Arm-Knitting

Yup, Arm-Knitting!

I made an arm-knitted infinity scarf for my friend for her birthday.  Vince's daughter showed me a YouTube video of arm-knitting and I was like, "Huh?  I need to try that!"

 

The tutorial I like is this one:  Vicki Howell

 

You need at least 2 skeins of bulky or super bulky yarn.  You can also use multiple strands (about 4) of worsted weight yarn.

 

In my project I used 2 skeins of Vicki Howell's Sheepish Stripes in Punk(ish) and 1 skein of Red Heart Boutique Sashay in Boogie.

Sheepish

Sashay

 

As you can see, I have a purple theme going on here.  I bought the Sheepish yarn but I had the Sashay in my stash.  The Sashay you are supposed to make this ruffle scarf with, but I never got around to it.  This project is perfect for it.

 

Basically, with arm-knitting you are using your arms as the knitting needles.  This creates a very large gauge knitted item.  The concept is the same as knitting, really!  I had to watch the video a few times and practice the cast-on and did a few rows, then I took it out and started "for-real."

I am in the midst of doing it above.  See how large the gauge is?!  It's huge! 

Above is the knit side.  Below is the purl side.

The green you see in there is the Sheepish self-striping yarn.  It has the purple and green in there.  Love it!

Here it is finished.

You can also double it.

And, of course, me wearing it (got to try it out before you give it away!

Very Cozy!!

I'm also knitting these for Relay for Life (in addition to the Coffee Cup Cozies).  I will post more about it in my next post.  Clearly, everyone will want one! :-)

Cabled Cardi KAL - Part 1

A KAL is short for Knit-Along.  A Knit-Along is when two or more people knit the same thing at the same time and help each other and are generally there for companionship  and support during the project.

These KALs are often done online in large groups or at knit/yarn shops.  My sister and I will be doing our own KAL and I will be blogging our progress.  We will go at my pace, or rather, I will blog our progress as I progress.  I'm a lot slower than she.  My sister's name is Kathy, so I will just be referring to her as Kathy throughout these posts.

Kathy chose a cabled cardigan from knitty.com called Mr Greenjeans.  Here is a pic from knitty:

Picture from knitty.com

It is a one-button cabled cardigan with raglan sleeves.  It is worked from the back of the neck, down, then the sleeves are picked up at the raglan armhole and then the sleeves are knit in the round (no seams) to the cabled cuffs. Then stitches are picked up along the front and neck edge and a ribbing is knit.

Ok, not too bad.  The experience level is "Tangy" per knitty, and that means, intermediate. I never let the experience level stop me from doing a project.  The techniques needed for this cardi are basics of any raglan pullover.  Should be no problem.

The yarn we are using is Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool (100% pure virgin wool).  I am using Natural and Kathy is using Birch Tweed (78% pure virgin wool, 13% acrylic, 9% nylon).

Natural

Birch Tweed

Kathy mentioned to me that she was going to use Fisherman's Wool and I said, "Hey, I have a few skeins of that in Natural already.  I was going to knit you an Irish Cable sweater one time, remember?  I guess your not getting that Irish Cable sweater!"  Yeah, she figured she wasn't getting one, since I've had this yarn since before Ames closed in Raynham, MA (~the year 2000-ish).  Still has the Ames price tag on it: $5.00 on clearance.  What a steal because it is about $12.99 for an 8 oz skein now.

We are using size 8 circulars.  The pattern instructs to change to 7's when you cable.  We are going to stick to 8's because the cables tend to be tighter anyway, so going down a needle size will only scrunch them up further.  

First the cast-on is done and we get an inch or so into it:

Nancy's Start

Nancy's Close-up

Kathy's Start

Kathy's Close-up

So, we are off and running.  Kathy is already way ahead of me.  It was snowing in MA when she was knitting, so she sat and literally knitted all afternoon on one weekend.  I, on the other hand, not so much.

So, check in every once and a while to see how we are doing on the Cabled Cardi KAL!

Related Posts

• Cabled Cardi - Part 2

Oliver & Ryan Sprinkles Baby Hats

I had one skein of Premier Yarns Serenity Chunky Sprinkles (75% Acrylic/25% Nylon) in a blue, green and white called Tadpoles.  It is very soft and I bought it last year without really knowing what I was going to do with it.

I now had a reason to use it.  My two close friends both gave birth to boys this year and I can now knit them hats.  Baby clothes are so adorable and faster to knit or crochet up than an adult garment, so it gives a faster done-with-this-project good feeling.

I just used a basic k2, p2 ribbing pattern so it will be stretchy to grow with them.  

I used a size 11 needle, because they weren't kidding when they call this chunky yarn.  Because it is chunky, it worked up even faster.

One hat will be for Ryan, which I topped it off with an i-cord, in a sort of fanciful curly-q fashion.  That will be for Christmas.  I currently have it folded at the bottom edge, but it can be unfolded to fit his growing head over the winter months.

The second hat will be for Oliver, which I topped off with an old-fashioned pom-pom.  I used my cell phone as a guide for making the pom-pom.

Once wrapped I tied a short piece of yarn around the middle and cut the loops at both ends and fluffed it up.

I then took the original yarn that was used to tie the middle and with the crochet hook, threaded those ends through the top of the hat.  I turned the hat inside-out and tied those ends in a knot to secure it the the top of the hat.

I love how the pom-pom is just as big as the hat.  Too darn cute!  I got to meet Oliver last Wednesday and I was able to give him his little Sprinkles hat.

I still need to meet Ryan, who is up in Mass.  I might be coming for a visit over Thanksgiving, so I hope that I will be able to see a few friends and meet Ryan while I'm there.

Viveca Hunter Beret

Christmas gift making and stash-busting: I love it!  I did this beret in about a week; I was working on it just about every day.  Even if it was 2 rows, I was knitting away.

This is my second Viveca Beret.  My first one I knitted back in February with the softest yarn in the world, Flicker from Berroco (First Viveca Beret).  

I had heard on the radio that the "it" color for fall & winter was going to be forest green.  Perfect for my Viveca project.  The yarn I am using is Lion Brand Wool-Ease (80% Acrylic, 20% Wool) in a dark hunter/forest green.  I used this yarn when I knitted the Shapeshifter Shrug in November of 2011.  I had about one and a half skeins leftover from that project. 

I always keep the patterns from the projects that I do and, thanks to my Craftolution #2, they are all organized in a 3-ring binder.  I place the pattern, gauge swatch and any other items that I may find useful if I were to ever do that project again.  In this case, I tucked away my handy flashcards with the pattern repeat on them.  Each card has one Row on it.  

This pattern has a total of 5 full pattern repeats.  Here is me at 2.5 repeats.  I think that I am only going to knit 4 repeats.  It should still look fine.

I knitted this on a size 8 circular needle, but am not joining in the round.  I knitted back and forth, as if they were straight needles.  This way the needle can accommodate a large number of sts easily.

Here is the beret at the 4 repeats and the crown shaping.  I only need to cut the yarn, thread the yarn through the live loops to close the top and seam the side closed.

The thing about substituting yarn, the project will not come out the same as the original.  It may not be a bad thing, but it also may not be a good thing.  This is did not come out exactly like my first one: brim is a bit large, hat does not slouch the same.  The Wool-Ease is a bit lighter in physical weight than Flicker, so that caused the slouch/drape to be a bit different.  

But I'm not complaining: look how cute it is on! 

I have transported my living room to a French Cafe.

It does look a bit big, but it is supposed to be slouchy.  Some online reviews of this pattern say that it was too big for them.  Not sure if they realize that it is not supposed to fit like a beanie.  

I have not decided who is going to receive this as a gift yet.  I just know that it is a cute project and I figured one of my friends may also feel the same way.  This beret may also look cute with a flower pin on the brim.  I'll think about it as Christmas draws near.

What are your ideas for handmade gifts this year? Let me know!

Yarn Stash

I had a long weekend this weekend, thanks to Hurricane Isaac.  Tampa Bay was expecting tons of rain and heavy winds, but the Hurricane went further west than the original forecast models predicted.  My employer had cancelled work for Monday.  Last time we got a lot of rain, my work was like an island, where the parking areas were completed flooded, even the road in.

So, I decided to work on a project that I have been meaning to do for some time now.  The online knit and crochet database & fiber community, Ravelry, allows you to enter in your patterns, yarn, needles & projects.  I had previously entered in my patterns, magazines & books.  This weekend I entered in all of my stash yarn.

Here is a bin of my oldest yarn.  I have had some of this yarn for years, that I even moved from Mass with it.  I swear I will use it one day.  There are some unfinished objects (UFOs) in there that I have full intention to rip out and make better use of the yarn.  Someday...

Here is a picnic basket full of one skein or half skeins of yarn.  This mostly houses the leftover yarn from my completed projects.  It also has my metal straight needle collection.  My cat, Roo, is dying to jump in that basket.

Here is a small basket of yarn from projects that I have recently completed and don't have room in the bin or the picnic basket.

I need to start stash busting.  Some ideas I have are to make scrap scarves, striping with different textures of yarns.  I did a bit of that for the Trio Scarf and the Quintet Scarf. I have other patterns that would look nice with multi textures and colors.  I also want to make a scrappy throw blanket where I would knit different blocks of different patterns and sew them together.  It would be so kitschy; I would love it.

I have a few knitted Christmas gifts to get through (I'm limiting it to just a few) and then I may just start on some scrappy scarves and throws! 

 

Star Baby Blanket - Part 3

Hooray!  I finally finished the Star Baby Blanket!  This took me about 2 weeks, I think I started on Aug 4, which was a Saturday.

Here is a close-up of a corner:

I did have to go out and buy one more skein of each blue, but I only went around the blanket with one set of two rounds with each.  These skeins will join my bin of stash yarn.  I was trying to stash-bust using yarn I already had, but alas, I'm left with the roughly the same amount.

I will have to make scarves as gifts to stash-bust these skeins.  Anyway, here is the final picture:

It came out very nice.  It's not perfect, but I think that one won't even notice.  If you look real close, a skilled crocheter will pick out the irregularities, but the layperson...doubtful.  I will send this blanket as a gift soon.

I am now at a loss of what to work on next.  I have yarn for projects, but I fell like if I'm going to make a few gifts for Christmas, I should get knitting or crocheting now and put my personal projects aside until Dec/Jan.  Doing that, I then feel some anxiety that I must do the gifts and pick a nice project or the recipient will not like it and think it some ole granny gift.  

I will think it over and you shall see in my coming posts, what I decide to work on next.  Have a great week!

Related Posts:

• Star Baby Blanket - Part 1
• Star Baby Blanket - Part 2

Sleeveless T-Neck - Part 1

Most crafters (knitters, crocheters, cross stitchers, beaders, seamstresses, etc) have projects that are not complete.  This could come in many categories such as: supplies bought but never started, half done, and almost done but something is preventing you from finishing.  This sweater project fits in the "almost done" category.   It has been in this stage, probably, oh, since 2007.  So, what, 5 years?  Yes, it has been sitting in the dark for 5 years! 

Natural roll at the bottom edge

I'm sure I'm not alone, but not sure who will be admitting this over the internet?  I don't care, no problem, let me start!  I am just happy that I am finally getting to it.

Here are my reasons for delaying it:

•  Seemed like a nice project, but something better came along, so I put it aside to work on that.
• I picked it back up in those 5 years, but, again, something better came along, so I put it aside.
• I picked it up last year and realized, about 6" of knitting ago, I made a very noticeable mistake.
• That was when I put it back until I had the courage to do what every knitter hates:

Ripping Out! 

 

Nobody likes ripping out hours of work.  But, I'm in a stash-busting mood, so I'm going to figure this problem out.

Let me introduce you to the project first, though.  It is supposed to be a sleeveless t-neck (cute way of saying turtleneck, I guess).  I got this pattern from the Vogue Knitting International,  Holiday 2004 issue.  I think I may make this a cowl neck instead.  That is more in vogue than a turtleneck (and I'm in Florida, so who the heck wears turtlenecks down here, anyway??)

Boucle yarn

It is being knitted with Bernat Soft Boucle (98% Acrylic/2% Polyester).  It was leftover yarn from a baby blanket I knitted a friend.  The word "boucle" comes from the French for curly.  This yarn is spun so it forms loops at various intervals.  I never knew how to pronounce this word so I looked it up:  boo-clay.   Oui cheri,  Now we can speak French!

The "mistake"

Above is what I have done so far.  I'm working on the second side and that is where the mistake lies.  I have circled it in red.  It a about 15 sts or so of purl on a knit side.  One may not be able to notice it, but I knew it was there and would never had worn it if I finished it like that.  I claim that I was knit-sleeping.

I thought of quick fixes: double stitch a thin ribbon around the body at that row so it would hide it or threading a ribbon through it so it would tie into a cute bow on the side.  Eh, in the end, I figured it would just be best to fix the darn thing.  But I am not ripping it out.  I am going to dropstitch to each wrong stitch and pick them back up.

First: Transfer the good stitches to a stitch holder and placed a stopper at the end of the needle.

 

Second: Undo the stopper and pop one stitch off the needle.  Undo that stitch.  I have the crochet hook there so you can see that it is a live stitch.  I am using the hook to help undo each stitch in each row.

Third: Undo that stitch all the way down to the mistake and one stitch further (for good measure).  The hook is where the bad row of stitches are.  Yea, it's pretty far down.  I call the yarn strands that are left behind a "rung", like rungs on a ladder.

Fourth: To make a good knit stitch, you put the hook through the live loop (the one that you just undid down the length of the sweater) from front to back.  Take the next "rung" that is in the row above it and hook it.  Pull it through the live loop from back to front.  You just made/picked-up one good knit stitch.

Fifth:  Re insert the crochet hook in that new live loop and repeat the fourth step all the way back up the ladder.

Sixth: Once all stitches have been fixed, then transfer all the stitches on the holder back onto the needle.

Finally ready to tackle this sweater!  All the mistake stitches have been fixed.  Not sure if this saved any time, but I feel better that I did not undo all my hours of work.  It took hours to fix the stitches this way, but I can say it is now fixed.

Cotton Wrap

I'm doing what we knitters call "stash-busting" with this weeks project.  Stash-busting is taking yarn that you already own and making something with it.  It could be yarn that was bought but never used or it may be leftover yarn from a completed project.

In this case, it was leftover yarn.  I made a sweater with it back in 2007 and had a lot leftover.  I always buy too much.  The sweater had it's issues, but it came out nice enough that I do wear it.

This yarn is a hand-dyed cotton that I bought when I visited Mass one winter season.  It is a cotton yarn that when it was spun, it was done in a way that makes the strand thick in some places and thin in others; very cool.

I chose to knit a small shawl that I am calling a wrap.  It came from the Holiday 2011 issue of Knit Simple.  This is not the suggested yarn, so I had to wing it a bit.  The original pattern called for a silk yarn that had beads and sequins attached to it. That sounds very pretty, but not within my budget for this week.

The wrap is knitted by casting on 3 sts and increasing at the beginning of each row to create a triangle.  I used a size 13 circular needle to accommodate the large number of sts it will have when finished.

The yarn is a purple/brown/pink variegated yarn, which you can see a bit better in the above pic.  This worked up pretty quick because it was just knit and purl back and forth.

Since the original pattern with the beaded and sequined yarn was a fancy idea, I knew I had to put a bit of pizazz into this one.  She's a bit of a plain Jane.  What I decided to do was to make fringe.

I cut strands about 12" long, held two together and placed it at every end-of-row hole.  It came out very chic, in my opinion.  My new summer cotton wrap:

Stash-busting was fun.  You can stash-bust too, by seeing what supplies you have on-hand (which could be fabric, beads, ribbon or anything that is leftover) and make something nice for yourself.  Go ahead - Stash-bust!