ShihKnits » Hands

New Year, New knits

winnie — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:11:00 +0000

Alright, I’m a little late for a new year post, but better late than never right, guys? Let’s start with the end of year knits. First here, we have a pair of Lapland Mittens from Folk Mittens.

Project: Mittens from Lapland (Folk Mittens)

Materials: Leftover Baruffa Maratona (uber light pink and burgundy), and Knitpicks Merino Style (Pink), Sz 2 dpns

Notes: No mods to the pattern, and this was my first DPN project. I saw these short 6″ balene DPNs at the LYS and decided right then and there that I need to expand my horizons and move beyond the magic loop. Love the DPNs, surprisingly, and went out to purchase more sizes in the 5-6″ length for future mittens and socks. These mittens were a little tight on me, but they did keep my hands warm enough for my Mardi Gras trip to New Orleans two weeks ago. (Yes I saw breasts, and no they were not all pretty).

And because I didn’t want my friend to lose me in the madness on Bourbon St, I brought along my newly knitted Moss Stitch Beret in super bright yellow. It is Big Bird on Sesame St yellow. Little do I know that Bourbon St attendees would show me up with even brighter costumes that obscured my yellow noggin.

Project: Ken’s Moss Stitch Beret

Materials: Cascade 220 (used less than a skein), Sz 3 for the knitted hem, and Sz 7 for the rest of the beret

Notes: I loved the provisional cast-on knitted hem. Look! Lovely. The beret turned out a little slouchier than Ken’s, which is fine by me because I like my hats a little oversized. I may or may not have screwed up the decreases, but in the end my stitch count ended up just fine. Live and learn.

So what is with the cold weather and wanting to live in your blanket? I’ve had 6 skeins of pure merino from Uruguay burning a hole in my stash the last two years and couldn’t figure out what to do with them. Sure, a sweater would be nice, but this yarn pills too damn much. And then I found the perfect pattern.

Project: Pimlico Shrug from Knit2Together (Size S)

Materials: 5 skeins of 216 yd/skein pure merino wool from Uruguay, Sz 7 and 8 needles

Notes: Instead of 34″ of lace knitting, I shaved off some length and ended it at 27″. Since I CO provisionally, I just continued ribbing and joined the knitting in the round. No other mods to the pattern, and it is a dream to knit with this yarn.

We’ve seen some cold nights here in California, and I’ve loved every moment of it. Why? Because I now have an oversized blankie to keep me warm. It’s soft like buttah, and the perfect piece of clothing to keep me cozy while I knit.

So there we have it. And lest you think I’m taking a break.. you’d be wrong. Project on the needles right now… tadah!

It’s French, it’s pretty, and it’s….. one giant headache. Google translator to the rescue!

Acorns and Squirrels

winnie — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:50:00 +0000

Well, since my last appearance, it’s been quite some time. Who knew “stay tuned!” meant over a month’s absence? If I had held my breath I’d be purple by now. And no, I have not found the appropriate buttons. Again, who knew buying buttons would be such a pain in the butt? The search goes on. But that doesn’t mean that knitting has halted. Oh siree no. I’ve since completed a pair of mittens for a shivering friend in DC, and am currently churning out a cardigan.

Presenting…. the mittens that I had a really hard time giving away..

Project: Squirrelly Swedish Mittens by Elli
Materials: Stash yarn (Rowan 5-ply soft – green, Knitpicks Palette – light blue, New England Shetland – white and brown, Henry’s Attic Kona Superwash – more white), Sz 0 and 1 Addi’s)
Modifications: Used sz 0 for the cuff, added the braids, and knit the rest without modification using sz 1 circular needles.
Pretty huh? I know. I want a pair too. But the recipient has reported back saying how much he likes them and that the mittens have already accompanied him on his recent Sunday trip to Whole Foods grocers.

Oh.. that’s just me guarding my mittens in the apartment complex yard.

And this is me new love. I chose a wool yarn that may or may not be appropriate for it. But I am forging on. We’ll see what happens. I am hoping blocking will work miracles, but we all know how wishful thinking gets us every single time (photo courtesy of Phildar Tendences 468, Cardigan #18).

Happy Turkey (or Tofurkey) week y’all.

Geeky Knitting

winnie — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 02:29:00 +0000

It’s been very quiet on the home front for the past few weeks, and to be quite honest I’m in a bit of a knitting funk. There’s been many attempts of knitting, leading to many instances of ripping.. and finally I’ve just decided to take a small knitting break. But winter has kicked in, and during this little break I’ve decided to knit another scarf for the BF in Canada.
Here’s the breakdown for the above geeky knitting..
Pattern: DNA Scarf by June Oshiro
Materials: a little over 4 balls of Plassard Superwash Merino (DK weight, 123yds/50gm), size 3 needles
Finished size: 6″ wide by 78″ long (incl. 18″ of neck ribbing). Measurements taken after blocking.
Notes: Variations of the DNA scarf designed by June Oshiro can also be found in the Knits Gene-ious section of Interweave Knits Fall 2003 magazine.

Of course, with the leftover yarn, I managed to whip up a pair of wrist warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for myself.. why let good yarn go to waste right?
Oh, and worry not. The Renaissance Tunic wasn’t ripped. My brain just needs something simple and less-complicated right now….

Glove of Herringbone

winnie — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 03:01:00 +0000

Alright, here’s the thing. I’ve only heard back from a few of you who are interested in the mini-KAL. The motivation for having this KAL initially was to help out knitters who love this glove as well but are scared of the Japanese. I’ve decided that instead of having a KAL, I’d just write out my interpretation of the pattern in English for everyone to see. That way, those of you who are interested in knitting one up – be it now or later – can have something to refer to. The pattern copyrights belong 100% to the original authors, and what I am merely doing here is just giving you an interpretation of what I did. With that said, hopefully I am not stepping on anyone’s toes.Pattern: Herringbone Gloves by Tata&Tatao
Suggested Yarn: Rowanspun 4-ply (brown& beige), but I used Regia 4-ply (brown and cream)
Suggested Gauge: 40 sts + 44 rows = 10 cm (mine was 10.5 sts x 10 sts to 1″, using 2.50mm Addi Sz 1 40″ circular needles in magic loop)
Shortcut method: use babelfish to translate most of the pattern by typing in the url. The translated instructions may or may not make sense to you at this point, so here’s where I come in.
My interpretation: Instructions for the right glove is given. Basically you start knitting in the round from the wrist up, then increase for the thumb. After that, you’ll knit the thumb, the little finger, the ring, middle and index finger, respectively. The last 6 charts at the end of the instructions represent the thumb pattern and its decreases (top two), the rest of the fingers and their decreases(middle two), and the little finger and its decreases (bottom two). Work k2tog and ssk accordingly for left or right slanting decreases.
To start, CO 64 sts and knit 2 rnds in brown. From rnd 3 to rnd 18, follow Pattern Stitch A. Starting from rnd 19, you will begin increasing between St 41 and St 42. The increasing instructions are given in the chart below Pattern Stitch A, where the black boxes represent the increases on the palm side (salt and pepper). On the hand side (herringbone bone), just keep repeating Pattern Stitch A. You will increase 24 sts over the next 36 rows on the palm side. It is helpful to place a stitch marker before St 41, and another stitch marker before St 42 to keep track of your stitches.
After the increases are completed, you will be knitting the thumb. Place all sts EXCEPT Sts 33-57 (24 sts total) on scrap yarn. The 24 sts that you have left on your needle is the thumb. On the first round of thumb, you will CO 4 additional sts after the 24 sts (I used backward loop), giving you a total of 28 sts for thumb. Follow the thumb pattern for 16 rnds and switch to the decreasing pattern for thumb. At the end, you will end up with 10 sts. Kitchener st these by placing 5 on one needle, and the other 5 on the other needle. This completes your thumb.
Place the remaining sts back on needles and work Pattern Stitch B for 8 rounds. Now you will be knitting the little finger.
The first 8 st on the HAND side and the last 8 sts on the PALM side will be used to knit the little finger. Place all other sts on scrap yarn. Now you will follow the pattern for the little finger (bottom two). Knit the first 8 sts according to pattern, THEN CO 4 additional sts, then follow the pattern again for the last 8 sts. There is an error in the diagram here. The 4 additonal sts that you have to CO was wrongly placed at the end of the pattern. Instead, it should be placed between the first 8 and the last 8 sts. The 4 CO sts lies between the little finger and ring finger. Work 20 rnds from the little finger pattern, then continue on Rnd 21 for the decreases. You will have 10 sts remaining. Kitchener these sts as you have done with the thumb.
Place remaining sts back on needle. Follow Pattern Stitch C for 4 rounds. Now you will be knitting the rest of the fingers, starting from the ring finger, then the middle, and finally the index finger. The method for knitting all three fingers are the same. Each finger will have 24 sts total – 8 from hand side, 4 additional CO, 8 from palm side, and 4 sts which are picked up from the previous finger’s additonal CO sts. I’ve included a picture to show you what the 4 picked up sts and the 4 additional CO sts look like. Instead of having flat fingers, you actually knit 4 sides. Follow the Finger pattern for the 3 fingers and kitchener the 10 sts as described previously. Weave in loose ends and call it a day.
That sums up the right hand glove. (And that is my index finger – not the middle one). For the left glove – which I haven’t started, basically you copy and save the pattern diagrams in Photoshop, then click on “Image“, then “Rotate Image” and click on the “Flip Image Horizontal“. That should give you a mirror image of the diagram and so you’ll have both L and R hand charts.
Phew.