Flamin' Firestarters

Pattern: The Firstarter by Yarnissima
Yarn: Spritely Goods Fey in Limited Edition Red Maple Colorway.
Size: US Womens 9
Amount of yarn used: 80 grams / 2.8 oz
Needles: US0

Comments: Toe-up twisted cables with a unique gusset - once I got the gauge right, the knitting went by without too much trouble. I'm especially pleased with the bounce and stretch of these socks - I think these are the first socks I've knit with such a tight gauge, and I 'm very pleased with the results. The twisted stitch cables are lovely, and just enough to make for elegant accents on the socks - and even better, they were easy enough to execute without resulting in a flare up of my tendinitis. My complements to the designer, Marjan, for her fantastically detailed pattern write up - she kindly includes detailed instructions on how to complete a provisional cast on as well as instructions for those who have not knit traveling stitches previously.

I should mention that while I did magic loop the pair of socks on one long needle, the pattern does call for transferring or moving stitches around to complete the cabled sections. If you make a habit of knitting your socks on magic loop in a pair, you should make note and plan accordingly...I've taken to keeping a couple of paper clips in my knitting notions bag as stitch holders for just such occasions.

Henna'd legs

Yarn: Spritely Goods Sylph in Limited Edition Deep Blue Sea colorway. One skein. All the way up to my knees and it only took one skein*! YAY!

Needles: a variety - I started on US1s (or technically 1.5s since they were 2.5mm) - then as I went up the calf, I switched to US2s/2.5s, then US 3s. For the garter, I knit on US0's, but then switched back to 3s for the cuffs.

Pattern: Scherherazade's Slippers by Maia Discoe

Comments & Modifications: These socks can be magic looped, but cannot be knit together at the same time on one long needle because stitches are moved from the instep to the sole for a good portion of the knitting. I did knit them at the same time though - each on their own needle, thus managing to not get hit with second sock syndrome. Because these socks are toe up - I was able to gauge the yarn as I went.

The socks are not supposed to be knee-highs, but since I have a lot of calf curve, I decided it may well be best to just take them clear to the knee if I could manage it with the yarn to prevent any slouchiness that the socks might be prone to doing if I ended them near the full portion of my calf. I did "cheat" and knit the garter out of some other leftover sock yarn just to be sure I had enough for the short cuffs. When I bound off, I still had enough yarn to go round quite a few more times.


I really did enjoy the knitting - the motifs would certainly be more visible in a lighter colored yarn, but I'm quite happy with how they turned out in this dark slightly variegated colorway (the motifs are also more visible in sunlight - but I keep forgetting to take photos when the sun is out!) I love how the patterns wrap around the leg and travel up the back side. In order to get these to reach all the way to my knees, I added one more repeat of cables before starting in on the ribbing - as I did the transition from the cabled pattern to the ribbing, I also did a few increases to better accommodate my shapely leg...unfortunately I failed to take notes, making it up as I went along on the fly - this would be another good reason to knit both socks at the same time ;)


The pattern is knit off of charts, and size is adjusted by changing gauge. Maia was right on with her recommendations for needle sizes, and also with her estimates for how long to knit before heading into the heel shaping - my socks fit perfectly, and brought much joy in the knitting. A shame it's warming up so fast, I'm going to have to save the joy in the wearing until next fall/winter!


*okay, I did "cheat" by knitting the garters in a different yarn - but I did have yarn left over when I was done...so I'm pretty sure I could have managed with a single skein.

Cabled Mitts

Pattern: My own - totally made up from the top down, with shaping through the arm, ribbing at the wrist to the hand with a gusseted thumb. Complete with fat cables that match the Central Park Hoodie.

Yarn: More Patons Classic Merino (I'm burning off the stash that I had bought to complete the CPH) in Burgundy.

Needles: US 7 and US5.

Comments: Elbow length long mitts that are form fitting right through the hands - perfect for warming up if I happen to be sitting around in a Tee shirt and a sweater is a little too much. The paired decreases down the forearm keep the fit nice and snug while not distorting the cable at all - I converted to a ribbed pattern at the wrist and through the palm to keep the fit snug. Thumb gussets were knit in, keeping with the clean lines and seamless transitions. Judicious use of a smaller needle size also allowed me to adjust gauge as necessary.

Twinned Knits

Pattern: Fake Isle by Amy

Yarns: For the Red one, I used Patons Classic Merino in Burgundy paired with SWTC Karaoke in the Black Sheep Colorway. For the other, it's all Karaoke - Black Sheep and Forest colorways.

Needles: For the Red one, I used US6 needles throughout. For the other, I used US4s and US6s.

Sizes: The Red was the Larger size, and the green is the smaller size. Sadly, neither fit perfectly.

It started with the red hat, knit according to the pattern, with a couple extra rows at the brim as the only modification - mostly because the hat looked a bit short in the photos on the pattern. I'm not sure what it is with my knitting, but it seems every time I knit a hat, it always develops a bell like shape where it is fairly wide at the brim. Seeing as a normal person's head does not do this, it makes for an ill fitting hat. While the top portion of the hat seemed to be about right for circumference, the hat wound up being too deep - and rather than rip it all out, I debated with myself over felting it or turning the bottom of the hat inside - due to the belled shape, I figured the 2nd option would make for lumpy lines, so into the sink it went.

Sadly, the felting experiment didn't go so well - instead of shrinking, the hat seemed to bloom (in case you're wondering, no, I did not wash my swatch. I'm one of those knitters that swatches rarely - and I fix my knitting on the fly. It can sometimes be my downfall). Anyhow, back to the hat - it seemed to bloom and expand. While the stitch definition became less defined, I saw little shrinkage. I also noticed that even after blocking the hat nicely, it seems to have a point at the top - nowhere near as pointy as my meathead, but the hat definitely does not lay flat against the top of my head - even when I pull it down tightly. I suspect an issue with my floats combined with the possible change in gauge for the very last bit of knitting (all one color for the very last bit).

Undeterred, I cast on for a 2nd hat, this time opting for modifications including knitting 2x2 (rather than 3x1) ribbing on smaller needles. I also stayed on the smaller needles after switching to stockinette for about 4 rows. This was successful in preventing the dread bell shape.

Unfortunately, the hat is still too deep - not by too much, but some. While the hat does fit better than the first, it still doesn't quite stretch right at the very top and also has a slight lump at the very crown of the hat. I'm thinking my head is not suitable for the pattern of decreases used on this pattern.

Excuse the baleful eye in the left hand photo :) I assure you - my head is not cone shaped as it appears in that red hat. Now I'm stuck with a dilemma. 2 lovely hats - neither of which fits quite right - I might keep the red one for my own, I can't see foisting the cone head on someone else. I'm still debating gifting the green one away - it was intended as a gift, but I'm not sure it will fit the recipient properly given that it doesn't quite fit me (or my DH) Comments? Suggestions for yet another hat pattern? I hate to say it, but I might be relegated to yet another Pirate Hat.

Regardless of the fit issues, I think the stitches look nice, don't you?

Kilt Hose

Pattern: Toirneach Kilt Hose from Knitty
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Burgundy, 2 skeins, leftover from my Central Park Hoodie
Needles: US 2 & US0 - yikes!

Modifications/Comments: I had a heck of a time getting started on these kilt hose - of course, I didn't swatch, mostly because I rarely (as in never) swatch for socks because...well, I usually find I have no problems adjusting on the fly, and I would have to swatch in the round anyway - So I usually cast on and have few problems adjusting as I go. Sadly, my knitting was not being cooperative - the first time, I wound up twisting the join (one of the reasons I rarely knit cuff down), the 2nd time, I managed to somehow introduce a twist after knitting a few rows (I blame it on my vintage circulars - in a fit after that fiasco, I caved and bought the Knitpicks Options set), the 3rd time I realized the lace cuff was big enough to be a garter around my thigh.

The 4th time was the charm - I reduced the number of cast on stitches and went down 2 sizes in needles - the 1x1 ribbing was brutal on 0's but I have a good feeling that these socks are going to stay put :)

I did wind up adjusting the number of stitches that I decreased down to also, a total of 42 stitches at the ankle instead of 48. With the smaller gauge, I probably could have gotten away with the original numbers called for in the pattern, as the ribbing is stretched quite tightly - but i figure with knee socks, that should help hold em up better.

All I need to do now is wear my new kilt hose with my kilt and my CPH :D

Hat with Holes...

Pattern: Urban Homesteader by Christy
Needles: US 6 & US7
Yarn: SWTC Karaoke - Held Double stranded for most of the knitting

Comments: Sorry about the "flashy" photo - I was needing to do the self portrait thing and I wasn't having any luck outside. This hat was a really fast knit, and it worked well to help bust some of my stash :) While it does make my head look a little jelly-fish like - especially in that center photo - I love how deep the hat is. It means my ears definitely stay completely covered when worn (even when I don't wear it with my hair sticking out one of the flaps). Right now, I'll probably be using it mostly in Pony tail mode, only because my hair is much longer than I realized it was :) Definitely recommended. Don't skip out on whipstitching the edging on those flaps, btw - otherwise you may notice your flaps are really curly!

Cabled Goodness (Central Park Hoodie)

Pattern: the Central Park Hoodie, originally from Knitscene now available from Interweave's Knitting Daily shop.
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino Wool in Burgundy - less than 6 balls used.
Size: 44 - though my gauge was slightly smaller, so it's somewhere between a 40 & 44.
Needles: US 5 & 7
Modifications? Of course!

Commentary: I do believe this is one of the fastest sweaters I've ever knit. I don't recall ever being quite so eager to cast on for any given project - I blame this one on the cold weather snap that has me bundling up in all my handknits - definitely a rare treat down here in the desert! Anyhow, I purchased the pattern and went hunting for yarn on December 11th, knit a hasty swatch and cast on that evening. That would be where modification # 1 came in - I knit the body in one piece - after consulting the pattern, I found it odd that the fronts and the back didn't end with the same type of stitching allowing for nice seam in the ribbing, so I simply cast on the total number of stitches (I didn't subtract 4 stitches for the seams) and knit happily away on my 2x2 ribbing. After 4 inches of ribbing, that was where I discovered that there must have been an error in the pattern - The right sides of the fronts should have started out with opposite stitches - the Right Front should have started with P2 instead of K2, and vice versa for the Left Front - voila, the missing stitches and the non-smooth ribbing was now accounted for. Undeterred, I decided I could make things work out and didn't rip back the 4 inches of ribbing on small(er) needles.

In order to make things all look good, I had to decide if I was going to have the cables appear to seamlessly emerge from the ribbing on the fronts or the backs - or see if I could fudge things around to make it look excellent on all counts. I wound up settling for having the outer cables on the back not flow perfectly up and out of the ribbing, though I was able to salvage the center cables by turning them into 4x4 cables rather than 3x3...Of course, I came to this realization after I had knit several inches of the body - fear not, I didn't rip it all back to resolve this - instead I opted to drop back all the cable stitches for that center cable sequence and pick them up and reknit em from the ribbing upwards :) Sadly, I didn't take photos - it was an impressive sight. My husband thought I was nuts. Once I had the cables changed to my liking, everything from then on flowed quite nicely. I had been tempted to graft the shoulders together, though I was not satisfied with my initial (hasty) results, and wound up doing the 3-needle bindoff instead.

For the hood, I decided I wasn't going to be happy with the cable ending abruptly at the top bottom of the neck, nor was I going to be satisfied with it ending at the top of the hood to disappear into a seam - I figure a hood is just like a really big sock heel, so I went ahead and modified the pattern, changing the decreases and carrying the cable up and over the top as if it were a heel flap - I also modified the ending sequence of the cable pattern to have them merge together into a single 2x2 twisting cable at the front of the hood. While I am very happy with the results, I should probably confess to having ripped back the hood at least once as the first attempt left me with a gigantic hood that would have looked more at home on a flowing cape than on a fitted cardigan (it was way too voluminous). With a lot more patience, and my handy Vogue Knitting Ultimate Knitting Book opened to the 1x1 rib grafting instructions, I wound up grafting the edging cables together at the top center of the hood quite nicely if I do say so myself :)

Sleeve Island was conquered by knitting both sleeves together, at the same time, circularly - the same way I knit socks ;) Finally, I set in the sleeves, and picked up all the stitches for the 2x2 ribbed edging (yes, another modification, I went to all that trouble to make the hood look seamless, I couldn't very well have allowed for a seam front and center now could I?) and knit like a fiend. I finished all the knitting on Christmas Eve Eve, tried various methods of closures from simply holding the cardi closed by overlapping the front edgings and pinning them with a DPN, to installing buttons on the insides to allow for clean lines of ribbing to be featured - I wasn't happy with either option, so I gathered up some yarn scraps and braved Jo-Ann Fabrics on Christmas Eve to find a zipper - lucky me, they had a perfect match, in a perfect length...and it was 50% off :D...now all I had to do was get the darned thing installed...

Those of you who are aware of my previous cardi adventures know that I don't trust my handknits to myself and my sewing machine - I typically hire out to have my zips installed. Unfortunately, there was no way the zip was going to get installed in time for Christmas if I went that route....so the rest of Christmas Eve was spent referring to various sources on how to hand-install a zipper.

I patiently pinned the zip in (as recommended by the Domiknitrix book) and carefully tried it on to make sure there was no bunching or rippling. I then basted the front of the cardi shut to make sure all the ribbing was happily aligned (per the fantastic instructions by Bonne Marie at Chic Knits and adjusted my initial pin-job accordingly. I then threaded my needle with matching thread and whip stitched that baby in place as directed in that Vogue Ultimate Knitting book. Once the zip was secured, I turned back around and backstitched my way right back down the zipper to make sure it was in for the duration. I should note for those wondering that there were no modifications required to get the zipper to go in nicely, though you will notice a slight mashing of the yarn about a stitch or two in from the bound off edge - this is where the backstitches march on the fabric. You might want to go with a different edging, rather than the K2P2 rib, but as I didn't do so, I can't comment how well a different edging might look - I'd think a plain stockinette hemmed band would work well, though it would mean additional seaming/finishing - but I suspect it would be easier to install the zip on something other than the 2x2 rib - especially if you're slightly obsessive like I am and want all the knit parts to line up nicely with all the purl bits :)

I daresay I did a pretty good job of it, don't you?

And here we are, outside, where the light gives a much better represntation of the actual color of the cardi. With nice long sleeves, and a slightly longer body than my Ribby Cardi, I think this will become a favorite this season!

Of course, I can't leave you without a view of all the cabled goodness :D Definitely a treat to knit, and fast too - and yes, I was done before Christmas :D