Socks, socks and a dress

Today, I've got some sock progress (both pair), and I've not done much other knitting because I was distracted by dying and dressmaking. That means I've got non-knitting content to report, I scored some really really cute and perfect fabric for my Poppy so whipped up a little summer number for my Pop, and I've dyed two lots of fibre, one worked the other I'm not so sure, well its worked but do I like it? I'm not sure - but I'll show, what is the point of hiding the mistakes?

First up socks, I've worked Poppy's afterthought heel sock right up to where the waste yarn needs to be knitted into mark the heel. I'm planning to video this one, so will park it on hold until my camera-bear is able to record that process. Unfortunately that might be next weekend, unless we have nice light one night this week - and we both remember.

Bears new socks developed a little more this week, I finally cast on for the second sock and worked a good way up the foot. So far so good, except it had been a good while since I knit the first toe that I forgot the increase placement was 2 stitches in on each side and worked these ones 1 stitch in ... no one will know except you and I, and maybe Bear if he is paying attention.

Poppy got a new dress this week, the fabric was some one of our 2nd year students used as toile fabric for her last design project. I mentioned my daughter was called Poppy and asked her where she bought the fabric and she named a shop out of town but offered to give me the unused fabric. I negotiated a fair swap using our standard school currency - a block of chocolate and took her up on the offer.

I used the same pattern as for Poppy's last dress, sleeveless, empire line and flared skirt, but added pouch pockets, faced at the top and gathered in with elastic just so all her dresses don't end up looking the same. I did have to buy a white zip .. but other than that it came in at the cost of a block of chocolate. Now all she needs is a return of the hot sunny weather to give the opportunity to wear it, the last few days have been decidedly cooler, too cool for a sleeveless sundress. Bear thinks it would work with a black long sleeved merino top and black tights and shoes, except that she doesn't have a black long sleeved merino top.

At the Milton open day I picked up 500g of combed carded white merino - with the aim of playing with dye. Reading Pat Olds new book, In a Spin fired up my enthusiasm again as she provided details of a no-felt, no mess method for dying sliver. The method contains all the dye mess in a plastic bag and then the fibre is boiled-in-the-bag, which really cuts down on the agitation and potential for felting. The other interesting thing about Pat's method is she suggests applying dye to dry fibre, with a wetting agent - the opposite of most methods I've read or seen online. I liked it, this is an inky blue purple blend, which had me all encouraged to try another.

...which didn't work quite as I had hoped. I know I had too little dye in the pot, and the plastic bag burst so I was a little anxious about it simmering. I removed it prematurely and as a result got a candyfloss pink mixed with pale amber and apricot. I was aiming for orange and medium grey - which it is not. Its pretty but its not what I would choose to spin - there is 150g. This is a mixture of penedale, alpaca and angora so will spin up with a fluffy halo - ideal for this colour perhaps but I am tempted to overdye it .. but no hurry.


I've already sorted the next fabric for the next sewing project, its not the summer dress for moi I still have planned, I've got to make the pattern for that one or at least modify the pattern for the last dress I made a little so it suits the fabric better. With any luck I'll have time at work this week during my lunch times to work on that, I love to use the large cutting and pattern making tables there, so much more space than the dining room table it just makes it easier. I still have to tidy up just like at home, I'm getting better at that. This is bag fabric .. and its fun, it makes me smile.

Take care
na Stella

Thats it!

I think I have it, the slip-stitch pattern for Poppy's new sock, the one that jumped the queue so I can have an afterthought heel demo sock. After trialing several different slip stitch patterns I finally found one I don't feel like frogging, yey!. Today there is the sock progress, two new books .. and a report of two more on the way .. that makes 30 for the year and still a month to go (aw .. now I remember there was one ordered today at work so 31, oh plus another 2 so 33), I'm still dithering over the next knit, but I do have the yarn on standby, lastly I find I something very much in common with Dr Glam (yes really - conservative me).

Slip stitches, a kind of distortion or disruptive patterning in knitting, ideal for breaking up variegated yarns, but also nice when knit in two or more different colourways. I had one ball of Regia sock yarn in this colour way, and it is decidedly girly, and Poppy is the smallest in the house, so it was to be for her. I like to knit a sock that has at least some interest .. I've got to that stage in knitting where inches and inches of round and round knitting is boring and I want to think about what I'm doing a little. So I tried some slip stitches, I tried alternative stitches on alternate rows, I tried columns, I tried a various simple variations but they all looked blah. Then I dug out a trusty Harmony Guide, volume I, an old one and found a pattern that looked promising on page 36 - Garter Stitch Diamonds.

I love it, but it is not Garter Stitch Diamonds, in translating it as I knit from flat to round I missed the garter stitch bit and ended up with reverse stocking stitch diamonds. After that I thought it best to make a chart so that I didn't keep modifying it as I knit (interesting idea that - that the pattern could flow and change with every repeat. I wonder where that would take me. No! Focus .. I told myself) I made a chart - boy-cub had the computer so I hand drew it. Despite the lack of high tech knitter fonts and knitter graph paper and laser printing - it works surprisingly well. and yet I am not surprised that I found myself modifying the 2nd repeat, I omitted the extra plain round as the diamonds come together, and the 3rd repeat had a slight adjustment to the knit and purls in the reverse stocking stitch fill so its neater when the stitches twist. Mental note to update the chart to match what I knitted last. If I do knit it again I'd work the central diamond into the toe section - just because I think it would look better.


I'm still dithering over which cardigan, but leaning towards Whisper. I do know it will be knit in Malabrigo Lace in Tortuga 118. Its soft and pretty and will go well with a summer dress I plan to make this weekend or next time depending.

This week I officially added two more books to my library, and old hard cover edition of Alice Starmore's book of Fair Isle Knitting courtesy of P - who brought it to knit night and said she didn't need it anymore and was interested in a sale! I know its been reprinted but this was a fair price for an old classic, and hardback. The other book is new, Pat Old is a spinning guru in New Zealand, one of the instigators of the Advanced Spinning group and a long time tutor of things spinning. Her book, In a Spin, has just been published and its great, with a lot of techniques that are not covered in other spinning texts, like colour blending options thru a diz, and dying roving with no mess and no felting in a plastic bag .. nice. Pat also explains why we spin differently here than in some parts of the world, especially in terms of fibre prep (or lack of prep) compared with the UK, its to do with different sheep breeds and farming conditions and the tools that were available to spinners to process fleece. Today I sucumed to the 1-click amazon purchase .. and bought We have never been modern by Bruno Latour. I need a copy to co-write an article with an art school person - and for various fair but awkward reasons the copy in our shared Polytechnic/uni library is only availble to me for 2 week loans at a time, so I have my own one now on its way to me. I've also got Seven and Ten on their way as well.

Which leaves me with my Dr Glam link, remember him from the show images? Well today the free local newspaper has an article on Dr Glam and his restored Fiat 850, restored by Kevin (would that be Ngairie's Kevin I wonder). I've owned 2 cars in my life, and co-owned 2 boring cars with Bear (a white Toyota Corolla and our current black Honda Civic). My own choice in cars was I think a little more interesting or perhaps I've grown up since then. The first car I ever owned was a 1963 Fiat 500 Nouva D(mine was deep red) with backwards doors (Bambina to the world but the year before they officially named it a Bambina - yes I'm tall, yes it was a laugh to unfold out of such a small car) - and the second was a 1971 Fiat 850 sport in dark blue just like the one above. Both had Abarth engines - which if you have any petrol-head tendencies at all will mean something. I loved the 850-sport but with a cub on the way and no real back seat it seemed sensible to sell it and share Bears car, which had somewhere for a baby seat to go. Today reading the full page article on Dr Glam and his restored fiat 850 sport (I restored mine to - had to it was a Fiat they don't last forever), I had a wee remembering moment of glory days when the car I chose could be more fun and not family transportation. Now its all spinning wheels - and I'm happy with the Honda -it fits a spinning wheel and neither fiat would have, and maybe that is how it should be. And here is a back view (not of my fiat sorry - my photos of my fiats are all pre digital) racy aye?


Take care
na Stella -

Bragging

Excuse me but I'm bragging - here is a link to the show photos of Saturdays show.
'my students' - well I share them with M, R, C and JH .. are the graduates,
so their work is on show in Part I and Part II - and there was a even a little big knitting!
check out the knitting in part I
Jeannie Macdonald's collection - Knitted Asphyxiation

and Brigid Steeper' - Hidden Absurdities

Oh - and Anna Holmes-Libbis's collection entitled 'Wham Glam and the Thankyou Mams' was costume for a local glam-rocker - Dr Glam who also moonlights as a lecturer in the Music dept of Otago University.

Others students work on show as well - Year 1 and year 2 (still waiting for photos to be posted)
All students working on their 3 year degree in Design(Fashion)

ok ... back of to work
sorry for bragging
Stella

ever noticed that when you ....

knit two socks at once, toe up .. they look a lot like pig ears? I have .. and I'm guessing that I'm not the only one. I had a question from AnneofBlueGables for a video showing the after-thought-heel in Mojo, I'm happy to work towards that one but it means knitting a new sock to demonstrate on, one with an afterthought heel. So I cast on a new sock for Poppy in a girly Regia

Every time I knit two socks at once on a single long circular I get to this point and look down and see .... ears, pigs ears, just do - don't you? Well this time seeing the pigs ears came right after Poppy was invited to a P-party, as in come as something beginning with P (not as in something more adult and illegal). Poppy - bless her little 7 year old naieve heart wants to go as a pig, and has spent considerable time collecting paraphanalia to make a pig mask with. I felt the need to knit her some piglet ears.

So I picked up my sock needles, 2.25mm, and cast on 18 stitches using Judy's magic cast on, increase every second round until there were 20 stitches, worked straight for 4 rounds and then decreased at each edge of the inside of the ear every second round 4 times. I then russian grafted the ear closed after juggling the stitches so I had half on the inside and half on the outside. Decreasing on the inside made each ear curve forward a little but left me with an unequal number of stitches on the inside and out side of the ear. I knit two of these, two at once .. and kept thinking this time not only did they look like little ears .. they would be little ears. then I cast on 10 stitches and knit a band long enough to wear as a head band using double knitting (k1, s1wyf) repeat to end of row, turn repeat. I used the tail yarn of each year to stitch each ear to the head band and voila!

Piglet!

The socks - well they were abandoned while I knit Piglet so they have not grown much. I'm playing with a slipped stitch pattern but I'm not convinced it is the best choice for this yarn. I'm only half a dozen rounds in so might just frog and do something lacy, Poppy has asked for 'holes like her pink socks' (Froot Loops), so I'll just wait and see what comes to mind.

Bears Gentleman's sock grew, and now it is done. I was lazy and didn't go and look up how the top of the sock was worked, I just decided to integrate 1x1 rib into the diamond purl pattern. I like the way it worked .. but started the rib a little early. Bear tried them on when I thought they were long enough and thought he might like them an inch or two longer .. so I've knit another inch of 1x1 rib and told them they were vintage style with extra long rib. From somewhere I have a notion that vintage style socks tended to have longer rib sections than many contemporary socks.


Works for me - I've still not gone and looked up the pattern photo for the sock .. might do that now. We had our student graduate show last night so it was a late night, Toby and I got home at midnight - late for a 10 year old, late for his mum :-)
Toby earned the right to go by working his little butt off during the day cleaning 600 chairs and parking goodie bags on them and cutting up programes and folding them into booklets. I am beginning to see the attraction of child labour. The show went well, one graduate designer mia until 30 minutes before their slot, one Glam Rock star featured in full Glam Rock kit (over Toby's head methinks), one broken zip safety pinned together at the last minute, one lost shoe on catwalk, and 800 happy parents, sponsors and supporters who bought tickets. lots of tired staff and students. I'll post links to photos once they are up - promise.
take care
na Stella

Playing with fibre ...

Its the weekend, well the end of the weekend and I've been playing with fibre, knitting and knitting and preparing for spinning. Today there is no baking - but there is a finished object all ready and waiting for baking, Bears new sock grows, and I've had my hackle out (why do I really feel that a hackle should be up not out?). Work looms - this week is one of those weeks, in that this is the week of the student shows and exhibitions - so there will be nights out and not a lot of knitting - but I know that and it is great to see the students come into their own and show their stuff publicly.


The knitters study group second to last workshop was yesterday, and I took my homework my 31 stitch by 31 ridge garter square all ready to work the hap shawl edging. Turns out its was just 3 rounds of pattern, feather and fan or old shale depending on your naming preferences, and 3 rows of garter between each pattern round. Which means that the edging worked up quickly, so quickly that I had it worked and nearly cast off by the time class was done, I finished the last few stitches to cast off at home .. so ta-da basket liner! In an ideal world there would be fresh muffins or bread baps in there .. but sadly not this weekend .. there are bhaji,and there were Sunday Pancakes, cookies, and other things cooked but nothing resembling buns, baps or muffins.

Bears sock grows, past the heel now and up the leg. Every time I convert a sock from top down to toe up I do the math ... that is work out for the number of stitches a good number to work the heel cup over, and the number of gusset stitches to increase by, and when to do that relative to the toe, and all that. These numbers have been fine tuned over the past 2 years as I have knit several socks for Bear and each time he has let me know if they were a tad tight over the instep or a tad long or short. This time I've made him a sock sole template, a tracing of his foot with all the critical distances marked, and the current favorite workings for the heel and gusset. The idea is that I can just pull this out and knit him a sock any time in this gauge, instead of going back thru my knitting workbooks looking up the numbers used in the last sock.

And today I've been working my way thru hackling 800g of Polwarth Gotland blended fiber, its a dark grey and soft and bouncy (that would be the Polwarth). 100g went of to A in a swap for a pattern, and the remaining 700g is coming along nicely. I've no real plans for this but its easier to hackle it before I store it away ... I'm still spinning the fractualed laceweight merino and the 4-ply polworth .. both will be a while longer on the wheel - especially if I'm not here much of the week.

I'm also thinking of a cardigan to cast on - but not sure if it should be a light weight summer one or a winter one in preparation for next winter. The lightweight one would be nice to have but the pressure would be on to knit it, whilst the winter on would be a slow project with a deadline so far awy the knit could be set aside as other things take my fancy.

take care - and I might even see you at the show or one of the exhbitions ? If not the students work will be on line after the weekend - or at least the highlights :-)
Stella

Sock

maybe that should be 'So'... or even 'S' for there is not enough to warrant the entire word 'Sock', there is only a little more than a toe. And there is a reason, to do with checking before starting. Today there is the new sock - or 's', and the two spinning projects in process, and wonderful gift/swap that M made.

Bears new sock, or 's', which is certainly Nancy Bushes Gentlemans sock with Lozenge pattern, not the Gentlemans fancy evening sock [sorry Rav link]. For reasons I can't explain, not even to myself, I wasn't drinking more than black tea (earl grey), not inhaling or partaking of mind altering substances, or even sleep deprived or hungry .. I spent one whole evening reverse engineering and then knitting the toe of the wrong sock. Let me repeat that knitting The Wrong Sock, as my eldest would say slowely da...da...da (music to indicate the scary music played in a spoof movie or cartoon to signal impending trouble). I had 3 pages of my knit note book devoted to reverse engineering a circular cast on start toe incorporating a 3 point star as the increases. What was I thinking? I have no idea but in truth I probably wasn't thinking at all, at least not thinking about what mattered I was caught up in the reverse engineering process. And no .. no photos but it was a nice toe feature, that 3 pointed star, and I suspect I will return to it in a more lucid and planned lucid moment entire evening.

Which brings me to Wednesday, blog day and only a half a sock foot to show, and a much more plainer and straightforward toe. I tried to convince myself that the 3 star toe would work - but no, design wise they were a mis-match. Judy's magic cast on, and there you go straight into the lozenge pattern just like that. Oh and the yarn tail from the toe? After a few rounds I bring the tail out thru the first and last stitch of the round so once the work in underway it becomes my round indicator. Stitch markers don't stay on magic loops so well as start|end of round markers.

I have been spinning .. attempting laceweight merino. I had this lovely merino top hand dyed by Lindy Chinnery in Lawrence (40 minutes up the motor way so sort of local). I have googled fractual spinning and have split the top into two lengthwise and one section into 6 lengthwise. This in theory will even out the colour changes over the length of the yarn and give a pleasant result. I've spun half already - how consistent I know not .. my trust in my ability is damaged this week .. but its probably realistic where spinning is concerned. I'm not a pro at this by any means but it is fun.

On the other wheel is more merino, again spun fine, but this time for a 4 ply. This is beautiful fibre from Fine Fibre Farms, combed and carded and gilled (probably not in that order), and beautiful. I have 130g of this in this grey/beige colour and 130g in white and thought something colour worked - hence the four ply. Four ply will give me the most even yarn - the more plys the more variation is reduced when they are plied together --- that is the theory, now for the practice.


Lastly is this broach, well a cable needle made by M [aka Tomlinl1 on Rav], she has wonderful sense, the little fern is cut from a New Zealand 1c coin, no longer legal currency. We have no coin smaller than a 10c now, so kids no longer get to agonise over 2 for 1c candy and things labeled $1.99 or $1.95 mean you don't get change when you buy them. Any way this is way too pretty to keep hidden in my knitting tool kit - so I decided it could do double duty as a broach .. on no less than my Tangled cardigan, I need to see if it works as well with Owls next. I can't remember what it was I did to deserve M's hand wrought gift, so I hope I have paid up already and if not she will remind me next time we knit.

take care
na Stella -

Chore (chôr, chr) n.

chore (chôr, chr) n.

1. Daily or routine domestic tasks, especially a farmer's routine morning and evening tasks, such as feeding livestock.
2. An unpleasant or burdensome task.
3. A routine or minor duty or task.
   All of this from The Free Dictionary.com
   

Yup chores, although when I googled chore thinking that I really should define the word to set the scene with a bit of precision I discovered that the definition didn't include 'things that ones parents insisted one did before one gets to have fun'. I've been doing chores. Some of them domestic, sweeping, moping, tidying, vacuuming, putting away. Some more physically demanding, digging over the spring garden ready for plants, and some knitting. Yes Knitting can be a chore sometimes. So today I'll spare you the mundrum details of the domestic chores and focus on the knitting, 2 knitting chores.



First is my Margaret Stove Baby Vest in her Artisan cobweb lace 2 ply merino, 325.0 yards (297.2m) in 20g - this stuff is fine, that would be 1400m in a 100g skein. I love the result, but I'm not sure any one who is not a knitter will truly appreciate it, and it was hard work. Not difficult, there was no frogging (thank goodness), but each and every stitch needed attention as the yarn was so fine my hands couldn't feel the tension change as my needles worked the stitch. But its done now, 18g of soft as soft can be whisper light cushy baby vest. Margaret Stove suggests 3 different ways to join the shoulder seams, grafting (I'm good but I'm not that good and I couldn't even thing of going there), three needle bind off (I suspected that might be a tight hard ridge in the cloud like knitting), and binding off and sewing. I decided to use the Russian graft(Fiona's version & mine) and it worked fantastically. Sorry forgot to photo graph that .. so you will just have to trust me that it worked well in the cobweb yarn.

The vest is 18g in total, so very very light.

I've got 6 grams left over - odd as it was a 20g ball and 18 plus 6=24. I am torn over the left overs, and think I will gift it to L - who I know plans to knit a whole wedding ring shawl in this - she bought several skeins. I do know that I am not in a hurry to knit more of this weight of yarn.

My other knitting chore is the homework/preparation for the next knitters study class. We are to work a mini hap shawl, so are to come with a garter square worked and stitches all picked up along the outside edge. I've worked mine in Anchor cotton, thinking that it might make a nice basket or bowl liner for muffins or scones. I'm unconvinced that the citrus colours will work, but blue seemed wrong with food and the only other cotton I had at hand was cream - not a good plan when most of our muffins are chocolate. Oh it would look good - but then be ruined by chocolate brown smears and stains.
Which leaves me ready for the last chore - Bears sock request. I've been looking forward to this, and now my other chores are done I can relax and cast on for a new sock. Socks - especially at the cast on end of the process don't seem like chores, even if requested by others. The sun is shining, the bears are happy, the back garden at least looks like some one cares a little bit for it - so I'm off to make a cuppa-tea and sit in the sun and knit.
may you have a chance to do the same
na Stella

.... and then

the knitter surveyed the WIP's .. and realized some sort of order was required. Its not that there is any particular disorder ... just a sense that there is a lot already underway, and the end of the academic year means students presenting and the show and marking and graduation... and lots to do. I've enough distractions without adding more. Today there is the sock request, and the wip project report, I realize not all knitting is fun, and a brief book review.


M asked in a comment on the last post is it really fair to knit socks in "Bear's Bunker" and then determine that they are not for Bear?! :)
Point made - Bears Bunker after all is a colour way named after Bear .. and those socks are not for him, so no it probably wasn't fair. My mother used to wonder out loud 'who had told me life was fair' - in truth probably right after I complained it wasn't. She was right .. life is life and its not always fair. But point made .. Bear missed out on the Bear's bunker socks. Little known fact is that Bear has is own sock yarn stash. Well one skein of sock yarn .. which is stash right? Bear was pointed at the sock knitting library and asked to pick a sock design. He did .. and after consultation has asked for The Gentlemens Sock by Nancy Bush, from Knitting Vintage Socks. So that is the next sock on the needles, I'll be knitting it toe up, the lozenge pattern is reversible so will easily work the 'other way up'.

My other active project is a Margaret Stove Lace Rib Baby vest - in cobweb. Nice pattern, nice soft white, easy to knit with a repeat of 4 rows, and 4 stitches. I'm at 13.5cm of 17 cm although the mother in me wants to knit it a little longer ... I had long babies and extra length seems a good idea.

I have a new respect for those who knit lace in cobweb yarns. This is a cobweb 2 ply, on 2.75mm needles and its knitting that required attention. The yarn is so fine I can't feel when I've scooped a strand to pull thru a loop, I can't feel when I've slid the needle in a loop, I'm careful of how I arrange the needles when I put my knitting aside least I snag one of the fine loose yarns that make up the lace knit fabric. End result is this despite its simple stitch pattern repeat .. its a knit that leaves me not as relaxed as other knitting. Cobweb yarn isn't soothing knitting - but it is fine, and soft and light and amazingly squooshy. This is product knitting - knitting for the outcome, to enjoy the result .. not knitting for the process of knitting.

And the book? I've been reading Joanne Turney's The Culture of Knitting. Recently released Sept 2009 - this is a book I read about earlier this year and put on Pre Order. I enjoyed reading it, I'm a knitter and I'd probably enjoy any book that talked intelligently about the knitting world I inhabit and know and participate in. I loved the chapter Knitting: A gendered Pursuit? or more precisely I loved the way in which Joanne described the cardigan, its rumoured development and history and then went on ...

.. Indeed, it is more formal than a sweater; a shirt and tie can be worn with a cardigan. therefore the cardigan is contradictory: a garment which is neither formal or casual, suited perhaps to those unable to fully conform or participate in either area. Indeed, in popular iconography the cardigan is utilized as the workwear of the 'hip' but relaxed college professor, aging in body and bohemian in mind, and the casual wear of the stuffy, overly formal man, for whom leisure represents a loss of control. The cardigan therefore becomes a sign of of the maintenance of one's ideals and standards in awkward situations, a sign of comfort where there is none. (Turney, 2009, p35)

I love that - and secretly I hoped the entire book was like that .. but no. It is a good book, an intelligent book (I think I said that already), but it is a book that glosses over all that knitting can be rather than a book that delves into the depths of what knitting is to knitters. It was, I realize, a difficult book to write .. for in any field the 'first' has to establish the scope, the area, the field of study and the approach has the most difficult path of all - Turney does this, and does it across a huge range of what knitting is. There are paragraphs that like the cardigan quote above make me laugh and want to share, ideas that capture an essence or way of seeing that feel 'right', but there are also chapters that feel shallow, of trying to introduce things that have not been described before and so the words must paint the whole picture alone, and yet to me, a knitter in amongst the knitting, those sections feel incomplete . There are sections where Turney made me think, to consider and to add new layers of understanding to my own knowledge of knitting culture and history. Her expression of knitting 'traditional designs' and how they can never be anything other than contemporary interpretations is perhaps a truth that we do know but don't articulate as often as we should. Should you buy this book, I don't know, if you are collecting around the idea of knitting and beyond pattern books, how to books and stitch dictionaries, yes consider at least reading it. I will return to it and reread it, and hope that in time there will be others along side it on my knitting book shelf so it stands supported and doesn't feel like it is thin in places.

I'm off to knit cobwebs now .. and yes the yarn feels as delicate as cobwebs
I have some spinning on the go .. and I might wind sock yarn into 50g cakes ..
and I'll sort the next book to read .. or finish, 1 down 25 to go ....

na Stella