Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Clouds over moorlands

...sounds like a poem title.

Eddie got me a skein of Tosh Merino Light in Moorland over spring break.  I want to work with more green yarn, but I didn't want to make a hat out of fingering weight yarn.  So, I went to my go-to pattern, the Storm Cloud Shawlette by Hanna Breetz.  Given that Tosh Merino Light comes in skeins of 440 yards and the Storm Cloud Shawlette is written for 210 yards, obviously some adjustments needed to be made.  

To start with, I used a size 6 needle (smaller yarn, you see),  and followed the pattern was written up to row 38, where I made rounds 50 and 70 increase rounds.  I knit until row 85, then I did the ruffle end, knitting 7 rows before binding off.

I did a modified bind-off (kfb, ssk) that made the ends fluffy and strange.

I still ended up with leftovers, which I used to make Leonidas and I still have more.  Oh well, I like having extra tosh around.

The finished product was a little too large as a neck-shawlette, so I sewed up the ends to make it a shrug.  Of course, it's not written to be a shrug, so the ends were way too long and I had to sew a few inches of material just to get it to lay flat, but now it has a whole new life!



Sunday, May 22, 2011

Om nom nom

 One of my professors is an Iowan, and the Heartland is certainly known for its corn.  While I usually stick to knitting goose-accessories for this professor, I decided to deviate a bit to incorporate his homeland.  Who doesn't want a little bit of home with them?

I decided to knit Corn by Kimberly Chapman.


Mods:

  • I used 4s instead of 3s
  • I knit the corn in seed stitch (it looks all kernel-y!) and adjusted the increases/decreases accordingly
  • I completely misread the pattern and didn't lengthen the leaves of the husk at all before decreasing.  What a bummer.
  • I embroidered a happy face, closed the corn up, then decided my embroidery looked stupid.  My corn is face-less.  


Thanks to Ashley for giving me a might sack of extra yarn way back in the day.  The husk is knit from that stash!  

I used acrylic for the whole project, but I might want to knit another Corn-guy with cotton just so it's a bit cuddlier.  Although I doubt my professor will be cuddling this corn. 

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Guz

The term's almost up...back to professor knitting!

So some background, the professor for whom I made "The Guz"'s last name rhymes with Goose.  Also, he has an iconic mustache.  Obviously the two need be combined.  Ta-da!! The Guz.

The Guz is a rather modified version of Mama Duck and Ducklings by Susan B. Anderson from Itty Bitty Toys.  Itty Bitty Toys happens to be one of the three, count 'em three knitting books I own.

I knit the mama-sized duck/goose.  I switched the color scheme, obviously.  I also embroidered a Guz-esque mustache above the beak once I attached it.  Rather than doing a kitchener stitch, I did an inside-out 3 needle bind off the close the body before starting the head.






Guz liked it!  He said it would sit in his office for many, many years.