Coriolis effect...

So when I got New Pathways in Sock Knitting last winter, I skipped the little sky beginner sock and dove straight into the little coriolis. I loved it. It's such a unique way to make a sock. Then I read all about the fit issues people had with the "big" coriolis and waited a bit to try it, out of fear. I don't usually get scared off by a challenge in knitting (example: my first cable project was a celtic braid).

I experimented with the other sock architectures and found my groove (read: figured out that I was measuring my midfoot as half an inch bigger than it really was, therefore making all my socks half an inch too big around...miserable). I just bought some Mirasol Chirapa and it told me it wanted to be a coriolis, with a nice wide band. I finished the first sock in less than a week. I'm addicted, I love love love this pattern and it's fitting like, well, a sock :) super cozy!


In fact I'm thinking of ripping another sock (it's a little small) and making it into a coriolis too! :) maybe with yarn over increases to make "bubbles"?

I don't know why I waited so long...

Knitting Prayer

My grandma gave me this a while ago. I thought it was cute :)

The Knitter's Prayer

I pray when risen from the dead,
I may in glory land.
Perhaps a crown upon my head,
But four needles in my hand.
I never learned to sing or play,
So let no harp be mine.
From childhood to my dying day,
Plain knitting's been my line.
And so accustomed to the end,
In plying useful stitches,
I'll be content if given to knit
the little angels' britches.

I wonder what kind of yarn they would have for the angels' britches? Probably malabrigo...

Finally spring!!!

I'm sitting on my balcony, soaking in the sun. It's finally spring.

Admittedly, spring in manitoba isn't the prettiest thing you ever saw. Kind of dusty and brown and drab. But the blue sky and the warm sun really make me believe that summer is just around the corner. And I just saw a couple of butterflies flitting on the balcony just below mine! Hooray!

Spring also means time for spring knitting! Woo!

I've got a pair of "Spring Forward" socks on the go.


And I just bought some 100% silk yarn from the newly reinvented Ram Wool Yarn Co-op (much appreciation goes to my former co-workers who sent me off with a gift cert! I currently have no other yarn money...). It's going to be a lacey "Delphine" top from French Girl Knits (also in IK Spring 2009).

I've never worked with pure silk before. This will be fun!

Maybe the pool will even be open soon... that might be wishful thinking though...

Zipper conquered!

Back in February, I posted a photo of the yummy yarn I got from Sheeples Fine Fibres. Well I really couldn't hold back and I started knitting it up right away. It was going to be Estes Vest from Interweave Knits Magazine but I soon realized that the pattern called for way more yarn than was needed. I wasn't about to let my lovely handspun go to waste so I decided to add sleeves. (I used top-down seamless set-in sleeves, which rock btw!) I finished knitting the cardigan in the middle of March which is might fast for a sweater!!

Then I stalled... Why you ask? Well I thought that a zipper would look better than the buttons the pattern suggested... But zippers are my nemesis. I sewed a skirt once and it took me 3 or 4 tries (read: sew up, rip entire seam and repeat) to sew in the 4" zipper with my sewing machine. And it still wasn't perfect. The memory still haunts me.

Also I have a bad habit of making something really great and then ruining it with the finishing. I've been trying very hard to overcome my lack of perfectionism in my knitting... with occasional success... but it takes a lot of effort.

This sweater has turned out so well though. I was petrified of ruining it's perfection by messing up the zipper. So I stewed for a couple of weeks. Finally, this week I figured enough is enough! I found a really good tutorial for hand sewing in zippers (did I mention I'm really bad at hand sewing?) and...


After three painstaking days...


Allison: 1 Zipper: 0


I'm on a roll! Maybe I should go fix the buttons that are falling off my Central Park Hoodie...

Dear Mother Nature,

I would like to say that I feel winter has gone on too long. I realize that winter weather is good weather for knitting. It's very kind of you to make more snow and cold so that the people I knit mittens for will be able to wear them before summer arrives.

Yes I also realize you gave us some nice weather last November but, really, that was 5 months ago. I know that March is your favorite time of year and you probably get a little chuckle from making it nice and warm and melty outside and then blasting us with -30 windchill and snow the next day. Ha ha. Hilarious. Guess what? It's April now. Just take the snow away, ok?

I'm hoping that perhaps this is an April Fool's joke (if it is, it's not very funny!) and that I'll wake up tomorrow morning and spring will be here.

Sincerely,
Allison

PS. My cats would also appreciate going out on the balcony without getting their feet cold and wet! K, thanks!

Good bye winter! (I hope!)

Well I'm keeping my fingers crossed that winter is on it's way out. This post will be a tribute to on of my favorite winter knitting projects.

Mittens!

I've made three pairs of mittens since January! All for my co-works Ken and Ken. The first Ken requested two pairs of mitts right after Christmas and presented me with two balls of Patons Classic Merino ($4/ball at Micheal's he said!!). I finished those in February, and he and his sweetheart quite enjoyed them.



A few days after receiving the finished mitts, he provided me with a big bag of homemade cookies! It seems there are perks to knitting for other people!

Then the other Ken, who has been admiring my knitting in the coffee room for over a year now, decide that he must have a pair of mitts too. He asked if I knew of any icelandic yarn, and I thought of Lopi immediately. I had to send him to the yarn store to get the yarn though. He took a detour with some of the other guys from work, on the way back to the office from a meeting or something. You've got to understand that these are "hunters" and "fisherman" and they think knitting is girly. So they've been ribbing Ken non-stop about having to buy yarn at a yarn shop. I think it's just fine, especially since I'm getting deer steaks and sausages out of the deal!!! :)

I'm almost done those mitts... he requested a "dummy" string be added as well... lol.

So I'm hoping with these last mittens being completed I'll be able to say good bye winter!

In case you want to get started on some mittens for next year, here's my tweaked felted mitten pattern!

Allison’s Felted Mitten Recipe

Yarn: Approximately 200yards 100% wool worsted weigh yarn such as Cascade 220 or Patons Classic Merino or Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.

Needles:
Set of 4 or 5 dpns, size 5mm (US 8), it may be easier to use a 16in circular needle for the larger size.3.5mm (US 4) dpns

Other notions:

5mm crochet hook

2 markers

cotton waste yarn

stitch holder

Gauge: approx 4 stitches per inch but finished size is determined by felting

Sizes: Woman (Man)

Note: Cuffs are picked up and knit after felting is completed.

Using larger needles, CO 44(52) st using knitted cast on.
Knit 10 rounds.

Begin thumb gusset:

Right mitten:

Knit 3, place marker (pm), m1, K3, m1, pm, knit to end of round. Knit one round. Knit 3, slip marker, m1, k5, m1, slip marker, knit to end of round. Knit one round. Continue in this fashion, increasing just after first marking and just before second marker until there are 11(13) stitches between the markers. On the next plain knit round, place these stitches on a stitch holder or waste yarn, and cast three stitches onto needle in right hand using the backwards loop method. Knit to end of round.

Left mitten:

Knit until 6 before end of round, marker (pm), m1, K3, m1, pm, K3. Knit one round.Knit to marker, slip marker, m1, k5, m1, slip marker, K3. Knit one round. Continue in this fashion, increasing just after first marking and just before second marker until there are 11(13) stitches between the markers. On the next plain knit round, place these stitches on a stitch holder or waste yarn, and cast three stitches onto needle in right hand using the backwards loop method. Knit to end of round.

Begin mitten body (right and left mittens):
*Knit 7 rounds. On 8th round, knit 20 (24) st. Wrap next stitch and turn so wrong side is facing. Sl 1, purl 18 (22) st. Wrap next st and turn so right side is facing. Knit to end of round, knitting the wraps with wrapped stitches as you come across them.
Repeat from * twice more, for a total of 24 rounds.

Decrease for top:K1, k2tog, K16, ssk, K1, pm. Repeat once. *Knit 1 round.K1 K2tog, knit to 3 before marker, ssk, k1, repeat to second marker. Repeat from * until 24 (28) stitches remain, then work decreases every round until 8 stitches remain. Thread yarn through remaining stitches and weave in ends.

Thumb:
Transfer stitches from stitch holder onto two dpns. Then pick up 5 (7) stitches on a third dpn. 16 (20) sts total. Knit 15 (18) rounds. K2tog 8(10) times. Thread yarn through remaining stitches and weave in ends.

Fulling:Using a crochet hook, and cotton yarn, crochet 44 (52) stitches around cuff of mitten. This will keep holes open so that the cuff stitches can be picked up after fulling.Put mittens in a zippered pillow case and run though 1 or more hot wash/cold rinse cycles, with a low amount of water, a small amount of laundry soap and a pair of old jeans. Check fulling process frequently in order to obtain the correct size. Felting is complete when stitch definition is no longer visible. Let the mitten run through spin cycle to remove excess water. Shape mittens as necessary and allow to dry completely.

Cuffs:
Remove cotton waste yarn. With smaller needles, pick up and knit 44(52) stitches with same yarn as mitten.Begin k2p2 ribbing and continue until cuffs are desired length. Bind off using EZ’s sewn bind off or other stretchy bind off.

Manitoba made

My Sheeples bulky handspun, Manitoba grown yarn has arrived.

Yum!