obsessed with knitting

slinking back

2009-09-23T19:08:00.008-05:00

Bad Beverlyanne. It's been three months since I last posted. In fact, I now have to go back and read that post, because I've forgotten what it was about.

Oh. It was about a stupid Clapotis that I shouldn't even have made. But the post before that was about the subject of today's posting, The Rosy Pinwheel. Yes, I changed its name from Devil's Pinwheel to Rosy in honor of my granddaughter, Rosie. And here it is in long view: And a delightful close up that shows its lovely lace border bring knitted:

Ok. It's not all that lovely, but as you can see from the top photo, it's almost a circle.

This blanket gave me no end of trouble, and I think it was because it was June and I was really, really sick of knitting. The same thing happened to me last summer - I barely knit and I didn't blog - but I thought that was because I moved my mother to a nursing home after she broke her arm in July and my daughter spent the month of August in the hospital. And gave birth at the end of her stay. I am grateful that nothing like that happened this summer (except for the birth), but I still didn't want to knit or blog.

Nanette of Knitting in Color, one of the most creative knitters around, made me feel better with this July post. In it she explains how she never feels like knitting in the summer, and she gave a number of truly inspiring examples of work that made me feel that, yes, I was still a knitter.

Getting back to the blanket, it turned out fine, but I had to buy more yarn to knit the edging. It must be the yarn, Dream in Color Classy, that lacked staying power. The lovely and gracious Helen of Chronic Knitting Syndrome, who has made some stunning pinwheels (this is my favorite), kindly gave me the pattern for the lace edging. The fact that it doesn't look like it should (straight rather than slanted) is my fault, but I like it anyway. She also explained how to knit it directly onto the edge, which I would never have figured out on my own. So Helen, thank you a million times.

Unfortunately the blanket was finished in the summer, so Rosie hasn't really needed it yet. Someday, I am sure that she will be glad to be covered by a nice, soft wool blanket.

clap, clap, clap

2009-06-25T21:23:00.006-05:00

Why oh why did I knit another Clapotis? This is my third. Do I need three shawl/scarves that don't work perfectly as either.

After much soul searching I find two major reason why I knit my third:

1) I was seduced by the yarn
2) I like a simple knit

#1, I tested a sample of Malabrigo Silky Merino and fell in love. Ever since I made my first Clapotis, using the decent but not wonderful Paton's Classic Wool, I've wanted a slinkier Clap. I thought it would be more scarf-like. It turns out that the slinky DK version is about as shawl-like as the worsted weight versions, but it does have a lighter, silkier feel. And the colorway, Stonechat, while it doesn't make you drool, is subtly beautiful and looks great with grey.

I made this one just as wide but shorter than the pattern suggests. I used 3 skeins of Silky Merino or 450 yards, about as much as a typical scarf. I bought 5 skeins and now have 2 left over to include in a future log cabin blanket or something.

#2 is a slightly embarrassing reason. After working straight out on a log cabin blanket, this Clapotis, and, currently, a Pinwheel Baby Blanket, to the neglect of other projects, I realize that I like to do plain garter stitch or stockinette best. I love a project that goes fast and requires little thought or attention. That goes for socks too, where the pattern isn't too complicated. Socks meet the goes fast requirement and most of the time, the little attention requirement.

I don't know if this is a phase or if I should forget about lace and cable knitting forever. I am well underway with a sweater I have long admired, the Apres Surf Hoodie by my latest design guru, Connie Chang Chinchio. Here is its Ravelry page. Now this isn't a difficult knit by any means, but you do have to keep track of which row you're on, and it doesn't go fast. So I have been neglecting this project shamefully, although I have no plan to abandon it. First I just have to knit dozens of garter stitch blankets or something.

The Clapotis, Log Cabin Blanket, and Pinwheel all share a special attribute. They are easy, simple, but very clever designs that produce striking and unusual objects. I would like to know about more like these. If you have any favorites along these lines, let me know.

the devil's pinwheel

2009-06-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

Since my granddaughter Rosie has been spending more time at our house, I wanted to have a nice knitted blanket for her naps and sleepovers. The pinwheel was in the back of my mind. I perused Ravelry and decided that the Oat Couture short row pinwheel was the most refined. I especially liked the knit- in lace border. I actually went out and bought the pattern, an unusual action for me. Here is its scanned self:

The Ravelry pages showed lots of stellar examples of this blanket. I was particularly taken with this one , which convinced me that this was a project that uses variegated yarn to advantage.

I spent hours shopping on line, and narrowed down my choices. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted was on my short list (the same yarn as in the afghan on Ravelry), but I thought it too pricey. Wanting instant gratification, I shopped locally (Mosaic Yarn Studio) and discovered that Dream in Color Classy, while not cheap, had more yardage than Lorna's Laces, so I could get four skeins rather than five to make up the 1,000 yards of worsted that the pattern calls for. See the yarn on the right. The colorway is called Ruby River.

I bought the four skeins, and here is where things started to go horribly wrong. First off, I found the yarn, machine washable merino, to be somewhat stiff in garter stitch. It wasn't scratchy, but at five stitches per inch, the correct gauge, it felt like a hot pad. Next, and worst, my yarn was disappearing at an alarming rate. To spare you the gory details, the upshot is that I frogged this project THREE times until I was at a gauge of four stitches per inch and had achieved an acceptable drape to the fabric.

I had knit up the first of the four skeins when a cold hand gripped my heart. By the size of the section I had knit, I would need just less than double the yarn I had purchased: that is 2,000 yards rather than the 1,000 specified in the pattern. WHAT? Even if I could get more of the colorway (doubtful), I didn't want to spend $150 on this project. And what is up with this pattern? Others on Ravelry did not seem to have this problem. But as a knitter, I usually need less yarn than specified, not twice as much. Mystery still unsolved.

My pinwheel failure was made all the more poignant when I read the blog of my fellow knitter Woolie of Wool Enough and Time. She made the most adorable short-row pinwheel cushion cover out of scraps. Kudos to Woolie, but grrrr.

My story is on its way to a happy ending though. I decided to make the yarn over pinwheel instead. After three or four failed attempts to start this project (five stitches on double pointed needles), I am on my way to producing a fine blanket for Rosie. This one is in stockinette, and I must say that the yarn seemed to smile at me as I released it from garter stitch. And I think I'll have a skein left over.

socks-a-lot

2009-05-30T20:30:00.010-05:00

I recently finished my ninth and tenth pairs of socks. I feel like I should stop for a while, especially since I rarely wear socks in the summer. But I probably won't. I made this pair for Anne in her favorite color. I used the good ol' Schurch Double Moss stitch. Here is its Ravelry page.

This is the second time I've used Dream in Color sock yarn. Their variegated yarns are the best ever; never any jarring contrasts or pooling. The last batch I used was called Gaia. It has been renamed Smooshy, and I think it is a little thinner than before. I automatically took out the larger size 1 needle (2.50 mm), but I think the 2.25 might have been better. Or maybe not. These socks also seemed a little smaller than usual. Maybe the 2.25 needle with 72 stitches instead of 64?

I made the tenth pair for myself, because I REALLY needed some pink socks. Actually, I was seduced by the yarn I encountered at the Loopy yarn tasting described in the last post. I used the Zigzag pattern from the Vogue sock book. I couldn't look away because the socks were also shown in pink. Here is its Ravelry link.

A weird thing about this pattern was that the directions called for seven stitches to the inch for a size medium sock on 64 stitches. I think that would have made a large sock. So I followed the pattern, but at 8 stitches to the inch. Maybe the fact that the pattern used Gem sport weight instead of sock weight makes the difference, but I don't see how.

Another weird thing was the star toe. This toe is what the designer used, so I thought I'd try it. I noticed that some ravelry people thought that this toe was so ugly that they frogged and reknit it. I thought, how bad can a toe be? Well, it is not a pretty or pleasant toe, way too pointed, but it looks like a cute little pinwheel off the foot. I won't use it again.

Maizy by Crystal Palace is 82% corn fiber and 18% elastic nylon. The resulting sock fits well, is soft, and though it stretches out easily, it snaps back into shape really well when you take it off. One problem though. It feels like wearing plastic. Corn is a natural fiber, but like rayon, which is made from wood, it has a synthetic feel. The socks are pretty though.

Here is more pretty. It's that time of year - garden photos! No deer this year (so far). My hostas are standing up proud.

loopy

2009-05-25T18:50:00.006-05:00

Do you want to see something horrible?

This is yarn I spun (spinned?) on this:

I took a four hour spinning class at Loopy, a great local yarn store in the Printer's Row area of Chicago. I wrote about Loopy last year when I went on a mini yarn crawl with my friend Linda.

The class was great. Meg, my teacher, made me the spindle pictured above and gave me tons of roving to practice on. She took me from rolling a stick along my knee to spindling to spinning and plying on a wheel. She also taught me how to card roving. She made the blue yarn that is plied with the yarn I made above. It's not her fault that the yarn is awful.

Now I realize that if I were to practice I could probably make better yarn, even on a spindle. But you know what? In my maturity I begin to see that you don't have to do everything in life. I didn't take to spinning that well. I especially disliked the wheel- spinning posture of leaning forward toward the wheel to feed the draft. I got out of the lessons what I wanted; I learned something about how yarn is made.

I am still fascinated with the process of wool and yarn-making though. I am looking at dyeing with natural dyes. I have a little patch in the back of my garden that would be perfect for growing dye plants. I also read a strange and amazing book called Lambs of God by an Australian, Merele Day, about an isolated group of three elderly nuns who organize their days and lives around sheep, fleece, yarn, and knitting. I have also been reading re-told fairy tales about spinning, featuring retellings of the Rumpelstiltskin story. Here is a link to a work blog I contribute to where I posted a review of several of these stories.

Now here is something else about Loopy. I went to their Spring yarn tasting. It was fun, but what an incredible marketing tool for them. If you or anyone you know has a yarn store, you must try this technique. As a result of trying out yarn, I bought $70 worth of yarn that I never would have bought otherwise. I am currently knitting with Maizy sock yarn, a soft yarn made out of corn (!) and my first Malabrigo, Silky Merino, pictured here. I am making my third Clapotis with it, to be a smaller, slinkier scarf than the two I already have.

Here is how the yarn tasting worked. They gave us lengths of 37 different yarns, listed in the order they gave them out on a 'menu'. I couldn't keep up with the knitting (I got there late), but I did identify three yarns I loved: the two mentioned above and Prima by Debbie Bliss. By comparing them with other yarns I was able to see that the Silky Merino and the Prima gave sharply defined, even stitches. Here is the swatch I made of some of the yarns:

a little progress

2009-05-11T20:41:00.006-05:00

I haven't been working much on the Learn to Knit Afghan. I guess other projects have been more compelling lately. But I did sew the first column together and loved the results. Here is a photo.

Here is another view.

The panel is too long to photograph as one strip, so it is folded over.

At first, I was a little shocked by the color combination, but now I think it looks modern and fresh. I put it around my neck and sort of wished for a scarf like it. I am following Barbara Walker's outline for the order of the squares. Her design distributes the colors and color combinations well and makes a pattern with the diagonals. That is just the sort of thing I don't like to figure out for myself.

Here is the last square I finished.

I'm still working on the twisted stitch chapter. Currently I'm doing a bias stripe that is simple, but a little tiresome. I think I'll go and try to finish it tonight.

here comes cookie

2009-04-30T20:50:00.009-05:00

I've had Cookie A's long-awaited book for a couple of weeks now and have had a chance to go through it. It's called Sock Innovation, and it's a doozy. Here is a picture of the cover.

This is a manual of sock design at a pretty sophisticated level. Cookie explains in detail how to adapt flat-knit patterns for socks, how to alter patterns so they fit into the sock schematic, how to divide the pattern for the instep (design) and foot (plain knit), and includes a somewhat intimidating section on charting sock patterns. Along the way she gives clear instructions for several basic sock heels and toes. I especially like her description of the afterthought heel, and I plan to try it sometime. I also like that she shares my biases toward the top down sock and solid-colored sock yarn.

Cookie's sock ideas arise out of mathematics. If you think about it, all knitting has a large mathematical component. This is a source of satisfaction to someone like me who has a strong math-aversion. It suggests that I'm not as mathematically inept as I think. But Cookie is mathematically gifted. That she is a sock engineer is apparent in the way she presents her design ideas and in her designs themselves. The book contains 15 of Cookie's innovative sock designs, some of which are beautiful and a few of which look overly complex - overly engineered. That is a cavil. All in all this is one of the most valuable sock books I have seen.

In no way does this endorsement of Cookie A. indicate an abandonment of my beloved Charlene Schurch. On the contrary, Cookie's book affirms the value of Sensational Knitted Socks and More Sensational Knitted Socks. In a way, you can see Schurch's works as a simplified schematic of Cookie's ideas. Schurch has digested all the sophisticated engineering that Cookie provides and simplifies it into a series of charts and tables. Here is a page from Schurch as an example.

It's not readable here, but the chart at the top shows the number of stitches you would need at gauges running from 5 to 10 stitches per inch to get the sock circumference you need based on specific pattern repeats. Schurch limits herself to pattern repeats ranging from four to 12 stitches wide. She only presents patterns that have an even number of repeats so that dividing for foot and instep is easy. Cookie takes you beyond this basic step.

By getting familiar with Schurch's schemes I have been able to venture into simple sock design, so far limited to patterns from directories. But I have gained the confidence to adapt and manipulate patterns. Schurch has taught me the basics of sock design and lead me toward pattern innovation. I am unlikely to design or even knit a sock as complex as some of Cookie's designs, but I have a greater understanding and appreciation for what she does thanks to Charlene Schurch.

Another book is worth mentioning in the context of sock design. That is Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Sock Book.

This is a very easy to follow exposition of sock knitting basics venturing into design. It would be a perfect beginner sock book. It gives you a universal toe up and top down sock pattern to size and embellish as you wish. What I like best about it is the stitch directory, as a supplement to the stitches offered by in Schurch's books. It also offers an overview of historic and ethnic sock knitting traditions, and a selection of patterns, some of which are very pretty.

raisins

2009-04-19T10:06:00.012-05:00

I am in awe of myself! I designed another pair of socks. Sort of. Turns out that I designed a Charlene Schurch pattern - Stems - but not exactly. I'll explain.

I found a stitch pattern called Double Eyelet Rib in my Harmony stitch pattern book (old style, published in 1980s). My yarn (which I'll detail later) knit up at seven stitches to the inch. By the way, I take my sock gauges on stockinette rather than the stitch pattern because the gauge determines which stitch pattern I choose. I don't know if this is correct; it works for me. But I digress.

Seven stitches to the inch means that I want a stitch count of around 56 to go around an eight inch circumference for leg and foot. A seven stitch repeat going around the sock eight times is perfect. An even number of repeats makes it easy to divide for the instep and foot: subtract four repeats for the foot, which will be plain stockinette. That leaves four repeats for the instep - half and half.

Low and behold the pretty and dainty double eyelet rib was a seven stitch repeat and fulfilled my desire for a viney, leafy kind of lace to the fit the grape color of the yarn. Besides, I wanted to make a lace sock, never having knitted one before. This is a simple four row lace pattern. I translated the directions from flat knitting to knitting in the round and came up with this:

row 1 knit 5, purl 2, repeat

row 2 same as 1

row 3 knit 2 together, yo, knit 1, yo, slip 1, knit 1, pass sipped stitch over knit stitch, purl 2,

repeat.

row 4 same as 1.

Note that the items bolded in the directions above are points of difference between Stems and the double eyelet pattern that I am now calling Raisins. Stems is a six stitch repeat rather than seven. Raisins has two purls between the eyelet holes rather than one. I think this is an improvement in that it makes the sock more ribby, so it stays up well. And then Raisins has a plain knit 1 between the yarn overs forming the eyelets rather than that a knit one though the back loop. I also like my version better here in that it's daintier, but that is a matter of taste. Here is a close up of Stems. I think it looks a bit horsier than Raisins, so as much as I adore Ms Schurch, I'm sticking with Raisins.

Here is a picture of Raisins off the foot showing how the ribs pull in. There is no need to block this pattern because the lace spreads out and shows itself when it is on the foot. By the way, both patterns look equally good upside down (pointing down) as right side up (pointing up). This is important because socks are viewed from various angles.
Stems can be found in the invaluable More Sensational Knitted Socks which I am linking to Amazon because the book is so great that you should consider buying it if you don't have it already. Schurch helped me by holding my hand through this book and her previous Sensational knitted Socks when I got into sock knitting last year at around this time.

But wait. There's more. After I made Raisins, not remembering yet about Stems, I couldn't believe that someone hadn't discovered this stitch pattern because it was so perfect. So I searched double eyelet rib on Ravelry and came up with this. Double Eyelet Rib socks is a free pattern from Wendy D. Johnson. It is an eight stitch repeat that substitutes a purl 1, knit 1, purl 1 for the purl 2 of my design. The eyelet part is more like Raisins, but rather than a sort of trough between the eyelets there is a raised line. It's nice, but I still like mine better.

So I remain self satisfied. Now for some more information about Raisins. I used Knit Picks Gloss because they said it was my last chance to purchase this yarn in the color Grape. I had to have it even though I have no purple in my wardrobe and don't even like it that much. The yarn is soft and shiny made of 70% merino and 30% silk. I like that it has silk because silk is a strong fiber and will make up for no nylon in the mix. The yarn is thicker than I'm used to. I got the seven stitch count on the size needle that usually gives me eight stitches to the inch - 2.25 mm.

Aside from the beauteous design, the big news here is a new (to me) toe: the round toe from (who else?) Charlene Schurch. Ms Schurch says it is a beautiful toe. Though I wouldn't go that far in describing it, it is pretty. This toe saves you doing the hated Kitchener stitch. But that is nothing to me because I like doing Kitchener.

here comes jilly

2009-04-13T16:29:00.008-05:00

This post is a little tardy and not entirely enthusiastic. I finished Jilly at least a week ago and have already worn her. I designed this sweater based on a store-bought model that I really liked. I first knit this in 2007, using yarn that was too soft and drapey for the design. The current version is much better. The one from the store had a stitch gauge (even though it was machine made) of 4.5 stitches per inch, so my quest was for a yarn that looked good at this gauge. The first yarn I used (Cascade Pima Silk) magnified the irregularities that are inevitable in plain stockinette. The current yarn, my first foray into all synthetic, looks smoother. The yarn is Berroco Comfort, a 50-50 blend of acrylic and nylon meant to mimic cotton. And it does this very well. It is very soft, and has the body of cotton without the weight. I haven't washed it yet, but I assume it will machine wash and dry well.

The new Jilly came out pretty well and has color- matching Dilly socks. I corrected a fit problem with the sleeves thanks to Maggie Righetti's short row sleeve which is knit down directly from the armscye. The neckline is an area that I still need to master. The neck is OK, but a bit wider than I'd like. Because the design is so plain I tried to make design features of the waist decreases and side slits, which are self-faced. After wearing the sweater once, I think I am going to make the slits smaller.

So why the lack of enthusiasm? The sweater fits well, feels good, and has the simplicity I like. I essentially achieved what I set out to do in recreating my store-bought favorite. The problem is, this sweater is no longer my favorite. The original is about three years old now and maybe no longer in style. Right now I don't want a trim, short, tailored sweater. No matter though. It's certainly classic enough to wear, and I will. I'm hoping to post the pattern at some point.

Meanwhile, Elinor of Exercise Before Knitting, a fellow Midwesterner, has posted an amazing sleeve/armscye calculator on her blog. I still like Maggie Righetti, but you should definitely look at Elinor's chart. It produced a perfect sleeve for her latest sweater design.

dilly dilly and the lifestyle

2009-03-30T10:40:00.010-05:00

How old do you have to be to remember the nursery song Lavender Blue? It goes "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green...." So I named these socks Dilly after the color and to rhyme with the matching sweater I'm making that I call Jilly. More about Jilly later. I'm on the last sleeve.

The pattern is Charlene Schurch's (aren't you tired of reading this illustrious name on my blog?) basketweave rib pattern, the usual eight stitch repeat done on 2.25 mm needles at a gauge of eight stitches per inch. With a seven inch leg, an eight inch circumference, and an eight and a half inch foot this pair took only about 325 yards of yarn. Here is the Ravelry page for this stitch pattern. From some angles this looks a little like bamboo, so I would like to do it in a slinky tan yarn with a slightly narrower repeat to look even more like bamboo.

When I started the Jilly sweater, it occurred to me that I had some leftover fingering weight yarn in the same color as the sweater yarn (Berroco Comfort - my first synthetic). It turned out to be an uncanny match, so I couldn't resist creating an ensemble of sweater and socks.

What makes these socks a little interesting though is that this type of yarn, which is sticky enough for color work, is not usually used as sock yarn. Sock yarn, which is often merino wool, tends to be softer than this shetland stuff. How did it work for socks, you ask? Very well I think. The socks are a little stiffer than I'm used to, but they don't scratch, they feel sturdy, and I think they will wear well. They are as comfortable to wear as my other wool socks. I would use this again for sock yarn, and that's just as well since I've acquired a whole bunch of the stuff. See previous post.

For me, a great revelation came with these socks. And that is the Lifestyle heel, invented by a woman named Priscilla Wild and promulgated by Charisa Martin Cairn in her knitting blog. (I am sending you to the current opening page of the blog so you can say a prayer or send a good thought to Adrienne, Charisa's 24 year old daughter who is battling melanoma.) Scroll down to No Swatch Toe Up Sock on the right.

This short row heel is the smoothest, least holey, unbulkyist, best heel I have ever knit. No backwards yarn overs or upside down wraps here. The heel is formed by simply slipping stitches, leaving them unworked, and knitting each together with the last active stitch on the needle after the turn. To make up for the knit two together and to close the gap, you make a new stitch. Even though this heel appears in a toe up sock pattern, remember short row heels are the same in either direction. Charisa also offers a video tutorial on this heel.

I've been calling this a sock pattern, but really, the reason Charisa calls this a Lifestyle heel is because it is part of what she calls a "sock lifestyle". Some people might call it a "recipe". I don't really like either name, but it is what I've been doing with Charlene Schurch for a while. You get your basic figures (leg length, circumference, etc.) and your favorite heel and toe, and you can insert any stitch pattern that fits the sock format. I just got Cookie A's new book that seems to elaborate on this idea.

yarn alarm

2009-03-25T08:53:00.011-05:00

I guess my last post provided the brakes I needed to stop knitting dishcloths. I have stopped for the moment, no thanks to my blogging friends who suggest that I can move on to hot pads and dish towels. Now though, I can't stop winding yarn.

It all started when my friend Linda decided to sell her loom and give up weaving. She had a little stash of weaving yarn that she doubtfully showed me. She didn't think that the flat, firm wool yarn used for weaving could be knit with. But I knew better. All you had to do was skein it (I used my swift for its opposite task), wash it, and it would fluff up into, in this case, heathery fingering weight yarn.

The tall cone of yarn at the extreme left is lace weight cotton, which I haven't yet contemplated using. But the rest is fingering weight wool (except for the grey which looks like dk or sport) imported from Scotland. This yarn reminds me strongly of Jamieson Spindrift, a commercial knitting wool meant for fair isle and stranded color work and emulating the colors of the now unavailable (except through her website) Alice Starmore yarns.

My mystery yarn is two plies, each ply a mixture of the same two colors. One color must be in larger quantity than the other, because each yarn has an overall color look: green (of a greyish variety), purple, and brown (or dark, dark red - you can't tell which, but I lean toward brown). The mix colors are green yellow, blue, and green blue respectively. Here is a close up of the yarns after washing and winding. They look lighter in the photo than they actually are.

I have 2,000 yard of each. What will I do with them? Well, I have leftovers of similar yarn from many years ago when I made faire isle sweaters. (No, I 'm not a pack rat, but I do know what to save and what to toss.) The purple (on the left) will be a good mixer with the colors I have, so I hope to plan a color work project even if it's only mittens or socks. The brown (center) will not mix as well, but I love it for a sweater on its own. The green could go either way.

In line with this acquisition, I decided to make a pair of socks from some left over Spindrift I had, partly to test this yarn for sock knitting. It did well. I'll save the details for the next post, because I discovered online a new technique for the short row heel.

dishrag fever

2009-03-18T12:18:00.010-05:00

To my shame, since my last dishrag posting, I have gone insane and have knit dishrags uncontrollably. I manged to stop at eight. Now sit back and relax while I insanely review dishrag results.

You will recall that this craze was started on its unfortunate course by (what else?) a Learn to Knit Afghan square called Twisted Columns featuring twisted stitches in two colors. I was pleased with the two dishcloths that resulted. The twisted columns stood up well to use, not becoming too raggy when wet, and I loved the dark brown and acid green color combination I used. By the way, all of these dish cloths were made with small quantities of worsted weight cotton yarn I had standing around for who knows what reason. The twisted columns are on the left.

Noticing that I had a very small quantity of colorful variegated cotton, I went on to make two garter stitch squares. They are OK, hardly worth mentioning, but hey, they're dishrags.

Hungry for more dishrag fodder, I turned to Ravelry and discovered Grandma's Favorite. This is one of those diagonal designs that I find endlessly fascinating, not being mathematically inclined enough to invent them for myself. You start with four stitches and increase with yarnovers at each edge until you reach the middle, 46 or 48 stitches. Then you decrease back to four stitches and bind off. You have made a square with a lacy little border. I made two, one out of a pretty but dated southwest style variegated colorway and one out of the leftover variegated pictured above and some of the acid green. That one made a solid with a colorful stripe placed off center. The southwest Grandma's Favorite is the top rag pictured below. Grandma's Favorite was the most fun to make, but it has the least body and turns too raggy when wet. Never mind because, hey, it's a dishrag.

This brings me to the dishcloth pictured above underneath Grandma's - that Queen of dishrags - the Ballband Dishcloth. Although touted by the Mason Dixon girls, I never thought it attractive enough or believed it to be good enough to bother with. Boy is my face red. It's great. It stays spongy when wet, and, because of it's functionality, it has started to look beautiful to me. at right is another version in my favorite solid blue and dark brown.

I do have a slight caveat regarding this dishcloth. It features slipped stitches, and as I have learned from working with Barbara Walker's Learn to Knit Afghan book, I don't like slipped stitches that lay across a lot of rows - four in this case. I think they're slovenly. So, prompted by a fellow Raveler, I slipped the stitches knitwise instead of purlwise as instructed. This twists the stitches so that they lay closer to the fabric underneath and are altogether tighter and neater.

Now that I have discovered the Ballband I can't promise that I won't knit more of them. But I'll try not to post about it again.

shadow and sand

2009-03-11T12:55:00.011-05:00

Isn't Shadow and Sand a romantic name? I named the a4A child's blanket I finished the other day after The House of Sand and Fog, the disappointing novel I listened to as I began this project. I wasn't disappointed in the blanket, though. Thanks to Ann and Kay of Mason Dixon Knitting for providing this easy and stress free knitting technique - log cabining. Here is the mid-January beginning of this blanket.

I used leftovers of worsted weight wool yarn on #7 U.S. needles. It's all garter stitch, and each stripe is built with picked-up stitches on the edge of a previous stripe. It grows out from the middle - no seaming. It's hard to estimate the amount of yarn this blanket took. Maybe 1,000 yards? The measurements are 42 x 39 inches. It should be perfectly square, but I guess variation in the gauges account for the difference.

I can't resist another view with cat Boo standing by:

How polite she is. She knows she isn't supposed to touch the blanket - when I am looking, that is. So she sits quietly awaiting her chance.

I can't figure out how to remove the formatting on the paragraph above. If you click it you will get a close up of Boo. Did she cause that?

Regarding Anne's recent sock post - thanks to her for the follow up. When I asked if David's socks fit, she said he hadn't worn them yet. I am glad to learn that they fit. They seemed so enormous off the foot. Remember, I have only experienced knitting for a man with a size 81/2 shoe. David wears a 12. I am not too concerned about the baby's sock not fitting though. I only made it to try a Cat Bhordi pattern and to not neglect a gift for baby as I was making a pair for each of her parents. I'm glad Raggedy can use them.

Anne makes some brief remarks about socks

2009-03-08T15:12:00.007-05:00

Hi, it's Anne. As a knitter, I always wonder if people actually use and like the things I knit for them as gifts. Of course, this is the kind of thing you could wonder about any gift you give, but because I put so much more time and love into the gifts I make, I wonder a little more. And it's not the kind of thing you can ask about and expect to get an honest answer. Anyone with manners will say "Oh, I love it, I use it every day!" even if your craft has been stuffed in the back of their closet.

For example, I have made a cute and easy bib from Vogue Knitting on the Go: Baby Gifts for several people. Here's somebody else's raveled version; I didn't take pictures of mine. In retrospect, I don't know what I was thinking making these things. I doubt they were ever used - the recipients probably thought something handmade was too "special" to be used to soak up baby drool, and recent experience has told me that handwashing baby puke out of handknit items is a total pain. (Of course I used machine washable yarn for the bibs, but I'm not sure I mentioned that to my giftees.)

But socks are, in my opinion, a fabulous gift. Everybody needs them and can use them. After I dropped several very broad hints, my mother kindly made me the Red Devil socks mentioned last month. They are great, I've worn them several times and they seem to stand up well to machine washing. My husband has huge, crazy Sideshow Bob feet and the gigantic socks blogged about here fit him perfectly. He's a man and therefore doesn't really care about socks, but I think they're terrific.

So far we're two for two on socks as gifts. This brings us to the socks my mother made for Rosie. Sooo cute. However, I put them on the baby's feet at 10:00 am on Tuesday. The first sock was off by 10:06, and we had two naked feet by 10:09. Oh well, you can't win them all. And honestly, the wool is not machine washable, and I doubt I would have had the patience to handwash them very many times. I have put the socks on Raggedy Ann; she seems to like them and they stay on perfectly.

all about squares again

2009-03-02T14:52:00.009-06:00

No, not just Learn to Knit Afghan squares, although my latest craze is strongly related. To backtrack, I currently have the ideal number of items on the needles - three, most started recently. One, I started to re knit a very basic sweater I designed and knit in 2007. I call it Jilly. The original prototype did not work out mainly due to wrong yarn choice. I used Cascade Pima Silk, a yarn that I only like when it is knit at 5 stitches to the inch. This sweater calls for 4.5, and I want 4.5 because, unusually for me, I want to see the grain of the knitting.

Two, I realized that I had some Jamieson's fingering weight yarn in the exact same color of the sweater (lilac), and I started a pair of Schurch socks. Three, I am nearing the end of the child's log cabin afghan I am making for afghans for Afghans. Hovering in the background is the silky wool skirt I have been working on forever. I have gotten to the part where I should reduce the width toward the upper hip/waist area, and am still contemplating how to do it.

With all that, I was seized yesterday by an urgent need for knitted dishcloths, so I spent an entire Sunday's worth of knitting doing this:

No, not cleaning the sink, but rather cleaning the sink with the very spiffy cloths I made based on yet another Learn to Knit Afghan pattern, called twisted columns. Here is closer view:
As I have remarked many times, I have been inspired by the Learn to Knit Afghan, and have thought of projects using the stitch patterns of many of the squares. I have been particularly inspired by the twisted stitch patterns, the section I am working on now.I love to make twisted stitches and I love the dimensionality of the patterns Here is the latest. This one was not as much fun to knit due to its complexity, but it was just made for a soft baby blanket:

mimus

2009-02-25T11:17:00.013-06:00

Imagine my delight. I designed a pair of socks. My idea to make socks out of a zig zag pattern (called Wave) from the Learn to Knit Afghan book worked out. Here they are. I call them Mimus after the excellent young adult book I listened to as I knit. The character Mimus is a court jester. Does that not fit the oh-so-entertaining zigs and zags of the design?

I changed the pattern for knitting in the round and for stitch count. I used 2.25 mm needles at a gauge of 8 stitches per inch, which seems to be my standard. I cast on (from the top down) 64 stitches to make a sock with an 8" circumference. The yarn was the inexpensive Fortissima Socka by Schoeller-Stahl in 75% superwash wool and 25% acrylic, and it is scratchy. I don't recommend this yarn (though it might wear well), and will probably make these socks again in something more luxurious. After all, that is a major appeal of sock knitting: luxury made affordable.

Here is the pattern for Mimus. I figured out how you can keep the same stitch count and change the gauge to make different sizes. The stitch pattern is fairly elastic. It is also relaxing to knit.

Materials: Approximately 400 yards fingering weight yarn

Double pointed knitting needles to achieve the following gauges depending on desired finished sock circumference:

9 stitches per inch = 7 inch circumference

8.5 spi = 7.5" circumference

8 spi = 8" circ

7.5 spi = 8.5" circ

7 spi = 9" circ

6.5 spi = 9.5 circ

Stitch patterns:

Seed Stitch: round 1 - *knit 1, purl 1, rep *; round 2 and subsequent rounds - knit the purls and purl the knits as they present themselves

Left Twist: With right hand needle at back of work, knit through the back loop of second stitch in row, then knit through the back loops of both first and second stitch and drop both stitches from needle.

Right Twist: With needle at front of work, knit through the front loops of next two stitches, then through the front loop of first stitch only; drop both stitches from needle.

Directions:

Cast on 64 stitches and divide evenly among 4 double pointed needles, 16 stitches per needle. (Or use whatever your favored sock needles might be and divide stitches accordingly.)

Join and knit 6 rounds for rolled edging at cuff.

Add 5 rounds seed stitch for elasticity.

Begin pattern

round 1 (and all following odd numbered rounds): Knit

round 2: *knit 3, left twist, purl 3; repeat from *

round 4: *knit 3, purl 1, left twist, purl 2; rep*

round 6: *knit 3, purl 2, left twist, purl 1; rep*

round 8: *knit 3, purl 3, left twist

round 10: *knit 3, purl 4, knit 1; rep*

round 12: *knit 3, purl 3, right twist; rep*

round 14: *knit 3, purl 2, right twist, purl 1; rep*

round 16: *knit 3, purl 1, right twist, purl 2; rep*

round 18: *knit 3, right twist, purl 3; rep*

round 20: *knit 4, purl 4; rep*

Work pattern for 6 (6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5) inches from cast on edge (this leg length is based on Priscilla Roberts-Gibson's magic number: circumference minus one inch.)

Continue working rounds, but divide stitches, half for instep, and half for sole. Continue pattern on instep half, and knit all rounds on sole half. Work 12 more rounds.

Shape heel on half the stitches (32), using your preferred method. I used the Priscilla Roberts Gibson short row heel with yarnovers. Directions for this heel are available in a feature from the Interweave Knits Fall 2000 issue. The article is also available online. I am providing a link to an html version that is incomplete. If you click on the link on the top of the html document, you will get to the full article in Adobe Acrobat format. I'm not sure how to link to the Acrobat document itself. You can also access this by searching Priscilla's Dream Socks. This article has a lot of interesting and useful sock-knitting information.

After heel is complete go back to working in rounds on all 64 stitches. Continue in pattern on instep stitches and in stockinette (all knit) on sole stitches. When foot portion is 6 (6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5) inches long, measured from flat part of heel (which hits at lower portion of shaping line), begin toe shaping.

I use Charlene Schurch's simple toe, which is as follows:

Round 1, Needle 1: knit 1, slip next 2 stitches and knit them together through the back loops from the right hand needle (ssk), knit to end of needle.

Round 1, Needle 2: knit to 3 stitches from end of needle, knit 2 together, knit last stitch.

Round 1, Needle 3: as needle 1.

Round 1, Needle 4: as needle 2.

Round 2: knit all stitches

Repeat these 2 rounds until there are 32 stitches left (8 on each needle). Then just repeat Round 1 until there are 16 stitches left (4 per needle). Place these stitches on 2 needles, 8 stitches on each, and close the toe with Kitchener Stitch.

Here is the original inspiration for this design:

are socks boring? part 2

2009-02-18T16:24:00.007-06:00

No they're not. They're just limited, but the flip side of that is they provide a small canvas for creativity, like the the social world of a Jane Austen novel. In fact, however, it may be true that the socks I make have been boring. That is partly because I am a relative beginner at sock knitting, but mostly because conservative socks are more wearable, especially for my sock recipients who like things simple. To wit - I call these Red Devil to jazz them up (and in honor of the audio book, The Devil in the White City).

Raveled here, they are made with two skeins of Lana Grossa Meilenweit 50 Seta/Cashmere, a merino, silk, acrylic, and cashmere blend, and very soft with it. They are Schurch socks, of course, the Embossed Stitch from More Sensational Knitted Socks knit at eight stitches per inch on 2.25 mm needles (5 dps) on 64 stitches for a circumference of eight inches.

Now for a startling change of pace:

Meet the Bordhi Baby Boot, raveled here. This is the first sock suggested in Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Bordhi calls the structure Sky architecture. It is made top down with an pyramid-shaped expansion over the instep and a simple short row heel that I want to try again. It wasn't until I made the second sock that I sort of understood how to make it. But only sort of. I somewhat fault her directions here. It is, however, elegantly simple.

Bordhi presents eight unusual sock structures, or architectures, in her book, and some of them are very beautiful. I want to try them all, but most are toe up, so I have to get with her cast ons and, especially, bind offs. The Baby Boot is made with a fraction of a skein of Louisa Harding Kimono Angora, a dk weight, on # 3 double pointed needles. I have an embarrassing amount of this yarn which is good for nothing but baby wear.

I can hardly contain my excitement over the socks I am currently making. I did manage to adapt the Learn to Knit Afghan zig-zaggy pattern to socks in the round. So far, I love the results, and feel that the finished sock will warrant a pattern posting. But we'll see about that when they're done.

Meanwhile please visit my work blog called Sounds - Music at Niles PL. I don't work on it much , but I couldn't resist rating the Season 8 American Idol performances. I put up a big American Idol display at the library to help generate interest in our CD collection. If you are an AI fan, let me know if my ratings match yours.

quickie

2009-02-09T20:59:00.009-06:00

Here is a quick post to show off a couple of things - especially baby Rosie, as promised. Here she is posing in her Interworld suit (Raveled here):

By the way, shortly after she was photographed in her Anouk pinafore she threw up on it.

Next are the last few Learn to Knit Afghan squares I made. This first one is quite interesting. It is a slip stitch pattern knit on double pointed needles. It looks quite intricate because, with two sided needles it is possible to change colors every row. Usually, each color is used for two rows because the yarn has to purl back from left to right after finishing a knit row. I think this was a clever invention. It looks more like stranded knitting than the other slip stitch patterns.

That was the last slip stitch pattern in the book. I really like the next section so far. It is twisted stitches, where you get easy crossed stitch effects without the cable needle. I love this pattern and would like to adapt it for socks if at all possible. The next one makes a cushy fabric. The lines running down it are twisted stitches standing out in relief because, well, because they are twisted. It would make a great dish cloth except it pulls in before blocking. I could make it a little wider.

are socks boring?

2009-02-04T10:21:00.013-06:00

Before I started knitting socks last year, I got tired of reading posts about socks. I couldn't really relate. But now here I am of course, posting about socks. And I still think they're a little boring to read about, if not to knit.

At this point though I think it is sooo worth it to knit socks because hand knitted wool socks are so much better than store bought ones. They are even good to wear in the summer when you need to wear a sock, like for long walks. You can't say that about all knitted objects, especially sweaters. This past birthday and Christmas season I acquired 3 sweaters from Bloomingdale's and like them much better than any sweater I have ever knit. During the post holiday sale season I acquired 2 more in cashmere from J. Jill, and I can't stop wearing them. (This is a clue that I should never again knit a sweater that is not outerwear in anything thicker than fingering weight, or maybe sport.)

But getting back to socks, there is only so much you can do to make a sock both wearable and interesting. They all require patterns that fit the requirements of leg and instep in the round. Cat Bordhi does have some interesting -looking approaches in her New Pathways for Sock Knitters book, but I haven't tried them yet.

That is why I was interested in this book:
It is almost hard to find solid colored sock yarn - that is how popular handpainted yarns are. And using fancy variegated yarn is one way to make socks more interesting to knit. This book seemed to promise insight into the special qualities of variegated (not necessarily handpainted) yarn and how to make the most of it. But I was disappointed. There is nothing here inaccessible to common sense, like don't pair an intricate lace pattern with an intensely colored, busy variegation. Carol Sulcoski's explanation of how variegations are developed (short color intervals, longer intervals, etc.) is pretty common knowledge, or else readily available elsewhere. Her best idea, to break up the colors by using chevrons, is one that I have seen over and over again. It is illustrated on the cover. Unfortunately, I had to buy this book because it was not available through my library system, and I really wanted to see it.

Sulcoski offers 21 sock patterns from various designers, some quite nice. But here is a problem I have with ready- made sock patterns: they don't come in your exact size, and I don't think it's worth it to play around with needle sizes and math to engineer them. For example, only 11 out of the 21 sock patterns here came in the foot circumference I need for myself, and I'm being flexible. And, I don't have unusual-sized feet at all. I'll just continue to use Charlene Schurch's or Priscilla Gibson Robert's sock formulas that can be used for any size and almost any stitch pattern.

A good case in point is this finished object - socks with a 10 inch foot circumference, a size you won't find in any ready-made pattern with the possible exception of Nancy Bush's vintage socks book.

These babies took 3 skeins of Knit Picks Risata, a wool/cotton blend with a little elastic added to counteract cotton's lack of elasticity. This yarn is not as soft as wool and it's also a little too thick for me. I don't think I'll use it again, especially since all wool is as comfortable in summer as advertised. The pattern is Swedish Block, a six-stitch pattern from Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. The heel is short row, and the toe is Schurch's standard, with decreases running up the sides.

Thanks to Anne for the wonderful baby posts and pictures of Rosie. I'll have another one in the next post.

OMG, Anouk!

2009-02-01T21:41:00.004-06:00

Hi, it's Anne. I know the last post I wrote was about Rosie, and this one is too, but after this I'm going to be quiet about her, I promise. This is so not a blog about baby stuff.

That being said - ANOUK!!! I have mixed feelings about Kate Gilbert. I don't share my mother's enthusiasm for the clapotis - I think it's too bulky to be a scarf and too small to be a shawl, so I don't really get the point. Plus, I get grossed out when my mother calls it the "Clap."

However, I adore Gilbert's Anouk baby pattern, and was beyond thrilled when my mother knit one. I know you're all dying to see what it looks like on Rosie, right? I'd say she seems to like it.

Anne on Knitting for Baby

2009-01-24T08:46:00.012-06:00

I'm very fond of Melanie Falick's Knitting for Baby: 30 Heirloom Projects with Complete How-to-Knit Instructions. It would probably bore any of you experienced knitters out there to tears, but it's ideal for a beginner. It teaches knitting, one step at a time and one chapter at a time. For example, the first chapter teaches the knit stitch. Then it says, okay, if all you can do is knit (no shaping, no color changes, nothing), here are some projects you can do. And they're actually decent things someone might want! There's a hat I've made that's done as a rectangle with no shaping, and it's actually adorable. Then the book takes you through the other basics: purling, shaping, colorwork, etc., with projects to do as you learn. It's really great, and I like the look of the book, which is very wholesome and earthy with nice pictures of real-looking babies. It, along with a couple of skeins of baby yarn and some knitting needles, would make a great gift for a pregnant mom.

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to knit for my baby. I also knew, however, that my mother would want to knit, too, and that her blankets and sweaters would undoubtedly put mine to shame. So I focused on hats and booties, which I've never known her to knit, and which are a specialty of mine, as I've made many in the past few years for pregnant friends.

Two of my projects came out of Knitting for Baby. I used a nice soft baby yarn (I think it might have been Simply Soft Baby) trimmed with some leftover Lion Brand Jiffy. Yes, I know, acrylic is yuck, but I like it for baby items. Actually, I like it in general, so there. I made both of these projects over a couple of days while on vacation in Michigan with my parents.

The first project were the Beginner Booties. Here they are, modeled by Rosie:

I really like this pattern; they're knit on straight needles and seamed, so I was able to avoid my hatred of knitting in the round. I've made them loads of times, and my only problem has been that they come out too big. So I modified the pattern. I really have no business modifying patterns, I have no idea what I'm doing 90% of the time, but this worked out. They're now perfectly sized for a 3-month-old; you can see my modifications on my Ravelry page.

Next I made the Garter Stitch Cloche:

Again, this is knit on straight needles and seamed. It uses some very clever short-row shaping. It was quite lucky that I was with my parents at the time, because it was my first experience with short rows and I was a bit confused. Fortunately, my mother was in the middle of her sock knitting frenzy and was therefore a bit of an expert on short rows, so she taked me through it. The top of the hat came out a little bit hole-y, so I stuck on a pompom to cover it up. Plus, pompoms always jazz up baby items.

look what i did

2009-01-19T10:50:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, without much thought, I sat down and made this:

I am thrilled with it, especially since I love projects that use up odd balls of yarn. If I had thought and thought about what I should be knitting, I would never have come up with this project. Of course I know there are no 'shoulds' in kitting, but you know what I mean. At least you do if you are something of a planner like I am.

The idea must have come from two sources: Mason Dixon Knitting, of course, for the log cabining idea and a fellow blogger for the color scheme. I admired the use of reds and browns together in this pair of socks designed by Susan of 3 Sleeves to the Wind (love that blog name). The colors must have jogged the log cabining idea from the back of my mind. And I suppose that the catalyst of it all was afghans for Afghans, which had just posted a new campaign specifying the need for, among other children's things, child-size blankets, of which this will be one.

Log cabining is quick, easy, and relaxing. I might have to log cabin all the time. You keep binding off and picking up stitches to make strips, in garter stitch, around a central square. Easy peasey lemon squeezie as I recently heard someone say. The technique lends itself to all sorts of creative variations. This Flying Geese blanket from the first Mason Dixon Knitting book is a variation and, I think, one of the most beautiful knitted object I have ever seen, made in my favorite color combination.

Thank you Mason Dixon Knitting. This book and its sequel are idea books more than pattern books, although they have patterns too. Thanks to this serendipitous project, I had to take down the book, and now I'm going to read through it again from cover to cover. Perfect January knitting and reading.

point of comparison

2009-01-14T16:25:00.010-06:00

Being obsessed with knitting, I am naturally obsessed with knitting needles, maybe even more so than with yarn. Needles have been on my mind since I considered knitting in the round the headwarmers I recently made. Of course I quickly squelched that thought, being quite willing to sew a five inch long seam. But before I dropped the idea, I attempted it with an Addi Turbo 16 inch circular. This post is thus mainly about needle tips.

Now Addis cost a fortune, but are supposed to be the ultimate in needles. The metal surface of the needle is smooth, enabling your knitting to move "faster" according to the ad. Problem is, you can't get the tip of the needle into the stitch, it is that blunt. It's like knitting with bowling pins. I took some photos, which I'll post below, but they didn't come out too well. What you will see is the Addi below and the humble and underrated Boye Needlemaster circ on top, both in size 8/5.0 mm.

This is a little blurry, but I hope you can see that the Boye needle is much sharper and somewhat more tapered than the Addi. By the way, the Boye set, sizes 2 through 15, cost about $30. at Tuesday Morning, about twice the price of ONE Addi needle. But I don't care if the Addi is free; I can't knit with it and I don't want it.

Speaking of expensive needles, during the Christmas festival of spending, I treated myself to a Signature Needle, you know, the glitzy ones reviewed by Clara Parkes in Knitters Review. They cost the earth. But they may be worth it. I bought a size 9/5.50 mm with the bell shaped end, which seemed the simplest and lightest to me. I chose the stiletto point. Here is the point pictured below. (Again, it isn't too clear.) The point is just as sharp as it should be, meaning sharp, but the taper is pretty long. Next time I'll try middy, which has the same sharpness and a shorter taper. And there will be a next time, because these needles rock. The feel wonderful in your hand, come in bright colors, and have the needle size clearly printed on each needle. Susan of Damn, Knit & Blast It got a WHOLE SET for Christmas. But I'll just save up and get one at a time.

Over the years I have acquired and inherited thousands of straight, metal needles. The old fashioned metal needles stamped Hero, Boye, and Bates on the ends cannot be surpassed for sharpness and smoothness. The Signature needles are a reasonable facsimile within the currently produced crop, so I plan to get a pair in every size where I don't have a good pair of the old timers.

Here is one more photo - a Learn to Knit Afghan slip stitch square that I forgot to post earlier. I am now working on the last slip stitch pattern, number 24.

2008 finished objects

2009-01-07T19:33:00.001-06:00

It's both fun and not fun to review the past year's knitting achievements. This time it's fun because I produced 21 finished objects (counting 22 afghan squares as one object) as opposed to last year's 15. And the group of objects looks more coherent or something than last year's. It's not fun because everything I made isn't perfect and beautiful. But I'm learning. Among the 21 items are four sweaters, three pairs of socks, two pairs of mittens, one scarf, one shawl, and eight baby items. In the run-down below, I'll link to blog posts, if any, about the item in case you are interested in more details. Most are on Ravelry under my username, beverlyanne.

January: Blue Shoes and Happiness Scarf

I first made this as part of my 2006 Christmas scarf project. I re-knit it to have photos to go with the pattern I posted in January.February: Klara Bird

My first learning experience of the year. Under the guidance of a Raveler(Flyingneedle), I heavily modified a printed pattern (Klaralund from Noro Book #2 by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton). The resulting sweater is made from fingering weight yarn rather than the worsted weight specified, and besides learning from the mods., I learned that I love fingering weight for sweaters.

March: Darcy

Probably through Ravelry, I learned of The Dark House collection of patterns by Kim Hargreaves. I fell for this jaunty jacket, but wasn't in love with the result. Partly, I didn't like the Knit Picks Merino DK I used. Partly, the fit isn't perfect. But the jacket is warm and I like it as Spring outerwear. I have since noticed that Kim Hargreaves' web site gives you such detail and close up photos of each design, that I think I could make some of them without the patterns now that I'm more experienced. Shhh. Don't tell anyone. March: Ann Budd Basic Socks

This was a happy project because I won a contest on the Ruthless Knitting blog and got two socks' worth of Lorna Laces Shepherd sock yarn in the colorway Amish. These were my first socks in thirty years, so I used a basic pattern from the Ann Budd Getting Started Knitting Socks book. The turned out well (in fact I am wearing them right this very minute), but I don't like the shape of the Ann Budd patten. And I think I knit them at too loose a gauge. Cat Boo is evaluating my work.

April: A Thousand Acres

In 2006 I made scarves for all my friends at work. In 2007, I gave them candy and nuts. In 2008, my plan was to make each of them mittens. Emboldened by having successfully made socks, I made these mittens, my first ever. They're ok. I used a Knit Simple Magazine pattern that isn't great, and I messed up a little on the thumb. Since the gift exchange was changed to Secret Santa this year, I ended up sending these to afghans for Afghans in October.

April: Grace

See above. Same thing. One thing I liked about making mittens was that they are GREAT for using up leftover yarn, so I should make some more and better ones in 2009. This pattern was a better one, from Ann Budd's Pattern Book, but the yarn, Patons variegated, was worse. There's a color pool in these that looks like an oil spill.

May: Neverwhere

In February I learned that my daughter, Anne, was expecting a baby in the Fall. I wasn't allowed to start knitting however until the pregnancy was in a secure state, past the first trimester. My first project was this blanket from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I love her understated crunchy, organic style. The name of this blanket is probably unfortunate, being from the disturbing Neil Gaiman novel that I listened to as I knit.

May: Kimono Shawl

It took about five months of on and off knitting to finish this. It is the design from Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle that I most admire. It is really beautiful. In one of the posts that featured this shawl I vowed to never make another shawl and then I immediately took back the vow. You know what? I re-vow it. I have never worn this. June: Six Baby Washcloths

I so loved Louisa Harding's baby blanket squares that I made them into baby washcloths. I took the squares I liked best, the heart and star, and added the two that I invented, the cat and flower. I used part of a Knit Picks summer yarn sampler along with the original blanket yarn to make them.
June: Interworld Kimono

Now I'm really getting into baby knitting. I thought this free pattern was one of the cutest Kimonos available. I didn't yet know that the baby was a girl, so I thought this would do for either sex. I love the color. I'm also into Neil Gaiman, naming this and the matching pants below for one of his children's stories.

June: Interworld Baby Bell Bottoms (see blog post above)

Another free pattern, this one from Alison Hansel of Charmed Knits fame. Again, I thought this was the cutest pants pattern available.

July: Anouk

Talk about cute. I have always wanted to make this pattern. It is perfect.

July: Orange Schurch Socks

As I have discussed at length in my blog, I had made one pair of socks with a flap heel and didn't like the fit. So I tried a short row heel here and like it much better. But despite my undying love for Charlene Schurch, I had trouble following her directions. I found clearer ones on line, detailed in the blog post.

July: Baby Picchu

This looks a lot better in the pattern, which was a free one from Berroco. Partly it might be the yarn, Lion Brand Cotton Ease, which I try to like, but it always disappoints. I think it might look cute on baby though. Of course, what wouldn't?

July: Temptation

I named this after a Val McDermid thriller. I also named it Temptation because I was tempted to try an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern. This so-called baby but really toddler sweater became the occasion for a critique of EZ and all of her works.

September: Ravelympics Child's Sweater (also see previous post if interested in brioche stitch)

I like how this came out. I am tempted to try the contrast saddle shoulder and brioche stitch for an adult cardigan. This made a warm sweater to send to afghans for Afghans.

November: Refined Cardigan

This is my own design based on an idea that I've had for a long time. This is version one, because there are some problems with it, although I like it in a way. It approaches my idea. I have some more yarn, in a different color, to produce version two.

November: Big Boy Baby Kimono

For a friend's baby. I embellished the Mason Dixon Knitting design by adding little white squares. It's Cotton Ease again, but it looks better in garter stitch than in stockinette. The baby was born a few days ago. November: 22 Learn to Knit Afghan Squares (and many other posts showing individual squares)

I started this toward the end of June. I placed it in November, because I think I made my last square of 2008 in this month. This project has been a blessing, affording me the satisfaction of completing a project, albeit a little one, and teaching me a lot about a number of stitch patterns.
I have 41 squares to go.

December: The Weaver (and 3 other headbands) Thanks to the Learn to Knit Afghan book, I was able to design this headband based on one of the slip stitch patterns Barbara Walker gives. I made this and three others from a Knit Picks alpaca yarn sampler. This was the best one. The Weaver pattern is given in its blog post.

December: Piney

Last FO! I finished these in time for Christmas even though I had to rip and re-knit them because I made the wrong size. If you have read this post, thank you for bearing with me. I won't burden you further with elaborate 2009 knitting resolutions. I have decided a few things though: 1) I will knit more mittens because they are quick and use up left over yarn; 2) more socks because hand knit socks are wonderful to wear; 3) sweaters only of my own design (or others ripped off) because that challenge is the only reason to knit a sweater since I don't need any more; 4) no more shawls and few or no scarves; 5) always afghans.

addendum: sock yarn

2009-01-04T17:42:00.006-06:00

I forgot to include this additional use of sock yarn in yesterday's socks post. After seeing a friend's version of these, I impulsively decided that I needed a pair. I use fingerless gloves for knitting, because it is usually cold in the living room where I park myself to knit. The pair I had, machine made, was all stretched out. But then I had the unusual idea of washing them and they sprang back into shape, so I really don't need this unfinished pair. However, they are ribbed all over, so they do cling nicely.

The pattern is available free through Ravelry and is called Ruffle and Rib Fingerless Glove. It is a simple pattern made on #3 double pointed needles with about 200 yards of sock yarn. I added a pre-planned afterthought thumb at about 5 inches up from the ruffle, since there was only a thumb opening in the pattern.

The whole point of this is about the yarn. It is a new Knit Picks handpainted sock yarn called Imagination of 50% wool, 25% alpaca, and 25% nylon, soft and warm. All of the colorways look good on the Knit Picks site. This one is called Damsel.

Now in ranting mode I have posted before about Knit Picks variegated yarns and my dislike of their colors. Partly it's because I remain ambivalent about all variegated yarns, often disliking how they look knitted up (but not always). I compared the colors in this yarn to meat, but that was a euphemism for what I really thought it looked like: viscera. So part of the reason I used this yarn for gloves to wear around the house was because I wanted to use it up.

The outcome here is not that I have grown to like the color. I haven't. But I don't think it's as bad as I did at first. The lesson is that Knit Picks variegated/hand painted colors really are off base. By its name, I take it that this yarn is supposed to look feminine. To my eye it just looks darker that it should be and a tad muddy. The photo above actually shows it in its most flattering light. In reality, it looks more like this:

Not a EW, but definitely a MEH.

of socks and sock yarn

2009-01-03T14:28:00.010-06:00

I am taking advantage of a rare Saturday off to organize my 2008 finished objects for a 2008 finished object post. That will take a few days, so in the interim, I thought I'd show off the very last finished object of the past year. TA DA! Its Piney, the sock.

I surprised myself by finishing these on December 23rd, just in time to wash and block and give away on Christmas Eve. They fit my husband's short, wide feet perfectly, and he likes them. Incredible. He wore them last week.

My husband tends to over wear his socks. When I finally got to wash them a second time (by hand), I noticed a little pilling around the heel and a bit up the leg. The yarn is Knit Picks Essential Sock Yarn, made for socks of course, of 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon. This yarn is the perfect fingering weight, not too thick, not too thin, and very soft. Time will tell how well these socks hold up, but I didn't like seeing that pilling. All soft yarn tends to pill, which is OK if it doesn't affect wear.

Stats on Piney are 1.75 balls of Knit Picks Essential Sock Yarn, color Pine, for a sock 9 inches wide and 9.5 inches long with a 7.5 inch leg including a 1.5 inch 2 x 2 ribbed cuff. The leg and instep are knit in garter rib (from Charlene Schurch), and the foot bottom is stockinette with a classic short row heel. The sock was knit on 2.25 mm wooden sock needles at a gauge of 8 stitches to the inch (in stockinette). Each sock took 72 stitches around.

These are the socks that I had to frog and re-knit because I mistakenly made them too narrow. In a comment on that post, Amy (weezerscaddy) asked for the sailor's rib repeats. Here it is with a scanned close up of the pattern from Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks:

It is a five stitch repeat with 4 rounds

Rnd 1 - *p1, k2, p1, k1 through the back loop, rep from *

Rnd 2 - *p1, k2, p1, k1, rep from *

Rnd 3 - *p4, k1 through the back loop, rep from *

Rnd 4 - *p4, k1, rep from *

Schurch adds the last stitch in the repeat one time as the first stitch in the round to even out the number of stitches on the instep.

Even though this stitch seems simple enough, I had a hard time remembering the repeats. It came out nice-looking, but not nice enough to be worth the trouble, so I changed to a simpler pattern when I re-knit them.

In other sock knitting news, I started a new pair of men's socks, this time for a big foot, in another Knit Picks sock yarn, Risata. This is an unusual yarn, a little heavier than I like fingering to be, made of 42% cotton, 39% wool, 13% polyamide, and 6% elite elastic, so it's stretchy in the skein (but not so much in the sock). I am using the color Ash, a medium/dark grey. Here is a progress photo. The stitch pattern is Swedish Block.

Do I like it? Not sure yet. I know I like the color. Finally, I know that I love my orange Schurch socks, the second pair I knit and the first time I tried a short row heel. The yarn is Dream in Color Gaia which I think is now sold as Smooshy. It has already been washed repeatedly, mostly by hand, and when I compare it to Knit Pick Essentials I see how well it has worn. But, I'll be damned if the color hasn't faded. I guess the fading is kind of subtle, because I had a hard time showing it in a photo, but it IS there:
This photo shows it best. The reality of the difference is seen in the strands of yarn laying across the surface of the sock.

Anne's nose

2008-12-27T10:38:00.004-06:00

Anne here - I just have to chime in about the last post. I'm the model and my nose TOTALLY doesn't look that big in real life. It's the angle at which the photo was taken. Really.

Also, the headband (which I received for Christmas) is even cuter in real life and is nice and soft.

the weaver: a free pattern

2008-12-26T16:16:00.012-06:00

My instinct that the Diagonal Weave pattern (from The Learn to Knit Afghan book) would make a good headband was correct. I combined the third yarn of the Knit Picks alpaca sampler, Andean Treasure, with RYC Cashsoft DK to make this:
Here it is being modeled as a headband and also as a neckwarmer:

Cute, eh? Excuse me for talking northern, but despite my bias against sporty, skiing type headbands, I can't seem to escape the far north. It's probably the colors and the breezy pattern that give it a Nordic look.

In this case, the dropped stitches of the Diagonal Weave pattern and the alternating yarns have given the headband needed stability, so it doesn't flop around on your head, but hugs it nicely. The fact that it is only 18 inches long probably helps too. The other headbands were 20 inches, so I have learned something about negative ease from this experimental yarn testing - that is you probably can't have too much, within reason.

Andean Treasure, the Knit Picks yarn sample that inspired this design, is listed as sport weight at 6 stitches to the inch. It is a very soft, heathery baby alpaca yarn in a medium blue called Summer Sky. This yarn paired nicely with RYC Cashsoft in DK weight. Cashsoft, merino wool and acrylic with a little cashmere content, is nearly as soft and can also be easily knit up at 6 stitches per inch.

Here is the pattern for the headband that I call The Weaver.

Materials
Color A: Knit Picks Andean Treasure (100% baby alpaca) in Summer Sky - 1 skein (110 yards)
Color B: RYC Cashsoft DK (57% merino, 33% acrylic, 10% cashmere) in Cream - 1 skein (142 yards)
One set straight needles, # 5

Gauge: 6 stitches per inch in stockinette

Pattern Stitch

Diagonal Weave from the Learn to Knit Afghan Book

Multiple of 4 plus 3

Row 1 (right side) - with color B, knit 2, *slip 1 stitch purlwise with the yarn held in back of the work, k3; repeat from *, end k1.

Row 2 - with color B, purl 4, * slip 1 stitch purlwise with the yarn held in front of the work, p 3; repeat from *, end p2.

Row 3 - with color A, k2, *drop slipped stitch off the needle, k2, pick up dropped stitch, place on left hand needle, and knit it; k1; repeat from *, end K1.

Row 4 - with A, purl.

Row 5 - with B, K6, *slip 1 with yarn in back, K3; repeat from *, end k1.

Row 6 - with B, p4, *slip 1 with yarn in front, p3; repeat from *, end p3.

Row 7 - with A, K4, *slip 2 with yarn in back, drop previous slipped stitch off the needle, slip the same 2 stitches back to the left hand needle, pick up dropped stitch, place on left hand needle, and knit it; K3; repeat from *, end K3.

Row 8 - with A, purl.

Headband

With A, cast on 103 stitches (plus 2 selvedge stitches if desired). Leave tail long enough to sew ends together later.

Knit 5 rows.

Purl 6th row, increasing 12 stitches evenly across row - 115 stitches (plus slevedge).

Work 4 repeats of the 8 rows of the Diagonal Weave pattern. Repeat rows 1-4. Work should measure approximately 5 inches from cast on row. (Or work to desired length.)

With A, Knit one row, decreasing 12 stitches evenly across row - 103 stitches (plus selvedge).

Knit 5 more rows and bind off, knitting all stitches

Using steam, block to measurements - approximately 5" x 18".

With right sides up, set both edges to be sewn next to each other. Weave together with Mattress stitch. Steam seam.

more adventures with knit picks

2008-12-17T19:50:00.015-06:00

Knit Picks got me again. I thought I got away, but they keep pulling me back. This time it was an alpaca sampler. They offered four skeins of alpaca or alpaca blends in two different colorways-cool or warm. I chose cool and got:

Suri Dream in Gloxinia (deep purple)
Andean Silk in Merryweather (light teal)
Elegance in Aegean (dark teal)
Andean Treasure in Summer Sky (medium blue)

Enchanted as I have been by the large swatches offered by the Learn to Knit Afghan squares, and feeling like a project, I decided to make a headband/neck warmer from each skein and compare results.

I made each one 5 inches deep because I don't like narrow headbands. They look athletic, and I don't need skiing gear. I chose headbands because I figured that I'd have enough yarn for them, and also because I have finally come to the realization that I despise hats. The night look cute, but they make my head too hot, even in the winter, and they never stay on properly. Each headband is 20 inches wide to fit an average-sized 22 inch head (although mine might be smaller than average). I knit them flat, back and forth, in keeping with my hatred of circular needles. So here are the results.I think I might like the top one best. It is from Suri Dream, a bulky weight blend of suri alpaca (74%), wool (22%) and a little nylon. It is like mohair in that it is fuzzy, but it's totally non-itchy. I knit it in a simple 2x2 rib, and it took about five minutes to finish. I used a 10 1/2 US needle, which produced a gauge of 3.2 stitches per inch. I cast on 64 stitches and used about half the skein. It clings well to my head. This yarn would make a nice bathrobe type sweater for around the house or a cozy blanket. And again, it would take no time to knit. (band on top, stockinette swatch on bottom below)

The Andean Silk version is the only one I've worn. The yarn is a worsted weight of 55% alpaca, 23% silk, and 22% merino. It produced a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch in basket weave pattern on # 7 needles. I cast on 99 stitches and used the entire skein of 96 yards (a little skimpy there if you ask me).

Everything about this product is my favorite: favorite color, favorite stitch pattern (next to moss stitch), favorite yarn - so soft and luxurious. BUT. The basket weave shows up well in this yarn, but it is almost flat compared to the wool version I did for the Learn to Knit afghan. It needed no blocking. That is a clue, I think, that the yarn is stretchy. When I wore it, it was uncomfortable, tending to creep downward toward my face. Remember, I like head gear that doesn't move. I think it will make a nice neck warmer. What would I knit with this yarn? I'm not sure. I would be afraid to make a sweater that needs to hold its shape. I guess a scarf or blanket that doesn't need firm stitch definition.

Above, the unblocked stockinette swatch is on top, unblocked headband on the bottom. After Suri Dream, all of these yarns were a dream to knit in stockinette. The stitches are remarkably even without blocking. I didn't block any but one of the headbands, and I am a fanatical blocker.

To be continued....

Thanks to Anne for the last delightful post.

Anne on Things my Mother Made Me

2008-12-11T19:53:00.012-06:00

Hi all, Anne here. I finished the manly scarf I mentioned in my last post; it's all wrapped up with a matching hat (which came out...just okay. I hate circular knitting.) and waiting for my father-in-law to open it on Christmas. The project got me thinking about knitting gifts. I never never never knit anything for myself; I'm just about exclusively a gift knitter. Consequently, the vast majority of hand-knitted items in my house were made by my mother as gifts for me.

She hasn't made me a sweater since the disaster of the yellow sweater. It really did look bad on me and I really do detest yellow. However, that was nearly 20 years ago, so maybe I'd be ready for her to try another sweater for me (hint, hint, mother). Lack of sweaters aside, she's made me a few great things, several of which have been featured right here on this blog.

I was the lucky recipient of the squatty purse. I love love love it. I'm a total purse whore, and this one was a winner. It's actually very functional, as the felting made nice strong material. I've gotten lots of compliments on it. I also received the Absolute Friends scarf which I'm pretty sure was a project that bored her to tears. She had no say in the design process - I dictated the exact color and yarn texture that I desired - and there was absolutely no challenge in the execution of the scarf, as I'm pretty sure it's just garter stitch.

She also made me a pair of adorable slippers:

Please excuse my pudgy white legs. These slippers are so great - felted, and she even put some kind of glue on the bottoms to make them slip-resistant. These were obviously made with me in mind - I love mary janes, and teal is my favorite color. I love them even though I don't wear slippers very often. When I first got them, I wasn't sure how they were made; I thought they might have been knit on circulars, but how the heck does one get an oblong shape on circulars? (Is that even possible?) Then I realized that they must have seams, I think on the heel and toe, but the felting mashed everything together so well that the seams are imperceptible. Neat-o.

The one gift that she made me that I use the most is my afghan. It's made out of my favorite yarn, Wool-Ease, and is nice and soft and drapes nicely to the body, which I think is so important in an afghan. There's nothing worse than a stiff, non-drapey afghan. How does that happen? Is it the yarn's fault? Did the knitter knit too tightly or use too small of a needle? Stiff afghans are a real travesty; fortunately, this one is perfect. Here is my husband enjoying it; doesn't he look warm and cosy?

In my next post: sticking with the theme of mothers knitting for daughters, I'll show some of the things that I made for my little girl. If you're lucky, I might even post pictures of The Cutest Baby in the World (TM).

slips

2008-12-06T16:46:00.008-06:00

Here are photos of two more slip stitch squares from the Learn to Knit Afghan. I think I have two more to go in this section.

This top square looks nice, but it is that type of slip stitch that I don't like in reality. It has strands of yarn laying across a differently-colored surface. I think that if this were in a garment the loose strands would catch on things. I know they would if I wore it because I'm kind of clumsy. I even worry about it being in a blanket. To me, this design is just not practical.

The bottom square doesn't photograph well at all. It looks like the surface is choked with fiber here, and it looks worse in the black and white photo in the book. In person however, this has a surprising appeal to me. It has a jaunty look, especially viewed at an angle. I think it would make a nice hat or headband.

As always, I learn from the Learn to Knit Afghan book. Someone else may have learned from it as well. You might not remember that I loved this particular mosaic square:

Now imagine my delight when I visited Popknits and saw this sweater: It's perfect. It even gets around the wavy buttonhole issue by using a zipper, which fits the style of the jacket perfectly. What a great use of a great stitch pattern! Here is the link for Popknits if you haven't seen it. It is a free knitting web-zine featuring original, vintage-inspired knitwear, which is just the kind I like best.

stinky socks

2008-11-30T17:19:00.014-06:00

A while back I foolishly ordered four manly colors of sock yarn from Knit Picks and started my first pair for Christmas knitting. Here is a previously posted progress photo: This is the Sailor's Rib from the second Charlene Schurch sock book. It is a four row repeat, which is a little much for me given that this is only my third pair of socks. It is also my first and last attempt at a toe first sock. This is due to hatred of the toe up method. It is knit on a size 2.25 mm needle at a gauge of 8 stitches per inch.

Anne had noted that it looked a little narrow for her father's (my husband's) foot. I scoffed at this, explaining that it was a rib and would stretch. But as I continued to knit, her observation began to trouble me. I finished the sock and encountered the dreaded toe up cast off which I had been warned of by Wool Enough, or as I like to think of her, Woolie. Woolie was right; it was a nightmare that had to be repeated three or four times before the cuff was stretchy enough to pull over the human foot.

I cast on for the second sock. I cast on 60 stitches, as I had for the first sock. Note the italics. I was knitting an 8 inch wide sock when I needed at least 9 inches. But it wasn't until I got to the heel of the second sock that this dawned on me. I had been looking at the wrong row of the Schurch chart. I really wanted a 72 stitch sock.

By now I was so disgusted that I was happy to frog the socks. This took all night due to the weird cast off (details of which I have blocked from memory) and the short row heel wraps. I don't know where I found the courage, but I choose a simpler rib (Garter Rib) and cast on again, correctly this time. Here is the result so far: But there is more. I saw a tip on Ravelry to knit both socks at once. The tipster said that every time she sits down to knit she works on the sock that has the least knitting on it. She says that both get done at roughly the same time. Great idea. I had subliminally noted that Abby of the Bitten by Knittin' blog does the same thing.

I had an extra set of 2.25mm needles. So I cast on for the second sock. But something was wrong. The sock on the Crystal Palace needles was bigger than the sock on the original Knit Picks needles. I did not photograph the uneven socks, but here are the needles. Crystal Palace is on the top, Knit picks Harmony on the bottom:

I have done my share of whining about Knit Picks, but the set of 6" sock needles they sell is fabulous. The set contains six each of six needle sizes ranging from 2.00 to 3.25mm. The needles are pretty, feel nice in your hand, grip the stitches, and are made of wood. The Crystal Palace needles feel flimsy and are made of bamboo. My Crystal Palace set had only four needles because one broke during a long-ago experiment with sock knitting. At the time, the broken needle did me in. (Because Knit Picks gives you six needles, I was able to fill in for the missing needle.)

For now, I'm slogging along on one sock at a time, but my order is in for a second set of Knit Picks sock needles. I guess these socks will be a Valentine's Day present.

happy t'day, baby

2008-11-27T11:21:00.004-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving. This will be a short post to show off a little finished object that took only two days to make. The front view is above. Here is the back view:

It's the Heartbreakingly Cute one piece baby Kimono from the first Mason Dixon Knitting book. I added little white squares for trim. There are about a million version of this little jacket on Ravelry.

This was made for the impending son of friend. The size given in the pattern is for newborn, but my gauge was slightly larger, making this appropriate for a plus-size newborn, which this boy looks like being. I used a bit over one skein of Lion Brand Cotton Ease in the color Lake, a muted medium/light blue. I also used a few yards of Cotton Ease in white. Both are stash yarns. I used a size 5 needle in garter stitch.

Next post - some sock drama. Please spare a thought on this day of thanks for the hostages and other victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

maggie, it worked!

2008-11-19T16:16:00.007-06:00

Here is the more ambitious project I mentioned in my last post. I call it the Refined Cardigan:

It is made from RYC Cashsoft DK in cream and Rowan Felted Tweed in dark grey on a #5 U.S. needle at 6 stitches and 8 rows per inch. The Cashsoft is a thicker DK than the Felted Tweed, so its ribbed gauge exactly matched the stockinette gauge of the Felted Tweed. That was convenient. I had never used either of these yarns before. I especially like the Felted Tweed, but even though it has 190 yards to a ball, it doesn't go very far. I used an entire ball for the trim on this 40" (chest measurement) sweater.

I have had the idea for this sweater in my mind for a long time. Of course it didn't come out exactly how I imagined it. For one thing, I pictured a boxier shape, but I thought a little waist and hip shaping would be more flattering. And the neck is queer. I pictured a tie at the neck, but the neck shaping is off and I didn't have enough yarn to make a longer tie.

The worst problem is the button band. I opted out of button holes because buttons tend to distort the line of the opening. I put in snaps instead. But the line is still distorted. I don't know if this is a design flaw, a yarn flaw or what. I might sew up the opening altogether and make it a pullover, especially since it fits better without another layer underneath.

On the positive side, I like the ribbing I made for it, which I call the Refined Rib. I am a sucker for ribbed sweaters. I find them so easy to wear. And I like how the bands came out, especially in the color combination of cream and grey. I used a technique that is new to me for the sleeve bands and the ties. It is called a bias band and the idea came from Deborah Newton in an old Threads Magazine compilation called Hand Knitting Techniques. It is very simple to make and is good for applying around a curved edge. I didn't use it on the neck or lower edge though, because it makes too fat an edging. It looks better on the sleeve. Here is a close up of the lower and sleeve edgings:

The big news about this sweater though, is the knit in, TOP DOWN SLEEVE. It is never easy to fit a sleeve into an armscye without calculus, or is it analytic geometry? In either case, it is over my head. So by consulting my all time favorite book, Sweater Design in Plain English by the divine Maggie Righetti, I found a perfect formula for calculating a sleeve with a short row cap that is made by picking up stitches from the armscye. (An armscye, by the way is very easy to calculate.) This sleeve can be any width you want it to be and it fits perfectly.

Guess what, Maggie? It worked! Just like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye I wanted to call her up and talk to her, but, sadly, I think she died in 2006.

This reminds me of another book I recently acquired, Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard, subtitled Unleash Your Inner Designer... Wendy also gives directions for knit in, top down sleeves, knit in the round (pp. 150 -151). She calls them afterthought sleeves. I am more used to Maggie Righetti by now, but this is a very good book with outstanding designs and packed with design techniques.

Thanks to Anne for her pleasant and entertaining contribution to this blog. Keep posting honey.

Introducing Anne!

2008-11-13T16:26:00.011-06:00

This is not Beverlyanne writing, it’s her daughter, Anne. I’m the cause of the family crisis that kept her away for so long (A word of advice: try to avoid spending 28 days in the hospital if you possibly can. It sucks.) and the mother of the new granddaughter. I’m also a knitter and will be doing occasional guest appearances on this blog.

I’m the youngest of at least three generations of knitters in our family. I was taught to knit by my mother, so, like her and the aunt who taught her, I knit in a peculiar left-handed manner, throwing the yarn with my left hand even though I’m right-handed. I seriously have no idea how people can throw with the right hand; I tried it once and ended up dropping my needles on the floor.

Our shared odd knitting style is where the similarities between my mother and me as knitters begins and ends. There are a lot more differences; here are a few of them:

My mother is a total yarn snob; I am not. I have no problem with acrylics as long as they’re soft enough. I have no compunctions about buying mass-produced yarn at major chain retailers. My yarn choices are often influenced by what’s on sale. Right now, the project I have on the needles is being made with a Jo-Ann Fabrics house brand in a wool-nylon brand that I got on sale for a buck fifty a skein. I doubt my mother has ever bought a house brand.

I am a much lazier knitter than my mother is. I loathe making gauge swatches (why do the work of knitting one when you don’t end up with a useable product?), so I avoid projects that really require them whenever possible. I’ve never knitted a sweater for an adult because (A) It would take too long, and (B) I’m worried it won’t be flattering, and I will have spent all that time knitting something unusable.

I don’t like to spend more than a week or two on a project. Generally, I prefer scarves, hats, and baby items. Small projects are almost like instant gratification! I guess I’m just one of those members of the MTV generation with a short attention span. I’m trying to get past this to try more interesting and challenging patterns.

I don’t share her obsession with buying knitting books and magazines. I do love my trusty knitting stitch dictionary, but I think that’s the only book I really need. With websites like Ravelry and Knitty, I figure I can fill 90% of my pattern needs for free online. The rest of my patterns come from books from the public library. I am a librarian, and let me tell you: libraries buy tons of knitting books, and we’re eager to have you come and check them out.

So I’ll leave you with a picture of my current project. It’s a scarf, made in a super-simple 2x2 rib (I prefer patterns simple and mindless enough to be knitted while watching TV) in that Jo-Ann house yarn. I actually really like it, although I’m hoping that I can block it so the rib texture is less scrunched together than it is right now. It’s for my father-in-law; do you think it’s manly enough?

some squares

2008-11-10T19:34:00.015-06:00

Thank you all for the kind wishes and welcome backs in response to the last post. You have inspired me to forge ahead --- with---the Learn to Knit Afghan!

Actually, I did these squares a few weeks ago when I started on the slip stitch section of the book. The front side of the Woven Tweed square is on the left, and the back side is on the right. I have used this stitch before for manly sweaters and scarves. It makes a firm, inelastic fabric something like woven cloth. I never noticed the wrong side before, though, until Barbara Walker called my attention to it. I was so impressed that I started playing around with design ideas for it, but nothing came of it.

This hexagon pattern is the first I have knit where the same stitches are slipped over more than two rows. The repeated slipping of the same stitches distorts the fabric in an interesting way. This square is blocked, but the unblocked version, which I didn't photograph, is even more striking. It makes a fluffy, dimensional fabric that would make a great scarf. This square is in my favorite color combination of azure and dark purple, which I never expected to like so much when I started the project.

Here is the last square of this post - not as appealing to me as the others. It looks nice in its photo, but note that some of the slipped stitches are wrapped twice and then dropped to form lines across the front of the square. In the photo on the right, I stuck a needle through the lines so you can see that they just lay across the fabric in a cheesy way. I don't like dropped stitch patterns. That is why it took me so long to make the Clapotis.

I am trying your patience with so much Barbara Walker. I do have a slightly ambitious finished object to show in the next post. Meanwhile, do you know about MetaPostModern Knitting? If you haven't seen it, click the link immediately. This is a stylish online knitting magazine with free patterns of clever knit designs the likes of which you won't see anywhere else. It is edited by Robin Dodge and produced by her group of knitting librarians who work in a Los Angeles school of fashion design. The fashion trend section of the magazine is the best imaginable exposition of design trends and how they get translated by designers, retailers, and potentially, knitters. If you have any interest in fashion design, this section is a must. After I leave here, I am going over to click their PayPal link.

she's baack

2008-11-05T19:32:00.012-06:00

Oh, I've been gone so long. A family crisis came along that knocked me over and out. Things are now happily resolved, and I'm grandmother to eight-week old Rose Katherine who was born five weeks pre-term on September 9. She is doing very well, as is her mother. I have continued to knit during this period, but less than usual, without the love.

What kept me going in knitting and in life was the Learn to Knit Afghan. I am so glad that I took up this project. Each square is a little escape with a payoff at the end: a tiny finished project. Another bonus is that each square is a big swatch, so I have experienced many pattern stitches that I would never have had the patience to practice on my own. I would never make an eight inch swatch, but you really get a sense of the stitch when you do.

I got through the mosaic section of the book; above is the seventh of eight mosaic squares, and below is the eighth.

Now I must say that I have mixed feelings about mosaic stitch. On the one hand you can get some very clever and complex results from the easy use of just one color at a time. On the other hand, it seems like cheating - it's too easy - and it can look a bit cheap. I know that Barbara Walker is the mosaic queen, but I wish she hadn't included so many mosaic stitches in her book, especially since she lays on slip stitch patterns pretty hard. The next section of her book is all slips. I know, I don't have to knit all of the squares, but I want to.

One reason why I have to respect the mosaic after all is this sweater design from Amy Singer's No Sheep For You. The sweater is designed by Kristi Porter:

Notice that the back of the sweater has a whole different set of mosaics:

Now I doubt that I'll knit this sweater, but I find it amazing and inspiring. The yarn is 100% silk and the mosaics give the slippery yarn body and stability. It is a great illustration of using mosaics that has stuck with me and will possibly lead to a future knitting adventure.

This is the one year anniversary of my blog, but it probably doesn't count since I missed two months. So it is only the ten month anniversary. After being away for so long I wasn't sure that I wanted to come back. But I have enjoyed posting this, so I hope to continue. For a while I've been thinking about doing some sewing, so I might also post about that if I do any. I have been cooling a little toward knitting. Part of it is, being product oriented, I don't really want any more knitted objects and I don't think other people want many either. But I'll still always have at least one project on the needles. Currently I have four, counting the Learn to Knit Afghan. That may be too many.

vintage olympic

2008-09-08T19:48:00.016-05:00

The actual 2008 Olympic games were made meaningful for me by the Ravelry Olympics challenge. Just before the start of the games I happened into one of Chicago's most unusual yarn shops. Midwest Discount, a dark and cluttered place with old-fashioned wooden floors, carries what appear to be mill ends of yarn. They have a lot of acrylics and fewer natural fibers. They also have some of my favorites - vintage yarns.

This yarn named Olympic-Monterey called out to me. I like the soft green color and the vintagy label. The shop had nine skeins of this for $2.00 per skein. It is a stretchy fingering weight boucle with irregular lumps in it made of 95% wool and 5% nylon. Each skein has 130 yards, so I have a total of 1170 yards of this yarn.

So I owned some Olympic yarn in time for the Olympic games, but what is this yarn for? Was it meant for socks due to its nylon content? Here is a scanned swatch done on #2 needles.

I think it would make lumpy socks. The fabric is quite irregular as well as lumpy, with little holes all through it. I just keep wondering what it was meant for. If you have some ideas, please let me know. I am thinking scarf, shrug, or little vest. Any other thoughts?

Speaking of the Olympics, I once visited Olympia in Greece, the site of the original Olympic games. It is a beautiful lush, green spot with well-preserved and reconstructed ruins. There is a little pit there where the Olympic flame is still ignited to this day, I believe using sunlight. Below are the torch site and a view of the competitors' housing (in ruins).

To add to an already photo-heavy post, here are squares number 13 and 14 of the Learn to Knit Afghan:

i deserve a medal

2008-09-01T12:02:00.007-05:00

Ok. I missed the deadline for Ravelympics. But I am pleased with how the child's sweater I made came out. It is for the afghans for Afghans youth campaign:I used a vintage yarn called Marina under the brand name Bouquet. It is an aran weight superwash wool in a rich blue that an observer has called a Ralph Lauren blue. On a #7 needle and made in the hefty brioche stitch, the resulting fabric is dense and warm to stand up to an Afghan winter. It says 'boy' to me and at 30" across should fit a 7 - 10 year old depending of course on the size of the child.

One thing I learned from Ravelry about this yarn is that it has only 85 yards per skein. I had over 9 skeins, but the skimpy yardage and the dense stitch explain why I feared running out of yarn after I started on the sleeves. I had a soft, heathery mystery yarn in a dark sand with subtle blue and orange touches, so I added a contrast stripe, saddles, and collar. It looks way better than I thought it would.

This is how much blue yarn I had left after using the blue for trim on the collar and for sewing the pieces together:

Would I have had enough blue without the intarsia stripe, etc? I think I would have run out near the end, certainly by the time I got to the collar.

The yarn is posing on top of The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd. I roughly followed the proportions for the Saddle Shoulder sweater - Child. This is the first sweater and second project I have made using Ann Budd's garment outlines. The first was mittens. These pattern books come in handy, but they are not perfect. For the sweater, my gauge did not match any of those given in the book. I made so many changes that I feel like I wrote the pattern. Also, the neck was too small. I don't know whether to blame the book or myself. But no matter. I ended up leaving the collar open on the side and adding a loop and button closure, a nice solution. The photo shows the back of the sweater.

no medal for me

2008-08-25T21:20:00.007-05:00

The Olympic games have come and gone, and I have not finished the child's sweater I pledged to afghans for Afghans. I ran into technical difficulties, namely running out of yarn. So I had to do this:This is the sleeve. I took a contrasting yarn, a sort of heathery beige, and am making an intarsia stripe up the sleeve. I am not too pleased with this solution, but maybe the finished product won't look too bad. I had planned a saddle sleeve so the saddle will be in the contrast color as will the crew neck. The sweater might have a military look with the saddle mimicking an epaulet.

Here is a close up showing the stitch patterns:

I've had a hard time photographing the color of this sweater, which is a rich blue. This photo comes closest to the color, but it is a touch deeper in person.

This project represents two firsts for me. This is the first time I am making a sweater with a saddle shoulder. I am interested to see how it will look. I have the idea that it is a masculine style. I don't think it would look good on me anyway, because I have kind of broad shoulders. But I won't get to find out, because this sweater is sized to fit a chest measurement of about 28 inches.

It is also the first time I have used the brioche, a stitch pattern I have long been attracted to. This seemingly simple pattern is remarkably difficult to understand and execute, at least for me. I still don't know if I'm doing it right.

My trusty Mon Tricot stitch dictionary says to knit 1 and then knit 1 in the stitch below. This means that the stitch knit below is knit together with the stitch on the needle above it, making it a kind of double stitch. I don't know what's wrong, but my attempts to follow these directions end in mish-mosh.

The deranged stitches at the bottom of this scanned swatch show my pathetic attempt to follow the Mon Tricot instructions. So I was very lucky to find this brioche stitch tutorial in an English/Italian blog called Cloudy Crochet.

The pattern for this stitch is given as: *yarn over, slip 1, knit 2 together. But you can't take these instructions literally. As Pippa of Cloudy Crochet explains, yarn over in this case means lay the yarn across the needle next to the stitch as if to purl and slip that stitch together with the yarn. This creates a doubled criss-cross sort of stitch that becomes the knit 2 together on the next row. Pippa explains it very well, so if you want to learn this stitch, I strongly recommend her tutorial. The only thing I don't understand yet is why this stitch is considered a multiple of 3. I have it as a multiple of 2, but maybe I am doing something wrong.

Lucia, The Knitting Fiend also has a brioche stitch tutorial showing different types of brioche stitches, but I find Pippa's easier to understand. Lucia's is quite comprehensive though.

I am glad that, after years of trying, I have finally learned to do the brioche stitch, or at least a reasonable approximation of it. It makes a warm, cuddly fabric that will stand up to a cold Afghan winter. It would make great outerwear in our own centrally heated climate.

picking knit picks again

2008-08-11T13:33:00.010-05:00

Because my hopes to knit Christmas presents for everyone at work were dashed by some one's request for a secret Santa exchange, I had to find myself an overly ambitious plan for this year's holidays. So I bought four dark colors of sock yarn from Knit Picks to make some manly socks for Christmas.

I am not sure if my posting about this here constitutes a commitment to actually knit four pairs of socks. I kind of hope not. But I have started the project and will have at least one pair of socks to give away. These are made from Knit Picks Essentials in a dark piney green, one of my husband's favorite colors. I was thinking brown for him, but the green was what he picked. The pattern is from good old reliable Charlene Schurch - the Fisherman's rib from the five-stitch section. The first pair of socks I made had a flap heel and were knitted from the top down. The second pair had a short-row heel (better) and were knitted from the top down. These, my third pair, have a short row heel and are knitted from the toe UP. The toe style is called easy toe.

Now the toe up sock starts out with the really fiddly bits. Toes are my least favorite part of sock knitting. The advantage of toe up then, is to get the toe part over with sooner. Other than that, which is not a huge advantage, I don't see any reason to make a toe up socks. The reason given for them is in case you fear running out of yarn, you can gauge that and make a shorter leg if you need to. I guess that's a good reason, but it doesn't apply here. Aesthetically, I don't much like the looks of a toe up sock in progress. It looks like a floppy fish.

In other knitting news, I have made what I think is my 13th Learn to Knit Afghan Square. It is called miniature mosaic, and is very pretty. The color on this photo is kind of off.

Breaking news - I join the Ravelympics without actually watching the Olympic games. Stay tuned.

the most beautiful yarn in the world

2008-08-04T19:47:00.007-05:00

I have become fixated on this yarn. I have never before had a yarn so beautiful that I didn't even want to knit it. I have several similar photos of it that I keep looking at over and over, although the photos naturally do not show true. The colors are a little lighter and less reddish than they appear below.I can't explain it. I never thought of myself as an autumn person. The colors remind me of a stash afghan I made, Dr. Who, which I also love somewhat obsessively. The yarn is Misti Alpaca Hand Paint Sock Yarn made of alpaca, merino, silk, and nylon, so it's not just the color. I think the combination of alpaca and silk is the best- feeling yarn made.

I came across this yarn at a little local yarn shop in Evanston called Montoya Fiber Studio. The name makes it sound like all the yarns come from Spain or Latin American. Cathy Montoya indeed carries Manos and Malabrigo, but she has a wonderful selection of all kinds of yarn from all over. This is my new favorite shop. Even though there are great stores in Chicago, my current favorites are suburban, Montoya and Mosaic in DesPlaines. These stores are older than the city ones and have a more distinctive character. Montoya has a particularly warm and welcoming feeling.

Cathy showed off this yarn, in this colorway, by knitting it up into a lace scarf. It was stunning. I bought the pattern, which is by Ann Nordling, and will probably make it if I can ever bring myself to take needle to this exquisite yarn. Cathy chose to make a scarf because she says the yarn is too good for socks. I can see her point, but I don't know. They would be socks to go down in history. But the scarf makes the yarn more visible.

meh, ew

2008-07-31T21:02:00.007-05:00

Well I finished another baby object. Here is its picture: It is a free pattern from the Berroco e-newsletter, Knitbits, called Baby Picchu. It is a mini version of an adult design that is also published as a free pattern. (This site has a lot of nice free patterns.) I made this one from Lion Brand Cotton Ease (1.5 balls) and # 7 U.S. needles. It is fastened with an old clear glass button.

As to how I like it, I have to say 'meh.' I see that expression in some blogs and forums to mean indifference. I don't think I actually say meh. I think I'd say more like 'aeh', but I guess that is harder to put in writing. Getting back to the sweater, I have a feeling that it will be very cute on a baby. It is meant to go with a summery dress in the spring when the weather will be bright but chilly.

In further exploration of sounds, here is a 'ew':

It is a swatch in Knit Picks new handpainted sock yarn, Imagination, of merino, alpaca, and nylon in the colorway Damsel. It looks like raw meat, so I won't be making a baby sweater from it. I can possibly see wearing meat socks, but a meat baby sweater - no.

What is it with Knit Picks multis? Are they all yuck? Perhaps you will recall the bird doo Klaralund I made from Knit Picks Shimmer.

As it happened, I loved the feeling of this yarn (alpaca/silk) and the fit of the resulting sweater, so I was able to overlook the bird doo-ness of the colors. But come on - meat? Actually meat is a euphemism for what it really looks like.

Let me be clear on this. It's not me, it's Knit Picks. I never go around say things like "Ew, that looks like vomit." I never even think them. I am not easily disgusted. I like all animals including insects and reptiles, and I can tolerate gore in movies. But Knit Picks has the power to make me sick. I have some Shimmer in shades of brown that I am afraid to swatch.

On a more pleasant note, here is the latest Learn to Knit Afghan square, Diagonal chain:

obsessed with the learn to knit afghan

2008-07-28T13:30:00.010-05:00

I am starting on the second section of Barbara Walker's Learn to Knit Afghan, the mosaic squares. I have totally fallen in love with this mosaic design:

It is named something utterly prosaic, Horizontal Chain. It should be called Cool Jazz-Like Square of the 1950s. This color combination works well too. It has a sour-candy look that suits the design. It is a sky/azure blue with dark purple.

I had to wait more than a month after starting the afghan for this dark purple Cascade 220 Superwash yarn. So I couldn't make squares with purple for a long time. I ordered from the online store of Roxy Yarns in Brooklyn. I understood from their website that they were in the process of moving, so maybe I can cut them some slack. But I waited and waited and the yarn didn't come. There was no communication regarding a delay.

I emailed and called and finally got the response that they were out of stock and would be posting the parcel in about a week. Of course the deadline came and went, and no yarn. When they finally sent the yarn, they did refund the shipping charge as a courtesy. That was nice of them, but I would rather pay and get good service. In contrast, Jimmy Beans, where I got some of the other colors, gave lightning fast service and great communication.

I also made this mosaic square. It is of the azure with a deep blue called Blue Velvet:

I realize that one thing I love about this afghan is that it forces you to make a large swatch of many different patterns. This gives you an intimate feeling for each stitch pattern and a good view of how it looks and behaves. For example, Ruth of Ruthless Knitting recently made a little carseat baby blanket using the Rose pattern from the first Learn to Knit Afghan section (Knit and Purl designs). I had just been thinking that it would make a cute baby dress in bright colors.
Each of the squares you see here is sitting inside the little blocking device Barbara Walker advises you to make. It is a traced outline of the prototype square (Garter Stripe) stitched over with embroidery thread, made upon the ironing board cover. Here is a picture of it.
Not a very pretty picture, but it works well. Each square is steamed to shape and pinned. It dries in no time and becomes the uniform size and shape. Some shrink a little when removed from the pins, but not too much to stretch back when it's time to sew them together.

ez deconstructed

2008-07-21T19:53:00.007-05:00

I'm a little crabby today. In knitting life some crabbiness is coming from the large numbers of baby things I've been knitting. I can't wear them and neither can the baby because she isn't born yet. This is sterile knitting. I have a baby sweater on the needles and plans for one more, and that's it for a while.

Some extra crabbiness came to me courtesy of Elizabeth Zimmerman. Although I own all of her books except for The Opinionated Knitter, I have always harbored a slight aversion to her. Now I know why. The pattern she published for this design in The Knitter's Almanac is mean and nasty. There are no other words for it except maybe stingy and mingy.

Here is the design. First of all its author doesn't bother to tell you what size this pattern makes. She only tells you to knit at a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch. She also fails to tell you what pattern to use when measuring your gauge. So I guessed and measured the gauge in stockinette stitch and got 5 stitches to the inch. I used DK weight yarn and # 7 needles; EZ gives no suggestions as to yarn weight. The result is a sweater for a gigantic baby, or perhaps, a toddler sweater. It measures 26 inches wide and 14.5 inches long.

In her verbal stinginess, Zimmerman includes this helpful instruction: "Place remaining 92 sts on needle, knitting up 4 x 7 sts at the cast-on sleeve-sts...." Of course she has never told you to place the stitches on a holder in the first place, and how do you "knit up 4 x 7 sts"? As an experienced knitter I and others like me were able to follow these obscure directions. But if you are inexperienced, run the other way. And I will point out that in 1974 when The Knitter's Almanac was published, there were well-established pattern-writing conventions that knitters expected to see in published patterns, with good reason.

So much for the knitting directions. As for the design, I call it quaint. I mean by that antique or vintage, but not in a good way. I take some of the blame for that. I liked the design in its many Ravelry incarnations, but now I see that many Ravelers did what I did not do. First, many used shades of red and purple which, for some reason, is the best color for this design. Second, many did not decrease stitches along the bottom edge as the designer instructed. The swingy look they get as a result is more modern. By decreasing the bottom and using yellowish white I got the most Victorian-y version possible of this nameless sweater.

On a positive note, I am fascinated by the one-piece construction of this garment although I fear that underarm comfort may have been sacrificed as a result. I am also grateful for the gull lace pattern. It is soothingly easy to knit and would be pretty for a scarf, wrap, or blanket.

I named my sweater Temptation after the book I listened to while knitting, The Last Temptation, a thriller by by Val McDermid. And also because I was tempted to make this sweater against my better judgment by the cleverness of its construction. Elizabeth Zimmerman missed her calling as an engineer. This sweater is going to charity. All in all I don't like it and don't want to see it again.

vacation knitting

2008-07-14T18:45:00.013-05:00

Although I had a wonderful time in the country last week, I am glad to be home and blogging again. While I was away I finished these:

I used a set of five 2.75 mm sock needles (Knit Picks Harmony) for a gauge of 6.5 stitches per inch in Dream in Color Gaia, color called Lipstick Lava. I had beginners luck with the first short-row heel. The heel on the second sock was more lumpy and full of holes than the first; even the grafted toe did not come out as well. The socks are still ok though. Even though they're wool I wore them on an outing to the Fernwood Botanic Garden in Buchanan, Michigan where I saw this (below). Look closely in the center of the photo and you'll see what I saw. I am rarely lucky enough to see reptiles or amphibians in nature. The socks kept my feet comfortable and must have brought me luck.

I also worked on my endless skirt (first photo), making some progress, and I made 3 more Learn to Knit Afghan squares. I realized that the dark blue yarn I originally planned to use, because I already owned it, won't work because it makes squares the wrong size. So I had to buy some more Cascade 220 superwash in dark blue to make the squares a consistent size. Now my whole project has cost a large fortune rather than a small one as I had expected.

That bottom square is sort of ugly, but I made a rule that I have to use all the squares, so I will.

Here is a final comment for those unfamiliar with Chicago and the Great Lakes. Great Lakes country is unlike that of anywhere else in the U.S. Some people say that the green lanes of southwest Michigan remind them of England. Others say the Lake Michigan shores remind them of the Baltic Sea. The countryside is domestic and gently green. The lake, actually an inland sea, is wild, even when calm, with more shades of blue, green, grey, and brown than it is possible to imagine. Here are some photos:

We had perfect weather. Happy Bastille Day!

how cute is this?

2008-07-03T09:36:00.011-05:00

If not the very cutest, Kate Gilbert's Anouk is at least the most eye-catching children's design on the Internet or elsewhere. The pattern has been out there for over four years, and has yet to be surpassed. Here is the original pattern as seen in Knitty. Here is the Anouk ravelry page.

As usual, I have opinions about how this pattern should be made. I think it looks best in bright cheerful colors as in the original, and the lower border must be green. That said however, there is really no version on Ravelry that doesn't look good, even those in browns and greys. The shape as well as the surface is a winning design. Thank you Kate for sacrificing this and Clapotis to Knitty and making less than you could have made by selling them as individual patterns.

I used Cascade Pima Silk (my latest favorite yarn) on number 7 needles at a gauge of 5 stitches per inch. I knit the 6 month size in width and the 3 month size in length hoping to get the 3 month size over all since the pattern gauge is 4.5. The pockets and tabs are in Berroco Comfort, a synthetic I am interested in learning more about, although the small amount used here won't give me much of an idea. It did knit up well though.

Aside from baby things I haven't been doing much else. I am starting the heel of my neglected short-row heel socks maybe today, and I knit three squares of the Learn to Knit Afghan.

What's wrong with this picture? Why is the top square so much smaller than the others? I understand that this is meant to teach the idea that different combinations of stitches take up different amounts of space, but this lesson should be covered by casting on different amounts of stitches. I am saving the blocking to the end, but I can't imagine that the top square will block to size without major distortion. The second square is also smaller, but I think that one can block out. I anticipate having to do the third square over, maybe twice on different needle sizes to get in the right size ballpark. Have others had this problem? Am I doomed almost before I begin?

The deer ate three massive hostas, most of the buds from my lillies, hydrangea buds and leaves, roses, and phlox. It probably has a stomach ache. I will be away from a computer all of next week. See you when I get back.

a finished object and a freak-out

2008-06-26T10:45:00.010-05:00

First the finished object. Actually objects.

Yes, I made a little baby suit, called the Interworld baby suit after the Neil Gaiman children's sci/fi fantasy novel about parallel worlds.

Baby clothes always take more yarn and more time than you expect. These two pieces used five balls of Cascade Pima Silk, the cotton/silk blend I fell for when making the baby wash cloths. Each 50 gram ball contains 109 yards. I used #7 (U.S.) needles to get a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch, because I don't like the fabric as much at 4.5, which is the gauge suggested on the ball band.
Neither of the two patterns I used called for this gauge, so I had to make a bigger (jacket) and smaller (pants) size to get a finished size of (I hope) 3-6 months.

I want to thank two generous and ingenious designers for posting these free patterns on line. The Baby Sachiko Kimono by Erika Flory is from the online publication The Love of Yarn, which I've never heard of. All the issues seem to date from 2007, so maybe it is no longer active. But there are a lot of very cute baby patterns on there. The Baby Bell Bottoms pattern is from The Blue Blog of Alison Hansel, author of the Harry Potter knitting book, Charmed Knits. I found both of these on Ravelry. The Ravelry pages are here and here.

Regarding the baby in question, at the time I started these, the sex was unknown. I picked out this periwinkle blue as a somewhat neutral color. By the time I finished, I knew it was going to be a girl. I thought I could girly up the jacket and even the pants with some trim, embroidery, or applique. But I'm not sure that I will now. I kind of like the simplicity of the designs.

Now for the freak-out. All morning long, this was in my garden.

Here it is chomping my hosta.

Now I realize that this is no news to those living in the suburbs or in the country. But I live in CHICAGO. How is this happening? I was on the phone talking to my daughter in the suburbs who was telling me about the nest of baby skunks under her front porch, when my husband came in the house pointing to the back yard. He had been in the garage smoking a cigar, when this pretty doe poked her head in to the open doorway.

Actually, we live about 3 blocks from a city nature preserve that has a large and increasingly worrisome deer population. A city girl's impulse is to be thrilled that actual wildlife has picked her very garden to chomp, but in truth, this could get to be a problem. I need a deer repellent.

Compounding the problem is the fact that coyotes are sometimes seen in Lincoln Park, and a cougar was recently cornered and killed in a gangway not far from Wrigley Field. Those who know Chicago will know that this is a densely populated neighborhood, much more so than ours. That is scary. The presence of deer can attract predators, and cougars kill more than deer. Read The Beast in the Garden by David Baron about a cougar who ate an 18-year-old man near Boulder, Colorado. Sensationalism aside, this is a thought-provoking story about the intersection of man and nature.

deeper into the seventies

2008-06-19T20:05:00.007-05:00

Last week I visited a local yarn shop (Knitters Niche on Southport) and, with help from the shopkeeper Mary Ann and my friend Diane, picked out some yarn for a new project. Here is a picture of it. The darker blue (which is a bit slatey in real life) was a hand-me-down from my friend Linda. It is a vintage superwash wool. I have ten skeins of it. The light blue and green were thought by all to spark up the dull, though pretty, darker blue. The lighter yarns are Cascade 220, also superwash. I bought 2 balls of each.

The project I had in mind for this yarn turned out to be ill-advised, ill-conceived, and a crappy idea. So with a mind full of seventies lore, what do I reach for but the Learn to Knit Afghan book by Barbara G. Walker? This is a 1997 reprint of the seventies classic published by Schoolhouse Press.

Like I really need another project. But I have always been fascinated with this afghan, and the heart does not listen to the head. There were four major factors that played into this decision.

The seventies

I had most of the colors. But I had to buy one more color (dark purple, on its way) and more of the light blue and green. The original idea was to save money since I had the dark blue already. I ended up spending a fortune.

I love projects that are in squares or other units, because you can get a sense of completion over and over again.

The biggest factor: I saw two real life examples of this afghan made by Diane and they were beautiful, much more so than the picture on the cover. There are some extreme beauties on the Ravelry page as well. As usual, I like the ones made of many uncoordinated colors less and the coordinated ones more. Props to the Scarlet Knitter for her beautiful coordinated version which is used to illustrate the project.

So there you have it. I figure this can be a long term project with a square made every now and then. Of course I have been neglecting everything else the last day or two to knit squares. The one below is already finished and another one started. I've always been a fool for basketweave.

era knitting

2008-06-16T16:58:00.013-05:00

At the public library where I work I usually organize the popular music displays. I mainly do it because I am the person in my department who is the most interested in non-classical music but also because I am an unregenerate rock fan. One of the most successful displays I have done I call era rock. One month I highlight sixties rock, the next month seventies, and finally eighties. I don't do nineties. I need to study that more. I have noticed that I clearly prefer seventies rock above all the rest. The music of this era is, to me, the most classic of its genre, the most hip.

Away from the library, I often find myself leafing through my collection of Mon Tricot magazines, published in the mid-seventies, marveling at the relevance of its designs. Maybe I see out of old fogey eyes, but I almost can't find anything in its pages that I think looks dated. Here are some pretty random examples:

Even the hair looks OK. Now you could argue that these are classic designs, but they are (mostly) ALL classic. I think being French helps. Also note the tank above right. An almost identical pattern is in the current Interweave Knits.

Recently I came across an additional seventies resource, also of European origin, this time Deutsch. This is the Make it Yourself crafts library published in volumes (I don't know how many) and distributed in the U.S. by Columbia House. This is also mid-seventies. Not quite as stunning as Mon Tricot, these volumes include sewing, embroidery, and other crafts in addition to knitting and crocheting.

The cover looks aren't that great, but the hoodie and scarf could have been published yesterday, down to the color. Next post, I go deeper into the seventies.

smalls

2008-06-12T07:04:00.003-05:00

Lately, I've been doing small projects, using up little bits of leftover yarn . Specifically, I made a set of baby wash cloths (or warsh rags as I can't seem to resist typing). Some are pictured above, some are pictured below.

In all, I made six, based on the squares of the Louisa Harding cot blanket that I call Neverwhere after the somewhat gross Neil Gaiman novel. As in Neverwhere, I added the cat and flower of my own design to the heart and star designs proposed by Ms Harding. I used the established 37 stitch/49 row format with the moss stitch edging, but I used worsted instead of dk weight yarn and #7 needles instead of #5.

The resulting squares turned out to be 7" square instead of 6.5 x 6.75" as in the Neverwhere version. I like this size better for wash cloths and maybe better for a blanket due to the squareness. One square turned out a tad bigger. That was the brown one made from the stray ball of Knit Picks Main Line that I test knit a few weeks ago. This is a thicker worsted weight yarn, perhaps too bulky for a baby cloth.

This little project turned out to be a good exercise in the further testing of yarn. The Knit Picks Comfy (pink) that I swatched along with Main Line worked up very soft and comfy-feeling, but it didn't block well as the photo above shows. Too much acrylic (25%) in the mix? I don't know. It reminds me of Lion Brand Wool Ease in this regard. It would work better if the squares were sewn together. I love the color though.

The yarn that really surprised me was Cascade Pima Silk (ivory). I had made a sweater from it at a gauge of 4.5 stitches to the inch (the recommended gauge), and really disliked the fabric: not enough body and too bumpy and uneven. On this exercise however, I got 5 stitches to the inch. What a striking difference! The fabric is smooth, firm, but not too, and silky. I can't wait to try it again.

now this is a sock

2008-06-05T20:21:00.010-05:00

Just braggin' again. I made a sock. It is one of the four- stitch designs from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. For those unfamiliar with this book, she organizes her designs by the number of repeats in the leg and instep pattern. I took the double moss stitch pattern froom her first book, but I made the short row heel from her second book, More Sensational......, etc.

I made my first socks in March of this year (not counting a pair I made 30 years ago) from the Ann Budd Getting Started Knitting Socks book with Lorna's Laces yarn that I luckily won in a contest on Ruthless Knitting. Although I love and wear my socks, I wasn't thrilled with the Ann Budd prototype. Her sizing does not include negative ease, as I believe it should, and the flap heel and gusset is particularly floppy.

Socks with short row heels look much better to me. I could never find short row heel instructions in either the Ann Budd or first Charlene Schurch book, but I did find some in the the second Schurch book. After trying to follow the instructions, I can see why heel flaps and not short rows seem to be the current sock standard. I could semi-follow the directions, but I could not understand how to make the three-stitch decrease involving a stitch and two wraps. Enter cosmicpluto.

In a post dated October, 2006, cosmicpluto provides an illustrated tutorial on short row heels. The illustrations are good for reassurance, but don't help much. However, the written directions are outstanding. Thank you cosmicpluto. Thanks to you, I have made this sort of beautiful heel.

Although cosmicpluto promises that this is a holeless heel, it isn't, at least not in my version. But that's ok. I didn't mind mending the hole in the corner. With God as my witness, I will never knit a flap heel again.

This sock and heel seems to fit so much better than the flap heeled one. The proof will be in the wearing though. My one fear is a heel that works its way down under the foot as you wear it. If it does that, I will have to change my vow. But for now, I am hurrying to make the second sock so that I can test them out. After that, my next sock will be toe up.

it is good

2008-06-02T19:21:00.010-05:00

Behold the finished Kimono Shawl:
Here are more glorious views:

It is everything I thought it would be. It is made of Henry's Attic Cascade Petite (100% silk and shiny) held together with JaggerSpun Zephyr (50/50 wool/silk and matte) on a #6 U.S. straight needle. Thanks to a suggestion from The Scarlet Knitter, I stopped knitting after 17 repeats. The shawl blocked to 22" wide by 68" long - an excellent length. Guided by Laura, I realized that a longer shawl would look like a costume. This one looks, again, perfect.

"More pictures?" you ask. Why yes, I do have more photographs. The one below is of the shawl being blocked on towels which are set upon my nifty new pinable floor squares. The next photo is of the squares themselves laid out in a rectangular shawl configuration. I didn't need to use many pins; I used a yardstick to straighten the edges.

Stay tuned to this space for stories to come featuring short row heels.

frenzy

2008-05-26T13:30:00.016-05:00

I'm on a finishing frenzy. It's the Kimono Shawl. I have finished 16 repeats of a 24-row pattern, and the shawl is nearly my height (63"). I figure to get to 20 repeats and be done with it. The pattern calls for 25 repeats, but maybe 20 will be enough. I have the drive to get this off my needles, and I'm on a tear. Here is progress to date:

Below is the shawl on March 27 and January 19 respectively. I do expect to find this shawl beautiful even if I did knit it myself. It has the hushed quality of its photo in Folk Shawls.

However, I don't expect to make any more shawls. Of course this is a lie. While I have gone off of shawls because they just don't look that good on me and I don't know anyone else who would wear one, I do have plans for more shawls. I have yarn for one or two more Clapotis. Maybe these don't count as shawls because they are a little scarfy. I also have yarn for a shawl I have long, long admired, a Shetland shawl knit in two right angles around a middle square. But this can be more like a blanket. I also have a warm spot for the Stonington shawl as created by Laura, The Scarlet Knitter, in her exact shade of pink. Luckily I don't have yarn for this. From now on, mostly, I'll confine lace knitting to scarves and sweaters.

In looking forward to the completion of Kimono though, I sensed an emerging question. Where would I block such a large garment? Where the cats couldn't lie on it. The sewing room is the only place I can easily keep the cats out of, but there is not a good surface there for pinning. To that end, I found a company that sells interlocking foam mats, Soft Tiles. They seem to have low prices. I ordered 24 1' tiles, which should be enough for the Kimono shawl and any other project.
I am happy. I am always happy when I can buy something.

I will close today with some garden shots. We had our 20 year old crab apple tree trimmed. The little pink-flowered shrub is Weigela florida 'Minuet', a charming 2.5 foot shrub with purple-ish leaves. It is also quite old in my garden, and a stellar performer.

interweave fug redux

2008-05-19T06:48:00.001-05:00

I feel a little guilty for what I am about to do: trash talk Interweave Knits again. I can't help it. I'm critical and judgemental. I never intended to turn this blog into a rant, but when I see wrongness, I just have to point it out. Mind you, no evil enjoyment intended.

OK. The Summer 2008 issue came out. Eunny says it's all about color. Color is good, but does being colorful require that you spew color as if you ate paint:

Or perhaps this model is graduating from clown college. Some of the designs in this issue rival those of Knitters for cluelessness. They are LOUD, although I will say the IK designs tend to have better shapes.

Now that I've got that off my chest, I will say that I really like some of the designs from this issue, mainly the cover piece, the lace hoodie, and the plaid halter. The lace designs are nice in general. But this post isn't about the good.

Here (right) is another loud and bizarre design from the current issue: I include it because I recently came across a related design in a different publication, the book More Big Girl Knits by Jillian Moreno and Amy R. Singer. This book contains, in my opinion, a lot of outstanding designs that any one of any size would want to wear. Here is the Big Girl version below:

Not my favorite design from the book, but , you have to agree, much saner than the IK one.

I have to ask - What is Eunny thinking? She must be thinking of differentiating herself from her predecessors, making her mark, changing the style of IK. This is clear when you compare covers over the years.

Under its first editor, Marilyn Murphy, IK was a bit dour and frumpy: Under Melanie Falick it developed a crunchy granola warmth that I like the best. I think its style made it stand out from other knitting and fashion magazines even if I don't think its design standards were the best:

Today's IK? Trying to be slick.

And why did they inconveniently separate the garment photos from the pattern instructions? Is it more slick that way? And I miss the model who looks a little like a beautiful camel. You know who I mean. OK. I'm done ranting.

finished object alert

2008-05-12T08:43:00.011-05:00

I have. Finished. An. Object. The reason I've amazed myself with this is that I am working on two endless projects: the small-gauge full skirt and the Kimono Shawl. The shawl is about half finished, the skirt maybe one forth to one third. Laura, the Scarlet Knitter has a rule of three though. She generally works on three projects at once.

When I read that, I realized that three is the perfect number and that I too usually work on three at once. One of the three projects has to be a smaller, finishable one, and, it recently came to me, should be portable. So I made a little blanket for a baby in little squares. Here it is being blocked:

Here is a close up:
Here is the Ravelry page. And here is how it looks in the original from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms by Louisa Harding:

I think the designer's yarn choice is brilliant. The faded colors of Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort (wool/cotton blend, dk weight) of similar intensity give it a mellow, vintage/organic look. However, I had leftovers: Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere (dk) leftover from the Bandersnatch sweater, and I used it ALL up. I love putting leftover yarn to good use. I also love this yarn. It is soft and warm like worn flannel pajamas.

I edged the blanket with Knit Picks Cotlin, a cotton/linen dk (see previous post), mitering rather than overlapping the garter stitch edging. The yarn is soft and knits up very well - a Knit Picks winner. The edging did not work perfectly as to pick ups along the row edges. The first time I followed the rule of three stitches per each four rows, and it was too many. For the second edge I reduced the stitches, and it was better, but still a little flaring. Both side blocked out well though. I could have made the border wider, but I came to the end of the yarn.

The squares, which measure 6.75 inches wide and 6.5 inches long, knit up in no time, but took a while to put together. The squares are butted together and whip stitched from the back into columns, leaving a ridge between them. The expert knitter who made the sample in Louisa Harding's book somehow avoided the ridge. I would like to know how to do that. The columns are mattress-stitched together with no ridge, but leaving a visible seam in my version. It could have been better, but it doesn't look bad in person.

I used Louisa Harding's charts for the star, heart, and plain square, but I designed my own cat and flower squares. These were fun and easy to chart. You can knit a picture of anything.

back to the future

2008-05-05T15:58:00.007-05:00

I had a slightly weird knitting encounter the other day --with my past. I was going through old clothes in the basement closet and I found this garment:

I had knit this for my daughter approximately 19 years ago, when she was 12 years old. She might have worn it once. She hates yellow. Why did I knit her a yellow sweater? I like yellow, and thought she looked good in it, but so what? My opinion wouldn't make her wear it. She recently observed that she doesn't look good in light colors. I do. Was I really knitting myself a yellow sweater for the future? The style, from the Spring/Summer edition of Vogue Knitting, was meant to be oversized. I must have made this for her in size small, or possibly medium. It fits me well now, given the more fitted styles of today. The sleeves are too short, but that's ok - they are 3/4 or bracelet length. Perfect.

This sweater marks the last time I tried to make clothing for my daughter with the exception of her eighth grade graduation dress. When you're a teenager or a grown woman it just gets too complicated given body type and body image. It's hit or miss. That's why I make accessories for other adults, but am reluctant to make clothing. For myself, I can take a chance.

So I have a new sweater. I remember the pattern well. It was the cover sweater from that ancient issue:

I really liked this pattern. I made one for myself, properly oversized, in white. That sweater I have lost track of. I also made myself another sweater form that issue, one that I still have. It was designed by Annie Modesitt.

It's a pretty cotton cardigan covered with embroidered roses and crocheted buttons. But I think I improvised the buttons because I didn't know how to crochet then. The buttonholes are machine made and backed by grosgrain ribbon, a work of art. The spaces between the button don't gape as they do in hand-embroidered, unfaced button bands.

It's nice to be able to keep and use old things. I'm glad I have these sweaters, but both have problems. For one, the neckline on both is too wide. For the yellow sweater, I'll just have to let the straps show, maybe wear a cami. I certainly can't go braless, though I did with the white one twenty years ago (it was loose). I tried to correct the neckline on the cardi by gathering it with a knitted cord when I made it. It's magenta; you can see it hanging down in the photo.

The more serious problem, as it so often is, is yarn selection. I guess I didn't know the difference between worsted and dk in those days. Both sweaters are knit in Reynolds Saucy, a 100% cotton worsted weight yarn. I must have gotten gauge, but the sweaters, both meant to be knit in dk, are too heavy and bulky. Since then, I have learned to avoid 100% cotton yarns anyway; blends are lighter weight and more elastic.

well done, knit picks

2008-05-01T20:22:00.010-05:00

Knit Picks is skilled at advertising and marketing. For one, their catalog featuring real women in fabulous sweaters gathered from current pattern books is outstanding. The models look great, you can totally identify with them, and you get a realistic idea of how different styles look on different bodies. This approach works better for me than the Interweave Knits galleries on Knitting Daily. The styles in the Knit Picks catalog are more varied, as are the models in terms of age and size.

Recently, in a email, Knit Picks offered a sampler package of six of their summer yarns for around $20. That is six full skeins that you can play with and even use to make a one ball item with the accompanying patterns. The yarns come in 3 colorways: light, medium, and dark. In the photos, all looked irresistible. I opted for light, and this is what I got:

I was pleased. The package includes Comfy (pink), Shine Worsted (yellow), Main Line (sand - looks orange in photo above), Cotlin (green), Shine Sport (ivory), and Crayon (blue). I swatched four of them and now I know more about Knit Picks yarn than I did before.

Maine Line (sand) is a worsted weight blend of 75% Pima cotton and 25% Merino wool. I have always liked this combination because it looks and wears like cotton, but gains the elasticity of wool. In this case, the sample, knit on #8 (US) needles, was quite firm, lacked drape, and was less elastic than I had expected. But it knit up evenly and would be fine for a sturdy sweater. I'd like it for outerwear.

Crayon (blue) is one of Knit Picks' few novelty yarns. It is a light weight boucle of 100% cotton. It's perfect for children's blankets and toys. I don't see it as a garment for either children or adults.

Comfy (pink) is Knit Picks' newest. It is worsted weight but knits up light and thin. It is 75% Pima cotton and 25% acrylic. For the second time in recent memory I have fallen in love with a synthetic (blend). The first time was Berroco Comfort (all synthetic). This yarn is soft and caressing, and very summery. Perfect for a tank.

Shine Worsted has problems. This blend of 60/40 cotton/modal looks gorgeous in the skein. It has rich color and delicious sheen. It is the most edible-looking of these yarns. But I hate how it knit up on #7 needles. It's uneven and inelastic. I want to try it again on a smaller needle, but I doubt that I would use this yarn.

Because of this I didn't bother to try Shine sport. I'll keep it for stash. I am curious about Cotlin, a dk blend of cotton and linen, but I don't want to swatch it yet because I am saving it for trim on a current project.

shopping again

2008-04-28T10:30:00.007-05:00

On Thursday, a day I usually blog about knitting, I went yarn shopping instead. On the Ravelry Chicago Knitters forum people are always talking about some stores that I've never been to visit. These four shops are located in neighborhoods that we used to call urban pioneering, although pioneering days are past; most are getting ultra hip and pricey. The vitality of Chicago is not to be exaggerated. Two of these shops are located in a tangle of neighborhoods called Bucktown/Wicker Park/Humboldt Park on the near northwest side. People who live there know the difference, but they kind of blend together for me. "Near" means near the Loop, or central business area of the city. Two are in the south loop (near south side), a more recent development adjacent to the Loop. I live far north.

Nina is the most beautiful of these shops. It is set up like an art gallery with a well-curated selection of expensive yarns, although it also stocks basics like Rowan and Cascade. Nina herself, the proprietor, is pleasant and knowledgeable. The location, either Bucktown or Wicker Park, is on an unpretty main street surrounded by renovated working class housing and new townhouses with no parking. Due to the pricey image and tragically hip neighborhood I am not likely to shop there again. I bought a skein of Louet Euroflax sport weight linen to play with.

Knitters Workshop is in a homier neighborhood a little to the north and west of Nina. I could park in front of the shop. I recently shopped their moving sale , so I didn't buy anything. Their new location seems a bit cramped. Their yarn collection is less precious than Nina's and more all around. Although they have too much novelty yarn, I would shop here again for sweaters worths of yarn. A few doors down the street is Soutache, an amazing button, ribbon, and trim shop.

Knitwerks, the furthest south of these shops, is perhaps my favorite. The friendly owner is a weaver, much to the delight of my weaving friend Linda. This shop is small but larger than Nina with a well-selected collection. Knitwerks carries basics with some more unusual though reasonable brands like Frog Tree, Interlacements, Artworks, and Dream in Color. They have a good selection of lace and sock yarn. I bought a big skein of orange Dream in Color sock yarn since I read online that sock yarn doesn't count as stash.

Loopy has a knowledgeable staff, a pretty big selection, lots of basics, and a bustling atmosphere. I was able to park in front, but that might have been just luck. Of all these shops, I think Loopy is the most geared up for long-term success. They have the most interesting classes and feature twice a year yarn tastings which are wildly popular. I bought some inexpensive Fortissima Socka sock yarn in a cardinal red. I need red and orange socks.

Traveling between Knitters Workshop and Knitwerks, Linda and I encountered this amazing attraction on an unassuming side street. Despite our enjoyment of the shops, this may be the highlight of our trip:

Here is a close up. This isn't what they mean when they talk about Chicago architecture:

Here is my progress report on the Drama City skirt. It is just over 7 inches long. Kill me now. The ultimate length is meant to be 21 inches. I might switch over to the Kimono shawl soon since the skirt is more wintry and the shawl is more summery and it is getting to be summer (although 40 degrees and raining here today).

progress? a bit

2008-04-21T11:10:00.011-05:00

Today I open with an actual knitting picture. Here is my progress (ahem) on Drama City, the skirt. You can see the 2" band of moss stitch around the wide bottom edge. There is now almost 2" of stockinette done above that. The photo shows the decrease line that I am putting toward the side of each front section (remember it is one piece, button down the middle). I am not sure where the lines will actually hit on the finished skirt; I worked the placement out arithmatically. Four decreases come on every right side row for a while. Because I decreased 68 stitches after knitting the moss stitch band, I am now down from 528 to stitches to 444. I should be finished in no time.

Naturally, after bitching and moaning about circular needles, I am forced to use one for this project due to the immense number of stitches. It is the only way, but I am aware of some discomfort in the drag of the stitches over the join and the flex of the cable. The needle I am using is from the Boye set that runs from needles sized 4 to 15, a great range. I like it for that and also because I got it for a very cheap price at Tuesday Morning.

If you look back at the photo you might spot that the needles are two different colors. For the past few projects of back and forth stockinette I've been using a smaller needle for the purl side. In this case the sizes are 5 and 4. I just read somewhere that the looseness happens because the purl stitches are wrapped counter clockwise while the knit stitches are wrapped clockwise. Counter clockwise is a longer way around and therefore uses more yarn. I tried changing the wrap of the purl stitches, which was easy enough to do, but it caused the stitches to sit facing the wrong way on the knit side. They had to be knitted through the back. I didn't think it was worth it. I think this method is called something (Eastern Cross?) but I'm not sure. Does anyone know?

Silky Wool, as has recently been pointed out by Desi Knitter, has a special quality. It doesn't look that great in the skein or even on the swatch. It's kind of bumpy and rough looking. But knit up it has a rich, velvety texture. Seeing it in moss stitch makes me think that it would have been a perfect choice for the Kim Hargreaves Darcy sweater. So if you're planning to knit that sweater, consider Silky Wool. It is also a good value - between 7 and 8 dollars for 175 meters or 190 yards. Of course, since this is my first time using it, I can't say how it will wear. And best of all, even though it's not all wool, you can spit splice it. I like that.

In further knitting news, it looks like my mitten project is off. At a meeting on Friday the staff at the library agreed to the secret santa Christmas gift exchange rather than getting something for everyone. I suppose I could still give them all mittens, which I would like to do, but I think it would look show-offy and not in the secret santa spirit. I can still knit some mittens for other friends and family, but since I will need fewer, I can make them fancier.

Since this post is short on photos, I will leave you with some garden pictures. The top pictire is of pansies on my patio. I am into gardening this year. You can tell because I am doing seasonal pots. The bottom photo shows some old fashioned short tulips (Red Riding Hood?) that I planted many years ago and that come and go in my garden. This year, it looks like they've regenerated themselves a bit. The grave of our beloved cat Jane is to the left of the tulips.

all about ME

2008-04-17T11:14:00.009-05:00

No knitting to show today. I have knit about 2 inches on the bottom band of the Drama City skirt (the book is going well) and am getting ready to decrease around for the transition to stockinette. So in lieu of knitting photos, here is the first bloom in my raggedy garden. The potted plants are Martha Washington geraniums, said to bloom well in cool weather and headed for compost when it gets hot out. The plant's tag says otherwise. We'll see.Can you tell how crap the pots are from the photo? I can never find nice affordable pots. These actually aren't the worst I've seen. The next photo is crocus. I want to get some more, but you have to order from a specialist to get white, and I only want want white. It's my front garden theme: orange and white.

But enough about extraneous matters. Let's get to ME. I haven't been tagged for a meme, but I thought I'd do something like one anyway, focused on knitting habits. A short while ago Knitter's Review did a poll called "Straights or circs?" to find out what kind of needles knitters prefer. It turns out that over 56% of those responding prefer to use circular needles; only 6.9% prefer straights. I am so in the minority. I have also noticed that I disagree with the majority of vocal knitters on other aspects of knitting as well. So here is me:

I actively dislike circular needles. I hate that whippy cable. I prefer straight needles and even double pointed needles to circs. I said earlier that I would like to try knitting socks on 2 circs., but I was kidding myself. I'll never try it.
In line with hating circular needles, I tend to dislike tubular sweaters as well. All one piece, no seam sweaters seem barrel-like to me; seaming produces a more refined looking fit.
Luckily I, unlike most knitters, do not hate seaming at all. I could do it all day. And it produces my finished garment which I am excited to see and wear (or use), assuming it turns out wearable.
Also, unlike most knitters, I hate charts. My eyesight is pretty good (with glasses) but charts make me go blind. I prefer words to charts, and, while I do use charts on occasion, I have been known to translate the chart into written directions.
I like mindless knitting to a degree. The only part of complex knitting I really like is seeing how the pattern will look. Once I have that established, I find complex patterns just as boring as simple only a lot more stressful.
I think Elizabeth Zimmerman is over rated as a guru. She surely does have some clever ideas, some of which are definitely in my future, but I don't like her style.
If the above dislike didn't offend you, this one is sure to. I could do without all the abbreviations knitters (and other bloggers) use. LOL strikes me as a little cutsey and DH or DD as a combination of snarky and smarmy.

Signing off now. Don't hate me because I'm opinionated.

a bold undertaking

2008-04-14T13:44:00.006-05:00

So I thought about a skirt with my stash of Elsebeth Lavold's black Silky Wool. I was warned that the Silky Wool yarn wants to grow, so I had second thoughts. I noticed that the swatch lacked elasticity to some extent, which means that it might stretch, but not necessarily grow. I figured to take care of that with negative ease at the waist. The skirt will not be fitted elsewhere. It is meant to be full and knee length. Here is a sketch - not a good scan, but it gives the idea.

The body of the skirt will be stockinette, but since that curls, the bottom is banded with about 2 inches of moss sitch. The top will be shaped by inverted pleats with stockinette on the outside and reverse stockinette on the inside. Does any of this sound familiar? Yes, it's Darcy revisited . For the rest, there will be a front placket, maybe in moss, with buttons that will probably be snaps in reality and a 1x1 (twisted?) ribbed waistband of about 2". The band will be higher than the actual waistline and will probably have a tie at its lower edge.

If this project is a success, I doubt that I will post the pattern. Here is an idea of why not:

I am almost embarresed to say it, but would any other knitter on earth cast on and moss stitch 528 stitches? Now it is bottom up and will decrease as I go, but still. The original idea for this skirt was actually for a thick yarn and not as full. If I reknit it that way and it makes a worthwhile design, I would post it.

The book I'm listening to now is George Pelecanos' Drama City about the DC underworld of drugs and dog fighting. Isn't Drama City a great name for a skirt?

the listless blogger tries to design

2008-04-10T14:51:00.009-05:00

I am so not bloggy today. First of all there is our endless winter. Today it's 45 degrees F and raining a cold, drippy rain. It's always winter and never Christmas! Aslan save us. Here is a picture of this day in spring:

There is a tiny bit of green showing and that leads to my next blog blocker: I need to think about some renovations for my 20 year old garden. I am planning to spend our tax refund on landscaping. That won't cover all that needs to be done, but I need to make an overall plan so as to figure out how best to use the money this year. That has been nagging at me.

Third, I have an assignment from my volunteer job at the zoo to revise the fact sheet on on the African Straw Colored Fruit Bat.

Not a big job but messy in that I have to consolidate a bunch of information from different sources. Fruit bats are huge, live for 15 years in the wild, and roost in colonies of 100,000 to 1,000,000.

But don't worry, I do have some knitting talk. I finished with mittens for the moment and have been kntting a bit on my Kimono Shawl and trying to find inspiration for a new project. To that end, I had some correspondence over a week ago with Ruth of Ruthless Knitting and have been mulling it over since then.

Ruth is an amazing designer and, it seems to me, extremely productive. She mostly works on projects of her own design rather than published patterns. Now I have a lot of design ideas. I have even started a design sketchbook. But it always seems easier to knit a design that someone else has worked out. I don't think it's laziness. I think that I want to produce rather than fiddle around with trial and error. But I still have the urge to design for myself.

What gives me pause is this: Ruth says that she likes to work with yarn that she has on hand, trying to find an idea for it rather than trying to find yarn for a pattern or design idea. My thinking is the exact opposite. I get the idea for a finished garmet and try to work out how to make it and then try to find the right yarn for it. Oddly enough, as a knitter, I don't seem to be that inspired by yarn.

But I have been thinking about Ruth's design method and about the yarn I have on hand. Maybe I'll focus on the yarn a little more and about how best to use it. So yesterday I swatched Silky Wool:

It's really hard to photograph black yarn. I used 2 different needle sizes (5 and 6 US), a basic rib, and started a cable but got tired of it. I blocked the swatch and was surprised at how much better it looked. Usually I don't see as much difference after blocking. So I'll sit down with my sketchbook for the rest of the day and try to think of the best use for this yarn. (Actually I have an idea for a skirt that I had in the back of my mind while swatching, so the purity of the design process has already been compromised.)

oh no! more mittens

2008-04-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

Here on the left is the next pair of mittens finished. Ann Budd's pattern book has a much better thumb than the Knit Simple pattern I made first. The mittens are a little snugger also, which I like. Anyway, they will fit the small-handed person that I have in mind for them. Now I have made two pairs.

I do have to rename the new ones though. They are now called Grace after characters in The Sea by John Banville. This is an unpleasant but readable novel that won a Booker prize in the UK. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson turned out to be unreadable. It was like reading a religious Emerson or Thoreau, two authors that I cannot stand. I like philosophical novels as much as the next person, but this was too much: no plot, just pontification.

Speaking of philosophy, I have a new library book from one of the most philosophical minds in knitting today: Cat Bordhi.

I must say that I have not been interested in her previous books. I was not impressed by what you can do with a mobius ring. I think the fascination is with the mobius idea rather than the thing as a knitted object. And as for knitting socks on circular needles, I have come to realize that I detest circular needles and will avoid them except when I have to knit 300 stitches back and fourth. Those cables give me the creeps.

This new book is another story. Cat has developed some novel and extremely elegant looking sock designs based on what she calls sock architecture. And you can see the built quality of some of these designs:

In addition to her unique and innovative designs, Cat offers tons of information about sock knitting including many charts indicating stitch numbers for all the sock parts in a lot of sizes. This enables you to design your own socks much like the Ann Budd books, but Cat's are somehow more sophisticated. This book is already in my Amazon cart, and I'm not returning the library book until it arrives.

As well as being a knitting innovator, Cat Bordhi is a self-publisher, again, at a sophisticated level. Her self-designed and -illustrated sock book is pretty and fun to read.

finishing mittens

2008-04-03T15:41:00.006-05:00

All finished. My first mittens, named A Thousand Acres. They are cute and kid-like though fitting a small/medium woman's hand. Do you think their name is a little too grand? Oh well.

The second mitten came out better than the first. These are borderline as to whether they are good enough to give. I made a mistake in the thumb gusset. Seeing that I got 6 rows to the inch rather than 7, I added a few rounds to the gusset part where the work goes in rounds rather than inches. I have made that type of mistake before, trying to be too precise. The thumb gusset is thus too deep. I'll have to see how subsequent attempts come out before I decide to keep these or give them away.

I can see that mittens are going to be fun and easy. They take so little yarn that I'll be surprised if I have to buy new yarn for them at all. Of course have to and want to are two separate matters. Here are the next in line:

This is the basic mitten pattern from Ann Budd's pattern book. The yarn is leftover Paton's Classic Merino in Rosewood. I made my mother's Christmas Clapotis from it. They are knit on #5 US Crystal Palace bamboo double pointed at 5 stitches and 7 rows to the inch. But I'm not messing with the row gauge.

I just started listening to Marilynne Robinson's Gilead so, assuming that I stick with the book, I will have to name these Gilead Mittens. What is with Kansas abolitionisim before the Civil War? This is the third book I have read recently with this theme. The Civil War era has such a strong hold on the American imagination.

starting with mittens

2008-03-31T10:07:00.011-05:00

On this lovely spring day (read that with heavy irony), mittens don't seem out of place at all. I wish these babies were finished. I might be tempted to wear them.

This is my first try at mittens using a simple pattern that was sent in the mail as part of an ad to subscribe to Knit Simple. I don't like that mag, even though it is a Vogue publication, but I am happy to use their cute striped mitten pattern. The yarn is worsted weight leftovers: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in Clematis (more purple than it looks here) and Paton's Classic Merino in Leaf Green. The Lamb's Pride is a little heavier than the other, but together they get gauge.

The needles are Crystal Palace double point bamboo #6 (US). I spent a fortune yesterday at my lys (Arcadia for you Chicagoans) buying sizes 4, 5, and 6 thinking I might need them for my further adventures with mittens. I already have 7 and 8 in Inox which I think are not too slippery.

I think that mittens might be a more boring project than scarves and not as tailored to each recipient. But on the plus side, I can get into surface design if I want to and I can make a lot of them out of yarn I have on hand. I spent way too much on the scarves.

Because many of the gift recipients are people I work with at the library, I especially like to use reference to the audiobook I was listening to in naming them. So this pair is called A Thousand Acres. If you really use your imagination you can see rows of crops in the stripes of the mitten. This is my second reading of this book, and I am liking it better this time because I am more used to Jane Smiley's plotlessness. Actually this one has a bit more plot than some of her others. Her observations of human interactions and motives are acute.

Getting back to Arcardia, while I was shopping for needles yesterday I picked up some yarn to swatch. I want to re-knit the sweater I call Jilly (you can see it if you scroll down) in a firmer material than the cotton/silk blend I used originally. The yarn on the left is Tahki Bali, a bamboo tape in an aran/chunky weight. It shrank drastically in the blocking. It is also too shiny. The yarn on the right is Berroco Comfort - 100% synthetic. Yarn snob that I am, I would never dream of using an all synthetic yarn, although I have liked blends. But the quality of the yarn in the skein looked right for my purpose. I like the swatch as well. I am really tempted to knit the sweater in this yarn; it would cost less than $30 and would go in the washer and dryer.

nada. rien. bubkis

2008-03-27T09:20:00.009-05:00

Perhaps the title of this post has made you decide to skip it. I hope not, but I can't promise much. Let's see if I can make something out of nothing.

Below is the progress of the Kimono Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. This has become my in-between project that I work on mostly in between other, more engrossing projects. It is now just under 30 inches long. I have two balls of Jaeger Zephyr Spun wool/silk (about 1,200 yards) and 1,500 yards of Henry's Attic Petite Cascade silk. It looks like this quantity will make a long enough shawl. I wanted to buy more Zephyr Spun, but the Mosaic Yarn Studio only had two balls. The clerk assured me that 1,200 yards was plenty for any shawl. She is no doubt right, but I prefer to have too much just in case.

This shawl will be perfect for warm weather. I don't expect to make many more lacey shawls for myself. Solid wool ones like the Wool Peddler are more practical, although I do love Oberle's Bird's Nest shawl as well.

April is the month when I should begin my Christmas gift project, that is if I do one this year. In 2006 I made around 15 scarves as presents for everyone at work and other friends. It was a large but satisfying undertaking. I learned a lot about yarn and knitting techniques by doing it. That project was, in fact, the inspiration for this blog, because I wanted some place to show off. (This was before I got on to Ravelry.) I skipped 2007. That is, I only made a few of my presents from that year. But I promised myself that I would do a big project for 2008.

My first thought was socks. Hence my sock experiment from the previous post. I do love my socks, but I realized that fit is crucial in sock knitting. I wore my socks for the first time yesterday. They are wearable, but too big. I would have to know the foot measurement of every recipient to make them socks that they would really like, and that will not do. I want it to be a surprise.

So here is what I am thinking now: mittens. Fit is not that important in mittens, and everyone can use a pair for really cold, snowy conditions even if they don't wear them regularly. I would make gloves, but I fear the fingers. Maybe next year or 2010.

Just casually surfing Ravelry and Knitty produced 8 free mitten downloads. How cute are these from Elliphantom:

Or these from Hello Yarns:

Elliphantom also has a free squirrel pattern, and Hello Yarns (inventor of the Irish Hiking Scarf) has a skull and crossbones. And of course, being obsessed with knitting books as well as knitting, I am getting Folk Mittens to complete my collection of the Interweave press Folk series. The only one left to go after that is Folk Knitting in Estonia.

So, am I committed to mittens now? I guess so.

it's a...sock?

2008-03-24T10:12:00.007-05:00

It took about a week for me to knit the first pair of socks I have made in thirty years. There they are, above, in all their glory made of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the colorway Amish, courtesy of Ruth of Ruthless Knitting.

Considering the time gap, I think they came out pretty well. I used five double pointed # 3 (US) bamboo needles. I chose to use five rather than four because of TECHknitting, who recommended five. I believe everything TECHknitter says, no questions asked. She points out that distributing the work over four needles rather than three holds the stitches at a shallower angle and leads to neater stitches between the needles. And guess what, she's right! Anyway, the four needles felt more flexible and relaxed than the stiff-ish triangle formed by three.

The first sock I knit had problems with the picked up stitches at the bottom of the gusset. They were horribly loose and I had to fix them with a yarn needle. The second sock was much better. You will note that the socks don't match in terms of the color distribution. Was I supposed to try and match up the yarn? I didn't want to. I think the uneveness of the colors is part of their charm (ahem). Here is a view of them being blocked (they are unblocked above) with the leftover yarn. What are you supposed to do with the leftovers?

The photo above isn't very good, but you can see that the feet of these socks are sort of blockily shaped. They fit all right. I customized the length, but I wish they were a little tighter in the width. I knit the women's medium from Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd. Next time I will further customize the fit or maybe knit a smaller size. I wear a size 8 1/2 shoe; maybe that isn't quite a medium, at least in Ann Budd's sizing scheme.

In any case, I am unlikely to use the Ann Budd book again. She did a good job on getting me started (as she promises in her title), but I think I would like a little more refinement next time, maybe try a different heel. Also, the smallest gauge Ann gives is 8 stitches to the inch. Charlene Schurch in Sensational Knitted Socks gives gauges as small as 10 stitch to the inch for sock-weight (fingering weight) yarn. I think I would like a tighter gauge better. However, I am glad I used a size 3 needle (to get 7 stitches to the inch) for the first time. Size 0 needles might have driven me insane.

Because I haven't knitted socks in forever, I only have five sock books in my library. Now of course I will have to get some more. I do think that if I could only have one book, I would choose the Schurch book. She gives all the basics, but goes beyond the basics in the patterns she gives. I especially like her practical guide to picking a decorative pattern based on sock size and kntting gauge.

a room of one's own

2008-03-20T09:08:00.013-05:00

The week before last I straightened the upstairs bedroom that I call my sewing room. While this room does hold a sewing machine and sewing supplies, it is really, of course, a knitting room, and I am very lucky to have it. It is a small room with two windows that was used as a child's room by the first owners of the house. We have lived here more than 20 years, and since we have only one child, we gave her a larger room, and I have always been able to use this room for myself. It has features that make it especially suitable for my purpose.

The two photos above move from right to left along one of the room's long walls. The original owners had a dresser, desk, and cupboard built into the room. These are premanent features of the room, and these, along with many other built-ins in other rooms, are what sold us on this house. The dresser and desk drawers hold yarn and supplies, and the bookcase holds most of my knitting book library.

The long wall opposite the built-ins has my daughter's old school desk, which holds yarn, etc. and a second bookcase for knitting books. This bookcase is a recent addition, also formerly my daughter's, and holds stitch dictionaries and books about technique.

A closet with built-in shelves holds more knitting magazines and papers above and yarn, mostly oddballs, in bins below. This room also has my most prized possession:A shadowy photo, but it shows an embroidery done in the 1930s by the aunt who taught me how to knit.

In cleaning my room, I found nine duplicate knitting magazines that I will be happy to give away. They are Interweave Knits: Summer 98, Fall 98, Winter 98, Summer 99, Spring 00, Winter 06; Knitters: #53 (Winter 98), #57 (Winter 99) ; Vogue Knitting: Men's Special Issue, 2002. Email me at obsessedwithknitting@gmail.com. I can send you scans or answer questions. If you have the following issues to swap, sell, etc., these are the ones that are missing from my collection: Interweave Knits: Summer 97, Winter 00/01; Knitters: #31 (Summer 93).

in which i win a contest and finish an object

2008-03-17T08:27:00.007-05:00

I apologize for my week-long absence from this blog; I was indisposed. Now I am baaaaaack. And I've won a contest. Over at one of my favorite blogs, Ruthless Knitting, the proprietor Ruth posted the photo of a bizarre ceramic object as a clue to her secret knitting project. If you guessed correctly you could win a prize of some yarn. Well, dear reader, my guess ("piggie, cowie, bunny toy") came closest and I won this.

It is 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the color Amish. It came with a nice card and certainly cheered my week. After winding and photographing this yarn, I see why it is called Amish. It has the glowing against dark colors of an Amish quilt. Striking and perfect for socks to wear with jeans. Thank you Ruth.

Now previous to my good fortune I had actually been thinking about making this the year of the sock. Now I have to do it. My next project will be to make the first pair of socks I have knit in thirty years. Thirty years ago I took up a set of double pointed aluminium needles (wood and bamboo were rare then) and made a pair of red and blue striped woolen socks. I wanted to make something special for a friend. I had no trouble knitting them. Years later though, I am all thumbs. I want to try them on two circulars (which is a variation of Shetland knitting according to Principles of Knitting), but I am determined to re-master double pointeds first.

And pictured below is my latest finished object, completed yesterday, the Darcy Jacket from Kim Hargreaves' Heartfelt collection.

I am disappointed. I made the size XL (40" chest) and it fits pretty well. The length is perfect (because I have a long torso), it's a little big in the shoulders (because I am shrinking), and a little tight in the waist (because that's where all the fat collects now), but not so you'd notice. But, as I seem to do so often, I made the wrong yarn choice.

When I first swatched the Knit Picks Merino Style DK I bitched and moaned about it because I thought it was too chunky for a dk weight. But it fit the guage for this sweater perfectly, same needle size (US #6) and everything. Now I see that I just don't like this yarn. There is something tawdry about it. It is too soft for this jacket style. (I often find myself wishing for a crisper yarn.) The pattern called for a Rowan cotton yarn, but it would have been too heavy in 100% cotton. Due to the constant k/p stitch alteration, it sucked up yarn - 1,700 yards for this size. At least I used up all the Merino Style. I will never buy that yarn again. With all that, the sweater is wearable; maybe I'll like it better in the wearing.

Now for my embarrassing confession: I made the sleeves 4" too long. Further confession: I don't know my exact sleeve length. I just make the length given for 2 sizes smaller than the one I'm knitting, and it usually works. This time, there was an error in the pattern printing. The length was given in inches and centimeters, and the lengths didn't match. The inch measurements seemed too short (ie: 13") and the centimeter measurements seemed too long (47cm, which is 18", not 13"). So I followed the centimeters. Thanks to TECHknitter on Ravelry (blog bookmarked on the right) I was able to (somewhat) calmly snip a stitch where I wanted the sleeve to end, separate off the excess length, catch the live stitches, re-knit one row and bind off. It worked!

yarn memories

2008-03-06T10:12:00.012-06:00

I took another trip to the past yesterday. A local yarn store, the Knitting Worksphop, is having a moving sale, and I went. A note for Chicagoans: they are moving from their present location on Lincoln just north of Webster to Damen just north of Webster. But I can remember when the Knitting Workshop was the Weaving Workshop, owned and operated by Marilyn Murphy, the first editor of Interweave Knits and its current publisher. How's that for history?

At that time the Weaving Workshop was on Sheffield between Fullerton and Diversey. That was where I bought the Harrisville yarn for the Fair Isle vest I blogged earlier this week. Judith Swartz, the designer and knitting book author, now based in Wisconsin, sold it to me. I remember it very well. The yarn was wound off from cones, and that was the first time I had seen a coned yarn. Of course, it was coned for weaving. I only need an ounce or two of each color, so Judith wound it off into skeins. She told me to wash the skeins before winding them into balls to get the bloom up and also, I suspect, to wash off the oil.

In those days department stores like Marshall Fields sold yarn (as well as yard goods), and there were not many local yarn stores. The Weaving Workshop was the best ever, selling high quality and affordable yarns that you couldn't get elsewhere at the time. It's still a good store with a large and varied selection. Here are the bargains that I couldn't resist yesterday:

This is Silky Wool in black at half price. It isn't that expensive a yarn in the first place so, as I tell Roger, half price was practically free. I have 11 skeins. What to make? Maybe a Rowan sweater or a skirt I have an idea for.

The other yarn I bought was Katia Arc en ciel (Rainbow?), a variegated, worsted weight acrylic/cotton blend that was sort of expensive though put up in large quantity. I have had the idea of making a neutral colored Clapotis in cotton yarn, so I bought enough for that - four balls. I would like to have such a scarf, but I will save the knitting for a time when I will need a soothing project.

I bet you think I'm a color bore, but hey, I'm not wearing bright purple or hot pink.

Speaking of boring colors, and since this is a trip down memory lane, here is an ancient yarn that I bought in the little import shop on Ashalnd next to Weibolts. Do any old time north siders remember this shop? This yarn is the darkest of navies. I can't imagine what I was going to do with this or what I am going to do with it. I have about 850 yards. It is a light worsted weight with a twist, which would be good for stitch definition, except the color is so dark the stitches wouldn't show. I welcome your ideas.

fair isle memories

2008-03-03T15:54:00.012-06:00

After conversations with my Ravelry friend Jane and my review of Fiona Ellis's fair isle book, I have naturally been thinking about fair isle knitting. I made the vest below at least 20 years ago for my husband. He wouldn't wear it because he thinks it's girly and busy. I thought it was manly. I think he'd have liked it better if the motifs had been wider, but I have learned that really he won't accept any motifs, including cables. Be that as it may, I wear it occasionally, and I like it a lot. It is made of Harrisville Shetland fingering weight and is cozily warm.
Here is a close up that shows the floats on the wrong side and the corrugated ribbing. I think I did pretty well for a first timer; you can see some puckering in the close up, but I think that is from a poor job of blocking that I did recently. I never noticed it before. The thing is, this was both my first and last time of knitting fair isle. The patterning is so intense that I don't want much of it in my wardrobe. Fiona Ellis did have a good idea about limiting motifs to the edges of things.

This spectacular though barrel-shaped sweater is on the cover of Classic British Knits by Madeline Weston, a book that was published in 1986, and is now out of print. It is still available on Amazon through marketplace sellers. According to an Amazon reader, it was also published as The Traditional Sweater Book, and that is available through the Amazon marketplace as well. I think you ought to get it. Over the years I have regularly turned to this book for ideas, and I think it was one of the books that started me off on my sick hobby of collecting knitting books and magazines.

Weston covers ganseys, fair isle, aran, and shetland knitting. For many years, I have admired two knits from this book, pictured below, and before too much time goes by I will have knit at least one of them. I have the yarn for the Sheltand shawl, a combination of Knit Picks Palatte and Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4 ply in grays.

The designs in this book absolutely cannot go out of style. The only thing that has changed since 1986 is the sizing. The sizes run big, reflecting the oversized style of the late 80s and early 90s. That is not problem for me though; I can just make a smaller size. Smaller people would have to recalculate. The smallest finished size is 36 and change, and not all the designs come even that small.

Audiobook: I am reading Remember Me? the latest book by Sophie Kinsella who wrote the Shopaholic series. I know, it's chick lit, but chick lit is totally fun, and Kinsella is its best practioner along with Candace Bushnell. Most of Kinsella's books are narrated by Rosalyn Landor, who is great. Her voice has just the right combination of archness and sweetness for Kinsella's slightly insane characters. So far, though I am liking this book less than previous ones. The premise, heroine has amnesia after an accident and forgets the last four years of her life, is not at all believable. Kinsella's situations are usually not believable, but this one goes a bit too far.

moss, seed, and rice

2008-02-28T11:37:00.016-06:00

My first stitch dictionary was this one, pictured on the right. Published in the 1960s and translated from the French, it was the first such dictionary I had ever seen. As a newly adult knitter I spent a lot of time with it, learning about techniques and discovering that there are many ways to put knit and purl stitches together- 900 actually. I also learned the names of stitches, and that created some confusion. The translation is from French to British English rather than American. In the crochet section in the back the American terms are given in parentheses; in the knitting section the British and American usage is very close, except occasionally in the names of stitches.

I was reminded of this when I cast on for Kim Hargreaves Darcy sweater. (see previous posts on Darcy here and here.)The instructions say to work in moss stitch, but if the directions for moss stitch are included, I couldn't find them. Luckily I knew how to make moss stitch thanks to Mon Tricot. It is simple: establish a row of k1, p1, and proceed to purl the knits and knit the purls throughout.

But a few days earlier I had been looking at instructions for the Minimalist Cardigan from Interweave Knits (Fall 2007). The stitch pattern for this sweater is also called moss. This pattern did include the directions for moss stitch, but the moss stitch it described was a version of double moss, not the moss stitch I knew from Mon Tricot.

I remembered that the American and British versions of moss stitch are different. When Americans say moss stitch they usually mean double moss. Maybe it's not a big deal, but if you didn't know that, you might use the wrong stitch in making the Darcy Jacket, since the stitch pattern isn't specified. Anyway, I went looking in Mon Tricot, and in my other stitch dictionary, Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches and found some variations.

Pictured above are the Mon Tricot versions of moss and double moss; single moss is on the right. Moss stitch is a skewed variation of rib in that it alternates knit and purl stitches and works knits and purls on both sides of the fabric. Single moss is, as mentioned above, simply k1, p1 throughout except you knit the purls and purl the knits. Working on a multiple of 2 it goes:

Moss Stitch (also called Rice Stitch) - row 1: k1, p1; row 2: as row 1

Double moss, in the Mon Tricot version is a doubling of moss stitch in every way. Instead of k1, p1, it goes k2, p2 and covers 4 rows instead of two. The instructions don't make this clear, but it boils down to this - knit the purls and purl the knits on the odd numbered rows; knit the knits and purl the purls on the even numbered rows. Working on a multiple of 4, double moss goes:

Double Moss Stitch - row 1: k2, p2; row 2: as row 1; row 3: p2, k2; row 4: as row 3.

Double moss is much chunkier than single moss. Single moss is fine textured and daintier looking, but the fabric it produces has a lot of firmness and body. I like single moss better, but of course each has its uses. All moss stitches look the same on both sides.

Harmony Guide offers a different version of double moss stitch (pictured above). This is the version used in Interweave's Minimalist Cardigan. The hunky Mon Tricot double moss is on the left. The Harmony version, right, uses k1, p1, rather than doubling it to k2, p2, but works over 4 rows instead of 2. It is daintier than the Mon Tricot double moss. It is worked on a multiple of 2 + 1:

Harmony Double Moss Stitch - row 1: k1, *p1, k1; row 2: p1, *k1, p1; row 3: as row 2; row 4: as row 1.

As with the first double moss, this one boils down to knit the purls and purl the knits on odd numbered rows; knit the knits and purl the purls on even numbered rows.

I have also noticed that the names moss and seed are sometimes used interchangeably. In the interest of clarity, I find that seed and moss stitch are not the same. Pictured below is a scan from Mon Tricot showing seed, double seed, and 2 variations of seeds:

Seed stitch uses purl bumps decoratively on the right side of the fabric, unlike moss which depends on the interaction of knits and purls to form the fabric. Seed stitch is thus one sided. The even numbered rows in the two basic seed stitches (seed and double seed) are all purl, like stockinette. Single seed is basically stockinette (k on one side, purl on the other side) with purls superimposed on the knit side in a staggered pattern.

In her comment on the above post, the nameless blogger of Wool Enough and Time has pointed out that what I am here calling moss stitch is usually called seed stitch in the United States. Sure enough, I was coincidentially looking at Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls and Barbara G. Walker's Learn to Knit Afghan Book and see that what they call seed stitch is what I describe above as moss stitch. This adds to the confusion especially since my Harmony Guide, which I cite for a variation of double moss, uses moss stitch as the name for the 2 row, k1, p1, not seed.

Can you tell that I like classification and organization? I suppose that aside from my quirk, the names don't really matter, as long as everyone knows what you're talking about. Cheryl and Barbara Walker give directions for the stitch that they call moss, so no harm done. But it does bother me that the Kim Hargreaves Heartfelt book does not tell you how she wants moss stitch done. She just tells you to do moss stitch. The saving grace is that the photo of the sweater shows the stitch clearly, so you can do it whether you call it moss or seed. Thanks Wool Enough.

darcy in moss

2008-02-25T15:17:00.007-06:00

I have been working on the Darcy cardigan from Kim Hargreave's Heartfelt: The Dark House Collection. (Isn't that a strange name for such a beautiful collection of designs? I guess the idea is to sound romantic.) This sweater is eating yarn. It is knit entirely in moss stitch, which has the basic elements of a rib due to the alteration of knit and purl stitches. The resulting fabric is both firm and stretchy in all directions. I am glad that I chose wool for this fabric. It would be hella heavy in cotton.

Here is how the bottom of the front looks with its knit-in pleats. I like how the edges are firm without having to work an edging. There is always the opportunity to mess up on an edging.

The most interesting and educational feature of this design is the flounced and pleated bottom. That's right. It isn't just pleated, but the bottom edge is uneven because it has short rows in it. The edge dips lower in the back and at the sides where the sides meet the back. The edge goes up at the center to reach its highest point. In this photo the dip is on your right, the center edge on the left.

This whole concept of pleats in a knitted fabric is new to me and opens up design ideas. Note that in this design the outer fabric of the pleat is moss stitch and the inner part is in reverse stockinette. Here is the pleat opened up so the inside and structure are more visible. The pleats are just sections of reverse stockinette that are gradually decreased away.

Oddly enough, in her latest blog post Norah Gaughan describes a design for a swingy sweater using inserts that she calls godets to add fullness to the bottom edge. In the sketch of this design the godets look a lot like these pleats. According to Norah, the godets were much too heavy and saggy for the design to be workable, so she revised it, cutting off the bottom. The yarn specified for this design was Berroco Linen Jeans, a tape yarn made up of 70% rayon and 30% linen. I have never knit with this blend, so I don't know its weight. I would think it lighter than cotton, but maybe not so light as wool, with less elasticity.

New Book: I finished the Jane Smiley book I was listening to and have started Duma Key the latest novel from Stephen King. I don't read King a lot, but I like him because he knows what's scary. I think The Shining and Misery must be the scariest books ever written. Lately I think King has become a better writer in the mainstream way, but less scary. At least so far I haven't been scared out of my wits by this book.

buy one, not the other: book reviews

2008-02-21T14:41:00.015-06:00

I have so many knitting books that I have become pretty selective about what I buy. I don't need more knitting pattern books unless they are amazing, even though I am much more likely to knit a pattern out of a book than from a magazine. I already have more than I can knit in a lifetime. Generally I preview books from the library when I can. Because I work in a library, this is easy for me to do. Usually I will copy one or two patterns from the book (this is legal as long as it's for personal use), or not, and let it go.

This preface is an attempt to add weight to the recommendation I am about to make. I urge you not to overlook Knitting New Scarves by Lynne Barr. I must own this book. This is even more significant on account of my 2006 scarf knitting overdose, from which I have not recovered.

When she designs Lynne Barr asks herself questions like, "What if I added short rows to create sharper edges, or eliminated all the curves to the right to create a scarf that would only spiral leftward...?" The designs in this book all share a "What if" quality, a playful approach to yarn and needles that is totally inspiring. So even if you don't need or want scarves, or scarf knitting, or even like the designs that much, this book is worthwile as a book of possibilities.

Although this is not exactly a beginner's book, I think most of the designs are doable for most knitters. Lynne appends a clearly written and photographed chapter of the techniques that come up in the book. These include how to add stitches to a work in progress, combining stitches from two needles, separating ribs to make tubes (a new one on me), knitting slits into fabric, short rowing, intarsia, and more.

Here are some examples of the designs in this book. They don't even scratch the surface of the wonder:

As much as I love Knitting New Scarves (by the way the publisher is soon releasing Knitting New Mittens and Gloves), that is how much I dislike Inspired Fair Isle Knits by Fiona Ellis. Ok, it's not that heinous, but the thing I like best about it is the author's name. Organized by the natural elements of water, air, fire, and earth (and can I say how sick I am of knitting books inspired by 'nature'?), Ellis' book uses garish colors to represent the elements and thick yarns to coarsen fair isle knitting. This is fair isle dumbed down.

The cover design, a huge thick muffler, is about the best in the book. Actually Ellis does have one idea here. In some of her designs she uses stranded knitting techniques to add color work to the edges of of a garment. I sort of like this wrap:
But in general, I hate giant fair isle patterning. Fair Isle is supposed to be worked to a fine gauge. Most of the designs in this book use DK to aran weight yarn (a few use sport), and you can see the grain of the knitting in the photos in a way that sets my teeth on edge. Plus, thick fair isle is impractical. Because the fabric is made of two strands of yarn, thick yarn becomes double thick and too warm to wear. Most of the designs are coarse looking, like these:

I doubt you can see the hideousness of the knitted grain in these photos, but they show up clearly in the book. Another fault is the lack of background on fair isle knitting and the lack of traditional examples (although examples might cast the current designs in a bad light). Ellis attempts to replace knitting history with folk tales loosely related to the patternings, but they are not very effective.

Skip this one.

dk? what is dk?

2008-02-18T09:30:00.016-06:00

Next Project: The last post ended with me thinking about what to do with 14 balls of Knit Picks Merino Style dk yarn, color vanilla. I thought about the Minimalist Cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall 07 issue. This, in my judgment, is the best design from that issue. I love moss stitch (or in this case, double moss stitch called moss stitch).

But I am not sure that I would like this as much in white, and I would need to think in order to make the shape more swingy-- or should it stay straight? Too much to think about. I just want to cast on and do it. Plus, in looking at other knitter's results in Ravelry, I can see that fit is absolutely crucial in this design. Again, too much to think about, especially since the fit is kind of unconventional ; that is, should it meet comfortably in front or not? I will knit this eventually, but not in Merino Style. I think I would like it better in Berroco Ultra Alpaca.

Meanwhile, while I am waiting for my shipment of RYC yarn from Angel Yarn in the UK, I got this book in the mail: This is a new (and expensive) book of patterns from the world's best knitting designer, Kim Hargreaves, shipped to me very speedily from Yarnzilla in Minnesota. And guess what? While watching the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice on PBS, what should jump out at me but Mrs. Darcy:

Hard to see from this photo, but this is a squarish moss stitch jacket with a simple fold back collar, waist shaping, and a flounce at the bottom which goes longer at the back. Below the jacket is a scan of my tension square which gets the stitch gauge perfectly. So I cast on for this last night, while watching Colin Firth.

In the interest of completeness and full disclosure, I should note that I have substituted a wool yarn for cotton. Normally I don't like to do this, but I can't see how this jacket could not work out in wool. The elastiticy of the stitch work would probably make the cotton behave more like wool anyway (I hope).

Wraps Per Inch: Now I come to the main subject of this post, What is DK? I was flummoxed by the difference in size between Merino Style DK and RYC Cashsoft DK. They were so different knitted up that I wondered why both were called DK. I have a special wraps per inch (wpi) measuring stick, so I measured both yarns and found that the Knit Picks yarn measured 11 wpi and the RYC 12 wpi. Does this difference mean that one is DK and one is not?

Ravelry thinks so. According to their chart, the RYC at 12 wpi is sport weight and the Knit Picks at 11 is DK. But the chart that comes with my measuring device says different. According to this chart (which is from Nancy's Knit Knacks), the RYC is DK (12-14 wpi), and the Knit Picks is worsted (9-11 wpi). To further compound the confusion, three online sites all agree that the RYC (at 12 wpi remember) is worsted and the Knit Picks would be between worsted and bulky. According to them, there is no DK. (Wool Festival, Spinderella, Elizabeth's Fiber and Yarn Store)

Now I thought that wraps per inch was the most accurate way to measure yarn thickness. But I guess not. In measuring for myself, I also saw that the results could be skewed by wrapping a little looser or a little tighter, although I tried to do it perfectly. I am, however, willing to call the Knit Picks DK because it knits up at the right gauge for Mrs. Darcy, which calls for a DK weight Rowan yarn. In stockinette, the Knit Picks also comes to a DK weight, 5.5 stitches per inch on # 6 (rather than #5) needles. I just think that Knit Picks Merino Style is a little horsey. As such it does have the substance needed for this design.

In conclusion, I would say that yarn measurement cannot be exact. I know that the important thing is getting the correct gauge, but I would still like a way to measure. Actually, I like the Nancy's Knit Knacks chart best because it gives a range of measurements for each weight, giving you an idea of the yarn size, but not exactitude. And that seems to reflect the reality.

A Book and a Tip: The audiobook I am currently listening to while I knit is The All True Travels and Adventures of Liddy Newton by Jane Smiley. This is set in the Kansas Territory in the 1850s, before the Civil War, where abolitionists and Southerners came to battle over whether or not the new State of Kansas would be a slave state. The narrator is a 20-year-old woman from Quincy, Illinois who met her Northeasterner husband as he came through Quincy on his way to Kansas with a load of contraband rifles to aid the abolitionist cause.

I do not normally read historical fiction (although I don't hate it at all), but I like Jane Smiley, who is an amazingly eclectic novelist, taking up all kinds of subjects. She is a wonderful and versatile prose stylist, but she is weak on plotting. I have liked her novels, but haven't been able to quite finish some of them. This one is weakly plotted as well, but the action is interesting in itself. I hope to finish it.

Here is a little tip for knitting lace by Cheryl Oberle. I like lace patterns in words rather than charts, which are hard for me to read. To make a bunch of words easy to follow, the author suggests writing each line of knitting on a separate card and flipping the cards to follow the pattern. It works great for me. I am using it with the Kimono Shawl, which I am still working on.

odds, ends, and a plan

2008-02-14T10:46:00.019-06:00

Not much to report from Bev's world of knitting today, but as always, I have some ideas rattling around in my head. Since finishing the Klara Bird sweater this past weekend, my sole knitting project has been the Kimono Shawl pictured above. The photo shows my progress, which is poor, but I haven't been working on it that much. It should grow faster now that I don't have another project to compete. I think it will be almost as beautiful a shawl as I pictured it to be. The mostly silk yarn is soft and cottony feeling with some heft.

In seeking a second project to start, I got to thinking that, while I read and collect knitting magazines almost as obsessively as I knit, I rarely knit items from their pages. So I got the idea to pick up a magazine at random, pick my favorite item from its pages, and go ahead and cast on. My first pick was this from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2005:

It is a flame-stitched cardigan from Shirley Paden, whose designs I always admire. I have been thinking about a design with tall ribbing at the bottom, and I have yarn that would work for this, some dry, crunchy silk from Colourmart Cashmere:

This is undoubtedly a good plan. But then I started to swatch the lace motif and Whoa Nelly! It is really hard, not simple and serene like the Kimono Shawl. The lace patterning occurs on both the knit and purl sides, and it features purls through the back loop, my most hated stitch. So maybe another time. I really do want to knit this sweater and will tackle it before the summer, but not yet.

It occurs that what I really want to make is a design for a tailored cardigan that I have had in my mind for about a year. It is not worked out yet, but I had swatched a sample ball of RYC Cashsoft DK and found it perfect. Here is the swatch:

Perfect. Perfect color, perfect weight, perfect stitch definition, perfect everything. So what do I do? I am seduced by the price and I buy 14 balls of Knit Picks Merino Syle DK. So I eagerly swatch the Knit Picks DK yarn and What do I get? This:

The Knit Picks swatch is on the bottom. Each has about the same number of stitches. I think the Knit Picks one might have 2 more. The Knit Picks swatch measures about 6 inches, the RYC about 4. Knit Picks DK is horsey and coarse. My parents generation had a saying, "penny wise and pound foolish." So this week, I ordered the RYC Cashsoft DK with the plan to work up that cardigan design.

Meanwhile, what to do with the Knit Picks DK.? I am thinking about it.

hello klara bird!

2008-02-11T08:23:00.000-06:00

It stinks of inevitability. After bitching and moaning (here and here) about how ugly and unflattering the Klaralund pullover was going to be, I ending up loving it. I am still not crazy about the colors. They still remind me of bird doo. There is a greenish white in the color mix that does it I think. But rather than name this the Bird Doo Klaralund, I decided to name it, more prettily, Klara Bird.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but I want to emphasize my gratitude to Anna (Flyingneedle of Ravelry) for sharing her notes on the Klaralund she modified for lace weight yarn. Actually, this sweater is entirely a product of Ravelry. I was browsing projects that had been made with Knit Picks Shimmer to find knitters that had used it for a light weight Clapotis, because that is what I wanted to do with it. I found them, but then I saw Flyingneedle's version of Klaralund made of Shimmer.

This was the first time I had ever seen the Klaralund sweater at all. I was first attracted to how pretty it looked in Flyingneedle's version, but then I looked up other versions of Klaralund and, despite previous bitching and moaning, I thought it was cute and saw that it could be worn and look good on a variety of body types. The idea of using my Shimmer yarn for a sweater rather than a scarf stuck with me, so I ordered the Noro book in which Klaralund had been published.

I liked Anna's Klaralund better than the original version because I thought the variegation pattern of the yarn was more subtle in laceweight. This was partly a function of the finer gauge and partly because the yarn was held doubled, breaking up the stripey effect. I also liked the idea of less bulk. I used Anna's instructions in that I combined a #4 (US) needle with the doubled laceweight. My gauge was smaller than Anna's (6.5 st./in. rather than 5.5) but I liked the fabric it produced. To produce a 41" sweater (rather than Anna's 32") I was stuck with a lot of stitches. I also followed Anna's guidelines for waist shaping, which I think improved the sweater a lot.

Given my fine gauge and large measurements, Klara Bird was a tedious knit. But I really liked the fabric, its fineness and softness. When it came time to sew the pieces together (which, unlike many knitters I don't hate doing) it was like sewing woven fabric, especially since alpaca and silk are inelastic. Although I sewed it by hand, I could easily have used the sewing machine. Instead of the usual matress stitch, I used a back stitch with the right sides held together to produce a more conventional sewn seam that I pressed open. The finished product thus has the drape and flow of a blouse and the huggy softness of a sweater. I used 7 skeins of Shimmer or a whopping 3,080 yards.

My biggest concern about Klaralund was how it would look on my busty figure.

This photo angle shows off every last inch of my ta tas. However, at more natural standing angle, the sweater doesn't empahzise the bust line at all. In fact, it might minimize it.

So no worries. I might even make another one. Happy birthday Little Annie.

bandersnatch: a free sweater pattern

2008-02-07T10:07:00.000-06:00

As I promised in the last post, here is the pattern for Bandersnatch, a sweater I designed last year. This is my first full scale sweater design. I am finding this sweater very comfortable to wear; I think it looks as good on as it feels.

I have noticed that ribbed sweaters are flatttering. This sweater flares sweetly at the bottom edge for modesty of the belly, yet the stretchy ribs form themselves to body countours without any tightness. The beaded rib pattern adds a touch of fanciness to a simple design, and the cotton/cashmere blend yarn is super soft. No special edging is needed because the ribs form their own non-curling, non-binding edges. It looks good on everyone who wears it.

Bandersnatch is my attempt at a wearable design with fit and construction conventions mimicking ready-to-wear. I have become more aware lately of fit in hand knitted design and more interested in solving the fitting problems that I have encountered. Sometimes, for example, hand knitting patterns give too much leeway and gape at the neckline or fall off the shoulders. I am learning to compare my own fit requirements more closely to those of the knitted pattern.

Although designed for me, this sweater will fit anyone. It represents few chances for poor fit because of the flexibility of its ribbed fabric. I sized it for a range of sizes, but precise matching of body measurements is not needed. The finished sweater measurement is taken with the fabric unstretched and might be smaller than corresponding body measurements. This is not negative ease, but a function of the sweater's stretchiness.

Note that I was unable to publish my schematic chart (which I painstakingly taught myself to draw) in Google Pages. I tried it both as a word and a pdf document, and the lines would not show up. So at the bottom of the pattern, I listed the finished measurements of each piece. Not as easy to read, sorry, but the information is there.

A note on the sweater's name: I sometimes name my knitting projects for the audiobook I listened to as I knit it. When I made this sweater I was listening , not to Alice in Wonderland, but to The Frumious Bandersnatch by Ed McBain, a police detective crime novel.