November 03, 2011
Here we have this year’s Halloween portrait of the kitties, courtesy of Melissa.
Back row, L to R: Beatrice as the night sky, Archy as Cotton Mather, and Mickareena (one of the next-door’s kitties) as a rocket.
Middle row, L to R: Olive (another next-door kitty) as Jenny Linksy, Damian as Mr. Clean, Miss Timmy as a roller derby queen, Bob as Tinky-Winky from the Teletubbies, and Maggie as Amelia Peabody, female Egyptologist extraordinaire, from Elizabeth Peters’ excellent novels.
Front row, L to R: Sparky as Ferdinand the Bull, and Zuzu (the last of the next-door kitties) as a very tiny cow.
They would like you to know that they all prefer treats to tricks.
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September 19, 2011
For several years now Melissa has been hoping for a knit vest. And as many of you knitters know, as soon as someone wants something, even if it is someone you love very much, you lose all interest in that sort of project. So Melissa has been waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
But the waiting is over. Here is her Reversible Cabled Vest, knit using a pattern from Andrea Knight-Bowman.
This was a straightforward knit, and the cables kept it from becoming mind-numbingly boring. I also learned how to knit backwards on this project—something my BKFF Chris has been urging me to do for years. I still turned the work to knit the cables from whichever side I was on, but after the first few inches, I started knitting all the return stockinette rows backwards, instead of purling them. What surprised and delighted me is that my knitting is much more even when I alternate forward and backwards knitting than it is when I alternate knit and purl rows. If you look closely at the photo above, you’ll see the spot (about 4″ from the bottom of the vest) where I began knitting backwards.
And here’s a close-up of the cables.
One issue that I had with this pattern was that it contained a number of errors of the sort that an experienced knitter can catch pretty easily, but that might throw a beginning knitter. Early on the Ks and Ps for the cable are reversed in one line, which would insert a single row of moss stitch if not caught. And in several places I had to redo the stitch counts. I was knitting the size 40, so I don’t know if that’s the case with other sizes, but—trust me—you’ll be happier if you double-check the math before moving into new sections.
This observation about needing to double-check patterns instead of just following them takes me back to Woodbine, which I’d begun knitting last spring. I had, in fact, begun knitting it out of the yarn that is now Melissa’s vest, so clearly it’s been frogged.
Woodbine is knit top down, so one works X number of rows and then separates sleeve and body stitches before moving to working on just the body. The gauge for this sweater is 24 rows per 4″. The top half of the sweater is worked in a stitch that has a six-row repeat. The instructions for my size said to work 7 repeats of the six-row pattern for a sleeve depth of approximately 10-12″ inches. Well that math just doesn’t work. Seven repeats would equal 42 rows, which would equal only 7″ if one is knitting to gauge. And 7″ doesn’t equal 10-12″. It just doesn’t. Can’t. I emailed the designer who assured me that the arm hole would stretch out some and/or I could increase the number of rows worked before separating body and sleeve stitches. Yes, I could have. But that did nothing to address that glaring difference between gauge and instructions. I thought for a while about continuing to work on it, putting it on waste yarn every few rows to try it on, and knitting it to fit me—but that’s a lot more work than just following a well-written pattern, and I didn’t feel like doing all that work. So Woodbine is no more.
One of the lessons of Woodbine is that one is better off choosing a pattern that lots of folks have already worked and that is well-represented with commentary on Ravelry. When I began Woodbine there were (I believe) four projects listed on Ravelry. There are now eleven. None of them mention this issue with gauge. But I suspect that if 30 or 40 people had knit this sweater that issue would have come up, and I could have considered it before deciding to cast on. Similarly, when I cast on for the Reversible Cabled Vest, no-one had worked it and posted their project on Ravelry, so I had no-one to warn me about double checking instructions and math. Bottom line: I’m now a lot less willing to cast on for a pattern that’s newly published; there’s too much risk of frustration.
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August 30, 2011
I’m always blown away by the patterns one can find for free via Ravelry and Knitting Pattern Central. In the last week or so, a whole trio of sweet gloves (fingerless and fingered) has popped up, leaving me itching to sift through my stash of single skeins and to cast on for some early-autumn knitting.
Over at illumiknit designs, there’s With a Twist of Mustard—
What I like about these beauties is the cable running down the center of the palm. No matter which way you look at them, there’s detail that will inspire you to admire the work of your own hands.
Then there’s Climbing Leaves, a free pattern from Renaissance Yarns—
These have just a touch of bead work, nothing fancy, but an extra something to make them fun to knit and fun to wear.
The final pair in this trio is Zigzag, available as a free Ravelry download. These have a bit of color work in neutral hues along the wrists/forearms that gives a folk-art feel while simultaneously managing to appear sophisticated (go look at them, you’ll see what I mean).
With a Touch of Mustard and Zigzag use fingering weight yarn; Climbing Leaves uses sport weight. No doubt you’ve got the perfect fiber for at least one of them languishing in your stash. Go ahead and cast on—you know you want to.
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August 28, 2011
The first half of the summer I took a 3.5-hour-a-day statistics class at the local community college (hence the lack of blog posts). I’d stay on campus after class to do homework for several hours, which basically meant I was buying my lunch at the campus bookstore—lots of beef jerky, toffee nuts, and protein bars, not to mention the vending-machine candy bars that suddenly came to seem like the “perfect” study aid. By time the class was over (and I passed—yay!—and I can see how I’ll be able to use parts of it at work), my eating habits were shot to hell.
As a result, a big focus the second half of the summer has been restoring sanity to my diet—particularly by balancing carbs and protein to keep my diabetes well-managed and by adding iron rich foods, since I’ve been rejected for low hemoglobin the last three times I’ve tried to give blood. While I am nowhere near perfecting my diet, Melissa and I have made some worthwhile discoveries together.
Discovery #1: Baked Kale Chips. If you haven’t had these, the very idea probably sounds repulsive, but they’re actually delicious. Kale is a great source of iron, which I’m hoping will help out with my mild anemia. We’ve learned to seek out small, fresh kale leaves, which have the best texture when baked. We’ve also played with the recipe, substituting things like lemon pepper, Spike, and various interesting salt and herb blends (one of my greatest grocery shopping weaknesses is interesting salt blends) for the seasoned salt. And we’ve gone the olive oil one step better and are using Tuscan herb olive oil, which brings us to…
Discovery #2: Infused olive oils. We’ve had a new store open up in town, True Olive Connection, that features just these things. When this store opened, Melissa and I sort of rolled our eyes at each other and speculated on how quickly it would go out of business, but we were sorely mistaken. What first seemed like a lot of high-end gourmet silliness came to seem like an everyday essential once we tasted their wares. As I indicated above, their Tuscan herb-infused olive oil is now my standard cooking oil. They have a blood orange olive oil that can turn a store-bought brownie mix into a miracle of flavor. There’s also Persian lime olive oil, cayenne-infused olive oil—you get the picture
Discovery #3: Infused balsamic vinegars. True Olive Connection doesn’t just carry oils; they also carry balsamic vinegars. The range of flavors is mind-boggling: dark chocolate (delicious over fresh fruit), blackberry ginger (throw a tablespoon full into a glass of diet ginger ale and be amazed), wild blueberry (great in sparkling water), grapefruit (best salad dressing base ever). Once you start playing with these, more sugary treats seem much less interesting.
Discovery #4: Hemp seed. This new ingredient is just the thing for adding some dense protein to a dish (which is important when you’re trying to manage diabetes). One tablespoon has four grams of protein. I can throw two tablespoons into my fruit and yogurt and avoid the post-carb crash they’d usually cause. Their flavor is pretty much like any seed: toasty-nutty.
I’m relearning that essential lesson that seems to require relearning once or twice a year (at least for me): if I can remain calm, remember that cooking can be a pleasurable experience and not just a burden, and savor the tastes of fresh ingredients, my entire life becomes happier and much more sane.
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June 19, 2011
Last summer I was a test-knitter for Thea’s Collins sweater (that’s Thea of Babycocktails). I was a bad test-knitter. A bad one.
I had most of it knit—fronts, back, sleeves. Then the weather got hot; I went limp; I couldn’t bear to pick up the alpaca I was knitting it in. I needed to seam it before I could work the collar—and if there’s one thing I dislike almost as much as a heat wave, it’s seaming.
Long story short: the sweater is finally finished (about ten months late), and I’m happy with the final product. Thea’s design is great. The cables give it this sort of richness and abundance that’s perfect for a garment designed for autumn-into-winter wear. The tie waist is cute, cute cute.
I am a bad test-knitter. But Thea is a great designer. And this is a wonderful sweater.
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June 13, 2011
Scaredy Cat, the ancient, crabby, trembly, stomping, yet somehow hopeful cat has left us. He wasn’t ours really. He belonged to neighbors who live around the corner, but for years he’s spent most of his time in Chris’s (and our) yard. Chris put in the 10 years or so it took to get him to the point where he didn’t cower if you glanced his way, so Melissa and I have been able to enjoy his dyspeptic, ever-at-a-distance company.
He was not one to sit on laps. He did not flirt or frolic. But he liked to sit nearby while there were knitters in the yard. And he had the courage to come closer if there were treats in the offing. In fact, in the last few months he’d actually started to demand a pet or two before digging in to his dinner. It took a long time, but in his later years he was as happy as he knew how to be.
He is buried under his beloved bird bath/water dish.
Our world feels diminished without him.
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May 24, 2011
I don’t think I’ve ever shared this picture of the Bob Hus that Melissa constructed to keep our friend Bob dry on rainy nights. She tried several more substantial structures first, but he disdained them. However, plywood on a plastic storage box topped by a small, outdoor table draped in pieces of shower curtain and garbage bag with another plastic container on its side sheltered within did the trick.
The ugly, plaid, on-sale-for-three-dollars-at-the-local-drugstore fleece blanket gives it the perfect finishing touch.
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May 19, 2011
Even though I know that all the patterns will eventually be published, I always look forward to voting on the new Drops patterns. This year, a number of their designs feature a new, fur-like yarn that doesn’t do much for me (I’m still recovering from that whole era of eyelash yarns we had a while ago) and there are fewer of the interesting cabled designs that are usually my favorites—but there’s still plenty to like.
My choices?
First up, some cardigans.
ee-367
This looks like just the thing to keep a body cozy during a windy walk on a beach.
me-043
I love the slightly military styling of this one.
u-619
Just look at the gorgeous way cables are used to highlight the back and create waist shaping.
x-369
This one has so many interesting things going on—I really think it would be a fun knit.
And then, several vests. (Melissa would like a knit vest, so I keep book-marking patterns, but what I really need to do is start knitting.)
ee-362
This one is definitely not Melissa’s style, but I could imagine making it for Miss Sparkles.
ee-368
Again, not Melissa’s style, but it sure looks like a quick, fun knit.
me-046
This is the one I can actually imagine Melissa wearing—some interesting detailing, but nothing fussy.
And then a handful of other patterns.
la-001
A lovely, crescent-shaped shawl with lace edging.
ee-382
A hat that pretty much cracks me up.
ne-073
And some cozy slippers that would make great winter-time gifts.
Those are my votes—what are yours?
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May 15, 2011
Melissa is off on a pilgrimage until the end of June. If you are interested, you can read about her wanderings here. She’s walking the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrim route that dates back to the 9th Century, and that ends in Santiago de Campostela in Spain, the supposed burial site of Saint James.
The story of St. James and the start of the Camino goes something like this (text from the web site of the Confraternity of Saint James): 7th and 8th century documents (i.e. prior to the discovery of the tomb) refer to the belief that James spent a number of years preaching in Spain before returning to Jerusalem, and martyrdom. His followers are believed to have carried his body down to the coast and put it into a stone boat, which was carried by angels and the wind beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the straits of Gibraltar), to land near Finisterre, at Padrón, on the Atlantic coast of northern Spain. The local Queen, Lupa, provided the team of oxen used to draw the body from Padrón to the site of the marble tomb (Arca Marmorica), a little way inland, which she had also provided. The saint was believed to have been buried with two of his own disciples, Athanasius and Theodore. The site of his tomb was forgotten for some 800 years.
Early in the 9th century a hermit, Pelayo, was led by a vision to the spot. The tomb was rediscovered, and the relics authenticated as those of St James by the local bishop. Spain at this period sorely needed a new champion or focus to inspire Christians against the invading Moors. The rediscovery came therefore at a most propitious moment. And the pilgrimage began.
(I will not expound about the whole question of stone boats piloted by angels and lost graves miraculously revealed to hermits—nor about the church’s need to justify the slaughter of muslims, which makes James seem rather less-than-saintly in my eyes.)
The Camino is actually many Caminos as pilgrims have traveled to Santiago de Campostela from all parts of Europe for over a milennium.
A number of years ago, Melissa walked the Via Francés portion of the Camino, which begins just over the French border above Spain, so that a pilgrim spends her first day crossing the Pyrenees, then walks five hundred or so miles going from east to west along the northern edge of Spain. This time, she is walking the Via de La Plata, which begins in Seville and travels for six hundred or so miles going from south to north along the western edge of Spain.
As you might imagine, she has rather sore feet at the moment. But she is in excellent spirits.
I am delighted that she has this opportunity and know it will inspire all sorts of art, but her adventures leave me without my usual photographer and web assistant (and also with a great many more cats demanding my attention and food, food, food.)
My friend Chris has stepped in as my photographer and has taken wonderful shots of my latest FOs, but I lack the necessary skills to re-size them so that they fit into the parameters of this blog. What that means is that, while I can offer you partial shots of these FOs, I can’t give you good images of the pieces in their entirety. (Aagain, all my fault—Chris’ pictures are gorgeous.)
That said…
I’ve just finished up Lily Go’s Narnia.
This shawl has wonderful texture, and I knit it from some vintage Rowan Silkstones in a dark green, which adds even more texture to the finished piece.
This pattern as written is asymmetrical above the border, but I took the time to rework the charts for that part of the shawl so that the two halves would be mirror images of each other. The pattern also called for a crochet bind-off, but that looked clunky in this already-crunchy yarn, so I did my usual stretchy lace bind-off, then blocked it carefully to emphasize the curves.
My other FO is the Jelling Rune Stones Scarf by Anna Dalvi of Knit and Knag. This scarf was one of a series of three patterns she wrote inspired by world heritage sites.
The rune stones date back to the Viking era and are (I believe) the earliest surviving examples of this alphabet.
Here you can see the rune stone that inspired the scarf pattern and which memorializes the parents of King Harald and commemorates the conversion of the Danes to Christianity:
And here’s a shot of Anna’s original scarf:
I worked my version out of Cascade Heritage Sock Handpaint in a wonderful blue color that is shot through with greens and purples (color 9829):
So I am knitting, knitting, knitting, feeding and cosseting cats, and waiting for my wonderful wife to come home full of stories about her travels.
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May 13, 2011
Just about to cast on for Woodbine.
I’ll be making the version with the looser sleeves (left arm in the picture) and plan to stop when they’re bracelet length.
I’m knitting it in Cascade Eco+, which is on sale at Webs through the end of this month for $12.25 a skein. With 478 yards to a skein, that’s waaaaaaay too tempting to pass up.
I’m going with the lichen colorway for this project. I also bought enough aporto for a second sweater, but am still debating my choice of pattern.
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