Black Hole

"Make me a slouchy beanie, close but not tight, thick ribbed but not double layer, exactly like this one" she says as she hands me a commercially produced Toronto Maple Leafs beanie, knit with yarn so fine it must be thread, and is full needle rib made into a double layer, cut and sew shaping at the top, and a true beanie.

Sure.

Expressive language is really challenging for Megan.  I  wasn't 100% sure what to make!  We found a soft, fine-enough black yarn first up.  "Bebe Luv" by Easy Knit, found at Wal-Mart.  I had bought it to make a Pocket Puppy, but after making a Pocket Kitty with a white version, I was second guessing this choice.  So I welcomed the opportunity to use it up before I could get going on the Puppy.  The yarn says it has a gauge of 22st/4" on 4mm needles.  I'm not too sure about that.

Bad choice.  This yarn, while soft, is a nightmare.  I took it downstairs to work, and when I finally found a bit to pull out, a big huge glob come with it.  I knew better than to try to just work straight from the glob, so I went back upstairs to wind it with my old electric winder.

I'm not sure now if this is from the initial glob, or from later when I ripped the hat out.

Oh lord.  The yarn was tangled, not just a simple blob.  The yarn is very, very soft.  It took a few tries and then I realized I should change the simple gear on my winder to make it wind slower.  The worst thing though was the static!  I know it's winter, and I assume it's dry in here...but this yarn stuck to me like glue.  And to the cupboard.  And it picked up every speck of dust and dog hair.

I spent a long time looking for a simple, shaped, beanie in 1x1 rib for the standard gauge.  I asked on Facebook.  I should have taken this as a clue.  There is no pattern out there because it is a BAD IDEA.  I swatched, I let it rest.  I thought a bit, I let myself rest.  I was going to conquer this.

I should have given up.  A sane person would have.  Problem after problem.  The first attempt at a decrease row and moving all those stitches over made me realize this was a bad idea.  I kept going.  Something went wrong and I had to totally start over.  Got a ways done, had a problem, got it fixed, kept going...and thought, "wasn't I at 32 rows last time I looked?".  Indeed, the tripper for the row counter had somehow been turned and wasnt' tripping the counter.  Ever tried to count rows black ribbing on the standard gauge while it's still on the machine?

I tried dividing the hat into four sections and decreasing each side of the first section, to make a triangle and sew up the seams later.  This probably would have worked, but as I got closer to the first point, there was too much strain between it and the section next to it.  I realize now I should have moved those stitches of the first triangle over, closer to the next section in hold.  Duh.

I ripped that back (fun!  Ripping back decreased stitches in black ribbing on the standard gauge machine).  Somewhere around now I discovered additional lights in our basement, but they were causing a lot of glare off all the metal parts of the machine.  I searched the house and found a headlamp.  That helped a lot.

I went back to the original idea of shaping, but this time I would just decrease a bunch of stitches and move some over.  Random.  This sort of worked, and as I got less stitches, I was able to get more into a pattern.  I had no idea how it would look though.  I was up to the row count I had wanted, but still had stitches left, so I started decreasing every row to flatten out the top.  Eventually I was left with just a few stitches and gathered it up and off the machine.

I dutifully sewed it up, using the headlamp, even during the day.  I thought it looked best with a bit of a folded hem:

But no, Miss Megan insisted on no hem.  But it wasn't a beanie then, I said.  But it was slouchy.  But you wanted a beanie?  No, she wanted a "slouchy beanie".  Whatevs.  She did say it needed a pompom.  I complied, and snuck in a few reflective threads that had been separated when I was making other things with the reflective yarn and trimmed the ends.  I don't think I used enough of them though.

I had read that a trick to making sure a pompom stays together is to use thin cotton, and wet it with hot water so it will shrink when it dries.  I tried this.  As I was tightening the tie, it broke.  Ugh!!!  I was able to slide the ends around so I had enough to knot and feed through the hat.  I don't know how it will last though.  The pompom looked better after steaming, though I see some ends that need re-trimming!

 When I tried to take a picture, the pompom was too side-heavy and the wig head kept falling over.  Not even at this point could this hat give me an easy time!!
In the end, Megan really likes it.  She can stretch it over her hair when she wears it up (she has a LOT of hair!).  The only problems--it still attracts dog hair and dust, and it's impossible to see inside her black skating bag!

I do have a yarn in to report, but I can't find the receipt :)

Yarn In: 0gr
Yarn Out: 73gr 1037gr = 1110gr
Balance:  1110gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $0

Pink is My Bling

A longtime friend (separated by time and distance but reunited by Facebook!) asked me back in November to make her a hat and infinity scarf set similar in style to the grey/black/white set 

I made but in fuchsia, white, grey/black.  Of course, just before I got her message, I got orders for three mermaid cocoons, so hers got delayed.  I used that time though to go digging in my stash, a bit of shopping (the fuchsia yarn with sequins), and do some swatching.

When I got the fuchsia yarn with sequins, I asked her if she is okay with a bit of bling in her yarn.  Her answer was no, "pink is my bling".  LOL!  Love it!  So, that yarn was out (but I did sneak it into the scarf).

This was taken with a clip on macro lens on my iPad Mini.  

Again, swatching did not go well.  I was planning to make the hat in Charisma "Black Raspberry", but the yarn end was bright pink, and everything I tried made the top of the hat look like a bulls eye.  I tried starting with a grey section.  That was better, but then the next few rows were like stripes, instead of blended colours.  I tried so many combinations.  Adding a grey mohair strand.  Adding a grey strand and a black strand.  Too thick.  Trying a different stitch.  Nothing was working.  Perhaps I was over thinking.

I went back at looked at the inspiration photo she sent.  Wouldn't you know it, I'd swear it was a close up of something knit in garter stitch using this exact yarn. I exhaled, and the next morning, it came to me.  The "Slouchy Beehive Hat" from FlowerPot Designs.  I was grabbing a hat to go out, and grabbed one (pictures 6 & 7) from this post, and saw the similar one (pictures 8 & 9) I did for my daughter, with more vibrant colours.  I KNEW that was the answer.  It wasn't crocheted, so I felt like I was taking a chance, but most people don't know the difference :)

We were going out to a skating show that night (New Year's Eve) and then heading to my parents--a 2+ hour drive in the dark.  Perfect time to knit this!!  I had it almost finished the next day but hadn't taken enough yarn.  Yes, I was a little ticked it took 10gr more than one ball!!  And, I didn't write down what I did!  Ugh.  I think I ended up with 56st, on 8mm needles.

 I LOVE it.  Love, love, love.  I was even able to use up the pink section I cut off from the hat trial, in the scarf (though you can't see it in the picture).  I actually wanted to use more of the pink in the scarf, but I had so many others to choose from.  Especially since I had picked up a bunch of yarn on clearance in the fall, in two shades of gray, white, and black!  I LOVE these scrappy infinite scarves!

 In fact, I was loving working on it so much, it got a bit long so I decided it needed to be a "three wrap scarf" and added a bit more to the length.  It can still be two long loops, or three cozy short loops!  This scarf took 188gr.

I was getting cold so I headed back inside (I had taken some other photos, playing with some props ideas), and left the set up outside.  My husband came home and found this on the outside couch LOL.

My friend just posted a picture on her Facebook page, and she looks wonderful in it!  She's so rosy, and it frames her face beautifully.  If you've wanted to venture into slouchy hats but just don't like hats on yourself, I really recommend this one.  I did 2x2 rib, and made it fairly long.  I also changed the decreases, so it went a bit flatter at the top (so I compensated by making the body part a bit longer--I don't know because I didn't actually check the pattern, LOL).  And I did four rows of knit, then four rows of purl, because of the thickness of this yarn.

Yarn In: 0gr
Yarn Out: 298gr + 739gr = 1037gr
Balance:  1037gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $0

Fixing

In November, 2014, my daughter wanted a new scarf, so we made a fair isle one on the Singer 327.  I steamed it, and blocked it, but the curl never subsided.  I was quite surprised, but I guess, since it was a sock yarn, that would actually have been a good thing.

So, it never got worn past the first day.  I always thought I'd get around to making a backing, somehow, for it.  With all the work in my basement though, the Singer 327 has not been used much, until this fall.  Finally, I decided the day had come. I picked up a ball of Loops & Thread "Woolike" since I was pretty sure there wasn't enough of the Kroy white.  I wasn't sure, while I was in the store, if the white was right.  As it turns out, I should have gotten something a bit softer.  Oh well.

I originally took this picture with the scarf upside down, thinking I'd just flip the picture before posting.  But I couldn't do it.  LOL.  It was just wrong to see 1/2 stitches in one colour

I was hoping to do a "sew as you go" and attach the sides of the scarf to the sides of the backing as I went along.  However, I wanted the new backing to have a knit side out to counteract the curling of the scarf (it curls to the purl side, so if I put two pieces together, one wrong side to one right side, it would still curl).  I couldn't wrap my head around this, as when you're knitting, the purl side is what faces you.  I decided I would just sew it together after.

We started one "swatch" and I decided it was too wide, and Megan lost interest, so I carried on without her.  I used Card 3.  I was hoping the tuck pattern would have less curl.  The knit side has a bit of texture.  I made it an inch longer than I thought I'd need---once I started sewing though it wasn't long enough!

I didn't want to mattress stitch it so I used my machine and a zig zag.  Not the greatest job.  A walking foot would have helped.  And, the knit side still rolled in.  I could have made the backing one repeat wider, or I could block it harder and top stitch, but I was done.  The back is quite bright compared to the pattern, but I don't care.  It's done, I wore it in public, and no one laughed :)

Yarn In: 0gr
Yarn Out: 40gr + 699gr = 739gr
Balance:  739gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $0

Off To a Good Start

Last year I said I was going to keep track of how much I donated/received by donation in a separate category.  But I forgot about about that, as I really didn't receive any this past year.  I'll have to go back and see if I gave any away.

This past weekend, Rob was working in my studio space and having to move things around (everything got moved from the other room into my space, and then I had to move things--but couldn't put anything back in the other room because he needed the floor for cutting drywall).  He picked up a garbage bag with some yarn and said "get rid of it!".  I had been trying/planning to, but it just hadn't happened.  That night, there was a post on Freecycle by a lady looking for yarn.  Well, that was my sign!  Often people are just starting and looking for balls of "normal" yarn (Red Heart, Vanna's Choice, etc).  I described the yarn and she said that was great.  So off it went!

 424gr of this green yarn.  I thought it might be wool, but a burn test after I bought it was inconclusive, I think.  It's sort of sticky, 1ply, and a very large skein.  I lost interest about 10 minutes after I brought it home (Value Village?).

I picked up this 275gr of bulky 1ply because I thought it might be wool and would be good for dyeing and felting.  Again, I think the burn test was inconclusive.

Yarn In: 0gr
Yarn Out: 699gr
Balance:  699gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $0

Just a Few More

I was struggling with Christmas gift ideas this year.  My budget was really tiny.  So tiny, well, it might as well have been non-existent.  So that means things knitted from the stash.  But what?  People can be picky.  Or, I should clarify.  I needed to make things for teenagers.  Teens can be picky.  Yup.

After making the trial pairs of the fisherman's rib fingerless gloves, I figured they be good little gifts.  If I found some extra money in the budget, I could tuck a bill or gift card into the gloves.

I don't recall which of the two left pairs came first.  The left one is from some old yarn...I'm a little surprised just how old!  For laughs, check out this post about the socks I made, and here's the post from when I bought the yarn.  

While this is certainly NOT the oldest yarn in my stash, I think it marinated long enough.  It is disappointing though to see how those socks looked after a few wearings.  On one hand, natural felting will make them warmer, and I love seeing knitted gifts used, but on the other hand, felting will reduce the natural ability of the rib to stretch, which is a key element of this design.

 The first difference I did was to set it up with the edge stitches on the RB.  I made the gloves slightly bigger to do this, rather than slightly smaller.  This did allow for easier seaming, although, as you can see in the blue pair at the thumb gusset, the resulting column of knit stitches created by taking in 1/2 of each edge stitch, does not match the fishermen's rib.

Issue?  I don't know.  Next time maybe I'll do an even number of stitches and seam it up with a purl column.  Megan did most of the knitting of the blue pair, I just set the machine up, casted on, changed the settings when she called me, and sewed them up.  Child labour is so handy!

 I also elongated the thumb gusset a bit by fiddling with the last couple decreases, so I ended with putting three sts on one needle, instead of 5.  I also started with two extra stitches (by having the edge stitches on the RB) so that automatically made it a bit longer.  As well, I used my two stitch transfer tool for the decreases, rather than moving the edge stitch.  That helped A LOT.  A LOT.  And looks nice too.  I did experiment with the grey pair of trying to increase on the sides of the hand to make the thumb gusset that way, but it made a mess.  I might try again, but keep the thumb in stockinette.  But you'd end up with a seam up the middle of the outside of the thumb.  My next trial will be to do the thumb first, then "seam as you go" although I'll probably get the thumb inside out.  I've never done it with the RB in use.


All these totals are in that year end recap.  I did T6 for all three, 40 rows for the cuff, 48 for the hand.  They feel very cushy, stretchier than the orange/purple, but not too 'thin'. This is surprising, because the blue yarn, and the grey/white (it's really a soft, creamy white) are Kroy 3 ply, which is thinner than the orange/purple Kroy Socks.  So, this pattern is quite forgiving of the tension, but I think that if you're using a Singer, just start with T6.  The orange/purple ones could even been T6*.

Fuschia

My youngest kid, Megan, figure skates.  We've never given a gift to her coach(es) and I always feel bad!  This year I decided it was time, and those reversible 4 Way Fingerless Gloves would be perfect!  So we picked two yarns.  Megan wasn't really happy with the choices, but that's what I had.  I did a swatch, did the math.  And got sick.  And the math lied.  Really, it did.  I got one done, but I just couldn't bring myself to finish the second one.

The charcoal is Zara again, and the other side is plated.  One strand of an acrylic mohair from this project .  Mmmm, reading that post, I'm wondering where the rest of the Paton's "Sequins" in purple went!  That would have been much better!  The other side of the plating is two strands of a bright violet coned yarn (I happen to have two cones); I used it also for Megan's legwarmers.  I have it written down which yarn went in which feeder...we surprisingly liked it with the colourful mohair NOT the main yarn.

Megan did most of the knitting.  Though I had to stand there since the cones were too close to the machine and kept getting hung up, plus there's markers to be placed and tensions to change.  

They somehow turned out too small.  Plan B.  Well, there was no plan B, except a Christmas card that said "my mom is sick and your gift will come next week" LOL.

After making the fingerless gloves on the Singer 327 I knew I wanted to make them for the coach.  But I had no fuchsia or purple sock yarn that was "acceptable".  I had some wool I just bought and the fuchsia was deemed perfect.  I tried it on the 327, but while it would knit fine in rib, the Fisherman Rib was too much for it.  And the label says it's aran weight!  I already had gauge info for it on the LK150, so back to it.  Feeling better by this point, I re-worked the pattern for the LK150 and did a thumb gusset by increasing at either side, but no FR.  The cuff did take a little while to latch up, but the hand and FR goes fast, so don't be intimidated!  It's been too long since I've done mittens on the LK150 and I forgot that I hate this thumb gusset, but oh well.  Guess I wasn't feeling as better as I thought :)

It would be really easy to do either a thumb gusset in the middle of the knitting (yes, moving about 19 sts on each side over, every two rows), or add a thumb gusset after like I do in my other mittens on the LK150.  Totally forgot!

Other than the thumb, I LOVE these mitts.  I really, really need to get my new SK155 ribber set up.  Oh?  I haven't told you about that yet?  That's what I was waiting for back in early December, and it deserves it's own post!  Again, the total for these mitts were already included in last year's totals; the first pair weighed 67gr and this pair is 61gr.

Hey! It's Winter!

One thing knitters struggle with is being prepared for the changing seasons.  We have good intentions:  "I'm going to knit my new winter set in July!  Yay me!".  But we all know how it turns out.  The temperatures suddenly plummet and our numb fingers remind us that our July was spent knitting dishcloths.

We've had a really warm December, here in Southern Ontario.  Really warm.  Like, we just need a sweater outside.  Until Sunday, Jan 3, 2016.  Hello, new year!

I thought knitting the fingerless gloves was maybe going to keep the mercury on the plus side.  They seemed like great gifts when it was 5C/41F out there.  Now, it's more like -15C/5F and fingerless gloves seem like a joke.  The nice thing about them though, is they can be layered over thin gloves!

Someone, somewhere, posted about Diana Sullivan's Fingerless Gloves video again.  Again, they were something I had wanted to knit since the video was released.  I decided this was the year.  Well, technically, last year was the year, but does a flip of a number really matter?  And hey, I have "lots" of Kroy Sock yarn!

 I actually had some real Kroy "Socks", not the old 3ply and 4ply Kroy, so I thought I'd start with it, and follow the video exactly.  You know how hard that is for me, right?

First big issue came with changing from 1x1 rib to Fisherman's Rib.  Diana has a Brother, so I looked in my Singer manual, and it does the FR on the mainbed.  I googled, and I went through all my Knitwords magazines cause I knew there were FR patterns.  I found an article where MAO says yes, this is how the manuals tell you to set it up, but it can be done in reverse.  I don't know how though, there appears to be no way to tuck with the Singer ribber bed carriage.  So, I just followed the manual.  This meant that my end needles, carefully set up to be on the MB like Diana said to do, were now tucking (instead of knitting, like in her video).

I finished the first one, and took it off the machine.  I know rib is stretchy, but this was small!  What went wrong?  I made sure to change tension where needed.  I double checked the needle count.  I consulted with my MK mentor. I wasn't happy with the feel of the knitting either.  It was too crispy.  Some of that is because it was unwashed, but there was just something the yarn was trying to tell me.  I concluded that I had mysteriously done something wrong and should try again.

And got the same result.

Now, I know the definition of an idiot is someone who repeatedly does the same thing, expecting to get a different result.  Time to change it up.

I upped the tension to T6.  I shortened the cuff to 35 rows as it had seemed a little long even in the smaller version and I felt the larger tension would allow a bit of length anyway.   I set it up with the same needle set up--end needles on mainbed.  I did 40 rows of FB, hoping the larger gauge would mean they'd have longer hands.  I did the thumbs as written.

As with just about everything I make with self striping yarns, the second one ended up being too close too the first...but not close enough to make them identical.  I'd rather have had them be wildly different (but obviously the same yarn), then "almost close".

Sewing up was not as easy as Diana said they'd be.  I think because the end stitches were tucked.

They are still on the smaller side--but very stretchy.  This yarn really preferred T6.  I probably could have gone up a dot (or two even).  And people think I'm weird when I say yarn talks.

These gloves weighed 46gr, which I included in the previous post with all the totals.  There is a tiny bit of yarn left.  I would much prefer to have NO yarn left, and make these a smidge bigger.  However, technically I don't have "no" yarn left, since there's a couple more balls in the cubbies :)

Sneaking Them In

I've been working on some small items and while they're not all quite finished, they won't take long tonight/tomorrow.  So, I'm including them!

White Kitty 24gr
Abby Gloves 39gr
Allie Gloves 34gr
Boot Laces 30gr
Lisa Gloves 61gr
Sideways Mittens 68gr
Kroy Gloves 46gr
Lisa Trial Gloves 67gr
Blue Kroy Gloves 34gr
Pom Pom 30gr
Donated Yarn 33gr

Total: 466gr


Yarn In: 9989gr
Yarn Out: 466gr + 8806gr = 9272gr
Balance:  717gr more BOUGHT than used
Costs:   $430.10 /365 days = $1.18/day

I think those are pretty reasonable totals.  The two mermaid blankets I'm working on now will use about 1500gr, and the hat and scarf set will use 300-400gr.  And all that is yarn I just bought recently.  So, I would say this year has a 0 net gain of yarn into the stash :) I just wish it looked like a 0 net gain LOL!

One Last Time

I had hoped I could do the two new mermaid cocoons with what I had left over.  At least, I thought it would do for half of each cocoon.  After all, she did want them smaller and when I told her the light blue was probably not available, she said the dark blue was fine and I had two balls left over.

Then she tells me she wants them as big as the smaller one I made.  Oh, and wider towards the bottom.  And a bigger fin.

And then I get to Michaels and they have the Delft blue again.

So, I ended up with 5 balls Delft, 2 balls Waterfall, 1 ball Lagoon, and one ball Woollike in White.  A bit more than I wanted, but based on the weight of the other one, hopefully this all gets used up!  170gr x 8= 1360gr, + 100gr=1460gr.  $57.30


Yarn In: 1460gr + 8529gr = 9989gr
Yarn Out: 8806gr
Balance:  1183gr more BOUGHT than used
Costs:  $57.30 + $372.80 = $430.10 /364 days = $1.18/day

I have some finished mittens and gloves to show, but I know they won't bring me up to 1183gr.  If Michaels' hadn't been having their big yarn sale, I wouldn't have bought the Mermaid yarns until after New Year's.  And, the annoying thing is, the sale price wasn't any better than any other time it's on sale, but who knows when the next time will be.  Perhaps, since this yarn was bought for a specific project, ordered before the end of the year, I should count the finished weight against this year's totals.  Along with Marianne's hat and scarf.  Or would that be cheating?  It is always nice to start the new year with a negative balance with the first project LOL.  I've been in a yarn deficit for much of this year, so I should be proud of that anyway!

Wool!

I've written before about a wool I picked up at Wal-Mart, called "Georga", which said it is "mercerized".  That's a term that's used with cotton fibres, but not usually with wool.  Some people feel that means it's been treated to be superwash, however, at least one person has used it to make felted slippers.  Anyway, I was at "Giant Tiger" (better and bigger than a dollar store, but not huge like Wal-Mart), and they had some of this same yarn, but not called "Georga", just "100% Mercerized Wool".  One colour would be perfect for two projects I'm working on, so I grabbed it and a black and soft white.  $6 a 100gr ball.  Not the best deal, but it's wool, and beautiful colours!

I was hoping that would be the last of the yarn shopping this year, but the lady that bought the two mermaid blankets wants two more, and Michaels is having another big yarn sale this week.  Maybe they won't have any in stock and I'll have to go back NEXT year LOL.

Yarn In: 300gr + 8229gr= 8529gr
Yarn Out: 8806gr
Balance:  277gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $20.34 + $352.46=$372.80 /362 days = $1.03/day

Two Mermaids

I received a second order for mermaid blankets, but these ones were to be totally different than the first.  She wanted the thicker, textured pattern that's out there...and for her girls that are 4'8" and 5'1" and done as cocoons.  In pastel green and blue.

I knew I would probably use LionBrand Homespun, depending on what was available, because I wanted both to be the same yarn.  When I went yarn shopping, there wasn't much selection in pastel colours!  I did pick out some Waterfall and Delft, three skeins of each.

What was I thinking?  No way would three balls be enough!

I started with the green one first, since it was going to be biggest.  I based the size on the pattern but it seemed huge.  And it went through the first skein of yarn very quickly.   I decided it would be much skinnier--closer to how a mermaid would be, I guess.  It is stretchy.

I did a lot of crocheting (2 strands, and the big blue hook--don't know the size), and a lot of uncrocheting.  Laying it out to measure was very different than putting it on and checking the length.  Plus I realized the feet needed some room too!

I went back to get more yarn, and I had an idea of starting off white two strands white, then one white, one colour, then two of the colour, then one of the colour and one darker, and then two of the darker.  But there was NO white Homespun!  And...there was no more Delft.  Not even a space on the shelf for it!!  I picked up a darker blue and figured I could do some blending towards the bottom.  And I picked up a darker blue-green for the fin.

Crochet.  Uncrochet.  Repeat.

I wasn't happy.  It was okay, but not spectacular.  What to do?!  And then I got sick.  And hubby wanted to go to Toronto to get a gift.  I made him stop at a Michaels on the way back and they had lots of Delft!  I grabbed ONE skein and got back to work.  And uncrocheting.  I was NOT going to get more, and I had to make sure there was enough for the tail, so I finished it then went back to the cocoon.

In the end, I'm glad I persevered.  There were some little things I would do differently, but they're pretty insignificant in the end.  The client wants two more for other grandchildren--I told her no more Delft though, LOL!

They look really long and skinny, but once on and the width is stretched, the length is shorter.  Green one was 770gr and the blue one was 764gr.  

Yarn In: 8229gr
Yarn Out: 1534gr + 7272gr = 8806gr
Balance:  577gr more USED than bought
Costs:  $352.46 /361 days = $0.98/day

Back in the "more used" side...but I did pick up three balls just before Christmas...

Ummm. Yah.

Things did improve as far as the poor timing I was having in the past couple weeks.  But you know what happened instead?  I got sick.  And my son got sick (he's pretty solitary so he self-isolates LOL), and now my middle child is sick.  Ugh.

Kept working on those mermaid cocoons...many alterations.  Came to the realization that I just would not have enough of the blue, tried to introduce graduating stripes (AA, AB, AA, AB, AA, AB, BB, etc) but it wasn't good.  My husband insisted on going to Toronto on Sunday for a gift, and taking me along.  I realized that there was a Michaels in Pickering--half way between Toronto and home, but further than I would usually go to shop on a normal basis.  So, he nicely made the long detour off the highway and we found it, and indeed, they had quite a bit of Delft blue Homespun left!  I got just one skein.  When we finally got home (OMG, traffic in Pickering is crazy), I plowed ahead full steam.

As full steam as I could.

Monday I went to my doctor and got the diagnosis of "very very sick" and about five or six meds.  But stayed up late (I'm not really sleeping anyway, so why not stay up when it's quiet) and got them finished last night.  Photos taken this morning, and then they were picked up.  They are quite nice!   I also helped my youngest make a pair of the 4 Way Reversible Fingerless Gloves to give to her skating coach, but my lack of brain function meant I just couldn't get them finished.

Yarn In: 170gr + 8059gr =  8229gr
Yarn Out: 7272gr
Balance:  957gr more brought in then used
Costs:  $5.64 + $346.82 =$352.46 /356 days = $0.99/day

Denial

I've been dreading this post.  I had to go back to Michaels to get more LionBrand "Homespun" in Delft and another colour because for some reason, I thought 3 skeins would be enough for a nearly adult size mermaid cocoon. Duh.  Just before I went, I had an idea that I could actually start with two strands white, work a bit, change to one strand white, one Delft, work a bit, two Delft, work a bit, one Delft, one darker blue, work a bit, then two darker blue--if  they didn't have any Delft left.

Well, they didn't have any Delft.  They didn't even have a spot for it.  What?!  It was about two weeks since I had bought it!

And.  They had no white.  None.  Nowhere.  I could however get three more of the light greenish colour I was also using, and three of a darker blue to go with the Delft I already had, with vision of either using one strand of each for the whole thing, or graduating as I got further down the cocoon (6x170gr)

I also searched each and every yarn for a fuchsia that was interesting, but not "blingy".  There were some gorgeous ones I eliminated because they were shiny, had sequins, or were mixed with other odd colours.  I settled on the lovely Loops & Threads "Charisma" (100gr x 3,  which comes in a nice solid and a variegated mix that actually matches the fuchsia (so many yarns don't match a solid colour) and the other colours in it are gray and charcoal, which is the other colours in the project.

And then I found the discount rack.  Oh dear.  A yarn I've never tried before, Loops & Threads "Mirage".  So soft, a thick and thin single ply.  Nice neutral colours.  I picked up 2 black, 2 white, 2 tan, 2 dark grey, 2 light grey (10x100gr=1000gr!).  Also, one ball of Loops & Threads "2nd Kiss" in black (85gr).  All these yarns I can when I work on the fuchsia project, and any similar multi-yarn textured infinity scarf/hat sets.

So...2405gr of new yarn!  Yikes!  Some is being used right away.  But still.  And then...I got sent some ladder ribbon yarn!

I can't find the Michaels' receipt at this moment, but it was $78.98 according to my credit card statement.  If I find the receipt I can probably return some of the LionBrand Homespun.  Or not.  LOL.

Yarn In: 2405gr + 5654gr = 8059gr
Yarn Out: 7272gr
Balance:  787gr more brought in then used
Costs:  $78.98 + $267.84 = $346.82 /351 days = $0.99/day

4 Way Fingerless Gloves Tutorial

Last post, I wrote about the development of these 4 Way Reversible Gloves.  Now, I'll share a bit more on how to make your own, with any yarn.

The most important tool is going to be your swatch.  The second most important thing is a schematic with all the important measurements.  For this, I highly recommend Ann Budd's "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns".  I get a copy from my public library.

It has all the important measurements, for sizes from toddler to XL Man.  I don't usually look at the pattern as my gauge always seems to be something like 4.5st/inch and she includes only full stitch/inch (4 st/inch and 5st/inch).  I just take the measurements and my gauge and figure my own numbers, remembering to add 1 or two stitches if needed for seaming.  I recommend to use yarn that is not too thick.  Two layers of DK add up to worsted weight, but even using one worsted weight and one DK makes the gloves quite thick.  

Start with an open cast on with the required number of stitches for the wrist.  Using a tension a little bit tighter than your main tension (about MT-3), knit the length indicated by the pattern for the cuff. Change to the main tension, knit a row, and mark both edges.  Knit the height needed for the thumb gusset (make sure to use the right measurement from the schematic.  I have used the thumb length measurement before!), and place markers at the edge again.  

Look at your calculation for how many total rows you need.  For this, I look at the length needed before starting the mitten shaping.  I figure the tighter tension at the cuff and the top edge shortens it up a bit, and then I round down a row or too.  I like my fingerless gloves long, but other people like them shorter.  For charity, there is no right or wrong.  Depending on the size, take the last two inches of the mitten and tighten up the tension so it will be snug around the fingers.  If the mitten gives flipped upside down to wear, this will still give a nice cuff.

I tried two different ways to make the turning row.  The men's pair has a converted row, creating a ridge.  The lady's pair has an eyelet row (move 1 stitch over, place empty needle in work; repeat across).  When I did the converted row, I realized that it has to be one colour or the other, so take your pick.

Now, you're going to do all this again, but in reverse.  Using the gauge of your inside yarn and your measurements, knit about two inches at a tighter tension, then loosen up to the main tension and knit to the top of the thumb gusset.  Mark it, knit the gusset length, place another marker at the edges.  Knit 1 row and knit the required length of the cuff in the tighter tension.

If there is 1st/inch difference, or more, between the two yarns, you need to account for this.  I would recommend starting with the finer yarn, and then decreasing after the turning row.  Then you will need to increase on the last row of the cuff, so you have the same number of stitches as what you started with at the very beginning, to make for easier grafting.

Take it off on waste yarn, and make a second one.  Or, better yet, knit the waste yarn for about 8 rows, do a row of ravel cord, then knit 8 rows in waste yarn again.  Once off the machine, separate the two by the ravel cord.

Seam up the long side first, leaving the thumbs open between each set of markers.  Weave in any ends.  Then, tuck the one layer inside the other, matching up the open cast on with the open cast off and the thumb holes.  I found it helped to put each colour on a circular needle before grafting.  Pick one colour, and graft the cast on to the cast off.  Then, stitch the layers together around the thumb openings, so they don't shift.

The key to making them 4 way reversible, instead of just inside out reversible, is to make sure the thumb opening is not perfectly centred.  The amount of the cuff should be either a little bit more, or a little less than the amount above the thumb opening.  Having the thumb off centre means that when they're worn one way, they will be long over the fingers, and when they're worn the other way, they will be shorter over the fingers.

Over Christmas, I'll knit another pair and take pictures of this process :)

Stay Warm

Late one night, I had this idea.  I love using my LK150, but it doesn't have a ribber and converting ribbing gets tedious.  I wanted to make some fingerless gloves.  I want to make a lot of fingerless gloves...gifts, to sell, to donate, to have at school for the kids I supervise who come with those cheap stretchy gloves.  But if I just make a stockinette tube, it will curl at the top and bottom.

I've posted the tutorial at http://www.tracykm.blogspot.ca/2015/12/4-way-fingerless-gloves-tutorial.html and it's also on Ravelry now!  If you try it, please post your project on Ravlery!


If I made a tube though, and turned half of it to the inside, and grafted the cast on and cast offs together, then they wouldn't curl and wouldn't need ribbing, would be really warm, and could be reversible!!  I love reversible things!

It took a while before I could put this idea into action.  One night, I just had to start.  I did a swatch and let it rest.  Did the math the next day, and knit the first tube.  I planned to use tighter tension at the wrist and top..slightly longer at the wrist.

Well....of course, it wasn't a tube, LOL.  It was a long rectangle.  I put markers where I wanted the thumb gussets to be, and convert the turning row to garter stitch.  Did the second one.  Sat down to sew them up.

Which to do first?  Sew the side, or graft the bottom?  I started off by grafting the bottom, so my rectangle was folded cast off to cast on, purl sides together.  No problem grafting that.

Then I realized, I wouldn't be able to put it on the machine to knit the thumb gussets!

So, I tried sewing the second one with the side seam first.  No, I wouldn't be able to put that back on the machine for the gusset either.  Well, I might have, I"m not sure, but I didn't pursue it because I was not unstitching the first one, so these ones would be thumbless.  Then I realized I really needed to stitch the sides together around the thumb opening.

I had Rob try them on.  He felt that with the longer snug section at the wrist, that they were too long over the fingers.  He flipped them around and because the thumb opening was not centered, now the portion over the fingers was shorter.  He liked them that way.  I realized that now they could be worn FOUR different ways!

I also had to make a pair for women, as part of a gift exchange game.  I had intended to use similar yarn as the green pair (I think they are Zara (the charcoal) and Georga ) but I really wanted to do a reflective yarn.  Which is much thicker.  I pulled out this Moda Dea "Washable Wool" which is also thick.

Immediately, trying to swatch the Reflective on the LK150, I knew it wasn't going to work.  So, I dug out the SK155 which was on the backside of the table and they swapped places.  I still had to get the tension up to T8 for it to feel smooth.  The reflective strand in this yarn has NO stretch, so it's not really well suited for the knitting machine.  I left the swatch over night.

I did the numbers.  There was definitely a gauge difference between the yarns.  I wanted an eyelet turning row this time, but if I  started with  the Reflective, then I would need to increase after the eyelets when I switch to the beige.  No problem.

I got the first one done.  Ho hum.  Beige.  Yawn.  I knew I had to spice it up.  I tried a Fair Isle punch card with the second one, but between trying to figure out which row to put the dark brown, and a child talking to me, and figuring which row I was on for changing the tension...I messed it up.  It did show me though that I was on the right track.  I ripped back both of them and simplified the Fair Isle, which just happened to fit exactly in the 11 row section now.  I also realized that because I had increased stitches for the beige, I would need to decrease back down to the original number in the purple half, so I wouldn't have to do the decreases while grafting.  I was really proud of myself for figuring that one out before I was actually trying to do the  grafting!

This time, I decided to do the thumb gussets right away, before seaming.  A few false starts since I haven't done this in a while.  However, once I had the first one sewn up, I realized that the two layers of worsted yarn were just too thick around the thumb, especially with having a seam on each thumb.  I ripped all the thumbs out!  Again, being thumbless, they can now be worn four ways!

 It's so hard to capture the reflective nature of this yarn!  Will this catch your eye at the edge of the road at night?  I see too many people out in the dark, wearing dark clothes!

I have been a little envious when I see other knitters selling items with a nice wrapper.  My computer skills are not all that great (and my computer is very outdated now), but I really wanted to give it a try.  It went surprisingly well, and my daughter had a couple tips too.  Printed "landscape" mode, these fit perfectly around the gloves.  I did forget however to include the yarn content.

You might not be able to see it, so click for a larger version.

My cousin opened this during the game and commented that he didn't know I had my own business selling things--he saw how nice they were wrapped and thought they were store bought!  Awesome!  Mission accomplished!  He said they will be very handy but might get caulking on them.  I said that's fine!  I want my knit items to be used and appreciated, not put on display.  I can always make more!

Green/charcoal ones are 114gr and the beige/purple ones are 133gr

Yarn In: 5654gr

Yarn Out: 247gr + 7025gr = 7272gr
Balance:  1618gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $267.84 /348 days = $0.77/day

I Hate Weeks Like These

The past two weeks have just been one annoyance after another.  Timing errors mainly.  And some, not errors, but just bad timing not in my control.

On Tuesday  I was waiting for a package to be delivered.  I'm SO excited about this package, but it should have it's own post.  I also had to go out.  So I checked my phone and my emails, saw nothing from the shipper, and went out.  It took longer than I expected and when I got home...yup.  A notice saying I had missed the delivery.  But I could pick it up at a gas station, 6km from my home, approximately 11 minutes according to Google.  But at a "bad" intersection, the type of location that you can get into from only certain directions unless you make radical lane changes and cut someone off...At least 15 minutes.  The notice said after 12pm the next day.

So, Wednesday, I went straight from my lunch supervision job (get out at 12:10).  First I stopped at my physiotherapist and paid a bill, then I headed on to the gas station.  Got there at 12:30.  They had had their shipment drop off for the day--and my package wasn't there!

Today, my daughter wanted to go to the walk-in clinic because her ear has been hurting.  It is in a mall next to this gas station (but you can't get from one to the other!).  Got to the walk-in clinic.  They were having a staff lunch party and would be closed for another 45 minutes.  Drove over to the gas station and got gas (4 cents a litre more than yesterday!) and went in for the package.

It wasn't there again!!

Came home, had all the after school madness, searched my email for a tracking number (came up with three numbers), tried to track it online, but it said I was not home for the delivery on Tuesday and there was no further tracking.  Had to try a couple times but finally got through to customer service who was very helpful, though she could not tell me where the package was, she said it was in the system to be delivered to my door tomorrow.

We'll see.

And yes, the package is knitting related!

Swim!

Mermaid blankets have been the hot ticket on the internet this fall.  I had put my hand up a few times when I'd seen inquiries, but without one already completed, most people passed me by.  Finally, I hooked (get it?) someone!

She wanted one like http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mermaid-tail-afghan but in pinks and purples and maybe a little glittery white.  No problem!  I love making girly items!  I was surprised though at how little plain worsted weight yarn I have in pinks and purples, that actually looked good together...and was in large enough quantities!  I started out, made a few tries...too wide...the white with silver thread didn't look right (too harsh!)...not enough of the dark purple I had, etc.

I had hoped to carry the yarns up the sides, but I had chosen an odd number of colours/pattern, and with each colour being just one row, it wasn't working out.  Tangles, too much extra yarn to carry around, etc.  So, I cut the yarn for each row!

I love the photographer's secret technique I used to suspend the tail so I didn't have to photograph it entirely flat!

The final colour pattern I settled on was a 7 row repeat.  Long enough to make it look almost random.  There are actually two different pinks used, one matte and one shiny but almost identical in colour.
I got carried away with crocheting, and totally forgot to decrease for the bottom area!  The good thing was that by tapering it down, the yarn went further than before and the length ended up even better.
I was worried about it being too skinny so to tidy up the side edges, I did a few rows of the shell stitch up the sides, before sewing up the back bottom for about 10".  I seem to have forgotten to take a photo of that!  It seems some mermaid tail patterns create a sort of sleeping bag design, and others are flat like a blanket.  This pattern is a blanket style (it was supposed to be 50" wide!), and then stitched together at the bottom back to taper it in and create a cozy pocket for the feet.  Then the tail is sewn to the bottom, closing off the pocket at the same time.
I gave it a good steaming to relax the shell stitches and soften the acrylic yarns.

 I think the fin took two attempts, the first one being too big and only getting a row or so in.  However, the second half of the fin--the increasing half on the right, took several attempts.  I just couldn't get it increasing enough to match the decrease half and I was 10 stitches short by the time I got back to the dark purple!

I ran a piece of yarn through the top of the tail to gather it in, and folded the sides over a bit before sewing it on the bottom.
To add a little dimension, I did every right side row around the post of the DC of the stitch below.  Back to front? to create a chain ridge.  I like how when I changed colours it created a neat effect.

If I ever make this again, I will limit the number of yarns/colour repeat.   I actually had only four yarns in the body, which is good.  The pattern called for three, I think, and odd numbered repeats are usually more eye pleasing.
I am working on some more, but this time as a tube style, using two strands of LionBrand Homespun, one colour only!  So much faster!!

Yarn In: 5654gr
Yarn Out: 364gr + 6661gr = 7025gr
Balance:  1371gr more used UP than brought in
Costs:  $267.84 /342 days = $0.78/day