Resolved: Arm Knitting!

Last January one of my New Year's resolutions was to learn how to arm knit. Apparently it was a crazy year because I didn't learn until last week. Better late than never, right? I was reminded in part by the customers at Marshalls; I was seeing so many people with these awesome infinity scarves and asking if they'd made them. One woman came in wearing a scarf exactly like the one I have in the picture, same yarn and everything. I asked her if she'd made it and her boyfriend said, "No, I did!" I was so impressed that I peppered him with questions about how long it took, how many stitches he'd cast on, etc. He answered the questions but I could tell his girlfriend just wanted to go shop. The next day he came back with a guy friend and I was able to talk with him a little more. I was so excited that the scarf would look that way with the yarn that I had that I was ready to learn. 

I watched a twenty-minute video by Knit.ca and got the gist very quickly. It's so easy, very therapeutic, and extremely satisfying. It's so quick! All of the sudden you have this fabric. The only thing that can be frustrating is gauge. It's hard to make your loops consistent and sometimes you get stretched loops that don't look so nice in the finished product. Joining at the end can also be tricky. The way they do it in the video I watched uses the yarn to join the two ends into an infinity scarf. Every other video I looked at bound off the end and required sewing to make an infinity scarf, which seems like an extra step to me.

I gifted the first one I made to a guy friend who appreciates handknits. The second one I made is a little looser but keeps me warm. My favorite way to wear it is over my head. It keeps my ears warm and is extra nice under a hood.

(Riddle me this: this webcam photo is pretty good quality, but I'd like to crop it. So I imported it into PictureProject where I edit all my photos, and the quality got really blurry! Why? I decided to use the original, non-cropped photo, so that I wouldn't lose the quality.) 

Hooray for learning a new skill! I want to play around with textures and holding two strands of yarn. Do you arm knit? 

Yes, OK, Gauge Really Does Matter...

Another lesson in why it is so important to do a gauge swatch first! Although this throw is supposed to measure about 45 x 55 inches when it is complete, mine was about 36 inches wide and maybe 45 inches long. It'll just cover a lap, or wrap around the shoulders of my dear friend, when it was intended to be a throw for her and her husband's bed. But it's beautiful and very, very warm. I enjoyed knitting it but learned that knitted afghans, unlike the pieced afghans I've done before, are a lot of work and a lot of repetition. At least pieced afghans give you a sense of accomplishment as you go along; big afghans like this just seem to be never-ending. I may think twice before I do another one just because this one took me almost seven months to do and the pattern isn't even finished. 

Lessons learned:

- KNIT A SWATCH. JUST DO IT.
- Be more disciplined about how often you knit! (And blog... >.>)
- I can hold my yarn like I do when I crochet; I switch to that hold when my fingers start to get tired but perhaps I should do it more often. When I crochet I loop the yarn around my ring finger and hold it up with my index finger, picking up the yarn with my needle. When I knit I usually just squish the yarn between my ring and middle fingers which puts strain on my whole hand.
- I need some way to block stuff easily (though for how rarely I block pieces I don't know if buying anything is worthwhile).

The fabric will stretch, hopefully. I'm not sure how much larger I could have made it if I'd blocked the piece.

 But I put love in every stitch. <3

Still Knitting...

I'm still here! I'm still knitting! I promise. I've just been so busy that it's been hard to have time. Perhaps I'm not up for knit-blogging... I just don't have time to read other people's blogs about knitting or write blogs about the knitting I've been doing. I would love to, believe me! I'm so behind on all the blogs I follow. But life just got in the way. 

Here in Appalachia for the summer I have time to just sit and knit. The volunteers, Fanchette and Martine, knit scarves to sell as fundraisers for the Fourth World Movement's Learning Co-op here in Virginia. So I added one as well. I chose a twisted rib pattern and size 15 needles to create a narrow loopy scarf. I hope someone buys it ! 

The colors are great. One of the women who quilts at the center was raving about it. I like it! 

Perhaps I'll have more time to read blogs now that things have quieted down a bit... I will try! 

What's on your needles? Feel free to leave a comment! 

Knit Your Bit Reinvented - Row, Row, Row

This weekend I stopped into Joann Fabrics out in Metairie to buy yarn for a friend's gift and was hanging around in the foyer. I didn't understand what I was seeing right away - I though the table was a demonstration of arm knitting and other technique classes offered by the store. But then I looked a little closer and read the "Row, Row, Row" sign which urges passersby to donate a few minutes of their time and knit a couple rows.

(Check out the adorable little pun they use!)

There were two skeins of blue yarn and two long size 11 needles which already held 6" of a knitted scarf. I could tell that the knitted piece was by multiple knitters and was intrigued. Once I knew what I was seeing, I immediately picked up the needles and started knitting the double-knit stockinette stitch I've been using in the washcloths I made.

As I left the store, the clerk thanked me. I asked him how long the yarn's been there and he said a month or so. I think it's a wonderful way to do a knitalong. 

Well done, Ronald McDonald. If your JoAnn Fabrics has one of these, please help out! If your JoAnn Fabrics (or Michael's, or AC Moore, or any other craft store that sells yarn) doesn't have this, ask them to pick it up! 

What other ideas do you have for knitting to help those in need? 

Washcloths for the Love of It

Although I realize that this title is not grammatically correct, I stand by it. The ever illusive it - that article that can mean everything and nothing all at once. 

Mostly I want these images to speak for themselves, but I have to say a little bit about the lovely washcloths in them. I had this leftover yarn from a never-finished vest my aunt was making and hadn't used it in years. I've been holding onto quite a stash of yarn and started reflecting on how I have so much stuff, I fear I may be a hoarder. Or at least a clutterer. So I found one of those free patterns from Michael's and decided to start making washcloths. I've made two so far and can probably make a third out of that ball. What will I do with them when I'm finished? Not sure yet. All I know is how smoothly the yarn goes over my bamboo needles and how easy the pattern stitch is. (A note, though - casting on 34 stitches and increasing every other stitch will not produce 51 stitches. Someone didn't do their math right. Cast on 25 stitches and add an extra at the end of the increase row and you'll be golden.) 

The light was so perfect on my gramma's quilt. I hope you enjoy these squishy, delightful washcloths as much as I do, no matter what you do with them when they're FPs. 

Stitch on - 

Oops!

So in trying to surprise my friend with legwarmers, I actually posted photos of the WIP on this blog forgetting that the friend reads my blog! Whoops. Although I wish I hadn't blown the surprise, I was touched that she reads what I post. =)

Here is a photo of the finished product.

These legwarmers would look fantastic with the new pair of boots I just bought! 

They look even better, though, on my dear friend's tightrope. Her grace and determination inspire me everyday. 

A toast to you (and your warm legs!) Sarah - to my real life superhero. =) 

That Time of Year...

Once again it is the end times, the last day of the old year. I'm in that limbo between finishing one half of a project and casting on the second half. A dear friend of mine in Philadelphia asked me to make her a pair of legwarmers and I'm taking my time on them. I'm ashamed to say that I started them on December 6 and finished the first one on December 28 or something. Got to get the second one done so that I can send it off before the weather gets warm! 

As with my food blog, my New Year's resolution is to take better knitting pictures. I know there are webinars out there for that, so I need to watch one and get crackin'. 

Before I get to that, though, let's look back a little. I wrote 18 posts over 9 months and got 650 page views. For a first foray into a knitting blog, I'm happy with this. I have posted over 50 projects on my Ravelry page, which I am super proud of. 

This year I figured out how to do lace, even though I still haven't figured out how to block. I knit a pair of amazing and functional hiking socks. I knit a few things in cotton that were really cool but didn't actually serve their purpose: the Hers Soap Holder that became my token holder for the Crescent City Farmer's Market and the Summer Cover-Up that is beautiful but that doesn't match with anything and that I hate to wear. I attempted to bring back the "What Not to Knit" genre of knitting blogs but was too afraid of offending people. It just wasn't funny when I tried to do it. Lastly, I designed a really funky necklace

that my co-worker loved. Her reaction was exactly what I was hoping for, except for "You should sell these!" It took me so long that I'd have to charge $30 or more for one. I haven't figured out how to make knitting profitable yet and probably never will.

Phew! Hooray for 2013. 2014 is going to be interesting... my GRE scores will probably expire soon so I have to seriously think about graduate school. I'm moving back home for a little while. Whatever happens, I will be glad to have another even-numbered year and say goodbye to 2013.

What's on your needles this New Year's Eve? I hope it's something sparkly and warm. 

Happy knitting, friends. Til next year...

A knitted medallion necklace

Although I am no artist, every once in awhile I get struck with an inspiration that comes out really cool. (Like my scissors cozy!) I have a co-worker who wears the coolest necklaces, including this one:

I wanted to try and re-create this using scrap yarn. I started out looping the yarn around cardboard circles to make the medallions, but then realized they wouldn't have the right heft to weigh down the necklace and make it sit right. So I used my handy-dandy awl (if you don't have an awl, I highly suggest you pick one up at a yard sale or something because you can use it for all kinds of really important tasks, like poking new holes in your leather belts!) and put a hole in a couple giveaway buttons. After threading the yarn through those, I knew that I would have the weight I needed. 

I picked colors that complimented each other and centered them around a button looped in bright pink mercerized cotton. I sewed the medallions together and knit two long strings of i-Cord out of the bottom-most medallion color. Next time I'll use a super soft yarn for the strings.

The strings are long enough so that you can vary the length, but I think it's best if it sits right on the chest, like so. 

Pretty cool, huh? 

Okaydone!

The socks are finished!

Hooray.

The Designer Went Loopy

One of my favorite blogs, which is unfortunately no longer running, was dedicated to ridiculous designs that should never have been designed, nor should ever take someone's money or time to create. I want to bring that spirit back.

Sock 1 of Two-Toned Cabled Booties Complete

My other foot is cold: 

Today while sick with a cold and bedridden I started the second sock. The coloring isn't exactly the same but I knew that was going to happen when I started. 

I'm thinking more and more that I may keep these socks for myself as they just look so weird. It's occurred to me that socks really aren't attractive. No matter what you do the foot always looks too long.

But cushy, oh my goodness - they're wonderful! I love wool socks. 

And it's so good to have a project on the needles again. I love the ache in my fingers. It helps me think that I'm preventing arthritis. Right? 

Two Tone Cable Booties

So after I finished my first shrug in June, two things kept me from knitting:

1) it was REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY hot. So yes, sometimes, only some of the times!, it is too hot to knit. I will admit it. I just didn't want to put anything on the needles.

2) things at work got super crazy. We hosted 330 volunteers and led about 10 projects with 4 staff so I was working long days and long weeks and just didn't want to do much of anything when I got home. I watched a few movies and TV shows, but dangit I just wanted to lie there and watch.

Then I went to my dad's family reunion and watched my cousin fiercely knitting socks. She knit from her own sock formula using hand painted yarn and size 1 bamboo needles. Watching her made me itch for needles and yarn, so when I got back to New Orleans I made myself cast something - anything! - on. I started dreaming up Christmas presents, but first I started these booties using two types of wool yarn. The light purple is the leftover from the Better than EMS Socks I made in May and the dark purple yarn is a double-stranded wool I pulled from my home stash. They're both rather chunky and will make some lovely cable booties. I imagine they soles'll felt up a bit with wear.

They do fit my feet, but I'm not sure yet if I'll keep them for myself.

I just have to make myself keep on them... it's been a little while. 

My FINALLY Shrug

This is technically my second garment, because the first I made was the shawl back in May for the silent auction. But because this piece is actually for me, I am calling it my FIRST garment ever made! I'm so thrilled. It's like wearing a hug and I may have to progress on to a more shaped cardigan next. 

In other news, I have to figure out how to take better pictures of knitted things like this... 

This is really just a picture of my boobs, haha. 

I wore this piece to church on Sunday and a couple folks asked if I'd made the shrug (which of course made my day). When I told them that I did, I mentioned that it's really easy because all you're doing is knitting a rectangle and then sewing it up. This is what I originally did; I knitted a rectangle and sewed it up at the edges like the pattern says. But the photograph on Lion Brand's website is misleading. (I'm also going to argue that their pictured shrug was blocked.) If you leave the sleeves sewn straight, you get a sort of winged effect. It did not look good. So, I ripped out the sewn edge and folded the corners over while modeling the shrug to make the sleeves as tight as I could. 

I was unable to make them look seamless, but the seams at least sort of hide in your armpits so who's going to notice? I just like knowing that my arms are covered. Now I can finally wear sleeveless dresses to the office without feeling like a skank.

I need to cast on something new. Any suggestions?

A Sailor's Bracelet

This is an adaptation of Olgajazzy's Cable Braided Necklace. I want another bracelet like the Sailor's Rope bracelets I always wore during high school. They shrink when they get wet, but I don't know if this one will shrink or swell. Cotton yarn is finicky like that sometimes.

Photo from Etsy

Cast on 7 stitches, using size 4 needles. The stitches will be big and fat. 

Row 1: Knit.

Row 2: Purl. 

Continue in Stockinette Stitch for 5  rows, ending on a purl row. 

Row 9: K2, K2tog, YO, K3. 

Row 9 will create a hole in the fabric. Knit 7 rows and repeat Row 9.

Please don't follow this pattern - I apologize. I did not measure how long the strips were when I finished them, but they were twice as long as they needed to be so I improvised a very poor steek job to cut the pieces after weaving them together. I like the finished object but I wish I had measured first.

My friend correctly said that it looks like a scrunchie, but it also looks like a sailor's rope bracelet, which was what I was hoping for. It adds the white to my wardrobe on this Fourth of July: my red Phillies t-shirt (I love Werth forever) and blue skinny jeans. 

Happy Fourth of July! 

A Summer Cover-up

This is a close-up shot of the lacy pattern I'm doing for the Lacy Summer Shrug I'm knitting. I've been working on it for a few weeks now. I'm worried that if I block it, the width is going to be much more than I want to fit on my back. We'll see what happens when it's done but it is a beautiful pattern. I love the colors. It's in Sugar and Cream cotton, so it'll be very nice. I figure if I don't block it, it'll be thicker and nice for air conditioned rooms or fall, whenever it gets here.

The Verdict is In: And it's GOOD!

The hiking socks that I made for myself are indeed as good as EMS socks! I wore them yesterday to mud and sand drywall at a house in the Lower Ninth Ward for the St. Bernard Project Women's Rebuild Week. I wore the socks with moisture-wicking liners and had very comfortable feet. They were warm, of course, but I had no blisters or problems. I am SO happy. I don't think I brought any wool with me, but next time I have some I know what project I'm making. More socks!

Just a "Hers" Shower Soap Holder

This very quick pattern is from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders, basically my pattern bible. I've done quite a few patterns out of this book and its companion One-Skein Wonders. I had some orange cotton yarn that I needed to use up (which I bought for $0.50 at a thrift store, just the one skein) and didn't know what to do with it. I love using my handknit cotton washcloth in the shower, so I figured I'd make another little soap holder. 

It's big. I imagine you could fit a big bar of like, Dove soap in there. I'm not sure yet whether I'm going to keep it or give it away. Shower soap holders can really only be given on three occasions: 

- When people are traveling and might want something nice for the hotel shower

- For house-warming gifts

- For wedding gifts (when you'd make a His and Hers version) 

On every other occasion, including birthdays, it sort of feels like you're telling the recipient, "Have this and go bathe with it, PUH-LEASE!" Not exactly the message you want to attach to your gift, especially when it is a beautiful handknit.

Has anyone else ever given one of these successfully? How would you feel if you were given a shower soap holder? (That is, if you're the type of person who likes that kind of thing.) 

Knitting and thinking about showers... 

BETTER Than EMS Socks!

Yay I am so happy... My hiking socks are finished and they are, as the title implies, better than EMS! (Eastern Mountain Sports for those who aren't familiar with the franchise.)

I love these socks. They are at once warm and cool, cushy as all get out, and reversible. My mind is blown that they are knit the exact same way for the left and right foot, and yet when you put it on one foot or the other it conforms PERFECTLY! (It's an all caps kind of day, all right?)

Apparently I didn't take any pictures of both socks finished and on my feet at once, but am I alone in thinking that calves always look huge when you take pictures of your feet? It must be the angle but they just look gigantic. Ick.

But yay, socks.

Hooray for FOs!

C'est Fini

I apologize for my face in these pictures, but the shawl is DONE! (That face means: Why is it so hard to take a picture of my back? And why can't I find the button on my phone when I'm - oh there it is.) It took me over a month to finish Christy Verity's 198 Yards of Heaven during my move from Philadelphia to New Orleans. It's a modified version because I didn't complete the second chart for the lace border. I knit the first row and then bound off, creating a surprise ruffle. I love the way it drapes. 

This shot is also fun because I can see how long my hair's gotten in back! When I wash it I almost have enough to gather as if to put in a ponytail. 

Although it's gorgeous and I'm so proud of my first lace FO, I donated it to the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership's Watershed Milestones Award Ceremony Silent Auction. It's happening in Philadelphia on May 22, so check out the event online and if you're interested in bidding on the shawl, buy a ticket! The organization does great things engaging the community to improve the watershed.

I'm looking forward to my next lace project!

Happy knitting!

I Can Lace... but I can't Lace Border...

So, I'm still working on this Christy Verity 198 Yards of Heaven shawl, which is probably not going to be used for what it was intended for as I'm over deadline and don't really know what I'm doing anyways...

I was totally fine with the lace pattern repeats and thought I was pretty high and mighty. Then I get to the lace border and suddenly nothing makes sense. I don't know if I have an incorrect stitch number (I guess I must), but according to the directions I seem to not have the correct number of stitches or I'm not following the directions correctly.

I backwards knit, undoing one row a few days ago, and tried to follow the chart tonight, and where I'm supposed to have six stitches before the center stitch, I only have three. This is what the directions say:

"K2, PM, *YO, K1, YO, K2tog, K1, PM [K1, SSK, K2, YO, K1, YO, K2, K2tog, K1] repeat stitches in brackets to last 6 stitches, * PM, K1, SSK, K2, YO, K1, YO], K1 (center stitch), repeat between * to last 2 stitches, K2"

So I'm guessing that the "repeat stitches in brackets to last 6 stitches" refers to the first half of the shawl, so I'd be doing one last repeat at the 6 stitches before the marked off center stitch. But I keep having 3. So obviously something's wrong.

I saw one person on Ravelry that decided to do away with the lace border altogether, but she repeated the 22 row-repeat 5 times. I only did it twice and frankly don't want to do it anymore. Lace is nice to look at but until I figure out how to do yarn overs without my hands cramping, I don't want to do very much of it.

So now I'm stuck. I guess I have to backwards knit again to get back to neutral ground and then bind off the shawlette. And then I get to block it and see just how small it is. And then I get to figure out what to do with it, because I won't use it.

Grumble grumble.

This is an old photo, but isn't it beautiful. Sigh.