Wish me luck!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Aran Sweater
Hi All! I just joined the KAL today. My brother asked me to knit him an Irish Aran Sweater with our family's clan design on it. I've never knit something so complicated, with so many cables, and I've never knit a man's sweater! He's ordering the kit and the yarn, but I don't think that will arrive until March or so, as it is coming from Ireland! Then, I'll start the knitting. Fingers crossed, I might be able to finish this in the next decade!
Wish me luck!
Wish me luck!
Inga is done!
I have finished my Inga Hat!
Pattern: Inga Hat
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style Storm, Asparagus, and a little Vanilla
Needles: 3.25mm and 3.75mm for colorwork
Started: 1/18/2008
Finished: 1/26/2008
I am very happy with it. It fits me really well, but it is a little taller than I like. If I knit this again, which I may do, I would start a few rows into the colorwork. I carried the MC, Storm, in my right hand and the CC, Asparagus, in my left, and it worked beautifully for me. I may be switching from a thrower to a picker! The braid was neat if a little fiddly. I used this tutorial which is really good, but my yarns were so twisted by the end. I used magic loop for the colorwork, but I think a 16" needle and dpns would have worked a lot better for me. I am heading to the Knit Picks site after this to purchase some for my next hat.
Pattern: Inga Hat
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style Storm, Asparagus, and a little Vanilla
Needles: 3.25mm and 3.75mm for colorwork
Started: 1/18/2008
Finished: 1/26/2008
I am very happy with it. It fits me really well, but it is a little taller than I like. If I knit this again, which I may do, I would start a few rows into the colorwork. I carried the MC, Storm, in my right hand and the CC, Asparagus, in my left, and it worked beautifully for me. I may be switching from a thrower to a picker! The braid was neat if a little fiddly. I used this tutorial which is really good, but my yarns were so twisted by the end. I used magic loop for the colorwork, but I think a 16" needle and dpns would have worked a lot better for me. I am heading to the Knit Picks site after this to purchase some for my next hat.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Quant = Entrelac= Done!
I finished this the other day, it's my first entrelac! The pattern is Quant from Knitty and the only changes I made were that I used sock yarn and US size 2 needles instead of worsted weight. This KAL was just the encouragement I needed to finally try entrelac, thanks Melanie for starting it! For my next challenge, I'm thinking intarsia because I've never done that before, I've only done stranded knitting.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
what i'm learning
As requested in the comments, here's a little blurb on what I'm learning about colorwork and what works for me while working on Venezia.
The biggest thing was figuring out how tightly/loosely to strand the nonworking yarn. My first few rows are not as neat.... Good thing its on the bottom hem!
I've tried knitting continental style but it's super awkward for me. I've found it easier for me to "throw" with both yarns in my right hand. I keep the background color (white) wrapped around my thumb when not in use and drop the pattern color (Kureyon) when not in use. By holding on to the white when not in use, it keeps the 2 colors from twisting when I switch colors. White stays on top and Kureyon stays stranded on the bottom. It sounds slow and probably is compared to the colorwork pros, but it works for me.
The knitted product doesn't stretch as much as plain knitting. If I could go back I probably would have gone up one size. The body's a slim fit right now and I'm hoping blocking will ease it up a hair.
The biggest thing was figuring out how tightly/loosely to strand the nonworking yarn. My first few rows are not as neat.... Good thing its on the bottom hem!
I've tried knitting continental style but it's super awkward for me. I've found it easier for me to "throw" with both yarns in my right hand. I keep the background color (white) wrapped around my thumb when not in use and drop the pattern color (Kureyon) when not in use. By holding on to the white when not in use, it keeps the 2 colors from twisting when I switch colors. White stays on top and Kureyon stays stranded on the bottom. It sounds slow and probably is compared to the colorwork pros, but it works for me.
The knitted product doesn't stretch as much as plain knitting. If I could go back I probably would have gone up one size. The body's a slim fit right now and I'm hoping blocking will ease it up a hair.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
diving in head first
Some time ago our KAL hostess asked on her blog about our "dream" projects and techniques that might be getting in the way of starting that project. I said my project would be one of Eunny Jang's fair isle sweaters and that I'd probably start with her Endpaper Mitts pattern. I threw that plan out the window and dove right into the Venezia Pullover from IK winter 06.
I was initially inspired by a ball of Kureyon Sock I purchased on an impulse. I'm not a sock knitter and a plain camisole didn't seem special enough. Something stranded was the way to go so I did a mini swatch using a free chart I found online. I don't know what I was afraid of because it was fun and not too hard. On Ravelry, I saw a Venezia using only 2 colors and I knew that's how I had to use the Kureyon sock. Additional details are on my Ravelry project page.
I was initially inspired by a ball of Kureyon Sock I purchased on an impulse. I'm not a sock knitter and a plain camisole didn't seem special enough. Something stranded was the way to go so I did a mini swatch using a free chart I found online. I don't know what I was afraid of because it was fun and not too hard. On Ravelry, I saw a Venezia using only 2 colors and I knew that's how I had to use the Kureyon sock. Additional details are on my Ravelry project page.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Finally started
I finally finished my Christmas knitting. I know, it's way after Christmas. Anyway, I started Inga in KP Merino Style in storm, asparagus and a little vanilla. I have finished the Latvian braid, interesting if a little fiddly, and am ready to start the charted portion. So far I am really enjoying the pattern.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Entrelac!
Yay, I started Quant today, my introduction to entrelac. So far, so good, I think I'm really starting to get it! I'm making a smaller version than the pattern calls for, I'm using sock yarn and US size 2 needles. The yarn is a lone ball of Panda Cotton in Sable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
