Sunday, December 12, 2010

Well.

You guys remember that scarf I knitted for my sculpture project?

Probably not.

This one.


I posted pictures of the scarf as it was blocking and pictures of the finished sculpture on Ravelry.

Logged in tonight to find this comment from the lady who designed the pattern:

Ew…how fun to be a part of a sculpture! Pretty yarn!

Christine
My first reaction was "Okay.  Ow."

Then the logical, not-so-nice part of my brain kicked in.

She's American, so there's no language barrier.  Maybe by "ew" she meant "ooh"?

But she seems savvy enough (from what I saw in her blog) to know the difference.

No, mine isn't knit up as nicely as hers, but I was toting it around in my purse for three months and I'm still in my first year of knitting.

Maybe she doesn't realize that out of the hundreds of patterns for lace scarves I could have used for my sculpture, I picked hers.

I picked her design to present my love of knitting to the world.

Am I wrong in being slightly insulted?  Possibly more than slightly?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Another Completed Project

What looked like this at noon on Tuesday:


Now looks like this:




I'm very pleased with it.  We'll see what everyone else thinks on Tuesday.

The scarf is made from the "Hearts Entwined" pattern on Ravelry with sportweight acrylic yarn and US7 needles.

More pictures of the scarf:

Blocking on my bulletin board.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

This is the Pile of Current Projects

In the pile:
  • Kelsey’s wristwarmers
  • That bib that’s part of a pair I’ve been working on since… June?
  • Shawl for Mom (more extensive writeup with link to pattern upcoming)
  • Rainbow wristwarmers for Banana
  • Yarn for handwarmers for Leah
  • Mary’s armwarmers
  • The “sculpture scarf” and a plaster cat for said sculpture
  • Rose’s wristwarmers for Starra(another project requiring a writeup that I will hopefully get to today)
Thank goodness I BOUGHT Dad’s present.  At this rate my fingers will fall off before I finish this stuff.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

A Weasley Sweater is in My Future

Stumbled across this while browsing my one follower's followed blogs.

Knit a Harry Potter Sweater.

I'm thinking blue or green cotton.  Or teal.  I love teal.  I wonder if they make tweedy cotton?

Looks like another trip to my LYS is in store.

Right after I have some money.

Friday, November 19, 2010

TARDIS Wristwarmers

ETA regarding commissions at bottom.

Any self-respecting Doctor Who fan can tell you what a TARDIS is.  It's a blue box.  It's bigger on the inside.  It's Time And Relative Dimension In Space.  It's not just a time machine.  It's a spaceship, too.


Now you can be nerdy and keep your hands warm while doing so!  Isn't that brilliant?  Fantastic, even!

Adapted from a visual of someone else's TARDIS wristwarmers, I bring you my version.

Here's the Ravelry page if you want to queue it up.

The pattern:

Notes:
·         This pattern is written to be worked in the round at first, then flat.  You can, if you find it easier, work the whole thing flat; I just like doing the cuff in the round.
·         The chart is worked in a Fair Isle method rather than intarsia.  If you prefer, you can work the wristwarmers in blue all the way and then duplicate stitch the chart.

Materials:
·         100 yards worsted weight yarn in a blue of your choice.  The yarn I used is royal blue, more reminiscent of the Eleventh Doctor’s TARDIS.
·         25 yards worsted weight yarn, black
·         25 yards worsted weight yarn, white
·         40” size US #3/3.25mm circular needle
·         OR 1 set of DPNs size US #3/3.25mm
·         Stitch markers if you need them (I found they kind of got in the way/interfered with the Fair Isle)

Gauge:
5.5 sts/7 rows = 1” in stockinette stitch.  Make sure you do a gauge swatch!

Size:
Adjustable to the size/length of your palm.  I have the squarest hands in the universe so the mockup of this pattern is very short from wrist to knuckle.

To achieve the correct size, measure around your wrist, around your palm above your thumb, and from your wrist to the base of your middle finger.

The pattern is given for these measurements:
Wrist: 7.5in/19cm
Palm: 8.5in/21.5cm
Wrist to base of finger: 4in/10.16cm

If your palm is wider, you can add stitches onto either side of the chart.

If your palm is longer, you can add more rows of blue in between the cuff and windows, windows and “police box,” “police box” and ribbing, or add more rows of ribbing at the end.  It is entirely up to you!  OR, since the windows in the design are rather square, you can add two rows by lengthening the windows to achieve a more “authentic” look.

Abbreviations:
CO: cast on
k: knit
p: purl
sts: stitches
rnd: round
pm: place marker
MC: main color (blue)
C1: color one (white)
C2: color two (black)
BO: bind off

Instructions:

CO 48 sts, 12 sts on each needle.  Join in round, being careful not to twist sts.

Work in 2x2 rib for 14 rows.

Rnd 1-3: k even.

Begin working flat.

Row 4: p even.

Row 5: k even.

Row 6: p 7, pm, p 34, pm, p7

Rows 7-26: Work chart between the markers, using Fair Isle and stranding the yarn along the back.

Rows 27-28: work two rows even in blue

If you prefer a stockinette edge, continue in stockinette until the desired length is achieved, then BO, leaving a tail of at least twelve inches.

Otherwise, work 2x2 ribbing until desired length is achieved, then BO, leaving a tail of at least twelve inches.

Finishing:
Weave in all strands except the tail from the BO.  Use this tail to seam together the edges at the top, down to wherever is comfortable for your hand.  Weave in the end of that tail, and you’re finished!





Happy knitting!

ETA: Several people have inquired about commissioning a pair of these.  I am by no means saying I won't take commissions, but bear in mind that I am a college student and school is my number one priority.  If you don't mind waiting for these (especially as spring is approaching), feel free to drop me a line at katzpotter@hotmail.com and we can discuss this further. :-)

In short: I do commissions on a case-by-case basis depending on my current workload.