Category: Finished Projects

Baby Sweater

This one has been finished and gifted, so it’s time for a blog post.

And here’s a better shot of the sweater. It’s hard to take pictures of babies if they don’t want their picture taken.

Project Details:

Pattern: Buttoned up Cardi

Yarn: Cotton Ease, in Cherry Red

Needles: 5.00 mm

Started and Finished within the past two weeks

For: a coworker’s grandson

What I learned: I still love Cotton Ease for baby things. The bonus is that it’s machine washable.

Pattern Rating: This is a really easy pattern, all garter stitch. I made a few modifications. The pattern calls for picking up stitches and knitting the sleeves, I just cast on the right amount of stitches and then sewed them in. I remembered to put in the buttonholes on this one. And I made it just a bit longer than the pattern called for.

Amaranth Rogue

Project Details

Pattern: Rogue, by Jenna Wilson
Yarn: Peace Fleece worsted, color Amaranth
Needles: 4.0 mm
For: Me
Started/Finished: Started 10/4/15, Finished 9/8/18
Modifications: None
What I Learned: I still adore Peace Fleece wool. I knit this same pattern many years ago in a heavier Aran weight, it was too baggy, though I’ve worn it a million times. This one fits much better. I also love the cables on this.
Pattern Rating: ***** Well written, cable charts clear. No major errors. This is perhaps not a “first sweater” kind of pattern, but her directions make it easy to follow.

Here are a few more photos, since it’s not every day that there is a finished sweater around Chez Knitting Doctor!

Mind the Gap

Another finished project!

Project Details

 

Pattern: My own jerry-rigged pattern. 72 stitches, flap heel and gusset

Yarn: Trailing Clouds Nimbus sock yarn, color Mind the Gap. It has all the colors on the London Tube map. You can also get this in the Etsy shop.

Needles: 2.00 mm

For: Me

Started/Finished: Started 1/17/18, finished 7/18/18

Modifications: none

What I Learned: This isn’t really new, I guess, but I still love knitting socks, and I love self striping yarn. “Oh look! Another red stripe!”

And I have already started the next pair.

And Done

I’m not doing a whole “finished project” post here. This is a big rectangle with ribbing on either end, then the sides are sewn. I used Cotton Ease in Bubble Gum pink, and 4.5 mm needles. I started this two days ago, and finished today.

It will be a good chemo hat, the yarn doesn’t have a lot of springiness, but it is soft. I think I’m going to do another one a little smaller.

And that’s that.

Trillian

I finished this a few weeks ago, but keep forgetting to post!

Project Details

 

Pattern: Trillian, by Martina Behm, part of her Hitchhiker series

Yarn: Schaefer Anne, 560 yards

Needles: 3.25 mm

For: Me

Started/Finished: Started 9/15/17, finished 6/3/18

Modifications: none

What I Learned: These little shawls are like potato chips. They are fun to knit, and very versatile to wear. I’ll probably make this pattern again. It uses sock weight yarn, and God knows I have a lot of that.

Ladybug Socks! Mexico!

We are back in our favorite place in Mexico again for a week. So far the weather has been perfect, and we’ve had a terrific relaxing time. I finished my latest socks this morning.

I’m not doing the whole “Finished Project” thing. It’s Opal yarn, the Ladybug color, from deep stash. Knit on size 2 mm needles, usual plain vanilla sock with ribbed cuff. I keep forgetting that Opal has very generous yardage, I could have knit the cuffs quite a bit longer.

Here are a few photos from our trip so far. We came this year with neighbors from home.

You can probably see why we keep coming back here!

22 Little Clouds

I’m finally getting around to posting some “finished” photos of this one. It’s just been too warm to think of wrapping it around my neck even for a photo. We definitely are feeling the early fall weather around here though in the past few days.

Project Details
 
Pattern: 22 Little Clouds, by Martina Behm. This is the second one of these I’ve made. It is an easy pattern, and very versatile to wear. You also can use any amount of yarn that will give you a wearable size.
Yarn: Cashmere spun by a woman named Maliknoz, from Afghanistan. This was imported and sold by Peace Fleece.
Needles: Oh who knows. For the first time ever, I didn’t bother to write it down anywhere, and it’s already back in the needle case.
For: Me
Started/Finished: Started June 30th this year, finished August 25th
Modifications: none
What I Learned: Cashmere is a dangerous thing. This is divinely soft. I looked at a lot of different pattern options for this precious yarn, and decided simple was the best.
I predict that this one will get worn to death.

Blockhead

It only took me a month and a half to getting around to blocking the Ruffles shawl. In my defense, it’s been 90 degrees here, and I can’t wear it anyway.

At any rate, I got it washed and pinned out this morning.

I just did a “down and dirty” blocking. This yarn and the garter stitch makes for a really squishy comfy fabric, and I didn’t want to change that too much.

This is the first time I’ve used those blocking pins. They are from Knitter’s Pride, and it really makes getting a straight edge easy. I would need a ton more of them to do a bigger lace shawl, but I might just fork over the money for another set. They aren’t cheap, and I have a huge set of blocking wires that work just fine, they’re just fidgety. I went to a local welding shop several years ago and bought a big pack of thin wires. They work just like the expensive fancy blocking wires and were dirt cheap. I’ll probably think about it for a bit, it’s around $25 for one set of those**, and I’d probably need a couple more for a huge shawl. I think I might rather spend that on yarn. Not that I need that either.

I’ll show a modeled photo once it’s dry. And maybe once the temperature here drops into a reasonable range for woolies.

**Update. Amazon has them for 20 bucks, with free Prime shipping, so they’re on their way.

Ruffles!

Project Details
 
Pattern: This started out as a Wool Peddler shawl, by Cheryl Oberle. I got a dozen rows into the lace section and hated how it looked in this yarn. I ripped it back and just knitted many more rows of garter stitch.
The border is a ruffle, when the shawl was “big enough”, I increased every third stitch (knit 2, increase one) across the row. then I knit more garter stitch, and then did a bind off.
It’s not blocked yet since I’m not home, but I think this will be a nice snuggly shawl. Sweetpea certainly likes it.
Yarn: Sirdar Balmoral, color Corgi. Yes, that’s why I bought it.
Needles: 4.00 mm Holz & Stein ebony circulars
For: Me
Started/Finished: Started 10/11/16 Finished 6/25/17.
Modifications: See above
What I Learned: Don’t keep knitting if it isn’t working. And don’t dump yarn that isn’t working. I bought enough of this for a sweater, but it has enough alpaca in it that a sweater would be much too warm for me where I live. Also, despite the color name, it really isn’t my favorite color. A whole sweater of this would be a bit blah. I had it in the box to go to charity, and pulled it back out to do this, since it really is very nice yarn. I have enough leftover for another medium project, perhaps it would make nice hats to put in the charity box at church.
 
So now I need another mindless-but-not-a-sock project. I’m thinking of starting another Hitchhiker-like shawl, since I’ve got tons of sock yarn that would work. The other three shawls in Martina Behm’s Hitchhiker series have been on my to-do list forever, so perhaps one of those.
 
Here is my Winter Solstice shawl.
 
I have been in Minnesota for a big family reunion since late last week. Great big fun was had by all. We stayed at a lake resort in Minnesota, and had a pretty big bunch that showed up. My generation had 25 cousins, with all but 6 of us still living. About half of the cousins made it, plus spouses/partners, children, and grandchildren. Here’s a group shot:
And me with Fritz. He was the youngest family member present.
And one with my sisters and Dave, Fritz’s dad:

New Socks!

And they’re done.

Project Details

 
Pattern: My same old vanilla sock
Yarn: Lang Jawoll Superwash Solids, Black Watch. I think the real color “name” is actually a number.
Needles: 2.25mm sterling double points
For: John
Started/Finished: Started 1/23/17 Finished 5/28/17.
Modifications: None
What I Learned: I keep tinkering with my sock formula to fit John’s feet better. He has very high arches and a genetic foot thing called Charcot Marie Tooth syndrome. With these, I did the gusset decreases at a slower rate to provide a little more width around his ankle. These are a bit snug but are better than just the standard gusset shape.
 
Yes, he has weird feet.
 
Now I get to pick my next sock yarn!

Souvenirs

After a long travel day Friday, we’re back home from our cruise. Getting through Seattle traffic back home was the worst part of the trip. We got off the ship around 9:30, and didn’t get home until around 5PM (usually about a 4 hour drive). We stopped in Bellingham for lunch, which accounts for part of that, and also picked up Lewey, which was a bit of a detour, but the whole trip back was just painful. Traffic around here is painful at best, and on Friday afternoon turns into horrifying.

I did stop at one yarn shop in Bellingham, but I swear I didn’t buy anything. I wasn’t really even tempted. Next week I’ll hit 150 days with no yarn buying, and the six month mark is coming up.

We didn’t do any significant shopping on the trip. I bought a few books in a shop in San Francisco. How can you NOT buy books in a nice bricks and mortar book shop with real people running it? Of course, I don’t need those any more than I need more yarn. It’s those little personal recommendation cards written by the book shop staff that get me every time. And yes, I have a Kindle, and use it, but there is something about “real” books that I adore.

Here are the other things I bought. We did a tour of the Queen Mary in LA, which was a bit cheesy, but fun.

A Queen Mary tea mug, and Queen coasters!

And what is that little blue thing peeking out in that photo? Could it be a finished Hitchhiker?

Why, yes!
Project Details
 
Pattern: Hitchhiker, by Martina Behm
Yarn: Wollmeise Pure, color Bluebell
Needles: 3.25 mm Knit Picks Harmony
For: Me
Started/Finished: Started 2/16/16 Finished 4/20/17. Yes, I know that’s ridiculous. It was in time out for months.
Modifications: None
What I Learned: I am likely the last person ever to have made one of these. As of right now, there are 26,921 projects listed on Ravelry. I can see why. This is a great pattern for fingering weight sock yarns, and it’s very easy.
I also learned that my drug dealers scale doesn’t work on a rocking and rolling cruise ship. I was trying to use as much of the yarn as I could, but my scale wouldn’t give me a readout so I just guessed at how much yarn I needed for the bind off. I thought it might be dying on me, but when I got it home and tested on a solid surface, it works just fine. As it turned out, I could have knit a few more repeats, but it’s long enough.
Pattern Rating: ***** This is a well written pattern, no errors, and very easy to follow. I will definitely make more of these, since it’s not like I don’t have any sock yarn hanging about here.
 
You aren’t getting an action photo with me wearing this for now. The other fun souvenir that I brought home was a wicked upper respiratory infection. I’ve been sick for the past 4-5 days, and I look (and feel) like something that a grizzly bear dragged around the back yard a few times. I’m just hoping this is better tomorrow, since I’m supposed to be back at work. I’m one of those people that tries to drag myself to work even if I don’t feel good, but if it’s something infectious like this, not so much. All my little old people patients really don’t need to catch this. It sort of figures that I’d make it through our horrendous cold and flu winter season and then get this in April on a cruise.
 
Sigh. I’m off to make a cup of tea for that pretty mug up there.

Twin Sweaters!

Finished! I still need to wash and block them, but they are done done done. Fritz and Sweetpea were happy to model, since I don’t have real babies in my house.
Project Details
Pattern: Buttoned Up Cardi
Yarn: Cotton Ease
Needles: 5.00 mm
For: Our neighbors have new twin granddaughters
Started/Finished: February 17, Finished today.
Modifications: the pattern calls for picking up stitches along the sides and knitting the sleeves down to the cuff. I knit them separately and sewed them in, since I think it looks neater. I also forgot to put in buttonholes on the first one, so I used snaps and just sewed the buttons on top. I made the second one the same.
What I Learned: Baby sweaters take longer than you think. It also helps if you don’t wait to start knitting until after the babies are born.
Pattern Rating: 5 Stars. It’s a very simple pattern, with only one minor error. After you pick up the stitches for the hood, you increase for a bit in the back center, then knit straight and do a three needle bind off. There is one extra stitch if you do the increases as directed. It was easy to fix.
NOW, I get to go cast on that pretty shawl I showed in the last post. I’ve been looking forward to that all week!

Rainbow Bright Socks!

New socks done!

Project Details:

Pattern: My own jerry-rigged sock pattern. 72 stitches, flap heel and gusset construction.

Yarn: Abi Grasso Self striping sock yarn

Needles: 2.00 mm

Started: 5/30/16

Finished: 1/22/17

For: Me

Modifications: none

What I Learned: Sometimes matching socks just happen.

We’re in Guayabitos, Mexico again this year for a week. This is the same lovely place that we’ve stayed for the past 3 years. Here are a few photos.

And one last sock photo:

Douglas Fir

Or,

A Hap* For Lorette


Project Details:

Pattern: A Hap For Harriet, by Kate Davies

Yarn: Elemental Effects Shetland Rustic Lace, 1100 yards

Needles: 2.75 mm

Started: 4/11/15

Finished: 12/7/16

For: Me

Modifications: none, except for miscalculating the amount of yarn I would need for the second half, and having to decrease that end at a faster rate.

What I Learned: Despite all my careful weighing and calculating, I can still screw up and run out of yarn.

This is a well written pattern, knit end to end so the miles of garter stitch aren't so boring. You get to do a bit of simple lace every other row.

 
*For you non-knitters, a hap is a shawl or wrap to keep you warm. It is a Shetland Islands term, and usually refers to a square shawl with a lace border, but they come in all shapes and sizes.

 

Blockhead

We had our big Solstice dinner last night. I had 10 people around my dining room table for a 5 course dinner, capped off with a huge roast prime rib and trifle for dessert.

We were about to take the extra leaves out of the table while cleaning up this morning. Instead, I had the bright idea to soak my Douglas Fir shawl and use the table to block it. I've always blocked stuff on mats on the floor in the past, and the pets mostly left things alone.*

Zany Zoe the lunatic cat is a different story. I suspect the shawl would be shredded if I tried that. So I put the mats on the table and blocked it there. It's a lot easier that way as well, much less bending and contorting to get things pinned down.

And a close up of the lace:
Lace is just magic. It looks like a pile of crap** while you are knitting it. Then you soak it and pin it out, and it turns into something lovely.
More photos when it's dry!
*Except for that time when Curtis, the visiting dumb-as-a-post yellow lab was staying here. I had blocked a lace shawl upstairs on the floor. I went up some time later to find that he had taken a big dump on the shawl. I guess he didn't think much of my knitting.
**It looks like I need to straighten that lace point up there.