Author: canaryknits

Corona Deuxième: Or; How I Learn to Keep Notes

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This is a throwback to a post published on August 20, 2008.

cream044
Pattern: Corona
Yarn: about 3.5 balls of Cascade 220
Needles: My beloved Boye interchangeables (methinks it’s 5mm… whichever are the light pink ones)

Changed from first Corona: had to make the sleeves a bit wider at the bottom (this’ll be reflected in the pattern).

Having already knit this sweater once, I’m able to directly compare the effects of expensive vs. economical yarn choices.

Both the Cascade 220 and the original Dream in Color “Classy” yarn were nice to work with. Neither had any knots in any of the hanks, the plies stayed together nicely (although if agitated, the Cascade would split a very small bit), the stitch/cable definition is perfect and the yardage count per hank is awesome-o.
Where the Dream in Color zooms ahead of the Cascade is in the beautiful colour and texture. Soooo very smooshy and inviting. If you’ve got the cash and you want a sweater to dive into, then this would be the way to go.
The Cascade 220 was exactly half the price of the Dream in Color, and this you can tell by its rougher texture (though not itchy! I wouldn’t buy it if it were) and overall less elegant feel.
cream052
I’ve worn the Dream in Color Corona a few times, and can happily report pilling has not been an issue. I’ve only put on the Cascade Corona for the photos, and I fear that pilling may be imminent. When I was buying the yarn the cashier actually asked me if I was planning on felting a bag because “This yarn is really great for that!”
Yipes.
Ah well, I may or may not have a trick up my sleeve. I’ve heard through the grapevine that liquid glycerin, mixed with some water for a knit-soaking, will solve the pilling problem. I have as of yet to get my hands on the elusive liquid, but I’ll definitely get back to you if it actually works.
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These photos were taken pre-blocking, so the hood edge looks a bit floppy and rolly. It’s easily fixed. (What can I say – I was excited that the day dawned bright and sunny!)
As for the pattern – since I’ve now completed this one, I have the info required to write up other sizes. Me and the maths are not the best of buds, so I’ll have to be very nice to it and see if it’ll cooperate with me and produce accurate numbers for all. The plan is to have it written up and ready to go by the end of the month.

***PATTERN***
unfortunately, I’ve tried to paste it here, but it just won’t work with me.
Please see it here on Rav.

Corona Deuxième: Or; How I Learn to Keep Notes

Complete Corona

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This is a throwback to a post published on June 16, 2008.

corona019
Pattern: Corona (download now)
Yarn: Dream in Color – Classy, 3 hanks (almost exactly)

I’ve decided to leave off the pocket on this hoodie – the majority of opinions swayed to the “no pocket” vote.

I’m very happy indeed with how this turned out. The yarn is so soft and sproingy (yes, technical term) that I can’t wait to purchase another batch for another project (and at this point, I foresee another one of these hoodies in the near-knitting future).

The honeycomb cable panel was sourced from a stitch dictionary. I haven’t ventured into the wide world of cable design for a while (first and last time was the Alatus).

I’m not miffed about the hood being pointed, rather elven-like. I’ve had a few good suggestions as to where I can find a pattern for a flat-top hoodie, and will probably play around with that for the next hooded-knit.

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One thing I would change (and you can’t see it in these pics at all) is the sleeve-tightness around the bottom. I need to find a happy balance between sleeves that sit snug to your arm, and ones that don’t leave little ribbed-rows on your skin!

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As you can probably tell, I had a hand with these photos. It certainly pays off to get another human around to take the pics (in daylight!) so that the colours of the yarn can show properly. And these colours are quite lovely – they remind me of (80s child warning) a particular Strawberry Shortcake plastic figurine I had as a child. She smelled of strawberries 🙂 Plasticy, plasticy strawberries.
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Now that my three week love affair with this knit is over, I feel anxious to get started on a fresh idea. It just might kill me to wait out the next 21 days til the annual tent sale at the The Needle Emporium.
I will try to focus on writing up notes/a pattern for this knit.
Stay tuned.

***PATTERN***
unfortunately, I’ve tried to paste it here, but it just won’t work with me.
Please see it here on Rav.

***ERRATA***
It blinded me with the maths!
Here are the discovered errata for the pattern:
_______________________________________

These are the 2 things I found and re-calculated:
1. On the arms, the size medium should have a total of 40 stitches (pattern says 42) on the stitch holder. We started with 52 stitches and placed 12 on scrap yarn, so that equals 40.

1. After re-calculating increases/decreases and accounting for the arms being added and other stitches being placed on holders, this is what I came up with – I re-typed this section of the pattern:

Joining Arms to the Body
Pick up Body and knit to 4 (4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8) sts before first side-marker.
Put these 4 (4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8) sts on scrap yarn. Remove side marker, and put the following
4 (4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8) sts on scrap yarn.
Place marker, pick up and k the 40 (40, 40, 48, 52, 54, 64) arms sts not on scrap yarn.
Place marker.

K across back of sweater until 4 (4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8) sts before second side
marker. Place these 4 (4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8) sts on scrap yarn, remove marker, and place
following 4 (4, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8) sts on scrap yarn. Incorporate second arm in the same
manner as the first. K across front of body and cable panel.

You.ve just joined the sleeves, and will graft them together at the armpit during finishing.
You now have 200 (210, 220, 252, 300, 316, 356) stitches not including those on scrap yarn.
Work one WS row.

Thanks to michelleh13 on Ravelry!

_______________________________________

At the bottom of page 2, after creating the extra 20 stitches for the cable, it says:

Work around body, and when you return to the beginning of the cable panel, work the sts
you placed at the back of the work. (you should k2, p2, k12, purl 2, knit 2).
Now you have 124 (135, 148, 200, 216, 236) sts for the body.

Since after the 1st increase row it said:
You now have 104 (114, 128, 144, 180, 196, 216) sts.

and we added 20 stitches, so the line at the bottom of page 2 should read:

Now you have 124 (134, 148, 164, 200, 216, 236) sts for the body.

_______________________________________

Errata or my mistakes (Size S)??

At the bottom of page 2
X Now you have 135 sts for the body.
O Now you have 134 sts fot the body.

In the middle of page 3
X You should have 147 sts
O You should have 146 sts

After joining the arms to the body, I have only 210 sts on the needle and 8×4 sts on the scrap yarns, instead of 221 sts. Did I make mistakes? I’m confused. But I try on this sweater, it fits. I don’t find any problems so far.

When there’s 6 sts left on each sleeve:
RS: K to marker, sm, k1, ssk, k2tog, k1, sm, K across back, sm, k1, ssk, k2tog, k1 sm, k to end of row.

At the beginning of the hood, I have only 98 sts, instead of 110 sts. But the sweater still fits well.

_______________________________________

Complete Corona

To Pocket or Not To Pocket?

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This is a throwback to a post published on June 11, 2008.

I have been rather monogamous in my knitting as of late, and have finished* up the Corona hoodie.
corona004
Oooo, don’t I look horribly smug!
I’m throwing my arms up in the air – yes, this is another very badly lit bathroom-night-time-gotta-take-a-pic photo. As you may be able to tell, this is not an FO pic – my camera is currently on vacation, and will return in a few days time.

I say finished* with an asterisk because I’m undecided as to whether I should put a pocket on the front of the hoodie. You know, a hoodie pouchy pocket. I have plenty of yarn to do it with, but I’m not sure if it will spoil the garment. I like pockets on hoodies, so I’m slightly divided over the issue.

What do you think? Pocket or no pocket?

I am (sort of, at one point, probably) planning on making another one of these, but with a different cable pattern. Not that I don’t like this little honeycomb pattern, but I was sort of envisioning a wider cabled edging than this.

corona011

I’ve also learned a lesson: don’t try to make up a new-fangled hood design without thinking the damn thing through thoroughly. I thought I’d be sooooo clever and make a hood that would sit flat on my head, as opposed to doing that little elven pointy thing that many-a-hoodie does. The plan, she no worked out. The rip-back wasn’t as terrible as it could have been, but a mathematically-humbling experience it certainly was. Does anyone know of a pattern that gives you a “flat-top” hoodie?

Gracious, I’m full of questions (and attempts at deadpan sarcastic wit).

I’ll post back in a couple days’ time with the results of the Great Pocket Indecision of 2008.

And FO photos.

Good ones this time.

To Pocket or Not To Pocket?

Smooooshy

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This is a throwback to a post published on June 7, 2008.

Here’s something stunning: I’ve put aside the two WIPs I should be dealing with because I made a trip to the LYS and bought a load more yarn.

And here it be:
corona007
Yarn: Dream In Color, Classy

It’s becoming a hoodie, and the attraction to this knit is the incredible speed at which it’s being completed. I’ll probably stall when I get to the “hard part” (aka the part where I stomp and whine and turn into a brat who doesn’t want to have to do two of the ‘zact same sleeves!)

As some of you may know from a previous post, I don’t usually “do” pink. But I’m very happy with how the colours are blending and how smooooshy this yarn is knitting up! It was between this colourway (named Petal Shower) and another, more red/purple one (called “In Vino Veritas”).

Smooooshy

Big Talk

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This is a throwback to a post published on June 6, 2008.

I spend a lot of non-yarning time surrounded by beautiful art, a quiet atmosphere and general conductivity of knit-dreaminess. I also spend time on public transit, where this penchant for knit-dreaming comes in handy for blocking out the decidedly non-beautiful and non-quiet atmosphere.

Basically, it’s always floating around in there.

And I see that sometimes (on this blog, I blush) I talk “big” about thinking about patterns and designing.

Here is some proof that I actually do (sort of) think these things through:

lucania2016

Did I mention I like to sketch? I can’t help myself. I fear the idea will scramble out of my mind and be gone forever. Thus my obsession with addiction to collection of pretty blank note books.
(BEGIN NERD ALERT::I just bought two yesterday. I highly recommend PaperBlanks note books – they’re very cute, with little pockets in the back, magnetic clasps and those shiny ribbons that you mark your page with. :: END NERD ALERT!)

lucania2014
The top sketch is of a hoodie I’m procrasti-knitting right now.
This second sketch is of one that I’m calling “Elizabeth” – based on a portrait of Bessie I when she was something like 12-14 years old. I like the idea of recreating knits based on historical portraiture. Not sure where I can go with that, precisely. But I’ve put it up on my Rav project list, so stage one of me pressuring myself to think about it is complete.
(for any interested in my own brand of self-pressure methodology, I can just say it consists of writing shit down, putting it in obvious places, and then ultimately chucking it and creating loads of compound lists whose priorities keep shifting based on new yarn purchases).
Alright, enough with sketches. I’ll be back to posting about actual knitting progress for the weekend.

Big Talk

Me Made May 2018: Week 1

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mmmay18The first six days of Me Made May this year were gently warm, and perfect for celebrating the spring with rompers and dresses!

There’s a lot of Deer and Doe (two versions of Arum as well as an Ondee top), two pieces from vintage patterns (romper and pink floral dress) and one heavily modified Holly Jumpsuit from By Hand London.

One thing I’ve discovered would be a helpful addition to my wardrobe: a slip! Those dresses you see in the photos are all made of quilting cotton, which can have the nasty habit of riding up as you walk.

Anyone have any simple, pretty full slip pattern recommendations?

Me Made May 2018: Week 1

Frivolous into Fruitful: Me Made May

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This is a throwback post originally published on June 9, 2015, reposted here as part of my celebrations for MMMay18!

I started my little Me Made May journey just about a month ago. All I had in mind at first was a fun instagram challenge, where I’d wear something I’d made (whether it be cross stitched or sewn or knit) each day of the month.
mmm

But this initially frivolous exercise did a number of great things over the course of the month.

  • I realized how I’ve been building my sewing skills since last year
    There were dresses from 2015 and ones from earlier, and I could certainly see my progress!
  • I was pushed to get a bit creative with photography
    I used the apps Fused, Aviary, Rookie, and Insta Picframes
  • I streamlined my wardrobe
    Digging through my knits drawer (well, bins upon bins!), I came across several that just didn’t work for me anymore, so I gave away and donated those
  • I embraced a body positive attitude
    Having the camera so often pointed at my face and body forced me to reflect on my own shape and size; there was more than one photo that I thought I shouldn’t include because I was embarrassed, but I did anyway and feel stronger for it
  • Ideas surrounding happiness, motivation, power, and control have now entered my thought process when I make
    If someone asked me why I make things before this exercise, I would likely have had only simple responses and amorphous ideas connected to “it’s fun!”. Now I can respond confidently that my making allows me to express myself visually, provides me a healthy mental challenge, feelings of fulfillment and joy, and an outlet for all my creative energy

The sustained focus on what I have and what I can do has ignited a fire in my belly to refine and make better. So even something that may appear light and silly on the surface can be an opportunity for growth and inspiration.

Recently A Playful Day wrote a fantastic post about creative identity, which in no small part encouraged me to write this post. If this sort of thoughtful reflection sounds attractive, you can indulge yourself along with the community over on her blog, her podcast, and on FB and twitter with the hashtag #creative_identity.

Frivolous into Fruitful: Me Made May

Me Made May 2013: For Real This Time with Neon Green

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This is a throwback post originally published on May 16, 2013, reposted here for my celebration of MMMay18!

Now this is a dress I absolutely started and “completed” for MMM’13.

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My friends, I did say that I’m not a sewer.
My issues here are compounded by the fact that
1) I like to learn as I go.
2) I’m impatient.
3) I strongly dislike anything at all that I view as wasting my time.

So, this dress was made by eyeballing up a dress I purchased and very much like.

My problem with this dress is the skirt.  I likely should have flared it out just a bit near the bottom edge, so that it’s much more flowy and less…. almost pencil skirt like.

I’m thinking I can either accept this dress as-is and wear it out in public shamefully. Paranoid. Always thinking people are pitying me and my lack of the skillz.

OR

I can attempt a fix.
I have a very limited amount of fabric left (almost a metre). Maybe I can slit up the side hems and add a panel on each side? Add width to the skirt?
Or, would this be a disaster/waste of time/no help at all?

For all my sewing peeps out there: what do you think?

ps: wearing neon green is amazingsauce.

Me Made May 2013: For Real This Time with Neon Green

Me Made May 2013: Disco Romper Fabulous

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This is a throwback post originally published on May 29, 2013, being reposted here as part of my MMMay18 celebrations!

mmm

I’m channeling my inner disco with this one.
And in just under the wire for MMM’13!

This romper makes me so happy I’ve gotta dance.

The pattern is from this 1970s Butterick 4121 “jumpsuit”.

So, the happy things:
-I don’t like wearing pants (ah! scandalous!) What I mean is, I prefer dresses and skirts. Pants have the nasty tendency to not fit in a variety of places. Because the waistline on this romper is so loose (and it can be, since the rest of it is held up by the top) I actually get to wear comfortable pants. But it’s dress-like. Pantsy-dress. Skirty-pants. LOVE.

-These are my first pockets. Woo! Successful pockets!

-The pattern is for a size 6, and I’m actually something like a 12, so because I like to wing things, I just bumped the pattern out by an inch on each side and voila! It fits! I suspect this is drafting sacrilege, but is forgiven but the roomy nature of the romper itself.

-I conquered the pattern that I totally messed up last year.  I chose better fabric and overcame my fear of zippers to make this happy little disco baby. Or, make this disco baby happy.

The things I would change:

-Let me tell you, people, there will be more than one romper in my future! But for my next one(s), I’m thinking I might change the width of the shorts. The original pattern has (I think) tapered legs, so for this one I had to add a little notch along the side seam so that they didn’t pull in and look too puffy (what with all those pleats!)

-For some goofball reason, the zipper runs along the front to the waist, and then they have you sew on a series of hook-and-eyes to close up the top. This creates some, um, torso-viewing opportunities. I’m thinking next time of making the zipper run all the way up as the closure, or maybe (if I’m feeling brave) moving it to the side of the outfit.

Any way, I loves this outfit. I’m stupid proud of myself for not royally messing it up, too.

So this has to be my last MMM’13 piece. But not my last romper!

Me Made May 2013: Disco Romper Fabulous

Me Made May 2013: Shift Dress Easy Stuff

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This is a throwback post originally published on May 21, 2013, being reposted here as part of my MMMay18 celebrations!

If you jump into my magical bloggy Dolorean back to a few weeks ago, to this post has a mosaic pic of a whole bunch of retro patterns.

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I just finished this 1970s shift dress, likely just like any other basic shift dress, but I’d like to think it’s just that extra bit disco for its age.

I have to say I was a bit afraid of looking like a set of drapes with this fabric, but I think it’s passable as regular fabric (it’s actually quilting cotton. Very cute and on sale, so you know, I couldn’t say no).

I’m rather proud of my hems, and pleased that the neckline actually fits – and perfectly! Even over my giganta-noggin!  It took some fiddling to get the facing to lay right (ish), but I’m wearing it. I don’t care, dammit!

Since I’ll be off and away on a vacay soon, it’s likely this will be my last FO from MMM’13. Sad, indeed.
I have plenty of plans for more sewing, so stay tuned Batman!

Me Made May 2013: Shift Dress Easy Stuff