Month: August 2009

Baby Sweater

/ LDSVenus
click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 

 

This is a baby sweater I am working on for the new grandson of a friend in TN. 🙂   I’m using Caron Simply Soft, which is pretty soft and an acrylic so no special care will be needed.  I purchased this pattern on Patternworks .  It’s such a cute set.  I am only knitting the sweater and hat.  Ammon is about 3 months old but I’m making it to fit 6 to 9 months so he can wear it all winter.  It’s an easy pattern (most baby sweaters are), and because they are for babies, they don’t take a long time to make.  This one I’ve only had time to knit on during my lunch hr but I should have it finished by next week end.  I always think I am going to have time to knit on things during the week-end, but I never find the time,  I’m not sure why I always think I’ll find the time to knit on the week-end, sigh, an eternal optimist I guess :P.

I’m about 1/2 way through with my 2nd spool of the baby Alpaca roving.  Sometime this week I should be able to ply it and have a finished skein.  The singles feel so soft on the spool, I can hardly wait to get it plyed.

Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL?

/ LDSVenus
Dallas Cowboys!!!

Dallas Cowboys!!!

 

 Woohoo!!! Pre-season football has started!!!  Dallas plays their first game this coming Friday night.  Since I babysit for 3 of my grand children on Friday nights, I’ll be training my 3 year old grand daughter to be a football fan, (don’t tell her dad I will teach her to root for the Dallas Cowboys, he’s a Bears fan)! 😛  The oldest one (11 years old) isn’t interested, waited to long to indoctrinate her :P, and the youngest (1 year old) will be in bed by then ;P.  So it’s Mady and me watching the Cowboys on Friday night :).

**UPDATE**  Oh goodness, I missed Dallas’s first game which was on 8-13, where they lost to my 2nd favorite team, the Oakland Raiders.  I can’t believe I missed their first game, sigh. 

 

click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 
 
I’m spinning the baby Alpaca (called a Cria) roving, that I bought at a fiber festival in TN last year, on my Ashford Traveler.  This roving is sooooo soft, I can hardly wait to handle the yarn and knit it into a capelet.  I’m not sure if  the 6 ounces I have will be enough to do a shawl, I’ll see what the yardage is after I have finished spinning it all, it should be a heavy baby weight or light sport weight.  If I think I have enough, I might do a shawl instead.  The jury is out on what I really want tho. 🙂   I have plenty of time yet to make a decision.
 
 
 
Hand dyed superwash merion roving

Hand dyed superwash merino roving

 
This is some of the white superwash merino that I bought some time back.  I dyed it with Wilton icing dye.  I used the purple, and it broke into different shades of light purple, lavender and light blue.  It’s actually a little bit more pastel than it looks in the picture, quite pretty.  The last time I used the Wilton purple it was just different shades of purple and lavender.  You just never know what you are going to get with the Wilton dyes, but they are fun to play with.  This should be interesting to spin. 🙂
 

Exchanged Gifts

/ LDSVenus
click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 

I exchanged gifts with my new internet friend, Norma.  I sent her a canvas tote that I had machine embroidered “I “heart” knitting with handspun” to use either for her knitting or to hold the fiber she is spinning.   She sent me this luscious bulky weight merino handspun that was spun and plied with her Navajo spindle.  It is very soft and has beautiful fall colors.  I’m thinking of maybe knitting a large pair of mittens to be felted for our wonderfully frigid winters here in IA. 🙂  My hands will thank me!!!  Thanks Norma the yarn is beautiful!

Wisp is Finshed!

/ LDSVenus / 1 Comment
click on picture for larger image

click on picture for larger image

 

 

This is the Wisp shawl.   I made it a little wider than the pattern (I think the pattern was probably written for someone who wears a size 6 :P.)   I  put ribbon around the neck line so it wouldn’t fall down.  It seems tho that you button the short button side to the long side or you can put ribbon in the neck line (which is only woven in and can be adjusted to fit) and button the top button like I did for a more traditional style cape type shawl.   Hope my friend will enjoy this :).

I have started spinning my beautiful and extreemly soft baby alpaca roving.  I can not reiterate enough, how soft this stuff is!!!  I’m gonna love the capelet I make with it.  Searching for patterns now. 🙂

Cabled Gauntlets – Revisited

/ LDSVenus

Gauntlets 1-2009

I’m also having to repost this pattern that was on my old website, Jan 24th 2009, for a link for Ravelry.  Since winter will be upon us before you know it, maybe they will come in handy :P.

I wanted to make some gauntlets. I really hate doing the thumb tho’, so I looked at several patterns with just the opening for the thumb. I didn’t see anything that caught my eye that didn’t look to complicated for a quick project, so I decided that I could make my own basic pattern. The picture above is my first attempt to design gauntlets, fingerless mitts, wrist warmers or whatever you choose to call them. There were knit from synthetic yarn for a friend at work and I’ll be knitting another pair for another co-worker and then my grand daughter has requested a pair as well after modeling these, so I will be knitting gauntlets for a week or so. These will all be gifts.

Here is a link for doing the cable stitch for those that want to try this but have never done a cable before. The video that shows you how is a little bit down the page on that link.  Cables really are not hard to do, cable knitting is one of my favorites, along with lace.

Following is my attempt to write my pattern. I hope you can understand it, if not, please don’t hesitate to email me and ask questions.  Hope you enjoy the pattern.

Please do not give this pattern out to others, instead please share this link so that they can get this pattern from my blog.  It will also be listed in Ravelry, my ravelry name is LDSVenus. Thank you.

The finished hand knit item may be used for self or given as gifts. A small number of hand knit items may be sold for non profit or self profit as long as you put my name as the designer on a label with a link to my web site with the finished items to be sold, however you may sell only the finished hand knit items and not the pattern instructions.

LDSVenus’ Cabled Gauntlets

Worsted weight yarn, size 5 circular needle (12″) or double pointed needles (because I knit loosely I used a size 4 needle)

You may want to change to a size smaller needle and sport weight or dk weight for a child.

CO 40 stitches, (be sure to put a marker so you will know where the beginning of the row is as this is done on a circular needle, knitting in the round.)

Cuff Ribbing Rows (for both right and left) 1-8: k2, p2 around.

Row 9 (the 1st cable pattern row): k2, p2 for 16 st. Do a cable over the next 6 stitches (it doesn’t matter if you put the 1st 3 stitches of the cable in front or back of your work for the cable, just be consistent to do all the cables the same way. You can even make the cables on one hand face one way and on the other hand face the other way so that they mirror one another), p2, k2 the end of the row.

Continue in the cable pattern (doing the cable twist on the 1st row of cable pattern and 7 plain rows of following the knits and pearls as they show), until you have 3 full cable patterns done. (I’m not counting the ribbing below the 1st twist, but using the twist as the first stitch in the cable pattern for counting purposes, so the first cable pattern will be the cable twist row and the next 7  rows above it). See below for making the thumb for the right and left hands and for remaining rows for each hand.

***For Right handgauntlet : with the start of the row for the 4th cable twist, k2, p2 for 16 sts, do cable twist over the next 6 sts, work in pattern and on 9th st after cable twist, BO 6 in pattern and continue in pattern to end of row. Continuing in pattern on the following row, when you come to the 6 bound off sts, CO 6 sts and continue in pattern to end of row. On the next row you will knit these CO sts, this will make the thumb hole.  Continue in pattern to and including the 5th cable twist row.

Top Ribbing: Next row after 5th cable twist, start k2 p2 all sts for 7 rows.  BO in pattern. Weave in the ends.

***ForLeft handgauntlet : with the start of the row for the4th cable twist, k2,BO next 6 sts in pattern and continue in pattern doing the cable twist and all sts in patternto end of row.  Continue in pattern and when you come to the 6 bound off sts in that following row, CO 6 sts and continue in pattern to end of row. On the next row you will knit these CO sts, this will make the thumb hole. Continue in pattern to and including the 5th cable twist row.

Top Ribbing: Next row after 5th cable twist, start k2, p2 all sts for 7 rows.  BO in pattern. Weave in the ends.

CO = cast on, BO = bind off, k = knit, P = pearl, st(s) = stitches

Little Lace Cat’s Paw Scarf – revisited

/ LDSVenus / 3 Comments

Little Lace Cat's Paw Scarfred white and blue roving and yarn 004a

I’m having to repost this pattern because the link on Ravelry for this isn’t working and I have to put in a new link.  Hope you will enjoy revisiting this scarf  that was originally posted on July 5th 2008.

**ERROR CORRECTED IN PATTERN**  If you have copied this pattern you might want to use this corrected copy.

Ok, here is the Little Lace Cat’s Paw Scarf I knit out of the red white and blue hand spun skein, shown on the right.  I used Cat’s Paw, a Shetland lace pattern, and as you can see I staggered the design so that it was not straight across from each other but rather looks like a cat walked up the scarf :). It is free to use for your own use, please do not give this pattern out to others, if someone would like this pattern, please direct them to my blog. 🙂 It was a very quick and easy pattern to knit, and makes a great long skinny scarf.  I suggest using a wool or wool blend or other yarn that blocks and holds the block well.   Enjoy.

Little Lace Cat’s Paw Scarf

Cast on 29 stitches using size 10 needle, heavy fingering or sport weight yarn. You will still have 29 stitches after completing each row.

B= border stitches (always k5, or you may use a seed stitch border)

k2tog = knit 2 together

k2togtbl = knit 2 together through the back loop

k3tog = knit 3 together

Knit 5 rows, then keeping the borders k one row and p one row before beginning pattern.

Pattern rows:

Row 1 – B, k2, k2 tog, yo, k1, yo, k2togtbl, k to last 5 sts, B

(Row 2, and all even rows – B, p to last 5 sts, B)

Row 3 – B, k1, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, k2togtbl, k to last 5 sts, B

Row 5 – B, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2togtbl, k to last 5 sts, B

Row 7 – B, k to last 5 sts, B

Row 9 – B, k12, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2togtbl, k2, B

Row 11 – B, k11, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, k2togtbl, k1, B

Row 13 – B, k12, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2togtbl, k2, B

Row 15 – B, k to last 5 sts, B

Row 16 – B, p to last 5 sts, B

Repeat these rows for pattern to length you desire, ending with knit 5 rows and bind off.

Spun and Plied

/ LDSVenus
Christmas yarn

Christmas yarn

 

I did get the single plyed.  I only spun one spool and so I wound it off with a ball winder and plyed it from the ball using the outside strand and the inside strand.  Sometimes when you do that they get tangled, but this one plied without any problems.

I found that when I use the double treadle I either have to slow down or tighten the tension so it is pulled in faster.  I prefer the slowing down (but sometimes I forget to do that  and the strands overtwist) because when it pulls it in faster I always feel like I don’t have as much control over the twist.  I wasn’t as pleased with this skein but it’s ok.  It will probably sit for a while since it was an experiment while I decide what I want to do with red and green yarn ;p.  Now I will take a day or two to decide what my next fiber to spin is. 🙂