Snow

It snowed this weekend in Seattle.  I was running errands on Saturday and literally turned the corner and snow began coming down.  Hard.  I think we have a couple of inches, which is no big deal in much of the country, but it can be a bit snarky here.

I am not snow's biggest fan.  I figure that I can drive a couple of hours and visit it in the mountains if I really want to see it.  Which I do - every 5 years or so.  But if it is going to coming visit me then I should make the best of it.  My new banner, celebrates the snow and the witch hazel in bloom in the front yard.  A little bit of hope for spring peaking out from under the snow.

I had planned a different post, but let's go with the snow theme.  Since the beginning of the year I've been working on (wait for it...) another stranded knitted hat.  I used Mountain Top Vail for the cream which is 70% alpaca and 30% bamboo.  The green is  Malabrigo Lace, which is I doubled.  It is 100% merino wool, which feels heavenly.  I used a US 1 (2.5mm) circular needle.

The entire project took about  2 weeks, including commute time on the bus.

When finished I washed and felted it lightly which helped even out a few wonky stitches.  It is soft and light weight.  Perfect for a snowy Seattle day.

Another Stranded Hat

I had sooo much fun with my first stranded knitting project I began another right away.  It was as much fun, but I ran into issues.

The good news?  My tension improved.  Yes, the stitches were larger than straight knitting, but they were consistently big.

The not so good news?  I cast on way too many stitches.  This bad boy could have fit Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

See what I mean?  Humongous!  Pattern is cute, but good grief it was big!

I used my 'go to' cure for all my wonky knitting issues.... felt it!  It shrunk considerably but was still very, very large.   While it was still damp, my sister-in-law popped it in the dryer.  That helped a little more.  Still big, for me anyway, but no longer unwearable.

And the end result?

What?  You thought it was going to look like every other hat walking down the street?  Nooo.   My sister-in-law asked for tassels, and there you go.  Tassels.  Adds a certain whimsy, don't you think?

Pretty darn cute, if I do say so.  And found a new home with my sister-in law in Alaska.  She was a huge help in salvaging this project. 

Learned a BIG lesson on double checking one's math before casting on. 

Finished - Stranded Knitting Hat!

This project was a great deal of fun and I learned a ton about stranded knitting!

1. It was not as hard as it looked.  Following the pattern is a lot like counted cross stitch.  If you can count to 20 and keep track of which line you're on in the pattern, you are in great shape.
2. Find a way to hold the yarn that works for you.  There are a number of great videos on YouTube showing different ways to hold the different colors.  I settled on Continental, holding the yarn in one hand, a different color around two different fingers to better tension control.  There was a fair amount of trial and error involved.
3. Felting the project at the end solved a world of issues (see item 2, above)... Like puckering and inconsistent stitch lengths.  It also made the fabric more dense and warm.

I think it turned out to be pretty cute.  Much cuter on my niece (but what isn't cute on a twenty somethings), but she wasn't available for the photo shoot.

This project was so much fun that I have completed another project, have one underway, and just purchased yarn for a third!

New Project - Stranded Knitting

Things were a bit busy at work the last couple of months but have returned to something resembling normal recently.  For a while there was travel, travel, travel.  Fun, but very nice to be home again. 

I'm not a huge fan of being a girl and limiting myself to girl products that fit in a one quart zip lock bag, if ya know what I mean.  That part of travel rather cramps my style.  And you can only bring along sooo many shoes in a carry-on bag.  Kinda limits one's options. 

I did get a chance to work on a new project while I was away.  I decided to tackle stranded knitting.  You know, those lovely pieces using intricate patterns and two or more colors?  

Between YouTube and a great pattern book, I was on my way.  As an aside... I love YouTube.  It's not all stupid people tricks and revolutions.  I'm waiting for a video series on brain surgery.   That could be fun. Well, perhaps not. 

I found a book with great patterns at the library:  Poetry in Stitches by Solveig Hisdal.  I liked it so much that the Sweetie tracked down a copy for me.  So small task as it had been out of print for awhile.  Thank you, Sweetie.

I was in love with several patterns in the book.  But the idea of taking on something as large as a sweater when I had no idea what I was doing seemed a bit daunting.  And what if I hated this technique?  I would have another UFO laying around, nagging at me.

I started smaller.  And cobbled together a pattern for a scarf from the Child' Cardigan and Cap pattern on page 112. 

Of course I needed more yarn.  Not really, but I went and purchased some anyway... some Classic Elite MountainTop Vail in a light gray and cream.  Hey, I don't name these.  It's a blend of 70% alpaca and 30% bamboo.  It is a fingering weight yarn, which is more fine than I had used to date, but it is so soft I just had to have it.  The purple is Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace.  Again, super soft.

I was off to the races.  I had a pattern, yarn, a new circular needle, and time to kill in airports.  I am more patient and tolerant traveler when I have a knitting or crochet project with me.  Which is good for everyone.  Just sayin'

In my next installment (not two months from now, I promise) I'll fill you in on how my project progressed.