Tag: Albers

Albers Cowl, Part Deux

On By happygingerhomeIn knittingLeave a comment

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Here I go again. I’ve called a do-over on the Albers cowl. I have new yarn, a new colorway, and the first square out of three is almost complete. Reknitting this project has made me realize two things:

  1. I’m really OCD about color.
  2. I really hate garments that are knit entirely in garter stitch.

Let me elaborate. Didn’t someone once say the proof of insanity is doing the same thing over and over? Does returning to the same colors over and over again count? Well, it should. My attraction to the whole aqua/turquoise thing has been well-documented on this blog.  I think we can add magenta/fuschia to the crazy list.  As soon as I started knitting with my new pinks and magentas, I realized these are virtually the same colors in the Noro Silk Garden Light yarn I used for the Spectra scarf I recently completed. I also have quite a bit of yarn and spinning fiber in my stash in similar colors.  Sure, it’s OK to have a favorite color or two, but seriously, what gives? I’m beginning to scare myself.  At least the first Albers square I knit was in a completely different palette.  The newest Knit Picks catalog came in the mail recently and even though I just placed an order for Palette, I was mesmerized by the two-page spread of all the Palette colors.  I’m thinking of buying a bunch of yellow/burnt sienna/brown yarns just to break out of my rut.  I know–Harvest Gold again, right? But what am I to do?! Professional help may be in order.

Not only was I unhappy with the colors on my first attempt at this cowl,  I didn’t like the way the square turned out, either. Because it’s all garter stitch.  All-garter stitch garments bug me because to my eye they look like something that something that someone would knit because they haven’t learned any other stitches yet. There. I said it. There are so many wonderful stitches out there that create such beautiful fabric; why use only the most basic one? The first square looked lumpy and uneven, and this pink one is shaping up in a similar fashion. Clearly this project is one that will benefit greatly from blocking, so I Won’t Stop Believin’ just yet. The cowl pictured on the pattern is beautiful, and of course that’s what made me buy it in the first place.  The projects on Ravelry are equally gorgeous, so blocking is the key. I bought some blocking mats from Knit Picks when I bought the Palette yarn. I figured with a serious lace shawl attempt in my near future, these would be useful things to have. I’ve made my peace with blocking. Weaving in ends, however, is another story, and this project has tons of ends to weave in.

Remember last week when I broke my Denise interchangeable needles? I ran to my LYS to buy a fixed set of circulars to complete my project and the saleslady there told me that Denise replaces their needles.  I emailed the company and sure enough, they told me to mail them the broken set and they would send a replacement.  I mailed my busted set to them last Saturday.  This is what came in the mail today:

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It’s exactly one week to the day that I mailed the broken set out. Thank you, Denise!

I passed this sign today outside a local restaurant proclaiming free beer!

shanty

Only there wasn’t any. Viewed from a certain angle, they had me fooled.

Good one, Shanty!

My Completed Cambrian Cowl

On By happygingerhomeIn knittingLeave a comment

…is no longer cursed. Blocked, steam-pressed, and buttoned, my cowl is finally happy and I’m ready to hit the town with some style and outside element protection. Amount of time it spent sitting in a project bag: 356 days. Amount of actual knitting time involved: 8 hours. This should have taken me a weekend to knit.

It’s supposed to be spring but there’s a definite chill lingering in the air. I put the cowl on as soon as I finished sewing on the buttons and wore it while I took my dog for a walk. It’s getting chilly now that the sun is going down and I was very glad to have an extra layer of warmth…and FABULOUSNESS!

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The buttons are the Celtic Blue Ceramic Buttons made by Irihana Arts over on Etsy. They came in a set of three. I had a lot of fun shopping for buttons for the cowl.  It’s funny, because ceramic buttons are something I don’t normally give much thought to, but once I wanted some nice buttons for my cowl, they were all I could think about.

So that’s two UFOs finished, and two to go. But I’m not in the mood to finish those just yet. As always, I’m eager to cast on for something new.  I’m ditching the Albers Cowl…sort of. Remember this Seventies-tastic colorway I started to knit? Here’s a little reminder:

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I’ve fallen out of love with this.  I guess you could say I’ve fallen out of love entirely with the Knit Picks Palette Warm Color sampler kit.  I hate to say that, because I am a big Knit Picks fan, but together, the colors in the kit started to look dated.  I’m giving up the ghost on this one, but I’m starting the Albers over in a fresher, more sophisticated palette. Some happy pinks and purples are just the thing for spring, don’t you think?

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Clockwise from the top the colors are Fairy Tale, Cosmopolitan, Peony, and Rouge. Already I can see that Cosmopolitan and Rouge are very similar in tone so I’ll have to separate those two. I’m using only 4 colors to keep it simple and affordable. Knitting starts tonight.

Once I went on to Etsy to look for buttons, I couldn’t stop.  I knew right away the Celtic buttons were the perfect match for my cowl, but there were so many other pretty, pretty buttons vying for my attention.  I couldn’t pass them up, so I bought them in the hope that someday I’ll find the perfect project for them.  Meet the runners-up:

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They’re all from Unique Buttons. I especially love the starfish buttons, although I don’t know what I’ll do with them yet.  Maybe I’ll make another Cambrian Cowl in a natural sand color and put the seafoam blue starfish on it. Yes, I wouldn’t mind knitting another Cambrian Cowl at all–without a year-long gap next time.

Cowl Crazy

On By happygingerhomeIn knittingLeave a comment

Happy New Year everyone.  I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and received some nice knitting and crafting gifts.  My sister gave me Clara Parkes’ new book The Knitters Book Of Socks and that made me very happy.  I have a ton of sock yarn lying around the house, and I can’t wait to dig into some of the patterns. I made several pairs of socks last fall (OK, I confess: I still need to knit the second Jaywalker) so I’ll put socks away for awhile.  But I’m going to read the book from cover to cover first and savor Clara’s incredible knowledge and love of all things yarn.

Right now I’m knitting two cowls at once. I know, I’m crazy.  I started Ann Weaver’s Albers Cowl in November, fresh off my sock-knitting jag.  You can buy it on her website or on Ravelry. It’s a devilishly cute and easy knit made up of log cabin squares.  It’s nice mindless knitting that I can churn out on my lunch hour at work.  This pattern made me overcome my aversion to all garter-stitch garments.  So why am I knitting a second cowl?

I’ve developed a little New Year’s tradition over the past couple of years.  I like to cast on for a new project bright and early on New Year’s Day, no matter how many WIPs I have going. I choose a small or simple pattern like basic mittens or accessories so I can finish it relatively quickly and return to the other projects I have on the needles.  I cast on for a new year to symbolize a new beginning.  I choose something that can be finished quickly to symbolize the importance of following through, but I take care not to put any obstacles or anything insurmountable in my path.  In other words, enjoy the process, don’t sweat the small stuff.  I like to think this will bring me luck for the new year.  This year’s new project is Lion Brand Yarn’s free  Cloudsong Cowl pattern.  I adore the color palette and the simple fair isle.  Keep reading for cowl details:

Albers Cowl

The Albers Cowl uses sock yarn and is a great way to use up all that extra stash sock yarn lying around the house.  Not that I’d know anything about that…I used Knit Picks Palette because I love the stuff, and I have the warm palette sampler they sold a few years ago still in its original plastic bag.  This cowl was a perfect way to make something useful out of it.  Plotting out all the colors to use for each square made me realize something about this sampler: no matter what the color, all of the shades are very similar to each other.   The browns and tans in particular are virtually identical when placed side by side.  I did a lot of playing around before settling on the color sequence.  I actually cast on for this project twice.  The above picture is my second attempt, the square that I like.  This is the first square I knit:

It’s feeling…groovy. Not that I take the comments of others to heart, but my sister remarked that the color combination made it look like a potholder from 1972.  And I have to say, I agree. :0  I think the yellow is the real culprit here.  I was desperate for a color that stood out from the others, but when taken together, all I can see is that “classic” harvest gold/avocado combination those of us of a certain age grew up with (think  kitchen appliances).  It was a pain to cast on for another square but I’m glad I did.

Cloudsong Cowl

The cream, magenta and green colors Lion Brand uses spoke to me of the spring blossoms that will be here before we know it.  They were too perfect together to alter.  This is knit with Cotton-Ease yarn in Sand, Hazelnut, Azelea and Cactus on circular needles.

I didn’t have the right sized circular needles so this project gave me the perfect excuse to try the Knitters Pride circs everyone on Ravelry has been talking about.  My LYS’s owner had positive things to say about them and showed me a pair she was knitting with.  Each sized needle uses a different color of wood.  These are size 7 on a 24″ long cable, and they’re a gorgeous black with white marbling.  But the real test is how they knit and not how they look.  These are very nice to work with.  The join is smooth and doesn’t snag my knitting. Now, I love my Addi Turbos, but the real reason I have so many pairs is that they are the only circs the LYS closest to me stocks.  The store that stocks Knitters Pride also stocks Knit Picks needles.  It’s nice to have a cheaper option close by, even if it is a slightly longer drive (the Mexican restaurant nearby also makes the trip worthwhile!).

Last week brought temperatures in the single digits.  Some areas saw below 0 with  the windchill factor.  On Wednesday it was 8 degrees in the Boston area.  It was not a good day to lose knitwear, yet two people did just that.

This is the first piece of sad knitwear I came across.   Someone lost this, or left it on the coat hanger, at work.   This is a cute little scarf, and it looks handknit.  Someone either made this and left/lost it, or someone made it as a gift and it was left behind.  Maybe it was deliberate? We all know how some people don’t appreciate handmade knitwear. But I don’t think it was deliberate. 🙂 It’s too bad, because single-digit days are the kind of days where you definitely don’t want to forget stuff like your knitwear.  I shrugged my shoulders and passed it off as an unfortunate oversight until I stepped outside two minutes later and saw this:

Someone else did the same thing. Or maybe it’s just one forgetful person.  Either way, there was at least one person kicking him- or herself on one of the coldest days of the year.  I just hope they didn’t have to wait for a bus.