Peachy Slouchy Gansey Legwarmers

As soon as I picked up the newest Interweave Knits Weekend, I knew I had to make the Gansey Legwarmers by Courtney Kelley. I headed over to Knit-A-Way, chose a burnt orange alpaca blend (Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light) and cast on! They actually took me a long time to knit, but then again, I figure they are almost the size of two pairs of socks! So maybe I'm not that slow after all. In any case, they turned out wonderfully and I can't wait to wear them!

Silken Mittens for Fall






After a relatively unproductive summer, I hit the ground running for Fall. And then stalled. This past weekend I completed a pair of mittens (Celtic Moonrise Mitts in Alchemy Kosmos) that had intended to make 2+ years ago. I knitted all but one thumb back before I began Esther's hat, but somehow couldn't bring myself to pick them up again until now. Boy do I need them too! Just in time for the first real cold snap.

Somewhat slouchy hat for Esther!

Impressed (and somewhat jealous) of the hat I made our boss earlier in the season, Esther decided she had to have an Emily-made hat for herself! After I convinced her to choose something other than the same pattern I used for Gary, we came up with this slightly slouchy look for her. The pattern is katherine by Erin Archer (available for free on her blog). I sent Esther to Purl Soho to choose her own yarn and was so thrilled with what she chose. Firstly, the color is magnificent. The blue/purple is so rich and has so much depth to it! Secondly, its cashmere(!!!) and was soooo lovely to knit. It is called Anzula For Better or Worsted and the color is Periwinkle. Only one skein was needed.

Kitty Hats for all! (Plus some stripes!)



How could I possibly resist making more of these adorable Kitty Hats! This time though, I knit them in the round and used a three needle bind off on the crown. Muy simple!

The orange one I made with size 9 needles for Baby Ryan, just in time for his first birthday!

Tinsel & Garlands pattern now on sale!

Its been almost a year since I promised you, dear reader, that the Tinsel & Garlands pattern (blogged about as "Meg's Mountain Mitts") would be available for sale. I do apologize for the delay, but now its available! Hooray!

I have also created an email just for the knitting/blogging so feel free to contact me at 283projects@gmail.com


Tinsel & Garlands






Easy, fun and quick to knit these fingerless gloves feature a long fairisle cuff with garter stitch edges. The simple peasant thumb makes them interchangeable left and right. 

Materials:

Approximately 140 yards Worsted Weight wool in MC and 25 yards CC. 

One set US size 5 dpns or size needed to obtain gauge 

Stitch marker 

Stitch holder/waste yarn 

Gauge: 20 st by 27 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Fuzzy Rainbow Cowl

Just realized I had never posted this and I made it last year! Enjoy! 




The yarn is Three Irish Girls Vive Alpaca Silk in Aurora, a club colorway. Pattern is Drooping Elm Cowl by Doggrell Designs. 

Warm Hat for Bald Man


The aforementioned TOP SECRET project is complete! I made a fun cabled hat for my boss who was already beginning to feel the effect of Fall weather on his newly shaven head. The pattern is Knotty but Nice, the yarn Three Irish Girls Springvale Super Merino in Smoke and Mirrors (a club colorway). 

Another summer goes by with no blogs....

You may have noticed that it has been quite some time since my last blog....

What can I say...my knitting fell by the wayside for a little bit. I'm not sure how it started actually, but I do know that the nail in the coffin was this little guy, who became a part of my family on June 19th:

Oh why did I buy all that variegated yarn!?

If you're like me, you probably have way more variegated yarn that you need. They just look so nice on the shelf! But, when knit up, variegated or multicolored yarns are prone to obscuring complex patterning.  Try using a pattern with short rows and/or simple horizontal textures. My Silk Ruffle Scarf is a great example. The short-rows make more fun to knit and cooler looking, while the use of garter stitch, the most basic of all stitches, allows the yarn to be the center of focus. Also, I find that the use of texture eliminates the bad kind of pooling from my knitting, simply because it makes it less noticeable.

This week I've been working on a pair of socks in some Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock Potluck Yarn. I really liked Emily B. Miller's Crosswalker socks, but the yarn I wanted to use is more patchy than stripy so I designed a mitered sock with a simple eyelet pattern between rows of purl stitches. I find that adding the purl rows shows off the true variety of color in this yarn. 

Here are some pics. Pattern to follow in a few weeks.

Naughty, naughty Purl...

Naughty naughty Purl Soho, displaying their sale yarn with each colorway in a ziploc bag, ready to grab and go!

 :-/

Now I have so much yarn! 




Because I couldn't possibly have broken up the set...

*Sigh*

Cherry Blossom Socks! Just in time for a sunny day!

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I finished these last night and can't wait to wear them!




Also, just a note on the pattern. Because I used fewer stitches than the original I had to adjust the ribbing pattern as well. Starting with the first decrease stitch I used a pattern of K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P2, K1, P2, K1, P2. This way the first 3 "K1"s follow the line of the stitches before, between and after the yarnovers and the "P1" stitches are over the yarnovers. Here's a photo.

Isla's Kitty Cat Hat


This hat design is just the cutest thing I ever did see. It was the thing that made me buy the book, Chic Knits for Stylish Babies. BUT. And its a big BUT. This pattern is really poorly written. Let me count the ways: 

Welcome March, Welcome Cherry Blossoms!

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With the Cherry Blossom festival just a few weeks away, I've been working on some festive pink and silver socks to welcome the Spring.



The pattern is Anastasia Socks, which is available as a free download on Ravelry. I had a bit of trouble with starting each one. With the right foot my gauge was off, and then even when my gauge was right they were too big. So I started again with only 52 stitches (as opposed to 60) with 9 stitches between each spiral. Now they fit just fine! 

Tartine de Miel with Blueberry Compote (Cowl)

Two weeks ago during my usual Sunday visit to Brooklyn General Store I fell head-over-heels (needles-over-wallet???) for a bulky super soft hellomello handspun yarn. Here's what I made.   




The colors remind me of honey and blueberries. The yarn is 85% wool, 15% mohair, single-ply. I adored knitting with it. If you want to knit with it, you can purchase it on etsy.com or at Brooklyn General Store. :D

Meg's Mountain Mitts (Tinsel & Garlands Prototype)


The top-secret project is top-secret no more! I designed these fingerless gloves for my Aunt Meg. They feature a long cuff with a simple fairisle pattern, a peasant thumb (meaning theyre completely interchangeable left and right) and garter stitch edging. The thumb is long, better to keep her warm while allowing her to utilize her Blackberry.  

Un Chameau! Sur ma chaussette! (Maroc Socks continued...)

Last night I dragged out ye olde Maroc Socks. I need the needles for another project. But rather than transfer Maroc to waste yarn I decided to try and figure out where I was and continue them.

I was pretty confused by what I saw, and I couldn't find my notes on that section, but I just ran with it, didnt chart anything else and finished it! YAY! I have one Maroc Sock!

Work Shawl at Work!

I took a moment to pose with my work shawl before we closed last night. Its doing a great job of keeping me warm and so far nothing has fallen out of my pockets! I've been wrapping it around my neck so that the pockets fall at about boob level though because when I have it just draped across my back it get in the way in my tiny tiny store.  

Work Shawl of Many Colors



Yes, yes, yes, my work shawl is finally completed! 

This shawl, which is huge by the way, was quite an undertaking. The stitch pattern is easy to memorize, but there are endless endless repeats! It was an exercise in patience for me, especially all the sewing in of ends and then the sewing on of the pockets. 

Because this shawl is more or less reversible the ends needed to be woven in invisibly. To do this I split each end into two and wove them in opposite directions, some on the "right side" and some on the "wrong side." This doubled the number of ends that needed to be woven in. *sigh*

But the important thing is that I got through it, and even learned a certain zen appreciation for it. And now I have a beautiful beautiful shawl! With pockets!


Happy New Year!

Last January I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish (see Crafting Plans/goals/dreams in 2010). Looking back on this list I am pretty satisfied with the number of goals I actually met or worked on.

I've had a very productive year; I think I completed about 25 projects and have a few more that just arent done yet. I have expanded my library of reference books. I knit something from yarn I spun (see the Very Tiny Ear Warmer). On December 31st I became a card carrying member of the Knitters Guild and signed up for the Master's Program. I worked on my sewing skills when I made my Seedless Watermelon Smocked Top Dress. AND I finished the first prototype for an original design! The pattern should be ready by the end of the month!

New goals for 2011 include: