12 in 12 for Guild

So after a long hiatus from guild I'm back...and the first thing they tell me is that there's this hat thing to honor Kiese's mom who passed and who's passion was the "Hats for Kids" Campaign...so now I'm all in...

Hats 1 & 2 are "Tretta" by Grumperina. Now those of you who read this blog know it is one of my favorite patterns to knit. I knit the hat straight from the pattern on the lilac one and subbed yarn over's on the yellow one. Both are
from stash yarn which was purchased from Smiley's yarns over the internet (Bernat Softee Baby which I found surprisingly soft). Each hat needs 30 beads which quite honestly I found old necklaces at garage sales and broke the strands for the beads - this makes beads affordable at a quarter. I've also really been enjoying my HiyaHiya needle sets which I got from "The Loopy Ewe". Now I've heard a lot of you complaining about the needle tips loosening and coming off while you're knitting - yup they sometimes do. But I just make a habit of tightening them every time I get to the beginning of the round, and I love the small size of the case - they fit ever so nicely in my on the go knitting bag! Used a size 5 needle on the lavender and used a size 6 on the yellow.

Hat 3 is again in the Bernat Softee Baby but this time in Ice Blue Sparkles! I used a pattern called Claudia and to stash and button bust I crocheted up that cute little flower which is the same one on the Daisy Baby Booties I had so much fun working on...Ended up using a size 4 needle cause it gave the best fabric for this particular style.







Hat 4 & 5 are the Filagree lace hat one in medium and one large. Used a size 5 needle and about 225 yards give or take for size. Also in the Bernat Softee Sparkles. I usually make this one as chemo cap but with all that ribbing I figured it would work well for a lot of kid head sizes...







Hat 6 is another freebie called Vine Lace Baby Hat. By going up to a size 6 needle and using a DK weight it makes a perfectly acceptable kid hat. Now to get this one you'll need to follow the link from Ravelry to the Knitting Daily site and sign in - but there are other freebie patterns there so it's worth the effort...I added about 3 ridges of garter to keep it from rolling - a common complaint with others who have knit it...

Hat 7 - well I saw this one over on Anita's page and said now there's a fun hat for a boy child...the yarn is mystery yarn that Kat threw in my bag at guild and you'll see it on a couple of other hats as well. It is knitted flat and then seamed, I ran into some issues with the crown decreases but in the end I think it turned out okay...to get click here...Ireland Mists hat!














Hats 8, 9, and 10 - more mystery yarn from guild - although the lavender/grey one had a Woolworth's sticker on it!. This pattern was so pretty and it knit up fast - like fast!!! I used a size 8 needle and made each one in an evening while watching television. Well actually netflix - having waited for 4 months I finally got my grubby paws on "Sherlock" written by Mr. Moffat of Dr. Who fame and fortune. It's a collaboration between the BBC and Boston Public television and was aired on "Mystery" last October. Anyway it was worth the wait - and now the kiddo tells me there are blogs by Mr. Watson and Sherlock with who done it clues and mysteries to solve on your own and that they are back in production for another season. Rent this DVD!!!

Hat 11 is the Danish Earflap hat from Hats On - I knit the medium size and went up a needle size since my yarn was heavier then spec'd. All Yarn was from the guild give away pile - I must practice making the pom's since mine look a little scraggly! As I worked on it the men folk said it was definitely a guy hat...by the by guild is requesting more guy hats!







Hat 12, 13, & 14 are the Scandinavian hat from Hats On - I knit the medium size but I think it is a wee bit short...again out of the same mystery yarn from guild. And since I was getting bored I changed out the main band in the little one from another hat in the book and gave it some tassels. Be aware that the little one is little - like baby size!

Hat 15 - I'm not sure what was going on here - mine came out way tall but Toni and Kate assured me that it was sooo cute! again mystery yarn from guild. Pattern is Whimsy from Hats On but I changed out the top to include the star decrease...it hopefully adds some pizazz to the otherwise unfortunate top!

If you're keeping count

This shawl is 5 of 11 for 2011. It's called "Antonia" and is by Birgit Freyer. I used a size 7 needles and 540 yards of ColourMart's Yak/Merino/Silk/Mohair combo in a fingering weight (2/9NM). Now I know I've told you before that is is one of my favorite combo's ever - and it still is this time in Verde (a lovely green with black undertones) which is my favorite color of all time. As you can see it came out huge (considering the effort I put into it) and soft and light as a feather with a gorgeous halo!


And if you're keeping count this is again a free pattern and I'm still knitting from stash so the Six Sigma people will be happy!

Now you can make one too - "Antonia" is a free pattern and by clicking the link you'll get to a page that is in German. Scroll down and in blue is "Anteitung Schultertuch aus Regia Extra Twist Merino" in blue - by clicking on this the pattern, which is a PDF, will open. There is a pattern - yes it's in German but it's a chart and with a little work you'll be able to work your way through it. The only change I made was to start the pattern with a tab start of 3 x 7 stitches. Let's see if I can explain this...or you could just check out the "Aeolian" shawl over on Knitty. So I did a provisional cast on of three stitches, then with the working yarn I knitted 8 ridges of garter stitch, turned the work and picked up one stitch in each of the "valley" stitches down the long edge of the strip, place a marker, pick up and knit the provisional stitches, turn work. Knit 3, slip marker, purl 7, place marker, knit 3 stitches and you are ready to start your shawl! And I'm sorry to say that the "Verde" fiber combo is no longer being listed on the ColourMart Site - I am saddened. But if you are lucky enough to have some of said fiber I am willing to buy it out right or trade or knit for it - drop me a note and I'm yours!

Meg's getting MARRIED

My cousin is getting married and as a tribute to Grace I decided to make her a wedding ring shawl - Grace would have done it herself if she could but...so anyway here it is. I used Sharon Miller's Unst Stole from Heirloom Knitting and a full cone (read FULL cone) of ColourMart 2/30 merino/cashmere/silk, a size 2.75 needle (which when I started I swore I was using a size 2.25 - note to self I need to get new glasses - and probably wear them). My finished dimensions ended up being 37.5" x 80". I made a couple of mods to the original pattern. I got rid of one of the pattern repeats width wise. I also got rid of one of the center repeats lengthwise. Still in all it's huge! So I started on January 28th and have been knitting about 5 hours a day and finally finished knitting on February 25th and blocked on February 27th. I'm afraid that these pictures don't really do it justice - it's beautiful!

Oh and just to add to the excitement - as I'm sitting in the basement Sunday nite dodging tornados and in line winds - meaning the whole house shook and the water in the toilets literally was sloshing side to side...all I could think about was the darn thing still pinned to the bed upstairs. Not worried about the kid, or the dog or the house - nooo not me - I'm trying to figure out if the darn shawl is dried and maybe I should just go upstairs and unpin it and bring it down to the basement tooo - really I'm not crazy, well maybe a little.

Here's a few more pictures -

I've earned a D

so here are pic's of the finished "D" - it's been confirmed there are a few little "oops" in the pattern and again I will say that I'm a lazy good for nothing knitter and didn't take any notes while knitting, but if you go here there's a very nice knitter who actually took the time to note her changes! Her's came out lovely - mine came out tragic but wearable! Still have to say I love this new fiber combo from ColourMart! Nice drape, subtle sheen, and tweedy - check out the other weights - I'm sure there's something there you'd like!

Still thinking that the "tail bone shield" is so NOT attractive so if I were to do it again (which I won't) I'd make mod's to the bottom and sub in a different edging!

Engeln Symbols and Schultertuch D

So I've had Spitzenstricken Teil 5 by Erich Engeln/Editha Fischer Verlag laying around for a bit and thought I'd tackle Schultertuch D aka #96. Well after knitting Trachentuch A & B with perfect patterns I was expecting nothing less from C & D. Well can't say anything about C yet but D has proven to be a bit quirky.

I should have been suspicious when I first looked at the pattern key and realized it wasn't the same as A & B. It looks like (from my sketchy german) that this chart was redone by EF which I'm assuming is Editha Fischer. This isn't bad - just should have been a hint.

So I cast on 11 and had no problems thru Row 51 -as I looked at the chart the center section and full pattern repeats were fine but the right edge was off - I ended up refitting the edging by counting back from the center stitch and redoing the edge charts. Then by the time I got to Row 94 I knew there was something really amiss. I'm guessing there was some shading in the original that was left off in the Lacis version. On Line 94 there are six blank squares in between the 2 large diamond motifs - if you get rid of those squares you should be able to keep the continuity of the design. I'll post again after I finish with any more changes and a finished photo!

Now I'm no expert and if you'd like to do some more reading about this "German" stuff check out the Cromulent Knitter's Blog there is tons and tons of info there!

2 of 11

So this is Filigrano by Knitting-Delight. It's another freebie pattern you can download over on Ravelry (be sure to grab the English version unless you are fluent in German). I had 2 cones of ColourMart 2/28 Merino/Silk/Cashmere, used it doubled with a US size 6 needle. Finished size 62" across the top and 31" down the center spine. I added a slip one knit 2 for an edging to keep it from curling - other than that and going down one needle size I made no mods.

Now the fun news - CarolP sat my sorry self down and showed me how to do "links" in Ravelry which have baffled me for almost a year. So what I've been trying to figure out for a year she has me doing in less than 15 minutes. Gotta love a smart chick!

And since everyone seems to have a method - I knit my shawl using the 2/28 doubled - it was unwashed. Upon completion I worked in my ends but DID'T cut them. I then ran a kitchen sink full of water I could barely put my hands in and 3 squirts of Dawn Dish Washing Detergent. Came back 20 minutes later - wow there's some purple water - pulled out the shawl - emptied the sink - rinsed the shawl and shoved it back into some more hot water and Dawn - walked away and watched an episode of "Bones" on Netflix - came back - less purple - rinsed until clear. Placed in a salad spinner and removed most of the water. Pinned out on the guest room bed and used a medium speed room fan to get it really dry in time to show it off at lunch today. And I'm sorry for the not so great photos but somehow my rechargeable battery will no longer recharge - so I'll be using my cell phone camera until I can get it all sorted out.

Miss Martin

So this is the first small shawl for the 11shawlsin2011 group on Ravelry. This would be a challenge to knit 11 shawls in 2011 with at least two of them being over 400 yards. Well says myself that's not even a challenge so to please the six sigma guy in my life I've added to the challenge - I must only use free or existing patterns and existing materials in my stash. Hey it's a challenge right!?

So this is Annis - a free pattern over at Knitty. Made it with ColourMart Cashmere/Silk/Viscose/Merino in a 2/12NM 4 ply weight. This is the same fiber as used in the HoarFrost Cowl - some one asked about washing in the machine and using a dryer - don't unless you are looking for felt! I used a size 10.5 to cast on using an "H" crochet hook and then switched to a size 9 needle. I used up 1.6 tubes of olive colored size 6 beads (bought from Lady Bug beads in St. Louis during a 50% off sale) which picked up the olive tweedy bits in the fiber. Made it a little deeper by adding a couple of more pattern rows (change out the nupps for beads and make it into diamonds instead of the flying V's) then cast off using an I-cord edging which seems to give it a little more stability at the top. And finally I used the large size of HiyaHiya needle kit. Wow - my joins were tight and smooth, small enough to carry in my knitting bag and they were sure cheaper than the Addi's!! Be aware that they come in two different "tip" sizes 3" and 4". Both seem to work fine but I'm partial to the 3"!

So all that being said - it's on the way to Miss Martin - cause although I can knit - she trumps me - she makes better people!