I think wool is the. Best. Fiber. Ever! I started working with some superwash a few months ago, and I never looked back. The yarn is Cascade 220 Worsted, in a deep tomato red. Perfect for grey days. Working with this yarn makes me think of crackling fires, mugs of steaming hot chocolate, bamboo needles, falling snow, cozy blankets, and holiday music. This yarn has been to four different states. It’s been in cars and planes, backpacks and totes. It’s been to cross-country meets, chemistry class, and Star Trek nights. This is my favorite yarn of all time. I’ll be almost sad when it’s all knitted up.
WIP Round-Up November 22, 2009
Yee-ha! Let’s go round up some WIPs!
Right now, my knitting bag is stuffed. Really. It contains one legwarmer in progress, one sweater in progress, a Prehistoric Pals stegosaurus head and body, a crocheted hat in progress, and a crocheted glove in progress. Also, one screwed-up sock in hibernation. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention the watch cap for The Ships Project. See what I mean?
This post isn’t really good for anything except shameless comment-fishing. I want you, the reader, to give me a sampling (if not a full round-up) of your current WIPs. You have one month. At the end of the one-month grace period, I will be posting the statistics: which WIPs are the most popular? Which ones are avoided? Want to find out?
Wildwool
Caroline by Hannah Ingalls November 18, 2009
I was messing around on Ravelry this morning, and I found this awsome hat pattern. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures, but it’s a cloche-style hat with pleats on part of the brim and a ribbon sewn on as a hatband. Enjoy!
Gauge: 24 sts/40 rws at 4″ in St st on US 4/3.5 mm needles
Sizes and Measurements: S (L), 19.5″ (22.5″)
Materials: Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold [45% wool/35% silk/20% nylon, 192 yd/176 m per 50 g skein]; 2 (2) skeins. US 4 / 3.5 mm circular needle, 16 inch, US 4 / 3.5 mm double pointed needles. 9 stitch markers, tape measure, tapestry needle, Grosgain ribbon (1.5 inch wide), 1.5 yards, sewing thread, sewing needle, safety pin.
Directions:
Hem:
CO 178 (198) sts using long-tail cast on. PM and join in round,
K 14 rnds. P1 rnd. K 14 rnds.
Fold hem along P rnd to inside of hat and line up CO edge with the live sts on your needles. On next rnd, k each live st tog with the corresponding CO st.
K 1 rnd.
Pleats: *Sl 6 sts to a dpn, then sl next 6 sts to another dpn. Fold the slipped sections to the inside to make a pleat. Arrange the sts on the dpns and left-hand circ and k 1 st tog from all three needles, as in a 3 needle BO. Rep for next five sts to form pleat.* Rep from * to * three times more. Four pleats made. K to end of rnd. 130 (150) sts.
Crown:
Next rnd: *K8, k2tog* rep from * to * around. 117 (135) sts.
Work in St st until hat measures 6″ from lower edge of hem.
Next rnd: *K 13 (15), PM* Rep from * to * around. 9 sections.
Switching to dpns when necessary, dec as follows:
Rnd 1: *K2tog, k to marker* Rep from * to * around.
Rnd 2: K around.
Rep rnds 1 and 2 until 18 sts rem.
Break yarn, draw through rem sts, and pull tight.
Finishing:
Weave in ends and block as desired.
Hatband and Bow:
After hat is blocked and dried, try on hat and measure around outside at top of hem. Cut a length of ribbon one and a half inches longer than measurement taken. Join this ribbon into band shape, being careful not to twist, and overlap one inch. Sew ends tog around overlap.
For bow, cut a second piece of ribbon 4.5″ long. Wrap this around the stitching you did in the last step, and fold the end under itself. Secure with safety pin. Sew this end down, being careful not to sew all the way through the bow, so that stitching won’t show from the outside.
Place the completed band on the hat, aligning bottom of band with top of hem, and centering bow over pleats. If desired, sew bottom of band to hat at several points, being careful to account for the stretch the hat will need in order to be worn.
Happy knitting!
Wildwool
Charity Sage for The Ships Project November 16, 2009
My newest WIP is also my first project for charity. I’m knitting on a sage green watch cap in leftover Red Heart acrylic (yeah, I know…. yarn snob, I’m not) for a soldier overseas. The charity I’m knitting this for is called The Ships Project, and here’s their website: http://www.theshipsproject.com/. I learned about The Ships Project in the book Knitting for Peace. Knitting for soldiers does not mean that you support the war! It means that you care enough about other human beings to spend some of your time doing something kind for them. My personally imposed deadline for this projects is December 25. Since I celebrate Christmas, this is my “holiday giving” thing for this year. The pattern I am using for the cap is from the book Family Accessories by Leisure Arts.
Classic Watch Cap
Size: To fit average lady or man.
Materials: DK weight yarn, 1/34 oz. (164 yds./50g.) Size 5 (3 3/4 mm) needles or size needed to obtain gauge.
Gauge: 24 sts and 32 rows = 4″ in St st.
Pattern:
Cast on 104 sts.
1st row: (RS) K3. *P2, k2* Rep from * to * to last st. K1.
2nd row: (WS) K1. *P2, k2* Rep from * to * to last 3 sts. P2, k1. Rep these 2 rows, ending on a 2nd row, until work measures 11″ from CO edge.
Shape top:
1st row: K1. *K2tog, p2tog* Rep from * to * to last 3 sts. K2tog, k1. 53 sts.
2nd row: K1. *P1, k1* Rep from * to * to end of row.
3rd row: K2. *P1, k1* Rep from * to * to last st. K1. Rep last 2 rows twice more, then 2nd row once.
9th row: K2tog across row to last st. K1. 27 sts.
10th row: K1, p to last st, k1.
11th row: (K2tog) 13 times. K1. 14 sts. Break yarn, leaving a long end. Draw end through rem sts and fasten securely. Sew entire back seam.
Happy knitting!
Wildwool
November Book Review: East by Edith Pattou November 13, 2009
This month’s book review is of East, by Edith Pattou.
I found East attractive on reading the back, because I’m always attracted to retellings of fairy tales, especially the lesser-known ones. This particular book is a retelling of the Grimm’s fairy tale “East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon,” in which a young girl’s beloved is transformed into an animal and she must travel to a mythical country in order to get him back in his human shape. East combines that story with the beautiful Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche, creating a combination that is both fresh and predictable, with lively characters and skillful setting of the mood and style.
The back story of Rose, the heroine’s “birth direction” is interesting, almost more so than the actual plot. The story is told from the viewpoints of various characters, allowing the author to keep up with people long after they have dropped out of the main storyline. Each character has a distinct style, and the switchbacks between them keep an old story interesting.
The trolls and silent, snow-covered forests add just the right amount of creepiness to the fairy tale plotline, but one can get bogged down in certain parts of the novel, which is quite long, with a subplot as well as the basic story of Rose and her white bear. All in all, this is a well-written book that I would reccomend to anyone who knows their Grimms and Greek myths, as well as readers who might not be farmiliar with the relevant tales. While reading East, I kept coming across beautiful little nods to both works, and small connections within the novel itself. This is the kind of novel to be read in closely spaced chunks, to avoid losing interest in the story.
Happy reading!
Wildwool
Pattern of the Month: November: Free-Standing Muffler from Knitwit, designed by Megan Reardon November 9, 2009
This pattern is lifted from the book Knitwit, by Amy R. Singer. I thought it was the perfect thing to post in all this cold weather!
Size: S[M, L]
Finished Measurements: Width: 17[18, 20]“ Length: 6″
Materials: Takhi Imports Jolie (70% French Angora, 30% merino wool; 108yd/100m per 25g); 2 skeins, 1 set US #11/8mm straight needles, yarn needle, two ball-shaped buttons, 0.5″ diameter.
Gauge: 12 sts/17 rows = 4″ in St st with 2 strands held tog
Pattern:
With two strands of yarn held together, CO 52 [56, 60] sts. Work even in 2×2 rib for 15 rows.
Row 16: P3 *kfb, k1, p2* to last stitch, p1. (64[69, 74] sts)
Row 17 and following odd rows: Work sts as they appear (p the p sts, k the k sts.)
Row 18: P3 *k1, kfb, k1, p2* to last st, p1. (76[82, 88] sts.)
Row 20: P3 *k1, kfb, k2, p2* to last st, p1. (88[95, 102] sts.)
Row 22: P3 *k1, kfb, k3, p2* to last st, p1 (100[108, 116] sts.)
Row 24: P3 *k1, kfb, k4, p2* to last st, p1. (112[121, 130] sts.)
Row 25: Work sts as they appear. BO all sts in rib.
Finishing:
On the WS, attach the buttons at the edge, 1″ in from top and bottom.
Stock? November 5, 2009
Hi!
I’m trying to make some stock in lieu of veggie broth to put in my soup tonight. I’m using onions, carrots, and celery in water. The best part is, the veggies get cut up and served in the soup!
Also, my NaNoWriMo is doing fine word-countwise, and I finally finished the second skein of Cascade. I’m going to tie on the third skein while the stock is making. Oh, and I’ll post my partially finished sweater pattern and the soup recipie (courtesey of Mollie Katzen’s Honest Pretzels) later, hopefully tonight. Gotta run!
Wildwool
The Lovely Sunset November 4, 2009
Okay, so it’s winter now. Or, at least, fall bordering dangerously on winter. So, I’m torn between glorying in the lovely sunset outside, and freaking out because the sun is settting at 5:11. Help! Camera! Actually, my sunset pictures always turn out… well, less than stellar. I feel a case of winter blues coming on now. Fortunately, there’s always the sweater. Speaking of, my second skein of Cascade is down to a teeny, tiny, fragment of a ball. I’ll probably break out the third skein tonight. I started this sweater in August, and my plan was to finsh it by Thanksgiving. Now, I see how crazy that was. The deadline has been officially extended to Christmas.
The Red Sweater Continued November 3, 2009
Okay, so I finished the sleeves. It took me waaaaay longer than I thought. I started on the body, with reassurances from the Ravelers, and so far it looks good. I only have about two and a half inches, and I need seventeen. It is VERY slow going, as I have over 200 stitches. I have to go, my NaNoWriMo is festering in my word processor.
Bye!
My freefroming adventure August 10, 2009
Enter a new chapter in my knitter’s life – The Red Sweater. I have wanted to knit a red sweater ever since I saw a knitting blog called The Red Sweater. So, while visiting Reno, I made a stop at Jimmy Beans’s wool to look for yarn for another sweater. I didn’t find the yarn for that sweater, but I did find two balls of red Cascade 220 Superwash. I bought the yarn to make a pair of socks. These particular socks start out with two inches of 1×1 rib, and then switches to a K3, P1 rib for five inches before starting on the heel. I tried the budding sock cuff on my arm and decided that beautiful yarn like the Cascade in a nice, simple design, would look much better as a sweater than on my feet. So, back I went to Jimmy Beans. They have great selection and a fabulous pattern library, so, if you’re ever in Reno, be sure to stop by. Anyway, I asked the woman behind the counter for some help. I told her this was my first time freeforming anything, and I was sure I would screw up if I didn’t get some help right away. She was very nice and very helpful. She figured out the yardage with a handy-dandy “sweater calculator,” then looked up a pattern I could use as a model. She had made the pattern herself and loved the results. This particular pattern, called “owls,” featured sleeves and a body that were knit in the round and then knitted together in such a way as to form a yoke. Then, you decreased for the shoulders, knitted the collar, and bound off. I thought this was a fabulous idea, so she printed out the pattern for me and I took it with me when I left. I haven’t even finished the first sleeve yet (I’m doing the sleeves first,) so I can’t really report on the results of my experiment. Wish me luck!
Your sporadic blogger,
Wildwool
