Handles

It is all gift knitting all the time in my apartment.  I've decided that while I'm at home I should be working on my gift knitting exclusively so that I don't have to give too many gifts on the needles this year.

My mom is getting a set of BYOBs for her birthday this year (December 21) and as I've been working on them, I've come to appreciate the construction of the handles immensely.  They are so cleaver and so utilitarian.

First, you cast on the number of stitches your handle is going to be and you knit a little strip of stockinette four rows tall.



Next you fold the strip horizontally with the purl sides together so you have a double-thick strip of stockinette only two rows tall.  knit across the row knitting each live stitch together with one of the cast on stitches (which, since you've folded your fabric is up near your needles.  (The pattern has you cast on using a provisional cast on so that you are knitting two sets of live stitches together.  This is totally acceptable, but I find a provisional cast on slow and my way gives the exact same result.)  Here is my handle strip half knit so you can see what I'm talking about.



The stitches on the right have been folded and knit together with the cast on row, the stitches on the left haven't been worked yet.  Here it is from the back.



(Stitches on the left have been worked together, stitches on the right are waiting to be worked)

Once you've finished folding and working all your stitches across you have a double-thick round uber-squishy handle pad.   (From the front then the back)





Once you've made your handle pads set them aside until you're ready to knit your handles.  Bind off the  number of stitches your handles call for.  Then on the next round, instead of casting on over the gap as most patterns have you do, simply knit the stitches from your handle pad.  The rolled double-thick cushion really makes a difference if you're carrying a loaded bag.  It really cuts down on the way that handles can sometimes dig into your hands and makes the handle feel more substantial and less "fragile" than some bag handles feel.

The BYOBs come out huge, and I think a smaller size would really be more practical as a shopping bag, but even if I don't make the pattern again, I will definitely use this handle trick on future bags.  Genius.

SIP (Spinning In Progress)

You know you are falling behind on your blogging when you non-knitting boyfriend notices that you haven't posted in a while.  (Thanks for the kick in the butt Ry! Love you!)  It's been a solid three weeks since I've posted anything.  Partially it's because I don't have anything finished and my favorite posts are showing off finished things.  Partially it's because the weather has been horrible... 5 straight days of rain... and there's been no sunlight to take pictures in.  My apartment is destroyed and I don't want you all to see the mess.  Really, I'm thinking of you all.  It's bad.

I've been very uncommitted to any one project lately so all my projects have some progress but not lots.  Mostly I'm trying to get some market bags done for my mom's birthday present (her birthday is December 21.)  I've got some socks going for working on at sock hour at the yarn shop.  A sweater that I started as part of an October knit-a-long and am only about half done with.  Socks that I can't work on at sock hour so only get attention when I'm on the bus.  A cabled pullover in bulky yarn that I love but don't focus on too much because every time I do I feel guilty I'm not working on gift knitting.  Granny squares for an afghan that I sometimes have interest in.

There are some other things I need to cast on as gifts, but I think I'll keep them a secret for now.  But I don't want to talk about any of that right now.  Right now, I want to show you my current spinning project.



That is 2 oz. of Alpaca/Silk from Abstract Fibers in colorway Mount Hood Rose.  This luscious fiber is 70% alpaca 30% silk.  I've spun it to a lace weight but I'm planning on spinning another 2 oz. and plying it so that I get a fingering weight.  I'm hoping for enough yardage for a triangle shawl--they make the best winter scarves because they cover the whole gap in my coat, not just up by my throat.

Spinning this was a bit hard to adjust to.  I've never worked with alpaca before or any other really long-stapled fiber and I wasn't used to drafting with my finger so far apart.  Once I finally figured it out and got in my rhythm it spins so smoothly and it can be drafted down to almost nothing.



The yarn is not as garish as the photos make it look.  The sheen from the silk and alpaca make it hard to photograph.  Especially in the bad lighting the weather has left us with here in Portland.  Don't expect good pictures on the blog again until June... grumble rain grumble grumble

New blanket just in time

I finished my OpArt.  Truth.  I know it's been on the needles since forever (June 30, 2009 cast on according to Ravelry.)  Don't you hate how Ravelry can remind you that you've been a complete and utter slacker when it comes to those lingering projects that just won't finish themselves? LOOK!




This is supposed to be our last day of sunshine before the winter grey sets in so I pretty much finished right on time as far as taking nice pictures is concerned.  It's huge, over 5 feet square.  Here it is on the floor with cats for scale (and because I couldn't get them out of the picture--my "shoo"s mean nothing to them.)



It's true what everyone says about blocking this, you have to be highly aggressive with it.  It comes off the needles totally wobbly and not at all square.  Here it is laid out pre-blocking.



See how it's all dimple-y and swirly at the corners? No good.  Time for pins and a yardstick.  I started from the center and pulled out one row of corners along the spiral and pinned them out.  Then I pulled out all the corners on the opposite side and pinned them too.  Here it is half pinned.



Then I did the same thing with the other two sides.  As you can see from the finished pictures, at some point, I had to take a "good enough" attitude toward the whole thing or drive myself crazy trying to make it perfectly square.

I used acrylic yarn (Carron One Pound in colors "off white" and "rose") so I had to kill rather than block.  After it was all pinned out I grabbed the steam iron and held it about 2 inches over the blanket and gave the thing a good steam.  I could see the yarn physically relax and settle into the pinned position.  It was pretty cool.  It also made the yarn way drapier and much softer.

Warning: if you make this blanket using this yarn, there is not enough to make the larger size.  I ran out halfway between the small and large size--with 9 rows left to go in the stripe I was working on.  Luckily a kind raveler sent me her leftovers and I was able to finish without having to buy a whole new pound of yarn.  Now to snuggle on the couch with some hot tea, my new blanket, and an episode of Star Trek.  I hate being cold, but I love being cozy... winter is a weird season for me.

Happy Halloween

Two years ago my brother was looking for a Halloween costume, but couldn't find anything to fit his giant 6'10" body.  Enter my awesome sewing skills and Burda 2471.



Get it... a really tall Napoleon... Ha.  The pattern is only sized for men up to 6'3" so I had to alter ever pattern piece 7 inches longer.  I added the length along the waist "lengthen here" lines.  If I had used the lines for lengthening the chest Adam would have ended up looking like a flying squirrel.  I made the britches, vest, jacket, and even the hat.  Adam bought the boots.

Just for a size comparison, here's what I look like wearing the jacket.



It's a wee bit big on me.  Adam was down town running a muck this Saturday in costume and I guess many people stopped him to take a picture with the giant Napoleon.  It's a very good think Adam likes this costume.  It was a pain in the $&@ to make given the intricacy of the pattern and all the alterations I had to do.  I told him he has to be Napoleon for at least 2 more years before I'm ready to undertake making a new costume.

What was your Halloween costume?

Yarn Harlot

That's her.  She just wrapped up her book tour and Portland was the last stop.  I went to her 2008 book tour when she stopped in Madison, Wisconsin, and I think if it's possible, she's gotten even funnier.

My brother went with me.  I asked him too.  Portland feels pretty darn safe, but the location of the book store isn't close to the parking structure and there can be some strange people on the Portland streets, especially after dark.  My brother is very big.  People don't really mess with him.  How big you ask.  This big.



That's me, my brother, and the Yarn Harlot.  She is standing on a chair.  Her knees are at the same level as my hips, and yet, Adam is still taller.

Adam even chuckled several times during the talk she gave before signing books.  On the way out of the book store he said the strangest thing to me: "She sounds like you."  I discovered the Yarn Harlot's books about the time I started knitting and we seem to share the same sort of... impatient... nature when it comes to doing things the way we want.  Of course, Adam had never heard of the Yarn Harlot until I roped him into being my escort for the evening.  It sort of makes sense that he would attribute all the knitterly attitudes and frustrations to me since I'm the one he hears it from.  Still, I think of Stephanie as someone who has impacted my knitting attitudes greatly and contributed to the way I think about knitting.  I think it reality, I sound like her.  Still, it was a flattering sentiment.

Now off to knit Adam some Zelda inspired tri-force gauntlets, the price of his attendance.

Just my luck

Recently, I've been cruising right along on several projects.  I've got... eleven... current projects and over the past weekend I think I managed to work on 7 of them.  Part of the reason I was able to work on so many was that I kept running out of ^*$# yarn.  First, I decided to work on the market bag I'm making for my mom.





That's BYOB by Moria Ravenscroft from the Summer 2008 Knitty.  I'm making it with Knit Picks new cotton yarn Dishie.  It feels like a great yarn for market bags, dish towels, scrubbies, etc. but I would never make something like a garment with it--too stiff, it would never drape.  Soft, but stiff.  The pattern calls for two balls of a yarn that is 207 yards per ball for the main color.  Dishie comes in balls of 190 yards.  As you can see, those extra 34 yards are critical.  All I have left to knit are the handles.  An emergency ball is on the way and hopefully I'll have the bag done soon.

After that disappointment, I picked up a project I haven't worked on it quite a while and got pretty close to finishing.





That's the Op Art blanket by Melissa Dominguez from the fall 2008 Knitty.  (Clearly 2008 was a good year for Knitty).  I started this when I first moved to Oregon way back in July 2009.  Mostly, I started it as a way to use up the two huge skeins of Carron One Pound I was given by a well meaning family friend.  I figured two POUNDS of yarn would be enough to finish a moderate-sized blanket.  Imagine my extreme frustration when I ran out of yarn 9 rows from the end.  Since the size of the stripes matters, I can't just stop where I am and bind off.  I could go back to the last whole stripe, but I really wanted it to end on a white stripe... My own weird aesthetic.  That would mean going back a whole strip and a half and would leave me with quite a lot of left over yarn, thus defeating my plan to use up all the yarn with this blanket.

Ravelry to the rescue.  Another kind knitter used this yarn for a project and had about 4 ounces left over.  The yarn is coming to me as we speak.  I love living in the digital age.  I could not function in a world without "the cloud"..... mmm instant gratification, instant information, instant organization.

Had I not run out of yarn on these two projects I probably would have given them each some serious dedicated work and maybe had a few FOs to show for my weekend, but as it is, it was nice to revisit so many of my current projects and get back in touch with why I love them.

Susie's Mitts

My aunt Susie is pretty much a saint.  She lives with my grandma and basically takes care of her.  Grandma is pretty much at the stage where she shouldn't drive any more, so Susie takes her where she needs to go and all the palaces she likes do go (like doughnuts on Tuesday mornings.)

Grandma called me the other day to tell me that Susie's hands get cold when she has to drive in the mornings because the steering wheel is cold and asked if I could please make Susie some fingerless mitts for driving.  I decided on the Commuter Fingerless Mittens by Stephanie Sun from Knitty First Fall 2011.





I thought this patter was super cute when it first came out in Knitty and queued it immediately.  The request for fingerless gloves immediately brought the pattern to my mind.  I love the way they flip up to provide more finger coverage if you need it.


New camera!  I just got a new Cannon SX230 HS.  It's a pocket sized point and shoot and I love it!  It takes fantastic close up pictures don't you think?


The yarn is some of my favorite from the stash.  It's Berroco Pleasure 66% angora, 29% merino, and 5% nylon.  It's basically the snuggliest yarn there is.  Sadly it's discontinued.  I got 14 balls back when it went on close out (originally $13.99 per ball, I got it for $4.50 per ball) and have enjoyed deciding how to use it.  I have also made a Climbing Vines pullover with it.  It's wonderful to work with but the real magic happens once it's been washed.  The yarn blooms and becomes even softer and fluffier.  Perfect for keeping fingers nice and toasty.



The buttons are just simple silver buttons I found at JoAnn's last weekend, the same style on the back of the hand and on the palm just different sizes.  I was shocked at how expensive buttons have become!  It was $6 for these simple ones, more elaborate ones would have cost even more.  Oh well, since I used stash yarn the cost for the project was pretty low.  The project only took one ball of yarn and knit up in under a week.  If I didn't like my aunt so much, I'd seriously think about keeping these for myself.