http://knit.sunidesus.net/ en Copyright 2011 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:12:18 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss This started out as a desire to give some knitterly presents to the w00tstock guys. My original idea was something smaller (like hats) but once I figured out what I wanted to do for the pattern I knew that wouldn't work. They will be (or have been, depending on when this is read) delivered at the San Diego w00tstock on July 21. So... the pattern. The large chunk of colorwork is the lyrics to the song "The Captain's Wife's Lament" by Paul and Storm converted into binary. If you've ever been to a w00tstock you know why. The 0s are color, the 1s are black. There's a little two row stripe near the top and bottom that says "w00tstock 3.0", also in binary. The code starts at the top and goes around and around and around. Because it's a bit hard to tell which end is up the next photo is a close up of the front/top. The following photo is a close up of the back/top. My gauge swatch was a lying liar (shocking I know) so these ended up a little bit longer and skinnier than I thought they would. However, considering the song... it's actually kind of appropriate that they're a bit long. If I ever do this pattern again I'd go up one needle size for the colorwork section. I'd probably also adjust the meat of the colorwork so that each row would be 8 "characters" long instead of 7. That would make each row 64 stitches instead of 56 and would solve the "slightly too long and skinny" problem. To be clear, I'm very happy with how they turned out, there are just a couple things I would adjust slightly. Each scarf took about two weeks to make and used 4 and a third skeins of the black. Each scarf used either exactly one skein of the color or just a teensy bit more than one skein. For some reason the North Woods scarves used exactly one skein (with maybe a yard or two leftover), but the Midwinter skeins ran out with about 5 rows left and needed just a little bit of a second skein. The Stats... Needles: 6's (4mm) Yarn: KP Wool of the Andes - Coal & KP Chroma - Midwinter (purple/grey) & North Woods (orange/green) Pattern: my own Sizing: 7'11" long, 4.5-5" wide SPI: black - 5 spi, color - 5.5 spi Started: 4-17-11 Finished: 7-5-11 Extra info because these are presents... The black is 100% Peruvian Highland Wool; the color is 70% Wool 30% Nylon. If it needs washing it'll have to be hand washed gently and then laid flat to dry. It will felt if it's put in a washing machine. Edited 7-24-11 to add: The scarves were delivered very late Thursday night (or very early Friday morning depending on how you look at it) at w00tstock 3.0 and were very well received. Which made me very happy! There's nothing quite like having one's knitterly presents be appreciated. Left to right (not counting the photobombers in the back...) that's Storm, Liz, Paul, me, Adam, & Wil. ]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2011/07/captains_binary.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2011/07/captains_binary.html Knitting Scarves Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:12:18 -0500 These are my dad's Christmas present socks. He is incredibly difficult to shop for so I ended up swiping some sock yarn from my mom's stash (with permission, and it has since been replaced) and making him socks. He liked the other pair I made him quite a bit so I figured it'd be a safe present. They're my basic generic sock pattern with a cable whacked on the front. I'll have to check my stitch dictionaries later to figure out exactly where the cable came from, but my notes say it was called "rhombus". Because I don't like purling I did it over a stockinette background instead of purling. I've done that before and I really like the way it looks. It ends up having a more subtle look than is normal for a cable. The Stats... Needles: 0's (2mm) Yarn: Stroll - Basalt Heather (from Mom's stash) Pattern: my generic with Rhombus cable up front Sizing: 14 to 32, 6.5" to gusset start SPI: forgot to check (probably 8) Started: 12-21-10 Finished: 12-24-10]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2010/12/dads_christmas_socks.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2010/12/dads_christmas_socks.html Knitting Socks Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:29:40 -0500 These are my brother's Christmas present socks. They had a couple techniques I'd never tried before (stranded colorwork & mosaic patterns) and I'm very happy with how they turned out. And it's always nice to try out a new technique and be successful at it! The pattern is Maze from Sensational Knitted Socks, but I modified it to be toe up. I did m1 increases on the gusset instead of the kfb increases that I usually use. That way I could start each new stripe with the correct color a bit more easily. I did unfortunately have a couple false starts. I had originally intended to use orange for the color, but once I was halfway up the foot I realized it was looking like Halloween. Which really wasn't what I wanted. The next attempt used the green and the orange, but that was too busy. When I finally tried the black and green combo it all worked much better! My one snag was when my brother tried them on. They were too long. I ended up unpicking the cast on at the toes, ripping out about half an inch, and then kitchenering the toes back together. It worked, but they aren't the best looking toes ever. I also didn't anticipate quite how much the pattern would affect the horizontal stretch of the socks. They're a bit tighter than I intended and don't slip on quite as easily as I'd like. Once they're on they're fine though. I am blessed with family and friends that appreciate knit gifts. The couple weeks before Christmas my brother was pestering me to know when it would be his turn to get socks, and then was very happy when he opened the box on Christmas! The Stats... Needles: 0's (2mm) Yarn: KP Stroll (Forest Tonal & black) Pattern: Maze from Sensational Socks (modded to toe up - m1's on gusset) Sizing: 17 to 35, 7.5" to gusset start (should have done 7") SPI: forgot to get this Started: 12-13-10 Finished: 12-20-10]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2010/12/amazing.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2010/12/amazing.html Knitting Socks Mon, 20 Dec 2010 23:50:22 -0500 This shawl was created because I needed something to fill the role of a light spring/fall jacket. Plus, I really like cables and the shape I chose for this let me use all kinds of 'em! I started working on the design before I chose the yarn. My original intention was to use something in a sport weight, and I designed it with that gauge in mind. But when it came time to buy yarn I ended up falling in love with a fingering weight yarn which turned out to be a light fingering when it arrived. So a number of rows had to be added to the bottom to make it as long as I wanted. The sides easily cover my wrists, and the two front points hang down almost to my knees. It's supposed to replace a jacket so I wanted it to be large. That also means that it is a LOT of fabric with skinny yarn on tiny needles. It was quite a bit of work. However, it is wonderful and I love it. It's warm and cozy and does exactly what I wanted. I worked on this for multiple hours a day for three months. I ended up calling it my "Shawl of Insanity" when I was talking to people about it simply because it was such a huge project. I do fully intend to make the pattern available. It's just taking me longer than I thought it would to get it written up. The "make it understandable by people that aren't me" part of pattern writing is something that takes quite a bit of time. I am getting close to finished with it, it's just slow going. The Stats... Needles: 2's (2.75mm) Yarn: Lisa Souza Fingering - Elektra Pattern: my own (designed the three weeks before start date) Sizing: SPI: Started: 1-5-10 Finished: 4-6-10]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2010/04/diamond_shawl.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2010/04/diamond_shawl.html Shawls Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:55:02 -0500 I got excited and made something! Or more accurately, I got excited and finished something. It's my very first pattern! I made a similar shawl about three years ago and decided to make another one. But this time I kept track of what I did so I could write it up in a way people that aren't me can understand (hopefully). This is a top-down Faroese shawl with lots of cables. It is a chart only pattern because written cable instructions confuse me so trying to write one that way just seemed like a really bad idea. The pattern is available two different ways... Zip file here which has the pattern itself along with three very large jpgs which are the charts. PDF file here which has the whole thing as one file. As mentioned, this is my first pattern so if anything is screwy or if you have any helpful hints please let me know. (Sunidesus (at) gmail (dot) com) The Stats... Needles: 8's (5mm) Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca - colorway #6236 - 8 skeins Pattern: Glimfeather Sizing: approx 28" by 102" SPI: 4 Started: 02-07-2009 Finished: 11-30-2009]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2009/12/cabled_shawl_the_second.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2009/12/cabled_shawl_the_second.html Knitting Patterns Shawls Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:49:51 -0500 New KnitPicks yarn... I like it. It's very soft and makes a nice thin fabric. The Stats... Needles: 0's (2mm) Yarn: KnitPicks Felici - Martinique Pattern: generic Sizing: 14 up to 30 SPI: Started: 12-24-2008 Finished: 1-19-2009]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2009/01/felici_socks.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2009/01/felici_socks.html Knitting Socks Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:15:35 -0500 I know I've said it before, but I love this yarn. It takes up dye so wonderfully and they are super comfortable to wear. I know this particular colorway was an early dying experiment, but I don't remember when I did it exactly. It's been sitting in the sock yarn bin for quite a while and I finally got around to knitting it up. I am certainly a sucker for the blues and purples! The Stats... Needles: 0's (2mm) Yarn: Peruvian Wool, dyed by me Pattern: generic Sizing: 14 up to 30, 5" to heel SPI: 8 Started: 12-11-2008 Finished: 12-24-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/blurple_socks.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/blurple_socks.html Knitting Socks Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:31:01 -0500 These were a Christmas present for my friend Elysia. They're just my regular old generic pattern, but a little bit longer than for me since everyone else has bigger feet than I do! The Stats... Needles: 0's (2mm) Yarn: Lorna's Laces - 34 Tahoe Pattern: generic Sizing: 14 up to 30, 6.5" to heel SPI: 8 Started: 12-6-2008 Finished: 12-23-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/elysia_socks.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/elysia_socks.html Knitting Socks Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:31:58 -0500 magic cast-on except instead of a slip knot for the very first stitch I just kind of loop the yarn around the needle. The non-slip knot version can be found here. I've ended up thinking of my socks as "14 up to 30" or "16 up to 32" instead of thinking of the total number of stitches in a round. The number I cast-on and the number to which I increase does change depending on the yarn and the intended feet. After I've increased as far as I want it's stockinette until it's time to start increasing for the heel. I use the heel from the Widdershins pattern (never actually knit those socks, just tried out the heel part and liked it). I have a much easier time preventing weird holes with that heel than I have with other heels I've tried. And I like the way a heel flap heel fits. The increase rows start 3 inches before the length of the foot, so for me I start increasing once I've hit 5 inches (since my feet are 8 inches long). It's an increase of two stitches every other row for 20 rows. So once I can count 10 increases up one side it's time for the short rows. I figured out the math of the short rows so I can work it over any number of stitches, like so: 1) k until 16 before end, m1k, k1, w&t 2) p until 16 before end, m1p, p1, w&t 3) k until 4 before the wrapped stitch, m1k, k1, w&t 4) p until 4 before the wrapped stitch, m1p, p1, w&t 5) k until 4 before the wrapped stitch, m1k, k1, w&t 6) p until 4 before the wrapped stitch, m1p, p1, w&t 7) k until 4 before the wrapped stitch, m1k, k1, w&t 8) p until 4 before the wrapped stitch, m1p, p1, w&t After that it's the same as the pattern on Knitty. One round knitting all those wrapped stitches back in, then decreasing back to the starting number. Then it's stockinette on the leg for as long as I feel like it. I like the way twisted rib looks so I do 10 rows of 1x1 twisted rib at the top to keep things from curling on me. And I finish the whole thing off with a double crochet bind-off. So that's my generic sock pattern! ]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/my_generic_sock_pattern.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/my_generic_sock_pattern.html Knitting Socks Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:05:49 -0500 Instead of two solids I used a solid and a variegated on this one. It did take a while to find a combination that worked well. All the colors in the variegated one had to contrast a decent amount with the solid or else it just got all muddy and seemed pointless to use two colors. I did try two variegated at one point and that just really didn't work. The Stats... Needles: 7's (4.5mm) Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream - Softly Taupe (0.9 oz) and Peaches and Cream - Winterberry (0.7 oz) Pattern: Three-and-One Pattern (Barbara Walker v. 1 pg. 94) - changed color every two rows, co 43 Sizing: 9.25" by 8.25" SPI: 4.5 Started: 12-10-2008 Finished: 12-11-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/more_changing_color_slip_stitc.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/more_changing_color_slip_stitc.html Knitting Washcloths Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:29:16 -0500 This particular stitch makes a really different fabric than most of the other washcloths I've done. It's a much flatter and tighter thing, kind of stiffer. I might do another one with this stitch for myself, I'm curious as to how the different texture affects it's scrubbiness. The Stats... Needles: 6's (4mm) Yarn: Peaches & Creme - 165 Daisy Ombre (1.2 oz) Pattern: Vogue Stitchionary v.1 #220 linen stitch, co 38, doesn't need selvage stitches Sizing: 9" by 8.5" SPI: 4.25 Started: 12-7-2008 Finished: 12-09-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/linen_stitch_washcloth.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/linen_stitch_washcloth.html Knitting Washcloths Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:00:39 -0500
The Stats... Needles: 7's (4.5mm) Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream - 02235 Country Side Ombre (1.6 oz) Pattern: "tiny bamboo" stitch (#224 in Vogue Stitchionary v.1), co 44, 1 stitch of garter on either side Sizing: 9.75" by 9.5" SPI: 4.5 Started: 12-5-2008 Finished: 12-7-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/bamboo_stitch_the_second.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/bamboo_stitch_the_second.html Knitting Washcloths Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:09:53 -0500 Socks. Yes, I'm very exciting. I really like the yarn, it has a constant black ply throughout and then colors changing on the other ply. I really like the way that particular combination works. It makes the color changing just a bit more subtle, not that I don't love stripes, just that sometimes a person wants something not quite so bold. The Stats... Needles: 0's (2mm) Yarn: OnLine color #842 Pattern: my generic Sizing: 14/needle up to 30 SPI: 7 Started: 10-27-2008 Finished: 12-06-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/online_socks.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/online_socks.html Knitting Socks Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:46:23 -0500 Once again, I went down a needle size from my normal for this one. And I'd like to say that I planned out how the seed stitch along the edges would work with the pattern, but that was just a really happy accident. The seed stitch just matched exactly perfectly with the main pattern so the diamonds blend right into the edging. Yay for accidentally picking the right stitch count! The Stats... Needles: 6's (4mm) Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream - Softly Taupe (used 1.6 oz) Pattern: Embossed Diamonds - pg 27 of Harmony Guide 450 Knitting Stitches, co 39, 4 rows of seed at top and bottom, 3 stitches of seed on either side Sizing: 10" by 9.75" SPI: 4 Started: 11-30-2008 Finished: 12-5-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/embossed_diamonds_washcloth.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/12/embossed_diamonds_washcloth.html Knitting Washcloths Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:49:23 -0500 Slip stitch patterns just work so very well with alternating colors! It amazes me how different the stitch can look depending on how the colors change (or don't change.) The Stats... Needles: 7's (4.5mm) Yarn: Peaches & Creme - Light Blue (0.9 oz) and Sugar 'n Cream - Softly Taupe (0.8 oz) Pattern: Three-and-One Pattern (Barbara Walker v. 1 pg. 94) - changed color every two rows, co 43 Sizing: 9.25" by 8.5" SPI: 4.5 Started: 11-30-2008 Finished: 11-30-2008]]> http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/11/color_changing_slip_stitch_was.html http://knit.sunidesus.net/2008/11/color_changing_slip_stitch_was.html Knitting Washcloths Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:27:37 -0500