An FO: Veera's Here and There Hat

I love Veera Valimaki's patterns. Her focus on shape, line, and colour creates a clean, simple aesthetic that really lets knitted fabric shine. If my body shape suited them, I'd make every single one of her sweater designs. Hats however, don't require a willowy figure! Yay!

Primary colours FTW

 

Veera's Here and There hat is a gorgeous slouch toque that manages to be both practical and fashionable. I am pretty fussy when I pick hat patterns, as my short hair can get swallowed up in many styles. Also, hats without any volume tend to make my head (which is LARGE) look teeny tiny in comparison to my body. It's a proportion thing.

Bird painting by UnitedThread, lighthouse by EveSand, both on Etsy.

 

The thick, squishy garter stitch fabric gives the hat body, while the stripes and cable make a cute statement. Love it!

I used my own Everything Old Squish BFL Aran in November and Crabapple Jelly. I always feel uncomfortable raving about my own products, but I love this yarn you guys. It's soft, smooshy, and luxurious feeling, yet easy to work with and care for. I used a US size 7 needle, which created a stretchy, malleable fabric with lots of body.

I've already got lots of wear out of this cozy hat, and I know I'll get plenty more before the warm weather comes.

Boo.

 

The Amazing Bi-Directional Striped Tube Cowl

My parents gave me a Crazy Zauberball for Christmas. For the uninitiated, that's a yarn brand, not a German sex toy. I've long coveted a Zauberball, but once I had it in my hands, I had no idea what to do with it. I didn't need another stripy shawl right now, it seemed a shame to put the pretty colours on my feet, I wasn't feeling mitts. Then I remembered the Chevroid I made my sister for Christmas. I hated making the chevrons, but the essence of the project was a quick, easy knit.

Without much consideration for the final product, I provisionally cast on enough stitches to go around my 17" circular US size 5 needle, joined in the round, and started striping from both ends of the ball. Four rounds from the inside, four from the outside, repeat until yarn is gone, graft ends together.

Some of the stripes are 3 and 5 rounds, because the colours synced up and had to be chastised.

It's a seamless bi-directional tube, like a donut but less delicious. Simple as that!

I took these pictures while waiting (forever) for the dog to pee. This is exactly how amused I am by his absurdly specific needs for location, noise level, and wind direction.

Katniss Everdeen Has The Best Clothes

One of my besties has a serious thing for the Hunger Games movies (and fair enough, they're awesome) so she naturally fell in love with the asymmetrical cowl-sweater that Katniss wears in Catching Fire. It's a beautiful piece - clearly handmade, in the couture sense of things.

Also it has Jennifer Lawrence in it, which would make anything look fabulous.

Now this friend of mine is most exceedingly knitworthy, as she appreciates both the process required and the finished product. She also lives in one of Canada's winteriest cities, so when she asked me to make Katniss' cowl for her I jumped at the chance to send a warm wooly hug in sweater form. We discussed some of the pre-existing patterns available on Ravelry, but in the end we decided that none of them (at the time, more have come out since) were really accurate to the piece in the movie. Being an experienced knitter, I decided I could easily do it freeform. My only intentional deviation from the film version was to reduce the bulk somewhat, for a more figure-flattering garment.

I adore this photo. It really captures the rustic halo of the yarn.

The yarn is Istex Bulkylopi. At 60 metres to 100 grams, it is, in fact, very bulky. I feel like the Icelandic breed, being a hardy sort with many primitive characteristics, would be far more likely than the Merino to survive in a post apocalyptic future. I used a size 13 needle and varied my gauge as needed using my tension rather than needle size. The neck loops are made from braided strips of recycled sari silk from a woven rug my bastard dog attacked, crocheted over with wool. The silk adds tiny pops of colour that I really enjoy, and because it's very lightweight and flexible it makes the cowl more wearable than the rope versions I had seen other knitters make. I also felt like brightly coloured silk, recycled twice over, added a bit of the feel of the Capitol and its relationship with the districts.

The cowl is predominantly herringbone stitch, knit flat and seamed, with lots of crocheted bits and bobs. I used stockinette to create shaping and textural variety in an attempt to simulate the amazing fabric in the original piece (which I really don't think is knitted or crocheted).

With the leftover yarn I also whipped up some over-the-elbow armwarmers fit for a winter revolutionary. I may put together a pattern for these at some point, but y'all are out of luck on the cowl.

All the photos (except the promo photo of J-Law, of course) are courtesy of Jeremy Clarke, who can be internet-found at jeremyclarke.org. I love the light and the texture and the snow! Some people just get how to photograph knits. Also my friend is a total fox and that always helps.

This project also helped me with my ongoing goal to read more, as until I made this thing I had never read the Hunger Games books. They took me just over a week, and only because I rationed them out so I could savour the story. The books were very powerful and evoked strong emotions, just like the best young-adult fiction should. Teenagers are overpowering emotion and revolution made flesh - they need books like this to fuel their fire.

What do you think of the cowl, dear readers? Would you make a freeform sweater thing? Would you wear this awesome asymmetrical piece of wearable art? What are your feels on Lopi yarn? Most importantly, on a scale of very good to completely amazing, where do you rank the Hunger Games trilogy?

 

Clown Socks and Hanspun!

Hello my dears. First thing - I am switching to bi-weekly shop updates. I put lots of lovelies in the shop last Friday, so keep an eye out next week! I need to dedicate more work time to preparing for my favourite show of the year, Fibres West.

Wanna see some things I finished? I am madly head over heels in love with these socks:

I have crazy clown socks and you are totally jealous.

They were knit toe up, two at a time, with a Fleegle Heel. I love knitting toe up socks, even if cuff down heel flap socks fit me best. I find the extra structure and density of the heel flap keeps the socks from sliding around.

I knit these two at a time because they were dyed in a very particular yarn prep: the sock blank. I got mine from Fat Cat Knits in her Child's Play colourway, but there are other sources if she isn't able to make you one. A sock blank is two strands of yarn held together and knit (generally on a machine) into a rectangle. The dyer then can do all sorts of fun things, creating gradients, stripes, or fascinating variegated colours. The knitter unravels the blank to knit it. I wanted to have seriously matchy crazy socks, so I did some googling and figured out how to work socks two at a time. Honestly, I deeply disliked the method and won't do it again except to knit up my other sock blank. It would be great for those of you who suffer from debilitating second sock syndrome, but that's thankfully not an issue for me.

Action shot! Not pictured: my seething irritation at all the tangling and yarn management.

Another fun project was this handspun:

I spun this yarn from matching gradient batts that I carded on my Fancy Kitty Kitten (if ever a giant spiky wool tool sounded like a sex toy, it's that one). They were a blend of superwash merino wool, sparkly trilobal nylon (also known as firestar), and recycled sari silk in my My Little Pony inspired Luna colourway. The yarn blends smoothly from grey to turquoise, marine blue, navy, and black. I think it'll make an amazing shawl.

It's a simple semi-woolen 2-ply, spun for softness and bounce. I gave it to my mum for her birthday so I can't remember the exact yardage, but I'm thinking about 400 yards of fingering weight. So pretty! Sari silk makes all the difference, adding a textured tweedy look that makes me grateful I am a spinner.

That's all for now! I'll have more fun things to share soon.

 

Rainbow Dash Hat - Twenty Percent Cooler

If you've spent much time with me in person, you probably know that I am a big fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It helps that I have a nearly four-year-old daughter (holy crap!) but honestly, I'd watch it even if she wasn't around. It's adorable, hilarious, and completely without cynicism. There are very few shows aimed at little girls that don't make me grind my feminist teeth, and while MLP isn't perfect, it's pretty close.

For Christmas I made my daughter a pony hat. Not just any pony hat, either. A Rainbow Dash hat. Because clearly she needed one. Sorry the photos are a little sloppy - it's not easy to keep a child still on Christmas morning.

While I improvised the entire project (I have been doing that a lot lately) you could easily modify any hat pattern to be a super awesome pony hat. I made the mane by finding the centre line of the hat and tying small bundles of yarn every few stitches.

For the ears I made simple single crochet triangles, picked up along the crown of the hat. You could also knit them and sew them on, or make them from felt.

The pompoms were the perfect touch. Both the mane and the pompoms were made from Knitpicks Felici self striping yarn. It was much cheaper to buy one ball with all the colours I needed than shell out for all six colours separately. The body of the hat is Knitpicks Brava Sport. It's a fairly pleasant acrylic to work with, though I did find it squeaky. Can't beat the price though!

Isn't it cute? I made it big enough that it almost fits me, so she'll be able to wear it for as long as she's interested in ponies!

 

FO - Handspun Arbutus

I don't often spin yarn for a specific project. Sometimes I look at fibre and think "this should be a cowl" or "downs wool means socks!" But beyond that... Meh. This fibre, however, knew was going to be Jane Richmond's Arbutus cowl right away.

It's "twinklebunny" by Ixchelbunny - a blend of merino, tencel, and angora rabbit. It's lusciously soft and the colours look just like a lavender farm in summer.

I made the cowl a repeat larger than the pattern, mostly because I had lots of yarn left. It's unbelievably cozy and warm, so much so that unless we have a serious cold snap I'll barely be able to wear it.

I'm so happy with this project. It's great when something comes together exactly as planned, right from the fibre. Go me!

 

Doing Inventory is Bad for the Stash

I had originally planned to do my shop inventory on January first, prior to re-opening for the new year. That plan was thrown off by the death plague (better now, thanks for asking!) and I didn't get to it until yesterday. By that point I was feeling pretty nonplussed by the whole process, which may have affected my grabby hands, because I kept moving things across the room to my stash instead of counting them.

Oops.

These pretties (Squish in Crabapple Jelly and November) will likely become Veera's Here and There hat:

A skein of Squish in Diva will morph into something lovely for a March girlbaby:

I will finally create the perfect Colour Affection using Kashmir in Havana Club, Pinkle, and Sweet Spot:

And this batt was just too perfect to let go (sorry guys, but you can hardly blame me):

Also detrimental to the stash - my holy grail in sock yarn form. I've been on the hunt for Trekking XXL in colour 550 (a better name would have been "giveittomerightthefucknowi'mgonnadiefromlackofrainbows”) for about a year now, and my awesome sister-in-law gave it to me this Christmas! I'm a lucky girl.

LOOK AT IT! Amazing. Have a peek at the projects using it on Rav. You're jealous now right? She got it at Paradise Fibers, if you're interested.

There are also undyed sweater lots set aside for me (yay! I'm thinking red for one!). I don't really know what happened - I've been so good in previous years. I am going to have to work so hard to decrease stash volume this year. Wish me better luck!

 

Accountability 2014: Last Year's Goals and My General Awesomeness Rating

It is the first day of January, and I am in a blanket fort on the couch desperately trying to forget how sick I've been over the past week. You know that epic stomach bug that's been terrorizing North America? It. Is. Really. Awful. Lots of handwashing ok guys? I'm fine now, but super tired. Luckily, I can blog from my blankets!
I take a perverse enjoyment in rehashing the last year's goals to see how I measured up. Come join me as I crow about my successes, wallow in my failures, and spew word vomit onto the screen. Be grateful that's the only kind of vomit I'm producing now. Stupid Norovirus.
2013's Crafty Goals:

• Knit 15km.

Oh hell yes. 16.1km. That is so much knitting I can't even contain my smugness.

• Spin 9km.

I lost my spinning mojo towards the end of the year, which is unfortunate as I really could have made this goal. I clocked in at 7.6km, which is not too shabby. In other news I'm going to be doing away with my knitmeter widget in favour of a spreadsheet that doesn't get all cranky with me. Maybe a more pleasant inputting experience would make this meterage measuring less of a chore.

• Finish one of the three cross stitched Christmas stockings.

Yeah, no. Stupid fucking stockings. They are going to be worth it. They are going to be beautiful. I bought a snap frame to replace my traditional embroidery hoop and the stitching has picked up again over the past few months.

• Make a patchwork quilt.

I did! It's beautiful! I made my parents a nautical themed quilt for Christmas, and I loved the whole experience. I am planning future quilts as I type.

The back is simple unbleached cotton flannel. Isn't it cute?

• Knit the Evenstar Shawl.

I tried. I really did. I got out the yarn and pattern and needles, went to swatch, and then realized I'd done something I have never done before. I bought the wrong amount of yarn. I was short by nearly 200 yards. I knit a sweater with it instead, and I have some fibre to spin for the next attempt at the shawl of my dreams.

• Release at least four patterns.

Almost! 3 patterns in a year is a lot less than I'd ideally like, but still. They're good patterns.

• Slightly reduce yarn and fibre stash volumes.

Yarn: yes. Fibre: look I'm sure you have faults too. Why are we only talking about mine? It isn't all about me here.

• Don't buy more raw fibre, and work with what I have.

I didn't find myself even tempted to buy more, but I didn't use the fleeces nearly as much as I had hoped.

• Weave.

I am disappointed to say I failed this goal miserably. I'm feeling a bit stumped by my lack of weaving progress actually - I want to weave, I want woven things, but I just don't do it. I'll try harder this year.

• Knit sweaters.

Like a boss. I knit five in 2013, all of them for me. Sweaters for a lady of my signficance are no small commitment, so I am pleased with this.

• Knit selfishly and pursue other crafts if I prefer them over knitting at that moment.

I did! I got a little carried away with the Christmas crafting this year (OK, brag time. 4 pairs of socks, 3 of which were for man feet, 2 pairs of fingering weight mitts, a laceweight cowl, a hat, a cross stitched sampler, two handsewn neckties, and oh, just an entire quilt. Bask in my awesomeness, go on) but I did what made me happy, embraced crafts as they appealed to me, and was happily productive.

The aforementioned sampler

2013's Life Goals:

• Read.

While I am miles away from my pre-parenthood book-a-week status, I read almost a book a month this year (for comparison, last year I read a book. Like, one). I got a Kindle for Christmas, which has made reading while knitting possible by fixing the whole "paperbacks don't stay open if you're not actively holding them" problem. Also, I can read racy novels and nobody will ever know.

• Train the dog.

Loki has improved, for sure. Part of it comes down to the fact that he's (FINALLY) maturing. His leash manners are great, and he is extremely obedient if treats are involved. I taught him to roll over the other day, just for fun. He's a pest, but boy is he clever.

• Get my driver's licence.

I DID IT. My learner's licence has irritating restrictions aimed at a sixteen year old, but I'm working on getting ready for my first road test. I haven't even tried parallel parking yet.

• Improve my mental and physical health.

I was well on track with both, but a month of near inactivity due to bronchitis this fall has really set me back. I'm still very happy with my efforts, if not always with their results.

• Put more money in savings.

We moved into a bigger, more expensive home this year, and faced a number of unexpected expenses. Did you know that if your puppy's balls don't drop, a simple neuter turns into a $900 operation? Turns out the testicles had never worked after all, but hey. They're out now. No use crying over spilt testicles, amirite? I'm happy that we came out ahead, but I didn't meet my goal of saving 10% of our incomes.

• Better outward self care.

This goal was all about presentation - hair, makeup, clothes, cleanliness etc. I think I did a great job. I discovered the miracle of dresses, learned loads of new makeup techniques, and successfully transitioned my hair from black to platinum blonde without looking like a skunk in the meantime. Go me.

• Continue to grow my business.

Yes! I worked harder, sold more things, had more fun, got more exposure, and made more friends.

• Do fun things with family.

Not in the way I had originally planned, with camping trips and adorable Kodak moments, but we found a very pleasant groove in our family time.
When I do the (very official and quantitative) math, I earned a 61% in crafty goals, and a solid 81% in life goals. I'm pleased with me! Every time I feel like a failure in 2014 I'll remind myself that I'm more of a solid B minus. Yay?
I'll ponder and post this year's goals soon. Until then, dear readers, avoid touching strangers and sanitize everything!

So Much for Selfish Knitting

I was having some stash anxiety the other day (I really want to knit it down a bit but the Christmas knitting doesn't count as real stash) so I pulled out a giant skein of bulky BFL goodness. This pretty thing is handspun singles from Hannahmin's Fibre - my booth neighbour from Fibres West last March.

At first, I knit myself a sideways triangular shawl thing in cushy garter stitch; the goal of which was to achieve maximum winter cuteness by putting giant ass pompoms on the ends. However, the yarn is hand spun and was not of the same grist throuhgout (It was intentionally thick and thin, but one end of the skein averaged a super bulky weight, the other an Aran). I thought I factored the grist change in when I was weighing the skein to find the mid point, but I failed somewhere and ran out of yarn. I began to rip it out and cast on a big squishy cowl for myself, but Rei wandered up and squeaked "Are you knitting a scarf for me!!!?"

So I did. It's a big stockinette tube with ribbing at the ends and a line of eyelets to hold a drawstring near the top. It intentionally appears to have shaping, but it is due to the gauge change in the size of the yarn. I made a drawstring for it by using a spindle to add twist to a stretch of the singles, then chain ply it, then chain ply that, creating a cabled 9ply (so much faster than an i-cord). Two enormous pompoms later and we were done!

It looks adorable on her, and the colours are much more suited to a three year old than a grown woman.

Oh, and just so you don't get the impression that she is all cute, all the time, these photos happned when I told her to look adorable. She seriously thinks this is what adorable feels like.

I just don't know...

 

Magnolia Socks

Despite the glut of Christmas crafting going on right now, I felt the need to cast on a little selfish knitting to work on at Knit City. I decided, after much deliberation, to knit up some handspun socks. I used BFL from Fat Cat Knits - one of my favourite dyers. Her Magnolia colourway is so stunningly perfect for fall (and spring, and summer) knitting, so I finally drummed up the nerve and cast on my first non-superwash socks.

I LOVE THESE SOCKS YOU GUYS.

spot the cat feet!

The pattern is an improvised cuff down jobby that I came up with in the waiting line for the ferry to Vancouver. Simple stockinette with a bit of 1 x 1 rib for fit, tapering off in the gusset. I love the way these socks feel so I may write up something similar for y'all, but not until I can perfect their appearance. I'm pretty proud of the spinning on these - I spun two matching balls of striping yarn, and they were pretty darn close! I'll spin for a more rapid stripe sequence next time though.

So - non superwash verdict? Excellent! I love the way the socks hold their shape - I wore them three days in a row (hush, I was having a bad week) and they didn't bag and slump like superwash socks do. The pure BFL really is fantastic for socks - they're pretty and shiny with a smidge of a halo. I've had some very minor felting on the soles right at the balls of my feet, but I made the socks a tiny bit big to accomodate for the inevitable so it's all good. They washed up nicely - having non-superwash socks motivates me to do a proper wool wash soak (with just a tiny smidge of agitation to get the dirt out) for my socks and bras instead of slowly ruining them by tossing them in the washer (and occasionally the dryer!).

If you spin and you haven't made socks with your yarn yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. Join me!

 

Amazing Aranami

One of my favourite projects thus far in 2013 has to be my Aranami shawl. The pattern, by Olga Buraya-Kefelian, is a modular shawl that is meant to look like stormy waves.

I chose a sunset and ocean colour scheme in Knit Picks Palette. The colours I used, from bottom to top, are Midnight heather, Seafaring, Sagebrush, Mist, and Kumquat Heather. I had lots of each left over, with the exception of the Kumquat, which required every inch of the ball.

My only warning to knitters hoping to make this shawl is that there are SO MANY ENDS to weave in, and no real way to avoid creating them. Just do it. It's worth it.

It's pretty stinking cold out these days, so I am looking forward to wearing it! I think it will look smashing with a black coat.