Colonnade Jacket

This sweater is going to drive me to drink!  Let me start from the beginning...

 

I love this sweater, the Colonnade Jacket from the Interweave Knits Summer 2013 issue:

I bought yarn for it at the end of November of 2013 and did a gauge swatch and have not did a thing with it until the end of March.

 

The yarn I bought is Berroco Vintage (50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon) in a blue color called Cerulean, at my LYS Brandon Yarn Boutique.  It is so soft and has a heathered look to it, not completely solid in color.

Love It!!

 

Anyway, as you can see in the picture of the jacket, there is a lace on the entire front edge.  This pattern is written so that you knit side to side, so at the beginning and end of each row, you are knitting the lace pattern, with knit or purl sts in between.

 

This is where the drinking comes into play.

 

I wanted to challenge myself and read the pattern from the chart and not do words or a written out pattern.  Seems like an easy chart:

I mean, I have seen some pretty involved charts, and this one is easy.  WELL, it turns out my brain has not been wired to read charts.  I tried, really tried to get the hang of this.  I just could not successfully complete a pattern repeat through to the 10th row to save my life.  I would goof-up on something at some point.

 

I attempted this pattern on a gauge swatch, of course.  I'm crazy, but not that crazy to jump in on the project before getting the sts down pat on a practice swatch.

I grabbed leftover acrylic from my stash to practice.  The orange string is my lifeline.  Yes, a chart and a lifeline.  Two new techniques to me in this one project.  The object of the lifeline is that you have the string in your project at a point where you know that it is error free.  Like you are good up to that point and you mark where this point is.  You continue to knit and if you do make an error that you cannot fix, you can rip out your work down to the lifeline.  The lifeline has secured your row and you slip your needle in the stitches that the lifeline is holding.  Viola!  You do not have to rip the whole thing out and you just resume knitting from where you marked.

 

The use of the lifeline is critical in lace knitting.  There are yarn-overs (yo) and slip, slip knit (ssp) all over the place, where you would never be able to recreate that if you dropped a yo somewhere or whatever the error may be.

 

Once you get to a point, you insert a new lifeline and continue knitting.  I use two, so that when I am ready to place the 3rd one, I remove the bottom-most lifeline and use that same string again.  You remove it by simply pulling it out.

 

In the above picture with my practice swatch, just above the bottom repeat, there is an error.  A big boo-boo.  I had ripped out the whole thing multiple times and since I had not put the lifeline in at the start, I had to cast-on again and again and again.  Like I said, I was chart reading and really trying.

 

When I made that boo-boo, I just started back at row 1 and continued with my first lifeline.  It worked!  I had to rip back a few times to the lifeline in my practice swatch.  Well, at least that is what it is there for.

 

I continued with my practice swatch for a few more repeats and then bound off.  I wanted to graduate to my actual yarn that I will be knitting with and with the size needle I determined I would use.  Not bad, I have removed the lifelines, which I was gaining confidence on:

I can do this!!  Ok, so I cast-on for the project, ahem, 180 sts.  Jeepers, I hope we are good-to-go!!

 

I place my lifeline at Row 1, my first knitted row.  Good thing, because I messed up and ripped out... a few times at various rows.  I was getting a bit fed up with this.  So, I reverted back to the way I like to knit: with flashcards.

 

I write out each row on an index card in words or abbreviations.  I have one card where I mark what row I am on and where I have placed the lifeline.  This way, I am only looking at the very row I am knitting, not distracted by symbols or viewing the entire chart and losing my place and translating in my head what to do next.

Let me tell you, this has worked out SO much better!  I no longer feel the need to get drunk after knitting or requiring blood pressure medication.  I am using the lifeline as I go and I feel much better about the project now.

I'm not that very far along, but at least I actually want to keep working on it, rather than ditching it and looking for another project to knit with my boutique yarn.

Cabled Cardi KAL - Finished!

Happy New Year!

 

I am so relieved to be posting this project as a Finished Project!!  This is my Cabled Cardi Knit-Along with my sister.  We started this project back in March of 2013.  Which isn't a terribly long time when you talk unfinished projects, but I am still feeling a sense of accomplishment.

 

Here are my past posts related to this so that you can catch-up:

• Cabled Cardi KAL - Part 1
• Cabled Cardi - Part 2

I visited my sister in Massachusetts in December for my "Holiday Break" and brought this sweater.  What I still had to do on this was finish the cabling on the body and pick-up and knit along the edge for the ribbing and button holes and knit the sleeves.  Yeah, still a lot!

Here is where I left off.  I really need to knit more than a foot of cables.  The original pattern called for knit stitches every other, so a cable, knit, cable, knit...I did not properly read the pattern and so cabled each one.  Good grief!  I wanted to rip it out, but my sister said that it should be fine.  So, I continued.

 

I then picked up stitches to do ribbing and buttonholes along the inner body edge.  I had a too-short circ needle, but used it anyway.  This really was a challenge because my knitter's elbow was bothering me because of the cumbersome nature of squeezing it all on and holding it.

I know, like what is that picture??  Exactly, but I was able to pick-up the exact number of stitches required to do a k2, p2 ribbing evenly along the edge.  Whoa, go Me!

 

The ribbing is about 12 or so rows, so at row 6 you need to do a button hole.  From trying on my sister's completed sweater, we both agreed that more buttons would be better.  I knit in 4 buttonholes.  I also reduced the hole from a 3 st to a 2 st hole.  The holes will stretch, I know this from past experience.

Once the ribbing was completed, I have 4 buttonholes.  They are not exactly evenly spaced, but good enough.  The top and the second are a bit off, I think, but no one will notice. Shhh!

Next was the sleeves.  The sleeves were left as live stitches so that they just simply go back on the needle and you knit.  I did have to pick-up a few stitches in the armpit.  The pattern instructions were confusing to me, so I did my own thing.  I have picked-up stitches before, ahem, I just did it for the ribbing, so no problem.  I looked at how many stitches I was going to need for my cable repeat in the round.  Once I figured that out, that was the number I needed on my needle.

I decided to make this a short-sleeved cardi, so that it is Florida friendly.  We are talking 100% wool this sweater is made out of.  No joke, it will keep you toasty through cold times, but I don't need that kind of warmth, typically, around here.  Layering is popular in Florida, so short-sleeves is just right.

My sister gave me 4 green buttons (no pun intended - the original pattern name was Mr. Greenjeans). 

 

I don't see us doing many more KALs (Knit-Alongs) because she will knit me in circles, like she did with this one.  But, maybe there will be times where we knit or crochet the same sweater or accessory.  That will be when I showcase our projects together.

 

I was toying with the idea of dying this cardi.  The natural color is really not in my color pallete and maybe something in blue or pink would be nice.  I heard that you can dye in  Kool-Aid.  Hmmm....

New England Patriot's Beanie

A friend asked me to make a few hats for her son.  I had made her daughters a few hats in the past years, so they must have gone over well, because she is asking me to make more.  I love knitting for someone who will use it! 

 

Her family is a real sports-loving family, Patriot's, Bruins, Red Sox...all of those and probably more, I just don't know.  I decided to knit her son a New England Patriot's inspired beanie hat.  I looked online and this is one that I found:

I got this!  I went to Joann's and bought 3 skeins of yarn:

A navy blue, gray and dark red.  All of these are Lion Brand Vanna's Choice (100% Acrylic).  Perfect yarn for washing a ton of times and still holding up.

 

I adopted a pattern from one of my magazines for basic beanies and figured out when I would need to change colors.

I started with a k2, p2 ribbing for the brim.  Then just straight stockinette st, then started the decrease for the crown right after the last red stripe.

 

I then topped it off with a navy blue pom-pom.

It's finished!

 

It practically fits my head, so I hope that I did not make it too big!  I will be visiting Mass the weekend that this is posted, so I will be giving it to her then.

 

Stay tuned for more Christmas knitting!

Cabled Cardi - Part 2

No, I have not forgotten about my KAL with my sister.  The Knit-A-Long is just taking a long time.  It could be that the weather is getting nicer and I don't want to knit with wool anymore.  Actually, that is exactly it.

Kathy is pretty much done with her sweater, as I am the pokey one, am still knitting the body with all of those cables.  Just to refresh everyone on what the Cabled Cardi was, here is a link to Part 1:

• Cabled Cardi - Part 1

Here is also a pic of what it is supposed to look like when we are done:

from knitty.com

Since its cast-on, I have done most of the body.  The raglan sleeves have waste yarn keeping the live stitches for the sleeves holding-tight until I get there.

Top Portion - Front

Looking at these pics, I'm not really liking the color, or the absence of color, much.  Oh boy....

Top Portion - Back

At this point is where I will start the cabled-ribbed part.  It will have no bottom ribbing, that this cabled bottom portion will serve as it.

The cabled was going well, it just takes awhile.  There are a bunch of cables that using a cable hook might take too long.  The quick technique for doing the 4-stitch cable is:

1. Insert right needle tip into the back loops of 2 stitches on the left needle.
2. Pop all 4 stitches off the left needle.
3. Place the loose two stitches back on the left needle and place the 2 stitches that are on the right needle back on the left needle.  They are now in a different order.
4. Knit, like normal, with the new order of stitches on the needles.

That creates the cable without using a cable hook.  With there being only 4 stitches, it works well.

I have made decent headway on the cabling portion.  But.....there is a minor problem.  Not problem really, but a I just realized I did way more work than I needed too.  Crap!  You'll see:

Here is the cabling.....can you see from the first pic in this post, what is different about it???  Scroll back up and compare the pics.

I did too many cables!  You are supposed to have a ribbing between each cable and I just kept on cabling.  Ugh!  That is way more work than what I was supposed to do.  I do like it, but not what I had in mind.

I only just realized it today, when I looked at the pattern to see how long I am supposed to knit these darn cables to.  I saw the pics and was like, Ah, what is that pic?  Are there different ways you can knit the cables?  Did they give us choices on how we wanted it to look?  Well, the answer is No.  I just did my own thing and did not read the pattern repeat right.

Looks nice, but I'm concerned now that once I put it on, the cables with bunch to the back of me, rather than a nice fan around me.  The cables tend to bunch together, making a ribbing of their own.  The problem with that is that my gauge is now off, with the potential of being too small.  

Well, I'm now putting it back in the bag and will wait it out.  I don't really know what I am going to do with it.  I have a few options:

1. Continue and hope for the best 
2. Rip out the cables and start the cable part again
3. Rip out the whole thing and reknit it in another yarn
4. Rip out the whole thing and call it a day

Not sure.  Tough choices, since I have spent a ton of time on it already.  I'm having second thoughts of the yarn I chose because it's wool, itchy wool, and can't have it next to my skin.  I'm in Florida, when am I going to wear this?  Only when I'm in Mass, visiting?  I can just wear my sister's sweater that she already knitted.  Hehe.  

I may just rip it out and start it again with another yarn.  A softer yarn.  I'll see what my sister says about it.  I've already placed it back in the bag.  The only bummer is that the project is using my popular size 8 circs.  I like those and tend to use them a lot.  I could have used them on the Weekend Shrug, but used straights instead.

If this happened to you...what would you do?  Let me know!

Sleeveless T-Neck - Part 2

As I said before in my previous post about this project, I have been working on this for years.  I hate to admit it, but I'm really not even that interested in this sweater anymore.  It is not all that fashionable and it was sort of a starter garment / practice piece.  

Well, it is FINALLY DONE!  Yippee, raise the flag!

The one on the left is the one I just finished.  Normally you would block these pieces, but given the nature of this yarn, I'm not going to bother.  

The stitches on the tops of both of these pieces are live, meaning that they are loose, ready to go back or stay on a needle, usually to continue the project with a sleeve, neck or edging.  The original pattern called for a turtleneck, but I do not need a turtleneck in my wardrobe.  I am going to vary it but I'm going to be a free spirit and see where it goes.

First, I transferred the stitches to a circular needle because I am going to knit around the neck but not in the round.  I am going to leave an opening / slit on one of the shoulder, so I will be working side-to-side.

I decided to start off by knitting a k3, p2 rib for the neck.  My plan was to knit it long enough so that it will hang down in a sort of cowl neck, but not really.  I am not sure what the proper name of the neck I'm trying to accomplish with my thoughts, we'll just see where this takes me.

I was knitting for awhile and was getting bored with it and wanted it to be finished the day I was working on it.  There is no need for this project to linger on any longer.  Above is my rib fold-down neck.  Not long enough though.

So, I decided, since I am so confident in my crocheting skills since completing my Pima Pullover, that I am going to finish this collar with some crochet.  I bound off with knitting and picked up an I crochet hook and did a dc, ch1, dc thing along the entire edge, then did the same for 4 rows.  

This is how this collar came out!  Not too shabby.  I actually like how this came out.  The shaping of the body of the sweater could be a bit more fitted, but I'm not going to complain too much.

This one shoulder is only connected by a few stitches at the end, but not by the neck.  This is where I intentionally did not connect for the neck.

I can see myself wearing this, maybe at the end of the summer.  The sweater itself it warm, but I have to wear a tank top underneath it so you don't see through it.

I talked about not making myself finish UFOs in my stash in my Craft-no-lutions post at the beginning of the year.  I think because I was sick of moving this project out of the way each time I went into my craft corner, that I decided that it must get done.  Phew, so glad it is over and it came out wearable!

Related Link:

• Sleeveless T-Neck - Part 1

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.

Razzy Socks - Complete!

Yes, finally, I have completed my Razzy Socks!  I first featured these socks in January (original post).  I really did not think that it would take me this long to finish them. 

This is what they looked like before:

I had the pair pretty much done.  I could have kept knitting the ribbon part up my calf, but I really did not want to continue anymore.  So, they sat with the ribbon about an inch high for 3 months.

My sister is my resident expert on socks, so she instructed me to bind off with a needle size that is 4 sizes larger than the original needle size.  I knit these on a size 1, so that means I needed a size 5 to bind off.  That seemed strange but hey, she's knitted over a dozen pairs already.  Who am I to argue?

I bound off with the size 5, keeping it loose.  The goal is to have the sock fit over your heel.  If bound off too tight, then it won't fit.

Here is my loose bind off.  I then slipped them on to get a feel for them....

Viola!  I'm finally done.  They fit a bit loose, with the bind off loose as well.  Well, this is my first pair of socks and I forgot all of the techniques my sister has taught me.

If (I did say if) I make socks again, I will have to do it when I'm with my sister again.  She will have to get me started again.  The next time I do a pair, I will use a size 0 to knit them.  I like my socks tight, these are too loose for my liking.

These may not be perfect, but they were created with my own two hands.  I love 'em!

Razzy Socks

When I went to visit my family in Mass just before Christmas my sister showed me how to knit socks.  I brought a skein of my own up there, but failed to take a pic of it before starting (I know, what kind of blogger am I?).

First we had to separate the skein into two equal weighted balls (50g each).  This yarn is called "self-striping" because the colors in the skein vary, but different from variegated, in that as you knit around the sock, stripes appear as if you purposely knit them there.  Really neat.

Then we took the ends of the balls and matched up the colors.  This took a few yards to get the colors striping at the same rate; we snipped off the extra yarn.  

My sister showed me the techniques she uses from the book Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson.

She showed me the "Judy's Magic Cast On" and I was off and knitting!

I am still knitting them, but I am close to being done.  See how they are striped?  That is the yarn doing all of the work.  Near the toe, it started knitting up a peach and black checker-like appearance.  It reminds me of one of my cats, Jasmine (aka Razzy); she is a Bengal cat.  Her hair shafts are striped with orange and black.

I will model what I have so far:

I am now finishing it up with a k2p2 rib.  Now I must stop blogging and start knitting!

UPDATE:  Click here to see them complete.

More Hats...

I have another hat!  This is the same hat that I made for the I Heart Hats post from last week, but I used a different combination of yarn along with a different object dangling from the top.  Here is the yarn I used:

Hats: Round 3

It is Bernat Softee Baby in Soft Peach and Naturally Caron Spa in Green Sheen.  The Bernat is the yarn I previously used in the I Heart Hats post and the Spa is the same that I used to knit up my Aloha Maddie Baby Blanket back in August.  I find that the Spa yarn splits very easily when you are working with it, which drives me nuts, but it is so soft.  These two yarns together give the hat a very cozy feeling.

Instead of crocheting more puffy hearts, I did a puffy leaf.  It seemed to suit the colors better.  I first knitted up two leaves.

Much Easier than the Hearts!

Then I put them wrong sides together and started to seam them together with the left over tails.  Once I got close to the top, I stuffed some polyfill into it.

Can You Picture It?

Then I closed up the hole in the same manner.  I took an extra double strand set of the green Spa and crocheted a chain of about 5 chains and attached it to the leaf and then tied it to the top of the hat.

Now, I Heart Leaves!

I really liked this one too!  I definitely make things I don't like.  You may see them on this blog, but most likely it will only be the projects that came out cute.  Who wants to write about their mess-ups? 

The next and last hat will be this color combo (can you guess it?):

Round 4

Hey, when I buy yarn, everyone is getting a little bit of it.  There is no need to buy a ton of different yarns, just a few and mix and match the colors or textures.  I will put a puffy leaf on that one too.

I will be in Massachusetts next weekend with my family.  I may write about my socks.  I hope that I can start while I am there and not just eat the whole time.  Stay tuned!

I Heart Hats

I decided not to do a ton of handmade gifts this year for Christmas.  Last year I was too stressed trying to get everything done in time.  This year, I am knitting only a few hats.  These hats will be for a few of my friend's daughters.

Yarn

Here are two of the yarns that I am using for the first hat.  Pink as the main color (Bernat Softee Baby in Soft Peach) and a cream with a gold thread (Lion Brand, Vanna's Glamour in Topaz 170). 

This is your basic knitted hat pattern:

• Worsted weight yarn (less than 1 skein each)
• Size 8, 9 or 10 straight needle
• Cast on: 54 sts for Baby / 63 sts for Toddler, Small Adult & Large Adult
• Use Size 8 for Baby / Size 9 for Toddler & Small Adult / Size 10 for Large Adult
• Work this pattern for ~4" for Baby / ~6" for Toddler / ~7" for Small Adult & Large Adult
• *k8, p1, repeat from * to end
• After the desired length is knitted, start decreasing as follows:
• Rows 1: *k6, k2 tog, p1, repeat * to end
• Rows 2, 4, 6: Work even (p the p's and k the k's)
• Rows 3: *k2 tog tbl (through back loops), k5, p1, repeat from * to end
• Row 5: *k4, k2 tog, p1, repeat * to end
• Row 7: *k2 tog tbl (through back loops), k4, p1, repeat from * to end
• Row 8: *p2, p2 tog, k1, repeat from * to end
• Row 9: *k2 tog tbl, k1, p1, repeat from * to end
• Row 10: *p2 tog, k1, repeat * to end
• Row 11: *k2 tog tbl, repeat * to end
• There are only 6 sts left (don't worry if it is not exactly 6).  Cut the yarn so there is a tail about a foot long.  Thread it on a blunt tip needle. Take the threaded needle and cross over the sts on the wrong side and start threading the sts on the knitting needle onto the blunt tip needle and tail yarn.  (See picture below somewhere) Remove the sts off the knitting needle and pull the tail tight.  This closes up the top.  Take that tail and seam the hat down the side.  Weave in ends.  Viola!

You can do this pattern with one yarn thickness or two yarn thickness.  You can play around with the pairing of the colors.  You can do stripes.  You can continue decreasing into an I-cord or you can add a pom-pom. You can really do anything with this basic pattern.

I started with the light pink/gold pairing:

Makes a Rolled Edged Hat

I really like how the two yarns held together look:

Glistening Yarn

Here is the closing of the top with the blunt tip needle:

Thread the Tail Through the Sts on the Knitting Needle

Then remove sts from knitting needle and pull tight:

Pulled

Here is the basic hat completed:

Completed Basic Hat

I had two done by this point:

Cutie Hats

The darker pink hat yarn is Bernat Softee Baby in Soft Red held together with the same Vanna's Glamour as the light pink hat.  

My finishing touch on these hats will be a crocheted puffy heart that I will dangle off the top with a crochet chain.  I got the puffy heart crochet pattern off the internet with a video from YouTube.  They are so cute!

I Heart Puffy Heart

That puffy heart was not as easy as it looked!  It took me for-ev-a to do it right.  I'm just not a crocheter and I was using a steely hook that was a size 1.  I was very relieved that it finally did work out.

Lots of Love Hat

I only did one puffy heart for the blog.  It took me so long to do that one, that I will have to start fresh again another day on the other one.