Projects Completed in 2017

In order of completion. Click text for related blog posts.

Mug Rugs

Coaster

Airplane Nine Patch quilt

Cardinal Nine Patch quilt

Farm Girl Vintage quilt

VK Anniversary Dress

Malabrigo Nube Handspun

Tilted Pi Shawl (knit)

"Homecoming" Canada 150 quilt

County Fair Raffle Quilt Block

Vogue Cable Knee Socks

Like Mother Like Daughter dress

Wool-Aid Sweater 3

Kaffe Fassett quilt

Overdyed yarn

Broken Seed Stitch Socks

Jeans Socks

Norwegian Christmas Rose Mittens

Christmas Table Topper

Norwegian Christmas Rose Mittens

When I was ready to take these pictures, we were just
getting our first snowfall. Can you see the snowflake?

Someone I know recently moved from the area. I knew I would have to knit her a farewell gift.

I wanted it to be cashmere - more luxury than she would normally permit herself and yet not fussy. (I know the labels always say to dry clean but cashmere is surprisingly resilient. The dry cleaning chemicals are actually bad for the fibers and will leave them "crunchy" while an easy soak at home will generally do the job.)

I also had in mind that it should be something that took skill - colourwork or intricate lace. I didn't want a "quick" project to be dashed off the needles without a thought. Not having ever seen her wear something around her neck, I settled on mittens. I figure everyone needs something for their hands in cold weather.

I couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I used parts of two patterns and made up the rest.

The flower design on the back of the mitten was taken from the Drop's Design Christmas Rose pattern. I had to adjust it to fit the gauge I got.

The design on the palm of the mitten was taken from Jessica Tromp's Norwegian Mittens. From the same pattern, I used the wrist design.

I added the Latvian braid before and after the wrist section. You'll notice I mirrored the flower design and braid from the left mitt to the right mitt because why wouldn't you.

The stripes along the side of the mitts are kept continuous through the decreases at the top. I worked the final decrease so that the pale blue stripe at the center carries continuously from the one side to the other.

I kept the striped thumb of the first pattern and made the stripe carry across the top in the same way.

Here is the inside of the mitts, for those of you who can't resist looking at the "wrong side".

Probably the biggest change I made from the patterns is the garter rib cuff. I wanted the look of a corrugated rib, which is a rib where the knits are in one colour and the purls are in a second colour. The problem with it is that even though it's technically a "ribbing" stitch, it doesn't have any stretch to it.

So instead, I cast on 15 stitches and worked them in a garter stripe (alternating two rows of each colour), attaching the end to the beginning when it was long enough. Then I picked up stitches along the edge and knit the mittens up from there.

The double layer of cashmere is warm and cosy without being too thick. Now I'm thinking I need a pair for myself. :)

Project Stats
Started: 26 Nov '17
Finished: 3 Dec '17
Patterns: Drop's Design Christmas Rose and Jessica Tromp's Norwegian Mittens
Materials: 35 g darker blue and 61 g light blue, both raveled from sweaters. I used four strands held together.

A Pair of Socks

I have not been churning out huge amounts of knitting, but knitting is still being done around here. Pictures take a little longer...

So by the time I was ready with pictures of one pair of socks, I actually had two done. (And don't look now but I actually finished another pair today in the time since I took these pictures. But those will wait for another day.)

I start with the toes and in both cases here, my favorite short row toe:

I. Toes from the yarn raveled from a yellow Ann Taylor cardi and overdyed with Wilton's icing.

II. Toes in the main colour, a multicolour red I picked up on my trip to the Netherlands.

After the toes, I start the pattern on the top of the sock.

I. Using the same raveled yarn but overdyed one more time, I started a textured pattern intended to let the little blips of colour pop, the Double Fleck Stitch from The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (p 19).

You can see columns of K2 alternated with P2 but with a row of all knits in between horizontally and columns of knits in between vertically.

II. Alternating the multicolour with a solid yellow in a broken seed stitch. This means the seed stitch (K1P1 on one row, P1K1 on the next) is broken up with rows of all knits in between each row of the pattern.

When alternating yarns, this means that one yarn does all the knit rows and the other does all the seed stitch rows. Easy to keep track!

Here is a sample of using the yellow on the knit rows (right) and using the red on the knit rows (left). Very different results and I very much preferred the one on the left.

Up next is the gusset and heel:

I. I increased a stitch on each side every other row. When I decided I had enough and the sock was the right length, I did the first half of a short row heel on the bottom stitches only.

Then I started a heel flap and decreased the gusset stitches at the end of each row.

I don't do a textured heel flap. Some do it for durability, but I haven't found that that's where my socks wear out and I prefer a smooth fabric.

II. Here I once again increased a stitch on each side on every other row. This time I incorporated the gusset stitches into the pattern on the top. (Unlike above where the gusset is in stocking stitch like the bottom.)

I then did a short row heel on the bottom stitches. I continued the pattern of alternating the yarn for each row and becasue of the way I incorporated this into the short rows, the heel ended up being half as many rows.

I then started the heel flap, decreasing the gusset stitches. In this case, the heel flap is done in the pattern to match the top of the sock.

I continued the pattern on both socks up the leg. In both cases, the socks are not very long so I didn't worry about doing any increases to fit the calf. The only thing left then is the cuff:

I. I went with a 1x2 rib so that the knits of the rib would line up with the knit columns in the Double Fleck Stitch.

II. A 1x1 rib while continuing to alternate the two balls of yarn on each round. Although the colour pattern isn't the same as the pattern on the leg, it blends with it pretty well.

Make two and you have a pair!

I. I haven't worn these yet, but look forward to it. Or maybe I'll keep them brand new to submit to the fair next summer.

The yarn is a blend so I'm hoping they won't be overly warm. They feel very soft and cushy. They were knit with a double strand and are slightly thicker.

Project Stats
Started: 4 Sep '17
Finished: 28 Oct '17
Pattern: My own, with the Double Fleck Stitch from The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches (p 19).
Materials: 66 grams of 51% wool/20% rayon/10% rabbit hair/4% Cashmere from an Ann Taylor cardi.

II. I wore these for the first time last week. The highest recommendation I can give is that I didn't think about them again until the end of the day...that is, they weren't too tight, too loose, too long, too short, too droopy, too warm or too sweaty. And the colour combination in this pattern makes me happy when I see it.

I hadn't anticipated this, but I like how alternating the yarns has made the colours in the multicolour yarn spread out into wider stripes.

Project Stats
Started: 24 Jul '17
Finished: 1 Oct '17
Pattern: Broken Seed Stitch Socks by Hanna Leväniemi - although I'm sure I just took the stitch pattern and did my own toe, gusset, heel and cuff :)
Materials: 37 g HPKY (Hand Painted Knitting Yarns) Sock Donegal (color: fire; 65% Merino, 25% Nylon, 10% Rayon) and 32 g Zitron Trekking Sport (colour: 1490; 75% Wool, 25% Nylon)

Gift Card Holder

My church organizes an "Angel Tree" each year where tags are hung describing items needed by local families that could use some help. You pick a tag (or two), buy the item, wrap it, and return it with the tag.

I usually grab the gift cards because they're easy and it seems other people don't like to buy them. I assume they don't think they're any fun. They might not be much "fun" to receive either - there's not a lot of excitement you can get out of what gift card design was chosen.

I've been obsessively watching a new podcast - the Stitch TV Show - and one of the hosts mentioned making little quilted gift card holders. Maybe that would be fun - for me to make and the recipient to open.

So I googled tutorials or patterns and used this one on So Sew Easy. But instead of using one plain piece of fabric, I used some of the "slab blocks" I had put together previously. They were mostly square and I needed a long rectangle, so I just cut them up and pieced them together again to get the right shape:

Then, following the tutorial, you do a little folding, sew around the outside, turn it inside right and you have a little gift card holder:

Front - with pocket.

Back

The many seams made it harder to turn inside right so the corners are not too square, and I think I should have made it about an inch longer so the flap would be longer. But it's a fun little piece anyway.

Tie it with a ribbon and it's all set to make someone merry.

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Linking up with Oh Scrap! from Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework.