Eleven Stitches

Twenty Fingers

Two Christmas gifts are finished, and I feel pretty safe blogging about them early.  (Hey- if you don't normally read this blog and you've lived with me at some point in your life, maybe you should put it off for a few days? But thanks for stopping in!)

Pattern: Herringbone Mittens (sort of) by Elliphantom
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull and All Things Heather (I've got no colorway names for either one)
Needles: Knit Picks DPNs in US 1.5 and US 2.5
Modifications: I added four extra stitches for fit, and made them fingerless gloves instead.

My sister just got a new pink coat, and I think they'll go very nicely with it.  And whew, I'm so glad she stuck with her favorite color scheme when picking that coat. 

I also finished up some fingerless gloves for my brother.  I'm a little worried about the fit, but other than that I really like them.  He's a picky guy, so I'm hoping my color choice and pattern will suit him.  The guy sitting next to me on the plane yesterday assured me that they're a very fine gift, so that's something!

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, less than 1/2 skein and Rowan Felted Tweed, less than 1 skein
Needles: US3 DPNs

I hope all of your Christmas knitting is going well also :)

Two Twos

Thank you for the sympathy and the well wishes.  I had a fabulous Thursday, and it was the perfect day to stay home, given the weather.  I got a lot of knitting done, including finishing up this pair of socks.

Pattern: Spiral Boot Socks by Veronik Avery in Interweave Knits
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Silkie in Walking on the Wild Tide
Needles: Susan Bates DPNs size US2
Modifications: See this post.  I made them regular length instead of knee length, which involved changing the cuff pattern to accommodate the fewer number of stitches.

This was a great mindless sock pattern.  There's only a two-row repeat on the cuff, and it works fairly well with multicolored yarn.  This is, incidentally, the only pair of socks I've knit up from the Rockin' Sock Club.  I'm glad that I got one pair done in 2007!

I also got a good start on a pair of house socks for a Christmas gift.  I finished them up last night, and I'm really happy with them. 

Pattern: None, a basic toe-up sock.
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Vermillion and Rhodesian
Needles: US5 DPNs

I used the two colors to make sure I had enough yarn, and to make sure I used up all my remaining Vermillion and Rhodesian.  It was very exciting to mark two yarns as "All Used Up" on Ravelry!

They were a quick knit, and the Malabrigo is so soft and comfy.  As Grumperina said, I'm sure they will fuzz and pill quickly, but I suspect that they will still feel soft and warm on the feet. I hope so!

Difficulty and Redemption

It has been a very stressful week.  David and I were thrown into some complicated holiday planning.  Add in some planning for our wedding in April, difficult gift knitting, office holiday parties, and bad weather, and you might note that things haven't been exactly easy recently. 

Then, on an otherwise relaxing Sunday afternoon, all the fire alarms in the lower part of our building went off.  911 was called, the fire trucks arrived, and we were evacuated.  It turns out that it was a false alarm, but there was a lot of time outside waiting to know this for sure.  I even got a row of knitting in (which I ripped out later because I did it wrong).  Oh well, we told the apologetic fireman, at least it wasn't raining.

On Monday, the above was repeated, only in the rain.

On Tuesday, the workers who came to fix the alarm locked the cats upstairs with no food or litter box.  One of the cats, in desperation I am sure, pooped on a pair of my pants. When I headed out to knit with a friend, my car broke down.  As I sat on the side of the road in my cold car in the dark (bad alternator, dead battery), unable to knit during the ninety minutes that I waited for AAA, I contemplated the last week. This was really unfair, and a tiny bit amusing. 

On Wednesday, the garage called me late in the day to inform me that they had replaced my alternator, and that the replacement was defective.  It would take another day to fix.  And then something very nice happened.

With no car, there was no way for me to get to my classes a couple of towns away. My professors were understanding and forgiving, and things could be made up next week.  So today, Thursday, I have a free day. The weather is bad outside, and the only thing I can do is stay home.  There will be hot tea, quilts, and TiVo.

There will be selfish knitting, gift knitting, and warm kitties.  I have to think that in a tiny way, the universe has balanced itself out.

Four Singles and a Pair

In an effort to catch up on blogging, I'm going to report on a bunch of different projects all at once.  In a surprise move, only one of these projects is actually for me.  Yes, I am proud of all the gift knitting!

Pattern: Annemor #17 from Selbuvotter
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull (orange) and Claudia's Handpainted in Argyle Socks
Needles: US 2.5, Knit Picks DPNs
Modifications: I added a side thumb gusset instead of off the palm.  I knit with larger than recommended needles to upsize it for a man's hand, and I also had to repeat a band from the cuff in order to make the palm longer.  Oh, and I fused three of the fingers together to make a glitten.

Pattern: Rainbow Socks by Susanne Kitzmann for Magknits
Yarn: Yarn Pirate Merino Sock in Killer Bees
Needles: US 1.5, Knit Picks DPNs
Notes: 6 repeats on the leg and on the foot.  I also knit a picot cuff instead of ribbing.

Pattern: Modified Herringbone Mittens by Elliphantom
Yarn: Dale Baby Ull (purple) and All Things Heather
Needles: US 1.5 and US 2.5, Knit Picks DPNs
Modifications: It's knit on smaller needles, so I added 4 extra stitches to the hand.  I also added some short fingers.

I like the finger detail.

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed and Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
Needles: US3 Bamboo DPNs

Pattern: Natalya Gauntlets by Savannahchik
Yarn: Mountain Colors Twizzle in Bitterroot Rainbow
Needles: US4 DPNs, Lantern Moon

I knit a second pair of these mitts for my friend A, who was nice enough to send me this yarn for my birthday.  It was a perfect way to use up the skein.  One pair for me to enjoy, and the second to give back to my friend.

Whew!  There's a whole bunch of knitting all at once.  I'll give you more details when I have actual FOs to show you!

How to Knit a Fingerless Mitten (Long Version)

1. Cast on for Annemor #15 from Selbuvotter in two colors the recipient will really like.   Mods: A different cuff pattern, a side thumb gusset, and fingerless.  Feel very smart for picking out these colors for this pretty pattern.
2. Knit most of the way through the chart. 
3. Recognize that 1" of ease is not a good thing in a mitten.  Feel even worse because you knew this a long time ago, and did not trust your knitters instinct.
4. Rip
5. Cast on above mitten with smaller needles. Knit half of the way through the chart.
6. See 3.
7. Rip
8. Cast on with even smaller needles.  Knit the cuff.
9. Recognize that the mitten will still be too big.  Feel slightly better than last time because you admitted it so early.
10. Rip
11. Decide to knit the Herringbone mittens instead.  Mods: fingerless and add 6 extra stitches because this is fingering yarn and the pattern was written for worsted.
12. Cast on.  Knit the cuff. 
13. Recognize the mitten will still be too big.  Start to wonder if your hands are freakishly small, or if you have some freakishly tight gauge for mittens only.
14. Rip
15. Cast on in the recommended number of stitches on size 1 needles.
16. The cuff fits.  Feel proud.
17. Go up to size 1.5" needles for the colorwork.  Work for several inches.
18. Admit that now the mitten is too small.
19. Rip back to the cuff, cast on 4 extra stitches with size 2 needles.
20. The mitten fits.  Feel proud.
21. Realize that you messed up the colorwork 6 rows ago. 
22. Rip back 6 rows.
23. Continue to knit.
24. Realize that you increased the stitches on the thumb gusset off of an off center stitch instead of the center stitch.  4 rows ago.
25. Rip back 3 rows and fiddle with the stitches so you don't have to drop back a fourth row.
26. Continue to knit.
27. Admire the pretty, correctly sized mitten in progress.

28. Look at the back of the  pretty, correctly sized mitten in progress.

29. Oh crap.
30. Resolve to look up duplicate stitch sometime in the future and continue as if there was  no problem.

A Quick Knit

I've been busy working on Christmas gifts (more on that later), but I needed a quick hat to keep me warm.  I have had difficulty finding knitted hats I like in the past.  Usually the hats I pick have a brim, and those of the sock hat variety look kind of silly on me.  When I was at the mall the other day, I tried on a beret, and I liked how it looked.  Enter my new hat.

Pattern: Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard
Yarn: Morehouse Merino 3 Strand in Raspberry, a little more than 1 skein
Needles: US8 and US9
Time to Knit: Dec 1 - 2
Modifications: I went with the less slouchy version, so I only knit 4.5 inches before I started the decreases.

I had a little over a ball of yarn left over from my CowlTop (more on that later, too), and I really wanted to mark this yarn as "All Used Up" on Ravelry.  (Is this a huge motivator to anyone else?  It is to me.  Huge.)

Quick knit, easy pattern, nice end product, checking things off on Ravelry, and a warm head.  What's not to love?

Now back to the gift knitting!

NaKniSweWe?

Um, so I started and finished a sweater without taking the chance to blog about it.  I had been mildly thinking about knitting Cobblestone for NaKniSweMo, but at the beginning of November I was in the middle of other projects.  I finally cast on on November 15, and I finished it exactly a week later, on Thanksgiving.

Pattern: Cobblestone by Jared Flood, from Interweave Knits Fall 07
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery Green Mountain Green, 8 skeins
Needles: US 8, Knit Picks Harmony Circulars
Time to Knit: Nov 15 - 22

My gauge was looser than recommended, and I wanted a smaller sweater anyway, so I recalculated the number of stitches I needed to cast on, and followed the basic length measurements for the smallest size.  I also added waist shaping to make the sweater a little more girly.  At the end, I did the final four rows of stockinette after the last short row so that I had a little more open neck. 

Dark grey has always been a comfort color for me.  With Cobblestone, I was just going for a comfy, warm sweater.  I love this yarn!  It's so soft and squooshy.  I loved knitting with it, and I love the finished product.  I'm really happy that I have another sweater's worth of this yarn in my stash!

I haven't done any calculations to see how many stitches this sweater is (NaKniSweMo specifices 50,000 stitches), but since it only took a week I can't say that it matters to me very much!  Yay for quick knits!