How Close Can You Go?

The Knitter's version of Limbo:

One sock knit on the machine, using Trekking XXL, but not a perfect fit yet. The scale reads 46grams (from a 100gr ball).

The remaining yarn (scale was zero'ed with an empty roll on it). It reads 48grams (yes, for some reason that does not add up to 100gr).

You know how swatches can lie? The scale can too sometimes. I would have totally not been surprised if I had started the second sock and managed to run out a few rows from the end! But, I had to rip the sock anyway as the fit was not perfect, and since it takes only about 2 hours to knit a sock (if all goes well, LOL), I wasn't going to put up with an imperfect sock. Especially since they'd already been knit once imperfectly and were sitting in the UFO drawer for two years, LOL.

Hoot!

In January, Lucy said she was going to be invited to a classmate's bowling party. She wanted me to make something as a gift. The girl had an owl hat and really liked owls, so Lucy thought some owl mittens would be good. I wasn't actually going to start until I got a 'real' invitation, but I did the research and got ready, just in case. I knew the owl 'cable' was really popular so I figured I could figure something out, but a search on Ravelry revealed "Have a Hoot Mittens". They used slightly larger yarn, so it was fairly easy to get them the right size, considering how much I have used Patons Decor to make kid's mittens. Nonetheless, I still had plenty of issues making these. Won't bore you with those though. Used 4mm needles and 33sts for the start of the hand--one extra on the palm (not in the thumb increases), and one on either side of the back of the hand. Made them two at a time on one circular. That's both a bonus and a pain.

They need some strong blocking, and a 'better' wool would work better, but at the time, I couldn't find a superwash 100% wool (I've always wondered if superwash wool holds the blocking like non-superwash wool). I wish the Patons Decor had a higher wool content.

We spent a long time at Michaels' looking for owl eyes. I thought we'd find eyes for making stuffed animals there, but no. We were too tired to bother with FabricLand, so while watching the Olympic opening ceremony, I stitched the eyes with floss. Oh, I hate doing that! As we were driving home, Lucy saw "Hooter's" and the owls on the signs. She suggested we go there to find owl eyes! LOL!!!!!

The little girl and her mother love them and the mom says she has all kinds of yarn around the house but doesn't know how to knit or crochet and they might like to learn. Maybe the school needs a knitting club?

"To Save Time..."

C'mon now, everybody, finish it with me:

"....Take time to check the gauge".

The baby sweater I made on the ribber recently was a great example of why doing a gauge swatch can be very helpful. Then, there are times when "close enough" is good enough. There are times too, when a swatch can lie. And then there are times when swatching really pays off.

I'm working on a project, and the pattern gauge was 29st/35 rows for 4". I got a decent fabric with 28st/30 rows. Now, 28 to 29 sts...that doesn't sound like much, does it? But, hypothesize...that's one stitch too big for every 4". On a 40" sweater, I would be 10 sts too big. Those 10sts, in my gauge, add up to 1 1/2". Depending on the fit and design of the sweater, that could be huge. The row gauge is funnier. The difference between 30 and 35 sounds big, but at the inch level, it's 8.75 vs 10 rows per inch. That's just 1.25 rows per inch difference. Not much? Over a 25" sweater, that's like, 34 rows difference.

I thought at first I'd make a smaller size. But my gauge is not proportionally different than the pattern. So, I pretty much had to re-write the pattern, which wasn't too bad because there are really good schematics. But more work than I wanted to do, especially while I had a sinus infection.

However, when I've pinned out each piece to steam it, they are EXACTLY the size they should be!

Now, I just hope the measurements I was given are accurate!

A Little More

I wanted to thank everyone, here and in the Ravelry Machine Knitting group and the Yahoo Knitting Machines group, for the encouragement with exploring my ribber! Despite things like, taking 20 minutes to cast on for the second sock, it has been fun.
I also wanted to add that you can see the info and origins of the yarn for the baby sweater if you click on 2008 then August 2008. I had used it for a tuck st baby blanket on the LK150 (pattern in an old KnitWords) and thought the Fisherman's Rib would be a nice option for a sort of matching sweater. I followed Diana's pattern for the smallest size, and, um, it turned out a fair bit smaller. I think it took about 200gr and I still have 180grams of that original skein. Enough for a plain little sweater, or could I try little pants?
And, I just wanted to also add, that those socks, although full of imperfections, are very cozy and soft after being washed. For so long the loose ply and "Sportivo" name had me fooled, but they turned into great socks.

I decided to try another pair of socks, with 2x2 rib for the leg. Found the instructions in my manual, and there was an ambiguity about the tension. Took a guess, tried casting on. Well, first I tried a swatch and had problems casting on, then I tried the sock (different yarn) and had trouble. Ended up casting on both socks by doing the zigzag row by hand.
Flew through the ribbing (although I wasn't sure how to set up the end needles so that when I sew it, it would stay in pattern).

Then I got to where you transfer 1/2 the sts to the ribber bed and 1/2 the sts to the mainbed. In 1x1 ribbing, it's "every other needle" (EON) on both beds, so they just transfer to the empty needles. There are two versions of 2x2 ribbing, and I did the first one, that does xxoxxoxxo on both beds (o being an empty needle). So, you end up having extra sts. In 1x1 rib, you cast on 34 sts on each side of 0 (middle) on both beds, but because you're using EON, you end up with 68sts in total. This time, I pulled out 68sts on both beds, then put every 3rd needle back out of work on both beds. Anyone see where this is heading? There's extra sts that need to get doubled up, and the ribbing ended up with something like 80-odd sts.

At first I thought I was doomed. But it's really odd. Although it's made as a 2x2 rib, it's spaced differently than if you did it by hand. Remember that a purl st is just the back side of a knit st? I really don't know how the machine does it in this configuration, LOL. The ribbing turned out perfect. If I had pulled out 68st in total then the ribbing would have been too small.
I got the sts re-arranged and continued on down the sock. I added a few extra rows this time, and did a 'wedge' toe with decreases like handknitting.It's Lana Grossa Meillenweit "Arizona". Same tension as the first pair of socks, but I used 66 st. They're much greener/olive than these pictures.
I started the needle set up differently for each pair--after I had done the first one, I didn't think I had set it up right for seaming well. But, in the end, they pretty much looked the same once seamed, although inside, one is flatter. I also noticed that I should write things down. I think, for the first sock, I did 60 rows ribbing instead of 50, then I did 10 rounds tubular before the heel. For the second sock, I did 50 rows, which I didn't realize, but then I did 20 rounds before the heel. I realized that, and thought I'd rip back a few rounds, but after about...one or two...I gave up and decided they'd just be different.
So, in actuality, they are almost the same length after all. Whatever. I also decreased the heel down to only 12st instead of 14 and that helped the fit.
Also, with the toe, when I handknit, I do the dec. on every other row until 1/2 the sts are gone, then I do every row. Well, I forgot that and when I took it off the machine, there was a l-o-n-g toe. I tried it on and it didn't look too bad, but was a little short. Of course I had made both before I tried it on. Trying to get those little sts back on the double beds...must try hard to not have to do that again!!
I washed them today and they softened up, but they're not a 'fluffy' sock yarn. They are a better fit overall, but I think the next pair will have a heel flap! I know it can be done! However, my printer is out of ink and I don't want to write the pattern by hand, LOL!

Ribber!

In the handknitting world, there is a term called "Frogging". It's when you rip something out (take apart your knitting). As you pull the yarn, you chant "Rip it, Rip it" which sounds like "Ribbit" or.... a frog.


In machine knitting, there is a wonderful contraption built for some machines, called "a ribber". Not to be confused with frogging. LOL.


I wanted to get my standard gauge machine out again, the Singer 327 Memo-matic. And since I needed some help to maneuver it, I figured I might as well get the ribber set up too! It's been almost three years!
This is the two 'beds' set up. The beige (ribber) carriage on the lower (ribber) bed connects into that notch on the silver trapezoid piece (ribber arm).

As I've mentioned before, knitting machines are great at knitting stockinette stitch (and punchcard/electronics can do basic patterning), but all stitches are worked in the same direction....the machine is basically 'purling' and it can't switch between purling and knitting. You get stockinette fabric in handknitting by knitting one row, purling one row, but really, a purl stitch is just a knit stitch worked from the backside, and a knitting machine always works through the backside, so the purl side is always facing you, but you end up with stockinette.

And stockinette fabric curls along each side. Normally, you'd add an edging--garter stitch, seed stitch, or ribbing which is the stretchy material on sweater cuffs, mittens, socks, etc.

The ribber, because it faces the opposite direction, shows the other (knit) side of the stitch while you work. When you alternate between needles of each bed, you get ribbing--because a purl st looks like a knit st on the other side. So, this contraption lets you knit one stitch on the ribber, then one stitch on the mainbed, back to ribber, etc. Or you can set it up for other ribbing patterns such as 2x2 rib (knit two on mainbed, knit 2 on ribber bed).

We managed to muddle through the manual. They are typically written in Japanese, and then translated to English. There's some pictures, and some drawings. We did pretty good, but for some reason, the ribber arm does not look like the one in the book (the ribber arm connects the main bed carriage with the ribber bed carriage). There are several ribbers that can be used with this machine, and I seem to have the SRP20 which I think is one of the oldest.

There are extra metal 'wings' inside the slot where you thread the yarn through.

This piece was left over. We can't find it mentioned anywhere in the book. A few pieces were missing--accessory pieces that I can buy online, but it's a nuisance.

This is my first piece! I should have known not to use this yarn as it gave me headaches with just the mainbed when I first started, LOL.

Everyone says to make a scarf as a first project. Well, I started to swatch (test knit) some yarn and knew that I couldn't make a scarf because it's too boring, LOL. Then, a wonderful knitting machine guru, Diana, suggested I make a fisherman ribbed sweater she has posted on her blog, with great videos. There's no shaping, each piece is a rectangle. And it takes DK yarn which I have a lot of (remember the giant skeins I bought at Spinrite in August?).

This is the front. Or the back. Whatever, they're the same.

I had a problem with some needles not working right, you can see along the lower edge where the row (it's actually a column of sts but the sweater is sideways) is smaller/tighter.

Wow, this one is in sunlight, but that's not how it looks at all. You can see a little patch of bad knitting near the right edge, where the yarn tail is.

The sleeves. I had some issues with remembering to change the tension settings with the ribbing on the right. You can see the interesting effect of the yarn. It's a tuck one st, purl one st. The tuck st means it doesn't knit on one row, then the next row you knit the 'float' with the st. So, in a multicoloured yarn, it really breaks up the pattern, and also results in a different colour showing in the recessed purl sts. This above picture shows how the two sides are different--the left one is the 'back' side, the right one is the 'public' side which shows the tucked knit stitches.

It's all knitted, but not seamed up yet. I know how to do that, LOL, it can wait.

I've been pouring over my meager collection of machine knitting magazines, searching for the next project. After I had last packed up the Singer 327 it seemed every project I wanted to make needed it. Now, it seems all those projects don't actually need the ribber. Or are too advanced. But I found one hat pattern that I could have done without the ribber, but the ribber really makes it easier. Supposedly.
I had looked at the hat pattern quite a bit, but I didn't actually read it all before starting. There was some important info in the little pre-amble box that I kinda missed.

The pattern is badly written, so I won't bother telling you want (extinct) magazine it was from. Basically, with a DK yarn, at the left edge, cast on 40 st on main bed (I used 45 to get some extra slouch). *Knit 2 rows. Decrease with a 2 prong tool at the left edge and inc one by pulling out one needle on the right. This keeps the row count the same. Repeat from * Do 6 rows of the DK yarn (I think it was T7) and then switch to a 2/24 yarn for 6 rows, doing the inc/dec every two rows. Start and end with waste yarn. Wrap the unused yarn around end needle to carry it up the one edge.This shows the alternating bands from the knit side. The earlier picture from the purl side, is actually the right side. The thicker purl bands poof out while the thinner bands retract. The pattern showed it in one colour, but I had to get creative. I used a boo boo yarn ($5, superwash Merino!) from The Sweet Sheep that I had gotten in Kitchener when I got the ones I wrote about before.

The directions for picking up along one edge for the ribbing were a little confusing. And it was hard to do without the proper tool. If you want the pattern info, email me. This could also be handknit. There was an obvious error in the pattern too. I had a hard time casting off the ribbing, but watched another of Diana's videos so I'll be all set the next time. I had one 'lazy' needle that tucked when it should have knit. That's what made the vertical line in the ribbing. The pattern said 30 rows of ribbing, but it looks a lot longer than in the pattern. There was no gauge or sizes given, so perhaps my row tension is off.

As with most hats, it looks dorky on me. The pink yarn is so soft though! I think I'll add it the donation pile for the handknitter's group--they donate chemo caps.

After working the ribbing, you have to pick up to make that little solid bit in the middle of the top to close it off. Again, there was a numerical error, and the instructions were poorly written.

My next goal, and one I didn't actually think I'd try so soon, was socks! I've knitted socks on the flatbed machine, both by latching up the ribbing (OMG, never again) and by handknitting the ribbing (acceptable). However, there is still one or two foot seams which can be done in several ways. I really don't notice the seams when I wear them (I used a "Bickford Seam" which is very flat). However, although the double-bed machine knits ribbing flat (so it needs to be seamed still), it can knit the rest of the sock circularly--no seam!!!

The mainbed carriage knits across those sts while the attached ribber carriage slips across (doesn't disturb) the ribber bed. Then, going back the other way, it's the reverse. I've looked at double bed sock patterns before, but not having tried it--or even having the machine set up--I didn't really understand how much work there still is. Some sections are knitted flat (the short row heel) and you change back and forth between the combined carriage, and the mainbed carriage/fabric presser. It's like changing presser feet on the sewing machine when going from zigzag to straight.

I had some issues, some things I messed up or I"m not happy with yet. But here's the details:

Gedifra "Fasion Trend Sportivo" (because of it's loose ply and "sport" name, I had thought it was a sportweight yarn for a long time, but it's a 28st/38rows 2.5mm-3mm sock yarn). I used T5/5 for the cuffs, and T7/8 for the circular part for the first sock, then T6**/7** for the second. There were 50 ribbed rows, 20 rounds before the heel, shortrow down to 14st and out, then 40 rounds for the foot, toe is also shortrowed to 14sts. On the second sock, I forgot to do a dec at each end of each bed after shortrowing the toe before going for the last circular round and there was quite a lump when I grafted it. I could have also used a couple more rows on the second sock to compensate for the tighter tension.

I've got lots of sock yarn that is patterned and will look fine done as plain socks. I might do the ribbing by hand so that I have a portable project to take places (esp. since I can do two at once on one circular needle) and so I don't have the seam. We'll see. They're just so quick and easy on the machine. I don't normally like shortrow heels, but by not taking the ribbing all the way down to the heel, it seemed to help. I haven't worn them yet--I went to put them on for my daily walk, and noticed that I missed a ribbing st when I transferred sts to the mainbed, and it had started to ladder up!!

Things I Have (Not) Learned.

To save time, take time to check the gauge before starting.

How often do we see that at the top of a pattern and just ignore it? "I'm using the recommended yarn" "I always knit to gauge" "It'll fit someone". I KNOW checking gauge is important, and it really does make life easier (all the ponchos I made--started with one gauge swatch and a calculator and all 4 turned out exactly the size planned).

But yet, sometimes, even I ignore the warning. With 7 girls, ages 11 to 1, between the two sides of my family, there's bound to be someone that an item will fit.

I wanted to use up a skein and a half (potentially two dye lots) of Bernat Sweet Stripes. I also had a skein of white. I needed to be able to work the 1/2 skein into the design, instead of just adding it on to the end. In Knitwords No. 42 (Autumn 2007) there is a pattern called "Dude!" for a shawl collared sweater on the LK150. The pattern gauge is 22st and 28 rows to 4" on T5, and the yarn gauge is 22st/4". Good to go, right?

I was planning on giving it to Meg, and knowing that she's tall, I added some length in the body. That made me goof up later, so I had to fix the top portion of the front. I didn't add any length in the sleeves because, well, I ran out of the striped yarn and switched to just white at the tops of the sleeves. I had planned ahead, and made the bottom ribbing in white; the sleeve ribbings and collar are done at the end.

One other thing I did. This is a self striping yarn, of fairly equal thickness. Once I split for the neck, I played with the yarns to get approximately the same size stripes, otherwise, they would have been more than twice the thickness they had been on the body.So, you'd think that all was well. Umm. Not quite. I ended up getting only 20sts/4" so my sweater is wider than planned. Not a problem, right, cause I added extra length? Well. My row gauge ended up being 30 rows/4" so those extra rows got eaten up by the smaller gauge and it came out to barely the length for the original size. So, now it's a little boxy compared to it's length.

None of the kids in the family are short and boxy. That's reserved for the adults, LOL.

Edit: Meg found this sweater and wore it outside today (November 4, 2010). I could CLEARLY see that the upper sleeves and collar are a different shade of white. This annoys me so much with Bernat/Patons yarns. You get a verigated or striping yarn, and they don't have a solid colour that actually matches the colours in the other yarn. I think the white was called "Bernat Co-ordinates"....but it doesn't match! I find this to be a really big issue with their Decor, Canadiana, and Handicrafter yarns too.

Christmas is Over

We had our last Christmas gathering this weekend, and even though I knew it was coming in January, it still snuck up on me. I had no idea of what I wanted to make for my younger niece, as I had already made her a poncho. I emailed her mother, and they discussed it, and the little miss decided she wanted clothes for her two "Floppy Puppies" that go everywhere with her. These are not 'standard' stuffed animals (WebKinz, or Build-a-Bear, etc). I've never designed Floppy Puppy (or any stuffed animal) clothes. More discussion ensued, and the idea of sleeping bags was raised. Now, I knew I could do that! I had been making the Double Thickness Slippers and figured I could use the same ideas to make a lined sleeping bag.

But what colours do male Boxer Floppy Puppies like? I was overwhelmed. However, these dogs travel to the 'cottage' so I thought a camouflage and safety orange would be good. I already had a huge ball of Red Heart Comfort in safety orange, so I bought two other huge balls. One in a sage, and one in a sort of camo print. The first one I made was camo on the outside, and sage on the inside.

For some reason, when I worked through my pattern idea, I did it opposite of the slippers--I made the outside first, then the liner.This is not a great picture, LOL, but you can see the camo effect. Apparently I should have made a double bag. One thing I didn't like though, was that the inside colour extended too high and could be seen when the bag was laying flat. I fixed that with the orange one.

I also realized, when I grafted the first one together, at the base of the pillow, that that didn't close off the bottom of the pillow and I had to sew the two layers together to prevent the stuffing from travelling down into the bag. On the second one, I stitched the pillow closed after stuffing, then grafted the body stitches together. It was a VERY quick project, even though I was not 100% sure the design was going to work! She loves them, and I think I might need to make more (not sure the two Floppy Puppies like sharing, plus, the girl in me wants to make a cuter one for the girl in her!).

As well, I made ANOTHER pink poncho! This was number 4. After the first one, the cone measured 7 1/4" across; now it measures 6 5/8" across. I have one more to make, then maybe ones for my own girls, LOL. I made this one a little different because it was for the oldest girl (11). It's one long piece, with the cast on edge sewn to the lower side of the other end, so that it can be worn with a straight edge in the front and a point at the back, or with the point in the front like a poncho.

I also was running low on time, so I did a worm edge on the machine, instead of crocheting a frou-frou ruffle. I did use the same tuck st pattern. I had thought of changing it, or the yarn, but I already have all the measurements for this pattern/yarn combo, so why change it now?

The colour here is wrong, but it shows the right side (which is actually the purl side and usually the 'wrong' side), and the wrong side (the smoother knit side).

This shows how the front can be straight across and it makes the neck drapey, or you can flip it and have the point at the front and get a V-neck.

One bit of caution though---I tried it on, and the wide swath of one colour going across my entire front and arms made me look very wide. Perhaps a dark colour would be more slimming, but it's sort of like the "Fuzzy Poop" jacket I made--there's no visual interest to break you up so your eye sees the outline and assumes everything inside it is one big blob. Not that an 11 year old needs to worry about that though!!!

Better 1, 2, or the Same?

I don't like going to the eye doctor. I'm not good at idle chit chat and an eye exam feels like...an exam. It's a test. And what if I don't know the answers? If they can make glasses for babies, why not do the same for me? You know how they ask "Which is better: 1, 2; or the same?". Argh.


It also applies to winter hats.





I took that brown ribbed hat I just made, and found a complementary bulky yarn in my bins. I picked up sts around the cast on edge and ribbed up for a ways. A few times. It's not something that a gauge swatch would work for.
Then I tested it. I put it on for a few minutes; took a picture.
It's like trying on a bra at the store. You carefully position the girls, put your shirt back on to make sure nothing bulges, reach up, bend over, etc, and declare it perfect. The next day you eagerly put it on and head out. Only to find some deadly bra flaw that the 5 minute changeroom tango didn't reveal.
Despite trying about 4 times, the new ribbed cuff was too tight, and after a few minutes of real world walking, it would cause an elastic band effect, making the hat creep up my head. Which created an old man toque effect.
Being a resourceful soul, I would not be defeated. On a educated whim, I folded the cuff to the inside. Mmmm. Cozy. No feeling of hat about to go sproing. Snug, but not headache inducing. When the wind whips up I could pull down the inner cuff a little and still have a double layer over the ears. It looks only slightly strange--you can sort of notice that the lower portion of the hat is thicker, but you don't know why. Hat mysteries. I'm full of wonder. LOL!

Mingus

Years ago (?) when Pomatomus socks became all the rage, I knew I wanted to knit a Cookie A. sock pattern. I didn't make those ones, or Monkeys, probably due to their popularity or my lack of 'good' sock yarn (ie: yarn that matched the gauge close enough). But when I went to the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters Fair in September 2008, I bought a bunch of wonderful yarns from The Sweet Sheep. I'm pretty sure that's when I bought three Cookie A. patterns too.

I finally got around to making a pair. The first pattern I chose was Mingus (which I can NOT say without thinking of something that rhymes with 'ingus'). I started these September when I was having my tooth problems. The dental assistant (a young blond gal; the only type of gal my dentist employs, except for his mother) thought it was quite cute that I knitted (WTF?) but thought brown for socks that are worth about $65 was a poor choice. I wanted socks to go with my brown linen pants, and my olive green pants, but I'm not sure wool socks with linen pants seem right.

The pattern was slow going, but I got through and finished January 5. I did them two at a time, which makes each row seem slow, but then WOW! a pair of socks is done! LOL. I had a few issues, mainly just not paying attention. One issue with the pattern--there is no row gauge given. I could stretch the sock out to 'make' stitch gauge, but they are a little shorter than I'd like, and a little tighter than I'd like in the leg. If they were a touch shorter, it'd be fine, but I really wanted them taller actually. My calf is rather shapely, and well defined. I knew I was kinda cheating on the gauge, but I didn't know just where they'd reach to on my leg. I didn't go up a needle size cause those ones were in use, and I was getting gauge.

The yarn might have been in the boo-boo bin (and only $10!!!!!), but I'm not sure at all what the boo boo was! They are superwash merino/nylon, and I have quite a bit left. I suppose I could cut off the ribbing and knit it upwards a little looser and longer, but I'm not sure; it might seem a little odd to change the gauge.

Sorry I don't have a good picture of the design. I do have sock stretchers, but they are too big for my socks.

I wonder what the dental gal would say if she knew I paid full price for some handpainted brown laceweight yarn? LOL!

Lots to say...

Lots to catch up on, but mmm...what to write first? Most recent, or most not-recent?

Okay, more on my hat addiction.

I was a confirmed non-hat wearer until the winter of 1995. I had a student teaching placement, and frugal me walked a long way (2 miles one way) instead of taking a second bus. Part of my walk took me through the largest mall in the area, and I bought a black velvet 'bucket' hat. Actually, now that I think of it, the previous summer I had bought a straw hat that I really loved. But prior to this black velvet hat, I can't recall me having a winter hat! Earmuffs, yes.

I had been knitting for a little over a year (learned as a child, didn't really pick it up again until some friendly competition between housemates), but hadn't made a hat. Some terrible mittens... This hat turned me into a winter hat person. Ever since, I have been trying to create the perfect hat. It's so hard to balance trendy and practicality! Do I want to look like a (warm) dork, or a (cold) style maven? However, the decision is usually made for me--I look like a dork no matter what hat I try. The best hats on me tend to have a brim to balance out my tiny head, but that style doesn't happen much in knitted winter hats. I could knit and felt a bucket hat (chicknits) but that won't really keep my ears warm. I've knit earflap hats and they're not bad, but on an adult, they're way up there on the dork scale. However, years ago I decided to embrace my inner dork since I knew it was a losing battle anyway, LOL!.

This winter the floppy, slouchy hat is all the rage. You saw my first attempt (the Swedish Chef hat). I decided to use this lovely soft, flopsy, Sirdar Eternity yarn to try a different pattern. I don't feel like going to Ravelry, but I think it's "Star Crossed Beret" or something. However, my version, for some reason, is no where near slouchy like the pictures. But the textured look is new in my hat stock. Not that it's easily visible wiht this yarn, LOL. It's cute, not terrifically warm due to the lofty/nubbly texture of the yarn, and sits a little funny on my head due to my hair.Then, the winter issue of Knitty.com came out. And, dontcha know, there's a slouchy hat. It called for a 50-50 wool/cotton blend. Well, I knew that wasn't suitable for a winter hat for here. I bought some LionBrand Wool Ease Thick n Quick. It seemed to be about the same gauge, but instead of casting on 48st, I ended up casting on 54 sts on the third try. It felt warm, but then I noticed that unlike Wool Ease (worsted), Thick n Quick is only 10% wool. Which makes it lousy for mittens. I finished the hat quickly once I got the right number of sts, but I knew, deep down, that it was NOT the right hat. I forgot to switch to larger needles until row 4 of the pattern, then halfway through the crown I decided to go from 8mm to 9mm, and it still wasn't very floppy. But I wasn't ripping it out till I finished, and tried it on, and had a good laugh.

Trying to salvage any hopes at a trendy look didn't really work. What's the point of a winter hat that doesn't cover your forehead or ears?!

But I liked the yarn, especially how the brown had flecks of burgundy in it so it didn't look too dull and would look good with my burgundy coat. I went back to 8mm and 48st and cast on using 'alternate cable cast on' to give a nice edge and did a 1x1 ribbed hat. Even though I ripped back the crown and redid the decreases, it was still done in a day. It could have been a bit looser as it likes to crawl up my head. I can cover my ears pretty much, and then have a little cuff at the front. I might stitch that up as it tends to flip down over my glasses. I thought the ribbing would make it nice and dense feeling, but the wind still gets through, and the acrylic makes me sweat and itch. And it took just a bit too much to get two hats from one skein. But two balls should get 3 hats. Or, maybe I should put a big dorky pompom on top?

Bella

When I hear the name "Bella" I think of "The Magic School Bus" and one of the girls, Wanda, has a frog who makes the sound "Bella" when it croaks. However, the 'current' media-focused association is with the "Twilight" books/movies. Apparently, there is a character named Bella and in a movie she wears some pretty groovy mittens. Knitters everywhere were smitten with these mittens, and one designer created a free pattern. Not knowing anything about Twilight, I acknowledged these mittens strictly for their mitteness charm. I do know some people that read the books and thought the mitts might be good for a family Christmas gift exchange game.

However, I was using stash yarn, and had a hard time. They seemed really long; I thought I was going to run out of yarn; I frogged, cast on at a different point; knit for a while and found more of the yarn. I was using two different yarns, held doubled--one black, one charcoal. Once the mitts were finished though, it looked like half-way up the thumb and hand I changed yarns--there was more depth, more black. Despite nothing changing. It didn't show up too well in the picture, but you can see it on the left thumb (which is actually the mitten for the right hand, LOL). The mitts turned out to fit me quite nice, but I was afraid they would be too small on one of the hopeful recipients.

Christmas plans were very sketchy this year and the annual party never happened (although it might in January). I decided to give them to the hopeful recipient for her birthday instead, after several attempts to knit a larger pair failed miserably. The original pair fit her perfectly after all.
The backside is plain.
They should have been a quick knit, but once again, I had to make them more of a challenge then they should have been! LOL.

So Cute!!

There are some great things about a knitting machine. Number one, it knits quickly. Well, IT doesn't knit quickly, I still have to do it, and sometimes it can take me a long time still. LOL. But it's fabulous for quick gifts, such as those slippers. However, the selection of patterns is not as great as for handknitting. And, some knitting machines are very fancy and can do things mine can't. So, often, I have to create my own pattern. Sometimes I'm fine with that, other times, I just want to knit!
There are a lot of little (and not so little now) girls in my family, and some of them have fall/winter birthdays. I love it when I can make something that will work for all of them. The following poncho is one such thing.

Awhile ago (Aug 2008 or 2007), I bought a large cone of Patons Lancette during their tent sale. I liked the colour, but once I knit up some, I decided it wasn't really my cup of tea. But perfect for little girls--it's pink, shiny, and slightly hairy. I knit up some swatches, although the yarn is enough on it's own that plain stockinette would have been fine too.

This is the first of the ponchos, for my niece Abby's 7th birthday. It's two rectangles, and bordered with some single crochet and then a ruffle (3 dc in one sc, 5 dc in the next sc). This is a close up of the tuck st pattern (from a MK stitch dictionary). I have to put the appropriate needles into position myself, but it's still quick, and easy on the LK150.

So easy, I did the math for a smaller one, and knit the two panels in under an hour. The crochet takes longer than the knitting. The next one is for my cousin's 1 year old. It's so tiny!

And the cone is still HUGE!!

Quest

Last winter I was on the quest to figure out how to knit mittens on the knitting machine, and produce them quickly while maintaining the qualities of a mitten I like best. I also dabbled into hats, especially earflap hats. It was an interesting venture, and I still have an idea or two to try for mittens! This winter, my quest is slippers. I go through slippers quickly--I joke that Christmas and Mother's Day should be 6 months apart, not 5/7 because those are the only times I get new slippers. I love the handknit felted clog pattern from FiberTrends, but they aren't the quickest thing to make. I have been working on a pair of the 'ballet' slipper style from FiberTrends, for ....a long time; I thought they might be quicker, but I'm not as familiar with the pattern so I keep ignoring them.

The clogs pattern is not well suited to adjusting for machine knitting. In the internet world of free machine knit slipper patterns, there are 4 common ones. The first is just a rectangle, stitched up the back heel and top of the toe and I think felted. The second pattern is "7 Minute Slippers" and the third is "14 minute Slippers". I had put off making these two because I couldn't find pictures. Once some got posted in the Yahoo groups and on Ravelry, I decided to go for it. After finding out the 14 minute slippers are just the 7 minute slippers with lining knit as you go, I figured I'll give them a try first. My feet get cold!

The pattern was easy to follow, and very quick, although not 14 minutes. And there was insufficient gauge info. Most people finish the top with a pompom or something to hide the hole, but I thought it was kinda cute. I ended up ripping out the beige one as it was way too small. The yellow ones I gave to my SIL who was having knee surgery. Lucy also got a yellow pair. Despite being cute, in an almost "a face only a mother could love" sort of way, these slippers use a lot of yarn and are not very form fitting. Given my track record with slipping on the stairs, I needed a more secure slipper.

The fourth most common machine knit slipper pattern is the "Double Thick" slippers, aka "Romeo" slippers or pixie slippers. A little more involved, these ones still have the lining knit in as you go, but they also get put together with "seam as you go", a technique pretty much unique to machine knitting.

This picture shows the first pair; the pink part is the inner slipper which gets knit first.

The pattern did not give info about where to change colours, so I did some experimenting after the first pair. There are more options for colour placement with this pattern. This isn't a great picture, but the red, white, and blue slippers are the sparkly Christmas yarns. I didn't want that on the inside of the foot. The pink pair on the right have some size/gauge issues and I think I will have to re-knit the outer slipper. Then I made the pair on the left, in rose/beige/brown. You can see in the side view that just the sole is brown. The slipper has a flap at the front and back ankle, which is what gives them the "pixie" label, I think. They stay on pretty good, even though they are low cut at the sides of the heel. The red and white one shows what it looks like after grafting the back bottom heel to the back top heel...there's a lot of short rows there at the heel and flappy bits.
I timed the last slipper, and it took 45 minutes from start to finish, for one slipper. I went to a craft sale on Saturday, and people were selling mittens and slippers and socks (cheap acrylic yarns) for $3.50-$4.50 a pair. To make a pair of these for lady's size 9, took a little over one ball of Patons Decor, which can be bought for about $5 (true, these slippers are two layers though). I'm planning to write a post about the issues related to craft sale pricing. Even if you don't sell at sales, it still affects you, especially if you give knitted gifts.

These slippers (and the move back to an area with a Michaels' store) has caused a sudden increase in my yarn stash! Ooops! Better go knit and try to pare it down again!

Check the Other Blog

I just wrote a post over on my other blog about plus size sewing patterns. It belongs here too, but just linking to it will have to do for now. It's not so much about sewing, but just the images used.

Libraries

To try to hide the fact I have been afflicted with a bad case of startitis, I'm going to write about the joys of a public library. I finally dropped in last week and got my card. Now, some of you know that I grew up here; however I did not keep my library card valid while we were gone for 12 years, LOL. But the big thing is, 'my' old library was demolished and a new, modern one built. Something more suited for the size of this 'town'.

However, the old library had once been the town offices, and as a result, had a huge parking lot. The new library for some odd reason, has about 20 parking spots. The library was set back from the main road with a big patio area (I'm guessing that would allow for future expansion). While that space is nice for 3 months of the year, right now, it is grey, hard, featureless. Kind of like a parking lot, but without the benefit of being able to park there. There is a municipal lot next door, but it's 50 cents/hour. There is an empty grocery store and plaza a block or two away; guess where I'll be parking.

While I've always been adequately pleased with Orangeville's library, the knitting section is below waist height, down to the floor. Not great for us old bitties that knit. The Whitby's library's knitting section is up high, right down to about knee height. Loads of new books I've wanted to skim through but probably never buy. Some classics. But yesterday, I got positively giddy when I found Cookie A.'s "Sock Innovations" and Interweave Press "Scarf Style". I had already seen "Knitting on the Road" last week. I'm not checking out the sock books because of that startitis affliction right now. I did get a book on machine knitting last week, and this week, "Scarf Style" and a couple books on shawls/ponchos/wraps for inspiration.

While my book budget is now going down, my yarn spending is going up. I've made a few trips to Michaels' to add to my Classic Wool collection, but I'm proud to say, LOL, that I have NOT been to the yarn store in town yet!! I have absolutely NO need to buy new yarn (oh, yeah, I picked up 3 balls of sock yarn and one skein of lace yarn at the Creative Festival....). I will remain strong. Remember when I was in Shelburne weekly for Lucy's speech therapy and I did not go to the wool shop there even once? LOL. I can do this; I did really well the rest of the year in not buying yarn!!