Category Archives: Knitscapades

Choices, choices

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I’m trying to come up with a portable, not too complex and not too big knitting project to take with me to Norway.

Bunch-o-Yarn

I have an enormous stash of beautiful, gorgeous yarn to choose from (what’s pictured above is but a teensy sampling), but lately I just don’t know what to do with any of it.

One of the great ironies of my impressive yarn collection is that I’ve bought most of it while vacationing (I like to drive my travel partners nuts with my insistence on visiting local yarn shops — known in knitster lingo as the LYS). That means that I buy a skein here, a skein there, maybe two, and that results in not a necessarily enough yarn to use for most projects.

For example, I’ve always wanted to make Clapotis by Kate Gilbert (Knitty, 2004)but it requires 820 yards, which is quite a bit. I also really like Colour Affection by Veera Välimäki, and it looks like you might be able to use say, three different colour ways that work well together, but I can’t be sure without buying the pattern first. All I can find out from the description is that it requires 1155 to 1200 yards, total.

Izhitsa by Patusha looks lovely but the pattern isn’t available in English yet, and the yardage needed is unknown. The Weekend Shawl by Anne Kuo Lukito is also lovely; it needs between 598 and 750 yards depending on what yarn weight you use and what size you make.

Any suggestions? I suspect some form of lace is in order but I don’t want anything overly complicated for this trip. I could make socks, the ultimate, portable knitting project, but I don’t often wear handmade socks, and I definitely want to make something for myself. Hmmm…

Nostalgia… beer drinking socks

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Socks with Pints On

One year after trying to make SpillyJane Knit’s Socks with Pints On for Chris the first time, I  attempted them again, this time with lots of mods to try make the damn things fit Chris’s weirdly wide feet. The pattern is available here. I would deem my effort mostly successful.

Firstly, I increased the needle size from 2.75 to 3.25, and I increased the yarn from fingering weight to sport weight (which explains the colour variation from the previous pair of socks — while both socks were knit with Knit Picks Stroll, they have very different colours available between those weights).

Next, I cast on 76 stitches per sock, instead of the 64. This added an extra pint of beer to each repeat (i.e. added two pints of beer total) of the colourwork chart. The other major modification was to end the colour work chart before the heel, rather than carrying it through the heel, gusset, and instep/sole of the sock. This was where we were experiencing the most challenge getting the sock over Chris’s heel, because colourwork usually tends to not have as much elasticity as regular knitting.

From here the mods get more niggly and I’m not totally thrilled with the resulting looseness of the heel; I don’t think I made the best choices here. I haven’t quite got the hang of modifying socks in a way that maintains the right ratios between heel and instep, so that the sock fits properly. If anyone out there has some kind of trick for this I’m all ears. BTW I hate math.

Anyway, they turned out wearable and Chris is happy. Me, I just wish I could have a beer.

Socks with Pints On

Beer drinking socks

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Is a smoking jacket really meant for smoking? I have no idea, but these socks are made for drinking.

Socks with Pints On

Socks with Pints On

These were originally intended as a Christmas gift for Chris, and as you can likely guess, that didn’t work out so well. I posted here about my knitting fail when I finished the first of this pair. I was not about to rip back, so I decided to make the second sock and call them mine, since the first sock (barely) fit me. The second of the pair is a little looser than the first, as seems to be the way with my colourwork projects. Putting on that first sock kind of freaks me out as I wrench the poor tight thing over my heel.

Socks with Pints On

Socks with Pints On

Anyway, I do intend to make Chris a pair of his own. I made this pair with Stroll by Knitpicks, and I had bumped up the needle size intending them to be big enough for him, but no luck. I instead have ordered Stroll Sport, which is a thicker yarn, and I’ll have to go even bigger with the needles, as well as make some pattern mods. I also plan to just put the pints on the cuff, to allow the sock to be stretchier across the foot/heel, and hopefully, hopefully (note my prayer here to the knitting gods), they’ll fit him. If I ever get around to them. I think I’m good with the colourwork for a while. Maybe it’s time for something a little less risky?

Just in time for spring: mittens!

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Garden Nerd mittens

Garden Nerd mittens

These babies are looooong overdue. I think I started them around this time last year. The hibernated for a while. And then when I picked up the torch this spring to finally get them done, I finished the left mitt, which fit perfectly, and then realized the right mitt was way, way too small. I tried blocking them to see if they’d stretch but no luck. So after much debate I decided to start the right mitt over, and cut off the cuff of the original so that at least I could skip doing that part over again, as I knew trying to unravel the mitt from the top, after all its ends were woven in, would only end badly — in say, a trip to the psych ward.

Garden Nerd mittens

Garden Nerd mittens

It’s quite hard to get the right tension when doing colour work, but I think I’ve been doing enough lately, what with the socks, that I’m finally getting the hang of maintaining very light tension, which seems to be the key to success. Unfortunately I’ve been experiencing some carpal tunnel lately, especially this past weekend, so the knitting is on hold for a while. Unfortunately I don’t think my sewing is really doing me any favours in this regard, either. So much for my great idea that sewing would take the pressure off any repetitive strain from my knitting. I’m trying to stay off the keyboard as much as possible too, although that’s pretty hard when you work an office job.

Anyhoo, there are some small mistakes in these mitts, and I really wish they had a thumb gusset. If I were to make them again ever, I’d figure out a mod to include one. I just don’t like how restrictive they feel in the thumb area. But they are so cute, I have to overlook it. These are designed by SpillyJane Knits, based in Windsor, Ontario. She has the most amazing colourwork designs, although if I’ve learned anything, I need to size up her patterns a bit as they seem to be on the small side. The greens and brown are Malabrigo sock yarn in Lettuce and Turner, and Cordovan, and the pink and orange are Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply.

It looks like spring is really on the way, with a high of 8 degrees C expected tomorrow, so I likely won’t need them for long but they’re just the thing to get me in the spirit of gardening season.

Meet some FOs

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Mosaic Floor Pillow

Mosaic Floor Pillow

So remember that new sewing machine I mentioned I bought myself before the holidays? I’m IN LOVE. It is incredible. I was withholding full judgment until I got my first real quilting project under its belt, but low and behold, here it is. This is the Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow, designed by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! fame. I’ll be gifting this tonight to my pal Adria. Every year, I usually ask her what she would like me to make for her birthday, and the last few I’ve knitted her something. But I was itching to put the new machine to the free-motion quilting test, so we decided I would make her a pillow for her bedroom (that’s why it really does NOT go with my brown leather couch at home, pictured here!).

Pillow back

Pillow back

Both the front and back of the pillow are quilted, making the seams of this pillow exceedingly thick — with three layers of batting and six layers of fabric where the overlap occurs on the backside. This made it the ultimate test for my machine, which trucked along sewing with ease. I have every confidence now that I made the right decision buying my Baby Lock Grace.

Pillow detail

Pillow detail

The piecing of this pattern is very versatile and can be done for virtually any size pillow or quilt blocks, and so I think I’ll be using that again. I also love how this pillow uses an overlap at the back for a closure, so no zipper is necessary.

Norwegian Star Hat

Norwegian Star Hat

Next up is this Norwegian Star hat, made for my mom, to match her new winter coat (yes, I know, winter has been going strong for some time now). Her new coat is sort of a tan-purplish grey, making her last hat totally mismatched. I made this with Malabrigo Twist in Terron and Zinc, two colours that are so yummy together. This yarn is deliciously soft. It feels like 100% cotton but it’s merino wool! Mom will get her hat next weekend when they visit the cottage.

Norwegian Star Hat

Norwegian Star Hat

Finally I finished something for Chris that fits. A scarf to match his hat. I used the same yarn, bought from Americo Original. I wouldn’t call this a very soft yarn — in fact I would find it a bit too scratchy for a scarf, but Chris loves it. I really struggled with this scarf; the pattern was killing my hands due to the purling three stitches together repeatedly. But eventually I loosened up the tension and things got easier.

Extra Warm Men's Scarf

Extra Warm Men's Scarf

Both of the above patterns are available for free as Ravelry downloads.

Sick puppy and some knitting FAIL (and success)

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After an epic holiday party on Saturday night at the home of Ecoholic with great friends, great food and great tunes, Chris and I expected to get down to business on Sunday and get this attic insulated already. All the weather reports suggested the conditions would be precipitation-free, but we woke up, hungover, to discover that it was snowing. Steadily. All day. So that was FAIL #1.

FAIL #2: In my attempt to trim Luna’s toenails, I inadvertently got one of them too short (damn black toes!) and she bled like a stuck pig, off and on all day. We tried sealing it up with Crazy Glue (a trick every good survivalist ought to have in his/her back pocket) but she just chewed it off. I finally ran out to get some styptic powder, which helped, but the trick was to keep her from licking at it. You see, she freezes in a kind of panic attack if you put a buster collar on her (one of those cone-head things) so that isn’t really an option. We wrapped it up, we doused it in bitter apple. It was a day-long affair trying to manage her bleeding toe. And I think it caused Monday’s EPIC FAIL (more on this shortly).

Christmas Luna, sporting one of her many new bandannas

Christmas Luna, sporting one of her many new bandannas

FAIL #3: My second batch of French macarons this holiday weren’t exactly an epic fail, but they were yet again missing the proper ‘foot’ and just not the right texture at all. This was after following David Lebovitz’s recipe, in which he chronicled his seven attempts to get them right. They are tasty, yes, and I guess that counts for something. I don’t know if I’ll get another batch going in time for the holidays, even though I swore I would master those suckers this year, and likely I ought to give my poor pancreas a break before I end up in a sugar coma.

Gingerbreads -- success!

Gingerbreads -- success!

FAIL #4: Sock with Pints On fails to fit boyfriend as planned — also nearly fails to fit me. After I finished the sock up to about halfway along the foot section, I decided to ask Chris to try it on, so I could see how much length I needed to give his foot. I haven’t knit socks in ages, but I’ve put in my sock time and I am no novice. What I haven’t done before is colourwork socks, socks with multiple strands of colour carried along to create a design. For the uninitiated, it takes some practice to get the hang of carrying your yarn along at such a tension as to avoid puckering of the fabric and to ensure the fabric has the stretch it needs. Stretch being an important factor for socks. Well. I could barely get this sock over my own heel, let alone Chris’s. I’ve blocked it, but I need the boy to bring his feet home from work so we can see where we stand.

Sock with Pints On

Sock with Pints On

This was perhaps the most stunning fail of Sunday, and the one that really was the last straw for me. For weeks I’d just accepted that Chris’s Christmas present was going to be late, but then I got started and things were going swimmingly, much faster than I’d hoped. I saw light at the end of the tunnel — I had a whole week to get a second sock done! Plenty of time! But alas. This sock is likely not made for walking (…in…by Chris). So perhaps I’ll be the proud new owners of Socks with Pints On.

I do have a plan of attack to start over. I have what appears to be plenty of yarn. I will try, try again, but I plan to expand the pint chart, and I plan to just do the pints on the sock cuff — not the foot. This will mean that the heel, gusset, instep and toes will have lots of stretch because I won’t be carrying along extra colours that could cause more fail. This is my plan, once Chris brings those clunkers home so I can test the lonely singleton sock and see if the blocking made any difference.

I thought perhaps our fail streak had come to an end but alas, we were due for an explosion of fail last night. Luna had experienced some runny poops Monday morning but this isn’t entirely unusual for her. We opted to crate her for the day in case she got that toe bleeding again, at least so the blood could be contained to one place in the house. Chris got home early, felt sorry for the pup and let her out while he dealt with his own bodily needs before taking her out. Those 5 minutes proved to be fatal. An explosion of canine diarrhea like we’ve never seen before found it’s way into nearly every part of the house. I was out enjoying a beer with a friend when I finally noticed the frantic texts. Poor Chris was running multiple batches of laundry on the sanitary setting, had bathed Luna twice, washed the floors three times and cleaned the rug as best he could, all before I got home, but the house still wreaked of poo. FAIL #5.

While he ran out for a meeting I continued to clean the house, the rug at the front door, the towels, re-washed the floor and tried in vein to make the place smell better, simmering some cinnamon sticks on the stove. I was still shampooing the carpet by about midnight. Luna had several messes in her crate despite our getting up in the wee hours to take her out. This morning things were getting much worse and so a trip to the vet ensued. So far as we know it’s purely a stress reaction; we suspect the bleeding toe nightmare might be the cause (so I guess that makes it my fault). Results of a poop sample are pending. She’s had a shot and some pills and some super high-fibre food that should help but as of 3:30 this afternoon she is still needing frequent trips outside to take care of business. Poor girl. She’s all locked up in her crate until we can be sure there won’t be any accidents. Happy start to my holidays!

All this to say that if things really do come in threes like they say, we’re all stocked up, thanks.

But it hasn’t all been fail. I also ended up with quite a nice beret and matching scarf set for my Grama for Christmas. That’s something.

Beret and scarf for Grama

Beret and scarf for Grama

The beret is from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson, and the pattern is super easy and quite quick. I never thought I was a fan of berets but after trying this on, I just might have to make one for me. The scarf is a free pattern from Ravelry called Openwork Eyelet Scarf by Jennifer Pace. It was also super easy and the texture is lovely.

Let’s hope it only goes up from here.

Christmas knitting

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So far I’m on pretty good track with my Christmas knitting. I think Chris’s Socks with Pints On will be late but he’s cool with that. I haven’t started those yet, but soon. I’m currently working on a beret and possibly a matching scarf for my Grama, and I just finished two stockings for April and my new baby niece Vaughn, to match the ones I made for my brother and my nephew Magnus, a couple years go.

Family of Stockings

Family of Stockings

If there was something I’d change it would only be that I couldn’t find the pink and tan colours in the original yarn I’d used that suited, so I had to use a different yarn and it is quite different in texture. I don’t think that matters much to April but I’m picky that way!

Mom and daughter stockings

Mom and daughter stockings

Stocking for Vaughn

Stocking for Vaughn

Stocking for April

Stocking for April

That sums it up though, for my holiday knitting. I’d like to do more but I’m not going to make myself crazy over it. I’ve basically been finished Christmas shopping for weeks aside from one or two small things. I ordered almost everything online, and spared Chris (and myself) the pain of roaming any malls. I’m happy to pay for shipping if it means I don’t have to run around among the crazy people and fight for parking, etc.

As for decorations, I picked up some urns for the porch a couple weeks ago and I plan to get some greenery for them shortly from the farm. The urns were not cheap, so I held off on buying any pre-done holiday-themed inserts. We have a few lights I want to put up but since we don’t have the porch railings or posts anymore the way we do them will change a bit. Usually I wrap lights around the railings and while it looks really nice, it’s always a big pain in the bum. I haven’t yet convinced Chris that we should put them along the roof line. I suggested that the other day and he looked at me like I’d just landed from Mars.

In general I’m looking forward to the holidays — I’m looking forward to doing some baking, and I really need a break from work; the crazy there will go on for at least another week and a half before things will settle down. We’ve decided to spend NYE in Boston, which should be fun, although I’ve never been there before. Anyone have suggestions of must-see places?

The newest member of the fam

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My new little baby niece Vaughn was born on August 25. I got to meet her last weekend as we celebrated her older brother’s 2nd b-day. I was able to give her the first quilt I made, finished earlier this summer in anticipation of her arrival.

Baby Vaughn

Baby Vaughn, 2.5 weeks

She pretty much looked like this the whole time we spent with her, I think she opened her eyes for all of 10 seconds!

I made her a bunny from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, with an improvised tail. I had also made a bear from the same pattern for her big brother, so now they each have one.

Last minute knitted bun

Last minute knitted bun

Last minute knitted bun

Last minute knitted bun

Baby Vaughn

Baby Vaughn with her bun

We were visiting the fam with a dual purpose, to celebrate Magoo’s 2nd birthday. And boy has he hit the terrible twos! Temper tantrums interspersed with smiles and giggles on the turn of a dime! Boy do my brother and sister-in-law have their hands full now!

Magnus turns 2

Magnus checking out his super awesome cake

Now that it’s been gifted, I can post the first quilt I made. This is from the same pattern as the one I posted about a month ago.

First baby quilt - finished!

Baby quilt for Vaughn

First baby quilt - finished!

Baby quilt for Vaughn

First baby quilt - finished!

Baby quilt for Vaughn

I think it turned out pretty good. I do feel it has a bit too much white but for a first quilt I’m really happy with it. Not sure yet what the next quilting project will be but I need to spend some time working on my machine before I attempt a new project. I took apart the tension knob after experiencing wildly varying tension and not being able to adjust it back to something reasonable. And then I put it back together wrong. I found a guy online who sold a manual for fixing it, but I haven’t yet had time to sit down and take on the task. Hopefully it will work. ‘Cause if not, it has to go into the shop.

Qiviuk! Qiviuk!

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Have I mentioned what a fabulous, incredible, loving and supportive boy I have in my life? So supportive he buys me Qiviuk, not once in my life, but TWICE?

OMG!! Qiviuk!!

Qiviuk, also called Qiviut, yarn made from muskox wool

This was my prezzie that Chris brought back from his ski trip out to Lake Louise, which from the photos is absolutely friggin’ gorgeous and I have no idea why I haven’t learned how to ski yet, or why I didn’t hide away in his suitcase so I could just hang out and be a chalet bunny regardless of skiing experience.

In case you are going, “kivi-what?!” Qiviuk, also spelled Qiviut (pronounced Ki-vee-uk or Ki-vee-ut) is a very precious fibre spun from gathered wool shed by the muskox in the Canadian High Arctic. It is gathered by the Inuit off the tundra, and used to create some of the most expensive and exquisite garments you’ve ever seen. And it’s sold as yarn, very, very expensive yarn.

Chris brought me back one tiny ball in dark green when he visited the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, I think about three years ago. At the time I had never even heard of Qiviuk, and when I told my knitter friends they went completely gaga about it. And suddenly I was aware of what an utterly committed man I have, to support my addiction by not only buying me yarn, but buying me some of the priciest yarn evar!

OMG!! Qiviuk!!

Considered one of the most precious and rare fibres in the world

Knowing I needed to find something quite special to make with this small amount of luscious yarn, I went out and bought the book Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas. Her patterns are designed with traditional Arctic designs in mind, and with it, I created my first pair of fingerless gloves, with the first bit of lace I had ever knitted. They are sweet little things, and I wear them every spring and fall. The yarn, while very delicate and thin, is incredibly strong and lightweight, and I still have a teeny bit of it left.

I have no idea what these two lovely, precious balls of spun gold will become, but I adore this colourway, and I’m far more skilled at lace now, so I will have to give this some thought. Suggestions welcome!

Pet Projects

Pet Projects: The Animal Knits Bible

Tonight, I also introduced my coworker Larissa to Anthropologie. I don’t think her pocket book or her boyfriend are going to thank me! It was the first time I’d made my way to their new store in Yorkville, Toronto. I’d been to a couple locations in the US but I never purchased anything since I’d have to carry it home on a plane, and it’s their house and kitchenware that completely light me up. Now we have a local store, and it is a seriously dangerous place for me. In addition to their home decor items, they carry the most exquisite vintage hardware, and I have big plans to pick some up if we ever get around to doing renovations in this house (another story for another day). Sadly, Anthropologie’s beautiful clothes aren’t really made with full-figured gals like myself in mind. Too bad really, because I adore the clothes too.

What I did pick up however was this fabulous book, Pet Projects: The Animal Knits Bible, by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne. While it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever need to make a doggy coat for Luna (who is supposed to be half Saint Bernard after all), there are all sorts of cute knitting projects in here, ranging from cat cushions and bean bag beds to fancy dog bandannas and toys to adorable horsey blankets!  How could I have left this book behind? No way.

Oh and no, there will be no Qiviuk doggy toys. I’m not crazy you know.

Pet Projects

Dog coats of all shapes and sizes

Pet Projects

Kitty bean bags!

Speaking of Luna, we’re into full bore teething now, as evidenced by her OCD, fanatical rawhide and toy chewing. We’ve also seen a resurgence of the mouthing/biting teeth-on-everything behaviour we’ve been working so incredibly hard to curtail. It has seriously tested my patience and resolve over the last week. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have my boy back home to share the load. Please don’t hesitate to reassure me that this too, shall pass.

Did I mention that at her vaccination appointment last week, the vet asked the technician to re-weigh Luna because she didn’t believe the numbers she was seeing? That a puppy could gain 100% of her body weight in four weeks? That’s right. Apparently the average is 50% weight gain per month. Our Luna grew from 13.5lbs to 26.7lbs in four weeks.

You know that whole notion that we were going for the chilled out, laid back attitude of the giant breed in a smaller dog’s body? I think what we’re really going to end up with here is the complete opposite. Imagine a Tasmanian Devil the size of a bear. That’s our girl!

The Oatmeal Hat

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Remember that luscious yarn I mentioned last week?

Ecoholic's new hat

Oatmeal hat

I bought this yarn after Adria requested a hat to match a scarf she ordered from Organic Lifestyle. Even though Adria’s birthday isn’t until Valentine’s Day, I finished the hat on Monday night, so I took it over with me to her house on Tuesday since we were hooking up for dinner and I was sure the hat was going to be way too big, so I wanted her to try it on before I wove in the ends. It turned out to be perfect just the way it was. Voila! Early b-day gift.

This yarn varies between roving-like, serious thickness to very tightly wound thinness, which makes for a beautifully varied texture.I originally planned to make this hat with cables but once I got going I could see it would be beautiful as just plain old stockinette stitch. It was a super quick knit. I think I had it finished in about 45 minutes to an hour.

I cast on 40 stitches with 10mm circulars, and worked K2 P2 ribbing for a few rounds, maybe 4 or 5 (I forget because I was just doing everything by eye). It probably would look just as nice as K1 P1 ribbing. The body of the hat is worked until its about 6 inches from the beginning, and then I began decreasing by K2tog every 6 stitches; knitting a round; then decreasing every 5 stitches and so on. By the round in which I was decreasing every 4 or 3 stitches (forget which one) I started decreasing every round until I had I think 5 stitches left. At that point I just pulled the yarn through those stitches and cinched it up tight, weaving in the ends.

Adria is totally thrilled. She calls it her oatmeal hat.