Month: August 2006

Amy Swenson has asked me to do a couple of designs for her upcoming felting book. This blurry swatch (taken on the camera phone because I can upload instantly from phone to flickr via text message) is a bit of Cascade 200, with a size K hook and a half-double crochet–I want to see how much it would felt (the percentage of change) so I can decide how big to make the actual project–I also want to see if I need to adjust hook size or stitch pattern. Because I’m creating a vessel of sorts, even though this is just a flat swatch, I am curious about how the flat bottom will felt compared to the sides of the vessel. It’s in the washer now…

UPDATE: It just came out–it shrunk from 6 inches in diameter to 5 inches. Nice and thick, but not as stiff a fabric as I would like. I’ve put it back in, but I think I’ll need to go down a hook size.

UPDATE #2: The swatch is now 4 1/2 inches and a bit thicker… All stitch definition is gone, as are any holes. I’m also working on a denser swatch with a J/10 hook… But we’ll have to see what happens with that tomorrow.

The city-sponsored monthly newspaper, The Takoma Park Newsletter featured an article about Knitting at Savory–my local stitching group that meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month. There’s a nice story including pictures of one of my students, Anya, and fellow knit-blogger, Hannah!

You can see a PDF of the article here. Just scroll down to page three.

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knitting, Takoma Park, Savory

We’ve been having Seattle weather here in Maryland, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s made me realize how much that climate and the beautiful surroundings became a part of me the eight years we lived there. I was walking back from taking Jay to the park, and it literally was misting. I felt rejuvenated, soaking it up, the grey skies seemed comforting–no need to squint.

Just one day of cloudiness had neighbors moaning here in Takoma Park. In Seattle, no one complains about the clouds, and they don’t use umbrellas (bumbershoots). I had to chuckle when I arrived through the mist to pick up Selma from the bus yesterday afternoon, and folks were standing under umbrellas. (We don’t have downpours very often in Seattle–just steady light rains).

In Seattle we celebrate the rare visits of the sun, we have optomistic names for cloudy weather–instead of “mostly cloudy” Seattle weather reporters will say “there will be sun breaks today!” People will talk about whether or not “the mountain” (Mt. Rainier) is “out” (i.e. visible) There’s another mountain, Mt. Baker, to the north of the city that’s only visible about 10 days per year–it’s almost like a gift to see it.

Selma and I are reading Pollyanna before bed these days–and I’m sure Pollyanna would be glad for the clouds because “it will make the return of the sun all the nicer!”

I decided to pick up and start working the sleeves of the cardi–since I wasn’t sure whether or not the sweater was long enough, I did the Knit2tog bind off. So if I decided I wanted to make it longer, I could easily pick up where I left off… Laziness and not being able to find my other needle also led me to try the magic loop method for knitting the sleeves (I hadn’t ever seen it done, tho’ I’d heard talk, and it sounded mysterious enough. I’m normally a 2 circs kind of gal, and usually do most stuff on my Denise needles, but they were slowin’ me down this time, so I went out and bought this 40″ addi turbo–long so I could try the sweater on without taking it off the needles–size 10 1/2, which I’ve been using in the whole sweater.)

I actually accidentally “unvented” the magic loop in June when I was making a mobïus neck warmer. It was a bit of a stretch to get all the stitches around the needle even when looped, so I just pulled out a bit somewhere in the middle. I had no idea this was the famous “magic loop.” Then this evening, at Adega in Silver Spring–where local knitters go on odd Tuesdays to drink wine, stitch, bitch, etc.–I mentioned I might want to try the magic loop on the sleeves and had anyone done it. I was surprised (and a little underwhelmed) to discover what a simple concept it is…

Basically, you just tug excess needle out to form a little, well, loop in the middle of your round. It makes the round feel like you’re knitting on two separate needles instead of one long connected one. When you get to the loop, you pull a new one out somewhere else. No, really, that’s it.

It’s working fine for this sleeve, tho’ I miss the ability I have with my denises to change needle sizes at whim (I think I want the sleeve ribbing to be on a smaller needle).

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knitting, needles, two circulars, magic loop, top down

I’ve had a few comments in the questions lately, so I thought I’d devote a post to answers…

Leah asked where I got my Yak Pak–I bought it from Now and Then, the store where I teach in Takoma Park, MD… It looks like they’re pretty easily found online.

MK asked about knitting “both ways,” which I’ve also heard described knitting “back and forth” and knitting “two-handed.” Essentially, it’s knitting from right to left (the conventional way) and then, instead of turning your fabric, and purling back, you knit your stitches again from left to right–switching which hand holds the feeder needle and which hand holds knits the stitches off the needle. It is used most often with color work, I suppose to keep the stranding safely on the same side of the work all the time, and supposedly can give you better tension. I can knit with both hands because I sometimes teach lefties, but I have not tried knitting both ways in the same project. Since I want to learn fairisle, I probably will soon.

Misfit asked about my top-down cardigan: Could I ask if that’s a generic pattern you are using, or if you’ve designed it yourself? Actually–it is my own pattern, but I learned the technique of creating top-down sweaters from Barbara Walker’s Knitting From the Top. The book has detailed descriptions (but no actual patterns) of techniques for creating a variety of one-piece garments. With the garment in the picture, I didn’t create the neckline like Barbara Walkers (she starts with a smaller neckline and increases to get a natural curve). To simplify, I just chose the size neckline I wanted and cast on for that. I’ll have my pattern available after I teach the sweater class in October.

Deneen asks: Also, if not getting to personal, how many places across the country DO YOU teach????? No Deneen, it’s no secret–I do teach a lot of places, but right now they’re all in the DC area. I teach beginning and intermediate knitting at Now and then in Takoma Park, MD. I teach crochet every once and a while at Stitch DC, and I teach lots of Kids Classes–at a middle school in Bethesda, MD at a community center and elementary school in Takoma Park. School just started today, and I’m looking forward to working with the kids again.

I appreciate all the questions and comments! Off to bed now…

0828060027.jpg
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

I know, I never blog progress shots. I’d love to do it more often ’cause it would mean I was making stuff for myself! Finaly, here’s one I can show. I’m making myself a little cardigan from the Malabrigo yarn I got at Now and Then–the store in Takoma Park where I teach.

I love the way the colors are working up… I have a feeling this is going to be one of those sweaters I’ll actually wear. A lot. I must be really easy to please, since the subtle variations in color are entertaining me enough to compensate for the lack of interest in the stockinette (now that I’ve gotten past the raglan increases, there’s not much going on until I pick up and knit the sleeves…)

The amazing thing is, with the exception of about an inch of the ribbing at the bottom, I’ve knit the whole thing out of one skein… Which means, You could easily make a shrug or very cropped little sweater out of just one ball of this stuff. (Or pretty much anything for a kid–it’s so soft it would make great baby yarn, if you don’t mind hand-washing.) I’m pretty sure I’ll finish it with two balls (well, I guess that will depend on how long I make the sleeves). But however you look at it, this stuff is a great bargain–and have I mentioned it’s soft?

Marie Connelly, owner ofStitch DC gave a little preview of fall yarns at Design Within Reach in Bethesda, MD this weekend. One of the knitters there, Eva, was anti-purl. She knits everything, in both directions. She was a fascinating woman, who rides sled-dogs in search and rescue operations. She had just visited Alaska to do some sled riding, and she also got to visit a Quiviut “farm.” Quiviut are Arctic “musk ox,” they are wild and produce an extremely soft fiber–I’ll be talking about them again soon…

One of Eva’s other knitting pet peeves is binding off. She prefers to knit two stitches together, then pass the new stitch back to the left needle and repeat. I had seen this bind off before, but it didn’t strike me as having any particular advantage (it’s not extra-stretchy, or extra-firm, for example).

Coincidentally, last night Annie Modesitt was on the Knitty Gritty. She demonstrated the same bind-off, and I got to see how fast it is to do… It creates an edge that looks like a crocheted slip stitch. (And in fact, it would probably be a good bind off to use if you intended to crochet an edging.) Another advantage: it’s very easy to take out. You can just pull it out like you would crochet, and there you have live stitches again. Annie mentioned that because of this, she sometimes uses this bind off instead of a stitch holder, she’ll just do the knit2tog bind off, and then rip it out when she’s ready to pick up those stitches again. Pretty cool!

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knitting, knitty gritty, bind off, quiviuk, quiviut

IMG_0867.JPG
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

I first met Carol Ventura in a class at TNNA in January. I learned the basics of Tapestry Crochet–which is crocheted colorwork, and I also got to talk a lot to Carol about her work. She’s a prolific designer creating beautiful baskets, bags, and even garments. She’s also a professor with a PhD in Art–she has studied the history of tapestry crochet around the world. She’s traveled throughout Central America studying the work crocheters and weavers and other traditional fiber artists create.

Her book, More Tapestry Crochet, gives us a beautiful pictoral look at that history. She also explains in explicit detail not only how to create tapestry crochet, but how to design your own. (Oh, by the way, the book is called More Tapestry Crochet, and is her second book on the subject–she has a video too–but this book is perfectly suitable for beginners and has more information than the first.)

As Carol teaches, because crochet stitches are slanted, not straight, normal graph paper can’t be used for creating crochet charts–otherwise your designs will be askew. Carol has created graph paper herself which anyone can use to create their own charts–there’s specific paper for left-handed and right-handed crocheters, crocheting in the round, and crocheting back an forth.

Of course, the book also has a large number of patterns including a beautiful bag inspired by MC escher, scarves, wraps and baskets–there are color photographs and very clear instructions. As a bonus, there’s also background information on various fibers, from silk to cotton to alpaca–where they come from and how they are produced.

As Carol says, “Tapestry crochet has the flexibility and portability of crochet, but the finished pieces look woven.”

UPDATE: Carol just wrote to tell me she has a new book which will be available in September called Beaded and Felted Tapestry Crochet! I’ll post about it as soon as I get a chance to see it.

Grandma’s Bed Slippers
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

They look a little elfin, don’t they… Well at least you can’t see how badly my legs need shaving or how badly my feet need a pedicure!

Grandma Jean had her 90th birthday on August 9th, and the whole family gathered in Menomonie, WI for a big birthday/reunion.

It was tons of fun–we stayed at a big old victorian house, I arranged for Jenny–an amazing caterer to come and make our meals–she did grilled top-your-own pizza and homemade crank ice cream (with a real custard base, yum!)

Anyway, last year, Grandma had asked me to make her some new bed socks–she wears slippers to bed (over socks) to keep her feet warm. I finally got around to starting right before our trip, which worked out well, because I could measure her feet. She wanted them on the loose side (she wears a 6, I wear an 8) because she puts socks under them, so these should be just right. She also wanted them to be machine washable. Jennifer, an amazing knitter and former yarn store employee, recommended Plymoth Encore. It’s a mostly wool blend, that’s machine washable on cold, it’s very soft, and nice to work with. (I got the pair out of one ball with quite a bit leftover).

I looked around for slipper patterns online and didn’t find one I liked exactly, but found enough inspiration to come up with these. Very simple, all garter stitch, one piece construction, crochet finishing.

Here’s the Pattern.

Whatever
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

Before the kids came around, my friend Joanne and I would collaborate to make elaborate Chirstmas presents for family and friends… We’d make exotic preserves, sew mitered cornered cocktail napkins, invent unusual polar fleece hats, dip candles, etc. We called our workshop “Whatever Works.” So I was reminded of that when I saw this license plate the other day.