WIP Wednesday

Happy thanksgiving! Almost.

I've only got one project this week but at least it's different than usual. I pulled out the east village sweater I'm making for grandpa. I've got about 6 inches on the first sleeve (not this week, just in general). I thought I was further along but oh well. Sleeves are just the worst. I really should remember to do them first while the project is still exciting and new rather than at the end. 

WIP Wednesday

I missed last week but I've mostly just been working on the same things so it's not that much of a miss.

Finished Objects
I finally finished the Halloween Socks I was making for my mom. The pattern was nice though I don't know if I'll want to do it again soon. I'll probably do an actual cable instead of a mock cable. I also want to do some vanilla wrist warmers out of the leftover yarn to match for mom. If I start them this week I can probably finish them by Thanksgiving maybe.

Works in Progress
With the Halloween socks off my needles I put the Vanilla Latte socks back on and I'm close to finishing them, just an inch or so from the top.

I worked a little on the Titan Jacket. Slowly maybe it'll turn itself into a sweater. I like working on it, it just seems like it needs brain power to work on it so I've been gravitating more towards the socks which are mindless knitting.

Spinning
I haven't don't any spinning but I did order some beautiful wool from Into the Whirled. It's a BFL and it's pink and purple and blue. It's superwash which is always nice and hopefully it'll spin up lovely even with all of the different colors.

Wip Wednesday

I have an FO! My second Towpath Henley, this time the 3 month size. It's wearer won't be born until the end of Feb. So it will be a few months before I can get a pic of both boys wearing their matching sweaters but I can't wait for it haha.

I'm close to finishing the first sock of the vanilla latte socks. I've started the ribbing for the cuff so it probably only needs about 10 more rows (they're toe up). But I've been saving it for purse/mindless knitting because my other project has 3 charts worked concurrently.

Yes this is the same pic from last week

Which brings me to Titan Jacket. I've put a lot of time into this one this week and I went from cast on to separating for the sleeves in just a few days (I'm trying to make the most of my knitting time while I have it this week). I'm loving the cables but the pattern especially on the back.

Sleeves!

That's it for me this week, though I'm going to try and get to the yarn store and pick up more yarn so I can do the sleeves of my East Village. I know I'm going to need more so I'll need to start alternating skeins now.

WIP Wednesday

It's been pretty busy around here so I haven't gotten much knitting time in. I have done a little bit though and here is what I've got.

Towpath Henley 

I finished up the sleeves and got them placed on holders and started the body. I've done the turned hem and started the patterning. Man I love how the turned hems look. 

Vanilla Latte Socks 3

I turned the heel and knit most of the way up the cuff. It's going pretty quickly so that's good. 

Stitch dictionaries

You guys, how is it possible that I've never used a stitch dictionary before? They're awesome.

For those who don't know it's basically just a reference book with a library of different stitch patterns, from knit/purl combos to color work, lace, and cables. Pretty much everything.

There are a few different things I've knit a ton of and understand the basic construction (hats, scarves, socks, shawls, mittens, etc) that I look for patterns to add the interesting designs but still sometimes can't find just what I'm looking for. This is where the stitch dictionary comes in. Peruse the book, pick a stitch, add it in and voila new custom pattern. That's the great thing about knitting, it's been around so long there is no need to reinvent the wheel every time. Obviously not every possible combination of stitches is in any one dictionary but it's a great jumping off point.

I now want to find something to add zigzags or diagonal stripes to

So today I charted up a diamond lace pattern to make a simple lace scarf. The hardest part was finding a good knitting font so I could make the knitting symbols in excel. I used this font, if you're looking for one. I added a little bit of stockinet background, a border, and presto I have a scarf pattern to use for Alex's matching scarf. I'll probably write it up and put it on Ravelry as a free pattern just for fun since I've already done the hard work. I think I'm also going to try and do a new men's sock pattern since I'm bored with the vanilla latte socks. Basically I've just realized (for like the millionth time when it comes to knitting) all the possibilities out there for me even though I'm not super creative.

WIPs Wednesday

Finished Objects
No knitting FOs this week but I did finish plying the BFL blue/green/purple mix I've been spinning all month. It looks pretty good and seems to have come out generally as a light fingering weight. It's a 3 ply and I think it's a tad over-plied but oh well, it'll still work. I just have to figure out what to knit with it now.

Knitting

I finally finished the front of my East Village sweater. Yay! Now only the sleeves and collar to go. Which could take forever, but that's what sleeves tend to do. I really should start making them first, it's a good way to double check the gauge and then you don't feel like ugh so much left when you finish the body. I'm definitely going to need more yarn though, I've only got 100g left so I'll pick some up and start alternating skeins for the sleeves. (alternating skeins means you attach two balls and do a row with ball 1 then a row with ball 2, repeat. That way the different dye lots aren't as noticeable). 

I finished the knitting on the indifference shrug and I've blocked it but I think I need to add a crochet border to keep it from curling. But I need a break from that project so who knows how long it'll take.

I'm to the heel of the first sock of my Vanilla Latte socks for dad in more yarn that we got in Canada at Romni Wools. I thought it wouldn't look good knit up (the yarn, not the pattern). But I'm really liking it actually. I think I need to find a new boy sock pattern though, this one is getting a little boring. It's been good though, this is my third pair in a few months, which is saying something.

I started the sleeves of my second Towpath Henley, I loved how the first one I made for Alex came out so here comes a matching one. And it just goes so quickly making baby stuff. I'm doing the sleeves two at a time again which is nice because then if I mess up an increase at least it's messed up evenly. Here is the tutorial I use to cast on the sleeves for TAAT.

Planning

I finally got the right gauge for both the Titan Jacket and Willow Creek sweater so I've ordered the yarn for those and bought the pattern for the Titan Jacket. Hopefully I'll get to cast those on soon.

I also pulled out my stitch dictionary and found a lovely lace stitch that I think I want to turn into a scarf for Alex to match his sweater. I'm trying to chart it because it's written out so I'm using excel and we'll see how that goes.

That's all (ha!) I'm working on craft wise this week.

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday again (already?!?) so here's what I've been working on craft-wise.

Finished objects
Spiralucious cowl: knit out of my hand spun for me :) I'm happy with how it turned out and it'll be perfect to wear under coats as the weather turns.

I forgot to smile hehe

Knitting

I'm like a half inch from finishing the sleeves of my Indifference Shrug. If I have enough yarn left I'm thinking I'll add a crochet border along the neck because I'm not loving how the edge curls. I'm thinking I'll give this to my mom when it's finished because even though it's hand spun I don't love the way the yarn knit up. It's just not my favorite colors for wearing.

I have barely worked on the East Village sweater for grandpa at all this week. I'm getting close to shaping the sleeves on the front, so maybe it'll finally feel like progress is being made/

I cast on some Vanilla Latte Socks for my dad. I love the vanilla latte pattern for boys. It's simple enough for interesting yarn but but a little more fun to knit than plain socks. I'm using more yarn that we got at Romni Wools when we were in Toronto in June. If you're ever in Toronto, serious check them out. It's the coolest shop, with sooooo much yarn. More sock yarn than I've ever seen in one place. It was heaven.

You can just barely see the start of the patterning

I've also been doing some swatching. Mostly for Titan Jacket for my sister but also for Willow Creek for myself. They take the same gauge so doing double duty. It's a bit bigger than I normally knit, 4 stitches per inch, so it's taken a few swatches and a few types of yarn. Hopefully I'll get it sorted today (my swatches are currently drying after being blocked).

Spinning
I finally finished spinning the singles of my BFL. They're resting now but later today I can finally ply them. I love plying, it goes so much faster than spinning singles and when you're done you get real yarn! I'm doing a 3 ply with this BLF. Maybe I'll do 4 ply with my next BFL that I'm already planning :)

Idyllic Sunday

Today was a pretty great day. 

It started out looking like it might be another cold wet day (can you tell I'm thrilled about the weather changing?). But around noon it started getting warmer. 

After my nephew woke up from his nap I met him and my sister and brother-in-law at the park. The weather was perfect, not too warm, but not cold at all. Alex loved it, he loves running around and being outside. Especially trees. He loves trees. 

He is just always in the move. 

I got some knitting done too, starting some socks for my dad. The perfect travel knitting, no pattern necessary and easy to fit in the purse. 

We played for like an hour and then went and got some froyo at one of those self serve places where you get to add whip cream and all sorts of yummy toppings. Then back to their house for dinner and more playing. Basically lots of hanging out. I'm an extrovert. I'd rather be in a room with someone else doing our own things than in seperate places doing the exact same things. And Cooper is gone for a whole week, visiting Hawaii. So I'll just have to find other people to annoy and watch tv with. Luckily I've got a lot of family here and a couple friends that are weird like me. 

WIPs Wednesday

I've made some good progress this week, but it doesn't show much in the pictures because it's mostly been just putting inches into sleeves and such.

Knitting

Indifference Shrug
I've put maybe 4 inches on the sleeves. I like two at a time knitting, but man it makes it feel like it goes so much slower. I finished decreasing (I think, I'll try it on again in a few inches), so maybe the end is in sight.

It's quite difficult to get a good picture of it right now since it's just curling all over the place

East Village
Again I put  few inches on the front but the progress is barely noticeable unless you're measuring it every 30 minutes like I am.

Yep looks pretty much the same but with worse lighting. 

Spiralucous Cowl
Finally, some visible progress. I finished the main neck portion and I'm working on the applied hem/edging. It was on time out for a few days as I tried to figure out how exactly the applied edge worked. I didn't do the provision cast on for extra stitches it called for because I don't like provisional cast ons, so I brought these difficulties on myself but I think I've got it figured out finally. I'm excited for this one to be done, it looks great and it'll be so cool to show off my hand spun yarn! (project bag by the lovely Maria from Stitched in Sweden)

Planning
I saw that some cascade heritage was on sale so I thought I'd get myself some for a sweater (less than $30 for a sweater's worth, yes please). So I was perusing ravelry but instead of finding a finering weight sweater I fell in love with Willow Creek sweater by Justyna Lorkowska. It just looks so cozy with that cowl neck, I need it in my life (with long sleeves because I'm always cold). So I added some cascade 220 to my cart but since the Heritage is on sale I think I'm just going to buy it and stash it for later. So I might be accidentally buying two sweaters worth of yarn. Oops haha. I have a few patterns in mind for it but I haven't decided yet, Familiar looks good, also by Justyna. I like empire ave but I was kind of wanting something with a v-neck (preferably a shawl collar) and I'm not quite sure I could make those modifications myself. Anne's cardigan looks nice but sort of similar to the last cardigan I made for myself. It's so tough to choose. I might just have to buy the yarn and wait until a pattern really speaks to me.

I'm also making my sister a cardigan for her birthday (which was yesterday). I almost never do my gift knitting ahead of time because I'm just that organized. We're still picking a pattern though. The one she liked initially I decided wouldn't be a great idea since all of the projects on ravelry seemed to indicate some issues with the pattern and I'd have had to do some modifications and it was just getting rather complicated. So we're still looking. And for those keeping track at home I'm about to be getting 3 sweaters worth of yarn. #notsorry.

Spinning
I did a few hours of spinning on the BFL my mom sent me from Maine. It's lovely to spin but I just haven't had a ton of spinning mojo. I've been all about the knits. I'm getting close to being 2/3rds done so maybe that'll motivate me to at least finish off filing this bobbin in the next few days. Then I just have to figure out what I want to knit with it. Maybe a shawl or something for my mom for when she visits in October. Being from Hawaii she is always freezing like me when she visits. And I know she'll love the fact that I spun it and that I knit it because duh she's my mom. 

Bags by awesome granny review

I recently bought myself a project bag from Bags by Awesome Granny on etsy. I've been needing a large project with a zipper because of kittens and my nephew, all of whom like taking all my knitting out and destroying it.

I ordered one with a cute circus print and a matching notions bag. 

It got here in less than a week and was wrapped up in tissue paper with a little hand written note to me by Darlene. 

I opened it up and put my East Village sweater in it. And it fits everything and the extra yarn. This pleases me greatly. 

There was a lot of attention to detail in the construction and it shows. All the lines are clean, the inside lining matches the little pull tabs and it's just adorable.

I love the little hippos and monkeys on the fabric. Basically I love everything about it. If you're thinking about getting a new project bag definitely check out bags by awesome granny. 

WIPs Wednesday

Here are the knitting projects I'm working on here at WIP HQ:

Finished Objects

While not technically a WIP it's so hot off the needles I wanted to share it anyway. I made a sweater for my nephew, and I am very pleased with the results. Link to my project page if you're curious about the pattern/yarn/etc.

Knitting

For my first actual WIP a Spiralucious Cowl for myself out of some handspun. I had to start over 3 times before I finally got the pattern right. Partly because it was late and partly because I wasn't actually reading the directions, so it's my own fault. It should go fairly quickly from here (fingers crossed).

4th time's a charm

I'm working on the sleeves of indifference shrug also for myself out of my hand spun. I'm knitting the sleeves two at a time because I'm getting low on yarn and I want them to be the same length if I run out before completing them.

Last but not least for my knitting I'm about 1/3 of the way through the front of East Village, a sweater I'm knitting for my grandpa. I've knit the back already so I'm probably a bit more than 1/2 way through the sweater. I'm thinking I might need more yarn than I have considering how quickly I've been going through it, but we bought it locally so hopefully it'll be easy to get more. If the color doesn't match up exactly I can alternate skeins on the sleeves. 

Spinning
For my spinning I'm still working on the 4ozs of BFL that my mom got me when she was visiting Maine last month. It is so lovely to spin, soft and supple I love it. I'm about 1/2 way through spinning the singles, hopefully I'll have some time to spin more this week. This picture just shows the blue but there is also dark green and some purple in it. So when it's plied up there will be a lot of cool striping.

That's it for this week. Stay tuned for more updates next week.

Knitting tutorials and tricks that have recently blown my mind

I've been knitting for a while. I learned when I was 7 (thank you Waldorf school) and got really into it in college. So I tend to think of myself as a pretty experienced knitter. Then I read something online or listen to something a podcast that makes me go, oh duh. So I thought I'd share some of the things I've been learning recently with you.

This morning's revelation is curtesy of Ysolda's blog. You don't have to make a slip knot to start casting on. I know I should have realized this because when I cast on for toe up socks I don't but I just thought they were special and I always make a slip knot. 

From Stitched in Sweden I recently learned how to do a biased bind off so that you get a smoother edge when casting off a few stitches each row (like when making sleeve caps). Here is the tutorial. 

This last one isn't so much a technique as knitting theory. I read this article this morning explaining different types of sleeve construction. I liked it because it helped me understand how the set in sleeve should be assembled and why it was done the way it is done. Which is helpful for me since I knit a lot of set in sleeve sweaters. 

I'm sure I'll have follow up posts in the future as I'm always learning new things in knitting and this is turning into a pretty knitting focused blog. But that's where my life is right now, I knit a lot, so I'm ok with that.

Two at a time knitting

I mentioned in my previous post that I am knitting sleeves two at a time right now, my first time ever. I like this method a lot and I think it will become my go-to method for sleeves and I plan on trying it out for socks soon.

Luckily I already have most of my needles in 40in long circulars since I am a whole hearted magic loop fanatic. I hate dpns and once I learned magic loop I've never gone back. So I can fit two sleeves or two socks on my needles no problem.

How to not tangle the yarn

The tutorial I used to start my sleeves didn't have super helpful suggestions for how to keep the yarn from tangling, it just suggests turning the work one way at the end of the row and then the opposite way the next row. So I thought I'd share what I discovered to be the best and easiest way to keep the yarn from tangling.

I should mention I'm knitting from two separate balls.

First, start with yarn that is not tangled. The working yarn for each sleeve is on the right of its sleeve ready to be worked.

Knit across the first sleeve. And here is the trick keep the working yarn from the first sleeve between the sleeves. In this picture I've left the yarn just hanging down, make sure it stays in the right there while you knit across the second sleeve.

Once you've knit both sleeves, when you turn your work just make sure the second sleeve is up higher than the first sleeve and working yarn. This should keep the two yarns separate and tangle free.

Hopefully this has made sense and is helpful for anyone just learning TAAT like I am.

How I modified a woman's cardigan to fit my dad

I love these buttons!

Over the summer I made my dad a cardigan. He wanted something more interesting than the typical men's sweater and he picked out Burrard by Glenna C. On Ravelry. It's a women's cardigan but I figured I could modify it to fit my dad. It worked out pretty well so I though I'd share how it did it. And of course the things I forgot and would do next time so that other people can avoid my mistakes.

Measurements and sizes

First I took my dad's measurements. Pretty much all of them: shoulder to hip, under arm to hip, under arm to shoulder, circumference of upper arm, length of arm, and of course chest circumference. 

I picked a size to cast on based on my dad's chest circumference and started knitting.

Modifications

For the back and front pieces I followed the normal pattern but added extra length to match my dad's measurements, which lined up with the largest size of the pattern. I also skipped the waist shaping.

For the arms I did the same thing but my row gauge was off the patterns so I got to the required length before I finished all my increases so I stopped increasing before the pattern called for it. But it was wide enough since my dad's arms aren't that big. 

The pieces blocking before I began assembly

I blocked all of the pieces separately before I sewed them together. I don't usually bother to block first but since this is all stockinet and the edges were curling I decided to test out my new blocking wires. They worked really well. Especially on the edges where I had slipped the first stitch of every row. That slipped stitch gave a nice loop I could just slide the wire right into. I did wish my set came with more of the T pins, but I can probably find extras cheap on amazon.

What I forgot to do

I forgot to switch the button holes to the other side of the button band, which would have been easy to do. 

I also didn't think about the fact that it's a V-neck and my dad is flat chested while this cardigan is designed for a women. So the V come out a bit deeper than it would on a woman because there are no boobs pulling the fabric forward. It would be an easy fix to just add one more button higher on the neck and it'd be a nice v neck. To fix it after the fact now I'm going to sew another button on and then attach a crochet loop on the inside of the button band where the extra button Joel should have gone. Hopefully that will secure the extra top button.

Me modeling the sweater

This was my first time doing major sweater modification and I think it turned out well. I heard from the knit girllls podcast that Amy Herzog has a new craftsy class out about modifying sweaters and I'm thinking about taking that class. I've been really into sweater knitting lately and I always want to change something so it fits a little bit better. I learned a lot from Amy's book knit to flatter, which I would highly recommend for anyone looking to knit sweaters. I don't know much about knitting/sizing/construction theory, mostly I just hope for the best and do what seems like it might work and her book really helped me learn some of the basics. Ok, I'll get off my Amy Herzog soap box and let you return to your regularly scheduled program. And as my friend Maria would say, happy knitting.  

A work in progress

My life is a work in progress. I've recently graduated law school and taken the bar but I'm currently funemployed (unemployed but mostly enjoying it- and trying not to worry about it). I thought I'd try out blogging as something else to keep me entertained. I spend most of my time knitting and watching tv, with some spinning thrown in since I'm learning that still too.

That all sounds boring even if you're me who is living it, so why should I blog about it? My friend said she would read it if I started blogging and she living in Sweden so I don't get to talk to her that much. She podcasts so I feel like she is talking to me all the time but I guess it's a bit one sided. So I'm blogging for her, and for me to have another thing to do while I spend my time on (my hopefully short) summer vacation.

So let's get to it.

What I'm knitting/ crafting.
I'm KiraG on Ravelry

I've started a sweater for my nephew and the reason that this is exciting (other than the fact that baby things are adorable) is that it's my very first time knitting anything two at a time. I'm using this technique for the sleeves so that they come out identical. Because any time you make two of something you have to try and remember exactly what you did the first time so they come out looking the same, and trying to get them the same length etc. It was a little bit fiddly at first but now it's pretty easy and I haven't even gotten my yarns tangled. I used this tutorial. I might try two at a time socks next, if I can find a good toe up two at a time tutorial because casting on socks at the toes is very different than casting on other things like sleeves. But I'm sure people have done it, I just need to find it.

The cuffs of the sweater also have a turned hem. I love the way they look. Seriously, I should do this for all of my sleeves instead of ribbing it just looks so crisp and clean.

Also I'm super into these sorts of blues right now. Deep and with a little green in it. Yes please.

I'm also working on a shrug for myself out of my first big hand spun project. It's a hand dyed merino that my parents got me. I started spinning in June and I have a kromski symphony.

The yarn is busier than what I'd normally buy but since the pattern is simple so it'll be ok. And it's nice and soft since it's merino. I should get back to spinning my BFL, that's my current spinning project, sooooo soft. And easier to spring because of the longer steeple length of the fiber.

I downloaded a cool drawing app for my iPad last night called sketches. You can use just your fingers or a stylus (I have a cheap one from HTC my fiancé got from work). But you can choose between all sorts of styles like a pen, pencil, marker, water color, paint etc. and on different types of paper (lined, canvas, etc). If you pay for the upgrades you can have more types of implements and draw on different layers and other fun things like that. I did not buy any of the upgrades because as I remembered last night I'm terrible at drawing so playing around with the free app is enough for me. But if you're into drawing a little bit I would definitely recommend it.

The stay at home life.
Sweeping is one of those chores that I just put off and put off. In our whole apartment there are probably only like 10 square feet of non-carpeted surface (bathrooms and kitchen basically). I know it will only take a few minutes to sweep and ill be so happy to not see my hair all over the bathroom floor but for some reason I just keep not doing it. I have no problem keeping the kitchen clean (dishes done, counters cleaned etc) but sweeping nope. Just doesn't happen.

One of my friends on Facebook mentioned how cats are basically just fluffy land sharks. I never thought about that before, but now as our kittens are growing into full sized cats they look more and more like predators. Even at just 7lbs they mean business with their claws and teeth. Luckily they're still pretty silly and fall off of things or run into the door on accident. I bet once we start letting them outside they'll be good hunters.

This seems like a good place to end my first post, so good bye. I'll probably talk to you all later. We'll see how it goes.