FOs: Fall Knitting 2013

After nearly a year-long knitting hiatus, I finally picked up the needles again a few weeks ago. And I’m having a hard time stopping! Here is about two weeks’ work… a few quick small projects and one that’s been a WIP for years.

Pattern: none
Yarn: malabrigo sock in 852 persia
Needles: US Size 0 and 1
Started: Dec 24, 2009
Finished: Sep 20, 2013
Ravelry Link

I think these socks win the award for longest duration of any project I’ve ever attempted, and it wasn’t because they were a big project or because of the difficulty. I cast them on two-at-a time, finished the toe and the reinforced heel all within the first month or so. It was the tremendously boring 1×1 ribbing on size 0 needles that took nearly 4 years to complete.

I finished them up at a cafe over a cranberry apple ginger iced tea, and decided to add the picot edging as a coastal twist. As much as I like them, I don’t forsee any small-gauge socks being attempted again in the future. Although I am using the remaining yarn for a pair of armwarmers, so we’ll see how that goes.

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Pattern: none, inspired by Alexandra Tinsley’s Mix No. 24
Yarn: jil eaton minnow merino in 4720 aqua
Needles: US Size 8
Started: Aug 30, 2013
Finished: Sep 10, 2013
Ravelry Link

I saw this on the designer’s blog, Dull Roar, but I can’t get myself to buy hat patterns. So I spent an evening swatching (and watching the Hunger Games) and about two weeks knitting, and I had this super adorable bonnet!

I used exactly two skeins, down to the very last inch (the dangling pom poms were completed by gathering all the remaining yarn ends, splitting the pile in half, and wrapping around my index and middle finger until I ran out. Thanks to the un-plied yarn, they still plumped up quite nicely.

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Pattern: Zeebee by Schmeebot
Yarn: noro cash island in 01 (black, brown, blue, teal)
Needles: US Size 8
Started: Sept 13, 2013
Finished: Sep 18, 2013
Ravelry Link

Oh, look! I knit from a pattern! Or at least… a detailed formula. I had this yarn sitting in my basket. I don’t know why I never learn that buying one skein of Noro is a bad idea. It’s not quite enough for a hat, not nearly enough for a scarf or shawl, and not suitable for anything like a toy or baby booties since it’s kind of scratchy and the fibers are rather weak.

But, I don’t learn… and so it was just sitting there staring at me. I decided to knit up a quick hat using a forgiving pattern that would show the variegation nicely.

At first, I loved how it was going. But around 6 rows til the very end, I ran out of yarn. Of course. I doubled up some Shiraito from my other Noro hat (below) and figured it was Noro so nobody would notice.

Then I got to the end seam, and by the second stitch into the graft, the yarn had torn. I spliced the ends back together but knew the same thing would keep happening, so I did a very obvious 3-needle bind off as a design element.

The seam doesn’t bother me. I actually think I might pull it out and re-do it in bright red or something. It feels super grunge and the perfect hat for running through leaves and sipping hot cider.

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Pattern: none, inspired by Graham
Yarn: noro shiraito in 01 (teal, yellow, green, gray, black)
Needles: US Size 8
Started: Sept 13, 2013
Finished: Sep 18, 2013
Ravelry Link

This one was kind of the same deal as the hat above. I saw the yarn while in Rockland, ME at Over the Rainbow, a totally adorable LYS, and I had never seen this line of Noro before so I grabbed one. Why? Why do I do this? I cast on a plain stockinette hat immediately and had almost completed it by that night. Unfortunately, I tried it on and it was enormous. So I tore it out and started again. And again, enormous. The “ruler” app on the iPhone is really making me look like an idiot right about now. I finally got my gauge and cast on a more interesting hat. It was going to be Graham but, being Noro, I wanted to start top-down for fear of running out of yarn. And somewhere in between counting stitches and incorporating the pattern, I totally skewed it into a broken seed stitch (instead of a broken rib) and just left it. It’s kind of cute, whatever.

I actually had a bit of extra so I knit a tiny bow. I also had just enough left to complete the Zeebee hat (above), counted my blessings, and called it a day.

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So that’s what I’ve been up to. Currently on the needles is a pair of arm warmers with the leftovers from the socks, and an oversized Lispenard for the winter. What have you been working on?

❤ v

one post before i disappear again

i have very little new knitting to post right now. except that i did get started on a pair of socks (!!) right before we left this weekend. my first pair ever, inspired by the fact that the place we’re living beginning in the fall has a very sad heating system. it’s the same building we lived in right before we left new york– actually, the same apartment. we loved it but we had a problem where the radiators are either “on” (105 degrees of dry, dry heat) or “off” (below freezing– there is no insulation). in an effort to not turn them “on” until we absolutely have to, i’m going to knit a whole bunch of house socks for DH and i.

i’m not using a pattern, but if there’s any demand i’ll write one up when they’re done

the reason i’m not knitting right now is more of a necessity for the immediate future. this weekend DH and i are leaving for a week at the beach with his entire extended family. i went to eaton centre last week in hopes of picking up a weeks worth of cute sundress-type outfits and ended up finding NOTHING. this is one of the first times in my life i’ve gone to a mall with the intent of spending a few hundred bucks and walked out with a $6 pair of shoes and no clothes. turns out here in toronto, you either buy one of six dresses available at each and every store, or you spend $400 on a basic from an independent shop, where you probably wont find anything you like anyway.

so now seemed like as good a time as any to pull the sewing machine out of storage and play around with some fabric i’ve had since i worked at a fabric store a few years ago. i also attempted to walk down queen west to buy some more but it turns supplies have the same problem as fashions here– $10 a yard for cotton prints available in five styles– no thanks!

i’ve been doing about a skirt and/or dress per day, i think i have almost enough for this week. i also don’t have a dressform so these photos are awful. i’m working on getting one– bear with me! (if you know where to get one in downtown toronto PLEASE let me know! i tried getting one in scranton, PA while we were nearby and joann’s was the only fabric store– and they only carried ONE crappy model, soo frustrating)

and this one’s not done–

they’re all really voluminous, which really doesn’t show on the hanger. to give you an idea, here’s the first one with the magic of self-timer and photoshop

cute? no? opinions would definitely be cool if you have any thoughts.

if you were wondering why i didn’t post this weekend (i know all of you were… *rollseyes*), i just wanted to give you an insight into the beautiful technological dark age that is my parent’s country house

1) computer. yep, this is it. 19.2k modem (not 14.4, not 28.8… 19.2), windows 95, and one of those printers that only fit one cartridge so you had to switch black and colour everytime you wanted to print. appropriately sprawled across the record player and collection, and a wooden speaker.

2) atari! i’m not even old enough to own one of these. as you can see, i was still teething when i inherited it, resulting in one non-working controller. so sad.

3) rotary phone! i kind of wanted to take this with me and use it for decoration. and inside the matching case is a canary blue typewriter. i forgot to get a picture. it’s not electric or anything. and i don’t think they make toner for it anymore so you have to click REALLY hard to get the letters to show up on the page.

so there you go. my life for the past week. i probably won’t get a chance to post again before we leave for the beach, so hopefully next time i post i’ll have the clap done (yay for beach knitting). happy summer, ya’ll!