Anaxila / Knits

iPod Holder - done!

2007-06-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Title: iPod Holder
Pattern: No pattern. just 32st round in 2x2 rib until end, then kitchener shut
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton, about 1/3 ball
Notes: Really happy with this. The 2x2 rib hugs the iPod nicely.

Kevin's Socks - done!

2006-12-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Title: Kevin's Socks 2
Pattern: Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes", largest size
Yarn: Regia 4 Fach Haltbar (4 fadig), color 5156, 2 sk
Needles: US2 circs

Anna's Socks - done!

2006-11-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

Title: Anna's socks
Pattern: Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes", medium size
Yarn: Knit Picks Simple Stripes in color 23547, 75% superwash wool / 25% polyamide, 2sk
Needles: US2 circs
Notes: Finally used some of that Knit Picks yarn I bought ages ago. I'm not thrilled with the colors, but the yarn itself is nice.

Bettina's Socks - done!

2006-10-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Title: Bettina's Socks
Pattern: Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes", medium size
Yarn: Sport & Strumpf Wolle Marathon in color 14039, bought in Regensburg
Needles: US2, circs
Notes: Loved this wool. Good German wool for a good German woman.

Kevin's Tan Hat - done!

2006-09-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Title: Kevin's Tan Hat
Pattern: Nancy Lindberg's "Hats That Fit"
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Notes: Not a successful hat by any measure. Nice yarn, but dopey fit.

Leah's Disco Socks - done!

2006-09-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Title: Leah's Disco Socks
Pattern: Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes", medium size
Yarn: Schoeller & Stahl's Fortissima Colori Disco in color 9049, 2 sk
Needles: US2 circs
Notes: I'm really pleased with how these turned out, particularly being able to match such a long repeating pattern so that both socks were identical.

Kevin's Socks - done!

2006-01-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

Title: Kevin's Socks
Pattern: Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes", largest size
Yarn: Regia 4 Fach Haltbar (4 fadig), color 5386, 2 sk
Needles: US2, circs

Purple Wildfoote Socks - done!

2005-12-08T13:58:00.000-08:00

Title: Purple Wildfoote Socks
Pattern: Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes", largest size
Yarn: Brown Sheep Company, Wildfoote, 75% wool / 25% nylon, 2sk
Needles: US1 circs

Brown Trekking Socks - done!

2005-12-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Title: Brown Trekking Socks
Pattern: Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes", modified to 68st circumference
Yarn: Trekking XXL in color 90, 1 sk
Needles: US3, circs

red & black socks - done!

2005-11-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

This is my first time working with Schoeller & Stahl's Fortissima Socka yarn (this is color 280030-1023), and I am very pleased with the result. It's 75% superwash wool & 25% nylon, so it should stand up well to repeated wearings and washings. The yarn was really nice to work with - all my other sock projects faded into the background when I picked this one up, as it was such a joy to knit.
I know I should break out of my pattern rut, but I'm still so pleased with this one that I don't want to. Seriously, Cat Bordhi's "Simple Sock in Three Sizes" pattern from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles is pretty much all the sock pattern I ever need. Between this pattern and the boring stst socks I make up as I go along, I am pretty content. I think I'm going to experiment with toe-up patterns and with converting a DPN pattern to 2C myself, but that's all the wacky I get.

I've started making longer legs to my socks lately, but it's been so warm here that I haven't worn any of them yet. I guess I'll see whether that was a good idea once I get back to the colder part of the world.

The close-up shows the color mix of the yarn well. It's hard to see in the full-sock image, but there's a strand of red and a thin strand of white running through the whole skein, while the dominant color is clearly black. Something tells me I'll be getting a lot of use from this pair.

shepherd socks - done!

2005-10-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have finally completed this pair of socks that has been sitting half-finished in my basket since what feels like the beginning of time. As is so often the case, finishing them took all of an hour or two, which is all out of proportion to the time I spent procrastinating over them.

This is my first time using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, and I absolutely love it. I think this will be my new standard sock yarn. It's so soft! And machine washable! The colorway is the now-sadly-discontinued "Vera", which I'm just thankful I bought when I could. None of the other colorways did much for me initially, but I think I can work up some more enthusiasm now that I know what a pleasure it is to knit.

Vera in profile
These are my patternless make-it-up-as-I-go-along socks, which is always great for knitting while watching TV and other mindless pursuits. The afterthought heels always look a little funny in profile, but they fit really well.

Vera from above
I love this colorway! I am so sad it's gone!

Suzanne's mittens - done!

2005-10-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Suzanne's mittens are the last of my outstanding birthday requests. Her birthday is at the end of April, but I never got a chance to get them to her before I left for India. As with the last project, I have found someone to hand-carry it home to her, so at least it should make it to her well before the colder weather arrives.

She wanted something simple and straightforward, and I'd never done mittens before, so it was good for both of us. I think she might have wanted something a bit thicker than these turned out, which makes me a teeny bit worried that she'll be unhappy with the results. I would have used a double-strand or knit two layers into them if I was just a bit more confident in how to make a mitten. Hopefully, these will do nicely in the relatively mild Pacific Northwest winters.

I used one of my favorite yarns ever for this, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Suzanne's only color guidance was "red", so I went with color 610, which doesn't seem to be listed on Debbie's website anymore. The pattern comes from Ann Budd's absolutely fantastic The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns: Basic Designs in Multiple Sizes & Gauges, which I highly recommend to anyone anywhere.

Suzanne's mittens
I'm happy with the results. I wish they looked a little more handmade and a little less homemade, but for a first attempt they're remarkably mitten-like.

Sarah's poncho - done!

2005-09-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

I finally sent off Sarah's finished poncho, so I can show the pictures here. This was a birthday project, and Sarah's birthday is the end of March. So much for the two-week turnaround on birthday requests. Ah well. This one was interrupted by my departure for a lengthy overseas assignment, but I finally found someone to hand-carry it back to her, so I'm going with better-late-than-never.

Sarah picked Esther from Berroco 231. I may have steered her in this direction just a bit because I love Berroco yarns so much, adore ponchos, and wanted to try an open stitch pattern as I slowly work up my courage for lace knitting. Sarah chose color 1404 (the unappetizingly named "Carob") from the Denim Silk offerings, which I also enthusiastically endorsed.

finished poncho
The flat picture doesn't do justice to how great it looks on a body. It's got a great heft to it, but shouldn't be too warm because of the open pattern.

close-up of pattern stitch

ipod case: done!

2005-07-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

My iPod earphones have self-destructed after only two months, as a result of being constantly wrapped around the iPod unit and tossed into every bag and purse I've carried, therein getting jostled against a million other things and generally suffering terrible abuses. The obvious solution to this dilemma (aside from buying a new pair of headphones) is to knit an iPod case so future headphones don't suffer the same indignity.

I started it last night, I finished it today, I made it up as I went along. All told, it took me about 2 hours. Go me. Notice that the tie consists merely of three strands of yarn braided together, as I have still not learned to make an i-cord. Knitting an i-cord for the iPod would have amused my inner dork, but it was not to be.

case empty

case full

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, which was supposed to be used to knit mittens for a colleague, but I don't have the right needles to hand so the yarn got repurposed.

::is proud::

2005-04-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've done quite a lot of spiffing up of the knitblog today, and I'm quite proud of myself.

First, I cleaned out the left and right columns, dumping all of the bulleted lists into a references page. I also (finally!) set up a Completed Projects Gallery, and created a cool new section for the stash.

That's all well and good, but the *real* fun was installing and customizing the hell out of Indigirl's Knitting Progress Tracker. I don't know the first thing about javascript, but I was able to reason out what I needed to do over the course of the past few hours. And look! [::points excitedly at the right-hand column::] It's working! I also made a couple of new icons (ponchos, for example, needed their own image), which made me feel even cooler.

Thanks be to Indigirl writing this great script, for documenting it so well that even I could follow along, for sharing it with the community. You're a peach!

UFO day - 3 projects done

2005-03-13T12:11:00.000-08:00

I declared yesterday "UFO day", and managed to turn three lingering projects into FOs.

First, a purple heather sweater that I started for my friend Janet over two years ago. In the meantime, she moved cross country and we haven't spoken in approximately forever. The sad thing is, this has been finished-but-for-left-sleeve almost the entire time. For no reason. It took me about three hours, and that's including a couple of missteps.

I gotta admit, it turned out pretty dang nice. It's probably a touch too long, especially for Janet since she's about 5'0", but since it'll probably get to her I'll just have to keep an eye out for incredibly tall skinny people who like this color.

Next was a pair of socks that just needed heels. These have been lingering since November. I even have the perfect outfit to pair them with, so there's no reason for why they've been hanging around so long.

The afterthought heel is great, fits great, but looks stupid in pictures. Trust me when I tell you these are incredibly comfy.

This last FO isn't quite F. It needs to be felted, and I'll just throw it into the laundry today. I bought this Touch Me yarn in December when I was going to rip through some quick projects for my employees, but then I changed my mind halfway through knitting this one up, and so lost all sense of urgency to finish it.

I'm not a Blue Person - not at all - so I'm not sure what to do with this. It's too pretty to ignore, and too expensive to just randomly give away. Thus, it sat at the bottom of my knitting basket, done but for sewing in ends and felting - for the past 4 months.

eBay listings

2005-03-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to listing the stuff I decided to de-stash about a million years ago. Just listed on eBay:

Phildar 29" metal circulars - 13 sets - all sizes - $5
Patons Decor multicolor jewel tone - 4 skeins - $1
Lamb's Pride Superwash - Gospel Green - 15sk - $5
Cashwool lace yarn - 1 huge skein - gorgeous soft blue - $1
Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals - 2 sk English Garden - $1
Trekking XXL pastel multicolored Sock Yarn - 1 skein - $1

hot water bottle - done!

2005-03-10T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have finished the hot water bottle sleeve I said I'd make for an employee last January. The shaping is a bit different from the sleeve she brought me, but I made it to fit snugly and stretch around the bottle itself, so it may be okay. I guess we'll find out when she goes to use it for the first time. If it works, I'll post the specs.

I'm not very happy with how it looks in the pictures, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It looks much more primitive and rough in the images than it does in person. Sitting her in front of me, it's all soft and gooshy like only Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran can be.

best boss on the planet

2005-03-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

As those who know me would no doubt attest, I am quite possibly the best boss on the planet. Today's evidence of this is that I am giving each of my employees a custom made-to-order knit-on-request birthday gift this year. The actual birthday involves deciding what she wants, with final delivery just a few weeks later. In addition to giving a thoughtful gift, this has a lot of value to me because it can push me to try new things that I may not otherwise think to tackle.

So far in 2005, we've had two birthdays, and they were on the same day. One employee wanted a black version of my recent softy scarf, but twice as wide. Easy enough. I forgot to take a photo, but it turned out great and she reports it was quite warm when I shipped her out to North Dakota on business in February.

The second has proven to be a challenge, but a fun one. This employee wants a new cover for her hot water bottle. Doesn't care about yarn weight or fiber content or color, but wants a replacement for the cover that's falling apart. Hmmm... interesting!

I chose to make it out of a discontinued purple shade of Debbie Bliss Cashemerino Aran, because I had two balls lying around and guessed that's what it'd take. I forget how utterly delightful this yarn is to work with.

I started it yesterday, and so far have had two major frogging events. Perhaps if I checked my gauge more often or was a more skilled designer, that wouldn't have happened. But I didn't and I'm not, so it did. The first was because the top was too narrow and I did the increases in a funny way that looked fugly with the rib stitch. That time I ripped all the way back to the beginning and cast on again - about 6 inches. The photo below captures my second time. I was nearly done (just about to start decreasing for the bottom) when I noticed the thing was an inch wider than intended. It needs to be snug, so I ripped back to the second-to-last increase, or about 9 inches.

frogging frogging frogging
In the photo, my contribution is lying on top of the original tan flannel sleeve. As you can see from the image, mine is much narrower at the opening. I put a 2x2 rib at the top to make sure it grips the water bottle's narrower end once it's in place, but to still allow the bottle to comfortably pass through when needed.

I'll give a full schematic once the project is done. For now, I'm just really enjoying knitting the thing despite the frogging. That's just how great Cashmerino Aran really is. Plus, design is really fun. I had hoped to have it done and ready to deliver this morning, but I guess it'll just be a couple more days. Here's hoping the third time's the charm.

purple softy scarf - done!

2005-01-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

Title: Purple Softy Scarf
Pattern: None. Cast on 20, knit in garter 'til long enough
Yarn: 2 balls Berroco Softy in Purple Passion (#2943), Dyelot 398
Needles: US#10.5 INOX
Notes: Two balls makes a scarf just past hip length on me, unstretched. Softy is not a yarn you can knit without paying attention, but it makes an incredibly cushy finished product.

close-up for detail and color

long shot for length

knitters of the 60s, what were you thinking?

2005-01-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

K. always sends me the most fun links. This one came through a few weeks ago, and it still haunts me. Obviously, these are from the long-ago and nearly-forgotten days when knitted ski masks were *not* the exclusive province of kidnappers, rapists, and bank robbers. Even so, they are horrifying.

Only the brave should follow the link

new WIPs

2005-01-20T20:14:00.000-08:00

I've got lots of new stuff that I'm working on, but I haven't been blogging it for some reason. It's all been coming too fast, I guess, and I am burdened by the need to take photos of everything before I blog it. Anyway, all of these are new WIPs since the last post:

cooltone cotton socks: The gods smiled the day Elizabeth Zimmerman invented the afterthought heel, for it is of the good. You can sort of see the marker for it here - the row of dark orange between the two greens.
forest koigu socks: ... because I am Koigu's bitch.
wildfoote socks: My first dip into the Wildfoote pond. I'm not thrilled with my color options in this line, but like that they are cheap and pretty stretchy, both of which are appealing. I'm using US#1s, though, as well as a real pattern (as opposed to making it up as I go) so it's taking forever.
blue touch me scarf: All done but the felting. I bought this as an xmas gift for an employee, though, and never gave it to her. Not a fan of blue. Don't know what I'll end up doing with this, but the yarn's too expensive to just let it languish.
brown suede scarf: I almost regret buying my first ball of Suede, because I have totally become Berroco's Bitch now as well.
berroco softy scarf: See above. I have bought so much Berroco now, it's like I'm making up for a lifetime of oversight.

Yes, in addition to being in A Sock Place, I seem to have found myself back in A Scarf Place as well.

berroco suede scarf - done!

2004-12-15T22:48:00.001-08:00

Acorn Street finally broke down and started stocking Berroco Suede, which means I was finally able to touch and see the yarn in person after coveting it online since its debut. They also added more colors to the line, which proved my undoing. I couldn't live one more minute without materials for a long scarf in "Tonto".

It knit up like a dream. I used very small (12") Addi circs in size US9, and the thing was done in no time. And look how amazing it is!

Fringe is absolutely required.

I just want to gobble it up!

And look, it's my first modeling shot. Aren't I brave? ;)
I have already ordered materials for a second four-ball scarf just like this one, but in the "Wild Bill Hickcock" color, from an eBay seller. I never thought much of Berroco's yarns, but now I'm definitely seeing the error of my ways.

red baby sweater - done!

2004-12-14T22:47:00.000-08:00

I forgot that I even had a picture of this one. This is the final baby sweater in the initial batch of three Cascade Sierra top-down raglans (see the others).

I gave away all three of them on the same day... or at least, I tried to. It's hard to tell, of course, because the images give no context, but this one is significantly larger than the other two. The green and blue sweaters are 6-month size, while this one is 12-month. All are the baby top-down raglan pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple. I just love her patterns.

Anyway, the blue and red sweaters went to my boss at her baby shower; she's due in January. The green one tried to go to my friend R (in place of the disasterous Debbie Bliss Baby Kaftan I'd promised her), but the neck hole was too small to accommodate her daughter's gigantic head. I gave her the Cashmerino Aran feather and fan blanket so I felt okay about the imperfect fit. And I'll be whipping her up a new sweater for her daughter too, so all will be well.

The bossbaby offerings were a big hit at the shower. Everyone (non-knitters all) seemed to think I used some sort of magic to build them. "Like little baby J. Crew!" was my favorite comment. I remember when knitting seemed to complicated and mysterious.

Froggy McFroggerton!

2004-12-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

From now on, I want to be known as Froggy McFroggerton, the mad frogger of Frogtown! Tonight, I fully frogged five failed projects. Five! I have divested myself of:

Dusty pastel socks: I hate the feel of this "Trekking XXL" yarn with the fiery passion of a thousand suns, and hate the colors in WIP form even more. I am officially through with variegated yarns. Buh-bye!
Lacy prairie shawl: This one just didn't look right for all the reasons cited when I first blogged it, and I don't have enough of the yarn to finish it anyway. Gone!
Trinity stitch cardi: I hate the pattern stitch, and I'm so over Cascade 220 it isn't even funny. Later!
Black poncho: This one was never photographed, and that's a good thing. My first attempt at poncho design, and it was a big bust. I just did a quick yo, k2tog pattern, but it was u-g-l-y and picked up pet hair like you wouldn't believe. Ciao!
Tan cotton shawl: I didn't even get around to blogging about this one. I was really just testing out the pattern and checking the feel of this yarn, and got carried away. I was going to keep working it, but then I found out the yarn is a bitch to find more of, and don't have enough to do the whole thing. Later, alligator!