Practically Anything - Finished!

I finished this up this past Monday, but haven't been able to get a picture until today.  We had rain most of the week, but today we actually had some sun.

The pictures were a little awkward to take.  Usually I kneel on the futon, which gets me at a good height and gives me some stability, but Jasmine was stretched out in a sunbeam and I couldn't disturb her.

This is the yarn that I dyed at the retreat this past April.  This was basically an experiment, so I stuck with basic colors - no mixing.  Next year I really need to play with some other colors and try a subtle gradiance.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing
Needles:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Practically Anything - Five Skeins Done

I spent most of yesterday working on this, listening to classical radio (WETA) and reading Electra by Kerry Greenwood.  Kerry wrote the Phryne Fisher mysteries, which I thoroughly enjoyed and the Corinna Chapman mysteries, which I also enjoyed although I still don't understand how a bakery can survive if it isn't open on weekends, especially when it is supplying local restaurants.  Electra is the third book in the Delphic Woman series, which has been a lot of fun to read.  The three books are Medea, Cassandra and Electra.  Three iconic women.  I like how she has told their stories, and I like the fact that she does her homework.

I came home early from work - only worked a half day - so we could mow the lawn before it started raining.  It is forecast to start raining tonight and rain for most of the rest of the week.  We've been experimenting with our yard, which was taken over by an invasive ground cover that thrives in the woods around here.  We like it because we are not big on yard work, but it had gotten a little out of hand in the sunny spots.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing
Needles:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Practically Anything - Four Skeins Done

For the past 20 days I've been working on a test knit, but before I had started that project I had almost gotten through the fourth skein of my vest.  I have another test knit I need to get started on, but I decided to take a little break today and work on some of my other projects.  This morning I finished up the last few rows of the blue-green skein and joined the blue skein.

I can't share any details of the test knit that I just finished up, as it is for a club and must remain a surprise.  I will say that I really like the colorway.  I can share my yarn choice for the next test knit I need to work on - The Velveteen Rabbit, which is the next Unique Sheep Mystery Knit Along.  Ellen of Earthfaire has been working with Kelly of The Unique Sheep on some wonderful circle colorways made up of 12 skeins.  I offered to do my test knit in one of those circles so we would be able to provide the transition points for those sets as well as the traditional 6-skein sets.  This is the colorway that I chose - Enchanted Garden.

I still haven't decided on the bead color yet, but I have several options in my bead stash.  I spent some of last night grooming the charts and setting up the project in my knitCompanion, and putting together my Excel spreadsheet to calculate the stitch count and transition points.  I even cast on and worked a few rows, but I think I'm going to restart and go up a needle size before I really get going on the first clue.

I also got some new yarn in over the last few weeks - as if I need any more yarn in this house.  I did successfully complete all three projects this past summer for Camp Loopy, so I had to select my reward.  I ended up picking the skein on the left in the picture below.

I then had to pick a coordinating color to go with it as I have really been wanting to make Sivia's Layer Cake Shawl.  This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Color in the Clouds and Grapevine.  And of course while I was at the The Loopy Ewe web site some other yarn found its way into my cart.

This is madelinetosh Tosh DK in Liquid Gold and I bought it to make Sinua, from the Fall 2016 Twist Collective.

I also had some Jimmy Beans Bucks that were set to expire at the end of this month, so of course I had to find something there to spend them on and ended up with this yarn, which is also madelinetosh Tosh DK, in Havana.  I'm going to use this to make Caledonia, from the Fall 2014 Twist Collective.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing
Needles:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Practically Anything - 2 skeins down

This project knits up fairly quickly, and I've gone through my yellow skein and my yellow-green skein.  I have knit a few rows with the green skein.  I have cast off the overarm stitches, cast on the underarm stitches, and am now working the body.  This is an easy, soothing and satisfying knit.  A project that allows you to enjoy the yarn.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing
Needles:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Practically Anything

I dyed this yarn at The Unique Sheep Retreat this past April.  I decided to try an experiment.  I wanted saturated colors and simple changes, so I dyed a solid yellow, a yellow-green, a green, a green-blue, a blue and a blue-purple.  We'll see how it turns out.  The yarn is Wild Thing, a worsted weight silk-wool blend that I first used on the Lothlorien Cape.  It is very nice to work with.

For a pattern I picked the Practically Vest, a pattern which I've knit before.  I wanted something top-down so I could use all of my yarn, and simple.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing
Needles:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Lothlorien Cape - Finished!

Kelly of The Unique Sheep dyed me an extra skein so I could finish my cape.  I sent her a length of yarn from my last skein so she could match the colors.  I think she did a phenomenal job.  I, however, underestimated the amount of yarn that I needed to finish, but not by much.  I ran out just after finishing the turning row on the collar.  Fortunately I had some Tinsel Toes in a similar color.  I held it double and was able to finish the collar.  If I knit it again (and I have another set of yarn for the pattern) I may go down a needle size.  I like the drape, but the reverse stockinette sections seem a little loose, and I am not a loose knitter.  I don't know if that is the influence of the silk.  I did go down a needle size when I knit the collar.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do for a closure yet.  The pattern suggests a frog closure, but I might use a necklace clasp instead.  I need to look at what I have in my stash, and also online, and see if something speaks to me.

Pattern:  Lothlorien Cape by Susan Pandorf
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing in Summer's End
Needles:  US 6 (4 mm), US 5 (3.75 mm)

Lothlorien Cape - Chart 1 Done

I finished up Chart 1 this morning, with 10 grams left of skein 2 (you can see the remains sitting on the shoulder of the dress maker dummy).  I'll switch to skein 1 soon.  I'm not sure when I'll get my additional yarn to finish this, but I already have my next project picked out.  The yarn came last week.

This is Bare Naked Wools Confection Worsted.  Bruce was surprised when I pulled it out of the bag because it is natural (the color is Nougat) and I usually go for color.  I ran across the quintessential over-size cabled sweater - what I think of as a "car coat" - on Ravelry and simply had to make it.  The pattern is Vendange by Anne Hanson and it is just a classic.  I thought about doing it in a Spirit Trail Fiber Works yarn so I could make it in a color, but I think it needs to be done in a natural wool color.

I haven't forsaken color completely.  I also received my yarn for my next test knit.

Pacific Sunset on Tinsel Toes.  But I think I'm going to use this to make another Open Eye Tunic - using the 2 left-most skeins for the panel inserts and the other 4 for the body.  I have a set of Silverlode on Luxe that I think I will use for the test knit.

Pattern:  Lothlorien Cape by Susan Pandorf
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing in Summer's End
Needles:  US 6 (4 mm)

Lothlorien Cape - Skeins 4 and 3 Done

I've been working steadily away on this, enjoying each decrease that means 16 fewer stitches to work.  I started this on 47 inch circulars, but now have it on 32 inch circulars, which makes it a little easier to handle.  With the shorter days it is harder to get good photos during the week.  I took this one on the floor of my studio which has natural daylight LED lights.  The only challenge there is making sure I don't get any shadows in the picture.  I really love this colorway.  It is a perfect gradiance set with each skein blending beautifully with the previous skein with no need at all for transition rows.  I have been using up each skein before switching to the next.  With the heavier yarns I actually splice the skeins when I join.  This yarn has four plies, so I unply them in pairs and then re-ply a pair from each skein.  I have not been worried about matching the colors exactly when I join the skeins, I just work until I have about 12 inches of yarn left, unply the same amount on each skein and reply leaving enough tail to weave in.  You end up with four 2 ply tails, two long ones and two short ones and when you weave them in they disappear because they are only 2 plies.  If you do this right you can't even see where you've joined on the wrong side and your piece looks seamless.

I weighed each skein after I caked them and based upon my stitch count and yarn usage I have determined that I won't have enough yarn to complete the cape, but I've already contacted The Unique Sheep and I'll be able to get more.  I'm going to send Kelly a sample of my first skein to help with the color matching.  I bought this set back in 2011, and it has 500 grams.  According to the skein labels each skein is supposed to have 83 grams, which would be 498 grams.  I have another set that I bought before this one, when the pattern first came out and the labels on that set have 85 grams as the weight, which would give you 510 grams.  I haven't caked up those skeins and weighed them, so I don't know exactly how much yarn I actually have in that set.  When I checked the kit page on The Unique Sheep website yesterday it stated that the kit contains 675 grams, so obviously something happened since I purchased my yarn over 4 years ago.  I have noticed issues with yarn amount requirements on patterns before, especially with independent designers, because not everyone weighs each skein and keeps track of their yarn usage.  Even with commercial yarns you can't assume that the weight on the label is the weight of the skein.  I had a set of commercial yarn I was using for a vest and every single skein was short, so I ended up running out of yarn and having to make the vest in another yarn from my stash.  It worked out because I actually like the other yarn I used better than the yarn called for in the pattern, but it just goes to show that you can't make any assumptions about yarn amounts.  When I first started knitting I didn't track my yarn usage, but now I almost always do, and post it on my project page.  I'll even update the stash amount when I know exactly how much yarn I have, and then record the exact amount I used in my project.

Pattern:  Lothlorien Cape by Susan Pandorf
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing in Summer's End
Needles:  US 6 (4 mm)

Lothlorien Cape - Skeins 6 and 5 Done

I've had this set in my stash for a little while and I pulled it out recently inspired by another Raveler's Lothlorien Cape.  It was sitting in a corner of my living room for when I was looking for a project to take with me to Ohio.  I have almost finished one test knit - just the bind off and the tech editing left - and I haven't jumped into my next test knit (although I have the yarn).  I didn't feel like working yet another shawl and I wasn't feeling up to working on an actual garment that requires me to check gauge and potentially modify the pattern, so I pulled this out.  I figured the cables would keep it interesting so I wound all of the skeins into cakes, dug out some needles, and set up the pattern in knitCompanion.

This is another pattern from Susan Pandorf's Fellowship of the Ring set.  Her first set in her Tolkien inspired designs.

I cast on in the Element on the way to Yellow Springs, Ohio, to visit family, finishing up Skein 6 while we were there and starting Skein 5.  I finished Skein 5 this morning and have just started working with Skein 4.

Pattern:  Lothlorien Cape by Susan Pandorf
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Wild Thing in Summer's End
Needles:  US 6 (4 mm)