Month: January 2013

These mittens are quite deceptive although they are just one layer of worsted weight yarn, they are indeed quite toasty. My daughter loves them!

 

To make them super duper toasty I could have doubled the yarn or knitted a liner for these mitts, but it seems my daughter is plenty warm with these. Gauge was a big help, I used my Hiya Hiya size 3/3.25mm knitting needles which made for densely knitted wool fabric.

If you read my earlier post you know that I started knitting these mittens in yellow, but I’ve decided to use that yarn to knit a super squishy blanket.

 

I’m making this blanket with an incredibly soft and washable wool (merino) yarn and it will gradually transition into other colors. If you know how to knit (k) and Slip 1 (s1) you too can make this blanket.

I’m calling this blanket ‘Shades of Autumn‘ since it will gradually merge into other colors. I love Autumn for many reasons, but one thing I regularly look for are the rich and vivid colors that can be displayed on leaves, simply beautiful! My daughter and I collect those leaves.  I’m still hunting for the colors I want to include. If you look closely, you’ll see that I’ve finally got around to using my Hiya Hiya Steel Sharps (large) set. The needle name and size are printed on each needle/cable. The needles I’m using are US size 11/8mm.

 

But back to those knitted mittens…

The good news is, I’m almost finished the mittens. The only thing left to do is to finish knitting the thumb gussets and the knitting part will be over. Then I’ll add some embroidery to the top of the mittens. I really loved knitting these mittens two at a time.

And then there’s the bad news…

I really disliked the yarn I used… Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. While some people don’t have problems with it, it really rubbed my poor hands raw. I would have been finished these gloves on Saturday, but I have to take breaks before knitting with this yarn. So you could call these mittens a true labor of love. I hated working with the yarn, but kept with it since my daughter loves the color (she picked it out herself during Cyber Monday at Knit Picks) and now she finally has her very own knitted mittens.  She’s been asking me for a pair for a few months.

Once these gloves are complete I highly doubt I’ll be using this yarn again. It’s a shame really, It’s a lovely color and I have several skeins of Wool of the Andes left… most likely I’ll gift them to someone who will adore them. 😉

Bangles: Hazy Shade of Winter

Last week, I made this mock cable cowl for my daughter… the color matched my daughter’s knitted ‘Kitty Love’ hat, but that’s where the similarities ended.

 

The next morning, my daughter promptly wore this to school and proudly showed it to her friends. I purposely made it long, so she can fold it in half if she likes when the weather isn’t windy. Also if she leaves it up (as shown in the picture) it will protect her if she’s playing in the snow. Wishful thinking (I know) since this winter we’ve only received a dusting of snow.

Of course I’ve received ‘requests’ from her classmates (girls and boys.) I admit it feels great that she loves my creations so much that she likes to share what I’ve done with others and it’s nice that her classmates are equally impressed and want me to make things for them. And while I won’t fulfill some of their elaborate requests, I have no issue of eventually making smaller items for her entire class. I just need to decide what I’ll make. Last year I made her classmates crocheted bookworm bookmarks and they loved them! It took about six hours to make all of them and what I loved was that I received thank yous for making the items, and some of them still use them this year. There are plenty of readers in the third grade, and it seems there are a lot of readers in the fourth grade also.

But back to this project… Mock cables have intrigued me for a while. I do love seeing cables in knitted wear and enjoy knitting items with cables, and so I was curious to try my hand at ‘mock cables’.  I must say that I was very pleased with the results.

Because of the stitching and the fact that it’s wool, (merino if you really want to know) this cowl will keep her warm on the coldest days and it has the added benefit of staying securely around her neck… which is perfect for someone who spends most of their times outside running… yep she’s definitely my daughter. I tend to do the same thing.

Which reminds me, I’ll need to cast on one for myself and I’ll do it…. eventually. 😉

 

 

When I’ve had some down time, my Hiya Hiya 5″ Sharps Steel (small) Interchangeable set has been getting a serious workout.

Yesterday I casted on two mittens at a time..

 

I’m using my US size 3/3.25mm circular needles and Knit Picks Canary Swish – Dk weight superwash merino wool.

Knitting two at time, is one of the numerous benefits of using interchangeable needles. You can  make a variety of items two at a time such as; socks, mittens and some adventurous knitters even tackle knitting two sleeves at a time. Of course you have to have a circular cable that’s long  enough to accommodate your work.

 

I enjoy the process of knitting two things at a time, and last evening I had the perfect opportunity to knit while chatting with my daughter. The time flew by while we chatted about a variety of topics. Today, while looking at these mittens in progress, I’ve decided that I don’t like them too much. Although I love this color, I’ve decided that I don’t want it for these mittens, and I’ve also decided that I want use a fancier stitch.. So, say goodbye to these mittens since they’re about to be frogged (stitches ripped out.) I don’t mind frogging my work.

Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll have settled on an appropriate color. Because I’m making two at a times mittens, I don’t have to write down my design on paper, I’m doing a pair of mittens at a time, remember? So the ideas I have for the one mitten will immediately be transferred to the other. How awesome is that?

I’m sure some of you are tired of hearing me gush about my Hiya Hiya Sharps, but here is another place where Hiya Hiyas longer taper is extremely helpful. Because the longer taper on my Hiya Hiya Sharps (in comparison with my Knit Picks Options – nickel plate) picking up M1 (make 1)  stitch was a breeze. Sometimes the M1 stitch can get a bit tricky depending on the yarn and sometimes it can get a bit tighter on subsequent rows. I didn’t have an issue with my Hiya Hiyas. In the same scenario, I would have struggled a bit with my Knit Picks Options.

 

For those knitters who want to learn how to knit two things at a time, check out Liat’s video… although it’s for mittens it will give you the general idea of how the ‘magic’ happens. Watch and be impressed by its simplicity.

My Hiya Hiya Sharp 5″ Steel Interchangeable set (large) arrived yesterday but I didn’t know about it until a few moments ago, when I found the package in my mailbox.

Originally USPS (United States Postal Service) was to deliver it on 1/14 but yesterday morning the information was updated today,1/15, so I didn’t pay too much attention to my mailbox until this morning, around 4:00 a.m., when I logged onto JustYarns, and the tracking info said the package had been delivered yesterday! Say what? Well, My Bentley, our Shih Tzu, and I headed out to our mailbox and my package was all the way in the front of our mailbox. I say ‘all the way’ because we have a large mailbox, and it can be opened from the front or the back. Yesterday it was opened from the back, which is why the package was missed.

The packaging is really nice, but I’m learning to love that about Hiya Hiya needle sets. My first reaction when opening the lovely case is… these needles are huge! And well they should be since this is the large set. I mainly knit with small needles.

You receive six Hiya Hiya knitting needles with the large set…

• 9US/5.5mm
• 10US/6mm
• 10.5US/6.5mm
• 11US/8mm
• 13US/9mm
• 15US/10mm

You also receive four cables to make needles that are 18″, 26″, 34″ and 42. Rubber grips to secure the needles are also included and the needles arrive in a brocade case.

Currently my biggest dilemma is trying to decide which case to use for my Hiya Hiya needles. I purchased the Hiya Hiya 5″ Steel Interchangeable (small) set in December 2012, and those needles came in a red case. The case is made to hold the entire set (small and large.) Since I love red, I most likely will use that case for my needles, and the blue set will hold my ‘extra’ needles/cables.

One of the perks to using interchangeable knitting needles is that you don’t need to keep buying needles. After a while, that can get pricey.  If I’m going to be working on a few works in progress using the same needle size, I only have to remove the needle and secure my project with a Hiya Hiya Cable connector, pull out a new cable, attach to the needles and start my new project.