Finished-Object-Friday #5

Warning to family members: this post will involve photos of some of your holiday gifts, so you might want to look away!

There's nothing like the week before the holidays, I feel like such a knitting champ as I finish project after project. It's the closest thing we get to a rush, I think, as knitters... next to maybe that feeling when you drop a whole bunch of money on yarn at once (though that's less of a rush and more of a queasy feeling). Onto the FO's!

Uproarious:

BMFA Socks that Rock Mediumweight, colorway Aubergenious

I finished my Uproar cuffs, designed by Hunter Hammerson! This was a fun little pattern, which I will definitely be knitting again, especially since they take practically no yarn to make. These are not for me, if they were I probably would've knit a couple extra repeats to get a better fit, but I think they'll fit the recipient just fine.

Santa's Syrinx:

Malabrigo Yarn Rasta, colorway Ravelry Red

This quick-as-lightning cowl is my Syrinx Shells pattern, this time knit in a solid colorway. I had to fight a very strong urge to buy great big green buttons for this... it would've been overly festive, methinks. The solid colorway and black buttons really class it up, too. You can close this cowl a few different ways (like with ribbon or toggles) and this time I chose to attach the buttons on the far side like so:

This way it will snug up closely to the recipients neck when buttoned across through the yarnover holes. Alternatively, if you have more yarn you can just keep knitting and knitting to make a thick, cozy scarf, like Anne Weaver is doing with hers, check it out!.

Rustic Elegance:

Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Worsted, one of a kind colorway

This is the Hasselnusse cowl pattern by Anne Hanson that I raved about in my Inspiration Saturday post. I loved everything about this pattern, it is such an appealing design and I think I found the perfect buttons to compliment the look of the pattern and the yarn (if I do say so myself...). The yarn is fantastic, too. Zen Yarn Garden is a new-to-me indie dyeing company that I first encountered at Stitches East. The yarn pictured is a worsted weight Merino wool/cashmere/nylon blend that is really wonderful and their colors are gorgeous. I'm kicking myself for not buying the second skein of this colorway that I saw at the show, especially since the cowl used just over half the skein. I feel like I have a lot of yarn left but not quite enough to do much with. Oh well! It was perfect for this cowl.

Ever More Ribbons:

Malabrigo Yarn Rios, colorway Azules

Here's another pair of my Beribboned Wrists finished! I intended this pattern to be for wristwarmers, but a knitter requested thumbs added to turn them into fingerless mitts and I'm glad I included the option. I love wearing them as wristwarmers but I know plenty of people prefer the fingerless mitt style and I think they work great as both. If you're thinking of making a pair, feel free to join the KAL, there's still time to enter to win the prize!

Be sure to check out more FO Friday projects below. That's all from me for now, as I've got cookies to bake and bags to pack and gifts to wrap... To all those who celebrate, have a great holiday!

IS #3: Gettin' Edgy

Welcome to another Inspiration Saturday post! Last week I was all about chunky lace, large motifs, big details. Today, I'd like to talk about the little things, namely: edgings.

BMFA Socks That Rock Lightweight, colorway Comfort and Joy

I am completely and utterly charmed by the i-cord edging on this sock, a modified version of Joy by A. Karen Alfke, one of the patterns from the 2011 Rockin' Sock Club. I changed the ribbing pattern on this sock but the edging!-- the edging, I adore. It's a little bit frilly, a little bit silly, and totally makes this festive sock extra wonderful. Sometimes, it's the smallest detail that makes an otherwise plain or simple knit extraordinary.

Here's another example, which you've seen here before:

The Sanguine Gryphon Codex, colorways Lionness of Brittany and On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl

The pattern is Regina by Carina Spencer. The way the brim is knit in the opposite direction from the rest of the hat is so fantastic, and the flare is feminine yet not overmuch. It adds a lot of interest to an otherwise plain hat and I think it's a brilliant design which I really enjoyed knitting.

And the piece de resistance:

Photo from Ravelry pattern page.

This is Hasselnusse by Anne Hanson. It is a gorgeous little cowl design comprised almost entirely of interesting edgings. The leafy hem edging is knit first and then stitches are picked up all around it to make a button band. It's clever and looks like a quick, satisfying knit. I bought the pattern almost at first sight, I could not resist. I look forward to knitting this and finding the perfect buttons to finish the whole thing off someday. (Buttons, another small yet crucial detail... it's all in the details!)

These are the things that have got me going this week! If you'd like to share something you've seen/found/done that's inspired you lately, please link along below. I'd love to read it!

Work-In-Progress Wednesday #15

Since I've been hard at work busting out a couple of secret designs for an upcoming e-book for Afghans for Afghans, I don't have much I can show you this week. However, I have been doing a bit of knitting on my  Star Athena Mystery KAL project (look away if you don't want to be spoiled!):

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BMFA De-Vine, colorway Smokey Mountain Morn

I've missed knitting with the lovely yarn that I gushed about last week, so I'm very happy the final clue came out yesterday. I also think I found the perfect buttons for the cowl. They are somewhat misshapen silvery ones that are funky enough for the style of the cowl but plain enough to complement the crazy stitch patterns well. I bought them at Love 2 Knit (formerly known as Unwind), one of the local yarn stores that are within minutes of the new apartment I'll be moving to in a few days (which I am embarrassingly excited about, btw). While I was there, I couldn't resist picking up a little yarn, too:

These are The Fiber Company Acadia, colorways Driftwood and Blue Heron (60% Merino wool, 20% alpaca, 20% silk). I love how soft and light they are, and the silk slubs give them a fun, tweedy texture. I think they might become a colorwork cowl someday, like Gyre by Elizabeth Elliott (when I get brave enough to try real colorwork, that is).

Any fun new yarn finds for you? How about good colorwork cowl pattern recommendations? Don't forget to check out more WIPs by clicking the image below!

Unisex Syrinx Shells

With all the craziness of the past week, I never got to properly post about my newly-released pattern, Syrinx Shells!

Malabrigo Yarn Rasta, colorway Arco Iris

Knit with a super bulky Merino wool yarn, the Syrinx Shells cowl works up quickly and is crazy soft and warm. It features an interesting-to-work elongated Estonian shell stitch pattern that really enhances variegated yarns while the simple lace and slipped stitch cables provide a nice edging.

The sample cowl used the entire 90 yards of Rasta and measured 9" wide and 30" long after blocking. One of my favorite aspects of this pattern is its flexibility in finishing. You can choose a colorful ribbon to tie it off with a feminine touch:

Malabrigo Yarn Rasta, colorway Indiecita

Or you can choose to close the cowl with a couple of large buttons. My friend Jeremie knit a masculine version using a darker colorway of Rasta and some really great wooden toggles:

Malabrigo Yarn Rasta, colorway Soriano

I just love the way the buttons coordinate! For his cowl, he put the buttons along the cabled edge and closed them through the yarnover holes in the lace. There is plenty of flexibility regarding button placement, so experiment!

Malabrigo Yarn Chunky, colorway Stone Blue

One of my other testers, Katie of the Katherine the Great blog, knit her version using Malabrigo Chunky, proving that if you don't have any super bulky yarn on hand, you can still get a great-looking cowl out of 80-90 yards of slightly thinner bulky yarn and that it looks just as nice in a solid colorway. The thinner the yarn you use, the skinnier your cowl will be, but you can adjust it as needed for length.

So who's ready to grab their Size 15 (10.0mm) straight needles and some big-ass yarn and cast on? The pattern is available for $4.00 on both Ravelry and Craftsy, or you can purchase it by clicking the button below.

Syrinx Shells

 

Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Folks, I have not one, not two, but THREE FO's to share with you today! Let's get to it!

Malabrigo Chunky, colorway Mariposa

The blog hasn't even see this hat yet because I just started it yesterday! Yes, a hat in 2 days! Love it. The pattern is Giving Comfort, a free pattern of mine that is great for gifts because it is unisex, simple-yet-interesting, and knits up quickly. Malabrigo Chunky is my absolute favorite hat yarn, too, because it's so thick and warm and on size 10 needles knits up at a great density. Its only downfall is that it isn't superwash. I actually prefer non-superwash yarns but when you're knitting gifts for little kids, it's nice to have the superwash factor because they easily forget and toss their beloved hat in the laundry and then the beloved hat is no more. Ask me how my little cousin knows this? (Don't worry, he got a new one.)

Malabrigo Rasta, colorway Indiecita

This super bulky cowl is another great, quick knit. This is a second sample for my upcoming Syrinx design which will be released next week. But I'm having a ribbon dilemma! What do you think, teal or purple?

Cephalopod Yarns Beastie, colorway Snallygaster

My final FO is an aran-weight version of my newest hat pattern, Huacaya. This hat is a great example of gauge differences at work. The original version was knit with worsted-weight alpaca yarn at a gauge of 5 stitches/inch and 6.5 rounds/inch. It made a soft and slouchy fabric and its final dimensions were 18" circumference and 8.5" from cast on edge to crown. The new Beastie yarn I used is a thicker aran-weight blend of wool, alpaca, and silk. It was much plumper and denser than the worsted weight and knit up on the same needles at a gauge of 4 stitches/inch and 5 rounds/inch. The resulting fabric has a more sculpted feel and the size of the hat increased to 20" circumference and 9 3/4" from cast on to crown. This makes it much slouchier, nearly beret-like in style.

I wish I hadn't chopped off my nose in this photo. Woops

 So, if you want a larger or slouchier hat, loosening your gauge (knitting your fabric at less stitches per inch) through either using thicker yarn or increasing your needle size should make that happen. Blocking can make a big difference, too. I blocked the first hat over a large-ish bowl but since there was much more fabric in this second one I blocked it over a large dinner plate, propped up on a cup so that the brim could hang down freely and not get stretched out.

It's a wooly UFO!

The shape of the plate definitely accentuates this version's beret-ness. It's perhaps a bit large for my tiny head, but I like it!

Phew! Three FO's in one post! That's the benefit of having a million little projects on the needles at all times. Every once in a while you get to feel like a knitting master. See more FO's by clicking below!

School's Out

School's not really out, I just couldn't think of a good post title. But it's sort of relevant in that I finished the hall pass for my Fiasco's classroom!

Used leftover yarn, improvised design.

Mattress stitch up each long side, whipped stitch the top and bottom, stuck a bean bag full of rice inside.

Added an i-cord loop, and done!

So that is what the kids will be carrying around with them while they walk the halls during class time to prove that they're allowed to be in the halls. It was a pretty quick and fun little knit. I like producing useful things. The Fiasco said one of his students asked if he made it and when she found out his fiancee knit it, she furtively admitted that she liked to knit, too. Love it!

I have an action shot of my upcoming design (formerly known as the big fat mess) knit for the Malabrigo Stockpile Design Challenge :

Syrinx cowl knit with Malabrigo Rasta, colorway Arco Iris

I love how it turned out. I was going to close it with buttons, really I was, but I didn't have buttons handy and I admittedly adore what the ribbon adds to it. I don't know what it is with me and ribbons in my designs but by golly, I just love what they do to knitwear.

So that's two more goals completed for my Year of Projects. My list has been pretty variable, I've been changing it as things come up that I want to knit, and it kind of just keeps growing but that's ok!

Progress update (9 down, 41 to go):

1. WIPs: 3/10 finished, 1/7 left in progress
2. SIPs: 1/5  finished
3. New Projects: 2/15 finished, 2/13 left in progress
4. New Socks: 2/5 in progress
5. Of My Own Design: 4/16 finished, 3/13 left in progress  

Freedom! And an FO.

Guys... yesterday was my last day of work. Last day. LAST DAY! I've never just been unemployed before. I've worked since I was 15 and before that I babysat. I think the last time I had time that was not occupied with work or school was probably the summer of my freshman year of college before I was doing research... 8 years ago. Crazy.
So now I'm a little paralyzed by the impulse to do all the things ever. Wash the dishes! Clean the bathroom! Join a gym! Get a kitten! Go for hikes! Go to the beach! Read scientific papers! Research PhD programs! Apply for jobs! Work on designs! Knit some swatches! Get new tires! Take the cat to the vet!  Finish all my WIPs! Plan everything!!

Phew. It's only 8am and I'm already exhausted. ;) But I'm sure I'll figure it out. What would you do with oodles of free time?

In knitting news, last weekend I finished an old WIP (my 5th Year of Projects project!) while visiting my friends.

Terrible self-modeled shot, sorry!

This is the Zuzu's Petals pattern by Carina Spencer, of the Regina Hat fame. Obviously, I like Carina's patterns very much. I knitted her Whippoorwill shawl, too, a while back. Of all of these, I think the Zuzu's Petals is probably the most brilliant. Essentially, it's a cowl that looks like a kerchief-style-shawl when worn around the neck. The knitting starts off like a shawl, which I love since I am apparently a serial shawl-starter, but then you join it together and it turns into a cowl! My first thought upon seeing this pattern was omg why didn't I think of that?! Jealous. It's so clever!

Blocking it was a bit of an adventure. Due to its asymmetric cylindrical shape, laying it flat would not have worked super well and would've taken much longer to dry. So instead I took the vertical approach.

I pinned out all the 'shawl' points, then placed a water bottle on top of a bowl in the middle of the cowl and stretched the top edge of the cowl up. I precariously pinned it in place around the bottle so it stayed up well enough and let it dry. It looked like a crazy witch hat, but it worked!

Colorway: Irish Girlie Green

Can we take a second to talk about this yarn? Blue Moon Fiber Arts Marine Silk Worsted is freakin' gorgeous, people. It is a 4-ply mix of 51% silk, 29% Merino wool, and 20% Sea Cell®Rayon. Sea Cell is a cellulose fiber (like Tencel or lyocell) made from plant materials with some seaweed thrown in. Like all such fibers, it is shiny and silky. I actually didn't realize this yarn had wool in it until I looked it up, it felt like it was all silk and Sea Cell, but it is a bit less dense than a completely silk yarn would be. I really enjoyed working with it. Blue Moon has so many different kinds of yarn to offer besides Socks That Rock, I just never think to place an order with them that isn't for STR. I bought this skein last year at Stitches East, it's so much easier to impulse-buy when you can actually hold the yarn. I think if their other yarns were carried in more stores they would sell and be used much more than they seem to be now. Marine Silk only has 16 projects on Ravelry, and it's a really gorgeous yarn! A bit pricey, yes, but no more than any other luxury blend would be. I'll definitely be using it again for projects that would benefit from some silk content. For instance, I bet it would make a great Beribboned Hat, but perhaps knit at the DK weight size to compensate for the extra drapiness of silk.

Do you have a favorite little-used yarn?

YoP progress (5 down, 45 to go):
1. WIPs: 1/10 finished, 1/9 left in progress
2. SIPs: 0/5 actively in progress
3. New Projects: 1/14 finished, 2/13 left in progress
4. New Socks: 2/6 in progress
5. Of My Own Design: 3/16 finished, 2/13 left in progress

Work-In-Progress Wednesday #7

... a day late, but I have two new WIPs I still wanted to share. However, first you need to check out this bit of awesomeness:

My Fiasco likes zombies and I'm (obviously) a fan of knitting and when my future-father-in-law saw this magnet, he thought of us and bought it for me on a whim. How perfectly sweet is that, right? I am marrying into such a great family! :) Now, onto the knitting.

Naughty Lace (named so because that's how I hear the name of the yarn in my head):

Cephalopod Yarns Nautilace, colorway Trigger Fish

I finally finally finally started that cowl I had you guys help me decide on making. I was delayed because I couldn't figure out how to actually purchase the pattern (which is Thundercloud Cowl by Snowden Becker) because the link wasn't working. Then I had to go buy some beads. Then I had to wait to print the pattern out because our printer was busted. Then I had to pre-string 360 of those beads (yup). Then I just procrastinated because I hate provisional cast-ons.

BUT! Then I had this brainwave: I don't have to really do a provisional cast on!! The TechKnitter blog has a great post on how to do this kind of cast on, but the idea is basically that you knit with waste yarn for a few rows and then start knitting the pattern with your project yarn. When you're done, you snip the waste yarn just before the "real" knitting begins and unravel that row stitch by stitch, catching each live stitch on your needle as you go. Then you can join those stitches to the other end relatively seamlessly. It's so simple and much less intimidating for me than fiddling with crochet hooks or a two-needle twisty weird cast on. Sometimes you just want to cast on and go and deal with issues later. :)

Summer Holiday Socks:

The Verdant Gryphon Eidos, colorway Parzival

I started a pair of my Ribby Holiday Socks as my celebrate-the-end-of-summer, easy-pick-me-up, knit-while-I-read-boring-papers project. I love them so far. The colorway involves every single color I love. This is my first time knitting with Eidos and I like it very much, although I did go down a needle size from my much loved and slightly thicker STR yarn. The fabric is working out nicely.

That's all I have for you this week. I worked on My Own Fiasco socks a bit, as well, but I don't have a new photo for you. I'm just about at the heel on those so they are moving along well, too. Now to catch up on all the WIP Wednesday fun that I missed...