And Then There Were Two

Pattern: Hop by Susan B. Anderson for Blue Sky Alpacas
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton (I think), unknown colorway, and Dream in Color Classy in Happy Forest
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm) dpns
Started/Completed: September 18/October 8

This bunny was so cute I had to make him again. Luckily, I had a good excuse -- a new cousin in the family. She'll be geting the usual handknits (sweater, hat, etc.) eventually, but we'll be meeting her for the first time this coming weekend and I didn't want to come empty handed.

Hop, version two, is very similar to the first go-round. I did make a few minor changes, some intentional, some not. One change of the latter category is this bunny's tail, which is just a bit more voluminous.

A change done on purpose this time was to alter my cast on. The pattern has you cast on as you would for straight knitting, join to knit in the round, and then later use the cast on tail to stitch up the hole. I decided that it made more sense to use Emily Ocker's circular cast on, so all I had to do after knitting a few rounds was snug it up and secure the end. It was a small change, but it did save some time.

I also did lifted increases rather than the knit front and back specified in the directions for the feet. The end result is the same, but I like the smoother look it creates.

The yarn for the second bunny came by way of my aunt -- the same aunt who taught me to knit a couple of decades ago. She knit Rainbow a couple of beautiful sweaters and wrapped up the extra yarn for me when she delivered them. There was no tag with the two skeins of yarn leftover from the one sweater, but to my eye and touch, they're Blue Sky Organic Cotton.

As with the first bunny, the face is embroidered using a bit of leftover brown sock yarn and fully secured so that baby fingers and mouths can't disfigure it. I think these two make quite a handsome pair, don't you?

My Old Friend Merino

It's been quite a dramatic and exhausting weekend (I'll have to tell you about it later when I'm more rested), but it's Sunday and I have some spinning to show you, so I thought I'd throw up a quick post.

Despite my best efforts to keep up with the shipments of the Crown Mountain Farms fiber club, over the summer I fell behind -- mostly because a couple of the summer shipments were tricky fibers that are still unspun and may stay that way for a while. As a result, I spent most of September spinning up the July shipment, which was a delight: 100% merino top. So soft and easy to spin. The colorway of the month was Inspiration.

Knowing that my spinning time is limited these days, I didn't want to spin anything too thin, nor did I want to mess too much with the gorgeous dye job. So I decided on a thicker two ply for my yarn. It was good practice spinning a bit thicker anyway.

The finished yarn looks to be a DK to light worsted (I'm less consistent when I spin thicker yarns, but I'm working on it) and is approximately 203 yards.

It turned out just as I wanted -- bouncy and soft but with the tight twist I love. I think this will make a nice pair of mittens or a hat for this winter.

Bring Out Yer Wool!

Though the calendar may say that fall started on September 22, according to my highly scientific knitterly methods of calculating these things, it actually started yesterday -- because yesterday was the first day that it was chilly enough that I needed to wear handknit socks since sometime last spring. (It also inspired me to wash the pile of handknit socks that had been sitting in my closet for, um, several months.)

So now that fall is here, it is time to knit sweaters. It's been a while since I knit myself a non-maternity sweater, so I was quite excited to cast on for one. This rather crappy picture (apologies for it, by the way), is the beginning of my Oblique:


I actually swatched and cast on for this a couple of weeks ago, but I've been distracted by bunny knitting. As soon as Hop II is finished, though, this will be my main focus. It's somewhat slow going, because each row involves three different stitch patterns. I'm hoping the enthusiasm I'm feeling now and the need for a cozy sweater to keep me warm will keep me going.

Hop to It

I promised you a successful project, and here he is -- hello!

Pattern: Hop [Ravelry link] by Susan B. Anderson for Blue Sky Alpacas
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton, color 81/Sand, less than one skein, and Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran (85% merino, 10% silk, 5% cashmere), colorway Lavender, approximately 1/2 skein
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm) dpns
Started/Completed: September 2/September 14

This little bunny was such fun to knit. He's knit seamlessly, from his bulbous bunny feet to the top of ears, as is his sweater. The only real "finishing" involved is sewing up or grafting a few spots when the parts are joined together.

For Hop's sweater, I used a little bit of yarn leftover from my Climbing Vines pullover. His embroidered face was done with a couple of plies of brown sock yarn (I think leftover from Mr. Foster).

The only modification I made to this bunny was to leave off the carrot on his sweater. Someday I may do Rainbow's initial in duplicate stitch, but for now I like it the way it is. I especially like a cute little feature that you can't see in the pattern photo -- a bushy bunny tail, complete with a hole for it in the sweater!

This pattern was so much fun that I'm knitting it again for our newest cousin!

Multnomah

On to unblogged FO #2 -- this time, it's my last entry in the Summer of Socks and Lace 2010 contest (no, I didn't win).

Pattern: Multnomah (pdf link) by Kate Flagg
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock (100% superwash merino), colorway Alcaucil, one skein
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) Addi Turbos
Started/Completed: July 17/August 31

I'm pretty sure this yarn was the first skein of Malabrigo I ever bought, so it was pretty well marinated in the stash by the time I pulled it out. I thought this steely gray would go well with a pattern that's named for an area of the Pacific Northwest, and I always like the look of a semisolid yarn with garter stitch.

There was one bit of weirdness in this skein. As I was knitting, I noticed about a yard's length where one of the plies of yarn looked different and there was clearly a join. The color was ever so slightly different, and that different ply was a lot fluffier than the rest of the yarn. After washing, though, it appears that whatever dye was in that ply washed out, making it really stick out. Can you see it here?

How about now?

My guess is that this bit of yarn got spliced in while the yarn was being plied, but I suspect that the weird addition is not the same fiber content as the rest of the yarn, because it seems to have taken the dye differently. Luckily it ended up in the feather and fan section of the shawl, so I don't think it's as apparent as it could have been.

Now, as to the finished shawl, well, I'm kind of unexcited about it. I've seen many beautiful versions of this pattern on Ravelry, and I loved this yarn, so I'm not sure why the combination of the two is underwhelming to me. My lack of excitement, though, is probably why I did such a shoddy job of blocking it, especially around the "point" at the bottom:

You all know that I'm an aggressive blocker when it comes to lace, but when I blocked this, all I wanted to do was get it done. I just didn't have the energy to pin and repin until it was just right. The good thing is that it's a cinch to redo if I want to, and even if the blocking leaves something to be desired, this is going to make a lovely soft scarf for the winter. I've really come to the conclusion that Malabrigo Sock is better suited to scarves and shawls than it is to socks, so I certainly don't regret using this for a bit of lace.

There's still one more FO to come -- and I promise it's a winner!

Tackling the Backlog

I have been trying to get a blog post up for about two weeks now but have been thwarted by a crazy schedule and a nearly 9-month-old who has demanded my attention. I've got quite a backlog of things to show you, having recently completed two projects and gotten pretty darn close to finishing another, so let's just start with the oldest, m'kay?

Pattern: Pea Pod Baby Set by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton, 20% merino), colorway Prosperous Plum
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Size: 12 months
Started/Completed: April 30/August 24
Mods: none, unless you count the sizing

I was a naughty knitter and didn't swatch for this sweater. The yarn was leftover from my Mommy Snug, so I based my needle choice on the needles I used for that sweater (I'd used a 4 for mine, so I went up a size so that the fabric wouldn't be quite as dense). I thought I'd do a couple of sizes larger than what Rainbow was wearing at the time so that there would be a chance she'd still fit into it by the time I finished. It turns out that I needn't have worried; this looks to be more like a 2T than a 12 month size, so it'll be a while yet before she can wear it, but by then I hope she'll have stopped growing so quickly and will be able to wear this for a while. The nice thing about Cotton Fleece is that it's a great all-weather fiber blend. It's probably not the warmest in the middle of winter, but it'll be good for spring, summer, and fall.

I thought it was quite appropriate that I used yarn leftover from my pregnancy sweater to knit something for my baby -- both patterns by the same designer, no less, and I even found more of the same buttons! Unless there's a major surprise, we'll never be wearing our sweaters at the same time, but there's plenty of years ahead for us to be matchy-matchy. And we still have our February Sweaters to wear this fall and winter -- that is, if Rainbow hasn't outgrown hers before she's had a chance to wear it!

This Fish Is Cooked

Usually by the time I finish something that has been a slog, I'm sick of it. In this case, though, it's quite the opposite.

Let me take you back to earlier in the summer, when a trio of Polwarth braids arrived from All Spun Up as part of the summer "go fish" spinalong. The first braid was spun up rather quickly during the Tour de Fleece. When it was finished, I eagerly started the second braid, anticipating a quick finish to that one as well.

Alas, that happy ending was not to be. In part due to the fact that I was spinning extremely thin singles and in part because a certain someone greatly limits my spinning time, this fiber was on my wheel for well more than a month. In order to preserve the colors, I decided to chain ply this yarn, which meant that I started at one end of the top and spun it all the way to the other end. When it came time to ply, I was determined to do it quickly -- and I did, taking less than a week to do the job.

When this skein came off the wheel, I was amazed. It was just as gorgeous as I'd hoped it would be. Moreover, even before the finishing process, it was already fairly well balanced. It was a heavy laceweight fresh off the wheel, but after a warm bath and my usual aggressive thwacking, it bloomed to a fluffy, bouncy light fingering weight.

As pretty as it is, I'm absolutely flabbergasted by the yardage I achieved -- roughly 573 yards from 4.25 ounces, by far the best yardage I've ever gotten when spinning what is (more or less) sock yarn. It also explains why it took me so long to spin the singles; the final yardage means that I started with more than 1,600 yards of singles.

This may be my favorite of all the yarns I've spun. The only problem? I don't know if I'll ever find a project worthy of it.

Nearing the End

I've spent the past few days trying to finish stuff. At the top of the list has been the Koi Pond Polwarth that has been on my wheel for at least a month. While Rainbow took an extraordinarily long nap on Saturday afternoon, I was able to finish spinning up the singles. I had one very full bobbin at the end.

I let the singles rest overnight and then, on Sunday, I started chain plying. For those of you who don't know what that is, chain plying is kind of like making a really big crochet chain with the singles and then putting twist into the chain. The result is something that looks like a three ply but you only need one bobbin to achieve it. It's not as strong as a traditional three ply (in which, if one ply breaks, you have two more still intact; in a chain-plied yarn, if the single breaks, the entire yarn can fall apart), but it is great for those times when you want to preserve color repeats in the fiber or want a self-striping yarn.

After a bit of plying on Sunday and more last night, I now have a rapidly filling bobbin:

I think that a couple more spinning sessions should see this finished.

Also nearly finished? Rainbow's Pea Pod Sweater, which is done but for the buttons.

It's definitely big, but I have a feeling it'll be a good fit for this time next year -- and it makes me happy to know that she'll be able to wear something I've knit for her. She was good enough to humor me while I had her try it on, though I think she was a little annoyed at how long the sleeves were. You see, she started crawling last week, and the long sleeves were slowing her down!

Merope

What a difference a good blocking makes. Remember my Merope? The last time you saw it, it didn't look like much. Now? Things have changed.

Pattern: Merope [Ravelry link] by Rosemary (Romi) Hill, from 7 Small Shawls to Knit
Yarn: JaggerSpun Zephyr (50% Chinese Tussah silk, 50% merino), colorway Pewter, approximately 450 yards (less than one 2 oz./630 yd. skein)
Needles: 32" US 4 (3.5 mm) Addi Turbo circs
Dimensions: 54" by 29"
Started/Completed: July 1/August 13
Mods: added one repeat of Chart B and bound off using applied i-cord

While knitting my Brandywine shawl as part of a Knitmore-along, I heard about Romi Hill's new e-book, for which the first pattern had just been released. When I saw the pattern page for Merope on Ravelry, I was absolutely smitten by the top picture on the page and knew that I had to knit one in a light silvery gray. When I found this Zephyr at Natural Stitches, I knew it would be perfect (it's actually a lot lighter than it appears in these photos).

Like Brandywine, this pattern starts at the bottom tip and is worked upward and out, with the border being knit at the same time. The zig-zag-like border of this shawl is really brilliantly designed, in my opinon. It changes direction, so to speak, by alternating k2tog and ssks framed by yarn overs, taking advantage of the fact that these decreases slant one way or the other to get the border to slant that way as well.

The pattern also includes two options for the shawl; both have the same border, but for one the body is in stockinette and for the other it's in garter. I decided on stockinette because I thought it was better suited to the delicate yarn I'd chosen (the pattern calls for a fingering weight and I used a laceweight). The stockinette version is the smaller of the two, but I decided to do an extra repeat of the body chart to get a slightly larger shawl.

The only real departure I made from the pattern was to do an alternate bind off. The garter version calls for a reverse i-cord bind off, but the stockinette version has a knit-on border. I started it but didn't care for how the edge looked, so I tinked back and did a regular i-cord bind off. I really love the clean, finished look this bind off gives the shawl.

The verdict? It's a winner! Romi knows what she's doing, and I'm excited to see the rest of the shawls in this great little collection.

Welcome Back

And just like that, my mojo is back.

I pulled out Rainbow's Pea Pod Cardigan last Wednesday for Hurricane Knitting. It had suddenly occurred to me that I had started this sweater while on the way to my brother's college graduation -- which was May 1. It was about time I finished it, especially if I wanted Rainbow to be able to wear it this fall.

Something must've clicked at knit night, because all of the sudden I couldn't put the thing down! I finished up the front with the lace panel that night, started in on the back on Friday after Rainbow went to sleep, and finished it and the other front the next day. Now all that's left to do is a couple of sleeves (which I'll probably do at the same time), a bit of seaming up, and the collar.

The only problem? Well, I didn't swatch (I just went with a fabric I liked) and I'm following the instructions for the 12-month size, and it might be just a tad bit big.

Oh well, it'll fit her one day!

Same Old ...

The summer doldrums. I has 'em. As is usually the case in July and August, I'm finding it hard to be really excited about wooly things when it's 90 degrees with high humidity. So I'm plodding along on all my projects without making any significant progress on any one.

Take my spinning projects, for instance. The Tour de Fleece has been over for a week and a half, and I'm still working on this Polwarth in Koi Pond. Thankfully, the bobbin is almost full and I can see the end of the fiber in my basket.

I know this is going to be gorgeous when it's done, but it's going sooooo slowly. I'm anxious not only to see this yarn finished but also to get started on two new fiber acquisitions that turned up on my doorstep in the past couple of weeks.

I've been kind of on a self-imposed fiber diet, but when Kristin of All Spun Up announced another spinalong with a BFL/silk blend, I had to indulge. This particular colorway has been dubbed "Miss Crabtree" (of the Little Rascals).

The last time I had my hands on this blend, I spun it on the thicker side, but this braid is definitely going to become laceweight.

Then there's the July fiber from the Crown Mountain Farms fiber club. It's merino, so I know it will be delightful to spin. I'm planning on spinning this one up on the thicker side, aiming for a bouncy two ply. I think this'll be great for a hat for Rainbow for this coming winter.

I am still working on my Merope and am through about 3 1/2 of the called-for 4 repeats of the main body chart, though I may do an extra repeat or two because I have plenty of yarn. This shawl has been my lunchtime knitting at work, so that means only about 40 minutes a day and, now that the rows are getting long, that only translates to about five or six rows a day.

Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago, my mother and I flew to Chicago for the day for my cousin's bridal shower, and I needed a mindless project, so I pulled out some deep-stash yarn and needles and cast on for Multnomah.

This particular skein of yarn may very well be the first skein of Malabrigo Sock I ever bought, right when it came out. I'd been saving it for something special, so I'm hoping this shawl fits the bill. I'm probably halfway through the garter stitch section, so there's a while to go before I get to the fun part.

I'd be making much faster progress if only I didn't have a much more fun way to spend my evenings -- playing with this cutie:

The Mister took this photo last week when he discovered we were wearing almost matching outfits -- gray shirts and black pants (although Mickey Mouse isn't exactly business attire for me). Rainbow keeps getting bigger and more fun to play with. She's now able to stand up for a long time (while holding on to something), and she sprouted her first tooth yesterday!

Slow and Steady

Things are moving along very slowly here. I have several projects in progress, but none is seeing much growth these days.

The Tour de Fleece ends this weekend, and I have been working diligently on my third yarn of the Tour, which is unlikely to be completed by its end. It's this ASU Polwarth (the colorway is Koi Pond).

I'm spinning it from one end of the top to the other and very fine, with the plan to chain ply it once I have all 4+ ounces on this bobbin. It's going very, very slowly, and it's only just started to look like I've done more spinning.

I'm also working on some lace during my lunch break at work. This is the beginnings of Merope (Ravelry link), the first of the shawls in Rosemary Hill's 7 Small Shawls to Knit e-book. (Apologies for the craptastic picture; the yarn is such a light gray that I had to put it against a dark background so you could see it. It doesn't help that there's a storm rolling in and it was already getting dark outside.)

Also in progress is the Pea Pod Cardigan for Rainbow, which has gotten to the point where I've divided for the armholes and am working the front with the lace panel. I need to get back to work on it soon or it Rainbow will outgrow it before it's complete.

And speaking of Rainbow, we discovered this weekend that she has more in common with her daddy than a love of sleeping.

I'll have you know that this picture wasn't posed at all -- all we did was sit her down and she started clicking!

One Fish

Just a quick post to show you the latest results of my Tour de Fleece spinning. Remember this braid of Polwarth from All Spun Up?

It's now approximately 248 yards of this super squishy two ply. It's not my most consistent yarn, so it ranges from fingering or sport to light worsted, but overall I'd say it's about a DK weight. This excites me to not end, because if you've had any interest in my spinning in the past two years or so, you know that I like to spin thin yarns -- and that I tend to spin thin yarns even when I'm trying to spin something thicker. Clearly something worked this time.

The colorway is called A Somewhat Seuss-ish Trout, and it does rather remind me of some of Dr. Seuss' illustrations. I think this'll make a great hat or pair of mittens come winter, maybe for me, maybe for Rainbow.

Meanwhile, although I'm continuing to spin on my wheel each night for a bit after Rainbow goes to bed, I'm also spending about 10 to 15 minutes a day practicing spinning on my spindle. It's clearly paying off, because my singles are getting more consistent -- and thinner, which seems to be a pattern with me.

Road Report: Tour de Fleece 2010

If you follow any of the spinning groups on Ravelry, then you know that July means the annual spinning event known as the Tour de Fleece. This is my second year participating, after having an immensely successful rookie year. I did not have any lofty goals this year, because I have so little time to myself as it is these days. Instead, I set for myself two very attainable goals: spin every day, even if it's only for a little bit, and practice spinning on a spindle.

Although I had intended to start the Tour with empty bobbins, just like last year I still had a yarn in progress when the event began. So, my first yarn completed during the Tour ended up being one that had been in progress for nearly two months. This was the Crown Mountain Farms Targhee that was the May shipment for the fiber club. The coloway was Woodstock, and if you recall, the fiber looked like it had been tie dyed. I was a bit worried that it might turn out a bit muddy when I plied, but luck was on my side and the colors seem to have remained distinct enough. This is a traditional three ply, a light fingering weight, and approximately 487 yards -- by far my best three-ply sock yarn yardage yet.

Once that was finally off the wheel, I was able to pull out one of my three braids of fiber from the All Spun Up "fish" spinalong. I went with the mystery fish colorway, A Somewhat Seuss-ish Trout, which is on Polwarth, a new-to-me fiber. I'm spinning this up significantly thicker, so it's going much faster. It should be a sport to DK two ply when it's done, which should be by this weekend at the rate it's going.

Finally, in keeping with my second goal for the Tour, I took out my spindle (which I won in last year's TdF) at Hurricane Knitting last night and discovered that this spindling thing has finally clicked for me. (For scale, the whorl of the spindle is about the size of a half dollar coin.)

It's been a while since I've posted a Rainbow picture, so here's one from earlier in the week. Unfortunately the story that goes with it is not a very happy one. She was really fussy all weekend long, and we thought she was just teething. On Monday evening, though, she spiked a fever, so we stripped her down to her diaper and draped a cool washcloth over her. She seemed to enjoy that.

I took her to the doctor first thing Tuesday morning, and as it turns out, she has a double ear infection. I stayed home with her that day (and got a lot of spining done when she took a long nap that afternoon!), and now she seems to be on the mend. She does not like it when we give her medicine, though! I think we are all ready for her to get back to normal.