Today I decided I wanted to wind the second skein of laceweight yarn for my Aeolian shawl into a ball to take with me when I move. I need to get these kinds of things done so that I can pack away some of my stuff before I move. So I figured while I had the swift and the ball winder out, I might as well make a little video about how they work. Here it is:
It's bumming me out that I have to take my spinning wheel apart and pack it away. But there is not any room for it in the van with all of the family, pets and our stuff so it's going to have to get delivered with the household goods. I will miss it. I hope it travels well and the moving company takes care of it.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Lelah
After writing the last post, I decided to go ahead and rip out the turtleneck and use the yarn on a new project. I cast on for the Lelah top using a smaller gauge than the original pattern. I did some calculations based on the gauge from my purple tube top and my measurements and came up with 170 stitches on size 5 needles (for the top part) and then a slightly bigger gauge with size 7 needles for the bottom part.
The lace pattern is really easy to memorize and looks really pretty. For whatever reason, it seems like it is taking me a really long time to knit this project. I don't know if it's because of all the lace and me going slow with it or if it is simply because I haven't had a lot of time to sit and work on it. I've been trying to get my house cleaned and organized for moving, and every so often I sit down with the knitting to relax.
I've started my 5th lace repeat and the top measures about 4" long right now. I'm going to be at this lace pattern for quite a while considering how tall I am and how long I will want this top to be. But at least it will give me something to work on during the eventual travel and hotel stays etc. that go along with the move (whenever that may be...)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Punkette
I finally got around to finishing the spinning of my 4 ounces of "Punkette" superwash merino roving the other night. I ended up with 236 yards of a light dk-type weight 2-ply. I don't think it is quite thin enough to be considered fingering weight. I measured about 16 wraps per inch with the yard or so of scrap I had left over. Not sure how accurate a representation it is of the whole skein. But that would put it right on the fine/medium border. Here are the pics of the finished yarn:
In knitting news, I started knitting a spruce green sleveless turtleneck top using the "Perfect Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Vest" pattern by Stefanie Japel from the Fitted Knits book. I am not enjoying knitting this one as much as I did the purple tube top. I have ripped this one back I think 3 times so far.
The first time, I didn't like the way the ribbing was. I had purls along the armholes and it tended to curve upward. I followed the pattern, but somehow I was supposed to have knits there instead of purls. Now this pattern has errata and I looked that up online to find the corrections. The way mine came out was like the written instructions in the book and not the corrected pattern notes. So I ripped back to where the neck ends and shifted over 3 stitches so that I had knits at the armholes which looked better. In order to correct this problem if I were to decide to start this project over sometime, I would need to start the ribbing with purls like p3, k3, p3, k3 instead of with knits as I had done (k3, p3, k3, p3).
Then I got another maybe 12 or so rows into it and decided that I didn't like the way my increases looked. The left leaning increases (LLI) look great, but my right leaning ones (RLI) do not look the same as the left ones. I am really obsessive and nitpicky when it comes to symmetry and stuff, so this is bugging me. I ripped it out because I thought I must be doing the RLI's wrong. Then I went searching around on Ravelry looking at other people's projects and read that some other people were having issues with the increases and that they didn't look right but when the sweater was worn/stretched they looked ok. So I started knitting it again and got another 10 or so increase rows done and I am still not having a good feeling about how the RLI's look.
So I am still undecided about this pattern. I am considering ripping the whole thing out and using the yarn to make something else. Maybe another tube top like the purple one I made. This is the same yarn in the same amount as I used for that one, just a different color. And I actually enjoyed knitting that pattern. This one has annoyed me enough already that I don't know if it can redeem itself right now. But here is a pic of what it looked like when I finished the 5 inches of the neck ribbing.
The yarn would make a very pretty tube top....
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In knitting news, I started knitting a spruce green sleveless turtleneck top using the "Perfect Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Vest" pattern by Stefanie Japel from the Fitted Knits book. I am not enjoying knitting this one as much as I did the purple tube top. I have ripped this one back I think 3 times so far.
The first time, I didn't like the way the ribbing was. I had purls along the armholes and it tended to curve upward. I followed the pattern, but somehow I was supposed to have knits there instead of purls. Now this pattern has errata and I looked that up online to find the corrections. The way mine came out was like the written instructions in the book and not the corrected pattern notes. So I ripped back to where the neck ends and shifted over 3 stitches so that I had knits at the armholes which looked better. In order to correct this problem if I were to decide to start this project over sometime, I would need to start the ribbing with purls like p3, k3, p3, k3 instead of with knits as I had done (k3, p3, k3, p3).
Then I got another maybe 12 or so rows into it and decided that I didn't like the way my increases looked. The left leaning increases (LLI) look great, but my right leaning ones (RLI) do not look the same as the left ones. I am really obsessive and nitpicky when it comes to symmetry and stuff, so this is bugging me. I ripped it out because I thought I must be doing the RLI's wrong. Then I went searching around on Ravelry looking at other people's projects and read that some other people were having issues with the increases and that they didn't look right but when the sweater was worn/stretched they looked ok. So I started knitting it again and got another 10 or so increase rows done and I am still not having a good feeling about how the RLI's look.
So I am still undecided about this pattern. I am considering ripping the whole thing out and using the yarn to make something else. Maybe another tube top like the purple one I made. This is the same yarn in the same amount as I used for that one, just a different color. And I actually enjoyed knitting that pattern. This one has annoyed me enough already that I don't know if it can redeem itself right now. But here is a pic of what it looked like when I finished the 5 inches of the neck ribbing.
The yarn would make a very pretty tube top....
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Purple Tube Top Finished
I got the knitting done last night. I ended up doing 8 lace repeats and then 3 inches of ribbing at the bottom and omitted the bottom eyelet row. Today I went to the fabric store and got some ribbon to go with it. My husband photographed me in it, and I think it looks pretty nice.
It's pretty stretchy and needs the ribbon to stabilize it from slipping. I would definitely knit this pattern again but I think on the next one I would do a little waist shaping to make it a little tighter in the middle. Overall I am really happy with the result and the yarn is really nice.
It's pretty stretchy and needs the ribbon to stabilize it from slipping. I would definitely knit this pattern again but I think on the next one I would do a little waist shaping to make it a little tighter in the middle. Overall I am really happy with the result and the yarn is really nice.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Progress
I just put another lace repeat into my purple tube top. So far that makes 7 repeats (70 lace rows total). I think I am going to do one more repeat and then start the bottom ribbing and all that. But who knows, I will need to see what it looks like after that next repeat is done. Here's an updated pic:
I really hope that it ends up fitting me well. I read a lot of other people's info on this project on ravelry and hear a lot about the item stretching out a lot when worn. I will probably end up threading a coordinating ribbon through the top eyelets so that I can tie it and keep it tight at the top.
I still have that aeolian shawl to work on. It has been hibernating since I started this tube top. I can't really adequately photograph it when it is still on the needles because I can't really stretch it out to show how big it is. But here's how far I have gotten on it:
I haven't taken a recent photo of the Pomatomus socks I am working on. I have the leg portion of the first sock finished. Here is what that is looking like so far:
Then there is the next in a long line of cotton dishcloths. I try to always have one of these on the needles as my "to go" project. I have the easy pattern memorized and it is small and portable. So anytime I go somewhere that I may have to sit around and wait for something I can grab this out of my purse and occupy myself.
And finally there is my experimental sweater. This is really just a random project to work on when I need a break from everything else. I really have no idea what this is going to be when it is finished. I'm really just winging it.
Lastly I have some spinning in progress. I got half of my "punkette" roving spun up weeks ago and the other half has just been sitting here. I need to get the other half done and the 2 plied together before I have to pack up my wheel for the move in a couple weeks. The wheel will probably be in storage with all the rest of our stuff for a little while, so my spinning will have to go on hiatus.
Well, that's about it for this update. The next few weeks will be insanely busy, so I will need my knitting to keep me sane.
I really hope that it ends up fitting me well. I read a lot of other people's info on this project on ravelry and hear a lot about the item stretching out a lot when worn. I will probably end up threading a coordinating ribbon through the top eyelets so that I can tie it and keep it tight at the top.
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I still have that aeolian shawl to work on. It has been hibernating since I started this tube top. I can't really adequately photograph it when it is still on the needles because I can't really stretch it out to show how big it is. But here's how far I have gotten on it:
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I haven't taken a recent photo of the Pomatomus socks I am working on. I have the leg portion of the first sock finished. Here is what that is looking like so far:
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Then there is the next in a long line of cotton dishcloths. I try to always have one of these on the needles as my "to go" project. I have the easy pattern memorized and it is small and portable. So anytime I go somewhere that I may have to sit around and wait for something I can grab this out of my purse and occupy myself.
****************************************
And finally there is my experimental sweater. This is really just a random project to work on when I need a break from everything else. I really have no idea what this is going to be when it is finished. I'm really just winging it.
****************************************
Lastly I have some spinning in progress. I got half of my "punkette" roving spun up weeks ago and the other half has just been sitting here. I need to get the other half done and the 2 plied together before I have to pack up my wheel for the move in a couple weeks. The wheel will probably be in storage with all the rest of our stuff for a little while, so my spinning will have to go on hiatus.
****************************************
Well, that's about it for this update. The next few weeks will be insanely busy, so I will need my knitting to keep me sane.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Necklace and Earrings
Things have been really busy for me lately. In the past 2 weeks I took 2 different road trips, started cleaning and organizing the house to get ready to move, and all sorts of other stuff.
I started knitting a purple tube top using the "Coquette Lace Tube Top" pattern from the book "Fitted Knits" by Stefanie Japel. I am trying out a new yarn called "Country" by naturallycaron.com and its really soft and pretty. I have finished 3 repeats of the lace pattern so far. It's really easy and nice to knit, I just haven't had a lot of time to work on it lately. Here's a pic I took of it in the van on the way to Virginia 2 weeks ago.
Last night I finished making a necklace and earrings for myself. While I was on a trip to Ann Arbor, MI to visit my friend last week I found a really cool necklace in one of the shops. I loved the way it looked on me so I decided I wanted to make something similar to it in style but with different colors and shapes. I used some beads and supplies I had left over from making stitch markers. I bought some beading wire and the chandelier earring bases this weekend.
I cut the wire into pieces slightly longer than 1cm each and looped them on each end with a bead in the middle and then linked them all together to make a chain for the necklace. I think they came out really well. Here's some photos:
I started knitting a purple tube top using the "Coquette Lace Tube Top" pattern from the book "Fitted Knits" by Stefanie Japel. I am trying out a new yarn called "Country" by naturallycaron.com and its really soft and pretty. I have finished 3 repeats of the lace pattern so far. It's really easy and nice to knit, I just haven't had a lot of time to work on it lately. Here's a pic I took of it in the van on the way to Virginia 2 weeks ago.
Last night I finished making a necklace and earrings for myself. While I was on a trip to Ann Arbor, MI to visit my friend last week I found a really cool necklace in one of the shops. I loved the way it looked on me so I decided I wanted to make something similar to it in style but with different colors and shapes. I used some beads and supplies I had left over from making stitch markers. I bought some beading wire and the chandelier earring bases this weekend.
I cut the wire into pieces slightly longer than 1cm each and looped them on each end with a bead in the middle and then linked them all together to make a chain for the necklace. I think they came out really well. Here's some photos:
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Shrug this!
I decided that I needed some sort of little shrug to cover my shoulders sometimes since I have been wearing a lot of tank tops lately. I also decided that I need to make some use of the knitting books in my bookshelf. The pattern "Shrug This" from the book One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant was perfect. I started it a couple nights ago and I am already wearing it. It was a very easy knit. I used less than half a skein of Caron Simply Soft that I had leftover from knitting my golf club covers a couple years ago. I can wear it either by itself or with a pin at the neck. Right now I am using a little butterfly clip. Here are some pics:
I also never got around to posting pics of the next kitchen towel and dish cloth I finished last month. Here are pics of those :)
I haven't done a whole lot of spinning lately. I got one bobbin of my Punkette superwash merino roving from Mary Jane's Attic spun up. The other half of the roving has yet to be spun. I will get to it eventually :)
I also never got around to posting pics of the next kitchen towel and dish cloth I finished last month. Here are pics of those :)
I haven't done a whole lot of spinning lately. I got one bobbin of my Punkette superwash merino roving from Mary Jane's Attic spun up. The other half of the roving has yet to be spun. I will get to it eventually :)
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