Some Actual Finished Projects!

I know it's been quiet around here for a bit, but I've actually finished a few things!  There's nothing huge going on around here, but I'm just busy enough that blogging had to get paused for a little while.  I have been knitting though and I finished my Punchwork Cardigan.  This is knit in Madelinetosh Eyre Light in Mandala.  I only used two skeins (but they're 465 yard skeins, so kind of big).  It's a super soft, little cardigan and I think it will be very wearable around here.  

I used a smaller button size than the pattern called for, and also fewer of them.  That was a personal taste decision.  I also stopped the yoke decreases a little early because I didn't want the neckline to be too tight, but I don't remember how early I stopped it - I was just knitting along and decided that it looked about right.

I also finished Mickael's Mitts.  These are the largest size of the Serviceberry mitts, knit in Cascade Heritage in Charcoal.  This was my first time using this yarn but it won't be the last.  I really liked the way it felt, both as I was knitting and the knitted fabric.  Plus, you can't beat the price!

I hope to get back to a more regular Tuesday and Thursday blogging schedule again.  I am still knitting almost every evening and I'm almost finished plying my combination spin, so there will be more to show you soon!

Another Pair of Mitts

When I made the Serviceberry mitts for Caleb, I decided I wanted to make a pair for Mickael too.  I cast those on over the weekend and I've already finished the first mitt.  I made Caleb's in the Size 3 as she calls it in the pattern (second to largest), but because of the 2x2 rib, Mickael was able to wear them and I was able to wear them as well.  The ribbing just stretches and contracts so nicely, it fit us both.  For Mickael's mitts, I decided to go ahead and size up to the Size 4 because his hands are bigger than Caleb's, but you can see how much they draw in when they're relaxed and not pulled over a hand.  (Those are six inch double points, for scale.)  I think these would be great for gifts, when you can't measure the recipient's hand to check for size.  If you just guesstimate it, the rib will take care of the fit!

I'm knitting these in Cascade Heritage in color 5631 Charcoal.  It's a medium dark gray, lighter than Caleb's set is.  This is my first time using this yarn, but it won't be the last.  I really like it.

I've also finished plying half of my singles.  I haven't wound off any of the bobbins so I don't know what kind of yardage I have yet, but I love the look of the yarns so far.  I hope to get more plying done either today or tomorrow!

Finished Mitts

I finished knitting Caleb's Serviceberry Mitts!  I was going to steam block them, but it's about a thousand degrees outside (it is summer in Texas after all) and I decided I didn't want to turn on the iron.  So here they are!  I did an i-cord bind off for the hand section and added about an inch to the cuffs (which I don't think was necessary in hindsight), but other wise they were knit as the pattern directed.  I think this pattern would be great for gifts since 2x2 rib is so forgiving and would make sizing them easy.  I'm planning on making a pair for myself and a pair for Mickael too.  These are knit in Hazel Knits Blueprint in the Carbon Fiber colorway.

I've also finished my fourth bobbin of my combo spin.  I only have two bobbins to go and I wasn't able to get a photo because a certain cat/kitten was having a really rough day yesterday.  He was into EVERYTHING!  I guess I should rephrase that - we were having a really rough day yesterday, he was having a blast*, and I just didn't have time to get the fourth bobbin photographed.  I'll try to get a picture of them soon.  We're all really hoping he's a better cat/kitten today!  He's a year and a half old now, so technically a cat, but he still has kitten brain sometimes.  He's very smart, but he doesn't use that for good, and he keeps us on our toes.  I can't imagine what would happen if he'd been adopted by people who had no cat experience!  I'm guessing mushroom clouds would be involved though.

*He started off the day by pouncing on Logan's head.  Logan  was sleeping at the time.  He ended the day being chased through the house by Caleb because he'd stolen a pair of socks.  Everything in between those two events was pure mayhem and chaos.  We really wished he'd taken more naps yesterday!

Mitts

In addition to the cardigan, I'm also making a pair (or maybe two) of fingerless mitts for the ESK third quarter Craft-A-Long.  These are the Serviceberry mitts and they don't have thumbs yet.  I'm knitting them in Hazel Knits Blueprint in Carbon Fiber and I'm knitting them for Caleb.  I'm also going to be knitting him a hat and some socks to match because I don't want him to get cold.  In Galveston.

I really can't explain it, but it's very important to me as his mom that he stays warm while he's away.  I had the same feelings last summer, feelings that I must knit all the things for him, and after February's freakish cold snap, I still feel like keeping him warm and bundled up is a priority.  Murphy's Law being what it is, if I knit him enough warm things, he won't need them, which is also a way of keeping him warm I suppose.  (Also, February was a 100 year storm, and this next winter will have only been a year, so theoretically he should be fine.)  

Last summer Mickael's Knit-All-The-Things equivelent was to put first aid kits together.  Caleb has everything from tiny first aid kits in Altoids tins that he can put in a pocket all the way to a backpack full of first aid and emergency stuff.  This summer Mickael is sorting and repacking all of them.  Caleb has been a good sport about all of this silly parental fussing around.  He just says "thank you" and packs up our craziness to take to school.  He probably just shoves it under his bed and ignores it once he's there, but it makes us feel better.

Loopy Academy Gloves

 

I've completely finished my gloves for Loopy Academy!  It only took a couple of hours to weave in all the ends, but they're all woven in now and the gloves are finished.

The pattern is Three Oaks, but instead of knitting the little button tab cuffs, I just lengthened the ribbing.  I figured the ribbing would tuck into jackets and coats better anyway.  I used Malabrigo Sock in Ravelry Red.  This is my first time using this color and I really liked it.  I wouldn't mind a sweater in this red.

These were fun to knit and there wasn't really anything hard about them.  Fingers on gloves are fiddly, but they're not hard.  I've just got my toy project and my bobbles project left for this semester of Loopy Academy!

Gloves!

 

The knitting is finished on my gloves!

I still have to weave in a few ends though...

And There Shall Be Fingers!

 

I've started on the fingers for my gloves!  This is the first glove and there is much trying on and many notes.  Once I've finished the fingers there will be The Weaving In of Ends.  That should keep me out of trouble for a while.  I've probably got several more hours worth of work on these, but my gut is telling me that I'm on the home stretch and will soon be able to cast on something new.  I'm trying to ignore my gut until these are completely finished.  I do hope to get them done over the weekend.

Thanks for the hints on marking my end of round in crochet!  I'm going to give them a try.  I knew there had to be a better way to do that.

I'm going to go now, my brain is pretty sure I don't need spaces between the words this morning and also my spelling is rather unconventional.  I've retyped this enough times to have written two extra blog posts.  It's time for caffeine!

A Little Bit of Glove, Some Bad News, And Some Good News

I'm just about to start the hand section on my glove.  This is the cuff of the second glove.  It's moving slower than the first glove because I'm having eye issues.  You know the commercials you see on TV about dry eye?  Well, I realized that I might be having it, so I went to the eye doctor and yes, I have dry eye.

The good news is that I'm on the medicine to treat it and I've started early enough that there's no damage to my eyes due to being dry.  I also still have 20/20 vision.  The bad news is that the medicine takes a couple of months before I'll start producing more tears, so in the meantime, I'm still using artificial tears.  The reason I bring this up on the blog is that when I'm having really dry eyes, I can't really see clearly and knitting isn't any fun.  This means there's not much to feed the blog.  Eye allergies (which I also have) make the whole thing worse because allergy eye drops dry out your eye.

So, while I did find out what was going on with my eyes, there's not much I can do until the medicine starts working.  On days where my eyes are really miserable, I can't do much beyond watching TV.  Hopefully things will start to improve before Thanksgiving, and not every day is a bad eye day.  In the grand scheme of health issues, this is very, very minor, but I need to take care of my eyes, and sometimes, that's going to mean the blog will be quiet.

Gloves

 

I've finished the first glove to the point where I'm ready to knit fingers!  I decided to put the stitches on scrap yarn (to hold them) and knit the second glove to that point before beginning fingers.  This way I can knit fingers on the right and left glove together, so they're the same size.  On fingerless mitts, I always do the thumbs last, after everything else, so it makes sense (to me) to work the fingers together, at the end.

I'm hoping to get started on my other two Loopy Academy knitting projects this week.  I've got the yarn wound and patterns picked!

And Then There Was A Thumb!

 

I've made it past the thumb gusset on my first Three Oaks glove!  My next big event will be putting the pinky stitches on a holder.  (If you look at the back of your hand with your fingers together, you can see that your pinky actually separates from your palm about 1/2 an inch or so lower than the other fingers.  In order for the gloves to fit, the pinkies have to start lower too.)  Then I'll be on to the other fingers.  I think I'll wait until I've knit the second glove to do the thumbs though.  Thumbs are always last and I see no reason to change that.

Have a great weekend!

Loopy Academy, Knitting

With the beginning of September, Loopy Academy has begun again as well!  I'm working on the first semester of my Junior year for the knitting version of Loopy Academy.  The projects for this semester are gloves, a toy using two or more colors, and a project with nupps (or bobbles or popcorn stitches).  I've gotten my yarn for all three projects, but the only one I've started is the gloves.

I'm making the Three Oaks gloves in Malabrigo Sock in Ravelry Red.  Can I just take a minute and tell you how much I love this red?  It's the perfect red, and I want an entire hoodie out of it!

OK, back to the gloves.  I'm not doing the cute little button tab thing on the cuff because I think it's going to get smooshed and clumped up in a sleeve.  Instead, I just worked the cuff in ribbing.  I'm just about to start the hand chart in this picture and this thing is flying off the needles!  There's just enough pattern with the cables, but not so much that it's slow to knit.  I wanted to start the gloves first because I think they're the most involved of the three projects I chose, and I didn't want to be trying to finish them at the end of the semester.  As I finish up Lorelai (Mici) the Mermaid and my Toujours pullover, I'll start the Loopy Academy toy project and the Loopy Academy nupp project.

Loopy Academy, Knitting Version, Cables

 

I’ve finished my Cables project for Loopy Academy, Knitting.  This means I’ve finished another semester of Loopy Academy Knitting!  These were meant to be socks, but part of the way through, I pulled one onto my arm to see what the cable pattern was looking like, and decided to make them mitts instead!  I guess I’m lucky I have narrow feet and the ribbing in this pattern can compress to arm and hand sizes.

They are knit in Malabrigo Sock in Natural.  The pattern is Paraphernalia with a thumb gusset added that I basically figured out as I went (and kept notes for the second one).  If I had thought it through, I could have used the thumb gusset from one of my mitt patterns, but my decision to turn socks into mitts was pretty spur of the moment.

I’ve still got two more projects to make for Loopy Academy, Sewing so I need to get moving on those.  I’m hoping to get started on my Seasonal Wallhanging later today.

Loopy Academy

 

I’ve started my second mitt! I finished my first mitt except for the thumb and cast on for the second mitt.  I’m working the beginning and end in twisted rib to keep it from being stretched out, and on size 1 needles (2.25mm), it’s very, very slow!

I’m past that beginning now and have started cabling on the second mitt.  This is my last Loopy Academy knitting project for this semester, then I can really focus on the sewing projects!

(Also, I’d like to apologize for the weird picture.  It’s dark and rainy outside right now and it hasn’t been sunny in days.  I think we might get some sun later today or tomorrow though.  Fingers crossed.)

Loopy Academy, Cables

 

After my decision to change gears with the cables project, I cast on and began knitting Paraphernalia socks (or so I thought).  I’ve knit this pattern before and I really like the finished socks.  The cable is large, but it’s only on one section of the sock (the rest is just ribbing), so I don’t have to really think for the rest of the sock - just what I needed.  As I was knitting along, I was admiring how much quicker this pattern was than my first choice, and I put the sock over my hand to spread it out a bit and look at the cable.  The next thing I knew, I was figuring out where to put a thumb gusset and had knitted one!

I changed gears again!  So, instead of socks, I’m knitting a pair of Paraphernalia mitts.  I’m pretty sure these will be my cable project.  I’m feeling the knitting love with these!  As you can see in the photo, I’m just about finished with the first mitt and then I’ll just have to repeat things for the second!  (I use round counters obsessively and take notes, either on paper or in knitCompanion, so the second mitt/sock/sleeve is always faster than the first.)

Loopy Academy, Cables

 

The last project for Loopy Academy Knitting this semester is the cabled project.  Knitty came out with the Resonator cabled mitt pattern right around the time this semester was beginning, and I decided that they were perfect for this assignment.  I’m using Malabrigo Sock in Natural for these because cables look great in light colors.  I need them to be smaller than the small size in the pattern, so I’m using smaller needles than called for.  Hopefully this will work, and I’ll use the required yardage.  If I come up short, I might have to add pom poms!

Loopy Academy, Second Semester, Slipped Stitch Project: Finished!

 

I knit like a fiend over the weekend and I finished my mitts!  Each mitt used 98 yards before the thumbs, so I was well over the yardage requirement.  They fit perfectly and will be great this next winter!

I knit them using my Endless Love pattern in the size Small (there are three sizes in the pattern because I hate loose, floppy mitts) in The Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Charcoal.  The dark gray, almost black color made taking pictures a little more difficult, but I know it will be very useful and go with everything.

This is my third and last completed project for the second semester of Loopy Academy.  The semester isn’t over until May 30, so I will be doing the extra credit project, which I’ll show you another day!

Loopy Academy, Freshman Year, Semester Two, Slipped Stitches

I have started my third project for this semester of Loopy Academy:  Slipped Stitches.  This past winter I realized that I didn’t have any gray fingerless mitts, so when I saw that slipped stitches were one of the assignments for Loopy Academy this semester, I knew I wanted to make my Endless Love mitts in gray!  I’m using The Loopy Ewe Solids Series in Charcoal, which is a dark, almost black kind of gray.

There is a requirement to use at least 175 yards per project in Loopy Academy, so I needed to double check the yardage.  Fortunately, I’ve knit these mitts twice before, so I just weighed one of the other pairs and figured out how many yards were used.  I figured out that to get to the yardage requirement, I would need to add 24 rounds to each mitt.  These were going to need to be longer in the cuff than the originals!  Fortunately, the main hand repeat is 16 rounds, so I just added two more of these.  I also cast on with larger needles and gradually decreased to my US 1’s (2.25mm) to make the longer cuffs fit my arms comfortably.

At this point, I’m almost finished with the first mitt, they do fit nicely, and as soon as I get this first one finished, I’ll weigh it and double check my yardage calculations.  Fingers crossed!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Look! I Actually Got Something Done!

I’m getting stronger!  My body still won’t let me do everything I want to do but I’m now more than halfway to the six week limit before I can run again.  I’m not napping during the week anymore and I can go upstairs several times a day without getting exhausted!

I have had energy to work on projects over the last couple of days and I was able to finish my modified Alice Caterpillar Mitts for Loopy Academy, Semester Two, the striped project.  These are modified because the original pattern is written for DK weight yarn in the mitt section and the mitts are knit flat.  I’d have never gotten to the required 175 yards with DK weight yarn, so I knit mine in fingering weight and knit them in the round.  I’m not sure which would be more fiddly, seaming them up at the end like the pattern calls for, or working the ruffle in the round like I did.

For the mitts I used The Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Smoke and Charcoal and the ruffle is knit in Shibuiknits Silk Cloud in Lumen.

I still have to knit the slipped stitch project for this semester, and then I can decide if I have time to do the extra credit.  The extra credit info came out right before I had my hospital adventure and I planned to do it, but hadn’t ordered yarn yet or picked a pattern.  I have until May 30 to finish the semester projects and extra credit if I do it.

I’m hoping to start blogging more regularly now.  I won’t be here every day yet, but I’m hoping to start with a few times a week and work up to my regular schedule.

Loopy Academy, Project 2

For my second project, I’m working on the stripes assignment.  I had picked the Alice Caterpillar mitts, but then after buying the pattern, I realized that I would never get to the yardage requirement using the DK weight yarn it calls for.  I decided to kind of wing it on the pattern and make my own version in fingering weight, and I decided to knit them in the round as well.

Here’s what I’ve got so far.  I’m using The Loopy Ewe Solids series in Smoke and Charcoal for the mitt portion, but the ruffle is going to get really fun!  I’m carrying the yarns up the inside of the mitt instead of having thousands of ends later.  I figured that my stripes were narrow enough to do that and it’s working out just fine.  I’ve just got a little more to go on my first mitt now!

Another Finished Project!

I finished my mittens for Loopy Academy yesterday!  I made flip top mittens from Three Irish Girls Glenhaven Cashmerino Worsted in Aileen.  I started with the Urban Necessity Gloves pattern, but the shaping on those didn’t work with my hands so I ended up making my own modifications.  I guess the designer and I have differently shaped hands.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to have enough yarn to finish these, but fortunately, I had enough with a tiny bit left over.  They’re knit at a pretty tight gauge, which will make them warmer on my hands.  I plan to wear them when I run.  I’ll be able to flip the tops back and use my fingers to control my music and deal with Runkeeper (the app I use when I run) on my iPhone, but then I can tuck my fingers back into the tops to keep them toasty while I’m running.  If my hands get hot, I can flip the tops back again.  Of course it’s supposed to be a lot warmer on Friday morning, but I’m pretty sure that after the temps we’ve had the last coupe weeks, I’ll be able to get a lot of wear out of these.

I’ve now completed the cowl and mitts for Loopy Academy, Freshman Year, First Semester.  The only thing remaining is the hat and that should work up pretty quickly!