Category Archives: Knitting

Another Tumble

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I took another tumble today … literally … silly old leg fell asleep while sitting at my desk chair and when I stood up to walk over to the other side of the Atelier, crash … landed on my left knee. A little ice and a little levity and I was back up-and-at-em! A good day.

My student has learned to cast on, knit and cast off. She also learned how to weave in the ends. She did a great job with her first scarf. Part of her success is that she kept frogging it when she realized that she’d made a mistake. I love teaching. Next week she’ll learn purl. Then we’ll follow a pattern!

Tonight was my new knitting group. A great group of women … just what I was looking for. Social and inclusive and my age! This weekend is Orlando’s “Distaff Day” and I’ve volunteered to demonstrate making yarn from old t-shirts. I’ve done it once. That makes me a pro! (hahaha!)

Big Feet … Big ?

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Slippers socks! Duh!

Before ... ginormous!

I had a pattern ages ago for knitted and felted slippers. I’d made myself and N. each a pair – and I think N. may have gotten more than one pair. I made a pair for N’s youngest one year for Christmas. They’re great! Natural fiber (wool) wicks away sweat but keep feet really warm, too.

After ... drying!

I had a couple of pairs that I had not given to anybody because I had some extra wool sitting around and it’s an easy thing to make and since my pattern uses doubled worsted-weight wool and it’s on pretty big needles so they knit up really quickly. When I opened my Etsy shop, I put the felted slippers (sized to fit me … and, as it turns out, the most popular women’s size) up for sale on my shop. I learned a lesson, too!

I listed two pairs (one blue, one pink) in the same listing but as two items for sale (two pairs of felted slippers). And, miracle of miracles, they’ve both sold … but not without a “problem” … The first person to order bought the blue pair (with green toes) thus leaving the pink pair for the second buyer – who didn’t want pink! Fortunately, the second buyer was happy with a certificate that I printed up to give to her “giftee” and I’ve just knit a custom pair of felted slippers for her. I re-listed the pink slippers and, wonderful news, they’ve sold, too! I guess they’re priced right and they do, indeed, make a great gift!

Today I’m felting the ginormous socks and shaping them. They’ll take a day or two to dry completely so that I can package them and get them in the mail. Whoopee! Felting is always a bit of a science experiment and one that I don’t always enjoy but my head is in the right place and it’s going to be a good day for felting!

But for now, I have to sign off. We have a lunch date and I have errands to run …

Gone running (but not the jogging type! LOL!)

“Fetching”

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I knitted up a pair of “fetching” fingerless mittens today (for a Christmas gift) in a really pretty red merino. I love the way the mittens look in their finished-ness. (No, I haven’t been drinking. I like the word!)

"Fetching"

The pattern is free at Knitty(dot)com and if you click here, you can be magically transported to the pattern.

The cuff is a couple of little cables which makes the fabric really nice and firm but stretchy. It also seems to keep it’s shape and not get all stretched out. The finger end, has another cable and ends with a little bit of a picot edge. A nice touch – makes a nice looking fingerless glove (is it a glove or a mitten?)

I think I’m just an Irish lassie at heart. I absolutely adore cables. I had already knit one fingerless mitten in red and cream with a little design but I didn’t like it. Call me crazy. I am sure that someone will like it and I will likely finish the second mitt and put them up for sale in my shop on Esty. I like to give gifts that I would want myself and the “fetching” gloves, I’d like to have. Although, my hands are a bit too big for these mitts – others fit me better.

Not so Much ...

So, one “fetching” pair is finished and I think I need to make one more … that’ll make a total of 17 1/2 pairs of fingerless mittens that I have knitted in the last few weeks. I’m ever so grateful that my fingers and hands feel as healthy as they do!

Gone to rest my fingers!

Short Rows Superwoman!

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Short Rows.

I’ve attempted a couple of short rows projects over the years. Never successfully. Until today – and thanks to a great short rows tutorial posted by the Purl Bee. Click here to head on over to see the tutorial and bookmark it!

I’m becoming a short rows expert today. I’m in my atelier working on a new project that I saw for the first time when I was in Lafayette, LA for my nephew’s wedding. With all the hoopla surrounding the wedding, my sister and I HAD to make a trip to her LYS – the Yarn Nook – and that’s where I found the Bandana Cowl pattern (free from the Purl Bee!) and bought some yummy, super soft Manos Maxima (color way M8881) in Queen Bee colors (mostly yellow and golds and browns and blacks but a touch of grey and blue too).

I love the Manos yarn. It’s 100% extra fine merino wool, kettle dyed and fair trade! They call themselves the “fair trade merino”. The Bandana Cowl is a one-skein project using a little bit more than 100 yards of chunky-weight yarn. My skein has 219 yards (200 m). Gauge is 18-20 stitches per 4 inches (10 cm) on a 6-8 needle (4-5 mm). The yarn doesn’t split much at all despite it’s loosely spun look and feel. The hand of the extrafine merino is so soft, it’s like knitting with a cashmere blend and I’m quite certain that it will feel really nice around my neck.

Now that I have the hang (sort of, I am only referring back to the tutorial once every three wraps!) of the short rows, it’s knitting up pretty quickly. I’m not sure when I’ll have an opportunity to wear this cowl but you can be sure that I’ll be wearing it soon – at least to take a few photos for you!

Gone knitting!

Fini! (That’s French for Well-Finished!)

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Pair One through Fifteen

Well, the shipment has been sent to Massachusetts – can we hear a “hurrah!”? Whew! What a big order and what I have learned is that a simple pair of fingerless mittens takes about six hours to knit (without weaving in the ends). More complicated ones take up to eight hours. So, for fifteen pairs, that translates to over 100 hours of knitting. Tough to do in a matter of a couple of weeks and preserve the health of one’s fingers! (I can officially say that my left hand/wrist is a bit tender.)

So, what am I going to knit next? Christmas gifts, of course. I have a headband and a (*gasp*) pair of fingerless mittens first on the list. I’ve also had an order for a pair of custom-knit felted slipper socks from my Etsy shop. That will mean that I’ve sold three pairs of slipper socks, a pair of mittens, a hat … all to people who are NOT in my family! Yay, me!

I have a lot of cookie baking to do as well. My mother always made Spritz cookies at Christmas time. She was particular about decorating them which I am not. I can’t do Christmas without them! This year, I would also like to make some molasses spice cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies and peanut butter blossoms (the ones with the ginormous hershey kisses stuck in the middle of them). We’re having a little holiday gathering right before Christmas and I’d like to have a few dozen as gifts for my guests and also take a few over to my little “old lady” friend across the street. Her husband is in a nursing home – I’m sure she’s not baking this winter.

My gifts are all ordered and sent. Have bought the niece and nephews a little something – also in the mail. My kids gifts are done and gone. Now, to focus on the gifts for those who will be spending the season here in our house.

My Christmas village is calling to me – the parts are all out and the lights are in but I have to figure out where they’ll live in this house and get them set up. It’s been a couple of years since I have done the full Christmas decorating thing … and despite the fact that I won’t have my kids here this year (and no Christmas is quite right without my kids) I’m trying to have a festive and happy attitude of gratitude. I’ve got so much to be thankful for!

Gone knitting! (Or at least I’m going to think about it!)

12 1/2 … do I hear 13?

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Thirteen is off the needles.

Twelve and thirteen need their ends woven in and fourteen is on the needles. Can I tell you how happy I will be to be able to return to knitting what I WANT to knit? Does that sound ungrateful? It’s not meant to be. I’m so grateful for the two orders which will put my income at a new level … above zero! Yay for me!

I really do love knitting and want to believe that there will be a door that opens up to me so that I can use my skills and make enough money to support myself … and my little dogs. I’d like to be able to help my kids when they need it too.

Right now the situation is a bit dicey … but I know this too shall pass and I will come out the other side a better person. I’ve decided always (to at least try to) take the high road. No gossip, no kvetching, no mean-spirited manipulation. I am choosing to behave as if … as if the world is my oyster. As if I am convinced that the universe will not let me be homeless and hungry. As if the next wonderful and fulfilling career is just around the corner. As if I’m not afraid. Or lonely.

I’m so grateful for the support of the universe and my brothers and sisters (I said before that I don’t like the sister-in-law title as it seems to hold my brother’s wives outside of the inside circle.) I am one lucky girl … healthy, a roof over my head, food in my stomach, yarn in my Atelier and three healthy children. I am grateful for N. who loves me even as I collapse into a puddle. He helps me up when I am ready and on we go.

So, I have two more pairs for the big fingerless mitten order. And then a pair of felted slippers to make for an Etsy customer. Life is good. I’m making money doing what I love and the universe will provide.

Gone knitting!

Mittens Mittens and more Mittens

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Mittens Mittens Everywhere!

As you may know, I have an order for 15 (count them!) FIFTEEN pairs of fingerless mittens. They’ve been ordered as holiday gifts for the staff at a Northshore (Boston area) veterinary practice owner to give to the staff. Lovely gift, right?

Well, I’m a crazy knit-aholic who doesn’t know how to say “no” … and of course, I said “yes”! I have pair number 12 on the needles. I’ve knitted half a pair that are too big to send for a woman and too girly to be for a man so they’ll be frogged. Another pair used up too much yarn so I can’t finish the second mitten. Will also be frogged (or I may find some more of the same yarn to finish mitten number two … after Christmas). So, technically, this is pair number 13 but one pair is not for sale!

I’m using two or three patterns and they’re all getting some fairly major alterations. One pattern was too small for my hands so I had to make it bigger. One pattern (with cables)  called for 1-3 repeats before the thumb gusset (and the left and right mittens were different) but I made them the same after the first few attempts at finding the right length. A third took way too long to sell for the price that I quoted but they’re lovely and finished and they’re going into the sale. One pattern is really boring in “plain” wool so they need to be embellished (which I’ll do time permitting!)

Lesson learned: mittens take about six hours to knit … depending on the pattern used … and hands get really sore when knitting six hours a day every day. Hands need rest. Next time, I have to say “no” to an order that would be so taxing on my body. Offer certificates, perhaps, for knitting after the holidays? But for today, I’m grateful for the order and the loving confidence that the AVC has in my knitting skills – thank you to the universe for providing!

Gone knitting.

Fingerless Mitts Galore!

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Well, I can’t say that I have been knitting too much … such is the way the wind blows when I’m with my family.

But we did visit the Yarn Nook in Lafayette, LA a couple of days ago and, of course, I HAD to buy something. I settled (after making several circles around the shop … touching yarns and looking at samples and chatting with the ladies who work there) on a couple balls of Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in two color ways … and I intend to make up a couple pairs of fingerless mittens as Christmas gifts (if there are enough hours to get my order done and then knit gifts, too!) My intention is to make the Commuter Fingerless Gloves from Knitty dot com. They’re fun because they’re a little bit different – they button up or roll down and button to cover up your chilly fingers.

Bought some really cool Malibrigo yarn to make a Bandana Cowl for the Queen Bee. Pattern is found on Ravelry or through the Purl Soho website (PurlSoho dot com) and is free, if my memory is accurate. I really like the yarn – it’s got a wonderful hand and the color way is so perfect for this Queen Bee – black and yellow and golds (among a few others!)

I also bought a new pattern for felted slippers. French Press Knits has a really cute pattern called French Press Felted Slippers … they look just like ballet flats with a strap and button. I’m eager to get rolling making something other than fingerless mittens … and I’m nearly there!

Meanwhile, I’m going to end this blogging and go back to playing with my Great Nephew … just for today!

Gone playing!

 

 

Finished Objects

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I’ve been wrapping up a few UFOs again and thought you might like to see some photos of them and hear what I thought about the yarn and patterns, etc.

Prima Dogma by Queen Bee Knits first order is ready to go out. I’ve finished two sweaters for Jan’s fur family (they live out in the San Francisco area). Jan has two Japanese Chins and these sweaters are for her little girl.

First, my original design, “Señorita Lolita”

"Senorita Lolita" - custom knit for Jan

I originally bought some wool fingering weight yarn in a peachy pink. Jan had asked for a pink color for this sweater but left the shade to my discretion. I started knitting and decided I really didn’t like the yarn and ordered some Koigu KPPM in their solids color way. I love the way this sweater turned out. It’s pretty and feminine and the ruffle is just right. I also knitted the flower in various “scraps” of fingering yarn in KPPM and wools that I have in my stash. The first flower I knitted was way too dull but this one – I especially like the way the green leaf turned out – I think is just perfect!

"Boyfriend" a PrimaDogma by Queen Bee Knits design

Lola was kind enough to model twice – she is not the dog who loves to wear clothing – and this is the “Boyfriend” sweater knit for Jan’s Japanese Chin. I love the colors of this sweater. I knit it with Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky and it was a pleasure to knit. The yarn is so soft and will be so warm on those Northern California wintery days! This pattern is a seriously altered version of the sweater in “Dress Your Dog” by Sys Fredens. It’s designed to be bulky and loose like a boyfriend’s sweater would be. I think it looks adorable on Lola and can’t wait to see Jan’s photos.

Fingerless Mittens - I'll be knitting until the cows come home!

Three pairs of fingerless mittens that I’ve knit for my SIL, Annie, who will be gifting them to some lucky ladies! The grey pair on the left is knit with pure alpaca DK weight yarn from Maine. I bought it at an alpaca farm in Washington, Maine. It’s so soft and will be warm … but alpaca is well-known to also be very light weight. This one pair took approximately 8 hours to complete but I love the way they turned out. Needless to say, however, I had to find another pattern that didn’t take quite so long if I am going to get the rest of the 15 pairs finished and delivered before Christmas (or sometime next year!) The two pairs on the right are simpler construction and knitted in a DK weight wool from Maine, too. This is a hand-dyed wool from French Hill Farm in Solon, ME that I bought at a farmer’s market. I loved the rich ocean colors that go from purple to turquoise to limey green and then to yellow. I also love this pattern – it’s simple and lets the yarn be the focus.

And last but not least, the most recent threesome. More fingerless mittens. (I haven’t even woven in the ends of the left-most pair yet).

On the left, grey wool fingerless mittens that are about as simple as they come but I really like this pattern and will be making more of these. They knit up quickly in worsted weight wool and I will be embroidering a snowflake on the back of the hand to give it a little bit of character. The two green pairs are knitted in a more “Aran” cabled pattern – and I love, love, love cables. It must be my Irish heritage that comes out through my fingertips when I get sticks and string together. The yarn is a 50-50 alpaca/wool blend and it’s lovely yarn. Also worsted weight, this pattern knitted up in about 3 hours per glove … not too bad. I seem unable to knit up a glove in much less than that and 6 hours each pair isn’t an awful lot of time to spend. Wish I knitted a bit faster but I don’t.

I’ve discovered a great knitting in the round tip, though for knitters. If you criss-cross the first and last stitches (pass the last stitch to the left needle to knit first and pass the first stitch to the right needle to knit last – here’s a youtube video that shows you how to do this a bit better than my explanation. Love it! And she’s absolutely right, the little divot at the beginning (I always just started knitting) is gone! Woo! Hoo!

Gone knitting!