Tag Archive | garter stitch

FO: Easy Shawl

The last week has been a productive one for my knitting: I finished three projects over the weekend! The biggest was the sweater, which I shared yesterday, but I think the prettiest might be my Easy shawl. Once I picked it back up after a long hiatus, I zoomed along, eager to see the finished piece. It did not disappoint!

I love how the knitting goes in two directions, with that pretty little seam in between. I love the shape of it, long and narrow with tapered ends; it’s my favorite kind of shawl to wear. I love how the simple pattern lets the gorgeous colors be the highlight. And I love how soft and squishy it is.

There was a slight hiccup in the knitting of it: the pattern said to use half the yarn in the first section. Okay, did that, assuming the second half would be enough to finish the pattern as written, right? Well, it didn’t work out that way for me. I got toward the end and my yarn was going too quickly, so I had to decrease faster than written to make it work. The last row I had to purl four together so I’d have enough left to bind off. I ended with less than a yard leftover. I’m not sure why it happened. No, I didn’t swatch because I figured I didn’t need to, if I’m knitting based on the amount of yarn. My only thought is that my tension was different for the second half, since I’d done the first half about three months ago. In any case, it worked out fine. I can’t see any problem with the end of the seam, and it sure won’t be noticeable when I’m wearing it!

Pattern: Easy by Martina Behm

Yarn: Madtosh DK by Madelinetosh, color Gosla

FO: NGY Hitchhiker

Jul15

Thanks to two weekends of great Wimbledon tennis, I finished my Hitchhiker this morning! I cast on the Hitchhiker Beyond last Saturday and most of the knitting was done over the two weekends, with a few teeth here and there during the week. This was for a Nerd Girl Yarns KAL, and I chose a NGY in her Mutiny base, which is 80/20 merino/silk. Yep, the drape is as amazing as you’d imagine. Perfect with garter stitch on my size 3 needles. I love this one so much!

The first section says to use a third of your yarn, or about 20/21 teeth. The first time I made it, I used 30 grams and had 21 teeth, and ran out of yarn too soon, so this time I was conservative and used around 25 grams I think, and only 20 teeth. I had 8 grams leftover and a gorgeous scarf in a very wearable length. I do think I’ll block it out a bit longer, but not so much that I lose the yummy squish of garter stitch.

The color is called The Wise Build Bridges, inspired by Black Panther, and these are totally my colors so I’ll be wearing this a lot once the weather cools off.

The KAL is still going on through August 5th, so check out the Nerd Girl Yarns group on Ravelry if you want to join. I’m tempted to do another!

NGY Hitchhiker KAL

Jul8

Don’t Panic! Nerd Girl Yarns is hosting a Hitchhiker KAL/CAL this month, hoping to inspire those who have lost some crafting mojo, or need some inspiration to branch out of their comfort zone. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I fit into either of those categories, but it is at least making me knit something other than socks, so that counts, right? I love Hitchhikers for the soothing garter stitch and the fun teeth, so I knew I’d be knitting another Hitchhiker Beyond. And you get bonus points for using Nerd Girl Yarns yarn, which narrowed it down to these two choices:

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At first I was convinced I’d be using the bottom, called Queen of the Amazons, but the more I looked at them, the more I knew I’d wear the purple color more. (Shocker, I know.) The color is called The Wise Build Bridges, inspired by Black Panther. I wound it this morning, the first official day of the KAL, while I was watching Breakfast at Wimbledon.

See that sneaky pup? That’s Grace!

I couldn’t start it while Rafa was playing, because that match needed close attention and I have to count rows when I make Hitchhikers, but as soon as Rafa won, I cast on, and that was my project for the next few hours of tennis.

I’m loving it so much. This yarn is perfect for this pattern, or maybe this pattern is just perfect, I don’t know. Do you want to play along? Check out the Nerd Girls Yarns group on Ravelry for more details!

Trying to Wrap it Up

Apr17

My main knitting project lately has been a new shawl called the Mother Earth Wrap. It’s simple and gratifying, lots of squishy garter stitch and fun color changes. It’s been going to and from work, it’s been with me when I sit out on the deck with the dogs, and it’s been my after-dinner relaxation knitting.

All of that knitting time means I’m making lots of progress! I’m on the next-to-last color now, and I’m hoping to finish within a week.

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I wish I had saved the purples for last, so they’d be the biggest sections, but I’m loving this color combo anyway. The yarn is Perfection by Kraemer Yarns. Look for my review as soon as I’m done knitting this lovely piece!

Hitchhiker Done

Apr7

I did it! I finished the fingering weight Hitchhiker! I only made it to 36 teeth, instead of 42, but it’s definitely a wearable length. Toward the end, I checked my yarn at the end of each row, but I used as much yarn as possible with maybe one yard left over. This is a gift for a good friend (she provided the yarn, I provided the labor) and I hope she enjoys wearing it! And honestly, once I got back into the groove, I enjoyed knitting it again. It really is a brilliant pattern.

Details: Pattern is the classic Hitchhiker by Martina Behm. One of these days I’ll get around to knitting on of her other awesome patterns. Yarn is Araucania Huasco, 450 yards of fingering weight merino. It’s lovely to knit with, and the muted rainbow is gorgeous. I used 24″ size 3 circs.

Happy Thursday, friends! Tune in tomorrow to see what’s next on my needles!