FO: One piece of sky

This isn't quite finished - the bands need steaming - but I was desperate to share it online. (Pictures replaced now it's done!) Bob Morley and Bill King kind of jointly gave me this idea - to knit an entire cardigan or jumper in one piece. I calculated the pattern in Knitware using a swatch, as a raglan v-neck sweater. Then I tweaked the figures a little to make it work. The front short-rowing was actually originally meant to bend the other way but I decided I quite liked it as it was in the end.

To work all this out I printed some graph paper from here, based on my tension swatch. Then draw various lines for the angles you want, and see what the stitch and row ratios are. You get different angles in partial knitting depending on the ratio of how many needles are held over how many rows. For almost "square" turns, you need to reduce by 2 needles every 3 rows (it's actually 47 degrees with this yarn's tension and gauge, but what's 2 degrees between friends?). To keep things simple, every time I was on a row that was NOT divisible by 3, I held another needle, until all but 1 were out of work. The needles are then returned into work in the same manner - though you could construct some interesting shapes by NOT keeping to the same ratio!

For the raglan decreases it was 1 needle held every 1 row, so very easy to remember. The sleeve called for increases every 7 rows, so I made it every 6 rows to accomodate the short row turn at the bottom where there is NO shaping - I did try that on my first attempt, but the maths was too complex when you are shortrowing AND decreasing for the first half of the sleeve. So the sleeves are a smidge too long.

After doing two "square" turns, the second half of the sleeve is knitted whilst hanging the first half's edge every two rows, so it is joined as I go. Likewise for the back. There is some casting on and off between the sleeves and body to adjust for the different widths required. It's almost easier to knit than it is to explain. You could add more partial turns to the sleeves and fronts / backs, for peplum effects. I added a wrapped e-wrap edge to the sleeves and knitted a simple lace edge to counteract the curl at the hem, and knitted a long strip of rib for the button band. Luckily I had some perfectly matched ceramic buttons for this too! 

I thought James C Brett marble chunky was perfect for something like this, as it shows off the partial knitting very well. I hope to steam the bands soon and take more photos - WFH means not a lot of ironing is being produced at the moment in this house, and it's a pain to get the ironing board out for just one thing, as it is usually done in the living room and blocks access. My next project is sewing though so I might set the iron up in my craft room for that. I've more of this yarn too, it being a 1kg bag from Uppinghams. There's no reason why you couldn't do this on a standard gauge machine either.

The name is "One piece of sky", because we are all labouring under one piece of sky at the moment, seperate, alone, yet working together for the greater good.

Current mood: impressed that it fits rather well, given the maths! :)

FO: Rainbow wrap cardigan

To all those whining about lockdown - not being able to go shopping, to the gym, to the hairdressers. Yes, I agree to some extent. Of all things, I miss browsing in bookshops and WHSmiths, popping out for coffee and a naughty cake. This week I'm on enforced staycation, as the event I was attending on Wednesday was cancelled, and not even campsites are open at the moment. But I say - the house is a lot bigger than a coffin. If you have craft skills, or indeed, any hobby you've been meaning to get to - now is the perfect time!

With that in mind, this cardigan was planned late last year - originally based on the Lucy"coatigan", I had intended it to be longer, but 50g balls of Noro don't make stripes that long, alas. After a false start with a boring 2x2 rib, I realised I could use "sew as you go" for all the strips, so the body is made in one piece of 12 strips, with a simple tubular hem with latched edge. Likewise the sleeves. The reason for making it out of 24s wide strips is that I love the slow colour changes of this yarn, and the wider the strip, the shorter the stripes are (you can see that in the sleeve heads). I added buttons so that the fronts can be closed up one way or the other, so there are 3 ways to wear the cardigan - I love garments that have options. I didn't fancy adding fringe - though it would have made it look "wild west" - so added tubular bands to the front edges too. It's cozy for the cool spring nights we're having here. On reflection, making it longer would also have made it heavier, and almost 800g of yarn is enough for anyone to carry around :) Because I love anything colourful, it is 16 different shades of Noro Kureyon. With the exception of the sleeve seams, the whole cardigan has been joined on the machine (Brother KH260 chunky).

The yarn, being 100% wool, has been spit-spliced whenever knots came up. I've made the leftovers into a magic ball in the same fashion, not quite sure what I will do with it yet, probably felt it and decide when I see what size piece I get. Excuse the expression on my face, my partner was larking about with the camera and I'm looking into the sun.

The weather has been really nice for early spring, and we've been for lots of local walks where I got to take some lovely pictures of bluebells, the only other thing I was really hankering after this week - Badby village is famous for the bluebell wood, but it's much further than we ought to be travelling at the moment.

Current mood: happy

FO: more hats

When you finish knitting garments, you always have yarn leftover. I make it into hats usually.





The two sides of the reversible hats - sorry for the rough pictures, it's a PITA to keep switching flash on and off on the Nikon, the buttons keep losing their function. The left one came out on the larger size, because it's actually donated DK yarn.



This is leftover sparkly yarns. Very pretty, came out a bit long - it's a modification of the single thickness version of this pattern, but I reduced the stitch count, and I'm glad I did because it came out on the large side.

I also knitted a T-time top but I might redo it - as I was using DK not aran it came out somewhat smaller than I thought it would, and I need to use up as much of the yarn as I can (the second size came out kind of teen sized). I also knitted some swatches, which need to go into the wash.

My current go-to project, seeing as handknitting, crochet and sewing are denied:



I also did a little more weaving, but there's not much to show for that at the moment.

Current mood: okay

FO: red cardigan and Lucy coatighan

Finished this on Thursday night, would've worn it earlier but it wasn't dry. The yarn (Patons wool blend aran) was rather rough when knitted, but softened up a treat. My new favourite cardigan. Literally had just enough to finish the fringe, and luckily I accidentally bought an extra ball of the wine coloured yarn because I needed it.



Finished this on Saturday - the crepe yarn reflected the flash, it's actually a lovely deep red.

And when I wasn't doing that, I was threading up this, most of the weekend (it's going to be a table runner):


I'm going to stop using the, count the wraps and divide by 2 method for working out epi and use the various reference tables I've since found online. I warped it as 8 epi and then realised that was too loose so resleyed it as 10 epi, which is still on the loose side. I really don't like warping back to front, it's such a PITA. Would much rather use the reed as the raddle. Got some weaving books on order so that should help.

Himself is on his way back from the third snowboarding trip this year - house has been very quiet without him but I kept myself busy.

Current mood: okay

Undefeated

The title is from a Def Leppard song - actually I think it's about boxing - but hey I like it and it's a catchy tune. Well, I am an Aries ram, so will continue to craft as long as I have breath in my body (or unless told otherwise). Call it stubbornness, call it bloody-mindedness.. call it what you will.

This weekend I swapped the SK860 out for the KH260 (midgauge for chunky) - it was like saying hello to an old friend really. I cast on for "Lucy", a large cardigan/coatigan pattern from Karabee Designs in bold stripes of plum, grey and cream. So far I've done the back and one front. Can't wait to knit the rest (maybe Monday night?). No, I didn't both to swatch, naughty me - it's a one size pattern anyway and I presume it'll be an oversize hug of a cardigan. I hope so! Alas, Karabee doesn't seem to have a website, nor even an email address. I wonder if they've heard of Etsy?

I'm also working on my second commissioned machine-knit for my friend Y - another cardigan, but this time not such a long one. I've only enough yarn to knit the second sleeve so need to pick up more on Wednesday. I've been pleasantly surprised how well DK (in this case, Mercia Wools DK Merino Crepe) knits up on the standard gauge knitting machine at T7. I didn't swatch it on the midgauge, I think it would have been too loose even at T1.

I've not really resolved the RSI issue; other than just sewing up in small bursts and avoiding any hand-knitting or crochet completely, I don't see there's much more I can do. Did find some useful exercises on Youtube though - I need to find them again and practice. I'm wearing a splint on my left wrist at night, so at least being woken by a dead left hand has stopped.

I am debating turning my attention towards weaving/kumihimo/sewing/cross-stitch for a while. The first sewing project would be making myself some simple fingerless wrist tubes, to wear under the splints (I admit, I bought both wrist splints, but have only worn the right hand one once). The splints work just fine, but I find the velcro bites into the base of my thumb somewhat, so have been wrapping my wrist with a handkerchief first.

I've also still got a plan to weave a table runner - and this time I've got some lovely slinky mercerised cotton in mind for it.

Current mood: energetic

FOs: Scarf and socks

Cast on 51sts in 1x1 rib on the chunky machine, and kept knitting until the yarn ran out.


These socks have taken almost a year to knit! And it wasn't until I'd grafted the toe of the top one, that I realised the toe on the first one is a lot longer. I don't care anymore! I've had it with these socks! They fit ok, and the toe will never be on display anyway. The second sock has cheeked me from start to finish, so my patience with it is at an end. Plus I know my making up - very hard to unpick. Bah!

I attended a super lace knitting workshop, organised by Tracey of the Yarn Cafe, and taught by Anniken Allis, on Saturday. Now I really want to knit a top down (nape down) shawl, with beads! :)

FO: Cabled aran dress with matching cowl

Made from Hayfield aran on the KH260, knitted at T5 I think. Lots of leftover yarn so made a matching cowl. I think I might write it up as a free pattern (the cowl, that is - the dress is to fit me!).

The cowl took a while because I kept dropping stitches, but I got there in the end.

I also knitted another charity tee and some socks from this pattern - couldn't make head nor tail of the short-rowing instructions, so just did what I thought. Pictures when they've been grafted.

The Sweet Pea shawl is in the wash, hope to block and photograph it later. I swatched four yarns in the week, so have quite a list of projects in mind, and yet my naughty brain still wants to work on other things. It's incorrigible! I cast on a crochet scarf but might frog it and start again. Not sure it's wide enough.

Oh, and the Estonian spiral sock continues.

Current mood: working

FO: Baby surprise jacket

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

Bands are crocheted, needs buttons to be finished. Machine-knitted on the KH260 with leftover James C Brett Marble chunky....

Free pattern: Chunky machine baby hats

Yarn weight: James C Brett Marble chunky, which is an aran weight yarn
Machine: Brother KH260 machine (9mm)
Tension: MT=6

Cast on 46 sts in waste yarn. Knit 1 row ravel cord. RC000, knit 11 rows MT-1, knit 1 row T10 (fold row), knit 12 rows MT (RC24). Pick up cast on row and hang loops onto needles. Knit 1 row MT+1, then knit using MT to R54. Transfer every other stitch to its neighbour, knit 2 rows MT-1, knit 2 rows MT-2. Break yarn leaving length for sewing up, thread through open loops and draw up. Sew up side seam and weave in ends.

Some FOs

Jubilee socks knitted on the Passap. The cast off on the ribbing is too tight, so they need a little modification.


Passap baby blanket. Some errors, but not as many as last time


Charity tee top - this is the yarn that just keeps on. I still have another ball of it to go. Knitted on the KH260


Cardigan for me, buttons added late last night. James C Brett Marble chunky, knitted on the KH260

Not dead

Just busy. This weekend was the annual AGM for the Guild of Machine Knitters - had a lovely day and resisted buying any more yarn or other goodies. Did snaffle quite a few cheese straws though. Yum!

I got my Lizard Ridge bag back - it didn't win anything, but never mind - it was fun to make. The speakers were Nick from Uppinghams and Jools Elphick with some rather esoteric hats. I liked the arty ones but most of them I wouldn't have worn myself. But then I'm not that keen on hats anyway - I get hat hair, and anyway I'm usually driving so it's not quite so important.
I'm in the process of having a major sort out this year, so having been freegling (aka freecycling) lots of stuff lately - or at least, trying to - two no-shows on Friday night made me rather cross. Luckily I hadn't planned on going anywhere anyway. Found a set of saucepans in the attic and have some crockery to get rid of. It might as well be some use to someone else rather than gathering dust in the attic.

I finished a round-necked cardigan in Marble Chunky on the KH260 - alas, not had chance to get to town yet, so it is without buttons. Hasn't stopped me wearing it though! It was either that, or listen to the football. Yes, I am a football widow at the moment. Himself insists on watching every match.

I also made another T top in the pastel version of that yarn - and yet there's still MORE of it! Argh!

Still haven't put the KH950i back up - the idea was, it'd force me to use my Passap, but as it is, I'm hardly home enough for any machine knitting. I've started to re-apply the edging to the passap jacket, but I think I've done it the wrong way around (this is the second attempt) so will have to start again.

Am off to Woolfest this weekend so there won't be much machine knitting going on until I return - presuming I don't drown in the rain/mud first, ha!

I've recently discovered the "accessibility" setting in Windows XP so am doing most things in black and white and REALLY big text - looks a bit like DOS (now I'm showing my age!). Makes reading the screen easier for me though - as it's a CAD machine it's set to a stupidly-high resolution, which means I struggle to read the writing on screen. I wish websites and certain programs would consider that when they're being coded. I'm having to guess where the buttons are in Blogger now, because they don't show up! Grump!

It's all very Spinal Tap..... :)

Current mood: busy

FO: Vest and dishcloths...

Cotton vest in PnC cotton, calculated with Knitware.

Loving these Peaches n creme dishcloths made with leftovers....


Potpourri dishcloth


Blue dishcloth - this turned out a little short, and as I have more of this as part of a swatch, so I'll probably unpick the cast-off edge and make it a bit longer. I've got a black and white one n the go now (in Lion brand cotton).

I've more leftover PnC from the pastel top I made for Leah last week. I've one more cone of PnC - 14oz of fiesta, which is a very loud colourway in bright reds, pinks, greens, blues and yellows. I've got plans for a knitleader project for it, although I'll probably use Knitware to calculate some of it.

I'm also trying to source 4 balls of discontinued sock yarn via the lovely folks on Rav. Seems the ones I need are all in the US - no matter, I'm happy to pay postage. I managed to strip the thread on one of my Knitpicks Pro Harmonie needles, so now I need a new pair of 4.5mm tips - not impressed! I'm also thinking of entering this year's Guild of Machine Knitters competition and TRYING to talk myself out of buying yet more yarn just to work on it. So, despite my best attempts to not buy anything much this month, costs keep coming up nevertheless!

Argh. I hate January! Best to stay indoors, knit, and avoid the shops and temptation.

Have turned the heel on the first Estonian spiral sock - think there's a typo in the pattern somewhere, so adjusted it somewhat. Not very keen on how tidy the heel stitches were when I picked them up. Will try to do better on the other sock. Hey ho.

FO: Cotton top for niece

Cotton top for niece - another Peaches n creme special.

Determined to have a serious tidy-out at home this year. Get rid of surplus books, freecycle, recycle or dispose of items that are no longer in use at home. Have a good sort out in the attic too, as I've several sets of crockery that will probably never be used. On the crafting front, I'm aiming to get through some stash - it's out of hand right now - so to that end I've been calculating patterns in Knitware and then drawing them up as a diagram.

Himself asked for a wedge monitor (kind of guitar amp) for xmas, which was duly ordered. Darn thing is approximately 75cm square and there's little or no room for it. Turns out it was the wrong one, too - it had no plug attached, so another one is now on order. He's officially filled up the house now - I don't think he realised just how big it is, and as it's a wedge shape it's not even as if it will slide into a cupboard easily.

Next time I think we should pick such items out in person - far less room for error, and at least we'll know how big it is!

FO: charity tee

...and I've STILL got more of this yarn left! :)

Very little progress since my car accident last week. Still waiting for my insurance company to get their butts into gear and sort out the hire car. Gawd knows how I'd cope if the car was undrivable. Not very impressed with thei snail-like speed, really.

Productive weekend

Well, I had grand plans to make one of those waterfall tops with the leftover Marble chunky, but although I calculated a pattern using Knitware (based on a round-necked jumper but with wrap-over fronts), I only knitted the back and one front before deciding I just didn't like it. Although I'd done the open edge of the front as six stitches of 1x1 rib, it still curled, and I don't think it would have hung properly. I'm not sure a chunky yarn - well, this is an aran weight - is ideal for something like this, and I think the front would probably benefit from being a 2x2 rib, which means it would need to be recalculated anyway. So it got frogged.

Instead, it became a child's v-neck cardigan (calculated in Knitware), an adult hat and a child's hat, and another charity tee jumper - and I've still got more of the stuff left! It goes a long, long way, this yarn, and is very good value for money. With both hats I substituted the hem (or lack of one) for ribbing. I never find hems sit that well (although I MUST try Erica Thomson's technique of picking up every other stitch over two rows), and the rolled brim look just makes me think of condoms - yes, I have a dirty mind, apparently.

Pictures of projects will be posted when I have actually taken some, haha.

There's probably at least enough of this yarn for another child's hat I think. I've also got almost two balls left of the lilac DK to do something with this week.

FO: Another charity tee

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

Very pretty loopy yarn picked up at a show years ago, completely evil to knit with. It has tucked slightly, hence the rather cropped length. The remainder is going in the destash bag - never again!

FO: Rebecca

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

Fairly easy to knit, complete nightmare to sew up - took three attempts to get the sleeves in correctly. I think a diagram might have helped the pattern no end. The words made no sense so I sewed it up to look like the photograph. It's very warm and smooshy, and it needs a button adding.

Scrumptious

Well, I had a fantastic (if busy) day at the annual Long Buckby Knit and Natter day. I was supposed to be teaching chain-free (aka foundation) crochet, but the tunisian lady, already advertised. couldn't come, so I ended up with that as well. When I got there, there were two massive tables pushed together, far more than I could reasonably shout across. I spent a very hectic morning teaching Tunisian, foundation and ordinary crochet, sometimes at the same time. People were still coming up to me at 12:30, by which time I was packing up. Methinks there's a great need for crochet classes in the Midlands. Maybe something I should think about, although I would only rate my own skills as intermediate. After lunch we had a fascinating talk by Iris Bishop. Although I had heard/seen some of it before, she always makes it inspiring. She seems to be going in for glitter and sparkles lately, should we worry?! :D

Accidentally (yeah, who am I kidding?) I managed to snatch ten minutes to buy 7 balls of James C Brett Marble DK in lilacs from the Uppingham's stand, and had planned to buy two balls of Zauberball sock yarn, but had used up most of my cash so had to put one ball back. I've already started using the Marble DK, I bought it specifically for the Karabee Design's "Rebecca" cardigan pattern that I bought at Dream Week. It's a cardigan made up of a long strip of fisherman's rib which is draped in a way I haven't quite figured out yet, with fringing (which I might leave off). It has a kind of shawl collar.

It took me three attempts to get the rib started correctly - it's not easy picking up dropped stitches in Fisherman's rib, and the drapey part has a pointed edge. I love the feel of the fisherman's rib though - I've never made a garment with it. It feels scrumptious and makes the yarn feel more airy/fluffier than it really is. It is knitted at T5/5 on the Brother KH260 - I would normally knit DK yarn at T4, but that's just my personal preference. Knitted the main body last night - himself has a cold and isn't feeling up the gym so it became a good excuse to duck into my knitting nest. Just got the sleeves to knit - they are fairly straightforward. I also started to get the dreaded static - this seems more of a problem in the winter, despite our heating not yet being on. Decided to follow my own advice for once and RTFM - and the manuals suggest a lot more places to oil than I've ever bothered with. Made heaps of difference! Waxing and spraying the yarn with water/silicon didn't seem to help that much. I have one of those Ballistol oil pens from Metropolitan and they are really easy to use.

When this is done I need to use up the rest of the blue Marble chunky - I have a plan, based on a Knitware pattern. We shall see!

Some FOs

Lilly wrap for a charity shop:



I was without a ribber whilst making this - Thomas the cat having used my ribber carriage as a trampoline - so the hems are latched for about 5 rows. Didn't get time to wash/press. I know ribbed welts are considered somewhat passe, but at least they stop the curl!

Charity tee top made on an LK150:



Made this on Heritage weekend in September, only just got around to finishing it. There's another half somewhere but I am out of DK at the moment and the mid-gauge has been taken down.

Charity tee top made on my KH60:



This is a skein of very pretty blue boucle yarn that I bought as a four pack ages ago (the other skeins were all different). I had planned to use it for myself, but there was not enough for much more than a hat. This used most of the ball - someone else can benefit from my impulsiveness.

The charity tee top patterns are based on the Guideposts knit for kids pattern and they are linked on my Free patterns page.

FO: Blue v-neck jumper in marble chunky

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Originally uploaded by steel breeze

This was made on my Brother KH260. Love love love the colours!