Category: knitting

Posted in knitting, Living Life Well

Reunited

Posted on by Laura Kate

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma sock was reunited with the Wisconsin sock in a rustic cabin at Shell Lake, WI. There was jubilation from the affected parties.

That was a few weeks ago. Life has been out of the ordinary for most of the month. The passing of my dad on August 10th brought about an eight-day visited to Ohio, where I spent time with my mom, siblings and assorted relatives while celebrating Dad’s life. Upon returning home, we were immersed into rental house repairs, as we continue selling off our Oklahoma real estate. Our plan is to leave Oklahoma for the more temperate climes of the upper Midwest. The presence of grandchildren is a powerful motivator.

Getting back to the socks, pictured above. Readers may recall that the pattern is Mary Delany by Kate Davies, and the yarns are Hawthorne by Knitpicks and Ultimate Sock by Malibrigo. The red is a leftover pulled from my stash along with the other two yarns.

Socks from the right side
Socks turned inside out

I’m so pleased with the look and the fit. Next week is the county fair. This project will be entered, along with the little knitted new-born jacket and the Japanese knot bag.

My only entry in the quilting category this year is the Migration World wall hanging.

Thanks for stopping by. As I get back into a normal routine, I will have more objects to write about. (Hint: I expect that there will be a resumption of watercolor painting.)

Posted in colorwork, knitting

Travel Project Frogged

Posted on by Laura Kate

In my last knitting post, I was starting a pair of socks worked with stash yarn.

https://dailyfiberfun.com/2024/06/25/casting-on-to-travel/

The yarn in question is Roslyn, by Cascade.

Well, the long and short of this story is that Roslyn is unsuited for socks. (Some of my readers tried to tell me that.) When I really paid attention to how the yarn behaved, it told me that it wanted to be a shawl. So, before we left for our trip, I ripped the sock off my needles and cast on a shawl.

I would really like to share the pattern I am using but alas, it eludes me. I remember printing it, using the printout to get started, memorizing the stitch pattern and then putting the paper pattern aside. It’s probably somewhere in Canada.

Photo taken in my Calgary hotel room.

The good news is that my stash yielded four coordinating yarns in fingering weight to give color variation to this simple pattern for a point-to-point shawl with picot border. Since I was knitting on the fly, I decided to improvise the color changes.

There is no pattern just some rules. The olive-colored Roslyn will be the background yarn, continued throughout the project. The four colors will rotate in and out at a fairly regular pace. Every so often, I will throw in a ridge of eyelet lace.

Oh, and the bright red yarn will appear only in single ridges, separated by the background yarn. It reminds me of pin striping.

This shawl could easily go on for weeks at this rate. It is a soothing knit.

I reserve the right to change a rule here or there, if it suits me.

Posted in knitting

Casting on to Travel

Posted on by Laura Kate

It’s really heating up here in Oklahoma. Thankfully, the husband and I are headed for cooler climes: Alberta, Canada. Since our trip includes airplanes and bus rides, it is essential to my nervous system that I knit. My go-to travel project is socks.

I have two skeins of this wool and silk blend in my stash. It swatches out as a dk, with around 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 stitches per inch, depending on the needle. Husband loves the color. I am skeptical that the yarn will hold up to the rigors of sock-wearing.

The silk portion appears to be raw silk. (I’m guessing it’s in the little pale nubs.) My understanding of raw silk is that it is spun from cocoons after the caterpillar has chewed its way out. Maybe if I double the yarn, it will be stronger?

I have chosen a lovely pattern by Purl Soho featuring a twisted rib stitch, with crossovers, called House Socks.

https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2022/08/25/house-socks/

The pattern suggested that I swatch in the round using 34 stitches and the twisted rib. The results are this tiny and cute cuff.

I didn’t quite get gauge, but it’s close. Husband’s foot is rather wide, so I am confident that I can get a good fit.

Anyone have an opinion to share about this yarn?

Posted in knitting

Friday Finish – Baby Jacket from Stash Yarn

Posted on by Laura Kate

Even though the description on the pattern suggested that I would finish in 5 hours, I took my time. It actually took me five evenings to finish this project.

The pattern I used is by Franklin Habit:

https://images4-g.ravelrycache.com/uploads/franklin/511695736/webp/fwf-61-threequarter-5hbj_small2.webp#jpg

Front view of jacket. I used a vintage button from my mother’s collection.

Back View

It really was a delightful knit. I am so thrilled that the yarn combination created an interesting and sturdy fabric. I held two yarns together to achieve the look.

Now there are two less balls of yarn in my stash. With the ball of yellow yarn remaining, I plan to knit some baby beanies.

Anyone out there in Blogville have some patterns to suggest?

Posted in knitting

Back to my Stash: Boring Baby Yarn

Posted on by Laura Kate

It’s cast-on Monday. Having finished my latest knit project, I am ready to continue the stash reduction campaign by starting something new. The acrylic section of the stash is pretty well depleted since I finished up the Abstract Rainbow lap blanket. Left behind is a giant ball of yellow sport-weight yarn, intended for a baby blanket I suppose. I was given it along with a few bits and pieces of pale blue and pale variegated yarns. The pale yellow doesn’t inspire me.

….and there’s so much of it! The skein is about 150 grams.

But wait – I came across a pattern for a baby jacket that requires two strands held double. It is written by Franklin Habit, a designer with impeccable taste and reliable patterns. This baby jacket can be knit quickly. And it’s a free download.

But wait – what if I hold the pale blue yarn with the pale yellow yarn?

Suddenly an interesting texture and color appears. The blue is warmed by the yellow and the yellow cooled by the blue.

I like what I see, so let’s cast on.

I even see a suggestion of green emerging in the fabric.

5-Hour Baby Jacket is sized for a newborn and is knit from the top down in one piece. It is a soothing knit that makes for a peaceful morning, as copious amounts of rain fall from above. The sound of drops on the skylight is mesmerizing. Maybe I will sit here and knit all day long.