Unconventional

My Unconventional pattern is up! This pattern comes with two versions; both use short rows for shaping, and one has cables. It's a tricky pattern, and not for the faint of heart. If you choose to knit it, you should first have a solid grasp of cabling and short rows, as well as reading your knitting. Because it's very easy to get confused.

 The pattern is available on Knit Picks, for $4.99

Knitting in a certain yarn...

I got an email from Knit Picks recently, asking if I'd be interested in coming up with a design for a new yarn colorway. Free yarn is free yarn, so naturally, I said yes. The yarn arrived, and it was beautiful. I've converted all my photos to black and white, since the colorway has to stay secret until it's released. I immediately dived in; I had already come up with a design that I thought would work... but it didn't.

The tiny-cables stitch pattern I wanted to use was completely obscured by the color variations. So I frogged it and started over. And frogged it and started over. And frogged it and started over. Finally, I came up with a design I liked; the cables and lace showed up well enough. But when it was about halfway done, it was clear that it was going to be enormous and not fit anyone with a normal-sized head (did I mention it was a hat?)... so I frogged it and started over. Again. I made some more adjustments to the cable pattern, to make it fit into a smaller stitch count, but I forgot to take into consideration that eight-stitch cables pull in much more than four-stitch cables do. Long story short, the hat I was designing to fit me ended up fitting my six-month-old niece almost perfectly.

 She's adorable, and she knows it.

 I like how it turned out, and may make another one, with the intention of having her model for me. But for now, I've abandoned that hat design. A friend of mine suggested that the stitch pattern would look nice in a cowl, which I thought was a great idea. Since a cowl wouldn't have any decreases or increases to worry about, I wouldn't have to figure out how to fit them into the design, as I had with the hat.

Three days later, I had a finished cowl, and almost no leftovers. My friends suggested 10 inches for the width. I was running out of yarn, so I only did 8 inches, which is fine for me, because I have a really short neck.

So I went through all that stress and ripping, to come up with a super-simple cable-and-lace cowl(and a hat idea for another day). And next time I'm asked to "come up with something" for a new yarn, I'll only agree if it's a solid color.

Exercise and knitting

Just for fun, I did this yesterday:

I put on the shirt I'd worn in my January 1 "before" photo, and took a new picture and put them side by side. Nice change for only three months of work!

And my friends and I started a new exercise challenge. We're doing the Hundred Pushups Challenge. The goal is to be able to do one hundred consecutive pushups six weeks from now. When I did the initial test, I was able to do 12, so I have a long way to go. Yesterday was day 1...and my chest and ab muscles are incredibly sore today. Today is a rest day, and I'm hoping the soreness wears off by tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to the benefits of this program; it should make a big difference in my arm strength, and I'm hoping it'll firm up the saggy "girls" as I continue losing weight.

In other news...

I've finally settled on a design for the hat I'm making for Knit Picks. The colorway is still a secret, so I've converted the photo to black-and-white. But you can get an idea of how the hat will look. I'm knitting it top-down, and instead of columns of purls between the cables, I'm using columns of lace. The way it kind of swirls out from the center reminds me of a spiral galaxy. So I'm thinking of giving it a name that has something to do with the stars...

Bayerische Progress and a FO

I've gotten the first repeat done on my Bayerische sock! The trickiest part so far was the increase round after the ribbing. The cables aren't any harder than ones I've done before. ☻

And I finished my Unconventional Hood samples! Here's the cabled version:

 And the simple version:

And the pattern has been sent in to Knit Picks. Hopefully it'll be up on the site soon, before knitters turn to summer projects...

Bayerische KAL

I'm participating in a Bayerische KAL over on Nimblestix.com. I've wanted to make these socks for a long time, and I think I'm finally ready, so I'm very excited about this.

Photo from eunnyjang.com

I'm using Knit Picks Gloss in Burgundy, and size US1 needles.

Come join us! 

Jennifer Mittens!

As y'all know, I live in a very cold place. As a matter of fact, the warmest it got here today was 7 degrees below zero. And I wasn't made for the super-cold climate. So my hands and especially my fingers get very cold. I've been wearing cheap stretchy gloves from Walmart, and they just aren't enough when the mercury drops that low. So I designed some "glittens"... mittens with attached glove fingers! And I used the Capra I bought when Knit Picks had their luxury yarn sale after Christmas. I love Capra. It's so warm and soft. But of course it is; it's a cashmere blend!

Below, you can see the mitten-in-progress, when I had finished the fingers but not the mitten. 

I'm naming the pattern "Jennifer" after a friend of mine. I was feeling a little silly a few weeks ago, and challenged my friends to guess what show I was watching; I told them it was my all-time favorite show...and didn't give them any other hints. I said that whoever guessed correctly would get a handknit item designed for and named after them. After about an hour of guessing, Jennifer won with her guess: 24! I'll be making another pair for Jennifer, without the fingers. I'm writing the pattern both ways, so I need to be able to show it both ways in the pattern. :)

New designs

Every once in a while, I get a "wild hair" and design something crazy.

My coat hood is oversized, and doesn't stay on my head if there's even the slightest wind. So I decided to make one that would stay on. Searching through patterns, I didn't find anything that was what I was looking for. I wanted a hood that would be seamless, and not have a goofy-looking point at the top of the back. So I thought of using short rows to shape it to fit my head. I made a really simple one...

And then I got really crazy...

 I'm calling this design "Unconventional", because conventional wisdom says that alpaca and cables aren't a good combination. I'm hoping I can make the design understood for other knitters, because to be honest, I got confused myself, several times! I have a test-knitter lined up, and I hope it makes sense to her.

New Patterns

Hello readers! I had three new patterns published yesterday!

 R&R Shawl is available on Knit Picks for $2.99.

Hunter Socks is available on Knit Picks for $2.99. The pattern contains both sizes.

Bottoms Up Dishcloth Set is available on Knit Picks for $1.99.

New Patterns!

I've already talked about these patterns, so I'll make this a short post. 

Willow Carroldine is available on Knit Picks for $2.99.

 Cathie is also on Knit Picks, for $1.99.

Enjoy!

Cathie is done!

I finally finished my Cathie scarf! 

 I decided to make it a bit shorter than I usually do for scarves. It was supposed to be done three months ago. Now the pattern is finished, and in the hands of Knit Picks.

Here's a closeup:

And now I'm on to other designs. I'm almost halfway done with my R&R Shawl sample; and should have yarn waiting for me when I get home, to make Hunter Socks. I've got a friend proofreading my Willow Carroldine pattern before I send it in. 

If I knit fast enough, can I count it as exercise?

Hunter Socks

Hubby was a little jealous that I'm always making stuff for other people. He wanted me to knit him something. Specifically, socks. For hunting. Now, Hubby has enormous feet, which is why I hadn't made him any socks previously. But since they're for hunting, he wanted them thick. I decided I could use worsted-weight yarn and knit them at a very tight gauge. I asked Hubby what color he wanted. Orange, of course! As if you would use any other color for hunting socks! And he wanted them to be long enough to reach to the top of his boots. He didn't want them to be too fancy. He would probably have been satisfied with plain stockinette socks. But I wouldn't.

I have made one pair of "boring"(aka stockinette) socks. They took for.e.ver. I didn't enjoy working on them. I set them aside several times, in favor of more interesting projects. But patterns for worsted-weight men's-size socks are hard to find. I found one, on Knit Picks. It was a free pattern, and I discovered why after downloading it. It was a basic sock recipe, more of a tutorial than a pattern. It left all the math up to the knitter. I get that some people like patterns like that, but I don't. If I'm going to have to do all the math myself, I might as well design my own pattern. So I did.

I came up with a single-color argyle design, and designed Hubby's socks. Each sock took two skeins of Knit Picks Swish Worsted yarn. They turned out a little goofy-looking, as I adjusted the argyle design halfway through, but they'll do for the design proposal.

Now I'm working on tweaking the design and writing up the proposal. I'm going to write it for both worsted-weight in men's size, and sock-weight in women's size. I think I'll request green yarns, since they don't have anything that looks like camouflage...

Sydney

Yes, I know, it's been weeks since I posted anything. That's partly because I took a few days off from knitting to do laundry and gardening and housework. And it's partly because my progress has been slow on the projects I have been working on. But I finally have an in-progress picture of my latest: Sydney Claire!  It's about 18 inches long, and I'm planning on making it about 40-45, so I've got a long way to go.

 It's a baby blanket for my newest niece, and it bears her name.  I'm using KP Brava (100% acrylic), which is better than most acrylics I've tried, but still acrylic. Which means it's not among my favorite yarns to work with. But since Sydney's mommy is not a knitter and probably won't have the time for special care fibers, since she has a special needs baby, I decided washability was more important.  Sydney was born almost 7 weeks ago, and just went home from the hospital right before Mother's Day.  She was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome.  She'll have a lot of challenges ahead of her, but she's a fighter. And isn't she adorable??

My brother Steve and his wife Mandy are so happy to finally have their little bear cub(they're huge Chicago Bears fans) home! I've got to get this blanket done pronto, so I can go meet her!

Grace Irene

My latest pattern is up on Knit Picks!  I know I've already posted about "Grace Irene", but now it's official.

The pattern is available here for $1.99.  This is a very easy pattern and it goes really quickly! I found it hard to put these down while I was working on them.

New Pattern!

My newest pattern is up! This is Sisterhood. It's my tribute to the Bunker Babes. I love y'all, ladies!

 The pattern is available here for $2.99.  

This is my most challenging pattern to date; it is definitely not a "beginner" level pattern.  

A peek into my designing process

I'm working on my pattern "Grace Irene". 

It's a cabled tank top for little girls. I actually designed it a couple of years ago, but didn't keep notes, or do more than one size.  So I'm figuring that out now. 

I had to swatch, because I made the original in worsted weight and decided to change the pattern to work with DK weight. I wanted to use Knit Picks CotLin yarn, which is a nice cotton/linen blend DK yarn. So that was the first obstacle. 

Second obstacle: this yarn has no elastic whatsoever, so it doesn't respond like the cotton/acrylic I had used the last time I made one of these. So instead of being form-fitting, it's loose and drapey. Which is fine; I just had to adjust my expectations.  

Next hurdle: figuring out the different sizes. I had to choose a cast-on number that was divisible by 6, because I wanted to use a 4x2 ribbing. Then I had to figure out where exactly I wanted the cable columns for each size. I couldn't just pick at random, because I wanted them to go up the straps and connect in the back by grafting in pattern. If done right, the front and back should be identical.

I didn't do it right. I forgot an important detail regarding which way to cross the cables. They don't match up how I wanted them to. So this one definitely has a front and a back. I'm going to make another one so I can get this problem rectified. Fortunately, my test-knitter hadn't started yet by the time I discovered the issue, so hers will be right.

Even with the mistake, this turned out pretty cute, if I do say so. 

And now I'm also working on my next design "Theresa Nichole"...maybe I'll give y'all a glimpse in another post. I just had to frog and start over on this one, so I'm thinking it's going to give me a few problems too.

Movin' right along...

I've finally gotten a new pic of my cardi!

This is the first half of the waist section.  I'm going to do four more repeats of the cables, then switch back to stockinette for the hip section.  After that....a border of garter stitch, and a crochet edging...and the sleeves!  I'm planning on magic-looping the sleeves, maybe doing both at the same time, in order to get this done by the end of February.  I love how this sweater is looking so far!  It has a little more negative ease than I had planned on, but it should be perfect when I lose a few more pounds.

Speaking of losing pounds...I haven't lost any more yet, but I'm workin' on it.  I went to the gym, worked my legs and did 20 minutes on the stair-stepper. 

And now, back to knitting!

Avonlea is on its way!

I've finished my Avonlea scarf and pattern, and both are on their way to Knit Picks today!  I did a photo shoot(photographer: Angel) on Saturday, which didn't go exactly as I'd planned, but turned out alright.  I had planned to wear a terrific dark green silk blouse, which would have looked awesome and Christmassy with the red scarf, but I could barely get it buttoned, and it showed every bump and bulge, so that one went back into the closet, on the lower bar with the other clothes that are just a little bit too small and will fit when I lose about 10 pounds.  Then I had to take a look at my other clothes and find something that would work.  I realized my super-easy, casual wardrobe, while being perfect for my homebody lifestyle, isn't right for modeling.  Even though it's only modeling my own designs.  Most of my nicer tops are red or pink, because those are great colors for me, but they wouldn't work with the red scarf.  I would have picked navy blue, but I only have that in t-shirts.  So I went with this gray-green, slightly-nicer-than-a-tshirt knit top.  I think it worked well enough.

 That first one is my favorite, since I cropped out my backside, and I don't look quite as chunky as I do in the following pic.

 And of course, here's the pic of the scarf being modeled by someone much more photogenic than myself: my deck.  Haha.  Just kidding.  Kinda.  I think the deck makes an awesome background for pictures; it's interesting without being distracting.  Once I get the deck stained, it'll be even better, I think.

Anyway, this scarf is headed to Vancouver today, after we have our geography lesson.  We're learning about Alaska, and watching "Sarah Palin's Alaska" is part of it.  ☺ I love homeschooling!

Cabling, cabling, cabling...

I've finally finished my Upstream scarf!  Now I just need to get the pattern finished and send it and the scarf off to Knit Picks.  I hope they accept this pattern too!

 I tried to get some good pictures of myself modeling the scarf, but I didn't end up with any that I really liked.  So I basically wasted an hour, putting on makeup and fixing my hair, then another hour taking pictures.  Oh well.  Hopefully, Knit Picks photographers and models will have better luck.

♥

And now I'm off and running on the next design...

This is my Avonlea scarf, and I just sent the design proposal to Knit Picks on Monday.  I hope they like it!  I might not hear back about it for a couple weeks; they're a bit backlogged on patterns, from what they told me before publishing my second pattern last week.  Anyway, I'm using Knit Picks Capra yarn in "Scarlet" that I got from a friend in a swap. ☺ I am in love with this yarn!  I want to design a bunch more patterns using it!

♥

Knittin', and Not Knittin'

I just realized I haven't blogged for a whole week. Oops. Sorry about that. There hasn't been a whole lot of knittin' goin' on, because I've had a migraine for several days. Before it started, though, I was working on a lace scarf. We're doing a Knit-Along and Swap in the Bunker. We're all using the same pattern: "The Waltz" (http://stickchicky.blogspot.com/2008/06/waltz.html) and knitting it in a color and fiber that our swappee would like. I'm making Monica's, and Sandra is making mine. I haven't taken any pics yet, but I've finished 20 repeats of the lace pattern so far, and the pattern only says to do 30, so I might be 2/3 done. I'll have to see how long that makes it when I get to 30. I'm using Knit Picks Shadow(100% merino) Lace in the colorway "Vineyard"; it's a rich, dark purple, with little tiny bits of green and brown in it. Not like a tweed; more like a heather. It's lovely yarn. And since I had two skeins, I should have enough left over to make a scarf for myself, or to give as a gift to someone else. I love this yarn. It's very soft and light.

♥

I'm stalled on my sock. I finished the foot and turned the heel, and worked one repeat of the cabled lace pattern. But when I tried it on, I realized that the cables were pulling the fabric in too tightly around my ankle. So I'm going to frog back to the end of the heel, and put in some increases before starting the cabled lace in the back of the leg. I'm certain that will make it less tight; I just hope it looks right. I had planned on adding increases anyway, but further up on the leg section. Looks like I'll have to add more increases than I'd planned.

♥

But for now, I need to get back to the laundry...

Another pair done, another pair started.

I finished the Double Eyelet Rib Socks! To be completely honest...I did sit and knit most of yesterday, and got them done before dinner.
And I started another sock...

I'm using the "Happy Feet" yarn I posted about yesterday, and a cabled-lace stitch pattern I found in a stitch dictionary somewhere. So far, so good. This sock is going more slowly than the Double Eyelet Rib socks did, because the lace is more involved. There's lace patterning on every row, and cable crossings every eighth row. But I'm enjoying it, which is good, because I'm planning on making them longer than any other socks I've made.