Rabbit Is Wise

shalom sweater, revisited

Just recently, a Shalom sweater fell off my needles - specifically as a birthday gift for my sister-in-law.  She had seen me wear my shalom and hinted (several times) that she wouldn't mind such a sweater.  How can I resist someone actually asking me to knit them something (obviously I can't - I try to make do by knitting things for people who end up not wearing them - yes, I'm speaking of my very own children...).

I didn't want it to be entirely a surprise, because I wanted to get it just right.  I asked what colors she likes and preferred sleeve length.  Knowing she likes cool colors, would enjoy 3/4 length sleeves, and prefers tops that are a bit longer in the torso, I took that info and ran with it.

The details of my knitting adventures are posted here on Ravelry.  My sister-in-law seems quite pleased with the sweater - and with the weather we're still having here in New Hampshire, it looks like she is going to get it wear it quite a bit more before she has to put it away for the summer.

finally finished ... a sweater for my mom

I've put down my Winter's Day in order to pick up another Tea Leaves.  This one I've knit as a gift for my mother, for her birthday.

Sadly, I'm totally officially late for her birthday.  It's all good, though, because I thought of a cool modification to make to the pattern... contrasting pockets!

Oh, I love this one.  I must queue up one of these for myself as soon as I finish my Winter's Day.  The neutral color with a crazy pocket color is such WAY TOO COOL.  And it was total luck that I found such great buttons at our local fabric shop.

All the details are on the Ravelry page for this modification.  Super simple.  Given my fondness for chartreuse, I think a dark grey/chartreuse Tea Leaves with pockets is in my future.

Time to pack this one up and ship it off to her.  Just in time for the hot weather!!!

plans & intentions

No photos today.  No sharing of a project.  All our stuff is packed up.  I don't even have easy access to my knitting needles (though with this heat, I really don't want to knit).

But before total radio silence, I wanted to share my plans here.  By sharing, I'm hoping that will help me  complete my goals... by being held accountable because I shared my intentions...

So, my sewing and knitting plans for the summer include:

• sewing at least one summer dress for my youngest babe, hopefully with matching bloomer pants
• sewing some yoga pants for my eldest.  I have the fabric.  I've done these before.  She's outgrown and worn-out the others I've made for her, so it is time!
• sewing a pocket cloth diaper from the cloth diaper sewing supplies I purchased months ago (including a snap-install tool thing).  If it is a success, I'd like to make a whole batch.
• knitting a flattering t-shirt styled pullover (likely with a v-neck) out of linen yarn (I want it to be classic and lightweight for summer wearing or layering).  So far, my trawls on Ravelry haven't shown me a pattern that exists that is exactly what I'm looking for, so this may involve making something up.  Goodie!
• planning for and starting? on a classic aran cable sweater for myself.  I've always wanted to make one of these for myself.  I would like a cardigan, I think with pockets.  And I'm planning on using some Quince & Co limited edition osprey yarn that I got just for the occasion (who could pass up trying Quince & Co. yarn for only $6/skein?!?  I've always wanted to try it and now I have a reason - even the natural color will be perfect for the project, no dyeing needing).  Again, I haven't found the perfect pattern for this, and I think I might like to come up with my own cable configuration, so this may be another pattern I kinda make up myself.
• learn how to use Photoshop to scan and retouch old photos from my college photography class days and share that process with you here on the blog.

I can't wait to start on all this - but that won't happen until we've settled in on the other side.  I think I may even be getting my own little sewing room!!  Fingers crossed.  If I do, I'll be sure to share a few photos of the space.

success!!! a knitting disaster averted

This past week, my whole creative focus has been directed at finishing a knitting project, specifically this project.  I was knitting with some yarn I had picked up a several weeks ago from the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival.  This has kept me from thinking about or working on anything else creative, hence the radio silence on the blog...

The moment I saw the yarn at the festival, I was hooked (the photos don't do it justice.  We've had horrible weather this week, so cloudy, and the morning sun just wasn't right - and I didn't have the patience this morning to tweak it in iPhoto to correct it so it looks like it does in person - which is a beautiful, ethereal ice blue). 

I think I walked past the yarn and fondled it three times before committing to purchase it.  For the longest time I've had the Katrina Ballerina Lace Layering Cardigan in my queue on Ravelry with the hope of knitting one for myself.  And when I saw that yarn, I thought of that sweater, and, for me, it was a match made in heaven.

Now, one of the unusual things about the yarn was that the hang-tag on it had basically no information on it.  It gave the color as Japanese Indigo (handwritten), but said nothing about yardage or weight or anything.  The woman at the booth explained that it was yarn that her friend had sent off to have spun and then had hand-dyed - and that she was selling it at the booth for her friend.  No info beyond that.  We chatted for a while to see if we could figure out a bit more about the yarn.  We had guessed that there was probably ~200 yarns on each hank.  I nearly purchased only two of the three hanks that were there (because one was noticeably darker and I worried about working that into the project).  But in the end I bought all three and carried them home with a smile.

Two weeks ago, I started the project with high hopes of finishing it in short order and maybe getting to wear it during the unseasonably cool weather we were having.

And then the past two weeks happened...

Not only has the weather steamed up here and my fingers were sweating while knitting - but I got to the middle point of my third ball of that amazing yarn and realized that I wasn't going to have enough to finish the sweater.

I sat on it for a few days.  I took out my cooking scale, carefully placed the ball of yarn on it, wrote down the weight, then knit two rows and weighed it again.  About 2 grams per row with 50 grams left would mean I had 25 rows to finish off the sweater.  Given the length that I wanted the sweater to be (falling to the widest part of my hips), I knew I was off by around 10 rows.

So I had to make a decision... do I frog the whole project and find something else to knit with that yarn?  Ack!  I couldn't imagine it.  I really wanted that sweater in THAT exact yarn.  Do I make the sweater shorter than I want to accommodate the amount of yarn I have?  Nah, that wouldn't work.  I wasn't looking for a cropped sweater.  My ample bosom wouldn't look flattering that style.

I decided my only course of action was to search my local yarn stores for a yarn that would match the one I have closely enough to make the transition to it into a design element.  I hoped it wouldn't be too hard to find a yarn that was similar in color to the original, only a bit darker - that way the "weightier" dark color would be on the bottom of the sweater and it would look intentional.

My first trip to a yarn store turned up nothing.  But I did learn that looks can be deceiving with colors.  I would spy what I thought would be a good yarn from across the store, only to discover when I came closer and put my sweater up to it that it was TOTALLY wrong.  Hmmpff.

Just a few days ago, I made the trek to another nearby yarn shop.  My youngest in tow, the trip did NOT start off auspiciously.  About 15 minutes before arriving, she woke up in her car-seat and proceeded to scream the rest of the way there.  I wasn't going to let that deter me from my goal.  I got there, took her in with me, tried to calm her down by showing her all the yarns, finally gave up and found a secluded chair in a corner, and nursed her back to peace.

Once she was fine, I found the shop owner and explained my quandary.  I thought I saw her give me a bit of the eye (for getting myself into such a knitting pickle), but we then walked the store to see what she had.

And it was just by chance that I spied something I thought might work.  A kinda tweedy yarn.  I pulled it out and put it by the sweater and was shocked how nice it looked.  Beautiful yarn.  And it had a hang-tag!  Whoo-hoo!  It's called o-wool from the Tunney Wool Company... 50% certified organic merino and 50% certified organic cotton.  Hmmm.... cotton?!  My dream-yarn was 100% wool.  Would this work?  Mixing yarn like that?  But the color was perfect (jade 3125 to be precise).

I couldn't find anything else that matched so nicely.  And if I had known at the start of the project that I wasn't going to have enough wool, I would have gotten a contrasting color to use and then put a bit of that at the neckline and sleeves to tie it all together.  I think it would have been easier to find a nice contrasting color.  But to find a matching color - well, that was harder.  I had to get this and make it work.  I knew I wouldn't be so lucky as to easily find another yarn in 100% wool in a matching color.

I bough two hanks (I wasn't going to get myself into another pickle!).

I wasn't disappointed.  As soon as I started to knit with it, it still looked great next to the other color, regardless of what lighting conditions I viewed it under.

I decided that to make the transition look all the more intentional, I would do some alternating rows as I worked in the new color: two rows new color, two old, two new, two old, two new, two old and then new on to the end...  (that is how I worked that third, darker ball into the project, and it definitely makes it look like a design element).

So I've blocked it, picked out buttons (the mother-of-pearl ones reflect the color so nicely, I think) and have worn it a few times already.  I LOVE it.  But it makes me realize I don't really have any tops I can wear with it that match nicely (hence the lack of photos of me wearing it!).  With the small batch of cool weather we just had, it was nice to have something to warm my core!  I can totally see myself getting a ton of wear out of this sweater.

And my husband said something extra nice about it - that it has a slimming effect.  I'm all over that!

The only thing I would have done differently if I did this again?  Move that top buttonhole maybe one or two rows higher.  Otherwise, it is perfect!

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ..... in solidarity with SouleMama

 

on my needles

I'm so excited about the project I am knitting up.

It's the Katrina Ballerina Layering Cardigan... sleeveless, so I think it'll be nice for Spring and Fall.

I'm using some of the yarn that I got while at the NH Sheep & Wool Festival.  I don't have a name of the yarn as it was being sold by a friend of the person whose sheep it was made of - I only know it was sent away to be spun and she then hand-dyed it with natural plant dyes.  The color was called Japanese Indigo. 

It's turning out to be such a quick knit.  And I am in love with the color.  It is such a pale, almost silvery blue.

I'll be sure to share again once the sweater is finished and blocked.

sheep and wool festival

As my Mother's Day gift from my husband, I got the afternoon to myself at the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival!

With a bit of cash from my local ATM and a charged battery in my camera, I went off to the festival.

I tried my hardest, before leaving, to look through my Ravelry favorites to find one or two projects I want to work on but need yarn for.  And I ended up getting yarn without any specific pattern in mind.  So we'll have to see what comes of it.

I wasn't able to get any good photos of the sheep - the natural lighting was too low and they were moving, so all my photos turned out fuzzy.  But there was a sweet alpaca with long lashes that I got some nice shots of. 

And am I mistaken in thinking that neon is making a comeback in yarn?!?

I can't wait to get some of the yarn on my needles so I can share a project with you.

a surprise jacket finished

Whew!  That was a close one.  The Baby Surprise Jacket I started a few days ago is finished, and I can't believe it ended so successfully.

My intention was to use only yarn I have in my stash.  I knew I would need to combine yarns to get the color combos I wanted and have enough to get me through the entire sweater.  I didn't swatch (who needs to swatch for a baby sweater, really?!?  This pattern is so stretchy, I knew it would be forgiving)... I dove in and started with my favorite green.  I mentioned here that when I switched from green to white that I had only 12 inches of green left over - so I somehow made the switch perfectly.

I had thought the ball of white yarn looked to be enough for the rest of the sweater, but I was mistaken... and needed to find another yarn to finish the sweater with.  I picked up what was left over from my bandana cowl, a nice golden wheat color, and started with that, which miraculously got me through to almost the very end.  As I was binding off and rounding the last corner of the bottom of the jacket for the end stretch along the front placket by the buttonholes, I ran out ... luckily I had some of the white left over and it was a similar enough color to my variegated golden wheat that I felted it onto the end and finished off.   It is barely noticeable.

That left me to sewing the arm seams... whoops - with no green left over!!!  Well, luckily, the tail ends of the green from casting on, and that 12 inches of extra, were put to good use.  I used practically all of them, along with some white, to sew the seams... you can see in the picture how much yarn I had left over from the project.

I then had to pick buttons.  I have a ton of green buttons and thought for sure that is what I was going to pick.  But had my middle child not been there to help, and had she not made the amazingly inspired suggestion of using some red buttons she saw, I wouldn't have found the perfect buttons for this sweater!

If I had it to do again... and knew it would end up taking these three colors of yarn to finish the project, I would have started with the yellow and ended with the green... there is something about having a dark, heavy color at the bottom of a work rather than the top.  But hey, I still think it looks great.

on my needles

I'm sure that at some point, most long-time knitters take chances with their knitting projects.  We figure that we've been knitting long enough to earn it.  Perhaps we decide not to knit a gauge swatch (which, btw, normally works out as long as you know that you knit close to gauge and you aren't knitting a project like a fitted sweater that absolutely must be perfectly to gauge).  Or perhaps we decide to buy just enough of that expensive yarn to make the project rather than an extra ball so we're sure to have enough.

Or, like me, we decide to start a project with what we know won't be enough yarn and decide to change yarns as a design element.

 
It's all good, especially when you're knitting up another Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman (here's the first one I knit for my babe).  That garment is so forgiving and even begs for various yarns to be used.  So perhaps the "chance" I was taking wasn't that huge of a chance.

But then I threw in a curve ball.

I knew I wanted to make the sweater from yarn in my stash, and in particular wanted to use some leftover yarn from my cowl project (I just love green).  But in looking through the stash, the only other yarn in the correct size that had a complementary color was a big ball of white.  Perfect, except that it seemed boring to have just the two colors and to have it change dramatically from one to another without any fanfare.

At first, I thought I'd start in on the white yarn and knit two rows of garter, then switch back to green and knit two rows of garter, then continue on in white.  But that seemed boring - however - at that point, I had already committed to where I was going to start the transition and how much green I had left.

Tell me you know what I'm talking about?  I gave my ball of green a good eyeballing to see if I could pull off what I wanted to do and decided to go for it:

Two rows garter in white, six rows garter in green, four rows garter in white, four rows garter in green, six rows garter in white, two rows garter in green, then onto straight white.  It would be close, I knew it would be.  As I flipped my sweater to work that last row of green garter, I wasn't sure if I would make it... stitch by stitch I approached the end... and miraculously had a whole 12 inches left of green yarn!  The knitting fairies were on my side this time, and I love how the transition looks.

Given that we dipped below freezing last night, my littlest will surely get a bit of wear from this Spring sweater (once I finish it).

helping a friend knit

I have a friend... a dear friend I have known since grade school.

We went to the same junior high together.  We went to the same high school together.  When I headed East to attend the university, she followed a year later and attended the same university as me.  After we graduated, when she moved to New York City, I followed her a year later. She was a bridesmaid at my wedding.  My girls were flower girls at her wedding.

We didn't literally follow each other... but our paths have certainly kept us in very close proximity to each other over the course of our lives.

Eons ago, she had asked me to teach her to knit.  She wanted to knit something for a friend of hers.  And I was very happy to oblige.  I love thinking that I was passing along a skill that I was taught by my great grandmother... there is something so special in that.  And I'm sure "Little Gram" would smile if she knew.

So when she asked me to help her refresh her memory of her knitting skills (unused for about a decade), I was all on board.  Did it matter that we aren't in the same town anymore?  Nah!  No need for me to fly to my hometown where she lives now and sit down with her... we have Skype, and YouTube, and the internet now. 

I had knit a baby blanket for this friend of mine - and it was this same blanket (that she and her daughter love so much) that she wanted to knit for her friend who is having her first baby.

What I so love about this friend of mine is her total faith in her ability to do something that may, at first sight, seem too daunting.  I mean, look at that blanket?  Doesn't it look complicated?  All those holes!  All those twists!  And she hasn't knit for over a decade!

But I knew she could do it.  I mean, knitting is basically about two stitches - knit and purl.  You just put them together in different combinations and can get amazingly complicated things.  And she had a full two months until the baby was set to arrive, which was plenty of time.

After our initial conversation, and my assurances that this was an entirely do-able project, I sent off an email which had a complete list of supplies she needed for the project along with links to sites she could order the supplies from.  Though I had knit the blanket with size 13 needles, we decided to have her do size 15 because she has that typical "new knitter tightness" to her stitches which would make her gauge different from mine.  I also sent along a link to a YouTube video for how to wind a center-pull ball of yarn, and said, "Wind 2 or 3 hanks into balls as soon as you get your order."

Within a few days, her stuff arrived and she had three balls made, so we were ready for Skype.  Skype is such a wonderful creation.  Though I couldn't ever get a really good shot of my hands knitting for a beginner to follow (and had to rely mostly on showing her YouTube videos of the various stitches), it was good enough for me to see what she was doing and help to correct her and give her guidance.

I got her started with a long-tail cast-on and the seed stitch first few rows and we left it at that.  A few days later, I sent another mail with more links to videos for how to yarn over and do various decrease stitches needed for the pattern.  And we had another Skype session.

Maybe a week after that, I just had to send a link for doing a cable, then Skype to explain how this particular cable differs from the video and have her work it in front of me.

 

 

That was enough for her to be able to knit to the very end... which she did.  We connected just a few days ago to go over how to bind off and weave in the ends... and now she is done with the blanket.  AND (most importantly) the baby hasn't arrived yet.  So she finished in perfect time!

baby sleep sack ... a knit gift for a dear friend

One of my dearest friends just had a baby.  And because I've moved so far away, I'm unable to visit her and get a proper introduction to the new little one.

But I can send one of the best handmade substitutes for a hug ... hand knits.

My friend specifically asked if I could knit her a baby sleep sack just like the one I had knit for my youngest.  How could I refuse such a request!  Most people I ask to knit something for have no idea what they would want me to knit - and if I send them to Ravelry and ask them to pick something, they just become overwhelmed!

I SOOO wanted to knit up something very girly - pink and puffy or hot and crazy like this.  This friend of mine has three boys already.  I knew she would appreciate something pink if she was having a girl.  But she didn't want to find out the gender of the baby and I knew that this sleepsack knit on size 2 needles would take a bit of time... I couldn't bear to have to knit a new sack if it turned out she was having a boy (nor would I be able to get it to her immediately after the birth of the baby), and so I picked a gender neutral color palette... pale greens and blues (the ocean colorway).

This sleep sack is a literal knit hug for the new baby - and will be perfect for those first three months when babes are so wee and sleep all the time and like to be cocooned.  I know this because I knit my third child one of these - they are SOOO handy.  Just slip the baby in - no worries about a blanket covering the face - and those precious toes stay warm!

 

Oh, what did she have, you ask? 

 

Another dear boy!  Definitely glad I didn't pick the hot pick!

 

Welcome to the world, dear wee little man!

New Turtleneck Cowl Design...

I finally got around to casting on for a turtleneck cowl for myself.  The rest of my family (except the baby) each have their own, love them, and now it was my turn. I wanted to be able to use it this winter (not that this winter is ending anytime soon).

Rather than shopping for wool to use for this project, I wanted to use yarn I already had in my stash.  I had some gorgeous Shadyside Farm Studio Grasshopper Green Krayonbox worsted weight I had found one year ago at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival (I had a chance to go, sans kids, last year - before the birth of my third. It was heaven!)  I figured that the ribbing would be flexible enough to cast on a few more repeats than what I do when using bulky yarn - and obviate the need for swatching my gauge.

So, as I was knitting (what was going to be a copy of the turtleneck cowls that I had knit my family), I started thinking of ways to improve the design and make it different - but not too different.  What I like about the cowls is their versatility.  You can wear them folded over for that "turtleneck sweater" look.  You can stretch them out to cover a cold nose.  You can fold it over and wear as either a headband or a hat without a top.

I thought to myself... what if?  What if I introduce eyelets to one of the edges? It would be not only an interesting stand-alone design element (if desired), but also allow for a ribbon or I-cord to be laced through.  Pull on the I-cord to cinch one side and, voila, the cowl turns into a hat!  And what if I add small pom pons to the ends of my I-cord, to make it look cool and funky?

Part of me did NOT want to take the chance of making this with my gorgeous yarn.  Part of me wanted to stick with what I know.  But then I reminded myself: "How am I going to learn new things unless I try them out?" (Plus, since this is such a fast knit, if it didn't work out, I could always frog it and reuse the yarn for something else)

Thank heavens I listened to that little voice.  I'm SOOO happy with how the cowl/hat turned out.

For the I-cord, I asked my husband (the artist) for a recommendation of which yarn to use.  He looked through my stash and ended up picking out some leftover Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica I had from the Seaweed Shalom sweater I knit.  The funny thing with his choice is that, in this varigated color yarn, there are bits of green that exactly match the grasshopper green of the cowl!

 
  

Lessons Learned from this project

Of course there are a few lessons learned from the project... things I would do differently next time:

• I cast on an uneven number of repeats, so when I lace the I-cord, the tails come out on the same side (look closely and you'll see one tail of my cord ends on the front, one on the back.
• I would have knit it a bit shorter... I feel like it is maybe three to four rows too long.

So what do you think? Do you like the design and functionality of this?

Knitting for Kids

I am a knitter.  I learned to knit from my great-grandmother when I was in sixth grade.  I have very fond memories of being taken to my "Little Grams" turquoise-decorated apartment by my maternal grandmother and sitting with her for hours learning to cast on, knit, purl, decrease, increase, and cast off.  The first project I learned to knit was a washcloth (just like this one).  I also learned how to knit these slippers from her, as well as a wonderful winter cabled earwarmer.

When I was in high school, I stretched my knitting skills by attempting to knit a sweater for my boyfriend.  The good sport that he was, he wore it to school once for me.  Looking back on it, that was very kind of him given how long the sleeves were and how strangely shaped the neck was.  And though I decided to knit him a sweater in his favorite color (yellow), perhaps I could have picked a better color of yellow than I did.  Oh, and this was an itchy sweater (though it was the early 90s, I have to imagine they had softer yarn back then, but I was a novice and didn't know any better).  At the time, I was very proud of my accomplishment.

So now, I have two girls of my own who are old enough to learn how to knit.  My eldest is a few years younger than I was when I first learned, but she seems to have picked up the basic knit stitch.  Today, I taught her the basics of casting off.

Her project?  A pair of fingerless wrist-warmers.  It is a very simple pattern - basically casting on 26 stitches and doing a garter stitch until the sleeve of the glove is as long as you want it.  Today, she cast off her first glove and I cast on for her second.  She is now wearing the single wristwarmer everywhere today.

Today, I introduced my younger daughter to spool knitting.  She is using one of these knitting spools.  I would have loved to have an old-fashioned wooden knitting mushroom, but when I had been looking for a spool for my eldest a few years ago, this is the one I found!  The one nice thing about this is that you can choose between creating a 3-stitch rope or a 6-stitch rope... but otherwise, the spinning and yarn holding features aren't really necessary.  My youngest doesn't quite get it, so I sat with her for an hour helping her to hold the yarn taught and pull on the knit rope.  She completed her project today (oh so important for those little hands - to have a quickly finished project, otherwise they lose patience).  What was it, you ask?  A "leash" for when she plays "puppy", her favorite pretend game of all.

Homemade Gift ... Turtleneck Cowl

So, I have a dear friend that I wanted to make a gift for.  Something thoughtful, but that wasn't too expensive or that wouldn't take too much time. 

I recently knit this cowl for myself and was thinking of ideas for what would make the perfect cowl.

My idea was to create something that was reminiscent of a bulky turtleneck sweater, only without the sweater part.

This is what I came up with (as modeled by one of my kids).

Oh my, I can't tell you how much I love it.  Thick and warm ... it looks great peeking out of a winter coat.  I packed this one up to send to my friend with a promise to myself to cast on immediately for one for me!