04.14.08
Posted in Free Patterns, Knitting at 9:24 am by deRomilly
These quick lace mitts were designed and made for my friend Rebecca. She hasn’t seen them yet, so if I see a “squee” on her blog I’ll know she reads this one. J
I learned the lace pattern in some sweater that I knit a while ago that didn’t work on me at all. I had the swatch left over, though and applied it to mitts. 
Pattern below the picture. As usual, copyright belongs to G. Romilly Mueller, all rights reserved, feel free to use for personal use only, no commercial use, and if you’d like to post to your site, please post a link here rather than reprinting.
Patons classic merino in Royal Purple
Size 4 (3.5mm) and 2 (2.75mm) needles
Gauge: 12 stitches over 2 inches on smaller needles
Cast on 48 stitches on larger needles.
Work k2p2 ribbing for 2 inches.
Switch to smaller needles and begin lace pattern as follows:
Row 1: P1, K1, SSK, YO, SSK, YO, K1, YO, K2tog, YO, K2tog, K1 Repeat 3 more times.
Row 2: P11, K1, repeat 3 more times.
Row 3: P1, SSK, YO, SSK, YO, K3, YO, K2tog, YO, K2tog. Repeat 3 more times.
Row 4: P11, K1, repeat 3 more times.
Repeat lace pattern until work measures 6 inches, ending with a wrong side row.
Knit a row.
Purl a row.
Switch to larger needles and work K2P2 ribbing for 1 ½ inches.
Bind off.
Seam the 1 ½ inch long ribbing, leave 2 ½ inches open for the thumbhole, and seam the rest of the mitt.
Pick up and knit 24 stitches around the thumbhole on the smaller needles. I did this in the round, but you could pick up the ribbing straight before you stitch the lower part of the glove together, and then just run the seam up the thumb ribbing as well.
Work 2 rounds of K1P1 ribbing. Cast off.
Weave in ends.
Make the second one.
Copyright G. Romilly Mueller, 2008
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12.21.07
Posted in Finished Projects, Knitting at 11:59 am by deRomilly
I did promise y’all a photo of the finished “Shapely Tank.” Well, here you go. First time ever trying to take a photo of myself in a mirror. Taken about a month and a half and 20 pounds ago! So now there is actually a full inch of ease in it. Still the nicest top I’ve ever knit, though. And *I* look better!
Knit on size six needles with KnitPicks Shine yarn. I love this stuff. And it really DOES wash well!
Anyway. On to the bad picture!
I think when I knit it again I’ll make a couple of changes: First, despite the called-for amount of garter stitch edging, the hem rolls. I’ll double it at least. It’s not a big deal right now, but I could see it being a problem in a silk top intended for something other than my casual office.
I’ll add a half-inch to the armhole depth . Although I like the fact that they come up higher than most, they just aren’t quite deep enough to be comfortable for me. That extra half-inch should solve the problem.
Highly recommended. On me it doesn’t look very good with more than an inch of ease. Your mileage may vary.
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12.18.07
Posted in Drawing, "Freestyle" embroidery, Dance Accessories, Knitting at 11:23 am by deRomilly
My determination to write regularly seems to have been stymied at every turn over the course of this year. That has got to change. But I’m not sure how to change it. I’ve got several posts started, and I’ll continue to work on them and try to get better. In the meantime…
I’m on a “finishing” kick right at the moment. And I made the decision, mistake or not, of announcing it to my husband before I started it. He jumped up and down and said “Yes!” very emphatically, so apparently my tendency to start projects and take 8-10 years to complete them is weighing on him again! He’s very supportive, but he’s a “finish before you start another project” type of person. And as you can guess, I’m not.
So in any case, I’m quite “knitted out” right now. So I’m trying to finish up several knitting projects that I want the finished garment, but not so much the knitting. Last month I completed my Shapely Tee from the White Lies website. I have to say… if you haven’t knit this? KNIT IT! I have never had a sweater fit so well. I knit it without any ease at all- the other option was a full 2 inches, and I did actually knit that first and just swam in it. Your mileage may vary. I’m so proud of it that I’m actually going to post a picture: (as soon as I can download it from my camera, sigh).
Let’s see. What else have I finished? I got almost all the way finished with a candlewicking project and ran out of thread. There probably was JUST enough, but the last yard had so many knots in it that it was useless for the end of the stitching! So now I’ve got to find about a yard of a candlewicking thread that matches what I’ve got… and the kit’s at least 30 years old. Found it at a garage sale a while back! Then I’ll have a new cushion for the couch.
So. Two down. All I have left is the very top of the back and the hood on Fiona Ellis’ celtic hoodie (not the real name) to finish and of course blocking and sewing together and I’ll have a really neat knotwork hooded sweater. The celtic knots done in cables are amazing on this piece, and I’m looking forward to wearing it, but I can’t bring myself to knit.
I’ve got the sewing up and the button band to finish on a big fluffy acrylic sweater of my own design. One more seam and then the button band.
I’ve finished my first piece for Sumptuous stitches, over for lots and lots of weeks now, and I’m almost done with the sequinned flowers for the dance troupe. I think the next step is to finish the second piece started for Sumptuous stitches. I really like it, and want it finished, too. It’s deer staring at you, based on an experience I had this summer that was simply magical. So. Sequins and deer. Then I can start some of the new designs. Which are… well, VERY different from what I’ve done in the past. Before I can do that, though, I need to finish the sequinning that actually goes ON my dress for the troupe, separate from the appliques.
I picked up a book last month called the Keys to Imaginative Drawing. Actually following imagination has recently been my downfall. This book actually steps through a process and rules for doodling and noodling those doodles into something better. Though it’s aiming at people who want to draw, it’s been very freeing for needlework designs.I’ve now got a stack of so-called doodles that really need to be rendered in thread and fabric; one is crying for goldwork. But I’ve got to finish a few more things first. That’s really gnawing at me right now. (Since I wrote this I actually transferred one of them to fabric and took a break to stitch it. It’s going to become part of a tote bag…)
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02.07.07
Posted in Knitting at 6:15 pm by deRomilly
And already late! But I’ve got a good excuse… I fell and broke my arm on Saturday. But I’m back!Â
Those who know me know, I am not a small lady. I am not petite, though I am told repeatedly that I do not look my size. This is wonderful. I’m five foot eight and a half, and come from good German peasant stock… I’m solid. I was teaching a dance class last week when my pseudo-nephew, trying to figure out his arms, touched mine and said, “You have steel bars!” This is not bad at all.
But this means that my knitting, if I knit for myself, has to be large. It means that my knitting, if it’s going to look good on me, cannot be knit with bulky or super-bulky yarns. I knit loosely, often going down 3-4 needle sizes when knitting. SO I end up knitting huge sweaters on… er… American size 2 needles? (That’s 2.75mm for the rest of you). Socks are the same way, although my tension is tighter in the round, so I don’t have to go down needle sizes so much. I admit: I sometimes break these rules just to knit a giant sweater faster… When I want warm, I don’t necessarily care about stylish, despite what Stacy and Clinton of What not to Wear tell me!
The other problem with this is that I have giant clown feet (many thanks to Wendy at WendyKnits for the terminology…). I can’t complain about knitting socks for my husband, because, while our feet may be slightly different in size, that extra inch in length on him isn’t that much! (And knitting sweaters for him will be much easier, because his chest is 10 inches smaller than mine…)
Giant clown feet for me mean that women’s knit patterns are never big enough: Standard women’s sock patterns are for an 8.5 inch circumference around the foot. A lot of designers also like the short row heel because it’s smoother. Now I’m 10 inches around the foot, in addition to a 10 inch LONG foot. And my heel is deeper than can comfortably fit in a short row heel. Discovering the heel pattern on Widdershins at knitty.com was pure serendipity.
And most men’s knit sock patterns are boring, because most men don’t WANT interesting patterns…(harumph) I’ll never be able to knit the jaywalkers everyone is drooling over without completely revamping the pattern for my giant feet.
But enough whinging. In any case, I’m knitting myself a pair of knee-highs right now. (Why, you ask, if you have giant feet and tree trunks for legs?) Because I’m cold. That’s why. Of course, by the time I’m finished, the trees will be in bloom and the wonderful southern spring will probably be turning to 80 degree, 100% humidity, but what the heck. I’m cold now, so I’m knitting knee-highs. Theoretically, it will get cold next year, too!
I am knitting them in Patons Classic wool, in the Rosewood colorway. This means that they are striping (kind of - it’s an ombre pattern). It’s also a worsted weight yarn, mostly so it would knit faster, though I’m still knitting them on number 2 needles (I THOUGHT I had fours at work… and just HAD to start them on my break last week…) My feet and legs are going to have horizontal pseudo-stripes in pink, maroon and brown. I plan to wear them with skirts and my Birkenstock sandals to keep my legs warm in winter. Take that, Stacy and Clinton!
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