Mistake Rib Cowl by Purl Soho in Outlaw Vanitas

So what to knit?  I finished my nice legwarmers which I immediately put on and didn't take off for about a month.

I liked the idea of this cowl, which is a free pattern, as a way of practicing pattern.  I also wanted to make the Thorn Cowl but it is 5 feet long wtf??  So I thought I could judge by one cowl how much to shrink the pattern of the second one.  I am still not convinced about cowls for me but as a backup there are lots of other people that like them!  I thought this pattern would be really nice and particularly covet the scarf in the purl soho pictures but a scarf seemed too endless and I wouldn't really wear it daily in Nepal.

The yarn is Outlaw Vanitas (on Ravelry here), the colour is transience.  I really like working with this yarn.  It's beautiful and soft.  The pale ice blue is a lovely colour.  I had considered making the Purl Soho pullover with this yarn but wasn't sure it's the right size, plus it seemed like too big of a project to jump right into.

So, the cowl is pretty easy.  I used the same size needles as the pattern suggests, and it's quite boring and seemed to take forever.

Also I'm not sure why I love Purl Soho so much but I really am inspired by their ideas!  No affiliate links from me, never fear.

At the end I was ready to be done - made it 12 inches as 15 seemed overkill.  This definitely will be a gift.  Still not sold on cowls.

However I do love the depth that the pattern gives and eventually, when I'm cold and have time, I will probably make the scarf for myself! 

And here's Holly in the cowl - she was stoked with her gift! 

Life goes on: sock knitting

I started to knit these socks right over new year 2017.  My idea was that I’d knit these low cut socks and do two pairs so that I could start to understand the anatomy of the heel.  Also I knew that I had a swath of time ahead where I wouldn’t be able to sew.

The pattern is free from purl soho.
The yarn is koigu sock yarn, also from purl soho.  I love this yarn - it has turned out even more beautiful than I imagined.

As always I overestimated the size of that swath, and I overestimated my desire to knit while in airplanes.  I’ve had a personally traumatising life event occur because I was knitting on a long haul flight while all the other passengers were sleeping, and the airplane crew threatened me with legal action if I didn’t shut my window (and my eyes.)  I didn’t really get at the time that I did actually have rights and the power to do something about this situation, and the memory of that uncomfortable flight (it was well over 10 hours) stays with me.

So I managed to complete one sock while working in Thailand for a week.  (I thought it would be cute to kind of colour block with the blue - but I didn’t bother on the second sock.)  I started the second sock and got past the heel - and then my time ran out.  The first sock, even after being blocked with really hot water, was a disappointment.  It was loose and the arch was about 2 inches below my arch.  Learning to knit socks seems hard enough, without having to add in some kind of high arch adjustment!  Also a friend has knitted me a pair of socks that fit perfectly so I know it’s possible.  My goal for the second sock was to pay attention to knitting as tightly as possible to see how much difference it made.

So after the usual life transitions (+9 months), I found myself in Nepal ready to knit.  This sock was the first thing to finish before moving on to some other immediately useful accessories (it’s cold!)  I finished it without much ado, and luckily one other volunteer doctor in the area is addicted to knits!  She was ecstatic when I gave her these socks.  Her feet are a little bigger than mine and so I think the socks fit better but I suspect she’s also too enthusiastic to be a critic.  (Not a bad thing.)

I’m not going to use this pattern again.  It may be that having a sock which goes higher up the ankle helps to counteract bad fit in the foot - at least it is snug somewhere?  I also think that for my next pair of socks I’ll err on the side of smaller needles to see if that helps.

Sorry for limited photos!  My internet is quite slow so it’s easier not to have to load too many things at once.

And this is also on Ravelry. 

Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf by Purl Soho

My knitting queue was honestly concocted sometime in February.  I spent a few days trawling Ravelry like nobody's business.  Then I realised knitting isn't sewing and it's very depressing to want to make 32 things that you would never finish before 2029.  So I stopped.

That means I planned this scarf in February! My plans were created with an educational progression and I think it's working, because after this comes the Miette (LACE!!).  Making this scarf has been really amazing for my lace learning skills.  I shortened it by 10 rows on the width, and used the leftovers from my last sweater - Malabrigo Rios.  I had just about 2 skeins, one of Purpuras that I hadn't used at all, and 3 ends of Zarzamora.  Since the scarf is started at both ends and grafted together in the middle, I reckoned if it were too short I could find something to add into the middle without it looking too bad, but I ended up just stretching it when I blocked it.

A great thing about doing lace in a pattern like this, is that 51 stitches isn't too much to follow.  I definitely made a few mistakes, but every time I lost a stitch it was quick to identify and make a new one, and the pattern for the most problem hid the mistakes.  I had to review how to properly do yarn overs and ssk.  I think I've mentioned that I learned to knit in Finland and because of this I hold everything differently than the majority of youtube video-producers, so sometimes I have to either seek a video from someone who holds their knitting like I do, or watch the videos until I understand the fundamental movement, before I get it.  (that happened a lot with short rows...)

Anyway once I stopped trying to watch movies while knitting the pattern, this went smoothly.  Also this time I'm the one leaving, not Tanya my translator, so I was much more relaxed about the process, at least until the final few days.  I finished the scarf on time but I didn't have a chance to block it!  But Tanya likes it that long, so I'm in luck. 

The airconditioning had us all shivering so the scarf immediately went to creative use...

I loved making this scarf and I was sort of sad to give it up as it turned out so beautiful, and the texture really makes it feel substantial in a way my previous scarves haven't felt. 

In other news, I've not completely gone over to the dark side!  There's a strong possibility that I will be reunited with my ENTIRE SEWING STASH during the course of 2016!  And get to sew again!  Not just on vacation!  Hurrah!

Purl Soho Diagonal Twist Scarf

There is nothing more annoying than a completed blog post vanishing into the black hole.  Except when it does so in Ukrainian.  In Thailand I managed to switch my blog back into English but I can't do it here and it's driving me crazy.

This is the Diagonal Twist Scarf from the PurlSoho website, modeled by Camille and Aiesha.  It's a free pattern and once you understand the 4-row repeat you don't need much help.  After making one housemate a scarf before her departure, I offered to make my next housemate a scarf too!  She chose the colour.  The wool is a Turkish blend: Valencia Lavanda: 43% “luster wool”, 7% angora, 50% acrylic.  I know that a lot of beautiful yarn is from Turkey but the options available here in Ukraine always seem to be somehow the ugly stepsister versions...but anyway this was easy to work with, is soft, and has a nice shine to it.

The yarn says to use size 3.5-4.5mm needles, but I used 5mm.  I wanted the scarf to be thinner than it looked in the pattern.  I also made it narrower - 46 instead of 66 stitches.  (It has to be a number that fits both elements of the pattern, basically (x-2)/2 must be an even number, that's all.)  I was worried if it were too wide, I'd never finish it.

The pattern is easy.  It's not fast though.  I liked learning the skill of knitting into my back stitches but after, oh, 20 cm I was bored to DEATH and the departure of my housemate was good stress to keep going.  Also her excitement!  There's nothing like a person who is totally ecstatic to receive your project!  Because of the boredom I would not recommend this scarf unless you really love the pattern.

Like what is that broken button between floors 5 and 6?  Just asking...

Camille insisted on her photoshoot in the elevator.  Our apartment stairwell, and elevator, have a lot of personality. 

With my thinner yarn the scarf curls up a lot.  I blocked it, I think even properly, using a yoga mat and some flag pins from work.  That lengthened it about 15cm.  Camille is really happy with the result, even with a certain hole in the middle where I mixed up the pattern.  The scarf is as long as a yoga mat : )  I guess about 5 feet.

I have one more promised scarf in the pipeline and I'm really hoping it is more interesting than this, but I'm going to finish my sweater first!  My short cable knitting needles finally arrived!  I do think that making scarves has been a great way of improving my knitting ability because it's kind of no stress - it doesn't have to fit perfectly and you see quickly how the pattern works.  Scarves also can use more complicated repeats than I'd be willing to use in a sweater, without seeming overwhelming.  My sudden departure into knitting has been borne of necessity but I'm starting to enjoy the results despite the frustration of waiting for each project to get done.

My project is on Ravelry too.