Andrea: December 2007 Archives
Posted on 12/27/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting, Spinning
Finally. I went to my first knit night at Double Ewe Yarn last night. I've been meaning to go to one of these ever since I learned of the existence of a yarn shop five minutes away from my house, went in a few times to browse/shop, and learned that Kelly the shop owner is super nice.
I was glad there was a smaller group there than normal due to the holiday, because otherwise it would have been overwhelming. As it is, I'm not sure I'm remembering everyone's names correctly. It reminds me of something the teacher of the felted clogs class said; she said she had a hard time remembering names, but she could remember exactly what everyone knit! And I can say there was some lovely knitting last night. A very girly pink dog sweater. A ginormous felted hat (pre-felting), a lovely baby sweater for a soon-to-be-born grandchild, a fun fair isle hat, a top-down child's sweater knit from some self-striping yarn, and the beginning of a green cabled sweater. There were also some delicious caramels. I am definitely going back next week.
As for me, I tried to knit a Calorimetry out of some yarn I spun, but two things went wrong: my yarn was too thick for the pattern, and I realized after I got home that I did my short rows one stitch off so it was getting to be too thick around the middle. This Calorimetry was never meant to be, and I ripped out when I got home, but it was fun while it lasted. I only brought it because I was afraid all my other knitting projects would be too complicated to bring to knit night, and I couldn't bear the idea of working on the neverending Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf of Boredom (I really need to just learn once and for all that I'm not a scarf-knitting sort of person, and almost every one of my scarf projects is doomed to languish).
What I really need to be working on at this point is sorting out the mess that Brad's St. Mawes sweater is in and getting the sleeves to a point where they're wearable. What I would rather be working on is spinning more of this, which I spun on Christmas day:
This is my Dusk colorway that I dyed back in November.
I'm trying to get it to a sock weight. I've never spun anything nearly this fine before, but I'm still not sure if it'll be sock weight by the time I ply it.
This spinning project is going to be my reward to myself once I get Brad's sweater fixed. I want him to be able to actually wear it sometime this winter!
Posted on 12/23/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
, originally uploaded by AMK.This photo is sort of indicative of how my day went yesterday. I've learned my lesson. Oh yes, I've learned my lesson. The lesson is this: if you're knitting a sweater for someone for Christmas, by all means DON'T leave the finishing to the last minute. Especially if it has miles and miles of seaming that needs to be done, set in sleeves, and the whole nine yards.
I'm not entirely sure Brad will be able to wear his sweater for Christmas. Not really because my tapestry needle is broken and I don't have another one and I don't want to brave the snowy, icy roads to go get one (I've been sewing with the blunt stub of this needle), but because after setting in the first sleeve and having Brad try it on, I learned that the sleeve is about four inches too long.
This is the sort of setback I usually expect to experience in knitting a sweater, so in retrospect I don't understand how I could have thought I wouldn't have a problem like this with this sweater. Yes, I did a lot of pinning pieces together and holding them up to the husband, but nothing can quite compare to actually sewing something together and then trying it on.
So I'll keep plugging away at this and hope I get it done in time for Christmas.
In the meantime, I do have several finished items to share:
More mini mittens. I can't believe how fun it is to see all the other mini mittens you guys are making. All the different sock yarns you're using, all the different colors, and the different ways you're choosing to make them. So fun to see and so inspiring. Maybe after Christmas I'll do a roundup of all the mini mittens I can find out there. In the meantime, you all are inspiring me to make more of them myself.
The Yarni baby cardigan. Done and green-square-buttoned. Thanks for the input; the buttons were a big hit.
Finished cabled mittens. I was nervous about giving these to my coworker because they didn't look as impressive as the baby sweater (which was going to another coworker), but I needn't have worried. She was thrilled with them.
So the holiday knitting isn't going badly, on the whole. It's just this sweater that's trying to kill me.
Posted on 12/21/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
So much to share, I don't even know where to start.
First, I had my last Felted Clogs class at Borealis Yarns last night. This is the Fiber Trends felted clogs pattern that everyone seems to have knit at one time or another. Honestly, I wasn't all that interested in the felted clogs craze, but my friend Megan wanted to take a knitting class with me at Borealis and this was the one that seemed the most interesting. While I boarded this clog bandwagon a bit late, I'm now happy enough to stay on it. The construction of this thing is sheer genius. It's great fun to knit and I think the clogs will be warm and comfortable. I finished the first clog last night and will probably not knit the second one until after Christmas. But I have high hopes for my clogs.
Second. While I was felted-clog-yarn shopping with the aforementioned Megan several weeks ago, I had my heart broken by this Katia Mexico. The bright colors were a sight for sore eyes in the midst of this gray winter. However, this is a superwash yarn and would never work for felted clogs, so I had to bid this yarn a sorrowful adieu and move on.
Megan, being the thoughtful and generous friend that she is, sought to mend my broken heart by buying up all of the Katia Mexico yarn they had in this colorway and giving it to me for Christmas. Woohoo! I'm planning to be much more selfish with my post-Christmas knitting and this will be a good start. Mittens and a hat, maybe?
I finished THREE (count 'em) Christmas gifts and gave them to their recipients yesterday, and all were well received. I don't know about you, but I always worry about how well people will like their handknits, and I always heave a sigh of relief when they aren't hated or (and this is almost worse) met with blank, glassy-eyed stares. I've had a couple of tepid reactions to handknits, so I've tried to be much more judicious about how and when (and for whom) I knit gifts.
Tomorrow I plan on seaming Brad's St. Mawes sweater while he plays World of Warcraft. Then I will have four (five; I knitted another pair of Mini Mittens) finished projects to write about this weekend... unless something goes horribly wrong. Let's hope nothing goes horribly wrong.
Stay tuned.
Posted on 12/18/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
One week till Christmas.
I have one finished project and four projects at 95% in my Ravelry Projects. That means four Christmas gifts that just need finishing. One doesn't need to be done till a little after Christmas, so that one will be done last. There's also another project that just needs finishing, which I never put into Ravelry because I started it so very long ago. What was I thinking, knitting all these Christmas gifts?
And what do I do? I go starting another Christmas knit, rather than finishing off any of the ones that are almost done.
This is a cabled mitten I'm in the process of inventing. My coworker has a red scarf with really wide cables, and I wanted to make mittens that would go well with it. I couldn't find a pattern that was quite right, so I just gave it a try last night. So far, so good. I did all of this in about 3 hours, so I should have no problem getting this done by Friday, now that I've gotten the pattern figured out.
I'm using Patons Classic Wool Merino, which is a yarn I bought from Michael's. I've become sort of a yarn snob and haven't bought yarn from there in a while, but I know my coworker isn't a yarn connoisseur, so I felt safe in going with a more affordable yarn. And I'm actually pleasantly surprised at the quality of this yarn. I will probably use this yarn again in the future for projects like these.
If you don't see me around for a while, it's because I'm trying desperately to finish all of these knitting projects in time!
Posted on 12/14/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting, Tips
I need to finish a pair of toe-up socks (everything's done but the bind off, on both socks) and I'm tired of just trying to bind off loosely and deal with the non-stretchiness at the top of the cuff. I'm in search of a stretchy bind off that will be ideal for toe-up socks.
Most of these links were gotten from a Ravelry discussion in the Up With Toes group.
- ChicKnits' favorite stretchy bind off. This looks easy. I'm tempted to try it.
- Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn cast-off. This is supposed to be very stretchy, and supposed to not stretch out. It looks like a sort of tubular cast-off. Very tidy. It also looks sort of fidgety (I'm a fan of never needing to trade my knitting needles for a tapestry needle). But the results seem to be worth it.
- Giant list of stretchy bind offs. This definitely looks worthy of some detailed exploration.
Also noteworthy are some new methods of casting on for toe-up socks, which I haven't tried yet. I always just use a crochet provisional cast-on, which yields good results but is a pain in the butt. Next time I make socks, I'll be trying these:
Update:
Another resource chock full of interesting bind-offs: this Techniques with Theresa article in the Summer 2006 Knitty. There's a whole section of "particularly flexible bind-offs". The suspended bind-off looks interesting.
Posted on 12/14/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
A Google search on "felting ribbing" led me to the following treasure: Betz White's felted wreath. I can't stop looking at this thing.
I've also been inspired by an article in the December issue of Martha Stewart Living, which is a pleasant surprise because Martha hasn't done much to inspire me in quite a while. I keep meaning to take a picture of the magazine page, because I can't seem to find any evidence of this article anywhere online. It's an article about striped blankets, circa (I think) the 1930s or 40s. The color combinations in these blankets are unexpected and delicious, and have gotten me itching to try out some striped knitting with similar color combinations. Sometime after Christmas, of course. I'll try to take a picture this weekend and update this entry.
This weekend there will be much holiday merriment. Christmas cookie baking, Christmas party attending, Christmas tree decorating (my parents', not mine; The Husband and I have gone sans Christmas tree this year and last year because of Fangor the Death Kitten), and Christmas shopping. In the small pockets of time between all these festive activities, there will be Christmas gift knitting (I'm finally starting to admit to myself that I won't have time to knit a gift for every single person on my list). I think this about stretches my holiday cheer as far as it will go and by the time Christmas is over (possibly even before), I will be well and truly satiated.
Posted on 12/13/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
, originally uploaded by AMK.It's been kind of a bad knitting week at the Casa de Andrea. Last Saturday, I planned on having a big finishing party. I was going to seam Brad's St. Mawes. I was going to add the green buttons to the Yarni Cardigan. I was going to finish Mystery Christmas Knits #1.
Instead, I realized I had only blocked one piece of the St. Mawes sweater, so I was going to have to block the rest before I could seam anything. I did almost completely finish Mystery Christmas Knit #1, which was the highlight of the day, but didn't get around to the last step of it. But instead of finishing anything at all, I started a Ballband Dishcloth and I started some fingerless mitts, both intended to be quick gifts.
The first mitt knit up quickly, but on the second one I got cocky with the cables. Before I knew it, I was halfway done with a cable that didn't match the first cable in the least. Cables were passing under each other where they were supposed to go over each other, and vice versa. It looked nothing like a braid. Maybe a 3-year-old's attempt at a braid. Interesting in its own way, but nothing at all like the other mitt.
So out it came.
The second time through, I paid extra attention to the cables, but then halfway through I put the second mitt next to the first mitt and noticed I had too many cuff rows on the second. The cable didn't start in the same place, and it was very obvious.
After a nice calming walk around Barnes & Noble to try to cool off, and despite the pain of it, I ripped it out again. Not such a quick gift knit anymore. But I got back up on the horse again and I think it's headed in the right direction this time, so I should be done with this one soon.
It just hasn't been a smooth week for me, and that's reflected in my knitting. Work has been difficult, I've had a back ache, and I just haven't quite been at my best. I had plans on Tuesday and Wednesday that I skipped out on just to try to get some down time. I have high hopes for things turning around for me today. Dinner with a dear friend tonight and then the felted clogs class will make everything all right.
Posted on 12/07/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
In case you've had your head in the sand for the last couple of days, the new winter issue of Knitty is up. And there was much rejoicing. But what I really want to point out is this beautiful pattern: Slippery Socks. Its author is a high school student named Olivia M. Her bio reads:
Olivia is a high school student in Northern Virginia.
She has been knitting since she was nine. She will knit anything once, but focuses mainly on socks. When she isn’t knitting, she reads, plays violin, and deals with massive amounts of homework.
How cool is that? If I'd learned how to knit at an earlier age, and if Knitty existed back then, I totally would have wanted this to be me. Incidentally, I probably would have written a similar bio for myself back then. I was into reading, playing the violin and doing massive amounts of homework, myself.
Good for you, Olivia M. Keep it up!
(Edited to add: I just noticed that there's a second pattern in this issue of Knitty written by a high school student: Dahlia. Also lovely. I just can't get over how cool that is! I wonder if I would have been a happier teenager if I'd had things like knitting, Knitty, Ravelry, etc. in my life.)
Posted on 12/05/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
, originally uploaded by AMK.
I've got the Yarni Baby Cardigan finished. The second sleeve and collar knit up at a record pace as I eyed the ever-diminishing ball of yarn I was knitting with. I was sure I was going to run out of yarn, though I should have had more faith in the pattern, which was written for this exact yarn. Paranoia set in, though, and I knew I'd be out of luck if I did run out of yarn because this is a unique hand-dyed skein of yarn.
My fears were unfounded, and I finished the sweater with ample yarn to spare. I'm kind of glad I was so paranoid about it because I knit like crazy, just so I could find out if I was going to have enough yarn. And then I was done, so very quickly.
Now I have a dilemma. I don't know what buttons to use.
The one on the left was the first button I picked out. I really wanted a light green button to bring out the green color in the yarn and to tone down the pinkness of it, since the mom of the recipient of this gift isn't into super pink girlie stuff, and this is pretty girlie as it is.
However, it occurred to me later that square buttons with kind of sharp corners probably isn't the best thing to put on a garment for a baby. Duh!
So I picked out the second button, the little white flowers. I probably shouldn't have bought these buttons because it was definitely a moment of settling for the not-quite-right thing, in the desire to just get this done. I still want something green.
I'll be at Borealis Yarns tomorrow taking a felted clogs class (yay!), so I'll bring this along and hopefully they'll have a suitable light green button. In the meantime, what do you think? Do you think either of these buttons would work?
Posted on 12/03/2007 by Andrea
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Knitting
We had our first big snow of the year and I'd say it couldn't have come at a better time. On a Saturday, the first day of December. No commuting to worry about and, really, how can you be too upset at snow in December? All my neighbors have put out their Christmas lights and suddenly I can't get too bummed out about winter arriving. I actually feel - dare I say it? - festive.
It helps that I discovered the walking path in my neighborhood is still accessible during winter. This is my third winter living here and I just now figured this out. The snow has been cleared off the boardwalk and as for the path through the woods, lots of people and dog feet (and deer hooves) have tramped down the snow enough that it's definitely walkable.
(That's the boardwalk behind me. And my cotton candy hat)
Of course, the best thing about a snowy weekend with lots of time on my hands is the KNITTING. Holing up in the house with cats, cocoa and yarn.
It also helps when you have a husband who's really good at making pancakes.
I had every intention of knitting multiple projects this week and finally spinning some of the Dusk roving I dyed recently. But that was wishful thinking. Even if you are hunkered down at home during a snowy weekend, there are only so many knitting hours in the day.
What I did accomplish was to almost finish the Yarni Cardigan (a.k.a., M.L. Egan's Lace Baby Sweater #33), a gift for a coworker's baby.
This is such a pleasure to knit. The Aran openwork pattern is just exactly the kind of stitch pattern I like to knit. A lace that's got enough going on to be interesting, but not overly complicated. There are only four different rows in this stitch pattern repeat, and one of them is the purl back row. Plus, the entire cardigan is constructed without sewing. The button band is knitted along with the garment, instead of picking up all those stitches and knitting it on, or sewing on a separate piece. The sleeves are knitted right on, after picking up stitches at the armholes.
I learned two things as part of this project which will serve me well in my knitting future.
1. Three-needle bind off. Oh, three-needle bind off! I can't believe I hadn't met you until now! I saw you in passing lots of times, but for some reason, you never caught my eye. I never stopped to talk to you, to see what you were all about. Now I feel like such a fool. All those good times we could have had together. I can see already that you and I will be together for a long, long time. (Thanks to Knittinghelp.com for providing videos of things like this!)
See how nice this looks? And so, so much easier than sewing two pieces together.
2. Picking up stitches. Okay, I've picked up lots of stitches in my time. Thousands of stitches. My very first knitting projects were socks. Lots and lots of socks knitted top-down. That means picking up lots of gusset stitches. I should know how to pick up stitches, but honestly, I was always really bad at it and it always caused me lots of angst. My picked up stitches were ugly, uneven, and full of holes.
As you can see from this photo, picking up stitches has finally clicked with me. Probably because I watched yet another informative video from Knittinghelp.com.
What I used to do was just grab one little strand of yarn and try to knit into it. That looked like poop. It's much better to do it the way she shows in that video. I would try to explain it, but it's just the sort of thing you need to see in order to understand.
I imagine I'm the only person in the knitting world who has gone so many years knitting without realizing how to pick up a stitch. But I don't have too much pride to share this with you. In fact, it embodies exactly what I love so much about knitting. There's always so much more to learn.
