Tag Archives: knitting

Only Knitting

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I’ve got a problem.  (Surprise!  I feel like I begin a lot of posts this way.  Maybe I have a lot of knitting-related problems?  Or maybe I think that you guys are particularly good at fixing my problems.  One or the other.)

This problem is kind of a first world problem, a problem of “too much.”  I’ve taken on too much knitting work. It’s great- because I’m really making knitting my “big girl” job, which is amazing and exciting.  I never even considered “professional knitter” when I did those “What I Want To Be When I Grow Up” assignments when I was a kid.  I always thought it would just be a hobby.  So, it’s fantastic that I’m actually getting paid knitting design work.

However, I may have bit off more than I can chew this month.  I (accidentally?) agreed to three contracts this month.  I should be able to manage everything, after all I’ve got until the end of the month, which is a long way away.  But in the meantime, I’m going to be knitting like the wind!

It feels a little like the month before Christmas- working as fast as I can, in every available minute.

Cross your fingers and send good knitting vibes!

Do you ever take on too much knitting?  What do you do to help yourself go faster?

Finished: Sockhead Slouch Hat

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It’s done!  (OK, I actually finished it a little bit ago, but I got distracted and forgot to show you guys.)

And, I couldn’t be more pleased with my brand new Sockhead Slouch Hat.

I will admit, that while knitting it up, I got a little concerned.  A 4-inch brim, plus 9 inches of stockinette?  That’s almost enough knitting to make two regular caps.  I didn’t love how it looked as I worked it up.  I mean, look at it.  It’s so long and awkward.But I’m glad I followed the instructions and worked through to the end.  It goes to show that people who write patterns sometimes know what they’re talking about.

Ta-da!But you can’t really see the lovely floppiness from this angle.  Let me take a picture of the back of my head for you.(It turns out that it’s really hard to take a picture of the back of your own head.  I ended up with about two dozen pictures like this one.)  Here’s a real picture of the the side/back view of the hat:Totally cute, right!?  It’s the perfect level of slouchy.  The Tosh Merino Light is so stinking soft, I never want to take it off.  And, it’s a lovely mid-weight hat; it’s perfect for the damp 50’s weather that Seattle is so famous for.

This pattern definitely gets my seal of approval!  The Sockhead Slouch Hat is one of my new favorite patterns!

(And, if you thought I could get out the camera without taking a picture of Ollie, you were mistaken.)Do you have any new favorite projects?

‘Round and ‘Round

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I love getting a brand-new, squishy skein of yarn as much as the next knitter, but I also used to kind of dread it.  Un-raveling and balling-up a big (often tangled) skein is the absolute pits!  I used to have a whole system that involved two kitchen chairs, about an hour and a lot of swearing.

But then, for Christmas, my husband gave me one of my most favorite new tools!

My umbrella swift!  (I’m not sure which brand/model it is, but google “umbrella swift” and you’ll find a bunch.)

I always kind of wanted one, but never could justify buying one for myself.  After all, I didn’t need it.  I’d use it, if I had one, but not very often.  Also, they’re a little expensive- and I hate spending money.

So all that made this bad boy the perfect Christmas present.

And you know what?  I love it!  It’s the best!  It makes balling up yarn go so fast, and it’s super fun!

I undo the skein, taking off any scrap yarn that was used to keep the strands together, and put the big loop of yarn around the swift.  Then, I take the end of the yarn and attach it to the top of my ball winder, and away we go!  (Ignore the ugly avocado-green end table that I picked up from the side of the road.  It might not be pretty, but it’s very useful.)I get the ball winder spinning, and the swift twirls away, unraveling the skein without a single tangle!  It’s amazing.  This time, I balled 6 skeins of yarn in about 10 minutes.  That would have taken me hours without my umbrella swift!

Do you have a favorite not-technically-necessary-but-really-nice-to-have tool?

Ideas, ideas…

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Every once in a while, I start to run out of ideas.  It happens sometimes, after all, I’ve been writing posts three times a week for the last four years.

So, I’d love to hear your ideas!

Do you have questions about techniques?  Do you want more tutorials?Do you want to see what I’m working on?Are you interested in seeing more new patterns?  If so, what do you like to knit?Is there something else you’d like to see?

Let me know!  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

“Last Night Allison” Strikes Again

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You all remember the last time Last Night Allison struck.  It wasn’t pretty. I mean, I managed to fix it, but it was touch and go for a while, and way more difficult than I expected it to be.

Unfortunately, Last Night Allison struck again.  But here’s the worst part.  I have no excuse for my bad decisions.  It wasn’t late (actually it was about 3:00 in the afternoon).  I hadn’t been drinking (except a cup of decaffeinated tea).  And, I really should have been paying attention.

I was starting the prototype of a sweater I’m working on.  The pattern begins with (spoiler!) a 1×1 rib for about 2 inches.

This is what I knit:Allison, that’s not a 1×1 rib!  That’s a 2×2 rib!  That’s a 2×2 rib that you worked on for about three hours before realizing your mistake!  (There was swearing.)

So, then, I had to decide, do I rip out the whole thing?  Start over?  Or, do I painstakingly go through with a crochet hook and change half the knits to purls, and half the purls to knits?

I bet you can’t guess what Last Night Allison chose.  (That’s right!  She picked the most fiddly and difficult choice possible.)I ripped each column of stitches out, one by one, carefully picking them back up in the proper orientation.  Which is totally not a super annoying process.  Ha!Amazingly, the fixed ribbing actually looks pretty good- I was afraid it would be a little wonky, but it looks OK.The only problem is I’ve still got well over halfway to go.  I think my “quick fix” is going to end up taking longer than re-knitting the whole thing would have.  Of course, at this point I’ve sunk too much effort into it, so I’m here for the long haul.What would you have done?  Would you have ripped the whole thing and re-knit, or do you have agreed with Last Night Allison?  Or, do you have a magical solution that would have been better than either?

Chuck is Finished!

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Woo Hoo!  I’ve got another finished sweater!

The knitting on this one went like the wind- a combo of a big (ish) gauge, short sleeves, cropped waistline, and my time off work for spring break. I essentially finished this bad boy in a week!

It’s just as cute as I was hoping for (though it is a little itchy.  But, I’m a knitter- I can survive itchy wool).  And, it fits like a glove!

Get ready for some awkward-as-friends pictures!  (I was home alone, and had about 5 minutes to try taking pictures between pouring rain and hail!)  I need some lessons on taking nice pictures of myself wearing sweaters- everyone else on Ravelry seems to get it, but I always end up making myself look like a big goober.  Of course, I am a big goober, so maybe that’s the problem.

Anyway!  Ta-da!The modified collar turned out perfectly, and I love the additional cable down the spine. And, this sweater is surprisingly warm!  That means I can wear my summer dresses in the spring (at least while it isn’t raining).

Have you finished up any projects lately?

Sockhead

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I’m sure you were all waiting with baited breath to find out what I decided to do with my skein of Tosh Merino.

Well, I sat down on Monday night to start knitting, and I thought I was going to make the Annis shawl.  But, then my husband put on an episode of the new MST3K, and I couldn’t focus on casting on all that lace.  So instead I started on a Sockhead Slouch Hat.  I love it so far- It’s a super simple pattern, so it’ll really show off the pretty color of the yarn.  I love how soft the fabric is turning out.  And, I think I’m going to get a lot of use out of it.  It’s not crazy thick and wintery- I’ve got plenty of thick winter hats.  I needed something a little lighter, for breezy spring days.I won’t lie, though, at this small gauge, it’s going to take me a hot minute to finish this hat.  But it’s so simple, it’ll be good TV-watching/coffee-shop-sitting/waiting-for-class-to-start knitting.  In fact, I knit about an inch yesterday morning waiting for my dog to get done with his haircut.

(Do you want to see pictures of him?  Of course you do.)

Before:  Shaggy old wizard dog

After: Teddy bear puppy

Anyway, dog aside, I’m enjoying this hat pattern.  Especially with some of the more *ahem* elaborate patterns I’ve been working on lately, it’s nice to make a super-simple project like this.

Have you been working on anything exciting lately?

Happy Easter!

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Did you just see the Easter Bunny hop by?  Because, I think I did!

And what’s that over there?  Is that a special Easter present just for you?

I think it might be!

(Full disclosure: I don’t really celebrate Easter, but any holiday that involves candy, baby animals, and deviled eggs is all right with me!)

It’s my patterns, the Little Knit Doll, and her Easter Set! These are some of my favorite patterns I’ve made- I mean, look at her!  She’s totally cute! The doll is fully knit, and about 8 inches tall.  In the basic pattern, the Little Knit Doll comes with a simple sun dress and a lot of hair.  And the Easter set includes a cute puffed-sleeve dress, bunny ears, and an adorable little Easter basket.

Usually these patterns are $5 each, but this weekend only, head over to Ravelry and use the coupon code “BUNNY” to get both patterns for free!

Happy Easter!

(Also, this is the first time I’ve tried using coupon codes on Ravelry, so let me know if you’re having trouble!)

I Have Made A Huge Mistake

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So, you know the other day, when I told you all the changes I was planning on making to my Chuck sweater?

Well.

It’s going… not great.

Last night, I managed to get to just under the armpits.  The big cable down the front is turning out gorgeous.  I love the way each column of stitches peels off, weaves through the other columns, then joins back together.  I even managed to figure out the changes to the neckline.  I brought in the sides and raised the back of the neck slightly.  I’ll have to wait to see how it looks with the collar added, but I feel pretty confident about it.

However,  I made a huge mistake.OK, maybe not a huge mistake, but I’ve done something super dumb.

I wanted to add a cable down the back of the sweater, but instead of actually working the cable as I went, like a smart person, I kind of forgot about it until late last night.  So, like the genius I am, I dropped the six stitches I planned on using for the cable, and ripped almost all the way back to the cast-on, and started knitting them back up, cabling as I went.(Full disclosure: my husband made me a very tasty tropical drink after dinner last night, which could have been the source of last night’s excessive confidence as I ripped back these stitches.)

In the bright light of morning, I have some regrets with regard of how I’ve been going about this project.  But, I’ve got a hot cup of coffee and I’ve got my fingers crossed, so I should be able to fix the mayhem that “Last Night Allison” created.

Have you ever sat down with your knitting, only to realize you did something really dumb the night before?  What did you do, and were you able to fix it?

Inspiration: Daffodils!

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It’s officially, 100%, completely, totally springtime here in the Pacific Northwest.  That means two things:

  1.  I’ve started taking allergy medication again, yet still spend every morning sneezing and sniffling.
  2.  Daffodils!


The daffodils are blooming, and I’m so excited!  We planted a big bag of bulbs in the fall, and I wasn’t sure if they’d come up this year, so I was just thrilled when they started peeking through the dirt about a month ago.  They’re really going to town now, our yard if full of the cheerful little guys. (Full disclosure, the photo is our neighbors’ yard, because they have even more daffodils than us, and it makes for a much more impressive picture.  #goals)  I’ve filled our house with cut flowers (which is delightful, but is probably what’s making me sneeze all over the place).

If you love daffodils as much as I do (and if you’re more logical about your allergies than I am), maybe you’ll want to get cracking on some daffodil-themed knitting.

This adorably accurate daffodil is too cute for words!  Can you imagine making a whole bouquet of these bad boys?

Daffodils by Jessica GoddardAnd this shawl is so beautiful!  I love the honeycomb-ish pattern she used to fill the big petals.

Daffodil Design by Marianne KinzelBut, I think this little lady takes the cake.  She’s a tiny fairy wearing a daffodil as a dress!  Have you ever seen anything more darling?  (And, I say that as someone who’s never called anyone or anything “darling” in her life.)

Daffodil Flower Fairy by Lorna PearmanAre the Daffodils blooming in your neck of the woods?