Fancy Collar

I am quite sure that all of the Audreyettes out there know what this picture means - I'm really, really almost done!

Click the pic to zoom out

Actually, I'm even closer than the picture shows. The collar is done, and now all I have left is blocking and a few seams that should be sewn up. Here's the obligatory goofy cell pic of Audrey pinned together. I finished the collar in the car to Santa Barbara this weekend. It was a wonderful little side trip (just an hour from LA), that was totally relaxing.

On the car trip back I knitted most of the saucer that goes with my little tea cup, which I finished at home and blocked overnight.

The way the cup and saucer work up is pretty magical. It's hard to believe that they are really going to work out until you get very close to off the needles and blocking. Can you believe this is going to be a saucer?

Vintage Fiesta Tea Set?

I've been a little sneaky. Despite the fact that I haven't revealed any new projects on my sidebar, I recently joined not one, but two knit-alongs hosted by the wonderful Alison over at the Blue Blog. This little cup is for Alison's Tea Party Knit Along. It's the Fiesta Tea Set (a free pattern - click the link!) from Interweave Knits designed by the very talented Annie Modesitt. I'm calling my version the vintage tea set because the colors I'm using give it a very retro look. Kinda funky, eh?

I really enjoy Alison's posts and I admire her amazing knitting productivity, so I'm over there often enough to be sorely tempted by the knit-alongs she hosts. I gave in to both the Linen Drape Along and the Tea Party Along, but promised myself that I wouldn't start the Drape Along Project until late summer, after at least Audrey, Anouk, and Pia are done, and the Tea Time I would work on piecemeal until Christmas, when I plan to give it to my new little niece Sophie.

Although I love Audrey, I find the sleeves less enthralling to knit than the body was. (I am the kind of person who enjoys the darts!) I'm about 1/3 of the way up Audrey's second sleeve, and I'm not allowing myself to work on the collar until the sleeves are both done and in place. (The first one is sewn to both body pieces already - I try to weave in ends and sew in sleeves and shoulders as I go along so that it's less of a chore at the end.) So as a treat and a little break from 2x2 ribbing and white wool, I churned out this little cup last night while watching a movie with the guys. What a treat! It was totally addictive and fun. I can't wait to make a saucer. I'm going to, though - Audrey calls!

If you want to see the undiginified way in which this charming tea cup was blocked, click here. For close-ups of the cup at different angles, click the individual photos below.

Almost Audrey

So this is not the best picture of Audrey, but it does show one very important detail - the length of the sleeve. I took 18 rows off of it to make 3/4 sleeves for myself, and instead here I am with perfect, full-length sleeves. Did anyone else experience this phenomenom? Or am I somehow off in my math? Or do I just have freakishly short arms?

It turns out this was a lucky accident, because I had decided that I didn't really want 3/4 sleeves for a merino sweater, and was planning to take out the bottom bind off and graft on the bottom 18 rows. Still, weird, eh?

Holly Moon

I'm still playing around with the Honeymoon Gallery, so what you'll see is pretty much the old version, but I just had to update it a little, because we have six new moons. Go take a look at Amy Ashley, Barb (Holly made hers), Carla, Kyra, Libby, and Rachel. There have been some really cool variations. Holly did this for the back of Barb's cami:

And this at the hem:



Amy Ashley put hearts along the border - you'll have to take a look....

Big Sigh

After much disgruntled knitting and ripping back and changing ideas, a very simple design has been born. My MagKnits Chilly Submission* is complete and sent out. Now I'm back to Audrey and my other happy knitting for a while. Although it was fun while it lasted, I'm leaving the fleecey novelty yarn stuffs behind for my beloved pure breeds - wool and cotton, here I come...

*Notice a little change here? No Knitty this time, but I did get a chance to run this by Kerrie for Magknits Chilly - coming soon! I'm excited, because I would have liked to submit to Magknits for their regular deadline, but didn't as summer was too much in swing at the time to persuade myself to knit for fall. I got lucky and had a second chance!

Birch

Birch, Rowan 34, designed by Sharon Miller
Knit with 2.5 skeins (229 yards/skein) of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (70% Super Kid Mohair/30% Silk) in Chill (591) on my ancient US8 Aero Bernat Straights (slippery!)

Pattern Notes:
I varied the pattern and did one long rhombus shape rather than a triange. To do this I cast on enough stitches for 9 pattern repeats plus 6 knit stitches - 3 at each side. The number of stitches cast on is significantly less than for the triangular version, so if you can let the triangle lust go, it's quite the bargain. I knit three rows as a border/base and then followed the pattern omitting the section at the end of each right side row that creates the decreases. I knit two pieces, each about 20 inches long, and left the stitches live. I then joined the two pieces with a three-needle bind-off to create the diagonal seam down the center. (The pattern has a natural diagonal bias, hence the rhomboid rather than square shape.)

Impressions of Kidsilk Haze:
In all my years of knitting, this was the first time I used a fine mohair. I've used mohair blended with a heftier fiber (like wool) before, but working with Kidsilk Haze was like working with thread on needles for me, particularly since almost the entire experience was in lace rather than stockinette. (It will be interesting to see what working this yarn in a plainer stitch will be like.) By far, my favorite type of work is with a nice nubless alpaca or merino wool, or with a pleasant cotton like ASC. Still, once I adjusted to this yarn, I enjoyed it. The blend with silk gives it a lovely shine underneath the halo of the mohair. The result speaks volumes. The lace is open and beautiful, but at the same time the shawl is warm and very, very soft. People sigh when they touch it. It looks like money.

Possible substitute yarns: If you can't find Kidsilk Haze, try K1C2's Douceur et Soie. It's the exact same yarn (same composition, same guage, close to the same yardage) and comes in an amazing array of colors. I have a beautiful electric blue in my stash.

Tips for Others Making Birch:

1. Make a big swatch before you begin. Size doesn't matter on this, so you're not doing it for guage, you're doing it to understand the lace itself. The first few rows are where you are most likely to foul up, and when a pattern involves casting on 299 stitches, it's just no fun to try to un-knit it or rip it out. Know your birch before you start.

2. Aero Bernats are not for everyone on this project. I started on bamboo and was driven nearly crazy by the stickiness of the needle-yarn combo, so I switched to the Aeros. However, I think most people will prefer to fight it out with their chopsticks. Using slicks is like dancing on ice until you get used to it, which is a while!

3. Like all lace projects, this one is vastly improved by the use of stitch markers to separate the pattern repeats. No one wants to deal with that many markers, because they are fiddly, but you'll save rather than waste time by using them from the start.

4. Count your stitches on the back side to make sure that you have the correct number in each repeat. Don't let the yarnovers throw you off - they can easily slip to the other side of the marker. You'll learn to recognize them by sight and be able to put them back in place.

5. You can pick up a dropped or missed yarnover on the wrong side - just scoop! That way you don't have to un-knit an entire row.

6. Sometimes it is easier to slide/pull the K2tog tbl's onto your right needle with your right index finger than it is to pick them up with the needle. If you're getting stuck at the beginning of a pattern repeat, give it a try.

7. Don't give up. I've been knitting for a long time and had a heck of a time with this pattern at first. It really does get easier with practice, and you'll feel so much wiser once you have mastered it.

Happy Birching!

Kitty Pi

Kitty Pi, free pattern designed by Wendy
Knit with 3 skeins (115 yards/skein) of Yarns Brunswick Icelandic Wool (100% Icelandic Wool) in Denim Heather, Walnut Heather, and Natural Heather on my US10 Clover Bamboo Circulars and US10 Bethany Birch DPNs.

Pattern Notes:
I basically followed the pattern, but added a few rows here and there for height, thinking that my cats would prefer a high-walled nest. In actuality, they don't! What I ended up doing was folding the edge down inside for a double-thick cozy Pi. The edge doesn't need to be stitched in place, because the felting makes it rigid. The cats love it. They are really happy to have a place to hang out next to mommy's computer in the mornings. The only problem is that I need a second one!

Impressions of Icelandic Wool:
This is yarn that you will probably never find on the shelves, because I bought it over ten years ago at a Ben Franklin. It's an old-school wool with lots of body that isn't the softest thing, but isn't the scratchiest, either. It's perfect for felting or for outerwear garments. Probably the most comparable stuff available on the market is Reynolds Lopi. You could easily use Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride to make one of these Kitty beds (a nicer yarn, with some mohair in it), and people have also used Noro Big Kureyon - it makes a gorgeous, luxurious bed, for the high end puss. My cats are cool with their bargain basement version, and for a yarn that was so cheap, I think it's rather nice. I may make a big sweater or vest from the 7 skeins I have left.

Possible substitute yarns:
See above. Reynold's Lopi, Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride, Noro Big Kureyon, Cascade 220 doubled.

Tips for Others Making Kitty Pi:
If you make the sides high, make sure that they are high enough to fold over. Cats like to breathe! Other than that it's very simple.

Click here to see a gallery of Kitty Pi's on Wendy's site.

Submissions and Revisions

It's been a quiet week over here at MindofWinter for a few reasons. First, my digital camera is on vacation in Alaska with Moxie. He sends us snow for the photo journal.

Despite the beautiful weather which is eternal here, I am jealous. I would have liked a change of pace, and I would have loved to send an Afghan square to Ann and Kay from Alaska. Alas, it was not to be.

Second, I am diligently working on a "fall" Knitty submission, which is quickly becoming a "winter" knitty submission. I am having a hard time focusing on fall when it is barely summer here, and that's making things go more slowly. I am slogging through it though, because I know that if I put it down I will not return. Audrey will get completed and I'll be happy, but nothing for Knitty, and really that's just no fun, is it? Hopefully I will get it in under the wire, but if not, I will simply submit early for winter. That would be a refreshing change, eh? Since I am working on this submission to the exclusion of all else, there is nothing to photograph. I am a strong believer in the photo. It makes the blog go. That's making me a little grumpy, too.

The final reason you haven't seen much of me is that I am going back and documenting things from earlier this year for my gallery, and re-vamping the honeymoon gallery so that it looks more polished. The only thing you will have seen so far is the entry below, but now, if you look to your right, there is a button that links you to the gallery. Voila! And, in addition to an entry on Birch being finished there is also a link to my project notes on Kitty Pi. (If you enter the Gallery, just click on Townie's cute little face to see the notes.) Honeymooners, hang on, I'll finish construction soon, and the old gallery is still up and functional. I'm just waiting to add the new mooners for the "new look" unveiling.

Birch Revisited

I am fiddling with the templates in an attempt to straighten up around here and have also started working on a gallery with some project notes. Here is my first finished gallery piece. I need to add more pictures (I have some great ones), but other than that it is complete.

Birch, Rowan 34, designed by Sharon Miller
Knit with 2.5 skeins (229 yards/skein) of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (70% Super Kid Mohair/30% Silk) in Chill (591) on my ancient US8 Aero Bernat Straights (slippery!)

Pattern Notes:
I varied the pattern and did one long rhombus shape rather than a triange. To do this I cast on enough stitches for 9 pattern repeats plus 6 knit stitches - 3 at each side. The number of stitches cast on is significantly less than for the triangular version, so if you can let the triangle lust go, it's quite the bargain. I knit three rows as a border/base and then followed the pattern omitting the section at the end of each right side row that creates the decreases. I knit two pieces, each about 20 inches long, and left the stitches live. I then joined the two pieces with a three-needle bind-off to create the diagonal seam down the center. (The pattern has a natural diagonal bias, hence the rhomboid rather than square shape.)

Impressions of Kidsilk Haze:
In all my years of knitting, this was the first time I used a fine mohair. I've used mohair blended with a heftier fiber (like wool) before, but working with Kidsilk Haze was like working with thread on needles for me, particularly since almost the entire experience was in lace rather than stockinette. (It will be interesting to see what working this yarn in a plainer stitch will be like.) By far, my favorite type of work is with a nice nubless alpaca or merino wool, or with a pleasant cotton like ASC. Still, once I adjusted to this yarn, I enjoyed it. The blend with silk gives it a lovely shine underneath the halo of the mohair. The result speaks volumes. The lace is open and beautiful, but at the same time the shawl is warm and very, very soft. People sigh when they touch it. It looks like money.

Possible substitute yarns: If you can't find Kidsilk Haze, try K1C2's Douceur et Soie. It's the exact same yarn (same composition, same guage, close to the same yardage) and comes in an amazing array of colors. I have a beautiful electric blue in my stash.

Tips for Others Making Birch:

1. Make a big swatch before you begin. Size doesn't matter on this, so you're not doing it for guage, you're doing it to understand the lace itself. The first few rows are where you are most likely to foul up, and when a pattern involves casting on 299 stitches, it's just no fun to try to un-knit it or rip it out. Know your birch before you start.

2. Aero Bernats are not for everyone on this project. I started on bamboo and was driven nearly crazy by the stickiness of the needle-yarn combo, so I switched to the Aeros. However, I think most people will prefer to fight it out with their chopsticks. Using slicks is like dancing on ice until you get used to it, which is a while!

3. Like all lace projects, this one is vastly improved by the use of stitch markers to separate the pattern repeats. No one wants to deal with that many markers, because they are fiddly, but you'll save rather than waste time by using them from the start.

4. Count your stitches on the back side to make sure that you have the correct number in each repeat. Don't let the yarnovers throw you off - they can easily slip to the other side of the marker. You'll learn to recognize them by sight and be able to put them back in place.

5. You can pick up a dropped or missed yarnover on the wrong side - just scoop! That way you don't have to un-knit an entire row.

6. Sometimes it is easier to slide/pull the K2tog tbl's onto your right needle with your right index finger than it is to pick them up with the needle. If you're getting stuck at the beginning of a pattern repeat, give it a try.

7. Don't give up. I've been knitting for a long time and had a heck of a time with this pattern at first. It really does get easier with practice, and you'll feel so much wiser once you have mastered it.

Happy Birching!