Painted Yarns

Virginia van Santen Award in Textiles and Clothing

2007-07-29T17:36:00.000-06:00

Here are the details of the scholarship set up in Virginia's name at the University of Alberta:

Virginia van Santen Award in Textiles and Clothing

Virginia van Santen, PhD, was an internationally recognized fabric artist, University of Alberta graduate, and life-long knitter. With her approval, Virginia's friends and family are establishing this undergraduate award to encourage the pursuit of education in the study of textile arts. Amidst her many creative pursuits, Virginia’s knitting was a common thread, which she embraced as a creative and generous expression, as an example of heritage, then and now, and as a colourful, tactile and joyous means of cradling friendship and fostering community. The Virginia van Santen Award in Textiles and Clothing will be an endowed award for Textiles and Clothing students entering their third or fourth year in the Bachelor of Science (Human Ecology) degree program. Recipients will need to demonstrate and interest in textile arts and preference will be given to a student in financial need.

You can go here to donate online or for instructions on sending a donation by mail. Donations are tax deductible in Canada, and there is also information on the University of Alberta's foundation in the United States - so Virginia's US friends can benefit from the deduction as well.

Please consider - as I did - donating the cost of a skein or two of your favourite yarn.

Heather

2007-03-17T12:49:00.000-06:00

Virginia passed away peacefully this morning, while in the company of friends.

Thank you for all of your good wishes and prayers.

A scholarship fund in Virginia's name is being established at the University of Alberta. Details to follow.

Heather

2007-01-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry to inform you that Virginia will not be posting in this blog, due to illness.

She is an inspiration for so many of us, and she appreciates your continued good wishes and prayers. I only wish that we could have more time with her.

In the coming months, I will be transferring this blog to my own site, as a permanent archive and tribute to Virginia.

Heather.

The Ottoman is Coming

2006-11-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is a very delayed entry. Circumstances beyond my control have intervened in my life, limiting my time and energy. However, the ottoman footstool is well underway. It is all bunched up on a circular needle, looking more like a giant bag in the making than an ottoman-to-be. I will post pictures when it is done.

I am not happy with the colors I am using, but again, time has been limiting. I did start to dye the exact colors I wanted, but the navy turned into a purple. That is when I decided to go to my LYS and buy ready-made yarn. Of course, the colors that I wanted were not in stock. But not-perfect colors were better than no colors, and I needed to knit something more involving than socks. So I am settling for second best.

Beware of the twisted stitch

2006-10-22T16:07:00.000-06:00

I have noticed more twisted stitches patterns recently than I used to see. For example, that beautiful pair of socks by Charlene Schurch in the last issue of Vogue Knitting, and some recent designs by Eunie. Twisted stitches, where you knit into the back of each stitch, twisting it, gives a sharp crisp outline to the design.

Many years ago, I knit a beautiful sweater designed by Norah Gaughan which used twisted stitches. The yarn I used was a silk, unravelled from my knitted wedding dress for which I no longer had a use. When I was done, I had a very sore wrist and had to rest it, no knitting, for three weeks. About 15 years later, I made that same sweater again for a friend who loved mine. It was only after I had finished it, and had sore wrists that required total rest, that I remembered that the same thing had happened the first time.

Shortly after that I read, in an interview with Norah Gaughan, that she no longer used twisted stitches in her designs, because of the stress on the wrist. Incidentally, she was wearing the same sweater I had knitted in the accompanying photograph.

With twisted stitches, you knit into the back of the stitch. This opening is smaller than the front loop of the stitch. This means that you have to give it an infinitismal push with your hand to get the stitch finished. Multiply that very tiny push times the number of stitches in a sweater and you have a repetitive stress injury.

So knitters, beware of the twisted stitch.

Update and a thank you

2006-10-20T19:22:00.000-06:00

First, I would like to thank Karen, and others before her, who have walked into various yarn shops and told the owners that they really should carry my yarns. Such personal recommendations carry great weight, and I sincerely appreciate it.

There is nothing to show on the knitting front, nothing that deserves photographic space here. I have completed a pair of plain black socks that I have been happily wearing, as they are made out of a combination of alpaca and silk and feel wonderful. I have completed another plain pair, out of my own merino, while I am waiting for my B & L Regal to arrive. Then I will have to dye that and wait for it to dry before I can restart my Ottoman.

Other than knitting plain socks, I have been working full tilt in my studio, dyeing up my new sock yarns. I have my eye on one of the colors for a sweater. But that's for after the Ottoman.

2006-10-14T18:15:00.000-06:00

Good, healthy greenish pond water, now in the bathtub

Today was Bringing In the Fish Day, an annual event somewhere between the last half of September and the first half of October. My friend Jessica has been my partner in this event for more than 15 years. We have it down to a routine. Her eyesight and reflexes are quicker than mine, so she usually catches more than I do. However, I am adept at handling them once they are caught, so we make a good team. We managed to catch all of them today in record time, unlike some years when there is always one that outsmarts us and hides successfully. We did have to drain about a third of the water out of the pond in order to succeed, but succeed we did. The fish are now in their winter palace, located in my basement studio, in an old bathtub with a liner inside of it. There they will stay, probably not happily, until next May.

I was going to take pictures of the whole procedure, but forgot under the excitement of the chase.

I have 3 inches done on the ottoman. And I am going to rip it out. The colors are perfect, the design is working out beautifully, the yarn is lovely (my own merino), but it is the wrong yarn for the ottoman. I was debating whether to carry on, or to rip it out. But if the voice that says there's a problem here is already speaking to me, it won't be silenced by a further 6 inches. So I am paying attention now.

What I want to create is a fabric reminiscent of a woven fabric. Machine washable wool does not create such a fabric. Each stitch lies separate from its neighboring stitches in the rows. They do not cling together. A yarn that has not been treated to prevent shrinkage has little fibers sticking out, and these tend to cling to the fibers in their neighboring stitches, thus making more of a unified whole. So, clearly, this is a case of the wrong yarn for the right project,

What I need is some Briggs & Little yarn. It has that property known as "stick." I have a friend who will try to pick me up some at a yarn sale she is going to. And then, I will have to do the dyeing process over again, and wait for it to dry, and then start over. The rustic quality of B & L will work much better with a design that is based on a tribal carpet design.

It does leave me with a problem. What do I knit in the meantime? My usual solution to this problem is another pair of socks. There is always some one to give them to.

The Ottoman wins

2006-10-09T19:27:00.000-06:00

I have decided to make the ottoman. I already have enough shawls. So, of course, I have been spending the last days trying to dye just the right colors for it. And tonight I got just the right shade of green, after 3 other failed attempts. Now I just have to wait for them to dry and I will be ready to cast on.

I will probably revise my earlier pattern a bit. Ten years ago I thought it was just right. Now, I am looking at it and trying to figure out how to improve it without throwing everything out of whack. I have three days to play with it.

Slumped

2006-09-29T18:53:00.000-06:00

I am stuck in a knitting slump. Although I am knitting, a plain black sock, the second one of a pair, and the second mitten of a pair of Latvian mittens, it is recipe knitting. My soul is not involved. And my soul has been asking for something to knit for weeks now. But what? It must be something beautiful, that goes without saying. It must also be something original, it must be a challenge, and it must be something that I either want or need. Those are my requirements for soul knitting.

I have an extremely comfortable chair, that I never sit in, because I like to read with my feet up, and I don't have a foot stool. In other words, I am in need of a foot stool. I have a picture of a foot stool, removed from an Architectural Digest many years ago and placed in my Idea Book. About ten years ago I also contemplated knitting this foot stool. I drew up charts, swatched a sample complete with fringe, and then I put the idea aside and placed it all in a binder. Has the time for the foot stool come?

Or perhaps another shawl?

Origami

2006-09-18T18:09:00.000-06:00

Remember this? The house jacket that was abandoned way back in March.

I have felt like a master origami artist these last two days. I folded my jacket this way and that way, and then turned it around and folded it the other way. This is the result.

I particularly like the way the front facings now form a decorative element, as do the cast off armhole edges you can see in the photo below.

The result is minimum sewing. It has a seam in the bottom layer to anchor it around the stuffing. A second set of seams lays down the former shoulders, and a third set of seams anchors down the bound off armhole edges.

The stuffing? An old white acrylic sweater given to me years ago and seldom worn, filled out with three skeins of felting yarn in unimaginably ugly colors.

Recycled Bolster

2006-09-14T16:21:00.000-06:00

At some point, a work in progress becomes a work abandoned. Four years ago I decided to knit a wall hanging to cover up a very ugly door in my living room. About one third of the way through it, I received a commission and put the wall hanging aside. After that, there were other projects that needed immediate attention, and my yarn dyeing business had been established. Then my ugly door was replaced, but the wall hanging in process remained draped over the back of a chair.

This week I recognized it for what it was: an abandoned project. I pulled the needle out, and decided it was time to recycle. I folded it this way and that, and decided it would make a good bolster, and more important, it was something I could use.

First step was to wash it, and when dry, give it a light pressing. Stuffing? What better for a recycling project than an old sweater, full of pills, that I only wore around the house. I rolled it up, and it fit.

I thought it should have a cord around the end edges, so I worked a row of single crochets around each end, the length of the radius of the roll inwards from the edge. It made for a natural fold line.

Next, I ran a cotton thread through each stitch at both ends, and pulled it tight. The thread broke. I searched in my tool drawer for something heavier, and found some cotton carpet warp, redid it, pulled tight, and it held.

Then I placed the rolled up sweater on the fabric, and used the mattress stitch to sew the two edges together. I pulled the cotton drawstring tight, tied a double knit, and threaded the ends to the inside of the roll. One end of the bolster had some space left, so I stuffed a partial ball of old sock yarn into that.

I was thinking of nice tassels to finish the ends, but didn't want to spend money on fancy ones since this is a recycling project. My own home made tassels tend to look exactly that, home made. So I made braids with tufts on the ends. I threaded yarns through the center edges, made braids, tied a knot in each end, and clipped the remaining ends off. It worked well, and served to hide the opening of the drawstring closure. I am pleased with the results.

Now, I have another abandoned partially knitted sweater that needs to be recycled.

Mittens

2006-09-09T17:21:00.000-06:00

Here is the mitten to date. I am not happy with the colors I chose, but given the amount of time it took to do the braids, I am sticking with it.

As I was knitting them, I had mental flashes of other braids I had seen. During one of my breaks, I hunted up my collection of old textile calendars. Here is an example of what I was seeing in my head.

The woven textiles of Guatemala, with the little inserts, give the same effect as these knitted braids. If I had used more vibrant and contrasting colors, the similarity would have been more pronounced. Perhaps I will make the next pair based on the colors in this piece of woven cloth.

Vacuuming

2006-09-07T19:05:00.000-06:00

I vacuumed today. For those of you who don't know me personnally, this is big news. I don't vacuum unless I have nothing else to do, and since I almost always have knitting on the go, I always have something to do.

I finished another pair of socks, and didn't really want to start another pair. I have been swatching some lace designs, unsuccessfully. I discovered that I had put the yarn overs and knit two togethers on the wrong part of the design on my chart, so I ended up with a blurred design and eyelets instead of lace. So I put that aside.

I was eager to start on one of the Latvian mittens designs, but didn't have yarn fine enough. None of my left-over fine sock yarns were of a suitable color.

So I vacuumed. But only the living room before I decided to swatch for the mittens using some of my three bags and one basket full of Briggs & Little one-ply. I have no idea why I have that much of it, or when I bought it. And it worked out to gauge, using 2 mm needles. It makes a very dense tight fabric, perfect for mittens.

Since I was swatching, I thought I would start with one of the braided edgings, since I have never done a braid before. It looks beautiful, but very tedious to work. I think this will be one time that I will start both mittens at once, for fear that once I finish the first, I will never want to start the second and do all those braids again. It might help you to understand this better if I mention that the cuff consists of four PAIRS of braids.

So, I am ready for tomorrow morning. Eat breakfast, and start knitting.

Results

2006-09-01T16:41:00.000-06:00

This is the result of this week's labors. Seven new colors for the fingering weight merino. Now I need to come up with names for these newly hatched colors.

What a Differene a Stitch Makes - Part 2

2006-08-28T20:01:00.000-06:00

Success at last. Apparently, at least for tonight, blogger refused to take four photos in one shot, but happily obliged with only 2 per post.

This is a close up of the heel sans model.

I did something different there from the standards.

And this is a close up of the pattern stitch.
The pattern itself is almost done.

What a Differene a Stitch Makes

2006-08-28T19:43:00.000-06:00

I have trying to upload this post without success. So I am dividing it into two smaller parts, and we'll see if Bloggrer likes that better.

First, Vivian, you asked where I will be selling my new sock weight yarn. River City Yarns is first in the line up, and they should have it fairly soon.

Here is the same yarn from the same skein worked in a plain knit, aka stripes, and again in a patternd stitch. No stripes, except for the bottom of the foot.

Here is the sock modelled by me, rather ungainly, since I don't have a live-in sock modeller.

If I can get the posts up, the next one well have close ups of the heel and stitch pattern.

What a Differene a Stitch Makes

2006-08-28T17:23:00.000-06:00

Here is the same yarn, from the same skein, done up in plain knitting and fancy stitches.

Lacking a live in-model, here it is on my leg

Stitch close up

Heel close up
Pattern comin up next. It is almost done.

Sneak Preview

2006-08-24T19:13:00.000-06:00

I have added a new yarn, or rather, a new weight of yarn to my line. People have asked for the merino in a sock weight, and here it is. It is the same springy machine washable merino, but in a 2 ply rather than a 3 ply. A true fingering weight.

I dyed up the first batch, and here is the first skein being test knitted. I am doing it in plain stockinette, so that I can see what the yarn does, and what the color placement will do. At 400 meters in a 112 gm, 4 oz skein, it should be sufficient for the longest feet. Now I will have to come up with a new design.

This test sock is being knitted on 2 mm needles, and is giving a gauge of 34 sts over 4 inches. I knitted the short row heel tighter, and there the gauge was 39 sts over 4 inches.

Latvian Mittens: WOW

2006-08-21T19:08:00.000-06:00

My latest book order arrived today: Latvian Mittens, by Lizbeth Upitis. WOW! I can see a mitten binge coming up. It is full of intricate patterns in gorgeous color combinations and techniques I don't know. I can learn new things while playing with colors, and use up some of my huge collection of leftover sock yarns.

The most important thing I learned is that a little knowledge is dangerous. In my last post I complained that the Estonian mitten I was working on didn't have a thumb gusset, and that I found the fit too tight. Well, a very close reading and looking through this book showed me that Latvian mittens don't have thumb gussets either. In other words, I was complaining too soon without having enough background information.

Thinking about these mittens, I can see why they don't have thumb gussets. They would be pretty hard to insert into complicated repeats and still look good. I'm also thinking of the Turkish socks I have seen. There are no heels as we Westerners know them. The thumb gussets are not missing due to lack of knitting skills. The mittens are very complex, with a number of very intricate cuffs. I can hardly wait to make some, although I'm not sure where I can squeeze them into my existing tight knitting schedule. But never fear, they will get squeezed in. Fun things always do. My only fear is that I won't be able to stop once I start them.

Transformations

2006-08-18T18:36:00.000-06:00

The bowl is finished, although not perfect. It now has a bottom on it, and is pulled into the right shape. I have not redone the lining, as I am saving that for the real thing, the one done out of my own yarn for the pattern. I have made the needed notes for how to make the lining fit, and will trust that it will work in the next one. I am happy with the shape of it, and with the architectural lines in it. And most of all, I am happy that I have the pattern written, ready for a check out in making the final version. Pattern writing is my downfall. I always put it off.

I did a little playing today and knit this. There is a class coming up next month where we will be doing colorwork on mittens. Mittens are smaller than sweaters, need I say more? I found the current Piecework magazine yesterday and saw that Nancy Bush had an Estonian mitten in it. Exactly what was needed. I cast on last night, started it, played around with various yarns to get the right gauge, and knitted away.

About five inches into it today I suddenly remembered that I was knitting a mitten, and where was the thumb? I checked back with the pattern, and yes I had gone the right distance, but there was no thumb gusset. I tried it on, and thought, no way, this is too tight. It fit my hand perfectly, but not over my thumb where the gusset should have been.

Here is something that most avid sock knitters know. Fact: for almost all people, the circumference of your hand is the same as that for your foot. So now my Estonian mitten is on its way to becoming my Estonian sock. Since I was changing horses in mid stream, I thought I might as well change something else and see what difference it would make.

The bottom half, while it was still in its mitten stage, was done in stranded knitting. Perfectly smooth front, with just the right amount of stretch for a mitten. The upper half, after its transformation to a sock, is done in weaving technique. Slightly less smooth front, but more stretch to accomadate going over a heel. The imperfectly smooth front will smooth out after a wash and there will be no visible difference. The gauge went from 21 sts over 2 inches to 20 sts over 2 inch. That is the primary difference between stranding and weaving, and not an issue here. You can click on the photo to get an enlarged view.

I would never have willingly undertaken an Estonian sock. I am not an avid sock knitter. But now that I have one underway, I love it. I love the design and the way the colors work together.

Bowl update

2006-08-15T19:21:00.000-06:00

Several reworkings of the bowl have resulted in this version to date. I am still not satisfied with it.

The lining in particular has to be redone. Notice the bubbles? It doesn't fit the bowl despite my finest mathematical calculations. Obviously, I have to reduce some stitches there.

Work on it will be a little slower as my new shipment of yarn arrived today, including some merino in a two-ply sock weight. I have some special colors lined up for that yarn.

Twisted Stitches

2006-08-10T18:39:00.000-06:00

First, thank you Vivian for passing on the comments on your shawl/my yarn. The name of that colorway is Purple Haze.

I picked up my copy of the new Vogue Knitting today, which has a lot of very nice things in it, including a write up of River City Yarns as an inspirational yarn shop. There is a special section devoted to socks, one of which I love, but won't knit. It is the one by Charlene Schurch, of Sensational Knitted Socks fame. It is done in twisted rib stitches on 2.25 mm needles. If I knitted that, my wrists would require three weeks of rest and rehabilitation before I could pick up a needle again. Twisted stitches are murder on my wrists.

About 15 years ago I knitted a sweater designed by Norah Gaughan. It was a beautiful design, based on twisted stitches. Ten years ago, I knit that sweater again for a friend. When I had finished it, my wrists were so sore I couldn't knit for three weeks. It was then that I remembered that the same thing had happened with the first sweater. Not too long after that I read an interview done with Norah, where she said that she no longer designed sweaters using twisted stitches, because it was too hard on her wrists.

If I were an occasional knitter, or one who takes weeks to knit a sock, I would cast on for Charlene's socks right now. But I need my wrists in working order every day. And it's no good telling myself that I could knit five rows everyday. Once started, I wouldn't be able to put it down.

The Giant Swatch

2006-08-08T19:42:00.000-06:00

The bowl progresses, although I am thinking of it as the giant swatch. The yarn I'm using was left over from another project, and I don't think I will have enough of the green. I haven't checked the basket where it come from yet, to see if there is another remnant lurking there. I have already made a change in the placement of my increases in the top half, compared to the bottom half, and now I am doing a swatch within a swatch. See the two paper clips on the needle? Those are stitch markers, just in case you didn't recognize them. The stitches between the two are a swatch.

I do all my color knitting two-handed, and in my bowls, I use this 1 x 1 stitch a lot, as it makes a firm fabric. But most people don't use two hands for color work, and for others doing the two colors in one hand is not pleasant knitting. So as I was knitting, I wondered if you could get the same effect, and more important, the same gauge, by using slip stitch knitting. I made a note on my clipboard to try this out in a swatch, and kept on knitting. Then, brilliant thought, I decided to do it right there and then in the bowl itself, since it was a try out for what works, and what works better, i.e. a swatch. So the area between the two paper clips is being knitted in slip stitch technique, right there between the two handed color knitting. And so far, I can't see a difference, in either the front or the back.

So now I can include this option in my patterns, and that will make it easier for a lot more people. Just in case you haven't run across slip stitch color knitting yet, you knit all the stitches in one color first in one row while you pass over the second color by slipping them from the left needle to the right needle. On the second row, which is really the first row all over again, you slip the stitches already knitted in the first color, and knit the stitches meant to be knitted in the second color.

Bowls Revisited

2006-08-06T16:49:00.000-06:00

There was a time when I made close to thirty of these bowls. In the six or seven years since then, I have thought of knitting more of them, but I never went past just thinking about it. Two of them I have put out as patterns, but for the most part I lost the working notes for them or didn't have notes. I knitted them intuitively, making decisions as I went along.

My original mandate for knitting bowls and boxes was that they should be self-supporting, depending on their form and stability entirely upon knitting techniques. No felting, no wires, no stiffening of any kind. I discovered that the secret was to build in an inherent tension between increases and decreases and the spaces they occupied.

Today, I caught the bug again. I started this. And as happened in the past, while I am involved in knitting this one, ideas for others are popping into my head. This time, I am taking down notes as I am knitting, so that I can knit it again and put out a new pattern.

Marvelous Mittens

2006-08-02T19:31:00.000-06:00

I learned something new today. When you have an account with Amazon.ca, you have an account all over the world with Amazon.

I have been looking for Charlene Schurch's book Knitting Marvelous Mittens. I passed it up when I first saw it, I was probably broke then, and decided now that I wanted it. Not only did I want it, but I really really wantedt it. And of course, now nobody has it. The publisher is out, all the major bookstores online are out, and I didn't want to do eBay.

Then I googled it, and it turns out that there are copies abounding in the UK and in Sweden. One of the google entries gave me Amazon.co.UK, where it was on sale for half price, with only two copies left. I signed in to order it, listed myself as a new customer since I had never shopped in the UK, and got the message back that I already had an account. I had no idea that Amazon was international, that is to say, you sign up for one and you are listed for all of them.

I have this mental picture of a whole building full of computers to house all that data, the books, the customers, the wish lists, etc. for every country in the world. Perhaps I am naive. At any rate, I did my clicking for the order, and am to have it delivered via airmail within ten days. And it takes how long to get something from the U.S.? I am delighted.

However, this serendipitous event is going to cause me problems. From now on, when I search for something on Amazon.ca that is not available, usually a CD which is an import, I will fly myself right over to Amazan.UK, rather than resigning myself to not having it and saving money.

Swirl Jacket Number 2

2006-08-01T16:14:00.000-06:00

I have finished the plain swirl jacket meant to be worn around the house. When it is dry, I will post a photo to show the drape. The colors I used were just what I happened to have on hand, and I didn't look for any great combinations, as I will be wearing it around the house when it is cold and no one but me will see it.

At the start, I was going to knit it plain, totally plain, in stockinette stitch. That didn't last long. To save my sanity, I had to add some variation, so I divided each panel in half, and did one half in st st, and the other half in reverse st st. No problems knitting that. In fact, it went amazingly fast, taking just 2 and a half weeks. This wide ribbing makes for pleats when worn.

I made one mistake in this jacket. I knitted one sleeve inside out. I didn't discover this until I was knitting on the lace edging on the cuff, when I saw that the finishing cast-off edge was facing the wrong way. With both sides of the fabric being the same, I hadn't noticed that I had picked up stitches on the wrong side. However, it was a mistake that was easily corrected. I undid the cast off row, and then cast off in the opposite direction. I used the tail to close the gap. Simple fix.

But now, once again, I have nothing to knit, and what will I do tomorrow morning? I always knit for an hour after breakfast, before I get dressed and start work for the day.

Aahhhh... 19°C and drizzling

2006-07-28T18:15:00.000-06:00

The temperature is down, the energy level is up, and things are cooking in the dye pots. My house jacket is in the middle of the last sleeve, which leaves the lace edging along the fronts and neck to do. So it is just a matter of days now before I have to start a new project.

I have classroom space set up now for new classes, and I have sent out emails to those people on my list who have requested information about this. If you were not on my list, and you live here in Edmonton and would like information, you can email me (go to *how to order* on the website) and I will let you know what is happening and when.

Snake Bitten?

2006-07-24T19:00:00.000-06:00

It is still swelteringly hot, so I have not been dyeing, and have done very little knitting. There has been a little progress on the pattern writing, but here again, sweaty fingers are not conducive to easy keyboarding. So what am I doing with myself all day? Reading.

However, here is a picture of my current favorite in the garden. Cimicifuga ramosa, aka black snakeroot. It will bloom now until the frost gets it in late September. It is not the best picture. I would have had to trample some daylilies in order to get a shot without the house(s) in it.

I love this plant, because it forms a dense canopy of leaves at about the four foot level, which means it is taller than most weeds. It also covers up last year's plants that I just leave to decompose where they fall. I used to clean it all up, but not anymore. Give the snakeroot a couple of weeks in the spring, and all the evidence of my lack of diligence is gone. I also love it because it is six feet tall. The flowers are higher than my head. Apparently, pioneers used the roots to treat rattlesnake bites.

Pattern Writing Day?

2006-07-20T19:24:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I proclaimed today to be Pattern Writing Day. The weather forecast was for hot, so no dyeing if I could help it, and I did need to get more done on the jacket pattern.

So how much did I get done on this official Pattern Writing Day?

1. I visited with a friend and discussed knitting, dyeing, pattern writing, and various yarn/knitting related topics. For three hours. I loved every illicit minute of it.

2. I went to my computer, opened the jacket file, and added some points here and there. No writing, just points. These will be helpful later on. I already knew that I would need a fairly extensive explanation of the weaving technique, ideally accompanied by clear illustrations or photographs. Aha, here was knitting I could do instead of writing.

3. I started a swatch for the weaving technique, and wrote down every move I made. This turned out to be simpler than I had expected. Notes for the future write-up. Mind you, when I look at those notes again in two days time, they might no longer make the same sense as they did today. Notes have a habit of becoming obscure with time.

4. I got out my camera and installed it on its tripod. I reviewed the sections in my manual describing how to use the self-timer, and also how to do multibursts. Multibursts made sense to me. I could just sit and knit, and using the self-timer, have every move recorded for analysis later. I had fun. Did I have usable photos? No. I need more practice, apparently, so I will try again another day.

(I also knitted two more inches on my house jacket. Six rows to go before I do another lace edging.)

A Close Call

2006-07-18T18:53:00.000-06:00

I came THAT close today to making a Fatal Error. I followed my oft repeated advice: don't just keep on knitting, take a look at your knitting. This is after 16 inches of knitting. I spread out my house jacket and I did. I discovered that the gauge had changed from 20 sts per 4 inches to 18 sts per 4 inches. I compared the overall measurements to my swirl jacket, and this one was bigger, whereas it was meant to be less full. So I prepared to rip it out, to start from scratch with this new gauge. Keep in mind that I was over halfway down the back. I slid out the needle, I cut the threads holding the sleeve stitches (I always tie the two ends together), and prepared to rip.

And then I had a thought. I put it on, inserted my arms into the armholes without any care for the cut thread holding up the stitches, walked over to the mirror, and looked at my knitting. It looked wonderful! The alternate knit and reverse stocking stitch panels fell into perfect folds. Just as I had planned. And it didn't look too big at all. I thought again that this was meant to be my house jacket, to be worn over other sweaters, and needed to be roomy.

So back to the sofa I went, carefully supporting the weight of it this time so no further stitches would fall, and looked for the cut threads holding up the sleeve stitches. They hadn't budged at all. Every last stitch was still on the strings. Unbelievable. I reinserted the needle through all of those 544 stitches, and knit a further 2 inches. But if I hadn't gone to the mirror? I would have had 4-100 gm balls of wound yarn sitting in a plastic bag.

The Queen Bee Buzz

2006-07-15T17:30:00.000-06:00

Today was the third Saturday of the month, which means knitting at Hulbert's cafe. The Queen Bee, Holli Yeoh of Bees Knees Knits is in town, doing several workshops for River City Yarns, and she joined us. Holly does wonderful children's knitwear using self- patterning sock yarn combined with solids. Go to her website and take a look at her patterns. What I like most about them is the little designer details that go into them, the beautiful little touches that make them unique and a joy to knit. If this sounds like a promo, it is. Her work deserves it.

As for me, I came home after that and spent the rest of the afternoon washing skeins and hanging them outside to dry, interspersed with short stretches of working on my almost plain next winter's house jacket. Not nearly as much fun as knitting with pattern and color. But I need it.

Cormo

2006-07-14T20:05:00.000-06:00

I have an ongoing list of Things to Knit. Currently, this list contains 14 items of things I want to knit. I just crossed one off, the Swirl Jacket, and one other item is no longer relevant. That leaves 12 items still of interest that I plan to do.

I love knitting lace, and I haven't knitted lace in a while. What I love most is designing the lace. And wouldn't you know it? Red Bird Knits has a sale on right now which includes Cormo, a lace weight merino at 40% off. Heather let me know about this, and I immediately ordered a bunch for dyeing and knitting up for my next project.

I knit this throw as a commission, and ever since I finished it I have had this little thought in the back of my head that I would like to try and translate the central elements into a lace pattern. I've actually had the chart sitting on my kitchen/work table for the last two months. Now that I have some Cormo coming, I am going to do it.

Panic Time

2006-07-12T19:11:00.000-06:00

When there's nothing to knit, its panic time. I am dying to knit the simpler version of the swirl jacket, but as I said, I'm not sure what colors to use, and I don't have extra colors on hand at the moment. So, I thought, make yourself a house jacket, using the swirl design, out of yarn you have upstairs in one of your tubs. You know you need a new house jacket for the winter, and here's your chance. I have a bag of Wensleydale yarn that I bought as a treat for myself 5 years ago. I did make one sweater out of it that I have never finished. At least, I finished knitting it, but I have never sewn on the second sleeve. I wasn't happy with it.

I swatched some more today, using the Wensleydale, trying to find a stitch pattern that the yarn would accept. I remember that happened with the first sweater. Nothing looked right in that yarn. Hence the unsewn last sleeve. Same thing today.

I finally decided to do it in garter stitch. The swatch looked good. I started the jacket. Two hours later, and I know that I really cannot knit a whole sweater in one color in garter stitch. I will never get it done without losing my mind to boredom. People talk about mindless knitting, and how soothing it is. Yes, mindless indeed if you lose your sanity. I need to be involved with my knitting.

I need action and reaction in my knitting. I make some moves, and the knitting shows me something beautiful. Either a stitch pattern that evolves as I knit, or a progression of colors, or at the very least, when using hand painted yarns and a simple stitch, I want my knitting to show me a succession of beautifully colored stitches that appear one after another on the needle. Then I can marvel at each stitch as a single unit of color.

However, I am in need of a new winter house jacket and a knitting project. I keep my house temperature low in the winter and compensate by wearing a heavy cardigan over my sweater over my tee-shirt. And sometimes I add a shawl over the whole ensemble. I wear this jacket all the time, so it has to withstand every activity, including house work (a rare activity) and dishes (less rare, but not frequent). I really cannot see myself doing dishes wearing my swirl jacket with the 5 inch lace bands on the sleeve.

So what I need is something that is not necessarily beautiful, but interesting enough to keep me knitting, and functional. A modified swirl fits the bill, with a little less fullness in the back, in one color only (I want to use up that Wensleydale), a little challenging in terms of design and interesting in terms of stitch pattern. I think I have the answer, and I will rip out my 2 hours of garter stitch tomorrow morning and start again. We'll see what develops.

Swatching

2006-07-11T19:42:00.000-06:00

A shipment of yarn that I expected today did not arrive, so I spent much of the day swatching for the new jacket. No satisfactory results as yet. And I still have not come up with a color that I want to use. I am veering between a soft romantic look and a darker dramatic mood. As I don't have either of the two possible colors on hand, I won't worry yet. I'll know when I get there.

At Last: The Swirl Jacket

2006-07-05T13:23:00.000-06:00

It feels like it has taken forever to complete, but a reality check with my calendar informs me that I cast on for the first time on June 7th. So that makes it just under a month. Of course, I redid the top a second time, the lace edging twice and knit a total of 3 sleeves for this jacket. Am I happy with the result? Oh yes.

In fact, I am planning on doing another one, a simplified version, with some changes on the front neckline. This one will be in one color, with some colorwork on the bottom, and a different lace edging. I have it pretty well worked out except for what color I will do it in. It will have to wait, as it is still too hot to knit. Another day of 33 degrees, and you can't knit with sweaty palms.

Hot Weather!

2006-07-02T18:26:00.000-06:00

Given the current hot temperatures, and that they are forecast to last all week, I definitely want a solar oven.

I did another test batch today, using a large tray this time inside the black garbage bag, and managed to get steaming water. So if I made a solar oven, there will be no problem with getting the temperature of the water high enough to ensure proper setting of the dyes.

Just think of the benefits:

1. no extra heat in the house,
2. no extra steam adding to the humidity,
3. a big savings on power use.
4. and I could probably put up one of those signs on the lawn that advertises *we are green,* or words to that effect.

Now I just need to find two boxes the right size, a good supply of aluminum foil, a piece of glass, and I'm set.

Solar Powered

2006-06-28T16:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the temperature was 31 degrees celsius. Much too hot to do anything. Too hot to dye. Too hot to add steam and heat to my studio and my house.

Looking at the blistering sun coming down, I remembered reading about "garbage bag dyeing" in Susan Rex's book. If ever there was a day for trying this, this was it.

I hauled out some skeins I had dyed as solids several years ago, soaked them, put them into black plastic garbage bags, poured on some dye, sealed them up with a twist tie, and carried them outside. I don't have the recommended concrete, so I put the bags onto the paving stones around my pond. Full hot sun for the whole day. I ran back inside (too hot for me to be outside), and just took an occasional peek out the window to make sure that the magpies left the bags alone. They do like to tear open garbage bags to grab a meal.

This morning, I opened the bags, and sure enough, it worked. The water was crystal clear, the dye had been fully absorbed, and it didn't cost me a penny in power. The skeins are now washed and drying, without losing any of the dye in the wash water.

Notice the blue sky with the bits of cloud reflected in the clear water
The white strings are for hanging the skeins up to dry

I have a number of other skeins that are solids. Let's see how long this hot weather lasts.

Exciting Breakthrough: The Knitting Straight-Jacket

2006-06-26T17:21:00.000-06:00

I completed the edging on my jacket and got it right this time, and am now working on a sleeve. After some fiddling with trying to get the right needles for maximum comfort, I have settled on DPN's and discarded the circulars. But what a job it is to turn that whole jacket around as I complete each round. I usually do the sleeves first in a top-down, and then the body, but I wasn't sure how the shaping was going to work, so I didn't want to do both sleeves first, and then discover after it was all done that the body shaping was wrong.

After taking much too long to do 2 inches, untwisting the body from the sleeve, and getting irked by having the needles not in use catching in the body fabric, I had a brilliant thought. Trust me, it is indeed brilliant. I have tested it out, and it works. Put the whole thing inside a tee-shirt, and have the sleeve in progress coming through one sleeve. Where else? I pinned the bottom shut, as the work was coming out the bottom and escaping its confinement, and now the needles don't get caught in the fabric. Happy knitting indeed.

The colors are poor in the photos, because it is very hot today and the blinds are drawn, and this was not the time to wait for another day to show you how this works.

In the meantime, for a bit of good color, I found this little gem growing in a pail of dirt. I must confess that it is a pail that is holding some plants given to me last year, which I have not, as yet, planted. It currently has a role as a doorstop for my gate that won't quite close anymore. Now it has this bonus plant. I don't know what it is, but I love the blush of color with the soft fresh green.

A Little Bit of Joy

2006-06-24T16:19:00.000-06:00

I've had to take out the border on the jacket, again. Apparently I am a slow learner. I did the math wrong, compounding my original error, and ended up with 23 stitches left over. This time I have it right, I know I do, because I did a count after 3 repeats were done, rather than after halfway through the border. So onwards once again. Patience I have in abundance.

Today's dyeing output is hanging out to dry, and I found some joy. The flowers of my Rodgersia against the colorway Art Nouveau are a serendipitous combination.

Here one of the flower stalks is trying to gain some freedom from behind a leaf of Ligularia Desdemona. I did not plant Desdemona there. Unlike Othello's Desdemona who was a timid creature, this one is an upstart. She self-seeded from unknown origins, but she is oh so welcome.

13 Stitches

2006-06-22T18:04:00.000-06:00

I finished the lace border on the jacket this morning, and I love it. I love it so much I am going to add a narrower version along the front edges. However, there was one very small problem: 13 stitches left over. My math was correct, but it was incomplete. I neglected to add in the seam stitches, all 13 of them, and so, I came to the end this morning, and there they were, 13 stitches left over. I decided to rip it out and restart immediately, before I lost heart. So now I have 3 of the required 18 repeats done again.

I was surprised to find that in each of these 3 new repeats, I had to unknit a number of rows due to mistakes. You can't rip back bi-color lace with intarsia. I wasn't paying enough attention, probably because the pattern has become routine and/or boring. It is going to be worth it, I tell myself, and at least I know now what to do with the front edgings. That still leaves the neck edging/collar to be decided. I'll know when I get there. I certainly like the idea of a 5 inch lace cuff on the sleeves.

St. George and the Jacket

2006-06-19T15:43:00.000-06:00

I have finished the body of my jacket, and I'm halfway through the border. I couldn't wait to see how that lace border would look, so I started that instead of the sleeves. Sleeves are always so dull. I'm not entirely sure of the border as yet.

My intention with this jacket was primarily to see how two different painted yarns would work together. I am delighted with the result. Others might not be. The design is not clearly visible, but in some areas is only hinted at. It's almost impressionistic in its effect.

As we all know, there are two different schools of thought on painted yarns, or as some people call it, variegated yarns. Some people like painted yarns for some things, but not for lace, for example. I personally love it for lace. Others don't like painted yarns at all, because it knits up in lines or stripes. But that depends on the stitch pattern you use.

The second item of controversy with this jacket is that I have not used a fair isle, i.e. stranded knitting, technique. I always use the woven method. The advantage of stranded knitting is a clear pattern with an even stitch display, assuming that tensioning is not a problem.

Objections to the woven technique are that the stitches can be uneven, and that the woven color can, and often does, show through. This last one is exactly why I prefer weaving to stranding. It gives a much more painterly effect, and rather than a flat two-dimensional design, it can add depth and richness. But given my background as an artist, and my current business as a hand dyer, it makes sense that my preference lies with unevenness rather than regularity, and depth over flatness.

An advantage of the weaving technique is that the stitches are almost square. My gauge in this jacket is 5 sts to the inch, and 5.3 rows to the inch. This means that knitting on to the side of a piece is easier, since it is almost stitch for stitch, as I've done with the border.

Maidens, anyone?

While listening to the radio last night, I heard a piece of music depicting the legend of St. George and the Dragon. The announcer's brief description of the legend intrigued me. The dragon was fed two sheep a day to pacify him. When no sheep were available, a maiden was substituted. After all, when two sheep equal one maiden, which wool lover wouldn't be intrigued?

Googling St. George and the Dragon, I found this, a truly delightful read. You've heard of breath that could kill?

Rain

2006-06-15T19:37:00.000-06:00

My garden in the rain, as barely seen through my kitchen window

Rain is a form of precipitation in which liquid drops of water fall toward the surface of the earth. The word rain refers to many things:

Computing

* RAIN in computer networking stands for "redundant array of independent network interfaces." It is also referred to as channel bonding.
* RAIN in computer storage stands for "Redundant Array of Inexpensive Nodes." Similar to RAID, but the unit of redundancy is the node rather than the hard disk.

Films

* Rain is a 1929 film directed by Joris Ivens.
* Rain is a 1932 film directed by Lewis Milestone.
* Singin' In The Rain is a 1952 Hollywood musical film.
* Rain Man is a 1988 film starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.
* Rain is a 2001 film directed by Christine Jeffs.

Games

* Rain, Rain, Go Away is a nursery rhyme.
* Rain is a character in the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games.

People

* Rain (also known as Jeong Ji-hun) is a Korean pop singer.
* Rain Mako is a former female boxer from New Zealand.
* Taylor Rain is an American porn star.
* Rain Li is a Hong Kong actress and singer.

Fictional character

* Rain the Healer is a fictional male Wolfrider elf in the comic book Elfquest, deceased before the start of the main storyline but seen in several flashbacks.
* Rain Mikamura is a character in the anime series G Gundam.

Places

* Rain am Lech is a town in the distict of Donau-Ries, Bavaria.
* Rain is a town in the district of Straubing-Bogen, Bavaria.
* Rain is a village in the Hochdorf district, Lucerne canton, Switzerland.

Songs

* Rain is a 1966 single by The Beatles.
* Rain is a 1976 song by the rock band Status Quo.
* Rain is a 1984 hit song by Dragon.
* Rain is the fifth single from Madonna's 1992 album Erotica.
* Rain is a song by the heavy metal band Samael on the 1996 album Passage.
* Rain is a song by the metal band Trivium on the 2005 album Ascendancy.
* Rain is a song by Jose Feliciano.
* Rain is a reggae version of the Jose Feliciano song by Bruce Ruffin.
* Rain is a song by Chamillionaire featuring Scarface and Billy Cook.
* Rain is a song from TV animation Cowboy Bebop by Yoko Kanno.
* Rain is a song by SWV.

Other

* Rain is a short story by William Somerset Maugham.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Knitting Without Guilt

2006-06-12T17:49:00.000-06:00

When it rains everyday or night, you can't possibly go out and do yardwork, even though the weeds are leaping out of bounds into areas where they have no business. I'm up to date with my dyeing, so that means knitting, knitting and knitting all day. I've had to stop now because the tip of my thumb was going numb. But here is the result to date.

I am pleased. I am even more pleased with my subconscious. It rescued me once again. All along I was unsure of just how the sleeves were going to work. Calculations gave hints, but nothing reassuringly right. Yesterday morning I was four rows short of the sleeve row. I went for my morning walk in between rain showers, and gazed at the greenery and the wildflowers opening up. Out of the blue, my mouth opened and said *gussets*. I had no idea I was going to say that. I had not been thinking of my knitting. But there was the answer to the problem. Insert gussets. I could instantly picture the gussets in a gansey I made a few years ago, and knew that gussets were the answer. Adding 15 stitches for a gusset made the sleeves the right width. So simple.

I still don't know exactly what I will do for the bottom and the edging, but I will stick with my mantra: you'll know when you get there. Or four rows before you get there.

Flying Without a Cape

2006-06-09T17:56:00.000-06:00

I'm flying without a cape here. Yes, I made copious notes and diagrams, and the theory tells me that it should work, but theory and practice are two separate things.

The shaping is based on a circular doily. Believe it. I believed it so well that I started by casting on 12 stitches plus 13 seam stitches. I did my increases every fourth row in each panel, and proceeded happily for 4 inches. I followed my own rule, which is *look at your knitting,* and when I did, I saw that yes indeed it followed the shaping of a doily. A perfect circle, with a slit for the front opening. But NO NECK OPENING. So, rip, and with further calculations, restarted it. Checked it after 3 inches, and panicked. The placement for the future sleeves was wrong! I would have to rip it again. Back to the paper and pencil, drew out the panels, and phew, I was right after all. That's when I stopped knitting. I don't knit well in the evenings. But I can't wait until tomorrow morning. It's going to work, I think.

>Friday morning, 10:00 A.M.

That was yesterday. This morning I hung it up on a stand, stood back, and couldn't see the pattern. There was too much going on, and none of it was clear. So...rip. Back to the graph paper.
1:00 P.M.

5:00 p.m.

I revised the top part of the panels which are narrow, but kept it pretty well as it was for the wider bottom parts. Of course, I haven't knitted that far yet, and I might get a surprise there as well.

The Gypsy

2006-06-08T19:33:00.000-06:00

I was at the post office last night, waiting my turn, when I spotted a woman who I now think of as a Gypsy. Her cart, standard grocery shopping variety, was blocking the aisle, and therefore I noticed her. An older woman, black hair, black dress strewn with glittering purple sequins, and bare feet. The cart was filled with plastic shopping bags and a small suitcase. The suitcase had some fancy metal shapings on the handle, almost like jewelry. And then I noticed her hands. Beautiful wide intricately shaped silver rings, one on each finger of each hand. More intricate silver jewelry on her wrists. If this was a bag lady, she was first class. I wondered if she was homeless. I wondered if she had fallen on hard times.

I did my thing with the post office and turned to leave. The end of the aisle was again blocked by her cart. I sucked in my stomach and squeezed by, and then paid for my shampoo at the check out till. This time, the exit door was blocked by the cart. No squeezing by this time. I looked around for its owner, and found her retrieving another suitcase, a larger one on wheels, with the same jewelry add-ons on the handle. By now, she had shoes on. I held the door for her as she maneuvered the cart through and took it outside. Now the suitcase was blocking the exit while she took the cart out. I would have been embarrassed at holding people up. I would have tried to make my self invisible if that was me. This lady was totally unconcerned. She moved her cart without haste, came back and then removed her suitcase without haste.

I'm thinking of the bare feet while she was in the drugstore, and then the shoes as she was leaving. How much walking had she done while pushing her cart and pulling her suitcase? And where was she walking to with all her worldly goods in her hands?

Pondering Pink

2006-06-05T20:29:00.000-06:00

Where did the name pink come from? And why is pink called pink, and not baby red? Just picture baby blue, and you can see that it is simply a regular blue but in a paler version. Pink is the same thing, a pale red. But it has its own name, Pink. Not baby red, but Pink. Now why do you suppose that the color pink is important enough to have its own name?

Cheers

2006-06-01T18:44:00.000-06:00

I call it Cheers. Doreen called it Clown. I once knit a shrug out of a totally different yarn in something very close to these colors. It looked magical and strong. It hung in the shop for several years, and all kinds of peope tried it on. Some of them even asked for the pattern and bought the yarn.

And then one day a Clown came into the shop. She almost looked like an ordinary customer, but not quite. She bubbled, she was ebulient, she looked beautiful, even though she was not. And then she spotted the shrug hanging above her head. The magical shrug in bright yellow, bright red, and an almost vivid green. "That's for me," she said. She tried it on, adjusted it, looked at me, and said, "I'll buy it." Not the pattern, not the yarn, but the shrug. "This is perfect for my work," and she handed me her business card. A professional clown. So I sold her the magical shrug.

Cheers

The colors in this close up of the stitch pattern are accurate, and not those in the first photo. This is the scarf, drying with the points of each square stretched out.

A Butterfly among the ferns

2006-05-31T19:39:00.000-06:00

Random colors

Hey, no rain, no hail, just sun and warmth, and that means yarn drying time. As I glanced at my yarn after hanging it on the rack, I was struck by the fresh new green of the ferns behind the Butterfly colorway: a perfect match.

The colorway Butterfly

Another color swatch for my proposed swirl jacket. This is swatch number 3, although you can see the beginning (and ending) of swatch number 2 at the bottom. It didn't take long to see that number 2 wasn't going to look good. But swatch number 3 is it, I think. But the colors of swatch number 2 would look good for the edgings. I didn't take a picture of swatch number 1 because the two colors I showed in a previous post cancelled each other out in the pattern.

Heavens Above

2006-05-30T20:33:00.000-06:00

I shouldn't have said anything last time I wrote about my tabletop rodgersia and the heavens dumping you know what. Two days in a row, and they dumped you know what.

But look, no hail damage, except one teensy spot, which you can hardly see.

This is last year's flower stalk, which I haven't cut down, because it is beautiful. I can't wait to see it together with this year's flowers.

I had my yarn out on the rack, trying to dry it in between rain storms. I glanced out the window, saw a few BIG splashes land in the pond, knew what that meant, and dashed out to collect my damp yarn before it became wet again. By the time I got to the rack, the heavens had burst, hail was bouncing of my head, and the yarn and I were both soaked.

I'll try again tomorrow to get my yarn dried. This is the forecast: sun for the next three days. But this is the same forecast we've had for the last three days. So, only the heavens know.

Old Sock and New

2006-05-28T18:57:00.000-06:00

I was asked this week if I had one skein left of a particular color I dyed 3 years ago. I didn't think so, but I went through ALL my bins and guess what I found? Tucked safely in a baggie was this sock, just one, along with the yarn, a product of my very early dyeing days.

Just so you don't think I was an expert back then at dyeing self-patterning sock yarn, before it was even invented, note that there are two balls of yarn there.

I rescued it, and now I have this, a mate for it in progress. Thank god that yarn doesn't have a best before date.

Gypsy

2006-05-25T17:22:00.000-06:00

A gypsy lives a nomadic life, roaming from place to place, plying a trade. The word "gypsy" is derived from "Egypt", a gyptian, or a gypsy, although the Romany language is related to Hindi.

I remember the gypsies in my small town when I was a child living in Holland. Their wagons were parked in a field at the edge of town. I remember them as brightly painted, but I am no longer sure if that is an actual memory, or a memory enhanced by later reading about brightly painted caravans. I was in grade two at the time, and it was mortifying to me that my little sister hung out with them. I can still see her walking down the lane arm in arm with another little girl, heads almost touching. My sister at that time was not concerned with being "good" and a model child, so she played with the gypsies. Sadly, I was. So I have never been able to keep my friends enthralled with tales of the days I hung out with the gypsies.

Gypsy

This is the color that speaks from my heart. Reds and Oranges and Golds and a touch of purple. It is the inner me that claps my hands and stomps my feet while whirling around the campfire as my lover wrings ecstacy out of the violin.

Astilboides tabularis

2006-05-24T21:10:00.000-06:00

This, my friends, is my current pride and joy. And it has absolutely nothing to do with yarn, color, or knitting. Astilboides tabularis, familiarly known as Shieldleaf Rodgersia, or tabletop rodgersia. The reason that I am so proud of this one is that it is reputedly a zone 5 plant. And it is thriving in my zone 3 garden. I had fears that the lack of snow cover this past winter would have put paid to it, but lo and behold, here it is, bigger than ever. The recent rains have benefitted it to the point that the largest leaf today measures a whopping 21 inches across. And it is still May. Let's hope that the heavens don't bestow any hailstorms this year.

Knitter's Block

2006-05-23T20:37:00.000-06:00

I have never heard of it, I've never had it, but I've got it now: Knitter's Block. I haven't knitted anything major since I finished Jessica's christening shawl. Socks, no brainers, yes. But the swirl jacket, despite all my notes and charts, no. I started a lace scarf today. Avoidance. I undid it three times until I liked it. I even said, after 16 inches of it, YES. Three hours later I looked at it and said NO.

This is what Natalie Goldberg calls the Big R. Resistance. I have to confess that I am intimidated by the swirl jacket. And I blame it all on blogs. Before I read blogs, before I had ever even heard of the existence of blogs, I never suffered from Knitter's Block.

Do you know how many expert knitters there are out there? All better than me? Ignorance was indeed bliss. I was able to knit whatever I could think of without fear. I was safe in the knowledge that I was the best knitter I knew, the biggest frog in my own little pond. So much for that. Just read the blogs. Euny is a prime example. The woman is a marvel. Not only does she knit, but she writes and illustrates with perfect clarity. Do you blame me for feeling intimidated?

Nevertheless, I am facing the Big R. Resistance. Avoidance. Just note that I am progressing at a great pace on my needlepoint seat cover and I have cast on another pair of socks. I do need new socks, but that is irrelevant. I should be dyeing just the right colors for the swirl jacket, since I have told myself that I can't start the jacket until I have just he right colors. Instead, I am blissfully needlepointing.

Three Things

2006-05-19T18:55:00.000-06:00

1. How much am I knitting? One inch per day on my plain socks. How much am I needlepointing? A considerable amount. Here is the evidence. Now that I am actually making progress on this seat cover, I'm having a hard time stopping. I want to see it done, and covering my chair.

2. My swirl jacket is coming together. The technicalities of the design are now clear in my head, and more important, clear on paper. The color pattern is ready. And now I have the second color I was searching for to go along with the first one that I had already decided on. The second color is not quite dry yet, so I can't start immediately. I think they should work well together and create a subtle yet clear pattern. Once I start knitting on this jacket, that will be the end of the needlepoint again.

3. This arrived today. I ordered these to test them for quality, price, feel, etc. to see if I want to carry these, or one of them. Even in the photo the sheen of the silk shows. It is 100% silk. The other is a wool/silk blend, and still has some of the sheen of the silk. Now what colors should I use to test them, and what will I make out of them to test and show off the yarn?

Are Ducks Becoming Urbanized?

2006-05-17T20:36:00.000-06:00

Like many people, I have a pond in my back yard. I love my pond. It gives me immense satisfaction to look at it out of my kitchen window. It has fish in it, naturally, and both underwater and emergent plants. It is a perfect circle 8 feet across in diameter. I love looking at it in the early evening when the fish become active and create perfect ripling circles as they leap out of the water to catch small insects. I've been told its called dolphining. Lovely word.

The first time I was visited by a duck, I ran out of the house, in fear of the lives of my fish, to shoo it out. It took off straight out of the water. I thought they needed a runway to take off. No such thing. I phoned my brother, who knows of all things naturalistic, and he informed me that ducks are vegetarian. They do not eat fish. Fine, but it has taken years to nurture the underwater plants so that they can keep my pond clear.

This year, I have been visited by a pair of ducks, a male and a female (I consulted my bird book). On the first visit, no panic on my part. The fish were still in their winter palace in the basement, and the plants hadn't emerged yet from their winter hibernation. On their second visit, earlier this evening, although I did not panic as I did last year, I strode out firmly to say SHOO. They, however, refused to SHOO. After some mighty gesturing on my part, they did step out of the pond onto the paving surrounding it and then walked to the back gate. I opened it, and they walked through. As they walked down the alley, walked, mind you, they looked over their shoulders back at me.

The fish are now out of hiding and dolphining again.

Addis and the Swirl Jacket

2006-05-16T20:55:00.000-06:00

I realized once again today that I really do not like the much touted Addi needles. I started swatching for my swirl jacket and grabbed the first 4.5 mm circular needle out of my binder. One inch into the swatch I became aware that keeping a regular tension was feeling awkward. The needles are slick, and my merino is smooth and silky. The two together were a bad mix. I went back to my binder, found a 4.5 mm Inox, and things went smoothly after that.

My primary problem with Addis is their shiny finish. It catches the light and produces a glare. Not good for the eyes and not conducive to restful knitting. In my years of working in a yarn shop I learned that the people who love Addis and who swear by them are the people who tend to knit a little tighter than average. So a slick finish speeds them along. I am an average tension knitter, so the slickness is not an advantage. Now, I do have a number of Addis. Sometimes you need a needle of a specific size and you need it now, and if nothing else is available, then you get an Addi. And if the yarn is on the rough side, it works. But today, with the very smooth yarn, the slickness interfered and I had to switch.

I think I have the details of my swirl jacket all worked out in my head. The shaping, the edging, and the pattern. I still need to decide on what color combinations I am going to use. This one has been unusually slow in coming together for me. The technical bits were a challenge. But unless I come up with the right colors soon, the jacket might be in peril. I have had a lace design in my head for quite a while, and I have some silk yarn coming soon.

Knitting Myths: Part 2

2006-05-13T19:48:00.000-06:00

Picture this scene. It is Saturday morning and eight women are sitting around a table. The silence is intense, as all of them are deep in concentration, focusing on their task. Someone coughs. Another person says "oops." Then comes the unmistakable tinkling sound of a double pointed needle falling to the floor. Ah, one of the women is a loose knitter and has just lost one of her dpn's while casting on for her sock. But most noticeably of all, there is silence.

There is a widely held belief that needles clack where there is knitting going on. And that a lot of women knitting together produce a lot of clacks. This is a myth. Experienced knitters do not clack their needles when they knit.

Once, a long time ago, I was being interviewed and filmed for a short television thing about what people do on their summer holidays. I was sitting in my usual knitting position on my sofa, back against the pillows, legs stretched out in front of me, knitting for the camera to show what it was that I did on my summer holidays: knit. The camera man was concerned that his sensitive equipment would pick up the sound of my clicking needles and drown out the commentary. I reassured him that the only sound he would be able to pick up was the squeak of my yarn. No, it wasn't acrylic, but I was working on a bowl at the time, which required a relatively tight tension. And so, another myth dispelled.

Knitting Myths: Part 3

2006-05-11T19:20:00.000-06:00

No you haven't missed Part 2. Part 3 is more immediate. Part 2 will be next.

This myth pertains to unfinished projects. I do not have any unfinished projects, other than having to sew the sleeves into two of my sweaters. I always finish one project before I start the next one. I may not have the ends sewn in, or in two cases, the sleeves sewn in, but the knitting of the item is always finished. This is a firm belief of mine. I have held it for all of my knitting life. I have told other people about this belief: I always finish my projects.

Yesterday morning, as I passed one of the chairs in my living room, my eye happened to catch sight of a needle dangling down from a piece of knitting. That particular piece of knitting has sat there, on that same chair, for almost two years. I no longer notice it. But yesterday morning, it must have been a trick of the light, I saw the needle dangling down. I made a mental note that that particular needle was a 3 mm circular, and I must remember that is where it is, in case I need it in the future.

Somehow, during the day, the image of that dangling needle stuck. And I began to remember that on the rare occasions when I sorted through my wool stored in my seven tubs, and peeked into the various baggies and grocery bags, I found needles. I always removed them and returned them to their proper home in my needle storage binder. By "removed them" I mean I took them out of the knitting in progress that they were resting in. Do I have unfinished projects?

No, I do not. What I do have, apparently, is a number of abandoned projects. There is a difference. Others might argue this point, but I stand firm on this. If I had intended to finish them, at some improbable future date, I would not have removed the needles. They were abandoned projects.

So this is my personal knitting myth: I do not have unfinished projects.

Knitting Myths: Part 1

2006-05-09T17:11:00.000-06:00

How fast can a fast knitter knit? Shetland knitters are, or were, the fastest, right? Mary Thomas wrote that "a Shetlander knits at the rate of 200 odd stitches a minute," with the aid of a knitting stick or sheath. I tried it. I made myself a sheath out of cardboard and masking tape, pinned it to my waistband, and it did speed up my knitting. It left my right hand free to throw the yarn since the needle was stuck in the sheath. I have forgotten what my rate was, but it was nowhere near 200. This was 27 years ago before I learned to knit with the yarn in my left hand. Continental style is faster, right?

Richard Rutt, himself a knitter, in A History of Hand Knitting, tells us that "claims of knitters who achieved 300 stitches a minute (5 per second) are exaggerated," and that "knitting 100 stitches a minute is working faster than most eyes can follow." Apparently the average knitter working with a DK weight yarn on 4 mm needles averages 35-40 per minute.

Back then I was not a sock knitter. Now I am. Being a sock knitter has taught me many things, one of which is that small needles and fine yarn make for faster knitting, if not for faster progress measured in inches. Shetland knitters used small needles and fine yarn. I think this is a reasonable assumption, although I have no proof. Think of it this way: with a 4 mm needle, the yarn must travel around 4 mm. With a 2 mm needle, the distance to travel is half as far. So that means twice the speed, right?

Looking back on my test of speed knitting, I handicapped myself severely. It was in fact not a true test of my knitting speed. If I had known then what I know now, I would have run that race differently. I would not have used a 4 mm cart horse to compete with the 2 mm Arabian. I was bound to loose.

What is needed here is a new class in the next Knitting Olympics: speed knitting. And for a true test of speed knitting skills, there should be various events for various needle sizes. There would be the 2 mm event, the 3 mm event, right up to the 7 mm event, and perhaps beyond. It would be a chance for the sock knitters to shine.

2006-05-06T15:34:00.000-06:00

The shawl is done, dried, displayed, and waiting to be donated to Jessica. The pattern is of unknown origin, but one I made many years ago for someone else. I liked it so much at that time that I wrote out the pattern, but didn't add the information, although I suspect it was an old Beehive/Paton's pattern. It uses the always beautiful feather and fan pattern. The yarn is the same as what I used for Jess's first baby, a buttery soft Italian merino, Mignon, from Lana Gato, with a gauge of 46 sts on 2 mm needles. I used 3.75 mm needles for this one.

Thanks, Chris and Cameron at Hulbert's for allowing us in. Our meeting there today was great, as always. Between the food and the talk, the amount of knitting achieved for most of us was below expectation. As Gabrielle said, I only got two rows done in an hour and a half! On the other hand, Diane completed almost a whole scarf. If she hadn't stopped to eat halfway through, she would have made it. My own sock reached the 2 inch mark.

Blocking a shawl

2006-05-04T18:42:00.000-06:00

I have finished the christening shawl, including the washing and blocking. I pinned it out on my blocking sheet, and it virtually disappeared from view. So instead consider this as an excellent shot of my blocking sheet. It is perfect, since it has built in rulers and T-squares which are evenly spaced. My friend Doreen gave it to me specifically for blocking. I will attempt to do the shawl photographic justice in a couple of days when it is dry and I can drape it over something.

Fabric makes the swirl

2006-05-02T19:39:00.000-06:00

My reason for procrastinating on my swirl jacket?
My Inner Knitter gave me the answer this morning. It isn't the chart, but the fabric itself. A fair-isle material is not light and swishy, it is not going to make a swirl jacket. And yet, I can see it clearly in my head. And my working rule is that if I can see it, I can make it. In this case it means giving some consideration to the fabric requirements, and thus to the gauge this will be knitted in.

There are two things that are a plus for the success of this project: the merino is very soft and almost slinky when knit up, and it is fairly heavy in weight, due to its tight twist. Weight and slinkiness should add up to drape, and drape means a swirl jacket.

Is there a problem? Or not?

2006-05-01T19:55:00.000-06:00

I have been procrastinating with my next planned knitting project.
I should be ready to start that in two days, since I have only 16 peaks left to do on the shawl, and then I won't have anything to knit. It is to be a swirl jacket in a fair isle pattern, knit from the top down in panels. I have the idea, I have the sketches, I have the fair isle pattern, but I haven't sat down to swatch for the gauge. I have been working on my fish seat cover instead.

So, experience tells me, something is amiss somewhere. My subconscious, that marvelous knitter and designer, is letting me know that one of the above elements, if not more, is out of whack with the overall plan. I suspect it is the chart. I was working on it and got lost. In other words, it is too complex. If I get lost, what will happen to any one else who tries it? And yet, I knit it once before and loved it. It is the one on the aborted jacket, shown on April 10's post about the jacket turned swatch. Remember this?

Perhaps it is my aversion to knitting the same thing twice. Or perhaps it is simply that I am having such a good time working on the needlepoint seat cover.

One Plus and One Minus

2006-04-29T18:57:00.000-06:00

I discovered last summer that drying large quantities of skeins inside my studio causes humidity problems. So, to prepare for this summer, I searched for some form of outdoor drying setup, and found just the right thing at Ikea. An outdoor drying rack that is sturdy, lightweight, collapsible, weatherproof and can hold all that I could possibly dye in one week. I had one concern that the birds would choose it as a perch, with predictable results. Today was testing day.

I had 10 freshly dyed and washed skeins, and hung them out this morning. The weather was warm, there was a nice light breeze, and I kept my eye on it. Birds are not going to be a problem. The breeze kept the skeins swinging, enough to act as one of those whirlygigs found in gardens to keep the birds from picking up the seeds. By early evening, those skeins were dry. A vast improvement over the 3-4 days required in my basement studio. I am happy.

On the minus side, I am far less than happy with four of the 10 skeins. These are skeins I ordered for testing, with the possibility of carrying this particular yarn as part of my line. It is described as 70% alpaca blended with 30% merino. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? I thought so. Before dyeing, the yarn felt fairly soft, if a bit oily, as if the grease was still in the wool. After dyeing, it is feeling dry and harsh. But the real problem was the number of knots in it. As I was tying the skeins before dyeing, I found three knots in one. And this was without examining it closely. Ditto for the second skein. Three knots per skein is too many. I am wondering how many more I would find if I knit it up. So, this particular yarn will go into the odds and ends bag. And I will have to search again for a wonderful irresistable yarn.

Are knitting patterns user friendly?

2006-04-25T15:41:00.000-06:00

How many times have you heard a knitter, and not always a novice knitter, say: I don't know how to read a pattern.

Perhaps it is the number of abbreviations present in a pattern that is the problem? I remember one or two years ago when I first ran across CO and it threw me for a moment. It took a second before I translated that into "cast on."

Just how many abbreviations are in use today? The Standards & Guidelines for Crochet and Knitting lists 71 abbreviations, with 48 of them highlighted as being common.

A survey of the magazines on my shelves showed this:

Interweave Knits, current issue: 56.
Vogue Knitting, current issue: 47.
Knitters, Summer 2004: 42.
cast on, Fall 2002: 50
INKnitters, Spring 2005: 85 (this includes machine knitting terms).

Next question: How many of these can be found in any one pattern? I went through them and choose a standard cable knit sweater and counted the number of abbreviations in each. I did not count the abbreviations each designer used for a particular cable formation, but just the ones used in the written patterns themselves.

Vogue Knitting: 15
Interweave Knits: 18
Knitters: 15.

So there was not much variation there. Then, because I was curious, I went back to my collection of early Vogue Knitting issues, and found a cable sweater there in a Winter 1963 issue. The count: 8 abbreviations. As a double check, I also counted the abbreviations used in a complex Aran design. The count: 9. And no listing at all of general abbreviations in the instruction section.

So is the difficulty experienced by some knitters due to the number of abbreviations used? It certainly makes for difficult reading if you are not familiar with them. I still remember being stumped by CO that first time. This brings up the question for me: Are patterns user friendly? My personal view is no.

A shade card of catkins

2006-04-23T12:43:00.000-06:00

This morning, while taking my walk, I was presented with a shade card of catkins.

Back home, I consulted my field guide to Trees and Shrubs of Alberta, which failed miserably to help me identify which trees these catkins were dangling from. There were no pictures or color descriptions of the catkins, only of the leaves which are of course still absent. I know that the silvery-grey one is the poplar. I also know that there are male and female catkins, which may or may not be of different colors, like birds. But that is all I know. Is there any one of you who happens to be an arborist? Or at least knows more about this than I do? I would love to know their names, particularly the one with the red on top.

A miscellany

2006-04-22T13:51:00.000-06:00

A further note to yesterday's post: the strained hand is not the result of not letting go of the yarn and needle when knitting back backwards. After all, that is what you do when knitting in the round. It was probably due to hanging on to a fine weight slippery yarn. 23 peaks done on the edging, 117 to go.

A note of interest probably only to myself: I was visited by the first of the summer's wild life in my back yard pond this morning. A pair of Mallard ducks, and, quite noticeably, a breeding pair. All the other users of this communal bird bath were forced to sit on the fence and watch and wait.

Strained hand

2006-04-21T16:05:00.000-06:00

Knitting back backwards is great. It is great for those short rows of an edging on a shawl because it saves the effort of turning the whole mass of knitting around every 15 stitches. Doing that can cause you to wrench your shoulder. But, it also means that you never let go of the yarn and needles, that you never open your hand from that position. And that means hand strain. So now I will be going back to knitting forwards, even it it means turning every 15 stitches. Who would have thought that such a minute thing as letting go of the needle and the yarn on a regular basis would make such a difference?

The Importance of Having a Backup

2006-04-17T16:54:00.000-06:00

What do you do when you can't knit? Resort to your backup project. It's been ten months, I think, since I set a stitch into this canvas. Ten months ago I also had sore wrists from too much knitting. My current project has about 800 sts on the needle, and growing in number with each round. Yes, it's a lace shawl. But not done in a lace weight, so that the physical weight of the thing is a strain on the wrists.

So it's time to put this back onto my table and take the yarn out of its basket. I find that needlepoint puts zero stress on the hands and I can do it for hours. It's the strain on the back this time that limits what I can do in one sitting. And its difficult to remember posture when I get absorbed in the actual doing of it.

This is a future seat cover. Number One of a potential four. Projected finishing date? Years from now, unless I am not careful with my knitting time.

The Top-Down Sweater

2006-04-15T18:33:00.000-06:00

This is the top-down-seamless-raglan sweater, the one I posted an in-progress picture of a couple of weeks ago. Although the sweater has been finished for a week, there wasn't anyone around to take the picture with me in it. Today's get together at Hulbert's provided Pam as the camera woman. I am very happy with the fit. I love how raglans fit across the shoulders.

I have now done two top-down sweaters, and numerous seamless bottom-up ones, and I prefer the top-down method. First, you don't have to make that all important decision about what kind of edging to knit until you get there. There have been numerous times when I completed a sweater and decided that I didn't like the bottom ribbing or edging or whatever I used. Then I would snip that one thread just above it, unravel it around, remove the bottom, and knit a new one down that matched the sweater better.

Second, in the case of this sweater, if I had used a bottom-up method, I would have run out of yarn. I had only four skeins, which I had hoped would be enough. At the bottom, before I had reached my planned length, I ran out of yarn. No problem. The sweater is simply one-half inch shorter than planned. You can't do that with a bottom-upper.

KoolAid Dyeing

2006-04-13T17:49:00.000-06:00

Before I began my dyeing business, I had used KoolAid to get the colors I wanted but couldn't find in stores. There have been many articles in books, magazines and websites on dyeing with KoolAid. One of the best I have read was on the Knitty website. You can find all the technical information here.

One of the things not usually mentioned is that you can overdye yarns with KoolAid to give you a range of colors other than pure KoolAid colors. In other words, start with a colored skein, rather than a white skein. Overdyeing on other colors gives you unlimited possibilities. It also allows you to use up stash yarn that you have never used because the color is ugly, although you did buy it at some point for some forgotten reason.

This is a shade card I made of various colors overdyed on brown, shown on the far right.

Both of these throws were dyed with KoolAid, using various colored yarns as a base.

Jacket Turned Swatch

2006-04-10T18:50:00.000-06:00

This is the back of a jacket that has been hanging on my evaluation rack in the kitchen for many months now. The front is also done, but no sleeves as yet. And the result of the evaluation is that no sleeves will be forthcoming for this particular jacket. Any project that sits, or in this case hangs, that long doesn't get finished. It has told me that I am not happy with it. The shaping didn't work out as planned. So now this jacket is a giant swatch.

I love the pattern and the resulting color interplay. I initially did it as a test to see how two handpainted yarns would work together in colorwork knitting. And yes, it works.

The problem to solve now is: what shape do I want this jacket to be? I don't want rectangles with dropped sleeves. But what? Oh why didn't I take a pattern drafting course 20 years ago?

In the meantime, this semi-jacket will be turned into a pillow at some future date. Could I somehow incorporate the lapels on the front into the pillow?

Post Creative Stitches Show

2006-04-09T14:15:00.000-06:00

Friday, 8:55 AM: Ready.

Saturday, 3:10 PM:Busy.
Wonderful.
Successful.
Sunday, 2:23 PM: Wiped.

Rush, rush

2006-04-05T20:29:00.000-06:00

The Edmonton Creative Stitches Show set-up is tomorrow, and I am doing the last minute rush. I decided yesterday to add another free scarf pattern to the existing two, so of course I had to knit it first. I have four rows to go and the cast off. Four rows of 334 stitches, that is. I think I'm pleased with it. It's hard to tell when 5 and a half feet of scarf is bunched up on an 80 cm needle. I will finish it after breakfast tomorrow, put the iron on it, and take a picture of it then.

Today's Lesson

2006-04-03T17:02:00.000-06:00

Attention class. Here is the most fascinating piece of knitting that I know of. It came from Fussat, an ancient city at the site of Cairo, and has been dated from the 7th to 9th century. There is a reproduction of it in Mary Thomas's Knitting Book, but Richard Rutt in A History of Hand Knitting reports that it has since been lost. It was knitted in deep red and golden yellow silk using a stranded knitting technique. It was knit in crossed stocking stitch, and certainly my own students know by know that a crossed stitch is eastern in origin.

But, here is what fascinates me endlessly. The gauge is 36 stitches to the inch. That is TO THE INCH, not our standard 4 inches. In our own up to date gauge, that means 144 stitches! Mind boggling. That little scrap pictured above was only 6.5 cm wide, or 2 5/8 inches.

Now here is the part that may boggle your minds. I tried to reproduce it. I went to the embroidery supply store and bought spools of silk thread, in red and gold. And I bought the smallest needles I could find, which were 1.25 mm. I then, with the aid of a magnifying glass, charted the fragment seen in the photograph. That was before I had the Rutt history book, which has a chart of the piece in it. And I began to knit. Despite my devotion to the piece, I had to give it up. My eyes would not allow it. They actually hurt from trying to do color work at that microscopic scale. Mind you, I didn't use a magnifying glass. One of those things that you hang from your neck might have saved the day. I wish I had thought of it at the time.

Group Knitting

2006-04-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today was knitting day at Hulbert's. Twelve of us in window seats so that we would have good knitting light. Eight of us working on the same sweater pattern, with eight totally different outcomes. The only thing we all had in common was that it was a top-down seamless raglan sweater. And each of us put our own stamp onto it in terms of yarn and pattern stitch.

There will be a group photo when all the sweaters are done. Not everyone will be actually wearing them, as three of them are being knitted for children, but those will be held aloft in triumph. Can one wear a sweater in triumph?

I discovered something today. Groups of knitters are like babies. They bring a reflexive smile to people's faces. It must be the warm cozy feeling being generated. I hope it was that, and not smiles of amused tolerance at a group of silly women choosing to knit in a cafe rather than in the privacy of their homes.

Ahh, Spring

2006-03-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

The fluff is flying. I saw it yesterday, floating around my back yard. The cattails are releasing their seeds. The snow is melting, and they are standing in water again instead of being captured in ice.

The thing I love most about having quit my day job is being free to go for my daily walk at whatever time I want. Currently that is early afternoon when the temperature has warmed up and the ice covering puddles has melted. I'm always afraid of slipping and breaking a wrist. Once it has warmed up enough, or dried up enough, I will go back to my favorite time, which is early morning.

I'm still working on the yarn for the coat. The first try wasn't right, so I metamorphosed it today into something else that is quite lovely. I will know more when it is dry. But in its wet state, it fits in quite well with the newly exposed earth and old leaves that I saw today.

Ideas

2006-03-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

I had to stop knitting. My thumb tip is prickling and I felt a twinge at the base of my thumb. So that 's it for today. I'm on the home stretch, i.e. last ball of yarn, of my top-down raglan sweater, and I can't wait to finish it so I can start my next project.

I have three running through my head, and don't know which one it will be. One is a remake of a sweater I did a few years ago in a yarn that didn't wear well, to put it mildly. I want to do it in my own painted merino this time. Which colors to use? The second is a new bowl, done in some Briggs & Little yarn. I have two different colors already dyed, meant for a different project which no longer interests me. The third is a continuation of the "what if..." theme and will be a pair of socks. This one has been in my head for a while and the yarn and needles have been in a baggie for some time, ready to go.

But when the time comes to cast off my current sweater, in about 3 days, and to cast on the next project, I might be surprised by a totally new idea that must be done immediately.

And She's Off.....

2006-03-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my last day of dyeing in preparation for the Edmonton Creative Stitches show.
I have the colors and numbers I need, and the rest of the time will be taken up by paperwork, writing and preparing patterns, and finishing my sweater in time for the show. That was yesterday.

Today I received a phone call. Can you dye some yarn for me? I would like to knit a coat, in shades of greys, dove grey, blue grey, and keep it light. And I was off to the studio, like a dog running after a thrown stick.

Friends and Strangers

2006-03-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I lift the lid of a dye pot, look in, and it's a case of instant recognition. I know it's name! That happened this week. This is Tapestry. Tapestry will have a permanent home with me. If any of you have the Kaffe Fassett book Glorious Inspiration, it reminds me of this curtain. I've always loved that curtain.

Other times its a case of let's see what you look like when you are dry, and maybe then I 'll know who you are. Or it can be, "don't I know you from somewhere?" Some colors have to reside on my kitchen table for a while before they get named. These are the ones that don't gain a permanent home. They don't really fit in, and we remain strangers.

Tip

2006-03-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

The best ergonomic wrist rest is not one that is filled with gel and costs money.
It is a ball of yarn. One that you will never use and just takes up space in your stash. It becomes personalized with time to take the shape of your own wrist. My own ergonomic wrist rest is a ball of Kroy sock yarn, in a color I will never wear, let alone knit with. I have no idea how or why I got it, but as a wrist rest it has served me well for almost five years.

Great Garter Stitch

2006-03-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

The Garter Stitch Vest is off to be test knitted. It is knitted on the diagonal starting from the right bottom and ending at the top left, all in one piece. I had fun knitting it. Elizabeth Zimmerman had it right when she said Great Garter Stitch. I think it is vastly under appreciated.

Mary Thomas ps

2006-03-20T23:08:00.001-07:00

I thought that Mary Thomas's Knitting Book was out of print, but a (belated) check on Amazon showed that it is available. I highly recommend it.

Do you have what it takes?

2006-03-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

My favorite knitting book is Mary Thomas's Knitting Book, originally published in 1938. In her brief history of knitting, she describes what it took to be a Master Knitter and be admitted to the Guild.

The apprentice knitter required 3 years to learn, 3 years to travel, followed by 13 weeks in which to create his (this was for men only) Masterpieces.

These were:
1. To knit a carpet 4 ells square, the design to contain flowers, foliage, birds and animals, in natural colors,
2. To knit a beret,
3. To knit a woolen shirt,
4. To knit a pair of hose with Spanish clocks.
Existing carpets are mainly 6 feet by 5 feet.

The requirements covered it all: the basic necessities of life, such as socks, a shirt, and a hat to keep you warm, and then the feast for the eyes, which required design skills as well as knitting skills.

The apprentice was required to submit his design for the carpet in chart form to the guild committee, and when given approval, the thirteen weeks started.

This always intrigued me. Could it be done? The recent Knitting Olympics is proof of that. First, the hat. That could take as little as 1 day, or stretch it to 3 days. The socks could be done in well under a week. I routinely need 3 weeks for a sweater, knitting at a comfortable pace without rushing things. That totals 6 weeks at the most, and leaves 7 weeks for the carpet. Have any one of you knitted a carpet? Mary Thomas mentions a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch, so that means worsted weight yarn. If you haven't knitted a carpet, have you knitted a wall hanging, a bedspread, a large throw? In color work, of course. I have done several dozen of these. And guess what? They all took 6-7 weeks to do. So the grand total of all of these requirements is 13 weeks.

I much prefer these requirements for a Master Knitter title to the less inspiring requirements of todays guilds.

A natural progression

2006-03-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a stitch pattern for my top-down raglan sweater, one that would enhance the colors without overtaking them. I consulted my Barbara Walker, and started swatching.

The first one was a simple brocade. It disappeared against the painted yarn.

Next was one called Barred Knit Pattern. I liked that. But not enough to use it.

So what would it look like if I lined up the bars to form columns? It should make a stronger statement. And it did. I was quite happy with this, until I had another "what if" moment.

So what would happen if I changed the knits between the barred sections to purls?
Only one inch was needed to come to the conclusion: Yes, that's what I want. A strong visual element that enhances the yarn.

Here it is in my sweater in progress. I really like it. It shows off the hand painted yarn, and retains a structural element of its own. And bonus: although it is essentially a 3 x 3 rib, it does not contract much. Just enough to give it a slightly pleated look. And this could easily be eliminated with a light blocking, should I want it flat when it is finished.

The top-down raglan in process.

A good red is hard to find

2006-03-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

I dream of finding the perfect red. A rich ruby red, one that has shadows lurking in the depths, one that you can sink into and find other layers of reds. The reds of Persia, the reds of the Orient, or the reds of India.

What I get is pale imitation of my dream. A red that is best called dark pink. Or a red that has the dustiness of bricks. Or a red that has the bounciness of orange. You can't sink into orange. Orange is all exterior show, flamboyance, and lacks any depth of character. The red I am waiting for is all about inner strength, about depth of character, about hidden mysteries.

There is absolutely no mystery in orange. And the pink reds? Mere immitations of the real thing. They pall very fast.

Then there are the blue reds. Always wanting to be what they are not, nudging their way into purple and failing miserably.

Sometimes I think I have found the perfect red. I haul it out of the pan and welcome it into the light. I glow with delight, with a feeling of accomplishment. I can't wait to see it again the next day, when it has dried and can present itself to me in its true colors. Is it really as good as I thought it was? Is this the one I have been waiting for? But, once again, it is not the real thing, the Perfect Red.

Phew! It Fits!

2006-03-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

I was cold today, so I put on my too BIG sweater over top of the one I was already wearing. And it fit! It was over another one, admittedly, but after all, that is how cardicans are worn. I was pleased, and warm.

I made this top down and seamless. A joy to knit. Even the underarm gussets did not require seaming. The pattern is being test knitted right now by my suffering students (at their request), who have to work with the first imperfectly written version. I have started another one myself, to smooth out the confusing bits of writing.

Book Review

2006-03-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Knitting out of Africa, by Marianne Isager

Books for me are sources of ideas. I don't buy knitting books for the patterns but for the ideas they contain. I want to be either inspired by them to come up with new ideas or to learn from them. This book meets both those requirements.

I bought it without having looked inside the cover, because the title gave the promise of dealing with African textiles, which I love, and the photo showed colorwork knitting, which I also love.

You can see the table of contents and other information here

From a technical point of view, i.e. knitting, the book is impressive. The techniques used for the designs are entrelac, slip-stitch knitting, intarsia knitting, stranded two-color knitting, and double knitting. For those unfamiliar with the techniques, detailed instructions are given. The patterns are written in extensive detail. I have only read the instructions so far, but they appear to be clear and well written. Making one sweater out of each section would be the equivalent of going to knitting school and getting your degree.

From a design point of view, the book is a delight. Each sweater design is wearable by almost anyone. How often can that be said? And all the designs have elements that make them distinctive. I did expect more color variation, as in the yellows and reds from Morocco. Instead, the book gives a monochromatic impression of primarily browns, greys, blacks and neutrals, with a few exceptions. In checking Ms. Isager's web site, I saw that her personal palette tends to be muted, whereas mine tends to be much brighter.

The yarns used are Ms. Isager's own. The yarns and kits are available from Nordic Fiber Arts
The yarns are described as fingering weight. Looking at the yardage given for each, they seem to be finer than the standard sock weight yarn (610 m for the Spinni versus 425 m for Opal). This might make substitution a bit difficult. In a number of the patterns, the Isager Spinni and the Isager Tvinni Alpaca, in two different colors, are worked with the two yarns held together. So they must be finer than sock weight yarn. For those of us with limited budgets or limited access, this might be a problem. However, the needle size used for these is 3 mm (US 2), which means that a sock weight yarn, used singly, should work. Getting the color mix would be difficult.

My personal conclusions?
I have not used a pattern out of a book or magazine for years. This book tempts me to use one, if not more, of its patterns. I want to explore the construction techniques Ms. Isager has used. To compensate for the yarns used, I would buy some sock yarn and dye it to get the same subtle shadings that a mix of two strands would give. And I would use different colors. But then, I am a colorist.

You can find Marianne Isager here and look at her other patterns. They are very nice indeed and are available in English.

Bowl

2006-03-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the day in the studio, with a break to shovel snow. Wet wool does not photograph well, and a sidewalk full of snow is of little interest. Instead, here is something to look at from my portfolio.

A Photo, at last

2006-03-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

Problems solved.Here's the photo from the Odd Ball Knitting Retreat.

Cracking the Code

2006-03-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

Imagine, if you will, coming across a slip of paper, tucked into the corner of a drawer, properly yellowed with age and creased with permanent folds, that had the following printed on it in faded ink:

k3, 00, ssk, 0, ssssk, (k, yo, k), dvd, (k, yo, k), dvd

And in the upper left hand corner there was this:

ktbl, psso

Now imagine that you did not know how to knit.....
What would you think? And even if you had just learned to knit, what would this mean to you? An encrypted message; a secret code?

It is of course a code, a knitting code. And after trying to do new things on my computer, I was suddenly aware of what new knitters are coping with. A new language, a new code. So now I have an entirely new perspective on new knitters, all the ones I have been teaching for years. But none of them were as slow as I am with computorese.

I can read the above code at a glance, without even being aware that it is a code. For me it is as if I were reading "See Dick run." Forgive me, students, for all the times I have said, "but it's easy."

p.s. The above mentioned code happens to be a partial line of one of my charted knitting patterns.

Trials and Tribulations

2006-03-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post some photos taken during the recent Odd Ball Knitting Retreat, but I'm not having any luck with it. Must be that learning curve.

A little peeve here. I ordered a book from a self published author because she used a particular technique that I wanted to know more about. When the book arrived, I eagerly read through it, and ran across so many typos that the book immediately lost all credibility for me. Now how can you trust the accuracy of a knitting pattern when the pages have not even been spell-checked?

Now, to be positive, I did read the instructions for the sweaters, and did learn more about the technique that I was researching. So I got what I needed to get from that book. But oh, those typos.

Oops!

2006-03-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Joyce for spotting the error in the eyelet rib pattern. It has been corrected.

And speaking of patterns, that is what I am doing tonight. Pattern writing is the only part of my job that is a drag. Big time. I always postpone it until the last moment. The current pattern, a seamless top-down raglan sweater, is due on Tuesday. So, two days? Lots of time.

The Tell-Tale Hands

2006-03-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Heather for setting this up for me. I owe you, Heather.

I'm working on the last sleeve of a top-down sweater knitted in a chunky yarn. I wanted a slightly firmer fabric, since this sweater is going to get some hard wearing, so I chose a needle one size down from the recommended size. Did a swatch to get a gauge, something I don't usually do, and not just a tiny little square. It measured 8 x 10 inches. I got my gauge and cast on.

About halfway down the yoke I heard that little voice, the one all knitters have, telling me that this knitting was very comfortable to the hands, not at all as if it was being knit slightly tighter than was usual. It wasn't big enough to try on yet, so I knitted on.

I separated for the body and the sleeves and was halfway down the body when the voice became more insistent. I tried the sweater on (you can do that with a top-down) and it was BIG. I wanted it loose and comfy, but not BIG. I checked my gauge, and there it was: the exact gauge recommended on the ball band, and not the one in my swatch. In other words, 4 inches too wide. So much for swatching, and so much for trying to impose the intellect over the hands. I will be wearing a BIG sweater.

The first post!

2006-03-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

Painted Yarns is more than just a business. It's a love of fibers and design. This blog, we hope, will give you a sense of that joy.