KnitWerk

Husband and brother have October birthdays. We hosted the big joint celebration last weekend with a house full of overnight guests. While both have a fondness for sweets, their tastes are distinctly different, so we had two separate birthday cakes. Husband prefers lemon-y, coconut-y desserts—a bit mystifying for my family of chocoholics, but they love him, and choose to overlook this eccentricity.

With house guests returned home, and no hope for late trick-or-treaters, we’ve got a house full of sweets:

1. 2 bags of leftover Halloween candy. There was a big drop off in kiddie numbers this year.
2. 3/4 of Chocolate Potato Cake (great, great grandmother’s cherished family recipe—it may sound gross to the uninitiated, but it is fabulous)
3. One entire homemade coconut cream pie. We’ve already eaten the other one.

Someone, please, take the sugar away.

Feet of happy mom

I really have knit three pairs of socks this month—honest! Here’s the most recently finished, shown first, since they were the first gifted.

It was an experiment; one of Mom’s feet swells, so I wasn’t sure that I could make a sock that fit well. Super-stretchy sock yarn plus a pretty lace pattern equaled success.

Halloween accessory, or true identity revealed?

Younger, dreadlocked stepdaughter made it down from the redwoods for the weekend. Her Halloween costume has clarified something that I think we already knew. She picked up some ears for her costume yesterday, and hasn’t taken them off since… there’s something about them that’s just right somehow.

Normal California hippy, or actual woodland elf?

Confession: I originally started a different pair for my Sockapal2za exchange using the Alpaca gifted me by last winter’s awesome secret pal, Chrissie. I loved the Cable Rib Socks from Spring ‘05 Interweave Knits, and was able to squeeze gauge out of the alpaca – it was awfully dense, but it worked. For some leg/ankle shaping, this pattern uses bigger needles on the legs, then switches to #1US for the ankle and rest of foot. Just as I began to worry about the fabric being too dense as I was turning the heel, Husband started pouring on the hints about how he’d love socks like these.

This man does not, normally, yearn for knitted items.

(I made him a wool sweater years ago, but it’s too warm for him in just about any climate. He’s been able to wear it happily only for a few short weeks—when he was on assignment in Siberia during the winter of 2000. Since he has no upcoming trips to the Russian front planned, more wool sweaters are right out.)

Reading back over my entries, I have to note that the first thing out of his mouth when he saw the yarn in March was “This would make me a great pair of socks.”

Clearly, I’m a slow learner. After calculating upcoming knitting time against deadline, and realizing that really, the socks would be better on bigger needles with a looser gauge—OK, Husband gets the socks. I promise to heed any future interest he might indicate in yarn.

Feet of Happy Husband:

We took a nice, long car trip up the coast over the extended holiday, so I had lots of knitting time. I finished two pairs of socks: the new Sockapal2za socks, as well as a pair for my husband. First, for my pal, Errant Ankles by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer of Heartstrings, in a pretty, denim-colored Koigu KPM.

Project notes

• The pattern is a free tutorial on the socknitters site.
• While it’s nice to have this excellent pattern for free, there are some down sides. I’m accustomed to tersely-written patterns that save space. I was really annoyed by the tutorial format, since the actual directions are tucked in between pages and pages of long explanations. I wanted to start right away, but had to read through all this stuff to find basic things like how many stitches to cast on. To print the full pattern as written requires pages and pages of paper.
• The good part to the tutorial format is that you get to peek inside the design process. Also, she discusses many design options, and includes directions for alternate options. Once I calmed down and started reading, I found it pretty interesting.
• Though it’s written for sport-weight yarn, I used fingering weight Koigu. One of the extra credit sections discusses many options for changing gauge, and it was a snap.
• This was my first banded heel and spiral toe. Pretty heel! I love the fit of the spiral toe, too—I hate the feeling of extra fabric folding over my feet in shoes, and these are wonderful for pointy-toed people like me. Hmmm… I share this sensitivity with my father… maybe he would find this style comfortable, too? Dad, speak up if you’re interested.
• The lace pattern is super, duper simple. There are really just 3 rows to memorize for the entire sock: first section odd numbered, second section odd-numbered, and all even-numbered rows are the same. The diagonals come from the natural bias of the fabric. Easy, peasy.
• I knitted both at the same time on the magic loop. I highly recommend it for the lazy, disorganized or easily distracted knitter (like me). This is the perfect solution to the second sock problem. Also, some tweaking of the toes and heels was required to accommodate the change in gauge, and this allowed me to do the shaping at the same time, no notes required. Finally, I can see that this would be helpful for knitting a more complicated lace pattern, since you do the same row pattern for even longer.
• Summary: thumbs up from Sara! I’d definitely knit this pattern again, and I’ll be doing all my socks two-at-the-same-time from now on.

Now all I have to do is package ‘em up and mail them. In the mean time, they’re lounging near the window. The Koigu is pretty, with an almost nutty texture, and a slightly-varied color reminiscent of favorite old jeans:

This is the first in my series of knitting bags from felted sweaters (the ALP bag from previous post was the second bag). Designed for a redheaded friend with feminine tastes, it’s from a rosy brown women’s sweater, felted to make a small-to-medium-sized bag. I needlefelted a rose on each side patterned loosely after the lining fabric.

(Picky grammarians take note: I am aware that the correct term for throwing wool in the washing machine to shrink is “fulling,” but it just seems so contrived to put it that way. You’ll have to substitute the correct term in your mind as you read my blog. I don’t mind if you cluck and shake your head.)

This was a fun and challenging project. You’ve probably heard about Backtack, a exchange for crafty types. You send fabric to someone anonymously, who then makes things to hold notions for another anonymous blogger using the fabric they received. Since you’re basing your project on fabric that someone else sent you, there’s a huge loss of control involved that had me pretty stymied in the beginning. I got a late start, and then ran into a number of hurdles once I finally created a plan.

The blogger sending me fabric asked me what my pal would like, and after emailing the future recipient a few times and checking out her blog, I said, “send color.” I got a very fun package in the mail that included (very) colorful fabric, some lovely candles and lots of fun notions:

And then I pondered the situation. Happily, my pal is one of those types that posts nearly every day (unlike, ahem, bloggers like me). She posts a lot of photos, so I got a better sense of her taste. Except for type, I noticed that she never used black, and she loves stripes.

Last winter I started collecting wool sweaters from the thrift store. A search through my stash of fabric and wool put the whole thing together: I would make a knit bag out of a wool sweater (I made another one earlier; more on that later), focus on the bright solid fabrics, and pull the whole thing together with a happy stripe. I hope this suits her taste:

It’s a small project bag for socks or a hat, a large knit bag, a needle roll and a zippered pouch. Detail shots follow; y’all might want to just stop reading here, unless you’re interested.

This monogram is the detail on the whole project that took the longest. My pal and I share a love of letterforms, it seems. She likes to use her initials, so it was a detail I wouldn’t give up. Luckily, I had the sleeves to use for my experiments. Precision gave me trouble, even though I designed it with very simple letterforms. Transferring a design onto fabric caused problems, as well. I tried a bunch of stuff:

• Needle felting: While the sweater felted well, needle felting on the resulting knit felt was too difficult for the detail I wanted.
• Needle punch: The project is based on clean, bold color with crisp edges. I saw a needle punch kit in our local quilt shop, and was interested right away. Haven’t done it since I was a kid, and I liked the idea of raised letters and the texture. Ha! Wasted a bunch of time with this one; experimented with three different interfacings against the felted sweater fabric, and none worked well. Finally, I decided to work with regular fabric and applique it on the bag. This worked, but it didn’t have the look that I wanted. Again, the edges weren’t crisp enough. (I don’t have a picture. If anyone’s interested, let me know)
• Embroidery with pearl cotton: I liked the pearl cotton in the circles, but it was too thick for the typographic details.
• The solution: satin stitch embroidery with 3 strands of floss. Using fewer strands of classic embroidery floss did the trick in the blue and the white text areas. I made an applique (couldn’t get the design on the dark felt otherwise), and stuffed it before stitching it on.

By the time I was done with all this, Husband suggests, “Change your name! Keep it!”

A closer look:

The bag is lined, with pockets on one side and a zippered pouch on the other:

Obviously, someone enjoyed her new bias tape maker:

The small bag was a last-minute decision. She told me that she does small projects. The knitting bag I made earlier with the felted sweater method turned out a lot smaller. I still had a few scraps of lime green, so I created something she can use for small things. It’s reversible; on the other side, it’s predominantly green, with stripes on the bottom.

I loved this project. I can see a lot more little fabric bags and zippered pouches in my future—they’re so quick and easy! The knit bags from thrift store sweaters are a much bigger project, but I’ve got several more in the wings in various stages of completion. You’ll be seeing more of those from me.

I was kicked around by the flu the last week or so, and am finally feeling a bit better. There were several days there where knitting seemed too difficult. Despite that, I do have some progress to report:

• Finished my Interlacements Clapotis – but I don’t like it. I did an extra repeat for a wider piece, and it’s just too wide. I’m very much a scarf/shawl person, so it’s not that I wouldn’t wear it… it’s just that when I try to throw one end over my shoulder for a casual but oh-so-glamorous look, it’s too bulky and clumsy. I’m trying to wait until I’m at 100%, though, before doing something as drastic as ripping back to the start of the straight section… it’s possible that need to take another look at it with a clear head. I love the look of the fabric knitted up, but I admit that I don’t enjoy knitting with the yarn.
• I started Sexie from Stitch and Bitch Nation for my niece (the only one that didn’t want a poncho). I’m knitting it out of the remainder of my Interlacements. Like me, her favorite color is purple. While this yarn is variegated and includes some other colors as well, I suspect she’ll like it. I’m about halfway done, but I’m really getting tired of the feel of this yarn in my hands—another reason to avoid ripping back and reknitting my Clapotis right away.

I’ll post photos next week.

Last month, when my nephew came to visit, we actually did do some yarn dyeing with Kool Aid. The skeins have been (ahem) drying in the guest bathroom since then… I think it’s fair to say that they’re now completely dry. Since six-year-old attention span only lasts so long, there’s still some white yarn left to dye another day. I love the way these first skeins turned out:

Off to Mom and Dad’s for a weekend visit. I’m bringing lots of craft stuff to do—gotta take advantage of Mom’s great sewing machines and huge fabric/yarn stash. I’m hoping to finish some bags from felted sweaters. Wish me luck!

(This post is missing a few photos, but it’s getting old now, and I came down with the flu—no photos or knitting happening lately. Just bad daytime TV and stacks of empty Kleenex boxes)

I used to make a lot of jewelry, so I thought stitch markers would be a snap. The classic way to make them would be to use a jump rings (round circles of wire) with sufficient diameter to accommodate a needle, and add beads strung on a head pin (a straight stick of wire with a little stopper at the end to hold the beads) and wrap the remaining head pin wire around the jump ring to secure. Simple.

However, I didn’t have jump rings, and jewelry making at my house is a spontaneous business. Alternative #1 was to use a 2” head pin, short beads, and make the big loop out of the head pin wire. Easy! This works fine, and makes short, light little markers:

(imagine picture here of the stitch markers on unfinished Clapotis #1)

These first stitch markers were eaten by the Clapotis that I started last winter, a project I abandoned as soon as I started dropping stitches (I’m not sure I like the hand of the yarn in its final form—it seems too light). Anyway, there sat my entire bounty of markers, trapped by an unfinished project.

I tried again soon after. This time, I still had no jump rings, and I’d used up all head pins long enough to create the big loop. Alternative #2 was devised: create the entire marker with bead threaded on plain wire, and secure the bead with a little spiral. I just love the look:

These, however, failed the knit test. I made them for gifts, and fortunately started using a couple before mailing them off. Those pretty little spirals trap yarn, getting tangled and sometimes snagging stitches. This will.not.do. I’m honing in on some key criteria, however, with this failure.

Stitch marker requirements:

• They must be light enough not to add noticeable weight to the needles.
• They must be pretty, and make knitting feel like a special indulgence.
• They absolutely should not harm the knitting in any way, or cause frustrating tangles

I bought some jump rings to try again. My preference was for the solid ones (called “closed” on most sites), but I couldn’t find ones that were big enough, so I picked up a cheap package of the open jump rings (there’s a little split in the circle). Maybe the splits wouldn’t snag anything? I started knitting away on Clapotis #2, this time just using just the jump rings as markers. We’ll say that I meant to do this as a test, not because I was too lazy to get the jewelry tools out.

See the little split in the circle?

I hate them. Invariably, those little splits find all the little sensitive spots on my hands, causing a scratch or a prick.

Add one more criterion:

• Stitch markers should not hurt!

Last weekend I dragged the jewelry stuff out to try them again. In some old experiments, I found the solution for Alternative #3: use wire, and secure the beads by wrapping the wire through and then up and around the bead. As you tighten the wire, you can create little designs. They’re kinda random and artsy-fartsy—I’m pretty happy with them:

They still have to pass the knit test, though. I’m about to try them out as I start the decrease section of Clapotis #2. Wish me luck!

(imagine photo here of stitch markers on current, almost-finished Clapotis #2)

I finished this a while ago – it was a very quick project. Just got around to taking a photo:

I’m really happy with it. It’s not a wear-it-every-day scarf, but it will have its uses. I have a big collection of eclectic accessories that I like to wear on a regular basis. This one is, I admit, a little strange, but I love it. Unfortunately, it’s become a little warm to wrap that much fabric around one’s neck, and the scarf really only looks good if it’s fully wrapped around at least once.

Some notes:

• It’s my first project ever—in many years of knitting—where I used the exact yarn, in the exact colors.
• Except—I didn’t like the tomato red with the other colors, so I left it out. It’s too orange for me, but will make something nice for someone else (trying v. hard not be cynical, and see extra, seemingly unnecessary color as attempt to sell more yarn). There’s plenty of the others left over to make more roses.
• Larger needles help the roses to curl, but I preferred the result on US 7’s instead of the recommended 8’s. I think the end-most mauve one in the photo was the first rose finished on the 8’s
• I don’t often use chenille, but I loved it in this pattern. It’s very soft, and the color selection is amazing.
• I enjoyed the crocheted trellis. It’s been a long time since I did much with a hook.
• It was a satisfying, very quick knit project. I started and finished within a week.

All in all, a success!

In other work, I’ve been sewing the purple purse together by hand whenever I can stand it, and I’m about halfway finished with Clapotis, knitted with my Interlacements yarn from Stitches West.

Some things are hard to avoid when you’re your own boss, and during certain times of the year we’ll put in absurd hours to design and create things that would have taken much longer under normal circumstances. In these times of 14-hour days and 7-day work weeks, knitting takes on a special role: that of stress reliever.

Important factors to remember in the stress relief scenario

1. Knitting doesn’t begin until 9 or 10 p.m.—sometimes 11.
2. I am not my best, most alert Thinking-Knitter Self. My allotment of brain energy has already been used for the day.
3. I will come to knitting after spending ungodly hours at a computer, and though I’m relatively young, my hands, eyes and brain will feel the consequences (especially after three straight weeks of this schedule).

I’m searching for the perfect stress knitting projects. I share with you my discoveries during these last few weeks:

• Anything that might need a life line is RIGHT.OUT. I am not my best self at this time, and will make bad judgments, as in, “Oh, I don’t need that sissy lifeline stuff—by paying attention, I’ll knit the pattern carefully, never forgetting yarn overs or accidentally substituting k2tog for ssk.” I am wrong, possibly delusional, and will most certainly need to frog a difficult-to-rip pattern.


• Anything on tiny needles is probably a not the best thing. I need progress, baby, and I need it NOW. The joy of accomplishment is an important factor in stress knitting.


• Trying a new technique? A collossally bad idea. I need the comfortable—the tried-and-true. In a normal day I may be energized by practicing new things, but in these challenging times, my goal is knitting that is the equivalent of comfort food. Mashed potato knitting, in other words.


• Subtitled movies, though they may represent some of my favorites, are not enjoyed to their maximum during stress knitting. During the best of times, I can knit without looking, but I get lazy during stress knitting, and my pore lil’ brain just can’t handle both.


• Dark yarn = probably another bad idea.


• Knitting from stash yarn will make me feel both virtuous and productive.

It turns out that knitting ponchos for my many nieces (out of ancient stash yarn!) is a nice, happy thing to do. I managed to bang out a couple of ‘em without thinking. Yay! Happy nieces no longer have to covet my sister’s Harlot poncho! There are still 2 more to go, but it’s still snowing where they live, so I’ve got a bit o’ time left. Pictures to come as soon as I block them. Blocking is not part of the Stress Knitting agenda. Lovely results, but the process isn’t fun enough.

Sure, the Sockapalooza sock deadline is looming, but the other deadlines have all been meant. Stress Knitting Time has drawn to a close.