Doctor Who Scarf Saga: Gray Scale Variant

You'll remember from  last time that I was about to start on a photorealistic Season 18 scarf, using this pattern. As you can see, this particular scarf is done in DK weight chenille yarn in 3 colors: purple, orange & burgundy. I ordered ample skeins of Lion Brand Chenille in Terra Cotta, Amethyst & Claret. The killer thing about this scarf is that the pattern calls for you to use a super thin chenille yarn & quite small needles. I had ordered thicker yarn, hoping to cheat the gauge & get the right width with less stitches on a slightly bigger needle. When the yarn arrived, I could see there was quite a bit of variation in colors, and even though it was knitting up super-quickly, after the first night, I could see that it wasn't what my client had in mind. 

Lovely, but not photorealistic.

.

I sent my client the picture above, and he confirmed what I'd been thinking. So I did a little deeper research and re-ordered the yarn. Coincidentally, one of my co-workers at Ho-Livier's had asked me to do a shorter version of the Legendary Gray Scale Scarf, and as I have quite a bit of that yarn left over, I put the Chenille down and got started on it. Since this scarf is shorter & not as wide, it took me about 4 days for this lil gem to come off the needles.

Before warm water blocking & 20 mins on  low heat inna dryer

...and after, with glam tassels attached

Modeled by the client

It measures about 6" wide by 7 ft. (including 6" tassels.) long.

That chenille yarn still hasn't come in yet, but I did get another order for one of these in the interim...isn't it lovely when things work out like this? 

Doctor Who Scarf Saga: Gray Scale pt 2

I kept on trucking with the Season 13 monochrome variant, and this is how it went. 

Dec. 3rd, 85"

Dec. 4th, 114"

I thought I had another shot of it on Dec. 5th, at 152 inches, but apparently not. By that day, I could see that I was coming into the home stretch and was getting sort of frantic about it. This scarf was like crack cocaine--I stayed up too late, didn't eat much & just kept on stitching. Everywhere I went, on the bus, on breaks at work, EVERYWHERE. 

I was so elated when I bound off the very last row right before  my shift started at Ho-Livier's that I had to take a pic without weaving in the ends...

Dec. 6th--D-Day!! 167" before blocking & adding tassels

I wasn't going to block it, but I didn't like the way the yarn was creasing

I am so neurotic. I know these color changes are not bad but they kinda make me wanna rip the whole thing back & do it over...

I really need better lighting, you can barely make out the 6" tassels I added..

So here's a close-up.

I used Deborah Norville Everyday Soft Worsted Acrylic Yarn (2 balls each of the Black & Steel, and 1 ball of the Mist),  and when I finished the actual knitting, I noticed that the scarf was quite stiff and had some creases in it that I was unhappy with. Since the yarn is machine washable, I put it in the washing machine (on warm) with a load of clothes, and then hung it to dry. According to the label on the yarn, it is also possible to put it in the dryer, so when it hadn't dried after a few hours (it is cold today!!) I put it in the dryer on low heat with a dryer sheet & a dry towel for about 10 minutes. I came out nice & soft & the blocking makes the ridges in the knitting pop out a lot more. 

I'm thrilled to death with how this turned out & so is my client!

Now I'm heading back to the needles to start working on a Season 18 Replica Scarf!

Doctor Who Scarf Saga: Gray scale pt 1

I was recently commissioned to make a Season 13 4th Doctor Scarf in a monochrome (black to light gray) color scheme. My little fingers were trembling with anticipation as I ordered this beautiful Deborah Norville Everyday Soft Worsted Weight Yarn from Herrschner's & I was giddy for it as the days passed and I tracked my package with mounting impatience.  It felt better than Christmas when I was walking out of the house to enjoy some Wednesday Bus Glam on my way to Ho-Livier's and spotted a package on my porch!!

Open Up!!

Or should I say Allons-y?

Needless to say, I emptied my bag of my previous project & grabbed a ball of each color of yarn and immediately began working on it as soon as I boarded the bus.

I'm using the pattern found Here, which calls for a pair of needles to hit a gauge of  5 stitches per inch & cast on 45 stitches, giving you a width of 9 inches. With the yarn I have, that translates into working with  a pair of size 8 US (5 mm) needles & 41 stitches per row. 

 I stitched a bit more on it to and from work on Thanksgiving & Black Friday after I got home and on Saturday morning, I'd gotten about this far:

19 inches in 3 days..

Mercifully, I was restaurant-free for the rest of the weekend & by Sunday, I'd come a long way, baby..

Can you make out that blurry 42? It's the meaning of life & erry thang

Here we are on Monday & we've surpassed my 60" measuring tape....

Can't wait to weave in all these ends...

!!!

I find myself once again restaurant free this evening, so maybe I'll fire up the DVD player & watch some of the stories that featured this scarf. I don't have much time to dawdle, as I'm doing a Season 18 replica scarf for another of my fellow Whovians next!!

Eyelet Lace Insanity!

I've been so busy learning new, exciting knitting techniques that I haven't been updating as often as I should, but here goes!

As you may have seen on my FB Page I have been working on a new line of shawls, based on  an eyelet lace pattern that  found here.

But today's spotlight is on my latest, which incorporates another new technique I learned, thanks to Eunny Jang & co on Knitting Daily: Short rows!

I was really intimidated by working short rows at first, but once I got the hang of it, I could not stop! This project is slightly serendipitous, because the flounced collar that I used was originally intended to be a full scarf, (like the one that you can download for free after registering here)  but I ran out of yarn & just bound it off, unsure of what to do with it. Then after doing some research on how to pick up & knit stitches, I decided to give it a try, using 36" Size 13 (US) needles, and a bulky white white Lion Brand "Homespun" Yarn:

As I began to run out of white yarn, I decided to switch to a contrast color

This is how it turned out

As you can see, I used a novelty yarn for the last few rows for a fun, whimsical border!

Here is another shawl type capelet that I made, utilising the same techniques:

The eyelets are not as obvious on this black mannequin, but up close they are gorgeous!

Coaster Magic!

I recently discovered the wonderful show, Knitting Daily, hosted by Eunny Jang. The tips and techniques she shares are a godsend, and have really helped me step up my stitch game.

I made the following coasters based on the pattern found here; I altered the pattern slightly as I was working double-stranded and felt the initial increases should be a little more gradual. Until I made these coasters, I was very intimidated about using increases & decreases in my knitting, worrying that I would ruin my work, but these turned out great, don't you think?

The coasters are available in sets of four for only $12. Feel free to request your own colors!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/156022804/diamond-shaped-knitted-coasters?

My First Skirt

A friend contacted me recently and asked if I could make her a skirt out of scarves. I didn't have enough scarves of matching lengths to do what she was asking, but I'd made a bunch of 10 stitch by 10 row squares awhile back. I suggested that I could sew a few of them together to make her a patchwork skirt.

When I asked how long she wanted it to be & she said "Long enough to cover my ass but too short for me to bend over all the way," I thought, this is the perfect client!!!

She found a skirt she already had of that description and gave me the measurements.

This is the front...

....and this is the back.

I intentionally gave the impression of a split skirt

...And this is how it looks all seamed up

I was really kind of scared about doing this, as I've never actually made clothing before. But I think it's a good start, and while this skirt may not be for everyone, it really did turn out a lot fiercer than I'd hoped. 

Coo Coo For Coozies

I've been compulsively knitting coozies since the last post, in all sorts of new & exciting stitches. Cables, ribs, the trinity stitch, erry thang. Learning to do the 4-stitch cable from the last post was a great starting point for me. As I kept working the pattern, I started wondering how it would turn out if I left out the cabling step and just kept alternately knitting & purling on opposite sides & that's how I figured out how to do what I believe is called a rib stitch:

Even softer to the touch than it looks...

The pattern I created for this was:

CO 10

Row 1: Slip 1 PW, P 2, K 4, P2, K1

Row2:  Slip 1 PW, K 2, P4, K3

Repeat until you can stretch your coozie round your favorite cup, then bind off to where the long end of your yarn is on the opposite side from the one you started with. Use your yarn needle to seam the two ends together & BOOM.

My favorite part about making these coozies is that by the time I start to get tired of whatever stitch I'm dealing with, the project's finished & I have a cute little piece of functional art to sell!

I have done a lot of variations on the 4-stitch cable, but when I had initially looked up cable knitting, I saw that there were loads of different kinds & I've been curious about something I saw called a staghorn stitch. I immediately dismissed it as too complicated, but since I've been pumping these coozies out (eww doesn't it sound nasty like that) at the rate of a few a day, my confidence has increased a lot, so I found a pattern I could understand here and I adapted it to work with this Bernat Baby Blanket Yarn. As you can see, the original pattern calls for you to CO 20 stitches, with the cable taking place over 16 stitches, between 2 selvedge stitches on either side. I used half as many stitches in the repeat part of the pattern, so I call this Sammi Kat's Half-Stag:

CO 12 stitches

Rows 1, 3, 5 (WS) Slip 1 PW, k1, p8, k2

Row 2: Slip 1 PW, p1,* k2, C2B, C2F, k2* p1, k1

Row 4: Slip 1 PW, p1,* k1, C2B, k2, C2F, k1* p1, k1

Row 6: Slip 1 PW, p1,* C2B, k4, C2F,* p1, k1

This is what it looked like after 6 rows:

I sort of lost the plot somewhere along the line (I think i cabled back when I wasn't supposed to, sigh...) but I think it still works:

A good 1st effort, no?

After I finished this, I thought I'd add a bit more to the pattern:

Row 8: Slip 1 PW, p1,* C2F, k4, C2B,* p1, k1

Row 10: Slip 1 PW, p1,* k1, C2F, k2, C2B, k1* p1, k1

Row 12: Slip 1 PW, p1,* k2, C2B, C2F, k2* p1, k1

This way, instead of just making those kind of V shapes, the pattern creates a sort of diamond effect:

You can kinda see where I got a lil wonky with this one too...

...but it looks fierce from here!

They are available on etsy for $10 each or a set of 5 for $35!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/130138754/drink-covers-in-mardi-gras-colors

I'm not listing every single one of these things on etsy this minute, but you can contact me to order specifics!

Cable Knitting...A New Adventure!

Leaving a comfort zone is never easy, but in my quest to find new knitted all-weather knitted items to make, I came across a cup-cozy pattern that incorporates cables, my worst nightmare!

Well, this sent me down a youtube rabbit-hole of cable knitting videos (with varying degrees of usefulness) and now, after several false starts, (and by several I mean like I pulled this damn swatch back like a dozen times) I think I have a good grip on 4-stitch cabling. Part of the process of learning to make these cables is also learning to read & interpret patterns/charts, so in that respect it is like language-learning to me...exhilarating yet scary, but damn if it don't feel good when you get it right!

I adapted this swatch from the pattern & video you can find on my new fave knitting website:

http://newstitchaday.com/4-stitch-cable/

For this swatch, I cast on 10 stitches (the pattern calls for a repeat on multiples of 8, so I added two stitches for a garter selvedge) and I alternated C4B & C4F in row 5. This little swatch only measures about 8" x 1":

This is the front

...and this is the back

I still have a long way to go to perfecting this cabling thing, but I think this is a good start. Coozies, here I come!! (And it's not often I say that....)

Ooh PS I decided to bind off the swatch right there & test it as a sort of pre-coozie (oof I really don't like how that sounds, but there you have it):

Saving the world really does make me thirsty tho...

Brand-New Blankie!

As you will recall from my last post, I learned a new stitch, known as the Trinity or Bramble stitch. The whole idea is that you make three stitches from one & then make 1 stitch from 3, thus creating a lovely bobbled effect. Purling across the  alternating rows gives a flat side. I used 6 balls of Bernat "Peachy" Baby Blanket yarn, on size 11 circular bamboo needles. This is my 1st attempt at writing my own pattern. I originally cast on 84 stitches, with the intent of doing k1 p1 in the 1st & last stitches & the Trinity stitch in between. I worked for several rows, and before I knew it, I was ending up with way too many stitches. So I pulled it all back & started again. & guess what? This happened again! And again...ugh.

This is when I learned the value of stitch counters. You can purchase them at any craft store, or you can make your own, simply by cutting some yarn into small lengths & tying them into little loops & placing them between your stitches. In this case, I placed my 1st stitch counter betwees st1 & st2 (so I would always remember to do my selvedge stitch), & then I placed the other stitch counters 20 sts apart (bc 20 is a multiple of 4), leaving my last stitch on the outstide of the last counter (SELVEDGE, BITCH, SELVEDGE is what I kept tellin myself). I got tired of all of this counting, so I only used 62 stitches instead of 84

By the end of Day 1, I had only done about 4 rows, I was tired, I was bitter, & the damn thing only measured about 2" x 21"

This is the bumpy side

This is the flat side

A cross section of the bumpy side.

I went to sleep slightly frustrated but then I remembered that I didn't always know how to knit, and that these sorts of mis-steps are just part of the process. It is important to trust the process.

On Day Two, I found myself so unable to tear myself away from watching RuPaul's Drag Race Elimination Lunch with Michelle Visage that I was stuck in front of my computer with the knitting in my lap. Thanks to lag time, I discovered that I can actually knit while using a computer. I had the most fascinating FB Chat with a guy I briefly met at the Doctor Who convention. Topics ranged from RuPaul to Colin Baker to How Dr Who Made me Gay and back again. I am not yet at the place where I can really take my eyes off the knitting yet, but soon, I hope. I took a break when I got to the end of the 1st ball of yarn, by now the blankie is about 8" long

Aren't my stitch counters cute!?!

Srsly every1 who saw this when I was working on it questioned me bout the stitch counters

Day 3: Worked for several hours, while watching Dr Who: Terror of The Autons Special Edition. Got so engrossed in the show that I somehow picked up 4 stitches! Thank Gawd for stitch counters! I got it fixed pretty quickly, and by the time I went to bed, it measured about 17" long!

Slight variations in dye lots give it a sort of striped pattern

Day 4: Tragedy strikes when I realize that somehow I have reversed the pattern. The bumps are on the wrong side!! This probably happened while I was crying my face off watching a Torchwood Marathon on BBC America. I don't have the oomph to pull this thing back, so I calmly think it over & add another purl row, and things are back to normal. No layperson could ever detect the difference. & Honestly, if some1 got smart with me about it I'd tell them to make their own damn blankie & not question me. I still keep truckin & by the end of the day, she measures about 23" long!

Too big for the table...

...had to be laid onna bed

...& ooh wee, it's the weekend & I head over to Hahnville for some good, old-fashioned stitch & bitch time with my BFF & her wife! My friend & I mostly just talked about Crazy Hoes I used to know and over the course of a 3-day weekend, BANG. The blankie's finished (well, I'm outta yarn) & measures 44" x 21"

Pics really don't do this thing justice

This took me about a week to make, and I learned a lot in the process: the value of patience, the need for stitch counters, and the beauty that can come from something quite simple. Much more than any of that, I feel like I have turned a proverbial corner in my skill level & am looking forward to raising it even higher. 

Thanks for reading!

Praise be!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/128113445/baby-blanketthrow-in-pinks-yellow