Lots of stuff!

I didn't post last weekend because I had a busy weekend at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. I have no idea why I didn't post the previous weekend. So, to make up for all that, I have a lot to talk about today. It is a real mish-mash of stuff.

First of all, aren't these cute? They are popcorn cobs from my CSA Farm. Apparently I can pop them right on the cob. I haven't tried that yet. It will be a treat for the week.
A couple of weeks ago, I had an open house at my place for some of the local knitters I've met through our local yarn store. It gave me the opportunity to photograph these two Faroese shawls that are similar to the one I made from sock yarn. It is a great way to use up those single skeins of sock yarn and because the st count varies with each row, you don't get splotches of color.
Here's a photo of our happy crowd! We were so happy to sit and chat and eat lots of goodies. Everyone brought goodies so we had more than we could consume.
Another photo of all of us. So many bags of knitterly things...
Now, on to my activities on the fiber front...
I've made good progress on the silk featherweight cardi. The body is done and I'm on the first sleeve.
I also got a haul of red mink/cashmere yarn from Great Northern Yarns. I wore the shawl I made from it to the Sheep and Wool Festival. It kept me warm and lots of people fondled me (in a very fiber-y way). My hands were kept warm by the fingerless mitts I made from the leftovers. One of the knitters at Camp had a jacket made out of this yarn and she inspired me to make one for myself.
In contrast to that lovely yarn, here's my very first spindle spun skein! It is a mix of different fibres but it was spun and plied on my Bosworth spindle. I took a class at the Sheep and Wool Festival for the first time. I plied the yarn in the class and finished it this morning. It isn't much but I'm proud of it.

Now on my acquisitions from the Sheep and Wool Festival. I had a ball most of the day helping out at Jennie the Potter's booth. It was a very exciting day and it helped me keep my purchases to a minimum. I really need to make a dent in what I already have rather than adding to my stash.
I bought a niddy noddy to make skeins from my handspun. It is a pretty basic one.
I bought a Golding Tsunami spindle made of purple heart. There is a better picture further down on the Golding page. It is a lightweight spindle, to complement my mid-weight Bosworth. I want to try spinning some laceweight.
Lastly, I bought 3 oz of Icelandic lamb roving from Frelsi Farm. The black yarn in my spindlespun skein above is Icelandic roving and I loved spinning it. The lamb is very soft but supposed to be easy to spin. So I thought I'd try it on the spindle.

The class really re-ignited my interest in spindling and so I am now going to do some more with it. It probably will mean even less knitting. I'm not sure how to fit everything I want to do into my life!

Tutorial: hand-warmers

This is the second in the series of what to do with your hand-knit socks after they have worn-out soles. Here is a lovely sock in a mohair/wool yarn that I loved to wear. It was soft and warm and cuddly. Unfortunately, it developed a number of worn out spots on the heel. This sock was knit toe-up so the method I used in the cup holder won't work. You can't unravel a knit backwards. It will only unravel from the bind-off to the cast-on and not vice versa.

So I snipped a st and unraveled a row right where the heel began.

I then used a contrast colored yarn and picked up sts right below the cut edge. In this case, I think I did it two rows below so it wouldn't unravel any further. I then knit a hem that would cover the cut edge, did a turning round and knit the inside of the hem. I stitched the live sts down on the inside to completely cover the cut edge.

These socks had a rather long cuff and also some shaping at the ankle. That makes them rather long hand-warmers. A shorter cuff will yield wrist-warmers.

You can also knit on a thumb gusset and hand and convert them into fingerless mitts. In that case, I would do a blanket st or overcast st on the cut edge and tack it down to the newly knitted fabric. Embroidery floss is good for this as it is soft and you can match the cut edge color very closely. You may need to use only 3 or 4 strands of floss.

Maybe the slump is over?

I have been knitting away on my featherweight cardi. As you can see, I have made progress beyond the yoke and am about half-way down the body. It is a lovely knit, lightweight and soft, and since it is just stockinette, it is pretty mindless. The only thing I have to watch out for is that I don't miss one of the 3 strands as I knit.

I was going to put a lace border on and have been scanning my lace pattern books looking for an appropriate design. Unfortunately, nothing is calling to me right now so I may just stick with the stockinette and leave the lace for another version. I have lots of lace weight yarn and this pattern is a very easy one to wear as it is lightweight.

Today's topic, though is the follow-up on the other two books I recently purchased. Dover had a sale so I bought the two re-published Alice Starmore books and the new commemorative Knitter's Almanac. Now to compare and contrast the old and the new editions of these.

I had the UK version of the Fair Isle Knitting book. So the cover is a bit different from the US version. The left is my older hardbound copy and the right is the new paperback. The paper is glossy and nice in both editions. There is no new content as far as I can see. This is a great book to learn the techniques of Fair Isle knitting and also to get a compendium of fair-isle motifs to pick from.

The patterns for garments in the book call for 2-ply jumperweight. The older edition mentions Jamieson and Smith. The new one doesn't. The older edition mentions the shade # in J&S as well as the name. The new edition just mentions the name. So you will have to find a supplier who keeps the name along with the number if you want to source it.

At the back, there is a new About the Author section which has a bio of Alice Starmore and a list of her books. On the facing page are photographs of 3 of her later designs Mara, Marina and Oregon Autumn. Both the back and the front of each are photographed.

The last of the 3 (I did Aran Knitting last time) compare and contrasts is Knitter's Almanac. Both of these editions are currently available from both Dover and Schoolhouse Press.

As you can see, the new edition is much larger and is hardbound. The content is of course, unchanged but there are some goodies in it.

The first is a lovely reproduction of a Andrew Wyeth painting featuring the Maltese Hat. Andrew's wife is a knitter and an Elizabeth Zimmerman fan and this is a favorite.

There is a new introduction by Stephanie Pearl-McFee.

The garments have all been re-knitted and are photographed in color.

There is the mystery blanket...and some mittens for winter.

Confessions of a book addict

I thought I would show you some of the things that have been occupying my time lately. I grew the tomatoes and peppers above in pots on my patio and porch. The tomatoes are called Sungold cherries and they are the most amazing, sweet tomatoes. Eating them is like eating candy!
This gorgeous bowl of red cherry tomatoes came from the Community Supported Agriculture farm. Also, the lovely heirloom varieties below. They come in all colors of the rainbow. I didn't get any of the purple ones this year but there are green, yellow, orange and red tomatoes and each has its own unique flavor.
I am really enjoying the vine ripened tomatoes, peppers and greens. I love greens. I could spend my life eating just greens. The only thing I don't like is cleaning and cooking them. But one can't have everything that one wants.

Today I am going to do a comparison of the original and the new editions of Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting. I can't resist buying books. I bought the new edition published by Dover even though I had the original book. But it provides a good opportunity to see what has been updated in the years since the original version was published.

The books are approximately the same size. The new one is softcover whereas the original publication was hard bound. The new one is slightly smaller than the original.
Some of the photos are the same but many garments have been re-knitted and feature new photographs. Here is Irish Moss in the new edition (left) and in the original (right). The colors of the new garments are generally more vibrant and feature Alice Starmore's Hebridean 3-ply yarn. Some call for Bainin (which I believe is being reissued) and Scottish Fleet. You can see the newer versions of the patterns at Virtual Yarns. The new edition also includes an additional pattern as well as information about Alice Starmore's yarns.

I really like the new pattern. It isn't boxy and is very feminine. It is called Eala Bhan and Alice Starmore says that she originally knit it for herself. She includes the pattern to show that Aran patterns can be fitted precisely to the body. As you can see, this is one curvaceous garment!The instructions are a combination of written instructions and charts and cover 11 pages. This is because of the precise shaping instructions that are included and I think the end result is worth it. Of the many patterns in the book, this one immediately caught my attention. Now, maybe that is because the others are very familiar, but it might also be because the body skimming Eala Bhan will suit many real women. It doesn't hurt that it is knit in a color that I love. The yarn used is the 3-ply Hebridean yarn.Next, I will do a compare and contrast of Alice Starmore's Fair Isle Knitting and also one of the commemorative edition of Knitter's Almanac. The latter was brought out by Dover to celebrate Elizabeth Zimmermann's 100th birthday in August.

In a real slump

No knitting going on here. I finished the silk sweater up to the armholes. Now I have to split the sleeves from the body and start knitting the body. It is just sitting there.

I have wanted to update the blog for the past couple of weeks but somehow, even that seems uninteresting when I have nothing to show you. I played with the blog format a little, hoping that will enliven it.

I just passed the 3rd year anniversary of the blog. That seems such an achievement! I am motivated to continue but given that I am knitting so little, I wonder what I'll post about.

Lastly, my yarn store is closing and I will be using this blog to communicate about my classes. I am planning to continue teaching from my house because I love it so much. But first, I have to get my knitting mojo on.

Silk: it is what's for summer

I have always been a lace or sock knitter in the summer months when I am rational. When I am irrational, I have knit heavy sweaters and bulky shawls and almost died in the process. This summer, I am enjoying the process of knitting with very fine silk. It is light and easy on the hands, and doesn't add any heat to one's body.

You probably saw the cone of silk when I was asking for opinions on what to knit for Camp. The swatch on the right is the one I knit before Camp that gave me a slightly smaller gauge than the pattern called for. The one on the left is the one I knit after, with 1 size bigger needle. Now the number of rows and stitches are not the same in the two swatches so they aren't comparable by observation.

Swatch on the right was on 4 mm needles:

• 36 sts = 5.5 - 5.75 inches (depending on how I pat it out) - not quite 6 spi
• 42 rows = 5 inches - not quite 9 rpi

Swatch on the left was on 4.5 mm needles:

• 30 sts = 5.5 inches - more than 6 spi
• 54 rows = 7 inches - way more than 9 rpi

Pattern gauge:

• 24 sts = 4 inches - 6 spi
• 36 rows = 4 inches - 9 rpi

I liked the fabric I got with the 4 mm needles so I am going with that and making adjustments as needed to the garment so it fits. I will also measure the gauge after I have knit a bit of the garment to see if my gauge is different. It is slow going as there are a lot of sts but I am enjoying the process and in no hurry to finish it.

In this photo you can see the top of the shoulder and the front to the left, and the rest of the cardi bunched up on the right. I wanted to show you the raglan line treatment that I am doing. I am not following the pattern on this as I love this particular raglan line. I may also add some lace to the bottom to lengthen it but that is a decision for later. The color is lovely, the yarn is beautiful, it is relatively easy knitting and very relaxing for the summer.

Tutorial: Cup holders

Since I haven't done much knitting this week, I thought I would give you some ideas. If you have been knitting socks as long as I have, you end up with socks that have holes in them. Even if you darn them, eventually the sock fabric is so thin that you have to either re-knit the thin part or toss it out. But there are usually other parts that are in perfect shape and it is a waste to throw the whole sock out. Today, we will reincarnate sock legs into cup holders. They make quick gifts and you can make one to fit every cup you will ever use and keep them in your purse, your backpack, your tote, your car, etc. Each pair of socks makes at least 2 cup holders.
Here is one of my dearly-beloved socks. The sole is really worn thin.
I snipped a thread right where the heel began. This is where the thin part is. My socks wear at the heel and the ball of the foot. Then I unraveled a row of sts. This is a top-down sock so unraveling is easy. If it is knit toe-up, wait for the next tutorial because the sock won't unravel properly in this direction. Here you can see where I cut and separated the good part from the worn part.
Next, measure your cup and mark that distance on your sock leg, starting at the cuff. Unravel the yarn to about 1" shorter than that mark. Wind up your yarn into a small ball so you have it to knit from. If you can't do this, or your sock leg is too short, find some yarn of a similar weight that will look good with your sock and use it.

Now knit 1" of ribbing in either your unraveled yarn or the matching yarn. Don't worry about kinks in the unraveled yarn. They will go away when you wash the cup holder. Bind off loosely in rib and ta-da! you have a cup holder. Here is the pair I made from those socks. They fit a Starbucks Grande and a Venti cup.
If you don't have worn out socks, do not despair. Just take some left over sock yarn and knit yourself a sock leg without a foot and you have a cup holder.

It is a matter of preference whether you like the cup holder to cover the entire cup (as above) or leave some space at the top and bottom (as below). The lid will cover the lip of the cup but sometimes I like to take the lid off and drink. If you are like me, you will prefer the holder to be slightly smaller than the cup. The cup holder below fits a number of different cup sizes.You can practice a new stitch pattern (as I did) or make it plain with some ribbing. Your cup holder will keep the drink warm (or cold) and prevent condensation with cold drinks.

You can also make ones that fit your water bottle to keep the condensation from dripping onto things.

Use your new eco-friendly (recycle, reuse) cup holder and water bottle cover in good health!