Woodland Capelet

Woodland Capelet by YarnGallery.com
Woodland Capelet by YarnGallery.com

This project has turned into a little bit of a problem. Not because of the project itself, but because I lost the directions and couldn’t remember the name of the project. I kept thinking ‘poncho’, but, while unusual, capelet is much nicer sounding term. Fortunately, a friend came through and I have the directions again. 

The last time I talked about this project was in 2020, which I found after my friend emailed me. I am really glad she was willing to help. I didn’t do my normal librarian thing when I got this pattern – creating a folder on my computer and storing the directions there, adding metadata in case I couldn’t think of the name. Who know why I didn’t do that? At least I know that a little bit of organizing is super helpful, especially for a craft I only work on sporadically.

Woodland Capelet in process
Woodland Capelet in process

I got a link to the Ravelry page where this project lives and added it to my account. I think this is the first time I have added a project to my account. I have never found a record type called ‘random scarves I make up myself’.

I am taking this with me on an upcoming trip and it would be great to finish it. I may not finish it as the pattern says exactly, but I hope I have enough time to finish it. I’d like it off my to do list.

 

 

New Knitting Needles Bag

Poppies Knitting Needles Bag
Poppies Knitting Needles Bag

A few Sew Days ago, I cut out another Knitting Needles Bag. This will be a gift for a friend who is a great knitter.

I used the Tinberry/ ZaudalCreates pattern that I discussed before. If you want to buy this pattern, make sure you get the bundle. It is easy to miss.

I used the Joel Dewberry poppy fabric in canvas from several years ago. I got a lot of nice comments on the fabric.

Yesterday, I got out all the pieces and worked on it. I need to get it done as someone has volunteered to take a package to Austria and mail it for me. This saves on postage.

I made good progress and have the inside piece with the pockets made. I should be able to finish soon

It was helpful to have the first one I made handy so I could see what the end result looked like. I often wonder how I made the first one when I read pattern directions. 😉

I also used the video, which I noticed had time markers with links in the description. Very useful!

Knitting Socks

Heel cup shaped
Heel cup shaped

I have wanted to learn to knit socks for a long time. Kelly at Royal Bee Yarn Company offered one over the weekend and I signed up. I had to ask myself why as I struggled during the first class and doing my self assigned homework. I write about knitting about once a year. The last time was when I tried to knit a sweater, gave up and started another scarf. I do want to be a good knitter, but I don’t want to devote as much time to knitting as I do to quiltmaking. I want knitting to be a side activity I can pick up when I travel or when I am out of quiltmaking handwork.

The class was good and I like the style of socks we learned to make. I learned a couple of new skills such as decreasing in two ways.

Heel cup shaped
Heel cup shaped

It didn’t start out well for me, though. As part of the class, we received a set of double pointed needles (DPNs) and a ball of yarn. The DPNs available were wood or bamboo. I have some wood (or bamboo??) needles.  Usually, however, I use wood needles with steel tips**.  I like steel tips because the stitches slide on an off easily. I like the wood part because that means the shaft is not as rigid as on full steel needles.

I really struggled with the bamboo. In addition to not being able to get the stitches off the needles easily, my project came off the needles in transit from class to home. I couldn’t fix it, though I tried, so I knitted the whole cuff over again before class the next day. It looked a little better, but not much. I felt super discouraged and almost didn’t attend the second class.

That is not me, so I went and confessed all to the teacher. She offered to trade me her steel needles for my bamboo needles. I took her up on it. I was planning to buy a set of my preferred needles, but the shop doesn’t carry them. She moved my project onto the new needles and in the process discovered that one of my needles had a sliver in it. While not the complete problem, it was definitely part of the problem.

I like the style of the sock that Linda teaches, because there are no ridges on the heel. I feel now, like I can knit socks. The steps are not firmly lodged in my head, but could get there after a few more socks.

Cuff and heel complete
Cuff and heel complete

Things went a lot better with the steel needles and I ended up with part of a sock and the heel completed. I need to knit the foot part and then contact Linda, the teacher, to get help with the toe. I plan to knit the other cuff as well so she can help me with the other heel at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Obviously, you should shop at a local quilt (or knitting) shop. However, I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.

Knitting Refresh

Some time ago I talked about a sweater I planned to knit. I was knitting that sweater because I had bought the yarn and I wanted to use it.

I failed at the sweater. I have knit a sweater before, but the joins on this one defeated me. I started in on another scarf and the yarn is just not good for the scarf. I think I have learned my lesson. Buying yarn on ‘spec is not the same as buying fabric on ‘spec. 🙁

Woodland Capelet by YarnGallery.com
Woodland Capelet by YarnGallery.com

Still, I like knitting. I saw a tight poncho that a friend was wearing and I decided to knit it. I sought out the pattern, the yarn and am about to get started. I haven’t checked to see if I have the needles I need and I haven’t wound all the yarn into balls.

YarnGallery.com yarn
YarnGallery.com yarn

I probably should have bought the black yarn, but I wear black a lot so I think the one with turquoise would go well over a black outfit. Besides, I love turquoise. I don’t love that mauve, but I don’t sincerely dislike it either.

I really hope this one goes better than the sweater. I still have to figure something to do with the yarn from the sweater. Ravelry was only marginally helpful. Perhaps I’ll have some time to look on Ravelry again. It’s fingering weight, so if you want to knit me socks or you want it for something, get in touch. Perhaps, I’ll convince someone to make me socks…about 12 pair! I have a lot of that yarn. 🙂

 

Contact:

The Yarn Gallery
7038 Frelinghuysen Street North,
Fort Garland, CO
81133
719-480-3850

New Knitting Skills

As I catalog my knitting skills, I am kind of surprised at how many I have. I have made a sweater, a vest, and numerous scarves. I am now trying to make the Purl Soho Lightweight Raglan Sweater. I want to learn to read a knitting pattern so I can make other things. This is my test pattern. My local knitting shop sweater expert tried to dissuade me from choosing this pattern as there are a lot of techniques I haven’t done, but I ignored her.  I have excellent consultants (2 SILs) and have confidence I can do this. I have no timetable, though this century would be great. I made my first steps last night.

Nascent sleeve

At Craft Night, I cast on the sleeve of the sweater and did the first step, which was to knit in stockinette 8 rounds. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with this accomplishment. I know it doesn’t look like much, but I am completely thrilled.

I thought it would be a good idea to make both sleeves at the same time. Opinions were divided at Craft Night and I still haven’t decided.

I didn’t get the needles I usually like, but these are ok.

Finished: Scarf

Last year, during or after the Sisters trip, I started knitting a scarf. I had my usual ups and downs with the knitting, ripping out quite a bit, not knitting on it, etc.

Finished Sea Scarf
Finished Sea Scarf

Lately, when DH is out at a meeting on a Wednesday evening, I go to a knitting circle at a local shop in order to see people and have some human contact. I have been 3-4 times. I just sit there, knit and listen. This activity has helped to get this scarf finished. I still have to weave in the ends, but I am calling it done. This project is for me and I will wear it as a summer scarf, for those foggy days in August.

New Knitting Again

Kira K Designs
Kira K Designs

After my recent scarf finish, I think I need to learn to read a knitting pattern so I can knit more interesting items. I was thinking about some fingerless gloves that one of the ladies at the knitting circle showed me. She was using a much smaller yarn, which is what I have, so I know that it would work. The issue is that I have 3 skeins, about 1300 yards, and I don’t want to make 15 projects with the same yarn.

I started to ask questions about the pattern I chose to accommodate the yarn I bought at PIQF last year. I absolutely do not want stash yarn and loved the shawl, which I will knit to keep at work when the air conditioning gets to be too much. Apparently, the yarn is wrong for the pattern, so I needed to choose a new pattern.

The shop owner asked me to come back the next day as she was rushing to a board meeting. I went back the next day and she showed me how Ravelry works. It has a great feature where one can put in the difficulty of the project you want as well as yarn you have and the system will come back with projects that will work. I found a sweater that I like and will try.

I went back, again, the next day to talk to the sweater queen who didn’t really like the sweater construction,but was very kind and helpful.

It turns out I have been doing the stockinette stitch wrong. It didn’t matter when I was doing my own scarf pattern, but I would have to translate stitches, if I continued on knitting the way I was. Thus, I came home with videos to watch and knitting practice to do.

New Scarf

“New” is a little bit of an exaggeration. I have been working on it on and off since I was in Sisters. I finally got it right and am much happier with the result.

As is my process, I have already ripped the piece out several times. I finally realized that I didn’t like the weave. I was at my first knitting circle (local shop allows people to come in and free-knit once a week) and I talked to some of the ladies about it. I asked about going down a needle size or two. One said to knit a swatch. Since I don’t usually knit with a pattern, I have never knitted a swatch. I decided to do it with one needle size down. I wasn’t sure what to expect and ended up really liking the result.

Now that I have made some progress, I think this was a good choice. I always use the suggested needle size on the yarn wrapper. It worked okay this time; just not for me.

I also reduced the number of cast-on stitches, which I also think was a good choice. The image above shows the two bits of knitting. The top piece is the first piece I worked on using size 5 needles with 50 stitches cast on. The bottom piece is the piece on which I am working now. I cast on 45 stitches and am using size 4 needles.

Aside from the size, because of the differences in cast on stitches, I don’t see a difference in the weave of the fabric. I noticed that the top piece was much looser (more holes) as I was working on it. Seeing them together makes me wonder if the change was worth the effort.

I am not sure what I was expecting, but it is surprising how well the smaller needles work. I love the small needles.

New Knitting

New Knitting
New Knitting

I bought this yarn in Sisters and love the colors.  I started knitting in Sisters, but have ripped it out at least three times since then.

That is my process. I think this latest cast-on with stick.

One issue I considered it making a shawl. My office can be cold sometimes and if I don’t want to wear my fleece inside, a shawl would be nice. I heard of a pattern where you start with a cast on of 2 and then continually increase. I did this for about 10 rows and then ripped it out. It looked messy and was not soothing to knit. I will knit a large scarf for now and use that in my office and find a shawl pattern that isn’t such a PITA.

Finished: Green Donation Scarf

Green Scarf
Green Scarf

I finally finished the green donation scarf I have been working on for months. I can’t remember exactly when I started it, but I think it was earlier this year (not last). I bought the yarn at Tuesday Morning on my way to visit MIL.

I started this scarf sometime before April, but after March 1. Before that was the Knight scarf and a hat/cowl set.

Anyway. This one will head to my mom who will use it to make gifts for the women at her local domestic violence shelter.

I’m not sure if I can make another in time to be included in the gift boxes. Let me know if you have a scarf you want to contribute.

Donation Scarf

Green Donation Scarf
Green Donation Scarf

I have been quite remiss in writing about this scarf. I am already halfway through the second skein. My mom is heading up an effort to provide holiday gifts for women at a domestic violence shelter in her area. They can’t give a gift to a woman unless they have enough of the same types of gifts to give to all of the women. Since everyone I know has already received a scarf, I thought I would contribute to this effort.

I found the yarn at Tuesday Morning, which had just opened. I had never been in a Tuesday Morning and wanted to take a look. It doesn’t feel icky even though it is partially acrylic. Mom said that a bit of acrylic is better so that the women can wash the scarf in the machine. It is kind of a cheerful color, too.

Cowl

Cowl
Cowl

Keeping my YM warm is a theme since Thanksgiving. We saw him last weekend and the question was why he was wearing two shortsleeve t-shirts rather than a longsleeve. Answer: out of clean laundry. Sigh.

To that end, I made him a cowl. I had some leftover yarn after making him the hat, so I decided to make him a cowl after realizing I didn’t have enough yarn for another hat.

It didn’t come out as well as I had hoped. It looks good but was too large so kind of flapped around his neck (when I saw it in the wild). I think I needed to cast on fewer stitches to start. Next time – there is always more yarn.

YM Hat Complete

YM Hat Finished
YM Hat Finished

I ripped out a bunch of YM’s hat and finished it. It is still cold in Portland and I want him to be able to wear it this winter.

The yarn was not a favorite. It was very slippery and seemed to shred. It was not very nice with which to knit. Still, I think the color looks very good. I like the slight variation in the yarn – the flecks of silver.

Hat with tube-tail
Hat with tube-tail

He had said that he wanted it long so he could fling the end over his shoulder. I decreased and started to knit, what I wanted to be, a tail. It ended up looking more like a weird tube. After knitting for awhile, it didn’t get any better in terms of looks, so I sent a photo to the YM and he agreed. I ripped it out and just finished the hat as you see it above.

I have a bit more yarn, so I will knit another hat – as much as I can and donate it somewhere.

On to Hats

Dubai Hat
Dubai Hat

The YM came home complaining of cold wearing a thoroughly disreputable hat. I have knit hats before, so while we were lunching with Mom before Christmas we stopped at a knitting shop and he picked out some yarn.

The yarn is not my ideal. It shreds and is very slidey. Still, now that I can easily discern when to knit and when to purl, I am on my way.

SIL gave me the first step in her hat pattern. I am getting to the point where I am going to need the next step. I will also need to be reminded how to decrease.