Showing posts with label Gear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gear. Show all posts

16 January 2007

Alpaca in the home stretch

The second sleeve is almost complete, though we had a small disaster last night: the screw that connects cable to needle snapped on my Bamboo Sister Set last night. I had forgotten to pair the increases and only discovered my error when getting ready to do the next set, nine rows later. Not a big deal, since there are only 44 stitches OTN at this point, and I know how to weave in a needle back where I need to be and frog safely. But clearly, I shouldn't have used the "slack" of the needles the project is ON.

Lesson learned: use a tapestry needle and that piece of dental floss that floats around your tool kit, post-Clapotis disaster.

Luckily, I have another size 9 needle (bamboo circular), probably purchased before the Sister Set entered my life, so I could regroup and continue. Not sure what to do about the Sister Set. Peter seems quite upset, since he purchased it for me way back when. But it may have lived out its useful life to some extent. I'm not a very tight knitter, but I have snagged up the tips some - to the point where I had to file one down a bit with an emery board (also kept in my handy tool kit).

I really like the compact nature and flexibility of the SS, as well as that the needles are bamboo, but I may need to explore new options. I love my Bryspuns but really prefer a set. I might have to check out the Knitpicks Options set, though I'm not a huge fan of metal needles. Word is they are more satiny than Addi Turbos.

Oh, so I'm about halfway through the sleeve. And the shoulders are three-needle bound off. And the one sleeve is sewn up. All I need to do is finish this sleeve, seam it up, seam up the sides, and set in the sleeves. Oh, wait, that's more than I thought. But I'm so excited, since I cast on for this sweater just over a week ago.

02 October 2006

Stash Enhancement

In a little shopping spree this weekend (school clothes for mama and daughter, diapers, etc.), I added some yarn from A.C. Moore's four-hour 25% off knitting sale on Saturday with a couple of skeins of Araucania yarn and two of the Atacama. Did you know that Araucania now has a bulky weight? I didn't until I spied some lovely, slightly variegated grey that will make a nice, warm hat for my husband and go with the gloves I made for him last winter out of the regular weight Araucania grey. The other Araucania is a periwinkle to violet variegated yarn in their original weight.

I gave some Atacama to a friend for a birthday present a couple of years ago and really liked that rosy colorway, but when I saw the aqua one, I decided a couple of skeins for me would be nice. Not sure what I'll do with them yet, perhaps Fetching though I wonder if the variegated yarn would distract from the cables. Or it could be really cool. I think I'm going to have to spend some time googling "fetching".

To make the trip to A.C. Moore legitimate, I bought more stitch markers for the Clapotis and some big safety-pin style stitch holders for the luscious cardigan. However, the bamboo needles seem to have settled down with the Clapotis (or I've gotten the hang of working with them and this yarn), so at least I don't have to swap with the Bryspuns for now.

And I put all my accoutrements in a little makeup case from Stila that looks like it might work well. It's got elasticized bands inside the "lid" that hold my sewing needle case, stitch holders, and other such tools, while the rest of the gear is loose in the "box". It's even big enough to hold the Sister Set case. This is probably a better solution than a felted bag, which I thought would be a future project.

25 September 2006

FO - Cable Baby Sweater

Well, it's almost a finished object. Just have to get some thread to sew the buttons on, since the Blue Sky Organic Cotton is too bulky to fit through the holes in the button. But that yarn sure is soft! And you can wash it in the machine (lay flat to dry). This sweater is just in time, too, since the baby was born on Friday night. She is a beautiful baby and everyone is well.

The cables were more challenging in cotton (not as much give), and I'll do my next cabled item in wool, but it sure was a fun item to make. Except, of course, the finishing. It took me two knit nights to finish, though the puppy and kitten tearing around the house probably has something to do with not knitting at home as much.

I really liked using the Brittany Birch Cable Needle. [N.B. I haven't purchased from worldknit.com - they were at the top of the Google results list.] I started out using a Clover plastic one, but the plastic was just too slippery with the cotton yarn. And the shape of the Brittany is just so pleasing, don't you think?

The pattern is from Knitting for Baby, which is a great book for beginners who have baby items to make. Good illustrations and explanations of techniques. And I know a number of knitters who don't have little babies around who have made the felted "diaper bag", so there is something for the non-baby crowd.