One-Armed Baby Cardigan

Or perhaps, more accurately, single-sleeved cardigan for baby. Wouldn't want to confuse.

The thing I don't like about cardigans is the planning of the button placement and the corresponding buttonholes. How many buttons does it need, and how far apart?

I solved the problem a little bit differently this time. I worked an eyelet edging around the bottom, the cuff of the sleeve, the collar and most importantly, along the fronts. As a result, there are buttonholes wherever you need them...

The garment is proving very hard to photograph, but as soon as I can get the eyelet to show up in a photo, I'll post that. In the meantime, if you click to enlarge the photo you can sort of see it...

Kicking It Old School

I'm working on a new design... a baby sweater worked in sock yarn. Because when you've got a stash this big, it's good to do something other than socks with it. This is actually a design commission, from the ladies at the Purple Purl.

Here's the old school bit: I'm using straight, metal needles. Aero needles in the red slip case, in case you're wondering.

I don't often have to buy specific needles for a project, and when I started into this, it never occurred to me that I didn't have the right size... I have 3mm bamboo dpns, but the only straight ones I could find were these, hiding in the dusty back corner of my needle closet. They must be 15 years old, at least.

I use bamboo needles most of the time these days -- with the exception of some lace work -- and I always use circulars for flat knitting -- as a travelling knitter, and an incorrigible KIP-er (knitting in public), they're so much more convenient.

But here I was, forced back to straights. And metal ones at that. And you know, they're good. I'm enjoying it. Although they are significantly less convenient for streetcar and subway knitting -- they don't fit into my bag, and I poked my seatmate more than a few times. But the point is good, and they're slightly slippery, so the yarn moves very nicely along them.

It's been good to remind myself that although we've come far with needle technology, there really is still value in the old classics.

The yarn is Tofutsies, and it feels truly great... although there's all sorts of stuff in the blend (wool, cotton, SoySilk(TM) and chitin, which is a by-product of shrimp and crab processing... yes, really, it's antibacterial), it feels like nothing more than a really nice, soft cotton. A cotton with some good elasticity and flexibility, and a nice drape. It's exactly the right texture for working on these not-too-slippery metal needles.

The pattern stitch isn't showing very well in the photos, but the cardigan has a lacy edging, around the bottom, around the fronts, and around the cuffs. And it will need only a single ball.

Stay tuned for details on the pattern!

All this talk of the Torch...

...I'm starting to think about this year's Olympic project.

To refresh your memory, the idea behind Olympic knitting is that it is to be a personal challenge.

The rules are simple: cast on during the opening ceremonies, and finish no later than the closing ceremonies. The Yarn Harlot's original idea was simple: if you're going to spend that much time on the couch watching people challenging themselves, your knitting may as well be in keeping with that spirit of a challenge.

Here's the recap of my 2006 Winter Olympics Knitting:
My Project Decision
Getting Ready
Day 1: A Weak Start
Day 2: Getting Going
Day 3: Good Progress
Day 4: Pride and Fall
Day 5: Onto the Difficult Bit
Day 6: Moving Right Along
NewsFlash
Day 7: Double Argh
Day 8: Back on Track
Day 9: The Home Stretch
Day 10: Finished!
Post-Game Analysis
Gold Medal

What to do this year? It's easy.

Steeked fair isle.

In my sock classes I always talk about how some knitters have such a strong preference for working in the round that they work cardigans in the round and then CUT THEM! That is, work a steek. I'm invariably asked if I've done it, and I have to say no. Therefore, it's time to steek.

The other thing about steeking is that it's done most often in the cause of Fair Isle colourwork. Which is something I do very very rarely also.

So it's a steeked Fair Isle project, no question.

I'll be honest about my 2006 project: it was too easy. I finished very early. I might need to take on something bigger this time around.

I did a quick Google for steeked fair isle and landed on this: Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest. I do love a good vest, and it looks like something I might actually wear....

Have also considered an actual Norwegian pattern -- Lopi or Bohus or something. What I have to consider is whether I'm going to have much teaching and other work knitting going on during that time. I'm usually working on both personal projects and assignment projects - for books, for store samples, for pattern samples -- at the same time, and that seriously cuts into the time I have available for knitting for my sake. So perhaps a smaller (i.e.) sleeveless project is more sensible.

More to come...

FO: The Jane Crossover Sweater/Stupid Knitter Tricks

Voila! The Jane Crossover Sweater.

I'm very pleased with it. I love the unusual construction -- worked in one piece, starting at the side of the back. The back is worked sideways, and the fronts and sleeves are just extensions from the back.

Of course, not being content to work something as is, I had to mess with it a bit. Definitely easier with a provisional cast-on. And I worked the sleeves in the round so that no sewing at all was necessary.

The Handmaiden and Fleece Artist designs frustrate me a bit. I've written about this before -- the designs are great, and their yarns are lovely, no question. And Perl Grey in particular thinks about garment construction in interesting ways -- simple twists on the traditional creates great new ideas.

But I really really really wish they'd hire a technical editor. The instructions are at best not very well written, and at worst mistake-ridden. No mistakes in this one, but it's not wildly clear in some places, and the construction could definitely be improved. Even if you leave the sleeves flat, a provisional cast-on would eliminate a lot of frustration.

That having been said, I will continue to recommend it as a good beginner project, but there's minimal shaping and minimal finishing, and it's actually pretty quick work.

I love the sleeve finishing -- a single round of purl and a cast-off both worked with a double strand of yarn. It makes a nice, non-curling edge, but it's not dominant visually so it doesn't break the simplicity.

It's also a good demonstration of how a yarn can make or break a project. The variable texture and slight variegation of the yarn elevates a simple shape to something much more interesting.

The other amusing thing about this is that as soon as the sleeves were done it became actually wearable - a sorta shruggy thing. I often knit through a class, but this week I taught a class actually wearing the sweater while working on it. Like so...

Stupid knitter trick of the week.

Is It Dangerous?

A good chuckle the other day....

A., who is a great knitter and lovely person, attended a Cables class I taught recently. She told me that she was talking to the 7 year old daughter of a neighbour about the class... It's a knitting class, she explained.

"But you already know how to knit," says the perceptive 7 year old.

"But this is different! It's knitting cables."

"Cables? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Dangerous how?"

"Well, it's electrical."

Another Noro Sock: The Tulip Sock

I'm proud of this one, if I do say so myself.


Although it's tough to photograph well... the nice scalloped top isn't showing very well.

The stitch pattern is a variation on Dragon Skin from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury. Because the yardage of the Noro Kureyon Sock is so terrific, you will easily get a matching pair -- both pink at the top -- from one ball. It was serendipitous -- my ball was wound to start with the pink, and I think it looks like a fabulous spring blossom.

Pattern will be for sale at The Naked Sheep and The Purple Purl starting tomorrow. Suitable for sock knitters with some experience.

Notes on a Sock Yarn

Thoughts and observations as I've been working with the Noro Kureyon sock yarn.

1. The colours are truly wonderful - no surprise there.

2. Each section of colour goes on longer than I'd expected. I've worked two socks with two different stitch counts and two different st patterns, and in neither case did I work a full repeat of the colour change.

3. There's less in the way of organic matter (i.e. bits of twig, hay) in the yarn than there is in the original Kureyon. There is a little, but not much.

4. Like the original Kureyon, the thickness of the yarn varies as you work with it.

5. It's heavier in gauge than many sock yarns I've worked with.

6. But because of the varied thickness of the yarn, it needs a smaller needle than I would normally use. I'm trying 2mm (US 0) or 2.25mm (US 1) instead of my usual 2.5mm.

7. The yardage is great. I'm betting there's three socks in a ball.

8. The hand is rougher than many sock yarns -- but again, I'm not particularly worried about this one. I think it's a bit of a red herring, to be honest.

9. This is absolutely a "pull from the outside" ball. The yarn is very sticky and tangly, and god help those who insist on pulling from the inside of the ball.

10. The manufacturer instruction to handwash worries me a little bit, but not too much. I often handwash my delicates, so it's not a huge hardship to throw some socks in. That having been said, it means that it's not the best all-purpose sock yarn out there.

11. On the question of wear: hmmm.... I will monitor my own socks, and the results of others, very carefully. The nylon is a help, no question, but it is a single ply. The big burning question is how well will it actually wear?

No Words

It's as beautiful as I imagined.

"Ooh, that's very rough"

I've been taking the Noro sock project(s) with me everywhere. Lots of KIPing ("knitting in public").

It's prompting some great reactions -- "lovely colours", of course. "Interesting project", of course.

But it's amazing how many people are telling me that they feel that the yarn is too rough.

Too rough?

I think I've said this before, but holy cow, how delicate are your feet? (These comments do not apply to diabetics.) Seriously -- the insides of shoes are a lot harder on your feet than a pair of socks.

That having been said, it is rougher to hand than a lot of sock yarn, and I'm going to be very interested in how it washes and wears. Initial reports are reasonably positive, and I've heard that people are successfully washing the yarn both by hand and machine.

More to come as the project proceeds.

Noro Socks! Eeee!

Eeee!

A plain and simple sock in colour #185. Cannot WAIT to get to the orange. I decided to work the heel from the centre of the ball, so that the flow of the colouring didn't break at the ankle. Depending on how the colouring looks by the time I get to the toe, I may or may not change it up there, too.
(I'm using my own sock recipe, on 56 sts, with k2 p2 ribbing at the cuff. The gauge is marginally heavier than the usual for sock yarn, so I might even go down 2 or 4 sts next time.)

The stretches of colour are longer than I expected, but I like it. It means that the two of the pair could be radically different. Having lots of fun with it so far.

This is colour #95. I'm playing with stitch patterns on this one, to take advantage of the lovely, lovely colours. It's tulip-y. Stay tuned. This pattern will be available for sale.

The knitting is going slowly as it takes more attention, and I've had more phone and car (and therefore easy knitting) time than I have focused sit 'n' knit time.

I anticipate having more focused time over the next few days, so I'm looking forward to making some serious progress.

That Design Project I Needed to Finish Up: Coffee Morning Shawl

A month or two ago, Lorena at the Sheep told me about a very interesting new yarn she's carrying... Rosario's Sole Latte. It's made of milk fibre. (Seems to be entirely lactose free, for those that worry about that sort of thing... ;-))

I played with it for a while, swatched, blocked, tried it on different size needles, worked a few different stitch patterns, and I was very pleasantly surprised with the results.

It holds a block very well, and the variegation is enough to add visual interest to a lace pattern without overwhelming it.

The idea for the Coffee Morning Shawl was born. I chose a stitch pattern that reminded me of a coffee bean....


And I knew I wanted something not too overwhelming in size, something that wouldn't dangle in my coffee cup. I decided to think differently about the shape. I've remarked on this before, but I'm not very tall. I do like a good triangle shawl, but they're often big and unwieldy on me.

I noodled on a semi-circular concept, but then ended up with a square. An open square.


It wears like a "proper" triangle shawl at the back, coming to a nice point


but not so long that it overwhelms me.

And then because of the shape, you get good drape around the shoulders and the front, but it's not too long.


And it wraps nicely, too.

Pattern available on Patternfish and Ravelry.

It's HEEEEEEEEEERE!

Noro Sock Yarn is in the country. Two confirmed sightings so far.

Dear God I have to focus and finish up my design project so I can reward myself with an orgy of sock knitting.

I'm fooling myself if I don't think I'm going to indulge in some serious stashing.

FO: Feeling Kerchief

This is the one-skein luxury kerchief design worked in a lovely, springy shade of green Needful Feeling. The yarn is delicious -- a wool/silk/cashmere blend.

I had a single ball of it in my stash -- it was left over from a swatching exercise for some technical editing I'm doing -- and I couldn't let it go to waste. It's about 140m of a DK weight, and I get a scarf about 130 cm/50 ins wide and 30 cm/12 ins long after a light blocking. (Where "light blocking" means handwash in the sink, roll out in a towel, stretch it out a bit and leave it to dry overnight draped casually over the railing above the stairs.)

The idea behind the design -- other than making the most of a luxurious and perhaps budget-busting yarn -- was a light scarf to go with spring coats. Because we're lying to ourselves here in Canada if we think we won't need to wear scarves for a while longer.

It was also, frankly, a nice break from a lot of the other knitting I'm doing. I'm doing stuff for a book, and for some technical editing, and working on a design of my own, and I needed a change.

A quickie one-skein project was just the thing I needed. Far be it from me to complain about knitting as work, but sometimes it's hard to stay focused on a project that you're not really enjoying knitting. I just finished up something that's great, that turned out really well, but I wasn't a fan of the yarn colour that had been chosen, and that was a surprising barrier for me.

Hence a cheerful green scarf that I'll likely never wear -- but hey, I didn't pay for the yarn and it's not like it was hours and hours of work.

Just 20 Million More Stitches....

A commenter recently posted a link to this lovely cartoon...

Oh, we've all been there. When a project gets boring, or when you're knitting to a deadline, you start doing the math. I look at the clock on the DVD player/TV box and start figuring out how many minutes it takes me to knit a row/round. And then I start estimating how many rows/rounds I have left. And how many hours of knitting it will be.

That way lies madness.

If we really thought about the time it takes to knit something, we'd be horrified. 8 hours a sock?! That's just ONE sock.

I like to measure my projects not in stitches or minutes (or hours... or days...) but rather in episodes of TV. The heel turn, gusset pickup and decrease of my latest sock took two episodes of Torchwood last night (longer than usual, but I realized that my pair wasn't matching, and since they're to be photographed professionally, it actually mattered). Plus, it's entirely possible I might have been a bit distracted. Captain Jack Harkness, anyone?

Rogue, for example, took about three quarters of a season of Buffy.

Fall Trends: Knitwear still rules!

I had the privilege of attending a Canadian Fashion Week event last night, thanks to my friend L.

It's a lot of fun -- and not just because of the free Orangina and nail polish (colour #580, "Stroke of Midnight"). I got to see what's going to be gracing the store shelves come September/October this year. I'm very pleased to report that there was lots of great knitwear. And interesting stuff, too. Yes, the eternal black turtleneck, but also more knitted dresses and some really great capey sorts of things.

I liked very much the chunky knit dress in a great, traditional aran colour with a single, bold cable. I was also very impressed with what they called a "sweater cape". Imagine a big, loose, long cardigan without sleeves, with cape-style slits for your arms. I am thinking about a design already...

Semi-decent pic of the cable knit dress.
(Still looking for a pic of the sweater cape thingy.)

As I Was Saying

Really. Only sock yarn.

LK got in a new shipment of Socks that Rock, and I found myself buying two more skeins... (No alcohol involved this time, though.) Mr. Green Jeans and Grawk. Mr. Green Jeans must be a new colourway, as I can't find it on the Blue Moon site. I do love the "almost black" colourways they've done -- I've got both Grawk and Thraven in the stash now. I want to do a pair of my Basic Ribbed Socks in black, I think they'll be terrific but also subtle and very wearable.

And I've got an order in for 2 balls of the Noro Kureyon sock yarn at PP. Colours 164 and 185, if you must know.

My excuse is that I'm doing so many design samples at the moment that it's hard to take on a big project for myself. And socks are the perfect mindless rest-knitting I need. Yeah, that's it. THAT'S the reason.

Hello. My name is Kate and I love sock yarn.

Reader Mail: Another Question about Sock Knitting, A Question About Silk

Nikki asks about where to start with sock knitting. I will indulge in a bit of shameless self-promotion, and point to my "Socks 101" article on Knitty.

The article guides you through creating a mini "training sock" that teaches you all the skills you need, and then helps you create your own custom-fit basic sock pattern.

Marilyn asks about using silk for shawls. Silk is terrific for lace, it blocks very very well. I've had great success with both refined, smooth silk yarns, and rougher silk yarns. Some of the blends are just fabulous. The Feeling I mention has a relatively small silk content, and really just feels and behaves like the nicest softest wool in the world. I am a big fan of Fleece Artist's Sea Silk, I used it for my Swallowtail Shawl. I can't find that specific yarn listed on their site at the moment, but they have many other silk and silk blend yarns.

For more details on the properties of silk, take at look at Amy Singer's No Sheep for You book.

To Patti, Who Asked About Sock Knitting

Patti posted a comment to my Basic Ribbed sock pattern, and asked an important question.

She mentioned she'd didn't like the fabric she'd produced working with standard sock yarn on US size 3 needles. She said it was too loose and not stretchy.

Your yarn choice is good, it's actually the needles I'd change. Try much smaller needles -- 2.5mm (no US size equivalent), 2.25mm (US size 1) or even 2mm (US size 0).

She mentions that WoolEase sportweight works well on US size 3 -- yes, absolutely, it's heavier than standard sock yarn. Paton's Kroy is a terrific choice -- try it again, but use smaller needles.

You need to go small with sock needles, because you need a good, dense fabric that will stretch and bounce back, and will wear well. I always err on the smaller side of the recommended needles for a sock yarn, and for a yarn that's not specifically designed for socks -- the WoolEase being a good example -- I go down a couple from even the smallest recommended.

On Stashing

In general, I'm not much of a stasher. For me, a project is as much about the design as it is about the yarn, and so I can usually resist the urge to fall in love with yarn on its own. It may look nice, but unless I know what it's for, I can't make a decision about whether it's exactly perfect or not.

This attitude has saved me on a number of occasions -- saved my bank account, that is. I do stash patterns, about which I refuse to feel guilty. They take up much less storage space, cost less, and I can consider them research -- ooh hey, look, an interesting sleeve shaping!

Sometimes, what happens is that I fall in love with a yarn and then immediately have to go out and find or create a pattern to use for it. And I like to start working it quickly, as otherwise I fear I'll lose or forget about the yarn.

Over the years, this has done me well to help me manage both money and storage space.

I do have a massive blind spot, however. An exception to the stash rule.

Sock yarn.

It's cheap, you see, and it doesn't take up a lot of storage room, and I'm always knitting socks....

There's a dangerous strip of stores on Queen West, near Palmerston. Second Cup coffee shop, Comrags, my favourite dress shop, Romni wools, my hairdresser, and a truly excellent vintage shop, Cabaret. I can't get a haircut without spending at least the same again at one of the other stores.

This time, I got away pretty lightly -- only a couple of balls of sock yarn from the bargain basement of wonders at Romni. How on earth could I resist this wonder -- on sale and everything?


Part of the Regia Nation Colours line. The staff in the shop said that it's not selling because no-one likes this colour combo. Except me! For someone who rarely wears one colour, let alone two, I do have a soft spot for insane sock yarn.

Without further ado, this is my stash of sock yarn. Unused balls, anyway. 2 Socks that Rock -- one insane, one very quiet and tasteful. 2 sets of other insane coloured yarn (bee stripe as above, and a good old Paton's Kroy), and a single 50gm ball of a black and white blend that I want to (i.e. will have to, because I only have one ball) work with plain black cuffs, heels and toes.


See, reasonably restrained? None of these purchases were required -- they were all shameless stashing. I will even admit that the Socks that Rock Pirate's Booty, was bought after a few drinks. (This is the problem with your LYS is on the way home from your local bar.)

Of course, there's this other pair underway right now that I keep putting down. The yarn is Estelle Arequipa -- a great wool, angora and nylon blend. It's not stash if it's on my needles, right? Ok, so they're on one of three sets of sock needles, so it's not like I need to finish them anytime soon.

And then there's the partial balls. The leftovers. Although I don't think they count as stash, they do require storage.


Of course, after I'd taken this picture, I realized I had a whole other bag of sock leftovers. The leftovers from all the hand-dyed sock yarns -- the Fleece Artist, The Shepherd Sock, Jitterbug, Socks that Rock, etc., etc.

But otherwise, no, I'm not a stasher. Really.

Cabled Bag Design & Class

Excellent new photos courtesy of Sarah.

I'm rather proud of this design, if I do say so myself.

I'm a big fan of smaller, structured bags. I'm not very tall, as I've probably mentioned before, and the oversized slouchy bags so popular at the moment look silly on my arm.

It works up quickly, in a nice thick yarn, on needles slightly smaller than usual to create a good solid fabric.

The pattern is available at The Naked Sheep, and I'm also teaching a class on it in April. The class is two sessions -- the first teaches everything you need to know about cables of all kinds , including reading of both written instructions and charts. And the second focuses on this bag, and the complex and sophisticated cable it features.