That Wednesday Afternoon Work Session

Hey Everyone!

Wednesday afternoon and evening was very productive. I had a knitting work session all afternoon, working through figuring out a new pattern and how it was going to work.

I have started working on the Tuckamore Wrap out of the Crossings pattern book, which was just recently published, as in the copyright is 2019, and it’s now only February 1st.

Wednesday I worked through some of the issues I had encountered early on, and made some notes. I also ripped out my first attempt. I used the size needles recommended, and it was just way too tight. That is saying something since I knit with a looser gauge. I had started out with the size 6 and 7 needles, and that wasn’t working. I have bumped it up to size 8 and 9 needles. One thing to remember with knitting cables, they always come out tighter than straight knitting and knit/purl. Whoever thought that size 6 needles with worsted weight yarn was a good idea, I have no idea what how that worked for them. Let alone size 7 needles with cables and worsted weight yarn is a nightmare, and just way too tight. I can’t imagine having a tighter knitting gauge and trying to do that with the smaller needles. I was questioning it before I even started, figuring maybe since I knit looser anyway it might work, yeah no. I should also mention that I am using Wool of the Andes Tweed yarn for this project.

Since I recast it on, and got it going on the larger needles, I also have added an extra RS and WS to the set up rows before I dive into starting the pattern. I like having a little extra room in between the border and when the pattern starts, to help the border stay flat and not get warped with the pattern being too close to the edge.

I knew going it to it, that this project was going to be one that I would have to devote my full attention to while working on it, and I cannot work on it while also trying to pay attention to a show or video of some sort.

The Sock Gauge Swatch

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Over the course of the last couple of days, while having the second Cobblestone Heather Stroll sock in the works, I have also cast on another couple socks for two different pairs of socks.

I cast on the first sock of a pair of socks using KnitPicks Palette Yarn in rouge, as well as the first sock of a pair of socks using Black Trillium Fibres Fingering weight yarn in Morgana.

For the Palette yarn I am using my second pair of 2.50mm size 1 double pointed needles, and for the black trillium fibres yarn I am using my 2.00mm size 0 double pointed needles.

Each of the three socks have a bit different of a pattern for the top parts of the socks. My Cobblestone Heather socks have a 10 row ribbed cuff and an 80 row leg, while the Rouge Palette socks have a 20 row cuff and a 50 row leg, and and the black trillium fibres socks, have a 20 row cuff and I am aiming to fit the leg to the sock blockers.

Beings that the black trillium fibres yarn is thinner than either the Stroll or the Palette yarn, and I didn’t like how it was working out when I was work it up on either of the size 1 needles, the 2.25mm or the 2.50mm, I am giving it one last try with the size 0 needles. I am hoping they turn out better being knit up tighter. Though I am not a fan of how rough they are working up, I am hoping that will work itself out with being washed, and line dried. It also may be partly due to the fact that the yarn is 25% nylon. I don’t know what’s worse, rough socks or gaping holes from the slipped stitches along the sides of the heel where you pick up to knit the foot, that is the issue I am trying to resolve by using the size 0 needles. I am also winging the pattern on this first sock since I haven’t worked with the yarn enough to know how many rows is enough to make the leg of the sock long enough.

As you can see in the picture above the difference between the two yarns and the gauge difference between the two needle sizes. When you are working with Fingering weight yarns and making socks, half a millimeter in needle size and in gauge / tension is huge. In the picture above, both socks have a 20 row cuff and are sitting at 30 rows in the leg. While I have more to knit on both before I get to the heel, I figured that this is a good starting comparison point to show you all. I should also mention, the sock on the left has a total of eight more stitches (2 more on each needle) than the sock on the right does, and still looks and feels narrower.

When I get the Black Trillium Fibres socks done, I will definitely update on that.

I am making the rouge socks a bit shorter because I had to cut one of the balls of yarn in the winding process, and I doubt I have enough yarn in the larger of the two balls from that original ball without tying on more, and I don’t want to have to tie on the smaller ball if I don’t have to.

Fall is Here

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It is looking and feeling like fall is here!

I am waiting for a couple of orders to come in, for fall knitting projects.

Today I picked up a couple more knitting related items at Joann’s for upcoming knitting projects. I picked up a pair of size 5 bamboo circular needles, to make sure I have the right length of circular needles for one of the projects I want to knit this fall. I am just waiting on the yarn to get here. I don’t want to talk too much about it until the yarn gets here. I also picked up another row counter so I now I have 3, so now I can work on multiple projects that need a row counter to keep track of rows for the pattern I am working on.

I am definitely stoked for my KnitPicks packages to arrive. The yarn for a new pattern I want to try is in one of the packages.

Creating my own Sock Pattern!

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I am super excited that I finally finished typing up my own basic knit socks pattern! I built my pattern off swatch testing yarns to figure out gauge and figure out what size needles to use, as well as other patterns to get a rough idea of how many stitches to cast on. Length of cuff and heel flap came from working in the first sock, and I used a tutorial for turning the heel, the gusset and decreasing the toe. I kept comparing the sock against my foot to get the length of the sock correct. 

I finally typed up all the pieces of information I had written down on post it notes and from the blog tutorial I used for the heel, gusset & toe. Now I have it all in the same document and looking nice and easy to use, going forward for more socks. 

This is the first sock I knit up using what has become my sock pattern:

I really like how it turned out. 

I have a fair amount of sock yarn that I am excited to finally get to use for socks, including some wool that I am wanting to use for socks. This wool is KnitPicks Palette yarn, which is super soft, and I am hoping it will be durable, and last a while. 

Birthday Yarn and Pattern

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My birthday was this past weekend, and it has become tradition to go get treats and tea then go to my favorite Yarn store here in town to look at (and ultimately purchase) Yarn and the patterns they have in stock. 

This year I wanted more of a chunky Yarn to make a warm scarf out of and see if they had any cool patterns for sale in which to use for my birthday Yarn. What I ended up with below is my birthday pattern and birthday Yarn. 

The Yarn is 100% Peruvian wool and is a really pretty blue – green. The past couple of years I have really been into the darker shades of blue, green, cranberry, grey etc. When I was younger I loved the lighter and brighter colors, as I have gotten older I have fallen in love with the more subdued shades. 

Le Petit Pont Scarf

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Over the weekend I completed the Le Petit Pont scarf I had been working on. The pattern is by Irish Girlie Knits, and can be downloaded from Ravelry for a small fee. 

For this scarf I used the Fibre Company’s Canopy Fingering yarn in Dragonfruit. I used a Hank and a half to obtain the length I desired. I had purchased this yarn from Happy Knits on SE Hawthrone Blvd (between 16th and 17th Ave). I also washed my scarf by hand once I finished it, which was a good idea, beings that a whole lot of excess dye came out in the washing process. This is hand wash only yarn, and lay flat to dry. I used Wrapture wash with jasmine oil by euclan to wash this scarf. 

I honestly love going yarn shopping at Happy Knits. It is a locally owned small business. It has a great selection of yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, other knitting accessories, as well as patterns, knit samples and pattern samples in store for project inspiration. I also love how open and airy, and roomy enough to not feel claustrophobic or overwhelming. I also love how helpful the staff is, yet they also give you space to just look. The day I was in there buying yarn, and saw the sample scarf in this pattern, they were out of the pattern in their stock but wrote down the pattern details so I could find it on Ravelry for myself. 

When Knitting is what you do

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This past weekend I finished up the falling leaves wrap I had been working on for a while. I had used Patons Lace yarn in teal.   

 I know I have been asked why I knit for myself and how am I going to wear it all. I am knitting every I can, as I am wanting to move somewhere with real winters. I also like pretty hand knit garments. 

About a month ago I had gone yarn shopping for my birthday and I had picked up a couple of different types of yarn, one of which I had also purchased a pattern that I wanted to use the pink yarn for. Beings that I had finished my falling leaves wrap I finally am able to start using my birthday yarn. When I was starting the scarf I had to restart it several times to get the pattern going right.  

For this scarf I am using the Fibre Company Canopy Fingering yarn in Dragonfruit 

Knitting teaches important life skills

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Today I want to talk a bit about how knitting (or crocheting) teaches important life skills. 

It teaches you how to work with your hands, how to see projects through to completion, how to be a self starter, how to put colors together, how to create patterns and to challenge yourself to try new things and harder projects. 

I learned how to knit when I was 10 years old, and for the next 12 years I knit primarily sweaters for kids in need. After I graduated from university, my love for knitting and trying harder, more challenging projects took off. If I had not stuck with it even when I was super busy in school, I would not be where I am today, constantly trying new projects and constantly pushing myself to try harder things.

I totally get that Knitting (or crocheting) isn’t for everyone, but the lessons that can be learned from picking it up, or doing other things like sewing, carpentry, and much more are pretty much the same. Learning a craft and using your hands to be productive teaches valuable skills that much of the youth these days (my generation included) lacks. 

I am one of those who also believes that if I can make it myself (without wanting to rip out my hair trying), why should I buy something? Especially if it is of a lesser quality that I would make and costs more than it would me to make it. 

Here a few years ago I had purchased a flimsy little machine knit hat at a department store for like $12 or $13. After wearing it once, I was like “this is nuts, I know how to knit, I am going to figure out how to make a hat that will fit my head, and find a good yarn and do it myself.” I had bought fishermen’s wool, which I love by the way, and make a hat and scarf out of once skein, which even at regular price is $11, so I got a hat AND scarf for less than it cost of a hat of subpar quality. 

Knitting Lace is Fun

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I have spent as much free time as I could could come up with the past few days working on my teal falling leaves wrap. I finally got halfway done. I use two skeins of Patons Lace Yarn for each wrap. When I completed a knit row and purl row and don’t have enough yarn to knit across and purl back on what is left of the first skein is what I consider to be my half way mark. To finish the wrap out on the second skein, I go until I don’t have enough yarn to complete another 16 rows (which is a pattern repeat), and cast off, is when I cast off the wrap and complete the project. 

Here late last year/early this year I had made one for my mom in the same color, but she wanted a knit border around the edges which I did for her. That is how I can tell hers and mine apart, as I didn’t want the border on mine. 

Leaf Lace is a fairly simple lace to learn how to knit. It has taken me some practice but I am getting it, and I love it. It is so dainty, delicate and feminine, and when using a heavier lace weight yarn, sturdier than some other laces.    

 

8 Strand Braided Cable

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I had a request to post the pattern for the 8 strand braided cable, as used in the scarf I shared in yesterday’s post.

The pattern itself has 28 stitches within it

Row 1: Purl 2 Knit 24 Purl 2

Row 2: Knit 2 Purl 24 Knit 2

Row 3: Purl 2 Slide 3 to Cable Needle Hold to Back, Knit 3, Knit 3 from Cable Needle, Slide 3 to cable needle, hold to back, knit 3, knit 3 from cable needle, slide 3 to cable needle hold to back, knit 3, knit 3 from cable needle, slide 3 to cable needle hold to back, knit 3, knit 3 from cable needle Purl 2

Row 4: Knit 2 Purl 24 Knit 2

Row 5: Purl 2 Knit 24 Purl 2

Row 6: Knit 2 Purl 24 Knit 2

Row 7: Purl 2 Knit 3, Slide 3 to Cable Needle hold in Front, Knit 3, Knit 3 from Cable Needle, Slide 3 to cable needle, hold to front, knit 3, knit 3 from cable needle, Slide 3 to cable needle, hold to front, knit 3, knit 3 from cable needle,  knit last 3 Purl 2

Row 8: Knit 2 Purl 24 Knit 2

Repeat these 8 rows until the item you are working on is the correct length

*Note: For scarves I cast on an addition 6 stitches for a 3 stitch border on each side, and I knit 3 garter stitch rows at each end for a 3 X 3 border around the pattern.*