Handy Owls

My cousin posted a photo on Facebook of a pair of fingerless gloves with owl cables, and I just had to have a pair. There wasn't a link to where the photo came from originally, but the basic pattern looked just like the Au Clair gloves I made recently.

So I used the Au Clair pattern until I reached the end of the wrist portion (I made the shorter version). Then I added the owl cable while I was working on the thumb gusset. And finished it off in plain stockinette after the last cable twist.

Teaching Myself Brioche Knitting

I love the way double knitted brioche looks for scarves -- and I have plenty of yarn to practice with. But first I needed to figure out single brioche. Thank goodness for The Brioche Stitch! Lots of pictures, links, and videos to get you going.

Casting on was challenging, I think I'll need to refer to the directions for several projects. But the brioche stitch itself is not that bad. Although I did occasionally lose a yarnover...I could pick it up, but not always successfully. The loftiness of the yarn and the stitch itself does hide some of these errors.

4th of July Hats

Wanting something festive and patriotic for the 4th of July, so I decided to try out this hat pattern by Mary Jane Mucklestone. Since it was a trial, I used mini-skeins of a fingering yarn - Sprout Seedlings by The Fiber Seed, and knit the pattern as written.

I misread the pattern and thought there were 4 rounds per stripe which looked skimpy, so I did 6 rounds. This resulted in a rather slouchy little hat.

There was enough yarn left to make another hat, so I did, this time *really* following the directions. The second hat is adorable! Well, they both are...

In conclusion, I think that you could knit an adult-size hat using three of the mini-skeins either by adjusting the pattern or doubling the strands of yarn.

Mannequin Head Update

So I've started the painting! It turned out that "Parchment" was the skin tone I was looking for - not too pink, not too muddy, pretty pale and neutral. I went with black hair because it's more dramatic and traditionally 1920s. I'm afraid the eyes are still too large, but maybe I can minimize them a bit. So here's the latest:

I will eventually outline her lips and eyes, as well as adding eyelashes and some details.

Mannequin Head - continued

Well, the gesso didn't cover the newspaper as well as I wanted, and it has a very matte finish:

One coat of gesso

So I took a break to think about what to do...I picked out some paint colors and tried them out over the first coat of gesso. Then I put another coat of gesso over the paint. I really wasn't happy with the way the gesso looked, so I decided to try using plain drawing paper over the newspaper and gesso. Because the newspaper had wrinkled and hadn't been very smooth, I decided to dampen the drawing paper so it would cover the features more evenly.

My painting test shows through

The wet paper went over the form very well, and didn't need any glue or Mod Podge to stick. I wanted to put a coat of Mod Podge over the paper, but needed to wait until the paper dried. After it dried, some of the paper peeled up a bit, so the Mod Podge was necessary as well as decorative. Now I'll start the painting process and finish with another coat of Mod Podge to seal it.

Chevron Cowl

I picked up several skeins of DK yarn in various places, and strangely, they are all blue! Or maybe that's not really so strange...

They range from 140 yards to 230 yards, so I was looking for some one-skein patterns to show off the yarns. After looking at some hat and cowl patterns, and chevron patterns, I found Zig from The Neighborhood Yarn Co. It used almost exactly the same number of yards as 3 skeins I had of DK weight yarn in similar textures. I had two other yarns, but their textures (twist, etc.) were not a good match.

The yarns:

• A = 2 Guys Yarn Company MCN DK (merino, cashmere, nylon) - 230 yards in Across the Bay
• B = Polka Dot Sheep Stumptown DK (100% merino) - 231 yards in Nightfall
• C = Swans Island Organic Washable DK (100% merino) - 140 yards in Verdigris

The pattern calls for 5 colors of Neighborhood Yarn Co. Studio DK (275 yards) which must mean that you could make two cowls with the yarn...

The stitch pattern in the cowl alternates between stockinette stitch and garter stitch, sometimes one of each in the same color...so I came up with this recipe:
A: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
C: 20 rows GC
B: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
A: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
C: 20 rows StC
B: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
A: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
C: 20 rows GC
B: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
A: 20 rows StC, then 20 rows GC
C: 20 rows StC
B: 20 rows GC, then 20 rows StC
:
continued until the cowl is approximately 49" long.

Chevrons

I always seem to have problems with chevrons...First, I made the Lila Cowl with the lovely cashmere collection from Pepperberry Knits. I loved the color selection for this cowl and the pattern - but it was the packaging that sold me.

8 colors on a binder ring with the pattern

I followed the directions, but found I needed to knit 5 stitches between increases and decreases. It all worked out in the end.

Now, I've started the Zig Cowl using a selection of DK yarns from Stitches West 2015 and my trip to Mendocino last year. While I still needed to use a provisional cast on and I'll need to kitchener at the end, this is a flat cowl. I ran into trouble because knitting 12 stitches between the decreases didn't work out...if I stick with the 72 stitches I cast on (and I will because what a pain to change that!), I need to change 12 to 10. Now I'm making some headway.

* I see on the Ravelry page for the Zig pattern that they have corrected it to cast on 82 stitches. But I feel that 72 stitches is wide enough.

Mannequin Head

For some reason, I got the idea that I need a model for my knit hat photos. I took a look on Pinterest, and decided to customize a styrofoam head. I'm sure I could find one locally, perhaps even at Michaels, but I ordered one from Amazon along with some other things. Issue: Although the head was packed with air cushions, the nose got flattened a bit. This is okay because I was going to cover it with paper for a better paint surface so I'll build the nose up again.

Here's the original (scary) head:

Here's the head with it's newspaper coating:

 Here's the head with some features to check for size and positioning:

I plan on putting a coat of gesso over the newspaper, so the features will get covered up again. I think the eyes might need to be a bit smaller. I'll also need to figure out the hairline. Should I add some texture for the hair? Should I add the suggestion of ears?

Bottle Glasses

I've been toying with the idea of making drinking glasses from wine bottles for awhile. I saw a tool at MakerFaire two years ago that would make it easier to make them, and got it as a gift last year. And I've been collecting wine bottles (and friends have, too) so maybe the time has come.

Ephrem's Bottle Cutter

On a trip to Summerwood Winery in Paso Robles, I got to see a few of these tumblers up close. Some had flat bottoms, some had punts. Both were very nice - although I suspect they used some kind of flame to finish the drinking edge.

Refresh Glasses

I'll do some research to determine whether to use Bordeaux or Burgundy bottles and how much of the bottle to use. The Refresh site provides some clues as to the sizes. The Bordeaux is nice and straight up to the shoulders:

But I don't know if the Burgundy really has any less usable height:

I guess I'll just have to measure the height and circumference.

Green & Gold - Further Adventures in Planned Pooling

So, I've started another scarf - this time in the Oakland A's colors. I wanted to make a slightly wider and shorter scarf than the last one, so I experimented with more than 50 stitches. I thought I might be able to force vertical stripes, so I started in the middle of a green section with 52 stitches.

But instead I got what the pooling planner predicted I would get if I started at the beginning of a yellow section. The good news is that the pattern is remarkable uniform.

 

Pooling Update

Well, I wasn't happy with the way the pattern was going, so I measured the color runs on the second skein and tried again. Here's the Planned Pooling calculation for that skein:

So I cast on and started knitting:

I liked that much better, so I did more calculations on the first skein, and found that 46 stitches worked well with it, too, so I'll start over again.

As I'm going along, the pattern is changing because the color segments aren't equal throughout each skein. But I'm hoping that the variation will just add interest to the finished scarf. Otherwise, I'll have to change the project entirely. Hitchhiker and Trillian are two options, especially since there are good examples of what the sports teams colors look like in those patterns.

It's not as easy as it looks...

Well, the pooling/patterning is getting out of control again. The segments of color aren't exactly 54/47 stitches, and it was okay for awhile but now it looks weird to me. Do I keep going? Or should I try it again with the second skein?

It seems like the color segments don't stay the same length throughout the skein, and now they are about equal. That makes the piece stripe one row each color. Argh!

Getting Your Pooling to Behave

It’s all about where you start. On my first attempt, I cast on at the start of the orange and it didn’t create the pattern I expected. But I used this first try to determine the number of stitches in a black section (47) and the number of stitches in an orange section (54).

48 stitches on US 4 needles, cast on at beginning of orange

I used plannedpooling.com to figure out the right number of stitches to cast on but you have to start knitting where the colors begin. If you’re off by even a little bit, the pooling won’t work. Then I used a long tail cast on to ensure I would start knitting at the beginning of a black section.

1. Determine the number of stitches in each color section.
2. Use a long-tail cast on to ensure you start in the right place.
3. Use plannedpooling.com to play around with the possibilities.

48 stitches on US 5, long tail cast on to beginning of black

 Some of the difference can be attributed to changing the needle size, but it's mostly about whether you start the cast on at the beginning of a color or whether you start knitting at the beginning of a color.

And another project is wrapping up...

I started this cowl on February 13th and worked on it pretty steadily. It went quickly since it's just simple stockinette in the round. Two rows of the solid gray, then two rows of the ombre - repeat these four rows until nearly all the ombre is gone. One last row of ombre and then graft. Okay, yes, I still need to graft the ends together...but that's 84 stitches in the round.

How long does it take to block a project?

Well, it's finally complete! Blocking really helped make each section more uniform. I pleased with the way it turned out, but I wish it was a bit longer.

Frost Flower Scarf

This scarf is supposed to be a gift for a friend who is wool-sensitive. Rowan's linen/silk blend Silkystones is beautiful and wool-free. The great thing about this pattern is that is doesn't require grafting to halves together; the lace pattern looks the same at both ends!

Stitches West 2015

This year I could only go for one day, and only on the last day. Once again, Sunday is a quiet day at the show. I think they have the big drawing just to get people in the door. I started at the back of the show because that's where the newer vendors end up and I find them to be the most interesting.

Absent this year: Brooks Farm for the second year and Jordana Paige. Popular newcomer: Toth - the booth was very picked over; they did have some classy pattern support - classic designs that show off the simple beauty of their yarn.

Most vendors were dyers with yarn. It seemed smaller this year...or about the same size as last year. I wonder what the future will bring. Where are people getting their yarn? Where are people learning about new vendors? Ravelry? Facebook? Pinterest? Instagram? How can find out?

Anyway, I picked up some yarn from new-to-me producers, probably more than I should have. And for some reason this year my color selections were dark and muted. I guess I wasn't shopping for the girly teens .And no "sweater" quantities.

From left to right, top to bottom: Dragonfly Fibers Squishy Lace, Pepperberry Knits Mini Skein Fun Size Bundle Sport, 2 Guys Yarn Company MCN DK, Polka Dot Sheep Stumptown DK, Black Wolf Ranch Alpaca Blend with Angeline, Indigodragonfly Wingenhooven.

The Three-Color Cowl

Well, I didn't end up using all of Bird's Egg and Egret. I have about 10g of each leftover.

Section 1 in Egret using the grill stitch does curl along the edges because of the alternating knit and purl rows. This section is also the softest...maybe because Egret is not dyed?

Section 2 in Bird's Egg and Egret does not curl, and so it is my favorite section. It lies nice and flat because it is all knit. I did make a mistake, but didn't go back to fix it so it will just add some character.

Section 3 in all three colors doesn't curl exactly...it pulls a bit on the diagonal and the edges are wavy. I'm hoping that blocking with straighten it all out. This is the most nubbly of the stitch patterns.

Next up, vigorous blocking! Wet and steam to work out the kinks, then I'll sew the short edges together to make it into a loop. Let's see it's 3x18" long...that's...54"? Right? That should be long enough to twist once into two loops.

Pictures coming soon!

The Story of a Cowl

Once upon a time, I saw a cowl from Purl Soho. It combined 3 colors of a worsted weight yarn in three different stitch patterns. I really wanted to make this pattern, and spend several months looking for just the right yarn to make it.

On vacation in Pacific Grove, I found Quince Chickadee and really loved the colors and texture of it. Although Chickadee is a sport weight yarn, I figured I'd give it a try and the cowl would just be a little smaller. I selected Egret (white), Bird's Egg (blue), and Nasturtium (orange).

Then I read the pattern...the stitch patterns involve knitting stitches from the row below, which I have not done before. And taking a closer look at the stitch patterns, I didn't really like them. So what could I do? Find three slip stitch patterns that work with each other and with one, two, and three yarns.

Actually, it wasn't that difficult. The first is the Simple Grill Stitch. Usually, this is in two colors, but I decided that this would be the one I would use for the single color because it has a lot of texture. It is worked over a repeat of 3 stitches plus 3. Every third stitch is slipped and the wrong side is purled.

Using Egret, I cast on 51 stitches and started. Chickadee works up very soft and shows off the stitch definition beautifully. I used one full skein of yarn for the first section. I was hoping it would be 20" but it is about 18" long by 8". Things I would do differently: I would work through a row 2 instead of row 4, but it's not tragic.

The second section is a two-color slip stitch pattern that uses a repeat of 4 stitches plus 3. It is very similar to the grill stitch, but is knit stitch only and the slipped stitch is every 4th stitch (which also works on 51 stitches). So the second section is worked with Egret and Bird's Egg. This is when I discovered that the first section curls, but the second section lies nice and flat! I worked this section for 18".

The third section is a three-color slip stitch pattern called "Triple L Tweed." I found it on the Purl Soho site where it is used for linen dishtowels. As you slip stitches in the three colors, each color makes a little "L" shape. This stitch pattern is worked over a repeat of 3 stitches plus 1, so I'm incorporating the extra two stitches as selvedge stitches, one on each side. Working with three colors is slowing me down a little bit, but every row is knit and the wrong side is worked the same as the right side (just slipping the stitches to the front instead of the back).