Calorimetry November 6, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, fo, free knitting patterns, hats, knitting.1 comment so far
This is such a fabulous pattern! After Kierstin made me one like a total love, I realized how perfect this winter gear solution was for locs. Problem… I have a bright red coat which I cannot wear with her delightful mauve calorimetry. I wear that one with my other coat. So what is a knitter to do the night before leaving for Montreal in November with said red coat? Knit of course! This is in Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica with a happy pewter spinning wheel button.
Too satisfying.
The Walk of Shame September 28, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, Socktoberfest, Socktoberfest 2006, fo, free knitting patterns, jaywalkers, knitting, knitting socks, socks.add a comment
Jaywalkers are of course a much beloved pattern and have nothing to do with the shame described in this post. I am celebrating the end of three… years… of second sock syndrome. Hence the shame.
It all began when I started toe up jaywalkers in Scout’s Socktoberfest colorway. Yes, nigh on three years ago. There is nothing quite like telling people to stay tuned on October 13, 2006 and just posting an FO today. Terrible. In my defense the dreaded second sock syndrome was compounded by the halloween theme of my socks. Pretty much if the second sock wasn’t started by the end of October it was set in the WIP pile for another year.
Several people who have seen my finished witchy socks have (rightly) argued that they can be worn at any time, not just at halloween. Though there is something about that orange-purple-black combo that does cry out for our unique American observance of this time of year. Is anyone else already looking forward to small children in adorable costumes? I definitely am. It is worth handing out chocolate to see such cuteness.
Regardless of your halloween practices, I for one am delighted to have these finished. And yes, even though these were started three years ago… the purple trend continues. While rumors may be circulating that I also just purchased a pound of dark plum merino top from The Fold, you can’t prove it and anyway it wasn’t my fault. 
The Purple Theme Continues August 16, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, Noro, fo, free knitting patterns, knitting, scarf.add a comment
Just a brief update to share that I have completed another Noro striped scarf (ubiquitous, yes) and this time I actually like the colors. Good thing since this scarf is for me. The colors are actually much brighter than in this picture, with some of those yellows being more on the green end of things. But most importantly, I am very pleased.
It is huge! Almost 100 inches in length and with much nicer drape than the last one because I used Noro Silk Garden Light this time. I highly recommend it.
Once upon a clog… August 8, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, clogs, felted clogs, felting, fo, knitting, yarn.5 comments
The Felted Clogs pattern by Bev Galeskas has been utilized by thousands of knitters to create deliciously squishy slippers. Mine went on something of a journey…
Once upon a time there was an eBay posting for a colorway of Manos del Uruguay yarn that I had never seen before. Neptune! The green and purple combo always appeals to my inner witchiness so there was no resisting. But then the yarn arrived. The green was lighter than anticipated. I had no idea what on earth to do with it. After a period of stash ripening, I began to imagine clogs. Warm, squishy clogs. This was when I was living in Illinois. In winter. Gak. So I made one. Yes, insert dreaded drumroll here. Just one. And then procrastinated waited.
Moving to Florida was, of course, wonderful inspiration to get that second clog done. Not so much. More stash ripening. Then finally came my recent move to New Haven, CT. Moving here from Orlando, FL was a bit of a shock. I was freezing cold in my house. In June. Uh oh. My two “wasted” years of knitting nothing warm, of obsessing over lace and socks, came back to haunt me. Cold in June. No one selling slippers. What to do? Enter the stash!
But of course, there was a problem. My original first clog had been cuffed in a solid purple yarn. Which I promptly lost. So I was out the other color and couldn’t find the remnant of that first skein of yarn either. And what had I done with two of the three remaining skeins? Gifted them to a friend of course. Genius. But she liked the colors, so how not? So there I was. Two cuffs and a full clog to do with one remaining skein of yarn. Would I make it?
See that dangling piece of yarn there? Yep. That is how much remained when I finished the outer sole (last section of knitting) on my second clog. These barely made it! I had to seam in another color of Manos. Anyway, the prayers worked and I just made it in the end.
One warning: I followed the felting instructions and felted for 10 minutes at first. That was the exact right amount of time. They were completely finished. Finished enough that I was worried I had overfelted. Which would have been a poor ending to our story. So please, if you make these clogs, start with less than 10 minutes of felting.
They fit! Thank goodness!
The end.
Koolhaas for Johanna June 7, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, fo, hats, knitting, koolhaas.1 comment so far
My fabulous cousin reminded me (mid-move, sorry that it has been so long between posts) that I have never knitted her anything. A horrendous oversight! After all, knitters are always looking for people to unload bless with yarny goodness. Think summer and one too many zucchini plants in the garden.
Now that I have moved away from Orlando and put many miles between us once again, it is good to know that she has something with her that I made with my own hands… an object that is literally stitched together with love. Of course, I still owe her a scarf. I am not a miracle worker. I got about halfway through the scarf which, considering all the moving madness, I’d say is a win. I loathe moving! The organizing, the purging, the boxes… the humbling love of your housemate who graciously models your knitted hat once again even though you have been cranky all day!
Devorah is full of grace. Those who know her know that well. Look at that photo, she is even smiling while wearing a hat made for someone with a bigger head. Patience, she has it. Koolhaas, this lovely dome of buttery soft cables, was designed by Jared Flood. Ravel it here. The yarn is 100% baby alpaca (Miski, by Mirasol) and therefore the cables do not pop as much as some other koolhaas’ I have seen. But the color was perfect (she asked for blue or purple) and the softness is not to be believed.
This was a lovely pattern. A bit hard on the fingers (what with the all over cabling), but if you are looking for the perfect reason to learn cabling without a needle, this one is more than worth it.
Small Cabled Tarot Deck Pouch April 20, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, Paganism & witchcraft, fo, handspun, knitting, pagan.1 comment so far
So what do you do when your first attempts at long draw spinning result in all of 50 yards of green three ply yarn? I decided that my little nubbin of fluff and need for a pouch for my new tarot deck were well matched.
See that ridiculously small tuft of green on the side? That is how much yarn I had left over when I was done. I even used the tail from the cast on to sew up one of the sides! Still I am supremely pleased with this little pouch. It features a cable from Viking Patterns for Knitting by Elsebeth Lavold and is just about the sproingiest twist of green goodness that I ever did see.
We are very pleased.
Shetland Triangle April 13, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, evelyn clark, fo, knitting, knitting lace, lace knitting, shawl, shetland triangle.1 comment so far
Welcome to my 100th blog post!!!!
Finally we have celebrated Kierstin’s birthday so I can show you the big project I was working on in March. This super bright swath of pinkness was in all truthfulness a joy to knit. This is the Shetland Triangle, by Evelyn Clark which many have knit before me.
The lace pattern is deliciously repeated and actually is the only lace project I have seen that lends itself well to airplane travel knitting.
Normally this is a shoulder shawl, so I added an extra four repeats of the body pattern to make it the size I was aiming for. When I saw two skeins of Zephyr Wool-Silk in Dianthus (about as close to Kierstin’s favorite color of pink that I have seen in a lace weight yarn) I knew that a shawl had to be the birthday offering of choice.
The shawl was a pile of pink wavyness when it finally came off the needles (as I continually eyeballed the yarn trying to gauge how many repeats I could really coax out of it… 12 was easy and stress free, I am not sure how some folks on Ravelry have gotten 15 out of these skeins!).
This was my first time knitting lace weight yarn held double. It made a glorious fabric, with wonderful drape. Part of that, of course, is the Zephyr Wool-Silk. Yet I really do love how it feels doubled on itself. But the blocking! Arrgh the blocking!
I have never had a shawl come so close to winning. I swear I was breathing heavily by the time I was done and the next day my arms were sore! It is just a different thing to stretch out doubled yarn. I had no idea. It is gorgeous, sadly none of these pictures really do the shawl justice. But wow that was an experience to behold.
A Quick Little Knit March 11, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, fo, free knitting patterns, knitting, lace knitting.add a comment
Valentine’s Day saw me wanting to knit something for my sweetie. Something fun, a bit naughty, and of course red. Had to be red. This FO is super hard to photograph. Apologies for not getting a clear, logical shot for you. But it was super fun to knit and really well constructed!
This is a great pattern from Interweave Knits by Laura Rintala. And it is very well constructed… I was impressed. The one change I made was suggested by another raveler, and that was to use elastic ribbon which makes the wearing of this lacy thong a lot more comfortable. This pic has a clearer shot of the lace in front. I will warn you that this is a ~small~ pair of undies, even for small undies. I did expand the waistband a bit.
Hooray for Valentine’s Day (and the great blog catch up which continues).
Knitted Votive Holder March 6, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, Ravelry, fo, knitting.1 comment so far
Just a quickie for another update blast. This holiday season (yes… we are doing the catch up thing still) I made a votive holder for my grandmother. There is not a lot that she wants at this venerable and wise stage of her life, but lighting a regular candle for Santa Marta matters to her. So, knitting with wire it was. What a strange and different thing to do. All blessings upon Ravelry for being the place where I could get advice on how not to totally trash my fingers while doing this knitting.
28 gauge wire turned out to be the trick.
It was pretty easy! And Devorah, may she be forever blessed, was a huge help when she strung over 300 beads on this wire for me in advance so I could simultaneously work on knitting another (probably not to be pictured here) knitted gift. Time was tight. And she, as always, was a saint. Maybe next year she can have a votive holder of her own!
I decided to use Christmasy colors for beads and a red votive just to be festive. The doily in this picture was crocheted by one of the women who cares for my Grandmother. She is forever stitching… woman after my own heart.
I love you, Grandma.
The Stripes of Madness March 2, 2009
Posted by lunarawe in Knitting - FOs, fo, knitting.2 comments
There was a time way back these many weeks when one of our favorite knitting mentors, The Yarn Harlot, was helping her body adapt to stressful conditions by watching the pretty colors form under the k1p1 rib of a Noro Striped scarf. I remember reading that post and being drawn to the prettiness, for all that she was bemoaning how many other knitters had already knit the exact same thing. Like others, I have no doubt, I felt compelled to go out and knit with some Noro… something which had never called to me before. Usually I find their yarn too scratchy, but I hunted up some silk garden and gave it a go.
There was one thing that went fatally wrong however. In my colorway selection (and I am ashamed to admit I no longer remember which colors these are) I was swayed at the last moment to swap out one colorway for another that my housemate preferred. It was a lovely colorway… but… I dont think it goes so very well with the other one chosen. Kierstin (the lovely model above) disagrees and happily took this scarf off of my hands. The prime color clash (bright pink and bright green) are not so terribly obvious in that photo, so here is another:
Sigh. BRIGHT. But it was very soothing to my stressed out fingers while I was finalizing my grad school applications. So much so that I ended up purchasing more yarn in Silk Garden Light (and in happier colors) and am making another scarf for myself. More pics of that one in the future. But here’s to sharing another FO… and more importantly for finding out yesterday that I got into my top choice for school. I am so excited! I hope they have a good spinning guild in New Haven.
