Knitting Freestyle

reminder: the blog has moved

2010-03-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

We were poking around in Google Analytics tonight, and discovered that there are still 13 subscribers and several visits a day to this blog. I'm sorry if you've been coming and not finding anything; this is just a reminder that the blog has moved over here (www.desigknit.com). Thanks for hanging around, even though it's been so long sine I have posted on the site!

Let's make this official, shall we?

2009-12-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

I think that Branden has successfully finished the last big transfer likely to cause blog hiccups. So I think we can safely move over to the new website entirely now. See you over there!

(www.desigknit.com, in case the link doesn't work for you)

Welcome to winter

2009-12-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

When we put our things in storage this summer, we thought about the fact that we might be moving them out of storage in the snow. We were pushing our luck trying for a December 1st move in the upper midwest.

We got lucky: there wasn't any snow, and it wasn't even very cold. Perfect conditions for a move, actually.

Last weekend we got a dusting of snow, which then built up to about 4 inches over a couple of days. Everything was pretty and white, and it seemed like a good way to ease into the winter.

And then last night, the rest of it came.

Say hello to winter!

It took three of us 2 and a half hours to clear the driveway this morning, even with a snowblower. I haven't heard official numbers, but there is a lot of snow out there.

Our neighbors' trees aren't so happy, either.

I was expecting to go to work this morning, but they just canceled bus service for the rest of the day because the roads are bad, and the university has been closed since last night. So, it looks like I have an unexpected snow day! I have some reading and a presentation to put together for work, but then I'm going to do the only thing that one should do under the circumstances: knit warm things.

Where were we?

2009-12-06T18:15:00.001-08:00

The unpacking is mostly finished, and I'm beginning the process of figuring out where everything is, and where it now belongs. In that spirit, how about a project update?

Though it hasn't gotten much blog time, the Kauni sweater is moving along nicely. Here's where it was just before we left Germany:

The armholes are joined, and I'm working my way down the body. This was my only plane knitting, so it's a bit further along now than it was in this photo. I haven't touched it since we landed, but I'm looking forward to getting back to it soon. It's so nice that it's back to only 400 stitches a round! (It was at almost 700 before the split, and those rounds were taking a really long time...)

In the week before we left, I re-knit the red scarf with a garter edge, and I turned the pattern sideways. I had hoped that this would help it to lay flat, as all of the curling had been at the long edges in the first version. Unfortunately, the sideways scarf did the same thing:

I also tried using a bigger needle, as Ellen suggested in the comments. The first scarf was knit on a 5; I moved up as far as a 9 and was still getting curling. In this case, I don't think it was the stitch pattern; it was the weight of the yarn pulling it into its cinnamon-stick shape.

I pulled the whole thing out and gave away the yarn instead of packing it. It will make a beautiful bag or something, knit up in a design that doesn't want a lot of stretch and that can bear a little weight. It just wasn't the right yarn for my purposes.

I had a little bit of SouthWest Trading Company bamboo in red waiting for me in my US stash, so I put the scarf aside until we came back here. Unfortunately, I didn't have as much as I remembered, and the yarn is old enough that it doesn't quite match the current colorway. Given the microfiber experience, I was also a little worried that the weight of a 100% bamboo yarn would cause the same problems with curl. Instead, I found some beautiful Frog Tree fingering weight alpaca (color 23) at my new LYS. This yarn is light and airy, much warmer than the microfiber, and has a beautiful halo. I wasn't sure how I'd like the pattern in a fuzzy yarn, since the clear stitch definition was my favorite thing about the microfiber version. And then I started knitting.

I cast on Thursday night, after realizing that I hadn't knit in almost a week. I haven't had much time for it since then, but it's flying off the needles, especially considering that Ifrogged back a good 12 inches when I discovered that I'd made errors setting up the stitch pattern.

I can't believe how much better it is. It doesn't have the same crisp stitch definition, but the alpaca yarn has a beautiful softness, and I love the way it catches the light. I tried for about an hour to get a good photo earlier, but I couldn't really get the new camera to capture it. I forsee some trial and error photoshoots in my future, as I learn the buttons and settings for this new camera.

We also visited another of Madison's yarn shops, looking for yarn for a second scarf. We didn't find the perfect color, but I love the one that we did find:

That's a silk-merino blend by Cascade called Venezia (color 160 - Ginger). I don't think I've ever seen Venezia before, but it's a beautiful yarn. The shine and the feel are perfect, even though there wasn't much available in the exact burnt-orange color that I was hoping for. I'm a little worried that I won't have enough yarn (it's only 160 yards), but I have a tendency to over-buy for projects, so I'm hoping that I'm overestimating what I'll need. There was plenty in the store, so I can go back for more if necessary.

My only complaint with the yarn is that there were three or four damaged areas in the skein that I didn't find until winding it into a ball. Cascade is usually better quality than that, so I'm hoping that it's just a fluke, because I think I'm very likely to knit with this again.

I'm not really sure yet what stitch pattern to use for this scarf. It should be a little bit more muted to match this other friends' personality, fairly open (to help with yardage, mostly), and something that really shows off the shine and drape of the yarn. Nothing has popped out of the Walker books yet, but we have another date this evening.

The waving lace pattern is also coming along well. I have one more chart section that needs to be test knit (for the last time, I hope!), a few stitch counts to calculate/verify, and then it's all layout, proofing, and editing.

And, last but not least, the geometric lace project is also coming along well. I couldn't get a good picture of the swatch tonight, so I'll have to show it to you later. One transition is completely mapped out, and it's waiting until I have some quiet time to focus on the other.

So there's the knitting status. I was thinking of writing a "State of the Stash" post, but that will have to wait for another day, when I'm up to a project of that magnitude. For now, I'm just glad to be able to find time to knit.

Here

2009-11-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

Well, we made it. Everything went smoothly, the apartment was waiting, the boxes are all moved in, and we're unpacking. More soon. =)

Transitions

2009-11-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

Flight date is fast approaching, and this has been a week of lasts. Last knitting meeting, last dinner with friends, last time grocery shopping in Germany, last this and last that. Closing up one life, preparing to move on to the next.

That might be part of the reason that I'm enjoying working out transitions in lace, finding one design that flows seamlessly and beautifully into the next.

In the waving lace shawl, I created the knitting and then began to chart and plan the pattern. I reknit the piece to make sure that the new plans would work. I have charted and swatched and charted again, tweaking and reinventing each time. It's almost done, but there is still some swatching left to do. When I began, I didn't know what I would need for the pattern. Working through the process has helped me to see what I will need at each stage, and how to set up a project so that it leads into a pattern with a little less reworking along the way. It's slow going, but I have learned a lot.

The transitions are the most important part, and they're the part that I knit most intuitively. I don't usually plan them; I knit until I get there, and then see what makes sense with the stitches as they sit on my needles. Sometimes I take notes, but they're not usually very thorough; more like a secret, cryptic code for myself than a set of clear instructions for someone else to follow.

This time, I am working on making those instructions more explicit the first time, in the swatching stage. This time, the first knit piece will be the test piece. This means that there's a lot more up-front planning involved.

I started out with the wave pattern that I showed you last time:

This pattern comes from the Walker books as an allover pattern, whose repeat begins at the center "stem" of the vine. But I want a single vine running down a knit panel.

I switched to a thicker yarn for this swatching, since I wanted better stitch definition than the dark laceweight could provide. No sense going blind trying to count stitches and remember where I put the decreases. I couldn't find my normal swatching yarn, so I used the red scarf yarn. First, I recharted the lace with one repeat in the center. In the allover pattern, the yo's bordering one vine feed into the next motif, creating its leaves. I replaced those extra yarnovers with make-one stitches, so that I would have just one vine on a solid background.

The vine pattern works by having yarnovers separated from decreases across the entire fabric, which causes the lace to widen and narrow as it's knit. In an allover fabric, this doesn't make much difference, as the width of one repeat compensates for the narrowness of another. In a single-repeat panel, though, it makes for wavy edges.

The first repeat (at the bottom) is knit in the pattern as given: the right-hand side bulges out, and the left-hand side dents in. After working that one repeat, I began eliminating make-one stitches and the corresponding decrease stitches so that the edges would stay straight.

This gave me the single vine that I wanted, but it also caused the whole pattern to shift over one stitch with every repeat, which wasn't exactly the effect I'd hoped for. I wanted a panel that went straight, not one that moved over one stitch every twelve rows. I fussed, I recharted, I fussed again. I counted stitches, I compared with the original pattern. It still translated over one stitch.

Eventually, I gave up on my charted version and decided to start again from scratch. I studied the way the increases and decreases worked together, and figured that I knew enough to just rewrite the whole thing. One thing I noticed was that there was a set of staggered decreases on each side of the vine, and that they were separated by four stitches running down the middle of the panel. I wanted a narrower piece anyway, and I couldn't see what they could possibly be good for, so I simply eliminated them.

As often happens, too much planning and analysis took the spontaneous, organic curves out of the design.

The part knit above the garter stitch separator is very similar to the first, and much narrower (just as I'd wanted), but it's missing the undulating curves that made this pattern interesting to begin with. The curves are a product of those four seemingly useless stitches that do nothing except run up the center of the piece, leaning left and right as the fabric around them increases and decreases. They're also a product of decreases worked on a different spacing than the increases. This didn't make sense to me, so I'd put the increases and decreases parallel to one another, and I'd lost the flow. Maybe I didn't understand this stitch pattern as well as I thought I did.

I went back to the beginning, and started over. I began with the original pattern, changed to solid increases, eliminated the wavy edges, following the same set of steps as before. This time, I paid more attention to the waves, and figured out that I'd added an extra yarnover while trying to force the pattern to follow lines too rigidly.

Now that the vines were cooperating, it was time to start working on the blocks. I'd found my swatching yarn and so I turned back to wool, which is a lot easier to work with. Again, I charted. Again, I got it wrong the first time (but only partially).I went back to the swatch and felt my way through it, ending up with this:

At the bottom, curvy vines. At the top, angular blocks. (Sorry for the horrible lighting...it's definitely November around here, and it's hard to get a good picture, even at noontime...)

And so it goes. Chart, swatch, chart. Analyze, overshoot, correct, try again. Correct the corrections, create the final chart.

But it's coming together, and I really do love that transition.

Sketch of a project

2009-11-19T12:12:00.001-08:00

In between pattern writing and knitting, I've been poking around in the stitch dictionaries, looking for my next big lace project. I usually start brainstorming around one central pattern, and then try to find others that work with it, gradually feeling my way outward from that one central point. I mentioned before that I'm drawn to geometric patterns right now, I've had my eye on this one for a while:

It's called pendants lace, and I love it. With more repeats, the two motifs interlock like little puzzle pieces. (It's very obvious in the Walker photo, not so obvious in my swatch. I wanted to use the Walker pictures in this post, but I'm not sure if that's Fair Use as far as copyright is concerned. Trust me, the two motifs interlock like little puzzle pieces....) My second trip to the stitch dictionaries focused around this one stitch pattern. What could I find that would match?

It's a complicated motif, and a pretty unusual one. There weren't many partners stepping up. But then I found myself coming back to this again and again:

The motif looks a lot like the pendants in the pendant lace.

Then I looked for things that matched the slanted yo lines in the pendant lace.

And for something to soften it.

I added a wavy edging to go with the vines.

All of a sudden, I had my transition from rigid, geometric pattern to soft, undulating vines.

So, I swatched. I'm planning to use the Mountain Colors Winter Lace that Branden brought back from the U.S. in September. It's a 50/50 Merino/Silk mix, and it's beautiful. It's a real laceweight, so it's light enough to knit into a fairly solid fabric, and it's a generous skein that should last through a fairly dense lace project. These photos are a little bit dark, but they give you a pretty good idea of the colors.

And now, all that remains is figuring out how to put them together...

I think I've got it

2009-11-18T05:57:00.000-08:00

One last post about waving lace joins, and then I'm done. Promise.

Last time, I showed you the new join. It looked pretty good. The extra openwork columns gave the lace a little more room to stretch, so there was less necking.

But the tip wasn't quite right. I'd knit this version by finishing up the last pattern row of the waving lace, purling back (the usual reverse side), and then beginning the openwork. That left two horizontal bars just above the tip (far left image, below). These two bars disrupted the usual pattern of diagonal lines in the openwork, and they were bothering me.

I thought it might be because of the fact that the two openwork columns started on the same row. It seemed like it might be better to offset them, since the openwork itself always offsets the yo's. I tried two versions of introducing yo's staggered by a row (center images), but both ended up looking wobbly, and neither really got rid of the horizontal bars. The dark lines between columns were especially ugly in these versions. Definitely not an improvement.

After sitting and poking at the swatch for a while, I realized that the horizontal bars were from the purl row, where the yarn is carried between the stitches. Once I realized that, I moved both yo's into the "purl back" row, beginning the openwork immediately after the pattern repeat ends. This gave me the same even look for both columns, and started the openwork right away, eliminating the extra bars (far right image). It might be a picky detail, but I like it a lot better. I'm always amazed at how small things can make such a big difference in lace, and how important each stitch is to the overall pattern.

And now, back to charting.

Why math is beautiful

2009-11-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

There are lots of reasons that math is beautiful. Branden sent me this one today. Go look; you'll be glad you did.

Is it a bad thing that all I see is lace?

And, might that be crochet?

You know what you have to do

2009-11-16T01:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just know that a project isn't working. Sometimes you keep knitting anyway, in the hopes that your "fix" will work.

Sometimes it doesn't.

Really, I've known since I finished the first skein (of four) that the gift scarf isn't going to work out. I kept telling myself that the nagging "not working" feeling was because I didn't like the yarn (I don't), or maybe because it's just not my color (it isn't). I reminded myself that this isn't for me, and that the recipient and I have very different tastes in just about everything. That didn't make the nagging any quieter.

After finishing the first skein, I noticed that the edges of the scarf were beginning to roll. I didn't like that, but I figured it would come out with blocking. So, I blocked it on the needles. Twice. Still curled a little bit. If this were a natural fiber, that amount of curling would have been easily overcome with a good soak. Microfiber has no memory, so blocking really didn't do much.

I decided to add a picked up garter stitch border, thinking that it should give the edges the extra stability that they needed. I just finished the first long side this morning.

It looked ok, except that the pattern was puffing out at the edges a tiny bit (which I now know will probably not be solved by blocking...).

And when I hold it up, it does this:

Nope. Not working at all. While I know that tastes differ, I don't know anyone that would want a scarf curled like a cinnamon stick. And so I'm off to do what I knew I should have done all along. It's coming out.

At least I was finished a week early, right? Still time enough for gift re-knitting...

Obsession, and Pandora's box

2009-11-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've gathered by now that I'm a details person. You might also have gathered that I can be a little bit of a perfectionist if I don't keep myself firmly in check. (That's the downside of seeing every last detail...it means that every last detail has to be right)

Neither of these things is new, and neither of them is really a problem. In fact, I tend to enjoy fussing over the same detail for hours on end to make sure that it's perfect. Usually, I avoid this tendency in favor of actually finishing a project once in a while, and it honestly doesn't bother me when there are some small imperfections here and there.

But lately, that last part has changed. When we bought the new domain name, part of the justification for it was that I could sell a few patterns here and there to offset the cost. It's an idea that I've been tossing around for a couple of years anyway, and now that I'm not in grad school I'm hoping that I'll have time to write up a few projects once in a while.

The waving lace shawl is currently slated to be the first pattern. (It also has a new name, but that's another post.)

Writing patterns for other people to follow means that my perfectionist tendencies have free run, and it opens up whole new problems for me to obsess over. (Hence the pandora's box in the title...)

This is both a good and a bad thing. It's good because I really like playing with one idea until it's perfect, as long as I don't feel rushed to get it done. Even knitting a second version of the same shawl was fun. The perfectionism can also be bad, because it means that I am almost impossible to please.

Knitting the same design in two different yarns has been a really interesting lesson in how yarns and patterns interact. My soft, low-twist, inelastic alpaca handspun blocked out beautifully and pretty much stayed where I put it. The thick, high-twist, commercial sock yarn didn't. It's a denser yarn, and the second shawl is slightly bigger, so it has a little more weight to it. When worn, the openwork section tends to stretch lengthwise, causing the ends of the piece to narrow.

It's not all that noticeable in person, but it's a pretty big difference, and shows up more dramatically when folded:

My swatch had told me that the width of the two sections would be about the same, but it couldn't tell me what the fabric would do once knit in a finished piece. Blocked out, these two sections were pretty much identical in width, with only a tiny bit of overstretching at the join. It was hard to get a good picture of the stretching, because it wasn't really all that noticeable. But, viewed from the right angle, it was definitely there:

It seems that this tightness combines with the weight of the yarn and the character of the openwork lace to narrow the ends. The elasticity of the sock yarn also guarantees that it tries to pull back a bit from where it was blocked. I think this last part is generally a good thing; I like the density and depth that it gives to the waving lace, but in the openwork it's not as helpful.

Yesterday, I swatched a new join.

This one adds two new openwork columns for every pattern motif, so it ends up a lot wider than the previous version. (Ignore the *ahem* informal blocking...I wasn't really all that interested in how the edging would look, or in waiting for the yarn to dry before taking pictures...)

This version has none of the stress around the transition, and I got to fix something else that's been bugging me.

In the last version, the points at the end of the join look a little bit crooked. I'm starting an asymmetric openwork column around a symmetric point, and it shows. It looks like the point is splitting open again right where the openwork comes out. (You can see it in the overstretching picture, too.)

I wanted to tighten that up a bit, so I added an extra sl1 k2tog psso to the point, just before beginning the new columns.

And, to me, they look a lot neater now. I'm still not happy with the yos right at the point. They seem to break up the pattern a little bit, but I think I know how to fix that.

If you need me, I'll be swatching...

Something on the side

2009-11-11T11:01:00.000-08:00

The sweater is almost back to the frogging point, and I seem to have found the right rhythm for knitting it. It's not growing quickly, but it's growing.

In the meantime, I've been playing around with this:

Just a simple scarf for someone that's done a lot to make us feel welcome here in Germany. It really is that red, and it's absolutely her color. I'm knitting it in 12-strand microfiber, which is the only yarn that I could find that came in this color and wasn't the icky kind of acrylic. I don't really love the yarn, but I think she'll like it better than a wool, anyway, and that's what's important. I do love the way the stitch pattern waves back and forth, and the yarn has a nice shine to it.

I blocked it on the needles once I finished the first skein, and there is definitely some curling. I'll have to figure out what to do about that; I'm thinking just a simple garter stitch border will probably do the trick.

In the meantime, I'm just enjoying the swooshes.

New beginnings can get a bit old

2009-11-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned last week, I've started working on a raglan sweater with the Kauni yarn that I bought at the German Raveler's Meeting. The gauge came out a lot finer than I anticipated. I ended up knitting it on size 2's, and getting about 8 stitches to the inch.

This sweater is going to take a long time to knit.

Despite the gauge, I was making a lot of progress. Three days of borderline obsessive knitting got me here:

Which is a pretty good start. Except that it wasn't a good fit.

I don't know much about raglan shaping (in fact, before starting this sweater I knew almost nothing at all). All of my reference books are in a box in a storage unit in Madison, so I used the internet to find a pattern for "The Incredible, Custom-Fit Raglan Sweater." It sounded promising, and had a neat little set of calculations for short row neck shaping. In short, it seemed like a good general pattern.

The one thing that seemed off to me was that it never factored row gauge into the calculations, and the length of the raglan shaping seemed a little poorly defined. It was also a little bit strange that there were no calculations to determine how many stitches to add for the shaping; just an instruction to add 8 every other row. Still, I figured that it was a pretty good bet, given that the numbers seemed mostly reasonable and that I knew nothing. (I have to remind myself of this latter fact a lot when I knit from patterns, which is part of the reason that I don't use them. I'm not always so good with the blind faith thing...)

In general, it's a good pattern. I like the neck shaping. And I think that the raglan increases would have worked out as prescribed if I were using a normal raglan-weight yarn.

But I'm not.

With such a fine yarn, adding one stitch doesn't get you much. Adding eight stitches also doesn't get you much. So, my piece that should have looked like a flat rectangle instead looked like a small volcano:

Not such a good fit on the shoulders.

I also seem to have misinterpreted one of the instructions, and ended up with one set of increases that curved a bit and then veered off at a strange angle:

Asymmetrical increases paired with a very snug shoulder fit sealed the deal; it needed to be frogged.

This was made slightly more painful by this bad habit we have of estimating how many stitches I've done on any project that doesn't feel like it's moving quickly. If it takes you an hour to go half an inch (that last row in the picture clocks in at somewhere around 275 stitches around, and each little diamond is 8 rows, since four rows are mostly just slipped), sometimes it's comforting to say to yourself, "well, at least that's 2200 stitches."

This, of course, backfires quickly when you suddenly realize that you need to pull all those stitches out. Ouch.

Branden helped me frog it on Friday night. It's a two-strand pattern, and each color is used separately, so the easiest way to pull it out was to have him wind one ball and me the other, and to take turns winding on the two colors. The knitting was suspended in mid-air between us, and wandered toward one or the other of us depending on who wound their yarn faster, in a kind of unraveling tug of war.

Branden, though sympathetic, had a hard time concealing his glee at watching the erstwhile sweater dance back and forth between us. He said that it's too bad frogging is so painful, because knitting is so much fun to unwind. I have to admit that some part of me agrees that it's fun to unwind...just not the knitter part. At least he had fun, right?

I cast on again as soon as we finished, and am back past the short row neck again. And this time, I'm really hoping that there will be no new beginnings!

A New Home

2009-11-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

We signed the lease for a new apartment on Wednesday. It's a little scary signing on a place we haven't seen, but we emailed a lot with the current tenant and the landlord, and I think it will be ok. If not, it's only a six month lease. And if it's really not ok, then breaking the lease will cost less than a plane ticket to fly back and check it out ahead of time. Oh, the wonders of long-distance moves!

It is nice to know that I have somewhere to live when I get back to the US in a few weeks, and it's starting to feel real that I'm moving back. I'm excited, but I'm also not sure I'm ready. (I guess that's why I have another three weeks...)

Having the apartment settled does mean that my computer time can go back to being about knitting, and I'm very happy about that.

I've also been wondering exactly how much wool I can get through customs before they get suspicious and want to see proof that I'm not trafficking yarn. I honestly haven't bought much of the fiber here in Germany, but I do have quite a lot of it...

And, since we're (mostly) on the subject of new homes, now seems as good a time as any to announce that the blog is also getting a new address. We've been working on this for a while now (really, it's mostly Branden...I just come in and make crazy requests and wonder what's taking so long), and I think it's ready to go. I'll keep both sites going while we transition, but most everything will be happening over there.

The one thing that we haven't ported over yet is the comments section; the ones that have been posted on this site are currently being held hostage by Haloscan. Branden thinks he knows how to get them back without paying $12.99 for the premium membership, but it might take a while. Any new comments posted on DesigKnit (the new website) will work just fine, and will go through Wordpress (yay!!), but it will take a while for us to import all of the archives over. So go check it out, ignore the current lack of comments, and let us know what you think!

Counting Down

2009-11-02T02:20:00.000-08:00

The days have been getting shorter, the air colder. Today, when I look out my window the horizon is lined with bare trees. The browns and reds and golds of autumn have faded, leaving the dark brown earth and the still-green grass to contrast with Germany's brick-tile roofs. Smoke is curling from my neighbor's chimney, and all the signs say that winter is on its way. Welcome to November.

I like November. I like the chill in the air, and the smell of woodsmoke in the distance. I like the sound of shuffling leaves, and even the patter of rain. The grey sky is beautiful set against the bright, fiery yellow of the leaves still clinging to trees scattered here and there. I like the feeling of tucking in, this settling down as we prepare for the cold and darkness of winter, kept at bay with fire and lights and cups of tea. And, of course, knitwear.

I finished Branden's handwarmers at our knitting group in Heidelberg on Saturday. Yesterday we went for a walk along the Rhine with friends, and he repaid me by sharing his warm hands.

I will miss those warm hands this winter in Madison. This years' November is also tinged with a different flavor...that of goodbye.

We came to Germany knowing that I would move back to Madison first, and that Branden would follow a few months later. Five months was a long time, and November was far away. Two to three months apart is manageable, and it was (and is) the right decision. But those five months are running out quickly now, getting shorter and shorter with the days. There's a lot to look forward to, and a lot to leave behind. We've made quite a few deep friendships for such a short time here, ones that I will be sad to leave behind.

We've applied for two apartments already, and should hear back soon. Branden's company has booked our plane tickets back to the states (he will come back with me for the first week to carry a cat on the plane and to help me move in.) Ironically, our flight is on the 27th - 9 years to the day since we first decided that we're officially "together."

So, this years' November promises to be a more transitional month even than usual. This isn't a bad thing necessarily; transitions hold a lot of promise. A month of endings, but also a month of beginnings. I don't like the "lasts," but I look forward to the "firsts."

And in celebration of those beginnings, last night I swatched for something that will probably take me the better part of three months to finish:

That's the Kauni yarn that I bought at the German Raveler's meeting. I thought I'd have enough to do a colorwork sweater, but after consulting myriad Ravelry project pages I'm not so sure. The reported yardage required varies a lot, and I don't want to end up with another vest instead of a sweater.

I looked for a stitch pattern that would allow me to highlight the yarn's long color repeats, while also not using so much yardage that I'll run out. The Royal Quilting stitch promises to do just that. It's a simple two-color slip stitch pattern that looks much more complicated than it really is. The two colors will be used up at different rates, so the same-color lattice should gradually transition to a contrasting lattice as the knitting progresses.

I was a little worried about the long floats on the front of the fabric, but they pull in nice and tight in the swatch, and the Kauni knits up at such a fine gauge that it shouldn't be a problem. I thought I'd be able to knit this on 4's or 5's, but ended up having to switch down to a size 2 needle to get the fabric that I wanted. I could actually go one size smaller, but the slipped stitches keep the fabric from stretching too much, so I shouldn't really need the tighter gauge.

This certainly won't be a fast project, but I'm in love with it already. And heaven knows one can't have too many sweaters. Or handwarmers.

Browsing

2009-10-30T05:50:00.001-07:00

Today I am mulling over stitch dictionaries. With one lace project finished and two small projects begun, it is now time to begin thinking about the next complicated piece.

Usually I find myself drawn to leaves and vines, curves and florals. Today, it is bold, geometric patterns. Firm and unyielding, they are difficult to pair up. Vines are all about fluidity and smooth, gradual changes from one state to the next. A geometric motif is about order and rigidity, solid and unmovable. It's harder to find a partner for these patterns; they prefer to stand alone. Elegant and stately, they hold themselves apart.

But maybe there is a way to soften them? To take their stern, stiff lines and complement them with curves, as running water and trailing ivy complement brick houses and long, straight roads.

I have long admired the geometric designs, but have not yet figured out the trick that will allow me to combine them in one coherent piece without becoming too busy or too ornate. I have not found the middle ground between flow and stasis. I don't know if I'll find it this time, either, but that's what I'm thinking about. Flipping through stitch dictionaries looking for volunteers, jotting down notes. Looking, and then looking again. Searching for the balance between order and chaos.

Here she is...

2009-10-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

...all laid out for blocking.

This shawl came out at about 15x86 inches.

A much longer waving lace section:

Flowing into the openwork:

Can you see the join?

Looks pretty good up close, too:

So there it is. Two versions, one design. I love the color of this one, and I like the lace in the heavier yarn. The yarn softened up a lot on washing, and it has great drape, though it's not as soft and warm as the alpaca. In sock weight merino, this is a spring or fall piece, where the alpaca is definitely a winter piece.

While the new shawl was blocking, I started a new project with the Claudia:

It occurred to me last week that Branden has no handwarmers in Germany. He has 3 pair in storage in Madison, but none here where the weather is suddenly cold. And so began a new pair. Never hurts to have a few, right?

New and Improved

2009-10-22T05:52:00.001-07:00

Despite the fact that the alpaca shawl is fast becoming one of my all-time favorite knitted objects, it is far from perfect. It was a piece that evolved, not one that was designed. Sometimes this works beautifully, and it was fun to use a different approach to the design process.

Combined with the limitations of the yarn (not a lot of it, and not really re-knittable), the evolution left its mark.

First, the shawl is pretty narrow.

Great for a scarf (which is primarily how I've used it), but a little stingy on the width for serious shoulder-wrapping.

And while I like it like this:

This looks ever so much better:

See that center seam hanging out below the bust line? Yeah. That means it needs extra length, with more of it in the waving lace pattern.

Next, there's the edging. It looks great when worn, but right after blocking it looked like this:

Those corners are bulging out because I added too many repeats in the turn section.

And then there's the seam. I knit the two halves and then grafted them together. It's not a bad graft, but it is definitely visible, particularly because it interrupts the faggoting columns.

Finally, there's the part where the different kinds of openwork refused to play nicely together.

Overall, lots of room for improvement. Plenty of things to play with in the next version (and why knit if there can never be a "next version"??).

The second shawl is knit from the center with a provisional cast on. With a little bit of care, it's simple to keep the faggoting in pattern. I can still see the seam, but just barely, and I'm not sure I'll be able to see it at all after blocking.

(Sorry for the flash, but it really helps you see the lace detail more clearly...)

I added another repeat to the waving lace panel, making it about 4 inches wider. Last time, the waving lace limited how wide I could block the piece. This time, it will be a little less stretched and I'll get a more open openwork section, which was kinda the idea.

I replaced the Rick Rib with a simple yo k2tog faggoting stitch. Looks beautiful, only slightly different, and it works well with the waving lace pattern.

Last time, I ended the waving lace abruptly at the join with the openwork section. I didn't like how that looked, so this time I extended the last repeat of the waving lace into the faggoting.

It's a tiny bit uneven at the join, as my abundant stitch markers messed a bit with my tension, but I'm pretty sure that it will block out well.

I used fewer turn repeats, making a nice, tight corner that shouldn't overstretch.

And the knit-from-the-center construction eliminates four grafts in the edging, making for a much nicer, smoother border.

This version has used a ton more yarn (probably about 600 yds, all told), mostly because of the larger waving lace area. It's denser knitting, and so requires a lot more length. I had between 350 and 400 yards of the alpaca, by comparison.

The Cascade sock isn't the softest stuff on the planet, but I think it will wash nicely. I wanted something a little heavier than a laceweight, and this was all that the shop had in the right color when Branden visited. I love the sculptural look of the waving lace in the high-twist yarn, though this one will definitely not have the same warmth as my soft and fuzzy alpaca.

I don't think this shawl will steal the others' place anytime soon, but it's fun to see the same pattern knit in two different yarns, and this one is far and away the better design.

And now, off to finish the pattern transition in the second half...almost finished!

Darker sister

2009-10-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

You might wonder why I suddenly remembered that I hadn't shown you finished photos of the alpaca stole. After so long, it would probably be more natural to just completely forget than to remember out of the blue.

That's probably what would have happened, had my memory not been jogged by this:

I said that I would knit this stole again, and last week I started the alpaca stole's darker sister, knit in Cascade superwash sock, one of the yarns that Branden brought back from the US for me. After about 9 cast-on's (we lost count at about 7), she was off and running. Took about three days to get the first half knit, and then we had guests for almost a week.

You know that I'm busy when I go for 5 whole days without knitting a single stitch. Not even on the train. Very strange. As of yesterday, I am back out of the no-knitting funk, and she's singing along again.

I also finished the yarn that I've been spinning. Before the Raveler meeting, I had been seriously limiting my spinning time to avoid running out of fiber while in Germany. When I picked up the new top, I gave myself permission to finish. I gave it a bath on Sunday.

This picture is a little bright, and looks a little more blue than the real yarn, but you get the idea. I love the color, and I got about 200 yards out of the 2 oz of roving. It's a little thicker than I'd like, coming out as a fingering-to-dk rather than a lace-to-fingering. I'm starting to think that's as fine as I can get with this spindle (1.3 oz), but we'll see.

And now, off to knit.

Finshed alpaca stole

2009-10-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that I haven't shown you pictures of the finished alpaca stole yet. There were some on the camera when Branden went to the US, but I looked at them when he came back and they weren't all that great. So we took advantage of some glorious fall weather to visit the nearby castle at Gondelsheim and take pictures.

The stole blocked out at about 5 and a half feet long, open and airy despite the thickness of the yarn.

I wasn't sure that I'd wear it much, as I don't always use the shawls and stoles that I knit. I love the knitting, but often they find their way to the bottom of the pile once completed.

Not so with this piece. It's become the thing that I grab when heading out the door, security against the unpredictable fall weather.

Reexamining prejudice

2009-10-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

I learned to knit a long time ago. I was probably somewhere between 6 and 8 when my mother first taught me to wield needles and yarn. She wasn't and isn't a knitter, and so passed on only the most rudimentary of skills.

My grandmother is a knitter, and has always made stunningly beautiful knit items, but she tends not to talk about her knitting. I was more than willing to learn, but she didn't seem moved to teach.

After a while I got tired of knit and purl, garter stitch and stockinette, and I put aside my needles. For years.

I picked them up again about 4 years ago. I knew that I wanted to move beyond plain stockinette and garter, and so bought a book of stitch patterns. (Actually, if I remember correctly, Branden bought it for me...)

I knit a few things with simple knit-purl patterns, but I found them tiresome, and moved almost immediately into lace. My third or fourth project was a simple yarn over lace, and then I tried some self-invented intarsia, some cables, and was off and running.

I've never really looked back at the knit-purl stitch patterns. I hated them then, and I wasn't excited about knitting them now. Branden, however, is very drawn to the geometric, embossed look created by combination of knit and purl stitches. When I begin planning a project and hand him a stitch dictionary, he almost invariably comes back with a knit purl pattern. I almost invariably respond with a groan.

I've knit a few things with these patterns, in deference to his liking for them, but they were in fuzzy yarns not really suitable for seeing the pattern while knitting, or to being able to tell that there was a pattern once they'd been worn a few times. A lot of work yielded very little result. I remained unimpressed.

When Branden brought the Claudia yarn back from the US, the Ink colorway immediately stated that it would be a knit-purl pattern. Something with ridges and deep valleys. It was non-negotiable. The yarn is slightly overspun, and it's beautifully soft and just a little bit shiny. Perfect for showing off a simple pattern.

Every once in a while, I like to re-examine my likes and dislikes, and to give things I hated the first time another chance. I cast on for a scarf.

Scarves are another of my dislikes. I have found that I have no problem knitting thousands upon thousands of stitches, but I hate stopping to turn my work while I knit. The closer the turns, the less I like it, and the more impatient I become. (There's a reason that the rainbow vest stalled out just after I'd split for the back neck shaping...)

So, I cast on for a scarf knit lengthwise. And oh, what a difference. I started out at 500 stitches, and made it about 10 rows in before realizing that I wouldn't have enough yarn to complete the scarf at the rate I was using it up. I ripped back and cast on for 400, a 20% decrease that I was pretty sure would give me enough width. We did some back-of-the-envelope type calculations and confirmed that I should end up with something 7-8 inches wide.

Not quite, as it turns out.

I went to the Karlsruhe knitting group on Wednesday after class, and my first skein ran out about halfway through the evening. The scarf is about 2.5 inches wide. There will not be enough yarn.

I'll be ripping back this afternoon, and pondering what else to do with this yarn. I absolutely love the stitch pattern, and how well it accents the plain, dark yarn. The thing that surprises me is that I really enjoyed knitting a scarf in a knit purl pattern, and I don't resent pulling it back at all. I even find myself a little grateful that the yarn took the time to make me re-examine my stitch books, and to rediscover a whole area of knit texture that I have been ignoring. For this project, I ended up creating my own stitch pattern based on a detail on the bath towels in our hotel apartment, but there is a whole world of stitch patterns just waiting to be explored. Sometimes it's really worthwhile to dust off your prejudices and hold them to the light. Often, you'll find that they no longer exist, that they've been replaced by opportunity.

I don't know what this yarn will become. Socks are probably the obvious answer, but I don't think that they're a good fit for this particular skein. I need something small, something that can be made from just two skeins, but something that will really show it off. I don't think it will happen right away, but I'm sure it will happen. And I'm looking forward to knitting with this yarn again.

I also think that this stitch pattern offset by half a repeat would make a great accent for a sweater.

Evolution of a design

2009-09-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow? Did I say tomorrow? I knew it was a bad idea even before I finished typing it.

Between the promise of a next-day blog post and the looming grant deadline, things were perfectly poised for a smiting by the internet gods. We've had a wonderful few days of unwittingly paying .15 euros per minute for internet (on what was supposed to be an unlimited plan) because the salesguy forgot to tell us that we have to prepay the card and then call the company to get them to switch it from super-expensive to unlimited access. We couldn't figure out why it kept turning off when we'd just refilled the card...

So, yeah. Sixty euros later, and after our first experience of German customer service (there isn't any...it's our fault that we didn't understand, and has nothing to do with the guy that didn't tell us there was an extra step), we have internet again. And my grant is now uploaded.

And soon there will be a blog post! Will wonders never cease.

It's not often that finished objects appear on the scene fully formed on this blog. Usually it's a more in-depth (excruciating?) trek through the wonders of designing. But the latest project kind of flew off the needles, and I suddenly find myself wondering why it hasn't yet made a real appearance here.

So. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Tams are basically circles, so I started with a pie-like wedge. I was planning to have 5 or 6 pattern repeats, so I shaped the wedge accordingly.

I started filling in the wedge, but ended up with a squashed diamond design, and I knew that the actual knitting would look even more squashed, since the stitches aren't really square.

I decided that I really wanted the knitting to get a little wider at the tips of the diamond, so that it would look more star-like and less flattened out.

I borrowed a page from the quilting world, and made it into a Bargello pattern, like this quilt that I made a few years ago.

For a knit diamond, the Bargello pattern turned into this:

Then I started filling in the details:

These sketches turned into the hat that I have nicknamed Bargello Blues:

It is decidedly un-tam shaped. Turns out that I needed more increases than I used, and so it can't be be blocked out to flatten into a tam. My swatch gave me the right gauge for four pattern repeats, so I knit it in a fourfold pattern instead of the originally-planned five-fold. The four repeats were a 20% stitch increase over the ribbing, but I guess I like my ribbing fairly snug, so the extra increases didn't really do much. For a tam, I should have added in the extra 48 stitches to make 5 repeats.

Since I don't wear hats (except for possibly tams), Branden has now scored a second addition to his hat collection for the winter. Since his head is a little bit larger than mine, it fits him perfectly.

I didn't get my tam, but I have a feeling that this isn't the last we've seen of the idea, or of this stitch pattern.

Home stretch....forever

2009-09-23T13:55:00.002-07:00

I wanted to have pictures of a rainbow vest to show you by now. There have been just two inches left on the back for about a week now. I got it down to an inch a couple of days ago. A few seams, some picked up stitches for the neck and armhole trim, and it will be done.

Except that I've gotten distracted again. By something smaller.

I tell myself that it's because it's small and easy to carry (the alpaca adds noticeable weight to my knitting bag at this point). But really, it's just because I'm distractable, and it was demanding to be knit right now.

The beret has taken over the knitting time, I'm afraid. Coupled with the start of my intensive German class, it has completely halted progress on rainbow vests. I don't have a picture yet, but hopefully I will get to take some tomorrow when there's daylight.

And maybe, if I'm very lucky, I'll manage to sit down long enough to knit that last couple of inches.

Role reversal

2009-09-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

You know how husbands are always saying that they can't let their wives go into yarn stores unaccompanied, lest they buy too much yarn? Mmm. Turns out I have the opposite "problem."

Branden was in the US last week (and the week before). Since I had a specific yarn type/color in mind and it's hard to get laceweight here, I asked him to stop in a yarn store and pick up a couple of skeins for me.

As in two.

So, he brought me nine. Nine!

Granted, some of the skeins are duplicates to ensure (very generous) yardage. Four skeins of Claudia Handpaints, in Ink and Antique Jeans.

And then a couple of skeins of Cascade Sock, some Misti Alpaca, and a huge skein of Mountain Colors (Maria's Falls).

Oh my.

He does have good taste, though...

Guess I'd better get knitting, huh?

A Question for the Blog

2009-09-17T13:24:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while, I run across a piece of information that I can't believe I don't know.

Like how to shape a tam.

Since our last discussion (and actually for about a week before that) I've had hats on the brain. I even had a hat on my head last night, believe it or not.

Anyway.

I bought some Regia Silk planning to make a colorwork tam. I sat down to cast on, and realized that I don't really know the first thing about shaping one. All of my knitting resources books are in the US, and I didn't find much online.

I did find a Knitty pattern that seemed reasonably similar to what I want, and it has about a 20% increase in the stitch count right after the ribbing. I did that, but it doesn't seem like nearly enough to me. I'm ok with the decreases part since that's just simple triangle shaping, but how much should I increase on the way up?

Normally I'd just try it and see what happens, but I made the mistake of buying a very fine yarn, so I have about 200 stitches per round. I'm less than inclined to knit the whole thing up and then frog if my number is off, so I'd like to make sure it's ok before I get too far.

Those of you that have knit berets/tams, could you confirm that 20% is a reasonable number? Or perhaps provide a better one? You're also welcome to weigh in if you haven't knit a tam...your guess is as good as mine!

Thanks!

Insta-hat

2009-09-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

No, not that yarn. It's still waiting to figure out what it wants to be.

I bought some yarn for a hat for Branden on Saturday, remember?

I cast on Sunday night, and Monday morning I finished. I tried it on for you, but all I could get were fuzzy pictures (which might not be all that bad, since the yarn is fuzzy).

The cats were not interested in helping with this photo shoot, so my knee had to step in.

Though it might be easiest to see laid flat, as long as you ignore the glaring white of the sheets in the background. Today is apparently not the day to get good lighting in our apartment.

But you get the idea. Thick, (very) warm, soft, and fuzzy. Cables and ribs. Hard to go wrong.

I used a slip stitch rib (my favorite for things that should be stretchy), and then switched to a 6-stitch cable when I was ready to start the pattern. After every cable twist, I decreased two stitches, so that I ended up with the narrowing cables at the crown. Super simple, super fast.

Did I mention that it's warm?

ETA: I almost forgot the best part...the hat took a few yards less than a single ball. I bought two. (If I had known how much I'd like it, I'd have bought many. Good thing I didn't know!) That means that there's more where this came from...

New acquisitions

2009-09-13T10:59:00.001-07:00

I went to the first Raveler meeting in Germany yesterday. It was in Backnang, which is near Stuttgart, about an hour and a half by train from here.

I already had a full bag, and our camera is heavy, so I didn't bring it. I tend to get camnesia anyway, and I didn't want to carry it all day. So we'll have to make do without pictures.

The meetup was hosted by the Wollstube Wollin, which is the closest I've come to an American-style yarn shop since we've been here. They had a great selection, and I could have bought 10 yarns in their store alone. But I didn't. I managed to stick to just enough yarn for a recently-requested hat for Branden (it's suddenly becoming fall here). The blue yarn in the bottom right corner is the hat yarn. It's a blend of merino, bamboo, cotton, baby alpaca, and super kid mohair, and it is soft. It's by Austermann, and the yarn is called Natura. I started knitting the hat today, and I'm almost sorry that I didn't get more.

The meeting marketplace had several vendors with very nice handpainted yarn. Drachenwolle was there, and they had a yarn that I really, really liked. It was a black laceweight, but was dyed with a specific set of color repeats so that you could create vertical stripes in your knitting when using the proper pattern. The center stripes were a vibrant progression rainbow that really stood out against the black yarn. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have a picture of the sample on their website. They should, though, because it's stunning. I liked the colorfulness, and I'm intrigued by the dyeing technique; I really wanted to buy a couple of skeins, if only to learn about planned dyeing. I dithered too long and they sold out. (This is a super-secret strategy that I use to avoid excess stash enhancement. I walk away for a few hours, think about it, and if it's still there when I get back, then I might buy some.)

I thought that Wollemeise was going to be there, but apparently not. Probably just as well, in terms of stash size.

The spinning fiber came from the Spinning Martha booth, which was great since I'm almost out of the roving that I brought with me. It's BFL, and it's simply beautiful. I appear to be on a rainbow kick lately.

I managed to resist buying some beautiful wooden needles made from leftover wood from musical instruments. They were warm and had just the right amount of polish, and the wood was beautiful. But I didn't really need any more needles, so I managed to escape. Barely.

Finally, I bought a huge skein of Kauni from Wollwerkstatt. I've been thinking about trying Kauni for a long time, but had never met it in person. It's a little on the rough side, but I like hard wools, and the colors are beautiful. I'm really looking forward to a sweater from this. Annette was very helpful, and super friendly. She had two spinning wheels with her that her husband had made by hand; one was hers, and one was for sale. The one that was for sale was optimized for laceweight, and it was a beautiful wheel. Spun like a dream...I didn't want to get up. Unfortunately, it was also quite expensive, as it's completely hand made from top quality material. It's not on my purchase list, but it was definitely a pleasure to spin with. I could have stayed there all day.

The second wheel and I didn't get along. It was smaller, and we were just not on the same wavelength. The tension may also have been a little off, as the yarn just kept falling apart in my hands. I think it's funny how you can take a spinner, put them in front of a few different wheels, and end up with a completely different experience. The big wheel could have sweet talked its way into my house in a heartbeat; the little one, not so much.

The people were also wonderful. It was great to see everyone so excited about getting together and knitting. I imagine that this vibe must have been like Rheinbeck or Madrona in the very early days; everyone was a little awestruck that there was a knitting meeting, and they were thrilled to be there. There was a lot of skill in that room, and it was fun to see all the different garments. Germans definitely have a taste for lace, so it was especially fun for my lace-loving self.

One thing that was especially nice about this meetup was the way they set up the room. The perimeter had all of the vendor booths, and the center was full of probably 40 or 50 banquet tables with chairs. The focus was really on the knitting meeting, and not just the buying and selling. People came and went between classes, but it was really nice to see the constant hum of spontaneous knitting groups all around the room.

It was also nice that the marketplace wasn't huge. I tend to get overwhelmed by too many yarn fumes all at once, and I just can't enjoy shopping as much. There were probably 10 vendors, and there was plenty of yarn to choose from.

I spent a good bit of time talking with Katho, who was teaching a class on sock knitting. We had a great chat about the challenges of teaching, how to prepare for classes, and all kinds of other teachery things. I also met a CrazyVet from Barcelona (Rav link). I'd send you to her blog, but it's all in Arabic, as she's originally from Israel. She's just moved here for grad school in neurobiology, so there were lots of things for us to talk about. She's also a beginning spinner, so we spent a long time playing on Annette's spinning wheels. Kiki (Rav link) was spindling away on some beautiful laceweight, which made me regret the decision to leave my spindle at home lest it get broken in my bag. Next time I will bring it along. (I am very proud of myself for not caving and buying a new spindle...they had some beautiful lightweight ones that would be perfect for lace...)

I also got to meet Jess and Casey of Ravelry. They're in Germany for the next week or so, and stopped by the Ravelry meetup for the day. Julester from the Heidelberg knitting group is a close friend of theirs, so I got to spend a little bit of time with them. They're both very nice, and I'm looking forward to the smaller Heidelberg meetup next week.

So that was my Saturday. A very long, very fun day. Today, I slept late, knit and spun. Not bad for a solitary weekend.

Que Sera?

2009-09-11T03:30:00.000-07:00

This yarn is definitely asking what it should be.

Ekgheiy says a hat. It would make a great hat. And I could really use a hat in Madison this winter. Half of my brain is cheering loudly for a hat.

The other half? Muttering about how I never wear hats.

(The other side just chimed in to say that I’d better start wearing hats if I’m planning to live in the Midwest in the winter. It’s probably right.)

So I’ve been wondering. If I were to wear a hat, what kind of hat would I wear?

Not a beanie.

Not a skullcap.

Not one with a pom pom.

Not a cloche.

Maybe a tam? Or a beret?

I’ve thought about making tams before. If I were to become a hat person, I’d probably start there. Branden makes a funny face every time I mention them, though.

Then again, he used to make funny faces about coconut, olives, dates, and a variety of other things that he now likes. The face might not be a very good indicator.

Still, I keep getting a nagging feeling that this yarn might want to be more than “just” a hat. It looks like I will have enough for something bigger, too. When I finished it, I wound it back into one skein, and there’s a lot of yarn there.

(This cat was added partly for scale and partly because I couldn't keep her out of the picture. She was determined to get her blog time. Wouldn't want her sister to get all the attention, now, would we?)

The yarn has also been whispering something about lace.

So I’m dragging my heels. Waiting for the right moment, the right project. Sauntering through the stitch dictionaries, idly kicking ideas down the fiber-strewn path ahead, wondering what will be.

How to wear the rainbow

2009-09-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Remember this yarn?*

I bought it about a year ago at the Farmer's market in Seattle.

It's been waiting to become a sweater ever since.

The rainbow colors are the primary reason that I fell in love with the yarn. And they're also the most difficult part of turning it into a garment that I will wear. I tend to stick with dark colors and earth tones. I love bright flashy clothes, but not on me. I needed to tone it down a bit, so I bought a skein of dark blue to go with it.

I didn't want the horizontal stripes of colorwork, and I have equal amounts of variegated and base yarn, so I didn't want to establish just one dominant color, as that's a sure recipe for running out of yarn.

For several months, I looked at colorwork patterns, but none were quite right. I thought about Kauni sweaters and checker patterns, but they didn't seem to fit. And then, I ran across Knit One Below by Elise Duvekot.

One simple stitch. Two colors, worked one at a time. Vertical stripes. Perfect!

I've had both the yarn and the book for well over 6 months, but I just haven't gotten around to casting on for the next fingering weight sweater. I brought the yarn to Germany, because I wanted to knit it, and I knew I'd have time.

When I finished the alpaca stole, I pulled out the fingering weight and made a swatch.

Which I love.

The bottom portion is worked on size 4 needles. The colorwork part is knit on size 2's.

The best way to describe this stitch is that it's a slip stitch pattern that's slipped after the fact. You knit every other stitch, and for the ones in between you insert your needle through the legs of the stitch below and knit through the hole formed by the loop. Then you drop both the stitches off of the needle together, effectively making a slipped stitch a row after it's knit. The color and position of the slipped stitch is alternated every row, creating a vertical effect. I love the way the wrong side looks, too.

The stitch pattern also appears to have canceled out the bias that was starting to show up in the stockinette portion of the swatch. It makes a webbed fabric, so it's less likely to have horizontal stretching (which has been a problem in the past). In short, I like it a lot.

I've been knitting away at the sweater for a couple of weeks now, and it's starting to get somewhere.

Each stitch that you see in the pattern represents two rows of knitting (since they're all slipped), so that's a lot more stitches than it looks like.

It's also taking more yarn than I'd hoped. I only bought two skeins because they were huge and expensive, but I'm starting to think that I should have bought three. It will be close. I might end up with a vest instead of a sweater, but I'm looking forward to wearing a somewhat-muted rainbow.

*Sorry about the lack of pictures in the linked post. It's apparently far enough back in the archives that its pictures were broken when we had to change servers. I really do need to go fix those posts someday...

Socks springing up

2009-09-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

I brought a ton of yarn with me to Germany. (In my opinion...Branden doesn't think that it's very much. Does that seem backwards to you?) But I brought all the "special" yarn that I've had in the stash for a long time and have been meaning to work with, not the bread-and-butter yarn that makes up my daily knitting existence. Too much "special" all at once leads to me flipping through stitch dictionaries with no projects on the needles. This is not good.

I have gone to a few yarn shops in search of everyday yarn, but there's not a whole lot to be found that isn't acrylic. I'm usually a natural fibers kinda person, so that makes it fairly safe for me to go yarn shop touring, but it doesn't help with the no-projects thing.

Unfortunately, the shops don't carry laceweight. Everyone I've asked says to go online...it's apparently the only way to buy it here. It just so happens that Branden got sent back to the US for work this week and next, so he'll probably import some lacy yarn back into the country for me when he returns.

Until then, I've been knitting socks, because sock yarn is plentiful here. And rather cheap. I'd tell you how much, but I don't remember what it actually costs. Somewhere between 5 and 7 euros, I think (~$7.50-10 US).

I went for a wander around Karlsruhe with Leseratte last Tuesday, and we stopped in at the Karlsruhe knitting group. Manisha(Rav link) was knitting in a way that I've seen before but never completely managed to pick up, though it fascinates me.

I can't really describe what this method is, since I've never really paid attention to the names for different ways of knitting. I think someone else said that it was combination knitting, which I've heard of but never seen done. It's still a continental (two hands) method, but you use the needle to grab the yarn rather than wrapping it around the needle with the left hand (is this picking vs. throwing? It seems like it should be, but I usually hear that used to describe the difference between continental and English knittting...)

In any case, it's very much like the way that I knit, except there's a lot less motion in the left hand. You tension the yarn with your forefinger, and not wrapping means that the yarn doesn't have to travel as far. Generally more efficient.

I was curious. And it was horribly hard to make myself knit differently. Which amused me. I think it's very interesting how your brain can get stuck in a rut with muscle memory, and how hard it is to change. Which, of course, meant that I was going to change it. So I decided to knit the socks the new way.

I can't say it's completely comfortable yet. If I'm not paying attention my hands still switch back to my standard knitting, which is bad since I usually mount the stitches differently (I usually use a plaited knit stitch, so it's all weird and mounted backwards from everyone else). But in general, I've managed to get pretty good at it. And it is faster. Three days of not much knitting have produced a sock and a half:

Or maybe I just think it's faster because it's something new that I can play with while I knit. Who knows.

I don't love the purl stitch, and my tension is much looser this way. I assume that will change with time and practice. I had to drop down a needle size on the stockinette and three on the ribbing, leaving me at a size zero needle for the cuff. I plan to do some comparison swatches, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. So far, it's quick, possible, and it's been fun to challenge my brain a little bit.

And a new pair of socks never hurts, either.

Especially when they pop up out of nowhere.

Do you believe in magic?

2009-09-07T03:31:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping that Branden's magic solution works...

I tried to test it on Friday before he left for the US, but the pictures that I needed were on the camera card. Which was in his computer. Which was at work. And then the weekend was busy.

So I'm trying it now.

The first image uploaded, which is a good sign.

We decided at the last minute to send my camera with Branden, since he's not taking the fancy one. So we threw it in his suitcase late last night. Without taking the pictures off of it.

I'll retake them later, but for now, here's what I have:

The finished alpaca shawl.

I knit until I ran out, and ended up getting one more repeat than I'd hoped for. This is what I had left over:

It blocked to about 72 inches long, and 16 wide. All of the green from the needles washed out nicely. And it's very soft.

Return of the missing blog posts, part I

2009-09-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

I need to pet fiber before I am ready to use it. We need time to bond before beginning our adventure together.

And sometimes it’s hard to start, because the fiber feels perfect already.

But sometimes, I want to use my hands, too.

And a braid of 4 oz roving is just about the same length as a scarf.

Which is why Branden came home the other day to find me sitting at my computer wearing a scarf and knitting with alpaca. In August.

Does this make me a crazy fiber lady?

Technology stroke

2009-09-03T06:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the rant. I've been trying to pretend that the internet thing is working just fine, because I want it to be ok and I know there's not much we can do to change it. (Plus, I don't like to be whiny on the blog...it's not attractive in person, and it's less so on the internet when people are taking time to come talk knitting, IMHO.)

And really? Why should it be such a big deal if my internet is slow? Seems like there should be so many bigger issues in the world to flip out about, yes?

Well. I've been reading a great book on neuroplasticity lately (yes, this is my "for fun" reading. What of it?), and the author talks about how using a computer actually changes the way your brain works; just like being blind changes the way you hear.* He argues that our computers become an extension of ourselves, reaching out into the digital world in the same way that our senses bring us the real world.

Considering how much time I spend working on a computer, having it stop working is something like losing all sensation in my left leg. Won't kill me, but it sure is annoying, especially when I try to get up and walk somewhere.

Or, in this case, especially when I want to talk to people.

Gives me a slightly different perspective on why such a small thing might be so distressing. Also gives me a different perspective on how dependent I am on my computer. Hmmm.

So. Branden thinks he has a new, simple, completely magic system that will make everything better. He has a Plan.

Of course, he wasn't able to download the things he needs to put the Plan into action last night because the internet connection is slow.

Yeah. Circular, I know. This is the problem.

BUT, he is downloading things today and we'll try again soon. And hopefully there will be no more occasion for temper tantrums on the blog about computers not working.

And it sure would be nice to be able to feel my left leg...

*This is a really, really great book. One of the best I've read lately. Completely fascinating. Sounds geeky, but it's just so cool...

Has anyone seen my blog posts?

2009-09-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

Because I'm sure I've written them. Lots and lots of posts, things that I wanted to say, things I wanted to share. It's just that they are nowhere to be found.

I thought they were here. I thought they were in my blog posts folder. Heck, I even thought some of them had been posted to the blog already. But they're not here. Which I'm pretty sure means that I haven't written (or posted) them. Because there is so much between me and the "post" button that I don't even know what I have and haven't said anymore.

So I'm behind. Way behind.

And grumpy about systems not working and things not being where I want them to be when I need them.

Really, my whole blogging system is broken right now. And I hate it. I never thought of myself as the whiny artistic type that complains about things breaking "my flow." But they are. It is just not working, and I can't seem to come up with a better option. Stuck!

And so I'm not writing. Which is sad, because I want to write. Or rather, I want to want to write. You know? Sigh.

So. I think I need to go write some blog posts that are not trite, whiny, and boring. I'm sorry for the delay, and I'm trying to figure out how this can possibly work without me hating every step of the process.

I have lots of things to show you, and lots of things I thought I had already showed you. They're coming. Just as soon as I shake off the grouchy, crankypants mood and figure out what to do about the fact that I really can't work this way.

Who me? Scattered?

2009-08-28T09:20:00.002-07:00

You know that interview question where they ask how other people would describe you? Yeah, that one.

I'm guessing that most people that I know in real life would use words along the lines of "determined" and "focused" in responding to that question. Maybe even a little too focused sometimes.

This has been the source of endless amusement on my part lately.

Because suddenly, I have no focus. None at all. I am starting and forgetting and wandering away from things left and right. The maple leaf pattern? Oh, yeah. I should play with that some more. The sweater that's been on the needles for 6 months? Nope, I need a new one to work on. The shawl that I brought vowing to finish? Ha! Work from a pattern?

I can't even seem to sit down and knit a single round without a million things popping into my head to try next.

Maybe it's just decompression from grad school. Maybe it's that I have a half a notebook full of design ideas that I haven't had time for since I sketched them out a year ago. Maybe it's that I'm in a beautiful place taking pictures of things that inspire me. Maybe it's simply that I have time on my hands.

Whatever it is, "focused" is the last word that I would think to apply to myself at the moment. It's probably a really good thing that there are no comprehensive yarn stores nearby.

I think I'm going to need another notebook...

All spun up

2009-08-27T08:43:00.001-07:00

All this designing requires lots of time for thinking. Every time I hit a snag or need to make a big decision, I walk away and work on something else for a while. This leads to lots of time for spindling.

I finished the silk/merino roving the other day.

It's about 4 oz (I think), and comes in at roughly 317 m. I say roughly, because my yardstick is the cat scratching post, and I'm not sure that it's a particularly accurate ruler. So, more accurately, it's 317 wraps around a piece of wood covered in sisal and fake fur.

Ah, niddy noddy. You are sorely missed.

So, 317 m of two-ply, fingering-to-DK weight yarn (at least before setting the twist…it may end up being a full DK weight by the time we're done).

I double plied both to even out my spindling and to help keep the yarn stable. The singles would have been a good weight, but I wanted to make a harder-wearing yarn. I know that hard-wearing silk is a bit of an oxymoron, but you know what I mean. Of course, the singles would have been enough for a shawl…

At this weight, I probably don't have enough for a stole, but I should have enough for a scarf. One more project waiting in the wings, hoping to take form.

(Grey cat added for color comparison. She was appropriately compensated for her assistance with a belly rub.)

This means that I have only about 4 oz of roving left in Germany. I didn't expect to get through it so quickly, and so I didn't bring much spinning fiber. This may necessitate finding a yarn shop soon. And that's just all kinds of trouble.

Not a good team

2009-08-25T06:08:00.001-07:00

Note: I wrote this post before reading all of the comments (note within a note: bloggers, this is a very bad idea. Read the comments first so that you can learn from them!).

Now I'm dithering all over again. There has to be a good compromise…

Sometimes things that are perfect don't work well in teams. The one person that polarizes a group. The one, gorgeous color that throws off the rest. The person singing well, but simply singing too loudly. The one sentence that is pure genius, and yet destroys the flow of your writing.

Sometimes the best team is not composed of the best people. We all know this. We've all been in situations where we're working with a bunch of great people, and things just aren't coming together.

Because it's not about the people; it's about the team.

This happens in knitting, too. I was just talking to Jocelyn via email about her Elektra shawl. She has a bunch of great colors, and one is just not fitting in with the rest. It's a beautiful color, but in this combination it's not what she's looking for.

As we had this conversation, I thought back to the times that I have worked with color, usually in quilting. It's very easy for me to walk into a fabric shop and fall desperately in love with a pattern or print. I spend hours finding other patterns that match, building a team around this one player. And then I stand back and look at it. And very often, the team works better alone than it does with my star player. I have built an entire collection just to highlight this one fabric, and then I realize that it no longer belongs.

I try to deny it. I try to find other things that will make it belong. I rail about the injustice of the universe. I make Branden listen to all the reasons that I like the first fabric, and why it should fit.

And then I bite the bullet, and I cut it out.

I whimper and whine, but once I've done it, cutting the one piece lets me begin again and find something that is perfect for the team. Something that makes every member soar.

Teams are about working together, not standing out or showing off. They're about cooperating, working seamlessly in unison.

And if something's not working, then it doesn't belong.

Even if I love it.

The rick rib is not playing nicely.

Or rather, it's doing all that it can do to fit in, but it cannot mesh flawlessly with the waving lace.

See there? At the join where the column of rick rib meets the column of faggoting? See how there's a break in the pattern?

Sigh.

There's nothing I can do about it. Or at least there's nothing that I know of that I can do about it.

The problem arises because the rick rib columns are made with yos and slipped stitches, while the faggoting columns are made with yos and k2togs.

Doesn't seem like a big deal, does it? But it means that the threads between the open holes cross without touching in the rick rib, while they wrap around one another in the faggoting.

Here's the rick rib:

And a slightly less blurry, less stretched version:

A zigzag of not-overlapping strands, a beautiful relative of the brioche stitch.

And here's the faggoting:

Here, we have rounded triangles, where the yos wrap around and through one another to hold each other open.

At the transition, we switch from a two-stitch pattern to a four-stitch pattern, and from crossing to wrapping.

I can line them up, but I can't make them perfect. Maybe this isn't the best team.

I've been fighting with myself about this all week. It goes something like this:

Rational self: "It's not perfect. I'm sorry, but it has to go."

But-It-Was-a-Great-Idea Self: "But I like it, and it's fast and easy to knit."

Rational self: "Yes, but a faggoting stitch would be just as easy, and would have a better join."

But-It-Was-a-Great-Idea Self: "But I like the rick rib. See the herringbone? It's all tilty and zigzaggy and I love it."

Rational self: "I know. But it's not working well here. It will work somewhere else, but it doesn't work here."

But-It-Was-a-Great-Idea Self: "But, but…."

Sigh.

I'm not going to rip back. I don't mind the imperfection so much, and it would probably damage the yarn to rip it back again. And, I'd have to rip all the way back to the cast on.

But, when I knit this again (and I will), I think the rick rib has to go. I really really love it, but it's just not perfect in this team.

And after all, that's what matters.

Two posts in one = twice the fun

2009-08-20T02:58:00.001-07:00

As I was knitting on the edging for the first half of the alpaca stole, I noticed a slightly green color in the yarn.

There was also a slightly green color on my fingers.

And then I remembered noticing this once before, when I was knitting a stole last year on these needles. The yarn was dark, and I didn't think much of it. But now, the yarn is creamy white, and the grayish-green of tarnished brass does not add to the finished piece.

Anyone else had this problem with Addi needles?

I'm still knitting with them, because I love my addi lace needles and Inox are just not the same. I'm just trying to minimize contact between the needles and the yarn while storing them. I rub the needles down when I start, and I'm hoping that the color will just wash out at the end.

If it doesn't, it won't be the end of the world, as I was thinking of dyeing the final product anyway. I'm still not terribly pleased.

In other news, I am horribly behind in telling you what's going on with this project. This processy-blogging works great on a daily schedule, but on a non-daily schedule it kinda drags things out a bit. So, despite the fact that I haven't knit in four days (don't know what came over me), I am still ahead of the blog posting.

This is kind of a new thing for me. I can't say that I hate it.

So today, you get two posts in one. Tarnished fingers, and awkward joins.

Part of the reason that I am playing with the maple leaf stitch pattern is that I wanted to see how lace patterns worked, from the inside out. I wanted to know this so that I could figure out how to put them together seamlessly.

I didn't really think about the join between the rick rib and the waving lace when I first knit the join in the alpaca stole. Or rather, I thought about it, decided that it was hard and I was tired, and just kept going.

That gave me this:

It's not horrible, but there's a definite join between those two patterns. They don't flow into one another; they collide.

And so, I pulled back. Stitch by stitch, very carefully.

Have I mentioned that alpaca handspun felts to itself while you knit? Very soft yarn, very fuzzy. I think understand why people complain about knitting with mohair.

Every single stitch was tinked. No pulling. (Because pulling leads to felted knots, run stitches, and broken yarn. Ask me how I know.)

But, I made it back. This time, I put some thought into the join. A lot of thought, actually.

I removed a half repeat of the waving lace panel, partly to center it and partly because it was stretching more than my swatch said it would.

I took care to make sure that the vertical columns in the rick rib continued into the faggoting columns in the waving lace without awkward jogs.

It's not perfect, but it's a lot better.

I'll show you what's wrong with it (and why) next time.

But for now? Look at that join!

Falling down the Rabbit hole

2009-08-19T01:34:00.000-07:00

I have a confession. I've never really "understood" Ravelry.

I know.

I'm just not a hang around online and chat in forums kind of person. I log into Facebook once every few months (if that). I've never found anything to make me stay. And Ravelry seemed a lot like Facebook.

I'm also the kind of person that prefers to go and look in my stash and fondle yarn rather than to look at pictures in my profile. The blog is as close as I get to a photo-enriched log book, and it's good enough for me.

Seeing how I never use patterns, it's kind of hard to get into the KALs or to spend hours looking through other people's version of a pattern. (They're great, and it's fun to see them all, but if I know I won't knit the pattern, why?)

And so, I have had a Ravelry account for well over a year, and have barely used it. I wasn't in any groups, didn't follow any forums, and didn't tend to leave messages anywhere. (I know that this may also be why its value was not all that apparent...)

Now, I know that this is inconceivable to many modern knitters. I know that Ravelry has lots of great things to offer, and I think it's a wonderful tool, for those that are interested in using it. But I've never been one of those people.

When I came to Germany, I discovered that my LYS is closed for the summer (!). There is no way to plug into knitters in Bretten, because there is no access to the yarn shop that I had hoped would help to connect us. Hmmph.

Of course, I wasn't all that connected to local knitters in Seattle, either. I'd tried two different knitting groups, both of which kind of unraveled and fell apart at the end. People were busy. They never developed the kind of dynamic that would keep them going. After the second, I didn't bother to find a third. I just hung out in the blogosphere.

But in Germany, the social connection with real people is a little more important than it was in the States. I'm not working, I don't have many friends (and no friendships that are more than a few weeks old), and sometimes I get a little tired of talking to myself and the cats. The friends that I do have here don't really understand the knitter thing, though they put up with me knitting around them with only a few sideways glances.

The time was ripe to find the potential in Ravelry. So, I joined a bunch of groups on the forums, and started plugging into the knitting community in Germany. Last Saturday, we went up to Heidelberg for a meetup. We ended up staying for about 6 hours, and it was kinda hard to leave at the end.

There was Geollyn from England and DondaLonda from Australia, both here on exchange programs. Julester is from Boston and here with her military husband. Liakno is from New Orleans, but married a German and is now living near Heidelberg. Leseratte is a native German, and one of the few bloggers in the group. She was working on a mystery shawl KAL project. I am not that brave...I need to see where the pattern is going before I cast on! There was another woman there whose name I don't recall that had a beautiful Horus shawl that she'd just completed, and who was working on a cabled sweater. And there was SnowberryLime, a knitter from Switzerland who is about to move to Wales. She's a knitter and spinner, and has a great shop on Etsy. You should go look at her fun art yarns. (I love the one with the bees, and the wire core just seems like it has so many interesting possibilities...)

DondaLonda, Geollyn, and Julester are all relatively new knitters (ranging from about a year to about 2 days of experience). It was really fun to see new people getting started, and it even inspired Branden to knit one whole round of a sock that I cast on for him. He hasn't touched it since, so I don't think it will stick this time, either, but he did pick it up again.

So maybe I can see the usefulness of Ravelry. Had to come out of my cave sometime, I guess.

A matter of perspective

2009-08-18T07:35:00.001-07:00

The swatch I showed you in the last post had errors in it. Actually, there were originally a lot more errors, but I tinked back several times, trying to make it a good swatch. At the end of one pattern repeat, I was pretty ready to give up on knitting anything sizeable in this stitch pattern.

And then I sat back and thought about it. It's not a difficult pattern, but the chart was (to me) just unreadable. I being able to see how my knitting lines up with the chart is absolutely crucial for me, and I just couldn't see it.

And so, I would make a mistake without realizing it, knit blithely on for 4 rows or so, realize that something looked funny, spend 20 minutes figuring out where the problem was, and then have to tink all the way back. Not fun.

Why was it such a big deal, you ask? The charts.

Here is the chart, compared to the knitting*:

They look nothing alike. To me, that chart looks like so much chicken scratch (no offense intended to the author; the pattern is clear and can be followed. I just don't see the order in it). But this is a simple pattern, and there's no reason that the chart should look so complicated. And I really wanted to use the stitch pattern.

To use the pattern, I would also have to figure out how to knit half a repeat so that the edges of the piece would be straight. So, I sat down to figure out just exactly what was going on with this chart.

There's a column of faggoting stitches that separates the two half-dropped patterns from one another, and so I started there, using the yo/decrease pairs as my signposts.

This at least looked a little more like the knitting, but I thought I could do better. The problem is that the chart is written in solid rows with a stitch in every position. Generally I like them this way, but this pattern has lots of increases and decreases that change the stitch counts for each motif every four rows, effectively shifting the chart rows relative to one another. If you keep the stitches constant in the chart, then it can't look like the knitting. Since I rely on being able to "read" my knitting to figure out what to do next and to catch errors, I'd rather have empty chart boxes where there are no knit stitches.

Since the faggoting stitches are always worked directly above one another, I shifted them into vertical columns and centered the motif stitches, leaving "no stitch" areas to take up the extra space.

This chart looks like my actual knitting, and it's very easy to figure out where to cut the design motif to get a half-pattern to even out the edges. After half an hour of re-charting, I can use the stitch pattern that I like, and I can see where I'm going.

When I sat down to figure this out, I was sure it would be a real pain in the neck, and it simply wasn't. I wonder how many times we avoid a pattern that looks complicated, when a small change in perspective is all it takes to make it simple?

*I'm only showing partial charts where they are copied directly from the book, to avoid giving away BW's published material. It goes without saying that you should own her books anyway. =)

A little edgy

2009-08-14T06:24:00.001-07:00

Every piece needs an edge. Really, that's an obvious thing, but sometimes it's not as straightforward as it seems.

I started swatching thinking that I might just use the edge of the Rick Rib for the finished edge of the alpaca shawl.

Not quite what I was looking for.

Then, I tried padding it with one row of k2, k3tog, hoping for a scalloped edge. But it still wasn't quite enough.

Clearly, I needed a real edging. I had settled on the Bold Faggoted Edging from BW #2 for the sides, and I decided to use the same edging on the ends. That left me wondering how to turn the corner.

Eventually, I used short-rows to make half a mitered corner.

Then, I picked up the stitches from the provisional cast-on, and worked the same short row series in the other direction. When the corner has been turned, it looks like this:

So, now I have two stitch patterns, and an edge. Almost a complete design.

Flirting

2009-08-11T00:09:00.001-07:00

The maple leaf stitch pattern is really a distraction to keep me from realizing that I don't have an actual project on the needles at the moment. I needed this, because my handspun alpaca was not cooperating.

It might look friendly and pettable, but it's really very coy.

I started thinking about possible stitch patterns for this yarn while I was spinning it. Then, I skeined it and thought some more. It needed something with a strong pattern that can handle the irregularities of a beginner's handspun, and it needed to be open so that I could get a good sized piece out of the yardage that I have. (I don't have my spinning notebook with me in Germany, but I think it's about 150-200 yds.)

At first, I thought that an ostrich plume or some feather and fan variation would do it, but then I just wasn't interested in those patterns when I started swatching. I tried several other kinds of lace, and none of them were working. I ran out of sock knitting, and switched to the Malabrigo yarn in desperation. We know where that went: colors in the Malabrigo led to ideas of leaves, ideas of leaves led me to swatching in sock yarn, and now suddenly I'm playing with stitch patterns.

But I still wanted a project.

Some projects jump into my mind fully formed, and some of them need to be coaxed out. The alpaca handspun needs to be coaxed.

I've been alternating between the maple leaf rag (as I am now affectionately calling it) and the alpaca for a couple of weeks now. I'm not sure that I can call the alpaca project designing. It's more like flirting. Or wheedling. This yarn will not put up with just any random design idea. No, no. It needs to be wooed into a pattern, not designed.

In fact, I probably tried somewhere between 5 and 8 different stitch patterns before I found one that would work. After several "not quite" patterns, I finally found one that I liked with the handspun yarn. It's called Waving Lace (from Barbara Walker #4):

There are a few mistakes in this swatch, but you get the idea.

I have liked this stitch pattern for a long time, and it holds up well to the unevenness in the yarn. The pattern is strong enough and solid enough that a few bumps here and there don't completely obliterate the lace, and I love the undulating columns.

Unfortunately, it takes too much yarn. I would not be able to get much more than a scarf out of this lace with the yardage I have. Add to that my inability to remain interested in the same lace pattern for the entire length of a stole, and you have a requirement for a second stitch pattern. So, I looked for something even more open that would work with the Waving Lace.

I found it in the Rick Rib (BW #2):

I love the columns and zigzags in this stitch pattern, and it's really simple to knit. It is worked on both sides, but it is a three-stitch repeat, and it just flies along. And all those yarn overs make for a very stretchy fabric, perfect for stretching out a short supply of yarn.

So those are the first steps. Two stitch patterns that work with the yarn, and that will (hopefully) allow me to get the length that I want out of the yarn that I have. And now, to turn them from swatches into a stole.

Is there an echo in here?

2009-08-10T00:39:00.001-07:00

It appears that I am both two-timing and double-posting. Really, this behavior is unacceptable.

Whoops. Sorry 'bout that.

We've been trying to come up with ways that I can compose posts and then have Branden upload them directly to the blog. This would be a lot simpler than the current arrangement where I take the pictures, Branden loads them onto his flash drive, brings them to work the next day, uploads them to our photo gallery, creates links for me, and then I compose the blog post and publish it from home. We've had a few hiccups in this plan, and if one of us forgets even one of the steps it adds an extra day to the delay in posting.

Blogger has a handy feature where you can just write your post in Word, add the pictures, and hit "publish." (Supposedly.) I was a bit suspicious, but we gave it a test run last week, and it worked reasonably well. Branden went through and fixed all the formatting and checked that the formatted text was right (wasn't that nice of him?), but missed the double post. We'll know to check for that little error next time.

And the good news is that it almost worked. So I might be able to post more now. Which means I can show you other things that I've been playing with. Maybe I should go do some writing, huh?

Negative is more powerful

2009-08-05T08:21:00.001-07:00

Lace is a delicate balance between positive and negative space. Light and dark, stitches and holes, being and not being.

Lace is a delicate balance between positive and negative space. Light and dark, stitches and holes, being and not being.

Important lesson of the week: In lace, as in many art forms, negative space is more powerful than positive space.

Look at the fragment of a design that you see below.

What does your eye notice?

The holes. The patterns in the negative space.

The positive-space leaves are dark, solid areas full of knit stitches, and they attract almost no attention. There are strong lines in the negative space that pull toward the center of the pattern, and that's where my eye focuses. On that single yo right in the middle. As far from the main motif as I can get.

To be fair, this is partly because the leaves are at the sides of the piece rather than in the middle, where your eye is most prone to spend its time. But still. Too much open space, and too much going on in the open space to allow your eye time to find the "dominant" motif.

Interesting.

In that swatch, all of the leaf motifs are pretty equally spaced, so that there is lots of empty space to fill between them. I had tried to fill that empty space with partially-solid areas, which I hoped would pull it together and keep the design flowing through rather than getting stuck in the openwork.

That didn't work quite as I'd intended, obviously.

Next, I tried squishing the motifs together a bit to close up some of that huge central region. I also removed some of the more solid parts of the "open" center area. Instead, I placed the two motifs as close together horizontally as I could without changing the increases and decreases around the border of the leaf. The design went from 40 st wide to 31.

This helped quite a bit.

In this swatch, the faggoting rows really lean into the pattern and help to draw your eye back into the positive space. Here, the strong lines of the negative space feed into the curves of the pattern and reinforce rather than distract. This is particularly interesting because I thought that those same lines were distracting when the motif was by itself on a stockinette background. (Walden knew that they were right all along…)

In a way, the faggoting columns are giving me the same central motion that I'd wanted to achieve with positive space in the first swatch. But here, negative and positive are working together, rather than competing.

I didn't finish knitting the last few rows of this swatch, because it was clear that I still need to do some more re-designing. At the very beginning of the leaves, I had left some solid spots, thinking that they might make nice accent areas to balance the three leaf tips.

Well, to put it simply, they don't. They might if they were further removed from the pattern, but here I think that they completely obliterate the leaf tips. I need to rework that section, though I'm not yet sure what to do with it.

It's also interesting how the fabric is behaving when not pinned out. I made sure that my stitch count stays the same on every row, because I thought it would be easier to keep track of things. No need to make the first pattern too complicated, right?

However, I am going back and forth between a very open lace background and a very solid motif, which necessarily causes changes in my gauge. This is what the swatch looks like without pins:

(That's also a lot closer to its real color, since I didn't use the flash.)

Over a large piece of fabric, these puckers will all balance one another out because of the diagonal motif arrangement, but in a single pattern repeat, it's a pretty drastic change.

With some rigorous blocking, I think the piece would lie flat, but it's interesting to see just how differently these two areas stretch. I don't know if the fabric will pucker in a larger piece after blocking. That's definitely something to consider, but I'm not really sure how to test it without just knitting a big piece, and I'm not ready to do that yet.

The fabric shape also has implications for how the faggoting looks. At the top of the leaf, the fabric is narrowing quickly, and so all of the yo's stretch sideways rather than looking round. I like what that does to the pattern, but it's not something I'd have planned.

The yo's between the leaf fronds, on the other hand, are in the area that has a lot of openwork and so is very stretchy. They stay very round, and very small. I'm not sure that this helps the pattern, but that's what they do.

The gauge distortion is enhanced by the decreases at the leaf base. I wanted the base to pull in quickly to the stem rather than stretching out for several rows, and so I added extra decreases in the main leaf motif. That's also what gave the it those beautiful, swirly lines in the upper fronds. I balanced the rapid decreases with increases, but not fast enough, apparently. Since the leaf area doesn't stretch much, changing its size has a much bigger effect on the overall fabric than do changes in the lace area. Also, from the stress points, it looks like I really should have added those extra increases a row or two before starting the decreases. Good to know.

Replacing the solid areas by the tips with more openwork might help to alleviate the gauge issues, as well as helping to define the tips more clearly. I'm not even sure that the gauge thing is an issue to alleviate, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it's pulling in too much and might pucker if given the chance.

So, to summarize: I like the area between the leaves. The motifs are better closer together. The tips still need work, and the fabric might pucker.

In general, negative space is even more important than the motif that it highlights.

And we're only on swatch #4!

Knit, frog, knit

2009-08-04T02:14:00.000-07:00

I have been doing an awful lot of knitting lately. I have pictures of some of it, which I have yet to upload so that I can use them. So, there are some pictures coming. The rest of the knitting hasn't been very picture-worthy, though.

Designing is one of those activities where I often end up knitting three or four times as much as the final object shows. Or more, depending on how good I am at guessing what to do with the yarn before I actually try it.

You see, I am a closet perfectionist. I usually pretend to be all zen about things, and I often let the errors stay in a piece if they're small. But when I'm designing? Then the perfectionist has full reign to be picky.

Two repeats too many in that border? Frog the whole thing! One stitch that looks out of place? Frog! Should have used a different cast on? You guessed it...

In general, I enjoy this process. I don't mind re-knitting, and I often go back to try something different even if it would be fine as I first knit it. And sometimes, I go back and re-knit it again the first way when my "improvement" flops. It's part of the experimenting, and it's how I build my knowledge of how different variations work in a piece. It's fun - in an obsessive kind of way - but it doesn't lead to a product. Usually, at the end of the day I have a freshly wound ball of yarn, an empty needle, and a sketch of what to try next.

So there's not a lot to show right now. But there will be soon. It's all simmering away in the design pot. It just hasn't gone from half-baked to well done yet. But it's getting closer.

I got tired of knitting maple leaves, so they have been supplanted by some handspun alpaca, which is beautiful. It's also not a very good communicator. It's having a hard time figuring out what it wants to be.

Again, I think we're getting closer. So, someday soon.

And maybe by then the pictures will be uploaded.

Right now? I need to go frog.

If I were a reporter, I'd be fired...

2009-07-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

...because there's some exciting news that I haven't shared with you yet, and I've known about it for two whole days! No excuse. Fired!

So, on the off chance that anyone here has not yet heard, Jocelyn is doing a research project on knitting. She's created a survey to help her learn about the "intersection of personal identity and knitting."* Cool, huh?

Haven't you ever wondered what it means to be a Knitter? Why it matters to us whether or not we knit? What it means to be part of a knitting community?

Well. Jocelyn is one of those people that knows how to do humanities research, and she'd like to tell us. As a scientist, I find that task just a little bewildering. What? Unknowns? With people? How do you control for all these variables? Watch out for experimental bias! Oh no...subjectivity! Ack!

Ahem. Give me a beaker and some chemicals any day...it's much easier than figuring out how to quantify what goes on in someone else's head. I barely know what goes on in my own head most days...

But anyway. That was a side note.

Bottom line: you should go tell Jocelyn about your knitting. She will take all our stories and put them together to figure out what they mean about Knitters and the way we communicate with each other and how we share our craft with one another. This isn't an opinion poll; it's a real research project that will help her to find out what it is that makes knitters tick. (Or click, I suppose. Click, click, click, clickety-click....)

I can't tell you how excited I am about all the things that we'll learn from this project, in a very geeky and serious research-y kind of way. There are about a million interesting directions to head with this project, and all of it depends on getting you to spend 20-30 minutes playing expert. And who doesn't love to talk about their knitting?

Here's that link again. You know you want to.

*There's more to it than that, but you'll have to go to her blog to read about it. She'll tell it better than I will...bad reporter!

Take two

2009-07-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that it served as inspiration for maple leaf lace the malabrigo was clearly not the right yarn for this stitch pattern. So, I looked around to see what else I had, and discovered that I brought a surprisingly small amount of generally useful swatching yarn to Germany.

I brought the malabrigo. I brought some handspun alpaca. I brought some super-fine tencel, some fingering weight alpaca, and some super-heavy handspun. Nothing plain and simple, really.

But, I had some sock yarn left over from my very short socks, so I tried the pattern in that.

Can you see it this time?

The center tip was a little too long, and I wanted to try to open up the area around the leaf a little more. I also wanted the base of the leaf to pull in faster so that there would be a little more curve in the pattern. So, I did some more tweaking, and came up with this:

I really like the lines in the leaf in this one. I love how the ssk edges make a kind of saw-tooth shape for the leaf, rather than absolutely straight outlines. It looks a little more like an oak than a maple leaf to me, but I can always come back to maple later, and for now I really like this shape. The base still needs a little bit of work, and I made a mistake right at the beginning of the stem, but other than that, I'm pretty satisfied with this central motif.

But in lace, it's not the central motif that matters. It's what you put around the motif, the graceful negative space that makes it sing, or makes it weep. I'm still working on that one. Right now, it's leaning a little more toward the weeping, I'm afraid.

How do you create good negative space?

On slippery slopes

2009-07-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

Oh dear.

Sometimes you try something, and immediately realize that it’s a slippery slope. But by the time you realize, it’s already too late.

I am quickly running out of things on the needles, so I’ve been thinking a lot about what the next project will be. I have some silk Malabrigo that I bought because I loved the colors, but I have no idea what to make with it. I picked up a skein the other day, and thought “this makes me think of maple leaves.”

I’d just been flipping through the Walker books, and so I had a lot of stitch patterns floating through my mind, but none of them was exactly what I wanted. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a maple leaf stitch pattern. And then I had the dangerous thought. “I could probably design a maple leaf stitch pattern….”

Out came the graph paper. It started with a simple sketch:

Which then turned into a slightly more pixilated simple sketch:

And then got some stitch symbols.

Basically, I just created the shape that I wanted, and matched increase and decrease pairs to give the minimum pattern stitches on a stockinette background. This lets me play with the simplest version of the leaf pattern, and then I can add the lace background when it’s perfect. The leaf is stockinette, the edges are lined with yo’s, and the veins are made up of mirrored decreases.

At this point, I needed to figure out if this sketch was really anything like a plausible maple leaf before going any farther. So, I cast on for a swatch.

Knitting is always wider than it is tall, so I inserted a simple purl row for each pattern row, which makes the wrong side a breeze to knit.

Now, the swatch is awful for several reasons, but I’m going to show it to you anyway, because I learned a lot from this crumpled bit of fabric.

Better? (Yes, I know that the flash overexposes the image, but it makes it a lot easier to see the holes!)

The needles were a little small, so the fabric isn’t really loose enough to show the yo’s well. The color repeats absolutely don’t work with lace; they completely obliterate the pattern. I was worried about this at the beginning, but decided that I’d never know if I didn’t try. Well, now I know. I would also avoid the stacked yo’s that show up along vertical areas of the leaf; it looks too much like faggoting, and I think it’s distracting. I’ll need to alternate or move some of those yo’s elsewhere to avoid clustering too many together at the edges. Finally, the extra purl rows inserted way too much length into the motif, and the “leaf” is a little bit stretched out. But it is (just barely) there, so I have hope that the pattern is workable.

On the positive side, the ssk and k2tog’s make nice, strong lines for the veins. I would move them up a bit, I think, so that they fall in the middle of the leaf section. I would also change the central vein from a “ssk, k, k2tog” repeat to a centered double decrease to avoid having that one strong knit column in the very center. I think. I’ll have to try the CDDs before I know for sure. I also need to see the swatch in a yarn that lets me see the stitch pattern.

Designing stitch patterns is a whole new kind of trouble for me to get into. I’m not sure that I know enough (actually, I’m pretty sure I don’t), but when has that stopped me before?

I’ve been wanting to do more garments in lace, but I’ve been a little put off by the need to increase and decrease smoothly within a lace pattern. A good designer makes it seem effortless, but I just haven’t wrapped my brain around it yet. Still, the graceful change from one pattern to another makes or breaks a piece. Lace should be fluid and seamless, with one pattern melting into the next as if it had been designed specifically for that purpose and no other. It’s part of the magic.

Theoretically, building some stitch patterns from the bottom up will give me a better idea of how lace construction works, and will help me figure out how to use lace in shaped pieces. Yes, I know that it’s the long way around the barn. But this way seems so much more fun, doesn’t it?

Yes, this is why it’s dangerous to leave me alone without much to do. Very, very dangerous.

Still here, really

2009-07-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say that I'm still here. I've even been knitting (and I have a fun project to show you). We finally got internet at home, but it's not fast enough to upload pictures, so Branden has to take them to work and upload them there. Hopefully he'll be able to do that today.

Meanwhile, I am stuck between projects. This is one of the reasons that I don't knit socks much. They go too quickly, and then I am completely unprepared to start another project. I suppose I could partially fix this problem by knitting my socks to a "normal" length instead of making them anklets, but I find that knit socks tend to droop around the ankles a bit at the end of the day, and that annoys me. So, I keep them short and sweet. Which means that I have a pair of (almost) perfect socks to add to the collection.

But I don't have anything else lined up. The big, thick, handspun sweater is not calling to me right now. I have made several attempts with some Malabrigo silk/wool blend, and it is not playing nice. I have some handspun alpaca, but I'm not really sure where to go with it. Dither, dither, dither. How is it that I packed half a suitcase full of yarn and don't have a single project with me??

Ah, well. I'm off to swatch some more, and maybe I'll have something to show for it soon.

Spindling along

2009-07-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

I’ve been playing with my new spindle and some old top lately. I bought the top at least two years ago, to go with my first drop spindle. It’s a 50/50 silk-merino blend, and really needed a lighter spindle (or a better spinner) to make a good yarn. I made a good first try at it, but we were fostering kittens, and kittens and drop spindles generally don’t mix. So, I put it aside and forgot about it.

I knew that I wanted to bring a spindle with me to Germany, so I pulled out the old fiber a few weeks ago and started to spin it again.

I’ve had a couple of years to practice spinning since I last tried spindling, and so it’s going much more smoothly than it did the first time around. Still, I’ve never spun with silk before, so it’s been interesting to come to grips with the complete lack of crimp in the fiber. I thought that the merino would give it some crimp, but the tussah seems to be the dominant character in this mix, and it is slippery!

Since I got the hang of the fiber, it’s been a pleasure to spin. The spindle was only about half full when the cocoon of singles fell off of it, so I made a second of the same size, and then plied them together.

I ended up with about 130 yards of fingering-weight yarn, and should have enough fiber to make two more skeins of this size.

I love the shine of the silk in this yarn, and the colors. It changes from silver-gray to dark blue, to purple depending on the lighting. I’m looking forward to knitting with it, though I have no idea what I will make. Something shimmery and color-shifty, and probably lace. I’m estimating that I’ll end up with about 400 yards, though I suppose I should finish spinning before counting those chicks.

Until then, I have a pretty skein to pet.

A perfect sock

2009-07-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

I have been in the mood for mindless knitting lately. I don’t know if it’s just a hangover from last month’s craziness, or maybe from the past 5 years of grad school, but my brain has decided that it’s just done for a while. This is good timing, since I really have very little to do at the moment. The sum total of my to-do list: 1) go to the market 2) write blog posts 3) make dinner. That’s it.

Between a total lack of schedule, a complete inability to speak to anyone (a lack of people that have a reason to speak to me), and no internet, the past week has been a little like sensory deprivation, especially compared with the hectic schedule of the past few months. It was a little unnerving at first, but then the quiet started to be kinda nice.

Mindless knitting fits well in that quiet.

And so, I have a sock.

Not just any sock. A perfect sock. And, like all perfection, it is proving to be completely irreproducible.

It started out with my (mostly) standard sock recipe. I made the cast on a little wider, but other than that it’s the same as the last few pairs of socks I’ve knit for myself. Increases underneath the instep, and plain vanilla otherwise.

Except that it isn’t just plain vanilla. It doesn't look like much, but somehow it fits my foot better than any other sock I’ve knit. It hugs my instep just right, fits at the heel, the toe seam lays exactly where it’s supposed to rather than twisting around or bunching up. It’s just right.

I kept careful notes while knitting, knowing that I would need to reproduce the same number of stitches and increases for the second sock, but I must have made a mistake somewhere. The second sock is now well into its second knit, and it just doesn’t match. I have followed my notes carefully. I have double and triple checked the number of stitches, the cast on, the increases, everything. I’ve even re-created all of the stitch counts from the first sock itself, and they match. And somehow, it is not the same. Close, but not the same.

The only thing I can figure is that there’s a slight bias that’s showing up in my increases somewhere, and that follows the shape of one arch and not the other. I can’t see the bias, but there has to be something there. To get a similar fit on the second sock, I’ve had to rotate the heel position relative to my instep increases by 10 stitches (out of 90), which is a pretty big difference. The sock still fits well, and I’m not sure that knitting it a third time will change anything, but I wanted two perfect socks.

The second sock is currently in time out after the latest round of ripping back. I might pull back again tomorrow, or I might just accept that perfection only strikes once. Imperfection isn’t the end of the world, but I’d really like to know what I did (and how it’s different than what I thought I did)…

Peter and Paul

2009-07-11T08:00:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in the last post, I’ll be keeping most of my travel adventures on the Germany blog, but I wanted to share a part of the Peter and Paul festival with you here, too. The Peter and Paul festival is sort of a mix between a historical re-enactment, a parade, and a Renaissance Faire.

For one weekend a year, everyone in Bretten (our new city) dresses up in medieval garb, and goes out to celebrate. Many people walk in the parade, with separate “floats” for each of the different professions present in this town in medieval times. The number of people that participate is amazing, as is the latent talent in the modern people of this place. After the parade, many of the costumed people arrange themselves in booths to showcase the profession that they represent. There are bakers that bake in open fire ovens, metalworkers that shape brass into ornaments and belt buckles, and crafters that explain and teach their craft to visitors.

The costumes were beautiful, and there was a lot of attention to detail. We saw lots of lace gloves:

And a spinner:

Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to find her after the parade, so I don’t know if she actually uses that wheel. Isn’t it cute, though?

We did find the candlemakers, basketmakers, and people caning chairs.

A tatter (making bobbin lace)

A weaver,

and many other crafty types. There were children learning to make rope:

and asking questions about many of the other crafts on display. There were also carnival rides, but the focus was on the town’s history, and the professions that made up medieval life, which made this much more than just entertainment. One woman tried to explain to us the difference between this and other festivals she’s been to: “here, it’s normal people, and it’s as if they really live it [rather than acting]. That makes it special.”

Yes. Yes, it does.

Two-timing

2009-07-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

I’ve been struggling with the question of how to keep in touch with people in the US that want to know what we’re up to while we’re in Germany. A blog is very much the right format for quick updates, but I didn’t want to use this space for a bunch of personal and travel stuff, since this is a knitting blog, and I want it to stay that way. I don’t think that most of our friends and family are really interested in swatch pictures (though I think I’m up to three of Branden’s friends that read this blog, at least occasionally…go figure).

So, in order to keep this primarily a knitting blog, while still providing information for curious friends and family, I’ve established a new blog for our German adventures. You’re welcome to pop over there and check it out if you like, or just stay for the knitting (and there will be knitting!). We still don’t have internet, but I’ve found the one internet café in the city, and so I think I can probably get updates out fairly regularly.

We had a bit of drama in the travelling when our suitcases didn’t arrive with us, but they made their way to us after a couple of days, so I do still have yarn (and clothes). With both yarn and free time, there should be lots of knitting this summer!

Half the battle

2009-07-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's a mile walk and costs money to use, but we've found the only internet cafe in Bretten. Of course, I forgot to bring my flash drive and I can't connect with my laptop, so I can't publish the blog posts that I've written, but now that I know where it is, I can come back soon.

So, not all the way to connected, but we'll call it half the battle.

Disconnected

2009-07-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

We're here and enjoying Germany, but there's no internet, and I'm not yet desperate enough to write real blog posts with a cell phone. Back soon when we find wifi!

Here, there, everywhere

2009-07-03T06:42:00.001-07:00

In Madison right now, on a plane in a few hours. In Germany tomorrow!

On the road

2009-06-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's finally in the truck! Every single thing we own is in the truck, and we're headed off across the country.

Fortunately the directions are easy: get on I-90, and go until you get there. Branden is driving the truck, and the cats and I are following in the car. Should be an interesting trip...

Clouds of color

2009-06-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting these pictures. I tried taking pictures with my point-and-shoot yesterday morning, but it just wasn't cutting it. When Branden got home, I had him take a shot at it with the real camera, and well...it was worth the wait.

I dyed up about 2 oz of Lincoln that I had laying around, using the same color pattern as I used for the BFL spinning project. I've been wanting to do a comparison experiment ever since finishing that yarn, but just haven't gotten around to it. Now it's all dyed up, but my wheel is gone, so this project will be on the back burner for a while. Look for it early next year. Until then, look at the colors!

I didn't want to dye all of the fiber the same way, but I had only five dyes to work with. So, I split the last two batches into color groups; magenta/purple, and green/blue. Both worked beautifully with the black.

First, I dyed about 8 oz of BFL with the greens and blues:

I love these colors. You'd never tell it from my yarn and clothing choices in the past few years, but I am a greens and blues person. I've been dallying around with the reds and purples, but I see something like this and realize that these will always be my colors. Forest and sea, shadow and sky. Love it.

Of course, that doesn't stop me from dallying some more. This one's a little blurry, but the color is almost right. And oh! the color. This one named itself berry crush. Purples and reds, merging into black. Deep, dark, sumptuous. It's even better in person.

All in all, I think this was a good way to dye.

She can't come to the phone right now...

2009-06-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

I spent yesterday afternoon converting wool from puffy white clouds of fiber into deep, dark shades of purple, green, blue and black. I tried to take a picture, but it's just not working with the flash, so I'll have to show you tomorrow.

But tonight, I wanted to talk about dyeing. No, not dying. Dyeing.

Anyone that speaks English knows that it's a crazy language. There are probably even people that don't speak English that know it's a crazy language. There are few things that throw me as consistently as the word "dyeing."

You simply cannot use that word in conversation and expect to avoid an awkward pause, followed by too-quick clarification, and then some nervous laughter. Even Branden, who is well aware of my fiberish tendencies often does a bit of a double-take when I casually announce at dinner that I'm thinking about dyeing tomorrow.

See? Hard, isn't it? Even when you know enough to expect such things from me.

So, back to yesterday. I am standing in the dining room, lab coat and gloves on, table coated in plastic, making an unholy mess and trying to soak it up with wool (which works amazingly well, by the way...).

Of course, with infallible timing, my phone rings.

My phone never rings. It's not an exaggeration to say that I probably only get one or two calls a month from people other than Branden (sometimes not even that much). I just don't use my phone, and I never get calls. I like it this way.

But, we'd put an ad on Craigslist to sell the spinning wheel, and someone had left a message. I'd left a return message, and was waiting for her to call back. If my phone was ringing, then it must be the buyer. So, Branden dove for the phone and managed to get to it before the call went to voicemail. He said "hello," looked quickly around at me, paused helplessly for a second, and then said, "hold on" and proceeded to hold the phone to my ear so that I could arrange for this person to come look at the wheel.

I'm standing in the kitchen, hands dripping with dye, trying to sound normal and casual while someone else holds the phone to my ear. "Oh yeah, just head down Phinney until it crosses 39th...no problem...45 minutes?"

After negotiating the scheduling and directions, he hung up for me, and I just had to ask why he couldn't have done that himself.

Well, it was because she'd asked "is Erica there?"

He said yes, and then immediately ran into the problem that it is impossible to explain to a complete stranger that your wife can't come to the phone because she's dyeing.

Really, what can you say in that moment other than "ummm...hold on a second?"

I think we need another word for this hobby...

Fiber content = high

2009-06-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Finally, a post with fiber! (It's good for you, you know...)

When I got home from France, this was waiting for me:

My prize from Walden at Eternal Arts 'n Crafts! I made good use of it this afternoon, and now it looks like this:

Currently cooling after setting the dye...can't wait to see how it came out!

I also finished this:

570 yards of fingering weight alpaca. This is the fiber that I bought last year at Alpacapalooza in April. I can't say that I'm thrilled with my fiber preparation, but I've learned a lot doing it. Lesson #1: wash it, card it, wash it again, card it again. I only washed and carded once, and there was far too much VM and dirt left in the final yarn for my taste. But it is soft, and cleaned up nicely:

And today, I bought this:

I haven't done much spindling, but it's time to re-teach myself, since spindles fit in suitcases and wheels don't. This is a 1.3 oz (I also have a 2 oz), so it's a little lighter weight for finer yarn. It spins beautifully, and has a ton of space to wind on.

I also sold my spinning wheel today. I was sad to see it go, because I really liked that wheel. But, I bought it knowing that it would most likely be a temporary guest, and it wouldn't be any better for the moving and storing. I'm also not sure that it would have survived the move, given that it came damaged. So, it found a new home this afternoon. When I get back from Germany, I'll start looking for a replacement. Until then, my spindles will keep me company.

Where am I?

2009-06-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm finding it a little hard to keep track of where I am and what I'm doing these days. One thing I know for sure is that there hasn't been much knitting.

But there has been a lot of travel. To Europe and back in under a week. Four airplanes, two buses, well over 48 hours of travel, two 9 hour time changes. Three days of 18 hour experiments (which went rather well, I think...still need to finish the data analysis). Three days of hearing a lot of French and Italian, not speaking either, but learning to listen.

Back home to a house that's half packed for the next trip: first a 4 day drive to Wisconsin, and then another couple of flights to Germany.

Today, a trip to the dentist. Tomorrow, a few meetings. Next week, a thesis submitted.

And then, maybe then, a little while to sit and knit. In a place that might become familiar, eventually.

I know that some people get jet-lagged. Is it possible to be life-lagged, too?

The end comes quickly

2009-06-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

The end always comes unexpectedly. No matter how long you aim for it, push to get there, wish to be done, it's always a surprise when you cross the finish line.

The end of the term always used to do this to me. I would study and study, kill myself working, and just when I got up to full speed, finals slipped by and suddenly there was nothing. There's a moment of freefall, a moment where your brain hasn't caught up with the rest of you. It's such a rush to have finished, but it hasn't really sunk in yet that you're done.

I (successfully) defended my thesis on Tuesday. The papers are signed, and the only thing left to do is to pass in the final version. We're going to try to slip in some very last-minute results (the ones that I'm going to take next week), but it's done. Over. The endlessness of graduate school is suddenly gone, and somehow that's a surprise.

Yesterday, I taught the last class that I will teach at UW Bothell. My first year teaching experience is finished, except for grading finals and some meetings on Monday.

Today, the movers came and cleaned out the lab, packing all of the samples and lab books and instruments into a truck to carry them to my adviser's new university across the country. I cleaned out the desk that I've inhabited for 5 years, and began to say goodbye to people.

And it hit me that it's over.

Not soon. Not "maybe someday." Now.

Tomorrow, I will pick up my student's final papers and grade them by Monday.

On Tuesday, I will fly to France for a few days and finish one more experiment. When I return, we will stuff as much as we can into the thesis before passing it in at the end of the month.

While I'm gone, Branden will start packing our house. At the end of the month, we'll drive all of our belongings to Madison, and put them in storage. Then, we'll get on a plane with our cats, and move to Bretten, Germany. Branden's company is sending him to their European office for 6 months, so I'll be delaying my postdoc by a bit, and probably coming back stateside in December. He got the final offer letter today.

It feels good to be closer to done. I am excited about the things that are coming. And, right now, I'm just a little stunned that it's all wrapping up so fast.

Endings are like that, I guess.

A prize?

2009-05-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

I got an email today from Walden at Eternal Arts and Crafts telling me that I'd won a prize for commenting on her site. I didn't even remember entering, probably because I was so focused on the handmade journal in the post (which is beautiful).

And then, she gave me a hard choice. I could go with the dyed roving in pretty blues, purples, and greens, or I could get an undyed roving to play with. I've been itching to dye again lately, and I have some solutions already made up that I need to use before we move, so I went with the undyed fiber. It's hard to pass on those colors, but this way I get to use my prize twice: once as a dyer and once as a spinner.

Make that three times; I also get to knit with it! What a fun prize! I'm really looking forward to playing with it when it arrives. Thanks, Walden!

It's so nice to get a fun surprise, especially at the start of what promises to be a stressful week. Excuse me while I go do an "I won a prize" happy dance. =)

In love with a stitch pattern

2009-05-30T22:42:00.001-07:00

Branden really likes geometric stitch patterns. I tend to like flowery, curvy ones. It's not often that we both look at the same stitch pattern and immediately say "I like it."

I wasn't sure that I would like this pattern when I saw it in the book, but as soon as I started knitting, I fell in love with it.

This is Herringbone lace from BW #1. The yarn is South West Trading Company Bamboo. I love this yarn. I used it once before, to make a halter top for my sister. (I would add a link, but I can't find the post, and those pictures are broken now, anyway. I can't wait to be able to fix the server and archive issues this summer!)

The bamboo has beautiful drape, though it makes a heavy fabric. Branden informs me that I only think it's heavy because I'm a knitter used to working with wool. He's probably right. It's still heavy.

The fabric definitely stretches lengthwise. Even a small swatch has enough weight to add 25-30% to the length of the pattern repeat, which is no small difference. I'm actually finding it hard to knit to the appropriate length measurements, because it feels so short. But the swatch says that it will stretch, and I believe it.

I've had this yarn in the stash for about two years. I got it on clearance on a local yarn shop crawl, and there were only two balls left. It wasn't enough for a big project, and it's ended up just sitting and waiting for a long time. I frequently take it out and look at it, and then put it back. But this time, it was ready.

The lace shell-turned-tank got me thinking about this yarn again. Two balls is enough for a tank, and bamboo doesn't have the warmth that I'd want in a shawl, so a garment seems like a good option. It's harder to work increases and decreases into this lace pattern unobtrusively, so this time I'm experimenting with different needle sizes. The bottom section of the swatch was knit on a size 6, and the top (above the black marker yarn) was knit on 4's. You can just barely tell them apart by feel in the finished piece, and the difference in pattern size isn't as noticeable as it looks in the picture.

Switching needle size gives me a 10 inch decrease at the waist (which is what I used on the last tank), so I'm going to try shaping with needle size.

I'm almost to the armpits on the front half, but I'm at a bit of a standoff with the lace at the moment. I thought about what to do with the wavy edges along the side seams, but I haven't really come up with a good solution for the armholes. The side seams will just be grafted in a zig-zaggy line, but I don't want points along the armhole edges, and I think point avoidance will involve some lace pattern modification. I didn't feel up to this morning when I discovered the problem. (Yes, it took me that long...) I need to start the decrease section soon, so I need to come up with some kind of a stable edging for the opening before I can get much further.

It's hard not to work on this lace, so hopefully I'll find some time to do stitch engineering and get back on track soon. Shouldn't be that hard, right?

Home again

2009-05-27T20:47:00.001-07:00

The only problem with a long, carefree weekend? It's really hard to come back!

We really enjoyed our last minute trip down the coast. We've been meaning to take this drive ever since we moved to Seattle 5 years ago, and just haven't gotten around to it. It's too long a drive for a 3-day weekend, and we just never took the extra vacation time. But then, Branden's company instituted a mandatory furlough day once a month. No pay, no option.

Well. That seemed like as good an excuse as any to take a 4-day weekend. Add to that the fact that we only have about a month left in Seattle, and it was time for a trip. We can road trip on the cheap, and we both really needed some time away. So, Saturday morning we put out a bunch of food and an extra litter box for the cats, threw some stuff in the car, and headed out the door.

We drove until Portland, then took a right turn and headed to the coast. We followed the Oregon coast all the way to California. And there's a reason that it's a famous drive.

Unfortunately, we forgot to check the manual settings for the camera on this part of the drive, and ended up with very few good pictures. You'll have to believe me that it was worth the trip.

First, we went through the Willamette Valley, Oregon's agricultural center. Beautiful farmland, and strawberries! At a dollar a pound!

Strawberries might not seem like that big a deal, but remember that we're mostly local foodies now, which means that we generally eat what can be grown within a hundred miles' radius. If it can't be gotten at our farmer's market, we don't eat it. We're not hardcore about this, and we definitely do buy flour and sugar and other staples at the grocery store, but we stick mostly to the farmer's market for anything fresh.

I love eating locally. It forces me to be creative with my cooking, the produce is infinitely better, and I really like putting cash directly into the hands of a farmer. I don't think of seasonal eating as being restrictive or inconvenient in any way. Quite the contrary, in fact. Still, it means long winters with not much fruit. And you can only eat so many apples.

I know now why strawberry festivals are so common. Strawberries are one of the first new fruits of the season, and they're pure heaven after a winter of canned and frozen versions. Eating locally is about finding abundance in something as simple as this:

We stood by the ocean.

We marveled at the driftwood.

It was huge. (Six-foot husband added for scale)

We watched the surf, and the seagulls, and the seals. With some enabling, Branden bought a new kite, which he flew on the perfect sandy beach in the perfect wind.

I played with texture:

And color:

We wound our way down to California, and stood at the feet of some amazing trees.

(He really should warn me when he's actually going to take the picture...)

It was impossible to do them justice, so we paid homage to the very small nestled amongst their roots.

There are many, many more photos, but this is already a picture heavy post, and it's getting late. In all, a good trip.

Yesterday, we came grudgingly back to earth. Time to begin plotting our next adventure, I think...

Song of the open road

2009-05-22T23:05:00.001-07:00

It's been a long quarter. Things are going to be busy in June (that might be the understatement of the year). We need some time off.

So, we're going to spend the next few days meandering down the Pacific Coast highway and forgetting that there's anything else we should be doing. Have a good weekend!

Finished pics

2009-05-21T21:26:00.001-07:00

We finally got out to take some proper finished pics yesterday evening. I love the fact that it's 9:30 and still light out!

I was surprised at how well it works under a sweater:

Though it's nice as a tank, too:

I really like the ribbing increases:

And it dresses up well for work:

Overall, a quick and versatile knit!

Unseamly stretching

2009-05-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I blocked the lace shell last week, and then it was dark and rainy for several days and I didn't get a chance to try it on for pictures. Then, when I tried it on, I realized that it had stretched.

When I first knit my swatch, it seemed like it grew a little in length, even without heavy blocking. I measured, and couldn't really detect a difference. When I blocked the shell, I was very careful not to stretch it out at all. In fact, I even scrunched it up a little bit to keep the measurements where I wanted them.

When it was dry, it looked just fine laid out, but not so great when I tried it on.

I liked the new length better for the body, but there was a disproportionate amount of sretching at the armholes. Far too much to be attractive. At first, I considered pulling out a couple of repeats of lace from the shoulders and re-grafting. And then I decided to think on it for a little while (could also be read as I didn't feel like messing around with un-grafting).

On Saturday, I tried it on again, and looked more carefully at where the stretch was happening. There are a good 2 inches of stretch at the armholes, and only about 2-3 inches over the entire rest of the body. So 6 inches of knitting was stretching as much as the other 14 inches combined. Hmm.

I intentionally knit this piece flat because I thought that seams would be really important for the lace stability. The part that was seamed wasn't stretching much at all. The part that had a raw edge stretched a lot, and caused the entire garment to sag. Fortunately, that is easily fixed:

10 minutes and a crochet hook allowed me to put a crochet "seam" along the free edge of the armhole. I was careful not to crochet tightly, because I didn't want to pucker the fabric. It made a good, firm edge that's almost invisible (the right hand side of the picture has the crochet reinforcement, the left hand side doesn't). Much simpler than ripping and re-grafting, and much more likely to solve the problem.

And now?

An armhole that fits.

I'm not sure what I'd do to avoid this in the future. The crochet edging works, but it's not a very elegant solution. I'm thinking that a slipped selvedge would probably do the trick; I used a stockinette rib as the edge of the shell, and if I'd slipped the first stitch on every other row I'd have had half as many stitches to stretch out on me.

Of course, if I added sleeves (as I'd originally planned), I'd have a seam to stabilize the armhole. I'm still torn on the sleeves, but my inclination is that they will take away from the lines of the final garment. (Doesn't that sound all abstract and designer-y? I didn't mean it that way, but as soon as I typed it I felt just a little snooty...)

Since it's almost summer, I think I'm going to leave it as a tank top for now. I'll see if I wear it, how it wears, and then decide whether or not to add sleeves when the temperatures fall again. I wouldn't wear it to work anyway, as lab and clothes you care about do not mix. If I find myself not wearing it, or being too chilly while wearing it, I'll add some kind of cap sleeve. Evolving garments...could be a new trend!

Sleeveless (for now)

2009-05-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been quiet over here lately. I had (a mild case of) not-swine flu last week, and didn't feel much like doing anything, so I didn't.

I'm looking forward to porting the blog over to a new hosting service once the thesis craziness is over (three weeks!). My computer got a virus a few months ago, and so we stopped using it as a web host. All of the pictures in the blog archives are broken now, and it's pushing me to make some bigger changes that I've been mulling over for a while. I'm looking forward to having time to work on doing some blog development this summer; it's in dire need of an update.

The biggest change will probably involve switching to Wordpress, which is especially exciting because Wordpress is much smarter about facilitating comment-answering. Right now, I have to log into a separate web service (Haloscan), find the comments section, click through to open an email window, and manually copy the comment text into the email body before I can respond. It's not a big deal, but there's usually some inertia to be overcome, especially when I've gotten behind (which I tend to do, because it's not fun to do all this clicking). It's just...clunky. From what I hear, Wordpress is much simpler to use, and I'm hoping that it will help me do a better job of keeping up with the comments. For now, know that I see them, appreciate them, and will eventually respond, probably long after you've forgotten what you were commenting on. =)

I didn't feel much like knitting when I was sick, and so there wasn't a lot of progress last week. This week, things are picking up a bit. I finished the back panel last night, and grafted the body of the lace shell together this evening:

Overall, the fit is really good, though it's a little bit overstretched at the bust. I think this will disappear with blocking. Since the rest of the lace will open up a bit, the extra stretch shouldn't be as noticeable. I'd definitely wear a camisole under this, but it's a pretty dense fabric. Someone more adventurous could easily get away without.

I didn't shape the back panel, except to increase and decrease a little bit around the sleeves. The front had a lot of internal shaping in the ribs, but the back section didn't need it (except at the hips).

Sorry for the dark pictures; I hadn't finished the shoulder grafts when the sun set. We'll take some better pictures when I have actually woven in the ends, which will happen after I decide what exactly to do about the sleeves.

I tend to wear things with sleeves more than tank tops, but I kind of like this as a tank top. Long sleeves are always my preference, but I don't have enough yarn to make them, and this was supposed to be a summery top. I was originally planning to make it short sleeved, but now I'm thinking that might make it seem too formal/dressy. What do you think?

Big needles make it go fast

2009-05-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what happens when you knit lace on size 6's with sock yarn. Fast knitting! Progress!

The shoulders look very short to me in this photo, but I did measure them carefully...it's hard to tell exactly which measurements to believe when making a garment out of lace. I think I need to get out the tape measure again. Funny how different things look in pictures...

Almost all of that shaping is done by adding just one extra knit stitch to each rib; isn't that amazing? There is a decrease of one repeat on each side at the armpit, but other than that, there's no shaping except the ribbing.

Despite some mild knitting malaise, I have started the back piece, and I'm hoping to get to "vest" soon. I'm not sure I'll have enough yarn for long sleeves, but this is a summery top anyway. And who can resist a good nailbiter?

A whole new kind of steeking

2009-05-01T20:52:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we took this off the loom:

6 skeins of Paton's Merino, roughly 30 oz of 3/2 pearle cotton, and a few weeks of spare moments. 19 feet and 4 inches of 16 inch wide fabric came off the loom, and after a rigorous bath in hot water, the final measurements are 18 feet, 2.5 inches by 15 inches wide.

I have to say that there was a little corner of my brain screaming "what are you doing with hot water? That's wool!" throughout the entire bathing process, but dramatic hot-cold transitions and agitation are the prescription for "finishing" a weave. And it worked beautifully. The fabric went into the bath slightly "tender"; I could still separate the weft threads a little bit, and it was pretty easy to make small holes in the fabric. It came out of the bath nice and stable, with all of the weft threads packed tight against one another.

I was surprised that it shrunk more in the long direction than in the width; I had expected the opposite from what I've read, and because the weft was the wool. I assumed that felting the wool slightly would pull in the sides, but it didn't.

So, I now have one very long, narrow piece of fabric that's destined to become a blanket. For that to happen, it needs to turn into four long pieces of fabric. This takes steeking to a whole new level. Thick, knit wool is one thing...wool woven with slippery cotton is quite another. It will be fun to see if it works.

In which I almost give away Branden's socks.

2009-04-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

I was sitting on the bus this morning, finishing up the STR socks for Branden. I've been getting a lot of attention with the bus knitting lately. Pull out the knitting, and within 10 minutes someone will be talking to me. I'm up to at least 4 people this week, in the 3 days I've actually taken the bus. (It doesn't help that I am one of those people that everyone just wants to talk to anyway...)

This morning, I got on the bus, pulled out the sock, and within moments noticed someone watching me. A few seconds later, he asked very softly "are you knitting a pair of socks?" I replied in the affirmative, and he smiled a little, and then said "My gramma used to make me socks. They were the best socks in the world. I still have a few of them, but I don't wear them anymore, because I'm afraid they'll wear out." And then he talked about how he was from the country, and how people used to make things for themselves, and how that's so rare nowadays. He was definitely choked up about it, and I had a very strong urge to give him the socks and make Branden another pair. There was so much heartfelt appreciation in those few sentences, and more than a little homesickness. I didn't manage to finish the socks before my stop, but I kind of wish that I had. Instead, we parted ways with a "have a good day," and that was it.

I'm used to getting talked to on the bus. I'm not used to making grown men tear up and get homesick. I hope he finds someone to make him a new pair of socks. It's a lucky knitter that has such a grateful recipient.

Swatching Laces

2009-04-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

After passing in the thesis, I decided that I really needed to reclaim some of my evenings and weekends if I wanted to remain sane for the rest of the quarter. I worked very hard last week to avoid the urge to keep working all night (and all weekend), which meant that I suddenly have some time to myself again. Which means knitting.

The only problem is that the project on the needles is my handspun sweater, and the heavy yarn hurts my hands after just a few rounds. So, I needed a new project.

I asked myself what I wanted to work on, and my brain immediately cried "lace!" I laughed and said that I didn't think it was really smart to think about designing lace with so much going on right now. So, what else is there? And the little voice popped up again: "Lace!"

After a few exchanges, it became obvious that I wasn't winning this battle, especially since there was a new yarn also pushing for lace. So, I picked a simple pattern (only two rows), and started swatching.

(Warning: excessive swatching details to follow...you're welcome to skip to the final swatch shot at the bottom if you like!)

First, I knit it as written (Stripe with twist bars, BW #2 p 260). It's a garter stitch lace with a single stitch rib separating the columns. (Right side is on the left, wrong side on the right, backwards as that sounds...)

I actually think I might like the wrong side better...

Then, I tried a three-stitch rib, which I liked a lot better.

Working both ribs and lace with a garter basis made it all turn to mush.

Then, I tried a stockinette lace to match the stockinette ribs:

I'm not sure that you'll be able to see it, but the bottom 4 repeats use a k3tog, and the top three repeats use a centered double decrease. It gives it a slightly different texture, but the left-leaning diagonal bars were a little too heavy for my liking, so I stuck with the k3tog. (It's more obvious in person. Even Branden says so.)

I really like the scalloped edge that the pattern creates, and the firm vertical lines of the ribbing:

I think I'm going to make a lace shell out of this, and so I wanted some internal shaping to help with the garment fit. The join between a one-stitch rib and a three-stitch rib was a little more obvious than I'd like for garment shaping:

So I tried a two- to three-stitch transition instead:

This one is much less jarring, and the decrease makes the perfect ratio for the hip-to-waist transition. Here's the swatch after blocking:

You can see the difference in width really well here; over three pattern repeats it's almost the equivalent of adding a full repeat to the width of the piece (which is what I did at the top of the swatch).

And with that, I'm off into a new project. It's actually quite a simple piece (or at least it looks simple on paper), so I'm hoping that it will be a good distraction from other things. So far, I'm finding it really helpful in keeping me from jumping back to work every 10 minutes (yes, my workaholic tendencies are showing). It's a very simple lace pattern - I think I had it memorized before finishing the second repeat - so it's a good transition project. Yay for new knitting!

A few for the stash

2009-04-22T21:45:00.001-07:00

It makes absolutely no sense to go out and buy more yarn when I have barely picked up my needles in months. None at all. But where's the fun in making sense all the time?

One of my favorite yarn stores had its birthday sale last weekend. Things were 40% off. Need I say more?

I couldn't believe that their Cashsoft was on sale. I love this stuff. I've only knit one stole with it because it's more expensive than I tend to buy for this weight of yarn. But, at 40% off, it was a really good buy. I couldn't resist, despite the fact that the one garment I have in this yarn also happens to be in this color (well, the darker of the two). But it's a great color. I'm not sure how far this will go; I'm always surprised at how fast these little skeins run out, so I got a couple of skeins of the lighter color to match. Not sure yet what it wants to become. For now, it's just waiting for something special.

This next yarn is the real reason that I went to the sale. I saw this Malabrigo a few weeks ago when we were in the store last, and I fell in love with it. I am not a gold/yellow person at all (love it in flowers, not so much on me), and so I resisted the urge to buy it when I first saw it. And then it haunted me. For weeks. This is a bad picture; it doesn't show you all the colors of red and green and purple that come out as red melts gradually into gold. It's not often that I continue to think about a yarn for weeks after saying "no." And, since I knew it would be on sale, I thought I'd get enough for a small project. Again, no idea what this will become. I'm just breaking all the rules this time.

And then there's this. I don't know where it came from, really. It leapt off the wall and into my basket. I have no idea why this particular yarn wanted to come home so badly, but it did. So I let it.

It also had something very specific that it wanted to become. We're working on that. Swatches soon (I hope).

Feeling uprooted

2009-04-20T20:47:00.001-07:00

As I'm starting to finish up, we're also starting to think more seriously about our next move. This has been somewhat accelerated by an unexpected offer from Branden's job, which may mean that we're moving in June rather than August (yipes!).

When we moved in to this apartment, we promised that we'd put the lawn back before we left, and so my garden needed to go (can you imagine someone wanting grass over an herb garden? Insanity, I tell you...)

All of our raised beds now look like this:

The herbs were the only plants I'd carried through the winter, and I potted them all a couple of weeks ago (hence the rash, which is now, thankfully, gone).

I am always amazed that you can stick a shovel in the dirt, pull a plant up by its roots, stick it in a pot, and have it survive. Thrive, even. There might be a lesson there...

Yesterday, my garden moved to a new home. I was thrilled to have someone take it, but a little sad to let it go, too. Pulling up the garden is definitely a sign that we're getting ready to pull up our own roots and move on. Lots of big changes coming all of a sudden!

The beginning of the end, part II

2009-04-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Think back to some seemingly endless project that you've knit. Maybe a blanket in garter stitch. Or some fiddly lace that just wasn't all that fun. There's this period in the middle of the project when there is just no progress; you work and work, and you just can't tell that the piece is getting any bigger.

And then, all of a sudden, you're at the end. A few repeats left, and you're done. All of a sudden, it doesn't matter that there are still 5000 stitches to go, because you know you've conquered it, and the rest is all downhill.

Well.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is 5 years of my work and 200 years of literature condensed into 250 pages, and I just put the period on the last sentence.

There's a ton of editing left to do, but it most of the changes should be pretty minor. A figure here, a footnote there, some more references and labels. But the writing is pretty much done. It needs one more proofing before it goes to my committee on Monday, but I think I'm going to take the rest of the afternoon off.

Have a good Saturday!

We have a sock

2009-04-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

And I have a new favorite sock yarn.

The fabric is a little bit thick for a sock, but it is really nice. We'll have to wait for the second sock to find out if Branden will get purple feet out of the deal.

I'm not sure if it was the needles, or the yarn, but this is one of the first socks I've knit where I wasn't itching to be done by the end. I think that's a good sign.

And, speaking of itching, I think I owe the Alpaca Sox an apology. My feet were itchy last weekend when I wore the socks, and I assumed that it was the fiber. By the middle of this week I had a rash all over both of my arms and most of my legs. I have no idea why...maybe this is my body's latest fun thing to do to punish me for too much stress? Maybe some new and evil plant has arrived in my back yard and got me when I was outside last Sunday? Dunno. In any case, the itchy appears to have had nothing to do with the socks, and everything to do with my skin. In a strange kind of way, I think I'm glad.

Maybe next week we'll have two socks. Wouldn't that be exciting? (Thesis draft #3 is almost out the door, after which I'm hoping that we can return to something like interesting blogging...)

Knitting with no time

2009-04-05T19:55:00.001-07:00

What do you do when you have no time to knit? Put some sock yarn and needles in your purse and see what happens.

(I find that this is very similar to what happens when I put a project I'm dreading next to my chair with no others in reach; you get amazing progress in very little time, just for lack of anything else to do.)

I began these socks right after Christmas, and have knit them entirely in waiting rooms in the past 3 months (excepting the last two inches of ribbing, which I did at home). All those doctor appointments have to be good for something, right? (Nothing dangerously wrong...just trying to fix some chronic back problems.)

The yarn is Alpaca Sox, and I'm not sure what I think about it. It's soft and warm, but it's very fuzzy, and a little bit itchy. I can't believe I just typed that. Me, who loves "hard" wools, saying that something is itchy. But they are. Just a little bit. Takes a while to stop noticing that they itch when I put them on. I was surprised, because the yarn feels so soft to my hands. Maybe my skin is just dry. I'm also expecting the alpaca to be a little more fragile than wool, so these socks will be getting the easy treatment (don't know exactly what that means, but I promise I'll be nice to them.)

I am also not sure that I'm a fan of the color patterning. Or lack thereof, to be more accurate. The one on the right has reasonably nice stripes, but there's a lot of pooling in these socks. Pooling doesn't particularly bother me, but it's also not the most attractive look out there. I'd like my socks to look good when I'm done, not just ok. I've been thinking that I might be ready to give up on handpainted yarns for socks. I like my socks to be plain stockinette, and I don't want to have to use two balls or crazy stitch patterns to get a nice-looking sock. If I can't get good color patterning out of handpaints, then maybe I just need to knit socks with plain yarns.

And then, I started a new pair:

This is a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock that I picked up at Madrona. When I took Cat Bordhi's class, I asked what her favorite sock yarn was. I've tried a few, but hadn't found the perfect one, and I was curious about what her thoughts were. She said that this is the yarn she'd pick if she needed to choose just one.

I can see why. This is the medium weight, which I think is actually really heavy, but it has great bounce, and it makes a beautiful fabric. It feels like it will wear well, and these will definitely be cushy on the feet. And, there's no pooling at all, which is great. I absolutely love the colors that BMFA sells, so I'm very happy to have an excuse to buy more. The only downside? The dye is leaking on my hands! I'm hoping that a good wash and a little synthrapol will fix that, but we'll have to see. If it doesn't, Branden may just end up with purple feet when he wears these socks. I've had really good experiences with the BMFA yarns before, so I think the leakage is just a fluke.

Note that the sock is on Knit Picks wooden needles; Branden bought me a gift certificate for the Knit Picks store a while ago, and I finally ordered some needles! The box came on Monday, I think, and I like them a lot. I'm not a fan of bamboo or other clingy needles, but these are beautifully smooth, and also nice and sharp. I'm not sure if it's the yarn or the needles, but I'm making very good progress on this sock, and I'm not feeling as impatient as I usually do with sock knitting. I bought a full set of sock-sized dpns, which I'm sure I'll be using quite a bit. Also in the box were a set of blocking wires, a skein winder, and one harmony cable needle to try out (I'm hoping for lace as soon as the thesis is done!).

So, there's my week in knitting. How was yours?

Same old, same old

2009-03-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've been showing you the same scarf a lot lately, but I thought I might get away with one more post before it gets really old. And, I wanted some knitting content to prove that I haven't been neglecting the needles in favor of the loom.

Here's the scarf after blocking. It's about 6 feet long.

The color repeats show up better with a little less sun. (I'm not going to complain about sun, though! It was beautiful yesterday.)

It's funny; I specifically chose this pattern for the "Y" shape on the front, but now that it's blocked, I think I like the reverse side better.

To say that this yarn bloomed would be a bit of an understatement. Can you see all that fuzz? Note to self; when you think you're spinning too tight, spin it just a little tighter. I love the softness, but I'm a little worried that this will be a fragile yarn. We'll have to see how it wears.

This scarf looks so fluffy and deep. The brioche stitch makes it 3 or 4 layers thick, but when you hold it up to the light, it changes from thick and fluffy to almost lacy.

I'll be glad to pull this one out again in the fall. I'll also be glad to be able to pull this out:

I've made it to the elbow on the handspun sweater. I can't get this color to photograph properly. It apparently can't decide if it's grey or deep chocolate brown. It's warm, whatever color it is. This is not a fabric that understands the word "drape" by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not stiff, either. It should make a good, solid, coat-like sweater. I'm feeling indecisive about the body; I almost think that I should make it open-fronted, more like a jacket. But then, I wear pullovers almost exclusively. I wouldn't want it to be so warm that I can't wear it, but we keep our heat low and we're moving to Wisconsin. My original design was definitely a pull-over, but open-fronted might work....

Fortunately, I still have a sleeve and a half to dither over it. The knitting is flying along, since I'm getting about 3 rows to the inch, but it's also killing my hands. I hate to stop once I find time to knit, but I can only get 2 or 3 inches done before I have to put it down. I think I might need a lighter project to work on in between...

I need a new definition of epic

2009-03-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

I really love to plan projects. I like to stretch the planning out over weeks or even months before buying yarn or casting on. I enjoy the process of thinking through the possibilities, and I really like to have the time to do so. Especially because planning takes thought. And thought takes brain cells. Right now, my brain cells are busy elsewhere. (Can we please work on a way to think with something else? How about a little toe? That has lots of cells, and it's not doing much, far as I can tell. A whole foot would be a real boost...)

Anyway. I was thrilled last week to have finally gotten the latest weaving project on the loom. It's a 6-7 yard project, which seemed like it should take a really long time. A month, maybe. It's using up a sweater's worth of yarn, so it should take a sweater's worth of time, right? Long enough to let me get through the craziness of the next few weeks and into a place where I can think about things that do not involve writing and revising.

You do know where this is going, don't you? My "epic" weaving project, that should take forever and a day? Well. Not so much. Remember how I said weaving eats up yarn? I felt pretty secure in my pile of skeins, but it turns out that I shouldn't have.

Turns out that one skein is about two hours of weaving. Think about that. A 100-g, 220 yard skein takes about two hours to use up. It also produces about a yard of fabric (35 inches, to be exact).

At this rate, it could be finished in a matter of hours. (That, of course, assumes that I have hours to spend, but let's not think about that.)

Clearly, I need a new definition of epic when it comes to weaving. I think it involves very skinny thread.

Of course, it's hard to begrudge a project that feels like it's going somewhere (my thesis should take some lessons...). And I do rather like how it looks, though I was surprised at how much the warp colors get muted by the grey.

It's a little less dramatic close up.

And it does have great texture.

And I think I need to start planning the next project...

Another Crafty Sunday

2009-03-22T23:03:00.000-07:00

Didn't get a lot of knitting done this week. But I did find a way to incorporate fiber into my work day. Wrist acting up from typing? What better than a skein of sock yarn as a wrist rest? (It's much nicer than my gel rest, and works on my lap, which is where laptops should be.)

It was really good to take a break last Sunday. So, I decided to do the same today. This was good for crafting.

This morning, I finished the handspun scarf (it's blocking at the moment). I find it funny that I can knit contentedly for months on a sweater, but that I get sick of a scarf after a week. It must be something about setting expectations; I know a sweater will take forever, but a scarf should just fly off the needles, right? Or maybe it's turning the piece at the end of every row.

I don't know. But I do know that I have more scarves languishing on the needles than any other project. Fortunately, the handspun was thick (an 8 oz scarf???) and the needles were large, and I made it to the end before wandering off in search of something more interesting. It took a bath this afternoon, and it's blocking now. And I think it's going to be perfect.

After finishing the scarf, we did this:

That, my friends, is a warped loom. Weaving goes very fast. Warping, well...warping kinda makes up for it. Fortunately, you only warp once per project, and this is going to be a big project. So a few days worth of prep work is worth it.

That's 196 pieces of yarn, threaded onto the loom and tied carefully in place. Fortunately, Branden seems to enjoy helping me warp the loom, so it went reasonably quickly. It's much more fun with two. Now, I just need to add this:

And we'll have a new throw for the bedroom.

This is some of the oldest stash that I have. In fact I think it is the oldest. I bought a lot of Paton's Merino on sale at the same time that I bought the yarn for my first sweater. I liked the yarn, it was a great price, and I intended to make a bunch of sweaters. I made one for Branden and one for me, and both lost their shape and pilled horribly within weeks. Now, part of this was definitely my construction and my knitting, but part of it was also the yarn. So, in addition to having two sweaters that we don't wear, I suddenly had a bunch of yarn that I no longer wanted to use.

The yarn has now sat in the stash for two and a half years. My Paton's collection probably makes up almost a quarter of my stash, and I don't want to knit with it. I've started a couple of projects with it, and I don't make it very far before putting them aside. When I discovered that weaving eats up yarn, I naturally thought of the this yarn. It's really soft, and it's a decent yarn, but it's not one that I'm going to use for knitting anytime soon. I love the color, and I'm thinking that weaving might be sturdy enough to keep the pilling to a minimum.

And, I should get about 6 yards of 20" fabric out of it (I think...that's a very rough and uneducated guess). Lots of weaving for not much money, a new throw, and room in the stash; sounds like a winning combination to me! And, now that it's warped, it's all fast and easy from here!

Detente Day

2009-03-15T22:25:00.001-07:00

I made it halfway through grading yesterday, and then I realized that my brain was fried. It's been a month of no-weekends now, and things are progressing ok. Enough that the world will not come to an end if I stop for a day (I hope, anyway). So, today I declared a detente.

We cleaned the house. I cooked for the week. And, I knit.

I've been working on knitting up the BFL that I dyed and spun. The stitch pattern has great texture.

And I like how the colors are blending.

This is a thick and soft scarf; I think it will be a favorite. It will also be pretty long; I'm getting about 18" a ball, and I have three balls of yarn, so it will be a good length when it's done. I cast on sometime last week, and I'm about halfway done now. It's nice to have a fast project on the needles!

The stitch pattern is easy enough that I can (mostly) knit without looking, so it might qualify for bus knitting. Hopefully I'll finish the scarf this week, rather than letting it languish (a common fate for scarves around here).

Branden built me a warping board this weekend, and we've been winding the warp for the next weaving project. True to character, I'm diving into a big project next, which I'm pretty excited about. More details later, but here it is on the warping board:

And off:

(That's half of the warp. Still need to wind the other half.) Aren't the colors pretty? It's a cotton weaving thread, and it has great sheen. I'm looking forward to having it on the loom.

We stopped at the yarn shop on the way home from the farmer's market and got this:

That's a ball of Manos with a skein of handspun. Sorry for the dark picture, but it was really the only way to get good color representation. Tonight, I've been working on a couple of swatches:

So far, I'm thinking I like the diamonds best. Hopefully my newly returned weeknights will help me to get a few more of these knit up this week. Swatches make rewarding projects for in-between times!

It's been nice having a day of craft in the middle of the craziness. I should declare detentes more often.

Also, thank you for all of the comments that you have been steadily leaving for me. I have seen and appreciated them all, but haven't responded. They do make the week a bit brighter, though, so thanks!

Growing pains

2009-03-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

The computer that hosts all of the pictures for the blog got (another) virus last night. We've been thinking of switching over to a more long-term stable server anyway, since a lot of my academic material needs to move when I graduate in June, and we'd like to centralize all of the various sites that we maintain.

Of course, setting up a "real" website to host everything is kind of a big deal, and it takes a lot of planning. There are lots of things you need to know about what you want the website to do, but before all of that comes the name.

We'd like to have a single domain (www.____.com) for both Branden and I, that can host both hobbies and professional materials. It's hard coming up with a good domain name for two people that goes with crafts, photography, engineering, chemistry, and teaching. Branden really likes "engunneer" (his handle on just about anything that requires a username), but it doesn't apply well to both of us. And "knittingfreestyle" isn't such a great address for a teaching portfolio, or a professional resume. BandEGunn is a little bit boring, but it might work ok. Thing is, we'd also like something clever. (Might as well try for the impossible, right?)

The domain name is an important part of a site's identity, and it's a pretty permanent choice. We thought we had a little longer to make up our minds, but the virus is kind of forcing the issue, and we're having a hard time coming up with good ideas. So, I thought I'd "ask the blog." Any ideas for the perfect website handle?

Taking back the evening

2009-03-12T23:09:00.000-07:00

My night class had it's final meeting tonight. So, I suddenly have two more nights a week, just as the sun starts hanging around later into the evening. Here's hoping that translates into some kind of knitting progress to show you soon! Yay for having one thing finished (except grading, but we're not talking about that yet...).

The beginning of the end?

2009-03-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

Anyone still there? I think you all deserve an award for patience, at this point. Work is going well, and there is a faint, faint glimmer of hope that I might make it through the endless projects and back to crafting someday.

Have you noticed that spring has come? (I say this despite the fact that we've had snow squalls every day this week, here in the land of no snow...) Suddenly, it's light out again, and there are things growing outside, and the air just smells like spring. I have my own system for determining when spring arrives (groundhogs be damned!), and it's definitely spring. The time of long nights, long work days, and long projects is ending. Not nearly as fast as I'd like, but there is hope.

You want proof?

I'd say that's proof that endless projects can be conquered. I finished the knitting last week sometime, and then wove in the ends on Sunday morning. If I ever consider a fingering weight sweater for Branden, please make sure that I have my sanity checked. I can't believe that a worsted weight sweater took an entire two months to finish. It's obviously partially due to the lack of knitting time, but this has definitely been a long project. Those sleeves are 24.5 inches long.

Incidentally, the sweater is also proof positive that spring is here. I finished a big, bulky sweater for Branden. Always happens about 2 weeks before we put them away for the year. Definitely spring.

And, for once, I think I might actually be happy with a sweater. It's the right size, there's nothing too funny about the neckline (why do those always get me??), and the yarn seems fairly sturdy. The shoulders could be a little less dropped, but he likes them that way. There's also a little more bulk around the underarm than I like, but in general I'm pretty happy. His comment? "It's warm."

This sweater also taught me why my raspberry sweater (made from the same brand of yarn, on the same needles) came out too big, even after swatching. Turns out, swatches aren't accurate when you swatch on a size 8 and knit with a size 9. I am neurotic about keeping my needles organized and in the correct bags, and so I never thought to check that my size 8 was really a size 8. I put it away, so of course it should be right! Well, just goes to show that you should always triple check. I knit the arms of my sweater (which do have the right gauge) on a size 8, and the body on a size 9 (which does not). Can't really tell the difference in the fabric, except that the body is about 8 inches bigger than it should be. Now I know why. I'm not sure that knowing comforts me, because it was a really brainless mistake, but at least I can actually measure a gauge swatch!

Fortunately, this time I caught on before knitting the entire sweater, and therefore this one actually fits.

I like the grafted seams:

and the cable detail:

Overall, it looks like a pretty comfortable sweater.

I also have to say that Branden is a very good sport about picture-taking sessions. He is absolutely horrible about having his picture taken, so these photo shoots can begin to approximate torture sessions after 45 minutes or so. (Yes, it takes that long to get a decent picture...we took 159 to get 6 useable ones without camera smile, blurriness, face-making or other issues). And he managedto be good-humored about an endless picture session after spending Wed-Sat on a no-sleep kinda schedule for the regional high school robotics competition (where his team won first place, I might add).

I think he probably deserves a sweater.

It's all in how you look at it....

2009-02-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the product you get is all about the technique that you use.

All of the work and time in weaving goes into warping the loom. It takes no time at all to make the piece, once everything is set up. I had an extra yard or so of warp left after my practice piece, and I didn't want to waste it. So, we got a skein of Manos silk-merino (one of only two yarns in the shop that looked like it would match the warp!), and I set to work.

Two hours produced this:

See those selvedges? Muuuch better! No necking at all on this piece; I think I've got the tension thing now. My width only varied by about 1/8 inch across the entire length. That kind of makes me want to do a happy dance.

The finished piece is about 30 inches long, which makes it too short for a scarf, but it will be good for something else, I'm sure. A bureau scarf? (I don't tend to use those, but you never know...) For now, it's just sitting by my knitting chair being pretty.

See how even the texture came out?

The Manos is a heavier yarn than the Trekking that I used in the sample. That makes this a weft-dominant piece, where the warp yarn barely shows up at all. It makes a thick, bumpy texture that I like a lot. The yarn was really packed in there tightly, so it didn't shrink much in length during wet finishing (the weaving equivalent of blocking, which is actually a lot closer to felting than it is like blocking). The width shrunk by about half an inch, but that's not much at all.

I like the way the short color repeats in the yarn make single stripes:

As I wove, I kept wondering how this yarn would have looked knit up. So, I saved a little bit at the end:

And knit a swatch (turned out to be exactly 25x25...you'd think I planned it or something):

And it's amazing what a difference the technique makes.

Learning by doing

2009-02-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

I'm afraid that the posts are likely to be few and far between for the next few weeks. We're trying to move my defense date up by 2 months so that I can be done before my advisor moves across the country in early June (instead of late August as he originally planned). This means that my thesis must be finished in the next month, and I have a postdoc fellowship application due on April 1 as well. Between that and planning for next quarter's teaching, there hasn't been a lot of time for crafting lately. I'm hoping that there will be more balance in this next week, but it's hard to find these days.

I've decided that I have a simple choice: post frequently about how I have no time and nothing is coming off the needles, or post less frequently and tell you something that's actually interesting. I think I'd want to read the latter, and so that's also what I'm going to post.

Fortunately, I have at least one project in back-log to post about. I have a few other things to talk about, too, but I have a couple more steps to take before showing them to you. Next week (or sooner), I hope.

The best way to learn to knit is to just sit down and try it, so I assumed that the same goes for weaving. It's amazing what one simple practice piece can teach you. Branden helped me warp the loom a few weeks ago, and I've spent a few hours since then playing with some leftover yarn from the stash to figure out what I am supposed to be doing. Did I mention that weaving goes fast? I can easily make a foot of material in an hour, once the warping is done. Very good for the instant gratification side of crafting.

I started out with a few simple twills, just playing with different orders for moving through my shaft sequence:

The pattern is very satisfying for something so simple, though the edges (selvedge) left something to be desired. So, I focused on making the selvedge a little neater, by working on my tension:

Better, but the increased tension made the fabric pull in a little. You can see how the fabric width varies (by up to an 1 1/8 inches!) here:

I also discovered why you're supposed to warp a few selvedge threads in basic weave; that way there are no long warp threads carried along the sides of your piece, and it makes a more stable edge. Here, I have "floats" carried along the edge, and so my selvedge is uneven.

I also discovered what they mean by a "stable" fabric: I didn't beat the individual threads into place firmly enough while weaving, and so this twill pattern is easily disrupted by passing your hand over it. The threads aren't packed in quite firmly enough, so they can shift around and leave gaps in the material. You can see a tiny bit of the gapping in the bottom of this picture:

(It can be much worse than that, too, but I didn't take a picture of it.)

I think this is also partly because I didn't use the right sett for my warp; I didn't put enough threads per inch of width, and so the warp threads aren't very good at holding the weaving threads (the weft) in place.

Even if they are too loose, the twills have a great, embossed look:

A (more tightly packed) plain weave texture is more stable, and has much better selvedges, since there are no long floats along the sides:

I ran out of yarn at this point, but I had some warp left over, so I picked up a new skein of yarn and made a "real" piece yesterday afternoon. As I said, there are a couple more things that I want to do with that project, so I will save that post for another day.

Until then, here's a dose of springtime that's just popped up this week:

Have you noticed that the sun is also back? I'm so glad it's (almost) spring!

Notes on Madrona

2009-02-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I was a very bad blogger and completely forgot to bring out the camera yesterday (sorry, Ellen!). I may have said before that I'm not much of a crowds person, and so I have a tendency to just forget important things like pictures in busy settings. I was so distracted by the yarn, and the knitters, and the knitted garments that I just forgot to stop and document. Maybe I should bring Branden next time. He's a much better documenter; I tend to save things to my mind's eye instead.

Cat's class was a lot of fun. She's a very funny, creative person, and it was great to be able to meet her. There were many beginning knitters in the class, so we didn't get to as many advanced topics as I'd hoped, but we talked a little about incorporating stitch patterns and general sock design. She has some fun new things coming out in her next book, too. People that push the envelope are just interesting to be around.

Sivia Harding was on hand in the class to help with questions, so I snagged her for a few minutes during a lull and asked about shaping lace. I've been dying to see a class or a book on this for quite a while now, and it sounds like she's working on both! I can't wait for them to be available!

I headed over to the market during lunch break, and ran into Syne Mitchell of Weavezine and Weavecast. She was doing a weaving demo, and let me throw a few picks on her loom, as well as giving me some good pointers on technique.

There were knitters everywhere. It was easy to tell, because the knitted garments were the kind that only knitters wear. Intricate lace, fine gauge cables, incredible colorwork. I saw at least 3 Bohus sweaters, and 2 Kaunis, as well as a few Starmore patterns. And lace. A lot of lace. It was everywhere, and it was beautiful.

The market was mid-sized, with probably 20 or so vendors. Blue Moon Fiber Arts was there, and it was so nice to run my hands through their open skeins. And oh, the colors! I have to avoid their website in order to resist stash enhancement, and it was even harder in person. I had up to three sweaters planned throughout the course of the day, just from their booth. And then I considered how many sweaters I have in queque, and picked up some Socks that Rock in Tlingit instead:

Another vendor (I forget who) had dyed Tencel for spinning. It was a beautiful gun metal grey, and the fiber is so shiny that it looked like liquid metal. Beautiful.

Skacel was there, with all their addi lace needles on display, and some really beautiful yarns. They also had beautiful spindles, and I took care to avoid getting too close, lest I take one home with me.

One vendor had a really nice selection of glass needles. I was tempted, but I passed. They were beautiful, but I think I'd be afraid to use them. One of the women in my class had a set of KnitPicks harmony needles, and I think I'm going to get a set of their dpns. I've been thinking about it for quite a while now, but I prefer to see something in person before buying. They're beautiful needles, and so smooth! I'm looking forward to trying a pair.

Kakishibui was selling scarves dyed with Kakishibui, extracted from a Japanese citrus, I believe. It's a cool dye, because it changes color with time and light exposure, darkening and shifting throughout the garment lifetime. It's a pretty ochre color, with a range that stretches from pale yellow all the way into the darker browns.

I also found my new favorite sweater yarns. Both Black Water Abbey Yarns and Philosopher's Wool sold really nice, hard wools. I love merino, but when I want a sweater that will wear like iron for a lifetime, these are the wools that I will buy. It's difficult to find hard wools in yarn shops; I guess they're not all that popular. But these knit up beautifully, and they are good solid yarns that will last forever. And, to someone that likes to wear sweaters for 8 or more years, that's a property you can't pass up. Marilyn (Abbey yarns) will send you a full color card for free, too, so you can get a feel for the yarns and plan your design before buying. I talked to Eugene and Ann (the philosophers of Philosopher's Wools) for over an hour during the market, and we also sat together at dinner. They are truly delightful people, and I will be happy to buy from them anytime. It's nice to know that you're supporting a business that is fair to the farmers, too.

I fell in love with Tencel at Just our Yarn. They had absolutely beautiful lace, made from a cobwebby tencel yarn. It shines beautifully, and looks wonderful with seed beads. I've been wanting to try some beading, so I bought a skein (1000 yards!).

Elsbeth Lavold gave a talk during dinner, on her exploration of Viking symbols in knitting. She has done some incredible work, both cultural and knit-related. I should have taken notes so that I could remember every last detail, but I didn't think of it until afterwards. She is another wonderful person, and a really inspiring designer.

Elsbeth has an exhibit over in the Ballard Nordic Heritage Museum, which I must go and check out (we drive past it to go to the Farmer's Market every week). They have a Nordic Knitting conference in March that I am thinking about attending, but we'll have to see how the writing is going at that point. It might be another good carrot. (I might turn into a rabbit at this rate, if I'm not careful!)

Dinner was also really nice; it was kind of strange to see people like Stephanie Pearl McPhee just sitting at a table chatting, and to have such a concentration of great teachers and crafters in one room together. I would have liked to stay later, but it was a long drive home, and I was pretty worn out. Next time I might consider getting a hotel room, and doing two days rather than one.

In all, it was a fun day, and I'm glad I went. I suppose now the question is whether I'll make it back for next time!

Is it the weekend?

2009-02-13T22:09:00.000-08:00

The one good thing about crazy busy weeks is that the weekend arrives before you really expect it. And this weekend is especially exciting, as tomorrow is Madrona day. (Well, actually, Madrona's been going since Thursday, but we'll pretend like I haven't missed anything by having work to keep me from going.)

So, it seems likely that there will be some actual fiber content soon!

I managed to find a moment when Branden and I were both in the house tonight, and measured the sweater progress. It's not as much as I thought. To be honest, it's never as much as I expect at this stage in his sweaters. We are officially into the endless middle stage, where it takes an infinite number of rows to make half an inch. Sometimes I wonder if it's possible to get negative rows per inch.

It just seems wrong that 16 inches is not enough to start splitting for the sleeves. I thought I was close at 12. Humph.

I almost said "too bad I don't have more papers to grade." I think I might need to get my sanity checked.

Me? Kreativ?

2009-02-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

Oh my.

I was thinking that I didn't really know what to say, but that's just silly. There's only one thing to say and that's "thank you!!" to Ellen and Jan of Twinset for awarding me. It still surprises me sometimes that people read my ramblings, so getting an award from a blog that I consistently enjoy and learn from is really an honor.

Next, I suppose, are the rules, should you choose to follow them. All award winners will:

1. Copy the award to your site (check)

2. Link to the person from whom you received the award (of course!)

3. Nominate 7 other bloggers (only seven??)

4. Link to the award recipients on your blog (I think I can handle that...)

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate (commenting too? This is asking a lot of a habitual lurker.)

Hmm. And now comes the really hard part. How on earth do you pick just seven blogs?

Fortunately, Twinset and Knitting Linguist are already awarded. (You should go check them out, and make sure to comment on Jocelyn's knitting research ideas).

The first award must go to Anne Hanson of Knitspot (I'm surprised, but I don't see any evidence that she's gotten this award yet, or at least not recently). If you've been here any length of time, you know that I don't knit from patterns. Designing is an important part of my process, and I can't give it up to knit from a pattern. I haven't knit many of her patterns, but I go to Anne's site for the sheer pleasure of seeing yarn turn into poetry in her hands. I have not yet found another designer that can make beauty as consistently as Anne does. (And if you knit from patterns, you want to try hers!)

The award for sheer technical prowess and unwavering geekiness must go to the Tsarina.

For consistent laughs and a daily story (I don't know how she does it), we have Sheepish Annie. She knits, too. But only dishcloths. With sleeves.

For a whole spectrum of ideas and beautiful photographs, Lolly.

For inspiring more than one "aha" moment in my journey toward spinning a respectable yarn, Abby's Yarns.

For best process blog I've read lately, Grumperina. (It's amazing what some people will do for a mitten!)

And for general fun and knitting-related adventures, Cattywampus.

And I think I am out of awards. But there are so many blogs left! Perhaps this will inspire me to update my sidebar with the blogs I currently read, rather than the ones I read a long time ago. Happy clicking!

ETA: There's no need to pass along the chain letter, unless you want to. So, don't feel obligated!

Looming deadlines

2009-02-11T22:53:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of deadlines looming in the not-so-distant future, and a few that are now (thankfully) in the not-so-distant past (as in, I finished grading midterms this afternoon).

The one good thing about grading is that I have to read every paper once through before I can really start to mark it up. It's best to have something to keep my hands busy during that first read, in order to restrain the commenting hand. That meant that I got to knit through the first reading of each of the 72 papers, and that has added up to something like progress on Branden's sweater. I am now 12.5 inches in, which might count as the only knitting progress that's happened since the last post, many eons ago (ok, 11 days, but it feels like eons, doesn't it?).

I think I've officially entered the "shows pronounced antisocial tendencies" stage of thesis writing...or maybe it's the "mutters to herself in a corner" stage; they're a little hard to distinguish sometimes.

But, now that the grading insanity is finished, I will be turning my attention back to the other spectres looming in the future, but I am hopeful that this will involve at least some amount of crafting. My doctor ordered me to de-stress (ha!!), so it counts as medically necessary, right?

To that end, I got something new to play with:

(Obviously, this was only because the doctor ordered it)

I seem to be suffering from a mild case of distractedness in my crafting lately; like a great dying, only in reverse. What is that called? I'm sure there's a biological name for it. Increased speciation? Maybe that's it. I'm not an unfocused dilettante. No, no. I am simply promoting craft biodiversity.

Or maybe I've been diversifying my crafting portfolio a bit lately. Seems wise, doesn't it? One can't have too many fall-backs in uncertain economic times. (Wise or insane; your pick).

Actually, I've wanted a loom for a long time. It was a tough choice between a loom and a spinning wheel two years ago, but I went with the spinning wheel. I was planning to wait and buy a loom after we moved (somehow portable is not the first word that comes to mind here), but one came up in the area, for a very reasonable price, and from someone that I am at least acquainted with through the blogosphere. It seemed too good to pass up a chance to get a loom and enable someone else at the same time, and buying used is always something I'd rather do when I know the seller, however distantly.

And so Branden and I took an unexpected drive/ferry ride out to the Peninsula a couple of weekends ago, and brought the new baby home. We then spent an evening figuring out how to warp it, and I've been playing with weaving in my spare minutes.
I'll show you that later, when I can take a decent picture.

First observations: threading a loom is not as hard as you think it will be, and boy is weaving fast! Once that warp is set up, you can make 4 inches in 20 minutes, no problem (and that's at raw beginner stage). Compared to knitting, it's light speed.

And you know, I could use some light speediness right now.

Growing things

2009-01-31T14:54:00.000-08:00

It's nice to take a moment to look at growing things. In the depths of winter, it is all too easy to forget that new life will return in the spring. This is the time of year when I start growing sprouts on the kitchen counter, both to supplement our winter diet of mostly root vegetables, and to remind myself that new life will spring up in no time, once given the chance.

In a week, those seeds will be tiny little green plants. It never ceases to amaze me.

I also take comfort the growth of my knitting. It may be cold, but a little fiber makes for cozy cuddling. Slowly but surely, Branden's sweater is growing. (I'm really glad that I've had the spinning to distract you with while I work on this project; "I knit another 2 inches of stockinette" makes for boring blog posts.) I finished the two 25 inch long sleeves last week. They are long enough to wrap a cat in:

Doesn't she look warm and happy?

The swatch is also growing. (Can you believe the bias in that feather and fan??)

It's really interesting to compare the width along different sections of the swatch; I have only varied the stitch count by one (to switch from even to odd number of stitches), so that variation is almost entirely due to the difference in horizontal stretch of the patterns. (With the exception of the section just to the left of the feather and fan.)

As you suggested, I blocked the lacy section to see what I thought of it before continuing. Turns out that I was wrong about the stitch type; it's a modified faggoting stitch (yo and k2tog), not a brioche (yo, k2tog, sl wyib). Just in case anyone was wondering.

I blocked it pretty severely, but this yarn has bounce, and it's pulled back together again since the blocking. I like it for all the reasons that I stated before. The pattern works, but it doesn't sing. I think this yarn can do better. So, I went back through the Walker books. Now that I have a better idea of the things I'm looking for in a pattern, I've narrowed it down to about 6 candidates.

Fluffy Brioche stitch:

Walker says that this is an especially light and airy brioche, and I have to agree. It's a beautiful fabric, and keeps the drape that I liked in the faggoting pattern. I think I would go up a needle size, though; the ssk's are hard to knit on these needles, and the fabric would benefit from being a tiny bit looser. I love the little "Y" shapes:

I also tried the Vertical Lace Trellis pattern, another yo-decrease mix (I really don't like the word faggoting, though it is the technically correct term, and has no negative connotations in this context). I really like the zigzag texture on this one, but it is a very solid, stable fabric, without the drape that I liked in the others.

It shows off the yarn beautifully, though.

A side shot shows the pattern texture much better (same order as above):

From this angle, I think I like the last (fluffy brioche) the best.

I have 4 more patterns to try, but I ran out of yarn. I'm officially a third of the way through the handspun. The swatch is currently 21 inches long, so I should get a reasonable-length scarf out of three balls. I want it to be wider than it is currently, but the increased width will probably just account for the large amount of yarn used in the stockinette-dense sections.

Now, I need to go wind another ball so that I can keep swatching. (At this rate, I'll be knitting this scarf at least twice...)

Is Cat the Cure?

2009-01-28T22:51:00.000-08:00

I've finally done it. I always look at fiber festival announcements and class lists, and I always think that it might be fun to go. I'm not a crowds-full-of-strangers person, and so it's hard for me to be super-excited about a big room full of people, even if they are of fiber-inclined. Add to that the cost of classes and the (high) probability of stash enhancement, and my practical side usually steps in and talks me out of it. Sometimes I manage to think I'm going up until a few days before, but I always end up deciding not to go.

Of course, as my dissertation gets closer and closer to being done, I'm starting to realize that I won't be here in a year, so many of the things that I've put off for "some other time" had better be done soon, or they won't be done at all. And really, it is a shame not to take advantage of the large fiber community in Seattle. (I know, I should have been doing that all along. I tried for a while, but after 2 knitting groups that dissolved or just didn't fit, I kinda gave up and went online.)

So, I just registered for Madrona. I even signed up for a class, and the banquet (so now I can't back out at the last moment, as I usually do). I decided to pass on the "spin for lace" class, because my wheel is not of the portable variety, and I don't really want to lug a full-size wheel around Tacoma in February. Too bad, though...it would have been fun.

Instead, I am taking an all-day class with Cat Bordhi. You have all heard me lament about the fact that I love handknit socks, but don't like making them. So why, you ask, would I sign up for a 6 hour class on socks? Well, I figure that Cat is probably the person to get me over the lack-of-sock-love, if anyone can. Even if that fails, I still think she'll be a fun person to think with.

Two weeks. Tacoma. A fiber festival. And maybe a new-found love of socks?

Swatch, Switch, Swatch

2009-01-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I turned the BFL singles into this:

I was careful when spinning to keep the colors as separate as possible, so I have very long color repeats on each single. Since there were small variations in the amount of each color and the thickness of the yarn as I spun, the color changes don't always line up, and so I get long sections where the three plies are different colors, as well as some where they are all the same. It's definitely not the most even yarn I've spun, but it is pretty.

There's a huge difference before (right) and after (left) setting the twist. For starters, the "after" yarn actually keeps the twist, instead of un-plying itself as the "before" yarn tends to do. It also blooms significantly in the bath, going from 12 wpi (before) to 9 wpi (after).

It's interesting to compare the BFL and the Coopworth. I spun them both with the same method, from combed top. The Coopworth is a shorter staple, has much tighter crimp, and makes a very thick, fuzzy yarn. The BFL is a smoother wool, almost silky, with a long staple and long, loose crimp, and it keeps a lot of shine in the final yarn. I think it will have much better stitch definition, and I expect (much) less pilling from the BFL.

Of course, I wanted to play with the yarn once it was dry. The question is: what to knit with it? It's still a heavy yarn, so it wants big needles. I love the look of a marled (barber pole) yarn, but I have a very hard time coming up with ways to knit it. Most patterns obliterate the twisted look, and it seems like that's a special part of the yarn that's worth keeping. Too much texture in the stitch pattern makes for a confused piece, because there's already so much going on in the yarn itself. I also don't have much yarn (~250 yds), so openwork would be good to help it go as far as possible.

I started out with a plain stockinette fabric, which I love. (This surprised me, as I usually feel that stockinette does not do justice to a marled yarn.)

I think I might like the reverse side even better. Unfortunately, a few inches of this dense fabric had already made a significant dent in the first ball of yarn, and I only have 3. Not a good sign.

So I added some holes to take up space. I like the braided look of the purl rows, but I don't like the rigid columns of holes, and I didn't think that this pattern really worked with the yarn.

So, I added even more holes, by trying a brioche-related stitch:

I like this because it preserves fairly long stretches of the yarn, so that I can actually see the details of the plying. On the other hand, there are so many long segments that it can look confused, and just generally too busy. I like this stitch better when it's stretched out.

It feels wonderful, too. Since the yarn is loose and open, it really lets you feel the silky smoothness of the fiber. Still, I wanted this to be a warm, thick scarf, and the brioche is almost too open. I really like it, but I'm not sure it's the perfect stitch. I wanted to see what else I could get out of the yarn. Next, I tried a feather and fan:

Visually, I think this stitch pattern works best with the yarn. From a distance, the brioche can just look tangled and random, but the feather and fan is a more solid pattern, and it keeps the purl-braids that I liked in pattern #2. The problem? It has serious bias. I was using only k2togs for decreases, so I think I could eliminate the bias issue by balancing out my decreases, though that usually isn't necessary in this pattern. A slightly less tractable problem is that it also takes a lot more yarn (fewer yo's means more yarn per square inch, and a much shorter piece).

Hmm.

Branden and I both agree that the brioche feels the best, but that the feather and fan looks better. The brioche might block out nicely, but I have a feeling that it won't hold the blocking particularly well.

So, I'm not sure yet what to do with this yarn. It's enough for a scarf, as long as it's an open pattern. There may be some biasing (though it behaves as though it's a well-balanced yarn in everything but the feather and fan), so a firm fabric is probably advisable, or at least a pattern that balances its increases and decreases. I dunno. What do you think? Keep swatching?

How I spin

2009-01-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

Jocelyn asked for a video of my spinning technique in the comments a few posts ago, so Branden and I took advantage of some rare sun last weekend to shoot a brief segment.

(I've had this whole post written and ready to go for a week, but we were having video compression issues. Sorry for the delay, but hopefully the problems are all sorted out now...)

Before I show it to you, I need to add the disclaimer that I am a new spinner, I don't have formal training, and I don't honestly know much about what I'm doing. I'm just playing with yarn, and doing what feels right to me. So, this isn't a tutorial...go to more experienced people for that!

After reading a little more about drafting techniques on Spinning Spider Jenny's blog, I think I am doing some kind of variation on an American supported longdraw.

When drafting, I just increase the length of my drafting zone at the same rate that I add twist, so that I have the same (low) twists per inch throughout the draw. When I finish the draw, I have to feed the yarn into the flyer slowly, because this is where I actually add the real twist. If I let it in too fast, I don't have a stable yarn. If I want more twist, I just let it in more slowly.

The video is shot from the front, by the flyer, which makes it seem like your attention should be on my left hand, but it's actually the right that's doing all the work. The left is just there to pull against for drafting, and to keep the yarn from rubbing on the orifice while I do a right-side draw. All of the thickness control is done by the right hand, by varying how hard I hold the fiber, and how far back I am on the staple.

If there's a dense spot in the top, I sometimes get a thick spot in my yarn, but there isn't much twist in the longdraw, so it's easy to pull thin again. This happens once about halfway through the video. To fix it, I just grab the two ends of the thick section, separated by about two staple lengths, and pull gently. If there's too much twist to move the fibers, then I roll the ends between my fingers to let some of it back out again, and continue pulling until it's the thickness I want.

So, that's how I spin. How about you?

The leaf socks that aren't are no more

2009-01-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

I finished knitting the leaf socks that aren't in November. November 21st, to be exact. They became my favorite socks, despite the fact that the splitty yarn made them unpleasant to knit. I had knit them small enough so that they didn't slop around on my feet (I like my socks snug), and the under-arch expansion fits my foot perfectly. I'm not used to having things fit my feet perfectly, and so I really appreciate it when they do. I will forgive a sock for being a pain in the neck to knit if it repays me by fitting well.

I wear knit socks a lot around the house, but not a crazy amount. I have very few pair of handknit socks in my collection, and so my favorites get worn fairly frequently. I probably wear these socks once a week, depending on how on top of things I am in the handwashing department (and really, how long does it take to hand wash a pair of socks?).

On Sunday, I looked down at my foot and saw this:

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a wear spot. In socks that are less than two months old. The rest of the sole is in similar condition:

(Look at that ladder! It didn't show up at all when the yarn was intact!)

The sole is quite threadbare, compared to the tops of the socks:

I'm considering a repair job, but it would need to be so extensive that it doesn't really seem worth it. And, why go to the trouble of darning something that won't even last 2 months?

You might ask, as I did, what happened to all the fiber? Did I just pull it on a nail or something? Well, if you happened to turn the socks inside out, you would find something like this:

All that remains of a completely disintegrated yarn.

I am not pleased. Has anyone else had this happen with bamboo/merino blends?

Spinning up a storm

2009-01-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

It's funny. When I started spinning yarn for a sweater, I thought that spinning would be a long, slow process. Turns out, it's not.

Two pounds of Coopworth top turned into this in almost exactly a month:

I finished washing and drying the sweater yarn last weekend, and then managed to wait until Wednesday before breaking into the new fiber (self control...ha!). I said last week that the top looks felted when it comes out of the dyepot. Does that not look felted? But, a little bit of fluffing, and it turns into a beautiful, puffy fiber, with no signs of felt.

I tried the bigger drive ratio, and the yarn is coming out a little bit finer than before (8.75:1 vs. 7:1), but I still have a ways to go before I'm producing fine yarn. I think (hope?) that this will be a little heavier than DK once plied. I guess we'll find out for sure when I set the twist!

I started spinning this on Thursday. I could finish tonight if I wanted to. I have 2 and a half bobbins full, and I only have fiber for three bobbins.This spinning thing is suddenly producing an awful lot of yarn. Not that I mind more yarn, of course, but it's a little scary for the non-stashing side of me to see this much yarn piling up so quickly.

I suppose this means that I should actually get some knitting done. I do intend to have some knitting content to show you soon, this being a knitting blog and all. Actually, I would have had some tonight, except that I forgot to take pictures earlier.

It's been a little easier to sink into spinning than knitting lately. I'm not sure why that is, except that spinning is a little newer and therefore requires a little more concentration. Maybe I need to pull out the lace knitting again, but that's a different kind of concentration. It's a counting and thinking sort of concentration, not a feel-fiber-run-through-your-fingers sort of concentration. Just a little bit different. Since I am in need of a little escapism through fiber, spinning seems to be a little bit higher on the to-do list lately, but I'm also looking forward to using the yarn I'm spinning, so hopefully there will be some interesting knitting to talk about soon.

So, the big question: what do I make with it?

Supporting small business

2009-01-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

Back again! Just reading through the blog list, and saw Boogie's post on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, and how it affects home crafters.

In short, a law is currently being put in place to require lead and other testing in all products that can be used by children. It's meant to protect kids from hazardous imported toys, but has no clause to exempt small businesses and home crafters. The testing that this law would require is expensive, and will be far too much for individual crafters to pay. Want to know more?

As someone that enjoys being able to choose handmade over big-box, I think it's worth a few minutes to send an email and object, no? We have until the 20th (that's next Tuesday) to object. Maybe it's time for knitters raise their voices?

If you want to include yours, you can do so by writing the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Office of the Secretary, email Sec102ComponentPartsTesting@cpsc.gov

They can be faxed to (USA) 301 504-0127

Snailmail:
The Office of the Secretary,
Consumer Product Safety Commission,
Room 502, 4330 East-West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland 20814 US.

Comments should be captioned: Section 102 Mandatory Third-Party Testing of Component Parts'

If you agree, please spread the word!

A new knitter?

2009-01-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

I ran across these pictures on my camera the other day. I can't believe I'd forgotten to share them with you! My nephew is about 15 months old, and he was fascinated with my knitting while we were home over Christmas.

Every chance he got, he'd run over and pick up the sweater in progress, find the needles, and tap-tap-tap the tips together. He didn't quite get the idea that the yarn needed to be involved for anything to happen, but he definitely knew that the needles needed to click.

I have to say, he was very good about being careful. He got into the knitting many, many times, and never dropped a single stitch. I think he might be a natural.

Week one is done!

2009-01-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I survived the first week of classes, despite the fact that my home internet connection and my computer refused to speak for most of the week. (That small inconvenience makes it rather difficult to answer student questions and keep up with blogs, I must say.)

But, I had something to look forward to.

Yesterday morning, I made small bundles (about an ounce each) of white BFL top. While those bundles bathed, I covered my dining room in plastic.

That's a 2 mil sheet of plastic from the hardware store. It failed to make a good cold frame for the garden (too lightweight, and ripped in the wind), but it does a great job of covering my entire dining room.

Of course, the reason for covering the dining room was that I was planning to play with things that stain.

I mixed up stock dye solutions in four colors, and one in black, in case I needed to darken the colors to get what I wanted. The stock dyes were then diluted down appropriately. At this point, I realized just how much dye you get in one of those Jacquard bottles. It's a lot. One tsp of dye powder makes 1/2 a cup of stock, and then 1-5 tsp of stock get diluted to 3/4 of a cup, which is a lot of dye. Good to know.

I did some test strips to check the colors.

I couldn't really see much difference between the burgundy and the purple, but I decided to use them both anyway, since I had already mixed them up.

If you've never gotten top wet before, you will be sure that you have felted it. It looks very sad when it comes out of the sink.

But adding colors makes it look like happy felt, at least.

The burgundy is on one end, and the purple on the other. Can't tell, can you?

I wrapped the top up into little plastic rolls.

And then steamed it for a long time.

When it cooled, it looked like this:

See those colors?

It must have steamed long enough, because the dye was exhausted. No leaking!

After its bath, it hung up overnight in the shower to dry. This morning, I had some very pretty fiber waiting (and it doesn't appear to have actually felted...it just got really dense)

I can now tell the purple and the burgundy apart, but my camera still can't. But we won't hold that against it, will we?

Maybe my carrot for this week is getting to do some more spinning...