Handspun Shaking Leaves

Shaking Leaves Cardigan


Hello Yarn Club fiber Finn "Shaking Leaves". This prep was so absolutely wonderful, it practically spun its self! I really love the squishyness of the garter stitch with the Finn wool.

Spinning notes:
20oz Finn wool spun semi worsted. I like to spin long draw, but I smooth the singles as I let them wind on. This is possibly not technically correct, but it works for me!

Singles spun 18-20 wpi
Plied yarn 9-10 wpi
Grist-Approx 1000 ypp Worsted-Aran weight






Knitting notes:
Gauge: 20sts, 33 rows/4in with size 7 needles
Yarn required ~1100 yards Worsted-Aran weight

Finished measurements:
Collar 18"
Bust 39"
Yoke depth 8.5"
Upper arm 14"
Waist 34"
Length (from underarm) 16"
Sleeve 15.5"
If you need this bigger or smaller, you can simply knit more or fewer increase rows. Ah, the beauty of Top down sweaters!

Odd rows RS, Even rows WS

Body:
With size 4, 32" circular needle CO 85 sts and k 4 rows plain
Row 5- Knit Increase row - *k3 kfb* k1 (throughout pattern repeat sts between *'s)- 21 sts increased - 106 sts
Row 6- Switch to size 7 32" circular needles, k 1 row even - knit button hole on this row and every 7 garter ridges, or to your own taste. I did a 3 stitch 2 row buttonhole.
Row 7- Knit Short row - k 80% of sts, w&t, knit back to the same point on the other side, w&t, k to end of row. (Example: If you have 100 sts on needle, k 80sts(20 sts from the end), w&t, k 60sts(20 sts from the end), w&t k to end. No need to pick up wraps when knitting short rows in garter stitch)
Row 8- k 1 row even
Row 9- Knit Increase row - k5 *kfb, k2* k5 - 32 sts increased - 138 sts
Row 10- knit 1 row even
Row 11- Knit Short row as stated above except only k 70% of your stitches before your, w&t
Row 12- k 1 row even
Row 13- Knit Increase row - k7 *kfb, k3* k7 - 31 sts increased - 169 sts
Row 14-28 knit even (don't forget your button hole!)
Row 29- Knit Increase row - k6 *kfb, k5* k7 - 26 sts increased - 195 sts
Row 30- knit 1 row even
Row 31- Prepare to begin raglan increases(RS)- k31, pm, k1, pm, k38, pm, k1, pm, k53, pm, k1, pm, k38, pm, k1, pm, k31
Row 32- k7, p to last 7 sts, k7 (continue 7 st garter button band throughout)
Row 33- 1st raglan increase round - k to first marker, *M1R, k1, M1L, knit to next marker* repeat across - 8 sts increased. 203 sts.
Repeat last 2 rows 10 more times. 88 sts increased. 283 sts.
Repeat row 32
Split sleeves from body(RS) removing markers and knitting raglan sts as you come to them- k43, slip next 60 sts to scrap yarn, CO 6 under arm sts, pm, CO 6 more sts, k77 sts, slip next 60 sts to scrap yarn, CO 6 under arm sts, pm, CO 6 more sts, k43.
Knit body sts in stockinette stitch back and forth, keeping the 7 st garter button band, until sweater measures 3 in from underarm. Decrease 2 sts at each side every 8th row, 4 times.
Knit straight for 3-4 inches
Increase 2 sts at each side of side markers every 7th row, 3 times. Knit to 1.5" less than desired body length.
Knit 12 rows of garter stitch and bind off.

Sleeves:
Slip sleeve sts back onto size 7 circular or DPN. PU 6 sts pm, PU 6 sts, join and begin to knit in the round.
Decrease 2 sts each side of marker each round for 3 rounds and then once more after knitting a few rounds plain.
Knit 5 inches even.
Decrease 2 sts each side of marker every 12th row, 5 times.





Knit sleeve 1.5" less than desired length (in my case 14 inches) and knit 12 rows of garter stitch and bind off.
Repeat for second sleeve.
Sew on buttons and enjoy!!




DISCLAIMER - I do not own or have ever looked at the pattern "Garter Yoke Cardigan by Melissa LeBarre" I was inspired by this design, but wanted to incorporate some additional features such as a higher neckline and additional waist shaping. This pattern is not really "mods" per se, but my own interpretation of that pattern. I did my best to double check the math, so please let me know if you find a mistake.

Merry Christmas!!

Yarn Ball Wreath
Originally uploaded by Orchid22

So, I can't believe that is has been this long since I have actually posted on my blog!!!
I have been so busy since last fall. Work has been crazy, and then I got a spinning wheel for Christmas last year and have been spinning up a storm ever since.

This is a little wreath that I put together using styrofoam balls and some yarn that I picked up on the cheap at JoAnn's. Oh, yeah, and 2 of the balls are covered in yarn that I spun from my puppers!

Natalie Dee rocks!

Seriously! This girl is hard core funny...



nataliedee.com




nataliedee.com

Fabulous Fiddleheads

It may seem strange to be so excited about knitting mittens at the beginning of Summer, but I saw this pattern on Ravelry and I just had to cast on IMMEDIATELY!! These mittens were designed by Adrian Bizilia of Hello Yarn fame.



I have never felt compelled to do any Fair Isle knitting before. I always thought it looked too folksy or something, but this pattern combines a beautiful design with uber-functionality. I don't think these look too bad for my first attempt at stranded knitting.

I have learned a few new tricks with this pattern as well. You begin the mittens with an I-cord cast on. I can see this being a really useful tool in many other situations. I also learned the aforementioned stranded knitting. I followed Adrian's suggestion of using the colored yarn as the color you "carry under" and I tried to knit continental with my left hand and english with my right, but I am not very proficient in continental yet and my hands were cramped something terrible!!


I knit these in the small size with Lamb's Pride Worsted as the main color and Noro Kureyon as the contrast color on size US3 needles. This produced a firm windproof fabric. I am still trying to decide what to line these with. I have some Lana Grossa Babykid in Teal that is a possibility and also some Blue Sky Alpaca sport weight in a lucious turquoise color.



The lining is up next...Stay tuned!!!

Ravelry = Major time suckage

While I was waiting for my Ravelry invite for all those tedious months, I always envisioned how much easier it was going to make my knitting life. It really has revolutionized the way I have decide what projects to knit and what yarns to lust after, but there was one unanticipated effect.

Major. Time. Suckage.

It is so easy to get caught up analyzing patterns and researching the perfect yarn. Not to mention the forums!! There is a forum announcing new yarn sales, one listing yarns that people have for trade and various social groups to chit chat and be goofy in. It is really easy to spend several hours chatting and looking around and zero time knitting. I have met a ton of cool, funny and interesting people on Ravelry. It really has been a lot of fun!

In knitting news, I got my first Smooshy Arrows sock completed. I really love this yarn!! It is 100% extrafine Australian merino. The colorways are slightly variegated and shift colors gradually. I love the stitch definition that I get. This yarn is really really smooshy! I think it is my favorite yarn for socks right now.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by Orchid22

Here is just a little glimpse of our decorated tree.



I did the whole tree in cool blue shades and silver snowflakes.











I am so glad we finally got a tree. I have been wanting to have one to decorate for a few years now. I was kind of worried that the dogs would knock it over or eat the ornaments, but the have actually been pretty good. I had one little issue with Tanuki trying to eat an ornament, but I caught him before he ate too much.

I love this little lambie ornament. I got it at the lobby store at my work. It is so nice to work at home office and be able to shop on my lunch break if I need to pick up some gifts.

I can't wait for all of this holiday craziness to be over so I can get back to more knitting!!!

I have 3 pairs of socks on the needles right now, but I have been itching to start something bigger. I hope there are some good yarn sales after the holidays so I can get some yarn for a bigger project.

Will it felt?

I have been wondering about the durability of the new Noro sock yarn since this is a single ply non-superwash yarn. I had heard some rumors that it was indeed superwash, so I decided to put it to the test. I knitted up a VERY small swatch (4sts x 4 rows). I couldn't bear to part with too much of this georgeous yarn for a destructive test.

I then measured it pre-washing.

I hand felted this swatch in the sink in warm water with some hand soap. It did felt rather quickly.

I measured the swatch post wash and it had shrunk about 1/8 inch in both directions. This yarn definitely is not superwash, but it sure is beautiful!!