Tag Yarn

Tips and Tricks: Old Norwegian Cast On

remilyknits 10 Comments

Recently, I’ve been teaching my friend Susie to knit.  She’s a great student, in large part because she’s knit before, not to mention she crochets already (including teeny tiny crocheted bracelets made with quilting thread and #11 seed beads).  As I do with most new knitters, I first taught her the knitted-on cast on, because it uses the knit stitch.  This means the new knitter doesn’t have to learn some bizarro two-strand loopy thing in order to have a nice, firm cast-on row. (I never teach the backwards-loop cast on as a first cast on, because new knitters invariably stretch it out and get very discouraged.)

Susie, having finished her first project (legwarmers for her little girl), wanted to learn a stretchier cast on for the second pair.  Enter the Old Norwegian Long Tail Cast On, aka the Twisted German Cast On!  (The latter name always makes me think the Germans are kinky… ) I showed Susie how to do it, and made up a little set of words to say while doing it.  She said it made sense to her, and wished there were a video … so without further ado, this video is for you Susie!

New Pattern Release: Photog Mitts

remilyknits 2 Comments

Introducing my latest pattern: the Photog Mitts! This pattern for palmless, fingerless mitts in squishable Happy Feet DK is all about maximizing warmth while leaving the hand free for work.  Great for photographers, sailors, and anyone who wants to keep their hands both warm and unencumbered.

1203 photog mitts

1204 photog mitts

Pattern: Photog Mitts

Designer: Rachel Henry (that’s me!)

Available:  for $3.50 at Ravelry

Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet DK

Inspiration: I designed these for my friend Donna (of Donna Kelliher Photography) — she specializes in photographing dog sporting events, which means she is outside in all kinds of weather. Handling a camera with full mittens or gloves on is dicey at best, and regular fingerless mitts cover the palm in fabric, which bunches up and makes holding the camera difficult.

Design/Skills Needed: The cuff is worked in the round, starting with a simple scalloped edge that comes to a point and continues in a subtle line of slipped stitches all the way up the wrist and hand. Stitches are cast off at the base of the palm, and the remainder of the mitt is worked flat with slip-stitch edges that hug the palm. A thumb gusset provides superior fit. The top is finished with i-cord edging that runs around the pinky and pointer fingers to hold the mitt in place – the thumb is also finished with i-cord edging.

Yarn: Suitable for the most colorful hand-painted yarn, but stylish with subdued colors too, these functional yet charming mitts are quick to knit and fun to wear.

I would be delighted to answer any questions or help any knitters working on this project.

FO Friday: Queen Anne Mystery Socks

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1481 Family Jewels Mystery Socks

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?

1484 Family Jewels Mystery Socks (heart cuff)

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

1483 Family Jewels Mystery Socks (bead motif)

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.

1485 Family Jewels Mystery Socks (fleegle heel)

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!

1482 Family Jewels Mystery Socks (front and back)

Yarn Review: Knit Picks Chroma Fingering

remilyknits 3 Comments

This week I’ve been knitting with Knit Picks Chroma Fingering, their brand-spanking-new, slow-color-changing yarn (also available in worsted weight). As far as I know, this was a top-secret project, and Knit Picks kept it quiet for over a year until it arrived just before Christmas with many fireworks and much ado, at least on the Ravelry boards.  There are already over 100 projects listed in Ravelry using Chroma, which is pretty amazing considering it was released just over a month ago.  If you’re curious about the process of creating a brand-new yarn line, check out Knit Picks Podcast #151.

I’m working on a new pattern for Knit Picks IDP.  I’d worked up a sample swatch in Felici Sport in the now-unavailable “Picnic” colorway, and submitted it to a magazine … after the usual epic wait for a decision (knitting magazines have a Very Long Time Horizon), they decided not to use it.  Ever the optimist, I re-did the submission and turned it right around to Knit Picks. It is incredibly reinforcing to submit to KP, because they decide so quickly! I heard back that the proposal was accepted within a week. Of course, nothing is final until they have the sample and finished pattern in hand, but they did agree to give me yarn support.  I was sad to hear that Felici wasn’t an option, but delighted when they agreed to send me some of the new Chroma! Yay!

Yarn: Knit Picks Chroma Fingering

Fiber: 70% wool, 30% nylon

Price: $8.99 for each 100-gram ball (396 yards)

Care: hand-wash

Colorway: U-Pick

1404 Chroma (glamour)

First Impressions:gorgeous, soft, fluffy, awesome

I pulled it out of the envelope and ooohed and ahhed out loud.  The balls are squishy round things that show all the gradual color changes. I cast on the same day, starting work on the sample for my pattern.  It begins with a simple braided cable on a garter-stitch background.  This strip is narrow (23 sts), so each color lasts several repeats.  When the cable was long enough, I joined it in a circle and picked up stitches all the way around, just over 100.  At this circumference, each color runs for about an inch. I was a little afraid that the repeats would be too short and make the fabric stripey, but instead I got exactly what I hoped for: slow, beautiful, easy gradations from one color to the next.

1403 Chroma Top

The yarn is spun as a single, and is similar to Malabrigo in texture (though Malabrigo, the king of softness, is perhaps a smidge softer than Chroma). Like every single-spun yarn I’ve ever used, it can be a bit cantankerous: it is splitty, dropped stitches are tricky to retrieve intact, and I had to use a cable needle on my big 5×5 cable crosses. However, once knit, the fabric is soft and smooth, with just a bit of variation (see the slightly bigger stitches in only one row? the yarn was a bit fatter there).

1405 Chroma (stockinette)

The finished fabric has a slight halo, even without being washed and blocked.  I expected it will bloom significantly after washing, and I suppose it would happily felt if mistreated. Even with the softness and halo, I found it had great stitch definition.

1406 Chroma (halo)

Now it’s obvious to me that Chroma is meant to compete with the biggies in slow-color-changing yarn: Noro, Mochi, and the like. I’ve knit one thing, once, with Noro Silk Garden … let us just say, I encountered every problem that Noro haters complain about: knots that interrupted the color changes, harsh yarn that hurt my hands, grass and other prickly junk in the yarn, yarn that pulled apart with very little provocation, and more. I’ve been sad not to knit with Noro, because I love the colors … I just can’t stand working with the yarn.  I am thoroughly delighted to have Chroma, which is such a pleasure to work with.

Rating: 5 of 5 DPNs

Ravelry Monday: Pareval, Anchor Bay Sunset, and Bella Rue

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Happy Monday! Time to look back at the previous week’s recently added knitting patterns on Ravelry and pick a few favorites.

First pick: “Parseval” by Melissa Wehrle ($4.00)

This sweater is mostly-ribbed, with a bit of cabling towards the top with a big cowl neck.  This sweater made it into my (ever-growing) queue, because I think it has potential to look good on many body types.  The cabling will draw the eye upwards, and the ribbing will make the body and sleeves accommodating.  It’s worked mostly in the round — my favorite!  I don’t have a good, simple sweater right now … maybe I should start this one sooner rather than later?

Second Pick: “Anchor Bay Sunset” by Julia Duren (FREE!)

Simple, attractive, fingerless mitts — no fancy colorwork or cables, no girly lace.  Yet, with just a few purl rows in a contrasting color, these mitts look great!  Endless color possibilities — they could be a real stash-buster for sock yarn.  The pattern says they are designed to wear as-is, or over a wrist-brace for carpal tunnel or other RSI issues.

Third Pick: “Bella Rue” by Amanda Rios ($8.00)

Although I adore this sweater for many reasons — the top-down construction! the button detail on the sleeve! the awesome pleated panel on the back! — I have a sinking feeling that adorable as it is, it just wouldn’ t work with my body type. Alas!

FO Friday: Loopy the Sheep

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1378 Loopy

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!

1382 Loopy

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)

1377 Loopy

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.

1376 Loopy (profile)

What’s On My Needles: Knitters Brewing Co. Mystery Socks III

remilyknits 1 Comment

A few weeks ago, I heard about a free mystery sock knit-a-long being hosted by the Knitters Brewing Company. This was just the kick in the pants I needed to get my Firecracker socks finished and off the needles. It was hard to wait for the KAL to start! Although I was tempted (as I always am) to buy their kit for the KAL, I controlled my desire to own every ball of sock yarn in the world, and instead selected a pretty little colorway from my stash:  Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in “Queen Anne.”

0701 KP Stroll in Queen Anne Tonal

I made a shawl out of Shadow Tonal in  “Queen Anne,” so I knew I loved the color already.  (Actually, that was a mystery KAL project too!  Interesting….)

0175 completed Mandala II (edge)

Anyway, back to the mystery socks.  Clue #1 came out right on time, and everyone dove in.  The socks are toe-up, so I used Judy’s magic cast-on and magic-looped through the nifty twisted-stitch toe pattern with stately aplomb.  I finished one toe, and decided that I really needed to do two-at-a-time with this pattern.  Usually I hate having two socks on my ML at a time, because the “extra” sock drags at my needles.  That’s because socks are often my “take-a-long” project, and I sometimes knit standing up or even walking!  But, since these socks will be worked on in quick weekly bursts, it seemed like that wouldn’t be a problem. Also, I really wanted to have them DONE and wearable when the last clue came — and not have a whole second sock staring me in the face.  So, a rare bird in my knitting life: two at a time socks:

1347 queen anne mystery socks (clue 1)

Impatiently I waited for the next clue …. and waited … and waited … until Clue #2 was released a whole day early! Yippee!  I got right to work.  A few rows in, I decided I just couldn’t handle the written instructions.  I’m more of a “chart girl” you see — I like to see where I am in the pattern, and written instructions just can’t do that.  So, I stopped and made my own chart. After that I flew along at warp speed.  The twisty stitches are fun and pretty too, and even though my yarn choice is colorful, the tonal nature allows the stitch pattern to shine through:

1364 mystery sock (clue 2)

Now I’m waiting again — browsing the KBC forum, which has multiple threads devoted to this KAL. I always love the community aspects of participating in a knit-a-long, and this time is no exception.

Speaking of which … it’s not too late to join in!  Grab some sock yarn, print out the first two clues, and catch up before Friday’s Clue#3 (or maybe Wednesday? Pppppplllllease?).

Ravelry Monday: Pansies, Alassë Míriel Hooded Cowl, and Grecian Goddess Socks

remilyknits 2 Comments

Happy Monday! Time to look back at the previous week’s recently added knitting patterns on Ravelry and pick a few favorites.

First pick: “Pansies” by Rebekkah Dickson (FREE!)

My favorite flowers are pansies, so I’m always on the lookout for good patterns (heck, good anything) that include pansies.  These are far and away the best knitted pansies I’ve seen — true to the flower, without being fussy.  The petals are knit flat, then sewn in place.  The pansy “monkey face” in added in post-production with duplicate stitch.  I can see myself adding pansies to a lot of upcoming projects … all I need is a little purple/blue/burgundy and yellow/white yarn, any weight will do.  Whee!

Second Pick: “Alassë Míriel Hooded Cowl” by The Jane Victoria ($5.00)

Can I just say, WOW, what an ingenious garment! Part cowl, part hood, part shoulder cozy… I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I LOVE it already.

Third Pick: “Grecian Goddess Socks” by Katie Franceschi ($5.95)

I’m a sock lover, it’s true.  I just washed (nearly) all my hand-made socks, and stopped counting at pair 24.  I’m in the middle of a sock-a-long as we speak (where is clue #3, people?), and eagerly awaiting my first 2011 Rockin’ Sock Club shipment. But these socks call to me too! Alas, there are other things on my needles, so these faux lace-up socks will have to wait in my queue.

Alassë Míriel Hooded Cowl

FO Friday: Salute Hat

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My friend up in Canada asked me if I’d make her a hat to go with the mittens I sent her for Christmas. She really liked my first Salute Hat (made in gorgeous olive Malabrigo Worsted, yum):

0972 Salute Hat (finished)

I offered her my famous “friends and family” knitting deal: if she bought the yarn, I’d make the hat. She chose the lovely “Nostalgia” colorway in Malabrigo Worsted:

1348 Nostalgia Malabrigo Worsted 1349 Nostalgia Malabrigo Worsted

I’m pleased to say the hat knit up very quickly:

1355 Nostalgic Salute Hat

Pattern: Salute Hat

Designer: Kate Oates of Tot Toppers (if you ever need a cute hat, check here first!)

Available: for $6 on Ravelry or directly from Tot Toppers

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Nostalgia (623), purchased from Webs for $12

1358 Nostalgic Salute Hat

Modifications:

Having made this hat once already, I had some things I wanted to alter.  My Canadian friend and I both have big heads, which meant the original brim looked a bit funny on us.  Both hats are modeled by my 8-year-old son, and you can see the smaller brim looks right on him, while the larger brim looks a bit silly.  You’ll have to trust that the bigger brim looks right on my big old head.  To make a larger brim, I picked up stitches starting right at the front/back band seam, and I made it broader by about four rows.  This of course meant that I had to change the size and shape of the heavy-weight interfacing that goes inside the brim to help it hold it’s shape, but that truly wasn’t that difficult.  In fact, I decided to rip out the original olive brim, and now MY hat also has a brim that matches my head size.

I also had some trouble with the back band rolling under.  This is not too surprising, considering that it’s just plain stockinette with a slip-stitch edge.  For my friend’s hat, I made the back brim twice as wide with a slipped stitch in the center.  Then as a final step in making up, I folded it in half and tacked it in place with whip-stitch.  This doubled-up back band doesn’t roll at all, plus it’s twice as cozy over the ears.  It also makes the hat a bit more substantial — my olive hat is noticeably floppy in comparison.

Fantasy Queue: Winter 2011 Knitty

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Every time a new book, magazine, or web-zine of knitting patterns comes out, I have this moment where I wish I had nothing at all on the needles or in my queue, and I could just cast on half a dozen new projects with no guilt and every hope of finishing them all.

The Winter 2011 Edition of Knitty is no exception — there are plenty of patterns that say, “Pick me, pick me! Start-itis be damned!”  This Wednesday at Remily Knits I will indulge this desire by creating my very own Fantasy Queue: all the patterns paired with yarn and who I’d make it for, if I were not constrained by time or money (or housework, or kids, or dogs, or …).

#1 – Palisander

This is the shot that did me in.  Reversible scarves are tricky.  All too often, the pattern isn’t truly reversible — one side is distinctly prettier than the other.  Other patterns are dull (too much knit and purl), or just not attractive in their attempt to be reversible.  This pattern on the other hand … is YUMMY. I love both sides. I know exactly what I’d use too — Knit Picks  City Tweed DK in Toad.  I’d probably use Morning Glory, except that I already have a cozy shawl in Morning Glory.

#2 – Cartouche

One of my complaints about many lace shawls is that they all too often seem more like samplers — two or three pretty motifs, in sequence, with a pretty edging, but lacking any flow from one element to the next.  With this pattern, you can see the thought that went into blending the different motifs, and the result is gorgeous.  I think I’d try Blue Moon Fiber Arts  Marine Silk Fingering in True Blood — not a fiber I’ve used before, but one that begs for a pattern just like this.

#3 – Constantine

This one will probably stay on my fantasy queue forever. Although I love the shape and can imagine wearing the finished cape every day from fall to spring, I know myself well — that much seed stitch would do me in.  In my dreams, I’d use a dark heathered yarn like Ella Rae Classes Superwash Chunky in Berry Heather.  (In real life, I’d get the back, front, and half of one sleeve done before I just couldn’t face it any more.)

#4 – Chrysanthemums

Oh my goodness, I am a sucker for colorwork mittens. Although I admire the subtlety of the sample pair … I think I would go bold with Knit Picks new Chroma Fingering in Smoothie for the main color (background), using Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in Black for the contrast color (flower).  The pinky-orange and yellow flowing colors of Smoothie scream Chrysanthemum to me!

#5 – Sweetheart Socks

I’ll admit, at first I didn’t see what was so special about this pattern … I’ve knit dozens of socks in the last ten years, and it takes a lot to make me excited about a sock pattern.  What drew me in for these sweetheart socks is the novelty of working in worsted-weight yarn (fast socks! my heart leaps!), and the prospect of trying out an afterthought heel. (I’ve done an afterthought thumb, but never an afterthought heel.) I think I’d try Valley Yarns Northampton in Lake Heather.