Twist

Red Twist Finished

I finished the my red twist.  I love it!  If I were to do it again, I would maybe make it a bit longer.  Quick info: Sundara Worsted Merino.  US 7.  Made size 42.  Ravelry info here.   

Finally finished!

I found my button online and ordered a few extra to justify the shipping. :p  Thank you to Rita, Leslie and anyone else that helped me look for my last button.  One thing I've learned is that I'm not going to wait to buy my buttons 'til I'm sure the store has all of them.

Quick recap (a couple more pics on my blog):

• Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Wine (a dc'd colorway, I believe)
• size 38 hooded version size 7 & 8 needles mods: extra inch to the body
• accidently knit only 2" of the ribbed cuff on the sleeves

Finished!

I finished my Twist!  I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

I used Dream In Color Classy in Spring Tickle.  I bought 6 skeins but ended up using 5.

I really wanted to knit this sweater, but didn't think it would look good on me, so I made it for my friend Leigh.   She is fifteen kinds of awesome (proof: she made Isaac's raisinet-flinging monkey birthday cake), so it was fun to make something special for her.  I gave it to her on Saturday and she loved it and it fit.  The sweater was a surprise, so I was a bit nervous about the sizing, but it was fine.

Twist was great fun to knit.  I'm hoping to knit another Chic Knits pattern soon.  Once I got used to looking for the evil words, "at the same time...." and stopped trying to read the pattern in a totally linear way, it was a breeze.  My copy is all marked up because I made lists of which cable-rows would get an increase or decrease and what the total stitch count would be at that point. 

I want to move to the Dream In Color factory and live in a big pile of their yarn.  I'm usually not a big hand-painted yarn person.  Ok, that's a lie...I enjoy buying it.  I just don't always like the way it knits up.  This yarn is subtle enough that the color variegation adds depth without being distracting.  It's lovely.

On to the next project!

 

My kingdom for a button!

Help!  I am 1 button short on making my Twist an FO and need help from all you Twist knitters.  The button I am looking for is the one on the left, JHB 2193 (3/4").  I managed to get 6 of them at the Fremont Joann's off of Automall Parkway.  However, neither the Joann's in Hayward (Hesperian Blvd) nor in Dublin have this button.  They only have the much larger 1-1/2" version.   I still need to check the Joann's in Emeryville, but if you happen to see my buttons at your local Joann's, please message me on Ravelry (Nartian) or e-mail me at cmccuaig at yahoo dot com with the location and I will hightail over there ASAP!

Thank you so much!

Finally!

So Yo!  It has been a long time - I posted once about a yarn trade and managed to get my hands on some yarn that will work really nicely - Paragon from The Yarn Place.  I knit the ribbing and about an inch into the body and realized that even though I'd swatched and got gauge, it wasn't coming out right. So I frogged and put it away for a while.  I took a few weeks off from it to finish another project that was on a deadline; that is now complete so I can move forward on Twist.

I knit a few inches of ribbing last weekend, and realized that apparently I can't follow directions (though I do generally play well with others).  So I've got to frog back about an inch.  But.  I'm back at it, and I'm concentrating on this project, so I should be cruising along in no time!  I'm hoping to finish it by Stitches West as Lynn would like to display it at the Yarn Place booth.

It's nice to be working on Twist again!

It was a Rough Start

but now I am finally making some progress on my Twist.

Hi everyone and thank you for letting me join in on your KAL. My name is Leanne H. and I blog at http://purpleprincessknits.com. So many people I know are knitting the Central Park Hoodie which I do not find to be very flattering so I wanted to find something better. Once I saw this pattern by Bonnie Marie I knew it was the one I wanted to make. The Twist pattern is very classy and so far very easy to follow. There are cables to keep your interest

Lots of ribbing

It has just the right amount of side shaping to be flattering to all and lots of stockinette so it knits up fast.

Fast, unless you are me. I started this at the end of December with Black Water Abbey in the Sky color. Then I restarted after knitting up 1/2 the back.  Then I ripped back a couple or three inches twice. I think I am finally moving forward on this one. I have the back completed and almost the left front.

I first got gauge using a US6 for the ribbing and a US7 for the body. IT was the right gauge until I started knitting it large, that is. Then it was just too tight. After I knit the first 220 yard skein of yarn I realized that the gauge was too tight for the pattern and the yarn so it just would never work. The sweater would end up being way too stiff and much too hot for me to wear, not to mention too small, so I ripped it and started over. I am now using a US7 for the ribbing and a US8 for the body of the sweater and I really like the way it is turning out. The BWA shows off the cable nicely. I will post better pictures after I get the front completed.

Almost there?

Since I'm not sure if I can make it to the KAL this weekend, I'm posting a pic of the  pieces I have so far pinned together.  I think it'll work, but it's hard to tell with the front St st band curling in.  That and I suck at taking self-timed pics. 

I will see Leslie on Monday, so she can give me a better idea on if the size is okay or if I'll need to start over on the next size up, but I'm hoping I'm good to go.

Finally Cast-on (for real)!

I finally got Twist cast-on today!  The ribbing is working up beautifully in the Eco Wool.  I'm really looking forward to seeing this piece shape up!  I have about 3 1/2 inches of ribbing on the back, and I'm hoping to finish up the ribbing and start the patterning tomorrow.

How does your Twist go?

Finally Started!

I finally got the swatcing done for Twist, and I'll cast-on today!  Holiday knitting got in the way, and I know that many of you out there also had holiday deadlines to meet, so Purlescence Yarns will be extending the Twist KAL through the end of February.  I am using Cascade Yarns Eco Wool, and the gauge is quite lovely and perfect on a 5 mm needle.  I did find that I have to use a knitback technique to keep the tension smooth - I think the yarn would rather be a bit tighter and so this gauge doesn't give it the best structural stability.  Yeah, I know, this yarn is supposed to yield up 3 1/2 sts per inch, but it just doesn't.  That's okay, I think it's going to be lovely.  I'm just trying to decide if I'm going to change my mind and cast-on the lavender color rather than the natural white!

A little bit about me: I am a lifelong knitter, having knit for somewhere around 36 years at this point.  The thing I find most amazing about this is that despite all these years knitting and collecting tools, I still end up buying a new set of needles for almost every project!  Where do they all go? 

I learned to knit from my mother, as well as crochet (which I actually learned first, but find much less passion-inspiring), and thus spent much of my youth as an undiagnosed combo knitter.  I am ambidextrous, so I knit in both directions and carrying the yarn in either hand.  I do try to avoid switching techniques mid project, but sometimes my best intentions don't work out!  I learned to seriously pattern draft some ten or eleven years ago when I first knitted the Sweater of Doom (SoD), which some of you have seen.  It's my favorite example for students of what not to do!  I adore things patterns and techniques that are new and different.  I knit all the time.  Someone commented to me yesterday that I probably tried to avoid fiber during my off time, and I got to tell them that no, in fact, fiber is my passion!  If I don't knit, I get cranky and my family starts asking when I last knit!  I am also a spinner, using both drop spindles and wheels.  Both are wonderful, and I really don't have a preference for one over the other. 

So, I'm off to knit Twist!

About time....

for me to get around to introducing myself!

Hi everyone - my name is Kathy aka Queen of Purple Yarn and my Ravelry ID is KathyInSanJose. I am loving this pattern! If I hadn't realized yesterday that I left my pattern copy at Purlescence, I would have bound off the back yesterday. Pictures will be forthcoming.

I'm using Brooks Farm Four Play for mine, in a wonderful mix of light blues and lavender. The color is very similar to the Annie color on their webpage, but without the cream.

Hmmm, about me - I'm a school librarian by day, a mom to a 15-year old boy Dork (trust me, that's his name!), and obsessed about fiber at all times. Oh, and I have a husband and a dog, too. I'm a crocheter, knitter and spinner, and hanging out at the shop only enables me more!

Off to knit!