Ravelympics Roundup
Mar. 7th, 2010 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
houseelfLast week at this time, the Ravelympics were just winding up. I ended up finishing three of my four projects.
Project #1 was to frog the scarf I mentioned previously. It went from scarf to balled yarn on the first night of the Olympics by unwinding it with the ballwinder, but the yarn was still kinky even after sitting in those tightly-wound balls for a week.
The solution was to give the yarn a bath. I used my swift to wind it into hanks. The easiest way to do this was to clamp the swift to a low coffee table, tie the end of the yarn to one of the slats, and then start spinning it. I found that a crochet hook inserted between the slats near the center worked pretty well for spinning it quickly. After that, I tied the hanks in several places with cotton sock yarn, soaked the hanks in a bucket of water with some wool wash, and let them drip dry over the shower curtain rod. Final result: nice, straight yarn, ready to be twisted up and stored in hanks.
Project #2 was a pair of socks. This was the first time I made cuff-down socks, although I've made cuff-down socklike slippers before. I decided to use magic loop, and I've decided that I like it better than using dpns. It's not that I dislike dpns... it's just that it can be fiddly to get a project in and out of a backpack without breaking anything, dropping stitches, or getting the yarn tangled around the extra points. Magic loop eliminates most of those problems.
Yarn: Lang Jawoll Aktion Color, in a blue/green/brown colorway.
Needles: 32" 2.5mm Knitpicks Options circ
Pattern: Time Lord Socks, from Tabitha's Heart Designs
Time needed: eight days for the first sock, four for the second.
I made a few changes to the pattern. I used a provisional cast on and then later converted it into a sewn bind off, in order to get a really stretchy cuff. I shortened the leg from 80ish rounds to 52 rounds. I tend to need calf increases if my socks are too tall, and I wasn't in the mood to figure them out. I also did a regular toe instead of the toe the pattern called for. The pattern said the given toe was appropriate for narrow or long toes, and mine... aren't. If I were making these again, the only additional change I'd make is to shorten the ribbing. The pattern called for one and a half to two inches of ribbing. I did two. If the leg was full-length, it probably would look okay, but with the shortened leg, it looks disproportionate.
I knew that the socks wouldn't take the whole 2+ weeks to complete, and I needed new throw pillows for my couch. I didn't originally set out to design my own, but I couldn't find any patterns that I liked.
Pattern: Zipillow, by me. (Link goes to Ravelry.)
Yarn: Plymouth Encore, two colors
Needles: 32" 4.5mm circ
Finished size: just under 16" square.
Most of this was really easy, since it's just stockinette in the round. The hard part was the cable band. That many cables packed into a small space leads to a tight fabric, and the floats from the color changes only add to that. That said, the cabling only goes on for a few inches. It's not that bad.
The name of the pattern comes from the cable design, which to me look a bit like zipper teeth, as well as from the fact that the pillow zips closed. My original plan was to use a button flap that would tuck inside, but the edge of the pillow curled too much and I didn't like the idea of switching to garter stitch to compensate.
Project #4 would have been to finish weaving in ends and crocheting the border of a throw blanket. New goal: get it done before the blanket's second birthday in August. Two years is too long for a WIP.
Project #1 was to frog the scarf I mentioned previously. It went from scarf to balled yarn on the first night of the Olympics by unwinding it with the ballwinder, but the yarn was still kinky even after sitting in those tightly-wound balls for a week.
The solution was to give the yarn a bath. I used my swift to wind it into hanks. The easiest way to do this was to clamp the swift to a low coffee table, tie the end of the yarn to one of the slats, and then start spinning it. I found that a crochet hook inserted between the slats near the center worked pretty well for spinning it quickly. After that, I tied the hanks in several places with cotton sock yarn, soaked the hanks in a bucket of water with some wool wash, and let them drip dry over the shower curtain rod. Final result: nice, straight yarn, ready to be twisted up and stored in hanks.
Project #2 was a pair of socks. This was the first time I made cuff-down socks, although I've made cuff-down socklike slippers before. I decided to use magic loop, and I've decided that I like it better than using dpns. It's not that I dislike dpns... it's just that it can be fiddly to get a project in and out of a backpack without breaking anything, dropping stitches, or getting the yarn tangled around the extra points. Magic loop eliminates most of those problems.
Yarn: Lang Jawoll Aktion Color, in a blue/green/brown colorway.
Needles: 32" 2.5mm Knitpicks Options circ
Pattern: Time Lord Socks, from Tabitha's Heart Designs
Time needed: eight days for the first sock, four for the second.
I made a few changes to the pattern. I used a provisional cast on and then later converted it into a sewn bind off, in order to get a really stretchy cuff. I shortened the leg from 80ish rounds to 52 rounds. I tend to need calf increases if my socks are too tall, and I wasn't in the mood to figure them out. I also did a regular toe instead of the toe the pattern called for. The pattern said the given toe was appropriate for narrow or long toes, and mine... aren't. If I were making these again, the only additional change I'd make is to shorten the ribbing. The pattern called for one and a half to two inches of ribbing. I did two. If the leg was full-length, it probably would look okay, but with the shortened leg, it looks disproportionate.
I knew that the socks wouldn't take the whole 2+ weeks to complete, and I needed new throw pillows for my couch. I didn't originally set out to design my own, but I couldn't find any patterns that I liked.
Pattern: Zipillow, by me. (Link goes to Ravelry.)
Yarn: Plymouth Encore, two colors
Needles: 32" 4.5mm circ
Finished size: just under 16" square.
Most of this was really easy, since it's just stockinette in the round. The hard part was the cable band. That many cables packed into a small space leads to a tight fabric, and the floats from the color changes only add to that. That said, the cabling only goes on for a few inches. It's not that bad.
The name of the pattern comes from the cable design, which to me look a bit like zipper teeth, as well as from the fact that the pillow zips closed. My original plan was to use a button flap that would tuck inside, but the edge of the pillow curled too much and I didn't like the idea of switching to garter stitch to compensate.
Project #4 would have been to finish weaving in ends and crocheting the border of a throw blanket. New goal: get it done before the blanket's second birthday in August. Two years is too long for a WIP.