That Knitting Blog: Knitting and More: December 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Cotton stash

I had to try this Arucania hand painted cotton. I'm dreaming of mixing it with black for a yummy cotton afghan.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Chocolate brown capelet

Capelet, wool and alpaca blend, basketweave stitch, size 9 cable needle, 24 in.

This is working up quickly and is beautifully soft. It's a thick-and-thin yarn, so the basketweave stitch brings out the nubbiness of it and makes a somewhat chunky texture. I think it will be very warm.

I will charge $130.00 for this original design.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

In the studio - black merino and cashmere

Capelet; merino wool and cashmere blend; stockinette stitch, size 6 cable needle, 24 in.;

original design

This yarn feels creamy and I enjoy the feel of it going through my fingers, although it does feel a little like knitting with rubber bands. The size 6 needles make for a somewhat tight fabric, and I think due to the cashmere it will be a very warm capelet. I have plenty of yarn, so I think I am going to keep going once I reach the final decrease for the neck and make a turtleneck.

I also know at this point that I want to make a fan crochet border at the bottom. Maybe I'll ad a picot crochet border at the neck as well.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

In the studio - woven stitch shawl

Shawl, mixed fibers - wool, mohair, nylon, silk; woven stitch, size 4 wood cable needle, 24 inches.

Previous entries:

March 2009

http://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/in-studio-lightweight-linen-stitch.html

September 2008

http://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-studio-woven.html

Little did I think in 2008 when I started this shawl that I would be still working on it in 2011, but I am. One of the most difficult things has been to keep from pilfering the yarns that "belong" to the project because they are so gorgeous. But it will not remain a consisten fabric throughout if I don't keep the original yarns. So I have pilfered some, and have had to go digging through the stash to gather them back to this project a few times.

The gauge makes it a long piece, and it is about 30 inches wide. Each row is its own journey, sort of like an afghan that is knitted all the way across in rows. I have a dream of finishing it within the next couple months, so I am trying to work it into a daily knitting habit, somewhat like the whites afghan below.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

In the studio: black and white shawl

Shawl, wool wrapped in nylon; seed stitch, size 8 aluminum needles, 14"; original design

I started this about a year ago, thinking I would use up this old yarn, I think I'm ready to get it done now, so I'm working on it while I ride the bus. It's beginning to get heavy, so it's a bit difficult to hold and turn, although it is visually very interesting and keeps my fingers warm - a nice feature now that the weather has become cold again.

This will have a button and loop along the top long edge so that it can be wrapped around the shoulders and buttoned in the front or on the shoulder if desired. The planned dimensions are 20" x 50" in.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Gray capelet

Capelet; mixed fibers: cashmere, merino wool, cotton, silk; seed stitch, size 9 cable needle, 24"

The whites afghan is still growing

Afghan, linen stitch or woven stitch, mixed fibers: cotton, linen, mohair, silk, wool, lurex, alpaca, acrylic, polyamide; size 9 cable needle, 60 in.

I'm back to working on this lovely afghan again. I have some days at home, and am getting back into the rhythm of how the yarns are distributed across the fabric. I was able to do about two inches yesterday, so I'll take that as a benchmark of the rate of progress. It wasn't the only thing I worked on yesterday, but it was about the length of my patience with working on such a large piece of fabric. I don't really enjoy holding all the weight and taking such a long time to do a single row for hours on end.

More details in this earlier entry:

http://www.thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-studio-white-afghan.html

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Stole

Stole, mixed fibers: wool, cotton, angora, silk, linen, rayon, nylon, mohair; woven stitch (linen stitch); size 7 cable needle, 24 in.

I couldn't stand "shawlette" so I switched to "stole" in describing what this is.

Previous entry: at the beginning stages of the work: http://thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/soft-and-fuzzy.html

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Purples cowl finished!

Previous entries: http://www.thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/purples-cowl.html

Soft and fuzzy

Shawlette, mixed fibers: wool, cotton, angora, silk, linen, rayon, nylon, mohair; woven stitch (linen stitch); size 7 cable needle, 24 in.

I like "capelet" better than shawlette, but I thought I'd try out the new word. I cast on 200 stitches and have made the lovely mild teal angora/cotton blend by Elsbeth Lavold the main yarn, with about 7 other yarns in lengths around 4 to 8 feet. I like the linen stitch effect because it blends the colors in a nice way.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Purples cowl

Cowl, 22 x 9 in.; mixed fibers, rib stitch, size 9 plastic needles.

I cast on the long way for this one and used a lovely light fuzzy purple between each other color, about 8 different yarns.

Here's the earliest entry: http://www.thatknittingblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/starting-new-rib-stitch-cowl.html

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Cashmere blend capelet

Capelet, cashmere, silk, merino wool; rib stitch; size 3 cable needle, 24 in.

The size 3 needle makes this capelet work up very slowly, but the fine gauge gives it some weight, since it's almost light as a feather. Even with a size three needle it's still almost lacey. I began this back in October and pick it up every now and then, hoping that what I do eventually becomes apparent. As I'm knitting I can barely perceive any progress. But now looking at in the the photo, it's going to amount to something in the near future!!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Green alpaca

Cowl, stockinette/reverse stockinette stitches with garter stitch edge, alpaca yarn, size 5 straight 14" needles.

I cast on 99 stitches, then knit 5 rows of garter stitch. I started a stockinette stitch row and for the 50th stitch I reversed to a purl stitch. I am increasing the reverse stitches by two each row, which will create a diamond shape in reverse stockinette in a field of stockinette. I think that will be a good front panel for the cowl.

Alpaca cowl

Cowl, wide rib stitch, k2, p2; alpaca and cashmere blend yarn, size 8 straight 11" needles.

I cast on about 81 stitches for this cowl, which will be knit from bottom to top, then I'll seam it together at about 10" height.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Starting a new rib stitch cowl

Cowl, mohair, wool, nylon, acrylic fibers; size 9 plastic straight needles, 11".

I'm using about 10 yarns for this cowl, which I am knitting from bottom to top on straight needles. I'll make it about 10 inches tall. I'm using a purple as the "base" color, switching randomly and using the base color every three yarns:

I have 10 yarns that are analogous colors on the color wheel with one yarn that has a color from the other side of the color wheel:

A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J

each yarn strand is about 4 feet long and I'm using them in this order:

A, B, C, A, D, E, A, F, G, A, H, I, A, J, B, A, C, D, A

I'll do that about 2 times then randomize the non - A yarn colors so that there is not a repeating stripe pattern, but a more varied color mix.