Undocumented

After posting my Francis Revisited and Side Slip Cloche, I’m going back through my Flickr stream to see what else I skipped last year. One of the first things that comes up is this silver and green Surtsey.

While I love how this project came out, it is a little embarrassing to admit that I messed up while knitting from my own pattern. The original Surtsey has ribbing on the yoke, and this Surtsey is ribbing-less. This could have been a conscious aesthetic choice, but is actually the result of casting on late at night while watching some show or other. I was already a good few inches in before I realized I’d forgotten to knit in rib. I love the rib of the original pattern. It’s very stretchy and I think it gives the pattern a slightly different look than your average baby raglan on the street. However, it was nice to see that my numbers worked fine without ribbing as well.

Also sad to say, this sweater has not yet been given to its intended recipient, which makes me glad I didn’t make the smallest size! We keep trying to find time when one or the other of us is available and one or the other of the baby’s parents are available, and thus far, never the twain have met, but we’re tenacious and this sweater shall find its destined recipient!

The yarns used are Wool Candy Meringue Merino in Silver Sage (which color is now sadly discontinued) and Orange Flower Twist Sock from the Enchanted Forest collection. Both are springy, soft, superwash merinos that I really enjoy using, and that I think will be nice against a baby’s skin. I love the way they look in combination, though as I noted in a previous post, a nagging feel led me to note that they are Slytherin colors, and that some folks might take that amiss.

Apologies, etc.

My vow of getting better at posting here has gotten off to a rocky start. On my birthday, which was two days ago, I decided it would be fun to give something back, so I set up a few different Knitting Kninja related promotions on Ravelry. Did I then post here to let people know about that? No, I did not.

Basically, I noticed that the beginning of the year marks a spate of knitting resolutions among knitters, and saw many people adding one or another of my patterns to their queues in preparation to meet some goal in the coming year. The majority of these folks were part of a group wanting to knit 11 shawls in 2011. In response, I have two shawl related deals underway for the remainder of the month and one baby knitting deal. All of these deals are automatic when you check out, so no coupon code needed.

Deal 1: Buy Two Ladies, get $1 off Rosa. All three shawls for $15.50.

Deal 2: Purchase Clothilde or Arabella individually, get Beetle Tracks free.

Deal 3: Buy Surtsey, get Paulette free. Again, just add Paulette to your cart and it will be automatically discounted.

NOTE: Deal 2 originally read that you could buy ANY individual shawl and get Beetle Tracks free. However, including Rosa in that promotion was causing the first deal not to work, so I changed the parameters. If you’d like to purchase Rosa individually and get a free copy of Beetle Tracks, please email me or leave a comment here, on Twitter, Facebook, or Ravelry, and I will try to manually get the pattern to you as soon as possible. More apologies for the trouble this entails.

Back to school knit

Eleanor starts kindergarten this year. She also outgrew her much loved Tomten jacket finally and most of her lightweight jackets and her coats. So it seemed logical and celebratory to make her a new coat for school. I bought the yarn, Malabrigo Twist, some time back when it was on sale at The Fiber Fix, and then was waiting for a chance to make something cute out of it. I had planned on writing up a whole process post, but the days are slipping by as we get ready for school to start, and at the end of each, I realize I haven’t written up a post at all, so for now, here are pictures – nothing fancy, as Nora was not especially cooperative when I was attaining them. But I think the coat came out rather nicely, even though it was largely spontaneous. I hadn’t planned on writing up a pattern, but I’ve gotten a few requests, and it’s been added to the queue.

A little something

Two little somethings, really!  I have been meaning to make mitts for all my kids for ages now, but somehow it always gets put off.  Come autumn and winter, our walks to school involve nippy weather and little hands feel pinched.  Pockets help, of course, but mitts would be even better.  And of course, the poor kiddos with the knitting mother don’t have any.  I had some leftover Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! from a test knit for Westknits that I can’t yet show you, and the color is Liam’s favorite, so it seemed like fate to whip him up a pair of little mitts.

The yardage on the Bugga! must be very generous, because I still have a fair quantity left over when I’d expected to use it all up in the test knit!  It is such a pleasure to knit with this yarn.  It’s unusual for yarn this soft to feel so sturdy, and of course, the color is amazing.  This is Beyer’s Jewel Scarab, and it looks like a solid, but there are little variations in the color that are just beautiful – barely there blues and yellows that give the color depth and beauty.  I could squish these all day.  There’s a decent chance that they’ll be lost early in the school year, of course, but with so little yarn and time spent, I think it’s worth it!  Now I just need to make mitts for the other two.

Stuff ‘n things

I finished Red-Violet Sunniva, and in keeping with the process I’ve been documenting, I thought I’d have some finished, if not polished, pictures to show you today.  However, after blocking the neckline, I tried on the sweater and found that the neckline I did hangs funny in back.  I think I need to go down either in needle size or stitch count or both.  It right now wants to bell out and hang loosely when it’s suppose to fit closely.  Otherwise, I am completely thrilled with the sweater and how it fits, and very, very smug about my button choice.  My buttons are from the ever-awesome green ray productions on Etsy, and they are the bee’s knees.

As you can see, I added a small garter lip to my neck edge.  Overall, I’m pleased with how that looks, but that back droopy part needs some work.  I was worried that the garter, not incorporated anywhere else in the sweater, would be a poor choice, but I think it actually looks good with everything else.  My bind off was a little sloppy, though, so I guess the ripping and reknitting is my chance to remedy that sloppiness.  Still, it’s a little discouraging to think you’re done, done, done, and find that blocking in this case actually creates a problem you didn’t know you had.  (I may try a couple of things before ripping just to see if I can avoid that.  Not sure what to try, but it’s worth looking around.)

While Sunniva was blocking, as a present to myself, I allowed myself to cast on for a little coat I’ve been wanting to make for Nora.  I’m using Malabrigo Twist, and after working so long with light fingering weight yarn on an adult sweater, it is a real pleasure to use thick yarn to make something small.  In two days I had the body of a little jacket.

No pattern, and very little in the way of math or planning.  It was a knitting vacation.  It’s knit from the bottom up and the sleeves will be knit from the top down.  I really, really like the fabric you get with Twist on size 8 needles.  It’s not tight, but it creates a smooth, soft, thick fabric that should be warm and cozy for fall and winter wear.  One thing I do have to change is the shoulder length.  I thought they might be too short, but after blocking they were too long.  That’s an easy fix, though.  Eleanor is a very small child, so it’s very easy to make her something quickly.

Other than all of that, I’m mostly gathering materials for the ebook I mentioned a little while back.  I’m very excited about this and hope to be able to offer something fun and relaxing.  It’s a fun opportunity for me to use some of my favorite luxury yarns, as well, since I want to keep the patterns small and simple.  One skein of luxury is a lot easier on the budget than a sweater’s lot.

Surtsey

The Surtsey pattern is now available for purchase!  Surtsey is a baby cardigan with a little simple colorwork to add a special touch. Knit from the top down in one piece for minimal finishing, Surtsey knits up fast to make a charming baby shower gift or homecoming sweater. It’s also a great way to use up those special sock yarn leftovers wasting away in your stash. Solids and semi-solids will show the colorwork best, but the color possibilities are endless. Have fun!

SIZES
newborn 3 – 6 months, 6 – 12 months, 12 – 18 months
18 19, 19.5, 20 inches at chest

MATERIALS

• 2 (2, 2, 2) skeins ShibuiKnits Sock 100% merino, 191 yds per 50g skein in main color (MC)
• 1 (1, 1, 1) skein ShibuiKnits Sock in contrasting color (CC)
• 1 set U.S. size 3 (3.25 mm) circular needles
• 1 set U.S. size 3 (3.25 mm) dpns or long circular for Magic Loop
• 8 stitch markers
• tapestry needle
• Five 5/8” buttons
• waste yarn

GAUGE
24 sts/37 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Tech edited by crazyl

Buy now for U.S. $6.50

I am happy, but I have no judgment

I stayed up until 1:30 this morning working on the Surtsey pattern.  At some point in that long intense slog, an alarm went off on my computer, informing me that there might be a Wollmeise update.  When I’m up and there’s a Wollmeise update, I generally watch them to see what the big deal is and to find out how it all works.  This time, I was tired, but pleased at my progress, and I decided that if I could, I would get a skein.  In some ways, I don’t know why.  I do not need more yarn right now.  But I did want to try the Wollmeise, and it seemed like a good idea.

So I bought a skein.  I saw what looked like a lovely dark green and I snapped it up.  I finished my first draft of the pattern, and, pleased with myself and the world, I went to bed.

This morning, I looked up the color I’d just purchased.  I didn’t buy a dark green.  I bought a teal.  A lovely, rich, beautiful teal, but a teal nonetheless.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I love teal.  But I am so. darn. sick of it right now.  If you look over on the sidebar, you can see why.  Including Surtsey, three out of three of my most recent patterns have been in teal.  Much as I enjoy the color, one more skein of teal is not what I had in mind.  I blame the fact that it was late at night, and the excitement and weirdness of the update.  I’d click on a color, the site would crash, and when it came up again, the color would be sold out.  People are not kidding when they say that Wollmeise updates are intense!

So, now I suppose I will be looking to trade a skein of Wollmeise for a different color.

In the meantime, though, Surtsey is ready for test knitting!

If you have 250 to 300 yards of sock yarn in one color, and around 50 in a contrasting color, you can make this sweater.  If you’re interested in test knitting, let me know!  I’ve thus far written it up in 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, and 18-24 months sizes, but I will probably add a newborn size before pattern release.  Probably.  Sizing for babies turns out to be hard.  Baby proportions are all out of wack with adult proportions, and I found the standard sizes from the Yarn Council to be off base.

I meant to review an absolutely gorgeous skein of yarn sent to me by Hasmi of Rocky Mountain Dyeworks today, but I’m a little behind schedule on that end, so stay tuned, and I’ll try to get to it by Monday!

And here’s one more picture of my pretty little model in Surtsey.  Because, really, baby pictures are more fun to look at than anything else I have on offer at the moment!

In a tizzy

I’ve almost got the Surtsey pattern ready for test knitting, which makes me very happy.  I had some setbacks on math and wording, but I think we’re on the right path now.  And the new Sunniva sample is back on track, and I’m doing some test knitting for the ever-awesome Stephen West, so life is busy, but not half bad!

We got Nora’s hair trimmed.  I think they should have left some of the spiky edges, but it’s actually pretty cute, so I’m happy.  The initial shock of seeing her with her hair all gone is over, and now I can just enjoy having a little short haired pixie girl.

Sunniva is coming along splendidly!  I am still absolutely nuts about the gorgeous red violet color from Orangeflower.  It looks like velvet as it knits up.

Isn’t that pretty?  I am smitten.

I’ve also been working quietly on another project over the last couple of weeks.  I was doing some blog graphics for The Frugal Girl.  Although I don’t think I’ve previously mentioned her blog here before, you may very well have heard of it.  The Frugal Girl is a long time friend of mine, and she’s got a really snazzy money-saving blog that is enormously popular.  If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it!  Kristen (other Kristen!) is a fun, sensible voice of reason, and I’m darn lucky to know her.  Her blog is full of really helpful information on a day to day basis.

It was so nice to be able to do a little illustration and graphic design work.  I was so resistant to the computer when I was in art school, but I’ve gotten to like drawing in Photoshop in recent years.  So yay!

OK, this is actually me procrastinating because I’m hating the math on the baby sweater right now, but I should get back to work.   With luck, you will be seeing test knits and new baby sweaters shortly!

What is what

Something is blocking.

I think I may need to do something with the button bands.  I’m trying not to be hyper critical of myself, but I’m not the best at picking up stitches, and I think it looks a little odd in parts.  We’ll see what happens when it’s dry!  The buttons, however, make me want to sing.  (And I have seven left, so hooray for red buttony goodness!)  I had imagined wooden buttons at first, but now I feel like I should have known that red was best.  Now to name it.  It looks a bit like blue ice, but who knows!

Another thingy: do you remember the too-big sweater coat I made ages ago?  And then felted to death?  I’ve hung on to the sad remains ever since, hoping to find a purpose for them.  And today I finally found that purpose.  Keep in mind before you look at the picture that I am not a very good seamstress.  And keep in mind that I took a perfectly excellent tutorial and tried to make it in a rather different way because I didn’t have the materials called for.  So with all that in mind, check out this sheep pillow!

I used this tutorial, which, if followed using flat wool felt and not crazy thick felted sweater that makes your sewing machine cry real tears, will result in the most adorable sheepy pillow ever in the history of sheep pillows.  Eleanor’s birthday is Sunday and Eleanor’s headboard has a lamb on it, so this pillow seemed like a fab idea.  Of course, that was before I made the sewing machine cry.  “E1!” it screamed, “E6!  Don’t make me do this!”  (The E’s are error messages.  Since I never seem to know where the English manual for the machine is, these little cries in the dark leave me worried, but mostly perplexed.)

Other random stuff to know:

I joined Twitter.  I don’t get it, and most of my (I am NOT going to use their cutesy little lingo) posts are just random stuff I’ve thought of, but there will be occasional knitting content.  If you have Twitter, and you think you’d like to see more of the contents of my brain, you can follow me here.  KnittingKninja was taken, so I’m KHanleyCardozo.  Hanley Cardozo, by the way, does not fit in their surname box, so I’m Kristen Hanley on there.  My name is too much for Twitter.  Too much for a lot of people, if I’m honest.  I did the double barreled surname when I got married, but since I did it without a hyphen, people constantly think that one name or the other is optional.  But yeah, I’m on there, and I feel old because it confuses me.  Doesn’t stop me from trying to use it, but I’m constantly bewildered.

Also, also, I am very, very bad at keeping content new and exciting in my Ravelry group.  I love participating in active forums, but I’m not good at being in charge of one.  If you’re someone who’s on Ravelry a lot, and who likes to be in charge of things, let me know if you’re interested in being a mod.  I’d be very happy to have some help!   On a similar note, I’m having a lot of trouble keeping up with the other group I started, Color Coordinated, and think it would be better led by someone who is not me.  I’d be happy to hand over the admin reins to anyone who thinks loves color and who is better at starting threads and keeping them active than I am.

If my speed picks up at all on pattern production, I may start a Facebook group as well.  However, since, as mentioned, I’m not very good at keeping content fresh and fun in a group setting, I’m putting this off as long as possible.

Good cheer

So, with all the stuff going wrong with Sunniva, I kind of lost my knitting mojo for a bit.

So it’s really nice when something you’re working on decides that really, knitting is FUN, and you should remember that.  That baby sweater I mentioned?  I am enjoying it ridiculous amounts.  I made a chart, played with it, and came up with some simple colorwork that makes me so very happy.

How cute is that?  Teeny tiny sweaters are so nice to knit.  They go fast, even with thin yarn, and they result in adorably small little garments that look impossibly wee, but will be surprisingly large when held up next to a real baby.

So, yeah, feeling much better about knitting and about myself as a knitter.  Hooray for tiny people and their need for cardigans!  Having this go much as planned is making me feel more confident about Sunniva as well.