Not much knitting last week. I've been feeling very tired. So I have taken to going to bed early with a book.
When I'm in need of comfort, I like to read familiar and favorite books. Dorothy Sayers is at the top of the list. Last week I read Busman's Honeymoon and Murder Must Advertise. Then I read Monique and the Mango Rains. We have an event to celebrate Women's History Month each year. Kris Holloway, author of Monique and the Mango Rains, was our speaker this year. She is a very impressive speaker, and I got a copy of the book and read it.
I also love the Brother Cadfael books, which are another source of comfort. I am currently reading Monk's Hood.
I did knit a little while riding to the airport on Saturday. I turned the heel of my purple Shibui sock and started on the leg.
Today I wore my red double knit headband while going for my lunch-time walk. It feels really nice, and is warm but not too warm. I am very motivated to knit a pair of fingerless mittens to match. I think I have enough yarn. I won't double knit them but put the same snowflake in black on a red background. This will be a good travel project over the summer.
I am going to knit along with Debbie New as she makes a Klein bottle hat. I've always wanted to make one and I have a bunch of worsted weight yarn that will make a lovely hat. But for now, I'm going to curl up with Brother Cadfael and try and get some rest.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The Travails of Travel Knitting
My initial objective was to finish the yoke of the Wild Apple and get started on the sweater body on the trip to Madrona. I had hours of uninterrupted knitting time on the way out and back, and bits of time during the trip. So I wound up a couple of extra balls of the main color and set out. The yoke attracted a lot of attention on the plane and in the airport. People were fascinated by the colors.
Now, I knit everywhere. I rarely encounter comments on my knitting. Maybe I am so absorbed in it that people don't comment. Sometimes I get into long conversations with folks but mostly I don't get comments. This yoke generated comments. People walked over to ask what it was and to see pictures of the finished product. Sadly, I had none.
I got as far as round 56 or so - the last round that used color #60. I ran out of it with 6 repeats to go to the end of the round. There was no way out except to put it away. I knew I could get more yarn from Solveig but not while I was travelling. I emailed her, she replied she would send it but my knitting plans were all awry.
Fortunately, I was at Madrona. It has a market! And I had taken a number of fine gauge needles with me for the Wild Apple. So I bought the Shibui sock yarn which I had meant to try anyway. I figured that I could always use some more socks and it was good to have a project in my back pocket even though I had brought an emergency knitting project. Which knitter doesn't? And I moved on to the emergency project I had brought with me - a double-knitted headband.
Two years ago at Meg Swansen's Retreat 2.75, M'lou Baber had done a workshop on double knitting and given us the pattern for this headband. M'lou is the most amazing double knitting wizard. Schoolhouse Press is publishing a book of her designs which you can see at the link above if you scroll down. I started it in Berroco Ultra Alpaca (yummy!) but had not gone too far into the design. On a whim, I packed it for Madrona thinking I could finish it there if something happened to the Wild Apple.
As you can see, I finished it on the trip. I can vouch for the durability of this yarn. That cast on edge was ripped out and re-used at least 6-8 times and was looking bedraggled when I cast on. But it is fine in the finished headband. The first couple of rips was due to not figuring out what pattern I was actually knitting from two years ago and making the headband too big. Then my tails were too long or too short. I am a perfectionist when it comes to the length of the tail and I cast on anything at least 3 times. The side I plan to use is above.
Here's the other side. The snowflake doesn't look as nice done in red on black. But the entire thing feels very lovely. Of course, since I returned, I haven't had a chance to wear it.
By Sunday, as I was travelling to the Bay Area from Madrona, I was done with the headband. I cast on for the sock on the flight to San Jose. Here's the sock as it was when I returned. But I could have finished the heel. I am only half way up it. What stopped me? This little thing down below. My needle snapped. Now Knitpicks sends an extra needle with their double pointed sets. But it was not in my carry-on bag. So I had to wait till I got home and dug the extra needle out to continue.
Since I got home, I haven't knit much. I got the yarn from Solveig and am working on the Wild Apple. I am in the middle of round 61. 10-ish rounds to go. There are 71 in the chart. But with 400 sts on the needles, each round takes some time.
Now, I knit everywhere. I rarely encounter comments on my knitting. Maybe I am so absorbed in it that people don't comment. Sometimes I get into long conversations with folks but mostly I don't get comments. This yoke generated comments. People walked over to ask what it was and to see pictures of the finished product. Sadly, I had none.
I got as far as round 56 or so - the last round that used color #60. I ran out of it with 6 repeats to go to the end of the round. There was no way out except to put it away. I knew I could get more yarn from Solveig but not while I was travelling. I emailed her, she replied she would send it but my knitting plans were all awry.Fortunately, I was at Madrona. It has a market! And I had taken a number of fine gauge needles with me for the Wild Apple. So I bought the Shibui sock yarn which I had meant to try anyway. I figured that I could always use some more socks and it was good to have a project in my back pocket even though I had brought an emergency knitting project. Which knitter doesn't? And I moved on to the emergency project I had brought with me - a double-knitted headband.
Two years ago at Meg Swansen's Retreat 2.75, M'lou Baber had done a workshop on double knitting and given us the pattern for this headband. M'lou is the most amazing double knitting wizard. Schoolhouse Press is publishing a book of her designs which you can see at the link above if you scroll down. I started it in Berroco Ultra Alpaca (yummy!) but had not gone too far into the design. On a whim, I packed it for Madrona thinking I could finish it there if something happened to the Wild Apple.As you can see, I finished it on the trip. I can vouch for the durability of this yarn. That cast on edge was ripped out and re-used at least 6-8 times and was looking bedraggled when I cast on. But it is fine in the finished headband. The first couple of rips was due to not figuring out what pattern I was actually knitting from two years ago and making the headband too big. Then my tails were too long or too short. I am a perfectionist when it comes to the length of the tail and I cast on anything at least 3 times. The side I plan to use is above.
Here's the other side. The snowflake doesn't look as nice done in red on black. But the entire thing feels very lovely. Of course, since I returned, I haven't had a chance to wear it.
By Sunday, as I was travelling to the Bay Area from Madrona, I was done with the headband. I cast on for the sock on the flight to San Jose. Here's the sock as it was when I returned. But I could have finished the heel. I am only half way up it. What stopped me? This little thing down below. My needle snapped. Now Knitpicks sends an extra needle with their double pointed sets. But it was not in my carry-on bag. So I had to wait till I got home and dug the extra needle out to continue.
Since I got home, I haven't knit much. I got the yarn from Solveig and am working on the Wild Apple. I am in the middle of round 61. 10-ish rounds to go. There are 71 in the chart. But with 400 sts on the needles, each round takes some time.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Madrona Acquisitions
Part II of the Great Madrona Report is what I bought. I didn't buy as many items as others but I am not sure I spent any less. I didn't buy much yarn. I bought the DVD I mentioned last time and the bulk of my purchases were from Sheila and Michael Ernst at glasspens.com. This is the primary purchase - the one I'm most excited about. It is a blown-glass bead with glass filigree work on it. You can't see the colors in the photo. It has red and orange and bits of yellow when the light hits it and of course it reflects the colors around it. In this photo, the undertones are blue because of the tissue paper surrounding it. 
It is large. That is a standard #2 pencil next to it. I am going to make a necklace with two relatively large beads on either side of this one and then seed beads to pick up the colors in the bead. This bead will serve as a pendant.
I also bought dichroic glass buttons to go with the yarn I am going to use for the Jean Wong sweater. The swatch is underneath this button. It was the buttons that made me not want to knit a pullover but knit a jacket. Ideas for it are coming to me.
These are the rest of the dichroic glass buttons. Sheila attaches the buttons to the card with a little clip so you can take them off and pin them to your swatch or sweater to see them without the card. 
Lastly, I bought two skeins of Shibui sock yarn so I would have something to knit since I ran out of one of the colors of the Wild Apple yoke. Solveig is sending me more yarn but I had a week's business trip after Madrona and wanted (no, needed) to have something to knit. I had taken an emergency project (which knitter has not?) but even that wouldn't serve to keep me occupied for a week. I finished the emergency project and half a sock. Here's the untouched skein - a bit over-exposed to show the colors. 
After Madrona, I went to the Bay area for a week. While there, Joy and I went to Daiso, a Japanese 100-yen ($1.50) store. It was a fun trip. I bought silicone baking cups and ocean life picks for my lunch. I take salsa in a little loaf pans to dip my veggie burger into, and hummus for my carrots or pretzels in a baking cup. The picks serve as fun replacements for a fork, to pick up pieces of fruit or cheese. I want to go back but there isn't one in this area. I have to wait for another trip to the Bay area for more.
Part III will be my knitting during the trip. I haven't knit much since I returned as I've been a bit tired.
It is large. That is a standard #2 pencil next to it. I am going to make a necklace with two relatively large beads on either side of this one and then seed beads to pick up the colors in the bead. This bead will serve as a pendant.
I also bought dichroic glass buttons to go with the yarn I am going to use for the Jean Wong sweater. The swatch is underneath this button. It was the buttons that made me not want to knit a pullover but knit a jacket. Ideas for it are coming to me.
These are the rest of the dichroic glass buttons. Sheila attaches the buttons to the card with a little clip so you can take them off and pin them to your swatch or sweater to see them without the card. 
Lastly, I bought two skeins of Shibui sock yarn so I would have something to knit since I ran out of one of the colors of the Wild Apple yoke. Solveig is sending me more yarn but I had a week's business trip after Madrona and wanted (no, needed) to have something to knit. I had taken an emergency project (which knitter has not?) but even that wouldn't serve to keep me occupied for a week. I finished the emergency project and half a sock. Here's the untouched skein - a bit over-exposed to show the colors. 
After Madrona, I went to the Bay area for a week. While there, Joy and I went to Daiso, a Japanese 100-yen ($1.50) store. It was a fun trip. I bought silicone baking cups and ocean life picks for my lunch. I take salsa in a little loaf pans to dip my veggie burger into, and hummus for my carrots or pretzels in a baking cup. The picks serve as fun replacements for a fork, to pick up pieces of fruit or cheese. I want to go back but there isn't one in this area. I have to wait for another trip to the Bay area for more.
Part III will be my knitting during the trip. I haven't knit much since I returned as I've been a bit tired.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A Paen to Perfection
I took two of Jean Wong's classes at the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. The first was on Tailored Knitting the Japanese Way and the second was Fine Finishing Techniques. The latter's material is covered in Jean's DVD which I show below. I am in the process of putting Elizabeth Zimmerman/Meg Swansen's Knitting Glossary DVD on my Ipod and will do the same with this one so I have the techniques at hand when I need them. Knitting with Jean is a two disc set. I believe in supporting entrepreneurs so I bought her DVD.
In the tailored knitting class, we took each other's measurements and then drafted full size pullover patterns for ourselves. This is very similar to the sewing pattern drafting I did in India when I was learning to sew my own clothes. There are some differences. Knitting is more forgiving and elastic so the allocated ease is different. We also did not have to put in seam allowances - they are added in as selvedge stitches. We didn't have to add darts although we discussed adding them via short rows. Here is my front and sleeve patterns - a bit creased from travel but intact. We drafted them on centimetre graph paper.
One of the key differences is in the treatment of the curves. Obviously, the curves in the side seam are just increase and decrease rates which are calculated as usual. However the curves of the neck, armhole and sleeve cap are not regular. So we drew a grid customized to our stitch and row gauge using a gauge ruler provided by Jean. The ruler is the fanned out set of strips (there are two of them) in the linked photo. Then we drew in a set of steps (since knitting can't form a smooth curve) to be not less than the area under the curve we were modelling. You can see my grids for the front neck, armhole and sleeve cap in the photo below. I will show you the swatch in a later post about my acquisitions at Madrona. I am violating one of Jean's teachings by using this pattern for a cardigan rather than a pullover. But somehow the yarn is telling me it needs to be a cardigan and not a pullover. I have to obey the yarn!
Jean also taught us how to slip stitch a set-in sleeve into an armhole using a crochet hook. This used to be my preferred way to sew a seam even though I'm leaning towards mattress stitch these days.
The finishing class involved lots of bind offs for 1x1 and 2x2 rib. The Japanese attention to detail uses different numbers of knit sts at the beginning and end of ribbing based on its application. We covered binding all these off in a tubular fashion. We also learned the Japanese short row method that I've used for a good many years now for socks mostly. Jean's preferred shoulder seam is not exactly a 3 needle BO but similar. We also learned how to join in a new ball of yarn in the middle of a row invisibly by duplicate stitching the tails in. Many of these techniques are not new to me but there were little things that were different in almost all of them. The class appealed to my love of technique. I am a technique junkie, always trying something new and sometimes finding a new favorite. I hate to knock something till I've tried it so I keep trying lots of things. My favorites also change over time as I get bored easily.
I want to say hi to Ann who I met online many years ago but met in person at Madrona. I also want to thank mehitabel for her solicitous comment after my last post. I had a drippy nose - due to allergies or a cold - but no other symptoms. I think the Nyquil/Dayquil combo I was taking to keep from getting stuffed up caused most of the exhaustion. But the nasal issues caused sinus headaches and coughs and nausea from the post-nasal drip so I was not very comfortable.
In the tailored knitting class, we took each other's measurements and then drafted full size pullover patterns for ourselves. This is very similar to the sewing pattern drafting I did in India when I was learning to sew my own clothes. There are some differences. Knitting is more forgiving and elastic so the allocated ease is different. We also did not have to put in seam allowances - they are added in as selvedge stitches. We didn't have to add darts although we discussed adding them via short rows. Here is my front and sleeve patterns - a bit creased from travel but intact. We drafted them on centimetre graph paper.
One of the key differences is in the treatment of the curves. Obviously, the curves in the side seam are just increase and decrease rates which are calculated as usual. However the curves of the neck, armhole and sleeve cap are not regular. So we drew a grid customized to our stitch and row gauge using a gauge ruler provided by Jean. The ruler is the fanned out set of strips (there are two of them) in the linked photo. Then we drew in a set of steps (since knitting can't form a smooth curve) to be not less than the area under the curve we were modelling. You can see my grids for the front neck, armhole and sleeve cap in the photo below. I will show you the swatch in a later post about my acquisitions at Madrona. I am violating one of Jean's teachings by using this pattern for a cardigan rather than a pullover. But somehow the yarn is telling me it needs to be a cardigan and not a pullover. I have to obey the yarn!
Jean also taught us how to slip stitch a set-in sleeve into an armhole using a crochet hook. This used to be my preferred way to sew a seam even though I'm leaning towards mattress stitch these days.The finishing class involved lots of bind offs for 1x1 and 2x2 rib. The Japanese attention to detail uses different numbers of knit sts at the beginning and end of ribbing based on its application. We covered binding all these off in a tubular fashion. We also learned the Japanese short row method that I've used for a good many years now for socks mostly. Jean's preferred shoulder seam is not exactly a 3 needle BO but similar. We also learned how to join in a new ball of yarn in the middle of a row invisibly by duplicate stitching the tails in. Many of these techniques are not new to me but there were little things that were different in almost all of them. The class appealed to my love of technique. I am a technique junkie, always trying something new and sometimes finding a new favorite. I hate to knock something till I've tried it so I keep trying lots of things. My favorites also change over time as I get bored easily.
I want to say hi to Ann who I met online many years ago but met in person at Madrona. I also want to thank mehitabel for her solicitous comment after my last post. I had a drippy nose - due to allergies or a cold - but no other symptoms. I think the Nyquil/Dayquil combo I was taking to keep from getting stuffed up caused most of the exhaustion. But the nasal issues caused sinus headaches and coughs and nausea from the post-nasal drip so I was not very comfortable.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Back at last
I have been silent because I've been travelling and not well. There is nothing worse than being ill while on the road.
I had good intentions. I took my camera to Madrona to record the event and blog about it but I didn't. I lost my memory card and so that plan came to naught. Then I was going to blog text posts but caught a cold or had a bad allergy after I left Madrona and went to the Bay area on a business trip. It was all I could do to keep up with work for the first couple of days and just wanted to stay in bed. But staying in bed in a hotel room is not exactly like staying in bed at home so I didn't.
After that, I got better with drugs but I was still exhausted and falling into bed after dinner without even thinking about blogging.
I came home early this am (12:15 am to be exact) and will now set about recording my doings over the past couple of weeks. There is a lot of exciting stuff to talk about but each deserves its own time in the spotlight so I won't rush it.
I am glad to be home.
I had good intentions. I took my camera to Madrona to record the event and blog about it but I didn't. I lost my memory card and so that plan came to naught. Then I was going to blog text posts but caught a cold or had a bad allergy after I left Madrona and went to the Bay area on a business trip. It was all I could do to keep up with work for the first couple of days and just wanted to stay in bed. But staying in bed in a hotel room is not exactly like staying in bed at home so I didn't.
After that, I got better with drugs but I was still exhausted and falling into bed after dinner without even thinking about blogging.
I came home early this am (12:15 am to be exact) and will now set about recording my doings over the past couple of weeks. There is a lot of exciting stuff to talk about but each deserves its own time in the spotlight so I won't rush it.
I am glad to be home.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
I am one lucky gal!
I had two more acquisitions in the mail this week. I am tickled to death about both of them.
This is from my friend Bettina. I mailed her a pair of socks that didn't fit me and looked as if they would fit her. I asked for some unusual (to me) yarns in exchange. She overwhelmed me by what she sent. The pink and lavender yarn on the left is a merino/cashmere sock yarn from Posh yarn in the UK. The other two are cashmere yarns from Hipknits, also in the UK. The center is a sock yarn and the one on the right is laceweight. I love the colors and the yarns are to die for.
Next comes another luscious yarn. I have always drooled over the Swan, ever since I acquired Poems of Color. It is finally available from Solveig Gustafsson at the original Bohus gauge. I really wanted the black version but it wasn't available. Solveig has also done a beige version but I didn't really like that. The white one would not look good on me at all. After some discussion, she agreed to substitute a pale grey for the white main color. So here's my Swan kit with the original pattern. in Swedish. The main color is true in the photo above but the yoke colors are better in the photo below.
I have been knitting away on my Wild Apple. It always starts slowly but then you build up a rhythm of how to work the colors and it gets more and more exciting as the colors build up to create the gorgeous yoke. Mine is just getting to the wild part. So far it has been varying shades of greens but I just did the first row of the apples and now I will be adding the vibrant colors that makes this yoke stand out. 
This is from my friend Bettina. I mailed her a pair of socks that didn't fit me and looked as if they would fit her. I asked for some unusual (to me) yarns in exchange. She overwhelmed me by what she sent. The pink and lavender yarn on the left is a merino/cashmere sock yarn from Posh yarn in the UK. The other two are cashmere yarns from Hipknits, also in the UK. The center is a sock yarn and the one on the right is laceweight. I love the colors and the yarns are to die for. 
Next comes another luscious yarn. I have always drooled over the Swan, ever since I acquired Poems of Color. It is finally available from Solveig Gustafsson at the original Bohus gauge. I really wanted the black version but it wasn't available. Solveig has also done a beige version but I didn't really like that. The white one would not look good on me at all. After some discussion, she agreed to substitute a pale grey for the white main color. So here's my Swan kit with the original pattern. in Swedish. The main color is true in the photo above but the yoke colors are better in the photo below.
I have been knitting away on my Wild Apple. It always starts slowly but then you build up a rhythm of how to work the colors and it gets more and more exciting as the colors build up to create the gorgeous yoke. Mine is just getting to the wild part. So far it has been varying shades of greens but I just did the first row of the apples and now I will be adding the vibrant colors that makes this yoke stand out. 
Monday, February 4, 2008
Acquisitions
I'm past the neck band on the Wild Apple and have started the color work. I had forgotten how absorbing it is and how much fun. Here's a picture of the cast on. I am using 2 circs here as I didn't have a longer circ in the 2mm size I needed. I wanted to pass on a tip on how to avoid the dreaded twist while joining. This also helps with casting on large numbers of stitches. Place a coil-less pin (as I have) or a bobby pin or a paper-clip or something like that every so often. In this case I have put pins every 20 sts. You can easily count how many sts you have cast on. Also, when it comes time to join, you just have to make sure that all the pins or clips are oriented the same way with respect to the needle -either facing out or facing in. The weight of the pins also helps keep the cast on edge on the same side of the needle so it is less likely to twist.
I now also have a 32" 2mm circular needle. I got my order of needles from KnitPicks. Here you can see the Harmony circular interchangeable set and the extra cords I bought. I bought the longer cords (40", 47" and 60") so that I can knit larger shawls with both this set and my Options set. I also got a few fixed circulars (you can see a couple below) as well as the ones I need for the Bohus sweaters - the 2mm, the 2.25 mm and the 2.5 mm. I have some of these but the length is shorter. I don't like using them because the joins are not nice, or I don't like them because I can't do magic loop as I get closer to the ends of the sleeves. I have realized I don't like doing color work with dpns and I want to put some color on the sleeves of the Wild Apple. So I need to either use 2 circs (also not a favorite for color work) or use 1 long circ. I didn't have the 1 long circ, hence the acquisition. 
I also went to NYC this weekend and acquired some very fine kenbo silk from Habu textiles. This cone represents 2 oz or about 1800 yds. It is a lovely eggplant color. True, traditional eggplant color. 
Here's some of the yarn stretched out next to a 2.25 mm needle. It is very much like sewing thread. I want to make a fine shawl out of a doily pattern. It should be interesting. The good news about something like this is that it is a relatively inexpensive experiment. It is also a good vacation project as one only needs this small cone to finish the entire project.
More pics of the Wild Apple later as the more interesting colors develop. Right now it is a blue that is not very photogenic.
I now also have a 32" 2mm circular needle. I got my order of needles from KnitPicks. Here you can see the Harmony circular interchangeable set and the extra cords I bought. I bought the longer cords (40", 47" and 60") so that I can knit larger shawls with both this set and my Options set. I also got a few fixed circulars (you can see a couple below) as well as the ones I need for the Bohus sweaters - the 2mm, the 2.25 mm and the 2.5 mm. I have some of these but the length is shorter. I don't like using them because the joins are not nice, or I don't like them because I can't do magic loop as I get closer to the ends of the sleeves. I have realized I don't like doing color work with dpns and I want to put some color on the sleeves of the Wild Apple. So I need to either use 2 circs (also not a favorite for color work) or use 1 long circ. I didn't have the 1 long circ, hence the acquisition. 
I also went to NYC this weekend and acquired some very fine kenbo silk from Habu textiles. This cone represents 2 oz or about 1800 yds. It is a lovely eggplant color. True, traditional eggplant color. 
Here's some of the yarn stretched out next to a 2.25 mm needle. It is very much like sewing thread. I want to make a fine shawl out of a doily pattern. It should be interesting. The good news about something like this is that it is a relatively inexpensive experiment. It is also a good vacation project as one only needs this small cone to finish the entire project.
More pics of the Wild Apple later as the more interesting colors develop. Right now it is a blue that is not very photogenic.
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