I Turn it Around, and I Give it One More Try

I woke up still feeling uncertain about the orange in my Postwar Mitten. For a brief period of time I thought that a hot pink would be perfect, but I didn't want to buy more yarn for these mittens--I have a lot of this yarn already. So I dug out some red, gave it a try, and I am much happier with the results. I'm pretty sure that it's also Dale of Norway Baby Ull, I believe that I bought it for a February Baby Sweater (Rav Link) that has long since been abandoned. I'm a little alarmed by how purple these are, but I've got someone in mind for these who should really like the purple. I really like the colors of this yarn line--they're a great alternative to the pastels that were the main choice for baby knits when I first started knitting. The colors are bright and clear, and easy to combine (and the yarn is plenty soft, and not fuzzy--good characteristics for crisp stranded colorwork). I had some early tangles while juggling three skeins of yarn, so I transferred some of the red yarn to a bobbin for better manageability. I only use it every four rows, and the bobbin makes it easier to keep out of the way.

I'm not sure that I'll make much more progress this weekend--I want to switch over to one of the Raha Scarf for awhile, and tomorrow's another day packed with non-knitting responsibilities. Maybe I can sneak in a few rows here and there, though!


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I Turn it Around, and I Give it One More Try: "Jacksonville", by Sufjan Stevens, from the album Illinoise. I've been listening to it a lot lately--it's a really interesting album, and I don't mean that in a detached, music-critic way. I mean that I've had the album for a few years, and I still notice new things when I listen to it.

Who Needs Sleep?

The new Twist Collective is up, and there's a lot of patterns to love. I'm up past midnight working on the cuff of the Postwar Mittens, the pattern comes with three different patterns for stranded mittens. These mittens are made with Dale Baby Ull, which is in my stash in spades--I went through a phase a few years ago where I thought I'd knit a bunch of delecate baby clothes on size zero needles. It was a phase that produced a single hat, and a lot of stash, so I was able to cast on as soon as I saw the pattern this evening. I'm not totally sure how much I love the orange here, so I'm going to take a break until tomorrow. Maybe more of the aqua would be better, or maybe a green (I've got three shades!) or maybe a red. Hmmmm. Any votes?

It's Like Magic

I started the third repeat of the Raha Scarf on Sunday morning, and was starting to feel unimpressed by my work. Sure, the scarf is super soft, but why is it so scraggly? The photo on the left shows what I'm talking about--not scarf-y or lace-y, it basically looks like crap after 8 inches, even though I smoothed it out.

It's hard for me to remember when I'm knitting lace that the most critical part of the process come at the very, very end--once I pin out the scarf, it's 50% longer and looks much better. Whew! I completely expected this to look o.k., but I'm still relieved that it does. If I was hard-core, I would have wet-blocked this and used blocking wires in order to get the whole effect--straight edges, and possibly more give without a lot of distortion. I'd have to wait for this to dry before continuing, though, and I'm not that patient!

In other Malabrigo sock news, my Tizano Red yarn arrived, and it's my new favorite:

Must . . . not . . . wind . . . this . . . yarn. Yet.

It Only Seemed Fitting . . .

. . . that I'd pick my Liberty Throw to knit on Election Night, 2008. Nevermind that the "Liberty" in the name is Liberty of London, and that neither the motif or colors are patriotic--just the name was enough. I've worked very little on this since I came back from Boston, and it's been nice to get back to. Since Tuesday involved a LOT of television watching, I made a lot of progress that night, and continued to knit a little on it every night (except Friday, when I was only thinking about Malabrigo sock yarn).

Working on it a little at a time is probably the best strategy for me, since it is a LOT of knitting, and it's going to take a long time to finish even if I work on it exclusively. The holidays are coming, there are a lot of things to knit between now and then! I'd hate to put it aside until after the holidays are over, and lose momentum. I'm still completely entranced by the colors, and right now I'm especially enjoying the new shapes that are forming as the first chart repeat flows into the second repeat. In a flash of patriotic fervor, I briefly thought that it would be wonderful to finish this by inauguration day, but as I have a full time job that I plan to keep, and a 0% chance of having any direct involvement in the inauguration, I'm going to return to a slow-and-steady strategy.

The next challenge with the throw is going to be working in a blue yarn of a different dyelot. I was (as you may remember) very impatient to start this, and I couldn't wait for the special-ordering of yarn to wait for a single dyelot. That means that for awhile (a long while, probably), I'll be alternating rows with the light blue, which increases by 50% the likelihood of logistical issues. The difference between the two dyelots isn't dramatic, but I'd rather alternate than end up with a wide stripe of slightly lighter or slightly darker yarn.

Here's a birds-eye view, with no dachshund interference, of the blanket thus far:

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Rare Political Aside (since I mentioned the election): I'm very happy about the outcome of the Presidential vote, and very unhappy with some of the local / and not-local-to-me results, but most of all I'm happy that the election is over. I'm really tired of the nasty political ads, and of the snarky, spiteful comments that I've seen all over the internet from both sides. I'm also a little alarmed that I heard people on the news refer to the election as a "peaceful transfer of power", as if there was imminent danger of a NON-peaceful transfer of power here.

Long story short--I propose no more gloating and beating of dead campaigns by the winning side, and no more sour grapes and predictions of immediate doom by the losing side. If you would rather see Obama fail than see our economy, international standing, and quality of life improve, then you've got bigger problems than I can address here. Ditto if you think that the Obama presidency will be all sunshine, roses, and money raining down from the sky. There is a lot of hard work to be done in this country, and there's a lot of common ground about what we want as a nation--let's all start there, shall we?

She's Golden but She's Green

Sometimes, when I've got a new knitting book on my mind, it's really hard not to start a bunch of new projects. Sometimes, when I get an interesting new yarn, it's also hard not to start something new immediately. So it was pretty much inevitable that I'd cast on a new project when three skeins of the new Malabrigo Sock yarn arrived yesterday. I thought that I'd cast on a new pair of socks (I did finish a pair recently, after all), but after ripping out a toe three times I turned to Nancy Bush's new book, Knitted Lace of Estonia and cast on the Raha Scarf (Rav link). I really like the modern feel of this pattern, which uses a single repeat of an estonian lace motif with a simple garter stitch border. I'm about a third of the way through the Navy Lace Scarf, which feels so much more traditional and girly that it's hard to believe they come from the same book.

The Raha Scarf is meant to be about 7" wide, but I think that mine will end up narrower. This yarn is pretty fine, and I want the solid parts to still be solid, so I probably won't block it out as aggressively as I'd need to for a 7" scarf. I may need to add repeats to get additional length, but there's plenty of yarn for that so it should be fine. This would be a great first-time lace pattern--not a lot of stitches, easy chart to follow, and a pattern where mistakes should be easy to detect early. None of those tricky nupps, either--just yarn overs, and single and double decreases.

About the yarn . . . . it's very, very, very soft, and the color is gorgeous & complex. The feel is very similar to the other Malabrigo yarns, but with twist--the thickness is more regular, and there should be less pilling. I'm interested in hearing how well socks made out of it wear--it doesn't feel as sturdy as other sock yarns, but knit at a finer gauge maybe it will be durable? I'm afraid that I went a little overboard with this yarn, pre-ordering two skeins from Webs (which I should have soon) and then these three from The Loopy Ewe:

Cote D'Azure, Lettuce, Chocolate Amargo

It's interesting to see how different the green looks in natural PNW rainy day light (the lace photo) vs. the way it looks in full-spectrum-lightbulb light (in the hank). The variation in the color is barely evident in the hank, but comes out nicely in the scarf. Overall, I think that the light-bulb photo looks more "accurate", but that's because I knit indoors with artificial light. Either way, it's a really nice green.

p.s. I'm officially embarassed by the number of projects in process that are showing up in my sidebar. I'm going to mark some of them as "hibernating" immediately!

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She's Golden but She's Green: The Wonder Stuff, Golden Green. I saw this band maybe four times in 1991 or 1992. Let's not discuss the specifics--bad behavior was involved. Check out the video, but be warned--there's a LOT of early 90's bad hair & hats.

And You Look so Pretty in Your New Lace Sleeves

Ever since last year's Estonian Lace class at Madrona, I've been waiting for Nancy Bush's new book, Knitted Lace of Estonia. Clearly, the book has arrived! It's full of projects that I'd love to knit, even some that are making me rethink my vow never to sew on another border like we did in class. I decided that given my other knitting (Liberty, anyone?) & non-knitting committments, this was not the weekend to start a GIANT project, so I'm starting with the Lily of the Valley Shawl (Rav Link). I'm using Baruffa Bollicina yarn in a dark navy blue. This yarn is 65% cashmere and 35% silk, but wasn't much more expensive than some plain wool options (assuming that the 3 balls I bought are enough--fingers crossed!). I was planning for a less conservative color since I've been using a lot of plain browns and blues lately, but this seemed like a more elegant choice than a repurposed sock yarn, and I couldn't quite land on anything else. Now that I've knit a ways with it, the color is growing on me, and the darkness hasn't been too much of a strain on my eyes while knitting at night.

More about the book . . . . it contains very detailed instructions for the stitches and traditional construction used in many of the shawls, but there are also a few less traditional techniques employed in some of the projects. I really like that approach--the book shows just how versatile and fresh the Estonian patterns can be, right next to the breathtaking traditional shawls. There's also a collection of charts at the back of the book that can be used to design other projects as well. There are at least four patterns that I'd like to knit (several of which I saw samples of at Madrona), but having the option to adapt other stitch patterns to a design is a really nice feature.

There's a little dog staring me down and crying as I sit at the computer, she wants me to go and sit with her in the living room. Time for more knitting (or napping)!

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And You Look so Pretty in Your New Lace Sleeves: Elvis Costello, "New Lace Sleeves"

Sometimes Sweetness is Not What It Seems

Happy Halloween!

clockwise from orange: Pumpkin, Bat, Frankenstein

This is the last of my 2008 Halloween knitting--three Halloween-themed washcloths! That I fully intended to finish early and mail to the East Coast and other far-away points, but only finished a minute ago! These are three patterns from Kristen Patay's Creepy Cloth collection, and although I couldn't find the creepy muted colors she used, this is a nice set of cloths. I'm eyeing her Winter Wonderland cloths, too.

The purple bat cloth is made of Lion brand Lion Cotton, and the other two are Lily Sugar 'N Cream cotton. Cheap, fast, spooky, who could ask for more? I do wish that the pattern was more pronounced, but I don't think I'd like knitting these as much on smaller needles--too much hand cramping.

Now to decide: give these out as favors if I see any children I know today, keep them for next year (and start working on more--I want a ghost and a tombstone!), or use them as an extra large coaster at work (i.e. keep them for myself). Maybe one of each?? It's easy enough to make more!

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Sometimes Sweetness is Not What It Seems: The Spinanes, "Halloween Candy" (note that the link will open iTunes).

Ghoul-Toe Tuesday: Halloween Edition

Just in time for casual Halloween costume Friday, my Halloween Socks are finished. The clogs really set them off, don't they? These were very quick to knit, aided by a couple of long flights and a shorter than usual cuff. I used about half of the giant skein of Vesper Sock Yarn (in the Great Googlie Mooglie colorway), so maybe next year I'll knit another spooky pair--maybe with contrasting toes & cuffs, or combined with the other Vesper Halloween colors in the stash. Hmmm. . . . maybe some witchy wristlets, or a little shawl with Evil edging?

When I took the photo above, I opted for a dark-ish location, well after dark. More Halloween-y (and less waiting for daylight, which I've barely seen in the last couple of weeks), I suppose. But spookier by far than the socks is this haunting, grainy shot of Frieda, who had to get in the middle of things:

I'm not sure what's going through her tiny, pea-sized brain, but I don't think that it's good.

Really? You Mean, Like Fire?

I am pretty excited about this Hank Williams boxed set, but I think that Time Life might be going a little over the top with the red sticker.

There's a Stain on My Notebook Where Your Coffee Cup Was

Cup rings on all of my post-it notes, tablets, and occasionally important documents have been driving me crazy at work. The folded up copy paper I've been using sometimes as a coaster looks sloppy, and god knows I don't need any help looking sloppy lately. I went for the quick fix--a bright green, kitchen cotton coaster using a simple pattern. I think it looks great with my Constructivist coffee mug. Here's how it goes:

Cast on 20 stitches
Knit 3 rows
Row 1 - 4: K2, P4, K4, P4, K6
Row 5 - 8: K6, P4, K4, P4, K2
Repeat until about square, ending on row 4 or row 8
Knit 3 rows
Cast off

I used size 3 needles, and a very small amount of green Lily Sugar'n Cream Solid. The next one I make will probably be on size 4 or 5, to get a bigger coaster. It can't hurt to have some extras lying around the ol' cubicle, and a set might make a nice hostess gift / stocking stuffer.

Here's a clearer view of the pattern:

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There's a Stain on My Notebook Where Your Coffee Cup Was: Squeeze, "Black Coffee in Bed". I can't tell you how many hours of MTV and Video Jukebox waiting to see this video. I'm serious--don't you remember when Difford & Tilbrook were the next Lennon / McCartney?

You Said This Would Happen, and You Were Not Wrong

I've been playing catchup all week since getting back from Boston, and I keep telling myself that I haven't worked on Liberty (or much of anything) because I just don't have the energy to concentrate on stranded knitting. Then, on Thursday or Friday I saw the Tapestry Cowl on Ravelry, and all of a sudden I was up and running on a project that involves a much more complicated chart using a cast on I'd never done and a technique I've never used. Why not?

The cowl is double-knit, so the inside and outside layers are knit at the same time, on the same needles, with the pattern in opposite colors. Until the colorwork starts, the inside and outside are completely independent--it's very cool. When there's blue on the outside, there's green on the inside, and both sides are stockinette. Yes, the straw-looking color is really a celery green.

I'm using some Alpaca Silk that I bought while on vacation in August. I think that I probably should have gone down a needle size, as the cowl seems pretty big, but I'm going to knit a little more before I even think about ripping! I think that it will tighten up a bit in the patterned area, because there won't be as much give.

Initially, I thought that this would make a great Christmas gift, but with 220 stitches per row it's pretty slow going. I've not had concentrated knitting time this weekend, but I still expected to be further along. I don't think I'll have time to finish this, and work on Liberty, and finish the other things on my plate for Christmas--and let's not even discuss the Halloween projects, which I'm going to go and work on right this minute. Right after I finish that cotton coaster that I started a couple of hours ago . . .

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You Said This Would Happen, and You Were Not Wrong: "Little Time Bomb", Billy Bragg. A slower, video version here.

I Was 21 Years When I Wrote This Song

Billy Bragg, Somerville MA, Oct. 21 2008

The first time I saw Billy Bragg, in the fall of 1987, 21 was a few years away, but I can't believe how young it feels to me now. I have to get up really early to catch a flight back to Seattle tomorrow, but I'll be singing Levi Stubb's Tears in my head the whole way home. And for days.

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I Was 21 Years When I Wrote This Song: "A New England," Billy Bragg. Check out this 1991 video.

Two Toe Tuesday: Great Googlie Mooglie Edition

How awesome is spooky self striping Halloween yarn? I started these a week or two ago, and I have a fair shot at finishing them before Halloween. As soon as I saw Liz knitting these Trick or Treat socks, I started checking in on the Knitterly Things site and managed to get this yarn (it's Vesper sock yarn in the Great Googlie Mooglie colorway). As I mentioned earlier, I did eventually get more Vesper Halloween yarn, but I think that finishing this pair of socks is really all I can manage in the next week and a half, as far as holiday socks goes. These are pretty short socks, with a basic 2 x 2 rib pattern, and a simple short row heel. Man, are they bright--they're going to look great with my clogs!!!

Cowl Done!

It's crisp and fall-like here in the greater Boston area, with a bit of chill in the air. So it's a good time to give people neck-warming gifts! I finished the cowl above about two minutes before leaving for the giftee's birthday night out, so it's modeled by E_____. The fuzziness of the yarn masks the pattern a little, but in real life (or more importantly, real light) the pattern looks good.  Not too fussy, and nice and warm.  The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca's Suri Merino, which is delicious to knit with but feels a little itchy on my neck--as do pretty much all wools.  The brown cotton cowl also made it to a new home on this trip, and I'll probably need to make one of those for myself, if I'm going to wear a cowl.  Organic cotton = no possible itching. 

Yesterday afternoon, E___ and I went out to Lexington to the Wild & Wooly yarn store, which I haven't been to in years.  It's a neat little place, with a wide selection of yarn, and helpful ladies keeping it all running.  I came away with a skein of Malabrigo and one of those sock yarns that have been dyed on pre-knitted blanks.  Does that sentence even make sense?  Check them out here.  I've been working on some other socks that I'll post about soon--maybe I can get a nice, autumny photo later this afternoon!

Liberty on the Move!

Yesterday, Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner of Mason-Dixon knitting came to Seattle to sign books and give a talk at the University Book Store. It was hilarious fun, and the knitwear that they brought to show was unbelievably gorgeous, even though I'd seen all of it in their book. Note the mohair shawls that Kay is wearing above, for instance. The skin on my hands had a bad reaction the last time I knit with mohair, and yet I'm somehow thinking that I should just power through, because they're just that beautiful. Mom had a great time, too--Mason-Dixon is the only knitting blog that she's ever shown any real interest in reading when I've mentioned it (including this one). She's probably knit almost as many dishcloths from the first book as Kay has, and that's a lot of dishcloths!

Let's discuss my Liberty (shown above!) vs. the original Liberty. Mine is tiny and crinkled (though Ann swore that it would block out), as shown above. The original Liberty is beautifully smooth, and is a lot larger than I expected it to be, and was knit in three weeks. I guess I'm slightly behind schedule--I'd better go knit now!

How Now Brown Cowl (I know that you saw that coming)

I have to say that I was really apprehensive about the 80 stitches of grafting that was required to finish the Brown Cotton Cowl (rav link), but I'm really glad that I opted to follow the pattern. I had one false start, but after the first set of decrease points were clearly NOT lined up, it was pretty easy to pick out the graft and start over. This is an ideal quick gift (so if you are a person I give gifts to, don't be surprised if you get one), because both useful and pretty without being overly fussy. I haven't washed or blocked this yet, and given the inelastic properties of cotton I don't plan to open up the pattern much--it'll just stretch out. The pattern is the Crofter's Cowl by Gudrun Johnston, and it's available free on Ravelry. The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca dyed cotton, and I used about 75 grams of yarn.

As soon as I cast off this cowl, I started another brown cowl. Different yarn, different pattern, different color, but still a brown cowl:

This one is for a friend who (as far as I know) can wear wool without a problem. I'm using Blue Sky Alpaca's Suri Merino, and it's really, really, really, really soft. I haven't used this before, but MJ has been knitting this incredible cowl with it, so I knew that it was a good choice. The pattern is Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama, and I'm finally at the point where I can see the pattern in my cowl. Hopefully, this will help with my inability to follow the directions. The pattern repeats shift ever two rows, and I keep NOT shifting with them. Fortunately, since each pattern row is knit twice in a row, I've caught the errors without any ripping. This is meant to be quick, after all!

In other knitting news, Wendy Bernhard was at Renaissance Yarns yesterday, signing copies of her new book Custom Knits. I love the book (there are two patterns that I want to start immediately, and several others that I want to start eventually), and Wendy was really nice. You know, like NORMAL nice. She brought along some beautiful samples, including one of the sweaters on my must-knit-list. I was really glad that I didn't have to drive all the way to North Seattle to meet her.

Thank you Mike & Ike's, Thank you Candy Corn

It's a crisp fall afternoon here in the Pacific Northwest, and I've got Halloween on my mind. How many projects can I get done in the next 20 days? Not as many as I have yarn for! Above is a Vesper yarn wee skeins kit, and I've got two full sized skeins of this yarn as well. At this point, I'm really just shooting for a pair of anklets!

'Cause I Didn't Think This Would Happen Again

I saw Liz Phair this week, performing all of the songs from her 1993 album "Exile in Guyville". The show was great--this is the kind of album that even after 15 years reminds me what my life was like then, when I was young, and struggling to pay off my first set of student loans, and going out five nights a week (but leaving the shows early to catch the T, because I couldn't pay for a taxi). I think that the last time I saw her was in '93 or '94, but I remember very little about that first show so I could just be imagining it. It would have been in Boston, at a club called Axis, and it may have been part of a massive radio-sponsored block party. I can see Liz Phair, who was at that time noted for having stage fright, being very nervous on stage. I don't know if I'm remembering the right show, I really don't. Corroborating evidence, anyone?

Mini Mitten Monday: I've Got a Fever

and the only prescription is more Mini Mittens:

Nine in one week (on top of an usually heavy work week), that's got to be some sort of a record, isn't it? Note that the red mitten in the photo above was completed a long time ago, as the REAL 9th mitten didn't show up for the photo shoot. Primadonna.

I've really enjoyed seeing the bits of different scrap yarn while I've been knitting these, and I need to dig out more. I'm trying not to break into unused sock yarn (which would guarantee a shortage when full sized socks were knit), but it's tough.

I'm not sure how long this fever will last, I'm still a long way from my original mitten goal of 2 - 3 per week (or maybe it was more). But maybe I'll end up with enough to decorate a small mitten tree? Ooooh, that would be festive!

Those Brown Eyes Dreaming

It's been a super busy week, not much time for knitting. My inability to focus on charts or thinking in the evenings has hampered my ability to work on Liberty, though I did knit a couple of inches yesterday.

I'm starting to think about quick holiday gifts, especially those that require less concentration than Liberty, and I started the Crofter's Cowl (Rav link) by Gudrun Johnston. I'm using Blue Sky Alpaca's worsted weight organic cotton, which is a new yarn for me. I'm not sure that this is a great substitute for the recommended Malabrigo, but the person I have in mind for this can't wear wool and maybe not some other animal fibers. Let's face it--nobody's going to wear an itchy cowl!!! There is a chart, but it's super easy to follow without a lot of attention--the lace pattern looks a lot more complicated than it is to work. The tricky part is that the cowl is worked in two halfs, and then grafted together. I might not do that for this cowl, because I'm worried that the graft will be super apparent, and not just because of my poor skills. Cotton doesn't block out like wool, so my theory is that if the tension of the graft isn't perfect, then it will stick out like a sore thumb. We'll see, though--I might change my mind once I'm closer to the critical half-way decision point.

In other knitting news, the deadline to finish the Wino Juno for the Loopy Ewe KALs came and went, and I hardly even noticed--I've worked on it a little, here and there, but after ripping out 15 inches that project needed a little break. Juno might make a good holiday gift, so I probably should start taking it to knit night again, or start picking it up when I'm too tired to follow a chart! Although that might be why I had to rip out those 15 inches in the first place . . .

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"Those Brown Eyes Dreaming": Wilco, I am Trying to Break Your Heart