theraineysisters knitting and so much more

August 17, 2007

From Sally — Do Not Ask for Whom the Belle Tolls . . .

Filed under: Silver Belle — surly @ 1:58 pm

Having finished one sleeve of Mermaid, I’ve now gone back to the Silver Belle cardigan designed by Debbie Bliss. I finished the peplum yesterday. I am making a size Medium, which is supposed to be 36″ around when buttoned. I was tempted by the Small, but at 32″ buttoned I decided I just couldn’t. Well, even though the top of my peplum measures the same as the schematic, it seems huge when I put it on. I suspect I could have knit the size Small and had it fit, even though I have a 34″ bust. Oh, well.

Here it is. Doesn’t it look huge?

I’ve also started on the first sleeve/yoke. It also seems “big.” Part of that is because I have very small wrists. This sleeve starts out fairly wide in order to accommodate the two drunken cables. I started the sleeve with the number of stitches for the Small, but that only reduces the circumference by about half an inch or so. At 11″ around, it’s big. It occurred to me later that I could have reduced the number of stitches in the center Trinity portion and then tried to adjust for that at the top of the sleeve, but it’s not worth it to go back.

One change I did make was to start the second cable on row ten of the chart, so that the cables mirror each other. She didn’t write the pattern that way, but I didn’t want the cables to be moving in unison. I think it looks better if they “reflect” each other.

August 15, 2007

From Susan — Kauni has a Little Sister

Filed under: Susan's Kauni Cardigan — lv2knit @ 9:42 pm

Ruth Sorensen is just amazing.  She really is the master of working with Kauni yarns.  Here is her latest design:

LeafCardigan.jpg picture by lv2knit

It is quite striking.  I bought the pattern even though it is not on my short list at this moment in time (I need a little break from my Kauni family ;)).  I bought the pattern to acknowledge the creativity and talent that many of us are taking advantage of with Ruth’s free pattern.  I want her to get something out of her moment of fame!  I need to finish a few things before I even think about this one, though I really like it.  For those of you who have not yet started a Kauni, this is certainly one to consider. 

Hmmmmm, I could start over—-N-n-n-n-a-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h-h!! 😉

PS — By request, here is a link to the Kauni Knitalong (KauniKAL) that describes another source for Ruth’s pattern.  I actually bought my pattern from this source but gave Ruth’s information so the link would be directly to her.  Sorry if people had trouble buying the pattern from Ruth!

August 14, 2007

From Sally — A Mermaid Resurfaces

Filed under: Sally's Mermaid — surly @ 5:01 pm

We really do need to stop the bad puns.

I just came back from a jaunt to North Carolina where it was a bazillion degrees. Instead of bringing Silver Belle with me, I brought my half-finished Mermaid sleeve. I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time to knit and I wouldn’t want to haul a large piece of knitting around with me anyway. So I finished the sleeve. One more to go unless I decide to be really trendy.

Here is the finished sleeve before seaming. One one side there are live stitches on one side and on the other a provisional cast-on.

In this photo, I’ve removed the provisional cast-on and placed the now live stitches on a second needle.

This is the beginning of working a three-needle bind off of the seam.

Here’s the wrong side (the inside of the sleeve) once the seam is completed.

The right side of the seam:

The sleeve with a view of the blue detail:

I couldn’t resist pulling the sleeve on. Eeek. It looked really short. I quickly and crudely basted it into the jacket; the sleeve fits perfectly into the armhole opening and the sleeve length is fine. Whew.

Scroll alert:

While I was in NC, I went to a couple of Clay Aiken concerts. I was playing around with black and white photographs. If you are interested, here is one.

I also played around with taking some bootleg concert video. The one that I really liked is of Lover All Alone, which he co-wrote with David Foster. I won’t embed it here, but if you’d like to see the video, click here.

August 13, 2007

From Susan — Made a Quick Left!

Filed under: Modular Purse — lv2knit @ 2:44 pm

I was ready to start the second small square which is part of the larger square on the Modular Purse and decided the Plum was a no go — too dark and too dull a color.  I wanted denim blue, but had to settle for this:

MiniModularBag006.jpg picture by lv2knit

I am not going to change it again — it is what it is!  I’ll post a picture once I get a square completed.

August 12, 2007

From Susan — Mini Modular

Filed under: Modular Purse,Susan's Kauni Cardigan — lv2knit @ 9:35 pm

Today I spent a grueling afternoon at the Mall of America — I know that many people travel from all corners of the world to shop there, but why?  It is NOT my favorite hang out, and I just may never go there again.  At least I can hope.

I did start a little take-along project.  I am reknitting the Modular Tote by Theresa Gaffey into a smaller purse version.  As I was knitting the regular tote I kept thinking that it would make a great purse.

I’ll be teaching the standard Modular Tote as a class at Amazing Threads and also offered up the purse as an option — I thought maybe I should knit one myself before “teaching” others how to do it ;)!!

MiniModularBag004.jpg picture by lv2knit

I had a very specific idea for the colors but could not find them, so I settled on these in Nature Spun 100% Wool Worsted (from left to right): Plum Line (#015), Limestone (#010), Hurricane (#001).  The class starts in September so I thought I better do my homework!

I have been very lax on my Kauni 🙁 .  It is not fun knitting the sleeves so I have been avoiding them like the Sleeve Plague of 1752.  Hmmmm, the Kauni Vest———??   I like the sound of that ———> N-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h-h-h!   As I have often said to other knitters: this is a hobby, it is supposed to be fun — not like taking your medicine (OR doing homework), so pick up a project you LOVE!  But, I want to wear the Kauni and it will be more wearable with sleeves, so I will work on it again soon.

Enjoy your Monday!

August 10, 2007

From Susan — The Sun[rise Circle] Also Rises

Filed under: Knitting Tips,Sunrise Circle Jacket — lv2knit @ 12:03 pm

This has been a crazy week with a little bit of knitting, but a lot more “non-knitting.”  I really enjoyed seeing the progress that Sally has made on her Silver Belle.  It is absolutely gorgeous. 

I’d like to answer a question from a reader/commenter:

Nancy asked a question about The Sunrise Circle Jacket which she plans to start soon:

I have re-read your blogs about the Sunrise Circle Jacket since I am contemplating starting it in the next weeks. I am hesitant about making it since the facing on the front flaps is so obvious, at least in the pattern. Neither of your sweaters have this obvious line of facing. Is this because you used a dark color of yarn?

Actually, the color of the sweaters is not the determining factor in how visible the facing is from the right side.  It is all about the way the facing is attached to the wrong side of the sweater.  Here is a picture of my Sunrise Circle to illustrate not what you can see but ::hopefully:: what you cannot see:

SunriseCircle2.jpg picture by lv2knit
Lettie likes the Sunrise Circle!!

I make sure that the facing is sewn in such a way that I don’t pull up on the sweater fabric as I attach the facing.  I let the facing float on the WS and use thread to tack down the underside of the facing to the WS of the sweater.  The stitching is invisible from both the RS and the WS of the sweater. 

The following diagram will help explain it — we all know that words get confusing.

Facing-1.jpg picture by lv2knit

I think the most visible method is the “knit the two edges together” method which is often used on hems.  It is easy and requires no additional finishing BUT it creates a very visible join line — ridge — whatever you want to call it.  This method has its place and I have used it, but do not use it if you are concerned about the visible ridge that will occur as a result.  Just my opinion!! 🙂

 

August 9, 2007

From Sally — Silver Belle, Silver Belle

Filed under: Silver Belle — surly @ 4:20 pm

This is a quickie post from the airport in Charlotte, NC before I step out into the lovely 100+ degree weather.

I am almost finished with the peplum on my Debbie Bliss Silver Belle from the new Vogue. (Mine, of course, is pink not silver.) Here’s a quick photo from this morning:

Here is another shot. On the peplum, you can see the two lovely shawl pins from Romi. Aren’t they gorgeous? I can’t wait to use them.

From Susan: The pins are gorgeous, and I’m quite envious!  I really love the pink peplum.  I was hoping I wouldn’t because my knitting queue is so l-l-l-o-o-o-n-n-n-g-g-g!! 🙂

August 7, 2007

From Susan — Peas Porridge Getting Even older!

Filed under: Back Story — lv2knit @ 10:27 pm

A few of you were asking about the machine made buttonholes on the sweater my mom made.  My first buttonholes were done in the same way: like mother, like daughter, or some such thing.  It made sense to me and actually they turned out okay.  I’m not sure what purists think of this approach!

I made this sweater at least 25-30 years ago.  A co-worker of mine was knitting this Penny Straker design — which is still available – and I couldn’t believe I had found another knitter.  I made the identical sweater because I am so darned imaginative.  To be honest, in those days we didn’t have knitting magazines with fabulous designs arriving at our doorstep.  You had to go to a knitting shop and search through patterns.  It made it much easier to just knit the same thing she was making.  One thing I do remember is that she did not make buttonholes at all.  Her front band was knitted so loosely that she just shoved the buttons through any-old-where.  I think that is one reason I used this BH method — to make sure I HAD buttonholes. 

PennyStraker002.jpg picture by lv2knit

Here is a close up of the buttonholes:

PennyStraker.jpg picture by lv2knit

And the inside showing the grosgrain ribbon:

PennyStraker001.jpg picture by lv2knit

I still use grosgrain ocassionally on the button side of the front bands for support.  Now I tend to use the one-row bound buttonhole or the very simple k2tog, YO buttonhole, but I do think the sewn method has its place.

The main problem with this sweater was that the sleeves were INCHES too long.  I did not know how to calculate the sleeve length for a raglan sleeve — and my sweater had very deep armholes, which of course added length.  The sweater is way too small for me now anyway! 🙁

 

August 6, 2007

From Susan — Peas Porridge in the Pot Nine Days Old

Filed under: Back Story — lv2knit @ 10:25 pm

Am I the only one who feels like summer is so fast paced it is hard to catch your breath?  I am on a whirlwind, let me tell ya!  And knitting is not even a part of it!

Hubby has been working a lot of OT, which puts me into “single parent” territory (a sympathetic shout out to all of you who handle this full time — I will try not to whine ;)).  Knitting takes a back seat when you are driving!

So, I am going to pull out past projects at the suggestion of Marina.  I have nothing new to share, but can’t let the weight of the B::L::O::G fall solely on Surly’s delicate but capable shoulders.

Here is the first sweater I ever made.  I took this walk down memory lane way back in the early days of our blog, but most of you probably missed our early posts.  Please don’t hate me for serving up re-heated blog.

Firstsweater.jpg My First Sweater picture by lv2knit

There are so many things wrong with this sweater that’s it’s hard to list them all.  Let’s just say that “buy enough yarn in the same dye lot to complete your project” was advice that fell on deaf and inexperienced ears.  Who knew 100% acrylic was so “dye-lot sensitive?”

I wore this sweater constantly in college:

GrayTurtleneck.jpg Gray Turtleneck picture by lv2knit

I was such a little seamstress back then that I used a sewing machine to whip this puppy together (no, I’m not kidding!).   This was my first cable experience and at the end of it I was convinced that I knew everything there was to know about knitting.  Period.  I was a total expert — oh, brother!  “Do not wash wool in the washing machine as felting will occur” was additional advice that seemed to go right over my head!

My mom made this sweater for me in 6th grade.  I absolutely love it:

6thGradesweater.jpg Sixth Grade Sweater picture by lv2knit

I like to try and figure out stitch patterns when I encounter something unusual, but I have not been able to decipher this one. 

And just look at the buttonholes — hey, maybe this is why I thought you could use a sewing machine to put knitted garments together!

6thGrButtonDetail.jpg 6th gr Button Detail picture by lv2knit

So Sally and I were exposed to very lovely knitting at an early age.  It seemed like a very normal past-time.  We both started out by knitting sweaters — no scarves, hats or mittens — though of course we branched out along the way.  To this day, I prefer sweaters to all other knitting, and I think that is true of Sally as well (though she did go through that lengthy “shawl phase”).

I hope to get back on the knitting horse again soon — I need my fix! 😉

 

August 4, 2007

From Sally — In the Pink

Filed under: Silver Belle — surly @ 4:36 pm

I like pink yarn and I cannot lie
You other knitters can’t deny

(Sorry. I’ve been watching too many concert videos.)

But it’s true. I love pink yarn and I buy a lot of it. I pulled together some of the pinks from my stash just to show you.

Sadly, that is not all of the pink yarn in my stash; it’s just what was most easily accessible. Although I included in that photograph my Cap Shawl and my “pink pouf,” the truth is that I tend to mostly collect pink yarn but I hardly ever knit it. For some reason I get very particular about patterns for pink yarn. I have no idea why.

Anyway, I received my 25th Anniversary Vogue in the mail the other day and found the perfect pattern to use up my 18 skeins of pale pink Cashmerino Aran. (Quick aside: my mailed copy of the magazine was defective. Halfway through, the ink started to fade away. At first I thought it was purposeful: the issue did have a silver/gray them. When the ink completely disappeared, I realized I had a problem. It’s a great issue, though, so I went out and bought a second one.)

I am knitting Silver Belle designed by Debbie Bliss, one of the “cover” sweaters whose pattern is downloadable as a PDF. Here’s what it looks like:

It’s a bit of slow go at the beginning. The size medium, which I’m knitting, starts out with over 400 stitches in the peplum. There are a few especially slow rows, where I have 40+ cables to cross. At my sister’s suggestion, I am cabling without a cable needle, which does speed things up. (For a great explanation of how to do that, including helpful photographs, visit Wendy Knits. I could explain it in my own words, but why bother when someone else has already done such a great job?)

Here’s where I am on my Silver Belle:

In one of those rare stash miracles, I even have the perfect buttons for it (there is a perfect pink color match in real life in the mother of pearl that isn’t quite captured by the camera):

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