Thursday, November 29, 2012

Learning Lining

This week’s knitting has been all about learning how to line a pair of mittens. I’ve been making it up as I go along and so far so good. I did have a couple of false starts until I figured out the gauge of my knitting yarn, which although similar is just a hair wider than the mitten yarn used.

Here is the work so far. I’m liking it! I put in a Cyber Monday yarn order with KnitPicks and threw in some yarn that will be perfect to line another pair of mittens someday soon.

 

Sunday, November 25, 2012

November Project - Large Mittens


UPDATE - When this was orginally posted, these mittens were up for sale. Then tonight I decided they were just large enough to be perfect for lining. So I'm busy knitting up some lining for these mittens. Stay tuned for a post when the lining is finished. They will likely return to the For Sale pile at that time.




My November project was another pair of mittens, using the Fall colour theme again. I wanted to see how the mittens would turn out when knit with a larger sized needle. The results are good and the mittens did turn out larger. Since most of my mitts fit a small to medium hand, I’m pleased to offer a larger mitt for sale.
 
 
The pattern is my own design, and the yarn is KnitPicks Palette. (I'm dreaming of more Palette yarn, in the hopes that KnitPicks has a good Cyber Monday sale tomorrow!)




  • Size: Large (will be roomy for a medium sized hand, and quite comfortable for a larger hand and wrist)
  • Content: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
  • Care: Hand wash/dry flat (that’s the official instruction, but since I like the look of mittens that are slightly felted, I just put mine in the washing machine on a gentle cycle)
  • Price: $25.00 (CAD) plus shipping costs

If you are interested in purchasing these socks please email me and I will let you know the shipping costs.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

A Few Pairs of Socks For Sale


In addition to mittens for sale, I have a few pairs of socks that would like to go to a new home. I am offering these socks for sale, not with the intent of making a profit, but rather to ask just a bit above cost to make some money to feed my yarn habit.

If you are interested in purchasing these socks please email me and I will let you know the shipping costs.


Summer Vacation Socks

These socks contain a pleasing mix of blues, greens and yellows. The colour’s name is “summer vacation” and it jumped out at me when I was trying to find something to knit while we were off on our summer vacation.  The pattern is made of a wavy rib that forms a mock cable.


  • Size: Women’s medium-large
  • Content: 75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon
  • Care: Machine wash, gentle cycle/tumble dry low, or dry flat
  • Price: $25.00 (CAD) plus shipping costs
 

Snow Crocus Socks

These socks came to life when I spotted the ball of yarn with the colour name “snow crocus”. The name was perfect as the yarn has a beautiful blend of purple, yellow and green, against a light background that brings to mind the colours that are seen when the first crocuses of the year come up. The pattern has a plain back set off by a set of cables running down the front of the sock to the top of the toe.


  • Size: Women’s medium-large
  • Content: 80% Merino Wool, 20% Nylon
  • Care: Machine wash, gentle cycle/tumble dry low, or dry flat
  • Price: $25.00 (CAD) plus shipping costs


Castle Walls Socks

The colour name for these socks, “castle walls”, captures the subtle shades of grey and beige. The touch of alpaca in the yarn makes them a wonderfully soft treat for the feet. The pattern is an all over rib with a cable detail running down the side.

  
  • Size: Women’s medium-large
  • Content: 50% Merino Wool, 25% Superfine Alpaca, 25% Nylon
  • Care: Hand wash, dry flat (unless you don’t mind a bit of felting, then you could machine wash on a gentle cycle and dry flat)
  • Price: $25.00 (CAD) plus shipping costs

 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

My To Do List

I just looked over at the top of my sewing dresser and realized it is my current to do list.




On the left side there are three stacks of fabric squares that need to be sewn into quilt squares. This is intimidating as the fabric is precisely stacked in the order it will be sewn together.  I need about 12 hours of sewing time to get that stage done, and if anyone knocks those piles of fabric over before I find that 12 hours, my stacking system will have failed me and I’ll have to crawl into a ball and cry. 

Under the fabric is a book I want to finish. I started reading “The Wonder Boys” back when I was on jury duty. Since then I’ve been distracted by other books on my Kindle. I need to carve out some time to finish this book and get it back to its rightful owner.

On the right, is the current mitten project which I want to finish by the end of November.  I’m almost done the first mitten so it should be easy enough to knit the second one within the next two weeks.

And under the yarn, although it is the least time consuming, is the most dauntingly stack of paperwork that I need to figure out and take care of sooner, rather than later. I changed jobs recently and that always comes with a stack of benefits papers to sign and process. Hopefully I’ll get that taken care of this weekend (but first I need to go buy some stamps.)

The saddest part of this picture is that I have a pounding headache tonight, which means that this picture will look exactly the same, this time tomorrow. (But the happy part is that this time tomorrow is the weekend!)

Sunday, November 11, 2012

A Few Pairs of Mitts For Sale

I’ve rummaged through my tickle trunk and determined I have a few pairs of mittens that are in need of a good home. I am offering these mittens for sale, not with the intent of making a profit, but rather to ask just a bit above cost to make some money to feed my yarn habit.

If you are interested in purchasing these mittens please email me and I will let you know the shipping costs.

 

Neapolitan Mittens

These mittens combine chocolate brown, light strawberry pink, and creamy vanilla colours into a combination reminiscent of Neapolitan ice cream.



  • Size: Medium (but should fit most hands)
  • Content: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
  • Care: Hand wash/dry flat (that’s the official instruction, but since I like the look of mittens that are slightly felted, I just put mine in the washing machine on a gentle cycle)
  • Price: $25.00 (CAD) plus shipping costs


Currant Mittens

These mittens are made from a deep currant/burgundy colour offset by a nice dark ash grey.




  • Size: Medium/Small (should fit most hands, but will be snug on a larger hand)
  • Content: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
  • Care: Hand wash/dry flat (that’s the official instruction, but since I like the look of mittens that are slightly felted, I just put mine in the washing machine on a gentle cycle)
  • Price: $25.00 (CAD) plus shipping costs


Fall Mittens - SOLD

These mittens are called “Fall Mittens” because I finished them just as summer was turning to fall. They are made of a lovely orange and yellow combination with a navy blue highlight for interest on the cuff.



  • Size: Medium/Small (should fit most hands, but the cuff will be snug on a larger wrist)
  • Content: 100% Peruvian Highland Wool
  • Care: Hand wash/dry flat (that’s the official instruction, but since I like the look of mittens that are slightly felted, I just put mine in the washing machine on a gentle cycle)
  • Price: $25.00 (CAD) plus shipping costs


Stay tuned for a sock sale. I found some of those in the trunk too.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Knitalong - Knitting a Square

And another week has passed by. How is this happening? I started a new job recently and my commute is twice as long. I think that has been seriously cramping my blog style. Although the commute is twice as long it is also twice as nice. I used to have to stand on the train most days, but now at the end of the day I get to settle into a seat and dive into a book while the train takes me home. At the end of the day, sitting is much better than standing!

While I haven’t had much time to blog, I’ve still found time to do other things, including starting something new (even thought I have November mittens to finish, and all the quilt bits laying around makes my sewing corner look like I’m a hoarder.)

A Canadian Ravelry member recently put out a call for knitted squares that could be put together into a blanketthat can be raffled off to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.  Knitters like to help knitters, and Canadians like to help Canadians, so it seemed like an easy request to fulfill. (And it was a great excuse to start something new, without a long-term commitment.)

The pattern comes from a great book called Knitalong, by Larissa Brown, which celebrates the tradition of knitters getting together. The book offers a suggestion and pattern for a Barn Raising Quilt afghan that can be put together using the squares from a variety of knitters and yarns. It is a great book with some nice ideas.




I had to pull out some of my double-pointed needles that I haven’t used since I discovered magic loop knitting. It was a challenge to get the hang of holding double points again.

My first attempt was to knit an orange coloured square, but it turned out a bit too small. I have a gauge challenge when I knit. If I get the stitch width correct, my row height always falls a bit short. This means that although I followed the pattern correctly, the short row height made the block too small.




My second attempt was to knit a blue coloured square, and add in a few extra rows, to get the square to the correct dimension.




In case anyone wonders why it is good to block knitting when finished, here is what the square looked like before blocking.




I’ll send both blocks off to their destination and hopefully at least one will play nicely with the other blocks, and a beautiful end-product will be created.

Now, it is back to the November mittens (or maybe the quilt.)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Autumn Mittens

Where did my week go? I can't believe it has been 7 days since my last post. I'm not sure what I've been doing in that time, since there aren't too many quilt squares trimmed and there's been minimal knitting progress, but according to the calendar 7 days have indeed passed by.

I did manage to get started on a new pair of mittens that I plan to finish this month. They have a distinctly autumn palette going on.




Much like the past week, today has also slipped by. I had a good day roaming the city with a friend and wrapped it up with a trip to the grocery store to make some soup. I'm trying the Sirloin Soup recipe from the Mennonite Girls. It won't be ready until 8 pm ish, so by then we should be hungry enough that it tastes good, no matter how successful I am. So far all the ingredients are in the pot and it is smelling pretty good.

While at the store I picked up a nice loaf of French bread, so there will be some French toast for breakfast tomorrow. Mmmm.