Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday, and I wanted to tell you about what I've been working on lately...

Well, once again I'm chugging along on projects.  Here's one:
The second pair of slipper socks.  This is the superwash part that doesn't felt.  Next thing is to pick up stitches and make the sole out of feltable wool.  This one will have the Fairy Tale color of Wool of the Andes that I had left over from my sweater.  Should be wonderful - and the best part is that the soles don't take very long to knit.  I'll get started on the top of the second slipper in the superwash so I've got simple knitting to do at Church tomorrow.

I've also been rummaging through my stash.  Did some more spinning too.  This time it was a smidgen of combed Merino top from Ashland Bay in the colorway Rose Quartz.  Their top is such a delight to spin!  Before I knew it, I had finished it up and then Navajo plied it.  Washed up and skeined it looks like this:

The vital statistics on this little skein are: Singles spindle spun clockwise, Navajo plied 15 treadles. Weight: 52 grams and 212 yards.

I think it is a lovely heather - looks like dusty mauve overall, but there are so many colors in this one!  From yellows to blues and several reds and violets.  Up close it looks like this:

If you click on the picture you can zoom in as far as you like.  This yarn is so soft - being Merino I expected that - but still, I'm thrilled!  Might do some lacy mitts with some Fair Isle patterning with the Amethyst skein I told you about a while ago.

I've also been spinning some Cormo top from the Riverwinds Farm in Boyd, Wisconsin.  I bought 4 ounces of this blended gray from them at the Jefferson Sheep and Wool festival back in September 2011.  I've put two or three spindles full onto the bobbin for plying and I've got another one started:

It is just as soft (if not softer) than the Merino, so it may get a role in the mitts as well.  This soft stuff is spinning up pretty fine, so it will be interesting to see how it works up.  Might even have enough left over for socks - at least the cuff part of socks.  I'm not sure how well this super fine wool would wear in socks.

Here's a closer look at the singles on the spindle:

Mighty pretty color and so fine and soft.  Spins so smoothly, it is difficult to stop spinning.  I guess I've been fooling with the Nasty Romney for so long I'd forgotten how nice it is to spin good wool!

I've also been digging around in my storage unit and finding a lot of my older handspinning.  I'm getting it out and rewashing it a skein or two at a time.  I'm amazed at how far I've come in my skills.  Seems to me that it is good to revisit my old yarn - and my old spinnables that aren't yarn yet.  There are some neat possibilities for me to explore in those boxes... I'll shoot some pictures of my "beginner yarn" once the skeins are dry.

Rrrrrrufffles!

Well, the ruffle yarn arrived in yesterday's mail.  Couldn't help myself - I started in on one of the scarf patterns right away to try it out.  This is some weird construction... here's a picture of the way this stuff is put together:

This one is called Frill Seeker Stargazer.  It has some metallic shot through it as well.  Pretty hot pink/burgundy/black progression through the colors.  The metallic is red, but it really looks nice in this combination.  I checked out some YouTube videos about how to knit with this kind of yarn.  Basically, you just use the top edge for the stitches, working with the tiny chain between the blocks to make the stitches.  I did this on size 10 needles (6mm) and a cable - this stuff is slick and slides around a lot! 


Here's a shot of the whole skein before I got started on the scarf itself.  It was loosely tied in 3 places, and it said right in the pattern NOT to wind it into a ball, so I put it on an umbrella swift and started knitting.  Very simple pattern, just 12 stitches in garter stitch until you run out of yarn, or get to the length you like.  Mine turned out 50 inches long, and it is much softer than I expected it to be with all that metallic in it.  The fiber content on this Stargazer yarn is 78% Acrylic and 22% Polyester.  Since it doesn't mention the metallic, I'm assuming that the polyester is the metallic carrier somehow.  The ruffling happens automatically - the chain knits into a scaffold of sorts to hold the gathers in place for ruffles to happen on the outer edge... like this:

Soooooo, after the last of the skein comes off the umbrella swift and over the needles I ended up with a very pretty scarf to wear with my raspberry colored winter coat.  One thing I did notice with this yarn is that it snags pretty easily - especially the metallic thread.  So this isn't going to be something that will work with any coat with Velcro closures near the neckline.

This is a hand wash and dry flat kind of scarf, but being all synthetic, it won't take long to dry.  Keep it from snagging up - wear gloves when washing it so it doesn't catch on anything.  It seems to be very soft and should be quite warm - of course it is also highly unusual and decorative!  Pretty as an accent scarf for a plain dress or turtleneck too.

I don't think I've ever done a project that worked up this fast - and fun to watch it do it's thing!  So I already have a finished scarf!  Ta-daaaaa!

Next thing I finished up was the sweater.  I decided to "line" the button bands with ribbon for stability since the knitting was somewhat soft and there really wasn't much to attach a button to that would hold it up without sagging or pulling the stitches out of shape.  I spent some time in the library, dug out the old standard Vogue Sewing book and read about couture methods on buttons and buttonholes and came up with an idea that worked out well.  I wasn't able to find ribbon that exactly matched the red-violet color.  This didn't really surprise me, it isn't a common color.  So I used a satin ribbon printed with a Victorian style pattern in black and white.  I hand sewed it in place on both button bands so they would be firm and straight.  Then I cut small slits in the ribbon and did hand worked buttonholes, using buttonhole stitches (basically the same as a blanket stitch, worked tightly and very close together) and I got very stable, firm buttonholes.  I tested the fit of the buttons several times as I worked the buttonholes, since I wanted them snug, but not too tight.  Here's a picture of the buttonholes:

The stitches are pulled quite tight, that keeps the row of edge stitches in place and centered on the edge of the hole itself.  Interestingly enough, I found that I had a better result by starting in the middle of the long vertical of the slit rather than on one of the ends.  I'm not sure why, but that's how it worked out for me.  Here's a picture of the ribbon bands - granted, this is the inside of the sweater - the stitches aren't perfectly even, but they look okay to me.  Since I'm the only one who will really ever see this part, I didn't tear it out to make it perfect on the inside.  I'm recovering from generations of perfectionism... so I'm calling this a good thing! 

Interestingly enough, I've never seen this method of handling button bands except on an old sweater that my Grandmother made for my Mom - she did machine buttonholes over grosgrain ribbon.  I wanted mine done in yarn, so this is what I came up with.  Never have done a cardigan before, and even though this one took two tries to complete, it is done and I'm pleased with it.  Finally, finished and blocked, here is the last picture of the finished button bands.

Yep, my first ever cardigan.  I like it.  A lot!

New stash...

Gosh, it has been a while since a yarn grabbed me like this.  I found some really pretty ruffling yarn advertised in a catalog from Mary Maxim.  Most of their things are way to cutesy for my taste, but they had several varieties of this self-ruffling yarn that I wanted to have a look at "in person" to see how they worked.  I went to every craft shop in town, and of course, none of them had any of the types - not even the Red Heart version. Sigh....
So, I went back to the catalog and tried to place an order for the least expensive version - Red Heart Sashay - and it was out of stock!  Bigger sigh...
So, I went for the higher priced version and placed an order.  Hope it arrives soon... it looks so nice in the pictures.
Of course, with all that yarn shopping a few skeins followed me home.  I found this lovely, fuzzy Patons Lace with Sequins in the Amethyst colorway:

Pretty stuff, but as with most sparkly yarns, this one is a bit camera shy.  The sequins are a deep color that shimmers between red, fuschia and violet.  Very pretty indeed!  I'm thinking of a shrug or a vest with this, the balls are lace weight, and with all that glittering, I'll want a smooth knit to show it off to it's best advantage.

I'll swatch it later on, since I seem to have caught the "cast on" bug in the last little while.

Here's the beginning of my next sweater - at least I hope it is, the swatch is feeling a little light and loose and it isn't at gauge yet.  But here's the picture of what I'm planning for the next sweater.

The pattern is from Sunday Knits and is called Tapestry.  Very romantic, lots of cables and lace and knit in the round up to the armsceye.  I especially like the way the buttons are nestled into the cables on the front.  I chose a superwash fingering weight yarn from Knit Picks called Stroll in the colorway Twinkle Heather.  I'll keep going on the swatch and see if I like it better as it grows in size.  There are some people that say superwash wools don't feel good to them.  I really rather like the soft hand that this treatment gives the fiber.  Some wools feel a bit scratchy to me - even Merino sometimes.  I typically wear pure regular wool sweaters over a cotton turtleneck for comfort.  The superwash I can wear in socks on my bare skin without a problem.  For instance, those new slippers I made have both kinds of wool in them, superwash on the tops and feltable wool for the soles.  I find them more comfortable if I wear thin socks inside the slippers.  Doing this should also help improve the wearing life of the slippers as well, so it becomes a win-win situation.  This being said, I've started another pair of slipper socks since I adore the first pair and needed another "easy" knitting project for when I'm somewhere that I can knit on something simple and still be able to pay attention to other things going on... like at church.  So here's a work-in-progress shot of the slippers:

Since it takes two strands held together for the tops, I wound off a small ball of the sock yarn, trying to match up the patterning so there are some coherent stripes on the tops.  I like the effect I'm getting so far.  The match isn't perfect, but with two yarns running together the stripes are softened a bit.  So far, so good.  I'm just starting the top of the foot on the first slipper.  These take me about twenty hours from start to finish.  The yarn is Wisdom Yarns Phoenix in the Hayden colorway.  Superwash wool and nylon blend.  Cast on with size 7 needles and switch to size 4 for the tops.  I'll use my leftover Wool of the Andes Worsted in Fairy Tale for the heels and soles - I had a few balls left from the sweater and they match this yarn pretty nicely.

Sweater done, spinning in progress...

I love the feeling of finishing things... got a few more done this week. The never-ending sweater is finally knitted. Took a picture of it before blocking:

I like the way it turned out, but there are a couple of things I still want to do before I wear it.  Blocking would be the first thing, and I have given it the first warm bath of its life.  At the moment it is drying on a screen.  Never ceases to amaze me how the stitches smooth out after blocking.  Didn't need any wires in this one, just laid it out flat.  Second thing I'll be doing is adding a band of ribbon to the back of the button bands.  The knitting is wonderfully soft, but it isn't likely to support buttonholes and buttons without sagging.  So rather than wait for that to happen, I'll be putting the ribbon on to stabilize it.

I've also been finishing up some spinning that has been hanging around for a while. Here is a small skein of Amethyst Heather merino from Ashland Bay.  It started as one of the lovely striped tops that they are so famous for.  I just got a tiny sample (this skein is 9 grams) so that I could check the colors.  I'm pleased with this colorway, it "reads" visually as purple, but it is made up of blues, reds, pinks and grays.  Very nice indeed - I'll be ordering up more of this one. Statistics: 32 yards, 9 grams; Amethyst Heather merino top from Ashland Bay; spindle spun singles clockwise, Navajo plied counterclockwise 15 treadles.

This one has been hanging out on a spindle for who knows how long.  I took it off the spindle onto a bobbin and Navajo plied it to this gorgeous yarn.  It is a black Shetland wool blended with dyed mohair locks in blue and fuschia.  I really didn't expect Shetland wool to be so soft.  Love the sparkle and shine of the mohair.  I'll certainly be doing more of this blend in the future!  Statistics: 92 yards, 31 grams; Shetland/Mohair; spindle spun singles clockwise, Navajo plied counterclockwise 14 treadles.

This brute of a skein is the beginning of a sweater project from the color study yarns.  This is the 50/50 blend of GNR and Dolly Dorset.  Love the heathering and the color.  This isn't the softest wool, so it will definitely be outerwear.  Haven't worn much green lately, but it is a good color for me and I'll enjoy working with my handspun on a larger project.  Statistics: 270 yards, 74 grams; 50/50 GNR/Dolly; spindle spun singles clockwise, Navajo plied counterclockwise 14 treadles.

Quilting club...

The story started a long time ago....

Mom's mom was a passionate and gifted quilter, modest enough to think that she didn't do it right - even after winning quilt shows and being invited to judge the same show the following year! I often asked Grandma if she'd teach me to quilt, and she always told me I should take a class, since she didn't think she did it right.  I never did get her to change her mind, and she's gone now.  So, after all these years, Mom and I are learning to quilt.

Mom and I have started taking a quilting class of sorts.  It is actually a club that meets once a month.  No schlepping sewing machines - one person in the group presents the block that we'll be making for the month and points out any tips or troublemakers in the construction.  Then we all go home and take our chances with the directions and try to make the block.

We're working out of a book called Sylvia's Bridal Sampler by Jennifer Chiaverini.  As Mom and I looked it over, we thought "hmmm, 6 inch blocks, shouldn't take much fabric. How hard could it be?"  (Okay, now that anyone who knows anything about quilting is having a good laugh at our expense.....)  Not only have we discovered how little we know, we've also found a group of some of the most supportive and interesting women I've ever met.

I'm rather pleased with what I've learned.  Each month my skills get a little better.  Here's my first block, called Cats and Mice

Fun to do, but lots of tiny pieces!  I actually cut all those tiny bits and did all the 1/4" seams.  Since then I've learned how to do paper piecing and that makes it go a lot better - easier too!
As for the other things rolling around in my studio, the sweater is getting sewn up, and I found some great buttons for it!  I'm still spinning on the GNR/Dolly blend at work.  Just about ready to ply off the first bobbin of that one.  Made a sample of some very fine 3 ply yarn from a little puff of Ashland Bay Amethyst Multi wool.  The skein is drying now.  I'll shoot more pictures and get those posted next time.

Christmas already?

Whew, it has been a looooong time since I posted!  Not that I haven't been working on stuff, but the kilt hose are slow going - seems that they still look the same after I've put in hours and hours on them.  But that is the nature of fine gauge knitting.
I did get some cool slippers done though - these are great! Felted on the bottom (soles) and ribbed on the top.  Did them in two different kinds of yarn - found the pattern in a book and they turned out better than I ever expected.

Kind of neat, the cuffs and tops are knitted in a superwash sock yarn called Wildfoot and the soles are knit in a worsted weight regular wool yarn.  Throw them in the wash with a couple pairs of jeans to felt them and ta-daaaa! Slippers to be happy in - warm and sturdy.  My typical objection to felted footwear is that it gets so loose and floppy, and these shouldn't have that problem since the tops are rib knit.

Here's another shot that shows the tops - and my Border Collie's butt - she just can't stay away from me when I get down on the floor.  Kind of weird to be taking pictures of my own feet, but I wanted to show these slippers off, and they don't look like much without a foot inside them to give them shape.

I'll be making more of these, they go pretty quickly and the felting is fun too.  Other stuff on the needles is moving along too.  Working on the sweater - still on the sleeves, but nearly done.  Then it is off to the knitting shop to pick out some fabulous buttons before I start the bands.  I've learned to get the buttons first, because it never fails that the best buttons are NEVER the size that the pattern calls for!

Time marches on...

I've been busy with a number of things, since I haven't posted much lately, I'll just put them all out here now.

Here is some yarn I've been working on:

It is another three ply with one variegated ply along with two tweed plies.  The variegated ply is from Frene Creek Farm and is a lovely handpainted Corriedale in purples all the way to lavender in some spots.  The tweed plies are 75% natural gray Rambouillet Finn crossbred with 25% bright purple merino blended in to get the purple tone.  I tried a sample of this using just the gray and it didn't read as purple as I wanted it, so I referred back to my color study to figure out how much I wanted to tint my colored wool for it to "read" visually as purple but not overpower the variegated ply.  I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

Here's a close-up shot of the same skein:

I'm extra glad that I put in the effort to do the color study.  The visual usefulness of such a project has already proven the worth of doing it.  I did do a small sample skein using the gray, and it didn't "read" as purple at all!  I saw it as gray and black, and I knew that wouldn't work for what I have in mind for this yarn.  Here are the vital statistics of this skein:

258 yards of 3 ply.  One ply Frene Creek Farm Handpainted Corriedale roving, two plies of natural gray Rambouillet Finn crossbred blended with 25% bright purple merino and carded four times to blend the colors.  I think this will work up at about fingering weight, it is finer than my typical yarn since the R/F is pretty soft.

Next up: the reworking of the red-violet sweater.

About two sizes smaller and doesn't it look nice?  Granted, it isn't assembled or blocked yet, so the stitches will even out and be smoother after blocking.  I used the ravelled yarn to reknit, so it looks "bumpier" than the first knitting did.  I'm working on the raglan sleeves now, and I'm doing those flat, rather than in the round like I did the body of the sweater.  I'm pondering what kind of buttons I'd like on this.  Picking up for the button band and collar are the last things to do on the sweater, so I do still have some time.  Surprisingly enough, even though this is an odd and somewhat bright color to most people, I'm finding that it goes with a lot of my wardrobe.  So I'm thinking the buttons can't be too bold.  I've heard of an outfit called "Moving Mud" that makes custom glass buttons, but I don't know what they cost.  That might be the next good investigation to make on the button issue.  I've also got 3 very good knitting shops close by, so I think I'll check out their offerings first.  Here is a picture of the front of the sweater:

I've learned a lot making this sweater - especially since I've gone down the path twice. I definitely preferred doing the body of the sweater in the round.  All the bands match up and the armhole is better supported during the knitting - much easier to remember which side is which since it is all together and very visible.  That being said, I had to re-write the pattern so that I would do the shaping at the right times.  With the raglan going on, some rounds had six different shapings happening at once.  That is a lot to keep track of.  I did the work on a 47" cable needle, which allowed me to try the sweater on as I went.  Very helpful to check fit that way.  Much harder to check that when the body of the sweater is in pieces.

Next work in progress is the kilt hose, they are taking forever to do.  Measured gauge over stockinette and it is coming up at 10 stitches to the inch.  No wonder it seems slow!  It is!

Here they are, pinned out flat so you can see both the front and back at the same time.  I decided that the bobbins just weren't working for me, so I am removing them as the yarn length gets under a yard or so.  I've read that many knitters just leave the long tails hanging and pick them up as they need them.  I'm finding that I like that process too.  These socks are pretty loud, but that is what the customer likes.  At the top edge where the two solid bands of ribbing are now, there will be a cabled band running around the sock right under the knee.  Flashes will be tucked under there to show the tartan and to keep the socks up - rather like garters, but around the calf of the leg up near the knee.

Until next time, I'm working on costuming for a Steampunk event...