Tag Archives: knitting

Bulky Garter Stitch Sleeve Island

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I finished the body to my Charlotte Winter this week. I went digging into my project bag to pull out the double points for my sleeves. And I came out with US 15s….but I’m knitting this sweater on US 13s. Sleeve island is a real thing you guys, and I haven’t even started knitting them!!! Insert a D’oh here…

So thanks to a 50% off coupon and a trip to Joanns I am finally ready to tackle the sleeves! (And now I own needles I will probably only use once, lol.) I may take a tiny timeout on this project. The heavy sweater and big needles are really flaring up some soreness in my forearms and wrists. Nothing major but I think it will be prudent to take breaks and mix up the weight of projects I work on so I don’t develop a fully blown injury!

Happy Knitting!!

Oh Yarn Balls

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I recently did a wooly wash day. I was so proud of myself for washing and restocking my hand knits drawer. All this cold weather has really had me digging in there lately! But as I was putting away socks I found a problem. I might have uttered something worse but adjacent to “oh yarn balls”….

Guess who didn’t citric acid treat her finished TurtlePurl yarn socks? This girl! Even though I KNEW the white was next to red and despite the talent of any given dyer that red dye can be a fickle mistress.

It’s so subtle at this point. But I know the white is no longer the bright white it was when I knit them. Sigh…. I’m still going to wear these and I’m not mad at the dyer. I should have known better. I’m just mad at my sleep deprived mommy brain.

I haven’t decided if I’m going to citric acid treat them to stop it from getting worse. Or just let it do what it’s going to do. Right now they are in time out until I decide. Oh Yarn Balls!!

 

Body Complete

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 I finally finished the body of my Charlotte Winter!

Bulky yarn on this cord length really bunches up the work. It can be deceiving. I might have measured on or four times…

That my friends is 16.5 inches of bulky garter stitch! And now I’m off to bind off and try it on and have my my husband double check it is an appropriate length.

Fingers crossed!!

 

FO Friday: Mackenzie 5-Ply

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Jellybean has a finished sweater!! The battle of the Mackenzie 5-ply sweater is over and I won! It has two sleeves and a matching hemline.

I even went so far as to install the buttons, sew in my tag, and wash and block this bad boy. Though it’s largely acrylic and doesn’t need blocking. But after my grubby hands…it definitely needed a bath!

I just ADORE the side seam treatment. The little garter panel just makes it looks so polished!

And it’s safe to say that Jellybean loves it! He ripped it out of my hands and put it on before I could even put buttons on it!

It makes him look so grown up….sniff sniff….

Pattern: Mackenzie 5-ply by Rebecca Newman 

Yarn: Knit Picks Brava Sport in Eggplant. I used 2.84 skeins or roughly 317 yards for a modified 7 year old version.

Needles: US 5s

Mods: See my Ravelry notes for my sleeves mods.

I’m sooo happy to have this off the needles. I was frantically knitting this on Super Bowl Sunday in order to finish one last WIP for the Down Cellar Studio’s Pigskin Party KAL. And I managed to weave in the ends by halftime! And this FO has seemed to kick off my “let’s finish all the WIPs mojo” so I’m hoping to ride that wave for a bit. I haven’t even touched by scrap blankets in over a week!

Happy knitting!!

Mood Indigo Decreases

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I am soooo close the end of my Mood Indigo Sockhead Slouch. After complaining last week that it was going slowly I made a point to make this my lunch knitting at work. And miraculously I have most of a hat!

I don’t want to play too much yarn chicken as I’m following someone else’s mods to a pattern that isn’t meant for this yarn or stitch count. So later today I’m going to start the crown decreases and pray to the yarn gods.

But first I’m just going to admire this loveliness and pet the cashmere content goodness!

Happy Knitting!!

WIP Wednesday: Charlotte Winter

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I needed a little self care this week and so I set aside some quiet time to work on a project just for me. I haven’t touched this sweater in quite awhile, its my Charlotte Winter.

I had added a few inches right after I checked the fit way back right after Christmas. But I have been focusing on Jellybean’s Mackenzie 5-ply sweater since it was older than my sweater.  I was caught up in wool fever watching knitting podcasts in my craft room (aka the guest bedroom downstairs) and my sweater seemed a decent length. Or so Dex and I thought….

I slipped it on me while the needles were still in and it stretched to my butt. So I merrily cast off and finished my podcast. And I tried it back on….well without the weight of the needles it not surprisingly scrunched back up to a normal length. And it hit me mid butt cheek. Not the silhouette I was looking for. So I ripped back the cast off and got all my stitches back on the needles. I really need at least 3 more inches. I guess I’ll just need more podcast time!!

Happy Knitting!!

Another Hand Knit Day

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We had another cold blast of wind and ice this past weekend. It wasn’t polar vortex bad but it was pull out as many hand knits as I could find bad. This particular day I had my Rosewood Sockhead Slouch, Present Cowl, fingerless mitts and vanilla socks.

I did run out at lunch to make a bank deposit and forgot my hat. I improvised! And received a fair bit of strange looks. But my ears were warm!!

Happy Knitting!!

Two Matching Sleeves

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Finally after one false start and a lot floundering around on sleeve island. Jellybean’s Mackenzie 5-ply sweater has completed sleeves!

Thanks to my stitch markers and some row counting here and there I was able to knit the second sleeve with (roughly) the same amount of rows to match the first one. I was glad I chose to knit these before finishing the entire body. That’s a lot fabric to turn and turn and turn. Sleeves are definitely not my favorite but it was nice working on a nine inch circular and not DPNs. No ladders in these sleeves!!

I went ahead and knit the cuff according to the pattern. I toyed with the idea of knitting all ribbing but I think I’ll let Jellybean wear it like this. If need be I can always rip and re-knit the cuffs. I’m going to have more than enough yarn for this project!

Happy Knitting!!

(Re) Cast On: Mini Solutions Scarf

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Next up on my breast pumping/lunch project rotation is my Mini Solutions Scarf. You can remember here that I misread the pattern and had to rip out the whole Christmas Eve cast on progress. So this past week I decided to get back in the saddle.

This little wedge is one 45 minute lunch worth’s of progress. And its WAAAY better looking than my first attempt. And how cute is this subtlety tonal yarn?? Or is variegated? I really stink at deciphering….nonetheless its pretty!

Now I’m cruising through all soothing garter stitch until I run out the first mini ball of yarn. This super tired working momma sure loves her some garter stitch. It keeps my hands busy and my brain pleasantly calm.

Happy Knitting!!

Shouldn’t A DK Hat Go Faster?

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Shouldn’t a DK hat go faster? Oh yeah….you have to actually work on it for it grow! This project (Mood Indigo Sockhead Slouch) has been living in my purse and it has wracked up a ton of travel mileage. But now I have put this into my breast pumping/lunch project rotation. And thanks to that I’ve added a little over an inch. Only six more inches of stockinette to go!!

If you have eagle eyes you can spot arandom Dex hair that is ever present on myself and all my things. I’ve become mostly blind to them now!

Happy Knitting!