little bit left.  Final measurements: 58 inches long and 8 inches wide.

Lissie chose a skein of  Biscotte & Cie Felix base in the Conte de Fee A colorway for her birthday socks.  It's a self-striping yarn so I suggested the Fruit Stripe Gum socks pattern by Leah Oakley,  I started them on January 22nd and finished on February 1st.   It was a very easy pattern and I look forward to using it again.

The Mona Lisa socks I started on October for #OperationSockDrawer are finally finished (February 5th).  This is self-striping yarn from Desert Vista Dyeworks in their Viso base, Mona Lisa colorway.  I used a Strong Heel, but otherwise they are my standard plain vanilla socks.  Very nice yarn to work with. 

In February, I also made a little pair of socks for Matthew to wear over his regular socks. It's out of Kroy Socks FX in their clover colors colorway.  They are big enough to fit him next winter too.

ON MY NEEDLES:

I started my poll winning January Challenge socks - Water for the Elephants by Rose Hiver - on Jan 24th in Knit Picks Stroll in Gypsy Tonal (red) and natural colorways.   This is about halfway through the first leg:

Jan's birthday socks were started on Feb 1st (a wee bit late there, but oh well) out of Knit Picks Hawthorne in the Ladd's Addition colorway.  The first sock is done and I'm on the heel flap of the second:

My February Challenge socks - made out of the brightest yarn in my stash - were started on Feb 19th.  I chose Knit Picks Felici in the Rainbow colorway.  These will be second pair for Lissie.  First sock leg:

Also in the queue to be started are the March Challenge socks from the oldest yarn in my stash, which I believe is Lisa Souza Sock!; olive drab socks for Socks For Soldiers group; five pair of socks as gifts for others; and Dither by General Hogbuffer for me in KP Chroma's Buttermint & Black colorways.  Guess this is the year of the sock for me!

Finish Line Crossers

Which is another way of saying I've got some Finished Objects here.


OFF MY NEEDLES:


Genell's socks were started on July 31 and finished on Oct 8th. I used the pattern from Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder (which I've used before) for the legs/instep on my own basic cuff down pattern. The yarn is Zitron Trekking, and I used about 312 yds.  This is pair six for this year.

I started a pair of Monster Socks on Oct 3rd for the Sock Knitters Group Monster Sock KAL, and finished them on Oct 31st (appropriate I thought). They are toeup with a reverse Strong heel using an assortment of leftover sock yarns, handspun Itty Bitty Bits samples and Phat Fiber yarn samples. No plan or pattern followed except I used the same color for the heels, toes and cuffs.  I really had a lot of fun making these and can't wait to start another pair. These are pair #7 for this year.

OFF MY SPINDLES/WHEEL:


 I fractal spun four ounces of Wensleydale fiber in the Spunky Eclectic Jello Shots colorway on Sadie, my Sidekick wheel, and plied it on Jack, my Hansen for approximately 340 yds of 2ply (112 grams).   This Wensleydale fiber was a little more coarse than others I've spun, and because I tend to spin all my singles with a high twist, my singles were a little wirey.  So I loosely plied in hopes it would soften them up. I think it helped.

Spinzilla Spinning:
I went into Spinzilla this year as a Rogue Spinner.  I had a wonderful time last year on The Knit Girllls team, but had no idea how much I'd get done this year and didn't want to let a team down, so I went Rogue.

I went through my stash and pulled out 36 ounces of BFL top in both white and handdyed.  I wanted to see if I could spin a sweater's worth of 2ply yarn.  I didn't. I only got three skeins done, but I had fun trying.   I pulled:
 1lb white BFL top from Crown Mountain Farms spun semi-woolen on wheels from the fold from fauxlags
Crown Mtn Farms dyed BFL in Bacchus and Novalis colorways, 8oz each. Spun on wheels semi-woolen from the fold from drum carded batts
Miss Babs dyed BFL in Dark Secrets colorway 4oz spun semi-woolen from the fold on spindle and wheel

 One strand of white plied with one of Novalis or Dark Secrets gave me 3 skeins totaling 231 grams, 1,827 yds plus 296 yds white BFL. Total Spinzilla yardage: 2,123.

This yarn, plus the rest of this spinning I've dubbed BFL Delight, will be finished shortly, and I'll be using it to make a pullover for myself for #ProjectSweaterChest.  I hope to cast on by the beginning of December.


...to be continued....


BROUGHT TO ME BY: 
Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:
Audiobooks: To The Grave and In The Blood both by Steve Robinson;
DVDs:   Murder She Wrote; The Big Bang Theory; Rizzoli & Isles; Bones; Moonlight; Harry Potter: Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets; Hawaii 5-0; Blue Bloods;
Pod/VideoCasts: The Knit Girllls; Two Tangled Skeins;








KnitnOne on Ravelry
@KnitnOne on Twitter
Knitnonehearthline.blogspot.com

Sent from my iPad

Dashing Through the FOs

  The finished May Day project - socks knit in Miss Bab's Cosmic yarn in Vlad colorway - was started March 20th and finished May 5th.  The stitch pattern is from Simple SKYP Socks by Adrienne Ku and the heel is from Basic Strong Heel Socks by Gerdine Crawford-Strong.  

  STASH DASH - PART 1:

Stash Dash, sponsored by The Knit Girllls, began on May 23rd and runs through August 7th.  This year our goal is 5k of yarn (5,468 yards).  

Over these first few weeks I finished: 

1) The second bump of Annunaki at Tiaman colorway from Crown Mountain Farms. I started spinning this fiber January 1st-ish and finished May 24th.  All singles were spindle spun and chain plied on either spindle or wheel (depending on whether I was home or on vacation). Some of this fiber was used to teach spindle spinning, which is why my 394 yards weighs only 3.7 ounces. Total singles yardage is 1,182, and the average wpi is 16.  

2) The white Oxford/Border Leicester cross fleece (10.1 oz raw, 8.5 washed) was hand combed then run through my drum carder, and spindle spun semi-woolen for a traditional 3ply yarn that was plied on either spindle or wheel from plying balls.  I got 306 yards (164 grams) of 3ply DK weight from 918 yards of singles.

3) Another leisure hat for the Socks For Soldiers group (168  yds) from leftover sock yarn. Started May 8th, finished June .

4) Spun Cloudlover's merino/cashmere/silk blend in the Mother of Dragons colorway.  This four ounce bump gave me approximately 350 yards (underestimated - twist hasn't been set yet - probably higher) of yarn with an average wpi of 15. It was wheel spun semi-worsted and chain plied. Start/Finish June 6-19. 

5) a small, 17 yd woven rectangle made on a mini loom I got to make washcloths with some old yarn that I don't like knitting or crocheting with.  Not too bad for a first try but I definitely need practice.





Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:    
  Audiobooks: Skinwalker by Faith Hunter; The Tale of Briar Bank by Susan Wittig Albert; These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer; The Black Echo by Michael Connelly;          
  DVDs etc:   Murder She Wrote; Veronica Mars Movie; The Big Bang Theory;                  
  Pod/VideoCasts:  The Knit Girllls; Two Tangled Skeins; The Knit Wits; Twinset Designs;                                  
 

Casting Off

OFF MY NEEDLES:

I finished my first pair of socks this year, and had my first Ooops! moment at the same time. These socks were Cast On on January first for The Great Hufflepuff Sock Fest. I finished knitting them on January eighteenth, wove in my ends, tried them on, and this is what I got:



That was a first for me - never had a heel come out with that much excess fabric before. So I ripped back both heels about an inch and did decreases as if it was a hat crown. For one sock I kitchenered the remaining stitches closed. For the other sock I drew the yarn through the remaining stitches and cinched it closed. I prefer the look of the latter closure (top sock in the picture).

Here are the finished and fixed socks, knit on 2.25mm needles in the Monsieur X colorway of Biscotti & Cie's Felix base sock yarn.








Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:    
  Audiobooks: Soulless by Gail Carriger;                      
  DVDs etc:   Rizzoli & Isles; Inspector Alleyn Mysteries; Endeavor; Moonlight;            
Pod/VideoCasts:  The Knit Girllls; Round the Twist;  The Knitmore Girls (almost caught up);                    
 

Socks & Hats & Mittens, Oh My

Off My Needles/Hooks:

Remember I said way back in January that I had the urge to do stranded knitting again. Well, I finally did cast on. The first pair of mittens are complete. This is the "La Joie du Printemps" mitten pattern by Heather Desserud, and the yarn is Knit Picks Palette (fingering weight) in Hollyberry and White. I started them on Sept 30th using US1 (2.25mm) needles, and finished them on Oct 29th. I made them a little bigger than the pattern called for to accommodate my wider hands and a lining if they needed it (and they do). Now I have to decide between a knit lining from reclaimed cashmere yarn or a fleece (fabric) lining. Decisions, decisions.



Also working on hats for Cancer Care of Maine in honor of Holly's husband, Mike. I've completed three hats with more planned.







On My Needles/Hooks:
What's on my needles? Socks, socks and more socks! Socks for me, socks for charity, and socks for friends. Like these teasers for three of them:



  


I've almost finished the first mitten of another pair of mittens. These are a semi-surprise gift so no picture until after they've been received.

I cast on Susan Pandorf's "Rivendell Smoke Ring", a lace cowl, in September using my Rise of the Phoenix handspun yarn. I got about three inches done then set it aside to work on other stuff. It was not in a project bag and received unmentionable abuse and neglect resulting in a visit to the frog pond last weekend. It's been restarted and I'm almost back to where I left off. And yes, it's residing in it's own little project bag. Lesson learned.

A variation on the sock theme is Christmas or Holiday Stockings. I've collected the patterns and just need to pick the yarns. I need to make two, one done by Dec 15th, the other by Dec 24th. At least that's the plan.

Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:  
  Audiobooks: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones; Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead;                    
  DVDs etc:   NCIS; Bones; Moonlight; Big Bang Theory; Castle; Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries; Angel;                            
  Pod/VideoCasts:  The Knit Girllls; Round the Twist;  Two Tangled Skeins; Out of the Blue/Geek Nation; The Knitmore Girls; TwinSet Designs;

Tour de Fleece - Finale

 
  
 
 

Well, another TdF is over, and as usual the extreme heat made it very difficult to spin. However, I did manage to get two more projects done.

Tour de Fleece: Day 19
 

This is the finished Polwarth/Silk blend from Two Sisters Stringworks:

The skein on the right was spun and plied during the Tour; the other two were done beforehand. Spindle spun worsted and either spindle or wheel plied (chain ply) these three skeins total approximately 360 yds of 3ply, 1,080 yds of singles (112 grams/3.95 ounces). TdF spinning portion was 204 yds.

Tour de Fleece: Day 22

I plied the last skein Saturday morning (July 20) of the RDC (Ramboulliet, Dorset, Corriedale) cross fleece. There are five skeins wheel spun/plied during the Tour added to the previous eight skeins. This is a traditional 3ply yarn from either hand combed & hand carded rolags or hand drum carded batts, woolen spun then plied on my wheel (Hansen mSpinner). I'm estimating 726 yds of woolen spun 3ply yarn (2,178 yds singles) for the five skeins, which I will confirm after skeins are dry.

I didn't get to the blue-green braid at all, but that's okay. I'm not really feeling it right now so it's going back in the stash bin. Maybe it will float back up for next year's Tour de Fleece.

In the Midst of Spinning, Knit Happens

 
 
  Off My Needles/Hooks:
 
  Summer Mystery shawl closeup (unblocked) 
 
 

The 2013 Summer Mystery Shawl KAL by Wendy Johnson is done. I really liked this pattern and will make at least one more, probably two.  I did the large size, using 957 yds of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Sock II (Merino, Cashmere & Nylon 80/10/10 blend). That's two skeins plus 20% of the third skein.  I tried it on hot off the needles and it was wide & long enough unblocked, so should be nice and cozy when blocked. Unblocked dimensions are 74 inches wide and 35 inches deep at center.

   This is a quick picture right off the needles (forgive the dangling ends & messy bed)
 

On My Needles/Hooks:  
 
 

With all this lace knitting, I needed a pair of vanilla socks to freshen my palate, so I went stash diving and came up with a skein of Lisa Souza Sock! In the Newtown color way, which looks like this (pic from her website):

Newtown was one of the first sock yarns I bought when I started making socks, oh so many years ago. I'm about three inches down the first sock leg. I'm a little tired of afterthought heels so the Newtown socks shall have Sweet Tomato Heels.

 

I also cast on the Cauchy socks by Cookie A using the Garnet colorway of Lisa Souza Sock! Another long ago sock yarn purchase. For this one I'm about five inches down the first sock leg.

Also on my needles/hooks are some odds and ends for the Hogwarts at Ravelry games: preemie hats, hexipuffs and coasters.

 
  
 
Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:    
  Audiobooks:. Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead                
  DVDs etc:  NCIS; Bones; Angel; Charmed;                        
  Pod/VideoCasts:  The Knit Girllls; Round the Twist; The Knitmore Girls; Knitting Pipeline; The Anatomy of Knitting; Cast On; Two Tangled Skeins;                          
 

Haphazard FOing

 

I had every intention of posting monthly Finished Object posts but that doesn't appear to be happening, at least not this half of the year. But I have been knitting and I have been spinning, although I've been doing more fiber prep (combing, carding, etc.) than actual spinning.

     

I finished the The Knit Girllls Fiber Optic SAL in early March

This was spun semi-worsted on Jack, my Hansen mini spinner, and Navajo/chain plied for about 357 yds of 16wpi 3ply Merino/Silk blend yarn from one bump (about 1,071 yds singles).   Pictures were taken before it's twist setting bath.  The Fiber Optic fiber's prep made this a joy to spin with no predrafting required.  

I also spun a few little fiber samples for my Itty Bitty Bits during March and April, but bless me if I can find the little devils. They've apparently disappeared into a black hole or something. They'll turn up eventually, like when I'm frantically searching for something else.    

I started working on the E. Friesian/Corriedale cross last August and finished most of it this April. Altogether there was a little over three pounds of raw fleece, both adult and lamb. Some I washed, but most of it was washed by Q. I combed and/or carded all of it and spun most of it woolen or semi-woolen; the remainder was spun by Q. These three skeins total about 400 yards of 3ply heavy sport weight yarn and were given to Q to use for a test knit.

this skein is approximately 288 yards of 3ply, spun by Q and plied by me.

The Berry Happy socks, also a plain vanilla afterthought heel, were started on April 27th and finished on May 28th, the day they were due as a birthday present.  This is the Berry Happy colorway in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino.  I really enjoyed knitting with this particular yarn and am actively stash diving for more.  I should have at least four more skeins tucked away somewhere.  

The Autumn Walk socks were started in November 2012 and finished on May 30, 2013. These are plain vanilla afterthought heel socks knit with Three Ewes Twisted in Fiber self-striping Merino/Tencel yarn in the Autumn Walk colorway. Sadly, this was my last skein of Three Ewes yarn.     

    
  

  
Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:    
  Audiobooks:                
  DVDs etc:  Midsomer Murders; Craig Ferguson: Does This Have To Be Said? & A Wee Bit o' Revolution; Who Framed Roger Rabbit; Moonlight; Downton Abbey;                  
  Pod/VideoCasts:  The Knit Girllls; Round the Twist; Knitting Pipeline; Cast On; Yarnspinner's Tales; The Anatomy of Knitting; The Knitmore Girls;    

2013 FO's: February

  
 
Off My Needles/Hooks:
 

I finished the Riverbed socks for Mom using Cat Bhordi's Master Riverbed sock pattern from her first New Pathways book. I worked on these a lot when Mom was in the hospital and my concentration was perhaps not all it should be. Regardless, this pattern needs major tweaking to properly fit, and because of that I'm not likely to make another pair right away. Too much effort; I think I'll stick to Cat's sweet tomato heels for now.  

 As I said, I was originally making these for Mom, but she died right after I finished the second sock.  They probably would've been too big for her anyway as they are large on me especially around the heel. One sock is worse (bigger) than the other.  I mushed the excess fabric around to the underside of the socks in this picture, but if you look closely you can still see bagging on the heel/gusset area especially on my right foot.  Used approximately 86grams/282 yds of Knit Picks Felici sport wt Self-Striping yarn. Started Jan 14 and finished Feb 14.      

 
  


 

Odds and Ends - Only one this month: knit a quick little bookmark in Hufflepuff colors for a Quidditch match

 

 

 
Off My Spindles/Wheel:
  
  

The Knit Girllls Expand Your Horizons Jan/Feb SAL (spin-a-long) was Southdown. I tried spinning Babydoll Suthdown during the SpinDoctor Wool Breeds Challenge several years ago but found it difficult to spin. I didn't like it then, and I'm not very fond of spinning it now.

Southdown is the original Down breed so there is a bit of Southdown in all the current Down breeds. It is a British based breed varying in size from toy to medium/large sheep. Staple length ranges from 1.5 to 4 inches but averages around 2-3 inches.  Micron count is 23-29 for white and 27-31 for black/colored fleece. Babydoll Southdown is one of the smaller types and usually raised as pets/fleece sheep. ("The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook" by Carol Ekarius & Deborah Robson)  Babydoll wool is springy and squishy to touch; very interesting hand. 

I started spinning this on spindles (for portability), first doing a short forward draw, then switching to supported longdraw, but eventually switched to Jack, my e-spinner. In this instance I found longdraw easier on Jack (not always the case for me) than on my spindle, especially if I was spinning from the untouched portion of the Babydoll roving. Predrafting or any fussing or prepping of the roving at all made it much harder to draft. Lessons learned: don't predraft or prep the fiber, and spin woolen or semi-woolen.

Babydoll Southdown is not one of my favorite fibers to spin, but I wouldn't rule it out completely. It has interesting character and I like the finished yarn. Out of 40grams of roving I finished with approximately 109 yds of 2ply yarn (218 yds singles). Spinning started on Jan 5th and plying finished on Feb 6th. Picture was taken before yarn received it's twist-setting bath, and you can clearly see difference between the worsted and woolen spun sections.

 

 

Itty Bitty Bits for February are just three small samples (top to bottom):

A) “Nordic Sky”, Cobblestone Creek Farm, sw merino/nylon, blue, 32yds 2ply, 64yds Singles, spindle spun & plied, S/F Jan 29-Feb 3, 7 grams
  B) “Raw Turquoise”, WoolieBullie, merino, green/gold, 23yds 3ply, 69yds Singles, Spindle spun & chain plied, S/F Feb 5, 7gr
  C) unlabeled, pinks/greens/white, wool & sparkle, 24yds 3ply, 72yds Singles, Spindle spun & chain plied, S/F Feb 7-9, 10gr.

 
 

 
Brought To Me By: Crafting accomplished with the following audio/video accompaniment:    
  Audiobooks:  Emma by Jane Austen; Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore;              
  DVDs etc: Iron Man; The King's Speech; Midsomer Murders; Nero Wolf;              
  Pod/VideoCasts:  Round The Twist; The Knit Girllls; Yarnspinners Tales; Knitting Pipeline;                
 

2013 FOs: January Part 1

  
 
 
  Off My Needles/Hooks:

The Blue Yoke Sweater is done! I'm quite surprised that I used only about five and a half balls of Filature Lanarota Chaco or about a little over 1100 yards.  

 

I was only halfway through the yoke when I'd stopped working on this in 2006, and seriously, I have no idea what my problem was with finishing it. The yoke decreases were following the modified EPS percentages and worked like a charm. And I got the collar right this time by adding an inch worth of short rows to the back collar ribbing. Oh, and I also changed to a size US5 (3.75mm) needle for the last round and for the bindoff round of the collar. Made it much neater looking. I think the next time I make a yoke sweater I will decrease an extra eight stitches (rather than the four I did here) after the final yoke decrease round. But other than that I'm quite pleased how this turned out.

BBS or Big Black Socks  were made for the Socks for Soldiers group, and I'm ashamed to say started almost three years ago.  These are "Team Knit" socks, with the legs knit on a CSM (Circular Sock Machine) then forwarded to me to add the feet.  That's right.  All I had to do was add the feet and it took me this long to do it.  I get fifty lashes with a wet skein for that. Feet were knit using US0 (2.0mm) and US1 (2.25mm) needles.    

 
  
  

 Mom's Mitts were started on Jan 13th using some unlabeled blue-toned mystery yarn and size US5 (3.75mm) needles. Mom went into the hospital on the 19th for pneumonia, and I finished them on Jan 21st while sitting at her bedside. It is just a vanilla afterthought thumb mitt with ribbing at the cuff and seed stitch at the fingers. They are about 10.5 inches long.  

 

 
 
   
  The 40lb Stashdown Goal (in grams):  18,144;  Grams Used: 829;  Left to Go: 17,315  

Finished Object: Ohio Star Pillowcover

Ohio Star Pillowcover
Ravelry Project Page

This UFO (UnFinished Object) dates back to around 2006 when I picked up a couple of quilting magazines with an abundance of block schematics. Now, I'm not a quilter, although I do love looking at them, especially the more classic designs.  I can appreciate all the work that goes in them.  Maybe someday I'll try it, but for now I'm more interested in translating the quilt block designs into knitting designs.  And these two magazines had a number of block designs that readily translated.  My original intention was to make a sampler afghan from different block patterns, but opted to start smaller with a pillow cover.

I picked the Ohio Star pattern because it consisted of squares and triangles I could easily duplicate in knitted fabric.  The only problem I encountered was in seaming the blocks together.  For some reason I made the join a randomly striped two-and-a-half inch saddle shoulder seam.  I say it was a problem because I seamed a little more than two sides and then stopped.



After six years I can only guess that either I was bored (understandable) or unhappy with what I was doing.  Or both.  Probably both.

I'm certainly unhappy with how the striping looks.  I think it detracts from the overall block pattern and is distracting.




So as I previously posted, I ripped it all out and went with a simple single color (green) applied I-cord seam.  This seam went smoothly and quickly and I'm very pleased with the results. For a closure I went with a simple I-cord lacing for which i put in I-cord 'buttonholes' approximately every two inches. The Pillowcover measures approximately eighteen inches square. The yarn is Lana Gatto California DK 100% cotton.









 Now to find the pillow I made it for...



Brought To Me By:
Audiobooks:
DVDs etc: Downton Abbey S2; Doctor Who S6; Vampire Diaries S1;
Pod/VideoCasts: Round The Twist; the Knit Girllls; Electric Sheep; Knitmore Girls;