Warning: Banana Silk Hell.

~ laura ~ 5 Comments

So, after posting Sunday, I decided to go ahead and finish up my scarf. I figured it was just stockinette in the round, I should be able to knock it out quickly and have a fabulous scarf for knitting group on Monday night.

I was so very very wrong.

I finished the scarf, and then went to wash it in the sink. The black banana silk proceeded to produce copious amounts of dye. COPIOUS. AMOUNTS.

This is the 3rd sink full of water.

ugh.jpg

After 6 sinkfuls, and several stints and just allowing the water to run, I left it overnight to just soak and hope that would loosen the rest of the dye up and then I could go about hanging it up to dry. And then, another sink full of water looked just as ink black as the one above and I said “fuck this” and threw it in the tub. I ran two tub fulls of water. I ran water between those tubs full. All inky black. Finally, I just left it in the tub to work on while I was in the shower. I hate wasting water, but I sure as hell can’t wear the damn scarf if it’s going to pour black all over me when it rains. Two showers later, and it’s still running black. I have given up and put it on top of a load of black T-shirts that need to be washed in hopes that the washer will handle it and all the extra black will help the more faded of the Ts.

What once was a fabulous scarf is now a hated knit item that has not behaved as it should. So basically, don’t buy black banana silk. It’s not pretty. It may seem pretty, and it may feel nice, and you may have neat ideas of simple items done well in it. But don’t give it. It’s lying to you. And just so you aren’t fooled, I dug through the intarwebs and found a picture of the same exact brand I used so you won’t be fooled by it in its natural habitat of the yarn store.

banana.jpg

So, yes, I have a finished item, and no, I may never actually get to wear it, much less model it for the blog. Yes, I am unhappy about this, and no, I will never be tempted to buy Banana Silk again.

I can only pass this lesson on to you and hope that you can take this kernel of truth and use it for the good of your stash budget.

New Year, New FO.

~ laura ~ 2 Comments

Today, whilst cooking up 16 bean soup to use the remaining Christmas ham, I finished up Knitty’s Calorimetry.

calimetry.jpg

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures, but I just couldn’t get a good one of the darned thing. This is the third Calorimetry I have made. The first two went to Coleen for her birthday. One was a bit largish as it was knit as written, and the second a bit smallish as an alternative to the big one.

This one uses Lion Brand Landscapes in that pink colorway. (It’s unlabeled stash yarn, I have no idea of it’s name.) And I cast on 60 stitches instead of the written 120. And I think I was using my US8 addis, but I’m not positive.

And here’s the October Sky all balled up and ready to swatch.
octball.jpg

I am hoping it swatches up nicely. I am considering a pair of hand/arm warmers/mitts/fingerless glove type things. I figured I can get a small pair or one long one from this ball, and I am considering which I want. Probably the long one and then another long one from the other half of the fiber I have left.

And in your mind….

~ laura

is where I’ll plant my seed. – Guster, The Airport Song.

The seeds of future lace projects have surely been planted. I really enjoyed Flower Basket. A lot. I have been at a loss as to what to knit since I finished it. I was so focused on getting it done, now that it is, I am having a hard time remember all the other things I had going on knitwise. I mostly just want to go buy some more Baby Ull and do another one, much larger. But I digress.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present Flower Basket Shawl!

The blocking shot. As you’ll see in the detail shot, it’s wrongside up.

Blocking detail. Man I love the macro function on my camera.

Finished/Front detail.

And finally, the money shot. Proudly brought to you by a leather chair at Panera. She’s a lovely model isn’t she? This picture represents the color of the shawl best to me as well.

Quickly for the notes now…. I used the pattern from IK Fall 04 ( I think, it’s free on the website as well, possibly subscriber only.) I used US 6 Addi Natura Bamboo circs and not quite two balls of Dale Baby Ull in a lovely peach color. (Can’t remember/don’t know the color number.) As for pattern mods, I added one more repeat of the lower chart for a total of 8 instead of 7.

It was a good first lace pattern. It covered all the basic stitches and wasn’t a terrible repeat. In fact, after the 2nd or 3rd time thru the chart, it gets a lot easier. I highly recommend this for a first lace project.

I plan on making it again, possibly in a proper lace weight and smaller needles. But we’ll have to see really. I have so many other things to finish up and that I want to do, but if I need another outstanding gift fast, I can see doing it in a week again. Preferably, next time I’ll give myself at least 2 weeks so I can do my usual project hopping around.

Fin.

~ laura

My Clapotis is complete!

Pattern: Clapotis, by Kate Gilbert for Knitty Fall 04
Yarn: Wool of the Andes in Chambray and HyacinthYardage: Approximately 440 yards of each color. (4 balls each)
Yarn Source: KnitPicks
Needles: US 8 Addi turbo circulars
Gauge: Around 4.5 spi
Modifications: Swapping colors every 10 rows, Single Crochet edging around entire piece.

Basically my idea behind this was to create very definitive stripes that went against the bias of the dropped stitches. That way, there are two strong visual elements opposing each other: the dropped stitches and the wide bars of color.


I started this around the New Year and then it sat in my work basket for a very long time.

I joined the Yahoo Clapotis group a few weeks back for the charts they have for it. They are a great help. I had been a little under halfway done with it when I put it down, and I finally decided to just go ahead and get it done.

Now to figure out what to do with the 4 balls of yarn I have left…..

Random Clapotis photos:

In the sink…

Wow at the blue water!

As a scarf (pre-washing and blocking)

As a stole (also pre-wash/block)

In other knitting news:

I have decided to frog Danica. I was only doing it as a pre-Lady Eleanor at any rate, and despite liking the way it looks over all, I think I’ll either just dispose of the yarn or do something else with it. Perhaps a feather and fan scarf.


I also changed my mind about IK Spring 06’s Aran Rose. I still like it, but I don’t think it will be that flattering on me. Besides, having to do all the math changes to make it my size would be a major chore. I have decided to do the Drop Stitch Hoodie instead. It’s a neat little pattern repeat. I am living dangerously and not swatching, so either I’ll have a sweater or someone I know will. I am ok with it either way. I would really like a nice zip-up sweater, but it doesn’t have to be this one. Mind you, if it fits, it’s all mine.

Batman Forever!

~ laura


I have completed the Batman Pullover and one of the wristbands. Hooray!
It is now blocking on my table. I know, I don’t really NEED to block acrylic but it doesn’t really hurt it either.

One more wristband to do and I’ll be able to box this sucker up and wrap it for gifting. Over all I am pleased with this project. It was my first Intarsia and it didn’t turn out totally shitty. It was my first pullover. (In all honesty, my first sweater period.) And so I have accomplished two firsts with this project, and I don’t hate it.

I didn’t use a pattern, I just bought a 4T t-shirt, and based it off of that. That’s pretty much it.

And here’s a pic with the sleeve down so you can see the whole thing.

Then End!

Shmom the Fabulous!

~ laura

Yesterday, the sweater shmom made for shmoo arrived. She decided that it would be cool if she did the knitting and I did the finishing. That way I could have some part in the making of the sweater without actually making it. I thought that was a really cool idea.

Since she has no blog for me to point you towards, She knit “Lucky” from Knitty’s men’s (August 05) issue. It’s a mistake rib stitch pattern. And oh my people, mistake rib is SO STRETCHY! The sweater even fits me, and I am at least 4 inches wider than the chest size stated for the size we used. She used KnitPicks, Wool of the Andes, in Maple Syrup. No idea how much, probably whatever the pattern says.

So she finished it up, did the neckline but left everything unseamed and sent it to me. I have sewed the pieces together, and I love it. Hopefully I can get a picture of the model wearing his sweater sometime soon, so you can see it as well.

As for the pattern, I want to say she said it was easy and went quickly. I can say for sure it wasn’t hard to seem at all. I think it will look great on shmoo!

And of course, I have decided he needs a new hat to go with his new sweater. 3 braid cable and rib. And stripes! I am making it up as I go along.

I am using the leftover skeins of Maple Syrup that I have already joined and balled. I am also using leftovers. Brownsheep Prairie Silk, Guilder Green and Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Chocolate Souffle, size 8 needles, 96 stitches.

And now, on to the felted bag! This thing is an albatross. I have washed it 3 times already, and it’s not shrinking down enough. It’s way to tall. It’s more of a flat tall bag than a shorter wide bag like I fell in love with.

Seen here with the strap I am still struggling to finish, this bag is just not what I envisioned. I am already planning and making changes in my head for another one, more like what I wanted. At least if it doesn’t turn out right, I won’t have been following a pattern of someone else’s making. In the meantime, I’ll keep washing at this thing, finish the strap, decide whether or not to felt it, and put it on the gift pile until it tells me to whom it should belong.

Yesterday I worked on Danica some more. Entrelac is so… easy and oddly satisfying. The scarf looks mostly the same as the last picture I took, so I won’t post another ’til it’s done. In the meantime, my shmoo still needs that new matching hat! :)

On a slightly knitting related side note, I have a World of Warcraft toon named Entrelac, it’s our banking toon so it’s in the main city most of the time. Yesterday someone messaged me and said, “Your name is a knitting term, did you know that?” My response was, “Yes, in fact, I have another toon named ‘Intarsia’ as well.” This person proceeded to ask if I knit, I said yes, then they asked if I was British, not sure why….. *shrug* She(?) asked if I spun as well, I said no, and she said she did, and that she loved spinning and dyeing. That was about the sum of our conversation, but I thought it was funny.

Live Dangerously, Don’t Swatch Hat

~ laura

Mr. Woolly models the hat.

Pattern: Live Dangerously, Don’t Swatch Hat by Susan Lawrence.
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, color 225, less than one ball.
Needles: Swallow Casein US sz 9 dpns, purchased from The Knitting Zone. (picture below)

Modifications: None. However, I did use the k2 p2 suggested rib for the body of the hat.

Swallow Casein Needles, made from skim milk! How freaky is that?

Laid out under a “Reveal” lightbulb so you can see the colors clearly.

Check out that I-cord edge!

Thoughts:

I made this hat for a young man I know, whose birthday is this month, though I am not sure exactly when. He has another gift, but since his brother was the recipient of the Bobby Socks, I don’t want him to feel left out in the hand knitting department. Honestly, I don’t know if he likes hand knits or not. Hopefully he’ll like the hat.

The pattern was really easy, and it was neat doing a hat from the crown out instead of starting at the bottom like I normally do. I also learned a new technique, the I-Cord cast off. I really like the edge it makes, despite my confusion as to what to do when I got to the end of it.

I still don’t LOVE Noro Silk Garden like everyone else who has used it seems to LOVE it, but I don’t hate it as much as I did. I really do like the way the colors shift, but it’s no Lamb’s Pride.

Bri sniffs at Mr. Wooley

Odessa.

~ laura

Mr. Woolly modeling the hat out on the patio while it’s drying.

Pattern: Odessa, by Grumperina, from Magknits.
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed, Shade 142, Melody.
Yardage: Less than 1 ball (I used 29 of 50 grams, so just over a half really)
Needles: Addi US 4 circs, Lion Brand US 6 plastic dpns
Modifications: Besides the yarn switch, I didn’t do the beads. I have nothing against the beads, but I really wanted to do this hat in the Felted Tweed, and felt it had enough texture on it’s own and the beads would make it too busy.

Thoughts:
I really like this pattern. I am sure I will do it again. Perhaps even using beads. Just like I found with the Jaywalker pattern, it’s a simple repeat that has a great visual effect. I can see this hat made with all sorts of yarns. Calmer, Silk Garden, Random Cotton for summer time, and even Acrylic for a quick cheapie when things are tight.

As for the Felted Tweed. I liked it too. I don’t think I will seek out projects in it because of it’s price, but for something like this hat, it was lovely. It was fine to work with, and has a lovely texture when knitted up, and I am all about the textures. I almost have enough left over to make another hat from it, but not quite. This was the first Rowan yarn I have used, and it encourages me to try more, as long as the projects are small.

My bits and bobs after completing the hat.

A side view of the left-over ball.

The hat laid flat once the ends were all woven and tucked away.

A view of the crown and it’s spiral.

A closer view of the crown (with better lighting).

I really think it’s a lovely hat. Sadly, I don’t look so good in the close fitting hats. I feel like a melon-head when I wear them, so this is going to be put away for gifting to some worthy person.

Turtleneck.

~ laura

Pattern: Dog Turtleneck
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft, Lt Orchard Peach
Yardage: No idea, less than a skein
Needles: Addi Natura circs in US 6, Brittany Birch US 4 dpns
Modifications: I didn’t use that froofroo fake fur stuff, I shorted the leg cuffs by 1.5 inches and the collar by 1 inch.

Sometimes I give in to the urges of having a cute little dog that likes to wear clothes. This took about a day and a half. I am considering making another, not using the garter stitch at all. I think ribbing for the entire thing would be better, especially because Daisy is so big in the chest for such a tiny thing. It would also be more flexible in general, and I think she would like that better. At least now she won’t be shivering when she goes out on the porch.

The serious pose is at the top, the cute pose just below, followed by the “I am bored with this now” shot. :)