knitting for health and sanity

2012-02-04T11:02:00.001-08:00

Last month I spent a week in Newport, Oregon for a tech refresher course sponsored by NOAA. It was a week of review in basic electrical theory, a little geophysics and technology.

It happened to take place during the biggest winter storm to hit the Pacific Northwest this season. That meant a lot of our lecturers couldn't make it down from Seattle, which was hit hard with snow. In Newport the storm manifested itself as high winds (high as in hurricane force, not just a little breezy) and buckets of rain. Western Oregon was in danger of serious flooding. If you wanna read more about that, I suggest Captain Jenny's blog (she works on an Oregon ferry).

I found a yarn store in Newport. One yarn store. I don't remember the name. They opened after we started for the day and closed before we got out. So every day at lunch I tried to run over. And every day, they were closed for weather. I made five attempts. That's how dedicated I was and I never got my wooly reward.

So on my drive back North I insisted on finding another; I would not leave unsatisfied! I found a little place in an aging strip mall outside of Portland and skirted in ten minutes before they closed on a Friday night. I of course do not remember the name as I'm off at sea again.

I browsed and I browsed and I spent $120+ on yarn, needles and knitting magazines. The danger of starving a knitter is serious damage to their pocket book.

I browsed with someone in particular in mind. You know when you make a new friend and you love them and you feel an overwhelming urge to wrap them in wooly love? I bought several superwashes in reds which were drawing me in, but then a merino, cashmere, silk blend won me over. It wasn't available in reds and I went with a mottled blue. Names are escaping me.

I settled down with a Rubinator at a McMinneman's (did I spell that right?) And started flipping through the mags I had purchased for inspiration. I wanted a cowl or an infinity scarf but nothing was to be had. However, in the recent Vogue Knitting was a great lace wrap, the Lace Poncho by Tanis Gray.

I swiped the lace pattern, adapted it for an infinity scarf and that is the project that made it out with me. I'm basically knitting a scarf and I'll seam it up end to end when I'm finished.

Goodwill Steal

2011-12-28T14:56:00.000-08:00

I went to the Goodwill on Boxing Day. There was a huge sale and if Goodwill shopping were a competition, I would have won. All 5 things I tried on fit. I got a brand new, still tags on, $40 dress shirt for $4. Now for the big one. I found a vintage, hand knit, fair isle yoked cardigan. And it fit.

It was stiff with age and dirt so the first thing I did was wash it. After 8 or 9 vigorous washes, the wash water was still dingy, but I was losing patience.

I ran it through the spin cycle before laying it out to dry. After drying it really softened up and fit even better. I found a whole in the waist ribbing.

It was probably exacerbated by the vigorous washing, but that's fine, it allowed me to patch it. So I got to practice my darning skills.

I don't have a great full body photo of the sweater, but I wore it out and about Seattle with my sisters before they left town and we got this beautiful photo of the beautiful women I adore.

I am so impressed by this sweater: the tidiness of the floats on the back side, the even stitching, the subtle and earthy color choice. I'm sure you are going to get a whole new photo shoot highlighting everything I find awesome about this sweater. My camera crapped out at Christmas this year, so I need to buy a new one first.

Can't talk, beach.

2011-12-19T15:39:00.001-08:00

Spinning Too

2011-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've also been actively spinning.

I've really enjoyed this Falkland fiber from At Knits End on Etsy.com. It was spun from the fold and chain plied on the fly.

I really thought I was doing well to get a squishy yarn but it I started to knit with it a little and it feels really dense. I know handspun yarn is traditionally denser than mill spun yarn, but I am really surprised with how dense this came out.

I haven't thwacked it or set the twist. I'll hank it up later and give it a good soaking and beating and see if it fluffs up.

I have also been spinning some mill ends from the Sheep Shed Studio that I dyed last year in Boise State University colors inspired by my super fan cousin.

The blue and orange is a traditional three ply, but I ran out of orange so I got a chain ply out of the remaining blue. Maybe I'll get a hat out if it. Maybe. But it looks like its probably only 2 or 3 ounces. So we'll see. It also has not been set yet.

My First Baby Surprise

2011-12-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I could potentially have been done with my Of Hallows and Horcruxes sweater if I had stuck to the plan and knit only on it. However, I let myself get distracted with my first ever Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman.

I couldn't help it though. It was fast and interesting and I know babies. So it had to get done. Above is a picture of my seaming at the top of the sleeve. It got really difficult to see and I had to take frequent breaks to look away from the green.

I finished the Baby Surprise Jacket all except for the buttons. I could swear I came out here with blue marbled buttons, but hell if I can find them. Then ends are woven in, the sleeves are seamed and my nephew will be at my house two days after I get back to try it on.

Quiet but Busy.

2011-12-16T01:57:00.000-08:00

I have been quiet, but I have been busy.

As you can see, progress on my Of Hallows and Horcruxes continues.

I seamed up the front temporarily to try it on and make sure it actually goes around my chest. You can see a line where it is pulling, but I think that is where my lifeline is. I didn't have a spare non-wool yarn to use so it sticks a little.

Immediately after this photo I dropped to a size 5 needle (from the 6 I had been using) and began the 2x2 ribbing at the bottom. I'm knitting on the hem now and it is basically a sleeveless hoodie. I anticipate casting off the bottom edge tonight.

Afloat with Knitters

2011-11-25T20:40:00.001-08:00

It turns out I am not the only knitter on board. We have at least two more and a crochet-er. Meet Christie one of our undergrads on this trip. She came to ask a little advice about working cables after she had to rip out several inches. After this cowl is finished, we are going to sit down and talk mitts.

Into the Yoke, Of Hallows and Horcruxes

2011-11-24T22:41:00.001-08:00

This is one and a half repeats into my yoke. I'm now two repeats in. The color work continues to be lumpy and bumpy, but I'm happy. There are three rows of increases in each 20 row repeat and the rows are taking longer and longer to knit. I am comforting myself with the thought that eventually, I will be separating the arms from the main body and it will get smaller again. I forgot to knit a row in the first repeat and added it at the end of the chart so my yarn was all on the right side. I'm not too worried about how it looks. I dont' really feel like the pattern is cohesive enough to matter.

Hallows Grows and Knits in the Wild

2011-11-18T17:49:00.001-08:00

I made my friend, co-worker and roommate Steve a hat. It is with Jared Flood's yarn Shelter.

It's three colors with some fair isle patterning. I knit most of it when I was home sick from work one day, laying on the couch.

Knitting with shelter was not what I expected. I didn't love it. It pulls apart really easy, wasn't as soft as I thought it would be. It's like scratchy held together with air. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the scads of skeins I bought at Churchmouse this year.

I am however pleased that Steve is wearing it frequently (our lab is COLD, hence all the ugly sweater wearing). It seems to fit well and doesn't migrate off like hats that are too tight does but it doesn't fall off like hats that are too big.

Hallows continues to grow and I have started on the yoke section of the sweater. For my first round of increases I went with a knit 1, knit into the stitch below it method and I'm not sure I like how it looks. I thought it might be easier than trying to make one from the bar between stitches with the color work, but that might be a better method. I have rows before I decrease again, so I'll probably switch it up there.

Another gratuitous sexy yoke close up.

So far I'm so happy. I'm curious about this yoke business, if I have the right number of stitches, if I planned my decreases appropriately, if my gauge is going to go nuts-o in the color work. But we'll see. So far, satisfactory knitting. Now that all the math is worked out.

I am kind of wishing I had chosen different, less neutral colors. But I'm not gonna let that bug me. This will be a utilitarian knit.

Sunshine, Grass and Ewe

2011-11-17T01:34:00.001-08:00

I have been spinning too! I'm spinning 4oz of falkland wool in the colorway Sunshine, Grass and Ewe from the Etsy shop At Knits End Yarns.

(the orange is actually just a little more orange)

(a little more true to color, from the Etsy Listing)

I'm spinning it a little thicker than usual, plying on the fly and I'm getting super smooshy. Like "ZOMG THIS IS SOFT!" kind of smooshy. I'm almost 2 oz in and I love it. I can't wait to start knitting with it. What? I have no idea, probably just enough for a large, bulky hat.

Hooded, Of Hallows and Horcruxes

2011-11-15T21:42:00.001-08:00

I had to cast on the hood twice after I made a mistake in my I-Cord edging. I'm glad I did because I discovered the hood was going to be HUGE. I ended up casting on 120 instead (+3 on each edge for the I-cord).

About 45 rows in I decided to seam it together at the top to give it the shape it would be assuming later. I like to see my projects take shape and it helps motivate me a lot. This is after 56 (of 76) rows and nearly 2 balls of Dove Heather, Knit Picks: Wool of the Andes, worsted.

You might notice this looks a lot like my Ugly Sweater, same color and to the untrained eye, similar gauge. I was knitting it at my table the other day while wearing the Ugly Sweater and more than one person stopped to ask if I was knitting the sweater I was wearing. I blew everyone's mind.

I am Wearing an Ugly Sweater.

2011-11-11T18:52:00.001-08:00

I am wearing an ugly sweater. It's true, it's ugly. It was home made by me and even I cannot appreciate the homemade awesomeness.

I would like to discuss all the ways that this sweater is hideous.

Let's start at the neckline. It took me 5 minutes of fussing to make the neckline look this good. I really needed some ribbing. Or better shaping. Better shaping would include a lower front and a higher back.
How about the extra room in the bust? It gives me some kind of saggy boob syndrome that I do not suffer from. I'm wearing a brand new, super lift-y bra. You wouldn't know it from this sweater, but they are practically in my chin.
The arms are too short and too wide.
Those acrylic buttons do not belong.

I made this sweater years ago from a recycled sweater. Then a year or so later I steeked it into a cardigan with buttons I hate because they were the only buttons available at the time of the right size for my buttons holes.

So why I am I wearing it? It's loose, it's warm and I don't care how I look sitting in my lab. It was the third sweater I ever made for myself, with no pattern. I still love you Ugly Sweater.

Of Hallows and Horcruxes, swatch

2011-11-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

I swatched on size 8s and it is unblocked. I'm really uncomfortable with how uneven my color work is (yes I know it isn't blocked) but I think it is a function of two things, 1- two color knitting is always a little wonkier for me, I need more practice and 2 - purling two colors.

It is also a little looser in general than I would like. I am going to try swatching again on size 7s. I think I could use the color work practice as well as I might like the fabric tightened up a little, especially on the solid color sections.

Now here is a question, I might need to recover the yarn from my swatch. Do I cut the ends to make it easier to knit a new swatch or leave the swatches attached so I can rip them all out in a continuous strand?

Underway Again

2011-11-06T00:33:00.000-07:00

Our current cruise is keeping up a blog and you can find it here on the Kutztown webpage.

I brought with me an entire box of Knit Picks: Wool of the Andes to try knitting a Of Hallows and Horcruxes sweater on this cruise. All of my Christmas knitting is done, so why not spend the next two months knitting something for me? I'm working on it as a knit a long with a few friends of mine.

I started a swatch for the color worked yoke and ran across some issues. The sweater is knit flat, but I found on row 6 that the two yarns I needed were on opposite sides of the swatch. I fixed it with some finagling, but came across a similar problem later. So I made a comment on the pattern page asking about it and the designer answered without answering my question at all.

Last night I sat down with grid paper and mapped it out and it is impossible to do without cutting and re-attaching the yarn. So I added an extra solid color row to fix this at row 9. I think that this will work out much better as I have planned to modify the sweater into a circular yoke instead of the raglan style yoke in the original and this gives me another solid color row that makes evenly spacing my increases easier.

Other modifications I have planned are to forgo the cabled button band and use an I-cord edging and probably sew in a zipper.

Now if I can successfully complete a swatch and get some kind of gauge I'm happy with. I'm feeling like the size 8 needles are producing a more open fabric than I'm liking. I am probably knitting ridiculously loose thanks to trying to keep even tension in the color work. I wonder if my gauge will change from the color pattern to the solid pattern. I might have to knit both into the swatch.

BFL/Silk Shawl, blocking

2011-10-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Blocking with super bright sunshine from my huge south facing windows.

Less sunshine, up close and personal with the lace pattern. The color is more true in the above photo than below.

More of the body blocking.

It came out just a hair shorter than I would have liked, but it will still be warm and awesome about the shoulders. I'll probably end up getting a shawl pin for the recipient to hold it closed.

There is a wonderful sheen from the silk, very subtle color variation from the under dye job and between the silk and wool dye take up from the over dye process. I will get some FO photographs when I find my camera charger. And my job stops getting in the way. (NEXT WEEK I GET TO REST!)

BFL/Silk Shawl, grafted and dyed

2011-10-18T00:16:00.000-07:00

So I grafted and dyed the BFL/Silk shawl. HOORAY!

Here is a picture for you mid graft. I will tell you a secret, I am not an expert grafter. I screwed it up in several ways and it still worked out. For starters, I finished each side after a right side row so the grafting row for each side would be a simple purl across row. Easy weaving with no yarn overs or k2tog to figure out. However for one side I ran out of yarn about 5 stitches from the end. Guess what, I just didn't finish that row. So I am exactly one row short for 5 stitches of the edge. And it came out just fine.

Also twice, mid graft I realized that I had gotten off some where, one side which was my first stitch would be behind by one stitch (I really only checked at the YO stitches), so I just ran the needle through it once instead of twice to catch back up. And it came out just fine. It looks great.

Now we all remember how much I hated that color. And I was going to over dye it. I wasn't sure what color, but I knew it would be darker. As my dye pot heated on the stove, I looked at my set and thought, maybe I'll start with red and if I don't like it, I'll do it again with some blue. I couldn't decide between vermillion or fire red (Jacquard Acid Dyes) so I gave it a little of both.

I couldn't be more thrilled with the color. I had planned to block it before going to bed, but I was too busy playing video games and watching The Legend of Neil. I will try and block it this week. I really really hope it grows in blocking. I'm starting to think I should have knit it much narrower.

Below is all that remains. Every last scrap of my yarn.

And just so we all remember, this was where we started.

I also spun up a sample of polworth that I purchased from someone on Ravelry. I loosely spun and 2 plied a handful, then measured the angles of twist for future reference. It was so lovely I was ready to dump all my other projects and play with it some more. But I'll be good. I'm focused.

My roommate needs a simple watch cap. Just a plain hat. I can't decide on a color work pattern. Apparently, I don't do simple.

Masculine Puffy Scarf FO

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

I know the title is a little confusing, masculine and puffy?

But it totally is. The color and geometric pattern definitely butch it up, but the super soft 128 Cascade Superwash Chunky give it a lofty, puffy quality.

It is another Christmas gift, but I don't really care, no one knows who gets it. Doesn't my roommate make a great model? I think he missed his calling.

Lace Slouch FO

2011-10-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

I think I am convinced that lace slouch hats are way easier to make than any other style of knitted hat. When you knit a beanie, you run the risk of it being to small, too short or way too big. But the lace slouch. The only part that has to fit is the ribbed brim, then you just make it huge and win!

So I made a lace slouch hat for my friend Hilary who maybe let on that she would like a hat. Very subtle-y mind you. I almost couldn't tell she was asking (that was sarcasm). But she's a fledgling knitter and I pushed her to make herself. Then plotted a hat on the side.

I think she likes it.

Now, these beautiful pictures she took for me don't showcase the mistakes. I maybe got my second lace repeat off set from the first in an awkward manner and didn't care to go back and fix it.

The lace was from a hardcover knitting reference book I picked up in a used book store in Nampa, ID last year. I don't remember the name, or author and scouring online booksellers for a book who's name I can't remember isn't turning out successful.

It was knit with some Cascade 220 that was in my stash from an online ebay purchase a few years ago that I threw in my bag for this last cruise, just in case.

Coral Got an Alpaca Earflap Hat

2011-10-04T03:17:00.000-07:00

It is not, in fact, the ugliest thing ever. It has now grown on me.

Don't look too closely because I hadn't quite worked out what I wanted until, you know, I was practically done.

Coral loves alpacas. And llamas. Need some proof?

I happened to have two balls of Misti Alpaca Chunky in color 7238, a grassy green. They were going to be mittens for me, or legwarmers to go with the boots I ordered from Zappos which are on their way to my house RIGHT NOW. But how could I not knit this for Coral when I knew how much she wanted one? And how much she would love it? And those puppy dog eyes?

I used size 8 needles, two sizes smaller than the recommended needle size for a denser fabric which the super soft and lofty yarn needed forced upon it.

I started from the top down because I really hadn't worked out how I was going to knit the earflaps yet, I put them off. I could only find four of my dpns so I cast on and worked my increases in groups of six. I kept two stockinette stitches together and purled between them every non increase row, increasing on either side of them on the knit rows.

Eventually the garter stitch in the round got boring so I switched to stockinette. It took exactly two rows for me to realize I had turned it into a condom and I couldn't have that, so I decided to switch to ribbing, which is the wrong choice when you think you are knitting a condom. So I broke it up with alternating rows of ribbing and stockinette. I felt OK with it.

But the ear flaps were still looming. I remembered seeing some hats in the past where the flaps were worked with short rows instead of two different balls of yarn and decided to try that. It took two passes of short rows to get the flaps large enough. I had a hard time working my pattern of alternating ribs and stockinette in the short rows so this area is riddled with flaws.

I was hit by inspiration to put an i-cord edging on it. Why? I don't know. It was fiddly, but I think it worked out ok.

At this point I was convinced it was shit. It was horrific, it smelled of vinegar (What the hell is that about Misti Alpaca? Actually I know why it would smell of vinegar, technically, neutralizing the pH after dying and all, but I have a hard time with a commercial product still actually smelling like vinegar once it has hit store shelves. Wash that out.), it was probably too big.

I was wrong. Like Mary Poppins, it was "practically perfect, in every way."

2011-10-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ever get nearly completely finished with a knitting project to discover it may be the ugliest thing ever.

That's me today! Hopefully the super soft baby alpaca and handmade with love bits will make up for that.

2011-10-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

Scrapping the mittens. I want them. Pretty badly actually, but right now my alpaca has somewhere else it needs to be.

An earflap hat. On a particular head. A head that has been reminding me every single day how much it loves alpaca.

/sigh.

I'll have mittens someday.

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

The ends of my bumpy, smooshy, masculine scarf need woven after binding off last night. Knitting with Cascade 128 Superwash was a total pleasure and my stash my be seeing a little more of that baby.

I'm also plotting what to do with the two skeins of Misti Alpaca Chunky I've got with me. I was some warm smooshy legwarmers, but Cascade 128 Superwash might be a better choice for that, I think I'd rather have the alpaca against my skin (unless I wear it with skirts, hmmmm). So now cabled mittens along the lines of Bella's Mittens are in my mind.

I'm also working on the BFL/Silk Shawl. It looks like vomit. Still. Those colors, yeah they are true. I think this has taught me a very valuable lesson in buying dyed roving, I very much prefer sequences longer than the fiber's staple length.

The spinning is uneven, some parts are thicker and lovely soft, others are wire-y. Overall it feels lovely to the touch though and it is knitting up quick. I'm having a hard time spinning fast enough for the knitting.

Because I'm knitting as I spin and I'm not 100% positive where the middle of the shawl will be my plan is this,

1 - at the end of this ball (about 20 feet) I will put the shawl on a stitch holder.

2 - I will cast on and knit the lace pattern for the opposite end of the shawl.

3 - at the top of the lace pattern, I will put it on a stitch holder and resume with the remaining yarn on the body.

4 - when I'm just about out of yarn, I will graft the two sides together.

Hopefully this will result in a couple of things with minimal thinking,

1 - identical lace panels on either end

2 - a nearly invisible graft that should get lost in the lace to body transition

3 - minimal yarn waste and maximum size.

Some color folks might be gasping, "But the color sequence! You will muck it all up." But the color on this thing is atrocious. And I still plan to over dye it a darker color so this is not a problem. I hope.

Focus, spin, knit, now.

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Three quarters of the way through my scarf I realized how little time I had left on this cruise. How is it Sept 20th already? I want to finish the BFL/Silk Shawl in order to have it dyed and completed in time for Christmas, which really needs to be done before I get on a ship again at the beginning of November. So I got busy with a little spinning last night.

I am anxious now to get these done. A little Ravelry forum browsing this week has set my sights on a new project. A big project. A just for me project. Seeing as all my Christmas stuff has to be done by the beginning of November, I figured I could bring along an ambitious personal project for my November/December months at sea.

There will be swatching. There will be color. There might be shaping. There will definitely be pattern alteration. Teamwork may be involved. My brain has already left the projects I'm on and the yarn is in my online shopping cart for a more opportune purchasing time (like being home to receive it). I'm doing math that is pointless until I have a swatch.

I have to finish what I'm on.

Focus, spin, knit.

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Two skeins of Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash, Chunky ended up in my supplies this trip. Without a project in mind I fondled it for a few days. It is so incredibly soft with a lovely bouncy loft and it just slides through my hands like water.

I cast on a scarf, but the stitch pattern took some deciding upon. I was browsing my new copy of Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague and the leafy pattern around the neck of Lauriel, but really liked the hem with the leafs traveling up into the body.

I quickly got distracted from that and decided I wanted something reversible and simple and started browsing Ravelry for ideas. Nothing popped out at me and I started trying to work something out on my own.

A very simple stitch pattern I worked out, though I'm sure I'm not the first. It is more or less a 1x1 ribbing with a seed stitch column between ribs. After 8 rows I alternate the purl columns and the knit columns. If you are interested in the pattern, you can check it out below. It's simple and easy to memorize.

It is resulting in a slightly puffy, non curling fabric that I plan to lightly block. This should make a great masculine scarf which is intended as another Christmas present. I usually plan to keep projects I cast on with no intentions or desires, but sometimes it just speaks to me and tells me who it wants to go to. This one knows exactly to whom it belongs already.

Stitch pattern:
Cast on a multiple of 4 sts +1 (I used 25 on size 10s)
Rows 1-8 K1 *P1 K3 rep from * to end.
Rows 9-16 *K3 P1 rep from * to last stitch K1

That's it. Easy peasy.

Little Red in the City - Ysolda Teague

2011-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

I followed the trials and tribulations of Ysolda Teague via her blog as she wrote Little Red in the City only to be slightly disappointed when it was released. The price point was huge. The patterns were not anything that really caught my eye as something I wanted to wear. The knits and their pictures were beautiful, but they weren't garments I wanted. So I passed.

I belong to a group on Ravelry dedicated to fitting problems, namely bust fitting problems. We discuss finding bras, sizing and altering patterns and clothes for a better fit in both the larger and smaller busted crowd. In answer to a forum posted question, someone recommended reading Little Red in the City and referring to it as a wealth of information about sizing, fitting and shape.

So I found it in person at Churchmouse Yarns on Bainbridge Island, WA. Lo' and Behold! No lie. Nearly half the hefty, hefty book is dedicated to getting the proper fit, placing darts, fitting yourself and gauge swatching. Every pattern is discussed in painful, horrible, fantastic detail including pictures of both regular and plus sizes. Short Acts of the Fates, there is absolutely no reason any knitter shouldn't end up with an absolutely stunning, well fit sweater.

My mind has been swayed, I probably want one of these sweaters and I'll be referencing this book heavily in the future.

Dear Ysolda,

I am so, SO sorry I ever doubted you.

Sincerely,

Your newest devotee,

Brandi