kimley knits

I finished this Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret a few weeks ago and have actually been getting good use out of it here in chilly Southern California. Don’t laugh, it’s been getting down into the forties here and while many of you have been suffering far worse, this is definitely knitted accessory weather!

Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret

And what better than to snuggle with some Malabrigo yarn which I think may be my very favorite yarn ever. I’ve now used their lace yarn, their sock yarn and this was my first time using their worsted yarn and I absolutely love them all! So soft. Such great colors/dying. And compared to other luxury yarns, the price is pretty reasonable as well. It’s all good!

While I’ve been wearing this beret nearly every day, I also just finished another one tonight which is blocking right now so photos and details yet to come on that one.

And yes, two berets constitutes “mania”. Plus I’ve got several others all ready to get started. It’s official, I’m hooked on berets. Pourquoi pas?

STATS
Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret by Natalie Larson
A little more than half a skein of Malabrigo Worsted in the Vaa colorway
U.S. sizes 10 & 11 needles (Knit Picks Options, 40″ circular, magic loop method throughout)

Just as I was plugging along full-steam on my knitting I ended up giving myself a pretty bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome. Life can be cruel. So I stopped knitting all together for the last two months or so and have just started up again but very slowly for now. No marathon sessions…

Whisper Cardigan – front to back and all tied up

In the meantime, this is a sweater I knit up over the summer before I resurrected my blog. It’s the simple and fun Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig (Ravelry link) from Interweave Knits Spring 2009. I knit mine in super soft Malabrigo lace which is one of my very favorite yarns. It’s a lot of stockinette which makes this a good relaxing knit and a very quick knit.

STATS:
Whisper Cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2009 (Ravelry link)
2 skeins Malabrigo lace in Cuarzo
U.S. sizes 2, 4 & 7 needles

Clapotis

As of today, according to Ravelry, there are 12,722 Clapotis roaming in the knitting wilds. It is currently listed as the pattern with the most projects. So I had to see what all the fuss was about and I have to say that I get it. I knit this back in August and I’m pretty sure I’ll end up making a few more. It’s a super fun and fast pattern to knit. Who doesn’t love dropping stitches on purpose and watching them ladder down knowing that it’s actually OK. Not to mention that it’s a highly adaptable pattern. Make it smaller or bigger depending on the amount of yarn you have. Use any gauge yarn. And best of all, it’s a rare pattern that works well with the wildest variegated yarns. And I had this seriously crazy variegated yarn from Araucania (Ranco Multy-fingering weight) which I loved and scored on sale but then couldn’t figure out what to use it for. This is a win-win any way you look at it!

STATS:
Clapotis pattern free from Knitty.com
1 skein Araucania Ranco Multy (376 yards) in color 301 (used all but a few yards)
U.S. size 6 needles (KnitPicks Options)
Blocked to 9″ x 70″

Twinkle Aspen Hat – to be frogged…

Well, I’ve been knitting a lot lately and experimenting a lot as well so it’s no surprise that I’ve got a bunch of life-lesson FAILS to report. It’s all part of the learning curve. Fortunately this is another quick knit so not a lot of time lost on this “experiment”. I’ve had this Twinkle Soft Chunky yarn for quite a while now, having scored a hank on sale for half price. It’s super soft and I absolutely love the color. I’ve been wanting to make this Twinkle Aspen Hat but didn’t have any needles anywhere near the correct size – 19! I have the Knit Picks options set so I finally ordered their size 17 needle hoping that would work. Unfortunately, that’s the biggest size they have. At first it seemed as if I was getting gauge but as I worked my way to the tippy top of this hat and tried it on I could see it was way too small. No matter how much I stretched and tugged, it just didn’t want to cover my ears and if a hat doesn’t cover your ears, well then what’s the point? So I need to save up to buy some size 19 needles and do this one properly.

Veyla Mitts – to be frogged…

I have this super luxurious yarn that my friend Janel so graciously gave me a few xmases back and I’ve been trying to find just the right project. It’s beautiful lace-weight qiviuk and I was hoping it might work for these lovely fingerless mitts – Veyla from Ysolda Teague – but the pattern calls for a light fingering weight yarn and as you can see this lace weight is just a bit too thin. When I stretch the cuff, it actually looks OK but the hand just looks too threadbare. Fortunately, it’s an extremely fast knit so it was an interesting experiment. I may try doubling the yarn although I’m not quite sure that I have enough. It will be close but if it works I think it will be wonderful. This yarn is so soft and beautiful!

Yes, I do believe someone has been surreptitiously eating my yarn.

I’m running out of yarn on my Hallett’s Ledge sweater even though I’m using the yarn spec’d for the pattern and getting gauge and purchased the recommended amount and yet I’m running out! I’ve got the body and the first sleeve done and have only 80 grams of yarn left. My first sleeve used 79 grams of yarn (yep, I weighed it) so clearly I won’t have any left over for the collar band and two button bands.

Hallett’s Ledge WIP: back and front view. It looks better on. It definitely needs blocking.

What’s a girl to do?  Ahem – go yarn shopping! I originally got this yarn from Webs so I’m hoping they still have some of the same dye lot. It’s a Rowan yarn (the felted tweed aran) and I’ve had mixed experiences trying to match yarn with Rowan yarns. Sometimes, even if it’s not the same dye lot, it looks exactly the same and other times it looks really really different. We’ll see if they can match it or if it will be OK. Hopefully, even if it doesn’t match, it won’t be so different as to stand out on the collar and button bands. Sigh…

It’s been literally years since I last blogged… but not for a lack of knitting or fiber fluff in my life. I’ve just been keeping track of all my projects on Ravelry and blogging seemed a bit redundant.

But I’ve lately been knitting somewhat fanatically and feeling the need to start blogging again. I really want to step up my knitting skills and get past being an “advanced-beginner” and try to develop some enviable needle chops. So I’ve “rebranded” my blog with a new name and design and have lots to post about my latest adventures with yarn.

swatch for Hallett’s Ledge sweater

With that in mind, I’ve lately become obsessed with knitting sweaters. I’d mostly avoided sweaters for several reasons. It’s expensive to buy all that yarn. They take a long time. And making sure they fit is somewhat daunting not to mention there are a variety of sweater-knitting skills that I still don’t possess. But I’m ready to tackle those now.

I’m currently working on Hallett’s Ledge from the latest Twist Collective. I’ve run into a couple of hitches but overall, I’m really loving it. If I can manage to pull this one off, I’m pretty sure I’ll get quite a bit of wear out of it.

Well, I had intended to try to finish at least one more WIP before starting another new project but who am I kidding…

I bought the Victorian Lace Today book and yarn for this project quite a while ago and then got too intimidated to start since I’d never done any lace knitting before so I (wisely, I think) did a few easier lace projects first and now this seems like a piece of cake.

It’s the “Scarf with the No. 20 edging” (pg. 84 for those with the book) and I’m knitting it with Alchemy Haiku yarn which is much like Rowan Kidsilk Haze but slightly less expensive (at least at my LYS) and I’m happy to say that it’s actually a bit softer – much less itch factor than the KSH.

I’m focused on finishing up some WIPs so here’s one I started last year.

PATTERN: Misty Garden by Jo Sharp from Scarf Style
YARN: Brooks Farm Primero (bought at Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival)
NEEDLES: Addi Turbo lace needles size US 6

This was a super easy lace pattern and I love this yarn though it’s not quite as soft as I’d like and not recommended for those with more sensitive skin. It’s slightly scratchy. But the colors came out beautifully. I’ve not been very happy lately with the way a lot of my variegated yarn knits up but this one worked beautifully.

Catching up a bit on the blog…

Here’s a hat I knit for my friend Heidi. I loved knitting with this Optim yarn! It’s so soft and the finished fabric is just wonderful.

PATTERN: Fountain Hat by Katie Himmelberg from Interweave Knits Spring 2008 (freebie on website)
YARN: Chameleon Colorworks Evolution in the October colorway
NEEDLES: Knitpicks Options Nickel Plated US size 4 circular needles

I knit this using the magic loop technique with my new Knit Picks options needles. These needles are pretty nice – similar to Addi Turbos but of course significantly less expensive. The join isn’t as smooth though and at one point, my join got loose (probably my own fault for not tightening it enough) and my yarn got stuck and that was not fun! But overall, I’m really happy with this set of needles and they come with cable caps so you can easily remove the needles for another project when you want to put something on hold.