interannette knits

Pattern: Swell in size M.
Yarn: Dale of Norway Free Style that I bought at late night knitting at The Sow's Ear. The entirety of one skein of the red, and about half a skein of the purple.
Needles: Size 7 dpns and a 16" circular.

I have to say I really didn't like how this came out. The colors didn't look as good together as I thought they would. Plus it just didn't fit my head right. Or maybe it did fit my head right, it just isn't very flattering to my head. Either way, I don't think I would wear it much. So, I think I'm pretty sure I'm going to donate it somewhere, probably afghans for Afghans. I could of course frog it, but I don't have enough to make an entirely red, or entirely purple hat, so I'd still be stuck with the two colors together. And, I knit it over the course of a day and a half and am pretty much sick of looking at it now. And, I'm just stubborn and refuse to undo all my work, especially since it's a perfectly functional hat, I just don't like the way it looks.


This was part of a plan I had going in my head. I was going to make a bunch of hats out of various superwash wools. With the goals of trying them out and finding a nice one to make a sweater out of, and having a bunch of really cool hats in the winter. I'm still kind of on a hat kick, they are quick and fun and break up the winter monotony of wearing the same winter coat everyday. But, I finally got around to using the gift certificate Sam's parents got me for graduation, and so have a bunch of really need stuff coming my way. I'll post pictures and my ideas once the yarn gets here.

I am always torn about using wool; I can't deny it's wonderful natural fiber goodness, but I can't put it in the washing machine! So I really hope this is as awesome as I think it is.

Pattern: Shedir from Knitty Breast Cancer Awareness Issue. There is one typo in the pattern, I think. I liked just working directly from the chart. By the end I started to get and understanding of how the cables were working, and was able to catch said typo, so I'm pretty proud of myself.
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Treasure in Lagoon. Approximately one and a half balls. This yarn was really nice and soft, though possibly not the best choice for cables. Especially since I was trying out cabling without a cable needle, which means I was pulling at the stitches a lot. But I kind of like the fuzziness, I think the cables looked a little too harsh in the picture in the pattern.
Needles: Size 3 dpn (I think?)

Pattern: Perdita. The lilac variety. Size small.
Yarn: DMC Perle Cotton, less then on skein. I don't know the name of the color; it was on clearance at Michael's for 50 cents.
Needles: Size 1 metal dpn from my sock set.
Notes: This was nice, quick, easy, and fun. It was my most successful attempt at lace to date. I don't like the buttons I choose, but they were the best I could find at Michaels. Other then that my only complaint is that it's already curling pretty bad. I pulled it really flat during blocking, but after only a few wearings its curling like crazy. But, I still have a few other skeins of Perle Cotton that I bought and I will probably attempt one of the other lace patterns and see if maybe they curl less.

Three days later and they are finally dry!



Grand Total: 5 pairs of mittens and 4 hats!

All out of Elena lopi. I can't find much about this yarn online, all I know is that my grandmother bought it on a trip to Canada years ago. And I hate the stuff. It's very 'rustic', read, scratchy, full of sticks, and breaks easily. That said, I think its got to be very warm. I used almost all of five skiens, that little ball in the middle is all that is left.

Other then the crappy yarn I am really happy with the project. This project was really good for learning basic mitten and hat construction. I now feel comfortable that given measurements I could easily whip up a basic pair of mittens and hat! Plus it was very easy knitting, which is what I needed. And quick too. I don't recall exactly how long I was working on it, but I aimed for either a mitten a day or half a hat per day and made it no problem.

The only other thing is that I accidentally, sort of, felted them a bit. I had washed and blocked the first pair of mittens and they took days to dry, so I wrote off washing the rest. But when I was finishing the last of them I realized the washed and blocked pair felt much much softer then the rest. And since the yarn was so scratchy to begin with I decided I should break down and wash them all. After I had washed them, I only had 3 days left and thought I might be cutting it close for drying time. Our dryer has an air dry setting, so I thought I would give that a try. I figured since it didn't heat up it wouldn't felt the mittens. But I guess the agitation was enough, because there is a distinct difference between the original pair and the rest., which were put through the dryer.


No dryer on the left, dryer on the right.

Thankfully I realized it before too much damage had been done. So it was back to real air drying. Everything finally dried out Sunday sometime., so I was able to ship them off today. Perfect timing.

It's 1:45am and I just finished my last pair of mittens! Four pairs of mittens and four hats are all knit, washed, and drying. When they are all dry, which should be in two days or so, I'll ship them off! Final counter, pictures, and details coming soon. Now it's time to sleep.

It's all gone! Thanks to everyone to bought something!

I'm moving on the 10th, so it's stash sale time! Orders must be placed by July 10th, after that I'm gone.

The Yarn

SOLD Knit Picks Merino Style
One full, untouched ball of Hollyberry. One full ball of Vanilla, swatched with then unraveled. About a third of a ball of Vanilla. About a quarter of a ball of Dusk.

$4 for all of them.
Approximate shipping: $2


SOLDCascade Fixation
Cool hot pink color. Two full balls, still wrapped in plastic. One almost full ball, maybe a few yards missing. I started to swatch, but changed my mind about the whole project and undid the swatch.

$12 for all three.
Approximate shipping: $2


SOLD Endless Summer Collection Luna
Five full, untouched balls in Raspberry Wine. Really nice soft stuff.

$10 for all of them.
Approximate shipping: $2.75


SOLD Plymouth Encore Worsted/Lion Brand Wool Ease
Encore: Almost full skein in pretty muted pink/rose, bottom row left. Almost full skein in a light grey with an almost purple undertone, bottom row right. Small amounts of white and a heather purple, left middle. These colors look great together as stripes.
Wool Ease: Full skein plus about small ball of Wool Ease in Oxford Grey, bottom center and top left. Small part of a ball of Green Heather, top right. (I think it is officially called Green Heather, but it is green and it is heather.)


$6 for all the Encore; approximate shipping: $3.25.
$3 for all the Wool Ease; approximate shipping: $1.75.
$8 for all of both; approximate shipping: $4.25.



SOLDPlymouth Wildflower DK
One full skein and the majority of a second skein both in black.

$2 for both.
Approximate shipping: $1.50


SOLD Target Fluff
Light grey, very soft and fluffy novelty yarn from Target's Dollar Section a couple months back. One mostly full skein and a little bit of a second.

$1 for both, or I'll throw them if for free if you are buying something else.
Approximate shipping: $1.50

The Details:

Colors:

For best color accuracy, all photos were taken outside in natural light. The background is black canvas. Any two balls of the same color are from the same dye lot.

Prices:

I am flexible. Prices are negotiable, especially if you are ordering more then one set. If you only want one skein from a set, I can do that too.

Shipping:

Approximate shipping prices are provided as an estimate and are based on USPS first class shipping. Once you email me with your address I will give you give you exact shipping costs. I can ship priority mail or express mail through USPS if you prefer.

Payment:

All payments must be though PayPal. Email me at acidwashedpants AT gmail DOT com with your selections and address. I will email you back with exact shipping costs. Once I receive payment via PayPal the yarn will ship within one business day.

All yarn is from a smoke and pet free home.

I have been running out of creative steam with my knitting lately. It's too warm to think about starting a sweater. And I can't stand the feel of knitting with cotton and other warm weather fibers. So I started on a sock binge. But, to date I have completed exactly one and a quarter socks. What I really needed is some instant knitting gratification. At this point I am also limited by the fact that I am at my parents house and all my stash is boxed up in Tempe. The only yarn I have is a bunch of half skeins of Plymouth Encore and Wool-Ease in various colors and six skeins of Elena Lopi my grandmother gave me. My grandmother keeps asking me if I have made anything of it yet; and is sure to remind me that there is enough to make a sweater. The Lopi is a muted pink with flecks of white. It's really not that bad but for some reason I just don't like the color one bit. So, it's definitely not becoming a sweater, at least not for me.

Since I had all that machine washable acrylic blend, I thought maybe I'd knit up a few baby items for charity. A search for charitable knitting organizations quickly turned up afghans for Afghans. When I went to their website I found they are looking for children's mittens, hats, vests, etc. And only wool can stand up to harsh the harsh Afghanistan winters. The catch is, it takes so long to get to Afghanistan that they need these items by July 21st.

Well now I have a goal: I am going to use up every last bit of all six skeins of the Elena Lopi for hats and mittens. And I'm going to do it before July 11th when I fly back to Tempe. I have a free priority mail flat rate box sitting under my makeshift desk waiting for mittens. Current count: two pairs of mittens and one hat. I figure it I make a mitten (or half a hat) a day I should make it.

Oh, and if emptying my stash wasn't good enough, if you get the donations in by July 21st, you are entered to win a $50 gift certificate to Yarn Market. I'm a sucker for prizes!