Bags

I made two hats this week.

Hat #1:

Pattern: own
Yarn: 100% recycled silk (label says “Recycle Silk Ball,” “hand made in Nepal”)
Needles: size 5
Size: adult medium to large

This started out as a small bag, but I had it squashed up on a 16″ circular needle and never bothered to measure either gauge or the bag itself. I put in yarn over holes about an inch from the top (now the bottom) to leave space for a drawstring and left plenty of yarn to create a twisted cord tie, but when I cast off the bag it seemed rather on the big side. Not at all the little bag I pictured. So I put it on my head and found it was the perfect size for a hat. Frog, frog, frog, back to the yarn over row to remove the holes, then I knitted the end bit again. And this is what I got. I really like the colors in this one. If watch caps didn’t make my head look so weird I’d keep it. This silk is hard on the hands; probably would have been easier if I hadn’t used size 5 needles, but I wanted a tight gauge for the bag… which then turned out very well for the hat. 

Hat #2:

The decreases at the top look interesting:

Pattern: own: K3P3 rib, with knitted stitches in gold and purled stitches in teal
Yarn: Cascade 220, 100% wool, some color 8892 (teal) and some color 7826 (gold)
Needles: size 5
Size: child large

I got such a kick out of the two-color tan and cream hat I made last week that I pictured how one made in stripes might look. I was happily surprised with the result. The little bloops where the teal and gold meet make it interesting. Even though I used the same yarn and needles as I used for the brown and cream hat, this one ended up smaller. I suppose carrying the yarn on every row instead of on half the rows made the hat tighter. On the whole it’s still really flexible, stretchy enough to fit over the balloon I used for a head model, but not as stretchy as the other one.

This week’s bus knitting, when I stand back and look at it, looks like some sort of bra, or model breasts, or perhaps funky Princess Leia buns if I were to connect the pieces with a headband:

Trust me, I’m not making any of those things. Although the idea of knitted Princess Leia buns is kind of tempting. (Remember the Hallowig that knitty.com had a while back?)

I had a productive week. I spun up half of some Spinderella fiber, worked on my purple cotton sweater, and whipped out a bag and hat.

The bag is one I intended to felt, but Mr. Mmmyarn voiced the opinion that it is a great size the way it is. Since I planned for felting I knitted it more loosely than I would have had I wanted to leave it as is. Here’s what it looks like:

Pattern: own. I knitted it on the fly and did not take notes.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky; 85% wool, 15% mohair; color M-28, Chianti & Trendsetter Yarns Aquarius; 78% nylon, 22% cotton; color 827
Needles: size 10 1/2
Size: 9.25″ at widest point, 8″ tall when lain flat 

The handles are long for leaving it as is as I figured in extra length for shrinkage. I won’t be near a washing machine for a while so I have time to make up my mind. In the meantime, I’ll make a swatch with just the Lamb’s Pride and one with the mix and test-felt them in the sink. It’s a good idea to test it, anyway, considering I have no idea how much the Aquarius will hinder the felting process. Luckily, I grafted the handles, so they’ll be easy to clip and shorten to a proper length if I decide against felting.

The other project this week was a quick hat. I started with my usual 3×3 spiral rib but decided to toss in a second color, creating oblong diamond shapes throughout. I am ridiculously pleased with this as I worked the colors by holding one color in each hand as I learned in the Skra-Trojer class this past February, plus I combined knitting and purling, and — here’s the kicker — the hat stretches to fit over my head! A triumph! Well, it is a little tight for me, but that’s because I have a big head and this is a smaller hat. The fabric itself is wonderfully flexible. I have finally been successful at holding my yarn loosely enough to turn out a stranded project that has give. Perhaps it is time to start swatching one of those two fair isle sweaters I have set aside for me. Here’s the hat:

Pattern: own; cast on 83, 3×3 spiral rib worked in two colors
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted, 100% wool, in color N93 Latte and N91 Aran
Needles: size 5
Size: Adult small to medium

Tomorrow I’m off to Dixon, California, for Lambtown. I’ve never been. All I know to expect is that it will be too hot for me: 96 degrees is the prediction. Yick. I’ll be the person melting in the shade.

For the first time, I attempted to spin fatter yarn on purpose. Up until now, I have been working on getting my spinning finer and more even. Usually I go for about a fingering weight yarn, but I wanted the colors in this one to streak a bit more rather than blend completely so I worked on making the singles fatter. This was nearly instant gratification; it’s amazing how much faster it is to spin up yarn at 8 wpi than, say, 15. Here is the result:

Fiber: 100% merino wool
Colorway: Rose Quartz
Supplier: Carolina Homespun
Quantity: 8 ounces
Finished yarn: 2-ply; one skein of 117 yards and one of 128 yards; 8 wpi = bulky

This week’s bus knitting is a small purse to be felted. I do not know whether this design is going to work after felting because that colorful strand is going to poke out of the felt (it’s a cotton and nylon blend), and I won’t know until I get to a good washing machine, but here’s what I have so far:

The felted bag is finally finished. I knitted it back in March and then it sat around, waiting for us to visit my parents. They have a great washer: it can be set for a small amount of water and it has a button for extra agitation. Two rounds through the wash cycle at their house yesterday and this:

became this:

Pattern: own
Yarn: 3 1/3 skeins Noro Kureyon, 100% wool, color 180
Needles: size 10 1/2
Size: after felting: base is 3″ x 9″, top is 10 1/2″ wide when folded at the edges, and 8 1/2″ tall from base to top

I saw a similar style felted bag at a booth at Stitches West this February, then found a nicely-priced mess of Kureyon a few minutes later and decided I needed a striped felted bag. I put in purled “seam” stitches at the fold lines which made the bag fold nicely pre-felting but which do not assist with the folding now, or indeed show up at all.  The base is garter stitch and the sides stockinette. I worked a few inches in garter stitch at the top because I thought it would make the top stronger, but that, too, disappeared in the process. You’ll see a row of eyelet holes in the pre-felting photo. I had mental plans of making this a drawstring top, using all those eyelets, but in practice it made much more sense just to use the four on either side and let the bag be more open. Luckily the eyelets pretty much closed in the felting process. I had to really hunt for the eight holes I needed, then stretch them to make the strap go through. I did not measure the bag before I threw it in the washer but I’d guess it shrank down to about 2/3 its original size.

The sock in progress went to the Conservatory of Flowers yesterday:

Humph, I did not notice before I took the picture that the foot is being choked by the strand coming off the ball. I suppose my digital photography skills will improve as I continue taking WIP photos for this blog. Sock #1 is now done and I started sock #2 this morning so it can travel to and fro with me on the bus for the next few days.

The to-be-felted bag went out, too. The bag itself is done and I’m now making the cord for the top:

I also did a bit of spinning this week. This is Mikey’s fleece as unspun fiber:

As singles:

And as finished 2-ply yarn:

Fiber: 100% Peppermint Pastures Pygora, fiber type A, goat’s name is Mikey
Colorway: dark teal
Supplier: Carolina Homespun
Quantity: 1 oz, 48 yards
Finished yarn: 2-ply, about 14 wpi = double knitting

Peppermint Pastures kindly includes the name of the goat that supplied the fiber in the little box. I like the idea of being able to look up a photo of Mikey although I could not find it on PP’s site. Their site as of today is still a bit of a work in progress.

The Wild Fibers Magazine site provides a good description of the differences between type A, B, and C pygora fibers. Mikey’s is a type A fiber, meaning long angora-style locks. While the fiber felt soft against my neck and my wrist, when I was spinning the singles it felt rough between my fingers. Spinning was easy but while plying it cut into my finger more than the merino, merino and silk, and corriedale fibers I’ve spun recently.  The finished yarn is a little coarse and hairy but has a nice sheen.

Socks for Mr. Mmmyarn are coming along slowly:

Metal DPNs are the norm for me. I don’t like Magic Loop or using two circulars.  

The first draft of a Noro Kureyon felted bag is also underway:

The striped baby sweater is still sans buttonband. Thank goodness I am making it larger than the baby.