Only Friends May Comment
March 18, 2018
You are viewing ![]() Create a InsaneJournal Account Learn more |
Wayfaring Yarns does a mini sweater KAL every August and I finally finished the last of the patterns and blocked them.
Sweater #2 (pinky/coral/rust) was knit as written except I mirrored the cable on the second sleeve. I used the twisted German/old Norwegian cast on and the Icelandic bind off since they look nice with garter stitch.
Sweater #3 (blue) knit completely as written, again using twisted German cast on and Icelandic bind off. This pattern really needed blocking and is why I delayed posting until I blocked things. I may add a button to the neck, but I have decided if it will be a snap with a button over it or if I can get a button between the stitches to fake a buttonhole.
Sweater #4 (green) was really fun because I basically said "nope, not going to seam this thing." The pattern calls for casting on the first cuff and working flat, you cast on for each half of the body and divide from the neck and when all is said and done you have to seam the sleeves and sides. I knit with a long-ish circular suitable for magic loop ,so instead I cast on and joined in the round. When it came time to start the body I did a figure-8 cast on using the needle for the side I was currently knitting and the cord for the other. From that point I was knitting flat like the pattern called for, but in a U thanks to the closed side "seam". When I reached the other side I cut the yarn with a tail long enough to graft the side seam (in pattern) and rejoined at the under arm to knit the sleeve. I used the twited German/Icelandic combo again but half way through I kicked myself since I could have used the alternating cast on and grafted bind offs with the seed stitch hems on this pattern.
The fit is surprisingly good on my Bobobie March. There are some things I would change for a better fit/cleaner lines if I knit another, but I’m happy enough with it.
That excess fabric is from the extreme increases in the yoke and I would omit about eight of them in the back section and add them back in as waist/hip shaping. March has booty, so while I could shave a few stitches off here and there in the sleeves and upper torso I would need all of the torso stitches to cover her butt.
Sometime last year someone on one of the knitting discords posted a link to the Shusui Shrug pattern. The designer was thoughtful enough to post a video on how to get the thing started and I just had to try it….
Now, before I show the back, let it be known that my Knit Picks needles decided to betray me and the cord came out of the needle right in the middle of the two color brioche portion and dropped a couple dozen stitches.
Let it also be known that acrylic crochet thread doesn’t actually like to be knit with all that much and wants to be straight. Yeah. But! I did get everything back on the needles, and after several attempts even sort of got everything fixed!
Just please ignore the horridly uneven tension that remains even after attempts to fix it and blocking. And that one strand that ran on the RS instead of the WS that I didn’t notice until I was pinning it out to block, okay?
Bernat handicrafter #5 crochet thread
US size 3 (3.25mm) needles for body/upper sleeves
US size 1 (2.25mm) for sleeves after the body division
Inspired by a pattern called Tanrenga, which I liked because it made me realize I could turn a top down triangular shawl into a vest if I wanted to. So I looked for shawl patterns and then said screw it and improvised with the old classic feather and fan, like the original used.
Fingering weight yarn (Lion brand Summer Nights) on US size 1 (2.25mm) needles. Lightly steam blocked. I tried out the Channel Island bind off (Icelandic variation), but I think if I have to match the CI caston I will do a type of sewn bind off with doubled yarn.
Her tank top is what happens to uncomfortable footie socks. It’s pretty bad hand sewing (I hate hand sewing) but it does the job when I need a layer to put under an open lace vest, yes?
The doll is a Dollzone Feilan on body b45-002. Yes, her wig needs a little TLC but I’m kinda terrified of screwing it up. This entry was originally posted at https://tephra.dreamwidth.org/489012.htmAnyway, back when the Hunger Games was The Thing and Catching Fire was about to open, knitters kinda lost their minds over Katniss’ sweater (and that one arm cowl/vest thing). I poured over every high res promo shot I could find and knit my version of the sweater for one of my dolls. Then, probably in 2016 or 17, I started another from my notes on the first.
So when I was stash diving I found what I had finished, the side panels, tail, and bottom hem. About half the sweater was already done so I knit the sleeves and then in the fiddly bit to fill in the torso and finish the yoke.
This doll (Dollzone Mo on body b45-012) is a bit taller and slimmer through the shoulder and bust than the one I made the original for (Featherfall Elf Iruhi on Resinsoul Rong body) but I think the fit is okay, as long as you don’t mind flashing a bit of belly (the low rise pants don’t help; yes I knit those too).
My version was knit before we had a shot of the back of the movie sweater, and from what we could see of it I had assumed the side panels were square and met in the back. The real sweater is more boring so I didn’t even consider restarting when I saw the back was different.
Knit with Aunt Lydia’s Bamboo Crochet Thread (discontinued, dammit) on US size 0 (2mm) needles.
That’s one more thing out of the WIP pile. I might even finish the rest if the SaHO keeps being extended. This entry was originally posted at https://tephra.dreamwidth.org/488733.htmI did indeed lose at yarn chicken. Knowing it would be possible, however, I stopped the first sock with just the graft at the toe left and used the other end of the ball to make the second sock.
I ran out of yarn so I ripped back the first sock a few rows so I could get the second knit to the same point. Then I split some dark grey worsted yarn down to single plies and used those to do the last three rounds (holding the tail of the original yarn and the new yarn together for the first half round to blend the two on the top of the toe) and graft the toes closed. Since she's using her high heel feet the mismatched yarn is all under her toes when she wears the socks so it's good enough for me.
So I had a wild hair last month and started swatching an idea…
And after a few variations, I stated knitting… and ripping and re-knitting. Until I ended up with this (unblocked):
The wine/maroon neckline is sort of fail, but by the time I knew how it would look I had finally managed to get the grey neckline/yoke area sorted out and I was not ripping it again.
I had knit the sweater to go with the skirt I had knit previously, so then of course I had to knit a hat to match.
Now I just need to knit her some socks. Unfortunately I am thinking I might not have enough grey yarn, which is a horrible thing to think when you are nearly finished the first sock.
I’m hitting the end of my enthusiasm for this project, so she might go sockless if I lose yarn chicken. Maybe I will get back to one of the ideas I have had for making her some boots instead. This entry was originally posted at https://tephra.dreamwidth.org/488303.htmBar crust:
1 box sugar free devil's food cake mix, minus 1 cup
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg
Filling:
24 oz frozen raspberries, partially thawed
1 cup granulated Splenda
1/2 cup flour
Topping:
1 cup cake mix
1/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar free chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease a 13x9" pan.
Reserve 1 cup of cake mix for the crumble topping.
Combine remaining cake mix, melted butter, and egg to make a stiff dough. Pat dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan; set aside.
Combine partially thawed raspberries (you want them to be wet), Splenda, and flour. Spread evenly over the crust.
Combine reserved 1 cup of cake mix, 1/4 cup Splenda, softened butter, and cinnamon into a thick paste. Crumble evenly over the raspberry filling.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center has no cake at the tip. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips, if you are using them. (You could also add them about 5-10 minutes before baking is complete.)
Cool completely before cutting.
Makes 24 bars.
There are 28 grams of sugar in 24 ounces of raspberries so these bars can't legally be labeled sugar free (since they have more than 1 g of sugar).
I finally took photos of the two shawls I blocked. They aren't great photos, outside modeled shots are for when it's not all snow and ice outside, but at least I can document them now.
Pattern: Taiga shawl by Johanna Lindahl (Mijo Crochet)
I was given two skeins of Simply Soft Paints in the Charisma colorway last Christmas. There wasn't quite enough for this shawl so I used Simply Soft in "Bone" for the very start, all the dc-ch1 rows, and the edging.
Pattern: Wendy Summer Shawl by Girlie D. de los Reyes
I wasn't able to make this one full size because I was using one ball of yarn I picked up on clearance for $1.32. The pattern suggests you can stop after any row 8 and do the border but this is not true. You must have a multiple of 6 + 2 dc clusters in your last row 8 before you start the border.
Blocking did a lot in terms of making this more a shawlette rather than a small kerchief thing, but I'm not sure how likely I am to use it. I'm a large woman and this is a very deep triangle, so my usual point down in front wearing for small triangles and crescents doesn't really work. This might end up gifted or donated.
This entry was originally posted at https://tephra.dreamwidth.org/487896.htm
I did finish up some human scale knitting, and blocked some human scale crochet, but I don't have photos yet. So instead you get to see more of Fiona.
Hujoo doesn't use s-hooks in these dolls, so until I get around to restringing her I can't just take off her head to dress her like I do with my other dolls. Because of that, and the fact that I am not a fan of bulky fasteners like snaps and velcro (which is not great with knitting anyway), I had to come up with a neckline that would allow me to dress her feet first. However, I didn't want the neckline to be super large and open either. I think I succeeded with this design, which has "tabs" on the front and back that overlap in the shoulder in the sleeve cap area. At this scale the overlap is kind of like having a shoulder pad in there, but I think it looks okay.
I'm going to knit another to streamline the process; picking up for a tiny sleeve in the round while overlapping bits was fiddly to say the least. After that, maybe I will write this one up as a pattern for sale. We shall see.
While I have been knitting and crocheting right along all year, I haven't really been doing much, or finishing much, for my dolls. I fixed that this past weekend.
First, the craft project that kicked things off.
( More photos and other projects under the cut. )
And that's it until I either update with the finished human scale things from this year or I finish more doll things.
This entry was originally posted at https://tephra.dreamwidth.org/487304.htm comments.
However, if you are like me you don't keep self-rising flour on hand, so it's really four ingredients. Also, I made disks rather than tori with them, to better fit a bison burger.
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour (or use self rising and skip the baking powder and salt)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Additional flour for kneading / adjusting texture.
Optional: Egg-wash and topping sprinkles. I used a salad sprinkle similar to Johnny's Salad Elegance.
Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F if using a convection oven).
If you aren't using self-rising flour, mix the baking powder and salt into your all-purpose flour.
Mix the yogurt into the flour. After a point it will not mix well, so turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it for a few minutes until everything is well mixed; dust in additional flour if it gets too sticky.
Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces and shape as desired.
Place on non-stick baking sheet and brush with egg-wash and sprinkle with topping mix if you are using it.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Cool completely before cutting.
This entry was originally posted at https://tephra.dreamwidth.org/486729.htmThe drink that is. I just decided to try making one based on instructions I found on the internet, but lazier.
Required:
Not in the original, but nice: a splash of half & half. You could use vanilla creamer instead and skip the syrup and dairy.
In the future I will steep a bit longer, I like a stronger tea flavor, but this is Very Nice.
Into a 1 quart jar put:
1 pound baby carrots (or whatever amount will fill the jar)
1 Tbsp dried dill weed
Into a sauce pan put:
1.5 cups water1
1.5 cups white vinegar2
1 Tbsp lemon pepper salt3
2 bay leaves
a bunch of dried sliced garlic, about 3-4 cloves worth maybe?
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Pour over carrots and dill to fill jar.
I'll test them in a week to see how they turn out.
1. I actually used one cup each of vinegar and water and then had to heat half a cup of each to top off the jar. In the end I think it took more like 1 and 1/3 cup each to fill the jar but this will vary with how many carrots you pack in the jar to start with.
2. Apple cider vinegar would work as well, but white is what I had. Since this a refrigerated recipe and not canned a less acidic vinegar like wine vinegar or rice vinegar would work too.
3. I didn't have any pickling salt on hand and no whole peppercorns so this was my compromise substitution. Ingredients listed on the bottle are: salt, citric acid, spices (including black pepper), onion, sugar, garlic, modified corn starch, lemon extractives, and FD&C yellow 5 lake.
This entry was originally posted at https://tephra.dreamwidth.org/485887.htm comments.