Recently I bought my first laceweight yarn. I chose Knitpicks Shadow Tonal in Golden Glow. I was envisioning a bright yellow yarn like I'd seen on Ravelry but mine is more of a honeyish, marigold yellow. Still really pretty and nice but not quite the color I had in mind.
My initial thought, when I still thought it was bright yellow, was the Citron shawl, from the Winter '09 issue of Knitty. Well, first off, wrong color for citrus, secondly, do you realize there are literally over a THOUSAND STITCHES IN THAT SHAWL??!! That was just a whole heck of a lot of stitches for a novice shawl knitter like myself. That would be one of the reasons I like socks, only about 60 stitches to deal with.
Then I thought of my old favorite that I still haven't finished (can't, ran out of yarn) the Travelling Woman. The problem with that is that, technically that takes fingering, not lace. However, it can be done. I just didn't want to fiddle with that since I'd already started one and ran out of yarn.
I was gifted the Sakura lace scarf pattern for my birthday which is a lovely cherry blossom lace pattern. Still, not in my opinion, suitable for yellow. Pink or red perhaps.
Then I thought, well, screw the shawl or scarf, let's make mitts. I found a gorgeous pattern called Swan Maiden Mitts and it is even meant for KP Shadow! But, hey, back up here, my only coat is black. Well, black generally goes with everything but one of the reasons I didn't want a scarf is that I'm not fond of the yellow/black combo. Mitts would be the same problem. Sooo, back to the design board.
A shawl called Hibiscus gave me an idea, I'd design one myself using a pineapple as the focus! Well, I did that on paper. Then attempted to draw the design on graph paper. That didn't work out so well, plus I was worried about running out of yarn halfway thru the shawl.
After hunting around for a few weeks I found this - the Annis shawl, one of the "surprises" in the Spring & Summer issue of Knitty. It is absolutely perfect for this yarn, going to look like a slice 'o sunshine, great because it is always over 100 degrees now!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
What I've been up to
You know, I write really great blog posts. I do, I really do. The problem is that I have a habit of writing them in my head and then by the time I get to the computer I have a million other things to do. So, I forget to actually write them. The main problem with that is that, well, no one can read them in my head!
In the meantime, I've been knitting socks. I made a plain vanilla pair out of 100purewool's Granada colorway - greens and yellow. Now I have two more pairs on the needles. Pineapple socks made out of Numma Numma's The Regular in Organic Greens. Very nice yarn and expensive I found out - I won mine in a lovely giveaway :) These are on hold indefinitely until I can get another set of Harmonys as I dropped my needle thru the floorboards of the Dairy Queen playground :( On the bright side, I found my brother's missing schoolbook and my reward will be another set of Harmonys. YAY ME!
I'm also using KnitPicks Stroll Multi in Meadow to Magic Loop socks. Magic loop is a new method for me but WOW is it so much faster then DPNs. I got my needle and yarn last Friday and am already almost done with the first sock! The pattern is of my own making, basically just ribbing and stockinette but a bit fancier then a plain vanilla sock. They're knit cuff down unlike the Pineapple socks.
I like toe up but since Magic Loop is new to me I thought I'd stick to what I knew best for a new method. Socks are like my new favorite project!
I also bought some lace yarn. Shadow Tonal in Golden Glow - don't be mislead by the pic on Knitpicks site, this yarn is not actually that bright and is more of a honey or marigold yellow. Still a really nice yarn tho! I am trying to design a shawl for it, just because I like to make up my own patterns :)
In the meantime, I've been knitting socks. I made a plain vanilla pair out of 100purewool's Granada colorway - greens and yellow. Now I have two more pairs on the needles. Pineapple socks made out of Numma Numma's The Regular in Organic Greens. Very nice yarn and expensive I found out - I won mine in a lovely giveaway :) These are on hold indefinitely until I can get another set of Harmonys as I dropped my needle thru the floorboards of the Dairy Queen playground :( On the bright side, I found my brother's missing schoolbook and my reward will be another set of Harmonys. YAY ME!
I'm also using KnitPicks Stroll Multi in Meadow to Magic Loop socks. Magic loop is a new method for me but WOW is it so much faster then DPNs. I got my needle and yarn last Friday and am already almost done with the first sock! The pattern is of my own making, basically just ribbing and stockinette but a bit fancier then a plain vanilla sock. They're knit cuff down unlike the Pineapple socks.
I like toe up but since Magic Loop is new to me I thought I'd stick to what I knew best for a new method. Socks are like my new favorite project!
I also bought some lace yarn. Shadow Tonal in Golden Glow - don't be mislead by the pic on Knitpicks site, this yarn is not actually that bright and is more of a honey or marigold yellow. Still a really nice yarn tho! I am trying to design a shawl for it, just because I like to make up my own patterns :)
Friday, May 7, 2010
Yarn Shop
I went to New York last week and visited a lovely little yarn shop called Gotta Knit. I didn't buy anything but she had two walls of yarn and quite a selection of needles from Clover and Addi Turbos. It was a very enjoyable time especially since it was the first time I'd ever been to a yarn shop - which she was surprised by! Hey, I live in rural Texas, I'm lucky to have a Hobby Lobby and a Michaels!
If you happen to be in NYC you should visit the Gotta Knit shop. It is just fifteen minutes from Times Square! However, in light of what has happened there in the past few days, I don't know if many people will want to visit Times Square!
If you happen to be in NYC you should visit the Gotta Knit shop. It is just fifteen minutes from Times Square! However, in light of what has happened there in the past few days, I don't know if many people will want to visit Times Square!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Socks
I want to knit socks. Who knows why, since I never actually finish a pair LOL I started a pair for myself six months ago, finished one sock and the other is about 1 inch long. Part of it is that I hate ribbing, especially in the round. And quite possibly the other problem with socks is that they take a while, with tiny needles (I have KnitPicks Harmony in size 2, love'em when I actually bother to use them) and thin yarn.
Most of the time, I like thicker needles, my faves are 15s, and chunky yarn. I like to make hats :) Altho, at the moment, I'm working on a shawl with size 11s and heavy worsted yarn. Also a baby sweater on 9s.
BUT I WANT TO MAKE SOCKS! The hardest part at the moment is that A, I only have 2s, and B, the sock yarn I have, I won it :) Then I found out that Numma Numma yarn is kinda expensive so I want to use it for a special pattern. This is easier said then done.
However, most of the time I don't really use patterns. I like to use them as suggestions, then go off and do my own thing. Add a new stitch here, make that shorter/longer, omit this or that, etc. This would be why I've ended up with quite a few UFOs in my box! That and I really don't have the patience to finish them.
So, I never finish socks because I've already done one, I hate having to do the same thing all over again. I'd like to learn how to do two at a time but I don't have the needles for it. Apparently, it is possible to knit one inside the other on DPNs but it looks really complicated soo, until I've got some money for new needles, it's gonna be one at a time on DPNs. Maybe I'll learn toe up....
Any suggestions for a sock pattern? The yarn is a bright kettle dyed lime green!
Most of the time, I like thicker needles, my faves are 15s, and chunky yarn. I like to make hats :) Altho, at the moment, I'm working on a shawl with size 11s and heavy worsted yarn. Also a baby sweater on 9s.
BUT I WANT TO MAKE SOCKS! The hardest part at the moment is that A, I only have 2s, and B, the sock yarn I have, I won it :) Then I found out that Numma Numma yarn is kinda expensive so I want to use it for a special pattern. This is easier said then done.
However, most of the time I don't really use patterns. I like to use them as suggestions, then go off and do my own thing. Add a new stitch here, make that shorter/longer, omit this or that, etc. This would be why I've ended up with quite a few UFOs in my box! That and I really don't have the patience to finish them.
So, I never finish socks because I've already done one, I hate having to do the same thing all over again. I'd like to learn how to do two at a time but I don't have the needles for it. Apparently, it is possible to knit one inside the other on DPNs but it looks really complicated soo, until I've got some money for new needles, it's gonna be one at a time on DPNs. Maybe I'll learn toe up....
Any suggestions for a sock pattern? The yarn is a bright kettle dyed lime green!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Vogue Stitchionary
I really want one of the Vogue Stitchionaries but they're kinda expensive and I don't have the money for it. So when I discovered some of the stitches were online at the Vogue knitting site, I was thrilled! HERE is the link!
I cannot wait to try out the evergreen lace on the shawl I am designing. The yarn is a vintage wool, a dark green, and I'm using copper colored beads. It reminds me of a Christmas tree so I really wanted to try to find some kind of tree or leaf based lace for the lace panel. Not as easy as it sounds nor does it seem possible to find one that looks like it'll work for heavy worsted yarn. Most lace stitches are meant for lace or fingering weight and just don't look right in heavier yarns. However, I'm not too fond of lighter weight yarns so many of my projects are done in heavy yarns, like the shawl I'm working on :) Well, that, and the yarn is just so pretty!
I cannot wait to try out the evergreen lace on the shawl I am designing. The yarn is a vintage wool, a dark green, and I'm using copper colored beads. It reminds me of a Christmas tree so I really wanted to try to find some kind of tree or leaf based lace for the lace panel. Not as easy as it sounds nor does it seem possible to find one that looks like it'll work for heavy worsted yarn. Most lace stitches are meant for lace or fingering weight and just don't look right in heavier yarns. However, I'm not too fond of lighter weight yarns so many of my projects are done in heavy yarns, like the shawl I'm working on :) Well, that, and the yarn is just so pretty!
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