It’s Done! It’s done, it’s finally done 

Every large project is an era of my life. I hope that’s not too weird, it’s just how it feels. The Hanne Falkenberg Mermaid Sweater I have been knitting on since early spring is finished and I’m able to look ahead to the next era of my fiber life.

But meanwhile I would like to say; the worry I had about the shoulders looking too pointy (before they were sewn in) we groundless. The designer, did indeed, know what she was all about.

The finished sweater is a dream.I have never been so pleased with the way a garment fit or draped - it’s perfect!

The yarn that came with it was substituted for something a bit more dramatic, I chose Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool in navy, medium plum, and brass.

Sigh, I’m happy 

Deb H

Catching up is what you do that is very productive, but does not have much to “show” for it. I was making progress in the yard, winterizing the garden (4 acres is a lot of yard) when Mother Nature saved me from myself. She sent snow a bit early (this has been around for about a week) and even though it’s thin, wet, and sloppy, bleak has officially arrived - but it’s a good excuse to come inside and work on indoor stuff; namely fiber 

I have a new fiber toy! A knitting machine (Singer 155 Chunky Punch Card Knitter). As a devoted hand knitter, I swore I would never own a knitting machine. They are not portable and I have enough things that I cannot take with me to work on because they are tied to a machine (weaving, spinning, sewing). I have alas, succumbed. It does not have any of the fancy optional attachments; like a ribber or contour thingy (what ever that is) but I’m having a ball so far.

I’m whipping up blanks to dye and then I started thinking that maybe it could knit something more than just blanks. I’ve done a ton of swatches to see what my limitations are as far as yarn weights. I’ve successfully knitted a DK weight, up through a chunky weight. This thing does a beautiful job too. I am convinced.

Next sampling marathon will be to try out some of the patterns I can knit with the punch card thingy (technical term). There are just so many toys to play with! 

Speaking of swatches: I took the swatch for my next hand knit project to work with me to consult with my fellow knitting gurus. I always do a thorough swatching before embarking on a project and some were amazed at my forbearance and patience to do this. I’m personally amazed at anyone who doesn’t. I am a dye-hard (pun intended) swatcher. Why? The sample shown does several things; it allows me to see what the yarn will look like knitted up very quickly. It allows me to handle the yarn and see how it will behave on my needles without having to jump into a project immediately. I knit because I love to, not to just make a finished project (process knitter as opposed to product knitter). But most of all, it tells me things about the project that will save me from ripping it out twice as much as I already do. It tells me the best size needles and gauge for the fabric I want. I can then do the math and adjust the pattern if needed. I always do the swatch the way the item will be knitted. Will it be knit int he round? Knit the swatch in the round. Do I think I want it on size 4 needles? knit the swatch on size 3, 4, and 5 needles to be sure. I also, always mark the swatch section with the needle size by putting holes in the swatch (YO, K2T) to tell me the needle size. I never cut the yarn from my swatch either, I use that ball last and then if I think I will need the yarn to finish the project, I can rip the swatch out and use it without a break or cut in the yarn. I don’t look at swatching as a chore, I think of it as an excuse to play with the yarn before I spend the time to plan the project. The bonus is enough information to plan the project right.

Speaking of a well planned project. I have the Hanne Falkenberg sweater, the Mermaid Jacket all but finished. I’m very nervous about the sleeves though - do they look like the shoulders are a pit too pointy to you? None of my sewing patterns have shoulders this pointy.

Now, my first instinct is to rip them out and rework them to look like I think they should. I’m going to try to learn from past experiences though. I’m going to TRUST the designer and forge ahead. I usually discover, after I have redone something the way I think it should be, that the designer did know exactly what they were doing and I screwed it up. I’ll let you know next post if it all works or not.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Deb H

The hand warmers I knit and showed you last post went so well that I had to do it again. These are done with one strand of sport weight hand dyed (by me) and one strand of lace weight mohair/silk blend. Very cushy and soft and should be very warm for typing on a keyboard! The variegated yarn obscures the bobbles a bit but I’m very pleased with them.

I’ve also been playing with dyeing some knitted blanks. These are those big squares of plain knitting that you dye just like dying fabric. they are then unraveled and re-knit into something else. My pal, Ruthanne, knit me two blanks on her knitting machine and I played with them.

Two blanks after dyeing.

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After unraveling, removing the crimp caused by being knitted already, and re-knitting - water bottle cozies!

I needed something quick and easy to knit so I could see how the dye would translate into knitting. I also wanted two items from each blank so I could share with Ruthanne for her efforts.  This is the set I kept and they all turned out well. BTW - the yarn was a light worsted superwash which took the color quite well; darker than I had planned, actually. But they look great in real life (photos never do anything justice) and I think the experiment was so successful that by the time Ruthanne had knitted me a blank of sock yarn, I ended buying one of her machines. More on that next time!

Does this mean I’m too easily influenced?

The leaves are nearly gone and the color is fading to dull. At least its not yet bleak. November has been very busy already. On top of getting our new Internet provider, we have finally put together my new greenhouse, a cute little 6′ x 8′ clear hut with an automatic vent - very cool! You can see the done-for condition of my herb garden in the photo’s foreground. I wanted my greenhouse ready to store some of the pots from the front porch and protect them from the snow and ice. Now, to get it organized. And with luck, I’ll get some early things going in it come spring. One can hope for the best  ;o)

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The vegetable garden is almost done too but I’m suddenly getting my best broccoli of the year - Yum! There is still a bit of work to get the gardens put to bed for the winter, but wet and cold permitting, it is getting done.

Have a wonderful season of the Hunt, what ever you search for.

Deb H