Casting on the Dale of Norway Lake Louise Sweater

Well, it took a while. The yarn was very uncooperative for the cast-on: it insisted on un-twisting just 20 stitches in. I threw it. I had a beer. I undid it. I rewound a skein. I looked at it from the corner of my eye. I had another beer. I posted for help on Ravelry because THIS IS A BIG CAST ON!

The sweater is bottom up, and starts with just under an inch of ribbing. So I want it to look neat.

Here's what it is supposed to look like, finished:

Finally, I got them all on this morning at my Friday knitting group.

I'm not sure if it will take, I'm not the biggest fan of 1x1 ribbing. I might pull it all out and start again after a few rows in, and re-cast on using a tubular with waste yarn, and twisted rib instead of plain k1p1. But I am anxious to get going, so I do hope the first successful cast on is the last successful cast on ;)

378 stitches per row, on 47" circs. 

Springtime for Katja

I recently finished a sweater barely in time for my toddler's 2 year old birthday. I used the Springtime in Hollis pattern, which I think is perfect for the fickle spring weather around here. Good for evenings and slightly chilly days.

The knitting itself went quickly.

But when it comes to finishing, like button bands and i-cords... (I still haven't finished the i-cord!!! or sewn the buttons on!!) I tend to move on to something else, for some reason.

Anyway, here she is wearing it, sans buttons and i-cord.

And shoving a crayon up her nose.

The Eternally In-Progress Sock

I started the Monkey sockswith the best intentions. The plan was something vaguely realistic like a sock per week.

Shyeah.

I sidetracked myself with a Hollis sweater for Katja. And lots of ideas of other things. And I tried knitting another LTKA square with the evil orange acryilic that just won't knit up into anything, because it's evil. And orange.

The sock yarn (knitpicks stroll multi in hearth) are also oran

ge-ish, but a much nicer orange. Plus, it is not acrylic.

But I do wish I was making more progress. I love the way the pattern is coming out, but I am not necessarily enjoying the knitting of the pattern...

So far, I have turned the heel, and done a few decreases to get to the foot. I like straight knitting, so I'm not too sure if I will actually be doing a lot of pairs of fancy socks...

Missoni Hat finished!

I had to block it twice to get closer to the desired fit, but it's done and I think it came out all right!

poking along on the LTKA

I now have FOUR squares, woop de doo! Only 61 to go... o_O

Special-order hat and design improvization

I offered knitting "services" in exchange for a logo design -- and it's time to pay up! (Thank you, Susanna!)

She requested a slouchy beret type hat, like the hat in this picture:

Only with design elements more like those in this Missoni-inspired blanket (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/missoni-inspired-chevron-blanket):

Pretty!

So I combed through Ravelry patterns to see what was out there. I found two patterns -- one for the shape, and one with an approximate Fair Isle chart that I altered somewhat.

I am using this pattern for shaping (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/116-45-basque-hat-in-karisma-with-norwegian-pattern)

And I took the chart from this pattern as a baseline, and then recharted it a bit to make the widths of the stripes a little more "random" throughout the hat (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/opus-spicatum)

Due to budgetary constraints :\ I decided to minimize the yarn by using a self striping. I picked Mochi Plus, an incredibly soft wool/nylon blend with beautiful colorway that should have really nice drape.

The DROPS pattern, however calls for DK weight and the Mochi Plus is a worsted (so they say, it is on the thinnish side for worsted). Nevertheless, maybe I knit tight, or I don't know what, but the first two attempts at sizing were way too small for a relaxed, slouchy beret.

After a few false starts, here is my WIP (there is ribbing, but it's k3p1 so doesn't show up when not being worn...):

I hope the FO comes out nicely! If so, I may do another in white with the striping.

Finally, Spring

I have finally finished the Springtime in Hollis baby sweater that will be included in a silent auction for a fundraiser being held by a friend's alma mater.

This pattern is Springtime in Hollis, a pattern written by Teresa Cole of Comfort Wool. I am a licensed seller for her Springtime in Hollis and Andalusia patterns. You can see all of her designs on her Ravelry design page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/teresa-cole

I really enjoyed this knit, and the yarn I used for this project. I knit it for the 12 month size in Stonehedge Fiber Mill's Shepherd's Wool, a very soft worsted, in the Great Lakes colorway. (The photos really don't capture the color well. The closest-to-true is the photo with the darkest green, below.)