One Sweater … Three Sleeves

Posted on September 30, 2016 by osethney

Yes, that is correct. I know I have only two arms, and yet, I knit three sleeves.

How crazy is that? Well………

I was in a rush, their was lots of company in the house, and perhaps I had a glass or two of wine. Let’s just say all of the above was going on.

I was in a rush, because the sweater I was knitting was a “summer” sweater and it is now FALL. I wanted it finished, off my list. I did not want to tuck it away until next summer. It was a simple enough pattern, Capri, something you can have a conversation with and knit. Maybe a glass of wine with and knit.

Let me clarify, the knitting was NOT the problem. The knitting was perfect on the first, second, and THIRD sleeve. The needles were the problem.

I had just finished the first sleeve and was going to start the cast-on of the second sleeve. I reached for my addi turbo click “interchangeable” needle case. Note the word interchangeable for future reference. Stopped to chat with company and then went back to the needle case. When I looked in the case my needles seemed to be mixed up. I had one size 4 and one size 6. I looked at my current needle set and saw that they had one size 4 and one size 6 attached to the same set. (You can see where I am going with this right?) Did I just knit the sleeve with the 4 and 6 needle at the same time. %#! I must have. Sooooooo, to save time I figured I would just do the same thing with the next sleeve.

I cast on with the Size 4 needle’s did the six rows of the small needle size, but when the pattern said to change to Size 6 needle’s. I only swapped out one. Now I am knitting one row small and one row large. I kept checking against the finished sleeve as I was moving along. They seemed the same. I thought they looked the same. Full speed ahead, I got this.

Two sleeves are now finshed. They look the same. I lay one ontop of the other. Yup same size. Time to soak all the pieces and block them to size. I lay out the front and back. They are perfect. I lay out the first sleeve, again perfect. I lay out the second sleeve %$#$%#$%#$% too small. Can I stretch it to size, maybe. Will anyone even notice? It doesn’t matter, I can’t stand it. Did I mention I am pretty much running on empty for remaining yarn.

OK, I give, I will knit one more sleeve. This time I start with Two size 4 needles and do the six rows. Then I change to TWO size 6 needles as per the pattern and finish the sleeve. I made it with 13 inches of yarn left over. Time to soak and block this sleeve. Amazing it is perfect!

And yes, I will rip apart the funky, crazy, stupid sleeve so I have yarn to sew the sweater together.

Lessons learned, oh yah! Will I do something stupid like this again? I still have 10 hours left in this day…….. let’s just see how much damage I can do.

Twilight Time

Posted on September 8, 2016 by osethney

In the Pacific Northwest we do all we can to extend our summers. We sit outside until late in the afternoon, place a fire in the fire pit, sip a bit of wine, and stay out even later.

As the summer progresses towards fall you begin to feel a chill in the air. As the day transitions to that special moment of twilight, I get cold. So I created a little wrap that would let me stay outside and sip my wine for just a little longer.

This is a simple oversized wrap. There is plenty of space to wear it over a shirt or another sweater. Or even tuck a wee one in with you on your lap. A perfect little something to keep you warm by the fire.

To view more information and to purchase click here.

Here are some of the knitting details:

Sizes S/M Bust 32 – 36 inches
(M/L) Bust 36 – 42 inches
This is oversized with lots of ease.

Materials
Yarn 8 (11) skeins Manos Del Uruguay Serena (60% Baby Alpaca, 40% Pima Cotton) 170 yards; 50 grams)

6 (8) skeins in Smoke (MC)1020 (1360)yds
1 skein in Hare (CC1) 170yds
1 (2) skeins in Natural (CC2) 170 (340)yds

Needles US 5 29 inch circular needle
US 5 16 in circular or DPN’s
Or size to obtain gauge

Notions Waste yarn to hold stitches, 5 markers, blunt darning needle to finish

Gauge 24 sts and 32 rows = 4” in Stockinette stitch on US 5 needle. Washed and blocked.

Baby, baby…….

Posted on June 5, 2016 by osethney

I have this rule. I believe it is my duty to knit something special for the new babies of my girlfriends that become grandmother’s. Especially those that do not knit. Yes, I know you are outraged, but I do have friends that do not knit.

I thought this would be simple, a cute little sweater here, a fun little hat there. And then ……they all decided to become granny’s. So the race was on to keep up with the demand. I know self inflicted troubles. But those of you that know me, know once I put a rule into place, I stay focused and carry on.

So with needle’s flying, I have been knitting little things. The good news …… they knit up really fast. The bad news …….. it creates havoc with my planned knitting schedule.

Anyway, it is time for me to share the cute finished baby items. For those of you not into the baby thing, I suggest you avert your eyes or just leave the page. For the rest of you, baby do I have some great ideas for you.

Let’s start with the sweaters. I stick to this one pattern Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater by Carole Barenys. It has not failed me. Below are some of the finished sweaters. The first one is knitted in Three Irish Girls Finley Fingering. The other two are in Socks that Rock. All you need is one skein.

Then there is the hats. I use several patterns depending if boy or girl and where they live. The first up is the Easy Roll Up Hat by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. They have this yarn called Adriafil Knitcol, it creates the cute pattern for you. You just knit.

For my tough boys, I use my pattern Like the Big Boys. My favorite yarn for this is Noro Kureyon.

And finally for a very special little girl, I knit a little Christmas Bonnet. The pattern is My Sweetest Friend by Surrehue. I really had to dig to find the yarn and it is from Herrschners, called Holiday Yarn.

Just in case, you are a sock lover. Here are baby socks! These are all one pattern, More Better Baby Socks by Ann Budd. The yarn is Quince & Co Finch, one skein of each color.

Phew………. Now will everyone just stop the baby’s for awhile. I have got some big girl knitting to do!

Block Party

Posted on November 12, 2015 by osethney

Color block is everywhere this year. On sweaters, dresses, ponchos, and even scarfs. Those of you that knit with me know that I have been on a bit of a color block journey this year. Yup knit a poncho and a summer top in color block. It got to the point that I would look at a pattern and say “I could do that in color block”. I have been inspired by so many colors that my head was spinning.

I really wanted a scarf for fall with all the colors of fall so “Block Party” was born.

It is a simple garter stitch that flows in two directions moving the color blocks from long to short.

The yarn is fingering which makes it light as a feather and the garter stitch makes it squishy. I made it super long, 88 inches. It can be double and triple wrapped and still not to be too thick around your neck.

It is perfect for using up some bits of sock yarn or for a special splurge of new yarn.

I used 5 skeins of Isager Alpaca Merino fingering (50% Alpaca 50% Merino Wool) 270 yards; 50 grams), 2 skeins Color A (36 – Farve), 1 skein Color B (30 – Black), 1 skein Color C (21 – Lingonberry), and 1 skein Color D (24 – Orange)

Here are a few inspiration mixes just for you ….and me as I don’t think I will be able to make just one.

All are in stock and can be purchased from Churchmouse Yarns & Teas.

For those of you that want to use up some of your stash bits, here are the actual amounts I used for each color. 360 yds Color A, 115 yds each Color B & C, and 140 yds Color D.

Go to Ravelry for more pattern details and to purchase. And don’t forget to post your finished photos. I want to see your Block Party.

Oh Squirrel!

Posted on September 10, 2015 by osethney

I had a plan. I was knitting to the plan. There is a new pattern to be finished. There are slippers for company that must be finished. And all the knitted Christmas gifts. Plus, I had planned to sneak in a couple of sweaters for me. Then this arrived.

My head was spinning. How cool is this yarn! It is a Miss Bab’s yarn called Pumpkin Apocalypse. How could you not want to do something with this yarn. But….. I had a plan and this wasn’t on the plan.

So after touching it for several days I thought I would wind it into a cake just to see what would happen with the colors.

O My! Even more beautiful! My heart was pounding. I must stay on plan I must stay on plan. Maybe I will look at a few patterns on Ravelry to see if something would be deserving of this yarn.

And magically the stars aligned and there it was, Reyna . A free pattern no less. I will add it to my library. I will print it out. OK maybe cast on and knit a few rows just to see what it looks like.

Then this happen

Yup, already named it “Trick or Treat”. It is beautiful, well worth throwing my plan off a little. I promised myself I will knit later into the night to get back on plan. No problem.

Wait a whole new series of patterns were just released on Ravelry……….. I feel a squirrel moment coming on. Somebody save me…….

My Nana’s Handkerchief

Posted on June 4, 2015 by osethney

I was cleaning out and organizing a few boxes the other day and found some of my Nana’s handkerchiefs. Yes, the real ones, the ones that had to be laundered. And if you were of a certain era, the first thing you learned to iron.

For me, the memories of so many things came to mind. The smell of my mother’s cologne on her hanky. It was Chanel No. 5. Then the famous nana spitting on the hanky to wipe your face so you were presentable for church.

With that said, I knew I wanted to do something special to remember those moments, and a sweater design was born. It is a simple top down, A-line that is light and airy. A slit instead of a pocket to hold that special hanky. The hanky is fixed to the slit so it will not be ruined. It can be removed or changed out if you have a few to show off. Or simply omitted if you do not want to use a hanky.

For me it is a precious memory that I can now carry with me and share my delightful moments with others. So pull out your Nana’s handkerchief, show it off a little, and share those special stories of laughter and joy ……..of times gone by.

Some details: It is intended to have a positive ease of 1 – 2 inches. Model is shown with a 1in positive ease. Actual chest sizes are 30 1/2 (33, 36, 38 1/2) inches.

Yarn is Berroco Weekend Aran 4 (4, 5, 6) skeins 205 yards each in Tea Rose.

Gauge is 16 sts and 20 rows over 4inches in Stockinette stitch on a US 10 1/2 needles

For more details and to purchase go to Ravelry.