The Next Generation

All three of my kids have tried knitting.  My oldest, Hugh, did a bit and said "nah".  Lucy learned, made a simple scarf, then did a couple fun fur scarves (that still need to be sold), her cat, and a hippo.  She started another cat but hasn't gotten very far.  She learned the purl stitch, short rows, increasing, decreasing, and figured out for herself that holding the yarn in the left hand made the most sense.  She's used circular needles, and I think she used them to do magic loop when she made the hippo.

Megan.  She is a dreamer, a creator, an inventor...but also was about 5 points below the cutoff for ADHD.  Her planning skills are weak.  She loves to start, and has a great mental picture...but lacks the stamina and skills to work it through.  She started knitting and I thought a dishcloth would be it.  Then she wanted to make mittens last winter, and I was a little worried.  I knew she couldn't handle the purl stitch yet, so I got her going on the garter stitch, sideways mittens.  She really did great, but well, making two identical mittens can be a challenge for even experienced knitters.  I did end up finishing them for her.

It's winter again.  She wants a new scarf/neckwarmer/cowl.  So she went to the basement and rooted through and came up with this really thick grey yarn and another yarn that I didn't really think she'd like.  Another search and she chose this bright blue.  Not really what I would have picked to go with her coat, but she liked it.  I wish I had looked for the yarn she used for the mitts but I figured this was just going to be a passing interest LOL.

I casted on and she started and after a couple rows we decided she should be using larger needles, so we did that gradually over a couple rows.

I think we were both surprised when she had it finished really quickly.  Like, less than two weeks!

 The grey is called "Pow Wow Machine Washable Indian Type Yarn", I think the brand is Kinsie.  It was made in Canada and has 25% wool.  The blue was a cheap acrylic.  It weighed in at 77gr.  Which is no where enough to make a dent at what I bought at Michaels last week!  I think I might be over what I've used up now.  But the year isn't finished!!

Yarn In: 5654gr
Yarn Out: 77gr + 6584gr = 6661gr
Balance:  1007gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $267.84 /340 days = $0.79/day

Yarn In

Oh boy.  I've gotten a lot of yarn lately!  Hope I can remember it all!

Here's a Wal-mart receipt.... "Yarn $4.97".  Ummm.  Another Wal-Mart receipt:  "Yarn $4.47, Red Heart Yarn $5.00, Yarn $3.47".

I have four balls of yarn I can remember buying at Wal- Mart.  One has a $5.00 sticker.  Red Heart "Boutique: Swanky".  A cool shiny yarn with large sequins.  Unfortunately the lady I bought it for doesn't care for bling.  Still a cool yarn but now it has to go into the stash.  100gr.

There is also Bernat "Premium", 198gr; Bernat "Satin" 100gr, and Bebe Luv "Fashion" 120gr.  Wal-mart Total comes to 518gr, $20.16.

And then there was the trip to Michaels for yarn for mermaid blankets.  Of course, two weeks prior had been their big yarn sale.  :(  Got six balls of Homespun, 170gr each, $5.99 each, and a ball of Craftsmart "Value", 141gr, $1.99.  Total for this trip, 1161gr, $42.86

Mmmmm....it used to be when you used a 40/50% off coupon at Michaels, it was taken off the highest value item.  I see on my receipt it came off the Craftsmart yarn (original price, $3.99).  Not nice, Michaels!

I still need probably another 6 balls of Homespun.

Yarn In: 3975gr + 518gr + 1161gr = 5654gr
Yarn Out: 6584gr
Balance:  930gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $ 204.82 + $20.16 + $42.86=$267.84 /334 days = $0.80/day

Christmas!

Last year, I got an email from a man named Jason looking for three Christmas stockings to match his childhood stocking.  Looking for that email now, I see he actually sent it on Christmas Day!  I hadn't noticed that before!

I've written before about how I like copying pre-existing items or pictures, but usually it's not supposed to be an identical replication.  Often it's the shape, or the colour, or the texture, or a combination.  Rarely do I do something that is an identical copy.

Or, as identical as can be, given the difference in time between the original and the inquiry!

There's been very few inquiries since I've started my business, that I've turned down.  I'm up for almost anything.  He included a picture of his stocking, and I knew I would have no problem copying the pattern and knitting it.  However, he lived about an hour away and I also worried about how closely these had to match.  I explained that yarns change over time, that colours come and go, that while I could do my best to hunt down yarns, I might not be able to match exactly.  Well, I basically knew I could not match exactly, LOL, but how close was "close enough"?  He wanted them high quality, lasting, and functional.

I started off by saying I'd contact a knitter in his town--a former blogger who's skill and attention to detail I felt would match mine.  I asked her if she knew of anyone--I knew she wouldn't want to do it, but she was involved in a knitting group.  She had no leads.

Jason offered to bring the stocking to me as he frequents a large motorcycle shop in town.  Cool! We arranged a day and time.  And then I realized  I was going on a field trip with my youngest.  He left it in my mailbox for me.

I'm a sentimental lady.  I feel very honoured when someone chooses me to make something for them, especially something significant.  Being trusted--on nothing more than my  website being found on the internet--with this stocking felt scary and incredible.  What if I lost it?  I don't lose things.  What if the dog ate it?  He hasn't eaten anything in a few years.  What if I can't meet the deadline?  Happened only once.  What if I just can't do it?  Hasn't happened yet!

I spent some time Googling and discovered that this was a 1952 Knit-O-Graph pattern.  Oh, look at that...there's one available at etsy.com now!  When I was looking in April, there was a modern reproduction of the pattern that one knitter figured out and was selling.  Well, if she could figure it out, so could I :)  And then he asked for a fourth stocking!  Well, for something like this, you can't just multiple the yarn cost for one by 4...some of the yarns I used very little of for all four, so as you do more, each one is actually a bit cheaper in the materials department.

The yarn search....the stocking had a gauge of 6st and ...I forget the rows now per inch.  This meant a likely a sportweight yarn, though not very common, so my guess was that it was most likely knit in Patons "Astra" or perhaps a Mary Maxim yarn (as a kit).  "Astra" has been around forever.  It still is around!  So that's what I checked first.  Red, blue, yellow and pink were no problem.  The white and the green though...All I could find in Astra for white was a bright white, and an "Aran" white which was very creamy.  I needed a softer white.  The stocking may have originally been bright white, but while in great shape, was not bright white now.  I settled on using two strands of Loops & Threads "Woolike" in Ivory.  The texture was a bit different, but it was the best choice.

Green.  Wow.  Who would have thought.  I Googled.  I visited yarn stores.  I bought yarn and returned yarn.  I checked yarn out inside the house, and outside in the daylight.

 Finally, I had had enough and needed to get started--green was in the first inch, so I couldn't delay any longer.  I found Red Heart "Soft" in Dark Leaf, which is an Aran weight.  It was a little shiny, and I had passed up other yarns that were close because they were too thick, but I decided to bite the bullet and commit to pulling out one strand of the yarn!  Crazy!  I would gently pull out one strand while re-winding into a ball.  If it got tangled or broke, or I got bored, LOL, I end the ball and do another.  I needed small balls anyway for the intarsia work.

I got started.  I had a hard time figuring out the cast on.  I searched my books, and tried a few things.  Felt I had found the right technique....then forgot exactly what I did!  So, the tops are not all identical!

Charting...I thought that would be pretty easy.  Count the stitches.  Count across, count down.  But sometimes it wouldn't line up.  A stitch would be six rows down, but the stitch next to it seemed to be 5 rows down, but when I worked across to draw the row, they lined up.  I don't know!  It was probably from the carrying of the yarn on the backside, made the stitches not always line up.

Some of the names are longer than "Jason" so I had to decide what to do.  Keep the same number of rows in the white banner?  Then the words had to be squished a little.  Keep the spacing but have a bigger white section?  That was voted out.  So I adjusted the spacing between the words, trying to make it all even so it gave the same visual look.  While I hadn't intended the above sample to be a swatch, it was probably a good thing.  It ended up a bit small and there were a few things I was unhappy with.

 Due to the size of my chart paper, I worked each, one at a time, till the banners were done.  I was paranoid I would spell something wrong.  It's easy to just glaze over when you look at something so often.  I did find an error in one that involved ripping back a few rows, and for some reason, Blake's gave me a hard time.  It was the last one I worked on and you would have thought I had it memorized by then.  No!

Then I worked on each until the top of Santa's head.  I wasn't happy with the original pink colour, so I paused until I found a better one.  Again, I ended up pulling out a strand of the 4ply worsted to make a DK yarn.

Then I charted the next section, and worked on it.  And so on.  I found as I got further along, that the green balls that had been re-wound with my ball winder a few times seemed to be a bit tighter and a closer match than the original balls I used in the name banners.  Wish I had thought to wind those a few times!

I decided to block them before starting the heels, because I wanted to seam them before the heels and I felt the blocking would be easier while they were able to be pinned out in one layer.  I started with Blake, using pins and blocking wires to get the horizontal lines nice and straight.  Then, I went to town with my steam iron and a pressing cloth.

Ummmm.  Yeah.  WTF.  That curve exactly matches the curve of my iron!  And, when I unpinned it, there were indents from the blocking wire!  OMG.  It was late at night and I nearly cried.  Instead, I soaked it with some water and went to bed.

In the morning, it was dry, but the mark was still there.  Ever wonder why some yarns say not to iron?  I wasn't ironing it, but must of lost focus.  In real life, it didn't show up as well as in the picture, but I knew the stockings would get a lot of up close attention and this was just not acceptable to me!  I knew I would have to do surgery!

The stockings are knit flat, due to the intarsia.  I didn't like the seam on the original stocking, and I really (as a knitter) didn't like how the seam continued through the heel.  I concluded the heels were done as after-thought heels, and at the proper place, put the stitches onto waste yarn.  Well...when I came back to knit the heels while seaming up the legs, I found that because I hadn't broken the red yarn and started a new yarn...I had a strand of red yarn going from one side of the heel across to the other side (inside).  hard to explain, but essentially, from front to back so that the two sides of the stocking could not be pulled apart.  Fine if these were to be decorative, but not fine for stuffing with presents!  But I am a knitting McGuyver and came up with a decent solution...by the last stocking LOL.   THe first three involved knots.  I knit the heels and toes in the round.

It took a couple attempts to get the heel to look right, and I'm so glad I didn't say "Good Enough" after the third attempt!  I wasn't happy with them once done... the toes were cupping, and the heels were a little small and not laying right.  So, I ripped the first one out and tried larger needles.  Bingo.  So I ripped the other ones out and re-did them.  I also got to fix the problem from the above paragraph a bit better, though of course it meant more work.

It's amazing how long it actually takes to knit a heel and a toe.  Times four.  LOL.

In  an early email, Jason mentioned that he wanted to make sure the insides were well done, so fingers didn't get caught.  This is a sign of a good knitter, not leaving long "floats".   I think I did a great job!

But...Blake's stocking!  Time for the fix.  I did not take pictures, because it was pretty darn scary.  I CUT the stocking through the first row of red beneath the white banner and placed the stitches on my needle.  I was hoping I could just reknit the red portion and that would get rid of enough of the damage that it looked okay.  No, that wasn't enough, so I went into the green section.  I hoped I could just stick with the top green part--I couldn't find the chart so I was just trying to work from one of the other stockings and things weren't lining up right!  And it still hadn't gone far enough.  So, I started on the part with the red hat, saying I would only go so far as the white pom pom--I was not getting into another colour.  Then I realized the grafting row (the row created by sewing the top I was now knitting with the existing stocking) would create a row of stitches too.  And things weren't lining up!  I ripped back rows, and ripped the stocking out further, to the top of the pom pom.  Finally, I tried to graft the two pieces.

It was not going smoothly.  Started from the side with the green, but then things didn't line up by the time I got to the hat.  Tried from the other side, which was all red being sewn to red, and it was off by a stitch where they join, which is fine.  It just wasn't working through the front section.  Finally, I had to say "Good Enough".  A good knitter knows when "Good Enough" really is good enough, and when it's being used as an excuse to not try harder.  I consider myself a good knitter :) I don't seem to have a picture of the repaired area.  Oops.

I couldn't figure out how I wanted to photograph them.  We have a fireplace with a nice mantle, but the thought of clearing the mantel off depressed me.  And there are no hooks (not even for our own stockings!) so I would have to get some 3M Command hooks.  I asked in a photo group that I belong to on FB if anyone had a fireplace set up in their studio (most were doing Christmas photo sessions), that I could hang the stockings on and get a picture.  One person posted a picture of how she used her staircase--which I had forgotten was what I did last year.  But, again, I didn't want to get all the Christmas stuff out to really set up the photo.

 I realized though that our outside towel rack (for our hot tub towels) had five hooks!  And would be quick to clean off the shelf (though I managed to just cut it out of the photos).

 But the weather!!!  It was going from bright sun, to rain, to very overcast.  All within minutes.  I didnt' have much time left and couldn't put it off any longer, so I braved the wind and got clicking.

 I felt the pictures were a bit too stark, and wanted to add some snow to soften it up and invoke a more Christmasy feeling.  My daughter said it was odd because it now looked like you were looking in through the window, and the snow shouldn't be inside the house!  But the snow is between you and the window :)  I don't usually over-edit my photos, but thought this was fun, and a learning experience too!

Once done, I experienced "post project letdown".  You spend so long working on a project.  You have highs and lows, times you think it'll never end.  And then poof! Suddenly, they are done, photographed, and out the door!  Gone!  They were like my babies!  My family knew them all!  LOL.  Jason came to pick them up and even though I know I had done a great job, it was still a little nerve-wracking! But he seemed really pleased!  Even my husband said they looked good!

The stockings weighed in at 306gr.  As I was weaving in all the ends on these, and a couple other projects, I saved the snipped ends in a big pile, just to see how much yarn gets wasted.  By the time I weighed the pile (including some long pieces from the small balls), it was 126gr!  I wish I had been doing that all year!

Yarn In: 3975gr
Yarn Out: 306gr + 126gr + 6152gr = 6584gr
Balance:  2609gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $ 204.82 /330 days = $0.62/day

Gray.

Not too much to say about this set, except that I LOVE it!

And, like many of my items...the True Tracy Way prevealed.

I started with the hat.  She wanted gray, or white and/or black...pretty much up to me.  I didn't have much in gray, and was looking for a textured look to mimic the pink/rose/beige set I did last year .  I got out ALL my gray, white and black yarns.  I started with a combo of yarns...after a few rounds, it was obviously too thick for my largest hook (totally forgot I had a jumbo hook that doesn't fit in my case). I wanted to include some black and grey reflective yarn, but it wasn't working.  Tried again, better, got further, but not quite right.  Tried a few more times.  Finally got a combo I liked, though one yarn I was using, I wasn't sure I'd have enough so I sort of made a pattern where every third round I used it but the other two rounds I used a similar, smoother grey.  As usual, it took several attempts to get the right size.  I mean, I was even almost finished when I decided it was too big.  Finally, it all came together.

Until I put it on the wig head.

Ugh.  The yarns were awesome.  But despite looking great on my lap, once on the wig head, the shape was all wrong!  It was too flat at the end.  It draped weird.  It didn't slouch, it just ended and hung there from the weight/length.  Blah.

Started again (I mean...I had even sewed the flower on!  Wove in the ends!).  A few false starts again.  Much mohair up my nose.  But I finally nailed it.  What should have been a simple two day project turned into ...I don't know...a month?

This is the hat.  I know the colouring is a bit off, but it was an iPad picture, inside...You can sort of see there are some rows that are a bit fuzzier.  That's the fuzzy gray yarn I used every third row.

The scarf was easy.  I did 19 DC wide (not sure how I ended up with 19,  it just looked good.  She wanted wide, but I didn't want to go too wide and drown her).  Pick a yarn from the bag, or a combo of yarns, work a row or two or three.

Again, poor colour.  You can see in the picture on the left there are bits of glowing white.  That's the Red Heart "Reflective" yarn.  What a great way to add a bit of safety!  Don't forget to steam liberally for even more drape.

Such a fun scarf, I could have kept going.  Stopped though so it could be wrapped two times around.  Might even be able to get a third time, if you like it snug.

Yarn In: 3975gr
Yarn Out: 246gr + 5906gr = 6152gr
Balance:  2177gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $ 204.82 /323gr days = $0.63/day

Minion!

Early in October I saw a request in a FB group I'm in for a plain yellow hat.  I knew instantly that someone was creating a Minion costume and I knew I had some yellow yarn left from the Minion hats I did in the spring (as well as a smallish NB almost finished Minion hat).  We worked out the deets, and I crocheted up a yellow beanie, adding some black tufts for the spikey hair.  It didn't look like much when I made it, but on the baby?  Adorable!

You can't see the spikey hair, but it's there :)  I don't think I even weighed it, so I'm going to guess at 33gr (the almost finished preemie one was 28gr).

Yarn In: 3975gr
Yarn Out: 33gr + 5873gr = 5906gr
Balance:  1931gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $ 204.82 /318gr days = $0.64/day

What?

I just took a quick look at my stats, and I've had 15 visits from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getvesna.android  I wonder what that's about!

Well.

I have finished all the knitting on the Christmas stockings, and I did not have to dip into the second ball of green or the soft white.  I also did not use any of the second ball of grey for that wolf hoodie.  I could return all this, and make my
"Yarn In" totals look even better...but I think I'll keep the stocking yarns in case he wants another one, and grey chunky yarn is not a bad thing to keep on hand.

I have been working on an infinity scarf using every white, grey, and black yarns I have.  It is looking awesome!!  And I didn't have to buy any new yarn for it.  I wish I could put in a few pops of another colour--yellow would look awesome--but it wasn't asked for.  Oh well.  Might have to make one for myself!

Woof!

A simple wolf hoodie, in size 2-4

As usual, I wasn't working with the suggested yarn, and my gauge was different and my math was ...well...creative but wrong, so it took longer than it should have.  Not much else to say about it.  Used just under one ball of Loop & Thread "Charisma" and have one ball left (and no receipt to return it!).  The white and black were from my stash.  In total, it weighs 138 grams.

This is an adult wig head, so the hoodie is a little snug.


Yarn In: 3975gr
Yarn Out: 138gr + 5735gr = 
Balance:  1760gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $ 204.82 /306 days = $0.67/day

Ready for Some "Aaaahhh!"?

I haven't made too many newborn photography props lately.  I don't know...there seems to be a trend towards recycled/upfashion type props.  I did get an order though for a few items and got them off to the photographer yesterday.  I can't wait for her pictures!

She commented on a grey bonnet and pant set, but that was custom dyed yarn and I wasn't planning to dye anymore.  I told her I had a little grey bonnet already done (small fib--it just needed the ties), and she liked it.

I can't believe I had this sitting in my drawer for soooo long, and all it needed were the ties!

The yarn has a nice texture to it, and pink and blue slubs.  I have no clue what the yarn is, I think it was a thrift store find.  This hat weighs in at 23gr.

She wanted a cream, gender neutral set like the grey one I did for Jenna Faye Photography.  The gray was cream Patons "Lace" that I dyed.  I sent her a photo of it, plus another no-name ball of fuzzier cream yarn.  She picked the fuzzier cream one.  As soon as I started knitting with it, I realized it wasn't really all that soft.  Once it was done, I turned the items inside out, and with small scissors, cut off all the halo on the inside.  Then I soaked it over night in hair conditioner.  Much softer now, but it's still not the softest thing I've made.  The set weighs in at 74gr.

She also wanted a brown mohair bonnet.  I did not have any brown mohair!  I tried blending a few yarns together, but it didn't have that "aaahhh" factor.  So I did one up in Patons "Divine".  I love this yarn.  I don't know why they discontinued it!

 Because of all the texture and already being bulky, I made it plain.  It weighs in at a whopping 19gr.  I could knit a lot of these with my Divine stash, LOL.

We were going out, and to a store just two doors down from Soper Creek Yarn...so of course I took advantaged and stopped in to look for finer brown mohair.  I found a basket of Nashua "Creative Focus Kid Mohair", and that was the only brown mohair in stock.  A little thicker than I would have liked, but very soft.

I had a few problems...getting the right stitch count, keeping track of what I was doing.  Ugh, ripping out mohair!  It did turn out a smidge small, but babies come in all sizes.  And it's stretchy.  It weighs 18gr. I let her have her choice of the two brown ones, and she chose this one.

So nice making quick baby items again!

Yarn In: 3975gr
Yarn Out: 134gr + 5463gr = 5597gr
Balance:  1622gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $ 204.82 /301 days = $0.68/day

Have You Heard the One About a Knitter...

...who goes to the yarn store to get more green yarn for a project, considers getting the white yarn that seems to be running low, but opts just for the green yarn?

And then doesn't even touch that second ball....and gets worrisome close to the end of the white ball?

Yeah, that's the True Tracy Way!

And now that I'm doing the last bits in the white, I'm beginning to think I might just have enough.  But I bought a second ball (100g, $4.50, Loops & Threads "Woolike") anyway.  Because if I didn't, I would for certain run out with only a few yards remaining!

I also picked up a ball of decadent Nashua "Creative Focus Kid Mohair" in Rich Brown (50gr, $12.37) for an order.  I was hoping to use stash, but I had no brown mohair, and trying to blend a few browns to get something interesting wasn't working.  Apparently solid colour mohair has lost it's popularity?  I was lucky to find this in a basket on the floor of the yarn store.  It's so soft!  I would have loved to use Patons Lace, there's one in the sequences line that is dark brown, but Michaels' isn't carrying it anymore.  There is a yarn store that has some stock, but  I just can't seem to get there.

Yarn In: 3825gr + 150gr = 3975gr
Yarn Out:  5463gr
Balance:  1488gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $187.95 + 16.87 = $ 204.82 /300 days = $0.68/day

Updates

October 6 was my last post?  Ooops!  I've been working feverishly on the custom Christmas stockings.  And a crochet slouchy hat that I thought was all done until I tried it on.  I re-did it several times and I think I finally got it right this time.  And then another custom order that due to a miscommunication, the client thought would be ready right after Thanksgiving (Oct 12 here).

And then...my two girls and myself got sick.

Trying to climb back to the surface today/this weekend.

I got one stocking blocked last night, and there's an oops!  :(

I don't know if you can really see it in the above photo, which is perhaps a good sign.  It appears, while I was steaming/light pressing (with a cloth), I must have touched down the edge of the iron, creating an arc imprint between the top banner and the green circle, towards the middle of the stocking.

  Not far enough over though so that it'd be on the back.  It couldn't be all one row, so I could remove those stitches and graft in a new row!  I'm going to present it to the client and be honest, and offer to re-make the stocking if he finds it annoying.  He might think it helps to give it more of a vintage look.

 The other order I'm working on includes a dark brown pixie hat.  I've made it in mohair, and don't have any dark brown mohair, but I thought I could combine some yarns for a textured look.  I'm not feeling it though.

I think I might need to go shop for some dark brown mohair.  I know I could dye the yarn I've used before, but 1) don't think I have any dark brown dye 2) don't know how to combine the colours I have to make dark brown and 3) haven't tested the colourfastness on the yarn.

Red!

After fine tuning Bill King's "Gold Star" pattern to suit my liking (click on the label over on the right sidebar to see them), I found out about another one of his designs, called "One Piece Waterfall", in Machine Knitting Monthly, Nov 2012.  I picked up the issue, and a while ago, gave it a test run, using a slubby red cotton.  I don't think I blogged anything about it, although I remember it giving me some headaches and I think I re-started a couple times.  Even looking at the end result, I could see quite a few missed stitches around the eyelets.  Once I had it done, I was not so enthused.  I had planned to extend the arms, so when I got to the cast off/on for the sleeves, I used waste yarn.  But I hadn't cast off/cast on again, so once the sweater was off the machine, the armholes were actually closed up and I couldn't try it on.  Putting it over my shoulders...

It came down to my knees.  It was heavy!  There was red fuzz EVERYWHERE on my machine.  Other projects became more important and I put this jacket on the shelf--where I could still see it, hoping to re-examine it later.

Later finally came this month, when my mom decided she wanted a family photo shoot and red would be one of the colours.  Knowing it could be quite cool, I figured now was as good of time as any!  I cut through the armhole waste yarn to make armholes...

 Yikes!  Look how long it is!!  It hadn't been washed, but I doubted it would shrink enough to make it reasonable on me.

 I liked the back though!

 Subtle angles, compared to the Gold Star!

 The front "waterfall" pieces were just so long!!

Here you can see the dropped stitches at the holes made when doing the short rows.

Of course, I didn't remember if I had taken any notes.  Like, tension?  Pbssst!  Just cast on and see if you can knit the first row!  Eventually I went from T7 at the cast on to T9.  I checked around on Ravelry, and found that making the waterfall panels with only two rows for each set of short rows, would shorten the front.  That sort of works, as the number of stitches is what gives the actual length, but the number of rows is what gave it the width, which when worn, droops to become part of the length factor.  If I do this again, I think I might stick with the two rows for the top 2/3, but then switch to the 4 row for the bottom third.  But I couldn't yet figure out which end of the piece was the neck and which was the bottom LOL.  I think the neck edge was the left side of the bed.

It started out really smoothly this time.  Until I didn't read the instructions for the back wedge properly.  I got to the mid-point and when reading the next bit realized I had done the last bit wrong!  That was a LOT of short rowing to rip out (I had put only one group of needles into work for each two rows!).  And then the gremlins started to appear.  My yarn was now really tangled, even though I had tried to be gentle.  Had to cut the yarn.  Had a thin spot in the yarn.  Dropped stitches.  I really started to fear I wouldn't get it done!

 This has been washed, but you can see there is much less volume now at the front!

I got the body off, and went to do the sleeves.  I couldn't get the piece to stretch to put the entire sleeve onto the mainbed, so I did each sleeve in two halves.   Of course, re-hanging the second side of the sleeve meant you're dealing with upside down stitches and they don't line up exactly.  The texture of the yarn hide it though.  I don't know how it would look in a smooth yarn.  And then I realized I could probably have done it in the round (or U shaped) if I had used the ribber bed too (although that wouldn't change the one side of the sleeve being picked up from the half-stitches instead of full stitches...hard to explain, but if you've ever picked up knitting from the bottom/cast on to knit downwards, you'd know).

 I like how there is a sort of panel that runs across the bottom.

 The sleeve eyelets formed by doing six rows (as per the instructions).  The eyelets end where the armhole is supposed to be cast off/on; where I picked up to knit a longer sleeve.  I was worried about that, but it looks fine.

 I decreased every tenth row on the bottom seam of the sleeves, but not the top seam, and did 60 rows.
I would have liked it to go more over my chest, so maybe the four rows for each group should be the top section.  I would have to look closer.  This is such a better length!

It actually looks a bit longer in the back than the original.  Partially because the original was still really rolled up as it hadn't been washed or blocked.

The unwashed piece left over from the original has a gauge of 29sts and 37 rows, measured in the 3x1 mock rib.  The empty needle spaces are more distinct, and this gauge does mean that my jacket was larger than Bill King intended.  The pattern gauge was 31st x 40 rows, so not a huge difference, but it could be enough to really change it.  The washed, finished garment has a gauge of 26st x 37 rows.  That would indicate that the finished garment should be bigger than the original unwashed garment, but what it seems is that the stitches bloomed and filled into the spaces left by the needles out of work.  This also explains why the back length is a bit longer than before, as that section has it's length determined by the stitch gauge.

Although this was not a "one day knit" as the pattern claims (maybe it could be, if you drink enough coffee and don't have to work and raise a family), I will certainly knit it again.  I like that it has much more shape and interest than the Gold Star jacket, and there is no seaming up of the two halves.  I really need a black cardigan.  Black.  Ugh.  Well, at least there's no transferring stitches and no seaming :)

Yarn In: 3825gr
Yarn Out:  448gr + 5015gr  = 5463gr
Balance:  1638gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $187.95 /279 days = $0.67/day

Slippers

I've let it be known before that I rarely knit "trendy" items...but as a professional knitter now, sometimes I get asked to. In August I got a request for a pair of slippers.  Pretty simple, she even supplied me with a photo of what style she wanted (for her husband).  It's the old standard slipper pattern that anyone who has been to a church bazaar at Christmas time has seen.  The pattern I located is called "Aunt Maggie's Slippers".

At first, she picked out a colour scheme, but then she found a Bernat boucle yarn online that she liked, but I couldn't find it in the store.  She wanted a blue and grey slipper, with some wool content.  I ended up with LionBrand "Homespun" and "WoolSpun".  I think I used 5.5mm or 6mm.  I didn't want to flatten the Homespun too much with too small of needle, but they still needed to be knit dense for warmth and longevity.

 The slippers used 124gr, not a lot, I think because of the Homespun not being a very heavy yarn.

Had to add my tag!  I also crocheted around the opening, but if you slip the first stitch of the row to make a chain edge, that would be nice too.  I also didn't do the lines of knit stitches that sort of delineate the sole.

Yarn In: 3825gr
Yarn Out:  124gr + 4891gr = 5015gr
Balance:  1190gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $42.87 + $145.08 = $187.95 /278 days = $0.68/day

Yarn In Update

I made a yarn shopping trip earlier in September, after receiving a sudden flurry of inquiries and orders.  And, I decided that  the pink I had bought for the Christmas stockings was too pale.  I hate writing Yarn In  posts.  The calculator.  The honesty.  The reality of a growing stash....

Two balls   Loops & Thread "Charisma" for a wolf hoodie.  Total, 200g
One ball Bernat "Super Value" pink for the stockings 197gr (needed only a small amount, like maybe 40gr!)
One ball Woolspun in grey for slippers, 100gr
One ball turquoise  LionBrand "Homespun" for the slippers (170gr)
One ball Red Heart Soft in green for the stocking, as a back up, 141gr


Total yarn in:  808gr.  Ugh!  LOL.  I much prefer when I can use up my stash.
I can't find the itemized receipt, buy the other little receipt says $42.87

Yarn In: 808gr + 3017gr = 3825gr
Yarn Out:  4891gr
Balance:  1066gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $42.87 + $145.08 = $187.95 /274 days = $0.69/day

Sleepy Time

A lovely repeat client messaged me about making "pillow beds" for her two young girls who often come into her room in the night and have nowhere to sleep.  My initial reaction was no way.  Sewing, and all that stuffing...then I remembered about something I had seen on Pinterest.  They had taken a sheet, sewed it up making 5 compartments, and stuffed each one with a pillow!  I suggested she pick out a couple sheets that matched her room, but she wanted these to be for the girls and wanted something soft, like fleece.  And instead of a pillow sham opening, how about a zipper?  And not five pillows, but maybe three?

Fleece is not cheap but does come in a lot of patterns.  I thought a long zipper was going to be expensive, but the store had 60" "duvet zippers" in colours that worked well, for only $3.50 each (I think that was the price, maybe $3.75).

 (My girls are much bigger than the girls these were made for, but they still thought they were really comfy!)

My first attempt at sewing on the zipper was not good.  My fabric was 60" long, but when I got to the end of the first side of the zipper...I had a lot of fabric left.  The zipper was quite wavy.  I had somehow stretched the fleece as I sewed.  So, I unpicked it and used pins this time, and got a much better result.  When I did the top stitching for the divides, on the first one, somehow the fabric shifted and the zipper ended up not being exactly on the edge, but in a bit.  I think because I did the dividers first and then the top and bottom seams.  On the second one, I did the top and bottom seams first, and that held it together better.  I even remembered to check the fabric pattern to see if there was a distinct top and bottom!

I was proud of myself for remembering to include the strap when I did the bottom seam...and then forgot with the second one.  When I first held up the pillow fabric, I thought I was going to end up with a strip left over, which I could use for the strap.  It just seemed like a huge piece of fabric.  There wasn't any left over in the end so I found some bright pink fleece in my stash.  I think I like it better than a matching strap!  And I love the contrasting snaps (they have little hearts engraved on them).

I really over thought the strap at first.  But once I had the pillows in, and folded it up, I realized I could snap the end of the strap to itself if I made it long enough!  So much simpler than trying to figure where to put the snap on the bed.

I didn't have very good pillows to fill them with for photos.  We really need new pillows!

And Sew, a Week Passes

I had hoped to have something to show by now.  Last week was the first week of school and of course, it evaporated as quickly as summer did.  This week also went Pouff! and disappeared.  On Monday, this week seemed like it was going to last forever.  I had lots to do, places to go.

What have I done?

Well, I did walk to school/work several days, I did do a lunch time skate, and all the other stuff I usually do.  Add in that my daughter is skating one more session each week (four sessions a week now, plus off ice, and assisting at the beginner classes), and that band started up, and that my son got a job that requires being driven there and back (very late)...

I have been working on two "pillow beds".  Made in patterned fleece, each will hold three pillows.  I haven't shown and WIP pictures because...it started off looking like a 1.5m x 1.4m piece of fleece, and it doesnt' look much different now.  Just folded in half, a zipper down one side, and a strap with a snap.  I have posted a couple pictures on Instagram if you use IG.  I WILL show the final result soon.

Knitting?  Still working on those Christmas stockings, crocheting a slouchy hat, and I've got a few other orders to start.  I went from nothing, to enough to keep me busy for week, all in just a couple days.  Crazy.

And Another Mitten

A long time ago (well, probably just late last summer), my daughter decided she wanted to knit something for herself...mittens...I had a sideways knit, garter stitch pattern in an old Mon Tricot book, but the details were a bit lacking.  She picked out Easy Knits "Georga Wool" which I had gotten at Wal-Mart.  It says it's "mercerized" which is not a term used with wool. I think it's to indicate that this might be treated to be superwash, but the icons show hand washing.  There is a website but this isn't on it (BTW, the "DeLuxe" feels awful).    The gauge on the ball band says 18st/24rows on 5.5mm.  There is NO way this yarns knits to that gauge...remember Mission Falls 1824?  This is like, half the thickness.   Meg used 3.75mm needles!  I wrote the pattern out for Megan, row by row so she'd have an easier time marking where she was.  

She did really well for awhile.  Then winter passed and the allure of wool mittens waned.  She did pick it up now and then, but I did end up finishing the second mitten.  I had to alter the original pattern a fair bit to fit her and the wool, but they are so cozy and fit well.

I admit to being a bit of a garter stitch snob.  The only people who like garter stitch are either beginners who don't know the purl stitch, or people who use only fancy yarns so they don't have to do the purl stitch and make an interesting fabric for a plain yarn.  Right?  Sally Melville's "The Knitting Experience, Book 1:  The Knit Stitch" and Elizabeth Zimmerman's "BSJ" are the two exceptions.  And, I did knit an "Einstein Jacket" for myself and ended up feeling like a marshmallow (do you really need the link for that post? LOL).  I knew the knit stitch was enough for Megan and the sideways knitting added just enough construction interest for me.  There's not a lot of options on Ravelry for garter stitch mittens, and TO ME, most of them are not pleasing (or were the wrong size, wrong yarn, or too difficult for Megan).  Oh look...there's two pairs by Elizabeth Zimmerman...one of which is sideways...click on one of them, you'll see her sideways gloves...which are very similar.  I wonder if I have a pattern for them in one of the old Vogue magazines...

I started the mittens with waste yarn so that I could graft the start and end together; same thing on the thumbs.  But I kept thinking there's no reason to stop at the tip and knit back....imagine this.  You're starting at the outside edge of the hand, knitting from wrist to tip, up and down.  Then you get to the thumb, and these ones have a side placed thumb, WITH a gusset made by short rows.  You know I love me a side placed thumb with a nice gusset!  Then you knit the palm side of the hand, wrist to tip on each row...end at the edge and graft, then sew the top!
I finished this pair as the original pattern indicated, but the tops bugged me.  Surely you could knit from wrist to tip, shape, then continue over the top to the other side and down to the wrist....

I'll post the results of that experiment later as I still have to finish the second one.  Would anyone be interested in a well fitting, garter stitch mitten pattern, with NO grafting, no sewing?

Yarn In:  3017gr
Yarn Out:  100gr + 4791gr = 4891gr
Balance:  1874gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $145.08 /252 days = $0.58/day

Three Little Mittens

I can't believe I didn't post about these mittens earlier!  What happened?  I was sure I posted about the first pair, but not the second pair.  I know I posted on my Facebook and/or Instagram page!  So none of this yarn is in my "Yarn Out" total?  Awesome.

I had this idea, back in the spring when business was slow, that I would start making mittens to have in stock.  I wanted a 100% Canadian wool, preferably machine washable.  I also wanted it to be worsted weight.  And affordable.  And available locally.  Well.  There aren't too many options for that!  I finally settled on Briggs & Little "Heritage", back in ....March.  This wool is great value.  The two skeins, 113gr each, cost me $13.45, and I got three pairs of mittens, ranging from large child to a large lady/small men.  I had just the swatch and a small ball left over.  I tested them in the machine, with a load of laundry on a gentle cycle, I think it was.  There didnt' seem to be any appreciable felting, though a hot wash/cold rinse might be another story.  Unfortunately, my gauge was something like 4.5st/in and the chart in Ann Budd's book of Handy Patterns only has full numbers.  I used 5.0mm needles (just for my own future reference).

I do hope to make more, in another colour and some smaller sizes, though I have to get more wool.  And, somehow, I suddenly got a huge influx of orders and inquiries, and I'm still working on those Christmas stockings!  Better get to work!

Yarn In:  3017gr
Yarn Out:  217gr + 4574gr = 4791gr
Balance:  1774gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $145.08 /246 days = $0.59/day