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Welcome to my knitting--no, fiber arts--no, artisan blog.
Other knitting blogs inspired me to start a knitting blog. But I also crochet, weave, and make jewelry, and I'm just learning
to make cheese. So I guess that makes this an artisan blog.
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Thursday, June 30, 2005
Just a Little Sock Knitting
Today, another vacation day, I knitted on the first June Sockenmuster KAL sock and finished the third
Thursday Next novel, The Well of Lost Plots. There's a fourth, and I'll have to read that one now.
Anyway, the first June sock is done through the gusset:
This sock should be finished in the next few days. Now that I've made some real progress on it, I can do some of the other
things I've been working on or planning to work on. A lot of stuff I was going to do in June didn't even get started. But
tomorrow, I'll have a little list.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2005
If it's Tuesday, This Must be Knitalong
Tuesday is for knitalongs, and I’m not working! So I can knitalong all day if I want, and I pretty much
did.
Now that it’s almost July, I finally have time to start the June socks for the Mustersocken Knitalong (patterned socks knitalong):
That's two repeats of the pattern. Now that I've gotten the hang of the pattern, the socks will go faster. I love this Fortissima
Cotton yarn; I want six balls in every color. It's very soft and smooth; it’s actually slippery enough that I have to wrap
the end around my pinky one more time to keep the tension on the yarn. These will be for me unless someone else claims them.
And speaking of knitalong socks, I’ve been thinking about my Sockapal2za socks. One possibility is the Quergestricktesocken (sideways-knitted socks) from the Opal Web site. (You can download a .pdf
of the pattern by clicking here and scrolling down to Strickanleitung quergestrickte Socken. Click on that link and the .pdf downloads
automatically.) Those are definitely unusual, and I’m dying to knit them. Another possibility is the socks "mit Stulpen" from
Socken: Selbst Gestrickt by Katharina Buss (p. 30):
I’ve also been wanting to do the "Ethnomuster" (ethnic pattern) socks from Socken Stricken: Neue Ideen by Lena Fuchs
(p. 24):
but in a different colorway. I’m thinking purple, blue, red, pink, and lavender. Abandoning the German socks theme, I'm also
thinking about cardigan socks. I saw these somewhere a few years ago. You knit the sock top flat with button bands, then you
button the sock top and pick up for the heel and foot and work that in the round the usual way. I would do these in a cable
pattern.
I’ve also been working a little on the red NBaT (in honor of which, I’ve added the Knit Red button above). The NBaT is now
into the bust increases:
And not speaking of knitalongs, Dr. Science is in Detroit for a molecular biology conference, and when he got there last week he drove to East Lansing to see a grad school colleague, Hans Cheng. Conrad showed Hans
and Hans’s colleague Henry his felted PowerBook cover, and they’re both interested in the pattern, so here’s the information.
The original pattern for a 12-inch PowerBook cover is by Rebekah Martin. She knitted hers in garter stitch worked flat (very sensible) and sewed the side seams. Her original pattern works out to
about 10 rows and 10 stitches of unfelted knitting to 1 inch of PowerBook – actually a little less. She used Brown Sheep Lamb's
Pride worsted on size 6.5 mm (US 10.5) needles. I did Conrad’s in garter stitch in the round (knit one round, purl one round)
and used different yarn. Here’s my version, which is based on hers. Naturally this pattern is copyright 2005, all rights reserved,
and so on. You may use it yourself but you may not sell the pattern or anything you make with it.
Another Felted PowerBook Cover
Materials
2 balls of Patons Classic Wool (or about 500 m of worsted-weight feltable wool of your choice; this would probably look
fabulous in a variegated yarn with short lengths of color so that each stitch is a different color)
60 cm (24 in) circular needle, size 6.5 mm (US 10.5)
tapestry needle for sewing the bottom seam
button, small amount of sock yarn in an appropriate color to sew it on, sharp sewing needle (optional)
Gauge
20 sts = 14 cm (5.5 in); 20 rows (10 purl ridges) = 7 cm (2.75 in) (I know this is a strange way to put it.)
Instructions are for the 12"(15",17") PowerBook.
Directions
Leaving a tail of about 60 cm (about 24 in) (you will use this later to sew the bottom seam), cast on 114(140,156) stitches.
Join the round, being careful not to twist the row of stitches. Place a marker to indicate the beginning of the round.
Beginning with a knit round, work garter stitch in the round (knit one round, purl one round) for 96(100,112) rounds (48[50,56]
purl ridges). End with a purl round.
Begin flap:
Next round: Bind off 57(70,78) stitches knitwise, then knit to the end.
Working back and forth now, knit 11 rows (6 purl ridges total).
Begin flap decreases:
Knit to the last two stitches, k2tog. Repeat this row for a total of 46(50,56) decrease rows (23[25,28] purl ridges).
If you don’t want a buttonhole:
Row 47(51,57): Bind off knitwise to last 2 sts, bind off those sts together.
To add a buttonhole:
Row 47(51,57): Knit 2(6,11), bind off 6(7,7) knitwise, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog.
Next row: Bind off 2(6,11), cast on 6(7,7), bind off to the last 2 sts, bind off the last 2 sts together.
Sew the bottom seam. Weave in the ends.
Felting
If you made a buttonhole, cut a small piece of plastic (the handle of a plastic grocery bag works well), thread it through
the buttonhole, and tie the ends in a knot. Don’t tie the plastic snugly around the button loop; you want to let the loop
felt but you don’t want the buttonhole to felt shut.
Set the washing machine for the strongest agitation and hot water. Add a small amount of detergent, a few towels, and
the PowerBook cover. Check the felting progress every 3 or 4 minutes. The cover could be felted to size in 10 minutes
or less. Don’t let it felt too small!
When the cover is the right size, start the rinse and spin cycle. Let the cover dry on a mold that’s the same size and
shape as your PowerBook (if you made a button loop, remove the plastic now); I used two three-ring binders taped together.
Sew on the button if you’re using one.
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Monday, June 27, 2005
Who's the Goddess of Finishing?
We know Nike is the goddess of victory, but who's the goddess of finishing? And what offerings do you
leave on her altar?
Well, I've been finishing. Today I handed in the last of the horse surgery book and I'm taking a few days off, which is nice
because I think my last day off was March 10.
Whoever the goodess of finishing is, I'm guessing you leave finished things on her altar. This afternoon I finished some things
I've been knitting on as time has permitted. First, I finished the toe on the first Jim sock (the second sock is under way):
The other day I couldn't resist starting some short toe-footies (kurze Zehenfüßlinge). I decided this would be a good way to use up some leftover Opal, and I cast on the ribbing in purple before I realized
lavender would be better for the Opal. So naturally I had to use the purple ribbing, so I did a footie with some leftover
Koigu, which I had to supplement with some lavender and blue stripes. Then I did some lavender ribbing and made one with the
Opal:
I've never had Single Sock Syndrome, and these will have mates, probably tomorrow.
And the practice Corps of Discovery Hat is done:
I've already complained about the pattern. This really can be done entirely in the round. One problem that you can see in
the photos is the turn from the flap to the body of the hat. You knit in the round, then you purl the turning ridge, then
you turn the work and knit in the round so that the outside of the hat and the outside of the flap (when it's folded up) are
in stockinette. But that means that the "turning ridge" isn't really a turning ridge, it's just the first round of the inside
of the hat. In other words, there isn't much of a fold. I think this doesn't look as bad when the hat is on the head, but
why not purl the turning ridge, then knit a few rounds, then turn the hat and work the other way? That would
give a nice sharp turn. So I'll be doing future CoD hats that way. And the last thing is the end of the hat. You decrease
your way down to 12 stitches, and then you bind off. Why? I think it would look strange. Why not graft? I couldn't bear to
send this hat to Mongolia with a hole in the top, so I did graft it.
Tomorrow I'll do more toe-footies and finish (really!) the Columbia River Gorge-ous scarf.
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Saturday, June 11, 2005
And Now for Something Completely Different
Today is Worldwide KIP Day. Apparently there are knitters who are nervous about knitting in public, and the rationale is that if everybody knits in
public, nobody should feel nervous about it. Well, I don't know if there were any local events, but I did KIP today: I finally
made it over to Windsor Button for a button for Conrad's PowerBook cover and some more Lamb's Pride Superwash wool for the Hoover baby blanket. I worked on Jim's sock while I walked to the T, rode the train, and walked to the shop from Park Street -- and back. That
was pretty public. Of course, that might be eccentric enough that other knitters won't feel encouraged to KIP.
Anyway, I got home with the wool, and after I took a cool shower (very hot and humid here today) I ripped the original stripes
that didn't look baby enough to me and started over with Aquamarine:
This is much better, I think. It's still a gender-neutral green, and it stil looks pretty retro, but it looks more appropriate
for a baby.
I've also taken a stab at a practice version of the Corps of Discovery Hat. This is a pretty radical step for me; normally I just plunge in and alter as I go. But this time I wanted to see if I could
figure out what Jean Lampe had in mind when she wrote those directions. Why work back and forth first? That's the main question.
But the directions are alittle confusing the way they're laid out. For example, she gives directions for the two-color cable
cast on (which I love), and the directions then say to knit one row. The main directions begin by telling you to work the
two-color cast on and then work two more rows. This is poorly organized technical writing (in my professional opinion), and
I'll bet lots of people miss that last line in the separate directions about the cast on. She also requires you to use the
wrapped short-row method (which I've tried and don't like, so I used the Japanese short rows as usual). You're shaping the
hat so the front curves over the front of the skull. It's pretty clever. Anyway, I haven't done much, but here it is so far:
That's wool from the same batch that didn't felt in the Felting Disaster, BTW. I'll get this one done, and then I think I'll
try a smaller one (also for Dulaan) entirely in the round.
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Friday, June 10, 2005
Stick a Fork in It
So on Wednesday the dogs and I were on the porch to work, and the letter carrier came bearing yarn. I
said, "Oh! You've brought my yarn!" And he said, "I've never seen anyone get excited about yarn before." Obviously he doesn't
know the right people. Anyway, here it is:
The red is the Patons Classic Wool for Conrad's felted PowerBook cover. The dark pink is more Patons Classic Wool for my PowerBook
cover. That's going to be combined with gray that I already have. The light pink is Fortissima cotton sock yarn for the Mustersocken Knitalong June socks, which are a nice lace and rib pattern. That yarn's pretty thin; I'll probably have to use 2 mm needles. I'll
be starting those soon. The green is DMC Cébelia size 20 cotton for the overlay crochet shawl collar for the Knit-Cro-Sheen
pulli. I have all the colors I need for that now; maybe it's time to write a pattern, huh?
So Wednesday evening I sat down with the red wool and knitted Conrad's PowerBook cover while I watched Them!. That's a surprisingly good movie. The science isn't too flaky, and one of the female characters is a PhD entomologist who
doesn't let the men push her around. There was more than a movie's worth of knitting left, but I was able to finish knitting
on Thursday night:
That thing was enormous, and the garter stitch was hideous. Well, I don't like garter stitch in general. Anyway, then I threw
it in the washer with some towels, and after about 12 minutes, it was done:
So there you have 3.141592653589793. I'm going to put a button on it this weekend so the flap will stay closed. Conrad wants
a round (pie-shaped) one.
Tonight I finished the toes of James's socks:
Conrad looked at them and said, "Those are good-looking socks. Are you sure you want to send them to some guy you hardly know?"
The last time he mentioned socks, he said "You don't need to knit me any more socks. I have plenty." Hmmm. Tomorrow I'll drop
those in the mail.
After I'd grafted James's toes, I got out the Columbia River Gorge-ous scarf. That WOH is now a WIP, and it should be a FO
next week.
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Tuesday, June 7, 2005
Past, Present, and Future
The diabetes book is finished. Now I'm helping edit one about horse surgery.
The jewelry class is over for the term, too. Last night we finished the bezels and set cabochons in them. Mine is a pendant.
I can't get a photo that's in focus, so a blurry one will have to do:
Hematite cabochon set in a sterling bezel
Laurie does one-day workshops in the summer, but she only supervises, so you have to know what you're doing and you have to
bring your own materials. She told us last night that if we want to bring our leftover materials (or fresh ones that we buy
ourselves) and work on things we already know how to do, we're allowed to sign up, so I registered today. I could make a bracelet
and more rings and set two more cabochons, although obviously not in one six-hour workshop.
One plan for today was to nip over to Windsor Button and get another ball of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash in a color that goes with the Shamrock (which is discontinued)
for the Hoover Baby Blanket. But I have some yellow Cleckheaton superwash, and with Conrad's encouragement I decided to try that. So now I've made my
stab at double knitting, and I feel like I have the hang of it, and I like the fabric I'm getting, but I'm not convinced these
are good baby colors. So possibly tomorrow I'll nip over to Windsor Button and get two balls of a totally different color
or one ball of something that looks more baby-like with the green.
And last week I was reading The Knitting Doctor, and she'd finished some very nice-looking socks for her husband and mentioned she'd added them to her Finished Projects
page. When I went to that page, I saw the Corps of Discovery Hat. This is a reproduction of the hats the explorers probably wore on the Lewis and Clark expedition. There's a whole Oregon
theme here. For some reason, I thought Conrad would want one, so I showed him the page, and he did, so I ordered the kit.
That arrived yesterday.
The directions are a little strange. I think I'm going to try one in other yarn just so I know what I'm doing when I work
on the real thing. The practice hat
can go to Dulaan. The Dulaan deadline is July 1, so that means I'd better get cracking on the practice hat. It'll only take a day or two,
though.
And speaking of the directions, this hat is one layer in stockinette, it's knit in the round, and it has a cuff. And the directions
say to knit the cuff, then purl the turning ridge, then change direction so you're knitting the knit sides of the fabric
so they're both on the outside when the cuff is folded up. Which means my cunning plan wasn't all that original, so why aren't
the instructions for the Heathered Fair Isle socks written that way? It's a mystery.
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Saturday, June 4, 2005
More Socks
Now that James's socks are off the circulars, I need new walking socks. When Pam was here, I showed her
my sock tops. You buy this sock yarn because you like the colors, but unless you see an actual knitted swatch, you have no
idea what the fabric will look like. So earlier this year I got a bunch of sock yarn on sale and worked sock tops from most
of it just to see the fabric. My rationale is that the size of the sock top can be pretty generic, but the foot has to fit.
Then it's just a matter of finishing a pair when the situation arises. So Pam thought Jim would like these:
So now one's back on the needle and is the new walking sock.
Which reminds me: It seems that next Saturday, June 11, is World Wide KIP Day. That strikes me as a little strange, because knitting is relatively trendy now and people KIP all the time. I mean, it's
not as if knitters are closeted or anything, and only the terminally clueless refer to knitting as something little old ladies
do. I'm sure I'll be knitting in public next Saturday, but I always knit in public, so I don't know if that means I'll be
participating or what.
Now for the non-KIP socks: I've finished the first cuff of Lynn's Heathered Fair Isle socks:
The cunning plan was to knit in the round and just flip the work over to reverse direction in the part under the turnover.
I worked the picot turning ridge and some more stockinette to make the turn nice and sharp. Actually, I did this first in
single rib, but the fabric was less inclined to turn where it was supposed to, so I took out the ribbing and redid the rows
before and after the turning picots in stockinette. Then I changed to single rib. Anyway, about halfway through
the ribbing I flipped the work and started knitting the other way. This isn't the perfect method for all such cases, because
you can see where the direction changes if you look down in the ribbing several rows below the marker:
In metalsmithing news, I got the base of the bezel cup sawed off:
 
Now I have to file that down nice and even before class on Monday.
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Thursday, June 2, 2005
Socks
Sockapalooza 2 has closed. Alison had the list open for a few hours and then had to close it because more than 200 people signed up. That's
a lot of sock knitting. Speaking of which . . .
James's socks are both done to the toes:
I've also started a pair that's not on the list of thingsto knit in June. Oops. Sarah, the surrogate niece, is the high school
friend of Beth, the actual niece, and Beth has a sister, Lynn, the other actual niece. I've knitted lots of socks for Beth
and Sarah, but none for Lynn. Well, Lynn's about to graduate from high school in Oregon, and she's coming east to go to college
at the University of Maine, so it's time I knitted her some socks. These won't actually work for a graduation present, because
graduation is a week from today. But I can try to get them done before she moves east and heads for college.
So to celebrate getting James's socks off the circs and onto dpns, I started Lynns's socks.These are the Heathered Fair
Isle socks from Vogue Knitting Socks On the Go. I've done the cuff through the picot turning ridge:
The pattern says to work the sock top flat on straight needles, not in the round. In Fair Isle. Right. No, I'm going to do
Fair Isle in the round, the normal way. The trick is the cuff: There's a turnover cuff (that's the cuff in the photo) that's
done in Fair Isle, so once you've knitted the cuff, the knitting changes directions: The wrong side of the cuff is on the
same side of the fabric as the right side of the sock top. But, as Baldrick would say, I have a cunning plan.
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Wednesday, June 1, 2005
Are We There Yet?
Nope. We're still working on the diabetes book. We're still knitting the PowerBook sleeve. Well, actually
the PowerBook sleeve is now officially on hold because I've run out of red and I'm waiting for another ball to arrive in the
mail. James's socks are still not finished, but they're both almost to the toe, so they're getting close. In jewelry class,
the ring is finished and the bezel cup is soldered, but I'm working on the bezel cup at home this week, hoping to have it
filed and ready to finish on Monday night.
Meanwhile, I've started a double-knitted baby blanket. I need to learn double knitting, and the Lou Henry Hoover baby blanket looks like just the way to learn. One of Conrad's colleagues found out he's going to be a father, and I figured I'd knit
the standard baby hat,but when I saw this blanket, I e-mailed Conrad, "screw the hat" and gave the URL for the blanket. He
wrote back, "OK, we all looked at it, and we all approve!" So I dug out some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride superwash in alabaster
and shamrock (a nice sage-y green) and cast on. I'm avoiding the gender-specific colors because it'll be months before anybody
knows, and by then the happy family will have moved to California.
Anyway, here it is a new month and an opportunity to get some artisanal stuff organized, so here are the new month's resolutions:
Crochet WIP of the Month: Knit-Cro-Sheen pulli collar (overlay crochet)
Fix of the Month: Pingouin pulli -- redo all seams
Jewelry of the Month: brass-and-bead earrings; red crocheted beaded rope; Red Sox earrings (where have we heard that before?)
Knitting WIPs of the Month: Columbia River Gorge-ous scarf, Knit-Cro-Sheen pulli, red NBaT (all converted from WOHs to
WIPs, which I figured would've happened a couple of weeks ago); Lou's baby blanket, Conrad's PowerBook cover
Socks of the Month: Tim's Red Sox, Jim's socks, Lynn's socks, and short toe-footies for everyone
UFO of the Month: Beth's purple argyle sox
Weaving of the Month: blue/green practice shirting
My, that's a lot.
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