I Bought Yarn!

 Where'd August go? 

Oh yeah, it's 2020. My niece came to stay for a bit. It was suggested to us as "a few days" but turned into two and a half weeks, minus "a few days" in the middle when we sent her back to her mother because of behaviour. Interesting. 

Then we went to a cottage for two weeks. I thought I'd get lots of blog updating done there, but the internet was not that great with all of us trying to use it. 

Before going to the cottage, I bought yarn. I started this idea when I went on the Florida road trip. Buy a large skein (340gr) of Bernat "Handicrafter" in a colour that will remind me of the trip, and knit only dishcloths on the trip. No more "What should I pack to work on" dilemmas. Oh, I still take another small project, but my main focus is on the dishcloths. Small, no pattern, can work in the dark. Perfect. 

This year, for the cottage, I chose "Junebug".  I didn't look at the name, I just picked the colours. The only other option at Wal-Mart was shades of brown. Not inspiring. The neat thing was, this yarn perfectly matched the cushions in the screened in porch, where I spent most of my time. 

The porch became the puzzle room in the second week. Much hilarity ensued as puzzle building was turned into a competition sport.

I actually didn't get the cloths finished until after I got home. Two weeks should have been plenty of time, but I also had the little baby hats. I got 12 from the big skein, which was about $10.

My recipe for dishcloths:

Cast on 3 sts with 5.5mm needles.  I knit them a bit loose so when they shrink, they're still flexible.

Every row: K1, Yarn Over, knit to end of row.

Repeat until there are 20 eyelets up each side.

Every row: K1, Yarn Over, slip 1 stitch, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over the k2tog.

Repeat until there's about 4 stitches left. Then I wing it to decrease down to one stitch (like, k1, YO, k3tog; next row, k2tog and pull yarn through). 

I pull the big ball through the last loop and tightened. Leave a long length (8-10"?) and start again without cutting the first one off. After I do about 4 or 5, I will cut them off. Weave in ends.

(According to Blogger, this is in the center....will have to see....)

I also bought some more baby yarn for the newborn hats. I really have very little left for baby hats (suitable for hospital handout--I have lots of gorgeous yarns for custom hats when I can share care instructions). Three skeins of Loops & Threads "Snuggly" (141gr each). It was actually difficult to find a DK weight yarn suitable at Michaels. I could have gone thinner, but didn't find any suitable. I'd love to use sock yarn, but not for donations. I might try with some ends of balls I have. It is machine washable.

It was hard to find a perfect spot outdoors to knit. No lounge furniture on the deck, just dining furniture. Chairs on the patio/firepit level but it was pretty sunny. This part of the deck was usually shady, but it was often quite windy down here, and a little noisy with boats and jet skis. 

We ran into Giant Tiger to get more "Magic Fire" powder. They had some of those "1lb Unknown Fiber" bags of yarn. Grabbed a few worsted weight bags; 908gr, for  $17.99 (with tax).

And then, the best find of the year. While leaving Sobey's in Gravenhurst, I looked at the Community Bulletin Board. I saw a poster for "Shelridge Yarns"!!  How had I forgotten about this great business? Years ago, pre-blog (I started in August 2006) I found out about them. At the time, they were a farm in Ariss, ON, near Guelph. I visited it and bought some sock yarn. I have blogged about those socks, maybe 2007 or 2008. Then, they sold the yarn business to the women from Cabin Fever patterns and yarn. The business moved to Orillia at some point, I moved to Whitby and lost touch with the "indie" yarn companies as there weren't any fiber shows out here. So, imagine my surprise when I saw that they were alive and well and right there in the town we were staying near!

Walking in, I think I heard angels singing. It was delightful. So much yarn, so many colours! It's really nice yarn, and the great thing is colours are consistent between yarn weights. And not  just six colours per yarn type. No...more like six shades of just green. Their Instagram page has some photos. It's so beautiful to see all these "basic" yarns, rather than the hodgepodge of textures and fibers that fill the rows at Michaels. 

I started talking to Lyn, I think it was. I asked about some yarns I had seen on the website but couldn't recall the name of the group....something strange...."Strange Brew"! She told me about how she was trying tonal dyeing. Handpainted yarns have been very popular the last 15-20 years. While gorgeous, I find they can often be hard to work with. Often the colours are very distinct and different in the skein but when you knit them up, things get muddled and muted. With tonal dyeing, the colours blend more subtly. Some of the colours reminded me of the wools my aunt would dye from natural dyes we would collect (walnut shells, onion peels, etc). Lyn pointed out this worsted weight pile and my heart exploded. I mean--I was even wearing a turquoise top! The yarn was so new, it didn't have a tag or a colour name. I called it Curacao, as it reminded me of our southern Caribbean cruise almost 3 years ago. It is going to become either a hat or mitts. I have to sort through my bin and see what I need. (100gr, $28.25)

Total weight in....1771gr! Wow. That's like, half of what I bought all year, just in August. But.....almost twice what I spent up till now LOL. Still, less than 50cents a day on yarn. Not bad. However, have I told you about my other new hobby?  Stay tuned. 

Yarn In:  3344gr + 1771gr= 5115gr
Yarn Out:   6631gr + 340gr = 6971gr
Balance: 1856 gr more OUT than in!
Costs: $73.34 + $42.35= $115.68/248 days = $0.47 per day

 

"Athletic"

I made this in mid-April, and I was thinking we would actually get back to school by May, or maybe for June (we usually go until almost the end of June). I bought a bunch of athletic jersey online and then found out it has only 2 way stretch. I haven't done much with it because 4 way is more comfortable. I did use some of this colour to make Rob some boxers. He seems okay with no vertical stretch. I'm not sure how. I tried making underwear for myself and could barely get it on.

I thought "Plitvice" by Itch to Stitch would be a nice option. I'd been wanting to make another one and just decided it was time. There were some adjustments I wanted to make (bit longer, more drapey). I hadn't done a FBA on the original, and I'm not sure now if I did one on this version LOL.

Okkkkkaaaayyyy.  I didn't remake the Plitvice! Looking at the photos, I'm like....what? That's not the same shirt LOL. Now I have to  go down to the basement and look through my patterns.  It was actually Simplicity 2938.

The gathers don't really float all the way down. I hate how it flares out at the bottom, though the sketch does show that happening. I tried on another shirt I had made years ago, yesterday, and it did the same. Don't like that. I thought it was good that it doesn't read as athletic material from a distance.

It feels a little tight around the arms. I did bands, and may have stretched them too much. 

I haven't worn it since LOL. Maybe now that it's summer I'll wear it again. I like that it's dark, but not black. I don't have much in the way of "serious" but not dressy clothes that are darker. You know, sometimes you don't want to wear your little black dress, but your bright pink outfit doesn't fit either. I'm sure I'll wear it when ever work starts again. My teens said it was acceptable, so that's a good thing. 

I'm Trendy!

Fabricland finally re-opened, but I wasn't eager to go. Eventually I had to, to get my membership renewed. I also wanted to get some twill to make Rob shorts.

A few steps inside the door and there was a display with striped linen-cotton fabrics. They were lovely! Greys, pinks, blues. I knew I needed to make pants. I finally picked out a blue stripe. I wish there was a matching solid fabric though!

I got going on these pants right away. I was going to do another pair of Sequoia. I laid it out and quickly panicked. Do you reverse the stripes for the other side? Or keep the pattern going across the center seam? OMG. I questioned everyone, no real answer. I finally opted to keep the pattern going across the center seam.

The next thing was the side pockets. I didn't want to get fussy, I was just going to do the pocket but not the flap. Then I just decided to forget the pocket. I didn't want to fuss with matching the stripes. I did do the straps to roll up the pant legs.

For the waistband, I just did a contoured knit band. Simple. 

Yes, they do kind of have a pajama-ish look in the pictures. In real life though, you can tell they're linen. As I was preparing to make them (or had just finished?), I was at the Great Canadian SuperStore with the girls, and we walked past the Joe Fresh clothes. Wouldn't ya know? They had striped lined wide leg pants!! The girls groaned; they knew they had no opportunity to use the "you're not stylish" card now!!

Rob's Turn

After I had sewn a few things for myself, I decided it was Rob's turn. I had picked up this sprocket pattern cotton lycra from a de-stash (I think). It wasn't quite enough for a full shirt though, darn tall guy. With help from one of the teens, I chose a dark brown for the sleeves. This is the Zesty Tee, from the old Pickle Toes Patterns (now with a new name).

The cotton-lycra was fairly stiff at first, but after a few washings, it's quite soft now. Wish I knew where it was from originally

Looks pretty good. He's not sure of the dark sleeves, but whatever. 

Nice to see him in shirts without big holes and stains!

Then, one night, he says "Can you make me a tank top?". I had been thinking about that! I found that Thread Theory has a free one, the Arrowhead.  I picked out some bright yellow, and the periodic table fabric for the trims.

He was trying to do a muscle man  pose

Yes, it's bright!

Pretty good coverage in the back. Then he says, "I wasn't sucking in. Take it again". So I did LOL

The teens don't want to be seen with him in this. LOL. We do make him untuck it. 

I also made him a mossy green one. The problem is, it's too cold in the house to wear them LOL. Now I'll have to make him a cardigan!!

More Sequoias

Yup, another pair of Sequoia pantss, by Itch to Stitch! And another pair awaiting photos!

The pictures suck. These are black cotton pants that pick up hair like crazy. It's a black cotton from my stash. It's stamped at one end, in gold, 100% Cotton, made in China. I also have it in blue and made some pants from that version. It's light and has decent drape for cotton. 

I do a mock fly and a stretch knit band. The waistband in the pattern is lovely but I just don't need that about of fussiness. 

The snaps for adjusting the strap to roll up the pants

The inside of the pocket flap got some contrasting fabric.

I believe those are Transformer snaps on the pockets. Hard to see in the photo.

Not the greatest picture, LOL. I was wearing them the other day and hubby says "Where'd you get those pants?" (back when not much was open yet and I wasn't going out much). Dude, they took me over a week to make, using the dining table and the sewing machine located near your "office". I guess, to be fair, I did just order some clothes on line with gift cards I got at Christmas. Pretty cool though that even though he knows I sew most of my clothes, he thought these were purchased! 

More Tiny Hats

I wasn't extremely thrilled with the other tiny hats I made on the bulky machine. They're okay, but DK on that machine is not a great fit. So, we pulled out my knitting machine table so I could access the standard gauge. I do have a lot of cone yarn, though I am seriously just about out of suitable DK yarn! A lot of the cone yarn I have though, is not baby colours. Not even in a non-traditional way. Like, grey, dark burgundy, tan...

But I had this pretty teal, and purple. One of these tiny hats takes about 12gr. The teal ones are single strand, one or two of the purple ones are single strands, but then I decided to double strand it. For the single strand ones, I believe I did 60-60 in K1 P1 rib, 75 rows, T1, then bring the RB stitches up to the MB, doubling with the stitches there. Knit two rows, double up again, do that again.  

The cream one was from my box of finished items that never sold. The bottom purpley one was actually from the last batch, but when I washed them, it got hidden in a sheet and I missed it. 

For the double strand, I cast on 50-50 in K1 P1 rib. I started at T0 then moved up every row one notch on the tension till I got to T5 (the first one was T3, the second was T4, then I decided to try T5 on the 3rd hat and I liked it the best). Did 75 rows, moved the RB stitches up and place them on the needles with stitches already. Knit a row, moved over as many stitches as I could before I got bored, knit another row. Doubled up again, knit 2 rows, doubled up again, knit a row and take off. 

Even though they were all done differently, they stretch so much so they will all fit. However, I will do the 75 rows, move the stitches up and doubled, knit a row, and then take off on a knitting needle. I will finish the last couple rows by hand knitting. I need more hand knititng projects and I just wasn't thrilled with finishing on the  machine. We'll see how many hats I end up making!

Yarn In:  3344gr
Yarn Out:  6453gr + 178gr = 6631gr
Balance: 3287 gr more OUT than in!
Costs: $42.35/191 days = $0.22 per day

More Sunset Loungers

I've had this cotton lycra fabric for a while. It was rather "stiff", the print seemed too thick. I had washed it initially, but it was still thick feeling. It sat around for awhile. I knew I wouldn't like it as a shirt, but what else could it be? I decided to wash it again, just to see what might happen. It was definitely softer and less stiff, but still not shirt material. On the spur of the moment, I thought "Sunset Loungers"! There are times that being short is awesome!

One yard of fabric is enough, when I'm doing a different waist band! Which I did. I just did it in black cotton-lycra, using the curved waistband add-on for the Patterns for Pirates "Peg Legs" leggings.

It's such a nice pattern, and I even managed to make sure both legs had the pattern going the right way!

 Not too bad for the rear view!!

 So comfy. Great to through on to run Lucy to work, and for lounging around the house. I can't have enough of these pants. Do you think these ones are work friendly? I work as a substitute teacher. I see a lot of teachers in yoga pants! Maybe with something nicer than a plain t-shirt?

Newborn Baby Hat on the SK155 Knitting Machine

In a community group on Facebook, someone shared that the local hospital has not been getting donations of baby hats lately, and could anyone help. Of course!! There was a hand knitting pattern supplied: With DK yarn, 3.75mm needle, cast on 70. Rib for 3". Switch needle size (but I never did) and stockinette for 2". Decrease 7 stitches every other row (Row 1: Knit 8, Knit 2 together and repeat; Row 3: Knit 7, Knit 2 together, repeat; Row 5: Knit 6, Knit 2 together, repeat; etc).  The pattern was written for knitting flat. If you do, I suggest adding a stitch so when you seam, you still get the decreases at the top spread evenly. I knit them in the round--Magic Loop style--so no seaming needed. I also use an alternate cable cast on. It's really nice for ribbing. I got the instructions from Montse Stanley's "Knitter's Handbook" but I assume instructions can be found online these days.

Although they didn't take me long to hand knit, I really wanted to machine knit some because of course it will be faster, right?

Oh Emm Gee. I won't go into details, but every, and all, and then some, mistakes that could be done on the SK155, I did. It was the only machine I had accessible, and I thought I could do DK on T1. It was too loose.

The pink and white striped one at the 9:00 position was the first (finished) hat on the SK155. The other pink striped, two purple, dark rose, and autumn colours ones were further attempts.

Well, I have lots of worsted, so on with that. I kept tweaking the pattern, getting back into the MK groove. I think the latest result is the closest to the hand knit version. My number of rows in the ribbing is a bit different in this hat than the pattern because I was worried about running out. I added two rows in the stockinette section to compensate. I ended up with yarn left over LOL

4.5st=1", 7 rows =1" on T1, SK155, worsted weight yarn

Cast on 50 sts, for 1x1 ribbing, using zig zag cast on and Tension "R".  Hang cast on comb. Do two circular rows (knit only on main bed one row, then the ribber bed for the next row).

Rib for 18 rows. I gradually increase the tension, one dot at a time, from TR to 0 to T1. Some of the yarns needed T1** because they were just a little stiffer.

Transfer stitches to main bed, or do what you need to to knit circular stockinette

Knit 14 rows.

Decrease 7st every other row. From right edge: move 2nd stitch to the left, count 5 needles; move next stitch to the left; repeat across row. I like to move stitches over to fill in empty needles. Knit 2 rows.

Next decrease row: move 2nd stitch from right, to the left. Count over 4 needles, move next stitch to left; repeat across the row. Knit two rows.

Keep doing this until 8 stitches remain (I think).

Thread yarn end through stitches and tighten. Sew up with mattress stitch, taking half a stitch from each edge.


I actually like to knit two more stockinette rows in the main part, and then when doing the decreases, on the last couple decrease rows, I eliminate the plain row in between the decrease rows (so, do the K2tog, knit 2 across, then the next row is K2tog, knit 1 across, then next row is knit 2 together across the row.
Allow 30gr of worsted weight yarn. The grey and fuchsia hat weighed in at 25 grams, after sewing and trimming ends. I think it was Loops and Threads "Impeccable".

Yarn In:  3344gr
Yarn Out:  6051gr + 402gr = 6453gr
Balance:  3109gr more OUT than in!
Costs: $42.35/182 days = $0.23/day

Shorts

Over the past few summers I've made the girls a variety of shorts, mainly from the Burda 6797 pattern, but I did do one pair of Sinclair Patterns "Moxies", for Megan. They were a little snug in the bum and the pocket doesn't fit her phone, so she hasn't worn them. Great design though. She wanted some new sleep shorts this summer. I made one pair from an older pajama pattern and she hated them. The fabric is a non-stretch knit, like a heavy sweatshirt. I even put a large pocket for her phone, but no. 

Then I bought Winter Wear Pattern's "Endless Summer Shorts". If you're trying to build up a pattern collection frugally, I highly recommend subscribing to their newsletter. Along with Ellie and Mac and Sinclair Patterns, you can stock your pattern library really economically using their sales. 

I know the picture doesn't look like much LOL. That's kind of the point. Basic shorts that can be done in a myriad of fabrics for all your needs. And, pockets! I did have a few issues with the pattern writing, but I was able to muddle through based on my own experience. One diagram for the pocket didn't really make sense and the names for the pocket pieces were hard to keep track of. The decorative placket piece is supposed to be topstitched down on the outside of the shorts, but I don't think a single pair in the (incredibly large number of) photos showed a contrast piece being used so it was hard to figure that out. Once I figured that out, I did them how I've done pockets before, so the piece went on the inside of the front of the pocket, to give it stiffness. It adds a bit of a hidden pop of pattern--you can't even see it here!

Not too short. I might lengthen them for me though. Just a smidge.

This is how much I had to work with. I got the fabric from my mother in law when she moved into a condo. It's cotton, feels like a quilting cotton, not much drape. I made a sun hat last summer with it, and shorts for Lucy too.

This is how much I had after. I believe I made the waist band from a cotton-lycra knit instead of following the waist band instructions. It looks like a lot on its own in the picture, but on the right is my rotary cutter, and at the top center is my phone.

After I made these ones, I made her a pair in satin. Why not? She loves how slippery they are in bed LOL. Might make myself some too!

These are the Burda shorts I made for Lucy a couple summers ago. They aren't drapey like the ones I made from rayon, but the bias binding trim was a lot easier to do since it could take a good press.

She's gotten compliments on these shorts. Shorts are a great thing to make yourself. They take hardly any fabric and can be so versatile. 

Something New

Even though I've been knitting continuously 26 years, I do still find new things to try. This year, I decided to give mosaic knitting a go. I think I saw some ideas in a yarn newsletter (Knit Picks, Yarnspiration, etc) and started Googling. I found a website with a lot of patterns and I opted to do the pattern they use in this post, called "Doodle". I wasn't sure if either of the two light coloured yarns I had would be enough, so I alternated them. I had twice as much of the green, so that was an obvious choice. I started this at my mom's during March Break, and I had brought the two light colours because I was finishing the previous blanket, and the green was one of the yarns she received from her friend to give to me.

I swatched. Ripped, knit.... did some math, and cast on. I continued to have difficulties following the pattern, and I wasn't consistent with my right edge stitches and how I carried the yarn. The three yarns were making a neat edge, being carried up the side, but I knew I would have to do something around the edge.

I made frequent errors that I wouldn't see for a few rows down the pattern. So frustrating, as it's not the easiest thing to rip out and get back on the needles. Here, you can see the most frequent error I made, on the second motif down from the top, all across that row.

I discovered my math was way off! Really, really off. Like, how did I do that?! Like, about 12" too narrow. What?!

Here's where it gets into the True Tracy Way. I carefully, painstakingly ripped out the cast on row. I had done it in white, and the first two rows were garter stitch in white, to set up the pattern. It was a challenge at first, but eventually I figured out which loops I needed. I left those loops, and the last row I had finished on, on lengths of yarn (knotted, to form a sort of stitch holder). Then I carefully picked up stitches along one edge, and used white to knit two rows. It was an obvious change of direction, so the crisp white line became a design element. Picking up in garter stitch is pretty easy, one stitch per ridge, but because of my inconsistencies along the edge, some spots were a challenge. Then, I knit the same pattern outwards along one edge, about 5", ending where it looked decent and logical in the pattern. I left the stitches on another length of yarn. Then I did the same for the other edge.

Now, imagine the blanket . The two side wings do not have the white "line" from the set up row at the bottom or the last row at the top of the middle. I went from where the right edge "wing" met the cast on, and picked up along the new right edge of the piece I just knit, knit across the last row, and down the left edge of it, ending at the last row of the body piece. Then I turned, and knit back to the start (with the white). That created a white ridge line on that side. I repeated this on the other "wing". Now, I had a white ridge row going all the way around the blanket.

I continued on in garter stitch ridges, in the green. I was getting low on it, and I was kind of hoping to use it up. Not quite. I made sure to do a double increase on the four corners. I didn't need a wide border since the length was already almost perfect.

From a distance, it's intense. 

See the white line going up between the body and the side panels? 

See the join between the two different directions, near the top? This was the right edge, where the colours are carried up

And this is the other edge.

The yarns were not the softest or had nice drape. Then  I machine washed and dry it and it was a different blanket. They two light colours were Red Heart "Comfort"--the giant balls you buy at Wal-Mart. Never judge a yarn by how it's in the skein, or even knit up--until you wash it! 

I will probably do more mosaic patterns. This took me two months, with only one small affair with another project in the meantime (the crochet Amish puzzle ball). In the few few repeats of the motif, I thought, I'm never going to memorize this pattern. However, it's a very intuitive pattern (except for the centre row which adds the little nubs on either side of the box) and it does become easy to read the knitting. It's also fairly good for not having to look at each stitch.  Choose a short stitch repeat for your first project! Six stitches is easier to memorize than 10 or 15! 

This is probably the heaviest blanket I've done. Garter stitch is heavy and mosaic stitch is thick. When I do the scrap yarn, c2c garter stitch, they take 400gr-500gr; this one took 765gr. 

Yarn In:  3344gr
Yarn Out:  765gr + 5286gr = 6051gr
Balance:  2707gr more OUT than in!
Costs: $42.35/162 days = $0.26/day

It Feels Like Winter...

We had a super nice week in April, but then winter came back and we continued to get random snowfalls into May! Then, all of a sudden, summer hit. Nonetheless, I did actually make these back in the middle of real winter. 

If you've been around here for awhile, you know I love mittens, and am always trying to find the best mittens. I love to knit wool mittens but I recognize how much faster sewn mittens are. Naturally then, mittens from sweaters was a natural next step. I tried other patterns but I don't understand why they had thumbs coming out of the palm LOL. And, what about flip tops?

When I saw these flip tops at Melly Sews, I knew I had to make them! And from a recycled sweater of course! First up, though, a test pair with actual fleece.

I don't appear to have any issues with them. I might have adjusted how the thumb gusset was done so I could use the serger. They fit looser than I'd like, but  going by the picture with the pattern, that is how they were designed.

Up next, a sweater. I chose this teal sweater because I have a teal scarf I love, and at the time, I was picketing with the elementary teacher union, and our signs had teal on them LOL. 

The ribbing on sweaters make for awesome edges, as long as they're not overly felted. Thinking that I might want a matching hat, I realized that sleeve cuffs are already sized to fit your wrist LOL

But....but...the cuff is much bigger than the pattern! And why should I have to cut the cuff just to seam it again? Oh, the brain power I used to figure out how to make the mitten body into one piece!

I realized I had to make a snip into the body, between the curved top and the straight portion, so I could sew on the partial piece for the flap.

Can you see, on the right edge, where the serged piece overlaps the curved piece, there's a bit of a slit?

Serged the thumb on

Not sure what I was trying to show here, I think it was serging on the thumb, very carefully

Not sure about this either LOL. 

They ended up way too long for my short fingers so I had to keep trimming the tops. Also, I thought it would be cool to have the cuff at the top of the thumb so I didn't have to hem. I didn't measure very well though LOL. Fully down, it does keep my thumb warm and I can fold it back if I need my thumb.

These aren't as warm as the two layer mittens from felted sweaters--this was a thinner, less felted sweater as well. Even with all the thinking and the adjustments, it was still quicker than knitting them. I do find that they slide down though. I was at one of the pickets events and the union send an email with photos of the event, and there I was, at the front, tugging on my mitten LOL.