Aspen blanket: ta-da!

November 12, 2016 by 12 Comments

First I want to say a brief thank you to everyone across the world who commented on my last post.  I no longer feel so alone and afraid and have been brainstorming about things I can do to make a difference.  Your support and kindness are so much appreciated.

In knitting news, I finally finished my Aspen blanket and I LOVE it!  I started it in January but due to a yarn shortage I had to put it on hold for a while, but I got it back out a couple of weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed finishing it.

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It’s a great size and is nice and stretchy (which also makes it hard to take a good measurement).  I do kind of wish I’d just made up a similar pattern on my own because to me it turned out to be a very simple pattern for $6, but oh well.

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I used 24 skeins (2520 yds) of Garnstudio DROPS Andes (super bulky, 65% wool, 35% alpaca) in 0100 Ecru.  The pattern actually calls for 2 strands of bulky weight held together but 2 strands of the super bulky held together was fine.  Actually, even with the recommended needle size (US 50/25 mm) it still looked pretty loose, so I went down 2 needle sizes to US 19 (15 mm) and added 2 pattern repeats to make up for the change, and I like it much better.  I used the long-tail cast-on & Elizabeth Zimmerman’s sewn bind-off to keep things nice and elastic, and I slipped the first stitch of each row purl-wise to make a neater edge.

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One thing I really love about my blanket is that there are no knots in the entire thing.  I used the spit-splicing method to join new balls of yarn so that there wouldn’t be messy sections of sewn in ends.  Basically you just cut a couple of inches off of half of the plies (in my case, 1 ply, since the yarn itself was just 2 ply) on both the tail end of the current ball and the beginning of the new one you’re joining.  Then you dampen the ends with spit, wind the plies together, and rub it quickly between your hands or on a sturdy fabric.  It sounds gross (and kind of tastes gross and fuzzy), but there’s something about spit that works better than just plain water.  Essentially you’re felting the ends together (making an undetectable but very strong join), meaning that this method only works with yarn that has a high content of animal fiber.  Because it’s feltable, though, it has to be laid out to dry after washing, which will be fun (I have no idea where I will do that).  It will also be heavy, and it’s heavy already without being wet!

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All in all I’m very happy with this plush, toasty blanket!  I just have to be careful not to leave it lying around when I’m not using it, or the dog will likely lay on it and snag the yarn with her claws.  Maybe felting it in the wash just a little teensy bit might not be a bad idea.

Also, I got a haircut yesterday.  This week has been so terrible (on top of the election, I also immediately got sick afterward, and I was so despondent that I’m not sure the two aren’t unrelated), so I figured I’d pamper myself just a tad.  I love it.

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OK, that’s all for today.  Thanks for stopping by everyone, see you soon!

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No.

November 9, 2016 by 49 Comments

I’m ashamed of my home state, my current state of residence, and the electoral college representatives as well as about half of this country.

My husband says I may be overreacting to the results, but I am very scared for so many reasons it’s ludicrous, and I think as a woman I might just have cause to overreact in fear and anger.

This is the only place I feel safe talking about this even a little bit — facebook is a disaster and I don’t want to divide myself from friends and family even if we do have different views.  Here I hope you’ll forgive me for having this convo but I’ve got to get out at least the basics.  This is not a place for details because this is not a political blog and I don’t want a huge nasty argument because there’s no point now.

So the basics: I’m offended (and no, not just because I’m a millenial), I’m hurt, I’m scared for myself in many ways, I’m scared for the kids Chris and I want to have some day, and I’m scared for other women and people of color and people with disabilities.

I can sit here and not do anything and try to ride it out and hope that things get better in 4 or 8 years, but when does that attitude help anything?  Action makes change.  This is my second small action (my first was voting, in the primaries and yesterday’s election), just expressing myself a little bit.  I want to take more actions and maybe I will, but that will not be documented here.

I want my readers, especially the ones overseas, to understand that I do not support what has happened.  I do not want to argue with anyone, it wouldn’t do any good on either end.  I just want to say how I feel because how I feel matters.  I matter.  No matter what other people say.  And I will fight to make sure that other people understand that my voice matters.

OK, that’s all I can handle, thanks for stopping by.  Back to our regularly scheduled happy crafting.

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November WIPs

November 8, 2016 by 7 Comments

On this very scary Election Day I’ve GOT to focus on something else until the polls close.  Enter ALL THE WIPS!  (Actually, I’m just going to talk about 2 of the 10 I’ve got laying around.)

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This is my version of the Aerie cowl that I posted about (that post has since been removed since I was using their photo to ask your opinion on what stitches were used).  I figured out what the stitches are thanks to everyone here and on Instagram.

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I didn’t have a single ply chunky yarn like the original but I had a single ply worsted yarn so I just used that (KnitPicks Preciosa Tonal Worsted in colorway Stormy — 100% merino).  Since this test run is turning out nicely I’ll probably get a chunky yarn and write up a pattern for it, but let me ask you a question…

Is it OK for me to write up a pattern & distribute it?  I figured out the stitch pattern through reverse engineering almost exactly (it may even be exact), but of course there’s not a pattern already available for it, nor will there be.  The way I started and will end my project are slightly different than the original, but is that enough for me to be able to ethically distribute a pattern for what’s basically a copy of a large clothing chain’s item?  Please let me know what you think — I don’t know what to do!

I’m also working on my Aspen blanket again (fondly dubbed “the blanket everyone wants” due to the current popularity of chunky cable knit throws).  It took forever but I was finally able to get the rest of the yarn I needed and bring it out of hibernation.  It’s great to work on now that it’s cooling off some.

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That was a few days ago, actually, so I’m farther than that — I only have 2 balls of yarn left to attach to the ends of the 2 balls I’m working with now.  Because I’m using the spit-splicing method (yes, it’s what it sounds like) I’ll only have the beginning and end tails to weave in, which is REALLY nice, and no giant knots in the blanket, which is also REALLY nice.

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Hopefully I’ll have it completed by the end of the week because like I said in my last post on my recently finished projects I still have about 5 Christmas presents to make, and it also just feels great to get projects done, doesn’t it?

OK, I’m off to work on those things to distract myself.  Maybe I’ll watch some nice whimsical anime movies while I work, or binge watch a TV show.  Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

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hats & the arlequin shawl: ta-da!

November 7, 2016 by 9 Comments

I know I’ve been slack about posting lately, but I haven’t been slack with my crafting!  Admittedly it’s tapered off from my hat-every-other-day rate and I still have at least 5 Christmas gifts to make, but whatever.  I want to share with you my completed Arlequin Shawl!

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So first, I want to talk up this pattern.  Not only is it free, it’s easy to memorize but not too boring.  The asymmetrical shape was off-putting to me at first but it’s actually kind of fun to play with.

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Now I have to talk up this yarn.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  I’ve never worked with a fingering/sock weight yarn this soft before.  It’s Lily Neige Single Fingering Alpaga & Soie (alpaca & silk) in colorway Bonbon Harlequin.  This is the same colorway that the pattern calls for only I got the variegated version instead of the long gradient, and it is SO GORGEOUS.  It’s hard to capture just how pretty this yarn is worked up in the garter & stockinette stitches.  Oh and did I mention zero knots?

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I used 1.95 skeins (about 907 yds) and the wingspan was over 8′ during blocking.  I’m glad I made it slightly larger than recommended; it’s a good size for me and it’s actually pretty warm!  The drape is really nice too.  I can’t say how happy I am with this.  I’d definitely recommend the pattern & the yarn!

I also made myself a Sockhead Slouch hat; I felt out of the loop because it seems like everyone has made one of these!  I used exactly half a skein of Julie Asselin Fino (75% merino, 15% cashmere, 10% silk) — which is great because I definitely have enough yarn leftover for another hat — in the limited edition colorway Gina’s Dance Off.

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I LOVE this colorway.  The specked yarn trend is awesome, and this colorway really reminds me of the gorgeous yarns from We Love Knitting (only I didn’t have to pay crazy shipping prices).

The hat itself is a good fit, which I was really pleased with.  I didn’t have the required needle sizes at the time so I made this with US sizes 3 & 5, casting on 128 with the smaller needles & using them throughout the ribbing, then switching to the larger ones.  I was a little worried the size would be off but it’s a comfy fit!  It IS really slouchy but the brim can be rolled double or just once really far if I want to wear it as a regular beanie.  Best part of all, it matches my favorite comfy plaid shirt.

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Finally, here’s some crochet.  We were told we HAD to dress up for Halloween for work; I thought about doing something snarky, like writing in Sharpie on a white shirt “404: costume can not be found” or “Costume loading: approximately 8 hours remaining” (that last one was Dad’s idea).  In the end though I thought it might be best to actually put some effort into it so as not to antagonize my boss, but I didn’t have money to buy anything fancy, so what did I do?  Why, crocheted a cat hat, of course!

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I just used a little over 1 skein of Bernat Softee Chunky Solids in black from my local JoAnn’s along with this free Black Cat Slouch Hat pattern.  I didn’t make it a slouch — I did start with the 11″ foundation row as suggested but I didn’t add the border.  I think it looks good; the edge is neat & I like the beanie fit.  This was easy to make & worked up really quickly.  I added a handbell necklace (from my Dad) and attempted wing liner for a cat eye (and for my first try I think I did pretty well) and just wore black clothes.  I actually really love that sweater — it’s oversized & has cables & a silver thread running throughout, and I got it for free from the donations bin there at work (I don’t think it would fit any of the clients).  Actually that’s where I got that mint plaid shirt, too, funnily enough.

And I’ve also made 1 more Ribbed Waffle Hat (my 6th one) as a Christmas gift (yarn: KnitPicks Brava worsted in Fig):

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I really do love these — they’re easy, fast, and they’re stretchy enough to fit everyone comfortably.  Perfect gift, really.

I do have some WIPs that I’m really excited about but this post is already super long so I’ll save them for another time!  If you follow me on Instagram you’ve gotten peeks already!

Thanks so much for stopping by, see you soon!

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it’s our 1st wedding anniversary!

October 17, 2016 by 11 Comments

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Can’t believe it’s already been a year!  Seems like the time’s flown by.  At the same time it also feels like we’ve been married forever.  Weird.

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I also loved that Izumi wrap I made, but I haven’t worn it since!  It’s staying safe and folded in a box, even though it would make a great scarf!

If all goes as planned I’m taking my husband out to eat at our favorite restaurant tonight and I’ve got some paper stuff I’ve made for him as well.  I’m excited!

Well that’s all for now.  Thanks for stopping by!  Back to our regularly scheduled program next time!

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