Monthly Archives: December 2010

WIP it Wednesday

Kittens, it is ~11pm CST. So I made it before Wednesday is over! Last night, I took a break from the Vikings; my hands were due the kindness. So instead I’ll leave you with a picture of my new daytime WIP…

An infinity scarf has been cast-on!

Vikings, Day 6

I took it “easy” last night and spent about 65 minutes finishing up the viking girl’s tunic. Tonight, I’ll start working on the putzy, but fairly quick, limbs. I’ll be very glad when this knit is done; my joints are bothering me a bit between the cold and the tightly knit cotton.

Vikings, Day 5

I put in another 2.5 hours last night, give or take a few minutes. You can finally see a difference in the vikings: the blue one is for The Boy, while the viking for The Girl has a heathered berry colored belt. The belt colors will be seen again in the leggings, which I believe is next up on the pattern. I really dislike knitting limbs, but at least they go quickly.

Vikings, Day 4

They have upper bodies! This took about 2.5 hours last night, but the end is in sight. Next they need belts and their lower tunics. Then it’s onto arms, legs, weapons, and horns for their helms. Then I have to stuff and attach it all. After that, it’s the putzy but creative detailing: embroidery for the faces and adding the hair.

I’m pretty confident that I’ll finish these with time to spare. Knock on wood, kittens.

Vikings, Day 3


So I did not get quite as much time to work on these last night as I would have liked: an hour vs. two to three, as I had hoped. No worries though! Now, they both have faces and tonight, I will start their tunics.

2 for 1

In a couple of ways, actually. I would like to keep the Viking WIP posts separate from my others, so you get two blog posts from me today, kittens!

The other way, and the subject of this blog, is 2 FOs from 1 pattern. I’ve been quite busy this month and already have finished 3 objects; 2 of them are fingering weight hats. So without further delay, I bring you…

Pattern: Sockhead Hat (Ravel it)
Needles: US size 2.5
Yarn: Yarntini Self-Striping Merino/Nylon sock – Sunshine Stripe
Yes, the hat I knit for trade with my sister is finished and ready to be sent her way. I’m debating if I have enough yarn left over to knit her a coordinating pair of wrist warmers as well. (I’m thinking the best way to figure it out would be to cast on provisionally, work the hand portion, then unravel the cast on and knit up the wrist/arm.)
I mostly followed the pattern for this. I actually cast on with smaller needles then called for, but I wanted the fabric to be a little on the thicker side rather then overly thin and floppy. My sister lives in WI after all, and even if this isn’t a winter hat for her, I’d like it to work for warmer winter days and the spring and fall days when it’s still chilly. I used the given numbers for cast-on, knit 4″ of the 2×2 ribbing, then increased by 6 stitches for the body–this was an error on my part, as a full repeat is 8 stitches. I didn’t knit the body of the hat to 9″ like the pattern asks, instead I knit about 7.5″ and then began the decreases. I had to fudge the first decrease row and then after that, it matched up as it should. With blocking, this became drapey and slouchy as it aught to.
The Boy is modeling the hat for me in this picture, but it also fits my 22.5″ head, though the ribbing is stretched about as far as it will go.

Here he is working on his modeling pout: I find his version amusing. He’s a great sport about modeling knits for me and is always excited to do so. He takes posing directions very well for a 4 year old.

Upon finishing my sister’s hat, I decided that I needed one…with some modifications, of course.

Needle: US size 2.5
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock- Negro and Gothsocks Asphodel – The Goblin King
…and I needed it to coordinate with my Goblin Gauntlets, as well! So here is my modified sockhead hat. First, I cast on the number given + 8 stitches. Malabrigo sock is on the thin side for fingering, so I knew that if I wanted this to fit well I’d need the extra stitches in the ribbing section. I then knit just a smidge over 2.5″ of 2 x 2 ribbing. At this point, I cut my yarn and attached the Asphodel. I had no desire to fold over the brim of the hat, so I knit just a bit less then 6″ in length before going to the decrease rounds. From there, everything was easy because I had the correct numbers this time.
The resulting hat looks quite a bit like a beret with snugger ribbing, non?

The hat coordinates beautifully with the mitts without being matchy-matchy. I’m out to buck the stereotype that one will know a knitter by the fact that none of her accessories match. If I had enough yarn to make a cowl, I very likely would. Though now that I give it more thought…I think having one that is all black rather then striped will coordinate just fine.

Vikings, Day 2

Since I rather miss daily blogging but not having to think of a topic every day, I decided to daily blog the progress on my viking toys. This way, I will keep on track and will hopefully finish well before my 24 December deadline. With 2 hours per night, I have about 32 work hours left to get these little guys finished.

So day 1 finished with a single viking helmet. After about 2.5-ish hours worth of knitting last night, I have two helmets and one viking face. That may not seem like much, but these are very large, I’m discovering. I’ll have to post a picture with something for size reference.

So far, the pattern is super easy to follow and other then the bobbles, it’s been smooth knitting. Just a bit putzy since I’m working worsted weight yarn on US size 4 needles–taking my gauge into consideration, that’s like a more “normal” tensioned knitter working on 2.5s. So yeah, this is some dense fabric, even if it doesn’t look it. The pattern was written for non-washable wool, but I think it’s working up very well in a 100% cotton.
We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings!

WIP it Wednesday

Ah, kittens! A full week off from blogging. After doing it daily for November, it feels a bit strange not to post daily in December.

I have a couple of WIPs on needles that I can share this week.

First is my Citron. The theme for December is using up leftovers, and I have been busy at it! While this yarn looks very orange in my photo–no sun today so I couldn’t get natural light pictures…this is better then it was before I worked on toning it!–it’s really the same yarn as my Abalone. So in truth, it’s an orange-y pink. So far, this pattern is super easy, but it is starting to get tedious on the ruffled sections where the stitches double for awhile before coming back down in count.

Next up is a project I cast on last night; the yarn finally arrived yesterday so I could get to work. I’m making Viking Dolls for The Boy and The Girl for Giftmas, so I need to work fast and after they go to bed. They’re difficult to see–again, due to lack of natural lighting and needing to use the flash–but there are bobbles all around the rim of the helm. Knitting these at such a tight gauge in cotton, my hands were killing me last night by the time I was done. I get to do it again tonight, since I’m working on both dolls at the same time.

I’m hoping to have an FO post for you here in the coming days: I already have a few for the month. Yes kittens, I said a FEW!

WIP it Wednesday

It just so happens that Wednesday is the first day of the month, so after blogging every day in November, I do not get to take a break until tomorrow. Thankfully, I have WIPs to share, and both are rounding the corner to becoming FOs.

The first is my Garter Yoke cardigan, which I had been hoping to call an FO before November was out.

It didn’t quite work out that way, as I have this serious dislike of knitting sleeves. I shocked myself when I made the decision to make them proper, full length ones.

This cardigan is turning out OK so far; I have to wait and see what the yarn does upon blocking. It’s coming out a bit smaller then expected–but at proper gauge, so I’m hoping that it will bloom when it hits the water. It fits great across the back, but the sleeves and the front are more snug then I’d like. If I had understood how the construction worked before finishing up the yoke, I would have altered it to have more stitches in the front panels and on the sleeves. The next time I try something like this, I’ll definitely keep it in mind. I’m one of those people who can not visualize what I’m doing from reading. I have to jump in, make a mess, and then I learn my lesson and have a light bulb moment. So it may not help me now, but the next time I encounter a yoke like this, I’ll have an idea of what to do and how to go backwards to make it fit better for me.
Regardless, it’s wearable. Just not as intended. (Not that I put buttons all the way down the placket anyway…I just have 03 on top and decided to stop there.)

And then there’s the hat for my sister; it’s coming along nicely. You’re looking at 4″ of ribbing and about 4″ of body there, kittens. I have up to 5″ more to go before I start the decreases and call it finished.

Hopefully, you’ll be seeing a lot of productivity out of me this month: I have lofty goals for yardage output.
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