The Journey towards Tights!

I've wanted a pair of nice warm tights ever since we moved to this part of the Wheatbelt and finding a nice serviceable pair has been well nigh impossible. So I thought "Hey! I have an obscene number of books and patterns and an equally obscene collection of yarn. What ho! I will make a pair of my own!"

As with most great ideas, it didn't turn out anywhere near as easy as that!

Despite having at least one pattern for tights on hand I decided to try a pattern I'd bought for leggings and put a foot on it. That way it becomes a pair of tights, yes?

I decided to use up all the random greys that I had on hand. 4 balls of a 50g per ball crepe yarn (acrylic) and 6 balls of a 20g per ball acrylic yarn. This was my starting palette. I decided to knit both feet (and therefore legs) at the same time so off I went. I got as far as the calf section and then had a really good look at them...

I don't like it. The blocks of different grey look revolting! So I unravelled it down to the foot and started again this time alternating the yarns each row so it knit up a really fine stripe. A lot better looking.

So, off I go again!

When I got up to the knees I decided to do a little rib stitch just behind the knee to try and reduce sagging. As you see the faux seam is centred through the strip. This little point will be important later. I didn't realize it until I'd finished the whole leg!

Okay, both legs finished and now to join the crotch stitches...oh, wait...something doesn't match up here. Oh crap!

Note to self: When the pattern describes the faux seam as in INseam they probably mean it is a seam on the INSIDE of the leg, like on leggings, not the centre back as with socks...OH. CRAP!

 So I refolded them and lay them out and found that the feet seemed to be pointing in different directions but I could eventually make some sense out of it. To be honest I even chopped off one of the feet and tried to reattach it facing the way I thought it should go but ended up re-grafting it the way it was in the first place which was the way it was supposed to be anyway. I have no photos of that. Still feel like a goof for doing it!

So now wonderful rib strips are actually positioned on the sides of my knees...Great.

By now I was beginning to get pipped off with the whole project and just wanted to finish it but I had to keep threading the body of the tights onto waste yarn so I could try them on. Not nearly as much fun as it sounds! To knit this beastie I had to roll up the legs and pin them together or it looked like I was being attacked by a very aggressive grey octopus! So unravelling everything to try it on wasn't something I wanted to do terribly often. So I guessed by figuring out the gauge and the height I thought I needed and just kept knitting till I got there. And I was SO pleased to finally get there.

I sewed the waistband, threaded the elastic and put these suckers on. They fit! Or rather they weren't too tight. Nope, not tight which had been my primary fear...walk around admiring legs...not tight...hoik up waist as the crotch sags a bit low...lovely and warm too...pull up legs and waist again...might have to shorten the elastic band on the waist...cosy and warm...knees and ankles keep sagging...wish I had a full length mirror...mmm....

Yes. I have to confess the truth to myself. After 28 days knitting...these are too big! Aaarghhhh!!! Not a huge amount, if it was by a big amount it'd probably be easier to alter the fit but these are only a bit too big. The crotch sags like on an ill-fitting pair of stockings and the legs are slightly too long for my legs. Botheration!!

But it's winter and at night, bitterly cold so whether I look like the saggy baggy elephant or not, for the time being I will wear these babies and feel proud of myself for having finished it at all!

Yay me!!

See ya later!

Dx

And I continue to conquer!

Well, I'm pleased to announce that the house is now much more ordered! We've even managed to dig out the back verandah! Mind you, that was only possible with the addition of a small shed under the patio for all the boxes our children have left us and my cats night house.

So to prove it, I thought I'd show you the same rooms I showed before all cluttered up, more or less!

So this is the smallest spare room with the spare queen bed in it (yes, I know it's stupid that I put the biggest bed in the smallest room but that's where the removalists put it and there was NO WAY I was going to try and move it!) Actually it's pretty sparsely furnished. My hubbies childhood dresser is actually inside the built-in robe and my second-hand horn cabinet is at the end of the bed against the wall. I can't use it but at least it's out of the way! And my old upholstered armchair is there in the bottom right under a chenille bedspread. My free-standing embroidery frame is carrying the red blanket just above it.

And the room I'm most proud of, the craft room! Big change from the doorway blocked up with boxes! Again the built-in robe is a god-send! My photo light stands are in there not to mention the box with my wedding dress in it. The single bed lives here too, plus one of my spinning wheels.

See? There's the spinning wheel next to my bookcase. All my knitting magazines are there on the left and every single other shelf is stuffed with yarn! Which sadly isn't all of it. Multiples of more than 5 balls I've confined to bags stored under the bed or in the smaller spare room robes. In the bottom of the picture is my collection of cross-stitch magazines and threads and things.

So, now we've got some organisation I was able to get on with the vest. I've never done a cabled pattern like this before and it wasn't an unpleasant experience. 

To be honest I didn't really have any problem with the pattern until I got to the decreases at the V-neck when working the neckband. I couldn't seem to get my brain around the directions or they weren't correct. Anyway, I just kind of winged it in the end.

It doesn't quite look like it's supposed to but it's close.

I also sewed a couple of tags to put on it to make it look a little more professional (Because I'm an insecure basket case!)

One of a Kind - because it is! 

The yarn I used is totally reclaimed from an old jumper and so there are a lot of joins throughout the whole garment. I've carefully sewn them in though.

Warm Hand Wash

Just to give a bit of a hand to whoever. I don't know what the exact fibre content of the yarn is so I figured this instruction would be the most helpful.

I hand sewed these. Totally worth the effort!

And the finished Vest. So pleased with this I cannot even begin to express it! It's been washed, blocked, dried, folded and packaged up. It is now wending it's way via post back to Carnamah. 

I really hope they like it!

Bye now Dx

Two Jumpers for Two Brothers!

Ha ha!! I have prevailed!
A bit dramatic but there you go.
I have made my two sons...each!...a jumper!

Ben wearing his jumper in Holden racing colours

And Jordan's Jacket in Arty-versus-Incognito colours

And don't they look dapper in them?
To be honest I had difficulties of different sorts with each of the jumpers, the big difference being Jordan's I fixed and gave to him and it fit great. Ben's, I fixed and gave it to him and found I'd actually made the sleeves that I thought were too long, too short. Spewing!!!
When I picked up the stitches for around the hood and the jacket edging for Jordan's I picked up like twice the number of stitches and desperately tried to convince myself that I hadn't. When it became patently obvious that I was never going to find a zip long enough to sew beside this amazing frill of an edge I finally admitted the bleedingly obvious and regretfully unravelled the whole edge and redid it properly. Which of course turned out excellent!
Ben's sleeves on the other hand were not such a success. So those I'm going to have to remedy for him when he comes to visit soon. I'm sure I have the yarn I took out of the sleeves when I originally thought they were too long...sigh!
The pattern was excellent...until I got to the hood. Neither jumper's hood is anything like functional. Jordan's is closest because I'd already done Ben's and been worried about the slight dimensions of it but even so it could be a lot deeper and as for Ben's it's like a skullcap attached to a flap attached to a jumper! They both look their best when pushed back like an elongated collar!
But fortunately, despite the vagaries of things gone wrong they both like them a lot. Which is sweet of them :)
I'll just be happier when I get to fix Ben's sleeves!
Not that I'm obsessed or anything...
...Keep Knitting!

Okay, Pattern Completed!

I said I'd make up a sheet with a photo for the ridiculously-named knitted undies...
...And I have!

Cotton Undies

Notions:

1 - 2 Cotton Yarn 50g

3.75mm circular needles

Yarn needle

Gauge:

6 stitches x 8 rows = 1”

Sizes:

S (M, L, XL)

CO 68 (80, 92, 104)

Purl first row.

Work in Stockinette for 16 rows (measures 2 inches)

BO 23 (26, 29, 32) stitches at the beginning of each row twice.

16 (20, 24, 28) stitches remain.

BO 1 stitch at each end of the needle every 4 rows, 4 times.

8 (12, 16, 20) stitches remain.

Work even for 12 rows.

CO 1 stitch at each end of the needle every other row, 40 (48, 56, 64) times.

Until you have 48 (60, 72, 84) stitches.

CO 2 stitches at end of the needle every other row 5 times.

Until you have 68 (80, 92, 104) stitches.

Work even for 16 rows (measures 2 inches)

BO

Pick up and bind of 96 (136, 150, 164) stitches along each leg edge.

Stitch together hip band.

Pick up and bind off 136 (160, 184, 208) stitches from the waist.

Optional Crotch Insert:

CO 16 (20, 24, 28) stitches.

Work in stockinette stitch.

BO 1 stitch at each end of needle 4 times, leaving 8 (12,16,20) stitches.

Work even for 12 rows.

CO 1 stitch at each end of the needle every 4 rows, 4 times.

BO

Stitch insert into crotch of the undies.

This is a copy of saltonyourwound.tripod.com/basic_panda_food_panty.html pattern. Just to present the pattern with an example of the knitted item for all of us who are visually orientated J

Isn't that better? Now I can see how it's supposed to look (these are knit in XL) but I can tell you the picking up of stitches and then binding them off next really stabilizes the legs and waist. Sadly to the point that I can't get my fat topped legs into them :(But now I have somewhere to go from. Other modifications I made from the original patter was to knit the waist 10 rows longer both back and front. So 26 rows instead of 16. And when the bind off for the legs begin instead of casting off the 32 stitches I halved it and bound them off over 4 rows at 16 stitches each row. That's about all. I like the way they turned out even though I can't wear them. It at least gives me a point to work out how to knit undies with a bit more give in the legs and waist. But it's a well written pattern. Excellent :)