On the Needles: Jill

It's that time of the year... the air is cooler and I'm itching to start a lot of new projects. And you know how hard it is to limit yourself to just ONE project.

I'm really trying to be good about not having a million half-finished projects all over my house. But the other night my family room had about 8 or 9 vinyl project bags scattered about. In truth, some belonged to my kids (they have slacked off on their knitting since school has started. I'll cut them a break!)

I have a number of things on the needles right now. I recently finished the Little Boater Crew sweater (Thirteenth Little Sublime Hand Knit Book, knit in Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK), but it needs to be seamed! We're working on that today, so it should be hanging in the shop in the next day or so. 

Front of sweater

I started a Color Affection Shawl this summer. I loved these 3 bright colors of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine and thought it would be a simple knit. It is easy, that's for sure. But it's a little too boring for me... so I haven't made much progress. I have a trip coming up next month and will have some time to knit on the plane. Maybe it can be my project for that!?

Colors (l to r): Frove Mix, Grapefruit Mix, Orchid

I started a baby hat in June and really need to finish it! I must have misplaced it (I mean the yarn is SO tiny... it's My First Regia in 25 gram balls!) but now that I've found it I'm determined to finish it. Size 2 needles are a bit painful for my hands so I'll have to do it on a day when there's no gardening or interior painting on the schedule...

Pattern is in My First Regia Journal #005

This is what it will look like when it's finished: 

I started a sweater for myself two weeks ago with Berroco Remix, one of my all time favorite yarns. So far it's going really well, but I did set it aside when I found all of these other projects that are SO close to being finished. It's the Chic Knits Ariann Sweater. The feel of the Remix is just lovely!

And my Dreambird shawl is nearing completion! I think I have enough yarn left for one more feather, which will be a total of 14. It's going to block out nicely and I'm eager to see the finished result. The pattern was confusing, for sure! All of the moving of safety pins had me pulling out my hair, so I ended up making a spreadsheet in Excel that had row by row instructions. It was much easier to follow! But this was certainly NOT a project I could work on while watching tv. I pretty much needed to count each stitch. Oh well, it was still a fun project. 

Ella Rae Lace Merino and Noro Silk Garden Sock yarns

So that's 5 unfinished projects. Eeeeek! I better get a move on!

Spring is on the way!

contributed by Shawn

And we know what that means...Baby Showers!

I absolutely couldn't resist the My First Regia yarn when it arrived and before we even had the pattern booklet I took one of the little Easter Egg like skeins home. I made these teeny booties (Saartje's Bootees by Saartje de Bruijn):

They are so stinkin' cute that we've kept them on the counter for a couple of days just to watch the reactions of our customers. 

I'm thinking you can guess the reactions!

Angora Merino

Regia's Angora Merino is one of my favorite new yarns! I have just one word for it: SOFT. This yarn - a blend of superwash merino wool, polyamid and angora - is just unbelievably soft. And the color palette? Again, SOFT.

I loved the yarn when my sales rep first let me "pet" it, and I loved it even more when I saw it had its own dedicated pattern booklet for it (Regia Journal #004).

And the patterns are all great, not just one or two of them.

There are hats and scarves

and socks

and baby blankets

and baby booties!

There's a really beautiful shawl

that we made as a shop sample. Come on in to the shop and try it on!

We love experimenting with all the ways to wrap it.

I fell in love with this adorable baby set. I've started knitting the sweater and can't put it down. The pattern stitch is simple and so sweet!

Regia Garden Effects Sock Yarn has arrived!

Regia Sock yarns have always been popular with our customers. We just took delivery of a new one that we just LOVE:

Regia Garden Effects is now in stock in 5 beautiful shades. These 4 ply prints were designed by North American master colorist Kristin Nicholas. Inspired by her colorful flower gardens and the bucolic scenery of her New England farm, these shades will not only create spectacular socks, but wonderful shawls and scarves.

Left to right: Herb Green, Blue Thyme, Flower Garden Spring (Geranium not pictured, sorry!)

Not an Old Dog Yet!

Thanks to India for submitting this guest post!

It was inevitable that I would knit the Cloisonné Jacket in the Fall 2010 issue of Interweave Knits.

I liked it the first time I flipped through the magazine. When I looked at it again, I realized that the sweater combines two of my favorite techniques—lace and stranded colorwork; one of my favorite constructions—body knit in one piece; and one of my absolute favorite yarns—Berroco Ultra Alpaca. And so I did something I don’t usually do: rather than adding this project to my (very long) list of things I’d like to make someday, I immediately put aside all my other WIPs, trundled down to Kaleidoscope to buy the yarn, swatched, and cast on.

Color choice was a bit of a challenge. I didn’t want to use the colors shown in the magazine, but it took some doing to come up with a combination I liked. In the end, with Shawn’s help, I chose a deep avocado green solid for the lace portion, and a heathery maroon for the main color. These colors work well with many of the shirts or turtlenecks I will wear under the sweater, and of course with jeans, my usual pants of choice.

I am a yarn thrower from way back. Nevertheless, a number of years ago I taught myself to carry a color in each hand when working stranded colorwork, my left hand chugging along in a vaguely continental style but actually awkwardly throwing the yarn in a dim mirror image of my right hand. However, this time I wanted to do better. And so, in the interest of doing it “right,” (and blazing new neural pathways—good for the aging brain!), I practiced picking the yarn with my right-hand needle on the knit rows. However, the cardigan is worked flat, so half the colorwork rows are on the purl side! With much effort, and several viewings of instructional videos on YouTube, I eventually developed a more-than-passable continental purling motion.

Once the colorwork section was complete, I decided to further practice my new skills, and so I completed the plain stockinette sections, sleeves (including the lace cuffs!), collar, and facings working exclusively in the continental style.

I also made a Baby Surprise Jacket out of Regia Stretch Sock Yarn for my newest nephew and worked that project in the continental style as well. And though I can’t perform the motions by feel only, as I can when I throw the yarn right-handed, nevertheless I’ve gained speed, confidence, and dexterity, both knitting and purling. I’m pleased to be ambiknitsterous, though I expect it will be a while before I knit ribbing or fine lace using the continental style. But I’m proud of myself for learning a new skill.

And, I love my new cardigan*!

*Carefully verify the math when dividing for fronts and back and check against your stitches! I found a couple of mistakes in the directions here for size 42. There’s also a mistake in the sleeve section; see here for corrections.

Baby Sweater Parade

India was in the other day with some adorable baby sweaters she was finishing up. She said a number of her husband's co-workers were having babies, and that's where these cute sweaters were going! They weren't quite finished when she was here, so I asked her to take pictures for me at home when she finished them, so I could share on the blog.

Here they are... first up is the Baby Surprise Sweater, using Regia Landscape Sock. I love the colors on this one! The second sweater is Sirdar pattern #1802, and is very cute. It's knit in Debbie Bliss Rialto DK. You won't get bored with this one; there are three different stitch patterns throughout the sweater.

And finally my favorite kids pattern ever (Sirdar pattern #1864), also made up in Rialto DK (this is a great baby yarn, folks!) This pattern all the way up to a 6-7 year size...

That's three lucky babies!

A mistake... turned around!

We got several new colors of Malabrigo Chunky last week, and the Citrus really caught my eye! So when I left on Friday afternoon, I grabbed two skeins of it to whip up another Super Bulky Button Hat in this fun new colorway. (After all, there are several ceramic buttons that work perfectly with this color!)

This pattern is so simple. So how could I make a mistake? I'm blaming it on casting on late on Friday night, when I was really tired and should have been in bed, sleeping. Obviously I didn't count correctly... because the 54 stitches I was supposed to have, was really only 50. I realized my error when I got to the first decrease round. I couldn't figure out why the decreases weren't working, and so I counted my stitches about 5 times and realized I was off by 4.

At this point, I had two choices. I could frog the entire project and start over... or I could make it work. I decided to rip back about an inch and start my decreases there. This made it the perfect size for a child (probably ages 4-8.)

I had plenty of yarn leftover, and thought it would be nice to make a matching scarf. So on Saturday I scooted into the shop and picked up a skein of Regia Softy. Softy is a great sock yarn, and makes a wonderful pair of fuzzy socks, that are warm, soft and machine washable. It's also perfect for baby blankets, hats, sweaters and booties. The colors are bright and fun and I felt sure I could find one that would make a simple garter stitch scarf pop. Here it is! A cute hat and scarf set. Two skeins of Malabrigo Chunky and one skein of Regia Softy, in a totally simple, randomly striped, garter stitch scarf. My girls both gave it a thumbs up.

Free pattern for the hat is here, and for the scarf is here.

I need a decoy project!

So I'm almost finished the first pair of Regia socks. These are the ones for Sophie... that Helen has seen, and tried on (they fit perfectly!) and thinks are samples for the shop. They've been going pretty smoothly, until I walked in on Lucy chewing the yarn the other day. My bad - I left my project out on the coffee table, and a long strand of the Regia Softy was hanging down in front of Lucy's favorite sleeping spot. Not like it was moving around or anything, it was just hanging, very still, minding its own business. But any yarn is tempting to a cat, and a bright cherry color and a fuzzy texture were apparently JUST too difficult for Lucy to resist.

I thought I caught her soon enough, but later when I was knitting, I came to a break in the yarn. I realized she had chewed through it. Oh well, I thought, not a big deal. Then before bed last night, I found a 6 inch piece of fuzzy, cherry colored yarn in her regurgitated food in the basement. Better out than in, I say. That could have been a big vet bill. Old habits die hard for this feline. It was just two years ago that she ate my Koigu. Some cats never learn - remember this? Perhaps I need to be more attentive to where I leave my yarn. After all, I am the human, and am more capable of doing the right thing.


But they seem to be so well behaved, don't they?

Anyway, I can't really pull out a ball of blue Regia Softy and start knitting on Helen's sock now... can I? I have tricked her to this point, but if she even sees me knitting with the blue stuff, she'll know for sure what I'm up to. And it's hard to surprise kids with Christmas these days... so I'm in major need of a decoy project.



So, I'm trying to come up with one. But with the holidays so close, I have to do some gift knitting. Marc could use a new hat, and for that matter, so could each of the girls. Marc will never notice what I'm knitting, but he is pretty particular in his hats... he wants stripes, ribs, dk weight, and not too long - more of a beanie style. He's very picky with things that itch. He's wearing something similar to Pure Merino DK right now. If I were to make him another one, that's what I'd use, but the colors may not work for him. Hmmmm.

The girls are all about a soft and warm hat. They are currently wearing this cute hat that's knit with Baby Ull and Velvet Touch. It's getting a little small for them, and the colors might not be "mature" enough for them. Maybe a fun hat knit with Minnow Merino! I was even thinking Dream in Color Classy might be just right for them.

But if I'm gift knitting, it doesn't really work as a decoy, does it? It needs to be something that they will have no interest in... Maybe I'll have to just have some swatches on hand for every time they walk in the room...

Sneaky Santa knitting

I've decided to make some socks for Helen and Sophie for Christmas. It's hard to sneak in the knitting, though, since they are pretty much always around me. Sure, I can knit when they're in bed, but I take advantage of every spare moment to knit just a few stitches. If we're going anywhere in the car as a family, Marc drives, and I knit - so they see what I'm doing. If I finish eating my dinner before they do I will pull out my knitting and knit a row or two while they finish.

Because THEY knit, they are always taking note of what I'm making. Marc could care less. I could knit him an entire sweater in front of him, wrap it up, give it to him as a gift and he would be completely surprised, because he never really takes note of it. Not so with Helen and Sophie.

So I decided to make the girls some socks out of the Regia Softy sock yarn. One night after they had been in bed awhile, I pulled out the new Figheadh Yarnworks Fundamentals Top-Down Socks pattern, and cast on. I worked about 3 inches of the cuff, and before I went to bed I pulled one of their socks out of the clean laundry basket and compared it. The cuff of my sock seemed a bit snug. I had followed the directions for a fine yarn (6-7 sts to the inch) and I am using Regia Softy on a size 3 US needle. When checking my gauge, I realized that I should be following the directions for the super fine yarn (7-8 sts to the inch.) Drat!

The next day, before I ripped it out, Helen walked into the room just as I was about to start knitting. She saw my project before I could hide it, and she said, "OH MOM! What IS that? Is it a mitten or a sock! Oh it's SO soft, I just LOVE it. Could you make one for me!?!?!" So I said, "Oh honey, I'm SO sorry, but this is a sample for the shop. It's a child's sock and it's REALLY hard to make. I am SO busy between now and Christmas that there's no way I'll have time to make you a pair. Maybe after the holidays?" She frowned and said "Okay" in this poor little dissapointed voice. So then I said, "Can you help me out by trying this on? I think it's smaller than what I am trying to make." She was thrilled to help, and stuck her foot in the cuff of the sock. I was right. It was too small.

So I ripped it out, and added stitches and now it's on track. I succeeded in tricking her... for now anyway. What's going to happen when she sees me knitting the same thing, in a different color? Hopefully she doesn't put it together.

Anyway, I love the new Figheadh sock pattern. It is so versatile - it gives you 4 weights of yarn (superfine/7-8sts; fine/6-7; dk/5-6; worsted/4-5) and TEN foot sizes (baby; child 1-2; child 3-4; child 6-8; child 10-12; adult xs; adult sm; adult md; adult lg; adult xl). Because the Regia Softy is fuzzy, I am not working the stitch pattern that they call for. Instead, I am using the stitch counts and measurements, but am working a 1x1 rib on the cuff and on the top of the foot. Remember folks, a pattern is just a guideline. Feel free to add a little bit of your own know-how to it.

Check out all the other great new Figheadh Fundamentals patterns: the Baby Pullover; the Child's Pullover; the Men's Pullover; the Women's Pullover; and the Toe-Up Socks.

Both socks done!

They're finished, and I love them. I know my mom will too. I tried them on, and then gave them a nice bath in Eucalan Woolwash, and they're drying now. Hopefully they'll fit my mom when she's home and the swelling is down a bit. (But she's doing great! Up and walking around well on two new knees.)

This pattern is fun and worth a try if you're into different sock consruction.

Now on to Christmas presents. I have always loved Regia Softy sock yarn. People don't even realize that it's sock yarn, because it's so fuzzy. But it is! And it's exactly what Helen and Sophie would go for. They would NOT wear regular handknit socks, but this fuzzy, cozy stuff!? Right up their alley.

So I'm trying a new sock pattern (that is SO great - and will be online tomorrow) and I'm starting some holiday gift knitting. Will I finish these? They're small, so hopefully!

At least I have a knitting companion...

Regia Softy - not just for socks

We are buried in new yarns here. This is the time of year when we get all of the new yarns from our vendors, as well as new colors of existing yarns. In fact, UPS just brought us 10 boxes today. It's so hard because obviously, we want to knit with all of the new yarns, and it can be really difficult to stay focused when they are all so tantalizing! I am really trying to finish up some projects, but of course that didn't stop me from starting a few new ones over the weekend.

For one project, I used Softy - a new sportweight sock yarn from Regia. This yarn is perfect for a nice pair of squishy socks - socks that would be worn at night or on the weekends... lounge-around socks. I also see this yarn in scarves, hats and wristers... and since I wanted immediate gratification (and because my hands are always freezing) I whipped up a pair of wristers this past Sunday.
Softy is a blend of superwash wool and nylon. I used size 4 knitting needles and worked a 2x2 rib. I knit them flat, and then seamed them up to fit. The yarn was soft and the knitting was speedy on my Addi Turbos. I wore the wristers yesterday - and they were so soft, warm and cushy. Loved them! And this yarn is not just limited to accessories and socks. It's perfect for baby sweaters and blankets!