Knitting for Others

The body of Raveneli is done. I still need to join the shoulders and knit the armhole edgings. I have a lot of extra yarn, so I am contemplating sleeves. Hmmm. Anyway, I am taking a short break to comply with a request to special to ignore. My coworker, Dawn, has a sister fighting the good fight with Cancer and sis needs caps for her tender, newly bare head. So, I am working up my Sophia hat in Cream-colored Classic Elite Premiere-one of the softest yarns I've ever used-cotton/tencel worsted weight. I am making another hat for her in a soft pink, but this one will be a one-off original. There is nothing so fun as just letting a had design itself. I think I'll do some cables.

I also just got the word about Afghans for Afghans latest campaign. I'm a little behind the times on this one, so I started a hat out of some old, mystery yarn. I have a vest almost done that didn't make it into the last shipment to them. A student gave me a big bag of bright read Lopi, so I am considering making a blanket from that. The deadline is October 12 I think, so my eyes are getting quickly bigger than my knitting needles, but I'll give it a go. It is so satisfying to knit for them. As I've said before, my creativity just blossoms when I forget about designing for retail. When I ask "what is beautiful and what will I love knitting?" instead of "what will sell and what will be a simple pattern for users?" my work is much better. Hmmm, there's a lesson there. I do need to free myself from trying to please others and just find my voice. I struggle with the same process in photography. I'm a reluctant artist. I just don't think I'm good enough to call myself an artist and give my work its proper due. I must change that mindset.

Raveneli

I am working on a design that I think approaches the elegant genius of the classic Baby Surprise. A bold claim, I know, but I can honestly say that nothing I've knitted of late (that was designed by someone other than me) has captured my interest like this. It is by a local designer who has become a friend named Jeanne Abel. (So yes, I am biased, but this gush is completely from my knitting teacher and designer point of view.) Many of her designs, especially the most recent ones, focus on really nifty and imaginative architecture. She has managed to put into action a lot of the things I've been swatching and experimenting with over the years. It's that old principle of parallel discoveries. More power to her for bringing it all to the light though. I will happily honor her talent by buying her patterns.

This one is called Raveneli. It is a vest or jacket that starts from the outside circumference-you cast on a ribbing and work it just like the bottom of a circular sweater. But wait, there's more! With a few strokes of genius, this circle of ribbing gets turned on its side as stitches are put on hold for the back neck, then the knitting continues down from the shoulders for the fronts, underarms and the beginning of the back. They are knitted back and forth all in one fell swoop while doing beautifully sculpted shaping under the arms. All of a sudden, you're done with that and a few more stitches are put on holders. Before you know it and can really recognize it, you're working up the back! This is where I am now. I realized that I need a photo of me wearing what I have so far so you can see how cool this is. Stay tuned...Just think, all your outside edges are done and finished! All that remains is the back, some careful joining and an armhole finish.

A vest, you say? Why yes, and quite a clever one. Here is the whole thing viewed with the full outside circumference spread out. Back Neck stitches are at the top on a spare needle and the front and bottoms of the armholes are on the holders at the sides. The bit that's left on the long needle curving round the center opening will become the back. Whew! The funnest part is that it is bulky-3 strands of dk weight yarn ( I'm using Lucy Neatby's Celestial Bluefaced Leicester in African Violet) and knits up in a flash on big fat needles. This one has already kept me up late because I can't wait to see what comes next.
Here it is folded in half so you can begin to imagine how it might fit on the body. Compare it with the pictures of the finished jacket on Jeanne's website. I will try to get someone to take a photo of it on my body tomorrow. It might be done by then though, because I'm pretty anxious to start working on it again. Do I sound just silly with excitement? For this sometimes jaded knitter who has gotten a little frustrated with the sameness of a lot of the patterns out there, this one has me psyched! It is everything I love about knitting: Organic shaping, great instructions, and a unique design based on sound knitting principles. It requires skill to execute, but mostly it requires imagination. Any knitter can muster enough of that to make something as delightful as this.

Beware!

I am such a sucker for gimmicks and pretty things and fair trade and well, sheesh. I went and spent 22 bucks for size 0 Lantern Moon Sox Stix knowing that it was a mistake, but oh, they're so pretty and those folks in Viet Nam are benefiting, etc., etc.. Of course 3 out of 5 snapped like toothpicks after 10 rounds of my grandma's green socks. But, not being willing to give up and not wanting to bug Chris at the shop with a return, I thought about it for a while and decided to give them a manicure. Having a teenage daughter around, I dabble in nail stuff occasionally. So, we had a kit to do acrylic nail tips and I decided to try fixing the little suckers. I glued them together, coated them with the acrylic and am in the process of sanding them down. So far, so good. The join seems strong, and the coating of acrylic seems to be doing what the glue couldn't on its own. I'll keep you posted if this appears to be a viable fix. I always keep one of those 4-sided file blocks sold for manicures in my knitting bag because you can get a silky smooth finish on any fingernail or wooden or bamboo needle that needs a little help.

But here is my official "I made this mistake so you don't have to" injunction: Leave the tiny little wooden needles alone. The only ones I've had survive reliably under size 2 are Crystal Palace Bamboo. They bend, but they don't break. Some don't like the curving that happens, but that is what allows them to stay in one piece. Of course, your mileage may vary and needles are so personal. Take my advice with a grain of salt, but consider it before you plunk down your hard-earned cash for a novelty.

Nametags and New Friends

I returned from Knitting Camp to find the house tidy, the children glad to see me and Eric in reasonably good spirits. Thanks them all for supporting my in the World of String and to Mom and Cathy for being there for Eric and the kids in my absence. Here is my very simplistic camp summary. Later on I might put up the essay I started on what it meant to me to be there, but it's pretty personal so I'll probably save it for my other journal.

Things I Really Enjoyed:
My roomie, Angela from Toronto-20 years old, incredibly bright and talented and just as excited as me to be there. She has more great photos on her blog, so check it out.
The nametags everyone made. This was an unexpected pleasure-what a master stroke of genius to break the ice and give others a snapshot of yourself. They were varied and beautiful and many had wonderful stories behind them. Here's mine.


Hearing Meg's soothing and cultured voice in person.

Sitting by Kris, Jane, Liz, Katie, Nancy and Darcy-what fun we had. Knitting should always be combined with laughter.

Seeing most of Elizabeth and Meg's sweaters from the books and newsletters-wow what a body of work. Here I am vamping with the masterpieces.



Talking with Barbara, Michael, Sam, Greg, Suzette, Willi, Lin, Alice, Gail, Frances, Lisa, Stephanie, and everyone else.

Listening to Lin play the Celtic harp in the evenings-soothing and beautiful.

Finishing my circular entrelac tam. The mysteries of circular entrelac begin to unfold to me, and even though mine is too big, it was a valuable project. You can see it in the above photo. Natty, eh?

Being the student. Most of it was review for me, so even better, having a truly re-engerizing break from everything usual about my world.

Being among my tribe. That's how I felt when I first walked into a yarn shop. I think I made some real, new friends, and I am looking forward to cultivating those friendships.

Here is Sam's amazing Pi shawl made from the most
beautiful tencel yarn. We swiped tablecloths and blocked it right on the
floor of the conference room. Is it not a thing of beauty?

Holy Cow!

Oh dear, I can't believe its been so long since I've posted. I've been keeping up on my personal blog and I wonder sometimes if I should just combine them, but as a mom of 5 with a fairly packed life, there's a lot of non-knitting stuff in the other account. So, I'll post here when I can and keep trying to add more content. Teaching is great right now. I taught the moebius lace class on Saturday. As I expected, the cast-on took most of the time, but I was, as usual, impressed by the pluck and determination of the students. I taught the two principle methods for making a moebius from the inside out to the edges. This is instead of the EZ method of making a strip and grafting together with a half-twist. The demo with the strips of paper went well, and I think it helped show where the cast on would be located in the finished piece.
Inspired by a private lesson, I started and finished a lovely lace shrugg for Sara out of Sunsette-a really nice cabled rayon-synthetic blend. It turned out great. She wore it the next day. I am thinking of making one for my neice Beth while she's here. She might be able to use it out in Arizona.
I finished teaching the socks on two circs class last night. It was delightful. I came home and got my first demo sock done and started the other while watching Music and Lyrics, starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was cute and made good background for knitting.
I've also completed a baby blanket out of nice, unmercerized cotton from Bernat that came in giant 14 oz skeins. I used the good old Encore 8 hour checkerboard pattern that I can do from memory. I have another one on the needles in a smaller checkerboard pattern. I have also begun making booties for the many expected babies in my church community. I have been using several different patterns. My favorite so far is this one from Knitty. Pictures will be forthcoming.

Knitters and Spinners Have the Solution!

I thought this was a diverting thought for those of us who love wool.

Knitting Camp!

A long-time dream has come true. I made it into Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I still have to make travel arrangements, but come July, I will be trekking to The Middle of Nowhere, WI (actually it's Marshfield, but it kinda is, uh, that) for 5 days of drinking at the source. At least my source. I have been so deeply influenced by the work and writing of Meg and her mother Elizabeth Zimmermann, I can hardly express it in words. I am looking forward to being the student-I have no doubt I'll learn new things. So, stay tuned as I prepare and anticipate my first ever camp experience.

Continental Knitting Photos

Here are photos of some of the processes of Continental Knitting. As I have taught this class over and over, I have come to have some strong feelings about it. I believe it is a useful tool to have in one's knitting toolbox, but I do not believe it is the best way to knit. There are so many wonderful ways to knit that there simply cannot be one best way. It can be faster, but not for everyone. It is definitely useful and worthwhile, but it is no more superior to throwing-style knitting than chocolate ice cream is to vanilla. My class today was fabulous, as all classes truly are, because everyone was open and enthusiastic and worked really hard. Everyone was sucessful and I hope you will all keep at it! I am working right now to start adding video to my blog, and the Norwegian Purl is the first one I'll post. Stay tuned!

The Knit Stitch

Above: Wrapping the yarn for tension. Tension is essential to having control and building speed. For additional tension, wrap the yarn around the left pinky. Finding the right system for you starts with something like this and evolves as you practice.

Above: The position of the needles as the working yarn is picked through the stitch on the left needle. Notice how the needle bosses that stitch around so you can see the working yarn to pick it through.

Above: The working yarn comes through the existing stitch to form a new stitch on the right needle.

The Purl Stitch:

Above: Purling with the yarn in the left hand. Notice that the yarn must be completely in front of the whole set-up.

Above: The yarn must come from the front of the right needle around to the back of the right needle so that it is between the needles before being scooped out the back of the existing stitch.

The Norwegian Purl:

Above: The working yarn is behind the needles-in the same position as for the knit stitch. The right needle comes in behind the yarn and into the stitch purlwise.

Above: The right needle "scissors" around to the back of the work.

Above: The right needle picks up a stitch from over the working yarn, just as for a knit stitch.

Above: The right needle "scissors" around to the front of the work, rotates counter clockwise, dips below all strands...

And Voila! The stitch almost forms itself before you realize it. Try it!

Getting Ready to Teach!

I am getting excited to teach my summer classes. I am working up the Homage design in another yarn to test and refine the directions, and its going well. The other yarn is called Bonsai from Berocco. It is a bamboo ribbon with a tiny, shiny strand of rayon wrapped around it. Luscious, with a little bit of just-right glitz. Lovely texture, but the stitches don't get totally lost. Photos to come. I have the Homeward Bound socks just about done and the pattern writing is coming along. I am still working through old projects and am just about finished with a square poncho called a pelerine and a prayer shawl. I am absolutely exhilerated by all this finishing I'm doing. Next in the queue is a Philospher's Wool kit to prepare for fall's Philosopher's Phinishing Phrolic class at Cloverhill. After that, I will get to my Magnum Opus--the Alice Starmore Rona jacket with 20 exquisite colors that make me happy just looking at the 6 inches of it I've done over the last 6 years or so. I will wear that jacket this fall and you are my witnesses!

Preview of my Summer Tee Shirt design for this summer's class at Cloverhill

Here is my latest design: "Homage". It is designed around the concepts Elizabeth Zimmermann used for her designs, principally the percentage system. It is indeed an homage to Elizabeth herself, because it is from her writings that I gained the confidence to design. In that spirit, it is knit in the round all the way to the underarms, the sleeves are joined and it continues in one piece using EZ's brilliant shaping to give the look of set in sleeves, which for me is more flattering than a raglan. It continues in the round to the neck bind off, then after the neck is started it remains one piece, but is knit flat for a few inches, then a few short rows are added to the shoulders, the shoulders are bound off together, the underarms woven and voila! It is ready to wear. I chose not to steek the neck because of the cotton/acrylic yarn, and that presented some interesting engineering challenges, but I loved the process of figuring it out and can't wait to share what I learned with my students. Best of all, I genuinely like the sweater-it fits perfectly.

This is my Summer Tee Shirt design for the class I'll be teaching this summer at the shop. These pictures are me, with no special effects, so this is what it looks like on a real, 40-year-old body (size 10-12) with a real tummy and upper arms that, shall we say, reflect my age. I like the way the elbow length sleeves are cool enough for spring or summer, but are much more flattering than a short or cap sleeve that falls right in the middle of that aforementioned area that, shall we say, reflects my age.

Apple Blossom Moebius Scarf

Back from Seattle with Two, count 'em, TWO finished projects!

I finished the erstwhile Rainbow Jacket by Vivian Hoxbro! I think I hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "Halleluja!"

The photos show how nicely the shadow effect shows up. I started this three(?) years ago to support a class and was in sight of finishing when I had to take out half of it and start that half from scratch. I was bogged down with other things, sick of the tiny stitches and slightly boring knitting, and so it sat. But now, it is done and well worth it. I wore it everywhere on my trip to Seattle and got many compliments on it. It's a brilliant design. It fits well, is a perfect weight, and goes with lots of things or jazzes up plain black trousers and a black top very nicely. I found a beaded necklace and earring set in a craft consignment shop in Port Townsend, WA that picks up all the colors.

I also finished the Lacy Moebius out of Mama E laceweight. It is very pretty. Here is a little taste of the lovely bit of delicacy that I ended up with.

Because I finished the two projects I had room to bring, I indulged in some Artyarns merino and started the Homeward Bound socks on the plane. I got this far already. I am totally designing on the fly, just a couple of cryptic notes and charts, and I really like them so far.

Finished Blanket

Here are some shots of the blanket I made for Christa, Jeff's ex-girlfriend. She is still a friend of the family and I had started this for her high school graduation almost 2 years ago. I hang my head in shame. Anyway, I finished it, sent it off and she likes it. It is made with three strands of Wool in the Woods yarns. I love the way they shimmer. The colors remind me of Monet's garden maybe or a wisteria bush in bloom.

Summer Tee and Moebius experiments

Photos to come...
but I am working hard on my two big projects for spring classes-an original summer shell based on the work of Elizabeth Zimmermann and a lace moebius made of Mama E yarn. More on that later. My blogging life has been put on hold lately, but I'm ready to get back in the habit. I have tons of photos of FO's and other things, so stay tuned.

Sweet Skills

I plan on petitioning the TKGA for a special dispensation of the Master Knitter recognition after tonight's lesson. No, just kidding. I am pretty proud of myself, though. I sucessfully taught a left handed knitter who knits from left to right (the opposite direction that I knit) the Armenian/Philosopher's Wool/Extreme Trapping method of two color knitting tonight. I was able visualize the whole process in reverse, get her going and completely mirror image the usual way of doing it. It was, I just have to say, a pretty scha-weet experience for a total knitting geek like me.

Everyone else she has approached has told her she knits wrong and to change. I can understand that, and I have no criticism for her other teachers because not everyone can reverse their knitting. I can. Don't know why I can, but I can. Not bragging, just stating the facts. Anyway, she was creating a lot of twisted knitting and was very frustrated. She taught herself to knit the typical way, but it never felt comfortable. She has taken to the mirror image knitting like a duck to water. Even the motions to trap the yarn in tonight's lesson made sense to her. When the hard-wiring of the brain is respected, the student attains flow. They gain confidence and start to feel like a Knitter. I salute my student for sticking with it and not settling for less than satisfying knitting. You go, girl.

So, do you think I could convince the TKGA??

Spinning Report and FO's

The Journey to Yarn:

Above is the hand-dyed top from Interlacements. Top is a very thick rope of prepared fiber. It is pretty much impossible to spin from unless you spin from the fold, but I am not experienced enough yet and have not tried that. So, I split the top into halves or even thirds or fourths and then I....

Pre-draft. Above you can see that the colors have softened a bit, and the strand of fiber is thinner. This is now spinnable. Just for comparison...

Above is a section of the top with its sister section pre-drafted. I doubled up the pre-drafted fiber to match the color changes in the original top so you can see how much longer it gets. Sort of. Next comes....

Singles. Here is the pre-drafted fiber spun into singles. I was really going for a softer, thicker yarn this time around. I got better at the softer, thicker thing as I went along, and here is what I came up with after plying:

It reminds me of Colinette Prism-a thick-thin hand-dyed confection that combines a very thin binder yarn with a softly spun core yarn. I am happy with it, even though the other yarn I've spun from this top is totally different. I'll combine it somehow and it will be great fun.

As for FO's, I finished the dead-easy Transitions jacket this past weekend at the cabin. The yarn does the talking, and I've already gotten tons of complements on it, but for the dinero that yarn set me back, I don't know if I'm happy enough with the finished item. I am actually considering ripping it out and doing it over at a smaller gauge or making a smaller size. I have finished 3 blocks for Erin and Michelle's project, and I've pulled out all my "circus colors" for Afghans for Afghans. Click on the link to see what their latest need is. I teach Big Easy on Wednesday. I decided to leave that where it is so I can show people how it will look when it is divided for the fronts and backs. I also finished the scarf I started for my stash project. I am very excited. So far the stash count for balls of yarn used in appropriate and beautiful ways: 3!

Here are the completed matching hat and mittens that I sent to the mitten tree at the elementary school They were soft and really fun to do. Mittens have become like socks for me-must be from all those arm-covers I did-and I can knit them up without a pattern or anything. That is definitely the most enjoyable kind of knitting for me. Big Easy is coming along. I may actually finish it before class starts next Wednesday. I have tons of great notes, though and I am entering the 21st century by using my blog to post tidbits for my students. We'll see how it goes.

Works in Progress

Here is my first ever experience knitting with unspun yarn. This is not icelandic, like the kit I have waiting for me upstairs to make Meg Swansen's superlative Icelandic coat. This is Fingerlakes Woolen Mill Unspun. Soft and yummy it is. The wool comes as a big flat "cake". For this project, which was gifted to me by a friend at church who inherited it from her Grandma's stash, 4 strands are used, so the "cake" is divided into two sections by lifting out the center few inches, then using the inner and outer strands of each remaining spiral of yarn. It is going pretty smoothly and has been a nice break from all the frenzied deadline knitting. This will be a fitted helmet-type hat called Betty's Well-Shaped Hood. It is a classic pattern from Patternworks from many years ago.

Here is the Nicky Epstein Felted Bag from the current issue of VK. Gail and I are teaching it as a class together. This is obviously not felted yet. The version in the magazine is in lovely soft berry colors. Gail is doing something like that, but we thought it would be fun to show the different effect of doing the same pattern in neutrals. I like the way it is turning out.

Below is the Big Easy by Beth Brown-Reinsel. It is an easy circular pullover that features Gansey-like elements. I am enjoying the knitting very much. The patterning keeps the rows just flying by. The yarn is Wool Pack 10 ply, and it is showing off the stitchwork nicely. I swatched with 3 other yarns. One can understand why traditional ganseys are done with a very tightly twisted yarn. Anything with texture or even a heathered color just swallowed up the subtle knit-purl patterns.

Holiday Cheer and Class Reports

The holiday ornament class went really well last week. Everyone one in the class was a familiar face and I just love that. I got the Sophia Hat and wristwarmer pattern published for Chris. She just got in a bunch of that yarn and I had done the hat a few years ago. It is a luscious wool/llama blend dyed in yummy soft colors by those fabulous Wool in the Woods girls-Missy and Anita. The hat turned out well and I hope it will appeal to folks as a nice last minute gift-hat on size 9 needles-quick, quick, quick!
The last session of Chinese Lantern went well,too. It is such a thrill to see everyone have success and finish. One student made hers into a circular vest and one made the center chart into an intarsia contrast panel. One did hers in Karabella Aurora 8 and I was so enthralled with it that I've ripped mine out in the Naturespun sport and am going to redo it in the KA8. I don't know which color yet. There were a couple done in Galway which shows off the stitches beautifully-and those two were looking fantastic. All in all, it was a parade of masterpieces in the making. Go Girls!

Einstein

Okay, so maybe I don't feel like a genius, like Sally Melville promises, but I am glad to have my einstein finished. It is quite unique in the touch me. Once again, blogger's issues with the Mac platform are making it hard for me to put up photos, but I'll get them up. The fabric of the washed and dried Touch Me really does beg to be fondled, as the name implies. It drapes and slinks like nothing I've ever knitted before. The downside of that is that it is already growing longer with each wearing and I have to do some research to find out if I can rewash it or block it somehow to refresh it between wearings. I found some awesome buttons, and overall, I am really happy with it. Some of the students in the class are pretty much done as well. A couple are going to add collars so they will stop by the shop and see me. I love keeping those contacts alive. Students are the best. Sometimes I like teaching better than the actual knitting!