theraineysisters knitting and so much more

October 31, 2023

From Susan — Boo!

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 1:36 pm

Happy Halloween!  It’s too late to knit up this lil cutie, but remember it for next year!  It’s called Spirited Spirits, on Ravelry.  Three color rows at points.  Ugh. But, very cute!

I knit this with Cascade 220. My project page has a few more details.

October 15, 2023

From Susan — Knit Me a Basket

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 10:04 am

Sister Surly is quite generous to me.  For my birthday, she got me the yarn to make Belfair, a super cute sweater that she was knitting for herself.  The yarn is Woolfolk Luft, which was purchased from Wool & Company (free shipping!!).  I chose the color, though I maybe should have chosen differently (?).  Too late now!!

Color is impossible to capture.  It is a rusty, brick red.  What I like about the pattern is that at every transition, the basket weave pattern is maintained.  This shows where the fronts are picked up from the back shoulders (top-down construction):

I honestly couldn’t tell where the back stopped and the fronts began.  Same with the sleeves:

The pattern even changes at the sleeve join, but you still can’t tell!  This is such a cozy, wearable sweater and a really fun knit!!  Be forewarned: there are seams!!  The ease is supposed to be 14-20 inches.  Mine is probably around 14″.  That sounds like a lot, but really isn’t.

Sweater weather is here and I have a new sweater to wear!!

PS to Amy: It is a nice color after all!  The pictures are pretty accurate.

PS2 to Millie: the holes are made with yarnovers (and decreases).

PS3 to Chloe: I can’t make any guarantees!!

October 13, 2023

From Susan — They Didn’t Fall Far From the Tree

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 10:38 am

These little acorns are too cute to resist!  They just take a few yards of worsted yarn, and a little bit of time.  The perfect little break from a large project!

The pattern is free: Fall Festival Acorns from Blue Sky Fibers.

September 26, 2023

From Susan — Sheer Delight

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 3:46 pm

We have been dormant for a bit!!  Happy fall, everyone!

I recently attended an event at BeWoolen.  I’ve mentioned Lock Ins before!!  At this particular Lock In, the shop was featuring some gorgeous kits for the Chevron Delight Shawl.  It’s beautiful.  The yarn (Malabrigo Sock and Malabrigo Mohair/Silk) is beautiful.  The colors were beautiful…so I bought a kit.  The pattern is free because Malabrigo is promoting a KAL.


My colorway: Anniversario

However, I soon realized that I didn’t feel like knitting a shawl.  So I sought out patterns that combine these two yarn types in sheer and solid alternating stripes.  The Elton Cardigan by Joji Locatelli fit the bill!!  I was worried that one kit wouldn’t be enough yarn, so I rushed back to the store to buy a second kit.  I needn’t have bothered — I never touched an inch of Kit #2!!  I was able to sell the second kit, though.

Here you can see the sheer beauty of the fabric:

I found the perfect buttons in what is now my new button source: old sweaters I no longer wear!  😀

This took forever to knit, which surprised me.  But, why did it surprise me?  It was fingering weight and laceweight!  What did I expect??  Oh well, it is done and I love it!!

August 25, 2023

From Susan — Yes, it’s State Fair Time!!

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 10:21 am

I love the Minnesota State Fair!  I’ve been going for so many years now.  Last year, as you know, my state-fair bestie Kim, left us.  Sally stepped in as a very thoughtful gesture.  We had a great time!  This year, hubby said he would do the honors.  However, he wasn’t feeling well.  So.  I went alone.  That sounds sad, doesn’t it?  But it was really nice!  Move at your own pace, seeing only the things YOU want to see!  I found out that a lot of my knitting peeps do that every year!  Yay for us!!

Of course, the first stop was the Creative Activities building where they house the knitting and baking entries.  I had entered 11 items, three of which were things I had entered last year.  If you don’t win a blue ribbon, you can re-enter something.  I don’t do this very often, as it has some risk.  The judges can recognize your entry and mark it down because it’s a “retread.”  Two items I moved into “seniors” so the judges are different, but one thing I entered in the same category as last year.  It did much better this year! 🙂


Oregon designed by Alice Starmore

I was so happy!  Then I saw my Alpine Bloom.  Since this sweater is so popular right now, I expected that other people would enter theirs, but mine was the only one I saw.


Alpine Bloom designed by Caitlin Hunter

To its left was the Buggiflooer Beanie.  Again, I expected to see a few of these, but did not.


Buggiflooer Beanie designed by Alison Rendall

Around the corner was Lunenburg.  I was worried about entering a yoke sweater.  They are so popular right now, but the lot only had 4 entries!  Mine is a cardiganized version.


Lunenburg by Amy Christoffers

The shocker of the day was my Random Acts PEEP Cowl.  I never expected to get a ribbon at all.  I kind of added it at the last minute.


Random Acts Cowl designed by Elizabeth Finn

This hat was a last minute entry.  It is my design and got a 3rd place ribbon.  It is notable for its unique display.  (!!!)

I can’t see!!

It wasn’t all about knitting.  I ate food that you only get two weeks a year: corn dogs, fried cheese curds, Big Fat Bacon.  All healthy choices!

And who wouldn’t proudly support our brave firefighters!?!  It would be an honor to support whatever needs supporting!!

It was a fun day!  I’ll go again with my family.  Last year we missed out on the animals, so that’s a priority this year.  The problem is that John is wearing an ortho boot and it is kind of uncomfortable.  We’ll just do the best we can!

PS to Pam: It’s hard to say if this was my best year, but it was a really good year!  Last year was disappointing, so I very much appreciated the difference a year made!

PS2 to Annie: I didn’t buy a calendar. 🙁

PS3: I did find another Buggiflooer!  There were dozens of knitted items scattered throughout the building, many of which being hats.  My friend could not find her shawl anywhere.  Jena spotted it next to a boat!

August 17, 2023

From Susan — Glad I Didn’t Listen to Myself

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 11:27 pm

My LYS, BeWoolen, holds frequent events called Lock Ins.  They are very popular, and I go to many (most?) of them.  There is knitting, show and tell, sometimes games, and prizes.  At one Lock In, I won a ball of Noro Ito.  It’s not yarn I would typically buy: bulky, thick/thin in garish colors.  But a ball is over $50!  The skein does have 437 yards, but it is still expensive.  There is nothing to make with one skein, so I bought another.  That wasn’t enough for the top I wanted to make, so I bought ANOTHER!!  Ack!  My free ball of yarn cost me $100!!

The top I wanted to knit is called Inovec.  It is a plain, kind of bubble shaped, sleeveless top.  I started it and had to reknit the neck; kept going, tried it on, and hated it.  I didn’t like the look of it.  I didn’t like the feel of it.  I didn’t like the way it fit.  It went into what my friend Dee Anne calls Area 51: the place where UFOs go to die.  However, I kept seeing people knitting their own Inovecs, wearing their Inovecs, etc.  They looked okay!  So I gave it another shot and I like it!

I split the hem instead of doing short rows, but other than that and some size adjusting, it is like the original.  What’s weird is that I didn’t realize until after it was completely done that there is a repeating color sequence!  Even weirder is the fact that the sequence was unbroken even though I added new yarn here and there and another ball along the way.  If I had tried to plan it, it wouldn’t have worked.

It’s not gorgeous.  But that is why I will live in this sweater!!

PS to Millie: The strands you see after the neckband are a special stitch used in all of the bands and in certain rows of the yoke.  You slip 1 as to purl WYIB, k1, YO, pass slipped stitch over the knit st and the YO.  Passing the stitch over creates the strands you see throughout.

August 15, 2023

From Susan — Finito

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 4:06 pm

I did finish my Alpine Bloom.  Click link to see more details. When I started, I really questioned my choices!  I don’t do garish colors, I don’t do pullovers, and I don’t do sleeveless/short sleeves.  Never say never.

I love my Alpine Bloom.  There.  I admitted it.  Out loud.  It’s pretty.  Maybe it will be worn, but even if I never wear it, it makes me happy.

The sweater is knit top down.  The scallops formed at the neckline only occur at the cast on edge, as in all feather and fan variations.  That meant that the sleeve cuffs had to be grafted on in order to be scalloped.  I was okay with that.  Because of the grafting, the pattern called for 1×1 ribbing on the bottom hem, though some people did go full-on grafting at the hemline.  I am not a fan of 1×1 ribbing, and it didn’t seem to set off the other feminine features of the design.  I changed mine to 2×2 garter rib and then added a crocheted scallop along the bottom edge.  Love it!!

Very simple and yet the scallop is there.  I am very happy with my tee.  I can see why people are knitting more than one of these!

July 15, 2023

From Susan — I-Cord Cast On

Filed under: Updates — surly @ 5:43 pm

Just adding this link because I referred to it elsewhere! Susan Rainey’s Improved I-Cord Cast On

July 13, 2023

From Susan — Off to Camp

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 9:33 pm

It’s been four years since the last Meg Swansen’s Knitting Camp.  I, of course, went with Kim in years past.  This year I’m traveling solo.  I started a project a couple of weeks ago that should be perfect Camp knitting: round and round stockinette!  It’s Alpine Bloom in Spincycle and BeWoolen Pigments.

The Spincycle is from Harriet and Alice in their special colorway called Hot Dish.  That’s Minnesotan for casserole.

Addendum: I’m at Camp!  It’s really great to be here.  It seems on the low-key side, which I’m fine with!

July 1, 2023

From Susan — A Big, Big Sophie

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 10:10 am

ETA: Easy Does It predates Sophie…

There are so many “Sophie Scarf” knock offs out there right now…or is Sophie a knock off?  Chicken and egg dilemma I suspect!  Here is my original Sophie, which I call Lettie because Lettie thinks it highlights her best feature.  I must agree:

The “tie pin” is actually an earring, and makes the scarf really cute, I think!

On June 13 I attended one of Darn Knit Anyway’s delightful river cruises.  They are located in the heart of beautiful Stillwater, right at the docks where the river boat cruises launch.  Could not be more convenient.  You almost have to shop before boarding — how else will you fill the time?  I saw this giant Sophie knock off in soft pinks and yellows.  I fell in love and bought an Easy Does It kit (4 skeins of Mélange, in color 59).  It knit up quickly.  The only real difference was that the increases (/decreases) are worked every 6 rows instead of 8.

I started this like my other Sophie, using a provisional cast on for the i-cord so it would be continuous around the points.  I also knew that I wanted to improve the look of the increases.  I tried MANY iterations and stumbled upon the one that I finally used: a reverse YO, which is then worked on the WS as a right-leaning make one.  I put pictures on my project page.  It is invisible on the RS and almost invisible on the WS.

One problem that many knitters seem to have with these scarves is knitting the built-in i-cord edges.  The thing to remember is that on ALL rows, the first 3 sts look like stockinette sts and the last 3 look like purl sts.  When you get to the last 3 sts (the ones that look like purl sts), bring the yarn forward and slip each of the 3 sts one by one as to purl, with the yarn in front.  Turn.  Now these 3 look like knit sts and the 3 at the other end look like purl sts.  You knit the garter sts every row and the i-cord sts every other row, because they are slipped at the end of each row.

Off my soapbox!!  This will be my final Sophie-like scarf.  At least for now!  Here is a picture of the St. Croix River:

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