Wear Test: Garnstudio Karisma

While I've been quite fond of Cascade 220 and Knit Picks Shine Sport in terms of how they've held up to frequent washings, Garnstudio Karisma leaves much to be desired. Frankly, I've found little to like about this superwash yarn. Care instructions are machine wash cold and dry flat. I've only washed this sweater a handful of times and this is what it looks like today:


Very fuzzy with lots of pilling. I was so disappointed because this was one of my favorite baby sweaters. I'll have to make another one for next winter in a more durable yarn.

Next up: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease (and it's back too!)

Lapland Mittens from Folk Mittens

While I still have no knitting progress to speak of, I thought I'd post about my lamest UFO ever (please excuse the background of diapers!) Check this out: BOTH mittens are done. One even has a thumb. The only thing remaining is another thumb. These mittens are two years old. That's right, two years. I estimate it would take me about 30 minutes to finish the second thumb. Why haven't I? I have to find the yarn, the book and some size 3 DPNs. I'm a little behind on work right now so they'll have to wait a little longer. I intend on bringing these to my knitting group next weekend so you can expect a long overdue FO post next week about these babies!


Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
Pattern: Lapland Mittens from Folk Mittens
Needles: US 3

The other day, I was looking down at my hands and I noticed a dark indentation on my right index finger. On further inspection, I noticed another one on my left pinky finger. I pointed it out to Aaron, wondering aloud what on earth could have caused the marks. He looked at me blankly. "Knitting," he said. Of course. How could I have missed that one? So it's official: I am the biggest dork ever! My friends have been purporting this for years.
This is how I hold my knitting when knitting English style:

I wrap the yarn around my pinky when knitting Continental style, which explains the mark on my left hand. Seven years of knitting has left its mark, I suppose! Am I alone in this? Do you all have knitting marks?

Finally, my SP Deb sent a really cool final package, complete with sock yarn and Beatrix Potter books for baby Beatrix!!! She's already interested in Peter Rabbit's ears! Thanks so much, Deb! I had a great time with SP - I hope you did too!

Wear Test: Knit Picks Shine Sport

Those of you who read my blog while I was nesting in the last weeks of my pregnancy this summer heard a lot of gushing about Knit Picks Shine:

"It's so soft!"

"So easy to work with!"

"Produces such nice stitch definition."

"Amazingly enough, for a cotton yarn, it doesn't suck!"

The latter, in my opinion, was the highest praise. I always be a woolaholic. I know I'm in good company, right?

So how did Shine stand up to six glorious months of baby wear? Not too bad, all things considered (which means, "Not too bad given it's so cheap.")

Here is a striped baby tank top. Proportionally speaking, it seems wider now than it did when I made it. Granted, I have a skinny kid so everything looks wide on her. It's possible that it shrunk up a little - I can't say for certain. This tank hasn't seen as much wear as the next sweater so it's still in pretty good shape.

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport
Pattern: Baby Tank from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits Book
Needles: US 4

Now this argyle sweater has seen a lot of wear. And machine washing and drying, as the label professes is possible. Yes, I threw it in the washer in spite of the delicate shell buttons. They haven't broken yet... The sweater looks great from a distance. Even in this photo you can't see the problem.

A fine halo :Yarn: Knit Picks Shine
Pattern: Argyle Cardigan in Debbie Bliss' Special Knits
Needles: US 4

I imagine that's the 50% modal giving off the fuzz but what do I know? It just doesn't look quite as crisp as it did six months ago. Is this a bit picky? Perhaps, but if I spend hours knitting it, I don't want the sweater to go all Holy on me in six months. This won't keep me from buying more Shine because you all know I'm cheap; however, I won't gush as much about it in the future. I promise!

Finally, I have another picture of the red Cascade 220 sweater, this time with cute accompanying hat.


More tomorrow with some SP goodies and more!

Baby Sewing - No New Knitting

While there's not much knitting getting done here, I have made a little progress on a project that's been sitting around for a few months. As I've mentioned before, we use cloth diapers. Lots of cloth diapers.
When I was pregnant, I made about 200 flannel wipes by sewing two 9"x9" squares of flannel together. The wipes were by far the most useful thing I made in preparation for baby Beatrix.
When Beatrix was a few weeks old, I realized that we could certainly use more wipes (you can never have too many). And they make great gifts. Unfortunately, they're only quick to make if you make a ton at once. Otherwise, they're fairly labor intensive. At the time, I bought more fabric, cut the squares out, matched fronts and backs up, and sewed. I never got around to turning them right-side out, ironing them, and topstitching them closed. Yes, I realize I could cut a few of those steps out if I had a serger but I don't have one and I'm not sure I'm willing to spend the money on one. So, to make a long story short, I turned them out and ironed them. I'll stitch another day and maybe we'll have more wipes before Beatrix leaves for college.

Don't you just love the colors?
I know, I know. Their intended purpose is to wipe a baby's butt. You needn't remind me. I still think they're cute.

Another Cascade 220 Sweater

After many attempts, I finally got a representative photo of the other sweater I told you about on Friday. Man, is red hard to capture!!! I think it's worse than navy blue. The shell buttons are actually light green but you can't really tell from this picture.

Pattern: Seed Stitch & Cable Jacket from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits Book
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 7

I thought I was done with my post about the green hoodie but today, my little monkey girl fell dead asleep and Aaron and I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity. This kid doesn't sleep often, you know! So here are some more pictures for you.


A couple of you asked for the pattern and I promise that I'll put it up sometime this spring. Right now, it consists of illegible scribbles on graph paper with coffee stains. Nice, eh? Besides, I only wrote it for 3 and 6 months and I'd like to size it up for 9 and 12 months too. With school in full swing, it might take me a while. Fortunately, Zarah has agreed to be a test knitter for me! Anyone else interested? Hopefully, by the time I get the pattern up, you'll be able to see several versions of it.

Now for some secret baby knitting. You won't likely see this finished product for a while since it's my side project (how many of those is one allowed anyhow?) but it's a baby sweater for a newly pregnant friend. With booties to match. I love booties. This kind actually stays on the kid's feet too!!!

The yarn is nothing to write home about. It's Plymouth Encore Worsted. I'm pretty sure the recipient won't be up for wool care. What can I say? Not everyone will enjoy the woolen baby sweater, right?

Wear Test: Cascade 220

It's time to revisit those baby knits to see how well the yarns I chose have stood the test of time (and baby)! I thought I'd start this series of blog posts with a real winner: Cascade 220. Now, I know some of you wince at the thought of baby garments made from feltable wool (and indeed, Cascade 220 is a champion felter). Frankly, so do I. Heavy sweaters and jackets are the exception, however, as they don't need to be washed every time they're worn. I could not resist the yarn/pattern combination with this garment so I just hoped I'd have time to do the washing. In fact, now I do a wool wash about every two to three weeks.


Pattern: Double-Breasted Hooded Jacket, Phildar inspiration, my own creation.
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 7
Finished: July 2006

The jacket has held up remarkably well and looks as good today as when it came off my needles. Most notably, there is no fuzz. You know what I'm talking about. Even when you wash your woolens with extreme caution, over time they develop a slight halo of fuzz. Not this yarn. As you can see, the stitch definition remains quite crisp. While the color of the jacket is different in each photo, both are accurate reflections of the jacket's true color. This is another thing I like so much about this particular yarn - light (and likely the seed stitch texture) dramatically change the jacket's appearance.

I'm very pleased with the results, especially since Beatrix wears this all the time. Let me assure you that this jacket has seen its fair share of drool and spit up too! Furthermore, layered over another sweater, this jacket keeps Beatrix warmer outside than any other hand-knit or store-bought garment. For this reason, I've made several of these for other friends with babies.

You might recall another baby sweater out of Cascade 220. It's such a rich red that I've had difficulty photographing it. If I have time this weekend, you might get to see it - it's in the same great shape as the green one. So baby knitters: go get yourselves some Cascade 220!

Miserable Jaywalkers

I swatched. I made gauge. I tried the Jaywalker on every few inches to make sure it fit. It did. Then, I turned the heel. The sock no longer fit. Not even close. I am so annoyed with the pattern. The knitted fabric is as stiff as cotton. Kellee tells me that the socks really, really do stay up and I believe her because they're so stiff. I haven't yet decided whether I'll rip and start over or rip and use the yarn for a different project. Maybe Pomatomus? Do you think it would look okay with the Regia stripey yarn or would that be overload?

In the meantime, I started a new pair of socks, this time for my husband. I had in mind Nancy Bush's Railway Socks from Vintage Socks book. You can get an idea of what these socks ought to look like here and here. Here's the deal: drastically different gauge, different stitch pattern, different heel, different color pattern. What's left? Nancy Bush inspiration, I suppose. Using Knit Picks Swish Superwash, I cast on for some therapy knitting. I've since finished the sock and cast on for the second sock. I've been secretly knitting during my Tuesday night graduate seminar so maybe this pair will be finished shortly!

One reason I chose to make the socks for Aaron was that I'm curious to see how the yarn holds up to wear. This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, mostly as I wash baby knits in Eucalan. Finished hand knits are beautiful, sure. But what about what they look like after they've been worn and washed? I think my project for this week will be to take some photos of the sweaters I made for Beatrix when I was pregnant so you can judge for yourselves how the yarns are holding up. So far, not so bad. There have been a few surprises, however - surprises that mostly prove that high price does not equal high quality. What about your hand knits? How have they held up to the test of time?

Gift Socks

Until now, my mom and sister-in-law have been the only people on my regular sock recipient list because I know that they'll both wear my socks. Too often, I've given away socks to people who think handknit socks are either too warm or too pretty to actually wear. These people are decidedly off my list. When we were in Boston, my aunt and cousin said they'd wear my socks so I promised each a pair. At least a pair, maybe more if I get them done. Here is the finished pair of Cable Twist socks for my aunt.



I started a pair of Jaywalkers for my cousin. Blogland, I am the only knitting blogger who has yet to make a pair of these. OK, well that's a bit of a stretch but it seems like it could be true. I'm using Regia Canadian Fashion Color in #4732 (Toronto). The pattern is easy and I like watching the self-striping turn out but I'm not totally in love with the Jaywalker like some people. It's a good pattern for this type of yarn but that's about all I can say about it.

Cable Twist Socks v. 2.0

Well, it certainly is nice to be able to answer all of you! I'm so glad I switched to Haloscan! I've also added a new header banner (thanks to French Roast Design) with a few more new design elements coming soon.

Here are a few progress pictures on the Cable Twist socks. I hope to finish them this week! Johanna asked how many balls of Swish you need for a pair. I'm using 3 balls for women's size 8 socks with a 6" leg. I'm knitting them up on US 2s with 56 sts around. My other pair of Swish socks will probably take 4 balls, as I used a longer leg.

One class session down, 573842758345894302 more to go. So far, so good. I'm pretty excited about this particular professor. He uses CHALK. No joke. No whipping through PowerPoint slides at breakneck pace. PowerPoint for very detailed material is just worthless, in my opinion. Organic chemistry? Lots of details. There is hope.

Ack! Where did my comments go?

Yes, that's right, I think I deleted all the comments from my blog when I moved to Haloscan comments. Sorry, folks! But at least now, I'll be able to WRITE YOU BACK when you leave me a note!!! I really dislike Blogger's comment system and I finally got around to changing so you'll all hear more from me in the future!! I've also just upgraded my Blogger template so if things look funky to you, please let me know, OK?

OK, so lots of you like how the stripes look in ribbing. I'm glad I'm in the minority. I really do like how Regia's Canadian Fashion colors look. I have a ball of Toronto too that I'll be knitting up soon. I might try using several inches of ribbing and a stockinette sock. Just for kicks. All because you people say it really works. If they don't stay up, I'll gift them to someone with more cooperative legs. How about that?

Some great packages arrived at my doorstep this week. First, a Knit Picks order with some Telemark for colorwork,
some grey Swish Superwash for some muted socks,
and 32" circular needles in sizes 0 and 1.
Next, a care package containing some sock yarn, a great pair of wristwarmers, a Magic Loop booklet and a running diary!!!! Thanks, SP! You rock!
All will come in handy, I suspect. I'm really stoked about getting back to logging runs.

Yesterday, I tried out the jogging stroller again and miraculously enough, Beatrix fell asleep and I ran/walked for 90 minutes. I think it was at least five miles. Rock on. Unfortunately, I'm exhausted today. Maybe I was a little too excited. I started out intending to walk around the block but I wore exercise clothes just in case B fell asleep. When I was out, I started planning out how I could do this every afternoon and it would be a great way to kill time and get back to running shape. I will not get ahead of myself. I have no expectations. If she lets me run during the day, great. If not, I'll stick to my evening routine.

So, where were we? Oh yeah, packages that came... One last one: an order of Bum Genius cloth diapers. I'm a new convert. We've been using diapers I made, cotton prefolds with Bummis covers and a few handmade pocket diapers. Let me tell you, these diapers are so much better. They allegedly fit babies 8-35 lbs. There's this ingenious snap system that allows you to shorten or lengthen the diaper to fit and then the tabs are stretchy. Brilliant. I'm not giving up prefolds, however. Those poofy prefold diapers are versatile and, frankly, much cheaper than the Bum Genius diapers. We'll use the BG diapers when we leave the house, I think.

Finally, a progress report on my Cable Twist socks. I'm still working on #1 but the end is in sight.
I hope to finish this one this weekend and maybe start #2. I start back to school on Monday so we'll see how much knitting I get done next week. I'm really nervous about going back to school. I had to drop down lots of hours last semester because I had a 2 week old baby. I know that there is a huge difference between 2 weeks and 5 months in terms of how much B needs me but I'm still really nervous about it. It will be fine, I'm sure.