Monthly Archives: January 2007

good googly moogly.

Holy Crap.

The school, it seems, shall kick my butt this term – it’s my very last term of school (perhaps forever) and I have So. Much. Work. Seriously, I have all kinds of little assignments, all one after the other, rather than just a couple big papers like I was expecting. The calendar is filling up and I’m already behind.

That being said, I have a lot of reading and can knit while I read (at least, I hope I can with the readings this term). So maybe there will be some knitting content after all.

With the several sweaters I have on the needles already, I still had itchy fingers. So I cast on for yet another one…

A top-down sweatercoat thingy. It doesn’t have any buttonholes at the moment, so if I want to do something later it might be clasps or buttonloops or a zipper or, of course, I could just pick up and knit buttonbands later.

I’m quite enjoying the cabled raglan lines.

(Since I know someone will ask: it’s my own pattern.)

I’m using Elann Highland Chunky at a tighter gauge (18 sts/4″ on 5mm needles) to hopefully help curb pilling. And I’m using my new pink Denises! Yes, I already have a set. No, I don’t think that’s too many needles!

Off to do some reading. And maybe knitting, too.

groove

Thanks for all the comments on my malabrigo hat! It sure is keeping me toasty!

I don’t want to post the pattern in its entirety (laws and all that) so here are the ways in which I deviated from the Lady Detective Hat (from Knit 2 Together, since I know someone will ask that).

Followed the top instructions, but working in stockinette stitch. Purl the last round of the crown. I didn’t bind off the crown and pick up; instead I just kept knitting (and switched to a circ) in stockinette rather than the pattern stitch.

The first time, I knit the hat as prescribed and it was way huge – my fault; looser gauge with it being in stockinette. So the last (and best-fitting) time, I decreased (k2tog) about every ten stitches or so in the first round of the body. I shortened the body. I removed a couple rows from the brim because it was getting too long, and mirrored that in the brim lining. I think that’s it!

Progress shots on Lady E:

Almost done – and this photo’s slightly outdated now! I’m on the ninth ball, and I’m a bit undecided as to what to do for the trim. I don’t really like fringe, and the one from the book (with its intricate knotting) is way out. Maybe normal tassels? I kind of feel like the ends need something. Maybe again, maybe they don’t need anything. Any suggestions?

head coverings, part ii

Boy, it’s weird how the minutes/hours/day slip past when you’re watching a TV show on DVD huh? This time it’s Alias, season 5 – I stopped watching around the middle of season 4, so I’ve been watching the rest all on DVD.

All this sitting time is quality knitting time, of course. Very quickly knit, and reknit, and reknit…before it finally decided to be the correct size, a malabrigo hat.

I look pretty stupid in normal-shaped toques, so I needed something with a brim! Pattern is my own, based on the Lady Detective Hat from Knit 2 Together (2 FOs from that book in a row!). Knit with 1 skein of Malabrigo worsted in “Velvet Grapes”, double stranded, on 7mm dpn and 8 mm circs.

I started at the top and knit down, doing a folded brim for more structure and warmth. I did run out of the yarn juuuust at the end and used some stash scrap malabrigo in Olive to finish the job. I actually really like the contrast.

It’s a good thing I finished this, because it’s finally looking like winter here in Toronto – those of you who think Canada’s all ice and snow, we just got the first snowfall of the year and it seems to finally be staying below the freezing mark. I’ve worn the hat a couple of times already, and I’m actually very warm and happy to be wearing it…normally I’m not a hat person at all!

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