Autumn on the Mountain

My oh my, doesn't the time fly!  Can you believe it's almost Halloween?  Only a second ago I looked through my window and saw this...

...and now?  See for yourself:

I'm manipulating the evidence here, but only slightly.  The pictures were taken no more than a few weeks apart. The ugly one, however, IS from today.  What you see is not fog, not exactly - I'm in the centre of a %&*#^% cloud!  It happens a lot around here, because of the elevation: the clouds just can't be bothered to lift their lazy backsides over the mountain so they hug the ground instead, enveloping us in the grey wetness.  The effect, when you go outside, is curious - like rain, but stationary.  The droplets don't fall, they hang in the air, so you crash into them as you walk through, not the other way round. 

Usually I hate being all Pollyanna about things but at times like this it's either this or crying the afternoon away.  A lightless, dripping day outside?  Brilliant!  PERFECT knitting conditions.  Let's grab some needles and talk yarn stuff. 

Last time I was here, I was working on a pair of Owlies for my Sister's birthday.  Here they are, all done:

I fell in love with the owl cable and with adding beads to knitwear, so I went on knitting and improvised a matching pair of fingerless mitts.

The package still felt little light, so I added something else to the bunch:

This fella is King Cole's Tinsel Hedgehog, if you were wondering.  I'm not a big fan of glitter, so I chose a down-to-earth colour for his fur but otherwise I followed the pattern as written.  A very pleasant pattern it is too, quick and simple, perfect for a last minute gift. 

Next up - Indian Feathers shawl.

As you can see, I'm still under the beading spell.  I *blush* may have bought a *more blushing* rather substantial amount of size 6/0 beads, so this probably isn't the last word on the matter...

I'm uncomfortably between projects right now.  There's enough yarn in the stash to last me a decade, but after a few days wasted browsing through patterns, I'm still undecided.  Something biggish is on my mind, a jacket perhaps, but whatever design I look at, there's something not quite right.  The fit is not 'mine'.  The gauge is all wonky.  The 'wow factor' is just not there.  I rather feel like mindless knitting just now but I fear I'll end up designing something from scratch.  I've been lazily swatching today, trying out various pretty stitches, thinking the pattern up.  We'll see if the idea ever becomes solid enough to be born as a garment;  keep your fingers crossed, will ya?

I can't sign off without introducing you to the newest member of our household.  She's nameless as yet and disarmingly cute:

Any ideas for a decent rabbit name?

A triple 'ta-dah!'

Oh boy, don't I have things to show you!  I've been knitting like a demon recently and I have a small pile of Finished Objects to present.  Well ok, maybe two pairs of socks and a shawl don't exactly constitute a pile, but still - considering I've knit them within a week or so, it's decent results, no?

Number 1 - Vestigial Socks by Beata Jezek

Nice, eh?  I loved the pattern, so straightforward, so quick to knit up, so lovely.  Highly recommended.  In fact, I HAVE recommended it to my newly found knitting friends and one of them already has a Vestigial Sock on her needles :)

Number 2 - Aylesbury Shawl

Lo and behold, another shawl done and dusted.  To be honest, it's a shawlette rather than a shawl, it eats up around 400m of yarn and can be knit in three days from start to finish, average knitting speed.

A lovely little pattern;  I was halfway through before I realised it was designed by Aisling M. Doonan, whose Ardrum Scarf I've knit a while back.  A quick browse through Ravelry revealed that there are quite a few knitworthy (and free!) designs in her collection so if you're into lace, do check her out. 

It's lace on garter stitch background, therefore details of the pattern can be a little hard to make out.  On the plus side, it stays flat.  Really, really flat, without the slightest inclination to curl anywhere and you have no idea how much I appreciate this.  Hatred of curling edges in knitting is one of my (completely irrational) quirks. 

Number 3 - Foot Ovens, or my variation on the theme

A simple design by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (known also as the Yarn Harlot - in the unlikely event of anyone not recognising the name).  Originally written for chunky alpaca, I made my pair out of aran weight acrylic and it worked just fine.  I had to fiddle with the numbers a bit of course, but there are few patterns where I don't.

The best part?  A pair can be whipped up in a day or two.  That's size large, too.

So, what do you think?  Not too shabby for a week of work? 

Let's hope the productive stretch continues for another while.  I have Owlies on the needles now - I saw the pattern yesterday evening and could hardly sleep at night from the desire to cast them on.  It's my first time beading, too.  By a total coincidence (synchronicity???), I found a teeny tiny crochet hook in my hardware tin, so I'm all ready to go. 

I'll keep you posted.
 

Borderline scratchy

Just as promised, let me present another shawl, fresh off the needles.  Here's Danielle:

Oops, sorry about that!  The Puppy likes Danielle too, take your eyes off for a second and she'll install herself right on top of the lace, without any regard for its fragility. 

Let's try again.  Danielle, in all of its (block-in-progress) glory:

Right, I know pictures are rather unimpressive so far, but would you be eager for an outdoor photo shoot when the outdoor looks like this?

I didn't think so.  Wait for the weather to clear, you might say, but with Ireland experiencing the worst summer in decades, this could be quite a wait.  A pretty detail will have to do:

A quick knit, simple and lovely (free!) pattern.  About a week from start to finish, with a logical, easy to memorize chart.  Unless I'm very much mistaken (which could happen, but Ravelry notes confirm my version), one line in chart 5 is off by 1 stitch (per side)*.  Easy enough to rectify, just add one stitch near the beginning and the end of the offending row and from there it's smooth sailing. 

Yarn:  30% mohair, 20% wool, 50% acrylic, 350m/50g.  I ordered it specifically for Danielle - I couldn't imagine so leafy a shawl in colour other than green - and while I love the shade, I'm slightly disappointed by how the yarn feels against the skin.  I'd call it borderline scratchy - not quite unpleasant, but definitely not smooth and soft.  That's natural fibres for you, I'm afraid.  This particular yarn is not too bad, but I've seen (touched!) wools you could flay someone with. 

Just something to think about, before you order online :)

* I'm sorry, I forgot to write down exactly which line has the mistake.  Now I'm not 100% sure anymore and I don't want to mislead you.  You'll see it when you get there :)  

Alone no more and a brand new shawl

Despite silence on the blog, a lot is happening in my little knitterly world.  Turns out there are knitters - and even spinners! - on my mountain.  While spending time with other people is not the easiest thing in the world for the introvert me, it is really good to meet someone who gets this whole knitting thing.  I'm more used to the look of friendly incomprehension from the general public and while I don't hold it against anyone, it's a pleasure to experience something different. 

A lot of brainstorming takes place, and who knows where it will lead me and my new friends?  I'll let you know when anything significant emerges, for now let me share another recent creation - and why, it is another shawl, thank you so much for asking!

A very pleasant pattern by a Polish designer, Kasia Smolak, it's called Creamy Shawl and it works up in a breeze.  I think it took me about a week, maybe 10 days from start to finish, eating up around 600m of sport weight yarn (20% alpaca, 40% merino, 10% mohair, 30% acrylic).  Just imagine it wound up around your neck rather than this handsome fence post on my patio*:

It could happen, you know? The shawl may still be snatched by my sister for an upcoming wedding but if it's not, I'm putting it up for sale.  Do let me know if you're interested - my email address is contactstitchsmart(at)gmail(dot)com.  I thought I'd like to wrap myself up in something warm and pretty but in the end, it's not quite 'me'.  Off it has to go, one way or another.

What do you think about the frilly edge?  I'm inclined to block it out of existence (whether it would block out is another story), but a friend said it adds character to the piece.  Does it?  Should I try and fight this particular windmill? 

More shawls coming soon.  I'm on a roll.

* See the stormy sky in the background?   That's Irish summer for you...

One Lousy Day

I didn't finish Oceanspray in time.  I was late.  By one day.  ONE LOUSY DAY. 

The world didn't end.  Even with the surprise element spoiled, the shawl was gifted away and duly admired.  All's good.

I don't know if you can fully appreciate it from the picture, but the finished knit is HUGE.  So huge, in fact, that I had serious problems trying to block in on two single beds put together.  I never bothered to measure it but my goodness.  It's a blanket rather than a shawl. 

Just as I suspected, silk/alpaca mix is a tad too drapey to really bring out beauty of this particular pattern.  Eyelets get lost in the stockinette, but as long as the leafy border looks ok, I'm not worried.  It does look ok, doesn't it?

Puppy, as ever, insisted on joining in the photo shoot.

I am very, very happy with this pattern.  I used up 4 (and a tiny bit) x 50g skeins, 350m each.  I have another four left.  Any ideas?

Speaking of yarn, I went on a binge recently and bought a small mountain of it, mostly in lace but also some fingering in sweater quantities.  I'm told winters on my mountain get pretty ghastly, with storms and clouds enveloping the whole area.  Rowan berries are already turning red, hazelnuts are almost ripe, summer (such as it was) is on its way out. One needs to be prepared, yes?  

Hey, do you want to see a sock?

My wee orange socks are all done.  Let me present socks no. 5:

Pattern:  Simply Sweet Toe-Up Socks by Rebecca Bailey.  They are sweet indeed, and simple, even if you're attempting any of the techniques involved for the very first time.  Oh yeah, I learned a bunch of stuff with this project.  Let's see.  These are my first toe-up socks, also first time using magic loop method. 

The pattern is written out for 64 and 72 stitches and I went for the former.  If I ever knit this design again, though, I'll resize to 60 because...

That's where my toe is if I stretch the sock ever so slightly.  Despite going down from 2.75mm to 2.25mm needles, using thinnish yarn and frogging quite a lot, I ended up with socks that are simply too big.  They're wearable, but definitely not perfect.  Perhaps as an extra, to put on top of another pair? 

I'd give them away but I know neither a man who would wear those colours nor a woman with feet this large.  See, I'm size 41 so I'm guessing you'd need a foot size 43-44 to have these fit comfortably.  Oh well, lesson learned.  If your sock looks massive when you're knitting it, it will most likely stay this way when you're done and NOT FIT YOU.  Who would've thought...

On needles these days - Oceanspray.  I've barely begun and already had to frog a day's worth of knitting because I spotted a forgotten yarnover 20 rows on.  Depending on how you want to view it (glass half-full of half-empty kind of choice), this either doesn't bode well for the future or used up my quota of mistakes for this project and guarantees success.

Luckily, I'm loving the yarn.  Silk and baby alpaca, what's not to love?  It'll probably be a nightmare to care for but my goodness, isn't that thing soft! 

Stay tuned for updates!

Iris

Iris - finished and photographed.

I am slightly disappointed with the result.  It's not that there's something wrong with the design, it's just that I imagined it would look different.  It's too narrow, for one.  I should've noticed before I knit almost two running metres of the thing, shouldn't I?  I thought blocking will make all the difference.  It did not. 

Also, edges curl which narrows the shawl even further and pisses me off to no end because I really don't like the look. 

Pictures taken on a really windy day:

I tried to anchor the shawl to various pieces of greenery to stop it from moving around...

...and in the process discovered that it is almost exactly the shade of red clover:

I may be a crappy photographer, but I have the coolest props:

Chicks hatched between Wednesday and Friday in a dramatic - if slow - process that kept me glued to the incubator for most of the time.  7 out of 10 hatched successfully, which is a decent result for first time breeders, isn't it?  The last two really struggled to get out of their shells, getting stuck for hours halfway through the unzipping stage.  Eventually we helped them a bit and I'm pretty sure this saved their lives. 

You have no idea how fervently I hoped that the little fella wouldn't go to toilet on my scarf...

Mission (almost) accomplished

Sometimes I am almost willing to admit that I do not lack self-discipline*.  Remember my three WIPs from recent entries?

NO. 1 - FINISHED!!!!!!**

Finished, blocked, done, almost forgotten about.  Not my favourite project in the world, although I'm reasonably satisfied as to how it turned out in the end. 

Lace-up sides result solely from my impeccable fashion sense and have nothing to do with any sizing problems, nothing what-so-ever.

They DO look nice though, don't they? 

PATTERN: my own improvisation, 100% cotton, +/- 300g, 3 mm crochet hook.  I don't like it enough to give it a proper name. 

NO. 2 - FINISHED

Believe it or not, my knitting mojo held and I finished Iris a good few days ago.  It's stretched for blocking now, waiting for any half-decent weather that would allow me to snap some pics. 

BTW, I almost ruined the shawl at the very last step.  A new (to me) bind off technique, described in a tutorial as stretchy and perfect for lace, turned out to create an edge that is very beautiful and...  completely inelastic.  It is also impossible to undo without destroying the yarn so now it's either some very complicated knitting surgery on lace yarn or ignoring the problem and letting it stay as is.  Bound off edge in this particular project is short, so it doesn't look quite so bad.  I think it will pass muster, but only just.  In the end, no harm done, but my joy at finishing the knit is tainted. 

NO. 3 - 90% done. 

On hold for 24-48 hours.  Not my fault.  Too boring to explain. 

Anyway, I'm damn proud of myself.  I really, really, really felt like ditching all those WIPs and starting something new.  I deserve a medal.  Or a cake.

Or a teeny, tiny, super quick sock...

* Do not ask me about cleaning, though.  Or sweets.  Somehow my self-discipline never stretches that far.
** Relief directly proportional to the number of exclamation marks

Shawls, shawls, shawls

They say that good things come to those who wait and once in a while this is exactly what happens. 

I knit a shawl for my sister's birthday back in September last year, and another one to put under her Christmas tree.  I happily posted them off to her address, together with a request to take some pictures for my blog when convenient.  It took a while (could it be that hatred of photography runs in my family?), but the pics are finally here and they are gorgeous!  You will have plenty of opportunity to see for yourself, because for once I'm going to publish a picture-heavy post :)

Without much further ado, here's shawl no. 1:

This is Krokus by Sue Berg, although to be honest, for some reason mine looks somewhat different than the original.  'Some reason' should probably be replaced by 'me not bothering to read the pattern properly' but nevermind, I'm happy enough with my version (and so is my sister!).

It was a lovely, speedy project and I was surprised by how much fun I had working on it.  The whole thing was ready in four days or so and, if my memory serves, consumed a little less than 100 g of fingering weight yarn. 

While not particularly big, it is very versatile.  You can wear it like this:

Or like this:

How about this styling?

Who says shawls have to be worn on your neck?

The other shawl was a bit more fiddly and time-consuming.  Think 'weeks' rather than 'days'.  You've already had some sneak previews (here or here), but now you can see my version of Ardrum Scarf in all of its modelled glory:

I admit, some weeks into the knit I was mightily sick of the pattern.  It's pretty monotonous and seemingly endless, especially when you're in the middle of the project.  Take a look at the detail, though.  It's 100% worth the effort!

Edging is knit at the same time as the body, which saves you from multi-hundred-stitch rounds at the end.

I used some very posh, wool/silk blend yarn.  Being the yarn plebeian that I am, I can't say I'm completely in love with it.  Efficient, yes.  This massive shawl used up just a tiny bit over one (100g) skein.  The fibre is smooth and soft, but it's also a real bitch to knit.  I had to watch my hands constantly to ensure the yarn doesn't split and in general working with it was less joy than I thought it should be. 

Admittedly, the drape in this piece is wonderful and probably worth the occasional curse when the yarn was misbehaving.

 

I worried that the needles I used (2.5 mm) were too small.  What do you think?

Regardless of how stunning it looks, turns out lace knitting is not my favourite technique.  Not with lace weight yarn, anyway.  Lace details worked into a pullover - sure, but scarves or wraps in what is essentially a thread - waaaay too boring.

Having said that, guess what I'm working on at the moment? 

After all, I have two sisters and an almost untouched skein of lace weight to use up...

More details coming soon.

A story of one unexpected hat

I don't do hats and that's a rule.  I grew up in a place with proper winters and as a child I was forced to wear one.  It was an endless source of arguments with my parents, and I have quite a lot of unpleasant hat-related memories.  To add insult to injury, my head is massive and finding a hat to flatter is almost impossible. 

Having said all that, here is my brand new creation:

Yeah, I know.  When it comes to rules, I'm a sticker, aren't I? 

To be quite serious, I don't know how much wear this hat is going to get, but I simply had to make it.  Serendipity works like this sometimes, at least with me.  I get an idea, however improbable, and I can't get it out of my head.  The pattern writes itself in my mind, almost as if it grew there on its own rather than being in any way created.  It started with me wondering what to do with sizable Amaryllis leftovers and hey presto, the Unexpected Hat is the result.

Initially it was to be a brimless, slouchy beanie, but once I had knit enough to try it on I realised that brimless hats make me look like a total moron.  I was this close to ripping the whole thing up!  Fortunately, I decided to try the rolled up look and it wasn't quite as bad.  I still don't qualify for a magazine cover but at least I can wear it in public. 

The question is - should I add a pom pom?

I thought my Puppy might be a better model than me, but getting her to stay still for more than a second is a bit tricky.  Still, she's cute, ain't she?

Pattern:

My own.  5 mm needles, circular, aran weight yarn.