Styling It

I bought myself a new jacket to wear on the bus, rather than wait for the long process of knitting myself one. Of course, a new jacket inspired me to knit some accessories for it.

The knitting in yesterday's post was my new hat. Isn't it cute?

The pattern is Rose Red by Ysolda Teague. The pattern was a joy to knit, with clear instructions and fun milestones to keep you knitting, such as watching the flower on the crown emerge or switching from lace to cables.

After it came off the needles I tried it on and it did not look good. Sort of like a puffy beanie. I have a theory that girls with straight hair can wear snug beanies and girls with curly hair should wear slouchy, draping hats. A full immersion and a day spent stretched over a dinner plate resulted in the hat of my dreams.

It's worked in Rowan's Kid Classic, which I bought especially for my hat. I wanted something that would go along with the scarf I had knit earlier. I like how the two go along with out being an exact match. Kid Classic was beautiful to work with, stood up well under extreme blocking duress, and has a lovely bit of a halo from the mohair. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

Now I need some mittens.

Foodie

This must be a quick blog post. My weekend has been incredibly busy and I don't know where the time has gone. Here's a couple snapshots though.

Alex took this picture of my supper one week night.

Grab a bite!

However busy life gets, there's always room for knitting. In this case, a hat to go with my new coat. I can hardly wait for it to dry to see if it fits and looks nice. You can just never tell with hats.

Still Life - Fruit with Knitting

I hope you weren't too hungry before you stopped by my blog.

'Tis the Season to Accessorize!

Since I last showed you knitwear, I was off work sick and we had some horrible weather which got me to thinking in terms of keeping the cold out. To that end, I present a parade of warm accessories.

First up, Canadian gloves. A variation on Nancy Bush's Canada socks from Knitting on the Road.
Jim and I are both very happy with these. The Kroy knit up very dense on 2mm needles. I had only one ball of the main color and ran out with the second thumb still to knit. I popped into Michaels with the glove in my pocket and easily matched the color with a new ball of Kroy. I love the color so I bought two. So much for de-stashing!

As an aside, walking through Michaels at this time of year, the aisles are just filled with clutter and kitsch. It made me really happy to be a knitter, creating beautiful and practical things.

Then I decided that Luke needed a nice warm hat for the 20 minute walk to school. In an effort to give him something practical and stylish, I decided to make up Struan.


It came out great and was a lot of fun to work. But Luke doesn't like the peak. He can feel it pressing in to his forehead. It does press in, but very slightly. However, Luke is sensitive and it doesn't do to argue with him. So, I knit him another hat.

This one he likes! No pattern, really. Just 2x2 rib until it was almost 11 inches, then decrease it all away.

There is over two balls of yarn in this hat. I almost always make my hats too shallow and I really wanted him to have a cuff deep enough to cover his ears. This one is almost too deep. But no matter. He likes it well enough that he was wearing it around the house all morning.

The yarn is the same as for Struan, which is a 70/30 alpaca/wool blend that is soft, squish and warm. I plan to knit him a dense pair of mittens and a loose and squishy scarf to go with his new hat. Then I know he'll be toasty and warm all winter on the way to school.

Speaking of squishy, while I was sick, my knitting brain took a holiday and I made myself some garter comfort.

For a novelty yarn, this one was a winner. It's actually got some merino wool in the blend and I love the little bit of gold sparkle in it. It whispers Christmas at me.

I knit it loosely so that it's huggable and squishy. I just love it! I bought three skeins of the yarn at the Needle Emporium's tent sale for a dollar a ball. It would make a great Christmas gift, if I can bear to give it up.

I have great plans for more accessories for family and maybe a few for Christmas, but there's also a sweater in the wings that I'm eager to get at. This time of year is great for knitters. We are so appreciated!!

A Happy Halloween

It was a great Halloween here last night. Alex and his friends were mages: water, earth and fire.

The water mage's grandmother put these costumes together starting Friday night when the boys announced that the party they were going to was canceled and they wanted to go trick or treating. She used bedsheets and ingenuity! In return, we had the group for a hearty chili supper before they hit the streets.

This was probably the last time any of our boys will be making the rounds of the neighborhood, so I'm very glad Alex had such a great time with his friends.

How It All Turned Out

It's too bad that life gets in the way of knitting. Sunday, I stopped to walk the dog, eat dinner and I even went to bed early. But I did get so far as one arm band completed. My teensy-weeny yarn cake only got me so far as three rows of ribbing and I had to cast off. At this point, three rows seemed pretty darned good.

But the remaining yarn wasn't enough to cast off with. There was ten stitches on the needle when the yarn ran out. I believed I had started with the slightly smaller ball, so I spliced in the second ball and completed the cast off.

Monday, I had to go to work. Terrible, I know. And when I got home, I had to eat and walk the dog AGAIN. He wouldn't negotiate that.

So I knew I had three rows to knit and then time to cast off. This time there was even more stitches on the needles when the yarn ran out, maybe 30 or more. What to do? I needed to splice in more yarn... Oh yes! The ends!

I started sewing in the ends and as I completed each one, I spliced in the reminder to the yarn on the needles. I must have spliced in 5 or six little pieces. Sometimes they came apart as I started the cast off, but I just spliced them back in and kept going. And you know what?

IT WORKED!!
Yeah, I know, even Jim looks surprised. He was watching Lie To Me and it was getting to the climax. The poor guy worked hard to day, and he was in the middle of an interesting program, yet he still took the time to put on a good shirt and model the vest.

He hasn't decided if he likes it yet, and I'm not pushing him on it. He claims he is "not a vest guy". But if he doesn't want it, I bet my dad will.

So thank you, everyone, for your rooting and cheering. Don't you love it when the story has a happy ending?

Public Service Announcment - Free Patterns

On the third Tuesday of the month the Forest City Knitter's Club meets for show 'n tell, refreshments and occasionally a presentation. For October I was supposed to be giving a presentation on where to find free patterns on the internet. But now I can't (for reasons I won't go into detail about here) so I thought I'd put the links and explanation here on my blog.

Ravelry is your best source for finding free patterns on the internet because it is a one stop shop. Any pattern available for free on the net is most likely listed in Ravelry. To search for only free patterns, select free->yes from the availability tab on the pattern search page. See below.

Note that you do need to register to get access to Ravelry. There is no charge, and they don't sell your e-mail anywhere. If you aren't already registered, do it. The only thing you will regret is the time you will loose to its fascinating pages.

The grandmother of online knitting magazines is Knitty. Free patterns, articles, reviews and more. What's not to love? All Knitty's patterns are listed in Ravelry, but you can also search Knitty.

Interweave Knits has a website called Knitting Daily, that offers free patterns, free e-books and patterns from back issues for sale.

For those looking for edgier designs, articles and more, get over to the AntiCraft. It's not just knitting...

Lots of yarn companies offer free patterns to go with the yarns that they sell. Here's some of them:

• Drops designs has oodles of wonderful patterns. Very stylish. Often updated.
• Lion Brand
• Berroco
• KnitPicks
• Elann
  

Definitely worth a look is The Twist Collective. The online magazine is free, and it's beautiful. Lovely photos, great articles and lots of fun. If you like the patterns featured in the magazine, you'll have to pay for them. But it's well worth it!

Of course I haven't hit them all. These are just the ones that cross my path most often. Happy knitting and see you tomorrow night! (Maybe I'll have a vest with me....)

Knitting at the Edge of My Seat

Ever read a book you just couldn't put down? One that had suspense and drama? Where you just had to keep reading to find out how it ends? This weekend, my knitting has been just like that.

I've been working on a vest using special Fleece Artist yarn that exists no more. If I have not enough yarn, then there is no more to be had. As of Sunday afternoon, I have this much of the vest done:

Pretty, no? I just love the colors, the way the bright blue pops through the murky greens. Did you notice how much yarn I have left? It's hard to see because it's got some nice camouflage action going on. Here's a close up:

Whee!!!! That's knitting it close. I'm alternating a row from each ball, so I'll have equal shares of yarn for the arm bands. I'm dying to know if I'm going to make it.

Must. Keep. Knitting.

Well, I did take time out for a dog walk this afternoon. The sunshine was so lovely. It was also a perfect moment to catch a better shot of the recently completed Chunky Cabled sweater.

I should call it the hunky-chunky cabled sweater. Yowza!

Following the Happy

When knitting to please myself, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to what project gets worked on, so please, don't ask me to explain. I'm just following my happy-making knitting. And tonight, I'm thrilled with this:

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I fell in love with the start of this project. The pattern is the Canada sock from Knitting on the Road. But the pattern was too snug to go over Jim's heel (the man has aristocratic arches and a deep, though narrow, heel). I was so enamored, I ripped back and began reworking it as a glove. And it fits like one too.

My favourite way to work gloves is to have the recipient try it on as I go. This ensures a perfect fit, even if it does drive the recipient a little batty, as they are asked to try it on during television, while drinking coffee or playing a video game. But Jim is well pleased with the snugness of it, and I'm pleased with how dense the Kroy 4-ply worked up on 2mm needles. There's only one fly in my ointment.

Tonight I cast on the second glove and in doing so I realized that I made a pretty big boo-boo in the cast on.

There's one row main color in the twist on the first one (to the left), but the second glove's cast on is the correct method. The second one (on the right) looks better in my opinion. Lucky for me, I'm not a fanatic about perfect matchiness. In fact, I think this rather charming. I guess it must be true love.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving all you Canadians, and happy Soctoberfest to all you knitters!

This year, I'm thankful for:

1. A sturdy car that protected Jim in the accident.
   
2. That Jim was able to get his feet under him and get working again.
3. A healthy family.
4. An over abundant stash. :)

Yesterday, I was looking over the socks drying in the laundry room and I noticed that Jim's Clessidra were wore through on the ball of the foot. These socks were finished in April of 2007, and considering that Jim likes them so well he wears them frequently, I'd have to say the sock yarn held up very well. But still, it would be a heart wrencher to throw knee socks into the trash. So darn it all, I darned them!

Jim tried them on and said he couldn't feel the difference. There was still some of the original yarn left, so I wove it through the last remaining nylon of the stitches vertically, and then wove in some more horizontally. That extra thickness may just give Jim another two years from these socks. I hope.

While working with the socks, I admired the pattern anew. I may just knit them again someday. The stash even has 4 skeins of the burgundy Regia silk originally called for in the pattern. Jim would be happy I'm sure.

And now presenting new socks:

My hand-dye, Nancy Bush's Madder Ribbed pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks (sort of, I used my preferred heel and toe). These are for Luke. It's hard to believe his sweet soft baby feet have grown into such long flippers.

Nurturing a Creative Seed

Taking the bus isn't so bad. I'm finding it rather relaxing in a way, since all I have to do is get myself to the bus on time, which is way less stress than fighting traffic. But it has got me thinking about how I can make the experience more comfortable.

First off, I bought a good umbrella and that's been indispensable this week. Next, I've got myself a large yet stylish bag with a long strap for carrying my stuff. But more importantly, I need the right kind of jacket. My current jacket is waterproof, but also doesn't breathe, so after a while it feels like you're wrapped in plastic, gently steaming. What I need is a wool coat!

My brain stormed, thoughts churned and Saturday morning all my ideas came together. After my morning chores, I got to sit down to play with yarn and pencil crayons all afternoon long. It was wonderful to immerse myself in a creative flow. I kept up a little inner dialog of encouragement and support that saw me through the whole thing. No negative thinking was allowed. It was awesome and I'm so proud of myself for that alone!

And here's the result:

It doesn't look like much, but most seedlings don't. The yarn is mostly Philosopher's Wool, with some Black Water Abbey, Beaver Slide and Jamieson's Shetland thrown in. The chart is Alba from Alice Starmore's The Celtic Collection.

I tried to channel Alice in planning the colors. I've noticed that she often uses two bands of highlight color ways over a background color way. In this case, the neutrals are the background, and the bright blue and bright pink are the highlights. It looks a little silly on its own, but when there are more repeats stacked up and a whole sweater put together, I'm hoping it will look cohesive.

I can't knit this for too long a stretch at a time. I start getting self-doubt, then frustration and then an urge to rip. I have to keep up the positive self-talk and that gets tiring. Here's hoping this seedling will sprout and grow!

OMG! It Fits!!

Squeeeee!! Look at that! Jim is the proud owner of a new sweater.

When I first joined the shoulders I thought that there was no way this was going to fit. That area looked so small! So the sweater sat in time out for a while. Jim would speak wistfully of his sweater, while I scorned the stupid pattern and cheap yarn. Sure it was a nice color, sure the yarn was soft, sure the design was unique. But look what wandering from the beaten path gets you, a no good-nik sweater with no shoulders to speak of. Then Jim would gently reaffirm his faith that it would fit, and coax me to just try. Just put the seams together before I gave up on it.

How could I refuse him?

I eased myself into the seaming. I set in one sleeve at a time. He tried it on and things looked a little more hopeful. So tonight I sat me down and stitched the whole thing up. You could have knocked me down with a feather when the darned thing fit! Want to see it again?

It was a close call, and it's a good thing that Jim is a slim fellow, or I don't think he would have been comfortable wearing it. Oh yes, he still would have worn it, just not able to move his arms much.

To give the pattern credit, I think I may have caused the problem by switching the cable designs from what was written. First off, I started knitting this design with the sleeves. The ribbing for the sleeves is set up to flow straight off into the cables. It's a nice design feature. When I started on the body, there was a similar set up with the ribbing. But the cables didn't flow with the ribbing, instead they went in the opposite to what they should have if they were going to match the sleeves. So I switched the cables.

The problem happened when I reached the armhole shaping. A signifigant part of the design is the addition and removal of stitches for the cables. If I had followed the pattern as written then the cables would have been at maximum stitches. See below.


Instead, we ended up at minimum stitches:

And that's what you get kiddies for trying to get smart with the pattern. Forget top-down raglans, my next sweater is going to be a vest.


By the way, from the comments to my last post, here is a very clear explanation of the relationship between heat and acid when dying yarn with food color:

Beadlizard said...

I love "The mordant is love. The heat is marriage." Wow.

In almost as brief terms, heat opens the scales on the wool, thus expanding the surface area, plus it facilitates bonding. The acid in the vinegar is an essential part of the bond.

You can get a feel for the process by playing with the order of things. If you mix the dye with cool water and vinegar, then add the wool, then bring up the heat, stirring gently, you'll get pretty level dyeing. If you hold it at the proper heat (just under a simmer usually) until the water is clear, then turn off the heat and let it sit until cool, *then* rinse, you'll get maximum take-up.

If you start with cool water, vinegar, and wool, bring it up to heat, *then* add the dye powder or stock solution, you'll get instant take-up, but ONLY where the dye contacts the fiber. This is how to get distinct sprinkles -- dry powder on a hot acidic bath.

To get darker colors you can go for full saturation -- use more dyestuff and the maximum take-up method (and plenty of vinegar). Or, add a bit of a darker hue like navy or black. We often use grape Kool-Aid to tint things darker.