Completed Projects Archives - Page 6 of 35 - theraineysisters theraineysisters

September 29, 2009

From Sally — Topsy Turvy

Filed under: Topsy Turvy — Tags: moebius — surly @ 11:10 am

Last May, I bought some gorgeous yarn: two skeins of Rhapsody from Artyarns. It’s a wonderful combination of silk and mohair (a strand of unplied silk and a strand of Kidsilk Haze or its identical twin) in an acid chartreuse green. Here is a photo Susan took of me eyeing the yarn before I admitted I to myself that I was taking it home.

I couldn’t quite figure out what to make with it as I only had about 500 yards. Then, two weeks ago, a knitting friend (Hi Phyllis!) reminded me of the moebius I knit a few years ago out of pale pink Kidsilk Haze and suggested that as a good use for my Rhapsody. (You can just see my pink moebius in the lower right hand corner of this photo of my stash of pink yarn.)

I didn’t want to use the same pattern (which is a good thing since I couldn’t find mine anyway). I decided to make up my own because I hadn’t been feeling frustrated enough lately. It’s tricky making up a moebius pattern because the knitting grows from the center out and the pattern in effect reverses itself. I did a lot of experimenting and ripping out, but I do like the results. It fits me better than Lucy; her shoulders aren’t quite broad enough to let it hang right. If I were to knit this same pattern again with this yarn, I might make it a little bit smaller in circumference. It did turn out larger than I expected, even after swatching, blocking, measuring. Le sigh. But I do LOVE the color of this yarn, and that’s the most important part of this particular project. I named it Topsy Turvy because the blocks pull in different directions and the pattern reverses itself.

Comments (24)

September 2, 2009

From Sally — Does this Corset Make Me Look Fat?

Filed under: Vivian Cardigan — surly @ 12:00 pm

That’s what Lucy is wondering. I’ve been working on Vivian, which is a Christmas gift for my very slim daughter. Lucy can barely squeeze into it and she’s a little miffed.

I’ve finished the body up to the armholes. Now it’s on a holder until I complete the sleeves. I had almost finished the first sleeve, but decided that it was a bit too tight. (I’m using a finer yarn than called for and monkeying around with the pattern to get the right fit.) So I ripped back and started my increases much earlier than the pattern calls for; I’ll probably end up with more stitches than I’m supposed to and I’ll need to devise some (I hope clever) way of getting rid of them as I work the yoke.

The color is not particularly true in these photos, but c’est la vie.

Comments (20)

August 22, 2009

From Susan — Even MORE Hats!

Filed under: Hats,Updates — lv2knit @ 9:15 am

As I promised, there are even more hats on the loose in my house. Hats are fun because they are fast. And that makes them my new best friend.

This small booklet came out a week or two ago and there a couple of hat patterns that I liked.

Made in Brooklyn by Jared Flood

As mentioned in the last post, I started my Lace Beret in pale gray Fresco yarn. I also have some cream Fresco in my stash. One of Jared’s hats uses four colors of Fresco, two of which I already had! Woo Hoo! I ran out and bought the other two colors and voila:

Beaumont Beanie by you.
Beaumont Beanie in Classic Elite Fresco

This hat is baby bunny soft and has a halo about it. Four skeins is enough yarn to make two hats. There are two versions of the same hat: one is the beanie you see here and the other is a tam that is shown in two colors only. The main difference is the gauge. This hat is knit on US size 5 needles, with a gauge of 31 sts/4 inches. And I thought I was a tight knitter! My knitting looked very sloppy to me as I was going along, so I decided it was trying to become a tam. Plus, the ribbing was way too tight and so it was shaped like a tam. I wet blocked it on a plate and everything:

Beaumont Beret by you.

It’s pretty as a tam, BUT it started to shrink. As soon as it was off the plate it started getting smaller! So, I re-wet it and blocked it as a beanie. The finished gauge: 31 sts/4 inches. Another knitting mystery. I also had to cut off and re-work the ribbing so it would not cinch in so much. I bought some dark blue to go with the pale gray to make a hat for my younger daughter in her school colors.

The other hat I made from the book is the one from the cover, called Quincy:

Quincy Manos by you.
Quincy in Manos Del Uruguay, Color Prairie

It has a really fun and unusual construction, and when you put it on, you never want to take it off. It is SO comfortable! The criss-cross can go anywhere on your head, however you want to wear it. My DD (the elder) even liked it and wants one for this winter. I have a feeling I’ll be making a few of these!

Comments (6)

August 19, 2009

From Susan — More Hats!

Filed under: Hats — lv2knit @ 6:37 pm

Sally mentioned being in the mood to make hats, and I think there must be something in the air! I’ve been noticing a lot of cute hat patterns lately:

First, the recent Vogue Knitting (Hi, Trisha!) included a very nice array of hats. I decided to try Lace Beret #13:

I really liked the use of a Japanese-inspired lace pattern. I started out with pale gray Fresco from Classic Elite and loved the hat….but thought it might lack stitch definition. So, I started again with Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca and Silk in a copper color:

Lace Tam 13 by you.

Lace Tam 13 001 by you.

The yarn is a little heavier than that called for, so I made the smaller size, with a slightly larger needle to yield a large beret. I got it done and then asked my knitting peeps which hat they preferred — they all said the gray one. So, I finished the gray one:

Lace Tam Number 13 Vogue 004 by you.

It has a softer look to it and is fuzzier. Honestly, I do not think I could choose between them. The gray hat is in a finer yarn (more like the pattern), so I knitted it to a smaller gauge. There are 9 pattern repeats in the gray and only 8 in the copper.

I absolutely love the Fresco yarn. I LOVE it!! So, I started another hat in Fresco…more about that in a day or so. With our knitting in slow mo, we can’t show everything in one day! Stay tuned for more hats!!

PS: when I have polled people with the finished hats, they are split pretty much 50-50 on which one they like best.

Comments (14)

August 14, 2009

From Sally — Hats Off

Filed under: Kauni Tam — surly @ 2:45 pm

It’s August in Washington, the month when all knitters’ thoughts turn to hats. What?

For some reason, I’ve been in the mood to knit hats lately. I’ve been working on several — picking them up and then putting them down next to all of my other unfinished projects. Today, however, I finally finished one.

I had the idea of using some of the yarn for my unfinished Kauni Damask sweater (which I still hope to get back to once I decide what I want to do at the neck) to knit a fair isle hat. There is a Selbuvotter mittern pattern I’ve always liked, so I adapted the pattern for a tam. I narrowed and lengthened the main design, removed a few design elements (which made it look like an angry face if you glanced at it wrong), and hoped for the best.

I’m fairly pleased. It’s the first hat I’ve designed and it actually fits. Now, the next problem was how to photograph it. There is something about the color changes that makes the hat look best when you can see most or all of the pattern. (That may be due to the color combination near the ribbing, which is the combination I like the best. That’s why I started with it, but I should perhaps have saved it for the crown. Live and learn. I ain’t reknitting it.)

The other photography issue is the need for a model. I don’t have a Lucy equivalent for hats. The only potential model in the house is my seventeen-year-old son. He refused the job for some reason. Hmmmmm. Not sure it would look too great on my golden retriever. Ther was only one other possibility. Someone quiet, cooperative, and unable to run fast.

So there you have it in all its glory.

Comments (16)

July 31, 2009

From Sally — Christmas in July

Filed under: Vivian Cardigan — surly @ 3:31 pm

I’ve been suffering a bit from the knitting malaise mixed with indecision and confusion. Some days I can’t think of one thing I’d like to work on. Other days, I have so many projects I want to start that I can’t choose among them. So, I decided to work on some Christmas knitting. That gives me a deadline, but the deadline is so comfortably off in the distance that I won’t feel guilty putting it aside when true inspiration strikes.

First up? A sweater for my daughter (who has been temporarily banned from reading this blog so that I could have something to post about). Nora, if you are reading, stop. Now. Thank you.

The project I selected for Nora is Vivian designed by Ysolda Teague and available through the Twist Collective website. It’s a fitted, heavily cabled hoodie.

It looks like something she’d wear, although the sizing has been the big issue for me. She’s small and she likes her clothes to be fairly close fitting. Moreover, I was using a finer gauge yarn than the pattern called for. Therefore, I decreased the size of the peplum-type bottom by taking out a few strategic stitches and plan to knit the size 34 above the peplum. I want it to end up being closer to the size 32 (giving me some negative ease), and I think this will work with the gauge differential. Otherwise, blocking will be our friend.

Other than those size-related issues, the only changes I’m making is that I have reversed the twist on a few of the cables to make the knitting more mindless for me. I’ve seen a few Ravelry posts indicating that I might need to adjust the size of the hood, but that’s not something I am going to worry about yet. What I like about this design is that the waist shaping is integrated into the flow of the cables. I also like that the yoke is knit in one piece.

I am using Berocco’s Vintage Wool, which is a washable wool containing some acrylic. That is so atypical for me; I’m pretty much a natural fibers knitter. But this yarn is very soft against the skin and I loved the color. It knits like wool (except for the inability to splice the way I usually do), but she won’t have to be as careful with it in washing. I’m happy thus far with my choice. I haven’t made all that much progress, but then again — it’s only July.

Comments (7)

July 12, 2009

From Susan — Bedecked and Bejewelled Am I

Filed under: Lacy Cardigan,Updates — lv2knit @ 7:47 pm

Look at the pretty markers sent to me by a very sweet and generous reader:

Markers by you.

Prissy (aka Merry Gay) sent these to me after seeing my little chain markers. She makes these for fun, and shared them with me. They are too pretty for knitting and beg to be worn as earrings! 🙂

I have also been laboring on my Lacy Cardigan…stick a fork in it, thank goodness!

Lacy Cardigan by you.
Lacy Cardigan by Ann E. Smith for Blue Sky Alpacas
Yarn: Sublime Aran (11 skeins), Color #15 Clipper, Needles US 8 and US 6; crocheted edging
The color is very true in these pictures

Lacy Cardigan by you.

Pro’s and Con’s of this project:

The yarn: soft as butter but unforgiving in stitch quality; not spliceable
The pattern: very nicely written; easy, quick knit (16 days); not seen everywhere so it seems more unique; unavailable (?)
The buttons: cheapies from my stash — a replacement may be necessary!!
The edging: got me to learn how to crochet
The fit: perfect; sleeves are just the way I like them with a little flare over the hand
Modifications: very few; I decided I did not want to waste any brain power so resisted the urge to go overboard on mods

Overall grade: B- to C+ (marked down for stitch quality — part me, part the yarn…the picture doesn’t show how uneven some areas are)

Will I wear it? All the time! It is soft, fits perfectly and is a good color to go with my summer clothes. All in all, I am happy I made it so I could remove the curse of this yarn (a dozen false starts!!). A finished object! Yay!! 🙂

Comments (11)

July 5, 2009

From Susan — On the Blocks: A Quick Update

Filed under: Lacy Cardigan — lv2knit @ 11:25 am

The sweater back/fronts are drying as we speak. The first sleeve is 6″ so far. This is a quick knit and I am very glad for that!! Maybe I’ll be sewing it together next weekend (??).

Lacy Cardigan 003 by you.

One thing I like about photographing my blocked items is that I can see the shaping better and then make adjustments — I’m off to even up my scallops!!

PS from yesterday’s post:

Nancy provided a link to a charitable organization that accepts knitted and crocheted afghan squares for the people of Pine Ridge — the poorest community in America.

Ravelry group Afghan Squares for Pine Ridge Reservation

Comments (3)

July 3, 2009

From Susan — This Week in Knitting

Filed under: Crocheting,Lacy Cardigan — lv2knit @ 10:17 am

I have been doing some summer time knitting. I started a sweater last Friday and it is going pretty fast, but I do not like it.

I named it “Last Chance” on Ravelry because it is the last chance I am giving this yarn. The yarn (Sublime Aran, Color Clipper) appears ideal on paper: 75% merino, 20% silk and 5% cashmere, in a perfect denim blue to go with my work wardrobe (my pathetic work wardrobe, but I digress!), in a gauge of 18 sts/4 inches. This spring/summer I started no less than ten different projects attempting to use this yarn from my stash. It is the reason my knitting stalled for months. I kept trying to make something out of this beautiful $#$%^^&*(*&^ yarn!

So, I decided to start the Lacy Cardigan for which I learned to crochet and is knit to a gauge of —- 18 sts/ 4 inches:

Lacy Cardigan by you.

As I said, it is knitting up fairly quickly, but I do not like the way it looks. I am hoping for a miracle.

Lacy Cardigan 002 by you.
The color here is completely wrong! The real color is deeper, richer, more denim than bright.

A person on Ravelry who made this said that she thought hers looked terrible until it was done…a glimmer of hope!! So, I knit on. I will toss out this yarn rather than admit to another false start!!

Speaking of Crocheting
I have been trying a little bit of crocheting to gain experience. I am making the Cockleshells Scarf by Theresa Gaffey — a simple scarf done in fingering weight yarn using double crochet only. The original is made in an alpaca sock yarn that is soft as butter. Mine is not as soft but has beautiful color:

Cockleshells 002 by you.

Thank goodness for Kim in my knitting group! She made this scarf too in the original yarn — and it turned out to be gorgeous. She helped me with my edges because her edge was much nicer. Unfortunately, I did not take a “before” picture so you are seeing the improved version! Still looks uneven, yes? You should have seen it before! I don’t know if I’ll ever become a true crochet head, but it is a nice change from knitting. I also knitted me up one of those dang dishcloths because I had some really pretty ocean-colored Sugar and Cream (Sugar and Cream Stripes, Color 21143).

Comments (8)

June 6, 2009

From Sally — To Cap It All Off

Filed under: Shedir — surly @ 7:53 am

First of all, thank you for the outpouring of kind comments on my Cathedral sweater and on my beautiful daughter. No, she didn’t want to keep the sweater. As cute as it looked on her, it’s not her taste. At all. When I finally get a chance to wear it myself, I’ll try to pretend it looks as nice on me as it does on her.

Before she left to go back to the wilds of Colorado, I was able to persuade her to do one more modeling job for me. I knit a Shedir hat for a dear friend.

The pattern calls for Rowan’s Calmer yarn, which I actually used — so unusual for me. I purchased the yarn at Personal Threads Boutique in Omaha (which Susan and I wrote about recently). Shedir is meant to be a one-skein project, but I needed part of a second ball. From perusing Ravelry, that’s a fairly common occurrence. So, if this hat interests you, pick up a second skein. (I was glad I did.) Another solution would be to knit four instead of five repeats of the main pattern, but that could result in a hat that is too small.

I liked the pattern, but knitting with cotton is always hard on my hands. Fortunately, Calmer has much more stretch than most cottons and cotton blends. I did the cabling without a cable needle. If I make it again, I think I’ll switch the right and left twists. There are far more left twists, and I find them less fun to do.

Next up for me: lace weight and beads.