theraineysisters knitting and so much more

This is not an ox-free zone! Musk ox, that is! Surly gifted me a skein of qiviut from one of her recent arctic journeys. I couldn’t decide what to make at first, but thought a small scarf would check all the boxes: a. be visible when worn, b. use all of the yarn, c. not “wear out” like mitts, d. feel good against the skin.  I have made so may Sophies that I wanted something a little different.  I found Scarf No. 4 designed by My Favorite Things.  A simple stitch pattern with a Sophie vibe.  The increases are worked every 4 instead of every 8 rows, but this pairs perfectly with the 1×1 ribbing.  Pretty ingenious actually. I twisted the ribbing for improved appearance. I, of course, used my continuous i-cord cast on and i-cord edges instead of what the pattern called for.

The scarf turned out extremely well. It is very soft and quite a classic! Merci, Surly!!

After making my recent Rose Coaster Bouquet, I showed it around to my crafting peeps. One of them said that pansies would be really cute on the coaster. I agreed! I dove in immediately! After all, I had placed crocheted pansies on my Sophie Scarf, so I knew I had a nice pansy pattern.

Once I started, though, I realized that the Sophie pansies were too small, so I had to adapt it to be larger. I sewed them on, and really liked the coaster, but the flat pansies do not work for a “bouquet.” Oh well.

But, it looks like I only crochet! This little project was just too cute and too fun to pass by. It is a pattern that is available on Ravelry, called Rose Bouquet Coaster. It’s only two bucks!!

It looks like a cute little bouquet of crocheted roses…but, wait! It unfurls to reveal a cute coaster!

I sent off Surly’s yarn and squares for her own Geddy Tee.

Her main color is Malabrigo Rios Denim.

I have also been playing around with a knitted granny square.  I wanted to teach the Geddy Tee as a class, but many of my knitting friends don’t crochet.  I checked out Ravelry and found a square by Barb Salpekar that I used as a starting point for my version.  I’m pretty happy with it.  I will share it initially with people who sign up for the class, but I’ll probably put it up on Ravelry at some point.

Here are the two squares (the left one is knitted):

Not perfect, but close enough!!  Happy cro-knitting!!

PS to Marina:  I did use Betty Salpekar’s pattern for my initial inspiration and asked her if I could adapt it.  She is credited in the pattern I came up with, as well.  My square is quite different than hers and will be published for free after the Geddy Tee class I’m teaching gets started.  I will announce when it is available in the next couple of weeks.

When this pattern dropped, I was the first in line to buy!  I fell in love with this cutie: Geddy Tee.  I love crocheting, especially granny squares.  This top takes 4-6 squares, and are super easy to do.  The pattern itself is well-written and straightforward.

I wanted a denim blue for my main color, but then this darker blue spoke to me.  I should have stuck with my first choice, but forged ahead (I was unable to exchange the yarn).  I had trouble coming up with the perfect color choice for the squares until I landed on this.

I think this is the cutest tee I’ve ever made.  I absolutely love it.

Sister Surly wants to make this, too, but doesn’t crochet.  I bought the lighter denim for her and will do the squares.  I will share the squares that I come up with…I will have square envy!!  😉

And if you didn’t already, you still have time to favorite my Aal Ower Toorie!!

PS to Chloe: You might be able to enlist a crocheting friend to make the squares.  Like I said, they are quite basic to do.

Ah, the tortured title strikes again!  My latest FO is chockful of ribbing, from top to extended bottom.  It is the world famous Anker, my version being based on the Anker Summer Shirt.  Petiteknit has put out multiple iterations of this sweater, and it is extremely popular.  I knit this out of Noro Silk Garden Sock Solo, color S82 Kawasaki.  The yarn is VERY thick and thin.  So much so that most patterns I tried just did not work.  That is why I settled on the very simple Anker.

It’s a great sweater.  Obviously, I added long sleeves.   I had so much yarn!!  The only problem is that it says spring, but is too warm for spring/summer.  Oh, well!!

Surly and I often are inspired to knit the same things.  Recently we fell in love with Old Compass Cowl, designed by Trin-Annelie.  The subtle colors and unusual styling called my name!!  The pattern had not yet dropped, but the kits were available directly from Holst Garn.  At the time, the kit cost $17.49.  Yes, you read that correctly.  $17.49.  With shipping, it was $32.  I just checked, and now it’s about $22.50.  The kit had enough yarn for two cowls, with the exception of the dark blue — one more skein would have been enough to knit the second!!

The yarn is strange — very thin with a dry, string-like texture.  It wasn’t unpleasant to knit with, but blocking really softened it up!

The following picture shows my jog correction.  Can’t see it?  That’s the point!! 😉  I get asked how I correct the jog.  It is a process!  Basically, I rechart the last repeat of the round.

While visiting Surly in Tucson, we went to a mercado and saw some really cute Old Compass necklaces.  We hadn’t made our cowls yet, but the necklaces were adorable.  Lo and behold, Surly sent me a necklace as an early birthday present!

It’s less than 3/4″ across!  I just love it!

PS to Anne: the designer did mention the spinning oils in the yarns and suggested starting the blocking process with a hot bath.  I did that and the water turned really murky.  Then I soaked it in tepid water per usual.  I don’t know if a double soak was necessary, but whatever I did really softened it up!

Another Slipover!!  I am in love with slipovers!  I think they are so wearable and practical.  I have made a few already and here is the latest.  The pattern is called Slipover.  Yep.  That’s the name.  It is difficult to search for on Ravelry because every slipover pops up.

I made a few changes to this bottom-up vest.  First, I split the hems longer than the pattern called for.  Then, when doing the decreases, I moved them a couple of sts so that the decrease line would mimic the ribbing:

On the last row of decreases (when you reach the final stitch count), I started the ribbing across both the front and the back.  I dropped the neckline a bit, too, because some people said it was too high.  I used my favorite knitters’ graph paper to draw out the revised shaping: ABC’s of Knitting Actual Size Graph Papers.  This graph paper can recreate ANY gauge!  Just be sure to print it actual size, not “fit to page.”

The yarn I used is Berroco Ultra Alpaca, color Avocado, 4 skeins.  It is really lovely yarn that I used for my Lulu Slipover last year!

I already have found other slipover patterns that I like.  I don’t know when this craze will let up…at least in MY queue!!

PS to Millie: I used 370 grams, not including any waste.  That’s the weight of my finished Slipover.

PPS to Kaye: Sorry to hear you have health issues, and I also love the versatility of the slipover!

That is not a typo!  I just finished up the Shetland Wool Week hat of 2025: Aal Ower Toorie.  Shameless self promotion: I would love it if you favorited my Aal Ower project!

When I saw this year’s toorie, I just jumped!  I love the retro vibe!  Or is it a harlequin vibe?  I’m not sure.

And almost all of my other SWW hats:

All are knit out of Shetland jumperweight wool from stash.

I also crocheted this Baby Hippo!  She is named Helly, my Innie Hippo (shameless reference to Severance :)).  I do have a thing for hippos!!  The yarn is Circulo Amigurumi Pelucia.

Yes, it’s birthday time!  Surly is celebrating a birthday today.  I hope she remembers that I sent her an early gift!!

Surly has embarked on several exciting journeys this year, some planned and some unplanned.  She weathered them all.  On her bucket list was seeing polar bears and whales.

She took this picture on a recent adventure.  Stay young, little sister!!  And see you in a few weeks!

PS to Lois regarding the Roslin Hoodie.  Yes, there is an error on the size small hood.  After the increases, there should be a total of 93 sts, not 83.  Thanks for letting us know!