Warty Bobbles

Still Finishing The Same Projects

Well, the title says it all.  I am plodding away on four lovely, but not terribly interesting projects.  I am determined to get them finished, but am getting a bit tired of all 4 of them. I really don’t know why “finish” is a verb – I am really just continuing to knit until I get to the finish.  Like a finish line.  Like done.  When does one actually begin to finish something – half-way through?!

 

Anyhow, the projects are:

 

Owen’s Yzma Blanket – which is now 1000+ stitches of border worked in a continuous circle of seed stitch (whose bright idea was that?! mine, of course…)

 

Owen’s Socks – you would think baby socks would get themselves knit up quicker…

 

Sonja’s Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf – 450 stitches each row of linen stitch (a slip stitch pattern – so the stitches scrunch up into almost no height at all – like you are knitting into the negative numbers – I think the scarf is getting smaller with each row…)

 

The Mawata Baby Hat – from my Madrona class – I want to keep working on the technique and figure I might as well complete the project (tho slowly knitting a silk baby cap when there is no imminent baby…)

 

Each one is a fine project, but none is very intellectually stimulating at this point.  They just go on and on.  It is not that I need to start a new project – I would be thrilled to work on one or another of the other half-dozen or so Unfinished Objects I have lurking around in various stages (and knitting bags).  In fact, I think these other projects know I am on a “finish it up” kick because they are all calling for me in the night, hoping (no doubt) to get on the “finish it up” train before it pulls out of the station and disappears over the Ridge of Best Intentions!

 

BUT I am an experienced knitter and I know that the only way to finish a project is to keep knitting on it until it is done.  The simplest truths are the most profound, in knitting as in all things!  And if I start knitting on one of the other projects, I will – according to the laws of physics – not be knitting on any of the 4 projects I am trying to finish.  And then I would be doomed!

 

So, back to the title – still finishing the same projects.

(Note: You might wonder why none of these 4 on-the-needle projects are not featured in the on-the-needles photo spread of my blog -- I suppose it is because I am working under the delusion that these projects are going to be done pretty much any minute and so it is not worth putting their photos up!  You will not be surprised to learn that the featured photos are of several of the, um, other projects....maybe I should re-name that column: Projects In Waiting)

Madrona 2012 Part 3

Just a few more yarn photos.

After perusing the Market for Something Special But I Don’t Know What For Exactly, I fell head-over-heels for RainCity Fiber Arts’s colors!  Specifically, this rich mix of greens (okay, I admit I had green on my mind that day) – which I bought in two fiber types (Skagit Sock 100% SW BFL and Vashon Sock 50% SW Merino/50% Silk).  And this explosion of saltwater greens & blues (in Vashon Sock).  I bought 2 skeins of each – 6 total for 2624 yards of gorgeous-ness!  So many possibilities! (note:  SW = Super Wash and BFL = Blue-Faced Leicester – which is a sheep)

In the Market world of colored and multi-colored yarn, the booth of Toots Le Blanc & Co. shone like a bright, cool star – all those lovely neutral yarns in wools and blends (mohairs, angoras, alpacas…).  Ranging from near-white to charcoal.  Whispering to be knit up into cables and laces.  Oh, what could I do with some lovely neutral yarn?!  Suddenly, I had a vision of myself at the Oregon Coast this summer in the bracing chill wind with a woolen neck-shoulder-y garment knit in shell colors in some kind of cable that resembles shells.  It was, I confess, rather a vague vision.  But the yarn part was clear!  Sooooo, here is the Blue-Faced Leicester/Alpaca/Angora  in Fawn (the lighter yarn) and 50/50 Jacob Alpaca in Light Rose Grey.  Mmmm. 

 

Since I was planning a garment that would cuddle in close on my neck, I wanted to be sure the yarn would not be scratchy – so I spent a long time holding up different yarn skeins under my chin and staring off into space.  I kind of kept waiting to be told to please vacate the booth!  But she is way too nice for that!  I love yarn people!  She even told me the correct way to pronounce Leicester when I asked. “Lester” which is much simple and nicer-sounding than “lice-eye-sester” – which is how I was pronouncing it for some unaccountable reason.

 

And as for the lovely gift from my super-special husband?  These designer glass circular needles.  So, beautiful!  Have a size 5 and a size 9 – and I love them!  Now, I have a very useful size 7.  They are made by Sheila & Michael Ernst.

 

Here are websites for the companies & individuals I have mentioned. 

 

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s blog: http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/

Franklin Habit’s blog: http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/

Sheila & Michael Ernst (glass needles): http://www.glasspens.com/

Toots Le Blanc & Co. (yarn): http://www.tootsleblanc.com/

Rain City Fiber Arts (yarn): http://www.raincityfiberarts.com/

Abstract Fiber (yarn & mawata): http://www.abstractfiber.com/

Dicentra Designs (mawata): http://home.earthlink.net/~dicentra/

Ilisha Helfman (Jazzknitting): http://www.followthethread.com/

Blue Moon Fiber Arts (yarn, mawata, patterns): http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com/newmoon/

 

Madrona Part 2

Most knitters who read blogs are familiar with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka The Yarn Harlot – knitter, blogger, author, teacher.  I have read her blog for several years and have read her books as well.  Terrific writer.  I have heard her speak before.  Terrific speaker.  But I had never taken a class from her.  She is a terrific teacher, too!

 

I was familiar with the concept of knitting with mawata (un-spun silk), but would never have tried it on my own with, say, just a video on the computer.  But I do love silk!  So when the opportunity to learn the technique and take a class from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee came along, I went for it!  So glad I did.

 

I learned a LOT about silk and the silk industry.  I got to actually make a mawata “hankie” out of a silkworm cocoon.  And I learned how to knit the un-spun silk.  Fabulous!  I feel a little magical when I do it – like spinning straw into gold. 

 

In the course of the class, Stephanie passed around some pieces knit from mawata – adult-sized mittens and a dainty lacey-edged baby hat.  I coo-ed a bit over the baby hat, thinking that would be an advanced project.  Imagine my surprise (borderline shock, actually) when I found out that the baby hat was to be our hands-on learn-to-knit-with-mawata-in-class project!  We were given copies of Stephanie’s “Siofra” pattern (available from Blue Moon Fiber Arts) and got to pick our color of mawata from the selection (Blue Moon again).  And Stephanie led us through all the steps of drawing out the silk fiber and knitting it (just like yarn, really).  Meanwhile, she answered all our questions and gave us sound advice about projects, patterns, cast-ons, cast-offs – all the practical information we needed to explore mawata knitting on our own.

Needless to say, I made a quick dash to the Market to buy some mawata before heading home!  Not sure what I am going to make with it.  Going to finish the little golden hat first.

 

Speaking of the Market, I did make a few other conquests there!  It is not a huge market, but that makes it pretty manageable, not overwhelming.  I had a mission form Sarah: to find yarn for the “Seaweed Scarf “(Knit Purl).  There was some serious texting going on as I tromped around the Market.  We finally decided on Blue Moon Marine Silk Sport (silk/merino/sea cell rayon) in purpley “Smoke on the Water.” 

 

She told me to get her a sock yarn in a colorway  that was not her “usual” colors, but not brown.  Abstract Fiber’s Super Sock in “Laurelhurst.”  Done.

 

Bought my self some Abstract Fiber Super Sock, too – after purchasing Blue Moon’s “Zig Zag Sock” pattern – the samples on display were so striking!  I realized that high contrast was the way to go, so I chose exotic “Black Opal” (black, charcoal, cobalt, purple, fuchsia, salmon…) and perky “Butternut” (gold, yellow, charcoal, orange, rose…).

 

I should say that my Market buddy that day was Diane who helped me with the color choices, introduced me to Ilisha Helfman (author of Jazzknitting which I promptly bought – fabulous figural knitting!), and -- over lunch -- gave me a brilliant suggestion to make my “Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf” knitting more efficient!

 

Ready?  Since you cut the yarn after each row (to make the fringe), just go back and knit on the Right Side every time!  Knit the slipped stitch from the previous row and slip the knitted stitch (with yarn in front) – no purling or trying to remember if the yarn is in back or front for the slips.  As I said, BRILLIANT.

 

Going to save the rest of my yarn photos (and the special gift purchased for me by my super-special husband!) for one more Madrona post!

Madrona 2012 Part 1

Yep, I just cannot sum up my Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat experience in one post – especially when I have yarn photos to share (but those will come in a not-too-future post – you will just have to wait!). 

 

I was only able to attend 2 of the 4 days this year – and took 2 only classes, one each day – but I feel petty satiated nonetheless!  I will say that I missed Sarah.  She had to cancel her classes because she could not get back to Tacoma for the weekend after all – she & the children moved to Ft. Bragg in North Carolina last month to join her husband, Jeff, who is stationed there.  When we learned that Jeff was scheduled to be deployed overseas in February – well, obviously, Sarah could not leave her family just then even for Madrona! 

 

But I am blessed with a kind and understanding husband who accompanied me to the Yarn and Fiber Market on Friday – wearing the EZ (EZ for Elizabeth Zimmermann not  as in “easy”!) Hybrid Seamless Sweater with Elsebeth Lavold’s Viking cables which I had finished in the ta-da knick of time the night before (um, there might have been a couple of ends not woven in..but I did not notice that til later when he took it off..) – and proceeded to mmmm and ahhh on cue as I fondled and rattled on about the yarn. 

 

 

On Friday, I took Franklin Habit’s class on Working with Antique and Vintage Patterns where I gained a great deal of practical knowledge about how to tackle 19^th century knitting patterns, as well as a clearer understanding of the history of knitting in England and the United States.  Franklin is a gifted speaker (witty, intelligent, a natural storyteller) and a darned fine teacher – and he knows his stuff!  I am intrigued, inspired, and feel myself prepared for the adventure.  He just gave such a good class – his presentation was a generous sharing of the knowledge he has gained with such labor and dedication, as well as an enthusiastic invitation for us to join him as fellow-explorers.  Then, he led us through two really worthwhile exercises in working with vintage knitting.  Terrific experience!  Franklin’s blog The Panopticon is one of my favorites and it was such a treat to take his class. 

 

Tune in for the next installment of Madrona 2012 for more about the Market, as well my take on Knitting with Mawata!

 

In-The-Zone Knitting

I find most knitting projects fall somewhere on the “Mindless to Absorbing” scale.  Stockinette Wasteland (especially in the round without even the variety of the purl rows!) being “Truly Mindless” and a pleasant 4-row repeat lace being somewhere in the middle at “A Bit Interesting” and something with a complex chart and, perhaps, shaping to go along with it and maybe 3-5 balls of yarn hanging off of it topping the scale as “Absolutely Absorbing.”  Certainly a project like a sweater might have sections that hit different levels (a simple solid body with a color-work yoke, for example).

 

Then, there are projects that I call “In-the-Zone Knitting” because while the stitch pattern is not complex it is such that if you take your mind off it for a minute bad things happen.  Most basket-weave stitch patterns fall into this category because of the alternating nature of the rows – sometimes you are knitting the knit sts and purling the purl sts, sometimes it is the other way around and what you do on the right side for some rows might be turned around completely on other right side rows. 

 

Trellis patterns too – which are characterized by textural diagonals (meaning you keep changing the number of knits between purl sts or the other way around).  I made Max’s
“Yzma Blanket” in a trellis stitch of fingering-weight wool.  Nearly went both blind and crazy! 

 

“In-the-Zone Knitting” requires full focus, but is not really interesting enough to keep my mind engaged.  Tricky, that.  Errors in pattern usually escape my notice when I am working the row – showing up dramatically after another row or 2 have been knitted.  Which is a bad thing.  So, I have to pay attention to the repetition of the row I am on and not let my mind slip into the repetition of the previous row or the next row or some other random gosh-darned row. 

 

The trick, I find, is to set myself up in the right environment.  My current “In-the-Zone Knitting” project is the linen stitch scarf Sonja abandoned (really, I don’t blame her – she has a 12-week-old baby and is getting up every night! this kind of knitting is doom for a sleepy brain).  She still wants the finished piece – which will be gorgeous – so I said I would complete it for her birthday.

 

The Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf (Churchmouse Classics pattern) is worked length-wise.

Over 450 sts to a row!  The yarn is fingering-weight merino (Koigu KPPPM).  Linen Stitch is worked by alternating slipped sts with knit (right side) or purl (wrong side) sts.  When slipping the sts, you hold the yarn at the front of the work on the right side and at the back on the wrong side.  The result is a knitted fabric that looks and behaves like a woven fabric.  Fabulous, really.  Wonderful possbilities. 

 

(note: top is wrong side, bottom is right side)

And kind of a beast to knit – because the rhythm of the right side is just slightly different from the rhythm of the wrong side.  Except it all kind of looks the same –especially as the nature of slip stitches is to scrunch down into the row below so you cannot really see whether you are slipping a knit stitch (good) or a slipped stitch (bad) from the previous row.  It is so easy to get off and knit 2 sts in a row or purl the st you are supposed to slip because you just put the yarn to the front of the work and let your mind wander for a moment!  I have to keep checking my work – and I have to sing to myself so that I keep the “knit, move yarn to front, slip, move yarn to back, knit” separate from “purl, move yarn to back, slip, move yarn to front, purl.” 

 

The best environment I have found is morning at a coffee place like Starbucks.  Coffee, the mildly interesting people-watching, few interruptions.  Ideal.  Since it takes me about half-an-hour to do a row, I m probably going to have to spend every morning this month at Starbucks to get the scarf done by Sonja’s birthday!  Except that I really cannot, of course.  Could I re-create the Starbucks environment at home?  Hmmm. Fire up the espresso machine and turn off the phones!

 

Seamless Hybrid Sweater Brain Teasers

George’s Seamless Hybrid Sweater (could there be a less romantic name for a sweater design? sounds like some kind of sea anemone or flowering anemone! ah, tho, I love EZ’s practicality!) is progressing – so much so that I felt I should try to puzzle out the saddle shoulders. 

 

Usually, I will just work something through to figure it out – as I cannot always envision it from the printed word. But since 1) I had cables to consider (and what was I going to do with them now that I was about to hit the saddle shoulders?!) and 2) there were actually two methods presented for making the saddle shoulders and I had to choose one, I decided that I should figure out how the whole process worked. 

 

So, the other night I sat up quite late puzzling & puzzling, figuring & calculating, reading & re-reading & re-reading!  EZ’s directions are pithy, blessedy and blastedly concise.  I just could not get it all to work out in my head!

 

I understood (tho there were moments when I panicked and questioned entirely!) that the saddle on the shoulder would be built up from the top of the sleeve between the front and the back – in fact, joining the front and back – to the neck hole.  At that point, one either knit one’s way across the back to the other shoulder and built up the corresponding saddle, then built a saddle between the two saddles from the back to the neck hole – or one continued, on a reduced number of stitches, from the first shoulder saddle across the back of the neck (leaving a neck hole) and then stopped and built up the second shoulder saddle (say “second shoulder saddle” 10 times quickly!) and grafted it to the extended first shoulder saddle.

 

The problem was that I could not get EZ’s number to make sense.  And since my numbers were different (since my gauge and size was different), I had to figure out how many stitches, rows, etc. to knit to make the proportions work out.  It all looked so simple, but the numbers were screwy.  Heaven help me, when they seemed to come out to a solid saddle reaching across the entire shoulder section with no head hole possible I questioned both EZ (may I be forgiven!) and my own sanity!

 

It turns out that when she said (so calmly & concisely):

 

Work back and forth on the 32 stitches for 44 rows. At the end of the knit rows, sl 1, K1, psso (or SSK); at the end of the purl rows, purl 2 together, each time nipping off one stitch from back or front respectively.

 

I imagined that 44 sts were used up on both the front and back – bringing one half-way across the top of the sweater.  Then one was to do the same on the other side – filling up the whole shoulder section with no place for a head hole!  It took me a shamefully long time to realize that one would only use up 22 sts on each side (front & back) – since one alternated taking a stitch form the front on one row, from the back on the next row. Duh!

 

The next brain cramp came when I reckoned this up as about ¼ of the approx. 88 stitches that existed at the tops of the back & front – not 1/3 as it should be.  In fact, having worked off 22 stitches, knitting one’s way “across 43 stitches to the other side” in order to repeat would only get one part way there (65 of the 88 stitch distance)!  Augh!  Now, I would not only have a head hole, but an extra hole at the top of the sleeve before the 2^nd saddle started!  That couldn’t be right!

 

And (after much calculating and gnashing of teeth), I realized my 2^nd major error.  I had forgotten that in decreasing the sleeve stitches with a double decrease I had been decreasing the front & back stitches too!  So, EZ’s 88 stitches would have worked down to 66 – 22 stitches for each shoulder and 22 for the head hole.  Textbook proportions!

 

Sanity restored!  The world was as it should be.  And when I started playing around with my cables (at this point I think George had given up on the probability of our ever getting to bed and was silently immersed in a session of Angry Birds), I found that I could continue the cable lines up into a very attractive cable pattern along the back of the shoulders – and I had the numbers (my numbers – the actual numbers of stitches and rows I would need to complete the shoulders!) to ensure that my cable repeats would come out symmetrically.  Wow! EZ brilliance triumphs again!

Photos

Finally, I am at liberty to show photos of the ArmWarmers I designed and knit for my dear (and gracious!) friend Joyce!

There is a lace pattern panel on top of the arm with shaping on the underside -- this structure should help it stay in place.  There is a thumb hole in the ribbing at the hand/wrist -- or one could roll the ribbing down for a cuff, making the piece into a more conventional sleeve.  It is knit of Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in worsted weight.  I am tempted with making a pair for myself -- to wear with my capelets & q'mitls (maybe in light blue...). I am also toying with writing up the pattern and making it available -- in which case I will need a clever name for the piece!  Suggestions?

Also, photos of Owen's sock (now that I have conquered the size issue -- in that I made the first one too small, I am trundling away at the 2nd one).

The locking markers on the toes are not ornaments!  I decided not to kitchner the toes until I was sure of the length.  Although, why not ornament the toes of infant socks?!  It is not like they are going to be wearing shoes or walking!

Ohhh, pretty baby!!

A Kitten In My Knitting Bag -- Again!

There’s a kitten in my knitting bag!  His name is Gerhardt and he is a sweetie! Very cuddly,affectionate, playful, beautiful – everything one could wish for in a kitten.

We were not in the market for a kitten, but…well, Sasha’s fiancé Dave adopted a young female cat which turned out to be a young pregnant female cat and when homes were found for 3 of the 6 kittens (Sasha & Dave are keeping 2), we agreed to keep the 6^th temporarily until a suitable home could be found.  Hah!  We all know how that story goes!

 

Given the fact that Sarah and the grandbabies had left for North Carolina.  And that the contractor who had bought the land across from us had started cutting down trees that I have known for 30 years.  And that one of our 4 “old lady” cats, Baghira, had just died.  Well, let’s just say that I was feeling a bit bereft.  The idea of parting with our lively, lovely, snuggly kitten (you notice I had already begun to think of him as “our kitten”)…okay, I was putty in Gerhardt’s paws.  George too. 

 

So, Gerhardt stays to warm our hearts and keep us on our toes.

 

Like any kitten, he loves yarn.  Not just any yarn, my yarn.  I made him his own yarn octopus-sort-of-thing and he turned up his nose!  Poked it with one paw, walked away and won’t have anything to do with it.  Nope, he wants only my yarn – preferably the yarn I am knitting with at the moment, of course.  He likes to bite yarn in two!  If he cannot get at my knitting, he will rummage in my knitting bag.  So there is lots of yelling of “Bad cat!  Oh, sweet puddums cat!  Bad cat!”  in the evenings.  Usually, he ends up having a little kitten private time behind a closed door. 

 

We have had kittens before – both our own and guest cats (btw, over the Holidays we had 9 different family cats – aside from our 4 – staying with us, tho not all at the same time…) and I know that he will settle down and stop chewing on my needles, snipping my yarn with his sharp little teeth, vaulting into my lap to get at my knitting.  Meanwhile, I will enjoy his lively, loving attention (and try to be discreet when I pull out my knitting).