FOs: oatmeal and ginger

These are both from two weeks ago but it took awhile for me to set up a tripod. But they're both done! The Ginger Skirt is done! Please excuse the wrinkled skirt and the extremely awkward poses (and don't look too closely at the seams); it's far from perfect but it's the first thing I sewed on my new sewing machine and I'm proud of it enough that I'll probably wear it in public and just hope no one stares at it too critically. 

My plan is to make a few more of this pattern as I get comfortable using the sewing machine - I love the high waist and the A line cut and would love to see how it looks in some more conventional fabrics (I used quilting cotton here, which probably wasn't the wisest choice.) And, also! While I didn't make the shoes, I did, sorta, design them in Vietnam, in that I picked the heels, colors and laces out at one of the many shoe-makers in Hoi An, so, yay for that! 

The second FO in this post is a return to much more familiar waters - the Oatmeal Pullover is a quick, satisfying knit that definitely restored my occasionally flagging knitting confidence. Like many other Ravelers, I knit it using Puffin by Quince & Co in Carrie's Yellow, and like many other Ravelrers, I added an extra row between the shoulder increases, and I'm pretty happy with both the color and the fit. I could definitely see myself making more of these in the future, because bulky yarn + nice loose gauge = crazy fast satisfying knitting.

Raveled here. 

fo: p u r l s c a r f for maggie

Hooray, it's done! The congratulatory purl scarf for my sister is done! 

I used Malabrigo Worsted, madelinetosh merino light and Rowan kidsilk haze, and I love the way they look together. I stopped measuring it, though I suspect it's not quite as long as the pattern calls for - but it's still taller than me, and definitely long enough to loop comfortably around her neck. 

The photos don't really do the pretty yarns in this scarf justice. Not the most thrilling project to knit, but I could definitely see making one for myself in the future - perhaps with bigger needles and casting on a few more stitches, since this one is a lot skinnier than I pictured. So, yay scarf! Yay for managing to finish projects despite working round the clock!

Raveled here. 

fo: i n t h r e e s

First FO of 2013 is also my first ever knitted gift for a baby! I don't know many people with babies - or at least, not people I know well enough to spring a handmade knitted gift on - but two friends of mine that I met five years ago in Vietnam had a baby girl a few weeks ago. Knowing nothing about babies, I can only hope that this fits and is the kind of thing she can wear maybe in the Spring when she gets a tiny bit bigger. 

The pattern is In Threes, and I used Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted in sage - which looked greener on the website (I'd been aiming for gender neutral, though no one could possibly care about pink or blue for boys and girls any more, right? Please say yes?) It's more of a robin's egg blue, though, which works for me since that's one of my favorite colors, and hopefully it works for the baby (or at least her parents). Also, it's crazy soft and superwash. 

The only modification I made was that I didn't include the garter bands that run down from the arm pits. This sweater knit up in five days of lazy knitting (babies, it's awesome how tiny you all are!), and I flagrantly disregarded my New Year's resolution to watch exclusively quality TV programming by devouring probably about ten episodes of Once Upon a Time to keep me company as I knit it. 

Raveled here. 

last FOs of 2011

I managed to finish two more projects before the end of the year, though it took me awhile to photograph them. The first was a Spring Beret in a yellow skein (I bought and wound it over a year ago, and can't remember the exact colorway now!)  of Madtosh vintage, on size seven needles (rather than the larger needles used in the pattern); I didn't have any of the larger sizes handy, so instead I knit an extra pattern repeat to maintain slouchiness, which I think worked out okay. I was never in love with this yarn color, which is why it took me so long to use it, but I actually like it a lot more in hat form now - it's a bright, sunny color that goes with everything, so I think it'll get a lot of wear. 

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that most of this hat was knit during an eleven and a half hour long Lord of the Rings (extended version!) marathon with some family friends. The hat took me the better part of one movie, I'd guess from between Gandalf's arrival in the Shire through the one where they were hanging out with Galadrial, if that's the sort of thing that makes sense to you. I really should have brought a bigger project along. Seriously, eight hour of tv watching without knitting was painful. But then, so was eleven hours of tv watching, period. Good to know that there are limits to my ability to be sedentary after all, because sometimes even I worry. (Raveled here) 

My Mara shawl, on the other hand, was knit in slightly less nerdy adventures, mostly in hostel rooms and buses while traveling through South America. I brought three skeins of Madelinetosh DK in Sugarplum (a gorgeous, sugary violet pretty enough to make me forget my usual aversion to purples and pastels). I joined the last ball a few rows after starting the ribs and still ran out of a yarn a maddening twelve stitches short of a complete bind-off. I was so desperate not to have to frog (I love the ribbed section best of all and didn't want to shorten it) that I was actually cutting off the loose ends to see if I could scrounge up enough yarn, but nothing worked. In the end, I found a spectacularly helpful Raveler who was somehow able to sell me a spare skein of the suddenly hard-to-find colorway and ship it to me in the midst of all the holidays. At four skeins, this shawl ended up costing a sweater's worth of yarn, but I'm okay with it because I love this shawl. I wore it all the time in Seattle, and it's amazing, like being allowed to go in public with a blanket wrapped around you but without the social stigma against going out in public with a blanket wrapped around you. I got compliments from cool grad students and my 91 year old grandmother alike. I may never take this thing off, seriously. 

Raveled here. 

FO : traveling marilindas

They're done! Actually they've been done almost a month now - after spending half the summer working on the first sock, I blazed through the second one over a few bus rides and one day of staying in the hostel while traveling; I was just lazy about photographing them (and even lazier about getting the colors right; the middle photo is probably the most accurate). But! They're done and they're my first pair of socks in sock yarn ever, so I'm unreasonably proud of them. 

These were an awesome project for traveling, because it was intricate enough to distract me from our numerous long bus rides, but varied enough that I never got bored, the way I sometimes do with lace (sorry, lace). They were also knit in an absurd amount of places: the first sock was started in Seattle, worked on in Los Angeles and Oakland, then Ollantaytambo and Parobamba (I finished the first while at the natural dye workshop, much to the interest of Nilson and Aknar); the second was started in Parobamba, and worked on in or on buses between Puno (Peru), La Paz, Sucre and Uyuni (Bolivia) and finally finished in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

Yay, socks! 

Raveled here. 

FO : tea leaves cardigan

It's done! Actually it was done almost a week ago, but it took me a long time to block, sew buttons and then drag Iain out for some photos in front of the Inca wall on the other side of town. 

Hey look, it's my standard awkward sweater pose! 

I blazed through this sweater because I desperately need another sweater out here in Ollanta, and I can already tell this is a sweater I'll wear all the time (though maybe not here, because something about life in this town thrashes your clothes, and this sweater is too pretty to be thrashed). The pattern was very easy to follow, and  I made very little adjustments to the pattern, just omitting the increases under the arms and knitting at a very slightly tighter gauge to get a slightly more fitted sweater. I also added button holes all the way down, as you can see - I like the fastened at the top look, but I think it'll get more wear through the winter this way.

I really loved everything about using Codex by Sanguine Gryphon (starting with the colorway name - On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl) and am holding my breath to see how it looks after a few wearings. I love single ply yarn, and could easily see this becoming my go-to such yarn for sweaters. The color is difficult to describe, but is absolutely gorgeous. I was a lazy knitter and did not switch skeins, but I think I got away with it? 

Much as I love this sweater, I can't help but feel that the Inca wall steals the show in these photos, because really, how cool is this wall?

Raveled here.

FO: (late) midsummer mitts

Another test knit, though I am being woefully late in posting this. This is a super cute pattern by 

Jess of Sushi Pie, which used less than skein of Manos de Uruguay Silk Blend (way less - I actually made three of this glove, because the first was too big!) Though the pattern is only written in one size, I went down to size 4 needles for the entire thing to get a hand-warmer that fits perfectly, and would be perfect for times like right now, when I'm typing in a freezing cafe and wishing I'd brought these along. Anyway, if you like leafy things, you should check these out!

Raveled here. 

FO: boe

This was a test knit for Anke, whose classic, elegant sweater patterns I have long coveted on Ravelry.  This was the first time I was ever so bold as to volunteer myself as a test knitter, though - shyness aside, I also spent the last month moving myself to a remote mountaintop in the Andes - but I'm so happy I did, because this sweater is gorgeous. I love everything about it - the open, airy gauge, the asymmetry, the floppy neck (which looked better when I first blocked it, but got wrinkled before these photos, in the doorway of our homestay, were taken). 

Though Anke's prototype used a pretty linen yarn, I knit my Boe with less than two skeins of madelinetosh Merino Light, on massive size US 9 needles. There are a few odd bits where I'm not sure I did the short rows correctly, but nothing too obvious. Which is good, because though Ollantaytambo may be too cold, this sweater is perfect for springs back home, so I know it'll get a lot of wear :) I'm not totally sure when this pattern will appear on Ravelry, but when it does, I highly, highly recommend it - I already want to make myself another one in black.

Raveled here. 

Machu Picchu and an FO!

We are back in our small Andean mountain town after a weekend at Machu Picchu! It was a bit of a last minute decision to go, but I'm so glad we did - we totally lucked out with the weather, and had an awesome time. 

Also, possibly less excitingly, I was able to finish these Toasty handwarmers on the train to Aguas Calientes, which meant I could wear them the next day before the sun came out and clouds lifted over the ruins. 

The pattern: I used the Toasty pattern only a starting point for the length, but cast on only 30 and then did a modified thumb gusset as follows (the same for both hands):

k15, PM, m1, PM, k15.

k one round.

k to M, sm, M1R, k1, M1L, sm, k to end of round.

k one round.

k to M, sm, k1, MIR, k to 1 stitch before M, MIL, k1, sm, k to end of round.

k one round.

Repeat the previous two rows until there are 11 stitches between the markers. Knit one more round even after the final increase, then, on the next round, slip all thumb stitches to scrap yarn, and CO 2 more stitches using backwards CO.

k one round.

k to 1 stitch before the new CO stitches, SSK, K2tog, k to end of round (and then k to desired hand length - in my case, 3.5 inches above the thumb).

For the thumb, I picked up 2 stitches from the gap, then knit them together on the next round; and worked 9 rounds altogether before binding off.

I'm quite happy with the way these came out! I got slowed down knitting these because I was also working on a test knit, but once I sat down to finish these, they went incredibly fast. They were probably the most simple pattern I'd worked on in ages, and I found it incredibly satisfying to have such a quick, pretty knit.

I was also insanely excited to use the yarn, which was a handspun DK by Pigeonroof Studios - I had it with me for two weeks before I finally had time to use it - I actually put it in my carry on bag just in case my checked bag got lost (this happens to me like, one out of every five times I fly, I swear!) and I really love it. The photo doesn't really do the colors justice - it ranges from coffee browns to more black-cherry-browns to gold, and is so soft and pretty, I can't wait to wear these more! Fortunately, Ollantaytambo is freezing cold, especially at night, so I have plenty of opportunity.

Raveled here. 

FO: Goodale

Despite Iain arriving last weekend (finally! hooray!) I was able to finish up my Goodale cardigan (the reincarnation of an earlier, doomed February Lady) yesterday afternoon, not long after we left Los Angeles for my mother's house in Oakland.

Why yes, those are home grown apples behind me! 

Anyway, Goodale ... sigh. There are so many gorgeous versions of this sweater on Ravelry that I had really high hopes when I began. It definitely turned out better than the February Lady sweater this yarn could have been, but I'm a bit dissatisfied with the end result. The sweater seems really fussy to me, in that everything last to be lying exactly right so as to prevent the pockets from flopping open and looking all weird - as the sweater currently is, I can't really see myself wearing it out much, because I'd never be able to stop worrying that it was all askew. I think what I'll have to do is eventually forgo the pockets, block the thing really carefully and sew the whole thing up so the front lies flat, but I'm just too discouraged by the whole thing to mess with it anymore at the moment.

The yarn I used was Madelinetosh Pashmina, which, despite coming in very tangly skeins and being rather splitty, is still one of my favorite yarns ever. I used size seven needles here, and the fabric has a beautiful drape to it (which may explain why the pockets won't stay put?)

So, that's Goodale for now - I may try and fix up the pockets when I'm in a more problem solving mood, but for now I'm going to put it aside. Just last night I was trying to explain to my mom that I love knitting because it's more forgiving and doesn't demand perfection the way sewing does (much like, to my mind anyway, the way cooking forgives mistakes in ways that baking doesn't - so, knitting is to sewing as cooking is to baking!) - not so much with this sweater, I'm afraid. 

FO: a prototype

Though I haven't been posting much (either to here, or to Ravelry), I *have* been knitting a lot this summer, I swear! In between my two part-time summer jobs, I finally had the chance to finish this hat prototype, and - more importantly - decipher my scrawled notes and turn it into a pattern, which I just put up for test knitting this morning.

I both love and dread test knitting; it's a huge rush to see people make your pattern (or, as I triumphantly pointed out to Iain the first time I saw it happen: "Look at that scarf! I TOLD HER TO DO THAT!") But, the moment I send the PDF off to the testers, I can't stop worrying that it makes no sense, that it won't fit, that I accidentally did that weird thing I can apparently do in Word where you drag bits of text around without realizing it, which totally happened in the final draft of my English honors thesis on the Faerie Queene back in college, and is now preserved for posterity in the basement of the library archives. Anyway. Still, ever-present murmur of anxiety aside, I always get super excited when it comes time to get something test knit. It never ceases to amaze me that there are people willing to donate their time and yarn, and I've always found it to be a really positive experience. 

As for the hat - I drafted the leaf pattern at the start of the summer, but it took ages to get here! It was originally supposed to be a hand-warmer using a totally different pattern, but then I found this slightly crooked leaf in a Japanese stitch library, and tweaked it to come up with this instead, which, as it turns out, looks not so great in a hand-warmer but much nicer (I think, anyway) in a hat. Still undecided as to the name, but - in the Thisbe vein of Ancient Greek lady names - I am tentatively calling it Phaedra.

FO: ishbel

It's done, it's done! It took me way longer to finish this once I'd gotten off the plane and was too busy eating and saying hi to everyone in Oakland, but it's finally done, and I'm so happy with it :) 

I always shied away from lace, in large part because many of my lace projects - include three earlier attempts of this shawl - all ended in disaster. Knitting on an airplane somehow really helped me get over the lace thing - and this pattern is so beautiful that I totally want to knit more lace shawls now. 

Other thoughts on the pattern (Ishbel by Ysolda Teague): I will forever love this pattern for making me love lace. Once I figured out the mistake I'd been making in earlier attempts, the lacework flew by! Just make sure your Sl 1, K2togs, PSSOs all line up, and this pattern is remarkably forgiving of mistakes. I had 400+ yards of sock yarn, so I made a smlarge shawl, knitting the stockinette as if for the small size, and the lace as if for the large. The resulting size is just right, I think - I can wear this over a fancy dress or kind of bunched around my neck in the autumn. 

and the yarn (Juno Fiberarts Alice Sock in Canopy): oh my god, this is the most beautiful yarn I have ever touched. I know knitting bloggers are probably prone to hyperbole when it comes to this sort of thing, but I swear this time I'm serious! I love how soft it is, and the gorgeous variety of colors it comes in - though, tragically, the price (I paid nearly $36 for a skein) and the international shipping (I've only found it in the UK) make this a bit prohibitively expensive.

FO: bulky moebius cowl

This was a fast instant gratification project I knitted two or three days after getting back to Oakland; it was my first attempt at moebius knitting, and even with the time spent puzzling over the helpful Cat Bordhi tutorial on YouTube, it only took a handful of hours. 

The weirdest thing about moebius knitting is that you start from the inside of the loop and work your way to the edges - I didn't realize this at first, and was convinced I was doing something wrong, so it was very cool to see the cowl taking shape. The CO for moebius knitting is fairly easy, but you really do need a looong and flexible circular cable - mine just squeaked by.

The finished cowl is very pretty, though California is too hot for me to think about wearing it any time. Really I just like any excuse to play with Malabrigo Rasta yarn (used here in Archangel) - it's just the most luminously gorgeous bulky weight yarn I've ever seen.

FO: scotland snowbird

Hello from my last day in Aberdeenshire! These last three weeks flew by; despite it being June, it's been cold and rainy most of the time, which left ample time for finishing up my Snowbird sweater. Fortunately the sun came out briefly right after I finished it, so I was able to drag Iain out to take some photos:

I knit this in nine days, which is obscenely fast for me. Once I got started, with little else to do out here, finishing it became a bit of an unhealthy obsession. I knit an entire sleeve in one day and knit 35 cm in another; if I ever get so stupid as to decide to knit something this fast again, I'm definitely going for a shorter sweater with fatter yarn.

My frenetic knitting was made slightly stressful by the fact that this sweater looked like @$*&! while I was knitting it. Fortunately, I steam blocked this rather aggressively with an iron, and am very, very happy to see that steam blocking forgives a number of sins and results in a much softer, much drapier fabric. It's still not perfect, so, um, don't look too closely!

The Pattern: This is a gorgeous sweater, the kind I would buy in a store, and my first purlwise-facing project, which I like quite a bit; the directions are generally easy to follow, though they don't spell things out as much as some others do (something I always appreciate, since if there's a wrong way to do something, that's probably how I'll do it unless firmly ordered otherwise). The construction is not forgiving of mistakes, with some of the seaming or more fiddly bits in very visually central areas, like the shoulders (mine do not look wonderful). The seaming of the back threw me a bit, until some helpful Ravelers pointed out that to do mattress stitch on two different fabrics, you follow mattress stitch directions for stockinette on the stockinette side, and directions for purl-side on the other - a bit obvious when you think about it, but the sort of thing I need pointed out (also I was a bit delirious after my nine day knitting binge and was probably not thinking clearly).

I actually really enjoy seaming, though I'm not very good at it - like I said, I think I may use the last remnants of my yarn to redo the shoulders when I get home - and so I'm less happy with this sweater than others because all the goofs are in the most prominent places of the sweater. But, that's my problem, not the pattern's, and I would definitely recommend this to a confident knitter. And maybe not doing it over nine days!

Modifications: I didn't modify anything, except to knit one sleeve inside out (I knit the other sleeve entirely in purls; not surprisingly, it took three days where the other took one) and then pop it rightside out when I got to the cuffs. So much easier, so much nicer looking. I also purled the last row on the cuffs before binding off knit-wise to minimize rolling, and then blocked it with an iron (like, literally ironed it - not something I think you're supposed to do? but it worked for me) to flatten it even more. I'm not a big fan of curling.

The yarn: I honestly don't remember why I choose this yarn or the color - I seem to remember it being a decent price, though it doesn't fit any of my usual criteria for yarn (either ridiculously soft, or a crazy vibrant color that doesn't actually match anything I own).  Hence, it was a bit boring and scratchy to knit with, but after blocking has transformed into a softer, much drapier fabric that I like much, much more. Though I'm still toying with the idea of dying the whole thing black (it'd cover up all those mistakes in the shoulders!),  I do have to admit that oatmeal, while not the most striking color, definitely goes with almost everything.

PS, The knitting of Snowbird would probably have gone even faster were it not for this grouchy old lady, who developed an instant need to sit on my lap or stand on my project whenever I broke it out. Here she is studying the pattern.