tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240022502024-03-06T23:56:36.075-06:00KnitterNutterKnitting, yarn, fibers, felting by a knitter nutterLottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-80722556802499122722017-03-19T10:03:00.000-05:002017-03-19T10:03:12.927-05:00Must Make Now!You know how sometimes you see a project or pattern that you just have to make RIGHT NOW? This one was one of those for me. I saw Johanna's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lost-in-time" target="_blank">Lost in Time</a> on Ravelry, and immediately started planning a trip to the yarn store to get the yarns for it. Like, leaving work early and getting to a yarn store a.s.a.p. Well, somewhat fortunately, I was too busy at work and wasn't able to do that, forcing me to think about it for at least a few hours before I rushed to buy more yarn.<br />
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I have a sizable stash. Like, there is yarn in every room of the house. Well maybe not the boys' rooms or the bathrooms. But every other room, for sure. A friend once commented that my house is so cozy because there is yarn everywhere. :) (Thank you Ruth! I agree! ) Anyway, I did not need to go and buy yarn for this! After all, it is the perfect left-over yarn project, with almost every row being made in a different color. So I searched high and low in the house for all the yarns that might work for this and piled them on a table, and started playing with color combinations. Like Johanna, I too wanted a vintage feel to the color scheme. These soft creams, browns, greens, and yellows to me achieved that:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgox3MeNQDyhiiyKYT7i7XBlqFMkFdBpn9Q3f3qB7qyPUHLqdUKTbrF9RUmgKp2StOWk4_Z594VL_UbGbexM2KwWjafLF1vDLkQqijNT7osnVVJsg3-lur3KO91JoNh0LtdnA7v/s1600/LIT1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgox3MeNQDyhiiyKYT7i7XBlqFMkFdBpn9Q3f3qB7qyPUHLqdUKTbrF9RUmgKp2StOWk4_Z594VL_UbGbexM2KwWjafLF1vDLkQqijNT7osnVVJsg3-lur3KO91JoNh0LtdnA7v/s320/LIT1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I don't care for knitting with cotton much, so I didn't have hardly any cotton in my stash. Instead, these are various fingering weight wools and alpacas. Because my yarn is much thinner than the pattern, I'm using a 3.5 mm hook instead of the recommended 4 mm. But this being a triangular top-to-bottom shawl with a 14-row repeat that you can keep repeating as long as you have the size you want, gauge really doesn't matter much.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2H2qr3WO4hpBpmk6ntuqJRNcS9MiIPBzG4YX30Y51wBHmyAKg64UsRGFm7x0FVIXLjRQC1IN_wNsKku_3ow7I3RnhuUsJPklbDCE7oRkioHp2yWCHFu2hyWcCmB94kdmt9Zn/s1600/LIT2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2H2qr3WO4hpBpmk6ntuqJRNcS9MiIPBzG4YX30Y51wBHmyAKg64UsRGFm7x0FVIXLjRQC1IN_wNsKku_3ow7I3RnhuUsJPklbDCE7oRkioHp2yWCHFu2hyWcCmB94kdmt9Zn/s320/LIT2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After each repeat I'm pausing to think through the color combo for the next repeat. So much fun!! I think I may need to make more than one of these...<br />
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Pattern: <a href="https://mijocrochet.wordpress.com/2017/03/15/lost-in-time-shawl-sjal/" target="_blank">Lost in Time</a></div>
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Yarn: various fingering weight yarns, including Isager Hojlandsgarn, Elann Pure Fine Alpaca, Kauni, Tukuwool, and others.</div>
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Hook: 3.5 mm</div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/lost-in-time" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a></div>
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A word of caution about the pattern: this is not a beginner project by any means. In addition to the pattern including some advanced stitch patterns, it is also a little challenging to follow, particularly with the color selections being on a separate web page, given in "code." But fear not--if you are patient and plan your colors in advance, you shall emerge victorious! :) Also, it is a free pattern, so I will take what is given. Had I paid money for it, my expectations would be that much higher.</div>
Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-12872769180083120652017-03-05T10:58:00.002-06:002017-03-05T10:59:10.899-06:00EdgingsLast night I finally got to finishing my latest scarf (shawl? where's the line between a scarf and a shawl?) in the works.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pitQqRlmLQU0XKE1l2i0h5zoiNYFxaM2iMy3LreYJs0apmKUeWjlujKiVvrr48kGI2v0sQfWvxO4HVMtP-qLrpVntZnOdNpjllVItIhhxrssVDgdNCWd3O9Im1La71jyGZzv/s1600/weekend.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pitQqRlmLQU0XKE1l2i0h5zoiNYFxaM2iMy3LreYJs0apmKUeWjlujKiVvrr48kGI2v0sQfWvxO4HVMtP-qLrpVntZnOdNpjllVItIhhxrssVDgdNCWd3O9Im1La71jyGZzv/s320/weekend.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The yarn is Caterpillargreen Yarns Merino twist fingering in color Weekend, classic striping. (Love it!!!) It looks like the company just changed their name from Caterpillargreen to <a href="https://gaugedyeworks.com/" target="_blank">Gauge Dye Works</a>. They make their yarns in three different striping patterns: classic strips, accent skeins, and shawl stripes. The shawl stripes skeins are specifically dyed for triangular shawls so that the sizes of the stripes remain the same even though the rows get longer. Ingenious! However, for my plan the classic stripes worked better since I wasn't going to make a triangular shawl. (You should check out their website. It looks like the colors are smaller batches, so they tend to run out, but they also have gorgeous shawl kits that you can pre-order to make sure you get the colorway you want.)<br />
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I'm not using a pattern, I just made up the short-row sections as I went along with a mental image of what I wanted the shawl to look like. I wanted a sea of undulating colors that grows sort of organically without too much symmetry. I was quite pleased when it worked out without too much ripping back.<br />
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I knew I wanted an edging with more of the YO-k2tog holes that I had used throughout the shawl to accentuate the sections. I had used this edge from <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/aestlight-shawl" target="_blank">Aestlight</a> in two shawls already:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnVGswVLc5wqA2e3mZQBVMX-b-znsRBhjQrVhHChc9VHDiBcEyBtu4iZEd5WkKCuA93nwhhtL2tFrkDMRe7rIKWtmpf5rr5rE5tHnXZlor66535N1StCiwRFT8TsH8O1E0q5X/s1600/image1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnVGswVLc5wqA2e3mZQBVMX-b-znsRBhjQrVhHChc9VHDiBcEyBtu4iZEd5WkKCuA93nwhhtL2tFrkDMRe7rIKWtmpf5rr5rE5tHnXZlor66535N1StCiwRFT8TsH8O1E0q5X/s320/image1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's one of my favorite edgings, relatively simple and fast and works particularly well for shawls that utilize garter stitch. And it makes for a pretty, wavy edge. This time I wanted a few more holes, though.<br />
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I experimented with a couple of different size triangles for the edge, and also tried making the triangle in the reverse direction. The triangles can either be made by increasing one stitch on every other row and then casting off on the last row of the triangle, or by casting on at first, and then binding off one stitch at a time. It turns out the latter is slower, the cast on edge is sloppy, and the bind off edge is bumpy. So no good. The first option is faster to make and looks neater.<br />
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The idea is to increase one stitch on every other row to shape the triangle. If I wanted more holes, I needed to pair up each YO with a k2tog, except for one that would be the increasing YO. Depending on how you want it to look, you could place the extra YO (the increasing YO) at the beginning of the row or at the end. I decided to place it at the end, and then leave a two-stitch garter edge. Here's what my little triangles look like:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oJrZ5GcLt4C9Bb7-BAMX0RwLCEcuuF0sDTCVh2NEbbhlHgYLOdVWX0j-GCE8O3HpDLZ8Wnp8i2fPAdm_8ar-FiekjTRrpvoOiX5vrB4GFs3dYxIArfHjrm8nXtRtN4Glfuhk/s1600/weekend+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oJrZ5GcLt4C9Bb7-BAMX0RwLCEcuuF0sDTCVh2NEbbhlHgYLOdVWX0j-GCE8O3HpDLZ8Wnp8i2fPAdm_8ar-FiekjTRrpvoOiX5vrB4GFs3dYxIArfHjrm8nXtRtN4Glfuhk/s320/weekend+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Turns out that when you have a table made out of reclaimed barn wood, you can pin your knitting directly to the table. Handy!)<br />
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Lacy Triangle Edge pattern:<br />
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Set-up row A: With shawl stitches on the needle, cast on 3 stitches by backwards loop CO. Turn.<br />
Set-up row B: k2, k2tog.<br />
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Row 1: s1wyib (slip 1 with yarn in back), YO, k2.<br />
Row 2: k3, k2tog.<br />
Row 3: s1wyib, k1, YO, k2.<br />
Row 4: k4, k2tog.<br />
Row 5: s1wyib, YO, k2tog, YO, k2.<br />
Row 6: k5, k2tog.<br />
Row 7: s1wyib, k1, YO, k2tog, YO, k2.<br />
Row 8: k6, k2tog.<br />
Row 9: s1wyib, (YO, k2tog) twice, YO, k2.<br />
Row 10: k7, k2tog.<br />
Row 11: s1wyib, k1, (YO, k2tog) twice, YO, k2.<br />
Row 12: k8, k2tog.<br />
Row 13: s1wyib, k to end.<br />
Row 14: bind off 6, k1, k2tog. (To get a pointier tip, I knit the first bind-off stitch rather than slipping it)<br />
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Each triangle casts off 7 stitches of the shawl edge. You can easily make the triangle bigger or smaller by adding rows. Note that I had a row of YO-k2tog holes at the edge of the shawl before I added the triangle edging, so those holes are not part of the edge pattern.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi29IIenkyYvwjdj4kSGWwpEAZsaoTa-YDhOiVvgpFoWCpvVCKTin7waUtQTXgpwedqfSHW-Wwrff0RF4gB6sO28zuB7ozyf0jtoL9jTkAmq7OYPZH8vZGr75nQUB0iHvwjOel/s1600/weekend+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi29IIenkyYvwjdj4kSGWwpEAZsaoTa-YDhOiVvgpFoWCpvVCKTin7waUtQTXgpwedqfSHW-Wwrff0RF4gB6sO28zuB7ozyf0jtoL9jTkAmq7OYPZH8vZGr75nQUB0iHvwjOel/s320/weekend+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What is your favorite shawl edge pattern?Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-58332392332253114982017-02-24T12:51:00.002-06:002017-02-24T12:51:38.913-06:00Hello!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, I'm back once again! If you've been coming here for a while, you know that I’ve had many starts and stops in blogging, with long breaks in between. But no worries, I always come back! :) I've given it some thought, and decided I want to keep the blog alive for various reasons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, and in general, I would like to see more craft blogs stay alive. As I've said before, I love Ravelry--it's the best place for quick updates, for storing and finding information, and for finding other knitters and fiber enthusiasts. But on Ravelry, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find myself feeling like I’m alone in a big crowd. I do belong to a number of groups, but even the groups are so big that unless you know someone, you are practically anonymous behind your username, and developing knitterly relationships seems difficult. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also love reading other people’s blogs—they are usually more personal than a project post on Ravelry, and they include more detailed thoughts on the projects. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I miss the conversation. A conversation about knitting, and sometimes crochet, or some other crafty pursuit.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I occasionally post a comment on a blog I follow, but it feels a bit like a one-sided friendship. Kind of like sending fan mail to a rock star. :) Here, I hope to develop more of a knitting-group kind of conversation. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My goal is to try and write posts that facilitate conversation, and to respond to comments in a timely manner. <b><u>So please do comment</u></b>, if nothing else, just to say hi! And if you're not comfortable commenting in English, feel free to challenge me in your own language. I do ok in Finnish, Swedish, German, and can say hello in Norwegian, Danish, Russian, and Bulgarian. Maybe even French, Spanish and Italian. I'm a little weaker on the African and Asian languages, though... Anyway, my point is, I'd love to hear from you and connect with you through the comments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allright, enough blogging philosophy, now to some knitting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this year I caught a leftover-stash-busting bug. In fact, it started already before Christmas, and I made a few Christmas ornaments, but those didn't take up enough yarn. So I thought I'd try one a slipper pattern from my Ravelry queue. (My Ravelry queue is out of control... can anybody relate? I through stuff in there much faster than I can knit. Every now and then I clean some things out of there that I know I'll never make. But right now it's 402 patterns long!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started the first slippers with two fingering weight sock yarns (</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trekking XXL and Malabrigo sock, I think) </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">held together, as suggested. But the slippers were turning out much too narrow. So I started over with a few more stitches, and to accommodate my wide feet, added a couple more before the toe (the part where the sides join together). I crocheted the seam with a contrasting color and just loved the result! Plus I could make one slipper in one evening, so this was a super fast project to boot.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzs_NaDK6RqHtzWx43Y0oQMOZSmWSs_AZI94CUsiTi0Le8r2MICQYU2qfdy9j0WdfSeAyE5U7m1hZRFT1VpYbgLTqRiKDyyIJifKZftakIrxq9KB-SI_VxuUDK7z0zMXIeM_bp/s1600/IMG_1597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzs_NaDK6RqHtzWx43Y0oQMOZSmWSs_AZI94CUsiTi0Le8r2MICQYU2qfdy9j0WdfSeAyE5U7m1hZRFT1VpYbgLTqRiKDyyIJifKZftakIrxq9KB-SI_VxuUDK7z0zMXIeM_bp/s320/IMG_1597.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzXVNex_DLGY7b3m3OY9XMQ4CkZEdP6aYvwtIS0VOUwl-qumqfueaXbzgSY1x9mibWAM_rAcGqXnVgWk9y6fZwqGI3bHHMfdplbpRWfjFR-knRfkG0boDWRVgAp1NUrtogeVK/s1600/IMG_1598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzXVNex_DLGY7b3m3OY9XMQ4CkZEdP6aYvwtIS0VOUwl-qumqfueaXbzgSY1x9mibWAM_rAcGqXnVgWk9y6fZwqGI3bHHMfdplbpRWfjFR-knRfkG0boDWRVgAp1NUrtogeVK/s320/IMG_1598.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the inside of the toe. I like how neat the crocheted seam looks like from this side, too. I might use that in one pair..</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKvD8woSSDDCJEs2joRfKTMRgyfZnZQioyp6UZUyCtleuOPOhmc3Oh-e0PolWA1ZwWyf5ml6CJm22tMAwPtsvUzJU8ukrAXAhV5pgL6RBSj8lFYE5uLE5l9q4JzFCvCAGH8cSJ/s1600/IMG_1600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKvD8woSSDDCJEs2joRfKTMRgyfZnZQioyp6UZUyCtleuOPOhmc3Oh-e0PolWA1ZwWyf5ml6CJm22tMAwPtsvUzJU8ukrAXAhV5pgL6RBSj8lFYE5uLE5l9q4JzFCvCAGH8cSJ/s320/IMG_1600.JPG" width="261" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Ravelry: </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/simple-garter-stitch-slippers" target="_blank">Garter Stitch Slippers</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pattern: </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simple Garter Stitch Slippers by Hanna Leväniemi</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are comfy, warm, cute, fast to make, and use up leftover yarns. What's not to love?!? So I made more. Three more pairs, in fact. I don't have pictures of one of the pairs, but it's the same green combo as the green slippers, in a grown-up size.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Ravelry: </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/simple-garter-stitch-slippers-2" target="_blank">Garter Stitch Slippers 2</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pattern: Same as above; three yarns held together, fewer stitches, but still increased for the toe.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">showing off our paws</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Ravelry: </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/simple-garter-stitch-slippers-4" target="_blank">Garter Stitch Slippers 4</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pattern: Same as above, made in a kid size (cast on 25 stitches). Three yarns held together. The true color was hard to capture; it was something between the warm green in the yarn-ball picture and the cooler green in the middle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After four pairs, I ran out of steam. But I ended up using at least 2/3 of my sock yarn left-overs! Win!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is your favorite leftover stash buster pattern?</span>Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-10471537113427401872016-04-09T13:54:00.000-05:002016-04-09T13:55:32.186-05:00In the BasketHusband: What are you making now?<br />
Me: A sweater.<br />
Husband: But didn't you just finish a sweater?<br />
Me: ???<br />
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What: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flaum" target="_blank">Flaum</a> sweater by Justyna Lorkowska</div>
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Yarn: Quince & Co. Owl, color Lagoon</div>
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Needles: 4.5 mm circular</div>
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Feeling: so cushy... love it!</div>
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I went with the pattern yarn to make sure I get the right drape. I don't think this sweater would work out great from a yarn that's very drapey. Owl has lots of loft and structure and holds its shape well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5efPSxQXl9HCZgZUvekYwC017Wl1Z5YEXg07yTpmNTKl7zE-QJU_l4RbNkyZDlJ63MctVE1acZNMeQsFN85S43G6AsPvM7Z3WPLTeLD26s_Rg8tfX5S-zSugVUBzkDGY6LSC4/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5efPSxQXl9HCZgZUvekYwC017Wl1Z5YEXg07yTpmNTKl7zE-QJU_l4RbNkyZDlJ63MctVE1acZNMeQsFN85S43G6AsPvM7Z3WPLTeLD26s_Rg8tfX5S-zSugVUBzkDGY6LSC4/s320/5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I bought this cute little project bag from Ravelry. They were sold at a discount because the text has a typo. Go ahead, try and find it!<br />
<br />Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-32433946537673889162016-04-01T12:37:00.002-05:002016-04-01T12:37:37.207-05:00Candidate for new favorite sweater yarn?I'm always on the lookout for a good sweater yarn. Something that is the right weight (about fingering to sport) looks good, feels good, behaves well (doesn't stretch or shrink or do other weird things), and most of all, doesn't pill.<br />
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I can't tell you how many sweaters I've made that look like they've been worn for years after just a couple of days of wear, or sometimes even before the damn thing is finished. I have finally learned my lesson that non-pilling is the most important quality in a sweater yarn, and it's worth paying a little extra money for. Even if I could knit two sweater out of cheap yarn for the price of one made out of good yarn, I've got far more use for one good sweater than two that look terrible.<br />
Enter <a href="http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/product_page_detail.php?category_id=6&item_id=33" target="_blank">Mohawk Wool</a> (the gray yarn here):<br />
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It's the right weight. It looks good and feels good. It behaves well.* And most of all, so far no evidence of pilling!<br />
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To be perfect, the yarn would be 100 % natural fibers. Mohawk feels quite woolly, but it actually has 10 % nylon. Oh, well. I guess you just can't have it all. The rest of the yarn is 60% Merino and 30% Romney Wool. One drawback is that Mohawk only comes in natural colors, ranging from off-white to dark gray and brown. Those are great colors for sweaters, but I do hope they expand their color selection at some point.<br />
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I used Mohawk to make Paulie, as seen here. </div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/paulie" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a></div>
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Pattern: Paulie by Isabell Kraemer</div>
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Yarn: 350 g or 3.5 skeins Mohawk (about 1290 yards) and 85 g of Mad Hatter gradient mini skeins (about 200 yards)</div>
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Needles: 3.5 mm circular</div>
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Size: L</div>
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Thoughts: Thumbs up! It's comfy and fits well, and I love the yarns (both of them) and the colors.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio79cznHAXa5d74vhdiNvhyphenhyphenvftKkE3O2WXS5CoGPcl4dRLkZnM2iNZQA-bIAhnWNBDUR3s4OKZItmjQlWxtYoMAcx9Wo-yOTLaXl5o7zrAX4OBD3lFn-m7iFBF5PHU_Prh3qo5/s1600/IMG_0646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio79cznHAXa5d74vhdiNvhyphenhyphenvftKkE3O2WXS5CoGPcl4dRLkZnM2iNZQA-bIAhnWNBDUR3s4OKZItmjQlWxtYoMAcx9Wo-yOTLaXl5o7zrAX4OBD3lFn-m7iFBF5PHU_Prh3qo5/s320/IMG_0646.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was also happy to find buttons to match from my LYS, <a href="http://www.lakesideyarn.com/" target="_blank">Lakeside Yarn</a>. </div>
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*I initially had some concerns about biasing. I use a center-pull ball and usually have no problems with the little bit of twist it adds/removes. This time there was a noticeable amount of biasing in the bottom and center section of the body, which I suspect was caused by not enough twist. However, after wet blocking and when I'm wearing the sweater, I don't notice it.Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-54006000396942507242016-03-23T10:22:00.003-05:002016-03-23T10:22:43.079-05:00The most softestest awesomest yarn...(Yes, softestest is a thing. Not a typo.)<br />
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Yesterday I drove over to my favorite yarn shop (<a href="http://www.yarnery.com/" target="_blank">The Yarnery</a> in St Paul, MN) over lunch to find some yarn for a shawl project. I usually browse through the different sections of the store even if I have a particular yarn and project in mind, just to see what's new. And to touch yarn, because, as you know, touching yarn just makes you feel better. And who doesn't need to feel better on a Monday?<br />
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Anyhow, I came across a little sample knitted out of <a href="http://www.shibuiknits.com/yarns/pebble/" target="_blank">Shibui Knits Pebble</a>. O.M.G. This yarn... it was the softest, the most beautiful tactile experience, while looking like Real Wool. (You know, a little rough, not too smooth or shiny.) It's made out of recycled silk, merino, and cashmere. And while those are all wonderful fibers, I rarely go for something with silk or cashmere, and I've started to move away from merino toward more Real Wool containing yarns. But this stuff... I wanted to wrap myself in it, rub it on my face, and not let go.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGeg06ZnMWXVhrjyL3U_z9CMHiXgLIIaQMjVKGoZf3dwtx4O4_97MHzvhAKmqZNrC7QOE5hqvLmawYP6tZz5Ea5Wk19RuI2__cAm0XZnvHonfHPXRTbrLvRa_DL9WKyO-4C8A/s1600/IMG_0612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGeg06ZnMWXVhrjyL3U_z9CMHiXgLIIaQMjVKGoZf3dwtx4O4_97MHzvhAKmqZNrC7QOE5hqvLmawYP6tZz5Ea5Wk19RuI2__cAm0XZnvHonfHPXRTbrLvRa_DL9WKyO-4C8A/s320/IMG_0612.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pebble on the left with a ball of Zauberball Original</td></tr>
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But this awesome buttery stuff was not cheap. Over $18 for 25 g. So I settled for one skein, which I will use as a contrast color in my shawl, just to remind myself of the awesomeness that exists.<br />
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When the world seems to be going crazy, it's good to have something to remind you of wonderful and beautiful things out there.<br />
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Peace!<br />
LottaLottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-12786885762167903072015-08-03T13:29:00.000-05:002015-08-03T13:58:43.277-05:00Socks, socks, and more socks...I think something must have snapped earlier this spring... Somehow I managed to convince myself that it would be a good idea to sign up for Tour de Sock. You know, the sock knitting competition where you crank out six pairs of socks, one pair about every ten days. Except since it's a competition, you try to knit a pair in about a day or two. If you want to score any points, that is. (And I do, of course.)<br />
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Before the start of the tour, I thought I should knit a warm-up pair because it had been a while since I'd knitted socks in a lace pattern. I also wanted to try adding beads because the odds were there was going to be at least one pair on the tour with beads. I chose <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stardust-6" target="_blank">Stardust</a> by Adrienne Fong:<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/stardust-2" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a><br />
Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock Yarn<br />
Beads: size 6/0<br />
Needle: 2.5 mm<br />
Hook: 1 mm<br />
Construction: traditional top down, small cables continue at the side of the heel; beads throughout the lace pattern<br />
Thoughts: ok pattern, but I rather enjoyed using beads!<br />
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Then I thought I should also try a sock with an unconventional construction, such as a different way of making gusset increases and a heel. Enter <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/love-and-liquor" target="_blank">Love and Liquor</a> by General Hogbuffer:<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/love-and-liquor" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a><br />
Yarn: Regia Angora Merino, two balls<br />
Needle: 2.5 mm<br />
Construction: toe up, gusset increases at the top, cables wrap around the back to make up the heel<br />
Thoughts: fun pattern to knit, but the fit is not good for my wider than wide feet.<br />
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By then I felt like I was properly warmed up and could start the first stage of TdS. The race started with a beautiful twisted cable sock <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/virrat" target="_blank">Virrat</a> by TiiQ.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/virrat" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a><br />
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage 150<br />
Needle: 2.75 mm<br />
Construction: toe up; gusset increases in the bottom; interesting heel<br />
Thoughts: beautiful sock with an interesting, well thought-out yet no-fuss pattern. Love it!<br />
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At this point of the race I was very excited, although a little disappointed that the start times did not coincide with when it would be convenient for me to knit for 12 hours straight. Oh well, there would be stages that start on a weekend morning, right? The next stage got me even more excited with a pattern called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/far-into-the-forest" target="_blank">Far into the Forest</a> by Kirsten Hall. This was exactly the kind of thing I signed up for!<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/far-into-the-forest" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a><br />
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Heritage 150<br />
Needle: 2.5 mm<br />
Construction: toe up; gusset increases on the sides; all kinds of interesting things going on all the time!<br />
Thoughts: Love the socks! This pattern was highly detailed and required a lot of attention to detail the whole time.<br />
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At this point I was a little bothered by the fact that the minimum size was quite small, but to place well on the race I would have to knit the minimum. They are quite tight on my feet. Hmph.<br />
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Next pattern was called Touring Bubbles. Neither the stitch pattern nor the look of the sock got me excited. But that's ok, I didn't expect <i>every</i> pattern to be perfectly to my liking!<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/touring-bubbles" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a><br />
Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love (a sponsor yarn that gave me an extra point)<br />
Needle: 2.5 mm<br />
Construction: Top down, nothing exciting.<br />
Thoughts: meh... but the yarn was nice!<br />
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Then I started to run into even more timing issues. During the next two stages I traveled back home and although I had lots of time at airports, the leisurely weekend knitting I'd been looking forward to was gone. The next pattern, called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/from-a-distance" target="_blank">From a Distance</a> was knitted mostly at airports and on airplanes. I guess that's somehow fitting...<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/from-a-distance" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a><br />
Yarn: Malabrigo sock<br />
Needle: 2.5 mm<br />
Construction: Top down with beads, provisional cast-on<br />
Thoughts: Love the socks! however, pattern left something to be desired...<br />
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I enjoyed making these and I think they look very nice. On one airplane, as we were deboarding, a British gentleman who had sat next to me commented that he and his wife were "quite impressed" with my knitting skills and that they had never seen anything quite like it! :) However, as the grumblings in the Ravelry group discussions reflected, it appeared that the pattern was not very carefully put together and could have been improved with a bit more attention to detail. But I liked the end result regardless. So thumbs up for stage four!<br />
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The next stage left me disappointed. I saw the pattern (<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ophidia" target="_blank">Ophidia</a>) and thought "do I really have to knit these?" I did not care for how the sock looked at all. Oh, well, I would knit them and next round would be something more exciting, for sure.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/tds-2015-stage-5" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a><br />
Yarn: Novita Pikkusisko<br />
Needle: 2.5 mm<br />
Construction: Top down, intarsia contrast stitch, gusset at the back of the leg<br />
Thoughts: ugh...<br />
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Right off the bat I ran into issues with yarn. I was traveling, so I had to rely on whatever I had with me. I started the first sock with Malabrigo sock and size M, but it was turning out so small I would never be able to get the sock on my foot. And it was Sunday, and no yarn shops were open. Boo! At the local supermarket I was able to find one yarn that was a suitable weight (a little heavier than Malabrigo). However, it was nasty to knit with, rough and splitty. Also, to get socks that would fit me, I'd have to knit size L, which would preclude me from placing in the stage. I felt defeated, and instead decided to knit the minimum size, S. The end result was so small that my 11-year-old could hardly get the socks on his feet (which are not big by any means). Some racers were able to get grown-up sized socks out of the smallest size, but I think their gauge must have been quite a bit looser than mine, which was the same as the specs in the pattern. However, it wasn't all negative--two positive things about this pattern were the interesting gusset at the back of the leg, which did cause a very tight fit around the heel, and the contrast stitch, which I'm sure I will use again in something else.<br />
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As it turned out, this ended up being my final round of the race. The last stage included a pattern that had a "seam" at the back that to me looked like a mistake or the result of bad planning. I would have liked to fix it by modifying the design a little, but such modifications were not allowed in the race. I decided that five pairs of socks were enough for me this time.Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-44848579954051704092015-05-31T12:40:00.002-05:002015-05-31T12:40:31.295-05:00ThaliaThe second shawl/scarf for a wonderful teacher is based on Kirsten Kapur's Thalia. <br />
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I very much enjoy Kirsten's patterns and this one was no exception. The shawl begins from the top center with a double-yarn-over center section. I don't like to keep referring to the pattern the whole time, so I used stitch markers to mark the increase points (there are three plus the edges). <br />
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I held the yarn double, but even so the shawl turned out rather small. That's ok though, it'll work well as something to drape on the shoulders or wrap around the neck once.<br />
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Pattern: Thalia</div>
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Yarn: Isager Strik Alpaca 1, held double</div>
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Needle: 4 mm</div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/thalia" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a></div>
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Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-69095496010435114922015-05-28T22:44:00.002-05:002015-05-28T22:44:35.580-05:00Nuku Nuku NurmilintuThe end of the school year is fast approaching and I needed a couple of gifts for teachers. Conveniently, we were going to take a long road trip over Memorial Day weekend, meaning lots of hours sitting in the car, and a great opportunity to crank out a couple of scarves.<br />
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Nurmilintu was actually the second one in the order of knitting, but happened to be the first one I got around to photographing. It was a nice, quick knit--started on Sunday and finished on Wednesday.<br />
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I spiced it up a bit by using two colors. I made the last garter stitch section a little longer, and doubled the length of the final lace section both because I just liked how it looked, but also because I wanted the size just a bit bigger than what it would have been according to the pattern.<br />
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Pattern: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/nurmilintu" target="_blank">Nurmilintu</a> ("nurmilintu" is a bird in a Finnish nursery rhyme)</div>
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Yarn: Berroco Alpaca Fine, less than one skein of each color</div>
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Needles: 4 mm</div>
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<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/nurmilintu" target="_blank">On Ravelry</a></div>
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This package is going to the orchestra teacher as a thank you for making my kid want to be an orchie again! Couldn't thank her enough! (Turns out kids want to be in orchestra when practice is fun, not when they get yelled at. Go figure...)<br />
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Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-6388614429750444472015-04-05T12:01:00.000-05:002017-02-01T09:55:13.500-06:00RoyalA little girl I know is in need of a princess crown. As are almost all little girls, I believe. Enter Auntie Lotta's royal crown shop:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvSiwjNzU4g0N0YdOh3cfEP4sHn5UieOQvT_xfgbrwAOtR5NbIzT5lEncz7zUQUuL1gDCfRDK-KqTncnQaUWRc691safbMTraeBwOhS_eNaJvHxqUJM0hyphenhyphen2asvSrHvOiko4Lz/s1600/Royal+1-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvSiwjNzU4g0N0YdOh3cfEP4sHn5UieOQvT_xfgbrwAOtR5NbIzT5lEncz7zUQUuL1gDCfRDK-KqTncnQaUWRc691safbMTraeBwOhS_eNaJvHxqUJM0hyphenhyphen2asvSrHvOiko4Lz/s1600/Royal+1-5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I browsed crown patterns on Ravelry (there are surprisingly many) but didn't find anything that would fit the bill exactly, so I set out to device my own. I needed it to look enough like a real crown to fit a real princess, but yet be sturdy enough to withstand play and wear. Also, I needed it to fit a 2-year old's head.<br />
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I started with a cotton blend yarn, about light sport weight, and added sparkle with a metallic crochet thread. I also wanted to add some bling bling, and decided that the safest way (to avoid a choking hazard) was to crochet in some small beads. If this was for an older kid, I would have added more bling.<br />
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Pattern: my own (see below)<br />
Yarn: Premier Yarns Cotton Fair (52 % cotton, 48 % acrylic) and DMC metallic embroidery thread, color light silver. I didn't use the metallic on the first three rounds because I was afraid I would run out--the spool only had 40 yards. <br />
Hook: 3.5 mm<br />
Other: Mod Podge Stiffy; glass or plastic beads size 10 or larger (I used 16 clear and 8 turquoise beads)<br />
On Ravelry: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/royal-crown" target="_blank">project</a> and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/royal-crown-3" target="_blank">pattern</a><br />
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In case you want to make your own royal crown (and who wouldn't??), here is my pattern. As written, this makes a crown with a 46 cm or 18 inch circumference. To adjust the size by just a little, the easiest this would be to adjust yarn and hook size. Otherwise, you can add or reduce pattern repeats. The pattern repeat is 12 s, and the pattern as written has 8 repeats.<br />
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Abbreviations: CH chain stitch; SL slip stitch; SC single crochet; DC double crochet; TC treble crochet.<br />
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<strong><u>Royal</u></strong></div>
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<li>CH 96s, join in the round with SL.</li>
<li>CH 3s, DC 1 in each of the stitches of the previous round. Join with SL.</li>
<li>Repeat round 2.</li>
<li>CH 5s, *DC 1 in the third stitch of the previous round, CH 2s*, repeat *-* all the way around. Join with SL to the 3rd stitch of the initial CH 5s.</li>
<li>CH 1s, * DC 5 into the next DC of the previous round, SC into the second DC of the previous round*, repeat *-* all the way around. Join with SL. </li>
<li>SL3 (end up at the center top of the first cluster), *CH 7s, SC to the center of the next cluster of the previous round*, repeat *-* all the way around. IF USING BEADS: thread a bead over the metallic thread loop after you pull the SC loop through the center stitch of the cluster. Continue to crochet as usual. I used 16 clear beads on this round.</li>
<li>**<b>EDIT 2/1/2017</b> (this change was noted in the Errata on the Ravelry pattern page)** SC 7s in the next space. Repeat all the way around. Join with SL to the first SC.</li>
<li>SL3 (end up at the center top of the first arch), *CH 4s, TC into the center of the next arch, CH 7s, TC into the same center stitch, CH 4s, SC to the center of the next arch**, repeat *-* all the way around. IF USING BEADS: thread a bead over the metallic thread loop after you pull the SC loop through the center stitch of the arch. Continue to crochet as usual. </li>
<li>*SC 4s, SL1 at the top of the TC of the previous round, SC 4s, <em>into the leg of the last SC stitch</em>: **CH 3s, SL1, CH 5s, SL1, CH 3s, SL1**, SC 3s, SL1 at the top of the TC of the previous round, SC 4s*, repeat *-* all the way round.</li>
<li>Weave in ends. Place the crown over a suitable size cylinder or cone (I used a large roll of paper towel covered with a plastic bag). Stiffen with a suitable media, such as Mod Podge Stiffy, starch, or sugar solution. Allow to dry in place. Mod Podge required two applications. If you're not concerned about a choking hazard (children under 3 yrs), you can add more beads or jewels at this point by sewing or gluing.</li>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">©
2015 Lotta Kiuru-Ribar;<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>All
Rights Reserved</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-86138328915279720562015-03-14T16:25:00.003-05:002015-03-14T16:25:54.352-05:00New projectsI've been admiring this <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/109423465922502674/" target="_blank">combination crochet-knit sweater</a> for a while, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern available. I decided to wing it, and come up with my own version. Enter random crochet flowers:<br />
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I have a feeling this will be a long term project since I don't have a pattern and not really even a plan to speak of. The extent of my plan is to crochet different flowers until it looks like they might cover half of the front. Beyond that, not sure.<br />
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Then I saw <a href="https://februarytwelveblog.wordpress.com/2014/06/22/malabrigo-rastita/" target="_blank">February 12's version</a> of <a href="http://www.interpretationdesigns.com/#!feather-and-cloud/c1es1" target="_blank">Feather and Cloud</a> and I was hooked. Feather and Cloud is a simple sweater with mostly reverse stockinette, and a feather-and-fan border around the front. I quickly ran to the yarn store and grabbed four skeins of Malabrigo Rastita.<br />
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Rastita is between a DK and Worsted weight, so skinnier than what the pattern calls for. I will have to do some math to adjust for gauge, as I'm off about 25 %.</div>
<br />Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-46692638399460183012015-03-07T18:34:00.001-06:002015-03-07T18:34:06.452-06:00Saturday Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Pattern: "Jewelry"--my own with some design elements borrowed from <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jewel-3" target="_blank">Jewel</a></div>
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Yarn: Quince & Co. Chickadee</div>
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Needle: 4 mm circular</div>
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Feeling: Like it! knitting with the yarn was great, but my "pattern" (or lack thereof) was a pain, and I probably could have knit two sweaters with the effort I put into this, had I just followed a purchased pattern.</div>
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Find it on <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/jewelry-jewel-iv" target="_blank">Ravelry</a>.</div>
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"Did you check the white balance?"</div>
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I think blogging about it was part of what got me to finish it, but I also just really needed a new sweater. For the most part I had fun knitting it, but sleeves were starting to get frustrating. Now I'm just glad it's done!</div>
Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-34535593196376752232015-03-01T19:30:00.001-06:002015-03-01T19:30:23.293-06:00Progress Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Jewelry sweater is off the needles, although not quite finished. But as you can see, I have buttons picked out, so at least it <em>could</em> get finished.</div>
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The sleeve detail includes a twisted knit stitch running down the middle and ending with a little bit of the pattern stitch. The sleeves are about 2/3 length, mostly because that's all I had yarn for.</div>
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Now just a final blocking, weave in the ends and sew on the buttons. </div>
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I even finished the edging on the Lofty cardigan and started on the sleeve. This shouldn't take long to finish!</div>
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<br />Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-51295129615883076162015-02-19T20:39:00.000-06:002015-02-19T20:42:06.034-06:00The Benefit PlanAnother benefit of blogging is that it keeps you honest and on task. At least if you share pictures of in-progress work, that is. So here we go--nothing finished, but lots started.<br />
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A cardigan from Quince and Co. Chickadee:<br />
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I'm calling this one "Jewelry" as it's loosely based on the Jewel cardigan pattern by Kim Hargreaves and the stitch pattern reminds me of some kind of filigree. Progress on this cardi stopped when I lacked the mental energy to start figuring out the sleeves. I wanted seamless set-in sleeves but didn't really have a pattern to go by. So in the basket it went.<br />
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Next I started this top-down cardigan from Brooklyn Tweed's Loft. I'm calling her Lofty, of course.<br />
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I'm going for an A-line look with pockets in the front.<br />
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This one stalled when I needed to graft together the border edging at the bottom. Sigh...<br />
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Then I started a vest, and with renewed vim and vigor knit on it like a crazy woman for about a week:<br />
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This one is based on a pattern called Drip-Drop by Hanne Falkenberg. Sort of. I tried really hard to get the pattern--her patterns are usually only available as kits, and they are very spendy. But this one is only available in a book, in Danish, from a couple of Danish yarn stores. The cost of the book shipped to Minnesota was going to be well over $100, so I decided to reverse engineer the pattern from pictures. (I usually don't like doing that because I think the designer deserves to get paid for their hard work, but this time getting the pattern was not feasible.) I'm making some changes and adjustments, and I really should finish this before I forget what I did and have to figure it out all over again. However, I'm back a full circle, and knitting the sleeves for Jewelry again (I have knit the first sleeve cap about four times...):<br />
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So would someone please kick me in the rear to get some of these finished?Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-49429927871202745972015-02-18T18:02:00.001-06:002015-04-03T13:00:35.163-05:00A Pretty Picture or a Thousand Words?I would like my blog to be one of those blogs with beautiful pictures. But when I wait to post until I have the kinds of pictures I want, I end up not posting at all, or waiting a month or two before I post. And although I myself enjoy reading and following blogs with nice pictures, I do also enjoy reading blogs that post at least weekly--I hate waiting for a new post for a month!<br />
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Getting good pictures means waiting for the perfect light, waiting to have time to take the pictures during daylight, waiting to have the projects at a stage when you can take good pictures, waiting to have time to edit the pictures... the list goes on. And soon it's two months later and I still don't have good pictures. Oops.<br />
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Maybe I just need to accept the fact that I'm going to (and do) have a blog with mediocre pictures. Because at the end of the day, the trade off for having good pictures is posting rarely and therefore having few people reading/following the blog. Because it's more fun to follow blogs that post regularly (and I don't mean the kind of once-a-year regular). But then again, blogs with nice pictures are nicer to look at... what a dilemma!<br />
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Today I resolve to allow myself to post with mediocre pictures and mediocre text and we'll see how that goes. Hopefully I will end up posting more often. I work on lots of projects that never make it to the blog because I don't have good (or any) pictures, and because I don't have anything smart to say about them. And because I haven't figured out how to post pictures on the blog from my phone (another thing on the to-do list).Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-67513231340205413542015-01-29T12:44:00.000-06:002015-01-29T19:15:49.962-06:00Toes too!The cold snap we experienced a couple of weeks ago caused a sudden urge to knit something really warm. And to knit it fast! What better project than slippers:<br />
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There are still several members of the family that don't yet have these perfect foot warmers. Last winter I started from the bigger end and then lost interest after I made two pairs. This time I started from the middle of the size range and have so far made 2.5 pairs.<br />
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I think the "wrong" side looks better than the right side, so I'm turning them inside out.<br />
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I'm using my basic slipper recipe, starting with a rectangle at the heel, picking up stitches along two of the edges, knitting until past the opening, casting on a few stitches for the top, and finishing like the foot of a sock. Usually these take a couple of rounds in the washer and a round or two in the dryer to be properly felted.<br />
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Yarn: Cascade Yarn eco+<br />
Needles: 6 mmLottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-68530669182660971342015-01-26T21:47:00.000-06:002015-01-26T21:47:03.426-06:00Keep them warm!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Felted mittens for my husband. These babies were also in the UFO basket for about a year. See a theme here? </div>
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I think my husband is starting to get the picture that if I start something for him, he can wait at least a year for it to be finished. Oops... (The need to finish these may have had something to do with the need to free up the long 3 mm circular needle... more about that later.)</div>
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The yarns are random left overs. The greens are fingering weight yarns left over from sweater projects, and the gray is some mystery yarn from my mom. I held the green at the tip double to get a similar gauge as the gray. I felted these with a couple of rounds in the washer and dryer, plus a little bit of hand felting for the top portion to get it down to the right size. All three yarns were rather unprocessed and felted wonderfully to a soft and super warm fabric with a little fuzz.<br />
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Yarn: fingering and DK left overs (the dark green was Geilsk Tynd Uld; the lighter one is similar but a different brand)</div>
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Needle: 3 mm</div>
Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-69115329305810142172015-01-25T12:40:00.002-06:002015-01-25T12:40:58.802-06:00Vitamin D-2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some extra vitamin D is surely needed here in the depths of winter! I really loved my first Vitamin D sweater so I decided to make another one in a different color. That was about two years ago... I lost steam a couple of times, and recently this sweater has been just laying around, waiting for the ends to be woven in and to get a good blocking. Somehow I finally got the urge to finish this sweater that had languished in the UFO basket for so long.<br />
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The reason for the contrast color is that I was going to run out of yarn and was not going to be able to find the same dye lot anymore (another reason to get stalled on the progress). I thought that a clearly different color would look better than just a slightly different one.<br />
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The poor sweater has been in UFO state so long that I've lost the ball bands and can't remember what the yarn was. Some fingering weight alpaca that only comes in natural colors... Needle size? perhaps 3.5 mm. Or 3.25 mm. Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-61532377064629012652014-04-20T13:32:00.001-05:002014-04-20T13:32:24.985-05:00Sun dressPattern: modified from <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/clara-3" target="_blank">Clara</a>. <br />
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid, 1 skein<br />
Needles: 2.75 mm Addi Circular<br />
Size: 12 mo<br />
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This was one of the cutes baby dresses I'd seen on Ravelry so when I needed a quick on-the-go project, this one jumped to the top of the queue. I only had one skein of sock yarn to make this dress so I had to make some modifications to make sure the yarn was enough. I started the hem with 11 repeats of the leaf pattern (instead of 12) and decreased a few stitches along the way, ending up with the equivalent of 10 repeats at the top before the seed stitch band.</div>
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I had read other peoples' concerns about getting the dress over a child's head, so I started the opening earlier, a couple of rows into the leaf pattern at the top. I found the cutest little yellow flower buttons, too!</div>
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I crocheted around the button bands and made two vertical button holes by crochet. They seemed to hold the opening closed more firmly than two simple loops.</div>
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I also modified the sleeve openings and switched to twisted rib. I used short rows and didn't add any ribbing on the under-side to avoid bulkiness.</div>
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Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-74859753970292190102014-03-09T20:05:00.001-05:002014-03-09T20:28:05.252-05:00Birthday knittingLast weekend my mother reminded me that my niece is turning one year old next month. This resulted in frantic searching of a suitable birthday pattern. I made her a sweater for Christmas, and for an April birthday, more woolly clothing didn't seem like the most practical thing. But no worries--as soon as I laid my eyes on the <a href="http://jammadestudio.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/jam-made-pussy-cat.html" target="_blank">Jam Made granny kitty</a>, I knew I had to make it! Jen's versions were so delightfully colorful! I wanted to make mine a little smaller, though, so I rummaged my stash for fingering/light sport weight yarns. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSPyaDw2MRipLoDswRBWTiQR4aoOeUjEHJ0Y_LLqAhDrHJPgRTEsHUenNhOj-9jDx8JwogomOXnaEpnjIOvXssh0C32DmveFB4yyOKy-eSLviX42xNRpbZ-x9hRVvVIeFL4d9/s1600/GrannyKitty+1-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSPyaDw2MRipLoDswRBWTiQR4aoOeUjEHJ0Y_LLqAhDrHJPgRTEsHUenNhOj-9jDx8JwogomOXnaEpnjIOvXssh0C32DmveFB4yyOKy-eSLviX42xNRpbZ-x9hRVvVIeFL4d9/s1600/GrannyKitty+1-3.JPG" height="261" width="320" /></a></div>
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The center square is called <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/october-love" target="_blank">October Love</a>, made of left over sock yarns. The back side is a simplified version of the same without the 7th row that creates a raised edge on the previous row (the blue row on the front). The grey yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine.</div>
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When I was little one of my favorite toys was a kangaroo made by my aunt. In my romantic and perhaps unrealistic dreams I am hoping that Granny kitty can become one of those favorite toys for my niece. The one that she can't leave home without.</div>
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As I was making this, my son already announced that he wanted one, too. Because crochet is much slower than knitting (at least for me), and requires more looking at the project when working on it (i.e., I can't really read or watch TV while crocheting), I am going to modify the pattern for the next one. My plan is to crochet the center square, then pick up stitches and knit the rest. I'm thinking about lightly felting the kitty, but I need to test the compatibility of crochet and knitting because they shrink at different rates. I'm thinking garter stitch would probably work best for this.<br />
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The big slipper project is also progressing, although it got put on hold for making the first Granny kitty. Two pairs of slippers--the two biggest sizes I had to make--already got finished. Both are made from Cascade yarns Eco Wool. The snake-like pattern is embroidered on top before felting.<br />
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In other knitting news, my 9-year-old son decided two days ago tat he wanted to learn how to knit. I showed him a basic knit stitch and he worked a few rows with much frustration. The next morning when I got up he'd already been up for an hour. I asked what he was doing, and he showed me his knitting. He told me he'd gone on Youtube to learn how to cast on and started a new project, then worked on it with no help, all by himself. He had pulled some yarn from my project basket, but I didn't mind, I was just giddy about him wanting to figure it out by himself!<br />
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Yesterday he already started a hat, which he worked on for two rows and then set aside, then later started a scarf, and today he wants to go to the yarn store to pick out yarn for a project. Again, I don't mind, I know what startitis is like, and I'm going to embrace his enthusiasm for knitting as long as it lasts (which might not be very long.) Off to the yarn store!Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-76929689517510303782014-02-16T14:23:00.001-06:002014-02-16T14:23:13.159-06:00Unofficial Olympic knittinc<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I haven't joined any of the actual knitting Olympics but I'm both watching the Olympics and knitting, so these are my very own knitting Olympics. Unofficially. </div>
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The idea for this blanket came from the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hue-shift-afghan" target="_blank">Hue Shift Afghan</a> by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence. However, I wanted my own color combination and choice of yarn so I passed up on the Knit Picks kits. Because I wanted my blanket to be 100 % wool and not outrageously expensive, and I had particular colors in mind, my yarn choice became Cascade 220 Sport. The blanket has 10 colors (see the solid color blocks on the diagonal), and I only had to substitute one color from another brand of yarn to get the colors I wanted.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibzJy_tFVIAwTL7DV4BufbHLna-QHRqrWsZwA_kRxUFLoQaFgE29CSEpmoeKF0n66dK5EcXO9XX0Mk4QW1AnPzF3ULFLpzB2dZVvNu1VlrYetf70HzEhqKfxIdEgyLKXETyZR0/s1600/garter+blanket+1-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibzJy_tFVIAwTL7DV4BufbHLna-QHRqrWsZwA_kRxUFLoQaFgE29CSEpmoeKF0n66dK5EcXO9XX0Mk4QW1AnPzF3ULFLpzB2dZVvNu1VlrYetf70HzEhqKfxIdEgyLKXETyZR0/s1600/garter+blanket+1-3.JPG" height="195" width="320" /></a></div>
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I tried to organize the colors so that I would have an even progression of hue and contrast, going from darker and more muted to the lighter and brighter colors. The yellow and green in the center are contrast colors to the rest, and hopefully will pop nicely when it's all put together.<br />
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I have two of the 5x5 quarters almost done and two to go. Knitting this blanket never gets boring, and I love seeing how the different colors interact as they come together.</div>
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I am still mulling over what the border should be but I have a ways to go before I need to decide. I might just go with a charcoal grey garter stitch border to keep it simple.</div>
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I also started a big slipper project with <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/cascade-yarns-eco-" target="_blank">Cascade Eco+</a>. The whole family needs slippers as our floors are quite cold and the Minnesota winter has treated us to plenty of wintry weather. First one started, lots more go to!</div>
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Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-42843149228915155812014-01-09T13:26:00.000-06:002014-01-09T13:26:13.107-06:00The few weeks leading up to Christmas can be a very hectic and sometimes stressful time for us grownups (at least those of us who fuss about gifts, cooking, decorating the house, etc., all at once, while still trying to run our normal lives on the side). But for kids, this time is part of the magic, full of anticipation, expectations, wishes and whispers.<br />
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Advent calendars of course make the wait a little easier with a little surprise every day and a way to see how many more days until The Big Day. With my kids I have tried many kinds of advent calendars--picture, chocolate, lego... but my favorite ones since my own childhood are the ones that mom or dad (or an elf?) can hide a little surprise in. When I was a kid, we had a fabric one that had 24 little pockets and us kids took turns to check what was in the pocket every morning. So I wanted to make something similar, but maybe something that would include knitting. Enter 24 little socks:<br />
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Each one is a little different, but they are all knitted using a very generic sock pattern. Depending on the yarn, I started with 28 or 32 stitches. Most yarns were about worsted weight. Fingering weight yarns I doubled to get to a similar weight. I used up a bunch of stash, which was great, and was able to make 1-2 socks per night (yes, I was playing catch-up with December). One sock took about 1 hour or so, i.e., one TV show's worth. Each morning there would be a small ornament or a wrapped chocolate in one of the socks and the kids got to take turns finding it.<br />
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Once all that hectic preparation was done, the wait climaxed in the tranquility of Christmas day:<br />
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Hope it was a good one for you and your kin! In anticipation of the next one, happy New Year to all!Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-19426094238567475292014-01-06T15:46:00.000-06:002014-01-06T15:46:16.637-06:00Back... maybe?Have you noticed how many of the knit bloggers of the years past have either quit blogging or have converted their blogs into somewhat professional/semi-professional websites? For many, blogging was a way to catalog their work, maybe show it off to some friends, family, or virtual knitting friends, and keep track of yarn and other details of their projects, etc. Since the emergence of <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/" target="_blank">Ravelry</a> (which, by the way, is the most awesomest tool for doing all of that and more), the need for blogging seemed to go away. Why take the time to double up by updating Ravelry <i>and</i> your blog, when it's easier and more conveniently done all in one place--Ravelry.<br />
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But one aspect of blogging still remains and cannot be easily replaced by the awesomeness of Ravelry--sharing the story of your craft. Sharing more than just the pictures and the technical details. Yes, you can type notes into Ravelry, but following a person and how a project lives on Ravelry is different (I would say more difficult) from following a blog. For me, Ravelry is a tool (an awesome one at that, as you might have guessed), but I miss blogging. I miss getting the story out there, and the dialogue with the followers and the random passers-by.<br />
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Also, now that life has more or less settled down and I feel like I might actually have the time to write something, I want to try to get back into blogging. No promises, but I'll give it a shot. (As a side note, I would love to switch blogging platforms to get rid of buggy Blogger, but that feels like starting over and a lot of work.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/Knitternutter/203391769/InstagramCapture_d9543c58-af5f-416a-b0ad-1a6d055b1a6f_jpg_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://images4-b.ravelrycache.com/uploads/Knitternutter/203391769/InstagramCapture_d9543c58-af5f-416a-b0ad-1a6d055b1a6f_jpg_medium2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a sweater sleeve for Mr. D. More details to follow.</td></tr>
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Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-71992465946781315262011-01-22T21:14:00.008-06:002011-01-22T23:40:38.511-06:00Tutorial, provisional cast on without scrap yarnI'm a big fan of the provisional cast on. It works perfectly, if you need to attach the cast-on edge to anything in the rest of your knitting, such as a picot edge, and it is essential in the tubular cast on. But what I don't like is working with scrap yarn in the cast on, and especially pulling it out from the provisional afterwards. (I may or may not have a pair of socks with a picot edge, where one of the socks still after years of wearing has the scrap yarn in it -it's on the inside and not visible...) <div><br /></div><div><div>I have worked out a way to eliminate the scrap yarn, using the cable of a circular needle. I was using my method in another <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Knitternutter/tychus-3">Tychus</a> hat (<a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer05/PATTtychus.html">free pattern </a>in a 2005 Knitty by Brooke Higgins), and thought I'd do a little tutorial on the cast on. I know some people don't mind sewing pieces together, and good for them, but I'm not one of those people, and if I can do it with a 3-needle bind off or some other method, I will. But to do that, I need a provisional cast on. On the other hand, using the scrap yarn method and having to remove it is at least as much of a pain as sewing the cast-on and bind-off edges together so that you lose the benefit of the 3-needle bind off. </div><br /><div>First you need a circular needle with a sufficiently long and pliable cord. Make a slip knot and slide it on one of the needles. Hold the needles so that they point in the same direction, and pull the lower needle (the needle with no yarn) out so that you are holding the cord.</div><div></div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 212px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565219392020579202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgH5AJoxrbzMXTAiBqz3RgoLlbmC9jkLIwYpb8v0rgq65mbWGKmHmR5KavbV1A4q8uyBfubLVii4H2YxyDRqbsi8MxzkVP4FfHnHHD9GDJDNOlBKI-rrNL8bhoujCWlpCCbK2/s400/TUT1.jpg.png" /></div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Holding needle as you would when you knit (I'm using my left hand to hold it only because my right hand is holding the camera) alternate wrapping the yarn over the needle (just like a regular yarn over) on top/in front of the cord and under/behind the cord. Do as many yarn overs as you need stitches for your project. Never mind the wraps on the cord -you will worry about those much later.</div><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 176px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565219401612018130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSKYQqy3xi8Nm3HzsYnlwgKPoQ3vX2LyJyVdHwDRUgl1GsMA8YJaQD8bCubQcQ8tjCJ1BzxuDKT12NWAv8CRiIUdhl4N_W4cRfF-0te5vUI5NnekGT6cUfMDscnK_w4Exk7UZ/s400/TUT2.png" />Now you will turn your work, leave the bottom stitches (the "hibernating stitches") hanging out on the cord, and knit your project as usual with the stitches that are on the needle (the "working stitches"). Here's what my Tychus looked like after a couple of hours. I started from the green side, and finished on the red side (the yarn is Lion Brand "Amazing" in color Mauna Loa). See the loop of cord between my working stitches and the hibernating stitches?<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565219413585646626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58blADoYwZDXNCiMHpE14hHm9i-q6ggmGG4KujABkj_rnA88CHYRXLE8aEbi9tKDCrTiss-kl9t42QmBRoaX6Yp351kJRdb_XVaWde8GIdZtBNurECuxguLDzpE97jAMHrMf5/s400/TUT3.jpg.png" /><br />After you're all done, use a 3-needle bind off from the wrong/under side (or knit the stitches together, depending on what you're doing).<br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 184px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565219430500177698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaKWqFiivaRTzUowsFXFLsS-fPpi2EhAXI43NklJueldRkdZXtbe6vyHDQyDh_waAlxEnKAa7GuOjaMHQOrxSzubTKqY5MvuyGMNw3lMavW2MQIY-8qWIbLYwhNakri9c1D6J/s400/TUT4.jpg" /><br />Here's what it looks like on the right side. I drew an arrow where the seam is, otherwise you can't even tell (except maybe from the color change from red to green).</p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 261px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565222982092670066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUA1kZleeFfSkSmccNxUTUDeI9Li9fTcp1ccOphHBV_MvR3G8FmrJ2l5DxBam0m_w83BfSES_vYTbs6t4xkQJne2du1dkXVZsiEiadYNrIBXu0Cvv5J5Rb7ECIgXwoPYGYjC8e/s400/Tutorial+1-14.JPG" /></p><p>Now finish it off with a pom-pom and twist cords, and voila! I also crocheted around the ear flaps to even out the edges.</p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 360px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565222983606922498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMYMBHwMOI53mI9quEAOv9bS7yJ61egXN1Yfa95dxp-mMo3K_GR4PcpFkiRnrLUTs9cblAGppfOAwlUmi_FSM8kLUGa1OOjFA18ETUx5YKo7J7MF6FJt2jVM_sHCMgh4bielk/s400/Tychus+4-1.JPG" /></p><p>This method also works in the round in things like socks or bottom-up hats and sweaters, but can be a little tricky, and will be easier (possible?) to do, if you use a second circular to hold the hibernating stitches.</p><p>My modifications on the Tycus: I knit 5 sections instead of 6, and in the bottom of two of them I increased 3+3+2+1+1 stitches for the ear flap and then decreased the same symmetrically. The width of the ear flap is the same as one section, and the front is two sections and the back is one. And then I of course added the pom-pom and the cords. I cast on 40 stitches and the shortest short row was 24 stitches. In the ear flaps the middle rows end up being 34 stitches.</p>Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24002250.post-22993086451527806582011-01-20T10:08:00.005-06:002011-01-20T10:23:39.045-06:00If You Give a Moose a Muffinhe'll want some <a href="http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/ifyougiveamoose.html">jam to go with it</a>...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 271px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564302152394948578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBr9C9LSvmGVgh-5ti7f7D-DAI__6TWKFo7wySKjR1An_ZpwL5lyLiV4dzDGpFyfvyr2qzIR9x091qcStHT5vjfH96yoorqnJqZ4P-LK1QDR7gjvuyyhjlEXC6yygivrF32hBe/s400/TwinMitt1-1.JPG" /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564302165329805730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCK9YMZGw35NebjR6bY8hVoutN-PclyYKBaSq_KsnCxKzoUTEtBWAaSXUPRsIvqK_357MKjakRIaaOcyU9Jurde3xolBaDFCPMgy6sAyqZEApaDa1G430AjJRkefFeTgFBHVpF/s400/TwinMitt1-2.JPG" /></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564302169296904274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_RwiPUT6FvhJTmO2lba2ipT8ZwUWk6DsKGRDzQlVofqJNwxjYza3XBCcJInD0M3OZb36eGfD7bOED0BWtyM2hO7K9BlF5gl3kMbGGSlt5WD6CDCrJc1nTv-R_jwqhO1pP78e/s400/TwinMitt2-1.JPG" /></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 286px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564302172257506594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7vr7VCTtsljrwK3lDPZctlZrPIk4HGPx8oxyoJB1zB43oh2qsnV74ulxlRI9QWZWbsz-Y-N3Own765IkcG6kIkr09TYwfcKxgAS8sJNUhJPntyiZgdnSZ0pZZp6WgGOblCr1/s400/TwinMitt2-2.JPG" />And if you give a girl a hat, she'll (naturally) want some mittens to go with it! There may be no end to the demand of knitted girly items now, but I'm not complaining. Knitting for girls is so much fun! The endless possibilities of colors and designs... bring it on! </p>Lottahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08959269186819288201noreply@blogger.com0