twinkle twinkle

up above the world so bright

After my breakthrough with Garilynn's Serengeti Sun pattern yesterday, I decided this morning to give her Star Light pattern a try. Shown here using scrap baby yarn on 2.75mm needles, the little star knits up to 3.25" across - very cute.

Like the Serengeti Sun, this little star is knit in one piece starting with the centre and then picking up stitches along the edges to make the points. And like the Serengeti Sun, the points are worked with an iCord edge incorporated on the right edge of each point. Once you reach the top tip you turn and work an applied iCord edge down the left edge of the point. As a result you have beautiful seamless iCord edges all the way around which finishes it very nicely!

Although the Star Light pattern was released after the Serengeti Sun pattern in my opinion the instructions are more clear and detailed. The designer spells out that increases are to be worked by knitting in the stitch  below and the stitch above, not by knitting in the front and back of a stitch as I had concluded yesterday. And she spells out how to do the applied iCord edge which would have saved me a YouTube tutorial or two. I've put a couple of notes on my project page in Ravelry which may be helpful to anyone planning to knit it. Now I'm trying to decide whether to add google-y eyes or not.

If you think you'd like to knit one, or knit the Serengeti Sun dishcloth pattern from the same designer then please leave a comment before the end of the weekend indicating which pattern you'd prefer and your Ravelry user name. I'll gift either pattern through Ravelry to the first twenty people who express interest before the end of the weekend.

finished object Friday

a sunny spot

I'll be the first to admit that my first attempt at this Serengeti Sun dishcloth is a bit wonky. But it's done - finally, after months and months on the needles - and I love it! And on a rainy fall day, it's the perfect pick-me-up, isn't it?

Progress on this dishcloth came screeching to a halt when I couldn't understand the instructions for the first point. I tried and tried and tried again. And ripped and ripped and ripped again. I even contacted the designer, who tried to help even though she is dealing with serious health issues and vision problems after a head injury earlier this year. As the only Raveler on record as having attempted this pattern I had nowhere else to turn, so I posted my plea for help in the patterns forum on Ravlery.

And no sooner had I clicked "post" when I realized my problem: I had to work the increases by knitting in the front and back of the next stitch. By using a M1 increase I was screwing up the stitch counts. DOH!

I'm definitely going to knit another - I'm confident that it'll turn out less wonky on my second time through the pattern. There a bunch of things I've learned:

• Work the increases by knitting in the front and back of the next stitch
• Where the first two stitches of a row are slipped, slip them purlwise with the yarn in front. Enlarge the above image and examine the right sides of the points - the bumps are from before I clued in. 
• When picking up stitches for the applied iCord, remember that the end stitches were K2togs - you only need to pick up one stitch not both. Picking up both is really, really hard; ask me how I know!
• For your first time through it might be wise to knit the small size with just a single strand of the yarn. Knitting two strands of cotton can be painful, especially after ripping back a bunch of times.

How about it? Want to knit one? If not a Sun, then what about this Star from the same designer which looks to be of similar construction? I'll gift the pattern to the first twenty people who leave a comment before the end of the weekend expressing their interest on this post. In your comment please indicate which pattern you'd prefer and provide your Ravelry user name.

Don't forget to check out all the good work at Tami's Amis! Happy Friday and spread the sunshine!

Purple-licious

Dalarna - lots of stockinette

Finished Dalarna socks! The knitting of them wasn't too exciting - blame the large swathes of stockinette - but the resulting socks are the comfiest ever, thanks in large part I'm sure to this oh so soft yarn. It certainly was a treat after my disappointments with that green yarn over the last couple of weeks. The yarn is mostly purple but there are light sky blues shot through - what a great colour combination!

comfiest ever yarn

I spent my knitting time yesterday working and ripping points for the Serengeti Sun dishcloth pattern. Lots of attempts, but no success. I've pm'd the designer on Ravelry in the hopes of some clarification. Failing that, anyone interested in trying out the pattern? I'd happily gift the pattern to you in exchange for sorting me out on this .... Pretty please?

Late last night I cast on my first Hiiumaa Mismatched Mates sock. After all the dishcloth and iCord frustration, I wanted something easy and satisfying. There's just so much to love about this pattern:

• watching self-patterning yarns express themselves
• working stripes in different colours
• stash-busting Kroy sock leftovers
• knocking off another item on my Year of Projects list
• adding to my pile of knits for the Warm Hands Network

Looks like these socks will be done in no time at all. And that's okay, because even as I knit these I'm looking at my stash and planning the next pair.

WIP Wednesday

let the sun shine in!

I started this Serengeti Sun dishcloth on January 16th and promptly got stuck when it came to working the points. It's the iCord edged points that attracted me to the pattern in the first place; I was curious to see how the construction would work. This poor project has been in time out for 9 months, but now it's time to bear down and get'er done.

Today I'm going to try, try and try again. No quitting! Maybe I'll see things more clearly now that I've been away from it for a while. Or maybe I can watch some iCord tutorials on YouTube to see what to do. And if all else fails, the designer is on Ravelry  - I'll pm her for clarification. One way or another, this dishcloth is happening today!

It's been a very productive last couple of weeks ... just three projects left on the needles right now and, with luck, just two by end of day. Just as well to get caught up; after all, I feel a sweater coming on. Take a few minutes and check out the other work in progress with Tami's Amis - there's some pretty spectacular work being done!

miserable

purple-licious

Don't mind me; it's this d@mn end of summer cold that's got me sniffling and wheezing, achy and cranky. Congestion and coughing kept me up half the night and leaving me just plain miserable :(

Today I'm going to take it easy, drink plenty of hot fluids and finish this heel - nothing too challenging. Comfort knitting, really. And I'm especially grateful today that I forked over the extra cash for the 3-ply extra soft tissues last week at the grocery store. Turns out, that's money well spent. I just have to remember to thread through a lifeline before I start the Neo Citran. That stuff knocks me senseless! If I'm not careful there might be lots of tinking and ripping tomorrow.

the hockey sweater

Oh Canada!

Last night I finished my little hockey sweater and was pretty happy with how it turned out. The details have been simplified but there's no mistaking what it is. And it fits! Perfectly!

Too bad it looks goofy. Really, put it on a bottle of hot sauce or any other bottle and it looks ridiculous. The sweater makes the bottle look like a headless hockey player - not at all the effect I was after. It's too big for Barbie and too small for a teddy bear. I guess I'll put this aside until inspiration strikes.

That's the way the cookie crumbles though; not every idea pans out. So it's back to my regularly scheduled knitting. Well, after I get the vegetables chopped and ready for Thanksgiving supper tonight. Gavin is making lemon dill oven-roasted chicken breasts and I'm making brown sugar glazed carrots and baby potatoes to accompany them.

Year of Projects - Dalarna Socks post 2

the leg of the second Dalarna sock

 
Knitting on the Road: Canada • Canal du Midi • Conwy • Dalarna • Denmark • Friday Harbor • Hiiumaa • Huron Mountain • New England • The Road to Oslo • Santa Fe • Spey Valley • Christmas in Tallinn • Traveler's Stockings • Uinta Cabin • Unst • Whitby

After a late night at the pub watching the Springboks fumble and falter in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, I'm taking it easy this morning. Sock knitting doesn't get much easier than this Dalarna sock, especially now that the decorative cuff is done and the shaping rows are complete. From here to the heel it's just stockinette with a small clock pattern across three stitches on each side of the leg. Easy peasy.

decorative chain stitch

About now I usually start looking at my sock yarn stash with a view to selecting the yarn for the next pattern. My original thought was to knit all the patterns in the book in order, but now I'm reconsidering. After all, the patterns are simply ordered alphabetically - there's no compelling logic for following that order. I'm rationalizing of course, because I want to skip ahead to Hiiumaa - a mismatched pair of striped socks. I see that pattern as the perfect opportunity to stash bust by striping my variegated sock yarn scraps into a solid coloured sock. It also looks like a good pattern choice for socks for the January donation campaign for the Warm Hands Network. My nieces and nephews all seem to prefer mismatched pairs over traditionally matched socks.

It's another beautiful day in what's turning out to be a spectacular Thanksgiving weekend. With my sister's family expected for supper on the holiday Monday (tomorrow) my job today is to get the chores done. Happy Thanksgiving and happy crafting!