it's about the knitting

A Hat for a Cat

2011-05-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

I couldn't not make this for the boys. Fortunately, they both look good in red and are willing to share (No, Chuck, I insist it's your turn today. No, no, Henry, it's your turn.)

While they both look fetching, it was very clear very quick that they really don't like hats. But you can make one for your cat, and maybe your cat will wear it. You can get the pattern here.

I'm just glad I didn't decide to make them pants.

Mental Floss

2011-04-23T16:07:00.001-07:00

We're in the process of selling the country house we've had for 17 years. It's hard. For all this time, it's been a place to take the kids when the city summers got too hot and they could run a little freer; a place to go without the teenagers when there was too much attitude; a bolt-hole from the stresses of parents in dementia and other conditions. We all know that it's time to move on: we don't use it much at all and none of the kids seem to be interested, but it's hard. There are a lot of memories in that place, and even when we're there to clean up and clear out, there's the sense of quiet and calm and away-ness that is absent in everyday life.

Within a couple of months of settling in, we put this picture on the kitchen wall:

It's exactly why we went there. It's hard to let go.

The Yarnovers

2011-04-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

Allie and her friend Jennie have just launched their Etsy shop, The Yarnovers. It's filled with crocheted kitchen items: hand towels, aprons, oven mitts, coasters, pot holders, etc. They've been working very hard for the last couple of months, designing and making their inventory, creating the background set for photography, and now it has all come together.

Good things do come out of hard times: these are two smart, educated young women who have applied for about 100 jobs between the two of them, with no responses. So they're making it happen themselves.

Check it out. Buy some towels. Have some fun.

MegaBus

2011-04-19T16:09:00.001-07:00

In March, I needed an easy, portable project to work on while riding the MegaBus to New York, one that would interest me but not be difficult to execute while we barreled down the Jersey Turnpike.

I cast on while we were waiting in line, tried a few different shapes and stitches while we rode, and by the time we got to East Brunswick, I had settled on a four-section shawl with the outer two worked in Stockinette stitch and the inner two worked in a slip stitch. The rhythm of working it was so right that even when I dozed on and off during the ride home, I didn’t mess it up.

The day I wore it to work, all finished and blocked, both my co-worker and a customer wanted the pattern. So here it is.

It has proven to be quite popular on Ravelry; you can get your copy of the pattern here for $3.00:

Tipped and Skewed

2011-04-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

Two triangular shawls playing on the idea of placing increases so that the end result is an asymmetrical shape with curved wingspans that hug your shoulders. Both are worked in worsted weight yarn, work up quickly, and when wet-blocked, are much lighter than you'd expect.

Tipped was first:

Stockinette stitch is alternated with a garter ridge, and the edging is ribbing that widens gradually to create an almost-but-not-quite ruffle.

Tipped is available for $5.00; you can get your copy here:

I had so much fun designing Tipped that I wanted to take the idea and push it a bit more. That's where Skewed came in:

Skewed is Tipped Shaw’s bolder cousin: the colors are brighter, the center spine is more than off-center, the garter ridges don’t quite line up, and instead of ribbing, a vertical welt finishes off the bottom edge. The welt edging is worked with short rows to accommodate the curve of the bottom edge.

Through April 30, Skewed is available at the introductory price of $3.00.

Changeling

2011-04-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

A design from a couple of years ago that is, I think, clever as well as practical and pretty: the Changeling Travel Changing pad.

Worked in Stockinette Stitch stripes, the center panel has garter stitch edging, and the side flaps are picked up along the sides. It fastens with a button, and is designed to fit around a pack of wipes or a couple of diapers so everything you need is right at hand. And if you knit it in cotton or a cotton blend, you can pop it in the washer as needed.

This is a great project for a baby shower, as easy to knit as a blanket but more out of the ordinary.

Folded up, Changeling measures approximately 11” x 7” x 2”, and opened up, it measures 26” x28”.

You can buy the pattern at kidknits.biz in either printed or pdf form.

Flounce

2011-03-13T15:53:00.001-07:00

My newest design---

I used Skinny Cotton from Blue Sky Alpacas which was a pleasure to work with. It's a 100% organic cotton that is soft, smooth, doesn't split, and has absolutely wonderful stitch definition.

The dress is worked flat from the bottom up, beginning with the ruffle in the contrast color, and the shaping decreases are worked in the body rather than at the seams so there is the illusion of princess seams.

I think a little girl will really enjoy the flip and flounce of the ruffle.

Flounce Baby and Toddler Sundress pattern is available now to download on Ravelry for $5.00.

Best Thing Since....

2011-03-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

..maybe sliced bread.

I was working on my Ginkgo Shawl and was having a hard time following the chart---my problem, not the designer's problem. I tried enlarging the chart and my eye still wandered and I couldn't keep track of where I was. And then I remembered that we carry the highlighting tape at work, and I picked up a roll.

Immediate relief! I highlighted each row as I worked it, peeled off the tape and used it on the next row. What had been a long, hard slog became a quick knit.

I can't wait to make my next charted shawl so I can use this again.

Breakfast of Champions

2011-03-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

Up early this morning and noticed that Chuck was in the back room downstairs, thoroughly engrossed in the morning show of the Nature Channel: a hawk on the back wall having its breakfast pigeon.

It was very calm, sitting tall and bending down now and again to have a bite. A squirrel approached, sat and looked at it for a moment, and then decided that going up the walnut tree and over to the opposite wall was the way to go.

I know there are hawks in downtown Philly, building their nests on high buildings, but I've never seen one so close.

PS: Found out from Cliff:"Red-tailed hawk. Eats mice, rats, squirrels, and cats. Not Henry." Always knew there was a reason to keep the cats inside.

Proud Mom Moment

2011-03-06T06:31:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, we came home from running errands and found a large envelope on our doorstep from Temple U, addressed to Allie, Do Not Fold marked on it.

Her diploma was inside.

BA in Spanish, Cum Laude.

We are so proud of her, for finishing college, for taking lemons and making lemonade, amd for taking crushing disappointments and forging ahead.

For someone who should have waltzed into any college she wanted (according to her high school teachers and college counselor and according to her grades, her test scores, her talent, her interests, and all common reason), this has been a long, hard journey with various set-backs. I know that the hurt of being rejected twice by colleges she should have been accepted to once will be there for a long time, but the resourcefulness that she has gained will serve her better and longer than a degree from any of those schools.

She makes us very happy.

On My Knitting Plate

2011-02-27T06:15:00.001-08:00

My knitting plate is full. If it were a cup, it would runneth over.

Right now, I'm working on a lace weight cardigan store sample for Loop; a prototype and pattern for a kidknits baby/toddler dress using Skinny Cotton; a prototype and pattern for a kidknits shawl/scarf; and in the mail yesterday, a box of Berkshire Bulky arrived from WEBS for me to do a sample and pattern for a wrap. And I just finished two proposals as well as a blanket for Amy, who has finally made it to rehab.

I think that's all.

What's on your needles?

Semi-Famous again

2011-02-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm the featured designer being interviewed here.

Semi-Famous

2011-01-31T06:37:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, a TV crew from our local ABC affiliate came to Loop to interview Craig and do a piece on making your own stylish, chunky knits.

Kathy and I continued on in the background, helping customers, winding yarn, etc., while the crew did their thing, including close-ups of us knitting (yes, Mr. deMille, we were ready).

It aired on January 22, and here I am!

Communication

2011-01-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

...with myself and with others.

I spent yesterday morning working on the lace edging of a shawl for Susie. I spent yesterday afternoon ripping out the lace edging of a shawl for Susie. And then putting stitch markers at each of the 19 repeats and starting over. You'd think I'd know by now that I really, truly need to use stitch markers when working many repeats of a lace pattern.

You'd also think I'd know by now that clear communication is very important when talking with the person who's about to cut your hair. Assuming that she understood what you want without repeating yourself and clarifying leads to (drum roll) a bad haircut.

I can fix the lace much quicker than my hair will grow.

Processing.....

2011-01-25T04:58:00.000-08:00

I got word last week that Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Company has been bought by Spinrite who is moving the whole production to Canada. This is upsetting to me on many levels: a family-owned, American business will no longer exist; 80 people are losing their jobs, among them my friend Flo Carlisle who has supported me so greatly and graciously as a designer; and on a personal level (petty when compared to losing a job), what will I do for my cotton yarn now?

I've been using their Peaches & Cream for years: when I was doing production work for my craft shows, then in my kits on my website, and also for a pretty good run of designing, including building all the designs in my book around it. It's a great product, great colors, soft, knits well, holds up well----what else can I say? Last night, I put in a pretty big order so that I'll be able to keep on offering my kits. When the yarn runs out, who knows what I'll do then.

But meanwhile, I'm saddened by this turn of economic events. And I'm also sad that Allie and I didn't get to do our road trip last summer to visit Old Fort and meet Flo in person and visit their famous outlet store. My loss, truly.

Time

2010-11-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

Time marches forward, even when we fall back to standard time.

Next week is Thanksgiving, already, again.

Last month was Stitches:

And next week it will be Jane's fifth yarhzeit, making Thanksgiving bittersweet every year.

Coming Soon!

2010-09-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

Flo Carlisle at Pisgah Yarn has been working on this project for over a year: a calendar that features exclusive designs using the Pisgah family of products with every penny (yes, every penny) going to support charities.

This has been a major undertaking of contacting designers, co-ordinating photo shoots, printing, fund raising, talking to printers, etc., etc.

She has done a mammoth job, and the calendar will be available this coming week. This will be a limited edition, so get yours while you can!

May is my month: a mother/daughter set. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Pooling

2010-09-10T05:25:00.000-07:00

Varigated, hand-dyed yarns are beautiful, but they can be tricky to work with: I've found that often the yarn looks one way in the skein, another way when wound in to a ball, and then yet another way when worked up. It's always a surprise, and sometimes not necessarily a good one.

There are different ways of breaking up pooling when you don't want that effect: alternating rows either by working with two different skeins or by working from both ends of the skein; working stripes using a contrasting color; or by working stripes using a contrasting color that is done in garter ridges. The last option has become my favorite: the texture and color of that garter ridge breaks up the pooling and adds visual and tactile interest.

I used this combination in my original swatch for the Garter Ridge Hoodie which is in Petite Purls Back to Basics section:

When I started my 10 in 2010 Shawlette, I found the pooling just terrible, and, falling back on the garter ridge idea, ended up with a shawl that I love:

A very gratifying result that I'll be using again. And again, most likely.

Mmmmmmm

2010-09-07T05:52:00.001-07:00

Rebecca's been making donuts:

Yesterday, she brought over plain donuts (which were divine unto themselves) along with chocolate ganache and vanilla glaze so we could dip as desired.

Oh so very good.

Fall Sweater

2010-09-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

I recently completed this great little sweater, Eyelet Cardigan from Blue Sky Alpacas:

The yarn was from my stash, and is Peaches & Creme Worsted in one of my favorite colors in this line, Butterscotch.

The temperature needs to drop a few more degrees before this will be comfortable, but I do anticipate several fall days of wearing this.

kidnics

2010-09-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Or how did knitting patterns for babies become rolling papers?

VS

Am I missing something here?

I got a notice in the mail yesterday from the City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue (Life-Liberty-and You)informing me that their records indicate that my business may be selling tobacco and/or tobacco-related products. If so, I need to be paying taxes on said items or risk a fine of $5,000 plus interest and penalties. I was given a form to fill out, sign and return stating that I don't sell tobacco and/or tobacco-related products. Which I did. Promptly.

I can only hope that this notice is going out to all businesses in the city, and that this isn't the result of someone carefully selecting those who should be paying this tax.

Ghosts of Knitting Past

2010-06-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is a rant.

In the last week, I've been brought face to face with other people's old knitting. And it's not pretty.

Last week, a woman came in to the shop and pulled out patterns from the 1960's. Ok. Vintage knitting is Cool. Vintage knitting is In. But hanging on to old patterns because they're the only ones you knit is not cool, and actually is kind of stupid.

I was being asked to figure out what yarn she needed and how much. The pattern called for x number of balls of a now-defunct yarn that once upon a time came in 2 oz balls. That tells us nothing. However, as I explained to her, the needle size and gauge will help us, along with an in-house cheat-sheet that estimates (key word here: estimates) how much yardage you'll need for a sweater. Size 10 needles/3 stitches to the inch: hmmmm, sounds like bulky yarn to me. (But, the customer says, the photograph of the sweater doesn't look bulky.) Since I can't climb inside your head, dear customer, and see what you're seeing, all I can do is repeat the needle size and gauge and point out that the same (exact same!) needle size and gauge are here, on this yarn label.

She has to think about it.

The next pattern is from a kit that was packaged in the '60's; there is absolutely no mention of what kind of yarn was used. The directions give three different sizes that are based on changing the needle size----it could be fingering (baby) weight yarn, or dk (sport) yarn.

Long story short, she ends up buying worsted weight for the bulky weight pattern (because the photo didn't look bulky), and some fingering for the baby sweater.

I guarantee that she'll be back, and she'll be complaining because things didn't turn out "right".

This is what I'm talking about when I say that knitters need to take responsibility for their knitting: just do it. Try it. Do a gague swatch. Think about what you're doing. But please, don't shift all of the risk and responsibility on to someone you don't know who can't see inside your brain. Come on.

The other incident was being stopped by a neighbor who knows that I knit. She has a project that she's been working on for about four years,and she wants me to look at the directions and tell her what she's doing wrong.

Again, can I really climb inside your brain and figure this out? I don't think so.

So, the bottom line here is: if you want to knit from vintage patterns, do the math yourself---don't spring it on someone who doesn't really know what it is you want and is also trying to help four other people who are actually on the ball. Also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying new patterns. It's ok. They're not that expensive (and there are a lot free ones crammed in the tubes, if you want to take the time to
look).

And if you've been working on a project for four or more years, maybe it's time to frog it or just put it in the trash and start fresh. If you can't remember what you were doing when you put this weird piece of crap down, why do you think that my brain is somehow more magic than yours and I'll know what you were thinking and doing four years ago?

Ok. Rant done.

I Won

2010-05-07T04:37:00.001-07:00

It took me a couple of attempts and a lot of knitting math, but I have achieved what I wanted:

Say hello to the Alcott Shawl.

It's worked from the edging up to the neck which means that all the heavy knitting and thinking happens in the cast on and first 20-some rows. Then it's knitting and decreasing until the neck.

The pattern is available for sale and download in my Ravelry store.

A Challenge

2010-04-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Now that I can do a simple top-down triangle shawl without thinking very hard about it, I've decided, for some reason, that I need to do a half-circle shawl with a 20-row-repeat lace edging from the bottom up (because I really don't like picking up edging and this particular one works from the bottom up).

I'm working on my third attempt after casting on about six times (6x300+ stitches = mental meltdown). I did have a stunning aha! moment yesterday when I realized that my life would be much easier if I put stitch markers at every pattern repeat so that I only have to rip out twenty stitches at a time. But that didn't stop me from screwing up row 7 so badly that I unraveled (the shawl and myself) and cast on again.

And I still haven't figured out why I have to do this: it's as if there's a big knitting exam coming up and I have get an A. I'm alternating between being pleased that I've tackled this and thinking what the hell is wrong with me?

How You Like Me Now?

2010-03-31T08:03:00.001-07:00

Mr. Monkey

2010-03-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

Mr. Monkey got attacked by a dog and needs the side of his head replaced. He also needs a new ear and a little more stuffing.

But he's still smiling.

Oh Dear

2010-03-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

It looks as if my ambitious Barbara Walker project is on hiatus (I'd say hibernating but we're coming out of winter----maybe it's on Spring break in Fort Lauderdale?). In any case, I've not been keeping up with that or with updating here. Not that I've been inundated with comments and emails asking me where I am and how much my swatches have been missed.

Last month I started working two days a week at Loop. It's a wonderful, gorgeous store filled with wonderful, gorgeous yarn, laid out beautifully (a friend of mine refers to Loop as The Museum of Yarn). My boss and co-worker are great also, making the adjustment to my first outside-the-house job in 25+ years pretty smooth.

From my two days of work, I then go directly to my day of teaching the blind at ASB; I'm still figuring out how to both rest, catch up, and continue with my own work over the next days until it's time to start again.

Yes, I know I used to do this work thing, but after so many years of having the kids and their school years and then my own craft show schedule determine the rhythm of my work, it is taking a bit of adjusting.

I'm working on a store sample for Loop right now, using Zara, and the interesting thing is how much the yardage varies from ball to ball. Since I'm working in stripes, you'd think that one ball would work up the same number of rows as the next, but that's not the case. I'm a little nervous, because I'm not sure how this is going to turn out. Maybe they (the manufacturers) need to check their measuring machine. That aside, Zara is very nice to work with: smooth, quick, nice hand, great finished fabric. There is a slight tendency to split now and then--not badly, just something to keep an eye on.

And as soon as I have this finished, I'll be able to work out the sample and write the pattern for the latest design I've done for Valley Yarns. I'm really looking foward to working this one up. And maybe the Barbara Walker project will get back on track.

BW: Banded Insertion

2010-01-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

Very interesting stitch pattern to play with: bands of garter stitch are worked using needles appropriate for the yarn, and then two rows of Stockinette stitch are worked using needles 4 to 5 sizes larger. How much size differences there is between the needles makes the lacey part more open or more subtle:

I consistently used a size 5 needle for the garter bands, but experimented with different needles for the inserts. The bottom three inserts are worked with a size 11 needle; the next three are worked with a 10.5; and the last three are worked with a 10. The largest size begins to look almost like a drop-stitch as the loops are so long. This has me thinking that I'll try it with a 5 and a 13 and see what happens. Many, many possibilities.

BW: Three Stitches

2010-01-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

Having been lax this week, I'm making up for lost time by posting three stitches today:
Waving Rib Pattern, Quaker Ridging, and Wager Welt.

First, the Waving Rib Pattern:

I worked this swatch in Valley Yarn's Goshen, a blend of Peruvian Cotton, Modal, and Silk, on a size 7 needle. The purl stitches pull the rib from side to side which gives the stitch its visual wave. As a bonus, the back side appears as a basketweave stitch:

Next, I did Quaker Ridging, using Wick from Knit One Crochet Too, again on a size 7 needle:

As this particular pattern begins with a few rows of Stockinette stitch, there is major curling at the bottom edge.

This, as Barbara Walker points out, is a highly adaptable pattern, as you can, at will, change up the width of the ridges as you like.

And finally, I worked the Wager Welt, which is an 8-row repeat that uses only one row of Purl (!). Very neat:

Knit Picks Comfy, a very soft cotton/acrylic blend, was used here.

Working on all these stitches is making the design-pistons in my brain begin to fire up again, or maybe it's the January thaw that's starting to happen.

There was a big, fat robin in our side yard yesterday, digging in the leaves for something.

BW: Escalator Pattern and a Couple of Books

2010-01-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

This 24-Row repeat required concentration (and probably, on a real project, a row counter), but the end result is very interesting. I want to try this as a two-color slip-stitch----don't know if it's possible but I really want to try it and see if it works.

Escalator Pattern:

Meanwhile, it is still very cold. Not fun. I walked over to the library yesterday afternoon and even though I was wearing my winter coat (with a hood), a very warm knitted stole as a scarf and a pair of wool, handknit socks, I felt as if I had strolled outside in a summer outfit.

Last week, I finished reading AS Byatt's new book, The Children's Book. Very interesting, very multi-layered characters and plots. It takes place in late Victorian-Edwardian England, and gives a fascinating look at the cultural, artistic and social trends of the times through the lives of the characters. I highly recommend it. I also recommend Christopher Lukas' Blue Genes, a memoir and examination of familial depression, secrets and suicide, and how we never really get out from under what happened to and around us in our childhoods (and don't I know that). Good reads for when you're not knitting (or even while you're knitting).

BW: Ripple Rib Stitch

2010-01-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

So, did we really think that I was going to knit a swatch and post every day? I did the swatch yesterday and got around to photographing and posting to day.

Here is the Ripple Rib Stitch:

I don't care too much for how this stitch looks; I much prefer the horizontal Ripple Stitch. Thank goodness there are so many combinations of knit and purl; I don't have to pick a favorite or like every one that I make.

And a digression: just found out that the Pink Rose Pastry Shop closed. This was the best place for breakfast, with excellenet La Colombe coffee and a two eggs/toast/home fries special for $2.50. For a couple of years, I met Allie here once a week for breakfast and to catch up with each other, and since she's moved across town, I've been going by myself, once a week, enjoying DeWitt's singing, Sherman's cooking and seeing the regulars.

I am bereft.

BW: Ripple Stitch

2010-01-06T11:01:00.001-08:00

So while the soup simmers and before I make the Caraway Irish Soda Bread on this, yet another frigging cold day, I thought I'd get today's swatch up: Ripple Stitch:

Purls on Stockinette Stitch create waves across the fabric; attention needs to be paid to where you are in this ten-row repeat. This is a flat fabric that looks the same on both sides (one side's purls are the other side's knits).

Now I can go finish the Little Red cape I'm making for Maggie.

BW: Roman Stitch

2010-01-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

Confession time: usually when I turn to BW for stitch inspiration, I tend to skip over the first part (Simple Knit-Purl Combinations) that I'm working on now. I do this because the little black and white photos of the stitches aren't that inspiring to me (sorry). But now that I am making myself work each stitch, I'm finding real gems in those ho-hum photos. Yes, they're simple combinations, and no, I kind of ignored them, and yes, I'm humbled.

Anyway, today's stich is the Roman Stitch:

Rows (or stripes) of Stockinette Stitch alternated with rows (or stripes) of Seed Stitch, simple but elegant.

The upper part of the swatch if the Roman Rib Stitch where two rows of Seed Stitch are worked and then the next two rows of Seed Stitch are staggered over the previous one. Again, simple but elegant.

BW: Broken Rib

2010-01-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

The first thing I do in the morning now, workwise, is my Barbara Walker swatch. I'm not putting it off to later in the day because I know that the chances of being side-tracked increase with every hour that I'm awake.

Today, my swatch is Broken Rib (bottom) and Double Broken Rib (top):

The Broken Rib is worked on an odd number of stitches with a two-row repeat, very easy and meditative to work. The Double Broken Rib is worked over a mulyiple of 4 plus 2 and has a four-row repeat; it takes a bit more concentration to set it up but is then easy to "read" the fabric.

Not as elastic as a k1, p1 rib with a little curl at the edges, the back can easily be the "public side":

I love the Double Broken Rib.

BW: Sand Stitch

2010-01-03T07:20:00.001-08:00

Continuing with "Simple Knit-Purl Combinations", I've done a swatch of Sand Stitch:

This is worked on an even number of stitches and is essentially Seed Stitch where the two rows of that pattern are alternated with rows of knit. I suppose you could work on an uneven number of stitches so then your pattern would be knit one row, seed stitch one row. In any case, the fabric is textured and lays flat.

The reverse side of Sand Stitch is called Dot Stitch or Spot Stitch:

Still flat, still textured but the purl stitches are more distinct.

As I'm working on this post, we're experiencing the beginnings of a real arctic cold snap: the air temp is in the low 20's and the windchill, as reported on the radio, is 3. They're promising it to be like this for the rest of the week. And oh, how the wind is howling through the magnolia in the back yard!

BW: Seed Stitch & Moss Stitch

2010-01-02T08:15:00.001-08:00

Continuing with "Simple Knit-Purl Combinations", I've done a swatch of (bottom to top) Seed Stitch, Moss Stitch, and Double Seed Stitch, page 11.

As per Barbara Walker, Seed Stitch is worked on an even number of stitches over two rows, Row 1 beginning with a knit, Row 2 beginning with a purl. This ensures that every knit stitch is above a purl stitch and vice versa. However, in our teaching blind and visually impaired knitters, we have Seed Stitch worked on an uneven number of stitches so that the pattern is now a one-row pattern, always beginning with a knit stitch: much easier for them to memorize and not have to try and figure which row they're on. In any case, the resulting fabric is firm and flat and the same on both sides.

Moss Stitch, worked on an even number of stitches, is worked over four rows: essentially a k1, p1 rib for two rows that changes to p1, k1 rib for two rows. While still flat and reversible, it pulls in a smidge more than the Seed Stitch.

Double Seed is worked on a multiple of 4 stitches over four rows. This breaks down to a k2, p2 rib for two rows that changes to p2, k2 rib for two rows. The texture is very defined, and the fabric is flat and reversible.

All three of these stitches are good for borders, as they off-set the curling of Stockinette Stitch.

The Barbara Walker Project: Stockinette & Garter Stitch

2010-01-01T08:04:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year.

I have begun my Barbara Walker Project, and here is the first swatch:

I worked this with Peaches & Creme on size 7 needles to a gauge of 16 sts/24 rows over Stockinette Stitch, and am showing the swatch unblocked so that the attributes of each stitch are apparent. These stitches can be found on page 10 of A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

From top to bottom: Garter Stitch which is knit every row. The fabric lays flat and is wider than the lower bands of the swatch.

Below that is the Stockinette Stitch, Twisted which is created by knitting through the back loop on the right side and purling through the back loop on the wrong side. This creates tight, well-defined columns, and the fabric pulls on the bias. The edges curl, but not as much as regular Stockinette Stitch.

The Stockinette Stitch, Crossed is next and is created by knitting through the back loop on the right side and purling in the usual way on the wrong side. The fabric pulls a little on the bias, and the edges curl some.

And at the bottom is Stockinette Stitch which is knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side. The fabric is softer and not as firm as the variations, the stitch columns are vertical (not on the bias), and the edges really curl.

This swatch was worked flat on straight needles. If I were to work these stitches in the round, Garter Stitch would be knit one round, purl one round; Stockinette Stitch would be knit every round; Stockinette Stitch, Twisted would be knit through the back loop, knitting every round; and Stockinette Stitch, Crossed would be alternating one round knit through the back loop with one round knit as usual.

Baby, It's Cold Outside (and inside, too)

2009-12-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not that bad, but still pretty bad.

As I write this, I'm wrapped in an afghan. Because our heater has broken. Again.
Not quite three years ago, our heater stopped working in the middle of winter. It was the thermal coupling that needed to be replaced. And then the chimney needed to be re-lined because the collapsing chimney innards was causing the coupling to keep shorting out. We had all that done.

And now today, I realized that it was pretty damned cold in the house, and the radiators were stone cold. So the very nice heating guy came out and replaced the thermal coupling (again), and said that this shouldn't be happening so soon after replacing it, and maybe it was the gas valve that was causing the problem. And we wouldn't want that because replacing the gas valve is going to cost more.

And guess what? Even with a new thermal coupling, the heater still wouldn't kick on because......it's the gas valve that needs to be replaced!!

Tomorrow, Mike will call me and let me know when he can put in a new gas valve and how much it will cost. Can I let him know right now that it doesn't matter how much it will cost? Am I going to call around to get a second opinion while it's in the mid-30s during the day? Or am I going to say, just do it and get the (f)sucker fixed?

Thank heavens for afghans that I can wrap around me. And for handknit woolen socks that I can wear to bed tonight.

Oh, and to make everything sweeter, Chuck, our new cat, is very helpful, and got into the heater closet and helped Mike with the thermal coupling. Now Chuck's little white paws and belly are totally gray and disgusting.

Thank you, Chuck, for sharing your soot with us.

Finishing

2009-12-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

Today I finished: this "semester" of our class at ASB (on winter break until January 12); Brendan's scarf since he's probably coming for latkes on Friday night and I can't give all the kids knitted things and have nothing for Brendan; my latest pair of socks for Warm Woolies; an earwarmer for Michael: the weather is supposed to be some 20 degrees colder tomorrow than today so I think he can use it.

Tomorrow I start my swatches for the Great Wall of Yarn.

Etsy Shop

2009-12-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

In addition to kidknits.biz and Ravelry and Knitting 911, I now have re-opened my Etsy shop to sell handknit neck cozies, shawls, and wraps.

And as of September 2010, the Etsy shop is closed because no one bought anything.

Happy Feet

2009-12-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Today is the official start of winter: I put on handknit socks.

From winter to winter, I forget how cold my feet get. And how good it feels to wear handknit socks. Today I remembered. My feet are encased in simple handknit socks, and I feel good all over. Now I get to re-introduce myself to the socks that made me so happy last winter; they've been waiting patiently in their box on my closet shelf, and now they get their chance to do what they do best: make my feet warm. And happy.

New Business

2009-11-30T17:49:00.001-08:00

New business started today: Knitting 911.

I'm available for helping with knitting projects, deciphering instructions, finishing projects, and custom knitting.

The name comes from my friend, Joan, calling me with knitting questions and asking, "Is this Knitting 911?" when I answer the phone.

Let's Make a Sweater: Part III

2009-11-19T18:04:00.000-08:00

I finished knitting last night, and bound off. And I am very pleased with the fit.

Today, I went shopping for buttons. First, I went to the Pennsylvania Fabric Outlet on 4th Street; I refer to this store as "the wall of buttons" because that's what the south wall of the store is: floor to ceiling boxes of buttons. Hundreds of boxes filled with metal buttons, wood buttons, plastic, dressy, classic, funky buttons; big buttons, small, round, square, toggle, novelty buttons. Every color, solid, clear, opaque.

After half an hour of looking, I was completely overwhelmed and ready to have a meltdown. Seriously. I was beginning to feel like Robin Williams in "Moscow on the Hudson" when he's in the supermarket to buy coffee and he passes out because there are too many choices: Coffe, coffee, coffee, boom! he's on the floor.

I knew that I didn't want a solid button in any of the colors in the yarn----too matchy. I also knew that I didn't want anything glittery, shiney, or too fancy as the yarn is very homespun looking.

So when I couldn't think any more at all, I went up the street to Zoll's. They are very good at looking at whatever garment I bring in (usually for about a count of 10), and then they reach for a box and say, "How about this?" and nine times out of ten, it's perfect. This was a little more difficult, but after a couple of minutes, the absolute perfect button was found.

Tomorrow I'll get photos of the sweater taken and posted; today it was gray and the light was impossible for photography. And I want to show this off.

Let's Make A Sweater: Part II

2009-11-17T12:55:00.001-08:00

Day Two: I've made it to the end of the sleeves/armhole.

A k2, p2 ribbing forms the neck, with a buttonhole worked on the 4th row. I changed to St st keeping the first and last 6 sts in garter stitch for the borders. My set-up row went like this: k7 for the left front, PM in next stitch, k12 for the left sleeve, PM in next stitch, k28 for the back, PM in next stitch, k12 for the right sleeve, PM in next stitch, k19 for the right front (remember I want an asymmetrical closure).

I worked yo increases until I had 22 stitches on the left front, making sure I worked a buttonhole in every 6th garter ridge. I worked four rows of k1, p1 ribbing on size 8 needles (this is where interchangeables come in so handy: I was able to keep the body on the size 9 needles and work the ribbing on the smaller size; perfect!). Then I bound off the sleeve stitches.

I cast on 4 stitches under each arm and am plan on going down to the size 8 needles in a couple of inches, just to bring the body in a little without having to think hard about shaping.

It's looking pretty good.

Let's Make A Sweater

2009-11-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not very good at sketching out designs before I start them. I have the idea, the image in my knitting brain, and I play around directly with the yarn. This leads to a lot of starting and ripping back, and starting and ripping back.

Sometimes I get it on the second or third try.

I'm on try number four now for this sweater.

I want a top-down, short sleeved sweater that buttons asymmetrically. I'm working with a worsted-weight wool and size 8 needles for the ribbing and size 9 needles for the body. I'm getting a loose 4 sts/1" on the size 9 and like the fabric. So that's good.

Try number one involved casting on 86 stitches as this number worked for me before with a similar gauged sweater. But I second-guessed myself, and somehow figured that I needed to cast on more stitches to accommodate the right front being wider than the left from.

So try number two involved casting on 114 stitches (WTF?). Waaay too many stitches.

Try number three had me going down to 94 stitches, and while it was okay, it really would be a better fit if it were a little smaller.

Try number four is 82 stitches.

Why I Love....

2009-11-15T09:03:00.001-08:00

...knitting from the top down.

The latest reason is that it was so easy to modify this sweater that I made back in June:

I was happy with the original, but a couple of weeks ago, when I wore it, I realized that a couple of things bothered me: the length of the sleeves and the buttons.

Because it was worked from the top down, it was simple to unravel the sleeves back to the start of the ribbing, make the sleeves longer and a little more tapered, and then finish up with ribbing. I could keep trying on the sweater until the sleeves were exactly the right length.

Then I realized that I wanted a collar, picked up the stitches around the edge of the neck, and got that just right.

The hardest part was the buttons: while I liked the original buttons, I felt they were a little too dressy/sparkly for the tweed. After going through my button stash several times, I finally came up with the right buttons.

Now I really love my sweater.

Travel Projects

2009-11-14T14:28:00.001-08:00

As we head into the holiday season and travel looms for many of us, what travel projects do you take with you?

My go-to travel project is baby socks. Let me know what yours is.

Giant Stocking

2009-11-10T05:49:00.001-08:00

The pattern for the Giant Stocking is available through Ravelry for free, so you can download it now.

Have fun!

Stitches Recap

2009-11-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Stitches was all that I wanted it to be this year.

The Connecticut Convention Center is new, interesting, plenty of very nice, well-maintained bathrooms, and the Mariott Hotel (which is connected to the Center) is also nice and new. We had a corner room on the 17th floor with great views that looked east and south. The hotel was very welcoming: our room keys had the Stitches logo on the backs, and the light-up sign board outside the center had the Stitches info rotating on it. The overall feeling was that the convention center and the hotel were glad to see us, which is not always the sense at other hotels.

I took a 6-hour design class with Barry Klein from Trendsetter Yarns. He is delightful: very knowledgeable, and he's able to impart that knowledge with humor and great patience with those students who either don't get it or ask kind of dumb questions. The first half of the class was spent using yarns together to see how they work. He encouraged us to pick yarns we wouldn't normally choose; initally I found it very hard to choose the yarns, then I jumped in, grabbed a safety yarn and two that I wouldn't use in a million years. My swatches turned out beautifully.

The second part of the class was no knitting (fine for me because I did something to my wrist),rather it was looking at pictures of clothing while Barry talked about what detail(s) drew him in. Usually, when I look at a photo in a catalog, I look at the whole sweater and think about how I can replicate it. Barry had us thinking about detail: in fact, take those photos that you like, cut them up, and then pick different pieces of them: cuff, collar, drape, etc. It really opened my mind up.

My last class was with Edie Eckman and again was no knitting: Where do they get those numbers? Interesting class in how to figure how much yarn you need, etc., etc.

The Marketplace seemed a little more subdued this year: I don't know if it was because the space was bigger so the show seemed huddled in it or whether there were fewer vendors. There were a lot of new, more local vendors, and some of the regulars (like Brooks Farm) weren't there because of a conflict in scheduling.

I got some yarn at WEBS (and was able to share my gift cards with Colleen), a few skeins at the half-price place, and my big splurge was from Coloratura Yarns: a huge skein of worsted weight merino and silk in a blue/lavender/white colorway. What drew me in to their booth was the sample sweater in that yarn: a cable-fronted long (almost tunic length) sweater with a ribbed collar. It was gorgeous. I went back later to check the pattern sizing; the measurements for the smallest size sounded too big, but Bjorn said "Try it on". I did, and it was amazing. I looked and felt 20 years younger. The guys who own Coloratura said I should have worn it in the Fashion Show the night before. And that did it: the cash came out of my wallet as soon as I took off the sample.

And I won a book at the Fashion Show: Jane Slicer-Smith's new book which has wonderful designs in it.

Now to Hartford: the downtown is not at all residential the way Philadelphia is, so after the rush hour, it's pretty dead. Colleen and I had located a restaurant a few blocks away and weren't afraid to walk (like many non-urban attendees). We found the streets to be empty of people, but well-lit and there was a lot of car traffic. The most difficult/annoying part of the walk was how long we had to wait at traffic lights for the pedestrian crossing lights. Not a walker-friendly city. We had dinner the first night at City Steam, excellent burgers, relaxing atmosphere.

On Friday afternoon, after our classes, we walked over to the Wadsworth Atheneum to see the Allure of Lace exhibit, a small (two room) exhibit that was packed with visual and mental stimulation. There was no knitted lace, but it was inspiring and interesting nonetheless. We were curious as to why Stitches didn't do any cross-promotion on this, and I found out later that if we had presented our Stitches badges we would have gotten half-price off. Oh well.

Friday evening was the Fashion Show and Dinner, and as they have for several years, the two events are divided rather than rolled in to one. Obama was in the area so the traffic was bad and the models were delayed, so the show was late getting started which meant that dinner was late getting going. The food was much better than at Baltimore, but it was just served too late.

Saturday night we went back to City Steam and then had our private, in-room show and tell where we each take turns laying out our purchases and describing them. Much, much fun.

Sunday was a leisurely breakfast, check out, load the car, and then a last swing around the Marketplace; we stayed for the Grand Prize drawing which neither of us won, and then headed home.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

Patterns and Stitches

2009-10-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Now that my knitting for StellaPop is finished, I can focus on my own designs. I returned to a design I had started before the push of knitting full-sized sweaters in sock weight yarn hit, and here it is: my Unisex Striped Hoodie, available (again) on Ravelry.

The construction of this sweater required taking detailed notes so that it made sense, and there was a certain amount of frogging and re-working. Also, my initial concept of varied stripes didn't look as good in reality as it did in my mind (what does?).

I feel like I've gotten my design mojo back as I'm going full speed ahead with another design. That will have to wait until I get back from.....

Stitches East!

Tomorrow, Colleen and I drive up to Hartford for classes, shopping, knitting talk, hanging out, shopping, touching yarn, shopping. We both feel like kids on Christmas Eve.

And speaking of Christmas, New Year's follows, and for this year, my resolution is start to knit my way through Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and write about the patterns and the experience here. There are 500 different patterns in this book which means more than one a day; I don't think that's going to happen, so we're probably looking at a two-year project. And along the way, I'm going to learn more about how yarn sits on the needles than I ever imagined, even after all these years of knitting. Between this and my 50-Sock project and designing, I think I can keep myself busy and out of trouble.

Wish me luck.

Current Work, Patterns, and Yarn

2009-10-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

I've been busy, working on knitting for StellaPop and also working on my own designs.

My Sunset Lace Stole is in my Ravelry Store (and you all know how easy it is to join Ravelry). This turned out very well, and I'm pleased because I can wear it as a stole or as a scarf in this transitional weather. The yarn is Article 960 from Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing, color #128 Passion, and it is wonderful: fine, light weight mercerized cotton with a great hand and an amazing color progression.

I also put out my pattern for Binky Buddy, also available in my Ravelry Store, and I think it's a good one, too.

Feliz aniversario

2009-09-28T12:54:00.001-07:00

Today, four years ago, Allie and I were flying down to Houston, changing planes to go on to Leon, being picked up in Leon and driven to San Miguel.

The next few days were some of the most intense of my life, up to that point. Other than bringing Allie in to the world, leaving her in a foreign country was the hardest thing I had done with her. Sometimes I still can't believe that we actually let her do this. But as she reminds me,

"I had a great time and I didn't get hurt."

Feliz aniversario, Allie, and may you always have a great time and not get hurt.

Plagues

2009-09-07T15:58:00.001-07:00

Although it's not Passover, we have been beset by plagues.

A couple of weeks ago, on the eve of going down to Charleston, I noticed a splotch on my chest, just below my collarbone. I thought something bit me. I also had a couple of red dots on my shins, which I thought was a reaction to the sun, melanin-deprived person that I am. The splotch on my chest sequed in to a splotch with rings and different colors; someone remarked that it looked like a tick bite (from where????) and someone else remarked that it looked like.......ringworm.

So here we go with the pros and cons of the Internet: I was able to access images of ringworm, and shithook----that's what was on my chest. Oh great. And on top of that, I had some other rash on my legs and arms. Terrific.

Then Henry had some weird stuff on his face, and thanks to the Internet, I was pretty sure he had himself a case of ringworm. And this all meant that Chuck, the newest addition to our family, had brought ringworm with him from the shelter and given it to me and Henry. Oh shit.

I got an appointment to take Henry to the vet, and I knew this was not going to be easy: the last time I took him in, I thought I was going to have a stroke, carrying him over there. He weighs 22 pounds without the cat carrier. I work out. He's still heavy. Then I realized that Chuck really should get checked out, too, unless I wanted to make two trips to the vet.

So we came up with Pet Solutions:

It's Patent Pending so don't rip off the idea.

It got us to the vet. I was given lotion to smear on their faces twice a day, and shampoo that I'm supposed to bathe each of them twice a week with. The smearing part is easy. The shampoo part sucks.

And I still had this itchy rash on my arms and legs. The chest splotch was subsiding, but the extremeties were still extreme.

Back to the Internet. And I'm 100% sure that what I have isAtypical Pityriasis Rosea which presents with a "herald" patch, very often mistaken for ringworm (!!!), and a rash. There's nothing to be done. It clears up in 6-8 weeks. It seems to be easing up, at least on the legs. We're at two and a half weeks now. I think there's hope.

Meanwhile, Henry's face looks like crap and doesn't seem to be improving; I sometimes think it may be getting worse which means another trip to the vet using Pet Solutions to get there.

If it's not the Parenting Train, it's the Pet Train.

Big Pile of Yarn Crap

2009-08-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

So a couple of days ago I was so pleased with myself for doing the short-row, set-in, top-down sleeve on my sweater. Today I finished the sweater and began sewing the side seams, and guess what? I discovered that I had knitted a crap sweater.

The sleeve caps look like crap, and over all, the finished product just doesn't make it. The wonkiness that I thought would be ok just isn't; it's ugly and misshapen.

I have started and re-started this sweater so many times. I want a gray cardigan that looks amazing with one great deep red button.

In the back of my mind, I kept thinking that I was going to end up making (yet) another
Mr Greenjeans. I was trying to avoid falling back on that terrific pattern that never fails and be creative and make something new, but my first instincts were the right ones: Mr Greenjeans has never failed me.

Tomorrow I will frog the sweater (which is shoved in my workroom wastebasket), rewind the wool, and begin, again, with Mr Greenjeans.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be happy.

50 Sock Project

2009-08-24T13:15:00.001-07:00

When I travel, I need a small, portable, mindless project. In July, when we went up to Massachussetts, I started my Sock Project which is to make baby socks and send them toWarm Woolies. That week, I made five pairs of socks and sent them off.

At first, it was an open-ended project, but I realized that I liked being able to put a percentage-of-completeness on my project entry on Ravelry. I decided that I'm going to make fifty pairs.

This weekend, down in Charleston, I made one and a half pairs.

Anyone who wants to join in and match me (or get competitive and out-do me) is welcome to. There are a lot of cold feet out there. Warm them up.

New Technique

2009-08-21T05:07:00.001-07:00

I've added a new technique to my knitting repetoire: the shoulder-down-set-in sleeve with short-row cap shaping.

At the first Stitches East where I took classes, one class covered this technique: the teacher was very thorough, got all the information across, but yelled the entire three hours. I was exhausted and had a splitting headache (as did other students) by the time the class was over. From that point on, I associated the technique with the headache.

In addition to the stole pattern I'm working out, I have another project on my needles, one that involves set-in sleeves. I hate sewing in sleeves, and I hate the seam that results. All of a sudden, the short-row technique bubbled up out of my locked box of knitting secrets: I can do that!

And I did.

The first sleeve has a little bit of wonkiness where I worked back picking up the wraps, but if I do the same thing on the second sleeve, it will look deliberate. And I'll know what not to do the next time around.

I love it when I figure something out.

Summer Knitting

2009-08-19T13:53:00.001-07:00

Now that the gigantic Christmas stocking is finished, I had time to spend straightening up my workroom and putting things (and my brain) in order.

I have a cone of gorgeous sport-weight cotton (scroll down and check out the color Passion) that has been sitting on my shelf waiting to be turned into something wonderful. I've been working on a stole, starting and re-starting it a few times to get the stitch pattern and the over-all shape in the right combination. Today, I think I got it.

It's nice to work with fine, light, smooth yarn, especially in this heat, and especially after The Stocking.

It's interesting what kick-starts the design process: I've had this yarn for several months and kept looking at it and thinking about it, with ideas floating in and out. Then last week, in a cosmetics ad of all places, I saw a dress that was similar in color and had a ridged bodice. BAM! I knew what I wanted to do with the yarn.

Funny how the brain works.

Woodstock Weekend

2009-08-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was the 40th anniversary of Woodstock (no need to say The Woodstock Music Festival, is there?). I wasn't there. I was in Toronto being live-in nanny for my baby nephew: mom was working as a secretary and dad was being stoned just about 24/7, and I was learning child care on the fly. Where I wanted to be was in Guadalajara with my boyfriend; he had made plans with a friend to take classes there before we started dating, and I really wanted to go with him. But I had no money and no guts, and there wasn't room in their car, so instead I got to take a bus to Toronto and change diapers.

Woodstock happened while I was up north, and it didn't register on anyone's radar until a couple of buses of Canadian teenagers and their adult chaperones were held at the US border because our customs people didn't want to let them in. One of the chaperones was originally from Luxemburg and compared the US customs people to the Nazis who had occupied Luxemburg during WWII. That made the news.

So my Woodstock experience was being taken off the bus at the US/Canada border with a couple of other kids; I guess we looked like hippies (I wasn't wearing a dress, carrying a nice handbag and my hair wasn't in a flip). And we were all searched and questioned----got to make sure that we're not bringing drugs or subversive thoughts in.

And where are we all now? That would make an interesting documentary.

Knitting Squirrels in My Brain

2009-08-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

I have knitting squirrels in my head. They work like this: I get an idea for a design, plot it out, and start working on it. I think it looks pretty good and the pattern writing is going well. Immediately, the knitting squirrels wake up and start running in circles in my brain. Their chatter is very distracting: what about this design? are you sure this is what you want to do? how would it look if you did this? how would it look if you did that? how about you rip it out and start over and do this instead?

And lo and behold, what was a pretty clear, straight forward idea and design suddenly becomes A BIG DEAL.

Sometimes it's very difficult to shut those squirrels up and make them lie down, go back to sleep, and leave me alone.

Does anyone else have knitting squirrels in their heads? Or knitting monkeys? Hamsters? Anyone? Anyone?

To Blankie or Not To Blankie....

2009-08-14T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of having second thoughts about the Blankie. I like winding little balls of different yarns and arranging them by color and thinking about it, but I don't actually like the process of knitting all those little mitered squares and having to figure out what color comes next. It's too much like quilting, and I finally learned that I don't like quilting (again, I like looking at the fabric and sorting the fabric but not putting it all together).

The thought of making a scarf or a stole came to mind----not quite as large and open-ended as an entire Blankie. I like to know where the end of a project is, and an entire blanket (or even afghan) is a little too ambiguous for me.

We'll see.

Biggest

2009-08-13T11:57:00.001-07:00

And I'm finished.

Goodness gracious, that was a lot of yarn! As I progressed, it got heavier and more unwieldy, of course---kind of like knitting an afghan but in the round. What an experience.

I wrote up the pattern and tomorrow will turn it all in.

But enough about knitting (for now). Let's talk about Chuck.

Chuck is an amazing cat. I would almost say that he's Sheila reincarnated. He's not as vocal as she was, but he is certainly as sharp. He is very sweet and affectionate without being in your face about it, very loving. Also very curious. As soon as something is open (drawer, door, mouth, whatever), he is all over it and trying to get in it and check it out.

He and Henry are actually getting along well---there is some wrestling and tussling that goes on, but it's not vicious. I think big old fat hairy Henry is happy to finally have someone he can play with and hang out with, someone he doesn't feel that he has to either torment or avoid.

Happy cat days are ahead of us.

Bigger

2009-08-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

And I made it to the heel and turned the heel this morning. Now I just have to soldier through the foot and the toe.

What's challenging about this (besides being sooooo big) is that when my usual mode of sock knitting is on double points. Whether I'm aware of it or not, each needle orients me to where I am on the sock; shifting my brain to orient the sock on a circular needle isn't impossible, but I'm aware of having to "translate" the parts of the sock as I go along. I don't know if that makes sense (barely makes sense to me), but I just know that I feel as if I'm patting my head and rubbing my stomach.

Foot and heel, then I'm done.

Back to Big

2009-08-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

So it's back to supersized sock today. Last night, I ripped it all out and started over with a striped ribbing (much better than the seed stitch for the top), and am plugging away. I think I have about 12" to go until the heel, and that, I'm hoping, will not be too difficult to do. I've done so many human-scaled short row heels that I have confidence that I'll be able to fudge my way through a giant one. I keep telling myself that this doesn't have to fit anyone. Or anyone that I know.

For perspective: the sock is 22" across at the ribbing, and 20" long as knit so far.
It's going to be a lot bigger.

Ping Pong

2009-08-10T14:33:00.001-07:00

Big/little, big/little.....

I started the day working on the gi-normous Christmas stocking (size 15 needles), but had to put it on hold as I need clarification from the designer as to what she wants: the parameters were just vague enough that I thought I free rein, given the yarns and stitch suggestions I had been given. But having sent a photo of the WIP, I got an email suggesting that some aspects be changed; now I need a response to either my email or phone message so that I can continue working.

So, in the meantime, I went back to working on my Blankie (size 2 needles). I'm starting each square with a dark brown; it makes it easier for me to place random squares next to each other with this brown buffer. Otherwise, I was stuck and obsessing about each freaking little square.

Big/little, big/little.....

Maybe tomorrow will be a big day.

I Can See Clearly Now

2009-08-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Back in April, I was feeling very much like I had nothing to say, so why say anything? And who was reading this, anyway? But now that I'm off statins (again) because they cause depression in me (again), even the natural ones found in red rice yeast, my mind is clearer, and there's purpose in life again.

And a lot happened over the last three months: I've gotten a few more designs up and out there, especially for Flo at Elmore Pisgah; two of my freebies from For the Love of Yarn are in the top 100 favorite patterns in their categories (Baby and Child) on Ravelry (but my Sachiko Baby Kimono dropped out of the top 100 in the last couple of days, and that's a whole different post); I struggled mightily with a pattern/sample for StellaPop (which I cried "Uncle" over), and now I'm working on a mammoth Christmas stocking for StellaPop which is supposedly for the Anthropology winter or holiday catalog.

I made six pairs of baby socks that I sent off to Warm Woolies; I joined a knitting group which is made up of younger (much younger) knitters who are rowdy, fun, warm, and welcoming, and who have recruited me to the cult of the blankie (click on All About the Blankie).

Our wonderful tuxedo cat of 17.5 years, Sheila, died which was very sad. We now have a tuxedo kitten, Chuck,who is terrific. I think from here on in it's tuxedos all the way (sorry, Henry: even with all your wonderful white hugeness, tuxedos rule).

I went on a personal knitting binge and got a couple of sweaters finished that will be staple parts of my fall wardrobe. It's supposed to hit 98 today, but that definitely won't last forever.

We spent a long weekend in Charleston visiting Jon and Rebecca and are going back at the end of next week.

I made a dynamite sweet cherry cobbler and several equally good blueberry cobblers.

Now it's time to knit on the enormous Christmas stocking and see how it progresses.

Beauty Shop Art Show

2009-04-01T12:29:00.001-07:00

Here are some shots of Allie's work hanging in the Beauty Shop Cafe.

She does beautiful work. We're very proud of her.

Where Did this Month Go????

2009-03-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Whoa---I just realized how long it's been since I posted. And a lot has happened, at least in my knitting life.

The creative juices have been flowing---you could call it a flood---and several designs have poured out: all available on Ravelry or in kit form at Peaches-Creme. I've got the Bluebell Lace Capelet, the Button Beanie, and Duet happening. I've gotten very good response from these designs/patterns on Ravelry and from Flo at Elmore-Pisgah.
And in my personal life, Allie has a show up at Beauty Shop Cafe until April 15: some of the portraits she's done plus new collage/drawings that are wonderful. The opening was this past Friday night, and there was a very good turn out of friends and neighborhood people. Jon, who runs the cafe, is terrific, and hosted a very nice opening with delicious cheeses, fruit, and wine. I'll definitely be back there to try their grilled-cheese-to-order.

Only a few more weeks until we visit Jon and Rebecca in Charleston! Can't wait.

Tops & Toes Interview with Kara Gott

2009-02-23T09:05:00.001-08:00

Here we are at day three of the Blog Tour.

I'm pleased and excited to be one of the designers in Tops & Toes: A Whimsical Collection to Delight Hat & Sock Knitters, and to be part of this blog tour. This is my first inclusion in a collection of designs, my first blog tour, and my first venture into designing for adults, so we're in ground-breaking territory here. It's been a real delight for me to work with Kara from DRG, and I'm happy to share my knitting thoughts here.

Kara: Hi Erika, thanks for inviting me to your blog. I’d love to chat with you a bit about your two designs in Tops & Toes: A Whimscial Collection To Delight Hat & Sock Knitters. Can you tell me a bit about your inspiration behind the Funky Chunky Cloche?

Erika: My inspiration for the Funky Chunky Cloche came from having designed a baby beanie using the classic Quaker Rib pattern, and I wanted to play with this stitch pattern and see what other possibilities there were, especially relating to an adult-sized head.

Kara: When you designed this hat, why did you choose a chunky yarn? Do you think this would be a good project for a new knitter, and why?

Erika: I thought the pattern was better suited to a heavier yarn rather than a fine one as I envisioned a certain fabric and felt that the chunky yarn would fill this vision. A chunky yarn is a great choice for a new knitter because the project gets finished quickly; the sooner you see results, the more encouraged you are to move on to the next project or the next technique. It's a real confidence builder to hold a finished object and know that you made this.

Kara: The choice of Colinette Iona was a great choice for this design. The colors are so bright and vibrant. How did you like working with this yarn?

Erika: It's a lovely yarn. Having a project that takes just one skein really allows you to indulge and pick a special, out-of-the-ordinary yarn like this. When I began knitting seriously thirty years ago, the range of yarns available was pretty limited. Now, between the different fibers (who had heard of bamboo yarn thirty years ago?!), textures and wonderful colors, it's a fiber-ohlic's dream come true.

Kara: Now onto the Corkscrew Tam. Can you also tell me a bit about this hat. I love the whimsical corkscrew on the top. What inspired you to create this design?

Erika: A lot of my inspiration comes from vintage and classic designs, and I love to update the simple shapes with modern color choices and interesting finishes. I had used the corckscrew element in another design and thought that this was a great match of classic and whimsy.

Kara: Did you make this hat using a circular needle, or double-pointed needles? If you had your choice, what would you prefer to work with, and why?

Erika: I used both circular and double-pointed needles on the Tam. When making hats, I'm more comfortable using a circular needle, switching to double-points when working the decreases. But when I'm making socks, I'm more comfortable using double-points. It seems to be a project-specific choice for me.

Kara: How long have you been designing knitwear, and what are your favorite things to design?

Erika: Almost twenty years ago, my knitting hobby began to seque into my knitting career. That's when I began designing and making baby and children's items that I sold at regional craft shows. Five years ago, I dropped out of the craft show circuit, started my online business, kidknits.biz, and began to focus more on design than on production. I love designing baby items because they're compact, quick to finish, and just out-and-out cute. I guess I'm practicing for when I've got grandchildren to knit for!

Kara: Have you been published in any other books or magazines? Tell me a little about your background, and what brought you to knitting.

Erika: My designs have appeared in different on-line knitting publications: KnitNet, For the Love of Yarn, The Daily Knitter, in the up-coming Spring 2009 issue of Knotions; I've designed for WEBS' Valley Yarns; and last year, I put together a book of my designs for babies: Head to To Knits: 23 Designs to Knit for Baby which is available through www.lulu.com.

I grew up in a family where handwork surrounded me: my grandmother knit and quilted; my mother (an artist and illustrator) sewed, quilted, and did needlepoint (her own designs). I learned to sew and knit at a fairly young age, and while sewing dropped by the wayside, knitting has become my focus---my real calling. In terms of design, I'm pretty much self-taught, focusing on simple, classic shapes and clear colors with minimal finishing.

Thank you, Kara, for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. It's always great to get together with other knitters, virtually or face-to-face.

New Designs

2009-02-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

The Spring 2009 issue of Knotions will be online tomorrow (the preview is up now), and my Rainbow Chain Carriage Blanket is one of the patterns:

There are so many great patterns in this issue----I'm pleased to be part of it!

And I overcame my ENS, and got this design up and available from my Ravelry store:

I'm very fortunate to be living next door to a family with four kids (all cute and photogenic), so when I need a quick model, I just have to look over the wall between our yards and see who's around and is the right size. Yesterday, Hannah was willing to do a photo-shoot for me and saved the day. Her youngest brother, Sam, modeled my Mini Rej Vest.

Now underway is another design using Peaches & Creme, and a baby sweater for Matt's baby who is due next month, using my Telemark Pullover pattern and some stash yarn. Looking good.

Tops & Toes Blog Tour

2009-02-18T12:26:00.001-08:00

Tops & Toes is being released soon! I've gotten my preview copy, and what a great collection of hats and socks this is! I feel very honored to be included in this and in the blog tour that will be taking place.

From February 21 through March 3, you can visit the blogs of several of the designers and find out what inspires them.

Here's the schedule so far:

2/21 Sarah Wilson
2/22 Jennifer Tallapeneni
2/23 ME--so come back then
2/24 Erssie Major
2/25 Ann Squire
2/26 Faina Goberstein
2/27 Celeste Pinheiro
2/28 Kara Gott Warner - editor of Tops & Toes
3/1 Joanne Seiff
3/2 Cindy Moore
3/3 Sean Higgens

(and I'll be making updates as needed)

This will be a fun couple of days of mid-winter surfing. And get a copy of the book---there are so many great projects between the covers!

ENS

2009-02-14T11:56:00.001-08:00

ENS: Empty Needle Syndrome.

Mine is usually in remission as my regular mode of working is to have (at least) three projects going at once: a design being worked out; a pair of socks; a sweater for someone. And while these three are underway, there are always a couple in mind, ready to go.

Occasionally, I realize with a start that all of these projects are finished---OTN---off the needles and for whatever reason, I haven't lined up at least two of the next three. That's when ENS flares up and all my nerve endings are twitching and raging until I can come up with two projects to get started.

Today I have ENS. The socks are finished, the sweater is being blocked, and the latest design worked out well and is completed.

So now I turn to Ravelry and have a cup of tea while I browse patterns and think about what yarn(s) are calling to me. Do I make another sweater? Do I try out a scarf or shawl idea? What do I want/need to make next?

I think I need to trot upstairs and look at my yarn bins and see what talks to me

Teeth

2009-02-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

No photos for this post--the memory is gruesome enough.

Yesterday, Allie tripped on a flight on concrete steps at school, taking the full brunt of the fall on her mouth (having a 20-25 pound book bag on her back didn't help with the forward thrust). She gashed her lip, and her two upper front teeth need to be reconstructed.

The afternoon was spent in two different hospitals: the emergency room of one, and the oral surgery clinic of another to have her lip sewn up. As bad as it all is, here's what's good: she didn't break anything except her teeth; the whole event took 4 1/2 hours from fall to when we brought her to our house; our next door neighbor is a dentist who came over, checked her out, and promised to fast-track her as soon as her lip is healed enough; she just finished a two-week marathon of getting an independent study added to her schedule to maintain her full-time student status and thus continue to be covered by our health insurance.

She has a history of smacking her face/teeth into things, but that pretty much stopped once she got glasses and her lack of depth perception was dealt with. But we did have a couple of toddler-being-rushed-to-the-dentist incidents (no teeth lost) and there were several incidents in pre-school where she ran into playground equipment (pre-glasses). I hadn't seen her with the swollen cut lip in a long, long time, so it was an extra shock to the system, as I remembered all those other face smashes.

What a day.

On "Valuing Our Work"

2009-02-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

Annie Modesitt, designer, knitter, wise woman, has posted this in her blog. Knitters and designers, read it and take strength from it. Publishers and editors, read it and sit up and take notice.

The overt message is for us, as designers, to value our work enough to demand that publishers compensate us fairly, especially in this world of paid downloadable patterns vs free downloadable patterns.

But for me, there is also a covert message for us to value our work enough that the outside, non-knitting world recognizes that what we do has merit and weight. Over the past four years, I've moved out of the craft-show circuit where I had something to show for my day's work (bins of sweaters and hats, a show schedule, signs, a receipt book, etc.).

Now, I'm dealing with intangibles: an on-line business selling kits and patterns that don't exist until someone makes a purchase; designing for yarn stores and on-line publications; ideas in sketch books. Often, there's nothing to point to at the end of the day and say, Look, this is what I did today. Or it's hard to convey the rush I get when 100 people on Ravelry favorited a new design.

Tangible/intangible. Real world/the tubes of the internet.

Being invisible makes it difficult to be heard. Not being heard makes it difficult to be taken seriously (by non-knitters; knitters get it).

Years ago, my daughter made reference to "Mom's hobby job". Being young, that was how she was able to express how my hobby had become my job, but put in those specific words and in the context of adult jobs, that phrase summed up how much of society looked at what I did.

Even today, when I have my own workroom and take what I do seriously, I still get the phone call in the middle of the day, asking if I can pick up pants at the cleaners, run an errand, help someone out. I know I wouldn't get these phone calls if I left the house every morning and had a "real" job.

I am assertive about what I do, even if people glaze over when I respond to their question of what do I do. No, it's not high-powered or easily pigeon-holed; it's a legitimate career; it's what I do.

A Good Day In Knitting Land

2009-02-04T12:50:00.001-08:00

A. I finished Jon's sweater, and it turned out great. Pictures will be forthcoming.

B. I mended a sweater I made for Rebecca a couple of years ago, and mended and washed Jon's favorite black cotton pullover. These will be sent along with the new sweater.

C. In the last two days, I've had great response on Ravelry from two of my designs: Mini Rej Vest which is listed in my Ravelry store, and the Cabled Button Wrap that I did for WEBS (boy, has that gotten a good response!). This was the wrap that was on the display racks at WEBS' booth at Stitches in Baltimore.

D. I talked with Flo at Peaches-Creme about working with them on designs.

E. I'll be participating in a Blog Tour later this month for the up-coming publication of Tops & Toes from DRG (I've got two hats in it!).

So I'm feeling pretty good and knitful.

Love the One You're With

2009-01-22T06:11:00.000-08:00

Seems as if I fall in love/lust with whatever new yarn I'm working with. Is it possible to have one-project stands with yarn? If so, I guess I'm a yarn slut.

The latest yarn that I want to spend all my time with is Kraemer Yarn's Tatamy Tweed:

Sport weight, cotton/acrylic blend, soft, wonderful colors, excellent yardage for the price----what more can I say?

Almost thirty years ago, I knit a sweater for my husband (it's ok---we were already married so it didn't turn into the sweater-that-killed-the-relationship). It got passed down to my son a few years ago, and he loved it (except that it was wool---slightly scratchy Shetland). He asked me to remake the sweater but just not in wool. I was very excited to see the colors for Tatamy Tweed and find that I could put together just about identical colors for the recreation. The gauge is spot-on identical to the original sweater, which is another terrific plus.

I started knitting yesterday, using the Knitting Fool's Simple Worked-from-the-Top Raglan calculator; so far, so good.

Happy Feet

2009-01-12T09:58:00.000-08:00

After taking six months to finish one pair of socks, I'm now back in sock mode. I finished the socks I started in May and then rolled right on to finish three pairs back to back. Today I'll start number pair number four.

I've used OnLine, Red Heart Heart& Sole, and Malabrigo for the most recent pairs. I love the Malabrigo, but I think the Heart & Sole is a good workhorse sock yarn---the acrylic blend and aloe are a big plus. Heart & Sole and KnitPicks Essentials go in the washer (not the dryer---I'm not that reckless) and come out looking fine, so that's what endears them to me.

I do have the hand-washing of socks down pretty well: a nice soak in Woolite, a gentle wringing out, then laying them on a towel on the guest bed and covering them with another towel (to prevent big fat Henry from wallowing on them). When I was first making socks, I thought that the care of these beauties would be a bit much, but it really isn't.
Next to try out is Patons Kroy.

And I'm still in love with my KnitPicks double points----so smooth and pointy and easy to work with.

Somedays, I honestly feel that I want to put the designing on hold big time and just knit socks. Now wouldn't that be self-indulgent?

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2008-12-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

After seeing my designs at WEBS, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself as a designer and a knitter. Also, I hadn't heard (yet) from knitty.com about my latest submission to them. knitty says that the longer you don't hear from them, the more under consideration your submission is, so as we went further into November, I felt more and more hopeful (my previous submission to them got a pretty quick rejection). Until the week before the anticipated publication date of the winter issue. And I got rejected from knitty.com. Again. Poop.

This is where it gets tricky for me: how to express my disappointment without sounding as if I'm trashing knitty or whining because I didn't get what I wanted. I am disappointed: I worked hard on a design that I like very much, worked out the pattern, took good photos, and it wasn't what they're looking for. I keep missing the mark with knitty; maybe I'm getting closer to what they want? maybe the next design will tickle their fancy? Oh, and I know that not every design gets accepted every place, every time.

So I'll weather this letdown with a small amount of whining (which I'll keep private because whining is ugly) and keep working away at things. Plucky me.

I've put the pattern up on my website and on Ravelry (at a discount to fellow Raveliers, and where it has been favorited).

I love the design, the photos, and the model (my friend Betty's granddaughter). It's also inspired me to do more with sock yarns than "just socks".

I Think I've Arrived

2008-11-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

I'm back from Stitches East (down Thursday, back Sunday)----classes, shopping, hanging with knitting friends, shopping, showing off the tattoo (I'm getting a reputation), shopping.....

And I had a thrill that's still sinking in. In the past year, I've sold a few designs to WEBS for their Valley Yarns; they are wonderful people to work with and for, very gracious, supportive, nice, and they pay in gift certificates. Which meant that I was recession-proof when it came to hitting the Market at Stitches.

The Market opens at 5 on Thursday for those registered for classes and present, a preview, time during which you can run around, see everything, get first pick, and it's not crowded. Our group of four was there just about at opening, and when we walked in, I kind of lost my head and went directly to the WEBS booth without telling anyone where I was going. I was completely focused on my gift certificates and hopefully seeing at least one of my models hanging in their display.

And oh my goodness. There they were: my child's cardigan and my button-wrap. For all the knitting world to see and touch and buy the pattern. I was more bowled over than I had anticipated.

I feel that I've arrived as a legitimate designer.

Halloween Adventures

2008-11-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

This year, for some reason, I wasn't really feeling the whole Halloween thing. Maybe it's the result of handing out candy for twenty-five years, maybe it was exhaustion from making it through the World Series and having the Phillies (finally) win. For the past few years, the weather has been very mild on Halloween, and we stand outside with neighbors, hand out candy, drink some wine, have a good time. But this year, we bought a smaller amount of candy than usualy and decided we'd hand it out asap and then go out to dinner.

The plan changed a bit, as friends called and asked if we wanted to go out to dinner with them. Oh yes, we were all over it. So they picked us up and we went up to Memphis Taproom where we had a great dinner. From there, we went downtown to Scoopdeville where we had great ice cream (vanilla with gingersnaps mixed in mmmmmmmm). And a stroll over to the Comcast Center to check out the ever-changing wall.

By the time we got home, it was 9:30 and Halloween was pretty much over, at least on our block. Allie called to say she was pretty much stranded up in Northern Liberties, and would Michael come pick her up and take her home to South Philly (a two-three hour wait for a cab was the other option). So he went out to pick her up and called me a few minutes later to say that this is who he met right out on our sidewalk:

And I went out, and there he was, up in the neighbor's tree.

This is probably one of the family of raccoons that seems to be residing somewhere in the vicinity of our block: we've spotted them twice coming out from under our deck, and neighbors have seen them in their alleys, on their second-floor decks, kind of all around.

Cute, but this guy was a big one: looked like Henry in a costume. Maybe it was.

Anyway, that was Halloween.

Now we just need to get through the election.

Thank You

2008-11-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

As of Friday afternoon, our goal was reached in the Fundable fundraiser. We now have enough money to fund our class through June 2009 and hopefully into the fall. Our yarn closet will be stocked, and our needles and notion bins will be full. Our clients will be able to make whatever they want.

What was great about this was that not only friends donated: complete strangers from the Ravelry community made donations. And in addition to the monetary donations, many Ravelers have said they'll be sending yarn from their stashes to help us out. So the next few weeks will feel like Christmas: waiting for those boxes and then seeing what's been sent.

And Kathy from WEBS and Flo from Elmore-Pisgah are sending us yarn, too.

Oh my goodness.

This is so great.

Thanks, everyone! If I could knit you a hug, I would.

A Good Day

2008-10-28T04:57:00.001-07:00

Today it is cold, gray, raining, miserable; the fifth game of the World Series was suspended so the agonizing wait for a winning finish for the Phillies is on hold; the economy is doing god knows what; we have to wait a week for the election to put an end to that agonizing wait; I have a cold; my hair is thinning and becoming more and more unmanageable, but it is a good day because I am wearing these:

This is what sock knitting is all about. As soon as I put the first sock on this morning, I smiled. My feet feel like they're being hugged; they are warm; they are gorgeous.

I do not fear the day anymore.

XXXOOO to all my handknit socks.

Tonalita

2008-10-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with a new yarn (or is it in lust?)

I've been working on an assignment for StellaPop over the last couple of days: hats using Tonalita from Trendsetter Yarns. It is an absolutely gorgeous yarn, both in texture and color: The color changes are very subtle, but as the hat is worked, stripes emerge.

The content is 52% Wool, 48% Acrylic, 50 grams/skein - +/- 100 yards/skein
gauge: 4.5sts = 1" #9 (I'm using a 10.5 needle and getting 3.5 sts to the inch). The yarn is brushed with a mohair feel without the mohair snagging or shedding that seems to happen so often; the resulting fabric is soft, light, warm, and non-itchy.

That's another advantage to doing the production knitting for StellaPop: I get to play with yarns that either I ordinarily wouldn't choose (and find myself liking) or yarns that are a little too pricey for me.

Knitting Supplies for the Blind

2008-10-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Our knitting class for the blind and visually impaired needs supplies, and to get the supplies, we need money (who dosen't, and especially these days?). So I've started an online fundraiser at Fundable.

We have until November 7 to meet our goal, and I'm hoping that friends, family, and complete strangers will help us out. It's an all-or-nothing deal: if we reach our goal in pledges, we get the funding. If we don't reach our goal, the pledges are negated (which means the donors aren't out any money), but we don't get anything.

Reaching our goal will keep us funded through June, when our class ends, so we are counting on this. A lot.

Thanks to everyone who helps us out.

They Like Me! They Really Like Me!

2008-09-18T13:54:00.001-07:00

Back in May, the mother of Sam, one of my models for the book, bought copies of the book for her mother and mother-in-law. Today, I ran into her mother, a knitter, who proceeded to tell me how many things she's made from the book (three) and how much she enjoyed making them and how great they turned out. Wow. A fan.

Hearing from customers really makes my day. Since my business is online, I work in a vacuum much of the time, sending patterns out over the ether, sending kits in the mail. From time to time, I'll get an email from a happy customer (I guess it means something that I've never gotten an annoyed email, knock wood!), and it does validate what I'm doing (and trying to do) here.

So, if you were to buy this book, you, too, would be knitting up cute baby things and enjoying the patterns.

Speaking of validation, I had a blanket pattern accepted for the Spring issue of Knotions (and sincerely hope that I haven't jinxed anything by mentioning it this much in advance). I may not be another Debbie Bliss, but I am the only Erika Flory.

Love & Stitches

2008-09-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

I love knitting so much.

August???

2008-09-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, what happened to August? One day it was July, and now, presto! it's September. Seems to happen that way every year. And I managed to go a whole month without posting anything. I guess I need to offer apologies to my vast audience of readers who have been begging for information.

I've been knitting: finished a couple of designs that I sent to Knitty and Knotions. I don't want to be overconfident (good WASP that I am), but I think they're both pretty good. I also finished a little feather and fan cardigan (need to get some photos of it) in Knit One Crochet Too's Ty-Dy--a really soft cotton in beautiful colors. And I'm doing work again for StellaPop, both pattern writing and now production knitting. I'm also working on a little cardigan for my niece's birthday which is coming up soon.

Two more weeks, and knitting class at ASB begins. I've found a home for the blankets that our clients made a year and a half ago, supposedly for a local hospital's cancer center. But the PR departments never seemed to have gotten it together for the formal donation (even though the hospital suggested that we make the blankets). So I found our local chapter of Project Linus and have been taking the blankets there where they have been received very nicely. This year begins our fourth year teaching at ASB. We've done a lot in that time.

And I've gotten somewhat involved in politics. Yes, politics. I'm volunteering in the Obama office once a week, doing data entry. Has the potential to be stultifyingly boring, but it actually has an interesting angle: I get to see how registered Democrats are responding to Obama. Most people aren't home when they're called, some people are "for Obama", some are "undecided", some are "for McCain" (which I don't understand at all).

I believe in Obama. I think he has a lot to offer this country, and I think we'll be in a better place four years from now if we trust in him. McCain scares me because of his policies, because he's too old to be taking this on, because his judgement is skewed. His selection of Sarah Palin was too quick with too little thought, and that scares me: that he can make such important decisions with such little information (or such disregard for the information available). It seems that his eagerness to have a woman as his VP nominee (any woman) over-rode the need for experience: I'm sorry, but living in Alaska does not make one an expert on foreign policy; if physical proximity to another country counts in that area, then all the bubbes from Boca to Miami should be consulted on Cuba. And politics aside, when McCain and Palin appear in public together, he looks a bit like a pedophile.

And I'm not even getting started on her eagerness to be in the national spotlight vs the ramifications of having her family under the national magnifying glass. Just last week, her daughter was a pretty anonymous teenager who was dealing with her pregnancy with her family and friends, and now she's the object of international commentary and innuendo. There's no way that I would do that to my daugher. Period. I don't care what fame and/or fortune is involved. So I have doubts about her experience and her judgement.

The Irish bookmakers have it at 13% odds that she'll withdraw from the race.

Biker Chicks Redux

2008-07-31T18:30:00.001-07:00

And here we are again.

Friday, we biked from Rockwood to Confluence. The weather was beautiful: warm and sunny but not too hot. The trail was mostly in the woods, shady and cool, occasionally going through a sunny meadow area or over a bridge. This stretch of the woods definitely had the feeling of enchantment: none of us would have been surprised to see gnomes or other woods creatures down among the ferns. We stopped at one point to check out the healing vortex, a spot where the surging waters supposedly have healing effects. Healing or not, it was a wonderful spot in the river.

Saturday we headed off towards the town of Ligonier, stopping at the Powdermill Nature Reserve, a brand new nature center that had an exhibit of amazing nature photographs by Donald Robinson (unfortunately there wasn't a catalog or postcards or prints available--we all would have loved to have a little piece of this exhibit to take home and savor).

Right at the corner of Route 30 and Main Street, there is Fort Ligonier, one of the most western-outposts of the British during the French and Indian Wars. A very interesting museum, a very well-preserved fort, a very informative hour or so. Well worth the trip . And this is where we had a delicious lunch: In the summer, there are tables on the sidewalk, which is where we sat and enjoyed the leisurely pace of a summer's afternoon in a small town.

After lunch, we headed towards the town center where a craft show was underway, but we got sidetracked by an absolutely magnificent yarn store Kathy's Kreations. This is by far the most well-stocked yarn store I have ever been in: the selection of yarns is overwhelming, and there is a complete (and I mean complete) line of books, patterns, magazines, as well as knitting tools and supplies. I have to say that the stores here in Philly should take a look at this place and imitate, imitate, imitate! Of course we bought yarn--how could we not?

The highlight of Sunday was visiting the Duncan House, the newest Frank Lloyd Wright house to be opened in this area of western Pennsylvania. Every year that we've come out here, we've done a Wright House: Falling Water, Kentuck Knob, and now the Duncan House. Next year, we're planning on touring the two apprentice houses that are on the same grounds as the Duncan House.

And we had good meals, drank cherry wine and ate chocolates in our pajamas, did some knitting, ate huge breakfasts, and laughed more and harder than I have in a very long time. Nobody whined, nobody had a hissy fit, nobody got sick or punked out on any part of the adventure---we're doing this again next year, and none of us can wait.

Tomorrow's August. Already.

Biker Chicks

2008-07-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

This morning, I'm leaving for what now seems to be the annual biking/knitting getaway with Debbie, Colleen, and Mara. Colleen and I start in Philadelphia, drive out to Harrisburg to pick up Mara (and have some lunch), then journey on to The Glades Pike Inn B&B. Debbie will probably meet us there tomorrow.

The B&B is great: the first time I walked in, three years ago, I had a Proustian moment of being back in my great-aunt's farm house in upstate Pennsylvania: the same smell of breakfast meat, country, old house, and I don't know what else, but it felt immediately comfortable. Janet, the innkeeper, is great; she's welcoming without being obsequious, has a sense of humor, and can tell us endless things to do to keep us occupied while out there. There is always a kitten underfoot. Every morning, there's a hearty breakfast that involves some type of wonderful cake or bread. People come back year after year to stay with Janet, and it's no wonder: it's very much like visiting your favorite aunt (or your mother's cousin or some other relative who gives you no grief, only a good time).

We've gone to Falling Water and Kentuck Knob, cycled through Ohiopyle and along railbed/cycle paths, and overall had wonderful times. There's also time for reading and knitting and talking and relaxing.

The best part is four nights of no snoring.

Stash Reduction

2008-07-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

In the last couple of weeks, I've been on a mission to reduce my stash. Stitches East will be happening in November in Baltimore, and as much as I tell myself that I'm not going to buy "too much" yarn, I know that I will succomb to yarn lust and, well, that will be that.

So I've been knocking out top-down sweaters using stash yarn, and I can at least kid myself into thinking that I'm using up my stash.

This is the first one:

On the last day of Stitches last year, I bought two skeins of Blue Moon Fibers Twisted in the Puck's Mischief colorway. And here it is as a loose-but-not-too-loose garter stitch jacket with three-quarter length sleeves and hitting at high-hip level.

I finished this one

yesterday. The yarn is Sugarloaf from Valley Yarns, and it's been in my stash long enough so that it could probably be carbon dated. But I've never been able to give it up or pass it along because it's so soft and I love the color. The button's pretty close to perfect, too. Again, three-quarter length sleeves and not too long. Although there's no shaping knitted in, it fits well as I didn't increase as much as I did in the Puck's Mischief sweater.

And stash-reducer number three got started yesterday. If I can get sweaters made and lower the level of worsted and sport weight yarns, that will be good. Somehow having a stash of sock yarn isn't as overwhelming--probably the balls are so small.

se trata de los géneros de punto

2008-07-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

In all languages, all worlds, it's about the knitting.

These are photos taken in Kathy's, a yarn store in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She's an expat from San Francisco who sells yarn from her living room: knock or ring on Aldama 27, and if she's home, you'll have a great time talking with her and looking at some terrific yarn.

The "store" is down the street from the B&B we stayed in, and it was never open when I went by. On the last try, a gringa was looking in the window, and when I asked her if she knew what the hours were, she said "Oh, you ring or knock. Kathy's a friend--I'll ring." And she did, and even though we caught Kathy fresh out of the shower, it was no problem for her to throw on something presentable and let us in.

She was also gracious enough to give us a tour of her house, which was (like 99% of San Miguel) pretty amazing.

For me, someone who has to touch, feel, smell, or fondle yarn everyday, this was a great discovery, and I had to get in, come hell or high water. When I was in San Miguel two years ago, visiting Allie , the only yarn store was on Insurgentes (it's still there, up the street from the great gorditas place) and sold bags of pretty coarse acrylic (no, I'm not a fiber snob, soft acrylic is fine, coarse is not).

So the moral to this story is: no matter where you go, someone, somewhere is going to have her hands in fiber.

All Quiet

2008-06-26T00:03:00.000-07:00

Things are quiet on the knitting front. I'm still kind of on break from knitting for StellaPop, but I've done a couple of pattern writing/sample knitting jobs which were very interesting and one, very challenging.

More socks got finished, Gumperina's Jaywalker, which I worked up in Knit Picks Essentials: great pattern, great yarn.

I have a lot of ideas popping around in my brain, but not a whole lot is coming to fruition. Except this little guy who's on Ravelry now as a free download:

A lot of people on Ravelry have marked it as a favorite and one has already posted a photo---I'm eager to see more photos to see the different interpretations of this pattern.

This past Tuesday was the last knitting class a ASB for the summer, and a good thing: all the volunteers (with the exception of the Queen of All She Touches) were fried and soooo ready for a break. The Queen wasn't fried because she'd taken five weeks off for vacation before waltzing in with her usual forty-five-minutes-after-the-class-starts entrance. But we ended the year well, giving the clients a pizza party and a lot of yarn to take home for summer projects. We'll start up again in mid-September with new yarn, new clients, and an organized supply closet.

This is Luis wearing his Einstein Jacket. Not only is his knitting impeccable but he has taught himself how to crochet, and also taught his daughter how to knit and crochet. Play it forward.

Another Reason to Love Ravelry

2008-06-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

I joined ravelry a few months ago, which is, for the unaware, Facebook-on-steroids for knitters. It is a wonderful site where you can see what everyone in the world is knitting, what patterns and yarns are being used; you can upload and download patterns; you can organize your own yarns, needles, library---I keep discovering more and more things I can do on ravelry. The best one I've found yet is: what do you do with that project that you just had to make, made well, loved making, and then it didn't fit, and the yarn, while gorgeous and wonderful to work with, isn't conducive to ripping and re-knitting?

In the past, I've asked among friends to see who would like to take this mistake off my hands, and it's always slightly embarassing: if this really is a nice sweater, why am I trying to pawn it off on someone? Is accepted because it really is the right color/style/fit for her? Or is she being kind? Who ever knows (especially when you're overly-sensitive)?

Anyway, I posted this sweater

and the details of my journey knitting it, and said that is was available to anyone who wanted it, free postage.

The other day, I got a message from a Ravelryer (Raveler??) in North Carolina who was willing to take it. We agreed that she's free to "play it forward" if it doesn't fit or isn't to her liking. So off to NC went the sweater yesterday, along with an extra ball of yarn in case it's needed.

And I thought: there must be some way to track this sweater if it gets played forward, to see where it ends up. And then I could blog about it, and then get a book deal, and then they'd make a movie about the sweater and we'd all be famous.

Oh, in addition to being overly-sensitive, I also have a very rich imagination.

Thank You, Sandra!

2008-06-06T05:22:00.000-07:00

Sandra Singh has posted a great review of Head to Toe Knits on her blog--thank you, Sandra!

And after you read the review, you can browse through all the great yarn and other things that Sandra carries.

Stitch by Stitch

2008-05-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a fairly fast knitter: I usually can knit and read at the same time. I tend to go on auto-pilot and work quickly. But I'm working with a yarn, Country, right now that is making me slow down.

Country is a merino/acrylic blend, very soft, very plush, it seduced me at the yarn store, and it splits constantly. I have to watch every stitch and slow down to make sure that it's not splitting and that I'm not leaving a trail of yarn wisps hanging from my work. At first, I was annoyed by this, and then I let myself surrender to the quality of the yarn and to slow down, look at each stitch and take my time.

And I find that I'm enjoying this enforced slow-down. It's the difference between driving on the highway and taking the back roads: I have time to watch where I'm going, to contemplate what I'm doing, and to realize that, since there isn't a deadline, what's the rush?

Buy the Book

2008-05-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Please.

It's a good book. You won't be sorry. You'll make a lot of babies happy (and their moms) with what you make from the patterns.

Pink Rose, DeWitt, & Gladys

2008-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Every week for the last year and a half, I've met Allie at the Pink Rose Pastry Shop for breakfast (usually on Tuesday). We have the breakfast special (for $2.50 you get two eggs, homefries made with real potatoes--not frozen shredded blech-- and a biscuit), and the coffee is great. It's wonderful food, a great neighborhood place, and great staff. Usually Sherman is there, cooking our breakfast with love. But sometimes DeWitt is there instead.

A morning with DeWitt is an extra-special treat. Sherman cooks with love, but DeWitt sings and dances to the radio. It seems that he knows every song on every station.

This morning, my absolutely all-time, end-of-the-world, what-I-want-to-hear-when-I'm-dying-song came on: Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips.

And DeWitt sang and danced.

This baby has legs

2008-05-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

Being on Ravelry has given me a peek into many, many knitters' minds, stashes, and projects. When I joined, I got such a rush to see that my Sachiko Baby Kimono pattern was on Ravelry already, and it's been an adventure to watch the postings grow: as of today, it's listed in 101 projects, 286 queues, and 273 people have marked it as a favorite.

Even more fascinating is seeing the photos of the finished projects: there are so many interpretations and renditions of it---some are not my taste at all and some are so great that I'm jealous (of another knitter's version of my own original pattern!).

This was my first published pattern, and I was so excited to have it "out there" and so grateful to Alison at For the Love of Yarn for accepting it and helping me to earn my professional chops. And now to discover that hundreds of knitters around the world have taken my design to heart and made it for so many babies---it's exciting and also humbling at the same time.

Markers

2008-05-04T14:54:00.001-07:00

I've been working on a sweater that calls for placing stitch markers where decreases are going to be made. Often, when I'm working a stitch pattern, I can read the fabric and don't really need the stitch markers: I'm clever, I'm on top of my game, I know what I'm doing. Other times, I like to have the markers because it's one less thing that I have to think about or keep track of: here's the marker, time to decrease (or increase or whatever).

There aren't stitch markers for real life, though, which is a shame. It would be nice to wake up one morning, come down to breakfast and find an orange plastic marker next to the coffee mug, letting you know that: adolescence starts here, make sure you have lots of patience and strength until next marker; aging parent starts failing here...You get the drift.

But of course there are no markers, just learning how to read the fabric.

Happy Anniversary

2008-05-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

Sometime during the month of May 1983 was my last day of offical work. Work where I got up every morning, dressed appropriately, and went out into the world to interact with the public, to answer the phone, and to push papers around. I traded that in to stay at home, for a brief while as a pregnant woman, and then as a mom: first to one, then to two.

In those twenty-five years, I've raised two pretty incredible human beings, started a craft business, become computer and internet savvy, outlived my in-laws and my mother, become a mother-in-law, gone through menopause, self-published a book, and managed to negogiate all this without killing anyone (especially teen-aged boys)-- not in that order, but then when is life ordered?

Maybe I'll give myself a party. Have some chocolate. Get a massage. Buy some yarn.

Plumbing and Squirrel

2008-04-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

Last week, I took a couple of days and went up to the mountains to take care of plumbing problems (sulpher smell in the water and dripping pipes under the kitchen sink) as well as to clean up the damage made by the squirrel.

Last month, my house partners went up to check on how things were after the winter and discovered that a squirrel had come down the chimney, out through the wood-burning stove and into the house. It is amazing how much damage a trapped, hysterical, sooty squirrel can do. There were little sooty tracks all over the living room and kitchen, larger sooty swaths where his tail had lashed, and he had tried to eat his way out the window frame.

Long story short, I haven't cleaned so hard since we moved Jon out of his apartment, end of sophomore year and we wanted at least part of our security deposit back.

So now the plumbing is fixed, the house is clean, and this guy is gone.