Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Episode 8 of the Stitched Together Podcast is live
To see the show notes and to stream the new episode, visit the Podcast site.
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Concavus in Aguas
Occasionally, when I'm feeling uninspired I spend some time on Ravelry looking for projects that use yarn in my stash and I try to match up stash with a great project and put it into my queue. This means when I don't know what to do next I don't have to think too hard, I just have to look through my queue until I find something that appeals to me at that moment, where I don't have to buy yarn and can cast on straight away after winding the skeins. One project I finished in the lull between blog posts, was the Concavus by Dena Stelly, which was one of those match-ups.
At the moment, there are only 12 projects for this pattern on Ravelry, which really surprises me. This is a lovely pattern that shows off beautiful yarn to perfection. The yarn I decided to use for this project was Malabrigo Sock in the Aguas colourway. The yarn was from stash and I am so pleased that I found a good match for this lovely stuff.
As I might have mentioned before, Malabrigo Sock is pretty much my favourite yarn and how this project knitted up illustrates exactly why.
This shawl showcases any yarn that is lovely, because of the large sections of stocking stitch. The yarn overs that spiral out from the top of the shawl give enough interest, both when knitting and when wearing, to take the project out of the boring level and into the beautifully simple category.
I did the simple version of this shawl which required me to keep going until I reached a certain percentage of yarn used and then do a section of ribbing, before casting off. I started this project when I needed simplicity and this seemed the most simple option.
As no two skeins of Malabrigo are the same, because of the nature of their dying processes, I alternated skeins every two rows. It wasn't as annoying as you might assume because of the length of most of the rows. I love how alternating skeins also breaks up any pooling you might get with even a softly variegated yarn.
When blocking the shawl, I decided to try threading the blocking wires down the side of every garter ridge along the top of the shawl. I had read about this technique on another blog recently and thought I would give it a try, especially as there were no yarn overs along the top to use, as I normally might. It was time consuming but definitely worth it. The top edge is incredibly taut, crisp and even.
This type of shawl is one I'm fond of. The shape of the elongated semi-circle is ideal for shorter and wider ladies, as the ends will wrap around the body comfortably without having a huge trailing point that you end up sitting on.
As the yarn is light fingering the weight of the shawl is ideal for wearing around the house when it's just a little chilly. It sits well on my shoulders and covers most of my arms. Because it is a light yarn, it will also fold up well enough to be used as a scarf.
I adore this shawl. It is everything I want in a accessory; it is light, it is warm; it is pretty and it is unfussy. I highly recommend it both as a garment and as project. I would happily knit this again, and maybe next time I will be in the mood for doing the slightly more interesting border variation.
At the moment, there are only 12 projects for this pattern on Ravelry, which really surprises me. This is a lovely pattern that shows off beautiful yarn to perfection. The yarn I decided to use for this project was Malabrigo Sock in the Aguas colourway. The yarn was from stash and I am so pleased that I found a good match for this lovely stuff.
As I might have mentioned before, Malabrigo Sock is pretty much my favourite yarn and how this project knitted up illustrates exactly why.
This shawl showcases any yarn that is lovely, because of the large sections of stocking stitch. The yarn overs that spiral out from the top of the shawl give enough interest, both when knitting and when wearing, to take the project out of the boring level and into the beautifully simple category.
I did the simple version of this shawl which required me to keep going until I reached a certain percentage of yarn used and then do a section of ribbing, before casting off. I started this project when I needed simplicity and this seemed the most simple option.
As no two skeins of Malabrigo are the same, because of the nature of their dying processes, I alternated skeins every two rows. It wasn't as annoying as you might assume because of the length of most of the rows. I love how alternating skeins also breaks up any pooling you might get with even a softly variegated yarn.
When blocking the shawl, I decided to try threading the blocking wires down the side of every garter ridge along the top of the shawl. I had read about this technique on another blog recently and thought I would give it a try, especially as there were no yarn overs along the top to use, as I normally might. It was time consuming but definitely worth it. The top edge is incredibly taut, crisp and even.
This type of shawl is one I'm fond of. The shape of the elongated semi-circle is ideal for shorter and wider ladies, as the ends will wrap around the body comfortably without having a huge trailing point that you end up sitting on.
As the yarn is light fingering the weight of the shawl is ideal for wearing around the house when it's just a little chilly. It sits well on my shoulders and covers most of my arms. Because it is a light yarn, it will also fold up well enough to be used as a scarf.
I adore this shawl. It is everything I want in a accessory; it is light, it is warm; it is pretty and it is unfussy. I highly recommend it both as a garment and as project. I would happily knit this again, and maybe next time I will be in the mood for doing the slightly more interesting border variation.
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Spinning Update
I realise that though I have been spinning like a mad thing lately I haven't really talked about it much on the blog. I have found that spinning on my supported spindles keeps me sane. The smooth even twirling on the spindle and the soft even drafting of beautiful fibre is hypnotic and meditative.
The last time I talked about spinning was to mention it when I was talking about the New To You SAL. I have now spun my first complete skein of yarn on my Tibetan Spindle from IST Crafts and fallen head over heels in love with spindling.
I used the Fyberspates fibre I talked about in my previous post and it was lovely to spin with the merino and silk. The fibre was blended really well, so there were no lumps for me to deal with. The stellina felt strange at first but I quickly got used to it. I spun all the fibre in one continuous single. This spindle is incredibly fast and this leads to very fine spinning. The nature of the fibre also meant that even though it was very fine, it also spun up incredibly quickly.
Every time the spindle got full I wound it onto a plying ball, which I started by needle felting a small lump of wool fibre into a ball about the size of a walnut. I then wound the single off the spindle by hand, which helped even out the twist in the single as I went.
When it came time to join the single from the spindle to the end of the singles wrapped around the plying ball, I employed a technique shown on the Yarnraising Podcast. I simply treated the end of the single on the plying ball as though it was fibre about to be spun onto the spindle and spun the two ends together. I could then wind the singles on the spindle onto the plying ball and it would be one continuous strand.
When I got to the end of the spinning I decided I would try chain or Navajo plying. The following video is the one I watched when finding out how this kind of plying was done.
I tried by starting off doing the chaining and the plying at the same time, and failed miserably. Instead I did the chaining straight onto another plying ball, which meant that the big loopy chains were ready to be plied, without getting myself in knots. I watched another video to see how that was done. This video has weird interference for the first few seconds and then evens out.
Once the chained singles were finished, I spun them in the opposite direction from the singles, to ply those chains together to form yarn. To spin in the opposite direction I spun using my left hand. It was much easier than I thought it would be to spin in the opposite direction by changing hands, rather than changing direction with my right hand. I like that it means you don't have to think about which way you are going to be flicking the spindle.
With this style of plying you can see the little bumps caused by the parts where the chain junctions are, but you do have to look closely. I like how it keeps the different sections of colour together. Once I had my plied yarn spun, I wound each section onto a niddy noddy and tied it in several places with spare sock yarn.
The main problem with plying on a spindle is you do end up with several smaller skeins because of the limits of how much a spindle can hold. To deal with this I simply tied the ends of the different sections of spun yarn together. I will sort out the simple knots when I knit the yarn.
Once made into a hank, I soaked it in a tepid sink of water with some Euclan for a while, to make sure the yarn was properly soaked. I then squeezed out the water and gave it a good thwack against the bathroom tiles to try and align all the strands and make them grip together. I don't think this technique works with superwash or other non-scaled fibres. I left the hank to dry before rewinding it round the niddy noddy to see how much yarn I had. The finished fibre weighed 114g and measured approximately 210m/230yds.
The finished yarn is a light fingering weight or 3ply. It is very dense because it is so tightly spun. I think I will try and learn how to spin with less twist.
I love how the yarn turned out and it will definitely get used, when the right pattern crops up. I won't be in a hurry to chain ply again, as it is an added complication, however I will probably use it when I want to keep blocks of colour together, as this an easy way to achieve that effect.
I'm really pleased that I joined in with the New To You SAL, it taught me a lot and resulted in an increased confidence in my spinning, and confirmed how much I love it.
The last time I talked about spinning was to mention it when I was talking about the New To You SAL. I have now spun my first complete skein of yarn on my Tibetan Spindle from IST Crafts and fallen head over heels in love with spindling.
I used the Fyberspates fibre I talked about in my previous post and it was lovely to spin with the merino and silk. The fibre was blended really well, so there were no lumps for me to deal with. The stellina felt strange at first but I quickly got used to it. I spun all the fibre in one continuous single. This spindle is incredibly fast and this leads to very fine spinning. The nature of the fibre also meant that even though it was very fine, it also spun up incredibly quickly.
Every time the spindle got full I wound it onto a plying ball, which I started by needle felting a small lump of wool fibre into a ball about the size of a walnut. I then wound the single off the spindle by hand, which helped even out the twist in the single as I went.
When it came time to join the single from the spindle to the end of the singles wrapped around the plying ball, I employed a technique shown on the Yarnraising Podcast. I simply treated the end of the single on the plying ball as though it was fibre about to be spun onto the spindle and spun the two ends together. I could then wind the singles on the spindle onto the plying ball and it would be one continuous strand.
When I got to the end of the spinning I decided I would try chain or Navajo plying. The following video is the one I watched when finding out how this kind of plying was done.
I tried by starting off doing the chaining and the plying at the same time, and failed miserably. Instead I did the chaining straight onto another plying ball, which meant that the big loopy chains were ready to be plied, without getting myself in knots. I watched another video to see how that was done. This video has weird interference for the first few seconds and then evens out.
Once the chained singles were finished, I spun them in the opposite direction from the singles, to ply those chains together to form yarn. To spin in the opposite direction I spun using my left hand. It was much easier than I thought it would be to spin in the opposite direction by changing hands, rather than changing direction with my right hand. I like that it means you don't have to think about which way you are going to be flicking the spindle.
With this style of plying you can see the little bumps caused by the parts where the chain junctions are, but you do have to look closely. I like how it keeps the different sections of colour together. Once I had my plied yarn spun, I wound each section onto a niddy noddy and tied it in several places with spare sock yarn.
The main problem with plying on a spindle is you do end up with several smaller skeins because of the limits of how much a spindle can hold. To deal with this I simply tied the ends of the different sections of spun yarn together. I will sort out the simple knots when I knit the yarn.
Once made into a hank, I soaked it in a tepid sink of water with some Euclan for a while, to make sure the yarn was properly soaked. I then squeezed out the water and gave it a good thwack against the bathroom tiles to try and align all the strands and make them grip together. I don't think this technique works with superwash or other non-scaled fibres. I left the hank to dry before rewinding it round the niddy noddy to see how much yarn I had. The finished fibre weighed 114g and measured approximately 210m/230yds.
The finished yarn is a light fingering weight or 3ply. It is very dense because it is so tightly spun. I think I will try and learn how to spin with less twist.
I love how the yarn turned out and it will definitely get used, when the right pattern crops up. I won't be in a hurry to chain ply again, as it is an added complication, however I will probably use it when I want to keep blocks of colour together, as this an easy way to achieve that effect.
I'm really pleased that I joined in with the New To You SAL, it taught me a lot and resulted in an increased confidence in my spinning, and confirmed how much I love it.
Monday, 21 October 2013
Howlcat
As the weather has got cooler I have been on a hat knitting kick. It's not surprising really, hats are essential when you are on a mobility scooter in cooler weather. Your ears get severely chilled when you are whipping by at the rapid speed of 4mph. They also keep your hair in check, which is more important than you would think. It's hard to steer with your eyes and mouth full of hair!
This project is one that I have had in my queue for a while. I was waiting for the right yarn and then I got a discount voucher for Tangled Yarn and they stock Malabrigo! I splurged!
I bought a skein of Malabrigo Rios in Niebla. This is a worsted weight yarn in superwash merino.
I love this yarn, I used it before in a Woolly Wormhead hat that I wear a lot, Camden Cap. This stone colour is the perfect neutral that goes with everything. The hat pattern I chose to knit is actually made up of two different weights of yarn, so to go with this lovely worsted weight yarn, I got a contrasting sock weight yarn, Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky.
I imagine you are not surprised that when given a discount voucher I splurged on Malabrigo Sock, are you? It is my favourite yarn, after all.
The pattern, Howlcat by Alexandra Tinsley, is very clever and basically is a "buff", which is an essential piece of most hikers' and climbers' kit. I thought it would be invaluable when the colder weather started. You can wear it as a hat.
But it is open ended, so you can also wear it as a cowl. It is also reversible because of the ribbing in the worsted weight part of the garment.
As you can see, this Howlcat is fairly snug on me. I think for a hiker, that would be a good thing, as merino wicks away moisture and doesn't smell of sweat as it does so. Most polar buffs are made from merino and that is why I chose to use these yarns. Well, that and I love knitting in Malabrigo!
After trying on this item I decided that I would probably wear it for about 4 days in the year as it was so warm and snug. I decided to offer it to my friend who hikes, and is going to Nepal in a month or so to hike up mountains. She nearly bit my hand off when I offered it to her. She loves it and it going with her on her grand adventure. I love it when my hand knits accompany friends and family to places I can't go, it's like they have a tangible reminder of me with them.
I was sad that this pattern was too snug on me, but I am really happy that I was able to give it to someone who would use it regularly on her long walks in cold weather. I'm also really happy that I have over half of the Malabrigo Sock left! I wonder if it's enough for another Sockhead Hat?
This project is one that I have had in my queue for a while. I was waiting for the right yarn and then I got a discount voucher for Tangled Yarn and they stock Malabrigo! I splurged!
I bought a skein of Malabrigo Rios in Niebla. This is a worsted weight yarn in superwash merino.
I love this yarn, I used it before in a Woolly Wormhead hat that I wear a lot, Camden Cap. This stone colour is the perfect neutral that goes with everything. The hat pattern I chose to knit is actually made up of two different weights of yarn, so to go with this lovely worsted weight yarn, I got a contrasting sock weight yarn, Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky.
I imagine you are not surprised that when given a discount voucher I splurged on Malabrigo Sock, are you? It is my favourite yarn, after all.
The pattern, Howlcat by Alexandra Tinsley, is very clever and basically is a "buff", which is an essential piece of most hikers' and climbers' kit. I thought it would be invaluable when the colder weather started. You can wear it as a hat.
But it is open ended, so you can also wear it as a cowl. It is also reversible because of the ribbing in the worsted weight part of the garment.
As you can see, this Howlcat is fairly snug on me. I think for a hiker, that would be a good thing, as merino wicks away moisture and doesn't smell of sweat as it does so. Most polar buffs are made from merino and that is why I chose to use these yarns. Well, that and I love knitting in Malabrigo!
After trying on this item I decided that I would probably wear it for about 4 days in the year as it was so warm and snug. I decided to offer it to my friend who hikes, and is going to Nepal in a month or so to hike up mountains. She nearly bit my hand off when I offered it to her. She loves it and it going with her on her grand adventure. I love it when my hand knits accompany friends and family to places I can't go, it's like they have a tangible reminder of me with them.
I was sad that this pattern was too snug on me, but I am really happy that I was able to give it to someone who would use it regularly on her long walks in cold weather. I'm also really happy that I have over half of the Malabrigo Sock left! I wonder if it's enough for another Sockhead Hat?
Friday, 18 October 2013
Trying to Catch Up
I thought I would write a blog post today. I need something to distract me from worrying about things that I have no control over. Let's put it this way, I now know what my family feel like when I am in surgery. It's strange being on the conscious side of the anaesthetic!
Looking back at my "recent" blog posts I can't believe how little I have talked about recently. The good thing about it is, though my desire to talk to the outside world may have diminished of late, my crafting output hasn't! If I play this right, I will have dozens of blog posts that I can write and have waiting to be posted for when I'm feeling less communicative, which may be often over the coming few months.
Today's post will cover the Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure. This is a free pattern that has been doing the rounds in podcast land. It's strange to think that there are trends on blogs and there are trends on podcasts and sometimes the two meet, but not always. This hat uses a single skein of sock yarn. It is the perfect use for a single "special skein" of yarn that we often pick up as a souvenir or just because it is beautiful and we can just about afford it. It uses the skein that is too precious to go on your feet and might be too busy for a shawl.
I have to say that this pattern is brilliant. It's name really explains it well. It essentially is a big sock for your head. It starts with ribbing, moves into stocking stitch and ends with decreases to close up the top. I used a lovely skein of Posh Yarn that I bought recently. It is Posh Yarn Esme Sock in the "For You I Sigh" colourway.
Esme Sock is 100% merino which is made up of lots tightly twisted plies. It has a very similar cottony feel to Wollmeise. I really enjoyed knitting with it. It has great stitch definition and I would happily knit with it again. I think it would be lovely for knitting cables.
The hat itself knit up really quickly. I think it helped that I had a circular needle that was exactly the right length to avoid having to magic loop, I simply had to knit in circles for a few days!
I was surprised at how flattering this hat is. I've never been one for slouchy hats until I knitted Drizzle and discovered how well they suit me. More so than the beanie shape I've usually favoured before now. The slouch shape is softer on the face and frames it better than a beanie.
I steam blocked this hat because I didn't want to stretch it too far out of shape. I pulled the ribbing taut lengthwise before pinning and steaming, to keep it from stretching. Once it was dry I pulled the hat onto my polystyrene head and pinned the crown tightly where the decreases were, before steaming. I then left it to dry again. I am so glad I did the blocking this way, as the hat still retains elasticity but the the decreases are nice and crisp.
I love the way this hat covers the nape of the neck so well. Now I have short hair, this part of me gets cold much faster. You can pull the long ribbing further down to cover the gap between hat and scarf.
I love how this pattern shows off the yarn so well. The simple ribbing and stocking stitch combination lets the yarn shine, which is what I want from a pattern for a single skein of sock yarn!
I don't have many sock weight hats but the more I have, the more I like them. They are perfect for this temperate country. My head doesn't overheat in a sock weight hat, which was often a risk in my big cozy aran weight ones. However, when it gets a bit cooler, you can fold over the ribbing and pull the hat down and it becomes a beanie shape with a nice deep brim to double up over your ears, to keep them warm.
I highly recommend this pattern. I know this won't be the last time I knit this pattern, it's so wearable and uses a lovely skein so beautifully, it would be a crime not to!
Looking back at my "recent" blog posts I can't believe how little I have talked about recently. The good thing about it is, though my desire to talk to the outside world may have diminished of late, my crafting output hasn't! If I play this right, I will have dozens of blog posts that I can write and have waiting to be posted for when I'm feeling less communicative, which may be often over the coming few months.
Today's post will cover the Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure. This is a free pattern that has been doing the rounds in podcast land. It's strange to think that there are trends on blogs and there are trends on podcasts and sometimes the two meet, but not always. This hat uses a single skein of sock yarn. It is the perfect use for a single "special skein" of yarn that we often pick up as a souvenir or just because it is beautiful and we can just about afford it. It uses the skein that is too precious to go on your feet and might be too busy for a shawl.
I have to say that this pattern is brilliant. It's name really explains it well. It essentially is a big sock for your head. It starts with ribbing, moves into stocking stitch and ends with decreases to close up the top. I used a lovely skein of Posh Yarn that I bought recently. It is Posh Yarn Esme Sock in the "For You I Sigh" colourway.
Esme Sock is 100% merino which is made up of lots tightly twisted plies. It has a very similar cottony feel to Wollmeise. I really enjoyed knitting with it. It has great stitch definition and I would happily knit with it again. I think it would be lovely for knitting cables.
The hat itself knit up really quickly. I think it helped that I had a circular needle that was exactly the right length to avoid having to magic loop, I simply had to knit in circles for a few days!
I was surprised at how flattering this hat is. I've never been one for slouchy hats until I knitted Drizzle and discovered how well they suit me. More so than the beanie shape I've usually favoured before now. The slouch shape is softer on the face and frames it better than a beanie.
I love the way this hat covers the nape of the neck so well. Now I have short hair, this part of me gets cold much faster. You can pull the long ribbing further down to cover the gap between hat and scarf.
I love how this pattern shows off the yarn so well. The simple ribbing and stocking stitch combination lets the yarn shine, which is what I want from a pattern for a single skein of sock yarn!
I don't have many sock weight hats but the more I have, the more I like them. They are perfect for this temperate country. My head doesn't overheat in a sock weight hat, which was often a risk in my big cozy aran weight ones. However, when it gets a bit cooler, you can fold over the ribbing and pull the hat down and it becomes a beanie shape with a nice deep brim to double up over your ears, to keep them warm.
I highly recommend this pattern. I know this won't be the last time I knit this pattern, it's so wearable and uses a lovely skein so beautifully, it would be a crime not to!
Monday, 14 October 2013
Stitched Together Crafting Library KAL & Other "Stuff"
I am sorry that I have been missing from the blog and podcast over the last few weeks. I have been trying to keep up with the KAL over on the Ravelry Board but I have been away from pretty much everything else.
After my microphone gave up the ghost I had an evil cold and just as I was getting ready to start blogging and podcasting again I got hit by some family "stuff". I won't go into any details, but suffice to say this is probably going to take up some energy that would normally be used for blogging and podcasting for a while. As you know, I only have very limited reserves of energy! I am going to try and podcast later this week, but I can't guarantee it.
I just thought I'd let people know that I'm not more ill than normal it's just my energy is being used elsewhere at the moment. I am still listening to, and watching, podcasts and reading blogs and commenting, I'm just not generating anything myself.
Like I said, I am still keeping on top of the stuff going on with the Stitched Together Crafting Library KAL, I just haven't been working on my own project because it requires too much thought. The KAL is still going on, and there are still a few weeks to get your three posts into the Progress Thread. There are several people that have reached their target of three posts AND posted into the FO Thread, to get a bonus entry. I'd like to remind you that only posting in the FO Thread is NOT going to get you an entry into the KAL draw, you have to post three times in the Progress Thread first, before you are eligible to enter for an additional time into the FO Thread.
I am so impressed with the projects people have been working on. Everyone has been so supportive of each other which has made me very happy, as that is what I wanted this KAL to do, was to get people talking to each other while it went on. That is the reason why the requirements are not just "post an FO", I wanted people to communicate with each other whilst they were working on things. I hope you agree that part of the KAL has been a roaring success!
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