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Saturday 27 December 2014

Ardrum Scarf

I finally worked up the courage to block the Ardrum Scarf.  I finished it about a month ago and it had been sitting in a drawer ever since, patiently awaiting further developments.  Well, yesterday its number went up.

Let me tell you, I was terrified when it came to plunging this fragile pile of yarn into water and manhandling it into shape.  All sorts of disaster scenarios flashed through my head.  What if it felts?  What if I break a thread?  What if, what if, what if?  You see, this was my first time ever blocking lace, or to be more precise, laceweight. 

Scared or not, I finally did it, got the scarf properly wet and commenced pinning.  Surprisingly, no major disaster occurred and the shawl is now drying up in all of its stretched glory.

blocking lace scarf

You may have noticed that I changed my regular blocking arrangements.  Usually I pin the victim to the carpet in the only carpeted room in the house, but we are awaiting a visit from a certain young lady (she of the Poppy Girl fame) and the room in question happens to double as her playroom.  I may be ignorant when it comes to toddler care but I know enough not to set them free in an area full of pins.  I went for plan B, which was a spare mattress installed in the living room. 

Turned out that in my haste to prevent accidents involving someone else's child I completely ignored health and safety of my own dear dog.  Persuading the said dog that walking over a mattress full of pins is not a good idea proved impossible and I was feeling the first delicate inklings of frustrations, when my Other Half suggested a brilliant solution:

'Let's haul the mattress up on the dining table'.

Here it is, a visual proof of my brazen disregard of decor propriety (please ignore general crappiness of the picture).

blocking lace scarf

The fact that my Other Half came up with this solution and that he doesn't mind at all also says a lot about him.  Envy me!

Pinning to a stripey mattress had one unexpected advantage - I had all my straight edges sorted out without even trying.

lace edging

If you were wondering, the whitish string is my answer to blocking wires, because I don't own any.  In fact, the string worked so well that I can't see a reason why I should own them, ever.  Frugality and simplicity, that's the ticket (and we will NOT mention permanent insolvency at this point). 

The lace pattern is not very clear, for which I apologise.  The stripiness of the mattress is to blame here;  it occurred to me that inserting a blank page under the lace would make the design more visible, but the idea arrived after I pinned the whole thing and I didn't want to tempt the Fate too much.

lace knitting

To tell you the truth, the lack of clarity may not all be due to stripes.  I realised (with some horror) that I should've used larger needles.  Stretched to the utmost, the scarf will pass muster but only just.  My kind sister (who is the soon-to-be owner of the scarf) commented that invisible small-holed lace will contribute to the shawl's warmth-emitting qualities, but I admit I'm somewhat* disappointed.  It may not count as a Major Disaster, but it's definitely in the Could've Done Better category.  Lesson learned, and considering pain involved, it's probably remembered for life, too. 

I will probably take some live action pics of the scarf once I un-pin it, so stay tuned.  Also, I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but the pattern for this beauty is Ardrum Scarf by Aisling M Doonan.  The pattern is free, which is one more reason why you should knit your own.  Have fun! (And remember to use large enough needles...).

One more thing.  This...


amaryllis

...is the reason for naming my current WIP 'Amaryllis'.  The unnaturally short stalk is most likely due to my neglecting forgetting to water it for a considerable period of time.  Poor plant, it must have decided it's now or never. 

Amaryllis the sweater is coming along nicely.  I got to the armholes the other day, so I'm working back and forth now.  I also got a chance to try it on and *deep breath in* it looks like it's going to fit.  So far, at least.  Don't say it too loud, touch wood, perform any superstition you can think of so that the rest of the work is not jinxed beyond redemption.  Illustrated report to be published soon.


*somewhat?  I seriously considered ripping the whole thing up and re-knitting it


Wednesday 24 December 2014

On the beauty of Christmas avoidance

The sun is shining in a fairly uninterrupted pattern, which is mind-blowing for Irish standards.  The weather is, in fact, so beautiful, that it tempted my Other Half out of our den and both himself and the Dog are off for a long walk.  It takes more than a few feeble December rays to drag me outside so instead I chose to stay warm and blog. 

The light is perfect for a photo shoot and I even have some prime snapping material - a package full of yarn arrived in mail yesterday (I love you, Mum!) and my stash grew by another sweater's worth.  Despite these obvious hints from Fate, I'm stubbornly ignoring my picture taking responsibilities, hoping instead that I can get away with offering you a random pic of my dog from the times when she was still a tiny puppy.

border collie puppy

A ton of super-concentrated cuteness, wasn't she?  She's posing on one of my creations that REALLY deserves to be shown properly.  One day, I promise. 

I begin to worry that there are more dog pictures than yarn pictures here.  I am told that puppies are super popular in the Internetland so it might be OK.  Do let me know if I'm badly misguided and need to reform ASAP. 

I promised you a little elaboration on the non-existent Christmas theme, and even if I'm little late (I was supposed to post it yesterday, did anyone notice?), I'm going to deliver. 

In short - I don't bother with celebrating Christmas  (do you envy me now?  Pity me?  Feel outrage for my blatant disregard of cultural traditions?).  This means a couple of things:

1)  I enjoy blissfully stress-free Decembers

2)  I'm not broke in January (well, no more broke than usual)

3)  I sometimes need to fend off public Reactions to my heretical attitude

It's not that I have some deep grudge against the whole shebang, I just can't see any point in working my ass off to participate in something that's rather meaningless to me.  I'm not religious.  My family lives some 1500 km away.  I'm not very social (and come December, I am particularly grateful for this fact).  I don't have a standard 9 to 5 job.  I don't much care about doing things because everybody does. 

If I had children, things could be a little different.  I have tons of good childhood Christmas memories.  I got the presents, didn't have to go to school, got to eat all the food that someone else cooked, what's not to love?  If I ever stumble towards motherhood, I'll probably restart the tradition, just to produce the same memories for the sake of next generation. 

I the meantime?  I'm the only one who cooks around here, so I can eat Christmas fare any day I like.  I still get presents (yarn from Mum arriving just so in December would be too much of a coincidence, wouldn't it?).  My Other Half is even more intense in his Christmas bashing, having been scarred for life many years ago by annual pre-festive crazes - for the sake of distant relatives who thought it proper.  And come January, I'll be able to take all the money I didn't spent on lights, reindeer and other Yule crap and buy yarn.  Ha!

Heretic and proud!

PS.  Red aran sweater grew by another five statutory rounds since the last post.  It also got a name - Amaryllis - inspired by a beauty just a-flower on my window sill, exactly almost the colour of the yarn.  Today I'm wildly optimistic and I think I MIGHT avoid ripping by adding a couple of extra rows.  A Christmas miracle in coming?  Keep your fingers crossed with me.

Monday 22 December 2014

Aran Red update

It seems that talking about a problem might be the first step towards a solution.  After pouring my heart out yesterday, I remembered a piece of equipment which I don't own, but have access to and after figuring out various boring technical details, I am reluctantly back in the photographic saddle.

This does not mean that I have learned to take good pictures or that I suddenly started to enjoy the process, but I can at least show you my progress on the red aran pullover.

red ara pullover

It is currently growing at a supersonic rate of 2-3 rounds a day, which may be due to some or all of the following:

a) I'm still recovering from the recent bout of knitting block.  I don't get queasy at the very thought of knitting anymore, but the idea of spending a couple of hours with yarn still lacks the usual appeal.  Feels weird but there you go.

b) While I'm usually fairly confident in my designing abilities, I'm little uneasy about this whole 'I'll figure out details when I get there' attitude.  I'm getting dangerously close to the armholes, where I will have to start counting again and I'm not in much hurry to get there.  Hey, it's the dark time of the year, I am not at my sharpest and brightest. 

c) At this stage, the pullover starts looking dangerously short-ish.  I did swatch and measure etc., but swatches are notoriously fickle.  I have a bit over 30 cm now and only a few rows to go before dividing for armholes if I were to proceed as planned, but I'm more and more convinced that the plan will need serious adjustments.  It is remotely possible that a couple of extra rows will fix the problem (do you think I can count on my luck here?), but I rather suspect it's more complex than that.  You see, the design includes some significant waist shaping and I fear the stubborn shortness may mean that the skinniest part is not where it should be.  I sense some ripping in the air...  We'll see.  I'm not that eager to find out.  Maybe, if I give it enough time, it will fix itself?

I know I had one more excellent reason to take things slowly but for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was.  Obviously, it was extremely important and not a lie at all. 

The yarn is still gloriously red though, and even at my current astonishing speed I should finish the sweater before the winter ends, so all is good, right? 

One more pic for you, this one more truthful about the colour:


Sorry about the weird angle.  I'm only beginning to crack this photography thing. 

How are your Christmas preparations going?  Will I be the object of your envy if I tell you that mine are non-existent, because I cancelled Christmas this year? 

I'll tell you more tomorrow.

Oh, and I just remembered reason d) for knitting in bite size chunks.  Here it comes:

d) I lack any ambition whatsoever.  This, if you were wondering, is a 100% truth. 

Sunday 21 December 2014

Pictures, @&$%)^&# pictures!

I hate taking pictures, and this is a phrase I'm going to repeat at least a couple of times today.  I may have also mentioned this before, but the intensity of the feeling is such that with every single utterance of the above phrase, it feels brand new to me. 

I am also feeling rebellious (which, admittedly, happens often), so I'm going to celebrate this fact by producing an entirely pictureless post today.  Just try and stop me.

The war between camera and me goes far back.  I can count on my fingers the number of pictures that I actually look good on.  Fine, a career in modelling is not something I'm striving for so who cares.  But for this blog thing, I do need images, and lots of them, and my vocabulary fails me when I try to describe what a huge pain in the ass that is. 


Reason number one:  equipment.


You probably won't believe it easily in this tech-abundant age, but I hardly have anything that I could snap a picture with.  My camera is ancient and while I can force it to spit out an occasional good image, I am usually thwarted in my efforts by ever-depleted batteries.  I don't know how it happens, but this piece of junk seems to consume as much electricity as a fair sized village.  The blasted batteries drain even when I'm not using it at all.  Would you like to know the usual photo shoot script around here?  I hasten to oblige.  Here's me, with a brand new FO, wanting to take some pictures.  I reach for my trusty *hear me snigger* camera, and

Option A - the batteries are already gone, which means postponing the photo shoot by some 12 hours which in the real world means 'indefinitely'

Option B - I turn the thing on, I line the shot, snap three pics and watch my screen go dark.  See option A for further steps.

I am also one of the last few people on Earth who do not own a smartphone with a camera.  I am close to the breaking point and I will probably get one in some not-too-distant future*, but I'm not there yet. 


Reason number two:  I am a filthy person


Rejoice those of you whose houses are less than perfectly clean.  If you wonder whether your place is the filthiest spot in the world, stop.  Whatever mess you have on your hands, my mess is certainly bigger. 

99% of the time I am also blissfully not bothered by any of it.  Some people in my life are (you should just hear the lectures my Tidy Sister gives me from time to time) but luckily, I don't share a house with any of them.  My precious Other Half is wonderfully compatible with me in the mess department, so we're living happily ever after in our merry pigsty.  Just don't ask me how long ago my sheets were changed**.

So far so good, but when it comes to taking pictures...  Let's say I'm not too eager to broadcast my mess to the world and when I need some images, I have to either go outside or clean at least the part of the room that is going to be in the shot.  If you know anything about Irish weather, you will know that it hardly ever agrees to outdoor photo shoots and while sometimes I'm vigorous enough to tidy up, too often the combination of cleaning and fighting my camera proves too much for me and I simply give up. 

That, my dears, pretty much explains why my blog posts are so scarce.  Things may change from now on. 

You see, I used to think that a blog post is supposed to consist of many pictures and little text.  That's what all the 'experts' out there are advising, and knowing the media-rich environment we are living in, they are probably right.  Did I mention that I'm feeling rebellious today?  Screw the experts!  Writing comes to me much, much, MUCH easier than taking pictures.  Why on Earth should I torment myself when blogging can actually be pleasant?  If, as a consequence, Stitchsmart will not end up as The Greatest Blog There Ever Was, I can take it. 

I am strengthened in this resolution by a recent development that brings a lot of mirth to my grey existence nowadays.  You see, I've discovered Yarn Harlot.  I'm pretty sure I've stumbled upon her blog before, but for some inexplicable reasons I didn't linger.  The mistake rectified, I've been reading her archives for the last couple of days (yes!  All 10+ years of it!) and laughing myself silly in the process.  I love this woman!  If, by some unimaginable train of events, you haven't discovered Stephanie's chronicles yet, go there now!  You'll thank me later.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised how much pleasure reading her posts gave me.  'Reading' is the key word here.  Not that there are no pics in the Yarn Harlot world.  There are many, and nice ones too, but the blog is word rich and I loved it.  Loved it!  I can't say I forgot how I liked reading because that's impossible, but I did forget that blogs can be read as well as looked at.  The revelation of it!  Oh, the joy! 

So, here's some announcements.  I'm going to steer Stitchsmart in a slightly different direction from now on (and I only hope that my resolution holds and lack of pictures will not reveal itself as an excuse NOT to blog...).  I'm still going to fight the fights and try to get as many images as I can squeeze out of my dying camera, but I am also going to write more.  I may not torment you with long and pic-free posts (as today's) too often, but they will happen from time to time.  The whole re-vamping may result in more posts - I hope it counts as good news.  I will certainly result in this much happiness for me and for that alone it's worth it. 

Oh, if you're wondering about knitting...  Things are happening.  The Ardrum Scarf is finished (although unblocked) and I'm hoping like hell that the transformative powers of blocking on lace have not been exaggerated.  I may not have got back to my usual crafting frenzy, but (touch wood) the knitting block seems to be over and I'm back in business, halfway through the gloriously red aran sweater.  I've designed it up to the armpits, I'll figure out what to do next once I get there.  Not too long now...

I might even snap some pictures and post them here soon.


* As if I could afford it, hahahaha!

**  Seriously.  Don't.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

In Defence of Acrylic Yarn

I have attempted this topic once before, for a different publishing platform, but I grew too heated in my arguments and the article was scrapped before publication.  I'll try to keep it polite this time, but I feel quite strongly about some aspects of the subject so please let me apologise in advance if I ruffle some feathers. 

From what I observed, for most of the knitting community 'acrylic' seems to be a dirty word.  Hardly any patterns specify acrylic yarn as suggested material (some baby knits excepted).  'Anything but acrylic' appears to be the obligatory answer when you're asked which yarn is your favourite.  In general, knitting with synthetic fibre is a crime akin to farting in a ballroom - you may not be jailed for it, but it's certainly not something that happens in a polite society. 

acrylic yarn

Well, I've always had a soft spot for the underdog and I have to confess that I'm often irked by such attitudes.  While acrylic does have some disadvantages, it also has many qualities that more than make up for it.  A knitting book (the title of which I cannot recall just now) once described it as 'low in snob value' and I think this explains perfectly why synthetics are shunned and also, perhaps, why I like them so much. 

Because, let me say it loud and proud, I love acrylic yarn!  Ok, maybe love is too strong a word but I certainly can see nothing wrong with it.  Some 80% of yarn in my stash is non-natural and I intend to keep it this way.  Why?  A couple of reasons.

1.  Ease of washing

This is the big one.  Since I tore my hands bloody many years ago in a washing machine-less student accommodation, I get pissed off when I even think of hand washing.  Why, then, would I want to keep on making clothes that can only be cleaned this way?  I throw my acrylic sweaters to the washing machine, spin the hell out of them and voila, the job is done.  By the way, did I mention that acrylic fibre dries really, really fast?  And doesn't felt?

acrylic sweater

2.  No need to block

I may not hate blocking, but I don't exactly love it, either.  Acrylic does not need blocking, just the opposite - heat blocking may destroy it.  Off the needles = ready to wear.

3.  Softness

Hair shirts may have been in vogue back in the medieval times, but we've moved on since then.  I can't think of any reason why I would want to spend time making a garment that I could not comfortably wear afterwards.  Obviously, you can have soft natural fibres - fair play there - but I've seen wools that I would not dress my worst enemy in.  So what if it's natural when it's also unwearable?  Acrylics - especially baby acrylics - are almost universally soft and smooth.

4.  Price

I am very against turning knitting into budget-breaking, elite hobby.  Let's be frank - natural fibres are waaaaaaaay more expensive than acrylics.  Sure, I get that hand dying and spinning are work intensive, time consuming crafts.  I'm happy for those who manage to stay afloat in the business and I wish them many loaded, snobbish clients.  In the meantime, can I have my yarn with low price tag, please? 

acrylic yarn

I could probably think of a few more arguments in defense of the humble acrylic, but this post is already too wordy for comfort.  I hope I managed to convince you that synthetics are not quite as bad as the rumour would have it. 

If you disagree, feel free to voice off in the comments. 

Friday 21 November 2014

Socks No. 3 and Knitting Block

Remember the Hermione's Everyday Socks I wrote about in the last post?  Well, they are all done and have been done for a couple of weeks now.

knitted socks

The lace shawl is almost finished too.  I only have to knit up the edging at the end and graft the remaining stitches.  Normally I would estimate this to be a 1-2 day job, but the world got a bit crazy and now I suspect it might be a while before I'm done with the thing. 

You see, I'm suffering from a stress-related knitting block.  There's a housing revolution on the horizon.  My 'lovely' landlord renewed our lease for another year, then three weeks later announced that he's selling the place and we will have to move out at some unspecified date.  Just after I finished planting all the flower bulbs for the spring!  We're having crowds of strangers 'viewing' the place and the whole situation plays merry hell with my sense of privacy and security.  I'm a total worrier and my mind keeps tormenting me with all kinds of scary scenarios.  As a result, I found myself unable to even touch knitting needles since the bomb dropped.  It's funny, knitting is supposed to relax people but I feel almost physical repulsion when I as much as think of sitting down with some yarn.  Do you guys ever react this way or is it just me? 

I suppose I will be able to get back to some straightforward projects as I get accustomed to the situation but my creativity is dead and buried until things get sorted out.  I'm truly pissed off about this because I was just about to start designing an aran sweater.

Life, eh? 

Monday 27 October 2014

Knitting on two fronts

Contrary to my usual habit, I'm working on two projects at the moment.

The first is the result of my recent obsession with Shetland lace.  I saw this video...


...and fell in love both with the northern accent and the fine knitting.

I don't wear scarves or shawls but luckily, my sister does.  The pattern I chose - Ardrum Scarf - may not be 100% authentic Shetland but it's free and it's close enough to what I wanted.  I forked some serious cash out (I could have two sweaters' worth of acrylic for the price of two lace skeins) and ordered this beauty:


It's a lace weight mixture of wool and silk and it will be a bitch to wash but my oh my, isn't it smooth!

I'm some 1/10th into the scarf.  It knits nicely and requires no particular skill, although it DOES require constant attention.  I mean it, brain on 100% focus all the time.  I still have a premonition that I will make a mistake at some stage, focus or not.

Anyway, here's my progress so far:


Of course it looks all crumpled up at the moment, lace needs blocking to reveal all its glory.  A picture against the light shows some of the lacy texture, but even so there's not much to show off with, not yet.


With such a complicated knit on the needles, I needed something simple for mindless knitting when there are too many distractions around.  I still have oodles of sock yarn so I cast on for Everyday Hermione's Socks.  I'm resizing for 60 stitches - I did start with specified 64 but the sock looked huge and I had to rip it all up - but even with the mods it is a very straightforward knit.  I'll be starting the heel flap any minute now.


I'm itching to finish those projects as soon as I can because I want to make a nice, warm sweater and I'm NOT going to cast on a third project to be worked simultaneously.  Realistically though, it will be some more weeks before the scarf is done so I'll probably have my sweater in December, if that.  Oh well...

Monday 20 October 2014

A Bagful of Yarn

I don't know about you but around here getting the car through a technical inspection is a cause for celebration.  Since my Other Half did all the repairs himself (I'm! So! Proud!), we still had some car money left - rather than giving it all away to assorted mechanics - and I was able to treat myself to a bag full of yarn.

a bag full of yarn

The bag contains enough fibre for two sweaters, which chimes nicely with the changing season.  It's bloody cold around here, y'know?  The gloriously red aran should be just the thing to remedy this. 

red aran yarn

Believe me, the image does not do the colour justice.

I'm not a massive fan of aran sweaters but recently I've come across a few nice patterns that I can actually picture myself wearing.  Plus, I've had a curious, aran-themed interaction with a local knitwear supplier which may have (and didn't) resulted in a commission, so I thought it best to be prepared.

You see, I live near Galway and a stone's throw away from Aran Islands themselves.  THE Aran Islands.  There are plenty of tourist-oriented knitwear shops nearby and they inevitably attract my yarnie interest.  I'll leave a detailed analysis for another day, suffice to say that I've come across an interview with one of the local entrepreneurs where the lady (which shall not be named) complained bitterly of advanced age of her knitters.  Aran knitting, she claimed, is a dying art so hurry up and buy your sweater!  Always ready to help out, I emailed the lady and offered my services.  It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, partly motivated by genuine interest and partly a test of her sincerity.  I even offered to knit her a sample garment - hence the yarn. 

The lady never got back to me, so I guess aran knitters are not so scarce after all and the aran yarn I bought will be warming my own back, eventually.

The other yarn is some very soft, very fine acrylic, the same stuff that I used for my opera gloves a while ago.

white acrylic yarn

I got my hands on a copy of Alice Starmore's Tudor Roses book and I fell hopelessly in love with the Elizabeth I pattern.  Seriously, I HAVE TO have this pullover.  My yarn is rather finer than specified and Ravellers warn that the pattern needs some serious mods so I predict a long tech editing session before any knitting begins.  I'll get there eventually.  Possibly next summer, or one after that, but I will have this sweater.  

In other news, the Puppy is as always extremely interested in all my activities, including the photo session.

border collie close up

She's over a year old now, so technically not a puppy anymore, but tell me one thing - doesn't she model like a pro?

Happy knitting, guys!

Saturday 11 October 2014

Socks happen

I'm proud to announce that my first ever pair of socks is finished!

So is the second, actually, and the third pair is already on the needles - it seems that knitting socks really is addictive.

The first pair I did was for myself - I figured that if sock knitting turns out trickier than expected, I should be the one to wear the imperfect results of my efforts.  No need to worry, really.  The first few rounds on DPNs were a bit awkward, but after ten minutes or so I got back up to my usual speed.  A week later I had this:

knitted socks

Rather nice, don't you think?

And I DID knit two of them - here's proof:

knitted socks

I knitted from a pattern (see details at the end of this post), and a very simple one, too.  I needed to understand how a sock is constructed so I could design my own in the future.  I think I cracked it, but I am yet to test this theory. 

My second pair of socks was destined for my Other Half, and as per his request, I used the same pattern again, only somewhat bigger and in more manly colours. 

While he was quite happy with the socks, at first he flatly refused to model for images so I thought I'll be reduced to rather crappy photos on the washing line...

knitted socks

In the end, though, he relented and let me borrow one of his feet for a photo shoot.

knitted socks

Much better!


knitted socks

I had some problems with the second sock syndrome, mainly because both yarns were cut and knotted - a disaster in self-striping yarn!  It's almost impossible to accurately estimate where exactly the thread has been cut and to rejoin it so colour progression is not disturbed.  In consequence, neither pair is exactly identical.  I don't much care with household knitting, but if this was a commission or a gift, I would have been seriously pissed.  It wasn't the cheapest yarn, too, which only proves to me once again that more expensive does not always mean better. 

I will update soon with my works in progress (yes, works!  I finally broke the old habit and cast on two projects at once!): the aforementioned socks no. 3 and a gorgeous lace shawl I've decided to tackle as a result of my recent obsession with Shetland lace.  Also, there is a bagful of new, beautiful yarn waiting to be photographed and bragged about, and a new FO that was gifted away but the new owner promised to produce some nice pictures for me.  Check back soon!

PATTERN:

Nice Ribbed Socks by Glenna C.  A simple yet effective knitting pattern, it is very well written, easy to follow and FREE.  Glenna's blog, by the way, is also worth recommending - my knitting-related reading list is relatively short, but she's made the selection. 

Monday 22 September 2014

Sock Yarn Bonanza

Over the last 6 months or so, I had been dying for sock yarn.  I've never made socks in my life but I so wanted to learn!  Besides, I was tired of DK weight yarn and eager to try something new. 

Unfortunately, no matter how strong the need, facts were against me:

- I was going through a tight spell financially, and sock yarn tends to be rather costly

- even if I had the money, the selection in my  LYS is rather poor.

To get around these obstacles, I first tried to recruit my Mum's help.  She lives in Poland, so she has access to some rather attractively priced fibres.  After a few weeks, my package arrived:

sock yarn

This is cotton/polyester blend.  It should be great for warm weather lacy socks.  I'm also tempted to turn the coral red skeins (I've got three) into a little pullover...  We'll see how it goes.

Some more time passed and I finally had extra money for yarn shopping.  I raced to my LYS and bought this lovely thing:

sock yarn

As you can see, I'm already swatching for gauge.  The yarn is a very posh mixture of superwash wool with a tiny bit of synthetic fibre added for durability.  It costs almost 10 euros/100 g, so it's pretty expensive in my book, but this is what you can usually expect to pay for sock yarn around here. 

Unless, of course, you find a yarn sale.  Sometimes I have to travel for work and when I do, I never miss the chance to check out local craft shops.  This baby...

sock yarn

...was a steal at 5 euros/100g and it's destined to become socks for my Better Half.  He's not particularly enthusiastic about the idea, but I bet I'll be able to turn him around.  Or else...

Anyway, soon after that trip I found even better bargain.  A discounter in my area got some yarn in stock and after seeing their rock bottom prices (2.50 euros/100g) I went haywire and bought a kilogram of delicious, fingering weight wool/polyamide mix:

sock yarn

AND I might acquire some more - if only there's anything left...

I can definitely say that my hunger for sock yarn is temporarily satisfied.  I am a proud owner of 1.7 kg of suitable fibre.  Now the only thing left is to knit all those socks...

Friday 19 September 2014

3 piece set and pricing commissions

Recently a friend of mine showed me this picture and asked:

'Can you make this?'

'Sure, why not?'

I puzzled over the pattern for a few days and once I thought I had it figured out, I bought some super-soft acrylic yarn and set to work.  After a week of leisurely paced knitting, I had this:

3 piece knitted toddler set

Colours were slightly changed as per my friend's request, but otherwise I think I got it pretty close, don't you?

I was promised pictures on a live model but they are slow to materialise, so for now I only have flat (and not so great - apologies!) shots.  I'll be sure to post the pics here as soon as they arrive, and believe you me, the little girl looks adorable in her new clothes!

Flower on the hat is stitched on permanently...

knitted toddler hat

...but the rest are only tied on, so they can be moved around.  On poncho, I placed them to hide the seam but they might look even better elsewhere.

knitted toddler poncho

It was my very first attempt at a triangular shawl and as you can see, I don't yet have full control over the angles :).  I didn't bother with writing a chart, I just improvised all the way.  To a degree, the shape was forced by the stitch pattern but there might be a way to get around it.  I quite like the irregular look though, so fighting geometry will be left for another day.

knitted toddler shawl

The set was such a success, that I almost got a commission to make another one.  Almost, because eventually the project fell apart over price.  I requested 35 euros (around 6 of which I would have to spend on materials) and to tell you the truth, I think it's a very lousy pay for three days of fairly intensive knitting.  Yet, my prospective client was not prepared to accept the price tag. 

Not that I'm terribly heartbroken.  Knitting the same pattern twice is boring and 30 euro one way or another doesn't make any difference to my budget.  Still, the whole situation got me thinking.  Is it even possible these days to make money knitting?  With workers in Asian sweatshops churning pieces out for pennies and general public simply not giving a crap?  I'm inclined to say 'no', but perhaps you have different experiences?  Please share!

PATTERN:

Improvised from the picture found online (see link above).

Sunday 3 August 2014

Fingerless opera gloves

When I wondered whether or not to start a knitting blog, I seriously worried that I won't have enough projects to write about.  I shouldn't have.  Turns out I have an ever-shifting though never-shortening queue of FOs to present.  There are three or four designs from before the blog was born that I would like to show you, but how am I to do this when I also have a permanent backlog of at least two recent works?

Oh boy, I wish all my problems were of this caliber... :)  Anyway, here's another fresh creation:  fingerless opera gloves.

fingerless opera gloves

Made to order, they were practically built around the future owner's hand.  Some ripping was inevitable, but not too much and once the first glove was finished, it was a matter of simple copying to complete the pair.  A satisfying little design, with the result turning out even better than I expected.

fingerless opera gloves

I wanted a really snug fit, so the gloves are crocheted in the round only from fingers to wrist, higher up I worked flat, adding snap fasteners along the edges.  Very sophisticated.

fingerless opera gloves

You can't exactly see the opening on pictures, and this is because this time I managed to push the unpleasant duty of photographing my FO onto somebody else.  My victim helpful friend is skilled in the art of taking nice snaps, with pretty props etc., but not a yarnoholic herself so construction details that I find really clever did not catch her eye (or lens).  Since I'm not turning this design into a publishable pattern, I figure it's ok if my pics are little vague.

PATTERN:

I really liked these gloves on Etsy*, so I borrowed the stitch and improvised my own construction.  Does this make the pattern mine?  I'm not quite sure.  What do you think, guys? 

* I was going to post a link here to the specific listing, but I can't find it anymore even though I trawled through ALL crochet lace gloves on the site.   It must have been sold, or de-listed.  Instead, here's a link to the original picture reposted elsewhere.  

Sunday 27 July 2014

Finished! - Mayabee, or Once More With Feeling

Just one last toddler knit and I'm done for a while.  That is, the string of July birthdays is over, but it looks like there are a few commissions headed my way so I'd better not call it a day before the sun sets... 

Anyway, here's my toddler pullover no. 2, Mayabee.


I'm quite proud of it, you know?  It turned out even prettier than I ever thought it would.  Textured fabric is quite decorative in itself, braids on sleeves and all, but it's the hood that really makes the piece this time. 

It was my first time knitting a hood and I was a little anxious.  No need - hoods are easy!  I loosely followed an excellent tutorial found here, improvised a little and voila!  My hood even has a pompom...


...and a tiny lacy pattern where I had to increase for depth. 


The best news of all, Mayabee fits its owner almost perfectly (sleeves could be a little wider towards the shoulder, but I'll correct for this if/when I publish the pattern).  It looks adorable on the little girl it went to;  I might convince the parents to lend me a shot or two for the blog.  Check back in a while :)

PATTERN:

My own. 

It is sized for a one year old, but one of the commissions mentioned above is for a two year old version.  I'm not confident enough of my pattern-writing skills just yet, but please let me know if you would like to see instructions for Mayabee released into the world :).

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Finished! - Verca

As mentioned before, July is a Month of Small Knits for me.  Another soon-to-be birthday girl, another toddler garment.  This time a pullover, named after the future owner.

knitted pullover for a toddler

The pattern is really simple, no armhole shaping and only a few gentle decreases on sleeves.  I'm sure even a complete beginner will fly through it with no difficulty.

Pieces are worked separately on straight 5 mm needles and stitched up afterwards.  I used acrylic self-striping yarn, DK weight.  By pure chance I achieved colour symmetry - stripes on front and back are a perfect match, sleeves identical.

knitted pullover for a toddler

Both front and back are worked in a neat, square grid stitch, with a garter stitch border.  Back is a bit wider than the front, hence the trapezoid neckline.  Sleeves are simple stockinette with border to match the body.

knitted pullover for a toddler

Surprise, surprise, I've finished the sweater off with crochet flowers.  Yes, I know, it gets monotonous.  I am through with the crochet flower binge though and you won't be seeing them here for another while. 

Neck opening is edged with a simple crochet stitch, with a button added on each side.

knitted pullover for a toddler

As you can see, my puppy is always eager to assist in the photo shoot!

knitted pullover for a toddler

One more toddler knit coming soon:  a textured hoodie for a one year old. 

PATTERN:

My own (with the exception of crochet flowers). 

The Verca pullover will be gifted away in another week or so and if it turns out that I achieved a reasonable fit, I will share the pattern here, for free.

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Quick knits - Crochet Football

With the World Cup final only days away (and wasn't that a mighty trash that Germany treated Brazil to today!), I feel I'm just in time to present my new-ish creation:


A quick knit, planned as a back-up present in case Poppy Girl didn't fit, it took only two days to crochet.  Made entirely from acrylic DK yarn, it is composed of 20 hexagons and 12 smaller pentagons, stretched over a shop-bought rubber ball.  Initially I planned to fill the ball with toy stuffing instead, but I would never achieve such neat tension, and now it bounces, too!


One more picture, this time taken with borrowed, ultra high resolution camera:


Despite my efforts, colours came out a bit funny on all my pics for which I apologise.  In reality, the ball is a combination of very warm shades of yellow and brown (think: sunflowers), accented with bright red thread.

It was enthusiastically received by the Birthday Girl, along with Poppy Girl, which fitted just fine.  BTW, I DID fix those curling shoulder straps in the end.  It took a bit over an hour and I did not enjoy the process much, but I feel it saved the knit.  The devil's in the detail!


One more thing:  apparently, if you are two, footballs are really cool to sit on and I have a picture to prove it :)


PATTERN:

Found online, here.  It is written in Russian, but includes a schematic so it can be worked with even if you can't read the language.



Wednesday 2 July 2014

Quick knits - Mary Jane slippers

Sometimes crafting is an inspired creative frenzy, at other times it's strictly practical. 

Ryanair is not known for generosity*, so when my new favourite model, W., arrived to stay with us, she carried only limited amount of luggage.  Slippers, deemed essential post factum, stayed at home.

We seldom entertain, so we don't have a stash of guest slippers waiting at the ready.  I could, of course, drive twenty kilometres to a nearest shonky shop and buy something made in China, but I chose a different approach. 

I dug up my trusty crochet hook and after only a day, these were ready:


Custom made, so they fit perfectly.  Colour, pattern, every detail - exactly as requested by the future owner. Money spent:  zero, because I used odds and ends from my stash.  Petrol burned - none.


It might be a little thing, but this small victory against consumerism really made me happy.


To tell you the truth, I like them so much that although I am not a slipper person, I will probably whip up a pair for myself at some stage :)

PATTERN:

Found online, here.  A fantastic, step-by-step tutorial included, so big thanks to the author.

* If you haven't yet seen this video about joys of flying Ryanair, watch it NOW.  Hilarious!