FOs – YarnGeek

Tuesday

26

March 2013

Stitchery Afoot

Written by Liz, Posted in Finished Objects, FOs, General, Knitting, Knitting Knatterings, Lizard Ridge, stash enhancement, Updates

Well. More like “ahead”, as it’s mostly hats with some neckwear, and “aneck” just doesn’t sound right.

My knitting mojo seems to have decided to stick around long enough for me to actually finish something!

Way back in July, I cast on for Laura Chau’s Dipped Infinity Scarf, the yarn for which I got in a kit from Fibre Space. At the time, I, um, forgot the ribbing? Oops. I guess I was so thrilled at the idea of the color changes to come that I launched right into the stitching pattern sans ribbing.

Anyway, I was so irritated with the mistake, and trying to decide how to fix it without ripping out what I already had done, that it took months for me to pick it back up again (kind of a metaphor for my life lately, actually).

This week, after casting off (remembering the ribbing on this end) the majority of the piece, I figured out how to pick up stitches in ribbing on the cast-on edge, and only 5 rows later, there was a cowl!

This is getting blocked today so the ribbing will quit folding over; had to stab a couple toothpicks into it to get it flat enough for glamour shots.

Project: Dipped Infinity Scarf by Laura Chau/cosmicpluto
Yarn: Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Sock (sold as a kit at Fibre Space)
Needles: Chiagoo circulars, US 9s (I think. Need to double check size.)
Notes: I have an unhealthy adoration for Karida Collins’ yarn, and there was no way I could pass up these colors. They just…glow.

I have a second Turn-A-Square hat currently on the needles out of the same yarn combo as the first (Brooklyn Tweed Shelter & Noro Kureyon; not original by any stretch, but so beautiful, why mess with perfection?):

Meanwhile, I finished yet another hat that was a very late birthday/Christmas present for a friend, the Fair Kate hat by Thelma Egberts. This one had stalled out when I got stuck on the cabled decreases at the crown:

WHY I got stuck there is a mystery to me, though, because when I picked the project up out of hibernation, I picked right up where I left off & completed the hat with no difficulty. I don’t even know.

The yarn is a grey baby alpaca I picked up at MDSW, and is as soft, fuzzy, light, & warm as you might expect, looking at it.

Project: Fair Kate hat by Thelma Egberts
Yarn: grey baby alpaca, I believe from Misty Mountain farms?, via MDSW
Needles: Addi Turbo circular needles, US 5s
Notes: dear self: you are not a failure as a knitter if you use a cable needle for 5-over-5 cable crosses, damn it, so STOP THAT & use the damn cable needle! Love, self.

I have two sweaters planned, both in the blue color family, so my Blue Period seems to be continuing, but I also grabbed two new Kureyon colors to add on to Lizard Ridge, The Afghan That Never Ends:

Where are you on your own color wheel?

Saturday

2

March 2013

0

COMMENTS

Butcher Braaaaiiiiiinnn(Hat)

Written by Liz, Posted in Bloggy Blatherings, Finished Objects, FOs, Knitting, Knitting Knatterings

Yesterday, I updated you guys on a bunch of projects I was way behind on blogging. One of those, the Brain Hat, I had to be a little cagey about, because I was waiting on permission to say who it was for, as well as the ok to post a photo of the hat being worn by its recipient.

I just got the okay I was looking for, though, so now I get to squee at you about this:

That, my friends, is NYT best-selling author Jim Butcher, writer of the Dresden Files and Codex Alera novels, wearing his Brain Hat, knitted by me.

Cannot begin to describe how cool it felt to receive this photo. But I suspect y’all get it.

Friday

1

March 2013

1

COMMENTS

Catching Up: Everything Old is New Again

Written by Liz, Posted in Blog, Bloggy Blatherings, Finished Objects, FOs, Fotoposts, Gifts, Knitting, Knitting Knatterings, Updates, WIPs

HI! Hi, Internets, hi!

So I’m browsing Ravelry this morning (likeyoudo), and there smack in the middle of the “what’s hot right now” list of patterns is an old knitblogger’s friend: Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton’s Klaralund! [rav link]

It’s possible that I am particularly knitstalgic at the moment, having finally imported ancient Typepad blog posts over that reach back to 2005. Certainly I was more clever in my blog headlines then, and FAR more prolific in my posts than the past ~mumble~ years have shown. But to come across a pattern that was one of the first in what felt like a constant wave of projects that would zoom across the (then somewhat limited, compared to today’s 2m Ravelry users) knit-blog-osphere, trending as one of the current projects that knitters are into in 2013, feels almost like an out-of-body experience. Time traveling, if you will, but with more needles and fewer Daleks.

Terribly pleased to see that the pattern has had more sizes added; I thought the reason it might have come back into knitterly awareness now is because of the release of the Noro: Knit 40 Fabulous Designs book, but since that happened in 2009, I really don’t know why it’s come back around. Not sure it’s relevant, really; I’m just kind of glad to see what feels like an old friend coming across my Ravelry options.

Okay, so. Everybody knows it isn’t real unless you blog it, right? So here’s all the stuff that hasn’t been real until RIGHT NOW, since last we met:

The Sainted Husband got his (almost)annual Crazy Hat Project result earlier this year – his Skully Hat remains the most oft-worn, beloved knitted item ever to come off my needles, so, as TSH is a professional editor and English teacher, I made him We Call Them Ampersands, a spin-off of the same pattern as his skully hat, now with more typography!

True to form, I’ve discovered I haven’t got a good Finished Object photoshoot of this one, but here’s a couple action shots of the hat doing its job:

(That’s my dad in the background; we were visiting them in Raleigh, NC and it was COLD that day. YAY knitted things to keep people warm!)

And a hazy at-home, natural-habitat shot:

Project: We Call Them Ampersands; original pattern is Adrian Bazila’s We Call Them Pirates; Ampersand chart by Susette Newberry

Yarn: I don’t actually know. Generic shetland-esque wool I had in stash, no ballband.

Needles: Addi Turbo Lace US 5s

I don’t have a timeline for this one, either, I’m afraid. This is what happens when I don’t blog for forever; I have no digital memory to help me remember these things.

Hats are pretty much all I have had any knitting bandwidth for of late, it seems; I have a rainbow Ampersands I started for myself, but will have to rip because my gauge was wonky:

That’s Kuani for the color, and I think a shetland for the white. Pondering other options for this one.

The other hat I knit last year ate up nearly all my knitting mojo, and it was a confluence of Twitter Bravado and commission. I follow many of the authors I love over on Twitter, and one day the infamous Brain Hat was mentioned as a desired object by one of my most fave authors. I, perhaps foolishly, replied that I had two sticks and some string and could probably make that happen. Several DMs later, I had a commission to make the thing.

It took four football fields of yarn, months of time, and at least half my sanity, but I TRIUMPHED:

Pattern: Alana Noritake’s Brain Hat [Rav Link]

Yarn: Madeline Tosh Sock in “Nectar” from WEBS

Needles: Addi Turbo Lace, I think US 4s? Can’t remember specifically what size needles I did this on, am guessing based on some in-progress pics I’ve got on Flickr; I do know that purchasing an i-cord machine saved. my. bacon. with this project; holy crap but did this ever take forever! Thank goodness the recipients were terribly patient with me for it.

Started: February 4, 2012

Finished: December 18, 2012

As I’m sitting here doing this, I’m realizing that even though it feels like I haven’t knit anything in years, practically, I actually did finish a fair number of projects this year! Long-time readers (if there are any of you remaining) may recall the Samhain wedding shawl knit for Miss Plum’s godmother; so, when this lady birthed her first child this year, there had to be a small suite of Wee Laddie Knits! First, the obligatory Baby Surprise Jacket:

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket

Yarn: My own handspun (!!!!)

Needles: No idea. Addi, yes, but size? No clue.

Completed: Sometime in March 2012.

I had enough handspun leftover to crank out a wee tiny Aviator cap:

I can’t remember what book I cribbed this off of; it was one of the very first knitting books I ever got, but it’s about the same as any other infant ear flap hat pattern that’s floating around out there. I was just ridiculously proud that it was knit from my own handspun.

Then there was a second wee laddie sweater:

Pattern: Fibre Space‘s Baby Stripes

Yarn: Spud & Chloë Sweater, purchased at Fibre Space

Needles: Addi Turbo Circular US8s

Completed: March 12, 2012

I have a grey hat in progress for another friend that stalled out on the crown decreases; need to take some pics of that for you; also I took some of this Clover Leaf Farms fiber in colorway “EarthTones”:

And am turning it into some handspun, like so:

Not sure yet what that’s going to be.

Holy crap you guys, there is so much. I shall sum up what remains in a forthcoming post.

Meanwhile, tell me how y’all are doing?

PS: I went from dirty blonde to red while you weren’t looking:

Before:

and After:

Friday

1

October 2010

3

COMMENTS

October O W L S

Written by Liz, Posted in FOs, Knitting, o w l s

Finally done!

The Sainted Husband (TSH) took the photos in the failing light. I was actually home sick today, but feeling better round about the time it was getting on toward evening, so we headed outside to see if we could get a couple of shots so I could have something to tell you about.

This isn’t perfect; as is typical for me, despite several froggings and rippings, there are still things I would do differently if I knit this over again. For starters, I’m not happy with the fit under the arms. Although I did add bust shaping, I didn’t do it as well as I should have, and so it’s a bit wonky throughout the whole bustal/armpit area.

Still, I have a sweater! A wearable one! WITH OWLS ON IT. And they have eyes! Button ones!

Beware the evil red-eyed owls, though. I hear they’re tricksy.

I confess that because I am pretty uncomfortable with the shape of my body right now, it’s tough for me to post pics that show me full-length. They make me cringe, to be honest. But I know I can’t be the only one who loves seeing images of other knitters’ work on bodies of every shape and size, so here the pics are.

Project: Owls Sweater by Kate Davies

Yarn: Cascade Eco+ wool in navy blue, three skeins; my own handspun for contrast trim, spun from a batt by Dyak Craft/Grafton Fibers in “Vermont Mud” colorway.

Needles: US 8 and US 10 Addi Turbo Circulars

Notes: Using my own handspun in a sweater for myself was a really cool feeling; I’ve made a pair of mitts from my handspun before but that’s been about the only thing; most of the time it just sits around and gets petted. When friends with whom I am attending Rhinebeck declared blue to be our house colors for the event, I knew precisely what I wanted to make. Still, as said above, I added bust shaping to the pattern and I did not do it as well as I might have. It’s possible that I will end up doing some mega-surgery on this by detaching the body of the sweater from the yoke, adjusting the bust shaping and extending the length. But anybody familiar with me and my musings knows how likely this is to happen. I wanted the sweater to be fitted, and wowsers, it’s fitted. It isn’t actually tight or binding anywhere, but it is definitely figure-skimming, and given the aforementioned body issues, this sometimes makes me uncomfortable. But I will wear it to Rhinebeck and it’s the perfect weight sweater for a crisp, rainy fall day, so I think it will get plenty of wear. After only two days’ wearing, though (I wore it to work once before putting on the button eyes), the yarn is pilling, which is a bit annoying but something I can deal with.

In other knitting news, I’m two rows away from completing Lady Eleanor at long last, and I’ve got a sleeve swatch going for the Fitted February sweater. Because I’m out of my gourd, I am also tossing around the idea of trying to finish some socks or mitts before Rhinebeck, too.

What’s on your current project list?

I’ve also begun a new blogging venture with my friend whose name is also Liz, Miss Lizzy B. Check us out over at LizSquared!

Saturday

21

August 2010

4

COMMENTS

Cooper Circle Caulfield Cap

Written by Liz, Posted in FOs, General, Gifts, Knitting

Well, ok, it’s the Caulfield Beanie, but close enough for alliterative awesome, I think.

Cooper Circle Caulfield Beanie

This was one of those times when I really wondered if I had gone ’round the bend. I cast on for this thing on Tuesday afternoon (August 17, 2010, Future Self, when you can’t remember and are trying to update your Ravelry page or tell somebody when it was or somebody asks you AGAIN “How long does it take you do something like that?” and you have no idea and go check the blog to find out…) with the express intent of having a birthday present for The Sainted Husband’s birthday on Friday, August 20th.

Lovely crown decreases

You might think (unless you are familiar with me and my methods of doing things) that I would choose a simple, fat gauge beanie in all knit stitch, so as to be sure to complete it on time. But NO! It was not to be any such thing. I had in mind something to show off this yarn, which by the way is going to put a serious hurtin’ on me in the future as I will require more of it, so I dug through my Ravelry faves and came upon The Family Trunk Project’s Caulfield Beanie.

Thoughtful Tom is Thoughtful

Then I considered using a different yarn, because I am in deep smit with this one and wasn’t sure I was ready to give it up, but no. It needed to be his. And so it came to pass that the Caulfield Beanie met Neighborhood Fiber Company’s Studio Worsted in colorway Cooper Circle.

I had many a moment of “Oh crap, this thing is ginormous, there’s no way it’s going to fit, wtf was I thinking using this yarn on these needles and…ooooh pretty! squishy! pattern-y!”, but clearly once again the knitting goggles (far less fun than beer goggles) were on and the hat is a good size for him. (That, or he’s just got a truly ginormous noggin, dunno — either way the hat works, so I’ll roll with that. )

So in summary:

Pattern: Family Trunk Project Caulfield Beanie
Yarn: Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Worsted, “Cooper Circle” colorway, purchased from Fibre Space yarn shop in Old Town Alexandria
Needles: US 8 Addi Turbo 24″ circular
Cast on: 08/17/2010
Cast off: 08/20/2010
Mods: Just the yarn (though Cormo would NEVER suck, this particular yarn was what I wanted to knit with this time), and using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Cast-On method for casting on.
Notes: Knitting this thing was awesome. The cast on and set-up row were a bit of a nightmare as it’s a very specific repeat that you really have to pay attention to; I ended up getting to use some of my insanely cute owl and penguin glass stitch markers – 8 of them! – to make it easy to keep track of where I was, but I was dorky and didn’t think to try that until I was a couple rows in, so it was very slow going until then. This yarn is the most exquisite color I think I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, though the yarn itself was a bit splitty; I am now trying to determine if I could sell off some plasma or something in order to afford a sweater’s worth for myself.

Sunday

14

February 2010

5

COMMENTS

Beck for Valentine’s Day

Written by Liz, Posted in FOs, Gifts, Knitting

‘Round about March of last year, I took some photos of a sweater in progress and posted them here. A sweater that had originally been intended as a Valentine’s Day present, but that promptly hibernated through some serious life changes for us, as well as the tail end of my last couple of years of knitting ennui. Thereafter my returned knitting mojo and all my knitting time was taken up by the wedding shawl, since that was on deadline (and deadlines and I don’t mix very well unless I am brutal to myself in project monogamy). Finally, it took Snowpocalypse, Snowpocalypse II: The Burying, and Snowpocalypse III: Snowverkill to provide me enough time, space, and mental wherewithal to finish The Sainted Husband’s Valentine’s Day Sweater.

Better a year late than never, right?

Project: Jane Ellison’s “Beck” Sweater
Yarn: Classic Elite Skye Tweed, 16.5 skeins
Needles: US size 8 needles, Addi Turbo and Addi Lace circulars
Size: 44
Mods/Notes: I knitted a gauge swatch for this thing. I WASHED the swatch. I got gauge with said swatch. THE SWATCH. LIED. This beast grew into the craziest wide sweater EVER. I knit the size 44, and it was easily 10 inches larger around than that when I first blocked it. (This is partly my fault because I did not measure as I blocked, and I didn’t listen to my inner voice saying, “Huh. That looks…kind of big.” After the first blocking, the sweater fit ME very well (we have a Jack-Sprat-and-his-wife thing going on in my house), but was far too big for TSH. So I blocked it a second time, felted it very slightly on purpose, and now he says he loves it.I’m not entirely satisfied with the sweater yet — it rides up at the back hem because his spine is so curved, so I will attempt to tack on some short rows at the back hem to extend that down another three inches or so in the center; I overblocked the collar such that it is too big on one side, so I need to steam that back where it belongs; and I need to knit a couple of facings for the back side of the zipper, which I think I want to re-install as it’s buckling despite my careful insertion of it.
Still. He’s wearing it, in front of friends!, even as I type this, and claims that he’s very happy with it. So I will call that a successful Valentine and a nice F.O.

Wednesday

4

November 2009

6

COMMENTS

Samhain Shawl

Written by Liz, Posted in FOs, General

I TOTALLY DID IT.

2:00 a.m., October 28th:

Evening of October 31st:

Photo by George Brett, Father of the Bride

Finished Object. On time/deadline. Happy Bride. TOTAL WIN, I tell you.

Project: Goddess Knits Samhain Shawl
Yarn: Handpaintedyarn.com laceweight in “Natural”, one skein
Beads: Glass “Pearl” drops purchased at Potomac Bead Company, Old Town Alexandria, VA; approximately 4 tubes/1300 beads
Needles: Addi Lace Turbo, US 5
Mods: Stopped short of last chart by about 17 rows, as shawl was immense and bride is petite; also? Totally out of time. Also didn’t block this nearly as brutally as I might have, again, because it seemed huge already.

Tuesday

9

June 2009

0

COMMENTS

Stunned

Written by Liz, Posted in FOs, General, New Projects, stash enhancement

Yesterday, The Sainted Husband (TM) and I put in an offer to purchase our first home together. (We’ve rented for the 9 years we’ve been together)

Today, the sellers accepted our offer.

Holy CRAP, we’re buying a house!!!!

Our House!

Und now iz ze time on schprockets ven ve FREAK OUT! But in a good way.

Wednesday

18

March 2009

1

COMMENTS

Technology and Procrastination

Written by Liz, Posted in FOs, Gifts, Knitting

This is what happens when the twain shall meet:

I took far too long knitting this sweater for a wee dude born a couple months ago — so long that I was beginning to be afraid it would be too small for him by the time I cast off, if I didn’t get a flippin’ move-on, already. And thus, when I suffered a bout of insomnia night before last, I finished the knitting, sleeve-seaming, and button choosing:

So. Everything but the blocking, but there was A Thing for the recipient at my office the next day, so I let it go out wonky…and without taking any reasonable photos of it. (LAME!)

Enter Calliope, my iPhone. And thus you have photos, albiet not pretty Pentax ones. Still — an F.O. is an F.O., yes?

Project: February Baby Sweater, Elizabeth Zimmerman (rav link)
Yarn: Alpaca blend purchased at MDSW last year. I have a LOT left, so expect to see this again. It’s rediculously, wonderfully soft. Has major halo.
Needles: Addi Turbo US 6 (it doesn’t look NEARLY that gauge, does it? so weird.)
Mods/Notes: I skipped the gull patterned lace as this was to be a macho wee sweater, and went stockinette, instead. The rest I knit as written, or at least in so far as I could understand it — there’s wonkiness under the arms there because I didn’t get the “pick up 4 x 7 stitches” part at ALL. Will be hitting Ravelry E.Zim. forums with that question before I knit another one of these, which will likely get cast on…oh, NOW.

Also, with the buttons — there were only four of the blue buttons that had two holes, and one button that was exactly the same as the other four in all ways except that it had four holes in it. Weird! But typical button-box/jar fare, yes? So I put that one in the middle, and it totally worked. ~fin~

Wednesday

28

January 2009

0

COMMENTS

Inaugural (un)Original

Written by Liz, Posted in FOs, Knitting

In Case of Ransom

A Post! AND a finished object! Is it the Apocalypse?!?

Sophie's Unoriginal Inaugural Hat

Living in the D.C. metropolitan vicinity made it feel pretty imperative to us to attend the Inauguration on the 20th. In the interests of being as prepared as we could be, I decided that Sophie needed to have a warm wool hat. In typical me/knitter fashion, I decided this on the 18th.

Enter Steph‘s Unoriginal Hat. Bulky yarn, not a lot of stitches, just enough pattern to make it interesting, and FAST. I cast on the night of the 18th, knit a couple of rows; and sat down for evening television on the 19th and it was done.

Fudged decreases on the top

I used the largest needles I could unearth from the chaos of my house (US 10, I think; details are on Ravelry as my brain is a sieve), and a gorgeous skein of Manos Del Uruguay I’ve had lying around the house for a while simply because I adore the colors.

I think there’s enough left to knit one of these for me.

Happy Girl

“Potato Chip Knitting: Betcha can’t knit just one”!

Meanwhile, I’ve also joined (in a fit of returning knitting mojo) the Blue Moon Rockin’ Sock Club. The first shipment arrived this week and I am (as expected) totally giddy over it. I don’t think I’m supposed to show you what all is in it just yet, so instead I leave you with a view of the crowds at Inauguration, from inside the Third Street tunnel in D.C.:

Inaugural Crowds, Third Street Tunnel, Washington, D.C. 2009

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Butcher Braaaaiiiiiinnn(Hat)

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Catching Up: Everything Old is New Again

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October O W L S

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Cooper Circle Caulfield Cap

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Beck for Valentine’s Day

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Samhain Shawl

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Stunned

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Technology and Procrastination

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Inaugural (un)Original

Geekin’ the Twitters

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