knit...knit...frog

Enough - maybe , probably.

2012-01-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

I think I have enough yarn, I think I do, I think I do, I think I do. Do you think that if I repeat this mantra as I knit there will be enough? And sorry, seems I am having a flashback to the little train that could. Today I have progress of a good kind on the Rosebuddie blanket, the dress is nearly finished and I am loving the vintage details in its construction, there is an actual finished object with photos, and a new toy was loaned to me. Now I want one of my own.

Here is the 'first' corner on the Rosebuddie blanket. I say first in a slightly tongue in check way as I have knit the edging up to and around the corner once if not twice before on this very same blanket, so there have been corners before. Last time I realised I would finished the blanket with an enormous amount of yarn left over. At which point I frogged the edging and added a few more repeats of the next-to-last lace panel. I had weighed the yarn I had left just before I began the lace edge, and had 49g. I weighed the yarn again after I reached the first corner, and I had 38g left. Now to me that means a side takes 11 grams of yarn, and if I have three sides left to knit I will use 33g. The celebrations consisted of me sitting in my knitting chair, smiling to myself and checking and rechecking my maths just to make sure. Inside I was all happy and warm, even more so this morning when I layed out the corner for a photo and noticed how pretty it is.

Wednesday went well, I sewed the vintage dress pattern as planned. I made minor adjustments as my waist is not in the same place as the waist of the pattern, and oddly had to shorten the skirt as the hem was nearly to my ankles. That felt a bit frumpy so the hem now sits just below my knee. I loved the little construction details, like seam binding. In a recent Opp shop purchase I had found a wheel of vintage cream and orange floral seam binding so bought it for the princely sum of $4. The vintage pattern provided three options for neatening the seams, pinking, hand overcasting or seam binding. Seam binding isn't used here in New Zealand, or sold but as I had this to hand I decided to use it. I did practice some economies and over-lock the skirt seam allowances. I loved the effect of the seam binding so much I didn't want to use it all up in the one garment. I also like the weird mix of modern overlocking with vintage seam binding .... some historian somewhere will be very confused by that mix.

Because the dress was designed in a time when seam binding was common the instructions were written to allow very precise and neat finishing of the inside edges. I didn't quite know how this edge would work out but followed the instructions and I'm pleased I did. Look so neat, the way the seam binding fits together where the button fly at the front and the neck facing meet. There were also instructions for hand stitching a button hole, something I can do and have done, but this time I went for machine button holes, I wanted to wear this dress this month, and hand stitch button holes take forever to work.

This is one more project off the needles, Dark and Twisty. Little wristers in sock yarn, cabled and ribbed. Little cub has been wearing these most days, despite it still being summer and warm, so these should get a lot of wear come winter.

Now this is the toy that I was loaned, a wee darning aid. At first I didn't quite understand why this would be any better than darning by eye, and hand and using a mushroom or egg. But I love playing with knitting and sewing toys so I dug out a old knit swatch and pretended it had a hole in it.

Wow! I love this, I want one, I really do. I dont' darn, much or often or even like this but I want one of these. This little gadget make darning a very even square patch easy, I was impressed by the clever little hooks that lift and turn the warp so you can just slide the darning needle across instead of weaving up and down through all the threads. Now this darn breaks many of the rules given in old books, especially where they suggest staggering the edges so the darn blends in better, but I like it. I have all sorts of ideas about using this to decorate knit or not knit things. The back is neat and tidy to, but didn't photograph well. I imagine if there was a hole I could either neaten the edges by stitching them to the darn, or trim them away, or both.

Tomorrow the cubs go back to school and Bear and I both return to work, until now one or the other of us has been at home for childcare purposes. Tomorrow is the first standard week of the working year for all of us. That means today is all about making sure the cubs are clean, tidy, washed, and ready to go to school. There will also be baking as things are prepared for lunch boxes, and books are labeled, shoes polished, bags emptied of the fun holiday stuff and filled ready for school. Excuse me as I go and be a parent, instead of a Knitter.

na Stella

Messing about

2012-01-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

Seems like I have been messing about with lots of different things the past few days. Little cub has been invited to more birthdays, and like before these friends play the ukelele, and have seen her ukelele bag and the one we gifted to C ... so let it be known that they would love one of their own. Because it is never easy finding great gifts - Little cub and I decided Bella gets a bag ...

Bella

and Caitlin gets a bag as well. The plan was to make them different but not so different that they were hard to make. Like the others I traced around the ukelele and added seam allowance straight onto the denim. I ironed fusible web onto one side of some bright colourfull fabric left over from a previous project - I always keep good sized scraps. Then I cut out their names in letters then ironed the letters onto the front of the Uke bag. Then I zig zagged over the raw edges to finish them nicely. Little cub chose the colours, based around one friend liking green and the other friend liking purple .... the threads are left over from previous projects.

Caitlin

I also made significant progress on my Rosebuddie, I knit 3/4 of the way through chart, on addition to the complete repeat I had already worked. This left me with 49g of yarn - which I hope will be enough to complete the lace edge with. I've calculated how many stitches I have, and how many repeats that will allow me to knit around the edge, and adjusted the stitch count by two stitches to make things all match up nicely. This time I'm liking the way the eyelet boarder between the blanket body and the edge is working out -now that I'm p2tog rather than K2tog.

Rosebuddie, this time with nice eyelet lace edge

The vintage dress pattern I bought to make myself a dress has been opened, carefully unfolded, checked, and the instructions read through. Everything is there, and it is well used but nicely looked after. I Googled how to use vintage dress patterns, and was encouraged by the number of people out there blogging like this info. On Sunday morning, out buying Denim for Ukelele cases I found this lovely gold and chocolate floral at Global Fabrics and decided that I was brave enough to make it into a dress. My usual taste in clothes runs to darker and plainer, but I must have been feeling a tad risky. The print is a very stylized old gold floral, kind of arts and crafts tonal print. Still am it seems as I've cut out the dress and have it pinned awaiting basting for fitting. More recently the fabric I have bought with plans to sew specific things has just ended up in stash, this time I really want a new dress, especially after making 5 for little cub. I usually make my own patterns so toile rather than baste and fit. Subtle difference being that a toile is adjusted and discarded in the process of making the garment fit, and a basted fit is achieved by cutting the garment in the final fabric with checking for size and allowing for alterations before it is completed. I was in town today and saw a special on little pretty vintage style summer cardigans .... so thought I might head back to buy one to go with this latter in the week.

Rose gold and chocolate brown

The other project that made its way onto and then off the needles are these little chickens and eggs. The cubs both love them, the one with the blanket stitched wings is by little cub. She knit it in the round - her first magic loop knit project and a successful one. She had started one earlier that was knit flat, but lost interest, seeing then knit in the round was enough to make her dig out her knitting and ask me to show her how to make one. The chick pattern is adapted from Fuzzy thoughts, and the eggs from Frankie.

Chicken or egg?

I'm off work again for three days this time, and if my plans go well I will have all day Wednesday to test fit and complete the dress ... ready to wear to work. Tomorrow there is some serious play date-ing at my house followed by the Ukelele girls birthday party.

Take care - na Stella

Decison made

2012-01-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

I finally made a decision about completing or frogging the edge of Rosebuddie. In doing so I discovered that I really can't follow instructions sometimes, first I completely got the yarn requirements mucked up (I'm not sure how I did that), and second I made a chart reading error that changed the way the lace worked. Let me explain.
A few days ago I dug out the blanket and thought that I'd better finish knitting the edge up to the next corner. I had weighed the yarn remaining at the last corner, and by knitting to the next corner and weighing the yarn again I would be able to work out how much yarn the edging would consume. I'd been avoiding this project for at least a week, so the chart had become a distant memory. I looked at it with fresh eyes.

The little dot in the lower right corner of the K2tog square

As I looked at the chart I wondered why there was a little dot in the lower corner of the box with the k2tog symbol. As soon as I realised the dot was there I realised what the dot meant, the stitch was to be purled, not knit .... So I knit the next pattern repeat following the chart exactly, purling those two stitches together - just to see what would happen. I liked what happened, the connecting stitches between the blanket body and the blanket edge formed wee eyelets. When I p2tog rather than k2tog both sides of the eyelets were edged with little chains.
Bother, I liked the pairs of chains, so finally the decision was made. I was going to frog and completely reknit the boarder as charted, so undo the one and a half sides of border I had already knit.

P2tog = Chain, K2tog = bumpy mess.

At first I carefully slipped row at a time off the needle and frogged carefully back to the stitch that was edge stitch of the blanket body. That took forever, so I got brave and slipped 5 or 6 rows off the needle and pulled the border stitches free of the blanket body as I slipped the stitches on the needle.

Frogging the slow way

Then I realized that I could just pick up all the stitches along the edge, mostly as I had knit then rather than purled them so they sat at an odd angle and were easy to see. Then it was just a matter of raveling, frogging the lace border back to the second corner, at which point I weighed the yarn, then I frogged back to the first corner and weighed the yarn again. For this size blanket it takes 9 grams of yarn to knit the boarder on one edge, there are four edges, so 36gram required. And yes I know that the blanket will be larger if I knit more body repeats, so I will need more yarn to knit the edge - its all a guesstimate at the moment.

Frogging the quicker way

Here I am all ready to go, and at this point I checked the yarn requirements and discovered that I had read 1000-1650 yards as if it was meters. I didn't need 1000 meters, I only needed 914meters, I had 850m, so in effect had plenty of yarn, enough that dropping a needle size should save me the 65m I was missing.

Ready to go again.

So here I am, frogged and ready to go, the yarn broke so I now have two balls of yarn rather than one. No worries as chart D is a fairly dense lace so plenty of scope to weave in ends there.

Still thinking about it

2012-01-14T23:50:00.000-08:00

I'm still procrastinating,

28g is enough for a second wash cloth

So much so that I finished the wristers (sorry no photo yet) and the wash cloth. I tend to enter my project details in Ravely and one of the sub categories provides space to record how much of a skein was used, so I weighed the remaining yarn ready to enter the information. The washcloth used 23 g of the 50g of yarn, meaning I had 27 g left, More than enough for a second cloth. As I'm still procrastinating I started a second cloth, immediately, besides what else would I do with 27 grams of cotton linen yarn? I might be procrastinating about the blanket but I'm still knitting.

Two more knit journals

I've also been procrastinating by making more books, these two are knit journals, so have nice fountain pen friendly pages printed in a knit proportioned grid. The dark grey one is for me, and the animal print a gift. You might notice that the two books differ where the covers attach to the spine. I'm using 4mm thick board because I like nice stiff covers on my books, covers that don't bend. Good for knitting and working in ones lap, nice and stiff for writing on and sturdy enough to live in my knit bag. I'm working out how much extra needs to be allowed for the 'french-groove', that little ditch between the cover and the spine. There is a little bit of artistic choice here, how much larger than the pages the covers should be and how deep and wide the groove should be. Different cover materials also shrink with the glue and allowing 10mm might result in a narrow mean groove with one kind of paper and a wider more generous groove with a different paper. I think if I cut the covers 6mm larger than the pages, and allow twice the thickness of the cover board plus 6mm I might have the formulae right for the papers I'm using. The next one will be the test.

Tidied away

As part of the procrastination I tidied up my craft storage last week, and now have a drawer devoted to book and boxmaking.

Seven more book blocks

Inside I now have seven more book blocks. Book block is the term used to describe a set of pages sewn together ready to be covered. I'm coptic binding the book blocks but instead of coptic binding the covers in place I insert the book block into a hard covered case and paste the flyleaves in place. I like the way the coptic binding allows the book to stay open at each page, but also like the look of a book with a journal style cover with a square spine and french grooves. Some of these have plain pages, most have a knit grid. I'm planning most of these as gifts for birthdays that will occur during the year. Making the covers is the really fun part, so having seven book blocks ready is nice, a little bit like having bookmaking stash.

Vintage wooden darning mushroom with spring band

Today we drove the cubs up to Waimate so they can spend the week with my Dad. On the way back Bear and I stopped in Oamaru and had a look around a few antique shops, I found this neat wee darning mushroom in turned wood in one of the shops. There are no makers marks, and unusually this one has a little fitted clamp that will hold the fabric in place whilst it is darned. I am repeating to myself that I do not need to collect these, I'll just have a few interesting and nice ones.

1940/50 and perhaps 1960,

Then we headed to the south end of Oamaru where there is a Historic area, lots of Victorian themed cafes, galleries, craft shops and one shop 'Retro-Funk' that specialises in mid twentieth century items. Bear noticed there were patterns for sale, vintage ones. Little cub is wearing the four dresses I made using the last vintage pattern almost all the time, so we had to get this pattern for her. Little cub has been asking if the next dress could have a collar, and style does, is the same brand (Butterick) and is in the same size, so should be the same nice fit. The other pattern dates from at least 1950, or earlier going by two newspaper sheets that are tucked inside. The original owner has traced off the front of the dress and drafted a shawl collar on newspaper which is dated June 1951. I'm wondering if I'm brave enough to sew one of these vintage styles for me. I like the idea, they look pretty, and these two dresses look shapely and yet timeless. If I find the right fabric I could just try one, and see how that goes. First step should be to toile the pattern in calico to check the fit, so that might be my project for next week, unless something else distracts me. I'm back to work this week, but on leave again for much of next week before the cubs go back to school next month.

I think I'm ready to pick up the blanket and knit .... perhaps my procrastination stage is nearing its end? I'm off to dig the blanket out of the basket and see how I feel about it.
Hope my entry into work for the new year is gently, and that yours was the same.

na Stella

Dilemma

2012-01-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

As I'm knitting my way around the border of the Rosebuddie blanket I'm increasingly faced with a dilemma. I started knitting with the understanding that the pattern calls for 1000 - 1650 yards (914 - 1509 m) and I have 160g of 2 ply hand spun Perendale that is some where around 850m. So I selected needles one size smaller and knit the smallest size. There are a few places where this pattern can be increased, working some of the charts once, or twice, and in each case I chose to knit the charts once.

Rosebuddie corner

Now I find myself having knit the lace edge border along one edge with 71g of the original 160g left. I've started to knit the second side with plans to weigh the remaining yarn and see how much yarn a side takes. My feeling is that the border won't use over half the yarn, especially as it around 8 stitches wide. My Dilemma is do I finish or do I frog back to just before the border and add a second repeat of the last chart before the border. I suspect the yardage required has been rounded up to match that typical of skeins of yarn ... sometimes it would be nice to know how much yarn would remain once the item was knit - but then given I'm already modifiying this without first knitting it I really can't ask too much of the designer can I?

One side of edge done and 71g left

Once I realized that I may have grossly erred on the side of caution and might have considerable yarn left, and missed the chance to make a larger blanket ... well my enthusiasm for the project waned. Well not waned, but I began to get more enthusiastic about other things and less so about the knitting.

Procrastination via tidying up

One of my favorite procrastination tasks is to tidy up. Bear has been tidying up all week, the cubs rooms, the hall cupboards, both living spaces ... the garage ... all in preparation for painting the bathroom. I completely understand that, some jobs require the kind of commitment that one can only make when one has got ready, and for Bear and I that often results in a cleaning and tidy spree. This rather large chest of drawers is a Wellington. So called after Field Marshall Wellington, who had a chest like this made to carry all his 'stuff' when out on campaigns. There are two flaps that lock into place down each side and stop the drawers from opening when you move the chest around. Not that I could even think of moving this with drawers in it, it s made of Rimu, old Rimu so hard and solid and heavy, and is 1400mm wide, 700mm deep and chest high. This beautiful plain and serviceable chest which dates from the early twentieth century holds much of my craft 'stuff'. I avoided my knit-dilemma by sorting the contents of the drawers. I now have two drawers of bookbinding 'stuff', and a drawer of drawing 'stuff', and a drawer of stamping 'stuff', and the rest are devoted to materials for spinning and sewing and knitting. Before I had drawers of mixed 'stuff'. I've even added labels to the fronts so I can find particular 'stuff' without opening up each and every drawer to look for it. The tall wooden stand is my skein stand, where skeins are hung to dry.


CotLin washcloth in Garn

Another favorite procrastination trick is to knit on something else, knowing that I dug around in my knit project basket and found a washcloth to finish. This only took a 15 minutes and now its done and not longer a procrastination project.

Dark and twisty number two

So I dug around again and found another languishing project, the second of a pair of dark cabled wristers. I sometimes wonder if Knitters purposely have projects that are standing by just for when the main project is in need of a little separation time? I figure I have another night or two procrastination knitting, and maybe even some procrastination spinning or plying before I have to start a new procrastination project or deal with the second edge of lace and make a decision about frogging or having yarn left over.

So .... how has your week gone? Any procrastination in your life right now?
Na Stella

Not just knitting

2012-01-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

Hello, earlier today Bear asked me 'have you blogged recently?', I had to say not and explain that the things I had been doing and making were presents and I couldn't really blog them without giving the game away.Then I realised that while I have been busy making things that I really can't show here right now, I have been knitting - so I should blog - just a little bit, and that there were other things that I could blog as well. There is a blanket nearly finished, a mindless washcloth sort of project in a lovely orange cotton linen garn (yes garn not yarn), and bookbinding as I prepare myself to teach bookbinding at Unwind. Bear has been tidying up, in preparation for painting the bathroom and as part of that I've been tidying up in a craft way, making things nice so they can be used. There was also a crafty day last Monday, where K and N generously shared their stamping and scrapbooking materials, and tools and expertise ... where they both introduced me to ink and paper and colour and shape and ... Ok yes I knew about stuff like that already I was just avoiding adding a new hobby. As a result of that crafty day I may have added stamps, artist grade pencils and stamp pads to my stash .... what can I say, but that I am easily lead astray and K and N did an excellent job leading a few of us further astray than we imagined we could be.

Rosebuddie is nearly done, well as nearly done as having four of one hundred repeats of the edge lace done. I'm not sure if I'm like most knitters but once the end of a project is in sight I tend to focus on that project until it is done, something about being so close to done that it is quite exciting to see the work nearing completion. I had a wee moment when I misread the lace for the edging and repeated a [yo, k2] instead of just the [k2], which gave me an extra stitch, but once I'd sorted that out and amended my ways and knit the edge correctly there was no trouble at all with the stitch count. Funny how a single extra stitch can lead to all sorts of problems in a lace border.

My 'mindless' project right now is a washcloth, in Garn, a Danish yarn that is half cotton and half linen. I like this stuff and wish I could easily get more of it, the linen adds a little something to the cotton, so its not like knitting string and I know the linen will give this softenss and durability as it is used. The dusky orange isn't bad either.

My lino-cut frog stamp was used today, and appart from a little contamination or
dust somewhere it shouldn't be giving my frog a few warts (which frogs sometimes have) worked well. I may have to fine tune the shape of his hands and head, and body and tummy and ... well the whole of him but that is part of the process just like knitting. He (or she) is a frog in progress and will eventually have the words knit -knit - frog and maybe even a yarn type border to edge them. I suspect my imagination runs ahead of my ability but without such goals then I'd never do anything. The pages sitting behind the frog are printed with a knit graph, in proportion to the width and height of a knit stitch - so ideal for recording knit projects.

The frog stamp may or may not be in this ... a knit journal that is covered in blank brown paper all ready to be customized. And yes - it really is covered in brown paper, the old fashioned parcel wrapping kind. Part of me wants to add string and a tag ... but I've leave that to whomever ends up with the journal to do if they want.

One of the traditional gifts around here at Christmas is a tin of biscuits, in my childhood there was only one kind, a Sampler. A sampler tin had a wee stack of about 20 different biscuits, some chocolate coated, some with creme fillings and my personal favorite those candy pink creme filled wafers. About 20 years ago the tins seemed to change and were filled with an assortment of Danish biscuts, no cream fillings but lots of little buttery short biscuits in nice shapes sprinkled with sugar. Now-a-days (gosh I'm feeling old with words like now-a-days) the tins seemed to be themed, with the advertising critter of choice, in this case Cookie Bear. Now I like tins, and boxes, there is something nice about having tins and boxes to tidy things away into and keep things safe in and that fit little collections of tools and materials that are useful. This tin was a good size, slightly smaller than A4 and about 6 cm deep ... but Cookie bear had to go, I'm sorry he is cute but isn't really the style of tin I wanted to use.

So I found some frog wrapping paper, white pva glue, craft knife, and spent a few hours transforming the tin into one I could live with. A few layers of water based sealant and look, a tin I'm happy to use. I even covered the 'nutritional information' printed on the base of the tin with brown paper. I learned a few things, like trimming paper whilst it is still wet with glue is not a good idea, and not to panic if bubbles form as they disappear as the glue dries. And that like decoupage - with a few applications of a clear sealant all sort of little rough bits are smoothed away.

Don't worry, I'm still a Knitter, and not likely to stop any time soon, the things here are things that enhanced the knitting, not replace it.

take care ... back soon, with knitting, promise.

na Stella

Hello 2012

2011-12-31T15:42:00.000-08:00

A new year, new post, and new projects. Its 2012, and has been for some 12 hours - and in the spirit of things new we spent yesterday tidying up ready for the new year. Of course I know that the whole date thing is an arbitrary notion which helps humans to structure their lives and one 'day' is no more significant than another day, but there is something about a new year. I'm not one for New Years resolutions, that was a tradition that wasn't practiced in my family, New Years resolutions were some sort of a comedy that was enacted every year on tv, and in print as people told stories of how they tried to reform and change and how doing so was not as easy as it should be. So for us, New Year continues with catching up with family and friends, people that are important to us for a variety of reasons. In doing so we have opportunity to acknowledge the truly important things in our lives, each other, good friends, our good fortune in terms of health and economics that we live in a place where living is good. Good is of course relative, for us that means we have reasonable health, access to good reliable care should something go wrong, enough to eat, educational opportunities, freedom of association, access to communication, and time to partake in the things that we find relaxing and enjoyable.

For me that includes knitting, this year there were 28 knitted projects (filed under 2011 in my Ravelry projects tab), eight pairs of socks, two and a bit hats, four blankets, three washcloths, five hot water covers, 3 or so pairs of wristers, a linen basket liner, mittens, and I learned to make books and felt room-shoes. I contributed 3 articles to Entangled, a review or two to Context, and taught at KAN and Handmade . And as fits a knitter with time away from work - I cast on for new projects so the year would end with things on the needles.

Rosebuddie - Chart D starts

Deciduous Lace Shawl

Christmas Day I cast on a new baby blanket, Rosebuddie by Anne Hanson. I'm living dangerously with this one, as the pattern calls for 1000 - 1650 yards (914 - 1509 m) and I have 160g of 2 ply hand spun Perendale that is some where around 850m. I've compensated a little by knitting the smaller size, so fewer repeats of some of the lace charts, and by using slightly smaller needles. 3.25mm rather than 3.5mm. My plan is to put in a life line once I am about to start the edge lace and then find a compatible yarn to use for the border if I don't have enough of this to finish.

There was another project cast on shortly after Christmas, Deciduous Lace shawl by Evelyn Clark. I'm a 'newish' lace knitter, and so I tossed up between knitting E Clarks Deciduous and her Icelandic Poppy Lace. Deciduous won as it is the simpler of the two lace patterns, repeating over only four rows and with the even numbered rows knit plain. The yarn is a local one, Touch yarns 2 ply Lace weight with Mohair, dyed a deep brown green. So far so good but I have to pay attention to this one as I knit it .... the yarn is so fine and the lace so small.

Frogging ....

Then because I wasn't working and we had some time at home, I played. I've been admiring the decorative devices that some bookbinders use to identify their books, and I've been admiring the rustic wood-cut inspired stamps that are used by some craftspeople. After a while of admiring - there comes a time when I get tempted to try for myself. So I tried to carve a frog ..... in lino. My modest goal is to come up with something I'd be happy to print as a 'signature' as a frontispiece in the books I bind. The other family members are also playing, Bear is working in the garage, Elder cub is modeling planes, and younger cub is knitting a doll.

Take care - I hope that the new year is rewarding, and fun and has as little stress as it can, and that there is time and energy for hand knitting and what ever interests appeal.

all the best for 2012
na Stella

Owls!

2011-12-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

Boxing day here, the day after Christmas day. I was always told that boxing day was the day that wealthy Victorians went about passing on the food and other left overs to those less fortunate than themselves. I've also heard tell of Boxing day sales, particularly in the UK, where shoppers almost lost all reason in their haste to purchase heavily discounted items, particularly clothing and accessories. Here Boxing day is usually quiet, often is is an invite somewhere, and there are left overs, and of course the cubs (and adult bears) want to play with their new toys. In short mostly Boxing day is a mop up from Christmas day, eating the left overs, and finishing up Christmas things. Today - the washing machine threw us a curve ball .... yesterday after Christmas dinner I popped the table cloth which Bears Mum had embroidered into the washing machine .... thinking it best to clean it before any food had a chance to settle and stain. Last night I pulled the damp table cloth out of the machine and hung it over the side of the machine ready to hang up this morning. This morning Bear went out to hang the table cloth on the washing line while I made breakfast coffee. Bear returned reporting that the table cloth was covered in brown 'mud' and that the washing machine had more 'mud' all over the inside. Long story - short, appears this washing machine has a filter, deep inside the agitator that we were unaware of .. and the filter was completely filled with years of wet lint. Filled the the point it was washing out of the filter and back into the wash, and it was mud coloured and ... ewwwh! So our boxing day went in a mess of cleaning up the mess, including dropping a cloth between the agitator and the wall of the machine and fears of needing a repair visit to retrieve it. Luckily Bear is the sort of person who just works away quietly at things and he hauled the washing machine out and cleaned in behind and under and in the process the cloth fell out the bottom ...... What was boxing day like for you? Was it better than mine?

1950's style petticoat

The last two days of the 'before' Christmas week littlest cub and I sewed another dress and a petticoat. With each of the dresses she has asked if the skirt could 'pouff out', and inspired by rumors of a 1950's petticoat for sale at a local second hand shop (we went but it was sold), I searched out instructions and made one. I bought the bridal tulle and the bias binding, and already had the material for the top and the elastic. So far little cub has worn it every day and with every skirt and dress she has. I suspect that she will ask for another one, as I let slip that I'd read that girls in the 1950's sometimes wore more than one to make their skirts extra full. The dress is just like the pink one, but in blue plaid ....

Unravelled by Carrik, of Central Otago, NZ

Did you know that there is wine made for knitters? This is one that Bear brought home for us, Unravelled by Carrick, one of the Central Otago wineries. I've not tried it but Bear is good at reading and remembering wine reviews .. so it should be tasty. Carrick say 'The name is a play on our Carrick Bend Knot and represents a marketing decision to produce a very reasonably priced uncomplicated, upfront ("unravelled!"), enjoyable wine, with recognizable black cherry fruit and ready to drink now'... I like to think that its fibre rlated and I'm happy to connect the two together in my own mind.

Owls, tatted and silver

Christmas brought other fibre things, these amazingly cute tatted owl earrings, from Suzanne, who is making the most amazing snowflakes right now. the larger sterling, Garnet and marcasite Owl was from Bear and is delightful, officially a broach I've temporarily hung it on a chain so I can wear it in warm weather. With temperatures in the tee-shirt, light dress and sandal range I'm just not wearing things which will support a heavy broach right now - and I'm not prepared to wait until winter.

Rosebuddie starts

The little cubs with a bit of guidance from Bear gifted me chocolate and some patterns, Rosebuddie by Anne Hanson, Deciduous and Icelandic Poppy by Evelyn Clark. I finished the KAL socks Christmas eve so was all set to start something new ... and Rosebuddie is now on the needles. I'm using fingering weight hand spun Perendale, and I love how the colour changes in handspun are so different to the colour changes in mill or hand dyed yarns.

and this is Yoyo doing her new 'thing', Cat-in-a-bowl'. Most days we come across her either curled up in the bowl or sitting and surveying her domain. She curls up in the larger bowl, and sits in the smaller of the two .. we have no idea why. Bear suggest that maybe she has no idea why either. This behavior is new as far as we know, traditionally Yoyo relaxed on the front stairs or under the foliage around the garden .. the use of terracotta bowls is new. I suspect that these warm up in the sun and she has discovered they are soft, slightly elevated so dry and warm as toast. This has the whole family calling out 'Cat-in-a-bowl' whenever we spot her ... and stopping to look.

Cat in a bowl?

So - boxing day continues, the washing machine is back and washing, its Spin night tonight, and we are off to the Waimate Rodeo tomorrow so an early start.

take care
Stella

So if we are talking about foot size.

2011-12-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Youger cub has the smallest feet, then mine, then Bear slightly wider and longer than mine, and then elder cubs are longer again than any one else in this house. Then two of you tell me that Granddads feet are bigger than elder cubs? Really?
So if the KAL socks fit Bear .. they won't fit Granddad?
Really?
Bother.

Bear - do you want another pair of socks? Oh you do? You like these ones and have been admiring them? Oh good, they are yours then.

Slip stitch heel pad and heel flap

So when I made the socks I made them larger for me, which always works for Bear, I kind of knew that my Dads feet were bigger, but thought that they were bigger in the way that Bears feet are bigger than mine. Socks that fit me - fit bear .. but now I learn that Granddad has much larger feet, large enough to require a more generous sock. I could frog and rework the sock, but instead I'm switching who this is for. Sock number one is done, finished, the ends woven in and everything. The heel worked out beautifully, if the other one didn't need to match I'd play with starting the slip stitches under the heel in a 'V' pattern. Even better the heel flap seems nice and generous.

Slip stitch pattern transitioning into 3x3 rib

The slip stitch pattern is still subtle, or almost invisible depending on how you see these things. When worn and from further away I'd like to think the pattern was more obvious. I'm wondering if I used a more solid colour yarn if the pattern would show up more? I am not sure if the variation in this yarn is camouflaging or enhancing the slip stitches. If enhancing - then in a more solid yarn the effect would be even more subtle. I did try and work the slip stitch pattern into the ribbing, and I chose a 3x3 rib to work with the 6 stitch repeat of the leg pattern.

Blue felted room shoes with leather sole

The two pairs of felted slippers now have soles (Thanks M!), my pair I stitched on using a slayed blanket stitch. Knowing that I really don't like to repair things, especially things once they are worn and dirty from scuffing around on the floor I stitched the soles on twice. First with a row of back stitches through the holes in the soles, then second with a row of blanket stitches. I figure that if one yarn wears thin and breaks that would still leave a second yarn holding the sole in place.

My first felted slippers, soled and ready to wear.

Bears were stitched first, and on his I worked a standard blanket stitch, and then a round of back stitching. Of course it is summer here and most of the time we are both barefoot or just padding around in socks inside the house .... but come winter and we are ready.

We are also ready for Christmas, the last of the post was sent out today, the sun is shinning so I'm able to keep laundry in check so it doesn't pile up. Elder cub is off earning money with his first paid job (car washing for a work colleague), younger cub is surprisingly calm about the whole idea that Christmas is 3 days away. Bear has two more days at work .. and they are keeping him busy with lots of last minute deadlines. His present arrived today while he was at work so I've examined it, and wrapped it and hidden it ready for Sunday*. I might go and sort something easy for dinner (Indian crumb chicken with onion bhaji) and then knit some .......on that sock for Bear ....

take care
Stella

* A fountain pen, new, Sailor 1911 mid size Maroon, with a lovely 21kt M nib and a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo Night Sky blue Ink. I do hope he shares the ink, I've read about the Pilot Iroshizuku inks and they seem like one of the luxurys of the fountain pen world.

Then again, maybe its about making not the finishing?

2011-12-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

Last post was about socks for Christmas, about how I thought I could finish a pair that was only a quarter done. By all rights this post should be proudly showing a finished sock and its pair well under way. But that is not the content of this post, instead there is pretty much the same sock with minor modifications at pretty much the same stage. What happened was that I made a mistake, I had the yarn in one 100g cake, and after I turned the heel on the first sock I wondered how much was left. I pulled out my little mini-digital scales and weighted the remaining yarn. Forty six grams (46g) which was less than half the yarn used and still one and a half socks to knit. I knew I was knitting a large sock .....but was shocked to find I'd used more than half the yarn on one quarter of the sock, so I frogged the sock back to the beginning and weighted the entire cake of yarn - to find the scales said 76g! Now I knew something wasn't right as it was a 100g skein of yarn so should be a 100g cake of yarn. I transferred the yarn to the scales in the kitchen - 103g, now that was more like it. Then I noticed a wee odd symbol on the small scales, and they were not at zero but sat at 34g when empty. Doh! I found I had frogged the sock thinking I had used more yarn than I should because the scales mislead me.

Still, I decided that since I was about to cast on and reknit then I could improve the pattern. I modified the slip stitch pattern a little - making it more dramatic, and managed to integrate the pattern even more into the toe shaping. From what I learned in knitting Mark I, I was able to tweak the pattern for Mark II so the heel was worked over an odd number of stitches and the heel slip stitch pattern was able to be symmetrical. I even tried starting the slip stitch pattern when half the the gusset increases were done, so that there was reinforcement under the heel. That may have been my undoing as slip stitches are shorter than plain knitting.

This was all going well until yesterday morning, when I asked Bear to try the sock on and check it fitted. Well it fitted but the heel was misplaced by 2-3 cm so the heel turn sat under his heel not at the end of his heel. I realized that would be the slip stitches shortening the sole. Bother! I thought about the solution for most of the day as I got on with family things - and three possibilities came to me:

The sock fit me, so I could just continue to knit and call it mine, after all Grandad would never know about the sock he didn't get, and I could knit him one for his birthday in April.
I could frog the sock, at least back to where the gusset shaping started and add in an extra few centimeters of length to the sole.
I could park the project completely and knit something else until I wanted to return to knit this sock.

Now solution number one appealed but really at this stage I realized that I wanted to work out how to make this sock work more than I wanted to finish this pair of socks. Solution number three didn't appeal at all, because I knew if I parked the sock I would return to it at some distant time in the future and I would have forgotten all the little details that I would need to develop it as a working pattern. I make notes - but sometimes there are things do not seem important enough to write down but which are considered in desiging.

That left me with solution two, frogging back to before the gusset increases and adding extra length. Given that the gusset increases and heel were worked in only one night of trash tv, and there was bound to be more trash tv that seemed the best solution. So this is where I am now, knitting the slip stitched heel for the third time, and nearing the end of the heel flap. At this moment I'm not sure if these will be for my Grandad as Bear is eying them up enviously, he has been ever since he tried them on. The socks have stopped being for Granddad(my dad- the cubs granddad) for Christmas and are now about me solving the problem of shaping a heel with slip stitches under the heel and a heel flap that is as tall as that on a conventional top down sock.

I've also been playing with blotting paper, those who are 'into' fountain pens and ink will know that blotting paper is useful, for quickly drying inky words so they can be slipped into envelopes or the notebook shut without smearing. I covert some of the tools of the scrap-booker, the beautiful papers and stamps and ink-pads in amazing colours. I especially covert the embossing equipment .. so much so that I splurged on a few templates. Not being into scrap-booking I didn't understand the difference between the single layer metal and plastic templates that one embosses with a stylis and the embossing folders that one passes through an embossing machine. I bought two embossing 'folders' on-line, and then had to find some way of using them, once they arrived it was clear both were more work than one would want to work at with a stylis and being clear both were hard to see on a light-box. After a wee bit of experimenting I've found that a rolling pin, the kitchen type, is a fair substitute if you have the folders and no machine, so I've been making decorative blotting paper to tuck into my notebooks and into the Christmas cards of those who are into fountain pens.

This is the cutsey owl using a Cuttlebug folder, and

a more grown up style 'Alfreds birds' by Craft Concepts. And I'm not the only one who has discovered that rolling pins are a economical substitute for specialized equipment. I'm not sure how many sheets of blotting paper one needs, but cutting up an A3 sheet into smaller sections and embossing them was rather fun .. and completely put me in the holiday relaxed mode.

take care
Stella

Just one more

2011-12-13T19:56:00.000-08:00

pair of socks to complete before Christmas. Today is the 14th and Christmas is a mere 11 days away. Really I'm not sure if the last pair will be complete by the official day or not. I hope so but will not stress if it is not. That there is only one pair to complete before christmas means that the Old school socks are done and put aside with the other gifts.

Here they are, in all their ruffled glory. Technical details, 54 grams used, which means 46 grams left, enough for a second pair without the ruffle maybe. Needles were signature 2.25mm dpns (lovely to use), pattern was made up, and is to be written up soon for sharing. Sized to fit a UK size 3 foot which is what younger cub has right now. Destined to be work with black mary-janes and a wedge-wood blue print floral dress (that is yet to be made). Or anything else that is cute and clean.

The final pair of socks for 2011, of the seven knitted this year, is KAL aka Keith A... L.... In the last few socks I have knit I have been developing some guidelines for my own use. Things that I always seem to be working out from other patterns and from first principles. Things that I feel I should 'know' or have an opinion on. Things like where the gusset increases should start on a toe up sock. What I have found is that every sock designer has their own placement and proportions - some of which don't feel 'right' on my feet or the socks I knit. When I was knitting top down socks the heel flap was worked over half the sock stitches, and the gusset was formed from stitches picked up from the slipped stitches along the edge of the heel flap. Because the heel flap seemed to be worked as as square or to a length that equaled the width the number of gusset stitches seemed to be 1/4 the count of the sock. Many toe up pattern work with a gusset that is much smaller than the top down patterns I started with. I've been playing with where to start the gusset shaping as a proportion of the foot if I want the gusset to be 1/4 of the sock count. Having such a deep gusset will let me have a long heel flap - which is what I'd like to achieve in the socks I work to my own patterns. I'm not saying the socks that I knit that others design don't fit - they do, I'm just saying I want a longer heel flap. I've not yet discovered the proportion for the gusset to sole length that will give me the heel flap I want, but I have worked out how to wrap the slip stitches of the heel around the sole of the foot. I'll work the pair the same way as this one ... but in the next pair I aim to extend the slip stitches further along the sole.

This is not a new idea or unique to me, way back in 2008 I knit Cat Bordhi's Batholomew and in that sock the slip stitches continued under the heel. The idea that slip stitches create a double layer of knit fabric and the result is the slip stitched area is more durable appeals, and why should that stop at the base of the heel? Bartholomew was was knit top down so continuing the slip stitches round the curve seemed a natural thing to do as it was worked. Now I think I've worked out how to start slip stitches from under the heel ... and I'll test my method in the second of the pair just to check. This kind of discovery and problem solving is quite exciting and I only had to frog back and rework the heel cup turn-ey bit once!

Take care - only 2.5 more work days before I'm on leave/holiday :D
Just knowing that makes me smile, and yet I'm still pleased at how well the preparation for 2012 teaching is coming along at work.

na Stella

Room shoes

2011-12-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended a 'room-shoe' workshop. There was a workshop earlier in the year but with one thing and another I wasn't able to sign up. This workshop was at short notice ... and coincided with elder cub hosting a sleepover for 5 friends .... so we negotiated. The sleepover had to start once I had returned from the workshop. I'm not sure elder cub agreed but he understood that if he wanted a sleep over - those were the terms. Turns out that he is a good host, he diligently made sure all his guests had sleeping bags and pillows and knew where the amenities were, and he played host all night refreshing drinks, organizing snacks, and suggesting entertainments. That is a side of him that neither Bear or I had seen before and one we are impressed by.

But Room-shoes, these were made for Bear at the workshop. They started life as 50 grams of grey polworth and 70g of purple polworth fibre. Machiko talked us through the felting properties of various fibres - and Polworth appealed as it felts into a smooth dense surface. In her 'other lives' (and like all interesting people she has several) Machiko lectures product design and makes the the sort of jewellery that I want to buy whenever I see it. Machiko provided all the materials for the room-shoes, and template for making baby shoes right up to large Bear sized ones. I chose to make the larger size of the sizes on offer, as Bear has bigger paws than I, and in the class was a little worried that I had not felted them enough t fit Bear. Once home Bear tried these one and they fitted just right - how cool is that?

I blanket stitched around the opening tightly with sock yarn to reinforce the edge and stop it stretching. The largest sharpest needles I had on hand were bookbinding ones and they worked well for this.

Today I decided that the best way not to forget how to make room shoes was to make another pair, so I did. Once the extra boys had been returned to their respective families. Perendale in apple green on the inside and Gotland bright blue on the outside.

I've trimmed the opening, but not yet bound it. I like the idea of binding this with fabric but probably will just blanket stitch with sock yarn like the first pair. Because this pair were for me - I adapted the template a little, cut it narrower and shorter.

Both fibres felted beautifully, and now they have to dry. The weather is windy and threatening to change, so that may just happen inside near a heater tonight. The plan is to finish both pairs with leather on the soles so they are durable. Even just wearing felted shoes inside is enough to wear the soles thin - so it makes sense to add a more durable layer.

One of the best things is there is only a teeny tinny bit of left over felt once the foot opening is trimmed. I brought the scraps home from the workshop and put them in the compost, and will do the same with these scraps .... I won't be able to do that with the leather scraps, as leather is pretty durable stuff and not the best thing to add to a compost. I like this method of making slippers or Room-shoes, its physical but only takes a few hours, far less involved than knitted clogs.

Meanwhile younger cub has already requested a pair, and Bear has seconded that she could have a pair and even gone so far as to suggest they be in purple .... so it sounds like there may be a few more pairs made over the summer holidays .. if only we can find a source of leather for the soles. ...

take care
na Stella

Sock and sock, or part sock and part sock.

2011-12-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

Today there is a quick post, one and a half weeks left of work before the 'long holiday. Today had an extra treat at work because Allison Goodrum was in town, and had arranged a visit to see the fashion school. I went all groupie and asked her to sign my copy of National Fabric, which she did, apparently never have been asked before (or so she said). I have a sneaky suspicion that academics are thought to be above such things, taking copies of books to be signed ... but hey, if some one is able to put together a book that I want to read, and think has value, then why not ask. After all I've asked Annemor , and I know people ask the Yarn Harlot.

I've been knitting away at the last minute sock, with good progress. Look! I'm up to the gusset and might even make a heel tonight.

On KAL the slip -stitch pattern is working but is very subtle, more subtle than I expected. So subtle that I felt the need to highlight the slipped stitches so you could all understand what I hope the pattern looks like. In this image there are three columns of chains created by slip stitches, the one to the left is highlighted, and the others playing hide-and-seek. I'm trying to work the bars behind the slip stitches tightly to dramatize the effect a little more, but as this is superwash it may all even out in the wash. My hope is that this effect is subtle enough to not scare a conservative man, and that with wear and washing the slip stitches might tighten and the chain pattern show up more as time goes by. There were a few other reasons to work this slip stitch pattern, first I liked the effect on a previous pair of socks, and perhaps most of all I wanted something that was interesting to work. Plain stocking stitch is fast but so-boring.

Because I've been busy on the KAL socks, and enjoying the subtlety of the slip stitches I've been ignoring the other project. Some small progress has been made ... but I am not yet working the heel, perhaps I can work them both at the same time?

The other thing that is on my mind right now is a semi anxious wait as I check the mail box each day to see if one of the younger cubs Christmas presents has arrived. An ebay purchase of a sparkly mid 1980's marbled-pink fountain pen, quite inexpensive and just her style right now ...... you know it is almost as exciting to wait for things for other people as for oneself! Today a fabric rep called in to show his wares and those of us teaching 'practical' subjects had the fun of choosing fabric for the next years classes. Amongst all of that I found a pretty blue floral that I 'had' to order 2 meters of to make a new summer dress for younger cub. I must be getting old and forgetful as I ordered two lengths of fabric but can't remember what the other one is at all, I know it is pretty and 100% woven cotton, - so hope I will be pleasantly surprised when it arrives in a few weeks.

Still haven't used the fabric I bought the last time he visited ....... so many fun things to do, so little time to fit them all in.

And if are into knit-geeky things like darning and mending and you don't follow Kate Davies blog, or do and have not caught up with her Worn post I do recommend a visit, I'm almost embarrassed to say that I've only just read that post. I tend to 'save' Kates posts for when I have time to savor them.

Stella

KAL

2011-12-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

usually KAL means Knit along ... but in my family KAL is the initials of my Dad. Yesterday with only 22 days until Christmas I cast on a pair of socks for him. Our family takes Christmas quietly, there are traditions amongst us around gifts, for my dad we search high and low until we find a vintage tractor calender, and usually we add a generous gift card at a supermarket or hardware shop. This year I was knitting socks for both cubs and decided that my dad, their grandad probably needed a pair as well. The impetus was finishing the Bigger on the inside socks. So today there is the finished socks, the the socks that are one-point-four done, and new socks. With three socks discussed in this post today is indeed a sock day.

Bigger on the inside, all done, and on the lawn. This many daisies worries Bear, right now he is mowing the lawn. Details, Pattern worked toe up based on the cuff down Tardis Socks tribute pattern by Ellen Botilda, 2.25mm needle, circular, yarn a custom one off from Vintage Purls. Yarn left over = 11grams, Sock sized up to 72 stitches, as that cub has large paws. Interesting detail - I worked the gusset in one by one rib, which may be something I do again.

You can just see the lines in the gusset that the rib creates, to get the lines running this way I placed the increases on the sole edge of the gusset. This was the bit that I frogged and reworked - just to get these ribs all neat and tidy - and they sort of work well with the slip stitched heel flap.

The Old school socks are making good progress, up to the gusset already. Once the heel is done on these - there is very little left to do as they are quite short. There is only one thing I would change if I was to work these again, so somehow integrate the pattern into the toe shape more --- I'm growing dissatisfied with socks where the pattern just starts once the toe is worked but haven't yet sorted out what my approach will be to integrating the sock instep pattern with the toe. Which leads me to ....

.... the KAL sock, here I've tried to work the sock decoration inside the toe - in a very simple way. This yarn came with a sock club in 2009, Vintage Purls, and was intended for the sock design Mandorla. It was the most 'grandady' of the yarns I had in my sock drawer that I was willing to sacrifice for some one else. That sounds mean - but there is a lot of pale blue grey, and blue, and pink in there that wouldn't be appreciated by Grandad as much as by me. Selecting this yarn did make me aware that I should widen my colour selection if only to have yarns I want to use for other peoples socks. Pattern is one I made up, slip stitches in columns with a 'chain' or 'square' of slip stitchs every 9th and 11th rounds.So far so good and knitting up fast so promises to be done by Christmas - or perhaps it can be a New Year sock?

Take care, life here has finally returned to normal, the mad rush of ballet practices and concerts is done. There are no more weekend classes - although I do have a promise to older cub that once ballet was done he could have sleep over for 5 friends, so there is that still to survive. there are only two more weeks of work, and school before the long summer holidays begin... and that feels timely and nice.

na Stella

Nearly the right size!

2011-11-29T23:11:00.000-08:00

Hello
Short post today, things are busy - in a good way, not too busy to post but there is not a lot of knitting or other 'things' to post ... so short post.

First up - Bigger on the inside socks are nearly done. Elder cub is away at camp and with no need to keep the Tardis inspired colour work around the top out of his sight I've been able to knit and knit and knit. these should be almost done tonight. Wednesday night is trash tv night here, Big Bang Theory followed by the Borgias, both showcasing opposite extremes of behavior in an odd way. Two hours of trash tv should get me well into the ribbing.

Second up is I've a new article out, in Entangled (I'd link to the contents page - but I can't find it - sometimes I'm hopeless that way). I'm feeling all starstruck as in this issue I'm rubbing pages with some of the fibre worlds superstars like Jacey Boggs has a regular column (Well done GrannyG - Editor of the stars !) Expert weaver Margo Selby explains her progress from new graduate to commercially viable hand weaver and designer- and I love reading how she came to terms with making her work affordable without loosing the craft designer. Then there is some hand knit fashion talk, Joanna Davies (Knit forward Fashion Back) - explores how hand knits work in the fashion world. There is even an article on Tatting - a craft that I have dabbled in and one that I think is overlooked by many but possibly more portable and creative than knitting and crochet combined. My article is titled Impoverished Craft, and I've tried to explore the relationship of scale in crafting.

so thats me ...
back in the weekend, two more nights of ballet rehearsals (4pm to 7pm for the nine year old) and then the show proper Friday night and Saturday - Sunday we might all need a relaxing sleep in and and brunch out some where nice and relaxing.

take care
Stella

Not just knitting

2011-11-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

Hello, during the week Bear went digital, this is a man with a Nikon F5 film camera and previously no wish to use a digital camera at all. Digital is something I've encouraged, seeing my photos as I make them allows me to make better photos. I can't imagine waiting weeks for a film to be finished and then printed, but Bear is old school - and that is cool. The result of Bear deciding to try digital was my lovely Panisonic Lumix camera went out on a site visit with him and wasn't here for me to use - no mid week photos means no midweek post. Not that there was much here to blog, a sock is growing, I've plied two skeins (no photos sorry), and today I made a bag. The bag was a project that started out as a repair and before I knew it there was a new bag in the making. I'm working away developing a 'teachable' book for November continues to keep me busy - but the end is in sight. There are several 4pm to 7pm ballet practices this week, Monday and Wednesday, and a full ballet concert this Friday and Saturday, I'm not sure who will be the more tired, little cub who has to rehearse and dance or the parents who have to prepare, transport and feed the ballerinas and then watch the whole recital.

So a growing sock, Bigger on the inside the second is half done. The corner turned and the leg commenced. Soon I will be able to play with the colourwork at the top. There will be more opportunity this week as elder cub is away to school camp from Tuesday morning to Friday night. Without him in residence I can happily knit on his sock without discovery.

Little cub plays Ukelele, she has done for two years now. The classes are held at her school and are free - one of the retired teachers opens up the library and runs 3 classes a week, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Thank you Miss G! Every Wednesday littlest cub takes her pink ukelele and trots of to class after school, most weekends, and some mornings we hear her singing and strumming away in her room down the hall. The bag it came in was thin and had started to tear in several places. As eldest cub is off to camp we had the sewing machine out and I was stitching labels to the things we least want him to loose. Seemed a good time to do a few repairs, stitch a belt loop back on, top-stitch a hat band in place, and repair the ukelele bag. The fabric of the original bags was - well it wasn't fabric, it was a thin non-woven with no structural integrity at all. Originally I thought I would over-stitch the popped seams, but on inspection I found the seams had torn, and there were holes and tears in a few other places. The next step in the repair ladder seemed to be to open up the seams and patch the thin and worn places ... so Little cub and I started to unpick the bag. As we unpicked it seemed that the best repair would not to be to patch such thin fabric - but to cut and sew a new bag.

I hauled out the last of a roll of denim that I had used to make cub-trousers when both were smaller, and my sewing box. Little Cub chose a cotton quilting print of Paua-shell to accent the denim fabric. Little cubs nickname is Doodle ... so that seemed a fun word to personalize her bag. The applique was outlined in machine zig zag stitching, each letter in a different thread colour, and that seemed a nice feature to carry through to the handle and the zip. Little cub outlined the 'L' - didn't she do a grand job? She wasn't sure about the 'E' - as it had lots of corners and turns, and left the curved letters to me.

We even added a wee pocket to the back, to keep her picks in, with enough space to add a ukelele tuner later (she is getting one for Christmas but dosn't know that yet).

And I've been working away to develop a nice book to teach bookbinding with at Unwind next March. The class is only a few hours so I've been working out how much I can expect people to sucessfully get through in that time, And I've been playing with materials, these two are stitched with different weights of linen thread. I like the thinner one better, less dramatic but the stitching holes are smaller and the thread adds less bulk to the book.

I've also been playing with this method of attaching the covers to the book-block (pages). The standard method dosn't use a flyleaf - which is something that 'nicer' books have. The problem with adding a flyleaf is how to stitch the cover to the book-block and not interfere with the unglued flyleaf. Took me the 'map' journal to get my mind around the 'how' and the yellow journal to refine adding the back cover so the inside looked the same. Soon I need to 'test' my teaching on some one to make sure that this is achievable for some one in my class, no point having a method that is so fiddly that no-one else can follow is there?

I've also been playing with paper, the ivory is 80gsm Claire Fontaine, and the white is 90gsm HP, both take fountain pen ink and pencil well which is important. I'm also playing with printing a knit grid on some of the pages, and different methods of stitch binding using the 'coptic' stitch. Heavier paper makes for a book with more of a 'high-quality' feel, and I've already discovered that the covers and flysheets are much easier to glue if thicker paper is used.

Take care - I'll be back with more knitting mid week if the ballet and camp and work dosn't derail me again. There is only 3 weeks until school (cubs) and work (mine) finishes for the year - then there is our long summer holiday break. The end is in sight!

cheers
na Stella

Progress.

2011-11-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

Today it is all about the progress - two socks, one done, one nearly done with the impressive bits done. In keeping with progress - there is a decision to abandon a poorly thought through project and a new project jumps on and nearly off the needles.

First up - the Old School sock is one, and a second one started. I still have reservations about this sock - the frill is larger than I imagined - but the littlest cub coos and fondles and thinks they are so pretty I shouldn't change them at all. I will keep an eye out for lace edge that is smaller and suitable for use as an frilled edging on a bobby sock.

I've started the second toe and managed to reverse the shaping so the increases on each sock spiral out and mirror the other sock. I didn't want the usual toe, the one with increases at each end of the sole and instep stitches but I did want a toe increase with four repeats or sections. Figuring that the usual toe involved a cast on of two sets of 8 stitches then increased four stitches every second round I rejigged that to fit neatly on dpns. I cast on 8 stitches, increased in each stitch on the first round to get 16 stitches and then every second round increased in the last stitch on the dpn for the first sock and increased in the first stitch on the dpn for the second sock. So now I have just the boring bit - where I work the chart until ready to increase for the gusset now.

Second up in the report - Tardis socks made good progress this week - mostly as the older cub tended to work in his bedroom rather than watch 'boring tv' with his parents most evenings. He is off an age where reading Harry Potter or about Aliens is far more fun than watching tv - and I'm keen to promote the reading - so we are keeping him supplied with library visits to stock up on whatever he fancies. The sock is being worked in reverse order - toe up rather than top down. The chart was easy to reverse - I just turned the page upside down. I also worked the colour work on needles 2 sizes larger, so 2.75 mm not 2.25mm, just because I needed to make sure the colour work would stretch enough to go over the heel and around the calf. There is another 12 or so rounds of 1x1 rib and then this one will be done.

The next project is the one that is about to fall off the needles, frogged. I've already reknit this one, adding more stitches. This is a whim project, as in one I cast on in a whim, thinking I knew enough to just wing it. Seems I don't or rather I didn't think enough about what was required to make this work. Now intellectually I know that cables draw knit fabric in, they reduce its ability to stretch - and the more cables and the more stitches cabled, the more drawn in is the knit fabric. So when knitting this I completely ignored the fact that having 5 cables around a tube that fits the wrist - would make that tube tight. This fits - but it feels tight. I had thought I would give this away - there was an opportunity to have it knit ready for latter this week. I'm now rethinking that and this will be frogged and parked. Besides its spring, wet and warmish rather than cold - hardly weather to gift warm cabled hand knit wristers. Mental note to self - 60 stitches even when on 2.75mm needles, using sock yarn, cabled rib is not enough to fit a wrist comfortably.

And this is the fast and furious project that jumped on and then off the needles, a pair of red wristers. I've been invited back to teach at Handmade again. I've offered to enable new knitters by teaching them how to make a wrister. This is a project I developed first for littlest cub, then for WWKIP 2011 and it is designed especially to give beginners the skills they need to start and finish a project in one lesson. Working the wrister involves casting on, casting off (to make button holes), casting on again ( to complete the button holes), weaving in ends, and then knitting to the length you need. It involves only 25 stitches and a few hours. I know that this hasn't got purling or shaping - but in a 2 hour class I don't want to confuse people. I figure that once people have knit a wrister or two - they will be ideally positioned to pick up purling and increasing or decreasing. So this sample is knit in Max - the Vintage Purls dk sock yarn - superwash merino with a hint of nylon for durability, in reality this is blue-redder than this image but its a grey day here and my camera seemed determined to add a little orange to the red.

Well its raining, again, has been on and off heavily all day. It is now late afternoon and all the cubs have come home, as is Bear - late afternoon and time to bunker in for the evening. I'd best go and put on the coffee pot, there is lemon syrup cake (a glut of lemons has been gifted to us), crisp ginger lemon cookies in the shape of bunnies, dog bones, flowers and hippopotamus (Bears favorite), elder cub has made chocolate cake and wants a hand with fudge icing. Littlest cub returned home from a play date with afghan cookies. Rain does that - makes the kitchen inviting, and I don't mind one bit. I had planned nachos for dinner but perhaps we need something healthy and green to counteract all the baking? Then again perhaps Nachos is a perfect way to end the weekend?

Take care
Stella

Change of name

2011-11-15T19:49:00.000-08:00

As a user of Ravely (there goes the drug terminology again - user), I am used to naming my projects. and sometimes the names come easily, Bubbles and Toad. Other times the names are perfunctory such as Bears Paws 3, yes surprisingly the third pair of 'back paw covers' I had knit Bear. Then sometimes the names are nothing but a description, 'nother big blanket being a good example, or Miuaik (or Making it up as I knit).

All in all the challenge of naming projects is at times beyond me - and the names are not very inventive, take for example one of the latest socks, originally titled Ice sock, because of the pale icy blue colour yarn. As I knit the sock an idea formed, the sock was pretty, covered in traveling stitches that grew from 2x2 rib and formed a delicate lattice. I liked how the twists paired well with the icy blue .. and began to think of the socks as pretty girly socks. The kind of sock I wanted as a wee girl but don't remember ever having, lace trimmed bobby socks.

The more I considered these socks as pretty girly socks, the more I wanted to add a lace ruffle to the top edge and keep them short - ankle length.
So I did, I finished off the short leg but closing off the traveling stitches into a standard rib, and worked a turning round of K2togYO, followed by a knit round. Then I searched through all my lace pattern books looking for a narrow lacy edge that I could work as a sock frill. In one of my earliest knitting book purchases, Heirloom Knitting for Dolls by Furze Hewitt I found two seconds on lace trim and the Fan Lace on page 76 seemed perfect. I do like the way the eyelets transition the rib to the lace ... I'm feeling quite proud of that little detail and might have to use it again some where.

Nothing is every that easy, I worked a few repeats and realized that the lace was rather wide even though it was only on 8 stitches so I rejigged the lace to fit into 6 stitches. I made the lace 'frill' a little by working a join to the sock row every forth row. So far so good, littlest cub has pronounced them 'pretty' and asked if they can be house socks. Perhaps the frill is a little OTT (Over the top) if she wants to keep them for house socks?

When not adding extraneous frills to socks I've been reworking the cabled wrister. Apparently 48 stitches on 2.75mm needles was little to few, so I've frogged and upped the stitch count to 60 stitches. I suspect the stitch count could be even higher - but whilst the cast on was easier the fifth time around I'm not in a hurry to practice it again just to add a few more stitches. I also added a round between cable twists .... and the cables seem more relaxed. Funny how a bit of space will do that to most things. Looks like there will be plenty of yarn for two wristers. It is a nice yarn, dark chocolate black - something left over from something - perhaps Tripple and the inside collar of Toad.

take care
Stella

November - that explains it.

2011-11-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

Now November is a busy month, for some it is Movember, for others NaNoWriMo where those that can aim to write a whole novel. and here, after 11 or so years I've finally realised that November is a month that I shouldn't have too many plans for, that I should just roll and flow and ebb, rather than have any specific goals and expectations. For you see November is the end of the academic year, and for me in my school that means end of year show, and all of the finalizing marking that goes with preparation for graduation for the students. It also means invites from other institutions to visit and be part of their assessment for honors and final year graduates .... all in all a busy month. I feel like there should be a catchy acronym or such to describe my November - but given its November the best I can do is 'busy'.

Hence today's post, there is a little bit of spinning together with a hint of promise and a little bit of knitting and and the distraction of a new pen and ink combination.

Spinning, sometimes I knit, sometimes I spin. And when I am in the midst of knitting something and need to make some decisions on shaping or patterning or some such ... and its November .. then I default to spinning. There is a calmness to spinning, a rhythm or easy pace to spinning that isn't about each round and shaping and fitting. With spinning I can just spin. This is the second 50g bump of Merino Silk and Cashmere, so once plied it should be a continuation of the first bump which is now a skein of 212m. That is the promise, that the two skeins will be similar enough to work in one project.

I will let it sit for a week or so, as I want to ply from a center pull ball and for that it needs to be quite relaxed and settled, not all twisty and energetic.

Both socks are at points where decisions need to be made, and for reasons already explained that meant both socks have been shelved pending more thinking space. Friday there was a presentation by a CAPL Student, who presented a designed collection that included three hand knit items. The hand knits were a beret, cuffs/wristers and a rather spectacular zip fronted cape/collar. As you might guess I have a soft spot for nice hand knits ... seeing her work was enough to tempt me to start a new project. That and I came across a link to a matching cast on for Jenny's super stretchy bind off so had to find something to test that on. There is a video, and I tracked down the instructions in Montse Stanleys book which are slightly different. Maybe it is because it is November but this one took me a a while to come to terms with. I cast on and unraveled it I don't know how many times on Friday night, and then last night a few times more .. before finally achieving something that looked even and regular. I think the cast on become one of those things that I wasn't going to walk away from .. so I kept trying and trying. At the end, it is a nice cast on and super stretch, and there is a knack to working it ... but I'm not sure I need this much stretch and yet I want to be good at this one - you know because I consider my self the kind of knitter who can do most things. So this is a 2x2 ribbed wrister, the first of two, where the 2x2 rib transitions to a cable pattern for the hand.

This is my other distraction at the moment, Diamine Deep Magenta ink. This is an ink I bought for littlest cub, who is very much into letter writing at the moment. I picked the pinkest ink that was listed as in stock by the local online Ink Trader on Trademe. When the ink arrived I helped little cub fill her pen and then realized that this was an ink I wanted in one of my pens. Who knew, I thought I liked soft browns, blue greys, blues and deep grey plum purples ... and then this ink sucked me in with its deep pink with a slight blue tinge. That was over two weeks ago and I've refilled the same pen and am thinking this might just become an ink and pen combination I keep on hand. I picked this pen, a vintage Burnham button filler with a Greg Minuskin retipped nib, because of its colouring, with the deep rose pink it seemed a good match for Deep Magenta. I know it probably isn't professional to write marksheets in Deep Magenta, or to sign letters in that ink .. but I want to. I'm trying to convince myself that using an ink like this is a fantastic way to identify my comments and prevent any incidents of tampering with marks. I've never had any of my comments or marks tampered with, and there is a stash of 28 other inks in the drawer ... but not like this one. Still I can write drafts for most things in Deep Magenta with no professional worries. On FPN there is a forum thread, what is your current favorite ink?, and I know now what they mean. Just like knitting - what appeals today is not necessarily what appealed yesterday, or what might appeal in a few weeks or months.

As they post on FPN - what colour are your fingers today and what is your current favorite ink?

Take care - na Stella

Back - briefly.

2011-11-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hello, I'm back. Did you know I was away? I can't recall if I said or not but Friday I was in warm and sunny Tauranga, just for the day. 1025 km away, up and back in one day, two flights there and two flights back. I'm away again next week, to Auckland this time, Tuesday and Wednesday - which would be neater if Bear wasn't away to Christchurch Monday and Tuesday. My Dad is coming to the rescue as the cubs are lovely and sensible kids but not old enough to leave on their own yet. I don't often flit around the country like this - but when I do I get a real reminder of how much weather patterns change in such a small country. Its November, early Spring here and in Tauranga it was very springlike, the students I was there to see all wore strappy sandals, the windows were open, the day fine and warm (by Dunedin Standards). Friday night I returned home to a much more chilly climate - and Saturday awoke to snow on the ground - all around! Today - Sunday it is much warmer, windows open kind of warm - but obviously winter is not ready to forget us yet.

I took along the Bigger on the inside sock, and worked it as I flew up and back. I made good progress, achieving the gusset increases, the heel flap and starting the leg. I would have made more progress if I had remembered to take a few stitch markers along. This yarn is dark, and I wanted the increases to run out from the sole (not towards the sole) - and that required keeping the increases next to the same stitch - not as easy to do without stitch markers. Discovering that I frogged back once and took a lot more care with placing the increases this time. I also wondered what would happen if I ribbed the gusset, so did that, I like the way the ribs sort of fan out, and may do this again. I had to do some quick calculations to make sure the leg had the right stitch count for the Tardis stitch pattern - turns out that after a day of flying I'm not so good at math, this also took me a few repeatedly frogged rounds to sort out. Slipped stitched heel on this one - which pairs nicely with the ribbed gussets.

The other sock on the needles stayed at home, having achieved the same state before I left. This time I worked the gusset in reverse stocking stitch, and I like it. The little triangle of reverse stocking stitch pairs nicely with the ground behind the traveling stitches. Eye of partridge slipped stitch heel on this one. I'm thinking short with a fold down or a lace frill - what say you?

Finished object here - a wash-coth, in ribbed smocking. Rather nice I thought, and squooshy. The cloth is much smaller than I expected, smocking the rib pulls everything in quite a bit. I really would like to work this stitch pattern into a yoke of a little girls cardigan - as soon as I have a wee bit of time to work out how to increase for the yoke shaping keeping the pattern true. Any ideas?

Older cub is spending the day in the garage wood working, Bear is terrified that he will injure himself with sharp tools. Elder cub has not shown much interest in woodwork before, but has done several weeks of wood technology at school - where it turns out that they had to wear tough leather gloves whenever they used cutting type tools. To me that just seems to make the whole exercise harder and clumsier. I explained that snap-off craft knives are not the best for whittling wood, which is what he had been using - what do people use to whittle now that pocket knives are illegal to carry (at least they are in New Zealand). I've made it clear that one keeps ones hands behind the blade, cuts away from oneself, and shown him how to secure things in the vice and where the tools are. He wants to make a wand a-la Harry Potter, and isn't to disappointed that we couldn't find a Yew dowel at the hardware store. He did have hopes of finding Yew - which I was pretty sure we wouldn't find. I've left him with a rasp and a spoke shave to thin the end, sandpaper, and reminded him that he doesn't like blood and I don't like screaming so it would be best to avoid anything that results in that. I love that he wants to do things with his hands - love it.

take care -
Stella

One photo, three projects

2011-11-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update today, one photo three projects, but first a heads up about a very special fibre event to look out for in 2012.

First up the knitting event, Unwind, March 9, 10 and 11 2012, New Zealand. Special because finally us locals have a knit event close to home (thanks Morag) - which means more spending on classes and fibre and less on travel to get there. The site is live, registration is open and teachers and traders include New Zealands finest (IMO)! I'm teaching two classes, Norwegian Steeking and Coptic bookbinding ... and hoping to get into James Persian Poppy's class. Kaffe Fassett's Poppy's has been on my want-to-knit list for simply ages and Jame's class will give me the push to finally commit to finding yarn and casting on.

So that excitement over, and back to talking about my knitting - look two socks on the go and a washcloth that snuck its way onto my needles. Oh I was totally aware of the washcloth happening, at the last KSG class there was discussion that the next class would be on smocking. Now smocking I know, and knitting I know, and I am sort of aware of a kind of knitting that looks like smocking so I thought I'd do a little bit of investigation. Of course that kind of thing almost always results in me wanting to just try the technique a little bit.

So, here we have a wash cloth, which is smocked, using the technique shown in this video by Audknits.The technique looked fun and it is - I suspect I might include this in a cardigan at some time soon, around the cuffs and hem and yoke ......What I have learned is this is fun, easy, surprisingly simple and pulls the knitting in amazingly, this is a 50 stitch washcloth and it behaves more like a 30 stitch washcloth. When I use this in a cardigan there will have to be be significant swatching to make sure it fits.

Also in the photo are the two current socks on the needles, first up the Ice Sock and then behind that the Tardis Bigger on the Inside sock. The Ice sock has kept me frogging, mostly as I keep being distracted by other knitting like the smocking and forgetting that the traveling stitches are not twisted. I spend one entire evening knitting merrily away twisting all the traveling stitches and not looking closely enough at my work to notice that what I was doing was different to what I had done before. The darker blue sock, Tardis Bigger on the Inside is looking good and is a good mindless knit. Both are nearing the point of starting gusset stitches so I'll have to so some sort of estimations to workout just how many and where ..... time to haul out my workbooks and see what I usually do. Might even be time to work out a semi standard set of guidelines for knitting socks for socks of any size- so I don't end up back in the workbooks working it out each time. Mostly my socks are influenced by things I read about how different people make socks and a fair few keeper techniques gleaned from socks knit in the past. The most interesting find recently is this idea by Maia Spins, which was posted in 2007 but which I have only just thought now to search for. I'm keen to try that kind of flap extension with a slipped stitch heel, there is something neat about how the gusset stitches run vertical not horizontal.

Take care - knit or spin some, or at least read about fibre ...and investigate Unwind - even if just to temp yourself a little and dream.
na Stella

Done so something new or two

2011-10-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Toad is finished, yesterday, amidst sunny warm and balmy weather - yes finished a long sleeved sturdy warm hand spun hand knit jersey with lined collar and cuffs for double warmth on the day we finally get summer. Just as well we live in Dunedin, for today we are back to colder days, with rain and overcast and not a lot of sunshine to warm us up. With any project ending - comes the time to start a new project (or two) - so I've done that and now have two socks on the needles, different ones.

So - twelve year old sons are not good at standing still, they dance, they jigger, they move - and on an overcast day for a while it looked like this was the best photo of Tobe wearing Toad that I would be able to show you. For interest sake, I used up every single gram and part gram of the Sock yarn I was using to line the collar and cuffs, ending with about 20cm left - so this was an excellent stash buster. I have a skein of the Blue left, which might become a hat, sometime. And I have to remind myself this is my first finished hand knit sweater .......something I am keen to do again even if it means spinning fibre in larger than 100g batches.

Front on, Toad gives Tobe Shoulders, well he has shoulders of his own but they are lean, lanky, skinny boy shoulders.I think all saddle shoulder designs do that to some degree - add in a linear and boxy shape at the shoulder. Having said that I think it will soften with wear, and use .... next winter if it still fits.

Side on gives some idea of Tobe's dimensions, front to back he is a proverbial bean pole .... over all I'm quite pleased with how it Toad (and Tobe) turned out.

The new project is a secret Christmas present, knitted toe up to keep the design kind of hidden for now. I am making Tardis socks. So far reverse engineering the pattern has been fine, cast on two lots of 8 stitches using Judy's magic cast on, honestly the best seamless toe cast on ever IMO, increase at either end of each side for the next five rounds, then every second round until there are 34 stitches. Condensing the increases in the first few rounds gives a more rounded toe which I like.

There might be a second new project as well, for some reason I felt the need to cast on a washcloth this morning, worked in 2x2 rib with smocked details - sorry no photo yet but there will be next time.

Take care
Stella

Matching collar and cuff

2011-10-25T22:03:00.001-07:00

Not much to see around her, really there isn't. For some reason the only progress since last post is a sleeve, really just one long sleeve. Real news is a bit scarce - so much so that this update even contains a report on shoe polish.

So about that sleeve, elder cub liked the collar lining very much and asked if I could do the same to the cuffs. Seems a reasonable request so I've worked the sleeve down to a generously long cuff and have switched to the brown Vintage Purls yarn for the lining. He can grow 2'' or 3'' and this should still fit. So far so good, the sleeve is tapered from around 3" under the underarm to 7" from the hem. Paired decreases either side of the underarm line every 8 rows - seemed to work. I hope the lining will tuck away - and imagine it will be snug at first but cuffs always stretch out so in the long run this should be fine. I probably don't have enough brown to knit both cuffs - having only 10.8g left. I've split that into two bumps, 5.4g each and will knit the start of each cuff lining then switch to some other sock yarn remnant for the end of the cuff lining. I am tempted to use something fun like orange, or pink but know that not to be the best choice for a self conscious 12 year old male cub - so I will hunt out something dark and sensible.

And shoe polish? Yes, Bear is all smiley after a box arrived with a new supply of shoe polish. Around here is it the little things at times that provide the most enjoyment. On a Sunday afternoon Bear rounds up all the leather shoes and boots that look a bit scruffy and polishes them. He was struggling to find green, and red and the right brown polish for some of our shoes. When Little cub had pink Sidewalks from McKinnleys (local manufacture) we discovered Coxy shoe polish came in a wide range of shades online. So I ordered a surprise box of polish - brown, burgundy, soft black, red, burgundy, loden green, and a second black described as

A hard wax polish for that sharp military shine. Not for the faint hearted. A spit and polish product for a hard long lasting shine. It requires a little elbow grease to apply to get the best results. Suitable for military style shoes and boots, men’s business shoes and any smooth leather that requires a strong shine.

The mystery-box arrived today and Bear has been stacking and unstacking the pots of polish, and looking like they were the best thing ever. I guess it is a little like stash - having a supply of the things one might need in nice colours? I'm just happy he liked the surprise, I'm even happier that he likes to polish shoes although I suspect he likes us all to have nicely polished shoes more than he likes to polish shoes. Either that or he is wondering why I bought him six cans of shoe polish and if he really wants to be married to me anymore.

Take care - with any luck there may be more knitting or spinning to report next week, and maybe even a finished object.
Stella

Addictive

2011-10-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

I knew that this fibre lark was addictive, really I did, but sometimes it takes a particular project to remind me just how addictive working out how to do something can be. Today I have significant progress on Toad, one sock is done and the other languishes. I've also managed to manipulate littlest cub into knitting a top down raglan for Curley Bear.

Addictive, defined at the FreeDictionary as

ad·dict (-dkt)
tr.v. ad·dict·ed, ad·dict·ing, ad·dicts
1. To cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance: The thief was addicted to cocaine.
2. To occupy (oneself) with or involve (oneself) in something habitually or compulsively: The child was addicted to video games.

I think that the second meaning is the one that is most applicable here, that I found myself both occupied and involved in something that was compulsive. With the hem of Toad completed I found myself ready to finish the neck edge. Originally I had planned to knit a plain band in 2x rib, then I wondered about a cable worked around the neck ... and then I started to think about a Henley style neck with a zip. That seemed the best for this jersey, a thicker and more robust yarn seemed to be a good match for a zippered and collared finish. I could see this was heading towards a warm outdoorsy sweater. First stop was the local big box craft supply store for a nice zip.I found one, it could have been longer but then again maybe shorter is better.

Then I steeked the front, and considering I had not planned to steek the front that was probably a brave move. But sometimes I'm not the kind of knitter to let a lack of planning get in the way. Having steeked I picked up and worked a short facing either size of the cut edge - this would be the outside facing for the zip. Once I got this far I had to keep going, unable to work on anything else in-case I lost the plot and didn't remember what I was doing (don't laugh - it has happened when I've parked a project and returned to it) .

Then I picked up and knit a collar around the neck edge in 2x2 rib. When the collar seemed long enough to fit the zip I switched to a softer yarn and knit the inside of the collar. I worked a knit transition row at the colour change. For the inside collar I used Vintage Purls Vintage Sock, the left overs from Double+1. I worked a mock i-cord edge at both ends of the collar, slipping the first 3 stitches of each row, and purling the last three.

I Grafted the centre section of the collar down to the neck edge, working from the centre out and using pins to keep the ribs lined up. I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

I left the last inch or so of the collar not grafted, and picked these up and worked a narrow band in rib that could cover the inside of the zip tape. At this stage the project looked very messy and I hoped that my loose plan would turn into something that worked and looked presentable.

Last night was family movie night, mostly as one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies was screening on TV, and we all like Johnny Depp at his most outrageous. So I finished the collar and stitched in the zip. I was secretly quite surprised that something that had looked so messy finished up looking quite planned and almost 'like a bought one' as my Nana would say. She was a child of the early 20th Century and completely converted to making life easier by buying rather than making. If I had five kids and my washing machine had a mangle roller maybe I would love the convenience of modernity as well.

This is where I am at now, with a finished zippered collar, faced with soft sock yarn, and the first sleeve is well on its way to the elbow.

The Bubble socks are now done. All done, and I'm pleased with them. This was my first completed hand spun sock and I was pleasantly surprised at how even it knit up. Next time I would try and make the yarn a little firmer in the twist - this seemed very low twist compared to commercial yarns. Then again unlike commercial yarns the stripe pattern is one that would only occur in a hand dyed skein of pencil roving.

And the littlest cub is working her first seamless garment, a top down raglan for her teddy. She was very good and followed instructions to cast on and work the raglan increases without really understanding how it would all work. Until now she has planed and executed a variety of bags and pillows with seams all on her own but I was keen to get her understanding the advantages of seamless. Once she got to the sleeves she saw how it would all work - and I was quietly impressed that she recognized the need for casting on stitches at the underarm to make the body fit nicely. Right now we have just transferred over to circulars - she has her own, and she is working out if she needs to increase as the body gets longer. Bears have quite cute shapes - this one is pear shaped, a pear shaped bear, so some increases might be judicious.

Take care
stella

I might have started another pair of socks ...

2011-10-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

just might have. Usually I like to have only one pair on the needles at any one time, but sometimes a new sock is just the right answer. We have just been away, visiting a few Air Museums around the south island, Wigram and Ashburton, both homes for flight training bases during World War Two. Like most knitters I made sure I packed enough knitting to keep me busy for three times longer than we were away - you know just in case. I'm not sure in case of what, in case we got held up and didn't get home, in case the weather meant that I was stuck inside knitting (not a bad thing in the scheme of things), in case I got bored with what I was knitting and wanted a change. That last one is probably the best reason, and in fact I found that knitting continuously on the same size needles did tire my hands out and switching to a different size needle and project did my hands good.

So I wanted to take the Bubble sock but two reasons stopped me, first it is a chart and so not good travel knitting and second it was nearly finished so wouldn't have provided enough knitting. This is where Bubbles is at, and if tonight turns out to be a tv night (between the two extremes of Big Bang Theory, and The Borgias) I should be done today.

I did take Toad, my handspun Texel sweater that is in progress, and made lots of progress. I am nearly about to start the lower hem, 2x2 rib I think, with maybe a garter band above and below. Elder cub is 12, and taller than me, say 5ft8", so I'm happy to make this long just in case he has not stopped growing. I think it will be body band/hem, then neck band then sleeves, that way I won't have to worry that the neck will draw up the shoulders and shorten the sleeves. I am almost tempted to work something fancier at the hem, say a cable or such but then again .... perhaps I should keep it simple. Whatever I do I will have to match the cuffs to the hem so I am keeping that in mind as the cuffs are significantly smaller so I'd need to find a pattern with a repeat size that would fit around cuff and hem neatly.

One of the best reasons to keep projects simple is that at least one of the projects needs to be a pick up and go project. While I was away I wanted to start Toads Christmas prezzie, a Tardis Sock on the road. I had the pattern, the project bag, the needles and the yarn (Vintage Purls of course). Then just before we left I discovered that the sock was knit top down, and not only that but the words Police Box were formed first - I wasn't going to be able to knit that in secrecy in a motel room for very long was I? So I grabbed a lovely icy blue Vintage Purls sock yarn and a nostepinne to wind it with and decided I would knit something for younger cub. This is the first attempt, a quadrant toe and a cable that I had charted in my workbook. The cable in a slightly different form was part of Bears Paws 3, but this time I'm working it continuously. As things go I realized that the cable would work better if it was more woven and symmetrical around the center ... so I frogged.

This is take two, and as I started the pattern row I realized that I could work a cute baby cable up the middle just to complicate things even more so I allowed two center stitches which spaced the cable out a little more. I love the pretty pale blue of this sock, I'm thinking an eye of partridge heel and maybe even some sort of lace cuff or cast off.

Another day of knitting and the sock is looking like it might work. Part of me wonders if I should have a baby cable along either side and part of me thinks that it is just fine as it is.

That is progress so far, I'm still on leave for a few more days but I'm in the midst of finalizing another column for Entangled so I'm keeping this post short. I thought the article was to be on Scale but as I write my way towards the importance of scale in crafting I find I'm defining craft first and have yet to get to the scale. And I have some great images to use so I'm going to have to fit the scale in somewhere. Writing is a bit like knitting, sometimes the direction that is best isn't quite the direction that you imagined you would be going in.

Take care
na Stella

Wednesday -Thursday

2011-10-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

Way back when I worked in an Roading engineering office, in the mid 80's, we had a set of made up weekday names, Thursday-Friday, or Monday-Tuesday, or Wednesday-Thursday. When ever we had a short week at work, when there was a public holiday, usually on a Monday or Friday, the workflow seemed out of kilter. Having a Monday off work made Tuesday a bit like a Monday so it became Monday-Tuesday, and Wednesday a bit like a Thursday so Wednesday-Thursday. When working I try and blog in the weekend and on Wednesdays, this week I'm not working and my weekend post happened on Monday and my Wednesday post on Thursday - hence the Wednesday-Thursday of the title. I've been busy - in a good way, comfortably working away at the things that I need to do and the things that I want to do, and even at some things that other people want me to do. I'm enjoying this not being at work, at 8:45 I find myself able to do things rather than preparing for a day at work. Oh I'm not planning to leave work but I am enjoying not having my days ruled by a 8:30-4ish timetable, and not being ruled by the cubs school day of 9-3.

Today there is progress on Toad, the sleeves seemed to have come out well, I've entered three proposals for Handmade 2012 (from beginner to advanced knitting), there is a very full tucked and gathered petticoat to puff out younger cubs dress, I've prepared next years diary, and Bubble socks grow(but no new photos of that today).
Oh and news - heads up keep 9, 10 and 11th of March 2012 flagged in your diary. There is to be a knitting retreat in Dunedin - code named Unwind, more once details are finalized.

So Toad, which is so named because that is what we have always called older cub when his behavior drives us to distraction - as in he is a being a bit of a Toad. Toad now has the beginnings of sleeves, and after two or three partial frogs I'm happy with these and have started on the body.
Most of the shaping in the sleeve cap is at the top, with almost not shaping for the second half of the armscye.

This is one of my all time knitting inspirations, the last page in a Mon Tricot 1800 Patterns, Knitting Encyclopedia. I bought it some 18 or so years ago when I knew how to knit and followed published patterns that I bought at the yarn shop or found in knitting or craft magazines. At that stage my knitting was quite conventional, knit flat and seamed as I had been taught and as most of the patterns encouraged one to knit. I was working early mornings in newsagents and heading off at 9 to study at Uni. This book came in amongst the magazines and I was fascinated by it. Partly because it was a book of knitting stitch patterns not garment patterns and this was the first time I was introduced to a library of stitch patterns. But I admit it was a little series of diagrams on the last page that hinted at other ways to knit garments that really caught my imagination. At the time I was studying for a Clothing degree and learning about construction and pattern-making and was curious about what the last page showed. Ever since then I've continued to be curious about the simplicity of the method that page illustrates, the neckband, the shoulder strap and the simple construction in the round. My first few sweaters for Toad as a baby were knit this way and I felt so brave starting without a pattern and mastering knitting on dpns. Of course I'm not convinced that this is by any means the True Aran Knit Technique, just one way of many, and I understand the myth of the Aran sweater is questionable - but I'm still inspired by the last page in a book I acquired 18+ years ago and it really did spark my knit journey.

Bookbinding, I love this, not as portable as knitting but very satisfying. And look I can make books that look like books that shops sell! The orange bound book is the diary I have made for next year, using DIY Dayplanner software, Nice fountain pen friendly paper, card and gifted end-papers (thank you Karen). Because I made it and I'm impatient - this diary starts with October of this year and continues right thru to March of 2013. I've found that I need a few months overlap at the beginning and end of a diary to plan the next year, so this should work well. Next to it are two Copic bound books which open flat and are lovely to use, I like those but think I like my books with hard cased spines. Maybe Coptic for workbooks and notes and the hard spine for other uses?

Like this.This one took me a few tests to make it work neatly - but I think I understand the maths and measurements now and would make fewer mistakes next time.

Look I even worked an old fashioned index to mark the months! I have vague recollections of my dad doing this to some of my school books in Primary school but no idea why or which ones.
Looks like one of Toads Best friends has arrived for a sleepover - so I'll go and make sure all the cubs are comfortable and lunch is sorted.

na Stella

You would think that with

2011-10-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

two full weeks leave from work I'd be relaxing, and maybe even knitting. Well I've been relaxing but to those around me I seem to be far from relaxing. Since Friday at 4is when my leave officially began I've slept in until 8am on a Saturday and Sunday, cut and sewn two dresses and initiated littlest cub into use of a sewing machine and iron, finished binding my diary for next year, made two boxes to store assignments in, blocked my yarn and knit some. And it is only Monday, not only that but lunchtime on Monday!

So the vintage pattern worked out well, appears my little contemporary 9 year old cub is pretty much a vintage size 12. She is tall, and the dress has 'growing-room', which I am loath to remove as if I do she will certainly grow overnight. This is the second dress, the first is sleeveless in a white, tan and taupe plaid. The best thing is that the sun is warming up our part of the world and she can wear these without freezing.

This one we even went so far as to construct the little decorative bow trim, and attached it to the center front waist. When I say 'we' I mean little cub as she sewed the bow herself and most of the seams on both dresses. I stepped in on the more tricky curved seams where errors would matter, like the neckline and setting in the sleeves. I cheated and resorted to a hand-prick-stitched zip, I can and do machine zips in but love the vintage look and the process of hand prick-stitching in a zip. I do machine the tapes to the seam allowance for security but like the custom hand made touch of working the zip this way. What you can't see is the shocking pink bias banding inside the neck, waist and hem that neaten up those edges of the dress. Little cub wants a petticoat that makes the skirt go out more, so that is on the cards for latter this week, as will be a few more of these pretty dresses. I have a notion to return to the opp-shop and source a few nice vintage plastic buckles and buttons as trim for the next few.

One of the last things I had to do before the end of last week was tidy up and file away all the admin side of marking. As I worked thru the Year one Essays and the Year 2 Lit Reviews I kept them in two photocopier box lids. You know those ubiquitous shallow cardboard boxes that are put to use in most offices. I like my desk to be a nice place to work and worn ripped photocopier paper box lids just were just not contributing a nice ambiance. I'm not sure a pile of written assignments to mark could ever contribute a pleasant ambiance, but I'd like to think it could be nicer than it was. Today I sat down and constructed two shallow boxes, that easily hold A4 sized paper. The left over wallpaper from the cubs bedrooms covers the outside(Designers Guild) and the wallpaper from the hallway(Liberty) above the wood paneling lines the inside. There was a lot of learning going on in making these, and the second is neater than the first, but both are 100% nicer than a photocopier paper box lid.

I have been knitting (and frogging) on the new project, a top down set in sleeve sweater for elder cub. This was the state of play last Friday and you may notice that there are no needles in this work. I removed them having realized that frogging was required. Yo-yo, currently stealth cat as she has lost both bells, waited with me as I arranged for the photo.

I had to frog as it became abundantly clear that the sleeve cap I was knitting was suitable for someone with very defined biceps, perhaps even ones enhanced with steroids. Elder cub tends towards the slighter end of the range of shoulder and upper arm development ... so this would never look like it belonged to him. Currently state is that this is back on the needles and I've worked beyond this point and am nearing division for the sleeves and body.

And yarn, finally I have blocked the Wabi Sabi River Stones fibre, Merino, alpaca, silk and angora 50g and 272m, or thereabouts. As usual no plans yet to knit this one into, but I really enjoyed spinning it and love the colour ( or lack thereoff).

So I'd better go, younger cub has plans to invite a whole host of friends around tomorrow afternoon and that can only happen if her room is tidy. Her version of tidy and mine differ, in that things under the bed, and toys on the floor and washing not out in the laundry bin, and stuff like pencils and hair ties on every surface are things I'd like tidied away. I'm nearly as unreasonable as I remember my own mother was about keeping my bedroom tidy.

Oh well best go and see what progress has been made.

cheers - stella

Look - new project!

2011-10-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today - its a midweek post, work has me 'running' with lots to do before I have two weeks leave. I'm not planning any special trip, just 2 weeks at home with the cubs - its school holidays and apparently 12 year olds are a tad old to hang out with 6 and 7 year old's at holiday program. We might head away for a few days to visit my brother in Christchurch, then again we might not. I have plans to see if younger cub has any interest in sewing clothes ...and I've lined up a vintage pattern to tempt her. I've a new project, yarn that is nearly done, and bubbles nears its prototype end.

So - younger cub is nine and a half, yes really. Wasn't it only yesterday I was blogging a wee shrug I made for her forth birthday? Any way - with two weeks at home I was thinking of things that we could do to keep away from the tv and going to town. There will be playdates and a movie, and sleepovers and baking - but I thought she might be old enough to sew something to wear. Until now I've sewn stuff and she has hovered but not really participated. I was at the local upmarket-oppshop and spent some time going thru their box of vintage patterns. This appealed mostly as Younger cub has asked if we could make a dress that goes 'in at the waist and then out'. this seems as shapely as I'm prepared to go for a 9 year old. Construction seems fairly simple, a centre back zip and darts, a gathered skirt, with the neck finished with a binding. I have traced the pattern out in card. This was the fist time I had to make sense of a vintage pattern, which have no printed marks on the paper at all. Appears that in the 'olden days' coded perforations not ink were used to mark important match points- which was kind-of fun to translate to modern pattern making conventions. The pattern also assumes a lot of knowledge on the part of the seamstress, as the instructions are not specific as to how one does things. I'm thinking a pink or lemon gingham for the fit-toile and if it works we will finish it as a wearable dress and let her pick something more fun to make after that. We will be making B or C, as the collar section is missing and I am not prepared to draft one until I know the dress fits her.

I started a new project last night, a sweater for elder cub. This is the shoulder straps, and I've cast on across the back neck. Then there will be some short rows to shape the front neck and raise the back neck. I'm thinking set in seamless sleeves worked as one in the round. I have Barbara Walkers Knitting from the Top in my knitting basket and I'm making decisions as I go but documenting it so I don't get too lost. I sat in on Morags Vintage Purls top down class in Napier which kind of inspired me to put what we explored into practice. Yarn is hand spun 3 ply texel(a kind of sheep), kind of crunchy and light and feels hard wearing.

I did make some progress on the Wabisabi fibre, now it is plied, but not yet blocked. So far loving it .... and with plying quite tightly the yarn has already started to fluff a little with a halo. I'm expecting the angora to fluff into more of a halo and the merino to give this a bit of bounce. Two ply, fine fingering, and no idea of the length yet. I love the grey-blue- white transitions and there did seem to be long runs where the two plies were the same shade. I've been treated two more batches of hand dyed fibre from Wabisabi, truly my fibre cup run-nth over.

The second bubble sock is coming along nicely, turns out that the second is the same size as the first. I tried it on mid way up the heel and it seemed shorter but once the heel was completed the sock was exactly the same. I will knit this one again in a plainer yarn, something that will show the bubble pattern more clearly and if I can figure out how to chart the pattern neatly I will definitely share.

So, two more days at work, another day of meeting, all day meetings just like today. Well I exaggerate - today was a staff development day so the fashion staff set up a workshop and introduced some new ideas and had a bit of an explore. I did a mini lesson on what I learned at the Cutting circle workshop. Tomorrow is more a departmental meeting day - I think I'll take my knitting. Friday is a another day of meetings, and filing results before I'm not there. The weekend can't come soon enough when I think of all that has to be done first.

na Stella

Project monogomy

2011-10-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm open to distractions, in fact some times I am amazed that I have been able to maintain a blog on knitting for nearly 6 years. Then of course I realize that knitting isn't a single thing, its a wide range of activities, from actually performing the stitches to imagining something and working through how it could be achieved, not to mention seeing all the amazing things that people do with knitting. Given how open to distractions I am when I practice project-monogamy it surprises me how fast progress can be. Take this week, my knitting has been on my Bubbles sock and progress has been rapid, so rapid in fact that I cast on the toe of number two at the Creative Fibre South Canterbuy 40th Birthday Open Day Celebrations. The Open day was fantastic, my talk was on how I teach Design, particularly Fashion design at our school of design, and seemed to go well with questions that indicated interest. The trades hall at the open day was fabulous - with lots to select from.

My plans for the leg of Bubbles worked out, I had charted the leg but not really made any decision about the cuff. As the bubbles dissipated up the leg the sock background of reverse stocking stitch became more dominant and I wasn't sure what sort of cuff would work best. I decided to try a garter stitch cuff - and it worked brilliantly, an almost invisible transition from reverse-stocking stitch to garter. Sock number two has started and is going fast, I'm nearly done on the heel flap and need to decide if the foot is long enough. The second sock feels shorter than the first - and I suspect the handspun is finer for this sock, so I might just frog back and add a wee bit more length after the gusset. I'll try both socks on before I commence knitting any more and make a decision.

The open day was fabulous, Fiona and Kathy and their team had sorted everything, including a lovely parcel of fibre and fruit as a thank you, the fiber is the large pale grey bundle at the back of this image. I couldn't help but exclaim 'Fibre! My favorite!' This is just over 200gms (7 oz) of light grey natural half-breed combed top. The fruit is in the fruit bowl and has mostly gone as my standard answer to cubs that ask for biscuits is 'no but you can have a banana (or whatever it in the bowl). That generally sorts the real hunger from the boredom peckish. In front of the fibre is a copy of Are you ready to dye by Sandra Dain, my copy was loaned to certificate student two years ago has never been returend so I replace it. Sandra's book has one of the most comprehensive coverage of dye methods I've ever seen, everything from dyepot and microwave to using syringes and dying yarn in the ball with different colours, in bags, in pots, in the oven, in sunlight, fleece, fibre, yarn, projects - a huge range of options all clearly explained with photos and clear instructions.

To the front of the book are two wee parcels of Alpaca, during my talk I explained how our students are expected to identify the designers (fashion or not) whose work they like and why, and whose work or process is the most like theirs and why. Doing so it intended to help our students work out where they fit into the world of design and design ideas and processes. As part of that I highlighted three designers whose work inspires me and explained what I understood about their process that I liked. My first two were Claire McCardell and Isobel Toledo's early work, and my last example was Schiaparelli. I included images of her shoe hat, her classic
Trompe-l'œil sweater(on my do knit list), and her skeleton dress. Afterwards I was alerted to alpaca for sale from an Alpaca named Schiaparelli from Otago Bridge Alapacs - so of course some of that had to go home. One in Pink (Schiaparelli Pink) and one in grey blue. I've already started to spindle spin the pink.

The table that distracted me the most at the trade hall was the one with vintage buttons. I was enthralled, and took home these few. Ten small glass black buttons, Victorian, circa 1880, about 13mm across. One larger flower button, also black glass, one purple turtle button in Moonglow glass, and one glass dragonfly (3cm across). The 10 small black glass buttons are destined to dress up a black or charcoal cardigan, the others are just to have until i find a use for them.

These new acquisitions go well with the vintage buttons I bought in Napier a few weeks back ... seems that I might have a new thing to stash. As I said easily distracted, but I never said that was a bad thing.

take care
na Stella

Still backwards and forwards, but growing

2011-09-27T23:00:00.001-07:00

The bubble sock grows, slowly - but steadily. I spent one evening charting out the effervescence up the leg, well one evening and several attempts at charting, until I had something that looked irregular but could be charted over a repeat. The sock heel I'm using is eye-of partridge, and I'll provide a link to a how to, and I plied one of the spun yarns, so one done, one to do, and one still being spun - all misty grey blues.

So after several iterations, and the cartoon like crumpling of paper when it became obvious that the chart I was working on had a flaw, I ended Sunday night with a chart that seemed sensible. Remember that I was trying to capture that kind of effervescence that happens in a fizzy drink, as streams of bubbles rise, at first constant streams then nearer the top more random. I 'invented' two chart symbols, one for a complicated rearranged decrease of 5 stitches into 3, and one for a five stitch cable where the outside stitches cross over but the middle three stay where they are. I'm continuing to look for a more formal way to chart these. As I knit I realized that some of my bubbles were lining up, so I omitted/deleted one or two from the chart. I think it is working, maybe a little less of a transition from constant bubbles to random, but I've only got the leg length to work in.

Now, last post Cool City Stitcher asked what heel pattern I had used, I imagine the question was about the eye-of-partridge stitch on the heel flap. It is a simple slip stitch pattern, slipping every alternate stitch on the right side un-knit, and purling back on the wrong side. If you line up the slipped and knit stitches you get a subtle corrugated effect, if you offset them you get a dimpled effect. Persnikety Knitter at the house of grumpiness explained it well with a chart and all. If the question was about the heel shape, well its a traditional flap construction knit toe up, with several techniques borrowed from all sorts of sock patterns that I've knit over the years, I'm happy to explain further in a separate post if needed.

And last, this is the latest yarn off the wheel, Vintage Purls limited edition hand dyed cashmere-merino-silk. 112 wraps of my 1.85m ninny noddy, makes 207m. Beautiful grey blue - destined for something special, wristers or a wee scarf ....something that uses it all. Fingering weight and after a stiff wash it bloomed nicely and evened out well.

So there is just some Wabisabi-fibres angora merino alpaca mix to ply (Matt is taking a break just now but I'll be first in the queue when he starts dying and selling again - he has interesting fibre blends and preparations like pencil roving), and a sock to finish, and a Tam, and more to spin and lots to knit. Tomorrow I get to hang out with the South Canterbury Creative Fibre guild and guests at their open day, with Morag from Vintage Purls. We are both speaking, and I've read the invite - it says birthday cake so I guess this is a celebratory open day for the guild. If you are near Waimate and fancy some fibre fondling (there will be sales tables) do drop in.

Take care
na Stella

One step forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards ...

2011-09-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Forwards and backwards describes this weeks progress quite well. I've been working on my Bubble sock, in my handspun from Vintage Purls sock pencil roving and I have had to frog and tweak a few times. That is just how it goes when you are not following a pattern, there is an element of risk and the price of that risk is sometimes the result isn't quite what you thought it would be.

Since the last post I have knit the lower leg of the sock three times, yes three.
First - I knit the leg of the sock continuing the pattern that I had established on the foot, the coin cable that I thought looked a little like streams of bubbles like one finds in an effervescent beverage. Going with that inspiration I wanted the bubbles to start separating and spacing out up the leg just as they would in a glass of fizzy drink. Now this plan was developing as I knit, rather than being fully formed before I started. I like that kind of design process, where the result isn't fully known before you start but it makes working slightly less linear.

So first I had to muck around working out how to form single 'bubbles'. After a few false starts I think I managed a rather nice round bubble, but I realized that the spontaneity of bubbles drifting upwards wasn't quite there. I had just thought I'd randomly work bubbles every now and again and that would work, but it didn't work. Turns out that I like things with a pattern and regular and find random hard to do. So I frogged the sock back to the top of the heel flap and started again with a new plan.

Setting out to chart irregularity seems like a complete oxymoron, but that is what I ended up doing. There were a few false starts with the chart, and I had to work out how to show the techniques - and in the end the chart reminded me a little of a diagram that I remember drawing in high school physics. Something to do with electricity maybe?

Then the moment of truth, I tried the sock on and discovered that all those little cable crosses to form the bubbles effectively reduced the stitch count to the point that the sock was a tight fit. Oh the sock fitted but not easily, and that didn't seem like a good thing for a sock I wanted to wear.

I had one of those moments when something really obvious suddenly becomes apparent. When I knit the individual bubbles I had to increase at the lower edge and decrease at the upper edge to stop the sock flaring as the cable cross compressed the knitting. The solution to the 'too tight' sock was to set up less stitches into the pattern repeat above the heel and increase for each bubble strand as I had for the individual bubbles.

Success!
One sock that fits nicely, or perhaps part of a sock - and a few more fiddly details to add into my chart. I had charted my effervescent bubbles over two columns of bubbles which worked out nicely into five repeats around 10 columns - but might have looked a tad 'regular'. With setting up with fewer stitches I now had 12 columns of bubbles, so I'm thinking a repeat over 3 or 4 columns might look more irregular than a repeat over 2. I'm off to play with my chart more - mostly so sock number two can be like sock number one.

There has been spinning, I've finished two bobbins, which now need plying - and not much other knitting at all. Winter seems to have returned - despite officially being three weeks into spring here, we have hail, ice like rain.
So I'm off to make a cuppa-tea, and find a ginger nut, and settle in with a pencil, knitting graph paper and see how irregular I can make a graph for effervescent bubbles.

na Stella

New project - old project, both going well

2011-09-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, a new project, and one that has been lingering on the needles has been 'reactivated', although I might have stalled on that one again. Interesting invites at work, and lovely things in the mail box. Things I knew about (as in I have ordered), and things that I didn't know about and were surprise gifts.

First the new project, because that is how it is, new stuff just seems to get more shelf space. I knew the next sock project after Bears Bunker socks would have to use my handspun sock yarn, and that I wanted something that didn't involve being welded to a knitting chart. Not mindless but memorable, not boring but portable. The sock yarn had been calling me, it was handspun earlier this year using a new product, Vintage Purls Sock pencil roving, a super wash merino blend with 25% nylon to withstand the rigors of sock life. The 100g of pencil roving spun up into 420m - pretty much perfect for a sock yarn. After a bit of to-ing and froe-ing with my Barbara Walker treasuries I settled on a round mock cable, worked with traveling stitches. I'm working on my standard 2.25mm sock needles, and so far it is working up nicely.

So nicely in fact that I'm already up to the gusset increases. I'd have to say that the yarn knitted looks 'handspun' but knitted looks surprisingly even. And I'm loving the way the colour changes are resulting n stripes unlike any that you would get with a dyed-in-the yarn yarn. I briefly thought this should be for the youngest cub, with her pink and purple preferences, but nah - its for me!

The 'other' project on the needles, a colour work tam, started way back in January of this year (and its now September!) finally made its way out of the project basket and into my hands. I sat down and knit the wee people I had charted out. Now I was totally inspired by Kate Davies Paper Dolls and used the idea of paper dolls as a starting point. I found a chart for girls and boys holding hands, in McGregor's Traditional Scandinavian Knitting on page 99. I charted this out way back at the beginning of the year to use the Shetland yarns I had bought while in Shetland - and realize it has been a whole year since then. I keep looking at this and wanting to show anyone who is around my 'little people' !

Instead of working the dancing couples in one colour I worked mine in several colours like the Fair Isle colour work but I kept the background unchanged. As I worked the wee people I made minor modifications to what I had charted. Sometimes what is planned doesn't work as well as imagined and needs tweaking. I went for a darker colour for the little sweaters and for the faces than I had originally planned - just to get more contrast. I've marked my changes in pencil on the graph but will rework the chart once I decide what to do with the crown. That is my sticking point right now, as I'm looking for something in keeping with the little dancing people.

During the week a few parcels arrived at home, one is tucked away for eldest cubs Christmas - its a 1940's USA vintage plane spotting manual from ebay that fits well with his current interest of all things to do with WWII aircraft. I just hope I remember that I've bought it and where I've hidden it when Christmas finally comes. The next was a book that I ordered, Shaping Sustainable Fashion edited by Alison Gwilt and Timo Rissanen. This is fantastic, I was lent it by a colleague and by the end of the first day had placed an order for my own copy. Finally a book that goes beyond the green-message of that we have to do 'something' but fails to say what that could be. Shaping Sustainable Fashion is divided into four sections - source, make, use and last. In each a variety of workable options are reviewed and balanced up. Finally - there was a wonderful surprise in my letter box from J, a Peruvian Spindle and pencil cases. Shown is mine, the cubs have theirs in use, and Bear had a packet of McIlhenny Co Hot Cinnamon Candies with Tabasco which he shared but the littlest cub found far to hot and spicy! The pencil cases amaze me, the embroidery is a straight stitch machine and free form, and the effect is spectacular considering the utilitarian nature of the equipment used. I want to take this to work and show everyone what can be done with a simple sewing machine and reinforce that complex embroidery machines and computer control systems are not the only solution.

And I have been spinning, but its all blue grey and looks the same ...so I'll spare you more photos of blue grey singles on the bobbin.

na Stella

FO and interuption to service

2011-09-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today there is a Finished Object, a pair of socks, and a slight interruption to service. Our wireless died a week or so ago. We run Apples Timecapsule as our back up and wireless system and the Airport just died, no lights, no sound, no sign of life. Long story short is that we have had a week of no wireless, internet available on only one computer. I never thought I'd be miss technology but I did - mostly as the competition for the only internet-ed computer was stiff amongst the bears and cubs. Apple have been amazing and when they couldn't repair the Time-Machine they replaced it - which means a long back up session and using the ethernet cable to speed that up - and so no internet until that is done. I'll be back when it is done should be 24 hours or so with no technical glitches.

In the meanwhile - on Friday I finished Bears Socks, Revival in Bears Bunker, so I'm settling in to finish the other project on the needles - Tammy.

Take care
na Stella

We found one!

2011-09-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

So like any 'normal' crafter, I have trouble keeping to one path. Already there is knitting, spinning, dying, fibre prep (less of that although my carder is getting more use these days), sewing things, finding-restoring- and using fountain pens, and recently bookbinding. I say normal because most of the people I know are like that, a strange blend of monkey-see-monkey-want-to-do and intelligent curiosity about how something other people can do works. I do understand that there are people in the world who don't want to make things, or modify things or even customize things - but those people scare me. They do, I find it rather freaky when people don't have interests or hobbies or something in their lives other than making money and keeping the house tidy and the lawns mowed - where is the fun in that? So, when I found out you could make your own books, journals with nice paper and that stay open and have lovely colorful covers I wanted to see if I would like doing that. Seems I do like doing that, so after a few trials with the internet as a resource I hunted out the bookbinding section at the library and learned more.

Dangerous stuff - learning, makes me want more, makes me want to try other things, other ways of binding, makes me want to explore other methods and other materials. From the moment I understood that if you press something under a heavy weight while glue is drying it will dry flat ... I wanted a book press. So for the past month or so, whenever I have been in a the kind of shop that sells old things, surprisingly often, I have looked for a bookbinding press. I've asked and been told that 'you don't see many of those these days, bookbinders snap them up - I've not seen one in ---- oh 10 years or so'. This weekend Bear suggested we drive up to Hampden to check out the old equipment shop there, perhaps stop for coffee and lunch ... and look! A bookbinding press, this thing was investigated, found to be working, paid for and in the car before any one else could even get a look in - we were the only ones in the store at the time. Look it is pretty much identical to the one the cover of a library books I have borrowed. I can't wait to clean it up and make the pressing boards and put it to use ...

I have been knitting, and this does at time purport to be a knit blog, so here is my recent knitting progress. I finished the wash cloth, using 34g of luxury Rowan organic cotton. That left 14 g of luxury Rowan organic cotton over. Now 14 is enough to want to use, and not enough to plan something to use it all up.

I was inspired by Frankie Brown's Ten Stitch Twist to start a spiral and knit until I ran out of yarn. I modified the center somewhat, using a made up and not recorded mix of increases and short rows to increase from 4 stitches to 8 stitches around the first complete circle, then Frankie's method to shape the spiral, and blend it to nothing when there was nearly no yarn left. I ssk'd the last stitch to one of the edge loops to join the spiral to itself. On the reverse side the spiral appears as a chain.

Bears Bunker socks are growing, as fast as twisted stitch pattern socks will ever grow. I am loving the signature points on the dpns that I have to knit these on, they make twisting and traveling stitches easier than blunt needles.

And - I've been spinning, fine singles that is destined for 2 ply - with any luck approaching lace weight - an ongoing goal of mine. This is an amazing blend from Matt at Wabi sabi fibres, Merino, Alpaca, Angora, and Silk in a colour way called River stones. This was spun very predictably in a semi worsted, short forward draw. Next up is some Cashmere blend from Vintage Purls, that I am thinking will be spun from the fold. I did a little bit of pre drafting last night and considered the short cashmere fibres and how best to spin them .. and I wonder if from the fold might give me a more consistent fibre supply. This week I discovered that my SpinOff subscription has lapsed, and I had not had the last two issues - so I promptly ordered back issues and re-subscribed for the next two years. In doing all of that I went thru my Spinoffs and rediscovered several articles about spinning - fancy that!

take care - Stella

Learning new stuff is hard,

2011-09-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

really really hard. Hard work, finding new ways to work your hands and remembering new timings .... last weekend was a reminder of what my students are going through most days. At the same time, learning new ways to do things is one of the most exciting things ever. Full stop. No argument - up there amongst the best times ever!

I do have some photos of my spinning from the Jacey Boggs workshop hosted by Majacraft and Vintage Purls in Dunedin last week. No photos of the class, I did take a camera but totally forgot to make any photos while I was there. I also have some new knitting, mindless knitting, the kind one needs when faced with challenging learning. One of the things I wanted to learn in the workshop was more about mastering making yarn, to have more techniques and knowledge so I could be more in control of what I was doing when spinning. I didn't expect to fall in love with some of the 'art-yarns' but I did, and mostly because I realize that a 'good' art yarn is not an example of bad spinning, or poor spinning, but mastery of spinning and I want to be there at that level.

First up Jacey had us spin thick and thin, reminiscent of beginner spinning but so much nicer. Balanced, and soft and lofty and regular. Wow, that alone was worth the workshop and makes me want to knit something really simple to show of the yarn texture ... what could I knit ... oh a Baby Blanket! Yes my standard handspun answer - but so right for this yarn, or a scarf maybe?

Having lulled us into a false sense of security, and having warned us she taught the 'most difficult' things first and saved the easy stuff for when we were tired at the end' Jacey then went on to the 'more difficult stuff'. I was as memorized by her teaching as by what she was teaching. Especially when Jacey explained that it was going to be hard and new and difficult and frustrating, and if we went home with three sort-of-right in a row then we had the skills to practice at home.

Some where in here, there are at least three working presentable coils, and there is are two variations on coiled yarn. Not pretty but evidence of learning.
Here is one that looks pretty, from day two of the workshop, a one step coil yarn ..... that if done right is balanced. Mine isn't done right, and is all twisty and kinky ....

At home I had sat down and tried again, using Jacey's dvd as a reminder. I here is my second attempt at coils, not quite there yet, my coils are loose and fluffy rather than firm and coiley (is that even a word?). Still with this one I feel like I have mastered the top and the bottom anchor - which means that my coils however fluffy and malformed don't move around ... next step smooth even durable coils.

But once at home I had a second go and look balanced coiled yarn! Jacey's new one step balanced coiled yarn! Soft, squishy and balanced!

and a closer view of the coils - there were times that I lost the balance between plying and covering - but my hands were getting better at the rhythm that was needed. I think this one has potential for small batts of precious fibre and making each batt go further ..... by sneakily converting it into a thick luscious squooshy yarn. I even see the potential of fibre with sari silk and sparkly bits and all sorts of exciting things mixed in. Those batts that in the past I didn't quite see the purpose of only because I didn't know how to spin them into interesting usable yarn.

And knowing that learning involves my brain and that can be slightly debilitating I started a new project - Mindless. Rowan cotton into a seedstitch wash cloth with garter stitch bands.

Just what I needed.
Normal blog service will resume next weekend ... as I'm here at home and not away from home doing fibre things. there is a felting workshop on but I'm being strong - I do not need to felt slippers, I do not need to learn to felt slippers .......I do not need to learn to felt slippers from Machiko yet ... I can learn to felt slippers from Machiko some time in the future not this weekend .... but it would be fun wouldn't it?

Na Stella

The one where Bear finally gets a custom sock

2011-08-30T21:27:00.001-07:00

Many years ago I began to knit socks, and like any knitting enthusiast I shared my hand knit socks with those I love. Bear has over the years received many many hand knit socks, some knit specially for him, some knit and that he wistfully yearned for so much so I decided he could have them even though I had not specifically cast on those socks for him. At some point in my sock knitting history I asked for a yarn for 'men' socks, and Vintage Purls delivered - with Bears Bunker. Over the years I have bought several skeins of Bears Bunker, I have even knit with it, and beyond that way back in 2009 I knit socks - but not for Bear.

So it is about time that Bear had socks in Bears Bunker .... or at this moment in time Sock.

The sock is done, and the second will be cast on tonight, Last night I wove the toe, and had Bear test fit the sock, whilst I love these dpns circs are much easier to try on socks with. There were a few worries with this sock, not about the sock itself or the pattern, but about the sock fitting Bear. Bear has cuter feet than I, he has squarish feet, with round toenails, and wider feet than I .... and the Revival pattern suggested sizing up by using a larger needle to knit the sock. Now in my world socks are knit firm, 9spi, on 2.25mm needles, and that is how it is. So I knit the sock as written, but on my sock needles (2.25mm) not 2.75mm and hoped for the best. The best being that the sock would fit Bear without cutting off all circulation to his back paws, the back up plan was that I would score the socks. The other worry was that as these were top down and at a much firmer gauge than the pattern suggested .. and with lots of twisted traveling stitches and mock-baby cables ... perhaps I would run out of yarn.

Happy ending in that the socks fit, he says they are 'firm' but not in a bad way, and I have 7.5g of yarn left over from the 50 grams I started with for this sock.

All in all a good result.
I'm off to look up my homework for the Jacey Boggs from Insubordiknit workshop that is being held this weekend.

One of these days I am sure my family will try and restrict my play time given how often I am not here in the weekends because of fibre things.

Stella

KAN Report

2011-08-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

a post subtitled - not all of this is for me.

So I've just returned from KAN, with the traveling troupe of Dunedin knitters, not all of them, there were a few that just couldn't make it this year so we numbered four. What an adventure!
Travel to and from Napier was disrupted by fog, with delays, hiring a rental car, driving for 4.5 hours, an overnight stay at the Yaldhurst Tavern followed by at 4:30am start. The Yaldhurst was an old school workman's tavern, where we as impartial non-locals were required to draw the meat raffle before the waitstaff were free to issue our room keys. Travel back involved another 4:30 am start, for a 6:30am flight, which was delayed by 1 hour - resulting in a missed connection and a later flight home.
All that paled into insignificant with KAN, three days of knitters, shopping and learning - such fun.

First stop was the KAN registration desk, and there we picked up the final timetable/info and recieved a wonderful bag of goodies, long dpns, needles for sewing in ends, stitch holders, real coffee, badges, discount cards, yarn samples, and two balls of yarn! Yes really - the local mill has lovely stuff and they shared generously. We four knitters 'pooled' ours so two of the Dunedin knitters went home with project quantities in their fav colours. All of that was packed away in a lovely reuse tote - I got butterflies, but others had faux zebra and some even faux leopard. Behind is some stash enhancement.

I meet lovely Ravelers in person, Just Jussi, Matt, and Sue, Sally and Kate, Sourkraut who started her VP colour-work sock and brought amazing jewellery ... and many others who I have not yet connected in my fuzzy sleep deprived mind to their Ravelry identities. The event was organized by the super amazing Maree ...... who's praises are being loudly sung here[Rav link folks].

There were of course traders, with lovely lovely things. I was restrained, and made modest purchases - leaving plenty for others. I 'had' to have some of Matts fibre, he has the most amazing blends that I just don't see in any other places, the green is suri Alpaca, and the (cough cough) grey blue, is a blend, Merino, Alpaca, Silk and Angora. Little Radiator had the most amazing stock, as she most logically explained she 'loves Frieda' and 'loves knitting' therefore Frieda must have been a knitter! She also designed a tee shirt print that was perfect for teaching steeking in ...... and the felt 'badges' with Spinner, and vintage spinning and knitting prints. She has so many cool badges that my wee head was fair spinning. I now have visions of decorating an old fashioned blanket with her badges in the style of a girl guide or scout who has attended many jamborees.

Back to the stash acquisition, amongst that is also a ball of Kauni - Danish Yarn with fabulously long colour shifts and glowing colours. There is also a bag of mill-scrap, pencil roving, in super-wash merino, the blue and orange which is destined for a baby blanket. And a few wee pairs of the most amazing mini scissors - Hiya Hiya Puppy Snips. I also bought Teosinte - because it was there and I fell in like with it very much.

I took the current baby blanket as my to do first project. The baby shower is on Tuesday aka tomorrow. Not only did I finish it but it was blocked in the motel room with stunning views of the ocean and bay and sky blue skies. I do have photo of that but is on Karens Camera as I forgot to take one (Doh!). What I do have is a photo of the finished read to gift blanket at home _ I had to fudge the pattern to get it out of the <500m I had, so omitted one or two charts and developed a more economical edge. I am in awe of Anne's lace designing - aren't you?

There was non -knitting and spinning, Napier has some of the most amazing vintage shops. Toby has developed an interest in things to do with vintage aircraft - so these NZ Air force buttons seemed a good score. The other vintage buttons will easily find a home in my own button collection.

To complete the weekend I arrived home to a small international packet of book things, my very own bone folder, and bookbinding needles, curved and straight. And Bear just rang to see if I was here, he has just collected the cubs from school and will be here in 10 minutes ....

So I'm off to put on the kettle and get ready to catch up with family things, na Stella

Ready, set ---- Steek

2011-08-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

This is a post I prepared earlier. i know - kind of blog cheating. As I write I'm waiting for an airport shuttle to take me to the ...... airport, from where I will fly to Whanganui, returning Tuesday at 9pm. Wednesday I have work all day, then in the evening the cubs are performing at a Stars On Stage concert. Thursday I leave for KAN.

I think I'm ready ... my steek swatches are all ready to show and teach. Here they are, one yet to steek, one steeked but not yet cut, and one cut and demonstrating two different kinds of edge finishes.

wish me luck
Stella

Not much to show around here this post,

2011-08-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

and there might not be much for a wee while yet. I'm having one of those 'away' weeks, Monday and Tuesday away to the North Island. I am home Wednesday which is lucky as that is the night the cubs perform on the town hall stage ... and mu parenting reputation would be trashed if I wasn't there. Last year only one cub performed but we were not quick enough to buy tickets and the show sold out. There was some serious pouting from that cub ... and I made sure I was there on the morning tickets went on sale to avoid the same fate this year. Thursday I fly out to KAN .....back Sunday. I guess there will be knitting but not a lot of time to post.

So this week I managed to turn a heel. Much as a I like toe up socks occasionally I find a pattern that I like so much I knit it as written, even if it is top down. Revival is such a sock, and even though I love toe up the heel on a top down is at times a magic thing. This is one of those heels, I've knit the flat, turned the corner, worked the heel cup, and am in the midst of decreasing away the gusset. As always I couldn't leave the pattern alone, and I've added 3 extra stitches to the instep - so I have have a tiny baby cable on each side of the instep not just on the left.

And these are the other knit project, the semi urgent one. These are my steeking samples for KAN, my class is called Getting the Chop and these swatches are made to chop. That is what I am off to do now, finalize my teaching stuff so I have diagrams and instructions and all that I need to have knitters happily stitching and snipping into their knitting for two and a half hours. I'm planning to start with a demonstration, and then hand around the demo swatch, all steeked - that should set the class off on a confidence seeing-is-believing footing. After that students will steek and then work two different edges ... .. .

So
I'll post when I can, don't panic if a midweek post doesn't happen, I'll be knitting even if not posting.
until then - take care
Stella

Some where in here there is a swarm of bees

2011-08-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

I know this, because the pattern calls this section of the chart Swarm Lace, and when I look at the images online and with the pattern I see those little bees so clearly. As I knit this section I can imagine the bits that will look like wings, and bodies and even heads with eyes. As yet, alas those little bits don't look like bees to me. I am knitting on and trust once the blanket is blocked, and manipulated into a flatter squarer shape, the bees will emerge.

So far so good, I skipped the second lace section, and went straight to the Swarm of Bees. The final boarder is worked over eight stitches, sideways. My loose plan to estimate how much yarn I need for that is to weigh my yarn for the next few rounds and work out how much yarn a round uses ... then kind of double and fudge this up so I can knit the swarm repeats until I think I have enough left to work the boarder safely. As I said - fast and loose and very very much in the realm of wild-estimate.

Remember these? The books I made last weekend? I only showed you the outside of them then, but thought you might like a peek at the inside.

I'm one of those people that likes to collect the patterns they like. Quite frankly if I didn't resist quilting and other simillar hobbies with stashable supplies I'd be totally untrustworthy around any kind of fabric shop. As is I limit myself to yarn, and fibre for spinning and books, and fabric to sew ......(ond-day), and ink, and paper, and nice writing things. That also extends to 'collecting' wrapping paper from the local art supply shop. They have the most amazing collection of decorative papers- for sale by the sheet, at the same prices usually as standard mass market wrapping paper. What I discovered that all those random sheets of beautiful paper that I have squirreled away with no real purpose is excellent for covering books and for decorating the inside.

Now Bear has a book, he chose the cover, this textured green. The paper is one of the 'wrapping' papers that ArtZone stock. The pattern is deeply impressed into almost felt like thick paper, I have no idea how one would use it to wrap with but it makes a wonderful book cover.

Bear wanted lines, so I set up a blank word document, bought some lovely paper (HP 90gsm) and printed out book pages to his specification. Bear chose the cover and the inside cover. All the books have the same vintage green linen thread, it seems to suit everything I've used it on.

And now I have to admit that I have not actually put anything in any of these books yet, my teaching is coming to an end for the semester and it feels wrong to start a new book to document the end of that. I have at least four part used books that really 'should' be finished before I begin a new one. Unless that is until I start a new project. I might also need to admit that there are at least two more books part made .... covers, pages printed, and holes punched ... all ready to sew. I figure a good book will keep until I need it.

A few people have asked me about pens, fountain pens, vintage and or new, asked me to recommend one for them. I have to admit that while I learned to write 'cursive' with a fountain pen in school in the 1970's, and bought a Parker 45 for lecture notes in the late 1980's I don't know much at all, especially compared to some. I certainly don't know enough to be recommending pens - old or new. I can only share what I have and know, I like my Parker 45, and my three Parker 51's and my Parker 75. These are all vintage, between 50 to 20 years old, and work well, the 45 and 75 are able to be repaired with modern bits even though those models are no longer in production, they take a standard Parker ink filling system. Bear on the other hand loves the way the 51 and the 75 look but hates the way they feel when he writes, those pens are not the right shape or weight for his hands. I have half a dozen older pretty pens, Burnham's and a Conway Stewart, a Sheaffer, and an Onoto. These are all older, pre 1950ish, and feel more 'delicate' to me, I think these are more temperamental, need more care to work well and can't be abandoned filled with ink like the Parkers to their own devices quite so much. I have a lovely Esterbrook in Red and see why so many love these little pens. They are easy to clean, and use and have easy changeable nibs - often these are recommended as perfect starter pens for collectors - and if you get one that is restored that would be a good pen to use daily.

My only 'new' pen is my recent present of a Sailor 1910, and it is a lovely pen to use. Since I have such little experience with the world of fountain pens and especially new pens, and since I know that not all pens feel right to every one - I feel I can't really recommend a pen with clear conscience. Bear bought a rather expensive P51 and it is now mine as it is not right for him, I had the same experience with a Lamy 69, which is now Bears and he loves it, as I love his-now-my P51.

If you suspect you might like a fountain pen, a cheap entry model is the Lamy Safari, which will tell you if you actually like writing with wet ink, and the feel of a pen and all the ink choices that go with using one. You can buy Lamy's online fairly cheaply and in most towns, and they very quite nice to use, they come in nice colours and a few different finishes. I have promised myself a charcoal one with a black nib one day. Bear has one, and both cubs have one each, and it is the pen we gift to people who want to try a fountain pen. If you already know you want something more special than a Lamy safari, then visit the Fountain Pen Network, where people hang out and talk pens, ink, paper, supply's, suppliers, review and discuss pens, pen care and pen maintence. Chances are you might find a pen-user near you who can guide you into the world of fountain pens much better than I. Sorry its a little like finding a knitting project for some one, I might guess at what you want to knit, but I'd never be sure :D

na Stella

Just in time ...

2011-08-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

for more snow, the Owl mitts are done, really done, finished, with thumbs and ends woven in and blocked and nearly dry! Can't be any more done that that! There has been other knitting, the greener than green baby blanket grows and I've been playing with books.

Thursday night I finished knitting the third mitten ... for those who have been tagging along, the first mitten was a reject, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was way to large, a result of my complete beginner-ness at double knitting. As I worked my tension settled and tightened .. and so subsequent mittens were smaller than the first. The second reason to reject it was the motif wasn't quite round enough for me, the bear was a little horizontal - so I decided to try some Owls. I had enough yarn to finish two more mittens, so rather than frog first I left it - and planned to knit two more - hence I now have three double knit mittens.

One of the other changes I made was to use a tubular cast on for mittens two and three. The pattern called for casting on and then increasing to get the stitches for the inside, that is the finish on the underneath mitten. While that looked nice enough I really prefer the seamless quality of the tubular cast on.

So early this morning, before breakfast even I blocked these, fulling them a little to thicken them up. As the 2nd and 3rd mittens were slightly different in size, but not as different at the first mitten - fulling seemed a good solution. Winter mittens need to be thick and warm anyway - and fulling achieves that. For any one wondering - fulling is the textile term for knitting that is felted. And not a moment to soon ... today we have snow again, this is the second or third snow fall of the morning, with more predicted.

The next baby blanket has been growing. Every time I see this out of the corner of my eye ... I can't help think how light this green is. Not light in a pale sense but light is a sense that the green glows a little like the sun is shining on it. I've finished 2 of the 4 repeats for the central section, and I'm feeling brave enough to work the main body without markers. I have 360m - and the pattern calls for much much more than that. My plan is to to work maybe three repeats of the center section, and then move straight to the bee border, then on to the edge ......

Last week I made a book, 100 sheets (200 pages), coptic bound. That book has gone to a new home, but this week I found myself making more. Two more books were assembled yesterday, one with blank pages, and the other using Rhodia 5mm grid paper. that one will be a perfect knitting project book. All the paper I have used is 'fountain pen friendly', which means that the paper is of a good quality and the ink behaves nicely. Nicely - in the fountain pen world means no feathering, and no bleed thru to the other side of the paper. I have plans to make two more books today ... sometimes when the mood strikes, its best not to fight it. I've even headed out and bought HP premium paper as recommended on the Fountain Pen Network and more card to use for the boards. Besides Bear was looking at these with potential for ownership and use. I realized I didn't want to give these ones up, rather I was keen to make some more. So some of today's production may be for him.

New, New and old

2011-08-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today there are two new things, one on the needles and one in print, and one ongoing - old thing - yup, those mittens are still on the needles. There was also a moment of insight - where I realized that there was a much simpler way to go about things. Obvious in hindsight really.

So first new thing is another article in Entangled, this time looking into how attitudes to repairing have changed. The subtitle for the article is

"The four R's, reduce, recycle, reuse and re-purpose - a brilliant slogan for what was once common sense. But why did the creators forget the fifth 'R', repair?"

I love this issue, Francis Stachl is featured, and I don't know if I am more excited that the feature is about her spindles ... or that there is none of her jewellery featured which means they will follow up with more of her work in another issue - she is amazing. In keeping with an article on Frances and her spindles, there is a new feature "Abby Franquemont who answers your textile production questions". Abby Franquemont! And more, lace knitting, hats, and alpaca fibre (Doe Arnott). I was a little hesitant of the digital format for magazines, but two things won me over, and no not an ipad, sadly I don't have one (yet). First the price, the subs are really really ecomonical which is important to a fibre junkie like me, much better than any print magazine I've come across. Second because I have a computer at home and at work, I can read an article here or there, as I want to. Reading on screen isn't the same as curling up with a print magazine on the sofa, but the images are amazing, full colour an intense, and the articles are not limited by the cost of printing pages, so there is the depth detail that many magazines can't deliver.

The second new thing is a new project, a lace baby blanket in 'outside green' handspun. I've long admired Anne Hanson's lace work, and there is another baby due at work ... so perfect excuse to knit Honey Baby. It was a very difficult toss up between that and Rosebuddie. The choice could still go either way .... or I could just knit Rosebuddie next. I know I don't have enough to knit the whole blanket but I plan to knit the bees and maybe skip the second last lace band ... depending on how the yarn flows.

The old project is of course the seemingly everlasting double knit mittens, tonight I might even finish the mitten tip, and make a start on thumbs ... imagine that ... nearly finished! And during the week had one of those realizations, you know the sort, after coming to a solution, and recognizing that the 'problem' was all of my own making and there was an easier solution? I realized that to create a left and right double knit mitten using the one pattern chart all I had to do was to switch the colours when I knit the second one. As the mittens are the negative on the inside - switching the yarn colours for the chart would result in a matched pair!
Doh!

Oh well .. I at least can learn new things even if it is after I develop an overly complicated work around.

Cheers
Stella

Nearly back to where I was

2011-08-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

since Tuesday I have been knitting, and doing a little spinning. Well I have also been working, and doing family things like cooking and ironing and putting cubs to bed. In terms of fibre stuff, I have been knitting the mitten (again) and carefully and so far it goes well. I've also found myself in with another knitter in the house.

I did manage to reverse the mitten chart, I had to print it out, scan it, and then import it into an image program and then flip it and print it again. I just couldn't get a format that would import it directly into an image program. A little fiddly but seems to have done the trick, especially as the chart used capital M's for make one, and the decreases were directionally marked by a diagonal line. When the chart was flipped all the decreases just turned over and the capital M's just did the same and looked like capital M's.

In the original chart there were five Owls, and the left and right mittens were charted the same. With the chart flipped - now I have a left and right that are mirror images of each other!

And this is the 'other' knitter in my house, the one who sat down today and decided to make a purse. She cast on 10 stitches and worked a bit, decided it would be to small, frogged it and cast on again. At this stage she has worked a button hole and is working the body of the purse, counting rows and all. From her description the purse will start out an oblong, and she will fold it up a bit like an envelope and stitch the edges together and attach a button. I'm rather proud of my wee 9 year old knitter - I think she is shaping up well. Littlest cub is still keen on knitting her own colour work Owls, and I have promised her that once her main project is cast off... we will sort two yarns (maybe even buy some specially!) and get her started with charts.

Take care, I've got to go and ruffle in a fibre cupboard.
Tomorrow is spinning night and I've got to go and sort some fibre to spin, I've spun all that I had on the go and its not ready to ply yet. I like to let it sit for a few days especially if I plan to ply from the inside and outside of a center pull ball.

cheers
na Stella

One more time, slowely and carefully

2011-08-02T21:56:00.001-07:00

Today's post will be brief, Bear has taken the smallest cub out to her swim lesson, and I have tonight's dinner on the stove (Leek and Potato soup or Vichyssoise if there is cream). Elder cub is charged with watching the pot .. but he is a pre-teen boy and easily distracted so I'd best not be away to long.

First of all - Thank you to all those who left comments or otherwise messaged me to say they felt my pain over the Owls, and that they too had been there. I intellectually know I'm not alone in the knit world, and that others have knit-hiccups, but hearing that I am not alone makes the world a smaller place.

So Monday night I frogged the Owls, it was a slow process as the two colours were intrinsically intertwined. Then I rewound the two colours into neat center pull balls. I didn't have to do that but had I left the balls as they were, center pull balls that were used and had frogged yarn wound around them, I would have been reminded with each tug that this was not my first attempt at knitting these.

Tuesday night I started the mitten ..... carefully with the chart on the right side of me and the first Owl mitten on the left side. I wanted as many reminders as I could not to skip any section of the chart.

and here I am today, with the start of a new mitten, that matches the other mitten!
Wish me luck!

Finally - yes there is something odd about the Owl positions Kathy, there are five Owls around the cuff of the mitten, 3 on the 'front' and 2 on the 'back'. There is only one chart for the mittens so both left and right are shaped exactly the same, so when one becomes the left ... well it has a different number of Owls than the one that becomes the right. I'm now wondering if I can play around with the page in an image program and flip it so I have a right and left mitten.

ok soups smells good, cub has wandered in to see if he could watch the pot from another room - time to go and check things.
take care.

stella

There are two possible titles for this post

2011-07-30T15:18:00.001-07:00

one is 'Bother' written in small light pale and quiet letters with a sense of patience and acceptance and the other is 'Arrrgggghhhhhh' in bolder, more strident tones.

Right now I'm not sure which is the better one ...
Some knitting projects fly off the needles, leaving smiles and good warm feeling in their wake, other projects demand more attention and reward with satisfaction when the project is successfully completed. Then there are projects that feel like battle, and with any battle there is a decision to be made, how far is too far, how important is it to win - in the sense that knitting is not really considered a competitive sport?

I'm at that stage.
Current progress on the double knit mitten finished just above thumb gusset last night - here -

which left me feeling quite pleased until I compared the mitten on the needles with the one off the needles .... and found -

See that? the missing dotted band that should be bleow the owls?

Still that kind of feels ok until I remember ... that this is the third mitten ... of a pair, which still is not too bad until ...

I remind myself these are double knit so technically each mitten is two knitted mittens !

Which reminds me, perhaps inside out might be the solution since the inside is the negative of the outside?
Nope! Still the same.

And to top it off my long time Knit buddy Yo-yo deserted me, walking right on by.

Not even stopping to see what I had done.

Denial - ?
or disappointment?

Anyway - today will be about frogging ......and laughing ... how could I be so dumb?

take care
Stella

Winter brings many things....

2011-07-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Cold, snow, wet, wild weather, blustery days. dark nights, - and crisp clear icy mornings, with clear cold-as bright sunny days to follow. Winter also brings sniffles, and colds and blocked noses and sore throats. Winter brought me all of these things this week, the snow and the head cold.
Last post I was wondering if the snow would last, it did - Monday was a snow day, no work for me - the snow had come to stay. there were no buses running, and if the buses are not traveling on my road - well I figure it is not safe for me to drive on the roads. On would think with a week between posts that there would be lots to report ... but no. Today I can update what is on my needles, in my head-cold misery I went looking for something interesting to knit. You know, something that would be so interesting that I would forget that I had a cold and the knitting would just fly. I didn't quite find a project like that but I did make some progress on a project that has almost been forgotten, and tiny progress on the current sock-on-the-needles. Smallest cub has been more prolific with her knitting than I have, and there was snow ..... lots of snow - well 'lots' for here.

Earlier this year I started a Tam, something inspired by lots of colour-work Tams I had seen, but of my own design. I was all excited at using the Shetland two ply, and seeing all the lovely colours working together. Some where along the line I was distracted by other things on the needles, occasionally I would pic this up but I just couldn't find my place in the chart easily. This past week I settled in to make sense of where I was - and discovered I had mucked up the repeats at some point. I tinked back a round and tried again, no joy, I tinked another round, and then frogged back to the ribbing and started again. This time it all lined up and went as charted. I kept going over a few nights until I had finished that chart ... I didn't want to abandon it again and forget where I was all over again next time.

Last weekend I took my Owls up to dads to knit, smallest bear sat beside me and wistfully reminded me she had forgotten to bring her knitting. I was strong, I was traveling light and I didn't have a spare project with me, and although I felt guilty I resisted handing over my knitting to her but instead made conversation along the lines of 'well, I'll have to remind Dad next time to check you have packed everything'. I wasn't there when she packed, and she had the essentials, toothbrush and pj's, but not her knitting or her iPod. Poor thing. Still - as smallest cub sat beside me looking at the pattern chart for Double, her little mind was working things out. Her first real pattern project was a dishcloth worked with written instructions, but she sat and said 'Oooo, is that another way to write a pattern?' I said yes, and Small-Cub said 'do you knit the black squares with one colour and the light squares sith another colour?'. I said yes ... and there followed a conversation about how she was clever to work that out and yes she could knit something with Owls on it once we were back at home.

Back at home the Owls promise was remembered, and we cruised Ravelry looking for something with Owls. Hoot took her fancy and I showed her how to C4B and C4F. These are the first four Owls, and of course she had to wash and then Block them into the right shape, her idea not mine. This girl has clearly been hanging around knitters far too much. I showed her how to weave in ends and stitch on button eyes on the first one and after that she was on her own.

All the other Owls have been given away to visiting friends this week, so only two remain at home. I guess they migrated to new homes and flew the nest?

Bears new sock grows slowly, only because I've been sitting and drifting off into a world where I imagine no head cold more than I have been knitting lately.

And snow, now in the wider world this isn't enough snow to interrupt life. There are parts of the world where more snow than this falls and stays, and builds up, but in those places there are plans and systems in place to allow life to continue, snow plows, and snow shovels. This was the snow last Monday, and it kept snowing all day ... down to sea level which is unusual as often only the hill suburbs get a light dusting and the flat areas nothing at all. There were no buses running all day Monday, and and the police suggested essential travel only. Work like many other places in Dunedin was closed for the day, which meant I got to stay home, warm and dry and admire my snowflake-gate in a white setting. This gate has been getting admiring comments from lots of visitors this week, which I must pass on to the artists who created it.

Last post I forgot to identify a pattern, so the Grey shawl last week, it is Fountain Pen shawl by Susan Lawrence. I am snuggling it around my neck as I write.

take care
Stella

Another Tour de Fleece is over ...

2011-07-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

and I managed my unofficial goals. I was a little wary about aiming to high for this years tour, because I knew I would be away for a good 3 days to Wellington sans wheel, and again overnight to visit my Dad and collect the cubs. I kept my goals somewhere between modestly achievable and slightly beyond doable, then there is the new sock, stitches back on the needles and growing well, a new set of Owls, and even a new completed shawl! Some one has been knitting and its not been me.

This year my tour de fleece goals were to spin 160g fibre on the Pipy Saxonly wheel - a wheel that I have not used much at all since the Majacraft Gem arrived 18 months ago. Those goals I achieved, last night - as the tour came to a close I plied the two 80g bobbins onto one Majacraft Bobbin. Whew! I had a wee moment during the day when I thought about how nice it would be to keep the skein unbroken and wondered about purchasing a Majacraft Plying bobin. Those bobbins hold twice what a standard majacraft bobbin holds. But between the wanting to ply while the tour was on, and thinking about I would want to add to my spinning kit should I be spending money - and browsing the Majacraft price list ... well I decided to order an upgrade for my flier to the Majacraft e-system and just ply with what I had. Good move, as the bobbin filled I found that it did indeed hold 160g of plied fibre, and that as it filled it was perhaps a little top heavy for the Gem. I ended up glad I had not ordered a larger bobbin for the Gem. So this is my Tour de Fleece 2011, 160 g 2ply perendale, dyed pinky mauve rose by moi, and 440 wraps of my longest ninny noddy. I'll calculate the final length after I've soaked and dried the yarn.

This week I have been knitting mostly on the new sock, and after making repairs earlier in the week the sock has grown and is well on its way down the leg. Scrunched up like this the pattern is not very noticeable- but stretched out as it will be when worn the baby cables and twisted stitches are pretty - in a very masculine way. This is a boy sock, for Bear, so has to be masculine

I knew that working on teeny tiny twisted stitches and traveling stitches and baby cables might not be a good thing to attempt in a traveling car - so I opted to work on the second (ah hem third) double knit mitten on the way up to Dads and back again. Look progress, much more of this kind of stuff and I'll have to visit my queue and decide what to knit next.

I've even managed to have one of the owls winking! I'm not sure how that happened - I guess a distracted moment perhaps. Eldest cub is quite keen on movies like Indiana Jones and local tv has been having an Indiana Season. Even though I have seen all of those movies many times ... the high action stunt scenes are still worth watching.

Since Thursday I have been wearing a new shawl, this was gifted to me in the local knitters swap. Pale silver grey (I'm told its Vintage Purls Lace Satinless Steel Rat !) and beautiful. I love this, love it, love it, love it! I had moved this shawl up to the top of my queue every now and again ... but just didn't know the right colour to use ... and this grey is perfect. The shawl is warm, stays put and looks amazing (did you see it had nups?), and a little silver feather broach by Peter McKay just suits the lace and colour perfectly. I have a couple of his pieces, Bear commissioned the 13th Metaphysical heart for a wedding anniversary and the feather was bought to fill the gap while Peter made the heart. Thank you H!

Today is Sunday, the cubs and Bear are on holiday this coming week, whilst I have a standard work week. We woke up to what we thought was a heavy frost - but turned out to be snow and hail and all things cold. So far we have swung from cold weak winter sun with soft flakes of snow to wetter hail and wind. Smallest cub keeps heading out to find enough snow for a snowman. A perfect day to keep warm and fondle knits and knit and spin and bake. Did you notice the cinnamon muffins earlier in the post? Part of me hopes for a snow day tomorrow so I can work from home ..... but snow here is a once a year thing and almost never stays for more than a single day so I expect it will be a typical work week come Monday.

keep warm - that is what knits are for.
na Stella

Look Snowflake!

2011-07-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here in the south of the country we are in the midst of winter, so cold clear days, and 'crisp' mornings. Now 'crisp' is a local term that secretly means bitterly cold, ice and wind straight from the sea that can chill you thru the thickest of hats and gloves. At my house it has been snowing, well not really, as I have just the one snow flake - and a very pretty one. The yarn bombing on my gate has been added to, and I've been updated - this was a birthday gift with lace provided by several people!
As well as the sock today I have a new sock project to introduce and a new sock yarn....together with its pattern.

With a sock off the needles, and nothing in the way of easily portable knitting on the needles I thought it prudent to start something that was portable. Well that was the plan, Bear was next in line for socks so I provided several sock books and left him to choose. Bear choose a plain sock, plain toe, plain foot, plain heel, and 2x2 ribbed leg .... which was perfect, exactly the sort of sock project that I needed. Simple enough to be portable and mindless when I was out or distracted by life.

Except I didn't want to knit that sock. I didn't know that at first, I found a skein of Bears Bunker and converted it from Skein to cake, two cakes each of 50g. made sure it was sock yarn (superwash not vintage sock). About then I was catching up on my blog-roll and I saw the Yarn Harlot post images of exactly the sock I wanted to knit - something with texture and pattern and a challenge and yet something that wouldn't scare a Bear by being too girly or frilly or pretty. The sock is Revival and I'm being very literal in my inspiration, as I'm also working mine in grey. Bear approves - provisionally with a hesitant comment 'its not to much work is it?' Non-knitters just don't get it, sometimes simple and easy isn't enough.

Of course there is a reason I should be working a plain simple sock .... because I'm only a little way into the leg chart and already I'm frogging. The pattern is all twisted traveling stitches and baby cables - easy enough and doubly easy with pointy knitting pins. But ... I managed to mirror the pattern at the wrong point ... so ended up with a bit of a muddle ...... no problem, as I'm frogging down and knitting back up. I have already fixed one section this way .. and this will be done soon. Now that the direction of the chevrons are set the sock should be plain sailing.

This week was the second installment of the Vintage Purls winter sock club 2011 - so surprise yarn. I love this, every month during sock club - a neat wee parcel of yarn and pattern and other wee treats arrives for me to play with and stash. This is Hocken, same name for the pattern and the yarn. Hocken is a traditional name in Dunedin, streets, city fathers and libraries all carrying the name Hocken. The wee extra treat this time is a canvas bag with a sweet bird knitting graphic. This will get lots of use. The sock heel looks particularly interesting, perhaps if I had not already cast on for Revival I might have started this.

Things are quiet and busy, the first week back teaching in a new term so things are never quite where I left them. Friday I'll be teaching kids to knit at the settlers museum ... so if you are in Dunedin Friday from 10-12 - call in and say hi!

na Stella

Spinning

2011-07-16T18:22:00.001-07:00

and not the wheel and fibre spinning, but the kind that my head does when there is almost to much going on to comprehend.
I got tagged, or bombed, or graffiti-ed, I'm not sure which, but it is fabulous, and I'm honored and surprised and an awe. And I have an answer to a question on how I fill my bobbins so evenly when I have a flier with hooks (spinning terms - that might confuse non spinning knitters)

At our house we have a gate, well two gates and an opening between the end of the hedge and the garage. The two gates are simple ones, a square frame made of bent tubular metal, and filled in with wire mesh. The two gates in themselves are humble, galvanized, so silvery-dull metal in colour, plain and functional. In short the main gate was plain and not very exciting to come home to every day.

Look, now I have a wonderful lace gate, white and yarn-ey, and lovely. This weekend we held our annual mid winter Thursday Night Knitters swap ... and this was gifted to me. Of course I didn't find out about it until I got home - at the end of the evening. Bear drove home and as we swung into the wee private street that leads to the garage at the back of our section ... I spotted something on the gate. A closer inspection revealed yarn bombing, and fancy yarn bombing at that, there is lace at least nine different knit lace structures, and then crochet lace as well. I know there isn't much or even any crochet here on my blog ... but I can crochet, and I do like crochet very much.

and look, every single section of lace was made to fit the grid of the gate, and then laced into place. If that doesn't impress you then knowing that the average temperature in Dunedin the day it was installed was 7.9° Celsius, and that would be 46° Fahrenheit, and Bear tells me installation took a few hours.

Jenni - you are amazing! I love you and your knitting, and I love what you did to my gate .....

and there are other things that made my head spin, I've been away at two day workshop that focused on alternative approaches to pattern cutting. Pattern cutting being the term used to describe the art of generating shapes on cloth that can then be cut and constructed into garments. The workshops, there were several options, brought together at least four 'zero-waste' designers, and offered workshops to allow participants to understand their different approaches. Zero waste is a new term in the fashion area, and refers to a goal of making garments without wasting fabric or other resources. The figures for fabric waste vary by garment type but are usually quoted at an average of 15%. So for every 10 tee shirts, or 10 pairs of jeans made and sold, enough fabric to make another one and a half is dumped. Consider the clothes in an average house, or shop ... and extrapolate that to the amount of waste fabric that is generated by the manufacturing process and the volumes get quite scarily large.

Holly McQullian's approach can only be described as holistic, considering not only the fabric, and the fit, but also aiming at a cutting scheme that has beauty as a flat graphic. An example can be seen in the Yield exhibition page for her work, which shows an image of her cutting plan - it is the image that 'isn't a dress' (yet) and sort of has a monkey face at the top. Inspired by her approach to zero waste - spent the first few hours playing with half sized patterns to see how they could be morphed into something that made full use of the fabric. Its not perfect yet, I can see potential to tweak the cutting lines to make the garment sit and fit better, ... but there is only so much one can do in 6 hours when the ideas are new and jostling in ones head.

That pattern when cut out and lifted and stitched in a few places turns into this dress. I was working in calico (in the USA - Muslin) - which is stiff, cream, inexpensive plain weave cotton, so allows all sorts of experimentation without worry about wasting expensive fabric. Now this design is shaping up I see it being executed in a more fluid fabric, and darker. At the back there is a hint of a hood, but one that falls from under the arms, and hidden in the side seam are pockets, constructed by swinging the 'waste' fabric from the armhole down and around, and folding it back. I'm going to keep playing with this idea .. and see if I can't polish it a bit more ...

On Saturday I attended a workshop with a different approach to reducing waste. Jennifer Whitty presented a workshop that looked at new garments that are relegated to waste before they are even sold. This happens for lots of reasons and happens surprisingly commonly, in scary amounts. Jennifer provided new unworn 'waste' garments and asked us to pair up and collaboratively design something from this often ignored waste source. I paired up with Anne-Marie who I had only just meet, and we had 40 minutes to create something from two generic dark polyester shirts. The shirts were 'work-wear' uniforms, and the care label had me in stitches - giggling like a little kid. Hand wash - warm water , Line dry in shade! Really - after spending a day in the kind of job where you have to wear a dark polyester blouse - the wearer is to go home and lovingly hand wash it .. and hand it to dry on a line? Polyester ? the most robust fibre known to human?

This is our 40 minute dress - I am amazed and think we worked really well together. Ok it does have a bit of a toga feeling to it, but it has pockets and a back button closure that works, and we even worked the sleeves into pockets that sit inside the dress at useful points.

Not only did we use all of the two black polyester blouses, but we even made use of the care labels and two buttons from other projects in the same room. I think we should call it the 40-minute zero plus dress!

I thought that if I sorted this all into a blog entry ... well my head might spin less with all that has happened in the past few days. But no ... a little clearer but still buzzing with ideas and pleasure at the lovely gate at the end of my front path ...

so I'm off to finish unpacking, write few messages of thanks .... and make a cuppa tea, and I'll leave you with Holly's update on the event, venue and Exhibition that was held at the end of the workshops.

na Stella

And the answer to a spinning question posted recently

Woollyprimate asked recently in a comment on a post "May I ask how you fill your bobbins so evenly when you have hooks on your flyer? It looks like you used a woolee winder. "
Well it has to do with the arrangement of the hooks. The flier on this wheel has hooks that are offset - rather than exactly opposite each other ... and the arrangement of the orifice and design of the flyer allow the yarn to be strung from both sides of the flier. I hope this photo shows how the hooks on the top arm are not lined up with the ones on the lower arm, but are instead between them. Effectively the hooks on the top arm allow the yarn to fill in the valleys that the hooks on the lower arm create. Two or three of my vintage wheels have this feature, and I think it shows that the wheel maker was considering how the wheel would be used, and perhaps was a spinner themselves. My modern Majacraft wheel has a sliding hook that allows me to achieve the same effect.

Oooooo - finished

2011-07-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Another project off the needles, which leaves ... maybe two on the needles. Off the needles is Fling One (Heart of Glass), currently blocking. On the needles is a seemingly abandoned Tammy, and the third and final Double knit mitt. I also have knit wisdom to share, and yes I am still spinning on the Tour de Fleece (no photos today). I am also reading, I am nearly done on a book that is making me both nod in agreement and think, and I have a new-old book to start.

So now there are empty sock needles, really and truly empty, that means that I should probably knit a new sock, or at least begin thinking about what the next sock could be. I have hand spun sock yarn to use, and the new Vintage Purls Max Sock yarn ... and a whole drawer of yummy choices besides. What I do know is this my next book, Stella's Cup, written in 1890, by May Elsdale, N found and thought of me, especially when she saw chapter VI was titled Tiresome Toby. Tiresome - that is exactly the word that describes parenting that boy some days! I'm glad there are more days that are not tiresome than are. It should be a 'golly good read', and an insight into what people were providing in terms of children's literature 120 years ago.

So here are the finished socks, cast off and blocking. Details

Started: April 28 2011 Completed : July 13 2011
Yarn: Vintage Purls Sock
Pastel Mist,
Pattern Vintage Purls Heart of Glass
Needles, 2.25mm.
Modifications : I added eye of partridge stitch to the heel - just because I like how it fits and hugs the heel, and the way it looks in a soft semi-solid yarn.

This came my way this week from K, a money box with multiple knit themed sayings. Subversive knit sayings, like this scarily authentic Government warning.

I'm also reading To Die - Is Fashion Wearing out the world For by Lucy Siegle. I read Claire Regnault's review in last weeks Listener and decided this was a book I had to buy and read. I'm not sure how to best describe this book, its not fun, and if I was the kind of person who did a lot more shopping then this would be a slightly uncomfortable read. I love fashion, I love design, but I've never spent most of my money on it, I've always tried to buy 'quality', things that were made and cut to last, so often I reject the very thin cheap clothes on offer at discount places. I'm also not to naive about the impact of production, and processing for fashion, or really any product or service, even so this book is honest to the point of being brutally at times, it contains information that is hard to read. What does Lucy say? Well I've not finished the book yet (page 266 of 337), but so far she presents a very coherent and well defined argument that in the last 60 or so years our attitudes to clothing have shifted away from more sustainable attitudes that were traditionally in place when the production was more linked to the consumption. Where does this leave me? Well buying quality, considering the way and place and materials involved in the making of anything, and what will become of my 'stuff' when I no longer want it. As I said uncomfortable - but in a good way.

Take care, I'm off to The Cutting circle workshops tomorrow, should be fun as I get to be the student not the teacher! I'm back Saturday just in time for the Knitters study group mid winter dinner. My plane gets in after 7pm, so I'll probably arrive late ..... hope they save me some of the yummiest stuff, it is a pot-luck, or as we say in New Zealand 'bring-a-plate' and some of those knitters can cook as well as knit.

Stella

Oh my - I am one lucky birthday gal

2011-07-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

I sure am, yesterday was my birthday and there was cake, and a lovely family dinner and lovely things to open and enjoy. I headed out to the KSG (Knitters Study Group) where I provided an old fashioned pound cake, with orange zest, vanilla innards (what is the name for the bit that you scrape out when you use pods?), and cloves. The best thing about having hobbies is that when people want to give you things they tend towards things that fit the hobbies you have. When friends are also into the same hobbies and activities .. well the gifts tend to be of the most amazing kind, the kind that really fit into what you want to do and use. Right at the end of the post is a new video, which I hope is of little or no use to most knitters, and of great use to a few in temporarily or permanently in special circumstances.

So ... first, is a pen - yes I know it is a knit-blog, but the pens have been creeping in of late and there appears to be naught I can do about that. The pens, and inks, are part of my life now, and we both have to adapt to that. Remember back in 2009 when I was knitting Owls in collaboration with Suzanne, well this pen called to S and reminded her of that collaboration. I knew there was a pen in the parcel - customs forms make a point of listing what is inside, in this case 'pen and ink'. I thought there might be a Tswbi pen, as was a firm favorite in her collection. I never expected a Sailor 1911 Maki-E Owl by Pen by Kosen Oshita.

Oh wow, you probably know all about yarn-porn, delicious photos of yummy yarn and fibre, here is some some pen-porn. The pen is predictably a fountain pen, a rather special one.

Maki-E is a traditional Japanese technique of decorating using layers of lacquer and precious materials, in this case gold and shell. This pen has the signature of the craftsman artist, and is absolutely beautiful.
Even the nib is amazing, 14ct gold with some of the prettiest engraving I have ever seen. This is a Japanese Medium nib, equal to a European fine. The pen if filled with Noodlers Summer Tanager Ink, a lovely burnt pumpkin shade. I am not at all disappointed that is was not a Twsbi as this is a pen in an entirely different league.

I was also gifted the spinning fibre, Morag shared some of her limited edition hand dyed cashmere-merino-silk. She said the colour choice was a no brainer, cool blue with a hint of grey .... and the wee notepad with button detail just reminded her of me.

Then Zoomer provided samples of her new button range, sweaters and Jandles (only Aussies call them thongs). I am going to have to knit lovely cotton summery things just to make use of these .....

I have been knitting, and rediscovering that if I pick a project and work on it for a few nights that considerable progress is made. I finished the first Heart of Glass sock, and cast on the toe of the second one on Thursday at knit-night. By Saturday night I had made it almost thru turning the heel!

And I am still spinning, so far 80grams spun, and 80 grams to go. Bobbin one is now done, and about to be put aside. I hope that when I ply this on the majacraft those bobbins will be large enough to make an unbroken skein.

The second half of the fibre is soft, and pink and predrafted al ready to spin. Monday night is spin night at my house .. so I will be able to spin more then. I am trying to spin at least 30 minutes most days, but that cuts into my knit and pen time.

And I am planning the next project,sewing. I am on leave this week. Supposedly the whole week Monday to Friday but effectively Monday to Wednesday because of the Cutting Circle workshops which came up after I planned my leave. Usually if I have a few days leave I plan to sew something, and this week is no exception. Global fabrics have just opened a store in Dunedin so I thought I should 'test-their wares'. Here is a lovely pure silk which all going well should become a nice simple dress. The plain purple brown fabric will be the lining and the paler brown knit is for a long sleeved tee for smallest cub. Global has so much to choose from that I very nearly went mad and selected more than this. I wisely thought that I could sew this Monday and then return to see what else I could sew Tuesday and Wednesday?

As it is still the Tour de fleece, I'm off to spin some, and then play with a special new pen and ink and pet some fibre ... and even knit some.
Take care - enjoy the rest of your weekend - where ever you are.
Stella

Post Script
.. a few weeks ago Bear and I made an new instructional video. How to knit with one hand, the left ... for a special wee boy who wanted to learn. I was sure there was a way and yes there is, based on lever knitting. Over time I hope to add in a few more showing how to increase, decrease and yarn over ... or cables (those I can't quite get my head around how to do those yet).

Seeing clearly

2011-07-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

These past few days have been really blurry. Sunday I lost a contact, really truly I did. the first one lost in over 30 years of wearing them, somewhere in the kitchen ... and despite a long search and being very careful .. it appears gone. Now for most contact wearers that is not a biggie, they simply take another disposable and pop it in and keep on going. Not me, I wear good old fashioned hard lenses, gas permeable, the kind that are cleaned and reused again and again. I asked my Optician about soft ones and disposables and his opinion was that hard ones corrected my 'astigmatism' in a way softs would not. My rigid lenses last me on average 8-13 years ... so the cost is really really low when averaged out. Now a replacement lens is usually only a few days away, note that usually. Right now the replacement rigid lens factory is operating in a quake damaged Christchurch so I must wait longer maybe two weeks. The edges of my world are blurry, and to be honest I miss my crisp contact lens corrected vision. Still I have been knitting, and spinning, and for the first time in ages there is a frog report! Plus I'm away next week, technically on leave but work is paying for me to attend a workshop that is quite exciting .. so if you are in Wellington and interested in new ways to patternmake - consider the Cutting Circle.
Spinning, so far I have spun every day for at least 30 minutes, sometimes more. As a result the basket empties .. and the wheel feels more like a friend than someone I barely know. I am remembering why I love this wheel .... just a little more and then I can start the second bobbin, and then there might even be plying before the tour is over.
Now - Adriene asked about pre-drafting roving, and if I always did or sometimes did, she spindle spins and had not thought wheel spinners would pre-draft. Well I do pre-draft all of my roving to some extent, usually just a slight tug to loosen up the fibers if they have been dyed after being prepared. When the fibre is dyed or natural and in a top or bat that is fresh and lofty - I just spin. Mostly I do just open up the roving a little but sometimes if it is special fibre that I want to spin smooth and fine I will pre-draft thru a diz to make the roving consistent - I need all the help I can get to achieve fine and even some days.

I made a start on the second (technically the third) double knit mitten. The pattern calls for a long tailed cast on and increases every stitch to create the front and back layers. I worked the first mitten that way, the second I worked using a modified Judy's magic cast on .. and I liked it so much I cast on this one the same. I cast on the total number of stitches using Judy's magic cast on, using a strand of each colour. One strand formed the stitches on one needle, the other strand formed the stitches on the other needle. Then I worked two rows (not rounds) on each needle in the required colour before transferring those stitches alternative to a needle. I have worked a tubular cast on other ways before but this seemed less fiddly than waste yarn or the twisty one hand one needle technique I have used from Montse Stanley's amazing book.

Here is my sock in progress, much of the lace on the leg was frogged and reknit over the past two days. When I began the lace section I was at knit night, and I did not have my beads with me so I just purled the beaded stitches and told myself it wasn't that important. That was way back weeks ago .. and subconsciously I think the lack of beads was haunting me. When I finally picked the sock up after a long break what I had on the needles and what saw in the chart didn't match (I blame the glasses - it was fine when I was wearing contacts). I frogged a row, still couldn't make sense of it, so I frogged back to a point in the chart ... but still I was confused. Then I frogged back the heart lace and started again. When I knit up to the B in the chart, B indicating a bead, I thought Bead! This time I was a home, and so I found beads .. and added them, subtle, tiny and sparkly ... and much much prettier.

Today I spent much of the day marking the hand knitting projects, which was fun. Everyone learned to knit in 3 weeks, and all learned to independently cast on, off, rib, knit purl, cable and make holes deliberately as well as shape with increases and decreases (paired no less). I am proud of them, and of me, it was busy but fun. The projects ranged from the ubiquitous long scarf, hat with pompom, some sort of looped cowl or scarf ... and oversize sweater. Yes three people swatched, and designed and planned full size garments like sweaters and cardies, three started them and one nearly finished. That I am the most proud of, on hand in day she was beginning to knit her sleeves, top down, pick up an knit in the round with a shaped sleeve cap - whoa! I didn't expect that. I also had a lantern constructed of balsa and paint dipped knit, a coin purse, and a few scarves with hoods. I did talk one young man out of knitting a barbie outfit, she is just to fiddly for 9mm needles - which were his favorite. I had the foresight this time to let them know that they only had to hand in evidence the knitting was done, swatches, samples, and practice pieces, together with research and plans. My cunning plan was to reduce the volume of matter around my desk and let them continue to knit their projects over the break. If you stop a beginning knitter in full flight .. with a hand in and take their work away for weeks .. well they might never return to their projects again.

so I'm off to deal with the cubs .. I hear sounds of a disturbance in the force ... in the kitchen where they are supposed to be drying dishes calmly and without fuss. Why do I set such high expectations of them, really without fuss? What was I thinking? Both have been off school with heavy head colds and coughs ... and have been very very good and patient while I marked, they were quiet and calm, mostly reading .. but now are either hungry, tired or getting better.

take care
keep well
Stella

A big weekend all round

2011-07-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

When you have younger people in your life, birthdays are significant events. I can understand that, when you have only ever had 11 birthdays, and I'm pretty sure the first few are kind of fuzzy and the memory is probably only the photos in the family album and stories you have been told, the number 12 is significant. Tomorrow my eldest, Toby, aka 'the toad', or 'tobe' turns 12. We try to be responsible parents, no first-person-shooter games, no playing with matches, and making a point of not letting go of what is on offer unless the please and thank-yous are said. That said kids develop interests that plain confound me, The littlest cub is into ballet, so I find myself doing ballet-hair, a bun, twice a week. The eldest cub finds WWII planes fascinating - who knew? That is all part of this weekend, then there is the start of the Tour, not the tour de France, but the tour de Fleece, with all the preparation and false starts that go with that. This weekend and there are knitted objects that relate to the tour, and knitting objects that might even be closer to being finished than they were a few days ago!

This is my 'birthday boy', with his new toys. I am thankful that Bear has insight into the tings that this 12 year old boy likes - as I never would have guessed that teeny tiny miniature planes that are used with a board game replicating the movements of World War II airplane engagements would the perfect present. Me, I supplied blank comic book drawing pads, A3 drawing paper and blocks of A4 210gsm cartridge paper because he is always wanting to use my supplies. I also provided a FC Tk9400 2mm clutch pencil, nice soft black lead refills and a Fabre Castel lead pointer. His sister supplied a vintage style slinky, and an environ science kit. If that boy even hints he is bored in the next few days .... I can't even imagine my surprised reaction. Equally how he will fit all that new stuff into his already full and tiny bedroom is a mystery that only he can solve.

This year I am again on tour, the Tour de Fleece, spinning along with the Tour de France, resting on rest days and trying to challenge myself. This is pink combed perendale that I dyed last year. This year I am spinning on my vintage Pippy wheel, I've not used this much since the two new wheels arrived and every time I visit the back room I admire it and think I shouldn't be ignoring it. So Friday I rearranged the family room, gave the wheel a dust and an oil (silicon spray really), and pre-drafted the fibre.
In any event of the size of the Tour (france and fleece), there are bound to be false starts. My participation started disappointingly. The Pippy and I had to get reacquainted, for I thought I had her all adjusted and drawing in nicely ... but in truth I forgot that treadling with one treadle is very different to treadling with two. Of course any coach will stress how important it is to train with your competition equipment so you are familiar with it, and I didn't. My first 11 grams were thicker than I wanted .. but I have 160g to use. So I thought about it overnight, and decided to sacrifice the 11 grams, and start again. The second start was much smoother, the wheel and I are not quite one, but my hands and feet are more in tune with my spinning and the wheel.

In prepareation for the Tour I spun up the lovely cross breed that KathyR gifted me. I was aiming at lace ... and I'm closer than I have ever been to lace weight yarn. And I do think this my spinning is becoming more even. Once I was compelled to spin three ply yarn - only because I knew the averaging out of three plies would even up my yarn, now I happily spin two ply knowing that my control is improved the point that there is not as much difference between the thicks and thins. Details, fine fingering, 2 ply, shifting from pale to darker over its length, 115g, and 550m. I am still thinking of a a shawl or blanket that uses the transitioning shades to add drama, with the dark as the final outside lace edge. Thank you again Kathy!

With the tour looming I felt the need to knit up some of my previous tour spinning. 2010 I spun 3 skeins of texel fleece into a sweater weight of yarn. This year I plan to turn that into a simple sweater for Toby. He has outgrown the gansey I knit him way back in early 2009. Time for a new one, and as he is a boy with boy traits peer fashion dictates it be plain and simple and serviceable. Bang goes my idea of embellishing the front and back with Barbara Walkers spider or some such crazy motif. The things we knitters do to hold back for the ones we love, like knitting a plain sweater when a patterned one would be so much more fun to make. So I have swatched a gansey edge, a few rounds of garter, then a 2x2 rib, followed by another garter band and three sections knit on needles increasing in size from 3.75 to 4.5mm. I think I like the 4mm best now the swatch is washed. I tried to hide a slip stitch chain pattern along the top ... but I'm not sure it will stay in the final design although in the photo it looks tidier than the garter bands.

And lastly I have finally finished the tip of the second mitten, only of course as I won't be using the first mitten this is technically the first mitten. This will be the third time I have finished this tip ....... only a thumb and a whole n'other mitten to go and I will have a matched pair. I assume that there are other projects like this out there, in terms of the frogging and the redoing and all? The thumb is looking a little puckered as I have a knitters safety pin holding the stitches. I do like the evil owls more than the running dogs ... and the double knitting chart reading has become much much more fluent.

So I'm off to complete other computery things, upload photos and tidy up things that need tidying up. I submitted my second article to Entangled this last week, but I still need to prepare and send thru the images. then there is some long overdue correspondence to catch up on, a pen or two to prepare to send away for repair, two favorites. There was a good frost this morning, which means a sunny clear crisp day - a good day to work thru things inside - before returning to the wheel for more spinning.

take care, if you are touring, may your wheel fly, and your fibre flow, if not please cheer on spinners and cyclists in your circle of crafters.

Today there has been knitting .....

2011-06-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

but I can't really show you, there are now two finished projects, and for two very different reasons neither will appear here today. One is my 2011 Take-back-the-knit Secret swap gift - all finished and ready to go, but that must remain a secret until the actual swapping happens. The other finished project was also a gift and is done, and complete and gifted. I even managed to make photos before the gifting ... but then left the photos on the SD card on my desk at work. Still there is knitting content, I've been working on the double knit mittens, and spinning (a lot), and there is a new sock club - and exciting new yarn and patterns. And I've just signed a contract to write a regular column for a magazine ... so now there are new deadlines.

I have finally made it back to the double knit mittens, these have been on the go since, oh the 1st of April this year and so far I have knit one, realized my gauge had changed as I became more familiar with the double knit method and it was way to large. I then started a second one which will become the first of a pair, if I ever finish the third. This pattern ties me to the chart, so it is 'at-home' knitting, and knitting where I need to focus. This has been pushed aside as I focus on other things .. but now it is back and in progress.

This is when I get to introduce you to Max, super sock yarn. I signed up for the VP Winter 2011 sock yarn club. I didn't need much convincing, as the yarn and colours and patterns and treats are always spectacular, but also as I am not sure I could stand the envy if M brought sock club kits to knit night and I didn't get one to go home with. There is a new sock yarn in her stable, Max, a thicker sock yarn, proper sock yarn with nylon and super wash merino, deliciously dyed, and soft. Max is designed for more than socks, but also for hats, mitts, baby wear and blankets and well ... anything that you would want to knit in soft yarn on 4-5mm needles. In New Zealand this weight is called DK short for Double knit, but elsewhere this would be called Worsted.

Vintage Purls is run by a fountain pen user, and I have tempted her across to pens that you can put ink in. Now that might not sound so outrageous, after all all-pens-have-ink don't they? Well no, not ink like you can get for fountain pens. Long story short, for now M is signing her kit letters with a fountain pen, collecting pens and inks, and this time the ink was an amazing colour ... and my envelope had the ink details recorded as she knew I would ask. Deep Magenta, yummy, I just might have to invest in a bottle for myself sometime, Diamine offer 80 colours, and many of the other brands offer an equal number.

This past three weeks I have been teaching every day on the knitting elective, which is run as a block course so short, sharp and intensive. Over three weeks I managed to take 18 non-knitters from casting on, and off, knitting purling, increasing and decreasing, cabling and eyelets. Some even went further to dying their own yarns, or picking up and edging or working lace within a boarder, and almost all played with adding pom-poms or tassels. I can't claim credit as they were a very bright bunch of motivated students who put the work in, and all designed something to hand in at on Friday, the end of the three week block. One casualty was my own knitting, after a day with knitting in my hands I needed another thing to relax with at home of-an-evening. I turned to my spinning and some of the lovely fibre that Kathy left for me last week. I suspect this is the finest singles I have every spun consistently, all due to the amazing fibre. I divided up the fibre into 6 sections, 2 of each colour and spun it into two bobbins with the same shift in colour. My hope is that I will score a almost lace weight yarn that shifts from cream to chocolate over its length, with some mottled transitions between each tone. My long term aim is a shawl that transitions from pale to dark.

My news this week is that I have signed a contract for an ongoing column in Entangled, which means four columns a year if I remember the fine print correctly. The next deadline looms near so I have been planning and writing and putting the next article on paper. Literally on paper as I am choosing to write the roughs and drafts with a fountain pen. Here I am using a c. 1955 Pelikan pen, with a fine nib filled with Pelikan Edelstein Ink in Saphire (the bottle is amazing and the ink pretty nice as well). Bear bought this pen as he is also a 1955 model, but the nib was too dry for him, luckily I had bought a vintage Lamy that wrote too wet and broad for me. We swapped and both are now happy.

Of course this leads to lots of distraction as I have three pens inked at the moment, and it occurred to me that the words might flow better if I use a different pen and ink. In the middle is a 1950's Burnham button filler with a fine nib, and to the right is a green 1950's Onoto with a lovely flex nib. The Onoto was a gift from a local knitter and I sent it away to England to be restored. The Burnham has my current all time favorite ink, Diamine Damson, a dark mystery plum colour, and the Onoto has Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin - which is a lovely bright fun orange. Mandarin sounds odd for a pen ink but it is brilliant for editing and annotating.

So what am I writing about you ask? Well, repairs, mending, fixing, and darning, activities and ideas that seem old fashioned and yet are totally in keeping with today's messages of recycle, reuse and re-purpose. In my next Entangled article I'm looking at the ideas we have about mending and fixing, and perhaps were those ideas came from. I have done a wee bit on this already for Handmade at Te Papa 2011, but this article will be more formal and look not only at the traditions of darning, a specific form of mending of knitwear, but also at how ideas of repairing and mending have shifted over the past few hundred years. The image shows a cute wee 'vintage' honey pot, we inherited it from Bears family. The pot was almost pristine when we took over its ownership, with only a small chip in the base. Unfortunately two small children meant that over the past 12 years the honey bee has lost first one then the other wing. Both incidents resulted in me reaching for the glue to repair it. A new honey pot wouldn't be a as nice (I know, I've looked) nor would it have the same family connection. As I glued the pot I realized that fixing things had been a constant in my own childhood, pot handles were glued, bikes were mended, elbows patched, rips repaired. My Nana took things way to far when she glued and used broken plates, but mending the honey pot made me aware that for many in the western world mending isn't something they do.
So I'd best head off, pick up those lovely pens and ink and sort more thoughts on repairs and mending, and knit some and spin some .....

take care
Stella

Today I am ...

2011-06-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

posting somewhere else ...

Some months ago I won a shopping spree at Cult pens to celebrate the 5th birthday of Dave's (amazing) Mechanical Pencil blog.
I wrote a review of one of the more luxury pencils that I splurged some of the prize money on ... a Worther Slight 1.18mm pencil, and the review was posted this week. I only recently discovered the Worther brand, and must admit that some of their products make me want an executive desk just so I would have somewhere to display such elegant things.

The Worther Slight may or may not be your kind of pencil, as writing tools can be very very personal choices for some people, and others couldn't care less as long as the pen or pencil leaves a mark. The Worther has some features that make it very different to a standard click 0.5mm pencil, things like the black silicon sheath the leads are stored in that prevent the usual mechanical pencil rattle, and almost no branding.

One of the things I like about a larger-than-0.5mm pencil lead is the ability to modify the point, rounded and soft, pointed and sharp or sharpened to a chisel like an italic pen. I remember being so impressed as a young 18 year old drafts-person seeing one of the old-hands sharpen his clutch pencil like this and use it to add bold titles to his drawings.

Enjoy if pencils or quality stationery in general are your thing, and if you are here for some knitting I'll be back in the weekend with knitting content.

na Stella

Surprise!

2011-06-17T21:27:00.001-07:00

Today's post is about surprises, the nice kind, three of them .....one for me, one for work and one for some one nearby ...
First up I came home to a lovely surprise on Thursday ... and at first I had no idea who had organised it. The whole familygot home at around 6pm, me after a very long day teaching and then a long post-marking meeting, I was sorting something for the evening meal after sending an email saying I just wouldn't make it to knitting that night because of the time and the things still to do when Bear came in from checking the mailbox with a the following question Was I expecting any fibre? No I wasn't... but fibre there was, two bumps. And my favorite colours, blue, blue grey and grey. I was completely flumoxed about who it could be from, and the lovely hand written note didn't help at all, as it was signed 'friend'. The next day KathyR asked if I had 'found' anything .. and it all became clear. The Blue-grey is perendale she has dyed, and the three greys are natural halfbreed from a farm near her -- all coordinated and ready to use. I love both of these, and I'm really happy to have them .. both might have to queue jump onto a wheel very very soon, I just can't decide which will be first.

The past two weeks been teaching in 'my' Textiles - Hand Knitting Studio workshop for two weeks. This is a course where we suspend normal classes for three weeks and mix up students across the four design degrees (interiors, product, communication and fashion) and the three study years into 'electives'. The students just have those classes for three weeks, full on, full time, 48 contact hours in 3 weeks, learning, experimenting and then presenting something that come out of what they are learning. There are lots of fun options, claymation, millinery, story book illustration, Pop-up factory, contemporary jewellery, digital textile printing, packaging, short film, .... lots including my Hand Knitting one. Its full on, I have 18 students an all are pretty much newbies to knitting, By day three all were casting on and off, knitting an purling, increasing and decreasing and some even were attempting lace and cables ... its all good, but keeps me very busy. I am teaching in a room that was only fitted out in February, so its still fairly new and white and bland ... not a great place for designing ... but I'm working on that. A team of of the communication students have been designing quite quirky graphics for the hallways and stairways and shared spaces ... which are very very cool. I've been installing subtle knit graffiti in the room I'm teaching in - using odd swatches that I have left over from past projects. I was inspired by this local project (Ravelry link), but mine is a bit more subtle ...mostly as it is what I had already swatched rather than custom knit. See the bright green bucket - that holds my teaching needles for class .. I also have a matching green laundry basket that holds the yarn that we use for sampling and teaching. three chairs, and a table leg .. it is subtle.

And the last surprise is for some one near here, I'm still working away on my secret swap knit ... and right now I am about here, with only that, that and those to knit and tidy up. I made this photo with not a lot of light ... and I love the way it naturally desaturated leaving just colour in the stitch marker. In full daylight this project is not this colour at all, far from it.

The other thing I worked on this week was spindling, and I finished the fibre I started at spindle class and wound it off ready to ply. I have already plied it - Navaho to keep the colours true, but forgot to photograph it. there is 27g here ... so enough for something. Spindle spinning was so nice that I am even thinking of starting a new spindle project ... perhaps with one of the new fibres that arrived Thursday.

Take care ... the weekend is dark and cold here, perfect knitting weather ....and I hope the weather where you are is perfect for what you want to do.
Stella

Busy

2011-06-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

Oh there has been knitting and yarn related activity since the last post, but surprisingly not a lot of knitting to show for it. I do have yarn, and yarn making, and public knitting, and new projects, so here it all is.
Saturday was Knitters Study Group - and usually I have something new to report. I arrived at 11ish, in time for class set up --- and by 11:30 we had the local fire service mopping the hall and supervising a large fan to evacuate the smoke filled air. Some were between 11 and 11:30 a heater set a temporary curtain on fire, the fire dept was called, the fire extinguisher was emptied, smoldering bits were knocked down and a jug of water and broom used to put out the remaining flames. We were advised to leave the evidence for the fire service to evaluate rather than clean up - so we did. The fire service arrived promptly, said we did all the right things, suggested any one with breathing problems stay outside, set up their fan, opened all the doors and windows, worryingly uncovered the fire exit that was hidden under a table (stored on its end), and helped themselves to mops and brooms and cleaned up. I was impressed ..... but not up for a few hours of knitting in a hall opened up to the elements with no heaters so headed home for a cuppa-tea, so I have nothing to show. And people think knitting can be boring?

The follow up was our Dunedin WWKiP event, 1-4 at the Settlers Museum. Now the museum is a public place .. but it isn't cool to publish photos of people without their permission. The lovely J - taught knitting and took some lovely action photos of the action - and action there was. Hands were flying, people were moving and chatting and knitting ....the best bit was when J noticed the two nine year olds were completely relaxed knitting lying down and had to take a photo - look .....

I made a teaching handout with diagrams and links to cast-ons, knitting, bind off and finishing/weaving in simply because J and I couldn't teach everything a beginner knitter needs to know in 3 hours. Most people could already knit, or had knit at some point in their past but there were some newbies who as far as I could tell went away happy with the beginnings of a new skill.
I have been knitting - but shhh, it is a complete secret, my project for my secret swap partner. This is probably as much as I can show you - any more and you know the story, I'll have to frog your project and tangle your yarn (seems more of a knitters threat than killing). I am about 'here' on the chart, so only this many repeats to go before I work the ..... and the .....s

This is the wee project I worked on the bus today, I knit 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back ... more later. Another beginners wrister for the office lady who sorted all the yarn and the transport for my students and who admired the wristers I was wearing. She wanted Autumn colours - this is some of my early hand spun silk and merino and feels autumnal to me.

hh

Last night at spinning I plied my sock yarn, the Vintage Purls one, 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon delivered in a hand dyed pencil roving (hidden under Hand-dyed fibre on her shop). Wow .. this is probably the most even I have ever spun, I wanted a three ply .. but after sampling went for a two ply, from a center pull ball. This puffs up quite a bit ... and now looks like soft proper sock yarn ... I love it. 100g and 420ish meters ... now to find the perfect sock to knit ....
Today the Hand knitting Studio students and I trekked(by bus) to the mill, and had a wonderful tour of their processing, including dying, and blending and the woolen and worsted lines and the carding and ... well everything from when the fibre arrives to the dispatch room. The students were keen and asked lots of questions ... before heading out the mill shop to buy supplies for their knitting projects. As I went around the mill again, I couldn't help but be reminded of the magic by which fibre is turned into light warm yarn ..... so much fibre .....

Now this week I do have home work, I am teaching a wee-chap to knit, and have to find a way he can knit with only one hand. I've sorted him some smooth thick yarn in bright red, and long thick wooden needles with good points, and so far we have been working on a Scottish style with one needle tucked under one arm. I'm practicing myself so I am useful when I next teach him. Belatedly I Googled and found this blog which shows knitting this way with the use of a support. I was thinking if this wee chap kept up with his knitting I would show him my knitting belt and matching pins, and he is welcome to borrow them .... but for now I want to keep it simple, without to much extra drama and 'stuff'. The technique shown in the video is what he and I came up with on Sunday, but I think it can be more fluid with practice ... so I'm thinking we might have it sussed. Of course I'm not an on this expert so if any one has any hints or clues ... please share.

Take care - update this weekend, where maybe a new sock will be started,
Stella

Hello - it is WWKIP time!

2011-06-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

Yes World Wide Knit in Public day!
and look ... if you are in Dunedin please join a whole host of interesting and talented knitters.

I'm part of the team (that is me in the small print!), Robyn and her team at the museum have worked with a local Opp shop who are supplying yarn and needles, I have asked all those who knit regularly with me if they would join me (the Thursday night take back the knit group) ... and I've also let people know that I'm happy to teach people how to knit. I have the lovely J - all set to teach making a cute wee cat/kitten, and I've been working on beginner project that is not too naff and is achievable in one 2-3 hour session. We are all set - the Transport lounge is lovely all tiles and 1930's fit out .... a special place to knit in many ways.

What-do-you-think?
If you were a beginner knitter would this appeal?
Its hard - to find something that is cool and desirable and yet something that takes only a few skills and is easy to knit if you don't know how to knit.
I wanted to find/design a project that some one new to knitting could achieve in a few hours, the more usually suggested beginners scarf or hat or sample seems to result in boredom or abandonment or both. I knit both of these last night, and think if I can get people

casting on 15-25 stitches,
knitting a few rows,
then knitting 5 stitches, casting off a few stitches, knitting a few stitches, casting off a few stitches, and knitting to the end ...
then on the return row casting on to replace to cast off stitches,
then knitting every row until it is long enough to fit their wrist ... or whatever ....
then casting off (which they learned earlier).

Even if they didn't cast off in 'class' at WWKIP day ... they would go home with the skills to cast off on their own.

So far I have made two ... and will knit a few more ... maybe for a suitcase handle or cups or takeaway coffee cups ... or something.

And I have been spindling ..... the cop (singles wound around the spindle shaft) is growing. I took this to spinning Monday night and that is where I did most of the yarn creating. That on Monday, Knitting beginner project cuffs on Tuesday ... and not much else to show this week.

Take care
Enjoy WWKIP day where ever you are, hope some time will be with knit-sibs and please let me know of any other beginner projects that I could add to my teaching basket.
All suggestions gratefully recieved.
na Stella

There are some universal truths

2011-06-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

One that I recently had reafirmed is that there are some very very clever creative and lovely people out there sharing what they know ... and that results in me almost always spending money. I'm talking about Handmade at TePapa, where I met the absolutely amazing and friendly and wonderful Sourkraut who sells the most amazing spindles on etsy. Of course her away from Ravlery and etsy name is not really Sourkraut ... but Francis, and I am such a language klutz that Sourkraut was always the first name to surface in my mind.

I bought these, how could I not? The first is a 29gram spindle with a Purri whorl and a rimu shaft with a stg (silver?) Bunny, the second is a Nostepinne in Pukatea. All native to New Zealand woods and all beautifully made, shaped and finished, a designer jeweller by training her work is jewelery ......I really tried hard not to buy more. I have already asked Bear if he would consider gifting me one of these for my next birthday so I resisted and resisted taking one home with me as well. I love this bunny, I have a deep appreciation of pre-victorian Arts and Crafts work and motifs and the history that inspired them and this has that feel, an object well made by some one who knows how. And I love the floppy feel of the hard silver bunny, the weight of the spindle and that the hooks and yarn stop are silver.This spindle and nostepinne feel like luxury things to use, and yet are very easy to use and defiantly practical.

I had a mental note to take a wee snatch of fibre with me, as I had booked into Francis's spinning class, one hour 45 minuets of teaching. Now I'm not the worlds best packer, I always forget something (this time it was my toothbrush - still sitting in its travel box on the bed at home waiting for me to pack it when I returned). So as I dashed around the house collecting and packing I kept thinking of the fibre I needed to select and pack .. and then didn't pack any. Francis was so organiseed that she had little kits with plain spindles ... and a selection of lots of little bits of fibre. Even her 'budget' learner spindles are amazing, look at the neat grain in the wood, and they are small and light, and nice to use. By then I had done my dash so to speak on spending what was in my purse ... so I had no ready cash left and the automatic teller nearby was out of order. We did come to an arrangement where Frances went home with a project bag .. and I got a starter kit with fibre and spindle.

oooooo ...now this may be a little misleading, as Francis started us all on white combed perendale, and once we were spindling - suggested we play with the colour fluff. Look she even put in pencil roving! Now yes I can already spindle, but I learned things, like spinning from the fold and even more simple had the idea of the importance of staple length and amount of fibre to hold for spinning reinforced. Some times I need little reminders to keep me focused on the little easy things that make 'doing' more successful.

Even better we covered Andean plying .... and making an Andean bracelet. This is for me a little leap into one of those areas where my mind can't quite work out how it works ... but it does. In time I know my mind will put together all the bits so I understand how looping yarn around your hand in a figure shape ends up in a bracelet that then allows you to ply from both ends at once - but for now it is a magical moment along the lines of - 'Look it works". This is my plying ..... just enough for proof of principle.

So what did I knit whilst I was away .. well fish, until at least Sunday night on the plane home. At that stage ... the fish in progress had an 'unusual stitch count' .. so I decided that was a clear sign to stop. Several fish were added before that point, so I will update the fish count at some point.

Then I came home to family, including this fluffy one, so I'll leave you with a triptych of Yo-yo in the living room window. (Please ignore the lack of window cleaning ...)

take care
na Stella

Wednesday

2011-05-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday, or at least it is here where I live, in fact late afternoon Wednesday, after a full day at the 'office' that was only supposed to be an hour or so before heading home to finish up preparation for the weekend workshops. You can imagine how that goes, pop in to work for a 9am meeting that has been rescheduled and rescheduled and rescheduled, the meeting attempts to cover what is several hours work in the scheduled hour ... and predictably we finish several hours latter. It was a marking meeting, so following that there was the several hours of post-marking admin, logging copies of mark-sheets in the system, sorting and filing things ready for students to pick up, documenting any changes discussed, and then and only then was I able to escape .... late-afternoon! Given I'm not full time this year, that ended up being a standard work day .. so much for heading home to prep for the weekend.

So here I am, quickly updating the blog, what else can I do in the half hour I have whilst I wait for small cubs to arrive home? Not enough time to make inroads into any real work, and I suspect there won't be a weekend blog but there might be a Monday one. One the cubs arrive it gets really busy, one needs to snack, then turn around and head out for a swim lesson and the other can do his homework, then there is the evening meal to find and prepare and clean up after .. .and after that what do you know the day is mostly gone. At least there is the evening to work in. I'll clear the table and settle down to plan the hand outs for my workshops ... I have tonight and tomorrow and if I skip knit-night I'll even have tomorrow night. It might just come to that. What I can say is that the material will be 'fresh'!
I have now have a full suite of little hottie covers, all soft and warm, in a variety of gauges, with all sorts of closures and textures.

This is my favorite, I do have a weak spot for simple graphics. Combine that with soft possum merino that is soft and fluffy and .... mmmmm its even warm without the hot water inside. I have all the processes and notes and things all ready for that class, little design templates and cards to use to test colour combinations, and a lesson plan.

The master workshop content is also coming along. The handmade people wanted me to modify my original proposal from a workshop to more of a lecture .. so I did. I now have nearly 2 hours to cover darning knits ......oh my, that could be one geeky boring session but I'm doing my best to make sure its not. I've been building a bit of a contemporary look at the current view of darning and mending ... using books from my shelves. It looks all theoretical but I've picked out the super interesting and almost funny bits - I promise. For example, Heather Nicholson wrote that in days gone by the most common labor saving device most families had was a daughter!

Then the lecture-workshop will look at historical methods of darning and mending. I have a goodly collection of old-books on teaching needlework and those have come in really useful here. They are all so old that I can happily use images and diagrams from them as the copyright has expired. My earliest one is 1886, and I go up to some published in 1913 - when teaching needlework was very much part of the curriculum. Using those as sources I've got a plan to position mending as important but forgotten, and omitted much of the time. Again I'm going to keep it informative and interesting, although I'm not sure about including the instructions for 'French mending' of fine knits, suggesting using one strand of human hair for a really invisible finish, even to specifying that the blond and red-heads were the source of the strongest and best hair to use! Tell me is that creepy or interesting?
I'll finish up with five or six examples of different types of mending and one example of something awaiting a mend. Along the way I hope for a bit of audience participation, that people will contribute what their understanding of mending and darning is, but I'm not promising to darn any ones socks. People should go away with a deeper appreciation of making and mending and some knowledge of how people used to mend.

I've also finished spinning the sock pencil roving, and now it sits waiting for me to ply it. I was lucky enough to score another on Monday in her shop - Cululus all misty grey blues (Morag will be smiling as she knows I am a complete sucker for any and all grey-blue that she dyes).

I have worked a sample in 2 ply and in 3 ply ... and I'm not sure which to go with. The three is rounder and heavier, so I will knit it up and see how thick it will be. The two ply is finer - and I worry it might be to light for socks ... I guess I just have to knit up both sample skeins and see what they are like knit up.

So thats my day so far -how was yours? Still no cubs but the bus will be here any moment ... so I'll head off to fix snacks.
Take care
If you are in Wellington this weekend, pop into TePapa and say hi!
cheers
Stella

Ooooooo - lovely

2011-05-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've been spinning, I finished the plying which is good, but more excitingly I have been spinning wonderful fibre, new fibre, so new that only one batch has been on the market. I am so lucky as I've been spinning one of the prototype skeins, a test one. Let me explain, a bare two weeks ago, Morag came to spin night with some new Vintage Purls products, and she showed and tell'd. Amongst her new product there were two skeins of pencil roving, very special pencil roving, sock blend! I can't tell you how exciting this is to have fine merino blended with 25% nylon and pulled into beautiful pencil roving all ready to spin. I have long had a dream of spinning sock yarn, but I worry about all that work going into something that won't wear well enough for socks. I tried to blend some dyed nylon into perendale once .. but the nylon is so fine and silky that my fine toothed carder didn't really do a great job. I know many use stronger harder wearing fibres and successfully handspin yarn for socks... but nylon is a rather elegant solution as it provides strength and softness and allows socks to wear and wear in lovely luxury fibres like merino.

The entire spin circle wanted to take the pencil roving home .... but Morag insisted that these were the only two samples, the very first out of the Dye Pot and not for sale. We pouted, we sulked, we stroked the fibre and held it to our faces ... and generally made purring noises at the same time as making sad faces at the thought of not being able to buy it then and there. I was the last in the spin circle, siting right next to Morag, so the last to be passed the fibre, and when it was handed to me I held it tight and refused to hand it over, in a nice calm, polite not-letting-go-of-this -yet way. I just wanted to hold the skein for as long as I could if I couldn't buy it then and there, at the end of the night Morag said I could keep that skein in return for a blog review!

I love this fibre, I am going to have to be very active with my Monday check in to Vintage Purls shop ...that is when the stock is updated. I know this is a trial product, and is the same fibre blend as her sock yarn which I love. The pencil roving has hardly any twist - so just teases out easily ready for spinning, no further prep required.the nylon is so well matched for micron and staple length and so well blended that I can't identify which fibres are nylon and which are merino. The dye is amazing - partly as nylon is apparently a protein based fibre just as wool is, so takes the dye in a very similar way. Can you spot the two types of fibre ? I can't but then again the percentages are small .. so its mostly wool fibre.

I have not read any instructions for spinning from a hank or skein so just undid the dyed-to-match-yarn ties and laid the skein beside me. When I'm not spinning I hang the skein on the wheel - and so far the pushy-cat (Yo-yo) has not made a play for it. The more I look at this the more I wonder about knitting it up as is ....

So how is this to spin, amazingly lovely, I am at a loss for words. The fibre just teases out easily and smoothly with no neps, nubs, slubs or vm at all. I am finding this the easiest to draft and spin fine of any fibre I have tried. Honestly there are thoughts in the back of my mind about replacing most of my spinning stash with this .. but deep down I know that I need variety, so I'll just add lots more of this to the stash instead. This week I have pushed my knitting aside and spun and spun .... this stuff is fun.

I have had an disjointed and distracted week, plying the green perendale, still don't know what it will be but there is 166g and it is 360m ... so heavy sport weight? I love the effect of the shots of lemon amongst the green and lime, makes it look like the sun has caught the yarn, makes it look 'light'. Wednesday I was away to Auckland, visiting and marking at AUT ... returning on a 9pm flight. I was a very responsible lecturer, and took my marking with me to work on in the airport and plane ... instead of my knitting. See I can be grown up sometimes!

I also managed to finish the fourth hottie cover .. so now just finalizing the paperwork for the class. Instruction and design hand outs .... my deadline for that is Wednesday if I want the hosts to organize the copying, Friday if I copy them myself.
Life is busy, but it all seems achievable, and fun and there is a purpose to everything that I agree with, it is good.

Take care
Knit and spin and check out the fibre shop Monday afternoon New Zealand standard time if you like the look of the sock pencil roving, I'm not sure how often it will be up for sale, if it is please leave some for me?
Stella