Monthly Archives: January 2024

Squishy cable love

Posted on January 19, 2024 | 7 comments

I had forgotten how much fun it is to knit cables, especially with bulky yarn.

It’s mesmerizing to watch the cables develop. I just finished Row 50 of the back. Yes, there are two row counters because the center cable has a 32 row repeat, and the side cables have a 24 row repeat.

I put the charts inside a page protector to give it some body, and I’m using my ribbon covered magnets from a Slipped Stitch Studios pattern keeper to keep track of which row(s) I’m on. Why not just use the pattern keeper? Because the magnets only work if the chart is printed in portrait mode, and I can read them better printed in landscape mode!

The next step in the sweater process is deciding if I want to modify the drop shoulder for a better fit for DH. I modified this favorite sweater for him (Sky Lights from North Island Designs, not on Ravelry because it’s THAT old), so I put it on the floor to measure it.

I’ve measured all the important bits: Length to armhole, cut in at armhole, armhole depth, neck width, overall length of sweater and sleeve. Now to translate it to the current knit…

We’ve had an ice storm on top of a snowstorm, so we’ve been cooped up inside. Perfect weather for knitting, and for baking.

Calvin helped me make blueberry muffins. He can smell melted butter from the other room.

The birds are puffed up against the cold, and hungry, so I put out bird seed.

I’m ready for the ice to melt. And I need to start getting ready to go to VKLive NYC next week. Must. Stop. Knitting. Sweater. For now at least! How are things where you are?

7 Comments

Posted in cat, KAL, Knit, yarn

Tagged cabled knitting, crochet, helpful knitting cats, knit picks WOTA bulky, knitting, sweater, sweater knitting, when harry met lucy, when harry met lucy kal, yarn

Harry and Lucy’s tentative meet-up

Posted on January 15, 2024 | 3 comments

I finally have enough projects off my plate that I can begin to contemplate this KAL. It has a lot going on, and it’s definitely not for knitting on the go!

Bisquee and I worked 3 stockinette gauge swatches. I couldn’t get gauge, even going down two needle sizes. Did I wash and block my swatch? Nah, that would just make it relax, and make that desired gauge even more unattainable. So I just cast on with the smaller needles to see what would really happen. Sometimes you just have to jump in.

This bulky-ish yarn on US 8 needles wasn’t going to make my hands happy over the long run. And the width of the piece was much smaller than it should have been! I did some math, and the actual measurement over the cabled body is the same as I’d get with that stockinette gauge, and that can’t be true. Cables pull in, and stockinette doesn’t.

I went back to the original US 10 that was recommended and cast on for the 42” sweater. Even though my stockinette gauge is way too big, the actual knitted piece was very different. The 42” size was coming out at 39”, too small.

I cast on again for the 46” sweater and it is measuring 44”. (Well, really 22”, because it’s just the back.) That’s a good amount of ease on DH, but not ridiculous. And it’s better than being too small. The fabric has a nice hand, so far. If I were using a larger needle, the fabric would be too loose. So I’m ignoring the stockinette gauge, because there really isn’t any stockinette in this pattern.

I’m planning on using this cabled body as a jumping off point, and then adapting a few things. I don’t want a plain drop shoulder sweater, so I’ll bind off some stitches at the armhole for a better shoulder fit for DH. Then I’ll finagle the slightly set in sleeve, which I’ve done before on a sweater that fits him well.

We’ll see if I can get past my two skein attention span and actually do all those things I’m planning!

The yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Mineral Heather. It’s kind of a heathered gray with violet undertones.

Oh, about that cable hook: I usually do my cables without a cable needle, but for the 3 over 3 crosses, it’s not comfortable, so I’m back to using a hook. The 3/1 and 1/3 cables don’t need it. Do whatever makes you happy!

Tools: I printed just the charts on one page. Perfect for my knitting bag! The 12 page pattern can sit at my desk. This is definitely home knitting!

3 Comments

Posted in KAL, Knit, yarn

Tagged knit picks WOTA bulky, knit picks yarn, knitting, knitting cables, knitting gauge, sweater knitting, whenharrymetlucyKAL

Tomayto, tomahto

Posted on January 13, 2024 | 4 comments

I finished the Dotty socks yesterday afternoon, and immediately drove them over to my friend Doreen’s house. They’re for her birthday tomorrow, and it’s snowing and icing this weekend. I wanted to beat the weather, and I did!

I didn’t take an FO picture, but she did! Our planned dinner out tonight is OFF, but at least she’s cozy.

This photo popped up in my Facebook memories today. It was blocking day for my Camellia Wrap, and for the unpublished striped bed socks. That Camellia Wrap is one of my favorite things to wear, fantastic drape and swing. And apparently there were two of those striped socks…I wonder where they went? They weren’t in the drawer with the orange/purple prototypes that I frogged. Maybe I already gave them away as a gift? I don’t recall.

Remember the Ann Norling Fruit Cap pattern from eons ago? I knit a whole bunch about 20 years ago; they were my go to baby gift for a while. I can’t find the pattern in my house, so I winged it. Pretty close, I think. This is for a baby shower on Monday that may be iced out. Oh, weather.

I actually knit two of them because there’s a baby due at church, too. I bought a skein of Malabrigo Rios in Ravelry Red, what a great color. I paired it with Ivy that was leftover in my stash from designing for my Brioche Knit Love book. Rios is one of my favorite yarns. Lovely colors, not expensive.

I knit these on a US7; I started with a US6 but it was firmer than I wanted. I use a 6 for all my Rios brioche, but not for stockinette, I guess!

Inclement weather is great for knitting productivity. Now I only have one project on my needles again (having four was definitely outside my monogamous knitter comfort zone). What are the other two projects? One is done, and I’ll let you know about both of them in a bit.

But I think it’s also time to swatch for the When Harry Met Lucy sweater KAL, finally!

4 Comments

Posted in KAL, Knit, yarn

Tagged Camellia Wrap, Dotty Bed Socks, Knit, knitting, Malabrigo Rios, sock knitting, socks

Sock it to me

Posted on January 11, 2024 | 8 comments

It’s chilly here! I decided to sew in the ends on the mismatched (design prototypes) orange/purple bed socks so they can be of use. But when I pulled them out of the drawer, I noticed the stripe pattern and the dotty pattern resulted in two very differently sized socks. Not okay!

I never published the striped socks; the slip stitch stripes were too variable gauge-wise, and the pattern was too fussy to write, too. So the striped sock needed to be frogged back to the cuff, and the dotted sock needed to be frogged back to the instep to get rid of the striped sole. But I like the dotted instep better than the striped instep. (They are both options on the Dotty Bed Sock pattern, see below.) It wouldn’t add much knitting if I ripped out the gusset, too.

If you’re wondering why the bottom of the gusset is striped, here’s the designer’s secret: The gusset decreases would complicate working the dotty stitch pattern on the bottom of the foot. I wanted the pattern to be easy knitting! So those are just 2 row stripes where the decreases occur, no thinking.

I’m almost done…

Halfway down the second foot. You can see I’m using magic loop here, which I like, mostly. I think I prefer my Flexi-Flips, but I didn’t think of them until working the toe of the first sock, and I don’t want to change needles mid-project for fear of changing my gauge and having 2 different sized socks again. Next time!

Dotty Bed Socks are worked cuff down with a slip stitch pattern, so there’s only one color used per round. And they’re worsted weight, so they’re pretty quick! My socks are 44 stitches around in Malabrigo Rios.

Do you sock? How do you sock? Cuff down? Toe up? DPNs? Magic Loop? Two circulars? Flexi-Flips? Do tell!

8 Comments

Posted in Knit, yarn

Tagged Dotty Bed Socks, knitting, Malabrigo Rios, sock knitting, socks, yarn

DIY dryer balls

Posted on January 6, 2024 | 5 comments

I bought this kit from NW Yarns & Mercantile for DIY dryer balls. It came with 8 ounces of fluffy white fiber that made me want to spin (I resisted), and some yarn to wrap around the balls. I made the two on the left with the included yarn.

Then I went rogue. I used Noro Kureyon on the third one, and embroidered the flower with Lopi. I wanted the fourth one to look like the earth, kind of, so I used Lopi for the water and embroiderd with green Lopi for the three land masses. That one’s my favorite!

The Lopi was the best felting yarn, and it was all leftovers from my Stopover sweaters. The Noro still looks a bit stringy, but it may felt more with repeated trips through the dryer. And I wish I had more green on that second one. I didn’t love the black on the first one. But they’re all going around in the dryer with my laundry right now, so that’s a win!

This was a quick project, and fun. I highly recommend it!

5 Comments

Posted in Other craftiness

Tagged dryer balls, eco-friendly, felting, laundry, nw yarn and mercantile, wool dryer balls

Introducing: Whale Conga Line

Posted on January 3, 2024 | 7 comments

I thought a lot about whales last summer, while on the Zodiac Schooner trip, and on the Vogue Knitting Alaska cruise. I didn’t see a single whale, but they were definitely on my mind!

The Whale Conga Line cowl is the result of those whale-centered expeditions. It’s knit flat from the bottom up and seamed, using 2 skeins of DK weight yarn in contrasting colors. I used Anzula Luxury Fibers Lucero, which is a sparkly blend of superwash merino, cashmere, and stellina. So pretty!

If you’re not into whales, choose a different color and you’ll have migrating birds on the wing, or Jack’s beanstalk reaching for the sky.

The pattern is available through Ravelry, link here, and Payhip, link here. Use coupon code FLUKE for 15% off through January 10, 2024.

Thanks to tech editor Jen Lucas, test knitters Ann Berg, Debbie Braden, and Erica Erignac, and model Sharon Hsu. And thank you to newsletter subscriber Shauna, who came up with the winning name for this pattern! I’ll be sending her a copy of the pattern.

Whales, birds, leaves…what speaks to you?

7 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Anzula Lucero, anzula luxury fibers, anzula yarn, Knit, knitting, patterns, Whale Conga Line, Whale Conga Line Cowl, yarn

Happy New Year, Troll edition

Posted on January 2, 2024 | 7 comments

Happy New Year! I hope you began as you mean to go on. For us, New Year’s Day was spent with the (grown) kids. They came for brunch (cinnamon rolls, cheesy scrambled eggs, mimosas, fake bacon) and then we headed out for a visit with a troll.

This is Ole Bolle, one of a series of oversized trolls by Thomas Dambo. This is the only one in the Portland area; the rest of this series are around the Puget Sound in Washington. But there are over 100 around the world!

He’s made of recycled wooden pallets, and he’s BIG.

I love how he’s peering into the house, looking for snacks.

Don’t look now!

We extended our outing with a 3 mile walk along the Rock Creek Greenway, a wetlands area. Lots of ducks and evidence of beavers (gnawed tree trunks and limbs).