finished !

I've got 2 Pomatomusii , which seems be the plural of Pomatomus(Thanks Donyale). So today we have the obligatory celebratory photos, the other finished item (do washcloths count?), and a new beginning.














Details -

• Pattern:Pomatomus by Cookie published in Knitty,
• Yarn: Trekking pro natura 75% Wool 25%Yarn. Started 17th June,
• Finished 20th August (but there was a fair isle baby blanket in there as well)
• Needles Brittany 2.25mm dpns
• Knit again : Yes but try replacing YO with M1's to avoid holes.
  
• Comments : nicest shaped and resolved top down heel I've knit yet.
  

And when grafting the toe, as Pomatomus is top down, I wished I had a darning mushroom. I really have meant to buy one, but never see then in my lys. But while tidying up my stash, and working out what the next filler project was to be I found this - a sock mushroom! I think it is a forgotten heirloom from my MIL's estate. I also think I would like one of those wooden eggs, slightly smaller for grafting the odd smaller sock toe. Lorna, knit guru at our spinners and knitters guild has taught me to graft glove fingers over old fashioned wooden pegs, so one of those needs to be in my work basket as well.


So I also finished the greener than green washcloth. I've never really been happy grafting cotton, and this one is no exception. Oh I love grafting wool yarns, and happily graft toes, and underarms, and even tubular hems on top down cardigans. But cotton, no I don't like it. Why? Because it is very very hard to get it looking seamless. It always looks ok when I stitch it, but once done - unlike wool where a gentle tug settles things into place, well - - - you can see the line of the graft.



But once the wash-cloth is folded in the laundry pile, or even better has a couple of trips through the washing machine under its metaphorical belt, well, no one ever notices - or that is what I tell myself.
















And I started a new project, a sweater for Bear, in naturally coloured yarn, slightly sticky but that is the lanolin so my hands are 'oh so soft'. So far we have 8 rows of K2P1 rib, followed by the body in garter rib (that the same rib but every second round is just knit).

thanks, I'm always flattered at the number of visitors, so please do let me know what you like to read about - I'll try to customise it somewhat.
stella

half a finished object ...

Today - my first Pomatomus sock is finished, so one down and half one to go. I am warming a little to the lace now she is finished, but Poppy - aged 5 - did exclaim "but you made it full of holes!"Maybe holes in knitting are not her thing either? Of course in this photo, the holes don't show. During the week I tried this single finished sock over black opaque tights and they looked really really good. As I said - I'm warming to them, I love the way the 'waves' flow from leg to heel flap, and it has to be one of the nicest fitting and shaped heel cups I have knitted so far.

Inpsired by Helen from the latest Yarnivale to think about how best to photograph socks, I set myself up on the front door stairs just like she did, with camera. She is right - when you stop to think and plan - it is hard to photograph your own feet. There were some cute front door creatures who insisted on being in the shot, concrete cat, and our non identical bootscrapper twins dash-hound and hedgehog. That I admit is a bout as cute as my house gets, apart from the kids, the cutesy-things go outside. My dad has given me a painted folk art roster cast iron door bell, with a large school house bell to ring - but we just can't bring ourselves to install it. I'm sure he is offended. But now I discuss the front door animals - I can see why he gave us the rooster door bell.

I realised how close I was to finishing these socks last thursday, so have knit only Pomatomus since. Fannigan is on hold, for now, I look forward to the exitment of selecting a new background project - socks, hat, I'm really not sure what is next..... Diamante maybe? Brother Amos? I've made my donation - so the pattern will be mine soon?
Here is Pomatomus the 2nd of the pair, I've nearly finished the gusset decreases just the foot to go. Looking after them is Concrete Cat, bought as a memorial to my first ever cat, Moses, a girl-cat I got as a kitten when I was 14. We had family cats before, but Moses was mine - or as mine as a cat can ever be. She lived to be 23 years old - and for most of that was a scratchy, grochety, grummpy cat with sharp claws, except for when she sat on my knee when I knitted. The face just reminded me of her attitude, we were here when she wanted us, for food and warm cuddles- and the rest of the time we were just in the way and told so in no uncertain terms.

And while fossicking around the cast-on site I found these - and I feel the deep need to earn me some badges. Maybe basic math?

Back on track, and a beautiful heel.

So with the blanket out of the way, sorry not yet backed, I'm about to knit again on my fanna inspired silk merino blend caridgan )(gotta come up with a name - how do you name your own stuff?), I've posted the last photo showing where I left off, and so where I will begin, and I've been making some progress on my Pomatomus socks, I've got a very nicely turned heel to show you, Very nice indeed. It could be enought to turn a girls head back to top down socks.

So here is my colour work cardigan, at the very point I left it before begining the baby blanket. I have not knit any more, so this is an old photo.

Tonight or tomorrow I will be back to knitting this one. Two projects at a time to work on - if I impose some limits then I will finish things. With small interuptions occassionally. At present I so want to knit a hat, with pirates and a lavian twisted braid cast on as learned from watching EZ in her Glossary video. but after Pomatomus, Oh and some felted mittens, and a lacy scarf, and a jersey for Chris, so much to knit and so little time ....
I am working my way thru the EZ glossary video - but there has not been much quiet time to sit and watch and knit and I don't know why? Oh yes, work, 34 hours per week of official full time paid away from home and doing stuff other people need work, so my preparing last lecture for the year, all done now, and an writting abstract for another conference - due monday, work. I was at knit nite thursday when Kelly said "Full time - they don't pay me enough to work full time", I replied " they don't pay me enough not to work full time, so how does that work?".


So socks, That Cookie, she is so clever, I am a toe up sock knitter, I like to knit until I run out of yarn, socks usually end up shorter than you think. With the stretching out to go around your leg - what you think is a decent length sock becomes kinda shortish when worn. Toe up socks eliminate any risk of short socks nicely, so I don't often work full gusset heel socks from the top down. Oh - I have in my day knit them but very early on in my sock knitting life, I knit a few, then I discovered short rows, toe up, and latterly on to widdershins, gusset heel flat and toe up. But Cookies turned heel in these is beautiful. Pomatomus has a twisted rib heel flap growing out of the twisted rib of the lace pattern, and a very neat and generous rounded heel cup.

This is the heel cup, so neatly formed. I know it is probably standard stuff and you-all knit something of this beauty all the time, but something about the way the rib continues past the lace, then down the heel, and around and under the sole so seemlessly makes this seem well thought out, well designed in fact. How does it go from rib to plain with a seemless transition, magic methinks. My 'last' lecture was on the Arts and crafts design movement, so I have been thinking about how the 'knowing how to' make stuff influences designing, and in a way for me anyway is part of what makes good design good, and so I have been noticing little things like this heel.

Take sharp scissors and cut carefully between the two columns of knitted stitches

Which is how all steek intructions go.
So today - I prepare and cut that steek, and we have both photos and a video of the steek cutting.
Video here :

Steeking - enough to make many a knitters blood run cold. Gillian - if you are reading this, just skip the next few sentences - they might bring you some un-needed worry in your last trimester. The blanket is fine, and nearly ready for that baby. This is when I admit that this is only my 2nd ever steek, Well perhaps my third. The first may count as 2, there were two sleeves steeked into two armholes.

Oh, I've read lots about steeking, on line and in books, and I fully understand the principles, and it don't scare me (much), but I have not cut many steeks in my time. I do plan to steek more.

First I flipped the work inside out, and tugged each loose yarn tail, making sure all the knitted stitches were tight, and not pulled open. I had already undone all the knots I put in earlier as they were creating bulk and distortion.





Then I whipped the right leg of the centre steek stitch to the leg of the stitch next to it, and then did the same for the left leg of that centre stitch. Funny how it shows up more clearly at a distance than up close. This technique was described to me by Knitasha at KR, thus :"Make your steek 3 stitches wide -- no wider.
With a tapestry needle and yarn, whip-stitch the right leg of each center stitch to the left leg of the adjacent stitch. Do this all the way up the steek. Begin again, whipping the left leg of the center stitches to the right legs of the adjacent stitches.


When you are finished, there will be a one-stitch ladder running between two rows of whip-stitching. Cut the ladder."
I added a row of machine stitching - just to be on the safe side, as with two colours in most rows - well I wasn't sure of catching all the yarns tightly. I machine stitched a line of stitching down the outside edge of the steek stitches.
And using small surgical scissors, I cut neatly between the lines of whipped stitches. Trimmed away all the ends, and gave the work a quick gentle press.


So - this is the finished edge - pretty neat huh?





... and those yarn tails, well there is no weaving in with this technique, and so here they are, a little messy pile on the table before a last trip to the bin.







And finishing the blanket, last night I picked up un 100's (felt more like 1000's!) of stitches around the edge, and now am working a plain 3-4 row stocking stitch band. Then I plan to pick up a inside facing, and work the same lenth before knitting the pairs of stitches together and ---- oh, I was thinking ribbing, because it wont curl, but now I'm wondering about seed stitch, or moss stitch. I'll let you know soon. Or suggestions please?

[added 16th sept - I completed the blanket by adding a double facing to enclose the raw edges, then a wide moss stitch boarder finished with an i-cord bind off. the mother requested I line the back with a napped fleecy cotton lining. The baby arrived on time (no, not mine), a wee boy, Toby, so the blanket is keeping him warm and snug in another city. stella ]

Always read the pattern before packing for travel

Today I tell you about the mistake I made packing for my recent travel to Australia, show off my new mini-project, and tell you what I'm doing tomorrow with the baby blanket (hint - it involves scissors!). And that paper presentation - well it went fine, and people actually came into the room to add to the small crowd and listen - which is much better than people leaving.

When knitting Pomatomus, If you just shove your current knit kit into your luggage you may find yourself knitting Pomatomus, on the four needles as instructed, and in deep trouble with no fifth needle when needed. I missed the sentence that said " Though 5 needles are required" and remembered only the bit that said "only 4 of them will be used for most of the sock". Being a tidy soul, I had only read the beginning of the pattern, and carefully stored the 5th needle away in my needle case.

In Sydney I completed the leg section using the four needles as in the pattern, then knit the heel flap, on 3 needles (2 in use and 1 holding stitches), then I got to the written instructions to use all 5 needles - and silently, quietly inside my hotel room I screamed, knowing, that there was no hope of finding any 2.25 mm sharp pointy object to substitute anywhere in the room or in my bags.

Yes - yes I know a clever resourceful knitter would work out how to continue to knit on the 4 needles she had, but after a full day of conference presentations, my wee brain was all worn out from absorbing lots of new ideas. And I was using little needles, 5" ones, so there really was not room to fit all the gusset stitches to be picked up. And really I just wanted to knit, brain dead, simple follow instructions type knitting. So I parked sock one on a loop of yarn - at the heel flap stage and began sock II. I'm amazed it took several weeks to knit the leg of sock one - and only 2 nights to knit the leg of sock two.



Which brings me to image 1, showing how far I got with no t.v. t distract me and lots of evening time to knit. And the second image, with the twisted rib of the heel flap. There was some frogging of sock one while away - wouldn't really be me knitting if there wasn't would it? I had stopped and started the third lace repeat so often I lost my way, several time - but got there in the end.

And this is my miniature gansey sample. I flew back on Thursday, went to work on friday only to be rung by an administrator at around 3, who aplogised for bothering me on my break. Yes thats right, I was actually on annual leave on Friday - but went to work - well I guess it all evens out in the end. And on Saturday - well it was another of the local spinners and weavers knitting workshops. This one was on making a miniature gansey - for a teddy bear. We knit and talked from 11-2 ish, and fitted lunch in there somewhere. This 'class' is very informal, we meet in a church hall, and pay $2 for our share of heating and hot water for tea and coffee. Nothing more - How can i ignore such an opportunity to learn more about knitting?

The 'class' is over two sessions, the next in a month. So today we cast on the front and back bands, joined them, and knit a plain band with an initial. Most of the group knit their own initial, but knowing the sweater was destined for Curley bear - mine has a C. We are to get to the end of the underarm gusset before the next class - I have just started so should be ready. The initial was initially in garter stitch, but the uprights of the letter folded clear away from sight. So I tinked them down and picked them up as garter - but in hindsight moss or seed stitch would be better - and was I think recommended. The yarn is the naturally coloured yarn, the same I knit the clogs in. The Gansey is knit on 3.75mm dpns.

And the blanket? Tonight I whipped the legs of the steek stitches together, tomorrow I plan to machine stitch and cut. Don't worry - there will be photos, lots of photos. Then I will pick up the edge stitches and knit the facing. I am tending towards a single rib, but with a base of double knitting sandwiching and hiding the steek and end edges inside.

Want to see something really really scary?

This, a mass (or is that a mess?) of yarn ends which have not been woven in! Imagine having that job awaiting at the end of a knitting project!
So in today's post, I'm back to knitting the baby blanket - and I show you the inside view, there is a Pomatomus update, and those slippers which distracted me? Well lets just say felting in a 'gentle action' washing machine is a very time consuming experience. For now those slippers are warming by a fire after a simmer in in a dye pot - and I promise photos soon.

So those yarn tails, I have been knotting the tails together. I had to, after discovering loose stitches for a few stitches either side of any yarn colour change. Using a steek 3 stitches wide means lots of loose stitches around the rounds 'join'. Knotting the yarn ends prevents that and in the final those knots will be cut away. Using knots is not a problem here - it is almost essential. If I was knitting this colour work pattern in a sweater - well I think I would use just one background colour, or one back and one foreground - and switch them to reduce this yarn ends problem.

And this is the inside of the fair isle baby blanket tube. Quite attractive with the floats forming a cool chevron pattern on their own.
I am pleased with progress, the blanket is growing still and no sign yet of project fatigue. You know, project fatigue - when you are board of knitting the same thing and just want to start something new. I'm up to 16 inches or40 cm , which is around 2/3rds of the way. Right now I am aiming at around a finished length of 60 cm of Fair Isle, and a 4-5 cm boarder around so it will be around 70 cm long. Thats to fit a 90 cm long baby bed. The geeky fact this time is that should be around 54 096 stitches - assuming I don't drop any! I have a weeks leave starting tomorrow so lots of knitting time to look forward to. And steam blocking relaxes the yarns, the narrowing of the tube is a result of crimping of the floats not any changes in tension, a relief.

And just in case you were wondering - this is what the 3 stitch steek looks like from the outside. in a just knit - not steam blocked section. I guess in a real sweater knitted in the round it would pass as ok under the arm at the side seam location, if you were not to fussy. Though you would have to weave in all those ends. Instead I would probably plan some design element to eliminate the loose stitches and jog between colour changes. Something like a narrow checkerboard or stripe to hide the jog.


and Pomatomas? well - I have put it down and picked it up without thinking a little to often of late, and got myself a little lost in the lace repeats. There has been some frogging - a half repeat or so to remedy some errors made earlier in the knitting. But for a novice lace knitter, I am surprised at how easily I have found it to frog, pick up stitches without a life line, and sort out where I am in the chart. I still think the ribbing lace is an ingeneous invention for socks.


And the felted clogs?, they were placed with care in an old pillow case, using a rubber band to close , and in the washing machine they went. Well after the first wash, there was not much evidence of felting, so I rounded up more jeans and sent them round the wash cycle again. More felting but again not a lot of shrinking. They still fitted like buckets, very large roomy buckets. Remembering how well the swatch had felted by hand, I resorted to trying to hand felt the clogs in the kitchen sink - and talked Bear into some active squeezing and twisting when my hands and arms ached. But unfortunately there was still not a lot of felting and shrinking to show for it.

So over the next 2 days the clogs joined every wash load we did. Then I gave up and dried them in front of the fire. They were still to far to big. I tried to give them away to my big footed Dad, but he needed indoor outdoor soles, and refused to take them away. So today I gave it one more try, I zipped the clogs into a lingerie wash bag, and sent them around another jeans wash - finally hooray, the clogs were near the size of my feet. So feeling on a high - I found more jeans (we now must have the cleanest examples of jeans in the city), and did another wash - more success - clogs the size of my feet. I celebrated by soaking the clogs in acid water, and boiling for 10 minutes in food dye. I was secretly hoping they would shrink a tiny bit more - the pattern says to fit them tight, as they do stretch some with wear. The felted, fitted and coloured clogs are now drying before the fire as we watch Mansfield Park. Photos next time, and you will just have to guess what colour.

I'm knitting, I'm knitting, I'm knitting

well, after that four days of not knitting, I'm knitting again and really enjoying it so am making fine progress on the Fair isle baby blanket. Today I'll show you just how much progress, and report on how a new sock begins with the almost mandatory 'new project frog report' and lastly I've been shopping again, and in my defence I have so little stash. We are still in the depths of winter, so little natural light to photograph with outside work hours - and Bear was off work today, so made the majority of the photos in this post - Thank you very much Bear.

First up, this is where the blanket was on the 17th of June (12 cm), and then again today (23 cm). So 11 cm in 3 days, I say 3 as the photo made on the 17th would have been early in the day, and I would have knit that night, but I have not yet knit today - the 20th. And just so you know - the blanket is not narrowing, its just the photo angle and that the lower portion was steam blocked which relaxed it. At least that's what I am hoping .... otherwise ... no don't even think about tension changes.

I was so pleased with the speed at which the blanket is growing, that I have started a new sock. Which sock to do was a difficult decision, something by Cookie, or Diamante? Cookies socks are so clever with their use of lace in an intelligent way, I like stylised formal patterning so these appeal. And there are several free cookie socks to knit first at Knitty, to warm up on so to speak. Diamante - on the other hand this is a serious toe up gusset heel sock, suggested by Suzzane as an alternative worth considering and having improvements in fit over Widdershins. Widdershins is my current standard sock. So what did I choose?
Cookie A's Pomatomus! But Diamante is next, and then another cookie, and then ...

The yarn is Pronatura Trekking 75% superwash and 25% bamboo, which is marketed as a non synthetic viable alternative to the polymid and nylon reinforcing used in other sock yarns. And I bought it online, I try not to think about the cost of shipping internationally - its just part of the cost of this hobby. Its lovely to work with, not super soft, but has little memory when frogged as I have discovered. Its a little more variegated than I had hoped but not really stripy.

There was a small moment of confusion when I went and looked out 2mm and 2.75 mm and then couldn't work out when each was used. I'm not even going to let on how long it took for me to realise that the 2 was for size US 2 and the 2.75 was the metric equivalent. Not that I needed both US 2 and US 2.75! Duh!
I used the channel island cast on from Monste Stanley's knitting hand book, a sort of a combination of the thumb method and yarn overs. It produces a lovely twisted knot or small picot along the edge. This is one full repeat of the lace pattern, which is take 4 or so. Half way through the first repeat when the increases turn to decreases - I discovered I had mis-read the directions, so frogged the pattern section. Knitting it again a 2nd and 3rd time - simple errors in patterning occurred, I kind of lost the repeat - despite it being a very simple to remember repeat to knit. And somewhere I got confused between K2 tog and K2tbl and even introduced from who knows where ssk. So I frogged the 2nd and 3rd time. Just frogged back to the ribbing, not further. And the 4th try, I finally grew up and used silver jump rings to mark the repeats, and remind me to increase and decrease and sorted that I would use ssk.
So whats the genius of this pattern? What do I like appart from it is simple to remember and predict after a few lines are knitted. Well what the others don't seem to tell you is it is knitted ribbed lace, so super super stretchy! How cool is that? I am still a newbie to lace, so probably you have all already discovered the magic of lace which uses ribbing, but for me that is a revelation.


So there was some shopping, and as I am one without a large stash, please those of you on yarn diets and those knitting from just the stash - please ignore that I am buying yarn and you are not. On my last visit I noticed a new brand in my LYS, Sunbean St Ives, from West Yorkshire, reasonable yarn, and thinking of cables and lace rib which do seem to eat yarn, I got three 50g balls in this dark forest green tinged with brown shade. And the other yarn, well I've had my eye on this yarn for a while, it been in a large basket in the center of the shop for the last few months, but on my last visit it had moved. Named Rare Endare and made from Aplaca and superfine merino, this is one of the few yarns available locally made from luxury fibres. I had planned to acquire some so when it wasn't on show I did a mild panic. Luckily I asked and was pointed in the direction of the newly shelved stock, so selected off white or bone white and a pale blue to knit a hat based on this for Toby, black or dark grey would be better - but there was none. After I left I realized I could dye it darker. Toby is 7 going on 8, but like all kids exposed to media is also going on a kind of teenage awareness, and the idea of a hat with pirate bones appeals, I can knit that, and in bone white and pale blue it will be less punk.