Finished Socks!

My Minions,

At last my socks are complete!  

I was able to complete all the way through the toe shaping before class as the toe was shaped using the same skills that formed the gussets.  And because I've recently had a pedicure, I’m able to show you the before and after of the toe shaping.  

Since I was ahead of where we were supposed to be when class started, we got to focus entirely on the Kitchener stitch.  I read the instructions, but, like the steps required to form the heel, was unable to visualize what to do.  Even after being shown what to do, I had to keep looking at my notes to keep track of whether to knit or purl and whether to push the stitch off or leave it on.  I’m sure with practice, it will become second nature. 

I would never have figured out how to make all of the uneven Kitchener stitches that came off my needle blend in with the rest of the stitches without my instructor.  It was simple to go through and remove the slack and made the toe look perfect.

What’s next on my needles?

I've cast on What A Mighty Good Manly Scarf for the Prime Minister.  This is the same yarn that was used for his hat.  While the pattern is simple, it is also dreadfully boring!  I fear knitting a six foot long scarf will feel like the never-ending project.  I’m trying to knock out six inches each day before moving on to something more interesting (or expiring from sheer boredom).  

Speaking of more interesting, I’m planning to use the yarn leftover from my socks to make a pair for my fairy goddaughter.  She doesn't sleep well when her feet are cold and I don’t blame her a bit. Plus, she’s so darn cute that I have to make them for her.

I already took the sad, messy looking ball of yarn that was left after knitting my socks and rewound it into a neat and tidy new baby ball with my new ball winder.  It brought me such strange satisfaction I considered winding all of my remnant yarn.  That was really just an excuse to avoid working on the Prime Minister’s scarf though, so I resisted.

I also signed up for the Beginning Fairisle hat class next month at my local yarn store.  I’ll be using a super soft and luscious baby llama yarn and can’t wait to have it run through my fingers!

Until next time,

Jessica, Empress of the Universe

Knit Tops

My Minions,

I have completed the last two tops cut from Gertie’s Knit Sweetheart Top pattern.  I love the finished product and love even more that the fit was exactly what I was hoping for without alterations.

There was one part of the construction that I did not love, and that was the binding application.  I put the neck and sleeve binding on as instructed.  I was originally going to ignore them in favor of applying bindings as I always do, but decided trying new methods is necessary for growth and development.  So I gave it a shot. 

My first bit of irritation was sewing the binding on at the standard 5/8” seam allowance and trimming the seam allowance down to ½”.  This seemed like an unnecessary amount of work, though I trimmed it down to ½” with my serger, so it really wasn't that bad.  See trimming below.

The instructions then have you finger press and pin the binding to the inside, enclosing the raw edges of the neck and sleeves.  This is then stitched in place with a twin needle.  I’m not against finger pressing or twin needles, but one of those needles had to go into the ditch formed by the binding to garment seam, and the pins distorted the smoothness of the ditch.  I ended up using was away Wonder Tape to hold the binding in place while topstitching. 

In the end, I would have preferred the TNT method of folding the binding in half, serging the raw edges of the binding and garment together, and then pressing and topstitching the seam allowance to the garment.  It seems like much less fuss for an equally good or better looking finish.

I did not follow the instructions to make the tops have a sweetheart neckline since after pinning the tucks in place and trying it on, I decided I liked it better with a plain scoop neckline.  The sweetheart neckline is the last thing completed on this shirt in the instructions other than the hem, so I can always go back and put it in if I change my mind. For now though, here’s how they look!  

Up next on my cutting table is the skirt in Vogue’s Donna Karan Collection V1324.  I love the style lines!

I’m planning to make it with black wool doubleknit that I got two years ago from Mood and black knit lining from Emma One Sock.  

Though I measure a 14 according the envelope, the flat pattern measurements of the size 12 still leave me with an inch of ease all over, which I think is enough for my knit fabric and lining.  I’m planning to start sewing this over the weekend, assuming my interfacing arrives by then.

Until next time,

Jessica, Empress of the Universe

Welldigger

My Minions,

I really liked working on the Welldigger hat.  It had a nice rhythmic quality to it.  A more experienced knitter might say it was a mindless knit.  I hope someday to be one of those knitters. 

I was a little amazed this turned out exactly as I had hoped.  I really had no issues until the crown shaping when somewhere between rounds 4 and 8 I missed a k2tog and ended up with one more stitch than I should have had.  I don’t think it affected the end result to a visible degree, and the Prime Minister never needs to know!  Here it is being blocked.  

And here it is being modeled by the camera-shy Prime Minister. 

I guess now the Prime Minister needs a scarf to match.  More on that in the near future!

Until next time,

Jessica, Empress of the Universe

A Puffless Sleeve Sweater

My Minions,

Making Gertie’s Knit Sweetheart Top became a bit of an assembly line.  I set up my machines.

 I traced my pattern.      

After this photo I realized I forgot to trace the ¾ length sleeve.  Sorry, no photo.

I cut my fabric.  While laying out the pieces I decided the spectacularly crazy pink lily print was not destined to become a Boat Neck Top.  It went back in the stash. And after cutting the sweater I realized I forgot to add the puff to the sleeve.  I guess that just makes it a regular puffless sleeve sweater.

After getting everything ready I finally started sewing.  Because its fall and I really wanted to immediately wear what I made, I focused on finishing the sweater first.  The only change I made was to attached some very fine fusible knit interfacing on the neckline, sleeves and hems to make it both easier to consistently turn under and easier to stitch with the twin needle.  You can see the interfacing being attached below.

Once my Puffless Sleeve Sweater was hemmed, I put it on and promptly found better things to do than finish the other two tops!  I will finish them sometime this week though.

Until next time,

Jessica, Empress of the Universe

Heel Turns and Gussets

My Minions,

I promised you a riveting reflection on heel turns and gussets and here it is!

Heel Flap: When reading the instructions on this before class I thought to myself This doesn’t seems too complicated.  I can probably do this right now.  I didn’t though because another part of me thought I might be missing a critical something that would ruin my sock project and I should just wait until I got to class to move forward.  I shouldn’t have waited.  Creating a heel flap is really as simple and straight forward and the instructions read.  I don’t love that it looks different from the rest of the sock though.  Does this slipped stitch pattern serve a function?  Are there sock patterns with a regular stockinet heel flap?  Will the universe degrade into chaos if I don’t use a slipped stich pattern on my heel flap?  More research is required…

Heel Turn:  I couldn’t visualize what I was supposed to be doing while reading the instructions for the heel turn.  All of the turns in the middle of a row really threw me off.   How would all that craziness result in a heel turn?  And what was a heel turn for that matter?  And how do you “continue until there are no stitches left”?  The in-person demonstration by my instructor answered all of my questions.  The heel turn is where the leg of the sock and the foot of the sock meet at the curved back edge of your heel.  All that “purl 17, purl 2 together, purl 1 and turn” craziness is what is necessary to form than curved back edge.  And that “until there are no stitches left” nonsense, should read, “Until there are no stitches left on your left needle when you turn your work.”  Once demonstrated, the heel turn was a simple task that left me with the start of the sole of my sock.

Picking up the Gussets:  This was another step I was not able to visualize when reading the instructions.  Again, once I was shown what to do, it turned out to be quite simple to accomplish.  Plus, the sock is back in the round, so it gave me hope that it would one day stay on my foot!  This in and of itself seemed like a miracle, and I may have patted myself on the back for my mastery of knitting once this was accomplished.  Up until then, I wasn’t really quite sure how all the needles were going to come back together.

Gussets:  After being shown how to do a slip slip knit decrease, forming the gussets was a piece of cake. I love the angled line of stitching they formed.

In all, it was definitely worth paying for the class just to get though making a heel with confidence.  I may have gotten there on my own through repeated reading and blind following of the instructions, but I would have doubted myself and the process would have taken forever.  I completed the heel turn on the second sock and really only referenced the instructions for stitch and row counts.  Being confident allowed me to enjoy the process.

I left class with knitting the foot as homework.  We will complete the toe shaping and finish with the Kitchener stitch in the next class.  This will be immediately followed by a sock modeling session.

Until next time,

Jessica, Empress of the Universe

Greetings Minions!

My Minions,
Ruling the universe is hard work!  One must ensure the galaxies are aligned and harmony exists among one’s minions.  Add to this the raising of the future Emperor while ensuring the Prime Minister does not feel neglected and it’s pretty easy to see why an Empress needs an outlet.  For this Empress, that outlet is sewing and knitting. 

So what’s on my needles? Socks!

Having decided that two scarves was sufficient experience to master casting on, knit, purl, and binding off, I enrolled in a sock making class for beginners at my local yarn store.  Our first class was this past Sunday and this is what I’ve learned so far:

1.      Using DPNs requires a level of coordination that I have not yet developed.  There are a lot of points sticking out all over the place and I’ve been struggling to figure out where the needles should go in relation to my fingers and hands. 

2.      I have very inconsistent ribbing.  I think there are a number of factors influencing this.  First, there’s the whole DPN learning curve noted above, and the fact that the cuff ribbing is the first section of the sock to be knit.  Second, the projects in my vast knitting experience have been completed with worsted weight yarn with size 8ish needles and this project is being completed with fingerling weight yarn on size 2 needles.

3.      Knitting with tiny yarn on tiny needles takes forever.  I must have a 6-10” leg completed and be ready for the heel turn by the time I walk into class this Sunday and it takes me about an hour and a half to knit an inch of stockinet.  In terms of labor cost alone, these will be the most expensive socks ever.  I’m hoping my speed improves as I learn how to hold my DPNs.

4.      I love Superwash Merino Wool.  It’s smooth and shiny and has great stitch definition!

Here’s what my sock looks like so far.

I also have the Welldigger hat on my needles for the Prime Minister.  In two years of sewing and four months of knitting, I haven’t made him a single thing.  One of my friends made me feel a little guilty about this on Wine Wednesday, so I pulled out some Knit Picks Swish Worsted (which is delightfully soft and squishy!) and started casting on.

And what’s on my cutting table?

Fabric!  Duh!  Specifically, fabric for the Knit Sweetheart Top in Gertie Sews Vintage Casual.  I’m planning on making every variation of this top detailed in the book.

All of the fabric I will be using came from Emma One Sock.  I have a complete inability to control my spending when I visit that website.  Everyone has their flaws, even an Empress.
So here it is.  I’m planning to use these lovely rayon knits to make the cap sleeve and sleeveless versions, but I’m not sure which fabric will become which variation.

For the Boat Neck Top version, I’m planning on using this crazy lily print rayon knit.

The Puff Sleeve Sweater version will look a lot like the photo in the book since I’m planning on using this creamy sweater knit, though I’m going to make the sleeves ¾ length.

What can you expect over the next week?

• A riveting reflection of heel turns and gussets
• A completed Welldigger, modeled by the Prime Minister
• Knit tops under construction

It’s worth noting that while I have grand plans for finding time to make progress on all of the projects above, the universe does not always cooperate with those plans.

Until next time,

Jessica, Empress of the Universe