Knitting

“After all this time?”
“Always.”

FO: Button Tunic

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I fell in love with this sweet little tunic the minute I saw it in Brave New Knits. One giant pocket for outdoor collecting? Genius. Problem was the sizing, and sadly the style, no longer suited my soon-to-hit-double-digits daughter.

So I seized my “Craft It Forward” opportunity when a a family member with not one, but two, little girls signed on. The plan was to make it for the oldest, with the thought that it might last as a hand-me-down.

I already had the purple cotton in my stash (purchased for some now-long-forgotten project when Izzy was little). Bought the dark indigo for the contrast, figuring it would make a good (read: dirt-hiding) pocket. I used flower buttons I had on hand and purchased the others, smitten with the tiny little sheep in the center of each.

The Cotton Glace knits up beautifully, but for the first time I understood why some people hate knitting with cotton. My hands required a lot more stretching due to the lack of give. Now that it’s been mailed off to the recipient several days ago, figure it’s finally safe to blog it. Seeing the photos here, wish I’d made the pocket a bit deeper. But even so, can’t you just imagine wildflowers poking out between those buttons?

Pattern: Button Tunic by Julie Weisenberger
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Glace (Lavender & Nightshade)

Go Heavy on the Greens

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When it comes to the Pogona, load up on whatever color it is you’re using. Seriously. The two skeins I’d purchased had 24 yards more than the 380 the pattern called for, so I figured I’d be safe. I’m always under in yardage used.

Well, I was just hitting a center triangle length of 12 inches (far from the 15 called for by the pattern before the edging) when I pulled out the kitchen scale. At best, I could hope for 4/5 more rows. Frantic call to my LYS the next morning, followed by lunchtime yarn run for the one (and only) skein left in the dye lot.

This has me seriously confused. I had gauge. As did many of the others who I’ve since read about on Ravelry. But then there are just as many people who made the shawl with the called for yardage or even less. If anyone can explain this phenomenon, please drop me a comment. Best guess I can come up with is that it all hinges on row gauge (which the pattern doesn’t specify).

 

 

 

 

 

 

But all’s well that ends well — with another 162 yards. And Crystal Palace Panda Silk Print was a joy to work with (52% bamboo with merino and silk rounding out the 100).

I got to try out my blocking wires for the first time. So much easier. Terrific investment, I’d say, not that anyone asked. Only problem is they were so easy to work with that I overdid the blocking by several inches. But since I wanted this shawl/scarf for the summer, I guess airy is good?

Those Last 3 Months (and 2 FOs)

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Why the long radio silence? Here goes…as quickly as I can.

Shortly after the year started, I found out that the woman who owns the house we were renting in ABQ wanted to put it on the market. Couldn’t blame her as I was coming to a similar conclusion about the house I was renting out in Minneapolis. But where and when to go?

Perhaps it was because my 46th birthday was nearing, kicking me into what I hope is the second half of my life—hey, I come from some hearty Scandinavian-Irish stock with many a 90+ birthday celebrated, so it’s not irrationally optimistic. Perhaps it was because when I started looking around at the piles of crap lovely stuff that had followed us across the country on our Westward moves, I started to feel like a Hoarders intervention could be on the horizon. And perhaps—no, most definitely—because the past few years had redefined intense.

And so the Great Downsizing Dream was born. A small, cozy place with less space and objects to clean. Pre-baked landscaping with the beauty that I, frankly, lack the patience or skill for. Maintenance and repairs in someone else’s hands, and checkbook. A downsized, yet upsized, life.

In other words, step off the moving sidewalk before you’re catapulted face first.

A lovely apartment was found. The first of dozens of Goodwill trips were made. A spring break moving “vacation” was planned. (The kid would eventually forgive me—the new place had a pool!) I was a woman determined and in control; I would live in 1/2 the space with 1/3 the stuff. With God as my witness, life would be clutter-free!

And then work got crazy in a way that I can’t describe, mostly because I’ve so thoroughly blocked it. The planned-for vacation time got cut short. The remaining charitable trips were replaced with a frantic call for a junk van. Seriously. Here’s the photographic evidence.

 

Fast forward 2 months to today, with work back to it’s “normal” pace and the apartment finally losing that warehouse veneer. My knitting needles are once again in action. There’s the dish towel that started this post to christen the new kitchen. And a scarf that, while blocked back at the house and worn several times in February, didn’t get photographed until it was unpacked in April.

 

More later…I’ve still got some unpacking to do. And a house in Minneapolis to sell.

2011 FOs: Sugar and Spice

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How can it be February already? This year the calendar seems as caffeinated as I’ve been to keep up with everyday life. To start, an FO that’s a first and old hat all at once. It’s the first FO that’s been worn multiple times before getting documented here. (It was photographed back in mid-January, though.) It’s also the third of the back-to-back Saroyans I’ve knit. This one for me, using yarn purchased during the trip to Taos. I’m pretty sure I’m done with this pattern … for now, at least.

Pattern: Saroyan 


After those multiple leafy, lacy scarfs, is it any wonder I was craving something bolder and faster to knit? When my friend Chris posted a Craft It Forward invitation on Facebook, I jumped right on board. And when I found this stunning handspun in the inoxia studios Etsy shop, I snapped it up for Jane, who has signed on as one of the five people I’m passing the the crafting on to. The hardest part about this project was finding a stitch “pattern” that let the yarn shine. I settled on a simple K1P1, which also gives the cowl plenty of stretch.

And, yes, that is snow. And, no, this wasn’t taken in MN. That’s NM snow you see.

New Yarn!

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Are there sweeter words in the English language? Tonight, I arrived home to find the purchases I made with my KnitPicks gift card (an utterly fabulous holiday present) a day earlier than expected. Hands down, best moment of the day.

First up, my choices for the Fiddlehead Mittens, which Chloe was kind enough to inspect without prompting. It’s the new Chroma (worsted) in the Galapagos and Bittersweet Heather colorways for the outside, Gloss DK in Woodland Sage for the inner mitts.

And then an assortment of other goodies. The far-left skeins of Gloss Fingering in Robot and Cosmos are intended for the Woodsmoke Scarf by Jared Flood (Brave New Knits). The other three fingering skeins, though, have yet to be spoken for (Imagination Hand Painted in Mermaid Lagoon, Stroll in Blue Violet Tonal). Hmmm, socks? Shawls? Both? Let the Ravelry browsing begin.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

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Along with finally starting this blog, last year I also set knitting goals for the first time. Rather than (as I feared) feeling like nagging tasks and dragging down my desire to knit, the two activities set me on a year of knitting like never before. More projects. More techniques attempted. More knitting friends.

So here we go again. This year my goals are about colorwork: a small starter project in Fair Isle (Intarsia is all I’ve ever attempted) and then something that requires steeking (what’s more fearless than cutting your knitting?). I’ve picked out the first project — the Fiddlehead Mittens, a pattern that I continue to love with each new version that hits Ravelry and one that Julie of Knitted Bliss has inspired me to tackle. As for the steeking, maybe one of the blankets in the second Mason-Dixon Knitting book? Definitely open for suggestions, so please post if you have them.

Also, I’ve got long-delayed FO shots for my old group of Twin Cities Public Television noon crafters. The 2009 log cabin afghan for my sister and brother-in-law that they saw lots of in its early stages but never got photographed when finished. When I saw it out during my visit this year, I staged a mini photoshoot so I could complete my Ravelry queue. (Yeah, I’m a bit of a completion nut; it’s pretty sick how much I love checking off those lists! 😉 And you’ll notice I remembered to photograph the FOs this Christmas. Happy New Year and new knitting!

Final 2010 FOs

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In the blur that was the holiday season 2010, there was lots of knitting but no blogging or photographing of FOs — especially since presents were part of the mix. The upside of that, however, was that I got a fresh mix of scenery and faces for this blog.

Pattern: Saroyan
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash (Lichen)

I’ve long-admired this pattern on Ravelry and picked it because I could easily lengthen the center section. (Mom isn’t a fan of wool, or anything really warm, right around her neck.) Plus, she’s also a big fan of Bones, so I knew she’d appreciate the nod to the show made by the pattern’s designer. Since she wore it throughout present opening, I’m pretty sure it was a hit. She was a good sport about modeling it for me later in good light (and, as promised, she’ll be happy to see that I did not include her no-makeup face in the posted photo).

Pattern: Saroyan
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool Solids (Orange)

This pattern is seriously addictive. I was only about half-way done with Mom’s where I decided I needed to make a second. This one for my friend Liz, who’s also a knitter. (Meaning, I could rest assured that she’d appreciate a handmade birthday present.) I really loved this yarn, which I haven’t knit with before, but picked because it was the closest match I could find to the yarn I bought in Taos for my Transverse Cardigan that she openly coveted. Mission accomplished because she asked within minutes of opening the scarf, “Is this that yarn from Taos?”

Pattern: Destroyed Cowl
Yarn: Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals (Rose Slate)

This last FO was actually the first finished, started and completed during that long Thanksgiving weekend as I kept Izzy company on the couch and watched too-many-to-count episodes of Monk (selected because the kid is really into mysteries at the moment and this is one of the few series where the violence is kept to a minimum; plus, if you saw Izzy’s room you’d understand my desire to try to send a little OCD vibe her way). While this one was knit for me, I was happy to share its wooly warmth for her test run in MN of her new ice skates.

FO: Violet’s First Sweater

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Pattern: Basic Knitted Dog Sweater from Dogs in Knits
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Taos (Hopi) and Nashua Handknits Julia (Velvet Moss)
Started: Nov 6, 2010
Finished: Nov 20, 2010

After making a sweater for a co-worker’s dog, how could I not make one for our little puppy? That’s the question Izzy recently posed. Then as if to drive home her point, the shaggy but not particularly furry Violet keeps shivering outside in the mornings. (Nice to see Izzy’s been sharing her dramatic skills.)

So I set about using leftover yarn in my stash, just in case Violet turned out to be sweater averse or decided it was as tasty as Izzy’s socks. I saved the leg cuffs for last, testing after I’d added one — and good thing, that band proved the tipping point for Violet’s tolerance. Off it came. Right now, Violet’s wearing her sweater without complaint. Izzy even swears she’s smiling about it.

FO: Izzy’s Skating Sweater

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Pattern: Finley from by Marie Grace Smith

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton

Started: June 2010
Finished: Nov 2010

I started the year with two simple, but long overdue, goals: knit lace, knit cables. For nearly two decades, I hovered in the advanced beginner realm, picking projects that promised relaxation and few challenges. But 2010 would be different. I’d stretched but hard for work the previous year and came out the better for it and not too banged up. Time to move out of my comfort zone in other areas.

Being a “let’s hold our nose and get the worst of it over first” kind of person, I started with the lace. The pattern was easy on the lace scale, but a worthy enough foe to make it one of my now prized possessions. Onto the cables … and the discovery that I couldn’t wait to turn that next cable.* The pattern, itself, was addicting and oh-so-smartly written. What’s not to love about a sweater that requires weaving in ends and toggle buttons as the only finishing details. No seaming! (And even so, that finishing sat untouched for a good month.)

Since I wanted to morph the Finely coat into a closer-fitting sweater for Izzy, I chose to use up a bunch of black cotton yarn I’d had for years — intended for Leigh Radford’s gorgeous Kandinsky Kimono. I purchased it back in 2002 during a moment of “nothing’s too hard if you want the knit item bad enough” delirium. (On a side note, kudos to the four Ravelers who’ve actually completed it. I’m so not worthy.)

Other than swapping out the wool yarn for cotton and using the 4-6 directions (Izzy’s 9), the only other mod I made was to do one fewer toggle (knew she’d never want it buttoned at the neck).

Special thanks to The Knitmore Girls for their terrific couture button tutorial.

* And couldn’t wait to start the next cable project; while I worked on Finley’s cable-less sleeves, I added in a few bibs.