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Yay knitters! I'm on ravelry as Kalista, but I'm more a lurker rather than a 'take pictures of every drat yarn and project you have' participator. My knitting pictures are in a thousand different folders on my PC, and I'm not good at documenting everything I knit anyway, but here's a few things. Griffindor scarf out of Cascade 220 that I knit for a coworker to give to her niece for Christmas this year. The pattern is from "Charmed Knits" and was my mindless knitting for awhile, because it's just one looooonnngggg tube in the round.  Diamond Hat: Pattern is from the Garter Belt. It was a lot easier than I expected it to be. The yarn was from Knitpicks.  DNA Scarf: My brother graduated from pharmacy school last year, so I knit him the DNA scarf from some handspun alpaca.  I knit Clementine for my mom for Mother's Day this year, the yarn is a silk noir from Great Adirondack Yarn Co.  Here are the Sockapalooza socks I knit for my Swedish pal this summer, modeled by her. They were knit from my handspun too, and were a lot of fun to make. I keep meaning to start a pair for myself.  Sadly, I think I end up giving away most of the stuff I knit before I can take a picture of it. That, and these days I spend more time at my spinning wheel than I do knitting.
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Jan 8, 2008 08:25
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Google Embryo posted:I love these! Thank you! I used the leg and food measurements my swap pal sent me, and plugged them into the calculations here: http://www.hjsstudio.com/kneesock.html and they turned out to fit just right. It was really easy, once you've got the calf increases and decreases worked out.
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Jan 8, 2008 17:25
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Etoniichuan posted:Those look great! Where did you get the pattern for them? I recently learned how to make socks, but my heels look really crummy, yours look great! The pattern was from here http://www.hjsstudio.com/kneesock.html but it's really not a "pattern", more a formula that you plug your own leg measurements into to make a sock that fits you just right. The top is just a few inches of k1p1 rib, and the heels and toes are both short row heels/toes. I  short row socks, I think it makes a cleaner line than a heelflap and gusset construction. I usually substitute short row heels in any sock pattern.There are lots of methods for short rows, but this is a good picture tutorial: http://www.cosmicpluto.com/blog/?p=585, and so is this one. http://misocrafty.squarespace.com/journal/2006/9/21/short-row-heel-tutorial.html One cool thing about short row heels and toes: they are exactly the same. A heel is a toe is a heel is a toe. Just learn one technique for both!
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Jan 8, 2008 19:11
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Aery posted:I would suggest seeing what 100% animal and and soy blends are available near you, knit up swatches and then felt them all to varying degrees. Note how many cycles they went through (in a zippered pillow case for faster felting, without to slow it down) and figure out the end result you like the best. Adding to Aery's excellent advice, you can also try knitting with doubled strands of yarn to see if you can get a thicker, stiffer felted fabric, one strand for a thinner and more supple fabric. Also, Manos is a single ply yarn and that probably contributed to the end result. Try looking for more economic options in a single ply wool. A quick search on Yarndex ( http://yarndex.com/ ) brings up a Cascade option, Pastaza, a heavy worsted single wool/llama blend ( http://yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=127 ) which looks like it sells for around $8.50 for 132 yards. I've felted a lot with Cascade 220, Elann.com's Peruvian Highland wool and Knitpicks Wool of the Andes. All are excellent for felting, though I think that Cascade produced the smoothest, most even felt of the three. Also, there are a number of good online retailers with good reputations, so don't be afraid to buy yarn online. It's not nearly as satisfying as being able to walk into your local shop, fondle stuff, and walk out after having spent way too much money though. 
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Jan 9, 2008 17:56
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fap posted:I'll take a picture of my first homespun yarn when it dries and the twist sets a little more. It's not very good, but hey, it's my first try! I think I'm going to felt it, to hide the imperfections. Whoo, more handspinners! The 2020 yards of lace shetland that I finally finished plying over the weekend is now drying. The whole thing was an experiment in taking raw fleece to the final product. I was swearing I would never ever ever do it again when I was covered in grease and sheep mud/poo poo up to my elbows and my apartment smelled like a barn, but watching the fleece turn into fluffy white balls of fiber and then eventually into beautiful creamy lace makes it almost a repeatable experience! Are you a spindler, or have a wheel, or both? Personally, I couldn't get the hang of a spindle for the life of me, and went right to a Lendrum wheel. I've used a good deal of stuff from Knitpicks, I love their metal Options set, and I'm considering buying another set of tips, since I always have too many things on the needles at once. Keep an eye on your order status though, since I read on Ravelry that the Harmonys have been on back-order and they don't always email you to let you know that.
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Jan 9, 2008 19:20
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DaisyDanger posted:I found a little dishcloth pattern to make and the only stitches required are knits and purls, which are perfect because that's really all I know for now. The problem is that when I switch between the two, I sometimes find a weird little X after I've already knit a row. I know that's not very descriptive, but maybe one of you knows what I'm talking about? It's like I crossed the yarn when I wasn't supposed to or something. If I keep knitting like that, I end up with a giant blob around the original X. I pulled the project off the needles out of frustration when I had knit about 5 rows with this gently caress up, or I'd take a picture. When you're switching from a knit stitch to a purl stitch, you need to move the yarn your knitting with in between the knit stitch you just finished and the unknitted stitches on your left needle the to the "front" of the work before you do the purl stitch. Then to go from a purl stitch to a knit stitch, you need to move the yarn back between the stitch you just purled and the unknitted stitches on the left need to the "back" of the work before you do the knit stitch. Does that make sense? What you're actually doing right now is called a "yarn over" and it's what you'll eventually use to make holes in your knitting on purpose, they're a main component of lace knitting. Here's a video I just found: http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/scarf-knitting-purl.htm Around 1 minute into the video, she shows exactly what I'm talking about. Kalista fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Jan 9, 2008 |
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Jan 9, 2008 23:03
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Midnight Sun posted:What kind of knitting technique is this? It looks really awesome! I forget what the stitch pattern is called, I think it's a herringbone of some sort, but the scarf pattern is here: http://www.sheepinthecity.prettyposies.com/archives/000079.html and a video explaining the stitch is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qenzg_-uAl0 . I've made two scarves with the pattern and it is a really cool look. It ends up taking more yarn than a normal scarf would, and it's best to use larger needles (by two sizes or so) than the yarn calls for because it's a very dense stitch. (Hope you don't mind me answering, Antis0ciald0rk. Your scarf is fantastic and you're I will definitely keep my eye out for that yarn, it's gorgeous!)
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Jan 10, 2008 08:57
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Midnight Sun posted:I also tried knitting my so called scarf, but as usual my edges look like crap. Blocking (soaking your knitted item in water, pressing out the excess between towels and then pinning the item flat/semi-taut on a flat surface until it dries) can smooth out a lot of what looks 'bad' while you're still in the process of knitting. I don't think it's as effective on non-natural fibers because synthetics (in general, not dissing the synthetics) don't have the 'memory' that natural fibers do have. Blocking is how you turn lace from a pile of yarn-vomit tied in knots into something breathtaking. When you're done knitting your scarf, try blocking it out, using a darning needle, run a contrasting thread running lengthwise up each side - pin the ends of that contrasting thread taut and use pins to pull the scarf taut width-wise. See if that helps the look of the edge. There's another edging that I frequently use for scarves that comes from the Backyard Leaves scard from Scarf Style. It's easily used in most patterns, and leaves a tidy 3 stitch edge. Plan 3 stitches on either side of your pattern repeat for this. On your knit (or right side) rows, k1, slip 1 stitch with yarn in front (s1wyif), k1. Do this at both ends of the knit row. On your purl row, slip the first stitch with yarn in back (s1wyib), p1, s1wyib. Do this at both ends of the purl row. In strict knit terms it looks like this: RS: k1, s1wyif, k1 [pattern] k1, s1wyif, k1 WS: s1wyib, p1, s1wyib [pattern] s1wyib, p1, s1wyib
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Jan 21, 2008 00:24
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So let's just say that I know this girl who has been knitting for about 5 years now, but mostly lace or stuff in the round. And then she starts to knit a sweater for herself that's raglan from the top down and is knitted back and forth before joining in the round, and she notices that her stockingette is kinda wonky looking, almost as if the stitches every other row are just ... wrong, maybe twisted somehow. Then she remembers how it takes a little extra effort on her knit rows because it's almost like she's trying to knit into a stitch that isn't seated right on the needles, and then narrows the issue down to her purl rows. She decides to look up purling on the web, and is embarrassed to realize that she's been wrapping the yarn on purl stitches clockwise instead of counterclockwise - FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS... My god. Do you have any idea how hard it is to break that "muscle memory" instinct?? I swear, I've picked out at LEAST 5 purl rows in the last ten because I was reading while I knitted, or otherwise not paying attention and letting the hands go on auto-pilot. Not to mention feeling like a complete idiot that I've been purling wrong FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS. On the other hand, I think I just solved the mystery of why my row gauge has always been consistently off... *sigh* 
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Mar 29, 2008 20:13
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Midnight Sun posted:Aww, that sucks. But I guess it's good that you finally figured out what was wrong. I usually knit in the round whenever I can convert a pattern to do so - so I knit a lot of socks, hats, kids sweaters, etc, where I rarely purl anything. If I'm knitting something back and forth it's probably lace in which case a twisted purl stitch might or might not look funny and gauge isn't an issue. In all honesty, I'm not certain that I've been purling wrong for the whole time I've been knitting, because I can't remember thinking that my stockingette stitches looked funky way back when, but I do know I've been doing it for awhile because I've often thought that there must be something strange with how I knit on the rare occasion that I've tried a flat swatch and the knit stitches seemed particularly sticky to put my needle into. I noticed it this time because I was paying particular attention to my swatch since the yarn for this project cost a freaking fortune. It's a 4 ply silk dk-weight and it's not a tight ply. Wrapping the yarn the wrong way on the purl stitches was twisting the "bottom" of the purl stitch as looked at on the knit side of the work and in turn it was biasing the fabric slightly to the right. Maybe I got all mixed up two years ago when I taught myself to knit backwards to be able to do entrelac without having to flip my project so often, and I've just been wrong ever since? Who knows!
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Mar 29, 2008 22:39
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Drei posted:And then I decided that if purl stitches were actually wrapped counterclockwise, knit stitches must be wrapped clockwise. Ozma posted:Kalista! I learned 2 years ago that I was twisting MY stitches too. I feel a lot less stupid now since I realize I'm not the only one with this brain-freeze, thanks!  Also, Lost Mustard, your FFIX cat is very cool!! Kalista fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Mar 30, 2008 |
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Mar 30, 2008 04:46
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But I'm better now.
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Micomicona posted:Does anyone have any reccomended knitting blogs or anything? there's knitty, of course, and I used to read Eunny Jang, but it is sadly ended as she is now in charge of actual publications. There's a bunch of people who knit and write about it on the internet, but most of them are crazy people. There's one woman out there who makes hat patterns, and they are all about her boyfriend. I didn't even know you could write a knitting pattern about your boyfriend, but there you go. Oh man, I could just post out my entire blog feed for you, but then I'd look like a huge dork. So, my favorites are: The Yarn Harlot ( http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/ ) - I just saw her speak here in Seattle and she's even cooler in person than she is on her blog. She'll make you laugh, I promise. Go back and read through her archives, they're worth it. She's also spearheaded the cause of knitters raising money for Doctors Without Borders and has raised $500,000 so far. Mason-Dixon Knitting ( http://www.masondixonknitting.com/ ) Kay and Ann are also funny ladies, but their content can range from lots of knitting content to little knitting content. They are nearing the end of writing their second book together, so their posting is a little sparse sometimes. Also worth going back through their archives. The Blue Blog ( http://alison.knitsmiths.us/ ) Alison updates almost every day, and is the host of Sockapalooza (which is about to start it's yearly sign-ups again). The Knitspot ( http://knitspot.com/ ) Anne designs the most wonderful lace! She has a cool garden, a cool husband, a cool house and updates almost every day. Her blog is just great to read. Jared, at Brooklyntweed ( http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/ ) doesn't post much, but his photographs are amazing. Read through his archives. Grumperina ( http://www.grumperina.com/knitblog/ ) hasn't posted as often lately, but she's got great tips and hints and some good free patterns. It's worth reading her archives as well. If I'm looking for a new blog to read, I'll usually start by checking out the favorites that these blogs above have listed as their favorites. If nothing else, it's a great way to kill a boring afternoon at work.
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Apr 24, 2008 23:01
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:Ha. I knit my first pair of socks stinking drunk. That was a good idea... I have my "drunk" knitting (usually plain stockingette socks) and my "not even a glass of wine knitting". Yarn-overs and alcohol don't mix well with me. I'm about two-thirds of the way through the Wing o the Moth shawl, using Douceur et Soie yarn, a mohair and silk blend. It's not too complicated though, purling on the wrong side, and ends up being really easy lace to read. The biggest downside is looking like I had an aquamarine cat sitting on my lap when I'm done knitting it. drat mohair. I can't wait to finish it though! Lifelines have been my friend, though I haven't had to use them yet (knock on wood) http://www.knitspot.com/knitting_pattern/wing-of-the-moth-shawlscarf-p-7.html
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Apr 29, 2008 18:00
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I was browsing Ravelry this morning and came across this cool thread in their forums: "Most Beautiful Finished Object you've seen on Ravelry" http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/for-the-love-of-ravelry/117573/1-25 If you are on Ravelry, go look through that thread. I guarentee your favorites list and your project queue will suffer, and you will be amazed. My paycheck tomorrow is already mentally spent! Here's a taste - stitchingnut's needle-felted tea cozy. 
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May 1, 2008 17:56
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elbow posted:Holy poo poo. I mean, I'm not a big fan of it per se, but that's amazing work. bluecanarygirl's caterpillar cardigan  
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May 1, 2008 20:30
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:I'm still tinking my shawl. I did a whole round worth (809 stitches I think) and then I found the mistake (at least one of them) and now I'm pulling out just that row. No way am I going to do another entire round just to get back to where the mistake was made. I'll have a giant float in the back to be my working yarn for re-knitting this row, and then I can just go back and pick up again with the knit even round. I realized I hadn't started a new half-pattern repeat in a triangle section of my mohair shawl - 8 rows later. I decided to only tink back 4 rows because I could live with 2 right-side rows being pattern-less. It took me over an hour per row to knit back, and just last night I was able to start reknitting that section. I was hoping to try to finish it in time to wear to the symphony tonight, but obviously that ain't happening. Mohair! 
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May 16, 2008 19:25
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Pile of Kittens posted:What's with the mohair hate? I made a green mohair scarf (see Moss Scarf on my ravelry account, FeedMeACat), and it was no trouble at all. It's boucle and not-very-tight wool that gives me guff. I don't hate it, but trying to knit it back stitch by stitch? It was a really big pain in the rear end, what with the mohair bits entangling themselves with the prior 2-3 stitches, making it difficult to cleanly unknit them without the assistance of cuticle scissors. I can't imagine actually removing your needles, ripping back a few rows and picking up stitches again - I think it would be impossible with a mostly-mohair blend. It's the perfect yarn for this pattern though, and I'll use it for other lace/scarf patterns as well. I think it would be great in a cowl/smoke ring project too, if you don't mind mohair in your eyelashes. Kalista fucked around with this message at 23:34 on May 18, 2008 |
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May 18, 2008 23:27
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Wheats posted:I was wondering if you all could help me out with a question. I love knitting, especially with whatever new yarn I can get my hands on. The problem is that in two years, I'll be moving up north to live with my boyfriend while he finishes his degree. We'll not only be isolated, we'll be on a budget. Any yarn I use will be limited to what's avalible at Walmart. Will you have access to the internet, and yarn-buying online? Knitpicks.com and Elann.com both have pretty good prices for natural fibers. I particularly like Elann's own brands of yarns. Here's a listing: http://elann.com/PRODUCTLIST.ASP?Company=elann&PRODUCTTYPE=5&findyarnsb.x=28&findyarnsb.y=14&findyarnsb=submit
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Oct 11, 2008 00:06
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Here's a lace money-shot: Before:  and After:  I started this project in July, spinning 3 ounces of merino/mohair batts bought from Spunky Eclectic, and ended up with 900 yards of 2-ply lace weight yarn. I started knitting in August, the pattern is Anne Hanson's Japanese Feather Stole (http://www.knitspot.com/knitting_pattern/japanese-feather-stole-or-scarf-p-12.html). I widened the pattern by one repeat since my yarn was lighter weight and I was using smaller needles than the pattern called for. I also did a lot of extra pattern repeats lengthwise, until I reached 60" in length unblocked. I cast off on Saturday night with a small bit of yarn leftover, and blocked it last night. Length is just about 72". On Wednesday, it's being donated as an item in a charity silent auction. Someone better bid more than  for it!
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Oct 20, 2008 18:39
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effika posted:The patterns seem to have always had that same level of awkwardness/oddness to them. I think the site felt higher-quality before Ravelry because it was one of the few places you could go to find patterns that always had a photo (not necessarily a good one), and where somebody other than the author had looked over the pattern. I started knitting about 15 years ago (which officially makes me An Old), and Knitty seemed amazing when it first started, for exactly these reasons. Before Knitty, there wasn't really an aggregated place online to go to find patterns that didn't look like they came from your grandmother, that were reviewed, and that looked (mostly) professional. It was also a good place to go to find equipment and book reviews, as well as interesting knitting columns. Then professional knit blogging became a thing, where people who were talented at pattern writing stopped submitting to Knitty and started selling patterns on their own blog (understandably), then Twist Collective came around and other traditional knitting mags started putting their patterns online for sale, and then came Ravelry. Ravelry really was the death of Knitty. What makes me the most sad about Knitty is all the writers that they used to have that no longer contribute, but that they still carry placeholders for in their Features section (looking at you, Franklin).
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Apr 12, 2017 17:26
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Also for content, the last large project I finished was a lace shawl that was a gift for a friend. No full shot because I forgot to get one, but I love the transformation lace makes when you block it, and also closeup shots of lace while its blocking: My current project now is Shusui shrug, in black and gray: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shusui-shrug
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Apr 12, 2017 17:55
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