Mr. Greenjeans

Remember a little while ago when I showed you this?

It was the beginnings of a pair of socks that turned into these:

They are my first new pair of socks for the winter 08/09 sock wearing season and I feel like I'm off to a good start! They were knit in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in the Mr. Greenjeans colourway. I knit them top down on 64 stitches on 2.25mm needles. I downsized to 2mm needles for the short row heel and for the toe. I think that they're perfect for me! I wouldn't change a thing! To be perfectly honest, I prefer a standard slip stitch heel, but because the of changes in the number of stitches due to the decreases after picking up stitches from the gusset, it always ends up really distorting the rhythm of self striping yarns. I'd rather deal with a slightly tight heel then have to stare at weird pooling. Very pleased. Gorgeous blue-green colourway, so sad it's been discontinued! 

Dad's Moss Socks

There are some people that I don't really knit for. When an occasion comes along where I feel inclined to give them a gift, say a birthday or Christmas, I'd rather just buy something thoughtful rather then knit them something. It's not because I don't like them as much as I like the people that I do knit for, it's just that I've found that some people just don't understand the effort, the time and the love that goes into knitting a gift by hand. They receive the gift and graciously say thank you, and they probably even think that it was really nice that you knit them something, but then they put it aside with all their other possessions and don't give it the importance it deserves. I don't blame them, chances are they probably weren't raised in a household that emphasized crafts and hand made gifts. They just don't realize how much of you is actually a part of that gift. I once gave a friend a sweater for her baby and despite seeing them every couple of weeks since the day he was born I never once saw him in the sweater. Now, I just buy them gifts. I still love them, but I shop for them, I don't knit for them.

My cousin Michelle is not one of the people I shop for. For her, I knit so much she's probably sick of it! When I was first figuring out how to knit I made her baby a sweater that was falling apart at the seems after one afternoon of wearing it, but she still put it on her every chance she got! I once gave her a sweater that I'm sure was kind of tight in the armpits and knit out of a particularly scratchy wool, not very comfortable, but she wore it like a champ whenever it got chilly. And she still wears all the stripy, pooly, crazy socks I knit her when I was nuts about multicoloured sock yarns, even though they are pretty outrageous. She's the kind of person I love to knit for. But we grew up with a grandmother who knit in all her spare time, and we had the value and importance and specialness of hand-knits engrained in us since we were little. That's the kind of person that's rewarding to knit for. Someone who understands and really appreciates the process, wether the result is as perfect as something that could be bought at the Gap is so not the point, it's the fact that you made it yourself, that's where the value comes from. 

Another wonderful person that I love to knit for... my Dad! When it comes to my dad it's all about the hand knit socks. Last year I made him his first pair of knit socks and after about a month my mother begged me to knit him another pair because she said that it was all he would wear! She would have to pull them off his feet to put them in the laundry and then he'd put them right back on the second they were dry. Clearly, he needed another pair. So I made him another pair. During the following 6 months or so of appropriately cold weather I did not see my father even once when he wasn't wearing one of the 2 pairs of socks that I had knit him. That's the kind of person I like to knit for! So here you go Dad, your next pair of socks to help get you through the winter:

They are the Retro Rib Socks from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks. I knit them in my own yarn in the Moss colourway. Hope you like them!

Kiri Shawl

I never really thought of myself as a lace shawl person. Though I admired their craftsmanship and thought that they were really beautiful as objects, I couldn't imagine how I would work one into my wardrobe. But then I realized that even if I were to technically knit myself a shawl, nothing would be stopping me from wearing it wrapped around my neck like a scarf, which is something that I have plenty of use for, I love scarves! So, with that in my head I set out to knit my first shawl. The Kiri Shawl. I had been wanting to knit a lacy shawl with my fingering weight yarn for a while (because even though I didn't consider myself a shawl person I knew that my yarn would lend itself very well to the application). So, here it is, my first shawl, knit in my Peacock colourway:

When I actually wear it, I probably look more like this.

I'm really happy with how the whole thing turned out. I've been wearing it casually thrown around my neck all week, even though it hasn't really been all that cold. I went to the movies on Sunday and it proved very handy in the heavily air conditioned cinema. I love how I can wear it all scrunched up around my neck and have it look lovely, but then when I take it off, say when I sit down to eat at a restaurant, and drape it over the back of my chair, it transforms from a scarf into an intricate, lacy, fascinating piece of knitting. 

The colour was very difficult to capture in these photo's, this is probably the most accurate:

Can you sort of see how there are bits of darker blue and greener turquoise? It's really quite varied in tones, but I'm not as good at photo-taking or photo-shopping as I need to be to really show off the qualities of this yarn. A great introduction to shawls.

Gathered Pullover

I think I have a new all time favorite sweater. Presenting the Gathered Pullover from Interweave Knits Winter 2007, arguably my most successful and wearable knit-by-me sweater ever:

See, so wearable, I'm just casually wearing it at the dog park while I give my puppy a run. I knew while I was knitting this that I was potentially going to love it, the yarn is so soft, the colour is everything I love (purple with blue, teal and pink all shimmering through in it's heathery goodness) and the pattern is simple and elegant yet interesting and special. Such a great combination. I made the smallest size and added a little bit of waist shaping, but other then that followed the pattern exactly. Actually, I added a hem to the bottom because is was really curling, and I did a purl row half an inch up the wrist because it helped keep the curling to an appropriate level on the cuff. But that's it. 

Not much else to say about it. I just love it, and plan on wearing it all winter, every winter, for many winters to come. And it only took me a week from start to finish.

Now, I'm knitting this sock:

(Stella loves to pop her head in my pictures, did you notice her in the first Gathered Pullover shot? She's too much!) It's going to be a pair of basic socks knit on 2.25mm needles over 64 stitches using BMFA Socks that Rock Lightweight in the Mr. Greenjeans colourway ( Sadly, I think it's been discontinued). I'm going to do a short row heel on a 2mm needle to a) assure durability and b) keep the striping continuous. They are going to be lovely, practical and durable. You never can tell how successful multicoloured self striping yarns are going to be, sometimes they just pool horribly, but to my relief I think that this striping is happening in a very lovely rhythm. 

I finished my Kiri shawl this weekend, but I'll save that update for another post. Peace!

WIP's

Today I did a little assessment of my works in progress. You see, I'm actually a very guilty knitter. When I start a new project I feel very conflicted. I'm usually very excited to be knitting a new and exciting project that I'm crazy about right at that moment, but then at the same time I feel bad because I almost always have at least one other project on the needles that I felt the exact same way about hen I started it. I'm a fickle knitter. Lately I've been trying really hard to finish up projects that I had started and then discarded, or if I start something new to stick with it until it's done and not let the allure of something new pull me away from it. And today I'm proud of myself. I only really have 2 WIP's that I need to get my butt in gear to finish. Both were started in the Winter/Spring of 2007 (I think around March), and both were my pure obsession for all of a couple of days when I first started them. The first is my Bohus Yellow Lace Collar sweater: 

I still think it's absolutely stunning, and I'll wear it very proudly when I eventually finish it, but I just can't seem to muster up the interest in knitting two hundred and some odd stitches of knits and purls with colour changes on 2mm needles these days. I think that my lack of inspiration/motivation with this project lies in the poor colour choice I made for myself. As always, I was trying to veer away from my usual all blue habits and take a risk and knit something classic and elegant with subtle beauty that I would love forever even though it wasn't blue, and I picked this kit containing green's and beiges that I think are really beautiful, but just aren't really me. I will finish it, my goal for this bad boy is to have it done by my birthday (in April).

My next WIP is a sad lonely mitten. My one Northern Lights Mitten from Knitpicks in palette (my own choice of colour combinations) has been without a mate for far too long. I really enjoyed this first mitten, but couldn't seem to convince myself to cast on for it's twin. My goal for this project is to make this single mitten a partner by Christmas, and then maybe even gift it to someone! That'll get me going. 

Of course I don't count my Mitered Square Afghan as a Wip because I've intended all along that it be the type of thing that I pick up whenever the mood should strike me, knit a little bit, and then come back to when I next feel like it. I also don't count socks, because I've always got at least one pair of socks going. Something simple to carry with me and work on when I'm away from home. 

So, having concluded that I only have 2 WIP's hiding in boxes under my daybed, and firm-ish deadlines for when they are to be completed by, I can move on to my next project feeling absolutely no guilt! As soon as I post this entry I'm going to cast on for the Kiri shawl and knit it in this lovely yarn:

It's my own fingering weight yarn in Peacock. A colour I'm particularly fond of. I've never knit a lace shawl before, I didn't really think that I could picture myself in a shawl, but I see myself wearing this more as a scarf, not draped over my shoulders, so hopefully it'll all work out. Here I go!

Finished Scarf

I finished my Diamonds on the Diagonal Scarf, and when I laid out my towel to take a picture of it Stella sat down and would not budge... I I had to take a picture of the scarf on Stella. She cooperated for once and I really like the photo! She almost looks like a statue. Very cute.

She did eventually get up and give me back my scarf, then I was able to take a close-up shot of where the diagonal lines meet and change directions. Lovely. 

The scarf was a really quick knit. Only took me three days. I forgot to weigh the yarn before I began, I wanted to use up all the yarn in this project, so if I had weighed it I would have known exactly when to switch the direction of the diagonal lines and then used up maximum yardage. But because I forgot to weigh the skein and I didn't totally trust the weight given on the label, I opted on the conservative side and ended up with 12g of yarn left in the end. I could have done 1 more repeat in each direction, I'm a little ticked about that, but I'll deal. The next time I knit this scarf I'll know to weigh the yarn first. I'm still planning on dyeing the whole thing a light/bright shade of orange to cover up the unsightly white blotches while keeping the darker orange and red tones. But I don't have any immediate plans for when that will happen yet. It's 3o degrees here today! I have no urgent need for a scarf!

As soon as I finished the Diamonds on the diagonal scarf I was struck by the need to cast on the Gathered Pullover. I saw this great finished project over on the Team Knit blog, had yarn in my stash that I've been itching to use, felt that the pattern and yarn were compatible, and the rest is history! Here's where I'm at so far:

The body is knit in the round, so it's an entire body and two top fronts in 2 days of knitting. This is shaping up to be the fastest knit ever! I'm really happy with it so far. The pattern is great and the yarn I'm using (Elann Peruvian Pure Alpaca Worsted in Hyacinth Heather) is sooo soft and gorgeous. I know that purple isn't for everyone, but I love this shade. It has bits of pink and teal that occasionally pop up upon closer inspection. It's really lovely, and did I mention sooo soft! It's not the sport weight yarn that was recommended in the pattern, but I've seen that others have knit this sweater in worsted with good results, so since I got gauge I'm going to hope all works out. The bottom is curling WAY too much though, so I think I'll end up turning it under to make a hem rather then just letting it do it's thing. The way it is now it's a bit ridiculous. Tonight I hope to finish the back, then work on the sleeves, and hopefully I'll have a sweater by the end of the week! Fastest sweater ever! And so far, I think it might be in the running for the award of favorite sweater ever too!  

Stella's first sweater

For the past week I've been working on making my first dog sweater. It's actually very complicated! Stella is a whippet, and whippet's have very peculiar body shapes. She has a tiny little head, a long muscular neck, a deep chest with big lungs to support her 63km/h sprints, and then a teeny, tiny little waist, not to mention her long skinny stick legs. Don't get me wrong, I think she's beautiful, but she's got a tough body to knit for. I decided to follow the Original Custom-Fit Dog Sweater pattern by Esther Smith Bozak. The thing I liked about this particular pattern is that it's just a guideline. It tells you how and where to measure your specific dog, then tells you to pick a yarn and figure out a gauge, then gives you percentages that you apply to your gauge and your dog's measurements to end up with a perfect garment for your dog. And it worked great! This is the sweater from the top:

It's plain and simple with just a tiny bit of detail to add character. The underside looks funnier!

And then here's a photo of the finished object modeled by the recipient in a super awkward and uncomfortable stance. She doesn't mind the sweater, she's just always weird around camera's. She doesn't get why I'm squatting as if to pet her yet at the same time telling her to stay away from me... And she's squinting! Why do dog's and kids always have to close their eyes in pictures!?

This was my first attempt at knitting for her. I'm pleased with the result, but mostly this sweater is just the prototype. I knit it using Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Falk yarn in a heather grey that I think suits her well. It took just about a week from start to finish, but the next one will be much quicker since I have all the proper measurements and have worked out all the kinks on this one. I won't have to be trying it on her every couple of inches to make sure I'm on the right track. The yarn was leftover in my stash. It was knit on 3.25mm needles. 

I think her next sweater will be knit out of TFA worsted weight superwash merino in Royal Flush. I think she'd look great in red. And for all those people who think that dog's in sweaters are ridiculous, I ask you not to make fun of my skinny little whippet. She'll get cold in the fall since she has so little body fat. I'm doing it out of necessity, not vanity, but I still think she's going to look great in red!

Knitting Stuff

Lately I've been pretty preoccupied with trying to come up with patterns that would really highlight my hand dyed yarns. My intent is to design my own original patterns for my yarns, but I'm not quite a designer yet, I'm working on it. Right now though I'm practicing by knitting other people's designs. This is Ilga Leja's Diamonds on the Diagonal Scarf. I'm knitting it in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in the Tangerine colourway. I know it doesn't make any sense that I'm knitting it in Fleece Artist since the whole point is that I'm looking for way's to highlight MY YARN, but I had this skein of Tangerine, and I've never actually knit with Fleece Artist before, and I lost focus and on impulse cast on with it. I love the pattern! It's simple and crisp and clean and exactly the kind of thing that would suit my tonal colourways. I'm not nuts about this Tangerine though, first of all, since when am I so in to orange? I think that I just try so hard to branch out and expand my colour spectrum that I've ended up going way too far in the opposite direction from what I naturally gravitate towards. Typically, I would always chose blues, but because I'm trying to diversify I'm doing a total 180 and knitting with orange. Go figure. When I knit this pattern with my own yarn I'll have to chose a blue. Besides the colour, I've also noticed that this skein contains quite a few un-dyed spots, can you see the white spaces creating a sort of "V" on the top of the photo? I'm not a big fan of that, I may end up over-dyeing the whole thing when I'm done.

Today my best friend Lydia and I decided that it was about time that I teach her how to knit! She's almost 25 for crying out loud! All those years she could have been knitting but didn't know how! I really hope she gets addicted! I think that this scarf pattern would make a great second or third project for her, it's simple, but impressive, and teaches a lot of knitting basics. 

So, speaking of me trying to become a knitwear designer, I'm working on my first original fair-isle mitt pattern. The work in progress is pictured bellow. I've worked out a lot of the kinks and by the time it's done it will most probably look completely different (I'm now not sure about the colours or the pattern!) but at least I've worked out guage, length, width and thumb placement, which are all big things. I'm going to rip the whole mitten out and start again, hopefully it'll only take one more try.

last but not least, here are some pictures of my rovings! Remember how I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to become a spinner? Well, I've taken the first step and started a fiber stash! I still don't have a spinning wheel, or a particularly firm grasp on how to turn fiber into actual yarn, but I'm heading in that general direction.

I bought this lovely 1/4 lb roving at London-Wul in Lakeburn, NB on a recent rip to the maritimes. It doesn't have a name, but it's got lovely tones of navy, purple, rose and even a hint of shimmery turquoise that doesn't really come through in the photo. (Those are the types of colours I usually chose, no orange in sight!)

Then in a moment of weakness I logged on to Coloursongs yarn and pruchased these six 50g Fleece Artist slivers. Just enough of each to hopefully make a bit of pretty yarn to stripe a hat or add detail to a scarf project. From left to right we have Silk Merino sliver in Cosmic Dawn, Peridot and Hercules, Wenleydale Teeswater Sliver in Mermaid and Blue Face Leicester Sliver in Seashore and Peridot (Notice how different Peridot looks in Silk Merino versus Blue Face Leicester!) I'm very excited to work with all these fibers. The silk merino feels like a dream and confirms to me that the next yarn I add to Tanis Fiber Arts collection (after the worsted weight merino that's coming any day now) has got to have silk in it! Or at least something luxurious and shiny like bamboo or soy. I'd better learn how to spin soon!

Razor Cami

Back to back posts! Who would have ever believed that this could happen! As anyone who has ever tried their hand at blogging, or even journal writing knows, keeping up to date with it on a daily basis is really hard! For me, I think that hardest part is the photo's. I feel like it's important for a knit blog to have images of knitting, and getting good photo's, with good light, and a non professional camera is pretty tough. But, here I finally got some photos of my finished Razor Cami. 

I actually finished this little summer number over a month ago on July 8th. But it's taken me this long just to take the pictures. I like the finished result more than I thought I would. I've never tried a summer knit before and assumed that I wouldn't be pleased with the fit. But I've worn it twice already, and that's a big accomplishment for me seeing as how I have upwards of 60 summer tops to choose from in my wardrobe (and that's a modest estimation, I used to be a bit of a shopaholic... before rent and bills became a real factor in my life!) 

I knit this cami using Garnstudio Muskat #47. It's a very bright shade of orange, I probably would have proffered a slightly lighter tangerine colour, this colour isn't really that "me", but I can certainly live with it. I received compliments on it both times I wore it by people who didn't even know that I made it! I think that there's just something about a hand made object that people are drawn to even if they don't necessarily know why. Something that's been hand made always looks special. So, though I'm pleasantly surprised and pleased with the results of my first summer knitting project, and also my first cotton knitting project, I don't know that I'm going to start making tank tops and camisoles in every colour. I will definitely be knitting with this gorgeous yarn again though. I'm a sucker for shiny things, and this cotton has just the right amount of gleam. I really like it's drape too, I think it would make really nice, flattering v-neck sweaters.

On a totally different note, y'know how most knitters have cats, it's kind of a "thing"? Well, I have a dog, but she's remarkably cat-like! She jumps on, off and over the backs of couches, she lays on window sills in the sun-shine, and she LOVES balls of yarn! She loves them kind of in the same way that knitters do, not in a destructive way, but in a loving way. If a ball or skein of yarn is left unattended on the couch, she will always curl up with it, it's very cute. That's another thing she has in common with cats, she sleeps in an adorable little ball shape... next to knitted things. 

Tonight, I've cast on for my very first dog sweater. I never thought that I would be the type of person to make sweater's for a dog, but whippets have so little body fat that they need clothing to stay warm during our cold Montreal winters. Actually, I had to buy her a doggy parka for the actual winter, I think sweaters will be more appropriate for Fall and Spring. I'm keeping it very respectable though, I'm knitting a simple heather grey sweater with perhaps one cable down the center back, no feathers or glitter or silliness for my elegant Stella.   

Nova Scotia Vacation

Hi Sean, as you know Chris, Stella and I just got back from a weeks vacation at my cottage in beautiful Nova Scotia. Despite the clouds and the rain, we still had a wonderful time. Though it was pretty dreary most days, we did manage to get one sunny afternoon!

Because of the weather we didn't spend much time on the beach unfortunately. We had a couple nice walks and Chris was a real trooper and went swimming everyday (sometimes even in the rain.) Most of our time was spent indoors reading, playing cards and board games (some of my favorite things about my cottage, after the beach.) And of course knitting. Stella got along really well with my parents dogs, it was so cute to see her cuddling with them!

Despite all of the available knitting time due to the weather, I surprisingly only got one completed sock out of the whole week! Here's a dreadful photo of it. It's knit in Tanis Fiber Arts Moss colourway, using the Retro Ribbed Sock pattern from my Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave book, and I'm very pleased with it! It's a new colour and it's always exciting to see how new colours look when knitted up into completed objects.

This close-up of the foot shows how the textured pattern really shows off the yarns subtle variations in tones. I think that this once again proves that lace patterns and texture are really well suited for my tonal yarns. I think that my dad will love these socks.

While in Nova Scotia, I visited London Wul Fiber Arts in neighbouring New Brunswick, and I thought that it was really cool. The people there are so nice and they make such beautiful yarns! I was lucky enough to be offered a drop spindle lesson while I was there and since I've been dying to learn how to spin I was super keen. With a little bit of instruction, I managed to convince myself that I could maybe produce some knittable yarn some day and bought a drop spindle kit and three days later this is what I had:

50g of thick-thin, artsy wool yarn (I'm calling it "artsy" because that makes it seem like maybe it was intentional or something.) The kit included 100g of three different colours of wool fibre. I spun half the brown first, because it's my least favorite colour of the bunch and I figured I'd try and work out some of the kinks on it. All in all, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I also bought 200g of some lovely blue/mauve/grey roving dyed by the folks at London Wul and once I'm all good and practiced on my roving from my kit, I'll move onto the really pretty stuff. I'm hooked. I'm definitely going to buy a spinning wheel this fall! Hopefully more spinning news to come!

The Gift of Socks

I love giving knitted gifts for Christmas, or any other occasion actually, but Christmas, being in winter, is a perfect time weather wise and other wise to give a hand knit item that can be worn and appreciated right away. The thing is, as all knitters know, you really have to plan ahead if you actually want to have the time to knit a gift for a loved one without going mental. So, it's only July, but I've already gotten quite a head start on some Christmas knitting, exhibit A:

Four pairs of socks!

On the left we have a plain stockinette stitch sock knit out of Tanis Fiber Arts "Stormy" Colourway, and on the right is Craftoholic's Springgrass sock knit out of Tanis Fiber Arts in "Marine". 

Next we have simple twisted rib socks knit out of Lorna's Laces in "Bittersweet" and Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Christmas Balls" colourway.  All four are actually pairs, I just decided to model one of each.

And though this has nothing to do with socks or Christmas, here's the newest member of my family, Stella:
She's an 8 month old whippet and is a total angel! I'm sure she'll become proud knitwear model in the months to come. We just love her.

Summer knitting

This whole concept is brand new to me! I've never had the slightest bit of interest in knitting summery things. I tend to dress in pretty form fitting clothes, especially in the summer, so a knit camisole never seemed like the right thing for me, because I didn't think that it would be possible for me to knit something that I'd ever actually end up wearing. But then I fell in love with this lovely cotton yarn. It's so shiny and smooth and just beautiful, and I wanted to find a way that I could knit with it, and actually make something that I'd wear. Then I saw this and this and decided that I could give the razor cami a try.

I'm knitting it in Garnstudio Muskat #47. It's a VERY bright orange, I ordered it online and when it came in the mail even I was a little surprised at it's intensity. But then I figured, if you're going for orange, you might as well go for bold! 

I've actually knit much more then what I've photographed. I've only got the straps left to knit, and I expect to get them done tonight if all goes well, so then it'll just be a bit of light blocking and I'll be ready to model it! It's crazy hot here though, too hot for a knitted cami, even if it is cotton yarn... I'll have to wait for a cooler evening to wear it, but I think it'll be a success. The yarn is awesome. I love the sheen, the stitch definition, the drape. I will definitely be knitting more cotton projects, so even if this knitted cami thing doesn't work out, this project will not have been in vain because I've found a new lovable yarn!