Spinning

I have finished spinning the singles for a project I began a year ago.  I really don't know why it's taken me so long to get these singles spun.  The fiber is a 4 ounce braid of Malabrigo Nube in Azules, divided into thirds by weight and spun on my Kromski Symphony in Scotch tension at a 16:1 ratio at 40 wraps per inch.

Since I started the first bobbin so long ago, I've got to let these last singles hang out a little bit so the twist will settle before I ply.  I'll probably ply either late this weekend or sometime next week.  I'm thinking of plying on my Schacht Flatiron because I'm not sure I can get the full skein of plied yarn on a single Kromski bobbin.  I've got a couple of days to make that decision though.

Next week we are supposed to have cold weather and rain maybe turning into snow or freezing rain.  I think this weekend I'm going to get all my chores done and everything else I have to do around the house taken care of and straightened up, then we can just snuggle and nest while winter does it's thing outside.  I might even pick a new spinning project!

Have a great weekend!

My Growing Cardigan is Growing!

I worked on this cardigan all weekend to finish the upper back and get through the fronts.  There were multiple balls of yarn, needles, cables, stitch holders, stitch markers - it was crazy.  I made it though and while I haven't woven in a single yarn end, I'm just knitting back and forth on the body below the underarm.  I am using two skeins of yarn, because Malabrigo is not known for its consistency, but after the craziness of the weekend's knitting, this is fine.

I could actually use a sweater like this today.  It's cold, windy, and rainy.  Later today we're under a winter weather advisory or something.  In Texas I think that means we might see a snowflake.  It's not going to be cold enough here for anything to stick, so I'll probably just make a nest with Mr. Noodle, my knitting, and a cup of tea.

Pine Forest

After my marathon of Knitting For Caleb over his Christmas break, I'm back to knitting for myself at the moment.  I started a new cardigan: Growing.  This is a new designer to me, but I like her simple, but detailed style.  I'm knitting this in Malabrigo Rios in Pines. The above photo is the back of the sweater and it's knit from the top down.

There is a long and a short version of this design and while I'm leaning towards the shorter length, I could also pause the body after getting to the underarm, knit the sleeves, and then finish the body with everything I have left.  I don't think it will get me to the long length, but it would give me kind of a medium length.  

On the other hand, I do like the shorter length.  

I guess I have some decisions to make.  Not yet though.  Right now I get to knit with this seriously gorgeous dark green (Malabrigo nailed it on this color, it's wonderful).  Have a great weekend!

One More Thing to Keep Caleb Warm

When Caleb was home at Thanksgiving I was working to finish my Vanguard Cardigan, and at that point I knew I would have some yarn leftover.  It's hard to photograph accurately, but Hazel Knits Cadence in Giddy Up is the exact shade of maroon Texas A&M uses on its website, so I asked him if he'd like a maroon hat.  He did, so as soon as I finished knitting his sweater I started a hat.  I chose the Dragobrat hat, which is a ribbed beanie with a cable motif on one side.  (I Googled and apparently Dragobrat is a mountain in the Ukrainian part of the Carpathian mountain range.  The designer is Ukrainian.)

The pattern is written for sport weight yarn and Cadence is worsted, but the pattern also has sizing from tiny child all the way through adult sizes.  After doing some math, with a side of pure guesswork, I settled on the second to smallest size knit on US 6's (4.0mm).  I knit to the adult measurements and the only thing that didn't quite work is that I needed to start the crown decreases before the last cable crossing on the chart.  As you can see from the picture, it still works out just fine though.  

Now Caleb will be nice and cozy while he's away at school.  It's going to be 80 degrees down there today.  Glad he's got all this new wooly knitwear!

Finished!

I have finished Caleb's sweater.  All the ends are woven in, and it has been steam blocked.  Also, as you can see, we've had final inspection as well.

The pattern is Justin's Flannel and I knit it in Malabrigo Rios in the Gris colorway.  I knit it on size 7 needles, which gave me a slightly tighter gauge than the pattern called for, but I like the fabric I was getting on the 7's better.  This meant that when I knit the 49 inch size, I ended up with a 46 inch sweater, which was a better fit as well.  I did do an extra set of rounds before dividing the sleeves from the body (there are directions for this in the pattern).  

I also didn't do ribbing at the lower edge.  I asked Caleb about it and he said he would rather the sweater fall straight down like a t-shirt, so I did a hem.  

The texture round in the stitch pattern works well as a turning round, so when I got the body to the correct length I ended on the texture round.  Then I switched to smaller needles and worked a few rounds in stockinette (about 1-1/2 inches?).  Then I bound off and stitched the hem to the front all the way around.

There was a lot of trying on as I knit, but I'm really happy with the way it fits him and I kept notes so if he ever wants another one, I can make it again.  It was a fun project to work on, even with the time constraint.  I will have to admit that there's a lot more knitting in a man's sweater than there is for my own.  I felt like the arms would never end!

Have a great weekend!

Round, and Round, and Round She Goes...

...she'll stop when she finishes the sweater!

I don't have a photo today, but I've finished the first sleeve and I'm almost 2/3 of the way through the second sleeve now.  I'll still need to do the neck band, weave in some ends, and block the finished sweater, but I'm still on track to have it finished before Caleb goes back to school.

I hope to have a photo of the finished sweater later this week!  I've got to get back to my knitting now!

Caleb's Flannel

Caleb's Flannel pullover is moving right along.  I've tried it on him twice and I have about an inch left to go on the front.  Sort of.

I realized that Caleb might not like a ribbing at the lower edge.  He might prefer the lower edge to hang straight, like a t-shirt.  So I asked him about it and he wants his sweater to hang straight down, not to draw in at the hips like a sweatshirt.  I could think of three edging options that would do that:  seed stitch, garter stitch, and a hem (there are probably others, but I don't have time to do a lot of thinking and swatching on this project).  I'm concerned that seed stitch or garter stitch might look funny combined with the overall stitch texture, and I plan to use ribbing for the neckline and sleeve cuffs.  This means I'm doing a hem.  I think it will finish the sweater nicely, and I think he'll be happy with it.

My goal is to finish the last inch or so on the front and begin the hem tonight.  The textured round in the stitch pattern makes a lovely turning round, so I'll finish the body after one of those.  I hope to finish the hem tomorrow so I can start the first sleeve Saturday.  I think I can, I think I can...

Have a great weekend everyone!

What's On My Needles, You Ask?

Good Morning!  I hope everyone has a fabulous 2023 and wish only the best of things to you and your families!

After showing all my finished projects last week/last year, I promised you an update of my current projects, and here it is!

As soon as I finished the Mischief Socks I cast on for the Easy Peasy Socks by the same designer.  I also decided to use the same yarns as I had plenty left over.  I used the Main Color from the Mischief Socks (Dream in Color Smooshy in My Fair Lady) as the Contrast Color for this pair; and -I bet you know where I'm going here- I used the Contrast Color from the Mischief Socks (Madelinetost Twist Light in Antique Lace) for the Main Color (it's the background) of these.  I've finished the first sock (but woven in no ends yet), and I'm working on the second sock, but at the moment, the socks are on hold as I work on my next project!

In November of 2021 I decided to knit Caleb a sweater.  At that point he was still at the Galveston Campus of Texas A&M, but Galveston had gotten snow and ice like the rest of Texas that previous February, so clearly he was in danger of being cold.  I had no idea that a few months later he would change his major, and change campuses. (College Station is farther north, therefore colder.  Quit laughing at me, Minnesota.) When I bought the yarn I had planned to make him the sweater for this past Christmas and I got some measurements this past summer.  Then I realized that it might be better to double check things with him before I spent all the time and effort to make something he didn't want.  (He's a very knitworthy kid, but I wanted to make sure he was happy with it.)  So when he was home for Thanksgiving I showed him the yarn (Malabrigo Rios in Gris) and the pattern I originally planned to make him as well as a couple more.  He liked the yarn and chose the original pattern I had picked - Justin's Flannel, but made longer and a bit looser than the pattern model.  My plan was to cast on and get past the sleeve/body division by the time he came home from finals so I could try it on him and finish it to the length he wanted.  I'm running a little behind, but he did try it on for the first time yesterday and it's fitting really well.  I've got sleeve measurements now and only a few more inches of body to knit before we have to make decisions about the lower edging.  My goal is to get it finished before he goes back to school so he'll have it for the coldest part of our winter, which is usually late January and into February.  I am trying to have it all done by next Friday, and I think I'm going to make it. The pattern is well written, the stitch pattern is super easy to memorize and I'm past all the shaping at the top of the sweater.  Fingers are crossed that I can get this finished!