Archive for the ‘Future Projects’ Category

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Summer

June 5, 2007

I want to eat green and gold. When I saw this stunner of a shrug at CosmicPluto‘s blog, I think my mouth actually watered. There are certain colors that become more appealing in season, and right now all I want is an enormous mess of yarn that mimics the rolling greens and golds of the trees that line the canyons and hills. I drive along the highway and imagine colorways of tender new grass, summery forests, the strawlike weeds on the pastures.

As many of you know, we at Kninja headquarters tend to be bargain hunters by nature. Posh yarns are not purchased unless we can point gloatingly at the price tag and show you the fantastic deal we got. We do not buy expensive yarns.

But I’m willing to make an exception to that rule. I’m on a hunt for the perfect yarn. When I find it – that green that I’m looking for – I will buy it. Even if it comes in skeins that cost more than $20 apiece. I’ll only buy one, but I am going to have that green.

In the meantime, I did have a successful bargain hunt. I got a pack of RYC Classic Soft Tweed in Twig, which will be most of the body of Willow from Rowan’s A Yorkshire Fable. I really do need a decent winter coat, and I like how that one looks. Kim Hargreaves’ tendency to reuse names of her designs meant that my search for a finished Willow was confounded, though, because she designed another Willow in Ribbon Twist which seems to be a more popular knit. I’m excited about the Soft Tweed. I’ve heard only good things about its squishiness and softness, and a thick wool/silk blend sounds really luxurious. I’ll be getting a skein or two of the same yarn in Bark for the accents. I also bought a pack of Rowanspun 4 ply in Jade. I can’t get enough of Rowan’s 4 ply tweeds.

The seamless hybrid is currently drying on the floor of our bedroom. I love blocking so so so much. The crease on the chest disappeared entirely as soon as the sweater submerged and all of my stitches look so even now. I think the stretching is going well, too. We’ll see when Mr. Kninja tries it on for the modeling session. It just feels good to look at a blocking knit and know you made it.

I should have a bunch of pictures of finished items for you soon. I’m on a bit of a sunshine induced kick of production and overproduction. I can’t seem to quit starting new projects, but all of the projects I’ve started seem to be going fast.

The compulsion to create and the desire for certain sensations is heightened when I’m drunk off of light. I want textures, colors, and beauty in a way that is subdued and less manic in winter, even our wimpy California winters. Summer’s here and all I want is to run wild in the open air – but with needles and sweater in tow.

Posted in Future Projects, In progress, Knitting, Miscellany, Sweaters | 2 Comments »

I’m just, you know, kninjating

April 1, 2007

You may or may not have noticed that I haven’t posted at all this week. The temperamental camera of DOOM has been on the fritz again, and I find my own blog posts far less interesting when there’s nothing to look at. This seems to be generally true for you, too, because I’ve noticed that my posts without pictures get far viewer hits than those with pictures.

With that in mind, here’s a picture.

Get it?? That’s the pot calling the kettle back! Get it?? Ha!

Yeah, well, shut up. I thought it was funny.

Look, just because you don’t have the same sense of humor as me, it doesn’t mean it isn’t funny. It isn’t funny to you, OK? It’s funny to me.

I do too have a sense of humor! Many, many people think I’m funny.

Actually, no. My mom doesn’t think I’m very funny at all. But other people do. A lot of them.

Look, maybe we could talk about something else, OK?

In knitting news, despite my lack of camera, I’ve braved ahead and made a basic blue hat for my older son out of the Koigu Merino Crepe I showed you before. I’ll post a pattern, simply because I looked for a pattern for a basic kid hat and didn’t find one that was intended for children older than age three. I also noticed that the way I do my decreases when I make a hat seems to be different than the way other people do it. I always end up with a spiral on top. I like the spiral, because I like spirals and round shapes in general, but when I looked around at other hat pictures, I saw no spirals*. So I figured writing up a pattern would be a nice thing to do, because it’s possible that other people will like spirals, too, even people who don’t think pots calling kettles back is funny.

The Koigu Kersti is good stuff, but a little disconcerting. It does not feel like wool at all. Crepe is an accurate description, actually, because it has that dry, slightly crunchy feeling of crepe paper, but manages to be very soft at the same time. I’m not usually one for a changing colorway, but I like the watercolor look of a handpainted yarn that stays within one color family. All in all, I loved the yarn and would use it again for a kid knit in particular, because it’s cheerful and warm without being scratchy. Boyo’s been wearing his hat most everywhere since it came off the needles, even though it is warm outside.

I also chose to add to the list of unfinished objects that will decoratively festoon my home for the next three months, because it was all getting to be too manageable, and we can’t have that, now can we? The heap of baby alpaca was just calling to me, and I started on Calista’s McQueen Knockoff. Those are some fun cables, yo, and it’s turning out to be a pretty fast pattern. I’m more than halfway done with the back already. I love the Andean Treasure so very much. Heathered yarns, apart from tweeds, are my favorites, and the color I chose, Embers, is a blend of bright red and black wool. It outlines the cables in the most fascinating way. The black becomes more visible around the edges.

A recent Craftster discussion explained to me why baby alpaca invariably feels so soft but other alpaca sometimes does not. Apparently grown alpacas have something called guard hairs – longer, thicker hairs that feel prickly in a garment. Baby alpacas do not have guard hairs. A brief Google search told me that alpaca breeders prize alpacas with fewer guard hairs, and breed to eliminate the guard hairs altogether. Who knew? I would assume that guard hairs might serve some sort of purpose on the alpaca, but none of the articles I found by breeders mentioned that. Perhaps they’re these super sensitive antennae and no one knows. Or maybe adult alpacas use them to measure the space through which they can fit, and when alpaca breeders finally succeed in eliminating them, we’ll see alpacas wedged into small spaces they thought they could fit through! Think about it. Messing with Mother Nature is dangerous.

Anyway, that’s why baby alpaca is so soft.

*Um, yeah, I’m an unobservant idiot.  I’ve since noticed spirals just like mine on most knitted hats.

Posted in Future Projects, Hats, In progress, Knitting, Miscellany, Sweaters | 3 Comments »

Whole lotta things

March 6, 2007

First off, thank you for all of the response to Maude Louise! I can’t believe that so many people have already downloaded the pattern, and I’m very eager to meet all the new Maudes out there! Please, please, if you make a Maude Louise, let me know! I’ll put up a gallery, and I can’t wait to see Maudes in colors other than the one I chose. I look hideous in pink, but there’s a dusty rose/mauve that I think would be really stunning on someone else, and I keep hoping someone makes a Maude in that shade.

Craftsters very generously voted for Maude Louise in the February Knitting Challenge. The theme was What Would Marple Knit?, and there were some really gorgeous entries (and adorable pictures). I can’t believe Maude Louise won, and I’m very excited. Thank you to everyone who voted – be sure to check out the other really great knits!

Guess what arrived in the mail yesterday? I’ll give you a hint – it’s blue and handpainted and gorgeous.

Look at it shyly peeping out there! It’s Koigu Kersti, a lovely merino crepe. I hadn’t expected to win the auction on Ebay – it was an impulse bid more than anything – but I did, and now both of my boys are begging for hats made from it. I only have the one skein, unfortunately, so I don’t think I can wring more than one hat from it. I’ll figure something out. I suspect the littler guy would settle for a hat of any sort as long as it looks like a stocking cap. He is very enamored of them lately.

I also got a picture of the Misti Alpaca from Stitches West. Aren’t these colors autmn-y and pretty? I think I’ll make them into a fair isle baby cardigan. I’ve never seen baby clothes in these colors, and the alpaca is so so soft.

I also got a shot of the pretty teal Louet Gems yarn, wound and posed with the Rowanspun that is soon to be its life partner in a pair of Endpaper Mitts. Isn’t Gems an appropriate name for a yarn that holds color so beautifully?

It’s a little richer and darker in real life. I love it. Mr. Kninja has been slightly unnerved by the fact that I occasionally take it out to stroke it or admire it in different lights. I just can’t get over the color and the way the dye is held by the springy two ply merino.

Also, also – guess what? There’s finally an end in sight for the seamless hybrid! I joined the sleeves to the body and have begun the decreases. The hybrid always photographs much more magenta-y than it actually is, but here, in this film noir shot, you can see that it is, in fact, beginning to resemble a sweater. Yay! Mr. Kninja keeps dropping subtle hints to finish it up. Hints like, “Hey, you know what you should be doing right now? You should be working on my sweater.” He’s a charmer, that Mr. Kninja.

My other projects must remain secret for the time being, or at least until the person who will be receiving the fruits of my labor has actually received said fruits. Good knitting, all!

Posted in Future Projects, In progress, Knitting, Miscellany, Sweaters | 1 Comment »

Tinkering

February 19, 2007

Good news, for those on the lookout for it – the pattern for Maude Louise is well underway and should be up within a week or two. I finally found some buttons that fit, and since they’re fairly large, the weird spacing doesn’t show as much. We took some pictures, already highlighted on Craftster, though about half of them didn’t turn out, thanks to the wonky camera. I’m dreaming of inheriting a vast fortune from a mysterious and heretofore unknown source, so that I can buy a camera that actually works (and many things besides). However, for those who haven’t seen them, here are the buttons on what I’m going to call a finished Maude Louise.

The buttons are some vintagey things I found on Ebay – I got a HUGE lot of mixed vintage buttons, and these seemed poifect for Maude when I went through the bag. They’re a dark, almost black, brown with a weird little imperfection that sent a short line of milky pale brown through each. I really adore them.

Here’s a better view of the stitches.

I feel pretty foolish that it’s taking me so long to write up the pattern, but I’m finding it difficult work. It’s been really weird writing something that seems like it should be so straightforward, and then questioning everything as soon as I’ve typed it. Oh well. It will be done soon, probably error ridden, and you’ll be able to grab it for yourself then. I’m hoping people will keep me updated on errors so that I can correct them as we go along.

Since the camera isn’t giving me any loving, I thought I’d post a picture of an ancient project.

This is a baby set made for a friend way back when. The little man who received the set is now almost two! I can’t remember the name of the yarn, but I wish I could, because it’s fabulous stuff. It is a wool/acrylic blend, totally washable, a little bit thicker than worsted weight, and it comes in the biggest skein I’ve ever seen. Yards upon yards, for a reasonable price. I had a lot leftover still, after making this set. The jacket is my standard baby present – a Red, Set, Go! cardigan from Monkeysuits – but I crocheted the hat, and altered a basic bootie pattern for the rest. The buttons are vintage buttons I inherited from my grandmother. I loved making this set, and now that I can’t find the yarn anywhere, I wish I’d bought an extra skein.

Enjoy the presidents tomorrow! I hope you have a restful day.

Posted in Future Projects, In progress, Knitting, Maude Louise, Miscellany, Self Designed | Leave a Comment »

Oh, the possibilities

December 16, 2006

Venezia is everywhere lately, it seems. And why not? It’s drop dead gorgeous. I finally picked up my copy of the Winter Interweave Knits today and got a look at the pattern in person. Be still my heart! It’s wonderful, truly. That brocade color pattern is magnificent, and the way the colors flow into one another reminds me of Bohus knitting, though the color changes in Bohus were usually kept to more limited stripes and yokes. Venezia has an allover brocade that gives it a distant and classic look, but the shaping is purely modern.

I am not going to have time to knit Venezia until spring, but that didn’t stop me from making some color charts based on the chart designed by superstitch that allows for a more limited palette (and thus a wider range of yarn subs). Like many knitters, I simply can’t afford to spend over $100 on a sweater, not even a spectacularly gorgeous sweater like this one. So, with the limited colors presented by some more afforable options, I made the following charts. Let me know which one you like best, and feel free to grab one for yourself if you like any of them. I used primarily autumn tones, as those are the colors that look best on me. For people who can actually wear such colors as pink and purple, check out some of the great charts over at Knittin’ Bayou.

The cheapest option for subs is Knitpicks Palette. It’s not a purely satisfying choice for a number of reasons, but it’s certainly afforable, and some of the colors are very pretty. I made three charts using the colors from the Palette line.

Knitpicks Palette Option 1

Knitpicks Palette Option 2

Knitpicks Palette Option 3

I also made a chart using some of the colors of Knitpicks Essential.

Knitpicks Essential

Elann has some great yarns, too. Here’s an option using their Peruvian Baby Cashmere, which is a prodigious bargain for a cashmere blend yarn.

Peruvian Baby Cashmere

And finally, I made another version using some of the colors of Elann’s Peruvian Baby Silk.

Let me know what you think! I may post some more options later using Dale of Norway, Knitpicks Telemark, or Elann’s Devon.

Posted in Future Projects, Knitting, Miscellany | 5 Comments »

Unraveling

November 28, 2006

See that? That is the first knit item I ever made for myself. It’s the camisole on the cover of Sarah Dallas’ book Vintage Knits. I fell hard for that photograph and had to have the cami for myself. Unfortunately, I didn’t scour the internet before I started. I might have noticed that many, many people were complaining about how the designs in that book all came out really, really big. Here’s the back of my camisole.

See where I gathered the edges up and sewed them to the back? And see how they bunch? Yeah, that’s a good look. Despite the fact that I used the yarn called for in the pattern and knit in gauge, the smallest size of this pattern came out to be a huge, huge, huge amount of material. I’ve been unsure about what to do with it ever since, but I’ve finally decided that having a garment I dislike is not worth it. I’ve been saving it, because it is the first item I ever knit for myself, but really, if I don’t wear it, or resent it when I do, it’s not a good thing. I’m going to unravel it and have the yarn for something new. It’s Rowan Cotton Glace, and if I unravel this, I’ll have about six skeins in this color. That’s enough for something very nice, indeed. So adieu to my cami of doom.

I finished Shedir, greatly modified on the top, this weekend, but I can’t show you, even though I took a picture. My camera is eating batteries again, and while it let me snap some pictures of the hat, it won’t yet disgorge them. I know we should get the camera fixed, but it’s hard to work up the enthusiasm when the camera works most of the time, and the fix is so expensive. Anyway, I got lost in the Shedir pattern somewhere along the way and couldn’t tell where, so I ended up improvising a top, and it actually came out very well. It is not the same as the original, but it’s still pretty, and it still forms a nice star shape. It was gratifying to work on a pattern that difficult and to realize that truly, it’s not so much difficult as complicated, and even the complications become second nature when you’re used to the shape of the pattern. Cables will not scare me again.

I’m still waiting on the yarn from Yarnzilla to finish the pretty little shaped top for Eleanor. I’m very eager to get it, since I’m so close to the end. I also made some progress on the Seamless Hybrid this weekend, but it really doesn’t look any more exciting than it did last time, so there would be no point in showing you, even if I could get pictures out of my camera.

It’s terrible, but I’m already thinking about what I will be doing next, this with Maude Louise, the Seamless Hybrid, Gabriel’s sweater, Eleanor’s sweater, several Christmas gifts, and a hat still on the needles. But still, I’m thinking about it. I’m restraining myself from buying some gorgeous black tweed and pale grey tweed to make a striped raglan for Mr. Kninja. I’m also gushingly imagining Eleanor’s Tomten jacket every time I pass my knitting cabinet and notice the purple tweed inside. I can’t wait to get the new Interweave Knits and I really want to make Eunny’s Venezia.

Speak of the knitting cabinet, it’s dead. May it rest in peace. It’s never been terribly sturdy – we got it for a song at Target and fancied we’d gotten a good deal, but the flimsy construction has proven its downfall – literally, as the front of the cabinet fell off and snapped the hinges today. I will miss it, and I’m not sure what to do with all my yarn now.

I have more yarn, but it’s through no fault of my own. My mother found more of my grandmother’s yarn and another of her spectacularly awesome vintage knitting booklets and passed them on to me. I have a large collection of these booklets, but unfortunately I can’t find the box I stored them in. I may post some of the patterns at a future date, as they’re all past the point of copyright.

Was this long enough for you? I apologize for the rambling. It’s good to be home, and it’s good to write. I hope you all had a lovely holiday.

Posted in Finished Projects, Future Projects, Knitting, Miscellany | Leave a Comment »

Twined Knitting

October 19, 2006

A couple of weeks ago, I checked a book out of the library for reading in my downtime. It just looked like an interesting book, so I thought I’d try to read it when I had a chance. It’s called Twined Knitting, and it’s by Brigitta Dandanell and Ulla Danielsson. I’m finally getting a look at it now, and it’s amazing! I looked it up on Amazon in the hopes of purchasing a copy, and sadly, it’s out of print and starts at $57.95. I suppose the book is famous in the annals of knitting history and I’m only now coming to it, but I have come to it.

It would be a shame to let this book fall by the wayside. Here’s what I’m going to do. I may not have the best camera, I may not be the best photographer, but I’m going to renew the book, Xerox some of the charts and pictures, and I’m going to start learning twined knitting, which I will update on here with picture of my progress and tutorials as well. Since I’m going to be learning, I’ll be making a lot of mistakes, but at the very least I can pass on some of the information in this wonderful book. Knitty has a nice tutorial to get anyone started with twined knitting, so that seems like a good place to start, and then we’ll take it from there. Really, in many ways the twined knitting is the least of it. It’s more that this book contains so many charts and patterns the likes of which I’ve never seen, and I need to be able to try them out.

I’ll also be transcribing some of the information here about the history of knitting in Sweden. I’m already amazed by the wealth of information in this book, and I’ve barely cracked the surface, so to speak. Wowza.

Twined Knitting

Posted in Future Projects, Knitting, Knitting History, Miscellany, Twined knitting | 1 Comment »

No, really – Zimmermania, here I come!

October 8, 2006

So I finished the gloves. Well, sort of. They’re done, and yet, somehow, I twisted the second one horribly, so that it can only be worn inside out. I wept when I finished it, I was so ashamed. It didn’t help that I was hating knitting it – I had no desire to frog and correct it. So it remains hideous, and that is how it shall be. Mr. Kninja is kind and says that he does not mind, because they will keep his hands warm and he will know I made them, but honestly, they’re shameful. If the camera hadn’t broken again, I would show you, because it would make people feel good about themselves and their abilities. There’s one perfectly respectable orange glove with a robot on the back and one hideous glove like thing with no robot. It’s all very sad.

But that means that I am done with that project and never, ever have to knit gloves with gussets again unless I want to. (And, as Lori sent me a link to a how-to video on Magic Loop, there may come a time when this is something I want to do. In the meantime, I would sooner plunge naked into the street yelling, “Goats! Goats!” Now try to get that visual out of your head.)

And that also means that I am free to start on The Sweater. Yes, the Seamless Hybrid will soon be on the needles! (I bought needles today, some size fours in 16 and 29 inches, respectively.) I’m stupid excited about this, even knowing that most of it will be mindless, mind-numbing stockinette. Having the exciting yoke to look forward to, as well as the pretty color to look at, will keep me plummeting ahead. Besides, it is possible to knit stockinette without actually looking at it, which will make it the perfect movie companion. I’ve rented a few movies from the library, so I think I’m good to go.

In other news, the mystery illness lingers. And lingers. I’m not so bad as to be totally out of commission, but I’m not so good as to be totally in commission, either. Ugh. Irritation reigns. I did not do much cleaning today, despite the fact that the apartment is practically crying out for it. I did, however, knit a few more inches on the front of Eleanor’s sweater. I am in love with that Rowan Yorkshire Tweed, although the 4 ply is very small, so it goes pretty slowly. Mr. Kninja occasionally walks by and looks at the Yorkshire Tweed and sighs longingly. It’s just that gorgeous. The sweater in question is fairly mindless, in that it’s largely stockinette with a set in sleeve (from Erika Knight’s Simple Knits for Little Cherubs), but it’s pretty. I’m going to embroider some flowers in the left front corner when it’s done.

My Rowanspun 4 ply arrived today! It’s drop dead gorgeous – all the online photographs do not come near to showing what the Turkish actually looks like. It remains a hideous color for me to wear, but that’s OK. It’s the exact color of my favorite purple crayon when I was a little girl: a light, intense, very girly purple. Only it’s tweed, so there are magenta and aqua flecks. I wasn’t a particularly girly child, but there was a soft spot in my heart for that purple crayon. (Not unlike some other youngsters.) I looked at that awesome purple, and it was clear that I had ordered it for Eleanor. Mr. Kninja said that he thinks a jacket with a hood would be nice. She’s still very small, so it’s possible that I have enough yarn for that. The yarn is very, very similar to the Yorkshire Tweed. And here’s where I brag in a most classless and gauche way: I paid a grand total of sixteen dollars and 55 cents for the lot, including shipping. See why my hand was forced? I mean, really, $1.65 a skein for a lovely pure Rowan wool tweed. There wasn’t a choice to make.

Take care, all. Hopefully we’ll all be clear of dysentery soon and I can give you updates on my actual progress in Zimmermania. And hopefully the tempermental camera will allow me to include visual updates as well. She is a fickle beast, that camera. Alas.

Posted in Future Projects, Knitalongs, Knitting, Miscellany | 1 Comment »

The library has yielded up a treasure

October 1, 2006

I swear to you that when I searched my library’s computerized catalog in order to find books by Elizabeth Zimmerman, that foolish machine insisted that there was no such person. This is why trips on foot are necessary. Today, Nora and I stopped by the library to pick up a book I’d put on hold. (The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum.) I trudged on down to the nonfiction section, which they keep in the nether regions of the library. Upstairs, it is a sunny, cheerful, even slightly noisy place. The children’s section, the hold section, the fiction section, and the video and DVD section all reside upstairs. Downstairs, however, is the quiet, serious section, so you can see why it might be a risk for any person possessing three small and unpredictable children to enter. Since I only had one child with me, though, I figured it was worth the risk.

So down the stairs, into the hush of the computer room, the documentary movie section, the rows upon rows of delicious and mysterious books on every subject one can imagine. I much prefer nonfiction these days. Adult fiction is unpredictable in quality, even when one reads book reviews, but even bad nonfiction can usually offer a starting place to find out something wonderful. I know where the knitting section is by heart now, so I snuck over to the aisle, just to the right of all the new aquisitions. All the knitting books are placed low to the ground, I assume so that those of us with bad backs will be deterred from sampling their wares, and instead grab at the Tintin books just at easy height on the left of the aisle. No matter. I was undeterred, although I did grab a copy of Tintin Among the Soviets. Just for research purposes, you understand.

But, yes, the knitting books. I set Eleanor on the ground, where she promptly settled, and began removing knitting books to look at herself, sensible girl. I scanned the shelf for something interesting. A lot of books must recently have been returned. On my last trip, the shelf was nearly bare, but this trip, it was bursting to excess. Most of the books are old, and contain the sort of patterns that lead many people to believe that knitting is only for the aged and the fashion impaired. There are only so many jaunty sailor sweaters and log cabin quilted jackets that this world requires, and the quota was filled long ago. But there, sandwiched between an ancient Vogue Knitting handbook on scarves and a stitch dictionary, I saw a familiar phrase. The Opinionated Knitter. Could it be? Elizabeth Zimmerman didn’t even exist in their database, and yet there she was, peering out at me from the stacks. I lifted the book down. My goodness! It’s a copy of all her newsletters from the sixties and seventies, including the Baby Surprise Sweater, including the adult version, including Meg Swansen’s memories of her mother…it has everything!

Needless to say, I grabbed it up. Nora, however, was much trickier. Having tasted freedom among the quiet stacks, she seized her opportunity and ran for it. I had a few large and heavy books and a desire to keep her quiet, so I played a back and forth game with her for a while, trying to lure her close. She squealed with delight every time she spied me, and then she would zoom away as fast as her short little legs can carry her. Finally, for reasons known only to her, she lay down on her belly and wiggled slowly down an aisle, which made her much easier to catch, and all without disturbing anyone. We checked out our books and wended our way home, where I sat down to pour over the marvelous collection. It’s such a rich trove, I don’t know if the three weeks I have it for will be enough.

On a completely and utterly different note, I have a dilemma. In my stash there are three balls of the discontinued Rowan linen drape in the salsa shade. I love that color, and I bought them up when I heard Rowan had discontinued the line, because I’ve heard that linen drape, well, drapes beautifully. One of my books, Sarah Dallas’ Vintage Knits, calls for linen drape for a number of patterns. Only, the thing is, it’s discontinued. And I only have the three skeins. I was directed to a place that still has some skeins left in salsa, and despite problems with matching dye lots, I may buy some, but I’m torn. The question is, is there anything one can do with three skeins of linen drape? I want to show off the drape, and all I can think of is a shrug of some kind. Any ideas will be much appreciated.

Since blog entries look naked without pictures, here is one. It’s a little peek at Alexandra’s Armor. I’ll be posting the pattern as soon as I take the time to write it up.

Posted in Future Projects, Knitalongs, Knitting, Miscellany, Self Designed | 3 Comments »

Now all I need is yarn

September 28, 2006

Knitting Without Tears arrived yesterday. Praise Amazon! I ordered the book on Saturday morning, and by Saturday afternoon I had received an email telling me that the book had shipped. I’ve read about half of it so far, and I am a thorough convert to the Cult of EZ. My shrine shall be assembled shortly out of pointy sticks and twisted pieces of wool.

I also ordered my yarn, so when it arrives, I have no excuses left to avoid beginning. Mr. Kninja has demanded requested that I finish his fingerless gloves before I begin a sweater for him. I have three gussets left to go, and then I can put them down and never, never, never knit gloves with that many gussets again, at least unless I learn Magic Loop. These fingerless gloves, I am ashamed to say, do not match each other. I used a skein of lovely leftover red-orange wool/acrylic blend, and edged it with a bit of dark grey shiny stuff on glove one. I also knit a small robot into the back of the glove. Before I started on glove two, I designed a new baby tank top, Alexandra’s Armor, that will be posted here shortly along with a pattern, and I used up every bit of the dark grey that I had in my stash. It was an old and unknown skein, so I cannot purchase more, even if dye lot wasn’t a concern, because I have no idea what it is. So glove number two is entirely orange and has no robot. I also, for reasons that escape me at the moment, made the cuffs larger than the palms. It looks sort of cool, but I wonder why I chose to do that. Mr. Kninja does not mind, but I’m making quite a mess of these gloves, and I am hating them more and more.

Maude Louise progresses apace. I’m both smitten with her and terrified of her. I’ve never created something so thoroughly without a base before, and while I think she looks lovely, I have no idea if she will work when finally sewn together. Since I mean to make her extra fitted, the knitting looks tiny, and I fear that it will be too tiny, although, holding it up to my body, it seems like it should fit. I did as some of my books suggested for a fitted garment, and made the bust two inches smaller than necessary. I keep reminding myself that it is not yet blocked, and that the garment is very stretchy anyway, but it’s very unnerving to be knitting something that I can’t blame on anyone else if it goes wrong. The only pattern maker to curse is me, and frankly, I like to avoid cursing myself when someone else is handy. I’m old-fashioned that way. Here’s a sneak preview. The color isn’t entirely accurate, but what color will be when photographed in your kitchen in the middle of the night?

Maude Louise preview

The design now looks fairly dissimilar to my original sketch, and perhaps will change yet more as I work on it. The collar, for example, was originally a sort of madarin affair, but as I work on the jacket more, I wonder if mandarin is the right choice, and if it will be floppy, and what stitch would be appropriate for it. The flares over the hips are much shorter than I had originally sketched, and I’m awfully proud of the methods I’ve used for changing width and adding in the light pleats, as they’re fairly original. No doubt they’re not the best way to do it, and no doubt someone else has done it before, but as someone new to pattern making, I’m pleased with anything I can come up with on my own. The points of the twisted stitch lattice create lovelty soft pleats in the wider hip flares, and I’m hoping this will remain in the finished garment. I’ve used three different needle sizes to create the different widths for the bottom flare, the waist, and the bodice. The math was a little tricky, but I really do like the result thus far. No doubt when I am finished I will see why other people do not usually use three different needle sizes in this way, but for now I am happy.

Posted in Future Projects, Jackets, Knitalongs, Knitting, Maude Louise, Miscellany, Self Designed | Leave a Comment »

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