wip: nakniswemo2016, slide + knitpicks stash acquisition!

Happy November! I recently made a big yarn purchase from

Knitpicks

for this special winter month, and now that they've arrived, I can finally show you. But first, a sock WIP update--

The Slide socks by Cookie A are a dream to knit up. I had seen a lot of her designs around ravelry and on various blogs and have wondered why her work has been so popular (besides the gorgeous designs, that is). If this pattern is enough to go by, she's got a way of making simple knitting stitches and conventions into impressive designs, and of explaining them clearly and flawlessly for even an uncertain beginner to comfortably follow along. I might have to queue up those ever-popular

Monkey Socks

sometime soon.

As for the Zen Garden yarn--it's easily the softest sock yarn I've had the privilege of working with to date, but I think the colorway shifts too aggressively for the purpose of this design. I'll likely keep knitting it, but another go at this project with a softly solid MadelineTosh might be in order in the future.

I'm participating in NaKniSweMo for a second year! This year's choice is

Ease

, a gorgeous pattern that has been sitting in my queue for a long time. I chose Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes Superwash in Mineral Heather, which looks even better in person.

The colors are faaar more accurate in this photo than in the previous.

I'm happy to know that it's not nearly as rough for me as commenters on the Ravelry yarn profile complained. It feels great in my hands, and I expect it to soften up even more after its first post-bind-off soak. Full disclosure, though: I didn't swatch at all for this. We'll see whether I get out of this in one piece or end up cursing all the way back to the yarn winder after frogging an entire sweater. Living on the EDGE.

This lovely but kinda garish set of Brava Sport is another new addition. I bit the bait

hard

and shelled out the ~whopping (not) $25 for a Rainbow Hue Shift kit from Knitpicks. This is gonna be my first afghan project (well, one that isn't

a sausage project

anyway).

Suffice it to say I got bitten by the knitting bug this fall/winter and I'm happily letting myself head where the line leads me, even if it means breaking my Big Rule of WIP Monogamy. See you all soon with photos of these projects!

fo : thurman

pattern : Thurman by Lidia Tsymbal
yarn : Patons North America Kroy Socks in Flax
needle : US 8, 9 [5, 5.5mm]
size : Large

Thurman would be my second sweater ever knit (not counting baby sweaters), and was, like the first one, a very fun and enjoyable experience. I'm happy to have finally found the time to photograph it. Because of my smaller budget, I opted for skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease instead of a pure wool or wool-blend. I think it resulted in a different fabric density than intended for the pattern, but the extremely low-maintenance washability is a huge plus for now. Finances permitting, I intend to work through this pattern one more time in something like a brooklyn tweed.

The big feature that attracted me about this particular design was the ribbing and how that played into fitting the shape of the shoulders and wrists. I'm a very big fan of ribbed knitting! It was a joy to see how much give that particular pattern gave to this sweater. Unfortunately the price I pay for having used such a cheap and easy-care yarn is that the 'bounce' of the ribbed parts will go lax and disappear after a few washes, but it'll be fun while it lasts.

As far as the sweater goes as a wearable item and not just a finished knitting project? My Thurman is warm-and-a-half, which hasn't meant many opportunities in the California springtime to wear. I personally don't think it's the most flattering fit on my figure, but that's probably the result of knitting the size I'd go for when buying a sweater, rather than fitting to my measurements and trusting the ease. It's to say, Thurman II is likely gonna have to be a medium rather than a large.

Thurman is a very well thought out and straightforward pattern. It took trusting what Lidia was intending to do with certain parts of the process to really see that she knew just what she was doing and that you were in good hands. That said, there are two possible reasons why such a nice pattern has so few completed projects up on Ravelry:

• The $8 price point seems too steep to the beginner knitter,

• The one website where you can purchase this pattern is a total pain in the ass to navigate and purchase from, and was also previously only buyable as part of a much more expensive kit.

I can't do anything about that weird site problem, but let me assure you as someone very recently graduating from checking the 'free only' box while browsing patterns on Rav, that this pattern is well worth the price and the headache. Just go for it. Cast on Thurman and let me know how you like it.

fo: bapsi's first pullover

This has been such an indecisive project for me toward the end. Picking the pattern and yarn was a breeze. getting the knitting done? that hardly took a month to (mostly-will explain later) complete. But photographing it? Declaring it truly done? That’s been a completely different story.

pattern : Ladies Classic Raglan Pullover

yarn : Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool in Nature’s Brown

needle : US 7, 8 [4.5 mm, 5.0 mm]

size : 44"

I finished this sweater in late 2013. Yep. Twenty. THIRTEEN. In November. I hadn’t taken any FO photos, so Jason and I decided to just have a small forest hike/photoshoot while I was over in England. We did hike, yes. We saw miles of forest. We were just a 20 minute walk (if that) away from the woods on any given day. I stayed there for 6 whole months. Still no photoshoot, still no post about this being finished.

The reason for that is tiny, but a nagging one—

I couldn’t decide how long I really wanted these sleeves, so I left that bit of yarn hanging..

just in case. Over a year and about 12,000 miles of travel later, I decided to just relax and finally make the decision. The sleeves are absolutely fine, and I’ll just let them be. World, Bapsi’s first pullover. Bapsi’s first pullover, world.

BFP was a joy to knit if I remember it well. I felt very proud to have such a large WIP in my lap for those three or so weeks. I did have to redo the very beginning bit several times before getting it just right, but it was to be expected since I’d never made a sweater before. The rest was absolutely simple—just one big stockinette tube after another, with very gentle shaping around the waist and sleeves.

It lead me to learn about just how not-a-big-deal sweaters and larger garments really are at their core. It’s the same concept we do with hats and socks and the like. You increase sometimes, you decrease sometimes, you pick up stitches every now and then. The only difference between this and a hat is that you’re working with a much larger stitch count. And maybe you’re seaming a lot more than you might be used to (this particular pullover was seamless—thanks Jane Richmond!), but the core of it's really simple.

If you’ve never knit anything like this before, I highly recommend Jane Richmond’s pullover pattern. The way she’s handled sizing is super approachable and easy to read. I even printed copies of the worksheet well in advance because I’m confident I will knit from this pattern again and again in the future.

As for the Lassie sock, it's practically knitting itself! There are some parts that I completely ruin the pretty lace pattern but I'm just gonna accept those little mess-ups and move on. It's amazing enough for me to see a sock happening in my hands. I can't wait to see these done and in action. Already thinking about which yarn to knit with next.

time for a WIP and FO dump

Now miiight be a good time to make a round-up post of what’s been on(and freshly off!) the needles lately. A hell of a lot's happened in my knitting world!

One bit of bad news is that a friend with good intentions put some of our knits in the dryer and shrunk them. Not fun stuff. Thankfully my wool-blend socks weren’t ruined. In fact, I felt a little better about putting those blended socks in the dryer now that I see how well they hold up, so it’s not all bad. My mourning time was short and replacement knitting time had to happen immediately, what with freezing winter cold on the horizon for Jason and me. So..an FO first!

pattern : Hunter Socks by Freshisle Fibers
yarn : Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted in Oxford Grey and Mustard
needle : US 3[3.25 mm]
size : 10

(I have a feeling the Hunter Socks pattern is becoming a favorite, do you?) This pair of socks was a much needed gift for Jason--my plan was to create some easy-care socks that he can keep in rotation for the everyday. Given the accident with the dryer it was awesome that I finished these when I did!

I'm sure you other knitters understand the difficulty of knitting for the more color-reserved types. I didn't think he'd be convinced when I said I was going to make him something yellow, but my little strategy of working color into the toe and high up on the cuff-edge worked out. Grey works beautifully with simple color accents and I'm so in love with this FO that I might just make it a part of a series of 'rainbow' socks.

That is, right after I repair these. It's clear he loves them just as much, so I know any new additions to the series will be much appreciated.

This WIP is part of my brand new effort to replace what shrunk in the dryer before. I'm planning to make two or three pairs from this MASSIVE skein of Hayfield Bonus Aran ordered from Wool Warehouse. The pattern used is, you guessed it, Fresh-Isle Fibers' Hunter socks. It's been a really therapeutic thing to work on while reading or watching shows, so I'll just go ahead and embrace the Hunters as a staple-pattern instead of feeling my knee-jerk embarassment for crowding the project section of this pattern's ravelry page. haha.

By the way! It's been a real wild ride figuring out yarn weight equivalents and coping with yarn price differences (*sob*, no knitpicks here..)! I'm giving myself one hard pat on the back for making it this far without accidentally ordering a fingering weight when I want bulky or something worse! Huge thanks to Ravelry and people like Megan Goodacre for making it simpler for me!

This next one's kind of a surprise, but I don't think the recipient reads my blog so why the hell not, here it is. It's a Pebble pullover for a special little baby girl who's due any day now! I still can't wrap my mind around how something so small and precious is going to fit on a real life human being. How weird. If I play my cards right with international postage, this juuuust might arrive at the new family's house in time for, oh, a day of it fitting their rapidly growing baby. If it fits for a week, I'll be satisfied, really.

I’ve also just finished some sock designing recently~ These were made using a toe-up method similar to Rachel Roue's TDTU Socks, with a simple flap heel along the back as well.  There’s still a lot of ironing out left for the pattern itself but I’m hoping to release it soon. The world of pattern-writing seems really daunting but I’m taking the challenge on a little at a time.

Ha! Now that I've caught up with you all, do share what you've been up to! I'd love to hear any tips or advice you have in way of knitwear design and pattern-writing if you've got any.