The Second Sleeve

Homeward Bound

2008-04-10T18:18:00.001-07:00

A lot of people have expressed interest in my job, so I thought I would share in a little more detail what it is that I do. First, though a couple photos.

We took a trip of the most amazing high schoolers to the Bahamas and saw all sorts of great things including large piles of conch that made me want to wear pink and think pink and be pink all day long. This may be influenced by the fact that I recently finished 'Skinny Legs and All' by Tom Robbins - an excellent read I would recommend to anyone.

I finished my father's Christmas socks, making the close of the Christmas knitting official. These are the Mock Wave Socks from Favorite Socks. I knit them on size 1 needles with Trekking Pro Natura yarn. More details can be found on ravelry or by request as I am a little tired and honestly can't be bothered to look them all up.

Onto my job and what it is that I do. Basically I am a deckhand on tallships (traditionally rigged vessels). This amounts to taking part in the every day running of the vessel as well as doing what other people tell me to do. On my current boat, the S/V Denis Sullivan, we took out programs with adults and high schoolers in the Florida Keys and the Bahamas until late March. Then we started the transit north. The boat's home port is in Milwaukee, WI but since the sailing in the Great Lakes is non-existent in the winter the boat goes south with the birds. Our stops have included Fort Pierce, FL; Brunswick, GA; Beaufort, NC; and Baltimore, MD where I am now. Before we reach Milwaukee we will be stopping in Woods Hole, MA; Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; Quebec City, Quebec; Port Huron, I don't know which state; and probably somewhere else in the Lakes. We'll stop generally for around three days in each port depending on weather and a number of other variables. So that's the schedule.

The really great part of my job is getting the boat from place to place. This is generally known as 'transiting.' While underway we break into watches, essentially shifts. There are three watches made up of at least three people each. The watch schedule is as follows:
0300-0800
0800-1300
1300-1800
1800-2100
2100-0300
Each watch, or group of three people works one watch period then has two off. So you basically work 9 hours a day or so, the 9 hours are just spread around you get a 10 hour lunch in between.

While on watch we take turns to steer, do lookout, and every hour we do a boat check. Boat checks include a physical check of all compartments in the boat as well as weather observations and plotting our position on the chart (nautical map).

Off watch time is your's to do with what you will. For the most part people sleep, but you hit a point where you can't sleep any more. This is when computers come out to watch movies on, or a lot of reading occurs. I often sit in my bunk and listen to books on tape and knit. Sometimes if the seas aren't to rough and the sun is out I'll take my chair on deck for a little knitting.

Meals occur between watches and are prepared by the cook (!) who doesn't stand watch. The oncoming watch eats a little before their turn on deck and the offgoing and standby watches eat after that. This way everyone gets to sit and eat a leisurely meal and the navigation and safety of the boat isn't neglected.

Sometimes it is necessary to go aloft to do some work or sort something out. I love working aloft and take every opportunity to go, as it affords a much better view than on deck. Here I am sporting my new t-shirt my mother bought me. I do love the color orange.

That was a brief overview of what I do, but hopefully it answered some questions. If anyone wants to know more please ask. I love to my job and I love to talk about what I do and if you're lucky I won't be as tired when I reply and will do so with more eloquence.

A Fish Out of Water

2008-03-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

For the second time in as many months I find myself quite literally a fish out of water. I am currently aboard the S/V Denis Sullivan and we are hauled out in West Palm Beach, FL for our three year Coast Guard inspection. This entails a day of sitting around while the boat is hauled out and a week of long days with lots of work that can only be done while the boat is out of the water - like re-caulking some of the hull seams.

The long hours also mean that in the evening I am too exhausted to do much more than knit and watch a movie or some television in the crew lounge. Television usually wins because it is such a novelty these days. We don't have TV on the boat so the idea of watching something like Gray's Anatomy is novel and exciting. I am so close to closing out Christmas '07 it hurts. Today I put my Uncle's socks in the mail along with an altered Odysseus sweater. All I have left is 3/4 of the second sock for my father and Christmas will officially be behind me.

Penelope was not as pleased as she could be with the neckline on the original Odysseus sweater, and I don't blame her the neckline was basically crap, so I did a little tinking and a little tinkering and have come up with something that will hopefully work much better.

In other news I have officially put my feet in the Atlantic. I have done this before but only once, this time around I have repeatedly put my feet in the Atlantic. I have also gone snorkeling for the first time in my life - how cool is snorkeling?! While I am a West Coast girl through and through the East Coast and the Atlantic aren't as bad as previously imagined - much warmer and saltier but otherwise delightful.

Hello?

2007-12-19T09:14:00.001-08:00

Dear tenacious reader,
Why are you still here? I haven't posted in almost two months. Go knit something. I do however have something of an explanation. These past four months have been the funnest happiest months I've had in awhile and instead of worrying about writing it all down and taking all the right photos and sharing them in a meaningful format I went out and had a blast. There you have it. I'm heading to the Bahamas to work on another boat in January and I may or may not post from there (let's be honest I probably won't) but since I am home right now with very little to do other than panic about Christmas knitting I will likely do something of an update. We'll see.

At any rate Happy Christmahannukwanzika to everyone and may all your recipients receive completed gifts, I know mine won't.

A Photo Essay

2007-11-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

Someones Christmas present!

My birthday present to myself. Those who know me will note the green and orange qualities of my skateboard.

I made the trek while in San Francisco and it was totally worth it. I would live here if I could.

The Privateer Lynx braced sharp around, sailing close to the wind.

View of the deck of the Star of India from the Main Royal yard (that's the highest place you can climb to on the boat).

Battle Sail in San Diego Harbor with the Californian and the HMS Surprise (the boat from Master and Commander).

There are a few more photos in no particular order on my flickr account, Christineolea, for them as are interested.

Paving the Road

2007-11-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

Every time we come into port I have every intention of posting and they my laziness wins. As it is I am four ports later than the last time I posted and no update.

It's late and I'm tired so this is going to be quick.

I had a day off in San Francisco/Sausalito so I headed over to Artfibers and marveled at the glory of their yarn. I got some fabulous red mohair/silk laceweight. I do love laceweight. I also took up the skateboard.

After Sausalito we headed down the coast to Moss Landing. Nothing much happening in Moss Landing except the sea lions we docked next to that never shut up. Ever.

Next was Morro Bay. Morro Bay was great, very friendly people, nice town, good general vibe. I bought myself a skateboard for my birthday. It's orange and I love it. Knitting has been slow, I'm not really feeling the socks I'm making right now and I'm waiting on some yarn that I ordered and age ago to keep working on My Brother's Sweater. The plan is to start some different socks I like more and set the current ones aside for the time being.

After Morro Bay was Long Beach and Catalina. Nothing too exciting, we had a day off on Catalina, which was lovely. I did some hiking, some snoozing, some knitting and some eating of ice cream. You can't ask for much more on a day off.

Now I find myself in San Diego where it has not completely burned to the ground. The sailing has been pretty good and today the HMS Surprise (the boat from Master and Commander) came out to play, pretty pretty boat. The knitting is still at something of a standstill and I'm starting to panic because Christmas is coming ever faster and some of my family have rather large feet.

Soon (ha) I'll even have pictures of all my adventures to share. As it is right now you'll have to do with half-assed exposition.

Whales

2007-10-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is a long one folks, it's been awhile since I've been in touch with the outside world and there is a lot to report.

When I last left you we were having a day off in Portland. That was good times, saw some family, saw some friends, general merriment all around. Soon though, it was time for us to leave Portland. In order to do this we had to go under I-5. In order for our 96 feet to fit under I-5 they have to raise the bridge. That's right folks I have officially stopped traffic on Interstate 5, twice (coming and going). If that's not something to tick off the list of things to do in my life I don't know what is.

On our way back out the rolling Columbia we docked at a dock that is literally in the middle of nowhere. Some yacht club built this dock on the Columbia for their members, but others can use it if no one is there. Pretty funny to dock on a dock completely unconnected with land.

We passed the Please Please Me. You read it right.

Then there was our transit. This transit, from Ilwaco, WA to San Francisco, CA is the longest we will be taking this season. We left Monday midday and arrived Thursday night. What a great transit. First we waited out some weather in Ilwaco then made our way across the bar. The Columbia River Bar is one of the most infamous bar crossings in the world so of course all kinds of precautions were taken. I gotta say though that the hype far outshone the actual thing. It was a little rocky but not too bad and we made it out without any incident.

The first couple days of our transit were wet. We were still experiencing the seas left behind by the weather we waited out. There was some rain but mostly there was just a lot of spray. This boat has the wettest foredeck of any boat I've been on so far. The bow cuts through the waves like a knife through hot butter, unfortunately this means a lot of spray and splash come up over the deck. This boat also has the leakiest fo'c'sle of any boat I've been on so far. Take five wet sailors, add wet foul weather gear, steep for two days in leaky fo'c'sle dousing with more water as needed. Luckily the last couple days were fabulous. The sun came out, the seas calmed down and my foulies actually dried. I even managed to sit on deck in the sunshine on my offwatch and knit for awhile.
_

While transiting we break into a watch system, this means that someone is driving the boat 24 hours a day and we all take it in turns. I was on the 12-4 watch which means I stood watch in the middle of the day and the middle of the night. This also means that I worked 8 out of every 24 hours. Needless to say I got a lot of sleep, did a lot of knitting and read a lot. I love transits.

The last day of the transit was the best by far. During my watch JP and went aloft to unfurl the square topsail, this is an easy job that makes for good skylarking. When we arrived at the crosstrees we were awarded the view of a veritable minefield of whale spouts. They were everywhere. As it happens the Lynx breaks for whales so we slowed down to have a look and were rewarded in spades. Whales spouting, whales breaching, whale flukes, saw so many whales it almost got old. Almost. Then the dolphins came. If there is any animal I would like to come back as it is a dolphin, they seem to just have fun all the time. Then there were the sea lions. We found ourselves in the middle of a fabulous party and everyone was having a blast.

Due to my fabulous photography skills all I really have are pictures of where whales used to be but take my word for it, there were lots and they were within 100 yards or so. So cool.

The last couple days we've been doing daysails in the San Francisco Bay. Good wind, good sailing and the Blue Angels are in town for Fleet Week so that is fun too. Nothing quite like a good sail with the Blue Angels and other interesting planes flying all around.

Oh, and I finished my Love Lace socks. I am wearing them right now in fact. I don't have all the details in front of me, but they are the latest installment of the Rockin Sock Club, the best club in the world. Here they are off the coast of California.

My energy wanes and my bunk is calling my name. Hopefully I'll be able to update sooner next time so my post won't be so epic, we'll have to wait and see.

United At Last

2007-09-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

In other news Penelope has finally recieved her sweater. She held off the other suitors just long enough and is happy to be reunited with her Odysseus, changed though he may be.

Pattern: Elizabeth's Percentage System. The lace insert is from Barbara G. Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns I don't remember what they are called and don't have the book to hand but they're in there.
Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino, 7 hanks.
Needles: size 3
Notes:
The neck might need a little work, Penelope is going to wear it for awhile and see what she thinks. It's a bit funny and doesn't sit quite right. To be honest the neck is where I deviated from Elizabeth Zimmerman and things went wrong. I told Penelope that I won't be able to do anything about it until Christmas anyway so she should just wear it and see if she wants it changed. If I'm lucky she'll come to love the wonky neck, even if she doesn't right now.
At any rate I'm pretty pleased with the results and the Koigu makes a wonderful fabric. The best part, however, is the 5 hanks of Koigu I have left that I'm keeping as my fee (that and Penelope isn't much of a knitter and doesn't want them anyway). What will I do with my five fabulous hanks of Koigu? I'll have to think about it.

I also want to say thanks to everyone for the comments on my knitty article. I also find felting by hand to be a great stress reliever and a good way to feel better about sitting around and knitting all the time.

Plan A: Don't Suck

2007-09-24T20:57:00.001-07:00

Plan B: Stop sucking, stick to plan A.

So far on my contract we've mainly stuck to Plan A, no need to stop sucking, we haven't started. The internet on the other hand skipped straight to plan B and hasn't stopped sucking. Therefore I don't have any pictures. Just kidding, I now have pictures and have added them where appropriate along with more details now that I am properly rested.

After Ilwaco we headed up the river to St. Helens, near Scapoose home of Blue Moon Fiber Arts, my socks definitely felt at home. On an 1812 Privateer it is necessary to fire upon any and every port. We love us our carronades.

After hanging out in St. Helens for a few days we came further up the river to Portland for the Second Annual Pirate Festival. So awesome words can barely begin to describe it. An entire two days dedicated to talking and dressing like a pirate. Oh, and cannons. No pirate festival would be complete without cannons. The gunner even let me fire a couple off.

We were also sure to hang a Pirate from the yardarm to show everyone what would happen should they choose to mess with us.

No proper Pirate Festival is complete without a giant inflatable Kraken. Luckily this was a proper Pirate Festival.

As the Purser onboard the Lynx I am responsible for the ship's store. This entails setting up display items of what we sell and sitting in the main saloon chatting with people and taking money should they decide to purchase something. This also means that I have a lot of knitting time. So far I have finished Sock 1 of the Christmas socks, the first sock and half of the second sock of the most recent sock club installment. Before I got on the boat I spent a lot of time thinking about what knitting to bring but I was secretly worried in the back of my mind that I wouldn't have much time to knit. Then I found out that my job entails me sitting sometimes for hours on end and what better way to fill your time? As if working on boats wasn't enough fun, I get to knit while I work.

Tomorrow is crew day off and I am lucky enough to have friends in town so I'll get to see them then we are heading back out the river stopping in St. Helens and Ilwaco again then down to San Francisco. By that time I should easily have my second Rocking Sock Club sock done ready to adorn my feet in the foggy San Francisco Bay.

I'm famous!

2007-09-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, I didn't until today so you're not alone, I'm famous! Well, sort of. I wrote an article for Knitty awhile back and it got printed. I'm so excited, I felt good about it but they actually liked it and printed it. I've already gotten emails from some people who have read it. This is like writing a paper in college but better.

I finished my first Love Lace anklet and I am still in love lace. I haven't started the second one because I've been busy starting my new job on the Privateer Lynx. I started Tuesday and this is the first chance I've had to get on the internet. Alas there is no picture of my new sock but it is all things lovely and wonderful in this world.

As I reenter the world of tallship sailing I find myself rediscovering unused muscles. I clamber about all day and at bedtime it is all I can do to clamber into my bunk. I also find myself in the unusual position of being the only girl on a boat full of boys. All the previous boats I've worked on have been predominantly women and now I am the sole outpost of the double X chromosome.

Thanks to those who have come because of my being famous and I hope you'll come again. Sadly as I have mentioned before I am working at a job that doesn't allow for constant internet access so posts will be even fewer and farther between, but hopefully laden with hair raising tales and lots of knitting.

Love Lace

2007-09-09T17:45:00.001-07:00

I don't know if gentiles can plotz, but I think I am.

Summer of Love Lace, the latest installment of the Rockin Sock Club.
At first I was dubious about anklets, but now I'm a little bit in Love Lace.

let there be Kaffe.

2007-09-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Undulating Rib Socks by Ann Budd in Favorite Socks from Interweave.

Yarn: The wonderful love child of Regia and Kaffe Fasset in the Landscape Earth colorway.

Needles: size 1 for the feet and size 2 for the legs.

Notes: I've never used Regia before but I quite enjoyed it. A little splitty, but otherwise a delightful sock yarn.
_

On the first sock I did the leg on size 1 needles and while I could get it over my heel it was a bit of a trial. I knit the second sock leg with size 2 needles and had no trouble getting it on. This forced me to suck it up and rip out the leg of the first sock and re-knit on size 2. This was the best decision and now I think I'll wear these socks all the time.
_

Going up in needle size meant I didn't have to do any tricky math to add more stitches or re-knit my heel flaps as well to add more stitches. I don't know if I would have thought of that if I hadn't already heard of the idea from smarter knitters than myself.

My notes weren't good enough to synchronize my undulations exactly but they are 'close enough for government work' as my mother says. I didn't necessarily want the color stripes to match so I told myself I would just knit from the beginning of the skein and be happy with what I got. Lo and behold I am.

Sweater Swatch Saga

2007-09-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have finally come to a sweater design for My Brother's Sweater. I've been working on this like crazy for the last couple weeks and I've finally made it. This whole process has sent me back to school and the agony of writing papers.

1. Go to the library. Check out a lot of books, especially from inter library loan (they come from further away and are thus better). Feel as though a lot of work has been done something has really been accomplished.

2. Wait a week or so. Page through a few books. Take some notes, always cite your sources.

3. Write something while secretly denying that it is a little bit crap and not quite what the teacher is asking for. Pretend loudly that it is really good and clearly everything the teacher could possibly want.

4. Suck it up and revise. A lot time went into the first permutation and it is so good there is no reason to give it all up. Secret denial of it's suckiness continues along with the loud proclamations of it's fabulousness.

5. Time is becoming an issue. If this paper isn't finished soon the teacher will be so disappointed and there won't be much point in getting up tomorrow. Much revision and effort have provided an abundance of material, more than could ever into any one paper. The final version is in there somewhere waiting patiently to get out. If only it would make an effort, all the work wouldn't have to come from this end.

6. Suck it up again. Write one more version and swear it will be the last, whether or not it's crap. Time is of the essence and there isn't a lot to spare.

7. Wish fervently that this was the final copy, but the time for secret denial is over. Merry Christmas anyone? Sense of pride and 'if you're going to take the time to do it take the time to do it right' kick in. Damn the man.

8. Rejoice in a successfully designed sweater. One that the recipient will happily wear, not just the first thing that came to mind. No secret denial here!

9. If the teacher doesn't like it he better have the good sense not to say anything.

I leave for work on the Lynx in 4 days and now I can take this sweater with me. Phew. My hope is to give it to my brother for Christmas, as he is expecting more for his birthday in 2009 or so it should be a good surprise. Now that it is all designed all I have to do is knit the damn thing. And design some ribbing. and... and...

Like sands through the hourglass

2007-09-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

The landscape is changing here at the Second Sleeve.

Firstly Christmas is coming and I've already done the whole bit where I wrap an unfinished project, needles and all, and tell the recipient she'll get it when she gets it. Last year I started nice and early and this year is no different. I also happen to be at a good place to start with Christmas, having almost nothing else on the needles. Since this is the internet and this blog is public I won't be posting what I'm making for Christmas. I will, however, put it all on Ravelry since you still need an invite to get in there and no one in my family has one.

Secondly I'm going back to work on boats. I'll be working on the Privateer Lynx and I'm super excited. A side effect of working on boats is less than regular and reliable connection to the outside world. I already don't post that often, but after September 12th it will become even less regular. This coupled with Christmas coming will likely change the content of yee olde cheshire blog. I've been thinking about how I post and what I write for awhile, so we'll see if I actually do anything about it.

And now a tantalizing glimpse at what Christmas holds for my family. This is all the yarn I need to make fabulous gifts for my entire family except one. I still haven't finalized what I'm making for one family member, but I am blessed with a small family and only need to worry about 7 people to encompass them all.

The Undulating Odyssey of My Brother's Sweater

2007-08-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Nothing has been finished this week Chez ChristineOlea, though much progress has been made on several different things.

Kaffe is Undulating along nicely. I have, however, reached a crossroads. The first sock is finished and the leg is just on the wrong side of too tight. I can get it on my foot, but not with ease. Do I knit the second one on a size larger needle and rip the first one back and do the same? Add a pattern repeat to the second one and rip the first one back and do the same? Or just carry on and only rarely wear socks that I would otherwise wear all the time because they don't quite fit. I think the only good answer is going to involve ripping back, taking time to do it right and all that. I may have to set them aside and let that idea steep for a bit.

The Odysseus Sweater has grown by leaps and bounds. The sleeves are all attached (both of them) and let me say that the second sleeve is not nearly as painful when the sleeves are only 4 inches long. Short Sleeves Huzzah! Using my new stitch dictionary courtesy of Babs Walker I added a little lace insert along the raglan seams and everything seems to be going nicely. I have to ask Penelope what sort of neckline she wants. The good part about finally reaching the yoke is that every couple of rows I decrease 8 stitches so it only gets shorter.

It looks a bit goofy on the needles but I think a good blocking and Penelope's delightfully zaftig figure will make this sweater work.

This actually is quite an attractive red, though like all reds it is difficult to capture on film. Especially with my lack of effort and care.

I've been swatching and swatching on My Brother's Sweater. By the time I actually start the sweater I'll have knit a sweater's worth of swatches. I thought I was finished and ready to cast on, but I don't think I am. The colors just aren't quite working, though another trip to the yarn store and a couple more swatches ought to remedy that. Then I can order yarn from various sources and actually start.

That and Ravelry has taken more time that it really should. The novelty should wear off soon but the knowledge that more people are joining weekly and adding their projects and such means that it is constantly new and changing with all sorts of wonderful things to look at.

Undulating Kaffe

2007-08-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Take 'one more row' multiply by 'one more color' sprinkle with rain and a mindless job. Steep for 2 shifts.

Kaffe Fasset is one of those designers that I've always liked but never had a desire to actually knit. I love that you can pick his designs out from across the room, I love the colors and textures, but I just don't have the desire to actually put any of his designs on my body. Then I heard about Mr. Fassett's affair with Regia. Finally something of Kaffe's design that I would actually wear. In my usual fashion I coveted the unborn Regia-Fassett children until I promptly forgot all about them.

Then, while trying to kill some time, I entered a Not-So-LYS in a search for something else entirely. My first stop in any yarn store is the sock yarn, conveniently located by the door in the particular store. I saw the Regia-Fasset children and I had to have some. The long list of projects waiting to be cast on didn't even enter my mind as I looked through the pamphlet (free with purchase) and decided which ones would be coming home with me. I picked Landscape Earth 4255 for me and Mirage Storm 4250 for someone for Christmas.

I've had my eye on the Undulating Rib pattern in Favorite Socks for awhile now and the perfect opportunity presented itself. Who was I to resist. Penelope and my Brother will just have to wait. I can already tell these will be consistently on the top of the pile.

Yet Another Lavender Sachet

2007-08-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

If I didn't already know the answer I would ask where the time went. I don't even feel guilty about it. I graduated more than two years ago and I still sometimes marvel that time not spent doing homework is all of my time now. My time on sites like ravelry is still time spent putting off other things, but the vaccuuming doesn't work on a deadline and won't grade me on my work.

Moving directly on to the point. Much of my non-ravelry time this week has, in fact, been spent knitting and I have a lot to show for it.

First off:

Yet Another Lavender Sachet!

Pattern: Cameo Lace from the Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker. (I like to think of her as Babs.)

Needles: Size 0

Yarn: Some Cotton off the cone from Weaving Works.

Since I started these I have cleaned out my mother, my brother and just this weekend my Aunt of all their lavender. When you look at lavender bushes they don't look like they have all that much lavender, but when you cut it and put it all in one place there is an astouding amount. As it stands now I should have enough lavender to make sachets for every drawer in the house, whether or not there is any wool contained therein.

Secondly:

The third installment of the best club in the world.

Pattern: Solstice Slip Socks by JC Briar

Needles: size 1

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Firebird.

Notes: Mine are toe-up with a fabulous picot bind-off, my very first picot edge. I've always wanted to do a picot edge and just never did, but I thought these socks were perfect for it. My picot doesn't lay flat so much as stick out totally flat, but it really just makes my socks look like their dancing all the time and I love it. All of my socks may have picots from now on.

Thirdly:

The Odysseus sweater has sleeves. I'm completely out of odyssey references, but the going is short from here on out. I just have to do a tiny bit of math to figure out my decreases and I'll be on my merry way. Penelope is already planning her next sweater but she'll have to go at the end of the line.

2007-08-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

That squelching you heard earlier today was me being sucked into Ravelry. I hauled out all the projects I have to hand, except hats which will come another day, photographed them and put them on my ravelry page. Whew. My bum's a little sore and I want my day back so I can do something more productive.

Don Quixote

2007-08-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Pattern: The Windmill from Barbara G. Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns

Yarn: Zephyr 50/50 wool/silk, Real Red. Off the cone from my favorite LYS

Needles: size 0

Notes: I knit this one flat and seemed it together. I got a little overzealous on my blocking and the yo holes are a little big; the lavender has a tendency to fall out. However, since it will just be sitting in a drawer I'm not too worried.

I still can't get enough of the spicy smell of Lavender, and I just got more laceweight off the cone so there are more of these to come!

Lavender Green

2007-08-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

Lavender Sachet

Yarn: Bollicine Sissi, 70/30 Kid Mohair/Polyamid

Needles: size 2

Pattern: Lace chart from A Gathering Of Lace. Its from a pair of socks at the end, the book is upstairs and I am downstairs. I did the 13st bold pattern.

Notes: This one has the pattern on both sides, no particular reason, I just figured since it wasn't a picture it wouldn't necessarily need to have the pattern on only one side. I did this in the round with a three needle bind off at the top. Then I filled it with lavender and sewed it shut. There is a good reason there isn't a close up of the seems, but since it's just going in a drawer anyway I'm not too fussed.

The yarn is a little to camoflauge-y to me, and it would certainly detract from a more intricate pattern. As it is I'm just testing things out. I used larger needles because the mohair really called for it. I'm not worried about the lace escaping through the yo holes, mostly because it is so fuzzy.

P.S.

2007-08-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

my Ravelry name is ChristineOlea. Come on by and say hello.

Ravelry

2007-07-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

The talk of the town recently has been Ravelry. I am a little ashamed to admit it, please no rotten tomatoes, but I've had my invite for over a month and I just signed in today for the first time. I didn't sign in earlier because all I heard was what a time-suck it was, and my oh my the truth of those that came before me. I had to cut myself off. The time-suck is all things good in the world, and at least more productive than the hours I spent playing Snood in college, but food must be eaten and showers taken despite the joy of Ravelry. Anyway, I'm excited about Ravelry and I'll definitely be using it in the future, I don't know if I'll muster the energy to bring it up to date with old projects though. For those still waiting, totally worth it, but make sure you eat and get sunlight occasionally.

Dilly Dilly

2007-07-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

Lavender Sachet

Pattern: Lace Chart from A Gathering Of Lace. It's one of the Pair of Pillows towards the end.

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Lace

Needles: size 0

Notes: I don't usually go for cats on things, I like moose better, but I thought this cat was actually pretty cute and if I made it in cotton candy pink it would up the gag-me factor just enough to make the perfect lavender sachet. This one is for a gift, but rest assured that I'll be making another one for myself.

Lavender Blue

2007-07-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago I harvested lavender (right after I spied a suspicious moth in the studio) from our 'garden' out back and now I need something to put it in. Enter the sachet.

Pattern: The lace chart is from the Magickal Earth Shawl from A Gathering of Lace. The rest is my own devising.

Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Sunlight Heater leftover from a shawl I knit awhile back.

Needles: Size 0

Notes: I knit the lace flat, then turned and knit the back onto the front. I blocked it, filled it with lavender from the garden, and grafted it shut. Doing this in the round would make much more sense and the sides wouldn't look nearly so wonky. As it was I was just trying something out and I'm very pleased with the results. I will definitely be making more with other bits of leftover lace weight. With the size 0 needles the yo holes are small enough that the lavender doesn't fall out.

In other news the Odysseus sweater is making some hefty progress. It's been awhile since 9th grade English and I'm out of Odyssey metaphors, in knitting mythology I'm at the bottom of the armholes, I just need to knit some sleeves and join them for a raglan top. Also think of something to make it all a little more interesting.

It's a still life watercolor

2007-07-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Syncopated Caps by Kate Gilbert from Interweave Knits Summer 2007.

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silkie Socks that Rock in Walking on the Wild Tide and Lovers Leap, 81% Merino Superwash 19% Silk.

Needles: size 2

Notes: I only changed a few minor things. Firstly I'm not much of one for skinny baby ribbing on hats, so I did a nice big lining and a hem. This makes for a neat edge and an extra layer of warmth right around the ears. This is the first hem I've ever done and while I always knew the principal it is exciting to see it actually work like everyone says it will. To make up for the lost length ribbing would have given me I added a pattern repeat, otherwise everything is as written.

The hat could still be just a hair longer, maybe if I'd added another row between each pattern repeat, but it doesn't need to a be whole repeat longer. It is also a little too tight at the top and a little too loose at the bottom. The whole thing could use a good blocking so that should take care of the top, I don't know about the bottom though. It would have been ideal if my lining was smaller and hugged my head more, alas hindsight is 20/20.

Other than that the pattern is easy to read and the decreasing cleverly fits into the pattern. I like when designers either hide the decreases or accent them in some way, you can't avoid them so you should own them. This one does in the just the right way.

I worked from both ends of the Wild Tide to break up the huge pooling problems I was having in my first incarnation. This worked quite well and I think the Wild Tide looks really good on this hat. It will be the perfect bright springy hat for the dead of winter when its damn cold out.

I've said it before...

2007-07-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

...and I'll say it again, Cat Bordhi is a genius, unrivaled in her time. She says you won't be able to get enough of these baskets in her book and she is 100% correct. I've made 4 and that just isn't enough. I'm not generally one for making projects multiple times but this one is so quick, easy and delightful that it is hard to resist. I want to have one for every step of my staircase, just like Cat does in the picture in her book. This one, however, is for a gift. I love gifts like this because people think you slaved hours and hours and did some very tricky knitting to make them this, when really it took a total of about 4 hours and I can't get enough of this basket anyway.

Pattern: Moebius Basket from the Second Treasury Of Magical Knitting by Cat Bordhi.

Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool for the base and bits of random leftovers for the handle. All held double. _

Needles: size 13
_
You may have noticed that one side has a row of brown at the top and the other has a row of purple. This was completely intentional. (read: I ran out of brown halfway through a row and switched to purple.) I do like how it looks though, adds just a little interest to an already fabulous pattern.
_
The handle is also a little longer than it really should be, but that's because the yarns felted at different rates. I do all my felting by hand and I simply couldn't stand over a bucket of hot water on a hot day churning a plunger anymore. The size of the handle doesn't really detract any, and you would only notice if you compared to the basket already on your desk.
_
Because everyone loves a before and after shot:

2007-07-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

So I've got this brother. He actually came first so I suppose it's more accurate to say he's got me. At any rate, his birthday was last month, the day before his wedding to be exact. Since there was all kinds of wedding stuff going on I didn't get a chance to make him anything for his birthday and I didn't want to just buy him something off their registry and call it a birthday gift. Instead I wrote him a card saying I would make anything he wanted for his birthday, hat, gloves, a sweater if he would wear it, etc. I have told my whole family I will make them sweaters if I thought they would wear them, most of them concede that they would not, in fact, wear a fabulous handknit sweater. My brother, much to my dismay (and secret pleasure) does not fall into this category.

He comes up to me the other day and says he's been thinking about what he wants me to make him, and he will wear a pullover sweater. Maybe Norwegian, or perhaps like the one I made myself last winter.

Now I love my sweater and I wear it all the time. My brother and I, however, are different people. Our entire childhood together and the boy only wore blue, generally navy blue. It is his fault that I don't like the color blue to this day. Navy Blue Boy says to me he wants a sweater like mine.

My jaw almost hit the floor. I stipulated in my offer that I wouldn't knit him anything blue, but I thought for sure he would choose something plain and dark red instead. Maybe a hat, perhaps another pair of socks. Never did I imagine that my brother who so religiously wore Navy blue until well after he moved out of the house would want a Fair Isle sweater like mine. I told him he can't have my sweater, but I will knit him a sweater similar to mine. I'm sure I will live to regret this offer, mostly because my brother is 6'3" and all his height is in his torso.

I'm still coming to terms with the fact that my brother, Patron Saint of Navy Blue, wants a brightly colored Fair Isle sweater, but I did say I would make him whatever he wanted for his birthday. Then he has the gall to say that the socks I made him for Christmas are a little too brown.

I made him faux Fair Isle socks using this in cocoa, and knit picks simple stripes in the Crayon colorway (apparently this has been discontinued). I was all worried he wouldn't wear them because they had too many colors and he thinks they are too brown. When did my brother shed the navy blue and realize there are others colors in the world? The upside is that if my brother, Grand Poomba of the Sacred Order of Navy Blue, can think the socks I made him are a little too brown there truly is a chance for world peace.

bah bah black sheep

2007-06-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

There's this store in Seattle called the Weaving Works. It is an exceedingly good store and anyone who hasn't been really should go. I drive many many miles out of my way to get there its so good. Anyway, aside from just yarn they have roving and cones for spinning and weaving. These items take up a good third of the store and while I always knew they were there I always thought of them as things for spinning or weaving. Not so my friends, there is no rule that say you have to be a weaver to buy yarn off the cone. The beauty of this is that you can buy just a little bit of yarn, say $0.42 worth any have more than enough to knit a swatch and see if you like the yarn and how it works. Buying off the cone also means you can buy small amounts of many colors and create whole projects, providing morre money for future projects and less leftover yarn in colors you don't really like because the project was a gift for someone else. Today I bought some linen and some cotton/linen blend. I spent about $5 on the whole lot and have three different yarns to try. The downside is that I have now begun to discover the glory of yarn on the cone and will have to amp up my efforts to find a wealthy husband/sugar daddy/benefactor so that I don't have to work and can spend all my time knitting.

Am I the only one that sometimes finds yarn stores depressing? I go in with nothing in particular in mind and a recently deposited paycheck sitting in the bank. Then, on every wall I find yarn I want to buy for a million different projects. Then I think about all the yarn I have at home and the unfinished projects and I get depressed that I simply don't have enough time to do all the things I want to do. This really only happens when I go to the yarn store without a clear project in mind, but it sometimes hits when I am mid-project on a few things and with I could just finish them now and start something else. It is for this reason that I am not much of a stasher, I actually find it depressing to see all that yarn sitting there unused, just waiting; it bogs me down with all its expectations of glory and a life outside the stash. I am a blend of a process and product knitter, so while I enjoy the process I also want the product, which means I find it hard to start a project and just leave it unfinished. I have one such sweater now, a Dale of Norway sweater, that I love and desperately want to wear. I just have to be bothered to finish it. Then when I do I can go get some of those fabulous Norwegian clasps I saw today that reminded me of my unfinished sweater and how much I want to finish it so I can get those clasps so I can wear it. Bah. It's bogging me down, but then I have so much else I want to start, finish and wear.

Truly a horrible disease, to not go into and come out of a yarn store in a good, woolly mood. At least I'll get to try this whole linen thing and see if it's for me. I also got the Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting by Marianne Kinzel that has a fabulous doily on the front. Luckily I now know that I can just get the yarn for any project in the book off the cone. Or in one humongous hank of alpaca or other delightful lace weight. A whole new world of yarn opened up and not enough time in the day to do it all.

One more time with feeling

2007-06-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

I've gone back to the colors I started with, and I think its going to work. I'm going to knit from both end of the Wild Tide in an effort to break up the pooling, we'll see if its more work than its worth. This time, though, I did a swatch. I then blocked the swatch and spent a long time looking at it. I set it up so I would see it when I walked in the room. I went away for the weekend and thought about it. I didn't actually obsess that much about a hat, but I do like the swatch, so hopefully I'll like the hat.

2007-06-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

The hat didn't make it through the night, it was just too ugly. Cause of death was stated as lack of brightness. The orange needs to be more orange peel and less orange sherbet. A swatch with red replacing the orange has been made, but the void caused by a lost project cannot simply be filled. The grieving process must be observed.

bah

2007-06-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

So I have this yarn.

Specifically Walking on the Wild Tide and Sunstone in Silkie Socks that Rock from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

I was so excited to make the Syncopated Cap from the newest Interweave with this yarn. I love how the orange goes with the bold colors of the Wilde Tide. I could stare at my two lovely cakes of yarn sitting next to each other and it would never get old.

Enter the problem. They look pretty terrible all knitted together. Really terrible.

Enter the options. I can carry on, and hate the hat and never wear it. I can rip it out and try knitting with both ends of the wild tide switching every row, or I can use the wild tide with the red I originally bought to go with it. I am leaning towards using both ends of Wild Tide, mostly because this means I don't have to rip out my lining and neat hem. The hat lives another day.

In the meantime I will anxiously await the arrival of my next sock club installment.

New Kitchen = New Potholders

2007-06-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

So my mother has this new kitchen. After 30+ years of living in the same house my parents have come to terms with the fact that they aren't moving. Thus they are remodelling. The short of the (very very) long is that the kitchen is finally finished.

When you get a new kitchen many things carry over. It would be silly to buy all new dishes and silverware etc. when the stuff you have is perfectly suitable for your new kitchen. However, there are some things that simply should not ever set foot in the new kitchen, ever. These include my mother's old potholders. I don't have a picture, but they were bad, and pretty old.

I was the self-elected one to make these potholders. Really I was looking for something quick, easy and fun. Instant knitting gratification. Let me say, instant knitting gratification is exactly what I got. I think it took me 2 or 3 evenings to knit them, and one short session to felt them. Voila, new potholders, some stash yarn used, finishing a project, and, best of all, being able to give my mother new potholders the morning of a big family party in the new house.

Ask me how hard it was to find yarn that would match the general color scheme of the kitchen and the house in my mother's yarn stash. Well the answer is not hard at all, I didn't even use all the yarn I found that would have worked.

ps-

2007-06-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that I did a star toe, not the one written in the pattern. I liked how the star toe added yet another swirl to my swirly girly socks.

More Work Socks

2007-06-18T12:57:00.001-07:00

What is swirly, and girly, and so full of goodness it keeps your feet warm? My new pair of socks!

Pattern: Spiral Book Socks by Véronik Avery from Interweave Knits Summer 2007

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, Lightweight, Spot Rock One

Needles: size 1

Notes: The pattern is actually for socks that come up to the knee, but I didn't have enough yarn for that, nor did I want socks that high. I started with 72 stitches (conveniently the number I was aiming for and a multiple of both 6 and 8) and did the top of the sock as written then leapt into the ankle pattern, skipping the patterns for calf and leg. I also did the heel flap over fewer stitches and the sole over two fewer stitches than called for in an effort to have enough yarn to finish. Finish I did with 6 grams left over. This pattern eats more yarn than your average sock so beware.

I did a cable cast on instead of my usual knit cast on and I think I may be a convert. My usual knit cast on is stretchy enough for the top of a sock but it always leaves the first row looking a little wonky and loose. The cable cast on, however, is stretchy enough for the top of a sock but is clean and refined and everything the knit cast on is not.

I love how the stitches spiral one way and the colors spiral the other way. I briefly debated making mirror image socks and having one spiral to the left, but in order to get the spiral you have to shift one stitch over your needles every other row. This is not difficult when you start knitting with a new needle before the old one is finished, but it is very tedious when you want to shift the stitch the other way so I gave up on that idea.

The best part about these socks is that I drive by them every day on the way home from work. I don't have a picture because it is beside a freeway, but there are a couple hills on my way home that are nature's equivalent of these socks. All the same colors exactly, it's almost freaky.

And the winner is...

2007-06-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

In the race to finish the back of my third and final wedding pillow before the yarn I won, but only by 4 grams.

So here they are in finished glory:

Pattern: Florentine Pillow by Lisa B. Evans from Interweave Knits Spring 2007

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, 85% wool 15% mohair, chocolate souffle, 3 skeins

ggh soft kid, 70% super kid mohair 25% nylon 5% new wool, red blue orange, 2 balls each, held double

Needles: size 9

Notes: I did the pattern basically as written, except for the yarn. I don't know why I didn't do the whole thing in mohair, but for some reason I thought this would be a bad idea. As it is I enjoy the big block of mohair in the middle, nice and soft compared to the Lamb's Pride. I worked the big blocks of color in intarsia and duplicate stitched the filigree on later.

I had to block all the parts of this project very severely to get them to the 16" square that the pattern calls for. I could have probably used a 14"x14" pillow and not have the somewhat overstretched look I have. As it is though I think most of my problems with these pillows are ones that only I notice as their creator. My brother and his fiancee will probably not notice any of the things I do.

If I were to do these again I would either use a larger gauge yarn or not block as severely, I had to cover the pillow forms with dark brown fabric to keep the white from showing through. This was my first time knitting with mohair in any real amount and I was a bit nervous about how it would go. I don't know why, but sometimes you just get ideas in your head. Anyway, I have since worked with mohair more and I am kind of in love. I want to make everything mohair and only knit things with a lovely mohair halo making it warm and fuzzy.

My favorite is the one with the red border, followed by the orange border with the blue border coming in last. I started with the red border, and then when I realized I would have enough yarn to make three I rotated all the colors through. I think the problem with the blue border is that there isn't enough contrast within the pillow itself, the red and orange blend together and the blue diamond sticks out. Alas, what can you do and still preserve the color rotation?

2007-06-11T23:12:00.001-07:00

Today at work instead of working on the second of my swirly girly socks I read The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. I didn't finish, but I'm over half way and so far its pretty damn good. The only part I can truly relate to is the knitting, as it is about a woman who lost her child and seeks solace in knitting, but I'm still totally engrossed. Not an upper, but not as much of a downer as one might imagine. So far I would recommend it.

Swirly Girly Goodness

2007-06-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Random Things

2007-06-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

As I have nothing to say about knitting today (only very boring wedding knitting happening) I am going to hijack another meme and tell 7 random things about me.

1. I mistype my name about 40% of the time, by now it is muscle memory to mistype my name. In my defense my name is 17 letters long, which is a lot.

2. I had never purchased black clothing for anything other than a band or orchestra concert until last year. The only times in my whole life that I have worn all black was for a band or orchestra concert of some sort. On occasion I put on all black, look at it and change something.

3. I am something of a professional seasonal employee. Since graduation I have not had a job that lasted more than 5 months and I have not lived in a single place more than 5 months. Except for right now, I am on month 2 of a seasonal job, but month 7 of living in the same spot. There is no moss under my feet.

4. I play the bassoon and I recommend that everyone force their child to play some sort of instrument at least through high school; the rarer the instrument the better. I got a lot of money to go to school and play the bassoon, but I firmly believe that if I played the flute I wouldn't have gotten any money, or not nearly as much.

5. Once in the summer between 5th and 6th grade I rode my bike from Seattle to Portland. There is this annual bike ride called the STP (Seattle To Portland) and my family was really big on bike riding so I rode my bike from the King Dome to somewhere in downtown Portland. It took two days. There were lots of people passing me on the second day that had little blue stickers on their numbers indicating that they were doing it in one day.

6. When I rule the world there will not be mandatory military service, but there will be 2 years of mandatory customer service. Before the age of 30 or so every last person will be required to spend two years waiting tables, serving coffee, or answering phones. I firmly believe that this will lead to politer people and less useless complaining and outright rudness.

7. I hate bobbles. I have only done one project with bobbles and the only texture in the entire thing was bobbles, it was allover bobbles. Thus the bobbles lost their horrible bobble-ness. I don't mind the making of the bobbles, I actually kind of love it, I just really hate the look of bobbles.

Time Flies

2007-06-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

Something is wrong with our computer at home (I'm at the library right now) and the internet isn't working, which is why I haven't posted in a long time. I did however add pictures of my second first yarn and singles.

The Odysseus sweater continues. We are currently chilling out with the Lotus Eaters, not a lot of progress, but no regress either. Penelope is waiting patiently (ha) and has hopes of Odysseus making it home before the big family wedding in 2 weeks. Penelope has been informed that her hopes are mostly in vain, but she shouldn't give in and marry any of her suitors yet.

I've finished the front and back of the wedding gift pillows. I was pretty sure I was going to have enough brown yarn, but not positive. I finished the front and things looked okay, but not terribly hopeful. I cast on for the back thinking there wasn't much for it either way and carried on. As I neared the end of the skein, and counted rows constantly I got more worried. In time honored tradition I knit faster in a desparate attempt to beat the yarn to the end, and luckily this time I won. I even have enough to seam the thing together with some to spare. Turns out I had nothing to worry about the whole time.

Cranky Pants

2007-05-30T16:58:00.001-07:00

Blogger and my computer are not getting on right now, there were words and I was came in too late to salvage the relationship. Thus there are no pictures. Rather there are pictures, they are even on the computer but blogger will have nothing to do with them. A counselor is coming tomorrow and I hope she can at least rectify the situation enough that blogger will let my computer give it some pictures.

The moral of the story is that I finished yet another sock over the weekend at work (I am loving this job more and more every day) and I thought it was a little on the big side, but didn't worry about it too much. Turns out it is exactly three grams too big, and since that three grams is in the leg I have to rip back the entire foot and part of the leg and have another go at it. I am reminded why I love toe-up socks so very much at times like this. The problem is I did a lot of top-down socks with great success and got all cocky; the fates have thrown it all back in my face. The upside is that while the sock technically fits it is quite large, the leg is too long, the foot could have fewer stitches and the heel flap is funny. I'm thinking of the current permutation as a the dress rehearsal. Now I know what needs to happen, I can put on my concert black and finish the thing the way it ought to be done.

Strike the bell Mate

2007-05-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

I have officially re-joined the ranks of Those-Who-Make-Yarn. I learned to spin years ago from the mother of my dear friend. I span (spun?), plied, made a hat and never looked back, or really anywhere for that matter. I wear the hat all the time and always told myself that my lack of spinning was from lack of supplies which stemmed from lack of space; and for the most part that was all true. Thus I have taken up the spindle (still no room for a wheel and my transient lifestyle doesn't really suit a wheel anyway). And now I once again have my first yarn.

It's not very much, but it is my yarn and that is good enough for me. It will sit in a place of honor and glory in the studio at least as long as it takes something better to come along.

And my first singles made from Blue Face Leicester roving I got at Madrona. Admittedly I don't have much to compare to but what everyone says about the BFL is completely true. Soft and lovely and all things good in the world. I've heard, and it seems to be true, that it is a good fiber to learn on.

Yes those are knitting needles but they were free and fancy dancy noste pinnes are not; again with the budget. Besides there's a picture in The Bible of exactly the same thing. If Priscilla can do it so can I!

(will add pictures when blogger is done being cranky.)

When it rains it pours.

2007-05-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

With the completion of my last socks I only had one project on the needles, the Koigu Sweater that I refer to in my head as the Odysseus Sweater (The Odyssey is epic, this is epic, it made sense at the time). Thus in a panic I started a bunch of stuff including a made-up project that may or may not work, and the third installment of some pillows I am making for my brother and his fiancee as a wedding gift.

I made two a few months ago when I was all worried that I wouldn't finish in time. This was when I thought I might make something heirloomy and lacy, then I got more realistic. What newlywed couple honestly wants a useless, though beautiful, lace shawl? So here we are now with a month to go and it is time to finish the last one.

I held off on intarsia for a long time because I thought I wouldn't like it. I was all about the Fair Isle and felt that Fair Isle was by far superior to intarsia and would be the only colorwork technique for me. This is probably because the only intarsia I had really seen was great big stupid cats on the front of great big stupid sweaters. No one should have to wear that and no one should ever make that. Thus it was Fair Isle for me. These pillows though were so pretty and, let's be honest, I didn't have any other brilliant ideas for wedding gifts. Bride a Groom socks, no thank you.

Now I am in love. I love dropping one color and knowing it will be right where I left it, waiting for me when I come back. I love wrapping the new color around the old and most of all I love seeing one block of color and knowing it has two different sides. Intarsia is like playing on a team alone and I might just be addicted.

I see, said the blind man...

2007-05-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Tina,

I love my new socks very much, your yarn is representative of all things good in the world. However, as much as my feet appreciate the warmth these socks will provide, my eyes say otherwise. I would, at your earliest convenience, very much like my vision back. The only way I can find my feet nowadays is by waving them in front of my eyes and looking for the red glow they emit while wearing these socks. It was only through sheer willpower and muscle memory that I managed to get through the last half of the second sock. Let's not mention the kitchener at the end, I'm not sure, but it's probably not pretty.

I'll make a deal with you Tina, but only because I like you so much. If you give me back my vision I'll forget about the broken camera lens. Get back to me when you get a chance and we'll talk details.

Yours sincerely,
Christine

yarn: BMFA STR Lightweight, this was a Mill End, but I'm pretty sure it's basically Sherbet. (I don't know why this is a mill end, if there are any knots they are in the last 11 grams, which seems unlikely.) I enjoyed the color, but it is not for the faint of heart, quite delightfully bright as it is.
needles: size 2 (I debated going down a size but I loved the spiral beyond words, so I kept it.)
pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. from Knitty.
notes: I did a short row heel because I loved the spiral action going on and I didn't want to interrupt it. The best part? somehow my heel and gauge and the planets all lined up such that there isn't a restarting of the spiral after the heel. I didn't have to shift the yarn or anything (I wouldn't have anyway, but it's pretty cool that I didn't have to not shift the yarn).

Spinning

2007-05-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired recently by all the spinning going on. All I've done since I took a class is finish up the little bit of fiber we got in class. I just haven't been bothered to get out that fiber I bought awhile ago to spin once I learned how when this morning on the radio they did a whole segment about classical songs inspired by the spinning wheel. They had a lot of really good ones, one from the Flying Dutchman (which I'm going to in August) and that did it. Tomorrow the spindle comes back out along with that fiber. Judgement made.

P.S.

2007-05-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

I have 36 grams of tofutsies left, and each sock only weighs about 30g. By my reckoning you could easily knit 3 pair of socks from 2 balls of tofutsies.

Monkey See, Monkey Do.

2007-05-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

A full 5 days after I started, I'm finished.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. from Knitty.

Yarn: South West Trading Company's Tofutsies. 50% wool, 25% soysilk, 22.5% cotton, 2.5% chitin.
Needles: size 2. I do everything on two circular needles. I haven't used dpns for about 4 years, and I've only been knitting for 5.
Notes: This pattern is great, easily memorized and very quick. It's a great pattern to show off handpainted and self striping yarns. On that note, this yarn and this pattern weren't necessarily made for each other. Only half the plies change colors, the other half stay the same throughout the entire ball. This makes for a tweedy look that I love, but does mar the pattern. The short of the long is that you have to get close up to really appreciate the pattern. Though, the sheer joy of knitting the pattern makes up for that.

Tofutsies makes a great drapy fabric, lovely and soft and all things good in the world. These are going to the be perfect warm weather socks, lightweight and not so much wool that they are too warm. My feet are loving them as we speak.

Let's enjoy the gusset. Ever since camp I've had almost perfect gussets. I even manage to get both sides to look the same. All you do is pick up all the stitches before knitting them, and make sure you twist them when you do knit them. On one side you pick up front to back and on the other back to front.

The only problem is that with this gauge the fabric on the bottom of the heel is doing that weird separating thing where the stitches get all stretched out. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Dilemma

2007-05-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

I ordered this yarn to make the Syncopated Cap from the new Interweave knits and it came yesterday. I was all excited about my color choices:

Then I saw this on my desk and I realized that I was all wrong and orange is really the color to go with Walking on the Wild Tide.

The question is not really whether or not to order more yarn, the question is whether or not I can justify it, and wait for it to arrive. I really want to make that hat.

In other news. I'm almost done with my second tofutsie Monkey sock, and I've already decided what my next pair will be made of:

This is a Socks that Rock Mill End I got at Camp Cockamamie, and I'm pretty certain it's basically the Sherbet colorway. I chose this one because I was all hopped up on expanding my color choices and I think the brilliant rays of color emanating from this did more than temporarily blind me. This is the brightest yarn I've ever owned and I'm really excited for my flourescent Monkey socks, here's hoping its not the last project I ever make.

Working Girl

2007-05-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

So I got this job. I'm something of a professional seasonal employee, so I get a job about every 5 months, and this season it's on Lake Washington. Here's the view from my 'office':

I work at a fuel dock, basically a gas station for boats. The best part of this job is that I basically get paid to knit, at least while the weather is sort of crappy and business is slow. Thus, after working only 14 hours between Saturday and Sunday I have accomplished much.

Pattern: Flame Wave Socks by Ann Budd from Favorite Socks by Interweave Press. I made them basically as written.

Yarn: Cascade Fixation 98% Cotton, 2% elastic - 2 balls.

Needles: Sizes 4 and 5.

Notes: I was dubious about this yarn before I started working with it because of it's stretchiness. However, I found that I quickly settled into a not-to-tight, not-to-loose gauge and was on my merry way.
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If it looks like one sock is longer in the leg than the other that's because it is. This yarn is a perfect example of why you should knit both socks at or near the same time. I knit one back in March before the first shipment of the Rockin' Sock Club arrived, then I got sidetracked and just finished the second one this weekend. The second sock is a full 6 grams lighter than the first, though I did the same number of repeats etc. This yarn in particular is easy to get a different gauge at different times without doing anything in particular differently.
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I love the pattern, I think it is perfect for the indistinct stitches you get with the Fixation and I think it would be ideal to spice up a self-striping or handpainted yarn. The pattern is easily memorized and you're off. In the future I will alter the needle size, and not start with a bigger needle, but other than that I like it as is.
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Then there's the true fruit of my labor. I merely finished the toe on the Flame Wave socks on Saturday, then I found myself without anything to while away the long hours until the shift change. Luckily I had brought the yarn for this:

Started on Saturday and finished on Sunday, all while getting paid, this is the best job ever. It's a Monkey sock by Cookie A. I've finally jumped on the bandwagon, though I still haven't made a pair of Jaywalkers, so some solidarity remains (at least until I finish the mate). Mine are out of the new Tofutsies from South West Trading Co.
_
I can't get enough of this yarn. I had read about it's splittiness and was a little worried, but I didn't have any more trouble with this yarn than I do with any other yarn. These are going to be the perfect warm weather socks. They are lighweight, and thin and super-duper soft. I want more than anything to have the second one done right now so I can wear them. The pattern is also a very quick knit, and as with all of Cookie A's things well written and easy to follow. The woman is a genius.

2007-05-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

About 2 years ago my Aunt put in a special order or something of the sort for 13 hanks of koigu at her LYS. That's right, 13 hanks. This was long before I knew anything about the wonders of koigu or really about the internet knitting community. About 7 months ago that koigu finally came in and was presented to me with a pattern to use as an idea. Now that I have no other excuses, Christmas, weddings etc, I have hunkered down to knit the t-shirt type top that has been commissioned of me by my Aunt. I'm thinking a plain jane with a few interesting details. I don't know what those details will be, but hopefully I will when I come to them.

So this afternoon I cast on 296 stitches, a number I got using Elizabeth's Percentage System and my trusty gauge swatch. I happen to be one of those rare knitters who sort of loves the gauge swatch, but with something like this you really can't do anything without it. I've not yet used the EPS, so I'm interested to see how it goes.

Whenever I have to cast on massive amounts of stitches I put a marker every 50 stitches or so as I cast on. This way I only have to keep track of 50 stitches at at time, not 296.

Usually when I do hundreds of stitches at a time I do a knitted cast on, that way I don't have to worry about my tail being too short. This time, however, I did a long tail cast on for a k2 p2 rib. Basically you do the regular long-tail cast on for 2 stitches, then do it backwords for 2 stitches, this aligns the cast on for ribbing. Very clever, of course taken from Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I only had to do two tries, but I certainly cut it close:

Grasshopping!

2007-05-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, I'm done.

Pattern: Knee High to a Grasshopper by Chrissy Gardiner. I did the grasshopper size.

Yarn: Silkie Socks that Rock in Walking on the Wild Tide. The latest installment of my Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club.

Needles: Size 2 for the toe, sole, and heel, size 1 for all the lacy bits and the ribbing at the top.

Alterations: I didn't make very many significant alterations. I used Judy's Magic Cast On from Knitty, and Dumbledore himself would be proud of this cast on. I reccommend it to everyone for toe-up socks or anything resembling toe-up socks.
I added a 'design feature' on the toe as well by not knitting the extra four rows after reaching the right number of stitches. Some people on the Rockin' Sock Club blog have been worried about the lacy part rubbing up against toes, and if I had had more forethought or had read the pattern closer I probably wouldn't have this problem. We'll see if it turns out to actually be a problem.
I only did one set of increases, which I probably could have done without, because I was worried about the socks being too big. So far they are staying up just fine, but we'll see.
I also kept the twisted stitch seem all the way through the ribbing. I can't get enough of that seam, I love it and definitely think it makes these silky socks even sexier.

This silkie sock yarn though, holy cow my life is complete. I ordered some in the Titania colorway to make the Titania pattern, but with silk, thus making it even better. And don't get me started on this colorway. I love it. While I don't think I would have picked this one, I do think that I would have looked at it, admired it, thought about it, and then chosen something I liked just a little bit more. Yet another reason to join this club, I have colors and yarns forced upon me; this is good for me and my olive drab tendencies.

6 things

2007-05-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw that '6 weird things about me' meme going around I wished I had a blog so I could broadcast to the world what is weird about me. Well now I have a blog, and I'm sure I'm going against some meme/blog etiquette here by not being tagged, but I'm going to tell you 6 weird things about me anyway.

1. I hate to say "Good morning." Hate it. Absolutely hate it. My hatred of saying good morning extends beyond my non-morning person morning grumpiness. Even after I've had breakfast and gotten dressed and I'm all awake I still hate to say good morning; I generally smile vaguely or say a quiet "Hello." There is no real reason for this and it is nothing personal.

2. My cat is generally uninterested in my knitting. This one isn't about me so much, but it is a bit weird. I have never once seen him even the slightest bit interested in anything being blocked on the floor, or drying on the rack, or even sitting around the house. As a result most of my knitting has very little cat hair adornment.

3. It wasn't until I read Stephanie Pearl McPhee's book, At Knits End, that I came across the idea of getting self striping socks to match. I never would have thought of it on my own, I just revel in the glory of almost matching socks; it didn't occur to me that this was a problem that needed fixing. I think this comes from my childhood spent wearing mis-matching socks and loving it; a new color with every step.

4. Everyone has their weird hang-ups, food or otherwise. Mine is floating bits of food in the dishwater; the idea of putting my hand in a sink full of water and floating bits of food and such to reach down and pull the drain is beyond repulsive. I will do many things to avoid this, and have become quite good at pulling the drain with a butter knife. To this end I avoid doing dishes, or do them quite wastefully with running water. (I am, however, very conservative in other water related aspects of my life.) Also brussel sprouts make me gag, I actually gag when presented with brussel sprouts.

5. I can't roll my tongue. I know this is hereditary, but my whole family can do it. They keep telling me I am who I think I am, but I think the evidence points to my being the last outpost of a dying Royal family somewhere on the verge of discovery and inheritance. I also cannot raise one eyebrow at a time.

6. When I was little (before I can remember consistently) the rule was that I had to sleep in my room. My parents weren't specific about where, jut in my room. About 4 nights out of the week my parents would find me sleeping in the doorway with my head in the hall, but the rest of me in my room. My room and hallway had two different colored carpets, so it was easy to tell where one ended and the other started. This went on for months and months. I couldn't tell you what I was thinking, sleeping on the carpet over a nice comfy bed, but who can really explain the actions of children?

2007-05-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

I may have just ordered this and this to make one of these hats. Be still my heart.

...and the little one said...

2007-05-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Finished my purse strap the other day and I have deemed it a success.

Before:

See the funny ridges? That's what you get when you make i-cord with the purl side out and felt it.

And with my new strap:

Yarn: Remnants of Jamieson and Smith and Rowan Harris Tweed. In a fit of cleverness I didn't weigh any of my bits of yarn before I used them, so I don't know how much exactly, but I would say 3-7 grams of each, depending on how prominent the color is.

Pattern: My own, tweaked from one of the ones in Inkle Weaving by Helene Bress.

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Notes: I was hoping to have a strap about 1 1/2 inches wide, mine is 1 inch. My colors don't quite match my bag as well as I would like, but close enough for government work, the new strap definitely adds a level of pizazz that was missing before. The colors also don't have enough contrast. I should have mixed them up differently and put dark next to light, instead of light next to light etc.
_
There was also the strange phenomena of the stretch in the yarn. This yarn is so perfect for Fair Isle sweaters and such because if you have some puckering or your sweater comes out a little small you can get it wet and stretch it all into shape. You can get inches out of a Fair Isle sweater just by blocking it when wet. Anyway, typically when weaving on the inkle loom the warp sort of gets 'taken up' and you have to slide the tensioner arm in from time to time; the end result is actually shorter than the original warp. I never once had to give the warp some slack in this project. While there isn't any discernible difference between the beggining and the end of the piece this is still very strange and I wonder if it would have more effect on a longer project.
_
However, this was only a two evening enterprise and I learned/remembered a lot. This 'sticky' yarn is not ideal for inkle weaving, and a wider band probably would have been too much effort for the end result. I also have a much better idea of how colors will work together in the future and I'm oh so much closer to being able to produce an end result that is both predictable and what I want. Overall I feel very successful and I'm not ashamed to use this bag with this strap as my everyday purse, and thats all that counts, really.
_

And in other news, a trip to the hardware store today warranted this:

Inkle Weaving

2007-05-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

So I have this purse. I like everything about it except the strap. The strap is regular old i-cord, except that in a moment of genius I made the i-cord purl side facing out. I think I did this because I made the bag purl side out so I thought the i-cord should match. What I ended up with was a ridiculous strap with all these ridges in it that I hate. The strap is also too skinny, it is time for a new strap. Enter the Inkle Loom.

Inkle weaving is something that dates back to my childhood (really it dates back to something like the 17th century, but who's counting?). Every other summer my family and I would spend a week at an old mining camp in the Cascades that the Lutheran Church owns called Holden Village. It's a pretty crunchy place and several trips in a row I took a class and made something on the inkle loom. The nature of the loom limits you to strips about 3" wide or less, so really I made belts and funny hair bands. The point of it all is that at an early age I learned this skill and sort of got it into my head that you can only make basically useless things in garish colors on the inkle loom. This was further cemented when I worked at a summer camp a few years ago and they did inkle weaving with a selection of primary colors (think the small box of crayola crayons). Don't get me wrong, I love primary colors, but if that's all you have it can seem a bit limiting. Not to mention that basically the only book on the subject was written in the 70s, with some delightful color photos.

Despite my inkle upbringing I've had it in the back of my mind for some time that the inkle loom would be a good way to make purse straps. I guess I just never really did it, until a couple days ago. Since I don't have cones and cones of cotton on hand (the only stuff I've ever used on an inkle loom) I dove in with what I do have that matches my purse: a lot of leftover Jamieson and Smith and Rowan Harris Tweed (now Rowan Scottish Tweed) from various Fair Isle ventures. I also went to a LYS and bought some Jamieson and Smith off a cone for on $2.20 an ounce. Let me tell you, if you want to experiment and don't want to invest a lot of money, buying yarn off the cone is the way to go. Then I set to designing, I tweaked a design in the book slightly and set to warping. In all my cleverness I didn't take any pictures during the warping, but you basically wrap one strand at a time and either put it through a heddle or make it open depending on the pattern. When you are done with one color you break it and tie on the next using a square knot.

Thus you are able to go from this:

To this:

Then you weave. This is pretty easy, you *push the warp up to create a shed, beat your shuttle down and pull through, push the warp down to create another shed, beat your shuttle down and pull through, repeat from *. This simultaneously creates a warp facing fabric and exhausts my knowledge of weaving. There is a very good tutorial here for those interested.

Push warp up, beat shuttle down and pull through

Push warp down, beat shuttle down and pull through.

My first few rows always look a look a little wonky, but that sorts it out soon enough.

Soon you have the beginning of a new purse strap.

When your weaving gets to where you can't make a shed anymore you simply pull the warp around until you have plenty of empty warp and your woven material has moved around through the loom. This tutorial is significantly better than the one I just gave and if you are interested in more detail you really should go there.

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I quickly learned why cotton is the medium of choice for inkle weaving teachers (or the ones I had anyway), it is a strong slippery yarn. Every time you push your warp up or down half the strands pass through the other half, so sticky yarns (like Jamieson and Smith) that are so good for Fair Isle because they felt easily and the ends don't slip out on steeks and such, are not so good for weaving of this sort. I seem to be managing okay for this project, but for my next one I think I'll try some smoother yarn, and maybe a little more contrast between colors. Did you see all three shades of purple in there? Yeah, me neither.

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My loom is a Schacht Inkle Loom. I don't know where I got it and I honestly couldn't pin down a year of purchase if I wanted to, but I would venture to say it's been around my house for 10 years or so.

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Anyone interested in trying weaving but doesn't have room for a huge loom should try this, while you are limited on size it is a great way to explore weaving and all it's possibilities. I have to admit that while I enjoy knitting immensely I have never really thought of it as theraputic, maybe because I am generally not a stressful person. Weaving though, what zen! I didn't think I was terribly tensed or stressed out or anything unusual when I started weaving this, but man, a few passes of my shuttle and I felt very calm and zen and like I could go on forever. I may have to pull out that lap loom I have hiding in the back of the closet somewhere. (Why all the looms you ask? Very supportive parents who also enjoy some fiber arts.)

2007-04-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Are those empty needles? How did that happen? Now I am literally down to two projects (one of which we do not speak of because it was cast on well over a year ago and I don't want it to get any hope of seeing the light of day anytime soon). I did, however, just take a drop spindle class yesterday at the LYS. I enjoyed it immensely, purchased my own spindle and have embarked on a new fiber arts trail. I wanted to try drop spindling because it's more portable than a wheel and a significantly smaller investment. I bought my spindle for $16 ($5 was taken off because I was in a class) and now I can see if this spinning thing is really for me. Now onto the good stuff:

The traditional pre and during blocking pictures of:

Pattern: Icarus Shawl by Miriam Felton
Source: Interweave Knits Summer 2006
Yarn: Jagger Spun Zephyr 50/50 Silk/Wool, Daffodil. I used just over 1.5 balls
Needles: Size 3 Addi Turbos
Alterations: I followed the pattern pretty much exactly. I don't know the finished dimensions because I didn't measure. It is around 6 feet across the top, and probably about 3 top to point.

This yarn is delightful to work with, the silk gives it an interesting texture that I enjoyed immensely. The pattern is pretty easy and I would recommend it to anyone. You start at the center of the top (if you notice my pre-blocked picture is more of a parallelogram its because of where you start), then you do all the boring stuff then as you finish in a blaze of glory you get to do all the exciting stuff. Basically you get miles of practice that all makes good sense before you have to do anything tricky.

This was made for my mother to wear to my brother's wedding in June. She was worried I wasn't going to finish on time. I wasn't. I was worried when my mother had a pattern all picked out that was going to use 16 balls of Jamieson cobweb weight, but then she changed her mind.

I don't know if you can tell in picture, but I strung a cotton string across the top before I washed it, stretched the string out and secured it with pins. Then I pinned the point and equal points in between and sort of worked my way around. Using the string meant I got a straighter line at the top and I did't have to use so many pins. I blocked it right on the carpet in my bedroom, after I vacuumed. That worked great, and I really don't think it does any real damage to the carpet, but I could be wrong.

Silkie

2007-04-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

The latest installment of the Rockin Sock Club came today! Woot! I was worried that I was going to have to wait all weekend when everyone else already had theirs, but luck was on my side and I didn't. I love it. Love it.
No pictures or anything because I can't be bothered and it is dark out but the colors are gorgeous. I kind of want to buy another hank so I can knit one and admire one, but alas my budget says otherwise.

Done and Done

2007-04-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Mystic Kelp by Cass White

Yarn: BMFA STR Mediumweight in Lunasea

Needles: Size 1, two circs

Finished: 4.24.07

Notes: medium size, no significant changes to pattern. Quite possibly my best gusset stitches ever. This was achieved through a pure fluke and while I managed to repeat it on the second sock I don't really know why it turned out so well. I usually pick up the whole slipped stitch along the heel flap and knit through the back loop. This time I picked up only the outside loop, picked up all the stitches before knitting them and knit them so they were twisted. The strange thing is that both sides match exactly, and I've never had that before. Usually one side is clearly going the opposite way of the other.

break

I also did all my SSKs in the new fancy (read: tried and true for many folks) way I learned at camp. I slip the first stitch as to knit and the second as to purl and carried on as normal. Now my SSKs match my k2togs much better and don't look nearly so wonky. You can admire them in the picture above along with my gusset.

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Like I said before this is not yarn that I would have chosen if it weren't for peer pressure, but I'm pleased with the outcome. I like the striping/pooling thing I've got going and the delightful squishy-ness of the fabric in the snakes and ladders (or mystic kelp) pattern.

Red

2007-04-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

If was a(n?) historian and I was going to write a book it would be about the color red. While not my favorite color, actually not ranking too terribly high, I think red is the most fascinating of all colors. It is also a very important component of purple, which ranks significantly higher on my list.

2007-04-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Spent a large portion of yesterday felting and finishing another genius Cat Bordhi design. That woman continues to boggle my mind with her brilliance. I'll put a picture up when I can be bothered to get the camera, the cord, and the computer all in the same place at the same time.

That Cat though, genius.

2007-04-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Turns out my reinvention of the wheel is complete crap. Neanderthal I am not, knitter with resources I am. Luckily I have the Interweave Knits everyone references when talking about Intarsia in the Round. I gotta say maybe given a long winter above the arctic circle I would have figured out how to really do intarsia in the round, but otherwise I just don't think I would have thought of it.

If anyone wants a totally bonk method of intarsia in the round, I am more than happy to oblige.

In the round?!

2007-04-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, intarsia in the round:

The only weird thing, and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right, is that I end up with 2 rows of red for every 1 row of green. This isn't that big of a deal when there aren't that many rows, but over time it would add up. I'll also have to see the difference gauge makes. Oh gauge, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Lunasea is right

2007-04-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

So, like most campers, I picked up my Lunasea yarn and my pattern to make our whale-watch socks. While it isn't yarn that I would necessarily have chosen I do enjoy immensely the way it is knitting up. Being the (occasional) rogue knitter that I am I didn't do a guage swatch. I cast on for the medium size on size 1 needles. After about 4 rows I tried on the sock and it seemed huge. Like child hat huge. So I ripped it out and tried the small size on size 0 needles. This time I waited for a whole pattern repeat to try the socks on, too small. Like child sock small. Then I tried the medium size with size 0 needles. This time at least I could get it over my heel, but still too small. Now I've just turned the heel of my medium size socks knit on size 1 needles. The irony of the colorway being called Lunasea and the pattern being called Mystic Kelp is not lost on me.

Now that I have myself all sorted out I can say that I definitely like the fabric on size 1 needles better than on 0s. I think the mediumweight str really likes 1s or 2s best of all. I haven't tried lightweight, but I have some waiting patiently (my first Jaywalkers I think) and I suspect size 0 will be perfect.

In other news I tried intarsia in the round last night and while some of my stitches are a bit wonky(I blame the funny needles and lack of passion for the yarn, certainly not user error), I gotta say those Swedes are really on to something. I definitely see argyle socks in my future.

More Camp

2007-04-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Camp Cockamamie was such a great experience that it is basically impossible to only talk about it in one post, so I'm talking about it again. Here are a few of my favorite moments from camp:
In Tina's class about color and dying and what goes into it all she says something along the lines of "If you don't like gauge just stop." Not stop doing swatches but stop hating them. I thought this was a very straightforward approach to the gauge swatch thing. (I just recently got into swatches and I love having my little basket full of them.)
Any moment with Cat was pretty classic. That lady is like the Darwin of knitting. Everyone is happily knitting their socks from the top down, or the toe up, whatever and she comes along and not only says you don't have to do it from either of those directions but you don't have to do in/decreases like that either. She's a very clever woman that is not quite right in the head and I only wish that it weren't more expensive to print longer patterns and books because I think the limitations on print space are what really make patterns sub-par. If you don't have one or all of her books go now, right now and get one. My favorite is the Second Treasury of Magical Knitting.
When, during the show and tell of fabulous handknits, Stephanie was not only proud of designing her fabulous wedding shawl because "that makes her super smart" but also that she got the yarn for only $3.50 Canadian. Not bad.
Then there was the time that Stephanie told us about Intarsia in the round and you could almost see the brain matter melting out the ears of everyone in the room. I've yet to try it, but man oh man the possibilities. Words are insufficient.

Hazel

2007-04-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Before camp started we all got a package in the mail with five or six tiny balls of yarn of all different colors, textures and fibers and instructions to make a chicken mascot and bring it to camp. There would be awards for different categories but the only rule was the chicken had to be made of fiber.

I put all the balls of yarn out and looked at them, and pondered what sort of chicken I wanted. I waited, looked at the yarn some more. Opened all the drawers of my stash and looked at all my yarn, rememberd my college pottery professor and his obsession with texture and finally started in. I decided immediatly that I wanted my chicken to be felted. I am on a major felting streak right now and a felted body would give me a nice sturdy form to attach things to. (I am also currenty slightly obsessed with needle felting so that added to the allure.) I chose some stash alpaca (I have felted it before and makes a lovely, but very difficult to describe texture) and off I went. I knit a great big tube and cut it after I felted it enough that it wouldn't completely unravel. And I came up with this:

Not too bad a beginning. While that was drying I thought to myself that every well dressed chicken needs a shawl so I went looking for some suitable lace. I wanted a pattern that started from the tip and worked its way up so it would be easy to knit until it was a good size and stop, no tricky math. I found one in Victorian Lace Today (if you don't have this book you should get it...right now), the Shoulder Shawl in Cherry Leaf Pattern. I followed the pattern as written, except I did significantly fewer repeats. Then I did my very first knit on border, of which I am extremely proud. I am still constantly amazed out how simply clever knitting often is. The bottom tip of the shawl is a bit wonky, but it's for a felted chicken so I wasn't overly worried. And I came up with this:

I gotta say knitting small things never gets old. It's like lace instant gratification, none of the knitting rows with thousands of stitches in them, on and off the needles in two days.

Now that my chicken had clothing, but still no body parts it was time to actually assemble the poor girl. (I don't have any pictures of this part). Basically I folded one corner down so the sides met, trimmed the bottom and had a triangle. I used my mad crochet skillz that I had just learned on the shawl, and sewed her up. But not all the way (my 5th grade sewing lessons at least taught me to leave an opening for stuffing) and I stuffed. And stuffed. And stuffed. There is a lot of stuffing in my chicken. I immediately made a cute little red ruffle for the dangly chin part that has some proper name I don't know and sewed that on. Then I made the tail. The tail is where I put all my texture and color and craziness. I wanted to use the yarn Blue Moon sent me but not all over my chicken. So I made ruffles. Lots of ruffles with different gauges and yarn combos, but all sporting some sort of color combo or textured yarn I wouldn't normally do, ever. (For a ruffle case on some stitches, I did 9, knit 2 rows, k1 yo across, knit 2 rows, k1 yo across, knit 1 row, bind off, or something similar. Basically you want significantly more stitches on the last row than on the first.) I sewed them on. Then I made cute purple legs with little chicken feet. At this point my chicken had no head and I debated never giving her one and calling her a chicken with her head cut off. I thought this was hilarious, but every last person I asked said it was dumb. What do I know? Eventually I cobbled together a head, with eyes and a beak and everything. The last hurrah was the socks. I think these are my favorite part and they took probably the least amount of time. I knit basic socks on a very small scale and it is pure fluke how they turned out, but I love them.

I'm Back!

2007-04-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

And this time it's with a vengence.

I just got back from Camp Cockamamie hosted by Blue Moon Fiber Arts of Socks that Rock Fame and man oh man was it great. Life simply does not get better than hanging out with the Blue Moon gals on Orcas Island talking about knitting and socks for 3 full days. Socks were knit, skills were learned, a dpn v. circ smackdown occurred that may very well go down in knit history, and the SSK was discussed in much depth. But most of all I came away completely inspired. The main thing I have realized is that, along with all things in my life, I need to blog on a level I am comfortable and happy with. And frankly that isn't going to involve a lot of pictures; I just can't do the pictures and, now, that is fine with me. So now I am going to blog for me and do it my way, that Sinatra was really on to something.

Now I will continue on to my thoughts on camp. I am not going to do a blow by blow because a lot of other people have and mine wouldn't be much different. My thoughts though are all mine. I think what I loved most about camp was that not a single person was there alone. Many of them, like myself, may have physically gotten on the plane or in the car alone, but they weren't truly alone. I heard time and time again stories about how someone wasn't going to come but then her husband said she really had to, or her husband gave her the trip to camp for Christmas, or, one of my favorites, an old friend from across the country flew out to help take care of the kids after the childcare fell through so she could go to camp. There were also plenty of husbands there who were more than willing to entertain themselves for the day while their wives went to camp and meet up for dinner. In this day and age the actual act of knitting is somewhat inconsequential (no one knits socks because thier feet would freeze or their children would go hungry otherwise), but it is our passion and the support of those around us, knitters and muggles alike, that makes knitting of consequence. Simply knitting in a blank room with no one to show lace shawls to or no one to congratulate you on your first Fair Ilse sweater wouldn't be enough for anyone, even those process knitters. Knitting is inherently social (it really only occupies your hands, leaving your mouth and brain a lot of time to keep themselves busy) and I love the social support every single person came to camp with.

When I wondered whether I really should go to camp for a myriad of reasons it was my mother who didn't even hesitate to say that I should go, there was no question in her mind. She knows (it's no big secret) how much I love knitting and that this would be an awesome opportunity. It was also my family that sat quietly and listened to me go on and on (and on and on and on) about camp and fabulously wonderful it was. It is my friends (a lovely mix of muggles and knitters and some that fall in between) that eagerly await my report on camp and wonder how it was. I honestly feel that without them it simply wouldn't have been the same. I know that the web-based community of knitting is awesome and has a special power of it's own, but I think we all need to also recognize the community in our tangible lives. The family that doesn't blink when more yarn comes in the house, the friends that admire your new cardigan (or in my case the friend that bores her family to tears about the details of a sweater I am knitting her, the web is bigger than we think) and the co-workers that no longer wonder at your only wearing handknit socks in slightly radical colors.

We salute you supporters of knitters for you make our passion consequential.

Knitters Unite!!

2007-02-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

Show the world what we got!

Madrona Swag

2007-01-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

I made my way down to Tacoma again today to take part in the marketplace at the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat. It was definitely worth the trip.

I got a few essentials: needles, another color for the felted pears I fell in love with at Christmas. The most exciting part is:

The yellow is hand-dyed silk and the purple is sea-silk, with which I will make this. I'm excited. I don't know what I'll do with the yellow, I just really liked it and I happen to have a lot of disposable income right now, so I got it. The buttons are to replace the blue ones on my new Sierra Cardigan. I've worn it a couple times now and I'm not convinced the blue ones are it.

Progress continues on Pomatomus, if a little slowly. I turned the heel and picked up stitches and now I just have to keep going. So far these haven't been that difficult, but perhaps the difficulty is yet to come. We'll see.

Like I said before, I could sit and look at these socks all day long I love the colors so much.

And from a purchase the other day:

It's all sock yarn because I'm a bit of a fiend, but the most notable part is the colors. I used to make my mother swear to never let me buy anything pink and now I daily sport a pink wool coat and am in love with this pink Lambs Pride Wildefoote Luxury Sock yarn in color Sonatina. The other yarn is blue. It's sort of green but would definitely fall in the blue section of the color wheel. I don't buy blue. I don't wear blue and I think I own maybe three balls of blue yarn (all of which are shetland wool for Fair Isle sweaters so they hardly count). I couldn't stop looking at this ball of yarn though and thinking what a pretty color it was, so I got it. It is Dream in Color in the Blue Lagoon colorway. I don't know what pattern I'll use, but right now I just like looking at the plain white bag with pink and blue yarn in it. I sight my high school self would throw up a little in her mouth at, but I quite enjoy.

Rejoicing

2007-01-26T19:56:00.000-08:00

I took my sorry ass all the way down to Tacoma last night to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPhee speak as part of the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat. If only I had known I would have totally registered and gone to the retreat, but what are you going to do. There were two speakers, Diane Formoso and everyone's favorite Harlot. Diane spoke about charity and making a difference on the local level in your own community and Stephanie spoke about the same on the international level, most specifically through Doctors Without Borders (MSF). I had read her Solstice plea to include someone on the other side of the world into our families and donate to MSF. Being the often ambivalent and flat out lazy person that I am I never got around to donating. As a result I never felt like I was truly part of the incredible knitting community out there. It seemed to me that everyone else had donated and I was an interloper rejoicing in what knitters could do without actually taking part. This is often an unspoken mantra of my life. Anyway, last night I finally donated some money and become a full-fledged member of the the knitting community that is changing the world. I gotta say it's way better over on this side of the line.

Stephanie also spoke of her donation drive during the tsunami aftermath. She had asked knitters to think about wants versus needs, and donate the wants money to MSF. This got me to thinking about wants versus needs and really rejoicing in what we do have. I spent a very peaceful and elated drive home thinking about lucky I really am. I was wearing the warm wool coat I wear every day, driving my own car that I can afford to put gas in and sitting next to the products of my hobby, which I am lucky enough to have time to take part in. My job may be excruciatingly boring, but the fact is that I can fill all the needs in my life and still have time and money and energy to fill almost all of my wants, the reasonable ones anyway. I try and remind myself of this every day.

ps- Stephanie is damn funny. And a very eloquent speaker who got her point across with just the right amount of humor and actual content. She is the type of person I want to be and I want to be my friends.

pps- Tomorrow:Pictures!

The Sun Returns

2007-01-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

I know I don't live nearly as far north as some, but I don't live above the 45th parallel, which is a lot farther than most. The longest day of the year was back in December but we are finally reaping the benefits of the Earth's rotation around the sun. When I started my dull job it was depressing enough on its own. Since it was December I got to add to that the fact that I worked during all hours of light in a building with no windows. Now not only is the sun still up when I leave work, but it is still light out when I get home. Soon, soon my friends, I will take walks outside after work in actual daylight. Huzzah!

New Digs

2007-01-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

Today was the deflowering of the new digs for my lunch. My lunch went from this:

to this:

I'm quite pleased with my fabulous new lunchbox. The only problem is the side I did all the backs of yarn labels, with washing instructions and fiber content and such, is in fact the top, not the bottom like I intended. Of course I didn't realize this until after I had completely finished the wrong side. Oh well. I had a lunchbox like this in high school, except that it had pictures of bands I really liked and some random assortment of pictures and stickers. I'm glad I couldn't find it because I probably would have shed a little tear for my lamo former self.

It's all in the finishing

2007-01-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

So many finished objects so little time! Mostly I have so many finished objects because living above the 45th parallel, as I do, I work during all hours of daylight in the winter. Since my photography skills leave a little to be desired anyway I like to wait until the weekend to take my pictures with the added benefit of natural light. So let us begin!

Sienna Cardigan from Interweave Fall 2006.

Cascade Pastaza 50% llama/50%wool. This is very fuzzy and a lot itchier than I was expecting. I have a pretty high tolerance for itchiness and this one almost surpasses it. It got better after I blocked it though, and it will probably get better with time. We'll see.

Size 9 needles. I inherited a lot of my needles from my aunt who in turn inherited them from some old lady down the street and age ago. The moral of the story is that I don't know what brand of needles they are. They're blue.

Alterations: As I hate seaming and will do much to avoid it I knit all the pieces together. I didn't do a steek in the middle because it would have interupted the faggotting that I like so much about this cardigan. When I go to the armholes I divided the pieces and knit them separately, and since I had done the whole thing flat my gauge didn't change here. I did a three needle bind-off for the shoulders and did the sleeves in the round.

I'm still thinking about the buttons. I can't decide if the blue takes all the glory from the other things I love so much about the cardigan (like the collar) or if they are okay. I think I will probably just leave them on there until I come up with something better.

The best part is that I took everyone's, including my own, best advice and spent an extra five minutes learning how to properly sew a sleeve into an armhole. Man was that a 5 minutes well spent! Let's observe the bonk method I used to sew a sleeve into a cardigan I made a couple years ago and this cardigan.

The green one is a cardigan I made awhile ago, love dearly, and wear all the time. However when I made it I couldn't be bothered to learn how to seam properly, thus ending up with this monstrosity. The best part is that I remember when I finished it I thought it looked pretty good. Now the glorious orange is where I spent the time to do it right. I could't be more pleased with the outcome. It looks like I magically knit the sleeves right there with the sweater. Those technique books really know what they are talking about.

And my second finished object. The smallest size of the Adventure Hobo Bag by Noni.

I thought I had a whole series of photos from unfelted to felted to completely finished, but turns out I either didn't actually click the button on the camera or they are lost in the void somewhere. Anyway...

Cascade 220 in Mystic Purple, it's one of the heathers. Less than 3 skeins. I haven't used Cascade 220 in a long time, I forgot how delightfully soft this stuff is. I enjoyed every single stitch of this bad and I want to make more. I love this color, this yarn, everything.

This bag also contains my very first zipper in the whole world, and I gotta say I think my hats might not fit anymore my head is getting so big. I couldn't be happier with my zipper.

That and I don't know why needle felting embelleshment hasn't taken over the world of felting, cause I think it is fabulous to no end. For some reason recently I have taken a liking to moose. I have always liked moose, but this summer I really got attached. So what purple felted Noni bag is complete without a moose you ask? Well none of them, which is why:

2007-01-19T20:40:00.000-08:00

I wore my new cardigan today (pictures to come when I can take them in daylight tomorrow) and no one commented on it. This is either because it is so fabulous and wonderful that everyone thought it was store-bought or because I work with very dull people who don't notice anything. Frankly either option has merit.

2007-01-18T23:01:00.000-08:00

What a day! My plain tin lunchbox came today, fabulous decorations to come. I sewed the buttons on my new orange cardigan, to wear to work tomorrow. And I think my Pomatomus socks may be my very favorite socks in the whole world and I'm only 3 inches in. I love the color so much that at the end of every needle I stop and admire how beautiful and wonderful my new socks are.

Oh, and someone not only noticed my moose today, but knew it was a moose without me telling her. I feel so accomplished.

2007-01-17T18:11:00.000-08:00

My deficit of projects has left me thinking. What do I get to knit next? Pomatomus? I think so! I picked up some Jitterbug at one of my local yarn stores recently. I've never seen Jitterbug before, nor hear of it, but I thought the color was so fabulous I couldn't leave without it. Especially since there was only one of this colorway left.
I have a lot of sock yarn just waiting for the perfect pattern. I am thinking of Grumperina's Jaywalker, a pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, and the Boudoir socks from the Interweave Knits Holiday Issue. We'll see what I actually come up with.

Then there is that Dale of Norway sweater waiting out the debate between steeks and no steeks with machine knitting. Really five minutes thought and a couple measurements would solve this debate but sometimes that is just a little too much energy.

2007-01-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

Getting a job that expends almost zero mental energy has done wonders for my knitting. That and the crazy amount of snow days that have prevented me from going to work, thus expending even less mental energy. I have had so much time off that I have cleared out my knitting basket completely. Totally void of any project.

Luckily I have this in store:

Thats, count 'em, 13 skeins of Koigu. I have never actually worked with Koigu before but I am really excited. Super duper excited. This was chosen by my Aunt (who has exceptional taste, as she chose it without even knowing just what Koigu is) to make a short-sleeved top. And I desperately hope there is something left over for me.

The two major projects I just finished are still blocking and in need of minor embellishments (read: buttons and a moose) to be completely done. A full report to come. I did however do some felting during my snowbound days. A couple vessels done with a single skein of Di Ve Autunno, 100% Merino. This yarn is very soft and felts exceptionally well. If I thought I would like a sweater knit with Autunno I would make one in a heart beat. I love the softness and the wide stripes it creates. The first one is a pencil holder for my dreary desk at work, my favorite part is the surprise on the bottom. Why needle felted embelleshments haven't taken over the knitting world is beyond me. I can't get enough of them! The orange one is currently holding all the yarn labels for recent projects.

This last yellow one is made from Cascade Indulgence, 70% Superfine Alpaca, 30% Angora. This one took forever to felt. I would even like it felted a bit more, but I think I would still be felting it if I didn't stop when I did. It created a very soft fabric though and I like the picot bind off on the ruffle a lot.

ps-I am still working on the whole format thing...so forgive my lack of any sort of technologic skills.

2007-01-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

Everyone keeps saying this is the year of stash knitting. Well not me! This is the year I increase my stash. I am going to bring so much yarn into this house I won't know what to do with it. Really knitting a whole year solely from my stash would leave me with about 2 months worth of knitting, and then I would be projectless and stashless. Maybe, if this year is successful (its looking good as I have a lot of disposable income right now) next year will be the year of stash knitting. We'll see.

Finished objects to come.

2007-01-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

My attempts to begin a blog have so far been resoundingly unsuccessful. Today though is a snow day! So I am determined to post something. Even if it is only a picture of the back yard in a lame attempt to put something up. It seems that when I am determined to post I have nothing to say, but when I am at work and unable to post I have loads to say. We'll see what the day brings.

Not so clever after all.

2006-12-13T18:12:00.000-08:00

I, like many, alter almost every pattern I come across. I think it is ridiculous to knit garments flat; if I wanted a sweater with seams I would go to the store and buy one. One of the greater glories of knitting is that it is easier to get a seamless garment than it is to get one with excess bulkiness at the sides. I also generally slip the first stitch of every row if I am knitting something flat, a scarf or swatch for example. I generally alter patterns left and right and feel very smug and clever.

This doesn't always last very long. A lot of times I alter a pattern before I even think about it, then after all that excess work and thinking how dumb the designer was to do it this way I realize that I am in fact the idiot here. Luckily this is only knitting and not world peace-keeping, it does have a tendency to bring me back down to earth with all the other knitters however.

Currently I am knitting Woolly Pears by Nicky Epstein from the Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts magazine. Since the project was small I decided to try it first without alteration and see where that got me. I couldn't help slipping the first stitch of every row though, I just like how good it looks. I finished and was quite pleased with the results. Including my terrible seaming skills. Then I tried another one exactly as written and it turned out even better. I guess I am not as much as a genius as, say, someone who has written several successful books. Everyone has their day.

The Goose is Getting Fat

2006-12-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

While I am huge fan of many pictures on knitting blogs, and will often disregard one for lack of pictures, the technology is currently out of my reach (read: I have pictures on my camera and I am not entirely sure how to get them on my computer and from there onto the internet). At any rate all the knitting I am doing right now is Christmas knitting and I don't want to put pictures of that up on the off chance someone in my family sees it. It would seem that that would be damn near impossible, but my mother has an improbability drive that rivals none.
This year is the first year I am knitting everyone something for Christmas. Usually one or two people get something handknit and everyone else gets something rather boring. This year though I planned ahead and started early. I ordered all my yarn online www.knitpicks.com in October and started knitting. I can now proudly say that everyone is getting something. Those getting socks are all at least getting one sock. I am now going back and knitting the matching sock for all sets, but at least no one will be completely without a gift. I do enjoy knit picks yarn. Very inexpensive and good quality. I have never been disappointed in knit picks and I would recommend them to anyone.

So it begins

2006-12-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

In an effort to add my two cents to the world at large I am officially beginning my new knitting blog.