Tag: Knitting — Projects

I recently completed my last year of law school, and with it, I think have ended (for now) my years of auctioning off made-to-order knit projects to benefit public interest legal work.  My final project was relatively straightforward – a rust-colored hat.  I selected several patterns and shared them with the auction winner, Dan, and he picked the ultimate winner – the "Man Hat" pattern by Haven Leavitt.  The final project was fairly easy to knit up with bulky yarn, and it turned out really well.  In fact, this pattern may actually become my new standard hat gift!

"Man Hat"

Pattern:  "Man Hat" by Haven Leavitt (yes, I can't actually get myself to type "man hat" without the quotes because of the silly name!).  I modified the pattern to fit Dan's head measurement, so cast on 72 stitches.

Yarn:  Lamb's Pride Bulky in Color M67 (Rust)

Needles:  US 9

Measurements:  Pre-blocking measurements of 9 inches tall (2 inches of shaping and 7 inches straight) and 22 1/2 inches around.  Post-blocking measurements of 9 inches tall and 24 inches around.

This post is unfortunately six months in the making (I am that behind with some of my blogging!).  I made a cardigan for a lovely newborn, Gigi, in January.  I used yarn that I purchased at last year's New York Sheep and Wool Festival, and was excited to try something different from the standard baby blanket or hat gift.  Although the project did require some finishing (sewing side seams together, etc), which I generally try to avoid, I am glad I forced myself to do this extra little bit of work because the final product was really wonderful.  Project details follow the picture of the completed cardigan.

Cardigan for Baby Gigi

Pattern:  Adorable Chenille Cardigan by Louisa Harding, 0 – 3 months size

Yarn:  Good Karma Farm 60/40 Wool/Alpaca, 0.9 skein

Needles:  One US6 and one US7 needle 

Measurements:  Post-blocking measurements of 9 inch wide body (18 inch circumference, buttoned up), top to bottom length of 8.5 inches, sleeve length of 7.5 inches and sleeve circumference of 6.5 inches around.

I have really been wanting to challenge my knitting skills more ever since I hit my tenth year of knitting in 2010.  While at times, I feel I am not accomplishing that goal by not taking on more fair isle, entrelac, intarsia, and other "advanced" knitting techniques, the completion of my latest project is a reminder that I am continually challenging myself, just not in the ways I intend.  

After a year of knitting, I finally finished the Still Light Tunic, a great pattern by Veera Valimaki.  The pattern was not complicated – knit in one piece and almost entirely in stockinette – but just the sheer magnitude of completing a stockinette dress with a fingering weight yarn was fairly daunting to take on, and in fact, took a year to complete (though, of course, there have been several other lovely projects that have kept me occupied this past year).  I am really happy with the result, though it might be a little bigger than I would like (both width and lengthwise).  I have only worn it once though because of course I finished the alpaca dress when spring was in full swing, so I am looking forward to seeing more how it wears over time.  Project details follow the picture below.

Madhu's Still Light Tunic/Dress

Pattern:  Still Light by Veera Valimaki.  I made the smallest size of the tunic, and because I expected the dress to grow, I knit only 8 3/4 inches straight at the bottom of the tunic (instead of 10 inches) and knit the sleeves 9 inches from the underarm.

Yarn:  DROPS Alpaca, 7 skeins in color 0501m eco.

Needles:  US1 for neck border, and US2 for body of the dress.

Measurements:  Pre-blocking measurements of 25 1/2 inches long, 7 1/2 inch wide neck opening, 32 inches around at bust, 36 1/2 inches around at bottom of the dress.  Post-blocking measurements of 30 inches long, 7 1/2 inch wide neck opening, 30 inches around at bust, 35 inches around at bottom of the dress, and 10 inch long sleeves.

Babies, babies, babies!  Such is the theme of 2012 🙂  Today's post is about the blanket I completed last month for baby Arjun.  I have been saving Kirsten Kapur's Abby Blanket in my knitting queue for some time, and was very, very excited for the opportunity to try it out.  The pattern turned out perfectly – the yarn showcases the pattern very well.  I was initially worried that the yarn may be too thick for this pattern, but that worry thankfully dissipated a few inches into the blanket.  The yarn – Cascade 220 – was also a great, bouncy yarn to work with for this project.  I also really like the color combo, and appreciate the help of the friendly owners of my new local yarn shop, Argyle Yarn Shop, for helping me with the lengthy decision-making process 🙂

Arjun's Baby Blanket

Pattern:  Abby's Blanket by Kirsten Kapur.  I completed five repeats instead of the six called for in the pattern because I wanted a slightly smaller blanket.

Yarn:  Cascade 220 Superwash – 2 skeins in colorway 1910, and 0.5 skein in colorway 817.

Needles:  One US8 circular needle, and 5 US8 DPNs

Measurements:  The blanket was 25 inches (square) pre-blocking, and 27 inches post-blocking.

Unfortunately, I am still WAY behind in blogging about my knitting projects over the past few months, so this is a quick post to get me back on track (I hope!).  Earlier this year, I completed a blanket for baby Asha who happened to arrive on my birthday.  Baby Asha's parents had told me about their intended color schemes before her birth, so I was able to spend some time looking for the perfect color and design pattern.  I settled on the Leafy Baby Blanket by Leyla Alieva, and some beautiful green yarn from my new local yarn shop, Argyle Yarn Shop.  The project turned out perfectly – the yarn was the ideal weight to showcase the design and I really liked the size of the finished blanket as well.  More details follow the picture of the completed blanket below.

Asha's Leafy Baby Blanket

Pattern:  Leafy Baby Blanket by Leyla Alieva

Yarn:  Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Colorway 841, approx. 5.5 skeins

Needles:  One US9 circular

Measurements:  Pre-blocking measurements were 23 inches wide by 20 inches tall, and post-blocking measurements were 22 inches wide by 23 inches long.  I blocked the blanket using a washing machine and dryer on the delicate cycle.

Baby Owen entered the world in late fall, and to ensure he had a warm welcome (pun intended!), I wanted to make sure he had versatile winter gear upon his arrival.  I selected a lovely alpaca/wool yarn for him at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival earlier this fall, and searched for some time for a pattern before settling on the blanket and hat combination from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Mothers.  As I have wrote before, this book is amazing — every pattern is worth knitting, and I think I may actually end up completing the set of pattens in the book before too long.  I highly recommend that even Internet search-dependent knitters check out this book because it really does have a great set of patterns for any type of baby/toddler gift.  Project details follow a picture of the completed items – and be sure to scroll to the end of this post for an image of Baby Owen modeling his hat!

Owen Hat and Blanket

Pattern:  Hat and Blanket from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

Yarn:  60 Wool/40 Alpaca from Good Karma Farm.  Approx. 0.3 skeins for hat and 1.3 skeins for blanket.

Needles:  For hat, two US6 circulars and two US8 circulars.  For blanket, one US6 circular and one US7 circular.  

Post-Blocking Measurements:  For hat, 7.5 inches wide by 4 3/4 inches tall.  For blanket, 19 inches wide by 22 1/4 inches tall.

2011 was definitely a record knitting year for me — I completed more projects than ever in one calendar year, and I finally got back to knitting larger clothing projects like dresses (not completed yet) and adult-size tops.  2011 was also a record "selfish" knitting year with three of my completed projects being made exclusively for my personal use.  But given my record knitting output overall this year, I am going to give myself a pass on the selfish knitting 🙂

The last of these three projects is a new pair of socks.  I decided one day this fall that I wanted to incorporate a smaller project into my ongoing knitting, at the time a baby blanket and dress, so that it would be easier for me to knit while not in the house.  I also decided that I don't have enough hand-knit socks (I don't.  It makes me sad).  Unfortunately, I ran into some gauge problems with the stash yarn I decided to use — yarn bought on a whim at Smiley's in Queens this past spring — and so had difficulty finding a pattern from my stack of knitting magazines and books at home.  I ultimately looked on Ravelry, and then checked out a book at the Brooklyn Public Library that had the pattern I thought would work — thankfully the pattern worked out well to achieve the size of socks I wanted (though I made the foot maybe 1/4 inch too long), but I have to admit I am not that much a fan of the pattern.  The resulting pattern seems a little too rough and almost choppy for me, but at least they will be a good pair of house socks.  Project details follow the picture of the completed socks.

Van Dyke Socks for Madhu

Pattern:  Van Dyke Socks by Wendy D. Johnson

Yarn:  Fashion Toes by Filatura Lanarota

Needles:  Two Addi Turbo US1 circulars

Post-Blocking Measurements:  6 1/2 inch foot circumference, 7 inch leg circumference, 9 3/4 inch foot length, and 8 3/4 inch leg length

Wow — I can't believe that I am now composing post 200 for http://www.MadhuKnitsandCooks.com.  This blog has been a lot of fun to work on the past five and a half years, and I really don't think more than a few days go by before I check the blog to remember what yarn I used for a certain project, or how I modified X recipe that I want to make again (or realize that when I made X recipe before, I really didn't like it!).  I hope this blog has also been helpful to all of you as you attempt new cooking dishes and knitting projects.  I will be attempting to update the blog's format and layout over the next several weeks, so please do leave a comment or send an email if you have any suggestions on what you have liked/not liked/would like to see on MadhuKnitsandCooks.com!

Ok, on to today's post.  Last year, I auctioned off again hand-knit goods for the Yale Law School Initiative for Public Interest Law Auction.  The winner of my auction item requested scarves for his two daughters as Christmas presents.  I was really excited about these projects because they gave me the opportunity to not only finally knit a Noro striped scarf (though I ultimately did not use Noro yarn) but also to make a pull-through/key-hole scarf.  Both projects turned out really well, and I hope the recipients enjoy them this winter and the winters to come.  Although I try not to repeat patterns, I can definitely see myself making both of these scarves again.  Project details follow the pictures of the completed scarves.

Noro Striped Scarf

Pattern:  Noro Scarf by Jared Flood.  As Flood notes, this is just his version of a standard slipped-stitch edge, 1 x 1 rib scarf.

Yarn:  Liberty Wool from Classic Elite Yarns.  1.3 skeins of color 7808 and 1.3 skeins of color 7809.

Needles:  One US 7 circular

Post-Blocking Measurements:  5 1/8 inches wide by 50 inches long

Bow-Knot Scarf

Pattern:  Bow-Knot Scarf by Katherine Burgess

Yarn:  Meriboo by Frog Tree, approx. 1.05 skeins

Needles:  One US 7 circular

Post-Blocking Measurements:  36 inches long, including 17.5 inches for the "body" of the scarf and 5.5 inches for each of the bow ends.  The scarf is 3.5 inches wide at the "body" and 5.5 inches wide at the widest part of bow-ends.

Unfortunately for knitting purposes, baby Noah keeps growing!  He has outgrown his first two knit hats already, and so about a month ago, I completed another hat for him — but unfortunately it already was a little too small for him by the time I completed it!  Details follow the picture of Noah modeling the hat.

Noah's Striped Ribbed Hat

Pattern:  1×1 Rib Hat by Liz Kisknit

Yarn:  0.2 skeins of Classic Liberty Wool in Colors 7908 and 7809

Needles:  Two US 6 circulars

Post-Blocking Measurements:  14 inch circumference and 4.5 inches tall (3 inches straight before shaping)

Modifications:  I knit 3 inches straight before starting the decrease rows.  To try to get the right length, I included one straight row in between every decrease row 4 times before just working every row as a decrease.   I also switched between the yarns every two rows.