Wednesday WiPs: Bearly there

I am knitting a bear out of some brushed acrylic. It's a nice texture for a bear, and a nice way to use up the yarn. The color is a little odd, but I've recently learned about cinnamon bears, so I'm going with it.

There are problems. I am following the pattern exactly, but it is a leap of faith at this point, since I seem to be making a duck. I'm a fan of the pattern, which cleverly avoids any seaming up, something I dislike doing with mohair or brushed acrylic. But no one who has seen this object so far believes it is a bear.

Then there are the increases. When I do M1L and M1R increases, I lift the side of the stitch in the row below, like this, which Twist Collective helpfully tells me are really called lifted increases. This pattern is pretty clear about making them by lifting the bar between the two stitches, and this site taught me a lovely mnemonic for which is left and which is right so I don't have to keep looking it up. But I absolutely don't believe they make any difference in the "lean" of the increase at all.

I shall persevere, and end up with a fuzzy orange softie which may or may not be a bear.

Gloom, Despair, and Agony...

I believe that would make a good name for a law firm. I am suffering from none of the above; in fact, I am pleased with myself for making another 3D object with nothing but a picture to guide me. I wouldn't want to knit that way all the time, but it's fun as an occasional palette cleanser. I know, that should be palate cleanser, but I think it works the other way, too.

Onward! Upon request, I knit the object in this picture as a gift for a friend. I am reliably informed that it is a despair bear. It is knit entirely out of worsted weight acrylic on US 5 (3.75 mm) needles.

It's a toe-up softie (knitting joke). I started with a closed tube, made it long enough, made another one, and joined them together with a few stitches in the middle. I inserted chenille sticks and stuffed the legs.

Then I knit first around one leg, increased every middle stitch, knit around the other leg, and divided the increased middle stitches front and back so that I was knitting in the round again. I knit the body, making some hip decreases - I wanted it to be able to stand by itself, if the oversized head cooperated.

I knit two more closed tubes for the arms, inserted chenille sticks and stuffed them, then attached them as I continued around the body, so that they would stay in an outstretched position. I duplicate-stitched the white chest, stuffed the body, and decreased for the neck.

Then I increased madly to make its giant head, using this as a guide. I made a muzzle in white, and embroidered a nose and mouth on it. I made two ears, taking notes on the first one to make sure they matched, used duplicate stitch again to make the inner ears white, and sewed them on. Sadly, they flopped horribly, and I had to retrofit them with chenille sticks to make them behave properly.

The entire time I knit, I thought about the eyes. By chance I came across an old glow-in-the-dark super-ball. I cut it in half, carefully. I sewed dark purple buttons to the bear's face before stuffing the head, then used super glue to attach the super-ball hemispheres. I believe there was a little fiddling with a strand of yarn between the eyes and the back of the head to keep them well-anchored, post-stuffing, but it's a bit of a blur at this point. It was hard to get a good shot of the glowing eyes, but I am reliably informed that they glow enough in the dark to get ones attention.

Matching Hat

I made a matching hat. I still want to add yellow eyes, but so far no luck finding the right yarn.

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Jalapeño, less than half a skein
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm)
Pattern:  Sara Amoroso’s Who?
Mods: I wanted it in a 9-12 mos size to match the vest. After measuring gauge and doing the math, I realized I could just knit the child’s size in the pattern, and my smaller yarn and needles would downsize it perfectly.

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Jalapeño, 1.5 skeins
Needles: US 4(3.5 mm) and US 5 (3.75 mm)
Pattern: Jodi Haraldson's Owl Baby Vest
Mods: Centered the neck over the middle owl

If this looks familiar, it's because I've made it before - I trust that one is long outgrown and recycled.

Wednesday WIPs: Little Owls

I made some little owls. If the yarn holds out, there will be a matching hat. I'd like to give them yellow eyes, but I'm not sure if I've got any yellow floating around.

I like this yarn. It's smooth, and has some heft, but is not overly warm. I think about knitting a blanket of small squares in all the colors it comes in. But I have too many other projects like that underway to start another one.

Desperandum Ursi

A couple of times now I have created 3D knitted objects based on a picture. It's a fun exercise for me -  no pattern provided, nor do I create one. I just think about the shape I want to achieve, and dive in.

I made an "anxiety demon" at Christmas time that proved extraordinarily hard to photograph, since it was unrelievedly black, and complicated. Since it was important to the thing's personality that its mouth open and close, I inserted a binder clip, well-wrapped in yarn, into the head as I stuffed it. Worked pretty well.

Now I've just finished a "despair bear" as a gift for a fan of that comic. I had a pretty good picture to work from, although constantly looking at it eventually creeped me out.

My first issue was matching the incredibly dark purple, a shade which is to purple what navy blue is to blue. Knit Picks Brava Worsted in Eggplant was the answer. I used stash acrylic worsted in Snow for the white areas, which were done in duplicate stitch except for the snout.

The second issue I could foresee was that, the head, being out of proportion to the body, was going to make it difficult for the thing to stand. I made the base of the feet flat and added a chenille stick armature before stuffing to help with that. I did not look ahead to realize that the ears were going to need help to stand up, and had to add chenille sticks after the fact, which was fiddly.

And finally, the thing has glow in the dark eyes. So does mine, thanks to an old glow-in-the-dark super-ball and a sharp knife. I sewed on dark purple buttons, then glued the hemispheres to the buttons. I had to work some interior shaping with tied yarn to keep them back far enough in its head.

I was not averse to borrowing known shapes as I went along. I used this for the head shaping, and this for the snout.

I hear the recipient was pleased, and put the scary eyes to good use. Well done, sir, well done.

Wednesday WIPs: Languishing Lace

I knew I had a lace project around somewhere, and by midsummer I was ready for some light and airy fabric creation. I was able to put my hand right on this project, and a quick check on Ravelry revealed the pattern name. Astonishingly, I had put it down at the end of a pattern repeat row, and it took me less than five minutes to confirm where I was in the pattern and continue on.

The surprise was the pattern start date in Ravelry. I started this lace in August of 2015, and put it down when I received my cancer diagnosis.

My scars have healed, my hair has grown back, I went back to work for a year before retiring on schedule, but somehow picking up this lace again feels like yet another step in getting back to normal.

Pssst - Pass It On!

I had to visit a place in the next town today, and during the drive, I thought about the Sad Thing there. Years ago, a talented person made a beautiful and useful object, and gave it to them. For whatever reason - I know little of the inner workings of this place - they have been unable to put it to use. I’ve offered to buy it, and been told they cannot sell it because it was donated to them. So the object has spent years literally hidden in the corner of a back room.

Although I make beautiful objects in a completely different craft, and of completely different materials, I think about this sad outcome a lot. The solution, of course, is not to stop making beautiful things, or to stop giving them away, or to stop accepting hand-crafted gifts.

The solution is to stop believing that a gift cannot be passed on. I can see that, ethically, an employee could not take it home for personal use. But couldn’t they auction it off to raise money for their organization, or for charity?

In the same way, if someone gives you hand knits, and they don’t fit or suit or are outgrown, pass them on! If the donor wonders why they never see the object, explain the problem and the joy you got from your solution. “Oh, the color kept reminding me of Aunt Maude and made me anxious, so I gifted it to her daughter, who loves the memories!” “Oh, tencel makes me sneeze, so I gave it to my son's teacher, who was overwhelmed - she’s never owned anything hand knit before!” “Oh, I’ve put on a few pounds and it was getting tight, and the next thing I knew Darling Daughter was wearing it all over campus!” “I’ve been downsizing, and not having anyone to pass it on to, I donated it to Goodwill. Don’t you love imagining someone finding that gem and feeling like they won a treasure hunt?”

The two parts are important. Explain the problem. Be upfront about what was wrong. Few people know of my aversion to alpaca, since it’s not a common one, and if I don’t mention it, I have no one but myself to blame when gifts of alpaca show up. And the joy in the outcome is important; most knitters are just glad someone is enjoying their efforts, that they’re not languishing in a drawer somewhere.

A gift means ownership has passed to you. The giver no longer controls what happens to the object, and most reasonable people understand that.

Wednesday WIPs - Bubbly Water Socks

I've started my next pair of socks. Much as I love my two go-to sock patterns, I was in the mood for something different for this yarn. I'm enjoying being back on dpns, and enjoying this simple but elegant pattern:

I got quite a bit of it done in waiting rooms yesterday. I would ask what people who don't knit DO in waiting rooms, but I am observant, and I can tell you that if they have no one to talk to, they play on their phones.

Last night at my knitting group, my friend showed me the latest innovation in sock needles - a set of three double-pointed needles with a short flex of cable in the middle, so that you knit around the corners of your socks-on-2-needles with the 3rd needle. Not sure how I feel about that.

Recycled Cotton

I have finished a baby blanket, and I am pleased with it. Since it is made of re-knit yarn, it will look even better after a good soak, snap, and lay-flat-to-dry.

Yarn: Brunswick Rio (discontinued), a worsted weight cotton/acrylic, the same as the infant sweater, but this photo is much closer to the actual color

Needles: US 8 (5 mm)

Pattern: Plymouth Yarn's Seed Blocks Baby Blanket

Mods: I did the Chinese Waitress Cast-On, the matching bind off, and slipped the first stitch of every row, which gave it a neat chain-stitch border.

Bereft Bear

Since my current project is a gift, I can't talk about it here, however unlikely it may be that the recipient would ever stumble across my blog. Instead, I give you this poor bear.

According to Ravelry, I finished him last November. And while it's certainly true that I finished the knitting at that point, the poor thing has been hanging out on the shelf beside me for eight(!) months, just waiting for me to finish sewing on his ears and to give him a face. Well.

There you go, little guy. Feel better?

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Solids in Aran Fleck
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)
Pattern: Free Teddy Bear pattern, apparently not on Ravelry, although this is the third bear I've made from it. I never seem to have any trouble finding homes for them.

Air-conditioned Socks

I've finished off the last of the wonderful Yankee Breeze merino/cotton in Cantaloupe, and I would be sad, except that I bought a skein of Lagoon to comfort me. I love the stretchy lace pattern, but I do wonder what it would look like if you tanned while wearing them - from falling asleep in the hammock, perhaps?

Yarn: Yankee Dyer Yarns Yankee Breeze in Cantaloupe and Lagoon, purchased at MS&W in 2017 and 2018

Needles: two 2.25mm circs, teaching myself a new trick, even though I still prefer dpns

Pattern: Battement de Kirshawi's Pretty Socks (in French) - I use Adobe Acrobat and add the translations in notes to myself. Google translate does not speak Knitting, but I do, so I usually manage to figure out what's going on.

Mods: I did not double-wrap the heel turns

Picture includes the de rigueur hexipuff for my Beekeeper's Quilt collection. I maybe have enough for a baby blanket, but I'm holding out for at least a lapghan.

Independence Day

Finished, but...

Okay, finally done with this fiddly little baby cardigan. There's a matching blanket - same yarn, different pattern - that will be finished eventually. The trouble is, who would put a baby in a heavily patterned, worsted weight, cotton sweater? A poor little guy who can't even roll over when the cables start digging into his back?

Kitchener stitching the back neck seam was fiddly, and took four tries, but the sheep were very supportive.

The color is proving difficult to photograph, even in natural light. It is salmon pink, and the orange buttons were almost-not-quite close enough to grate, so I went with dark brown.

Yarn: Brunswick Rio (discontinued), a 50/50 cotton acrylic worsted, in what I feel sure is Coral even though the label said Light Aqua
Pattern:  Britta Stolfus Rueschhoff's Trellis
Mods: None. Lots of people reversed the cables to make them symmetrical on either side, but I appreciated the way the big cables went one way and the smaller cables the other. I also didn't attempt to mess with the shawl collar, although I would never button the top button.

Wednesday WIPs: Trellis

This tiny thing has given me no end of trouble. The pattern and the yarn and I cannot agree on sizing or gauge. Since I'm not making it with any specific baby in mind, that shouldn't matter, right? Nevertheless, I cast it on multiple times before I was satisfied that I knew what would result (and that I hadn't miscounted my stitches).

Also, the assumption on the designer's part that Kitchener stitch results in an invisible seam in a heavily patterned design is... suspect. The shoulders aren't too bad. I'm worried about the back of the neck - the collar is knit in two pieces and joined there with Kitchener stitch.

At least it was the easiest setting in of sleeves I've ever attempted, once I stopped trying to apply all the helpful tricks I've been taught. It was a pretty much one-to-one match of stitches.

There were lots of mods on Ravelry, none of which I used. I'm interested in seeing how the pattern turns out as written.

Second (pair of) socks

I made another pair of worsted weight wool socks, this time for Rod's emergency winter kit. I used leftover Paton's Wool from making felted clogs and mittens. Same pattern as before, but this time I had to alternate colors, which made for some odd heels..

She likes it!

It’s a little big, which is just right, since she’ll start wearing it next fall as the weather cools off.

And apparently I’m not the only one who thought the colors were scrumptious!

Button Day

Not that anybody’s been nagging me to post this project, ever since I finished it (I’m looking your way, Kansas). Except, I didn’t really finish it until today, because it needed buttons. Today was Button Day. I have sewed buttons on four projects, and now I’m setting in sleeves. I know, right? Get all the sewing done at once, that’s my motto.

Yarn: Hayfield Baby Blossom DK
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm)
Pattern: Hayfield #4844, Dungarees & Pinafore
Mods: Stockinette rolls, so I picked out the cast-on edge and knit down for a picot-edged hem instead, which flares out a little, but I've been informed is charming. Yeah, I MEANT to do that.
And a shout out to the Yarn Barn of Kansas (still looking at you!) for carrying the yarn, pattern, and store sample that enabled all that.

The Orange Creamsicle Pinny happened when I discovered that Hayfield had picked up the banner of self-striping baby yarn, dropped by Bernat some time ago. I made a baby sweater from the Bernat yarn years ago, which I recently found in a bag, completely finished, except for - assembling? No... Buttons? Nope... All it needed was tucking in the ends. That’s not even sewing.

Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquards Florals (discontinued)
Needles,  Pattern:  lost in the mists of time
Mods: I cut the yarn short and started the next stripe in the sleeves to match the stripe width of the body. Lots of ends to deal with!

I also sewed buttons on these two "finished" projects:

Can’t. Stop. Crocheting.

It’d perfectly reasonable to use up the scrap yarn before moving on to the waiting knitting projects, right?

Even if I don’t actually need any coasters. Right?

But then there’s this. Which is actually a terrific shade of red that is defying the ability of the camera to capture. And which will, probably, lie flat when it’s finished. But.

 

It’s a doily. A doily! What am I thinking???

Flower Cardigan

I don't always crochet, but when I do...

...I am generally pleased with the results.

Pattern: Vendula Maderska's Flower Cardigan

Yarn: Schachenmayr Catania Solids in Orchidee, Cyclam, Orange, Violett, Apple Green, Pfau and
Patons Grace in Ginger (to replace the Catania Birke, which is discontinued)

Hook: a very strange hook labeled 3.00-3.25 mm - doesn't it know which it is?

Mods:  The pattern called for red for the front edging; upon advice I used colors already in the stripes. I made up my own flowers, and made Willow Sway's Bird Applique. I kept running out of light pink, and wound up making the pink sleeve long enough by adding a dark pink stripe.

I hope the little one likes it. Her mom is pleased, which is what counts at this point.

I've just remembered that one of the first things I crocheted was the direct opposite of this, a baby dress with a plain crocheted skirt and a shell patterned top. It buttoned at the shoulder, and I'll bet it's in this house somewhere. I made it from leftover crochet cotton that my grandmother had used to make placemats, and I've got one of them around somewhere, too.

Wednesday WIPs: The Price of Colorful

I’ve been working on a really colorful project. This is just a sneak preview.

But there’s a price to pay - so many ends to finish off!

Stay tuned for the finished object on Monday! All it needs are buttons...