Archive for July, 2007
July 29th, 2007
I’ve learned a lesson recently: I’m no good at project spinning. I can get an even and consistent yarn alright. I can even guestimate somewhat on whether or not I have enough fiber. Eight ounces should be enough for a nice lacy shawl, right? Even if I do most of the shawl in stockinette, that should still be enough.
That’s what I had planned for this merino/silk blend that I have been spinning. For some reason, several nights ago I started to worry about the yardage I had. Actually, I first started worrying about whether or not the two colors I had planned to pair would really go together. Once I decided they might not go, I had to figure out whether or not I had enough yardage in one of the colors to do a shawl. I started to wind one skein onto the swift, which was hell. It was a tangled mass; I was anxious to figure something out; I was dealing with handspun and didn’t want to yank too much; I didn’t have near as much patience as I normally do fixing yarn tangles. It was hell.
__That__ was when I decided that I absolutely __had__ to start this shawl __right away__. This was the fit of passion I mentioned the other day. I had been waiting to finish all eight ounces of my fiber before starting this shawl, and I’ve been really wanting to get to this project. Add in a dash of startitis and you’ve got a late night ahead of you.
Here’s where I learn that I’m not a project spinner. Once I got over the h-heaven that was knitting this yarn (merino/silk!!), I realized that it was a lot thicker than I thought it was. It was near twice as thick as I’d dreamed or even realized. Keep in mind I was over halfway done spinning this eight ounces of fiber, so it’s not like I hadn’t seen the stuff.
This whole thing would have been solved by spinning a sample, which I rarely have the patience to do. First of all, spinning a sample when you only have a small amount of fiber feels like swatching with only one skein for a project. You can’t unravel your spinning like you can your knitting. Second, I don’t have the patience with spinning that I do with knitting. I get too excited thinking about the end result! Lesson learned; no more project spinning.
Now this isn’t a total disaster. I’m still knitting this shawl that I started in a fury, and I think I will end up loving it. It will be warm and soft, the colors are still beautiful, and I’m warming up again to the idea of knitting the two yarns into one shawl. We’ll see how far this first color gets me.
1 Comment | Categories: Spinning |
July 29th, 2007
This is such a nice small project. Despite the time it’s taking me to get through it, it has been a really quick knit. I just don’t knit on it very often, but it’s nice to pick up every once in a while and get through a few rows. Today I even finished a whole repeat during my lunch break. I’m finding myself itching to block it more and more, as it doesn’t look that great in its unstretched state.
I’m trying to decide (before I even go to the store to look) what color ribbon I’m going to put in the middle. I may just go to the fabric store and find the-perfect color, but I can’t help thinking ahead. I’m not too enthused about the idea of using a light blue, but maybe a dull light blue would look good. I can’t think of any contrasting colors that would suit (no orange thank you very much). Black is just too dark for me; I want a little something that stands out.
All in all, a very satisfying pattern for a very satisfying knit. This has allowed me to use up a little bit of some lace weight yarn that I have which I don’t find incredibly exciting.
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July 28th, 2007
I always love trying new sock yarn, as there’s always something to learn. Every company puts different priorities on their sock yarn: looks/colorways, lastability, luxury/softness, price (meaning, cheap!). You can’t have them all unfortunately, so you’ve got to choose.
The sock yarn that I tried out this week was Trekking XXL. I’ve heard a lot about it from various podcasters and bloggers, to mixed reviews. Some have absolutely raved about it, while others have said they hated it. Unfortunately most of my knitting on this sock was in the insanely hot and humid weather, so it wasn’t entirely comfortable. I think the 25% nylon content in it made it worse; believe it or not it wasn’t the 75% wool in the yarn that did it. I was also less than enthused about the colors/striping, as it doesn’t do much as you’re knitting. It’s mostly dark blue, and every once in a while a splash of lighter blue will come along. I really do get excited by striping/variegated yarns in my socks, and sometimes that’s what spurs me on. To each their own, eh?
Now that I’m done with the first sock of the pair, I don’t feel quite so ambivalent about this yarn. It seems like it was made to produce a long lasting sock, and since I knit tightly on small needles for my socks these should be around for a while. They’re also pretty comfortable on my feet, although not as stretchy as I’d like. I think next time I’ll do them a bit looser, or (gasp!) all in ribbing. And I must admitt, I’m really liking the striping now that I look at it complete. It’s a nice random even striping that suits me well. These will be nice to walk around the house in the winter. If I used two skeins, this sock yarn would make for some pretty awesome boot socks.
A bit about the sock itself (I know, post is light on pictures today). For the longest time I had been knitting all my toes using the short-row method because I thought it fit my foot better. Since then I’ve realized that I just need to make a longer foot to have the looseness in my toes that I like. Since the Spring Cable sock I think I’ve switched back to doing the traditional decrease toe with four decreases every other row. It’s much easier to knit, and I still haven’t mastered getting the stitches right on the corners of the short-row toe.
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July 20th, 2007
It’s always exciting to complete a pair of socks. This time I was so excited that I didn’t wait to wash them before wearing them. I really can’t wait for the cold weather again so I can wear more of my handknit socks.
Again, the pattern I used for these socks was the [Spring Cable](http://spacekitty.wordpress.com/2007/06/12/spring-cable-socks/) that I found while browsing on Ravelry. I love it, and I love the yarn, and I love the socks. As always there are a few things I’d have done better, a few mistakes, but I’m happy with them.
It really feels like I need to finish a lot more projects, as I have so many on the needles right now. That wouldn’t even bother me so much, but a few of them I’ve been leaving in hibernation. I think I went through a short case of startitis for a bit, and need to fast on starting new projects. I’ve got the Mon Petit Chou hipsters, the lace choker, the candle flames shawl, the handspun sha…
Wait, I haven’t told you about that one yet, have I? The camera’s out of good batteries right now, so I can’t take a picture. I’m not sure I want to though; not sure I want to blog about it either. For some strange reason I’m worried that I’ll jinx it. It was started in a bit of a passion, needing to start this shawl that I’ve been planning for while spinning up the yarn for it. Perhaps I’ll write a bit about that later, when I’m feeling more sure about it.
That’s not even to mention the few hibernating projects that I’ve got going, that I don’t really want to talk about. One of them may get ripped out soon…again. It would be the yarn’s third incarnation as a project. I’ll find something for it yet!
So, now it’s just for enforced knitting of what I’ve got on the needles already. This is good, because I need to finish something soon. Not enough finishing around here, and too much starting.
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July 13th, 2007
It must be the Summer Of Lace around here, because I’ve got a ton of lace on the needles. I’m loving it!
First, on a whim I bought and downloaded a new pattern last night. I had to cast on right away, and it wasn’t an expensive pattern either. I mean, I had the exact yarn for it already (even down to the color, I think)!
This is the [Emelia Lace Choker](http://www.pieknits.com/blog/2006/05/emelia_lace_choker.html) by Jennifer Tallapeneni over at [Pieknits](http://www.pieknits.com/blog/). I’ve been meaning to knit a choker for a while because they’re fun, and Corey loves them. This is a more complicated lace pattern than most I’ve done before, mostly due to a few particular stitches. It’s not hard, I just have to pay attention more. Good thing it’s small!
Ahhh the [beloved socks](http://www.crafty.greenkri.com/spring-cable). It’s not lace, I know! I just had to throw in a few update pictures of their progress, because I’m just lovin’ these. I can’t wait to wear them, I don’t care how hot it is.
I haven’t written about this pattern in a while, but it’s in temporary hibernation for a bit. I realized a week ago that I needed another ball of yarn to finish this. Apparently you have to look at the number of materials for your size. Whoops! I really just wasn’t paying enough attention when I started this. I wish I could show you some more stretched out pictures of the lace, because it looks quite nice. All bunched up like that it looks like a wrinkly ole mess. I suppose it’ll have to wait until they’re done!
I’m slowly plodding along on the Candle Flames shawl too, and I really like the yarn. The pattern somewhere calls for a k1,yo,k1 in the same stitch, which seems to create a bit of a hole. I’d rather not have the hole, but I’ve done too much of the shawl to change it now. I __definitely__ don’t want to even consider restarting now.
Speaking of the Candle Flames shawl: I had asked in the Ravelry forums about blocking alpaca a while back, wondering if the small amount of silk in this yarn would make up for the unblockability of alpaca. The responses I got were “I’ve had no troubles blocking alpaca.” Hmm..perhaps it was the particular yarn I was trying to block. Perhaps they did not know what I meant by block (yeah right!). I don’t have any other alpaca to test this on, and this yarn is on a cone, so there’ll be no finding the other end to knit a swatch. Any others with experience blocking alpaca?
Want more lace? Alright, I’m considering picking back up the shawl I started from A Gathering of Lace. Only, this time I think I want to skip the rest of the pattern altogether. I really like the stitch pattern that’s in the center, and I’m not so fond of the geometric shapes of the rest of it. Perhaps I’ll improvise! Since I can’t find a quick picture of the shawl on my blog, here’s one to remind you:
2 Comments | Categories: Knitting |
July 12th, 2007
Just eye candy today…
Just one more to go!
1 Comment | Categories: Knitting |
July 11th, 2007
Stash is such a huge topic of discussion within the knitting world. There is even at least one book devoted to a knitters stash. I’ve no clue what it’s about, but I know I’ve seen it. It seems like the typical knitter has a huge stash that is taking over her house, with tons of projects on the needles. Obviously this isn’t every knitter (especially the “her” part), but it’s common enough to become a stereotype.
Wanna know something? I barely have enough yarn to be considered a stash. Want to know something else? If it weren’t for the slowly accumulating “stash” of handspun, my whole stash would be a lot smaller. For one, I have very little money to spend on yarn. It was only recently that I budgeted a monthly spending amount. Another thing: I don’t know if I want a large stash.
Wait! Please! Don’t jump to conclusions oh proud-knitter-with-the-stash. I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with having a stash. In fact, I’ve seen evidence of its usefulness in many of the blogs I’ve read.
I found this wonderful pattern in insert-publication-name-here, and decided that I must knit it! I searched through the stash for just the right yarn, and look what I found: insert-yarn-photo-here. Just enough of the perfect yarn for this project.
-Fictional Knit Blogger”
Being able to start a new project on the fly, without having to plan a trip to buy the yarn is a wonderful luxury. However, even with the small stash I have there is this nagging urge to knit it all up. I have this need to cast-on with each skein/ball and do _something_ with it. Another problem with me and large stashes: I have the worst memory in the world. Add to that a complete lack of organization, and I would have yarn that would probably never see the light of day once the excitement of new fiber wore off. I don’t want that! I’m not the kind of person that can appreciate yarn as yarn, without any potential to become _something._ Come on, I can’t even be arsed to photograph my yarn in order to catalog it into Ravelry. Only my handspun is special enough for that.
Wait, I’ve got it! What I need is to _live in a yarn store!_
1 Comment | Categories: Knitting |
July 5th, 2007
I’ve thought a lot about when a pattern should be free, and when one can charge money for it. Obviously if the pattern is in some sort of print form, it’s reasonable to expect to pay for it to cover the cost of printing at least. I’m talking specifically about online patterns, as there are a ton of them out there. I’m sure you’re familiar with the many free pattern sites out there, such as [Knitty](http://www.knitty.com), [Magknits](http://www.magknits.com), and [Knitting-and.com](http://www.knitting-and.com). If you read blogs, you’ve also seen some bloggers selling their own designed patterns as PDF files. The options are many, and I must admitt that while I have made very good use of the free patterns, I have not yet bought a pattern from the internet. I don’t have a lot of money, and for now I’d rather spend it on yarn.
With all of that said, I would not object to buying a pattern online. I have also considered some day creating patterns that I may sell. It is an interesting decision for a designer to have to make: whether or not to provide their pattern for free, or sell it for profit. While I do think that time and effort should take a part in such a decision, I do not think it should be a major factor. In fact, there are times when a person may have taken days or weeks to design a pattern, but it is not something I think should be provided for a price.
Here’s what I think: Is the item you’ve designed sufficiently original? Has the process of designing required creative decision-making? Would using this pattern as a customer save considerable time in figuring and arranging? If the answer is yes to those questions, then you could consider selling the pattern at a profit. Keep in mind this is my opinion only, and not everyone will wish for such strict requirements before deciding to sell a pattern. I think there is also some value to the online knitting community in providing the pattern for free (there are many examples in the sites linked above), even if it would be a valuable for sale pattern.
As a consumer of online patterns I find very little value in buying something that took very little effort of the designer, involved slapping a stitch-library-stitch-pattern with very little other thought, or taking a basic pattern writing it out and sizing it. I’m not saying these patterns are of little value, but if it feels like something I could figure out on my own with very little effort, why buy it?
So, you know that if I ever decide to sell a pattern, it will have taken me lots of time and creative energy to create. It had better damn well be worth buying! Of course, that’s not for a long way off.
I’ll just end this little rant/essay with a few picture updates. I just can’t help it. I love this sock!
These are pretty damn cool too.
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July 4th, 2007
I was browsing through the Ravelry pattern database looking for a sock pattern for my new sock.
Oh, I didn’t tell you? I finished my cotton socks. I finished a couple of things last night, but I’ll have more time to post about those later.
Anyways, I had a set of open US 1 needles, and two skeins of sock yarn waiting to jump on the needles. I’ve been really excited to knit with my new Tofutsies yarn, and have finally decided to move away from just the basic sock. I found the perfect pattern, and it’s only slightly a pattern (if you call a cable surrounded by moss stitch on a pattern).
I must tell you I loves me some well placed moss stitch as a detail. Unfortunately the yarn is too bright, as well as the light, to see the cable detail well.
Anyway, here is the link to the pattern at Elinor’s website. It’s called Spring Cable, and was actually meant for a man’s sock. Serendipity struck again, because my use of a thinner yarn brought the size down to just exactly what I needed. I’m loving the simplicity of this pattern, and it’s so easy to remember. I’ve only got a little bit done but I don’t think these will take too long to finish. I’m even enjoying the cuff if you can believe it, so I don’t think this will be an anklet as usual.
2 Comments | Categories: Knitting |
July 2nd, 2007
I should clarify that though: House sitting without internet (with TV) = more knitting. I’ve just come home from a little over a week of not being home more than a couple hours a day (can’t be away from the internet 100% of the time!). I haven’t had as much recreational online time as I normally do, but I have been watching satellite TV which I don’t have at home. It’s a lot easier to knit while watching TV than while on the internet.
Proof that I’ve been doing lots?
From the bottom up, first the socks: I sped through the end of these really quickly. Lots of stockinette, watching the stripes go by, and the pull of new sock yarn ready to jump on the needles next. Unfortunately those draws to bring me to finish weren’t strong enough to get through the grafting, and I generally don’t have a problem with grafting. I think it may be the distraction of other projects.
It’s easy to memorize this candle flames pattern for the shawl, especially once you get past the mistakes in the pattern. I’m tempted to write up a chart for this, especially since it is no longer technically published on the web (accessible now through archive.org). There is no chart available for this as far as I can see, and I would find it more helpful. I likes me some charts!
I think that Mon Petit Chou needs to be charted as well. It’s a real pain in the arse to have to follow a glob of letters. I finally started crossing off rows so I could find my place more easily. Even that is only made easier by having memorized the pattern repeat used within most of each row. I swear the number of pattern repeats you need to use stated on Knitty for the medium is wrong. I haven’t been following along with them since the beginning. I just knit until it seems like I have stopped short enough for the middle stitches to be knit. It’s pretty easy to figure out, but would be nice not to have to do. I’ll do a more thorough check later and consider e-mailing the designer. Otherwise, I’m enjoying it! I can’t wait to have it done so I can try it on.
2 Comments | Categories: Knitting |
Entry: Quietly Knitting
Author: Hishandmaid
Time: February 27, 2010, 10:57 am
Comment: Very adorable!
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