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Owlings Pattern
I feel like an idiot. I've made tons of fingerless gloves with gussets and I just can't figure this pattern out for the thumb. Ravelry link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/owlings#

Here are my questions: when it says to K7 onto waste yarn, do I cast on 7 and then knit a row of 7 with those? And then when I slip them back on the left needle how do I start knitting again after those 7 stitches? Will it leave those 7 just kind of hanging? I can't visualize this at all. Is there an easier way to do this? I should know better than to start a pattern before reading it all the way through. :( I've Googled and can't find a good visual explanation. Help, please! And thank you!

ARGH! Hiya Hiya interchangeables issues?
So I got a set of Hiya Hiya interchangeables (small, 2-8) from my sister for Christmas! I already have a set of Knit Picks Options that I have been working with almost exclusively this past year, but she only recently discovered how serious my knitting "habit" has become, and I think she thought she'd surprise me. ;D So sweet. I've been pretty curious to give these a try anyway, so I cast on a new project with the size 2s almost as soon as I got home.

And.... well, as I had commented my suspicion previously (I think to lakesidetiger, who also got a set recently?), I am indeed having a HECK of a time keeping the needles screwed down while I'm working!!! It seems like every WS row I need to retighten. And it doesn't seem to be any particular defect of the needle or cable; it just won't stay tight as I knit. So far I do like the swivel function of the cable end, but it doesn't seem to be doing as much to help keep the needle tip screwed on as I was hoping. Has anyone else with these needles experienced the same problem? Are there any special tricks for tightening the tips down that you guys have found helpful?

My version of a review of these so far:
- Tips are pretty blunt compared to the KPs; I would even say they're blunter than normal Addis. I'm a fan of sharper points myself.
- Steel finish needles rather than nickel plated, so they're not as slippery as KP Options or Addi Turbos.
- The swiveling cable join is GREAT!! And the cables are nicely flexible. But the join between the cable end and the needle tip is NOT as smooth as the KP join. No matter how tight I screw the needle tip down I still get a slight hitch/snag when I pass my stitches over the seam between tip & cable, and also at the cable end itself because of the slightly bulbed shape.
- Don't forget these needle tips are shorter than the KPs and Addis! As lakesidetiger said, it takes a little getting used to; the edge of my palm was a little sore after the first day. I feel like these put a little more stress on your fingers/grip because of the shortness, but YMMV.
- The beautiful carrying pouch is super handy! I've already transferred my KP tips into the extra slots, and the cables and end holders etc all into the little zip pouches. I'm a fan.
- Mostly though, as I was kind of expecting, not having a key to tighten the needle tip down is proving to be a real problem for me. I supposed I could use some plumbers tape or a dab of seam goo to help seal the screws temporarily, but it seems like such a PITA! I'm pretty tempted to switch this project over to a diff set of needles entirely. It could just be these size 2 tips in particular, and the larger tips may be easier to tighten, but I don't know how much use I'll be able to get out of this set as it stands.

Also! ( A couple of FOs so this isn't such a rambling text-heavy post! )

Current Mood: energetic

sales 2009
Hi guys,

cheeky little question here: can anyone recommend any good yarn sales in London at the moment?
Cheers!

Bx

Colorwork....
I'm embarrassed to say that even with all the knitting I've done over the past few years the only time I've ever changed colors is a top band on wristwarmers or socks. It scares me. *blush*

I REALLY want to do this pattern: http://stitchnsnitch.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/jacobs-knucks/

I've looked at youtube videos on how to carry the secondary yarn and I get that, but do I really need to do that with the secondary color just being this little bit of paw? Or does it make sense to cut the yarn and weave in tails? I feel silly asking this, but I really have no clue when it comes to working in two colors. It seems like a waste to carry the yarn around for just this little bit, but I will bow to the experts here and do whatever I'm told. I'm easy that way. ;)

Thanks in advance! I'm headed out for the evening but will check replies first thing when I get home. :)

Current Mood: confused

Stretchy Bind-Off
Hey all!

I'm playing with a pattern for a top-down hat, and the pattern says that after an inch or so of 1x1 rib to "bind off all stitches." I've played with three different bind-offs and none of them have stretched enough to get the hat easily on over my head. I've tried binding off knit-wise, binging off in pattern, and binding off with k2tog, slipping the right needle's stitch to the left needle, and repeating.

What bind-off do you recommend for top-down hat brims?

blocking acrylic lace blankets....?
I got a gift card to WEBS for Christmas, and I really want to make Jared flood's Girasole. I've been debating which yarn to get, but I know I want to make the blanket version (so a worsted/aran weight yarn). The yarns that fit best in the gift card amount are the acrylic/ acrylic blends... if I used those would I be able to block the finished product to see the lace well enough? Or am I better off using wool, even if I have to pay extra out of pocket?

Thanks for any advice!

Camden
I made Knitty's Camden for my sister for Christmas, and I love it so much I want to keep it. (For some reason when you click the link, Knitty has it wrongly tagged as "Mangyle," but it's the right pattern.)

( Pictures and stats. )

Sweater ideas
My framily loves me. They really do. This holiday season has sucked in more ways than one. I've been unemployed for a little over two years now and have been knitting for about a year. My fiance was diagnosed with sarcoidosis (and they really don't like that diagnosis--doctors have been fighting over who gets to treat him)all about six months ago. This year has been hell in a handbasket.

But that's besides the point. My sister in all but blood got me thee hanks of Dyeabolical's In the Navy cotton slub sport weight yarn. Another friend of ours dyes this line. It's nummy in ways I can't describe. I want to knit myself a sweater with this yarn, but I only have straight needles, 13 inches in length.

What would be a good pattern for me to use? The only other things that I've knitted are a Barbie puke scarf for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, a baby bib, and several washclothes. Right now, I'm knitting a cowl with Noro's Cash Iroha yarn in color #93 (another gift).

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I bought a Denise set and wanted to try my hand at using circulars for the first time. I also wanted instant gratification, so I used bulky yarn and made up a hat as a I went along :)

( Three pictures... )

Anti-SAD socks
Continuing my campaign for brightly-coloured winter wear ...

Pattern: Temptation Top-Down Socks, a free pattern by Wendy D. Johnson (a basic sock pattern that I love because the heel doesn't require picking up stitches)
Yarn: Schoppel Wolle's Crazy Zauberball. This yarn not recommended for people who have an obsessive need for socks to be identical twins ... I'm addicted to the stuff because I love the fraternal twin look.
Needles: Two 2mm Addi Turbo circular needles
Details: Both socks were knitted at once using the two-circ method. A little patterning was added by borrowing the ladder and mock back seam sections of Katherine Misegades' Gusset-Heel Gansey Sock (another heel style that requires no picking up of stitches, BTW). I also once again used the final row of the Gansey Sock's heel instructions instead of the Temptation Sock's final row to avoid holes (there are more detailed notes on why I do this in my FO post for my first pair of Temptation socks in this community, and also on my Ravelry project page for those same socks)

While this is my fifth pair of completed socks, I consider them the first pair where I've really figured out the knitting side ... by dropping down to 2mm needles and then following the directions for a size larger than I would normally make, this naturally loose knitter has finally achieved a fabric with what I consider to be the right combination of firmness and "sproing" (I think the slick Addis help too ... they make me pull my stitches tighter in paranoia of them slipping off the needles ***grin***). I'll be doing the smaller needles/larger size adjustment for all my future socks.

( And now, the important bit! )

Current Music: CKUA

Wait... what?
I recently purchased a front loading washer and it has produced felted clogs with a problem. The first time I felted a pair, I set the machine for extra wash, extra rinse, regular spin. One cycle. They ended up looking like little tennis balls (picture below, the green and yellow pair.)

The second pair, I put them in for 2 regular cycles, no extra anything (I used hot wash, cold rinse for all of these, and added jeans and towels for agitation). These are the light blue with dark cuffs. I have included a pair felted in my old top loader for reference.

What I want to know is what I can do to prevent the increases in the soles from indenting and getting all bumpy like that. I googled it and got the advice of using everything from jeans and towels to flip flops and tennis balls for agitation, wash it all by itself, use a lingerie bag, don't use a bag, etc. I expect I'll have to experiment in the end, but I'd like to have a clue to preventing that crinkling of the soles so I'm not wasting two days of knitting with each experiment...
( the visual evidence )

Follow-up to "manly gloves" plus
After the input I got here, I decided to use the "Diamond Gloves" pattern ( www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diamond-gloves) substituting the Chinese symbols for the elements in place of the diamonds. ( pictures, of course )

With socks, if they're bunching where the ankle and top of the foot meet, what needs to be adjusted to remedy it? Do I need to decrease more rows in the gusset? Do some crazy (long) short rows along the bottom/sides?

(I've finally worn my first pair and I followed Silver's Sock Class to make them. They turned out great, but I'm looking to customize the next pair to avoid the extra bunching bit at the ankle. I'm pretty good at making stuff up as I go along, but I hate frogging, so I like to get it right--or close to it--on the first try.)

The saga of a hat....
This all started with the KnitPicks Andean Chullo pattern from their 2008 Winter catalog (I think..it's been a while!). The moment I saw it on the page, I *knew* it was the hat I had been searching for. (Don't look at me like that - I'm sure every knitter, at some point, has had one of those moments.) I thought about it, dreamed about it....and went to order the kit.....but Knitpicks was backordered. So, I saved it to my cart, and went on about my life.

I kept thinking about that hat....and the more I thought about it, the *less* I liked it. The shape wasn't correct - it was basically a multi-colored watch cap. The colors weren't right for me (even the alternate colorway they had was...not me)...but I still wanted it. I even called KnitPicks and asked them if I could create my own kit - but they said no, it ONLY came as the 2 kits, you couldn't (at that time) buy the pattern separate.

Well, OK then....I started looking for an alternative. I looked at a TON of chullo patterns...and finally hit pay dirt with the Blossoms Chullo by Deja Knits. THAT was the perfect hat.......except for the motifs. :lol: I immediately bought the pattern....and started trying to figure out what I was gonna do with it.

( What I did with the pattern - it got long! )

I had to share this with someone - since you really can't go out and accost people on the street to show them your latest project. And my husband was really getting tired of my "Isn't this the coolest hat EVER? I love the earflaps - isn't it *cool*! I'm glad it's cold....." :rotflmao:

Current Mood: happy

Just a heads-up, Joann.com is having a sale on yarn, every skein is on sale. They also have needles/hooks/notions/etc on sale too.

I am seeking opinions on switching 100% pure alpaca for 100% pure wool which is the yarn that is suggested yarn to knit a heavily cabled cardigan. Is this a good idea?

I have not yet knit with pure alpaca and am wondering if this yarn can be substituted for wool with success. I'd hate to spend weeks knitting only to find out that I should have stuck with wool

Thanks for your input.

Mystery yarn label identity?
For Christmas, my wonderful, but woefully needle-craft ignorant sister gave me three skeins of a lovely angora/wool blend. Unfortunately, she tore off the price label on all three, which also tore the brand label. I'm wanting to check this yarn out on Ravelry for ideas, but I have no idea what it is, my searches come up with nothing matching, and the LYS she bought it from is closed till Tuesday.

Under the cut is a photo of the label, in case anyone can recognize it. The unripped parts read -

Made in Italy. Suggested needles US 6 (4mm), suggested tension 22st x 30rows, 25g ball 125 yards. Content - 70$ Angora, (maybe)30% Wool(...this is where the rip starts, and i don't know if it may have a bit of a third fiber in it). Below the rip where the brand is - handwash only, max temp 30C, handle with care. suitable for dry cleaning with special treatment, advice should be sought from professional dry cleaner. cool iron, max 110 C, do not use chlorine based bleach, no tumble dry.

The label is baby pink with brown lettering (my camera phone is awful). The yarn itself is a lovely grey lavender/orange/pink variegated color, and for an angora yarn, it doesn't shed too bad. Its about a DK weight thickness.

( mystery yarn label )

How does one safely rip out a few rows on circular needles? I'm a newbie with knitting in the round and need to go about 5 rows back, but I'm afraid to ruin the whole project.

Pattern: Instant Gratification Scarf
Yarn: Three skeins of Araucania Yarns "Magallanes" in colourway 303.
Needles: One 5.5 mm SRK bamboo circular
Details: I cast on 40 stitches and carried on until I was out of yarn; scarf is about one foot wide and a smidge over eight feet long. Because of the significant difference between the thickest and thinnest parts of the yarn, I worked stitches with the thin sections extra-loosely so that they wouldn't pull the scarf in. The patten lives up to its name ... the twisted drop stitch is very easy, goes by at light speed, and shows off this thick/thin yarn very nicely. Yarn note: Magallanes has no dyelots ... my three skeins (which were the last three orphans on a clearance shelf) had perfectly matched hues of green, but one skein was predominantly of that colour while the other two had greater amounts of cream, grey/green, and black/brown. I opted to use the greenest skein in the middle and the more varied skeins at each end ... the skein changes are detectable when the scarf is laid out flat in bright light if one is looking for them, but not when in its natural state of being draped/wrapped around shoulders/neck.

( Green and snuggly )

East Meets West strap & bottom
The first part of the East Meets West bag is finished. The strap and bottom are worked as one piece in the round with a short row section that widens the bottom of the bag. The front & back are worked as one piece in the round and are steeked later. That's what's on my needles now.

( Photos )
KnitFlix

FO: bird mittens! And needle holder.
My favourite thing I've knitted this year! ( Mittens )

I also thought I'd share the present I got from "Secret Santa" at work. It's super cute!( Needle holder )

Current Music: Stephen Malkmus - Real Emotional Trash | Powered by Last.fm

Recycled silk + Hemp Twine
Got a question for you fine folks here...(feel free to skip my verbosity to the last paragraph!)

I've been wanting to make a bag for a while out of recycled silk- not a small purse, but maybe a messenger-type bag, something if decent size that can hold a bit of weight. I know that the silk wouldn't be good for this on its own, I'd need to line the bag (and somehow reinforce the shoulder strap) or ply it with something. I was thinking about making the bag from hemp and then stitching on the silk pieces so that they're more of an outer later than an actual weight-bearing part of the bag, but that seems like a massive pain.

I don't have a sewing machine to stitch a fabric lining, nor do I have enough confidence in my hand-sewing skills to hand-stitch one (if it was just a purse or something, sure, but like I said, I want it to carry some weight- not a bag of rocks, but a couple of books, that sort of thing.

I was just playing around a bit, and I realize that I like the way the silk looks when plied with the twine. I've tried a bit of googling and not really found much on the strength, so I was hoping someone here might have a clue as to whether this would fly or not.

So...in short- will plying recycled silk with hemp twine give me the strength I need to hold up to a couple of books worth of weight? (And I'm talking notebooks/large paperback/maybe the occasional hardback and little things like keys, cell phone, typical stuff that everyone carries around- not massive coffee table books or textbooks.)

For what it's worth, I'll probably be doing this on 11 gauge needles in stockinette.

Current Mood: hopeful

I'm going to knit a shrug and need help deciding the neck shape.
I decided that to help keep warm I am going to knit myself a shrug. I have two ideas for the neck shaping, but I like them both and can't choose. I am going to put a cheap-paint pic of my ideas at the bottom and would like your input.
They both button where the two sides meet. The shrug is going to end just below my chest area, the sleeves will also be longer, but I got lazy on the pic ^.~

Voting is nice, but I would also like to hear why you voted that way (or if my pics don't make any sense)

( silly paint pic )

Update:
(A) seems to be the fav ^.^ now comes the hard part...picking a color XD
I was thinking of going with a light grey so I can wear it with a ton of stuff and so it will be light enough to show the details I want to add to the sleeves.

Current Mood: curious

Prayers please ...
Some of you are friends with

poteidia and I just wanted to tell you all out there who know her that she has been in the hospital since Sunday night. She's alright, in a great deal of pain, but right now she's being kept comfortable and they are giving her treatment to get rid of the pancritis that has developed.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers through this Christmas and New Years holiday. She won't be home for Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day and quite possibly even New Years eve and New Years Day.

There are some other friends of mine here on LJ and IRL that are going through tough times too. So please send prayers out to them too. (I'm not naming them because I'm not so sure if they'd be thrilled with me pointing them out.)

Current Mood: sad

Another Christmas FO - Dropped Stitch Scarf
A few months back, I found myself with some time on my hands and no active knitting project in progress and no real idea of what I wanted to work on next. While wandering my LYS, I found these skeins of Yoga ribbon that were just gorgeous.

I have worked with Yoga before. My very first knitting project was a garter stitch scarf in the blue-green Yoga. I would kill to pick up more of that but the yarn has been discontinued and is hard to find. The skeins that were at the store were in the golden - brown colors and I decided to do a dropped stitch scarf since I thought it would show off the gorgeous ribbon very well. I made one with all the dropped stitch rows the same length. It wasn't originally intended for a Christmas gift but when it was done, I just knew that it would perfect for my Aunt Sharon. I decided to make another one for myself. This time, I decided to experiment with the pattern and I alternated between short dropped stitch rows and longer dropped stitch rows which I think added some interest. My aunt's scarf is already packed up for Christmas but I finally got around to taking some shots of mine. Hope you like it.

( photos )