Photos of things I've already posted about...

Hello!  No great photo of the lake today as we are having dreary rainy weather. I hate to complain because I spoke to Moogie who is in NYC and she said it was 11 F today. EEEK!  Instead I will post some photos of the projects that I talked about yesterday.

I will talk about the first square of the 2014 Sampler Mystery Knit-a-Long by Marie Segares at the end of this post because I will show a photo of the square, and if you are doing that KAL and don't want to see the square yet, well, you have been warned.

Age of Brass and Steam

It is being blocked as I type.  I pinned it out this morning and tried to get a decent photo but...  We are having gloom and rain, and I blocked it downstairs in the basement where there isn't much light.  We have a daylight basement, meaning that it opens to the outside since we are on a hill, but we have a deck over the doors out, and did I mention that it was gloomy and raining today? 

There was one other problem with getting a decent photo of the scarf, as you can see:

Why, Beena?  Why?  The minute I had it pinned down she ran and sat on it.  Well, at least you can sort of see the size.  I haven't woven in the ends yet, but will when I take the pins out.  I don't like to weave in the ends of things that will be stretched when blocked in case the woven parts get wonky.  I didn't stretch this very much.  I like the size of the front part, but I did want it to be a little longer at the sides or arms.  I can't wait to wear this!

Lady Igraine Socks by Heatherly Walker

I still need about 2 inches to the legs.  I hope to get that done tonight and move onto the heels tomorrow.

This is the right side,

and here is the wrong side or inside side:

I almost like the inside more.

Pattern 1 for the 2014 Mystery Sampler KAL

This was a simple knit and purl texture pattern. 

The blanket calls for 6 in. squares, but I doubled the pattern part of the square.  Does that make sense?  There is a four stitch border on either side, and a twelve stitch repeat.  The pattern calls for the twelve stitch repeat to be knit two times.  I knit the four stitch border, then knit the twelve stitch repeat four times, then knit the four stitch border again.  I am using Caron One Pound in  Light Green.  My niece in law asked for mint green, and this was the closest I could find. 

The squares need to be relatively tight, but I don't want them to be too stiff.  I think the designer recommends a US size 8 needle, but since I am a loose knitter, I used size 6.  Ha ha ha ha, my square is 15" x 15"

I will probably make nine squares in total.  That will make a big enough blanket for a newborn.

I also started an Emma's First Hat today.  This cute little newborn hat was designed by our own VanesaPolo for her new baby.  It is a quick fun knit and I love the finished hat.  I knit a couple last year.  I will either give this hat to our local hospital's NICU or Seattle Children's Hospital.  This hat is for the first game of Quidditch.  We are to pick one of the professional Quidditch teams, then craft something that fits the team's attributes.  The team I have chosen is the Tutshill Tornadoes.  Anything knit in the round fits a Tornado's attributes.  There should be bonus points for crafting for charity, too. 

Not the Scarf

Hello:

I am still waiting to take some finished photos of THE SCARF.  It is completely finished with ends woven in.  I love how it looks now that it is blocked.  I could just take some photos of it on a hanger, and I might have to do that if my kids don't wake up (it is only 1:15 pm...). 

Today I finished a hat that I have been slowly knitting all month.  I started this hat when I was in So. Cal. I got there right before December 1, so had a few days where I wasn't yet knitting THE SCARF, but needed something to knit.  I am using up all of this rust colored Wool-Ease I have from a failed sweater years and years ago.  Everyone is getting something with rust in it, either as the main color, or as a stripe.  Anyway, I had downloaded a free hat pattern, ... I don't remember when, and cast that on.

The pattern is Xeranthemum by Tiina Kuu.  I liked the flower details. 

I still need to block it, and weave in the last end.

I should probably say that it is ... based... on the pattern by Tiina Kuu.  I didn't follow the pattern exactly because I never bothered to print the pattern out, and since I worked on this in between Days of THE SCARF, I wasn't working regularly enough to remember exactly how to make the flowers.  I would come to a make a flower row, and think... how did she make these again?  And then I gave it my best shot.  They look almost right.

The pattern instructions say to knit until the hat is 23 cm, then begin the crown decreases.  I have tried the hat on and it feels really long.  I think I have a small head.  I made a hat for my nephew who is in college in Indiana (from So. Cal. so experiencing winter for the first time).  His mom told me that it doesn't even reach his ears!  He brought it home with him for Christmas, and his little sister is now wearing it for fun.  I hardly ever bother to measure when I am making hats.  I just keep trying on the hat, and when it seems slouchy, I start the decreases.  Maybe I need to actually measure.

This is the hat on a bowl for a model.  You can see it really needs to be blocked.

If I can get Pookie to model for me, I'll post better photos tomorrow.

If Moogie doesn't want it, I might send it to my niece in New Jersey.  I've been wanting to knit something for her.  I can't send it to Halos of Hope because it is wool, and not particularly soft.

I have also been working on my Age of Brass and Steam scarf.  About 1 1/3 years ago!  I decided that I needed some pretty scarves/shawlettes/shawls to accessorize my wardrobe as I was hoping to go back to work.  When we went to Bellingham, WA, on our little 4 shop LYS tour, I bought yarn for three different scarves, and this was one of them.  I bought some beautiful Silk and Merino -The Diana Collection from Yarns Northwest at The Wool Station.

I cast the scarf/shawlette on right away, then it just languished.  I really don't know why.  I like the yarn, I like the pattern.  I guess I just got busy with other things.  And it is a lot of stockinette.  I want to make this scarf.  So, for HPKCHC, (Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup), I proposed a NEWT (a 4 month long project) that involves four scarves/shawls.  THE SCARF is the first part of the NEWT.  The other 3 are the Age of Brass and Steam, Racing Raindrops by Churchmouse Yarn & Teas, and High Plains Drifter by Kristen Hipskey.  I bought the yarn for the High Plains Drifter on the same mini-yarn crawl in Bellingham when I bought the Diana Collection yarn. 

I was worried that my tensions might be completely different from how I knit that long ago, so I ripped it out, and cast it back on a few weeks ago, when I had a moment between THE SCARF knitting.

This is why I love HPKCHC.  I actually knit and finish projects.  Well, we shall see about the finishing.  But, I am really excited to make these scarves. 

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with a new hat.