Pransellknit

I’ve been a bit restless with my knitting lately. Swatches have been knit, but I don’t feel particularly drawn to any one pattern. This is a bit of a problem because it creates a small knitting vacuum; besides one secret squirrel project, I don’t really have anything on the needles, but I feel I should be doing something.

The current knitting situation seems to be a good reflection of my non-knitting life of late. I have niggling feeling, that I can’t articulate and can’t work out why it’s there. This means I can’t work out how to fix it, which starts the restlessness all over again. ‘Tis quite a frustrating cycle.

All of this started soon after finishing these knitterly morsels, and thus it’s only fair that they are blamed for this bout.

Umbilical Cord Hats by Jennifer L Jones
Small amounts of Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8ply, in cream, pink and bracken
4mm needles
Started: April 2010
Finished: April 2010
Modifications: Used a lighter weight yarn, and slightly smaller needles
Ravelryed: here

A couple of the guys at work recently became fathers for the first time, which presented a prime opportunity to knit baby hats. I suspect the hats are a bit big for newborns. However, I have it on good authority that babies grow, so the size shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

The yarn, Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 8ply, is really good for baby knits. It’s lovely and soft to knit with, has a good range of colours and is machine washable. I think Luxury 4ply would work well with some of the vintage patterns I have earmarked as future projects.

The pattern is from Stitch n Bitch, the first knitting book I bought after starting to knit again. Although the book is really well worn, I’ve only made a couple of things from it and was recently contemplating giving it away. These hats prove that reference books should almost always be kept (my second year Business Finance text book is an exception to this rule).

If only I owned a book on how to get my knitting back on track…

Bottoms Up by Alice Bell (rav link only)
2.5 skeins Louet Euroflax Sport, Graphite
2.75mm needles
Started: January 2010
Finished: April 2010
Modifications: Knit a size smaller due to heavier weight yarn, added length to the body, used slip 1, knit 1, psso rather than knit 2 together through back of loop
Ravelryed: here

I didn’t think this top would get a wear until later this year, but because of some unseasonably hot weather down here, I wore it to work yesterday. Although it’s probably a bit more fitted than other versions out there, it was really comfortable. This bodes well for Spring/Summer.

A few modifications were made, but the length was the most important. In the pattern, the body is made up of four sections of ribbing, consisting of 40, 18, 18 and 10 rounds. After reading comments about this pattern, I knitted 60, 24, 24 and 15 rounds, respectively. This added around about 12 cm to the length of the garment but I still think it’s a tad too short on me. Short enough that I won’t be wearing it with trousers anyway; just high waisted skirts.

Length seemed to be an issue for a number of people on Ravelry who made Bottoms Up. The designer commented that it was designed for someone of average height (by american yarn standards). I’m above average height, particularly in terms of torso length, so I expect to have to add some length to almost all patterns. However, 12cm seems a lot of length to add for a garment to still be a bit short, even with my preference for slightly longer tops.

I’ve thought quite a bit about whether I’m being reasonable in my frustration, and I don’t think I am. The designer offers this pattern for free, which is very generous, and I do have a garment from it that will get a lot of wear. The instructions in the pattern are clear, it’s just the length that was an issue. Ultimately, at this stage of my knitting career, most patterns should just be treated as serving suggestions — if I need to change something to suit the recipient, then so be it.

When the yarn was last mentioned, I hadn’t started the yarn over ‘bubbles’. There are decreases each side of the yarn over, which was quite hard on my hands. The fabric itself is lovely and heavy, so while my hands will need a rest from linen, I suspect I will be working with it again. Particularly after seeing this version of Orangina. Sorry hands, you’ll just have to toughen up!

There were high hopes for a productive Easter break, with lots to blog about. In reality, I came down with a bad cold on Thursday, and have only been able to potter around in dribs and drabs for the last two and a bit days. The cold’s impeccable timing is a little frustrating, but what can you do?

Despite the reduced productivity, I managed to finish Somerset yesterday.

Somerset Cardigan by Melissa Wehrle
Around 6 balls of Cleckheaton Angora Supreme
3.25mm and 3.5mm needles
Started: December 2009
Finished: April 2010
Modifications: Smaller needles, added length to the body and an extra buttonhole, made the collar narrower
Ravelryed: here

Although a few modifications were made (which were largely to do with gauge) it’s a nice straightforward knit. The end product is maybe a little big around the shoulders, but it’s still quite wearable. I might need to work on smoothing out the collar edge a bit more, but it’s looking a lot better now than it did when it was first finished:

The yarn created a very soft and warm fabric and I think it worked well with the pattern. It did tend to break if I was a bit rough with it though, and being an angora blend, it sheds like no one’s business. It was particularly nice to find a use for the yarn as I purchased it over five years ago. I originally intended to use it for a pattern that called for 4 ply angora yarn. As Angora Supreme is around 10 ply, the initial swatches required 2mm needles in order to get even close to the required gauge. My sanity and fingers are very glad that project didn’t get past swatching.

The real star in this project is the buttons. Without venturing too far down hyperbole lane, I think these buttons are truly things of beauty and match the cardigan really well. They were purchased from Buttonmania, a button wonderland in Melbourne CBD. The buttons were purchased by the owner of Buttonmania in a collection of 33,000 (yep, thousand) buttons. She showed a lot more restraint than I in that situation; I’d be sorely temped to dig a pit, empty the buttons into it, and dive in, Scrooge McDuck style.

On an unrelated note, it was a relief to read that I’m not the only one that dislikes ribbing. I felt a bit guilty being so negative in my last post; it’s not reasonable to think that I’d like absolutely every aspect of knitting, but I still felt bad whinging about something I do for enjoyment.

Once upon a time, I had a little idea that combined two things I’m interested in; video games and vintage home furnishings/decor. This idea percolated in my mind for years until Matt gave me all the things I needed to turn my idea into a tangible object.

My Duck Hunt flying ducks have sat finished for a bit over a year now, but didn’t post them because I thought people might think them a bit naff. I’m obviously over that now (it’s my blog dang it, I’ll post what I want to!).

Once the images were scaled, they weren’t difficult to put together. In fact, the trickiest part of the process was making sure all the beads had melted together. I don’t have the best iron which probably didn’t help matters.

Unfortunately my ducks’ current location is flat on a mantlepiece as finding a good way to get them up on the walls has been surprisingly difficult. The ducks are pretty delicate so falling off the walls would not be good at all. Another challenge was finding a spot to take these photos, as it seems the walls here are riddled with picture hooks.

The biggest motivation for posting this project is because its one of those projects that I should have done ages ago, a recurring theme on this blog. This year I’d like to try a few more of those types of projects, ones that don’t necessarily take up that much time, but always get set aside for one reason or another.

The first finished object for this year, with photos taken with the first of this season’s tomato crop during the first heatwave for the year.

Herringbone Mittens with Poms (PDF) by Elli Stubenrauch
Scraps of Malabrigo Worsted, American Beauty and Lincraft Balmoral Tweed, fawny colour
3.75 mm and 4.00mm needles
Started: December 2009
Finished: January 2010
Modifcations: lengthened hand and thumb sections, left off the pompom
Ravelryed here

To anyone who saw the photos being taken today, they must have wondered what on earth that girl was doing, wearing mittens and toting tomatoes when it’s hot outside. These photos make up for any slippage in our standing around the neighbourhood, right?

Given the weather, it might be surprising to know these mittens were borne out of necessity. It seems I don’t have that much in the way of proper winter clothes, an issue that will become most apparent when we’re in Japan next month (!!!). The mittens, while not solving all the winter wardrobe deficiencies, will hopefully keep the winter chill off my fingers somewhat.

It pleases me greatly that the mittens were made from yarn left over from other projects. I was concerned about whether I’d have enough yarn for the mittens, and whether the yarns would go together, but both concerns were completely ill-founded. There is still some Malabrigo left, and the yarns worked up together really well. Using the Malabrigo at the edge of the cuff might not have been the wisest choice, as I suspect it’ll pill or even felt a bit.

There’s been a noticeable slow down in knitting on account of the warmer weather. So much so that it took a concerted effort to get the thumbs finished and ends woven in and I’ve been contemplating doing some sewing instead of knitting. The horror!

It’s impossible to leave the last finished object for 2009 go unblogged. Victory is finished!

Your Victory Jumper by Home Notes (via the Victoria and Albert Museum)
2.5 balls grey Grignasco Bambi, 1.5 balls royal blue and 0.5 balls cream
2.75 mm and 3.25mm needles
Started: June 2009
Finished: December 2009
Modifcations: lengthened and added another repeat, stitch wise, to the body
Ravelryed here

If you heard strains of The Halleujah Chorus floating on the breeze sometime last Sunday, it was likely coming from me as Victory was unpinned from the blocking board. It was not so much the relief of finishing, but the excitement that she could finally be worn. I already love it to bits.

The lace pattern came out really nice and crisply with the yarn, and although I opted for a non-patriotic colour combination (the pattern was published in England just after VE Day, and recommended the use of blue, red and white yarn), I’m quite pleased with how well the grey, blue and cream worked together.

I found the sleeve’s shoulder cap construction a bit strange, in that there was no cast off at the armpit, just a gentle decrease from there to the top of the shoulder. This did make it a little difficult when seaming but the sleeve and body stripes match up, so I’m happy.

If you are interested in WWII era knitting patterns, it’s worth looking at the collection hosted on the Victoria and Albert Museum’s website. I tend to think Victory is the pick of the bunch, but there are some other nice patterns on there that I’d consider making down the track, once my pattern queue and stash has diminished significantly.

If this post was to be one word long, ‘duffer’ is probably the most appropriate way to sum up this year in knitting. It’s been a bit of a ‘wheel spinning in the mud, not getting anywhere fast’ type of year, with all the reknitting I did. That’s perfectly OK though; it’s helped me realise that patience isn’t as overrated as I always thought it was.

I’m really happy with how all this year’s projects turned out, but strangely I don’t have much to say about them. My favourite colours, green and brown, were well represented and I became a bit more adventurous with pattern modifications.

This year my partner Matt released a couple of knitting apps for the iPhone. While not my achievement, I’m still immensely proud of Matt and the effort he put in for a couple of tools to make my knitting life a little easier. I can’t even begin to describe how pleased it makes me to hear that the apps are also useful to other knitters and crocheters – the support and suggestions from the knitting and crocheting community has been nothing short of amazing.

Outside of knitting, I finally tried my hand at some other crafts, and was pleasantly surprised by the results. Unfortunately these other crafty activities took a back seat when I left Brown Owls to move interstate, but non-knitterly crafty activities haven’t been far from my mind. Going from thoughts to reality is sometimes the hardest part of the process, I think.

Finally, I also tried my hand at selling some of my knitterly wares. By far, this was the most daunting thing I did this year. Going to market was a lot of fun, and nerve-wracking all at the same time. I will try again next year, with a little bit more wisdom and a lot more organisation.

Perhaps the word for 2009 should be ‘wonderment’, I think my pleasant surprise has been mentioned in just about every paragraph!

On that note, I think this dufferly wonderment of a year from the Pransellknit perspective has been covered. Thank you everyone for reading my funny little blog. I hope I’ll see you again in 2010!

These are the small diversions I was referring to last post.

Tiny Shoes by Ysolda Teague
Scraps of 8ply Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury, Cream
3.25mm double pointed needles
Started: November 2009
Finished: November 2009
Ravelryed here

A friend just had a little girl, and I’ve been wanting to try this pattern for a little while. Quite fortuitous really.

I initially started with Grignasco Bambi, but was concerned they were coming out a bit floppy. So, I upped the yarn to 8 ply Luxury and the needles to 3.5 mm. Although the end result is a lot more structured than my 4 ply attempt, it’ll be a while before they fit. It pains me a little that the colour of the button doesn’t quite match the colour of the bootee, but as soon as I spied the buttons at the shop, I knew they were going to be the ones for this project.

I’m now building quite a collection of projects made from Ysolda Teague’s patterns, I think this is the sixth pattern of hers I’ve used. Beyond the look of the finished objects, I always learn something new about construction and find her patterns pretty clear and well written. In fact, there’s only two instances where I’ve struck trouble; the top button hole of Liesl (a fix for that exact problem was sent out this morning, as luck would have it) and the cast on for Elijah (required a bit of mental and physical gymnastics to get it to work, but the effort is worth it). I guess some would argue that these are two issues too many, but in both instances they made me think about how I knit in a different way, and not in an angry ‘I hate knitting’ way, which I think is a positive thing.

After many years, many mistakes, many stints in the naughty corner and much procrastination, Matt’s Suave Sweater is done. It’s a big mixture of relief that it’s done and that it fits well, and sadness.

“Jumper” (seriously, that’s what it’s called) from Patons Bluebell pattern book 353, Suave Sweaters (circa 1970s)
5 ply olive green crepe from the magical and slightly mystical Bendigo Woollen Mills Bargain Room
3mm needles
Started: Some time during 2005
Finished: November 2009
Ravelryed here

If only I used Bluebell, this project could have been completed a lot quicker and with a lot less tears. However, I thought it would be a good substitute and was determined to make it work.

As I was finishing it off, I thought about all the things that have happened while it’s been in my knitting basket. I remember working on it while on the tram coming home from the last time I saw Matt’s dad before he died. I remember it being one of the ‘special’ projects that came with us when we overloaded my little car and made our way up the Hume nearly three years ago (but strangely, it was trusted with the removalists on our return. It must have been in the naughty corner at the time). I don’t think there’s been a project that has carried so many memories, but this may be purely because of the length of time it took to finish it.

Being a pretty plain diagonal rib jumper, it’s probably an unremarkable project to everyone but me, but I’m really proud of it. I worked through the gauge issues, the sleeve cap issues and the ‘losing the pattern’ issues (thank you to Australian Country Spinners for helping me out there) without ever thinking about giving up. Best of all, it fits and he likes it a lot.

The only concern I have is the sleeves. Does anyone else think it looks a bit strange at the shoulder? The amount of staring at the sleeve cap may have warped my perception but it doesn’t look quite right, a bit lumpy and baggy. Having said all that it’s unlikely that I’ll unpick it, it can just be a charming character flaw.

Now that it’s done, there’s one small diversion to deal with and then a new project can be started. I’ve been fawning over the yarn and pattern for the last couple of weeks when the end was in sight, so it will be most pleasing to get a start on it.

Overzealous yarn overs have been conquered, Hap is now finished!

Hap Blanket by Ysolda Teague
1.75 skeins Countrywide 12 ply light grey, 0.75 skein Countrywide 12 ply dark grey
9mm needles
Started: September 2009
Finished: November 2009
Ravelryed here

As predicted, the hot days have started so it’s unlikely Hap will be used for quite some time. Having said that, I do live in a city where I once got sunburnt and hailed on in the same day in December some years ago. The blanket did get a quick test run, and it’s very warm and surprisingly large.

I was hopeful that this would be one of two Haps with this yarn; this one, and another with the colours reversed. Unfortunately I underestimated the amount of yarn required for the border. As I haven’t seen this yarn elsewhere (one of the few drawbacks of picking up yarn at op shops), only one Hap will be made with this yarn.

The border was pretty arduous, even with 9mm needles. The rows are long, and one small mistake can take a long time to frog and fix. There’s no denying though that the border makes the blanket, so the slight tedium is worth it.