KnittinK

I took the train up to Ogden today with my husband, the twins, and my Mom. There’s an old Union Pacific train set up by the station there, and since the twins are nutty for Thomas the Tank engine, that was a big hit. I was going to be good and not buy yarn since I really have more than enough. But then my husband told me to go into the Needlepoint Joint and I walked out with Made in Brooklyn and a couple skeins of koigu. I am enjoying making the Lacy Baktus so much, I thought I’d make another in a different colorway.

Current Koigu Lacy Baktus:

It is much darker in real life.

And more koigu:

I finished my clapotis a few weeks ago, and I’ve been wearing it non-stop since it got colder here.

I’m thinking about making another one in a more neutral color.

The title of this book is a little misleading. With “Swedish Knits” being mentioned so prominently, someone buying this would naturally expect a book devoted to Swedish knitting techniques. Instead it is a basic book on knitting with a few traditional patterns provided. I think it would be a great beginning knitting book for someone who has more sophisticated taste and wants something a little more adult than the Stitch-n-Bitch series, which is what I used to teach myself to knit.

There are a few chapters that cover the basics of knitting and crochet, yarn properties, knitting tools, and finishing techniques. Plenty of stitch patterns are included, providing a good sampling of patterns for someone who doesn’t already own a stitch dictionary. The patterns provided is where the title clashes most with the contents of the book. When I think about Scandinavian knitting, I think about colorwork designs and densely knit accessories. While a pattern for a Bohus sweater and a few Norwegian sweaters are provided, I was surprised that there were no mitten patterns at all. Also, no hat pattern! I would happily have traded some of the patterns included like a tea cozy and a dog sweater for a couple traditional Scandinavian hat patterns. I would rather have had some of the introductory pages swapped out for a more in-depth chapter about colorwork techniques and motifs and maybe something about the traditional Swedish technique of twined knitting. There were a couple attractive cardigan patterns in the book I would definitely consider knitting if I had the attention span to tackle knitting a sweater.

I was looking at some of the Amazon reviews, and someone mentioned that the original title for the book was “Knit More.” I wish the publishers had kept to the spirit of that title for this edition, because it is a very solid book for the advanced beginner who wants to learn more techniques and who doesn’t already have a ton of reference books on her shelf. Someone buying this book for Swedish knitting patterns and techniques alone is gong to be disappointed though.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

I finally finished the baby blankets I started work on around 2 and a half years ago. Fortunately my sons are still short enough I think they will get some use out of them:

These are slightly modifed Moderne Baby Blankets from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I used a close-out superwash wool that I bought from Webs. This type of yarn is actually fairly splitty and likely a poor choice for a toddler blanket. I will know next time to pick a much sturdier yarn. I’m glad these blanket are done because they have been my primary “at home” project. Now I can move more quickly with some of the other things I want to work on - Babette, finishing up Clapotis, and attempting to use up some of my stash of sock yarn.

One of the nicest things about ravelry is seeing what other people are favoriting and having your attention called to a pattern that you were previously unaware of. I really like this simple scarf/shawl thingy. I was thinking of making it out of this somewhat nutty looking red/silver blend yarn, but I’m wondering if the shiny stuff will look too teenagery for something that I’d be wearing next to my face.

Here’s a bit of what I got from Webs:

300 grams of Kauni. One skein was 140g, the other 160 which seems a little odd. But I’ve read in other places that the yardage for Kauni is all over the place. I ordered another colorway in blue/purple/green but it was backorderd, so I don’t have it yet. I’m thinking of making the Northern Lights shawl or the
Sagrantino Shawl eventually

Also some discounted Noro Iro:

I’m thinking of maybe making an easy cabled hat for myself. I haven’t done cables before and I want to learn.

Other than that, I am slogging away at my son’s baby blanket. I have one done, and the other developed a horrible hole somehow. I ended up ripping it and started it over again. I figure if I have the baby blankets done by their 2nd birthday in August that will be good. The blankets are largish so they could use them in the fall and winter.

I started Clapotis while I was traveling, and chugging away at the straight section. I had a hard time with starting the pattern before, but once I read some tips online (purl instead of using stitch markers, use a spreadsheet to keep track of where you are in the pattern) it was much easier to get into a better rhythm with the pattern.

I’m working on the 4th section of Babette and I’m hoping to block some squares and do some sewing up in the next couple weeks.

It never fails that just when I think to myself “I really have more than enough yarn,” I end up going on a yarn binge shortly thereafter. I was prompted by books becoming eligable for the Webs discount and picked up Folk Shawls, 2nd Barbara Walker, some Kauni, Dream in Color Smooshy, and some closeout Noro. Now I should be set for another couple years. Must start knitting more to use up existing stash.

So it took me a looooooooooooooonnnnng time to learn how to crochet. Margene was super-patient about teaching me how to make a granny square during the course of several weeks at Stitch-n-Bitch.

I’m enjoying all the color combinations. I’m using the same number of colors in the original pattern, although I do enjoy the way some of the limited color palette Babettes look.

I think I’ll be able to get back to using my left hand more fully in a week or so, but I’m glad I finally learned how to crochet!

Some recent yarn purchases:

A bunch of louet gems fingering weight, and a couple skeins of artyarns ultramerino 4. These are destined for a babette blanket. I already have an alarming amount of koigu in my stash, so I’m planning on mixing yarn types. Now I just need to learn how to make granny squares, which I will have to do in the next couple weeks because I’m having minor hand surgery at the end of the month and my left hand might be out of commission for a few days.

At the same time I bought this Zauberball sock yarn in cranberry shades. I think it looks quite intriguing.

And then, almost solely because the name of the colorway was “Hairdresser on Fire,” some Lotus Yarns Aura:

I am almost done with a couple baby blankets I started before my twins were born. One is done and I need to weave in the ends, and I’ve got a little more to knit on the last one.

I have finally managed to finish a pair of socks. I have two or three partial socks that I started and abandoned, but I am quite happy to have finally finished a pair. This is the basic sock pattern from the Yarn Harlot’s Knitting Rules. I did a star toe because horrible mangly things happened when I attempted to kitchener.

I’m quite happy with the results even though there are a few ladders up the sides, I need to get the trick of maintaining tension better when working with dpns, I guess. I made these from a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock that I bought a long time ago. I had quite a bit leftover, so I could have made these much longer. Hopefully I’ll continue to knit socks and I’ll get a better sense of how much sock I can get out of a skein of yarn.

Here’s my first finished project of the new year, the Habu Kusha Kusha scarf.

It was a bit of a slog doing all of that mindless stockinette, but since I’m easily distracted and don’t have much time to knit it was a really good project for me. It felted up nicely in the sink, and I like the way the fabric produced turns the curling edges of stockinette into a design feature. There’s a lot of play value to the scarf, if you scrunch it the stainless steel yarn retains the texture. The merino in my kit was a grey and the silk/stainless steel was a dark blue that looks black but is obviously blue in bright light. I was thinking that when I was done with this I wouldn’t want to knit another one but after wearing it a whole day I started contemplating having another Kusha Kusha scarf in a different color. Maybe in a year or so I might want to knit another one.

I was fortunate enough to receive a bunch of yarn, one of my favorite presents since I don’t tend to go yarn shopping very much any more (stash too big).

My mother-in-law gave me a skein of Shibui worsted (I’m thinking of making a hat or cowl) and Zimmerman’s Knitting Workshop. My husband decided to randomly drive by Blazing Needles and uttered some dangerous words, “Buy whatever you want.” So I picked up a couple skeins of koigu in a dark plummy shade and some Schaeffer Anne in a mix of purple, gold, and green.

I actually have been knitting, I have around 10 inches left on the Kusha Kusha scarf. I also made my sons goofy pointy hats, because I figure I have a limited window of opportunity to make them wear goofy hats.

I wonder if I actually blog a little bit, if it will inspire me to finish a project? I just bought a Habu kit for the Kusha Kusha scarf from a new yarn store (Blazing Needles). The fabric produced by this kit is interesting, since you knit with a fine merino and a silk/stainless steel blend.

You can look at some pictures of yarn taken with a super magnifying camera.

I’m juggling a few projects right now - a mini Dr. Who scarf, a pair of Cherry Tree Hill socks, the ubiquitous Noro Silk Garden striped scarf, and the Moderne Baby Blanket. Here are a couple pics:

This blanket is a bit of a slog. I really need to just set aside some time and resign myself to all the garter stitch. It is a little too big to be very portable though, so I can’t knit it when I go out to the movies. I need to make another one for my other son too. I’m guessing that the twins will be toddlers by the time I’m done with them

I’m exactly halfway done with this scarf. I was able to sneak in some time working on it last weekend, when I went out to the movies a couple times.

My husband got me Koigu for Valentine’s Day!

Well, I finished the basic noro/lamb’s pride scarf I was working on earlier:

And I cast on for another:

This is the chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I’m doubling some baby alpaca lace weight (the dark forest green yarn) and some Knit Pics merino lace in a variegated green. It is going well so far, except I think I’m slightly allergic to the alpaca, so I can only knit a few rows at a time.

I was quite psyched to get some Noro Sock Yarn today. That’s color #184 (olive, magenta, and teal) on the top and #95 (lime green, magenta, peach, and orange) on the bottom. The yarn does feel a bit like twine, so it’ll be interesting to see how it softens up. I’m wanting to make something with a pattern to show off the colorways, maybe Pomatomus? Since I have only knit 3 partial socks before though, I think I’m going to use the Noro sock yarn as a bribe for finishing some simple socks knit from something else.

This is another scarf that is destined to be a gift. I’m trying to be a much better person about knitting from stash, so I’m using around a ball and a half of Noro Kureyon I had left over from my Lady Eleanor Scarf and some purple Lamb’s Pride Worsted. This is a simple K1 P1 rib scarf, alternating two rows of each yarn. Unfortunately I’m running low on the Kureyon, and the recipient wants a very long scarf. So I’ve decided that asymmetry will be a design feature. I’m going to knit the rest of it just in the Lamb’s Pride and finish it off with a couple stripes of Kureyon at the end.

A couple spiral hats I made as presents for a couple of my friends:

It is tough to see any detail in the navy one, but this blobby thing is a nice hat, I swear:

This was made with some Berroco Uxbridge Tweed I had in my stash.

Another stash hat, this time with some Noro Silk Garden:

This was a nice pattern, the spiral rib made it a little more interesting to knit and hats are quick and easy, which is always good for holiday knitting!