Tag: knitting

Coastal Starry

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I made my first starry stole for one of my grandmothers for Christmas. I was hoping to have two done by Christmas time, but like most of my plans to make presents that didn’t pan out.

I bought the Oregon coast colorway of Knit Picks Shadow thinking it would be a much lighter,more neutral color from the picture on the website. I am actually very happy that it turned out darker than I expected. The color is similar to beach sand (hence the Oregon Coast name) with subtle rainbow-esque variations within the colors.

After making the first one, I decided that the rest of these (of which there will be four) should be a little longer than the pattern calls for. I did four repeats of the full chart rather than the three called for in the pattern. That gave it a bit extra length to be wrapped like a scarf:

or to actually be wrapped around the shoulders when worn as a shawl:

Unfortunately, this meant I needed more beads than I ended up with, due to quite a few beads that were unusable for the project. Either the holes were too small or they didn’t even have holes. Whatever the case, I had to improvise. Luckily, by doing both sides at once I was able to put the different beads directly in the center so they are all directly in the back and it won’t be noticeable. Though I did have some gold beads that made it less noticeable, anyway.

I really like the way it came out with the added length, so I am going to do that for the last two as well. Makes it easier to keep it on the shoulders.

Mitts (Perhaps a Bit Late)

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I had the grand notion of making mitts for all the kids for Christmas. You probably know where this story is going by now. Had the yarn, didn’t have the time, continued making them now. I started the first, smallest pair on December 22, and then left them to sit in a drawer until about last week.

Once I actually got started working on them, it took less than a day for the baby size. I don’t think it was much longer for the bigger ones to fit a small child. These are just basic mitts, 2×2 rib on the bottom and top, stockinette in the middle with a slit thumb worked back and forth.

Exact recipe for the baby mitts (ages 2ish-3ish):
Materials:
– Knit Picks Stroll Sock Yarn
– Size 1.5 (2.5mm) and 2.5 (3.0mm) circular or double point needles
Gauge
9 stitches x 10 rows = 1 inch in Stockinette Stitch
Instructions
1. Cast on 52 stitches. Join to work in the round.
2. Knit 2 Purl 2 rib for 1.25 inches.
3. Change color and work 3 rows stockinette (Knit all stitches).
4. Switch to knitting flat, slipping the first stitch of each row (knit one row, turn at end and purl back, turn again and knit, etc.) for 1 inch.
5. Rejoin in the round and knit for .5 inches.
6. Change to ribbing color, knit 1 round.
7. Knit 2 Purl 2 rib for .5 inches.
8. Bind off using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off or any other bind-off that will stretch with the ribbing.

As you can see, the big kid’s (ages 4ish-6ish) version isn’t much different, just larger proportions:
Instructions
1. Cast on 60 stitches. Join to work in the round.
2. Knit 2 Purl 2 rib for 1.5 inches.
3. Change color and work 5 rows stockinette (Knit all stitches).
4. Switch to knitting flat, slipping the first stitch of each row (knit one row, turn at end and purl back, turn again and knit, etc.) for 1.5 inch.
5. Rejoin in the round and knit for .75 inches.
6. Change to ribbing color, knit 1 round.
7. Knit 2 Purl 2 rib for .75 inches.
8. Bind off using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off or any other bind-off that will stretch with the ribbing.

As always, if you make these, leave a comment with a link to pictures. I love to see everyone else’s take on things like this. Also, do you have a favorite glove/mitten pattern? What is your policy on Christmas presents that don’t get finished/given for Christmas? Do you just give it whenever, or do you hold it over until the next Christmas/gift-giving opportunity?

My New Christmas Toy

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That I got in the mail this week. I used a Christmas gift certificate to buy it, so technically it was a Christmas present.

This is a yarn swift. See, some yarn comes wrapped in circles called “skeins”. These are really obnoxious to wind into balls because they like to tangle in on themselves no matter how much you try to keep them lying flat. In steps the swift that holds the circle tight and spins around to keep the yarn untangled.

Working with the yarn winder and swift is fun. In fact, it is so much fun that I am planning to keep my “stash” yarns in skeins to wind them when I need them again. That and I read that it is more gentle on the yarns. When they sit around wound into balls it can stretch the yarn out and cause shrinking when you wash what you have knit. I tried to find where I read that, but I don’t feel like doing more than five minutes of research right now.

I can also mark down approximately how much yardage I have left by counting how many times I wrap the yarn around the “niddy-noddy” to make the skeins. Makes it much easier later to know what I can make out of the yarn.

The swift is supposed to go on the side of a table, but the desk in my room is larger than the opening at the bottom of the swift. However, it fits perfectly on the arm of my chair as you can see in the first picture. That does make it the perfect height to stand next to while winding the yarn.

Everyone has something that other people think is boring that they love doing. I also love licking envelopes. I actually like the taste of envelope glue. What random things do you get excited about doing that other people think are strange or boring?