The reason I haven’t posted in months isn’t because I haven’t been knitting. It’s because I think the key to a great blog is great pictures. I don’t have a camera and taking photos of my knitting with my computer’s camera just doesn’t work that well. I’ve been updating my Ravelry page, but that’s also completely devoid of images.
Since I finished the Striped Scarf from the 2002 men’s issue of Vogue Knitting I have also finished the Bulky Coat from Vogue Knitting winter 2008/2009. I used Twinkle by Classic Elite Soft Chunky in the Midnight colourway, which is the recommended yarn for the pattern. The pattern gauge is 11 stitches over 7 inches. Notice that the gauge is over 7 inches, not the usual 4 inches. Over 4 inches the gauge is about 6.3 stitches. This calls for some seriously bulky yarn. I don’t know how many of you have looked for yarn this bulky, but it is scarce to say the least. Any yarn that I did find that was thick enough felt like burlap and/or it was extremely dense. I think the perfect bulky coat requires fluffy yarn so that the FO doesn’t feel heavy. I don’t want a coat that feels or looks like a blanket, so I decided to go with the Soft Chunky even though it was more expensive than I had hoped. Luckily I signed up for the Purple Purl e-newsletter and heard about their sale on Soft Chunky yarn. Anyway, I have finished the coat and I think it turned out great, especially considering it is my first sweater. I’ve worn it twice and I definitely don’t regret my yarn choice because this is the softest wool I have ever felt. I still need to get buttons for it, though. Ever time I’m in a yarn shop I look at their button selection, but I haven’t found any that I like and are big enough. I need 6 buttons that are 1.25 inches in diameter, so I will probably need to go to Fabricland or some other sewing supply store to find them. I’ve never attached buttons to something that I have knit before. I wonder if it is the same as it is with sewing. If anyone has any recommendations about how to attach buttons to a bulky yarn garment please let me know.
Since completing the coat I have knit 3 pairs of socks and I’m working on 2 more pairs. The first pair I knit was the pattern, Thuja in Fibranatura Yummy superwash wool in colourway 41351, which is an orange-purple mix. I love this colourway. It makes me want to knit and knit and knit. This was my first pair of socks and I actually found them surprisingly easy to knit. These are knit from the top-down, which even though I have since done patterns from the toe-up I still think top-down is easier. I understand the benefits of knitting toe-up, especially when you are knitting a sock with an intricate pattern, but I just find the starting a lot more difficult, although the rest is about the same level of difficulty. These socks turned out alright, not amazing. I thought that pattern would look a lot better with thicker yarn, so the next pair of socks that I made were with the same pattern, but with Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line by Kaffe Fassett in the Landscape Colour, Twilight. This worked out much better and I will be sure to post a picture of both socks once I get a camera.
After I finished this pair of socks I kept looking for a pattern to make another pair of socks with this yarn. I finally landed on a pattern called Fruit Loop. It’s a great pattern, but I think my favourite aspect of it is it’s name. If you know me, you know that I have a weakness for all things sugary, so it just seemed fitting that I should knit these socks with a colourway I also have a weakness for. The only problem is that I ran out of yarn after the first sock and I have yet to find more of this yarn in this colourway. It might seem strange that I ran out after only one sock, but I knit the first sock with leftovers from the Thuja socks. I was able to knit 2 mens socks and one ladies sock with one skein of this yarn. I must say I was quite impressed, but that doesn’t help the situation I am in now with only one ladies sock. If I can’t find more of this colourway I may resort to buying it on-line or knitting the second sock in a different colourway.
I think I’ve talked enough for one post. Next time I will go on and on about how much I love this bamboo yarn I have recently found.
