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FO Friday: Knit Your Own Adventure Hats!

I have a new pattern release and three FOs to show off today: my Knit Your Own Adventure Hats!

Here are the specs:

Pattern: my own pattern, Knit Your Own Adventure Hats (Ravelry link, since I haven’t put the pattern page up on this website yet–bad Triona!). All three hats were knit from the same pattern. It includes 3 edgings, 3 cable patterns, and 3 crown decreases, all mix-and-matchable.

Side note: did anyone else love the Choose Your Own Adventure books when they were younger? I used to use scraps of paper to mark all the places where I’d have to make choices so I could go back if I didn’t like the outcome.

Yarn: Wool of the Andes worsted weight in Fairy Tale, Jalapeño, and Hyacinth. I used about 1.5 skeins per hat (around 160 yds). This is a really nice yarn: it’s definitely in the workhorse category, but it’s not itchy and comes in great colors. It’s very reminiscent of Cascade 220, one of my favorites.

Notes: These are pretty awesome hats, if I do say so myself. They’re long enough to cover the ears (a major requirement for me when cold weather rolls around). The purple one is finished with a slouchy crown, so now I can choose whether I want one of the warmer beanies or the hipper, less warm hat.

And isn’t my model adorable? She’s my friend Cheryl, who apparently cannot look bad in a picture. I had tons of good ones to choose from after this photo shoot.

I had fun taking glamour shots of the hat components in my lightbox for the pattern, too. The crown ones were stretched over a balloon, which worked surprisingly well!

FO Friday: Arwen Slipper Socks

I finished these last week, but I’m just now getting around to blogging them:

Pattern: Arwen Slipper Socks (Ravelry link) by Tabitha’s Heart

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Indecita

Notes: I LOVE these. They are fabulously colorful and comfy, and they fit my size 9.5 narrow feet like a dream. I got them both out of one skein of Rios with 10g to spare.

My only modification to the pattern was to eliminate the plain round between decrease rounds for the last 4 toe decreases, since it was turning out a little too pointy for my taste as written. This made a lovely rounded toe:

I’m not generally a sock person (too much work for something that wears out too quickly, in my experience), but slipper socks in worsted weight are right up my alley. In fact, I had so much fun knitting these that I immediately started in on a design idea I had a while back. There may be bobbles involved. Stay tuned for an update on those!

FO Friday (and new pattern): Rosanna Wrap!

It’s so nice to have a plethora of projects that I’m allowed to show off!

This is my newest design, Rosanna Wrap:

I picture this wrap being perfect for dressy nights out in the summer–it looks fab with a little black dress. And it’s long (75″), so there’s enough fabric to actually keep one warm.

Blocking the finished wrap was a bit of an adventure. I wanted a nice straight edge (obviously), but I don’t own blocking wires (haven’t ever needed them before) and had only about 50 pins. First, I went out and bought a couple more packs of pins. Then I used a method I found on Ravelry: I ran cotton yarn along each edge, pulled tight, and then braced the cotton with pins so the lace was pulled tight and able to open up.

It worked rather well, if I do say so myself–but slowly weaving in the cotton yarn and putting in a few hundred pins isn’t an experience I care to repeat very often!

I also decided to up the dressy-factor by adding a knotted fringe. I had to look up tutorials on how to do this and I figured others might have to as well… so I included my own photo tutorial in the pattern.

Here are the specs on my FO:

Pattern: my own Rosanna Wrap, available to purchase on this website or through Ravelry here.

Yarn: madelinetosh tosh merino light, 2 skeins in Tart. I blogged here about my worry that my two skeins (purchased at different times) were too different from each other… but oddly enough, that appears to have been completely addressed by blocking. The dye ran pretty severely when I soaked the FO–I had to empty the sink and add fresh water five or six times before it was clear. The excess dye seems to have evened out the difference in the colors, which is so lucky I can hardly believe it. But the proof is in the pictures!

FO Friday: Blue Betty!

The blue Tosh sweater is finished, blocked, and photographed!

I’m so, so happy with the way this design turned out. My intention was to design a colorwork sweater that would be flattering to larger-busted gals. Here’s my original sketch:

I did add ribbing on the sleeve cuffs. My first idea was to do a turned hem, but I don’t think it would have looked right with the ribbing at the bottom and the neck. Other than that, the sweater’s pretty much the same as I envisioned!

Hubby and I went out to a local park and strapped the 50mm/f 1.8 lens to our Canon Rebel T3. I cannot begin to express my love for this camera and this lens. Practically every shot pops right off the screen. And after hours of manually blurring backgrounds in Photoshop on the pictures from our point-and-shoot, having pics that don’t need anything more than a little cropping is spectacular.

The Tosh just glows, doesn’t it?

Here are the specs on the FO:

Pattern: my own, tentatively called Blue Betty. I’m hoping to get it into the hands of test-knitters next week and release the pattern in a month or two.

Needles: 32-inch circs in US #6 and #7, plus DPNs in both sizes. Loving my Knit Picks Harmony DPNs–they really make sleeves in the round more enjoyable.

Yarn: madelinetosh tosh vintage in Betty Draper’s Blues (about 4 and a half skeins) and Antler (about 1/4 skein).YUM. Tosh vintage remains up there on my all-time-favorite yarn lists.

Two of my skeins were much darker than the others, which unfortunately didn’t show up until I wound them into balls. I alternated skeins on the sleeves and yoke to address this, and I think it worked out okay. There’s a little bit of striping, but nothing I can’t live with. You can see it on the upper back in this pic:

Notes: I love the fit of this sweater. I tried back shaping only instead of my usual side shaping, and I’m totally sold. My back is much narrower than my front, so this sweater fits me better than any others I’ve knit. The colorwork band pulls in right under the bust and adds an almost empire waistline effect.

Now on to writing up the pattern! Also fun, but not as fun as knitting (and wearing) the sweater…

FO Friday: Ruffled Baby Hat

My last three FOs were secret design projects, and I’m currently working on three (!) large garment designs, so there hasn’t been much FO Friday action around here. But this week I actually have something to show off!

I whipped up a little baby hat for my friend’s impending new arrival (who might be making her grand appearance sometime today, it turns out! Glad I sent it last week… ).

It was sort of bizarre to knit from someone else’s pattern for the first time in… six months? Eight months?

Here are the specs:

Pattern: Ruffled Baby Hat (Ravelry link).

Yarn: Cascade Pacific, less than half a skein in color #32. I picked up two skeins of this newish wool/acrylic blend at a yarn store in northern California. It’s very, very soft and washable–I was impressed! Definitely one of the better acrylic blends I’ve used.

Needles: size US #7 (4.5 mm).

Notes: This hat knit up mega-fast, about 2 hrs from start to finish. I modified the pattern by adding an eyelet round a little bit above the ruffle–just a simple [k2, yo, k2tog] around. I’ve had the thin brown ribbon sitting around for years, and I think it looks great with the lavender.

The hat is SO TINY AND CUTE. It was a wrench to send it away, even though I have no kids (and won’t anytime in the near future). I just wanted it around to coo over every once in a while… there’s nothing wrong with that. I think. :-)

Pic with iPhone for scale (that’s a totally normal thing to do, right?):

So Proud I Could Burst

See this nifty hat, modeled by my husband?

Nice, eh? (And the model’s not bad either, if I do say so myself. Look at those soulful brown eyes….)

But here’s a secret–I didn’t knit the hat. He did!

After a few years of watching me knit (and start designing), he decided he wanted to learn. As he put it, at least then he could understand me when I started swearing at my knitting. Heh.

He started with a knit-purl square. In one of those jokes of the universe, he was a total natural. Very even tension from the get-go, and he figured out right away the best way to hold his yarn so he’s fast. My first projects looked like utter crap, but his first square is good enough that we actually use it as a coaster around the house.

This hat is his second project. His first time following a pattern, knitting in the round, using DPNs, cabling, etc. etc. etc.

Look at those sexy decreases:

He picked out the yarn at The Twisted Stitch in Monterey. It’s Imperial Yarn Columbia in (I think) Indigo Heather, and it’s DELICIOUS. Squishy and bouncy, and just the right amount of rustic-ness while still being soft. The color depth is fabulous. I want a sweater out of this yarn really, really badly.

The pattern he used is the Irish Hiking Hat (Ravelry link). He deliberately made it a little longer so it’s a bit slouchy:

I’m actually really jealous of this hat. Maybe I’ll get him to knit me one next….

He obviously knows how fabulous he is.

FO Friday: Secrets

I’ve been knitting my brains out for the past few weeks… but unfortunately I can’t show you any of it. Three commissioned designs, three patterns to submit to Knitty, more swatches than I can keep track of.

Pile 'o indeterminate knits

Swatch city

The green sweater (which I’m planning to self-publish) is finished, but it needs blocking and buttons. I have a strict don’t-show-before-it’s-blocked policy, so that one’s gonna have to wait too.

I’ve also been rediscovering my addiction to 90’s sci-fi TV shows. Am I the only one who thinks shows used to be much more fun 15-20 years ago?

Star Wars Baby Shower

Warning: picture-heavy post ahead! (It has a little to do with knitting, I promise. Hang in there.)

I threw a baby shower for my best friend yesterday. She’s a Star Wars mega-fan from way back, so we came up with the idea of having a Star Wars theme! I couldn’t resist the opportunity to put my new camera of awesomeness to good use.

I made Yoda Soda by mixing lemon-lime soda with lime sherbet:

The favors were lightsabers (pretzel rods dipped in melted candy coating and sprinkles):

The gorgeous mama-to-be:

We played games, decorated onesies, and watched her open presents:

Recognize this? It went over really well with everyone! All of the non-knitters were impressed that both sides looked good, which I thought was pretty awesome :-)

The shower took a lot of planning, but everyone seemed to have a great time. The mama-to-be was very happy. So it was all worth it :-)

My favorite picture of Kari and me

FO Friday: Kari’s Blanket

A little late for FO Friday, but here’s the finished baby blanket in all its glory:

I’m really, really happy with the way this turned out! Also, I’m delighted afresh with my new camera. These pictures were taken on the bed in my apartment, with limited light, but I don’t think you could ever tell.

I’m happy with the way the back looks post-blocking, too. It’s kind of a neat design in its own right:

The specs:

Pattern: My own. I’ll work on releasing this one (self-publish via Ravelry) as soon as the two Knit Picks sweaters are done. Hopefully within the next few weeks.

Yarn: Knit Picks Simply Cotton. The mama-to-be this is intended for wants organic clothes for baby, so this was perfect. Love the depth of the color, and it got even softer and smooshier with blocking.

Notes: I’m holding onto this FO until next month, when I’m throwing my bestie a baby shower. I can’t wait to give it to her…

This may be a contender for best picture I've ever taken.

FO Friday: Hipster Stripe

My FO for today is the prototype for my newest sweater pattern: Hipster Stripe!

This design is actually a re-working of a sweater I designed a few months ago, Anyone for Rugby? (link goes to Ravelry project page).

The original

I really, really liked that sweater… but I didn’t think it through. To maintain the wide stripe pattern for different sizes without changing the look, I had to increase or decrease the number of rows for each stripe. This meant that the extra-small size would be substantially shorter than the medium sample… and the plus sizes would have been down to the knees.

I made a promise to myself when I started designing that I would offer my garment patterns in a wide range of sizes. So when I figured out the workable range of this sweater would only be up to extra-large, it didn’t sit right. I went ahead and had the pattern test knitted, got it all ready to self-publish, and then couldn’t do it.

So this is the sweater reborn! Thinner stripes make it much easier to upsize and downsize, which is what I’m working on now.

The specs:

Pattern: My own! I’m thinking this one will be ready in about a month. It will be published through Knit Picks Independent Designer Program.

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Black and White. This yarn is oddly, eerily similar to the Malabrigo Rios I used for the wider-stripe version. It feels very similar, looks almost the same, and blocked identically. I thought it would make a good substitute, and I was obviously right!

Notes: This is a fast, easy sweater. It’s top-down and each section (sleeve increases, neck increases, body) are done one after the other, which hopefully will make it suitable for less-experienced sweater knitters. For the original, several of the test-knitters made this as their first sweater–and their FOs look gorgeous!