Category: Knitting

Knitvent Day 14 – Blocking!

So for every completed item I make, it has to take a bath, and dry before I can gift it.  Which makes my last minute knitting that much more stressful!!!

Blocking is the art of shaping the knitted item.  I generally soak my items in a basin with Eucalan, partly to fluff up the fibres then block the item into shape as it dries, but also to make sure any of the dirt/grime that I pickup on my yarn in my knitting travels is washed away.  For instance, I’ve been knitting a blanket for my son at hockey games, baseball games for a number of years…I most certainly am not going to have him sleep with that blanket until it is washed!

There are other methods of blocking, but for what I’m making this Knitmas, everything is getting a bath 🙂

Knitvent Day 13 – Practical gift

Someone grew two shoe sizes in a very short time period this year.  He obviously is desperate for socks since he put them on his list for Christmas(???).  When I knit things throughout the year, I have a spot (box) I put the gifts into, in December I pull out what is completed and can plan what is left to knit.  I had these completed in early November.  A couple of weeks ago, because he was searching for socks to wear with his suit to a hockey game, I pulled these out thinking he needed them now rather than wait (I could always knit more!?!?)

Those socks sat on my living room couch for two weeks.  I did ask him multiple times if he was going to wear them, and being a typical teenager, I got a grunt in response (not sure if it was a yes, no or I didn’t hear you grunt).

So I’ve grabbed these back and put into the box for wrapping…

Pattern is my own.

Knitvent Day 12 – Time Outs

There are times when a project isn’t working the way I expect, or the yarn isn’t behaving or *gasp* I’m not being consistent.  If I start getting far too frustrated with a project, I set it aside and move onto another project.  In essence, the one frustrating me gets a “time out” and sits in a project bag or shelf until it learns its lesson (or I finally run out of time and have to revisit it).  Some get knitted, some get frogged (ripped back).

These socks looked beautiful on Ravelry.  I borrowed the book from the library and tested 3 yarns before commencing. However, I haven’t been happy with my tension (though I found blocking will even this out) and I unfortunately ignored some of the Ravelry comments that criticized the pattern.  The criticisms were valid, but I thought I could persevere.  This item has been on time out for 3 weeks, and I need to get back to it…or choose an alternative…

Knitvent Day 11 – Beyond Socks…

On my many weekends of travel as a hockeymom, I manage to search out Yarn shops near the arenas.  In 2017, I posted a lovely photo of a yarn I picked up in Courtenay, BC…

As I said back then, this yarn needed to be something more than a pair of socks hidden underneath pants and inside shoes or boots.  I finally got that yarn into a shawl (Reyna) to be worn out in the world!

Knitvent Day 10 – Playing with math

Quite awhile ago I created my own pattern for seamless baby booties to match a hat I had designed nearly a decade previous.  It’s my goto personal pattern for baby gifts.  I had the booties test-knit, the pattern tech edited, but never got to publishing it, thinking I wanted to do something more.

Last year I thought these booties would make great slippers.  So I’ve been playing with yarns, needles, math to upsize the bootie pattern.  This past weekend I’ve knit a mens’ small in Drops Eskimo wool, and a ladies medium in Premier Appalachia.

I like how they look, but there’s more work to be done before I’m ready to test knit, pattern write, etc…but these are quick gift knits!

Knitvent Day 7 – my launching pad

As the month progresses, I have everything ‘in process’ out for me to pick from when I find a minute or two to sit and knit.  Knitting (knit repair) isn’t my full-time job (yet) so I carrying ‘something’ with me each day when I have to travel to meetings, arenas, appointments, school, etc.  Everywhere I go that may have a wait, is an opportunity for knitting time.  In the house, I have it laid out so if I have time to sit and knit, I can grab something quickly.

At the moment, the launch pad is my living room coffee table, beside the Christmas tree & fireplace – a very cozy place to knit.  It’s also the first thing I see when I come down the stairs in the morning (yikes!)  At the moment, this is ‘tame’…I’ll post a progress photo as we get closer to the ‘deadline’.

Note, there are 3 project bags as well as what’s on the table.

Knitvent Day 6 – Woolly Dozen

Another way that I get gifts knit throughout the year, is participating in a year-long challenge (a different kind of KAL).  One designer I truly love is Woolly Wormhead.  On her Ravelry group, they created a challenge to knit a Woolly Dozen.

I’ve participated each year, and have yet to actually knit a dozen, but it does help me get part of the knitting done.  Some hats goto the school holiday fair, some are given as gifts during the year, some are donated, and one or two are wrapped up as Christmas gifts.

Below is a peek at one of four I’ve managed to complete this year (yikes!)

Knitvent Day 4

It happens a lot at this time of year.  Distractions, not being present, lack of focus and I have to rip something back.  This is nothing compared to the pile of yarn I ripped back last evening…

Mistakes happen, miscounting stitches, purl instead of knit, miscounting the two colour pattern, or having a dog at your feet suddenly get up and take the yarn right out of your hands because it caught on her tail.

It happens, just a bump in the road, no need to panic…..yet

21 knitting days

Knitvent Day 3

I easily get distracted during the month of December.  I usually have a ‘plan’ for my gift knitting but I see some wonderful ideas from following others on Instagram and Ravelry.

Yesterday was a distraction day!  I’ve seen a number of these knit stars popping up in my feeds, so it gave me the idea I could “whip up” a dozen of these for the school holiday market.

I made 2 failed attempts before my gauge seem tight enough for stuffing – and managed 2 stars in one afternoon. I am faster now that I know what I’m doing with these, but the distraction is now deluding me into knitting a bunch for my own tree and maybe extra gift knits.

Pattern is Stjarna and is a free download on Ravelry

Knitvent Day 2

This is only a sneak peak so the recipient doesn’t know what it is!  I’m posting just a closeup of the brioche stitch that makes up this particular knit.

This was from a knit-a-long (KAL) back in the spring (for the non-knitters – a KAL is where hundreds (thousands) of knitters around the world knit the same item over a specified time period and chat/share their tips, problems & progress)

This was a brioche stitch KAL over the US Memorial Day weekend. Sometimes these KALs help me learn something new as well as set things aside early!  I do try to spread out the holiday knitting across the year, and periodic KALs help me to do just that!