theraineysisters knitting and so much more

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.

That’s what I keep telling myself!!  I just finished the most luxurious thing I think I’ve ever made: The Jayne Wide-Stripe Cardigan in String Yarns Dolcetto DK.  It is BUTTER soft and just luscious!!  And really, really expensive!!  Somehow that last part is not surprising.  It is only 30% cashmere but feels like 100%.

Several people at my LYS, BeWoolen in Champlin MN, have made this.  And I thought it was “all right.”  But I had two skeins of Dolcetto in red (Brick) and maroon (Wine), so I thought, hey!  It takes 10 skeins (at $28/skein) and I already had two…plus they had a sale going, so I decided to go for it.

The knitting seems boring, but because you’re changing colors you have goals to shoot for.  It took me two weeks in all to knit it.  As I was knitting, I also thought my knitting looked rough, but blocking really smoothed it out.

It is very boxy and really only has cuffs for sleeves.  Kind of a plain Jayne!  But I absolutely love wearing it!

I worked the back in one piece and then split for the fronts — up and over!  I would do it the opposite were I to do it again: start with the two fronts and then join them at the center back.  The original was seamed at the back, which is unnecessary!  I added this cute tag at the split.

I had enough yarn left for a fabulous hat!!  The hat pattern is now on Ravelry — Slouchy Five-Stripe Hat.

I also added a tag to the hat — from Kylie and the Machine.  I am really in love this time!

PS to Pam — Surly and I saw some Kylie and the Machine labels at Three Kittens in Mendota Heights.  They didn’t have these in stock, though, so that’s why we ordered them elsewhere.  These were my fave!

Every year our eastern-most yarn stores sponsor a mystery knitalong.  It is called the Progressive East End Project or PEEP.  I did it last year and a couple of times before that.  Initially, the idea was to go from store to store to obtain the yarn needed.  The past couple of years have been virtual.  I think next year they plan on going back to the stores.

The kits needed to be pre-ordered.  I looked at the colors offered at each store and opted for the Three Kittens combination — all stores started with the same mini-pack and then added a skein of their own choosing.  Three Kittens had orange.

The kits arrived.  The first clue then arrived for what they called The Random Acts Cowl.  Off I went!  Problem #1: they had not provided a color key!  So I chose the wrong color.  Problem #2: two of the colors were so close, I couldn’t tell them apart.  This caused me issues later, so I had to add another color from stash.  You knit 4 repeats of the finished chart for a 25 inch cowl.

The cowl is worked as a tube and then grafted.  I started with a crocheted chain provisional cast on and then used the method I used for my friend’s Velvet Mirror Cowl.  It worked great!!  But, the cowl seemed really short.  SO, I ungrafted my cowl, knitted another repeat to get to 30 inches, and then grafted it again.  Of course, now my crocheted chain was gone.  🙁  I did make a cheesy video showing how I grafted the cowl together…the first time around!  See below!

I do like it and people who see it really like it.  I think these double thick cowls feel shorter due to their bulk.  I am currently knitting another cowl similar to this and will make it longer.

Do you take your knitting too seriously??  Isn’t it time to have some fun?  Try knitting this silly, whimsical hat.  I guarantee that you will smile at least once when it’s done!

It’s Scarfy the Snowman!!  In hat form!  In 5 sizes from child to extra large adult!

To celebrate the launch of Scarfy, I am running a series of promotions on Ravelry. Scarfy will be $1 on November 1, $2 on November 2, $3 on November 3, and $4 on November 4 & 5. On November 6, it will be the full price of $5. Coupon code is SCARFY.

ETA: Code has been fixed…please try again!

I hope you enjoy knitting this little project as much as I did!!

You may remember my free Wee Pumpkin pattern from two years ago.  Well, I added a variation!  Plaid!

Still free and just in time for pumpkin season!!

I’ve been chastised for knitting a snowman already — what about Halloween? Thanksgiving? Whatever! 😉

Here is my new little snowman, knit loosely following the Christmas Snowman by Rebecca Danger.

The hat is a miniaturized version of my favorite Rikke Hat.  I wanted a really slouchy hat and adore the Rikke.  I was surprised at how much knitting it took to make a mini!  Follow the above link for instructions.  Here you can see the slouch:

I will be co-hosting a “seasonal KAL” at BeWoolen starting next Sunday, so that’s why I knit him now.  Wee Pumpkins, snowmen, whatever you want to knit!!