Citron

March 16, 2010 by Angela Leese

Sunday morning, I had nothing to work on knitting-wise. I had pushed myself to finish the monster for Dylan and had started another mini-version that I wasn’t exactly loving. I went through my stash and decided it was about time that I use the skein of Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Sock I’d picked up weeks ago and hadn’t gotten around to using yet. Well, I had started a Traveling Woman shawl but it wasn’t working “right” to me. Finally decided to copy the pack of gals who were at Fibre Space Thursday night and make a sock yarn-weight Citron.

This Citron is going so, so much faster than the first. The earlier Citron was my first foray into laceweight yarn and bored me to tears. This one had no laceweight challenges and I’m really quite good at making consistent Make 1′s at this point. I’m a bit closer to the end of the ball than I had expected, having just completed the fourth repeat, so I decided to go straight to the ruffle. Danielle requested mini socks out of the sock yarns her shop carries, anyway, so the leftovers (likely very small) will be put to good use.

As per usual, I have no idea who the final recipient of this is going to be. I’m going to try to keep it for myself but suspect I’ll be just as allergic to this yarn as I was to the Miss Babs. Can knit with it, no problem but put it on my neck and I begin to itch immediately. Whether I keep it for myself or give it away, it is going to be gorgeous when complete.

Out of the Darkness

February 4, 2010 by Angela Leese

I have no real reason for not having blogged except my life isn’t overly exciting right now. School has started up again and I’m still working a few hours a week. Weekends are spent catching up and spending time with Matt. I feel like I’m never home, always on campus until late. I have been doing a bit of kntiting, though most of what I’m about to show you was completed before classes began.

We’ll begin with the finished objects.

First, the sweater I made for Matt (at his request). Although I started it before our holiday cruise, it wasn’t finished until early January. It’s made in my new favorite yarn: Berroco Vintage. A 50/50 blend of wool and acrylic means it’s warm, has a decent drape, and, most importantly, it can survive a trip in the washing machine. The pattern is just a basic bottom-up raglan.

I accidentally had two stitches in stockinette between the decreases instead of one but I really like the look. He loves the sweater though says it’s a little warmer than he’d like. I just point out that he’s going to love the warmth when he’s skiing this coming weekend.

As I’m sure is pretty obvious, I love knitting lace shawls. Now that I’ve basically run out of relatives to make them for, I’ve turned to knitting them for other knitters. If you ever want me to knit you a shawl, either provide pattern and yarn or make me something in exchange.

I’ve made two Damsons, one for Kel and one for Holly. Kel’s was knit in Dream in Color Smooshy and Holly’s in Fiberphile Squishy Sock. I know the colors of each are lusted over, but i wasn’t a fan of the yarn bases themselves. Dream in Color was oddly squishy and Fiberphile wasn’t spun nearly as tightly as I would have liked.

Then, there’s this poor shawl which doesn’t have an owner. It’s made using Happy Feet and the Traveling Woman pattern. It’s a really lovely shawl, just doesn’t have a recipient. If you’d like it, leave me a comment (with your email address filled in the comment form) and I’ll be in touch RE: sending it to you.

Then there are the WIPs….nothing super exciting to explain so here’s a few photos.

The thrilling first inch of the back of the Minimalist Cardigan I’m making for Alison.

The start of a Grace Lace Beret for Maegan.

And, lastly, my first ever item in laceweight yarn, Citron from Knitty in Malabrigo Lace.

FO: Odessa for Leah

November 11, 2009 by Angela Leese

One day, when we were busy working on statistics homework, Leah asked me to make her a hat (or did I offer?). Being wool-allergic, the Dark Horse Fantasy was the perfect choice and, hey, I had it in one of her favorite colors. I started making it Sunday night and finished it this afternoon. I’m certainly going to make the pattern again, it’s the perfect combination of simplicity and complexity.

Homebody

November 7, 2009 by Angela Leese

I barely left the house today – only long enough to pick up breakfast. Between having the smoker on in the backyard and the guys from the gas company replacing our gas meter, we couldn’t really leave the house. I probably would have gone to the knitting shop except Matt’s leaving tomorrow on business so I’m in the treasure-every-moment phase of preparing for him to leave.

Oh, and here’s how far I’ve gotten on the sweater.

New Sweater Idea

November 5, 2009 by Angela Leese

I did wind up starting a new sweater, after all. I blame Beth and Rosemary and their NaKniSweMo efforts. While I’m not going to be making the same pattern as them, I am joining them in spirit. I decided on the Sage Blouse (Rav Link).

The pattern actually calls for the Rowan Cashcotton DK so, hey, I know it’ll work. I really love the sleeve detail and the sort of, kind of lace pattern at the yoke. I haven’t gotten very far, as you can see, but that’s not surprising as my main knitting days are weekend days. Matt’s gone next week for work so I expect to do even more knitting in the evening.

So much for that idea..

November 3, 2009 by Angela Leese

Here’s what my sweater looked like before I frogged it:

Yes. Before I frogged it. The reason is two-fold: 1) the yarn makes me itch like no tomorrow and 2) the pattern was needlessly confusing. I could probably have really focused my energy on ignoring the yarn itchiness and figuring out the pattern but, really, I just don’t feel like it.

Will I start another sweater? Maybe. I don’t really have any other projects in projects that I’m too thrilled with. I have a bunch of Rowan CashCotton I could use and there’s a million patterns out there for DK weight yarn. For now, though, I’m putting the whole idea of knitting a sweater this month aside.

Check with me in an hour when I’ve already changed my mind and am swatching CashCotton for something. If I do, you’ll hear about it tomorrow.

(Oh, this is my first post on my pretty new computer. Er, Matt and I’s pretty new computer. It’s a Mac, my first since I was little. I sort of kind of know how to use it but, really, I’m mostly going to use it to surf the web/blog.)

NaKniSweMo – Well, we’ll see

November 2, 2009 by Angela Leese

NaKniSweMo – or, National Knit a Sweater Month – is my latest crazy attempt to knit something with a deadline. While two adult sweaters I’ve made previously took less than a month each, I am worried this one will take far longer because I’ll get distracted. Yes, setting a deadline may distract me from accomplishing this. When it comes to school and work, deadlines rule – knitting, forget it. I’ll try to post some progress photos every few days (yes – instant blog fodder!) but don’t be surprised if they all wind up being iPhone photos.

So, what am I knitting? Trellis and Vine Pullover from the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. It’s a simple raglan sweater with great cable and lace details. Most of it’ll be miles of stockinette, perfect for bus rides, TV knitting, and talking to Matt while he makes dinner. I’m using the 8 balls of deep red Ella Rae Classic I got to make Matt a sweater (before he shifted my priorities for him to knitted ski accessories). It’s not a wool I can wear right next to my skin but I should be fine wearing a long sleeve shirt underneath.

I just started this afternoon after swatching this morning. It’s worsted where the pattern calls for DK. With my gauge, I’ll be knitting the 32″ pattern to wind up with my size (35″). This is a bit of an experiment but it should work out fine. (Or so I keep telling myself.)

FO: Deb’s Textured Shawl

September 22, 2009 by Angela Leese

Real creative name, huh? It’s a shawl using the Textured Shawl pattern and was made for my husband’s second cousin, Deb. One day, creativity will be mine and ya’ll aren’t going to know what hit you. Wait for it, it’s coming. (Maybe.)

When we went to Deleware in late August, our plan was to spend a day at the beach. Sure, we went to the beach (Rehobeth, to be specific) but it was closed due to a hurricane. Apparently closed beach = boardwalk still open and you can put your feet in the water.

After grabbing some pizza at the place Matt has talked about for ages (but whose name I can’t remember) and fries from another Rehobeth-famous place, everyone wanted to go put their feet in the water for a bit. Deb and I, we had other plans.

See, Deb is also a fiber type. She mainly sews and crochets but has tried knitting before, too. She’d heard – from me – that there was a yarn shop just a few blocks off the main drag and, better yet, it was open. The store (Kitschy Stitch) was a small but jam-packed shop with lots of Rowan, Araucania, Classic Elite, Cascade, and lots of other brands I don’t remember. Somehow I managed to restrain myself until I decided that Deb needed a shawl. I let her choose between several options and she picked a deep blue cotton and bamboo blend (Queensland Collection Cotton Bamboo). She insisted on paying for the yarn despite the fact this was supposed to be a gift – she even made me a great drawstring bag for WIPs as a thank you!

The shawl pattern is great though, as last time, I got really bored about a 1/3 of the way through. Thankfully, I stuck with it because the result is amazing. Cotton provides structure, bamboo just enough drape. I would love to get more of this yarn for future don’t-necessarily-have-to-block shawls.

FO: Sproingy Socks

September 3, 2009 by Angela Leese

Yet another pair of socks I wanted to keep but eventually gave to Beth. These ones are GORGEOUS yet too wide for my feet. Danggit. Thanks, Beth, for accepting them so graciously!

I’ve made this pattern (Spring Forward from the Summer 2008 Knitty) before and had forgotten just how quickly it goes. Did them toe up using the slipped stitch heel instructions from Wendy Johnson’s Nanner Socks. The Malabrigo yarn isn’t my favorite though it’s up there – great texture and color but it’s not true fingering weight – more heavy laceweight – and doesn’t have quite the twist I prefer in sock yarn. I’ve still got another cake of it around here that I’ll use to Alison a pair of lighter-weight socks.

Ravelry details here.

FO: Placket-neck Pullover

August 31, 2009 by Angela Leese

Several months ago I decided to make a baby sweater for Matt’s cousin, Rachel, who was having a baby in the late summer. She loves bright colors and I figured, hey, this is a great opportunity to knit in colors people don’t usually use for babies. And I had the perfect yarn – bright blues and greens from Cherry Tree Hill. I picked a pattern (the Gardi Stitch Baby Cardi I made for a school friend) and got to work. Stupidly, I decided to 1) not make real sleeves and 2) put the project aside for three months before I put on the buttons. In that time, I came to realize that the project was a dud and I’d have to – brace yourself – toss the project and knit something else. It just couldn’t be saved.

This sweater is the re-do. Sure, the yarn’s a much more normal color but, hey, the baby (named Vera) is already here and in need of a handknit sweater. The pattern was a little boring with all the stockinette but I learned something! I learned how to knit a raglan from the bottom up, one of those skills I have somehow skipped learning thus far. Seaming was a bit of a pain but that’s something I’ve only ever done once or twice before.

(Special thanks to the designer for distributing this pattern free. It was published in a book but, due to what I’ve heard are numerous errors by the publisher, has been released in corrected PDF form. You went above and beyond.)

Project Ratings
Yarn: 7 (soft and great colors but splitty and overspun)
Yarn/Pattern Combination: 8
Execution: 8 (suck at underarm seaming)
Pattern – Overall: 9
- Instructions: 9
- Finishing: 4 (“sew seams at underarms” may be enough for others but I’m an idiot)
- Stitch pattern(s): N/A
- Interestingness: 7
- Desire to remake: 6

Ravelry project page here

needles & vectors

Tag Archives: Knitting