NuttyIrishmanKnits

Aye Aye Cap'n!

Cap'n Crunch by Jennifer Adams
Knitted using 1 skein Manos del Uruguay, #40 Goldenrod.
Knitted on US Size 10 Brittany Birch straight needles.
Ravelers queue it up here.

Hey guys!  Long time no see!  I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post.  Ooi.  I guess things have been getting pretty busy around the Adams' house, including a move set for next weekend (insert Jennifer biting fingernails here).  But I've got to say I have been keeping up with all the great knitting going out there, and have really enjoyed some of the group discussions on Ravelry.  Alice introduced me to the group forums on Ravelry.  I've been blissfully unaware of so much of the "goings-on" in the knit-o-sphere, and now I'm trying to catch up on all I've missed.  I'm a member of a lot of groups on Ravelry but I guess I never paid much attention to the group discussions.  So, if we're in a group together and you notice me commenting a lot (!) just chalk it up to yours truly playing around with a new toy.  And goodness knows I have never been at a loss for words!

This month at our yarn shop we are celebrating Christmas in July, and we've got a lot coming up, including EZ classes and a mitten class featuring Fiddlehead.  And we also have quite a bit of Manos del Uruguay in stock as well.  I had originally planned to knit Shifting Sands using this colorway, Goldenrod, but the pattern just wasn't showing up as clearly as I had hoped.  So instead, I spent last Saturday knitting and frogging, frogging and knitting until I came up with something that could really show the texture of Manos. 

I began working with a simple basketweave pattern and discovered that it really worked best with the yarn held doubled.  Then I rummaged around in my grandmother's sewing box and found a couple of great green buttons to finish it off.  So from beginning to end this pidge took three hours (or three episodes of CSI).  Pretty good for last minute Christmas gifts! 

I also soaked this for a LONG time, okay... actually I forgot about it, so it softened up considerably.  I have also heard of soaking Manos in conditioner, and if you have tried this, let me know!  I'm interested in giving that ago, with proper instructions.  But overall, I think it turned out well.  I've been wearing it around all morning and it's not the least bit itchy. 

And then there was trying to come up with a name.  Andy came through and I asked him, "does this sort of look like barley to you?"  And he answered, "It looks like Cap'n Crunch.  I'm hungry."  So there you go.  Bon Appétit!

Rocky Mountain High

Juniper Mitts by Jennifer Adams
Knitted in O-Wool Balance, 120 yards, colorway 3125, Jade.
Knitted on US size 6 Crystal Palace 35" circular needles.
Ravelers queue them up here.

While the kids are visiting the grandparents for two weeks, Andy decided to surprise me with a little getaway of our own, to the mountains of Colorado.  And I couldn't dream of a better place than the tranquil ski village of Breckenridge to post a new pattern from.  My friend Shelly, and owner of our great yarn shop, Twist, recently gave me a single skein of yarn.  It was a sample from the yarn rep and since it was only 130 yards there wasn't really much to be done with it.  And this got me to thinking about stash busting.  In particular, stash busting with those lone left over skeins of great yarn from big projects.  So I gratefully took the skein (one never turns down yarn...) and started playing around with it over the next few days.  It didn't take long to come up with a quick fingerless mitt pattern, and thankfully, a pattern that comes in just shy of 120 yards.  Not bad.

The Juniper Mitts are a simple spiraling rib pattern that can easily be knitted up in a weekend.  I knitted this pair in O-wool, and really like the soft texture of the blended wool and cotton.  But they will work in any worsted weight yarn.  I've also knitted a pair in Lang Tweed and have a third started in Malabrigo.  Their only embellishment comes from the addition of two large or four medium sized buttons on the cuff.  Enjoy!

And as for other news, Julie from Little Cotton Rabbits has tagged me.  Apparently I have to tell you 6 things about myself, starting from what I was doing ten years ago?  Andy says I can't remember that far back.  I say he's crazy because I can remember that far back, my hands and feet swell just thinking about it.  I was very, very with child, specifically our firstborn, Benjamin.  As a matter of fact it was around this same time of year, 10 years ago, that I officially did my first beached whale flop on the bed and had to yell for help to get up. I'll never forget Andy standing at the end of the bed staring at me, asking "what did you dooooo?" I would have smacked him if I could have reached him without getting a full body cramp.  "Just pull me up!"  was my reply.  The fact that he grunted upon granting my request is something I still remember clearly.  Can't remember my foot...

Now, five things on my to-do list for today... this really isn't fair since I'm on vacation, but I'll do my best:

•run 4 miles along the Blue River that runs between Breckenridge and Frisco
•not fall out of the raft and need "bobbing" to be retrieved while white water rafting through Browns Canyon.
•buy sunscreen and bottled water
•email pictures back home to Dad of abandoned gold mines in Leadville
•take nap (you knew that was coming after the first two!)

and five snacks I enjoy:

•yogurt with blueberries and granola (I eat this every day, a couple of times a day)
•NUTELLA on a spoon (aka heaven on a spoon)
•Snickerdoodle cookies
•Mint Chocolate Chip Frappachinos from Starbucks, but I'm trying to quit after reading the nutritional facts at the Starbucks website... let's just say I'd be better off with a couple of BK Whoppers
•ripe tomatoes straight from the garden (salt shaker and lawn chair included)

and what would I do if I were a billionaire?

•probably mostly what I do now, only with a lot more yarn.

Where have I lived?

Just in the US, except for a stint in New Orleans.  Yeah I know, technically New Orleans is in the United States, but just barely... ;-)

Thanks for the tag Julie!  And I hope you guys enjoy the new pattern!  I doubt I'll post again while up here in the mountains.  I can't hardly get a signal for shoot and it has taken me nearly two hours to get this post finished!  But I'll be looking forward to catching up on all of my bloglines when I get home and see what everyone else has been up to.  Happy Knitting! 

Karma Goes Around Comes Around

 
Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia.
Knitted in Cascade 220 Heathers and Cascade 220 wool, blue colorway with red scroll.
Knitted on US size 3 Addi Turbos, 40 inch.
Ravelers see it here.

I'm so pumped right now about our July mitten class we are having at the yarn shop.  We have a lot of sock knitters here in Kansas, but I haven't met too many mitten knitters.  And I'm fully determined to make our sock knitters switch hitters!  Not to mention July is the perfect time to do a little Christmas knitting! 

We're using Adrian's enormously popular Fiddlehead pattern this go 'round, which I think is a great choice.  The colorwork is not overly complicated and the pattern repeats on front and back.  I knitted a test mitten using Cascade 220 and I am really pleased with how well this yarn worked.  The pattern calls for dk weight yarn, but since Cascade is worsted I was a bit worried.  I really didn't want to go below a size 3 needle.  So I held my breath and went for it.  And believe it or not, knitted on US size 3's this mitten actually ended up smaller in both row and stitch gauge than my original.  Go figure!

 

Just to change things up a bit I reversed the colorwork, with the colors changing in the background rather than the scrolls, and I have been working diligently in getting my Continental technique up to par.  I held my main color over my left index finger and my contrasting colors over my right.  I know you are actually supposed to do just the opposite, but since I reversed the colorwork, I really wanted to make sure my scrolls stood out and didn't get tucked down in the blues.  I think it turned out pretty well!

I've got one more mitten to knit up, only this time I'm using Noro Kuryeon for the colorwork.  I've seen several great looking mittens on Flickr using the Noro, and I think it's a great idea if full-out colorwork is not really your thang.  (Fake Isle proved that to be true.)

And as for other knits, I think I'm on a blue kick! I don't know why I get on color kicks, but when I look at my FO's on Ravelry I always move through stages.  Weird. 



I've been working the last month on a sweater... for myself... Yeah!  I wanted to knit something that would be my favorite comfy sweater.  I had wanted to knit Raspy but the pattern isn't available right now (I have since located a copy of the discontinued Denim People by Rowan), so in the meantime I started perusing (yeah, I peruse!) my EZ books and opted instead for her great Seamless Hybrid.  There are some lovely ones online and I decided to get out my denim yarn squirreled away for Raspy and use it instead for the Hybrid.  Love it!  I have a feeling this really is going to be my favorite sweater... especially perfect for my lounge pants.  This is my first time using EZ's EPS system, which is sheer genius.  I've allowed for two inches of positive ease, and did a small amount of shaping in the waist so I wouldn't have a tube.  (Guys, you can get away with the tube.  Girls, not so much.)  And of course the perfect comfy sweater has to be able to handle a good washing, otherwise you just end up with a stinky perfect sweater that no one wants to be near.  And from past experience with Cotton Jeans I know it holds up well in both the washer and dryer.  I have one more sleeve to knit and then I can join the body and sleeves together and start that great saddleback.  Whoo-hoo!  (I'm just a bit pumped about this sweater... can ya tell?)



And as for Clapotis I am actually making progress.  Lord have mercy but it is true!  I have dropped eight stitches and have only four more to go before starting the decreasing.  The silk garden is gorgeous, but this yarn is terrible about not wanting to drop.  I have a feeling those of you who opted for a different yarn without slubs probably had a much easier time than I am with the dropping of stitches.  I have to manually release every stitch.  It's a bit of a bummer but the end product I know will be worth it!

And last week after saying I would NOT cast on anything new I changed my mind and decided to do the Baby Surprise Jacket.  So I emailed a friend and said, "Hey, let's do this!  Shouldn't take more than three days!"  Well, I was at Michaels buying a seam ripper (another story...) and found some semi-cute yarn?  You know the cheap yarn that you know you shouldn't buy, but you're there and it's there it's maybe sort-of calling to you?  You know when it says, I think I might be able to possibly work for such-and-such?  Well I gave in and it completely sucks and I am therefore frogging the whole thing.  This is what happens when I get away from our great LYS and get sucked in by the mediocre competition.  From now on I am sticking to the good stuff.  So I'm remaining loyal to the Clap and it's holding my attention.  I'm pressing on with my Seamless Hybrid and  EPS is proving true.  And I strayed from Shelly and ended up frogging.  I guess it is true; karma goes around comes around.

Am I a Knitting Puritan?

Bird in Hand by Kate Gilbert.
Knitted in Cascade 220 wool, avocado and deep brown.
Knitted on a pair of US size 3 Addi Turbos.
Modification: After reading the braid instructions I wimped out and used my old fave, the Norwegian Braid.  I also chose to use purl rows where the pattern denoted additional braids.
Ravelers find my mitten here.

Now I know what you're thinking... this doesn't look like the Clap!  Nor does it look like Chevalier, or bloomers... I know!  It's none of the above, but it is a partially finished knit that has helped me break through my mental block of finishing all those other projects, minus Chevalier.  Chevalier had to be frogged four times (!)  in an attempt to find a suitable size for me, and sadly, I was unable to do it with the o-wool.  I hate that!  I really wanted to knit those mittens in the o-wool, it's perfect for them!  But I kept ending up with either a flimsy wanna-be (single-stranded) or a ginormous  man-mitten (double-stranded).  Even changing needles sizes didn't work.  Drat!

And my Clapotis is coming along.  I am four skeins into it using the Silk Garden.  My unrealistic goal of last weekend was a no-go, so I've moved this deadline out to Mother's Day, which I think is much more reasonable!   So the Clap should be in the mail by then, on it's way to Memphis.

And as for Annabelle's Unmentionables... all I can say is when you drop the ball, it is so nice to have a friend there to pick it up and run with it!  I am barely inching my way through this pattern right now, and Shelly blew through it with considerable gusto.  Her FO (and it's model) are so adorable that I had to show them off to you guys.  Blogger's bragging rights!

This is Miss Ainsley modeling her Unmentionables, which look awesome!  Shelly used Nashua Cilantro for these in a pretty mint green.  This yarn has such bounce to it!  And being worn by an active toddler doesn't hurt the bounce factor either!  (Ravelers can find Ainsley's Unmentionables here.)

Yesterday, while knitting from the screen**, I was listening to my favorite podcast Stash & Burn.  I don't know which episode it was (found it!),  but a question regarding "Start-itis" with was posed:

        ~do we penalize ourselves in knitting? 

And this got me to thinking, probably because I find myself in that particular boat right now.  Do I sometimes chastise myself for wanting to cast on a new project when I have several on the sticks already?  Projects that are going no where fast and I find myself MOPPING the kitchen floor instead of finishing?  Maybe this is something we can all relate to, and I'm just throwing it out there...

        ~have I begun to impose unnecessary rules on my HOBBY?

As for Bird in Hand, I've got to say, my confidence in my own stranding ability has been somewhat restored.  The Fiddleheads so threw me off my game that I seriously began to question whether or not I really understood stranded-colorwork.  But this mitten encouraged me along the way, and I'm really looking forward to working on the second.  It also doesn't hurt that Cascade smooths like a dream when blocked within an inch of it's life...

So hopefully after a bit of a self-imposed break my pace will begin to pick back up to one I'm more comfortable with and I'll have more FO's to post about!  In the meantime, it's time to hit the sticks and I'll be darned if I'm not actually looking forward to it this time!  So here's wishing you happy knitting today... Cheers!

**When we moved to Kansas my printer cable was lost, and I am therefore relegated to knitting from the screen on nearly everything.  Including Inga!  Crazy!

 

Funny Valentines

Playtime Petit Fours by Jennifer Adams

While the boys are fishing today, Annabelle and I are making and wrapping valentines.  Ben's plan was to head out early this morning... his exact words were "Dad and I are getting up at 3:30, Mom."  Dad's spontaneous expression indicated I should add a couple hours to that proclamation.  And by the time they were officially out the door I had added more than a couple.   I  just wonder if they are really at the lake or at IHOP eating pancakes.

Yesterday was "errand day" as my Grandmother always called Saturday.  And I finally found some cute little "cake" boxes* for Annabelle's Petit Fours.  I think the sweetest thing about knitting these little valentines has been Annabelle's assertion early into each knit as to whom each petit four belongs to.  "This one is definitely Addison's... oh Mom, this just looks like Lanna..." I wish I had a picture of her expression as I would add beads, or leaves.  She is quite the micro-manager!

Today I plan on finishing up some unfinished knits.  I have a pair of booties lacking buttons and a bunny lacking its head.  So while Annabelle glues hearts to lollipop tags, I am going to station myself beside her at the table and knit away!

* I found small craft boxes at Michaels that are the exact size for the little petit fours.

Playtime Petit Fours

Playtime Petit Fours by Jennifer Adams
Nashua Handknits Creative Focus, cotton dk
Ravelers queue it here

I am so excited about this little pattern!  Growing up, I loved to have afternoon tea with all my stuffed buddies.  I would set the table, put on my prettiest dress with my mother's purse and shoes, and round up the gang for at least thirty minutes of uninterrupted "conversation."  Thankfully, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and Annabelle enjoys afternoon tea as much as I did!

And what afternoon tea is complete without something sweet?  For we Southern girls, that translates into Petit Fours.  Sweet little cakes that disappear with one bite (if your mouth is big enough).  Most tea-times were adorned with Oreos, or Chips Ahoy, but once in a blue moon... Petit Fours.

For the last two weeks my email has been flooded with busy moms planning the Valentine's party for our kiddos.  And with the flurry of activity and correspondence, I decided to do something a bit different.  Something that would last longer than the time it took for my daughter to pull off the wrapper and inhale whatever sweet was inside.  Hence, Playtime Petit Fours.  I knitted these using Nashua Creative Focus cotton dk and US 3 DPN's.  These little treats are so quick and easy to knit you could knit them in any number of colors or patterns of colors.  I chose to knit several wrappers first, and the embellishments whenever I had a spare moment.  Then, when I was ready to complete a petit four, all I had to do was knit the icing top and assemble the different parts.

I hope you enjoy Playtime Petit Fours.  Annabelle is gifting hers in little boxes with pretty ribbons.  And thankfully I have several prototypes on the shelf for she and her stuffed buddies to devour at tea tomorrow.  So as long as Annabelle wants to assemble her friends for afternoon tea, Mom will have Petit Fours to go around!

Norwegian Mittens

Let me start by apologizing to all you guys who were unfortunately visiting NIK this morning while I was working on the layout! Ugh! I bet I was driving you nuts! But thankfully, I think I've got it all worked out.

And it's a good thing I didn't say by which Tuesday I wanted to have my Norwegian mittens finished! It has been a crazy week, with an unexpected turn-around trip to Arkansas. But we are home and my Norwegians have blocked. I love this pattern so much I have plans to knit another pair. I wandered from the pattern only once, opting to use a braid to give the cuff flare, rather than an I-cord. And the next pair I knit, I will do better on my thumbs. I don't like them, at all. They are big and bulky, and you could easily put two thumbs in each! EZ's instructions call for picking up stitches at either end and twisting those stitches to avoid a hole. My thumb didn't continue easily with the pattern, but sort of stuck out. (Ha! Like a sore...) For me, picking up additional stitches added bulk. I think if I knit the Afterthought Thumb again, I think I will consider the number of stitches I mark for the thumb, and go with the less is more approach.

Ravelers see them here

The yarn worked out beautifully. I have one full skein of Cocoon left to knit another pair! You would never believe by looking at these mittens that you could knit a pair using only one skein of your main color. Mine are exactly 12" from top to bottom, which (I think) is EZ's measurements. And I love the pointed shape! In my opinion it's perfect heirloom knitting. Although this weekend my brother thought I was knitting a "change purse," and declared, "that's the ugliest change purse I've ever seen!" He changed his mind after further inspection...

I am completely addicted to braids for Nordic knitting. Amazingly they keep stockinette from curling up on mittens, hats, and just about anything else you trim out with them! Here is a generic pattern for a braid that can be used to edge the Norwegian Mittens if you're not interested in doing the ribbed cuff or I-cord:

CO stitches designated by the pattern in Main Color. Place marker and join for knitting in the round.
Round 1: Knit.
Round 2: Bring MC to front as if to purl. Join CC and purl 1 stitch in contrasting color.
Bringing the MC over the CC, purl the second stitch. Continue purling, bringing each yarn over
the other, alternating colors. (This will cause your yarn to twist, so allow yourself plenty of tension.)
Round 3: Beginning with CC, purl, continuing to alternate colors as in previous round, only bring each yarn under the previous yarn. (This will cause your yarn to twist the opposite direction, until completely untwisted.)
Round 4: Knit in MC.
Continue with pattern instructions. (This revision gives you one less row than specified by EZ for the ribbing, but the braid is slightly larger, and the finished measurements come out the same.)

If you've never used a braid before, try it! If you're anything like me you'll be sticking them on everything!

The only thing left to do now is a bit of lining. I plan to use some Cashsoft in Poison that has been in the bottom of one of my baskets waiting for a project. I think the Norwegian Mittens are perfect for it. You could leave these mittens unlined, but with all the stranded colorwork, I keep hanging my thumb up putting them on. I know for sure I will line the cuff before becoming distracted by other knits. The temperature this morning is -3 degrees so maybe that will hold my attention!

Generic Braid Pattern for Knits

CO stitches designated by the pattern in Main Color. Place marker and join for knitting in the round. Round 1: Knit. Round 2: Bring MC to front as if to purl. Join CC and purl 1 stitch in contrasting color. Bringing the MC over the CC, purl the second stitch. Continue purling, bringing each yarn over the other, alternating colors. (This will cause your yarn to twist, so allow yourself plenty of tension.) Round 3: Beginning with CC, purl, continuing to alternate colors as in previous round, only bring each yarn under the previous yarn. (This will cause your yarn to twist the opposite direction, until completely untwisted.) Round 4: Knit in MC. Continue with pattern instructions.

For a really clean embellishment, knit the round before and the round after the braid in your contrasting color.