WOO HOO for MUHU!

Yesterday I did something I've never done: took a knitting class.

And it was so much fun! The class was taught by Nancy Bush, who has been researching and writing about Estonian knitting techniques for a number of years. After I signed up for the class, which was taught at Fibre Space in Alexandria, Virginia, I realized I had a book of hers, Knitted Lace of Estonia, which I have used for several years.

Nancy was teaching a particular style of knitting from Muhu Island, off the coast of Estonia. Our assignment was gloves. I signed up for the class because I want to get more experience with knitting with color and also knitting gloves and mittens.

Cuff knitted in Muhu tradition

 

And learning started straight off with an unusual two-color caston that ended up in a braid. Then we learned about twining, which uses two strands of the same color yarn, and an absolutely fascinating way of working with colorways while knitting in the round.

None of us completed a glove yesterday, but we all learned these fascinating stitches. I finished the cuff when I got home and made some progress on the main glove part, as you can see from the photo. 

We all had a wonderful time. My thanks to Nancy Bush, my fellow knitting students, and Fibre Space.

cheers,

Reah Janise

THE WINNER -- FELTED BAG

Last week I wasn’t sure which new project to start, so I started both. The shawlette, however, was going to take longer because I was designing it, which is a painstaking process. So I set the shawlette aside to try the felted bag. (I’ve really wanted to make one for some time, so I was pretty much just looking for an excuse.)

Ready to go!

Rather than purchasing more yarn, I dug through my stash and found two full skeins of yarn leftover from two sweaters. The yarns and colors were similar enough that it seemed they could be knit together as stripes. One skein would only make a small bag and I wanted a size that would carry more than my keys and wallet.

Another design consideration was a pocket. Inside seemed best. One pattern I looked at made the pocket first and then knit it into the purse. I chose to add the pocket after, which also works.

I contemplated felting the strap, but thought it might be too springy. Several of the felted bag patterns I’d looked at used chains. However, I discovered that it can be tricky finding the kind of chain you want. I found a 38 inch chain at a craft store and two ¾ inch D-rings. I chose to use a button to close the purse. And since I also sew, I have a stash of buttons, one of which fit pretty well. (A great use of stray buttons!)

Striped Felted Bag

And now just a week later, I’ve got a new bag! (Pattern is here.)

Ta!

Reah Janise

SO MANY IDEAS!

So many ideas! But what, oh dear, to do?

I've just finished a pair of socks for my husband and now my mind is jumping around with all sorts of ideas on what to do next. Should I work out a sweater design with one of my Scottish yarns? 

Or should I try a felted bag? For some time, I've had my eye on knitting a felted bag. I've enjoyed sewing bags and I have several orphan skeins of worsted wool that might just do the trick. Having never done it intentionally, I'm rather intrigued with felting. Something new.

Multi-Blue Yarn Shawlette

Yarn for felted bag

But then I have some yarn that would make a really sweet shawlette. In fact, I have several yarns that would make great shawls and shawlettes.
I also bought some yarn to make my dear husband a sweater.

Oh, and I have friends who are expecting twins.

Pondering my predicament,





Reah Janise

PATTERN TIME!

Now that the holiday season is over, I've been able to put more time into completing promised patterns.


Sparkly Shawl pattern

The first is Sparkly Shawl. As I mentioned in my earlier post, this is my first triangle shawl design. It's fairly simple, so as long as you are familiar with lace work, you should have no problem following the pattern.


Cable Socks 2012 pattern

The next pattern is for the socks I began on our trip to Scotland. I've actually upgraded this pattern, filling out the corners and edges, so to speak. This sock is my husband's favorite. He says it hugs his legs and is comfortable all around. Here's the original blog post for this sock. I posted two blogs on this sock. The first is when I'd finished the first sock and the second was when I posted the pattern. And now, here is the upgraded and hopefully improved pattern.

I've just finished two sweaters for my nephews in Ohio. They are 12 and 10. I hope to include pictures of them in the sweaters with the patterns.
Until then, Happy 2013!

Reah Janise



Sparkly Shawl

 This will be a short post -- Christmas is approaching and there are so many gifts to complete!!! -- but I wanted to share, finally, my own shawl design.

The great thing about shawls is that they don't require too much yarn. I had made a rectangle shawl for a friend a few years ago. (I didn't know how to do triangle shawls at the time.) It turned out quite lovely, and I had four skeins remaining, which I thought would be a perfect amount for making my first triangle shawl design. And it was!

The yarn is Australian Merinos Lamé. The color is rosina, kind of a maroon. Each ball is 50 grams, 175 yards. As the lamé might tell you, this yarn has a silver metallic thread running through, so it makes for a dressy shawl.

I have started writing up the pattern, but will have to share it at another time.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy these photos.

Cheers,

Reah Janise

HURRICANE SARAH SHAWLETTE

Whew! What a storm. But at least the power outage wasn't for as long as it was when the derecho roared through here late June. Five days for that one, 19 hours this time. Still it wasn't a total loss. Under the glow of a battery-powered LED, I finished a shawlette.

I had wanted to try a non-triangular shawlette and found Annis shawl on Ravelry.

I dipped into my Scottish yarn stash. I'd specifically purchased one to be used to make a shawl. This was one of the first two yarns I'd purchased in Edinburgh. It was hand-dyed in the Orkney Islands.
The Annis shawl is a lovely crescent shawl. One of the stitches in this lace pattern is a nupp, which did not work very well when I knit a swatch of the pattern. It could have been because the yarn was too thick and it would have gotten lost in the multi-color of the yarn. Swatches are very useful. When I start any project, I do a swatch. And when I'm going to start a lace project, I practice the lace stitch because lace can easily go wrong.

Lace has also made me a firm believer--and user--of stitch markers. Stitch markers make it much easier to not mess up the lace pattern, which is far too easy, at least for me.

Anyway, the Annis pattern was quite fun to knit up. Triangular shawls begin with three stitches and then keep increasing. This crescent shawl started with the longest row first, the lace pattern. After the lace is completed, you begin short rows, decreasing 1 stitch each row until the last row.

I finished the shawl and then realized it looked like the finished edge would roll. I ripped out the last row and added three additional rows knit in basketweave: k2p2, reversed every other row. The bind-off row followed the same pattern. And then the finished edge did not roll. Yeah!

Have already begun the next shawlette--and this time I'm doing my own pattern.

Reah Janise


  

GLOVING IT

Last year an artist friend of mine commented on how her hands got cold in her studio and how it would be great to have a pair of fingerless gloves.

Always on the lookout for a knitting project and having just discovered a fairly new knitting store, Looped Yarn Works, close to the office, I had a great excuse to shop! I ended up knitting her a pair of fingerless mittens out of a really cool yarn. (Sorry, forgot to take a photo!)

Since knitting those mittens, I've put some serious thought into knitting gloves. My grandmother knit gloves. I remember that she used safety pins to hold the stitches for each finger. It seemed intricate--and fascinating. How did she do that? So in the back of my mind I've always thought about knitting gloves, but they seemed out of reach. Sweaters were more to my comfort level.

Well all comfort must be tested, so a couple of months ago, I tried my hand at a pair of fingerless gloves. (Getting close, Grandma!) I checked out some patterns on how to do the fingers and then set off on my own.

Ah, you are thinking, was that a good idea? Shouldn't I have gotten familiar with the "how to" before sprinting off on my own?

Perhaps. But all of the patterns I saw used sport weight or heavier yarn and I had my heart set on using sock yarn. Smaller needles, smaller stitches, less bulky ... an entirely different experience.

The first digit to be knit was the thumb, which was done by adding stitches. You have to keep the thumb "hole" open while continuing to knit in the round until you get to where you start the fingers.

The fingers were a bit tricky, but once I got the hang of it, they moved along fairly well.

I had a ball of Berroco Sox metallic (color 1366, Mangosteen)  that I was thinking of using for socks, but decided it might make a pair of fun gloves. The first glove was for the left hand and it turned out not too badly, so I followed the pattern for the second. Too late I found that I'd knit another left hand glove! It was obvious as there was a front and back to the glove (cable on the back, which doesn't come out very well in this photo). Also, I really did not want to rip it out down to the thumb.
Fortunately it doesn't take a lot of yarn to knit a glove. I now have two lefts and one right. A pair and then some! During Hurricane Sandy when just about everyone in the DC area was home, I took time to work out the pattern. Click here for the PDF.

glovingly yours,

Reah Janise