I calculated that I was going to run out of yarn for the Bog Jacket, which meant I was faced with either purchasing more (and not of the same dye lot, not that that would be a big deal) or stealing yarn from other projects. I opted for the latter, and took a triangular shawl I had knit up a while back but never wore and frogged it. Completely. I soaked the resulting skeins to unkink the yarn and now, after several days of drying, the yarn is becoming one with the Bog Jacket. Then there are the twined mitts I started (and abandoned) last year. The yarn from that project is also going to become Bog Jacket.
I hope that will be enough yarn, but it will depend on what I decide to do about the sleeves. Initially, I planned to extend the sleeves while knitting the body but taper the them at the same time. This made my brain hurt, so now I am going to extend the sleeves by picking up stitches and working down to the cuff. I'm not sure how I feel about the sleeve width, which will make kimono sleeves. I might taper them a bit, and then end each sleeve with a ribbed cuff, hopefully creating a billowing, balloon-like sleeve instead. Can you picture what I am talking about? I can. I'm just not sure I can knit it.
I wish I had brought my Bog Jacket to work today. I haven't been able to work on it while awaiting the recycled yarn to dry and I feel deprived. I'm up to the shoulder shaping and am anxious to get moving on it again.
Meanwhile, the first pair of xmas socks are nearing completion. I'm halfway up the cuffs. I am also wishing I had ribbed the insteps because I'm afraid they may be too loose for the intended recipient's feet. If that turns out to be the case, I will knit a replacement pair; the original ones will fit somebody.
I am not sold on toe-up socks. Since I used the "easy" cast on on the last pair of toe-ups, I tried to do a different cast-on for this pair. I tried and I tried and I tried, before giving up and doing the easy cast on again. Casting on for toe-ups is WAY more difficult than casting off using the kitchener stitch. WAY!
P.S. All my blogs are getting spam from "anonymous" commenters. So I am going to disallow anonymous comments, to see if that eliminates this pesky problem.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, November 09, 2009
Casting Off
I picked this book by Nicole Dickson off the new fiction shelf at the library, to see if it could successfully put the "knitting" into "knitting novel". Casting Off is more accurately classified as "knitting romance", but don't let that stop you from giving it a try. The main character is kind of annoying, and the storyline is equal parts predictable and unlikely, and the book is a bit long-winded, but it is redeemed by the ganseys.
Each chapter starts with a description of a gansey stitch or combination of stitches, lifted from a fictional source. Each definition also includes the meanings behind the stitches. Consequently, a gansey created with a combination of stitch patterns tells a story about the wearer. This is the most successful part of the book and makes me wish the fictional source of this information was not so fictional.
I would also call this book "beach fiction" - it will hold your attention well enough while you bake in the sand, but is not so engrossing you will lose track of the kids.
Each chapter starts with a description of a gansey stitch or combination of stitches, lifted from a fictional source. Each definition also includes the meanings behind the stitches. Consequently, a gansey created with a combination of stitch patterns tells a story about the wearer. This is the most successful part of the book and makes me wish the fictional source of this information was not so fictional.
I would also call this book "beach fiction" - it will hold your attention well enough while you bake in the sand, but is not so engrossing you will lose track of the kids.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Look what I got!
I don't know who Alice Neno is, but Qutecowgirl tagged me with this award. QC (as I like to call her because usually I am too lazy to type her whole moniker) remembers we first "met" at the SnB forum. It was her Pinwheel Sweater that inspired me to make mine, and when she started her Etsy shop, I immediately glommed onto a few skeins of her uniquely dyed, uniquely named Barn Yarns.
The Neno’s Award Rules and Regulations:
1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.
I started blogging because I wanted to find a way to write on a regular basis, and who doesn't like to write about themselves? It has also become a convenient way to keep track of my life with yarn and my home improvements and garden. But the unexpected pleasure of blogging has been the online connections with others. I enjoy peeking into the lives of others, vicariously sharing their joys and concerns, and frequently learning something new, about knitting and gardening and hardship and strength.
I am going to tag All Things Shea, because she amazes me with her crafty ways (burlap window treatments being her latest project) and What Housework? because I never tire of reading about her life on the farm.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Cleverness times two
In our last episode, I was about to embark upon the Phony Seam portion of the Bog Jacket journey. Not quite sure what I was doing, I dropped about ten stitches and tried it out. Yes, it is as simple as the instructions say: pick up two stitches at a time, making sure to get one from the front and one from the back.
While dropping all the stitches, down to the cast on, I sighed over how tedious this task was going to be. But then - aha! - a light bulb moment: This looks like a job for the Seed Stitcher!
Open jaws:
Close jaws:
Everytime I use this tool, I marvel at its simple ingenuity. Available only at Knitting Today.
As if that were not enough cleverness for one day, let's return to the Phony Seam.
If you work this from the right side, you get this pretty column of stockinette stitches.
But, not knowing any better, I worked my seams from the wrong side:
I like the way this looks like a real seam, so I'm keeping it.
Again, so clever! (Do I sound like an EZ convert?)
While dropping all the stitches, down to the cast on, I sighed over how tedious this task was going to be. But then - aha! - a light bulb moment: This looks like a job for the Seed Stitcher!
Open jaws:
Close jaws:
Everytime I use this tool, I marvel at its simple ingenuity. Available only at Knitting Today.
As if that were not enough cleverness for one day, let's return to the Phony Seam.
If you work this from the right side, you get this pretty column of stockinette stitches.
But, not knowing any better, I worked my seams from the wrong side:
I like the way this looks like a real seam, so I'm keeping it.
Again, so clever! (Do I sound like an EZ convert?)
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Look, Ma, no ladders!
I'm guessing most knitters have a bag of tricks they use without really thinking about it. None of my little quirks are unique, but there is one I frequently apply when knitting socks on DPNs. To avoid laddering between needles, I developed the habit of shifting the work one stitch to the "right" as I move from needle to needle.
First, I place a stitch marker to indicate the beginning of the round (usually this is at the middle of the back of the sock), then I knit one stitch from needle 1 to needle 4 (or 3 if you are using only four needles). In other words, if I start with 14 stitches per needle, now I have 15 stitches on the last needle and 13 stitches on the first. Then I knit to the end of needle 1 and knit a stitch from needle 2 onto needle 1. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Initially, learning this trick was a bit confusing because the stitch marker moves as you go. But now it is second nature.
Laddering is not much of a problem for me anymore, but I still like to knit socks like this. I knit both socks at the same time, alternating between them, and this method provides me with an easy row counting method. I knit a needleful of stitches on one sock, then a needleful on the other sock, until done. No second sock syndrome for me!
These socks are a "stocking stuffer" for my son-in-law. When I picked out the yarn, I thought it was mostly shades of brown, but now that I am knitting it, the purple really stands out. Not that there is anything wrong with men wearing purple socks.
The Bog Jacket marches on. I'm ready to add the "phony seams", although I am having trouble visualizing the technique from the verbal description. I looked for some online help, but EZ's legacy is well guarded. Guess I will just give it a go and see how it turns out.
First, I place a stitch marker to indicate the beginning of the round (usually this is at the middle of the back of the sock), then I knit one stitch from needle 1 to needle 4 (or 3 if you are using only four needles). In other words, if I start with 14 stitches per needle, now I have 15 stitches on the last needle and 13 stitches on the first. Then I knit to the end of needle 1 and knit a stitch from needle 2 onto needle 1. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Initially, learning this trick was a bit confusing because the stitch marker moves as you go. But now it is second nature.
Laddering is not much of a problem for me anymore, but I still like to knit socks like this. I knit both socks at the same time, alternating between them, and this method provides me with an easy row counting method. I knit a needleful of stitches on one sock, then a needleful on the other sock, until done. No second sock syndrome for me!
These socks are a "stocking stuffer" for my son-in-law. When I picked out the yarn, I thought it was mostly shades of brown, but now that I am knitting it, the purple really stands out. Not that there is anything wrong with men wearing purple socks.
The Bog Jacket marches on. I'm ready to add the "phony seams", although I am having trouble visualizing the technique from the verbal description. I looked for some online help, but EZ's legacy is well guarded. Guess I will just give it a go and see how it turns out.
Monday, October 26, 2009
A new use for self-striping sock yarn
Here are the finished gloves for my SO. The self-striping sock yarn looks like faux Fair Isle, don't you think? And I love that the fingers are each unique.
Pattern: Based on gloves chapter in The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Sock Double Knitting Weight, color 7521
Needles: US2
Modifications: Added buttonholes to index finger and thumb of one glove
The buttonholes allow my SO to operate his camera in cold weather without getting cold hands. It took a while to get the buttonholes right, then I put the first one on the wrong side of the index finger. After correcting that, I realized I had measured the index fingers wrong, so I redid the one with the buttonhole, AGAIN putting the buttonhole on the wrong side. I think getting the index fingers right took almost as long as knitting the rest of the gloves. And there were a bazillion ends to weave in. (Ha-ha - the spell checker accepts "bazillion"!)
The glove pattern created interchangeable gloves, i.e. not a right and a left glove. And while the measurements were close to the real hands, I think next time I will obtain actual outlines of the recipient's hands. After all, gloves should fit like a glove, right?
Pattern: Based on gloves chapter in The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Encore Sock Double Knitting Weight, color 7521
Needles: US2
Modifications: Added buttonholes to index finger and thumb of one glove
The buttonholes allow my SO to operate his camera in cold weather without getting cold hands. It took a while to get the buttonholes right, then I put the first one on the wrong side of the index finger. After correcting that, I realized I had measured the index fingers wrong, so I redid the one with the buttonhole, AGAIN putting the buttonhole on the wrong side. I think getting the index fingers right took almost as long as knitting the rest of the gloves. And there were a bazillion ends to weave in. (Ha-ha - the spell checker accepts "bazillion"!)
The glove pattern created interchangeable gloves, i.e. not a right and a left glove. And while the measurements were close to the real hands, I think next time I will obtain actual outlines of the recipient's hands. After all, gloves should fit like a glove, right?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Nothing new, really
Not much to report on this dark and rainy day. I have another five miles inches to go on the Bog Jacket before I reach the armpits. And I'm working on a pair of photographer's gloves for my SO, out of Plymouth Encore DK sock yarn.
The long story is I had made some fingerless mitts a while back and gave them to said SO. His daughter admired them, so I suggested he regift them to her and I would make him some twined mitts. The regifting occurred before the twined mitts were done, though, and then the latter bogged down. Out of guilt, I am making him an interim pair. My daughter purchased a pair of gloves from Target that have fingers that button, so I am going to try to duplicate those. Maybe. This is my first pair of gloves.
The long story is I had made some fingerless mitts a while back and gave them to said SO. His daughter admired them, so I suggested he regift them to her and I would make him some twined mitts. The regifting occurred before the twined mitts were done, though, and then the latter bogged down. Out of guilt, I am making him an interim pair. My daughter purchased a pair of gloves from Target that have fingers that button, so I am going to try to duplicate those. Maybe. This is my first pair of gloves.
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