Airport Eyre

I am flying back to Washington today for the holidays. (Actually...I am bouncing all over for the holidays...Canada, Oregon, etc.) This means I need airport knitting. And, I actually need more airport knitting than normal.

I plan on arriving at the airport at least an hour before my flight, then there is the nearly 2 hour flight to Vegas, then the 3 hour layover in Vegas, then the additional 2 hour flight to SeaTac, then the nearly 2 hour drive from the airport to my parents' house...which comes to roughly 10 hours of knitting...and that is just on the way there!

After much thought and deliberation, I decided my best bet was the Eyre Wrap. It requires no pattern looking, and there is no way on earth that I will finish it and need to start another project.

The Eyre Wrap is my own adaptation of the Bridesmaid Wrap in Suss Cousins' book Wedding Knits. The pattern called for a very thin yarn to be knit on very large needles. I tried it. I tried it 4 times over the past 3 years or so with different yarns. I really did not enjoy trying to knit lace on size 11 needles. What should have been a fairly brain-free knitting project (1x1 rib for forever and a day) was horrid...also, the pattern called for the sleeves to be knit flat and seamed in. As anyone who knows me may remember, I hate seaming things up! The pattern kept going back in the queue and the yarns were repurposed.

Sister gave me a craft store gift for my birthday (thank you), and I found some Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda. It was the exact color I was looking for to make a drapey wrappy cardigany thing. Since I was gonna make it up as I went, I didn't want to spend a ton on yarn...so was willing to go with an acrylic. (I have used this yarn before for experiment projects...reasonably priced and nice to work with.) When I was drawing up the design, I kept coming back to a version of the Bridesmaid Wrap. The yarn's gauge was the same as the patterns, only the yarn was thicker so it wouldn't be a pain like the lace. This wrap should look similar to the original pattern, just less airy and lacy. (And I was actually wanting a cozier wrap anyway.)

But what about the piecing? Well, thanks to Wendy Barnard and her book/blog/patterns, I am confident in my ability to pick up the sleeves from the armscye and knit them down in the round...so we will see how that goes.

It Fits!!!!

I finished the German Herringbone skirt from Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits! (I never named this project...strange...it was just the skirt...) The best part is...it fits PERFECTLY!!!!! This is the first full garment (meaning non-accessory item) that actually fits exactly the way I had envisioned in my head! Now I just need to find a cute top to wear with it.

It wasn't a simple project knit, but it wasn't difficult either. The stitch pattern required attention and counting, so I couldn't just brainlessly go at it. But it was very straightforward and well written. I made a few adjustments to the pattern, which just goes to show that I can be taught! Check gauge. Measure often. Try things on. And, despite the fact that I added several repeats of the herringbone to the skirt, I actually ended up with one entire skein of yarn leftover at the end. (Not sure what I'll do with it...I'm sure I'll think of something.)

The only truly disconcerting moment during construction occurred a couple of days ago. I had just finished the reverse stockinette rows, and moved onto the stockinette yoke. I was sitting sideways on my couch. It just so happened that I was wearing shorts, and the skirt was laying over my legs...so I got a pretty good idea of what it was going to look like on. That's when I realized the horrible truth:

The color of the yarn (harbour) was the exact same shade of teal as the veins in my legs! That's right, folks, the skirt brought out the lovely color of my circulatory system running beneath my extremely pale and translucent skin.

Not cool.

Definitely not something I ever thought I would need to worry about when selecting yarn colors though. (I think if I wear stockings though, it won't be at all noticeable...or I could just attempt to actually tan...)

Despite the color foible, it is a GREAT skirt. I am THRILLED with it...and will take more photo-shooty pictures once I find an appropriate top.

Smart for Once

I am currently working on the German Herringbone Skirt in Custom Knits.

There have been a few sizing issues with the other projects I have made from this book (MGM, Tilney). Please note: these issues have not in anyway diminished my love for the book!

This time I was smart. I measured it to find out what length I was getting from each repeat of the pattern. Then I multiplied that measurement by the total number of repeats the pattern called for, and added the 4.5" of the yoke. It was going to be SHORTER than I wanted...so I fixed it AHEAD OF TIME!

I know. How unusual for me.

I ended up adding an additional pattern repeat between each of the decreases. This means I SHOULD get an appropriately modest length. I will even try it on before I start the yoke.

Now my only concern is running out of yarn!

Epic Fail

ARGH!!!!

I have been knitting happily along on the Tilney Sweater...in fact, I am this close to finishing. Or, at least, I was this close to finishing.

I knew going in that I needed to lengthen the sweater(I like my sweaters a little longer than normal), so I bought an extra skein of yarn. Then, just to doubly ensure that I had enough yarn for the length, I went ahead and finished the sleeves and neck ruffle before I did the body's lower hem ribbing. I figured I would try it on before I moved the body back over from the waste yarn, and see how much longer exactly I needed to make it.

I tried it on at Blondie's house the other night. Epic Fail.

The sweater is INCHES bigger around than I need it to be.

I have no idea why this is.

I actually did a gauge swatch this time...and I got gauge.

I even made it a smaller size so that it would have negative ease...just like Wendy Bernard said to do in the lovely, well-written text.

(I have a 39" actual bust measurement...she recommended having 2-3" negative ease...so I made the size for 37"...)

I am flummoxed.

I will clearly need to unravel the majority of the work. I think I will just unravel the WHOLE THING, and reuse the yarn for a sweater vest. The yarn, while the right gauge, is...sturdier?...than I would like. Wendy's version in the book is made from an alpaca/silk blend, and mine was 100% merino. I still really want to make Tilney. I love it. I adore it. It is the reason I bought the book. I just need to find a drapier yarn to make it from.

And clearly, I need to make a MUCH smaller size, and try it on FREQUENTLY.

Twilight Knitting

I love the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers. They have even inspired me to knit!

My parents live but a few hours from Forks, the town in which the books are set...so as part of my grad school graduation frivolity...on Monday we made a pilgrimage.

I, of course, wore the Twilight/Blood and Shadows scarf that I made.



It was a big hit. Edward liked it.



Alice liked it, too.



I am big nerd.

Tax Returns

Thanks to Sister, and a timely phone call...I discovered that I was eligible for a tax refund I didn't know about.

This literally added some zeros to the amount I thought I would be getting back from the IRS.

I will be responsible with my windfall.

I will put half in savings as a cushion.

I will use half to pay down my debts.

But...

I will also allow myself a teeny tiny amount of "fun" money with which to purchase the yarn I needed (wanted) for a skirt I am making out of Custom Knits!

Woo-Hoo!

KnitPicks online shopping cart...HERE I COME!!!

Martinelli

I (finally) finished my new sweater: Martinelli!

It is from the book Pints and Purls by Karida Collins, and the original pattern is called "Fizzy"...

Since my favorite fizzy drink is Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cranberry juice, which is similar in color to the yarn I used for the sweater, I have dubbed it the Martinelli.

It is an insanely simple knit, as far as the pattern itself goes. I mostly made it because the construction method intrigued me. Bottom up in the round, with the shoulder straps knit and then grafted on, the sleeves picked up and knit in the round.

Loved it.

However, it was not without its challenges:

1. The needles I used were not all that great for the whole purl a gajillion stitches together for the puff rib pattern. Next time...won't use cheap-o needles.

2. I cheaped out on the yarn again because this was an "experimental" project. I used Caron's "Simply Soft" in autumn red. (It may be acrylic...but it is soft! Hooray for truth in advertising!)The yarn feels nice, but has a tendency to split while you are knitting it, which is frustrating.

3. The sweater itself was not exactly at the "modesty" level that I generally strive for. As previously bemoaned, the neckline was much too revealing. I ended up improvising a garter stitch border at the neckline in order to make it wearable. (It probably would have been fine for most people, I am just very uptight.)

Still, despite the hardships...it is finished, and I am pleased with the end result.

Multitasking

I spent the majority of today:

-Working out on my exercise ball

-Reading a biography of John and Abigail Adams for the senior book club I facilitate

-Drinking coffee

-Listening to the mellow saxophone sounds of the Nuclear Whales

-Knitting felted purse samples for the second class session at the library next week

What's more...

I did all of these things simultaneously!

Wizardy Whiz!

Funny, I had been feeling bad about not giving Whiz enough blog attention...and this is his 3rd post in the past month or so!

For Christmas, Psych commissioned a scarf for Whiz. A Wizard scarf. Specifically a Harry Potter Gryffindor House Scarf for Whiz.

I have a knitting book called Charmed Knits in which every pattern is from/inspired by/based on the Harry Potter books and movies. In it, there is a pattern for a Gryffindor house scarf.

As usual though, I didn't like the pattern all that much. I thought the stripes were too wide, the scarf itself was too wide, and that the yarn called for would be itchy. So I changed it up. I substituted a different yarn, used a different needle size, cast on fewer stitches, and changed colors more frequently. In fact, the only thing that stayed the same was that it was striped, knit in the round, and had fringe.

The first problem I had was with the yarn. As mentioned in previous posts, this scarf DEVOURED yarn. It sucked it up like it was the black hole of knitting projects. For more information on the pain I suffered as a result, please refer to previous posts.

The second problem was that the pattern did not give a very accurate finished length, instead it told how many stripes to knit, and what the finished length would be (approximately) including the fringe. My scarf stripes were a different dimension, so when I had finished the completed number the scarf was still really short. Since Whiz is a kid, his neck is thinner than mine and he is shorter than I am. I had a hard time judging size based on myself. Solution: take the scarf to the library and try it on one of our volunteer's third grade sons! Success!

I delivered the scarf to Psych at the ornament exchange. (My normal delivery time/place is church, but there was no way to do that without Whiz seeing.) She loved it.

Christmas morning, bright and early, she texted me a picture of him proudly wearing the finished product!

Open Letter To Wendy Bernard

Dear Wendy Bernard (Exalted author of Custom Knits)-

I purchased your book.

This is unusual...I usually check books out at the library, and only purchase if there are at least 3 projects in the book that I definitely want to make. Your book had a record breaking 9...and several others that I might alter...which I guess is sort of the point of the book.

Because I am not used to knitting top-down-in-the-round sweaters (my previous projects all being misadventures in bulky yarns and horrible seaming), I decided to practice the technique on the project that I was the least in love with. (Please note, still in love with it...just not in that desperate, must make, will die with out it, sort of way.) I chose your "Ingenue" sweater. I loved the classic old-movie feel. I call mine the MDM (using my initials to honor of MGM, old movies, and ingenue actresses from ages past.)

Again, because I was not sure how it would work, I was nervous about investing large amounts of money in materials. So, I cheaped out. I bought acrylic yarn from the craft store. Total cost: $7.45.

Well...I am done with it now...after overcoming a minor case of second sleeve syndrome.



AND YOUR PATTERN WAS AWESOME!!!! Very well written, very straight forward, and a joy to follow. I feel confident about making and customizing the other sweaters in your book...and the skirt. I love the skirt.

I don't know if you did this on purpose, but the way the book is actually put together and bound, the pages stay open to where I need them...without me having weigh them down...and without me having to "break" the spine. And it wasn't just a fluke with the Ingenue pattern. Every pattern stays open. Which is wonderful!

What's more...the sweater looks amazing. It is a little roomier than I would have liked (I forgot about negative ease...), but that is my fault, not yours. The fact that it only cost $7.45 is just icing on the cake...imagine how much better the next one will be out of quality yarn! I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it!

(Actually, I have already found the yarn to make "Skinny Empire." I am going to use a silk/alpaca blend. I can't wait!)

In closing: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for writing a quality pattern for a quality sweater with a quality fit.

This was the first project I have made in a LONG time that was free of headache, frogging, and despair!

Thank You Again,
Your Devoted Fan and Admirer.

A New Style?

I have been diligently working on the MDM sweater, my version of Wendy Bernard's Ingenue Sweater in the book Custom Knits. (This may surprise you since I haven't blogged about it ...silly me!)

There has only been one minor problem thus far...and it was my problem, not the pattern's problem. I forgot to figure on negative ease! I measured myself, and then made a sweater at that finished size, forgetting that you want your sweater slightly smaller than your actual measurements because it is KNIT and should STRETCH a little...so now my sweater is a little roomy. No biggie. (The book actually told me to figure negative ease...I just forgot to when I cast on! This is made more amusing by the fact that this is one of the few projects I have actually made a gauge swatch for...so I went to the trouble to swatch it, but then still figured my sizing wrong...so blonde.)

As of last night, I have the whole body finished and one sleeve. The other sleeve is hanging out on waste yarn waiting for me to pick up the stitches and get going...but I am developing second sleeve syndrome.

I have tried on the sweater. I love how it looks. I even love how it fits, roominess and all. But, with the weather still too warm to wear it, I am starting to lack motivation to finish the second sleeve. I can envision it finished, so my brain is trying to pretend it is. There are so many other projects that want me to knit them right now...

What if I cast the sleeve cap off and just had a single sleeved sweater? Would that be the end of the world? Maybe I could start a new style...

Or not.

Maybe I should stop blogging about the second sleeve and just go knit it.

Yeah. That's what I should do.

*Picking up needles...*

The Song That Does Not End

Yesterday was the third and FINAL Kids Get Knittin'@The Library program this session. (And I don't currently have a kids' program on the winter/spring calendar...)

We added this session last minute, and only opened it to the kids who had been wait listed from the first two sessions. As a result, I had a much smaller crowd. There were four girls, second through fourth grade, and two were sisters. I had not asked Volunteen to come in, because I asked that the kids RSVP to me if they were going to make it. And, although she was standing by, Miss-A didn't come in either.

There was a brief moment of panic shortly before the program began. Although I had left the hand knit socks, the instruction sheets, the project yarn, and all of the paperwork in my program box...for some INEXPLICABLE reason, I had taken my spare needles, demonstration needles, and demonstration yarn home with me the week before! This would normally not be a big deal because I am me. I always have knitting in my purse. Unfortunately, yesterday's knitting was a coffee cup cozy and a sweater...both of which were on circular needles!

I decided to wing it.

I took two pencils out of the supply cabinet, sharpened them, and stuck erasers on the end for needle stops.

The girls thought it was pretty funny that I was teaching them how to knit with pencils.

I wasn't the only one using the rubber erasers either. Two of the girls had purchased double pointed needles...so they got erasered as well!

Since I had a smaller crowd, I was able to spend more individual time with each girl. They were amazing, and caught on surprisingly quickly...especially considering how young they were!

(They all were VERY frustrated by the "out" in the "in, around, out, and off" sequence. But that frustration is normal in everyone I have ever taught from five year old Spaz up to senior citizens! It is a difficult step to explain. I truly have to demonstrate it one-on-one with their hands under mine on the needles...)

The girls got farther on their bookmarks than the majority of the kids did in previous weeks, but that is probably due to the smaller class size. No one finished though, but I didn't expect anyone too. The bookmark took me a little over half an hour and I have been knitting for over decades...literally.

The next library program is going to be in January or February. It is a scarf for teens at the other library branch. Also, at the beginning of the year, I have a two-part adult felted purse program. (That will be interesting, since for felting you need feltable yarn...)

Same Song, Second Verse

Tuesday was the second Kids Get Knittin'@The Library. Once again it was Miss-A, Volunteen, and me.

It amazed me how much having a different group of kids completely changed the whole dynamic of the class.

We had thirteen girls show up for the program. Of those thirteen, eleven of them were second graders. Of those eleven second graders, two of them were lefties. All I can say is that I am SO grateful to Sis-In-Law for being a leftie! Because it meant I had experience with knitting "backwards." (Actually, Jester was a leftie, too...I think.)

One major difference between this program and last week's program was the adult presence. We have consistently told the parents that they needn't stay. However, the vast majority of girls this week came for their brownie troop's field trip. As a result, we had 5 additional parents staying in the room. A couple of them even knew how to knit. This was very handy since the girls were younger and required more individual attention.

Another good thing was that this week all of the kids had the correct needles. We didn't have to eraser tip any double points, or give out loaners. (If we loan needles, we slip the projects onto unsharpened pencils when the program ends.)

Overall, it was a very smooth program.

I have developed a couple of mantras that I have the kids recite before we start each program:
"I love my needles."
"My needles are my friends."
"I will NOT strangle my needles with my yarn."
That seems to be the number one problem with kids knitting...they pull everything VERY tight.

Oh...and the steps to the knit stitch are also repeated verbally over and over and over and over:
"In. Around. Out. Off."
(Out, by the way, is wickedly hard for kids. They can get in and around fairly quickly. And off happens more frequently than it ought to...But "out" is killer.)

In the end, I had a lot of fun, and I hope they did as well.

We ended up with a large enough waiting list for both sessions that we decided to add a third session NEXT Tuesday for those who were not able to make the first two. (We are not advertising this however. Miss-A and I directly contacted those who were wait-listed. If everyone comes, the group will be half the size it has been. I am not sure we even told Volunteen about it.)

(By the way, as costume, Miss-A and I have been wearing my handknit rainbow socks and Sesame Street socks. Miss-A has been impressed with how INSANELY comfortable they are. She keeps offering to take them home and wash them. But I am afraid if she does that they will not make it back to me. I currently have them folded neatly in the program box under my desk, and there they will remain until next week when I take them to MY apartment and wash them myself!)

Meet: SuperKnitter

Last week I threw a teen National Comic Book Day party at the library. One of the activities was to design your own super hero. Here is what I came up with.

Name: SuperKnitter

Powers: Advanced Knitting, Speed, Nimbleness, Accuracy with Knitting Notions (Yarn, Needles, Etc.), Extreme Intelligence

Origin of Powers: Knitting outside with metal needles, when a thunderstorm suddenly arose. The needles were struck by lightning.

Hometown: Downtown Seattle

Lair: Hidden Basement of a Local Yarn Shop

Transport: Souped-up High-Powered Orange Vespa

Gadgets: Yarn Rope, Crossbow that Shoots Double-Pointed Needles, Circular Needle Garrote

Enemies: Mothman, Crook Crochet, The Tangler

Catchphrases: You Made Me Drop A Stitch! By All the Fleeces in Scotland! Existential Yarn Boogers!

Three Little Acorns

I have doing my best to only knit from my stash because...let's face it...it would be a whole lot easier to justify buying new yarn with my minimal amount of spare cash if I didn't have bin upon bin of yarn in my craft closet.

I had, in stash, three 98-yard skeins of Classic Elite Imagine yarn, a cotton/rayon blend that has been discontinued. I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I had originally purchased it because it was pretty and I liked to look at it. Unfortunately, I had not purchased enough to do anything with. I had two different colors and three different dye lots.

I wound it with my nostepinde. (Have I mentioned how much I love that? I love it a lot!) This was not easy since the yarn was a slippery little devil. But I still had noting to do with it.

Enter a book that I have owned for a really long time:
I was flipping through it and came to hat #6, the beach beanie...which called for "less than 150 yards of yarn." One of the versions shown said it was made out of Imagine. Lucky me!

I cast on. I knit. I was done. It was insanely fast.

I knit another, slightly smaller beanie, out of the other color. A child sized version. (Or what I hoped would be a child sized version since the pattern didn't give any other sizes and I had no child handy on which to test it.)

Then I made a third beanie, in the same size as the original, in the same color as the original.

I took the beanies to WA with me for the holiday weekend. I had two spare beanies, and handily also had two girl cousins. And we were all getting together for a family potluck on Monday.

The aunts said we looked like three little acorns.


I thought we looked splendid!

The Only Thing I Did Do

I house sat for an entire week...



...and this is the ONLY thing I actually did do!

It is the sample for the children's beginning knitting program that I am doing in September at the library. An 8" long garter stitch rectangle posing as a bookmark!

And lest you point out that at least I was somewhat productive, I feel it is only fair to admit that I actually knit the bookmark a couple of weeks ago...and that I only wove the two ends in on Thursday night.

Yes...one whole week, and all I did was use a tapestry needle to hide a couple of 3 inch long yarn tails.

Pathetic!

Lucky Find

There are advantages to working in a library.

There are advantages to being someone who knits in public and works in a library.

There are advantages to being someone who knits in public while working in a library.

I was down at the reference desk today, when one of the Library Foundation members walked down carrying a book.

"You knit, right?"
"Yes."
"And you like old books, right?"
"Yes..." I look askance at her.
"Well, I found an old knitting book in the donation room, and I thought you might like it. I thought I'd give you first dibs." She smiles.

Immediately visions of ill-advised 80's and 90's knitting pattern books flit through my mind.

"Well, thanks. I usually don't get older knitting pattern books because the designs aren't current. But I'll look at it. What is it?" I hedge.
"Here. The patterns are old, but the book looked kinda neat." She hands me the book.

It wasn't at all what I had feared.

It was a treasure.

It was the Complete Guide to Modern Knitting and Crocheting by Alice Carroll. Published in 1942. The patterns were old, but actually surprisingly fashionable. I am thrilled.

Totally worth the $1 that I had to put in the Foundation Donation box.

Harry Potter

I am going to go see Harry Potter tonight with Blondie. I am very excited since I am the only person in my family/circle of friends who has not seen it. (My work schedule and gimp-status kept me from going sooner.)

I am racking my brain to figure out what knitting should accompany me.

Should I take a project that I have been working on for eons, a project that has a deadline (quickly approaching), or a new project altogether?

I feel like I ought to work on something out of my Harry Potter knitting book, but none of those patterns are really of the brain-free nature that a Potter movie requires...and I don't have yarn on hand, so would have to go shopping...which isn't necessarily a bad thing...

I could always work on a coffee cup cozy for the gift stash, since they are the definition of brain-free...only I would finish the cozy before the movie ended.

Dishcloths are another option...but how boring is that? And I am a wee bit dishclothed out.

ARGH!!!

I don't know.

I'll figure it out.

It is so difficult being me sometimes!

Camp: A Photo

The photo from camp...as promised:



I took more pictures, just not many knitting related ones.

Also, I torqued my right knee pretty badly...hence why it is wrapped in the picture. I actually have to go see the doctor about it tomorrow. Being forced to sit around with it elevated and iced has advantages though, since my activities are pretty much limited to watching movies, reading, and/or knitting!

In Praise of Audiobooks

It is commonly known that I can knit while: talking, eating, watching a movie, riding in a car, listening to a lecture, sitting on the beach, etc.

It has even been rumored that I can knit in my sleep. (This is not true. Although, when the holiday crunch comes I sometimes wish it were.)

However, depending on the activity, I have to limit the skill level of project I am pursuing. Movies that require attention or a lot of eyes-on-screen time need brain-free knitting. Car rides through scenic venues need brain-free knitting. Talking to friends who actually appreciate eye contact needs brain-free knitting. Eating definitely needs brain-free knitting.

Enter the audiobook.

These boogers are GREAT!!!! I get all the mental stimulation of a movie plot, the rapier wit of a good writer, AND my more complex knitting projects get their required eyeball time.

Since moving into the apartment, and my quarter ending, I have successfully completed 4 audiobooks AND made huge progress on some of my more intricate projects.

(Currently knitting to: Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith, narrated by the DIVINE Davina Porter. In audiobooks, the narrator makes all the difference.)