Tag Archives: Jamieson & Smith

A Shawl & A Sweater

Posted on by Elka Bolhafner

 

 

I am breaking my long standing one project at a time habit.  My socks have stalled and been stalled for months.  I just got all socked out I guess.

I picked up a shawl pattern, Sharon Miller’s ‘The Grey Shawl’, which used to be sold on her website as Project #2.  It is a Hap Shawl so I suppose it could be in her Shetland Hap Shawls; Then and Now but it doesn’t look like it… the really appealing part of it, to me, is the color Grey!, and the changing colors in border.  However there are many other similar patterns out there from various designers.  A hap isn’t supposed to be fancy schmancy after all. The pattern and yarn kit was a gift from my friend Mama Liz in 2004.  I recall starting it and then, after finishing the center diamond/square, ripping it.  I am either much more laissez faire about my knitting these days or I was just crazy.  I have moved past the center onto the border and cannot for the life of me imagine why I was dissatisfied the first time.

I have been working on it slowly, while watching Game of Thrones on DVD, Midsomer Murders on Netflix, and Vintage Dr. Who on Britbox.  Right now we are in the 2nd season of Dr. Who and I am looking forward to a new Dr.  This morning I spread out my shawl in progress in preparation of first color change and saw that I had a dropped stitch in the actual center part… the last row prior to picking up border and went back.  Despite this it is being a satisfying knit although I shouldn’t have started the border while trying to suss out who dunnit last night.  Here is my shawl after fixing my center and picking up for the border:

Redoing border pick-up

I recently joined Instagram.  Not because I have plans to share my pictures, which I have always felt lacked a certain something something, but because I wanted to be able to follow people. After redoing my border pick-up I took a break and bopped online to enjoy some pictures and did you know they have something called fairislefriday?  This of course, combined with my current Jamieson & Smith yarn knitting, had me hankering for some color work.  While I was eyeing the wee little hanks and balls of shetland around my husband asked me what I was doing.  I told him I was thinking of knitting a sweater for myself.

Dear hearts would you believe my husband unkindly scoffed?  Well he did.  Probably because, in all the years of my knitting, I have only knit three sweaters for myself.  The first I promptly gave away… literally off my back.  That was in 1986.  The second I knit while pregnant with Zoe in 1995: Rosemaling from Knitters Issue #32.  I never did get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and it just didn’t fit correctly since I had knit it for my pre-baby figure. The third sweater, my most successful, was knit in 1998, without a pattern out of pink Satakieli yarn.  The whole process, from picking out the stitch, modifying it to be worked in the round, figuring out sizing and design elements as I went along, even the yarn were a joy.  Unfortunately the style I had chosen, lacy, became impractical for my new life as a mom.  Tyler was born the following year and then Nece.  Of course I love my children but running after them in a dressy tunic just didn’t work.

Anyway my husband is unaware of my previous sweaters only my Strokkur failures.  I have knit it three times only to find my gauge has tightened between hem and yoke.  I am unsure if this is because it was winter time, and I was wanting a a hand knit sweater, or if it is just one of those yarns that my fingers want to be at a certain gauge.  It has been known to happen.

Regardless Instagramers, Instagrammers?, apparently tag anything stranded as fair isle and given my mistake during tv watching on shawl I figured some nice relaxing stocking stitch in the round would be good.  I pulled out Strokkur, which I had restarted for the forth time a while ago, from its knitting bag and have been amusing myself with my stitch marker.  Enjoy my lovely bunny:

Strokkur Restarted

There is my pattern in the background.  I think I have it printed out a dozen times at this point!

Bunny Tails

The pink ball along time is one of those jingly jangly balls that rings as my knitting gets shaken.  The bunny has a silver stand and the cutest little cotton tail.

Beribboned

Beribboned

Okay not quite beribboned but still!  We last saw Strokkur last November.  I have finished 2 sleeves, which are still on point regarding gauge, so I hope if I concentrate on staying slow and relaxed the body will also not tighten up.

Yarny days and knitterly evenings~

Elka

YOP#6 week 12

Posted on by Elka Bolhafner

YOP6_Banner_perfect_lines_slightly_larger_medium

 

I am losing track of the weeks 😛

I didn’t knit last week.  I had my monthly Church ladies meeting on Tuesday, and other things throughout the week.  Tyler is being a social butterfly during this senior year and it feels as if I am constantly running around.  I know this is a blessing, or at least will seem like one when he is no longer around to chauffeur but for now I haven’t felt as if I had time to get myself into the knitting groove.  Still I  had done quite a bit by end of last Sunday and worked a few rows into the past few days.  Picture:

 

img_0497

My favorite part of the pattern is that XO portion right over the ribbing but the crown decreases, which you really cannot get a feel for in the picture above are also clever.  My knitting is a bit uneven and I am at that part where I am considering moving to dpns.  For some reason I cannot find my 16″ circulars and have been working with a 24″ circular.  I even purchased some Aero 3.25 mm 16″ long circulars last a couple of weeks ago and wouldn’t you know it but they are 3 mm.  Anyway my knitting is fairly stretched out at this point and it is either dpn–which I have no issue using at all–or using a different brand of needles which means different needle material.  I would probably buy some bamboo needles since I like bamboo.

 

Many years ago, when I lived with the ex, he gifted me with the $ to purchase a complete set of needles, dpn, circlular in 16 & 24″, and I pretty much got rid of all the other brands I had which makes not finding my Aero/Inox/Bernat needle in the appropriate size after all this time annoying.  I know the place of origin has changed numerous times over the years so I assume my good ol grays may not be the same good ol grays available nowadays.

 

I think this may also be part of the reason I haven’t knit much. I am rambling now :-/

 

yarny days and knitterly evenings

Tea–YOP#6 Week 11 post

Posted on by Elka Bolhafner

YOP6_Banner_perfect_lines_slightly_larger_medium

It seems as if the only times I post is for YOP.  Mainly because I have been good about staying on track with my highly mutable list. Woo hoo

I finally finished the My Cup of Tea Socks.  I guess I shouldn’t say finally but it basically took me a week to sit down and graft together the last toe so yeah not too inspired to finish.  The yarn was purchased on Etsy from Hedgehog fibres in 2009 so deep stash being used up here.  I am going to end up giving them to Tyler and here he is modeling the socks:

My Cup of Tea socks

My Cup of Tea socks

 

The yarn was darker and glossier pre-knitting and washing.  The water was pretty green when I dunked them in for the washing and I suspect it will continue to bleed for a while.  Tyler has been asking for them while I was knitting them but I told him he was out of luck.  I am a sneaky Christmas gift knitter that way o.0.

Anywho they were laid out to dry Friday night and I started winding yarn for some tamalicious fun.  Hey I have news!

So before we went on vacation last month I was looking for some papers I had on my desk and the desk basically gave up the ghost when I moved it to check to see if they had fallen off the back or side.  It was one of those inexpensive particle board desks from Target I believe about 15 yrs ago for the kids and has been moved multiple times.  Anyway it kinda collapsed and instead of having the beloved one reassemble it I threw it out in a fit.  Which means I am concentrating on the yarn piles that were on my desk.  Which takes us back to my first YOP post and a list check up so to speak.

I originally listed several piles or bags of yarn to tackle along with general project goals since the yarn piles were too numerous for me to get through.  The first list of yarn piles started with my desk yarns and it makes sense that I now focus on these items since the desk is no more.  They were:

On the Desk:

  • kypria
  • hedgehog fibres fingering in merino, bamboo & silk @350 meters per Etsy listing = My Cup of Tea Socks
  • the yarn for Angharad
  • Lamoramere-gift from Angela on my birthday eep 12 yrs ago.
  • yarn for 2 tams <missing a few colors here or there. Purchasing piecemeal due to job hours being cut. (purchased 7.15.16)
  • 400 yds of cashmere-gift from Stitching girl Toni years and years ago
  • and sock yarn remnants. Some of these remnants are practically full balls for example the orange Eidos I used for stripes on my gentleman’s railway socks

Project wise we had (I edited my wording to make it easier to track):

1)Socks:

  • Husband 4 pairs 3 pairs
  • Tyler 3 pairs 2 pairs
  • Myself 3 pairs

2)Sweater for me.

3)Something Lace

4)Purchase Reef Yarns

& “My Tams. Please I need the preciousness.”

 

AHA this digression is going somewhere.  My friend Lorraine, aka Sheriff of Knittingham, aka Twisted Traditions designed a lovely tam I admired called The West Wind, based upon a painting of the same name by Tom Thomson. She is a fabulous designer if you are unfamiliar with her work.  Anyway I had all the colors but 2 called for in the tam and, as you can see above,  it was one of my on both the desk piles and the project list.  I started winding the yarn Friday after washing the socks and they are lovely:

The West Wind yarns

The West Wind yarns

This is another stash buster project for me, despite having to pick up a couple of balls, because I had the yellow, dark green, dark blue, burgundy, and pink in my stash.  In fact they had been in my stash so long that they were in hank form. J & S yarns switched to ball form in 2002 per their blog.  It is also a fairly simple project with only 7 colors.  Compare that to the Midnight Tam which calls for 11 shades and  you can imagine how much easier it is to work.  Also it starts off with a XO pattern which is easier to work than something pictorial such as the Neeps Heid.

And if that were not enough I almost felt like crying when I started knitting it.  The pure joy of working fair isle is so overwhelmingly happy making I cannot even begin to describe it.  I suspect I will have a FO soon unless I put off weaving in the ends forever {It took about a  year for me to sit down and weave in the ends for Neeps}

 

yarny days and knitterly evenings to all

Elka

Neep

Posted on by Elka Bolhafner
Neep crown decreases

Neep crown decreases

I believe I finished the knitting on this one in March of ’14 but stalled when it came to weaving in the zillionty ends.  Also I had somehow dropped a few stitches at end of decrease and didn’t notice until it was time to tuck the icord into cap.  Either way I obviously lost steam and only picked it up because it is starting to cool and I needed my pile of hats.  I have a serious love of tams/berets.

Such a lovely knit.   Really fun project all around.  Not sure how I feel about the i-cord cast on for general use.  Maybe I just need more practice with it but the first row seems very elongated and therefore heavy proportionally.  I am not taking a picture of that bit.  I am not displeased but that pick up looks clumsy to me.  I kinda looked at other projects on Ravelry and noticed the same thing on those so I guess I will practice, practice, practice and either chalk up that look to the actual technique or general knitterly inexperience with the method.

More pictures:

the row of leaves that make up crown

the row of leaves that make up crown

I like the colors Kate Davies picked.  The only one that stood out to me was the green.  I believe it is the only non heathered shade in the whole cap.  I know Jamieson & Smith has cut their shade range several times and maybe there were no heathered mid greens available?  It didn’t bother me enough to go digging in my stash of shetland yarns.  I love, love, love the yellow green.  Not a color I normally would pick for myself but I find those mustard greens appealing somehow.  This one is particularly gorgeous.  I stashed a few more hanks after my initial order came in.

a bit of corrugated ribbing and turnip bits

a bit of corrugated ribbing and turnip bits

 

mmmm shetland.  I need some more shetland knits.  Look how cozy it looks but still lightweight with gorgeous drape.

Coincidentally I wove in the last end and put it to block over a plate on November 1st.  The beginning of Wovember.  I have yet to participate in Wovember, nor do I intend to this year, but when I noticed I smiled.   Knits that make you happy during knitting, wearing and thinking of them….

Happy Knits!

yarny days and knitterly evenings