Finished post-steek sweatrrr

First this yarn was a cardigan that I liked, but which was too broad in the shoulders and was never quite comfortable. Then it was a sweatrr, but it was a bit too small, and I didn’t really like the blobs.

But then TechKnitter unvented a new steeking technique which I wanted to try, so I convinced myself that the yarn wouldn’t bear another frogging and reknitting and took scissors to it.

The steek technique is great, and creates beautiful edges, and the cardigan gives every appearance of having been designed expressly for my mum, who is much happier with it than I ever was. I call that a win.

Star chart of the northern hemisphere

I’ve wanted to make this since before the pattern even appeared, and was relieved that someone else did all the calculations so all I had to do was buy it and print out half a tree worth of charts

Via Flickr:
Pattern: Celestarium from Twist Collective (www.twistcollective.com/collection/component/content/arti…), with slightly amended edging.

Breaking knitters’ block

(Also bloggers’ block, I suppose!)

I’ve been working on Arietta for nearly a year, and have been stalled on it for only slightly less time. Every time I pick it up I make a mistake, or get confused, and stop again in favour of patterns which require less attention.

But because of getting confused about quantities and washableness of Koigu when planning a present for a brand-new baby, I had a 50g skein of sock yarn in rather fetching reds and pinks, and decided to make a mini-Arietta with it, in the hope of finally getting the pattern.

And I think, cautiously, that it’s worked. This is my mini-Arietta blocking:

It’s 48″ long and 14″ wide at the widest point, which is plenty big enough for a small shawl or a scarf, and it’s lovely. And now I’m working again on its red laceweight sibling…

Ribbed fingerless mittens

Pattern: Lydia’s mitts

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My officemate Lydia complained that her hands were cold, typing in our sometimes-freezing office, so I offered to knit her some mittens. These are the result, knit from some handspun that I called ‘Silk Cut (with merino)’ because it reminds me of the colours of Silk Cut cigarette packets, and is made from one strand of merino plied with one of silk.

Lydia’s mitts pattern available to download from Ravelry.

Blocking lace


This is Annis, pinned to the futon in my library, blocking. I added some more rows of plain stocking stitch with a row of eyelets just before the cast off edge (ribbon is threaded through them in the picture, although I haven’t decided yet if I’ll wear it with the ribbon or if it’s just a blocking aid). I went round the cast on edge afterwards with a teen tiny crochet hook (three single crochet to each cast on loop) and added beads to each point.

This is to wear for a friend’s wedding in a week and a bit, and I’ve been putting off finishing the edging before suddenly realising quite how soon it is!

Talking of things I’ve been putting off… the sheer weight of unblogged projects has been hanging over me and harshing my blog mojo, but I got fed up with it ;-) I might blog the unblogged stuff; I might not. For now, I’ll just do a list of things I’m currently working on:

  • Rogue – this is a reknit. I made the cardigan version years ago and it never quite worked, so I’ve unravelled and am reknitting as a jumper, with – I think – better gauge. I’m about 20 rows into the hood, so nearly finished, and very excited about it :-)

  • Still knitting Henry for large-male-friend-R. About halfway through, and sort of hoping to be done for Christmas this year (and hoping/planning to make a hat for his daughter and mitts for his wife to accompany the gift).

  • Space-invader-yoke cardigan for toddler-L (reknitting the star kimono and Tomten he’s grown out of). I got a fair way into this before being seized with doubt about the sizes of toddlers, and after his mother had wielded the measuring tape, it was confirmed that the internet had lied to me, so I had to start again, and lost motivation.

  • Oh god another reknit: the suffragette socks! The double-knit cuffs are great, but the first version of the sock body (so to speak) was too tight. I should know better! So I’m reknitting those, to be grafted to the cuffs. Eventually.

  • And finally, not on the needles, but in planning: I made C a simple ribbed cowl for her birthday, and I really want one myself! I’m wearing pashminas-as-scarves a lot, but getting really fed up with the dangling ends. It only took an afternoon to knit C’s, so all I need to do is choose yarn and find time…

Oh, and I knit yet another pair of baby Coriolis for the imminent arrival of T’s baby, but despite finishing them ages ago, I have not yet posted them, and the baby was due a couple of days ago. Note to self: post socks.