RevKnits

A New Place for the Blog

2009-03-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, I've moved over to Wordpress for my blog. Come on over, you'll like it!
Look for me here, and I hope that you are healthy and well. Peace and healing!

The Final Product

2008-12-18T19:02:00.001-08:00

This is the largest thing I have ever knit for myself, and I am so happy with it. It is cheerful, and the Cascade Ecological Wool is very cushy and squishy. The kitties and I are snuggling up on it night after night.

Bijouterie: Take 1

2008-12-17T10:38:00.001-08:00

Bijouterie1a
Originally uploaded by skatfantoo

Here's my first attempt at the earrings. I think I need to practice using the wire -- I'm mushing the wire as I knit, and then trying to "fluff' it out.

Down and dirty with Christmas Knitting

2008-12-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

I started another Slouchy Copy Cat Hat in Ultra Alpaca (although I varied the lace pattern), in a muted heathery green from my stash. I kept telling myself it would look great on Allison (sister of Rachel, whose hat I knit because she got a sweater to match), who has light blond hair and blue/green eyes.

I kept knitting and telling myself this, but I was doubting. Then today I was watching "What Not to Wear" (my guilty pleasure TV) and there was a gal with similar coloring. Heathers completely washed her out.

So I ripped out the hat and returned it to the stash for another project. But now what?

I do have a skein of the yarn in a lovely green that would be much better on Allison, but now I'm running out of time, and I'm not sure that I should give the same thing to her as I did to her sister. So I'm thinking that maybe I'll work on the Bijouterie earrings instead. They should be done in about an hour.

Ack, the last of the Christmas knitting, and I'm not sure what I want to do!!!

So, post in the comments: Should I knit the hat, or the earrings.

gift knitting resumes

2008-12-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to do it. Well the Monteagle bag lured me back (see previous post). And then I had a lot of fun with the elements of this set for my cousin:

and then this hat just kinda flew off the needles:

Yeah, I think I need to make one for me. Slouchy Copy Cat Hat in Ultra Alpaca, with some modifications to make it more beret-like.
And I caught the Bijouterie bug and ordered the wire (sorry, I think I got the last of it from the supplier), and am on the hunt for the rest of the findings.

Gift knitting left? One more Monteagle bag, and something for Allison...not sure what.

in which knitting tools are intentionally destroyed.

2008-12-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Circular needles are not all alike. There are wondeful, smooth as silk and raring to go needles. The Ferrari's are like these:

Yes, Addi (zooom!) turbos. Blessed be the Addis.

But let's go back to the beginning. A couple of months ago I bought several skeings of Fibranatura Flax -- three skeins in lemon, about 7 in a pretty sky blue. I decided to save the blue ones for a lacy tank top similar to the one at the top of the blog. The yellow ones I wanted to turn into market bags for Christmas gifts.

Luckily, I found someone on Ravelry who made the Monteagle Bag from Mason-Dixon 2 with just one skein. Added everything to the queue in September, having downloaded the pattern from www.masondixonknitting.com.

Then selfish knitting intervened. I've been working on the log cabin afghan, which is very, very close to being completely done (one strip to sew, ends to weave in, and final blocking!). I knitted a nice pair of socks, and a scarf to go with a hat that I knit last year.

But then I realized I do like knitting for others, just not all the time. The fact that the Inca Gold that I've ordered special from Marin Fiber Arts for a lovely cardigan has not come in yet has nothing to do with this, really! So, I started a dishcloth set for my cousin, Marie -- and it's pretty much done, except for some weaving of ends and sewing on of buttons.

I culled the queue on Ravelry (down to five projects, now that I've discovered that I can favorite something and put a keyword in to find it later), and the Monteagle was calling to me. So, last night I started.

First, I decided that it was time to use Judy's magic cast-on instead of the sew-uplater version. So, I grabbed the Boye needle set (thinking that my Knitpicks needles in the size 9 I'd need -- I'm a loose knitter -- were in use on another project, and the 20 in length is in the Boye set), put on the cables and started, then realized that I'd be better off using two circular needles at least at the beginning. I rummaged through my circular sets and found two 16 in circulars -- a Susan Bates coated set, and Plymouth wooden ones.

Ah, here's the rub of circular needles. They are all so different from each other. The Susan Bates are flexible, have a relatively easy "jump" from the cable to the needle. They are slightly sticky, and blunt-tipped. The Plymouths have a better point, but they are like molasses to move stitches over, and, to my mind, have one feature which will ban them from my hands forever, a small BULB right at the base of the needle. This is not a mistake, in like "gee, we goofed on the design." No, it's an intentional little bulb, which will impede the progress of any yarn from the cable to the needle.

Back to the Monteagle bag: I got the cast on done, knit the three rounds of stockinette, and then started with the "twisted cross stitches" which are really mock cables with extra wraps. Not a big deal, except I'm knitting flax, which has NO give, NO bounce. What you see is what you get.

The experienced knitters are now saying, "No, you didn't." Yep, I did. I put all those twisted cross stitches in flax onto the Plymouth circular needle. And everything came to a grinding halt. I could not get the stitches up over the "bump" (read -- boulder beyond any knitter's understanding). Unfortunatley, I could also not "tink" the stitches back, because I couldn't get them back over the other side.

One little thing that I forgot to mention is that the pattern I'm using will use every inch of the Fibranatura flax. There is no "excess" according to what I've read on Ravelry. I couldn't just cut off what I've knitted and start over and have enough to make a bag.

I pondered...and then it hit me. I hate this Plymouth needle. There is no way I'm gonna use it again. And it would be totally unfair to impose this needle onto some newer unsuspecting knitter who doesn't know crap and will get discouraged and think they are a bad knitter.

And so, I cut the cable. (A picture will follow.)

So, I pulled out my Knitpicks options binder, I realized that my Size 9 tips were not being used. I put a 40 inch cable on them, and am magic-looping my way, feeling virtuous and victorious over my Plymouth circulars.

And yes, it is finished:

Blocking Makes Me a Bit Dizzy

2008-12-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Blocking is a magical thing. The lumpy, bumpy, perhaps stiff fabric that you make is actually a lovely piece of fiber goodness after blocking.

I am now blocking the biggest thing that I have ever blocked:

Yes, Isadora was intrigued as well. I was a bit off my mark too, the fiber goodness of a whole afghan/blanket made me swoon:

a scarf just in time

2008-12-01T09:29:00.001-08:00

Love how it came out -- and virtually "free" since it was with yarn from my stash!

a little more selfish knitting

2008-11-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

I think my knitting mojo is returning. I'm having fun, and finishing lovely things for me. I'm puttering with yarns, and imagining projects for both me and others. But no timelines to meet!

So, without further ado, some lovely socks:

Yes, they are especially knit for me -- extra stitches to accomodate my high instep, and a favorite yarn from chasing rainbows! They are almost dry -- and ready for a fun time in December.

And another FO is blocking. It's the Inside-Outside Scarf -- free on the XRX website, and a great way to use variated yarns. There are some good extra directions on the WEBS site by Pixie that provide some helpful extra thoughts. Here's a not-so-great photo of the blocking in progress:

This is actually way better in person. If you have a couple of balls of varigated yarn in your stash, you too can have a wonderful scarf. Actually, if you have only one ball of slowly repeating varigated yarn, you can make a scarf just like mine!

The afghan is now in strips, but I have not had the space to do some blocking before I sew the strips together (my mom is visiting for the week). Photos soon.

Feline Inspection

2008-11-20T08:39:00.001-08:00

Log Cabin 4
Originally uploaded by skatfantoo

The selfish knitting continues. I did fall off the wagon a bit by making a couple of pairs of mittens for Afghans for Afghans, but I'm now back to completing my own afghan -- the first I've done for myself since forever.

The kitties did their inspection of all the log cabin squares last night, and approved the layout. I've now put together two strips of 4 squares, with three more to go. Trying to decide if blocking the strips is the best way, or wait 'til the whole thing is done.

Hey Congress: Where's my yarn bailout?

2008-11-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

Since all parts of the financial industry seems to be finding a way to get all the money that they can possibly squeeze out of the Federal Government, and now the auto industry is not far behind, I think that my knitting personal bailout should have priority and receive special treatment from FiberFannie Mae, the loan fiber-consolidation experts.

Seriously, if people who managed to squander other peoples' money in buying a house by simply having stated their incomes on a form without any documentation whatsoever, then I freely confess the following:

1. I have bought yarn without showing any ability to pay the credit card bills within the year. My LYS (aka "my dealer") freely pushed onto me fibers and yarns with words like "silk","hand-painted" and "handspun" knowing that my ability to refuse such fibers was impaired. I was sucked into the vortex of "doesn't it feel great!"

2. The spirial soon started. I bought yarns, tools, and patterns, and began to haunt online websites like Knitty to feed the illusion that I would actually knit all the yarn that I was buying. The stash bubble began to grow.

3. My transformation into a fiber victim was twisted yet higher by the introduction of the truly seductive and seemingly innocuous website called Ravelry. Oh, yes, Jess and Casey profess to be community-minded small business owners running a start-up, but have you noticed that their mascot, Bob, never smiles? Yeah, he's the brains behind the whole operation. They provide the ability to check out patterns and ways to use any yarn in your stash, so I bought more and more yarn with the thought "I'll figure out how to use this on Ravelry." Any reason not to buy yarn was effectively and efficiently eliminated. Yarn piled higher and higher. Who needs a mortgage when one is buying yarn?

4. Since September 15th, the value of my stash has declined by over 50 percent, meaning that my fiber 401k is now in the tank. I hear from fiberconomists that it is because my sister knitters have also bought yarn that they have told me that they could not afford and do not intend to use until at least retirement. This "fiber bubble" has now burst and we spend our evenings touching Kidsilk Haze and crying, "Why, why!!!" Soon, the fiber eviction notices will come, our yarn will be sold at auction to unworthy knitters who will be taking advantage of our circumstances and we will be reduced to acrylic "pound-plus" yarn from Big-Box stores. Our knitting community will wither and die, and friends and family will be asking us to go get anti-depressants. It will not be pretty.

I therefore plead with our elected Representatives Truly, the only solution is in a yarn bailout. I need it now, but can you ask FiberFannie Mae wait 'til I finish my UFO?

more than a bit of partying

2008-11-05T21:16:00.001-08:00

So, it was me and the cats on watching TV and surfing sites like FiveThirtyEight.com and Daily Kos ("R" friends -- don't say I didn't warn you), and flipping between CNN, MSNBC, and yes, even FOX news. Yes, I yelled when Brit Hume had to admit that Obama won.

Needless to say, there was more than a bit of partying. Alcohol was imbibed, family members were called and screamed to. Even the cats got overcome by the fiber fumes:

Yes, Brandy was a little overwhelmed by the news.

We are recovering today. But I'll always have this for a memory of this time:

election nerves and garter stitch

2008-11-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for the election. I check fivethirtyeight.com about 5 times a day (see right for my widget). It pleases me to see my candidate have a 90-percent plus chance of winning.

Yet, I'm still anxious and nervous. The last two elections have made me a bit paranoid.

So, thank goodness for garter stitch. You can watch TV with garter stitch, and since I've knit for more than 30 year, so I don't even need to watch my hands all the time. In the last two weeks, I've knit these:

I finished the one unfinished square in the middle row and there's one more completed since the photo. Given my excitement, there's no telling how many will be done on election day.

in which I engage in more selfish knitting

2008-10-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

I'm back into knitting for me again, so I'm "back on the wagon."

See, here are some socks that I'm working on:

Yes, wild crazy colors, and so fun for the feet.

and I've started on a big project for me - a log cabin afghan. I'm estimating that I'll do 20 squares so that it ends up being about 42" by 52". A nice mindless knit that will use up worsted scraps! Fortunately, Isadora approves:

And I had this totally interesting thing happen:

What? You say that you can't see anything? Let's take a closer look:

They look different sizes, but they are not. The sock on the left was caught at the bottom of the laundry bin, and then was washed by hand with other socks with shampoo (the cheap Trader Joe's stuff. The sock on the right was put into the washing machine and dryer -- it's Regia, it can handle it.

The left sock is relaxed and happy, the fibers are soft and pliable. It feels nice. The sock on the right is tighter (the result of the dryer, my guess) and a little scratchier. Not hopeless or unwearable, but there is a difference. Quite a difference!

pretty shiny stuff

2008-10-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, a couple of friends and I went to SF to the opening of a cute little store in the Sunset area. It was totally jammed, so we went to Artfibers (I don't think either of them had been there before). Peaceful, and very lovely stuff.

I kept ooohing and aaahing over things, to the point that I was probably going to walk out. While I love the yarns, the colors aren't to my liking, and I don't have the dying skills at this point to try something out.

But I did get some Patois - a lovely alpaca, silk and nylon tape that is sewn down the middle. A whole cone of it, and I'm hoping that it's enough for a scarf and a hat (it should be).

Then I found a free Annie Modesitt pattern called Netty, a cowl pattern, but one that is knit side-by-side, so it easily translates into a scarf. And see what I've got with about 20 minutes work?

This is fun!

can't stop

2008-10-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, after that big speech about being a less selfish knitter, what am I working on? A sock for Socks for Soldiers. In my defense, I am headed on a quick trip, so a sock makes sense. But yeah, I've got a long way to go...

FO - Finally!

2008-09-29T11:11:00.001-07:00

Yep, the Ariann is done -- and it's really nice.

Feline inspection went well too!

one alpaca, two alpacas

2008-09-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

The real fiber news today is the trip to Brookfarm Alpacas in Glen Ellen, Sonoma County. My cousin lives in nearby Santa Rosa, so we went out for lunch to a lovely Indian/Nepalese restaurant in Jack London Village (not to be confused with Jack London Square in Oakland, CA), and then went up to see the Alpacas who are very cute:

This is Libby, who was less shy than her mates:

And this guy was a comic:

There were fleeces of all colors (natural) and roving, as well as yarn from the national Alpaca co-op, and locally produced fiber.

I bought yarn from Vicki of Alpaca Shire, which is local fiber spun in southern California, and then she kool aid dyed it yellow and aqua:

On the knitting for others front, here's the update: This sweater, I am happy to say, is completely finished:

and was a fun knit. I stumbled into using good color theory on the sweater, and I like the outcome.

The other sweater, the Ariann, had yet one more trial. At Knit Night, as I thought I was finishing the collar, Lisa helpfully pointed out that the bands were unfinished. With a sinking heart, I looked at the pattern, and yes, I was supposed to have included the button-band stitches in the collar. So, another frogged piece (but this time, fortunately it is garter stitch!), and I reknit it, sewed the small seams under the arms, wove in the ends, soaked it, spun it in the washing machine, and now it is blocking. Only buttons to sew on!

a less selfless knitter

2008-09-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

I love knitting, and I love knitting sweaters. But I am at a weary point. Taking stock, I see why. I've knit two sweaters for Afghans for Afghans -- a top-down raglan Cardigan for the Ravelympics, and a bottom-up Elizabeth Zimmermann percentage sweater. Plus two pairs of socks and a pair of mittens.

I am almost done with the much-frogged Ariann Sweater for my little cousin -- only the collar to finish in garter stitch, weaving in ends, sewing on buttons and blocking. I'm doing another percentage sweater for A4A and almost at the point where you do some short rows at the neck before the neck ribbing. That's two sweaters more than 90 percent done.

And then I realized: I am tired of knitting for others. I haven't knit for myself since (quickly checking Ravelry) July 1st (not counting the pair of mittens I knit, since it hasn't been cold enough to wear them). I am weary of all this "big project" knitting" as well. Next-up: a couple of smaller, selfish projects.

I think I'll get the sweaters done soon -- I'd like to, and I need to finish one of them by the middle of October to mail.

Knitting Time-Out

2008-09-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

The progress on the wonderful Ariann -- nada...oh yes, those who were at the Drinks Night on Saturday saw me further ahead than I had been. I was feeling pretty good there, and I was happily optimistic about finishing the sweater this week.

Then I had a teensy-wheensy problem with the next set of decreases. Exact same dyslexia problem of reading the pattern wrong, but this time I figured out the problem with just 1 1/2 inches knit. Frogged it, and knit back. I went further on to the neckline decreases, and noticed a small problem -- the stitches on each side of the front were off. I counted, not one, two or three stitches off -- seven stitches off. Yep, more than an inch.

With dread in my heart, I looked further down, and realized that the fronts were all off. The decreases in the lace pattern, which should match, did not match at all. And so it repeated, like the plagues that that long ago Egyptian Pharaoh had to endure -- a river of frogs all the way back to the armholes.

I am putting the sweater in time-out. Clearly this is not working the way that I need it to. I need to get all OCD and count all the stitches where the sweater is now and be sure that I count every other @#$#@ row. But this is not the time.

In better news, I finished the socks I've been working for for Afghans for Afghans:

And if you have any knitting time at all the youth campaign is in need of your knitting, if you can do something by the middle of October!

Me, I started a new sweater for this project, and it is a relief to be working in the Elizabeth Zimmermann world:

Denial is a river full of frogs

2008-09-06T07:37:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days when you remember that even an experienced knitter can mess up big time. In the past couple of years, I've knit a lot of things, and mostly they've gone well. But not this week.

I'm knitting the Ariann cardigan for my little cousin Rachel, and I had finished the body (knit in one piece) up to the armhole, the sleeves to the same point. I joined the sleeves and body and began knitting the yoke. The decreases looked a bit odd (not as much like the pattern as I thought they should), but this is my first time knitting this pattern, so I went along with it. Knitting denial had set in. I reached the point where the decreases for the neckline decreases begin.

Then in looking at the pattern, I realize that the pattern seems to indicate a lot of rows of decreases yet to come, with hardly any more rows in which to accomplish them. Dang pattern!!! But doubt creeps in. I'd found the knit-a-long thread on Ravelry and no errata were mentioned, and the designer is even there. The pattern is a pdf download that can be corrected quickly and easily.

With a bit of dread in my knitter's heart, I go back to the pattern, and realize that doing decreases "every RS row 6 times" is not the same as decreasing "every 6 rows 6 times."

And yes, those decreases started 7 inches back, just about to where those sleeves and body got connected. All the knitting I'd done during the Republican convention (yep, I'm blaming this on the RNC, why not?) had to be ripped out and done over. This is the biggest knitting mistake I've made in a couple of years.

So, with denial over, I ripped it out and am about 1/2 back up the yoke. Yes, it looks better and more like the pattern.

Making Lemonade

2008-08-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

I made this lovely multidirectional scarf in the time when I was trying to come to terms with my brother's death: I love the pattern and the yarn (Denali sock yarn by Pagewood Farms -- by the lovely Robin Page):

But I had yarn leftover, and yarn this good should not be left alone. So, since it was sock yarn, I sensibly started a toe of a sock:

I love this toe. It's a variation of a sock recipe by Merike Saarnit, who has not published it to my knowledge. My variation incorporates Judy's magic cast-on for a completely invisible toe.

On the side of the sock, you can just bareley see that cute little cable along the side? I wanted to have that as a fun small zing for the sock. But as I knit, I soon began to realize that my plans for two socks out of the leftover yarn was not going to happen.

I took a look again at that toe. A toe is another name for the top of the mitten, right? And hands are smaller than feet, so I figured, hey, I can do this. And then I realized having a set of a scarf and mittens makes a lot more sense than a scarf and socks! I'm onto mittens, great idea.

Well, I still wasn't all that sure that I had enough sock yarn, so I stopped the first mitten at the end of the hand, and then did the other hand, and realized that I was right, I didn't have enough yarn for the cuffs. I pulled out some nice Opal wool yarn and finished the cuffs. Here's one of the mittens.

But as I was playing around with the cuffs, I realized that my method of doing the thumbs (based on Kate Atherley's mitten recipe on Knitty), leads to having the thumb in the line of the mitten. What would happen if you decided that you wanted to have that cute little cable running down the front of the mitten so everyone, including the wearer, could see them? What would that look like? Well, if you put the "left hand" mitten on your right hand, the mitten looks like this:

And it totally, totally works like a mitten. Now this is a small, probably already-discovered discovery. An unvention, to use an Elizabeth Zimmermann term. But I have to tell you, it was such a lovely discovery, and I felt as though I was channeling Cat Bordhi as I did it.

And I really like having a pair of mittens to go with my lovely scarf!

3rd Time for the Ravelympics Podium

2008-08-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done with my Ravelympics projects. Here's the final FO -- a basic pair of mittens.

Tonight is for a post-project partying, but look for post-Ravelympics reflections tomorrow!

2nd Ravelympics FO!

2008-08-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

The judges inspected:

and my sweater passed

and I got my very special Ravelmpics pin.

Down to the Wire

2008-08-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

Last pre-FO update. The sweater is drying from the blocking, only the weaving of ends and sewing of buttons left.

On the mittens, only a couple of thumbs left -- maybe 1/2 hour of work.

I think I'm gonna make it!

One Lousy Inch

2008-08-22T12:19:00.001-07:00

So, one sleeve is done, and I have one more inch to go on the other one! Even though I have two more days to finish, I am compelled to finish it this minute...talk about knitting obsessions going over the top!

To the Finish Line

2008-08-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have 5 inches of sleeve plus the ribbing left to go on the sleeves. Shall I stay up late and get it done tonight, or be sane. I'll find out later.

Thanks for all the support in Ravelry, I need it!

I'm a Ravthlete!

2008-08-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

My badge has arrived and I wear it with honor!

A Bit of Frogging

2008-08-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

So, I started on my Ravelympics socks because I was getting tired of the stockinette body of the sweater. I worked it up through the heel, took it to Knit Night, the fount of Knitterly Wisdom, and the consensus was that the sock was too small for the 7-14 age range. Seriously folks, the size charts for childrens' socks tell you oh-so-helpfully that a shoe size of this translates to a sock measurement of that. But for those of us without specific children? None of the major charts I found were helpful in letting me know a size range for ages.

So, I frogged back to the toe, added more stitches, and I think it'll fit a kid with a slightly smaller foot than my Ladies' size 6. One sock done, started a bit of the toe on the next.

But now back to the cardigan. I've wondering how to finish this -- I think I'm doing navy seed stitch at the bottom and for the bands. We'll see now much navy is left for the neck and cuffs, but I've got more grey, green and yellow, so I'll have options. In addition, since we are halfway through the Ravelympics, the feline judging has started, and I think she's gonna be tough as those gymnastics judges:

She says that I need to add a bit more length, and to stick the edging!

Progress continues

2008-08-12T22:54:00.001-07:00

a4ayouthsweater4
Originally uploaded by skatfantoo

Now that I'm knitting green stockinette, it's seeming to go on and on. I think I'll cast on for one of my socks.

The Pace is Killing Me

2008-08-12T13:01:00.001-07:00

No, not the knitting, trying to awatch everything on the Olympics. Since I figured out yesterday how to configure the Macbook to get the video on this NBC Olympics website, my olympics time can now happen 24/7. This is dangerous, because the NBC gymnastics commentating is so bad (uselessly chatty and way too USA-centric) that I want to watch the full comp on my computer.

Then the mens gymnastics team has to totally blow my preconceived notions that any talk of a medal was ludicrous. Wow! They looked SO good that it's hard to realize that a couple of these guys were last minute alternates. NBC fails me again -- while I understand that the East Coast times are live, we on the West Coast could have this all start one hour earlier with no problems, and I would not be going to bed at 12:15 am still not having seen the end of the gymnastics comp.

Well, there are some knitting distractions too -- I'm in a lovely Kitty Toy Swap on Ravelry. I sent off the items to my partner, but we are also knitting toys for a cat shelter in Minnesota, and I couldn't see sending a couple of toys to a shelter, so I;m knitting and stuffing 10 (at least) fish cat toys like these:

The observant among you will see a mouse -- I created that myself with self-striping yarn in crochet for the last Kitty Toy Swap this past spring -- may have time for a couple of those. I stuff these with premium cat nip, and this time I'll include a bell in each as well.

and then because I go to an office now, it's just not practical to bring the two sweaters I'm working on (yeah, I am crazy), so I've got leftover sock yarn for some great socks for the Ravelympics.

Beyond a Yoke

2008-08-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

Last night, while endless feature pieces of two famous swimmer played, I got beyond the yoke of the sweater. It's on to the green body now! I think I'm going to do some EZ short rows in the back so the cardigan doesn't ride up in the back...

A Change of Plans

2008-08-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Our team has already completed two mittens and hat, and we are barely a day into the event. AMAZING!

Well, we knitters know a secret -- that you can always rip and frog(except when felting or using really fuzzy yarn). After all, plans for an item can change.

So, after showing the pattern for the youth sweater for Afghans for Afghans yesterday (which I may still make for myself someday), I decided I wanted to use another simpler pattern. I remembered that there are some unpatterns published on the web and found the Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan recipe. Lovely pattern, very easy to follow, and even has a cardigan option. I'm good to go. (And I heard about another recipe that I'm tempted by on the new Knotions magazine website - check it out.)

Then I had to figure out the stripe pattern. Again, memory bells rang to say that somewhere there are stripe-generating tools on the web. I found this one, and it worked like a charm -- you click on the colors you are using, enter a number for the rows you'll be working the stripes. Then you hit enter until you get a randomly created pattern that you like. Then you simply print out the pattern or save it as the instructions show.

I'm past the neckline, and doing the increases down to the armpits -- it's going a bit slower with the color changes for the striping, but I'm really liking the yarn (Wash-Day Wool by Reynolds, which I'm doubling for warmth), which I got on deep sale in So Cal.

Ravelympics: The Knitting Begins

2008-08-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

So, the sign-ups are done, the team is formed. We have a great, great team, you can find them here if you are on Ravelry.

My first and biggest project is a top-down raglan cardigan -- I'm kinda following this pattern from Cosmic Pluto -- but I'm sure I'll make adjustments as I go along.

For training, I swatched the yarn (doubling it)

Now I have gathered the yarn and the pattern (still need to get the Knitpicks options put together), and I'm ready to cast on today!

But before I do, I need to watch this again for the proper inspiration:

The Temperature is Rising

2008-08-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

So, today, the Queen of Afghans for Afghans sends out an email to everyone telling them to sign up for Ravelympics Team Afghan for Afghan by tomorrow. This is clearly a plan to make sure that I stay behind the entries.

But the project total is 110 so far!

Ravelympics Fever

2008-08-05T23:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, this Ravelympics thing has gotten way, way out of control. Over 4300 knitters signed up, over 11,000 projects and not everyone has signed up yet. That's a lot of butts sitting in front of TVs over the next couple of weeks. Well, sitting somewhere.

You see, one curious non-rule is that you don't have to be paying attention to the Olympics, I mean, the TV doesn't even have to BE ON, and you don't get fined, or anything. You could go to Antartica and ignore the whole thing, and the knitters would be fine as long as you turn in your FO on the right thread of Ravelry. So, while it claims to be a part of the Olympics fever, I am not convinced. I think it is a subversive way for knitters to take over the world. The knitting is what matters.

Me, I ended up as a serf (team captain) for Team Afghans for Afghans. This means that I spend a lot of time in the Captains' Lounge thread trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing (there's no job description -- this is VERY Beta), and trying not to fight with a former therapist who kept harping on people who mostly had managed to miss-tag their projects as FOs. She's now left because we weren't playing her game, and I'm hopeful that peace is breaking out in the Spirit of the Ravelympics.

But back to being Captain. This mostly consists of me trying to track down people who have mis-tagged their projects in a bunch of different ways that will keep them out of of the fun unless they change them before August 6th. Sometimes they post to the right thread that they are there -- these are the easy ones. Others I have to use more sophisticated searches, then send them polite messages that they need to get their acts together.

On top of this, two slavedrivers named Kay and Ann have this little blog called Mason-Dixon Knitting, and they posted about our team there, increasing my work by three-fold. You know, now that they've published their second book, and have this fancy-schmancy column in the new Twist Collective, they think that they can simply get people to knit for incredibly good causes and there be NO CONSEQUENCES AT ALL. As if the world is needing their assistance to provide warm sweaters to children in Afghanistan...sheesh. I mean, ok, there will be at least 60+ sweaters or afghans knit because of them. But, overlooking that little thing called being a generous knitter, they really have stepped over the line...

No Finishing (Almost) Knitting

2008-07-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

First, thank you to all who have supported me in this time of loss. It's been exhausting, what with a new job, extra training for my very part time water fitness teaching. I am surviving, barely. But onto the knitting!

I love Elizabeth Zimmermann. The woman was a genius, and my only regret is that only recently did I find her books and start into her wonderful world. I can't figure out how, having knit for so long, I managed to miss her.

So, I've been plugging away at a sweater for afghans for afghans for a while. I used her percentage system, and while the first one I did came out a bit squirrly, this one is going beautifully. You knit bottom up, in the round, do the sleeves (which I did at the same time on two circulars, so that they would match for once), connect it all together for the yoke. Brilliant, the woman was brilliant!

I changed the bottom ribbing from this

to this

because the ribbing didn't go with this yoke that I created (notes on this are on my Ravelry project page):

I have to say that I really, really like how this turned out, and since I'm not a yoke-sweater kind of girl, this is saying a lot!

When you cast off this sweater, the best part is that it looks like a sweater! The only "seams" are a total of two small sets of stitches to graft at the underarms:

and then all I have left is weaving in ends (yes, some of it occured in the knitting, but not all of it).

Next up, a sweater for my little cousin it's Ariann (ravelry link) from Chic Knits in Berrocco's Ultra Alpac. I knit her sister Allison a sweater for her birthday, and now it's time for Rachel to get one. She picked this pattern out of three cardigan patterns that I gave her to choose. I may make one for myself after I finish hers -- it's cute! Now I have to get her on the phone to find out her bust measurement to know what size to make...20 somethings can be hard to reach. Anybody know how to text?

The other project is part of the Ravelympics -- I'm captain of the Afghans for Afghans team, and I'm entered in the sweater sprint with another sweater for Afghans for Afghans -- I got some wool superwash when I was down in LA on one of my trips at the San Marino store A Stitch in Time.) I think this one will be a top-down raglan cardigan in the round.

Gratitude for Knitting

2008-07-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

On June 19th, my world changed. In San Jose at a national conference for my church, I received a phone call from my mother, who told me that the police had come to her house to notify her that my brother, Randy, age 56, had died. It was a total shock. We will never know what happened -- the coroner has said that his cause of death is undetermined.

The intervening weeks have been a blur. I have put a lot of miles on the car, flown to Denver and back, and dealt with what I have had the energy to deal with.

Thank goodness for the knitting. My Knitpicks lace sampler kit had finally come, and I wanted to make a shawl for the Afghans for Afghans project. I had started the shawl just before leaving for the conference, and it became my sanity-saver the past few weeks.

It started small,

and grew and grew:

I knit the whole thing in just 3 weeks. It was my prayer for my brother, my mother and me...

I also finished knitting a scarf:

Two easy knits, one of which that I can wear into the future, the other of which that will brighten the world of someone carrying many more burdens than myself.

I thank God for knitting.

Fair Weather Knitting

2008-07-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

This year I was inspired to enter some of my knitting by my friend, Judy, who entered items last year and did well. She did well this year too! A baby hat and cardigan:

And Judy also submitted Socks:

and Handspun in a couple of kinds, and a beautiful Tuscany shawl.

To my surprise, my Hanami shawl won the other special awards:

and this mystery item also did well:

Since I'm thinking of submitting this as an original pattern, I must not show a photo!

Many of you know that a family loss has occurred, and I want to thank all the knitters for their support. I will be blogging more about this soon, including about the solace of knitting in times of loss...

The Dye Runneth Over

2008-06-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

I like to recycle things, and recycling yarn is really great.

A friend gave me a partially completed sweater that didn't have the pattern. The cotton wasn't very nice, especially for a garment, so I threw away the unfinished pieces (yes, I regret that now that I know you can re-condition yarn), and kept the rest.

The yarn made an appearance on the blog when I used it to learn the basket weave pattern for the Hanami stole. So I decided to knit another side and make it into a market bag.

Cute, huh?

All went well 'til the blocking, when this seemingly undyed cotton showed that the dye had not set at all. Really. The dye kept coming out. I tried adding vinegar, but it didn't really help all that much. You can see the dye running on the handle.

I am glad that this won't need to be washed very often!

Lace Edges - cool!

2008-06-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

I decided to teach a class about lace edging. This was a bit of hubris, because I hadn't knit anything but bottom up lace edgings like this:

So, I've had a lot of fun learning the principles of perpendicular knitted lace edges. Great for baby blankets:

And equally terrific for bamboo and silk scarves:

We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

In other news, I submitted two items to the Marin County Fair -- one is the Hanami stole, the other is an item that I designed, and since I'm still thinking of submitting it for publication, I cannot blog about it. :(

Remember, WWKIP is tomorrow. I'll be at Marin Fiber Arts (where the scaffolding in front of the store might actually be a helpful thing finally) Find a public place and knit!

All About the Beads

2008-06-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Back when I did the Hanami stole, it was my first foray into bead knitting. I realize that starting to use beads on lace yarn like this is not the usual way to do it, but that's me. Fortunately, it wasn't a lot of beads!

Then, when I was listening to Ivy's Knit Spirit podcast, I noticed that Earthfaire was a sponsor.

So I checked out the website, and couldn't resist buying this kit -- I find that kits are really, really helpful when I'm learning something new. This kit, shown here:

is very complete, has very lovely crystal beads, all the materials (except the size 0 needles), and even came with a sterling silver clasp for the bracelet!

So, given that there is a bead store a block away from Marin Fiber Arts, I think I may be doing some more bead knitting!

Rocking the Socks

2008-06-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting socks for about 6 years. As with a lot of people, I was always intimidated by the tiny needles (although my first sweater was on size 1 and 2 needles!), the double points (I didn't know about bamboo and wood) and the term "turning the heel." In my mind, I imagined that knitting gymnastics were required, and decided that they were not for me.

The first ones I knit were actually baby booties in some DK weight. Then at Stitches I bought "The Purl Stitch" by Sally Melville which had a simple sock pattern and I stumbled into a booth with Mountain Colors and knit some great socks, although on too large needles. and they were easy, so then I branched out and got Folk Socks by Nancy Bush, and Cool Socks, Warm Feet by Lucy Neatby. Warren at Marin Fiber Arts has a great selection of sock yarn, including the amazing Pagewood Farm yarns.

But until a month ago, I had not used Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks That Rock." When visiting my friend Liz, we went to Purlescence Yarns, and I bought a skein in "Pebble Beach" which really does look like that beautiful part of the Monterey peninsula.

I knit. Yes, it was verrry, nice. I love the twist, the squishiness, the way it makes my knitting look great without any tugging. So here they are:

and a lovely turned heel:

I am happy sock person!

Babies Got Blankets

2008-05-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

Spring has brought two baby blankets across my needles.

The first was a communal project of the Knit Night gals at MFA for our friend, gypsyknitter, aka Tabitha. Amazing squares were knit, and it was my job to knit them together:

And knit up:

You can go here to see read more about the party and fun we had, and here for some great photos!

The other blanket is for Afghans for Afghans, and it has not been completed in time for the May 19th deadline:

Yes, that is Isadora with the enquiring look. It's finally sewn together, and now I have to find some TV time to sew the ends together.

The Knitterly Teacher

2008-05-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

I have taught a lot of things in my life. I can remember teaching dancing, Bible stuff (duh), flute, math, reading, etc. I've lead plenary session at large events. Most recently, I've started to teach water aerobics at the YMCA nearby.

Last Saturday I taught my first knitting class. Now, I've taught or helped folks one-on-one with knitting issues, because if you've knit as long as I have, it's hard not to do so.

Teaching a class on a pre-determined topic for which people have paid is a whole new kind of teaching. The basics are the same as any teaching. What are my goals for the students in the class? How can I help them along in their learning? What resources can I leave with them or lead them to so that the learning does not end with the Session?

The class? Intro to Lace Knitting.

First, a digression.I am silly enough to, when my college roommate Lolly retaught me to knit continental style (thanks, Lolly!), decided to make my first sweater a long-sleeved sweater on size 1 and 2 needles, in an all-over lace pattern. The only good thing was that I didn't choose cotton yarn - instead, it's some kind of itchy mohair/wool blend that I can't wear next to my skin. Yes, I am crazy.

But I did finish it. And altered the length of the body and sleeves to my petite frame. This was a sign of my future knitting determination.

So, going back now to look at what I wanted to know when I first tried lace knitting I realized several things:

-- Charts are cool. I'm a visual learner, and what a chart would have done for me I simply cannot express.
-- The person who invented the lifeline should win the equivalent of the Nobel Peace prize for knitting.
-- Stitch markers are not for small minds. They are for any mind that can wander for even a nanosecond.
-- Fixing lace mistakes comes with the territory - you are not stupid or dumb if you make them - we all do.

And you know what? I don't think any of my students thought I was new to teaching knitting...

It Fits!

2008-05-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Whew, I took the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan to my cousin Allison and here is what it looks like:

And another view also looks great:

In other knittings news, I am finally trying some BMFA Socks That Rock "lightweight" yarn that I bought at Purlesence Yarns a while back. I'm finally knitting a fairly vanilla sock,and I'm absolutely loving it, I have to say:

The colorway is Pebble Beach. My friend Judy thinks that the weight was mislabeled, because I'm knitting on Zero's and coming out at 7 stitches to the inch. So maybe it's really mediumweight, which would be fine by me!

The Flutter Sleeve Cardigan

2008-04-24T08:39:00.001-07:00

Fluttersleeve2
Originally uploaded by skatfantoo

I finished a sweater for my little (!) cousin Allison's birthday, the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2008.

Because it is a gift, it was a bit of a harrowing knit -- I couldn't try it on to see if it fit because we are are very different shapes and heights. Thank goodness for Ravelry to see what adjustments that folks made.

It is now done and looks fine laid out:

But will it fit and look good on her? I'll find out on Sunday!

Earth Day is Now a Season

2008-04-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Maybe you haven't heard, but this year there is a movement for an Earth "season" going from today until Mother's Day. I think this is a good thing, because it will be like other seasons and give us all time to think about the things we want to do that will change the impact on the earth.

I'm going to focus on greening my cleaning products (ha - that is, when I actually clean). I already use vingear and hydrogen peroxide, buy low impact dishwashing and laughry soaps, and have given up and am much happier without those fabric softener drying sheets. Don't have a place to put out the laundry, and with bad allergies, I think it would be a bad idea right now.

So, the focus will be on personal cleaning stuff for the most part.

and on the knitter's front, it will be my "knitting from stash season" -- yes, I know it's a pretty short time, and I just fell off the wagon on Saturday at the Marin Fiber Arts extravaganza, but you gotta start somewhere. I did buy some wonderful naturally dyed fiber and yarn on Saturday, so I've even begun the green front that way.

What will you do to go greener?

Loving the Lace

2008-04-05T22:12:00.001-07:00

Well, I've finally finished the Hanami Stole. I have to say, this was a fun pattern and an addictive knit for me. Here it is:

I used some seed beads that I had on hand that I thought went well -- and used some for the ruffle as well as the initial cast-on.

And this is a bit more ruffly than the pattern calls for -- I decided to add some fullness into based on the photos that I'd seen. I think it works fine.

And the yarn?

I LOVE the malabrigo lace yarn. And I have a whole skein left for some other project!

Basketful of Love

2008-04-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

Now it can be revealed. Here's the basket:

Here are the hearts (well, at least most of them):

and here is everything all together:

The heart pattern is wonderful free one by Anna Hrachovec at MochiMohchiland. We had a great time knitting them (in all weights and kinds of yarn, as you can tell), with beads or not, felted or not, stuffed or not.

And we hope that it makes Judy, our friend, walk just a little lighter in the coming weeks and months.

Knitting from the Heart

2008-03-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Knitters develop great bonds, and when one of them finds herself carrying a burden, knitters want to help.

Our friend Judy from Knit Night at Marin Fiber Arts got a horrible call last Saturday - her sister, who had been recovering at home from surgery, collapsed suddenly, and was pronounced dead at the hospital after paramedics attempted to revive her. She is being a good sister and seeing to many details and supporting her brother-in-law and nieces in the middle of this awful situation.

Last night, we began on a project for Judy to give her upon her return. I cannot say what it is, or it will spoil the surprise, but suffice it to say that we are glad to be doing just a little something to ease our friend's broken heart.

Knitting Balance

2008-03-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Kelley of the Knitpicks podcast talked about having a variety of projects going at the same time. One that is portable,one that is very simple for knit gatherings, and the project that you keep at home and work on by yourself.

Here is my current knit gathering project, which started life as a mitered square blanket,but is now a mitered square edged blanket:

And I'm beginning the Hanami stole in some beautiful Malabrigo lace. The basketweave pattern was not happening. Now, could it be that I was tempting fate by: a. not using stitch markers on an unfamiliar charted lace pattern; b. going down a needle size with lace yarn, and c. not skeining the lace-weight but putting it over my knees because I wanted to start NOW? Yeah, doh. I got back on the sanity train, put away the lace weight,got out some cotton that someone gave me from a UFO in worsted weight, broke out the size 7 needles, and got this:

And I didn't use stitch markers. I can be stubborn that way. I decided to do the full pattern twice,and I think it'll turn into a market bag! Last night I skeined the lace yarn without a swift or a ball-winder (a pain!) and got back to swatching in Size 3 needles (MUCH better):

Yeah, those are stitch markers in there. I do learn, just slowly!
Now I need to go buy the seed beads for the cast on!

The Circle of Knitting LIfe

2008-03-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

The cycle of knitting goes this way: a project is planning and dreamed of, materials acquired or purchased, swatches are made (right, all the time, right?) the project, if successful, reaches completion, including any particular needed accessories, such as belts and buttons. Hopefully, celebration occurs.

I'm at two very points this week. I've got a wonderful FO -- the Juliaca cardigan sweater (which amazingly is the only one in all of Ravelry). I've been wearing it all week. More details below. At the same time, I was dreaming and planning new projects. Two swatches are now done. I have measurements, and now the projects can begin. I'm at both ends!

Onto the Juliaca sweater. It looks good off:

It looks good on:

I also scored some incredible buttons at Stitches West:

These are from a small South African company called Incomparable Buttons. The vendor, who doesn't have a website (darn!) is Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods. I loved them, and you can go to the wholesaler's website, the particular ones I got are L375 (such a romantic name).

See how good that button looks on the sweater?

I am very happy.

At the other end of Knitting Life, two eggs are about to hatch. The one for me is the Corset by Annie Modesitt in some beautiful empire silk.

Here's a test swatch, which was hung and weighted with some fashion pins:

Pretty stuff, huh!

The other sweater is the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from Interweave Spring 2008. My LYS had a great sale, and I had a gift certificate that took care of part of it, so the whole thing is really quite reasonable. This swatch is perfectly on gauge. The sweater will be done in the darker color, and if I run out of yarn (unlikely, given the size of my cousin), I'll use the lighter color for the button band and tabs.

It has a terrific "hand" and will be just the professional look that my new-to-work cousin needs for her wardrobe.

The Yarn Harlot is a Genius!

2008-02-25T21:31:00.000-08:00

Maybe you haven't seen this post of Stephanie Pearl McPhee. She shares a wonderful little technique of crocheting across a piece of knitting, especially useful at the back of the neck when you don't cast off and cast on.

Not only did she share it, she also wrote and photographed a whole d@amn tutorial. Seriously, when does she sleep? She produces amazing cable sweaters with no sweat off her back, and the tutorial appears within a few days of the clamour of the blog for MORE DETAILS.

Said tutorial pushed me over the edge. Since I've just finished the Juliaca sweater (I literally sewed on the button yesterday that I bought at Stitches West on Saturday) in which I did not cast off for the neck and collar, I decided that I would see if it works. Now, it was a test to start, because the Harlot showed the technique with stockinette, and I was dealing with 2 by 2 ribbing. Would it work? Would it look ok?

So, here are my photos.

From the inside, it is reasonably neat:

And now for the outside:

Even though it's ribbing, it looks ok! (and it doesn't have to because of the fold of the collar, but isn't it great that it does.)

And now I'm not worried that the sweater is gonna slip down!!!

Stitches Hangover

2008-02-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

This is my fifth year attending Stitches. Every other year, I've taken classes as well as go to the Marketplace. There are so many things that I've learned that I haven't had the opportunity to apply, plus, I've bought a ton of books this year, so I decided to just do the marketplace.

Between joining a knit night, discovering the "online" community of knitting, and the buzz of Ravelry, it was a very different experience this year. I went with friends (thanks Leslie and Lisa for the carpooling, so much nicer!), and joined my wonderful pal Liz in the shopping as in years before. For the first year since attending, I had a clue about what is new and interesting.

But the other reality is that I also already own a ton of yarn. My stash is bigger than ever, and I have two great sweaters in my cue for spring/summer, a plentiful amount of sock yarn, etc. The only thing I truly needed were a closure of some kind for my Juliaca cardigan, which was blocked and all but done.

So I enabled my friend Liz (knitcrazy) who bought tons at really great prices. My only fiber purchase was a couple of skeins of Colrain at WEBS because I wanted to test it out with a hat for the Christian Seamens groups.

High and first on the list was checking out the Ravelry booth. Casey, despite being on the third day, was gracious in letting us take our picture with him in front of the Ravatars banner:

And lunchtime was the time to check in with other Knit Nighters, including Lindsay, Judy and Alison, who shared their experiences as well:

And I did find the perfect buttons, thanks to shopping with Liz, who wisely said, "Hey , there are button here, why don't you check it out?" I found the perfect buttons from South Africa. I've sewn on the button (one for now) and it is perfect! Photo to come when I can get someone to take my photo while wearing the sweater.

Today? I'm swatching for the sweaters that come next, and playing with the Colrain. Perfect timing for a stormy day with plenty of TV time thanks to the Oscars!

Travels with Knitting

2008-02-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been an extremely busy few weeks, with two major trips. The first one took me to the East Coast, where I managed to go through seven states in eight days. Admittedly, a couple of these were "drive throughs) but still!

The second trip was an amazing trip to Northern Ireland, Ireland, as well as England and Wales. More to come on that experience.

I worked on socks, including this wonderful Kaffe Fassett colorway:

I actually finished one on the first trip, and the second one on the second trip!

Along the way I visited my college roommate Lolly, who taught me to knit continental - for which I am truly grateful. I had sussed out that Stitch DC is the knitting place to go, so I went in the pouring rain and got some beautiful Jade Sapphire 100% cashmere to make a lovely scarf for Lolly:

And I'm totally excited to return home because I was able to finish by Juliaca cardigan.

Since I'm heading to stitches tomorrow, I will be able to find a totally great closure for it, so stay tuned for a real modelling job.

Feline Approval

2008-01-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

When I'm knitting, my cats sometimes get involved -- you know, playing with the yarn and the needles, although they are pretty well-behaved most of the time, but seriously, I get a lot of cat curiosity around here:

The best is when I get feline approval, such as here:

and here:

and when it is something specifically for the kitty, the love is very evident!

It is a good feeling!

Turning the (Knitting) Work

2008-01-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays, I got a lot of knitting to give, receive and work on. The holiday time is now a festival of extra time that I totally indulge in.

And the knitting Gods sent us awful weather with major traffic issues -- basically all major highways around me went defunct yesterday, so staying home and knitting was a good thing.

Ok, so some of the fun was in the giving -- some sock yarn (6-ply Opal in a lovely black, white and rosey red) and the very good Interweave Knits Getting Started Knitting Socks (which is now out of stock 'til March, so I'm glad that I bought it in December). This is a very good book for beginners -- it has ton's of photos, a sample sock, and lot's and lot's of text to explain the things you need to know. My friend Nhien has now knitted a pair of the sample socks, and is on to bigger and better things.

Other progress: I knitted with Zitron's Trekking Pro Natura, which has a lovely feel, wasn't splitty at all for me. The pattern is from Sensational Socks -- the Slipped-Stitch rib, which works well for a variated yarn. I also tried a new heel the "forethought" heel, which works so well for a variegated yarn, and allows one to finish the sock at the toe. I will definitely do this again.

I also finished a hat that will match a scarf that I have had for about 5 years -- and it looks really cute. Yeah! I love it when I finally figure out how to work a yarn.

BTW, I'm grateful to Judy for her great idea of getting the Schurch book cut into a binding format so it now sits nicely flat. SO much better. And I've got to get my Moosewood Cookbook (now over 25 years old) to go through this treatment.

And I'm working hard on a blanket for Afghans for Afghans -- using the Mason-Dixon Moderne Baby Blanket, with some extra color for fun. A nice, mindless knit. I'm getting close to the minimum size needed, we'll see how much yarn is left when I reach that!

And the other project OTN is Juliaca by Jane Ellison (the bottom sweater) -- a ribbed cardigan with some small cables at the bottom of the body, sleeves and at the collar. It's perfect for a short girl. I'm using Goddess Yarn's Ellen, a 50/50 wool/cotton blend, so I'm hoping that it will not get too draggy by the end.

And then, it turns out that my Karabella Empire Silk, a purchase made possible by a gift certificate by leaving my last position. Apparently, it is in the perfect color that will be "fashionable" to those who spend time worrying about these things. I am glad, and maybe that will help me get more organized for this yarn.

The color is very close to this:

I am so glad to have turned this page!

Christmas Knitting

2007-12-10T23:30:00.000-08:00

For the past several years, I picked a new thing to knit each year. One year it was scarves, another it was hats, a third year it was socks and the last time I did this it was felted bags.

Now I've mastered enough stuff that I pick out things for particular people. I'm not on the Yarn Harlot's kind of schedule, knitting amazing quantities of socks, hats, and other amazing things in great quantity. I have modest goals.

For my little cousins Allison and Rachael, there is a shrug and a pair of fingerless gloves, respectively.

Ok, the shrug doesn't look like a shrug here, and the kitties, Isadora and Brandy, were definitely intrigued!

My Mom is getting the Carlsbad scarf from Wrapped in Comfort in a lovely Bombyx silk from Ellen's Half-Pint Farms.

It's all knitted now, but not blocked yet.

My friend Lesley is getting these wonderful socks (the second one is now done too):

There is no guy knitting this year. Last year, I knit my brother and cousin socks, but they were not all that enthusiastic, so I'm passing. Life is too short to knit for folks who are polite about it, but not thrilled.

I've also got some yarn loveliness for my friends who are knitters. But they are web-savvy sneaks, so I'm not posting any photos.

For my cousin Marie, there is a secret knitting project that cannot be shown - it's the last one that is being worked on!

But the biggest Christmas knitting project is turning out to be Knitters for Critters -- between organizing (go here) and knitting ornaments like this:

We've already raised about $750 for those non-profits that have and will continue to help with the oil spill. What a great knitting Christmas it is turning out to be!

December Cheer

2007-11-29T22:37:00.001-08:00

This year is an odd year for me. For the first time in nine years, I won't be a pastor-type this holiday season. Added to that, I'm actually taking time off work for most of the month. Advent will truly be a time off for me.

On the knitting front, that won't be the case, of course. I'm involved with Knitters4Critters which is taking up a lot of time. And my Christmas knitting is going well. There are secret projects for my cousins Allison and Rachel, and I'm almost finished with wonderful scarf project out of the Bombyx silk for my mother and I've frogged the Jaywalkers that I was doing in the Regia bamboo because they were fitting me funny and I didn't think they'd work for my friend either, so I got some lovely yarn by Pagewood Farms in a wool superwash:

My cousin Marie has a surprise project too. Not too bad for December.

Knitters Unite

2007-11-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

Friday was our opening event for Knitters for Critters. We raised $350, which is a great start.

May I say that we have a fabulous knit night group at Marin Fiber Arts? Let us begin with Warren Agee, the owner.

How cool is Warren to have donated his space at the Parade of Lights event along 4th Street in San Rafael for our event. Yay, Warren.

Judy was AMAZING!

Along with Allison!

Sandy provided essential logistics and a winsome spirit!

Emily brought great snacks, flyers for folks to know more about the oil spill, and knitted more of her very cute Christmas stockings.

And many thanks to David Reidy of Sticks and String podcast fame for his support by mentioning this project!

Knitters for Critters

2007-11-18T08:09:00.000-08:00

I've been heartsick about the oil spill from the Cosco Busan ship as it hit the Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay. My sadness turned to anger as the initial response seemed to make several strategic errors in enfolding in volunteers, and making assessments quickly.

The nonprofit organizations have been heroes in this story. Many of them are mom and pop organizations, relying on a few dedicated volunteers and staff to stitch together resources, and when something like this hits, they are in need of help as this story will play out further in the weeks and months to come.

When I proposed to the Marin Fiber Arts Knit Night that we do a by and for Knitters Fundraiser, the reaction was very positive, even though it means that we are getting busier during an already busy season.

There are two pieces to the project:
We are making ornaments to sell this coming Friday, November 23rd at the Marketplace at the Parade of Lights and Winter Wonderland in downtown San Rafael. We welcome knitters who would like to knit for this (it’s short notice). Or, stop by Friday to help put together ornaments, or help us display and sell them later in the day.

You can also make an online contribution to one of the three organizations that we are highlighting because of their direct assistance and monitoring of the Bay following the oil spill. As an incentive to make a donation, the Knit Nighters and Marin Fiber Arts are looking through their stashes for some wonderful yarn as a drawing prize. For each $25 that you donate, you’ll get a chance to win! The deadline for donations is Friday, December 14th. We’ll draw on Saturday, December 15th, just in time for the lucky winner to have for some nice knitting time during the holidays.

Please join us as we make the connection, and help to clean up the bay one stitch at a time!

The Language of Knitting

2007-11-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

I've knit for a long time. I have old issues of Family Circle with knitting patterns, I remember when Red Heart was just about the only yarn out there for the average knitter. I remember when slp 1, k1, psso was the authoritative way to do a left-leaning decrease. There were no ssk, spk, or all the infinite variations one can find on the internet today.

Knitting these days is a whole new re-birth of the craft. There are wonderful free patterns on the internet, blogs that share FO's and UFO's, boards to share and commiserate, store sites to boggle the mind and pocketbook, and Ravelry to get us distracted from the actual knitting.

But at heart, knitting, if it involves a written pattern, still involves the knitter sitting with yarn, needles and a pattern to be interpreted. We cannot escape the need to speak the language of knitting. The thing is, which dialect are we speaking? Are we in "Knitty" land, or one of the older variations. How does this particular pattern envision the simple or not-so-simple yarnover?

So, I got this lovely Ladder Lace Shrug pattern by Ivy Mok as part of a purchase at CommuKnity on the Peninsula to Pier LYShop Hop last month. I took it with me on a short retreat to this beautiful place

and by the looks of the pattern (two rows long for the main lace pattern) I thought this would be a mindless knit. I needed a mindless knit. Then I read the pattern, and tried it, and all of a sudden my years of ignoring those pesky little details of yarnover variations became clear.

I've always been confused by the variations in how knitters describe putting the yarn over the needle to make a whole, except for the most simple yarnover between knit stitches. That one I've got down.These two rows bit my you-know-what. I literally put the whole thing down, because I was second-guessing myself - was this variation of a yarnover big enough? Is the hole the way the designer intended? How lacey should this lace pattern be?

(I'll note that far more experienced lace knitters have run up against this language issue -- Alison Hyde told me that she and her editor of "Wrapped in Comfort" do their yarnovers differently and had different notions of what she was intending. It makes me feel better to hear this.)

These are indeed the existential questions of knitting. Am I doing it "right" or right enough for me? What language is this pattern-maker writing?

Well, this is how my ladder lace shrug looks before sewing it together. I hope Ivy approves.

In another burst of lace knitting, I finished the Tuscany Shawl from No Sheep for You, this in Alfabeto from Artfibers. Those yarnovers are always between knit stitches, so my main problem was counting up to 10 over, and over, and over again.

I like it. Amy and I speak the same dialect of knitting!

When your page is a blank book

2007-10-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Fuguestateknits

who claims that she is simply expanding her horizons by including new Ravelry friends. Hah! I did manage to find time to read my blog today, and while the one lone comment seems kinda sad, I will comply.

The closest book to me is No Sheep for You, and it is only 160 pages long -- so the blank space is in memoriam to the tagging!

I will tag those in my knitting group, because I am conveniently out of town this next week, and won't have to face them!

To repeat the rules: go to page 161 of the book you are reading, print sentence number 5, and tag five other bloggers. Have fun!

Peninsula to -- Morgan Hill?

2007-10-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

My friend Liz was game to go on the 2007 Peninsula to Pier Shop Hop, which was organized by the CommuKnity store. Thank goodness for knitting friends. I need this overnight venture before a very busy week and a half.

We started at Nine Rubies on Friday afternoon and got to meet the lovely Jocelyn as a bonus. I swooned over the Kaffe Fassett Regia colorways, and Liz succumbed and bought the colorway I wish I had - ooops. There is redemption later in this story. This is a very friendly place with a lovely seating area.

At just about every store, someone commented on Liz' amazing scarf out of yarn she got at Tuesday morning. It is stunning yarn, and I'm happy to say that she knit me one too (she's the only person brave enough to knit for me). As an afterthought, folks would comment on my stash sweater - a good way to keep my knitting ego in check!

Knitter's Studio was an amazing inspirational kind of place -- where you see things you hadn't imagined possible. So much fun to look, but I think I'd have trouble buying stuff at this store because of the way that it is organized. Liz loved it because she likes and is good at combining all kinds of yarn together. So, what did we buy? A single skein of Cascade 220. Yeah, we suck at inspiration. FYI-The clerk didn't seem very excited about the Shop Hop.

Uncommon Threads was a very friendly store with many great tempting things, and we walked away with sock yarn.

By now, we needed a break and some food, so Liz has us stor fora wonderful dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant called Kahn's -- I highly recommend it. We were stuffed and took food home for $30 between two of us.

May I take this opportunity to say that the Parking Gods smiled on us the whole way?
CommuKnity was the best. Just as I was about to say that we might have to look a little, a car pulls away from right in front of the store. Yep, we got the best possible spot on an otherwise completely full spot. We were glad that we hadn't rushed our wonderful Vietnamese dinner, because the dyeing demo was cancelled. However, we explored the wonderfulness of the store, and I walked away with the shrug yarn (forgot the free pattern, but called and they are emailing it to me -- thanks, guys!). So charming, and I loved petting all their yarns!

Rug and Yarn Hut (in Campbell) was fun too -- the gal immediately showed us the free sock pattern -- it's a nice one, and Liz bought her third skein of sock yarn. Mind you, she hadn't knit socks until I bought her some Claudia Hand Painted from CommuKnity at Stitches. She now owns Sensational Socks and More Sensational Socks -- yes, she's gone over the edge and will never be normal again. She's putting me to shame in the sock department. Oh, she got a cute infant hat kit for her grandson -- at half price, and a Debby Bliss pattern, how can one go wrong?

I did break down and buy a bit of yarn, as the photo at the top shows -- the shrug pattern and yarn at CommuKnity, and some sock yarn at Uncommon Threadssome. Both for Christmas presents, so it isn't stash, right? Then, at Full Thread Ahead I broke down and got the Kaffe Fassett Regia Colorway, and at Yarndogs, I got some orange and black yarn on 40 percent off, so I'm fully equipped.

But I want to make clear that Liz bought more yarn than I did!

We ended at The Continental Stitch in Morgan Hill, but while we looked, we didn't buy anything. It was a quiet ending to a wonderful place.

Whew!

2007-10-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

After knitting a number of garments for Afghans for Afghans, a couple of scarves for the Red Scarf Project, and some stuff for Lilybugs, I'm delighted to be back knitting exactly what I want to knit right now.

Don't get me wrong, I love charity knitting, but you have to knit what they need, or it doesn't matter, and so I'm glad to be able to spread my wings more.

Notice the button on the right -- Think Outside the Bottle -- check it out, and don't buy corporate water that's been bottled straight from your tap!

Knitting for Afghanistan

2007-09-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Early this year, I discovered one of the many charity knitting projects out there -- and this one is perfect for me -- Afghans for Afghans (see the button to the right). Anne Rubin, the founder and organizer, probably never dreamed that this work would be going on so long, but the needs are still critical.

I'm so glad that that the latest project partner is Church World Service, an ecumenical agency that partners worldwide, and is just an amazing organization. As a result, I've been knitting a lot, but not for me.

First, I knit a couple of hats,

A pair of mittens from the leftovers that I made the hat with!

And I made a sweater that I'm really happy with -- out of a Cascade 220 Heathers, with a bit of color thrown in for interest. The actual pattern is from a booklet published by Phildar in 1985, if you can believe -- it was called "New Classics", and other than the slightly blousy sleeves, they really are classics. C, the son of one of our Knit Night-ers, happened to come this past week when I brought the finished sweater, so I even got it modelled! Isn't he cute -- and thanks to Judy for taking this photo with her iPhone!

I also have a Kid's Hoodie that's almost done, and more Cascade 220 that I think I'll try either a vest or two or three hats, or maybe some thick socks. We'll see!

Yarn Splurge(s)

2007-09-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

ok, I promised to talk about yarn splurges. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my congregation had bought a very generous gift certificate to Marin Fiber Arts. Up til this week, I bought a bunch of Cascade 220 at 20 percent off for several things for Afghans for Afghans (you're knitting for them too, right?). That left a bunch still there, and I had Warren swear not to let me fritter this away with little purchases that wouldn't add up.

So, Tuesday afternoon, I need to get a fun thing in after having some fillings done at the dentist, and while I hung out with Warren, I decided to get serious about the yarn purchase. Yes, Patricia, Boise was seriously considered, but I'm not into making really really expensive things that I can't wear for much of the year. So, I went instead for the Karabella Empire Silk in my signature blue color. Definitely the totally biggest yarn purchase of my life. Yahoo! Don't know what it will be other than some kind of cardigan. I've checked out Luxury Knitting at Warrne's recommendation so I figure out the kind of being that this silk is!

But that wasn't the only splurge for the week. No, indeedy, I went on Sunday to Artfibers, and simply could not leave without Alfabeto, seen here:

Third Sock

2007-09-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Why make a third sock -- when I have only two feet?

Well, it goes like this. I made a wonderful pair of socks using a Regia 4-ply yarn in lovely blues and greens using a great Knitty pattern called RPM. The yarn is wonderful, hard-wearing yarn, and the pattern, which is a spiral rib, is great pattern to hug the leg and foot. I loved these socks.

But then, up in Tahoe, when I had to do laundry, the unthinkable happened -- one of the socks disappeared when I did my laundry at the laundromat. The remaining sock was lonely.

and so because I want my socks to feel good about themselves, I checked the leftover yarn, and I think there's enough to do a third sock to pair with the other one. So far, it's looking good -- I think I'll have just enough from the remaining ball to make the matching sock.

For Tomorrow: yarn splurge!

Stash Acquisition

2007-09-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

Travel implies a need for stash acquisition, at least for this knitter. Niki, who frequents KnitTalk on Yahoo, helped me this time when I mentioned I was heading to North Carolina. Even though I was going to the Asheville area and she lives 4 hours away, she was quite helpful in recommending yarn stores in the area.

The closest town to Montreat is Black Mountain, which used to have a cute yarn store on the main street Broadway -- no more. Although the website is still active, the store is something else, and the phone number disconnected.

So the yarn crawl had to head to Asheville. The local tourism bureau, because of the folk craft nature of the area, has a tri-fold flyer on fabric, fiber and bead stores in the area. After looking at that and comparing it to the list Niki gave me, I headed to Purls in downtown Asheville on a Saturday morning when I was heading out of town. Purls was listed as a store that focused on natural fibers.

As soon as I parked (conveniently across the street and only $1 on Saturdays) and walked in, I knew it was a good choice. The store is organized by color, which gives the store an immediate arty look. The guy (who was helpful when I called for directions) was great -- helpful without being intrusive. And it turned out that when I picked up this:

it was his very own handspun yarn.

But I also think that one of the reasons to buy yarns while traveling is to find things that I haven't seen at home. Why buy stuff I can do at home (and support the folks I need when I'm trying to figure out a pattern)? So, I asked the helpful guy for stuff that is new and I found this lovely wool merino from Peru:

which is Mirasol Hacho, and is a wonderful bouncy yarn with a wonderful twist. I can't decide what to make -- mittens, socks, a hat? Oh, I am very happy with all of these purchases.

The final part to this experience was as I left, I was able to get some great lunch ideas, and had the best bowl of soup at a place called The Laughing Seed!

Trip Knitting

2007-09-02T20:23:00.001-07:00

I've been traveling a lot in the last six weeks. Sometimes a trip will provide major opportunities to knit (while I was in Tahoe, I almost finished my tomato, and worked on socks), but on others, it is simply not knitting aura.

I was at Montreat Presbyterian Conference Center, in Montreat, NC, more famously known as the home of Billy Graham (trivia alert: Ruth Graham was a Presbyterian, and this is a very Presbyterian kind of place, an odd place for one of the most famous Baptists, I'd say). The photo to the right is one that I took while there last October for another event.

Anyway, this was a NOT-knitting kind of trip. I was with people all day, and my brain was thinking all the time, and there was a brief few hours where I felt that I literally should be in three separate states of the union for various reasons. It was stressful.

The complicated sock patterns I brought along were wwaaayyy beyond my mental capacities, so fortunately I brought along this scarf of my own design -- knit purl diagonal ribbing, baby!

Finally, yesterday I went back to my basic sock recipe and began with this Regia self-striping yarn -- Isadora clearly approves.

But there were, of course, some yarn acquisitions, some on eBay, others in Asheville. I'll review them tomorrow!

Knitting on Faith

2007-08-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

When I left the congregation where I served three years ago, my knitting yearnings were well-known, and I got a gift certificate in the hundreds to my then favorite LYS, which lasted 'til about 9 months ago.

This month I'm finishing another interim pastorate, and because they are very much in debt for all kinds of reasons, many of which are not under their control, I expected a potluck party and good wishes for the future.

Imagine my huge surprise then, when I got the following at my farewell party yesterday:

-- a pair of lighted knitting needles, with batteries
-- two books on knitting (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's At Knits End, and Zen and the Art of Knitting
-- a gift certificate to my NEW favorite LYS in an amount almost equal to that of the last larger and more financially stable congregation of three years ago.

Are these great folks or what!

OTN: a scarf for the Red Scarf Project

Stress Knitting

2007-08-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

It's one of those weeks, when there's too much life for the hours that are there. In other words, I need my knitting. It'd better be pretty simple, because it's just not a good thing to add to the stress by having to frog stuff.

So, I worked on this birthday present for a family member:

and started the Carlsbad scarf in Alison Hyde's Wrapped in Comfort. It's done with beautiful bombyx silk from Ellen's Half-Pint Farms, a score that I made at Stitches West this year. I tried two other patterns that didn't work because it made it look like tie dye (the pattern repeated too perfectly) but this is going to be very nice...and it's very easy, so it's good for my nerves!

Vacation

2007-08-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been away, on travel for work, and then what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. So the vacation part was good for a while, but then life intervened, and it wasn't so much.

In short, my Mom joined me in Tahoe, and after a couple of days, she fell. Fell kinda down a small incline, over bushes. Rolling over kinda falling. For an 85-year-old with osteoporosis, this is not good. At all.

But miraculously, she got away with a pain in her neck and a bruised hand! No ambulance or broken bones. Dude, she WALKED AWAY from the fall...that's a spunky 85-year-old.

But the rest of the time was spent in some care-taking, not just relaxing. Clearly that is going to have to wait 'til September.

I did, however, get some knitting in...cute socks for Mom in Panda Cotton

and another Tomato sweater, just for me!

Celebrating some FOs

2007-07-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those FO's that you are really, really glad to have done? This week I finished the Lily seater in Euroflax linen by Louet.

It came out well -- a bit of fudging with the styling to accomodate my shorter, curvier shape, but the fiber is very tough on the hands. I will be knitting with only very soft stuff for a while. In addition, because I am a loose knitter, this baby was done on size 0 addi turbos. It was like knitting a very, very large sock for an elephant with twine.

Did I mention that I really liked the outcome? In that respect, it is, I fear, a lot like having a baby -- so much fun at the end that I'll forget the process.

I also finished a hat and socks of my own design for a cute baby in my life.

So, what do I do to celebrate -- yep, head straight to the lys for a fix! Got me some Sierra in a couple of nice colors to make a Tomato for me, now that I realize what a lovely pattern it is because of the one I made for my cousin. LYS owner talks me into some Regia bamboo to take to knit a sampler sock -- I'm using the Jaywalker pattern, since it seems to work with almost any yarn, and I've wanted to try it.

Wrapped in Alison's Warmth

2007-06-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today I headed to Marin Fiber Arts for the booksigning with the wonderful, amazing, gentle spirit that is incarnated as Alison Hyde.

She brought her wonderful shawls for us to admire and drool over, and although the sun is not great for her, she would not remain alone, but joined us on the floor, refusing to take a proffered chair – there’s a humorous story she told about a couch, but it is her story, and I leave it to her to tell it.

The book is lovely and wonderful too. Thce shawls really do work so much better than others that I have seen, and lucky me, the Carlsbad scarf is perfect for some bombyx silk from Ellen’s ½ Pint Farm that I bought at Stitches West earlier this year. And I will decide on whether a shawl is in my future.

She laughed with Patricia, of the very cool Sea Socks '08

took photos herself

and posed with me and Warren Agee, owner and inspiration of Marin Fiber Arts.

It was a good day!

Squatty

2007-06-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

Today I post my Amanda Squatty Sidekick photos. I used Cascade 220, in a wonderful purply heather. The purse felted in 5 minutes in the washer. One hank with leftovers, hardly any finishing -- you gotta love it!

At the owner's request, I made one for the LYS -- www.marinfiberarts.com -- with a much nicer button from the store.

A Yarn Fast for a Good Cause

2007-06-28T17:57:00.001-07:00

Well, I was so busy on my mission trip to build a couple of houses in Mexico that hardly any knitting happened -- I started the toe of one sock, but then I got busy the rest of the week, or was so beat that yep, the trip turned into a complete yarn fast.

But see what was accomplished -- we helped build houses, one for this family -- Luis, Yajida, and Janeen:

and the baby's feet were stamped into the new concrete entry to their new small, but now more than twice as big house!

I think the Yarn Goddess will understand!

Tomato Sweater

2007-06-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

I have a new finished object:

- the Tomato Sweater from No Sheep for You -- I made this out of Cotton Fleece yarn, and hoped that it would work -- it did! I think the 20 percent wool actually gives it a nice drape, and I'm sure that Amy would approve. I had my cousin Marie (who I was making it for) try it on yesterday before I wove the end in -- a perfect fit.

Now I want one for me!

The Knitourage

2007-06-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today is World Wide Knitting in Public Day.

And in my county, it is also the day of almost a fair in every part -- the LYS was just 1/2 block from the Italian Street Painting Festival, which is a wonderful place to see artists doing it for the love of it, great music, decent food, and funding for youth in arts.

So, what better than having a wwkip fest in the middle of it.

For the past couple of weeks, I've starting calling our Knit Night group the Knitourage -- kinda like a knitting Entourage. So, I made up some stickers like this:

We were lucky, we had knitters from the north (Sebastopol and Santa Rosa) as well as folks from the Marin Knitting Guild. It ws a very good thing. Look at the fabulous lace scarf being knit in the chaos, and then there was a big knitting emergency Gabby finished her hat while there and had no other knitting, but Warren came to the rescue with a swatch for her to work on!

and I have finished the Tomato sweater from No Sheep for You that is destined for my cousin Marie for her birthday on June 19th. Photos coming - I want to make sure it fits, so she gets to try it on tomorrow...

2007-06-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog, and my first blog entry. Late to the game and dollar behind to boot, but what the heck. My publishing desires can be fulfilled, and I have a place to post my knitted objects.

All is well. Because I blog, I am!