All Increases Are Not The Same

I have been working my Brick sweater. And things were clicking away, until this….

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I had originally opted for a straight waist with no shaping. But I have what I like to call Scandinavian hips, so I opted to throw in a few increases at the bottom of the sweater before I started the 1×1 ribbing. The pattern called for K1fb or knit one front and back. This left ugly holes in the fabric. Not sure if I was doing them incorrectly but I hated them none the less. So I frogged and inch and a half of work….

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And this go round I used “lifted” right and left leaning increases. I had to google how to do those because I only vaguely remembered them from another project. These increases make a much prettier fabric and leave no holes. I am much happier with this stitch.

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So being happy, I managed to move on and complete the stockinette portion and all 30 rows of 1×1 (painful) ribbing. I popped the sweater on and discovered two things:

1. I didn’t take into account that the beginning of the round was NOT at the side of the sweater. And therefore my increases were in front and back of the sweater instead of along the sides

2. The increases weren’t even necessary, the sweater will fit without them!!!!

So after a glass (or three) of wine, I frogged six inches of sweater. And I am going to re-knit. I want a sweater to be proud of and doesn’t have mistakes I can stare at. It’s just going to take some deep breathing….

 

A Princess Turns 1!!

FO Friday!

I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a super adorable FO…

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A very special little princess turns one year old on October 31. Her momma asked for a sparkly K-state purple tutu to complete her fairy costume for her birthday.

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I was only too happy to oblige! It does a knitters heart good to see their knitted bits go to good homes. Happy Friday to all!!

An Interesting Special Request

An old high school friend posted a link on my Facebook page last week with a special knitting request. She is due in December with a baby boy. And being a proud momma she wants to swaddled her bundle of joy in hand knits. Her request was for a breast hat. I admit I have seen these on the interwebs, but never had the inclination to make one. So to Ravelry I went!

I settled on The Breast Beanie by Irene Birk

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(Photo from Irene Birk Ravelry page)

So I went stash diving and came up with three colors of cream/pink in Caron Simply Soft. This soft acrylic is my go to for easy care baby knits. The pattern seems straight forward, so I think I’m going to make a couple of color combos and let momma decide.

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And away I go!

The Calm Before the Storm

This fall we have had some great thunderstorms roll through the great state of Kansas. I managed to snap a few photos with my DSLR camera before the the last storm rolled through. I am in love with how puffy the clouds get! The hot air mixing the cool. Grass and flowers waving the breeze. Your skin prickling with the change in energy. Clouds growing and collapsing. The light versus the dark….

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Never Enough Blankets

I had four skeins of Premier Serenity Chunky Heathers in Aqua Glass just hanging out in my stash. I fell in love with color and just had to have it.

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I have been in a sweater fixation lately. But I find that I need a mindless project to have on the side for when I need a break or timeout. So I introduce to you, Stashbustin’ #34 or One Row Blanket De La Harlot!

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I have made this pattern three times before and it’s awesome-sauce for easy knitting. It’s a four stitch repeat across the row. And then the same row over and over again. Not to mention its a bulky weight blanket so it goes crazy fast!!

Based on the yarn I have this will undoubtedly come out to a lap blanket or receiving blanket size. I don’t have a recipient in mind yet. Just knitting for the fun of it!

Sweater Season!!

Fall is officially here and I feel the need to move up from baby sweaters to a nice cozy adult sweater for me!!

At my LYS this summer I found a sale on Berroco yarn! I picked up five skeins of Vintage (worsted weight) in yellow.

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After perusing my Rav queue and much debate, I settled on Brick by Clare Lee from Raglanify.

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(Photo courtesy of the Brick Ravelry page)

This pattern is awesome and is written to give you lots of options to customize. I am knitting the medium size with no waist shaping. I want a nice comfy FO. I haven’t decided if I will knit the sleeves with or without shaping….decisions decisions

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In the span of the weekend I have knit the entire yoke and divided for the sleeves. I’m in the body section of miles and miles of stockinette. But I will persevere! I cannot wait to get this done and to wear it!!!

Happy Monday!

Lusty Eleven – September

alliepookah's avatari like to make things with my hands

Hooked!

Yes, I’m completely hooked on crochet. So this month’s Lusty Eleven is all about  fiber fun in general, including tutorials, beautiful handmade accessories and crochet ideas — all celebrating my new hobby. Hope you can get hooked too!blog

  1. Isn’t this the most beautiful crochet hook case? From elsiegeneva Etsy shop.
  2. Must learn how to make these gorgeous cuffs. Pattern from Ravelry!
  3. A fancy bowl to hold my yarn, this from Abby T Pottery’s Etsy shop
  4. Tiny Owl Knits book, not crochet but I want to make everything!
  5. 100 Birds, Butterflies & Little Beasts to Knit and Crochet, yes I want to.
  6. Desperately wanting these owl shaped stitch markers from winemakerssiter’s Etsy shop.
  7. Learn to knit with Purl’ Soho’s knitting videos!
  8. I want to make beautiful fall things, like these beautiful maple leaves from LubaDaviesAtelier.
  9.  Need to grow your hook collection? Knitpicks has a

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FO Friday: A Couple of Sweaters

Wahoo!!! My sweaters are done!

I give you Stashbustin’ #30 or Little Coffee Bean sweater #1

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I used Knit Picks Dishie cotton and this first one is made in the 6 mo size. I chose to knit a solid body with the collar and bands in accent. I ended up using 85.5 yards or 45 grams of the Creme Brûlée (yellow) and 180.5 yards or 95 grams of Jay (blue).

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And by popular demand the blue buttons won!

And Stashbustin’ #31 or Little Coffee Bean Sweater #2

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For this sweater, I used the same pattern but knit a 12 mo size to use up the rest of my yarn. I also followed the instructions and knit the stripes. I used 104.5 yards or 55 grams of Creme brûlée and 199.5 yards or 105 grams of the Jay.

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And the yellow buttons were the obvious choice!

Two more stash burning projects in the books and three less skeins in my craft room! Not to mention two more adorable FOs for my emergency baby gift stash!

Happy Friday!!

Setting The Color

I was worried about bleeding on my Little Coffee Bean Sweater. I didn’t knit a test swatch (bad knitter) and I haven’t washed two colors of Knit Picks Dishie together.

A couple of other bloggers recommended a vinegar bath to set the color. So while I was trying to decide my buttons, into a vinegar and water bath it went!!

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I used a white bowl so I could see if the water turned color. And after a nice soak…..no bleeding!! So I gave this a good rinse with plain water after its soak.

I’m still going to give this sweater a final bath and blocking after buttons to finalize the shape. But I feel much more secure knowing my blue wont turn my yellow to green!

Have you ever had a project bleed?

Coffee Bean #2

While I am deciding on the buttons for my first Little Coffee Bean Sweater, I couldn’t keep my needles silent. Now that I was comfortable with the construction of this garment, I wanted to try the color stripes the pattern is written for. And I had enough Dishie cotton to make another sweater.

So here is Stashbustin’ #31! I have already divided for the sleeves and I am working down the body.

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In interest of reducing the number of ends to weave in ends, I am not breaking the yarn at each color change. Since I only work two rows for each color, I decided to “float” the non working strand down the side. So far it’s working pretty well. And since I will go back and knit the button bands, my floats will be hidden on the wrong side of the fabric….I hope…

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Looks pretty good to me so far 🙂

I am running lowon yellow, here’s hoping I can finish! My sleeves may have to be solid blue. Just going to roll with the punches with this one.