Daybreak

My friend, Janet, gifted me with a beautiful skein of Shalimar DK yarn in a color called Sea Glass. For some months I kept it stashed with my other single skeins of fingering weight yarn, periodically taking it out to pet and admire.

I just loved the color, but what to do with it? Socks were a possibility with that yardage, but I hated to hide that sea blue inside a pair of shoes.

Then, while trolling around Ravelry late one night, I fell into the rabbit hole which is westknits. That guy! He has more fun with color than practically anyone. And so many of his patterns are just perfect for mixing a bunch of lovely one-skein fingering weight yarns. Of which I have a pretty hefty collection, on account of I can't resist them.

His Daybreak pattern looked like a good bet for someone who is dipping a toe into playing with colors. You can go crazy, as have many of the 6986 knitters who have posted their Daybreaks on Ravelry. Or you can timidly use just two colors and see where it takes you. Like me.

I used a skein of Madeline Tosh Sock in the color Whiskey Barrel for my contrast. It's hard to see from the photos but this brown has flashes of blue winking in and out.

I thought I'd be able to knock out a size Large, but I didn't have quite enough of the Whiskey Barrel. But the size Medium is plenty big enough for me.

I'm new to shawl knitting. This one starts small at the back of the neck and grows exponentially as you knit your way out. Gee, those last rows seem to go on forever. Maybe a bit boring, but also soothing. This is a great project for social knitting, or TV watching.

I'm also new to shawl wearing. I think this is a nice shape and size. Those long corners keep the thing put when you drape them over your shoulders, and the fingering weight means the shawl is light enough to scrunch up at the collar of your jacket if you're wearing it out on a blustery day.

I might need to rest up a bit before I dive into another shawl, but it will be fun to review my sock yarn stash and play with some colors for another Daybreak. Or, if I'm brave enough, maybe a Rockefeller.

My Ravelry project notes are here.

Cocoknits Lizzie

This spring I went on up to Stitches West with a couple of my knitter friends. During our explorations we stopped by the Cocoknits booth. Julie Weisenberger had just released a new book called the Cocoknits Sweater Workshop. She had a bunch of her patterns made up for us happy knitters to try on.
I tried one of the cardigans, the Lizzie, and bought the pattern book on the spot. I also bought 2 skeins of a cotton/hemp blend yarn ($28 bucks). I was so excited, I cast on pretty much right after I got home.

And here it is, all finished, blocked and ready to wear! This was a quick knit for me. Most of the patterns in the book would be, I think. I won't say it was super easy though. The patterns use some techniques that were new to me, so I stumbled around in the beginning. Take a look, for example, at this sleeve.

That lump is the Kirsten Kimono Tee that I have on underneath

Looks like a set-in sleeve, don't it? It fits like one too. But it's done seamlessly, from the top down, using a method I've never seen before. The book walks you clearly through the whole process but I found it a little mind-bending.

I was reading a thread on Ravelry about how many times knitters are willing to rip and redo to get something right. The average seemed to be about three; many folks figured that if the third time wasn't the charm it was a sign that the yarn wanted to be something else and you should set it free to find its true destiny.

This Lizzie taught me that I'm willing to rip and re-do 9 times, if I think I'm learning something. Luckily the challenging parts are all right at the beginning, so ripping was hardly heart-wrenching at all.

I'm super glad I persevered, because I love the way these shoulders fit. I think I might have square shoulders? At any rate, top down cardigans always feel like they're slipping off of me backwards. Set in sleeves, on the other hand, feel much better. Well, this is a top-down, seamless knit with sleeves that fit like a seamed, set-in sleeve. And now that I know how to work the magic, I'll never go back.

back view showing cropped length

The Cocoknits aesthetic is what I would call clean and modern; asymmetrical lines, lots of drape, lots of open fabrics. My knitter friend, Jessica, is tall and slim and stylish. She was born to wear these styles. As a short brick, I feel like I have to approach them with some caution.

There's a write-up in the book that helps you choose which styles and which modifications will work best with your frame. Julie points out that the waterfall neckline works well for us shorties by giving a strong, vertical line, and that by ending both the body and the sleeves close to my narrowest point I can emphasize whatever waistline I have.

I would say that I enjoyed the making and I'm enjoying the wearing. I could totally see knitting this one up again, maybe in a light wool for a bit of coziness. Come to think of it, I have some green Mission Falls in stash that has been looking for a project for years.

If you want to give the Cocoknits method a whirl, they have a Youtube channel with videos that will show you the way.

My Revelry notes are here.

Some Baby Knitting

Baby crafting continues apace here in Surf City. Although the little guy will be growing up in Orange County, I figure every kid needs a baby blanket. This here is the Shadow Study Throw from Purl Soho, miniaturized to baby blanket size.

My version

Purl Soho's version is about 40 inches by 50 inches.

Purl Soho's version

And look at those lovely, soft colors. I fell in love with this blanket when I saw these pictures. I'd love to recreate it, but I'm way too cheap to buy the kit. Plus I don't have the chutzpah to knit an entire adult size throw.

But a baby blanket - maybe. I did a little poking around on Ravelry and it looked like most baby blankets are more in the 28 by 32 inch range. Due to my inability to do simple arithmetic (plus my failure to produce a competent gauge swatch) my version ended up more like 31 by 38. Eh, the kid can grow into it.

This pattern uses intarsia. I once knit a pair of intarsia argyle socks in high school. It was a nightmare; I had about 30 little bobbins of yarn tangling around each other, trying to strangle me. I swore I'd never do intarsia again.

This intarsia project was surprisingly fun! Purl Soho offers the pattern for free, bless them, along with a bunch of very clear tutorials on knitting intarsia with garter stitch. The blocks of color are pretty big, and you're never using more than four yarns at a time. If you think you might want to give intarsia a go, this pattern would be a nice introduction. Fair warning, though: it is a bunch of garter stitch. Like, a bunch. Good for TV knitting.

I took my friend, Jessica, with me to help with color combinations. I'm totally useless at combining colors. I was after a blanket that said baby boy without screaming Baby Boy. I couldn't find quite the color combo I had in mind, but, to paraphrase Rumsfeld, you knit a baby blanket with the yarn you have, not the yarn you might want or wish to have at a later time. I wish the yellow-green were a bit more lime. But they were fun colors to work with and I think I like how they came out.

I used Encore worsted, purchased at The Swift Stitch here in Santa Cruz. Encore is a wool/acrylic blend that is supposed to be machine washable and dryable. Plus it's affordable. Can't beat that for a baby blanket. The blanket feels nice and soft, and it's light weight enough not to give the kid a heat rash.

My sketchy Revelry notes are here. Next up, some sewing for me!

An Acid Green Shell

We've had a few batches of houseguests and have been on vacation to boot, so I've been forced to tidy away all my sewing crap. Therefore, no sewing has been occurring at my house lately.

I have been doing a bit of knitting though! Our vacation involved taking the train (the Coast Starlight) from San Jose up to the Pacific Northwest. Besides being relaxing and providing gorgeous views, a train trip gives you a lot of quality knitting time.

Front view

The pattern is called Icy Blue Shell, by Kennita Tully. It was published in the July, 2007 issue of Creative Knitting. My friend, Jessica, was doing an bit of Kondo-ing and was about to toss her old issues when she realized that this pattern still sparked a bit of joy. And, being a good friend, she passed some of that joy along to me.

Side view, trying to show the side panel of dragon skin

I didn't have anything in stash that would get me even close to the right gauge, so I treated myself to two skeins of Stonehendge Fiber Mill Shepherds Wool Worsted in a green that's shuddering on the edge of yellow.  I think of it as Acid Green. The color isn't true in these photos. In real life, it's a little more like this:

It's as close as my face can get to yellow without melting like the Wicked Witch of the West. 

Back view

This was a quick pattern to knit, even for someone like me, who has to parcel out knitting time on account of tendonitis. You work in the round from the bottom up and it's mainly stockinette, except for three panels of what they call Dragon Skin, one under each arm and a double-wide up the front.

Close up of the dragon skin panel - color is totally washed out though

Here it is, laying flat so you can see the side panels a bit. They do look a bit like scales, huh? The stitch pattern creates little curves at the top and bottom of each panel, which I think are kind of cute.

Color is truer here, but still not quite as neon as in person

I squared the neck off a little more than what the pattern called for, partly because I was skating on the edge of running out of yarn. As usual.

If you can get your hands on the pattern, I recommend it! It goes fast and those dragon skin panels liven up the stockinette just enough to keep you awake.

I have a few sewing projects lined up and waiting, so I'll be taking over the breakfast table again soon.

In the meantime, my Ravelry notes (such as they are) are here.

in the Pink

Gosh, I finished another knitted object!

This is Pink, from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. It's just about the most straightforward sweater you can imagine knitting. Top down raglan with a V-neck; a wardrobe staple.

Front view. No shoes again,  how embarrassing.

It's knit from some cotton yarn I got ages ago at one of my favorite knitting stores in Grass Valley. The store is no longer there. Very sad.

I had started another sweater with this yarn and then set it aside for, oh gee, maybe 8 years or so. I found it while tossing the stash in preparation for a knitting retreat last fall. I decided I didn't like the original project much, so I ripped it out and looked for something else I could do with 600 yards of cotton yarn.

Back view

Why do I always buy 600 yards? Why do I think that's enough to make much of anything? That's why I have so many sleeveless sweaters.  Which is OK, I guess, considering I live on the Central Coast, where long sleeves are rarely required.

Well, 600 yards wasn't quite enough to finish up this sweater. I ended up needing to buy another hank of cotton to add the ribbing and finish the neck. I took the daring step of getting a contrasting color. Actually, I had to be daring because there was no way on God's green earth that I was going to be able to find another skein of my original yarn. Especially since I hadn't kept the ball bands, so I have no idea who made it or what it's called.

As it turns out, I like the contrasting navy bands, so all is well.

I would happily recommend this pattern to a new knitter. The gauge is 4.5 stitches to the inch, so it moves along pretty fast, and it doesn't ask for any tricky stitches or techniques. Plus you can do the whole "try on as you go" thing that top-down knitting allows.

I'm thinking of casting on Beatnik to take on the train with me to Washington State in August. Kind of a big leap in complexity, huh? I'll let you know how it comes along...

Cabaret Raglan

And now, for something completely different, a knitted FO:

This is the Cabaret Raglan, by Norah Gaughan. Looks like it was originally published in Interweave Knits back in summer of 2004. Apparently, I don't like to jump right on a knitting pattern when it first comes out. I like to let it marinate for a bit; let a few hundred other people work out the kinks for me.

This is Norah's version from back in the day

I have always liked this pattern though, so a few months ago I decided to dive in. A recent tossing of the yarn stash has reminded me that I have a few sweater-length lots of yarn that I really like and it would be swell to convert them into something useful.

I used some Rowan All Seasons Cotton that I got at the Yarn Dogs closing sale many moons ago. It's nice and soft and sweat-shirty; just right for this top, I think.

I made the smallest size (36.5 bust), which just about used up my 650 yards. The yarn was just a little bit beefier than worsted weight. Does that translate to aran? Anyways, it produced the 17 stitches to 4 inches that the pattern called for.

This was my first time knitting a bottom up raglan. I deviated from the instructions by knitting the body in one piece up to the arms, then dividing and knitting the front and back. I went ahead and knitted the sleeves flat though; I think I'd rather seam than fiddle with two circulars or magic loop or whatnot for  those two stinking little tubes. I've been converted by a recent Mason Dixon Knitting post. I also added a little bit of waist shaping.

Here's a closer look at the pattern on the front. I kind of like it. There's a bit of yarn-overing and a few tiny traveling cables. Enough to liven up the stocking stitch a bit. I was worried that the lacy bits would be low enough to put my bra on display, but it sits just high enough to save me from that embarrassment.

This was a pretty quick knit. It's a straightforward pattern at a pretty large gauge. If you're looking to bang out a sweater, or if you want to give a first try to a bit of cables or lace, I recommend it!

Ingenue

I've been lagging on the sewing front since we got back from vacation. Maybe because it's been unseasonably hot and my fabric cutting area is the floor in the spare bedroom, up under the eaves. After a few minutes crawling around up there the sweat is blinding my eyes and I have to stagger down to the kitchen for a cooling beverage.

What's a crafter to do in such circumstances? Haul out the multitude of half-finished sweaters and try to figure out what the heck I was doing with my knitting. Wool may not sound like the best creative response to hot weather, but I can knit in the shade with that refreshing beverage at my elbow.

This is Ingenue, a pattern from Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. 

It's a mite wrinkled because it lived balled up in my knitting bag in the upstairs closet for 18 months. I'd done the body and most of one sleeve, then set it aside.

Why? With most of my kitting projects I lose steam when I reach a point where I need to make a decision. Is it time to start the shaping for the hips? Are the sleeves long enough, or should I do a few more rows? And, most often, Will I have enough yarn to finish this thing? I have a habit of buying just barely enough yarn for a project and then panicking as I come down to the wire. The Yarn Harlot calls this "playing chicken with your knitting." It's kind of stressful, really.

'Barely enough yarn' is the reason my version of this pattern is a bit skimpier than Wendy Bernard's.

This is one of those nifty top-down, raglan sleeve sweater patterns. I mostly knit these patterns because:

1. you can try the garment on as you go to see if you're in the right fit ballpark, and
2. no finishing, except for weaving in your ends

The thing I'm not wild about in a top-down raglan design is the fit in the shoulder.

You can kind of see what I mean in this back view. There's almost a kimono sleeve thing going on. I don't mind it too much in a pullover, but some of my top-down raglan cardigans want to slide off my shoulders if they aren't buttoned up.

I've knit more sweaters from Custom Knits than I have from any other knitting book I own. I find the patterns are straightforward enough to go quickly (if you don't neglect them for months), yet there are enough little decorative bits to keep you from falling asleep over the stockinette.

My favorite part of this sweater is the funnel neck:

The yarn is a wool-cotton blend that I got at the going-out-of-business sale at Yarn Dogs in Los Gatos. Gosh, I miss that store.

The color is something I call "Goth Green." I don't remember what the spinner called it because I carelessly lost the ballband. Yes, all of them. The yarn is almost black, but with a mossy undertone. Kind of reminds me of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

It blends pretty well with my wardrobe and I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing it, if this heat wave ever ends.

Meanwhile, I've almost finished cutting out the pieces for my first coat. Plus lining! I aim to finish that this week. Wish me luck.

A Minimalist Cardigan

A rare event: a knitting FO! And it only took me 2 months. The burst of speed is due to the fact that this is the project I took along for my train trip to the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Pullayup. There's nothing like 44 hours of train time to kick your knitting productivity up a notch.

I took the sweater for a test drive today and it worked well. Comfortable and warm. The 3/4 sleeves are long enough to keep my arms cozy but short enough not to get wet while I'm doing dishes.

This is Ruthie Nussbaum's Minimalist Cardigan from the August 2007 issue of Interweave Knits - with a few changes. The pattern has you do the body of the cardigan in moss stitch and the collar in stockinette. Ruthie Nussbaum used a merino/alpaca blend that is probably very smooth and drapey.

The photo that sold me on this sweater, snatched from Ravelry

I made this cardigan once before, from a variegated 100% wool yarn that I was in love with. The moss stitch body turned out to be great for a variegated yarn, because the texture of the stitch kept the colors from pooling. Sadly, the springy-ness of the wool meant that the stockinette collar rolled up like a garden hose. I did everything I could think of to relax that collar, with no success. Otherwise, I really liked the shape and fit of the cardigan.

This yarn is also 100% wool from stash, so I switched things out and did the body of the cardigan in stockinette and the collar in moss stitch. Success! The collar lays flat and hugs the back of my neck just right.

Back view - under my hair the collar is doing just what a collar should do

The pattern is designed so that you knit the sweater in pieces and seam them up at the end. Out of laziness I knit the body in one piece from the bottom up and divided for the sleeves. I didn't want to have to mess with making sure all my pieces were the same length when knitting while traveling.

I also added a little shaping by reducing 4 stitches every inch or so three times above the waist and adding those stitches back in at the hips.

Once everything was finished and blocked, I remembered the downside of knitting sweaters in pieces. Someone has to seam them together at the end. Theoretically, I know how to do this, but for the past 10 years I've only knitted top down, one piece sweaters. My seaming skills have degraded. A lot.

I asked The Man if he would think I was a big baby if I asked my friend Jessica, the Knitting Sensei, to seam up the sweater for me. He said No, he would not. So I did.

Now I owe Jessica my first born child.