Evangeline


Last week I made these Evangeline Mitts using the elbow length variation. I made them as a shop sample to advertise my upcoming cabling class at The Scarlet Skein.

I don't know if in "real life" I'd be sporting them with a short sleeved top. (What would be the point? If you are cold why not wear long sleeves, right?) But for pictures I had to wear a top that would show them off.



I liked working the pattern. It was repetitive and the cable was fun to knit and see take shape.
I used Dream in Color Classy for this project and it took less than half of a skein! I think that I could make a pair and a half out of my leftovers.


Truthfully, I am not really a variegated yarn person. I rarely go for variegated because I don't care for the wild splashes of color that can result. I do really like Dream in Color yarns though because though they are variegated, the colors are evenly distributed creating a pretty mottled effect which adds a lot of depth and interest. I love love love the way that this yarn shows off cable work. To me it makes the cables look more 3 dimensional.



I have been so good lately. I used stash yarn for this project. I bought a sweaters worth of this color "Cloud Jungle" up at Stitches West this year, and I have since decided that I don't love the color enough to tolerate a whole sweater made up from it. So I was happy to find a project to use some of it this yarn up.


I talk a lot more about this yarn in my upcoming podcast episode which will be up shortly!
Knitting with Hannah Fettig
Last weekend was so much fun! Hannah Fettig the author of Closely Knit came to The Scarlet Skein for a book event!




It was so fun to be able to meet her in person!

Everyone sat around, chatted and made her Heart Pin pattern. Of course I had to take that opportunity to make another one. I mean.. how often to you get to knit a pattern with the designer? I made the heart out of some Debbie Bliss leftovers that I think will look really cute pinned to one of Ava's dresses. Ill have to post a picture of that soon...

Afterwards she came over and Hannah, Malaree, and I had some nice knitting time together.

Yea... Im still working on the "Dad Sweater".....
A Tiny Heart
Ok, so I was forced just absolutely forced..to take a small break from "The Dad Sweater" to do some quick knitting for the shop. Yea... Its been tough not working on that huge ribbed sweater because it's so exciting and stuff, but its a sacrifice that I will have to make.
I'll manage somehow.. I guess... :)

My first order of business was to quickly knit up this cute little heart which is the "Heart Pin" pattern from the book Closely Knit. This weekend Hannah Fettig is coming to the shop for a book signing and the owner of the shop is providing materials for everyone who comes to sit down and make this cute little heart.... Which by the way, Hannah offers the pattern for as a free download off of her blog.
I made a sample to find out exactly how much yarn it takes to make and also because its just so dang cute...



I have quite a few ideas for this little heart. How cute would it be pinned to my daughters denim jacket, or overalls? Or wouldn't it be so sweet attached to a handmade card for someone? I also thought of threading it on a ribbon and hanging it up somewhere... or I could make several and make a little crib mobile for a baby shower gift. Who knew a little knitted heart could have so many possibilities?



My daughter likes it as is.

She was really enjoying playing with it. I had to wrestle it away from her in order to take it to work with me and things got ugly and all tantrumy after that.

I think I ended up promising to knit up many more hearts to make up for it... I better get knitting.
Never Not Knitting Podcast : Episode 8 : Facing The Felt
The Dad Sweater That Just Wont Quit...
Ahh.. The Endless Ribbing...

I have been faithfully working on just my Dad's sweater now for over a week. I did waver once when I started a hat for my daughter but have since ripped that out and its probably for the best. I need to finish this sweater!!! Its getting colder and colder outside and there is my Dad all "handknit-sweater-less" and I feel a twinge of guilt every time I see him!

The pocket is a nice detail, eh?
Did I mention? This sweater is taking forever!!!!!
Evening Stockings
I finished them!!!

I started these stockings in July and just now got them finished!!!
The pattern is called Evening Stockings For a Young Lady out of the book Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.





I just love them! I think that they turned out so cute! They will be extra warm to wear under pants in the cold weather, but stylish enough to wear with a skirt.





Like most knitters on Ravelry, I made some modifications to this pattern. I was surprised by how short the socks were in the original pattern. They weren't knee-high at all! I had to add 8 extra pattern repeats to get them the right length. Also the heel flap was really really long for some reason, so I shortened the heel by 10 rows. I also worked a standard toe. I am really happy with how they turned out. The modifications that I made worked perfectly for the shape of my foot.



I worked these stockings up with US size 1 needles, and it took a little over 2 skeins of Panda Silk to complete the pair. I was surprised by how far just one skein went! One skein made almost one entire sock, I just had to finish up the end of the toe with another skein.


I also love the way that these stockings look with shoes!!!



Wow that was a lot of pictures! I just couldn't decide which ones to put up, so I used them all!!!

Thankyou to my Sister In Law, Malaree for helping me take them today!
Never Not Knitting Podcast : Episode 7 : The 17,698 Dollar Sweater

Shownotes:

Fiber Trends Sock Blockers

Panda Silk

Legwarmies

Baby Cashmerino Baby Beret

Baby Shrug

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

My New Repurposed Baby "Shrug"

Crystal Palace Straight Knitting Needles

Addi Turbo

Addi Natura

Knit Picks Knitting Needles

Redsknits on Ravelry

The $17,692 Sweater

NeverNotKnitting Ravelry Group

If you'd like to enter the drawing for Episode 7 please leave a comment guessing how many projects worth of yarn I have in my yarn stash. You have until October 25th to enter! Please remember to specify which magazine you would like to receive if you win the drawing!

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Baby Shrug: Size 18 months - 25 years
So in Fall of 2007, I made this "shrug" for my daughter...

It is the pattern "Baby Shrug" out of the book Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss. Yeah... Baby Shrug... Whatever...
Something went terribly terribly wrong with this pattern and its Ginormous!
I thought that I messed up with my gauge swatch but after reviewing all of the shrug projects on Ravelry, I realized that I'm not the only one with a huge "Baby Shrug" on their hands. Alot of knitters were surprised that it ran so big. Many compensated for this by making a smaller size or using smaller needles.
I wish I had known this! If only I was on Ravelry before I started this thing! After finishing the shrug, I blocked it and of course it only got bigger. I was pretty disappointed about it so I just put my daughter in the shrug anyways. I rolled up the sleeves 4 times and sewed a silk ribbon to the two fronts to tie the thing on her. She wore it all winter and looked pretty...uh... silly.

As you can see she is swimming in the thing. And last year when she wore it, she was even smaller than she is now! I was just hoping she would grow into it. But alas, another year has past and the shrug is still huge.

"What the heck is up with this sweater, Mom?"



Over time the silk ribbon that I had sewn on it previously had gotten pretty tattered so I set out to repair it. In the process I found out that the shrug looks way more fantastic on me as a cute little bolero style sweater.


Hey problem solved! I removed the tattered ribbon and sewed on this cute vintage button and made a crochet chain loop for a closure. I happened to have a Rowan 4-ply yarn for the loop in a very similar color. That was pretty exciting!


Yea, I know its kind of wierd to be wearing my 2 year old's sweater. But I think it's gone to good use and looks way more appropriate. Maybe Debbie Bliss should just move this pattern into one of her women's design books?
It's kind of fun repurposing this shrug because now I get to enjoy a new handknit without feeling like I put alot of work into it. I made it so long ago now I barely remember the project.

I'll eventually give the shrug back to her when she's bigger and can fit into it... in I dont know... say... 10 or 15 years?

Lace Tipped Striped Scarf

I finally got some pictures taken of my new "Lace Tipped Striped Scarf".



I really really like it. The colors are great and will add a dash of color to a blah winter outfit.



I knit this scarf using 2 balls of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK and one ball of Rowan Kid Silk Haze on US size 4 needles.

The combination of dk weight and lace weight made an interesting, lightweight but warm texture. Its very soft!

I was craving something something striped to knit and this project was perfect! I like that there is a bit of lace detail on the bottoms to add a little interest, so that its not just plain old stripes.


I also think its so pretty how the yarn combinations make this scarf transparent when held up to the light.



Great pattern. Fun to knit. Fun to wear. What more could a knitter ask for?
Never Not Knitting Podcast : Episode 6 : The Untrained Train Knitter
I've got Blog Awards coming out of my ears!
WOW! Thank you, thank you to everyone who sent me a Blog Award in the last couple of weeks! What a compliment!

This one was sent to me by Gabes from SweetPknits. I met her through Ravelry awhile back and she is so sweet! Thank you Gabes, for the award!


And this one was given to me by AngelKnits who I also met a while back through Ravelry. This knitter is awesome! She has a great sense of style and is always inspiring me! Thank you!

This award was given to me by Knittinwolf who is maybe the nicest person I have ever met. I met her over a year ago now at the shop I work at. She stops by occasionally when she is passing through town. Since then we've become internet pals and she comments on almost all of my posts! Thank you Dawn!

Ok now each of these awards has a seperate set of rules and instructions for how many blogs I now need to nominate and so forth....ahh that is too much to keep track of, so I'm just going to tell you some of my favorite blogs. If the people that I nominate would like to pass this along, you are supposed to post the picture of the award on your blog, (Choose which one you would like) and link back to me. Also you are also supposed to put a link to your favorite blogs and leave them a comment to let them know that they have recieved an award from you.
Thus, the Blog Awards will keep on going!
Some of my favorites:
Faith from FlashBangFibers. Ive been reading this blog for almost 2 years and Faith has been a major inspiration to me. She also has an awesome podcast "The Knitting Cook." Ive always appreciated both her blog and podcast because she is a mother of 3 little ones yet still manages to knit, spin and cook amazing things!
Domesticat from Domesticrafts. This blogger takes BEAUTIFUL photos. I also find myself laughing out loud at all of her blog posts. I love her style and sense of humor.
Strikker from ObsessiveKnitting. I just discovered this blog, and I really really like this blogger's knitting style. She's funny and her photos are also quite nice.
Steph from Craftoholic. She doesn't blog often but she has a great sense of style. Her pictures are professional and I love everything that she chooses to knit! I just wish that she would update more frequently because I want to see more!
There are so many more that I could mention because I have met so many awesome knitters through this blog and have made many friends. I appreciate all of you!
NeverNotKnitting Comments
Handspun


Something strange happened last night....

Inexplicably I sat down at my spinning wheel.

I haven't spun in about hmm... a million ..or so.. years now. But for some reason last night I really wanted to spin. I actually started this spinning project about a year ago and never really expected myself to finish it.

But hey, I did! Now I have about 250 more yards of laceweight to add to the ever growing, out-of-control yarn stash.


I have some patterns in mind. But I need your help. Should I make "Ice Queen" or "Abby"?
I like Ice Queen better because I think that the lace pattern is prettier, but since this is not a super duper consistent yarn <I haven't spun in like a year, remember?> perhaps Abby would be better suited... What do you think?
NeverNotKnitting Comments
Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top





Today I took my new Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top out on the town...






I just couldn't be happier about the finished product!

It fits perfectly and the yarn is so soft and warm.


To me this top just screams Fall.....



The style and texture paired with this color is so soo Autumn like.

I was so happy when I found this heathered red color nestled in with the other shades of Misti Alpaca. It was so warm and inviting. It reminded me of Tomatoes or like.... hmm...


...BRICKS...




"Hey, it is the color of bricks, isn't it?!"





I knit this top with 6 skeins of Misti Alpaca worsted and used size 6 and 7 US needles.


The only modification that I made was that I shortened the top a bit. I am only 5 foot 1 inch so I needed it to be a little less overwhelming for my frame.



Front








Back






I love this top! I will get so much use out of it this season!
"Closely Knit" knits
Lately I have been spending more time podcasting than blogging and I've realized that some serious blog updating needed to take place...
Here are some pictures of 2 new projects I've just recently cast on. Both are from the same book "Closely Knit"

This is the Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top and I'm almost done! Tonight I am going to work on finishing the back and sleeves. I should be able to get some modeled shots up by this weekend...
This project is moving along quite fast, it is worked mostly in the round and the pattern is easy to memorize and follow.
I am knitting it up with Misti Alpaca Worsted and its soo soft. AND I was so pleased to find a color in this yarn that I loved besides green. I always, always want to choose green and I already have 3 green handknit sweaters!

Fall is in the air and I know that this top will be a great versatile wardrobe piece. I can wear it with jeans or a skirt, over a tank or long sleeved tee... the possibilities are endless!
Also.... The Lace-Tipped Striped Scarf....

This pattern is worked up in stripes using a DK weight and lace weight yarn. I chose Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk in a pretty vintage gold colorway and also Rowan Kid Silk Haze in....what else.... green!
At least I can think of a sweater or two to wear it with :)
I almost didn't want to take a picture of this project in its current state. I think that the lace stitch portion on the bottom is going through an awkward stage at the moment but will grow up to be a beautiful stitch pattern when blocked out...



One change I've made so far to this pattern is that I used the lace weight yarn at the bottom instead of the DK weight like the pattern called for. I like the looks of this better, plus I have more lace weight than I do the Sublime Dk.
It should turn out to be quite pretty...
Never Not Knitting Podcast : Episode 5 : Five Pounds of Rainbow
Lovely Lacy Evening Stockings
I'm embarassed to report that this particular project has been on the needles for a long time now...



I started it like 6 weeks ago maybe..?

Bad, bad, blogger!




These are the Evening Stockings for a Young Lady ...yes that's the name of the pattern... from the book Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I was inspired to knit these stockings after running across some fabulous versions on Ravelry.com. Such as this, this and this. I thought that they were beautiful and elegant enough to wear with a dressier outfit. Say with a really cute knee length skirt and a closed toe heel? I chose black for more versatility.


Since these pictures were taken, I have completed one stocking and I absolutely love it! I've enjoyed working the pattern so far as it is a simple to memorize 5 row repeat.



Apparently I have a thing for knitting black lacy objects as you can see from the above photo. The stocking does look strikingly similar to another recently completed project of mine....
the black Retro Redux Shrug.


Hmmm... maybe I'll wear them together?
A New Knitted Friend

Here are some pictures of my daughter with her new knitted horse friend!



She loves him so much and has told me so every day since this day, the day I gave him to her and took pictures.


He is just the right size for her, big enough to be a soft squishy toy to love and hug.

The pattern for this horse is out of the book Dream Toys by Claire Garland. This is the second toy project I've knit by this designer. Earlier this year I knit up some of her Knitted Babes which are super cute as well.
This horse knit up relatively fast on size 5 needles and I used Sirdar Calico yarn which was a surprisingly soft springy yarn for only around $5 a skein! I like it so much that I would consider making some children's garments from it in the future. It's just your basic cotton/acrylic blend....machine washable....cheap....perfect.
I used Rowan Kid Silk Haze for the mane, and I love the look of it!


This little guy has just so much personality. His big knobby knees and felted embroidered face make him so loveable and unique!

Isn't it funny that I think that knitting is so easy, but embroidery totally freaks me out?
To me, that was the hardest part of this whole project.
Once I gave her that horse, she was so excited to take him with her on some adventures!



......She tried riding it, but that didn't work out so well.....




When she was tired of playing with her new horse, she tried to put him down for a nap.....



But he was so much more comfortable in her bed.....


Podcast Apologies
I posted Episode 4 of the NeverNotKnitting podcast onto iTunes last night. I realize that it has probably been very difficult to download as it seems that the demand for the podcast has exceeded our expectations.
My husband is working on it right now, he is going to take the episode down and figure out a better host for the podcast. It should be up and downloadable shortly!
So sorry for the inconvenience. I will get the shownotes up as soon as we get this podcast thing sorted out! Thanks for your patience!
NeverNotKnittingComment
Crossing the Finish Line
I finished my Ravelympics sweater!


I won! YAY! I WON! What..?...oh wait... I didn't win anything....nevermind...

Well, I think it turned out pretty cute! The pattern was written very very well and was easy to follow. You could describe this project as simply ideal. It was a joy to work on! It worked up quickly and the pattern well... it was just fun to knit.
As far as the finished sweater goes, I really like the style and I look forward to wearing it when the weather permits.


Ya know, it's not all that comfortable modeling an angora sweater in 90 degree weather.. ahhh the things I do for this blog. :)



Another awesome thing about this project is that I used up some yarn that I had already which makes me feel very good about myself. I am such a good person.... Now I can go buy some more...

I sewed on a hook and eye closure to keep the fronts together until I find the perfect buttons. This sweater is a unique color and style, so it needs just the right buttons to look appropriate. Does anyone have any button suggestions?


I used size 9 needles to make this cardigan and needed 8 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Angora to complete it. The Angora I used is similar to the yarn Lush that this pattern calls for and is a perfect gauge match!







I definitely recommend the Lush and Lacy Cardigan pattern!