Projects in 2007

Knitting

Skull Slippers

Pattern: DROPS 104-10 Felted slippers in 2 threads of Eskimo (available also in Finnish and tons of other languages)
Yarn: Novita Huopanen (100% feltable wool) double stranded, colors #370 (moss) and #353 (grass)
Needles: 10 mm plastic circular needle (huge!)
Mods: custom size: stitch counts from size 43/45, length (in cm) from size 38/39; knitting the foot in circular knitting, three-needle bind-off, duplicate-stitched skull motif, tweaked heel.

My So Called Mitts

Pattern: by me! inspired by the great stitch pattern in My So Called Scarf. Free pattern coming soon!
Yarn: 80g of Novita 7 Veljestä Colori (75% wool / 25% polyamide), colorway #899 (multicolor/deep fall colors). This colorway is from the early 2000's so, yeah, discontinued. :/
Needles: 4.0mm and 4.5mm 80cm aluminum circular needles

Bottom Line

• $$$: The yarn was old leftovers from a couple of projects. This color is no longer available but the same yarn goes for about 3-5 € / 100 g.
• Pattern: I'm a bit biased to comment on the pattern. ;) I really like the stitch pattern and think that it looks best with variegated yarn with short color repeats. But I didn't realize just how dense and non-stretchy the fabric would be, so the mitts are very snug.
• Techniques: The pattern itself is really simple. The only bit where it gets a little complicated is the starts and ends of row #1 in the stitch pattern. The stitch pattern is offset on every other row so that no matter what number of stitches you cast on, it's never even. It doesn't matter when you're working the stitch pattern back and forth (like in the scarf) but in circular knitting, you have to cheat a bit at the ends.
• Yarn: Novita 7 Veljestä is a sturdy, worsted weight work horse. At first, I was bummed that I didn't have enough yarn for a scarf, but it wouldn't have made a good scarf anyway -- it's fairly scratchy. But I really liked the colors and think that they work best in small accessories. In larger garments, the yarn would be is too busy and distracting.
• Instant Gratification: It's a quick knit! I think I spent more time swatching and figuring out how to do the stitch pattern in the round than what I spent knitting the mitts.
• Will I Wear Them? Yes! Great for fall when the morning's are nippy but you don't want to wear mittens yet.
• Final score: 4/5.

Radioactive Jaywalkers

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina from September 2005 MagKnits
Yarn: 2 x 50g of Novita Wool (100% merino), dyed with food coloring
Needles: 3.0mm 80cm aluminum circular needle
Mods: Knitted toe-up using sport/DK weight yarn in * k-f/b, k6, dd, k6, k-f/b * pattern (34 sts in instep, 28 sts in sole). Revisited Widdershins heel with the following numbers: B28, C44, D12, E20, F8. (They'll make sense when you read the instructions. :) Increase to 34 sts on the heel/back needle, cuff in modded stitch pattern.
Other: Sixth and final pair for Summer of Socks 2007, Sockdown: Ravelry September 2007 challenge (Grumperina or toe-up)

Bottom Line

• $$$: Yarn: 2 x 2.90 € = 5.80 €. Food coloring about 3 € per bottle; I used three colors but nowhere near entire bottles.
• Pattern: It's a fun pattern and I can see why it's so popular. However, I don't like how the k f/b stitches look -- knitting the back loop produces a purl bump and I'd prefer a smoother and more invisible increase.
• Techniques: The pattern is also very simple and the only semi-special stitches are k f/b and double decrease, dd (which are super easy).
• Yarn: This is the best and softest Novita yarn I've used. I've never used it for socks before so we'll see how the 100% merino holds up. I was also quite pleased with my dye job and the self-striping effect was a great match with the Jaywalker zigzags. :)
• Instant Gratification: In total, it took me 18 days to knit the socks but they were on hold for while there. In truth, the pattern is super fast to knit but, again, I got sidetracked with other projects.
• Will I Wear Them? The socks are a tiny bit too large and the cuffs are slightly flared and droopy. (I didn't bind off tightly enough.) Will probably wear these as house socks.
• Final score: 4/5. I'd like to tweak the stitch pattern and re-knit in fingering weight yarn.

Minitomus

Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A. from Knitty, Winter 2005
Yarn: about 60g of Novita Nalle Colori (75% wool / 25% polyamide), colorway #813 (aqua/light blue/denim) -- leftover yarn from Rainy Day Socks. Many of the colorways in this yarn are seasonal so this particular one has been discontinued.
Needles: 3.5mm 80cm aluminum circular needle
Mods: Toe-up, ankle length. Revisited Widdershins heel in the k2tog tbl, p1 stitch pattern that was in the original pattern. The biggest mod is that I used sport/DK weight yarn so I had to downsize the pattern. In the instep, I had one less horizontal pattern repeat plus 1 st on each side (= 26 sts). 26 sts also on the sole so 52 sts in total. Decreased the extra 4 stitches after the heel so that I had 4 pattern repeats horizontally (= 48 sts). Continued in k2tog tbl, p1 ribbing on the heel needle until I reached row #1 in the stitch pattern. Made a cuff of one full pattern repeat, finished off with an applied I-cord edging.
Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #5, Sockdown: Ravelry August 2007 challenge (Sockbug or lace) pair #2

Bottom Line

• $$$: I bought the yarn this spring from a discount store and remember paying 3.90 € for it (at least that's what I wrote when I finished the Rainy Day Socks). Now, I'm not so sure anymore. The going price for the new fall colors, undiscounted, is 5.90 €. I had a small leftover skein of about 60 g so 2.50 € for the pair. Not bad!
• Pattern: Awesome pattern. The stitch pattern looks more challenging than it really is but you still need to be fairly concentrated. Totally doing this again. No wonder there are now 400+ finished and 500+ queued Pomatomi on Ravelry.
• Techniques: It's a fairly standard lace pattern but the k tbl's and k2tog tbl's will keep you on your toes. The most challenging stitch for me was the "sl 2, place 2 slipped stitches back on left needle, k3tog tbl". (Phew!) I couldn't wrap my head around it because I was slipping the stitches purlwise and they'd return to the left needle exactly as they'd been if I'd never slipped them in the first place. I googled around a bit and found pepperknit's post where she unvents the perfect centered doulbe decrease. She helpfully bolds exactly the bit I needed! The key was "slip 2 stitches at once as if to k2tog" and from then on, it just clicked.
  Another new technique I tried was the applied I-cord edging that Brenda Dayne gushes over in Episode 50. In fact, I had to do it twice because the first try the edging was so tight I couldn't get the socks over my heels. The second try was a lot better, and it produces a very neat-looking, smooth edge. I couldn't figure out how to bind off the last few stitches (kitchener maybe?) so I just hacked up some sort of three-needle bind-off. It's visible in the pic and I couldn't even wait weaving in ends before trying them on and taking a pic. :D
• Yarn: For a Novita yarn, this was surprisingly soft. The colorway is/was great -- I don't understand why they have to discontinue the colors after 6 months. And what's even better, the yarn and stitch pattern were a great match for each other.
• Instant Gratification: Took me 10 days to finish but I did use sport weight yarn and made really short cuffs.
• Will I Wear Them? These will probably be wearing-around-the-house socks because of the sport weight yarn. And I don't want to get my ankles cold. :)
• Final score: 4/5. Must re-do in fingering weight yarn!

Zephyr Socks

Pattern: Zephyr Socks by Domesticat
Yarn: 2 x 50 g Regia Cotton Jacquard Color (41% new wool / 34% cotton / 25% polyamide), colorway #5436 (blues and grays)
Needles: 2.5mm 80cm aluminum circular needle
Mods: Toe-up, Revisited Widdershins heel. Increased one pattern repeat (9 sts) on the back needle above heel to a total of 63 sts. This made the cuff slightly loose in the ankle (but also very easy to put on) but it evened out as I worked further on the cuff. The stitch pattern is very stretchy so I didn't need to do any calf shaping. Ribbing according to pattern.
Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #4, Sockdown: Ravelry August 2007 challenge (Sockbug or lace) pair #1

Bottom Line

• $$$: The yarn was on sale for 3.50 € per ball in my LYS (7 € for the pair).
• Pattern: Very easy and fast pattern. The stitch pattern is apparently called "Scroll Lace" (from Barbara Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns) and it's so popular that I've found no less than five patterns that use it -- check the right side bar for links. And that's just sock patterns. I'd like to tweak the lace pattern a bit by eliminating those pesky row that either start or end with a yarnover. That'd also get rid of the huge holes in the "corners" of squiggly pieces. One up-side, though: the stitch pattern consumes very little yarn. I was able to crank out knee-high socks of just two balls!
• Techniques: YO's, left- and right-slanting decreases. Seriously, very easy!
• Yarn: I quite liked the yarn. This was my time first using a cotton/wool blend sock yarn, and I think this is just the stuff for summer socks. It's slightly thicker than what I used for the last three pairs but still fingering weight. Also slightly splitty -- that's cotton for you -- and occasionally I'd find little brown bits, like tiny flecks of unbleached paper(???). The color palette was muted -- I think this would make manly socks, right? -- and the self-patterning effect was nice. But it didn't make the stitch pattern pop. :( Note to self: revisit pattern with tone-on-tone variegated yarn.
• Instant Gratification: Should be fast and easy, especially if you're going for regular-length cuffs. Me, I wanted to use up both balls, which is why it took about three weeks (and I was working on some other stuff as well).
• Will I Wear Them? These will be great with a skirt once the summer starts to turn to fall and the weather cools down
• Final score: 4/5. No popping but they're comfortable.

Flame Wave Socks

Pattern: Flame Wave Socks by Ann Budd from Favorite Socks, size: woman
Yarn: 64 g of Apleks Superwash (superwash merino, I think) in yellow
Needles: 2.5mm and 3.0mm 80cm aluminum circular needles
Mods: The usual: worked toe-up, Revisited Widdershins heel. Started slip-stitch reinforcing for the heel at the same time as the gusset increases. The pattern instructs you to do the upper half of the cuff on larger needles (which I did) but I then switched back to smaller needles and did 3 rows of garter stitch before binding off.
Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #3

Bottom Line

• $$$: Gift yarn! :) My mom bought the yarn on their trip to Tallinn, Estonia. The entire 140 g cone cost 50.70 EEK (Estonian crowns) or 3.24 €. And I've only used half of it.
• Pattern: Maybe I'm doing something wrong but to me the stitch pattern looks kind of messy. There are a few rows in the stitch pattern where I think there must be an error -- the flow of the pattern is disrupted. I think the flames would look better if the M1's were YO's instead, and I'd like to tweak the placement of some of the decreases a bit. Another thing is that the socks tend to twist like a corkscrew. That bit where the bind-off row starts and ends twists from the side of the leg to the front -- just about the most visible place possible!
• Techniques: Super simple: M1's, left- and right-slanting decreases.
• Yarn: Not my favorite. The yarn is very loosely plied 2-ply which means that there was some splitting. It's also quite unforgiving: knits up unevenly and shows every imperfection. It also feels coarse to knit but when they're on, they're much less itchy than I expected. Odd, that.
• Instant Gratification: The fastest pair of sock I've ever knit! It took me just four days. There's something about the pattern that makes them really speedy since E to the M commented on hers on Ravelry that she knitted them in two days!
• Will I Wear Them? Again, not my favorite pair but I'll sure wear them. They're really snug and quite thin so they'll fit in just about any shoe.
• Final score: 3/5.

Blueberry Lattice

Pattern: DROPS 100-19: Socks with cable pattern in Alpaca (available also in Finnish), size 38/40
Yarn: 100 g of Zitron Trekking Pro Natura (75% new wool, 25% bamboo), colorway #1607 (blues and purples)
Needles: 2.5 mm aluminum circular
Mods: Worked toe-up, Revisited Widdershins heel, otherwise according to pattern
Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #2

Bottom Line

• $$$: I bought the yarn from my LYS but here's the thing: I didn't see any prices up there, not even in the receipt! I have no idea how much I paid for it but I'd guesstimate something around 10 €.
• Pattern: The end result is really cute but, typically for Garnstudio, the instructions were difficult to follow at times. And again, I was reversing everything anyway as I went along since I knitted the socks toe-up. The cabled lattice is simpler than what it seems and it was quite easy to memorize. I had some misgivings about the increases just above the heel flap. It made the ankle part seem too loose but it evened out nicely as I knitted furter up the leg. The calf increases are placed perfectly and I might just lift the idea for my custom patterns. ;) I will say, though, that there's quite a lot of purling, and for me, it slowed the knitting process down quite a bit.
• Techniques: Cables, left and right twists. The twists I could do without a cable needle but not the three-by-three cables. I don't know why, maybe the yarn was slippery? Cabling without a cable needle would've sped up the process but then again it was only every 6th row.
• Yarn: Loved the yarn! Loved the colors! I'm definitely buying this again. The bamboo made it really soft and smooth and not exactly shiny but shimmery. I didn't experience any splitting but there were occasionally little tufts of bamboo fiber (think tiny cotton balls). I just plucked them away if they bothered me too much.
• Instant Gratification: Nah, not really. One thing was the purling -- it slows me down. I also tend to purl really tightly which means I have trouble getting the stitches to slide over. Especially when turning the work, I had trouble getting over that bumpy join in the circular needle. But that's just me.
• Will I Wear Them? These socks are almost too pretty to wear. :) I'm afraid I'll wear a hole through the soles, they're that lovely. And smoooth.
• Final score: 5/5. I heart my socks.

Cabled Purse

Pattern: DROPS 98-54: Bag with cable pattern in Eskimo (available also in Finnish)
Yarn: about 1.5 balls (220 g) of Novita 7 Veljestä (75% wool / 25% polyamide), color #044 (graphite gray), two strands held together
Needles: 4.5mm 40cm PONY aluminum circular

Mods: Lots. First off, I wanted a small purse, not a HUGE bag-lady handbag. Cast on for 56 s (instead of 88 s), and increased to 140 s (instead of 220 s) so that I had 14 cables instead of 22. Then I wanted sturdier handles that wouldn't stretch so I knitted two tubes of 8 sts in circular knitting for 50 cm with a buttonhole at each end. Next: I didn't want my stuff falling out of the purse so I sew on a 15 cm zipper instead of 3 buttons. I also made three pockets to go inside the purse: one zippered, one for my cell phone, and one rounded pocket.

Bottom Line

• $$$: Two balls of yarn: about 8 €, three buttons (0.70 each): 2.10 €, zippers: 0.80 and 0.85. Total: 11.75 €
• Pattern: The pattern is quite simple really but the instructions are sparse to say at least. For example, the pattern says to increase 132 stitches evenly, but you're left to do the math on your own. Not to mention I'd scaled down the # of stitches to cast on so I had to re-calculate everything. I think part of it has to do with translation issues but mostly, that's the way patterns are traditionally written in Scandinavia (less hand-holding than in, say, American patterns).
• Techniques: Simple three-by-three cabling. Valerie commented on her purse on Ravelry that never again would she knit something with so many cables until learning to do cables without a cable needle. I tried that and it was impossible! I was using two strands of yarn, knitted on a really tight gauge so it was really difficult to see the stitches and to not drop them. It was easier to use a cable needle but excruciatingly slow. Other than that it was smooth sailing, just knits and purls. Also looked up fake grafting from the Stitch 'N Bitch book (by Debbie Stoller) for the bottom seam. Definitely a good decision: the seam is completely invisible.
• Yarn: Meh. 7 Veljestä is probably the most-often used yarn Novita sells. For this project, it worked up quite well: it's durable, tight-twisted, sturdy. The fabric is dense so you don't have to worry about your keys poking through the purse. (I can't believe I used to do most of my sweaters in this stuff. Never again.)
• Instant Gratification: It's a quick project but I got sidetracked with sock knitting. :)
• Will I Wear Use It? I'm usually not into handbags and just carry stuff in my pockets. I don't know what came over me and possessed me to knit a purse but I'm quite glad I did. This turned out pretty neat. I've already used it several times and I'm happy with the mods.
• Final score: 4/5. I'm still re-considering whether I should attach the straps differently (on the sides instead of at each end).

Midsummer Monkeys

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. from Winter 2006 Knitty
Yarn: 100 g of Max Gründl Hot Socks Laola (75% wool, 25% polyamide), colorway #653 (yellow base color with minty green and pink stripes)
Needles: 2.5 mm aluminum circular
Mods: Worked toe-up, 15-stitch pattern repeat, Revisited Widdershins heel, calf increases. Details for all of these in my blog.
Other: Summer of Socks 2007 pair #1

Bottom Line

• $$$: I bought the yarn off of an online auction site along with three other Hot Socks Laola colorways for about 4 € per ball.
• Pattern: I wasn't very loyal to the pattern, not even the lace stitch. It looks pretty neat but I prefer the way it looks when worked cuff-down. I can sort of see why people make Monkeys over and over again, but for me, it was an OK-but-nothing-spectacular experience. And I also think I was getting a little bored towards the end, not because of the stitch pattern but because the yarn just kept going on and on.
• Techniques: I'd never done the Twisted Rib before so that was pretty neat. I really like the way it looks although my purl stitches seem a little loose and ladder-y. Are they supposed to look that way?
• Yarn: Typical, sturdy German sock yarn. Negatives: a bit scratchy to work with and wear. Positives: it'll wear like steel. The colorway was a wild ride and so not me. It grew on me, though, as I worked with it and now I think it looks better knitted up than on the ball.
• Instant Gratification: I finished these a couple of days shy 2 weeks. For me, that's pretty fast but I would've liked to finish them sooner only because of seeing people's finished pairs on the SOS2007 Flickr group. :) The pressure!
• Will I Wear Them? Yes, although they're not my favorite pair. They're a little tight around the calves and the yarn feels a bit itchy. I'll probably wear them over thin cotton socks or at the office where the AC's set to "Freeze your arse off". ;)
• Final score: 3/5. A softer yarn and better fitting calf increases would make these much nicer.

Rainy Day Socks

Pattern: Rainy Day Socks by Yuliya Sullivan, from March 2007 MagKnits
Yarn: 150g ball of Novita Nalle Colori (75% wool / 25% polyamide), colorway #813 (aqua/light blue/denim)
Needles: 3.5mm 80cm INOX aluminum circular needle
Mods: knitted toe-up, anatomically shaped toe using Turkish cast on and asymmetrically placed increases, K2Knits' revisited Widdershins heel

Bottom Line

• $$$: Dead cheap: the 150g ball of yarn was about 3.90 € and I still have enough left for at least a pair of anklets. Breeze, anyone?
• Pattern: I loved the pattern! The lace stitch is super simple, knits up fast, and it's easy to memorize. Yet it looks really cute, especially in light-colored solids (or near solids). And the picot edge adds a bit of femininity.
• Techniques: Turkish cast on is my favorite for toe-up socks. I like cast-on methods that start at the very tip of the toe because then I can place the increases asymmetrically to achieve an anatomically shaped toe. (I'll post a tutorial for that some day.) I mean, you could of course do the same with a short-row toe but it involves more math. The Widdershins revisited heel: fabulous! I think I'll use it for all my toe-up socks from now on. :) The best stretchy bind-off method that I've found is the last one in this collection of strechy bind offs. I know people swear by the EZ sewn cast-off, but I don't like to break off yarn until I absolutely have to.

• Yarn: The Novita yarns are nothing spectacular, but I think this particular colorway worked really well with the stitch pattern. And it behaved very nicely, there was no nasty pooling but instead cool lighting strike stripes.
• Instant Gratification: It took me about a month to finish the pair, but then again this was not the only project I was working on (plus I had a really busy couple of weeks). It is a quick and fun project to knit (as socks tend to be) but I was also happy to get them done.
• Will I Wear It? Oh yes. Just maybe not during the summer since it is, after all, made of sport-weight wool.
• Final score: 4/5. Had it been a better yarn, like one the gorgeous American hand-painted ones I've been drooling over, I would've given it (me?) full marks. Still, I'm very happy with how the socks turned out. Can't you see I went a bit trigger-happy with the camera? :D

Crochet

Amigurumi Monkey

This cute amigurumi monkey is heavily based on the pics of puchitomato's four tropical monkeys. He's made of worsted weight yarn (75% wool / 25% polyamide) with two craft eyes, a pipe cleaner inside the tail, and a pink bead for belly button. He measures about 17 cm (6.5") sitting down -- that's a mini banana in the fourth pic. :)

Bottom Line

• $$$: I probably used less than 100g of yarn that was leftovers from various projects. I already had a bag of polyester filling but I bought two packs of dried peas. I guess the recommended filling for a bit of weight is plastic pellets but, hey, peas are cheap. ;) 15 pairs of craft eyes from eBay (with shipping!) were about 4€. A pack of pipe cleaners and a small bag of beads from a crafts store were about 0.80€ each.
• Pattern: I made up the pattern as I went along but peeked lots of looks at the tropical monkey pictures. Rest of the pieces were pretty each but for some reason I really struggled with the head. I did and re-did it probably four times. But I dutifully wrote down what I did so there is a pattern for future amigurumi projects.
• Techniques: Single crochet in a spiral, with some increases and decreases here and there. Amigurumi is really easy. :) Oh yeah, I did have to learn The Magic Adjustable Ring method for starting with no center hole. Love it.
• Yarn: Novita 7 Veljestä in mid brown (#656) for body, head and limbs, and long-ago-discontinued beige/straw with tweedy flecks of brown and orange for face, paws and inner ears. I'd prefer cotton or maybe soft acrylic for amigurumi but I've got plenty of the stuff already in my stash.
• Instant Gratification: Amigurumi projects are very fast and easy. Crocheting the little dude from a pattern would probably take just a couple of nights, but coming up with the pattern first was a process of trial and error, crocheting, ripping and then re-crocheting.
• Final score: 4/5. He's cute but I suck at embroidery. I'm not too pleased with how the mouth turned out. I also gotta reduce the point for being so unoriginal -- puchitomato did it first. Still, he is cute. :)

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