Knitting and crochet... and new glasses.

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More about knitting. The Baktus is finally finished. Ends dealt with and I put in a tassel at each end as well.

 

Then I did a hat in Rowan Bamboo Tape. I also finished that one with a tassel. I put myself as less than enthusiastic about it because it's too loose around the band, it's a terminal issue I have with ribbing... my ribbing is always larger than the actual plain stocking stitch when it's supposed to be smaller. I think it's because when I switch from knit to purl that it takes up two stitches of space. Meh.

 

I started the Magical Cosy Warmer and finished the actual knitting; I haven't sewn in the ends because I'm still trying to decide if I'm just going to frog it and maybe do it again with 200+ stitches instead of the 160 of the "medium"; which according to their instructions ought to have fitted me. It fits... tightly... Too snug to actually wear with anything else. No. I don't like tight garments. I'm too pudgy for tight garments.

 

Ugh.

 

I was steaming long with the Sycamore Poncho but I stalled. I stalled because of several factors, or excuses, whichever you want to call it. I got the main body done, but the third part where you start doing the netting isn't adding up or I'm not getting it lined up correctly and at the time, I couldn't figure out why. I think I have to go ahead and block it, whilst still incomplete, and then attempt to count rows and be certain I actually have the 60-odd required rows for each panel and then maybe mark where I should be putting in the dc's (US sc's) for the mesh/netting stitches to go in.

 

I want to do more crochet, found several new items, but the truth is, I'm having guilty thoughts about all the crochet pieces started and are 99.9% incomplete, but for things like sewing together and dealing with loose ends. It's the putting together and dealing with the loose ends that I dislike.

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New glasses... I think I'll have to ask for an alteration with regards to my pc glasses. Otherwise, I now have to sit with my nose practically up against the monitor to get clear vision with them. I'm sitting at arm's length from the monitor and it feels far too close, but that's the only way I get a clear vision with these things. I usually sit about 3' to 4' from my monitor. My knees are banging into the computer desk with the new glasses. :( I've already waited two weeks for the lenses. Ugh.

 

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Projects now in progress:

 

"One skein stole my Noro" it's a one-skein of Noro sock yarn to make a scarf. Wrap-n-drop stitches throughout with a row of 'yo, k2tog' lace every nineteen or so rows. I've got to do ten repeats of the 19 rows and so far, I've got part way through the fourth one. I'd like to have this completed before Autumn.

 

The other is one that's been on my 'get started on it' for a few years is a "Knit mesh top". It's the kind of top I'd wear. Loose, simple and not overly complicated. Suitable for wear over a tank top. Another one I hope to complete before Autumn.

 

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Looking ahead:

Winter's projects, assuming I don't completely stall, will likely be several hats >.> It's a good way to burn up surplus single balls of yarn... or balls of yarn over 100gr. If they're under that, I'll have to consider either a crochet or knit poncho/wrap/thing to use up single yarn balls of similar or complimentary colours.

 

I might give gloves a go as well. We'll see. I have the "Purple Sparrows" for fingerless armwarmers as well as "Wizard City Gauntlets" to muck about with.

 

Crochet... "Wrap round my shoulders" is calling to me. Though I might use the Yeoman cannel yarns instead of the other stuff, I like how the cannel holds up.

 

Shawls and wraps are jumping around at me, ones that I've been sitting on for years. Am trying to get enthusiastic about some of them and the rest that aren't, I might look at donating both pattern and yarn to someone for their benefit.

 

As usual, 'We'll see'.

 

Happy Colours Scarf - Rowan yarns

I've been wanting to do some weaving again and have been trying to decide on colours, textures and yarn weights.

I did have an idea, out of many, this one using only Rowan yarns, so I could take it to the Woolly Women meetings at John Lewis, Bluewater, since it was sorta started by the Rowan rep, I try to keep to Rowan items to show (not always, though... ok, rarely!).

Another idea was to use two balls of Rowan Cashcotton that didn't really 'go' with the other Cashcotton colours I have... but they do go together with each other. Great, two things to combine...

Then there was the thought of 'warp-dominant' or 'weft-dominant'. I've been asking on the weaving groups about this. Amongst my questions and reading other posts and looking at what others have been doing, I decided to give the warp-dominant a try.

Now, I thought I'd go with a weft-dominant first, but that didn't happen.

And yes, I will get to the point here soon enough...



10dpi reed, Ashford RH loom, Rowan Cotton Glace for the weft, Rowan Cashcotton DK for the warp. The blue is much more turquoise and bright; the orange is more pink-orange. The weft is a mid-light green (not too light, not too dark). Combining these together has altered the colours of each yarn and... I like the effect.

Out of the Cashcotton, there's probably 10m or so left of each, bit less of the blue. The green was burned up, but I think I still have 1/3rd of a ball left.

I'll have more to say about this piece once it's finished being washed and has a chance to dry. Then I'll see how much it bloomed, though with the cotton content being the highest, might not bloom greatly.

And I forgot to measure before washing. Oops! I will say, this is my widest piece so far. (94 threads across)

Well drat...

I was doing so well and was so happy with my progress on the second hat... but then when I tried doing a decrease every 8 stitches, that went ok, then I went to do the second row and I messed up. I tried to tink it and messed up. >.<

So I tried ripping back. Bad idea, I can't seem to get the stuff back on the needles correctly.

Moral of this story: even hats done in simple knits might need a lifeline. From now on, I'll be adding a lifeline on the last normal knit row before starting decreases... then if I bodge the decreases (which I seem to like to do >.< ) I don't have to rip the whole hat to bits and start from the cast on again -- which is what I'm going to have to do with this one.

Oh and... 104 stitches with the Robin Service DK for a hat works out pretty nice, no gaps and not so tight around my skull, so it ought to be just fine for the BISS donation.

Hu-zaaaah.

Another hat from vintage yarn

This one, I cast on 104 stitches on 4mm circular needles and am using the vintage Robin 'Service DK' yarn; it's another of those ancient yarns I picked up for a very bargain price from Violet's. The yarn is dark gray-black with silvery-white streaks in it, it's supposedly machine washable and is 60% wool, 40% 'Courtauld fibre' (likely some kind of acrylic).

About to start the shaping; I've started a second 25g ball, so it looks like the hat will take close to the 50g mark to complete. I have no idea what the length of the yarn is as it's not mentioned on the ball band.

I went with thumb/long-tail cast on and did about 1-2cm of stocking stitch in the round (so, knit every row). Then did 3 rows of purl stitch followed on by going back to knit stitch.

Once again, I'm hoping this yarn will soften up once it's washed.

Last item, while I'm delighted with how it's coming out, it seems a bit too small/tight, I really wanted to cast on 112 stitches, but I also didn't want to redo the cast on because an arm-span this time was perhaps not as generous as with the other and didn't have enough yarn to get the last 8 stitches. Will finish knitting it then wash it and then see if my Darling can try it on. If it fails to fit him, then it'll go to a children's charity instead of the Seafarer's charity (BISS - British & International Sailor's Society).

The hat's done

Poor picture, yes, it's night time and I don't have strong lighting in the room I took the photo in.

Yes, the crown is a bit more pointy than it should be. I think on the next one that I'll do two decreases at each point or find a way to pretty up the decreases so they don't gnome-hat on me again. Used surprisingly little yarn, still have 1/3-1/2 of the navy ball of yarn left.

Still, a success in that it looks like a hat and it was designed entirely by me, no pattern! And that's kinda liberating. I ought to do that more often, learn how to make stuff on my own with no pattern... then I can use any yarn in my stash and not have to worry about it.

Liberating...

Washed and dried

Finally, it's dry!

Finished size of the second practice piece: 16cm wide by 28cm long. It didn't shrink much, width-wise, but quite a bit length-wise. Will have to try and remember this when I make another item out of this yarn. It's still a bit rough (maybe it needs to be tumbled briefly) so I think the yarns will be utilised for things like table mats, placemates, table runners, bags or pillow covers.

Still pleased with the results, yes.

More about that second piece

Hurry up and dry already! *pouts*

Anyway, I've washed the piece in very soapy water and then let it soak for about 20-30 minutes to help the soap flakes get in to the fibre and get the oil out of it. Thorough rinse and it has bloomed considerably. The brown that had practically disappeared while weaving is now more visible. The gaps in between the warp and weft have definitely closed up and it doesn't feel very stiff while it's wet. I hope the drape/hand doesn't change too dramatically once it's dry.

I've got a wall radiator downstairs that puts out a lot of heat (and it totally ignores the thermostat settings, too...) so I'm going to hang the piece on the drying rack in front of the radiator.

Now I get to search through my stash for what I'll do next. I really like (though it's fiddly) the 12.5 dpi heddle, but I haven't tried the 10 dpi the loom came with and I haven't tried the 7.5 dpi. I know I want to continue (for now) working with wool/hair yarns and perhaps mixed with other fibres too (silk or cotton).

Second practice piece

Second go on my RH loom. I'm rather pleased with this attempt, I was very much afraid that I'd set up the loom to be too short, but this was long and wide enough to have worked out very well. The yarn wasn't specified for warp or weft just 'suitable for weaving', I wanted to find out if the yarn was robust enough to be used as a warp and it is, if used double; I had no snapped threads. It does stretch a little on the loom and the nature of the yarns meant that they tried to cling to one another frequently when moving the heddle up and down and when passing the shuttle through the shed. My selvedges are still a bit wonky but getting better. Better pictures will of course, be available on my picturetrail in the 'Ravelry Projects' folder.

12.5 dent reed (50/10cm)

Warp: Texere's Silk Heather (40% silk, 30% wool, 30% cotton) two strands, one oatmeal colour, the second "Moss Mix" (brown). Both yarns are a tweed (9/1nm -- whatever that means).
Weft: two strands together of Silk Heather oatmeal and two strands held together of Texere's Enigma (50% silk, 50% wool, 10/1nm) in "Spruce" (blue), Enigma is another tweed yarn. All yarns come on cones, spun in oil.
Measurement: I haven't washed the test piece yet, so it hasn't bloomed, shrunk/grown or done anything. It's been off the loom for an hour or two now and the size is 17cm wide and 31cm long. I will try to remember to measure it again after it's been washed and dried.

I'm torn on whether to take my chances and put it through a machine wash or just handwash it in soap flakes.

I am so satisfied with the results of this piece that I want to use it here in the house, perhaps as a small mat for something or in the display cabinet.

It's a... scarf? No, just my first practice piece.

I just finished my first RH loom project, it came out ok, but I have a lot of improvement to look forward to.

If you want to see pictures, I will be putting them up on my picturetrail shortly and also in my projects in Ravelry.

A picture...



It needs 'finishing'... ends tied off, stray bits on the side where yarns were introduced need tying off or weaving in. And then washed, to get the yarn manufacturer's sizing and whatever out and allow the yarn to be what it is naturally.