Last we left on this project, I needed to cut the steek.

It may have sat for a little while whilst I took care of other things… like finishing the the sewing on Christmas stockings for the children.

I used my sewing machine to reinforce the steek:

Before cutting it open:

And picking up the stitches for the buttonbands:

The original pattern was written to be worked flat, with the buttonband knit on. As a result, the world was my oyster when it came to choosing how I wanted to do the buttonband. I chose a 2×2 rib of 7 rows in length, then cast off in pattern. The buttonhole are simple YO buttonholes. I ended up working them on the wrong side of the bands, mostly so that they fell as close to the centre of the band as possible.

I finished off the cut edge using a blanket stitch:

I gave it a lot of thought about which method of finishing I’d use. Given I was using a superwash yarn, I knew I needed to finish it properly since the edges wouldn’t felt together with wear. I also wanted something that wouldn’t be too bulky, yet look nice. I though the buttonhole stitch was a great solution.

I’m really happy with the finished cardigan, and I’m really pleased I decided to do it in the round.

It fits Thing 2 really well, with a little bit of room for growth.

If I were to do this again, though, I’d change up the pattern a bit so that the first set of yoke decreases didn’t fall in the first row of colourwork. It caused a bit of puckering, most of which came out in blocking, but I think this would have been minimised if the decreases were a row or two before the colourwork began. I also decided to shorten the next and not do the turtleneck as written in the pattern.

The details:

Pattern: Drops 19-2 which you can also queue on Ravelry.
Yarn: Sandes Garn Smart.
Needles 3.5mm (for the rib) and 4mm for the rest
Size: I knit the 6 to 9 month length and knit the 12 to 18 month size as written, mostly to solve gauge issues.
Mods: I modified for size, gauge, to knit it in the round, and shortened the neck

Previous blog entries are found here and here.

I mentioned yesterday that I’d finished knitting the last pair of socks for 2011. Coincidentally, it was also my last pair of socks for the A to Z knitalong over on UK Sock Knitters on Ravelry.

The idea was to cast on a sock each fortnight and progress sequentially through the alphabet. Socks had a 2 week window in which they could be cast on, but could be finished anytime within the dates of the KAL (knit a long).

Here’s my alphabet:

From left to right, top to bottom I did Angee, BMP, Clandestine, Devon, Eunice, Frank’s Little Cables, Glynis, Hermione’s Everyday Socks, Ian’s Socks, Julia, Knotty or Knice, Lau, Milo, Nemesis, Off-Road, Paul Atwell, Quartzonite, Rovásírás-sukat, Squally, Tracks, Up up and Away, Vihtori, Wanida, Xocks, Young Lady Sock, Zig & Zag.

Since my head would explode if I tried to link all those socks, if you are interested in details, please have a look on my A to Z tab in my projects on Ravelry.

My last pair of socks for 2011, Lau.

These socks were a bit of a slog, and it was neither the fault of the pattern nor the yarn. It was the combination of the near black colour and the irregular pattern of the sock as I had to continuously read my knitting and the dark colour just wasn’t making that easy and it took a while before I was back in a situation that provided adequate illumination.

On my second sock, I rearranged the stitches from 4+1 needles to 3+1 needles. I placed all the 2xk1tbl, p1 stitches on one needle, the bands of stocking stitch and cables on a second, and the k1tbl, p2 on a third. This made the pattern far more intuitive. Using a lighter colour of yarn would likely solve these problems entirely, though.

I also modified the pattern from a toe up to a topdown sock, omitting the twisted stitches in the gusset area. I was having a hard enough time seeing my stitches as it was.

Even though these socks were on the needles quite a long time and I couldn’t wait to be rid of them, I did enjoy the pattern and the finished socks look and fit great. I hope my husband gets a lot of wear out of them.

The details:

Pattern: Lau (available free on Ravelry)
Yarn: Violet Green VG Supersock in Evergreens
Needles: 2.25mm
Size: 39, with an 8” leg.
Cast on: June 4th, 2011
Cast off: December 26th, 2011

I pulled out an old UFO the other day, in the form of a half knit Yule Gnome. And half knit is being overly generous. I’d only knit the body last year before I had to put it down to make something more important. However, I really wanted to have it for this holiday season. Getting another languishing project out of the UFO box was an absolute bonus.

Over the course of a couple of evenings, the pattern came to life. It really doesn’t take a year to make. Really.

The Jultomtar & Teeny Tomte pattern is available from Alan Dart’s website for download and includes 3 sizes plus a mini tomte. They are well written, however all the pieces are knit flat individually then seamed and sewn on. Although I’m not keen on seaming, it is something I can do well and if I just bust through the lot I’m usually able to finish the project without it languishing a year. Or another year, in this case.

I chose to do the large sized gnome in cream and white. I think he’s adorable. I think he’ll also need company next year. My husband suggested grey and red for the next one.

The details:

Cast on: November 28th, 2010
Completed: December 13th, 2011
Pattern: “Yuletide Gnomes (Jultomtar & Teeny Tomte)”: by Alan Dart
Size: Large
Needle: US 2½ – 3.0 mm
Yarn: Hayfield Bonus DK in white and oatmeal, about 25g total (70m) Patons UK Diploma Gold DK in natural, about 25 g (60m) Sirdar Foxy in white, about 10g (8.0m)

The only change I made was to double the foxy (fun fur) for the beard. The pattern calls for 6mm needles, where as Foxy recommends a 4mm needle. To compensate, I knit the beard on 6mm needles with the yarn held double.

These are the cutest things ever.

Completely adorable.

And they cause me to squee and giggle everytime I look at them.

They are stackable cats.

The pattern is called Stackable Cats by Anna Hrachovec, and it is available for purchase from Ravelry or her website or her site MochiMochiLand. The pattern is simple, straightforward, and well written. It has you knit the box, stuff it, embroider it, and knit and sew on the appendages. All fairly simple to do, with the most complex bit being a provisional cast-on, and therefore being at a skill level suitable for most knitters.

And they are bloody cute, too.

The pattern calls for a feltable worsted weight yarn, however I decided to knit it on tighter needles and go the superwash route. I choose a lovely superwash BFL aran yarn from Wildcraft. I loved knitting with this. I may never knit a non-wool toy again. (Okay, that isn’t true as I have a supply of toy yarn in my stash. I certainly won’t enjoy it nearly as much, though.) It was super soft and quick to knit, even though I was knitting with aran on 3.5mm needles. I really think it helped make this project extra special, and I’m just as happy I didn’t have to deal with the extra step of having to felt them (and subsequently hide them from the kids who are home with me all day).

The details:

Pattern: Stackable Cats by Anna Hrachovec
Made for: Thing 2’s 1st Christmas
Needle: US 4 – 3.5 mm
Yarn: Wildcraft Superwash BFL Aran
Colourway: Granny Smith and Teal

Each kitty took this much:
Small — 22g
Medium — 48g
Large — 88g

Which meant that I had enough yarn to do all three kitties out of 2×100g skeins of yarn, with just shy of 50g left over of the green skein (that I used for the medium sized and the small striped cats). I used up nearly all of the teal with only 3g remaining… which is close enough to an entire skein.

I am totally in love with these kitties. I hope Thing 2 likes them as much.

Otherwise known as an advent calendar. :)

I was highly intrigued by a pattern that popped up on Ravelry a few weeks ago that was a garland for knitted advent ornaments. The ornaments looks small and quick, and I thought it would be fun to knit them through December… and any I didn’t finish could be easily done for next year. Christmas is pretty reliable for coming at the same time each year… though I swear the stores are putting the decorations out earlier and earlier.

The patterns are being released individually, one a day, from the first of December through Christmas Eve. According to the designer, Frankie Brown, you’ll need the following items:

• 4 ply yarn, definitely in red, green and cream but various other colours too
• Something cream and textured (think snowman), ie: Sirdar Snowflake DK
• Toy stuffing
• Tiny beads and buttons for decoration
• Metal jingle bells
• One solitary pipe cleaner
• Needles: 2mm, 2.75mm (most of the decorations are knitted on this size) and 3.25mm. Also 2.25mm dpn and a 2.5mm crochet hook (or thereabouts)

Personally I’ve been using 2.25mm needles because a) I always have spare 2.25mm needles on the table next to me in the lounge, and b) my 2.75mm needles are busy. I’m also using a 3mm hook as it was also sitting on the table next to me.

So far the ornaments are coming out at about 2 inches (5cm) tall, not including the hanging loops, and they are taking about 30 minutes to knit plus a bit of finishing time which has been anywhere from about 10 to 20 minutes, based on the two ornaments I’ve done so far.

Here’s the first:

I’ll not be posting these everyday, but I do plan to take a snapshot of whichever ornaments I manage to finish by Christmas. I don’t plan to do the garland, and I’m still having a think as to how I do want to display them. Hopefully I’ll have decided by the time the Jule Man comes for a visit.

If you are interested in joining in, I’d suggest popping over to the KAL thread as the designer is posting photos and links to each ornament as she releases them.

Progress is being made on the Smart Cardi (or B19-2, if you’d like to get all technical). I’ve finished off the collar and am now ready to cut the steek. Or at least I will be ready to cut the steak as soon as I reinforce it and find some matching grosgrain ribbon.

I’m really liking how this cardi is knitting up, though if I were to do it again, I think I’d change one of the sets of yoke decreases. They fall in the first row of the colourwork and it makes it look like it puckers a bit. Which it might. I’m hoping blocking might solve this dilema, but we shall see.

As mentioned in my previous post, I modified this cardigan to be knit in the round. As a result there are no steek instructions. Also, in the original pattern, the buttonband is knit on during the construction of the body. For the collar I decided to cast off the 4 centre stitches of my 6 stitch steek, which allows for one selvage stitch on each side for when I pick up the button band. I also didn’t make the collar as long. I really don’t think that Thing 2 needs a collar up to his eyeballs, though I’m quite certain he’d enjoy chewing on it.

I even found some really cute buttons at Fandago, a lovely local little yarn shop with an amazing selection of fabulous buttons. Hopefully I’ll get to the fabric shop tomorrow to get the ribbon I need to finish off this cardi. I’m excited for the boy to wear it.

Due to an upheaval of my schedule, there isn’t much spinning to report this week, so I bring you yet more socks. This time the socks are for my daughter and I’m planning to wrap them up and pop them under the tree.

I really enjoyed this pattern, and with a slight modification of yarn weight they were a perfect size for Thing 1. She loves purple and pink, so I’m hoping they’ll go over well.

The Knit Picks Essentials Kettle Dyed (Purple) is really quite soft and I’m curious to see how well it’ll hold up. I have a pair of socks in this same yarn that I’ve been using for a year and they are holding up quite well, but my daughter has far fewer socks and is much harder on them. I consider her a good tester for new yarns. If she wears them out before she outgrows them (and this has happened) then I’m not interested in making socks for me or my husband with that yarn. Her socks have far less time input involved.

The details:

Cast on: 19.11.11
Cast off: 22.11.11
Pattern: Xocks
Yarn: Knit Picks Kettle Dyed, Regia Uni 4 ply and Spinning a Yarn Walker Sock
Size: 27, 4.5” leg (to fit a 4 year old)
Needles: 2.25mm
Mods: Used fingering weight yarn instead of aran to achieve a child sized sock, and swapped out to my standard heel and toe for her. Also didn’t do contrasting cuff/heel/toe as my daughter doesn’t like contrasting bits. She’s still telling me that I knit my Tracks socks wrong as they have contrasting toes. Hopefully this’ll save some grief.

I made a tactical error in these socks. I cast these socks on thinking, ‘Hey, they are a simple mostly stocking stitch sock. They’ll go quickly.’ Famous last words. I picked out a yarn that Sophie gifted me that had a variety of colours in it. I thought it would work well in such a simple pattern. And I think the yarn and pattern meshed well.

The error was my choice of needle sizes. The yarn didn’t have a ball band and I assumed it was a standard 4ply, so I grabbed my 2.25mm needles, which are my needles of choice. What I didn’t realize was that this wasn’t a standard 4ply. It is thicker. I could have easily gone up to a 2.5 or 2.75mm needle. Because of the tension, this wasn’t a very pleasurable knit. Of course, I didn’t realise this until I was nearing the end of the first sock… right about the same time that I realised I was running out of yarn.

I chose a contrast yarn (another unknown sock yarn) for the toe as I didn’t have anything that blended in. I realised as soon as I joined the new yarn how thick the main yarn was.

Oops.

In all, it was an enjoyable pattern, and the yarn would have been great to knit if I had chosen the correct needles. The final bit of the second sock was a bit of a slog, but you know what? I’m betting these socks are going to wear really well. Except maybe the toes.

Cast on: Sept 28, 2011
Cast off: November 23, 2011
Pattern: Tracks
Yarn: Unknown sock yarn, a gift from Sophie from SKIPnorth
Needles: 2.25mm
Size: 43, 7.5” leg
Mods: decreased down to 64 stitches in the upper leg portion and used a contrast yarn for the toes as I ran out of yarn.

I finished my Wanida socks over the weekend. It’s yet another pattern out of Cookie A’s Sock Innovation book, and it was a lovely knit. Being a lace in knit, with every other row being a plain knit round, the sock went quite quickly.

Of course, the discerning amongst you may notice that my socks aren’t the same length. You’d be correct. Whilst I was knitting the first sock I got to the point in the pattern where Cookie tells you to start the heel flap and I looked at my sock and decided to knit another repeat since they seemed rather short. I tend to make my socks around 7 to 7.5” in length for the leg and these just didn’t seem long enough.

I continued through the rest of the sock, kitchenered the toe, woven in the ends, and tried on my sock to admire it as a thing of beauty. Except that the cuff wouldn’t fit with the leg of the sock fully extended. Baffled and befuddled, I measured the leg of the sock on my sock blocker. 9.5 inches. I took the sock off the blocker and measured. 7.5 inches. The stitch pattern caused the lace to really crumples up on itself.

Being someone who really didn’t want to rip out more than half a sock, especially given the size of my feet, I cast on for the next sock.

Now, the first sock still needed to be fixed since I couldn’t wear it without folding the cuff down and I decided that surgery was the best option. I picked out the yarn end at the cuff so I knew where the start of the round was, checked where the cuff needed to be in terms of the stitch pattern, and started picking up stitches.

I really like this way of doing knit surgery, though I admit it works best in a plain fabric like stocking stitch. With the lace I really had to make sure I was picking up the right loops, especially for the decreases and yarn overs.

A quick snip of the yarn on the opposite side from my start of round (this gives a bit of wiggle room in case of error), and I picked out the yarn from my picked up stitches. Presto. No cuff.

I double checked my stitch count was correct, and starting at the beginning of the round, I started to knit the cuff in the rib pattern to match the other sock. The one disadvantage to this method is that since I’m knitting in the opposite direction, the cuff is offset from the leg pattern by half a stitch. I hope that Cookie A will forgive me. Personally, I think it was worth it so that I didn’t need to reknit most of a sock.

The finished Wanida socks:

Both the same length. In need of blocking, but both done.

The details:
Pattern: Wanida by Cookie A from Sock Innovation
Made for: Me
Size: 43
Needle: 2.25mm Knit Pro DPNs
Yarn: The Yarn Yard Bonny in Purple, bought at Woolfest 2009
Used: 306 metres (after surgery)
Cast on: November 5th, 2011
Cast off: November 19th, 2011