FO Friday: Vermont Juneberry

January 13, 2012January 5, 2012remilyknits 4 Comments

I finished my Juneberry!

Available: $6.50 on Ravelry

Yarn: The Shearer’s Yarn in Quoddy Blue

I bought this yarn at a farmstand in Vermont, on my way back from an agility trial. What I have, is what I have … so I was excited when I calculated yardage, and found I had enough to make a Juneberry — a pattern I’ve had queued for a while now.

You can, therefore, appreciate the depths of my horror when I realized (as I began working the edging) that I had nowhere NEAR enough yarn to finish the pattern as written. I modified, measured, knit, ripped, and repeated until I had an edging that preserved some flavor of the original, but used the right amount of yarn. Even so, I finished on fumes — the tiny ball below is all I had left! Phew.

I’m satisfied with my modded edging … I had to loose the big lacy holes, but I’m ok with my faggoted substitution. I was able to keep the bobbled swoops, and lost 1 of the 3 lace holes along the outside edge.

I really enjoyed this knit, and will likely make it again, this time with enough yarn on hand to complete the full edging! It’s fun to knit lace with worsted-weight yarn — over and done very quickly.

FO Friday: Advent Garland Set

December 30, 2011December 29, 2011remilyknits 2 Comments

Hello, my blog! It’s been a long time since we had a chance to talk. What have I been up to for the last month or so? Funny you should ask …

I decided to join a really fun KAL! Designer Frankie Brown released a new pattern for a tiny knit ornament every day of the Advent — how could I resist?? My Advent Garland Set is a joy to behold and was a great way to wait for Christmas. It did suck up almost all my knitting (and blogging, as it turned out) time this month though. I used my stash of Knit Picks Palette yarn, and knit all the ornaments on US#1.5 needles.

Here is a photo montage of the ornaments:

FO Friday: Howl Cowl

November 11, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

I put this pattern in my queue some time ago, and I bought yarn for it in early September. My goal was to finish it by Halloween …

Project: Howl Cowl

Pattern: Hocus Pocus Cowl

Designer: Thea Eschliman

Available: $7 on Ravelry (includes alternate pattern for tote bag)

Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in Black and Stroll Tonal in Foliage

I had a great time making this cowl. It begins and ends with a turned hem. Even the “baubles” are adorable — and I’m often not a fan of bobble-knitting. I think the colorwork is exceptionally clever — very evocative cats, owl, and pumpkins, with subtle vines to fill in the empty spaces. I especially like the skull at the foot of the cats — fantastic!

What with camping in the snow (unintentionally) and a days-long power outage, I wasn’t able to finish before Oct 31st. Lucky for me, the power outage forced the town to delay Halloween by a week, so by some measures I did get to finish on “Halloween night.”

FO Friday: Pinky Pink Rose Ruffled Scarf

November 4, 2011November 4, 2011remilyknits 1 Comment

I bought just two skeins of Cascade 220 in Heathered But Still Very Pink, and this was the perfect project. I’ve worn it a lot and it attracts lots of compliments. It even looks good on my gap-tooth Julian. (He said, “This picture isn’t for the INTERNET, is it??” Shhhh, don’t tell.)

Project: Pinky Pink Rose Ruffled Scarf

Pattern: Ruffled and Ruched Scarf

Designer: Pam Powers

Available: $7 on Ravelry

Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Heathers

Although the yarn has softened a bit with washing and wearing, it is still a touch scratchy for my taste — if I make this pattern again, I will definitely select softer yarn. I enjoyed the pattern (even if ruching makes for interminable knitting). The rose is brilliant — usually I find crocheted flowers to be superior to knitted ones, but this rose is fantastic. (See my “Tips and Tricks” post on how I made the rose pin for more details.)

FO Friday: Castlevania

October 20, 2011remilyknits 1 Comment

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I finished my Wilhemina Shawlette! Have you noticed that I am completely addicted to one-skein, fingering-weight shawlettes? Talk about instant gratification!

Clewe, my 10-month-old Border Collie, “volunteered” to show off his most excellent STAY and pose with the FO:

Project: Castlevania

Pattern: Wilhelmina Shawlette

Designer: Chrissy Gardiner

Available: as a single pattern for $6, as part of the most excellent What Would Madame DeFarge Knit? for $16.95.

Yarn: Knit Picks Imagination in Castle Walls

Thoroughly addictive and beautiful lace pattern — a truly enjoyable knit. I ended up adding several extra repeats of the edging, in order to use up as much of my skein as possible. I really like the visual effect of these extra repeats. Imagination worked beautifully for this pattern — it’s so soft and pretty, I’m almost done being mad at it for felting when made into socks ;).

FO Friday: July 2011 STR Socks

October 14, 2011December 29, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

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I continue to enjoy my Blue Moon Fiber Arts sock club socks. This yarn is deceptively pretty, with purples and lime greens hidden in the foilage.

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Project: July 2011 STR Socks

Pattern: Fences

Designer: JC Briar

Available: sometime in July 2012

Yarn: BMFA Socks That Rock Lightweight

Pattern was great, quick and easy knit. I shortened the toe (as I almost always do) to fit my squared-off Dutch feet.

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FO Friday: Harmonia’s Tidepool Rings

October 7, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

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Project: Harmonia’s Tidepool Rings

Pattern: Harmonia’s Rings Cowl

Designer: Sivia Harding

Available: $6 on Ravelry

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Tidepool Heather

I’ve made this pattern before — and I wore my purple Harmonia (made from KP City Tweed) near-constantly last winter. It’s warm, interesting to look at, flattering, and (best of all) fun to knit. The pattern begins with a mobius cowl, with increases on one half of the stitches. At a certain point, the non-increased half is cast off, and from their the pattern continues in the round on the increased half only. Clever construction plus a reversible pattern make for a very wearable FO. I especially like the optional extra length and beaded picot bind-off.

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FO Friday: Zaubershawl

September 16, 2011September 6, 2011remilyknits Leave a comment

“Sun in Cold Water” is the September KAL in the Beginner Lace Knitters group on Ravelry. Since purchasing a ball of super-colorful Zauberball in March, I’ve been searching for a pattern that would show off the stunning colorway. After several failed attempts, I’d put the ball aside — but this pattern seemed like it would suit perfectly. I’m pleased with the results!

Project: Zaubershawl

Pattern: Sun in Cold Water

Designer: Julia Faranchuk

Available: FREE! on Ravelry

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in #1536

This shawlette is a crescent, worked from the bottom up. The designer’s intent was to allow intentional pooling of a short-repeat variegated yarn — of course my extra-long repeat Zauberball doesn’t do that. The initial cast-on is provisional — you come back at the end to work a loopy crocheted-chain edge. (You can also make the crochet chain first, and pick up every 6th st to cast on.) Short rows shape the body.

After my recent spate of shawlette-making, I’ve become opinionated. I made a number of modifications to this pattern, to suit my own preferences.

using s2kp throughout instead of sk2p throughout
changed last two rows of chart to line up better with the leaves
short rows: did graduated lengths for a more crescent-y shape
3-st icord bind off at top edge
bottom finish: SC in each loop, ch3 between (instead of ch6)

Before blocking, the lace edging was very rumpled:

I decided to pull out points, rather than pin each of the 259 crochet-chain loops:

The blocked shawl:

FO Friday: Ruched Yoke Tee

September 9, 2011September 2, 2011remilyknits 1 Comment

Back in June I bought some pretty pale violet Cascade Ultra Pima at Unforgettable Yarns in Andover….

A mere three months later, and I have a new summer top!

Project: Purple Ruched Yoke Tee

Pattern: Ruched Yoke Tee

Designer: AnneLena Madison

Available: Interweave Knits, Spring 2011

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima

In general, a great pattern. Easy to follow, no errors (that I noticed, anyway), etc. I like the simplicity of the design. I found it to be great “travel knitting” because of the large swathes of uninterrupted stockinette. Like many other knitters of this pattern, I found the keyhole a bit too large for my taste. When I put the i-cord edge on the keyhole, I just skipped every third stitch to make it a bit smaller.

I wore it as written for a single evening … and the neckline stretched from “daringly revealing” to “downright scandalous.” I solved this by adding an applied i-cord edge (matching the keyhole edging nicely), and the top is now quite wearable. One other minor quibble — for me, the CO stitches under the arms weren’t quite enough — I should have added more. As it is, the fabric stretches a bit too much there (oh well). I also stopped about 10 rows early with the body — it was long enough already.

I really love this top! Comfy and cute. The Ultra Pima has been a dream to work with — soft, pliant, and not at all like most cottons I’ve worked with. Definitely going to use it again!

Remily Knits

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