Alternative Knits

Jess here with an admission: I'm a little bit picky with my knitting projects (okay, super picky). This is probably because I'm primarily a selfish knitter. So while I did like the looks of the Scroll Lace Scarf, I decided it wasn't quite my style. Instead of knitting along with the other ladies, I decided to go back to the beginning and re-knit Damson. As I previously mentioned, I left mine on a G train, and as any New Yorker will tell you, it's just not worth going after. Thus, I wound my yarn -- Tosh Merino Light in the beautiful, versatile Dust Bowl -- and began my knitting. As with my previous version, I knit the body in stockinette so that I wouldn't run out of yarn. The result is absolutely perfect. I haven't gotten the chance to snap a great photo of it, but here's a less than flattering shot to tide you over!

I'm so happy with how this version came out. I'm loving Dust Bowl even more than Smokestack; the slightly darker gray shade goes with my skin tone a little better, and it matches more of my wardrobe. I'm also pleased to report that I'm the proud owner of blocking wires, so I was able to make all of the loops stand out with ease. It's amazing how good blocking can elevate a project from good to great!

I had about 20 yards leftover, so what did I do? Okay, I saved half for hexipuffs, but the other half I used to create a fun little pal! Meet Joel the Jackalope.

Joel was based on the patterns Tiny Easter Bunny and Tiny Reindeer from Teeny Tiny Mochimochi by Anna Hrachovec. He's a little sweet and a little scary, which I find hilarious. I'm about to attend a wedding in Mexico, and I think that Joel will be the perfect date.

Beyond that, I've somehow managed to become a prolific knitter in the past month or so. I've finished my Rocky Coast Cardi, knit a Bunny Nugget, made a Tiny Armadillo named Queso (also coming with me to Mexico), and have started a pair of Elm Socks. Not too shabby. Now, time to keep knitting my socks! It's cold and rainy today, so I need some bright pink/red socks to make me smile!

Hi-ho, Squirrelio!

Hello all! Claire here, joining the "We're still here!" posting line up. And yes, we have been busy in our silence. I started my Levenwick shortly after the new year and am making good headway on that. Then Jess and I both got the beautiful book Coastal Knits and were ooh-ing and aaah-ing over that for quite a while. Finally she pressured me enough (like it was hard!) to get the yarn to start the Rocky Coast cardigan. I ordered myself some nice light grey Shepherd's Wool from Stonehedge Fibers. I admit, it was a front-runner because it's from a mill in Michigan - yay mitten! I think this is the first time I've had 2 sweaters going at once, so it's been a challenge to keep pace on both of them. I also finished a sock, started (trying) to learn Continental knitting, and made an exuberantly pom-pomed hat. It keeps me cheery in this snow-less NYC winter. 

And FINALLY I have put buttons on my Peaks Island Hood. Finishing a piece can be the trickiest part, and  honestly I wasn't sure if I was going to put buttons on this, since I think I blocked it a little too much and the scarf parts were quite long. But I fiddled with the placement some, broke out the embroidery floss and needle, and in 10 minutes I had a truly finished hood! 

Chewie here was kind enough to model for me. Doesn't he look cosy? I think I mentioned in an earlier post that the buttons are some I got for Christmas, from a company called Buttons by Nature. Made of spalted maple, they're the perfect size and give the hood a nice little rustic flair. 

And now on to further projects in the Whimsical Little Knitalong! We've made our way to Nathaniel, the cutest little squirrel pillow you ever did see! So far he is a very fast knit, and has some interesting construction details as well. You start with a garter strip, slipping stitches on the side to be picked up later for the squirrely body. It's a little awkward at first, but with a chunky yarn it goes very quickly! Clever decreases shape the feet and tail parts. I think my gauge is a little small, but I think Lawrence (of Brooklyn) will be just the right size to cuddle with on the couch and watch Shaun the Sheep with me. 

Knitting Disappointments

Nobody knits to create stress. Unfortunately, things outside of our control can quickly take knitting from relaxing to infuriating.

First, I had the worst time ever choosing yarn for Levenwick. I'm usually pretty decisive about these things, so not being able to select a yarn, let alone a color, was mind-boggling. After purchasing a few sweater quantities (which will all be put to good use), I finally settled on the recommended yarn, Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Homemade Jam.

This brings me to my second piece of stress. As much as I love the tweedy shades and wooly hand of this yarn, I just can't get over the sheer quantity of vegetable matter (or VM, as we say in the biz)! For those not in the know, VM is the general term for hay, wood, and other goodies that may make it into your yarn from the fleece. While I can tolerate a little bit of VM (sheep aren't the cleanest animals, after all), I cannot justify spending a pretty penny on yarn that is absolutely ravaged by it. Here's how much I pulled out of less than half a skein:

When I contacted Brooklyn Tweed about this, they were sincerely apologetic and offered to replace my yarn in the same dye lot. Hooray! Except when I received the yarn, it had just as much VM as my old skeins. Sigh. So now I'm knitting a sweater in yarn that is making me very angry, but I can't let myself admit defeat. I worked too hard to select this yarn, dammit.

And finally, here's my last disappointment. I ordered 3 skeins of yarn for my Peaks Island Hood, but only 2 were available. That means I'll have to wait until at least Monday, maybe Tuesday, to get the yarn and start the project. I guess that gives me more time to begrudgingly trudge through Levenwick, right?

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I can focus on enjoying my knitting (no matter how much VM I must pluck from it). Maybe I'll cast on a beautiful shawl for myself to make up for my recent string of annoyances. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself.

Snap to it!

Claire here, checking in with a progress update! I've finished my Snapdragon Mitts, so now the weather is free to get properly cold. NYC cannot make up its mind to be rainy and chilly, or to be sunny and warm - it makes deciding what to wear very frustrating. Luckily with the flip top on the mitts, I have built in AC for my hands!



The one thing that does bug me about this - okay, there are two things. The first is that with the tops buttoned up, you can't see the pretty design on the back of the hand! I know Kendra had made noises about putting the chart on the bottom of the mitt as well, since she will likely wear hers flipped most of the time. If that's still the plan, I look forward to her notes! The other thing that is slightly annoying is the positioning of the mitt top. It comes quite far over above the thumb and doesn't extend far enough over on the outside edge. I don't think it will impact the wearability of the mitts, but if I make these again, I think I will move the top over about 2 stitches.

Sadly that is the only picture I have for this post! I had attempted to start the Metro cardigan with some yarn from my stash, but my gauge was doing crazy things. Then I realized it's nearly Thanksgiving here, which means it's almost December and I should really get to work on some Christmas presents! Since my mom and sister read the blog (Hi RuthAnn and Emily!!) I can't very well post about their projects, except to say that I have started them. I am also working on a Mr. Krabs amigurumi for my boyfriend Jean, who is a big SpongeBob fan. It's going well, but there is so much single crochet!!!

Luckily for you, we're almost ready to start the next WLK2 project! We're switching things up a bit and jumping to the Peaks Island Hood, so we can all have them to wear in the dreary days of January. I've got a loooovely yarn planned for that - if only I can remember to take some pictures! If all goes according to plan, we will start this Friday and hopefully get several more posts in before the end of the year.

Seeing Red

Red is a notoriously difficult color. Its light pigments are larger than others, causing it to glow in photography and video. It is difficult to dye to proper shade and often bleeds when washed (oh, the irony). And I can't stop knitting red yarn.

My previously mentioned Rhinebeck skirt was Lanesplitter. Claire and I both decided to use Lion Brand Amazing as an economical (and softer) alternative to Noro. While she opted for the neutral browny Cobblestone, I went straight for Roses, a bright tonal variation of reds, burgundies, and pinks. I mostly followed the pattern as written, although I have lazily avoided inserting the elastic so far. I've worn it twice with no wardrobe malfunctions, though, so I'm pretty happy! If I had to do it over again, I would use a provisional cast on. To do this, simple cast on the number of stitches for the diagonal width you wish to achieve. Since you're working on the bias, you would work increases on one side and decreases on the other (as for the main body section). When the skirt fits around you, simply graft it to your provisional cast on. Bam, you've got a seamless skirt! Added bonus: your color changes won't be as obvious at the cast on/bind off edges. I definitely see myself making another of these in the near future (perhaps in my other color obsession, green). At any rate, here's my finished skirt (photographed at Webs):

For my next red projects, I decided to use up some stashed Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the gorgeous Scarlet colorway. I needed a small project to knit while standing in lines at Rhinebeck, so I pulled out an Ysolda classic, Ishbel. I'm not much of a triangle shawl person, so I knit the small lace and stockinette sections. Overall, I'm pretty happy that the shawl went smoothly (just 9 days start to finish!), but I think it deserves a more aggressive block.

Pro tip: block lacy shawls like this with the right side down. This helps prevent curling in the stockinette and lace. Yes, I learned that after I blocked this. I'll definitely be doing this from now on! In the meantime, let's get a closeup of that gorgeous lace.

Now that I'm finished with these projects, I'm starting my Snapdragon fliptops. After all, it's starting to get cold here!

Hexipuffing Along

Jess here again. There's less than a week until Rhinebeck, so things are getting a bit hectic at WLKA headquarters. Claire and Kendra are working hard to finish their Snapdragon Tams and some sweaters before the big day. I'm an obsessive planner, so I'm already finished. As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm trying to avoid a new project before our trip. Thus, I have continued my hexipuff adventures! So far, I'm really happy with my color palette. I guess I just have a well-curated stash of sock yarn! These are the yarns that I've used thus far:

• Green gradient: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in Summer Meadow
• Dark gray: Dream in Color Smooshy in Gray Tabby
• Light gray: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Smokestack
• Black and white stripes: Crystal Palace Panda Silk in Granite Tones (a gift from Claire!)
• Navy: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Ink
• Gray/lime/purple stripes: Studio Avenue Six Self-Striping in Purple/Gray/Green
• Teal: Shibui Sock in Peacock
• Burgundy sparkles: Dream in Color Starry in Gothic Rose
• Pink: Noro Kureyon Sock in 188
• Black/purple/teal: Alchemy Juniper in Underwater Moonlight

I made the chart for the key, but I found the fox and raven (as well as tons of other great charts) in this Ravelry thread. I'm going for a woodland/Alice in Wonderland/whimsical theme for my charted puffs, so we'll see how many different designs I can incorporate. I plan on doing a heart, bowtie, glasses, watch, hat, mice, rabbits...you get the idea.

While I'd love to just hexipuff (it's a verb, too!) forever, my Lanesplitter skirt is starring at me from the corner. All I need to do to finish it is whip up the waistband, a task that should be quickly completed. For some reason, I just can't bring myself to do it. I'll probably force myself to pick it up tomorrow and power through so that I can wear it to Rhinebeck as originally intended. Sometimes I like to press deadlines to increase my motivation, and that's exactly what I'm doing here.

Now, it's important for every knitter to have a plan for the next project. I like to have one large and one small project going at the same time. My next sweater will certainly be Levenwick by the brilliant Gundrun Johnston. I want to go with a soft tweed yarn, which I will purchase at Webs on the way to Rhinebeck. I rarely buy sweater quantities of yarn in person (shocking!), so I'm incredibly excited for this adventure. At Rhinebeck itself there will be ample opportunity to sit and knit, preferably with a portable project. I need to decide if I want to make my matching Snapdragon Flip Tops or if I want to begin the ever-popular Ishbel (in the Scarlet shade of Tosh Merino Light). The weather might dictate which yarn weight I go with, but I'd love to hear your opinions!

ETA: Immediately after publishing this post, I picked up my Lanesplitter. It only took two hours to finish! Expect a post on it in the near future.

Color Inspiration

Let's talk about color. Since I'm skipping Veyla, I've been able to focus on some autumn (read: Rhinebeck!) knitting. As a New Yorker, I wear a lot of black clothes, so I look at my knitting as a way to add much-needed color to my wardrobe. My favorite shades are rich jewel tones: ruby reds, emerald greens, amethyst purples, and so on. This year, I'm trying out a new color: gold. It turns out that Claire is also making a gold sweater, so we'll match! For the pattern, I've selected Acorns by Carol Sunday in the gorgeous Candlewick Madelinetosh Tosh DK. Who could resist this color?

While gold is exciting, my must-have color for fall is red. This powerful color gives me a surge of confidence whenever I wear it. I've decided to combine this fabulous color with a project I've never knit: a skirt. Claire and I chose to make the Lanesplitter Skirt from Knitty in Amazing yarn. While she's making a more neutral Cobblestone skirt, mine is the vivid red/pink/burgundy colorway Roses.

With all of these bright garments, I'm going to need some neutral accessories. The matching Snapdragon tam and flip-tops will be perfect for Rhinebeck, so I'm going to make them from French Grey Madelinetosh Tosh DK. Some skeins of this colorway have more of a brown or rosy hue, but mine is a serene neutral gray.

So those are the colors I'm going to be using for my next 4 projects (2 of which are already started). What colors are you using, ladies?