Tightly Knit

Audiobook Recommendations from The Yarn Harlot's Commenters

2012-01-15T15:33:00.003-05:00

Right before Christmas, as part of her series of great gift suggestions for knitters, The Yarn Harlot suggested audiobooks. Her commenters proceeded to suggest dozens of authors and titles they've enjoyed listening to. I thought it would be great to have the whole list for easy reference. So I put it into a table, which took quite a bit longer than you might think, and now I'm going to try to make it available here. This link to iDisk may not work after June 2012. If you have trouble, leave a comment.

So how many of these have you listened to or read? I count about 95 for me so far, including other titles by the authors mentioned.

I was inspired by The Harlot's post to subscribe to Audible, and I'm looking forward to working off this list for a long time!

Our little girl is all grown up!

2011-10-19T14:55:00.001-04:00

Mom, did you see Laura's newsletter for River Colors yet? It's her very first try and it's way better than many newsletters I've seen from a variety of shops! Good job, darling sister!

~Libby

Wedding Shawl Musings

2011-03-05T10:50:00.008-05:00

Mom suggested I put something up here about the shawl/stole I am planning for the wedding so you guys could see what I'm talking about. The one I like best so far is called Tibetan Clouds Beaded Stole from The Knitter's Book of Wool. So here's a picture from the book:

The stole is a rectangle knit in stages, starting with the central square which grows from the center out and then stitches are picked up on two sides and knit down for the sides. I imagined us knitting this as a trio, me knitting the center and then sending it to Cleveland and you guys each knitting a side section, it that appeals. The piece calls for beads but I'm not sure they're necessary, we can decide that together.
The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn knit at 21sts to 4 ins. in center pattern after blocking which is fairly loose for fingering weight. I bring this up because I see a bunch of these on Ravelry that look HUGE and I don't like that idea, I want it to be manageable, both to knit and to wear! I think the solution there might be going down a needle size or two and choosing a yarn that will have memory.

I have been looking at silk blends because they are so pretty and shiny and the wool content will help with memory. Specifically, I like the idea of Handmaiden MiniMaiden because it is a little lighter than fingering but not yet a lace so it would work well with slightly smaller needle size/gauge. Color is another big issue, I can't decide if it should be "wedding themed" and be knit in a neutral color like those below or if it should be bright, perhaps reflecting choices we make for flowers or even bridesmaids dresses. Here are some colors I do like, if I decide to go neutral.

Mom mentioned the other day she had read a lovely review of Swiss Mountain Silk Cashmere which sounds delightful but it's a little hard to find and this colorway isn't in stock at the only website where I found it. It is also very spendy!!

Another yarn I thought of is Madelinetosh Pashima which is is a wool, silk, cashmere blend and which people seem to LOVE. I like a bunch of the colors, but again, not sure what's right yet. Here are some pictures:
So there you have it, my thoughts so far. Any of you have thoughts?

Blogging Summery Olivia Jacket

2010-04-18T10:21:00.019-04:00

Libby was here last weekend to help out at Knitter's Fantasy (and she was a HUGE help - I might have managed the Caps for Kids table OK, but I never could have had such a successful Magic Loop class without her - and we had FUN!!).

We were looking at Ravelry for some reason (who needs a reason?) and she commented that my comments on my projects were more like blog entries. And I was struck once again that it's true, Ravelry has done a lot to provide the kind of outlet I wanted to document and share what I'm knitting on. But hardly anyone reads my Ravelry entries, including the girls, in part because they're so darned long. So I thought maybe I could use the blog to enter thoughts about projects (just the big thoughts, like what cast-on to use or other enhancements/deviations from the pattern) and on Ravelry, I'd stick more to pickier stuff.

I haven't totally figured it out, but I'm going to use my Summery Olivia Jacket as an experiment, blogging say, no more than a couple of times a week and using Ravelry to record the details and between-blog-post minutiae. This way, maybe Laura will find this of value, too, some day, once she gets her knitting mojo back.

I started Summery Olivia on Friday night, made rather stunning progress (even with a fiddly new-to-me cast-on) and had an impressive three inches to show the ladies at the Knitting Fantasy wrap-up party on Saturday night, where I ended up frogging all those inches and that beautiful cast-on. I'm blaming it on Kim Hargreaves.

I'm doing a lot of math on this baby because I'm substituting an aran-weight yarn for a DK-weight yarn. The shape and style is quite simple, and this shouldn't be much of a problem (shut up - I know). So anyhow, I come up with the multiplier to convert Kim's stitch count to mine (it's .7) and happily do conversions for the first piece - the back. After knitting afore-mentioned three inches, I decide to do a gauge check (very much out of character, but apparently even a stubborn old delusional optimist can learn) and I realize my width is 2.25 inches wider than the schematic. Assuming this is my old nemesis, the lying gauge swatch, at work, I begin measuring my stitch count and my original swatch, and discover to my great surprise that everything is exactly as it should be and the source of the problem is that Kim's original stitch count does not jive with the schematic. Her original stitch count results in a piece that is two inches wider than the schematic.

So I debated. Do I just follow the stitch count and ignore the schematic or do I knit to the schematic? I'm redoing all the math anyhow, so either way is about equally difficult. Then I put Summery Olivia in time out and worked on finishing my Blue Shimmer cuffs.

At the party last night, I held up my work in progress, and everyone agreed it was way too wide, even taking into account the a-line shape. So I just pulled out the needle and started frogging. Then I tried to remember what I did to alter the instructions for the Alternate Cable Cast-On, couldn't, and put Summery Olivia back into time out and worked on trying to do a tubular cast-on in totally inadequate lighting. You can imagine how that worked out.

When I got home, I looked up the Alternate Cable cast-on directions (scroll to bottom of page - this is that great cast-on I discovered from the free Hermione's Hat pattern which, by the way, is really cute) and realized just doing it exactly as written would work perfectly, and now I'm working again and I've got more than an inch to show already this morning, which isn't bad considering I only got up an hour and a half ago.

Moral of story - always work on aran yarn and size 8 needles. Three inches is nothing!

2010-03-20T12:35:00.004-04:00

This photo, besides depicting my silly, sleepy kitty (and the funny white patch on his, ahem... tummy...), contains my newest knitting project -- one of these which starts by casting on a bunch of stitches and then joining in the round, carefully not twisting. This is a loop shaped scarf and the pattern is completely reversible so I had briefly considered making it a mobius but decided against. I'm sure you can see where this is going... I did in fact twist the cast on, despite multiple checks on the joining row, the first, second, and third patten rows. By the fourth, I found the problem but had just, JUST reached the point from which I could not happily consider starting over. Oh well, mobius it is. Sigh.

P.S. you should enter the comments give-away at Rainey Sisters. It's their anniversary.

~Libby

What? You want more kitty pictures? Oh, alright. :)

Grandpa's Getting One Sock

2009-12-19T10:15:00.007-05:00

A Christmas Story: It's late on December 18 (actually, early on the 19th) and the only creature stirring in the house is the crazy knitter in the rocking chair. This crazed individual realizes that even Lands End is warning that the remaining time to ship holiday packages is more-or-less non-existent at this point. But that doesn't worry her. Her mother's linen/cotton clapotis wrap is done, blocked and beautiful. And her father's socks are so close to being done that there is no worry about them being washed, blocked and sweetly wrapped and everything packaged for delivery to the Fed Ex counter on Monday.

The crazy knitter is finally getting sleepy and in the time-honored tradition of knitters everywhere, stops to take stock of the evening's progress on sock #2 before dragging herself off to bed. Holding said sock, upon which she has just finished the really fun gusset section (she loves this Oliver pattern) up against sock #1 to see about how much knitting she has to go before toe shaping, it hits her. Sock #2 is a little bit narrower than sock #1.

Keep in mind that she has been comparing sock #2 to sock #1 at regular intervals. She checked to make sure the legs were the same length and that the striping was coming out matchy matchy. (It was.) That the heel flaps were the same height. (They were.) And that her new, documented (on a Post-It) technique for ensuring no hole at the top of the heel gusset didn't create a distinctly different look than whatever she had done, but by now forgotten, to accomplish the same goal on sock #1. (It looked great. More on the genius technique below.)

In all this comparing, she had not one inkling that the circumfrence was different. No reason to consider why this might be so. And not the slightest clue that she had FORGOTTEN TO SWITCH TO THE SZ. 1 NEEDLES AFTER DOING THE TOP RIBBING ON SZ. 0s.

On Monday, she will be shipping the one sock with a long note of explanation and regret.

The good news? I can start Laura's present now!!

Knit on with love and optimism,

Judi

P.S. So here's the trick at the top of the gusset. Between the picked-up stitches on the heel flap edge and the instep stitches, pick up two stitches by snagging the sides of the two stitches to either side of the "bar" of yarn that spans the gap. (Check out Charlene Surch's Sensational Knitted Socks for a better explanation.) These two extra stitches belong to the gusset, not to the instep. Then, when doing the first decrease row, do your K2tog on the right side, then K3tog, then knit the instep stitches, then K3tog, then SSK on the left side. You're now back to your original stitch count. The result is beautiful and doesn't mess up the stitch patterning on the instep one little bit.

For Wussies

2009-07-29T12:39:00.003-04:00

hehe. nataliedee.com she is funny :)

Luckily, the things I am working on currently are going well and I will not be needing to rant about gauge for a while. Making toys as examples for a toy class is super fun, the finished size doesn't matter AT ALL!!!! And the featherweight cardigan I started for myself is going well and has not done any wild fluctuation. I will upload pictures soon, I swear. I am not doing it now because right this minute I have to stop writing this so I can pack a bag so Colin and I can leave after work to see Kate and Chad who are in the US for a short visit. We're going up to DC to see them and Patrick and Emily who are kindly hosting us all. I hope. I called Patrick yesterday to confirm plans and offer to bring something and the poor guy thought this was happening weeks from now. Oh dear. I'm sure we'll still have lots of fun, it will just be more um... chaotic.

Ok, seriously, going now, pictures tomorrow!

ARGH

2009-07-10T11:44:00.008-04:00

Grrr...

Why do swatches lie?

I just ripped out a lot of work. Because this sample sweater was WAY too big. I couldn't figure out why. My gauge swatch was perfect. Except then I checked the gauge just to rule it out and....it was bad. Very bad. So I ripped. It's a sample. It needs to be right. And this is Karmic punishment for me telling people repeatedly that to get sweaters that fit they have to be willing to rip things when they're wrong. Sigh. So a week's work is reduced to a very large ball of crinkly. And, no, I didn't break rule 1 and rip in the middle of the night. I am jumping right back in, time is money with samples.

Anyhow, just needed to vent a touch...knew you guys would understand.

Love you,

Libby

2009-06-09T18:55:00.002-04:00

Hi blog!

I'm back with a request for opinions. While I'm working away on existing projects, I have started to think about what I would like to start next. This is new for me, ususally I just start things, not really bothering to think of what I would like to do BEST. Being the summer, I think I would like to work on something rather lightweight and have been meaning to make another triangle shawl because I acutally get a lot of use out of my Icarus and Silk Kerchief.

I read a blog called Through the Loops and she has been publishing lots of fun patterns in the last several months, but I've really been taken with Ulmus. I love the color combinations I've seen on Ravelry (they're worth looking at, go ahead, I'll wait). So I got out some sock yarn to look at potential color combinations for myself. I have photographed them and would love to hear what you think.

Option One: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in a medium blue with Prism Saki in a blue and brown varigated.

Option Two: Ella Rae Merino Lace in varigated pinky brown with Impulse of Delight Summit Sock in Blackberry, a deep purple mix.

Option Three: Two shades of Koigu, one a sky blue mix, the other a redish brown mix.

Option Four: Two shades of Dream in Color Smooshy, Go Go Grassy and Wisterious.

Those were my favorites and the best combos as far as texture combinations go too. What is your favorite? And why of course! Let's see what you guys have been working on!

Oh, and I added some pictures to Ravelry today; one showing the progress on the log cabin blanket (significant!) and the other showing a completely new and finished project, the Spidery Tank. Check them out!

Love you guys!

~Libby

Porom Gauge

2009-05-25T02:42:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone, but Libby specifically, I was wondering if you had made the Porom hat yet, and if so, if you had any trouble finding a yarn with which you could manage the proper gauge. Mom and I just bought a dk weight yarn because the Blue Sky alpaca silk (I know you were wondering what the content was before Mom, so there you are) stuff that you generously gave me wasn't working out for this pattern. (I made a different floppy hat instead, it's still pretty neat.) Anyway, if you have the pattern handy, could you consult with me on maybe increasing the number of stitches so that I can make a smaller gauge without making a smaller hat? I think it could just be any number divisible by twenty (because that's how many sts there are in chart B), but I'm not sure how the crown shapping will work, obviously with more stitches there will have to be more decrease rows. I know you're busy and I may be able to figure this out on my own, but if you get a chance I'd appreciate a consult. Also, do you think you could email me the Thermis pattern? Please and thank you.
Love to everyone,
Laura Anne

2009-05-24T19:18:00.003-04:00

I love this, I couldn't really tell from the picture what you were talking about...you and laura crack me up sometimes! I think we should post the rules in the sidebar to keep track!

Very soon I promise to post photos of the blanket in progress and soon after that I promise pictures of the apartment and my stash organization efforts. After THAT I will indulge in a discussion (monologue perhaps?) regarding what I want to cast on (or rescue from UFO-hood) to provide a bit more stimulation than giant garter stitch rectangles. Consider this post a placeholder for those more interesting posts to come!

love you~

No Mother/Daughter Blog Would be Complete Without This

2009-05-20T09:50:00.012-04:00

A list of rules! Granted, I don't have a whole list for you today. Just a rule that I applied (uncharacteristically) last night, and I'm so glad I did. So here it is, (ta da!) rule #1 in the Tightly Knit Rule Book:

1. No frogging after 11 p.m.

While I'm at it, here's rule #2:

2. Always, always, always have an unfinished scarf or sock (or three) handy to make it even conceivably possible to adhere to rule #1.

This morning, I see that the hideously stretched out edge stitch on the right front of my current project is not the result of a mistake in laddering, reladdering and then, for good measure, laddering again both of the twisted stockinette stitch stitches adjacent to the slipped edge stitch all the way down to the cast-on edge. No, my dear daughters, it was the result of being stretched out. And as every modern knitter (post Stitch and Bitch, that is) should know, it is in our power to wrestle stretched out stitches into submission.

So why am I displaying the "wrong" side of my edge? Because, dear girls, that is where the slipped edge stitch rolls to hide in this ingenious edge treatment. And don't they all look remarkably even and under control? It is wonderful to have this power. And I'd have never felt such joy if I had done what seemed like the only logical next step last night when it was past my bedtime and frogged the damn thing. I'm not saying these are the world's most even stitches, but they are fine.

And just to leave you with a little eye candy, here's what the front side looks like.

Knit on!

Judi

Another Great Knitting Magazine

2009-05-19T15:39:00.012-04:00

Dear Girls,
Have you been holding out on me? I just randomly clicked on an ad on Ravelry (hardly ever do that unless I'm seriously interested, since I know it costs the advertiser half a penny or something like that) and am now in love with Knotions Magazine. How come I didn't know about this? I think it replaces MagKnits, which I never knew about, either, until it was history.

Here's the reason love Knotions so much. I've been searching hard for a shell to make to go under my current project. I've done several really serious searches on Ravelry, and even though I saw this, it didn't stand out from the crowd for some reason. I'm sure I can modify this a little to echo some of the design elements of the Retro Jacket. I'm so excited!

Judi

From Judi: And Here We Are Again!

2009-05-14T18:11:00.008-04:00

Well, my dear Libby, Baltimore doesn't know how lucky it is to have such an accomplished knitter moving in. And Cleveland's knitting community is a diminished thing without you in our midst.

But I am not sad because we are Tightly Knit! And even though you only semi-officially moved out this morning (leaving a shocking amount of stuff behind in some very unexpected places), I have a knitting dilemma and need your advice.

As you know, last night I started the Drop Stitch Scarf, #13 from VogueKnitting Spring/Summer 2009, and even though it is mega fun to knit the triple-wrap stitches to get the cross-wise "ladders," I'm dying see how it looks with the dropped stitches laddered, too. The pattern doesn't have you do this until the end. There's no way I can wait 'till the end. I know we freely laddered Jeanie while in progress, but I can't remember what we did with the top stitch. Just pick it up (as in a M1) and knit into it on the next row? Will that work?

After Judy G's experience with The Clap, I suddenly have a deathly fear of knitting an entire scarf only to find out the drop stitches won't drop! Tried to Google this question and got nothing I could use. You are my only hope. Am praying you took your computer to Baltimore!

From Judi: This Was Such a Great Idea ...

2008-01-05T10:28:00.000-05:00

... and then Libby graduated, moved home, and suddenly the whole motivation went up in smoke! We both still like the idea of blogging about knitting, but since we talk with each other about knitting almost constantly (when we're not working), we don't really need to blog about it any more.

And Ravelry is filling a big need to show off our knitting to others. (I'm JudiP53, and Libby is LibbyP. Laura, who really does knit, is not obsessed the way Libby and I are, so she doesn't have a Ravelry account and I think she thinks we're a little goofy, but we're living with that.)

So where does that leave Tightly Knit? I'm not sure. Frankly, I'm hoping that Libby will move out soon (I mean that in the nicest, most supportive way and her continually ursurping my spot in front of the computer and in the best knitting chair hardly enter into the sentiment at all) and then we'll need Tightly Knit again. In the meantime, I'm making a New Year's resolution to try to blog at least once in a while if for no other reason than to have a good place to document knitting learnings and insights for posterity.

My most recent learning has to do with the forethought heel I'm using in the Kureyon socks I'm making. Lib, Laura and I all got skeins of this yarn for Christmas (one smart Santa, eh?) and Lib shot ahead with her sock and used a flap heel. I convinced her to frog it because the flap really messed up the gradual transiton of colors on the instep. (Actually, she made me frog it for her. I really enjoyed it!)

We decided to do afterthought heels but to make things a little easier/less scary by knitting in a "zipper" of scrap yarn that we could take out to create the opening. I swear, this was the day before Stephanie documented her afterthought heel revelation, which She had for a totally different reason. Crazy coincidence, eh? Actually, this isn't the first time that She has blogged about a topic at almost exactly the same time I was dealing with the same issue. I think we're like cosmically linked or something, but I'm sure She doesn't know it 'cause I almost never even have the nerve to post comments on The Yarn Harlot (the standard for amusing comments is outrageously high over there), so even though we "met" at her signing in Cleveland, we don't exactly have a relationship.

Anyhow, I digress. Stephanie mentioned that Elizabeth Zimmermann had discussed afterthought heels, although I can't find a mention in any of her books. (Afterthought pockets, yes.) So I'm sure Elizabeth Zimmermann also invented what we're calling the forethought heel, but I can't prove it.

In the process of knitting in the zipper, I made one dumb mistake and learned (or was reminded of) something about my knitting personality. But I balanced this by having a small but I think important revelation.

I learned that when inserting the scrap yarn zipper, you should be really careful not to inadvertently catch up a stitch below. Which, honestly, I don't remember ever doing before, but I did do it while knitting in the zipper, and consequently had to frog a whole day's worth of instep, which was about three inches and really ticked me off at myself! I was even less happy with myself because I'm sure the better solution would have been to just snip the yarn and rip out that row and end up with exactly the same setup as if one had done the true afterthought heel (as She did). But one can be somewhat compulsive at times, and avoiding snipping the yarn was the whole motivation for the forethought heel in the first place, so I frogged. Good thing I enjoy frogging, although I found it was distinctly more fun frogging Libby's sock than mine.

Now for the insight: I realized that it would be a bit of a challenge to know where to start the toe (not that I'm there yet - I still haven't caught up to the point where I frogged the instep last weekend). Since all I had was a tube, my usual trick of trying the sock on to see how it was fitting might/probably would lead to ambiguous results. So, instead of waiting until the tube and toe were done to unzip the zipper, I realized I could unzip it whenever I felt like it (as it turned out, after having knitted only 3 or 4 more rounds after zipper #2) and try it on when the time came and have a very good idea of where the toe should start. In fact, if I want to, I can just put in the afterthought heel whenever I want - although not yet, because I haven't figured out if I want to use the Noro or find a solid color to use for the heel and toe, a look I really like. This insight actually led to a second, which is that when I pick up for the heel, I'm going to pick up at least four stitches in each corner. Trying on the sock with the zipper unzipped (actually, I watched Libby try hers on -- she finished with her first sock already) demonstrates that there's a lot of stretch needed at that point.

Which just goes to prove that seeing things with your own eyes can really make you a lot smarter!

Oh, by the way, if you've never done the zipper trick, don't do what Libby did and clip your working yarn to pick up on the other side of the zipper. Just side your new zipper stitches onto your left needle and pick up with the working yarn where you left off, knitting over the zipper stitches. I didn't figure this out for myself, but I did do a good job of reading the tutorial that, in all fairness, Libby actually found on the Web. Now all I have to do is stop gloating about it!

Judi

I'd Like to Do This More Often

2007-08-23T11:54:00.000-04:00

I'd really love to post to the blog more often, but it seems the moon and stars have to align. First, I need to have interesting knitting to show. Then I have to have a decent photo of my interesting knitting. (Surprisingly difficult to come by.) And then I have to have a few minutes to pull it all together.

I could blame my lack of time on Libby living at home now and Laura popping in at random intervals, but in all fairness, it's mostly because I finally took the plunge and began redecorating the guest bath. I chose it as a jumping off point to a total wallpaper purge. We've got wallpaper in eight rooms and our realtor says we have to get rid of all of it. I figure it would cost $10,000 to have it done by a proper professional, so I'm having a whack at it to see what I can accomplish myself. I think I could do it, too, if I didn't have a full-time job!

DH lacks the confidence to do much on his own, and I do agree it took some nerve to keep going after I saw what the walls looked like under the paper in the guest bath. I started there because it was small. Turns out small is a problem. You can hardly turn around, no one can fit in there to give you a hand, and every two feet it seems you run into a corner or crevice that requires infinite patience to get right. Anyhow, I've discovered that I'm capable of applying skim coat to smooth the walls. Now the next test is whether I'm capable of sanding it off to actually result in walls smooth enough to paint. I'm hoping that DH is capable of being trained to help with the sanding!

I am managing to do some knitting in between frantically trashing the bathroom and adjoining laundry room. I've got all the pieces done on my cable maze cardigan, and now only have to weave in ends, block everything, assemble, knit neck and button bands and sew on buttons. I just realized that my fantasy of wearing it to the department party on Saturday evening is pretty ridiculous. I'd forgotten about knitting the bands, I guess. And I don't have buttons yet. Not gonna happen in time. I am happy with how it's turning out. Of course, I still don't believe it will fit me, but that's only because every other sweater I've ever knit has turned out to have the flattering properties of a feed sack. I do love the Plymouth Royal Bamboo as a finished product, but DAMN that stuff is splitty! I'm not sure how durable it is going to turn out to be either, but it is SOFT and has a nice sheen. It reminds me a lot of rayon, but it's not nearly as slippery to work with. I spoke to a local LYS owner at the guild meeting last week, and he told me, "Everyone hates bamboo." Nice thing to say to someone in the middle of a bamboo project! I think to be a good YS owner, you need to have a better bedside manner than that!

I also started swatching and dyeing main color for a housewarming gift for Laura's first apartment -- a set of placemats in her favorite colors - rust with navy trim. I'm using the felted trivet pattern from Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas, resized to placemats. KnitPicks didn't have the rust color I wanted in their bulky, feltable stuff, so I bought "bare" and some of their Jacquard acid dye and took the afternoon off to dye it yesterday. It's not as deep a color as I'd envisioned, but it is pretty. I think she'll like it. I was surprised how much yarn 600 grams turned out to be! I had to do the dyeing in the washing machine because it was way too much for my stainless steel dutch oven. That required an extra 2 gallons of water (ideally would have used 4, ended up having to use 6 to fill the tub to cover the yarn), and of course I couldn't "cook" it in the washer, so that probably accounts somewhat for the light color. All things considered, I guess it turned out pretty well! Now all I have to do is untangle the hanks (I swear I cannot understand how it gets tangled the way it does even though it's secured in two places on the hank) and wind them into my hand-made flat center-pull balls for knitting.

What is the "logic" that prompts me to start a new project just BEFORE finishing a prior project, I wonder. Surely it would be smarter to finish project one before diving into project two. I know I'm not the only knitter who struggles with "start-itis." And it sure is fun to get new yarn in the mail and play with dye and all that. It's a constant battle to maintain discipline, though! Ah, hell with it. I'm having a good time!

I love EZ

2007-07-18T18:05:00.000-04:00

Favorite quote so far:

"Carry yarn very loosely across the back of your work, otherwise your knitting will pucker, and be wasted and unloved."

Unloved indeed, she cracks me up.

What's going on over there?

2007-07-16T16:49:00.000-04:00

My copy of the Opinionated Knitter came today! I forgot it was coming, very nice surprise. Thanks so much. I'm excited to get to start on a real project here soon, I've been doing little things that leave me a teeny bit unsatisfied, I need something to sink my teeth into. Like perhaps a Fair Isle Yoke Sweater...mm what do you think? What have you been up to lately? How are the curved shawl and the sweater?

I've emailed with Kate from Knitting on the Square today and I think the final set up will be the two of us tandem teaching the beginner sock class with me doing a more intermediate/advanced class for customizing fit, adding interesting patterns, and troubleshooting kind of stuff. I think that'll be a good fit for me, I was worried about teaching people to use dpn's and the really basic stuff that needs really good explanations. I also sent a picture of my BSJ and suggested she think about a class for it so cross your fingers!

Some highlights of my week in review to entertain the masses:

A finished internship application adds up to something like 46 pieces of paper that have to be fedex-ed. I'm quite proud of my little cover letter, with the enclusures listed and everything. :)

I also organized my kitchen in anticipation of moving and as a result of being bored. Seen here, the top of my refridgerator and the inside of my tupperware cabinet. Nice huh? There was more, I just don't imagine that you want any more silly pictures of it. (Don't worry, I'm working on the paper every day, I just can't do it ALL day every day.)

And there was some knitting as well -- This is a little market bag, a pattern from the purl bee called Elisa's Nest Tote and took about three hours total to make, even the i-cord for the handles was done before I knew it. It's made of Sugar 'n Cream cotton I got for wash cloths but I think it's better as a bag. I've washed the washcloths I made myself a couple times now and the colors aren't holding up to the hot water at all. This will probably stay bright as a bag and it's fun for trips to the farmer's market.

I would put in a picture of the books I've been reading for the paper but I think the titles would cause you to pity me and we can't have that :) I also finished a sock but no pictures yet, they'll come when I can take a decent shot of it on my foot, it needs to be stretched out to look like anything. I need some sock blockers!

p.s. what's laura been up to? take pictures and post for her, i'm curious!

Booties

2007-07-11T22:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, so, having gotten Mom's approval for impractical baby clothing when accompanied by practical clothing, I made some baby booties. They're Saartje's booties, seen first at brooklyntweed and I like them well enough. They aren't finished to a high degree of quality but they're still pretty cute. I think something about the buttons bother me. They make the booties look a bit like little frogs...

BSJ II

2007-07-08T15:38:00.000-04:00

Here's my little jacket. You're right, Libby. They are so cute you can hardly stand it.

I keep complaining about how rustic mine looks, but your sweet little Baby Ull job is proof that it's totally within the control of the knitter to make them as rustic or refined as one wishes. And I have the feeling that the mom who's getting mine will prefer something "sensible" looking. I toyed with the idea of i-cord trim, but have decided that simple is best.

Next, I'm going to design some "Baby Surprise" socks. I envision an inch of garter stitch at the top, followed by an inch of 1x1 rib, followed by a flap heel and round toe in stockinette. Will post a photo soon. In the meantime, here's a closeup of the button I picked, which also shows off the beautiful colors in this yarn:

Now for some really big news - I bought yarn at Knitting on the Square's Bag Sale yesterday for my Cable/Lace cardigan. It's Plymouth Yarn Royal Bamboo in a muted yellow (think fresh butter). You know that Trekking 25% bamboo stuff I'm making into socks for your Dad that feel like they've got twine (or at least linen) in them? Well this stuff couldn't be more different. It must have at least a dozen super-thin plies in the strand, and it's a major splitter and manages to get itself twisted after only a dozen or so stitches. Still, it's gorgeous and I'm getting better (I think) at not splitting it. My lingering concern over this choice is that it seems a little heavy in weight -- I'm getting perfect gauge (23 sts over 4") but I'm afraid the fabric is going to seem too stiff for this lacy pattern. Kate said she thought it would work, and the yarn itself has a very silky soft feel, and my swatch is drapey, if a little thick, so I've got my fingers crossed.

I've cast on and knitted the eyelet trim along the back bottom. I'm following the pattern and knitting in pieces instead of in the round. I'll probably end up deciding this was a mistake, but kind of want to keep things lower stress, and it seemed like following the pattern might do that. Ha! It will probably do the opposite -- especially when I run into something like I did in row 5 (I actually made it to the fifth row before second-guessing the designer) where you increase every 4th stitch starting at the right side of 111 stitches, but only do it 25 times, which means that when you're done, you still have a dozen stitches and the instructions say "purl to end." Now why not just space them out evenly across the whole row? I've read ahead in the pattern and can see no reason. I'm so unsettled by it that I actually put it down, and I'm 90% sure that when I pick it back up I'm going to end up ripping out that row. I must be kidding myself to think that I have it in me to just follow the damn pattern! There is some good news about the dreaded row 5 -- I learned to do a nearly invisible increase in a purl row by lifting up the bump from the stitch in the row below.

Speaking of Kate, she told me she's going to call you. She said she just can't use anyone full time right now, but maybe you could teach a class for her. How about a class making the BSJ? You can get the pattern for your students from SchoolHouse Press as a stand-alone for $4 (plus shipping). Maybe you could ALSO do a class on one of the teddy bears or other toys you've made. You're on your own as far as figuring out those copyrights ! Anyhow, I figure if you hang that little sweater up in the store, people will flock to sign up for the class. And you can teach my baby surprise socks, too, to people who finish their sweaters ahead of the pack! (I won't charge you too much for it!) This DOES mean, Libby dear, that you're going to need an additional job or two. As much as I believe that someday everyone will knit and it will be possible to support ourselves giving classes, I do not think we're there yet.

Knit on,

Mom

Baby Surprise Jacket

2007-07-08T11:19:00.000-04:00

I have finished my Baby Surprise Jacket. It is so adorable I can hardly stand it. I wish it fit me.
Duck buttons and all.
It needs a nice blocking to help smooth out all that garter stitch but it looks pretty nice over all.
I wish the baby this was intended for was due sooner than September, I don't imagine I'll be around to see her actually wear it, I'll have to depend on Miranda for pictures.

How's yours coming Mom?

Look! Eee!

2007-07-06T11:56:00.000-04:00

Mom, did you see the impossibly sweet baby booties at brooklyntweed? If you are knitting someone something useful for their baby is it an acceptable self-indulgence to also gift them something not-so-useful just because it's fun to make and stare at? Just curious :)

Lots going on!

2007-07-04T13:33:00.000-04:00

Wow, Mom, you did have a lot to tell! I also have lots so I thought I'd post answers/responses to your post and then add my own thoughts.

So, to start from the top:

Washcloths: I, too, made a trip to JoAnn's and came away with some washcloth cotton and have knit up two. They're very fun and easy and I like using a washcloth every day that I made myself. I like the idea of knits for the home, it feels so wholesome. I hope you can get Dad interested, I think knitting has the potential to be relaxing for him too. Good luck! You should tell Laura we'll tolerate her genre jumping (crochet indeed...) if she'll take pictures and post on the blog!

Baby Surprise Jacket: Mine is in its second incarnation (the first incarnation having been ripped due to excessive thickness) however it shall need to be ripped and reincarnated once more -- I've had a rather serious misalignment of decreases which I blame on late night knitting and poor bedside lighting. See?
I would be glad of suggestions as to how to keep that line straight, the knit wiki doesn't seem to address that. I'd love to have a copy of the Opinionated Knitter, I ordered myself a Knitter's Almanac from Amazon because it was very cheap and helped me to qualify for free shipping on my pre-ordered copy of Harry Potter. :-D Oh, and in my defense, those increases at the sleeves weren't make one increases, they were yarn overs, don't know why I tried that, maybe because that fabric was so thick I wanted to add some eyelets. The make one increases on v.2 look much nicer. I'm liking the Baby Ull on a size 5 addi, the fabric is nice and drapey.

Photo: Cool! Knitters in the news! Specifically, WE knitters in the news! Cool!

And now on to new stuff.

Finished Monkeys: Cute socks, nice cushy fabric that will probably need to wait for fall to get much use. (Weather today in Bloomington: 86 with 66% humidity...)

New Socks: Gentleman Socks, pattern by Designedly Kristi. Knit in Trekking XXL, Color 102. Very nice so far. See the close up? I'm very entertained by the stitch pattern, and I think it looks great in this yarn. This is actually what I was knitting in the picture of us from the newspaper but it's so teeny in the picture you can't tell, I had just cast on half an hour before the picture was taken.

Gloves: Pattern from Not Just More Socks, yarn is Koigu Merino, from Fine Points. It has you start with the cuff, add button bands, overlap them and join in the round to knit the hand. fingers are added one at a time starting at the pinky.

One finger,

Two fingers,

Three fingers,

Um...five fingers...forgot to take a four fingers picture :) the second pic shows the palm side.

So, that's what I've been up to the past couple weeks, and I agree with you Mom, I should also do this more often so it won't be such an ordeal!

New Yarn! New Skills! New Appreciation for EZ!

2007-07-01T19:53:00.000-04:00

Clearly, I'm going to have to do this more often. I have so many things to tell you, I don't know where to start. I have news. I have advice. I think I'll start with some news.
I took Laura with me to JoAnn's today to get some buttons for my Baby Surprise jacket, which I could probably get done tonight if not for inconvenient necessities such as dinner and laundry. My goal for the buttons was that they complement the little sweater without calling too much attention to themselves. I believe we were successful.
While there, I decided to get some washcloth cotton and a pair of wooden needles to use to try one more time to cajole your Dad into trying some garter stitch. I just think it would be calming, and he would really benefit. He believes it would just be frustrating. He may be right. If so, I'll knit my washcloths myself.
Anyhow, Laura decides to get some washcloth cotton herself, and then sees a pattern on the ball band for place mats and decides they would be just the thing to protect her new wooden table from her roomates. I see the wisdom in this, so we slip off the ball band to read the pattern so we know how much yarn to get. It takes a lot! three-and-a-half balls per mat. Then I realize why -- they're CROCHETED! Wouldn't you know -- the little contrarian has decided to go ahead and make them anyway. So of course we had to hie to the nearest bookstore to pick up the Happy Hooker. She's happily reading and chaining at this very moment.
I spent virtually all weekend working on my little Baby Surprise Jacket. Which is weird, because I'm making it to give to a woman I don't really know that well, and for whom I would not willfully give up an entire weekend. I think the Yarn Harlot's idea that some people knit for the stuff and some people knit for the process is interesting. I don't really agree with the either/or model, but I do ponder from time to time which I am mostly. I think I'm decidedly toward the process end of the spectrum.
My little sweater is cute, but doesn't look very babyish. That skein of Cherry Tree Hill "Birches" finally found a calling, but it's much darker than I expected (I thought it would be primarily, or at least 50% white). It looks a little like camouflage. If I can figure out how, I'll put a picture I took late yesterday afternoon here:

As I knit yesterday and today, I sat out on the deck and reveled in the fabulous spring-like weather. And I read my borrowed copy of The Opinionated Knitter from cover to cover, including most of the patterns. I've come to several conclusions:
1) you need the book in hand as you work on your own BSJ. If you can't get it from the library, let me know and I'll order two copies for us from School House Press. The book contains many hints. For example, how to make a straight line with your double decreases and side-by-side increases. And how to make an invisible increase (I now realize that what I thought were buttonholes when you showed me that very large swatch were your "make 1" increases. I avoid the holes by just knitting into the back of the picked up stitch, and it seems to be working great on the garter stitch. But then, I'm using camo yarn!
2) I need The Opinionated Knitter in my permanent collection. And I need Knitter's Almanac, too. I already have Knitting Without Tears. And once I have all three, I'm probably going to have to invest in a set of DVDs, too. Although I do think I may be able to borrow them from the library. Wouldn't that be great? Anyhow, let me know if you want me to place an order. I'll order both books for both of us.
I'm editing this post because I just learned that Knit Wiki has a terrific post on the BSJ. Although I think she's wrong about breaking the yarn to pick up the stitches on the right side (I picked them up just as EZ instructed, using Charlene Schurch's instructions for picking up along a garter edge) and didn't feel like I had the "wrong side" showing. Anyhow, it's a good post and you should check it out.

New subject: Did I tell you that our picture from the night we knitted with the Northcoast Guild appeared in the Willoughby News Herald last week? You can check it out here. Supposedly one can e-mail the image from their Website, but I haven't had any luck getting that to work. Ann Smrekar (guild newsletter editor and all-around sweet person) sent me the clipping, so I've scanned it and post it here for posterity:

Knit on, kiddo!

First Knitting Mojo

2007-06-16T13:34:00.000-04:00

A friend asked me to teach her to knit a couple weeks ago and I, of course jumped at the chance. Always willing to spread the joy/obsession of knitting. I think we both did pretty well, she better than me actually, I'm not sure I was very clear but she was doing quite well by the end of three hours.

Well, three hours if you count the time it took at the craft store to pick out a ball of Lion Wool and some fuscsia Boye needles (how convenient that the fuscia ones were the size the label reccomended? good thing, we might have gotten them anyhow). At the store I tried to explain relation of needle and yarn size to gauge and what that meant in finished fabric, not sure that made sense to her either but being an avid collector of clothing, especially sweaters, I think she got it on some level.

We set ourselves up in my kitchen and I showed her how to make a slip knot, surprisingly difficult to master it seems, there was much discussion of a "big loop" and subsequent "baby loop" but eventually we had a breakthrough and moved on to casting on. She filled up her needle, pulled them off and did another practice needleful and then we moved on to the knit stitch . Had the typical issues with accidental yarn overs and mysterious extra stitches but eventually learned to remember to keep the yarn in back to knit and we were ready to start with new stitches to make the start of a scarf. I know, I know, boring and a bit tedious for a begining project but it's what she wanted to make. She had a few very nice looking rows when we realized it had been three hours and that she needed to go home. I sent her off with my copy of S 'n B for later when she inevitably forgot how to continue. Hopefully she'll look through it and be inspired to keep practicing and to make something beyond a garter stitch scarf.

We really had a good time during our lesson and it was a really good feeling that at least one friend saw how much fun I think knitting is and wanted to try it herself. I was proud of her for her great effort, I know she usually sticks to crafts that are much more intuitive. We both marveled a bit at how someone came up with this stuff in the first place, it boggles the mind.

I took a couple of pictures for the blog, feeling that First Knitting and the birth of a new knitter should be recorded for posterity and that they probably carry a bit of healthy Knitting Mojo of their own and might lend some of that to this blog and its readers. So here you are, some First Knitting on the needles of a New Knitter.

It's Alive!

2007-06-12T19:30:00.000-04:00

She did it! The blog lives!

Ok, Mom (Judi) got the first post so I (Libby) will get the first photo (because after all, what's a knitting blog without pictures?).

Might as well jump right in with what I'm working on today -- A monkey sock knit from Cookie A's pattern at Knitty in Socks that Rock Lightweight in Rhodonite colorway. I've always lusted after heavily verigated hand painted sock yarns just for the colors but I don't like the flashing/pooling/striping thing that usually happens. So when I saw Cara over at january one knitting adorable monkeys in STR and saw how nicely the color repeats were getting broken up I was very excited. I'm having a great time so far with the pattern and the yarn. Extremely yummy sock yarn, perhaps my new favorite.

There it is. Bright, huh?

So, I will now use this image to explain a few things about my knitting personality.

1. I knit mostly for myself, thus the crazy colors -- while I love them, I would never gift those colors to an unsuspecting recipient.

2. I like to knit socks. That's what I've been knitting all summer so far. I think the reasons for my love of socks are numerous, some of them include the fact that they're infinitely variable while adhering to a basic structure that is easily understood and that they're relatively cheap projects -- sweaters need too much yarn and lace calls for luxury fibers. They're also very customizable. On this sock for example, I used three different sized needles to obtain three seperate gauges to fit me -- a US 2 for the cuff, a US 1 for the leg, and a US 0 for the foot.

3. I like to knit socks magic loop style with one long circular, Addi Turbos to be specific. I like that method because I lose my place less often for some reason. I guess counting to two (to complete a round) is easier than counting to four.

So there you have it, my inagural post. You're up, Laura!

Alright Already - I'll Do It Myself!

2007-06-12T13:49:00.000-04:00

Libby had the great idea that we should set up a family blog. It would be an easy way for her, Laura and me to share progress reports on knitting projects, post photos and generally obsess as a team, which is kinda hard to do when the girls are off on their college campuses and I'm at home with only their non-knitting-obsessed father to show off for.

That was six weeks ago.I have things to show off. I can't wait any longer.

So here is our blog. And here's the first thing I have to show off. This is the e-mail Libby sent me this morning containing a beautifully annotated list of her fave knitting blogs for me (apparently she has another list of faves that aren't for me ... hmmm, must find out what knitting blogs she thinks would be inappropriate for me!).
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Hey i just remembered i promised to send you a list of my favorite blogs that i thought you would like. so here you go, my faves for you :)

Black Dog Knits-- variety of crafts, likes neutral colors, beautiful photography http://black-dog-knits.blogspot.com/

Brooklyn Tweed-- which i think i saw you bookmark but can't remember -- handsome man, beautiful sweaters, loves noro and tweeds http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/index.html

The Daily Purl-- infrequent poster but has nice work and good ideas, good yarn reccomendations, also beautiful photos... i'm a sucker for pretty photos, they make anyone's knitting look good http://www.thedailypurl.com/

Dogs Steal Yarn-- one of my first, young mother living in brooklyn, vegetarian, writer, nice stuff, writes patterns occasionaly http://www.dogsstealyarn.com/

Enchanting Juno-- friends with the Harlot, single forty-something woman who tends towards the sarcastic and is funny http://enchantingjuno.typepad.com/knit/

January One-- professional photographer, gets obsessed by one thing like a specific sock pattern she'll knit over and over or mitered squares to make a blanket, i love her color sense http://www.januaryone.com/

Knitspot-- Anne from ohio who i think you already know about, very skilled knitter and designer, has lately been posting pictures of her yard tha make me want to plant a garden (oh wait, my landlord just turned my yard into a parking lot...) http://knitspot.com/

Knitters Annonymous-- a dual-poster blog, young girls, Cookie A. of sock pattern fame (monkey, for example) http://www.knitanon.com/blog/

Knitting on Impulse-- lives in colorado like, on a mountain, likes to experiment, knits creative and wearable sweaters and jewelry with silver wire and stuff, very cool, not tacky :) http://impulsivearts.typepad.com/knitting/

You've got Mason Dixon right? http://www.masondixonknitting.com/

Nona Knits (and Nona Swatches where she makes a swatch of some kind EVERY DAY)-- neat lady who knits cool stuff, just designed a pattern for sideways socks that i want to tryhttp://nonaknits.typepad.com/nonaknits/

See Eunny Knit!-- Eunny aka new IK editor, extremely talented, great designer, rare posts, but they're good when you get them http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/

Ysolda-- scottish girl who deisgns cute stuff and bakes yummy looking things that make me hungry, studies literature and film, interesting girl http://www.ysolda.me.uk/wordpress/

Yarnstorm-- british lady who likes quilting as much as knitting, good with color and great photos, good stuff :) http://yarnstorm.blogs.com/knitblog/

there you go, nice list huh? not even half the blogs i read :-D

love you,libby
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Of course, she didn't need to mention Stephanie's blog. I'm proud to say that I'm the one who turned Libby on to knitting blogs in the first place by sending her here ... at least that's the way I remember it!
Yarn Harlot-- reels you in with her humor and great knitting advice, keeps you coming back with her insights on life in general http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/

Judi