Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
It's a sickness; I need help
Out (of mind) with the old, in with the new
In my last post, I said that my coworkers' hyperproductivity was making me feel like I need to finish some of the projects I've started.
"Feel like" is the key phrase.
Well, I felt like it. Didn't do it.
Instead, I started some new things. I get a pass on one of the things; it's a baby bolero for the silent auction fundraiser at my favorite 5-year-old's school. The other is sheer indulgence. It's the Sonoma Mountain Wrap from Simply Shetland 2. It's in a delirious range of colors of Jamieson's Shetland DK. I knit the first 4 stripes on Easter Sunday. Well, Easter is a time of renewal, is it not?
The wrap is in Linen Stitch, which is:
Row 1: K1, *sl 1 wyif, K1*, end with sl1 wyif
Row 2: P1, *sl1 wyib, P1* end with sl1 wyib.
Now, some people find Linen Stitch putzy in the extreme, but I like the rhythm and am actually quite fast at it. It makes a nice dense "woven" fabric. This piece will be my take-along idiot knitting project until it gets too big to drag around. Maybe I can finish it before the weather gets too warm for me to want to knit on it. Oops, there's that word "finish" again.
(After) Thoughts on the Afterthought Heel
I've been re-thinking my toe-up afterthought heel socks. I've knit many pairs of these, and I've taught lots of people to knit them. I have many pairs that fit well. But I think the pattern needs a little refinement.
I have high insteps, so the fact that these socks don't have a gusset makes them a little tight across the instep for me sometimes. I've been fussing with different ways to add some ease across the instep. Often I'll just add some stitches in the instep for a few rows, which helps. But in some yarns the increases really show, and if I'm doing a stitch pattern down the instep, it's not an option.
Another option has been to rib all the way down the top of the sock to the toe. This creates a nice, stretchy fabric, and it's a good solution. But I don't always want ribbed socks, and a smooth fabric looks better with some of the self-patterning yarns.
Another issue I've sometimes had with the Afterthought Heel is that it hasn't been quite deep enough if I start with the heel decreases right away. So I've been playing with knitting 4 rounds or so plain before I start the decreases. This seems to work out OK.
I rather enjoy tinkering with patterns and solving problems. If anyone has any insights on the Afterthought Heel, please leave a comment.
New and Wonderful
Go to Borealis Yarns and see the gorgeous Silk Garden throw on display. It's done in strips, with each strip being a different colorway of Silk Garden. Unbelievably beautiful. The pattern is newly for sale at the store. (Rah, rah -- can't help proselytizing!)
In my last post, I said that my coworkers' hyperproductivity was making me feel like I need to finish some of the projects I've started.
"Feel like" is the key phrase.
Well, I felt like it. Didn't do it.
Instead, I started some new things. I get a pass on one of the things; it's a baby bolero for the silent auction fundraiser at my favorite 5-year-old's school. The other is sheer indulgence. It's the Sonoma Mountain Wrap from Simply Shetland 2. It's in a delirious range of colors of Jamieson's Shetland DK. I knit the first 4 stripes on Easter Sunday. Well, Easter is a time of renewal, is it not?
The wrap is in Linen Stitch, which is:
Row 1: K1, *sl 1 wyif, K1*, end with sl1 wyif
Row 2: P1, *sl1 wyib, P1* end with sl1 wyib.
Now, some people find Linen Stitch putzy in the extreme, but I like the rhythm and am actually quite fast at it. It makes a nice dense "woven" fabric. This piece will be my take-along idiot knitting project until it gets too big to drag around. Maybe I can finish it before the weather gets too warm for me to want to knit on it. Oops, there's that word "finish" again.
(After) Thoughts on the Afterthought Heel
I've been re-thinking my toe-up afterthought heel socks. I've knit many pairs of these, and I've taught lots of people to knit them. I have many pairs that fit well. But I think the pattern needs a little refinement.
I have high insteps, so the fact that these socks don't have a gusset makes them a little tight across the instep for me sometimes. I've been fussing with different ways to add some ease across the instep. Often I'll just add some stitches in the instep for a few rows, which helps. But in some yarns the increases really show, and if I'm doing a stitch pattern down the instep, it's not an option.
Another option has been to rib all the way down the top of the sock to the toe. This creates a nice, stretchy fabric, and it's a good solution. But I don't always want ribbed socks, and a smooth fabric looks better with some of the self-patterning yarns.
Another issue I've sometimes had with the Afterthought Heel is that it hasn't been quite deep enough if I start with the heel decreases right away. So I've been playing with knitting 4 rounds or so plain before I start the decreases. This seems to work out OK.
I rather enjoy tinkering with patterns and solving problems. If anyone has any insights on the Afterthought Heel, please leave a comment.
New and Wonderful
Go to Borealis Yarns and see the gorgeous Silk Garden throw on display. It's done in strips, with each strip being a different colorway of Silk Garden. Unbelievably beautiful. The pattern is newly for sale at the store. (Rah, rah -- can't help proselytizing!)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Competitive Knitting
Some of my coworkers are knitting maniacs. I think they secretly have knitting machines in their basements -- or sweatshops. 'The Emotion', as I'll call her, will start a sock at work five minutes before closing, and show up with a complete pair the next morning. 'Coryell' cranks out sweaters in her spare time between making all manner of felted pillows and critters, socks, scarves, felted clogs, Fair Isle hats and mittens, and Goddess knows what else.
I've not been a competitive knitter up till now. I knit things I enjoy working on, and if I finish them, that's a bonus. (Process, process, process!) But all of this hyperproductivity is making me a little jealous. I think I may have to step up my production and (gasp) finish some stuff.
I still, however, am not enthusiastic about putting my goods in the State Fair. I'm not quite sure why. I just don't feel the bug. Now, having said that, maybe I'll put in some mint-green crocheted tissue box covers or something this year.
See my UN-finished Shadow Shawl, below.
I've not been a competitive knitter up till now. I knit things I enjoy working on, and if I finish them, that's a bonus. (Process, process, process!) But all of this hyperproductivity is making me a little jealous. I think I may have to step up my production and (gasp) finish some stuff.
I still, however, am not enthusiastic about putting my goods in the State Fair. I'm not quite sure why. I just don't feel the bug. Now, having said that, maybe I'll put in some mint-green crocheted tissue box covers or something this year.
See my UN-finished Shadow Shawl, below.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Whaaa??
Holy cow, I was just editing my profile on Blogger, and found that my previous profile listed my "industry" as "accounting." Whaaaa?
When I went to change it, there was no selection in the drop-down menu for "lazy hussy", so I had to choose "arts" as the closest thing.
When I went to change it, there was no selection in the drop-down menu for "lazy hussy", so I had to choose "arts" as the closest thing.
Shadow Shawl #3
Oy Vey
Here's the latest shadow shawl I've started. (I did actually finish one last year, but this and another one are still in the cooker). I found a juicy skein of Schaefer Yarns' Anne at the store, and snatched it up quicker than you can say "Jeepers creepers, more YARN?". Though I didn't NEED to make another Shadow Shawl, it was crying out to be combined with Euroflax linen.
I had to go to a size 2 (US) needle, as the Euroflax is heavier than the Anne, and was pulling and distorting it, making the stitches uneven and loopy. The fabric is nice and firm (but still fluid) on a 2. However, the shawl may turn out small because of the smaller needles, so if I find I'm going to run out of yarn, I may do the center 'V' in the brilliant blue Rio de la Plata sock yarn (pictured along with the shawl, the Euroflax, and the Anne.)
And ... I'm on Ravelry now as 'carolfiona'. I don't have much listed yet -- it will take time to catalogue the many, many projects I have going -- but I'm enjoying reading about other peoples' stuff and especially seeing their "ughs". Boy, do I have lots of "ughs" I can put out there! But it might damage my image as Knit Coach!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sock Success
I reorganized, sorted, and labeled my stash the other day, and found quite a few pairs of socks that had been abandoned in varying stages of completion. Some needed only heels, some needed only toes, some needed to be ripped back to the site of a boo-boo, and I had just gotten bored with some of them in mid-sock.
I decided to finish as many of them as I could. Here are some of them in glorious color.
I'm still trying to figure out how to add captions to my photos on the blog, so if I don't succeed, the socks pictured are (in no particular order): OnLine sock (hint: still on needles), pink Smooshy sock (Waterfall Rib and Eye of Partridge heel from More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch), Mystery Sock (the sort of yellow one; I have no memory of buying this yarn, no memory of what yarn it is, and I haven't any idea if I have the rest of the yarn so I can knit the second sock), turquoise Fair Isle sock (done in an Opal colorway from years ago; I also have no idea where the rest of the yarn is to make a second sock. In the meantime I've been wearing it with the Mystery Sock), Tofuttsies sock (pink / blue heel and toe), and Corn Sock (cream-colored Maizy corn yarn).
And the strange red object is the Little Ruff from One-Skein Wonders. I made it out of Louisa Harding's Grace (silk and wool, 22 sts /in.) Grace is a little light for the gauge called for in the pattern, so I added some sts to the ruffle portion and did extra short rows to account for the extra sts. I needed more than one ball of Grace to finish it, given the gauge difference. I don't know if this picture does it justice. It's gorgeous. And I found the perfect button for it at Treadle Yard Goods in St. Paul.
Some notes on the various socks and yarns:
OnLine is one of my favorites of the self-patterning sock types. The yarn knits up smoothly without splitting, the space-dyeing is crisp (with some space-dyed yarns you find areas that were missed by the dye; not so with OnLine), and it makes a pleasing fabric on US size 1.5.
I'm still having a major jones for Dream In Color's Smooshy sock yarn. As I have often said, "It knits like buttah". And there are some juicy new colors that just came in.
The Mystery Sock yarn may be Koigu. I'm sure I bought it many years ago (hence the sketchy memory), well before I worked at a yarn store. The yarn itself feels like Louet Gems, but I don't recognize the colorway. Anyway, it knitted up nicely on a US 1.5, and it feels soft on my feet (or foot, as I only have the one sock.) I'm sure there's no nylon in it. If anyone recognizes the colorway, I'd like to know what you think it is.
Opal is another of my all-time favorites. I have Opal socks I knit 7 years ago that haven't worn out yet -- and I wear my handknit socks a lot. The very first pair of Opal socks I knit are still intact, though I can see that the toes are getting a little thin. Opal's a little pricier than some of the self-patterning yarns out there, but for me, it's well worth the little extra money. If I wanted to save money, I'd buy the 12-pack of white tube socks at Wal-Mart. And wouldn't that be a fashion statement?
I bought the Tofuttsies at a yarn store in California while visiting my sister. It sounded interesting, as it's made with soy, wool, and crab shells. It knits up very soft, although I did have some issues with splitting, as the strand is made up of several different-colored plies. I haven't worn the socks enough to report on how they wear long-term, but they feel fine. I wish I hadn't used heel-and-toe reinforcement, though. It made the heels and toes feel thick and clumpy. I don't usually use it, and probably won't in the future unless I have good reason.
I haven't yet worn the Maizy sock, as its mate is still half-finished. Not that I'm afraid to wear odd socks (see above!), but I have plenty of other crazy single socks to wear. I want to keep the Maizys together as a pair, so I can see how the yarn wears. It knits up extrememly soft. One person I talked to said her Maizy socks made her feet sweat. I'm reserving judgement till I can see for myself. The yarn was OK to knit with, though somewhat splitty. It has some stretchy stuff in it, but that didn't pose a problem for me while I was knitting it. I'll report more on Maizy when I've worn and washed the socks 4 or 5 times.
As for the neck ruffle, Grace by Louisa Harding is a luscious yarn, but very delicate. I had been drooling over it for a year, trying to figure out what to make with it. I wouldn't knit something that gets much wear, as it pills quickly and looks dull and ratty. I figured, though, that a ruffled collar would work well, as it isn't subjected to flinging about, as you would do with a scarf, nor to rubbing, as with, say, sweater sleeves that rub against the body as you move around. It was fun to knit, and fairly quick, too.
And as a final note, I've strayed into Crochet Madness once again and am planning to make some Amigurumi. These are small, painfully cute crocheted stuffed animals. I'll be working from Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli. I'm also going to crochet a little girl's dress from the latest issue of Katia. I found a great crochet manual, A to Z Crochet published by Martingale. It has wonderful, clear step-by-step photographs, and illustrates all kinds of stitches and techniques. And I snagged a copy of The Crocheter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements by Ann Budd. I use my Knitter's Handy Guide, etc. all the time, and since I'm a crochet neophyte, this will be invaluable. You need these books!
And ... if you are in the store, look for the outrageous pink "scrunchie" ruffle I crocheted for my coworker's coffee tumbler. She needed something to distinguish hers from all the other J&S Bean Factory coffee tumblers. (Love that place! Best coffee in the Twin Cities!) Let me just say I finally found a use for that 1/2 ball of pink Crystal Palace "Party" ribbon yarn. If you want a Coffee Scrunchie of your own:
Crochet a chain long enough to fit around the coffee vessel of your choice when slightly stretched (the crochet chain, not your coffee mug.) Join into a round with a slip st. Ch 1.
SC in every ch around and when the round is finished, slip st to 1st SC, then Ch 1.
Now, SC 4 times in each SC around. Join with slip st., ch 1.
Next round: SC 4 times in each SC around (this is a lot more sts than you might think!), join with slip st, fasten off. Weave in ends.
I decided to finish as many of them as I could. Here are some of them in glorious color.
I'm still trying to figure out how to add captions to my photos on the blog, so if I don't succeed, the socks pictured are (in no particular order): OnLine sock (hint: still on needles), pink Smooshy sock (Waterfall Rib and Eye of Partridge heel from More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch), Mystery Sock (the sort of yellow one; I have no memory of buying this yarn, no memory of what yarn it is, and I haven't any idea if I have the rest of the yarn so I can knit the second sock), turquoise Fair Isle sock (done in an Opal colorway from years ago; I also have no idea where the rest of the yarn is to make a second sock. In the meantime I've been wearing it with the Mystery Sock), Tofuttsies sock (pink / blue heel and toe), and Corn Sock (cream-colored Maizy corn yarn).
And the strange red object is the Little Ruff from One-Skein Wonders. I made it out of Louisa Harding's Grace (silk and wool, 22 sts /in.) Grace is a little light for the gauge called for in the pattern, so I added some sts to the ruffle portion and did extra short rows to account for the extra sts. I needed more than one ball of Grace to finish it, given the gauge difference. I don't know if this picture does it justice. It's gorgeous. And I found the perfect button for it at Treadle Yard Goods in St. Paul.
Some notes on the various socks and yarns:
OnLine is one of my favorites of the self-patterning sock types. The yarn knits up smoothly without splitting, the space-dyeing is crisp (with some space-dyed yarns you find areas that were missed by the dye; not so with OnLine), and it makes a pleasing fabric on US size 1.5.
I'm still having a major jones for Dream In Color's Smooshy sock yarn. As I have often said, "It knits like buttah". And there are some juicy new colors that just came in.
The Mystery Sock yarn may be Koigu. I'm sure I bought it many years ago (hence the sketchy memory), well before I worked at a yarn store. The yarn itself feels like Louet Gems, but I don't recognize the colorway. Anyway, it knitted up nicely on a US 1.5, and it feels soft on my feet (or foot, as I only have the one sock.) I'm sure there's no nylon in it. If anyone recognizes the colorway, I'd like to know what you think it is.
Opal is another of my all-time favorites. I have Opal socks I knit 7 years ago that haven't worn out yet -- and I wear my handknit socks a lot. The very first pair of Opal socks I knit are still intact, though I can see that the toes are getting a little thin. Opal's a little pricier than some of the self-patterning yarns out there, but for me, it's well worth the little extra money. If I wanted to save money, I'd buy the 12-pack of white tube socks at Wal-Mart. And wouldn't that be a fashion statement?
I bought the Tofuttsies at a yarn store in California while visiting my sister. It sounded interesting, as it's made with soy, wool, and crab shells. It knits up very soft, although I did have some issues with splitting, as the strand is made up of several different-colored plies. I haven't worn the socks enough to report on how they wear long-term, but they feel fine. I wish I hadn't used heel-and-toe reinforcement, though. It made the heels and toes feel thick and clumpy. I don't usually use it, and probably won't in the future unless I have good reason.
I haven't yet worn the Maizy sock, as its mate is still half-finished. Not that I'm afraid to wear odd socks (see above!), but I have plenty of other crazy single socks to wear. I want to keep the Maizys together as a pair, so I can see how the yarn wears. It knits up extrememly soft. One person I talked to said her Maizy socks made her feet sweat. I'm reserving judgement till I can see for myself. The yarn was OK to knit with, though somewhat splitty. It has some stretchy stuff in it, but that didn't pose a problem for me while I was knitting it. I'll report more on Maizy when I've worn and washed the socks 4 or 5 times.
As for the neck ruffle, Grace by Louisa Harding is a luscious yarn, but very delicate. I had been drooling over it for a year, trying to figure out what to make with it. I wouldn't knit something that gets much wear, as it pills quickly and looks dull and ratty. I figured, though, that a ruffled collar would work well, as it isn't subjected to flinging about, as you would do with a scarf, nor to rubbing, as with, say, sweater sleeves that rub against the body as you move around. It was fun to knit, and fairly quick, too.
And as a final note, I've strayed into Crochet Madness once again and am planning to make some Amigurumi. These are small, painfully cute crocheted stuffed animals. I'll be working from Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli. I'm also going to crochet a little girl's dress from the latest issue of Katia. I found a great crochet manual, A to Z Crochet published by Martingale. It has wonderful, clear step-by-step photographs, and illustrates all kinds of stitches and techniques. And I snagged a copy of The Crocheter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements by Ann Budd. I use my Knitter's Handy Guide, etc. all the time, and since I'm a crochet neophyte, this will be invaluable. You need these books!
And ... if you are in the store, look for the outrageous pink "scrunchie" ruffle I crocheted for my coworker's coffee tumbler. She needed something to distinguish hers from all the other J&S Bean Factory coffee tumblers. (Love that place! Best coffee in the Twin Cities!) Let me just say I finally found a use for that 1/2 ball of pink Crystal Palace "Party" ribbon yarn. If you want a Coffee Scrunchie of your own:
Crochet a chain long enough to fit around the coffee vessel of your choice when slightly stretched (the crochet chain, not your coffee mug.) Join into a round with a slip st. Ch 1.
SC in every ch around and when the round is finished, slip st to 1st SC, then Ch 1.
Now, SC 4 times in each SC around. Join with slip st., ch 1.
Next round: SC 4 times in each SC around (this is a lot more sts than you might think!), join with slip st, fasten off. Weave in ends.
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