Reblog: Knitting Needle Material Affects Gauge

It's been...well, about half a year. So let's get back into it? I am still designing but between work and school (both full time) it is slooooooooow going. However, I ran across this post on my news feed via Knitty and found it a very interesting and educational read. Plus it is pretty good timing for the Shop/Product Info Wednesday post n_n

(c) Knit Darling

It does make me wonder what the reasons behind this difference are...

Circumference-wise, I feel like it may be the amount of traction (is that the right word? I feel like I am looking for a different word...). Anyway, I have not worked with carbon needles, but I can say from my experience that I prefer wood because metal is very slippery and plastic/resin is very sticky. In terms of stitch size, metal allows me to knit tightly because the stitches won't still on the needle and the tips are pointier allowing me to more easily work into a tight stitch. Also, the yarn slides more on the metal which inadvertently leads to me pulling the stitches tighter. Plastic is the opposite, especially when working with acrylic or man-made yarns. My stitches stick slide less and the tips are rounder, causing me to work a looser gauge, Wood/Bamboo is my material of choice because it isn't as slipper as metal, but they are sanded and polished to give more glide than plastic. Also, the tips are just pointy enough to work into the rogue tight stitch if necessary.

Length-wise, I do not have such a finite theory. Personally, I understand the material affecting stitch size as described on my personal experience above, but I would think that relates to overall stitch size not just width? Needles of the same size should have almost the same circumference (allowing for manufacturing variances), which would result in the same height? The only thing I can think of is that for my tighter stitches may lead to more pull on the yarn/stitch which would elongate it. Carbon excluded, it follows that the wider the stitch is, the shorter it is which kind of coincides with this idea...

She does not go over crochet hooks, so I would be interested to see a similar experiment with them. Regardless, it is a good reminder to always gauge both with the exact needle you will be using as well as in the same method technique (flat/round, etc).

So what do you think? Do you have any experience or theories to add to the discussion?

Winter Wedding Mittens

Following off of last week's Shop Info post, I am working on an order for someone local who knows me and the kind of projects I get myself into (If you want to know what I am talking about, check out my Sent Swap Packages album on flickr...sometimes I am rather ambitious n_~). This girl is having a winter wedding and saw an adorable wedding picture on Pinterest where the bride and her bridesmaids were out in the snow in their dresses, and all the bridesmaids had on coordinating mittens. So her request is that I make 6 pairs of different mittens in her colors: grey, teal, and white.

I've been spending the past few weeks swatching away, trying to come up with neat ways to pattern the colors for the bride to choose from. Some of these designs actually lend themselves to being repeated, depending on which color is made dominant. I started without a swatch of the dress color, just to get some ideas of how the colors would work up, figuring I can also get more accurate colors for the actual mittens if necessary. 

these are the mock swatches the bride chose,
click the picture to see a .pdf of all the ones I came up with

I also spent some time hunting for generic mitten patterns or formulas. I would just figure it out on my own, they are a rather basic construction, but I have incredibly tiny child hands so am a bit concerned about making them too small. I looked around and found a lot of patterns using similar stitch counts and measurements for an average woman's mitten, so instead of making a striped swatch I made a striped mitten using this information for the bride to try on.

Mitten picture forthcoming...

The bride also wanted buttons like in her inspiration picture, but thought that sparkly snowflakes would be cuter. I have been browsing around and collected a few different ones for her consideration. We may explore other options, but the rhinestone snowflakes seemed to be the best looking sparkly options.

click to enlarge for detail,
but this image best represents actual sizes
(UL: 3/4", LL: 7/8", R: 1")

The wedding is not until winter of 2014, and the bridesmaids won't be picking their dresses until February so I have a bit of time. Luckily Christmas knitting won't interfere at that point, so as soon as dresses are picked and the teal color is finalized I will be speeding my way through these mittens. Expect to see the finished order on my blog and in my shop early next spring. If you are interested in something similar, just contact me*!

* I am very easy to get a hold of...Send a message or post a comment on Facebook/Google+, comment here, use the email button on the side bar, etsy convo me, or use the "Request Custom Item" button in my shop n_n 

Free Dinosaur Plush Pattern

Welcome back to Free Pattern Friday. This week's installment is for a knit dinosaur plush pattern that I found online. I have not made him (yet!), but I did read over the pattern and it seems pretty simple and straight forward. There is some shaping and he is knit in the round, but an advanced beginner should not have much trouble.

photo (c) Ruth Jenkinson

I'll report back when I have time to make him for myself too! (Although, if I change my idea for little E's birthday gift...maybe he will get made in a week or two n_n We shall see...)

Snuggling Time!

I have completed Banff and I'm ever-so excited. I actually finished it late last night/early this morning, but was too tired to prance around in it. Plus, by then it was snuggling time with the boy anyways ^_^ I bound it off a little too tightly, and did not realize this until I had alreayd cut the yarn and tied it off. With a little bit of stretching I was able to fix it. It can be a little tight when pulling over my head, depending on the angle, but overall it works. I'll just have to remember to bind off even more loosely on my grandma's sweater.

Speaking of which, I have just begun to cast on for my modified Banff. In my last post, I provided you all with my alterations to the pattern and a link to the original. I did not post the complete pattern, as I rewrote it because I was not sure if that went against any licensing on the pattern. Luckily the original is free, and I don't mind who uses my alterations.

Pictures!

Here is my completed Banff. 

My beautiful new yarn for mini-Banff

I'm in: my futon

Feeling: excited

Listening to: The Murmurs--You Suck

Grandma's Sweater

I haven't made too much progress on Banff yet ;_; but that's because I've been looking for a pattern to make for my grandma's Christmas present. Originally my mom and aunt thought Banff was coming out so well that I should just make another one for my grandma. However, later on my mom decided that the sleeves might be too big. I've been looking for another pattern, but was not finding one that I liked. So, I've altered Banff to make it smaller. The sleeves are narrower and a bit shorter. The length should still be the

same, although the chest size is smaller. I've found a beautiful lilac yarn to knit it up in, and I can't wait to get started. Unfortunately Macomb is covered in ice right now so driving is not doable. I'll post again once Banff is finished and to let you know how my modified Banff is coming along. 

My modified pattern, so far

Here is my modified version of Banff. Mind you, this has been done only on paper, and with assumptions on the size. Please feel free to critique, as I want to make sure it will work out. I feel the only problems so far will be the size, but as my grandma is a small lady, I think it will be ok. As it is, with the assumed measurements, it would fit me, although be a bit snug. Knowing that my grandma is smaller than me I think it will work.

Modified Banff
Materials:uses size 10 needles
4-5 skeins lion brand homespun (170 g)--will know for sure upon completion

Measurements:
42" chest
22" long--if I did my math right
13.5" sleeves--length unknown, but assumed to be 1.5" less than original small

BACK CO 72 st (144 st to knit in the round)
32 20 rows: 2x2 ribbing
switch to st st, and increase 4 8 stitches evenly across row (76 st): (k14, inc, k13, inc, k14, inc, k13, inc, k14)x2
33 49 rows: st st
switch to knitting flat with first 76 st
BO first four stitches at beginning of next two rows*
work right side decrease row
work wrong side decrease row
repeat these two rows for a total of 17 times (34 rows), leaving you with 34 st

Right Shoulder:
as per original pattern

Left Shoulder:as per original pattern

FRONTwork as back to *
work right side decrease row
work wrong side decrease row
repeat these two rows for a total of 11times (22 rows), leaving you with 46 st

Left Shoulder:
as per original pattern

Right Shoulder:
as per original pattern

SLEEVES (make 2)CO 60 62 st (knit flat not round)
16 rows: 2x2 ribbing
k2, [p2 tog, k2, p2, k2]x2, continue 2x2 ribbing to last 18 st, [k2, p2, k2, p2 tog]x2, k2 (56 st)
7 1 rows modified ribbing: k2, [p1, k2, p2, k2]x2, continue 2x2 ribbing to last 16 st, [k2, p2, k2, p1]x2, k2
k2, [p1, k2, p2 tog, k2]x2, continue 2x2 ribbing to last 16 st, [k2, p2 tog, k2, p1]x2, k2 (52 st)
7 rows modified ribbing: k2, [p1, k2, p1, k2]x2, continue 2x2 ribbing to last 14 st, [k2, p1, k2, p1]x2, k2
switch to st st, and increase 4 stitches evenly across row (56 st): k10, inc, k9, inc, k10, inc, k9, inc, k1047 rows: st st
BO first four five stitches at beginning of next two rows*
work right side decrease row
work wrong side decrease row
repeat these two rows for a total of 20 times (40 rows), leaving you with 8 st
continue per original pattern

Block  all pieces and seam as per original pattern: Banff by Jena Wilson

NECK
as per original pattern, but only work through first decrease section, then bind off
(6 rows less than original pattern, which continues beyond this point)begin as per original pattern, picking up 72 stitches. Knit for 6 rounds.
On next row, decrease as such: k2, (k2 tog, k6)x9
Knit for 3 more rows then bind off.
NOTE:
I may actually attempt to knit this pattern in the round. The changes are rather obvious, and once I get to the decrease rows I will be switching back to flat knitting. If I notice any changes from this modified knitting style, I will adjust my modified pattern accordingly. I recommed using the original pattern, but if you are interested in an even smaller version, this is my go at it.

Edit 12/08:
Upon beginning this project, I realized I had miscalculated. All of my adjusted cast-ons are 2 st short. Adjusting the whole pattern would have been very time-consuming since adding those 2 st would make everything else off when it comes to the decrease rows. To fix this problem, I have just been knitting it in the round, as per my original alterations (obviously doubling the st on the body, and repeating the 4 st increase row for 8). As per my note above, I am switching to flat knitting once I reach the underarm area. The only difference now is that the underarm may be 8 st instead of 6 st (I will know better once I get there). Just thought I would share. Cheers!

Edit 12/13:
I made some changes to the actual pattern to reflect my previous mistake, and also to change the ribbing.

Edit 12/22:
I changed the ribbing on the sleeves. I made it shorter and eliminated some of the increasing/decreasing sections. Overall it is shorter, but it turns outit comes just past the wrist instead of to the finger tips (on me at least). I also switched to knitting the sleeves flat, so I added two stitches and at the bind of section added one ot each side.

Edit 1/5:
I changed the style of the neck. I kept it through the first decrease section but adjusted how many rows I used. I also switched to knitting instead of 2x2 ribbing. I didn't particularly care for how the ribbed neck looked on my first sweater. Also this way it should be more of a crew neck, or at least not so high.

I'm in: Macomb

Feeling: creative

Listening to: Motteke Seeraa Fuku (Lucky Star Theme)

Today marks the start of my week off from school. I will be spending it at home, so I am very excited. I cannot wait until Thanksgiving dinner--it is always so much fun. We all make potato buns (a secret family recipe), my mom makes homemade stuffing, and my dad makes homemade cranberry sauce (much much better than that canned stuff!).  We usually just do it at home with the six of us, but this year we may have some visitors--yay!

This weekend my family and I drove up to Baraboo, WI to visit my aunt. She owns a boutique called The Widow's Peek on the town square. We came to visit for the Holly Jolly Light Parade. Every year Baraboo does this parade,and it is quite fun. During the day there are carriage rides, carolers, Santa Claus, and shop specials. Each shop usually does some sort of promotion, and then they have Christmas goodies for the customers. Last year we did Butter Beer (from Harry Potter!), and cranberry cider. This year we just did normal apple cider. There were also cookies---yum! Once night falls there is a parade, mostly made up of floats that are covered in Christmas lights and decorations. I even brought my light-up contact ball for some road-side contact juggling. I wasn't able to get too many pictures since it was so dark, but there were a few good ones.

See the lights!

and the crowd:

While I was in the shop, I worked on Banff. I haven't been working too much on it lately. With all the school projects before break, I have not had much time. I am halfway done with the second sleeve, and I cheated and seamed everything up already (I just couldn't wait!). I worked on the sleeve a little yesterday in the gallery, and I got many compliments on my work (some by experienced knitters!) I don't know if I'll make much progress for the rest of the week though---there is a lot to do at home!

So close to completion...

I spent last night out with my cousin--it was so much fun. Our families were estranged for about 10 years, so we hadn't seen eachother since we were about 8 (she's only a year and a half older than me). We met back up in 2003, but the two of us are pretty different people and go our own ways. So, we finally hung out for the first time in forever last night. She lives on the square across from her mom's shop, so we didn't need to go far. We spent the night bar hopping around town, and she introduced me to a few new drinks. Overall, it was a great night. I hope we get to do it again.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully next time, I'll have a finished Banff and a new project on my needles. My mom and aunt suggested I make a sweater for my grandma as a Christmas gift this year. I think 5 weeks or so should be ample time, given my progess with Banff (provided I don't take a week-long hiatus again ^_^).

I'm in: St Charles

Feeling: jubilant

Listening to: Trans-Siberian Orchestra--Carol of the Bells

Where are my sleeves?

So I haven't been working on Banff all too much this past week. I spent most of the weekend working a paper, plus my thumb was bugging me so I figured my hands could use a break. Then this weekend a buddy of mine came over to visit, so I spent Friday cleaning, and then hung out with him and the boyfriend. I've just gotten back to it though. It was slow progress, the little I did work this week, especially since I had no idea how to

m1p. I found plenty of directions for m1k, so I just reversed it. Later on, I found directions telling me the same thing, but it just doesn't seem right. I get a small hole in my knitting using this method. 

What the increase looks like in my knitting
 
I guess that since it's ribbing, it will be ok and not really show up. I just don't like that method. I was wondering if there is an increase for purling like there is for knitting where you just make a second stitch tbl.  I'm already past this point in the pattern about half-way done with the sleeve), so it doesn't matter too much as I'm going to knit the second sleeve the same way. I was just curious for future reference. 

The sleeve so far

 

In the mean-time, while I've been slacking on my knitting, I came across this great anime. It's hasn't made its way to America yet, although it has been bought by Bandai, but a friend had a fansubbed copy. It's pretty entertaining--I just love it! It doesn't really have a plot; it more or less follows these four girls through their highschool career. The main character, Konata, is obsessed with video games, manga, and anime--and she's a super shorty! (Reminds me of myself, although I am not quite as obsessed.) I would definitely recommend it (I'm going to corrupt my sisters when I go home ^_^).

Speaking of which, I go home Friday--for 10 days! I'm so excited (can't you tell?). Too bad for turtle though, his tank got a leak and I had to go out and find a new caulk for it, clean it out, and rebuild it. So he has been stuck in a travel tank for a week or two now, and he just got back into his big tank. Now, I have to take him out to go home into a smaller tank that has not been properly set up with a water section, like his one in my apartment.

A picture of turtle's tank, for visual explanation

That stained glass turtle on the tank was made as birthday gift for me by my little brother (he's only 14!). It's so cool that I didn't want it covered up by my blinds, plus my brother is rather pleased with the location because now "the stained glass turtle has a friend."

And here are some pictures of my little cutie:

He'll be ok for a week or so in a smaller tank though. At least a 10 gallon tank is a big step up from his travel tank. Plus, now that my dad is on his feet (yes, he can walk on both feet using a cane now! He even goes for car rides ^_^), he can probably help me build another water section for the smaller tank. And now that I found aquarium caulk, it won't fall apart on me like the last one and need to be rebuilt. There is just so much to do once I get home: build another water section for turtle, cook and have Thanksgiving with my family, decorate for Christmas (we do this early ^_^), make test ornaments (you'll hear more about this later), and so much other fun stuff with family and friends, not to mention some packing and cleaning from the basement flood as well as to prepare for winter at school. Next week is going to be packed.

This week is pretty busy too. I have another philosophy paper to write for Friday, which could take a while since I haven't finished the book it's on yet. I also want to get Banff finished to take home and show off (or at least block the pieces, I can sew it up and do the neck in the 4 hour car ride home, I'm sure). Then there's packing to do--I have so much to bring home. Oh well, for now cookies for the car ride home. I'll see you soon, and hopefully with a finished sweater!

I'm in: Macomb

Feeling: slacking

Listening to: Porno Graffitti--Mugen

Closer to snuggling...

I just laid down my needles and finished the front of Banff. I can't believe I got this piece done in only a week. I think I really will get this done before I go home for break! Unfortunately, I won't be able to work on it much this weekend, as I must dedicate myself to homework- -a philosophy paper and religion project (sometimes I wish these classes were one and the same...I hate having to do two similar projects). I suppose the break will be good for my fingers--they are feeling a bit tired after working so hard this week.

Here are some pictures of the front

Here's a picture of the front piece:


and a close-up again of the details:


I can't wait to get started on the sleeves! Maybe I'll take advantage of this homework-forced break to catch up on some of my video games. I just downloaded the demo for Eternal Sonata, and I am just itching to get a taste!

 

 

I'm in: in bed

Feeling: accomplished

Listening to: The Eels--Novocaine for the Soul

Squeeeee!!!

I am so proud of myself; a week or two in, and I have finished the back of Banff! I think it looks pretty good, especially for my first attempt at a sweater. I had a little bit of trouble towards the end of the decrease, right before the shoulders. It turns I out skipped a p2tog tbl so I had to fix it. Not wanting to rip out all of those stitches (as it was 6 rows down), I just ripped out that section. It was an interesting trial; I've never fixed a mistake this way before. It took a little finagling, but I got it fixed. Unfortunately, I loosened up some extra

yarn, so now I have a couple big loops of loose yarn in the back. I tried going in and loosening the surrounding stitches, but it didn't go over so well. So now, I have two loops of loose yarn just chilling on the wrong side of my sweater. I might go back and tie them off or try to loosen more stitches later. I think it might be because there's 1 stitch less than there was though, so I might not be able to get rid of it. Any recommendations? 

See the piece!

Anyway, here's a picture of my progress so far:



And a close-up on the details:



Now to start the front! I was hopinng to get this finished before Thanksgiving...well Thanksgiving break, which really starts the Saturday before. I kind of wanted to show it off when I go home ^_^ I'm thinking that with this progress, I may just do it. I seem to have set a doable pace that will make the deadline. I'm so excited; I just can't wait to go snuggle in my new sweater!

I'm in: bed ^_^

Feeling: excited

Listening to: Seether--The Remedy

Oh October...

October is my favorite month ever. I love the fall: watching the leaves change colors, raking and jumping into leaves, Halloween (big-time fan here), the weather (ever-changing from sunny to rainy, but with a nice temperature range), etc.  I was actually pretty sad that it has been so warm lately, but that is not the case anymore. At least when it was warm, I was prepared. Now that it has gotten cold, well normal really, I am completely unprepared. All of my warm clothes

are still at home because I didn't need them. Now, it seems I have to wait until Thanksgiving to get them, because that is when I'm going home net. Normally, it would be on Halloween for all of the fun and festivities, but they were put on hold this year because of my daddy's accident (I'm sure you'll learn more on Halloween ^_^).

Anyway, what with the cold and my lack of proper clothing, I decided that it was a great time to learn how to knit a sweater. Now, all my previous knitting expenditures have already been recorded in just the last few posts, so you can see how lacking my experience is. However, since I could not find a comfy sweater that I approved of at my local Walmart or JC Penny (seriously, the only stores in Macomb, or within 45 minutes driving distance...the next closest places are an hour away at least!), I decided to make one. I'm attempting to make Jenna Wilson's Banff as published in Knitty. I am using a much lighter yarn color, but overall it seems to be working out. I am only now just finishing up the ribbing on the back, so I still have a ways to go. I'm hoping to have it done before winter lol--wish me luck!

My progress thus far ^_^
I actually started this about a week or so ago. I'm not quite sure if I got the right kind of yarn, but I thought it was pretty. I am currently using Lion Brand Homespun in Cream:

After giving it a try and working about a quarter of the ribbing, it seems to be going alright. The package gave the same guage that the pattern is asking for, and so far my ribbing is matching it:



Now, I feel confident that I am doing alright. I just got to the point where you begin the decreases, an dI think it is looking pretty good. It looks a little scrunched in the picture, as I am only working on 14" needles. When I take the time to spread it out over the two, it does meet the measurements. I just think it looks a bit narrow, especially since the ribbing does that zig zag deal when it gets scrunched (which makes it look way narrow). Anyhow, this is the final progress mark for today:

As I am too bouncy to sit still and knit all the time, I have taken to video games yet again. I wanted to get My Sims for the DS, but instead settled for renting the Wii version. It is so insanely cute and I just love it. To be honest, the cuteness factor is really the only reason I even wanted to get it--I'm not really a Sims kind of gal. This game is not really like any other sims game, though. You basically collect "essences" and rebuild the town while making friends and recruiting new townies. It kind of reminds me of Dark Cloud (ps2), in the respect that you are rebuilding a town to meet people's desires. I am already a huge fan though. The only problem is that now I am a little nervous of the DS version, because you are recruiting tourists instead of townies, so I think it will be less involved. Unfortunately for me Gamespot is not working right now, so I can't really get a good comparison. So far it looks like I might have to break down and get the Wii version instead of the DS...

I'm in: Macomb

Feeling: giggly

Listening to: The Hippos--Paulina

Swatch Bunny

So I was browsing the web today, looking for bulky sweater patterns, and somehow came across this bunny in my search. To be quite honest, I do not know what bunnies have to do with sweaters, but I am glad I found this. I thought it was just so cute, and I took it upon myself to whip one up.

Oh so cute! 
I love bunnies, my whole family does. We currently have and adorable mini lop-earred bunny name Angie. She is the cutest little thing--all peach and fluffy. Before Angie we had Flopsy, a black dwarf lop. She was so sweet and cuddly--like a puppy. We had her six years before she died. After having a bunny-free house for a few years, we realized we couldn't handle being without one, and we bought Angie. The search for her was very long, as dwarf lops (which apparently aren't dwarf lops at all, but holland lops), are not that easy to find. We had to go through a breeder. We actually waited for about 6 months until last April, as we wanted another black bunny. However, we saw Angie and just fell in love. The rest is history.

(Flopsy's pic forthcoming)



Angie ^_^ (she loves sitting on the vent for some reason...)
In memory, of Flopsy, I whipped up a black bunny, using the pattern above. It only took me one evening (a side note to anyone teaching knitting: this is a great project to do with a first-timer's learning swatch!) I actually did my own thing with the ears, as I had not printed the pattern and had already turned off my computer. In the end it all worked out, and I have my own little bunny. I call her Flopsy 2 ^_^




For those interested, here's my ear pattern:
CO 8
rows 1-10: st st
row 11: k2, k2tog, k2tog, k2
row 12: purl
row 13: k1, k2tog, k2tog, k1
row 14: purl
row 15: k2tog, k2tog
row 16: purl
row 17: k2tog
tie off, and continue to follow original pattern
(purl side is the inner ear)

I'm in: Macomb

Feeling: touched

Listening to: Troubled Hubble--Man vs Duck