Category: Knitting

Elly’s Shawl Complete

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The shawl was blocked last week.

After, the edges were folded under to make a hem and to keep the stockingnette stitch from curling. The hem caused the edges to ruffle just a little. The ruffle may come out with another blocking, but since I like the look, I’m keeping it.

I’m also keeping the shawl. Elly will not receive this for her 3rd birthday.

The lacework is too fine. I spent too many years knitting it. I envision a Barbie or a babydoll getting their hand stuck in the lacework and pulling it. The thought of that happening made it hard for me to breathe. Clearly, I would not be OK with Elly rolling the shawl into a ball and tossing it in her baby collection.

It was Dan who came up with the new home for it. He told me the shawl was beautiful and could be used a doily, since it was too small to be used as a real shawl.

Sometimes, Dan comes up with the best ideas.

To Frog or Not to Frog

Marie Haigh4 Comments

It was to be an heirloom baby shawl for Elly.

Elly will turn 3 next month.

According to Ravelry, I have been working on and off this shawl for 3 1/2 years. True, 2 of those years I didn’t touch it at all, but that still leaves a lot of time invested in this shawl.

Long time readers will remember that I ran out of the kid mohair yarn eons ago. A dear friend and reader of this blog hunted down a new skein. Although it didn’t match perfectly, it was really close.

The problem is that I feel hatred toward the shawl every time I look at it. The mountains of endless stockingnette stitch is terribly boring to knit. The spot at which I switch from the old mohair skein to the new mohair skein is striking, but perhaps not in a good way.

To top it off, the main color of the shawl is red, which doesn’t complement Elly’s gorgeous red hair. As a redhead myself, I avoid wearing red close to my face. Less so now that my hair has darkened so much and is slowly turning grey, but in my youth I wouldn’t touch the color. My red hair was my best asset; I didn’t want anything I wore to steal the show. So why did I knit a red shawl for Elly? Well, I was certain she would have her father’s hair color, since red hair is a recessive gene. Happy was the day she was born with red hair like mine and like my mother before me.

So, do I persevere with knitting and finishing Elly’s baby heirloom shawl?

Do I toss it in a basket and pile more yarn overtop in the hopes that out of sight is out of mind?

Do I frog it (for non-knitters to frog means to rip it, rip it, rip it (see, it sounds like a frog, no?) all out)?

Do I stop knitting the endless stockingnette stitch and just add a lace border in red and let Elly use it to wrap her babydolls up?

I have to admit that I really want to go knit something that I will enjoy knitting. I am currently dreaming of a warm wool rug in our bedroom. Yet, adding a lace border is something that I have never done before so that would be interesting if nothing else.

2012 in Review

Marie Haigh2 Comments

At first I felt as if I couldn’t write a Year in Review post. It seemed like the year had flown by and I hadn’t had a chance to do much at all, but looking back that is hardly true.

The year started off with the Pottstown Knit Out and my teaching a class about knitting charts.

Then, every spare moment in the Spring was dedicated to knitting a hexagon blanket for I was determined to finish before the dog days of summer began despite not needing it done until September. The blanket was a wedding gift to my sister-in-law and her fiancée.

Oddly enough, even though I accomplished my goal of completing the blanket before the heat rolled in, I still knit throughout the summer. Elly got a new twirly skirt.

By the end of summer, I was harvesting the best crop of tomatoes I have ever grown. I only wish I knew what I did right so I would know how to repeat it this year.

In the sewing room, I made a flower dress for Elly and a strapless dress for me.

They were hands down the hardest clothing I’ve ever made. I told everybody at the wedding that I made the dresses, even people who were just making pleasant conversation and could have cared less. Darn it, I was proud.

Right before Thanksgiving Day, Elly and I ripped the old golf green carpet up.

Girl power rules!

Of course, everything couldn’t end in smiles. The dining room wall nearly sent me to the funny farm. It should come as no surprise that the walls still aren’t finished. The wind fell out of my sails not to mention the holidays took over my life.

I have not made any resolutions for the New Year. However, I do hope to publish 2 knitting patterns, finish sewing all the curtains and slip covers that I started last year and placed on the back burner for one reason or another and continue enjoying my time with Elly for she is growing up so fast. I hope 2013 will be a fabulous year for you too!

Knit Garland

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Mandy of SewSpun spun a peppermint yarn a few years ago. Despite loving it at first sight, I couldn’t justify buying it since my knitting time is so limited these days. When it went on sale in March of last year, my resolve gave way and in a week it was on my doorstep.

For months it sat around while I tried to decide what it should be knit into. I thought about knitting a purse, a bath mat, a cowl, a stocking and a scarf. In the end, I went with my first instinct, garland for our Christmas tree.

The garland is just a simple 3-stitch i-cord. It took no time at all to knit. I was able to finish it while we drove around town visiting family for Christmas.

Unlike the wood beads that I had been using as a garland, the yarn garland can be seen from a distance.

My only complaint is that the yarn garland is too short. It won’t wrap around the tree more than once. I need more Christmas colored yarn.

How to Make a Yarn Boa

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The boa I am making Elly for Christmas is not finished. Yet, if I wait till I am finished to share these simple instructions, I doubt there will enough time for you to crank one out before Christmas. I am moving slowly. I get a few inches done each week.

Please do not be discouraged by my slow progress. The boa isn’t hard to make. It just takes a dedicated few hours. Dedicated time is not something I am rolling in these days.

But enough about me, on to the instructions:

First, using a chunky yarn, cut 4 strips measuring 60″ in length or measuring the length you want the finished boa to be plus 4″.

Next, holding the 4 strips together, tie a knot at one end. This is your foundation yarn. Set aside.

Next, using all the little scraps of yarn leftover from your knitting projects, make hundreds of shorter strips measuring 12″. My strips filled 2 plastic grocery bags. If buying new balls of yarn to make this boa, get at least 6 balls. The fuzzier the yarn, the better of a boa it will make.

Next, pick up one shorter strip of yarn and tie it onto your foundation yarn as close to the beginning knot as possible. Tie the shorter strip again so that it is double knotted.

Then, pick up another shorter strip and tie it as close to the previous strip as possible. Tie it again so that it is double knotted. Then push the knotted strip up against the previous strip, eliminating any space in between them and allowing you to create a very full boa.

Repeat the previous step until there are only 2 inches left of the foundation yarn. Knot the foundation yarn.

If necessary, give the boa a haircut, trimming off any long strands and trimming off the tails of the foundation yarn.

Finally, give the boa to your special girl and watch her beam in delight.

In this case, watch her frown with disapproval of you taking yet another picture of her.

Strands of Yarn

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A few months ago at a yard sale, I bought 4 bags of yarn.

On the way home, I thought of all the projects I could use the little odd balls of yarn in, starting with another skirt for Elly.

As is often my habit, I took my loot over to my neighbor’s house to show her my good fortune. As I pulled it out of the bags, my heart sunk. Something was dreadfully wrong.

These bags weren’t filled with little balls of yarn. The yarn had been meticulously cut into strands measuring a yard long. It must have taken hours to cut it up. Why would anybody do such a thing? More importantly, what was I going to do with a bunch of yarn strands?

My neighbor was equally bewildered. Yet, she said there was nothing to be done for it. If I wanted to use the yarn, I would have to tie it back together. Unfortunately, anything I knit with the yarn would have a thousand knots in it.

She was right, but I didn’t love the idea. So, I did nothing for a month with the hope that I would come up with a better plan.

Watching Elly play with the fabric boa I made her for last Christmas gave me the inspiration I needed.

I had used this tutorial to make it. It was lovely because it required no sewing. I just tied strips of fabric to a foundation strip of fabric measuring the length of the boa.

Now what little girl doesn’t need a drawer full of boas? Hopefully, I’ll finish this one in time for Christmas as well.

The funny thing is the yarn strands have to be cut even shorter. It works best when they are about a foot long. Since some of the yarn is slippery, I double knot them onto the foundation yarn, which is nothing but 4 strips of thick t-shirt yarn measuring 60 inches in length. Elly loves using scissors so she is our big helper.

The Shawl that Will Never be Finished

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9 stitches were cast on to begin this shawl.

3 years later, it is only halfway complete. It takes me about a half an hour just to knit one round, since there are now 576 stitches on the needle.

The current band I am knitting is a sea of stockinette stitch. In other words, it is dreadfully boring. On the plus side, it was easy to pick back up after not knitting on it for over a year.

Maybe I’ll finish it before she gets married. (hysterical laughter) 

Elly’s 5 Tier Skirt

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While watching the Golden Girls, May and Walsh, win their 3rd and final Olympic gold medal, I finished Elly’s skirt.

I love how it turned out.

The best part is the ruffle. It wasn’t in my original drawing. I was inspired to add it after looking through Nicky Epstein’s Knitting on the Edge book. I’m so glad I did.

Elly hasn’t been feeling herself due to a mild cold and lack of sleep, so she balked at my request that she pose for pictures while wearing a wool skirt in 90 degree heat.

Still I think she liked the fact that she could twirl in it.

Statistics:
Pattern – my own
Time Frame – 1.5 months
Yarn – Lovely Malabrigo and Claudia Hand painted yarn

So, should I knit Elly another skirt just like this one except in greens and blues or should I knit a skirt for myself in a dark chocolate brown? I can’t decide.

The Finishing Touches

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The knitting part is complete.

All that is left to be done is to insert the elastic and to tack down the top and bottom hems with a simple running stitch.

It’s remarkable how quickly this skirt knit up. In previous summers, I avoided knitting like the plague. I hated how the wool made me feel hotter in the dog days of summer. But this summer, I’ve enjoyed knitting. Perhaps it’s because I’m just grateful to be able to squeeze in time for my hobby while running after a toddler. Maybe it’s because while chasing after a toddler, I can only devote a few minutes here and there to knitting so my hands don’t have time to get hot from the wool. Maybe it’s because I’m happier. Elly is pretty amazing. It’s hard not to be happy around her.

Mixed Feelings about Mohair

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The skirt I am knitting Elly is a complete joy save for one thing.

The math worked out perfectly, which never happens. I had no intention of publishing the pattern for this skirt, but since the math was so easy to calculate for each and every tier, I’ve changed my mind.

The large spans of stockinette stitch makes the skirt a great project on the go. I can knit a few stitches while watching Elly run around at all the different playgrounds we visit. But if Elly needs a push on a swing or moral support to climb a ladder, I can drop my knitting on a dime without worry of losing my place.

The Malabrigo Merino Worsted knits like its colorway: butter. It’s so soft and squishy. I just adore it.

I loved Claudia’s hand painted boucle, consisting of mostly kid mohair with a bit of wool and nylon mixed in, from first sight. I still do. The colors are beautiful. It gives the skirt a fun pop of color, making it perfect for my vibrant, little girl to wear. My only complaint, and it’s a big one, is that it’s annoying to knit. All the loops on it get snagged on my needles.

I find that I have to watch my knitting closely to ensure the yarn is knit cleanly through each stitch. It slows me down considerably and takes some of the enjoyment away. I have a good mind to hunt down a substitute yarn for the next skirt I knit for Elly. Yes, there will be a 2nd skirt. The good outweighs the bad.