Big Green Poncho Done!

Remember when I said I wanted to knit a big green poncho for myself this year? ( http://tempestinapot.blogspot.com/2016/01/well-hello-2016.html ) Well, call that goal done!  After many hours of knitting and fussing over the pattern I am calling this a done deal.  Thanks to my friend Amy I can prove how done I am, with afabulous photo and all.

Now that I have bragged about my poncho, I am going to bitch about it too.  I am a person who wants to believe that the people who write patterns know more than I do about knitting.  I trusted the pattern writers to guide me correctly through this project.  Meanwhile, my instincts kept telling me the designers were hiding that stockinette stitch always curls.  It can't help that it curls, it is just what all those knit stitches do when they are together.  I know that all the blocking in the world is not going to make it lie flat.  In the end I went with my instincts knit a seed stitch edge on the bottom, good call.

However when it came to adding a cowl to the poncho, I blithely knit on as instructed.  Half way through my brain started to know this was not going to end well.  In fact I started to think maybe I was going to hate the cowl on my beautiful poncho.  As a last ditch effort I did an I cord bind off, but the cowl rolled down and all you could see was the purl side.  It made me cross at my knitting and the pattern.  To salvage the poncho I folded the cowl over and sewed it down.  It does looks better, but I am still not sold on the cowl.  Since this will probably be the only time I wear the poncho before fall, I decided to let it sit for the summer.  Once we get back to milder weather I will wear it for awhile and see what I think.  If that cowl gets on my nerves too much, I am just going to have to remove it.  Fortunately, the cowl knit from picked upped stitches, with a little effort it can in fact become mitts.  We shall see.



Poncho with Cowl

Poncho with no Cowl

Cowlious!

With the holidays I put aside my crochet hook and whipped up some knitted cowls for a few of my nearest and dearest.  I found a Vickie Howell pattern called Happy Cowliday, featuring a diamond stitch cowl.  I actually had some of the same yarn in a smaller weight and used the same stitch pattern to make some mitts to match the cowl.  While I was knitting these up I kept seeing my friend Libby wearing the set, which of course meant it was for her.

The lovely Libby showing off her new hand knits

My friends at Kirkwood Knittery gave out a free cowl pattern for Cascade Magnum yarn, which was called the Magnum Twist.  It was a great and easy pattern for a cowl.  I liked the pattern so much I have now made 5 cowls with 5 different yarns, including the Cascade Magnum yarn.  I am working on cowl #6 and then it is time to walk away from this pattern.  I have gifted 3 of these cowls and they were received with enthusiasm.  I will admit I like knowing something I knitted with love is adding warmth to my friends lives.

Magnum Twist Cowl

I also knitted some traveling slippers with a carrying case for my dear friend, Kim F.  I had a pattern for the slippers and made up the little case.  My thought was when she travels she will always have warm feet.  She has tiny feet so I had just enough yarn for the whole gift. Again knitted with love.  And as always I say to my friends, HAND WASH IN COLD, DRY FLAT.

Travel Slippers with Carrying Case

Diamond Stitching

I just finished a cowl and mitts in a lace diamond stitch pattern.  I am going to say it was one of the most vexing stitch patterns every!  Okay, maybe not for everyone, but for me it was.  The pattern has a slip 2, knit, passover stitch that is impossible to tink out.  I put in stitch markers and counted and counted and counted, but still I just kept f***ing up.  I even wrote down the lace pattern on colored index cards to help me stay on track.  Once I was done with the cowl, I decided to make mitts to match.  Again, smaller yarn does not make a hard stitch pattern easier.  I made the mistake of taking the mitts to knit night.  Major mistake.  After much ripping back, I finally finished the mitts.  I am happy with the products, but my head still hurts from this stitch pattern.  No more diamond stitch patterns for me.

Luxury Yarn, Am I Worth It?

There are some amazing yarns out there in the fiber world.  These specialty yarns are so sumptuous, so tempting, so pricey.  I try to hold out and not be seduced by unusual fibers, but to be honest some days I can't even turn down wool blend yarns on rock bottom close out prices.  Last year on my birthday I found myself falling for a skein of Jade Sapphire Moonlight yarn.  The yarn was on sale, but it was still expensive for my budget and for the price I would get only 120 yards of cashmere and combed mink.  I can't deny it was luxurious to the touch and dyed a lovely shade of dark green.  I remember fondling it, looking at the price, putting it down, walking away, turning round and repeating this cycle several times before dragging out the plastic and taking a yummy skein home with me.  I think about that moment and I want to time travel back and tell my silly self either buy two skeins or walk away.  It is really hard to find a good project for 120 yards of anything.

I scoured Ravelry, my own library, and even my own past projects for just the right pattern.  I just kept not having enough yarn to make anything.  I was about to give up when I thought about what exactly I wanted to make with the buttery soft yarn.  Soft yarn would be nice against my skin.  My neck could use a barrier against the cold weather we have been experiencing lately.  I could make a cowl in a fun stitch pattern.  My friend, Lenora, had introduced me to a stitch pattern called the fluted banister. I love how this stitch looks and it gives a great texture to a knitted fabric.  I have made one of these cowls before out of an alpaca blend yarn and loved the end product. I was hoping for a similar result with the Jade Sapphire cashmere blend.

Alpaca Blend Cowl

However, cashmere is not as elastic as alpaca.  Though the cowl fits well, it stretches out very quickly.  I sewed on a small button and now I have a very cozy cowl.  Yet, I think about the other cowl knitted with the alpaca blend fibers, yarn I got on clearance at Tuesday Morning.  I liked that cowl, and it was very warm too, but it was given away to warm someone else's neck.  I am left asking myself, am I really worth such luxurious yarn?  Of course I am, aren't we all.

Jade Sapphire Moonlight Cashmere and Mink Blend Cowl

Wham Bam Mom is Knitting

My mom is an amazing crafter.  She sews, embroiders, quilts, and is just generally crafty.  As her daughter I have always had the will to do crafty things, but not always the skill.  When I started knitting it became something special to me.  Something different from my mom. 

Last Thanksgiving mom decided she wanted to make these knitted, ruffly scarves.  The yarn for these scarves comes with the loops already to knit with on the edge.  It truly was just a matter of teaching her to pull the yarn through the loops.  She liked making these scarves so much to date she has knitted 32. 

After all these scarves I knew she had the muscle memory to start knitting with regular yarn.  All I had to do was teach her to make her own loops.  Enter the Wham Bam Thank You Lamb Neckwarmer (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wham-bam-thank-you-lamb-neckwarmer).  The pattern is so easy and does not require the patience to knit a long scarf, or the shaping of a hat.  I would have to teach her a cast on, a bind off, and a full (loop and all) knit stitch.  I thought we were both up to the task.

I bought her some a soft, bulky, alpaca yarn and size 13 needles, I printed an extra pattern, and I was ready to go.  Saturday night with patience and attention I taught my mother to knit.  Yes, I actually taught my mother something.  She had trouble with the cast on at first, but with a few extra tries she mastered everything, but the that first stitch.  I kept saying, "Make a pretzel and put in the needle."  For some reason she never did see the little yarn pretzel.  However, everything else seemed to go well.  She caught on to tension and gauge very quickly.  And the cast-off was a breeze.
 

Mom in Her New Neckwarmer Knitting

I think she did great.  All in all it was a good experience for both of us.  I even sent her home with more yarn and a plan to make 2 more neckwarmers.  I am a little worried she will have problems.  Or maybe she will end up making 32 of these neckwarmers.  But mostly, I am worried she will get better at knitting than I am. 

Wham Bam Thank You Lamb! Neckwarmer

How can you not love a knitting pattern called Wham Bam Thank You Lamb! Neckwarmer?  Add to it that the pattern is easy, quick, and simply written, equaling a great finished project.  Thank you Ava from my Sunday knit group for turning me on to this fun pattern by Susan Chang (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wham-bam-thank-you-lamb-neckwarmer). 

I also have to think how well timed this project turned out to be.  I wanted to knit something for my work BFF, Cynthia, on the occasion of  her birthday.  This neckwarmer turned out to be just what I needed.  Hitting my stash, looking for some bulky yarn, I found 2 odd balls of yarn with some bright color changes.  Birthday knitting was on.

In the end I knitted 2 Wham Bam Thank You Lamb! neckwarmers, one for BFF and one for me.  She looks great in her's and with the recent wintry weather I was not only warm, but smug knowing I had knitted my own awesome cowl.  I think the unexpected asymmetric construction was inspired and makes this project perfect for beginners.  In fact I was so inspired I promised to teach my mom to knit using this pattern.  Maybe I should have quit while I was ahead?

End of the Year Knitting Wrap Up

The holidays are over and a new year minutes away so I am posting the last of the my Christmas knitting on the blog.  I have above the Not Quite Straight Scarf, I knitted for Cynthia, she looked awesome in these colors.

My mom in the Mixt Cowl.  She has been after me to knit her the perfect scarf/cowl.  I keep knitting different designs for her and she keeps telling me what she wants different in the next one.  I am holding back the scarf love and refusing to knit for her for awhile.

The Provence Cloche was another of those hats (hates), I knitted this year, let's just say enough said on that subject.

Four very lovely diagonal scarves in a bamboo blend for some of my co-workers.  And I say next year I am going to spend some time knitting for me.  As much as I love gifting knitted items, I want to be knitting more for the adventure than the end product.  And as the fireworks and gunshots ring in my year maybe that should be my goal for the year to enjoy the journey and not worry about the destination.