10 posts tagged “gift knitting”
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!
This evening J and I are leaving for a week in the Lake District and so I have been carefully choosing the contents of my knitting bag. I have taken most of my Manos Wool Classica in Olive for knitting a vest, some Socks that Rock Mediumweight sockyarn in Kaw Kaw and a skein of laceweight merino, silk and alpaca blend in a berry colour. So a real range of yarn types and weights to keep me going.
Obviously I am taking all my needles and other notions since you never know what you might need!
The plan is that it shouldn’t take more than a couple of days to finish the two pairs of socks I have on the needles since I am on the second sock in both cases, they are fast knits (historically) and I should get them both finished early in the week. After all we have several hours of car travelling and at least one sock should get finished in that time.
So I am really looking to start one maybe two projects up in the Lakes.
There is the Hilja Vest which I really want to be wearing right now at work with a nice white shirt. It has lots of stockinette knitting which should be fast and satisfying. I think I have been putting it off because I might have to do some conversions with gauge and measuring myself but actually a quiet week away with lots of time to work out the maths is probably perfect.
Next there is the Socks that Rock – I love this colour and I love the base yarn. I have been looking at completed photos of STR projects on Ravelry for weeks whilst resisting the urge to cast on. I am taking two different patterns with me that I might use – first the Gullywash socks and secondly the Nutkin socks. I am considering making a pair for my Mum I think she would love the colour as well and she has already dropped a few hints that in the cold weather my socks are the only things that keep her feet warm. Of the two patterns Nutkin would probably show of the yarn better and isn’t toe up like the other one (I tend to prefer cuff down and yet more than 50% of the socks I have knit so far this year have been toe up!), both of them have a short row heel but this might not bother the recipient as it does me and I do have the technique of creating hole-less wraps pretty much down and perfect now.
Lastly I am taking Victorian Lace today. Whilst the Melon Stitch Shawl is on hiatus (awaiting the arrival of replacement yarn from Oz) I am not sure I am minded to start another lace shawl project. However I have two in mind to make for gifts this year and I might discover an urge to get started. The advantage of starting the gifts now is that a relaxing holiday is a great time to get stuck into the rhythm of a complicated lace project. Only I will have to be extra careful about the yarn quantities here as I do not want to get stuck again like I did with the Melon Stitch Shawl – running out of yarn mere meters before the finish line.
So far I have 2 pairs of socks knitted ready to give as Christmas gifts. I plan to make a further 2 pairs and a wrap at least. I may extend this to 3 pairs of socks depending on how I feel and how much time I have. I like to do my holiday knitting throughout the year as it is supposed to be fun for me and not a chore. This way the pressure it off and I never promise to give people knitted gifts for Christmas so that there is no expectation if I suddenly don’t make the deadline.
I am partway through knitting the wrap on the above list (probably a little
under a 3/4 of the way done and I am enjoying it immensely. It
is the False Modesty Stole from the new free knitting magazine called
Knotions and I am knitting it out of Kid Silk Haze and two
complementary colours of Hipknits silk (in the original it is knitted
out of Kid Silk Haze and Handmaiden Big Sea but I wanted to knit from
stash and this is a great way of using silk which is less versatile
for the sort of knitting I normally prefer.) So the pattern
alternates two rows of seed stitch in the silk with two rows of lace
in the KSH. This is lovely because you end up with little jewel like
rows suspended in-between the light and airy KSH. This also gives me
the dual pleasure of knitting with silk (which is a joy to knit with
being all light and smooth) and knitting with KSH which I also love.
I know that KSH knitters fall into the love or hate camp and I love
it. I wouldn’t want to knit with it all the time but when I do
knit with it, it is like knitting with air.
The stole is knitted on the long edge so required a cast on of 255
stitches (which I increased to 275 because I have a fear of things
like this coming up short) and I am already over the recommended 8 repeats in so far (as I have a fear of it coming up narrow as well).
Knitting it this way up is unusual for me and sometimes it does feel
like forever to do a row but because the pattern is so simple I can
do this on the train and in front of the TV which does speed it up
somehow.
I wanted a quick knitting hit and Tudora has been in my queue at Ravelry for a few months now. It takes roughly 1 50g ball of aran weight wool and seemed a perfect way to use up some leftover Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Wine that I used for my Rogue Hoodie.
Now the DB Cashmerino does not generally wear well and the Rogue is looking decidedly dog eared but I really don't think that this will be a problem for Tudora - and the softness of the yarn will be a real benefit.
In the end it probably took around four hours to knit which was great really (exactly what I wanted) and had the advantage of using up an odd ball and making the yarn in yarn out equation look good in my favour. I have enough DB left for possibly one more Tudora and I think that these would make great gifts. Although I have also considered making a pair of fetching and giving it away as a matching set.
I just need to source a couple of buttons and it will be all done.
I have been wondering what to do with my Artesano Alpaca Hummingbird for a very long time. Now this problem is solved. Being so advanced with my gift knitting I have decided to throw one more knitted gift into the mix
and I making Miss Potter Mittens for a family friend. The alpaca seems like the perfect yarn for these. It is a good DK weight but I find alpaca very warm so the fact that these are fingerless mittens means that they should still keep your hands nice and toasty. The great thing about the pattern is that it only required 50g yarn and I have 150g of hummingbird. This means that I can make another pair for myself and still have enough left over to make something else.
The pattern is a chevron pattern very similar in style to the broadripple socks and therefore perfect for showing off a nice varigated yarn like hummingbird. There is a provisional cast on so that all edges can have a matching picot bind off which is very decorative. I have never done a provisional cast on before but I am suddenly struck at how practical it can be. For example because the chevron pattern is simple I got a bit carried away knitting it last weekend
and made the cuffs of the mittens about twice as long as I intended to. But because I used a provisional cast on I should be able to undo them from the cast on edge up to the point I want to knit the picot bind off and saving myself a lot of heartache. The pattern is from Yarn Forward is will be the second thing I have knitted coming from this magazine (if you count the general instructions for mitered squares).
My only modification was to add two stitches in the stocking stitch sections either side of the double decrease on each section (amounting to 12 extra stitches overall) this was to compensate for the fact I am using much smaller needles than is required but had I used the correct gauge needles the fabric would have been too loose and drapey.
Here is some of the work in progress:
Clearly though the picot bind off needs blocking.
I find that the pattern is really simple (apparently there are errors in it but as soon as I worked out the basic principles I stopped reading the pattern so I never found them). It probably takes a little over a day to knit one mitten making them v.fast.
Last week was a week on holiday and a week doing a fair amount of car travelling and this means knitting. In fact I had several very enjoyable evenings knitting in front of a log fire with Josh playing games on his laptop and me listening to podcasts and doing occasional bits of writing.
In this time I started knitting the laptop case in earnest which there is more about in another entry to come and I finished the second cable rib sock. This means that once the Kraken socks are done then all my official Christmas knitting is over and it is only the start of November. I may squeeze in another pair of socks but only if I really feel like it. This makes me very happy.
But with so much progress made I felt I wanted to cast something else on that was a little more complicated as many of the patterns I have done since the Rogue have been fairly simple and I did notice I started to get a little bored. But what to make…
During the holiday I was really enjoying the fact that I had enough handknitted socks to wear a pair every single day of the week with two pairs left over. This seemed like a very good amount of handknitted socks. However then I realised that J only had 4 pairs of handknitted socks whereas I have about 9. I felt awful, like I had been totally neglecting him and rashly promised him the next sock slot on my needles.
So now I am using the Knitwitches bfl and nylon mix in Jade Night to make him the Vinnland socks from Anticraft’s Beltane 2006 edition. Although the yarn is dark it is semi solid and seems to be taking the pattern well at the moment although I must confess that after 3 false starts I just did a basic toe up sock and ignore the quite complicated toe up method in the pattern which used things like provisional cast on’s and the like. I may have to fudge it to get it to work out but there must be some challenge. The yarn is nicely soft (although not quite as soft as the Lisa Souza yarn which is the softest stuff I have ever knitted with) but a little splitty and I am definitely finding that I prefer the more tightly spun, hard twist, yarns for sock knitting and Kelly Petkun from Knitpicks also informs me that such yarns are harder wearing which has to be a good thing in socks.
I wrote the following text a few days ago but I couldn't blog it because that act of hubris would have definately backfired on me as you can see. Now the knitting of the Clapotis II is over (a present for T this Christmas) it is safe to post it. Here is the photographic proof:
I think that the Clapotis pattern is very, very tricksey. I had estimated it would take me about 2 weeks to finish it from the point at which I picked it up again last Sunday. I decided I was probably wrong on Monday when I realised I had less than 1.5 pattern repeats to go before I do the decreases to the end (and this bit doesn’t take too long because you have less stitches to knit every row). On Tuesday I got to middle of the first decrease repeat. It appears to me that when I think that this piece of knitting will take a long time, it knits up far faster than I expected; when I think I can get it done quickly it becomes the longest, dullest piece of knitting in the world. It is like the knitting knows what I am thinking and changes its behaviour accordingly.
I do not like the idea that my knitting may be smarter than me. Therefore I need to keep thinking that I have a week and half left of work to trick the knitting into going as quickly as possible from here on in (because it is getting a little dull now).
Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert from Knitty.com
Needles: 4.5mm Metal circs
Yarn: Stroud Pure Merino Sock Wool in Blackberry
I have an odd relationship with the Clapotis pattern. The increase rows go well enough but after a couple of repeats on the straight rows I come to the conclusion that it is going to take FOREVER to finish (this is probably partly because I tend to use a smaller gauge and more stitches than the original but not entirely). I then plough on regardless for some unmeasured period of time and one day I look up and I am over half-way there. After this everything feels like it goes far more quickly. However once the item is done and blocked I forget how long it took and assume I can knock one out in a week and a half. I can’t.
I am now happily past the halfway point and am aiming to be done with it by the end of September. Whereupon I can pick up the Rogue Hoodie again. The Rogue Hoodie has annoyingly been on hold since I cast on for the Clapotis because I totally failed to realise that the Clapotis would eat up all my stitch markers which I need for Rogue.
Looking at the item in its nearly finished state I can see that I much prefer Clapotis’ in variegated yarn rather than solid or semi solid, but I know that this more muted version will better suit the person it is gifted for. This yarn appears to need more blocking than the Celestial Merino Dream but this is no particular hardship. I am pleased I blocked the first Clapotis as it did massively improve the drape of the fabric.
However I am resolved to soak the finished article in water and vinegar before rinsing and blocking. I have heard that this sets the dye and as this is a Christmas gift I do not want to run the risk of colour bleeding.
In progress pictures…
This week I have finished the Anastasia socks for my sister's birthday. They are wrapped up and ready to go. I have a couple of finished shots but annoyingly the shot of both socks together didn't come out so I only have the close up and one being modelled on my foot; it should be enough for posterity though.
I have listened to the new Lime and Violet podcast in which Miss Violet fell off the yarn wagon very seriously. It sounds like she made some amazing purchases though - just a couple more than she meant to. I on the other hand although buying books (which have yet to arrive) and a pattern have not bought any more yarn. I am still keen to finish a large chunk of what I have first and this is still going well - with Anastasia out of the way it should be. I think my next project should be the clapotis number two for a friend for Christmas. I did the last one in two weeks and can probably do the next one in three and that would relieve me of two 150g skeins of very soft Violetgreen yarn in blackberry. It is nearly solid which is unusual for a clapotis but I have seen some pictures of solid clapotis and they have come out very nicely.
My other knitting work this week is Titania's Revenge. I have already blogged a little on this so I shall just flash the in progress pics and leave it at that for now.
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