firecat

If you're on Ravelry you can see it here:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/firecat/curly-q-hat

Curly Q Hat by Hélène Rush
Needle: US 8 - 5.0 mm
Yarn: Feline Fibers 2-ply wool
How much? 0.9 skeins = 108.0 yards (98.8m)
Purchased at: Black Mountain Weavers in Point Reyes Station, California

Someday I will learn how to compensate for the fact that I knit really loosely. The hat came out too big around. So I felted it.

Someday I will learn how to pay attention to the washing machine when I felt something. It felted it a bit more than I intended it to.

Now the shape is sort of cloche-like. I like it in an “embracing serendipity” sort of way.

( my behatted and bespectacled mug )

(If you are wondering where poems 1 and 2 went, they are friends-locked.)

I didn't expect to be inspired to participate in elisem's "Nine Things About Oracles" project but after I had gotten a few lines written on this one I realized that was what it was about, and added the title. I'm not entirely happy with it yet, but here's where it stands for now.
( Read more... )

Have Fun! Scarf by Sally Melville, The Knitting Experience, Book 1: The Knit Stitch
I finished this in 2005 but I got it out for a photo today because auntysocial was talking about the book in question. I don't remember what needle size I used. I knit this from a bunch of different yarns I got at the Mendocino Wool & Fiber Festival in 2004. It’s knit sideways and self-fringing. I made the mistake of hanging it on a hanger, and it grew so now it’s over 10 feet long.
( Read more... )

Regia Jacquard socks (two at once, top down on 2 circs)
(Finished last month)
Pattern: Boot Socks by Knit Picks Design Team
Size: custom
Needle: US 1 / 2.25 mm
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Jacquard Color 4-ply / 4-fädig
2 skeins = 460.0 yards (420.6m)
Color family: Blue
Acquired: as door prize, TKCS Oct 07
( Read more... )

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/firecat/diamond-waffle-socks

Needles:
US 0 / 2.0 mm Knitpicks nickel-plated 16" circs
US 1 / 2.25 mm Knitpicks nickel-plated 16" circs


Yarn: Fleece Artist Nova Socks
1 skein = 355.0 yards (324.6m)
Colorway amethyst
Purchased at Stitches West in Santa Clara, California


( photos and gory details )

I made a toy for my nephew's 3d birthday. Despite his getting a mountain of other gifts, including a doll house and an OLPC computer, he actually played with the puppet a few times without being prompted, which made me happy.

Here's the Ravelry page for those of you who have drunk the Koolaid:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/firecat/manta-ray

It's based on Manta Ray by Brigitte Read on the roman sock blog.
Size G hook
Yarn: The underside is bulky wool handspun by kiyowaramiyuki. The topside is Plymouth Outback Wool, colorway "Multibright". Both were acquired at yarn swaps.

Pattern modifications:

* I embroidered on eyes rather than sewing on safety eyes (didn't have any safety eyes, and thought it would be safer for a 3 year old)
* I didn't use internal pipecleaners (again, thought they might not be entirely safe for a 3-year-old)
* The crochetwork was kind of open and I thought stuffing would show. So I made it into a handpuppet rather than stuffing. There is a side benefit that it is more interactive this way.
* I attached the two halves with single crochet rather than sewing. (I suck at sewing.)
* I crocheted the mouth piece rather than sewing in a piece of felt. (I suck at sewing.)
( pictures )

This might be my last crochet project, since I discovered while doing it that I'm now faster at knitting than crochet.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/firecat/silly-hat
Made for Naomi

Needles
US 6 / 4.0 mm (top)
US 4 / 3.5 mm (ribbing)

Yarn
Plymouth Dreambaby DK Solid, 0.75 ball
Baruffa Fur, 1 ball

Adapted from the top down hat pattern in Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top. Reversible. One side has an I-cord "stem". The fur and dk part is stockinette; the part with dk only is 2x2 rib, with a stockinette edge.

( hatted firecat with silly grin inside )

11/01/07

733 out of 50,000

11/02/07

912 out of 50,000

11/03/07

2103 out of 50,000

Widget from gngr here.

Other:

• Started 3 Garage Band pieces and finished four others
• Finished a sleeve of the Heartbeat Sweater
• Started the second sleeve of the Heartbeat Sweater while watching one of the dumber Original Star Trek episodes ("The Naked Time")
• Knitted several rows of the Tidal Wave sock (and ripped half of them out again) while hanging with Serene in a cafe in San Francisco
• Finished one Tidal Wave sock (it took two tries because I misread the instructions the first time and produced a too-short toe)
• Finished the second sleeve of the Heartbeat Sweater and started the neckline
• Started the second Tidal Wave sock
• Started and ripped a lace shawl (my own design)
• Finished the Heartbeat Sweater
• Finished the Tidal Wave socks
• Started a sekrit winter gift project

This info is written up more tidily on http://www.ravelry.com/projects/firecat/heartbeat-sweater

Pattern: Heartbeat Sweater by Jill Vosburg
Craft: Knitting
Made for: me
Size: 44" bust with side panel modifications
Needle: US 5 (back panel), US 3 (front panel), US 2 (side panels, sleeves, neckline)
Yarn: mercerized cotton
Colorway: purple and pink varigated (front/back panels), purple (side panels, sleeves, neckline)
I got the yarn in a swap. (Waves to punkmom)

Notes
The pattern goes up to a 64" bust, but as written it isn't all that well designed to accommodate larger sizes - the shoulders and neckline end up too wide. Also the side panel width doesn't change (but I think that it should—a person who is bigger around also tends to have wider sides).

We did it as a KAL on the ample-knitters yahoo group. Different folks modified the pattern in different ways to address these issues.

My bust is larger than the 44" size I knit; I made up the difference by increasing the width of the side panels. Also I modified the triangles at the bottom of the back sweater panel to accommodate wider hips. (I won't do that again if I make another Heartbeat Sweater, because it makes the bottom of the sweater into an upside-down vee shape, which isn't entirely flattering. But it looks OK for this one).

I used #5 needles and continental knitting for the first front/back panel, but the fabric was too loose. I switched to #3 needles and combination knitting for the second front/back panel. When I was ready to start the sleeves, side panels, and neckline I discovered the purple yarn was much thinner than the multicolored yarn, so I knit with two strands held together on #2 needles.

The sweater is loose on me - my gauge-fu for garments larger than socks or hats is weak (and it doesn't help when I change techniques and needle sizes mid-project). It has some drape so it looks OK at this size, but I may take in the side panels at some point.

Better pictures to come. I've mislaid my camera so I took this on my crappy cellphone camera. It's a detail of the front panel and neckline. ( stitches )

Over at poets_challenge the challenge was to write a Rhyme Royal. I tried.
( Read more... )

It's wordweaverlynn's fault - she e-mailed me a little bit before Wiscon and asked if I wanted to participate in a group Fire Mountain Gems order. I thought I might, but of course in order to figure out what I needed, I first had to drag out and inventory my existing stash of jewelry stuff.

And while doing that I came across a bag full of beads and supplies that I had intended to use to make something along the lines of the "Floating Fantasy Necklace" from Beadstyle November 03 issue. I set that aside and started to work on it after Wiscon, only I found out that a number of the small beads I had chosen had holes too small to be strung on the waxed cord, and that I didn't have enough teardrop beads. What to do? I had received the botmo collection from May 07, entitled "Dragons in the Garden," and it had a lot of smallish flower and leaf beads, so I decided to use those along with the other beads I had set aside.

I made most of the necklace in one evening while watching my Two Fat Ladies videotapes. The videotapes are better than the Food Network version of the show, which cuts out a lot of fun stuff to make room for the commercials.

I used a dental pick to make the knots between beads. I got it from a guy who sells inexpensive hobbyist tools at the San Mateo County Fair.

The Beadstyle article doesn't explain how to make the macrame cord - it suggests a simplified cord with some overhand knots. I didn't like how that looked, so I did a web search to find basic macrame instructions. Somewhere in my search I found a tip that suggested you could tie the top of your macrame to the clip of a clipboard, so I used that instead of a macrame board.

( photo )

After struggling with the Knitty Branching Out pattern I craved an easy project. I recently picked up Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New and it has a chapter on "scribble lace," which is basically knitting with a thick yarn and a thread on large needles. It produces an open fabric in which the stitches of thick yarn stand out.

A while back an LJ friend gave me some Gedifra Byzanz yarn and it seemed perfect for this project.

I started by knitting a scarf widthwise (10-15 stitches per row) in stockinette according to instructions in Unexpected Knitting—3 rows thread, 1 row yarn. Then I discovered a third ball of Byzanz in my stash. I picked up stitches along the long edge and knit using 1 row yarn and 5 rows thread in garter stitch. I finished some parts with crochet edging.

( three photos )

I tried to make a Moebius scarf using Cat Bordhi's A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. I failed to check the cast-on carefully for only one twist, and it ended up as a scarf with one side but three half twists instead of one.

I used one skein of Mountain Colors handpainted "Mountain Goat" worsted weight yarn, 55% mohair and 45% wool, and #8 needles. This made a scarf with about a 65" circumference and 5" wide (ribbed). The yarn is absolutely luscious - soft, light, warm, and developing a lovely halo.

I finished it with an applied I-cord edging of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK, 80% alpaca and 20% silk. This yarn feels lovely but is very delicate. If you knit with the brand-new yarn it's OK, but if you frog it and try to knit with it again, it starts splitting very easily. It's hard to tink and impossible to un-knot. I won't be buying it again.

( Two photos of a twisty scarf )

I haven't given up on Cat Bordhi's Moebius cast-on, but the first Moebius scarf I made used a different method for casting on (you cast on half the stitches and then pick up from the bottom edge for the next half...not sure if I'm explaining that very clearly) and I didn't have the problem of extra twists. Also Bordhi's cast-on, because it is over two cables, is either very tight to knit into or produces a loose center to your Moebius strip. A lot of Bordhi's projects are felted in which case the loose center wouldn't matter.

Here are some cabled wrist warmers I made.

I used this pattern:
http://wineandneedles.blogspot.com/2004/12/wrist-warmer-pattern.html

...but I made mine shorter, to just cover the wrists, because I usually wear long sleeves when it's cold enough for wrist warmers.

They came out quite big around. Probably anyone with medium to small hands/forearms who doesn't knit very tightly should make them using a smaller needle. (I used #8 as suggested in the pattern.)

This pattern is based on the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern which is available here. I made a short scarf based on that pattern...half in gray and half in pink-and-maroon stripes. It's a very odd looking thing. I rather like it, but I don't think I would wear it in public :)

The fun thing about this pattern was that I got to learn mattress stitch with the help of the online video at http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/basic_techniques/misc.php. Mattress stitch is cool because at the end you pull the strand of yarn and it "zips up" and disappears.

( two small images )