22 posts tagged “bfl”

I know, posts are like buses around here...

Well I just wanted to do a final post to write about what I am currently knitting.

Firstly I am knitting the Elegant Ribbed Stockings by Ann Budd from Favourite Socks (still on my odyssey to knit everything in the book).  These are particularly special though because I am using the Cascade 220 I overdyed.  So this is the first thing I have knitted from my own hand dyed yarn.  They are a surprisingly quick knit for being knee high socks, probably because the gauge is so huge.

Elegant Ribbed Stockings

In order to counteract the huge gauge on this, I decided to go the other way on the other socks I am currently knitting.  after much recommending I am finally knitting the Coriolis Socks in New Pathways for Socks Knitters by Cat Bordhi and they really do not disappoint, they are a really interesting construction and lots of fun.  However in my wisdom I decided to try knitting them on 2.00mm needles because Cat's Master Numbers will allow me to do this.  They are understandably going slowly but the resulting fabric is so smooth and fine (for a handknit) that it is worth it.  I wouldn't want to have to knit like this all the time though.  I am using purple bfl sock yarn had painted by Knitwitches.  I bought this nearly two years ago and i has sat in my stash waiting for the perfect project because the colours are so good.  I gave up waiting in the end and I am very pleased that I did.

Coriolis Socks

So far I am doing well on the Christmas Knitting.  I have 3 pairs of socks finished, 1 pair almost finished and a 2nd pair in progress and 1 cowl of my own design finished.

This means there is only 2.5 pairs of socks (ish) left to knit and I am done for Christmas Yay!

But I wanted to do a little post with some of the work in progress for that.

Firstly the completed socks from my father out-law now named A Sky full of Bees for obvious reasons (although J insists they are called a sky full of bananas).

Sky full of Bees Socks

These are the simple trekking socks pattern by Miriam Felton which I have used before and is simple and fun.  It was a good match for the yarn because it didn't compete with the crazy pooling.  I wasn't sure about these socks when I first finished them but they really grown on you and now I am going to find it hard to part with them!

Secondly I am working on some Komet socks for T.  This is a free pattern by Stephanie Van Der Linden from her Sockenkreativliste.  There were several amazing patterns put out on this list which I was dying to try and this is the first time I have finally managed to cast one on.  The pattern is interesting and intricate but not horribly complicated (although it looks it to people who don't knit!).  I am knitting it in Indigo Moon merino yarn which is nice.  The yarn is in a blue semi solid which is perfect for the pattern and it sort of plumps up during the knitting process which is great. It has a nice sheen and twist on it and is soft. This was part of the haul I bought at Socktopus back in the spring.  I would probably buy more of this yarn if the right colour came along but since I am trying to save money these days that won't be for a while.

Komet up Klose

Komet Socks 1

I shall definitely be trying out more of Stephanie's patterns in the future!

I have finally finished the Austrian Socks.  These are some amazing heavily cabled socks from Favourite Socks which my sister said she really like when she flicked through the book.  I have been working on them for her birthday but they have taken me a very long time.  I think that it is because they have such a complex pattern that I needed to take the book with me everywhere or knit them at home and they isn't the most convenient type of knitting.  There was also an embarrassing ripping back incident when I thought that I had memorised the pattern and was very very wrong about that.

Austrian Socks 1

This will tick off part of my challenge to knit every sock in Favourite Socks no. 4 and to give my sister 3 pairs of knitted socks no 69 from 101 things.  I really hope she likes them as I chose a delicate pink and green yarn that I thought she would like.

The yarn is Easyknitter's bfl in the Blossom colourway I think and as always was a dream to knit with.

Austrian Socks 2

I ought to mention that I have now finished 1 of the Absinthe Socks in Wollmeise Frosch and I love the fit and the yarn.  I can't wait to finish these and start wearing them.

Absinthe Socks 1

I have just finished challenge 67 of my 101 things in 1001 days. This challenge was to knit a garment for a child.

I found that a local friend was having a baby boy and so I set my mind to work thinking about knitting a garment for a baby. I decided on the following list of attributes:

1. Must be easily washable (I figure a new mum probably has plenty to do without handwashing fine cashmere)

2. Must not be acrylic (apparently acrylic can melt onto skin whereas wool is fire retardant so I want to use a safer option)

3. Must be easy to put on (don’t want the young mum to be wrestling with the baby for 30 mins trying to squeeze it into a tube)

4. Must be size adjustable (need to get the maximum shelf life out of the clothes despite baby growth spurts).

5. Must be knit from stash (I have plenty of yarn and should be able to find something nice without spending more money)

So I decided to use superwash bfl wool from Knitwitches as my yarn (I was told that the Mum would like blue for a boy) and had a very pretty blue called Sea Holly in my stash. The yarn is super soft so perfect for delicate baby skin (lets just hope it isn’t allergic to wool) and I knitted a gauge swatch and washed it on a 40 degree wash just to test it. The gauge swatch came out perfectly – no shrinkage and it might have even been softer than before which was great.

Proof of Swatch!

Swatch Baby Kimono

I then cast on for Clementine’s Baby Kimono. I chose this pattern because it was a tie on baby jacket so now struggling to pull a jumper over their head and no danger of buttons coming off and being swallowed as the ties as made with ribbon. Secondly because of the kimono style and the fact it was knitted in ribbing means it will be stretchy and adjustable in size as the baby grows.

I knitted it on size 4.5mm harmony circular needles.

I really enjoyed knitting this, it was fast and simple and the knitwitches yarn was gorgeously soft. There was something very cute about seeing the little jacket emerge in miniature. If I made any mistakes it was probably not converting the pattern to the round. Although knitting the jacket was fast, sewing it up took FOREVER and I had forgotten how boring sewing up can be. Not least because I had to sew 4 ribbons on to it to tie it up. Being thrifty I had sourced all the ribbons for free from various places and was lucky to have great matching colours with the yarn for the jacket.

I was sensible enough to remember to block it before sewing it up but even this didn’t make me enjoy the sewing up.

The other slightly annoying aspect was steam ironing out the ribbing to create the length of the jacket. I only hope that when the mum washes it that it doesn’t completely spring back otherwise it will become an annoying cropped kimono which will not look so good. I am crossing my fingers it will work out ok (which lets face it is a doomed sign in knitting – but it is too late to back out now).

Here is the finished item and I am really pleased with the way it looks.

Clementine Baby Kimono

I had a fair amount of yarn leftover at the point (but not enough for a pair of adult socks) and so I decided to whip up a quick baby beanie by doubling the yarn. I found a very simple pattern on Ravelry and finished it off in one evening leaving only the tiniest amount of yarn left to sew up the jacket.

baby hat

I have finished the Firestarter socks by Yarnissma and J wore them for the first time this weekend.

I am pleased with the way they look but the cable pattern doesn't really show up.  I know that these are designed for a busy yarn.  Sadly I think that my yarn was too busy even for that.  Still J loves the loud socks and these are really very loud. I adore Yarnissma's gusset details.  It is a signature of hers and I hope that you can see it in the photos.  It was also a very fun knit that I would highly recommend.  It was simply enough to do on the train and yet the cabling gave it enough interest that I wasn't going out of my mind with boredom.  A great pattern and all the more so because it was free!

Firestarter Socks

The yarn is Plum and Custard by Easyknitter and as always was a joy to use.

My knitting has reached something of a dilemma now.  The mystic star shawl is really getting very complicated now.  I am nearly at the end of clue three and clue four is out.  Clue four is bigger than all previous clues put together and have over 500 stitches per row.  I will be working on this for a very very long time and as such need to have another project running alongside for commuter knitting and so that I feel I am making progress.  Previously I had said I wanted to finished the shawl before I started test knitting for triskellian but if I do that I won't start the test knitting for a good month or more and I would like to start it sooner than that.  So once the baby clothes I am knitting are done (a friend is pregnant and due late March) I will be casting on for the test knitting.  I have at least chosen my testing knitting yarns.  Black opal and the strange red and pink yarn I bought 500g for £5 at Ally Pally in 2007.  They are the same weight and should contrast perfectly.

More on the baby jacket when I have taken some photos.

Sadly there will be no photos of the Mystic Shawl until I have really completely finished it.  I can no longer spread it out on the circular needle as I have run out of space. 

Obviously a complicated lace shawl is not good TV knitting or commuter knitting and so I have another simpler project on the go whilst this is happening (not test knitting for triskellian I am afraid since knitting two socks in one is also too complicated) I have cast on a sock.  I have been planning on knitting Yarnissima's Firestarter socks for J for a long time and back on September at the Iknit day I picked up the perfect yarn for it; Easyknits BFL in plum and custard.  J loves the red, yellow and orange colours and that is why I though these would make a good combination.  Sadly the yarn is probably a little busy for the little cable pattern down the side - despite the pattern being designed for such yarns but I loved the unusual gusset detail which is Yarnissima's signature and it looks great.

Firestarter sock 2

Firestarter Sock 1

The gauge swatch sample came out for the Mystic Star KAL and I have dutifully swatched  it at both 3.25mm and 3.5mm.  It made very little difference but I have circular needles in 3.5mm and not in 3.25 so it was important to do the test as now I know I can use the slightly bigger needles with impunity.  The pattern itself was simply enough - a diamond shape on a plain background and although I still didn't get gauge perfect, this is a shawl and so as long as I have enough yarn I the contract between a knitted stitch and a yarn over looks good then I don't think it really matters (and neither does the person running the KAL).

So I have the yarn, I have the needles and the pattern comes out on Monday when I am at home in the evening.  Perfect and ready to go.

In the end I decided to go with the cobweb weight posh yarn in the dark colourway which has become a bit of a jonah in my stash.  The yarn is perfect, colour is excellant but knitting cobweb weight yarn which is almost black is somewhat challenging.  Laminaria is the only thing I have tried to knit with it and it was frankly too complicated for the fine yarn.  However I was assured by the person running the KAL that I would need the extra yardage in the cobweb yarn which I didn't have the the Knitwitches cashmere (my other option).  At the last minute I did quail somewhat and bought some laceweight in a berry colour from Knot Another Knitter but when it arrived it turned out to be exactly the same thickness as my cobweb weight yarn (in fact I darkly expect it is precisely the same base which in a way is great since the base yarn is wonderful and the dye job is also very good).  So I have decided to go with the dark cobweb after all since I think the weight is most of the problem.

My other knitting is sekrit test knitting for someone else and I am not going to spoil his surprise by posting pictures of it or discussing it right now.  It looks great though, is a fun knit and it made out of his Sushi Sock Roll yarn which starts out life looking like this:

DSC00186

Sometimes I really wish the community I live in had more of a barter economy.  Swapping skills etc as the LETS project enables.  I think that it can both foster community spirit better than almost anything and allow for us all to live better more enriched lives at a lower cost.  For example it is easy (ish) for me to make my own jam, so I often make more than J and I can eat so I pass a jar to my parents who then give us some of their extra eggs that their chickens lay.

This is something that I would like to try and do more of and I will be looking into joining the Staines LETS scheme at some point.  For now though I am trying to encourage it in my circle of friends.  Offering homecooked meals to my non-cooking friends in lieu of other favours and most recently promising a pair of handknitted socks to a friend who came round to spend a day decorating with us and really helping us out of the pre-christmas decorating push.

I cunningly sourced her favourite colours as green and pink and since she is a bit more girly than me chose a pretty ankle sock with a lacy cuff and picot edge.

I am nearly 3/4 of the way through the pair and they are looking good.

Sock for B

This is a long overdue post…(and forms the basis of my decision not to buy yarn for a while – I am love with the yarns I have got and don’t need anymore for now).

As soon as I got there I headed for Jon at EasyKnits. I promised I would visit him and he just so happened to have the perfect skein for a pair of socks for J. Called Plum and Custard in the thick (almost sport) bfl sock yarn it is ideal. J loves these bright firey colours and I am going to pick a very plain design to make the most of the yarn for him. I am a bit sad I didn't get any of his sushi sock rolls but I am so happy with the crazy coloured yarn I did get that it will all be ok.

Easy Knits - Plums and Custard -Bfl

Secondly I went to Socktopus and had a look at their strange and wonderful socks. I didn’t like the feel of the Chameleon Colourworks "evolution" (that strange stretched merino) in the skein and so although I had considered buying some I didn’t in the end. However I really loved all the Hazel Knits Artisan Sock Yarn colours. I bought one skein of greenlake because I adored the colours and the high twist on the base yarn and I am looking forward to trying it out.

Hazel Knits Sock Yarn - Greenlake

Knitwitches bfl sock yarn - Red

Knitwitches bfl sock yarn - lime green

Knitwitches bfl sock yarn - Blue

Coldharbour Mill Undyed Merino Sock

Before I cast on for the Merino Lace Socks I tried to make the Austrian Socks.  I couldn't get gauge because the yarn was too thin.  I didn't have any thicker stuff left and I needed to get it quite thick to hit a gauge of 6 stitches to the inch.  I decided that I was in enough yarn credit to make a purchase and I remembered that Easy Knits BFL which I have used twice before is pretty thick.  I went to the website looking for something very pale since there is a lot of detail on the Austrian Socks and I didn't want it swamped with a brightly varigated yarn.

I found this beautiful Apple Blossom Yarn

Easy Knits Apple Blossom Yarn

When I placed the order I got a nice email from Jon the dyer asking how I found out about the website.  Something I can well understand since I always want to know how people found me on Ravelry.  I explained and he sent a lovely email back.

Anyway when he sent my order out he included a little free gift.  It was such a lovely surprise and I love it.

Knit Bag from Easy Knits