A Fall Cardigan

A few weeks ago I started a fall cardigan.  I'm just now getting to it here on the blog, so it's moving along nicely.  This is the Solace Crop Cardigan knit in Blue Sky Fibers Woolstok in the Cast Iron colorway.  I loved the shape of this cardigan and the basket weave texture adds a little something to it.  The stitch pattern is easy to memorize, so it's been nice TV knitting.

I originally thought of using a black yarn, but I was afraid I'd lose the texture.  Cast Iron is a dark, heathered charcoal color and it's just light enough that you can see the stitch pattern.  I'm actually a little bit farther than the picture shows, and I think I'm pretty close to being finished with the body of the sweater.  (Note to self: measure and read the directions next time you sit down to knit on this.)

We are finally supposed to get some cooler weather and rain around here.  It's been way too hot (and dry) for way too long.  The rain is supposed to start sometime tonight and the temps are going to drop by this weekend.  It sounds like a silly thing to get excited about, but we've been in the mid-nineties during the day for the past couple of weeks.  We're looking forward to some cooler weather, and maybe I'll actually be able to wear this cardigan soon! 

Sparkles, Finished

I finished my Jeweled Cowl project!  I used all but a few inches of one skein of Hedgehog Fibres Kidsilk Lace in the Plump colorway.  The fluffy yarn means you have to pay a bit more attention to the knitting, but I think it's worth it for the finished project.  The cowl is light as a whisper, but the beaded accent section gives it just a little weight.  It's long enough to loop twice if necessary, but looks fine only looped once if it's not too cold.  I began with a Chinese Waitress Cast On and ended with an I-Cord bind off.  The cast on edge is just a little bit tighter than the bind off edge, so if I wear the cast on edge next to my neck, it lays very nicely.  Neither edge is particularly obvious in the fluff, but I wanted a little bit of extra stability along the outer edges.  This is a great pattern for using a single skein of fluff or regular fingering weight yarn.  I steam blocked it to finish it, but it didn't really seem to need it!

Just a Little Sparkly Project

I've just realized that I hadn't shared this here yet!  This is the Jeweled Cowl (free pattern!) and I'm knitting it for the EatSleepKnit Quarter 3 Craft-A-Long which is for beaded projects.  I cannot tell you the last time I used beads for a project.  I was unable to use beads when we had Maximus because he was crazy and liked to knock things over - especially bowls of beads, and Mr. Noodle tended to do the same when he was younger.  Lately though, Obi has been laying next to me when I knit and Mr. Noodle doesn't jump up on the sofa when Obi's there (which is weird because he totally pushes him around any other time, and will slap him ((no claws)) when necessary).  When this Craft-A-Long started, I didn't really have a plan, but then I saw this pattern, realized I had the supplies to knit it, and decided to go for it.  If I had too much furry help I could always stop, but it's actually worked out pretty well!

I'm knitting it in Hedgehog Fibres Kidsilk Lace in the Plump colorway and using some size 8 beads that have been in my stash for years.  They're kind of a maroon/copper/iridescent color.  Hard to photograph, but in person they add just a little sparkle.  The pattern is fun and easy to memorize, but I do have to pay attention to the lace row because mistakes are obvious in this simple stitch pattern.  I have two skeins of this yarn, but I'll probably quit at the end of this first skein (it has 459 yards per skein), because it's already getting nice and wide.  I haven't weighed the skein, but at a guess, I've probably knit about 75-80% if it so far.  I might make a pair of mitts to match with the other skein, but I haven't really decided yet. 

Hexagons!

I've gotten 600 hexagons basted so far!  I think I've mentioned before that I plan to get them all basted before I start sewing them together so that I can shake them all up and mix them really well.  I'm aiming for around 1,500 at least so I'm maybe more than a third of the way done?  Since I'm cutting as I go, if I start sewing now the same fabrics will be together and as I add new fabrics, they will end up on the outer edges.  So for now, I baste.  It is relaxing at least. 

A Blue Hat

I finished Caleb's new hat, so it's tucked away with the Christmas gifts.  This is the Musselburgh hat pattern (the fifth time I've made it).  I knit it in Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Crazy in the 1535 Stonewashed colorway, so the yarn did all the heavy lifting - all I did was knit.  Since the yarn has gradual color changes the two halves of the hat are different, so he can choose which side he wants as the public side.

This is the other side.  Both should go with his navy blue jackets.  

This is such a great pattern and fun to knit.  I've made him fingering weight hats before using this pattern and he's commented that they are very warm.  Granted, he's here in Texas, but having two layers of hat, means an extra layer of air trapped between, and even in fingering weight yarn, that's nice and warm.  Obviously, if you're knitting for someone in the frozen north, you'll probably want to use a heavier weight yarn. 

Spin, Span, Spun!

I finished the spinning project!

This was spun from four braids of Malabrigo Cloud (100% Superwash wool) in Aniversario, with a total of 433g of fiber.

I spun it on my Schacht Flatiron at 15:1 with 40 wpi for the singles.  This size singles usually gives me a fingering weight when I make a three ply yarn.  This stuff floofed!

After plying and washing, I have 1,101 yards of DK weight, three ply, and a little mini skein of 46 yards of chain plied yarn (also DK).  I was going for the barber pole stripes on this and worked out beautifully.  There is almost always a pink/fuchsia/plum/burgundy ply in the yarn, so the overall look of the yarn is in the red violet range of the color wheel.  When you look closely you can see all the other colors in the yarn as well.

I'm really happy with my finished yarn, even if it didn't come out the weight I was expecting (no, I did not sample, why do you ask?).  I can't get over how floofy and soft it is.  I'm really wanting to cast on a sweater immediately, but since I technically have two on the needles right now, I shouldn't.  I'm trying to finish a few things up before I start a new project...

Return of the Scrap Eating Blanket!

I've finished my Virus Blanket that I made of leftover fingering scraps.  It's just under 36 inches square, which is perfect for a lap blanket if you sit Criss Cross Applesauce (which I do).  The pattern is the Virus Blanket which is free.  The written pattern has a You Tube link in it and honestly I used them both.  The verbiage in the written directions was inconsistent and confusing (to my brain at least), so when I started the project I used the video to clarify things.  Once you get going, it's an easy pattern to memorize and you don't need the directions.  It's a great pattern and obviously perfect for using scraps.  It will work in any weight of yarn just by choosing the appropriately sized hook.

I went through my leftover, plied fingering weight and sock scraps and found some that would work for a fade and just started crocheting.  I used a 3.25mm hook and 1,531 yards of yarn to get this size.  The nice thing about this pattern is that you can keep going until your blanket is as big as you want or until you run out of yarn.  I crocheted each color until I had about six inches left, and then started the next color.  I didn't stress about where I was in the pattern because I figured the fade would deal with any color changes.  I'm happy with how that worked.  The only exception was the white I was using at the end.  I stopped after working a Round 4 even though I had a little bit of yarn left and switched to my edging color.  I worked a round of single crochet as an edging, decreasing in the V shaped dips of the pattern to keep the edge from flaring. 

This is the second scrap eating blanket I've made and I've pulled yarn and selected a pattern for a third one.  I can say that my bag of fingering weight leftovers is getting smaller!  I've decided that I like having a blanket going along with my other projects, so for the foreseeable future (or until I run out of yarn - like that's going to happen), I'll continue making them.

Have a great weekend!