Leaves are sneaky
Leaf patterns are sneaky. Usually (not always of course, knitting offers very few cases of always) leaf patterns have you closing off the last leaf at the same time you're starting up the next one. That means when you've knit one repeat, you have two half leaves...and absolutely zero whole leaves. It also means it looks like nothing much to write home about... It's not until you finish the second repeat of the stitch pattern that you actually have one whole leaf. And it's often not until you've done two or three more repeats that you can really start to [...]
Wovember
I have a talent for only hearing about these various hashtag festivities well after the fact, but I managed to catch the #wovember / #wearwoolforwovember business before the whole blasted month is over. So I'm totally using it as a little prompt to go digging in the woollies and wear something other than just what's still in my coat pocket as I go out and take a walk! So far so good. I mean I am fairly well stocked in the hat department. I don't think I quite have enough in the current bin to do a different one every [...]
Well heeled
So the heel flap is done (this one is taller than usual, a full 56 rows, because I wanted the slipper to come up a bit higher on my ankle). And the heel turn is done...and reminding me of nothing so much as a tiny pirate flag at the moment. But I'm sure that's just the yarn fumes talking! Next I pick up a bunch of stitches and start doing the fancy bit...and then at some point not too long from now, it will actually start looking like a slipper.
Avail (plus giveaway)
Do you ever get a mental block about something...you tell yourself it's going to be hard, or fiddly, or you're going to feel like an idiot while you try it? Well I had that mental block about short rows...but then I had a hat in my head that just flat out required short rows...and then I decided to get over it. Avail is the result! Now if you're where I was and thinking short rows are hard, here's the part where I say that they're not. All you do (for this hat at least) is stop knitting in the round [...]
Twisted
Let's talk about twisted rib. So start by taking a look at this side of the heel flap... And then take a look at the back side. Basically it's 1x1 ribbing, with the knits twisted on one side (there's a bit of slipping going on, but that's the general idea). Flip back and forth between the pictures and see how much of a difference it really does make. The one with the twisted rib is just So Much More Tidy. Now sometimes, I'll have you do both your knits and purls twisted (usually when it's a hat brim you might [...]
Slipper, reincarnated
So when last we left the slipper, he was languishing after a bit of a rip. I put him in time out to see if I was going to pick back up or try the same general idea with a different yarn. And somehow while he was in time out, this skein kept coming to the top of the stash. Funny how that happens sometimes. And then? Well then this happened and I think we're pretty much done for. The yarn is Opulence DK by String Theory in the color Tourmaline. And yes, yes it does change color from picture [...]
Block All The Things…yes even your swatches
Remember the gray speckled swatch on the needle from the other day? The one with the Daintree yarn from Skein? Well it came off the needles and looked fine...but like most knitting (all...not most...all), it was a bit rumpled and untidy. That's just the nature of knitting. It needed to be blocked. All I did was squeeze it under water a few times then lay it flat beside the sink to dry. No pins, no wires, no tension, no real effort. Just soak it and lay it flat to dry. And look what a difference that made. I hear from people [...]
Time out
No one likes yarn ramen. This is in contrast to real ramen, which everyone with good taste dearly loves and eats whenever possible, preferably with a soy egg. The slipper has been ripped way back and is in time out while I evaluate whether I want to fix it or ditch it (translation, cast it on with another yarn and see who wins my fickle affection). I'll report back as events unfold. After I make some soy eggs...
Vagaries (plus giveaway)
From time to time I have one of those days where I very much want to knit...maybe even need to knit...but I absolutely do not have the extra brain cycles to knit anything more complicated than plain stockinette in the round. On those days, a pattern like Vagaries can be just the thing. The vast majority of this really is just stockinette in the round. But somehow those adorable little welts and the contrast color stripes provide just enough distraction to keep it interesting. I'm pretty sure the secret is picking a yarn you really like (this is Kunlun by [...]
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