Startitis Castonugus

 Have you ever worked away industriously on a project only to miss the busy-ness terribly when it is finished? 

 

That's the way it's been with this one. Knowing that the start of the West Knits MKAL 2023 was coming up on October 5th I have been diligently working on this handspun hand knit sweater for at least a couple of hours every day so that my time and needles are clear for the launch day.

I love love LOVE the sweater and have been wearing it constantly since it came off the needles --- but I miss it as a project. Within minutes of finishing I had a bad case of Startitis Castonugus and dug through my handspun stash in search of a small project to tide me over until I, along with thousands of other knitters, can get going on what will no doubt be another epic shawl. 

This is the hand dyed roving I started with.

I purchased it from West Coast Colour at FibresWest 2023. I estimated that to be safe I needed 9 of the 100g bundles, but 9 of the exact same colour run were not available. I did my best to create a gradient by plying singles from each colourway together with others in a way that progressed through all the colours.

The fade through the colours isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it anyway. The sweater is so comfortable! I find the Targhee wool is an interesting mix of woolly feeling, yet next to the skin soft. It also seems to keep me at a comfortable temperature. I've been wearing it a lot and haven't been too hot or too cold, despite changes in the weather and the temperature in our home. 

I'm very happy with the sizing. I designed the sweater myself using Elizabeth Zimmerman's Percentage System to work out the increase and decrease rates and it fits very well. 

I love the simple textured stitch pattern I worked out. It's a slip stitch column over a reverse stockinette background. I did some calculating so that the columns of slip stitch came together neatly at the Central Double Decreases that make up the raglan shaping. 

This next photo isn't the greatest picture of some of the neat little finishing details, but I want to mention them. I went to the extra time and work to do a tubular cast on at the hem and the cuffs and a matching tubular bind off at the neckline. I also made sure that the 1x1 ribbing of the hem and cuff flowed straight into the columns of slipped stitches in the main body and sleeves. I think it's a nice touch.

Very pleased with this project. I miss having it on my needles. 

Squish-alicious!

Some projects are just pure pleasure, right from the get go. This little handspun baby sweater is one of them. I'm knitting it in my own 3 ply merino/kid-mohair/silk handspun. The fibre was hand dyed by Jude of Ewesful Creations. It spun up very soft and, combined with the stitch pattern, makes a lovely squishy, bouncy fabric.

The pattern is "Purl Textured Cardigan" by Jacqueline Gibb. It's only available in the newborn to 3 month size but I like it so much I may try to work out an adult version for myself some time in the future.

Is there a new baby expected in the family? Nope. Just felt like knitting something that would tick a few boxes. My criteria were:

1. Requires no purchases other than the pattern. 

2. Uses some of my growing stash of handspun. 

3. Fits a category for submission at the Chilliwack Fair in August. 

4. Can be sold at the Chilliwack Christmas Craft Fair in November.

The pattern didn't call for it, but I've gone to the extra work of starting the 1x1 ribbing with a tubular cast on. Fussy and time consuming, but so worth it. I love the way the ribbing runs right up to the edge. So polished looking!

DRK Everyday Cowl

A relaxing and enjoyable knit. The pattern is the DRK Everyday Cowl by Andrea Mowry and the yarn is my own 3ply handspun, a merino/kid mohair/silk blend.

It was about 6 mornings of mindless knitting while watching Podcasts. The knitting was repetitive enough to be relaxing, but the pattern had enough unusual shaping to keep it interesting. 

Thinking that a scarf/cowl doesn't need exact fitting I foolishly did not do a gauge swatch. Nearing completion I realized that, as is, it was not going to fit over my head once seamed. I decided to just pick up stitches along the short slip stitched edge to knit a little rectangle of garter stitch to extend the neck opening.

Ta Da! my fix worked. I love the result. So comfortable and easy to wear.

 Turns out my 3ply handspun was more like a fingering weight yarn than the DK the pattern calls for. The thing is, I LIKE this weight! I don't think I'd want it to be heavier. I may make more cowls from this pattern in the future, but I'll work out the math so that I can keep the lighter weight.

Hosta and Froggy

Have I introduced this little monster? No?

How about this character?

No, not Froggy either?

Hmmm, it seems I've been a little remiss lately, working away on projects but then forgetting to blog about them after they are completed. Both had their debut as Show and Tell at guild meetings, but then got tucked away and forgotten.

This little handspun one-eyed "Imaginarium Monster" was completed in April. She was crocheted to fulfill a challenge for the guild's spin-in coming up this fall. Last year each person who came to the spin-in was given a skein of yarn from a former guild member's estate and asked to "do something" with it for the following year. Mine was a skein of rather scratchy natural coloured handspun.

The yarn was too coarse for anything that might be worn close to the skin, and in it's natural colour was rather uninspiring, so it sat forlornly wondering if I would attend the Spin-In without it. Then one day while overdyeing a shawl with black dye I decided to exhaust the extra dye in the pot by throwing the unloved estate-challenge skein in to sop up what remained. The skein turned out a satisfactory charcoal colour. That over-dyed estate-challenge skein made it most of the way through the pattern but I had to supplement with my own handspun yarn to complete the arms and leaf-hands. I look forward to bringing "Hosta" to the Spin-In.

This little guy some of you might recognize as he seems to be popping up all over the internet in various forms. He is from a pattern by Claire Garland called simply, "Frog". I've seen some renditions of the finished frog selling for US-$125! I initially thought that that seemed a lot for such a small project. I thought perhaps I'd make a half dozen or so to sell at the Christmas Craft Market. 🤣

Um -- NO. Make that a HELL NO! Way way too fiddly and too much work for me to make over and over again. No fear of there being a plague of frogs coming off MY needles! And after all those shaping decreases and increases there is no way I am going to cover up all that work with a little handknit sweater like I see many of the frogs wearing.

I've got a couple more finished projects to show, but they can wait for another day. 

Imaginarium Monster

 A while back my daughter destashed my way, a crochet amigurumi monster book, "Edward's Crochet Imaginarium" by Kerry Lord. It sat in my fibre arts library unused for a long time because I find crocheting tightly rather hard on my hands -- or at least I did at the time. Since receiving a wonderful set of ergonomic crochet hooks as a gift that has changed. 

I've tackled creating my first monster. He (she?) is made completely from handspun yarn. The division for those bulbous toes and fingers, as the pattern was written, was darn near impossible, but once I worked out my own "toe-up" version it was much easier and a lot of fun.

The pattern book is a modular type of thing with mix and match parts you can put together in any combination. Combined with yarn choices and colour placement the variety you can achieve is endless -- and FUN!

The knobby tail, scruffy hair, and belly button were my own innovations. The project was fun and interesting enough that as soon as the last stitch was done on the first, I started on the second. 

The eye on a stalk is the start of a monster being made to meet a guild challenge that is due in September. Stay tuned!

From ACK to Mmm

In an attempt to pare down the stash, which is nothing but partial balls of this and that, I did some sorting and discovered that over the years I have acquired a bunch of acrylic yarn. Some of it was given to me, some was leftovers from making toys or afghans. Anyway, I decided it was time to either use it or give it away.

I decided to knit myself a cozy cardigan for wearing around the house using some of the partial balls of acrylic -- not so fondly nicknamed by some, "ACKrylic". This is the "Penguono" pattern by Stephen West. 

It actually fits quite well and, with it's raised neckline, is super comfy. I chose the pattern size based on the measurements of a favorite sweatshirt.

Unfortunately I still have a significant amount of ACKrylic left to either use up or give away. Although I'm not a complete yarn snob, acrylic certainly isn't my favorite yarn to knit with. I may knit a few toys or charity items with it, but lately I'd rather spend my time with nicer, natural yarns. Which brings me to my next cast on ---- the Mmmmm of this post.

I have begun knitting "Plan B", a cardigan pattern by Hinterm Stein. The name of this pattern is very fitting since I'll be ripping out this almost completed handknit, handspun pullover I had begun way back in April of last year ---

---and I will be reusing the yarn for Plan B instead. The first version was looking good, but was more form fitting than I was comfortable with, and I finally had to admit I'd much prefer a cardigan that I can put on and take off easily as the temperature changes.

The cannibalized yarn is my own handspun, fingering weight, 3ply from a Merino/Silk/Kid Mohair blend and it really deserved to be used in something I will love. This time I'll be holding a strand of Sandnes Garn Silk Mohair along with it to plump the gauge up to the DK required for the Plan B pattern and to add a lovely soft halo to the cardigan. 

Swatching with the two has gone very well. I tried 3 different needles sizes and then wet blocked the swatch. It's a good thing I did that final step! It bloomed quite a bit and the gauge changed rather significantly. Pre-wash I got perfect gauge on a 4mm needle. Post-wash I got perfect gauge from the section knit with a 3.75mm needle.

Moving Day

Today was moving day ----

Well, it was for the Saori CH60 anyway. My tiny little weaving room has been terribly overcrowded ever since the Woolhouse Tools Carolyn and the Leclerc Dorothy moved in. Tired of barely having room to turn around, let alone actually weave, I moved the Saori to an unused corner of the living room today.

On the loom is a warp made from a "grab bag" from a former guild members estate. The guild challenged us to use these yarns to create something and to have it ready in time for the Christmas Luncheon which is only one month from now. 

These are the yarns I received. Most are handspun. I think one is a commercially spun yarn, perhaps dyed by the former guild member.

Rooting through my own stash I found little bits n bobs of yarns I can use with the ones from the grab bag. Most notably is the multicoloured handspun one. I think it will be a good colour inspiration for choosing further yarns for both warp and weft. 

In other news, I spent ALL of October working exclusively on a Mystery Knitalong that has now come to an end. Wow! Big project. LOTS of knitting! I'll tell you more about that once I have a few modelled pictures.

 

Swatching and Waiting

 Swatching in September for a Mystery Knitalong that will begin in October. All three yarns I'll be using are my own handspun. I think they play well together.

The designer, Stephen West, recommended choosing 2 yarns that have high contrast and will be used in approximately equal amounts, then a third colour that will "pop" as an accent. The pattern is "Twists and Turns: Westknits MKAL 2022".

Saddles of a Different Sort

 These saddles won't be used for riding.

They are "saddle shoulders" and with any luck, and the help of Barbara G. Walker's "Knitting From the Top", they will be the start of a beautiful handspun sweater. Don't hold your breath though, this could take awhile. I'm designing it myself and I'm also still in the process of spinning the yarn for it.

As always, the links are only provided for your convenience and I receive no kickbacks for your clicks.

WPI Lied

I knit a test swatch with the handspun today and I'm glad I did. I find it gives me a more accurate indication of yarn weight than the WPI calculations. 

I find WPI a little difficult to calculate with handspun because the yarn's thickness varies a little in different areas and a small miscalculation can result in a different size classification. My knitted swatch, at 24 - 25 stitches over 4 inches, is showing the 3 ply handspun to be a "Fine / #2, Baby/Sports weight yarn".

My WPI calculations had it at about 15 WPI with thicker sections coming in at around 14WPI, which would have been a Super Fine #1, Sock/Fingering designation, but the knitted swatch would indicate that the yarn must be closer to 12 WPI. I'm actually glad it's in the sports weight category. It will make finding a pattern easier (if I don't decide to design one myself, from scratch), and the resulting sweater will be a nice weight too. 

Lovely Soft Cotton

The organic cotton warp I was working on in March has come to an end. I managed to weave three long table runners each in a different natural handspun cotton. No dyes used! There is Sarepta Brown cotton on the left, natural Acala cotton on the right, and natural green cotton at the bottom.

After washing, the colour transformation in the green was quite remarkable. The punis and storage bobbin below show the natural green as it looks before washing in hot water or soaking for 30 minutes in ammonia. The runner is an example of the "after" wash colouring. 

The runners are all woven to a generous length for either my kitchen table or a couple of display chests I have in the living room.

I'm very happy with the way they turned out.

When the runners were complete I still had some warp left and played around a bit with other weaving techniques including a pick up lace and traveling inlay. 

Saori Christmas Stocking

On New Years Eve I warped my loom in red and white as part of a guild year end challenge to make something in the colours of the flag of our origin.

I'm Canadian as were my parents and 3 of my grandparents, so red and white for the Canada Flag was my choice.

I found working with such a limited colour palette was quite challenging!

But red and white does make a great colour scheme for Christmas stockings!

This stocking, and hopefully two more, will all be for sale at the guild's booth at the Christmas Craft Market in November. 

They will all be fully lined with red broadcloth. 

And Now the Reverse

Another table runner, this time with the colours reversed. 

2 ply handspun Sarepta Brown cotton for the main weaving, 2 ply handspun Acala White cotton for the stripes. A small portion at each end done with singles to make hemming less bulky. 

Weaving Handspun Cotton

I've spun and I've spun over the past few months, spinning up at least 2 pounds of cotton now, but this is the first time I've actually used my cotton. Now that I've tried weaving handspun cotton I'm definitely hooked. I really love the way it looks and feels.

This is the beginning of my first weaving. I cut it from the loom to use as a wet finishing sample when I spotted a mistake in the threading. It's marked on the right there with a pin. Two threads were in the same heddle. I've since rethreaded and have continued weaving.

I've already woven enough to complete quite a long table runner but I have plenty more warp to work with. This prewound Saori warp was a Christmas gift from a very generous friend.

The warp is organic cotton in varying thicknesses in natural undyed brown, green, and white. The weft is all my own handspun! Such a pleasure to weave with it. The first runner is predominately handspun Acala white with three stripes of Sarepta Brown at each end. I think I'll weave a second runner with the opposite combination.