Tag Archives: Koigu

The Trouble with Turkish Bed Socks

Posted on by
2
beestripeTBS

Car Knitting – Turkish Bed Sock in Lorna’s Laces Bee Stripe

I wish I had been more awake last night when I frogged the Turkish Bed Socks that I knitted this weekend. But it was late and I wasn’t thinking well.

Needless to say, I gave it a shot with my wonderful Lorna’s Laces sock yarn and smaller needles (because that’s what the yarn needed). The striping came out really well and I liked the way the socks were looking but they were too small this time.

Turkish Bed Socks in Koigu KPPPM

Turkish Bed Socks in Koigu KPPPM – the first pair … too big!

The last pair (the first pair) I made were too large … which is why I decided to try smaller needles and thought the lighter-weight yarn would be OK. My first pair are wearable but the heel wrapped part is too low on my heel and they slip off. So I wanted to knit a second pair only smaller – But it was too much smaller. The heel wrap was too short (didn’t come up high enough on my heel) and the whole thing was just too tight. And, even though I added a bunch of rows to the length of the foot, they were still too small. OK. Let’s move on.

So, now I’m going shopping in my stashed yarn and I will find a more appropriate skein of yarn and then I will knit it again. When I get a pair of socks that I am happy with, I will happily adjust that pattern to work with lighter-weight yarn!

Gone knitting!

1. belonging or pertaining to the origin or beginning of something. 2. new; fresh; inventive; novel

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been working on designing a line of original dog sweaters and coats for a year or so now. I just came across the notes I took from a teleconference with a friend who has been in the garment industry (for people) for her entire career and whose wisdom and experience I truly value. We had talked about having twelve (TWELVE!?) designs and changing out the fabrics for the seasons. Well, the seasons may be do-able but no (freaking) way I’ll have twelve designs any time soon! A girl’s got to make a living and without taking my little business all the way to an Andean village where women can knit for me, I need to get these patterns written, tested and knit up a few samples.

I have four designs at this point in time that I can use as my base.

The Señorita Lolita, a sassy dress with a ruffled skirt and a big colorful flower on the shoulder. Fingering weight yarn makes it more time-consuming to knit but makes the little dress flow-y and light. I just sent my first iteration of this sweater off to the Central Florida Fair as my submission to the “Other” category. Submitted with this photograph of my little Lola (“Whatever Lola Wants…”) who is my inspiration for the design.

The Boyfriend is a classic turtleneck sweater knit in bulky yarn which makes it pretty quick to knit up unlike it’s sibling above. The design is based on the women’s sweaters with the same name that are bulky and loose and snuggly … hoping that the feeling of wearing a boyfriend’s sweater will translate to the feeling of caring for your fur baby.

The MacTire. Irish knit-style cabled sweater with a turtle neck collar. Right out of the pages of GQ! (Is that still in print?) I love this sweater with the “hugs and kisses” cable down the back. Also a relatively quick knit as it’s in a bulky wool, it’s simply classic and appeals to my Irish roots.

MacTire (mock teerah)

Last but certainly not least is the Nor’Easter Coat. Seed stitch is one of my favorite textural stitches and with this bulky or super-bulky wool, it is a visual thrill. The stitches are tightly knit and make a really warm coat for chilly days. I’m working on the finishing touches to the pattern. This may be my current favorite!

Patterns to come!

Gone knitting!

Finished Objects

Posted on by
Reply

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!

 

Personality Plus

Posted on by
Reply

So, I designed this pattern for a competition – I won “skein-ettes” and had to make them into something. What better than a sweater for my “little girl” (aka Lola).

Animal lovers know how each little critter has a personality all their own. My brother has two big dogs. One is afraid of her shadow and hides behind the kitchen table. The other is just “one of the boys”, my fourth nephew, and always wants to play – drops slimy soliva-covered popped ball pieces (chewed frisbees, bits of sticks or firewood, plastic water bottles, shoes he grabbed indoors, etc.) at your feet morning, noon and night. He never gives up.

Ever watchful Lola. Ever sleepy Boogie!

My little dogs each have their own personality: Boogie is a “stoner” … he’s very trainable and has “sit”, “down”, and “give me five” but he is not a self-starter. Lola is the “alpha” dog in the pair;  she’s independent, and as nosy and bossy as dogs get. She’s a whopping 9 pounds dripping wet … go figure. In order to get Boogie to go outside, we call, “LolaBoq Come” … most of the time we get both dogs. 🙂

Anyway, I digress …

I have a first Prima Dogma by Queen Bee Knits order. The first sweater, “Turtle” is finished and ready to ship. BUT the yarn that I originally bought for the second sweater just wasn’t doing it for me. I ordered a second skein and cast on this morning. I love it – and I want to recommend it to you knitters out there in blog-land! It’s called Koigu KPPM. The one I bought this time is one of their solid colors but they have an endless line of wonderful colors sure to please every person’s taste. I’m buying mine at JimmyBeansWool.com because their service is very quick, their prices are reasonable and they’ve got a great selection. I think I could knit with only Koigu and be happy. I just ordered their last book … I’ll report on it as soon as it arrives.

So, off I go to knit AJ’s baby girl a pink Señorita Lolita sweater (Prima Dogma by Queen Bee Knits’ first design) … gone knitting!

Home?

Posted on by

Back in the land of heat and humidity and the yard weeds are taller than the plants that we dug holes for. Go figure! At least the pots in the front yard aren’t dead and my (now) puny “jazz hands” palm tree is still alive and growing after a near death experience.

I’ve had a fun day today and am going to continue having fun when my girlfriend comes for dinner but I thought I’d take a few minutes to show you what I’ve been working on while I wasn’t blogging … it’s not “much” but it’s work, none the less!

I’ve finished the coveted “Turkish Bed Socks” (find the pattern HERE at Churchmouse Yarns and Teas) and it just reinforced to me how much I love knitting with Koigu wool. It’s simply wonderful to knit with … if you try it on my recommendation and don’t love the way the yarn feels and knits, let me know and I will buy the yarn from you. The colorways are endless, too … you’re bound to love at least one (hundred) colors! The construction was interesting and I only got a bit confused once … and when I stopped reading ahead, I was fine. They’re cute and I’ll be they’re super to wear with my clogs in the winter.

I have made two more pairs of fingerless “Gauntlets”. One is in a gray alpaca DK weight yarn from Village Farm Alpacas in Waldoboro, Maine. The yarn is absolutely the softest and it was good to knit with … nearly as good as the Koigu, just not quite.

The second pair is almost finished. These were knit with a wool and silk blend from Plymouth Yarn Company called Mulberry Merino in a dark emerald green colorway (color 686, Lot 531). The yarn is so soft and the fingerless mitten pattern is wonderful. The yarn is spun loosely and it’s not as much fun to knit with because it splits on the needles and then gets stuck which is annoying! These will either go up on my Etsy site or be given away when I reach 100 “likes” on the Queen Bee Knits facebook page.

My vest in coming along. I’ve finished the back and have started working up one side of the front but I have to be honest, I haven’t really done much knitting. The last few days I was playing with my “old” friends from college at Virginia Beach and there was no time for knitting … I was out riding the waves (body surfing) for over an hour on Saturday. I’m sunburned and getting that “I’m going to peel” itch but it was worth it.

So, now I’m home and I have an order for a baby hat for one of my former au pairs. She’s adopting a little Latino boy from Illinois in October. She’ll be present at the baby’s birth if she has enough time to get from her house to Chicago area in time. How exciting is that? So, I’m off to find some cute patterns for the baby hat and then will hit the shops in person and/or online for yarn. Any suggestions?

Gone knitting … or pattern hunting!

 

Frogs in my Atelier!

Posted on by
Reply

Oh for goodness sake! I can’t seem to knit a thing these days!

I said that I’d brought a few “new” projects out of the atelier closet and started them (again.) Well, now I’m going to be frogging them and starting over brand new … it occured to me that I’d made a rather large mistake – one too many yarn-overs smack dab in the middle of the back of the Noro shawl. Poop! It looks dreadful and isn’t one of those patterns that you can simply fix. So, frog it!

In my process of re-knitting and documenting the beautiful Senorita Lolita sweater that I designed for the Jimmy Beans Wool contest with Koigu KPPM skeinlettes, I have forgotten to write down as I knit – and for those of  you who are over 40, you’ll appreciate that when you don’t write things down and then leave them for a few hours, you quickly forget where you are and what you’ve done. So … frog it!

Starting over again? Well, I start each day, I start (and sometimes finish) books … sometimes I put them aside and start them over, too! So, I’m accepting that I’m starting these projects over and this time, I’ll be more patient and more aware and will write down and focus more on the process (and the shawl pattern directions!)

This Queen Bee is going knitting! (After lunch!)