It’s always a bit disappointing when a project doesn’t quite turn out as planned, and the reality isn’t nearly as attractive as it was in your mind’s eye. I think it’s even more disappointing when in your mind’s eye, the stash yarn you chose matched the pattern perfectly. Sometimes it is hard to let it go — perhaps the project will magically become better in a couple more rows.

I have had Raindance queued for a little while now, and had enough yarn leftover from Matt’s Henry to make it (how I had enough yarn leftover from a scarf to make a short sleeve top is a story for another day). Originally I had envisioned it as a nice tweedy top for work but sadly, I think this pattern and yarn just were not meant to be.

Working on it at Stitch n Bitch last night, something about it seemed a little off. The more I thought about it, I realised the yarn just did not work with the pattern. The flecks in the Grignasco Tango I was using just seemed a little too bold for the top — if I used a heathered yarn, or a tweed with more subtle flecks, it would look really good. So, this is the end of this incarnation of Raindance.

Looking at the Tango knitted up, it seems to be more suited to a jumper or a cardigan rather than a tshirt-like top. So, on my decidedly knitting-free commute to work today, I wracked my brains for a different pattern to use with this yarn and I think I have the solution. Pickadilly. I might be pushing my luck, yarn wise, and I’ll have to employ my virtually non-existent crochet skills, and I’ll have to buy more yarn for the edging, but I’m feeling a lot happier about this yarn/pattern match already. Happy enough to give it a fly anyway.

Excluding my Tyrolean Cardigan, it has been over a month since finishing my last knitting project. There’s been lots of knitting going on, but progress has been slow. So, it is with great relief that I present my latest finished project:

Generic toe up sock pattern by Wendy Johnson
75g Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 8ply, Raven
25g Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 8ply, Kelp
3.75mm needles
Started: May 2010
Finished: June 2010
Ravelryed: here

As the name suggests, these socks are a belated birthday present for my Dad. Although they are late I am pretty confident he will not mind — he seems to quite like hand knit socks. In fact, this is the fourth pair of socks I have knit for him, the third with this pattern and colour combination.

The previous pairs of Dad socks were knit either using one colour only, or with contrasting ribbing, heels and toes. This time I decided to treat Dad to some stripes, using the spiralling stripe method (Ysolda has a good tutorial here). I quite like this method for knitting stripes in the round as there’s no jog to worry about. However, it did require working with a number of balls of yarn at once, which resulted in some major tangles.

This pattern is my go to for plain socks as it is very straightforward. The yarn makes nice thick socks and has the advantage of knitting up very quickly relative to convetional sock yarn. Based on previous Dad socks, it seems to wear pretty well too. The fabric is probably a bit open, so next time I will use smaller needles.

Speaking of next time, I will have to find a better foot model. There was a little bit of a goldilocks thing going on when I took the photos — Matt’s feet are a smidge too big for the socks and mine a smidge too small. I am sure Dad will appreciate me drawing comparisons between his foot size and a fairy tale character.

Thank you for the thoughtful comments on the last post. It’s really interesting to read other people’s perspectives on comments, commenting and motivation for blogging. It’s given me a lot to think about.

Changing the subject completely, I’m always interested to see how finished projects fare down the track. Often a project’s blogging life ends soon after the project is finished, which means you don’t know whether the item got much use and what improvements would be made if it was made again. A recent epiphany about a finished project has provided the motivation to start a periodic ‘where are they now?’ series.

My Tyrolean Cardigan was finished about a year ago, but it’s only been worn a handful of times. I decided that the button band was the reason I wasn’t wearing it very often – I wore it to work recently and found I fiddled with it a lot.

before:

The button band was originally worked as in the pattern – seven buttons, with two spaced close together at the top and bottom. In this configuration, the front gaped a little, even though there was enough fabric to cover me. The buttons at the top and bottom were also largely redundant because I wore the cardigan with only the middle buttons done up, to help it nip in at the waist more.

A few potential solutions came to mind, but I ultimately decided to pull out the button band and start again. This time, I added an extra buttonhole and spaced them out more evenly. This required a bit more surgery than anticipated, as the neckband needed to be reknit as well.

I’m pleased to say it’s a lot more wearable now. It was taken for a test drive yesterday and I didn’t fiddle with it at all! Adding the extra buttonhole made all the difference, which is unsurprising given that the body was knit a bit longer than specified in the pattern.

after: – ravelryed here

As for the rest of the garment, I still really like the bobbles, the colour and the button choice. Being a very warm cardigan, it’s coming into its own now we’re on the Winter side of Autumn. Probably most importantly though, the fabric is holding up ok. There’s a bit of pilling under the arms, but as the rest of the cardigan is remaining pretty much pill-free, I’m reasonably satisfied with how it’s wearing.

The ‘where are they now?’ series is unlikely to feature all of my past knits, as not much interesting stuff can be said about a garter stitch scarf. However, I may be able to slip in a few pre-pransellknit knits that might be a bit more interesting…

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!

Decluttering is good for the soul. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself while sorting things into ‘sell, op shop and throw out’ piles.

As part of the decluttering effort, I’ve been sorting out and selling some of my yarn stash. For the most part it’s been really easy to decide what needed to be rehomed. For some of my yarn, the mere sight of it made me feel overwhelmed; what on earth was I going to use it for, and why did I buy it in the first place? That was a sure sign that it needed to be sent to someone who’d appreciate it more than I ever could.

The hard part of destashing is deciding whether to keep yarn I really like, but is not quite right for the projects I like to work on. A really good example is a jumper’s worth of Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 5 ply in Green Tweed that I own.

I’ve shown this yarn here before, when I was having trouble deciding on a project. I’m contemplating destashing it, but am having a hard time letting go. Rustic is my favourite yarn from the Bendigo Woollen Mills range, and 5 ply is a suitable weight for some of the vintage patterns in my collection. It’s a shame that it was discontinued quite some time ago.

However, I’m a bit stuck on the colourway. It’s not a colour that I’d ordinarily wear. This isn’t necessarily a problem, sometimes it’s good to branch out and try things you wouldn’t ordinarily. I just don’t know if I can risk expending all that effort on a garment (does that make me a product knitter?) to find I won’t wear it because of the colour. That last sentence might be a sign that the evolution from process to product knitter is beginning.

It seems so silly to feel so unsure about getting rid of some yarn, but I’m almost convinced I’m not the only one that suffers from stash separation anxiety.

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.

Bottom’s Up has been the tortoise to the Somerset hare, knitting wise. Somerset has at least had one mention on this blog and was knit up very quickly, slowing only because of my aversion to picking up stitches for the collar. Despite starting it in January, Bottom’s Up hasn’t been mentioned here at all and has trudged along, being mostly 1×1 twisted rib in the round, knitted on my work commute.

That’s pretty much where the tortoise and the hare analogy ends. Except if I can’t find my darning needles to weave in the ends on Somerset soon, in which case Bottom’s Up will be finished first.

Anyway! This project has been my first encounter knitting with linen yarn (Louet Euroflax Sport). I was somewhat wary after reading how hard some had found it to work with, but I don’t think it’s too bad. The lack of give means it’s a bit unforgiving tension-wise, but once in a rhythm it looks pretty good, and the knitted fabric feels quite nice.

The pattern itself is pretty arduous, but that lends itself well to commute, movie, or anything that provides distraction from the relentless ribbing. I hope I don’t sound too down on the pattern, as there’s absolutely nothing wrong with how it was written. I just overestimated my patience for ribbing, one of my least favourite knitting activities, even with the warnings in the pattern about it.

I’m perhaps a little premature in writing this as I’ve not finished it yet, but if you are looking to make Bottom’s Up, beware of the rib! Alternatively, if you’re a fan of ribbing, this is most definitely the project for you.

Before indulging in a Japan roundup post, I should mention how I went in the recent Ravelympics. Sad to say, I didn’t complete my project. This wasn’t much of a surprise, as the only real knitting time I thought I would have during the Olympics was on the plane to Japan and a couple of longer train rides. What did surprise me was how little I achieved.

I made a mistake early on, and even the smallest mistake with Henry, unless caught very early, means a whole lot of ripping back. My enthusiasm drained pretty quickly at that point. On top of that, it appears I misunderstood the rules for taking knitting needles on international flights. Soon after takeoff, I was told knitting on the plane was not allowed as the change to the prohibited item list only applied to domestic flights. This didn’t seem right to me, as I’d heard of others knitting on international flights departing from Australia without issue, but thought it best not to argue.

So yes, my Ravelympics effort was a bit of a washout. That’s perfectly all right though, Henry will now be my project for the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show. Given that’s still months away, it’s a much more relaxed goal and should (!!) be easily achievable.

Despite my previous claim about not having much time for knitting over the past couple of weeks, a little bit of knitting did occur; enough to finish off this fellow:

Elijah by Ysolda Teague
Approximately 100 grams of Lincraft Balmoral Tweed
Black embroidery thread
3.25mm double pointed needles
Started: February 2010
Finished: February 2010
Ravelryed: here

He was made as a thank you gift to our wonderful hosts in Tokyo. He was mostly done before we left, but his eyes and ears were finished while away. The only differences between this Elijah and previous Elijahs were slightly larger needles, accommodating for the slightly heavier yarn used (a 10 ply was used this time rather than the 8 ply used previously). I also used a little bit less stuffing, which makes him a bit easier to pose.

As this is the third time I’ve made Elijah, it’s hard to say whether this is now the end of my Elijah career. It would be good to try different patterns for toys as gifts, but at the same time it’s hard to go past him as he’s a fun and interesting pattern to knit, with such cute results.

Packing has commenced, knitted items and knitting projects have been assembled, documents have been photocopied. It’s just over 12 hours before we head off to Japan.

We’re a little bit nervous, but also a little bit excited. I will try to post while I’m over there, but there’s also every chance this little blog will again go into hibernation for two weeks.

Oh, and a Ravelympics update: I still haven’t finished casting on! Pace should pick up tomorrow while on planes and in departure lounges.