Awesome Yarn

January 31st, 2007

I really love working with good yarn. I’m talking about the expensive stuff that is usually made of 100% natural fibers, with beautiful vibrant colors, often hand-dyed. OK, I’m a yarn snob.

Malabrigo – If you haven’t used this stuff, you really should. It’s an amazingly soft merino single, and the colors it comes in are wonderfully bright. I just finished a simple neckwarmer using this yarn in the Oceanos colorway. I love how it sort of spirals up the neckwarmer. It’s a whole lot of k2,p2 ribbing, and I don’t know how I got through it all so fast. I’m generally not bored with repetitive stitches such as ribbing or stockinette. However, I find ribbing hurts my hands a little.

It’s soooo soft and warm. I found it really hard to fight the urge not to steal this from him, but since I told him it would be his from the beginning I’ve been unable to do so. Since I have at least one more ball of spare Malabrigo in this color, I cast on right away for a second one.

I have so much Malabrigo in this house, it’s ridiculous. Granted I’m using most of it to make a blanket.

Socks that Rock – Corey splurged on me (and him) a bit and bought two skeins of lightweight Socks that Rock. One for a pair for each of us. The colors are more amazing than I thought they would be! This yarn is so soft, and comfy to knit with. That’s the best word I can find for these expensive yarns, comfy.

I decided that I really didn’t want to waste any of this yarn, considering how much it cost. I am knitting the socks toe up so I can stop when I run out of half the yarn. I know I’ve run out of half the yarn because the yarn has been cut in half. It took me for-ever to split the first skein into two relatively even balls. I wound it into a center pull ball, then took both ends of the ball and wound them together around my swift, then I unwound that splitting each end into its own ball simultaneously. Phew what a lengthy process, but I’m really glad I did it.

I’ve already started Corey’s socks, and so far I’m loving the way this stuff knits up. It feels great in my hands, and the colors are just fascinating to watch. Even though Corey just wanted shades of grey in the Stormy Weather colorway, I’m still finding it really interesting to watch as I go.

I used the short row toe that I found from the Knitty article Tiptop Toes (a very handy article showing toe-up toe techniques). I’m still not sure what I’m going to do for the heel, because I really don’t want to do a short row heel. I’ve never done it, but I’m sure I can. I’m hesitant to do it because I’ve heard that the heel flap method is more fitted, and although Corey couldn’t care one whit, for some reason I do. Perhaps I should just do the short row heel on Corey’s socks, and experiment when I start mine.

Speaking of mine, aren’t the colors in that yarn (Pucks Mischief) just amazing? It took me a while to decide what colors I wanted, and when I did I still wasn’t sure I chose right. As soon as it arrived I was sure it was perfect!

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Need to SPIN

January 29th, 2007

I have a bunch of stuff I need to do right now, and I need to head in to town soon as well. I’m finding it so hard to make myself do these things, because all I want to do is spin the little sample of alpaca fiber I got for Christmas. I have about as much of the Alpaca as I did the silk, and I’m spinning it about the same thickness. I love the feel of the fiber, even though it’s not quite as smooth to spin.

I’ll recycle the photo of my Christmas haul so you can see a picture of the fiber I’m talking about. Click on the image to see the full size, and look at #6. Unfortunately that picture doesn’t really show the purples in the colorway, but I think you get the point. Isn’t it wonderfully bright?

I’ve decided to just take the spinning with me so that when I have a moment I can get a little bit in. I haven’t as of yet done any spinning in public, but I’ve read a lot of spinner’s blogs that talk about spinning while waiting in line, or whatever. I feel very self conscious about the thought of spinning in public, but not knitting in public. I guess I worry that people will think that I’m trying to show off, which is just silly. There are also times that I just don’t want to be social with people, and spinning in public is definitely something to draw questions.

Hm…perhaps I should make a knitting and spinning category on this blog…

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Fuschias and Teals

January 26th, 2007

First I’ll post some pictures of the needle holder that I made, and couldn’t post pictures of right away. I’m really happy with it, and it has helped to really keep most of my needles much more organized. Now I just need to make an organizer for circular needles. I may make something that hangs, or something with big square pockets that I can curl the needles up into. Considering how long it took me to complete the first one, I wouldn’t bet that I’ll get that one made any time soon

.I wasn’t smart enough when I made this to incorporate a tie. However, if I had thought of making a tie I probably would have 1) taken even longer to finish or 2) not bothered with it. A braided length of yarn works perfectly for me, especially since it’s acryllic yarn that I’m not likely to knit with any time soon.

Now for the exciting stuff..

A finished skein of yarn! Alright, so it’s a small skein, but I love it. If you need some scale while looking at the photo, imagine your hand next to it. It’s just a bit longer than a hand (unless you’ve got big big or small small hands). It’s tussah silk, and I absolutely loved spinning it. I got a little adventureous and spun it quite thin, which was mostly a success. I managed to keep it pretty even throughout, except for a few spots that are either a bit too thick or too thin. Those too thin spots? They’re thi-in.

I don’t think the quality of the photo is such that you can really see the individual strands really well, but you get the idea. Also, the photo makes the silk out to be more shiny than it actually is. It has a nice shine, and is made from these inredibly brilliant colors, but it still has a bit of dull softness to it too.

What shall I do with it? I’m finding myself in a quandry, and really need to decide what to do with it soon. This is silly because there’s no reason I can’t keep it in the stash until the perfect opportunity comes around. When a yarn excites me, I need to use it now! I’ve been racking my brains to think of something that won’t get any wear and tear, and that I will actually use to knit it into. Decisions, decisions…

4 Comments | Categories: Knitting, Spinning |

Knitting Left Handed

January 25th, 2007

I am left handed, and like most lefties I am proud of my sinister status. There’s this great moment of bonding when you meet a fellow lefty, and it will somehow invariably come up if you’re acquainted with a left handed person. You’ll either see them using their left hand to write or do something requiring dexterity, or they’ll see you do it.

In knitting one would think that there’s a left handed way to do things, and a right handed way to do things. Just like there is with anything else requiring manual dexterity (cutting with scissors, writing, etc). I’m finding out more and more that such is not the case. Just like there are many different methods of knitting and each knitter seems to have individualized their method to be even more unique to them, I think such is the same for left handed knitters.

When I taught myself to knit I started doing it the way the book showed: right handed. I will admitt they had some brief instructions about reversing your hands and knitting left-handed, but that just didn’t feel right in my hands. The reason this works for me is because I don’t insert the right needle into the stitch on the left needle. Using the left needle I drop the stitch over the right needle (if that makes sense). The hand motions I’m using are still more controlled on the left side than the right. I also hold the yarn in my right hand like most English right handed knitters, but it just sticks out there in a stiff position. I don’t wrap the yarn around the left needle, I sort of wrap the left needle around the yarn…kind of. It’s hard to explain, but uses my left hand more than my right.

I made a post a while back about a method that I had figured out that allows me to purl back in stockinette stitch without flipping my work. The neckwarmer that I’m doing is a lot of k2,p2 ribbing around and around and…well you get the point. I decided that it would be interesting to try continental knitting left handed while I was working on it. I had read some tutorials and watched some videos, and had tried doing it right handed to no avail. I turned my work around to “knit” two stitches in continental, which would have been two purl stitches in English on the other side. The yarn stayed on the same finger, and I realized that this was the exact same method that I used to “purl” backwards.

Have you ever thought you invented something, only to find out that is already being done and you didn’t know about it? I taught myself how to knit continental left handed without even knowing it! I can’t quite purl continental left handed as easily as I can purl English right handed.

Anyways, I’m really curious to know how other left handed knitters out there have learned or adapted to knit. Do you knit left handed or right handed? Do you knit continental or English? Do you knit right handed, but make the motions a bit different than right handed people as I do? I would love to read your comments!

If this post goes by days and months without many comments, I won’t be surprised. If you’re reading this post and it seems too old to bother commenting anymore, comment anyways! I’m still interested in reading what you have to say, as I’m very interested in how other lefties do things.

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Your Choice in Circulars?

January 24th, 2007

A comment on my previous post via Michelle prompted this post.

Love the colorway on the neckwarmer. Looks gorgeous!!! Interesting story about the SB plastic circulars. I usually am an Addi snob, but recently started switching, with some fibers, to Clover bamboos. I think they’re my new faves.

I have a pair (it always feels wierd calling circular needles a “pair” as its one unit) of Clover bamboo circular needles, and I’m sort of iffy about them. The cable is fine – a simple plastic – but I find the join snags a bit. I’m also a tight knitter, so it’s probably more my knitting and less the needles. It’s a pretty smooth join except my stitches hug tight against the needles.

I will admitt to a bit of snagging with the Susan Bates circulars, but it’s less noticeable than on the Clover needles. I’ve never had problems with snagging on Addi Turbos, or my Knit Picks Options either (only have two needle sets and one cable set for these).

What are your needle preferences? Any I haven’t mentioned that I should check out?

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Plain ‘Ole Update (and a short needle review)

January 23rd, 2007

I’ve got the yarn for the second mitten, and it will hopefully be done in the next few days. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the one I’m scrapping, but we’ll see. In the meantime, some pictures…

The first of the pair; the cooperative mitten looks nice eh? It feels so comfortable on my hand. Not much more to say about this.

I’m creating a neckwarmer for Corey that was originally supposed to be a Christmas gift, but I knew I wouldn’t have time to make it. I hadn’t gotten a whole lot of progress on it until today, and it wasn’t until recently that I realized why. The DPNs that I was using were too short, and made it a pain to knit. I caved today and went out to buy a set of circular needles, and despite my initial reservations about them I’m very pleased.

I instinctively requested Addi Turbos while at the knitting shop, but they didn’t have any of the right length in the size I needed. She brought out some Susan Bates circulars that had a more fitting length for what I was doing, so I decided to buy them. On my walk home I was having second thoughts because the needles are plastic. I had even more second thoughts when I opened the package and saw how short it was! I instantly had it in my head that I would have to return them to get the longer Addis instead.

I’m really glad that I decided to try them out first, because I’m quite satisfied with these needles. I don’t have problems with snagging at the join, the plastic needles don’t bother me as much has I’d have thought, and they are the perfect length. I think these will be getting some significant use in the near future while I make some hats and more neckwarmers with them. Also, they were cheaper than the Addis.

Look at the beautiful striations that I’m getting with the Malabrigo yarn on this neckwarmer. I like the way it looks a lot more than how it’s coming out on my afghan squares. It looks more stripey, and less random.

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Its Evil Twin

January 22nd, 2007

Remember the mittens I mentioned two posts ago? Well the first one came out beautifully. It is complete, has been washed, and tried on to my satisfaction several times. The second one? Not so much.

The ribbing started out fine, and I got along to the stockinette stitch for an inch or so. I decided to measure up the first to the second to see if the ribbing was the same length. The second one was several milimeters off. After some stewing and thought (and convincing from my husband) I decided to carefully rip back to a couple of rows before the end of the ribbing. Continuing to knit in stockinette for several inches this time, I realized that I had forgotten to do the increase rows for the gusset. Doh! Rip back again, only to do it correct this time. Knit up to the thumb, make the hole for that and set it aside for later. Now onto the home stretch. Just some plain stockinette for several inches, a short row point for the fingertips, and I’m done.

Except…

I even got to the grafting of the opening closed. Yes, I had to rip back again, only this time unsuccessfully. Trying to ungraft a piece of knitting composed of thin alpaca yarn that will easily rip is-not-fun. I managed to work it out and untangle the mess that resulted, and even re-grafted it to completion. It’s sitting beside me now, the end at the fingertips woven in. It looks terrible. I haven’t even gotten to the thumb yet (no yarn left).

I have determined that this second of the pair is the original’s evil twin. The first mitten knit up beautifully, was so wonderfully easy to figure out, and looks perfectly snug on my hand. The second, its evil twin, has been ripped back three times, re-grafted once, run out of yarn, and looks like crap despite my best efforts. I’m so tempted to not even bother trying to salvage this yarn, and buy a whole new skein and start over completely. I think the yarn on this mitten is tainted anyways.

4 Comments | Categories: Knitting |

Anatomy of a Skein – Unfair!

January 20th, 2007

If you have a weak will and large stash, I’m warning you not to click the following link: Fricknits: Anatomy of a Skein

It took all I could do to prevent myself from immediately snatching up a skein or two (or three?) of some of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rocks after reading that post. I finished looking at the pictures and thought, “Corey can spare a bit of money to buy me a little treat, right?” No! I…musn’t…fall. I’ve got plenty of yarn here at home, and while my “stash” can only really barely be called by that name, it’s more than I should have at any given time.

Then again, I have been itching to cast on for another pair of socks since I finished Corey’s pair…

I’m telling you, it’s not fair for my fellow bloggers in knitting to do this to me!

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The Satisfaction of Creation

January 18th, 2007

I have two things to write about today, and they both involve original designs that I’ve recently completed (no pictures, the camera batteries need charging and I can’t find the charger).

1) I finally decided to sew together my knitting needle holder as inspired by a post at the SPIN | KNIT blog. It looked like it would be oh-so easy to make, so I immediately started planning and cutting out the pieces. Then I didn’t touch it for months. What prevented me from actually sewing it together? It’s dumb, but I procrastinated because I didn’t feel like having to deal with ironing out and sewing the top of the two long strips to be used for pockets. Do we ever procrastinate for good reasons?

Anyway, last night I got the motivation to start some actual sewing, and that motivation carried me straight to the finish. The result is that I have a great yard long piece of fabric that has two levels of pockets, 26 pockets for each level for a total of 52 to store knitting needles and roll up into a nice cylinder for better storing. I’m loving it, and every time I look at it or unroll it I feel this great sense of accomplishment.

The most awesome part about it is that I couldn’t have made it any better. That’s not to say that it’s the best needle storage in the world, nor is that to say I’m the greatest sewer/designer in the world. I had a plan, implemented that plan, and it worked out almost exactly how I planned it. I love it! I realize now that I should have sewn on two straps in the process so that I can tie it secure when it’s rolled up. Something that’s easy to add after the fact, and I will certainly not forget it if I ever make more.

Pictures to come later of course!

2) For some reason last night I had an urge to cast on for some mittens. I had this pair of mittens growing up that were these really simple stretchy black ones. The cool part about them was that they were made out of that same thin material that you can get a lot of cheap gloves in too. I don’t know why I loved them, but I did so my mittens are an inspiration from that pair.

I just have to finish the thumb on the first mitten, weave in the ends, and it will be complete. The second mitten will be nearly identical, and so far I’m loving it. The pattern was fairly easy to construct, and I’m really proud of myself. I certainly used my experience knitting the “Vintage Beaded Gloves” from Handknit Holidays well. This is another case of the end product being very nearly exactly what I had planned. It’s so satisfying, and almost makes me forget the travesty that was the hat I wrote about in a previous post.

Alright, so I probably shouldn’t use the word travesty; that’s a bit of an exaggeration. It’s turned out to be something I can actually use, but I’ll save the details for a later post.

The mitten was made from an alpaca yarn, and man that stuff sheds. I love the grey natural color, and I love the softness of the yarn. However, knitting with it for lengthy periods makes my nose itch.

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Christmas Clapotis – Late!

January 17th, 2007

I started this Clapotis for my mother in law for Christmas a good while ago. This was the second item (of only two!) that I didn’t finish for a Christmas gift, but I know she’ll appreciate it even if it’s late.

I must say that this is a wonderfully fun and easy pattern, and I love the resulting knit. The only problem that I’ve found with it – and this could be all my fault – is that one side is considerably tighter than the other. The beginning of the row is more tight and the end of the row is more loose. It kind of makes the piece a bit lopsided, which I find quite disappointing. Has anyone else had problems with this, found solutions to it?

The yarn I used is from KnitPicks Andean Silk I think? It’s wool and silk, and incredibly soft. I really enjoy the color, and I hope Corey’s mom does too.

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