Happy New Year everyone! With 2012 completed, it's time to look forward to new knitting goals. I don't think I'll pick up a 13 for 2013 type of challenge, but I am excited to see what interesting knits 2013 brings.
Speaking of challenges, I'm going to have to smudge the rules to have completed my 12 shawls in 2012. As of midnight last night, my twelfth shawl was certainly beyond the minimum yardage requirement, but I'd like it to be longer so I'm going to keep knitting.
I've been a bit slow to post this holiday season, mostly because I've spent all my free time knitting gifts and the final 2012 shawl. Plenty of FO are in the queue to be written up once I'm caught up on IOUs!
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Sunday, September 16, 2012
SOCKS!
Look what I got for my birthday. SOCKS!
In general, I have not been motivated to make socks, mostly because my technique leaves a bit to be desired. I haven't mastered the needle changes, so I always end up with ladders - these loose bits that run the length of the sock. Practice makes perfect, but it's tempting to keep doing what you're good at.
Then, there's Cookie A. Her socks are just amazing. When I came across her latest book - knit. sock. love. - I simply fell in love with the designs. I can't wait to knit some of these, even if I might be cursing through the first few as I fiddle with my tension.
Check out the link to see her beautiful photos. LOVE.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
First Class Flying
Don't need much to make me happy on a plane...though a little more elbow space would be nice.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Vacation knitting
When in doubt, pack all the yarn. And the yarn ball winder. You never know when you might encounter something to unravel.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
The beginning
Happiness is - starting a new shawl. Love the yarn, love the pattern. Looking forward to watching it grow into the beautiful piece I know it will be!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Measuring up
I love recycling yarn. I could spend hours combing the thrift store shelves in search of a great find. As most of my yarn comes from pulling apart sweaters these days, I usually don't know how much I have of any given yarn - other than the generic a lot!
This hadn't bothered me before, but joining the 12 shawls in 2012 challenge, one of the posting requirements is yardage. Now, I could estimate based on the pattern or the weight, but as soon as the idea snuck* into my mind, I knew I would have to figure out a way to actually measure the yarn.
Enter....the internets! After looking at the expensive tools, I ran across this excellent summary of options, which pointed me to the brilliantly simple solution of using a bike computer. After all, a swift is basically a wheel, and all you need to do is count rotations!
After a bit of fiddling with the circumference, I'm fairly certain that I'm getting a good reading. Since I have so much yarn to ball, I do cheat a bit. I'll unwind a few balls to the swift, measure those, average the yardage/weight ratio. Then for the remaining sweater bits I can unwind straight onto the ball winder, saving a step, and just calculate the length from the weight. It's not the most accurate method, but the estimate is certainly good enough for my purposes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Apparently the proper form of this word is "sneaked"...but that just sounds odd. I'm going with the informal conjugation.
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| So much yarn...but how much? |
This hadn't bothered me before, but joining the 12 shawls in 2012 challenge, one of the posting requirements is yardage. Now, I could estimate based on the pattern or the weight, but as soon as the idea snuck* into my mind, I knew I would have to figure out a way to actually measure the yarn.
Enter....the internets! After looking at the expensive tools, I ran across this excellent summary of options, which pointed me to the brilliantly simple solution of using a bike computer. After all, a swift is basically a wheel, and all you need to do is count rotations!
After a bit of fiddling with the circumference, I'm fairly certain that I'm getting a good reading. Since I have so much yarn to ball, I do cheat a bit. I'll unwind a few balls to the swift, measure those, average the yardage/weight ratio. Then for the remaining sweater bits I can unwind straight onto the ball winder, saving a step, and just calculate the length from the weight. It's not the most accurate method, but the estimate is certainly good enough for my purposes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Apparently the proper form of this word is "sneaked"...but that just sounds odd. I'm going with the informal conjugation.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Life is good
My life this week: knitting and kitty snuggles. Life is good, even post shoulder surgery.
Friday, February 3, 2012
My first project: a eulogy
My first "real" project was a set of slippers. Knit flat and then sewn together, the pattern included both knit and purl to create a garter stitch sole and a ribbed top. The pattern was my grandma's, carefully recorded on an index card. A bright green acrylic, these matched the spirit of the holiday season but have been worn year round.
I didn't know what a YO was, so when I got confused by which side of the needle the yarn should be on, the hole just stayed. I also couldn't tell the difference between a knit and a purl on the first slipper, so my ribbing meandered. The second one was a bit better.
After three years of dedicated service, the slippers did not make it through the wash this week.
They will be missed, but I am looking forward to finally knitting some comfy wool slippers for me!
I didn't know what a YO was, so when I got confused by which side of the needle the yarn should be on, the hole just stayed. I also couldn't tell the difference between a knit and a purl on the first slipper, so my ribbing meandered. The second one was a bit better.
After three years of dedicated service, the slippers did not make it through the wash this week.
 |
| Slippers: December 2008 - February 2012. They lived a good life. |
They will be missed, but I am looking forward to finally knitting some comfy wool slippers for me!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Gridwork
I'm famous! A shot of my Gridwork scarf is being featured in the examples section for the pattern on Ravelry. Scroll down to the fourth photo.
I love the geometric effect of this pattern and look forward to making this one again. At a generous 10 inches wide, this would certainly count as a stole towards my 12 in 2012 goal if I cast on again!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Making short work of short rows
My very first scarf involved short rows. Not that I did them on purpose mind you, I just couldn't keep the front and back of the work straight if I happened to put it down in the middle of a row. When I finally realized what I was doing, I thought I had been accidentally brilliant - creating an innovative technique, never discovered by anyone else.
Boy, was I wrong. As I learn more about knitting, I learn that there are many variations one can do to a stitch to get just the look you want.
After making a few quarter-moon shawls that feature short rows, I wasn't super happy with the finished result of simple short rows, knitting together your last and first stitch when you come back. It looked a bit sloppy and obvious to my eye, but not thinking there was an alternative I carried on.
Again, wrong. If there is an aesthetic look that can be solved, chances are some creative knitter has thought about it before you. To the internets!
After stumbling upon the prolific TECHknitting, my short row aversion has been solved. In a wonderful step by step guide, she takes you through four different short row possibilities. I love her illustrations, and will certainly be going back for more tutorials and ideas!
Here's my current WIP hanging out with a set of bobby pins to hold the turn loops. We'll see how it turns out, but I have a good feeling about this one!
Boy, was I wrong. As I learn more about knitting, I learn that there are many variations one can do to a stitch to get just the look you want.
After making a few quarter-moon shawls that feature short rows, I wasn't super happy with the finished result of simple short rows, knitting together your last and first stitch when you come back. It looked a bit sloppy and obvious to my eye, but not thinking there was an alternative I carried on.
 |
| See where the lace transitions into the body of the scarf - the highlighted change in direction? That's where the short row joins. It looks sloppy. Trust me. |
Again, wrong. If there is an aesthetic look that can be solved, chances are some creative knitter has thought about it before you. To the internets!
After stumbling upon the prolific TECHknitting, my short row aversion has been solved. In a wonderful step by step guide, she takes you through four different short row possibilities. I love her illustrations, and will certainly be going back for more tutorials and ideas!
 |
| (this image belongs to the TECHknitter. go check her out!) |
Here's my current WIP hanging out with a set of bobby pins to hold the turn loops. We'll see how it turns out, but I have a good feeling about this one!
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