The homeward stretch, nearly there ....

... the shrug is nearly done, I've completed both sleeves, with thumb holes, and picked up around the body opening. So - a video, now I suspect most of you can work out how to do this, but I'm still exited by owning my very own Addi-Turbo-Cro-Needle, and not having to pay $USA50 shipping to get it (Thanks Kelly), so I'm showing off. The baby blanket moves along, more rosy yellow garter rows (but no photos today). I'm thinking about the new Knitty, some little cardigans and sweaters are tempting and might solve my decision dilemma for the alpaca, and some interesting socks with linen stitch heels (Gryphon Perkins - An American in China socks), or migrating cables (Rebekkah Kerner's Salto).

Here is my Poppy admiring the thumb hole in the first sleeve. Thumb-holes are pretty cool when you are 5, and I think pretty smart for the knitting mum. I knit for 1" past the wrist, knit the rib flat with slipped stitch edges for another inch, and then in the round for another inch. I increased in each stitch before casting off the old fashioned way, a chain bind of using a crochet hook. The increase was to keep it stretchy, and I like the flare it added.

But I had to explain on knit-night why I added them, when asked why I would want to rib an extra 3" onto any sleeve? Well the extra 3 inches of sleeve should last and keep the shrug fitting while she grows for the next 2 years. I'm expecting her to get taller and longer, not particularly wider across the shoulders. Yes they will get grubby, but wrist edges on kids clothes get grubby anyway. This shrug is sized 6-8, and she is only 5.75, well a tall 5.75 so maybe a 6? I'll just stitch the thumb hole closed and - there it is, new sleeve length instantly.


Right now I'm working on the ribbing, which meant using my newly arrived back with Kelly from the US Addi-Turbo-Cro-needle. This little baby has a hook at one end and a long circular needle cable then a knitting needle at the other end. In theory you hook up the stitches you require with the hook end, slide them to the other end and knit them right off onto the needle you plan to knit with. In practice - it works, much easier than my previous method of hooking up stitches with a crochet hook and sliding them onto a waiting circular needle.


Now I think I have found a way to store higher quality movies and make them available, here is a direct link to a slightly clearer version. And below - the embedded blogger version (blogger lowers the quality - which is ok, I accept that, after all - blogger is free). Let me know if its worth me uploading the higher quality versions, and I'll upload all the previous ones as well.

So here it is nearly done, ribbing well underway, and yes - one cuff does look smaller, but its not, the other just has been tried on more. By Poppy, by me, by me again to show some one it fits me, by Bear for fun ... hopefully after a wash and wear they will again match in size. Or we could all take turns wearing it for a while ....?

Take care
Stella

Lets see, 2 toes, 2 heels, must be a pair of finished socks!

Yes, finally, I finished the Cat Bordhi Bartholomew's Tantalizing socks, so today I've got he obligatory FO photo, I've introduce my new mindless-yet-interesting garter stitch project, a photo and info of that vintage Paua jewelery that high-jacked my camera SD card last post, and I made some yarn. Not quite the yarn I wanted to make, but its beautiful all the same.

First up socks, look, two toes, and two cuffs, so they must be a finished pair. These socks have been so close to being finished for ages, weeks, really. I just needed some quite time to focus on the linen stitch pattern, the linen stitch decreases then work the toe. Doing that only took a few hours, and I can't explain why I didn't get around to working these earlier, but now they are done. And these fit beautifully, the yarn is soft, the socks nicely fitted and the cushioned pad under the heel feels wonderfully squishy. I'm about to cast on a second pair, I am dithering about if I work the same sock with linen stitch, or something else ... I'll keep you posted. Stats, started 16th Jan 2008, finished 9th March 2008. Needle size 2.25mm needles, gauge 8spi (I think). Result - will knit again.


A new project, on my last Milton mill visit, I picked up some merino sport weight yarn, 950m/265g, labeled space dye trials. It was very economical and I thought perfect for baby gift knitting. Now there is one more baby due at work, and I thought for this one I would knit the welcome to the world gift. Did you know babies come in 3's, I didn't but have been told repeatedly they do come in 3's, where there is one, there will soon be 2 more. I wanted to knit a BSJ, but the mother to be warned me her babies were usually bonnie. Thats a local scottish based term for 'big', I knew using the yarn as is would result in a BSJ to fit in-utero if she did have a bonnie baby, so I swatched with the yarn doubled. The swatch looked good, until I cast on for the BSJ proper, and ended up with well over a meter of cast-on on my needles. Now no baby is that bonnie, except maybe a 3 year old, and that is to long to wait to use a baby gift. So - I changed tack, and moved on to a second classic EZ design. This time from the Opinionated Knitter, page 52, originally her Spring 1963 wool-gathering newsletter, a Knitted Garter Stitch blanket. This is a clever (as are all her designs) modular garter stitch blanket, knit in short rowed strips and sewn together. I figure the small amount of 'warm' pink in the yarn is completely overshadowed by the sunny yellow just in case it is a boy and she becomes pink-averse.

I was asked to post a photo and some info on the Paua jewelery I inherited. I was told "The bracelet was made by Mastercrafts Ltd, an Auckland company set up by a returned serviceman in 1945. The bracelet is pictured in a 1957 catalogue of the company, and sold for New Zealand 3 pounds, 5 shilling. Such jewelery generally sold in jewelery shops which is where Mr B could have purchased it." Mr B is Bears father. I've been wearing this rather a lot lately, so much so I had a safety chain added, and I hang the pendant on a heavy silver chain. I've not had it valued, because its not mine, its a family thing, and one day will be either Poppy's or Toby's turn to keep it safe.

And the sock yarn that was to be, but isn't. This is the latest off the spinning wheel, 90% Romney, 10% mohair, the fiber was hand dyed and blended in Christchurch by Julia. I thought the blend would be perfect for socks, and the singles were even and nicely twisted - I was so proud of myself, but they were not fine enough. I made 2 half bobbins of 2 ply yarn with lots of over-twist so they twisted back on themselves, then plied those two together to get a 4-ply cabled yarn. I love the colour, the even-ness, but not really the thickness. Thats only because I wanted sock yarn, but instead have 100g of 104m, not sock yarn. What I need to work out is what to make of 104m of what I think is worsted weight yarn, any ideas? I have contacted Julia to see if I can get more, and the answer is yes, but maybe not identical. I don't mind, the fibers had a lovely variation and hints of other colours (which didn't photograph anywhere as exiting as they are in real life), which I found amazingly beautiful.


So thats the update, I'm off to knit more on the Poppy-shrug (and watch trash tv). I'm about to start ribbing for the sleeve cuffs. I've not decided if its to be 2x2 rib or 1x1, or maybe 3x2 just to have a bit of fun. For a design lecturer sometimes the process is very organic isn't it? I'll let you know.

Stella

Bother!

I've left my camera at work, I took it in this morning because I had taken some photos of vintage paua and silver jewellery that I had promised to a FOAF (Friend of a Friend), for her PdD thesis on, oh I'm not sure but Kiwiana and paua and souvenirs are all part of it. Bears mother left me some paua and silver jewellery, made by returned service men in the 1940 and 50's. This morning I photographed it and slung the camera in my bag to download and send the images to her from work - but when I picked up the camera to come home, I forgot to eject the memory card from the laptop. Bother, bother, bother.

Update - Thursday morning, dolt that I am, I remembered that there were a few knitting photos in the in-camera-memory, so I've added them.

So today there are no pictures. A picture-less post (except for the ones I found on the in-camera memory and uploaded thursday morning).

But I can report :
Cb's Tantalising socks are nearly done, only the toe to complete.
Poppy's GF shrug, ugh, I've started decreasing towards the wrist, a paired decrease every 2nd row as in a raglan, but I don't like it. The shaping is much to sharp. So I'll frog back and decrease more evenly, around the sleeve, as I usually do. I want the decreases quite sharp after the elbow so I can knit a long rib, but not this localised, it made an unnatural bump. I want nearly a fore-arms worth of ribbing, 2x2 ribbing. Remember instead of knitting two sleeves flat cuff up and grafting them across the back, I've provisionally cast on at mid back and have knit the sleeves down to the cuff. So I'm making the details up as I go, but its loosely based on Wendy Bernards Girl Friend Shrug (GFS).


I went shopping to Milton Mill Monday, and picked up some combed top (to spin), and more possum merino silk fingering yarn, in a slightly oranger version of the red, and some cotton in lime green for washcloths (it was only $1), and some space dyed sunny merino in 4 ply/sport weight. This is to become the last baby gift i need, we have had 3 babies due so far this year, I've bought cool long sleeved white tee shirts for the other two, one says 'AB-CE' in an ACDC like motif complete with lightening bolt, the other said 'fragile, handle with care'. This last one, I have time to knit a BSJ, and Caro, the mum says there are no knitters in her family, so I think she neeeeeds something knitted, what do you think?

I also picked up another cone of 'milton mystery yarn', on the 'as is what is' sale table, in a brown-grey, a 2 ply fingering with a Z twist, ideal for twined knitting. I got an 890g cone for $8, so thought I would offer it to the twined knitting tutor, our local knit guru for the class. I've skeined up 200m and washed it to see how it fluffs. It drying nicely and looks like a sock weight.

So, I'll try and post pictures tomorrow or Friday to fill in the gaps, I'm sorry about no photo but the up side is the post will load quick, you will just have to imagine it for yourselves.

Stella

Turning corners, things that we see and don't see

Today, I've turned another corner/heel, and I discuss things that distract me, and how some times we don't see the important things. As you will see, I am easily distracted.

I've worked through the heel of my 2nd Cat Bordhi Tantalising sock, as you can see I still have to keep the book close when working this. I am beginning to see the maths of it, and maybe if I knit a few more pairs of these socks, I'd be able to knit the tricky parts without the book perched on my knee, and a place holder under each line. Its not overly complicated, but perhaps I think differently to CB, she explains the shaping line by line, and I prefer EZ and her " increase one each side of the gusset every 3 rows until...". Much easier to follow for my kind of brain.

But for now, I'm here, past the heel, and on the straight of the foot, no book in sight, no need for one until I need to remind my self how the toe goes.




Friday - I worked at home, at the dining room table, where this view distracted me all day. First it was the green green tree out side, that caught my eye, as the sun dappled and the wind moved the leaves, then as the day moved on, it was the soft bright light, the sofa, the spinning chair, the cushions, all calling me to sit and take a wee break and knit in the daylight with the silence of no children and no tv, and not write a paper or two. But I plodded on, until end of day, the kids came home and out came the needles.

And talk about being blind to the obvious. In Ravelry I joined a new group, the Twined knitters, 68+ people all twining away around the world. Who knew there were so many? And the things they knit, I am in total awe, awe I tell you, awe. Catching up by reading the past discussions in the groups forum, and a comment about some yarn I had sent away, led me to a discovery. The yarn I knit Toby's Possum Merino sweater in was a Z twist yarn, see in the photo? Its a Z not an S, - which explains why the twining went so well methinks. Z twist is what was traditionally used for twined knitting, and the twining increases the twist, if you use an S twist yarn, apparently it untwists as you work and changes the look of the work. And now having investigated the front row of a stash shelf I know I have at least 2 more cones of Z yarns to play with.

And yes, spinning still takes some of my time, this is a new spinning project, 90% Romney 10% Mohair, suggested as good for sock yarn, hand dyed in chch. 100g, which I have split by weight into 2x50g, and am spinning up fine onto two bobbins. The long term goal is to try a 4ply cable yarn, that is 2 ply, plied together to make 4 ply. Except I just realised I should have split it into 4 equal sections not 2, as I will end up with one 2 ply bobbin that will need splitting before I can ply them together - bother. I've nearly spun the first half of the fiber, so I guess I will split the 2nd half into 2, and rewind half this bobbin off latter.

And the latest off the wheel, some merino donated by Jenny, when I took up the wheel. A lovely blond, caramel and chocolate, and as you can see it is yarn, and it is balanced, but I have a way to go on my consistency thing. I think fine high twist yarns are much much easier to make consitent than larger, looser yarns which show every irregularity clearly.

And my new stash, hand dyed roving, kettle dyed by a knit night friend, who is starting an on line sock yarn and dyed roving shop, and has a "big label in her stable". I can't say more that that, until her stocks are full and the site is live, but her colours are very very nice, and the yarn proper sock yarn.

Take care,
Stella