Setback

I finished and bound off the left front of my "Plan B" cardigan and admired it, with it's lovely contrasting patch pocket, then I went on to pick up stitches for the back portion. 

I had all 104 stitches for the back picked up when I realized that they seemed to be off centre, so I counted the remaining stitches. Something was off!

It only took me a moment to realize that I had not made adjustments for the additional 12 stitches added for the shaping of the A-line version of the cardigan. The pattern does mention in a small side note that the shaping will throw off the stitch count from that point forward. I forgot, and it is not mentioned again in the instructions. In this left front portion my error is a difference of only 3 stitches, but I'll have to frog it anyway. *sigh*

At least I hadn't knit the entire lower back section as well, before noticing my error. Besides, it's all knitting anyway, and I like knitting, right?

Bouncing Around Between Hobbies

Yesterday I managed to work on two different knitting projects. I also got a good start on an involved bag sewing pattern, and I spent some time weaving at one of the looms. It was a good day. I'm bouncing around from one hobby to another, not because of a lack of attention, but to reduce muscle strain from spending too long doing any one particular thing. 

It was nice to get a bit of weaving done. It's been awhile!

Happy Valentine's Day

 A top secret project can be revealed now that the gifts have been delivered.

These two versions of "Louie the Lovebot" were knit up last month and have been waiting around to become Valentine's Day gifts for my teenage granddaughters. They seemed to have been well received.

The pattern by Rebecca Danger was at one time a freebee on the Knitpicks website.

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.

Twists and Turns

Long after the finish I am finally writing about my "Twists and Turns" shawl by Stephen West. It was a mystery knit-a-long, and there was considerable pressure during the knitting to not give out any "spoilers" to those still knitting.

The knitting of this shawl took all of October -- and I do mean ALL. Clues came out once a week for 4 weeks. I knit for at least a couple of hours every single day for an entire month, but managed to keep up.

I LOVE it!

Well --- at least from an artistic point of view I love it. I love the colours and the very eye catching contrasts of it. I love that it is knit entirely in yarn that I spun myself. I loved knitting it, and the challenge of making a few changes to the pattern. I even love how it looks when worn.

What I don't love about it has nothing to do with the pattern itself or my knitting of it.

 

What don't I love?

Well, it turns out that as much as I do love the challenge of knitting shawls, and even the finished shawls, I just am not much of a shawl wearer.

I like my clothing to be fuss free, and I find a shawl to be the exact opposite. 

It seems that no matter how I drape a shawl I am constantly fussing and fiddling with it. If I get it "just right" it doesn't stay there long. 

It's exasperating! Fuss, fuss, fuss ---

fiddle, fiddle, fuss 'n' struggle.

I think I'll admire shawls from a distance now and stick to something more wearable. A cowl that looks like a shawl perhaps? Far more wearable!

Rolled Tight In Boro

I was given a nice set of ergonomic crochet hooks for Christmas, but they needed a safe home so I set about making a custom roll to store them in.

 

I wove the Inkle band tie that holds the roll closed quite some time ago. It's nice that it finally has a use. 

The inner part of the roll has numerous slots that are custom sized to hold the varying handle widths on my crochet hook collection. Each slot in the roll has the size written on it so that it's easier to find what I want and also easier to put the hooks away when I'm finished. 

Unfortunately after the slots were all labelled and sewn I found an errant hook stuck in an abandoned project. That hook must now reside, out of order, in an unlabeled space that I had at the end of the roll. 

I've had  a roll of printed fabric labels that read: "Marlene Randall ORIGINAL" for decades now. I believe they were purchased nearly 40 years ago and this may be the very first time I've used one.

I'm very happy with this project and I hope that it will get decades of use and perhaps one day become an heirloom.

The outer cover of the roll was a very labor intense project!

It is boro style patchwork and the entire surface is completely covered in running stitches travelling in all different directions. 

 

That type of stitching is very characteristic of this style of patchwork.

Nifty Bobbin Winder

Now that I have a loom in more than one room in my house, winding a bobbin for a loom in the weaving room meant walking to the living room where the Saori CH60 loom with its onboard bobbin winder resides. Not a long walk, but inconvenient when working on a project behind closed doors (puppy requirement!). The Saori loom is often draped in a dust cover too, making access even less convenient when I'm working on a different loom. Enter this nifty gadget.

This is a "bobbin speed winder insert" for my electric screwdriver. I purchased it from the Woolery during a 50% off sale.

It makes quick work of winding a shuttle bobbin and if you already own an electric drill or screwdriver it is a far less expensive option than buying an actual bobbin winder, especially an electric one!

Shipping and the US to Canadian exchange rate made it more expensive, of course, but still cheaper than the "real" bobbin winders --- which I also would have had to pay shipping and exchange rates on.

Persian Tiles Blanket

The epic "Persian Tiles Blanket" afghan project is finally complete, and as much as I enjoyed making it I am glad to be moving on to other projects. 

This was months of work! I started it on September 7th and worked on it for a couple of hours nearly every day (minus the entire month of October when I was busy with Stephen West's "Twists and Turns Shawl") and I was finally able to get it finished today, January 10th.

Not being able to get my hands on the "Eastern Jewels" yarn kit, and wanting a larger afghan anyway, I made up my own colourway using what colours I could coordinate in "Hobbii Amigo" yarn.

I chose to finish the afghan with the "Persian Tiles Extension" border by Tracy Fear.

The border pattern is quite vague about stitch counts, and I made a rectangular afghan rather than a square, so I found my corners didn't line up quite the way they were supposed to and I worked them out as best I could.

As usual, all links are only there for your convenience and I don't receive any kickbacks from your "clicks".

Italian Silk To Begin the New Year

 I did manage to get another loom dressed in time for the New Year.

This is the little Leclerc Dorothy 4 harness table loom dressed in pure Italian silk for a Pinwheel pattern. It will be a learning experience for me, for sure. I'm not really sure how to "properly" carry the yarns up the selvedge. I'm also not sure if I should have done the beginning hemstitching in black, before throwing the first few picks of the pattern in white? I kind of wish now that I had, though I'm not taking it out now.

One Neck Kink Later

 I managed to get the 6 metre, 480 thread warp onto the Woolhouse Tools Carolyn yesterday, but it was quite the undertaking and resulted in a sore neck.

Did I learn my lesson? Nope. I'm back at it again today, planning, winding, threading, sleying, beaming, and tying on another warp (if all goes well!). This time it will be a smaller project. Just a scarf for the wee little Leclerc Dorothy loom.

New Starts for the New Year

I'm attempting to get all my looms dressed in time to ring in the New Year. I have some vague recollection that a dressed loom is supposed to be symbolic of great potential for the new year -- 'er somethin'. Maybe I made that up? Anyway, sounds good to me.

First up is the Saori loom, now dressed in a multi-textural warp in natural colours. No specific end product in mind, just "yardage" to tame the overflowing stash box of natural coloured yarn bits and bobs.

Next up is the larger of my two Inkle looms. I have warped it for a white/black/grey-silver band that I'll use a portion of for my growing collection of interchangeable bands for my medical alert information tag.

Now being wound for my Woolhouse Tools Carolyn is an 8/2 cotton warp for dish towels. These will be woven in a 2x2 twill. They are another stash buster project, this time using up small amounts of various blue cottons.

If I somehow find the time between now and the New Year I'd like to also put a short warp on my wee little Windhaven Ukulele inkle loom. Maybe a tubular band of some sort? The little Dorothy could use a scarf warp too. We'll see how far I get. Not much time left in 2022!

Narrow Scarf Passes the Test

In late November I scrounged around in my stash looking for a ball of somethin-er-other to pair with a quick and easy pattern I could do while waiting in the car while my husband had cataract surgery, since I was to be his designated driver after the procedure.

This little scarf, somewhat of my own design, but inspired by the Pomegranate Shawl by Drops Design, paired with a single ball of King Cole Riot Double Knitting, fit the bill. It's simple garter stitch other than a bit of shaping done on every 6th row. My innovation was to give it an I-cord edging all around.

It's been finished for a few weeks now and has passed the test of daily use. It's warm and cozy and just the right length and width. I like the way it hugs my neck without long ends to worry about.

It's nice and warm on our chilly early morning dog walks.

 

Nano2 Arrival

My little Nano2 spinning wheel from Dreaming Robots has arrived. I backed the Kickstarter for it with no hesitation whatsoever since the inventor, Maurice Ribble, has such an excellent track record with his Kickstarter funded projects.   

I've individualized mine with a few vibrant green 3D parts printed locally by "Got Wood Customs".

Here is what it looked like before the customization:

Each tiny bobbin only holds 2 ounces, so I will continue to use my EEW6 for plying. 

My first skein is 2.65 ounces (76 grams) of Gotland wool spun to a 2ply laceweight. 

Kisses For Santa

Teddy had a bath this morning in preparation for a visit to Santa.

While he was there he made sure to give Santa a KISS.