New Projects

Posted on November 22, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

There’s an unusual confluence of variables in my life right now, which means I’m starting both new writing projects and new knitting projects. It’s amazing to me how similar the two situations are. It’s not just about choosing the project—the bigger issue is getting the combination of variables right. Possibilities abound! I need to get some of them settled so I can start creating effectively.

Let’s talk about the knitting project here.

First off, I finished another pair of socks. These are knit in my usual pattern, the one I have memorized, in Fleece Artist Kiki. (That’s a Ravelry link.)

socks knit in Fleece Artist Kiki by Deborah Cooke

The tag says the colourway is Pansy but I think it’s really Nova Scotia (there’s no purple in this skein). I was excited to get this yarn on sale and realized later that it’s discontinued. It’s quite a thick sock yarn, so I went down to 64 stitches from my usual 72. I knit another pair of socks in another colourway of Kiki and showed them to you earlier this year. It’s a nice squishy yarn and good to have another pair of socks done for the winter. (I may have to cast on another pair of socks, just to have an anchoring project in my currently chaotic world.)

I also cast on a new shawl. Water is a pattern I’ve wanted to knit for a while (that’s a Ravelry link) and I finally found the perfect yarn for it. The designer is Sylvia McFadden and one of the official pix of the shawl is at right. (Click through on the Ravelry link to see more.) You can see that it’s in garter stitch with lovely wavey insertions.

I bought a collection of her patterns and knit Waiting for Rain from it – that’s the Ravelry link for the pattern and this is my blog post about my shawl.

In case you don’t feel clicky, here’s my Waiting for Rain shawl.

Waiting for Rain shawl knit in MadTosh Dandelion by Deborah Cooke

In that pattern, the insertions were of a different lace pattern and they were knit in a contrasting color. There was a lot of stripe-y goodness in that design.

I’m knitting my Water shawl with Fleece Artist Anni (that’s a Ravelry link), a limited edtiion yarn that is also discontinued. It’s fingering weight and a blend of merino and mohair. It’s a bit more itchy for me than anticipated, so is a better choice for a shawl than a sweater. The colorway is called Frozen Ocean, which seems very apt.

Here’s how it looks so far:

Water designed by Sylvia McFadden knit by Deborah Cooke in Fleece Artist Anni in Frozen Ocean

The color is really not true in this image. It looks very green here, but is actually turquoise. I made good progress but am now at the first insertion and need to pay attention to the lace stitch. This bit isn’t TV knitting. 🙂

Portia deisgned by Norah Gaughran for Berroco

Which meant (inevitably) that I was casting around for a TV knit, since we’re binging mystery series these evenings. I’d been thinking of making an asymmetical sweater for the girls, which reminded me of this pattern. Portia is another sweater I always intended to make. (Yes, that’s a Ravelry link.) It was designed by Norah Gaughran for Berroco and has such an interesting design.

I actually have the specified yarn, Berroco Peruvia, but don’t have quite enough of it. I could make the smallest size, but that seems overly ambitious. It’s unlikely that I’ll lose a bunch of weight, sitting on the couch knitting. (That’s a Ravelry link because yes, Peruvia is discontinued.)

So I ended up auditioning yarn candidates from my stash – which is awfully similar to auditioning opening scenes for a book, my daytime task this week. The first candidate was some Rowan Felted Tweed Aran, which is exactly the same weight as Peruvia. (That’s a Rowan link as my colorway is discontinued but not the yarn itself.) Mine is a rosy colour, though, and I’m not sure I’ll wear a sweater coat in that shade. It’s a lot of pink. Beautiful yarn, though. I need to figure out what to do with it now.

Next up, some Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran in a scarlet shade. (Another discontinued yarn; another Ravelry link.) Very pretty but I thought the yarn looked too thin when knit to gauge. I could use smaller needles, but then the dimensions of the garment would be changed. Given the design of this sweater, it’s tough to anticipate how to adjust the fit.

#18 Shawl Collared Coat from Noro Magazine #1, designed by Mari Tobita

Next candidate: Noro Nadeshiko. This is lovely squishy yarn, an angora, silk and mohair blend. It’s a little heavier than Peruvia but I really like the firmer fabric when knit to gauge. I had bought this to make another sweater coat, this one from the original Noro magazine, designed by Mari Tobita, at left. It’s called #18 Shawl Collared Coat. (Yes, more Ravelry links. The problem with a well-aged stash is that everything is discontinued.) This coat has really pretty shaping in the back.

The colourway I have is less stripey than the one in this picture. It’s mostly shades of grey with a little bit of brick-red and a bit of white. I’m concerned that it might look too stripe-y in Portia, but am giving it a try. Here’s what I have so far:

Portia by Norah Gaughran knit in Noro Nadeshiko by Deborah Cooke

This is the centre-back braid, knit down from the back yoke, so it’s going to taper from here to that lowest point. The red looks more emphatic in the photo than in real life.

After this triangular piece is knit, you then pick up the side panels along the edges and knit toward the front. If I continue with the Noro, I’ll have to make sure that the stripes are symmetrical. I’m just too matchy-matchy to be happy with the result otherwise. I’ll see how it looks when the triangle is done.

With any luck, I’ll soon have both a knitting project and a writing project launched!

Audrey is Done

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Deborah Cooke

This year, I have a plan to finish up some of the projects that are on my needles. Some of them have been waiting for my attention for a while. (Sleeve Island is a precarious location for me. Sweaters can be marooned there for years!) I had a look through all the project bags at the first of the year and chose this one to finish up first.

Audrey is a cardigan designed by Martin Storey in Rowan Angora Haze. It’s on the cover of the pattern book, Rowan Angora Haze, which is now discontinued. (That’s a Ravelry link for the pattern book.) The yarn is also discontinued. Here’s the Ravelry link for Rowan Angora Haze yarn and here’s the Ravelry link for Audrey.

Audrey, a cardigan designed by Martin Storey in Rowan Angora Haze, photo by Rowan

It’s a pretty cardigan in a very fuzzy soft yarn. I’ve blogged about this one before, since it’s been SEVEN years since I cast it on. Gah. It’s ten years since I bought the yarn and the pattern, which means it aged in the stash even before I cast on. (This little summary and a birthday on the horizon makes me give my stash a side-eye.)

Let’s look at those blog posts before we explore the why of the timeline. Here’s the first one, and there’s a mention of my Audrey in this post, then here’s the most recent post about (ha) the plan to finish it, dating from two years ago.

The big issue with this knit was that I didn’t like the shape of the sweater as designed. It’s kind of an 80’s shape, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist, an inverted triangle. I didn’t originally realize that from the pictures – I saw it in the schematics and instructions. As a pear-shaped individual myself, I knew this wouldn’t work. I eliminated the increases in the upper body, which then meant that the armhole decreases and the shoulder cap had to be recalculated. I also changed the neck, so that there’s another button there instead of a ribbon threaded through a casing. Then I discovered that the sleeve instructions made a sleeve that was far wider than I wanted, so I frogged the sleeves back and started them again. Finally, the dark fuzzy wool was tough to read in the cable and eyelet pattern. This wasn’t television knitting at all, even though I soon memorized the pattern stitch.

This project was castaway on Sleeve Island twice – once for the recalculation of the sleeve cap and once for ennui – as well as having an earlier time-out or two. The yarn shed like mad at first, even after being put in the freezer (that’s an old tip for sheddy yarn) but when I picked it up this last time, it seemed to be shedding less. That’s a good sign for actually wearing the sweater and not having everything I own covered in purple fuzz.

Here are some in-progress pix of the body of the sweater from those older posts, one with a test button. I’m going with those faceted clear ones – they’re pretty but not too fussy. A plain button wouldn’t be right with this sweater IMO.

Audrey by Martin Storey knit in Rowan Angora Haze by Deborah Cooke

Now it’s done (finally!) and I love it. It’s very soft and fits exactly as I’d planned (yay), and oh, it’s warm!

And here it is FINISHED!

Audrey, designed by Martin Storey, knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Angora Haze

I bought 12 balls of yarn and used almost 10.5 of them, which means the sweater took 1438 m or 1573 yards. (I don’t even want to think about how many of them I knit twice.) Here’s my Ravelry project page.

If I knit it again (not a chance!) I’d make the armhole a little more shallow, maybe even an inch. I’d add that length into the body so the sweater overall was the same length. I bought 12 balls of black Angora Haze way back in 2013, enough to make this sweater, but I think I’ll knit it into something more plain than this cardigan.

Crystal Twist Conundrum

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

I showed you the Crystal Twist shawl I started to knit with a skein of hand-dyed yarn, without beads, a few weeks ago. The pattern is quite pretty but I started to be concerned about yarn quantity. Here’s how far I got with my one skein.

Crystal Twist shawl knit by Deborah Cooke

I’m supposed to knit to 51″ length, but that measured side is 31″. The pattern specifies one 400m skein of fingering weight yarn, which is what this is. I’m using the specified needles and my width gauge is spot-on. Hmm. I couldn’t figure this out. I thought there was a mistake in the pattern, but the designer contacted me on Ravelry – I should have measured the angled side, which is, in fact, 51″ long. Ha! I have enough yarn to knit the finishing rows and bind it off but I’d like the shawl to be bigger.

This skein is a one-off, so there is no more. (I dyed it.) The base yarn is discontinued. Hmm. This makes for a conundrum! I left a bit of yarn so I can do some stripes to transition to another yarn for the rest of the shawl – if I can find a good candidate.

The hunt is on!

Meanwhile, I’m working on a second sock…

Crystal Twist Shawl

Posted on September 22, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Crystal Twist is a triangular shawl with a cabled border. (That’s a Ravelry link.) It’s knit in fingering weight yarn with beads. I saw a kit for this pretty little shawl, but decided to buy the pattern on its own and shop my stash instead of buying the kit.

I had a skein of Knit Picks Bare Merino Silk fingering, which was one of several yarns including in a dye-your-own kit I bought from them ages ago. I made mine purple and there it is on the left. (The yarn on the right is KP Stroll which is a sport weight that I haven’t knit up yet)

Knit Picks yarns acid-dyed by Deborah Cooke

The incredible thing is that I didn’t have any beads to match a purple yarn. I guess I’ve used them all up. This is a bit of a wasteland for buying beads so I decided to knit the shawl without any.

I was a bit confused by the first chart, because row 1 is a wrong-side row, making row 2 and all even-numbered rows right-side rows. This was the opposite of my expectation, but once I had that sorted out, I was off. It’s a nice easy pattern to knit – you start at a point and increase until you have six cable bands, then the other stitches are in stockinette as the shawl grows wider.

I had another small issue when I started the second chart – which starts on row 1, a right-side row! – in that I was short a stitch. I did it over and over but couldn’t find the stitch. I had 52 stitches as specified but when I count the chart, I get 53, which could be the issue. In the end, I just crossed out the column for stitch 16 and carried on.

Here’s how it looks so far:

Crystal Twist shawl designed by Emily Wood and knit by Deborah Cooke

I like the colours and the pattern, but am not that fussed about the yarn. I thought it would be soft, but it feels a lot like cotton when it’s knitted up. Maybe I’ll knit a second shawl in another yarn and with beads. For the moment, I’m knitting on!

Another Pair of Alaska Mittens

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Last week, I shared a pair of mittens knit from a free pattern, Alaska Mittens. It’s not a free pattern anymore, btw. I had started a second pair and since they’re done, I’ll show them off today.

Alaska Mittens knitted in Sirdar Tweedie Chunky by Deborah Cooke

This time, I used two yarns together – a strand of that same Sirdar Tweedie Chunky and a strand of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. The KSH makes the knitted fabric softer and gives it a bit of fuzz. It might prove to be warmer, as well. I incorporated my changes from last time, and started the thumb gusset four rows later – that took out two increases, which made the thumb smaller. They fit perfectly!

My only quibble is that since I started the thumb gusset later, I should have kept working the stitches on the palm side in ribbing, instead of changing to stockinette. See?

This pair took 77 grams of the Tweedie Chunky and 17 grams of the Kidsilk Haze. I made the M size, with the modifications discussed last week.

You can guess what this means. I’ve cast on a third pair, in the green Sirdar Tweedie Chunky again with a strand of a yarn similar to KSH. This pair will be perfect. 🙂

I have some other projects moving closer to completion and hope to be able to show you something more than mittens soon! Happy knitting!

Alaska Mittens

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

I knit some mittens this past week—even though it was a zillion degrees outside. This pattern was free and it looked intriguing. I had some yarn in my stash so away I went.

The pattern is called Alaska Mittens by Anna Zhuravleva—here’s a Ravelry link—and it’s still free as I write this. It calls for aran weight yarn, and I had some Sirdar Tweedie Chunky in my stash—that’s a Ravelry link, too—it’s discontinued so I’d found it on sale once upon a time and just liked it. I have three colourways but used the dark green, which is #285.

Here are the mittens, knit in the M size:

I found this pattern a bit confusing and ended up writing all over my chart while knitting the first one. The second one went more smoothly as a result. You work Row 2 fifteen times, and since the next row is labelled R3, I missed that the first time – I changed it to be R17 and renumbered the rest of the chart. I also added a G on the rows that I was to add a gusset stitch and drew a line across the chart where the palm changes from ribbing to stockinette. I think there is one mistake in R13 of the original labelling of the chart – the two knit stitches should be purls.

The chart for the fingertips really confused me, so I drew it out again. I wanted the decreases to be one stitch in from the edges, so there are two stitches that run up to the top of the mitten. The chart shows it that way, but if there are two knit stitches, you can’t K1, SSK without taking up the third stitch. I also had to work two additional rows in the middle before doing the middle twist, as it occurs every 4 rows, not every 2.

I also found the thumb a bit too wide for me at 16 stitches and took it down to 12. I had added four extra rows of ribbing to make a longer cuff on this pair. These mittens weigh 73g and I have 76g left of the green. I’m hoping I can knit another pair with just the specified cuff length.

I cast on another pair in another colourway of the Tweedie Chunky and am working it along with a strand of Kidsilk Haze. The result is very squishy and soft:

This one has the cuff in the specified length. I also started the gusset increases four rows later, so I’ll have two less stitches for the thumb—instead of having to decrease twice, I’ll just have to decrease once to get the thumb the right width.

You have to pay a bit of attention with this pattern, but the mittens are really nice. I particularly like that the cables mirror each other on the left and right mittens. They fit well, too.

Finishing Audrey

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Audrey is a cardigan designed by Martin Storey in Rowan Angora Haze. It was the design featured on the cover of Rowan Angora Haze pattern book (that’s a Ravelry link, since the book is out of print). It’s another project that I cast on very soon after the pattern was published – in the specified yarn – but then lost my mojo. As usual, it was the sleeves that got me. The book is now out of print and the yarn is discontinued.

I started this one in February 2016, and blogged about my progress a couple of times. Knitting Audrey was the first post in 2016, then there was an update in 2019: Navelli, Nightshift and Audrey. I talked about the sleeves in this post about my Navelli.

I made a few modifications. In the book, the sweater is styled with a ribbon at the neck, like a bed jacket. The collar is actually a casing for the ribbon. I did a regular round collar instead. I omitted the increases in the body – the design is a bit 80’s with the shoulders being wider than the waist. Mine is just boxy.

This was my last progress shot of the sleeves:

And that’s pretty much where I stopped cold. I had a feeling the sleeves were too wide, so put the project aside to think about that. I took it out in January when my Starling Wrap was done and knew I was right. 5.5″ into the sleeves, they were 12.5″ wide, even though I was making the smallest size. So (sigh) I frogged the sleeves and cast on again. This pattern has a couple rows of garter stitch at the cast-on edge, then increases in R4. This time, I didn’t do the increases, but just switched to the larger needles and started the cable pattern. What a difference that made!

Here you can see the new sleeve, which is knit to the underarm. (Yup. There I go, tossing my knitting into the snow again. The light is so much better outside right not.)

sleeve for Audrey, designed by Martin Storey, knit by Deborah Cooke in Rowan Angora Haze

I’m much happier with these proportions – the top of my new sleeve is about the same width as I’d reached in a few inches, following the pattern directions. Now I need to figure out the sleeve cap since my stitch count is much lower. I’ve ended on the same row of the pattern repeat as for the body of the cardigan, so the pattern will line up. It’s just a case of working out the decreases. I have a plan, and we’ll see how it goes – I’ll put in a lifeline, just in case.

More Hats & New Patterns

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Deborah Cooke

No post last week because I was publishing a book. My knitting always falls behind in those last few days to launch. This week, though, I have two new hats to show you. I love them both! It doesn’t hurt that I found the yarn at the thrift store, either.

Both use the Vulgar Knitter’s First Snow hat pattern, which I really like and have used many times before. (That’s a Ravelry link.) Here’s a post featuring some other hats I’ve knit with this pattern: First Snow Hats.

The first of the two new ones was knit in Cascade Yarns Jewel Hand-dyed, a discontinued yarn in a beautiful red colour. (That’s a Ravelry link.) The colour is 9969. It still needs a pompom but I’ve ordered a black one.

Hat of Cascade Jewel in First Snow pattern knit by Deborah Cooke

The second hat is knit of Malabrigo Worsted – this skein had no label at the thrift store but I recognized it all the same. I think the colourway might be Forest. I knit this one a bit longer, with 10 extra rows of ribbing and an extra repeat of the 7-row braid.

Hat of Malabrigo Worsted in First Snow pattern knit by Deborah Cooke

I’ve picked up two new pattern books this past month that I also wanted to share with you. I’m fascinated by the sweater on the cover of each one. First there’s a new Noro magazine. This one is Fall/Winter 2020 and #17.

Look at that fascinating cardigan on the cover! The design is really clever.

You can see a carousel preview of the magazine’s patterns on the Noro Magazine site right here or on Ravelry right here. I think it’s a really great issue.

Secondly, I ordered a copy of PomPom Quarterly issue 35, Winter 2020, which was edited by Stephen West.

Again, it’s the sweater on the cover that caught my eye – this one is knit with mini-skeins of graduating colours. It’s also available in a cardigan version, which is just as gorgeous.

You can check out the included patterns on the PomPom website, right here, or on Ravelry, right here.

Incredibly (!) given my stash, I don’t have the yarn to cast on either of these sweaters, so I’m thinking about yarn choices. Which would you knit first?

First Snow Hats

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Deborah Cooke

First Snow is a hat pattern I really like. (All the links in this post are Ravelry links.) It was a free pattern when I downloaded it, although it looks as if it’s no longer available. 😦 I started using this pattern a few years ago, for these Caron Chunky Cupcakes self-striping yarns – each skein came with a matching pompom: Caron Cakes hats knit by Deborah Cooke using First Snow pattern by The Vulgar Knitter The cables made these a more interesting knit than they would have been otherwise, and I liked the finished hats.

I also used this pattern for two bundles of Caron X Pantone, one in Faerie Cake and one in Morning Blues. These took me forever to finish because I don’t really like the feel of the yarn.

Although these hats ended up with bands of colour a lot like the ones above, in this product, there are five separate skeins of yarn. The cakes at the top include self-striping yarn. That makes an easier knit (no ends to sew in) but you can’t change the order of the colours.

Last fall, I used a ball from the mill ends of a purple tweed and made yet another hat. This one has a commercial fake fur pompom. I like this one!

First Snow hat pattern knit by Deborah Cooke in a mystery tweed mill end

I had more of those tweedy mill ends in my stash, so this summer, I knit it up into a few more hats, also with commercial pompoms. Wool hats knit in First Snow pattern by Deborah Cooke

Finally, I used up the last of the Noro Kochoran in a hat for the mister: First Snow in Noro Kochoran knit by Deborah Cooke This one is a little smaller, because I forgot to do the increases after the ribbing. I was too worried about matching the stripes – I had a lot of bits and ends to use up for this hat. It fits more like a watchcap, but the mister likes it that way, so all is good.

Do you have a favorite hat pattern?

Navelli, Nightshift and Audrey

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Deborah Cooke

I didn’t post about my knitting last week, because I didn’t have anything finished to show you. I’m knitting along on some projects that are taking a while. So, let’s have a progress report today.

You might remember that I was going to frog the stockinette of my Navelli because I didn’t like the way the variegated colourway was pooling. Well, I have a sweater-quantity of a semi-solid Koigu in my stash, and since it’s a generous sweater quantity, I borrowed four skeins from that to use for my Navelli. This colour is working out much better – here it is:

The trick is that now I don’t love the blue in the fair isle section. It matched perfectly with the variegated colourway and is okay with this one. I’m not frogging back again. Que sera sera.

I’ve also been knitting away on my Nightshift shawl in Koigu KPPPM. I showed you the beginning of it here. My plan is to include the red – leftover from my Lunenberg cardigan – as one colour in each stripe. Here’s where I am now:

At this point, I’ve started the sixth repeat of the 20-row pattern sequence. (I’m calling a 20-row repeat a stripe.) The first one has a red background and the lightest purple as contrast. The second repeat has the lightest purple as the background and the red as the contrast colour. The third repeat has the darkest purple as the background and the red as the contrast. The fourth repeat has the middle purple as background with the red as the contrast. The fifth repeat has the red in the background again, and the first purple as the contrast. The sixth repeat (which I’ve just started) has the red in the background and the darkest purple as contrast. It is interesting how the purples, which look so different from each other, are difficult to distinguish from each other once they’re knitted up with the red.

I like this pattern a lot. It’s clever (it has i-cord binding on both edges that is knitted as you go_ and the pattern is easy to memorize. It’s a great way to use up different colourways in the same yarn, which means I’ll probably knit another one (or two).

I’ve also started to spend some time on my Audrey cardigan, which has been waiting on its sleeves for a while. Not only is it a cable pattern, but the dark purple means I need to knit it in daylight to see what the heck I’m doing. I have to have an hour in the afternoon of a sunny day, which doesn’t happen that often. The yarn is fuzzy and sheds – I keep it wrapped in a teatowel, which I spread on my lap when I’m working on it – and it makes my nose tickle a little. (It’s an angora blend, called Rowan Angora Haze. It’s also discontinued.) Here are the sleeves so far:

This yarn is so fuzzy that the camera didn’t know where to focus! The stitch pattern was reasonably easy to memorize but it’s not TV knitting. I put it aside because I thought the sleeves were too wide. I still think they are, even though I’m knitting a smaller size of sleeve. I’ll make them bracelet length and hope that does the trick.

I never showed you the body finished and assembled. Here it is, although I’m not convinced about the buttons yet. They’re a bit sparkly for me – that one is still on the button card.

I think my next project needs to be with thicker yarn!

I also went to the Woodstock Fleece Festival last weekend with a friend, which was a nice yarny fix. It was a beautiful fall day and there were so many vendors with wonderful yarn and fleece. Temptation was everywhere! In the end, I only bought two skeins of yarn – some sock yarn from an indie dyer and a skein of Spin Cycle Yarns Dream State, which I’ve been wanting to squish for a while. It’s actually the specified yarn for Nightshift. I’ll use this skein as the contrast colour on the yoke of a sweater I’m planning – the pattern is Fern & Feather (that’s a Ravelry link) and that ball of purple on the right will be the background colour.

Phew! Lots of purple on my needles. What have you been knitting lately?

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Knitting and other tangled webs we weave

Category Archives: Cables