Sontag

My mother-in-law works at a working historical farm. She works in authentic historical garb, and cooks, spins, and cleans in an authentic historical manner, giving tours to visitors and explaining her processes.

She mentioned to me last year that at the later-season (fall and winter) gigs, her co-worker had a bosom-buddy, or sontag - a historical woolen shawl that wrapped around to allow a woman to work while she wore it. She mentioned that she would like that for Christmas this year, and then she (hopefully) forgot about it.

So, I made one! It's humungous, and I followed a basic pattern from 1860 that I adapted, due to my gauge. I also created a button using Kate Davies Button Tutorial. The garter edge was knit with the body, and when I broke for the "wings," I cast on the 6 stitches needed for the "inside" garter ridges. Later, I went back and knit from the cast-ons, and applied a garter ridge by picking up a stitch from the neck edge, and knitting two together near that edge to maintain the six stitches.

I knit a 6-stitch garter ridge strip, and knit about 300 rows, and then continued that same applying technique to attach it to the bottom back of the sontag, and then knit another 300 rows. I then knit an applied i-cord all the way around that garter strip, which stabilized and strengthened it.

I sent it off to her for a late birthday/early Christmas gift, so she could use it this fall season, and thankfully, she loves it!

Ravelry Project Page

Tuscarora

This was a linen tank that I rushed to finish before I left for Cape Cod at the beginning of the summer, and would you know I left it at a transit point? My parents were able to ship it back to me, but it never even made it to Cape Cod. Ugh.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this top. It's Linen, and it sticks to anything I wear underneath in unflattering ways. It kinda just looks like I'm wearing a bag.

Maybe it'll grow on me? I did knit it from some free, de-stashed Linen that I dyed.

Ravelry Project Page

Altering dress

Between rounds of Sock Madness, I attended a formal weekend event. In preparation, I purchased a formal dress from the Thrift Store - only $11! Unfortunately, while it fit nearly perfectly, the shoulders needed to be taken in, as they often do on my clothes.

Well, a night's work later, they were fixed. I had to rip open the seams of the shoulders, creatively hem the mesh, cut out the satin and re-seam the top of the shoulders, and then hand wip stitch back up around the outside.

It was generally more complicated than I thought it would be, but I was pleased with the result, and I was able to wear it without pins or bulky folds that weekend!

SM2 - Rose and Thorn Socks

Round Two of Sock Madness was the first competition round. So, after completing the Qualifying Round, and giving some background to the organizers, participants are sorted into "teams" of about 50 people. In theory, all the members of your team should knit at roughly the same speed, factoring in life situations as well as actual knitting time.

Then the pattern for round two drops. As with all the other patterns, you must knit the socks to be a minimum of 9" long, and follow various minimums in the pattern. However, on this one, only the first 40 people on your team make it to round three. You also have a minimum of two weeks to complete the pair, meaning even if there are five spots left on your team, the cutoff is two weeks.

Spoiler alert: I made it to Round Three!
Ravelry Project

Emiliana

After completing the Slip Stripe Spiral Socks for Sock Madness, I had just enough time to finish up a shawl I had started - Emiliana! The moment I saw this pattern, I knew I had to have it, and I bought yarn for it at Stitches West 2016.

This is a mosaic knitting pattern, and I used Miss Babs Yummy 2-ply yarn in Naked and Russett, along with size 7 needles, to get such an oversized shawl.

I wear it all the time and I am absolutely in love!

Ravelry Project

SM 1 - Slip Stripe Spiral

This year, I participated in something called "Sock Madness." This is a competitive knitting event, very loosely based off of March Madness - there are seven elimination rounds, and participants are sorted into teams or leagues. All of the patterns for the socks are sent to the participants by email, and as soon as the pattern "drops," it is a flurry of knitting to be earn a spot to advance.

The first round is a qualifying round - you simply have to knit a pair of socks in two weeks. The socks were called "Slip Stripe Spiral," and relied predominately on slip-stitches and two contrasting skeins of yarn. I completed them using Black Cascade Heritage yarn, as well as my Black Squirrel Yarn, from the Kickstarter for the Black Squirrel Fabric and Yarn Shop.

In general, I'm pleased with how they came out, though I rarely get to wear them, since it's almost always too hot for socks here.

Ravelry Project

Reyna

Shortly after Christmas, one of the knitting forums I'm a part of on Ravelry was doing a shawl knit-a-long, and one of the patterns that was suggested was "Reyna" by Noora Laivola. Now, they didn't actually end up using that pattern as a main pattern, but I still participated (just not for prizes), because it was a pattern made for self-striping yarn, and boy did I have a lot of that.

I used a Socks that Rock Lightweight skein that I had inherited from a lovely friend that was moving and didn't want to move all her yarn, and I love they way it turned out. However, as you may know, Socks that Rock Lightweight is still an extremely heavy fingering blend, and despite the fact that it's a 115g skein, it doesn't have nearly the yardage usual sock yarn skeins do. I had to leave off the last 4 rows of eyelets on the bottom of the pattern, and the shawl ended up being more of a neckerchief. However, with a shawl pin, I can still make it work.

This project also marks my first ever serious knitting injury. I spent over 12 hours knitting this straight one Saturday, a feat which is not unknown to me, but I've never done it before with bigger needles and heavier project, and I strained my left wrist to the point of needing to stop knitting for over a week, and then monitor the progress due to pain.

I sure learned my lesson.

Ravelry Project

Oktoberfest Socken

This beautiful pair of socks was one that I had tried to complete before my Christmas trip. Since the weather ended up being uncharacteristically warm (hence to the ATV sledding) while we were there, it wasn't a big deal that they weren't finished. However, as soon as we got home, I worked to get them off the needles as quickly as I could.

These are my Oktoberfest Socken, made with a free Ravelry pattern, and they are my first cabled socks. Even though they are a little big, I'm very happy with the results. I absolutely love the yarn, and since I got it for free at a yarn swap, I'm considering this a steal!

Kindling Bells Socks

Using some yarn that I purchased in my initial Cold Sheep failure, I whipped up some ankle socks as the temperatures dropped in October. These are nice enough to be worn under dress shoes, and warmer than those thin liners. I used the Knit Picks Fancy Feet book, focusing on the bell pattern, and I absolutely love the fit! The heel was a lifesaver, and I'll definitely be implementing it on other ankle socks.
Ravelry Project

Carolyn's Vest

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine brought a knitted vest to our knitting group.

"I just need to be done with it!" she said, "I can't frog it yet another time."

She wanted someone to take it, someone who could appreciate the craft.

And honestly, it was beautifully made.

It was voted mine. So, today I present you a beautiful knitted vest from the needles of a good friend.

PS: It has cables, pockets, buttons, and a hood!

PPS: I need to convince my photographer to take these closer...

Sunshine Dress

This was another beauty that I made back in the summer of 2013 in preparation for a professional life. You see, I was trying to work in layers, and to use only a certain palette of colors, so that everything would go with everything else. That's a huge bonus in Rochester!

Well, I also discovered that with my strange body shape, most "professional" silhouettes looked terrible on me! So, I began making my own, in the colors I wanted, and the styles I wanted.

In fact, if you look back, most of what I make fits this profile.

Anyway, on to my sunshine dress! Using another pattern, I was able to make this from broadcloth, a thick one, and I just love the way it hangs!

Oh! And it has pockets!