FO: The Silver Rose tote

Started: December 26, 2007
Finished & Felted: December 31, 2007
Pattern: The flower is #3 of the Plethora of Petals pattern but the bag is kind of my own. See below.
Yarn: Lion Brand Lion Wool Solid, 1.75 skeins in color #111 (blue) and a small amount of color #149 (gray) for the flower.
Needles: US 10.5
Dimensions before felting: 18" tall and 13" wide
Dimensions after felting: 13" tall and 13" wide

I started out making the Booga Bag, but decided very early on that I wasn't in the mood for its handles. I really like the handles on the bag I got for Christmas last year and kind of wanted to make a knitted version. The closest I could get was just having slots...

When I got to the end of the body (which was mostly Booga), I K2tog on either side of the bag a few rounds in a row in order to make it indent a bit in preparation for the handles. I knit each handle back and forth in stockinette and decreased a bit on either side to make the handles curvy instead of boxy.

As for the slots, I ended up just binding off stitches one row and then casting them back on the next. I considered how I could do it with an i-cord edging to make it sturdier, but what I did seems to have worked well.

I used duplicate stitch along the top of each handle hole/slot for added strength, sewed on the rose, and tossed it in the washer to felt. Since I was using only blue yarn, I thought the felted flower would add some femininity to the design along with a splash of color.

I used a bag of dry dog food and plastic bags to shape the wet Silver Rose. I wanted it to be small but roomy and it turned out exactly how I wanted it. I shaped the handles by tacking down the wet edges with clothespins. It left a little bit of a mark but it looks fine. I also tacked down the rose with tapestry needles and then secured it after it dried by adding a bit of yarn. You can see these in the inside-of-bag shot but I'm going to felt them a bit so they blend in and stay tied.

I'm *very* pleased with my last FO of 2007! :)

p.s. - I feel I have to mention a pattern called Angela's Fabulous Felted Bag that I found online. Though I didn't really follow it, it inspired me and gave me some confidence that what I had decided on would actually work.

The Silver Rose & Cherie

I started knitting a felted bag--called The Silver Rose because I plan on attaching a knitted rose to its front.

I'm using yarn left over from my mom's tote and knitted away like a madwoman yesterday in order to have <-- this much progress already! So far I'm using the Booga Bag pattern but I don't think it'll last because I want different handles.

Be warned that the following is a very UNenthusiastic FO post.

Pattern: Cherie Amour from the Fall 2007 issue of Knitty
Started: October 13, 2007
Finished: December 23, 2007
Yarn: About 3 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky Hand Dye in "Ireland" (green)
Needles: US size 11 and US size 8
Finished bust measurement: 36 inches It says "To fit bust size 30 inches"
Modifications: Made it into a vest because it was going too *ahem* well.

I can't even tell you how unflattering it is. I'm so glad that I decided to abbreviate my knitting of this garment by making it into a vest. Ravelry labeled it UGH when I told it my FO rating and I must agree. I really love the yarn but this is the first truly ugly/awful thing I've made...

To see more appealing pictures of it, click here and to see previous posts on this project, click here.

Merry Christmas!

Look at the knitty things I got: Swift Yarn Winder, Knit Picks Options nickel-plated interchangeable knitting needle set, Knit Picks Options nickel-plated 6" double pointed sock needle needle set, US Sizes 0–3.

FO: Ice Cream Pint Cozy

Started & Finished: November 20, 2007
Pattern: Ice Cream Pint Cozy from Knit Wit: 30 Easy and Hip Projects - pattern by Erica Hohmann
Gifted: Christmas morning
Yarn: About 100 yds of Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes) in color #70117 (blue)
Needles: US 4 dpns
Finished size: About 10.5" around the top, 7" around the bottom, and 3.75" tall

This was one of my sweetie's stocking stuffers and he loved it. :) It's called Christmas Surprise #1 in my blog. Click here to see more.

FO: Stripey Bag

Started: November 19, 2007
Finished & Felted: December 16, 2007
Gifted: Christmas Eve
Pattern: Stripey Strap Bag
Yarn: Lion Brand Lion Wool Solid, 1.5 skeins in color #111 (blue) and 1/4 skein in color #149 (gray)
Needles: US 10.5
Modifications: I opted to have the bottom of the bag solid blue instead of having a 13th gray stripe along the very bottom of the bag.

A while ago my mom told me that she could use a small tote bag, one just big enough for a book and a few odds and ends. I’m not sure if she still needs it, but better late than never!

I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out and with the way the yarn felted. While it ending up being a bit smaller than I expected (about the size of a cereal box), it’s cute and there was no furry-animal-FO to trim, which is always a plus. ;)

I really just used the pattern as a general guideline for the tote, which turned out to be unnecessary because I didn’t even come close to using the amount of yarn called for in the pattern and was unhappy with the handles.

The pattern told me to make each 40 inches long. Even though I thought this was a bit crazy, I knit them up that way. Luckily I checked the washing machine every few minutes to shape the bag and check on the felting. The handles weren’t really shrinking, they were just getting more solid.

Since I still had time to remedy the situation (who wants a small tote with ridiculously long handles?), I performed a bit of surgery. I snipped about 7 inches from the center of each handle, sewed the pieces back together, and continued felting. It worked out well, too. The bag looks much more proportioned! I’ll warn my mom not to put anything overly heavy in it just in case, but I think it’ll be fine.

To see more posts on this project (there aren’t many!) click here. The Stripey Bag is called Christmas Surprise #2 in earlier posts because I didn’t want my mom to see what her stocking stuffer was going to be. :)

FO: Mystery Stole 3

Pattern: Mystery Stole 3 / Swan Lake
Designer: Melanie Gibbons - she says, “My interpretation of the classic ballet in a knitted stole, Swan Lake combines many lace patterns into a single, stunning stole design.” (read more about the meaning of her original, asymmetrical, design at the link above.)
Knitting Started: July 6, 2007
Knitting Finished: December 11, 2007
Blocked: December 12, 2007
Being gifted: Christmas day
Yarn: approx. 1,000 yds of JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 in “Ebony” (50% merino wool and 50% Chinese tussah silk)
Needles: 24” Knit Picks Classic Circular Knitting Needles in Size 3 with lace panel connecting halves done on size 1 straight needles.
Modifications: Instead of doing the mystery stole as it was originally designed, I followed Melanie’s directions for the symmetrical version.
Finished size: 67 inches from tip to tip and 17.5 inches wide at the center.
Pre-blocking dimensions: 54 inches from tip to tip and 12 inches wide at the center.
Comments: Love it! The stole is light, airy, and *warm* and I hope my MIL loves it. It’s the most intricate lace I’ve knit so far and as far as I know, it’s without mistakes. :)



Blocking:




Click here to see previous posts about the Mystery Stole.

Updates

Tomorrow morning I’ll upload some FO pictures of Mystery Stole 3 / Swan Lake. I’ve written so much about it over the past 6 months that I really don’t have to tell you more than this: I love it! It turned out beautifully and I hope my MIL likes it.

As for Cherie Amour, I’m still struggling. I ripped back down to the lifeline I put in before I divided for the arms and I’ll be trying again from there. After I posted a plea for help to my blog and to a listserv, I located some helpful information on Ravelry.

Apparently I’m not the only one having trouble with this part of the pattern. The designer, who realized the pattern was ambiguous as printed, tried to explain a little further; it still seems kind of confusing so I think I’m going to go the way of one of the responders to the original thread. She just worked Lace Pattern Two over and over again, decreasing on the RS at the neckline until she had the right number of sts. That’s essentially what would happen anyway by following the big chart and, in my opinion, easier to look at. We’ll see how it goes.

Last night I put Cherie aside as I’d like to finish up Christmas Surprise #2, which I’d like to felt on Sunday if at all possible. That should give it a full week to dry before it gets gifted at Christmas. I’ve learned from past experience that felted things sometimes take *much* longer to dry that you might expect and I’m hoping I’m playing it safe enough.

Good news: at the start of the day I was about 60% of the way through CS2 and now I’m 75% done. It was the only project I put in my knitting bag and I made some great progress on it on my breaks.

Cherie Amour

Plea for help...

I divided for the fronts and back and am having a bit of trouble. You’re supposed to keep knitting in pattern but the pattern isn’t really written for what you have in your hand anymore. The neckline decrease chart was written for one big row where you started the RS rows at the right front, worked around the back, and stopped at the left front.

Now that I’m working on the left front alone, I’m having trouble figuring out where in the chart I’m supposed to start. As it is now, I’m looking at my knitting and kind of winging it. Since it’s the left front and that was the “end” of the chart, I’m kind of starting in the box that indicates repeated sections and ending with the selvedge stitch. Has anyone worked on this pattern and knows if I’m doing this right?

The pattern I'm talking about can be found here.

p.s. I blocked MS3 this morning and it's beautiful!!!

10:03 pm: Weave in the ends of MS3

Tomorrow morning I block. :D

lace panel progress & Cherie

A couple of posts ago, I said that Cherie Amour was calling my name, and recently I gave in. In addition to knitting MS3 and Christmas Surprise #2 (which, btw, is moving at a snail’s pace), I’ve been working on my sweater. I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to make it a vest or knit the sleeves. I’m up to the armholes now so I’ll have to figure it out soon.

I decided to put a stitch marker between sections before actually knitting the row that divides the sweater into left front, right front, and back. I’m glad I did because I had to play around with the markers to figure out what the pattern wanted me to do. Maybe it was the fact that I was doing this on my lunch break, and before food, but the "knit in pattern" confused me!

I wasn’t sure if knit 14 sts in patt meant the number of sts on the needle before or after I worked the K2tog's and ssk's. After seeing where the markers were, I decided that I was supposed to count the sts before they were knit. I wasn’t be able to knit at all today, but this project should be done soon. (Picture from Saturday)

As you can tell, I’ve figured out how the lace panel works for MS3! This picture is 5/13 of the way through the panel (plus a couple of rows). The mystery stole/Swan Lake is still my main project and it’s pretty exciting to see the two pieces getting connected.

Melanie suggested that we switch to straight needles and go down a needle size for the lace panel. I did as she suggested, but I’m using size 0 straights instead of size 1. The circs make this part much easier to do and the smaller needle works better with the pattern since it’s a change in direction of knitting.

It’s actually pretty cool--she had us cast on sts and then either K2tog or P2tog at the end of each round. This connects the two pieces and looks great! I’ve made MS3 an at-home project because the marker is always between the two sts that need to be worked together and I think my marker would get lost every three seconds if I tried to do this at work. (Picture from Friday)