Tag: colorwork

Posted in knitting

Finished Object: It’s been a minute

Posted on by Laura Kate

It just now occurred to me that I cast on this stash-busting brioche stitch hat more than a month ago. Time to show the final product.

In my first post about the project, I noted that working brioche stitch was quite new to me. I elected to knit this little beanie because it was advertised as an easy pattern for beginners.

Yes it was. But I still made mistakes. Notably, every time that I knit back to the beginning of a round, I became confounded when picking up the second color and starting the next round. Consequently, I have some weird-looking contrast color bars across main color stitches in some rounds.

Thankfully, they are visible only on the inside of the beanie. (not shown in the photo……..why advertise one’s mistakes?) So I don’t recommend that the hat be worn flipped to the reverse side. Trust me on this.

On the plus side…..

  • It is very soft and squishy
  • It is comfortable
  • It will probably be very warm on a cold day.

On the down side……..

  • It is pretty loose on the head.
  • It shouldn’ be worn on a windy day
  • It probably doesn’t match your school colors.

Winter is quickly drawing to a close. Despite the fact that Spring is my favorite season, I’m a little sad to see Winter go. I’ll be taking a pause on knitting warm accessories for the hot months ahead.

What’s next in store for my yarn stash? I’ll take stock of what sort of fiber is left and see what I can craft out of the much-shrunken remaining inventory.

Posted in knitting, quilting, sewing

First Friday Finishes in 2024

Posted on by Laura Kate

I’ve spent the week productively, finishing my quilted border curtains and also a Seaglass hat. Finish 3 is the off-the-grid mitts that I gave to H at Christmas. All three projects are stashbusters ( a desirable trait likely to carry on with me in the new year.)

It’s been many years since I constructed curtains The only thing I had to buy for the project was lining fabric. The trick for this project was marrying the patchwork border with a king-size cotton sheet. I did this by attaching wide binding strips to both edges of the curtains. Was it a fun project? I would say mixed. Making that border was great fun. Wrestling with yards and yards of fabric, getting everything lined up correctly and stitching it together was not fun. But the result was very worth it. In addition to having an attractive surround for the large bedroom window, the lining I chose has insulation properties. This came in very handing with temperatures plunging. Our bedroom is now draft-free.

Henry happily received his off the grid mitts. They work beautifully for extra warmth over gloves, and, worn on their own, they keep his fingertips free to use his cellphone while wearing them. I was pleased.

At the last minute I decided to make a pom-pom for the top of the child’s Seaglass hat. Now that I have some practice with the 1 + 1 technique and understand how to work my gauge swatch, I can cast on the Seaglass sweater in confidence.

What are you working on this week? Oh, and how do you feel about it?

Posted in knitting, painting

1st Cast-on for 2024

Posted on by Laura Kate

Need I mention that this will be another stashbuster? While that’s true, this hat is a also a sort-of swatch for a much more ambitious knit project.

I’m knitting it up from scraps of yarn using a pattern offered by Wool & Pine. The technique is called 1 x 1 colorwork. It is just what it sounds like: Using 2 different strands of yarn per row, knit 1 stitch in color 1, then 1 stitch in color 2. Continue alternating colors to the end of the round. Then it’s up to the knitter on how often to change out colors throughout the project.

Here I am switching out colors once per row. After practicing on the hat, I hope I will be ready to knit the pull-over.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sea-glass-sweater-2

copyright Wood & Pine

Seaglass is the ultimate stash-busting pattern. It came to my attention from fellow blogger The Crafty Yarnster who is working on her own seaglass sweater.

  https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/152202665/posts/5052736941

In other news, five recipients of Christmas handknits expressed satisfaction with their new accessories. The balaclava/mitten combination can be seen here:

After trying it on, the child’s mother ecstatically called out for her own balaclava. It’s that warm! The adult version will be cast-on no. 2 for 2024.

Moving on to watercolors, I have promised my yoga teacher that I would do a watercolor portrait of her two little Havanese dogs. This is the photo she sent.

Irresistibly cute, don’t you think? This will be my first painting of a dog. I think it will be truly fun to do.

So, with these three projects, I believe that my plate for January 2024 is full. Hopefully I can squeeze in some work on December 2023 UFOs. 

Posted in colorwork, knitting

Friday Finish: Sequences Convertible Shrug

Posted on by Laura Kate

Hot of the needles, just finished making my version of Sequences Shrug.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sequences-shrug

I started this project in early summer, as one of several stash-busting efforts. The yarn I wanted to use up was Remix Light, by Berroco. I had three colors of the stuff.

This yarn was crafted by recycling left-over fibers from other yarns and includes cotton, acrylic, silk, nylon and linen. I tossed in some left-over cotton marled yarn, to give me four colors to work with.

Swatch showing the sequence of colors I chose for my version

The designer did an amazing job in creating this pattern. By alternating columns of knit and purls stitches within the garter stitch rows, she made the garment reversible. I-cord edges on all four sides bring a nice finish. Of course, with my constant color changes, I had a bunch of ends hanging down one side. As I mused about the time and the potential disruption to the design weaving the ends would cause, I resolved to incorporate them into a fringe. Here is the fringed side about 2/3rds along.

And yes, I did have enough yarn to finish. I used the gold and white/black marled yarns completely. I have small amounts of the blue and pink left.

Look Ma, no ends to weave it!

I’m also really pleased with the I-cord edges, especially along the neckline.

Oh, and you may be wondering how it converts. This garment can be worn as a shrug, shawl or scarf. Soon I hope to upload a photo shoot demonstrating all the looks that are available.

Thank you, Lori Versaci. I highly recommend your Sequences Shrug.

Posted in knitting

Friday Finish from the Stash

Posted on by Laura Kate

A few weeks ago, I cast on a cowl using two skeins of soft yarn found in my stash.

The pattern is called Spinal Twist.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spinal-twist

It has interesting construction. After a provisional cast-on, the first half of the lining is knit in stockinette stitch. Then the second color is joined and the spinal twist stitch is worked for six inches. At that point, color two is cut and the second half of the lining is completed. Leaving the needle in, the provisional cast-on is removed, the stitches placed on a needle and the two edges are turned to face each other. The two sets of loops are sewn together with Kitchener stitch – All 95 pairs of loops.

It’s not the most good-looking Kitchener I’ve ever worked, but it’s finished. And since the facing is turned to the inside, the join will not be visible.

Today this cowl would look very out of place draped over my T-shirt in the hot afternoon sun. I have photographed it on a hanger, hooked up on a tomato cage.

This garment will get tucked away to wait until gift-giving season. It’s nice that the style is gender neutral, easily worn by any adult.