Finished Project, FINALLY

Here I am in my finished sweater! I love this sweater, with the big pockets and the cable design on the front. The pattern is Astor, from the Berroco Yarn website, and it is a free pattern. The pattern called for 3/4 length sleeves and I wanted them a bit longer, but what I didn't think about is that my arms are obviously shorter than the model the sweater was on. So, the 3/4 length sleeves would probably have been perfect on me. If you look close, you will see my sleeves rolled up. I am thinking that I may shorten them.

 

 

This is my newest pattern, A Zig and A Zag Scarf.  It is currently being tested on Ravelry and I hope to have it listed next week.

 

My testers say that they like the pattern and at least one will be making it again! That is always a good sign. :)

Projects, Finished and Not

In a previous post, I had shown my Happy Mistake, pinned and blocking. Here it is on my mannequin for you to see. I love the way the wrap is asymmetrical.

 

 

 

I will also, put one end up over my shoulder, use a shawl pin to hold it in place, and wear it like a poncho. This shows my lace edging well.

 

Here is one of my favorite live models.  I have several of those. :) She is modeling her Tardis scarf, one of the two that I had knit for Christmas gifts.  Can you see that her t-shirt has a Tardis on it as well?  I am sorry the picture is blurry, it was Christmas, there was excitement and Gramma(me), didn't hold the camera still.  Hahaha!  

 

 

This sweater is Astor. Astor is a free pattern on Berroco yarn's website. Click on the link, and you should go directly there. I like the fact that this sweater is knit out of a bulky yarn and is a loose sweater, with pockets!! It may be a jacket for me here in TX, but I will definitely wear it inside on those cold, dark and windy days, when the house is sooooooooooo drafty.

 

This is not me, but a professional model, from the Berroco site. :)

 

I am using Lamb's Pride Bulky in Grey Heather for my sweater.

 

At the time of taking the picture, I had the back and pocket linings done. I was starting the left front and had just added the pocket lining to it.  I do have the left front and 99% of the right front done now. Will post more pictures soon. I did find it helpful to put markers where the twist stitch sections repeat. Of course, I didn't think of it until I was 75% done with the second front. But, even for that small amount of knitting it was helpful and left me thinking, "Why hadn't I done that for the left front???"

 

Last, but not least, is my plastic bag tote bag. I used the plastic grocery and shopping bags for this project.  I am sure you know the bags, they are the ones we are supposed to recycle, but collect in our closets until they are falling out of them.  

 

What fun this was! I cut the plastic bags, looped them together and made up this tote bag. It took a while to make it, but I am happy with the results. The green bag was from The UPS Store guy and our employees. When they heard that I was working on this project, they contributed this huge bag to it.  Huge means, it is about 5 feet tall and 30 inches in diameter. It holds the Styrofoam peanuts that we have to use to pack our boxes securely.

 

And the inside.

Mittens, Gauge Swatching and the blessing of Ravelry

This is my recent saga, a disappointing story about a cute pair of mittens and how Ravelry can be of such a great help to those of us who knit and crochet!

 

I found this mitten pattern on Ravelry. I think they are adorable and decided that I would try to make them. I purchased the pattern, found some handspun yarn (that was the weight needed) and started my gauge swatching.

 

Yes, I can be somewhat of a gauge fanatic. :)

 

The gauge on the pattern states: 13 sts and 15 rows = 2." Yarn weight is worsted weight, 200 yards to 3.5 oz. Knitting needles: Size 4 US (3.5mm)

 

My gauge on size 4 needles is: 11 sts to 2 inches in stockinette stitch. Oops. So, I switched to size 3 US and measured 12 sts to 2 inches.  I then tried a mill spun worsted weight yarn and received the same gauge numbers.

 

 

 

I put my swatches aside and went back to Ravelry to see what other knitters had experienced with this pattern.

First, I looked up a friend's project and found that she had put hers in time out! Oh, boy, this isn't looking good. They were too big, although they looked gorgeous!

 

 Then, I started reading other knitter's project notes and discovered that most of them complained about the mittens being too long or too wide, basically too big. The plot thickens.

 

So, I started thinking about how to fix this, so that I could make them fit. They really are cute.

This morning, I thought to look at the cast on number, for the cuff, and then the number we would increase to for the hand part. Here is what I found.

 

The non-cuff portion of the mitten, has 60 sts in it. At the designer's gauge, that would be 9.25 inches around the hand. My hand, at its widest, measures 7.5 inches. I don't want 1.75 inches of ease on my mitten. For length, at 58 rows of the pattern, They would be 7.75 inches long. My hand, above my wrist to the tip of my middle finger is 6.75 inches. I don't want the top of the mitten hanging and flopping around, either.

 

About now, you may be saying, "JOANNE, how did you figure that out?!" :)

 

I will show you with my gauge numbers.

 

Let's take my smallest gauge of  12 sts to 2 inches. Doesn't seem like that is off by too much, right? :)

-60 stitches is our total of stitches.

-I get 12 stitches to 2 inches.

-Divide, yes you can do this, get out the calculator. :) Put in 60  for the total stitches, tap the divide button, and enter 12(for the stitches that I have in the 2 inches). Tap the = button. The answer is 5. Next, we multiply by the inches, which is 2. So, 5 x 2 = 10.  That means with my smallest gauge, I would have a mitten 10 inches around. ack!

 

NOTE: I did my gauge swatch in stockinette stitch. The designer didn't say if she used stockinette for her gauge swatch or took the gauge from her fair isle design.  At either rate, her gauge would still make them too big for me.

 

Here is what I have decided. I am afraid to go any further with worsted weight yarn. I could do a gauge swatch in the round, working in a fair isle design and see. But, with so many on Ravelry having issues with their finished mittens being too big, I don't think I will.

 

I looked at some lighter weight yarns and their gauge numbers. It is looking like maybe these mittens could be knit out of sock weight yarn on size 2 or 3 US needles and they just might fit. I haven't swatched and won't be, anytime soon. I don't have yarn in my stash, that I would use for the mittens, and I wanted thicker mittens anyway.

 

The picture below is from the pattern itself. Looking closely, do you think the mittens look big on her? I do.

 

I still think that they are cute!!!

Fall Colors and a Happy Mistake

We were able to take a trip back east for a few days. We did have a great time and were able to see family members who we haven't visited with in years. We landed at LaGuardia, rented a car and drove up the NY State Thruway. Fall colors were just starting and I enjoyed every minute of that drive! The UPS Store guy keeps telling everyone that I must have taken 100 photos or more, LOL, and maybe I did....... I was just sooooooo excited to get to see the colors.

 

This picture is on the Thruway. Don't worry I won't post all of them.

 

 

This picture was taken on a smaller road, on the way to visit The UPS Store guy's dad and mom.

 

AND this is how close I was to Rhinebeck, home of the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival! My in-laws live in Rhinebeck. We were there a mere 3 days before the festival! no, I didn't get to attend it. But, I love this billboard and took yet another picture. The UPS Store guy knew that I had lost it, with this one, good thing he knows me and my pension for sheep and yarn.

We had a wonderful time upstate and I now have an invitation from one of the best SIL's and BIL's to stay at their home for Rhinebeck Wool Festival anytime I wish to attend it.  I tell you, I do have 3 wonderful SIL's. Two on my side and one on The UPS Store guy's side.

 

We had to leave upstate NY and travel back down to Long Island to visit my family for a PARTY!!  My mom turned 90 and we had her party on the 18th.  It was a fun time by all. Family, church friends and neighbors all attended and there were lots of laughs and stories floating around. Here's Mom!

 

 

Well, all the time we spent flying and driving did give me time to work on projects.  This one is actually finished!

It actually is a mistake. Yep, a bonafide mistake. However, it is a happy mistake and thus has been named.  The original pattern is a free crochet pattern on Ravelry, called Hitchin' a Ride.  Well, I left out a step. So, my Hitchin' a Ride became more of a crocheted Lazy Katy, than a Hitchin' a Ride.  The edge that is on the top of the picture should be stair stepped. But, mine isn't and I added the crocheted lace to it, to dress it up anyway.  Couldn't have done the lace edge if I had followed the directions. So, here is Happy Mistake.

 

Fixing Knitting Mistakes

Chances are, if you knit or crochet, you have ripped out rows and rows of your work to fix a mistake.  I have anyway.  I have actually ripped out an entire sweater and reknit it. WHY? you ask, well, I didn't do a gauge swatch, hahaha, and it was too big.  It would've fit the jolly green giant.  I tried to find someone big enough to wear it and there was no one, seriously. NOW, my motto is "Do a gauge swatch." 

Well, that is off track and I wanted to show you what I did to fix a mistake so that I didn't have to rip out rows and rows and rows and rows and rows. 

This little tool has been out for a while, and I put off purchasing it because I thought it a bit pricey at $18.  I mean, I can use a crochet hook and use that money to buy more yarn and fiber.  LOL! So, as I have been helping people fix their knitting issues, with a crochet hook, I would think about this little tool and WISH I had purchased it when I had seen it. 

A few weeks ago, I went to a yarn shop in Dallas and found the tool! 

It is a good thing I broke down and purchased it. I have used it several times on just my scarf! Here is one instance. Just above the safety pin is a mistake. For some insane reason I had purled and not knit the garter stitch, who knows why?  Maybe so I could use my tool?  :)

 

Below, I have lightened the picture and did a close up so that maybe you can see the error of my ways.

 

I then slipped the stitches, from the closest outside edge to the mistake stitch onto a double pointed needle for safe keeping. I am using a circular needle for knitting my project. Next I dropped the stitch that formed the column of stitches where the mistake happened. You can see the ladders. Now for the test of my tool.

 

FIXED! In record time. Using a tool that has a hook on either end, was so much easier for garter stitch than fussing with a crochet hook.  IMHO, it is worth every penny. :)

 

Just so you know, I have made more mistakes and have been able to use the tool for help in fixing them.  But, I did place the beads in the wrong place and actually did rip out about 20 rows or so....  I had placed the 4 window beads on the right side of the picture and they needed to be on the left side. (I was watching movie at that point) Although I could've used the tool, I figured it would be easier to rip. I would have to fiddle with the other beads above the 4 that would have to be removed and replaced on either side of the picture, so I could move the beads.  To me that would've taken the same amount of time to fix.

 

If you have never dropped a stitch, on purpose, and you decide to try it, lay your knitting flat on a table while you work with it.  That way you aren't fighting gravity and gravity won't make it rip past where you want it to go.  Laying it down on a table also will give you a good view of your knitting and free up both of your hands for use in fixing your mistake.

 

 

Cotton Knitting!

In March, I went to the Wildflower Fiber Retreat. On the way to Tyler, TX, where the retreat was held, my friend Sharon and I stopped at a yarn shop named Rose Path. It is a great shop and the ladies inside were very friendly. Even the gals sitting and knitting at the table were friendly! There was a shawl/scarf/light wrap laying on top of some yarn and it caught both of our eyes. What a great shawl for Texas, or actually, anywhere that you might just need a light shawl or scarf. It was made from cotton yarn, which is a great yarn to use for summers in Texas.

 

My thought process at the time was, I could knit this up for summer and get to where it in the cold air conditioning.  Well, summer is almost over and it is FINALLY done.  :)  I love it and the cotton is some of the softest yarn I have used.

 

 



 

The pattern is named 3S Shawl, by Amy A Meade, found on Ravelry as a free pattern, and fingering weight yarn. Here is the link to the pattern on Ravelry. I used the larger size needles and I did the crochet bind off. Also, I worked a couple of rows of the pattern stitch, *k2tog, yo,* before I worked my bind off. That way the bottom edge had a bit more of a lacey look.

Knitting Short Rows

I have always thought that there should be a better way to knit short rows than wrap and turn.  It always seemed fiddly to me. This morning I was on you-tube looking at videos and found this one on German short rows! It really looks good, although I haven't tried it yet.  She has a second video if you need to work the short row on the purl side.