12 posts tagged “blue”
I finished the Komet Socks for a friend for Christmas and I am so pleased with the way they turned out. I think that they look gorgeous and they were great fun to knit. I shall definitely be knitting more of Stephanie Van Der Linden's patterns, free and paid since it was interesting and really well written. It looks really complicated and yet I was still able to memorise the pattern quickly which was precisely the sort of knit I was looking for. I think that the mixture of cables and lace makes the cables pop out even more.
I realised very late that Indigo Moon, the yarn I used, which whilst absolutely beautiful in terms of colour is probably the louet gems base yarn which is just not my favourite really and that was a shame. On the up side these are a gift so I won't be wearing them if that is a problem for me.
I also completed them during the blue phase of Project Spectrum. I haven't been following Project Spectrum much in my knitting this year. I think I got put off because it started with a colour I really didn't like and my knitting never got back in sync after that.
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).
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.
I shall definitely be trying out more of Stephanie's patterns in the future!
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!
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.
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.
This really will be all I buy for a while now:
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:
Firstly I have forgotten to post pictures of my January the 1st socks. For the last couple of years I have deliberately knitted myself a pair of slight challenging socks which look fabby to wear on New Year's Day. A sort of knitting charm to invoke good things for the coming year.
This year I knitted the Canal Du Midi socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush in the famous Socks that Rock lightweight and they were a complete joy to wear. The fit around the ankle wasn't perfect but the yarn feels great on the feet.
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.
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.
Next I headed to Knitwitches, I love their yarn, their customer service and their dye jobs and I was not disappointed I bought 3 skeins of semi solds here which I am going to save for some of the really complicated designs I love but which will be swamped by busy yarn. In particular I am looking at some of the free Stephanie Van Linden designs I have downloaded for free from Ravelry but more on those another time.
When I first saw this pattern in Knotions I sort of glossed over it. I was fussed about the colour and I don't think I read the pattern closely enough to discover the interesting things that they were doing with silk and kid silk haze. When I was looking to make a Christmas present for A this popped up again on my radar and I realised that I had all the materials in brighter, more interesting colours and so cast on.
I used just over 1 ball of kid silk haze and 2 50g skeins of Hipknits DK silk, one in pale blue in and one in a varigated blue, purple and pink yarn.
When it came to finishing it though I really felt as though something were missing. I haven't really considered fringe before but when I added it to the finished item I was really pleased with the overall effect.
Recently I surprised myself by getting hold of a skein of Posh Yarn Miranda (Merino, Cashmere and Alpaca?) Cobweb weight in a shop update. I was surprised because I had decided that this stuff was just impossible to get but it was a great colour, a perfect fit for a Laminaria Shawl I want to make for myself.
Here is the picture, it will be the thinnest stuff I have ever knit with but I am slowly realising that at the moment I prefer knitting on a high gauge with a thin yarn.
Then (and this will be my last yarn purchase for a long time as I have enough to knit for nearly a year now) someone from the UK on ravelry was destashing Socks that Rock Lightweight yarn. I have wanted to try this for about 2 years and so since I have got a little extra cash at the moment I treated myself.
This is the Lucy in the Sky colourway from the Watercolour Wave Series.
I wouldn’t order it from the states (because of the carbon emissions) but since it had already
been shipped over I thought I would give it a go. I probably won’t
make a habit of buying it as I am becoming very well acquainted will
some great Indie UK dyers who I would prefer to support but at least
now I will have a better understanding of what people are raving
about and can make my own mind up. J has been saying for a while he would like some blue socks but this is so lovely I am not sure I can part with it.
Normally I hate all the hype about these hard to get yarns as the frenzy of other people snapping them up makes you panic and feel like you have to buy them without really checking you love the colour, need the yarn etc. So I was very measured with both these purchases and hope I continue to be so. I am happy with what I have got and have no wish to go crazy buying things I don’t really want.
I have a bit of a battle with myself over buying knitting supplies. Part of me sees the knitting culture being overwhelmed with advertising and pressure to buy far more yarn than you could ever use. Many people try to justify this by saying that they are buying yarn whilst they are flush with cash so that if they ever fall on hard times they will still be able to knit and I do sympathise with this however I can also see how easy it is to fall into the consumer trap. I have bought some items again recently and I intend to buy more at both the Iknit day and probably the Knitting and Stitching Show in October but I am also trying to keep a lid on the spending and so far I am doing ok. I am keeping a spread sheet of yarn in v yarn out and so far I have knit more than I bought. I need to keep it up however, particularly as I had a huge influx of yarn into my stash earlier in the year when I was gifted a large amount of yarn including some silk (my first time knitting with silk!) for writing a knitting article and so far I haven’t counted that as “bought” yarn.
Now my own self-justification is out of the way
So I have purchase this lovely shawl pin from Purlescence as a gift for my Mum’s birthday to go with the green shawl I knitted her out of kid silk haze. Since I got the yarn for half price! I decided I would splash out on buying a really nice pin to go with it. I am actually really jealous of the pin and Mum will be lucky if she gets it in the end ;)
It arrived VERY promptly and in excellent condition.
Then I ordered this yarn from Socktopus
This also arrived promptly and included a free sachet of Eucalan Wool Wash which I am very interested to try out. The Louet Gems is two 50g skeins to make some mirrored socks from Favourite Socks which are striped with a shadow knitting design. (this would be interesting since I have never tried shadow knitting before). The Mountain Colours Bearfoot is simply to try for fun because many people really rate it (although it apparently bleeds badly so I will have to fix that) and I have never tried socks with mohair in them. I am told though that they are super warm. Obviously both of these are US imports and so now I will be resuming my usual habit of knitting just the UK based suppliers for a while to save on carbon footprinting!
Socktopus also comes wrapped in this amazing custom tissue paper. If I cut the words of the bottoms I can use it to wrap my Mum's shawl.
This is my first time ordering from the more expensive “niche” online wools stores and it was a very positive experience and I would certainly do it again if something caught my eye. I will also be very interested to see if the sock yarn from Socktopus is worth the hype as I have two types of yarn which are both at the high end and everyone raves about the base yarn for Louet Gems.
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