Starsky and Mystic Light

On January 31, 2008, in cardigan, by Anna

I completed the Starsky last week, but I only got around to taking a picture today. I really like it, and given the chilly weather we have here in January, it’s nice to have a really warm cardigan.
I think the Starsky will also be quite nice as a spring/fall jacket It’s certainly warm enough. The bulky wool/alpaca blend of the yarn is very nice.
I used Cadena from KnitPicks, and 4.5 mm circular needles (4.0 mm dpns for the belt). I had to go down a lot in needle size to meet gauge
Project started: 17 December, 2007
Project completed: 23 January, 2008

It was a fun knit. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the cables moved both on the right- and wrong-side rows. I wish the sleeves had had cable-work as well.

The final measurements for Mystic Light are:
height: 97 cm (38″)
width: 206 cm (81″)
I would also like to share how much yarn I had left at the end. Out of the 650 m of yarn I started with, I was left with 5 m at the end.
I would therefore caution anyone knitting this to not go slightly under the yarn requirements, in the hopes that I was exaggerating.

 

Knitting and KALs

On January 23, 2008, in cardigan, KAL, lace, Mystic Light, stole, by Anna

Well, the membership for the Mystic Light KAL just reached 1,000. Thank you all! I hope you’ll enjoy the shawl. Of course, we still have a little while until we (well, *you*) start knitting. But there are so many other projects underway that I’m sure you’ll find something to keep you busy while you wait.

I’m knitting the Spring Shawl Surprise, and I rather enjoy it. I finished clue 3 last night, and am now working on clue 4. I really like that it has patterning on both the right- and wrong-side rows. Gives me something to do on the ws-rows.
I am using the most wonderful, luxurious yarn from Cottage Craft Angora. Emily, my SP11 sent me a skein as part of the last package and I really love it. Now the trick is to locate enough yarn to finish the shawl, but so far I’ve been fairly successful in getting more. Not quite enough yet, but soon, I think.
In any case, this yarn is amazingly soft and knits up really well.

I’m also just about done with the Starsky cardigan. I have a little bit left on the belt, and then the belt hoops. But it’s all been assembled and tried on, and if only the belt could be done I can start wearing it. And since it’s rather cold outside (-15C right now), I think it will be great to have another thick, warm cardigan. Just what I need, this time of year.

 

Mystic Light KAL

On January 15, 2008, in KAL, Mystic Light, by Anna

Announcing the Mystic Light Mystery Shawl knitalong!

This triangular shawl draws its inspiration from light in its many forms.
From a clear, starlit night to the dancing flames of a warming fire.
Silvery moonlight and golden flames.

My shawl is knit on 4.5 mm needles, using 230 g of Merino 2/6 yarn from Fleece Artist. 100% merino wool yarn from Nova Scotia (325 m per 115 g). The shawl uses approx. 650 m of yarn. As always, yarn substitutions are encouraged.

SIGN UP FOR KAL
The pattern will be made available for a knitalong, starting March 26.
It will be distributed to the members in five consecutive pieces, once a week on Wednesdays.
The last part of the pattern will be released on April 23, at which point it will be made available for sale.

There is a separate yahoo group for the KAL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysticlightKAL/
Please head over there and sign up!

An alle Deutschsprachigen: Keine Sorge, auch bei diesem gemeinsamen Stricken wird es wieder eine deutsche Übersetzung geben.

Svensk-språkig hjälp finns förstås som vanligt också.

 

Happy New Year

On January 7, 2008, in cardigan, by Anna

Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you all have a wonderful 2008.

I’m knitting away on my Starsky Cardigan. The front and back pieces have been completed and are blocking. Both sleeves are a little more than half done (I’m knitting both at the same time). As soon as the body is dry, I will stitch them together and knit the collar. That’s my chance to try it on as well, just to make sure I picked the right size.

I have also discovered something really nifty. Thanks to Ravelry, I found a link to Crafting Jen on how to make a Tinkertoy Swift. I immediately had to try my son’s Christmas present. And, lo and behold, it worked beautifully.

For detailed instructions, see the link above. You can of course adjust the size by using other TinkerToy pieces, to use with other size skeins.

Anyhow, this is great. I’ve managed to use it (or other incarnations of it) 6 times already in the past couple of days. Much better than my previous attempts to hold the skein on my own knees. The only trouble with this is of course that curious children love to spin it around and play with it while I’m winding my yarn, but since I’m only borrowing the toy, I suppose that’s fair.

I’ve also cast on the Spring Shawl Surprise. Signups close tomorrow, but as of right now, there’s still a chance to join. I’m using Misti Alpaca laceweight in natural colour, and 3.75 mm needles.