second finished object of the week

somewhat cowl finished, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I finished this in the pub last night, which was great. I finished the second cuff, sewed in a couple of ends and it was done. I do love top-down raglans!

Started 28 April 2006, finished 27 June 2006

Pattern: Somewhat Cowl by Wendy Barnard, with various modifications

Yarn: 700g of Debbie Bliss Maya

Needles: 5mm and 4.5mm circulars

Modifications: different gauge, so followed directions for the smallest size, fiddled with the raglan increases so the armholes didn't end up huge, added short row shaping at the bust, did the waist shaping as decrease darts under the bust and then increase darts at the side. Long arms, with shaping. Collar is only one layer, rather than folded over. Sewn bind-off on neckling and cuffs.

Notes: I love it! I did the neckline before the arms so that I could just split the remaining yarn in half and make the arms as long as I could. I ended up with a small ball of yarn, maybe 20m. It's a beautiful colour and very warm. I did put it on in the pub garden last night when it started to get cool, but I don't think I'll be wearing it much until the autumn. Perhaps on holiday in Scotland this summer.

Monday morning FO

red and purple socks, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Actually finished last night, just after Dr Who. (This seems to be a common occurance. What am I going to do when it ends?) Note: You can see me knitting these socks in some of the punting photos.

Started, 4 May 2006, finished 25 June 2006.

Pattern: toe-up, 64 stitches, k3 p1 rib, flap heel, finished with 12 rows of k1p1 rib, sewn bind-off.

Yarn: Fyberspates in Valentine

Needles: 2.5mm Addi turbos

Notes: These just about fit me, but they're a little on the small side. I think I know someone else who might like them though.

I might have another FO to show you tomorrow. Somewhat Cowl is about 40 sleeve rows away from be done. I doubt I'm going to have finished all my projects by the end of the month, but I'll have made a good dent in the list.

knitting in style

knitting, punting, headless punter, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

We went punting. Actually we went knitting and someone else did the punting. It was lovely, drifting past ducks, colleges and other punters. Having someone who knows what they're doing tends to mean you go a little faster and stay out of trouble. This bit of river, past the backs, tends to be full of tourists who've never been in a punt before who are struggling to keep it going straight.

This is the bit of the river next to King's College. In the front row, absorbed in their knitting are Alison and Anne. Behind them, Avril, Arthur and Marcelle and beyond them, Mary (who you can't see) and Diane. The other person you can't see is Emily, who was sitting next to me.

It was a lovely afternoon for punting and a good time was had by all. Thanks Mary for organising it! You can find other people's pictures here, here and here. More on my flickr photostream.

Ooh, and I won the draw and came home with a couple of skeins of Rowanspun tweed. Yummy!

not knitting, but I made it

Debs is ready for Kentwell, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

This is my sister Debbie's Kentwell costume. I made it last night. (It's a Tudor re-enactment place. Schools go on trips, everyone has to dress up. I've never been to Kentwell, but both my sisters have and I seem to be family costumier).

The bodice took the longest. It's a man's jacket from a charity shop, with the arms and collar taken off and some remodelling. The skirt is a simple drawstring tube, the apron is a square on a long skinny rectangle and the hat is the corner of an old fitted sheet, gathered onto a headband. I didn't make the undershirt, Debs happened to find a shirt with a suitable lacing at the neckline. She also made the hanging pocket and cupstring. It's not exactly authentic (the breast pocket on the bodice gives away its origins) but it's good enough. And it's laced up properly. Apparently, crossed lacing means you're a woman of ill repute. And you wouldn't want that.

big sock little sock

big sock little sock, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Those unpaired socks I was talking about. Purple and red sock 2 is on the needles. I'm amused by how much bigger the jaywalker sock is. The red sock is 64 stitches, k3 p1 ribbing, so looks pretty small when relaxed and jaywalkers are notoriously unstretchy because the stitches are on the bias. (Incidentally, I once spent a whole bus journey planning an experiment to investigate the stretchiness of the knitted stitch, involving finding Young's Modulus for different sorts of stitch patterns in different directions. I've never got round to doing the experiment. I'd have to find a school lab to borrow equipment from and stuff, but wouldn't it be a fun experiment to do? Or is that just me?)

Sorry Cambridge knitters, I failed to make it to a meet-up yet again. Blame post-exam tiredness and the rain. And the choir rehearsal. Mostly the choir rehearsal. Anyone want to come and hear us?

blue for June

ferry boat blue, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've got some socks to show you. Two socks, but not a pair. Shall I wait until they're paired or show you anyway? I can't actually show you them because I haven't taken any pictures of them.

I'm torn. There's a Cambridge knitalong tonight and I haven't been in ages, but I've also got an extra rehearsal before choir concerts this weekend. And I could do with the rehearsal. I might be showing up to knit for half an hour and then dashing off to the rehearsal.

blue knitting

Not done any yet, but here's a good excuse to knit in blue: Knit a River

"Help I Knit and WaterAid campaign for water and toilets for all by knitting a river. I Knit and WaterAid have joined forces to produce an innovative campaign tool to demand water and toilets for all."

Found via Kerrie.

WiP round-up

I have decided that this month, in preparation for moving across town (finally found somewhere to live yesterday. Not finalised yet, but looking good, hurrah!) I will aim to finish all my current knitting projects, with two exceptions. This is my current list.

Angelica: Oldest WiP. The body is done and the front opening. I tried the neckline treatment as written, decided I didn't like it and did an i-cord cast-off instead. She needs arms. This is a problem. The armholes are huge. I got 2/3 down one sleeve, decided it was far too large and ripped. The answer is probably some sort of short puff sleeve, although I'm not totally convinced that puff sleeves will match the slinkiness of the body. Any suggestions? I want to get her finished and I really don't want to frog until I've tried everything possible.

Somewhat Cowl: Rather less of a cowl, more of a long low scoopy neck. Body and neckline are finished, she needs arms. I'd like long arms, length will probably depend on how long the yarn lasts.

Forecast: Still looks like this. This is one thing I plan not to complete this month, in fact I want to get other things done so I can work on it.

Garter stitch shawl: This is a long-term stashbusting/using up scraps of yarn project, so I don't expect it to get finished anytime soon.

Purple and red socks: Toe-up ribbed socks. One sock done, one yet to be started. Awaiting a decision on whether they're for me or someone else.

Purple and yellow Jaywalkers aka psychedelic tiger socks: Started this weekend while revising (i.e. watching videos of As You Like It and Top Girls). I'll explain the name when they're done. Sock one is already past the heel and into decreasing the heel gussets. I know I had lots of problems with Jaywalkers the first time round and wasn't very enthusiastic about the completed pair, but actually, of all my handknit socks (4 pairs), they're the ones I wear most frequently. I think I've fixed my sizing issues, and somehow this pattern's perfect for variegated yarn when you want to make something that isn't plain stocking stitch or rib.

So that's four arms and 2 and a half socks to knit by the end of the month. Possible, I think.

Waiting in the wings to be started once I've cleared the decks: Arisaig in vintage Jaeger gaelicspun (swatched last week, got gauge, hooray!), Diamond fantasy shawl in HipKnits cashmere sock yarn, more Elfines, possibly for me, possibly for someone else, Hopscotch socks as designed by Pixeldiva in more HipKnits cashmere.

green bin and gone

This picture represents how good I've been at making things in this month's Project Spectrum colour, green. Er, rubbish. I'm surrounded by green things, plants, trees, bins, but no knitting. I did buy greenish sock yarn, not done anything with it yet. Next month is blue. I have one blue project waiting to be finished (Angelica, she needs arms. I knitted half an arm, it took ages, I didn't like it. The armholes are huge, I want close fitting arms, I can't think of a way of decreasing that won't look rubbish, so I think I'm going to do short sleeves and call it a day), another sort of blue project I might start (lace shawl in blue-grey cashmere sock yarn). Roll on July and purple. I can do purple.

ta da!

purple cotton cardigan, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

(Apologies for the state of the bathroom mirror.)

I present, the Time Traveller cardigan. Started 6 May 2006 while watching Dr Who, finished 27 May 2006, just after Dr Who, worn to work for the first time today.

Pattern: made it up as I went along. I swatched, I measured, I knitted, I ripped, I guessed, I did maths. Jenna Wilson's Knitty articles (part 1, part 2, and especially part 3) on the maths of set-in sleeves were very useful. I ended up with a vaguely 1940s sleeve top, which wasn't quite what I was going for, but I decided to keep it and try to work out how to make my next sleeves better.

Yarn: Araucania Nature Cotton, about 650g.

Needles: 6mm straights and a 5mm crochet hook for the edging and button holes.

Notes: This was a very quick knit, even though I reknit some of the pieces several times. Nature Cotton is lovely stuff, very soft (although this does mean it sheds fluff everywhere and I expect it's going to pill). I used metal needles because they're the only 6mms I have, but I think that helped. As usual, I had to look up how to crochet and it took me several attempts to get it right, but I think I actually ended up with something that's almost an official crochet stitch, even if I can't remember if it's single or double. (I think it depends which side of the Atlantic you're on). The buttons came from the bead and button shop in the Real McCoy Arcade in Exeter.

If I knit this again, I'd add some bust shaping and improve the armscyes and sleeve cap shaping. I'm please with the result though, I have what I wanted, a v-neck cotton cardigan for summer and I've learnt a lot about making things fit in the process.

still knitting

Hello there. Sorry, no progress pictures today, but there has been knitting. Purple cotton cardigan is finished, but for the buttons. I'm hoping to buy buttons from the funky button shop in Exeter and finish it this weekend while visiting HP. Somewhat cowl body is finished, I'm doing the neckline next, and the arms last. I like how it fits so far, although curious to see what the collar does to it. Pre-collar, the neckline's so low it's unwearable in public.

What was May's Project Spectrum colour again? Oh yes, green. Not much green knitting going on, but I am surrounded by green leaves. Here are leaves (and pigeons) as seen from my favourite town centre chain sandwich place.

this morning's post

This morning, I was late enough (or he was extra early) to still be at home when the postman came and he brought socks! Hooray! Here they are, beautiful Boysenberry Pie socks knitted by Judy of Dragonflyknits. Yay! They're beautiful! They're beautifully soft and just my colours. Thank you!

And that's not all. She also sent beautiful stitch markers, look. Pretty! As I was dancing round the kitchen and taking pictures of my feet (as you do) there was an item on the radio about online communities and how they affect people. This knitblogging thing is a little odd, perhaps, but it's fun thinking of all those socks flying around the world, all those connections that wouldn't have been made otherwise. Big round of applause for Alison for making it all possible!

oh look, another purple thing

In my defence, I'll be able to wear this one as soon as I finish it (assuming I do finish it.) I went to the HipKnits shop on Saturday which was interesting, especially when my car refused to start to take me home. (This was actually a good thing since it meant the AA came and looked at it and discovered the loose battery terminal which has been causing the car to refuse to start reliably for several weeks.) I bought this stuff - Araucania Nature Cotton - and following Dee's suggestion I'm using it make myself a summer cardigan. I swatched not long after I got home and knit about halfway up the back while watching Dr Who (Slightly bonkers episode, 18th century France, clockwork robots and a controversial snog) and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (not a brilliant chick flick, but mildly amusing). I'm making it up as I go along and surprisingly, it's not a top-down raglan. (Gasp!) I've no idea whether I've got enough yarn for a long sleeved cardigan, I've got 7 skeins and the back looks like it's going to take at least 2. So I'm hoping 2 skeins for the back, one each for the fronts and a ball and half for each sleeve. It'll need buttons or something, so I might have to buy some more yarn to do a button band or a crochet edging. Anyway, it's fun making it up as you go along.

socks sent

The socks have arrived with my sockpal, Knitting Iris. I think she likes them! :-)

I like finishing things

Really I do. I just don't seem capable of finishing anything other than socks. Starting stuff though, I'm very good at. Like this. A Somewhat Cowl in Debbie Bliss Maya, which is a beautiful colour and will be too hot to wear for months. I love it though. The yarn is just thick enough to make progress at a satisfying rate and the colour is just subtly variable enough to give it depth and interest.
But I still haven't finished Angelica (she's got half an arm and may have for a long time yet. Knitting arms is boring. I need a long and dramatic film or several. Or a really long train journey) and Forecast hasn't got any further than this. And what I really need right now is a little, lightweight v-neck summer cardigan. Maybe like this once Ysolda puts the big sizes up. Or maybe I should just invent something. But I'd need to buy yarn. Or maybe I should finally get round to making Arisaig, which I've wanted to make ever since I saw it, but have been scared of the lace. But now I've knit lace, I can see it's not scary at all. So maybe I should do that. Or maybe I should write the essay that's due in a fortnight.

wave your feet in the air

cashmere socks in the air, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Especially if they're clothed in newly completed cashmere socks.

Pattern: make-it-up-as-you-go-along. Toe-up, 64 stitches. Zig-zags made with k2tog YO and YO ssk holes, short row heels, k1tbl p1 twisted ribbing, picot cast off (cast on 2, cast off 4).

Yarn: yummy cashmere sock yarn from Hipknits.

Needles: 2.5mm Addi turbos

Soft, colourful, fun.

stripy cashmere socks

stripy cashmere socks, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Thanks for all the lovely comments about the Elfines. I posted them off this morning. They're going far far away.

This is what I've been working on lately. The yarn is Hipknits cashmere sock yarn. It's gorgeous! So soft and the colours are yummy. And, when I've had to rip it back, it seems to grip on to itself well, so it's dead easy to rip back and pick up stitches. This skein was a small one, about 65g, which is why these are ankle socks. Definitely worth splashing out for a full-sized skein I think.

Ooh and these are counting as my yellow/orange thing for Project Spectrum.

Elfine's socks finished

Elfine's socks as modelled by HP, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

At last! Sock two is decidedly more orange than sock one. I hope my sockpal doesn't mind.

Pattern: Elfine's socks by Anna Bell

Yarn: Fybrespates hand-dyed sock yarn in orange and green.
Needles: 2.5mm Addi turbos (love 'em! Magic Loop is great and very fast!)

Modifications: none

This is a beautiful pattern. I'd never knit lace before but the directions were so clear that it wasn't hard. I want to make some more of these for me. I can just about get my feet into these, but I think I'll try doing a placket heel instead of a short row heel so they fit me without being too stretched.

Now to wash and block.

new knitalong

I've not yet finished Angelica or the sockpal socks, but I was craving something with a little more thinking involved, so I started Forecast. Seed stitch! Cables! Bobbles! (I'm being wimpish and doing three stitch bobbles like everyone else I've seen so far. The five-stitch ones did look a bit too much like some sort of growth.) Angelica will do for mindless knitting, like sitting in front of the telly, as will Elfine now I've pretty much memorised the lace pattern.

Here's my forecast progress so far.

HP and her knitting

Hannah and her knitting, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

Look, some knitting that isn't my Eflines! It's the Easter holidays and HP (my not-so-little-anymore little sister), being a student type, has a long long holiday to do nothing (maybe some work) in. She's currently staying with Debs (my middle sister) and last night I went round for tea. I was under strict instructions to take my 12mm so needles so HP could start knitting her cardigan, and here's proof that she did. It's in Colinette Point 5, bought last year at the Colinette Mill Shop whilst on holiday in Wales. It's going to be a zippy cardigan, very warm, very green, very HP.

And the Elfines? Still growing.



me and some socks, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

one elfine done

one elfine done, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I acheived my weekend goal of finishing Elfine sock one and starting sock two. Sock one is still attached to the ball because I want my smaller footed sister (whose feet are almost exactly the same size as my sockpal) to try it on for size first.

Ball two is much more orange than than the first ball of yarn. Just in time for Projct Spectrum's April colours of orange and yellow.

Detail of the stitch pattern and yummy colours.


elfine stitch pattern, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

elfine in progress

elfine in progress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

My sockpal sock number one has been growing slowly. There were some setbacks. I don't seem to get on with the wrap method for short row heels. My first attempt was messy and too small since I decided for reasons best known to myself to knit it on 2.25mm dpns. The current heel is attempt 3 or 4, still using the wraps method, but on 2.5mm dpns. I think it's OK. Sock two will have a backyards yarnover short row heel though. I seem to get on with those better.

Heels apart, I love the stitch pattern. I'm not quite confident enough to knit without looking at the directions, but the lace pattern is pretty intuitive. I've done a repeat and a half of the leg. I'm going to see if I can finish this sock and start the second one this weekend.

angelica in progress

angelica in progress, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I've finished the body. Looking at this picture, the darts look in the slightly the wrong place. But I quite like how it fits, so I'm not ripping the body out. Onto the sleeves!

Cross-posted on Angelica knitalong page.

secret monkeys revealed

secret monkeys revealed, originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

It's been sent now, so here's that secret project - a jumper for the newly arrived daughter of my friends D and C. C comments sometimes as monkeypask, so there had to be monkeys.

Pattern: Made it up as I went along. Top down raglan with seed stitch edging and buttoned opening along the raglan line.

Yarn: Emu superwash wool from my Grandma's stash.

Needles: 4.5mm circs and dpns

Notes: This was a fun knit and a quick one. I wrote down what I did as I went along, mostly, so I could do it again. The button tabs in are slightly the wrong place, the top one should probably be nearer the neck. I looked and looked for monkey buttons, couldn't find any, so made some out of Fimo. This won't fit the baby yet, but hopefully she'll grow into it before it's too hot to wear.

Here's another monkey close-up.

aches

I've got an essay to write to post on Wednesday morning. I can tell because my wrists hurt. I was supposed to do lots of essay writing yesterday, but instead I did lots of kntting-based displacement activities and now my wrists ache slightly. Oops. A couple of days not knitting and they'll be fine again.

So what did I knit? I started Pomatomus, (above) but I decided I didn't like it. The yo holes looked huge (although looking at this version, I think they're meant to be) and I had big ladders and I didn't like the way it was pooling. So that's been ripped. The yarn might become Mata Hari socks, but I think I should finish my sock pal socks first.

Talking of the Elfines, I've reknit the short row heel on the first one about three times and I'm still not totally happy with it. I just can't work out how to knit the wraps together on the knit side. The pattern says knit the wraps and stitch together through the back loop (something like that), but that makes a big loop on the right side when I do it. Perhaps I'm just interpreting it wrong. I'm fine on the purl side (the trick is to lift the wraps onto the needle and then purl them together). I'll try the backwards yarnover method on the second heel I think. I need to get a move on. 2nd May seemed ages away when I started, but now it's nearly April.

I did loads of boring stocking stitch rows on the body of Angelica while watching Poirot last night, so she's getting nearer to being finished. I'd like to finish her soon or it'll be too warm to wear her. Not worth a picture since she'd just be a big navy blue blob.

I feel like I'm being well-behaved by only having two projects on the go. There are all sorts of lovely projects in my head tempting me to get them started, but (if you ignore the red and purple Pomatomus, which is ripped now, so I don't think it counts) I'm being good and sticking with two.

out of the dark

I decided I was fed up with the dark blue background. I like the way the colours stand out against white. It does lose the difference between pigwotflies and pigwotknits though. I'll probably do some more tweaking soon.

finished, but still a secret

I've got another finished object to show you, but it hasn't been sent to the recipient yet, so here's a little peek.

at long last, jaywalkers

It feels like I've been knitting these for ever. The first one was completed in December, but it's been hanging around waiting for a mate for long time since then. Now I've got a pair.

Pattern: The notorious Jaywalker

Yarn: Angel hand-dyed sock yarn colourway 11

Needles: 2.5mm dpns

Modifications: Increased number of stitches to 92.

Notes: I've learnt a lot in the making of these socks, about how socks fit and about how to fix mistakes. There are subtle changes between the first and second sock. I've got better at grafting, I can do it almost without thinking now. I've also learnt that you generally slip stitches knitwise unless told otherwise. On the heel for the first sock, all the slipped stitches were slipped purlwise.

The final fit is good on the leg, but a bit baggy on the foot. If making these again, I'd do them toe-up to get the fit right. I'm finding I like my socks to fit closely and I think these are a bit too baggy to wear with some of my shoes. The second sock seems looser than the first. Admittedly it hasn't been blocked yet, but perhaps my tension has changed over the last few months.

The yarn is pretty and rather more subtle than some of my other sock yarn. I'm never sure whether I like it or not. Initially, it had good stitch definition, but it gets fuzzy with washing and hanging around.

I'm not overjoyed with this socks, but I'm glad they're finally finished.

red lamp

pink post-its

ready, jump!

Jumping late on to another bandwagon. This one's all about colour and I like colourful things, so I don't know why I didn't sign up weeks ago.

The idea is, there's a colour theme for each month. March's theme is red and pink. You can use the theme however you like. Knit things in those colours, find pretty things in those colours to share on your blog. Whatever. I like that sort of no-pressure participation.

I think I worry too much

Elfine's socks are lovely and my feet are not as big as I think they are.
So I shall knit to the required foot length, turn the heel and knit up the leg and not worry.
Except that my sock pal seems to have slim ankles, so now I'm worried about bagginess.
I will not worry. I will knit on.

fast growing socks

Elfine's socks grow very fast. Perhaps it's the Addis, perhaps it's the magic loop, perhaps it's the small number of stitches. Whatever it is, after an evening of knitting (and listening to A Doll's House so it counts as work too), I've got nearly to the heel. Perhaps it's just that the previous socks I was working on were Jaywalkers, which have 92 stitches divided over 4 needles and Elfines have 65 divided over two. I like the lace pattern and it's really stretchy; it fits me and my feet are an inch bigger round than my sockpal's. That makes me slightly worried that they're too big. Hmm. I need to find a smaller footed person to try them on I think.

a test post

Hmm, something odd seems to be happenning with pigwotknits. I can't access it. Will this post help?

UPDATE: It's back. I wonder what happened?

the sock starts here

The beginning of my sockapalOOOza socks. The story so far:

I decided I wanted to make my sock pal some very English socks. So I'm using Amelia/Anna's Elfine's socks pattern, with some autumnal Fyberspates sock yarn, dyed by an Englishwoman living in Wales.

I tried it out first on 2.25mm dpns, but it was too small and dividing the stitches on the lacey side over two needles didn't work very well. So I bought some 2.5mm circs, and I'm off. I've done the toe and four rows of the lace repeat. The size is right and using the magic loop technique means that the row across the front is continuous. It's a bit fiddly and the 60cm needle I've got means it's only just possible. It might be easier with a longer cable. I think most of the fiddliness is because I'm used to dpns and a new way of doing something is always tricky at first. There's a long way to go to a completed pair of socks, but I've taken the first step.

fruitless progress

I'm going to give cabling circles a try one day. I've got a sort of a design in mind, but it'll probably be months before I've got the time to think about it properly.

Yesterday I did lots of little knitting things that didn't come to much.

I wound skeins of sock wool into balls (or yarn cakes, if you like). Orange and green Fyberspates for my sock pal and purple and red for me.

I tried to find my 2.75mm dpns to start Pomatomus. I know I've got some somewhere, but they were elusive.

I knit a toe and half a lace repeat of Elfine's socks on 2.25mm dpns (yes, my sock pal socks) before deciding a) that my gauge was too small and I needed to go up a size and b) that this pattern is written for Magic Loop for a reason and maybe I ought to give it a try. So I ripped.

Thinking about it, I always end up going up a needle size for socks, so I've ordered some 3mm dpns for making Pomatomus (I've got size issues, having large feet, so I might even need to go up a size again if that doesn't work, but I've got some 3.25mms) and some 2.5mm Addi circs for Elfine. I've never tried Addis and I've heard many good things about them.

I also knitted a few rows of Angelica. After weeks of knitting scratchy wool, lambswool and cashmere feels like butter. I'm about halfway through the waist darts. I'm worried they start a bit high. When I've got a moment, I'll slip it onto waste yarn and have a try-on.

And I did a little gauge swatching for a secret, but hopefully quick project. I'm way off, of course. I'm not sure whether to go with what I've got and adapt the pattern or buy yet more circs in a different size. Or buy different yarn, but I'm trying to use up my stash and not buy things at the moment. What's a knitter to do?

cabled circles

Does anyone know how to cable a circle?

I've seen Eunny's notes on unventing cables and the girl from auntie's notes on closed loop cabling, but neither tells me what I want to know - how to make a circle, either a single line, or a cable in a circle, kind of like a laurel wreath. Does that mean it's impossible, or just tricky?

Any thoughts?

blue scarf

I just realised I never blogged about what I did with this woolly gorgeousness. It became a mini-Clapotis.

I did one increase section and then about 12 repeats of the straight section, using 8mm needles.

The wool bled loads when I washed it and it really softened up. It's still a little scratchy, but it's OK round my neck over a jumper.
This picture shows the colour change from one skein to the other. I didn't alternate skeins - too fiddly and it makes it harder to judge how many straight section repeats to do - and I quite like the result. It shows off the randomness of the hand-dying process. You can also see the fuzziness round each stitch in this picture. I think it'll continue to soften up as I wear it and wash it.

Olympink is finished

I finally finished my Olympic knitting, very late on Friday night. I washed and blocked, hoping it would be dry enough to put the zip in on Saturday and wear on Sunday and it was. Hooray! I meant to take some blocking pictures, but I was too impatient. But she's done now and I like her.

She did grow a bit in blocking, which I hadn't anticipated. She's not too big and I like the length of the sleeves, but I wish she was a bit tighter in the body. Maybe next time I wash her I'll reblock and try not to stretch her any more.


My dad took the pictures and the ones I liked best were the ones at interesting angles. Hmm. He also failed to mention the smear of toothpaste until afterwards. Oh well.

Here's a back view, so you can appreciate the double cable down the back. And the um, robot pose. I don't know why either.

Details:

Pattern: bpt from Knitty

Yarn: Vintage Jaeger Spiral Spun from my Grandma's stash. I used 550g of pink and about 150g of purple

Needles: 5mm circs and 4.5mm dpns

Modifications: I followed the pattern exactly up to the point the sleeves divide off from the body and then just followed what would make it fit. I changed the waist shaping at the side into waist darts. The arms felt too baggy, so I did the decreases more often than written. If I made this pattern again, I'd do some maths and make the arms smaller at the top by doing fewer increases along the raglan line on the sleeve side. I'm going to try this out on the next top-down raglan I make, probably Forecast.

I love cables! They're sort of magic, the way they look all messy when you do the cross-over and then they transform into beautiful sculptural curves. Limited pink yarn meant that the sleeves end in wide purple cuffs. The cunning thing about this that I discovered yesterday is that when I wear this hoodie with my bright red coat, the only bits that stick out are the purple bits, so I don't have a horrible red and pink clash. Unplanned, but clever!

busy pig

Hi sock pal. I've not forgotten your question. I will answer it this weekend, promise. I've been running around all week with not a moment to sit down with a measuring tape, but soon I'll be able to stop and relax.

A measure of how busy this week has been: My Olympic cardigan, which I spent hours and hours of the last fortnight knitting. This week, I've knitted precisely one row.

I did do some Jaywalker knitting on the tube on Tuesday and Wednesday (I was in London on a course), so it's not all bad.

oops

I'm not sure what I did, but when updating the sidebar earlier, I managed to mess up the formatting of this blog and it looked all weird. I think I've now recreated it as it was, but if you come across anything odd, let me know and I'll try to fix it.

sock yarn stash

Woo, a camera! To celebrate, here's my small but growing sock yarn stash.

From the left: Purple and yellow Fyberspates: I used to love purple and yellow together. I still love purple, but yellow doesn't really suit me. But on my feet, I can get away with any colour.

Orangey brown and green Fyberspates for my sock pal. This was exactly what I wanted to make autumn-leaf-like Elfine socks.

More Fyberspates in 'Valentine'. This is going to be Pomatomus socks for me. These are my favourite colours, purple, pink, dark red.

A small skein of Hip Knits cashmere sock yarn. Lovely vibrant colours and so soft and strokable. Socks for me, probably.

pink is growing

See the Olympic blog.

not gonna happen

Some common sense and mental maths tells me that I've not got enough pink yarn for the whole of the body and the arms of my hoodie. Bother. I think I shall have to use up all the pink to finish the body. I do have two other purple yarns of the same gaage to complete it with. One is a heathery colour, the other a gorgeous bluey purple called Blackberry. Trouble is, they don't really go with each other and I don't think there's enough of either to do both arms and the hood. Do I knit the arms in one and the hood in the other or just the arms and leave the hood off altogther? Oh the decisions.

I think I'll see how far the pink yarn takes me and then decide.

Olympic progress

Progress report on the Team Cambridge blog.

Olympic knitting here we go

Well I've cast on and knit one row. Being at work, that was all I had time for, but I wanted to get the tricky counting bit out of the way in daylight and quiet rather than in the pub. I ought to do the maths and work out how much I need to knit per day to stay on target, but I'm too nervous. I always have more time to knit at weekends than during the week, so progress will be uneven.

Project detail

Pattern: Bpt

Yarn: Vintage Jaeger spiral-spun from my Grandma's stash, in a very bright pink and a heathery purple. I'm not entirely sure how much of the garment the pink will do. I'm hoping it'll do all the body and I'll do the applied i-cord trim and hood in purple. We'll see.

aha

I had a sock pal moment of inspiration. I want to make something very English since my sock pal lives somewhere else. And what could be more English than Anna/Amelia's Elfine sock pattern, inspired by Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.

So, the yarn. I want something autumn leaf-ish. And preferably UK-made. Fyberspates aren't English, but they are Welsh. (And they've got a sale on at the moment.) And they make a colourway called October. I think that might be the one.

But first, I need to practice my lacey sock knitting skills. I've got some more Fyberspates in the colourway Valentine, which I plan to use for Pomatomus.

And I might soon have access to a camera again so I can bring an end to picture-less blogging.

Knitting olympics - Team Cambridge

Ooh look, a button made by the lovely Liz. That's exciting. And an Olympic knitting blog. Although it does feel like treachery to be joining the light blues, when I'm a dark blue at heart. Ah well, when in Rome.

ready, steady, go!

Quick off the mark as usual, I'm joining the Knitting Olympics. I'm going to be knitting BPT. This time last week, I'd never cabled. Last Friday night I did my first cabled swatch and it turned out OK. Cabling seems to look weird and messy when you'd doing it, but when it's finished, it sort of magically transforms.

I think I might end up making a few cabled garments over the course of this year. I've just bought the pattern for Glampyre's Bulky cabled cardigan and ordered some Debbie Bliss Maya to make it in and there's that tree hoodie I'm thinking about.

Must stop planning new projects when the old ones aren't finished.

Oh, I cast on for the second jaywalker last night. So that's something.

sock it to me

Sockapaloooza began yesterday and I've now got my sockpal's details. I've just been to look at her blog and wow, she's a great sock knitter! Feels like I've got a lot to live up to in knitting socks for her. Time to learn a few new techniques I think.

I'm thinking of something lacey, which will be a new thing for me. I'd better get some practice in. I've got a couple of sock yarns coming my way soon, neither of which is quite right for my sock pal, but I like them, so I can practice for sock pal socks and make socks for me. I'm thinking of trying Pomatomus which is a challenge to say and will be a challenge to knit. I've a feeling it might need resizing and I've no idea how to do that. Changing the needle size might do. Cross that bridge when we come to it. But first I really REALLY must get the other jaywalker sock done. And buy a camera!

look, look! a picture

Daddy's socks 2
Originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

My Dad's birthday socks. Not too bad a picture of his own feet. I'll see if I can get him or someone else to take a better one though.

Pattern: made up by me. Toe-up, 72 stitches, using the seed stitch rib pattern from Thuja, eye of partridge heel stitch and 1x1 ribbing.

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Camouflage.

Needles: 2.5mm and 2.25mm dpns

They fit and he likes them. A successful knit, I'd say.

silk purse into sow's ear

So, despite what I said, I spent lots of this weekend knitting the silk top.
And the more I knit, the less I like it. It's really unflattering and fits oddly. The neck is too high, the bust shaping looks weird, I'm not sure I'd actually wear it. I'm not sure whether to rip it up and start something else or persevere. Thing is, the silk's really delicate and gets more delicate every time it's ripped. I've frogged some of it about three times already and there are loads of places where it's just broken mid row and I've had to leave dangling ends. I like the colours, but I'm not really convinced I like the way variegated yarns look over a large area. Close up, they're lovely, but from a distance all you see are little clumps of colour.

I don't know what to do, so I'm going to shove it all in a bag and leave it in the corner of my room until inspiration strikes.

knitting in the dark

On Tuesday night, I was knitting in a pub, which was great fun, if a bit noisy. I think we must have puzzled the doormen with our large bags of yarn. Hello to Mary, Anne, Liz, Rosie and Claire!

Still no pics, sorry.
I thought I'd record some of my knitting goals for the year.

Currently on the needles:

Angelica in a vintage Jaeger lambswool/cashmere navy yarn. It's very dark, but it feels yummy.

Silk top based on Ubernatural. I might actually rip this out and make another Angelica, or something else entirely, or I might keep going as it is. It's going to be a while before it's warm enough to wear this, so I'm in no hurry.

Currently waiting to be started:

Sock two of a pair of Jaywalkers. Getting the first one done was an epic, but sock two should be straightforward, when I get round to it.

Future projects:

Over Christmas, I acquired some of my Grandma's monster stash. She had bags and bags. I pulled out everything I liked the look of, basically anything purple or pink, plus the navy Jaeger stuff and a large bag of cream aran wool. I have plans for some of it. I'd really like to knit something along the lines of Leaves in Relief with the aran, maybe a cardigan, with or without hood, with the trees on the back cos I don't think trees across the bust would look good on me. I've never cabled before, so I think I need to work up to it. Maybe I'll start with a simpler cable pattern and learn how to read charts.

Another technique I'd like to try is entrelac. Another Knitty pattern, Danica, looks like a good place to start. I've seen some lovely entrelac scarves and stoles in Noro and other long repeat variegated yarns, which might be fun.

This year, I'd like to design and make myself something from scratch, from idea to finished garment. It doesn't have to be too complicated, but something a little more challenging than a scarf. Mind you, there are so many patterns around, that generally it's as easy to adapt someone else's as come up with your own. Still, I'd like to try it.

There will also be socks, baby garments of some sort, perhaps another Clapotis. Who knows what I'll end up knitting?

you're it

I've been tagged for a meme by Mary deB. She's tagged lots of Cambridgeshire knitters, so this can go on my knit blog.

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
1. Stuffing envelopes and making databases for science teachers (at least 2 jobs I've had fit this description)
2. Being office dogsbody for a firm of solicitors (brief but memorable for its dullness)
3. Organising courses on creativity for scientists (I liked this one, but it ended)
4. Telling the world about computing for particle physics. (I didn't like this one much.)

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
1. Delicatessen
2. Breakfast at Tiffany's
3. Garden State
4. Amelie

Four Places You Have Lived:
1. Walthamstow, NE London (my birthplace)
2. Bath (During my Masters course. Beautiful)
3. Oxford (When I was an undergraduate. Nowhere else is quite like it)
4. Cambridge (except perhaps here, my new place of residence. Not yet home, perhaps it will grow to be soon)

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:
1. Doctor Who (Unmissable under any circumstances)
2. Dramatisations of classic novels. Bleak House was particularly good last year.
3. I've seen a couple of episodes of My Name is Earl and I rather like it.
4. At the moment, Celebrity Big Brother seems to be on rather a lot in our house. Not sure I LOVE to watch it, but if it's on...

Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:
1. Newtown, Powys, Wales (Twice with my family and several times since)
2. Docking, Norfolk (With my parents, sisters and grandparens in nearby cottages)
3. The Isle of Skye, Scotland (the most beautiful place I have ever been)
4. Dartmoor, Devon (Where my grandparents used to live)

4 Websites You Visit Daily:
1. Google
2. Guardian Unlimited
3. Blogger
4. Thinklings

Four Of Your Favorite Foods:
1. Chocolate (especially dark chocolate. Divine is particularly good.)
2. Bananas
3. Chicken Dopiaza
4. Turkey Mole. This isn't the recipe I'd use though.

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. Asleep in a punt in the summer sunshine in Oxford or Cambridge
2. Stomping across Dartmoor
3. Paddling up a Norweigan fjord
4. In bed

I'll tag you, you, you and YOU.

still no pictures

But I couldn't not record that this Saturday I went to me first meet-up with other knitters. Yay! I met some lovely knitters, including the Crafty Otter, which is the first time I'm read someone's blog and then met them in real life. There was a yarn swap, to which I took various purple fluffy bits and came home with some Rowan Big Wool Tuft and some unnamed lilac dk.

I'm a bit frustrated by not being able to put up pictures. I've joined the Angelica knitalong and I have some progress to report, but there's no much point without a picture. All the more motivation to find a solution.

temporary blip

I think I shall have to declare a temporary hiatus here at pigwotknits. I have moved to Cambridge, away from my parents' house and have changed jobs and therefore no longer have access to my dad's digital camera or the one I borrowed from work. Since I think there's little point in a knitting blog with no images, I'll put things on hold until such time as I have the means of illustrating my posts. This may involve buying a computer and a camera. Or I might figure something out with my camera phone. We'll see.

ttfn

nearly a pair of jaywalkers

nearly a pair
Originally uploaded by the pig wot flies.

I'm hoping these will get finished today. I feel like I've been knitting them forever, but it's only since the beginning of December. I think I need about 8 more rows before I switch to ribbing and then the knitting is done. Some tidying up and a bath and they'll be done.

second sock syndrome

I didn't think this would be a problem. I like knitting socks. The first of my toe-up jaywalkers is finally finished to my satisfaction (no pictures yet, it's a Christmas present, anyway, you know what Jaywalker looks like) and now I've started the second. The thing is, it's boring knitting the same sock again. The first time through I had lots of problems to solve on the way, getting it to fit right. Now I've solved all my problems and I know exactly what I have to do to make it the same. And it's boring! I managed to avoid this problem with my first pair of socks by knitting one toe-up and one cuff down. Perhaps I should have done that with these, but then the zigzags would point in opposite directions would would just be too unmatchy. I am pressing on and resisting the temptation to start something else. (Mostly because I'm at work and these socks are the only knitting I have with me.) I'll just have to get through it quickly so I can start solving the puzzles of something else. And soon I'll have a finished pair of socks to be happy about.

woolly gorgeousness

This week I went for the first time to the Handweavers Studio. It's stuffed with stuff for fibre based creating - rug wool, handlooms, fleece from just about animal you can get wool from, silk, nettle yarn, weaving threads, handspun wool... I had to buy something, so I bought this.



It's handspun, dipdyed wool. Each skein is 100g and measures about 88m. I'm now wondering what to do with it. It feels quite rustic, but the colours are gorgeous. I could felt it, but my felting is always a bit experimental and I think this stuff's too beautiful to risk ruining. I want to knit something that will show off all the colour gradations. Maybe a sort of mini Clapotis? Or something similar with a simple stitch pattern and some structure to it. I tried knitting some last night. On 6mm needles I liked how the stitches looked, but it's quite stiff. On 8mm needles it's too loose. The answer is probably somewhere in between, 6.5mm or 7mm, whch means I need to buy some more needles. There's no hurry, I've got plenty more urgent things to knit, but I'm hoping musing over this will be a good distraction when I'm sick of knitting on tiny needles.

stashbusters

Remember the slubby purply wool blend from Stepney Green post office? I made a long skinny scarf from it.



Pattern: cast on 12 (I think), knit 8 rows, switch to stocking stitch until you're nearly out of yarn, knit 8 rows.

Yarn: Mardi Gras, about 75% wool, the rest is acrylic and nylon. I think. I've lost the ball band.

Needles: 5mm bamboo

The interesting side is the reverse side of stocking stitch, so I think this scarf might need blocking quite often. It seems to lie down quite readily when I blast it with steam, so that's not too much of a chore.

This one's still drying.



It was going to be a hat, but it's not deep enough, so I'm calling it a bowl.

Pattern: Felted hat pattern by Arlene Williams, but not followed very closely since my wool was much thicker. I just stopped when I ran out of my main colour and cast off in the small amount of purple I found.

Yarn: Freedom wool by Twileys of Stamford in Moorland (main colour) and a small amount of Heather (border).

Needles: 5.5mm dpns (the biggest I have) and 9mm circulars.

Sorry, I forgot to take photos in its unfelted state. It was going to be a hat for my mum if it worked, but it's not deep enough. (It looks like the hats worn by Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple). I started felting it by hand, but didn't feel like spending all afternoon playing with it, so shoved it in the washing machine with a couple of pairs of jeans and forgot about it. When it came out, it was too small to be a hat and needed some pummelling into shape. Perhaps it might have been a good hat if I'd persisted with the hand-felting. Anyway, it was an experiment and I like the swirly patterns on the inside which you wouldn't see if it was a hat.

no longer invisible

Here's that completed Jaywalker sock (the first, top down one). It might be a while before I get round to the second sock.



Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina

Yarn: Angel hand-dyed sock yarn, colourway 11

Needles: 2.5mm dpns (2.25mm for the ribbing, 2.75mm for the tubular cast on)

Modifications: tubular cast on, size enlarged to 92 stitches round (I added one to each straight section).

I don't think it really needed the extra 8 stitches. Switching to 2.5mm instead of 2.25mm solved my size problem. The toe-up Jaywalker I'm doing now is on 2.5mm with 84 stitches and it seems fine. I think I overcompensated.

Here's the silk top I mentioned:



It's a lovely colour, but far too big. I'm going to treat it as a big swatch and do lots of measuring before starting again. There's now a Glampyre pattern for Hip Knits silk, so I've bought that and while I don't think I'll follow it exactly (I'd need more silk and I'm not sure a keyhole neckline would suit me), I will use it as inspiration.

Ceci n'est pas une chaussette

Well, OK it is, but pretend it's not, cos it's a secret.

Anyway, I'm knitting Jaywalker again, but this time, following Natalia's example and starting at the bottom. I'm a little worried by the bagginess either side of the toe, but trying the sock on, it looks like it will stretch out once it's on and blocking will help too. I did knit a swatch this time and I think I've got the size right. Working out what to do with the heel is going to be the tricky bit. Natalia has some suggestions and I think I'm going to go for the eclectic heel. I'll let you know how it goes.