Things I Should Already Have Known

This was the year for learning (over and over)that technique is not a substitute for judgment. The knitting mistakes were not a matter of not being able to do something, but not knowing whether it was a good idea! I hope that by writing down (and publishing!) my mistakes I'll be able to avoid them in the future. In the spirit of self-examination, here are a few things I learned this year:
1. Size matters
Despite all my gauge swatches and self-measurements, I have a tendency to make things too large for myself. the Mission Falls cardigan is wearable but would be better if the sleeves were narrower; the bolero (from Feminine Knits) turned out so big that I gave it to a friend. Sizing in lace garments is particularly dicey. The remedy for this problem seems to be taking the work off the needles and trying it on, and choosing a smaller size.

The other lesson I learned from these cardigans it to knit both fronts and both sleeves simultaneously. Despite my efforts at row counting, I haven't found another way to make them match.
2. Scarves Should be Long
When I lived in a cold climate many years ago, scarves were often worn inside the neck of a coat, in my memory at least. Since then, it seems that the very long scarf has totally dominated the world of winter. I made 3 scarves this fall that were not long enough; 2 I'm adding onto and 1 will sleep with the fishes in the pond.

3. Even a Cotton Scarf is Too Hot for Tallahassee in the Summer
I love this scarf. It's my favorite light cotton (Paton's Grace) in my favorite colors, but its unwearable in the summer, which means until the end of October.
4. Knitting for Felting Hurts My Hands
Felting always seems like such a good idea! the knitting goes fast on those big needles, and the finished products are useful and sturdy, what could be better than these felted slippers? The sad truth is that, for me, knitting on those big needles requires a lot of pushing and pulling. I don't think I'll give up on felting entirely, but I must repect my limits.
That being said, this bag is one of my favorite projects. I use it as my carry-on bag when I travel, and always get compliments.

Looking Back Before Looking Forward

2009 has been a great year for family, traveling, weddings, and knitting, but not for blogging, obviously. Here are just a few of the successful projects completed this year. The unsuccessful ones have taught me a lot and really deserve their own entry.

The gray shawl was inspired by the Little Dorritt series. It is my own design and I used 1 skein of Malabrigo Lace in Paris Night. I'm thinking about making a larger, more open shawl in the same pattern. It seems a little goth!
These three are among the successful Christmas knits. I like the Noro Silken Garden scarf, but 2 skeins does not yield quite enough length. DH wore it as is in NYC over Christmas, but I'm contemplating adding 2 more skeins.
Here we have too much cat in the picture, not enough scarf! 2 skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in a reversible cable Fisherman's Scarf. I loved both the process and the product!
For knitting purposes, it's great to have children who live in a cold climate. The cloche was made for DD1 from 2 skeins of Wisdom Poems, gently felted. The black band is knitted from stashed mystery sock yarn, and the flower was made by a Tallahassee fiber artist.

I hope to be back soon with wedding pictures, stories of travels, and lessons learned.

Knitting with Chickens, or Wishing on Starfish

Are these not cute? They are from a kit by Artfelt that DD2 gave me for Christmas. I'm thinking about attaching them to a scarf, or using them as brooches. My son thought they were cat toys, but I disabused him.
And this is another kit product, brought from Paris by DD1. I was alarmed to see the instructions were in French, but there was enought detail in the picture to figure it out. The scarf is one strand of merino and one strand of bamboo knitted together, and it is really warm.
Here's the label!
Over New Years I made a quick trip to Ft. Collins, CO to help DS move out of his apartment, but while there I managed to visit My Sister Knits, a local yarn shop. What a charming place, so cozy and full of contented knitters, but best of all was the chicken coop in the front yard. These chickens and their beautiful house qualify as yard art! If you are in Ft. Collins you should certainly go visit.

I read in a blog comment that February is for finishing, and I'm trying to make that my mantra. There is a cardigan from last summer that I redid the fronts and it needs to be put together and finished off with ribbing; there is a pair of socks 7/8 finished, and another starfish ready to felt. there is also a scarf to be frogged; the yarn was not a good choice and it should have been put out of its misery long ago. It's hard to focus with new yarn and patterns beckoning from the stash armoire, but it will feel so good to get these lingering projects off the needles.

Rejoining the Blogging World

It's been a long and winding road, or maybe a just long strange trip, but I decided that with the New Year I'm ready to start contributing to the knit-o-sphere, instead of just taking comfort in other people's efforts. Mom passed away very peacefully on September 26, and we buried her ashes in Virginia the weekend before Thanksgiving. In the intervening time, and even now, a lot of my life has been taken up with attending to all the details that come with the end of a life. Even the most organized person in the world leaves unfinished business; we've been busy emptying out her house so it can be put up for rent and settling her finances.

I worked on these Edelweiss socks during the final days of her life; the pattern was intricate enough to provide a little distraction, but the tiny needles and white yarn seemed unintrusive. They were a Christmas present for DD2, who never tires of the Sound of Music.
These socks are a variation on my Muscle Memory pattern in Cherry Tree Hill supersock. The cuffs are a 3x2 twisted rib instead of the usual 2x2.
Here is another Christmas present: I call it a bubble scarf (Kidsilk Haze tied over hazelnuts and felted); I saw one in the Knitting Sisters shop in Williamsburg VA and made it on the oral instructions of the owner. It was a hit with DD1.
This scarf isn't really 9' long! It is seasilk and uses 2 grape-related patterns from Wendy Knits. It is a scarf that wants to be a shawl, and works well in chilly meeting rooms.
Thanks and happy new year to all the kind bloggers who kept my spirits up this year, especially Nancy, Juliet and Wendy.

Two Projects Off the Needles

I missed the Clapotis virus in its most virulent stage, but I saw one in person a few months ago and decided to risk infection. This scarf, in my favorite mercerized cotton, is now very long and is approaching bind-off. It will be a muffler for the hot and humid zone.

I love my new blocking boards, but got carried away with the actual blocking.

After I took the picture I decided this Trellis sweater had been over-blocked, so I wet it and dried it, gently, in the dryer.It is superwash wool (Cascade 220) after all. It looks much softer and smaller now, which is good because it's supposed to be 12 month sized, and is a present for a newborn!

Don't you love the buttons? I've been looking for the right use for these.
The socks from the last post are finished, and the Brittany birch needles I used for the cuffs did not catch fire, even though they aren't non-inflammable. It feels good to finish up some projects, but I have a lot of knitting time because I'm staying home with Mom every afternoon. Her disease is progressing as we knew it would, but I miss her already.

Small Pleasures

If you look carefully at the needle that's not in the sock, you'll see that it is "non-inflammable." I had never worried about my needles catching fire, not being the world's fastest knitter, but I guess somebody thought it was a matter of concern. I found these needles in my mom's cedar chest, and I know she did not knit on double points in my lifetime so they are at least 57 years old! They say "Boye" 1 U.S.A. and are 7" long. The socks are Austermann Step in my muscle memory sock pattern: figure 8 cast on, kf&b toe increases, Priscilla's Dream Sock short row heal, 2x2 rib for the entire cuff but switching to 1.5 needles about 2 inches up the ribbed section, and stretchy sewn bind-off. I'm making them for my DS who just moved to Colorado, and yes, he has long, skinny feet.

My sock making has been almost entirely this pattern, or "perfecting" this pattern. It is just a basic guy sock, but I never get tired of that short-row heel. It is always an exercise in mindfulness, and I usually end up redoing the heel on the second sock at least one time. Usually the first sock goes well and I think I have finally mastered the heel, and then make a total hash of the second one.



This is going to be a present for my DD's friend's baby. It is Trellis from the Spring 2005 Knitty in Cascade 220 Superwash. The cables are endlessly entertaining, and being a baby sweater the pieces are done before they become tiresome.

I had a serious setback on a cardigan I'm making for myself (something about non-matching fronts and a failure to notice until I set in the sleeves...) so it will be in knitting limbo while I consider just how badly I want this particular item.

I hope you like the new look. The title picture was taken in Copenhagen where hollyhocks grow out of cracks in the sidewalk.

In Which She Tells All, and Contemplates a Trip to the Frog Pond

What a year it has been for grapes! As a reward for pruning and fertilizing the two muscadine grapevines that grow on an arbor over the front walk, I harvested five bowls like this. I could have picked more, but some were too hard to get to, and others went bad before I could get them. Picking is just the beginning though. Next comes cooking briefly to release the juice (and cleaning the stove because it always boils over), straining and squeezing the pulp through a mesh bag, chilling overnight and filtering. At that point you can sweeten to taste and drink or make into jelly. I'm skipping the jelly this year.


Don't you love this 50's or early 60's tablecloth? I found it at my mom's house. I don't know why she had it since her table was round.

This is the Noni Adventure bag before felting. Alexa was in town and we went shopping for wedding dresses but she didn't find anything she wanted to commit to. They have set a date--August 8, 2009--so I can time my mother-of-the-bride diet and exercise plan.

Here it is felted and assembled but not yet lined. The idea of dragging out my sewing machine makes my head hurt, but these days lots of things make my head hurt.

Another knitting project, the February baby sweater in butterfly cotton. I made it without a particular baby in mind, but it will probably go to a friend's soon-to-be granddaughter. I'm working on a cabled cardigan for a baby boy that my daughter's friend is expecting in October. What is it with the cables? They are everywhere!

Now about the frog pond. After finishing about half of the ribbon lace scarf it just seems like a bad choice of yarn (Trekking Pro Natura): not soft enough and too subtle color. The yarn will be better for socks (duh!) and I may try ribbon lace again sometime.

Fear of Commitment

I just can't commit to anything these days, but at least I'm making inroads into the stash. These are the most active works in progress, all using yarn I've had for at least a year.

I'm using the same weaving linen I used on the cardigan for this moss grid hand towel from Mason Dixon Knitting. In its unwashed state it looks about like the cardigan looked before washing and blocking. It really is like knitting with kitchen twine.

Ravelry shows 1452 knitters making this scarf, and that doesn't even include lurkers like me. The yarn is Trekking Pro Natura sock yarn, amd the needles are Signature Stiletto Points.
the scarf is about 30" long now, and I've used about 1/2 the yarn, but it won't be scarf weather in North Florida for a while.

Summer probably isn't the best time to make this huge Adventure Bag by Noni. It is like having a very large cat-on-lap. This one will be a Norwegian adventure bag, because the colored stripes are made with wool I brought back from Norway in 2006. While I was there I took lots of pictures of traditional Norwegian house colors and bought yarn in those colors.

This picture shows a display of house paint color chips in a hardware store in Bergen, in case you doubt that people actually paint their houses these colors.

Fnished Objects, or, I've Been Bustin' my Stash

It makes me so happy to have a reason to make baby things, and my friend Martha's daughter is pleased to oblige by expecting a baby girl. The shower is this Saturday, and I'll bring this hat and booties plus a couple of cute little board books. (I totally ignored the baby registry; this child won't lack for necessities.) The pink yarn is "Mango" by Bouton d'Or, found on the 1/2 price table at a knitting shop in Charleston in 2006. The trim is a mohair blend by Gedfrida bought at Springwater Fibers in Alexandria, VA in 2005.

The pattern for this pullover is from Knit.1 (summer 2008) even though I am way out of its target demographic! I had not previously been able to find anything in the right guage (and yardage) for this yarn, which I bought in Norway in 2006.

This picture shows the detail on the yarn, a cotton blend ribbon with frayed edges which knitted up almost feeling like terry cloth. It also shows that I had plenty of it left, and could have made the top longer.

The linen (8/2 weaving linen) also came from Springwater Fibers in 2005. I try to visit the store whenever I get back to Alexandria, where I grew up. The 1/2 lb. cone cost $5, and there was a lot left over from this cardigan! It felt like I was knitting a hairshirt and had a strong but not stinky odor, but the odor and scratchiness both went away with washing.

It feels good to use these yarns that I bought without any particular plans but with the conviction that they would be good for the right project. I've worn the pullover and cardigan and both can be deemed successful. I hope mother and grandma approve of the hat and booties.

For next time I have pictures of works in progress, also from stash yarns.

Where, O Where Has She Been?

You never know what's going to come your way, but this one has been harder than most surprises: on April 1 my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. After hearing all the options, none of which were good, she decided to forego treatment and go into hospice care. She stayed pretty much symptom-free except for loss of appetite until mid May, but it became clear a few weeks ago that she shouldn't live by herself any longer and she moved into my house on June 6. As soon as she moved here I realized that she had been hanging onto her independence by sheer force of will, but that she was much sicker than she had let on--too sick to stay by herself. We found a companion to come here every morning and I am working half time for the foreseeable future.

Around this central fact, though, the rest of life goes joyfully on. My son, the baby of the family, graduated from college in May, and dd2 got engaged last week. (See the happy couple.) They have been together for almost 7 years, so this is a much-anticipated joy!

Knitting has been a solace and companion through this so far. For about a week after the diagnosis I couldn't knit anything but dishcloths, and since then I have been drawn to charity knitting projects that can be finished quickly. The hats (the blue one is a child-size Maltese fisherman's hat from Summer Interweave Knits) and scarf pictured are going to Afghans for Afghans, which my LYS is participating in, and I finished a red scarf for the red scarf project. There are other projects on needles that I expect to make progress on because mom really likes for someone to be close by, and I try to have a project by every potential sitting area in the house and on the porch.

Thanks in advance for all the kind thoughts I know will be coming this way.

Old Cat, New Bed

A couple years ago I made beds for my 3 grandcats, but my own kitties had gone bedless. After getting some furniture reupholstered, though, it seemsd like a good time to make a bed for the cat who had claimed a spot on the new upholstery. Frau Kitze is a sweet old lady of 20 who sits in my lap every evening as I knit (and contributes some natural fiber of her own to every project.) She seems to be enjoying the bed, which is based on the improved cat bed pattern from Wendy's book. The improvement is that the side wall is doubled, so it is less prone to flop over.
I made a scarf this weekend for DS's girlfriend, using some pink ribbon and novelty yarns knit longwise. It is very cute (for someone less than 40) and since she expects to live in Colorado next year it should be useful. It was so much fun to make; I felt like I was knitting a party.
I saw the new Knitty on Friday and found 3 gotta-have projects: Spirogyra, Laminaria, and the Ribbon Lace scarf. I stopped at the LYS on the way home and bought a skein of Silky Kid (on sale) for Spirogyra, and the left on is almost done. I went one size down on the needles and it is still a bit loose in the wrist, but I can't wait to have them for meetings in super-chilled conference rooms. I plan to make the other projects with stash yarn--a big skein of Pro Natura Trekking (wool and bamboo in deep blues and greens) for the Ribbon Lace scarf, and Malabrigo lace-weight merino in blues and grays for the laminaria. It feels good to find tempting patterns for yarn I already own.

Belle Complete

It is finished; I've worn it, it is just as nice as I hoped it would be. The yarn's hollow core construction makes the sweater very light, which is important because of all the cables in the peplum. There are a few minor mistakes that I discovered way too late to correct, but for the most part everything worked out okay (probably because I was willing to rip back or tink back an fix problems as they came up.)
BTW, the pictures are not just to show you the sweater, but also the redone patio. It was a birthday present; we hired a true concrete artist to resurface the patio and create the faux paving stones. It exceeded our expectations!
Since I finished la belle dame, I've gone on to mindless projects--a stash-eating cat bed and finishing up the silky wool seed stitch tie. There are just a few inches to go. My thumb has been hurting and I think small needles and lightweight projects will be theraputic. (The cat bed was a mistake!)
There are several thing in the new Knitty that have piqued my interest, esp. the Estonian shawl. Is it light? yes! Are the needles small? yes!
Gotta flit; work calls.

Is this Progress?

I really thought I would be wearing this sweater to a party tonight, but totally underestimated the finishing time. On Tuesday the three main pieces were complete, and I thought a couple evening's knitting would bring it all home. Silly me. I had left everything on waste yarn (instead of binding off) to check the fit and proportions, and it took two whole episodes of "Slings and Arrows" to bind off the peplum. The back band took me through "Law and Order."

On Thursday, my knitting time was short because of my weekly Voces Angelorum rehearsal. I finished the back band and started the button band, which brings us what you see in the photos. The top photo is closer to the real color, but the lower one shows the cable detail better.

I found these buttons last week and really like them, even though they weren't what I had in mind. Silver buttons, which I thought would be my choice, looked too yellow next to the sweater, which is really silver and black. These buttons have a medieval or Viking look that appeals to me. This sweater began with the idea that I wanted to knit some "armor."
The real progress has been in finding the perfect name for this project. Vogue called it "Silver Belle" and I thought of it as just "The Belle," but now I've changed my mind. It is "La Belle Dame sans Merci" which hath me in thrall.

Things I've Learned from the Silver Belle

Every project is a learning opportunity, and the Belle has been the equivalent of a 4 hour course plus labs! There have been the obvious lessons of learning how to work cables and trinity stitch, but a few more subtle ones, too. Here are they are (so far):
- Read the pattern one more time than you think is necessary (learned from reversing the left and right edging bands)
- Pay attention to the cable crosses (learned from tinking back several rows several times)
- Check Ravelry and Google to see what other people have learned while making the same pattern
- Use small hair clips (butterfly clips) to hold pieces togehter while you try them on (actually, I learned this one a while ago), and
- Do not bind off pieces while you are working on other pieces! Instead , put the live stitches on waste yarn and assemble everything with those little clips so you can try on before you bind off! I learned this after I bound off the peplum and realized later that it was too short.

I'm sure I'll learn several more things before this is over, but with the peplum (now lengthened) and one sleeve/bodice complete the end is in sight!

Over the weekend I took time off from knitting to make this little item! A gym friend and fellow baroque music fan gave me the tile last fall, and I knew it should be a hot pad. There are always plenty of wine corks around, so I trimmed some of them so the tile would be flush with the frame and glued everything together. Cute, no?

It was a beautiful 70 degree weekend so I worked outside, too, pruning roses and grape vines and planting petunias in window boxes.