Body Complete

This is the completed body of the Drops Design 27-2 Norwegian cardigan. The pattern is free if you click the link. The yarn used is Karisma, 100% superwash wool, and is the yarn for which the pattern was designed. It's very nice yarn.

Here are pics of the sweater thus far. I will now machine-stitch the steeks for the sleeves and cut them open, and then knit the shoulders together with a three-needle bindoff.

I have had quite a few problems along the way. My major, major problem has always been my tension. I had to frog part of M3 chart (rows 29-38), because of my tension, since I could not live with the results. I am still trying out new techniques for stranding and weaving, and knitting with both strands in my left hand and sometimes one strand in each hand, attempting to see what works for me. I ultilmately replaced the original rows with another chart which had shorter floats, and it was much better for me. I also had to skip a few rows of M3 in order to get the length required for the diagram of the sweater. My row gauge was not totally consistent either.

THEN, the really hard part: M4. Talk about wonky tension!!!! I carried multiple colors in my left hand, and the gray background in my right. I sort of picked out the color in my left as needed. I am not really happy with my work in this area, as the the floats were really too loose on the back. (I sort of used the Philosopher's Wool method every other stitch, but I was so concerned about the floats being too tight, that I overcompensated. I have pulled up some of the longer floats on the back to diminish the size of the stitch to make it more even.) It became better as I worked. However, I can't stand to think about ripping it out and starting again. I'm thinking that duplicate stitching may be the way to go, but I was simply determined to get better at my knitting technique, and it IS better, although not up to my standards. :-) I am going to let this sit overnight again, and maybe 'think' about redoing M4.

At this point, I can't even consider doing M4 for the button bands!!!!! Stay tuned.

Embossed Leaves Socks

These are really gorgeous in person and the details the designer included are wonderful. They are the Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave Press Favorite Socks, knit on #1 needles from handpainted Wildfoote Sock yarn in the color Sonantina. I changed only a couple of things, one of which was the breaking of the yarn at the heel and reconnecting. Just seemed unnecessary to me. The toe has an echo of the leaf design done by judicious use of purls and decreases. Lovely design.

Animal Print Bangle

Handmade lampwork animal print beads I purchased on etsy. I have had these quite a while, and kept thinking as to how they would look best and came up with this! I made some wire bead coils from black wire and added a few odd black beads to make the glass ones pop.

Planalto Cardigan Finished

This was quite outside my comfort level as far as yarn choices. It was cotton and viscose (translated: shiny rayon) Mariposa by Louisa Harding, and the pattern was also Louisa Harding, from the Hummingbirds pattern book. It was a very easy and fast knit, but the yarn caught on everything - even my rough hands. I continually was putting on hand lotion. But in the end, I was extremely happy with the outcome, and the fit, and the drape. The pattern called for more buttons but I liked a single one.

Mystery Stole #3 - Swan Lake - Finished

Welp, she's all done. Those blocking wires I purchased have once again done a great job and saved me lots of time during the blocking of MS3. I adore the swan's wing, even if it is asymmetrical! The photos do not show the beads, but under the right lighting, they just sparkle. Great knit, and thanks to the designer, Melanie Gibbons.

Details: white Zephyr yarn, 50% silk, 50% merino wool, knit on 3.75mm/5 US. Final measurement: 20" x 74".

Knitted Bead Earrings

I knit these tiny (quarter size) amulet bags several months ago, but was waiting for the hardware which never came. So I used my Wig Jig tool and fooled around with 18 gauge wire until I was happy.

Scary Alligator Scarf

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this scarf, which came from Morehouse Farm.
I plan on knitting quite a few more, as they were so much fun to knit, and they look fantastic!!

2/10/2008 In response to some comments I have received about the pattern, please visit the Morehouse Farm web site, as the pattern belongs to them. I purchased an entire kit, so I could have the pattern, but it's possible that they may sell the pattern without the yarn. Have fun.

Mom's Treasure Woven Bracelet

My mom showed me a really cute vintage bead bracelet which needed repair, so I did what I do best: remade the stretched out bracelet into a treasure woven bracelet.

Treasure Woven Blackberry Circle

I bought these freshwater pearl beaded beads at a bead show I attended a couple of months ago, not knowing what I would do with them, but knew I had to buy them. I found the perfect button in my stash of buttons and put in a couple of green leaves to make it pop. I used my new color wheel to come up with a color scheme too, and am very pleased at the finished bracelet.

How I Made the Polymer Clay Buttons for Kauni

Many people asked for instructions to make the polymer clay buttons I made for my Kauni, so here goes. Just so you know, I am also a newbie at polymer clay so if I can do it, so can you!

I used Fimo Soft and Sculpy brand in the colors red, blue, transparent yellow, white, black, and olive. (I used what I had.)
I cut out a cardboard template with two holes poked through to check for size, putting it through every sweater buttonhole I had made, just to be sure. After I did that, I started the color blending process. Since I did not have the exact colors I needed I started out making purple by blending small amounts of red and blue and adding more until I had a purple I liked. Then I started on the green, with yellow, olive, and a VERY small amount of black. I do not have recipes for the color blending. When the colors were blended to my satisfaction, I took most of the purple, and formed it into a square log by rolling each side with a small rolling pin. I compared the log to the cardboard template to ensure that the log was smaller. Then I rolled out all the green and cut it to fit around the square purple log, being careful to seal the seam. Again, I used the rolling pin to square up. Finally the remaining purple clay was rolled out thinly and wrapped around the entire log. After it was squared up, I chilled it for a bit so it would cut cleanly without deforming. After cutting the slices, I gently pushed in the corners of the button, so it wouldn't be so sharp, and then I poked holes into the button, using the template I had previously made. Then they were baked according to the directions on the package of clay. (Mine were baked at 235 F for 30 minutes.) The green clay turned quite a lot darker after baking in my buttons. After cooling, I had to poke the holes again and then I rubbed them briskly on an old washcloth to make them softly glow.

Kauni Buttons Finished and Sewn On

Got up early this morning, determined to at least start the color blending for the polymer clay buttons, and before I knew it, it was finished. The green in the button darkened during baking but I still like it a lot, and think that they are just about perfect for the Kauni sweater. Simple buffing with a towel gave the buttons a slight sheen.

Details for the buttons for those who are curious! Formed a square log of purple polymer clay and wrapped it in a green layer, then wrapped it in purple. I chilled the sqaure log and cut it up into slices, then rounded the corners a slight bit. I made a template for the button holes, so there would be some attempt at making them similar, but didn't really try to make each button identical to the others. (Good thing too, since I'm not sure I could even do that.) After baking, I buffed them as I mentioned above, briefly.

The Kauni is finished, and she is fine.

Replies to Comments

Wow, I'm amazed anew at the power of the internet!! After the Yarn Harlot mentioned that I had finished the Kauni cardigan, I had an unusually high number of visitors to my blog!!! I wanted to thank everyone for their comments and answer a few questions.

One commenter asked about how the yarn made the pattern. It is actually knit with two strands of the yarn, in a stranded yarn method. The background was one color and the foreground was another color from a different ball. It is actually quite ingenous how complicated the pattern looks, simply due to the variegated yarn.

Sheila asked about the square motifs, and if they were difficult to knit in? Sheila, the squares were so easy to knit. In fact, this pattern is a very easy way to get started with stranded knitting, as there are only four rows of two color knitting and six of single color knitting. It just flies off the needles.

And Mary, I knit at Panera's in Fairfax every couple of weeks with some wonderful and inspiring women. If you are interested in attending, let me know, and I'll give you details.

And finally, the BUTTONS!! I got up early this morning, and blended the polymer clay to match the button bands, and made the buttons. They are baking as I write this. You will have to wait until they are done, to see them!!!

Baycation Socks

Our trusty Salty Acorn boat did not have any problems this year, as we made our way to Ocracoke, North Carolina. The weather was good, and I got in a lot of knitting time!!!! The blue striped socks are the Stashbuster Spirals, the pattern for which can be found online. The blue/tan socks were a new yarn for me: Jitterbug 100% wool, handpainted from Colinette and the yarn is wonderful - very firm and great stitch definition. The fair isle socks are a repeat of socks I have knit before: Bird Foot, designed by RedBirdKnits.

Ribbing and Buttonholes and Steeks

The wrist ribbing was totally stretched out from over-zealous blocking on my new wooly board, and I had thought to try to rewet and reblock, but it was so stretched out that I felt as though it would be useless to try, so I just reknit the wrist bands. Now they look a lot better.
The first band I knit for the center of the cardigan worked out well. Even the colors cooperated. But the buttonholes for the other band were another story. I reknit the first buttonhole about 10 times before it started making any sense to me, and each buttonhole got better as I went along, although I am not totally happy with them. Then I went on the the tacking down of steeks on the inside. I will not show the inside on my blog, since it looks quite awful, primarily because of the color changes. I overcast and tacked the edges with purple on the first band, and while it looked acceptable on the purple and red sections, it was hideous on the yellow and green since it showed up very vividly. The only way around this was to have cut multiple sections of color from the remaining yarn, and I wasn't about to do that. So it will have to do.
The collar ribbing is also slightly too big, and I am going to do some single crochet around the edge to see if I can tighten it up slightly. The sweater is very comfortable to wear, and it looks fairly good if one doesn't inspect the inside. Polymer clay buttons are up next, but since I'm going on vacation tomorrow(!!) it will have to wait.

Kauni Cardigan Progress

Shown on my new Wooly Board! Now I have to cut the center open, and pick up bands and do buttonholes. Yikes. All in corrugated ribbing. Double yikes!

I started out with two huge 290 gm skeins of this yarn, and I just weighed what remains, and IT IS 233 gms!!! I love the yarn and am already thinking about another sweater with the leftovers. In case you're interested, I am knitting the large size.

Stashbusters Spiral Socks

This is an older pattern from the Six Sox KAL, but one I have not knitted before. The technique of using leftover yarn in jogless spirals is intriguing, and appeals to my frugal nature. I used three different yarns, all blue variegated ones, but changed the pattern to have the heels, toes, and ribbing the same color. The pattern is here: Stashbusters Spiral Socks
I also chose to do my usual dutch heel, since short row heels don't fit my feet well. Just started the second sock in an attempt to keep myself busy while waiting for the next clue in the Mystery Stole #3 KAL.
My Kauni is dry after having blocked on the wooly blocker overnight, and I will now have to cut the front and add ribbing. More procrastination on my part since there are more decisions to be made. I plan on making the buttons for the sweater from polymer clay and have to do some sketches and color mixing.

Mystery Stole 3 KAL, Clue 1

Here is the completion of the first clue for the Mystery Stole 3 KAL. Melanie is still accepting members to the group until July 6, so if you are interested, check it out. Here is the link: Mystery Stole 3 KAL

Anyway, the yarn is white (pure white, even though it looks yellowed) Zephyr, wool and silk, and knit on US #5 / 3.75 mm Bryspun straight needles. There are also embedded transparent AB beads but the picture doesn't show them at all. I knit the last mystery stole which Melanie designed last summer, and it was gorgeous, so I am fully expecting this one to be as well designed.

Kauni Cardigan Sleeves

Sorry for the shiny background! Don't know how to photograph this large thing!!
I am sailing right along on the cardigan, and if I didn't have a lot of company, I suspect that it may have been completed by now!
The two sleeves do not match, and I didn't try. For one thing, I don't believe I could have matched them, since it's difficult to tell where the colors change because of the LONG color repeats! I also thought about knitting them both at once with a steek, and then cutting them and sewing them on the body, but I chose not to do that. So in the end, I just kept knitting without cutting the yarn. I hate to waste it!!
I think that in the future, I will not knit a two-color sleeve down from the shoulders when it is attached to the body. I hate all the turning the sweater, and the two strands of yarn, and the two-circular needles or dpns I am using.
Soon, I will have to do the ribbing on the center, and am thinking about doing it with steeks at the top and bottom so I will be knitting circularly, instead of knitting back and forth with corrugated ribbing. I tried it with the neck ribbing and hated it. I'm also thinking about the buttons, and whether my polymer clay skills are up to the color matching or not. But that's another day!!!

Kauni Cardigan Progress

I've made it to the first sleeve!! I already knit the neckband since I was already at a similar color as the bottom ribbing, and I am attempting to at least have similar colors for the knit bands. I hate to waste any of this gorgeous yarn so we'll see how it works out. The knitting has begun with the opposite end of the yarn in the ball, so that the color changes will be in the same order. The gauge on the sleeves has been all wonky and I frogged several inches of the sleeve and started over using two circular needles, in a size smaller than the body. The second picture shows the yarn I have left!!!!! I started out with four balls altogether and used the smaller ones first. The incredible part about this yarn was that there was NOT ONE SINGLE KNOT OR BREAK IN EITHER ONE OF THE SKEINS. This is in huge contrast to some yarn skeins I have used in the past (not this brand) that have had multiple knots in 50 gm balls. These were 290 gms each and not one knot. Amazing!!

You are also seeing how I manage the floppy sweater body while knitting the sleeves. I folded it all up in quarters, and stuck a circular needle through all the layers resulting in a nice small package to handle. The center steeks have not been cut yet to make it easier to manuever.

Openwork Ribbed Socks

My usual toe-up socks with dutch heel, knit on #0 dpns with 64 stitches, with crocheted bindoff in natural. Claudia's Handpainted toes, heels, and ribbing in Cotton Candy colorway, and Gems Pearl (not Opal as I previously stated) merino natural. These babies weigh in at 3 oz for the pair and are extremely cushy feeling. (They are 100% merino wool.) The stitch pattern is a simple 4 stitch, 4 row pattern repeat in openwork eyelet ribbing from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks and has great stretch to it.

Teal Swirl Treasure Woven Bracelets

I love these beads! It was too difficult to choose which design to make, so I did both. Which design do you like better? The spikey one has white Czech dagger beads in clusters.

Feather and Fan Toe Up Socks

Done toe-up, 72 stitches on #0 dpns, with my usual dutch heel and crochet bindoff. The yarn is from Joslyn's Fiber Farm, in superwash merino, and mohair, and is one of my favorites. The mohair gives it great strength.

Kauni Cardigan Progress

Here is the work-in-progress, almost to the armhole steeks. I believe that I am almost through the entire color sequencing and am liking it a whole lot! I did some pencil coloring, as suggested in some other blogs, to see about differing color combinations, but in the end, I just started at the beginning of the two skeins. Of course, the beginnings were just perfect as you can see, since the two colors are one place away from each other on the color wheel.

I've been researching steeks, and finishing them, and such, and have some ideas, but I'll wait and see how it goes at that time. I am such a procrastinator.

This sweater also incorporates the Philosophers Wool technique, using two hands, and weaving every other stitch. Takes a lot longer that way, but is very sturdy fabric.

Trekking XXL Socks

My usual toe-up pattern on #0 dpns, with Trekking XXL color 106, It's a lovely colorway. The pattern, Lace Rib, is from Charlene Schurch's "Sensational Knitted Socks" and is a 5-stitch pattern repeated rib. Tops were finished with crochet bind off.

Coral Triple Strand Bracelet

These beads are also from the bead show, and were very inexpensive. It took me almost all day to make the three beaded balls, but I attribute that time to strong painkillers I was taking after a wisdom tooth extraction. The third one I made went along much faster.

Coiled Bead Sterling Bracelet

I've been procrastinating making a silver bracelet because of the cost, but I decided to just go for it. Bought the Bali beads at the bead show last week, and put it together on Tuesday. Not perfect, but I am so happy with the outcome. It's quite heavy but sits well on my wrist.

Aoife's Beaded Socks Redux

These are for my elder granddaughter, whose original beaded socks did not fit. These were knit toe up, on 56 stitches on #0 dpns and have a picot edge on the top of the cuff, with 6/0 beads added via crochet hook method on the leg. I used #00 dpns for the inside of the picot area so it would minimize puckering. The yarn was Sockotta cotton and wool #5618.

Midnight Evening Bag by Noni

This is the cutest thing imaginable! It is made for my youngest granddaughter who is having her first communion on Sunday. The second picture shows the scale compared to my larger everyday felted bag.

On another note, I just figured out how to insert links into posts without using the raw html. I simply needed to switch to another browser! I normally use Safari for the Mac, but it didn't show a link insertion tool, but Firefox works! So now I will be able to add links!! I love it! Now I can credit other talented people on the web when I use their ideas!!

Unst Sock from "Knitting on the Road"

The patterns in the leg of this sock are traditional shetland patterns. The yarn is violet wool yarn from Joslyn's Fiber Farm. It came in a sock of the month offering, but I didn't like the pattern it came with, and chose this pattern from Nancy Bush's sock book. It was knit toe up on 56 stitches on #1 dpns.

Kauni Cardigan in Progess

I saw this gorgeous colorful cardigan at Red Bird Knits and HAD TO HAVE IT TOO!! See her blog at Red Bird Knits for further information as to where to find the pattern and yarn (from Denmark). The cardigan pattern is free from the designer but the yarn shipping was very expensive, almost more than the yarn itself. But it's worth it, PLUS it came within a week of ordering it. The yarn is a little harsher feeling than a lot of Americans want, but I like it a lot. It feels like shetland to me. The yarn came in two very large skeins of 290gms each and it wound up into these nice balls. My ball winder was not big enough to wind the entire skein in one ball! I washed it the same day I received it and only a little color bled, so I was pleased at that. The progress is my second start, since I was not getting gauge at first. I went up a needle size and now it's better. There are a couple other knitters working on it, and if you google "kauni cardigan" you'll find some more information about color combinations, and indeed, the original designer and the yarn source. I can hardly put it down because I want to see what color combination is coming up next!!!