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Tag: knitting

  • Works in Progress

    As you can see, I’ve currently got three projects on the needles. The first is a sample pair of socks for the shop using some new self-patterning wool we got. It’s “Jigsaw” and it’s from Heirloom (though it’s not made in Bendigo; it’s an Italian import). We’ve got eight colors and this is the one that caught my attention first. I’m following the supplied pattern and I’m really happy with how it’s turning out. There’s no way that calf would fit on my chubby leg, but it still looks cool, right? I’m using 2.25mm double-pointed needles. Normally I’d do them on two circulars but Albert wanted me to try out the new rosewood DPNs. I’m ambivalent about them so far. I’ve already snapped one and I think they might be too fragile (at least in the very small diameters) for my admittedly tight tension.

    Jigsaw Sock

    The second is the Cheesylove sweater from Knitty that I started almost exactly a year ago. (I recently frogged it back and started over.) I was really unhappy with the pattern (which is why I put it aside in the first place). The big problem was the decreases and increases along the side seams. The pattern just says to do them on either side of the marker, which seriously messes up the nice K2P1 ribbing. So I frogged the whole damn thing back and started from scratch. I even did the ruffle all in one go this time, which meant I had to cast on 1,008 stitches. Yes, FOUR DIGITS WORTH. It was insane. Then the Snook had a brainstorming session with me to work out the best way to do the shaping. I decided instead of a single marker on each side, I’d mark the actual rib that was the side seam. Then I’d mirror my increases/decreases in the ribs on either side so they’d grow or diminish organically. I know, I know; nobody will ever notice (especially since it’s in black 8-ply, and under my arm to boot), but dammit, I will know! So I’m doing it right. I’m actually through with the shaping now and I’m up to the actual fairisle hearts design around the chest. The body of the sweater is done in Heirloom EasyCare 8-ply, while the hearts are worked in Heirloom Aristocrat 12-ply mohair. (The mohair’s a little thicker, but I kinda like the effect. Makes it stand out more.) I haven’t decided yet what to do about the sleeves. I’d almost like to make it short-sleeved but that isn’t one of the pattern options. I’d have to wing it myself.

    Cheesylove

    And the third is a cabled throw of my own invention. I lifted the cables themselves from a sweater pattern and laid them out in a new arrangement for this blanket. I’m knitting it out of some lovely (discontinued) Cleckheaton Alpaca/Wool 50/50 blend 8-ply. It’s going to look terrific on the back of our shagadelic brown couch, don’t you think?

    Cable Throw

  • Freedom Poncho Über Alles

    Man, Martha’s poncho is everywhere! Thank God she’s not popular in Australia, though. I have enough poncho requests as it is. (Links courtesy of Manda.)

  • Martha’s Poncho

    Oh, good grief. Knit Martha’s poncho. I am disgusted to admit we’re planning a poncho window display for the shop. (Link courtesy of Amy.)

  • Eggbert the Easter Chick

    Eggbert the Easter Chick

    Check out my new favorite holiday creation! A nice lady came in the shop the other day looking for wool to duplicate a little knitted chick a friend had given her. I squealed like a girl, especially once I turned the chick over. How cute is that? The lady told me I could copy her handwritten pattern if I wanted. That night I whipped up a prototype and set to altering the pattern (so as not to infringe copyright; I don’t know where the customer’s friend got the pattern in the first place). My version has a slightly rounder head and short rows in the tail to make it flip up. The pattern is currently available for free in the shop, but I’ll reproduce it here for the rest of the world. They’re really quick to make; I’ve done four already. Hooray for stash-busting! Happy knitting…You need:

    • scraps of 8-ply (worsted weight) yarn
    • 3.75mm needles
    • cotton ball or other stuffing for head
    • bodkin or wool needle for sewing up
    • cardboard for beak
    • egg, chocolate or real!

    Cast on 32 stitches.

    Row 1: K1, increase 1, K to end.
    Repeat first row until you have 44 stitches on the needle.
    Knit four rows plain.

    Short row tail:
    Row 1: K4, slip next stitch as if to purl, yfwd, move slipped stitch back to left needle. Turn.
    Row 2: K4 to end.
    Row 3: K3, slip next stitch as if to purl, yfwd, move slipped stitch back to left needle. Turn.
    Row 4: K3 to end.
    Row 5: Cast off 15 stitches, K to end.

    Repeat previous five rows for the other side. You should end with fourteen stitches left in the center of your knitting.

    Head:
    Knit three rows plain.
    Row 4: K1, K2tog, K to last three stitches, K2tog, K1.
    Row 5-6: Same as Row 4.
    Knit two rows plain.

    You should now have eight stitches remaining on your needle. Cut the working wool leaving a footlong tail. Thread the tail onto your sewing needle and run it through the remaining stitches, cinching them tight. Then use the tail to sew up the head, back, and underside of the duck (leaving a hole to insert your egg!). Stuff the head and use some scrap wool to cinch the neck. I used contrasting wool to make knots for the eyes, and the beak is a sewn on piece of cardboard. You can get pretty creative embellishing these things! Have fun…

  • Mancho!

    As the Aussies knitters are well-aware, the poncho craze has finally landed on our shores. I’m so over it already. The poncho is officially this year’s Feathers scarf, mark my words. The only fun left to be had is in mocking the people who wear really daggy ones. Gadgetgirl has found an example of one of the rarest (and ugliest) breeds: the Man-cho. Good grief. Could that poor male model look any more like Derek Zoolander? Actually, thanks to me, he can. I should so make the Snook one of these and embroider “Blue Steel” on the front.

    Derek Zoolander in a poncho

  • I Heart Knitting.

    I Heart KnittingSo… I went to the knitting thing tonight. It was a bit sad, really. Better Homes & Gardens are going to be talking about pub knitting like it’s this big, huge movement, when in reality there were a total of five of us there. (Granted, it was short notice.) We ended up packing the room with half the production staff, so consequently I spent the whole time stuck in the corner trying to teach the makeup guy how to do garter stitch. And I went to all that trouble to make a special shirt…

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    And yeah, that’s my sheep.

  • Knitting on TV!

    Attention Sydney knitters! I’ve just gotten word from Meg that the Sydney Stitch N Bitch is going to be filmed by Better Homes & Gardens for an upcoming show! The only problem is that the presenter’s schedule means they need to film the spot… tomorrow night. We need to pack Hart’s Pub with as many knitters and crocheters as we can get. If you can hold a pair of needles, we want you there. It starts at 5:00 pm (which is a crap time, I know). Details and a map are available on the website. Hope to see you there!

  • Sexy Geography Teacher

    Sexy Geography TeacherSince Eileen asked, here’s the picture of Sexy Geography Teacher in all his glory. (Click for a bigger version.) Now you can see where I got the inspiration. Wouldn’t you have liked to’ve had this guy teaching you about Mercator projections?

    Further construction notes: This is an actual pieced garment, not something knit in the round (as I usually do). The graph consisted of the back, the two front sections, and one sleeve. The other sleeve is blank. The design is only on the “outer” section of the garment, meaning if you lift up your arm there’s not another version of India beneath it. I can scan the graph if anybody wants to have a look at it.

  • Geography Cardigan

    Geography CardiganOn Thursday I gave my latest knitting project its first public airing… I present the Geography Cardigan! I got the idea from an old 80’s knitting book Mrs Morris (the shop owner) lent me as a joke. The tackiness of the patterns really needs to be seen to be believed. (The back cover, for instance, features a guy in suspenders and a bow-tie standing next to a woman wearing a sweater… with knitted suspender and bow-tie motifs. Get it? It’s an OPTICAL ILLUSION. Very clever.) Anyway, I was flipping through it and suddenly there he was: Sexy Geography Teacher. He had a Ewan McGregor ‘tache to go with his acid-wash jeans and the grooviest, daggiest cardigan I’d ever seen. I had to make one. After a period of trial and error I settled on Sirdar Nova as the yarn of choice. It’s not 100% wool, but it’s soft and it was the only thing thick enough to get gauge that had a range of bright colors. In terms of technical difficulty, it was my first ever attempt at intarsia and I bungled it a bit. It looks fine from the outside, but I made the mistake of occasionally carrying the wool across the back instead of cutting and starting a new strand (because it was only a gap of a few stitches, and I’m lazy). I’ve since found out that you NEVER MIX INTARSIA AND FAIRISLE, which is what I was doing. Consider yourself warned. Anyhoo, I also had to invent a way to knit the collar on to the garment since the one knitted to the pattern specifications was way, way too small. But it worked out. I’m actually pretty proud of it! I still need to head to Newtown for some appropriate buttons, but it’s definitely one of my more successful projects. And check out the back! (And as the Aussies keep asking, Australia’s on my left elbow. No, I wasn’t clever enough to do the thing where you reorient the whole world to put Australia on top. Sorry.)

  • Stitch and Bitch time!

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    Here’s my buddy Katie at the new Thursday night Tapestry Craft Stitch and Bitch. We had six people tonight… Success!