i make stuff

One yarn, two projects.

At the beginning of the year, I took on a Pay It Forward project that involved letting several people sign up for me to make them something, and then in turn, they would have to pay it forward to someone else. I've been a wee bit slow to get going on these, but I finally buckled down and got started this summer. I decided to spin up some fiber into yarn and make handknit legwarmers for my friend Alex, who's a yoga goddess and so of COURSE needed legwarmers!!!

I started with this fiber, falkland dyed by Funky Carolina, in a color called Run Into the Fire. 

I had two braids of this gorgeous stuff, so I made two skeins of sport/dk 2-ply yarn, spinning on my Lendrum DT.

Once the yarn was done, I got really excited because I realized I totally had enough for TWO projects. So I decided to knit the legwarmers and also a birthday hat for my friend Marianne. I love how the handspun yarn looked in the two projects.

PATTERN: Improvised
NEEDLES: US 5 (3.75 mm)
YARN: My handspun, Funky Carolina Falkland

I made up this pattern, so feel free to use it. For an average woman, cast on 40 stitches (gauge about 4.5 stitches per inch). Knit 3" (approx. 18 rows) 2x2 ribbing. For the first knit row, increase 4 stitches, evenly spaced (I just did a k1f&b). Knit in the round. Increase 4 more stitches in row 50. Knit to 80 rows. Do another 3" (18 rows) 2x2 and then cast off using the sewn bindoff method. Easy!

PATTERN: Norie by Gudrun Johnston
NEEDLES: US 5 (3.75 mm)
YARN: My handspun, Funky Carolina Falkland

This is such a great hat! I wasn't sure about it in handspun at first, but my friend Tracy convinced me that with a semi-solid handspun, it wouldn't interfere with the lace panels, and she was right. This is a great pattern for a not-too-crazy handspun yarn. I love the slouch factor and the lace panels. It was a very fast knit, and I think it's really cute on my pal! The only change I made was to leave out the last pattern repeat, but it's still very slouchy.

And that's how one gal makes two gifts from the same yarn. Yay!

Comfort Jeanette With Apples

Tomorrow, I'll resume my Rockin' the Handknits series - I've really been enjoying putting those together and hope you have, too. But first - I have a couple of new knits of my own to share with y'all and I'd love to start with a pair of socks I knit up for my friend Jeanette. I call them Comfort Jeanette With Apples. I knit these socks with my own handspun yarn, which I made using a braid of yarn dyed by my friend Maria of Two if By Hand. Here's the original braid of fiber (the second braid is for me and will be spun/knit later):

Two if By Hand SW Merino in "Comfort Me With Apples"

Jeanette asked me to spin her braid up as a navajo (chain) plied sock yarn, and that's just what I did. Fibers dyed like this make wonderful self-striping yarn when you chain-ply them. Chain plying means taking one strand of yarn and making loops to create multiple plies, rather than taking two or more strands of yarn and plying (twisting) them together). I was super pumped with the stripy, awesome result:

Pretty neat, eh? After I spun up the yarn, I thought, "Ya know...Jeanette doesn't really love knitting socks. Maybe I'll just knit them up for her as a surprise!" And that's what I did. Stealthily, I knit the socks without her knowing and zipped them to her in the mail. 

Sometimes, it's really nice to knit something for someone as a surprise! But you can see how the yarn knit up into stripes. Cool! They're a bit fraternal, but still pretty awesome.

I just did a basic toe-up sock for these, casting on 20 stitches provisionally for the toe and increasing every other row till I had 56 stitches. Then I knit to two inches before the heel and did a normal short-row heel, followed by the leg and a twisted 1x1 rib cuff. Easy!

 

 

Man-sweater.

My man has a new sweater!

PATTERN: Cobblestone by Jared Flood
NEEDLES: US 7 (4.5mm)
YARN: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in "Woodsmoke"

My spouse is something of a clothes horse. He actually likes buying clothes and puts thought into what he wears. He also likes handmade sweaters. I told him I would knit him a sweater every other year, because let's face it, man sweaters take for-ev-errrr. I settled on the Cobblestone pattern by Jared Flood a long time ago, but wasn't sure about the yarn. Jay is really great about wearing wool - he has no itch or heat issues. As a wool lover, this is awesome for me, as I'm not restricted in what I can use.

When Jared Flood announced his new yarn, Shelter, an American-made wool, I was super excited and thought Jay's sweater would be the perfect excuse to try it out. I hopped on the next ferry to Churchmouse Yarns and brought back 10 skeins of the Woodsmoke colorway. I cast on for the sweater in November, but it ended up taking me until January to finish it, due to the Christmas knitting madness.

In terms of the pattern, this was a really simple knit. You start at the bottom and knit up the body, make two sleeves, join and knit a yoke with short-row shaping on the back. Easy. I did, however, modify the arms a good bit. In the original pattern, the sleeves are rather loose at the cuff and all the way up, and I knew Jay would hate that. So I cast on 10 fewer stitches at the cuff and reworked the math for the increases. The result is a much closer-fitting (and I think more flattering) sleeve. Jay and I are both pleased.

A note about Shelter: The yarn I got was from the first-ever lot. There was a lot of hype when this stuff came out, and people rushed to stash it. Like lots of other people around the country, I experienced an unusually high amount of vegetable matter in the yarn - much more than I have ever encountered in Beaverslide or Rowan tweeds or similar rustic yarns. I’m told this issue has been resolved in subsequent lots of the yarn, but you might want to check if you or your intended wearer has sensitive skin.

Even aside from the VM, this is a very rustic yarn. It has a great, lofty hand and is super nice, but it’s definitely not going to work, for lots of people, for next-to-skin wear. My suggestion - if you’re wool sensitive, grab a skein of this to see if you like it before committing to an entire sweater. As a wool lover, I definitely would knit with this yarn again, even with the VM. The stitch definition is just beautiful (as you can see in the photos) and I think this would make beautiful cable knitting.

 

Tubey

It's so rare that I make a baby gift and then actually receive photo evidence of the child wearing the gifted item. So when my friends Erin and Bill sent me photos of their new son, Bennett, wearing the hat I'd knit him, I was so excited!

PATTERN: Tubey by Wee Woolly Wormhead
NEEDLES: US 7 (4.5mm)
YARN: Sunshine Yarns Merino Worsted in "Mountain Shadow"

I kind of hate the traditional powder blues and pinks that make up most baby gifts, so I really wanted to dig into my stash for something a little richer. I love this gorgeous green and blue yarn from Sunshine Yarns and thought it would be a great alternative baby color. I made the small, not really expecting it to fit Bennett yet, as he was born a little bit early. But it appears he's already growing at the speed of light!

Here's Bennett with his gorgeous mama...

Scarves and cowls and hats, oh my!

Still playing catch-up, I have a few more items to share from this fall.

PATTERN: Melody's Shawl by Melody Moore
NEEDLES: US 9 (5.5mm)
YARN: Sundara Yarn Fingering Silky Merino in "Poppy"

This is the very definition of a languishing WIP (work in progress). I started in March 2010 during our trip to Paris/Warsaw, and dubbed it "Old French Whore" after the old SNL game show parody. I finished it this September. Yeah...that took a while. The thing about the Melody Shawl is that it's perfect mindless knitting, to cart around in your bag with you and pull out while you're waiting for your food to come at a restaurant or gabbing with a friend. There was really no rush to finish it, but as soon as it was done, it became a staple of my wardrobe for fall. I don't normally wear a lot of purple clothing, but as an accessory, the color is stunning. And the yarn is so luxurious. I get questions and compliments about this scarf all the time. And I've cast on another, which should be finished in roughly October 2011. 

PATTERN: Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West
NEEDLES: US 7 (4.5mm)
YARN: Hand spun yarn from my friend Marianne!

I cast on for this shawl very soon after receiving this gorgeous yarn (spun from Finn wool) from my friend Marianne. The color was "Orchard" so I thought it would be the perfect accessory for my October trip to NYC and Rhinebeck. I didn't finish it before the trip, but during, so I did get to enjoy it! :) Super easy pattern, great for showing off handspun yarn.

PATTERN: Honey Cowl by Madelinetosh
NEEDLES: US 7 (4.5mm)
YARN: Hand spun yarn made from Funky Carolina BFL/Silk in "Dragonskin"

I love this project so much. My knitting friends do these quarterly swaps, and I ended up with my friend Thayer as a swap partner. I wanted to make her something really fun and appropriate to her personality. Thayer is a huge gamer, and she loves big loopy cowls, so when I saw the Dragonskin colorway my friend Carrie dyes, I thought it would be perfect for Thayer. The color reminded me of the blues in World of Warcraft, and the stitch pattern of the cowl really did resemble scaly dragonskin. I found this hilarious button and pinned it to the finished cowl, and Thayer wears it that way. Love! It was a hard one to part with, because the cowl was so snuggly and such an awesome jewel tone. Again - will have to make another for me!

PATTERN: Flicker Socks by Cookie A.
NEEDLES: US 1 (2.25mm)
YARN: Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock Yarn in "Bella's Truck"

This is a lesser-loved Cookie A. sock design but I just LOVE the finished socks. I have had this pattern in my faves for a really long time, and the yarn seemed like the perfect match. These are mine all mine!

PATTERN: Wurm by katushika
NEEDLES: US 4 & US 6
YARN: Madelinetosh Pashmina in "Tart"

Yep, I jumped on the Tart bandwagon. In case you don't know, Madelinetosh is a maker of gorgeous hand-dyed yarns, and this color was something of an internet sensation throughout the end of 2009 and most of 2010. It appears to be going strong still, because really, it is the perfect deep red. Not pink, not burgundy, RED. So I had to copy my friend Megan, who also made a Tarty Wurm. It's such a great, adorable, slouchy hat. I already had one made with handspun but I just had to have another!

Whew! I was productive this fall, even though I fell off my sweater-a-month kick a bit.

Christmas knitting.

Friends, I am so behind on blogging. OMG. I don't know what's been the matter with me, but I just have been totally comatose when it comes to writing. And now I have a ton of things finished and not shown. Part of this was Christmas knitting, which of course means not showing things off till people receive them. But anyway, let's catch up a bit. 

Jay and I did a mostly non-storebought Christmas this year, which was great. I knit a lot of small gifts, which was also great, since last year I about killed myself knitting two gift sweaters. SO...

PATTERN: Christmas Greens (improvised toe-up socks)
NEEDLES: US 3 (3.25mm)
YARN: Hand spun yarn made from GLBLF Superwash Merino in "Greensleeves"

My sister loves green and hates knitting socks, so I decided to spin up some yarn for her and make her a pair. I contacted my friend Sam of GLBLF and asked her to custom-dye a gradient colorway for my sister, and the result was so beautiful! 

I knit the socks over just a few days, and sort of improvised a toe-up, 48-stitch sock recipe. 

 

PATTERN: Chicklets Socks by Anne Hanson
NEEDLES: US 3 (3.25mm)
YARN: Sunshine Yarns Merino Sport in "Counting Lilypads"

I knit these socks for my mom for a wee Christmas gift. The yarn is special - my friend Dani chose a photo I took in the Asticou Gardens in Bar Harbor, Maine for her annual summer photos-inspired shop update. I knew I had to have some of the color to make something for my mom, who lives in Bar Harbor. I used every single inch of the yarn, and barely made it through the second toe, but I love the finished socks. Super simple, I must make another pair for me!

PATTERN: Dotty by Irishgirlieknits
NEEDLES: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
YARN: The Plucky Knitter Merino Cashmere Nylon Fingering in "Cream Tea"

I love these socks! They knit up so quickly for fingering weight, and I think my mother-in-law, Susan, really loves them too. It's another pair I'll have to do again for myself, because they turned out so great. The yarn was really awesome - I love MCN! It's so stretchy and soft.

PATTERN: Cross-Country Garter (improvised)
NEEDLES: US 7 (4.5mm)
YARN: Hand spun yarn from The Thylacine merino fiber in "Zig-Zag Track"

This scarf took sooo much longer than I intended. I started it last winter during my move across the country, but then put it on hold for a really long time and finally finished cranking it out this fall - just in time for the cold weather. I think Jay likes it, because he wears it all the time :) It's just simple garter stitch, perfect way to show off hand spun yarn.

PATTERN: Seaman's Cap by Brenda Zuk
NEEDLES: US 6 & US 7
YARN: Hand spun yarn from Squoosh Fiberarts Corriedale in "Coffeehouse"

I love, love, LOVE this hat. It's actually a gift for my brother, Jeremy, who is a sophomore in college, but I made Jay model it for me before sending it off to him. The yarn was just so gorgeous and manly, I was really proud of it. The pattern was perfect, too - manly, simple, not dorky. Total success. I made a size large, and really didn't make any modifications.

I have a lot of other projects to catch up on, so stay tuned.

Not quite a sweater.

Earlier this year, I signed up for IntSweMoDo (International Sweater-a-Month Dodecathon) on Ravelry, the goal being to knit one sweater for every month of the year. Up until September, I was totally on track. And then...the wedding shawl. As a gift for my friend who was just married this weekend, I knit a stole for her to wear to her wedding reception. And it ate my entire September. In all likelihood, I won't finish my current sweater, Pas de Valse, until November, thanks to other gift knits that are in line right now. But it sure came out pretty. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...White Wedding!

PATTERN: Nightingale Wing by Anne Hanson
NEEDLES: US 2.5 (3.0mm)
YARN: Grey Drizzle Fibers Silk Merino Mist in "White Wedding" (custom dye)

The pattern is very straightforward and not all that difficult, really. I actually think it might make a pretty good first lace project, because it's a stole that remains the same width the entire length of the project, rather than a triangle that grows from the center as you knit it and the rows get steadily longer. The most difficult stitches in this pattern are knitting 3 together, or knitting 2 together through the back loop. Not hard at all.

I will caution anyone who plans to make this shawl that it's lace on both sides. There's no easy back purl side like in a lot of lace patterns. Also, the pattern repeat is 24 rows long, and you knit the pattern repeat 24 TIMES. So it's a lot of knitting - took me about 60 hours to complete - and you really have to focus. I wouldn't call this tv knitting, as I never really memorized the pattern, although it did become pretty intuitive by about the last third of it.

I didn't make any changes to the pattern other than to omit the last 3 repeats. This was due to the length, which was just right. It was 54" when I stopped knitting and after blocking it was 68" - just right!

The yarn was custom dyed for me by my friend Deb, who lives here in Seattle and is the artist behind Grey Drizzle Fibers. She is fabulous and great to work with, and I recommend her fibers very highly.

Spinning for Babies

This spring, two of my lovely friends welcomed their second babies into the world. I wanted to do something extra special for both Mandi and Nicole and their little ones, and I thought, what would be sweeter than spinning the yarn with which I knit the babies' gifts? Nothing. So that's precisely what I did. Both moms were cool enough, having received hand knits before, to give me the OK on non-superwash baby items, which means they'll have to be washed by hand, but I had more fibers to choose from.

First, up, Mandi's 2.0, little Alexia. I made her a Baby Kina sweater and matching Saartje's Booties. I started with polwarth from Squoosh Fiberarts...

 

...and spun it up to a 2ply sport weight yarn.

 

Then, I knit the sweater and matching booties.

 

PROJECT: Baby Kina
YARN: Handspun polwarth from Squoosh Fiberarts
NEEDLES: US 2.5/3.0mm

PROJECT: Saartje's Booties
YARN: Handspun polwarth from Squoosh Fiberarts
NEEDLES: US 2.5/3.0mm

For Nicole's sweet baby girl, Violet, I decided to knit in less traditional baby colors. I spun this merino from FLUFF Fibers (dyed by my friend Jeanette) in a colorway called Asleep in the Trees...

into this beautiful 2-ply sport weight yarn...

...and then I knit a sweater.

 

PROJECT: Baby Sweater on Two Needles (February)
 by Elizabeth Zimmerman
YARN: Handspun merino from FLUFF Fibers
NEEDLES: US 5/3.75mm

This sweater was actually fairly modified - it normally has a gull lace pattern, but I knit it in plain stockinette to let the handspun striping sing.

 

 

Knitting baby gifts is really satisfying because it's quick, but also it's great to be able to make something that will hopefully make the baby a little bit happier and warmer. It's a great way to wrap your arms around a baby, which makes me really happy.  

Stripes for Marianne

Sometimes you just find inspiration and have to go with it. I was visiting The Most Amazing Yarn Shop In The World in June, and I saw this beautiful little cowl, knit with a yarn I'd never heard of, and decided it was exactly what I needed to make for my friend Marianne. So I copied the unpublished pattern (with the consent of the shopkeeper) and bought a skein of the yarn, and from there I was on my way.

 

PROJECT: Stripes for Marianne
 YARN: Crystal Palace Yarns Mini Mochi (self-striping), #118
 NEEDLES: US 4 circulars

Here's the recipe for this little cowl - super easy: In any fingering weight, self-striping yarn, cast on 120 stitches. Knit 1.5" 2x3 ribbing, then continue in stockinette in the round until you've reached your desired length (I made mine about 11 inches long). Bind off using your preferred method (I did a long tail sewn bind off). Gift to your good friend and wait for smiles. If you're lucky, she'll model it for you in 100 degree North Carolina heat.