FO Friday: Vita Vest

April 22, 2011remilyknits 3 Comments

Last fall I started something new-to-me: sample knitting for another designer. Since then I’ve completed perhaps half a dozen projects for a staff designer at Plymouth Yarns. I really enjoy the challenge of knitting from a new pattern and working on a time table, even though sometimes the deadlines can be a little stressful. Working closely with an experienced knitwear designer has been educational and fun too. Best of all, this is paid work — the rate varies depending on the complexity of the pattern, but it is enough to make it worth my time.

The hard part, like anything associated with designing, is waiting to talk about it! Today I can share photos of my 2nd project with Plymouth: the Vita Vest.

Project: Vita Vest

Pattern: Vest 2045

Designer: Plymouth Yarn Design Stuido

Available: ask your LYS

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Vita (color 751)

This was a cute little project — a simple pieced vest with all-over moss stitch. I liked the interesting shape as the hem curved up to mean the V-neck at a single button. The Vita yarn was a pleasure to work with: soft and drapey.

FO Friday: Coats for Gizmo and Golly

April 15, 2011April 15, 2011remilyknits 4 Comments

One of my agility friends asked me to knit custom coats for her charming mini poodles, Gizmo (left) and Golly (right). She wanted durable, washable yarn that was also soft and cozy, and came in her dogs’ signature colors. In terms of structure, the coats needed to have turtlenecks, front leg sleeves, and a high belly cut to allow pottying without soiling the coats. We looked at a couple different patterns before settling on the attractive and versatile “Biscuits & Bones” pattern, sized from XS to XL. The modified “X’s and O’s” cable pattern resembles circular biscuits and long bones–very clever!

(This week’s FO is a re-wind — I’ve been working like mad all week on a design sample that I can’t share just yet.)

Project: Gizmo’s Red Coat and Golly’s Purple Coat

Pattern: Biscuits & Bones Dog Coat

Designer: Patons

Available: FREE! at patonsyarns.com

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Eggplant and Red (3 balls per coat)

Don’t you just love Golly’s grin??

I made Golly’s coat first (purple!) and made very few modifications. The neck to tail is worked flat to the leg holes, where the work is split into three parts and worked separately for a few rows. Then flat work across the entire piece resumes, continuing through the butt decreases. Ribbing is picked up and knit in the round for the leg holes and around the belly/back (after the chest is seamed). My only serious modification was to keep edge stitches in stockinette, to make the picking up and seaming easier.

Gizmo is such a handsome fellow!

With Gizmo’s coat, I wanted to try knitting the chest in the round, to avoid seaming later on. At the leg holes I worked just two sections (back and belly) flat, then rejoined for more work in the round, then worked flat for the back after casting off for the belly. This ended up being trickier than I anticipated … if I ever make another coat from this pattern, I will probably just make it flat and deal with the seam.

Overall, the pattern is clear and well-written. The cable patterns were written, so of course I charted them to avoid going insane. (I work much better from a visual representation of a pattern.) I really appreciate that it came in so many sizes, and also that it accounted for the real chest shape of a dog (many dog sweater patterns seem to think dogs are shaped like humans, oops). Swish Worsted was, as expected, perfect for the job at hand. The boys look great and are cozy too!

FO Friday: Arbuckle Hat

April 8, 2011April 8, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

For Christmas this year, I gave seven gift certificates to close family members for a “Knit 4 U x Me” gift: they can choose from several suggestions, or ask for something else completely. It’s a clever trick, because my giftees get exactly what they want, and I’m not swamped by Christmas knitting.

My Grandpa Bob made this request:

Commercial hat size is “large.” Measure is 22 1/2″.

Summer I’m a bill cap or straw, so best use a wool or such yarn.

Color wise? Hey, I’m color blind, an old dog, what-do-I-know dog.

This left a lot up to me! I wanted to use a pattern that was interesting without being too outlandish, but that my Grandpa could still appreciate. I chose colors he could see, too. Superwash wool is a must for gifts, unless I’m sure the giftee knows how to care for wool and wants to do it. Swish DK is exactly the right yarn for this present.

Project: Arbuckle Christmas Hat

Pattern: Arbuckle Hat

Designer: Alexis Winslow

Available: on Ravelry for just $2.00

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish DK in Marble Heather and Delft Heather (1 ball each)

I usually knit a bit larger than gauge, so I used the given needles in order to make a slightly larger-than-pattern hat. Then I threw it in the washer and dryer, to make sure it could handle any rough care it might receive at it’s new home. (If something will be ruined, I would rather do it myself and then try again.) It felted just a tiny bit, and the garter edge wants to flip when it’s not on a head, but it survived admirably other than that. I deem it “good enough” to go to my Grandpa Bob.

FO Friday: Social Network Socks

April 1, 2011March 29, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

This was the first of six shipments in the 2011 Rockin’ Sock Club. This is my second year as a Notorious Sock Knitter. I really enjoy the “surprise” aspect of being in a sock club, but even more, I love the challenge of being open to new colors and (this year especially!) new color combinations. Left to my own devices, I would likely knit lovely things in shades of green/blue/purple for the rest of time. Sometimes it’s good to knit outside my normal color scheme, and a sock club is the perfect way to do this. The January shipment (above) had two skeins, and two colorwork patterns to go with them. At first glance, it was “interesting” but certainly not within my usual corner of the color wheel!

I chose a pattern and got to work. They have been my “steady in the background” project for a while. Because the yarn is mediumweight, they worked up quickly, even with very little concentrated knitting time. I finished second sock the same day that the March 2011 shipment arrived … I can’t WAIT until it’s cool to share photos! Talk about colorful. (The club has rules to protect overseas subscribers from being spoiled.)

Project: Jan 2011 RSC Socks

Pattern: Social Network

Designer: Lucy Neatby

Available: to club members now (join up! it’s fun!) and to the general public in 2012

Yarn: BMFA Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Aubergenius and Pinkie Swear

These are socks for lounging, not for shoes. Cushy garter-stitch heels and toes, plus the sturdy two-color cable-net pattern, and the slipped-stitch cuff, all mean these socks practically stand up on their own! I’m reminded of Dr. Seuss’s story with the “pair of pale green pants with nobody inside them.”

That story scared the bejesus out of me as a kid, even though the whole point was that you needn’t be scared. Frankly, I thought that story was terrifying, and the pictures only made it worse. Somehow my stand-up-alone socks don’t rate as scary though.

FO Friday: Yet Another Harry Potter Scarf

March 25, 2011March 25, 2011remilyknits 3 Comments

This Friday, I’m proud to say that I finished the Harry Potter scarf I’ve been working on since January! This is my third time doing one of these. This one is for a friend-of-a-friend who is going through some tough times … I have to admit, I had a hard time motivating myself to do yet more stockinette, but I designated this project as my penance knitting about two weeks ago, and that did the trick. Poof, done!

Project: Harry Potter Scarf

Designer: (I copied from the movie stills)

Available: short-hand directions below!

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Hollyberry and Gold

Short directions:

Cast on 70 sts (use Judy’s Magic Cast On)
YO at both edges on first round — this will be the sit of your slipped-st edge
work in the round in stockinette, slipping the edge sts every other round (except, after a 3-row CC stripe, just knit the MC around with no slipped sts)
Stripes like this:
- 26 rounds MC
- 3 rounds CC
- 6 rounds MC
- 3 rounds CC
repeat stripes 13 times, then do 26 more rounds of MC
end by ktog the edge sts on one last round, then kitchener together
fringe like this:
- 12-in strands
- each bundle: 3 MC and 1 CC
- attach every other st

Pattern: Bike Helmet Earwarmers

Designer: Amy O’Neill Houck

Available: FREE! on ravelry

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Dynamite Blue

FO Friday: Bike Helmet Earwarmers for Dad

March 11, 2011March 11, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

It’s Friday, and once again I have finished a project, but I can’t share it yet. (Also? This week we brought home our new puppy, Clewe, so we are a tiny bit busy and sleep-deprived. Yelp!) Time to go to the archives for a rewind FO Friday … let’s talk about the simple-yet-efficient earwarmers I made for my Dad.

Pattern: Bike Helmet Earwarmers

Designer: Amy O’Neill Houck

Available: FREE! on ravelry

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Dynamite Blue

My Dad is an avid biker, so much so that he continues biking to work even in bitter cold Idaho winters. The physical activity can keep most of a biker’s body warm, but ears suffer from lack of circulation and exposure to wind. Wearing a full hat under a bike helmet makes the head too warm (and perhaps makes the helmet less effective?). Enter the clever designer, who made this sweet little pattern. The earwarmers are double-layered and slide right over the straps of the helmet, sitting perfectly in place to protect the vulnerable ears without interfering with the helmet’s function or overheating the rest of the head.

The only mod I did was to make these in the round, rather than working flat and seaming.

FO Friday: Butterfly Mittens

March 4, 2011March 1, 2011remilyknits 1 Comment

This week, I don’t have (*gasp!*) a finished object I can share with you. Lucky for us, I have made a lot of things over the years, so I will go back a few months and …. tada! Butterfly mittens. (By total coincidence, but in a neat way, the designer of this pattern recently gifted all her previous customers with a free copy of her latest fingerless mitt pattern: Dextrous Mitts. Awesome little pattern! Thank you, Eskimimi Knits!)

Pattern: Flutter Butterfly Mittens

Designer: Mimi Hill

Available: $4.50 on ravelry

Yarn: Stroll Tonal in Deep Waters, Stroll in Cocoa

This was a great pattern — well worth the purchase price. Clear, correct directions and easy-to-read charts, and a design to envy. I chose “Deep Waters” and “Cocoa” because this was a gift project, and the mittens were meant to match the recipients winter jacket. The tonal blue colors made for gorgeous butterflies, don’t you think?

Alas, I was nearly done with the first mitten when I had to admit the truth: my loose-knitter ways had created a mitten that was going to be … not enormous exactly, but certainly larger than was proper. I could have ripped it out and done everything on a size smaller needle, but instead I decided to finish the tip a bit early (the original pattern has a third row of “big” butterflies, and use the extra space as a “design feature.” Using fluffy & warm Suri Dream, I improvised a pair of thumb-less mitten liners that fit inside the slightly-too-large shell, filling it out admirably.

Other mods: I changed the cuff a bit, because I like a tubular cast on, two-color ribbing, and a longer cuff than the pattern called for. I also changed the thumb a bit, making it longer and continuing the gusset pattern rather than switching it up. I think I also did the thumb tip decreases a little more quickly than called for — I like a rounded tip.

FO Friday: Toy Gromit

February 25, 2011February 22, 2011remilyknits 8 Comments

Introducing …. my very own toy Gromit! I stayed up (too) late Friday night to finish, even though I had an agility trial the next day (which means rising at ungodly early in order to drive two hours to the trial, arriving there by 7 AM). The satisfaction of leaving this sweet little toy dog completed instead of in parts was well worth the delayed bedtime.

Pattern: Border Collie

Designer: Joanna Osborne and Sally Muir

Available: in Knit Your Own Dog (available for $8.49 on Amazon)

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette (leftover Cream, Merlot Heather (I think), plus tiny scraps of Semolina, Edamame, and Ash)

As I mentioned in my review of Knit Your Own Dog, the pattern is made up of a billion tiny pieces, all worked flat. After I seamed and stuffed the first leg, I thought it would be fun to show the bits that go into a toy Border Collie. Right next to the penny is the left rear leg. Above the leg, you can the top of the head. The rest is just a big muddle!

In this photo, the legs and body are all seamed and stuffed. I used ~~pipe cleaners~~ chenille stems to provide structure for the legs. (I learned from making some cool amigurumi last year that this is absolutely necessary.) The ears are still waiting to be sewn on, and the original tail is looking awfully big … I ended up chucking it and making a smaller version than called for in the pattern, to better match my dog. I’m very impressed with how the designers achieved a very dog-like shape. Often knit toys approximate real shapes with blobby shapes and imagination — but this one looks like the real thing!

For the eyes I pulled apart two strands of Edamame and Semolina, and re-plied some of each into a single strand of greeny-gold yarn to match Gromit’s eye color. Simple French knots make surprisingly convincing eyes. I embroidered the nose with satin stitch … I’m still not 100% satisfied, but I have decided to call it done after cutting out the stitches once or twice and starting over. The collar is made out of Ash — again, to match the real Gromit’s awesome collar (a D Dogs Designs original).

FO Friday: Queen Anne Mystery Socks

February 11, 2011February 11, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

Yay, my socks are done! I have really enjoyed this mystery sock-a-long sponsored by the Knitters Brewing Company. I talked about yarn selection and knitting style already, so instead of repeating myself, I will instead say how much I have been looking forward to having these socks done and on my feet. So pretty! I can hardly stand it. Easily my favorite detail: the heart cuff. How charming is this?

Pattern: Mystery Socks III: the Family Jewels

Designer: Wendy Gaal

Available: free! on ravelry (kits are available with matching yarn and beads)

Yarn: Stroll Tonal in Queen Anne

This pattern has a number of “new to me” features. One of the big reasons I signed on was the opportunity to try a big bead on a sock. When the time came, I ran off to Legacy Beads to find a 15mm-ish flat bead that worked with my yarn — no clashing colors, not so matchy as to fade into the yarn, but not too contrasty either. I settled on a “twist” Swarovski crystal bead in “Golden Shadow.” My mad beading friend inspected the bead and determined that it had an “AB” finish on the back, but not the front, which helped it keep it’s own color while still reflecting some of the yarn color. This makes sense to me — I had tried a clear crystal version, and it completely disappeared into the yarn.

Another cool new-to-me thing is the Fleegle Heel. I didn’t know this was in the pattern when I signed on, so it’s pure bonus! I found it easy to do, and a nice fit. I enjoyed it way more than a toe-up heel flap (those joins! ugh!), and it fits way better than a traditional short-row heel. You can see a small err in my photo — the racing stripes on the gusset were supposed to blend into the leg, but I failed my “read the directions” roll and started the racing stripes one stitch too soon. Oh well — only the designer and the 200 other people in the knit-a-long will even notice.

In general I found the pattern to be extremely well-written and mistake-free. I prefer a charted pattern to words, but I understand the designer’s desire to “surprise” — and how a chart could potentially ruin the surprise. I believe a complete version of the pattern will be released with full charts and so on, so chart lovers need not despair (or resort to home charting, as I did). All unusual techniques were well-explained and/or had links to good videos. Great fun, great community of KAL-ers!

FO Friday: Loopy the Sheep

January 28, 2011January 25, 2011remilyknits 2 Comments

My friend Donna took some glamor shots of the samples for my Aviator scarves (up for publication through Knit Picks IDP). She is a professional photographer, specializing in dogs and dog sports, and I suspect she found the (inanimate) knitted items rather not a challenge in comparison. I had asked her to do the shoot in exchange for “something knitted.” I offered her a choice of the two sample scarves, but she thought they were “too nice.” Later on, she joked that I should knit her a new dog (her Border Collie is sometimes a bit naughty!), and it occurred to me that I could knit up a little sheep for her!

Pattern: Loopy the Sheep

Designer: Amanda Berry

Available: for $3.25 on Ravelry

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted (about half a ball each of black and white)

The pattern is easy to read and complete — I found no errors of any kind. The designer did a great job with photos showing how the pieces go together. The directions to make the loopy fleece were clear. I did modify the pattern to make almost all the parts in the round instead of flat, because I didn’t want to seam those little hands and feet. Conversely, I chose not to seam the ears — I liked how the stockinette curled.

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