“Knit Wit,” my husband claims is his most recent term of endearment as I show off my knitwear to his grandmother. She just calls me a smart ass.
I don’t know why knitting has come so naturally and am amazed at my own acceleration, learning and trying new things with success. The year has flown by and it’s time for a project roundup before the list gets any longer or I forget any more details.
Camisoles Give me a camisole or tank top over a bra most any day. Having worked in the outdoor industry for a number of years and living in the mountains, I really appreciate a wool base layer. I was getting frustrated finding replacements for those pro-deal base layers that are showing their age after a decade, when I stumbled across Knitted Bliss’ Underneath It All pattern.
Of course I couldn’t just follow the instructions outta the box and had to play with switching up colors on the first design, which I dubbed the Bon Voyage version, using Huasco sock in toco toucan and Malabrigo sock, cote d’azure.
The next iteration, Butterfly Maiden, needed a fancier lace and some color-work, inspired by the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible and AlterKnit, respectively. The straps got thicker, and the only thing that needed a little refining on this idea was the bottom lace is a little high and tight, showing off my love-handles. I should have added a few more panels around to give my hips room and some length to the body. It still works as an undergarment. The yarns are malabrigo mechita in lynx, leftover cote d’azure from the Bon Voyage version for higher contrast on the flowers & butterflies, and dewberry for the lace, trim and straps.
The latest version that I’ve done, I made for a friend. She makes beautiful pottery, and I offered to trade her a knitted tank for a couple of mugs. We share a love for v-dubs and have camped together a few times. Seeing her first thing in the morning in her trademark, comfy bright orange sweater drove me to find that Kimmy Orange at my local yarn store in Durango. Malabrigo delivered with terracotta, thus this version suitably became Fired Earth. The contrasting, darker yarn is also a malabrigo, marte.
Celtic Patriot Afghan I hadn’t had a crochet project in a while. For some reason I really wanted to make my youngest brother an afghan. He’s a 4th of July baby and I wanted to do a red, white and blue blanket that didn’t look anything like the patriotic options you usually find with stars and flags. Instead I combed thru Lion Brand’s patterns til I found the Celtic Afghan, featuring three different kinds of crocheted cables. Crocheted cables?! I was intrigued.
Of course I couldn’t just leave it at learning how to crochet cables, I had to throw in the idea of adding the color with intarsia, making the stripes resemble a flag. It took several initial attempts and rip backs before I got the cables figured out. Then it quickly became apparent that I was using up the different colors at different rates, so I altered the original stripe idea and still had to go back to the store for more yarn to get the length I desired. He’s not a little baby anymore.
I usually avoid acrylics and synthetics. I try to make wise choices when it comes to fibers, yet I know I have a long ways to go. In this case, and with the volume of yarn, I chose to use Major yarn in bluebird, crimson and silver blush. I know it wears soft and fuzzy, washes easily and should last forever. I enjoyed having a large project to work on during the winter, but it couldn’t travel so I had to work on something else at the same time. Because of it’s size and material requirements, it may be a while before I take up another blanket-sized project.
Socks For my other brother I decided to make a pair of fishy socks. Like the camisoles or eating homegrown vegetables, I don’t think there’s anything like the feeling of a hand knit pair of socks. I plan to make many more for myself, too. They’re fun portable projects. I just finished the first of these leafy green ones in about a week. I’ll share more when the other’s complete.
One Fish, Two Fish are knit with malbrigo sock yarns. The blue was leftover impressionist sky and the orange mechita I bought to contrast it. The sock pattern came from Tallada by Jane Dupuis in malabrigo’s book 4 with the Escher fish courtesy of Alterknit.
Using the same idea, I made these shorty Shroom socks for a mushroom hunting friend of mine. The idea started from the mushrooms in AlterKnit. Socks a la Carte gave me the idea for the frilly tops and I found a ribbed pattern in the Japanese Stitch Bible that reminded me of mushroom gills. While the red is another malabrigo sock, the white is urth yarns harvest fingering in ecru.
San Juan Seasons Vest It all started when I picked up a couple of hanks of malabrigo’s rios in teal feather during a trip to Silver City, NM. I envisioned first a sweater. Then over the years I continued to collect autumnal colors, and after adding the wooly wonka in peacock from mooncat fiber in Taos, I began hatching this idea for a vest. The overall pattern came from Cambio by Stephen West in malbrigo’s book 4. I had the hardest time understanding the construction of this vest, and spent a few hours pinning together hand towels or dressing up dog toys. I wanted to get it right with all the techniques I planned to cobble together.
The back was knit in the round using patterns from the Japanese Stitch Bible then steeked open. Same for the front shawl piece that was a collection of patterns from Alterknit. I’d read that slippery yarns like superwash don’t steek well. There have been quite a few loose ends I’ve had to catch in the seams or pull to the inside, but it seems to be holding up well so far.
Woodgrain Hat As I wrapped up the show with Grandma I showed her the rainbow collection of Greenwood Fiber mini skeins in earthen hues stardust that I’d been staring at on my desk for months. I’d decided I wanted to try a brioche style hat pattern contrasted with the leftover Tulgey wood hubby had picked out for his Bees hat. What I couldn’t decide was what pattern to make. Grandmother and grandson both voted for the Blue Flake pattern from Drops Design. I had to add two more repeats and improvise as the yarns and gauge I used were smaller than the pattern. It turned out to be a quick knit. Done in less than two weeks.
WIP: Ears If you’re a Bob’s Burgers fan, you’ll recognize Louise’s signature ears. My husband says I channel all of the characters, and usually resemble Tina the most, but when I saw this neon pink, soft as a cloud, Cumulus yarn from Juniper Moon farm in Taos, it screamed, “My Ears!” It’s still a work-in-progress because I need to figure out how to keep the ears up. I’ve been experimenting with molded plastic but haven’t made time to work on it in a while. When it meets completed and wearable status, I’ll have more photos and notes about the pattern. I’ve got a whole Louise inspired outfit in mind.