Misguided Misadventures With Alpaca Yarn

For some years, my father has kept mentioning wanting to buy me some alpaca yarn from Alpaca Time, a little alpaca farm, mill, and yarn store located in Harriston, Ontario, where Dad's favourite cousin's son's wife worked until her retirement last August. Dad is fascinated with knitting and takes an especial interest in different kinds of yarn, in much the same way as he likes using as many different kinds of wood for his woodworking projects as possible. When he and my mother travelled to the Yukon back in the early 2000s, he brought me back some Qiviut yarn. He wanted the two of us to go to Alpaca Time together, but we never got around to it on my occasional visits to my parents' place. Finally last August he and my sister went there together to carry out the mission.

 

Dad bought the three hanks of yarn you see above, then gave them to me for my 51st birthday in

August 2024. (Along with five bags of sawdust, which you shall hear about in a later post.) There was no fibre content or gauge information on these hanks, but they're fingering weight, and judging from the yarn products listed on the Alpaca Time website, they could be 100% alpaca, or 85% alpaca and 15% bamboo, or 90% alpaca and 10% nylon. The skeins were 113 grams each, for a total of 339 grams. This was a little on the low side for me to make a sweater of (a fingering weight sweater in my size usually takes about 380 grams), and when I searched Ravelry for suitable patterns that evening, I had to rule out a number of patterns because they would take more yarn than I had. I toyed with the idea of adding a second yarn, but decided that I preferred this sweater to be a solid neutral tone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After some pattern browsing, I narrowed my choices down to three, and then selected the Aptenia pattern, designed by Coraline Kerisit, that you see depicted above. I didn't know the yardage of my skeins of yarn, but looked through the pattern pages of other site members who had made the Aptenia design, and it seemed to me I would have enough. I set happily to work on it in early September with the idea of getting the sweater done long before Christmas, so that my father would get to see me wear it during my holiday visit to my parents' place. 

I hardly ever have gauge problems, and as a rule I don't bother to swatch. But I had gauge problems with this one pattern. The yoke turned out huge, and I had to redo it several times, ripping it out, cutting down the number of repeats on the second take, finding the yoke still too big, and then ripping it back and cutting down more repeats. On my third attempt I found the yoke still a bit on the big side, but decided to leave it the way it was. Then I had problems with the gauge on the body. At one point I made a swatch, but my work didn't seem to knit to gauge even after that. Finally I finished the body, weighed the remaining yarn because I was concerned I was going to run short of yarn for the sleeves, knitted one sleeve and weighed the remaining yarn again... and found I was going to run 20 grams short for the second sleeve. I should have made sure that yoke was exactly the width it was supposed to be. I've done plenty of ripping out in my knitting life and have gotten quite hardened to the necessity of it, but I don't think I've ever found it harder to rip out a piece of work. I must have worked on that sweater for six weeks, and it was lovely. 

Back to Ravelry I went to pick out a second pattern. This time I looked at designs that involved two colours, with the idea that once I picked one out, I'd go shopping for a second coordinating yarn to piece out the fawn alpaca. (I did check my stash but didn't find anything suitable.) I didn't so much pick out another pattern as get a concept for another design. I got the idea of making a sweater that would have a flat collar, buttoned placket, cuffs, and waistband that was striped in the fawn and a coordinating colour, which I intended to design myself. I went to Michaels to see what kind of contrast yarn they might have, and purchased a skein of Patons Kroy Socks FX in Clover Colors, which is a variegated fingering. I thought the extra 50 grams plus the alpaca would surely be sufficient yarn for that sweater, and if not, I could buy a second skein of the Patons Kroy and make longer cuffs or something. I also bought some buttons for the placket.

I began again, and made the body of the sweater, knitted in the placket and the flat collar, then began knitting the first sleeve... and discovered that I was, again, going to run short of the fawn yarn. I think the problem was that I knitted the body in too small a gauge, and it consequently soaked up more yarn than necessary. Oh, these misguided misadventures in knitting! It is to laugh! It is to stab oneself in the head with a knitting needle!

 

But there was nothing for it but to go back to Ravelry again, and pick out another design. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time I zeroed in on Lea, by Marzena Kolaczek, as pictured above. It was one of the three original patterns I had been considering the evening of my birthday celebration. The amount of fawn alpaca yarn I had should have been more than enough to make it, but by this time I was so paranoid about running short again that I decided I'd use the Kroy sock yarn to do the yoke in order to be absolutely certain I could finish this third take.

And here's take three, finally finished. I had to go back to Michaels and buy another skein of the Patons Kroy Socks FX to have enough for the yoke. Ultimately, I used an extra 90 grams of the contrast variegated fingering, and then had 88 grams of the fawn alpaca left... which means I could probably have done this entire sweater in the alpaca, as I made the sleeves slightly longer than necessary. Again, this sweater was one of the three patterns I picked out originally, so if I'd just decided on this pattern in the first place, I could spared myself a lot of extra work and frustration, not to mention the expense of two extra skeins of yarn, an extra pattern, and buttons I now have no use for.

But I mustn't dwell on that, as it makes me feel stabby. I do like the result, and while that first all-fawn sweater would have been lovely, this version is probably more flattering on me, as that fawn colour isn't so great next to my face. This skirt doesn't quite go with the tartan wool skirt you see here, but it will go with jeans and olive khakis. I just had to have something to pair the sweater with that would go on my dress form. 

I have 88 grams of the fawn left, and 10 grams of the Patons Kroy variegated. I'm thinking socks, but not this year, as that alpaca yarn has left me a little too battle scarred to work with it again for the time being.

A Sweet Sixteen Sweater

 

My grandniece Cauliflower will turn 16 this summer. She's getting to the age now where she's more or less full grown and may be wearing the sweaters I make her for some years to come instead of growing out of them in a year or two. She's also gotten to age at which she wants to pick out her own clothes. However, I still want to make her sweaters for a few more years yet, so play it safe by gravitating towards classic designs when picking out a pattern for her annual birthday gift. Even the pickiest people with the most specific tastes don't tend to object to a gift of classic knitwear.

When I searched Ravelry for a suitable pattern for Cauliflower's birthday present, I came across the Holly design you see pictured above, from Marie Amelie Designs. It's classic, wearable, and flattering, with a nice bit of texture to give it some distinction. 

As for the yarn, I visited Romni Wools during Boxing Week 2024 to see what they had. Last year Romni Wools was forced to close their main store on Queen Street because the rent had gotten too high to make the location financially viable, and now their only Toronto location is their Weston Road store. It's much smaller than the Queen Street store, so Romni Wools' selection is now less than half what it was. When I looked for a machine washable DK wool for this sweater, I only really had one brand to choose from -- Garnstudio Drops Karisma -- and not a lot of colour selection. I ruled out the blue yarns, because Cauliflower's 15th birthday present sweater was blue. I ruled out pink, as Cauliflower hasn't liked pink in years. I ruled out some other colours as being too drab or unflattering or unattractive, and that left me purchasing 450 grams in shade 39, "Dark Old Rose", which I think is more of a plum, and hoping Cauliflower would like it.

The completed sweater. I think it turned out quite well, though I'm afraid I might have gotten the sleeves a little long. 

I am much more confident of the other component of Cauliflower's birthday gift. At Christmas I asked her what subjects she was taking that semester, and which was her favourite? She told me her favourite course was Food Studies, and that she really enjoys cooking. I asked her what her favourite thing was to cook, and she said, "Pizza." So, when I saw this good-as-new cookbook on artisanal pizza baking at my local Value Village, I snapped it up for Cauliflower. 

Sixteen is a milestone for a teenager. In Ontario, a kid who reaches sixteen is eligible to get their driver's license, which is a big step forward in terms of greater freedom and independence. My gift isn't at all as exciting as that prospect and it won't open any new doors for Cauliflower, but it just might serve to keep her warm and comfortable on cold days, and take her pizza baking skills to the next level.

A Particular Poncho

 

This knitting project, my first of 2024 (though I wasn't able to post it until Christmas Day 2024 because my sister Alanna is the one person in my family who might read my blog), began when I stumbled across a pattern I thought I really ought to make for my sister. 

Several years ago I searched the Ravelry database for Celtic-themed or inspired patterns with the idea that I might find some patterns that would be perfect for my mother or sister, since they both like Irish things. I soon came across the pattern you see above, which is the Portree Poncho, designed by Bridget Pupillo, and surprised myself by taking the time to consider it carefully. I'm generally no fan of the poncho and would probably never have even thought of making my sister one unless I had stumbled across this particular one. Those of you who have read my knitting blog The Knitting Needle and the Damage Done may remember that I could be quite scathing about poncho designs in my pattern reviews, with my most common criticism probably being that they looked as though they belonged on a couch rather than on a person. But I liked this one. It had style! The stitchwork is excellent, and it has such a polished shape and sits so well on the model -- and this isn't a case of it just looking good in one sample shot, due to professional modelling and artful photography. When I clicked through to the Ravelry user project pages for this poncho, I found it looked really good on every single person who had made it. 

Though I've never seen Alanna wear a poncho or capelet or anything of that kind, the Portree Poncho struck me as a piece that might be perfect for her. She likes Celtic designs and contemporary-style clothing, and if I made this poncho in her favourite colour black, it would be an item that would tick all those boxes. And it would be very practical, as it is guaranteed to always fit, and she could wear it over almost anything and nearly anywhere: over a dress when on her way to church, over a blouse and trousers to the office, over jeans and a t-shirt to the grocery store, or over her beloved thrift shop snowman print onesie while sitting on the couch watching TV. I put this pattern on my knitting project list for 2024 with the idea that it would be her Christmas present for that year. 

The completed poncho, made in size Large. For this project I wanted a good quality, hard-wearing, easy care black worsted wool. I purchased nine skeins of black Estelle Yarns Worsted, which is 40% wool, 10% nylon, and 50% acrylic, an ideal blend for my purpose, as wool makes for warmth, feel, and quality, nylon makes for durability, and acrylic makes for ease of care. I used just 751 grams of the yarn to make the poncho, and returned the unused skein to Romni Wools for store credit. 

The project went pretty smoothly. It was very slow going at first as very textured pieces such as this one tend to be, but once I had the pattern repeats memorized and didn't have to refer to the charts every three or four stitches, the work moved along much more quickly, and the assembly was a snap -- just two straight seams to sew, for which I used a black fingering yarn from my stash, in order to make the seams less bulky. I'm pleased with the result and I'm reasonably confident Alanna will be too. 

And do I categorically like the poncho better now now that I have actually made one for the first time ever? Maybe a bit. I still dislike most of the poncho patterns I see, but there certainly are those occasional ones that I must admit look quite attractive, and even stylish. I have even found one poncho pattern that I am very tempted to make for myself, though I'm holding off on that for the time being, as I don't think I need it, given that I have plenty of jackets, so many sweaters, and a knitted coat. 

 

The Sufficiently Animal-Themed Gift

My honorary niece Olivia loves animals and wants to be a vet when she grows up. When I was looking for a pattern for her 2024 Christmas present sweater, I looked for one with an animal theme.

I soon found the one you see depicted above, which is 59 Sweater with Cat's Head, by Bergère de France. I liked the idea of making Olivia a hat in the same colour yarn as the cat's muffler, but not the hat shown here, which makes the child model look like one of the Snorks. I searched for a suitable basic child-sized tam pattern in a DK weight, and soon found this one.

As for the yarn, I was able to pull some pink and dark brown DK yarn from my stash, and I bought some oatmeal-coloured Drops Karisma from Romni Wools for the main colour. I looked in Fabricland for heart-shaped buttons for this project, and found some in a dark pink instead of the red the sample used, but the two pinks worked together and that was good enough for me. 

The completed sweater in a size 10. I'm actually not a fan of making picture knits (so slow and fiddly!), and this was my third one this year, but it was worth it for the pleasure it will give the three children they are going to. I did hit a snag when I ran short of the oatmeal yarn by *two* skeins. I had to order more, and it took months for the order to come in, and then the dye lots weren't the same. The new dye lot proved to be not an exact match but fairly close, and I was able to work the two extra skeins in without the difference showing. 

When making this sweater and tam, I used 47 grams of the pink and 3 grams of the brown from my stash, and had 21 grams of the newly purchased oatmeal left over, so that's a net stash decrease of -29 grams.

Making the tam was quite straightforward. It should look very cute with this sweater.

Whenever I'm assembling a birthday or Christmas gift for Olivia, I always give her "something to wear, something to read, and something to play with". The something to play with in this case was a crystal unicorn kit from the clearance section at Michaels, and the something to read was a copy of Kate DiCamillo's Tale of Despereaux, and also a copy of The Daring Book for Girls. I've actually had this copy of The Daring Book for a year or more, and I think it's figured in at least one photo of Olivia's gifts before, but ultimately I ended up holding it back because I added something else to the gift. This Christmas she will actually receive it. I just hope this gift will be sufficiently animal-themed for her liking. 

A Three Penguin Gift

 

When it came time to pick out a pattern for my grandniece Holly's present for Christmas 2024 (that is, in the early fall of 2023), I browsed Ravelry with the words "cute dress for a toddler" on my mind. 

I soon found the pattern you see depicted above, which is no. 33 Robe Jacquard M0717 by Bergère de France, and thought it qualified, with its simple picture knit that a toddler could identify and understand. 

I went through my stash to see what I had that would be suitable for such a project. I found some black and off-white DK very quickly. I had no yellow, and I was also skeptical that penguin feet are actually of a shade remotely resembling the sickly greenish yellow used in the sample. I googled for images of real penguins to see what colour their feet were exactly, and found their feet to be typically more of a yellowish orange, which was fortuitous, as I had a small amount of some nice orange DK on hand. I didn't have enough of the orange to do the ribbed edges in it, or anything that was suitable for the ribbing in my DK box, so I looked through my fingering box, and found a leftover variegated I'd previously used for my grandniece Cauliflower's sweater earlier this year and that I could use double strand to make it the right weight. I had nothing for the main colour, so I made a sampler by knotting together some short strands of the other colours, and took it to Romni Wools, where I chose some Drops Karisma in pale blue that went well with my contrast colours. I also thought the dress looked too short, and decided to lengthen it by two inches, and I bought an extra skein of Drops Karisma for the purpose.

The completed dress in a size 18 months. Holly turns two in May, so she should be able to go right into at Christmas and wear it until spring. I think it would look sharper and more pulled-together if I had been able to knit the ribbed edges in orange, but it's not bad as is. The variegated has a little rust-like orange in it, which helps. 

I used 1 gram of the orange, 6 grams of the off-white, 44 grams of the variegated, and 10 grams of the black to make this dress, or -61 grams of stash yarn total, and I had 35 grams of the pale blue left, which works out to a net stash decrease of -29 grams for this project. 

In my experience, toddlers don't tend to care very much about their clothes, or for that matter even to wear clothes at all, so I bought something to go with the dress to make the gift more fun. This plush penguin toy came from Dollarama, and it amuses me that it's leaning into the dress like it's photobombing it. 

I think Holly will like playing with a penguin toy that matches her dress, and she may even learn to say the word "penguin" for the first time because of this present. 

A Frugal But Quality Gift

 

My grandnephew Bug turned 11 in the summer of 2024, and of course a sweater must be knitted for the occasion. 

 

 

 At least fifteen years ago, a woman who worked at the company where I then worked gave me three bags of Bouquet Sock & Sweater fingering yarn in burgundy, blue, and gray, saying she would never use it. In the years since, I had made two boys' sweaters and three pairs of socks from that yarn. When I happened to catch sight of it in my box of fingering yarn late in 2023, I realized the colours of that nice quality yarn were just right for Curtis, and decided to browse Ravelry for a pattern that would use up the last of it. I soon zeroed in on the handsome pattern depicted above, which is 50-06 Fana genser, by Sandnes Design. 

The finished sweater. I didn't have the right quantities of the three colours to make the sweater as it was designed, so I had to tweak the colour scheme a little, but I was quite satisfied with the result. I think I like it even better than the sample photo. But I did not use up all of that sock yarn as I hoped. I used 104 grams of the blue, 61 grams of the burgundy, and 50 grams of the gray yarn, for a net stash decrease of 215 grams. After making three boys' sweaters and three pairs of socks out of that yarn, I still have 180 grams of the blue, 136 grams of the burgundy, and 105 grams of the gray left. Oh well, it will keep, and in fact I am currently working on a project for which I am using some of the gray yarn.  

Along with the sweater knitted out of gifted yarn, Bug also received the mechanical dinosaur kit (purchased from Dollarama), and the packet of Harry Potter buttons (purchased at Value Village) you see in the photo above. (As I wrote last year when Bug got a thrift shop Harry Potter notebook as part of his birthday present, I won't buy new Harry Potter merchandise because J.K. Rowling is a transphobe, but I think buying it at thrift shops is fine.) So this was a frugal but quality gift. 

Some Sewing, Shopping, and Shipping

For my honorary niece Olivia's 8th birthday, I did some sewing and some shopping. 

 

 

 

For most of Olivia's existence, my practice has been to make her a wool sweater for Christmas and a cotton summer dress and matching purse for her birthday, which is in May. This year I decided to go with a cotton jumpsuit, partly to change things up and partly because I thought Olivia might get more real wear out of it, but mostly because when I saw the above pattern, which is McCalls M7917, there was no resisting such a cute design.  

I chose a cotton print to make it with that is pictured at the head of this post. It's the "Cookbook" fabric, by Riley Blake Designs.
 

 

 

 

The finished jumpsuit, made in View C and size 8, and the matching purse, the purse being made from a 20+ year-old pattern from Vogue (V9893) that I've used and reused half to death. I didn't seem to have anything I could use on this purse for trim, but looking at the photo of it now, I wish I'd tried harder and come up with something. It looks so plain that way.  

 

 

 

I also bought Olivia a thrift shop copy of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, and a dollar store unicorn craft kit that Olivia can paint and assemble herself.  

In the fall of 2023, a hoped-for visit to Olivia's house had to be cancelled. I hoped it could be rescheduled to January 2024, so I didn't send her intended Christmas present to her in December 2023, and then that trip didn't happen either. By the time March 2024 rolled around and I'd given up hope of a visit in the near future, I decided just to hang onto her Christmas present and send it along with her birthday present. Then I was late getting her birthday present ready. It was the end of July 2024 before I finally shipped Olivia's combined Christmas and birthday gift to her. (Bad aunt! Bad!) 

But Olivia didn't seem to mind the delay, and she had the pleasure of opening quite a large, elaborate gift that contained not only the jumpsuit, purse, book and craft gift contained above, but also a sweater, hat, novel and designer activity book AND a witch costume complete with broomstick and cat for the doll she'd received from me for her 7th birthday, one Miss Rainbow Sparkle Unicorn-Animals. Lindsie called me right after Olivia opened her gift, and though Olivia took a shy fit and wouldn't come to the phone to thank me as Lindsie wanted, I could hear her squealing away in the background. 

Olivia's favourite item out of all of those things was the black cat. My idea was that the cat would be Rainbow's pet cat (or familiar, when she was wearing her witch outfit), but Olivia didn't see it that way. The cat was hers and only hers, and she named it Blackie. I suggested some other names that might be suitable for a black cat (i.e., Ebony, Sable, Raven, Coal, Midnight), but no, Blackie it was and would remain. 

I'm also happy to say that as I type this in late October 2024, I have Olivia's Christmas 2024 present all ready to go, so she'll get her Christmas present in good time this year, taking this honorary aunt at least temporarily off the naughty list.