WIP Wednesday: October 31st

 

Sorry about the poor quality of WIP Wednesday photos, it is really dark here in the morning.

Last week, I had a few more projects on the needles, but I finished the Pomatomus socks and I decided to hibernate my crocheted stole in preparation for KAL Chaos.

This leaves (from left to right):

•  Thyme - I have made it through the main body and first lace repeat, just three more and a knitted on edge
• Hello Sweetie - This is going to be my purse project for the next little while, these should be quick but they just haven't been at the top of the to do list.
• Too Cool for My Socks - Finally got the toes knit on these, but they are going into hibernation until I finish my TFA KAL socks and Hello Sweetie.  I would like to have them finished by the end of the year.
• Rockberry Triangle - Through the 3 charts, but really only one section (stitch pattern). As a worsted weight shawl, it really shouldn't be that much longer. I'm not hibernating it, but maybe lowering it down the list.

So, tomorrow I will be casting on for the TFA KAL projects and then not long after I will be starting the other KAL projects.

FO: Forest Baby Flying Duck Hat and Mitties

So several weeks after asking the question "What to Knit for a Baby Boom" I am starting to get some answers.  You have seen what I came up with, the Legwarmies and Vertabrae combo and now the Duckie Sweater and today's matching pieces, a hat and mitties.

These little projects were unplanned bonuses, after finishing up the Duckie Sweater with nearly 50g of yarn remaining I thought a hat and mitties would be perfect for the remnants. After finishing up both I still have about 15yds remaining, so I managed to get a nice gift set out of a single skein of DK weight.  And with DK being such a good option across some of my favorite hand dyers dyers, Tanis (Yellow Label), madelinetosh (tosh DK or tosh merino DK for a single) and SweetGeorgia Yarns (Superwash DK), and they all happen to be superwash which can make life so much easier for new moms and dads (or whoever gets the short straw and has to do laundry).

So I would say that I have a good answer to my question about what to knit for babies, I enjoy making little sweaters, but not from fingering weight and legwarmies and mitties are a great way to bust some stash without committing to something too large.  I will wait to hear back from new mom about what was the best part and what can be improved upon.

- Details -

Project Name: Forest Baby Flying Ducky Hat AND  Forest Baby Mitties

Pattern: Aviatrix Baby Hat by Justine Turner of Just Jussi AND Baby Mitts by Susan B. Anderson for Spud Says!

Recipient: Forest Baby

Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns Superwash DK in Tourmaline

Modifications:

• Mitties - Did 1x1 rib to match the sweater and hat

New Skills:

• Hat - Overlapping shortrows (ie. eating up some gaps while still creating more), I am not certain I did them correctly but the baby will be cute enough no one will notice.

Feedback:

• Yarn - As seen in my effusive praise on the sweater I am a HUGE fan of the yarn and the color and am excited to use some of the other SweetGeorgia in my stash.
• Patterns - Both were fine, although the Hat pattern seemed needlessly complex in places.  I don't love the hat but I will be on the look out for other helmet shaped hats.  The mitties were straight forward but the pattern made it easier.

Re-Knit?:  Probably not the hat, it was more fiddly than I would like but the mitties are cute but seem super small, I will find out how much too small when the baby is born and I will modify the pattern accordingly.

FO: Opal Burnham

This project is a combination of a few of my favorite things, KnitPicks Palette for mittens and a Brooklyn Tweed pattern.

When the LOFT Collection came out from Brooklyn Tweed this fall, I dropped my plans to get my Woodland Winter Mitts done on schedule in order to jump these up the queue.

While they didn't turn out exactly the way I had pictured them in my mind, they are really, really nice. Stranded colorwork mittens are one of the things I quite enjoy, they are warm and fun.

- Details -

Project Name: Opal Burnham

Pattern: Burnahm by Leila Raabe in the LOFT Collection

Recipient: Me

Yarn: KnitPicks Palette in Opal Heather and Cream

Modifications:

• Adapted needle size to get gauge

New Skills:

• Latvian Braid, Sorta.  I had used them on my Bevo Hat almost two years ago, but I had to relearn how to make them for this project.

Feedback:

• Yarn: As I have said before Palette is a great yarn, I know it gets a bad rap for being scratchy, but it comes in 120 colors and is durable as all get out making it perfect for stranded colorwork in things like mittens.  Also it is crazy cost effective.
• Pattern: The charts are clear and the overal visual appearance of the pattern is fantastic.

Re-Knit?: Probably not, although my mom was drooling over these mitts so if I want go back to it I might make a pair for her.

FO: Dad's Christmas Mittens

Generally, I find knitted gifts a poor decision, it is so easy to invest too much time and energy in something that is at best unappreciated and at worst hated.  However, with my father back in Canada for the winter mittens are always appreciated.

My Oma, his mother, was a talented knitter, and although she didn't teach me (her hands and mind weren't their best when I wanted to learn) I have many of her tools in my stash.  She knitted in rough wools and crunchy acrylics, so he hasn't always loved knitting, but hopefully the fantastic soft and beautiful Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label will sway him to the dark side.

Now that Christmas morning is past us, I can report that he likes the mitts (and even more the hat my sister made for him in matching yarn).

- Details -

Project Name: Dad's Christmas Mitts

Pattern: My Own (built from the Fried Chicken Mitts) but with similar mods to my Winter Sunshine Mitts

Recipient: Dad

Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Olive

Modifications:

• Knitted two at a time (and amended pattern to work that way)
• Knitted two thumbs at the same time (and amended pattern to work that way)
• Adapted gauge and size
• Changed top to paired "flat" decreases rather than spiral decreases
• Used kitchener stitch on the top instead of a gather.

New Skills:

• The desire to start writing patterns
• Two at a time thumbs

Feedback:

• Yarn: The twist is very tight, which makes it abrasion resistant but also a bit odd to use as a center pull ball.
• Pattern: Same issues as last time, but this time I think I wrote my mods in such a way that I can make my own default mitten pattern

Re-Knit?: Yep, but with my own mods.  I am interested in writing up a mitten pattern based on my experiences making these mittens.

WIP Wednesday: November 30th

While I have been doing some fibery things, the real WIP this week has been the upstairs rooms.  I will take more photos (the sun is out for the first time in days, but I don't think I will be home in time to get pictures in the daylight), but here is a sneak peek at some of the work we have been doing to the house.

Also, I am getting some work on done on my blanket and finally got started on my Burnham Mittens.  Also my wheel has been for a spin recently, I'm working on a wild colored batt I got from bohoknitterchic this fall, as part of her club.