theraineysisters knitting and so much more

It was nice to hear that there are readers out there!!  Thank you for commenting!

Okay.  We know knitters are obsessive.  It comes with the territory.  You can’t keep going on an adult sweater in fingering weight yarn without having some form of mental quirk!  I really love my Ris Tunic, and when I finished I thought it would be super cute to make matching mitts.  I rummaged through my stash of Jamieson jumperweight yarn and found many of the colours (you have to spell colors “colours” when speaking of British yarn!!).

See??  Thery really are super cute!!!  I call them Ris-tlets!!  ::groan::  The style is a handwarmer, like my Fjord Mitts.

In addition to Spindrift, I used Einband (Istex laceweight yarn) for the facings. However, my jumperweight wool is a darker gray, so I also made fake Einband out of medium gray Léttlopi. I split the yarn into its two separate strands and then twisted the heck out of it!  After the foldline I switched to the lighter Einband color. I also used Léttlopi in a few places on the mitts, where I just couldn’t match the colors — the lime green and bright purple. I split the strand and knit it like Plötulopi. It was quite thin, but it worked!

I wanted to use 60 sts so I could use the 12-stitch pattern repeat.  That number of sts would make the mitts too large.  To get both size and hourglass shaping, I used various needle sizes from 2.75 mm to 3.5 mm.  They ended up too tight!  I [over-] blocked the first one and it was too big.  Goldilocks finally reblocked the first and blocked the second to the perfect size.  I really love them!!

Aloha, Folks!

First, a little back story.  I just returned from Maui with my two daughters.  This was a dream on my bucket list.  I had gone to Maui twice before, over forty years ago, and determined to return to the ocean, whales, and tropical memories.

When I returned from the above trip, I called my now-husband up and asked him out.  We’ve been together ever since!

The girls and I did it all: whale cruise, snorkeling (I watched!), a luau, swimming in the ocean.  All in all, we saw at least three dozen humpback whales!!  Laura captured this iconic image:

I worked on a small project on the trip — a Sophie Scarf.  Yes.  Onto the bandwagon!!  Sometimes I knit something because the design bugs me and I want to fix it.  I think that was part of my motivation.  Another was knitting with cashmere!  The original Sophie has these little squared off ends and i-cord along both edges.  I thought it would be an improvement to have the i-cord “make the corners,” so to speak:

I started with a provisional cast on and then worked each end along the sides.  I used Pascuali Cashmere 6/28 held with Shibui Silk Cloud.  The fabric is lovely!

On the trip, Jena was shopping for a friend who is expecting.  I offered to make a baby hat for her to take along as a shower gift.  Per Jena, the hat HAD to be a bear cub hat.  Okay.  No problem!  How hard could it be to find brown, washable yarn?  Harder than expected!  I ended up buying my yarn at Micheal’s.  There.  I said it.  My secret is out!  The shopping part was complicated by the fact that, upon arrival in the Twin Cities, both Jena and I tested positive for COVID.  Yep.  Finally got me.  The good news is, my case is mild, and Micheal’s has curbside pick up!

The pattern is Bear Ears Beanie Hat.  It is free if you scroll down on the pattern page, and it comes in sizes from infant to adult.  I used Loops and Threads Impeccable Tweed, color Chocolate, which is the same yarn used in the pattern.  I have enough left over to knit a second hat, so if the hat doesn’t fit next winter, I can make another.

Now that I’m back, I’m following the March knitting goal of my Thursday knitting group: finish languishing UFOs!!  I started a Hitofude for Laura months ago, and have also been working on a sweater for me forever.  The buttonbands were all that’s left on my Lunenburg Cardigan — hope to get THAT into the bath today!

Nobody reads blogs anymore, but we’ll keep on posting!

Hi, all!  I just finished a very fun project, called Ris.  I saw a shop sample at BeWoolen and thought it was quite cute and wearable.  Plus, I love Léttlopi yarn.  One of my Thursday peeps said she had a bunch of colors, so I bought the main color and a few other skeins.

The thing I wanted to change was the shoulder “wings,” so I added short row shaping.  It did not completely get rid of the wings, but they are less dramatic!!

I also really liked the neckline on my recently finished Zig sweater, so I completely copied it here!   The neck opening seemed too small, so I did some surgery on it!!

The sides have button “closures.”  Just two on each side to keep it from flapping around when worn.

The pattern includes some embroidery, but when I tried it, it did not add.  So, buh-bye to the embroidery!!  I haven’t worn it yet.  I am leaving for Hawaii next Tuesday for a week and decided to quarantine for two weeks prior.  No knitting, no Birkie weekend!

A long time ago — December 2020 to be more specific — Susan and I started knitting Marie Wallin’s Tapestry Wrap.  As usual, Susan finished hers in a timely fashion and posted about it here.  I finished the knitting a long time ago — I even included it in a post about some of my unfinished projects.  (The others mentioned have all been completed.  Yay!).  That post was made in November 2021 and I promised (myself) I’d finish my own Tapestry Wrap within a few weeks.  Didn’t happen even though all I needed to do was weave in the ends and sew down the collar.

A couple of days ago the mood finally struck and I finished it.  Whew.  I really like it and I still can’t tell you what made me put off the finishing for so long.  It’s a mystery!

ETA:  Wendy asked whether I’d used specified yarns and colors.  I’m so familiar with this project I forgot to talk about the yarn, which I usually do.  This was Marie Wallin’s Fairisle Club Six, which means it was a “limited edition” kit.  The pattern was not available except through her club.  It used her British Breeds yarn which is absolutely lovely to knit with and blocks like a dream.

Happy Birthday, Little Sis!

Surly has been busy on the ski slopes with family.  She is so much more active than I am, it’s embarrassing!  She is a great knitter, writer, and gardener!  Well, I knit! 🙁

Enjoy your very special day!

The Killer Queen Cowl is running rampant through my Wednesday Social Knitting group at BeWoolen in Champlin.  Being someone with strong FOMO* genes,  I jumped on the bandwagon!

I already owned a skein of Malabrigo Washted in Cumparista, so I just needed the main color.  I went with Malabrigo Rios in Teal Feather — it takes 1 ½ skeins of the background color.  At first I was concerned about the lack of contrast, but I think it’s okay.  The cowl is a pretty quick knit.  There’s always something to “get to” and the stitches used are fun.

The back can be seamed or buttoned, but most of us thought the buttons really added.  The cowl is long and narrow in the front, but can be made wider by unbuttoning some of the buttons.

PS to Chloe: I have no idea what the name means, nor do I care for it!

PS2 to Anne: I’ve heard the reference to Queen before, but I am not at all familiar with their music!  But it makes sense!!

* Fear of Missing Out

I just finished a sweater that I love!  It is the Zig Pullover by Andrea Mowry.  The original has a “Charlie Brown” vibe, which I sought to minimize by using three gradient grays.  The yarn, Léttlopi, is a favorite — squishy and wooly!  Maybe too wooly for some?  I followed the pattern pretty closely.

I love the shoulder and neckline:

I knew the sweater would end up too short, so I added two inches before the bottom zig.  However, I miscalculated how much length I would get from the yoke, so it was still short.  The whole sweater was done at that point…how to add length ABOVE the bottom zig without reknitting the whole sweater??  I cut my sweater in two!

I cut it right at the top of the zig.  The sweater was knit bottom up, but I knit an extra 1-½ inches from the top down.  I wanted to graft at the top of the zig because I thought it would be less noticeable and it would give me a good place to weave in ends.  I ended up splicing my grafting yarn, so had very few ends after all.

I was worried that the grafting line or the newly knitted area would show, but blocking did the trick.  And, the length was what I wanted.

One last detail:

I really love this sweater.  The details are really cute and the fit is great.

PS to Kim: I ordered the leather tags from an Etsy shop.  But, it took so long to get them I had completely forgotten about them!  Imagine my surprise when these cute tags arrived! ::eyeroll::  There are a lot more options out there now because these tags are “in.”  Mine are pretty stiff leather — softer would be better.

I know.  It’s been a long time since I posted.  I was under a big deadline over the summer and fall and did very little knitting.  Now I’m revising instead of writing so I have a bit more time for my favorite activity.

Before I post a recent project, though, I want to bid a very sad farewell to Shibui Knits.  They are closing their doors — no longer selling yarn.  I first encountered Shibui yarn at a store in Portland when my son was a student at Reed College.  I fell in love, especially with Silk Cloud.  There are many silk and mohair lace weight yarns out there, but none are as beautiful to me as Silk Cloud.  The colors!  The luminosity!  I also loved Pebble, especially when held double.  When I read the announcement that they were shutting down, I went on a panicky web search for some of their yarns.  I realized it was madness.  I have so much other yarn in my stash and so many projects I want to knit with other yarns.  I am going to hold on to the memories.  (Although some of their yarns may be on their way to my house . . . )  Goodbye Shibui!  We loved you!

Back to business.  One of the few sweaters I was able to complete over the past few months was Harper.  Unfortunately, this pattern isn’t available on Ravelry.  It’s a String Yarns pattern which you can purchase on their site.  A friend of Susan’s had knit it, and that’s how I heard about it.  I already had the yarn — their Dolcetto DK (merino and cashmere) in a beautiful charcoal — and wasn’t sure what to make out of it.  Susan suggested Harper and I cast on.

I made a few changes.  First, I lengthened it several inches.  Next, I switched out the set-in sleeve for a “T-shape” shoulder.  Then I picked up the sleeves and knit down.  Finally, because the front splits at the hem where the cable starts, I decided to mimic that split on the sleeve at the wrist.

My photos are NOT great — combination of winter light, dark yarn, and a sweater that looks better on a person than it does on an armless mannequin.  It’s simple but elegant.  The yarn is wonderful — butter soft and a dream to knit with.  At the price of that yarn, it should be beautiful!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe, healthy, and happy New Year.  Thank you for reading us.

PS from Susan to Pru: It’s true the cashmere yarn called for for Harper is $53/skein, but Dolcetto DK is only $28.  It totally feels like cashmere and has great yardage: 206 yds instead of 154.  It would only take 7-8 skeins instead of 9 for the largest size.

Here is a hat I made for John using leftover Dolcetto Worsted.  I didn’t have enough, so I added the Malabrigo Worsted cream yarn to stretch what I had.

I attempted to “fix” the fair isle pattern break — the far right >><< pattern.  The pattern is Laurelhurst, free on Ravelry.   A nice, quick holiday gift idea!!

I just finished this cute Chunky Fiola Headband and really enjoyed making it!  I used CaMaRose Snefnug, color Askegr (!) – that’s light gray to you!!  🙂  The yarn is of the “blown” variety and super soft.  This took 1.4 skeins, so 3 skeins would make two.

You start by knitting a long tube, which takes a day or two.  This is a gift for my daughter, so I made it longer — about 24 inches.  I had read on someone’s project page that you lose a couple of inches in length when you do the chains.  You drop 3 sts all the way down in 2 places for the two chains.  Then you hook back up, four loops at a time.  That was the fun part!!  Then you do some weird folding and seaming.   The pattern includes full photo tutorials.  So, a very quick and unusual gift!  Super warm.

I love it!!

PS to Alison:  The method described was pretty fast.  Three sts were dropped that were right next to each other, so it had to be done after knitting.