January 30, 2012

Ye Olde Ravelry Queue

I have three projects on my needles right now (the Jenny Cloche, socks for my mom that I haven't even finished swatching yet, and the Noro Chroma Striped Scarf), but as fellow Ravelers out there know, that doesn't stop me from queueing everything I think is pretty.

Every once and awhile I go back through the queue and purge the things that I no longer admire, or know I'll never make, or maybe I just queued to find more easily (I never used to favorite anything; now I do).  At any rate, there are things that have been in my queue for forever, and I thought if I posted some of them here it would rile me into action. 
  • Raphaelite Socks--I actually know the fabulous designer of these gorgeous socks from knit night, and she's awesome.  I saw these socks in person, and they were so gorgeous that I came home and queued the pattern immediately.  I swear I'll actually knit them someday.  I even have stash yarn picked out for them!
  • Nostalgia Top--For when I break down and knit a garment that's not a hat, socks, or a scarf.  This is from KnitPicks eons ago.  I still love it.
  • Peacock Shawlette--I love peacock feathers, and this shawl is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  I could seriously stare at it for hours.
It also appears I have far too many fingerless glove type patterns in my queue for any sane person (seriously, I have 11 pairs!  and 10 pairs of mittens queued.  I don't have that many hands, y'all.)  I'm also noticing that I've been queueing a lot of cowls recently...

It never really ends, does it?

Organizing

Post about organizing my stash, originally from Fiber Freaks.  I'm sort of proud of it, which is why I'm posting it again.

January 28, 2012

Mushy Malabrigo (and a partial project)

Awhile back I had started the Jenny Cloche, only to realize I was using the wrong yarn about half way through.  If you're wondering how that's possible, please allow me to explain.

Nashua_truepurpleI had been admiring the pattern for quite some time, so for Christmas (2010), my friend Sam bought me the pattern and the recommended yarn for it.  I finally started the project this last winter (2011), and as I was knitting the front band portion, I noticed I was going through the yarn really quickly.  I checked the yardage on the pattern to the yardage on the yarn band and realized I was two skeins short.  You would think this would have triggered some alarm bells, but it didn't.  Instead I found some more of the yarn and bought it, and plugged away on my project.

jennycloche_ip.jpgI got to the point in the pattern where you seam the band together and then pick up stitches from the edge and was having problems figuring out why the pattern was asking me to pick up 70 stitches, and I only had 45 slipped stitches on my edge.  Usually this kind of thing works out more closely.  I talked it over with some of my knit night pals, and told them how I didn't know what was wrong, I had the exact yarn that the pattern asked for!  One of them, who was reading the pattern, asked if I still had my yarn band.  I did, and she read it and then pointed out something that should have been PAINFULLY OBVIOUS:  the pattern had asked for Nashua Creative Focus Chunky (which is a bulky weight yarn), and I had Nashua Creative Focus Bulky (which is a SUPER bulky yarn).  D'oh!

Since the hat had been knitting up so densely with the super bulky weight, I decided to frog it and start over with the other recommended yarn in the pattern:  Malabrigo worsted, held double.

IMG_1688My friend Rachel, who works at JBW, helped me pick out the most perfect color, and I swatched it up.  I haven't used Malabrigo before, but had heard tales of its awesomeness.  However, I was not prepared to fall head over heels in love with a yarn.

It's like butter.  So soft, smooth, and easy to knit with.  And the color!  I love it.

So you would think that I would have made a little more progress on the newest version of my cloche hat.  But alas, it is not so (insert sad trumpet noise here).  I really hope I get on the ball soon, because now I have blog posts to consider!  
I've become a bit obsessed with Malabrigo and have decided I want to find a skein with which to knit my first shawl, 198 Yards of Heaven (several of my buddies already have and I love it!).  However, Malabrigo is proving to be a hard to find yarn--its sold out everywhere I look (JBW, WEBS, Loopy Ewe...)  It may be a sign from the universe that I should quit trying to buy yarn for yet another project I won't start for awhile, and instead focus on the Malabrigo and project I have at hand.

Easier said than done.

January 25, 2012

Precious!

I've been wanting to learn to crochet for awhile, partly because I feel I should master (in some form) all of the needle/yarn/string arts (I already cross-stitch, and I used to embroider.  I feel so old-timey!)

I have to admit, though, that my main reason for wanting to learn to crochet is amigurumi.  They are so stinkin' cute.  I mean, look:

 From Lion Brand Yarns
 From Lion Brand Yarns
From Lion Brand Yarns

ADORABLE! And there are way more than that out there in the world.  I MUST MAKE THEM.

At a Knit Night several months ago, one of the lovely ladies showed me how to chain and then turn and go back across (single crochet), so I can pretty much make a sqaure.  Obviously it's not perfectly even or anything, but hey, at least I can do it.

Last night, I got sucked into watching videos about crochet, and then amigurumi, on YouTube, and it doesn't seem terribly hard.  I even practiced starting a round and increasing, which made me feel super awesome.  I predict that an amigurumi kitty is in my near future.

For anyone else out there who's into cutesy crochet projects, here are some of the videos I consulted in my adventures last night:
  • mikeyssmail: Lesson 1-How to Crochet.  This gentleman has a whole bunch of videos, and this is one of six lessons which show you how to single, double, half double and triple crochet (you should check them all out).  His instructions are super helpful, and the video is very clear.

January 23, 2012

Dwarven Bottle Bonnet Modifications

My original mods to the Dwarven Battle Bonnet, originally published on Fiber Freaks.

Something old, something new...

I am horrible at writing welcome or introduction posts, but here we are.

I have a new knitting blog, this time solo.  I've been part of a couple team blogs for awhile, so being by myself is new and a little scary, because I alone am responsible for keeping the content flowing.

This new blog will be much like the last, as I expect to discuss my projects (and their associated woes and success) with you all.  I chose the name "Unraveling Yarns" as a play on words for that very reason--not only will I be unraveling/dissecting my own knitting, but maybe the mysteries of yarn (and its multitude of weights, fibers, and colors) as well!  I'll be telling stories (i.e. spinning yarns) about my knitting adventures, and hopefully, I'll start reviewing some yarns as well (more unraveling...)

Here goes nothin'.

P.S. I may transfer some of my old Fiber Freaks posts here (i.e. things like the Dwarven Battle Bonnet mods), just so people don't have to hop back and dig through that blog.  I also plan to implement some tags for easy browsing!  Once I get some content, that is.

P.P.S. I would love some suggestions for yarns, patterns, etc. to try!