Knittings in 2012 (2/2) 2012 的編織 (2/2)

I usually knit something for my mom for Mother's Day and her birthday. As I was so obsessed with Color Affection by Veera Välimäki, I decided to knit as many as I can for my mom, my aunt, and myself.
通常我會打一件東西給老媽當母親節和生日禮物. 當時我很著迷 Veera Välimäki 的 Color Affection, 決定要打很多條, 給老媽給阿姨給自己, 打到吐為止.


The colors chosen were brights, something my mom didn't have, and I thought she would appreciate that. She did. She wore this a lot.
這條披肩故意選亮色, 因為老媽沒有這樣的顏色組合, 應該會喜歡. 果然. 一整個秋冬都是披它.

 

 Color Affection

Start date: 2012/4/8

Finish date: 2012/5/10

I spent more time on this shawl then I expected. Actually, I finished it but almost ripped and started over right away for (1) I didn't like how I did with the first stitch. It was too tight. I was knitting Color Affection for my aunt and applied another way and it was good. So I decided to re-knit my mom's (2) I didn't have enough yarn for bind off the second time. The cast off edge was tight and ugly. Very mad about it. Bought more yarn, undo the cast off and re-cast off. All good.

老媽這條我花了比預期多很多的時間. 事實上, 我是打了兩次. 原因是 (1) 我不喜歡第一次頭上一針的處理方式. 太緊. 那時已經在打阿姨的, 用的是另一種處理方式, 效果很好, 所以又把老媽的拆掉重打, 變成兩條同時進行, 又要趕母親節前, 手都快抽筋了 (2) 第二次打的時候線不太夠, 收針的地方太緊, 很醜, 看了很不爽. 乖乖去買線, 拆開重收. 好多了.

Bright blues, teals & turquoises are my aunt's favorites. I've knitted her quite a few items in those colors over the years. Since I'm knitting her something for Mother's Day, I went for another direction in color choosing: bright pink and orange.

阿姨最喜歡亮麗的藍綠色系, 以前也打過幾件這種色系的, 這次就要選一個完全不同的亮粉紅和亮橘.

  Color Affection

Start date: 2012/4/16

Finish date: 2012/4/28

After Mother's Day gifts were finished, I had to resume working on my mom's birthday shawl. I've been wanting to knit Rock Island, but never could quite decide what lace yarn to use. I wanted a real lace weight yarn so that I wouldn't have to struggle should I have to frog a little, but ordering yarn is a nasty business, and with all that lace yarn stash I have, I really shouldn't be ordering new yarns. So I picked a cocoa colored cobweb for the project. I was very, very careful when I knit, so that I wouldn't have to frog too much or too often. I had luck on that. BUT, the construction of the shawl was special, my first time knitting a shawl like that. The lace edge was actually knitted first, and then pick up stitches on the side and then knit across decreasing the way to the center top. Theoretically, it should be getting easier and easier while knitting, but no, it was really taxing. The FO was really beautiful. Ethereal. My mom LOVED it. She wore it right away the next day while meeting her friends.
母親節禮物完成後, 還不能休息, 得馬上繼續打老媽的生日禮物. Rock Island 披肩想打很久了, 是要付費的織圖. 當初看了沒買圖打, 是因為不能決定要用什麼線. 應該要用規規矩矩的蕾絲線, 那又要上網買, 明明一大箱的蕾絲線, 只是很多都是標準蕾絲線一半粗細的蜘蛛網紗...  實在不應該再上網買, 最後選了一組可可色的蜘蛛網紗來打. 這下可好, 打的時候得非常小心, 最好不要拆或退針. 這點這次很幸運, 沒怎麼拆或退針, 到是這條披肩的打法很累人. 第一次打這樣的. 下擺的蕾絲邊先打一條長長長的, 然後再從旁邊挑針起來打中間, 邊打邊減針到披肩上緣中間. 照理說這應該是越打越輕鬆, 其實是越打越累. 不過, 成品很美, 很輕盈, 老媽很愛. 第二天飯局就穿出去了.

  Rock Island

Start date: 2012/3/17

Finish date: 2012/5/23

At this point of the year, my knitting fatigue should had kicked in, but still I managed to crochet 2 bunnies, for they are too cute not to make. Sadly, my crochet technique is really bad, so the bunnies aren't as cute as they should be.

在這個時間點, 老媽生日過後, 天氣熱了, 我的編織倦怠也要發了, 不過, 還是鈎了兩隻兔子給兩小, 因為原作實在太可愛啦! 只可惜我的鈎針功力不夠, 小兔子們沒有我想要的可愛. 兩小到是愛得很, 天天抱著睡覺.

  Boxy Skirt/Shorts Bunny

Start date: 2012/6/30

Finish date: 2012/7/8

And then there was a hiatus until October. Before the end of the year, I made 6 pairs of fingerless mitts: 4 Cute as a Button, 1 Susie's Reading Mitts, and 1 Camp Out Fingerless Mitts.
然後就休針到十月. 年底前打了 6 雙露指手套: 4 雙可愛豆豆露指手到, 1 雙閱讀露指手套, 1 雙露營露指手套.

Also made more than a dozen hats. Some of them I didn't take pictures for most of them were commissioned: 3 Gwen Stacey, 1 Regina, 5+ One Day Berets, 1 Godric's Hollow, 3 Knit Night Hats.
打了超過 12 頂帽子. 有的還沒拍照, 因大部分都是人家託織的, 趕著給人呢: 3 頂關史黛西, 1 頂蕾吉娜, 5+ 頂一日貝雷, 1 頂高錐客洞, 3 頂編織夜.

2 pairs of leg warmers. Only took Scarlett's picture, mine hasn't been photographed, they're dark gray in the same pattern.
2 雙襪套, 只拍了若的, 我的沒拍, 是雙深灰色同花樣的.

 Some Cloudy Day

Start date: 2012/12/5

Finish date: 2012/12/7

Last but not least, 10 pairs of socks: Hermione's Everyday Sock (aunt), By the Seine (mom & K & me), Hedera (mom), Monkey (mom), Maelstrom (mom), Lateral (mom & me), Vanilla Latte (mom, not photographed).
最後是 10 雙襪子: 妙麗日常襪 (阿姨), 塞納河畔 (媽, K, 我), 赫德拉 (媽), 漩渦 (媽), 側邊 (媽 & 我), 香草拿鐵 (媽, 還沒拍照).

Godric's Hollow 高錐客洞帽

OK, remember I said I was so inspired and would like to knit everything I saw in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I? Well, after Hermione's Everyday Sock (which did not appear in the movie) it's this inspired beret/hat, imitating the one Hermione wore in the movie while accompanying Harry to visit Godric's Hollow on Chrsitmas Eve.



S&S in their coats and raincoat and Godric's Hollows ready to go to Kindergarten.


I picked up the mulberry colored leftover yarn from grandma's. My aunt was looking for odd balls to put together as a vest for her granddaughter, while helping her out, I picked out some leftovers: 2+ balls of worsted wool in mulberry, some variegated worsted wool in plum/salmon pink & etc., some variegated worsted wool/angora blend in pink/gray/yellow & etc., and 1+ball of purple angora/acrylic/cashmere blend. These can be knitted into berets or mittens or even both!


Recently I've been reading Kate Davies' blog and was so excited about corrugated ribs, so I decided to give the beret a twist. But these are pure wool yarn and they're itchy, so lining should be applied. I read about bi-color turn up hems on Ysolda's blog and brim lining on Kate's, and went to pick out some leftover lace yarn and cast on.







The berets were a quick knit using worsted weight yarn, but the brim aren't as elastic as I thought. No matter, the twins still love them a lot. I love them a lot, too!





I knitted the berets in adult sizes. I can wear them, too! So, they can wear them for a while!

One Day Berets 兩小之一日貝雷

I started the berets at the same time on Friday night, late. I had an opportunity which came up quite unexpectedly to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 by myself! So I went to the cinema for the 19:50 session. It was great! When I came out of the theatre it was 22:30 and almost 23:00 when I got home. So it was even later when I CO the two berets while watching TV eps with DH.

週五晚上很晚兩頂貝雷一起開打. 週五晚忽然有個機會可以自己一個人去看哈利波特死神的聖物Part 1, 7:50 的場看完出來都快 10:30, 到家快 11 點了. 等洗好澡弄弄陪人看影集時, 才邊看邊開打.



12-row i-cord stalk 12排i-cord


The pattern didn't have the stalk but I like it on a beret so I made a 12-row i-cord then started the beret. I didn't finish them until Tuesday 1AM. Very little knitting were done on Sat, Sun but I managed to finish the increase part for both and finished the decrease for Scarlett's Monday morning before going to work. Seba's decrease was done suring lunch break and all I had to do Monday night were the brims and tubular bind-off.

織圖中並沒有頭上那個梗子, 但我喜歡貝雷帽有個梗子, 所以直接起 4 針打 12 排長的梗子再接著打帽子. 週六週日沒怎麼打到, 所以到週二凌晨 1 點才完成. 不過週日晚上把兩頂加針加完, 週一早上上班前把若的減針減完, 週一中午把謙的減完, 回家就打邊緣和收針.






The reason why I was rushing so much and got almost beyond myself was because we're going to have a severe cold front on Tuesday. I yet have to buy the twins new coats, prefereably with hoods. And since we're told that the winter's going to be very cold (houses here are not equipped with heating system), hats are needed.

之所以這麼趕是因為要趕在週二前完成, 因為週二有寒流要來. 趕死我了差點掛點! 今年要幫兩小買新的大衣, 但還沒買, 又聽說今年冬天冷的日子長, 所以本來就有計畫要打帽子.只是計畫都不能順利進行, 才會這麼趕哪.


This is a really nice pattern. It's knitting from the center top, unlike the conventional way of knitting from the brim up. Although the latter does have a gratifying feel when you get to the decreases and the stitches reamaning are getting less and less, I found that knitting from the top is like knitting a top-down sweater, you can try it on and see along the way. And I used tubular/sewn bind-off for the brim, the technique I applied quite a lot recently and have grown to like it very much and enjoy doing it.

這個織圖蠻好的, 與一般從帽沿往上打不同, 是從頂上往下打. 雖然一般的打法往上到減針部分針數越減越少很有成就感, 這個帽子跟上往下打的毛衣一樣, 可以邊打邊試戴, 且現在我都用縫收來收針很有彈性且越來越喜歡用, 所以我不介意最後針數還是很多.


I started to decrease once the center diameter is about 8.5". I didn't knit plain rows in between. I think I should've knitted 1"~2". Should I want to add those plain rows, I can easily undo the brim, rip and add! Nice!

帽頂加針打到直徑 8.5 吋時就直接開始減針, 中間沒有平織部分. 其實應該要打1~2吋平織. 不過這個織圖好在可以從帽沿拆上來加打, 一樣邊加邊試戴, 蠻不錯的.


Anyway, mission accomplished! I should be knitting more hats or hoods...

總之, 任務達成! 我該再多打幾頂帽子...