The Danger Zone

And I am not referring to the movie Top Gun.  As mentioned in a previous post, I cast on for my next project without finishing my current project (Cables and Lace Hoodie).  Even though it was supposed to be a wee little break, I am afraid the break has turned into something much longer.  I have officially entered ‘The Danger Zone’ of unfinished projects.

Here is a photo from the Patons website of the Cable Dress:

Now, picture this…tunic length with a taller (about 5 inches) ribbing on the bottom.  Also, don’t forget that I am using Patons Angora Bamboo in color Flax instead of Classic Wool, what the pattern suggests.  Isn’t it going to be lovely?!    The bottom ribbing has been very relaxing to knit up.  Since I want a tighter stitch, I am doing a twisted rib stitch (knit into the back loop of all knitted stitches) instead of the standard K2, P2 combo.

Here is a little sneak peak:

OK, so now that I have had a taste, the only way to get out of ‘The Danger Zone’ of unfinished projects is to PUT THE NEW PROJECT DOWN.  It was fun while it lasted, but now I must seam up the Cables and Lace Hoodie.

Happy New Year!!

-BrennaLePurl

Man handled

When I first saw this book with all of its pattern options I could not get my mitts on it fast enough. I have a fondness for mittens – not really sure why, but I have always loved them. Maybe it is because my mom knit us a new pair almost every year or maybe it’s because I live in the Mitten State. Most certainly it’s due to living where it is cold about seven months of the year.

The convertible mitten is a good combination of warmth and coverage as well as access to individual finger usage. You know those times when you’re trying to pick up a quarter that your child just dropped on his way into the school? Yeah, mittens make picking up things kind of challenging.

My dilemma is I want to make convertible mittens, using worsted weight yarn and they need to fit my DH (dear husband). The book doesn’t quite cover exactly what I need so I decided to get creative and dig in.

In order to accomplish my not-so-crazy idea I started out with Basic Four Needle Mitten and then went to the Four Needle Fingerless and Convertible Mittens to apply the principles of the convertible flap.

Here goes nothing!

–knittinjen

My New Year’s Sweater

I did it!  Only two days past the completely arbitrary and self-imposed deadline my Cap Sleeve Cable Pullover is finished.  I used Patons Angora Bamboo yarn in the color Brandy Wine.  I really enjoyed  working with this yarn, which is super soft and has that nice angora halo about it.  The yarn would be an excellent choice for a lot of different projects, and is nice to wear next to the skin.

The sweater pattern (which is free!) was enjoyable as well.  The cable pattern was interesting, but not too complicated.  I went down to a combination of size 5 and size 6 needles to get gauge and added three inches to the length of the sweater body.  (Before starting a sweater project it’s a good idea to take a sweater that you like the fit of and measure it for length, adjusting the pattern accordingly).  The front, back, and sleeves were knit as separate pieces and then sewn together using a mattress stitch.  Then i picked up stitches all around the neckline to make the collar.  Halfway through I decided to leave it as a crew neck instead of doing a cowl neck.

I’m really pleased with the result and look forward to wearing this throughout the winter!

-AndreaK2tog

Country Roads

I made a lot of progress on my Cap Sleeve Cable Pullover this weekend.  This is due to the willingness of my road trip partner to drive the entire way and to the magic of Sea Bands.  If you get carsick easily (like me) I highly recommend these (they’re wrist bands that press on an accupressure point to relieve motion sickness).  I knitted for the entire drive with no problems.

By the way, it snowed a lot in West Virginia and Virginia.  Just in case you didn’t know.

I’m sure you are all wringing your hands wondering if this sweater will be done in time to wear on Christmas Eve.  The answer is…….probably not.  I still have about 1/4 of the back, the sleeves, blocking, and seaming left to do.  Maybe I will start to refer to it as my New Year’s Sweater instead.

Because I feel slightly bad that I don’t have a finished project to show you, here’s a quick tip if you have a cable/color/lace chart that is insanely complex and tiny.  Enlarge it on a photocopier!

It’s easier on the eyes, you can mark through each completed row to keep track of progress, and everyone will be impressed with your copier skills.

-AndreaK2tog

Switchin’ it up!

For the last couple of weeks I have been making steady progress on the Cables and Lace Hoodie.  In fact, I only have one more section left until I am ready to start the ’2009 Seaming Boot Camp’.  So what do I go and do?  Yep, I cast on for another project.  Not that the Hoodie and I are in a fight per say, but we just need a break from one another.  That’s understandable right?

Raise your hand if you have had the pleasure of working with Patons Angora Bamboo.  This yarn is made up of 55% Bamboo, 35% Wool and 10% Angora.  The bamboo for strength, the wool for bounce and the angora for super lush softness.  For my next project, the Cable Dress in Patons pattern book Fall in Love, I chose the Angora Bamboo in lieu of Patons Classic Wool (what the pattern suggested).  Since I get roughly the same gauge, I figured it wouldn’t matter as much (Uh Oh. Did I just curse myself?).  In fact, I think the Angora Bamboo will be a great substitute for this pattern.  The yarn is SO incredibly soft that it allows for an itch-free wear right against your skin.  While I LOVE 100% wool, I do have pretty sensitive skin that does not allow for me to wear a wool on skin combo.  I literally rubbed my gauge swatch against my cheek for about 30 minutes.  Does that make me certifiably fiber crazy?

Do you always use the yarn that the pattern calls for or do you switch it up?

Happy Holidays!

-BrennaLePurl

Cold Hands – Warm Heart

You can warm a heart by giving someone a way of keeping their hands warm. Mittens are an inexpensive and quick way to offer a handmade gift to someone.

Do you have someone on your gift list that you need to get something finished for in a hurry? Mittens are a good option. That said, they make great charity knits as well. The pair you make, even if not the exact size you expect, are bound to fit someone.

This is Patons Classic Wool Tweeds in the Chestnut Tweed colorway (incidentally, until this photo, I have never noticed the sheep on the label – I think that’s funny)

Mittens are a great way to play with color, use up odds and ends (do I hear “stash buster”? You can experiment with techniques like two color knitting (stranded), stripes or stitch patterns, and they don’t use a lot of yardage. The patterns in this book are pretty straight forward to follow and as I’ve mentioned, they knit up really fast. I’m not a fast knitter, but can still finish a mitten in an evening or two just watching TV. The new Next Steps Seven Mittens and Gloves pattern book walks you right through mitten making (gloves too!) using fingeringweight or worsted weight yarn.

You can, of course, make a pair from Patons Décor for a child or for a charity when you don’t want them to accidently get washed (Patons Décor is an easy care acryic/wool blend). But I love to use Patons Classic Wool *pause to allow for your gasp of shock that I would LOVE Patons Classic Wool*. Taking special care with this wool is worth it to me because it stands up against snow and sleet. Even when soaking wet your hands will be warm. Love, love, love that about wool!

Stay tuned to see who will be the lucky recipient of some yummy Chestnut Tweed mittens.

–knittinjen

The Trouble with Stitches

I’ve started the Color Block scarf from Patons pattern book Luxury Knits. I’m using Patons Pure instead of the suggested yarn, Patons Angora Bamboo. They’re both worsted weight yarns, so everything should work fine, right? Not so much. If you feel Patons Angora Bamboo in one hand, and Patons Pure in the other, you’ll quickly notice a difference. The angora is drapey, with very little structure in the yarn. The pure, on the other hand, stands at attention, with a nice thick single plied with a cotton thread.

I didn’t think too much of this until I started the Color Block Scarf in Patons pattern book Luxury Knits. The pattern for the whole scarf is a variant of seed stitch, a stitch that has structure itself. After 20 rows or so, I knew it wasn’t going to work. The scarf is very wide, and with the flat stitch, it was huge! Instead, I was hoping for something more cushy and squeezable.

I’ve decided to go rogue.

I’m changing the stitch pattern from a seed stitch variant to a 1×1 rib. This will (I hope) make the scarf stretchy, warm, and luxe.

Here’s hoping!

-jencraft

Michigan IS the Mitten State after all

I love mittens. I live in the palm of a mitten, have traveled to the thumb, the cuff, the pinky and most certainly to the tip. (For those of you who don’t know where Michigan is, check out a map of the U.S., Michigan is the state that looks just like a mitten, it’s a peninsula sandwiched between some seriously Great Lakes.)

Here’s a local fave: We Michiganders have a habit of stating where we live by pointing to that area on our own hand – seriously.

I’m not saying that gloves are bad, but my fingers are always cold in them so I usually choose mittens instead. Mittens make navigating the steering wheel a tad bit tricky, but once my vehicle is warm the mittens get tossed aside. I also think mittens work better when in serious defense of a snowball fight with boys.

This is a hot-off-the-press pattern book and is it ever a good one. It’s got a bunch of different styles but it also has different sizes for your friends and family (charity too!) plus options with yarn weights. I’m tellin’ ya, you can’t beat that with a knitting needle!

One final comment I have about mittens this week – they knit up quickly. I’m always reading other blogs where people mention how quick socks knit up, that’s not true with me. But mittens really do. They’re fewer stitches (when working with worsted weight of course), bigger needles and you don’t have that fiddly heel turn. Go get yourself this book and knit a pair with me (and Juliaknits is getting her mitten on too).

And raise your hand to the Mitten State!

–knittinjen

Project Knitwear

Do you ever feel like you are at the end of a reality TV show rushing to get your project finished?  For me, this feeling is inevitable.  Each and every time I promise not to put myself in this situation and each and every time this exact situation happens.  Well, this time, it is not my fault.  With the craziness that was my Thanksgiving Holiday, there simply was no time for me to sit, relax and knit.  Needless to say, I am behind on my current knitting project.

After Thanksgiving Day, we decided to break out all of our holiday decorations and get the house ready for Christmas.  The tree this year is amazing and my house smells  wonderful.  So, now that my house is empty again, I hope to make some major progress on the Cables and Lace Hoodie this week.  Not hope – PROMISE.  I need a right front, 2 sleeves, a hood, some seaming and voila, I shall be done in no time.  I am really looking forward to this challenge.  Unlike reality TV shows, I will be in the comfort of my home and really, I am the only person who can stress me out.  Plus, I will be sitting on my couch with a cup of hot tea (or glass of wine), gazing upon my lit up Christmas tree, watching reruns from last week, while working on my project.  Now, doesn’t that sound amazing?

-BrennaLePurl

Time to get serious

Christmas is almost here, and I’ve barely started with my holiday knitting. Most years, I don’t give a ton of gifts, but rather try to make something nice for the special folks in my life.

My lil’ sister has thrown a wrench into the situation. I love knitting for her (she’s a size XS – do you have any idea how fast things get made??). I made her a woolen scarf and a beautiful cabled cardigan (if I say so myself), and about a year later, she admitted to me she’s allergic to wool. What? Aww.. I like working with wool and other natural fibers,  so figuring out what to do for her took some thinking.  I figured a nice hat and scarf made of something soft and cozy, and wool-free, would be good. Her only direction: the color Blue.

If you take a look at the Patons pattern book Luxury Knits, there’s a gorgeous color block scarf, knit in Patons Angora Bamboo. The suggested yarn is out of the question, due to its wool content.

Enter Patons Pure Organic Cotton. I know I’m not the only one who’s gushing about this yarn (Hi Brenna!), but it’s _very_ soft. I’m also a fan of the shade range – it’s very natural, yet feels contemporary and now. So let’s talk blue – there’s a few to choose from, but Marine’s the direction I’m leaning towards. The pattern calls for four shades, so I’m going to incorporate another blue (to keep the whole thing ‘blue’, and some neutrals to accent it. Here are my selections: Marine, Sea, Beige, and Taupe.

Pretty!

I’m excited! I love the feeling before you start something new. Now to avoid shiny distractions…

-jencraft