did I mention what I am knitting?

I am knitting a hat and a shawl….

:D

Need more details than that? Ok, ok. :)

The hat is true mindless knitting. It’s the Sockhead Hat pattern and I am used Cabin Cove Mercantile’s Ombre yarn in the colorway ‘Coal’.

The yarn has this cool spiral thing goin’ on and this has been a great project when life stresses me out and I need to calm down.

The shawl I am knitting is a kind of ‘fly-by-the-seat-of-pants’ project. I’m making it up as I go along and keep changing my mind on every row.

The yarn is Tosh Merino Light – pretty drool-worthy stuff – awesome yardage for the price.

FO: slouchy beret

This hat didn’t quite come out the way I’d hoped. (Katie’s Beret by Through The Loops)

The brim fits fine but the hat is hugely slouchy and looks more like a mushroom than a hat.

This was a fun knit but I don’t think the yarn is meant for this project. I may rip this out and try something else. I do have a total of 750 yards. I think I have an idea of what might suit this yarn better.

Stay tuned. :)

FO: elemental hat II

There’s been a flurry of finishing here at saffronknits… here’s one!

I finished the elemental hat! It was a fun mindless knitting project.

The yarn went from the stripey-ness to more barberpole at the top. Next time I make yarn like this, I’ll work to keep the stripey-ness throughout the whole yarn.

I think I want to make another one! :)

picking up where I left off

I recently pulled out a hat that had been languishing. (It’s Katie’s Beret by Through The Loops.) I’d started it in April and had begun the decreases and somehow my stitch count was off. Discouraged, I put it aside.

I’d even considered ripping it out but when I picked it up recently, I saw how much work I’d put into it and how good it looked and I just couldn’t do it. So, I figured out what the problem was and began working on it again.

The yarn is amazing. It’s the colorway ‘Cobalt Passion’ in sport weight superwash Merino by Spincerely Yours. I even went back and bought a 2nd skein in case I wanted to make something matchy-matchy.

But first? Finish The Hat! :)

matchy-matchy

Remember these fingerless mitts…

made out of this handspun??

Well, I had some yarn left over so I had to make a matching hat.

I tried to make up a top down hat…

…but it wasn’t working.

So I camed across the Sockhead Hat. Very basic and simple and really allows the yarn to do most of the work. It’s designed so you fold up the ribbing over your ears to make it warmer, but I didn’t want to mess with the flow of color in the handspun so I only did half the amount of ribbing.

This is fun stuff. I love knitting with handspun (especially my own ;) )!

lot’s o’ knitting goin’ on

I finally finished this hat. It was sitting on the needles for way too long and last month, I finally sat down and finished it in one sitting.

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda
Size: Regular (I did the slouchy last time)
Yarn: Kraemer Yarns Summit Hill in colorway Aquamarine, not a whole skein
Needles: US 7
Started: December 15 2008
Completed: May 17 2009

I love this pattern. Well worth knitting again. This will make a nice gift for a dear friend. It’s nice to have a Christmas gift done so early. :)

…aaand… this past weekend, I was knitting like a fiend and finished the heels on my Monkey-ish socks so I just need to do the legs and the cuffs. I don’t have a lot of knitting time during the week ’cause I usually only have enough mental power for spinning at the end of the day so this part might take a while, but I love knitting these socks – a combo of my creativity with that of the Cookie A. Lots ‘o fun, in my opinion. :) (The yarn is Dream in Color: Some Summer Sky … perfect for this time of year, wouldn’t you say? :D )

This is the Sherman short row heel, great for someone who doesn’t like to deal with wrapping stitches.

I decided not the carry the pattern all the way around the leg. I really like how it looks.

and I got a new knitting book!

and I know what I’m going to knit next … Oh… the anticipation. ;)

labor of love and lots of cables

On the day that I took my spinning lesson, I sat with a knitting group while waiting for my class to begin and woman was knitting a sweater out of alapca and she let a few of us touch it.

Oh. My. Gawd! I was not expecting such softness. I wanted more of that softness.

So what did I do the next weekend (November 29th)? I bought some alapaca yarn, an alpaca/silk blend to be exact – Plymouth Earth Mainland in #4 colorway.

That same day I used it to start the Gretel hat.

I’d been admiring it for a while so I just took the plunge and started it knitting. I learned the long tail tubular cast-on from a video on the designer’s website and after that I was off and running. I knit fast and furious on this hat. It has been great knit therapy when the stress and/or melancholy of the holiday season get to me.

This hat is definitely a labor of love. I love the yarn. I love the pattern. I love the person for whom this hat is for.

hats, yarn and fiber, oh my!

ok. I LOVE the first section of Knitting Workshop! It answered practically all the questions I had when I was a beginner knitter. … about joining in the round …. purling the ‘easy way’ … and knowing the difference between the ‘back’ & ‘front’ of a stitch.

and……. LOOK! at my ‘swatch cap’!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

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SPECS:
Lion Brand Wool
Size 6 US needles. (DPNs & 16″ circular)
Cast on: 84 stitches, increased to 112
Gauge: ? (I haven’t measured yet)

I’m so proud of this! It fits!! It’s a little long, but I’ll roll up the ribbing and my ears will be warmer. This is the first hat I’ve made that fits me!

Oh! and the colorwork design is mine, all mine. :) After all, Elizabeth said ‘Don’t use mine. Make up your own’. So I did! :D

I was all fired up to make another. But the yarn is not co-operating. It’s Knit Picks Wools of the Andes. It is soft, but not as soft as the Lion Brand wool I was using. So, it’s going back into stash until it lets me know what it wants to be. In the meantime, I went to the Yarn Store today and look what followed me home so I can make more hats!

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It’s all worsted weight yarn. The right three skeins are Cascade 220. I’ve never tried it before and I keep reading how much people enjoy using it so I wanted to try it.

The skein on the far left is dream in color. Does the colorway look familiar?
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It’s the same colorway as the sock yarn I bought previously. I’d totally forgotten!! :roll:

And as promised, here’s some images of some of my favorite spinning fiber that I’ve purchased:

From CJKopecCreations:

Custom Blended Wool/Bamboo Roving – SECRETS
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From AllSpunUp:
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Both below are from Spincerely Yours:

Superwash Merino/Tencel Top – Sedna
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Superwash Merino and Tencel in Freya
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Hope to see ya soon! Happy knitting & spinning! :D

happy knitting!

argh!

I just pulled all my needles out of my beret. :( I’m three rows from being finished!!! Now I have to figure out where the beginning of the row is … if I can!! I so wanted to finish today. I most likely will … but I just needed to kvetch about it… :roll:

Thanks for listening!

ETA: I’m so disappointed! The hat is too small! and I have no idea what happened. I truly believe it’s knitter error, but I’m too bummed to investigate it now. I think it’s time to try another hat pattern. I’ll come back to this one later. I still intend this to be a present for someone. Good thing it’s intended for Christmas 2008

The Blue Beret

I’m working on another Periwinkle Beret. I’m using Lorna’s Laces Sport, the yarn designated for the pattern. It’s hard to see in the photo, but I love the subtle variations of blue in the yarn.

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I’m half way through the decreases. I know I keep saying this, but I throughly enjoy knitting this pattern.

I recently had the desire to knit myself some socks. But I don’t have yarn I want to use. Now … if you know my penchant for Cabin Cove handpainted yarn, you’ll know that I have some perfectly good yarn to use. But I love that yarn so much, I’m hard pressed to use it for socks that are going to wear out. Besides, two skeins are ear marked for the Chevron scarf and another is on hold for the Lettuce Leaf Scarf. And I’ve discovered as much as I like variegated yarns, I don’t enjoy them as socks … at least not with US size 3 needles and it’s going to be a while before I go back to US size 2 needles. So … I’m in search of yarn for my next pair of socks. I’d love to try Vesper Sock Yarn, but it’s currently out of stock. I’ll keep searching and I’ll let you know what I find.

Today was a nice sunny day so I took advantage of it and took a bunch of photos for upcoming posts so I just need to type them up.

And to all the people who have commented on my last few posts, Thank YOU! I am very appreciative of you taking the time to comment!

Happy knitting and thanks for stopping by!

knitting smiley

FO: Beret

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Pattern: Periwinkle Beret by Grumperina
Yarn: Australian Merino Sport Weight Wool from Cabin Cove Mercantile
Colorway:Sunshine Sherbet
Needles: US size 2/US size 3 dpns (pattern called for size 1 & 2)
Completed: October 27, 2007
Notes:I wanna say that first of all that this was a fun knit. Pattern was easy to follow. (and that’s saying a lot considering how pattern challenged I can be). This is the 2nd hat pattern by Grumperina that I’ve done and each one was a joy. She even made trying a new cast-on a non-scary experience. The tubular cast-on was cool to do and very stretchy.

The yarn is reused from another hat I did and I like this one so much better. This yarn was the first purchase I ever made from Cabin Cove Mercantile and that makes it extra special to me. I think it was among the first batch of yarns Dave ever sold online. I had never used wool and never bought yarn online. Classic Cabin Cove is how I like to think about this yarn. I think the coloring works well with the pattern… the spiraling is pretty.

I have no idea who this hat is for. This project was all about the experience of knitting. I have no doubt that I will probably make another.

Keep on knitting!

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as the spindle turns…

(picture heavy post)

In the beginning… I spun these. I bought a sampler of some unknown wool that I really didn’t like.

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But this one was my very first attempt at spinning. I caught onto it very quickly… and I think I only dropped my spindle once while working on this little skein.
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My next attempt: 4 oz of dyed Corridale from Hello Yarn which resulted in about 35 yds of super bulky yarn. I have no clue what to do with it.
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This is the fiber that started all this spinning. This time I managed to get 70 yds from the 4 oz of Merino. I was kinda nervous about using this fiber ’cause I kept hearing that it can be a challenge for beginning spinners but I had no trouble with it at all. :)
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I continued my quest to get more yardage from 4 oz of fiber. This merino top (Dy-no-mite) was hand dyed by FatCatKnits. When I first finished this skein, I wasn’t happy with it… which is why I haven’t blogged about it until now. This time I got 100 yards of yarn. I kinda like it now. :)
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Below is what I finished plying last night. It’s approx 173 yds, 2 oz of natural Merino. I’m not sure what the wpi is… however … if you read my previous post about my spinning goal … well, I guess I reached it. Which has me totally amazed. Now a better goal would be to try to get worsted weight… to spin thicker. I guess I was so focused on spinning thinner singles, I went beyond what I was trying for. This took quite a while to spin … and … I have 2 oz more to spin. :-| This will be the most I’ve gotten out of 4 oz of fiber! :)
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Up next? I’m going to spin one of the other wool tops/rovings that I have before I get back to this yarn. Spinning about 346 yards of singles can get pretty boring when it’s one color.

In knitting news, I’m almost finished with the Beret. I’ve just started the decreases. I’m very much enjoying this pattern! Thanks for the fun, Grumperina! :)

And now for the good news! I ordered a new spindle!!! WOO HOO! I mailed payment today and it should take about 3-4 weeks for me to get it! I’m so excited! But I don’t wanna say what kind yet… I wanna surprise you! Stay tuned!!!!!!!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by! :)

ttfn! :D

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Trust … adventure… and spinning

Trusting can be hard. Oftentimes it is not given… it is earned. And imagine my surprise to realize this applies to kitting as well. And specifically… knitting patterns.

I mean following the written instructions and believing that it will work out (errata aside). I mean, this could be about confidence in my knitting, but I don’t think so.

Currently I’m working on a hat that is started with the tubular cast-on, which I’ve never done before. While I was still within the first inch, doing a k1 p1 rib… and I looked at the circumference knowing full well this isn’t gonna fit an adult sized head and I’m envisioning that that will change one I remove the waste yarn from the edge.

I could have done more research about this particular cast-on, but that would have given away the opportunity of mystery and discovery that is a part of the process of knitting. So, I will keep knitting this hat … trusting this designer, trusting a technique that is not new, by any means, and enjoying the mystery and adventure of learning a new technique and trying a new pattern. :)

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The yarn I am using is recycled from previous projects that were either going nowhere or and I never did like the final result. So I washed and reset the yarn and started working on Grumperina‘s Periwinkle Beret. The yarn looked really nice as a stockinette hat before and I wanted to stay with that. I’m starting to discover that I don’t really like hand painted yarns in pattern (but I’m sure there will be exceptions :D ). The yarn is Cabin Cove Mercantile Sport Weight in colorway ‘Sunrise Sherbert’. It’s 100% Australian Merino… so soft and squishy. *happy sigh*

Oh… and remember these socks?

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They now look like this:

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I just wasn’t happy with the colors. The yarn is so beautiful and bright and the pattern didn’t show that off at all.

Lastly… spinning. I finally have spinning goal. I really like this beret pattern and I think it would look pretty made with handspun. So I’d like to be able to spin enough 2-ply sport weight to be able to make this (or any) hat with it. And…I’ll soon be ordering a new spindle so I’m not tied to spinning one roving/top at a time (yes I know I can make my own… but I don’t wanna ;) ). Can’t wait!

I guess that’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by!!! :)

ttfn!

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