shhhhh ...... sew good

Pssst.... Don't tell my yarn stash - my fabric stash has been wooing me. Long before I was a knitter, I was a sewer - a passionate seamstress who mastered welt pockets and hand tailoring for jackets. I even made own my wedding dress (still hanging in my closet even though it will likely never fit my daughters since I am only 5 feet and they are all going to be much taller). Then I learned how to knit and I had a couple of babies while my big kids grew into teenagers. Knitting is portable. Knitting can be done in the car or while watching television or standing in line at the post office (although I've never done that). I became passionate about knitting. I mastered lace (sort of) and cables without a cable needle (mostly). I became versed in wool, cotton, alpaca and tencel in the string form. My sewing machine and serger gathered dust in the studio pressed into service only now and then to fix a hem or two. I destashed the cloth (good move) and sent my library to new homes (great move) so that those things could be enjoyed by others. I kept just a few remnants, just in case....

Then the other day I was depressed and in need of a pick-me-up. I just happened to be next to a fabric store. I swear the fabric reached out of the store, draped itself around me and yanked me inside. The colors, the textures, the patterns, the possibilities, it was intoxicating. It was a kid in a candy store sort of delight. A pattern for a darling children's dress leaped off the rack and into my hands. It tickled at my brain...remember, remember, remember...oh yeah, I have fabric that the girls picked out at home bought two years at a store that has since gone out of business (a moment of silence for the wonderful Fabric Place, which sold both fabric and great yarn).

It was like a visit from an old friend. I forgot how much fun we have together. It's not really like I'm cheating on knitting...it's not like we have an exclusive relationship, right? Yes I have yarns calling my name and patterns dancing in my head but I can't seem to settle on one right now. I have the SOS on the needles and I seem to be able to do no more than one row a day (very complicated pattern) I'm at the grafting point for a scarf that I won't need until next October.

I'm taking it slow with sewing - just a little bit every day. One day cut out the pattern - the next cut out the fabric - next we'll sew just the sides maybe. Conveniently, the seven-year-old is dying to learn how to sew so the timing could hardly be better.

I know I could buy the dresses for less at the store, but there is something so fundamentally satisfying about turning a flat piece of fabric into a three-dimensional garment. The secrets the short cuts - they're all coming back to me - iron at every stage, store the pattern and accessories in a plastic bag on a hanger with the fabric, mark the fabric right after you cut it.

I still like knitting for its portability but sewing goes so much faster. It's just easier when you're not actually making the fabric!

I know my two friends can coexist peacefully. What I learn from one, I bring to the other. They complement each other. Once I'm done with the sewing the dresses, I can knit the girls shawls to go with them :)

You can see from the fabric that my girls have a bold sense of styles - bugs and dinosaurs? What could be better. Thankfully their taste hasn't changed in two years!

I'm still here

I'm still here - if anyone is looking for me - don't dispair. I've been swamped with work and coping with teenagers but I'm still smiling (most of the time).

I've not been knitting nearly as much as I'd like although I still think about it quite a bit. I did manage before the snow melted to finish the mittens 3yo dd requested. She picked out the color and explained to me what they should look like. They match a hat made earlier in the season. It's a great way to use up left over yarns. The mittens are started on scrap yarn and then felted. the cuff is made by cutting out the scrap yarn and picking up yarn through the holes left behind. She was very pleased and hasn't even lost one.

I also made the hand towel from the new Mason Dixon book. This is a great project - you cast on something like 90 stitches and then decrease by two every other row so it goes faster and faster as you get toward the end. I really like that it has a button. I've attached it to the stove and it doesn't go walking away like every other dish towel in the kitchen!

In the midst of all the craziness, we had a birthday. Despite my best efforts, my six year old wen ahead and turned seven!. Seven!? I must have been in denial because the whole cake decorating thing slipped my mind. Thank goodness her birthday comes right after Easter - Jelly Beans work quite nicely in a pinch.

As promised I took her to the trapeze to celebrate. She had such a worried look on her face when we arrived and such a huge smile by the end of her lesson! She's ready to go agin as soon as possible. Her dad was worried that she would be too scared - silly daddy, she's the daughter of two daredevil parents - not a chance in the world.

Suddenly today, summer struck in Boston. It's as if the sun suddenly remembered we're here and took pity on us. I'm thrilled - not a complaint in the world except that I'm not quite done with the angora scarf that I started way back when it seemed that winter was never going to be over. I have just the grafting left but no incentive to do it. I could just tuck it away for next year. That's not a good idea, is it? No, I think I just need to bite the needle (so to speak) and dive right in. Is it purl on knit off or Knit off purl on?

Happy happy spring!

blocking schmocking

My technique on blocking the scarf may not have been great, but I'm sure it was at least pretty close to what I'm supposed to do - but alas, it still didn't work. The scarf still rolls more than I'd like it too. Oh well, on to the next project....

Block heatd

It's funny that my good friend Holly Jo mentioned blocking wires in her comment to my last post since as I was unpinning my scarf I thought more experienced knitters would be looking at my feeble attempts at blocking and think that I need blocking wires!.

Instead I have points sticking out all along what are supposed to be straight edges! Blocking made it lay flatter, but it took out the sproing. That's something for me to keep in mind for future projects.

I also discovered a needed improvement to my design (some might call it a flaw) the scarf was made with a series of different patterns. I have this great distinctive heart design on one end but on the other is more subtle knit and purl design. There is another lace panel, but it falls where the scarf is wrapped around my neck, so it isn't really visible. I'm not terribly bothered by this - it's just a lesson-learned sort of thing. Interestingly, I found a dropped stitch during the blocking process - it hasn't run away, just slipped down a few rows.

On a side note - I broke down and bought a big box of swiffer covers. I love the idea of a knitted alternative, but in reality I'm not convinced it worked as well. You can see that it doesn't look quite so pretty after a few washes. I'm not convinced that we weren't mostly just pushing the dirt around. Maybe it would work if you had several and could change them midway through the job. Maybe it would work if you don't have children who don't bother to change covers whether they're disposable or not! I think I'll stick to knitting wearables for now.

Extra Credit?

Do I get bonus points for reblocking a knitted item? I made this great "sampler" scarf last year out of a gorgeous alpaca. The length and width are perfect but it rolls into a thin piece of fabric hiding the delightful patterns. I tried this time giving it a good soak and then pinning it out on a spare mattress. I'm not 100 percent certain I'm doing this right, but I don't think I'm doing any harm.

Hopefully, it won't be needed much longer anyway, although the weatherman says to leave winter wear out a bit longer. We're supposed to be in the 40s this week. Today it rained so hard they had to postpone the Red Sox home opener - One more day for Red Sox nation to get excited!

What should I have done?

There's a great web site where you can send a message to yourself in the future - futureme.org. You write all about the fun you are having or not having, your hopes and dreams for yourself and fun little messages like -stay as cool as you are right now and if John X knocks on your door DO NOT answer it, or whatever you feel like you should remind yourself. It's a real kick to hear from who you were a year or more ago.

But, wouldn't it be even more wonderful if you could send a message to you in the past?
Mine would be something like this:

Don't buy that shaggy pink yarn - it will sit in a bowl on your desk for years and you will have no idea what to make with it but will horribly guilty for not making something.

Buy 7 skeins of Cascade 220 in pink, 7 in purple and 7 in (????) while they are sale at Webs Anniversary sale because you will need them in the fall.

Don't even bother casting on for another Knitted Babe because as cute as everyone else's are, yours have scary eyes and the hair takes forever so it will sit unfinished in your drawer for years - again making you feel guilty every time you see it.

Go ahead and cast on for the Secret of the Stole but don't even bother trying to make the deadlines for it. That will drive yourself crazy. You will learn a ton from doing it and you will finish it eventually.

When aren't sure about how things are going with your boyfriend Al, relax - you're going to be happily married to him for many, many years to come.

yeah for Socks!

I have to admit that I am becoming totally addicted to hand made socks. For one things, the teenagers wouldn't dream of "borrowing" them so they come back to me when I put them through the wash. They're comfortable They actually draw complements from people - I think it's funny that people would notice socks, but they do. Most importantly, perhaps, they're just plain fun to knit. Except for the heels - I'm still grooving on the heels. I'm don't break out into hives when it's time to do them anymore, but I still feel a little shakey. I was worried about the bind off, but I found a new method that was a piece o' cake:

Knit 2, put the stitches on the left hand needle and knit them together. Knit one, put the two stitches onto the left hand needle and knit them together. That was the instruction. What I did a little differently is to purl the purls of my k1p1 rib. It seemed to look just a little smoother, although I'm not sure it would matter.

These were knit two at a time on a long circular - this is my absolute favorite way to make them. It looks really impressive while you're working on them even though it's not very hard and you have both done at once. Here's a little secret - I haven't actually woven in the top ends yet. I wasn't sure if I've made them tall enough so I'm trying them out.

It looks like Spring with the flowers blooming on schedule, but it sure as heck hasn't felt much like it! We're still in our woolies. Which is good since it took me a bit longer than expected to finish the hat my dd requested.

I'm naming it the Crazy Cap. It looks kind of crazy with a healthy mix of novelty and traditional yarns. But what's really crazy is the construction.

My friend Allison described to me a hat that had a band made of different yarns. In our back and forth, I got it in my head that the stripes were knit up and down. It was only after I'd invested several hours in to the hat that she sent a picture and I realized my folly. (On the hat she described, the stripes go around the head) A sane person might have quit then realizing the enormity of the endeavor I had launched. But it was pretty and I'd already gone so far and when it comes to knitting, I don't always have such a clear head. The problem is mutli-fold: first there are a whole bunch of ends to knit in. Then, half of them are novelty yarns that either unravel or don't like to stay tucked in and there's the potential for a whole lot of bulk on the side where the ends are being knit in! One might try knitting four or six rows with a color to reduce the trouble. This one is strictly two rows per color. The band took two weeks. The top was completed in a single night (albeit a long one). I can't say that I'd climb this mountain again, but I am happy to have reached the top. The hat FITS!

a little knitting, a big trip to the Zoo

Spring is coming! I'm absolutely certain of it. We've had two - count them - two warm weekends in a row! Last one entailed a trip to the zoo for a little photo Safari - these were taken by the 6 yo (except for the one she is in - that's the goat) Knitting is happening - I've managed one heel of a a pair of socks without too much trouble (yeah). Now I have to get psyched for the other.

I'm also contemplating seriously designing my own sweater. It's a big leap maybe - I've made one for myself and a few others for little people. But here's the thing - I really like the idea of avoiding seaming (I'm really not good at it!) The patterns I've seen that I like involve seaming. Therefore, it seems I have no choice but to design my own. For guidance I will have a book called Custom Knits (deserves the 5 stars it has on Amazon). Plus, I saw a Knitty Gritty episode in which the designer showed how to design a sweater. Any suggestions? Any cautions?

I just saw an add for yarnmarket.com featuring a 217 yard ball of yarn for the bargain price of $299 - that's something like $14 a yard (if my calculations are right and they might not be).

Talk about pressure to pick the right pattern!

I'm not questioning the value of the yarn - it's Muskox Vicuna from Windy Valley. From what 've read, this is a very difficult thing to obtain so it might very well be a real deal at $14 a yard.
After all, these animals live only high up in the Andes and produce just 4 oz of harvestable fiber in a year.

But still...

What hat could be good enough? What scarf elegant enough? What mittens worthy enough? What if (gasp) the item were too big or (horrors) too small! At that price, it would have to be absolutely, stunningly perfect, right? Just think of the agony an error would bring. To say nothing of how devastating it would be should the knitted item wander off. If you leave a hat in a movie theater (for instance) you're not happy about it, but replacing it isn't such a big deal. But a $300 hat? One that not only cost that much but took hours to make? Could the joys of knitting with such an exotic fiber really be worth the potential downside?

At least there is free shipping...

Baby hats

This is my new niece. Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wearing a darling hat? Did I make that hat? No, I did not. Some other very talented knitter made that hat and a gorgeous matching dress, which she is also wearing in this picture, underneat the "I love my big brother" bib. If you are thinking of knitting a dress for a baby - go ahead, babies looking darling in knitted dresses, especially if there is a matching hat.

This is the hat that I made for her. It might fit her in a year or two!

Happy Kitchen, Clean kitchen

DH's departure for the Congo left me with extra jobs like grocery shopping, which is a bad thing for many reasons. I am not as good of a bargain hunter as he is and I'm too suseptible to packaging. What can I say, I like to try new things?

The other problem is that I'm just not that good at following the list and sure enough, I found I was missing bunches of items when we got home - chief among them was covers for the Swiffer. Somehow I remembered to get the spray stuff - but that's really of no use without something to push it around on the floor with!

But I'm a knitter - we knitters knit things - things like Swiffer covers. :)

I have a well respected knitting friend who questions why would someone go to the trouble of making something to replace something that is disposable. I totally respect and appreciate this perspective, and really all things being equal, I prefer to toss than to create more laundry. I'm also not convinced - given how dirty our floors are - that by the end of the job the knitted cover isn't just pushing around the dirt (we usually go through 2 or 3 disposable covers -I know, ewwww, but I've got 5 kids, a dog and a muddy back yard).

Anyway, I have lots of cotton and the covers are a quick knit. And the colorful cover makes the kitchen feel happier somehow. Still, mine may end up being just for display - DH is back now and back in charge of the shopping.

headband heart ache

For Valentine's Day, DH left town, headed for the Congo. As consolation, he left me a gift certificate to the yarn shop. I splurged on some lovely pink angora - soft, soft, soft - just like I've been dreaming about.

I started with a head band. Since it was VDay, I made one from the One Skein Wonders book that had the XO cable and with hearts on the inside. It just happened to be made out of the exact yarn I bought.

I will say that this is quite possibly the most confusing pattern I have ever encountered. It's made in one, wide piece and then folded in half. On one side is the cable pattern, which is over 16 rows and the other is the hearts, which is over 12 rows. Fortunately, they're both pretty easy to memorize so it wasn't too bad after several repeats. The color is perfect. The head band is warm. But here's the problem:

It slips down over my eyes. I am almost constantly having to push it back up again!

It's not that it's too loose. It might be that it's too tight, but not by much if that's the problem. It might be that the yarn is too slippery. I don't know what to do. I really like it, but I can't stand having to fuss with it. I could pick up stitches and turn it into a hat. I could frog and try a different pattern (I certainly had to frog plenty of times while knitting).

This had kind of stymied my progress on other projects with this yarn. I'm thinking of a scarf or maybe just a neck gaitor - have I mentioned how soft it is? I just want to have it right near my

face.

I made the headband in part because my hair had gotten so long and scraggly that I was forced

to wear it in a pony tail that didn't look good with a hat. But I can say good by to the pony tails for awhile - I have a new short and sassy do! :)

The Queen of Yarn

I've decided to claim the title of Queen of Yarn or Yarn Queen for short. Not that I've done anything in particular to deserve it. I'm a good knitter, but not especially great when compared to those who really are. But I do love to knit and I don't believe anyone else has laid claim to the title. Of course, I haven't actually gone to the trouble of even doing a Google search to be sure.

What does being the Queen of Yarn entitle me to? Well, I get to rule over all the yarn in my house of course. I can make anything of it that I want. To the extent that I am actually capable of doing that, which is not always as much as I would like.

Maybe someday I'll be good enough to extend my rule beyond the borders of my four (or so since the house isn't a square) walls and rein over yarn in other places.

I will be a benevolent queen sharing freely what I learn - sometimes whether people want me to or not, although I try to refrain from giving advice not given.

In claiming this title, I in no way am declaring that I am a knitting expert or implying that I am better than anyone else. I just want an excuse to wear a tiara. Now I suppose I should go knit one, right?

Stressing My Friends

I started to log in last night to post a comment about my latest unprogress on my complicated Secrets of the Stole project but I was so stressed by a disagreement with one of my lovely teens that I couldn't even think to get the password straight.

I opted instead to sit in bed and read Newsweek. Ironically, the cover article was about how stress can be a good thing - if so, I've got it made. The most interesting part was buried deep in the article about how men and women respond differently to stress. Both genders experience stress as a rise in adrenaline and coritsol. What's different is our reaction. Women are more likely to turn to their social networks, which prompts the release of oxytocin, which mutes the stress systems. If we are surrounded by loved ones when a stressor arises, there some evidence that we don't even show as much of the initial hormonal response, which means less risk of long-term harm to the brain.

It's a scientific explanation of what I have gathered by instinct - turning to friends helps my cope with the challenges (I prefer to think of the issues I face as challenges rather than problems) both big and small that make my life interesting.

Through the benefits of modern technology, I have an extended social network that is available to me even when I can't get out of the house. For you all, I am extremely grateful. I hope in response that I am able to at times relieve the risk of long term harm to your brain.

Speaking of stress - I managed four rows of the extremely complicated pattern only to find I had two stitches too few. I could have just faked it, but why bother with all the work that's already gone into this? It's not going to get done anytime soon anyway so I figured it might as well get done right. I tried tinking back and ended up with two extra stitches!?! So frogged. I am beginning to understand the zen of knitting - in knitting, it's not always about advancing and adding rows, it's about getting it right. If you've gotten no further than you were, but the project looks like it's supposed to, then your time hasn't been wasted. Tinking and frogging bring opportunities to learn more about the craft, to understand how the loops fit together, to see how the pattern forms.

Another article in the Newsweek talked about a Navy training program in which the trainees hands and feet are bound and they are thrown into a pool. Those who struggle and thrash about inevitably fail and have to be rescued. In order to succeed, you have to let yourself sink and then push yourself off the bottom up to the surface where you can get a gasp of air before sinking and doing that again. Sometimes that is how it is in knitting - relax, do the opposite of what your mind says - go back instead of forward - and then you can move ahead. Sometimes that is how it is in life. Not always. Sometimes it is perfectly appropriate to run screaming from the room.

Congo socks

The socks arrived in the Congo and they fit! Yeah!

The yarn is self striping - the pattern got a bit lost in the ribbing, but it still looks good. They were based primarily on measurements and patterns in Sensational Knitted Socks - which is the book to have if you want to knit socks. It has charts to make socks in any size depending on your gauge plus patterns to try. It has instructions for top down, toe up, as well as short row heels and flap heels in both directions. I prefer short row heels, although I still struggle with them. I find it hard to concentrate and so I'm constantly losing my place. I liked the book's explanation, but I tried another way, the Lifestyle Toe Up, that I found on the web; there's even a video demonstration. It doesn't use wraps and instead has you knit an extra stitch. It was easy to follow and came out reasonably well. Any troubles were user error.

I love magic loop two at a time. I can't imagine making socks one at a time in part because I'm sure I'd lose count of the rows and because it's too easy to not make the second one. If you haven't tried it, it's not as hard as it looks.

Another reason to knit

It turns out there is a very good reason to knit other than to make really great things - it helps delay the onset of dimentia, according to a recent study. Watching television, however, may speed up memory loss.

There's two ways of looking at that for those of us who knit while watching television - one is that you are cancelling out the benefits of knitting by watching the box. I prefer, however, to regard it as balancing the negative of watching television with the goodness of knitting!

I've heard from DH that the luggage arrived! Whew. The socks fit. Whew. He even took pictures as requested, but the computer failed to cooperate with him and erased the pictures (or so he says, hmmmm...)

Dh says he's hearing some heart breaking stories from the victims of the violence in the Congo. He also met two soldiers who believe they are made of water and therefore can not be killed in battle. The city is devastated and yet life continues with children in uniforms going to school. In contrast, our ordinary life of school vacation, trips to the store and stops at MacDonalds feels so priveleged. Dishwashers, washing machines, stoves ... I don't think I appreciate them enough because I don't really know what it's like to live without them. Even beyond that, the relative peace in which we live - it's an amazing blessing.

Socks away

I finished dh's socks with just hours to spare. I cast off at 1:15 a.m. and he got on a taxi at 4 a.m. I stuffed the socks in the front of his suitcase along with the Valentine's Day cards from the children. I figured he's going to the other side of the world - he won't get there until Valentine's Day and it will be a nice surprise.

I next heard from him when he was on the runway on Ethopian Airlines. Somehow, his suitcase hadn't made it. He's thinking about all the stuff he may not have when he arrives. Of course I'm thinking about the socks! I should have stuffed them in his carryon bag!

Maybe I'll be able to post a picture soon...fingers crossed.

Fast and fabulous

Does it ever happen to you that a project just gets stuck in your head? Last year I made a scarf for a well-deserving friend of mine. It was a beautiful lace scarf in an oh-so-soft light green yarn. I was happy to hear that she was thrilled with it. But, she lives in Wisconsin. It is cold there. Very cold. The scarf I made was pretty and it was probably warmish, but it wasn't a wrap- around-your-face-to-keep-out-the-north-wind sort of warm. And thus I had one of those projects that lives in your head nagging to be completed. It took almost a full year. My plan for the original scarf was to have it done for Valentine's Day of last year. That proved impossible since I picked a way-complicated pattern. Somehow, it seemed appropriate then to shoot for this Valentine's Day. I found a gorgeous well endowed Laines du Nord yarn - big yarn makes for quick knitting on 10.5 needles. I made it in mistake rib on 31 stitches. After it was finished, at both ends, I picked up the stitches using some stashed navy blue yarn and knit a modified ruffle - instead of knitting f&B of every stitch, I knit f&b of ever fourth stitch.

Once the scarf was done, I realized I still had a whole lot of yarn - there was 350 yards on the skein. So, a matching hat was in order. Inspired by one recently made by the Yarn Harlot for her daughter. She was inspired by this hat - which now that I look at is what I had in my head when I knit mine. I knit a band in garter stitch, slipping the first stitch of every row, until it wrapped around my head. I tapered off the end and sewed it together with the ends overlapping. Next, I picked up stitches along one row through the back loop (to leave a ridge). On the first row I added a few stitches since the gauge of the two yarns didn't match perfectly. I wasn't sure at first that I would get it done on time to send with the scarf for Vday. But again, big yarn = wicked fast knit. I had the band done during one Scrubs episode and half of the top during the news. I finished all but the decreases during a phone meeting (really, I concentrate better when I knit!) The best part is that I'm confident it will fit. This is a great way to knit a hat if you don't want to bother with swatching.

It's interesting to note (at least to me) that I knit the scarf on 10.5s and it made for a great, light, fluffy fabric. I knit the hat on 9s, however. The fabric was a little more dense, but just right for a more structured object.

I mailed them off today even though I have enough yarn for half mitts. :) I need to move onto my other Valentine's Day project - socks for dh who is heading off to the Congo on Friday. He's going to write about some Harvard research there.

Knitting popular cultural reference

Here is a sign of how much knitting has penetrated popular culture. Note this passage from an article in the January 2009 Scientific American issue all about evolution. The article is about how some medical problems we have are due to how our bodies evolved from fish:

"The major bones in human knees, backs and wrists arose in aquatic creatures hundreds of millions of years ago. Is it any surprise, then, that we tear cartrilage in our knees and suffer carpal tunnel syndrome as we type, knit or write? Our fish and amphibian ancestors did not do these things."

This leads me to wonder - does the author knit? Is he married to a knitter? Are there other knitters in his life? Do they suffer from carpal tunnel?

What would a fish knit if a fish could knit? There is a children's story about a hand knit sock that goes missing and ends up being used as a sleeping bag for a fish.