Working the Stash

2019 makes it three years, I think, of concentrating on my worsted weight stash. I've made quite a dent, and maybe will be through it this year.

I told my husband a few weeks ago that I feel somewhat responsible for my stash. I thought about just dumping a bunch of it at Goodwill or some other outlet, but that feels wrong.

Instead, I fuss over who goes with what and how I can create complete adult sized sweaters out of what I have. It is a puzzle I have created for myself that has no real reason. Sure, I can make scarves, blankets, felted bags, and other projects where size and fit do not really matter, but that is not what I want to do.

So, the red from the Henry VII that was abandoned has found a new place as part of a two color sweater. The weird reasoning is that I want some red for a mostly brown sweater that is queued up next.






After working this much I think it looks like a nice pattern for Christmas pajamas.

I finished the Inverness sweater. The sleeves lined up nicely with the body, don't you think?

Been a While

Well, Henry 7 is history. Frogged and ready for another try with another design. I just was not liking it and even worse, was not liking to work on it.

In the mean time, we moved back into our house. Yeah! That is another story, but the bulk of the flood chaos is behind us now.

Oh, knitting. I made this brioche sweater using five kinds of yarn. I wanted a shawl collar the size of Texas and it worked out pretty well.

 This one is all stash yarn and uses the Drops 44-6 pattern.

 This one is mostly stash yarn. The dark blue is from Knit Picks. You may recognize the colors from Kiyomi (orange), the turquoise Ocean Glow, and Lemony. It is a copy of a Dale of Norway design called Inverness. It is a nice stash buster if you have about 3 ounces of the three pattern colors.

Maybe I'll be finished in May

The arms are attached, and I'm working on the yoke. Have I lost my mojo again, or am I simply not enjoying this pattern?  I can't tell.

Five Skeins In

Compared to last year, this project is going soooooo slooooowly. I managed to finish the first repeat and I'm about to the end of the fifth skein of yarn. I still have issues with bad spots, so there will be a lot of ends to work in when I'm finished.  I hope to have the yoke put together by the end of March. We will see.

Not Worried Any More

So, where are we with the Henry VII?

I started on the body and finished one four oz skein with less than 4" complete. Since the yarn is vintage there are a lot of bad sections causing me to toss 10-20 yards with each skein so far.

This was trouble.

The body needs to join the sleeves at the same 18", 1.5 pattern repeat place. If one skein only made 4" then I would need all my remaining six skeins just to get to the yoke. Great.

I kept on, because I had no other ideas. I'm pleased to find that that border was just a yarn eater. I am now most of the way through the first page of pattern and have worked through less than a skein. Now, the calculation is that I get to the armhole/yoke using 2.5 skeins and have over 3 skeins to finish the project.















Yay!

Two Sleeves

I'm done with the second sleeve for Hank 7. Easier going now that I have a feel for the pattern. I plan to work the body on a circular so that should speed up the progress.

I used almost one skein on the first sleeve. I was eight rows from finishing the second sleeve and encountered a series of bad spots in the yarn. The joys of working with vintage. I kept splicing until I got to the next to last row and realized it turned into a big mess. So, I ripped and reknit and am much happier now.

I'm planning for a 42" body. Using the sleeves as a giant swatch that means 3.5 repeats per side.

Awkward.

But, I have read Meg Swanson, so I know that I can just center my pattern and make a fake seam. So, that is what will happen.

February was for sleeves

I'm wondering if I am losing my mojo again.

Last year I ripped out and ripped through baskets of UFOs and knitted entire sweaters in three to five weeks. I blogged weekly about it.

This February, I made 1.5 sleeves. Sure, they are complicated, Alice Starmore 32 stitch by two pages of row sleeves but that is not much progress compared to last year.

I have admired the Henry VII since I bought the book back in 1998 from the Yarn Garden on Sutter Street. I set aside some eBay red worsted just for this project a year ago when I started my run through worsted stash. I am enjoying the results, but I'm just not into it right now.

I'm hoping that in March I can put the body on a circular and enjoy it more.

That being said, let me list the modifications I am making:

• Raglan shaping rather than the dreadful drop shoulder.
• Body knit in the round, then add the sleeves using the Zimmerman/Swanson 'fake seam'.
• Slimmer arms. I cast on 33 stitches and increased 2 stitches every four rows.
• Probably a slimmer body, but I have not calculated that yet.

The finished sleeve is 17" wide at the top and 18" long and about 1.5 pattern repeats.

January was for Hats

January is all about goals, but this year I'm feeling overwhelmed and confused. We continue to work towards a contract to rebuild our home. I think about working through boxes in the upstairs to figure out what was salvaged. I've reorganized some kitchen boxes and found the baking dish I use for lasagna and king ranch casserole. I did do some cleaning but it will be stomped on by workers once the repairs start.

So, let's talk knitting. I considered taking a break on the worsted projects. I pulled some fingering/lace weight yarns to make that reversible hat for my husband. Then, I kept going. Here is what happened in January:

First, a top-down brioche beanie. If I had been perfect it would be reversible, but let's just enjoy the turned-up section of the contrast side.















Second, a fair-isle reversible beanie in squash-blossom yellow and grey.
































Third, a brioche rib in Woolease and some weird polyester novelty yarn that my daughter picked out about twelve years ago. This one is reversible. The choice is which color is on the knit side. Most of the time I like the black knit on top but the red is nice too.

The cast off is a I-cord cable if you are curious.





















Fourth, a black rib beanie just to finish the Woolease.

But, about the worsted. I've made great progress. I have some lovely projects in some nicer yarns waiting. I also have two worsted projects planned, and have some solid ideas about two or three more. I also joined a Ravelry stash down challenge that goes to October.

I'm down to two large bins of worsted weight. I can do this.

So, next project will be Henry VII with my eight skeins of  vintage Dawn Knitting Worsted in red.

Reversable Hat!!

What's next?

My husband asked for a hat. A hat with a lice pattern and a pop of color like the sweater I just finished. He really liked that sweater. I would have made it a lot larger for him if I had known. 

I have some lovely merino/cashmere that I bought on a cone from WEBS many years ago. I made several sweaters and shawls from the stuff and it is quite soft against the skin. Perfect choice I figured.

I started the hat and then he asked for it to be double thick. Sure. I can do that. 

Then he wanted a fold-up band so that his ears would be really warm. Sure, I can do that too. So here is what resulted:

The center row is purl, so one side can be stuffed into the other making a double thick hat.

These are the two choices for the grey side:

And here are the choices on the white side. 

My husband could barely wait for it to dry before wearing it.And here are the choices on the white side. 

My husband could barely wait for it to dry before wearing it.

Next, maybe more hats. My daughter told me their heater repair guy won't have the repair parts for several weeks. She's cold now too.

Complete in Record Time

I'm not sure I've made a sweater this quickly. Just a day over two weeks. Not sure what's up with that. I've been binge watching Netflix series and not wanting to do much more. I blame it on the cough I've had since Harvey. I've been to the doctor twice, had a round of antibiotics and then a round of Prednisone and I'm taking three antihistamines.  I'm still coughing.

I learned that my husband admires these nordic style sweaters with the lice. He was disappointed that the finished sweater was too small for him.

The picture is from before the bath and block. I'll update when it drys.

Not sure what to pick for the next project. The choices are a Henry 7 in red or another Drops pattern in three colors.

Off Color

In my quest to use up my worsted, I run into challenges with certain skeins. Sometimes the color seems too bright or not quite right with anything else that I have.

I have two four-ounce skeins a creamy orange that has been eating my brain recently. It is a bit heavy so I don't want to use it in a fair-isle. I'm thinking some kind of slip stitch tweedy fabric.While digging around I found some off-white that I thought would work with some brown and tan yarns I've also been thinking about. Well, this off-white seemed to love the orange.

I tried some green and I tried the blue and ended up liking the blue quite a lot. This is a Barbara Walker Vol 1 stitch called basket check. It is written so that the contrast colors use the garter stitch, but she suggests trying stocking stitch as well.

The next try was striped check. With the similar shades, I'm not sure that it works well. What the picture does not show is that the slipped stitches line up and provide a bit if a ribbed effect. It's nice, but I think one of the colors should be darker.

The last one is a linen stitch variation named three color tweed.. It was looking flat with the three colors so I tried working in a second blue in the place of the off-white and ended up a subtle strip. I like the color gradation that resulted.

I have 8 ounces each of the orange and the off-white and 12 ounces of the light blue. I can use the blue for the welts and have plenty for the body.

Sleeve Tricks

Drops patterns are a great inspiration. Recently, I have been following patterns pretty closely, but with some standard modifications. This one is no different.

The project will generally follow Drops 52-18. I substitute stash yarn, in this case vintage worsted that seems to work much like the Drops Karisma. I like a fully fashioned shoulder so I will drop the top sleeve detail and work the lice pattern up the sleeve cap.

I have a trick for the back and forth sections of this type of pattern. Every other lice row finds the grey yarn on the wrong side of the work. So, I work the main color, slipping the stitch that should be grey. Then, I work the grey back, slipping the white stitches. One of the joys that come with using circular needles for everything.

I was unsure about having enough of the medium grey in my stash to complete the pattern elements, so I will use some charcoal in the smaller pattern bands and the welts.

The first sleeve is complete and I used just over on skein of the oyster Sesame4. I'm pretty sure the white will last as the body has considerably more dark stitches than the sleeves.

Milo Finished

Another finished project. This pattern is one of those wonderful knitting cheats where the effect is much more elaborate than the effort. 

I was a bit anxious that the bright colors would yield a sweater that was too bright, but I'm pleased with the way it come out. I used my 'go-to' sweater pattern by Ann Budd for the shaping.

This sweater had quite an adventure over Thanksgiving. We flew to Atlanta to pick up a vintage car that my husband purchased. He is quite the optimistic guy, and figured that a thirty year old car would be perfect to drive back home. Turns out it refused to start that morning so he and the seller spend the afternoon trouble shooting and eventually it started up.  We drove to Tennessee to visit friends, leaving just as the sun set. When it was dark we discovered that the dash lights did not work an the heater vents did not open.

Thanksgiving was swell, except that I am experiencing nuclear allergies. The going theory is that this is due to all the dust, mold and gunk from the hurricane salvage work that I encountered. So lots of coughing and fatigue. The doctor put me on three antihistamines but they were not doing the trick. 

Friday we left for home in good weather. When we stopped for gas in Clarksdale, MS, the little car refused to start. Four hours later after more troubleshooting and lots of help from the local guy at Autozone and a nice man who we met in the parking lot it was determined that the car needed an alternator. The best solution for us at the time was to rent a car carrier from U Haul and continue the drive. 

When we got to Houston, I was about finished with the back and very tired. 

Milo Sleeves

Milo is coming along nicely. One sleeve done and one on the way. 

For the fair isle sweaters, I usually keep a purl stitch 'seam' as suggested by Elizabeth Zimmerman. For this pattern, the practice does not work so well. Instead, I'm marking the seam with a slip stitch every other row. I like it, but it is tough to keep the tension right. I think the first sleeve is a bit tight. I expect it to relax a bit after blocking. 

Finish and Start

The Ocean Glow pullover is complete and I'm quite happy with it. It has been sent to a friend who has first dibs and I'm waiting for the reaction.

I was really not interested in the small job of sewing the sleeves this week. I fusted and delayed a few days, beginning the next project instead.

Finally, I got it done.

A few notes on the pattern:

First, I was very happy to see that it translates well to worsted for an adult size. The math worked but sometimes the results are not pleasing.

Second, my normal process of doing sleeves first was very helpful for this pattern. My preference for a set in sleeve creates the need for back-and-forth knitting once the armhole decreases are done. By that time, my fingers had memorized the small pattern and I only had to refer to the chart for the large center medallion.

Third, there are two errors on the medallion chart. The first is row 28. Since the hurricane I do not have a scanner so I won't demonstrate where the error is here. If you read this and then try the pattern you will find it. Then, evaluate the symmetry and choose what to do.

Next up is Milo, a free pattern from Berroco. This one is fairly straight forward. Because I'm using stash, there is a twist. I have 10oz of turquoise, 8ounces of blue and green and 4 ounces of two purples. So, The purples are alternating in the sequence. Also, this will be mostly in the round as I seem to dislike sewing these days.

Starting out, I was surprised how many mistakes I made in the sequence. Now, I'm paying attention a bit more and doing better.

Ocean Body and Calculations

Nancy was right. I did not buy enough of the magenta yarn to finish. To calculate what I needed, I marked the beginning and end of the first whole skein I used on the body. Then I measured how many inches between the beginning and the end of the skein. Now, I know that I will need one more skein to finish the project so I can buy in confidence. 

It also looks like there will be about two beg medallions to the arm hole, then another one and a half to the neck. I'm pleased with the way the pattern has adjusted to the adult size. Sometimes it doesn't work so well.

Closeup of the medallion:

Oh, and the new owner of the Swallow sweater sent me a selfie. They look happy together.

Sleeves and a Swatch

Since last week I have finished a sleeve and a half on the Ocean Glow. I also thought about my visit to the yarn shop. Linda quizzed me about the amount of yarn I needed for this sweater. I had taken six 50gm skeins of the magenta and was confident that this would be enough. The first skein ran out about the middle of the first sleeve cap so now, I am not so sure. 

I am pretty sure that Linda was trying to ask me if I was buying enough to complete the project. I seem to be having the problem of not quite enough to finish this year. There may be a trip to the shop next week.

I think this project is looking good.

Instead of concentrating entirely on the Ocean Glow, I had a craving to swatch today. I assembled skeins to make a Milo design by Berroco. I have 12 ounces of turquoise, 8 each of green and dark blue and about 8 of two different purples which I plan to alternate. The purples will be A, blue and green will be B and C and turquoise will be D. I like the way the colors play together so it is a go for the next project. 

Ocean Glow Edges

Here is the next project.

This is an adult version of a child's pattern from Small Knits  by Tone Takle and Lise Kolstadcalled Ocean Glow. I originally thought the body would be turquoise and white, but the white did not stand up to the colored edges. 

I planned to visit Nancy at Nancy's knits to show off how great the yarn I purchased worked out in the sparrow sweater. That was my excuse to visit her worsted yarn. So many choices. I ended up with a dark magenta and I am much happier.

While I was fussing, I decided that I should do the colored edges for both sleeves and the body. That way, I don't have to remember how the pattern worked and can get past all the join without twisting and fussing with the picot.

I also wanted to make sure that I had enough of the bits I needed for the edges. I'm tired of scaring myself. Here is a closeup. Nice?

Post Harvey FO

When last seen, the knitting was complete, but the ends needed to be worked in. All is complete now.

Before gifting, I plan to bring it in to Nancy's Knits to show off how awesome the color match of the yarn was. I'm still astonished at how well it worked out. I even showed the sweater to my husband, who sees all flaws, and he could not see the switch.

I started swatching/fiddling with colors for the next work. There should be something to show later this week.

Got Lucky

I have been worried and sort of expecting to run out of the lighter blue color for this sweater. 

And, I did. 

Seems unlucky. But, I went shopping on Saturday. Houston is not a great city for yarn. Two well stocked shops for 6 million folks seems a bit shy to me. But, hey no never mind, off I went to do the impossible and find the perfect near match for the not-quite-enough color.

And, I found it.

Sure, it was a sport weight and needed to be doubled, but I am unable to see where I made the switch.

How great is that?