KnitWit

Knitting accessory?

2005-06-22T11:12:00.000+09:00

I don't have any progress photos to post, since the front and back of Butterfly are exactly the same. However, I wanted to show you this great new gadget: a nice wooden book stand. You can adjust the tilting angle and moveable arms keep the pages open. I'm very excited about it! It will also be good for putting cookbooks on while working in the kitchen.

The book being modeled is Joyce's Ulysses; I've always been terrified it but finally decided to give it a go. It may not be suitable reading for lace knitting, though... perhaps I should start something in garter stitch!

I'll leave you with a cool knitting link: check out the photos.

Gauge...

2005-06-09T23:02:00.000+09:00

...it gets you every time.

I cast on to knit the edging for the front of "Butterfly", having completed the edging for the back (and then picked up stitches to knit the body). If I could do it all over again, I would have knit both edgings first, as my gauge has loosened since I knit the first edging, and I'm having a devil of a time tightening up to match. I suppose I could go down a needle size, but that would require altogether too much work (i.e. going out and buying a new pair of needles!).

Not to mention ripping back the too-big edging is NOT FUN. Ah, mohair. I'm convinced it's what the King had in mind when he sang "Devil in Disguise".

I think for most lace projects, gauge isn't a crucial issue, but since in this case (a) both halves need to be the same size and (b) it has to fit me, it's quite important. Also, I've knit so few lace projects that I don't really have a 'feel' for whether I'm knitting tightly or loosely yet. In stocking stitch I can knit a whole project loosely or tightly, on purpose, and manage to maintain even tension. In lace, I'm just trying to make sure I stick to the pattern as I increase and decrease (the secret to my success so far has been lots of post-it notes).

Speaking of gauge, if you're knitting a project and just can't get it (or trying to adapt a pattern for a completely different gauge), you should download "Jim's Handy-Dandy Little Knitcomp Program." It's free, and it's saved my (knitting) bacon on more than one occasion.

Make a pot of coffee and settle down for the morning

2005-06-07T11:31:00.000+09:00

If you're anything like me, you go on bouts of knitting web-surfing. You check out the newest catalogs, or if there aren't any new ones you haven't yet seen, you search for obscure knitting studios that might have 'new-to-you' patterns. You window shop at online knitting stores (in my case, the prohibitive shipping costs to South Korea are what prevent me from adding items to my shopping cart, but I'm sure you have your own reasons). You look for new blogs with interesting prose, interesting projects, or interesting pictures (you come across the triple-threat blogs that contain all three but rarely). You skim all the postings on Knitter's Review. You download free patterns you'll probably never knit, 'just in case.' And, more often than not, you're convinced that you've seen it all. That you've spent so much time reading knitting web sites, that there's nothing more to read. Jaded, you turn off the computer and go back to that stalled project. When it stalls again, you'll go back to the PC to find that, happily, there are new sites! New catalogs! New postings! And even old sites you hadn't found.

If you're anything like me, you'll spend an enjoyable morning perusing the Victoria and Albert Museum's online knitting exhibit (link courtesy of Claudia Knits). They've got items from the collections, an explanation of regional knitting in the British Isles, really really egotistic interviews with British knitting designers, a free surrealist pattern, free 1940s patterns, and a free Rowan pattern ("Liberty" from "Classic Cafe"). I hope, however, that unlike me, you won't be ripping back row upon row of knitted lace mohair while you read it!

Thing of Beauty

2005-06-03T12:55:00.000+09:00

My latest project is "Butterfly", a (randomly) beaded lace camisole from Rowan 37 designed by Jennie Atkinson, who is, I believe, new to the Rowan team (correct me if I'm wrong), and it is a Thing of Beauty (capital letters Absolutely required).

I'd planned to knit it in a lavender colour but when several balls of kidsilk haze were put next to several different colours of beads, the only combination I really liked was the one photographed: a very pale pink called "pearl". The shiny glass seed beads are pale pink and off-white, and I think the colours combine nicely for an antique lace effect.

I really like the effect of knitted lace, and I also enjoy the process, but its low wearability factor has led to few lace projects for me. I have a gorgeous white lily of the valley shawl my grandmother gave me, and I think I've worn it once (and even then, it didn't really go with my outfit). I might occasionally sling a wrap across my shoulders but a lace shawl is really too fussy for my style. A tank top, on the other hand, is just the ticket, which is why I was very pleased to see this design in the latest Rowan. I think I'll be able to wear it with skirts (over a beautiful silk camisole that I have yet to find) or jeans (over a plain cotton spaghetti-strap tank).

So far the knitting's gone smoothly and surprisingly quickly, except for one ridiculous mistake that forced me to rip back 25 rows or so. When you're knitting lace with beads and mohair, ripping back takes as long (if not longer) than the knitting itself. To solve this problem, I plan not to make any more mistakes!

The one thing that worries me is the seaming, as it will make or break the piece. Fortunately there are only two side seams, but I haven't seamed anything lacey before (who HAS? Not much seaming to do on a shawl or scarf!) and I'm a little worried. Anything like backstitching where you end up with bits folded to the inside (sorry, I don't sew so I don't have the proper vocabulary) would show, but the more invisible mattress stitch has only been successful for me in stocking stitch so far. Ah well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it - I'm still not finished the back. I think I definitely won't use the Kidsilk Haze for the sewing but probably sewing thread.

I'll leave you with a closeup of the stitch pattern, which I believe is quite common (at least, it looks very familiar, but then it should as I've been spending a lot of time staring at it lately!):

I'm also working on "Hobo", another tank top from Rowan 37, and I've got lots of ideas about knitting these days so I should be back to blogging for the forseeable future. Winter and its light levels unfavourable to knitware photography bogged me down for a while.

Executive Decision

2005-03-03T11:27:00.000+09:00

As I started on the right (and final) sleeve, I realized it was different than the left sleeve. According to the pattern, the fair-isle band on the left sleeve is worked near the cuff, while the band on the right sleeve is knit farther up, a little closer to the elbow, for an asymmetrical look.

I hadn't noticed this, because you really can't tell in the photograph. The sleeves are all scrunched up and hands are in pockets. It would have taken an eagle eye to spot the difference. I take it the photographer wasn't too pleased with the asymmetrical sleeves! At any rate, since I hadn't been planning to knit them symmetrically, I decided to go ahead as I'd planned, since the sweater in my head did not have asymmetrical sleeves. I think they'd be quite off-balance and weird-looking! Besides, most sweaters with a fair-isle pattern don't have sleeve bands near the cuffs, so I think it's 'different' looking enough already.

Computer problems prevent a photograph, but the front and back have been blocked and they're looking gooooood.

Kim Hargreaves' Site is still not up. I hope she's working on her Spring collection....

La la la, I love my Fair Isle...

2005-02-21T23:06:00.000+09:00

However, I must say that knitting fair isle flat is POINTLESS and STUPID! I usually have nothing against purling, but you can't see the pretty patterns when you're working on the wrong side of the design, and (the clincher) you end up with soooo many yarn ends to weave in afterwards.

I suppose I could have modified the pattern to knit it in the round, but I've never done that with set-in sleeves before, and besides I think that for this, a relatively fitted sweater, seams are necessary.

At any rate, I love the colours and I love, love, love Felted Tweed. It's 50% merino, 25% alpaca, and 25% viscose (which is a fancy name for rayon). I am a sucker for tweed, and I love the softness and the colours.

The off-white colour you see in the pictures is actually a substitute: the pattern called for a light blue, which I think would look strange and bad.

I have finished the front and the back. I got to the cap of the left sleeve and realized I'd forgotten to adjust for the difference in row gauge between myself and Ms. Hargreaves, and was forced to rip out.

***

I didn't see any interesting knitting-related stuff in China, but as I returned via Seoul I of course paid a visit to MyKnit Studio and picked up the yarn for my next project: seven balls of Yorkshire Aran Tweed to knit "Demi" from Rowan's Vintage Style:

Though the photography makes it look like a deep purple, the sample was actually knitted in black, and really wouldn't show up in most lights. My first choice (brownish-green) was not in stock, nor was my second (eggplant-purple) so I chose a shade called "tusk", a dirty bone colour which I think will make the design slightly more traditional but no less nautical.

I've realized I don't really like names for sweaters... I tend to refer to the project I'm working on as "the pink sweater" or "the fair isle sweater" or "the felted tweed sweater", though I do use pattern names on the blog for others' reference. I think I will refer to the new sweater as "my sailor sweater."

Oh - and I actually got the exact stitch and row gauge. This never happens.
In the suggested 5mm needles. This never happens.
Yes, I swatched for the sailor sweater after ripping out the fair isle sweater's sleeve. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!

I promised pictures...

2005-02-04T22:17:00.000+09:00

...but unfortunately I'll have to leave you with this as I've been so busy packing for my trip to Beijing that snapping photos of the work-in-progress was not an option. In fact, I'm severely cutting into my schedule just by posting this message! But the sweater is gorgeous (now that I've sorted out some gauge problems) and I can't wait to show it to you.

Le Rowan nouveau est arrivé!

2005-01-31T18:11:00.000+09:00

There's nothing like a slew of new knitting magazines to bring you out of the midwinter blahs. Colourway is, as usual, offering the first glimpse of Rowan and Jaeger's new offerings, with the addition of a new brand called "RYC".

I'm not particularly excited about Rowan 37 - but the summer issues usually leave me pretty cold (except for Rowan 31 - that was a great issue). There's a lot of back-to-the-80s stuff that I don't think anyone who lived through the 80s would particularly want to revisit, and I don't like a couple of the new yarns (cotton tape, linen print...).

First, the bad:

I think this skirt belongs in R2 (and I think R2 belongs wedged under the short table leg in the basement).

I christen this sweater "Boob pockets".

Now, the good:

I think this is a beautiful, heirloom quality piece (also available in camisole length) and just the ticket for those interested in lace but oh-so-un-interested in shawls.

For the most part, I stay away from knitted tanks (off the rack as well as off the needles)... tanks are generally supposed to be sexy and fitted (or tight). Plus they're for warm weather. So wool tanks, chunky tanks, tanks knit in yarns or at gauges as to allow nipples to show, and most other knitted tanks are really unflattering (too bad, because the thought of not having to knit sleeves is really attractive). This one, however, is different. It's a very casual, wear-with-jeans, I-bought-this-at-the-Salvation-Army sort of look, and I really like it. I wonder which yarn it's knitted in.

In related tank sightings, this from Jaeger's latest is also excellent. Classic, great lines, and you can wear it anywhere.

RYC
I'm not a big Martin Storey fan, but he's doing some interesting things in the "Classic Cafe" and "Classic Garden" books (though I'd like to say that "Classic Cafe" is a really, really stupid name).

I don't really like the colour combination but I think he's mixed cables into a graduated-colour fair isle pattern in a really neat way.

The Home Front
I am knitting, although it was too frustrating to blog about it for a while. Expect exciting new photos on Thursday.

Argyle socks are fun and easy!

2004-12-20T00:08:00.000+09:00

No, I'm not being sarcastic. The argyle chart is so common-sense that I memorized it in about 2 seconds. Watching the colours change is completely mesmerizing, and it seems to be growing so quickly! I find it actually easier than fair isle, because I don't have to worry about making the floats too tight. I'm using simple hanging lengths of yarn instead of bobbins, and I'm having no tangling problems - I just run my hand along the full length of each strand of yarn as I pick it up to keep them nicely separated. Joining new lengths isn't even irritating me! I'm in sock bliss! Everybody, rush out and get some sock yarn in some crazy colours, pick your favourite sock pattern, and make yourself a chart!

The sock is so beautiful that sometimes I have to put it down, look at it, and sigh a little. I think once it's blocked it will be absolutely gorgeous.

I must admit that I'm not too excited about weaving in all these ends, though...

The only thing I don't like is that the diamonds are a little squashed. Next time I'd make the chart diamonds a little thinner so they turn out at 45-degree angles once they're knitted.

The Holy Grail

2004-12-16T22:18:00.000+09:00

For as long as I have been knitting, I have considered Argyle Socks the holy grail. The epitome of the perfect (and the perfectly difficult) knitted garment. Now I know there are those of you out there who will tell me that knitting a lace shawl, or a complicated Norwegian sweater, or a Suss Cousins design without completely re-writing the pattern for clarity and accuracy, would be a far more difficult accomplishment. And you may be right. But nothing, in my never very humble opinion, screams "knitting" like an argyle sock, and nothing so classical is quite so cool. For good or bad, Argyle socks are my own personal knitting Everest. When I have knit the argyles, I will have Made It as a knitter.

Yesterday, as I was frogging a glove I really didn't like, I realized that very thin yarn, working in the round, and even using multiple colours of yarn are project characteristics to which I have become accustomed. I can't say that I've knit anything bigger than a coaster in intarsia, nor can I say I don't blanch slightly at the thought of eight or nine different lengths of working yarn all dangling from one sock, but I realized I'm ready to make a stab at it.

Thus, I began.

Yes, the socks will be black with hot pink and shocking green diamonds: that's what I have on hand, and my LYK* doesn't carry anything in a suitable gauge. The pattern is a vintage one of indeterminate age I picked up somewhere in my travels, headlined "Argyles: the sock Mrs. America likes to make, the sock Mr. America likes to wear." That, I can only hope, makes me the Miss America of Argyle socks.

Alas, the rather unfortunate photo above is all that remains of my first attempt. Gauge, that "cruel mistress,"** forsook me (I blame measuring tiny black stitches in a dim room at night - and wishful thinking) and the too-small sock had to be frogged. Now that I'm actually knitting argyle socks, however, I have realized my full knitting genius potential and thus re-created the chart at a more suitable number of stitches. Obvious Argyle Sock Lesson #1 is that the pattern is entirely geometric, symmetrical, mathematical, whatever you want to call it - and thus, easily manipulated to any size of diamond whatsoever.

I was tempted to pretend the first (failed attempt didn't happen), but decided against maintaining a dignified Argyley hauteur in favour of showing you, dear reader, that even a bonehead like me can knit the Holy Grail of knitwear. A seemingly excellent Argyle tutorial can be found here. I won't be reading it - it looks quite long, and I want to figure this out on my own (did I mention I'm a bonehead?), but it's definitely worth adding to your bookmarks.

*Local Yarn Kiosk
**I am quoting Claudia of Same's Knitting and Spinning Blog

Fingerless Mitts

2004-12-08T13:11:00.000+09:00

"Please, Sir, I want some more!"

As I mentioned earlier, my workplace is, for the most part, unheated. Granted, winters in Changwon are warmer than those in Halifax, but it's cold enough to be uncomfortable. I knit these fingerless mitts (pattern courtesy of Knitty) in some DK-weight superwash on two circulars. I tested them at work yesterday, and while I occasionally experienced (simultaneously) sweaty palms and cold fingers, I was noticeably warmer than I had been on Monday.

If I made them again, I'd increase to create a thumb gusset - these are knit straight from top to bottom, meant to stretch over the hand. This results in the ribbing being twisted instead of hanging straight, and the pulling at the top results in a less-than-perfect fit. I probably will make another pair in another colour, maybe in sock yarn to fit under closer-fitting shirts.

Thanks to those who posted in the comments, it's good to be back! Re: my sudden arrival in South Korea, I'd been vaguely planning to go since around last Christmas, and began making plans this summer. I was no longer certain of my next steps after university, and I'd never been overseas, so I thought a year or so of teaching English in Korea would be a great way to spend the time while I thought about things. The whole process got rolling more quickly than expected, and I ended up leaving about a month earlier than planned. To find out more and see some photos, check out my travel blog.

P.S. I found some aran-weight yarn which I think will do nicely for the Rogue cardigan. Details to come.

The return of the prodigal

2004-12-05T15:19:00.000+09:00

Apologies to all for my abrupt disappearance from the blogging world. My only excuse is that I moved to South Korea rather suddenly. My Hotmail email address expired, so if you sent me an email, I unfortunately did not receive it. I have accordingly switched to Gmail.

I knew it was time to make a comeback when I bought bamboo circulars for the equivalent of 50 cents each and realized I didn't have anyone with whom to share this marvelous find. Well, not anyone who cared about knitting needle retail prices. Therefore, I say unto you: come to Korea, where the streets are paved with bamboo knitting needles.

Don't come to Korea if you want to knit with Aran-weight wool.

My place of work is for the most part unheated in winter. I left my big wooly sweaters at home (it's hard to pack everything you need for at least a year into two bags, isn't it?). 90% of the clothes in Korea are too small for my Scottish-Estonian frame. Conclusion? Start knitting! I deemed it the perfect time to knit Rogue (cardigan version). Because I dislike hype, knitalongs, and jump-on-the-bandwagon-ness of any kind, I feel compelled to point out that I have been wanting to knit this sweater since it was still named Brigand. If you now feel compelled to conclude that I am a petty snob, that's okay too!

Unfortunately, my local yarn store, or perhaps I should really say local yarn kiosk, doesn't seem to carry anything between DK and Chunky weight yarn (then again, with the language barrier I could be wrong). For the most part, the only yarn shops appear to be tiny booths inside larger buildings. I have not yet come across anything I would describe as a "yarn store", nor am I likely to, except by accident (language barrier yet again). I do know of one in Seoul that actually stocks Rowan, but as I'm 5 hours away I haven't yet made the trip.

Shopping for yarn online is fun until I calculate shipping costs to Korea. Feel free to leave your suggestions for large, warm, DK-weight sweater patterns in the comments!

The above photo represents my first Korean FO, a scarf version of "Madli's Shawl" from IK Summer 2004, which I started before I left Canada. A close-up of the main lace pattern (complete with Estonian "nupps") is below. Like the Yarn Harlot, I adore Nancy Bush.

If you're interested in learning about expat life in South Korea, visit my travel blog "I Shall Make That Trip".

2004-06-06T11:59:00.000+09:00

Ooooh

Details to come next week - I'm out of town till Friday.

"There is no reward for love except the experience of loving, and nothing to be learned by it except humility."
--John Le Carré, The Secret Pilgrim

2004-05-30T10:34:00.000+09:00

H'm... I think I've got it
Hey everybody, I've realized I want to be able to wear my sweater after graduation on the 8th if it gets cold, which means I need to FINISH it! So, armed with my new motivation, I set out to (naturally) research.

1. A knitter named Rachel kindly sent me an email telling me how she picked up stitches to create the button bands, but that she had heard others comment that the "Phildar approach" of sewing on a button band makes for a "more professional-looking result." Cheered with the knowledge that if I do fail miserably and have to pick up stitches, all will not be lost - yet firmly resolved to create a "professional-looking result," I press on.

2. For those of you who can read French, Phildar's "Fiches Tricot" ("Knitting Files") is a useful resource. It contains these instructions for attaching a button band. I translate them as follows:

The sewing of a ribbed band is used for:
-necks
-button bands
The band (button or neck) has already been knit according to instructions*. Iron [press] the portion in stocking stitch to flatten the stitches and ease unravelling. Put the band on the right side of the knitting, distributing the stitches and fixing them with a few pins. Un-knit** the rows of waste yarn leaving only one row which will be unravelled as the sewing progresses.

This sewing is done on the right side of the garment, stitch by stitch using backstitch in the following manner:
Bring the needle under the knitting and up through the second stitch of the ribbed band. Bring the needle down into the first stitch and, passing under the knitting, bring it up through the third stitch. Return the needle into the second stitch, bring it up through the fourth stitch, and continue in this way in each stitch.

* when finished knitting the band, instead of binding off, knit a few rows in stocking stitch with waste yarn
** 'détricoter' sounds so much nicer!

3. My trusty copy of Vogue Knitting* has similar instructions to #2, and a better diagram.

*Its subtitle is The Ultimate Reference Book. It's good, but I wouldn't call it ultimate. I would like to say what Maggie Righetti says about button bands, but I can't find my copy of Knitting in Plain English - all my books are still in boxes in the garage, and I don't seem to have organized them as well as I would have liked.

3. Melinda at Purlwise (one of my favourite blogs) attached a collar to a Phildar sweater using this technique, and explains it here. Start reading at "Collar". If she can do it, so can I!

4. I check skinnyrabbit.com (I hate to say it, but every time I see "Fluffa!" I just think of "fluffer," which is terrible, I know, but there you go). Becky knits Phildar stuff all the time, and has pointed me to her commentary on backstitching collars. Her photographs of the technique, contrary to her assertions, make it look neither easy nor fun, but I think I am finally beginning to understand how this whole thing works. The only thing I'm worried about is that this is done on the FRONT of the garment. But I guess since you do it with live stitches it's sort of half sewing half grafting. Oh, and none of the diagrams show exactly where you're supposed to put the needle on the fabric to which you're sewing the button band - do I match stitch for stitch? I don't think that will work out proportionally....

I'll let you know how it goes.

2004-05-28T11:11:00.000+09:00

Woo!
After marinating for a zillion years, the Estonian mittens are done! I have decided thumbs aren't that bad after all, and my next small project will be a pair of Estonian gloves.

I also finished the first Secret Pal Sock... it's much greener than this photo suggests. I'm just starting the toe for sock #2 so when they're both finished I'll take an outdoor photo. If the sun ever shines again.

And, I've also been spinning some wonderfully soft merino/tencel:

handmade birch spindle and fibre were both purchased
at the fabulous Gaspereau Valley Fibres.

I'm going to make a 2-ply yarn and use it to knit a neck warmer for my mom.... something along the lines of the Brioche Gaiter in last winter's Interweave Knits but of in a larger gauge.

The colour is more accurate in this photo
but still not quite right. But I love closeup shots!

A quick 'hey' to the school friends visiting my site.... Tiff - I am at your disposal for knitting support. Did you get my email? Chris - surfing the web at work? Tsk, tsk.

"...Westerners are liable to become very frustrated with most Korean doctors because they will not answer questions from patients regarding illness, laboratory tests or the treatment being given. Questions are regarded as insults to the doctor's competence, thus causing a loss of face. You might not even be informed that you are dying, since this would imply that the doctor is too incompetent to cure you."
--Lonely Planet Guide to Korea

2004-05-26T12:21:00.000+09:00

Mea Culpa
After the post asking for suggestions... and the long pause from blogging... I have not even touched the pinup cardigan. Just thinking about finishing it is giving me the willies. So... here's what I did instead:

Gaspereau Valley Fibres
I love this store! Every time I show up it's better. This time, I happened to bring my camera, and so snapped photos of

This sheep. Doesn't he (she?) seem to be saying "shear me!
For the love of God, shear me!"
(although s/he's got nothing on Shrek)

Even better than the sheep was this:

Look closely. It's not a horse, it's a LLAMA! In Nova Scotia!
How strange. And apparently its main purposes at
Gaspereau Valley Fibres are (a) pet and (b) guard
'dog' for the sheep. Yep, apparently Llamas trumpet
at the sight of danger - and then kick its ass.
I'm told that a roused llama can kill a wolf if need be.
I don't think I believe it, but it's pretty
cool to think about.

Then I went hiking.

With my dog, Rufus.

We saw a Canada Goose (I love this photo):

And a lot of damage done to the trees by Hurricane Juan last fall (check out how shallow the roots were! This tree was basically growing on a rock):

Then I did some spinning and knitting, but you'll have to wait till tomorrow for those - I'm sleepy.

"I wonder if in childhood ever rained."
--From an unpublished manuscript written by my grandfather.

2004-05-14T05:28:00.000+09:00

Mittens!

That's right, the mittens are no longer marinating but genuine works-in-progress. I'm about a half an inch above the thumb hole on the second one. The thumb construction is kinda cool... there's no gusset, what you do to create the hole is knit several stitches in a contrasting yarn, then slip those stitches back to the left needle, and continue knitting in pattern as if nothing had happened. Later, you unravel the contrasting stitches and pick up to form the thumb.

I've been working on the mittens because I've been pondering my next step on the Pinup Cardigan. Remember how I said the French and English instructions differ? Well, one important way is in the construction of the button bands. The French instructions say to knit the button bands, and then sew the live stitches to the sides of the sweater using backstitch, like so:

Whereas the English instructions say to pick up stitches for the button bands and knit them directly onto the sweater. I'm not sure which method will work better. I've never used backstitch before (really! I always mattress stitch everything. It's stretchier and easier to do it without making a mess), and I'm not so hot with pins, but neither am I very good at picking up the exact number of stitches evenly spaced along a garment. I think I'm headed for major frustration either way. I have knit one separate button band already, but I'm not opposed to scrapping it and picking up along the sides.... I'm already fairly worried about the bands seeing as they're in ribbing, and from what I read, ribbed button bands kinda suck. They are, however, essential to the construction of the garment. I want it to look perfect, but I don't want to have to re-do it ten times.

What do you think I should do?

2004-05-10T12:32:00.000+09:00

Settling in
Well, now that I've moved, I guess I should stop hosting the Toronto Knitblogs ring! Anybody out there want to take it over? Email me.

Haven't finished the Pinup Sweater because I need a 2.25 mm circular needle. I think I'll go pick one up tomorrow.... it's nice to have access to a car again. Especially when the car is a truck and I have a cowboy hat. Whee!

Anybody out there tried the new Blogger Comments? I was thinking about switching but I think I'd lose all my old comments if I did so and that would be crummy. Also, I hate the new Blogger interface. It is far less efficient than the old one.

Rowan R2
My two cents: If you don't learn the fundamentals of knitwear design you'll just end up with crap. Crap that doesn't fit, or crap that looks great and then stretches, or the unwearable catwalk crap they show on their web site. They're packaging fashion design as fast and easy: spend $300 on Rowan yarn and you'll be Christian Dior! It actually takes talent and effort.

"Why don't people ever spell USEFUL messages on the walls with their dying strength? 'Sheriff too' would have been waaaaay more help than 'Not Alone' and would've used only one more letter...."
--me.

2004-05-04T07:31:00.000+09:00

Blocking
It takes forever, but I find blocking very satisfying. It makes me feel like my knitting is perfect and I am some sort of professional dressmaker when I see it all stretched out and measured.... even if I can't find my straight pins so I substitute safety pins and even if instead of a blocking board I just slapped some sheets on some towels:

Still have to finish sleeve number two. Then I'll block the sleeves and knit the button bands.

"They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm."
--Dorothy Parker

2004-05-03T13:59:00.000+09:00

Socks!

Unfortunately have no REAL photos, because I knit about two cm before realizing that my stitch count was off so that my k2, p2 rib ended in k4 on one side. Sigh.

The yarn, Lang Jawoll Cotton, is a gift from my fabulous Secret Pal, and comes with a spool of thread

stuffed inside to reinforce heels and toes. V. cool, and something I wouldn't have noticed unless I'd read this on someone else's blog (forget whose now). Anyway, thanks Secret Pal! You rock.

I'm knitting on 2 circs using Priscilla's Dream Socks pattern from Interweave Knits, or at least I will be when I cast on again.

What's your favourite way to do toes? I have yet to find a satisfactory version.

"When you're in trouble go into your dance"
--Chicago. What's your dance?

2004-05-02T05:02:00.000+09:00

Photography fun
I am never knitting a black sweater again - it's impossible to blog about it! You can't photograph black yarn in any satisfying way, especially if you want to show stitch detail. You'll have to be content with the following, and my assertion that I have finished one sleeve and am well underway on the second.

While playing with my camera, I took a picture of the view from my window. As of Friday I'm moving, so I'm getting nostalgic about things like this. It's better on sunny days, but it's still pretty sweet:

Click for larger image

I also really enjoy textures and macro shots:

In other knitting news, there is apparently an Estonian shawl in the latest issue of Interweave Knits; I haven't seen any pictures of it larger than thumbnail-size, but I'm interested in it. My grandmother made me a beautiful Estonian wedding-ring shawl in a lilly of the valley pattern, but it's white and as my opportunities for wearing lacy shawls are few, my opportunities for wearing white lacy shawls are almost non-existent. I'd like to have a black one, though. Here's a picture of the one my grandmother made me:

"It rank[ed] high up on the list of things I would have been reluctant to be found dead in a ditch with...."
--P.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing. The item in question is the ubiquitous eighteenth-century silver cow creamer. What would you be reluctant to be found dead in a ditch with? Leave answers in the comments.

2004-04-28T12:36:00.000+09:00

Yes, I actually finished something
And here it is: Dogosaurus Rex

I decided on a two-colour model, and added the contrast trimming not out of any particular inspiration but because I ran out of green yarn. I can't stand this yarn (Patons Decor, 75% acrylic and 25% wool - the texture is really weird and not fun to knit with, but Canadiana could easily be subsituted (it's 100% acrylic but feels much more like one would expect it to). I really hope it fits the damned dog - dachshunds aren't really dog-shaped so I had to do some modifications.

It's really not Pooh's size, but here is the closest I could get to a model:

I've also done much more work on the Pinup sweater, and here's the proof:

That's the back, left front, and beginning of the right, though I finished the right front and began on a sleeve while watching Bye, Bye Birdie (terrible) and Oklahoma (okay) - it was a lazy day. For those of you who asked for specifics, the pattern is from Phildar Tendances magazine #374, autumn (and for those of you who don't feel like browsing the archives, the dog sweater is from a Patons booklet called "A Dog's Life 2"). Phildar mags can be ordered from Knit 'n Tyme, complete with English translations, and though I've never ordered Phildar yarn online you can get it here (and I've heard they'll communicate in English if you email them).

Votes are overwhelmingly in favour of pink buttons so far.... but polls will remain open indefinitely.

"Sure, we could have been famous and made albums and stuff, but that would have been predictable."
-- Joey "The Lips" Fagan, in a scene from The Commitments.

2004-04-23T01:54:00.000+09:00

New project
Got the essay finished; wrote 5000 words in 12 hours, thus retaining my title of Last-Minute-King.* Then wrote an exam. Now, back to the knitting. Still working on the roommate socks (just have to do the toes), and I've got more sock yarn from my awesome secret pal, and I have a lot of ends to weave in on the dog sweater, but I've put them all aside for the moment to knit this:

The cardigan is from Phildar's Tendances a couple of autumns ago. I'm knitting it in black merino at a finer gauge so I've had to adjust the pattern. This makes me nervous, but I'm sure I'll get over it. What makes me even more nervous is that I worked out the adjustments for the back and fronts but haven't bothered fiddling with the sleeves yet. Also, I've never (successfully) knit a garment with cap sleeves, just raglans and dropped, but I'm sure my trusty copy of Vogue Knitting and a helluva lot of graph paper will see me through.

I've got the English translations for the patterns in the issue but I'm knitting from the French - Phildar patterns are written in a pretty cool, modular easy-to-follow sort of way, and they completely change that in the translation to match the 'English' style of knitting, which annoys me to no end and can actually render the construction slightly different.

The yarn I'm using is random coned merino from the basement of my LYS. I'm not too happy with the proprietor, who when I asked about yardage, not understanding what 4/8 or 16/43 or whatever these silly machine knitting ratios mean, said "one pound is 9 50-g balls". Well obviously I know how much one pound weighs! I want to know what the yardage of one pound is, since it's clearly going to be very different depending on the weight of the yarn. Then I asked what the gauge would be, approximately, and she said "Whatever you want! I used 4.5s." Now, I know that theoretically you can knit any weight of yarn on any size of needle. But in most cases the outcome would be disastrous. I just smiled, nodded, and got the heck out of there. I'm really glad I (sort of) know what I'm doing, because the new knitters must be experiencing all kinds of frustration trying to knit sport weight yarn with chunky needles. Jeez. For what it's worth, I'm a loose knitter, but i'm using 2.75 mm needles. It's not a worsted-weight yarn.

It's the finest gauge I've ever knit a sweater with, but the sweater's actually coming along quite quickly. Some people find stockinette boring but I think it's quite soothing, and good for doing while engaging in other activities like talking or watching TV, which makes for more knitting time. So it's actually zooming along quite quickly, though I won't bother taking a photo because it's scrunched up on straight needles and since it's black, you won't see anything anyway.

Also, the store has given up selling Phildar magazines (yet they still carry Phildar yarn... unsure how they plan to work that one out), so I couldn't pick up a copy of the latest crochet mag. It's probably just as well - I think a top like that would require massive amounts of granny-square practicing first, and I just don't think I have it in me. I'd love to buy it straight off the rack, but I don't think I'd enjoy crocheting it myself.

Knitted in a movie theatre for the first time the other day, while watching La grande séduction (Seducing Dr. Lewis for you English-only types), set and filmed in Québec. It's the story of a tiny fishing village that, having lost the fish, hopes to attract a factory. In order to do so, however, the town needs a doctor, so when they find someone willing to put in a month they go to great [hilarious and heartwarming, naturally] lengths to seduce him insto staying. There was some great acting, and it reminded me a lot of the village I grew up next to [I actually lived in the national park next to the village. Raised by wolves, that's me], which can be sometimes depressing but was just bittersweet. The sock knitting detracted not a bit from the movie (except at one point when I dropped a stitch) and I got lots done. I think it's the kind of thing I could only do during certain movies, though. For example, no knitting was attempted during Kill Bill, vol. 2.

*Yes, King. King has much cooler connotations than Queen. When QEII recognizes me for my services to the British Empire, I plan to become "Sir Krista." 'Dame' just ain't my style - all I can think of is that terrible song from South Pacific.... If Peppermint Patty can get away with it, then so can I.

"All schools, all colleges, have two great functions: to confer, and to conceal, valuable knowledge. The theological knowledge which they conceal cannot justly be regarded as less valuable than that which they reveal. That is, when a man is buying a basket of strawberries it can profit him to know that the bottom half of it is rotten."
-- Mark Twain, Notebook (1908). As my undergrad career winds to a close, I find this one particularly fitting.

2004-04-14T10:03:00.000+09:00

Wish I was knitting
I am, in fact, stuck in the bowels of the concrete monstrosity that is the John P. Robarts Research Library, working on the last essay of my undergraduate career. It is tentatively titled "Law, Religion, and the Colonial Project in India." It is supposed to be 20 pages. is due on Thursday morning. I have only started researching in earnest... oh, about now.

Wish me luck! I can't return to the knitting until this is finished. Must go read some postcolonial theory.

2004-03-30T13:09:00.000+09:00

Wow!

How cool is this? I need to learn how to crochet, stat. Then again, if I see the closeup version, I may hate it. Stupid tiny thumbnail-sized photos! Does anybody have a copy of Phildar's latest crochet mag? How does this puppy look when it's larger than postage-stamp size?

Also, anybody know of any good online or print teach-yourself-how-to-crochet sources? I've tried a couple of times and can't get beyond a single chain. Grrr.

School - still winning in the grand Krista vs. school battle. Still left to do:
-Essay on the United Irishmen
-Essay on Middle Eastern History
-Essay on the British, law, and Colonial India
-Test on Irish History

Not even gonna mention the exams. Especially since today, instead of working on all these things, I hung out in the quad all afternoon because it was sunny and nice out. Daaah.

"I wasn't kicked out of the country, I was informed that it was against my best interests to return."
--My brother. The country in question is Australia. He is now in exile in New Zealand. It's a pretty funny story.

2004-03-25T07:13:00.000+09:00

Duplicate Stitch

Intarsia, who needs it? Actually, it's also kinda hard to get the hang of. You need to get the tension exactly right - too loose or too tight and it looks terrible. However, it made the knitting part a lot easier, and I guess for the pattern designer a lot easier to chart: s/he totally copped out by saying "duplicate stitch dots at random" instead of showing where.

It's a fairly soothing motion, though. Not as great as knitting, but not as sucky as, say, weaving in ends. And way, way better for small sections than Intarsia - for example, I would definitely use this method to do the diagonal lines on a pair of argyle socks. Which I do plan to knit in the future, for an argyle-obsessed friend (the one who so thoughtfully provided the yarn for "Shona").

As you can see, the dog sweater is moving right along, but since it's supposed to be done for tomorrow night, it's not moving right along fast enough, damnit!

2004-03-16T11:22:00.000+09:00

Urban Cowboy

Stayed up late last night working on a paper and half-watching Urban Cowboy. Yeah, yeah, worst study habits ever, I know. But the combination of John Travolta, a cowboy hat, and a mechanical bull really gets this cowgirl interested.

Haven't done much lately, as I've also been working on my Hindi paper. Typing in a non-Latin alphabet is such a bitch. But hey, at least you learned a new word from this post. Am buried in work, among other things, so don't expect a post for the next week. When I do return, I should be working on a gift for a friend's friend's baby (can you blame me for looking for an excuse to knit this puppy?).

Debbie Bliss, The Book of Baby Knits, if you're interested.

"Hey, Cowboy, you're not just doing this to make your wife jealous, are you?"
"Yeah."

2004-03-12T03:57:00.000+09:00

Green!

That's right, GREEN GRASS! Could winter finally be over? Here's hoping. I do love winter, but I also love rollerblading.

More green

I, like Bonne Marie, am particularly partial to green. This particularly greeny thing is my progress so far on the "Dogosaurus Rex" sweater for Trillian, a friend's dog. As Becky would say, it's in need of blocking. Since she's a mini dachshund (Trillian, not Becky), I'm a bit worried about fit (they're not very dog-shaped, are they?) but since she's so small any alterations should be fairly easy. It's sort of a surprise, so for now I'll just have to wing it. (Click picture for alternate view, if you really care).

"This must be a Thursday,' said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer. 'I never could get the hang of Thursdays."
--Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but it really sounds more like A. A. Milne.

2004-03-11T01:03:00.000+09:00

New Patterns
I'm a sucker for new patterns. I eagerly await each season's crop of American knitting magazines, British knitting magazines, German knitting magazines, knitting books, online patterns.... I actually end up knitting few of them but I loooove looking, criticizing, planning (although calculating "Hmm. At $10.50US per ball for 15 balls plus the exchange rate, taxes and shipping...." is not as much fun).

The new Vogue Knitting is available for preview. As usual, I don't see much I like (but then again, there's so little they've shown). These are kind of cool, though:

But you hafta do that thing where instead of on a skinny model (I find that breasts are often the make-or-break for a design. If you add boobs, will it still look good?) with long hair and a cabana setting you picture it on yourself. This one's a toughie... can't figure out if it translates into 'nifty' or 'weird' once it's on me.

I like this for the excellent use of a variagated* yarn. I never wear tops this short, but I do like the design.

Not much knitting done lately, as school is kicking my ass. Am working on a pair of socks for my roommate, based on "Priscilla's Dream Socks" in Interweave Knits. I like not having to pick up stitches for the foot, but I think the heel is a bit square and pointy. Will reserve judgement for once they're on her feet.

*sp? There are so many variants online and I'm way too lazy/busy to look in an actual dictionary.

If I ever jump on the knitting book bandwagon, the title of my first offering will be The Distractable Knitter. It will be filled with easy, useless projects that can be completed in less than two days and only the first part of patterns for beautiful and complex sweaters. It will be the perfect thing for other knitters like me. I mean, why waste the paper printing the ends of patterns that will never be finished? And for the most advanced distractable knitters, only pictures and yarn requirements. Who needs the pattern when you are content just to acquire the yarn?
--MimoKnits

2004-03-07T01:11:00.000+09:00

You know you've knit something for everyone you know when....

The "Mrs." gave him power over me; that vexing r rucking things up in the middle and making one think of such distractions as clotheslines and baking tins."
--Carol Shields, Unless. The book expresses interesting ideas, though the ending is disappointing.

2004-03-03T13:09:00.000+09:00

Socks!

Finally finished my first pair of socks. My mom, lover of weird socks and all things blue, will be very pleased with these. They were pretty fun to knit, especially once I had the pattern memorized. The lace wasn't too hard for a beginner and I love, love, love knitting on two circular needles. I'm starting a pair of socks for my roommate tomorrow. Whee!

Details:

Yarn: Confetti (similar to Regia, half the price)
Pattern: Merino Lace Socks from Interweave Knits Summer 2003. Woulda been gorgeous in the recommended Koigu, but the Confetti's what I had on hand. 'Sides, the nylon content will help 'em last a little longer, I hope.
Gauge: Around 9 sts to the inch
Started: Sometime before Christmas. Finished: Today!

I have a really weird thing about not mailing things. Don't know what it is, but I often can't bring myself to mail stuff. Letters, packages, whatever. It's really bizarre. Every pen pal I've ever had has hated me. But I'm trying to work on it. So... these will be (cross your fingers) mailed by Friday! I hope.

"Half-a-dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath shadows of the Great British Oak, chew the cud and are silent."
--Edmund Burke, waxing way more poetic about the silent majority than Nixon ever did. And portraying the cow as a nobler beast than, well, anyone. (From Reflections on the Revolution in France, p. 181 of the 1968 Harmondsworth edition).

2004-03-01T06:26:00.000+09:00

Inspiration and irritation
Check out these great felted bags!

Designed by Patons, no less (don't bother looking for them on the Patons web site, they're not up yet. You can, however, find them in the latest Ram Wools catalogue). I love the sunny yellow "tricot" bag, which would be equally fabulous in blue or pink - and with or without the blanket stitching. I'd make the strap longer, though. If I can't sling a bag over my shoulder, I will invariably lose it. The patchwork bag is also great in a back-to-back-to-the-70s sort of way, and could be awesome in blues and greens.

I am sooo sick of seeing quiz results posted all over the knitting blog universe. "I am shetland wool." "I am shetland wool." "I am shetland wool." "I am dishcloth cotton. Boo hoo, I don't like dishcloth cotton. I must experience existential angst. Why am I not shetland wool like everyone else?" Etc. And then there's the quizzes that don't even say anything about knitting! "I am Snoopy." "I am The Godfather." I am "Gertrude Stein." ENOUGH! These quizzes say nothing about anyone's personality, and since there are only 4 or 5 possible outcomes, they're repetitive as hell. I'll take the occasional silly quiz for a laugh, but I certainly don't expect anybody else to give a rat's ass about the results. It's almost as bad as keeping a daily record of one's bowel movements. Nobody wants to read it. Oh, and posting quiz results should not count as a blog entry. If you're gonna put up the quiz you've gotta say something for yourself, too. Not "I am mucous. Which bodily secretion are you? Click here to find out!"

I assume everybody will get bored of the damned things eventually, thank God.

"The best all lack conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity."
--Yeats, sans context.

2004-02-28T07:13:00.000+09:00

New sweater!

Shona's been finished for about a week now, but I just didn't have a chance to ask my roommate to take some photos. I'm very pleased with it; hated the turtleneck so I just did about half an inch of ribbing at the neck, and I love the finishing detail on the raglan seams.

The colour was, once again, impossible to photograph (brown-ish purple with all kinds of cool tweedy flecks in it). This is pretty close, though. The sweater fits perfectly although I don't really like the way it sorta poufs out above the ribbing. It's hard to get that right though - use too big a needle on the ribbing and it'll flare out, which is even worse!

The sleeves are somewhere between 3/4 and bracelet length, which was exactly where I wanted them. I swear to you they're the same length, I was standing funny. Really! I was!

I'd recommend the pattern to anybody; it was easy to knit and the fit is good. I think the thick horizontal stripes would have made anybody look huge, though.

I'll have to stick to small projects for the next while - don't have the yarn for another sweater at the moment. But - oooh - I'm going to make thrummed mitts with some handspun I've been working on. Just have to ply it.

Haven't done much knitting this week (have been concentrating instead on cooking. Mmmm) but am on the home stretch vis a vis the socks for mom.

"We invented a drinking game for knitting. You have to take a drink everytime one of these things happens: you start or end a row, reach a stitch marker, increase or decrease, find a knot in your yarn, join a new ball or color, frog part or all of it or drop a stitch. There might have been more, I was too drunk to keep track of them all. The problem is that you never sober up because as soon as you do, you find you have to frog everything you did and it starts all over."
--Jennifer, of JenLa.

2004-02-24T07:22:00.000+09:00

Toronto Knit Blogs
So I was thinking... there are a lot of knit bloggers in Toronto, and it would be good to be able to browse through them. You know, find out where there's a sale on, who's meeting whom when, local suppliers, etc. If you live in Toronto, and you have a blog, sign up! Just click the "Join" link in the sidebar.

This is a bit of a pilot project: if only, say, 4 people sign up, I'll scrap the idea.

Naptime.... more later.

2004-02-21T15:59:00.000+09:00

Linky goodness and knitting porn
First of all, here are a few obscure links I found while surfing today (you can tell I have an assignment due because my bookmarks are organized and my room is looking cleaner...) that may come in useful for any beginners out there:

Knitting Cables and Deciphering Knitting Lingo, both of which are excerpts from the book Knitting for Dummies
Basic Decreases, including an idiot-proof explanation of SSK (slip, slip, knit)
C.H.A.R.T.S.: an in-depth tutorial on reading Aran charts

And now, the fun links. I was kicking around a couple of Russian knitting sites. I don't speak Russian, but I think that's actually a bonus, because the Babelfish translation from Russian into English is absolutely freakin' hilarious.

And so are these patterns. Admittedly, this one's crochet, but it's not like you were going to make it anyway (click for patterns):

Don't like those acrylic knitted pants in Interweave Knits? How 'bout these babies?

Hello. Mye name ees Olga. I wear doily, ja?

Another pattern I saw, knit in stocking-stitch with K2P2 ribbing, translated as "Basic pattern: facial smoothness. Elastic: 2Kh2." Facial smoothness. Hahahahaha.

But this, my good friends, is by far the strangest. Titled "the knitted erotic," this link is not for the faint of heart. Yes, it does contain nudity, so all you office-surfers/preteen knitters had better avert your eyes. This definitely tops my previous post of weirdo knitting porn. This will make you laugh. It will also test the very limits of your powers of comprehension and your faith in humanity. Unless you actually do have a knitwear fetish. In that case, enjoy. Russian Knitting Porn awaits you.

"It was a great disappointment to my idiom to read such a tasteless article"
--Tiffanie Ing, in a letter to the Independent Weekly, now The Newspaper (unpublished)

Notes: Fixed whatever the hell was wrong with computer. Whee!
March/April archives seem inaccessable. Use these links: March & April a, b, and c. Photos to be fixed next time I'm procrastinating heavily.

2004-02-21T08:31:00.000+09:00

Steam blocking vs. Wet Blocking
So I finished knitting Shona's sleeves last night, and this afternoon I steam blocked all the pieces. It was the first time I'd tried it, and as usual my research turned up contradicting advice. "Lightly press the pieces." "Never press the pieces." That sort of thing. Seems to happen often in the knitting world.

Anyhoo, I'd say the biggest benefit of steam blocking is that it's instant! Started sewing up the seams this afternoon, too. No need to wait three days for pieces to dry (v. good since I don't have much blocking space). However, I don't think I'd use it if the garment required major smoothing/adjusting - the steam makes the fabric ouchy hot and doesn't soak in enough to make it really pliable and mushy like wet blocking does. Also, you definitely have to use pins to steam block: you have to pin the garment out to the required size before steaming, whereas with wet blocking (especially if you don't need to be hugely precise) you can just slop it down on a sticky towel and stretch it out.

I'm not a complete convert, but I'll continue to use steam blocking for instant gratification on simple projects.

No photos today, because my computer's been hit with a stupid virus that crashes Explorer every 2 seconds. Sending this from the library, where I'm supposed to be reading State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East, because I've got a book review due Monday.

"And she never lost her head
Even when she was giving head."
-- Lou Reed, Take a Walk on the Wild Side.

2004-02-19T04:11:00.000+09:00

mmmmmuffins

Muffins are comfort food. I am not going to stress about that missing needle (or worry about my stalled essay research), I am going to make muffins. I suggest you do the same!

2004-02-18T14:36:00.000+09:00

Frustration
So I've got a lot of Lana Gatto "Stoccarda" yarn in an off-white colour that, two Christmases ago, was, double-stranded, going to be this (without the holes. I do have some taste):

But the giant cowl looked retarded on me. I have short hair so it made my head look really little. It also kinda looked like a clown ruff. However, I spent loads of cash on the damned yarn so I then decided to make this:

It was another stupid choice (don't you wish you could try handknits on before you, um, knit them?) - the big turtleneck looked just as bad, and the puffed sleeves made my linebacker shoulders ridiculously broad. I think I knew this when I decided to make it, but I thought "hey, the only pattern I have that fits this gauge!" Bleh.
Ripped that out and decided to make it into something, ANYTHING, in order to (a) assuage the guilt for spending $150 (actually, on second thought, it was more) on yarn I was never, ever going to wear, and (b) to get it out of the house already. Doubled, it knits to approx. the same gauge as Big Wool and it's pretty light, so I decided to make this:

I'm really not sure why, since I hate shawl collars and since garter stitch button bands are crummy and since nice giant buttons are hard to find. Also, I've decided I look terrible in superchunky wool. Everybody probably does. Except tiny people who wear giant sweaters and look adorable in them. Stupid tiny people. Anyway.
I am now making this.

It will not use up all the yarn, but it will use up some of it, and it will probably take, oh, 2 hours.

Then I will give it to my friend Kelly, who would probably actually wear a short-sleeved turtleneck, and would probably look good in it too.

Then I will figure out what to do with the remaining yarn. Possibly make a scarf. But (of course) it sheds. And my coat is black. Stupid impulse purchase!

AND AS IF THAT WEREN'T ENOUGH, I CAN ONLY FIND ONE OF MY 12 MM KNITTING NEEDLES! IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE EASY TO LOSE! THEY'RE GIGANTIC! And I don't want to buy another pair, because since I've decided I look terrible in superchunky wool (see above), it's unlikely that I'll be using them much in the future. AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH.

2004-02-17T06:13:00.000+09:00

Improvisation

After I filled up my spindle, I wound the yarn around the legs of a chair so I could make a skein, but decided to make it 2-ply instead. So I made a ball, and now I'll make another ball of another spindleful of yarn, and ply them together! I bet everybody in America has one of these chairs in his/her basement. They're what my college cunningly calls "desk chairs." HA. Well, now it's a "yarn chair."

Also picked up balls of lime green and bright purple yarn to make a dog sweater for a friend's pooch. I don't usually approve of dog sweaters, but this one, entitled "Dogosaurus Rex," has stegasaurus spikes on it. And since the dog in question is a miniature daschund, I think the result will be hilarious, and definitely worth knitting.

"She did it the hard way."
-- Bette Davis's Epitaph
Run, don't walk, to the video store and rent "All About Eve."

2004-02-16T13:26:00.000+09:00

New hat!

I didn't blog about this one 'cause I only started it yesterday. It's the earflap hat from Interweave Knits' special gift section in the Summer 2003 issue (click to enlarge), and I made it because I had a couple of balls of handspun lying around that had tried to be a scarf, then mittens, but just didn't look right. The silk/wool blend was smooth and soft, and the tweedy green colour was fantastic, but the lumpy texture (I really am a rank amateur at this spinning thing) just didn't look right in any of the projects I tried. Until this hat. I think it turned out pretty well. I made it yesterday afternoon while watching "As Good as it Gets."

Unfortunately, I look terrible in earflap hats. Incredibly, absolutely, terrible. I look much better in this, my favourite hat:

So I gave the earflap hat to my roommate. Everybody wins!

I'm partway through the first sleeve of Shona, but I didn't feel like winding more hanks today so I spun instead.

While the owl was hooting,
and the black beetle chewed at the log-house
and until the graves sank in,
and the oxen took a deep breath,
the first news of Troy was rounding the world,
and the radio said:
the old Prussians have vanished from the earth.
-- "Ballads of Kukutis" by Marcelus Martinaitis.

Just right.

2004-02-13T01:14:00.000+09:00

Knitting on two circulars cont'd
I found this link today while going through my bookmarks... it's more useful instructions on how to join while casting on to knit with two circs. Comes from an interesting Japanese site entitled "the ABSs of Knitting" -laugh-

Just hit the raglan shapings on the front of Shona, but since it looks exactly the same as the back there's not much point in posting a picture.

2004-02-12T02:45:00.000+09:00

Knitting on two circular needles
Those of you who already know how can skip this post. I'm not giving detailed instructions, because those can be found here. Despite that helpful site and the instructions in Interweave Knits (Summer 2003), I was still confused as all hell before starting. I didn't get the concept of knitting in the round on two circs. I think part of the problem was that I had used double-pointed needles to knit in the round already, and assumed it would be kinda the same thing. But it's not!

When you knit with double-pointed needles, you divide the stitches so that a quarter of them sit on a different needle, forming a square, and then knit the stitches on the first needle onto a fifth needle. Once the stitches are gone from the first needle, the stitches from the second needle are knit onto it, and so on.

Doing it with two circs is another story. Hmmm, how to explain this. Okay, pick up some form a fabric tube. A sock would be good. Doesn't have to be handknit. Alright, open up the top part and form it into a circle. So far so good. It's a circle. Now fold it flat again. Now it's more like two flat halves, a front and a back. When you knit on two circulars, you knit happily along on one half while the other half, sitting on the cord section, bends to accomodate your knitting.

Confused? Time to break out the photos.

Okay, here's the sock, just sitting on the circular cords, garishly Photoshopped because clear cords don't show up so well in photos. The stitches for the front half are on the 'green' needle, and the stitches for the back half are on the 'yellow' needle.

Now here's a photo of the sock, mid-way through knitting a row. See how I'm knitting the front with the green needle, just as I would knit flat knitting, as if the back half doesn't exist? The back half sits on the yellow cord behind the action. Click the photo to enlarge.

And here's a closeup. Realistically speaking, the yellow (back half) cord should be underneath/behind the working needle, but I don't have three hands! This lets you see how the half you're not working on curves to allow you to knit the other half.

If ANY of this is unclear, please leave questions in the comments! I'm trying to help people learn from the many frustrations I've suffered while learning to knit.

P.S. the socks are called "Merino Lace Socks" (creative, eh?) and they're from the Summer '03 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm making them for my mom, who loves weird socks.

"The telling of any story involves the suppression of other stories that might be told just as well [and be just as true]."
-- I picked this up in some random article in some random historical journal, and think it's a great nugget to help explain postmodernism.

2004-02-11T02:20:00.000+09:00

Moving right along...

So I'm finished the back of Shona. I'm knitting it to fit about a size smaller on me than on the model shown in the last post, because I want it to fit like one of my favourite store-bought sweaters, a thrift store find I grabbed last summer in Halifax at a little store called Junk & Foibles.

The stockinette really curls and I can't find my pins (or my keys, but that's par for the course) so I'll just give you a partial photo. Colours are really hard to photograph without natural light, and I'm not going to go out into the snowy Quad to snap photos of my knitting. Around here, that would be taken for crazy-cat-lady-ness.

The yarn's not all that soft, but the colour is fun, and it was a gift from an old friend, which makes it even better. I'm a bit concerned about some unevenness in the fabric - usually my stockinette stitch is, dare I say it, almost perfect. I think it'll smooth out with blocking. Blocking doesn't fix most problems, but I think that's one thing it can do. Hey, I think I'll block it this afternoon just to see.

We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
The crowd called out for more

...

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale.

--"Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum, one of the best songs of all time

2004-02-09T13:23:00.000+09:00

Sweater!

So the Cottage Craft 2-ply has decided to become "Shona" from Rowan's A Season's Tale. Started it on Thursday and am halfway through the raglan shapings on the back... it's moving surprisingly quickly. The yarn is not super-soft, but the colour, a tweedy brownish purple with flecks of green in it, is fun - named, aptly enough, "Live Lobster." I'd have pictures for y'all but I went to a formal last night and things got a little - well, let's just say I'm a bit under the weather today.

2004-02-06T02:17:00.000+09:00

Disappointment
Is it just me, or are the new Rowan collections... ahem... LAME? I was waiting for #35 to come out with eager anticipation, but there's pretty much zilch in there that I'd really, really want to knit, and a lot of stuff I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Plus the Cotton Braid Collection, It's a Tape Thing, and Linen Print Collection are all terrible. Chunky tape and braid yarns just look awful on everyone. I do suppose, though, that it's not really Rowan's fault.... it's hard to design handknits for summer. You can only have so many knitted tank tops! And fun as it is to knit, chunky stuff just doesn't work in the form-fitting-bare-it-all-ness of summer. The new denim collection has a lot of great stuff, in it though, and I haven't yet seen a copy of Big Accessories.

So I've been underwhelmed with Rowan, Rebecca, and even Interweave Knits, the most palatable of the American knitting magazines, lately. At least Phildar's got a decent new Tendances coming out:

"We characteristically spill over the limits of our intelligence and get confused"
--Quentin Skinner

2004-02-05T03:15:00.000+09:00

St. Brigid

Patons Classic Merino (~8 balls)

Started: June 2003

Finished: Early January 2004
(but I ignored it for a good long time)

Yep, I finished it. Just after Christmas. I should've made the smaller size, but I wanted an oversized sweatshirt-type schlepping around sweater (yes, that's right. I like to schlepp around in sumptuous Celtic cables), and that's certainly what I got. Modifications? No fringe on bottom. Tacky, tacky, tacky. Someone somewhere in the blogging universe described it as a "horse blanket" and I completely agree. I also skipped the ribbing on the neckband. I did try it, but I didn't want to do it turtleneck-style and it looked terrible as a single layer. The neckband stands out on its own well enough anyway.

Tip: My row gauge was a bit off. Not substantially, but I needed to knit a couple more inches at the tops of the sleeves in order to get them to the right height. That resulted in oddly-shaped sleeves.

I didn't think it would be a big deal but once they were sewed together, the straight bit looked all bunchy and terrible. I 'fixed' it by re-seaming the sleeves on an angle (like I was going to re-knit ANY MORE of that sweater!) but if I knit this again, I'd re-calculate the increases to make a smooth line.

Oh, and I took this using a flash (anywhere outside to spread knitwear is covered in snow!) so the colour's a bit off. It's actually a deep jewel tone forest green.

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers."
- Laurie Colwin

2004-02-04T11:18:00.000+09:00

Return of the prodigal knitter
A combination of super-busyness and the lack of a digital camera (I read few blogs without photos, and I bet you do too!) resulted in a sadly abandoned blog. I am no less busy than before (but far more interested in blog-related procrastination) and I am (since Christmas) in possession of a snazzy Nikon Coolpix. But you don't wanna hear about any of this! You want to hear about the knitting!

There is lots of knitting news. Today, I will start with a kickass impromptu Christmas present I received from a distant relative. We were in town visiting, and my grandmother made me bring my spinning. "Juta's mother used to knit the most beautiful Estonian gloves," she said. "Yeah, but her mother's been dead for years and it's not like SHE knits. Besides, it's SPINNING. It's not even the same thing! She'll just think I'm some crazy back-to-nature type!" However, grandma always wins (comes from being little and white-haired and having the cutest accent, I think), so I brought my spinning, and as we were leaving I was presented with a pair of Juta's mother's hand-knit gloves. These gloves are famous in the family, absolutely gorgeous, and one-of-a-kind. I was pleased and surprised to receive these, especially since they're irreplaceable.

This photo doesn't do them justice at all, and puts the mittens I'm knitting to shame. You should really check out Folk Knitting in Estonia, Nancy Bush has done a gorgeous job with the book. She doesn't include any gauntlet-style gloves, though, which is too bad, because then nobody would need wrist warmers.

Someday, I will reverse-engineer this pattern. When I get over that whole hatred-of-knitting-fingers thing. Apparently Juta's mother didn't follow a pattern at all. She'd made so many pairs of gloves that she just made 'em up as she went along.

I've also decided, Curmudgeon-style, to include a quotation at the end of each entry. They will be randomly selected from my collection and will have nothing to do with the entries themselves. So there.

"I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here 1900 years ago - the other day."
-Marlow in Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which is definitely in my top 5 list of favourite books.

2003-08-24T11:00:00.000+09:00

The rest is silence...
If I haven't been around as much lately it's because I've been volunteering in a production of Hamlet. Basically these days I go to work, go to Hamlet, and go to sleep. It doesn't make for much knitting time, or much blogging time.

I've finished about two pattern repeats of St. Brigid, and am dismayed at how slow it's going. I think it will be much quicker when I get back to school, though. I also stopped by Gaspereau Valley Fibres again (on a rare Hamlet break, I went to see Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at the Atlantic Theatre Festival), and picked up some yummy wool/silk in beautiful greens and browns to make a hat. Photos shall definitely be posted!

2003-08-16T20:01:00.000+09:00

I've got gauge!
After waaay too much experimenting, I'm finally on gauge for St. Brigid. Or close enough that it's all good, anyway! I had planned to get the sweater finished this summer, but with one thing and another it just didn't happen. There will be many knitting hours on the drive up to Ontario, and many procrastinating hours after that while I avoid writing essays. Plus I have an entire week between the end of work and the beginning of classes.... On the other hand, this is the most complicated thing I've ever knitted, and the gauge is fairly small. I'm gonna shoot for the end of October just to be on the safe side.

I bought Interweave Knits sight unseen, since it was all wrapped in plastic (gah). At first flip-through I hated it, but I suppose it has some redeeming qualities. The camel neck warmer thingum would be a good Christmas present for my mom, and my grandma would look awesome in the Byzantine cables (but there's no WAY I'm gonna launch into that one after completing St. Brigid!), and I suppose the article on intarsia in the round may come in handy some day. All in all, I'm unimpressed. If anyone wanted to trade me smthg for it, they could go right ahead.

Not much more knitting news, I'm off to my first rehearsal as person-in-crowd. What a piece of work is man!

2003-08-12T10:39:00.000+09:00

Digital Camera is back from vacation

OK folks, back to the eye candy. Here's what I've been up to, in no particular order.

Spinning!

Spindle: handtooled maple and birch
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino roving

My first ball of yarn!
Actually, it's my second. The first was some sort of grey English-sheep roving.
It was much easier to spin.
But I forgot to take a photo.

Mystery Knitting!

The first step of my mystery listserv project.
I have no idea what this is going to be.
But I did learn to do the provisional cast-on. See?
And I taught myself to knit backwards.
And I'm working on caterpillar cables.
You'll see a photo of those when I'm done!

St. Brigid!

I finally realized swatching was useless, as my moss stitch gauge doesn't necessarily indicate my moss-stitch-and-four-cable-patterns gauge. Hence, I have been knitting the first 15 or so rows in several different needle sizes. This is taking forEVER. But I WILL get gauge, damnit!

If I don't, I may knit this:

But it's uber-cropped and would require some pattern modification... bleah! I just want to knit.

2003-08-08T05:31:00.000+09:00

Summer Contest Winner
Hey everybody, thanks for playing. Julie is the winner of the Smooch contest: Not only did she sway me with MANY good arguments as to why she especially deserved to win, but she made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "a 4" x 6" illumination of a (brief) quotation of your choosing, on calfskin vellum, with traditional inks and paints handmixed with egg whites and semi-precious pigments." Check out her work, it's fantastic!

You guys were all great and I wish everybody could've won. Next time I've got something cool up for grabs, I'll be sure to hold another contest.

In knitting news, I did about 2 rows on the thumb of the Estonian mitten (damn, I hate doing thumbs. Plus I didn't mark the start with a stitch marker and keep getting confused as to where the pattern starts and ends). I have also re-started St. Brigid. Well, I've re-started swatching for it. I have a feeling that nothing I do with this yarn is gonna work, though. Any other suggestions for 10 balls of light worsted-weight green wool? (Besides a contest, that is!)

2003-08-05T01:14:00.000+09:00

No wonder I'm having trouble finishing anything I start!
The fall Rowan and Jaeger collections are now out (Bonne Marie Burns beat me to the punch, as usual, despite my obsessive website-checking!) and I'm definitely inspired. That's not to say there aren't some laughable and downright ugly designs. For example....

Aaaaahahaha! Louisa Harding, what were you thinking?
Actually, this design wouldn't be half-bad without the plaid.

Is this some kind of sick joke?
Actually, the Jaeger line this fall is all pretty much this bad.
I tend to like the Rowan stuff, OR the Jaeger stuff, but never both at the same time.
Also, am I the only one who wonders why Jaeger doesn't have a web site?

On to the good...

I like funky hats. This funky hat is cool.

This sweater, entitled Parka, is also very cool.
I could love it in blue, or a greenish brown.

This is far weirder than the things I usually wear.
But I feel a strange pull to knit it, even if it is only to be worn once.
It could be very edgy in black, though black is not much fun to knit with.
I'd change the seed stitch at the waist to ribbing, though, I think -
the seed stitch creates unnecessary bulk at the waist, which I'd also probably lengthen.

There's lots of other good stuff, too! Some guys' designs I like in the new Plaid collection, and a couple of good ideas in The Next Big Thing, although it mostly seems designated for the Junior High set.

Spinning news
I think I'm starting to get the hang of it! Here's my mini-review of Spin It: The spinning instructions are fairly clear, and I really like the way she guides you from spinning just using the wool and your hand, to using a hook, to using a drop spindle. On the down side, I would've liked more pictures of different kinds of yarn, more techniques, and information about what kinds of wool for beginners to use - I made my first attempt using Merino and failed miserably, but the nice lady from the world's coolest yarn store told me that it's a bit difficult and gave me some easier stuff to work with. I spun half a skein of lumpy, chunky yarn, then said "I can do better" and spun the rest much thinner. Haven't set the twist yet but I think it's about worsted-weight. I won't know until I swatch, though. I thought it would take a million years to spin all that fibre, but it actually went rather quickly.

Knitting news
I've actually been itching to restart St. Brigid, which is a very good thing. I'm gonna have to do some more swatching first, though. I've also been itching, however, to start a new project (gaaah!) so we'll see what happens.

Don't forget, contest closes on Wednesday (see below)!

2003-08-02T09:07:00.000+09:00

Instant Gratification

What most of us can only dream about: a bathtub
full of fibre. Click on the photo for more info!

Decided to make a day of going to Wolfville to visit Gaspereau Valley Fibres and go for a hike with my dog. WOW, what a great place! Nestled, of course, in the picturesque Annapolis Valley region (I do enjoy pastoral landscapes - but only in small doses!), on a farm with sheep (and chickens. My dog was v. interested in the chickens), and inside a high-ceilinged red barn, is the largest quantity of high-quality fibre you can find in Nova Scotia. All kinds of local yarn, wool (and other fibres) ready to be spun, hand-crafted wooden drop spindles, cute knick-knacks and accessories, and even (gee, wouldn't it be nice?) spinning wheels for sale.

The proprieter was very friendly and helpful, and though she didn't know much about spindle-spinning, she let me have a crack at her wheel, which cleared up my confusion about drafting. I bought some dark grey roving (damn, can't remember what breed of sheep it was. I'll have to email her and ask. But it was British and the fibres were very long and easy to pull, unlike the Fleece Artist stuff I couldn't spin, which I now realize was practically felted) and a maple/birch drop spindle. Whee! I have been watching Hamlet (in preparation for my big debut) and spinning (very badly) all evening. It's pretty fun! Then I'm going to ply the yarn and knit something with it. It's rough and lumpy but I'm proud of it. If I ever figure this spinning thing out, I'll post a tutorial. Note: The photo to the left does not depict my spindle, but a similar one, as my digital camera is on vacation. Click on the photo for more spindle info)

Don't forget: the contest (see below) closes on Wednesday!

Yes, I know that there's a giant space in front of this entry. And yes, I know that my blog looks like hell in Netscape. Serves me right for using a template. However, the list of better things I have to do than to redesign my blog is, sadly, ever lengthening. A redesign might possibly occur during mid-term procrastination....

2003-08-01T08:30:00.000+09:00

Delayed Pleasure

I randomly happened upon Spin It! Making Yarn from Scratch in a bookstore in the Valley today. It's the second time I'd randomly seen a single copy in a small bookstore, and figured Fate was trying to tell me something. On the way home from a very long day at work, I picked up 50 grams of red-and-orange Fleece Artist Wensleydale roving, and then since no one in Halifax seems to sell spindles, I headed to Kent Lumber to buy the dowel, hook, and grommet I needed to make my own CD Spindle (note: You can find instructions for making a CD spindle here. These are not the same instructions as the ones I'm using). Unfortunately, there were no rubber grommets (or gaskets) to be had for love or money at Kent Lumber or Canadian Tire (I even phoned Radio Shack, as suggested in the above link, and they had never heard of them). So I'm thinking that these instructions might save anyone who assumes that hardware stores carry grommets some trouble. In the meantime, I'm brainstorming ways to fit the CDs onto the dowel sans grommet (which is actually quite difficult, since I have absolutely no idea where the glue gun is), and it's all really moot anyway 'cause my dowel's about four feet long and I can't find the hacksaw either. Daaaaah!! All I want to do is spin!

P.S. Can't recommend the book yet as I haven't actually tried spinning. Just to warn anyone who's thinking of ordering: it's more a booklet than a book, running about 30 pages (and $14.95 Cdn. Ouch).

P.P.S. The guy in the bookstore asked me if I was a knitter, and when I responded in the affirmative, he gave me a brochure for this wonderful place. It's a brand-new store near Wolfville; I'll have to check it out soon. (Anna: Road trip?)

2003-07-31T10:01:00.000+09:00

Deep breath
Okay, I'm back. No major emergency or anything; my life was just too complicated to find time to blog for a while. Unfortunately, the digital camera is on vacation in Quebec at the moment, so I guess I'll have to be descriptive.

Mystery Project: It's being knit in cream-coloured worsted. Two squares of basketweave bordered by braided cables, so far; also a long strip of caterpillar cables that I so far have not yet completed. There is a lot of turning involved, so I have been advised to learn to knit backwards. Haven't had the time yet, though. In fact, I'm more of an 'armchair knitter' these days - I read about knitting, think about knitting, talk about knitting... but I haven't been doing much knitting. This is partly because of my summer job, my volunteering, and Umberto Eco. Also partly because I've decided to frog St. Brigid and can't bring myself to rip it out. Also, here's a question - if I wash and recycle the yarn, do I need to wash the rest of the skeins before knitting it, or will it be ok to join on a ball that hasn't been washed? The gauge should be slightly different, that's why I'm wondering. Anyone know?

Smooch: It's finished. I don't like it. It flares out too much for my hips, but fits nice and snugly everywhere else. So, this brings me to my

SUMMER CONTEST!

(a.k.a. shameless ploy to get people to start reading my long-dormant blog again)

It's not particularly complicated. You could win One genuine size-L Rowan "Smooch" knitted in locally hand-dyed brown silk! I know this sucks without a photo, but you can check out the pattern here and the colour of the yarn below.

And that's not all! You get the extra silk from the two skeins I bought. So if you were thinking "This Smooch tank is for the birds, but that brown silk is sweet," you'd have a total of 1500 yards (or is that metres? Damn. The tag's around here somewhere... if you really care email me and I'll hunt around for it) of sport-fingering weight (I used the yarn doubled) to play around with once you unravelled the tank.

Okay. So, most disorganized contest ever. To win, you must do one OR both of the following:
(a) tell me why you, you, and only you deserve to have this scrumptious silk in your hot little hands, and/or
(b) bribe me. Offer to trade one spiffy Smooch for __________. I classify this as a contest and not a trade, because I'm not looking for something of equal value here - It could be something small, knitting-related or non knitting-related.

Contest closes at 11:59 pm Atlantic time, on Wed. Aug. 6. Go crazy!

2003-07-10T18:45:00.000+09:00

Bah
Life is crazy right now. Expect weekly updates on Sundays.

2003-07-08T10:14:00.000+09:00

Tee hee
So much for updating every day. I have been knitting, though. Smooch is 50% done (again!) and I've started a 'mystery project' - it's not secret from you, it's secret from me! I get instructions every week, and I won't know what the thing is until I'm finished. It's supposed to be pretty swanky, though. However, I had a two hour rugby practice today in the blistering heat, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow for pictures 'cause I'm going to BED. I leave you with this:

A fair isle that I actually like! It's by Kirsten Cowan from her book, Irresistable Knits. Most of them are fairly resistable, but I really like this one. Of course, definitely not in purple. You can't really tell in the picture, but that little line across the keyhole neck is actually a string of glass beads. Very cool, if difficult-to-wash. The contrast edging is great, too.

2003-07-04T10:32:00.000+09:00

Tra la la
It was sunny today! Stopped off at the yarn store during my lunch break and bought another hank of Fleece Artist Silk. Now I'll have to rip out the progress I've made on Smooch, 'cause I'll need to knit two strands of BOTH hanks together in case the colours are a bit different. That's okay, though - it's fast knitting! Didn't knit anything today, though, because I finally got Baudolino from the library and sat down to enjoy it. The first ten pages are absolutely hilarious, which I was not at all expecting. I predict much knitting will be done this weekend, however.

2003-07-03T11:13:00.000+09:00

We'll leave a proof, by that which we will do,
Wives may be merry, and yet honest too:
Not much time to write today; I was volunteering for Shakespeare by the Sea tonight after work and I've gotta hit the sack. It's the best outdoor theatre I've ever seen and I strongly urge anyone who's anywhere near Halifax this summer to check it out. A skinny guy with lots of padding played Falstaff tonight, and was grotesquely hilarious.

Thanks for all your kind comments about St. Brigid; it's in limbo at the moment because I don't want to go any further before I've figured out exactly what to do with it. I think I'll just work on my Estonian mittens for a few days... or maybe visit the LYS....

P.S. The merry wives spoke in broad Cape Breton accents. I can't describe to you how unbelievably funny that was.

2003-07-02T07:07:00.000+09:00

As my friend Cate would say, Gah!

Every time I think I'm finally making some progress as a knitter, I screw something up big time. Above is a photo of St. Brigid. I have completed 8 pattern repeats, which is what the pattern requires. It's quite a bit too short, but I knew that was going to happen because - aha! - I made a careful gauge swatch and decided I had enough knitting expertise to progress despite the fact that my row gauge was off, since what really counted was stitch gauge and that was fine. I just need to knit until it's as long as it's supposed to be. Unfortunately, it's also about 9 centimetres too narrow. Well, let's be fair, it's about five centimetres too narrow for the size I'm making, but I have just realized that even that is too small! I had been worrying about the smallness of the garment, but the little light didn't click on in my head until this afternoon, when I was browsing through Sweater Design in Plain English in order to begin a completely different and heretofore unmentioned project. Maggie pointed out that most women's hips are larger than their chests, and I realized my problem - St. Brigid is sized for 34-36 and 38-40" busts. No problem there. But it's quite a long sweater, and at the size I'm making, it might cover my hips, but it'll cling to my bum like there's no tomorrow. Why, oh why, didn't Alice list the suggested HIP size? The sweater is a big rectangle, so obviously the widest body measurement is the important one. Gah! Oh well, it's all my fault anyway.

"Okay," you may be saying to yourself, "so she's making the wrong size. But why is it too narrow even considering the stupid small size?" Answer: I'm not exactly sure. I made several careful gauge swatches in moss stitch, and washed 'em and measured over and over. I think it comes down to a few things.

Just because I can achieve the same stitch gauge as Ms. Starmore in moss stitch doesn't mean that my gauge in several different kinds of Celtic knots.

I was a bit off when I measured. The pattern gets 2.4 stitches per centimetre; I was getting 2.4 stitches per centimetre, at least measured on the moss stitch on the sweater, which is a big squished as it *is* on the edge. That makes quite a difference in the big scheme of things.

I washed and blocked my swatches; the sweater-in-progress has not yet been blocked or washed. However, I don't think it's prudent to assume I can stretch it 5 centimetres through blocking, and I think I should be making the larger size anyway.

This brings me to Krista's Knitting Tip O' The Week: Measure your garment while you knit it. Constantly. I measured the width a couple of times soon after I'd started, but since it was more a strip than a rectangle at that point I was probably stretching it too much.

I think I can save this without re-knitting it, though: All I have to do is knit long thin strips of moss stitch and sew 'em to the sides. Right? Does anyone have a reason why I shouldn't do this? If so, please speak now! And when I knit the sleeves I'll calculate how much extra moss stitch I have to add, and try to figure out how to change the increases as best I can.

"Why", you might ask, "doesn't she rip the darn thing out and knit it on bigger needles"? Good question. I'm really happy with the drape and density of the fabric as it is; I think going up a needle size would make it too drape-y, especially given that it's a Starmore design and she likes really tight gauges.

It's no longer smooth sailing, but if I make it out of this sweater alive, methinks I will have learned a lot about pattern manipulation.

2003-07-01T07:54:00.000+09:00

Hubris
Well, this Intarsia thing is as tough as I expected it would be. I think I need to practice on some squares first or something. But I'm getting there. Just maybe not in time for Canada Day! I'm a bit confused about where I need to have separate lengths of yarn and where I don't. And sometimes I wrap the wrong way and end up with holes.

I think you all probably want to see a St. Brigid update (despite the fact that it's a giant rectangle and if you picture the same photo you saw last time, but twice as long, you've pretty much got it), so I'll post one tomorrow (that's right, tomorrow. Muahaha). I've finished eight pattern repeats, and should be shaping the shoulders now, except it's shorter than it's supposed to be because my row gauge is quite different. However, I kinda like it the length it is. But I'm not sure if I'll like it once I get the sleeves on. Decisions, decisions....

I leave you with funny stuff. Most of this will resonate with Canadians (in keeping with my Canada Day theme-o-the-moment), but there's some stuff Yanks should appreciate too. Comedy from "The Vestibules:"

Exclusive Interview with Mr. Dressup - this is a song. A weird song. A funny song. Mr. Dressup is the Canadian equivalent of Mr. Rogers. But he was far less creepy, did far cooler stuff, had far better puppets, and (this is the best part) posessed a magic Tickle Trunk full of all kinds of different costumes. I love costumes. So very much.

I Don't Want to Go to Toronto - another funny song. Anyone who knows how the rest of Canada loves to hate the city in which I attend school will love this song. It's especially appropriate in these SARS-ridden times!

Laurence Olivier for Diet Coke - Remember a few years ago when they did those Pepsi commercials with dead stars and used special effects to make them plug pepsi? Did you hate them as much as I did? If so, listen to this.

Looking for a Job in Quebec - If you know even a little bit of French, I guarantee this will make you fall off that computer chair of yours. Tee hee. I'm laughing just thinking about it.

2003-06-29T12:00:00.000+09:00

Learn Intarsia

click for a larger chart

This Canada Day weekend, knit yourself a Maple Leaf! I created the chart this evening, and will be teaching myself Intarsia over the next few days. Why not join me? I'm going to be using this web site along with Vogue Knitting and Knitting in Plain English. There are more tips here. I'm always trying to learn new techniques, even if I don't quite feel ready. Time to cross one more thing of the "I can't do this yet" list!

2003-06-28T05:22:00.000+09:00

And the winner is...

Norge 2000 - blue colourway - 33%

This *is* a pretty fantastic sweater. And I think I'm going to do the dark blue colourway (which is not pictured here but in a previous post - this picture is just fun!). Then again, I hadn't noticed that nice red version....

In case you're curious, Norge 2000 - black colourway and Gjende tied for second, with 22% of the vote each. Third was Team USA - black, with 17% (the blue version received 6%), and Besseggen limped over the finish line with no votes. Two posts today, so make sure you read the one below this. I gave blood today, so I think I'm going to have some orange juice and go lie down. See you tomorrow!

2003-06-27T19:35:00.000+09:00

Standing stereotypes on their heads
Today's entry contains an excerpt from a book by Terry Pratchett, one of my favourite novelists. I'll set it up: These robbers are about to take an old woman camped out in the cold for everything she's got.

"She had a blanket around her to keep out the cold. She was knitting. Stuck in the snow beside her was the largest sword the robbers had ever seen.
   Intelligent robbers would have started to count up the incongruities here.
   These, however, were the other kind, the kind for whom evolution was invented.
   The woman glanced up, nodded at them, and went on with her knitting.
   'Well now, what have we here?' said the leader. 'Are you--'
   'Hold this, will you?' said the old woman, standing up. 'Over your thumbs, young man. It won't take a moment for me to wind a fresh ball. I was hoping someone would drop by.'
   She held out a skein of wool.
The robber took it uncertainly, aware of the grins on the faces of his men. But he opened his arms with what he hoped was a suitably evil l   ittle-does-she-suspect look on his face.
   'That's right,' said the old woman, standing back. She kicked him viciously in the groin in an incredibly efficient if unladylike way, reached down as he toppled, caught up the cauldron, flung it accurately at the face of the first henchman, and picked up her knitting before he fell.
   The two surviving robbers hadn't had time to move, but then one unfroze and leapt for the sword. He staggered back under its weight, but the blade was long and reassuring.
   'Aha!' he said, and grunted as he raised the sword. 'How the hell did you carry this, old woman?'
   'It's not my sword,' she said. 'It belonged to the man over there.'
   The man risked looking sideways. A pair of feet in armoured sandals were just visible behind a rock. They were very big feet.
   But I've got a weapon, he thought. And then he thought: so did he.
   The old woman sighed and drew two knitting needles from the ball of wool. The light glinted on them, and the blanket slid away from her shoulders and fell on to the snow.
'   Well, gentlemen?' she said."

I like this not because, as the KnitDweebs would say, "Look! Look! Someone mentioned knitting in a book! See? It's okay to knit!" but because Terry Pratchett makes an interesting point here about things always being what they seem... and about knitters not necessarily being grandmotherly-types, which I absolutely love.... and more importantly, that bad things happen to people who assume they are! It's from The Last Hero and unlike most of his novels is a big hardcover picture book. I can't recommend Terry Pratchet highly enough. Start with Small Gods, it's my favourite. These books are fantasy/humour/philosophy all about a place called the Discworld, and each one usually deals with a theme while it follows the stories of your favourite characters; Small Gods is about religion. They seem simple but they're actually amazingly complex.

2003-06-26T19:33:00.000+09:00

Woo hoo!
Fortunately the new version of blogger let me fix my problem. Unfortunately it meant I couldn't post to my blog last night. For your viewing pleasure this morning, however, is a computer-generated poem about my blog. Bits of it make suprising sense, and some of it is, I think, very funny.

KnitWit Just
need to do it is the
hideous fringe. a few patterns included to
obsess about
the library....which is
providing me too, big
enough to make sure I
was designed
with the bigger size, period.
Blocking alter the digital camera, so my
blog wins the knit bloggers ring
So I was sort of blood and
book ever read,
and . I either
need it looks childish.

--Rob's Amazing Poem Generator

courtesy of purlgirl.

Keep those sweater votes coming! Today is the last day to vote.

2003-06-24T23:55:00.000+09:00

Problems
Hey guys, I'm having some blogger problems at the moment (grrr) - there's a post sitting here that I can't edit or delete. This is driving me crazy. Anyway, while you're considering poll options, check out this link that explains the symbols in the Norge 2000 sweater: Link

2003-06-24T23:32:00.000+09:00

Hmmmm...
For my next trick, I want to make a Norwegian sweater. I especially like those by Dale of Norway. But I'm having a little trouble deciding which to choose. That's where you come in! Here are the contenders:

Gjende - This one's kinda plain, but since I've never made one of these before, perhaps that's the best plan. The detailing around the shoulders and cuffs is nice.

Besseggen - a little more interesting....

Team USA 2002 - This one is very cool. I like the zipper at the neck and I like the colour combinations. The star motif is pretty.

Norge 2000 - Similar to the previous one. Unsure whether I like the plain body or the dotted body better. The pattern looks a little silly at first, but all the symbols in the windows come from Norwegian history (and as a history major, I find that very cool). Plus, the non-repeating nature would make it more interesting to knit.

And now, the poll! Keep in mind I won't be starting this sweater next week. I've still got to work on St. Brigid and a new yarn purchase is not in my near future. But I love to plan! Oh, right. I also reserve the right to overrule any and all poll results... muahahahaha!
Polls are now closed. Results to be announced shortly.

2003-06-24T04:17:00.000+09:00

Street Speak
So I was talking to my friend Graham last night on ICQ, and I was telling him how I hadn't got much accomplished in certain areas lately but I'd been doing lots of knitting. Here's a transcript of his response:

Interiority: Ah, the addict's lament.
Interiority: Street name for knitting: "stitch."
Interiority: As in, "she was hittin' the stitch pretty bad lately."
Krista Jo: Haha that's hillarious. I'm putting it on my knitting blog.
Interiority: Excuse me? Knitting blog?
Krista Jo: Dude, I TOLD you I was addicted!

Charts
I found a cool tip on Annie Modesitt's blog, I think, but I can't find it anymore. Basically, she cuts a slit in the bottom fold of a file folder big enough to fit her chart through, then pulls it through the hole a bit more each time she finishes a row. I thought that was a neat way to keep track of rows without resorting to magnets, etc. I have a chart-following tip of my own:

If the chart is in black and white, I colour it in. If it's a cable chart, I pick a colour for each different cable or twist, and I colour that in too - and the legend. After a few rows I've memorized the different colours, and I can see what I should do next at a glance, without squinting to make sure I haven't got it backwards - colours are much easier for me to read than weirdo cable symbols.

2003-06-23T01:30:00.000+09:00

Better Blogging
In an effort to be a better blogger, I'm going to attempt to post every day. Note: I said attempt.

Old Friend
This is the second sweater I knitted, and the first Aran, the first pockets, and the first hood. I unfortunately screwed the hood up and it ended up way too big (if I put it on, I look like a druid or something) but it looks nice hanging down the back of the sweater, and who actually wears hoods anyway? (<-- rationalization) I'm not too happy with the finishing, either. However, at the time I considered it a huge success and I received tons of compliments and I do still wear it.

Click for larger photo

It's funny, though -- the pattern seemed so intricate and complicated. But when you compare it to St. Brigid, it looks childish. I wonder how often I'll wear it after St. Brigid is knitted? I'm guessing not much.

Before and after!

Then again, St. Brigid is coming out a little smaller than I'd anticipated. Not sure how that happened -- I measured repeatedly during the first few inches, I guess I was stretching it a bit too much. I know blocking can't alter the size much, but I just need it to be a centimetre or two wider. Then again, I'm thinking maybe I should have made the bigger size, period. Blocking won't help with that! I compared it so far to another sweater that I like, though, and it's a bit wider than that, so my fingers are crossed.

2003-06-22T01:33:00.000+09:00

Random Observations

This blog wins the prize for most depressing title in the universe.

For all those knitting bloggers out there who want to join the Pagan knit-a-long, I thought I should point out that Pagan is one of a very few patterns offered individually on Rowan's web site. You can order the pattern by itself here instead of buying the entire Rowan 27 magazine, for the price of £1.

I watched The Name of the Rose last night, a Sean Connery/Christian Slater movie based on Umberto Eco's novel of the same name (that is, the English translation has the same name). It wins the prize for worst movie adaptation in the universe. I wasn't expecting much but this was ridiculous. They took what is possibily the most beautiful, complicated, and thought-provoking book I've ever read, and turned it into a 3rd-rate Sherlock Holmes mystery with lots of blood and gore.

Interesting fact for those of you who are familiar with the University of Toronto's campus: Umberto Eco spent some time at U of T while writing The Name of the Rose and the labyrinth/library (designed to keep readers out) was inspired by Robarts library (which often feels like it was designed with the same purpose in mind).

Robarts, in all its concrete-monolith glory. I've spent too much of my life in that place.

Speaking of Umberto Eco, has anyone read his newest book, Baudolino? I'm on a waiting list at the library....

I also watched The Paper Chase, which made me very glad I chose grad over law school.

I took my dog to York Redoubt; it was a beautiful day and he swam in the ocean and then sat impatiently while I knitted in the sunshine. It's definitely my favourite place in Halifax. Unfortunately, there are no good photos on the web and my parents had the digital camera, so I missed several great photo opportunities.

I'm working on the 6th pattern repeat on St. Brigid. Still not bored, which is great. Still can't stop staring at it.

I got a compliment from Wendy! She is my knitting role model. I aspire someday to achieve her level of skill (and speed!). That put a big smile on my face all day. Her beautiful work has convinced me to do a Norwegian sweater for my first foray into knitting with colour (mittens don't count!). Now I just have to decide which one.... any suggestions?

2003-06-18T23:50:00.000+09:00

St. Brigid
I'm just past the halfway mark on the back of St. Brigid and things are going swimmingly. The pattern looks so beautiful I have to keep stopping and staring at it (which is good, 'cause then I invariably notice the mistake I made 4 rows back, and frog to fix it). Here are a couple of photos:

Click image for larger photo; if you want to see a close-up of the celtic knotwork, click here.

Blogging Pet-Peeves:

People who apologize for stuff. "I'm sorry I haven't been talking about knitting stuff." "I'm sorry I didn't post a photo." "I'm sorry I didn't get any knitting done last night." The urge is strong in me too, but people - the blogs are YOURS. You don't have to apologize for them! You don't owe people anything, and you can use your blog for whatever you want.
That being said, it drives me crazy when members of the knit bloggers ring (and there are lots of them) who haven't updated in, say, a month and receive a warning from the administrator make a post along the lines of
```
Hi, haven't posted in a month, so I got a warning
from the web ring administrator - if I don't
make a post, I'll be removed from the ring.  
So here's my post.  Haven't done any knitting.  
Nothing to say.
```
Now, if these people want to have blogs they never update, that's totally cool. But those blogs don't belong in the knitting bloggers web ring. What's the point of updating if it's just to say that nothing's going on? I would say to myself "H'm. I haven't updated my blog in a month. I either need to start making regular updates, or bow out of the ring because I just don't have time for this blogging stuff."*

*OK, OK, I know I'm not the most frequent blog-updater. But I do aim for at least once a week.

2003-06-10T01:17:00.000+09:00

Progress...

I'm about halfway finished the thumb on my first mitten. I hate doing thumbs! But the end is in sight.

I went to the yarn store and bought the 9 extra balls of Classic Wool I needed for St. Brigid

I've started swatching the brown silk with two strands

I've been watching "The Jewel in the Crown," an A&E miniseries in a zillion parts (it's 12 and a half hours long) about the last years of British India, based on "The Raj Quartet" novels by Paul Scott, which I've always meant to read and haven't. It's very good, and very depressing, and is providing me with lots of knitting time.

2003-06-06T22:49:00.000+09:00

Starmore

I've been swatching for St. Brigid by Alice Starmore, found in Aran Knitting. I'd post a picture but that might cause a problem so you'll just have to follow the link. I was thinking about using Briggs & Little yarn, which is nice and very very cheap (especially for you Americans out there, what with the exchange rate and all), but the cables weren't really popping out because the colour I wanted (green) was sort of heathered. So now it's going to be made in Patons Classic Merino, in forest green, and without the hideous horse-blanket fringe.

Here's a photo of my pattern swatch, Briggs & Little on top, Patons on bottom. The gauge swatch was worked in moss stitch, and I was NOT EVEN CLOSE on row gauge, so I started knitting the back of the sweater with all the patterns included to see if the cables would stretch it out a bit. Think it's going to work out! Need to buy more wool, though - just had one ball for swatching. I'll work on the mittens in the meantime.

2003-06-04T06:22:00.000+09:00

Startitis

Hmm.... well, the fleece artist silk is closer to sock weight than sport weight, so a project with it is on hold at the moment while I figure out what to use it for. However, in the meantime I started making a pair of mittens from Folk Knitting in Estonia by Nancy Bush. I highly recommend this book. It's full of beautiful sock, glove, and mitten patterns, plus nifty traditional Estonian techniques. I'm using plain old Regia 4-ply in cream and blue. Started on Saturday and I've already finished one mitten, save for the thumb!

I tried making a pair of gloves from this book last year, they're absolutely beautiful with a snowflake pattern on the back of the hand and vertical stripes on the palms and fingers. However, I've realized I hate hate hate knitting gloves, because of the fingers. I finished one, and I just can't bring myself to add fingers to the second. Anyone wanna do it for me? This was, of course, my first stranded colourwork pattern (and my first glove pattern, and my first DPN pattern, and my first non-chunky yarn pattern... it was destined to fail!) so the tension is a bit wonky at colour joins. I can't bring myself to finish them, and I can't bring myself to rip 'em out and start 'em over, so I think they're just gonna sit there. Too bad - they were in Koigu, too. Beautiful stuff. At any rate, the mittens should be finished by next week!

2003-05-27T23:23:00.000+09:00

Hahahahahaha
I happened upon this Ebay listing this morning:

LT BLUE KNIT CABLE VEST+YARN-YOU FINISH
Offering a nice lt blue denim color cable knit vest plus yarn to finish. Measures about 20" long, 18" wide on body. Can't find pattern; but any good knitter will be able to figure it out. Ladies size.

2003-05-22T02:43:00.000+09:00

New Project

I picked up a skein of Fleece Artist silk at my local yarn store yesterday... I couldn't help myself! $15 for a 250g hank of pure silk was too good a deal to pass up. It's a copper brown colour with flecks of red and green and gold in it, and it's quite thin. I'm still swatching, but I think it's going to come out at sport weight, which is excellent, because I want to make a tank with it and there's a lovely racerback one in the Interweave Knits Fall 2002 issue. However, I've never knit with silk before, so there are some questions I must answer before proceeding, especially since the original pattern is written for a mohair/wool blend:

I've never knit with silk before. I assume it has similar properties to cotton re: the necessity of tight gauge, growing, etc? Not that I've ever knit with cotton before, except a dishcloth or two....

I want to wash my swatch, in case it expands hugely or something. How should one wash a silk swatch?

My bust size is aout 38 1/2" in my favourite bra. The pattern comes in 35, 37, 39, 42, and 45" versions. I measured a tank I already have (it's not handknit, it's just stretchy fabric) in the fit I want, and it came out to 37". So it seems I should make that size, but is the silk going to stretch a lot? My thought at the moment is that 37 should be fine because the top I measured was stretchy.

The bottom, neck, and armhole edgings are all done in seed stitch. Should I switch to ribbing, because it's silk?

I think that's about it for the checklist; my stitch gauge is spot on so far, gotta knit some more, check the row gauge, and do some washing.

2003-05-20T09:21:00.000+09:00

Fair Isle
What's the deal with fair isle? I love some of the colour combinations I've seen, but every single pattern I look at is shaped in the traditional, boxy, ugly way. Where are the patterns with shaping? The fitted cardigans? The sleeveless tops? The trendy bands of colour? Why do people always assume that young or stylish knitters aren't ready for anything except stockinette? Why do I keep finding myself faced with patterns I'd like to knit, and patterns I'd like to wear, but not both?

2003-05-17T04:01:00.000+09:00

Cables
I recently received a comment from a blog reader who admires those who knit with cables. Let me let everybody in on a little secret: Cables are easy! Sooo easy! The second thing I ever knit was cabled! They're much easier than colourwork, or even finishing. So, all of you who've never done cables, if you can knit and you can purl, I double dog-dare you to learn!

Bonne Marie Burns of Chicknits has a fantastic photo tutorial here; it's how I learned to cable.

Hell, you don't even need a cable needle! Use a toothpick, or an eyeliner brush, or a dpn (make it a short, light one, though, or you'll just be making it harder for yourself). I like bamboo skewers, cut short and sharpened at the cut end. Or...

Wendy Johnson has instructions on how to cable without a cable needle, once you get the basics down. It's so easy and fast!

Of course, everybody needs a pattern to practice on. Try these:

Chicknits Cabled Headband

Owl Dishcloth

Two Cable Bulky Hat

Cropped, Cabled Cardigan

Here's a list of cabling abbreviations if you get confused.

Be sure to email me with stories or photos of your progress. This is a dare, after all. I'll post a photo of a cabled sweater I made for inspiration in the next couple of days.

2003-05-16T10:10:00.000+09:00

Photos!
Here's the Exam Sweater, in all its glory. I'm an average photographer at the best of times, and I have absolutely no experience photographing sweaters (anybody know of a web site with tips? Anybody want to make a web site with tips?), so prepare to be underwhelmed. Also, no pics of it on me, since I was the only one home today. For anyone who wants to know, the pattern is from Sirdar's Relax in Aran booklet; it's aran or heavy worsted-weight.

Click for a larger photo

I love cables! Cables cables cables!

2003-05-09T12:41:00.000+09:00

Finished!
The Exam Sweater (for so I shall call it, as I knitted it during the two or so weeks when I was supposed to be studying for the exams that will finish tomorrow) is complete! Fits like a glove, too. Glad I made the "small" size (which is hilarious, 'cause I'm not at all). Also glad I made the sleeves a teensy bit longer; they would have been too short. And finally, I'm glad I picked nice wooden buttons, they complete the look perfectly. I shall wear the sweater to my last exam tomorrow, The History of Quebec and French Canada. I don't have a digital camera here but I'll be home next week and will then provide photos galore!

2003-05-08T13:36:00.000+09:00

Never mind
I figured it out. Although the bands themselves aren't lying quite flat, and this irks me. Esp. since I'm using (gasp!) acrylic so I can't really do much in the way of blocking.

2003-05-08T11:13:00.000+09:00

Daah!
OK, so I just picked up the required 121 stitches along the side of my cardigan, ribbed three rows, and have come to the row where I'm supposed to make buttonholes. The instructions read "rib 2, cast off 2 sts, (rib 20, cast off 2 sts) 5 times, rib 1.

Am I crazy, or does that only add up to 115 sts?

However, that does mean that, yes, I'm on the button bands. My procrastination has paid off and I've almost finished the sweater. Not bad for ~2 weeks!

Speaking of procrastination, I still have one more exam. But I feel much better knowing that I got an A in Baltic History (although v. surprised since I didn't go to class much).

2003-05-07T23:07:00.000+09:00

What's with the Kool-Aid?
Why is everybody jumping on this Kool-Aid yarn-dying bandwagon? I could see someone doing it with their kids, but that's pretty much the limit. Have you seen the colours it produces? They're so garish. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a good bright orange, in the proper context, but REAL yarn dyes can't be that expensive, can they? And then at least you know what you're getting before you pull the yarn out of the pot. If I told someone that painting Cheerios with nail polish made great stitch markers, I'm sure everybody and their dog would get on that immediately.

To my mind, you dye your own yarn if you want to produce creative colour combinations you can't find in stores. Why would you subject nice, pure, wool to powdered fruit drink?

Also, if Kool-Aid does that to my socks, what the hell does it do to my insides?

Also, why isn't it Kool-Ade?

2003-05-06T10:46:00.000+09:00

More Progress
Both fronts are done and I'm up to the raglan shapings on sleeve #1. I'm a bit worried that the sleeves are a bit too loose compared to the rest of the sweater, but we'll see.

I've realized that I really like knitting complicated patterns, but I really like wearing simple patterns. H'm. How to get around that, I wonder?

Also, it irks me that the latest issue of Interweave Knits, which subscribers have been discussing for over a week has hit stores in the U.S. but STILL not here yet, so I can't get my grubby little hands on a copy. And they haven't even updated their website so I can at least see some of the designs. *Pout* I should be studying anyway.

2003-05-02T02:16:00.000+09:00

Time flies when you're supposed to be studying
I've finished the back of the cabled cardigan and have started the left front. Tons of progress! I have, however, only read one article for Indian history and haven't even touched my Quebec History textbook. Daah.

2003-04-30T04:03:00.000+09:00

New New Project

Thanks for the suggestions for modifying the bobble sweater, but I've had to scrap it for now. I was getting the right gauge with the yarn I was using, but the fabric was too loose. So, this yarn is destined to be another sweater, and the bobble sweater returns to the future project pile, awaiting a more suitable yarn.

The new new project is an aran cardigan from Sirdar's "Relax in Aran." It's more traditional than trendy, and I can't wait to wear it. I'm knitting it in a light dusty blue colour, and am about halfway up the back. Haven't yet decided whether to use blue buttons (navy would be nice!) or wood buttons. I'm trying to do one pattern repeat a day, but will probably slow down next week since I do have two more exams.

Yarn Store Anecdotes
I went to my LYS on Friday after the dreaded economics exam to find a pattern that my yarn liked better, and while browsing around overheard a horrible exchange between some hideous woman and the polite but harassed employee. The woman had, like me, already purchased yarn, and wanted a simple vest pattern to knit for her granddaughter. She wanted the employee to whip up a pattern on the spot based on her yarn and to fit her (not present) granddaughter. When the employee explained that wouldn't be possible, the woman got huffy and said that the yarn store she used to shop at did this for her all the time. The employee then spent about ten minutes looking through the extensive pattern collection for a suitable vest, at which point the Evil Woman explained she was actually looking for a sleeveless top, not a vest. To her credit, the employee switched gears and started looking for a sleeveless top, and actually found one. However, it was in a booklet of several patterns, and since Evil Woman didn't want to knit the rest of the patterns in the booklet and didn't want to pay for the booklet (which was like $6, btw), she left empty-handed.

I approached the employee, promising to be less obnoxious than the previous customer. She laughed, saying "Oh, then it wasn't just me!" and cheerfully helped me with my request. We chatted about knitting designers, she raved to me about Viking Knits, gave me a discount, suggested I take her finishing class, and when I left the store we were both smiling. I am SO GLAD I have never worked in retail!

I almost forgot the best part. I was outside the store on my rollerblades, taking my flip-flops out of my bag, when this tiny little boy walked out of the store with his mom. "Mom, why is she taking out her sandals?" he asked, staring at me. "Because I can't go in the store with wheels on," I replied, though the question had not been addressed to me. "Why does she want to go into the store?" he continued. "Because I want to make a sweater," I said. "But there's just YARN in the there," he answered, confused. At this point, his mom jumped in. "You knit a sweater out of yarn," she explained. "You know how to KNIT?!" he asked, incredulously. I answered in the affirmative. "Mommy, why is she taking her socks off?" "Because you don't wear socks with flip-flops, honey." "Those are flip-flops? Flip flops! Flip flops!" he repeated to himself as she dragged him away. So cute. But at this stage of my life, I'd rather have a dog. A German Long-Haired Pointer like Rufus, who sadly lives 2 provinces away with my parents.

Not Rufus, but looks a lot like him*

*Sorry 'bout the non-knitting content, but I have to counteract all these silly cat posts I keep seeing -laugh-.

2003-04-23T00:18:00.000+09:00

New Project

I've been swatching for this "kimono" sweater from Phildar's automne collection. It's knit sideways in two pieces: you cast on for the sleeve and then increase to knit the body, and then decrease again for the second sleeve. Any suggestions for the best way to cast on in this case?

Also, I don't like the bobbles. They look good in the picture but I think they'd be really dorky in real life. So if I got rid of the bobbles I'd have to get rid of the garter stitch borders that box them in. And if I got rid of those, the sleeves would look really empty. What does the blogging universe think? Maybe I should add another vertical stripe of stocking stitch? On the body, I think I could just continue the regular pattern with no harm done.

I've added some more blog links to the right sidebar. I especially like Antonio's "Knit Knut," with the alternate title of "Eartha Knittery" -- tee hee. I love puns. Haven't been updating much because it's exam season; just warning you now that this state of affairs is likely to continue into May.

2003-04-15T14:05:00.000+09:00

Daah!
My comments seem to have disappeared. Must get on this. In the meantime, email me if you have something to say!

2003-04-15T00:15:00.000+09:00

A reply to QueerJoe's controversial a couple of days ago
Actually, it's more of a reply to the replies
Jesus Christ, some of these comments are ridiculous. Joe didn't say new blogs are bad, he said BORING blogs are bad. Yes, that makes him an elitist, but it's a good thing. All writers are not created equal. Everybody has the right to have a blog, and everybody else has the right not to read it. If you don't like what Joe has to say, leave. Don't tell him he has to conform to your way of thinking; as has been stated, it's HIS blog.

That being said, Joe, I wouldn't worry so much about the growing popularity of knit blogging. The more bloggers, the more idiots, but also the more interesting, creative, insightful knitters who came late to the game. Ignore the former, and enjoy the latter. I wholeheartedly agree with your interpretation of the "KnitLost." It was meant to be a place to share and learn, not to repeat the SAME POSTS daily.

Fortunately, while mailing list content is pushed, the blog format allows you to pick and choose what you read. Another good resource is the forum at Knitters' Review. Sure, it's been taken over by the same dorks who want you to do their thinking for them, but again, YOU get to pick and choose what you want to read. You can ignore the postings about which celebrity someone saw knitting for five seconds on TV and skip straight to an insightful journal someone wrote on her journey towards Master Knitter Certification.

Last but not least, the good thing about the idiots is that some of them do learn. I used to be the new knitter asking everybody to figure out yarn substitutions for me, but now (I hope) I've moved somewhat beyond that, and can actually make a contribution to the knitting community.

I've got a blog; started it recently. I haven't been posting every day because I don't have something interesting to say about knitting every day, and I refuse to fill in with cat stories (God I hate cats) or telling you what I ate yesterday or how much it snowed or the cute thing my DH/DD/DDIL/Daah I hate those stupid acronyms did this morning.* I have huge respect for those of you who can, and do post stuff I actually want to read on a daily basis, and I think that those of us who comment should try to do the same. If your comment won't add to the blog/discussion/whatever, then don't make it! Send it to the KnitList.

*If YOU want to include those things in your blog, and other people want to read them, that's totally cool. I love Wendy's blog, for example; I just ignore the cat stuff. And she doesn't give a rat's ass, because it's HER blog, and she can do what she wants with it.

2003-04-06T14:53:00.000+09:00

Coolest sweater ever!

I really really really want to make a sleeveless shell (possibly like this boatneck tank) in black, with Captain Kirk's face on the front (chart courtesty of knitting-and.com) and "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it!" on the back. Okay, okay, I know it's ridiculously geeky. But it's more kitsch than geek. I would wear it every day. Best sweater ever. However, I've never done Intarsia, and I think I would probably HATE knitting small bits of that many colours. Ah well. It shall remain a dream.

2003-04-02T14:52:00.000+09:00

H'm
Job interview went v. well, though I spent a total of 2.5 hours on public transit to get there and back (yeesh). No knitting, though - on way there was reading about job, on way back was reading about Estonian resistance to the Soviet Occupation (that's depressing, let me tell you). Had Knit Wits this afternoon, taught a girl how to cast off and watched Knitting from Start to Finishing, or bits of it, which was just as cheesy as I'd suspected. Learned a couple of useful things, however, and want to try some simple intarsia. I'd never knit a whole polka-dot sweater or anything like that, but I'd like to make a rugby shirt for a teddy bear with a "T" on it (for Trinity [my college]). Also, I'm going to have to give Continental knitting another try. If I practice, I'll be faster eventually, and faster means more stuff gets knit!

2003-03-31T23:49:00.000+09:00

Job interview today.
Reminds me of my job two summers ago, as a historical interpreter at a fairly low-traffic tourist site. Read 47 books while on the job that summer; asked the girl who'd worked there the year before me what she'd done to pass the time, and she replied that she'd knit a couple of afghans. I was appalled, figuring that would be more boring than just sitting there.
Now I regret all the wasted knitting time!
Although I did read a lot of interesting stuff, notably The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell, which I highly recommend. Another memorable moment was reading Death of a Salesman with tears streaming down my face. Fortunately, it was a rainy Monday so no one interrupted me. However, by the end of the summer, I couldn't concentrate on anything except P.G. Wodehouse, and I was going through those like candy.

2003-03-30T09:42:00.000+09:00

Knitting is sexy, if you do it in your underwear
At the risk of seeming to fall into the category of knitting-because-it's-cool-now-that-insert-celebrity-here does it, I'd just like to point out that I chose the photo of Goldie Hawn for my background because it makes knitting look sexy. A lot more sexy than this:

2003-03-29T14:21:00.000+09:00

Favourite Knits, Part 2

I don't usually like Patons patterns, but this one really caught my eye. It called for Shetland Chunky, which is 75% acrylic. I didn't really like it because it's fairly scratchy and rough, so I substituted Red Heart Chunky, which works up to exactly the same gauge, and I made it in red. It was really cheap but it doesn't look really cheap, and I've received lots of compliments. I keep wanting to be a fibre snob, but hey -- this one goes in the washing machine! I knit it in about a month and a half, and then waited another month and a half to finish it, but I'm getting less and less intimidated by sewing seams and weaving in ends. I'd like to make another similar sweater, but in a cardigan, so I could wear it over other stuff as a jacket. There's one I really like in the Debbie Bliss Cotton Knits for All Seasons book. I hear zippers are hard to do, though.

Also, I started knitting a small teddy bear from Teddy Bears, and I am unimpressed with the finishing instructions. "Sew head to body." Well how do I sew a round head to a round body? And where? The bear is wearing a turtleneck sweater in the only picture (I see Maggie Righetti's point!); there are no diagrams.... I'm just going to have to improvise.

2003-03-28T04:40:00.000+09:00

Cool knitting stuff
Headed off to the public library today on my brand-spanking new rollerblades (soo much fun, I've been rollerblading every day since the weather got nice) and picked up the following:

Knitting from Start to Finishing, a how-to video I'm going to show at Knit Wits, my college's knitting club, next week,

No Idle Hands: A Social History of American Knitting, by Anne L. Macdonald. I happened to see it randomly on the shelf. It's a pretty hefty book, and I don't really have time, what with all my school reading, but I'm going to read it anyway. It's 'specially interesting for me 'cause I'm a History specialist. I'll post the verdict on the historiography once I've read it.

Teddy Bears, by Debbie Bliss. I love her designs, and these teddy bears are too cool for words. There's even a rugby bear! But my favourite is the aviator bear, complete with goggles, scarf, and faux shearling jacket.

This should be sufficient to increase my procrastination stretch well into next week. Why write essays on Quebec historians and 20th-century Baltic history when I could be knitting? Or reading about knitting? Or blogging about knitting? Ha!

2003-03-28T02:11:00.000+09:00

Favourite Knits, Part 1
I don't really have any projects on the go right now besides a pair of blue socks on 2mm DPNS, and they've sort of stalled. So for the next few days I'm going to present my favourite things I've knitted, and then maybe I'll get into favourites I'd like to knit.

My absolute favourite thing so far is the Chrissie cardigan from Rowan's Big Wool. I'd wanted to make it for ages and ages, but at $22/ball here in Toronto, it wasn't really an option. I knew Ebay would come through eventually, so I was patient and ended up rewarded with 10 balls of Big Wool in my colour of choice for about half the price I would've paid here. It was ridiculously easy to knit and sewing the seams was so easy! For those of you who've had problems with mattress stitch, I suggest trying it out on super giant yarn - the stitches are so big it's almost imposible to screw up. I didn't make the belt, because the fabric is so thick that trying to cinch it in at the waist would only succeed in creating more bulk. But it fits perfectly, and is just waiting for super-gigantic-buttons that will fit the super-gigantic-buttonholes. Anybody have any suggestions?

2003-03-27T03:09:00.000+09:00

I swore I wasn't going to start a knitting blog, but this article prompted me to get on my soapbox, and I decided that instead of cluttering up others' comment boxes and mailing lists, I should do it on my own turf. So here is my own turf, and here is my response:

Dear Ms. Jameson,

I am a 21-year old University student living on my own in the big city. I hate hype, and I refuse to do anything just because everybody else is doing it. I also barely passed home ec. I'd rather pay someone to sew a button on for me than do it myself, and I'm on a student budget! My sport of choice is rugby, and because my college doesn't have a women's team (or enough female players to start a league), I play with the men. Yep, full-contact, co-ed rugby [I see your "I shoot hoops" and raise you ten --ed.]. I'm also passionate about gender issues: I love my small, traditional college but I hate its gender-segregated student government, and am doing my best to change
attitudes. I'm the one who always has to be the tough guy, and the one who will go find pliers to open a jar instead of finding a man. I wouldn't bother telling you this, but you seem to think that personality is an important factor if one is to have an opinion on this issue.

I have been knitting for over a year now. I taught myself to knit, just to prove I could, after someone suggested otherwise. I intended to knit one scarf, and never touch the needles again, but... I liked it! Knitting is _fun_. I'm not going to tout its meditational virtues or tell you that by pursuing an ancient craft I'm connecting with women
throughout time.... that's all BS. I enjoy it; it gives me the same pleasure as writing a good essay or making a sweet tackle. Knitting may supposedly be a huge trend, but around here, it's a trend I started. Everybody I know was shocked to see me knitting, exclaiming they didn't think I was 'the type.' Well, I'm all about breaking down stereotypes, but you seem to be trying to enforce them. Now I've started a knitting club at school, and its members (both male and female) met to knit and talk about current events. There's no reason we can't watch the news on TV and do something useful and productive with our hands at the same time.

Knitting and feminism are not mutually exclusive. Telling women they can't do something is oppresive. You're espousing an outmoded brand of feminism; one that requires a complete abandonment of all things feminine. I suggest you do some reading, because times have changed. The whole point is to remove value judgements like 'masculine' and 'feminine' from everyday activities. We should all have the freedom to do whatever we want, say whatever we want, knit whatever we want.

I hope you realize this article is not in reply to your criticism of knitting - I myself can't stand basketball, but realize that people have different tastes. I take issue of the stereotypes you enforce, both about women, and about knitting. Your article seems to be based more on other ill-informed newspaper articles I've read about knitting than
about conversations with actual knitters. Your newspaper is widely read, so please: next time you sit down to write an article about gender issues, please think carefully about whether you are advancing the cause of women or simply furthering negative stereotypes.

Yours, etc.