2009 in review

i did, quite honestly, a lot of knitting this year, and also some crocheting. It seems rather amazing to me that i finished eleven projects and began at least five more. i knitted my first sweater, my first pair of socks, and knit in Europe (most notably the airport in Germany, the hostel in Barcelona, the train to and from Rome, and the ship on the Mediterranean). This blog may not show how busy i was, but Ravelry was one of my most frequently visited sites, and i fully intend to keep knitting... and maybe crocheting, too. (:

My 2009 projects included:

Fox Coffee Beanie Reborn


Liberty Cap 1.0


Fair Ginny


Ohm Mat Bag


Chunky Cabled Cap


Ski Helmet Liner, Jr.


Boing Socks


three Hobo purses


Ski Helmet Liner

and pictures are forthcoming on Dashing Evi and the Ginny Hex Vest.



Since the new year i have already completed two more projects and started two more! So even with reduced time for knitting (this semester is intense!) i have been knitting every spare moment. i even wrote a poem about knitting last week... and am dreaming up new projects all the time.

Fox Coffee Beanie... finished (but now for Sammy)

So i finally finished this hat yesterday in between class and work (you can see the finished product at Ravelry). The RT section has more of a ribbed look to it than the LT section, which used slipped sts to good effect, but i didn't figure out how to do that with the RT. My current stitch guide is as follows:

LT = sl 2 sts as if to knit, then put them back onto left needle. ktbl of 2nd st (which is really the front of the loop), sl 1st st, drop 2nd st. (hope this makes sense!)
RT = k2tog, k 1st st again
Note: during a section you knit the odd rows, and to not make a jag in the diagonal and keep the pattern true will need to start the pattern one st sooner or later at the end of the k row. i went with sooner on the LT section and later with the RT section so that the beg of the row was at the same place in the brim section and crown section.

This was knit up using 16 rows of knit, which was then folded to make a brim casing, 12 rows of LT (which looked like 6 because of the large slipped sts), 12 rows of RT, and about 20 rows of crown knitting all rows while decreases started around row 8. i placed a marker at the begging of the row and the halfway point.
Decrease pattern: k4sts, ssk, k to 6sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, slip marker, knit 4, ssk, k to 6 sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, end of row.

i used a 3 needle bind off after folding the 4 st sections inward and slipping them over the appropriate section sts, but this did not achieve the look that i wanted. The hat wasn't tall enough before the decreases, i should have k 16 rows of the LT and RT sections or gone with 20 row sections instead. The brim section was also uncomfortably loose on me, though it seems to fit Sammy well and she doesn't think it's uncomfortable.

i plan to make this hat again, with bulky yarn most likely, and making adjustments of the brim casing is tighter but the cable section is a bit looser. i REALLY hate this yarn, though it's soft, you can see it's already pilling at the top of the crown in the photos i posted at Ravelry, and i didn't even take the section out (unlike the others, which i had to take out repeatedly, once because i dropped one st at the top of the RT section, which fell to the top of the LT section, and i had no idea how to fix it.

the woes of LTs and trying to salvage the Fox Beanie YET AGAIN

i have been trying to knit this hat off and on for over two years now. The yarn i'm using is 100% acrylic, cost me about $2.50, and it is supposed to be great for cables. i have become a yarn snob and hate using acrylic, this yarn has only reinforced that for me. The pros are that the yarn is super soft and machine washable, the cons are that it splits like crazy and is already pilling a bit after being taken out a couple of times.

i finally found a zigzag stitch that looked perfect in the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 2 but have had nothing but trouble with it. It uses a Left Twist and Right Twist that, when worked, looks nothing like the picture / example. If i knit the st as instructed there is a gap in between the twists that looks far more lacy than i would like. So i have done some research and apparently the LT is the bane of many knitters' existence. No one can agree on how it should be done, there are at least four different methods one can use, and none of them look exactly like in the book (not to mention that the method outlined in the book looks worst of all). My search was not helped by the fact that KnittingHelp.com has no vids on how to knit an LT and while the forums claimed there were videos on YouTube i couldn't find any by searching for "LT knit stitch" (apparently there's a musical group named LT Stitch, however, and i did finally find two videos when i searched for "Left Twist"). i finally made a breakthrough when i found Let Me ExplainKnit's rather lengthy post on the woes of LTs, which verified for me the need to turn every 2nd st so when i ktbl i am actually ktbl i am actually knitting through the front of the loop instead of twisting it. She also linked to the pattern for Cable Twist Socks which instructs the knitter to slip the 1st st as if to purl instead of k2togtbl. This has yielded a stronger unified look, instead of the twisted lacy pattern that, while pretty, was not the look i was going for at all.

This pattern is very much self made though i have used two others as a guide (in a manner of speaking). i used Son of Stitch 'N Bitch's Half-Pipe Hat as a guide for gauge and returned to the idea of encasing the brim instead of trying to knit a shaped case for it (as i did with my Flaming Snowboard Beanie. i used a stockinette st instead of a rib and folded the cast on edge under instead of over. The Half-Pipe brim was far larger than i was wanting to use (the Flaming Beanie's brim is too large, too), so i turned to the Lidsville pattern instead. For the Flaming Beanie i used foam, this time i am using some plastic canvas that i had lying around, and i prefer foam because it is softer and doesn't have jagged edges. It took me the better part of a half hour to trim the plastic canvas so it wouldn't catch the yarn and damage it.

i am currently a third of the way through the LT section and am hoping that the RT section doesn't give me as much grief (though from what i read the RT usually works better than the LT). i'm also winding the yarn for my Wrap Sweater into balls, i'm not sure if i'll actually be casting on today or not, but i have a lot more of Tale of Two Cities to get through, so it's entirely possible that i'll finish the hat or cast on or both.

update

sigh...

Well, i've completed knitting projects for two Christmas presents, and bought some yarn for additional projects, but haven't started them. It seems like so many of my projects don't turn out the way i expect them to or age prematurely. My PoA scarf looks horrid, probably because i washed it in the machine and wore it every day and the yarn was hand wash only, and the scarf really wasn't wide enough or long enough in the first place. My messenger bag never got truly finished, it turned out that i didn't purchase quite enough fabric, and the flap was too short, which didn't stop me from using the bag every day... and a seam needs to be repaired as a result, but i don't even know where i stashed the bag, it probably needs to be washed, too. i've never found a pattern that would work for the Fox beanie visor. The crocheted newsboy cap from Knit 1 has never looked right on me, and i'm not happy with the visor on it. My swimsuit/coverup project has been a complete fiasco. i haven't taken the time to sew all the projects i've cut out. My digital camera's screen is totally messed up now for no explicable reason. It's all very discouraging. i must get some more projects done but i'm not sure that i can take failure right now...

re: beanie visor

Would you believe that i still have not knit this project? This winter Wal-Mart had rip offs of the elusive Fox beanie visor but they looked poorly knit. i'm still searching for the zigzag knit stitch pattern that i know must be out there in order to allow me to recreate this pattern myself... So far my efforts have been unsuccessful.

beanie visor

The newest knitting project i'm going to take on is some beanie visors. I can't find patterns for them anywhere on the internet so i'm going to have to modify beanie patterns and add the visor. I'm going to knit one for Megan with celtic cables and i think mine is going to be double knit with a wing pattern. We're using craft foam for the visor that's probably about four millimeters thick. Both of these hats are meant to match our new snowboards and will be quick to knit up because we've purchased Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Claret for her and Sky Blue and Charcoal for me. I'm sure we'll have plenty left over for mittens or scarves, etc.

I plan to make more than one beanie visor this winter. My inspiration was a Fox beanie visor at PacSun but the whole collection is lovely but expensive. Our projects are quite a bit cheaper.