Update on Faroe Vine Cardigan

I haven't had much time to blog lately, but I have been busy knitting. Here's my proof:

I've knit about 12 inches of the necessary 15.5 inches on my cardigan. The past couple of days have been too warm for knitting wool sweaters, but I hope to get back at it this weekend. This sweater needs to be complete by the end of October so I can start my NaKniSweMo (knit a sweater in the month of November). This would be an easy task if I didn't have so many other projects with deadlines and 3 kids...

Z twist yarns

Over the past month or so I have been making mittens via two-end knitting. I have been working with two different z-twist yarns and I wanted to share my observations thus far.

I started the first pair of mittens with Mora yarn from The Wooly West. It is a super fine gauged yarn -- my gauge is 9st/inch two-end knitting on US3 needles. It still has a bit of lanolin (which I love) but is a little rough on your hands as you knit, so I was worried about how the finished mitten would feel. Well, after a 15 minute warm water soak, the blocked and finished mitten is lovely. The yarn and stitches have relaxed and allowed the yarn to bloom. I am really happy with them. My only complaint about these mittens (now named the "Sweetheart Mittens") has nothing to do with the yarn. Eric, whom I am making these mittens for, has very large hands and at this gauge, the second mitten seems to be taking forever. Here's where I am (I apologize for the crazy background; you can click the images for better detail...):

Once I finish the second mitten, the pattern should be ready. My goal is to have this mitten and pattern complete by mid October.

The other z twist yarn I have been working with is Black Water Abbey Worsted weight. The colors are fabulous, it's very nice to knit with and has a gauge of 6 st/inch two-end knitting on US 7 needles. I have knit two mittens so far with this yarn. The first I knit on US 6 needles and I really felt the finished product was too firm (6.5 st/inch). The second mitten was knit on US 7s and I am happier with this gauge (6 st/inch).

My conclusion (for what it's worth...): The Mora yarn has a softer feel in the finished product, but is rougher on your hands to knit with (and is 9 st /inch!).

So what next? I am going to finish the Sweetheart Mittens in Mora and then start another pair of adult mittens using an S-twist yarn. For now, I am going to abandon the Black Water Abbey mittens.

September Socks

Here are my September socks for the "Sock a Month" KAL 4.

The details:
Pattern: My own; cuff down, magic loop
Yarn: Austermann Step (75% superwash wool 25% nylon), 1 ball
Color: ? olive greens
Gauge: 7.5 st/inch
Needles: US#2/3.0mm

This is the yarn with the aloe vera and jojoba oil added. The oils are supposed to last through a ton of washings. It was nice to knit and very comfy to wear, but I wouldn't say I can actually tell there are any oils added. So hopefully I am getting the wonderful benefits of the oils without that greasy feeling!

Fall Knitting

There are things you are more likely to knit in the summer (lace, socks, ...) and things that are more likely to wait until cooler weather (wool sweaters, blankets,...). I have been waiting patiently for the weather to cool so I could pick up my Faroe Vine Cardigan again. This is a cardigan designed by Claudia at Countrywool (click here for pattern details) that I started at Claudia's spring retreat earlier this year. The quiet morning time that I used for MS3 knitting this summer will be replaced with my Faroe Vine Cardigan. My goal is to have this finished and on me by the end of October. So here is where I stand:


I have 1 sleeve 75% complete and I have knit 5 inches of the total 15.5 inches I need for the side body. This is a seamless cardigan knit in the round with a covered steek opening--but we will worry about that later! I am just happy to be knitting this again.

Moving UFOs to FOs

Before I can dive into a fall sweater project, I am making myself finish a couple of old UFOs that are stuck because of "issues". I am happy to say: one down, one to go!


The project above (it's supposed to be a shrug) has been like this for over 2 years. It was started back during the shrug craze. It knit up very quickly. I enjoyed knitting it and loved the yarn. So what happened? I'm not really sure. It was so long ago, I've forgotten the details. But here's what I found: for whatever reason, I used a provisional cast on and knit across the back and down one sleeve. Then I knit the other sleeve in the round and left it unattached. Also, both sleeves had a flared and rolling cuff.

So, here's my fix: I knit the lone sleeve a bit further, turning it into the flat lace pattern of the back and ending on a right-side row. Then I picked up my cast on stitches from the back and I purl-grafted the sleeve and back together (the wrong-side row of the back lace pattern was purl). Next I ripped back both of the flared cuffs, finished the sleeves with an elastic bind off, and made the sleeves 3/4 length.

I'm not sure I'll end up wearing this, but my 2 daughters love it. I've decided I don't like the way shrugs are loose across the bottom part of the back. If I were to design one now, I would use short rows to fix that.


Here are the details:
Pattern: "Mia Shrug" by Karen Boykin
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns "Miracle" (50% alpaca 50% tencel); 5 balls
Color: 3332 maroon
Gauge: 5.5 st/inch
Needles: US#6/4 mm
Comments: I really liked the yarn and the simple lace pattern. I made the roses from the original pattern, but decided not to attach them.

I'm glad to cross this off my list.

A Mystery solved

So what is this? This is a picture of the wrong side of my MS3 stole before blocking (the wing section). I just thought it looked so neat I had to take a picture. It reminds me of the Japanese shibori knitting/felting. When I have some extra time, I really want to make a shibori scarf. For a short tutorial on shibori knitting, check out this link (click here).

But back to MS3. I have finished my stole (yeah!). I am really happy with the finished product. The yarn is light and warm and incredibly soft. These pictures do it no justice as you can’t see the beads or the shimmer of the yarn, but here you go:

The wing:

And the finished stole (click for larger image):

Details:
Pattern: Unofficially: MS3/Mystery Stole 3; Official name: ”Swan Lake” , available soon from Pink Lemon Twist
Yarn: Prism Lace Wool, color ‘Antique”
Needles: US4/3.5mm

What I learned from this project:

1. MS3 was my first knit-along. It was great to be part of such a large, friendly, international knitting group.

2. Working from a chart. I have worked from charts before, but never enjoyed it. I can honestly say that I now PREFER charts to written instruction! Early on in MS3, it all clicked and I couldn’t be happier.

3. Beads: The technique Melanie suggested for bead placement was great (adding the beads as you knit with a crochet hook). It wouldn’t be efficient for large amounts of beads, but was great for this project.

4. Wine and twine do not mix when knitting lace. Okay, I already knew this, but sometimes I forget…

Now that I have finished “Swan Lake”, I will be finishing up some other long time UFOs and then starting a couple of new sweaters. I love fall knitting and can’t wait to start some new things.

I'm back

The kids have started their first day of a new school year. For a brief moment I thought I would have some time to relax, and then I remembered all the things I need to do.

I was actually able to get quite a bit of knitting done in the last week, finishing up some projects. I will share the details as I get pictures ready and have time to type.