Just a fly-by post, since I’m madly finishing the copy-edits for my book, due to posted tomorrow.
The mitts are finished, and I managed not to stuff up the cables or anything else in mitt 2!
(Thanks to my DH for taking the photos.)
I’m very happy with the pattern, and the yarn, and look forward to wearing them when the weather gets cooler.
Now, I’d better get back to the copy-edits… after they’re done, I can start another knitting project, but not before!!
After all the problems with the two goes at the Jaywalker pattern, it’s a great feeling to actually knit something that fits first time!
Yes, I still have to knit the second one, and yes, I still have to find out if they’ll fit Kerry (and whether she’ll like them), but for the moment I’m feeling good about this. There’s enough in the skein to knit two pairs, which is great, because I definitely want a pair for myself!
ETA – Okay, it took me a while to see it, despite having photographed the glove and admired it for half of the day. But yes, there is an oopsie in that there glove. Damn. Damn. Damn. Either I get to frog it back (I don’t think I wanna), or that glove will have to become mine… but will the mistake annoy me forever? Or will I be able to achieve a zen-like acceptance of it?
Me and the Jaywalker pattern aren’t having much luck. I didn’t think I had particularly thick ankles, but they’re obviously not as slim anymore as some people’s are, because even knitting the Jaywalker on needles two three sizes larger than those recommended in the pattern, it’s coming out too tight. I can get the sock on, but it’s not the comfy type of sock sizing I like. I phoned my sister in Canberra, asked her to measure her ankle in case hers is a lot smaller then mine, but there’s not that much difference.
So, I’ve decided to frog the merino/cashmere jaywalker sock that I’d almost finished. Sniff.
To ease the pain, however, I’ve already started using that yarn for some fingerless gloves. I promised my friend Kerry some warm ones last year, but the merino/angora that I spun for the purpose is too fine. So, I’m trying out the merino/cashmere on a glove pattern. I found the free Serpentine mitts pattern, which is the right yarn size, and general style. I wasn’t too keen on the particular cable pattern, so I’ve just used the pattern for proportions and structure, and am doing a different cable pattern. I’m pleased with how it’s coming along so far:
If Kerry doesn’t like these, I’ll be more than happy to keep them myself!!
I’m still planning to use the handspun angora, but think I will knit it along with a strand of 2ply wool. When I dig out the 2ply from the depths of my cupboard, I’ll knit a swatch with the two together and see how that goes. I’m hoping it will knit to the equivalent of a 5ply or thereabouts (light worsted in US terms?) I don’t have a heap of the angora, so there won’t be enough for gauntlet-type gloves, but if it works, there should be enough for a pair of basic fingerless gloves.
My Ravelry projects page was looking somewhat uninteresting, so I rummaged in the wardrobe for some jumpers that I’d knitted in the early 1990s, dragged out Jane, my ancient (and somewhat wonky) dressmaker’s model, and took some photos:
Yarn: Patons Totem 8ply (DK)
Pattern: ‘Cecelia’ designed by Victor Herbert (London) from a Thorobred Scheepjeswol pattern booklet (circa 1988)
(NB – Jane and I are not, and in fact never have been, the same shape. No matter how much I adjust her.)
Yarn: Wangaratta Woollen Mills 8ply (main colour); Patons Totem 8ply contrasts
Pattern: basic dimensions from ‘Cecelia’ (see above); yoke and band patterns designed by moi. (And I even did a swatch, which I still have somewhere about.)
Yarn: Probably Cleckheaton Machine Wash 8ply, or similar
Pattern: my own invention
I wore these jumpers regularly for some years, until I put on too much weight – they’re supposed to be a loose style, but currently hug my tum and hips rather snugly. But I’m gonna get skinny slimmer again, so I’ll get to wear them this winter, right??
I ended up frogging the blue heel on the bright jaywalkers and have reknit it in the dark purple – and it’s much better! I don’t know a lot about colour theory, but although a very close blue is in the main yarn, I think the blue heel didn’t work because it was too ‘cool’ a colour for the warm, rich orange, pink and purple.
So, then I finished the sock, and tried it on, and…. it doesn’t fit. I can get it on my foot, but it’s tight around the foot, and way stretched around the ankle. Hmm. I’m going to let this project ‘rest’ for a little while, until I decide what to do. I’m not that keen on the colour scheme that I want to frog the sock and start again. However, my 16yo niece is on her way back from 3 months in France at the moment, so when she’s home, I’ll find out if she wants a pair of zany coloured socks. If so, I’ll finish the second sock and she can have them for her birthday in April. If not, hmmmm….
As this project is now resting, I felt justified in casting on a new sock. The merino/cashmere yarn from The Knittery has been tempting me since it arrived about two months ago. I decided to try the jaywalker pattern again, but on the next size up needles. I’m using 2.75mm this time, on the logic that this size worked for the Veronik socks I made last month.
My very basic, plain knit-while-I-write socks are also coming along. Sock one is finished, ans sock 2 on the way:
On the Jo Sharp Fisherman’s Gansey, I’m up to the pattern on the front yoke – but that takes a little bit of concentration, so it hasn’t progressed much lately.
Weaving-wise – no progress 🙁
Spinning – I actually went to the meeting a couple of weeks ago, and did spin some silk tops, but not much. There was a meeting yesterday, but as I had the migroan from hell, I didn’t go. Next fortnight!
As reported in my last post, on our trip to Nundle I bought a few old knitting pattern books. I was very restrained – there were far more there that I didn’t buy! But these ones I couldn’t resist:
Patons ‘Fair Isles’ book, no. 262 In the 1970s, my older sister used an old pattern of my mother’s to knit a fair-isle jumper quite a lot like this, excpet in yellows and oranges – it was gorgeous! Most of the patterns in this book are the same sort of slim-fitting shape, so I’m not planning on knitting any of them just now – but it’s fun looking at the pictures 🙂 Incidentally, my mother told me that she used to knit while listening to 78rpm records. When she was knitting a fair-isle like this, (fine yarns, fine needles) she always aimed to get a row done in the time it took to play one side of a 78 – which, for those young enough not to know, is about 3 minutes!
Patons Knitting Book, No. 204
There are some cute glove patterns in here that I can see myself adapting:
Holiday gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204 (oops! Sorry about it being sidewise!)
Springtime gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204
Voyager gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204
Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets). I’ve been on the lookout for jacket patterns, and there are some gorgeous ones in this book! (We won’t mention the fact that some of them are sized for women somewhat smaller than me – because I should be able to upsize patterns and downsize me, right?)
‘City Bound’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236
‘Knocker’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets)
‘Patio’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets)
‘Roamer’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets)
Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 6 – socks and gloves. This has a range of basic sock and glove patterns in it.
Australian Womens Weekly vintage knitting pattern book. This has a range of patterns, including jumpers, cardigans, accessories, and also an elegant, long woman’s dressing gown!
I’ve had such fun looking through these that I can see that I’m going to have to resist the urge to begin a large collection of vintage knitting patterns 🙂
A friend and I had a trip on Friday to Tamworth, and Nundle Woollen Mills. We’d been to Nundle a few months ago, with our partners, but the menfolk weren’t interested in spending as much time (or money!) at the Woollen Mill as we were, so it was a bit rushed, and we decided we’d have a Girls’ Day Out. Friday was it!
We went to Tamworth first, to Spotlight, where Kerry bought some backing fabrics for her quilting. I didn’t see much to tempt me in the fabric area – I was looking for linen/cotton blends in browns, but there was nothing. In the yarn section, I was quite restrained. Firstly, because I’ve got enough for quite a few projects in the stash, but mostly because my exer-stash fund was only at $57.50, so that was my limit for yarn and fibre spending for the day! However, I did buy a ball of Moda Vera sock yarn, in varying shades of brown, for another pair of socks for my Dad for his birthday in April.
After browsing in Spotlight, we then got back in the car and headed for Nundle, which is about 54km from Tamworth, along some lovely back roads. First stop in Nundle was a coffee shop for morning tea! Then to a small pottery shop and an antique shop across the road. At the antique shop, I bought a couple of old pattern books – more on those in the next post! Then to the Woollen Mill, which was just behind the antique shop.
For those who haven’t been to Nundle, the Mill is a working woollen mill, with a gallery where you can look down on the machinery. It wasn’t operating when we were there, which I’m kinda glad of because it can be noisy and hot when it’s all going! There’s also two large shop rooms, with plenty of yarn, including seconds and specials as well as the standard ranges, and a large selection of beautiful clothes, made of high-quality wool. I resisted the clothes on this trip, because I still haven’t lost much weight, so it’s no sense buying form-fitting clothes just as the moment. But it was a lot of fun to encourage Kerry’s wardrobe enhancement!
Yarn-wise, I bought four balls of Retro 4ply yarn, for socks.
After the Mill, we had lunch in the pub in the centre of town – very pleasant sitting out on the veranda watching the town go quietly by. Then to the antique store near the pub – where I bought some more old pattern books!
All in all, it was a very pleasant day. I spent a total of $23 on yarn, so that leaves $34.50 in the exer-stash fund. I’d better get back to that dreadmill a bit more often!
Knitting lately seems to be two steps forward, one step back. In particular, I’ve been having trouble deciding on contrast colours for heels and toes for the two pairs of socks I’m currently knitting. I have a selection of 5-ply yarns that I use for contrasts, but none of them really worked very well for either pair. For the blue/green/mauve patonyle socks, I knitted the heel first in the same jade green I used last time I used this yarn, but decided it would be boring having two pairs the same. So, I used a purple yarn and knitted the heel – blerch, too strong a colour and it didn;t really pick up the mauve that’s in the main yarn.
So, I’ve now knitted the heel a third time, using a blue yarn, and I think it works well enough.
The very-colourful jaywalkers have been stalled for a while. My choices of colour for contrast heels for it were a pink that made it almost fluorescent, or a blue, which I used, but I’m pretty ‘meh’ about. There is a very similar shade blue in the main yarn, but I don’t think it’s working well to pick it up as the contrast.
Then I (re)discovered this dark purple in the back of the cupboard. And now I’m wondering if that would work better than the blue?? I think it will, which means frogging the foot and doing the heel and foot again. Opinions, anyone??
With doing the first sock of the Veronik socks three times, I sure have been frogging a lot lately!
I’m also trying to knit gloves for a friend, but am having trouble with the fact that the angora yarn I spun quite a while back is finer than I need, and there probably isn’t, in reality, quite enough for the gloves. I’ve started a pair, but I’m also mulling over maybe using one of the merino-cashmere yarns from The Knittery instead, and stranding the angora inside for extra warmth, or knitting a lining for the main part of the hand from the angora. My friend’s hands and fingers get very cold in winter, but she needs to be able to draw and work at the computer, so these can’t be too bulky. Hhhmmmmm. I’ve never knitted a lining for gloves, so I’m not sure which way to go.
I have to wear ‘sensible’ shoes most of the time, and I bought these the other day on special – thinking as I did that they’d go well with handknit socks. And they do. (I think this is the middle-aged equivalent of a little girl wearing pink frilly party socks – although I’ll be wearing mine with trousers, not a dress. So it will mostly be only me who sees them.)
I ordered sock blockers yesterday from The Knittery. I’m hoping they’ll arrive tomorrow, but it may not be until Friday.
And yes, I put in an order at The Knittery but didn’t order any more yarn. How virtuous is that? However, I’ve only earned $47.60 in my exer-stash program, and I have to earn the $70 for the gift voucher from Wool on Wheels before I can spend it, so that’s my first target. Plus, there’s the little incidental fact that I have three skeins of sock yarn from The Knittery already that I haven’t started knitting yet. (Although I’ll probably start one of them this afternoon 🙂 ) So, sock-blockers and several sets of dpns were all I ordered yesterday. It’s only fibre and yarn that I have to walk to ‘earn’, so tools are exempt. And books. Which I don’t buy very often, but there’s a shipment on its way from amazon.com at this moment. They’ll probably be at least another week away.
Project details:
Pattern: Socks for Veronik, Interweave Knits. Holiday 2007
Yarn: Nundle Woollen Mills’ Retro 4ply, shade 147, 100% pure wool
Needles: 2.75mm
Modifications: I didn’t like the toe decrease as per the pattern, so I worked side decreases every second row until 30 sts remained, then every row until 14 sts remained, then grafted.
I have finished a sock. (But don’t ask me about the book revisions. Just. Don’t.)
They’re cruddy photos because I have neither a sock blocker or an attractive leg, but I’ll try and get some better ones later (photos, not legs – although maybe some weight loss might eventually help the legs.)
I didn’t do the toe decrease as written for the pattern. I looked around on Ravelry, and the P3tog decrease down the centre front of the toe just didn’t work for me. I know some people love it, but I kept thinking it looked like a butt crack 🙂 So, I did a variation of my standard toe decrease. The garter stitch down the side of the heel doesn’t really work for me, either, but I’m not going to frog and redo that. I’ll make the 2nd sock matching, but if I make this pattern again (and I probably will), I’ll leave out the garter stitch heel band.
And, as far as progress on other fronts goes:
