Random Bits of Knitterly

July 29th, 2006

I have a callus on my right hand middle finger that is in the exact same place that the right hand needle rests when I’m knitting. When there are enough stitches on the right hand needle, my finger rubs against the stitches and is slowly creating this new callus. Man I’ve been knitting a lot.

When my knitting has something changing about it – a self striping or repeating pattern – I tend to stop every few rows to look at the progress. I pull it out and straighten the piece to see how far I’ve gotten. Even if I’ve only gone one stripe, or two, I just like to stare at what I’ve done so far.

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Dilemma?

July 24th, 2006

I ordered some Cascade Sassy Stripes yarn to finally make a completed chevron scarf. I saw pictures online, and some pictures of finished objects with this yarn, and I really liked the thick stripes. I must say that this stuff is so wonderfully soft, but when it came I saw it was a much thinner yarn than I had expected. I knew it would be sock yarn, but this is a very thin sock yarn.

For the longest time I’ve been wanting to make some socks with a much thinner yarn than I’ve been doing lately. I just love knitting socks, and I want some more summery socks. Man, when I opened the package and saw the Cascade yarn, I couldn’t decide if I should just knit socks out of it, or knit my scarf!! It’s kind of silly, because there’s no reason I can’t do both. By the time I get low on yarn for either, I could easily just order some more (I hope!).

I convinced myself to start the scarf, but knit it double stranded because the yarn is too thin for the pattern I made. So far I’m really happy with how it’s coming out, and I really like how it stripes out. I’ll have to post pictures of my progress on that later.

Now for two finished projects! I finished the second pair of my alpaca socks, and I’m in love with them. I got an idea when I finished these, that I might do the toe of my socks a little different in the future. The point of the toe usually ends up by my big toe, which means the toe rests at an angle. This makes my toe feel a tiny bit squished, which is why I’ve had to alter the toe for each pair of socks different from the pattern. I thought that it might work if I did an uneven set of decreases for the toe, so that the toe doesn’t come to a symmetrical point, but one that is slightly to the left or right. This just mightfit my foot better.

The second object I’ve finished (mostly) is the bracelet I made for my Mom’s birthday. I just need to finish blocking (by tonight!! time for a blowdry!) and sew on the buttons. Man I’m so disappointed. I really can’t capture the sparkly of those beads in pictures.

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Cool Enough to Knit!

July 19th, 2006

Now that the temperature has calmed down a little, I’ve been able to knit at home. Well, more notable is that I’ve been able to actually stay home when I’m not sleeping. Man we need to move out of here before next summer.

I’ve got one finished object to report, although it’s only one of a pair. I must say that knitting with alpaca yarn has been a delight, but a bit of an adjustment. I can definitely feel a little bit less give in the alpaca, which required me to adjust the toe a bit. I had to knit the toe different from the pattern on the first two pair of socks I knit (the honeymoon socks), but this time I had to adjust it in different ways. In the end I’m happy with what I’ve done. Now onto sock #2!

On a slightly different note, I’ve noticed that I get much better detail when I have enough lighting in my photos. I know that the flash and capabilities of my digital camera are somewhat limited, so I was content to just live with the slightly blurry photos I was getting. Now I think I’ve found the perfect setup. Look at the clarity of the stitches you can see in that photo!

The next project that I have to report, albeit not quite finished, is another bracelet of the Perdita pattern. Unfortunately there’s not enough light in the picture of this one to really show off the beads and dark purple thread well, but just trust me when I say it looks great in real life. This is going to be a birthday present for my mom, because she saw my green one and hinted that…OK well she said a dark purple one for her birthday would be really nice. I’m getting her something else too, I swear!

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Crap..Forgot the Knitting

July 15th, 2006

Lately I’ve been forgetting to take my knitting with me when I go into town, and I pledged weeks ago to always bring it with me. I still haven’t learned; even if I expect that I won’t have time to knit, I usually end up wishing I had brought my knitting. Soon I think I will be getting a backpack, so I can always have it with me when I go into town. Then, the knitting will go everywhere!

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Yes, Green is the Color!!

July 13th, 2006

You really must believe that green is my favorite color. I know I’ve been posting a lot of pictures with orange, but really…it’s green. See?

I didn’t like the first pattern of Perdita that I made, so I decided to make Lily of the Valley next. I think I even used the color shown in the pattern picture. However, I used silvery beads instead of white. I like the sparkle they give, and it was all I had to fit. I like the finished product of this one MUCH better. It doesn’t bunch the way the Bluebell pattern does (the one I did in gold).

Soon I think I’m going to work up my own version of these little bracelets. I’ve got the thread and beads all set, now I just need some inspiration!

Just to prove me wrong and show you some more orange/gold/brown colors, I’ll show you a new sock I started. I’m not finished with the honeymoon socks yet, but they’re on haiatus. I’m frustrated at having messed up the gusset, so they’ll have to wait until I’m done being angry at them.

Alpaca Yarn!! Ohh it is so wonderfully incredibly soft, and great to knit. I decided I didn’t want to knit through a whole cuff, so these will be ankle socks. I don’t think I’ll ever knit wool socks again, and I really like the idea of having ankle socks.

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Knitty: Summer 2006

July 6th, 2006

I must say that I really enjoy this summer’s issue of Knitty. I like the theme of small items, and it really seems to fit this time of year. There are socks, and hats, and various other accessories and miscellaneous items. I especially thought the calla lilies were kinda cool.

OK, I’ll admitt that I don’t usually read the articles. Occasionally I do when a topic is of especial interest, or I’ll go back later when I want to learn more about a particular topic.

Perdita looked especially cool. I don’t usually wear jewelry, but I really like the idea of wearing my knitting as jewelry. Even cooler is the fact that these bracelets are beaded. It just so happens that I had some beads that I bought for embroidery, and one skein of DMC Pearl cotton which the pattern calls for. I wish it was a different color, but the gold suits me on some days. I want to get some more soft colors to do another few bracelets; perhaps I’ll even make up some of my own.

I think I like the Lily of the Valley the best, but I decided to make the Bluebell. This is my first attempt at beaded knitting, and I really like it. Since my grandmother gave me a whole bunch of her needles, I just so happened to have a set of US 1 DPNs.

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