2015: State of the Knitting, Gifts

I don't really feel like I have a lot to show for this year's knitting, although Ravelry shows I completed 27 projects this year, so it has to be at least considered that I'm being too hard on myself. Without further ado, a roundup of 2015s "unselfish" knitting:

Finished Objects
I made three "Haps" (and a mini-Hap) all as gifts: a full-Hansel in yellow with blue and green for a former coworker who was getting married; a half-Hansel in green with yellow and blue for Miss Morgan who came to visit; a mini-Hansel for Little Djinn's dolls in scraps; and a sparkling pink/purple mystery shawl (now Havra), a half-hap style construction for Miss Krissy's birthday. Miss Krissy loved hers, though she reports that her taste in colours is getting more muted (Autumnal?). I don't think the other three were particularly impressed.

I knit a pair of little fingerless mitts in pink with white hearts from a Knit Now (magazine) kit for Miss Anya's birthday because it arrived just in time and she loves pink. She made a big fuss about how much she likes them, but she's since moved to England.

For Little Djinn I knit three pairs of socks, two pairs being the same will, frogged to reknit them, both times too small. A third pair seems to be too long. She wont let me measure her. I finished her second Ravi Jr cardigan, this time in an orange that's almost gold.

I also knit her a little hat which, really, I knew better. She doesn't wear hats, unless they're my hats and she snatches them from me. It's a really nice hat, though, Quynn in super soft rainbow wool from a local "natural" dyer. She now says she wants hats with pom-poms so I guess I can try that next? She might wear a hat someday, right?

Her favourite knit has been Fudge the Dog, another kit from Knit Now magazine. Fudge is one of her two favourite toys to take out in the pram, the other being a (storebought) knit kitty, Puddy. Fudge likes to go for walks with us and see the "other" doggies.

On the charity side, I knit a Sheep Carousel to be auctioned at the Highland Wool Festival (didn't win the contest; no idea how much was bid for it) and a couple of small hats for refugees, but then I was poorly on the collection dates so I need to find a new home for them.

Chris did not fair as well in the gift-knitting department. I finished two hats which I felt didn't much suit me and I passed on to him, first the Seaforth which he hasn't taken to, though he has been grateful for it the times we met up in town to walk home and he didn't have a (warm) hat with him. I also gave him the mystery hat, now Skelter, that I knit in November which he likes except the pom-pom bounces when he walks, and I keep borrowing if I'm going out and know he won't be.

The Snawheid hat I knit last Nov/Dec was also given away, because whilst I loved it, it didn't fit well and I knew someone with a smaller head who would appreciate it.

UnFinished Objects
I did work a little on Chris' languishing Terry's Pullover, and finished grafting the sleeves on (pour execution decision - not a design element) and I think I even seamed the sleeves, but faced with weaving all those ends in - and there are a lot of ends as I knit this before I knew about spit splicing - keeps overwhelming me. It doesn't help that he mentioned that he doesn't like to wear pullovers, preferring cardigans, which I feel he could have mentioned before I knit it twice (the first time was too tight).

On NYE, I started a Wee Liesl for a friend who was due that day. The baby in question showed up late last night, but I've finished the body and am working on the first sleeve so I should be done before too long. I picked the pattern because I have the recommended wool in stash, leftover from knitting Little Djinn's baby blanket and a cardigan for myself.

Frozen or Frogged
I started a Wee Melia for Little Djinn in a gorgeous glowing orange, but 3/4ths the way through I realized I need to do the next size up and she now tells me she "doesn't love orange". Gah. I bought more of the same wool in a pinky-purple that hasn't arrived yet but hopefully she'll like. I need to decide if I'm going to try ripping the orange attempt back halfway and making it bigger or swapping the wool or and what pattern to pick for the new colour.

Also in limbo are two pairs of socks for Chris. There's the bullfinch socks I blogged about just before Christmas and the Herringbone Rib socks I started back in April 2013. Yeah. I'm on the cuff of the second sock, but it's not a stitch pattern I can work without concentration so they're just going to have to wait. Or get frogged. Frogging seems more and more likely, doesn't it? They can languish for now.

In December I started a KAL on Google+ for a maple leaf shawl but I'm not feeling the love. I'm thinking the wool I picked would make a better Stella Luna.

Hotel for the Hopelessly Overcommitted (October WIPs)

Hello and welcome to the hotel for the hopelessly overcommitted. Like Hotel California, you can check in but, well, you know. Except at the HftHO there's wool, lots and lots of wool, and you wouldn't believe all the beautiful patterns scattered about and friendly groups of knitters hoping you'll join them in making wonderful things. I have a nice suite towards the top with a great view of all the shiny things I want to be knitting right now. This is the list of things I am currently working on:

Mithral by Carol Feller
A laceweight fuzzy pullover doesn't sound like the best project for someone who is relatively new to sweaters: fuzzy yarn isn't the easiest to knit with (it certainly isn't easy to frog if you make a mistake as the hat proved!) and laceweight yarn, being thin, takes more stitches and rows to cover a given space than a larger, heavier weight like aran would. But the pattern looks lovely and, as I may have previously mentioned, I really like KALs, so high on yarn fumes I bought the pattern and yarn. It starts today so I'm listing it in my Works in Progress (WIPs) but the instructions haven't actually been released, so there's nothing to show.

Tarsi Socks by Clare Devine
I may have previously mentioned that I have a serious weakness for Knit-A-Longs (KALs), well, signing up for the Great British Socks Away KAL is surely proof. I had already signed up for the Mithral KAL when this KAL was announced, to knit foot coverings using yarn from sheep living in the UK (or local to the knitter). I actually had two yarns suitable, four skeins of Navia's DK sock yarn in natural black from The Island Wool company for a pair of winter knee socks which I started but only got about two inches up the first toe before realizing the pattern wasn't ideal, and the leftovers from my Narcissus Socks finished back in 2012, Old Maiden Aunt's now discontinued 100% British BFL in the also discontinued colour Emerald City, to knit a pair of socks for Little Djinn.

I actually already knit a tiny pair of socks in this yarn from Sock Anatomy, Clare Devine's collection of sock techniques in baby and toddler sizes, but the largest size was too small for her little feet. Which you'd think I'd have figured out before knitting both of them, but I was pregnant at the time and figured that if they didn't fit her they'd fit another pair of feet soon enough. Fortunately, Ms Devine has since updated the pattern collection to include children and adult sizes so I picked another pattern (for variety) and a larger size, frogged the first pair, and cast on this morning.

The KAL goes into November, so hopefully I can finish a small pair of socks in the time allowed, whilst also knitting a laceweight pullover. It could happen. And if there's time I'll restart my big warm socks. Yes, my delusional world of knitting I churn out knitting like I'm Yarn Harlot or something.

Wee Meelia by Ysolda Teague

Look, I've made progress! Back in July, between the Hap-alongs and the Scollay-along, I said I was hoping to finish the hood (which is, frankly, huge) but it turns out I was nearly done, and I actually made it several inches bellow the arms. Little Djinn is lanky, so I'm knitting the size for her chest and I'll add length to the body and arms. Her last two cardigans actually still fit her, though the one from two years ago is starting to have cropped sleeves, so there's no hurry on this one.

Half Hansel (hap) by Gudrun Johnston
This one is going to be a gift so no pictures, and I talked about it in the last post, but it belongs in the list of things I'm working on. I've got five or six of the triangles for the border done, which means I've only got another 40 or 50 to go. I've been spit-splicing the ends together as I go so there will only be two ends to weave in at the end.

Those are the projects I am currently working on.

September and August Finished Objects

Finished Objects!

Scollay Cardigan by Karie Westermann

Love love love love this cardigan! I knit it in the suggested wool, New Lanark Mill DK which is wool tweed with silk slubs, in the colour Milano (I keep forgetting if it's Milano or Verona - both are lovely, I got the pinker one). I knit the XL size, my gauge was a tiny bit larger than the pattern recommends which I accounted for in the length but not the width as I wanted a smidge more room than the XL but not as much as the XXL. I also knit the sleeves flat, rather than have to figure out if my gauge was different in the round (hint, it almost always is). I bought several sets of buttons trying to find the right ones for the cardigan. One set was the right colour but the wrong size and the others were all the right size but the shade of pink. I picked coconut flowers that had been glazed pink on the front and attached them wrong side up so the pink is against the wool. It works surprisingly well.

Full Hap by Gudrun Johnston

I finished this back in July before the end of the Hapalong (hap knit-a-long) but it was a gift so I couldn't share a picture. I bought the pattern along with the craftsy class and I loved everything about it. I loved participating in the Hapalong, I loved watching the craftsy class and listening to Ms Johnston - it was very soothing and interesting if that makes sense, and I loved knitting the pattern and seeing all the different colour combinations people came up with. Three of my colours are from Judith Glue a little tourist tat shop in town except instead of tat they largely stock things made in Orkney. The yellow, green, and light blue were each £10 and described only as "100g 100% lambswool". The blue is mystery wool from my stash, described only as "£4.00" on what looks like a charity shop tag. The bright blue was heavier than the others, but worked well enough and, I think, largely made the shawl. I'm sad to say that I don't have a great feeling that the woman I gifted the shawl to will love it in the way we hope any knitted gift will be loved, but such is the nature of life, right?

I'm using the three Orkney colours to knit a half hap in between other projects (it started as my travel project to Amsterdam but despite the four hour delay leaving, I only got about 20 sts knit the whole trip). The half-hap is so much faster to knit than the full size one that I'm ready to accuse everyone who knit one in the KAL of cheating or witch craft or something. I'm on the edging now and I've decided to knit back and forth, rather than turn it around every 8-15 stitches. It's not really fast yet, but it may get there as my left to right knitting improves. I may have enough wool left over to knit another half hap with the third colour as the centre.

Brainless by Yarnissima

These are "brainless" socks, one of my two default toe-up sock patterns, in a cotton-blend Opal sock yarn. I started them before Easter and finished them in time for Autumn. That's how long it takes me to knit a pair of socks, for a value of knitting that mostly involves knitting while following Little Djinn around the floral hall. I'm proud of myself for getting the stripes to match up, though I seem to have done the heels differently and the second way doesn't fit as well. Also, the stripes somehow got off on the second cuff. I don't care enough to redo them. I wore them yesterday when it was really hot (20C/70F) and my feet were too hot even with the cotton, so I doubt I'll bother with cotton blend wool socks again, especially as I didn't really like any of the colours, these are just the ones I disliked the least.

The good news is that, while I was knitting these, I found out that my favourite yarn dyer uses Opal's regular sock yarn as the base of one of her sock yarns so I can get the wool I like in colours I love instead of just being okay with!

Fudge by Barbara Prime

Fudge the Dog was a kit from Knit Now magazine and as soon as it arrived in late May Little Djinn insisted I knit it. I mentioned her a few months ago, but I don't think I ever posted a picture, so here she is in all her glory. The kit included the yarn and eyes and Little Djinn loves her. The current issue of Knit Now magazine has a kit for Puss in Boots by the same designer so if you think she's cute you can knit something very similar and get a very nice magazine not very much. I knit everything but Fudge's body in the round instead of flat to save seaming up, and as Puss doesn't have the spots I'll probably knit her entirely in the round.

Mithral Hat by Carol Feller

In preparation for her next pullover KAL, Carol Feller released a hat pattern using the same stitch pattern which was a bonus pattern for buying the pullover pattern in advance and can be used as a swatch for the sweater. High from the yarn fumes after finishing my Scollay, I bought the pattern and ordered the yarn (also discounted in September from Purlescence) and quickly knit it up. Then I blocked it and realized it's a disaster, so I frogged it (the knitters out there all gasped in shared pain at frogging a brushed yarn) and re-knit it on larger needles. I just cast off the second attempt today, blocked it over a balloon in front of the space heater, and took a picture. I still need to measure to get my gauge so I'll be ready when the first part of instructions (it's not really a "clue" when we know what the finished garment will look like) are released tomorrow. And, yes, Mithral is a LotR reference.

Beanies and their longer cousin slouchies don't do anything for me, but the hat has already been claimed by my little knitwear model (protip: don't hire a model who wants to do a photo-shoot whilst bouncing on the bed unless you have a much better camera than the one in my phone).

KAL Fever

I am a sucker for a Knit-Along, when someone organizes a group of people to all knit the same thing, which is probably why I'm doing two right now with another prepped to start when they're completed.

Back in April Louise Scollay (of the Knit British podcast - confession, I don't actually listen as podcasts don't work for me, but I read her blog and follow her on Twitter) organized a Hapalong in appreciation of traditional Shetland shawls/blankets. I actually knit one before, for Little Djinn, before I knew the history or design. I wasn't sure I even wanted to knit another hap or which one I would knit - a traditional work-a-day one like Gundrun Johnson (Shetland Trader)'s Hansel or a modern interpretation like Kate Davies Hap for Harriet (though I knew I don't have the bandwidth for a stunning lacy christening shawl in single ply and dripping with lace). But by the time the KAL kicked off I'd seen so many beautiful patterns and colour combinations that I simply couldn't resist. Gundrun's craftsy class and pattern for Hansel were on sale at the time, so I pulled some two-ply odds and ends from my stash left over from a fair-isle hat kit and cast on a mini hap. Except I didn't have enough for the main colour so I bought a 100g skein from Judith Glue, which is a lot of wool for a little project. I'm not a huge fan of video tutorials in the same way that podcasts don't work for me, but I found Gundrun's to be very soothing and I'd watch it again just to have her gently nattering on in the background whilst I knit. (I'm really really bad at paying attention to the content of what people are saying; invariably I try to open a book to read at the same time which works with music but not so much spoken word).  My little shawl was a delight to knit so I bought some more coordinating colours and started a full-size version, which is still in progress because I put it down to cast on Gundrun's Mystery KAL, a knit-along where you know what kind and how much wool to buy and, in this case, that it would be a shawl, but not what the finished object would look like. 

A new clue was released each week in June with four clues in total and while I was about a week behind for the whole thing, I now have a stunning shawl to show for it. I used Old Maiden Aunt's sparkle sock yarn in Twu Wuv, Berry Good, and Bramble for an ombré effect. I was betting that the MKAL would count as a hap for the Hapalong and fortunately I was right so it counts for both. I've picked up my Hansel again and was only a few rows from the edge so I'm on the (slow) home stretch. Amusingly, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (Yarn Harlot, a woman who is about as famous as a knitter can be) is currently knitting a hap - though I don't believe she's used the word - for a niece or nephew who is minutes from meeting the world and she's blogging the frustration of committing to a knit on edging (mine is 9-18 stitches per row, two rows bind off one stitch around the border. Hers looks wider, and we won't know until she blocks it but I'm guessing hers hap will be at least two feet wider, corner to corner, than mine) on a deadline.

For our anniversary, Chris gave me the wool for my next KAL, the Scollay cardigan designed by Karie Westermann (Karie Bookish) for Louise Scollay, co-hosted by her at Knit British and Isla of the British Yarn Shop. This one starts when the Hapalong ends, and I started swatching last weekend.