Two Sharp Sticks

Cocoons and emergence

2008-08-16T15:12:00.005-04:00

Dear Eyeknit,

Imagine that I am a larva, sleeping in its cocoon, but just beginning to emerge. I like the fibery analogy of having been woven into a cocoon and now trying to wiggle my way out of it. I've felt a lot like that, sort of away from the world and recently, digging and crawling and poking my way back towards it. Let's hope that I emerge as something beautiful, eh? Because otherwise, it won't have been worth the wait.

I have, of late, been knitting again, a reliable sign of my returning mental stability and well-being. In fact, I'm almost overwhelmed with projects to share with you so I'm going to start with a very tiny one. A square for an afghan.

But first, a little background. Some of my favorite books ever are the Discworld novels, by Terry Pratchett. They are a little like a comfort blanket to me, and I reread them when the world is too much with me for their marvelous wit and magical worlds and happy endings. Then, soon after my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers, Terry Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimers. He is only 59. My mother is only 68. I felt such a wave of impotent rage and sadness and loss.

Then, the marvelous people at Ravelry, particularly the absolutely smashing Shirley, who is known on Ravelry as CherryRed, came up with the idea for making Terry Pratchett--who happens to be a knitter--an afghan and each of the squares would reference one of the very many Discworld books. It was exactly the sort of outlet I needed, since knitting cures everything, you konw. And I chose as my design a corruption of moment from a book called Soul Music when an elderly wizard, newly infected by the beat of Music with Rocks In, made himself a long wizarding jacket which read: Live Fats Die Yognu (because he got confused while working from the back). And here it is.

And then the amazing, marvellous Shirley collected all these squares, sewed them all together, backed them, contacted (repeatedly) Terry Pratchett's publicity person, and then just today, managed to present the afghan--in person--to Terry Pratchett.
It's huge and wonderful and you can see all the squares here, on Flickr and on Ravelry, you can peek at this thread to read all about it.

But to get the full story, please read this post on Shirley's blog and give her all the love she deserves for making this project happen.

Did I say it was a tiny project? I lied. It's huge. And I feel like fluttering around the room.

FO: Hydrangea Scarf

2008-05-17T15:55:00.004-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I had a hankering to knit lace recently. Although there are multifarious lacy projects to be browsed on Ravelry, I decided to use the only laceweight occupying space in my stash. I bought this yarn from Spirit Trail Fiberworks at last year's (2007) Maryland Sheep and Wool. One of my patients works in that booth, and she tells me wonderful things about the dyer and owner...her color sense as well as how picky she is in fiber prep and yarn quality.

Anyway, I had this yarn and pattern picked out for each other. I love hydrangeas (mine haven't bloomed yet, as you can see above), and I wanted to knit this in a variegated colorway. This one has mostly sea greens and smoky blue-grey, with a little spring green thrown in. The yarn is very fine, but was nice to work with. The pattern is by Eugen Buegler (of Frost Flowers and Leaves fame). It was kind of a pain, because the repeat is 64 rows long, and although it became very, very familiar, I was still stuck looking at the chart for almost every line to see where the hydrangea blossom started and ended.

Project: Hydrangea Lace Scarf, by Eugen Buegler, from Fibertrends

Size: I blocked it to about 12" by 60". It relaxed an inch or two in width after playing around with it for a while. A good size for one loose knot, or one wrap around the neck. This was only 6 total repeats of the pattern, not the 7 specified in the pattern.

Yarn: Spirit Trail Fiberworks 100% merino lace. It took only one skein (a little less than 500 yds). I bought two, just in case, as the pattern specified 550 yds. Do you want to knit this one (Miss Backyard-full-of-hydrangea-bushes)? The yarn is yours if you want it.

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony, US #4. Nice and pointy for lace.

Time to knit: I don't know...about a month?

Comments: I'm not exactly sure how I'll wear this one...I guess with a dressy white blouse would work. Although it's scarf-shaped (as opposed to stole-like or shawl-y), I don't really see it with a winter coat. Maybe a trench coat? What do you think? I need Tim or Clinton and Stacy to advise me.

I probably need to re-block it, as we were in a hurry to leave the house that day. I painstakingly threaded the blocking wires through each edge stitch, but I did a shoddy job with the short ends. In the pattern they just gently undulate, without any pointy bits.

More lace coming up!

Love,
Eyeknit

Mostly Matching or Practically Perfect?

2008-04-25T10:36:00.002-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Today's title refers to our visit to NYC last Saturday...we stood in line at the TKTS booth and got half-price tickets to Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was absolutely (if you'll excuse the obvious) supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The dramatic themes are somewhat different from those in the film and some songs were excised and others written, and the whole production was magical and rousing and fun. We've all been dancing around since, singing "Practically Perfect" and "Spoonful of Sugar" and the above-mentioned word which William can almost spell now. Family fun.

So, anyway...
As you know, I knitted 24 pairs of socks in 2007, yet have knitted only a grand total of two pairs in the first third of 2008. The sock mojo left me...but I think now it's back.

Pattern: My first time writing a pattern from total scratch, though they were totally inspired by these on Ravelry. I started them in early January, before this pattern was available for purchase. I futzed around a lot with the numbers, to make a sock that would fit me with a cable I liked, running up one side only. The pair took so long that I had to continually inspect the first one, to detect exactly how I had made it. Although I think this cable is called the Wheatear Cable in the calendar of stitches, I think of it as the Whale's Tail Cable, since I completed a good part of the second sock at SeaWorld, watching William ride the Baby Shamu rollercoaster over and over again.

It's toe-up using Magic Loop, Judy's Magic cast-on increasing to 64 stitches, a mini-gusset to 68 sts, and a Sherman heel. I used a variety of methods to increase for my biggish calves. I started the foot on a small US #1 (2.25 mm), then switched to the larger US #1 (2.50 mm). I spaced the cable twists a little further apart as the sock grew upwards, and I snuck in two extra purl stitches on either side of the cable near the top.

Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn, color #S184. How did I like it? Well, maybe the yarn is why it took me 3+ months to knit a pair of socks. It's just like regular Kureyon: rustic and sticky. It sticks to wooden needles and sticks to itself horribly. I always spend tons of time untangling the center-pull ball with Noro yarns. However, I like how it knits up, and the colors are undeniably stunning. As you can see, I started each toe at the same portion of the long color repeat, but there wasn't enough to make the tops match exactly. I had to splice in an unmatching portion to finish the cuffs. Granted, that part will be underneath my pants, but I know it's there. Mary Poppins would have made a second ball appear to finish them perfectly.

Next...

Pattern: Top-down K2P2 ribbed socks from Vogue Knitting's Ultimate Sock Book.

Yarn: Vesper Sock Yarn in Venus in Furs (my fabulous birthday gift from you, Stuntmother!) Very generous yardage...tons left.

Needles: Addi Turbo US# 1 (2.5 mm) Magic Loop

Time to Knit: 2 weeks--that's more like it!

Comments: Perfectly Striping = Perfectly Gratifying.

Again, I started at the same point in the stripage, and they are precise twins. Despite the heel flap and turn, the wide stripes didn't change much at the instep, which tickles me to no end. This yarn looks like it'll hold up well, and it was a pleasure with which to knit.

There's another pair of socks on the needles...

Spit-Spot!

Love,
Eyeknit

Party Gloves

2008-04-09T10:29:00.007-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

When I received the Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club offering for December, I was stymied. However would I use this rather jarring colorway? (That's not my own fiber, but it looked the same). It's called Party Dress, and was intended to be reminiscent of 1980's fashion. I've successfully forgotten all the horrible things I wore in the 80s, so this wasn't a happy reminder. However, when the package was opened, William squealed, "Pretty colors, Mommy!" So, he'd get something knit from this fiber.

It took me a good month to spin the skinny singles, and then Navajo ply them. I realized the only way to make this colorway work was to keep each color separate. Given the choice between socks, gloves and mittens, William chose gloves. Disclaimer: all FO photos are unblocked. I couldn't get them back from their new owner to make them all pretty.

Pattern: Ann Budd's basic glove pattern. I highly recommend this one. It makes simple gloves easily customizable for finger length, and the pattern is pretty easy to remember. These are the 6-8 year old size, with a gauge of 7 spi.

Yarn: My own handspun, from Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club, Party Dress. 100% superwash Corriedale, Navajo plied and about 16-18 wpi (a light sportweight).

Needles: Addi Turbo US #2 (3.0 mm), Magic Loop

Time to knit: about 3 days for each glove. When fingers aren't fair isle, they're really fast.

Comments: He loves them--they're easy to get on, easy to latch his seatbelt in the booster seat, and I love knitting them. A fun, fast little project. The entire pair weighs only 32g. I have another skein of this yarn left, so maybe when he outgrows these, I can whip up another pair.

Love,
Eyeknit

FO: My Gansey Boy

2008-04-02T19:11:00.005-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

William really loves his new sweater. This one was a real collaboration between knitter and recipient. I wanted to make him a gansey using Beth Brown-Reinsel's book, but he chose the yarn (from the stash!), the welt, the initial, and the collar. I must say that gansey knitting, at least in worsted yarn, is fun and fast.

Project: Jerod's Gansey, from Knitting Ganseys by Beth Brown-Reinsel, in the 32 1/2'' size, which she calls age 10-12.

Yarn: Valley Yarns Amherst, 100% merino, from WEBS. Required significantly less yarn than pattern stated. Lovely stitch definition and very soft. Will it pill? Probably, but he'll outgrow it quickly, too.

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony 24" circular, US#7 in right hand, US#6 in left for faster knitting in the round.

Time to Knit: 2 weeks.

Modifications: Custom single initial on lower left body.
Other Mods: Pattern uses a 1x1 ribbing for the lower border. William liked the split garter welts featured in the sample gansey I made for Lambie (see 2 posts ago). They were knit on US #5 needles flat, then joined for knitting in the round and increases made for the full # of body stitches.

Sizing: BBR suggests two inches of ease for ganseys. While that might be great in an adult's sweater, I've found that kids need a lot more ease for comfort and mobility--even with the cool underarm gussets. William has a 24" chest, and 8" of ease doesn't seem crazy big, but it still allows room to grow for next year. The sleeves are shorter, since he's only 5, not 10-12 years old.

This was an entirely lovely project, and we both appreciate the end result. See? Is that a modified Rachael? Ganseys for everyone!

Love,
Eyeknit

Guess who came to visit this weekend?

2008-03-30T20:12:00.007-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

My Mom's birthday is next week, and I gave her these Anemoi Mittens which should match her burgundy winter coat. Eunny is such a detail-oriented pattern writer. I appreciate that so much--she clearly has thought (obsessed) about each step of the knitting and chosen wisely so that the finished item is just beautiful. Specifically in these, the purl gutter in the pseud0-corrugated rib cuffs and the purl ditch along each edge are lovely. Using the three-needle bind off inside-out also gives you a purl-like tip which blends with the whole so nicely. I'd follow Eunny anywhere.

Pattern: Anemoi Mittens by Eunny Jang

Yarn: Louet Sales GEMS Pearl (fingering), in black and burgundy. The whole pair was made with one 50 g skein of each color, and there's lots left over. You could probably make three pairs of mittens from 200 g of yarn. (Since we sock knitters usually buy 100g of each color at a time). I do love this yarn...the stitches are so teeny and perfect. Seriously. Click on the photo above if you don't believe me.

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony 2.75 mm (smaller US #2) for the whole thing, Magic Loop.

Notes: Two checkerboardy thumbs up! If you haven't made these yet, you really must. Granted, the Italian tubular cast on was a pain, but I got it to work. I had tried it in a past project, but I really didn't understand the path of the yarn. That time, I had to move on to the standard tubular cast on in which you knit a few rows, then pick up the purl bumps and join it into the tube. I think that latter, futzy one actually looks a bit better than the Italian one, but it's a nifty trick...and I always like learning new knitting tricks.

So, what do you do when someone is so appreciative of handknits? Haul out an old and previously-unblogged handknit and give it away!

Project: Summer Shawlette, by Sandi Wiseheart

Yarn: My own handspun! From merino from Ashland Bay, and I'm sorry to say I've lost the yarn's specs. It's kind of a light worsted 2-ply, fairly woolen and fluffy. It's one of the first yarns I made on my wheel. The colors are lovely, soft and heathery.

Needles: US #10

Comments: I made this for myself, and the pattern is clever. I hate wearing triangular shawls, because I'm always redraping them and they seem too dramatic somehow for my plain, conservative look. The shoulder shaping on this one really works to keep it stable without futzing. I think it would be a good little garment for when you have on a summer dress, but the AC gets too draughty...

However, I have really broad shoulders. The spines which should fall over the line of the shoulder/arms lie too far back on me, and the front points don't hang down as far as they should.
It turns out that my Mom looks great in this shawlette! It's great when the right handknit finds the right recipient.

Love,
Eyeknit

2nd Annual Birthday Sweater for DH

2008-03-23T19:31:00.007-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

So, my husband's 41st birthday has come and gone, but I did complete his gift in time. In record time, I might emphasize, since this one was knitted from start to finish in 26 days. It took him much longer to choose a sweater he liked than it did for the knitting. I'm good with deadlines.

Project: Man's Fair Isle Sweater (original name, huh?) by Wendy Baker, from Scottish Highland Knits (also called Scottish Inspirations) 42.5" size.

Yarn: exactly what the pattern called for...Rowan Scottish Tweed DK, in 3 shades of grey. The requirement of 12 balls of the main color and 1 each of the lighter and darker ones was accurate. All yarn except 1 ball bought from WEBS, and the odd ball from Kathy's Kreations in Ligonier, PA.

Gauge: 22 sts and 30 rows in 4"

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony US #4 for the ribbing and US #5 for everything else.

Modifications:
The pattern calls for this to be knit in pieces (front, back and 2 sleeves). That would mean a stranded fabric worked back and forth; but I can't purl Continental-style. My two-handed knitting is even and quick, though. So, I re-wrote the pattern to be knit in the round and steeked, just like my previous (more traditional) fair isle sweaters.

So, I began by subtracting the 4 seam stitches, and casting on the whole shebang. I did the baby cable ribbing and the stockinette body in a tube. I had to take careful note of row gauge in the stranded section of my swatch, to figure out the placement of the yoke, as well as the front and back neck shaping. When it came time for the beginning of the armscyes, I put 10 stitches on waste yarn, and cast on 10 steek stitches on either side. When it was time for the pattern, I did it just as in the book. The front and back neck shaping were also achieved by casting on steeks, and I didn't change the contours at all. The only thing that differs in my finished sweater from the original is that I couldn't figure out a way to short-row slope the shoulders in the round. I just left them flat, and did a 3 needle bind off to seam the shoulders.

I cut the neck steeks, and picked up the correct number of stitches for the collar, and knit it in the round. One of my best mods was to use one of EZ's lesser-known sewn bind-offs. (Not the stretchy sewn bind-off, which we all use for toe-up socks) This one is "casting on casting off", and you use the yarn on a tapestry needle, and work from left to right on your piece. You slip off the two leftmost stitches, and go through them purlwise from right to left, then slip off the next stitch and go through it and the one to its left again, purlwise. Each stitch gets two passes with the needle, and the amazing thing about it is that it replicates the long tail cast on! No more bulk and chainy edges, if you don't want them. It does take a while and it's kind of a pain, but I think my collar and cuffs look much nicer this way. Look at the photo below of the back.

When it was time for the sleeves. First, I dropped down the center live stitch held when the steek was begun. I worked it back up with a crochet hook, hooking one then two ladder rungs all the way up, forming EZ's phony seams. (Which I love. You can kind of sense them in this photo).
Then, the armhole steeks were cut, sleeve stitches picked up, and the sleeves knit from the top down. All the steeks were trimmed to 2 stitches, the cut edge tucked under, and hand stitched down to the underlying fabric inside. All the steeks were completely unreinforced, since my swatch behaved very well when cut up the middle. The only one that gave me any worry was the back neck one. It was only about 5 rounds deep, and that's not enough to really stabilize the fabric bridge. Next time, if the yarn is heavier than a fingering weight, I'd make a very short steek wider, like 14 stitches. It turned out fine, though. No disasters.

I was very nervous about the re-write, but it worked just as I had hoped. After blocking it a second time to grow longer sleeves, it fits him perfectly.

The fabric bloomed with blocking, and is lovely and tweedy and supple. I think this is a really nice men's sweater--handsome without being truly boring. I predict that this yarn will hold up ruggedly.

Next year, if he wants a birthday sweater I need to start a little earlier. I love you, Honey, but my wrists were killing me.

Love,
Eyeknit

Gansey Gaffes

2008-03-19T09:06:00.003-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

You've probably been wondering where I've been...

Yes, we spent a week in Florida together. I won't bore you with the details, but here are some highlights:

--Sea World was the big hit with Mr. 5-yr-old. Some of the hubbub of big rides, 3-D movies and crowds at the Magic Kingdom weren't exactly his speed.

--You can kill a few hours (rare knitting time!) by riding on the monorail in the front cab, with the driver.

--Always make time to go back to the hotel and swim in the pool.

--My new Land's End bathing suit is the best one I've ever had. You go online, input your measurements, and let your little virtual fit model try on the suits...so you don't have to! It's the best thing modern technology has to offer people like me who detest shopping for clothes. And the suit fits me perfectly (and is flattering...I can't believe I just said that about a bathing suit, but it's true!).

--We needed time together, and we all relaxed a lot. I'm far less cranky than a week ago, and that's ultimately what vacations are for. It's too bad they can't come more frequently.

OK, so what about the knitting? I do have several FOs to show you, but I need a willing model for photos. I started a new sweater for William a few days ago, and frogged it nearly to the beginning last night.

I bought and read Beth Brown-Reinsel's Knitting Ganseys book recently. It is most excellent. I love books that share the history and special techniques for a historical style, then offer patterns and advice on customizing them to suit your own modern needs. Some other outstanding examples of this genre are Alice St*rmore's Aran Knitting and Ann Feitelson's The Art of Fair Isle Knitting. Oh! and Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks... you get the idea.

I knit her sample gansey from some recycled yarn. [You may remember the ill-fated Nantucket Jacket, whose yarn I frogged, re-skeined and washed and it's pretty much as good as new.] This was a fun and quick knit, and it fits several of William's "stuffed-up" animals. The "L" is for Lambie.

I blithely cast on for a sweater for William with the same yarn, only fresh-from-the-ball this time. I'm basically using Brown-Reinsel's Jerod's Ganseypattern, but William wanted the overlapping split garter welts just like on the mini-sweater, rather than the 1x1 ribbing in the pattern. He also wanted a single initial on the front(W), not his first and last (W.W.) or full (W.O.W) monogram. I'm sort of glad he's becoming discriminating when it comes to his handknits.

I did the whole welt and plain section (8"), and then I re-counted the stitches on the front and backs, just to be sure the pattern would fit evenly. Oh, man. I had made the classic beginner's mistake of having one stitch more on the back than the front (must have increased unevenly on the first round above the welt join). Since it's knit in the round, and there's a single faux-seam purl stitch, there really wasn't any way to fix this. I thought about dropping down two columns and hooking them back up, switching a knit for a purl column. But then, the garter welt join would be one stitch off. Hmmm. That won't do. When I contemplated frogging it all, I admitted to myself that the initial "W" was also looking kind of big. If I started over, I could use the smaller alphabet included in the book.

So, I frogged it, and am starting over. One good thing is that it goes really fast, knitting on US #8 needles. Progress report and some FOs soon.

Love,
Eyeknit

Handpainted G(LOVE)S

2008-03-02T14:19:00.006-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I finished my first gloves 2 weeks ago, but was kind of waiting around for some snow for modeled shots. I finally gave up, and these photos taken at the zoo will have to do.

As you know, I bought this pattern many moons ago, but had difficulty finding an appropriate color combination. I began with a lavender Koigu, and a handpainted mix of dark violet mixed with other colors. Unfortunately, there was a tiny bit of a lilac shade in the variegated yarn, and you couldn't even discern the snowflake pattern at all. I tried again with the same variegated with a light creamy yellow. Same problem.

So, I dumped all the sock yarns out, and looked at each permutation. Although this one looked mightly unlikely, at least it wouldn't have the pattern-muddling I struggled with before. Not only are there no shared colors between the skeins, but one is all warm tones and one all cool. I think it works.

Project: Handpainted Gloves, by Karen Neal (I see the pattern is available from Etsy now...I had to pay $8 for the pattern, plus $5 shipping. This is a much better deal). The pattern is very clearly written and laid out--a pleasure to knit.

Yarn: Socks that Rock, Mediumweight in Spinel (the teal) and I think Autumn Harvest or something like that. I don't see it on their website, but I bought it from The Fold's booth at Rhinebeck 2007. The finished gloves weigh 145 g total, and the remaining balls of yarn weigh a total of 169, so there's enough for a second pair, especially if you reverse the colors. If anyone wants the leftovers, I'd be glad to mail them to the first person to express her desire in a comment.

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony 32" circular in the larger US#1 (2.5mm)size, Magic Loop.

Time to knit: 1st glove: 8 days. 2nd glove: about 3 weeks? Do I have SGS?

Thoughts: These are fantastic. I'm enjoying having gloves instead of mittens on for driving, fishing in my bag for keys, and zipping coats. The pattern is fully customizable for finger length and girth, so there's no excuse for ill-fitting gloves. The cuffs are super long, to eliminate cuff-draft.

This yarn makes a lovely stranded fabric.

Fingers are kind of knitter's choice--the pattern supplies some ideas, but you can chart anything you want. Ravelry and the KAL have some nice examples, and the designer has modified it into a fingerless mitt pattern, if that floats your boat better (a little colorwork pun).

As always, blocking is a miracle.

Love, Eyeknit

P.S. What's next on the stranded front? It's a bit of a secret, but just think Eunny Jang, the Wind Gods, and the relationship between EZ and MS. I think she'll really like them.

P.P.S. Where have I been? Knitting the great blob of grey stockinette, which will be ready for blocking later today! More later.

Knitting and love

2008-02-18T22:15:00.001-05:00

Dear Eyeknit,

My son is socially challenged (which is like calling the ocean damp, but anyway) and has problems at school -- with both teachers and the other children. I know this and many days, I can deal, reassuring him that we love him, that he can deal with these issues, that we're ready to help if he wants, that he is brave enough to cope. Then some days, I get a visceral wave of memory, of what it was like to hate school, to have no friends there, to not know why the other children hated me, teased me, made life hard for me. To not know how to negotiate the intricacies of friendship. I never figured it out. I just got older. Walked away from it. Solved these problems as a grown-up. Now I see my son walking a similar road, and my whole being wants to howl in agony. I know--too well--how it feels. And I never figured it out, so I don't know how to help him.

One thing I do when someone I love is hurting is I knit for them. I weave my love into the movement of wool, the pattern. I pour my need to keep them safe and warm into what I make for them. It's a comfort to me, and I hope, to them, but that doesn't matter as much as me channeling my impotence into something tangible. That I may be helpless to solve my child's problems at school, to heal my mother's mind, but I can give them warmth and beauty. There, I am not helpless (even if I am a little haphazard).

Of course, Daniel is working at fitting in. So hand-knits can be a little tricky. He feels he needs--on alternate Tuesdays, to be fair to his own sense of individuality--to be cool, to not be teased for, of all things, his stripy hat. So much do I love this child (and as knitters, you will know how much love this took) that I bought him these:
Total cost: $5.98 from Target.
I really do love this child.

The plus? I couldn't care less that he decided to cut a small hole in it because (as he said) "something was stuck to it."

love, Stuntmother

Museum Quality Knits

2008-02-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Okay, not really museum-quality, but we did go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for some family fun and to photograph my new sweater. I love the Silk Garden, especially this colorway which matches every pair of pants I own, plus jeans.

Pattern: Laura Chau (Cosmicpluto)'s Top Down Raglan Cardigan

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (45% silk, 45% kid mohair, 10% wool), color #47; 10 1/2 skeins or about 1150 yards.

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony, US#7

Size: Custom; but it turned out about 44", which is +1 inch of ease. The raglan construction means that short women with a larger bust size can end up with too much excess under the arms. I could have gone with maybe 2 fewer of the increase rows, but I'm always terrified of a t00-small sweater. I was also kind of thinking slightly shorter in the body, but I had to knit an extra 1 1/2" to make the buttonhole spacing work out right. I think overall it fits well, and I'm moving (gradually) toward knitting more fitted sweaters. See that waist shaping?

Time to Knit: 3 1/2 weeks

Comments: Easy-peasy-lemon squeezy. This yarn is totally beautiful, and I'm just glad I got it for 30% off the very high original price. For something which has so little actual wool, I do love its matte finish and sproing. This turned out to be the perfect pattern for this yarn which has a lot going on (okay, not really a lot going on for Noro, but still...). Also a good way to deal with a yardage limit slightly on the scant side.

It was a sunny day in Philly today.

William enjoyed the kids' drawing session in the American Art wing.

Love, Eyeknit

One Down, Two to Go

2008-02-06T21:19:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

When we took our Christmas card photo this year, we all wore hand-knit sweaters (no surprise there). DH commented that it would be nice to wear new hand-knits every year for the picture. Yeah, right. That means me knitting each of us a new sweater every year...I guess I'd better get started.

This morning, I finished the first one...that Noro Silk Garden had been insistently knocking on the stash closet door, begging for attention. I bought it 30% off at the Main Skein's going out of business sale last winter. They only had 11 balls, which might be a little scant for a sweater to fit me. I used Cosmicpluto's Easy Top Down Raglan pattern (Ravelry link), and decided that if it came to 3/4 length sleeves or a short body, that would have to be okay. Well, I got full-length sleeves and a normal body length, and have about 1/2 ball left. Yeah! I'll show it to you once it's dry and has buttons.

Next...

The DH has looked at countless sweater photos and patterns, and has deemed only three of them acceptable. Wow. Knitting for men is a challenge. Here is the planning stage of the Man's Fair Isle Sweater (creative naming!) from Scottish Highland Knits, which seems also to have been published with another title: Scottish Inspirations (?). This looks fun to knit, with baby cable ribbing, tweedy yarn (Rowan Scottish Tweed DK) and a very subtle stranded pattern on the yoke.

However...

It's knit in pieces, which means purling in stranded knitting. Um, no. I don't think so. I see no reason to do this, when you can just steek the silly thing. So, I'm in the process of re-writing the pattern to be worked in the round, with steeks for the armholes, neck and back shaping. It's a little tricky, since the placement of the yoke pattern depends on a firm grasp of your row gauge. I hope the little swatch is enough (it looks folded because I knit it in the round as a tube, then cut it up the middle, to simulate an unreinforced steek. No problem--no raveling). Then, I'll pick up stitches and knit the sleeves down to the cuffs. That way, I should be able to perfect the sleeve length.

Now, to find an appropriate pattern for the boy. For some reason, he seems to think he wants a rust sweater (he just learned that "rust" is a valid color name, which pitches him into a fit of giggles). I like this and this and this. Sorry--no photo in that last link. It's a pullover knit in doubled Felted Tweed, with a little half-zip at the neck, and one big stripe across the chest. Felted Tweed = Tweedy goodness, but not scratchy at all, and comes in lovely colors.

What do you think?

Love,
Eyeknit

Lengthing Sweater Sleeves--10 Months Later

2008-01-29T13:34:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

You know the Cambridge Jacket (scroll down) I knit my DH for his birthday last March? Well, it fits wonderfully except for the sleeve length. You can't really see it in these photos, because his arms are extended pretty straight. When he's in motion, though, they ride up a little and it's apparent that they should be at least 1 or 2 inches longer. It looks a little skimpy. He claims he didn't notice it being a major problem until I commented...now they bother him.

I thought about fixing this at the time, but I didn't think I could make a good repair without making it look bad. These sleeves are cast on at the cuff and knit flat and upward. After everything is seamed together, a single-crochet edging is applied for a nice edge and to counter curl. If there had been a ribbed cuff, the fix would be a no-brainer.

You and I talked it over last weekend, though, and I thought you had a good point. Just pick up the stitch heads and knit downward, trusting that I could fudge the 1/2 stitch jog in the seam.

All righty, then. I had 15 g of the original yarn (Cascade 220 Heathers), plus a 9 g swatch which had been blocked before knitting. After unraveling the swatch, I decided that this portion was way too Ramen-noodly to use, even with a quick steaming.

Step #1: Patiently unpick the crocheted edging and the mattress stitch sleeve seam, stitch by stitch.

Step #2: (after about 30 minutes). Swear a little, run a smaller needle through the sts about 3 rows down, and cut off the excess fabric.

Step#3: Knit back and forth until the yarn almost runs out, trying to ignore the nasty groove marking the pick up row.

Step #4: Decide that a crocheted bind off will look and function nearly the same at the crocheted edging, and do this loosely.

Step #5: Re-sew the mattress seam, which seems funny, since you're looking for the ladders within each stitch, not between sts. In other words, the intact sts flanking either side of the seam look upside down compared with how you're used to matressing. Fudge the join and sew in ends.

Step #6: Steam the heck out of the cuffs, focusing on the curl at the ends and the irregular pick up row.

Summary:

Pros: Husband's sweater has longer sleeves (by about 2") now. The join is 3" above the cuff, but I lost nearly an inch with the excision. The operation took about 3 hours, which would have been much less if I had succumbed to cutting the bind-off right off the bat.

Cons: The pick up row is visible, even after steaming. I've convinced myself it looks kind of like the groove you get with a knitted-in hem.

What do you think?

Love, Eyeknit

My Color Inspiration: "The Colorway on the Highway"

2008-01-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

So, color theory is kind of mysterious. I've been reading Color in Spinning by Deb Menz. My sister (Beth) gave it to me for my birthday. Overall, the book is way above my head when discussing different dying methods and equations. I'm not sure I want to get into the messy hobby of dying yarn. However, she makes some very good points about color theory and sources of color inspiration. In fact, I used her comprehensive discussion about using complementary colors versus a triad of primary colors to achieve blends to make my Christmas cookies. (I don't have brown food dye, but we needed to ice reindeer cookies. I concocted a rich, sable brown using her principles).

She emphasizes paying better attention to color schemes we encounter in our daily lives. I think this happened for me very unexpectedly on our way to The Mannings last weekend. There we were, driving blithely through small central Pennsylvania towns and rural highways, when I said, "Hey that's a pretty house. I like the colors they used on the trim." You said, "Yes; it is a nice colorway". I think I said, "Maybe for mittens." [You thought I just had mittens on the brain.]

We drove on our way, and at the yarn store I independently formulated a nice combination of solid fingering yarns, so that I'd have plenty on hand for Latvian colorwork. See?

L-R: Sable, Curry, Cinnabar, Peacock, Sand

Yeah. I totally didn't realize it until we drove past that house on the way home. You were kind enough to take a photo of it, thus documenting my folly. We never really invent anything. The subconscious is a funny place. I guess Elizabeth Zimmermann was right when she used the term "unvent".

They'll still be nice mittens.

Love, Eyeknit

Mittens Really Are the New Socks*

2008-01-20T12:42:00.001-05:00

*only we don't wear them on our feet.

It's Eyeknit here. This is our first (I think) joint post, born of the realization that we've independently been knitting away on gloves and mittens since the new year began. We're not the only ones...it was Theresa who commented that "mittens are the new socks". She's right. What's so great about mittens? People can see them, up there on our hands, uncovered by shoes and pants. They tend to be fancy and maybe whimsical and sometimes downright traditional. Oh, man. My head has been spinning with mitten patterns and yarn ideas for weeks now.

Let's see what we've accomplished so far. I'll go first, and then we can take turns:

Eyeknit: These are my Bird in Hand mittens. Everyone is making them, and for very good reason. Not unlike Kate Gilbert's other wildly popular pattern (Clapotis), they look good in just about any colors, and the pattern was beautifully written. It's a pleasure to receive a chart that doesn't even need to be enlarged for comfort. I've received more positive comments from non-knitters on these than any other garment I've knitted thus far. Both sides are gorgeous, with floral design elements which flow so wonderfully into the thumb gusset.

Yarn: Cascade 220 in Coral, and Ella Rae Classic in ?Ecru--it's color #9. These aren't my usual color choices, but I'm delighted with them.

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony US#2 (2.75 mm), Magic Loop

Notes: Love the painstaking sideways single-color braid. At first, using worsted weight yarn on relatively teeny needles seemed wrong, but the fabric is perfect for mittens: evenly tensioned, cushy and firm.

The thumb birdies seem a sweet little secret.
Stuntmother writes: And I too, in a bout of ransacking the stash for something New! Different! Satisfying! And handy! found a kit I'd bought a year or more ago for these lovely Blackberry Mittens from Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill. These are really fun, although my tension is wonky as willy and needs a blocking like I need a Cosmopolitan.

Having finished one, I had a sudden premonition of second mitten syndrome and cast on the second like a maniac, although progress has slowed slightly (see why below). I do think they'll be wonderful and I am learning more about colorwork. Like "long floats are a pain in the neck" and other such wise words.

And just one thing -- do you see that thumb? That's for someone who is all thumbs. I mean really. There's twice as much thumb there as I need. An inch of that thumb is destined to be frogged. But love the lovely braid and the pretty blackberry canes.
Eyeknit: Okay, next are my gift mittens for you (very, very late birthday). I'm proud of the yarn I handspun for them, but a little appalled at how blotchy and lumpy said yarn performed in stranded knitting. Live and learn. The fiber does tell the story of my wheel acquisition, and they mark the very first handspun I made on my own wheel.

Pattern: Squirrel and Oak Mittens, by Adrian Bizilla of Hello Yarn

Yarn: The dark brown is handspun Corriedale, purchased from Toni at The Fold (from whom I bought my wheel). It was the cheapest sale fiber they had, and I bought a few ounces to use in trying out various wheels in the shop. Later, I found I was making pretty decent yarn from it, and I asked Toni to mail me some more. She did, twice, after the first shipment was lost in the postal ether. It's a 2-ply, about 12 wpi, spun modified worsted.

The light (squirrely) heathered yarn is also a 2-ply, about 12 wpi. I bought the fiber at Rhinebeck, the day I actually picked up the aforementioned wheel. It's from Fantom Farm--the same booth where Adrian (yes, the same Adrian!) got the lovely fiber for her Fantom Bohus yoke. It's 50/50 Romney wool and alpaca. I love, love, love that it was labeled with the animals' names. The sheep is named Thunder and the alpaca, Jasiu. I spun this one kind of woolen, since the prep was kind of fluffy and random.

Needles: US#4 bamboo DPNs

Notes: Another great pattern. Although my stitch gauge was right on, my row gauge was off, and they're a little short. I found that my own hands have a very wide thumb angle, so this style of tab thumb is not ideal for me. For a comprehensive treatment of different mitten and glove thumbs, look here. Look in the sidebar under Technique Posts. Nanette Blanchard quite literally wrote the book on glove knitting (and you can download it if you want!)

See how the wonderful circle of fiber life is completed?

Stuntmother: And I love them, and am proud to own mittens made from your first handspun and always will treasure them. And wear them because it's been COLD so far this year.

I also decided, after a strange afternoon of whipping my mittens off to take photos and putting them back on before my hands froze and repeating until I was crazed and sure that I had lost both mittens and my mind, that I needed to knit some gloves. Since I had more pink yarn left from my hat, I thought I'd make gloves to match my new floppy beret and used the cabling design from Gretel (oh that clever Ysolda) for my cuffs. Which made a lovely long, wind defying cuff:

I then cobbled together a pattern from One Skein (the unisex gloves) and the Cigar Gloves from Knitty, but basically I just bound off the first finger and thumb when I thought it looked right and they're the biz. Click click, clickety click click. I'm the pink-gloved paparazzi now (for all those Carlisle movie stars, whatever). Click click flash flash click.

And you're knitting gloves, too, I see.

Eyeknit: Yes indeed. After many false starts combining colorways (I began the yarn hunt almost a year ago), I've chosen an unlikely duo. I think it's working. I'll let you know--I'd like to get to start some fingers later tonight. Will post project details when they're done. Yes, both the Selbuvotter book and Latvian Mittens are on my bedside table. So many mittens, so little time...

Do you think our hands will be warm enough this year? Mmm. Perhaps.

Love, Eyeknit and Stuntmother

A new hat for a new year

2008-01-08T17:46:00.000-05:00

Dear Eyeknit,

Baby, it's cold inside, and I wear a hat pretty much all the time. I mostly wear one of two black wool berets I've had for a while but recently I began to dream of a large beret. A pretty beret. A floppy, droopy beret that would have an almost 1920's character to it. A beret, in short, with personality.

First I knit my own, without a pattern and that ended up not so much floppy as flabby. It is headed for the rip box. Of course, I need not have struggled because the marvellous Ysolda had already designed the hat I wanted. Gretel.

This was one of those perfect knitting projects. I had to learn something which I am glad to now know how to do, but which wasn't a doddle to learn (the tubular cast-on). It kept me interested throughout, struck me as clever, provided both the initial rush of knitting pleasure (ooh, a new project! A new project!) and the satisfaction of finishing soon.

I didn't plan to block it because it fits well around the brim, but not so well I want to risk stretching it, but there is a bit of a nipple. Which is even worse with pink yarn than otherwise.

So perhaps I will attempt to steam the nipple.

And I used one of the oldest yarns in my stash: leftover pink worsted from a yarn store in Concord, MA that I bought for a sweater I knit when I was about 16. Which is a lot of years ago. A lot. I actually have enough pink worsted for another hat. Or for some long cabled arm warmers maybe. And it's lovely wool, heathery, rosy and strong. No labels now, but I think the labels once upon a time said simply "The Wool Shop."

And I have hardly stopped wearing it. Even though today and yesterday were not exactly cold. Ah, the slender fringe benefits of global warming.

Love, Stuntmother

My 2007 Personal Sock Challenge is DONE!

2007-12-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

(only those currently in my possession are pictured)

Dear Stuntmother,

It's official! I've completed my goofy personal sock knitting goal...24 pairs in the year 2007.

In case of emergency you may bury me in these--the 42nd pair in my brief sock-knitting career. If they were good enough for Eleanor de Toledo, they're good enough for me. I was captivated by the historical background when I first saw this pattern. What a serendipity...to exhume a noblewoman who died in the 16th century of infectious disease and find a version of these lovely, lovely socks. They're stretchy and detailed and well-fitted and made in a humble, somewhat scratchy wool/nylon blend. (I think the originals were silk).

Pattern: Eleanora Socks, by Miriam Felton of Mimknits
Yarn: Fortissima Socka, heathered grey (color #1057)
Needles: Addi Turbo US #1, magic loop method
Started: December 15, 2007
Finished: December 28, 2007
Modifications: I continued the pattern down the heel flap, and used a 3-stitch garter edge. The idea was from strikker on Ravelry. I think it makes all the difference.

Comments:
--This stitch pattern eats yarn. I ran out and needed about 10 yards (no kidding) from another ball. Don't be surprised if you start to see lots of grey heels and toes around here.
--I love the tiny hem at the top--you start with a provisional cast on, knit 4 rows, 1 turning row, 4 more knit rows, then k2tog the next row. Very tailored and elegant (and also a pain, on size 0 needles).

--I love how the toe decreases all occur in pattern, rather than the usual/predictable stockinette toe cap.--This pattern is stretchy not just width-wise, but vertically, too. This limits the typical problem I have with stitch patterns looking really compressed as they stretch to reach around my rather muscular calves.

Here's the quick rundown of all the socks knitted this year:

[All links will show a detailed view of the socks, usually on blockers]

PATTERN/DESIGNER/YARN/RECIPIENT

1. Madder Rib Socks/Nancy Bush/Mt. Colors Bearfoot/for Mom
2. Lenten Rose/Sundara Murphy/Sundara Yarn/for me
3. Widdershins/Brooke Chenoweth Creel/Sweet Georgia Speed Demon/for me
4. Diamante/Deb Barnhill/Opal UNI/for my sister Beth
5. Canal du Midi/Nancy Bush/Louet Sales Gems fingering/for me
6. Slipnside Ou Stitch Rib/Sundara Murphy/Sundara Yarn/for our nanny, Chrissy
7. Inside Out/Kaci Kyler Hayes/STR Medium/for me
8. Oak Rib Socks/Nancy Bush/Fleece Artist Merino/for me
9. Generic Widdershins-inspired/concocted by me/Silky STR/for me
10. Elfine's Socks/Anna Bell/Fleece Artist Sea Wool/for my Sockapalooza 4 pal, Hanna
11. Monkey/Cookie A./Cherry Tree Hill/for friend, Annette
12. Twisted Flower/Cookie A./Shelridge Farms/for me
13. Diagonal Rib/Ann Budd/STR Medium/for me
14. Solstice Slip/JC Briar/STR Light/for me
15. Loskins/Cassandra /Koigu/for friend + coworker, Gina
16. Pomatomous/Cookie A./Cherry Tree Hill/for me
17. Generic with Sherman heel/concocted by me/Regia Kaffe Fassett/for me
18. Coriolis/Cat Bordhi/STR Light/for me
19. Ocean Toes/Cat Bordhi/STR Medium/gift
20. Baudelaire/Cookie A./Louet Sales Gems fingering/for me
21. Sidewinders/Nona of Nonaknits/Lornas Laces Shepherd Sock/for me
22. Generic little boy socks/concocted by me/Opal Rainforest/for William
23. Jeweled Steps/Cat Bordhi/Mt. Colors Bearfoot/for me
24. Eleanora/Miriam Felton/Fortissima Socka/for me (see above)

Interesting stats (well, interesting to me...):
--Direction of knitting: 11 pairs toe-up, 12 cuff-down, 1 sideways
--Designers: 4 Cookie A., 3 Nancy Bush, 3 Cat Bordhi et al.
--Short Row Heels: only 4 pairs
--Needles: 21/24 involved my trusty Addi Turbo US#1, 40" for all or all-but-upper-cuff-for-shaping. Magic Loop employed for every single pair.
--Recipient: 16/24 for me, me, me. Hey, my foot is always available for a fitting!

Which is my favorite pair? That's like choosing between children. I think Canal du Midi, Twisted Flowers, Loskins and Eleanora are outstanding in this field.

Okay, do you want to see all my socks? I've been envious of others' sock color wheels, but now I have my own. As my husband commented as I took this shot, "Enough, already. Don't you think you have way too many socks?" I'm sorry, Honey. I don't comprehend your meaning.

With all this post-sock euphoria, I neglected to cast on another pair right away. Wouldn't you know...I ended up taking our dog to the emergency vet hospital today. There was absolutely nothing in my purse to knit while waiting for test results. That has to be the first time that's happened in years.

What shall I cast on now? Hmm... Mittens, maybe?

Love,
Eyeknit

The Joy of Spinning

2007-12-21T08:49:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

In spinning, what comprises an FO?

I've been spinning... but it never occurs to me to photograph the bobbins, the niddy-noddy or the skeins before knitting something. I guess I'm accustomed to showing only the final product here on the blog. But in spinning, the washed and set skein really is the finished object, right? I'll try to do better, but I've already made one and a half handknitted, handspun things which I've neglected to blog here.

So, here is the yarn I made from my first Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club offering--the best birthday present ever, from my parents. It's called "Pie For Everyone", and is 4 oz of Falkland wool. I neglected to photograph the roving, but it looked just like this.

I tried to spin it bulkier than I've done before, as my default yarn (if I spin without any particular goal in mind) seems to be a 2-ply DK-to-worsted range. I've heard the experienced spinner's lament, "once you learn to spin skinny, it's hard to spin thick". I also thought that a very fine yarn in this colorway might dilute the lovely contrasts. So, I got either 15o yards (measured fresh from the bobbin onto the niddy-noddy) or about 110 yards (after washing and beating it up pretty hard). It's about 8-10 wpi, and it's by far the boingiest thing I've spun yet. I can't wait to use it for Cherry Garcia, but I'll wait for the holiday vacation (I hope there are some Harmony Options needles coming my way from the same wonderful and suggestible gifters as above).

Spinning is fun, Stuntmother...you shoud give it a whirl!

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm having a sock crisis. On this, the last pair for my personal 24-pr. challenge, I've (wait for it...) run out of yarn. I've successfully knitted 41 pairs of socks to date, and never run out of yarn. Yes, I've chosen patterns carefully, shortened cuffs, knit toe-up and other sundry maneuvers to this dire situation, but I've run out of yarn. I can hardly believe it. The sock (so far) is beautiful, but I only have ten days to locate another skein of Fortissima Socka in color 1057 (heathered grey) and knit 1 1/3 socks. I have to go check Ravelry and all the LYSs. Wish me luck.

Fall Socks Roundup (Somewhat Late)

2007-12-14T08:10:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I can hardly believe it's been nearly a month since I've posted. I won't go into my excuses, as they're the usual ones: time of year, work, kid... Same old, same old.

I need to show you sock pairs #20, 22, and 23, as I prepare to cast on for #24: the last socks of 2007. [In my head, it's Santa's voice in The Polar Express, bellowing "The First Gift of Christmas!" I don't bellow well. Take my word for it. ]

Somehow, I skipped showing you pair #20:

Pattern: Baudelaire by Cookie A.
Yarn: Louet Sales fingering weight (185 yds/50 g), Sage
Needles: Addi Turbo US#1 for foot and lower leg, US#2 for upper half of leg. (Cheaters' method of calf shaping, suitable for intricate patterns in solid yarn)

Evaluation: Cookie does it again. I think these were done back in October, so I'm not 100% sure which size I made (probably L), but Cookie always does a thorough job of providing several sizes for her socks. If you measure your foot carefully and do as Cookie says, they will fit. The toe-up heel is Widdershins-style, which I particularly adore. They look baggy on the blockers, but fit me perfectly. I highly recommend this pattern. The only trouble spot was in transitioning to working in the round again after the heel is completed. You have to do a weird increase/cabley thing which gave me fits, but it's only one row in the whole sock. The Louet Sales fingering (used to call it Pearl) yarn is great for socks. It really blooms in the first washing and makes a cohesive and flexible fabric. Some of my favorite socks ever are in this yarn (Waving Lace, Canal du Midi, and these) and it wears better than many other wool-only sock yarns.

Okay, pair #22:

William's "Zebra" socks
Pattern: None--plain top-down stockinette socks for my little man's measurements.
Yarn: Opal Rainforest Collection (100g=425m), Oskar der Traumer colorway.

Okay, here's the story behind these socks. I made William Opal Tiger socks last year. He's worn them well, and they're too small now. I mentioned that there's zebra yarn available, and he seemed excited. While visiting The Fold in October, I spied this lovely ball of black and white yarn, and bought it without examining the label carefully. Instead of a zebra, there's a picture of a black and white moth! My German friends say that the colorway just translates to "Oscar the dreamer", and it does not refer to any specific type of butterfly or moth. Hmmmm.

I figured that in a small sock, fancy colorways act unpredicatbly anyway...so I just call them zebra socks and the boy likes them. I did work on the rainforest socks literally inside the rainforest (El Yunque, Puerto Rico: the only actual rainforest within the U.S. Forest Service).

Look how huge they are compared with the socks from last year!

This is the only child-sized pair in my self-imposed "24 pairs in 2007" challenge. Yes, I'm counting them.

And, the penultimate pair, #23:

Pattern: Jeweled Steps, from New Pathways for Sock Knitters, by Cat Bordhi
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot (60% superwash wool, 25% mohair, 15% nylon, 350yds/100g). Mountain Twilight colorway.
Needles: Addi Turbo US#1
Size: I used Master Numbers to interpolate a size between the two listed (for about an 8.5" foot circumference)
Modifications: Added calf shaping by increasing one stitch each side seam above the heel "flap", every 6 rows. This was a little much even by my generously calved standards, and the purl ridge cuff flared out unattractively. I ripped back and did a K2, P1 ribbed cuff, and now I love them.
Comments: That darned Cat... she's pretty smart. Although using this book involves lots of jumping around for a toe and a heel and a cuff, the fit is superb. I so love the Bearfoot for cozy wintery socks. The steps were fun--they're just a wrap around three stitches. Very nice.

What will pair #24 be? Something not so avant-garde, no flashy colors, no crazy shaping. You'll see. Then, I'll show you my burgeoning sock drawer and a quick recap.

Love,
Eyeknit

Yeah, yeah...yet another Tangled Yoke

2007-11-19T21:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Remember when the Fall IK came out, and you mentioned there was a sweater you thought would be nice on me? And remember when I said that both sleeves were already done, and the body started? I guess great knitting minds think alike!

My Tangled Yoke Cardigan has been finished for 2 months, and by now you've seen hundreds of them in blogland. (Yes, literally hundreds. Ravelry shows 370 projects for this pattern). I know...bad blogger...I'm always awaiting proper photos. Anyway, despite the delay it's exactly what I wanted--a lighter-weight cardigan that I can wear to work, either with pants or a skirt. Slightly more fitted than other handknits I've made, but not tight. I've been wearing it with everything from corduroy jeans to dress pants to a schoolgirly skirt. It works with everything. Yay, Eunny Jang! From the moment she showed the glimpse of this pattern's prototype on her blog, I couldn't wait. I bought the yarn the same day I received my Interweave Knits in the mail, and cast on the next day. It took about 8 weeks, and the celtic knotwork was fun. I'd never done columns of knit stitches traveling over a knit st. background, but it works beautifully.

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan, IK Fall 2007, size 46". It actually turned out about 45", which is about 2" of ease for me.

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed, 152 (Watery), 9 balls.

Needles: US# 4. I started out with Addi Turbos, and found it a horrible chore. I think I've become a much looser knitter over the last 2 years, and I had to work to keep the stitches from slipping off the left needle tip. I sprang for an Addi Natura 40" (wood), and it became much more pleasurable. I'm hoping some Harmony (Knitpicks) needles might be coming my way for my birthday or Christmas.

Modifications: Not much...knit the sleeves and body about 1 inch shorter, and changed the number of sts picked up for the button bands accordingly.

Comments:
Eunny really thinks about each step, and writes a quality pattern. This can only bode very well for IK.

--The faux seam on the body and sleeves is genius.

--The neckband is so lovely, as it's turned under and 3-needle bind off used to hem it into place.

--Felted Tweed just might be the perfect yarn. Lightweight, warm, tweedy, it forms a beautiful, supple fabric, and every single color is perfect.

Overall, a fulfilling knitting experience for both process and product knitters.

Love,
Eyeknit

Puerto Rico...You Lovely Island...Island of Tropical Breezes...

2007-11-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

So, I've been absent for several days...miss me? You remember my pledge to knit 24 pairs of socks in 2007, and in the process to experiment with as many different heels, toes and construction techniques as possible. As I've documented here, I've knit top-down, toe-up, and spirally (thanks to Cat Bordhi). It seemed the year of exploration was drawing to a close, but could not possibly be complete without knitting socks sideways. Enter Nona's Sidewinders.

Skeptical? I'm always skeptical. Off the foot, they look limp and shapeless.

During the knitting they resembled nothing so much as a half-completed Baby Surprise Jacket. But, what a lovely surprise they were! After weird shaping instructions, flat (!) back-and-forth stockinette and a grafting marathon...super well-fitting socks!

Oh, and it helped that I knit the second sock in lovely Puerto Rico, by the pool.

Pattern: Sidewinders: A Perpensockular Pattern, by Nona (links above).
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, in Tuscany colorway.
Needles: Addi Turbo US #2 this time, 24" circular used to knit flat.
Time to knit: Maybe 8 days total?
Stats: Pair #21 for 2007 and #39 overall. No, you haven't seen pair #20 yet. No photos.

Comments:

--The pattern is many, many pages long if you print it all out. After finishing the first sock, I ended up making a little notecard with only my size's instructions, to make it portable. Nona does include many, many sizes which should fit most adult women, whether wide or narrow of foot. Check the measurements carefully, since I have kind of wide feet, and the measurements for the medium corresponded to my feet, and they fit nicely.

--I needed a US#2 to get the 30 stitches and 40 rows in 4", as the pattern specifies. In a tubularly-knit sock, this would be much too flabby and loose for this yarn. However, the sock stretches vertically in this pattern, and the fabric looks and feels nice when worn.

--What a wonderful way to use those balls of handpainted yarn whose colors have failed time after time to behave! (You know what I mean).

--Short rows form two triangles of extra width for the calves. I was worried they wouldn't be enough for my rather peasant-like legs, but the socks aren't very long. If you wanted to modify the pattern to make them longer, I might insert another short-row gusset in the back (just before the last row).

--As many on Ravelry have commented, it's easier to make tidy increases than decreases when the decreases have no intervening plain stitches. An obvious ladder of yarn stretched between the decreases, no matter how tightly I pulled. I took others' tip and started over, with two extra stitches between the heel decreases. This worked nicely. Just remember to place the heel increases with 4 plain sts between the M1s. On the toe, I used the instruction as written, partly because I forgot to add those extras, but also because the toe stretches purely width-wise, and the ladders weren't such a problem here.

--I never really disliked the Kitchener graft, but if you have a problem with it this sock will either cure you or make you knit toe-up forevermore. You graft the entire sole, heel and leg together (120 sts for my size); then you graft the toe to the foot underneath. But wait--you really can't see it or feel it. The way it's described in the pattern was a teensy revelation to me. I know full well how to Kitchener, via the "knit-wise, drop off, purl-wise, leave on (front) and purl-wise drop off, knit-wise leave on (back needle)" instructions you'll see everywhere. Nona describes it as "in toward the center and out from the center"--meaning the lumen of the sock--for both needles. This might be an excellent way to explain it to a newbie. It's more intuitive, and less to remember. It reminds me of a line from West Side Story near the beginning, when Riff says to the Jets, "In, out--let's get cracking. Everyone dress up sweet and sharp and meet me and Tony at the gym at ten 0'clock. And walk tall!" to which one can only respond, "We always walk tall...we're Jets!" Cue the opening syncopation of The Jet Song. Yes, I have a little West Side Story on the brain, after visiting that lovely island.

--Ingenious concept, carried to fruition with painstaking attention to detail. Most excellent, Nona!
Puerto Rico was incredible. It's the first vacation we've taken in a long while that had nothing whatsoever to do with any medical conference. William was a trouper--he hiked the rainforest to a waterfall, went horseback riding and handled interruptions to his normally rigid schedule with aplomb. Now, if we could just work on his eating habits. Fortunately(?) chicken nuggets are ubiquitous the world over. I even learned to order "filetitos de pollo" and "papas fritas".

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. We can't wait to see you on Saturday. It's been far too long.

Ravelry is "free" (cough cough)

2007-11-05T11:58:00.000-05:00

Dear Eyeknit

Free, that is except if, like me, you cannot resist a good destashing sale. In fact, a visit by the postman today (and a couple of days last week) brought an avalanche of bargains.
Four skeins of Noro Kureyon for my still growing Lizard Ridge blanket. Three books: Lace Style, Fitted Knits and my own Victorian Lace Today so I can return yours (thank you for letting me hold onto it for so very long). A huge, beautiful skein of Tess Designer Yarns supermerino (570 yards! For Helena, of course!). There might also have been a little envelope with three sets of Addis in it which didn't make it into the photo. And, possibly the piece de resistance, a Namaste messenger knitting bag. An birthday present for me! It's bigger than I expected, which is good considering all the stuff I carry around in my bag all the time. And it's the color I would have chosen, if I were ordering it new, which is even nicer. A very good present for my birthday and I am very happy.

And speaking of birthday presents, there might have been one other teensy thing in all the packages that have been dropping through the door. Perhaps a little something for the other fiber- lover on this blog? Perhaps just a tiny peek?The rest will have to wait a few more weeks!

I've (in a closing the barn door after all the livestock have moved to Georgia way) moved the destashing thread further down my forums page so I am not lunging at it quite so regularly. Bargains or not (and they all were -- real bargains), that's quite enough restashing for now.

And because knitters are so nice, almost all the packages came in pretty tissue paper, with lovely cards, even if just to say -- happy knitting. The Namaste bag came with a couple of small chocolates. It makes this much more than shopping. It's about community, connection and yarn. It's what Ravelry epitomizes.

Now it's time for more knitting! Baby sweater almost done and ready to post! Sock, completely stalled! Ed's sweater, ticking along nicely! More Lizard Ridge squares! And a bag large enough to carry it ALL around it -- all at the same time.

love - Stuntmother

Calorimetry and Malabri-aiaiaiai-go

2007-11-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit -

So you know already that Malabrigo is my latin lover of yarns. Oh so soft, appealling and lovely to begin with. He sweet talks you, tells you about the wonderful things you are going to make together, how sexy you will look in them and how everyone will want to touch you just to make contact with the lovely soft woooool. He calls himself endearing little nicknames and shows up in a wide range of gorgeous colors. All the time he is wining you and dining you though, he's hiding a dirty little secret.

He's a pill.

Well, it pills. It does! So badly and soon you don't care about how soft it is because it's just pilling and pilling and you're pulling daggy sheep bits off your lovely Malabrigo hot water bottle cover and your lovely Malabrigo cardigan. Ptooey. Back to something sturdy and British for me, boy.

But I had this wee half-skein of Malabrigo left over from this cardigan. And I needed a quick fix, and my head was getting cold so I whipped up this:
And almost immediately it began to stretch and pill and pill and stretch and once again, I had risked all on just one more try with my gorgeous Malabrigo and once again, he let me down hard.

So you know what I did.

I felted that sucker. Ahahahaha. AND in a front loader. Mwahahahaha.
It's much better this way. Not quite so soft, and perhaps a bit less gorgeous, but just try pilling now. Oh and Malabrigo? Take a hike. You're not welcome round here no more.

love - Stuntmother.

Cat Bordhi--sock genius

2007-10-28T20:21:00.001-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Spinning proceeds apace.

Since the knitting is kind of stalled, I thought I'd show you two finished pairs of socks. They've been done for weeks, but there just hasn't been enough natural light to photograph them. As you know, I chased down a copy of New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi as soon as it was released. It's revolutionary. (No--I don't think those words are too strong). The basic premise is that you don't have to place the gusset decreases (or increases, in toe-up) in the traditional triangles on either side of the heel. They can be anywhere around the circumference of the arch, as long as they occur in the correct proportions to shape the sock.

Skeptical? Here are two examples from the book.

First is the Coriolis Sock; the version with the spiral the whole way up the sock. It grows toe-up, with a Widdershins-style heel, and a hemmed top. You take lots of measurements and fill in the numbers in a worksheet, for a custom fit. Even still--many of my sock instincts had to be squelched in order to finish this sock. I tried it on during the arch expansion rounds, and it seemed way too wide. I pushed on (just in case Cat actually knew what she was doing), and after the heel was completed, it fit perfectly! In this pattern, Cat uses negative ease in the length, not the width of the sock, as I usually do. The sock looks kind of deformed off the foot, but it fits beautifully.

The toe, in particular, is beautiful. It's radially symmetric, so you can rotate it around the foot, and it fits anywhere. The yarn probably looks its best here.

To recap:
Coriolis Sock, by Cat Bordhi
STR Lightweight in the Flower Power colorway from the Rockin' Sock Club for August.
Addi Turbo US #1, magic loop
No modifications, except to ignore my feelings about pooling and flashing and march forward with the knitting. I fully expected it, as the total number of stitches changed constantly from the beginning of the arch expansion to the hem. Oh--I did use the calf shaping, which Cat explains can happen by skipping a decrease every 5 rows after the ankle. My usual shaping would occur by increasing 2 sts every inch. Increasing 1 st every 5 rows worked out to approximately the same ratio.

Next up--Ocean Toes. I just liked these in the book's photo. I had appropriate yarn in the stash, so I cast on. Everything about these top-down socks was fun. The innovative triangular gussets (godets?) which occur at 4 points around the ankle are so cool. The pattern on top of the instep gets smaller and smaller, so there are compensatory increases on the sole (!). They fit beautifully, too, except for the very top of the cuff. I didn't realize how long the cuffs were going to be, and they extend over the muscular part of my calf. I'd do the first pattern repeat on a larger needle in the future. That's okay...these can be a gift for my sister, who has the same size feet, but svelter (probably not a word) calves. Don't forget about the lack of stretchiness inherent to any pattern knitted on the bias. I was kind of worried about running out of yarn, but one skein sufficed. I always feel good about the yardage and length of sock in the STR Mediumweight. The Lightweight seems slightly skimpy.

In summary:
Ocean Toes, by Cat Bordhi (in my mind, these go by "ocean nibblers", which is what Charlie calls fish sticks to entice Lola to eat them).
STR Mediumweight, in Lunasea, purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool, 2007 after standing in line at The Fold's booth. That was the first time I met Toni, who played such a key role in getting me my wheel.
Addi Turbo US#2, magic loop.
No modifications.

I'm looking forward to making more of Cat's innovative sockitectures, but I'm running a few days behind on the 24 pairs in 2007 goal. Only 4 1/2 pairs to go!

Love, Eyeknit

P.S. Squishy goodness.

What's in the Box?

2007-10-21T22:06:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Dateline: Rhinebeck, NY
10/20/07, about 5 pm
Look at my big box and the Fall foliage!

Toni at The Fold really came through for me. As you know, I was trying to decide between the Kromski Symphony and the Schacht-Reeves saxony wheels. They were very different in price, ease of use and style, and it just seemed there must be something in between. Actually, I knew there was something in between--the Lendrum Saxony wheel--but I had called 5 different websites which show this wheel, and they universally informed me of the 1- to 3-year waiting lists.

While in Chicago last weekend, we drove out to The Fold. Unfortunately, Toni was at SOAR. Her lovely husband and son welcomed us in, invited me to try any wheel and any fiber, and said to let them know when we wanted to check out. I got to try her maple Lendrum Saxony, and loved it.

I couldn't help returning there the next day, since I couldn't get that wheel out of my head. I asked if they had any others in stock. They called Toni on her cell, and she said there was one in the basement, but it was right-flyer. No good for me. I was disappointed, and hastened to get off the phone and stop bothering Toni. She said, "But wait--I'm seeing him this weekend, and I'll just get the kind you want". I wasn't quite following this part of the conversation, and must have sounded stupid..."Seeing whom, this weekend?"
Toni said, "Gord. Gord Lendrum. We're meeting on Saturday and he's supposed to bring me two wheels. I'll just tell him you want a walnut double-drive left-hand flyer. Do you want me to bring it to Rhinebeck? You can meet me there."

Well, I was floored and too excited for words. Toni is so accommodating and cool. So, after the STR rush was over at Rhinebeck on Saturday, we did the transaction and Allan lugged this huge box out to the car.

I spent part of today with the Danish oil, finishing this beautiful wood. It should be dry by tomorrow, and I'll assemble it after work. I purchased some fiber this weekend, but I need to practice a bit first, to get to know this lovely wheel.

Look how dramatically the walnut changed, just by rubbing a bit of oil on it. It's dark and lustrous and smooth.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. The Fold is fantastic. After seeing all the booths at Rhinebeck, it's interesting to me that The Fold has in stock more different kinds and colors of fibers than anyone at the festival.

P.P.S. Lots of kid-friendly activities at Rhinebeck (better than Maryland for the non-knitting family members).

P.P.P.S. It would have been more fun with you along.

Stash

2007-10-17T08:41:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit -

I am pretending that I can create order in my head by imposing order in my space. It's not a bad trick, actually. There is a definite connection between how tidy and serene a room is and how calm I feel in it.

But between moving and Ravelry, I suddenly felt the urge to spread lots of yarn out on the floor and photograph it. So I did. I think I'm only about halfway through. (If you like, you can see my sketchy notes on what everything is here.)

I have lots (and lots) of knitting to do. And I think I want some nice, plain, slightly hefty sock yarn to knit Eunny Jang's endpaper mitts. But that is probably not allowed, looking at this spread.

Love, Stuntmother

FO: Sherman Heel Socks

2007-10-12T09:36:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I never did show you the socks I received in Sockapalooza 4. My sockpal is blogless, but she has a Ravelry account as ShannonM. She's a fabulously accomplished knitter, works as a lawyer and has little ones. When I received the socks, I couldn't figure out how her short row heels were constructed (as you know, I've had less-than-fabulous results with the wrap-and-turn method, though somewhat better with the yarnover method). She emailed me that they are Sherman Heels, available here online. Hers are tight and completely without holes. Go ahead and click to enlarge. Very impressive.

I tried them for the first time using my fabulous Kaffe Fassett Regia sock yarn. I decided to do both toes and heels using the Sherman method, reasoning that this should be enough to really learn the technique. I really love how they turned out, and the colorway is luscious. Kaffe truly is the man. I liked this yarn so much, that I went to the trouble of winding off enough yarn from one skein to make them match (almost perfectly), and to do the Kitchener tubular bindoff. They fit perfectly, and feel great.

Project: generic toe-up sock on 68 sts, using Sherman Heels and Toes, tubular bindoff and increases for calf shaping.
Yarn: Regia 4-fach haltbar (?) Design Line by Kaffe Fassett , landscape style (stripy), Earth colorway.
Needles: Addi Turbo US#1
Gauge: 8.5 sts/inch

Verdict: This heel is fabulous. Thanks, ShannonM--not just for knitting me lovely socks from Reynolds Sea Wool, but for pointing out this great new (to me) technique.

Love, Eyeknit

Ravelry

2007-10-11T19:57:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit -

I've been a member of Ravelry for a few months and have not truly plumbed its depths. But I'm working on it -- for now I want to know if you're on it and who you are and all of you out there (yes that means you! Yes, you!) tell me what your Ravelry names are and let's hang out!

Yes, I'm whoring for Ravelry friends. I don't care. I want to be a joiner for once! Have you seen there's a little button you can upload to your browser bar that lets you add patterns directly to your Ravelry queue? Do I need to even say, insane with excitement?

love,
Stuntmother

FO: Pomotami (What is the proper plural?)

2007-10-10T17:24:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I've been doing some spinning, and doing even more obsessing about which wheel to buy. Who knew this could be such a tough decision? Just as there is no one perfect stroller, car, or home to buy, no one wheel at any price point is perfect in all respects. At this moment, I'm thinking very seriously about two different Saxony wheels: the Kromski Symphony (walnut finish) and the Schacht-Reeves 30"(cherry, single-treadle). They have a similar appearance if you glance quickly, but one (the Reeves) is 2 1/2 times the price of the other, would entail a 6-12 week wait time, and is much more difficult for me to handle at this point. In contrast, the Kromski is extremely comfortable and smooth, and is a lot of wheel (and accessories) for the price. So, what's the problem? When I dream of spinning, I dream of the Reeves (quite literally), and I kind of enjoy a challenge. It would be the wheel to buy if I'm going to commit myself to serious spinning, especially of lace-and sock-weight yarns over the long haul. Yes, I'm totally crazy. I know this. The Reeves feels like a beautiful stallion I can't really control very well yet. Who would break first...the horse (sorry, the wheel) or me?

In knitting news, I've completed 3 pairs of socks and a sweater that I haven't shown you yet. First things first: these Pomotomi have been done for over a month. They took a while, and were hard on my wrists, like any twisted stitch pattern. I know that everyone and their blogger has already knit these, but they really are a sight to behold. Cookie A, again I bow down to your sock genius.

Pattern: Pomatomous (no reference needed)
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Blues/Greens
Needles: Addi Turbo US #2 for upper cuff, US#1 for ankle and foot; magic loop
Comments: This pattern is stunning, but kind of tricky on the transition rows (where there's a YO at the start or end of the needle) -- it's easy to forget where you are in the pattern).
Time to knit: I don't know...maybe 3 weeks or so?
Mods: needles size as above and blunter toe (Cookie's toes are always too pointy for me).
Stats: Pair #16 for 2007 and pair #34 overall.

A long delayed squeal of random present joy

2007-10-10T07:02:00.001-04:00

Dear Eyeknit

You know (and all of you know) that I've been a bad blogger these last few months as I've moved and sunk into the Slough of Despond. But I've been worse than that -- I neglected to thank the lovely and generous knitter Theresa of Knitting Underway for the sock-love present she sent after I rambled on about sock yarns in her comment section oh so many many moons ago -- like in March sometime. And it wasn't like I didn't appreciate it! Believe me, when one is in as great a funk as I was (am?) in, then random acts of yarn kindness are hugged to the face and sighed over and safely tucked into that mental category of "All will be well." They soothe the sad soul.

In any case, here is what the little box contained:Lovely KnitPicks sockyarn in Geranium and Burt Bees hand love! And now that I've managed (finally!) to document it here -- I can use it! Which is good because any work in the garden leaves my hands like sandpaper. Why can I remember to use gloves afterwards but not during?

As for the yarn, though, I am not allowed to cast anything on. Nothing. I've decided that one reason for my knitting funk (as distinct and yet interwoven with the overall funk) is that I tried to cure my funk by casting too many things on. I have too many projects started and not enough done, which rather makes me feel like I never finish anything. So! No new projects until a few are taken off the needles. Without even rummaging I can think of several: Lizard Ridge (might not count as many squares done); the mystery project needs a bit ripped back and reknit; Cambridge jacket; baby log cabin blanket; a second February baby sweater; stripy socks; Ed's socks; jaywalkers. That's without even looking and who know WHAT I would find if I looked.

Thank you Theresa! Even more so because I was so late about saying thank you. I love the yarn.

And I love knitting. La la la. One of the most sane (sanest?) things I've done this week is read oodles of knit blogs. Oh, the loveliness out there! The perseverance! The knitting! Something more to tuck into that little part of my brain called "All will be well."

Love - Stuntmother

P.S. If you are indeed going to Rhinebeck (as I cannot possibly manage this year) take lots and lots of photographs!

The Cambridge Jacket, Mk 2

2007-10-02T10:23:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit,

If there were ever any doubt as to which of us were the faster knitter, here is all the evidence necessary:

A hundred years ago (all right, in March), you and I swatched and cast on for the Cambridge jacket in the same week. Hey! A together project! What fun, we thought. A week later, our projects looked like this.
(Hey Liz! Thanks for taking the picture.)

Three weeks later, you had a gorgeous finished cardigan and I had eight inches of the back. Hey ho, I thought. It's getting warmer all the time. Who needs a wool sweater in the spring? I'll knit it for the autumn. Then I stuffed it into my UFO bag and started sulking in preparation for moving.

And even that didn't take into account a knitting slump that would shock even the Mets. But there is light. Light, I tell you.
An almost completed back. I'm just considering whether to short row the decreases (a la your wonderful self) or follow the pattern and whether, if I'm going to short row, whether I'm going to graft the shoulders, or three needle bind them. In the meantime, there's a lovely, fall looking little mystery project...
About which, more later. Roll on, autumn days.

love, Stuntmother

3 Exceptionally Slippery Slopes

2007-09-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I'm delighted to see you've posted! Our (few) readers probably thought I was just talking to myself all these long months. All of us who know you realize, even if you don't, that your creativity will return. When it does, we'll be here to cheer!

On to my slippery slopes:

1. An old favorite, now enjoyed by another generation...

2. An intriguing new way to think about sock architecture, by a woman who really knows how to think outside the box. This book gets points for creative vision as well as for clear writing, detailed techniques and handy charts for custom fitting.

3. A new interest for me... I knew it just might be a matter of time for serious knitting to slide into longing to create my own yarn, yet still--I didn't thing it could take over my imagination so quickly. As you can see, spinning has taken over my imagination much more quickly than it has taken over my hands and feet. Still, my yarn (!) has improved from my first to my second lesson, and I'm looking forward to trying again. Hey--our birthdays are approaching! Maybe something all twisty and treadly and smooth? Maybe something to spin your mojo back into orbit?

Love,
Eyeknit

Empty Hands

2007-09-12T11:28:00.000-04:00

I am looking for my missing mojo, but it seems to have slipped quietly out the back door while we were trying to move in the front. I knew that moving would discombobulate me, but I didn't know how much. How much?

This much.These are my empty hands, my non-knitting, sad and lonely hands. Whenever I have thought about posting (and I know I have been gone a long while) I had this image in my head of my hands once so busy and now so fallow and wondered what I could possibly post.

But then I thought this:

Knitting is about wool and pattern and needles. We rejoice in color, we celebrate twist and fiber, we read through patterns, delight in their precision, despair in their errors. We look for lovely pointy needles, for needles that slide, for needles that grip. We post photos of a perfect point, of gorgeous color, of the texture of cabling, of our unravelled discards, of our completed work. We think and write and enjoy all the pieces of our knitting life.

I may be currently without mojo, without the happy rush of looping wool, of shifting colors. I lack the pleasure of casting on, the triumph of casting off. I may pet my wool sometimes and wonder when (not if) I will once again be one with my tools. And yet, so sadly bare, I can see the hands that make things, hold my wool, hold my needles. I can see, even in this strange time, the most important tools of all my knitting tools. My two hands.

And I know that they cannot be still for long.

FO: Peapod Baby Set

2007-09-05T21:58:00.001-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Welcome, Harry James!

He was born (early!) to the unflappable Nicole, who works in my practice. He's a beautiful little guy doing well so far, and I hope he enjoys his new ensemble. I'm not usually into matching hat/sweater sets, but this one was too cute to pass up. Plus, the yardage estimates were way generous. I suspected as much, but didn't want to be caught short. So, buy the amount given for just the sweater, and I bet you'll have plenty for the hat.

Pattern: Pea Pod Baby Set, by Kate Gilbert, for Interweave (free download on Knitting Daily).

Size: 6 mos sweater, middle size (14.5") hat

Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Baby DK (57% extra fine merino, 33% acrylic microfiber, 10% cashmere with 142 yds per 50 g ball), every bit of 3 balls used. If you choose to make this size, it's possible you'd run out with 3 balls. However, the yardage estimates would have you purchase 5 balls of this yarn. Color SH804, a lovely soft greyish green. Quite unisex.

Needles: Addi Turbo US# 5

Time to knit: About the equivalent of 1 knitting week. I started it with a leisurely attitude, as Nicole's due date was October 3. When she went into preterm labor, I stepped it up a few notches.

Notes: This may be the sweetest baby sweater I've knit to date. It's luxuriously soft, machine-washable, lacy-stockinettey-and-seed-stitchy-all-at-the-same-time...and the ribbing is so precious I can't stand it. Good on you, Kate!

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. Is it just me, or are the hat decreases too cute?

FO: Mom's Birthday Sweater

2007-08-29T13:16:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

For my Mom's (April) birthday, I offered to knit her the Nashua Cable Edge Cardigan whose pattern and yarn were already well-ensconced in the stash. The dusty rose color is perfect on her, and she always seems to be cold. In addition, my Dad's mantra, "Do you have a sweater or light jacket with you?" necessitates a garment like this one.

I really love my mother. Should this statement ever be questioned, this sweater shall serve as the proof. If it had been intended for myself, I would have frogged it and destashed the yarn promptly. What was the big deal? Well...pattern errors...lack of published errata...yarn characteristics... you name it.

She does look lovely in it, as you can see.

Pattern: Cable Edge Cardigan, by Betsy Westman for Nashua. It's the cover sweater on the Nashua Occasions booklet.

Yarn: Nashua Handknits June (100% Microfiber), 50g=120 yards, rose. This is the yarn the pattern specifies. I used 11 balls.

Needles: Addi Turbo US #3, for a gauge of 26 sts x 34 rows in 4".

Time to knit: I don't know. About 2 1/2 months, but not monogamously.

Problems:
The main thing is the major (and minor) pattern errors, for which there are no extant errata that I could find. Out of desperation, I called Kathy Zimmermann, from whom I purchased the booklet and yarn. She owns the wonderful LYS Kathy's Kreations in Ligonier, PA. I also know that she wrote one of the other patterns in this very same book, and might know a secret source for Nashua errata. She, indeed, called the people who would know about these things and they denied that anyone had ever complained about this particular pattern. Hmmmm. Really? When I described the situation, she readily agreed that something was clearly missing.

Here are the modifications I made to the published pattern to allow for sleeves to fit a human arm:

Under SLEEVE, the directions tell you to do the ribbing, then the increases, until 91 stitches are on the needle. Then, shape the sleeve cap by binding off and proceeding as usual. However, if you do it their way, in their gauge, the sleeve will be 14.5 inches to the armscye. The schematic clearly shows that for all sizes, the sleeve measures 17.5 inches. Big difference--like, 27 extra rows. I did one more increase, knitted straight until the 17.5 inch mark, and then BO one additional stitch when the time came.

While shaping the sleeve cap, it says to Dec 2 sts each edge every 4th row 9x, then decrease 1 stitch every row 8 times. This would make the sleeve cap about 3.5" tall, when the schematic (and human anatomy) dictate 6". So, decrease every RS row only.

I knit the 38" (2nd) size, but these problems would foil each size in the pattern. It's not merely a case of not test knitting all the sizes.

Minor problems, like instructions to "knit 16 rows, then repeat the decrease row" which put you on the wrong (RS or WS) row are small annoyances, but really should be avoidable. I'm very concerned about the technical editing of Nashus patterns. I won't be reaching for another one very soon, although they really feature stunning and wearable sweaters. I know that errata are unavoidable, but they should be available on line.

Yarn problems: So, June is 100% microfiber. I've been reading No Sheep for You, and Amy Singer says that microfiber properly describes only fiber diameter, not the exact composition of the fiber, which may be acrylic, polyester or nylon. I don't know what this one is, but it was clearly designed to emulate cotton, with maybe a lighter weight fabric. I'm guessing here. Now, part of it is my own fault. I know I don't like to knit with cotton due to the lack of boing and the muscular effort I have to exert to knit it evenly. This yarn had to be wrestled into place with every stitch, and the stockinette still doesn't look perfect. Also, I know the statement that "you can't block acrylic". Since I didn't know what the exact fiber was, I performed the usual ritual wet-block and pinning I use for nearly all projects. It was a total waste of time. The fabric didn't change--in size, evenness of stitches, or the openness of the cabled front edging. It also wrinkles horribly if folded less than precisely. This sweater should really be knit tightly in a DK cotton, or maybe a bamboo- or Tencel- or Modal-containing blend.

What do I like about this sweater? In the end, I think it's a wearable sweater which looks pretty on Mom. I wish it could be more perfect, since she deserves a more amazing garment. The color is lovely, and I enjoyed knitting the cabled edge along with the fronts. The single button closure makes it versatile for spring and summer.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. Next time we're yarn shopping together, please remind me I really love wool the best. Elizabeth Zimmermann was right..."wool is the best material for knitting..." and, of course, "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises".

Double FO: Summer Socks

2007-08-24T10:34:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I'm woefully behind showing you my socks. I'll include two pairs here...the second July and the first August pairs.

Pattern: The Solstice Slip, from BMFA Rockin' Sock Club, by J.C. Briar. These have been finished for almost 3 weeks, and I have to show them to you since the next club shipment arrived yesterday.

Yarn: STR Lightweight in the Firebird colorway.

Needles: Addi Turbos US#1, Magic Loop.

Recipient: Me.

Stats: Sock pair #14 for 2007; pair #32 overall.

Notes: Slipstitch patterns squeeze tons of rows into a few inches, so it felt as if these took a long time. The fabric is squishy and lovely, though, as usual. I liked the toe-up construction with a "mini-gusset" and short-row garter heel. This makes for a perfect fit, yet avoids the holes I encounter with stockinette short row heels. Overall, a rousing success.

Next...

Pattern: Loskins, by Cassandra Thoreson, available here.

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, semisolid colorway (KU 439). The color is really lighter and more of a pale lilac than it appears here.

Needles: Addi Turbos, US #2 for the first half of the cuff, US#1 for the rest.

Recipient: Gina, a wonderful friend and our office manager. Not gifted yet...Shhhhh...don't tell.

Stats: Pair #15 for 2007 and #33 overall.

Notes: This pattern is completely lovely. The pattern was incredibly easy to memorize, and looks feminine without being overly holey or fussy. I made the size exactly as written (only 60 sts), but I would add 2 sts to the stockinette panels on the front and back if I made them again for myself. I subbed an eye of the partridge heel flap, but otherwise followed the pattern. This is a great gift sock, and looks more complex than it seemed to knit.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. Please post?

FO: Harvard Square Cardigan

2007-08-11T12:59:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I work with a woman named Tirzah, who just had her first baby last week. Tabitha Emma is a beautiful little thing, and I made her this sweater. The colors in the book photo are totally different, but I have a new strategy when knitting baby sweaters...buy yarn in colors in which the mother looks fabulous. Odds are, the baby will be similar enough in shade to look adorable.

Harvard Square Cardigan, from Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas. (To see the original colors, you have to scroll down about halfway--it's on the left). Size 9 months.

Yarn: Cleckheaton Country 8-ply in five colors. (Ball band whereabouts unknown).

Needles: Addi Turbo US#5

Time to knit: 8 days

Notes:
Seaming is a bit of a challenge, with the colors carried up the right edge of each piece, as the pattern recommends.

It's nice to knit a baby cardigan in one piece to the armholes, then dividing for the fronts and back. It seems to go faster this way.

Don't forget that garter stitch compresses row gauge mightily. Unlike stockinette, you can knit and knit and the length still seems to measure the same. Ah well, it's also cushy and soft and warm.

Sorry--unblocked photos.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. There's another pregnant woman in my practice. The Pea Pod Sweater in in the works for her.

FO: William's Wonderful Wallaby

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

Dear Stuntmother,

Miss you terribly, and hope you're all having a wonderful (and safe from flooding) holiday in England and Wales.

Remember when William asked me to make him a "green hoodie wif a pocket like a tunnel"? Well, the Wonderful Wallaby pattern from Cottage Creations seemed just the thing. I bought the yarn at MDS&W, and completed the sweater in about 12 days. He loves it!

Pattern: Wonderful Wallaby by Cottage Creations

Yarn: Shelridge Farms W4 Worsted Superwash wool, bottle green, 4 x 100g skeins, plus about a yard from the 5th skein.

Needles: Denise US#8 (and #7 for the edging)

Notes:
This pattern is easy to knit, and versatile, as it's sized from age 2 to XL adult. I'm glad I looked around and saw that the kids' sizes seem a bit smaller than for other knitwear designers (and I'm not even talking about Debbie Bliss). I made the size 8 years, and I'm glad I did. It fits my 4 1/2 year old with room to grow, but it's not really huge.

I was strongly influenced by this one, by Julie at Fricknits. I love seed stitch and I think it gives this pattern a very fresh look. Note: for seed stitch in the round, make sure you cast on an ODD number of stitches.

The yarn is meant to be knit at 5 sts per inch, and I think it makes a lovely fabric that way. This pattern, though, was written for a gauge of 4.5 per inch, and the fabric is a little loose and drapey. It's soft yarn with a nice twist and it makes a nice layering (playground) sweater, but I keep fearing that the boy in a hurry will put a finger right through the stitches.

Hoods eat up a lot of yarn.

I've always wanted to knit a secret message into the hem of a sweater, a la Elizabeth Zimmermann. Even though the seed stitch lower edging on this sweater didn't need a turned-under hem, I couldn't resist. It's fun to sit down with a little graph paper...

Love,
Lovebug's Mom

FO: Diagonal Rib Socks

2007-07-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

The obsessed sock knitting has stalled a little around here. [I know! How could that happen?] Instead, I did finish my mother's pink sweater, which will have to await modeled photos for the whole reveal. I'm pleased with it, but very happy to see it finished and off the needles.

I also began (and have almost finished) William's order for "a green hoodie, wif a pocket in front like a tunnel, so I can feel my other hand inside". I like a boy who knows exactly what he wants!

Here are my latest finished socks.

Diagonal Rib Socks, by Ann Budd (available on Knitting Daily for free)

Yarn: STR Mediumweight, in Rooster Rock

Needles: Addi Turbo, US#1 for most of them, but US#2 for the upper cuff. You can see where the regular striping begins--that's the US #2.

Stats: These are my 13th pair for 2007, and the 31st pair overall. I'm keeping to my private '24 pairs in 2007' challenge.

Modifications: I knit these toe-up, as I wanted to use every inch of yarn. The put-up of STR Medium makes a much longer sock for me than STR Light. I just started with a Turkish Cast on, and used the pattern stitch as written (I didn't flip it). I made a heel flap a la Widdershins, and continued on up the leg. Although I was concerned that 65 stitches around was too wide in this heavier yarn, the diagonal rib has some pretty powerful biasing, which makes it less stretchy than stockinette or other kinds of ribbing.

I vowed not to care about pooling or striping, and I got some of each.

OK, time to 'fess up. After I made the first sock past the heel, I tried it on and realized that the foot was too long and baggy. This occurred because I didn't take into account the much longer row gauge in this heavier yarn, and I started the gusset increases at about the same spot as for lighter-weight Widdershins (3" short of total foot length). Instead of ripping back the entire heel, I snipped the tip of the toe and removed about 6 rows. I Kitchenered the remaining stitches together, and the only visible sign of the surgery is that the toe is blunter than in a conventional sock. However, my foot is blunter than most, and it fits me well. Then I counted how many stitches, rows and increases there were in the post-op toe, and replicated that when I Turkishly cast on for the second sock. Good match! I can't even tell which is the altered sock. (That's a sign of a good surgeon--nearly invisible scars!)

Love,
Eyeknit

Interim House

2007-07-18T14:35:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Were you present at Kaela's Christmas party, two years ago? That was the day I met Abby.
She was the chaplain at Interim House, which hosts women recovering from substance abuse and aids them in transitioning into independent living. The cool thing is that they nearly all learn to knit or crochet. [Aside: one of the cool things about Abby is that she made an all-seed stitch baby jacket just to force her left hand into facile continental knitting! I admire that immensely. No easy shorcuts for Abby!]

Since then, Abby has moved to New York with her husband, but I keep thinking about this place. Some very well-meaning people have assumed that since I'm a prolific knitter, I'll want any yarn their late relatives have left (though you really have to admire SABLE. I think you win if your stash outlives you). This is not necessarily that case, but I have accepted these offers graciously (I hope).

Then, the other day, I saw this post. The time is right, and later today I'm dropping off the following items at the social worker's home. I dearly hope other women can construct some great garments from this yarn. If not, maybe knitting can show them the solace, excitement and healthy absorption in a hobby other than their own problems...just as it has done for me.

Love,
Eyeknit

Let's play a little game...

2007-07-08T20:05:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Let's play a little game...

Assuming this represents a future cardigan, what's missing from the photo?

Right. The second sleeve. You know I usually refrain from showing UFOs and WIPs here (I'm not sure why). This pattern, however, is so rife with errors that I had to wing the sleeve cap shaping for the first one, then block, then seam the first one in place. If it works, I'll make an identical second sleeve. If not... Well, we've all been in the frog pond from time to time.

This is the birthday gift I promised my mother (Yeah, yeah. Her birthday is in April). I've found it hard slogging all the way. It's the Cable Edge Cardigan, the cover pattern from the Nashua Occasions booklet. The yarn is June (by Nashua), a 100% microfiber which looks for all the world like cotton. I'm not sure why I even bought this, as I dislike knitting with cotton...I know, Amy Singer--I just prefer wool! The gauge is 6.5 sts per inch on US#3s, and I feel as if I'm wrestling the yarn into each stitch.

I usually wet block everything, but my swatch looked no different after washing and blocking than it did just off the needles. This time, I opted for the pin-and-spritz method. I anticipate that it'll dry quickly, and I can seam it into place.

Love,
Eyeknit

Update: The pieces are dry, the left sleeve sewn into place, and...it works! Beautifully! I guess I'm developing some designing mojo after all. Sleeve caps are funny things. Now, I just have to knit the second half of the second sleeve. When it's done, I'll post the changes I made to the knitting instructions to allow the sweater to match the schematic. More photos in a few days.

FO: Twisted Flower Socks

2007-06-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

How did the big moving day go? I thought about you all day... No comment, or I'll get too sad.

Anyway. My climbing rose bush seems to have finally bloomed!

Pattern: Twisted Flower Socks, by the genius Cookie A.

Yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra 100% wool, color Candy Floss (accurate in these photos).

Needles: Addi Turbo magic loop, US#2 for ribbing and 1st repeat, US#1 for the rest.

Time to knit: 2wks, 1 day.

Stats: Pair #12 for 2007, #30 overall

Rating: Fun, fun, fun! Although the pattern was unmemorizable (for my addled brain), it was purely delightful to knit. Watching the pattern unfold was--get this-- better than fair isle!

It's very stretchy, and the fit is excellent. Used Twisted German Cast On again.

This heel flap is so gorgeous. It certainly took a little mental gymnastics for me to work the design back and forth, but it was very worth it.

Love the yarn...its matte finish makes the stitches pop. I bought 3 skeins (175 yds each) at MD S&W this year, but I made these with only 2 skeins. This yarn comes in beautiful colors. I hadn't used it before because their samples at the festivals always look kind of pilled. However, they're typically knit very loosely. This tightly twisted stitch pattern should be more durable.

Why do all the other sock patterns look kind lackluster now? Keep bringing it on, Cookie!

Thinking of you, Ed and the kids in your new home. (No tears)

Love,
Eyeknit

FO: You Look Like a Monkey, and You...oh, nevermind.

2007-06-13T09:21:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

This post comes to you from my new laptop. Yes, my trusty laptop was stolen a week ago. I had an hour off between surgery and a lecture I had to give, so I bought a sandwich and drove into the park to eat it. I parked and walked to a bench about 100 yds from the car. Ten minutes later, I heard a car alarm, and walked back to the lot. Someone had shoved something into the doorframe, forced the lock open, and stolen my laptop in its bag. I was so angry and frustrated--all of my photos of family and knitting were on that computer, and I had to cancel my credit card and change all of my passwords. Even stupid things like all the "favorites" I've bookmarked...there were probably 30 great sock patterns in there.

Anyway, we spent the weekend in Connecticut with mutual friends, and it was relaxing and wonderful. They have 3 kids, and William absolutely loved being one of the gang. I finished and gifted the Monkey socks to out friend Annette (Happy Belated Birthday!), and I think she loved them.

Pattern: Monkey, by Cookie A. in Knitty
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill supersock in Peacock
Needles: Addi US#1, Magic Loop (though I did the cuff and 1st three repeats in US#2, for shaping)
Time to knit: 8 days!
Stats: Pair #11 for 2007 and #29 overall.

Mods: Needle size, as above. Slightly blunter toe. Used the German Twisted Cast on (out of respect for her family's heritage!) This cast on really does give a nice stretchy-but-not-fluted edge, and looks well with the ribbing. It's a little more of a pain than the standard long-tail cast on, but probably worth it. I do love to learn just the right new cast on or bind off--call my crazy.

This pattern lived up to all the hype for me. It makes the most of a wildly variegated colorway, it goes really fast, and the pattern was well written. I'm definitely on a Cookie A. jag right now...nearly done with the first Twisted Flower sock. She's truly a genius of hosiery (deserves a MacArthur award), and I look forward to many more of her patterns. I am a little worried about giving hand-wash-only socks to someone with so much hubbub in her life, and I warned her about possible color bleeding with this yarn. It was lovely to work with, and has excellent yardage (420 yds) per skein.

I also got the chance to see Seaport Yarns, in NYC. They have a lot of yarn. I bought 2 more skeins of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, in Blues & Greens and Earth. Also 2 skeins of Louet Sales fingering weight in Sage green for future Cookie projects. I had to hustle, as my boys were wandering around the seaport with the dog, but I'd highly recommend a visit to this unusual LYS.

Love,
Eyeknit

Blue Fish or Primate?

2007-06-04T20:55:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I've been wanting to knit Pomotamus socks for a long time now. I've delayed, though, since I didn't have the perfect yarn for them. Ideally, they should be bluey-greeny and variegated, but not speckly or dull. A round yarn with adequate yardage, but not too thick... I mean, how many other patterns have gorgeous texture but can handle even a crazy colorway? Finally, I dove into the stash and unearthed this lovely skein of Cherry Tree Hill in Peacock. The colors are rather more vibrant (garish?) in person.

I knit and twisted stitches for the ribbing, and couldn't stop thinking about how ugly it looked. I asked you what you thought and you tactfully said, "I think it's too soon to tell". The colors just splotched (a new one for me). I pushed on and completed one repeat, and checked back with you. "I think you have to do one more repeat before you can decide for sure." Yeah, right.

First Rule of Sock Knitting: If the first thing you think about on awakening in the morning is how mismatched the pattern and colorway are, you must rip and try someting totally different.

Better?

Now we're zooming right along! I don't really understand how this pattern exempts the knitter from normal space-time constraints, but it has been mentioned many times in the blogosphere. I knit the first one in three days! I sense a major Cookie A. phase descending on me.
In fact, I downloaded the Twisted Flowers pattern today at work.

Love, Eyeknit

P.S. In future, you don't have to be that tactful. When it comes to the knitting, I value your honesty.

FO: Elfine's Leafy Greens

2007-05-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I've completed my Sockapalooza 4 socks, and they were great fun! I went to Maryland Sheep & Wool on a mission to find natural colored/earth toned sock yarn, as per my pal's preference. I bought this Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the Forest colorway. She doesn't live in the U.S., and based on her environment, I thought she might enjoy a leafy pattern. (This stealth thing is hard).

Pattern: Elfine's Socks by Anna Bell, available free here.

Yarn: Fleece Artist Sea Wool (70% merino, 30% seacell, 350m/112g)

Needles: Addi Turbo US#1 (2.5 mm) to halfway up the leg, then switched to US#2 needles for quick-and-dirty calf shaping.

Modifications:
1. Turkish cast-on

2. Yarnover short row heels, a la Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, as outlined in the latest Interweave Knits issue. I tried valiantly (again) to produce a flawless wrap-and-turn short row heel, but it still looked horrible. My picked-up wraps looked clumsy and gappy, and that would never do for my sockpal. The P G-R version really looks very nice, but I still think my flap-and-gusset heels are technically more perfect. On the second one, I began to see why some folks really like the short rows...it goes very quickly if you know what you're doing, no actual counting except for determining the stopping point, and it certainly helps the color patterning if your yarn is behaving nicely.

3. Changing to a larger needle on the leg, as above

4. Different bind off. With the garter cuff, I liked the look of *p2tog, slip the st back to the left needle* done with a really large needle (US#6) in the right hand. Stretchy, but not as undulating at the top as the stretchy sewn bind off a la EZ.

Fleece Artist is wonderful: it doesn't pool at all, and the knitted fabric is luscious.

Stats: These are my 10th pair this year (Right. I'm just barely on track for 24 prs this year), and my 28th pair overall. There's just no limit to the varieties of heels, toes and stitch patterns in the world of sock knitting. Can't stop yet!

This is my first Sockapalooza. I really hope my sockpal loves these.

Love,
Eyeknit

FO: Myrtle Leaf Shawl

2007-05-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I'm sure you're familiar with pages 140-141 in Victorian Lace Today...

Okay, so it's not Belton Manor House in Lincolnshire. Okay, so we have no English gardener to manicure the lawn. Okay, so I'm not svelte/saucy/pensive like that chick. Okay, so I didn't have Rick Mondragon styling the lace full-time. Regardless, I have the same lovely Myrtle Leaf Shawl as this woman who thinks a black shawl goes with a navy blue dress.

Project: Myrtle Leaf Shawl with Willow Border, from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby

Yarn: Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere (100% cashmere, 400 yds/50 g,) in color La Nuit (black). I bought 3 skeins and had about 1/2 skein left. As mentioned on the VLT KAL, the yardages in this book might be a little scant--this one called for 950 yards, so it was close.

Needles: Addi Turbo Lace, US #5.

Time to knit: 29 days knitting, one to block/dry.

Finished size: 20" wide x 72" long.

Lessons learned:

1. Cashmere is so lovely and luxurious. This 2-ply yarn itself is slightly fragile, but the knitted fabric is wonderfully strong and supple. I didn't block it as severely as I would 100% wool (so taut that it rises off the blocking surface), but it stretched nicely, and is holding the shape well. My first lace experience was the Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark, in alpaca. I found it blocked nicely, but after sitting in a bag for about a month, it shrunk down and could have used another blocking session.

2. This was my first time doing patterned lace on both odd and even rows (no purl back row). I actually liked it a lot. I just had to learn how the YOs looked if I dropped one, and how to put it back. The myrtle leaf pattern itself isn't difficult, and looks lovely.

3. If you want to knit this...CHECK THE ERRATA!
The chart in the book is wrong, so the leaves won't close at the top if you don't use the updated chart.

4. I've knitted on a border to the short ends of a shawl before (last summer's Mystery Stole 2), but not onto the long, slipped-stitch edges. It took me a while to discern where, exactly, to k2tog so that I was making the right number of willow leaves. In fact...if you count, I have more leaves on one long edge than the other, but you could never tell while wearing it. I'm still not sure how exactly that happened. As you told me, "See? You just shouldn't have counted the leaves". Yeah, but see how calmly I can talk about it now? I'm working on my obsessive knitting issues.

5. Provisional cast on (onto the needle, using a crochet hook) used to mystify me, but it seemed really easy this time. Both times it unzipped beautifully, and the number of sts was correct. This book cleverly tells you to provisionally CO one more st than you need for the center panel, and decrease one in the first row. Then, you have the right number to pick up when you need the in-between loops for the edging. An excellent trick!

6. I went to the Bar Mitzvah, and felt both demure and sexy (another excellent trick). Everyone should have a black leafy wrap. It's a fine line (with black lace) to read as classic and striking, instead of the keening Mediterranean widow look. I'll get to wear it again next weekend at a wedding.

7. Wow. Jane Sowerby. You're quite a woman. There are so many lovelies in this book. If anyone could tempt me back to using Kid Silk Haze, it would be you.

8. Addi Turbo Lace needles: they take away all the annoying aspects of knitting lace (the wrist-wrenching frustrations of ssp or k3tog) and leave only the fun part. (Yet another excellent trick).

9. I need a haircut.

10. It's really hard to photograph lace on a breezy day.

11. If you ever need a black stole, Stuntmother, look no further. I'll lend you mine.

Love,
Eyeknit

FO: Silky Socks

2007-05-16T21:47:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I love my new springy silky socks (that rock)! I received the Rockin' Sock Club package 2 weeks ago, and I wasn't that impressed at first with their new yarn. In the skein and in the yarn cake the 19% silk component gave a rustic, barber poley look to what was otherwise a fancy-appearing yarn with nice sheen. Au contraire! In the fabric, it's utterly delightful.

Although I do like lace socks, I need there to be more wool than flesh showing and the faggoting in the sock club pattern just didn't do it for me. After swatching to determine my gauge in stockinette (Yes, I always swatch for socks...you have a problem with that?), I decided this luscious yarn deserved stockinette and only stockinette. Scrutinizing the pattern, I realized that the size large was basically a Widdershins with numbers which should fit me well, in stockinette. I've been meaning to write out Widdershins for myself for fingering weight sock yarn, but this opportunity to be lazy presented itself at the right moment. I so love the ability to have a heel flap and gusset, but use every last inch of the yarn.

Behold...

Yarn: Silky STR in Walk on the Wild Tide

Needles: Addi Turbo US#1 (2.5mm)

These socks deserved calf shaping, to the detriment of the stripiness.

Also, the gorgeous Kitchener (tubular) bind-off, which is usually too much of a pain for socks. This bind-off makes me like k1p1 ribbing a little bit more.

When you rip out a few inches and reknit, do you steam the yarn first? Or use it Ramen noodle style? I usually use my quick and dirty spork-over-boiling-water technique, but I wasn't sure it the silk would tolerate that treatment. I knit it up squiggly, and that messed up the color striping. As this blog explains (scroll way down to 2/3/07), the kinky yarn takes a longer, messier path around the needle and changes the gauge. Aware of this, I was trying to knit more firmly, but the ramen noodles foiled me anyway and the second sock stops striping nicely at the ankle. Ah, well. I love them anyway.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. Sock blockers really come in handy when your styrofoam glider gets stuck in a tree!

Queueing: A MDS&W Photo Essay by my DH

2007-05-12T17:33:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I can't believe it's already been a week since Maryland Sheep and Wool, which we attended en famille. Here are some photos my husband took; all can be clicked to maximize. He seems to have been fascinated by the theme of Queueing.

The festival opened at 9 am. At about 8:40 am, here was the scene outside The Fold's booth. Note the child in the hat, already clinging to my leg.

...and at about 9:20... That's me in the brown shirt, choking under the pressure to decide amongst so many gorgeous skeins. There's Toni smiling in the foreground. She seems to be as lovely a person as everyone says.

I came away with only 2 skeins of Mediumweight STR (Lunasea and Little Bunny Foo Foo). I wish I had documented the knitters holding great burgeoning bouquets of STR in their arms...like $500 worth in many cases. I just couldn't committ to that kind of a purchase so early in the day. Who knew what yarny goodness awaited? Luckily there were no Bohus kits, or I'd have broken the bank.

People also stood in a huge line to buy a T-shirt. Oh, my.

The sheep, too, stood patiently in a line.

So, what else did I buy?

1 Fleece Artist Sea Wool (Forest, for my Sockapalooza pal, who prefers earthy colors and doesn't live in North America) and 1 Fleece Artist Merino in a beautiful maroony brown.

Shelridge Farms merino sock yarn (for Twisted Flower socks, by Cookie A) in Candy Floss and their worsted superwash wool in Bottle Green, for William's Wonderful Wallaby.

Laceweight wool in a lovely subtle variegated mix of greens, greys, purples for the Hydrangea Scarf by the ingenious Eugen Beugler (of Eugene, OR). Seriously.

And what am I knitting?

A big lump of black cashmere...at least I'm on the edging. Yes, this is the third skein. I do think that the yardage estimates in VLT may be somewhat short. The absolute deadline to finish is Memorial Day, for my cousin's wedding. Bonus points would be earned if it could be done by next Saturday (6 days to knit, plus one to block?), to wear to a Bar Mitzvah. That's probably impossible, since there's still about 12 feet of edging still to knit on.

Love,
Eyeknit

Short rows and lizardlike ridges

2007-05-09T08:25:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit,

First off, here is the link to the Lizard Ridge pattern, which I failed to provide in the last post, assuming in a strange way that you are all inside MY brain and thus know all I am babbling on about at every turn. You mean you're not in my brain? Anyway, those of you as yet unconverted need only click to see why I am obsessed.

I'm also including here some replies to comments on the last post, in case people are not maniacal comment readers and rereaders:

For Miss Ewe, who asked about how much Kureyon goes into each square: I'm thinking I get three squares from two balls of Kureyon. I knit one from the two ends of one skein. Knit another from two ends of another skein and then I get a third from the leftovers of the first two. By now, obviously, it's not that neat and I'm tossing half balls in to knit with full balls and knitting from two different full skeins and this last one I did, I ripped out a whole color change (where it had been knotted on by the Noro people in a really odd place) and rolled it up and stuffed it into the Bag of Kureyon, confident that it will get knit into another square too.

For Diana, the link! Again! When are you starting yours?

For Carol: The small errors are actually already fixed in the Knitty pattern so Lizard away, carefree and dried!

A comment on short rows. I have no objection to short rows. I like trundling back and forth over the knitting. And Lizard Ridge is pretty much all about the short rows. But my short rows are NOT (notnotnotnot) neat and pretty. See?This is because I am lazy and I have not bothered picking up the extra loops when I get back round to the short row. I just knit on and leave the wraps in place. In this project, that doesn't matter. Really. At least, not to me. It's a design feature, you know? But in a sweater? This would be seriously ugly, so ugly that even my laziness/ugly ratio would tip over onto the "solve it, dammit" side of the scale. (You get what the lazy/ugly ratio is, right? If it's easier and quicker and not too ugly, then I do it. If it's too ugly, though, I do it the right way, even if that's slower and harder.)

Luckily, Nona of nonaKnits has several tutorials about short rows, including this one on Japanese short rows which is extremely neat and pretty (and just search her tips and techniques archive for more techniques). I'm thinking of trying it for the next square and seeing what difference it might make.

And don't hate me because I'm lazy, dear Eyeknit. That's one of the places you have in my life! To inspire me to be a better, less lazy knitter.

Love - Stuntmother

Over the edge of the Ridge

2007-05-03T10:52:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit -

Since I packed up the yarn and sent it to live with you and my parents while we move, something interesting has happened (other than completely losing the yarn that was meant to make tassels for my Philosopher's Wool shawl, but more about that later). (No, seriously. How could I have mislaid a giant bag of wool? It's not like I would have discarded it. Where the hell is it?) (You're not hiding it, are you?) (No, of course you're not. I'm just losing my mind, as well as my yarn.)

But the interesting thing is this: I am having to be more project loyal than I am wont to be. Since there is only yarn for about six projects left to me, I am having to work on those projects, some of which don't count because I haven't started them yet (hello, Andrea. What do you want to be when you grow up?) So I finished Pomatomus, I cast on the lovely, Destash snatched up sock yarn, I am working on Ed's sweater, vaguely knitting a long-sleeved OSW, although now that the weather has turned I'm less enthusiastic about that, AND...
I am working on Lizard Ridge.

I now have fourteen (maybe fifteen?) squares knit, which either means I am more than halfway finished knitting squares, if I'm doing one blanket, or I am about halfway done, if I'm making two smaller blankets (for Child 1 and Child 2) you know. Speaking of whom, here they are. Aw.
What is working for me about Lizard Ridge is that it's portable, obsessive, colorful, and has lots of small-project another-one-done! sort of satisfaction while yet promising something huge and magnificent. I blocked the first ten or so squares and now I like them even more, but I also love the egg cup texture of the unblocked squares. It takes about two days knitting (what I manage in a day) to make a square and when I finish one I throw it onto the pile with abandon in a Sophia Loren sort of way, if Sophia Loren knit, that is.

Kureyon can be weird, of course. About half the time I chant "surrender to the weird color changes" and just press on and other times, I force the color changes to be slightly more sensible, and to me pleasing, by a little spit and splice, which Kureyon is so good at anyway. It's a metaphor for life. Sometimes you need to flow, and sometimes you need to give life a good hard yank.

I'm trying not to yank too hard right now.

Love, Stuntmother

FO: More April Socks

2007-04-29T12:36:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

My goal of finishing two pairs of socks each month in 2007 is becoming a little more challenging. I just got these under the wire--April is over tomorrow.

Oak Ribbed Sock, by Nancy Bush (my second of her Four Ribbed Socks in Knitting Vintage Socks)

Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino, purchased at Knit Happens when we visited the cherry blossoms in D.C. a month ago. Colorway: Hercules

Needles: What else? My usual Addi Turbo US #1s, Magic Loop

Time to knit: About 3 wks, as portable project only

Sock Stats: This is pair #8 for 2007, and pair #26 overall.

Lessons:

Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. This one features a French Heel, which seems like a pretty standard flap and turn to me. The toe is a Round toe, which fits me well and is easy and pretty. These weren't new techniques, but it's good to explore the various fits of these heels and toes.

The gorgeous colorway looks more stunning in stockinette than the rib, but there is no pooling at all, due to the short color segments (like Koigu, but lesss expensive).

This yarn has a lovely sheen and makes a buttery soft fabric. I have a skein of their Rose Garden colorway, too, but I'll save it for the right pattern someday. This is fantastic sock yarn value...about $19.

In other news, I finally received my copy of Latvian Mittens, exactly 4 months after I ordered it from Amazon. [That will teach me to use Schoolhouse Press next time.] However, staring me right in the face across the center spine of the book, was...Alcea! (Click to enlarge and see what I mean). It's mitten #53, district unknown, and it's an exact replica of the Alcea fair isle pattern, just in black and white. Hmm.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. I'm starting to get excited about Maryland Sheep and Wool. Do you need me to pick you up anything?

Mother Nature Must Be A Knitter

2007-04-18T13:24:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

It's about time! I have finally completed my first adult-sized fair isle sweater...Alcea. This consumed 4 months of my knitting life, and it seemed like forever. But I LOVE it. I never dreamed that a wool sweater could be completed in mid-April, and be worn right away, but we've had a late blast of cold weather (and a snow day Monday!).

As you know, I made a fair isle sweater for my son last Fall (full entry in archives for 10/23/06). It was Fish & Anchors by Alice St*rmore (AS)--I was pleased as punch with it, and he has worn it a lot. It really does wear like iron, and looks as good today as the day it was blocked, which is saying volumes for an active four-year-old boy. But, since then, I read The Art of Fair Isle Knitting by Ann Feitelson (AF). I learned new techniques that I wanted to try, so I applied them as detailed below to this sweater.

Pattern: Alcea Pullover, from Simply Shetland 3 (which features Jamieson's yarns), by Beatrice Smith.

Size: 48" bust (the larger of 2 sizes), but I used the shorter length for the body, an intermediate depth for the armscye, the neckline and cuffs per the smaller sie, and 18" sleeves. You can't go wrong on these sleeves, as they're knit from the top down.

Yarn: Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift. I used all the yarn for the larger size, plus 1 extra ball each of Grouse, Turf, Sunset and Thistledown. In my opinion, they never test-knitted the larger size, and just wildly guessed on the quantities. My gauge was exact, and some of these colors were way, way short. The good thing, though, is that Karen at Two Swans Yarns has wonderful customer service, and she mailed me what I needed very quickly. This must be the most knitting time you can get for $120 in yarn.

Needles: Addi Turbos, 3.25 mm for the body and 3.0mm for the corrugated ribbing.

Started: December 25, 2006
Finished: April 15, 2007

Following are the changes I made, either from this pattern or from the Alice St*rmore way as outlined in her Children's Collection and Fair Isle Knitting books. AF refers to Ann Feitelson:

1. Steeks--AS uses a checkerboard steek, (10 sts) and AF uses stripes. (12 sts) The stripes certainly make it easy to see where you're cutting. Both seem stable if knitted tightly.

2. Joins--For Wm's sweater, I painstakinly wove in each end afterward, and the sleeves drove me crazy. This time, I spit-spliced...it's wonderful! This yarn grips itself well, there's less bulk, time was saved, and I don't think anyone would be the wiser. In fact, the pattern jog at the left side of the body is almost invisible this way, since the color change blurs the pattern just slightly. It wouldn't work as well with the brighter colors of the small sweater, but Alcea's color changes more gradually. In this photo, you can see evidence of splicing--there's a green/pink barberpole on a loose float, about 2/3 down the center of the picture. Keep in mind--this is the inside--the outside is even more subtle.

3. Sleeve pickup--AS picks up and knits through one leg of the steek's edge stitch. AF goes through both layers, as I am accustomed to doing. I like the stability of AF's method, and I don't detect any blips of contrasting color at the seam (which is why AS doesn't use this way).

4. Shaping--This pattern has a purely drop-shoulder, holding only one stitch at the underarm. I used a modification of AF's more drastic shaping. I held 8 sts (an inch's worth) on a holder at the underarm, then decreased on either side, every other row, for another inch of stitches. When you pick up for the sleeves, just knit the held stitches and pick up fewer around. This makes the upper body significantly narrower, and there's much less bulk under the arms. This is a very comfortable fit for me.

5. Decreases--Neither pattern specified how to decrease, so on William's I used a standard dec to lean away from the seam or neckline. They are very visible. AF explains that in fair isle you should decrease toward the seam, and it's very subtle. I agree.

6. Spacing of sleeve decreases--In this pattern, instead of spacing all decreases evenly down the length of the sleeve, half are done every 3 rounds and the other half are every other round, then about an inch worked straight, then the cuff. This seemed strange to me, and I thought it was done so that you could more easily fudge the length if necessary. However, this fit is very comfortable, withougt excess bulk at the forearms.

7. Shoulder seams: For William's I grafted the shoulders, since it was a little sweater and there was a convenient single color row. For mine, I used a three-needle bind-off for stability. Both are nice.

8. Steek finishing--These steeks really aren't going anywhere in Shetland fingering weight yarn, but I wanted the inside to look as nice as the outside. Per AF, I trimmed the steek to a few sts, tucked in the last (cut) one with a tapestry needle as I sewed, and just lightly whipstitched the next st to the inner floats. Neat and stable.

9.Blocking--Both AS and AF state that a w ooly board is ideal, but I didn't have one. For the small sweater, I steamed it...but then, after washing it after he wore it a bit I realized it became smoother and the pattern read better with each wash. So, when Alcea was done, I steamed it to even out some wonky areas under the sleeves, then did a full wet-block. I smoothed it out to the desired measurements (I decided I wanted it a little longer and narrower than it was knit), and allowed it to dry overnight.

Is there anything I'm not pleased with? You bet.

As experienced fair islers know, you really have to plan ahead. These patterns are really charts of the motif, and general guidelines for the plotting of stitch counts and rows. You have to take the initiative to ensure that the pattern will fall correctly when the sweater fits your body. I was all smug, thinking that if I ended the body tube on row 26, the pattern would flow uninterruptedly over the shoulder. Go check out Marina's--her fair isle sweaters are an inspiration, and her Alcea has a perfect shoulder) Ha! That would have been perfect, if I had an odd number of pattern repeats. But the larger size has 8 pattern repeats. Eight is an even number. In order to flow seamlessly, the large medallion would have to straddle the shoulder seam. Alas, I figured this out too late (after the armhole steeks were happening), and the pattern has a 48-row repeat. I had to fudge it or have a really ill-fitting armscye. It's less ugly than I feared, but I learned a big planning lesson. You can't blame Ann Feitelson--her book has an excellent discussion of the math involved in planning fair isles, but I didn't really understand all of it before starting.

I obsess; therefore, I am.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. For Rachael: I don't even know her, but all finished sweaters inspire her signature pose!

Sockaramalamadingdong

2007-04-15T21:25:00.000-04:00

Hooray, hooray. Look what I finished today.
Pomatomus, knit on Addi Circulars, Size 1 (magic loop) in Socks That Rock lightweight, Ruby Slippers. I love them. I loved knitting them and I loved finishing them. I carried them all over the house today, annoying the children, knitting away so that I would finish them up.

I had thought that Ruby Slippers was going to be a little more solid than this, but the patterning of Pomatomus holds its own against the color changes. I like how, if you squint, one minute you're looking at the colors and the next minute at the curving patterns. Like this:
Is it an old woman, or a young woman?

Anyway, you get the point. Lovely socks. Lovely socks.

Do you think that the sock bug might have bit me by now?Um. Maybe.

Advise me

2007-04-12T21:54:00.000-04:00

I have some Amazon money (and I have a positively unholy love of Amazon money. It's like every book in the world is potentially mine all mine!!). I want to feed my current three obsessions: Nigella Lawson cookbooks, knitting and quilting (about which more later I'm not cheating on knitting I'm not I'm not it's just that ooooh look at the fabric over there).

Anyway. I would like to get a knitting book that I really want and the problem is that there are either twenty five books I want, or none and I can't find the very right one to buy. So tell me, what is the knitting book I need to have? What?

And by the way, I'm thinking you've noticed this which I stuck in the sidebar a while ago: such a cool project, to knit through the treasury. If I had any spare time (ha!) I'd join in.

Socks around the clock

2007-04-11T16:58:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit -

Here is a tale of a handknit sock convert. No, not me. My friend, Kathy.

Kathy needed a pair of socks. You know, people do sometimes. I knit her a pair of Thuja in this marvellous colorway of Supermerino which is very her. I knit and knit them and then presented the socks to her. She put them on and suddenly, her face changed. "These fit," she whispered. "They really fit." She wiggled her foot a bit. "No, really. They fit really well." She wiggled her foot some more. "They feel wonderful. That's amazing."She had, in a moment, been converted to the joy of hand knit socks. It was a wonderful thing to behold and I felt happy that I had, with my sharp sticks, brought such joy to a dear friend's world. I felt aware of the wider implications of knitting, that in these acts of looping and pulling, are also acts of love.

So maybe, just maybe, I am slowly becoming a sock knitter worthy of sharing a blog with you, who are such an extraordinary tricoteuse des socks (that's French for fancy sock knitter).And as if to confirm this impulse, I've won a sock prize over at Knitting Underway from their Manly Sock Contest, which has made me really really happy. And today is Ed's birthday, and so it is fitting that on his birthday, I should win some yarn that is destined to become socks for him.

And you should check out Theresa's post summing up the fruit of the contest information about manly sock yarns and patterns. Ideas galore.

Perhaps we should change the name of this blog to Two Sharp Socks. Or Two Really Small Sharp Needles (as Used to Knit Socks). Or maybe not.

love, Stuntmother

HAPPY EASTER!

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

Dear Stuntmother,

LOVE your Pomatomi. I've been thinking of making them ever since they were published, but haven't found the perfect yarn for them. Way to go, Sockknitter!

I know you've seen the BMFA Sock Club socks on every blog in the 'sphere. Indulge me, though. I thought these were a wonderful exercise in expanding a sockknitter's horizons. They did require a little futzing, but in a good, experimental, way (rather than the annoying, frustrating way that sometimes comes along with socks). I did the toe and heel on Addi US #1s, the ribbed foot on #0s, the first 9 rows of the ankle in #1s, and then the cabled portion of the cuff on #2s. Yeah, that's a lot of needle-switching, but it paid off in fit. I used all the yarn provided, so this gives me an idea of the maximum cuff obtainable in STR Mediumweight.

(click for way bigger)

Generally, I kind of dislike short-row heels and toes, mainly for the imperfections along the line of wrapping-and-turning. This garter heel, though, is gorgeous! The mitered line is perfect, thus proving to me that the problem I usually experience is in the picking up of the wraps, not the wrapping and turning itself (I've always wondered).

The overall fit is cushy and firm, which I like a lot. I've thought of making Wyvern socks, but hesitated on the ribbed sole. Now, I know I'd like how they feel.

Yes, knitting STR Mediumweight felt very awkward on 2.0mm needles. I wouldn't choose to do it again, but it demonstrates the versatility of this yarn...goes from firm to cushy to drapey, depending on the needles used (I prefer 2.5 mm).

I was skeptical regarding the concept of Inside-Out Socks, since I never think the inside of socks look so great. But, I think you can see above (go ahead and click) that each version of the cuff really is interesting.

Next up? I think some Fleece Artist socks. I played around a little with my STR Lightweight in Metamorphic, but I can't make it do what I want. Crazy pooling, no matter how many stitches around. Maybe it would be good for kid socks? Feather and Fan? Any ideas? I tried Monkey, thinking it would be nice no matter what the colors were doing, but I was wrong.

Love,
Eyeknit

First Sock Syndrome

2007-04-07T15:31:00.000-04:00

Dear Eyeknit -

I don't want to tell you when I cast these on. Not this year is perhaps enough to confess. But I recently (ahead of our move) sent the yarn away to good homes to make my home look like a crazed knitter and yarn collector doesn't live there, and left myself only a few projects to get working on. These socks are one and lo and behold! It worked. I have overcome the dreaded first sock syndrome by finally finishing the first Pomatomus. It's lovely and any imprecations I may ever uttered against Cookie (along the lines of "why does she only ever knit ONE sock?") I take back. I grovel. This is a great pattern. A lovely pattern. A fun pattern.

And the second sock is cast on, thus (hopefully) thwarting the even more dreaded SSS.

The sharp eyed among you will notice that the second sock has hit a small rocky patch, caused by shoving the sock into a small handbag without the protection of a ziploc bag. Fie on me. Still, I have now picked up the floundering stitches and once I hit publish, I will go tink that row and see what damage my foolhardiness has caused. Nothing irredeemable, I think. Another reason to love knitting.

Unlike our heater which has packed up. The house is really sulking about us selling it.

Love - Stuntmother

Steeks Are Pretty

2007-04-05T20:21:00.001-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

If you are judging my knitting mojo solely by the socks I've displayed here, you might just be worried about me. However, I've been slogging along on Fair Isle. Observe...

...Now for some sleeves.

Love,
Eyeknit

Bird of Paradise Socks

2007-03-25T13:23:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

You know how much we adore Chrissy, who has cared for our son since he was 12 wks old and I returned to work. In fact, next week will be her 4th anniversary working with us. Well, Chrissy is always cold, and I think she has looked with admiration at my colorful collection of handknit socks as they are arrayed on sock-washing day. So, it seemed only fitting that Chrissy would get a pair of handknit socks for her birthday this year (not until April 25th).

I looked around a little for sock yarn in her favorite color (yellow) or the color she looks fantastic in (green), but nothing jumped out at me. Then, the Sundara Petals Collection yarn came for February, and I knew it would be perfect. The colorway is Bird of Paradise, and Sundara hit it just right, as usual. I vowed to make the sock club pattern and not fuss if there was a lot of pooling, since the skein was dyed in equal parts green, yellow and coral. I have kind of a thing about using the pattern with the yarn for sock club aquisitions, though I greatly admire some of the other knitters' uses for the yarn.

Bird of Paradise socks (slip-stitch rib), Sundara Yarns Petals Collection

Sock pair #6 in 2007; #24 overall. I'm catching up, Theresa!

Addi Turbo, US#1, magic loop

Time to knit: about 3 weeks, but I was also knitting the Canal du Midis during this time period.

Lessons Learned:
I liked the rib extending down into the heel flap. This slip-stitch rib is very 3-dimensional, with the raised ribs standing out high above the flat purl ridges, even when stretched out on the foot. It almost emphasizes the pooling and turns it into a design feature.

The pattern was easy, and features a lovely petalloid toe. I always like to make a ribbed-base sock as gifts, so that it is more likely to fit the wearer (and thus turn them on instantly to the glory of hand-knitted socks). Sundara's yarn is always lovely and soft, with good stitch definition. I'm a little sad to see that there is only one more shipment for this year's club. I didn't renew my membersip, only because I also signed up for the STR club, and it felt just a little too decadent.

Love,
Eyeknit

All Hail, Nancy Bush!

2007-03-18T22:46:00.000-04:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I've completed my 5th pair of socks for 2007 (23rd overall), and I think these may be the prettiest ones yet. I had this rather non-descript taupe sock yarn, and I thought they needed some fancy-schmancy stitch pattern. I agree with Grumperina--the photo of these socks in Knitting on the Road does not do them justice.

Project: Canal du Midi Socks, Nancy Bush, Knitting on the Road

Yarn: GEMS Pearl (Louet Sales fingering weight 185 yds per 50 g) in color Linen, 2 skeins.

Needles: Addi Turbo US #1, Magic Loop

Lessons Learned:
1. Nancy Bush is truly the queen of socks. By the way...what on earth happened here? I was so close to signing up. Anyway, I don't mess with her patterns. If Nancy says to do it a certain way, it's probably for an excellent reason. I haven't gone wrong using this system yet.

2. As I learned already with my Waving Lace socks, this yarn is twisty and annoying to work with. I don't know enough about spinning to know if it's overspun, or whether I'm winding it wrong, or something else. I did make a center-pull ball (unlike last time), but that did not help. However, it's a good value, is very soft, wears well and really needs to be blocked to shine. This is the first time I've blocked a pair of socks before showing them here.

3. I made the socks long, like Nancy says, and came really, really close to running out.

4. I can't wait to make more traveling stitches! Eunny's Bayerische socks and Nancy Bush's Traveler's socks come to mind. Maybe in a really round yarn, like Lorna's Laces, to emphasize the pretty twists?

Love,
Eyeknit

Happy (40th) Birthday, Husband! Warning: Picture Heavy Post

2007-03-10T20:11:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

As you know, my DH's big birthday was yesterday. He'd been stewing about it for almost this whole last year...which I don't really get. He's handsome and in good health, we have a young child and busy jobs, and who cares how old he is? I guess I'll get to see what 40 feels like very soon.

I know you and I both decided to knit the Cambridge Jacket for our respective hubbies...and then I realized that my DH's birthday was coming up precipitously. Could I knit a men's sweater in three weeks? Maybe. So I had to speed up the knitting along (Sorry).

He looks so nice wearing the set-in sleeves and trim fit, unlike the vast majority of men's sweater offerings out there.

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Project: Cambridge Jacket by Ann Budd, Interweave Knits Summer 2006, 39" size

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, color 9445 (some call this Autumn Heather), 6 skeins. It looks rusty-tobaccoy-brown from afar, but has prominent green and orange flecks.

Needles: Addi Turbo US #7

Time to Knit: 3weeks, plus 2 days for zipper installation

Modifications:
1. I changed the shoulder instructions to use short row shaping and the 3 needle bind off for the shoulder seam. This was my first time doing this, and I loved it. The ribbing matches perfectly, instead of being 1/2 stitch off at the seam.

2. The pattern called for a single garter stitch to sit next to the zipper. I worried that would show too much of the zipper teeth. I used Annie Modesitt's slip-stitch edging, recently touted by Grumperina and others. I love how it blends with the stockinette, yet gives the fronts a nice rounded edge.

3. Sleeves about 1 1/2" longer than in pattern, but I think they could be even another inch longer. Live and learn...monkey arms.

4. I had to pick up the stitches for the collar twice, since I didn't realize how crucial it is to match the k3, p2 ribbing pattern on the shoulder areas with the same ribbing on the collar. I'm very pleased with the result.

5. I used a M1P instead of M1K when adding ribbing at the center chest and back. It seemed to make more sense.

I know everyone touts Cascade 220 as their "basic", or "felting" yarn. However, this project raised it in my estimation quite a bit. For a total of $42, I made a lovely sweater that is 100% wool, soft, has gorgeous stitch definition, and blocked beautifully. Nothing wrong with this yarn, and it's available in countless colors!

New skills learned:
In addition to #1 and #2 above, I installed my first zipper. I can't say it was fun, but the end result is nice and even. I offered to sew a brown grosgrain ribbon inside, to line the unfinished zipper surface, but DH thinks it isn't necesssary.

I also had to single crochet around all edges. I had a little difficulty figuring this one out, but I think it looks even and subtle.

Overall, a fun and quick project for my love. I hope he wears it well and often. Wouldn't a sweater each year be a nice birthday tradition? I'm not ready to commit to this quite yet, but I think he could use a Seamless Hybrid, and I have some Skye Tweed (a total steal from WEBS' recent closeout) he'd look great in!

Love,
Eyeknit

A Christmas Miracle

2007-03-02T20:29:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

It takes those clever knitting geniuses to turn traditional techniques literally on their heads. I've made two toe up pairs of socks with heel flaps...and it's a total miracle. (I've been listening to too many podcasts lately. All I can hear is Knitty D--from Knitty D and the City--saying, "It's a Christmas miracle, Wendy!").

First came Widdershins.
The gauge for the plain stockinette sock was 7 spi. I didn't really understand how the construction worked yet, so I didn't want to mess around with changing it for my usually preferred gauge of 8-8.5 spi for socks. I used my only skein of Sweet Georgia Speed Demon Sock in Marina. This yarn is the same I used for your birthday Angel RPMs. It resembles STR Mediumweight in gauge and the fabric formed, but is not as tightly spun and costs more ($26 Canadian). All in all, a VERY nice yarn, with gorgeous colorways.

I started with the Turkish Cast On (another Christmas miracle). I increased as directed, and knit the foot to the prescribed 3" shorter than desired foot length. Yes, they really mean 3". Don't overdo it, or your sock will be too long and floppy.

Then, you knit m1 increases at each side, to form kind of a trumpet shape on the sole needle. This is the gusset. Really. Next, some short-row magic followed by one row to pick up the wraps. This constitutes the heel turn. All you have to do now is the heel flap, and it magically attaches itself to the gusset stitches with the traditional "knit to one stitch before the gap and ssk on RS, and purl to one stitch before the gap and p2tog", familiar to top-down aficionados. Finish the leg, and Bob's your uncle. Socks. The only pair I've ever made in one week flat.

Notice: No picking up of stitches (so no ridge on the inside and no holes).

Next, I made Diamante.
This one called for Opal (German Opal, not Louet Sales Opal), with its incredible yardage, machine-washability and teeny-tiny caliber. My sister asked for "plain brown socks" for her birthday, and I just happened to have dark brown Opal in the stash. The stitch pattern was pretty cool--it moves columns of traveling stitches by using M1 increases, rather than cabling or YOs.

The concept is similar to Widdershins. Cast on with desired method, increase, knit the foot, trumpet-shaped increases on the sole stitches. In this pattern, you knit kind of a strip back and forth to extend the center stitches. You do the little heel turn short-row magic, but don't pick up the wraps. You do have to pick up stitches (only 8 on each side), and then a similar heel flap that attaches to the side gusset stitches. This method makes a slightly wider heel, for the square-heeled among us.

So, which one is better? They both make a perfectly respectable heel flap without any holes. They fit just like top down socks, and you don't have to run out of yarn. I guess you can choose whether you prefer to pick up short row wraps or pick up stitches on the sides of heel flaps. This is perfect for showing off premium yarns, so you use as much of the skein as possible.

What about other gauges or stitch patterns? Some other smart people
have explained how to try this with other stitch counts, and I think it should work fine.

I love knitting socks. These were my 3rd and 4th pairs completed in 2007, and career #20 and #21.

Love,
Eyeknit

What's that penguin doing wearing a sweater?

2007-02-17T07:46:00.000-05:00

Dear Eyeknit,

Don't you think that knitting for penguins might be even more fun than knitting for babies? Apparently, these little sweaters keep penguins who have suffered through an oil spill from preening their feathers, thus swallowing the toxic oil. The sweaters also keep them warm while their feathers are generating their own oil again. Once again, knitting proves more useful, resourceful and generous than say, stamp collecting, which no doubt has its merits but keeping penguins alive isn't one of them.

Love,
Stuntmother

P.S. A commenter has left this link for more information about knitting sweaters for penguins -- if you're feeling inclined. Thanks, Karen!

Animal Sewing Vetinary Hospital Station

2007-02-16T18:51:00.000-05:00

There has been no knitting today. Instead, I spent the afternoon sewing up stuffed animals in need of loving kindness and thread. The children brought them to me in the dolly stroller (which we also fixed) and reported how they received the injury, how the animal was feeling now, and what we needed to do to fix it.Gussie, Daniel's fast friend since birth, needed a little stuffing in his neck, and a hole closing up. A skateboarding injury, Daniel told me. He fell off a ten foot cliff and hurt his neck. Alas, Gussie's skateboard in no more but at least we could sew up his neck, carefully since the fabric is well worn. In fact, there is nothing left to his once lovely fuzzy fabric except the netting which held the fuzz in place, but he is still a dear, necessary sleep friend.
Gussie Cat, a birthday present this last birthday, had somehow split a long hole along his belly (apparently, a footballing injury) so he now has a large patch over his stomach and a seam on his leg has been resewn. (I made him from this pattern last September.) He also has a new face drawn on with fabric marker at Helena's insistence. She did the eyes and I did the rest from a drawing she made.
Oliver Octopus, another long time friend, needed a leg sewn back on, since he has spent the last two weeks as a septapus and was none too happy about it. He also had one of his little pod thingys repaired and his embroidery freshened up, in green as I had no pink embroidery floss.
But now they're all back in the bedroom and as happy as sandboys, the lot of them.

I'm Behind on Showing Socks

2007-02-14T22:22:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I hope all of you are safe and warm during this snowstorm...we ALL had a snow day today! I got to spend Valentine's Day with my two guys, but I have a crummy virus and feel achey.

Yeah, whatever. I've fallen behind on showing you my socks here. These comprise pair #2 for 2007, but career #20.

Petals Collection Lenten Rose Socks, Sundara Yarn, in a beautiful dusky greyish purple.
Addi Turbo US #1, Magic Loop method
Modifications: I skipped the yellow ribbon, as it didn't seem as if they would wash well with the silk ribbon. I also made the sock leg a little shorter (12 repeats rather than 15), as it seeemed that my voluminous calves were getting in the way. As it turned out, I could have done more repeats.The Verdict? I love this yarn so much. Sundara does a gorgeous job with semi-solids. These were the 4th kit of 6 in this sock club (Pink Calla Lily, Hyndrangea, Fall Foliage, and these). There should be another shipment soon, and I love opening those packages.

Next sock post: I'll show you my adventures in toe-up socks with heel flaps. The best of both worlds?
Love,
Eyeknit
P.S. This is how I usually wear my handknit socks: penny loafers, 1/2 size larger. They go with everything.

Contest Winner!

2007-02-06T08:33:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

At Midnight last night I employed the Random Number Generator (fun!), and...

Mel, of Knit.Frog.Repeat. is our contest winner. She has selected Cotton Knits for All Seasons by Debbie Bliss as her prize. We had 16 entries, and got to know some new blogs--thanks for playing, everyone!

Mel--I'll leave a comment on your blog, but if you read this first, please e-mail me your full name and mailing address, and I'll get the book in the mail ASAP.

Love,
Eyeknit

Happy Podiversary, Pointy Sticks! or, A Tale of Two Socks

2007-02-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Have you seen the Pointy Sticks Podiversary contest? (So many contests...so little time!) This is my entry regarding socks, an obsession many of us share.

Above is a photo of my mother's lovely feet. Featured on her right foot: the first sock I ever made (way pre-blog, June 2005). On the left foot: the first finished sock of 2007, and a member of pair #19 in all. I think I've learned a little something-something about sock construction and custom fit!

Right sock:
Plymouth Sockotta (color 0014)
Some generic pattern found on the internet meant to teach me the Magic Loop method.
I had utterly no idea what I was doing. The pattern made no sense at all to me before casting on, but I just did exactly what it said, and a baggy but actual sock resulted. Magic! I didn't really enjoy the process of using the teensy needles or the magic loop (yet), but I wasn't going to let second sock syndrome get me down. Gifted spontaneously to my mother soon after. She reports they make good around-the-house socks, but they're really too loose for shoes.

Left sock:
Mountain Colors Bearfoot, sweet pea colorway.
Addi Turbo US#1, Magic Loop
Madder Ribbed socks by Nancy Bush. This is the first of her four ribbed socks with different toes and heels in Knitting Vintage Socks. It would certainly be a good experience to knit each of these, to establish which parts fit your own feet for future reference. The Bearfoot is a wonderful yarn--soft and cozy, without taking up too much room in the shoes. This pattern features a Dutch heel and pointed toe. Surprisingly, the pointed toe is just fine on my stubby feet.

Here's a tip: Measure both feet.

In an effort to custom fit these to perfection, I measured Mom's foot over Christmas...foot circumference & length, ankle circumference, toe-pointiness-index and heel-thickness-ratio (Yeah. I made those last two up, but they're factors). I knit the socks to these measurements, and presented them to her with a flourish last weekend. Guess what? One of her feet is at least 1/2 inch longer than the other, and she had given me the short foot to measure! I wanted to rip out the toe, knit another 1/2 of rib, and redo the toe, but Mom would have none of it. They'll certainly stretch to accommodate, but it feels like a minor failure of custom sock knitting.

Love, Eyeknit

P.S. Don't forget! There's still time to enter our little contest. Only 6 entries so far--odds are good for winning! Tell us how you learned to knit, in the comments or as a link to your blog, and win a book!

Happy Knitiversary Contest!

2007-01-31T13:46:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

What this blog needs is a contest!

My two year anniversary since picking up the pointy sticks is rapidly upon us. I first learned to knit in 2005, the Monday after Super Bowl weekend. Yes--I know the Super Bowl was in January that year, and is now in early February, but it's an easy way to remember the event.

I had thought I might like to learn to knit for a long while. In fact, our mutual friend Annette was knitting an eggplant baby hat (based on the strawberry hat you gave her) when we visited them in July of that year, and it looked so wonderfully calming and practical. I needed a consuming mental and manual diversion (if I only could have known where this would lead!), but I had a tw0-year-old with way more energy than I could muster. I think I was finally seeing the light at the end of the baby tunnel, and DH had bought one of those "Learn to Knit" kits at Michael's for me. I'm not really sure what it was about that day in particular, but I had an irrepressible itch to scratch--I couldn't wait another day to start.

I hurried to the local library after work that Monday. For basic reference and instructions, they really only had Vogue Knitting (which I know now is a less than ideal starting point). I lugged it home and stayed up until midnight, struggling to form knits and purls with the yucky acrylic yarn. The next day, I visited The Tangled Web for supplies for my first scarf. They sold me some Plymouth Alpaca Grande in charcoal grey, an eyelash yarn in greys and black, and US#11 needles. It's about 9"x42"--not exactly traditional scarf dimensions...more of a muffler. It's almost too warm to wear, and it resembles one of those shaggy rugs that embraces the base of a toilet. Its claim to fame is that this is the first and only novelty yarn I've ever purchased. I guess the quality of handknitting and project choice have improved quite a bit around here since then! Since then, I've read every knitting book I could beg, borrow or buy, and I'm still insatiable.

So...the contest. I'll told you how I learned to knit; now you tell me how you learned to knit (on your blog). Send me a comment with a link to your blog, your name, e-mail address, and which book you'd like and I'll enter you in a random drawing. If you're blogless, just tell us your story in the comment section here. What's that? Fabulous prizes, you say?

The winner can choose one of the books pictured below. Books seemed a more apt prize than yarn, since my entire fiber knowledge base is acquired from books (and blogs, but I can't give you a blog). All entries received before midnight the night of Monday February 5 will be eligible.

Love,
Eyeknit

Knitting 911

2007-01-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I work with a capable and cheerful woman named Reenie--an ophthalmic technician who assists me each Monday. Well, this morning, Reenie arrived at work carrying a grocery bag with a sweater inside. This was a store-bought sweater in lightweight cream cotton featuring vertical panels of a gansey-esque knit-purl pattern alternating with a woven, lacy panel the likes of which I've never seen. The pieces of knitted fabric were machine sewn, and the washing machine had bitten open a 1 1/2 inch portion of the seam, at the lower front armscye. It had unraveled and was pronounced unwearable.

[blurry photo]

I took a look...four stitches had come loose from their sewn moorings at the seam. I hooked them with a paper clip so they couldn't unravel further. But, this stitch pattern was something I've never seen before. Also, each strand of "yarn" was comprised of three threadlike strands just sitting near other--not plied in any way. Hmm..

The stitch pattern looked slightly more logical on the wrong side, so I took a crochet hook and tried my best to twist and lift each one up the column, incorporating the weird extra strands here and there. I secured the four loops with a needle and some of the original thread to the serged seam.

The final result certainly isn't very pretty, but it has structural integrity. It looks a lot better on the WS. I'll leave it up to you--wearable sweater or total disaster?

Love,
Eyeknit

It's All About the DPNs

2007-01-26T09:40:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

You know I'm an avid Magic Looper for ultimate sock portability and stitch security. I truly don't leave the house without my Addi 40" US #1s. I was comfortable with DPNs, but not in love. Lately, though...it's been all-DPNs-all-the-time. [But not for socks.]

At your wise suggestion, I decided to make Knucks. Although they were not my usual conservative (boring) style, I just can't knit or fish out my keys or answer the phone or manipulate the I-pod or drive whilst wearing mittens. So I got the Felted Tweed and started off. This is the perfect pattern to make you fall in love with DPNs. The little finger ringlets, the joining to make a hand shape, the thumb gusset, then the cuff. All totally enjoyable and fun. I love the clever people who make these patterns possible (and free). All the suggestions were right on target. I even crocheted the edging! I do find leftie crochet a challenge.

Then, William (4 now) started to take an interest--he saw the photo of a little boy wearing them in the pattern. "Mommy--can you make me some knucks?" Of course, my love. So, I made his in a jiffy, but ran out of yarn and had to buy some more. The pattern states you can make a women's (M) and a child's (S) pair with one ball, but my mileage varied. No big deal. For some variety, I did a baby cable rib for his cuffs, because--well--he's my baby.

I offered to embroider W-I-L-L-----I-A-M-(heart) on the knuckles, but he thought about it and wheedled, "Could you just put 'LOVE BUG' instead? Since that's what you always call me?" Oh, my Love Bug: your wish is my command. That may be the sweetest knitting commission I've had. Of course, I've learned my preschool mitten lesson. This time, they're securely attached with I-cord threaded through his coat. We both love our Knucks, but DH remarked that the next time a traveling company stages the musical Oliver!, we'll both be sure to get parts. Hmmmph.

So, flush with the US #4 DPN success, I took a class on Latvian techniques at Loop with Beth Brown-Reinsel.

[Cranky digression follows. Skip if you want]

As you know, I've only taken one knitting class before (October, Tangled Web, Lily Chin, beaded knitting). I never even blogged about it, because several things dissatisfied me, and it's probably all my fault. It drives me up a wall if one or two participants constantly ask the teacher to go back and explain the same thing a hundred times, or dominate the class with need for attention. Consequently, Lily took 5 hours to cover about 2 hrs worth of material. I feel like she had a lot more to teach us, but the class setting just wouldn't allow. Also, Lily Chin is a knowledgable dynamo, but right now she seems very focused on selling her line of yarns and her designs, and spent a good part of the class self-promoting.

[Cranky digression finished]

The Latvian class was the polar opposite. There were 10 participants, all of whom had the prerequisite skills, and sat down to work immediately. All discussion was friendly but technique-focused, and Beth Brown-Reinsel had helpful tips the whole way. Her handout was well-organized, the yarn was provided, and I think everyone learned and enjoyed it tremendously. (Hi, Liz K and SavannahChik!) Beth Brown-Reinsel is the kind of knitter I like...plain, unpretentious, pleasant, with a deep and broad fund of knowledge. Now, if my copy of Latvian Mittens would just arrive from Amazon!

The best technique I learned was the horizontal braid in the middle of the swatch, followed by trying to carry three colors at once in stranded knitting. Those crazy Latvians! It makes Shetlanders seem downright simple in comparison.

Love,
Eyeknit

Color Therapy

2007-01-25T17:44:00.000-05:00

I have spent the week in the sort of pain that I thought only victims of torture by evil police state regimes ever had to suffer. Seriously. I have been knitting my sister's clapotis some of the time, but I've also had to rip it back four or five times when in my more lucid moments I noticed mistakes that I made when the haze was thicker. But the clapotis is black, and I laid in bed and held my throbbing cheek and dreamed about color and warm things and comfort.

So I started this.
Two years ago at Stitches East, the Philosopher's Wool booth had a shawl in it that I kept coming back to. It was very simple but so beautiful and I returned several times to wrap myself in it and think about whether I should be spending that sort of money on a garter stitch shawl. In the end, I did. For the love of color.Philosopher's Wool not only makes the most wonderful colors, but they are a marvelous company, with a business ethic that all businesses should aspire to. I was happy to give them my money and more happy to bring the wool home and hug it. My other sister (who also came to help me out this last week) helped me wind it all, which was itself a sort of indulgent dip into color.

The shawl "pattern," is simply a direction to increase one in every row (with a pretty yarnover). The color patterning is meant to be up to you. This made me nervous at first. I wanted my shawl to be just as beautiful as the one I had seen. Still, needs must and while it has been hard for me to relinquish the comfort a pattern brings, I am beginning to enjoy changing colors when I want to. I am noticing how the colors meet and meld and what they say to one another. And I am feeling healing by my bedful of colorful yarns and my slowly growing shawl. Someday I will wrap myself in it (for it is all mine all mine) and remember to be grateful for color and the absence of pain.

Two fingers (and still smiling)

2007-01-21T21:41:00.000-05:00

One of the nice things about improving as a knitter is that your family doesn't just grin sheepishly as you press yet another handknit upon them -- they actually begin to ask you for things, which is a positive joy.

My lovely sister Maria wanted a pair of gloves with three fingers missing, so that, when walking her wonder dog Linus, she could give him treats and not have freezing hands. Et voila!

Isn't she cute? She's tough too.

The pattern is mostly the cigar gloves from Knitty, but the yarn is Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK (very soft) and I single ribbed the cuffs (lack of reading directions). They took one and a bit skeins, but the cuffs ended up nice and long, the sort that tuck under your coat and don't let the cold air in.

Having ransacked the stash for more black wool, I also whipped her up a from stash one-skein sized one of these. The yarn was Lana Grossa Merino Big (very very like Aurora 8) which I had leftover from a hat I made Ed. My small amount of wool made a cute (though small) scarf, and while there was a problem with the pattern, it was easy enough to fix.

Now I'm working on a scarf-sized Clapotis for her, from RYC Cashsoft Aran. Very nice. (Pictures tomorrow maybe?) And she deserves it, after a whole weekend of taking care of me, my swollen mouth and missing wisdom teeth. Yow.

A tale of two Shedirs

2007-01-16T22:35:00.000-05:00

So once upon a time a knitter crazed by Calmer and with steadily deteriorating eyesight knit a Shedir (pdf) on 3mm needles instead of size 3 (3.25 mm) needles. What resulted was a mini Shedir.

After a few days, a scarf and one of two cigar gloves (about which more later), the knitter recovered and cast on for a second, proper size Shedir.

Ta DA! I give you Mommy Shedir and Baby Shedir:

What I don't know if you can see is how amazing a difference a quarter millimeter made to how the yarn behaved. On 3 mm, the Calmer was sort of squished and squashed and fuzzy looking, with poor stitch definition and a kind of been-through-the-wringer look. It's not awful, just not fabulous, and not what I had expected.

shmushy Shedir

On the 3.25, the Calmer was far happier. It wasn't so smushed up looking and had far better stitch (and therefore cable) definition. It was a little easier to knit with and rewarded my decision to knit the whole thing again.

Unshmushy Shedir

It helps, of course, that it's a brilliant pattern and (really) a fast knit. Each hat was knit in about three days -- pretty dedicated three days, but nonetheless... a couple of hours of television a night and a few more stolen hours here and there and bob's yer uncle.

What can I say about Shedir that has not been said a dozen times? A perfect pattern, a lovely hat and about as much reward for effort involved as I can imagine. I think everyone should have one. I have now knit three (this one is from KFI Cashmerino and was for my mother last Christmas) and would knit it again (and I dislike reknitting patterns).

Fall Foliage Socks for Midwinter

2007-01-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Remember my only stated knitting goal of 2006? Okay, maybe not. Having knit only one pair of socks previously, I wanted to knit 12 pairs of socks in the calendar year. Well, here's my last FO, (completed before Christmas but delayed in blogging) which makes a grand total of... 17 pairs! Yay! I have 12 pairs in my own sock drawer, plus gifted socks for my husband (2 prs), son, sister Megan and you. I finished an average of 1 pair per month for the first half of the year, then accelerated to about 2 prs per month.

These are Sundara Yarns' Petals Collection #3...Fall Foliage Socks. The color is a gorgeous deep red semisolid. It looks like the dark red of a poinsettia petal. The color is more accurate below (no flash). The pattern is elaborate and beautiful--I'm always a sucker for leafy stitch patterns. The only problem is that it involves a 15-stitch repeat over 10 uniquely patterned rounds, and even after knitting both socks I didn't have this grid of 150 symbols reliably memorized. I also somehow couldn't read the knitting to decide what came next. That's OK--not every sock should be mindless knitting.

My short row heels look perfect on the purl turn sides and not so perfect on the knit sides, no matter how tightly I crank the stitches. Troubled by imperfection as usual, I've examined my store-bought short row heels...and...they have somewhat more open gaps between stitches at the turns (on both sides of the heel) than elsewhere, too. I wouldn't exactly call them holes, but just stretched areas. What's the deal here? I do still love the way the heel flap & turn fits on me and how it can reliably be executed with perfection.

The toe on these is strange--the increases fall at thirds across the toe box. It makes for a mighty trapezoidal shape to the toe when the sock is laid flat, but okay on the foot. I'm trying to expand my repertoire of different heels and toes, so I did this one as written. Not my favorite, but a good exercise.

Which socks next? Well, one from Nancy Bush and another from Sundara Yarn.

Love,
Eyeknit

Foolfoolfoo.

2007-01-04T18:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Eyeknit -

So perhaps silly mistakes are in the air. At least, that's my excuse and I'm going to stick with it. Because otherwise, what the runny goat cheese heck was I thinking.

The evidence. A lovely Shedir in Calmer for my son's teacher who is undergoing chemotherapy and is STILL at school. I admire this woman and am daily grateful to her for taking on the challenge of my son so cheerfully. So, this is little enough I can do. A nice hat from a soft yarn.
Ah. But look closer. Doesn't it look a little, um, small to you? And look at this. Leftover Calmer (and spare hair). This ought not be. This is a hat made with ONE WHOLE skein of Calmer with nothing spare to swatch with. Hmm.

Hat sort of fits me, and my head is not small. But it fits in a charming beanie sort of way, not in a cover my bald head way. Fine. Hat is not big enough. Bugger. Bugger. Why why why?

Why? I'll tell you why - because investigation revealed that the foolish yet enthusiastic knitter had grabbed some Addis, briefly squinted at the cable, noted a 3 and cast on. Ah, but not size three. 3 mm. Size 2. Bugger.

After a night of soul searching (aka sleeping) it is clear what I must do. I am casting on again with emergency skein of Calmer and will consider what to do with evil small Calmer hat. Perhaps it will be good for a child. A friend said I should keep it but I think I will just glare at it meanly every time I see it to remember that I knit a whole Shedir on size two needles.

EDITED to say that this hat (dammit) is my first official finished object of 2007 -- I cast it on New Year's Eve and finished it on 4 January. Does it count as a 2007 object? Still -- it doesn't bode well for the year's output. On the other hand, I refuse to be downcast, downhearted or downtrodden. I am kitting a glove instead. Pictures tomorrow.

Knitting Quiz

2006-12-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

A simple quiz to brighten your post-holiday doldrums--it consists of only one question:

What is the object pictured above?

A. Perhaps the stupidest knitting error I have (so far) committed
B. My total knitting output over 4 whole days
C. 21 (of 26) rows of corrugated ribbing
D. A continuous closed topological object with only one surface
E. All of the *$@#! above

Yes, indeedy...

My wonderful and generous parents gave me the yarn and pattern to knit the Alcea Pullover from Simply Shetland 3 for my birthday. On Christmas Day, I blithely cast on (using the time-consuming cable cast-on method) during the long car trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Now, granted, I had only a 24" US#2 Addi Turbo with me, so the 356 stitches were mighty scrunched up, making it difficult to assess whether the cast-on was twisted. I know...there is no excuse for this dumb mistake. I always check and re-check to ensure no twisting. I just don't know what happened.

That really isn't the worst of it. I crazily knit away, completing 21 rows of this tedious two-handed corrugated ribbing, anxiously awaiting the start of the real pattern. This went on for four knitting days. I DID NOT CHECK during that whole time, and only realized it last night. Oh, what a miserable feeling.

[Go ahead. Take a moment for fiber empathy.]

After much emotional angst (yes, I shed a few tears), I decided not to rip it out until I reach the end of the project, and only if I'm out of yarn. I cast on once more, this time onto my trusty 40" Addi, usually reserved for Magic Looping. I asked my husband to hold the needles and we checked and rechecked thrice. I think we're okay now. The 40" needles is not practical for knitting the ribbing of a 48" sweater, so I've had to revert to the 24" for now. I bought a 32" US #3 Addi for the main body, to make the experience more pleasurable.

Let's examine the lessons learned:

1. August Ferdinand Mobius and Johann Benedict Listing independently co-discovered the Mobius strip in 1858. I discovered it late in 2006.

2. Check, check and check again after casting on. Check again a few times at the end of the first row of knitting. That's the last chance you have to fix this error. There is absolutely no known cure for a Mobius strip beyond this. (Although if anyone know more about this than I do--please comment).

3. Fair Isle knitting can be a real joy. However, the fun part is not the corrugated ribbing. Ask Wendy.

4. The only bright side to this is that my first 2 or 3 rows were just slightly looser than I would like, so there's something fixable. Also, my first cast on ended up with the purl side facing out, and I prefer the knit side out. Also, I think I'll spit splice this time until I reach the armscye steeks. I'm really not in the mood right now to darn in 2 million ends.

Progress: I now have 5 1/2 rows of the new ribbing done, and am suitably chastened and humbled. I vow to be more careful in 2007.

Love,
Eyeknit

Hey, Where are you guys going?

2006-12-18T22:16:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I caught up with two of my lacy projects attempting to make a break for freedom--or, at least, testing the boundaries, as they leave me and go to their new homes. At first, they just lay there, so luminous and sweet in their feminine chasteness. See?

But, then, I discovered this one at the post office.

Fleece Artist Cashmere Scarf, from one skein
Pattern: directly off the ballband, on the suggested needles (?)
Notes: This was done a long time ago...it looked pathetically small, but aggressive blocking opened it up. You cast on at each scalloped edge, then graft the two ends together in the middle. Beautiful colors. For my cousin (who is getting married in May)

And this little one waiting for the train.

Is there anything original in blogland to say about this one? (That was rhetorical) It's Swallowtail Shawl (or large scarf), in Handmaiden Seasilk, Berry. Very, very lovely yarn with excellent stitch definition. US #4 Bryspuns, about 20 grams of yarn leftover. I caved in and nupped thusly: sl 3, p2tog, p3sso. They looked wonky until blocking.

I also dredged up this photo of the Fickle Fingers scarf (Interweave Knits, Winter 2005) in the Zitron Ethno yarn (2 balls), same as in magazine. The model is Yellow Lab, William's favorite... bedraggled, chewed and loved intensely. I have a feeling that it'll look much better on my other cousin, as the fingers will frame her face. They're formed by binding off, then casting back on sts on each row. Clever...

Happy knitting,
Eyeknit

OK, only one scarf today

2006-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

I know I promised three gift-knitted scarves, but I can't find the photos I took of the first two which were completed this summer. The third one is William's teacher's gift...here he is modeling it:

Pattern: None, really. As many others before me have done, K2 P2 on 42 sts until all the yarn is consumed. No cheating allowed if you don't like the color combinations. It all balances out when the scarf becomes long enough.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, 4 balls, all different colors: 52, 92, 156 and I lost the 4th ball band. Use all the yarn.
Needles: Addi Turbo US#7
Finished dimensions: 8" wide by about 68" long (after blocking the ribbing a little wider). This is a big scarf.

Comments:

Fun! If you asked me to knit a long scarf entirely in ribbing in a plain color...well, it wouldn't be done by now. But, the ever-changing colors just kept me in suspense the whole way. Now, I'm itching to use the wonderful Kureyon in one of these or this.

I used Pantene smoothing conditioner in the rinse water--I think it made a significant difference in softness.

Next time? Maybe buy 4 balls all of the same colorway. Maybe avoid reds, since they comprise the only areas that clash to my eye. Maybe slip the first stitch of each row. Maybe not.

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. Guess what's soaking right now? That's right...the nupp-laden silk Christmas surprise!

Two (Stripey) Thumbs Up!

2006-12-06T10:19:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Without (even) further delay...may I present my guilty knitting secret:

Keefley Mittens from Handknit Holidays, pattern by Jolene Treace

Yarn: exactly the same as in the book: Julia (formerly by Goddess Yarns, now distributed by Nashua), 50% merino, 25% kid mohair, 25% alpaca. 2 skeins of deep blue sea (6936) , 2 of blue thyme (4936), and 1 of lady's mantle (3961). This was a lot of yarn to buy for one project, but I've weighed and calculated that if I buy only 1 light blue and 1 dark blue skein I'd have enough for a whole additional pair of mittens. Too bad I hate knitting the same pattern twice.

Needles: Clover bamboo DPNs, US#5

Evaluation: I love, love, love these mittens. I can't say enough about the softness of this yarn, yet the stitch definition is glorious (see below). These are my favorite colors, and I'm a total sucker for plaids and ginghams in fabrics. I think the fit is much more anatomical with these side gusset thumbs than the traditional Nordic mittens, with the "hand puppet" thumbs. Also, these are interchangeable (for either hand).

Because you're knitting a worsted weight yarn (normally 20 sts to 4") at a very tight gauge in fair isle (30 sts in 4"), you can pull those floats as tightly as you want. So fair isle beginners can really achieve a nice, even tension without any thought.

The back story? (Why am I feeling a little guilty?)

This project was fully intended to be my boy's teacher's Christmas gift. I figured that mittens were pretty much one-size-fits-all, and she probably spends some cold time out on the playground. Yeah. But, after I knit the first one, I couldn't put it down. It took both DH and you, SM, to convince me that I could keep these and make her something else. I've already made her a very nice scarf, and I think that's what kept me from posting this sooner. I had to neutralize the gift-knitting karma.

I'll show you the three (all very different) scarves I've knit as gifts this year in the next post. I hope everyone out there is progressing nicely with the gift-knitting. I have one major project to complete, but I think the recipient reads us occasionally. However, I'm sure you'll know what I mean when I say that the nupps are killing me--nudge, nudge, wink wink. Hey. Knitters could really be spies. We already have a code language that no one else understands, and we seem so unobtrusive, pleasant and industrious!

Love,
Eyeknit
P.S. If my son asks you--please go with the truthful statement that Mrs. Egner's hands are really, really small, and I wouldn't want to give mittens that don't fit her. Thanks.

I have a secret

2006-12-01T21:49:00.000-05:00

Dear Eyeknit and Everyone Else too,

I have a secret. Well, I have a few but they're not all relevant. A couple are, though.

One is this: I am not good at birthdays. It is something I have often wondered about since I love my friends, my family, my children. I like to think about presents, imagine glorious cards. Plan to make it lovely. But actually hitting the birthday? Completely and utterly crap at it. Doesn't help that Ed is too. The first birthday of his after we were a couple? I forgot it completely. I threw him a surprise birthday party a month or so later. He was surprised, as you might imagine. It's not a character trait I'm proud of. It's one I constantly hope to improve. But it hasn't happened yet, although I have not yet given up hope either. This crapness is compounded by the bred-in-the-bone Catholic guilt which makes it hard for me to breezily admit my mistakes and move on. I tend to worry them like a dog at a bone, which means that late cards arrive really late and really late cards never arrive.

Which leads me gently but inexorably onto my second secret: Eyeknit, my lovely friend whom I love more and more as time goes on, Happy Birthday (late). I have no lovely socks to give you, no pretty cards, no parcels of goodness. I have a plan, or rather, I had a plan before my parents tossed me out of their house with my two children three days early and I felt... well, but that's another story.

You are an extraordinary knitter, a remarkable woman, and a true friend. I feel honored to call you my friend and co-blogger. I am (seriously, check out those socks) not worthy. Someday I might be, though. And until I am, never doubt my affection -- and my admiration for all you do and are.

Oh, and I still have a plan. It's a secret though. Shhh.

Check out just a little of her knitterly wonder though:
And tell me she's not amazing.

Love from the ashamed but still affectionate
Stuntmother

Balance

2006-12-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

Life is a bit tumultuous right now -- but when isn't it? I am finding it hard to put things of the hands into words, which keeps me from knitblogging. Knitblogging is essentially about translating a manufacturing into a manuscript -- and my head is full of children and husbands (well, only one of those) and family crises and school issues and ballet classes and work and NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo and things like that -- knitting is my escape from my mind. It is what I do in those hours when I am allowed not to think, not to have to frame things in words. Yet I love to read all your stories behind your hand work, and I love how they round out the process, how they make it somehow more real.

I finished my top down raglan cardigan in Malabrigo Red Java -- it's lovely.I used Cosmicpluto's Top Down Raglan recipe and it worked brilliantly. A little waist shaping, a little seed stitch at cuffs and collar. And I love to knit with Malabrigo, except...

1) ...except that it pills like a mean, no good, bad breath mofo. I'm feeling rather put out about this and am resolved to renounce my hot and sweaty love for Malabrigo. In fact, it's exactly like a hot and sweaty love -- I fell for the good looking, smooth talkin' guy at the party and then, after a few dates, I realized that he still lives with his mother and thinks that Hummers are a good idea. The base attraction is still there, but I now know that this is not a lasting love. Sigh. I also need a sweater shaver since this cardi has some serious dagginess going on already.

2) ...except that dye lots are more suggestions than real. Of four skeins, all in the same dyelot, one was SO MUCH lighter than the others that I had to resort to knitting with two balls of yarn at the same time (which I don't like).

Still, it took less than four skeins of Malabrigo, which makes it a very reasonably priced project, I love the color and it fits quite well. And I'm going to embark on another top down raglan since I adore the construction. A green cably thing I think. As for this cardigan, I think I'm going to block it a second time and see if I can get a little more boob space from it. Or, you know, I could just eat less chocolate. But as it is, I wear it daily and love it. And it shows.

Happy Birthday, Stuntmother!

2006-11-24T12:55:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Happy, Happy Birthday!

This has been a wonderful year, getting to know you so much better through blogging, parenting and lots and lots of coffee. I can show your surprise socks here now, since they were gifted a little early. We won't be back in Philadelphia until Monday night.

Project: Buffy-watching socks (RPM)

Yarn: Speed Demon sock yarn from Sweet Georgia, Angel colorway

Needles: Addi Turbo US#2, magic loop

Modifications: Toe-up (I was concerned about yardage) with a short-row heel. Also, I used P3, K5 instead of P3, K6, so that they'd fit your petite feet correctly.

The story (there's always a story):
I learned the magical Turkish Caston, using an excellent tutorial. There's really no reason now to do the hourglass-shaped toe, wrapping and turning, unless you enjoy that sort of thing(!). The Turkish cast-on is simply superb (and easy). Used another great tutorial for t he heel, passing the stitches over to eliminate the wraps, instead of knitting or purling them all together.

The first sock completed in record time, I cast on for its mate. I thought I'd be a smarty pants, and reverse the direction of the diagonal to preserve symmetry. Well, I got the whole second sock done up to the cuff (redoing the darned heel x 3 to eliminate holes), and then inspected them side-by-side. The first one was puffy and squishy and gorgeous, and the second sock was flat and lifeless (take it from me--it was much more dramatic than you can see in these photos. Look at the left edge of each sock: scallopy v. flat). I ripped out the second sock and steamed the resulting loosely-wound ball of yarn in a spork (over the sugar snap peas I was making for dinner). The yarn plumped back to life, and I began again using the original pattern. Now they match exactly.

BTW, this yarn is lovely. It is similar in weight to STR Mediumweight, but has more loft and is less tightly-wound. It reminded me of Artyarns Supermerino--soft but with good stitch definition. I think the colorway is much nicer in person than in these photos. The purl ridges run perpendicular to the way the colors pooled, for a nice effect.

I do hope you like them--I'd never knitted socks for another knitter before. Will you post the modeled shot we took at my house?

Love,
Eyeknit

EDITED by Stuntmother to say:

Love them? I'm crazy about them. I'd trade in relatives for them (especially after yesterday). They were what got me through Thanksgiving. I'd look at my feet and sigh with love. I am not sure how I will ever wash them since I don't want to let them out of my sight.

And thank you for such lovely birthday wishes. It's been a good day.

Check out these Angelic feet.

Nantucket Jacket...help me!

2006-11-20T17:17:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

You know the trite limericks which feature the word Nantucket? And how it's hard to rhyme anything other than... Right.

Well, I'm having a fit over the lovely Nantucket Jacket (see the cover of the current Interweave Knits). I've been doing the math over and over, and I think I'm delirious. First of all, I'm not exactly svelte. I usually buy and knit garments with too much ease so that I'm not cutting it too close, and so I don't feel self-conscious. Clinton and Stacy would chastise me for the baggy sweaters I've knit so far, but I do wear them a lot. This time, I want a cardigan I can wear to work, fitted enough to be sort of a substitute for a blazer, to wear with a tweedy skirt or dress pants. Nantucket seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

So...how much ease? For reference, I'm about 44" bust, 37" waist, 46" hips. I thought the 46.5 " bust size would be good. I knit the first ball of yarn into the 1st 3 or 4 inches of the back (the flared part), and it's right on gauge...and huge. Even I can admit that 6" of ease here will not be flattering. Ok. So, I started over with one needle size smaller, as the swatch grew bigger and floppier when washed. I also reduced the seed stitch sections by 4 sts each, for 16 fewer sts in the whole sweater. This (theoretically) should have given measurements of about 43"B, 40.5" W, 48.5" H. Seemed OK except for the bust. I compensated by doing extra increases in the bust area, for an additional 3 sts on each edge in that region. Now, I'm only 2 sts short of the count for the 46.5" size. So far, so good. I'm still knitting just the back piece, so I'll let you know.

Then, over the weekend, I scrutinized the schematic of the sleeves more closely. Huh? The upper sleeve width is only 12" maximum? I hurriedly leafed through as many fitted sweater patterns as I could find, and none had such a teeny upper arm as this one (even Eunny's lovely fitted fair isle fantasy in this issue is much wider). The armscyes are also very short (8.5" vertically on the body, with a 6.25" high sleeve cap).

So, I ended up having to read the sleeve cap shaping articles in Knitty by the inimitable Jenna Wilson (yes, mother of Rogue). Whoa. My head is spinning. It seems that the upper sleeve width will need to be about 15 " to work (my biceps circumference of 14" plus 1/2 the total body ease). That's so much bigger! Can I construct a sleeve cap that will work with the existing armscye as planned? Should I add more height to the armscye, whilst I'm still knitting the body? Will this totally mess up my ability to construct a shawl collar? Am I going to have to immerse myself in Trigonometry? Aaaaggghhhh!

If anyone here knows anything about this problem, please have mercy on me and comment. I did measure my most closely-fitted sweater (the brown one underneath Nantucket), and it has 14" arms, but is a much thinner weight sweater, so I think that meshes with my 15" idea. Look at the bonus photo of this sweater...is it me, or does it look like the armholes are strangling her skinny arms? Oh, and I want the sleeves to be 3/4 length, and I should have plenty of yarn.

See? Maybe I just should have stuck to the sweater with more ease, and shut up and done it like the pattern specifies. Norah probably knows best. What do you think?

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. The yarn is WEBS' house brand Valley Yarns Amherst, color cayenne. Yes, I'm getting gauge.

Knitting for Life

2006-11-17T21:37:00.000-05:00

There are lots of ways to knit for charity. And lots of lovely ways to allow our knitting to touch the lives of others. Here is a way to make knitting activism:

Knit a river is a new campaign from Water Aid, an international charity dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to clean drinking water and to providing people with safe sanitation. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of WaterAid and their vision - a world where everyone has access to safe water and effective sanitation. To that end, they are creating a knit river to draw attention to the fact that more than a billion people do not have access to safe water, that more than two billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.

You can help build this river by knitting a square. There's lots more information on the two websites. It's a beautiful gesture, a sort of woven petition that will certainly make a striking statement and it's the sort of statement that's easy to get behind. If one can indeed get behind a statement. Behind a door, sure, but a statement? Ah well.

I'm going to stop writing now and go knit a square.

Thank you to Lettuce at Niddy Noddy for drawing this to our attention.

I Shall Bend the Yarn to Do My Will

2006-11-14T09:28:00.000-05:00

Dear Stuntmother,

Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been in a bit of a slump...no one project working out just as I'd hoped. But, as you know--I'm not a quitter, and I think we're back on track now.

Let's talk about the beautiful and thoughtful gift you gave me...the STR Lightweight in Scottish Highlands. You knew I love Scotland, and spend a time a few years ago driving around the mountains, lochs, moors and coastline. Also, my Rogue is in a heathery plum with greenish flecks and I love it excessively.

I thought that maybe a stitch pattern which suggested hilliness alternating with flatlands would be nice. I began Broadripple, and Rob Matyska was kind enough to send me the 72-stitch version, written for Koigu. Well, you can see what happened. I just couldn't allow the yarn to torture me this way, pooling so heinously. I also don't really like such a contoured cuff on a sock...kind of ...flappy.

So, I decided that plain stockinette might be nice, and that there must be a way to find out how many stitches it would take to reduce pooling. So, I worked in st. st. on those 72 sts for about an inch, then decreased to 68 sts, then 64, then 60. Amazing! The 60 and 64 stitch portions look lovely! This is why we both liked the colorway!

Here's the beginning of the real sock. I'm doing toe-up, because I don't want to interrupt my new-found stripiness with a gusset, and because I can maximize yardage. Simply lovely! See how the burgundy and green look so much nicer when separated by the misty grey? See how the yellow looks creamier and less goldenrod, when scattered with the other colors?

What's the moral of this story?
1. You just can never tell with color.
2. Sometimes it's worth futzing around with sock yarn until you're happy. For me, it's more of an issue with the colorways which cross warm-to-cool boundaries, or with those with dissimilar values. (The best way I can conceptualize value is to imagine a photocopy of the skein, and see if they all would come out about the same level of gray.)

It's a good thing, too--because lookie what came home with me from Baltimore!

Love,
Eyeknit

P.S. That's STR in Rhode Island Red (LW), Chickabiddy (MW), Cockeyed (LW), Rooster Rock (MW), In the Navy (LW) and Metamorphic (LW).

New Socks

2006-11-10T11:39:00.000-05:00

Dear Eyeknit -

I had a bad sock experience recently. The change of needle size showed me that I had been a bad bad non-swatching knitter and I had been on the wrong size and and and. And I ripped the whole sock out and swore off socks.

But really, there's nothing like having a sock on the go when you're on the go. And as the other project de jour is a Malabrigo cardigan with only about twelve rows left to go, it's not what you might call portable.

So I am tentatively back on the sock wagon. Look. A cuff.The yarn is Socks that Rock in Ruby Slippers. (Insert here normal disclaimers for photographs not liking rich reds. It's not pink really. It's RUBY!) My finger must have twitched on one bad day last week because it arrived in the post with a bumpersticker that reads:

Don't come knockin' if your socks ain't rockin.

At the moment, I have ten rows of twisted rib. At this point, I can either do Cascading Leaves (which I'm wondering if I need to do in something green or at least browny-red) or Pomatomus. Stay tuned, true believers.

Or true-believer.

Love - Stuntmother

NaBloPoMoNaNoWriMoNoKniNoMo

2006-11-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

Dear Eyeknit,

You are so patient with me. Really. I am all talk and no walk some days. Will you believe me if I say that I have been a very very good blogger, but just not here? Or that I'm behind on my words for NaNoWriMo but not so behind that I can't make them up tonight if I don't stop to knit?

That's going to be the tough part of November. Between NaBloPoMo and NaNoWriMo, I'm a bit short on knitting time. What I really want to do right now is find a video and get going on the second sleeve of my lovely malabrigo top down raglan. Two or three nights' knitting and I'll be done... but I'm going to go write my book now.

Before this lunacy began, I finished a few things. I did the Teva Durham Fair Isle caplet from LoopDLoop with the fattest needles I can imagine knitting with without mechanical aids. Size 35 Addis. The yarn was a labeless, nameless Destash find (and I have some more) and I'm thinking it's probably handpaintedyarn.com's (ooh hey, their website looks new and fancy) bulky weight in lettuce and violet. Came out cute, though...

Ed called it a sort of modern Renaissance fair cape thing, which is better than I'd hoped for.

I also did a pair of Knucks, and let me tell you, everyone should knit these. They're fast! They're fun! They're useful! They're in Rowan Felted Tweed which is a gorgeous yarn. I haven't embroidered them yet because I never take them off.
But since I am all loopy anyway with NaBloPoMoNoHeyDon't Go (and since I am feeling skulking and guilty for not coming here more), here is my knitblog pledge. I will (I promise) blog here twice every week at least. It's not like I don't have knitterly things to say. It's just that I'm too busy ranting over on Stuntmother about highrise jeans.

Love,
Stuntskulker