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The other thing that I do when I feel stressed is spend money. What is it about spending money that makes me feel like I am in control of something? Perhaps it is just the illusion of power in the notion of purchasing power. Fortunately, I'm spending it at the thrift store so it doesn't do too much damage to our bank account. And these past few days I have struck it lucky with yarn:
top row, left to right: Noro Transitions, Cascade 220 Superwash (four), Enterprise Knitting Yarn (a vintage Sugar'n'Cream), Zitron Trekking XXL
middle row: Rowan Cotton Tape, Lily Sugar'n'Cream, (two), Baruffa Kid Fur (not sure what I'll do with this one), Cascade 220 Wool
bottom row: Zitron Trekking XXL, Patons UK Crocus 4ply (four; a vintage yarn I think), Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (white and red).
All very useful purchases and all of which of course just lead me to think of more projects and things that I want to make and ...
p.s. Thrift Score is also an excellent book by Al Hoff, all about my favourite past time.
It has been very lax of me (as a knitter) to not declare until now that we have champion Corriedale sheep breeders in the family. Yes, Tim's cousin and wife are the proprietors of Liberton Corriedales and will be at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival on the 1st and 2nd of May.
Jim and Brenda stopped by in Seattle for a few nights on their way across to the east coast and I was the lucky recipient of two enormous hanks of their wool. The hanks weigh about a pound each; I'm not sure of yardage but apparently enough for an adult sweater. I'm not sure whether to experiment with dying the yarn or using it in its beautiful natural state. I could never wear cream so I guess that I'll have to decide whom I'm going to knit for before I decide on the colour!
Actually, what I have to do first is catch up with myself; I still don't feel like I am back on top of things since we left for Orcas Island which is almost a fortnight ago. Since then I've had a cold and allergies simultaneously (that's two grades of snot at the same time - sorry) and house guests for four days. I feel as though I am behind on everything - email, housework, knitting. And when I feel stretched like this what do I do? I retreat into my knitting and sewing and general crafting but in a hectic, frantic kind of way, which just leaves me with more unfinished stuff and feeling more stressed. It also leads to one discount skein of wool turning into a hundred dollar baby jacket ... but more about that later (sneak peek at right).
Oooh, I've been saving this one up. Finally revealing it is almost as exciting as giving it to the expectant mother was.
The Vital Statistics
Pattern: Acorn hat by Jane Davis from Simple Crochet for Cherished Babies.
Size: newborn.
Yarn: Grignasco Bambi, 100% merino, not sure of shade, with yarn held double throughout for the hat and a mystery yarn from stash for the leaves.
Hook: 4mm.
Start to finish: 22 March to 31 March 2010.
Recycle/stash content: all of it from stash!
Comments: Eep, it's a few weeks ago now. This was a gift for a friend who is expecting twins. This was simple to crochet for an effective result, the leaves especially are great. I crocheted a few extra rows on the hat because I found the result from the pattern wasn't deep enough. The hat has a turned-under brim and instead of attaching that to the inside of the hat with a crochet stitch (as the pattern directs) I just slip stitched it into place.
Verdict: Very happy.
We have spent the last couple of days on Orcas Island in a beach house perched upon a bluff above a pebble beach with a stunning view out across Puget Sound and various other islands. Deer wandered through our garden as I sat on the deck in the moist misty morning and completed a few more rows on my Knitted Veil. That's where the maths comes in - I am a quarter of the way through!!
It was wonderful to get out of town although a bit stressful too with small children, especially making sure that there were enough changes of clothes to keep a certain little boy dry and clean (he stayed dry, not so clean but I've given up on that). Orcas Island was beautiful, as is the whole San Juan Islands area; just the ferry ride from Anacortes to Orcas felt like a cruise in itself. One thing that really struck Tim and I was the (to us) overwhelming private ownership of the land there, particularly the beaches. It just felt wrong. We had a private beach as part of our accommodation but were exhorted to not stray beyond the big white boulder or the pink survey tape. Pink survey tape? There may be some cachet in the exclusivity of a private beach but ah, not in pink survey tape.
I'm not sure whether I have written about this before but the main thing that has struck me in so many ways about the US since we moved here is the rampant individualism. I am currently sleep-deprived and a bit addled by a head cold/hayfever mix, so my skills of sociological analysis are not really up to the task of elaborating on this. I just eagerly await publication of E Unus Plures: American individualism and the shaping of the nation (I'm just making this up but in the event that such a volume does already exist, let me know!)
Ah, the immortal words of Project Runway's Tim Gunn. I've been kind of enjoying season 7 (available to watch online) but is the format perhaps getting tired or the characters just aren't as dynamic a mix this time around?
Anyway, as I've been working along on this piece I've been considering my 'point of view as a designer' and remembering some of things about myself, namely that I really dislike mesh; adore lace but dislike mesh, particularly in clothing, you know, mesh inserts and the like. Love fishnet stockings though. The Kid Silk Haze/Wool Stainless Steel mix is just fluffy enough on 5mm needles to create a fabric but that has run out now and I'm not much liking the Wool Stainless Steel held double; there is still not enough bulk and it's mesh. I'm pondering a few options:
- increase stitch count and knit with thread held double on much smaller needles but it's a new week and I think that I've had my fill of soothing stocking stitch for now
- same but in a heavily textured lacy stitch (I'll be needing Barbara Walker)
- increase stitch count and instead crochet with thread (plain or lacy?) held double which will produce a denser fabric but I can't find my crochet hook roll just now.
Ok, I think that I'll reserve some Barbara Walker volumes and think about it. Any suggestions welcome!
Ok, this bit I am not making up - yesterday commenced with vomit at 5:00am and culminated with a trip to the emergency room in the afternoon. Same child (little miss bear), completely different woes. The upset tummy had cleared up (or cleared itself out with two more vomits) by 8:00am, the cut finger resulted from being caught in the car door. The finger was also cleared of any great damage after an x-ray and that glue stuff that they use instead of stitches and a sparkly silver bandaid - phew!
So by yesterday evening, I just really wanted some soothing stocking stitch knitting so I cast on with some Kidsilk Haze and Lion Brand Wool Stainless Steel, yarns held together. Yes, the Lion Brand rip-off of Habu which presents the opportunity to rant a little about Habu. Look, it's been a hard week.
I don't much like Habu. I know that it's the darling of the fibrenistas and perhaps that's part of it. Yes, their yarns are interesting, fascinating even but I am irritated by product names like A-17 1/4.5 which I guess is supposed to mean something to those in the know. Perhaps that is what irritates me, the 'those-in-the-know'-ness of it. And I feel like Habu has a lot of that. Plus, when I once went by their stall at a fibre show, the woman was unpleasant to me, so that's that and I have embraced Lion Brand, yes, the company responsible for all of that Vanna's Choice acrylic out there.
So, what am I making? I don't know, I'm just making it up as I go along. I have wound the two yarns up into a ball together and cast on 54 stitches. I'm going to knit until the Kidsilk Haze runs out and then will keep going with the Wool Stainless Steel, probably held double. And then we'll see where we end up (clearly not on W 29th St though).
Not much seen in fashion since 1985 or thereabouts, and perhaps with good reason, I have recently fallen in love with the concept of the tabard. You see, my dear sweet baby son is a spewer - spit-up, chuck, spew, posset, whatever you want to call it. A very happy spewer (and fear not dear reader, perfectly healthy) but regurgitated breast milk fills our days and drenches his clothing. And this was starting to worry me (and cost me hours doing laundry) - I was worried about his poor sweet chest getting cold.
I was thinking about some wool-lined bibs or some such when inspiration hit. There was a felted 100 per cent lambswool J Crew sweater stuffed in the cupboard upstairs which I was long planning to use to make some patchwork balls. I didn't, however, like it enough to actually make said patchwork balls. But I didn't get rid of it because everytime I looked at it I thought about the patchwork balls that I was supposed to make with it. Even though I knew that I never would - funny how the mind works.
Anyway, I finally put it to good use and cut some bibs out of it. Not bibs to keep him clean but at least to keep him dry and warm. And the argyle looks quite cute at this scale. And then I bought three more lambswool sweaters, as soft as I could find, on various thrift expeditions and elaborated on the style to create a tabard. He wears them between his inner layer (usually a onesie) and outer layer (long-sleeve t-shirt or whatever). Something about the fuzziness of the felted lambswool keeps them nicely in place and I know that he is warm and dry.
Given the amount that he chucks up, the amount that comes out the other end and the amount of weight that he is putting on (his rate of weight increase has recently increased), I am clearly reincarnated from a prize dairy cow.
The Burry Man's Day, the second in the series of the Dandy Gilver Murder Mysteries by Catriona McPherson. Again featuring the same engaging character, Dandelion Gilver, the writing in this volume was rather different to the first, shorter sentences, more concise, more clarity. I had thought that the convoluted writing in the first volume - After the Armistice Ball - was just my imagination after the journalistic incisiveness of Stiff. But it wasn't my imagination, it was the writing, and this volume is eminently more readable.
Needless to say I really enjoyed it, even though it took me the whole month to get through. I usually read while I'm settling Baby B, one hand keeping the book open, one hand in a rhythmic pat-pat on his mattress. Having read the two volumes now, the post-Great War setting has become more significant which I am finding to be a really interesting element.
Can't wait to read the next one but I am rationing myself! Next month will I think be more sex with vampires.
I got a book! It's actually one that I have previously partly read and I remember it being so inspiring that when I had the chance to buy a copy second hand I grabbed it. Zilboorg gives excellent descriptions of the act of making stitches, of pulling the loops through the loops and states that if you are achieving the stitch that you want, you are doing it correctly, no matter what anyone else says. Love it!
I've been swatching away for Bergamot with a few different yarns but still don't have much of an idea of how to proceed. From left to right is Cascade 220 in colourway Galaxy, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in colourway Peridot, Filatura di Crosa Zara in colourway 1523 and some teal recycled J Crew (same as I have used for Wallingford and Woolsthorpe), all done on a 4mm or 4.25mm crochet hook (G).
There are all sorts of pros and cons: the Zara and Cascade 220 Galaxy are too dark and the pattern gets lost so that wasn't such a great idea for a swatch; the Cotton Fleece gives great stitch definition; the recycled yarn has no twist in it and doesn't show the pattern very well but I do like the colour; as do I like the Cotton Fleece Peridot but both yarns are heavier than the 8ply (dk) that the pattern calls for, etc etc.
Thing is, I still don't know quite what I want from this - something heavy and woolly for the winter? something fresh and green for the spring? With regard to differing yarn weights and gauges, I feel far more confident about modifying a pattern in crochet than in knitting, so I could change it around a bit, perhaps use a 10ply (worsted) yarn, a larger hook and cut some repeats out of the pattern. Or I could go for the finer version of the Cotton Fleece (Cotton Fine) and use a smaller hook and more repeats.
But then there's the pattern itself - the row of bobbles right across the middle and the lack of shaping and the fact that the model has no visible bust to speak of ... so I get to thinking about ways to change it - make it slimmer, give it some shaping, decrease the bulk of the bobbles and the proliferation of ideas overwhelms me. And as I have said before - making a pattern work is actually really difficult and a fine balance of elements. Once you start to muck around with that it creates a lot of work to get the balance right again. The recycled yarn version is an attempt to make the jacket just as it is (and in the smallest size) to see what it is like but given that crochet takes up so much more yardage than knitting and the yarn is recycled from a size small sweater, there isn't going to be enough of it.
Anyway, I do think that I'll go for either green or purple and by the way, isn't Periwinkle from Rowan 41 pretty?
If only it were that simple!
The Vital Statistics
Pattern: Childhood Remake Sweater by Anna and Heidi Pickles, available free!
Size: The free pattern is only for the one-year size but three- and four-year sizes are avaialble in their shop, but umm, buyer beware as I will detail below.
Yarn: The pattern is written for a dk-weight yarn held double and a dk-weight handspun yarn held double. I used a worsted weight - Pingouin Fleur de Laine, colourway 6 - which gave me the desired gauge (17sts per 10cm) and some recycled yarn from a J Crew aran-style knit.
Needles: 4.5mm for the ribbing and cuffs, 5mm for the body and sleeves.
Start to finish: 3 March to 15 March 2010, a quick knit.
Stash/recycle content: 100 per cent - hooray! I received the Fleur de Laine at a stash swap and the recycled J Crew was purchased at Ballard Goodwill and already in the cupboard.
Comments: This pattern is available for free and I feel a bit uncertain about criticising something that has been made freely available. Nevertheless, there are some problems with the pattern that someone considering making it may like to be aware of in advance before they invest their time and yarn. I have also taken the time to let the company know about my concerns, so this is not just idle griping!
So, the pattern is not very well written and the construction of the garment is poorly thought out. The sweater is a T-shape with no fashioning and the sleeves and body are knit all in one. It is similar in this sense to a number of baby kimono patterns which are knit in one piece (such as this Lion Brand one). The pattern here calls for the body to be knit in the round and to then divide for the front and back, then kitchener stitch together 50 stitches for each arm (eek!). I didn't do this: I knit it flat (just because I felt like it) and did a three-needle bind off on the top of the sleeves - it's absolutely invisible. I also chose a provisional cast on for the sleeves and so did a three-needle bind off there too. But, why not just knit it flat, all in one piece and seam only the sides and sleeves? A lot less work than grafting two sleeves.
My other issue was with the front placket which is knit in the solid main colour, contrasting with the yoke and sleeves. The pattern calls for this to be knit using the intarsia method, which I did, which I shouldn't have. This was the first time I had ever done intarsia colour work, so pushing my boundaries a bit here. But I didn't even need to - I think that it would make far more sense to leave eight stitches live at the centre front and to simply knit the placket and then seam it to the yoke. The method in the pattern is also very difficult to work in combination with garter stitch stripes, I ended up working with three threads at one point, two of which were the same colour ... Didn't go too badly for a first attempt but was of course much better by the end.
There are also a couple of omissions in the pattern, namely what to do with the 10 stitches that you cast on for where the placket overlaps (not sure why 10 anyway). I actually just picked up eight sts from the back of the placket and knitted on those. Verdict: This is indeed a very cute pattern but I'm not sure that I like the balance of the stocking stitch body and garter stitch yoke/sleeves in the finished product. I'm not sure what the pattern for the larger sizes is like but I would not have been happy if I had paid for this one (and I didn't so that's fine) - I don't think that the construction is very well thought out and is needlessly more complex than it should be. There may be some Norwegian knitting tradition significance to knitting it in the round but my recommendations would certainly be to knit it flat in one piece and knit the placket separately. I do like my finished product though and am looking forward to seeing my little boy in it next winter.
Thank you dear readers for your supportive words about the veil and for all the other comments that you leave. I am rarely a commenter on blogs so am in no position to exhort others to comment on mine; however, that said - please do leave a comment some time as it is lovely to know that someone is out there, reading.
The marker problem on the veil - Lynn in Tucson, it is alas every marker (thirteen of them) on every fourth row. Now that I am using split stitch markers I should indeed be able to move them all before I start knitting the row obviating the need to do it as I go (thereby interrupting the flow of the knitting which is half the point of doing it, to be in the flow). Thank you Leonie for the suggestion! I might also try Rachel's suggestion of using a length of unwaxed dental floss as a running stitch marker - I knew there was a reason I had some of that in the cupboard. My dentist will be pleased to know that I have found a use for it - I'm visiting him this afternoon ...
Am I going to make it on this one? That is, am I going to make it at all? It's over a month ago that I said I was going to review my progress on the A Knitted Veil in Peruvian Wool (it's officially called A Knitted Veil in Pyrenees Wool but I'm using an alpaca blend, so ...)
There are all sorts of things holding me back on this one. To begin with, I've made a real mess of my photocopied pattern with notes scribbled everywhere; well, not notes actually but various calculations as to how far through it I am and how much there actually is to go. I need to make another copy and start with a clean slate - task for tomorrow.
Why the intentness on how far through it I am? Well, I'm always intent on that and because now that I have finished the decorative border there are just miles and miles of four-row lace pattern repeat. How many miles? About 135 rows worth.
And this particular lace pattern bothers me because on the third row there is a k2tog that crosses over the six-stitch repeat boundary. Huh? The lace is a six-stitch repeat, that is, you knit the same six stitches all the way across the row. To keep this all in line I have placed a marker every six stitches. However, on the third row of the pattern the six-stitch repeat is offset by one stitch, requiring me to k2tog across the marker. A pain because it necessitates taking out the marker and repositioning it thirteen times on every fourth row. I'm trying it with split ring markers but it's excruciating knitting and I don't know whether I can face another 16 miles of it (ok, 135 rows). Complication of course is that I love it. The lace is beautiful, the yarn produces a great fabric and I so want to try a knitted on edging.
A possible fix is to simply take out the markers but that would require that I trust myself to read the lace and know where I'm up to. Hmmmm? Might be worth a try but I'll put in a lifeline first.
As soon as I saw this shawl - In the Pink by IzzyKnits - I knew that I had to cast on for it straight away. I love the construction - not a triangle, not a rectangle but this wonderful arcing curving shape. However, I did realise that I was in no position to knit it right now so I decided to just allow myself a portion of it, that wonderful central spiral.
And yes, it's as wonderful as I thought it would be.
Vital Statistics
Pattern: In the Pink by IzzyKnits (available free!) - yes, the same one that I had a go at a couple of weeks ago with a different yarn.
Size: I knit only the central whirl and did the larger 62-row version.
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (80 per cent wool, 20 per cent nylon) in colourway Manzanita. It's beautiful to work with and I love every shade of the subtle shifts in the colour (unlike some variegated yarns that I could mention).
Needles: 3.5mm which produced a lovely fabric. Probably looser than I would usually knit but that's a good thing because I often find things coming out too bulky.
Start to finish: 1 March 2010 to 11 March 2010. I tell you, it was mesmerising.
Stash/recycle content: Yes, this yarn came from stash! I have two skeins but that will unfortunately not be enough so I will have to buy more. Later.
Comments: Lovely to knit, lovely yarn to knit with, lovely colours - love love love.
Verdict: I am committed to getting at least one of my other lace pieces done (Faux Prussian Stole, Knitted Veil - I have not forgotten you) but this will be next.
A couple of days ago, snow finally fell in Seattle. It didn't actually hit the ground but never mind that. Then that same evening there was an incredible hail downpour, evidence of which was still on the ground the next morning.
And one stitch back, or thereabouts, on the destashing front.
The Vital Statistics
Pattern: Icelandic Jacket by Leslie Stanfield from Adorable Crochet for Babies and Toddlers. Now all too often whenever a book proclaims itself to be 'adorable' or 'stylish' it is anything but. This is, thankfully, not one of those occasions. This pattern at least from the book is adorable.
Yarn: I chose this pattern in order to use up the Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton that I have had since the dawn of knitting time. The pattern necessitated me purchasing three additional colours, which turned out to be four more balls. While I have seen some Jo Sharp wools here in the US, I found that this particular cotton was quite hard to come by and ended up purchasing it on ebay and from others on Ravelry. Hence four more balls of the stuff because the Calico was a two-ball deal. So I used:
- 4.4 skeins in Cloudless (light blue)
- 0.6 skeins in Putty (light brown)
- 0.3 skeins in Calico (white)
- 0.3 skeins in Freesia (yellow/green)
From the five balls that I started with, I am left with not quite four balls remaining (and an adorable jacket).
Size: The pattern is written for only one size (6 months) but with a bit of crochet know-how I think that it could quite easily be re-sized. I see on Ravelry that someone has made an adult version.
Hook: 3.0 mm for edging, 3.5 mm (E) for body, 4.0 mm (G) for foundation chain.
Start to finish: 16 February to 1 March 2010 - crochet is fast.
Recycle/stash content: Well, I really did try but as far as making a dent in the stash, I only reduced it by one ball.
Comments: This is a great pattern, I just love it. I made it from cotton instead of wool so that will have changed how structured it is. I can't wait to make another one from wool to see the difference. I also crocheted the lower fronts and back all in one piece (the pattern calls to divide below the yoke and have side seams but I didn't think this necessary). I also think that all but one of the underarm gusset increase rows (being the one with four increases at the edges) could be worked in a single row.
The sleeves could also be crocheted in the round but I didn't do this as it would have made the fabric of the sleeves slightly different from that of the rest of the garment (when you work crochet back and forth you see back and front of the stitch on alternating rows; when you work in the round you see only the front of the stitch every row).
Only one other hint - when placing the top-most button hole, place it just below the neckline because you then crochet three more rows. If you place it any lower, it will be too low once those rows are done. I bought my metal buttons from The Weaving Works; next time I might try wooden as the book suggests. Oh and one more, I always like to use a slightly larger hook to make my foundation chain to ensure that it is loose enough.
Verdict: If I were to make as many of these as I would like to, we may just have to move to Iceland. I'm extremely happy with the result and it really is adorable.
I've alluded to this before but will now come out and say it - I'm a gauge snob. Yes, anything that knits at less than 22 stitches to 10 centimetres is, well, a stitch (or several) below the mark in my book. But boy, does it knit up quickly and is hence perfect for baby gear!
I only just recently discovered the 'friend activity' tab on Ravelry and have been regularly peeking at what other people are liking, planning and knitting. I have thereby also greatly increased the number of items that I am liking, planning and yes, even knitting.
Anyway, that is how I found the super-cute Childhood Remake Sweater from a Norwegian outfit called Pickles and I pretty much just had to cast on straight away. Two days later and I have almost finished the front and front sleeves (I'm knitting it flat instead of in the round because, well, I just wanted to) - great to knit! The yarn that I am using is all from stash - Pingouin Fleur de Laine (Ravelry link) in a baby blue that I got at a stash swap (thanks Melissa!) and some yarn recycled from a J Crew sweater which I substituted for the handspun that the pattern calls for. I don't have any handspun and I thought that this oatmeal-coloured yarn unravelled from an Aran style sweater was rustic enough.
Sometimes there's a a pattern that just sucks you in, sends you into a spin and you have to try it out. Such was my experience with this amazing pattern, In the Pink by IzzyKnits.
So I tried it out with my Casbah, wondering whether the pooling tendency would be broken up by the eyelets. Which it was, very nicely. Except now I am completely decided about this yarn - the variegation is not working for me. Three gently used skeins of Handmaiden Fine Yarns Casbah in shade Vintage for sale or trade on Ravelry.
top row, left to right: Noro Transitions, Cascade 220 Superwash (four), Enterprise Knitting Yarn (a vintage Sugar'n'Cream), Zitron Trekking XXL
