devoted to rationalizing my shameful yarn habit (and whatever else needs rationalizing)
The culling has begun. This is a new form of procrastination, brought on by bills. Hurrah! My list of destash stuff I’m selling. If I’m still procrastinating tomorrow (does the Pope wear a funny hat?) & I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll add more. I’ve got crap interior light, so photos are pointless at night.
Thumbnails:
This is a dandy project for using up all your leftovers and oddballs. It’s less a pattern and more a basic instruction.
Here’s a tip from paola to manage all the random little balls and prevent this. Pin a knee-high stocking or trouser sock to either edge of your work and stuff all the balls you’re not using in them. When you pick a new color, remove the ball from the sock, knit across, pick out your next color from that sock, stuff your old color inside, and continue.
What you’ll need:
400 – 500g misc. coordinating yarn, ranging from dk to bulky
Long #10US circular needles
First, pick out your yarn.
You might want to give yourself a couple of days with this step, to be sure you’re happy with your assortment. This was my initial grouping, but I took out several of the larger balls and scrounged up more odds and ends, saving those bigger balls for other projects.
First, pick a couple of full balls or dk or light worsted to use as your base yarn. You’ll want about 250-300 yards. Using the lighter yarn as your base will keep the gauge more consistent. This will be enough to carry throughout the shawl, tying all your odds and ends together. My base was 2 balls of Ultralight fuzzy alpaca that I’d hand-dyed a sloppy mix of reds and oranges.
Once you have your base, start snagging up other orphans and leftovers. As you toss balls into the pile, consider the overall look you want. Do you want a mad riot of color and texture? Anything goes. Do you want sharp, popping lines? Pick smooth yarns and solid colors. Prefer a more hazy, blended look? Focus on a color family and include variegated and fuzzy yarns in your mix. I used about half and half classic and fuzzy yarns. The fuzzy softend everything up, while the smoother yarns added a richness and texture.
If you’re not good at visualizing how yarns knit up together, CO 12 stitches with one of the bulky yarns and knit about 4″, alternating color, weight and texture every row, and repeating your base yarn every 5th or 6th row.
Once you’ve got all your yarn together, you’re ready to go.
Using bulky yarn, loosely CO 180 st. You’ll cast on and bind off with bulky yarn to give stability to the edges and keep your edging from puckering in. You’ll also want to knit a bulky row every 5 to 7 rows to keep the overall gauge even.
Then you just knit all rows, alternating between yarns. Vary weights and colors. If you find the color you want to use next is on the other side, every once in a while, you can go back to the side you just worked and knit in the same direction instead of turning your work.
To keep the edge tidy, you’ll slip the first stitch of every row with all of your yarns on that side held in front. Then you’ll move all of those yarns to the back as one strand, and continue knitting with whichever you’ve selected for the row. This keeps all the strands in a nice woven-in border along the edge, even if you just carry them for several inches.
When you near the end of a ball, you can either measure it (3.5x the total length will get you another row), or you can just knit to the end and join in a new random ball. This is very easy if you’re using animal fibers–just spit splice the new ball into the old one and continue. You needn’t choose a similar color, but a similar weight will make things easier on you.
Continue until you’ve knit 18 – 24″ or more, then BO loosely, again using a bulky yarn. Weave in ends. Block if you like (I didn’t bother)
If you want to get as close as possible to the original, here’s what to use (I’ve picked close cousins for the handdyed and handspun options):
Since I’m on a yarn diet, I think I’m going to start reporting on cheap sale yarn. On sale until next Wednesday:
Cranberry Lana Grossa Ultra (superbulky thick & thin) $2/ball
That’s the yarn used in this pattern.
Doubled, it would also work for this pattern..
They’ve also got Noro Silver Thaw on sale for $11/skein.
And Kool Wool is $1/ball at Smiley’s. (But it’s not really worthwhile unless you’re ordering a lot, because shipping’s $13. But then, they have a shitload of other bargains, so it should be simple to rationalize).
I’m also going cull my stash for stuff to sell, because I’ve just got too much to try to knit, even at the rate I’m going. But my friend Chris Black is in from out of town (yay!), so that boringness is for later! (If you’re in KC, he’s playing tonight at the Brick.)
I thought I’d post the schedule. I know it’s a ways away, but I’m so excited about it! I need to be careful not to get distracted. The anticipation has got me spinning again, whee!
Details/registration – Yarn School ’06 on flickr
| THURSDAY | |
| 4pm | FREE Shuttle pickup at Kansas City airport |
| 2-7pm | Check in |
| Check in, get your locker assignment, goodie bag, & undyed fiber | |
| 7pm | Hors d’oeuvres Supper and Cocktail Mixer |
| 8pm | Swap & Shop |
| Cull your stash before you leave home and bring your unwanted yarn or fiber to swap, sell, or just give away. We’ll have tables and signs for you to use, plus an assortment of dyed fiber, undyed fiber & yarm, and luxury fiber for sale | |
| FRIDAY | |
| 7-9am | Continental breakfast |
| 9am | Acid Dying 101 |
| 9-11 | Dye Lab |
| 12 noon | Leave for Alpacas in Wildcat Hollow for Lunch |
| Meet the critters in your goodie bag! Raw fiber and roving from the animals you meet will be available for sale | |
| 2-6pm | Dye Lab |
| Hands-on Mini Workshops | |
| Take as many or few as you wish | |
|
2pm
|
Making felt beads |
|
3pm
|
Carding Wool |
|
4pm
|
Spindling |
| 7pm | Dinner |
| After Dinner | Spin, knit, card fiber, or just relax |
| SATURDAY | |
| 7-9am | Continental breakfast |
| 9am | Fiber 101 + Spinning 101 |
| 10-noon | Spinning Lab |
| Hands-on Mini workshop (elective) | |
|
11am
|
Planning your Yarn |
| 1pm | Lunch |
| Weather permitting, we’ll dine alfresco, with a special visit from some Ewephoria Farm lambs and rabbits! | |
| 2-6pm | Spinning Lab |
| Hands-on Mini Workshops | |
| Take as many or few as you wish | |
|
2pm
|
Washing raw fleece |
|
3pm
|
Spinning from a bunny |
|
4pm
|
Plying Basics |
|
5pm
|
Navajo Ply |
| 7pm | Dinner |
| After Dinner | |
| Hands-on Mini workshop (elective) | |
| Knit or Crochet a Handspun Hat or Pot holder | |
| SATURDAY | |
| 7-9am | Continental breakfast |
| 9-noon | Spinning Lab |
| Hands-on Mini Workshops | |
| Take as many or few as you wish | |
|
9am
|
Kitchen Sink yarn |
|
10am
|
Specialty Plying with Thread |
|
11am
|
Packaging or displaying your yarn |
| 12 noon | FREE noon Shuttle to Kansas City Airport Lunch for late departures; box lunch for shuttle |
This S/M capelet knits up FA-AST on #35 needles and uses a mere 2 balls of Rowan Biggy Print, so you can make something besides a scarf, hurray!
Add an extra ball for a larger size or longer capelet.
And while regular-priced Biggy Print is by no means a bargain, yarn, you can get the closeout colors for $5.99 at Webs, so with a little contrast yarn from your stash, you’re fixed up for a mere $12. And if the colors don’t sing to you, you can always dye them: I overdyed an orange and gray print with turquoise acid dye. If you dye it, don’t be lazy with your rinsing like me, or you’ll get runoff on your trim color, like me.
Ooh! This would also be nice use of superbulky handspun, like my beautiful missing Hello Yarn (shut up! I can obsess over it as long as I please! In fact, my longing will probably make it reappear, so there).
For size S/M (L, XL) with a finished neck measurement of about 16 (20, 26)”
You’ll need:
US #35 needles
2 (3, 3) balls of Rowan Biggy Print (allegedly 100% merino wool–although it seems only medium-soft; 33 yards per 100g ball)
big yarn needle
optional, for trim and button (if you prefer, skip the trim & use a regular button):
J crochet hook
10 – 20g bulky yarn in a contrasting color
Gauge: 5 st = 4″ in stockinette st.
Instructions:
For smooth slipped-stitch edge:
All WS Rows after first row: Slip the first stitch, knit the second stitch, purl to 2 st from end, K those 2 st.
All RS Rows: Slip the first stitch, knit to end.
I spit-spliced my ends together, as the bulky yarn is an ass-pain to weave in.
CO 17 (21, 27) st.
NOTE: If you want a looser neckline, go up a size when you cast on, place markers ad dircted, and drop one of the increase rnds.
First Row (WS): Work 1 rnd in K1 P1 rib, placing markers as noted below.
On the first row, we’re going to work 1×1 rib while we place our markers for future increase. The row won’t draw in like ribbing. Instead, it will actually give a slightly bigger gauge (because it’s worked at the same needle size, but is inherently looser than stockinette) and will prevent curling.
3 (4, 5) st [for front half], PM, 3 (3, 4) st [for shoulder], PM, 5 (7, 9) st [for back], PM, 3 (3, 4) st [for shoulder], PM, 3 (4, 5) st [for front half]
Next Row (RS/increase): Maintaining slip-stitch edge, Increase before and after every marker by knitting into the front and back loops of the stitch (or a M1; yarnover eyelets are a little too much for a yarn this gauge).
Purl next row (WS), maintaining edge.
Increase as above each RS (knit) row 3 (4, 5) times more; purl the WS rows plain.
Work in stockinette, maintaining edge. When you’re running low on yarn, starting at the end, measure out 4 times the width of your bottom edge and tie a slipknot there. That length is what you’ll need to bind off, so only knit as many full rows as you can before that slipknot.
BO in K1 P1 rib (this keeps the edge straight and loose). Weave in ends.
Trim
With crochet hook and bulky stash yarn, single crochet (SC) along bottom edge of capelet. Because the irregular yarn makes for some stitches that are wider than others, I SC 2 into most of the bound-off stitches, and 3 into the the really large ones.
Button
Leaving a 6″ tail to sew on button, chain 3 with a double strand of your trim yarn. Join into a round and SC into each stitch 3 times, join rnd, and repeat. The result will be a little cup. Weave in that end (leave the beginning tail alone). Thread about a foot of leftover Biggy Print onto your yarn needle, then make a backstick along the outside of the cup (which will also fill in the cup).
If your trim yarn is feltable, you can felt the button if you wish before sewing it on. I’d recommend starting with a Ch 4 instead, and adding an extra rnd of sc, so you end up with a bigger cup, allowing for shrinkage.
Finishing
Look at your top edge. pick the side with the looser, more open first stitch and sew the button to the opposite side. To wear, just push button through that first open stitch. Block lightly.
If you’re looking for another use for 2 – 3 balls Biggy Print, French Girl has a darling little cropped sweater pattern.
Yay! You can register now for YARN SCHOOL, September 27-30, 2007.
OH! And Prom tickets are on sale, too!
I’m going nuts obsessing over an electric carder. I’ve got a $1500 gas bill from February’s storms, so no fucking way I can rationalize one, but gee whiz, I want one so bad. What can I sell?
Used 466g of random oddballs. About 26 x 70. I’m fairly happy with it, but I think I’d rather have it be longer and thinner, so I could toss it more dramatically around my shoulders. I can still make it look like it was tossed dramatically, but it requires a bit more engineering. But maybe less so when it’s not over a big bulky sweater.
Sorry about the retina-burning color. I’ll try for natural light later.
