Finished Object: Winter Forest

Pattern: Winter Forest
Yarns:  Madelinetosh Pashmina Worsted
Colours: Antler and Mandala
Needle: 3.75 and 4.5mm Round Needle
Start of project: November 19th , 2015
End of project: November 23th, 2015

On Ravelry

And another quickie: A hat for my mother-in-law. When I last saw her, she asked for a knitted hat out of the blue. The only thing she told me was that she wouldn't mind fairisle and blue. Which leaves about a trillion possiblities ;-) I looked around on ravelry to find a nice pattern until I stumbled across this hat pattern (Fair Isle Hat #6209). I liked the different parts of pattern and the effect of the gradient yarn.

I knew I didn't want to use a gradient yarn but a very variegated one instead. With Mandala I found a colourway that combines a lot of the colours my mother-in-law likes. I also knew that I didn't want to knit this flat (who does that and why???) but of course in the round. As the pashmina worsted is slightly thinner than the aran yarn of the pattern I decided to start with 100 stitches and go up to 108 after the rim. Like that I was able to do 6 repeats of the pattern. I had to improvise a bit in the middle part because my hat still seemed very short and then again when I got to the trees, it was too early to decrease. For the crown I tried to knit a star, which worked out ok, but next time I need to start sooner in order to get a bigger star.

All in all I think it looks cute and I hope it will fit Hanni. Otherwise Antonia will have to keep it for herself ;-)

Finished Object: Bon Bon Mittens

Pattern: Bon Bon Mittens by tincanknits
Yarns:  Maddison Furbetto / Purl Soho Line Weight
Colours: Orange, Beige, Heirloom White
Needle: 3.25/4/4.5mm Round Needle
Start of project: November 14th , 2015
End of project: November 20th, 2015

On Ravelry

I can't seem to start another big project (for example the cardigan that I wanted to knit for the summer knit along, starting in August and have had the yarn for since probably June ;-) but I've been good using up leftovers. I knit the Foxy Hat last December and had a lot of orange and about half a ball of beige still in my stash afterwards. Orange is a colour I rarely wear and the yarn wasn't anything special. Nevertheless it seemed enough for a pair of mittens.

 I decided to give the BonBon Mittens from TinCanKnits a try, since I already had the pattern. For the cuff I used someof the beige yarn and then I changed to orange. They were very quickly done, including the thumb which I knit with beige again. I felt like knitting really warm mittens, so I added a lining mitten (I copied that from the Snowfling Mitts). I didn't line the thumbs, they seemed too small and frankly I was just too lazy to do it. They are a bit stiffer with the extra layer but really warm and toasty.

I had a lot of fun knitting these mittens and I might knit another pair sometimes soon.

Finished Object: Mac Book Cover

Pattern: MacBook Cover
Yarn: Lang Yarns Merino + Superwash
Colours: Fuchsia, Olive, Marine, Off White
Needle: 4.5mm Round Needle
Start of project: November 4th , 2015
End of project: November 13th, 2015

On Ravelry

Usually my MacBook stays at home, but every once in a while I need to take it to school with me. As I didn't really have any kind of cover nor a good bag to transport it in, I decided to knit a cover for it. On Ravelry I found a pattern I liked for its shape, the Knit MacBook Air Cover Pattern. I decided I didn't want to do any sewing at the end of the project so I thought about a way to cast it on flat but still get to knit it in the round. I think I remembered this cast on from some other project but I wasn't sure if I could pull it off (I have no idea where I met this method, but I must have somewhere...)

Anyway, I cast on 120 stitches and then I alternated the first row with k1 and slip stitch with yarn in the front. I did that for 4 rows, then I divided the stitches on to two needles and afterwards I was ready to continue knitting in the round and start the colour work a few rows later. After a while I realised that my cover was too wide, so I started again, and then I had to start again because it was too small all of a sudden (I guess I should have done a proper swatch ;-)

In the end, 72 stitches worked great because the pattern repeat was 8 stitches and it was the right size too. For the pattern I used an old favourite of mine, the Sundottir pattern. I knit it twice, used up all my yarn (you can see all that was left over on the photo) and now my MacBook will be much cosier on my bike next time ;-)

Finished Object: Hitchcock

Pattern: Hitchcock by tincanknits
Yarn: Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Worsted
Colour: Teal
Needle: 4mm and 5mm Round Needles
Start of project: September 25th , 2015
End of project: October 30th, 2015

On Ravelry

Andreas (my ex-husband) has asked me to knit him a pullover for a while. With his rather slim build and with very long arms it's often difficult for him to find tops that fit in both width and length.

In Pom Pom Quarterly - Issue 14 - Fall 2015 we saw this lovely sweater - Hitchcock - that both of us liked. We decided not to go with the original yarn but went for the other worsted yarn from the same vendor -  Natural Colors Merino Worsted.

Once it arrived I kind of knew that there might be trouble ahead. All the skeins had really noticable differences in shade and as soon as I started knitting I noticed how much colour this yarn would lose - my hands very totally stained blue everytime I took up my needles and the colour ended up on everything I wore and even on my sofa. The colour came off ok, but it wasn't cool to knit with because even my face got blue from where I'd touch it with my fingers.

At first I tried to knit it the way it was written in the pattern. But all that reverse stockinette really hurt my hands and the fabric also turned out quite uneven, something that never happens with stockinette. That's when I remembered reading somewhere about a similar pattern that had been knit inside out and I decided to give it a try. I asked around on the pompom forum on ravelry and was told the same, that it shouldn't be a problem knitting it on the wrong side and then change to the right side once the body and the sleeves were all attached together and the sweater was divided for the collar. And I am soo glad I took the risk, because it was very easy and logical and I am sure it looks so much neater now.

 
The colour kept frustrating me, especially the parts where I tried knitting with alternate skeins. It's actually stripey there. But Andreas kept insisting that he liked it anyway and so I kept going. In the end I like the result, I love the way it looks, the fit is great and I think those are just the perfect buttons for it, but I am still not happy with that yarn and wouldn't buy it again. I only hope that it won't lose much more colour when worn over a t-Shirt.

Finished Object: Honeycomb Toque

Pattern: Honeycomb Toque by Kent Turman
Yarn: Madelinetosh Vintage
Colour: Turquoise
Needle: 3.25mm and 4.5mm Round Needles
Start of project: October 26th , 2015
End of project: November 4th, 2015

On Ravelry

I've loved this pattern for a while now, but somehow the time was never right. Then after I'd finished my Hitchcock (which I'll write about as soon as I have some photos taken) I needed an easy project. I also really needed to dive into my stash again, because the suitcase where my yarn lives was so full I couldn't even close it anymore.

At first I wanted to try a different yarn - the Quincy & Co. Tern of which I still had lots of yarn left over from my Waterlily. Because Tern is fingering weight and this pattern calls for Aran, I decided to use two strands of Mist and one of Seaweed. In the little piece I knit it looked ok but once I started the hat it felt rather stiff and it was very intense knitting for my hands. Nevertheless I finished it. The hat looks ok but it doesn't feel very cosy. It's currently being blocked intensly which might make it more pliable - we will see ;-)

Once that first try was finished I totally wanted a nicer version and I remembered the yarn I'd bought at Strickcafé at their Lagerverkauf. I love the colour but I never knew what I was going to make with it. Well now it is my new Honeycomb Toque. I totally love the texture of it and I know I'll wear this a lot on my bike to school. I had to add quite a bit of lenght to the original pattern, it seems my hair needs a lot of space to be covered. Instead of 28 rows before starting with the decreases I needed 44 and it's still not too long.

Anyway, now that I used that yarn I might be allowed to start at new one again, maybe...