Pink "suede"

The other day I started a new project...a bag, of course! It's a fun pattern I've had my eye on from Knitty. Here's the pattern. It's a cute little purse made of "suede" yarn. I didn't feel like searching out the exact yarns the pattern called for, so I decided to just find some nice yarn that would make a fun purse. I had settled on a blue/purple variegated stuff, I forget what it's called, but then I turned around...and found this:

Lion Suede, in "Rose"

I just had to have that yarn! It's by Lion Brand, and it's called Lion Suede, and it's just so pink, and so soft and fun. I wasn't necessarily after a "suede" yarn like the pattern calls for but when I spotted this I decided it was fate, since I wasn't really jumping up and down about my previous selection. This got me excited to make the bag, so I knew it was the right yarn! They had other great colors too...a couple of nice purples, one so dark it's almost black.

So I anxiously began my bag, and, so far so good. I have made a couple of modifications to the pattern, mainly because my yarn is thicker than what's called for so I had to reduce my stitch count. I also decided that I wanted to knit it in the round instead of flat with a seam on the side. I decided this partly because who wants a seam where there doesn't need to be one? and also because after swatching this yarn, I found that it's one that you need to keep an even tension on, or you'll get visible irregularities in your stitches--it's not too forgiving. I decided that I'd be more likely to keep it all neat and even if I was just knitting around and around and not purling.

I also noticed when I did my swatch that it's hard to cast on loosely. So for the bag I cast on with a size larger needles. I am still using pretty small needles for this yarn (7s, I think, rather than the 9s the yarn recommends) so it's pretty tight, but do-able.

One thing I am intrigued by is the effect I am getting with this yarn. It's hard to describe, but my stitches are doing funny things such that I am ending up with something akin to corduroy. And since it's so soft and nice like corduroy, that makes it seem all the more like it! Kind of fun actually.

My only fear, which I hope turns out to be unfounded, is that this yarn will "worm" like chenille. It is a similar yarn to chenille, but a lot "denser"...there are more fuzzies to this yarn. Anyway, here's to hoping for no worms!

Sock #1 is done

Okay, I'm back...with photos. :) I completed the grafting (a.k.a. kitchener stitch) on the toe of the first sock. I am very pleased with the sock, and it fits too! So here is a picture of it:

The striped sock
(click on photo to see larger image)

The self-striping yarn really was quite fun and satisfying. It definitely kept your interest since it changed so often. This sock was fun to knit, and overall, the pattern worked out fine, although I did have to make a couple of adjustments.

And some detail of the gusset and the toe:

(click on photos to see larger images)

And now, I go back to the mitten. The striped mitten that I am not so fond of. Here's a photo of it so you can see for yourself and make your own judgements...

The striped mitten
(click on photo to see larger image)

It has potential, but for some reason it is just not that interesting to me. That and it doesn't even fit me, so I might just make the second one and then find a child who might like them. We'll see!

Good stripes and bad stripes

Hi. It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been busy doing lots of stuff...and actually accomplishing things. Unfortunately, they haven't been knitting-related! It's spring cleaning time...

But...I do have this to report: my first self-striping sock is almost complete. I just have to graft the toe, and we're all done. Then it's back to work on its friend! But that's the fun part to me, since I've already worked out all of the kinks and know how many rows to knit, etc., with the first sock. So, I promise to post a picture of the completed sock very soon!

Oh, I almost forgot. I finished the striped mitten...and I am disappointed! First of all, my tried-and-true pattern and stitch and row counts failed me, because the silly thing is too small! I haven't figured out why yet. I have used this yarn before, and I did everything the same. My only thought is that when I was securing all of the ends from changing colors, I might have pulled it a little too tight. Not sure. Secondly, I am not thrilled with the color combo. These colors work better in narrow stripes on the scarf. I am not such a fan of the big stripes. If I re-did it, I might just stick with pink and the two grays. Anyway, I will post a photo of the lone mitten soon. That project has gone to the back burner! I am still thinking about completing the scarf...we'll see.

Photos of striped things

Well, I've finally gotten around to uploading some photos of my works in progress. So without further ado...here are some pix:

Here is a photo of the striped mitten I am working on:

WIP Striped Mitten
(click on photo to see larger image)

Now for the scarf. This is going pretty well, and I like it. Here's a picture of the whole thing, scrunched on the needles:

WIP Striped Scarf
(click on photo to see larger image)

And here are a couple of closeups of both sides of the scarf. Each side is a little bit different. I think that one side is beginning to look more like the "right side" but there really isn't a right or wrong side to this scarf.

(click on photos to see larger image)

Saga of the striped mitten

Hi. Okay, so I don't really have all that much to report on right now, but I have completed a lot more of my first striped mitten. I took a picture...but I didn't upload it yet, and right now I do not have access to it. So we'll have to wait for that one!

I debated re-vamping the mitten...not loving the color combo at the moment, but it's growing on me the more I knit. I loved the pink and gray section, and contemplated frogging the whole thing and just doing pink and gray stripes. But I decided not to do that...so we'll see how the first mitten looks.

Anywho...just wanted to get on here and reorganize a bit. I needed to come up with a plan for "archiving" past entries, so that this page doesn't get too long. I think doing it month-by-month should work well enough. You can now see the link to the February page above.

Back later!