knittedgems

Posts Tagged ‘knitting’

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The Hexagon Blanket

In Blankets, Knitting on June 1, 2012 at 6:00 am

It is finished.

According to my Ravelry project page, it took me a year to knit this blanket. Though I’m fairly sure for 6 months of that time, I had it stuffed in a basket that was then piled high with fabric. It took me a while to fall in love with the pattern. But, I did. Perhaps it was all the stitches that one must pick up in this pattern that caused me to initially hide my head in the sand. I was never very good at picking up stitches. Thanks to this pattern, I’m a pro and speedy to boot.

Speaking of the pattern, let’s talk details. I hope you want to know the stats because I am dying to share them with you. I took notes just in case you wanted to knit a hexagon blanket too or just in case you are curious. Either works for me.

Pattern: Basic Two-Needle Hexagon by Barbara Walker
Located in a 4th Treasury of Knitting Patterns book
Page 16 in my copy

Size of finished blanket: 60″ diameter
Size of individual hexagon: 20″
My gauge: 5 sts per inch on size 6 needles (though as mentioned previously, I’m a very loose knitter)

I originally made a hexagon about the size featured in the book by casting on 25 stitches. Yet, I knew Dan would find me on a train headed to the funny farm if I had to knit 20+ hexagons and then stitch them altogether. Learning from my swatch, I cast on 55 stitches. The rest of the instructions I followed to the letter. I even used 2 colors like Barbara recommended. After the first hexagon was finished, I became lax and perhaps a bit confident in my picking up skills. Finding her instructions on how to pick up exactly 55 stitches tedious, I stopped counting and proceeded to pick up only the stitches that were easy to pick up, skipping stitches at random. Rarely did I pick up the correct number. I usually had 2-4 stitches too many, but I solved that problem by quickly decreasing the extra stitches on the next row. Can I tell you that it made the hexagon just that much more enjoyable to knit? And how! As happy as I was to finish knitting before the weather got hot, I was sad to be done with the blanket. Though I’ve never knit a pattern twice, this is one pattern I would gladly make an exception for.

Now as you know, this blanket was a yarn hog. I made 2 trips to my LYS and still had to order extra yarn from a fellow Ravelry user. In the end, I used 8 skeins of Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica in natural, colorway 14 for the MC (main color). I even needed a 9th skein to stitch all the hexagons together. It was that close. For the variegated yarns, I used 3 balls of Crystal Palace Taos and 6 skeins of Noro Kureyon in colorway 250. If you plan to use Noro throughout the blanket as the CC (complimentary color), then you’ll need closer to 10 skeins.

Oddly, when I finished stitching all the hexagaons together, I didn’t like the blanket. I didn’t like it. It wasn’t as amazing as I had dreamed it could be. It looked like a bunch of little stitches with 3 different types of yarns. No angels descended from on high and sung to me. It just didn’t happen.

And then I washed it and blocked it. But more importantly, I left it at my neighbor’s house in her upstairs room to dry (she had the space to allow it to dry flat). Walking away from it for 2 days and not looking at it allowed me fall in love with the blanket when I saw it next. I think I had been too close to the blanket for too long. It looked so mundane to me because it was commonplace in my hands. Now, I truly love it again.

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Learning How to Knit Again

In Knitting on May 25, 2012 at 8:10 am

In an effort to ease the soreness in my hands after a knitting session, I am learning how to knit in the continental style.

Last year at the Pottstown Knit Out, I had taken a class on how to knit continental. By the end of the class, I could make both a knit stitch and a purl stitch.

Yet when I got home and picked up my current knitting project, I reverted back to the way I had always knit. The habit was too great.

At first I rationalized that I didn’t want to potentially alter my gauge halfway through a project. When I cast on for the next project, I would switch to knitting in continental. But, I didn’t. Nor did I do it for the project after that or for the huge hexagon blanket I just finished.

So here I am having to consult my Knitting Without Tears book to remember what I learned in the Knit Out class.

I feel like a beginner knitter. Part of me is happy to be learning something new and expanding my knitting knowledge. The other part of me is frustrated to be relegated to knitting dishcloths when what I really want to do is test out my new lace pattern.

After just a few rows of the dishcloth, I understand why the continental style of knitting is as beloved as it is. It requires a whole lot less hand movement. I can make a new stitch with just a flick of my wrist. It’s nice. It might even correct my gauge issues. You see, I’m a loose knitter. I tend to use needles 2-3 sizes smaller than what is recommended by yarn companies. I didn’t start out that way. In fact, I knitted extremely tight when I was first starting to knit. Well one day, my MIL saw me struggling to knit. “Why are you knitting so tight?” she asked. Before I could even answer, she took the needles out of my hand and showed me how to knit loosely. I never knit a tight stitch again. But, I went to the other spectrum and began to knit extremely loosely. Now that I’m learning to knit again, maybe I can knit just so and not be too loose or too tight. Just so.

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Knitting in the Hot Weather

In Knitting on May 25, 2012 at 6:00 am

Jared Flood, who blogs over at Brooklyn Tweed, offered some great advice on how to knit with wool in the  hot and humid summers of the Northeast in his guest post on Knitbot. He mentions his great love of wool and how he tried to knit other fibers but always came back to his first love. Yet, how does Jared knit in the hot summers? Well, he swatches. The knit never gets too heavy or hot in his hands since he’ s knitting such small samples. Brilliant!

Long have I had a cabled stole idea brewing that I would love to knit in this merino lace yarn by Yarn Chef.

Plus, I bought this hand-spun wool yarn two years ago from the Pottstown Knit Out with the intention of knitting Mommy and Me vests.

I think I shall knit this summer after all while I test out the patterns for these projects.

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It is a Flower Blanket

In Blankets, Knitting on May 20, 2012 at 8:22 pm

Said Elly after I stitched the six outer hexagons together.

I stitched the hexagons together on the picnic table outside while Elly played in her water table and her sandbox.

It was a wonderful day.

So wonderful in fact that we took a ride on the tandem bike to Coventry Ice Cream Parlor. Elly repeatedly told us how much she liked ice cream.

The next few days should be rainy so the center of the flower will sit and wait on the dining room chair. By the end of the month though, the hexagon blanket will be finished. My current plan is to devote all my energy to the party dresses, but it may prove hard to stay away from my yarn stash. Maybe I’ll spin the alpaca fiber. Oh dear, I think I’m smitten already.

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Finished Knitting

In Blankets, Knitting on May 12, 2012 at 7:10 pm

I was going to write a post about how I ran out of yarn on the final section of the 7th and last hexagon. It was comical because when I made the trip to my LYS last month, I had picked up an extra skein of the Wool Clasica by Manos del Uruguay. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t need it, but got it anyway for insurance purposes. Besides, it would be nice to have some in my stash, I reasoned. Yeah, that is the skein I used up completely while knitting the last hexagon.

I ordered more yarn, but no longer need it. I found a small ball of Wool Clasica in my project bag. It was so small that I didn’t think there was any chance that it would be enough to knit the last few rows.

But, it was.

Dance of joy followed by a huge sigh of relief.
The blanket is finished (except for the finishing) before my May 15th deadline and before the summer weather arrived.
Hooray!

Yesterday morning, I seamed up all the hexagons.

Now, I just have to sew the pieces together. Unfortunately, it’s a bit fiddly since the stripes need to line up. It’s going to take a lot of patience and a glass or two of port, I think.

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Casting on for the Final Hexagon in

In Blankets, Knitting on April 30, 2012 at 8:56 am

Noro!

Noro won the poll last week.

I have more than enough of the Noro to finish the blanket. I’m not sure I would have enough of either of the handspun. So, it works out. I wouldn’t want to get halfway through the last hexagon and realize that I have to reknit it. Not only is the warm weather almost here (It’s supposed to be in the 80′s this week), but my hands have been hurting after just a few rows of knitting. I’m powering through this blanket to get it finished, but I might take a small break afterwards.

The small break would give me the time needed to sew up the seams and weave in all the loose ends.

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Baseball Blanket, a new pattern

In Blankets, My Knitting Designs, Phillies on April 4, 2012 at 6:00 am

With Phillies baseball season officially starting tomorrow, it gives me great pleasure to release a baseball knitting project.

A blanket for the baseball enthusiast!

It is an easy and fun project to work on while watching your favorite baseball team. The blanket is knit entirely in garter stitch so you can keep your eye on the ball. Three sections are knit separately and then seamed together to form the shape of a baseball. Shaping is created through simple yarnover increases, k2tog and ssk decreases, cast on rows and bind off rows. The yarnovers also serve as a visual guide of where to put the baseball stitching.

Knit one to take to the game today!

Price: $5.00 USD

This blanket would fit perfectly in a baseball themed nursery too!

I originally designed and knit this blanket because I needed my firstborn child to have a baseball blanket. Dan and I are huge Phillies fans. Of course, our daughter would be a Phillies fan too. Already, she shows great enthusiasm for the game.

Go Phillies!

More information about the pattern can be found here or on Ravelry.

Thank you to Nihart Photography for the beautiful pictures. More of her work can be seen at nihartphotography.smugmug.com.

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3 Down and 13 Inches Left

In Knitting on April 2, 2012 at 6:00 am

The 3rd hexagon was completed on Sunday.

About halfway through the hexagon, I realized I was going to run out of the Taos yarn. Not wanting to switch yarns in the middle of a hexagon, I ripped all the yarn out of the sample hexagon I had knit when making a gauge.

It was barely enough. I was left with only 13 inches.

More luck came my way during the finishing phase. This time the hexagon lay flat. There was no bubble in the middle as there had been with the previous two hexagons.

See the difference?

Perhaps I had seamed them together wrong. Sure enough, too much of the cast on edge was bunched up in the middle causing the bubble. I only had to rip the seam back 3/4 of the way, match the end of the cast on row with the top stitch of final section knit, ease the fullness of the cast on row and reseam. They look so much better.

I’ve already cast on for the 4th hexagon. When I get further along, I’ll post pictures. The Noro yarn is just beautiful.

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2 Down and Still 5 to Go

In Knitting on March 14, 2012 at 7:00 am

Another hexagon is finished.

There is a little bump in the middle of the hexagon where all points meet. I am hoping that it will lay flat during the washing and blocking stage.

I am no closer to finishing the blanket than the last time I posted due to a silly geometry error. It’s a reminder of how much I need to write an apology letter to my geometry teacher. I was so certain that I would never use any of the information he taught.

Only knitting 6 hexagons like I thought would leave a huge gap in the middle.

So, I still have 5 more hexagons to knit. I’m pretty sure I have enough yarn to see me through thanks to my policy of always buying an extra skein.

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Garland or Drawstring Purse

In Knitting on March 2, 2012 at 7:00 am

For 2 years, I have had my eye on SewSpun‘s Peppermint yarn.

Picture courtesy of SewSpun

The not-too-Christmasy raspberry yarn plied with snowy white wool always made me think of the Christmas Eve poem and sugar plums dancing.

Last month, I caved and purchased the yarn. Though I was so certain I would knit it up into garland the day it arrived in the mail, it has sat on our dining table for 3 weeks now.

I’m paralyzed by the possibilities this yarn holds. It would make a lovely drawstring bag to carry my phone, chapstick and keys. Plus, it would warm up my hands in a pinch being a lovely wool.

Since this is an OOK yarn, one of a kind, the pattern needs to have no real ending. I plan to stop knitting when I run out of yarn.

So, what would you knit: garland or a bag? Maybe you would knit something all together different. Don’t say a scarf though!

A side note to KGDC readers living in the Pottstown area: a call for help has gone out to restock the local food pantries. Drop off points for non-perishable food and laundry detergent in the Pottstown Borough include the Mercury office, the Cluster (Pottstown’s local food pantry), Boneyard Joe’s, Grumpy’s and Evergreen Consignment.

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