P U L S H

PULSH consolidates to K1P1Design1 Blog

2012-01-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers!

Facebook has stepped up and serves the need to show family photos and chatter. As a result, I've decided to discontinue this folksy blog and consolidate my focus on knitting at my K1P1Design1 Web site. Please set your RSS and blog readers to the K1P1Design1 blog for future updates from me as I waffle on about how I would set the knit world if I were queen.

It's been great sharing with you here on PULSH.

- Charisa

Summer 2011

2011-08-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Although it has been a cool (thermally-speaking) summer – weekend activities have filled the agenda – so I have lots to share. First up: In June, Karin Lowe (instigator of the Nordic Knit Conference held annually) graciously allowed me to come take photos of her newborn lambs. She has a lovely barn that just begs a knit photoshoot (hmmmm, more on that soon!)

World Wide Knit in Public day spans a couple of weekends (rather than a single day) – and the Snohomish Knitters Guild (SKG) hosted a knit-in at Seattle Center. Saturday,18 June 2011, was the most dismal greeeeeey rainy day I’ve seen in the Northwest (honestly) – but it did not keep knitters from the mission of sharing the joy of knitting. Thirty + folks showed up, took their spots and shared their love of knitting with the public. Prior to the event, I polled the guild members about why they knit, then made placards so we could put them in front of us. It generated lots of conversation with the public! We also shared about 50 “new knitter kits” with the publich – each kit had info about the guild, knitter resources, and a partial skein of yarn.
These were our two youngest knitters – 8 years old. They knit for noble reasons.
And then, there are those of us that knit for less than truly noble reasons…

Also at the WWKIP event, this cartoon says:”So, are we gonna go fight crime or what” and the hero replies, “Yep, just let me finish this row.” Sound familiar?

Someone who spotted us knitting (we were hard to miss) sat down and demonstrated a couple of techniques using the Eastern European method of knitting:
Knit on Cast-on

Brioche Rib using Eastern European Knit Method, or “Combination Method” (illustrated by Annie Modesitt here.)

Also in June, Yarnbomber and artist Suzanne Tidwell (and helpers, such as our own Knit Shan Knit of SKG) socked-it-to Occidental Park in Pioneer Square in Seattle. I heard that she is taking her act uptown too. Check out both Suzanne and Shan’s links.

That’s me, soaking up all that yarny color goodness.

And finally, lest you think that I’ve not had my hands on some of that lovely yarny goodness, I have a very small show and tell – a woven scarf (oh my, that unevenness is just charming, isn’t it?) A simple tabby weave on my rigid heddle loom, hand-dyed brown wool for the warp, sockyarn for the weft.

The sock yarn is washable wool, and the weft is not, so when I set it, it gave the scarf an interesting texture. Something to celebrate, a scarf off the loom and on a body!

On the home front, my son had a hero’s journey this summer – he rode his bicycle from Seattle to Boston, alone. As I know he is unconventional as far as cyclists go, I was a bit over the top in worry – but now that he has arrived, I would love for you to enjoy his adventure (after the fact, rather than biting your nails at 4am every morning like I was to see if he was still alive.) Read Brandon’s travel blog: Brandon has died of dysentery. Click the “back” link at the bottom of each entry. It’s a fast read, he posted almost daily for about 40 days. I’ll leave you with the ending entry, so you, dear reader, know he is ok:

The caption on this blog entry was “Done.” (He starts grad school at MIT, Media Lab on 1 Sept.)

I hope you have had a wonderful summer, enjoyed many excursions, much yarny goodness and are thinking about your Fall projects!

Learning a new language

2011-06-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

How many languages do you speak? I speak several fluently: knitting, crocheting, spinning, and dyeing. Since January, I've been learning a new language: weaving.

I thought I would be a faster study, but it's taken longer than anticipated to get the syntax, the acronyms, the lingo. Sett, heddle, castle, brake, warp, woof are just a few of the many many terms I'm learning.

I'm starting a new job tomorrow. I ended my last job on 1 June. And in between, I've been taking weaving language lessons. As of today, I've put together, warped and woven all of 10" of a fabulous silk twill. It's a start!

'Bout time

2011-04-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

We've had a very wet, cold Winter and Spring here thus far - yesterday Mother Nature was giggling as she dropped wet snowflakes on my car as I drove to work.

So, there is still a big need for neck warmth!

This started as a Cream and Sugar cowl. I cast on the required 252 (!) stitches, almost believing the pattern (I did take the needle down a size)....but as I knit in-the-round, it was clear that the ribbing was not 20", but more like 40". So, I ditched the pattern and merrily went on my way with a different design.

Ribbed and Warm Collar/Cowl
Knit in the round. Easy project.
Yarn: Fingering/sock weight
Needle: US 4
Start: co 252, on circular needle, join (don’t twist!); total cowl is 36” with ribbing un-stretched.
Collar: k2,p2 rib each row for 3.5”
Next row: decrease to 50% of your stitches by doing the following: *k2tog, p2tog*, repeat between * * to end of row; total cowl is now 18”, ribbing un-stretched.
Cowl: Then knit the next portion by doing the following: *k1,p1* ribbing, repeat between * * to end of row for 3.75”
Adjust length for either the collar or the cowl as needed.

Cast off in rib pattern.
Weave in ends and wear!

Music - Wagon Wheel

2011-03-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

My middle kiddo, Adrienne, delighted us on Solstice with some music. Much to my delight, she sat in front of her computer and recorded a bit of it. Love it Aden! Thanks for sharing, and I look forward to more.

Twigs

2010-11-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

A knit-to–fit hat that you can wear all day long. In my neck of the woods Fall always brings wind and with it, branches, needles and twigs everywhere. This simple hat was inspired by the abundance of earthy branches in my neighborhood after an Autumn storm.

Yarn: Nashua Handknits; Vignette, 1 skein
Colorway: Earth (this is a bulky yarn.)
Needles: US 9 (Circular with 30” cable for “magic-loop” method to close the hat top.)

The finished hat was 3.5” deep. The integrated I-cord edge helps the hat to “snug” down on the top of your head.

download now (free until 15 Jan 2011, then will be available for a small fee.)

Round and round and round in the circle game

2010-11-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game" -- Joni Mitchell

Joni's right, in that, "We can't return we can only look behind from where we came " -- but as life often takes us in a circle, I re-visited a project I completed 25+ years ago when I was learning to knit. It was a fabulous project then. And guess what, even better the next time around. I learned more, it went faster, waaaay faster than in the '80s.

The Sweater Workshop Sampler by Jacqueline Fee

I knit this sampler to try and motivate members of the Snohomish Knitters Guild to adopt the concept of making a sampler, growing skills, and having a reference for future design efforts. In the process, I completely enjoyed revisiting all the folksy instructions by Jacqueline. The sampler took little more time than a hat.

A few modifications that I made:

1. I knit on two circular needles so I only needed to knit 64 stitches. It makes for a small sampler, but you never spend very long on any one section.

2. At the cast off sections at the top (Icord and lace cast offs), I followed instructions for the first 1/2, then for the last half, I knit through the back loop rather than front in the cast off. The difference is marked! Through the back loop for future when casting off in Icord or lace. The look is so much neater.

Specs:

Size 6 US needle; Cascade 220 yarn; I purchased paper tags, wrote the instructions for each section and tied it to the section so I could refer to the sampler and know what I did (not illustrated in the above photos.)

Takeaway: I'm going to always have a circular sampler going to try new ideas out on. This was a fun project, highly recommended!

Social Knitting–Or now I can knit and purl and talk at the same time

2010-11-10T09:49:00.001-08:00

A few simple projects to offer the promise of warm shoulders in the future and mindless knitting in the present:
First up – a stockinette take on the garter stitch Sunday Morning Shawl by Martina Kastanek. (read: I thought I remembered how the Sunday shawl was constructed and I was wrong…! So, er, right, I meant to create a stockinette version!) Designer Martina had a great idea, but it was SmokingHotNeedle’s version of the pattern that motivated me to take up my needles.
(Picot edge details above) Yarn: rainbow-ey sock yarn held with black sock yarn knit on biggish needles, probably US 7. I’m gonna knit a hundred more of these, except I’ll remember to do it in garter stitch!

Next up: the Morlynn Shawl by Alexandra Wiedmayer gets simplified, or I really cannot knit lace. Hope springs eternal, and I bought this lovely pattern thinking that knitting just a border of lace would be possible. But, of course, I give myself the impossible task of doing so with mohair. What was I thinking? I got to the lovely border, knit about 10 rows, got hopelessly lost, ripped back and made a much more sensible ribbed border (which I love, love, love). I stopped knitting because I was done – enough! But, as it turns out, the size is perfect – not too big. Perfect on the shoulders pinned. Warm, lovely to the touch. Let’s keep it between you and me that this is a franken-shawl and say I planned it that way.
Yarn was a mohair I dyed chocolate brown held with some of my handspun, dyed by Allspunup. Allspunup rarely has much fiber in her Etsy store though, because it gets snapped up the minute it goes up. If you are looking to get some of her lovely fiber, I suggest you join the Allspunup Ravelry forum and lurk until you see some comes available. This shawl has a lovely halo and it feels heavenly – I highly recommend knitting with wool/mohair for a luxurious knit.

Miss Calla

2010-09-12T16:55:00.001-07:00

This Spring I taught a couple of classes at local yarn shops on Tuulia Salmela’s “The Tailored Sweater” method. I like to have a project that uses that method on the needles to demonstrate how it’s done –and it served that purpose.

My friend, Amanda, had a baby many months ago – and it’s finally time to unveil the sweater gift for Calla. As that is the true purpose of this little sweet sweater. It’s an empire-waisted swing jacket with a big collar and cuffs that can be worn up until Miss Calla is a big girl, then flipped down.

And, as you see, it the pulled down cuffs work as an impromptu muff too!

Thank you to Miss E for being the perfect model!
Info about this project:
Pattern: Design by me, using top down set-in sleeve method “The Tailored Sweater” by Tuulia Salmela
Needles: US 5
Yarn: James C. Brett Marble DK yarn (acrylic) - “Berries” colorway
Pros: this sweater can go into the washer and dryer Cons: It doesn’t block anything like wool!
In fact, it doesn’t block.

Geometric Inspiration

2010-09-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

I‘ve discovered Grace Anna Farrow. Do you know her? I found her by combing through favorites of my Ravelry friends. I have not seen her design work at any of my local knit stores, so I ordered her book, The Fine Line, directly from Grace. The book arrived with a graceful handwritten card (Rothko on the cover, no less!) welcoming any questions while I constructed her designs.
I immediately bought a kit from Jimmy Beans Wool and then stumbled upon the Isager wool she recommends while on a weekend trip to Portland at the fantastic LYS: Knit Purl, and promptly purchased the yarn for Dawn.

I’ve got a conversation going in the Sweater 101 forum with Cheryl Brunette about what constitutes elegance for me. Grace’s sensibility in color and design just about sums it up. Simple garments – no fuss, no muss that serve as the foundation to lay simple designs in the form of textiles (shawls or scarves) in stunning color combinations. I often joke that I’m a lace flunky and can’t knit lace. Truth is, what I love is simplicity in both design and color, and lace generally doesn’t do it for me.
I haven’t knit any of the designs yet, but I’m inspired to commence with my own work inspired by Grace Anna Farrow –using traditional techniques and patterns with bold color combinations. One of my very favorite artists is Nancy Crow. Her work continues to evolve with every series she creates.

While we were discussion color and Grace and Nancy’s work, Carol opened to a page that knocked me out. I immediately went to the dye pots to color yarn that should work in the same way the Isager yarn does for Grace (it’s the same yardage for 50 gms: about 300 meters, making it just a tad heavier than standard laceweight yarn.) The black and charcoal are left as is. The remainder of the skeins you see below started out white or light grey and were dyed by me.

The skeins sit on the page Carol found in the Nancy Crow book. The yarn that is the same weight as the Isager yarn (and about 1/4th the price) is Swedish lace yarn, Jarbo Gastrike 1 tr, that runs$7.95 per skein for 600m. (Isager Wool 1 is $12 for 300m). I cannot wait to see what this becomes!

Color Saves

2010-09-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

[I’m the President of a knitting guild in Snohomish county, Washington. I write a small article in each newsletter, and I’m repurposing this one I wrote for the July publication.]

My fiber work in June took an unexpected turn when I mis-read a contract and thought the design I was doing was intended for a June 2011 audience. After weeks of work and when all aspects of the project appeared to be going south, I contacted the publisher and declined the project only to find out that pattern packages had already been sold and hundreds of people were waiting as it was a June 2010 project. Oh, my! All my commitments were cancelled, obligations of walking the dog and doing the laundry were foisted off on my partner, and I hunkered down to get the job done. The only thing about the project that saved my sanity was the fact that it was still fun, despite the miscommunication and subsequent late night work, because it was a colorwork project.

Color has the ability to delight and amaze. Placing yellow next to blue next to coral and accenting with black can be the saving grace of the dreaded second sock syndrome. (DSSS: when the first sock was great and now I have to knit a second one?) You can spend your life calmly knitting color stripes, varying only the hues and never changing the stitch pattern, and still make a lifetime‘s worth of amazing garments.

The world of software has provided us with tools to make color designing and experimentation easier and even more fun. Try a few of these out:

Color Palette Generator. Enter the URL of an image to get a color palette that matches the image. Generate that palette from almost any image you see on the Internet by right clicking on the image, selecting ―properties, then select and copy the address listed (ends in .jpg or .gif).

COLOURlovers is a creative community where people from around the world create and share colors, palettes and patterns. View hundreds of thousands of color palettes.

For your iPhone:
ColorExpert. Use a photo on your iPhone to generate a palette. Although this app is expensive as far as iPhone apps go ($9.99), it offers maximum control to generate your palette. The output includes RGB, Hex, and Pantone codes to enable you to duplicate the colors via print or the Web. You'll have to wing it for your dyepots! Here are two examples of the palettes generated by ColorExpert with some of my photos:

Sherwin Williams ―ColorSnap is a free app that also generates a palette from a photo on your iPhone, but with less control.

On July 13 Abbott Smith spoke to the guild about how he tames the color beast. He shared more fascinating ways to play with the magic of color. How will color save you?
Let‘s knit!
Charisa

Summer Knitting

2010-09-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

My summer days were focused on raising our puppy Emma. And, my, how she has grown!

I did get a little knitting done – here are a couple of hats completed during the summer months:

Quincy by Jared Flood
Knit in my own handspun (Rose garden). I constructed the hat using his instructions, with a different gauge and type of yarn. Love the detail: hat knit in a strip to size of head then grafted after doing a half turn to make it a mobius. Edges of the garter strip are done with icord on edge as you knit. Pick up at top to close the hat. Knit the top with a size or two smaller needle than the hat body.

Ripple by Wendy Bernard
Wendy looks so fabulous in this beret, I had been ready to knit it as soon as I saw it. This is a beret knit in sock yarn. However, should I knit it again, I would change a few things:

Don’t use superwash. It adds weight and droop. A woolen yarn with more loft will be better than the worsted slick/heavy sock yarn. A shetland would have the type of bounce I was hoping for.
I’ll knit it top down so I can stop when it fits. This is knit from the bottom up, and adjusting it so that it has less droop is difficult to do when you’ve already cast on.

That said, it’s a clever design and it was a fun knit.

There is more summer knitting – a shawl, a child’s cardi: photos and details soon.

Socks!

2010-07-23T08:05:00.001-07:00

You may be thinking I've fallen off the edge of the world and can not make my way back. In fact, I've been busy busy designing, knitting, re-knitting, and re-knitting. (Isn't that always how it goes?)

The Three Irish Girls (TIG) yarn company commissioned me to create a sock design for their sock-of-the-month club. Here's the link to the pattern available for purchase.

Construction: Toe up with the Lifestyle Socks no muss no fuss short row heel. Note: these are my photos. TIG used their own photos for the pattern. This is a fun project to work with multi-colored yarn and a solid yarn (check out the Three Irish Girls colorways available).

This project has inspired more designing -- look for related projects soon.

I created the pattern, requested the colorway (pinks/purples and charcoal) for June in honor of Pride celebrations everywhere – naming it Pride! socks. The Three Irish Girls company renamed the pattern to “Flying Geese Socks”. That works too.

Free Fiber Calendar May 2010 - April 2011

2010-04-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hey Ya'll, who said you have to have a calendar January through December?

Help yourself to the K1P1Design1 Fiber Calendar
(Click to get to the folder. FYI: my pattern site is K1P1Design1).

Click the link above, and then click on the folder to download and save. When saved, double-click the saved folder to open (and expand) the files. Save the images to a thumb drive and take to a Staples or Office depot and have printed then spiral bound.

View the calendar pages as a slide show.
To see the individual images in a slide show (at lower resolution than in this zipped file) - click here.

Enjoy!

Joined the crowd and did the Baktus

2010-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Made a Lacy Baktus (by designer Terhi Montonen) with some very special yarn. Made it with self-striping yarn I dyed 3 years ago. I wanted a pattern that would not waste one precious yard of it since it was so labor intensive to make. Lacy Baktus filled the bill. It's a lovely scarf. Thank you to Kim Davis for modeling it.

Photography Helpful Hints

2010-04-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Take Better Photos of Your Knits for Your Blog

View more presentations from K1P1Design1.

Happiness is a new puppy

2010-03-28T17:10:00.001-07:00

Meet Emma. She was a long time coming. And could not be more perfect.

She, my friends, is just one big bundle of calm. More photos of our new golden puppy.

The Charter for Compassion

2010-03-01T19:55:00.001-08:00

Thank you Karen Armstrong! Worth 2 minutes and 11 seconds of your life. I promise.

Laughter is such good medicine

2010-03-01T19:11:00.001-08:00

My knit-sibs (as Brenda Dayne calls her knit pals) were in a race to the finish for the Ravelympics. Barb on the right finished her Ravelympic hat as we stitched and bitched last week. In between stitchin’ and bitchin’, we did plenty of laughing. Ahhh. That felt good.

Recently off the wheel – merino wool, silk and Molly. Can you guess what makes such a beautiful soft halo?

Have you guessed it yet? These shots are pretty close up. It’s a lovely fine yarn that is soft soft soft. I can’t wait to knit a cowl with it. It begs to be close to the skin? What’s Molly*-fiber? Dog! And not a hint of a scent of dog, dry or wet!

* Molly is Barb’s dog, the Ravelympic Mulitple Gold medalist in the first photo, on the right.

Tailored Sweater Workshop: Feb 27 or Mar 27

2010-01-30T13:28:00.001-08:00

You are invited
I’m teaching The Tailored Sweater Workshop in the greater Seattle area this Winter/March. The class is a wonderful opportunity to learn Tuulia Salmela’s top down method and embark on sweater-making for yourself! You’ll learn to make set-in sleeves top down and design and fit as you go. Please contact the shop to sign up for the class.

Sleeves are knit at the same time as the body, top down.

The Tailored Sweater Workshop
Spend a day learning The Tailored Sweater method which results in custom set-in sleeve sweaters knit seamlessly from the top-down. The method inspires confidence; every sweater you knit fits. Class time is spent making a sampler to learn the method. Price includes a CD with a detailed e-book and software by Tuulia Salmela to help you make sweaters of your own design for years to come.
Class size will be limited to 8 people.

Class work is a fast easy sample sweater and will enable you to understand all the steps in the method.

This top down set-in sleeve method makes matching patterns (lace, stripes, etc) a snap.

Class Supplies (You’ll start the small sample sweater in class)

1 Skein of worsted weight yarn (Cascade 220 recommended)
Knitting needles (size that you normally use with worsted, US 7 or 8)
Flexible measuring tape
Notebook

What you need to know for this class:
Cast on, cast off, increases, decreases, fundamental understanding of sweater parts (body front, back, sleeves). You don't have to have knit a sweater before but are familiar with the knit and purl stitch and basic shaping.

Offered at:

Village Yarn and Tea
Saturday, 27 February 2010; 11am-5pm
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
Phone: 206.361.7256

Wild Fibers
Saturday, 27 March 2010; 10:30am-4:30pm
706 South First Street
Mount Vernon Washington 98273
(360) 336-5202

Seattle to Portland Yarn Train 2010, Part 2: The Stash

2010-01-29T10:31:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to have a laser focus in my acquisition of new yarn: luxury or bust. Portland, as usual, did not disappoint. The rainy day definitely influenced my color choices and I ended up with a very Northwest palette with only one exception.

I came home with a shopping bag full of alpaca, silk, merino, and cashmere. Notice the new Jordana Paige bag? Purchased last week at her different-bag-an-hour seconds sale to benefit Haiti.

First up: ShibuiKnits Yarn, Sock, at Knit Purl. This is their own line, and the colors are amazing.

This is destined to become the Churchmouse Classics “Koigu linen stitch scarf”. Despite the hub-bub about Koigu, I prefer ShibuiKnits Sock.

Next, indulgence in the newer line at ShibuiKnits: 4 skeins of ShibuiKnits Baby Alpaca and 3 skeins of ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud (mohair/silk) to make the ShibuiKnits Cabled Rib Wrap.

At Dublin Bay Knitting Company, I found a few skeins left of their new luxury line: “Solstice”. I picked up 2 skeins of Starlight Cashmere Silk in the “summer twilight” colorway. (The color is actually a bit darker than it shows up in my browser window.) I’m not sure what this will become – most likely something that will touch my skin. It is soooo lovely.

And finally, some wonderful stuff from Knit Knot Studio – Pur from Schoppel Wolle (left) and Karabell “Popcorn Merino”. I plan to design something that uses these two together.

I also purchased a pin that is by the same designer as the jewelry I purchased at Knit Knot Studio last year (here’s last year’s photo) – my pin this year is like this one, but smaller and has a dark patina.

I am so blessed to live in an area with so much creativity and art available to fiber folks. I hope next year you’ll consider joining us on the Seattle to Portland Yarn train.

Seattle to Portland Yarn Train 2010

2010-01-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

In 2006, the Seattle to Portland Yarn train event started as my small group's one day getaway to hang in Portland and see all the local yarn stores. I had coordinated a couple of train trip excursions with other groups and we all concluded it could be a fun thing.

Indeed, it was, and every year since then, due to ease of getting the word out, the numbers of folks on the event doubled...bringing the event numbers this year to 125+ knitters on the train on Saturday 16 Jan 2010. That means we were about 70% of the train's riders, and we took up 4, FOUR, train cars.

It was a fun event - we saw several old friends and met lots of new ones. Knitters are such a good lot! (Even if there is a crazy one or two amongst us! Not pointin' fingers, no no, I'm just sayin'.)

Due to the volume of riders this year there were funds to create really cool goodie bags for the participants. The bag included a notions bag, a measuring tape, coupons from local Seattle area knit stores, cool stitch markers from theknittingmama and a lollipop cabin yarn lollipop with a custom dyed yarn train colorway.

Prior to the event Katie had written and published a Yarn Train song that went viral on YouTube. Here she is playing on the train (which she did four times, once in each car.).

After we arrived at11am, we walked the Portland Pearl district for about 5 hours, stopping in at many of the amazing shops in the Pearl - especially Knit Knot Studio, Knit-Purl, and Dublin Bay. Many folks cabbed or bussed to outer shops: Twisted, Make One, Happy Knits, Yarn Garden, and Yarnia. Portland is rich with knitting and we really enjoyed the bounty.

It misted outside all day - but instead of it being a pain in the neck, the mist offered some cooling as we exited the warm stores and made our way to the next one. As you can see from these few shots, knitters are a fun bunch! (The first is the kitchen sign at Knit-Purl)

Many thanks to all the folks that participated in the Seattle to Portland Yarn train. Thank you to the PDX folks that met us at the station, to our local yarn stores that provided coupons and doorprizes, to the Snohomish Knitters Guild for the sponsorship and to the Portland yarn shops that keep getting better, year after year!

SSK

2009-12-24T10:29:00.001-08:00

SSK:
A very commonly used left slanting decrease .
...Slip one stitch, then slip the next. Insert left needle into the front loops of the slipped stitches and knit them together from this position (through the back loops).
but in my world:
Sip, Sip, Knit.
My small knit group, SSK took time out from their busy days prepping for festivus, and got together to sip and knit last night. I don’t know where I’d be without my SSK group. Thank heavens for them!
I hope you have a family of origin and/or of choice to spend your time with this holiday. May you be filled with love and light.

It’s the busiest time of the year

2009-12-23T09:04:00.001-08:00

Bobbins full of wool for the past 6 months are finally being completed and plied into finished yarn. Results:

First up: a mohair/wool 2 ply (left) . The small ball to the right is navajo-plied. I normally n-ply the remainder when I run out of single on one bobbin.

Next, a teal 2 ply that is yards and yards and yards long. It’s probably on 700 yards, but it feels like 1000. It is sitting in a basket of unspun purple/pink batts. There is a little skein (see the grey tie?) That’s Nply of leftover.

Yarn on the left is a scratchy Romney mix that I will NEVER spin again. (Life is too short). And the yarn on the right was dyed by Tuulia Salmela and was a 50th birthday gift to me in July. I started spinning it soon thereafter and just got it off the wheel. It’s navajo-plied and is Merino (and maybe some silk?)

Some recent wool out of the dyepot, subtle, to match the season. Soft alpaca wool:

And, for a few finished projects: a slouchy hat made using my Lifestyle Hats method made from an AllSpunUp Spinalong fiber of a year ago. Love, Love Love. This hat was so easy, and is so pretty.

And lastly, a “hipster-man-scarf” for my son. I dyed the blue/brown. Ordered the gold and put this on hold until it came in a few months later. Very fast knit. My son immediately said, ‘Oh, it’s a keffiyeh. It’s what hipsters wear.” So it instantly became his Solstice present. The pattern is Daybreak by Stephen West.

EZ’s BSJ – SKG KAL

2009-11-29T17:51:00.001-08:00

How is that for acronyms?The Snohomish Knitters Guild (SKG) is having a Knitalong (KAL) using the pattern for Elizabeth Zimmernan’s (EZ) Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ).The BSJ is knit in one piece and is a marvel – it’s knitted origami. You fold and, Viola! – It’s a jacket.

Info about this project:
Pattern BSJ by EZ (link to Wiki for the BSJ)
Yarn: James C. Brett Marble Chunky 200g – every last ounce of it; MC13 colorway; purchased at Village Yarn & Tea
Needles: KnitPicks US 9; Icord edging: US 8
My modifications: Instead of building buttonholes into the jacket, I bound the sleeves and all edges with applied I-cord, making buttonholes as I went down one side of the jacket.
My assessment: I’m definitely making another, next time, seamless.

Brooklyn Tweed Trunk Show

2009-11-15T09:16:00.001-08:00

Seattle-native, Brooklyn Tweed blogger (Jared Flood) was on the West Coast this week and spoke at the Seattle Knitters Guild on Tuesday, 11 November. He comes at knitting with an engineering mind and an artist’s eye. He has a youthful exuberance, is intelligent, charming, and his talent is born of many many hours of knitting.
His recent small book, “Made in Brooklyn”, is all designed, knit and photographed by him – revealing his love of knitting and control. The yarns are all Classic Elite (publisher of the book.)

If you’ve followed Brooklyn Tweed’s blog you’ve probably often wondered what he looked like – his writing and photography are so helpful (see his eloquent visual guide to steeking here), and inspirational (see his lovely Girasole) – but what does he look like!?! Wonder no more:

The evening ended with a verrrry long line of knitters getting his autograph and new book. I took too long with the photos and did not get a book (sold out) or a signature. But I did ask him to come speak at Snohomish Knitters Guild – so maybe I’ll get that autograph yet.

Fall – Angora Bamboo Shawlette

2009-10-31T10:03:00.001-07:00

This has been the most beautiful Fall that I’ve seen. The colors have been glorious. Truly. When I saw this Paton’s Angora/Bamboo mix I knew it was destined to be a remembrance of this amazing Fall.

Shawlette
Materials: Paton's Angora Bamboo Blend: 4 skeins
Needles: I used a US 6, Addi Turbo Lace Needle
Gauge: I have no idea

Cast on 2 stitches.
Knit 6 rows.
Next row: pick up 5 stitches, one in each garter ridge. You'll turn the corner and pick up the two you cast on too. Now you have 7 stitches on the needle.

Set up Row 1: K2,place marker, YO, knit stitches, YO, Place marker, K1 (center stitch), Place marker, YO, Knit to last 2 stitches, YO, place marker, K2
Row 2: K2, purl to last 2 stitches, K2

For the rest of the shawl:
Row 1: K2, slip marker,YO, Knit to marker, YO, slip marker, K1, slip marker, YO, knit to marker, YO, slip marker, K2
Row 2: K2, purl to end, slipping all markers to last marker, K2.

When I was almost out of color in one skein, I K1 in this color K1 in the next color (on a knit row). This created a little interest in the transition row. I knit a few stripes to kick off the shawlette, then knit large color block stripes.

Border:
Row 1: K2, slip marker,YO, Knit to marker, YO, slip marker, K1, slip marker, YO, knit to marker, YO, slip marker, K2
Row 2: K2, Knit to end, slipping all markers to last marker, K2.
Row 1: K2, slip marker,YO, Knit to marker, YO, slip marker, K1, slip marker, YO, knit to marker, YO, slip marker, K2
Row 2: K2, purl to end, slipping all markers to last marker, K2.

Cast off when you are out of yarn, Hint about this yarn: slippery! Weave in LONG ends. I like to leave a little tail out until after I block.

Soak in lukewarm water, spin out water. Block.Then trim the yarn tails that poke out after blocking.

Just a small sample of the beauty we’ve seen in the Pacific Northwest this Autumn. Lower res than usual, shot with my phone.

October Was A Busy Month (and it's only the 18th)

2009-10-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Lots to share. Let’s start with some finished projects, because that always feels good. I have been meaning to try free-felting with my hand dyed fiber for the longest time. So, as Fall was starting to do just that, I went outside and rubbed water and soap into thin layers of wool and created 70” long scarves. The first has novelty yarn laid on top of the unfelted fiber, so as it felted it locked in. Both are thin and beautiful and warm. I’ll have to do more of this come Spring. Falling needles felting into scarves just doesn’t work. And this messy process is definitely an outdoors thing.

Next up, a mix of my hand dyed and purchased wool to make a watery, forest-y shawl. Design by Stephen West, this Daybreak shawl is more like a mermaid’s wrap:

Folks in Snohomish, Washington got a very rare treat in September. My partner, Carol Brozman, had a few of her paintings on display for the month of September. View her whole catalog at her Web site.

And lastly, the Snohomish Knitters Guild had knitting author Cheryl Brunette come speak and give us a delightful talk on Sweater 101 basics. I had the good fortune of being able to entertain her for a bit and take her to breakfast the following morning. It felt like I had met an old friend. And, no, her sweater was not knit with Noro, it’s a Kaffe Fassett design and each color change is a different yarn.

And to wrap, let me leave you with a sweet goodbye from Shawn Colvin. I bootlegged the shots and music with my point and shoot. She serenades you for three minutes from the Edmonds Center for the Arts. If you wait for the end, you’ll get lots of great suggestions to hear more from Shawn on You Tube.

Worry-free Cardi = Done

2009-09-27T20:34:00.001-07:00

The top-down set in sleeve sweater I started when my daughter was spending time at the doctor’s (and I was waiting in waiting rooms) has been done sometime. I dubbed it the “Worry-free” cardi because knitting it kept my mind off the terrible stress of waiting to find out if Aden had cancer, waiting to find out if the skin graft on her nose took, and generally just waiting with a mother’s head full of worry. Aden is now cancer-free, and it truly was a worry-free cardi. This was an easy knit, and all knit in one piece from the top down using The Tailored Sweater method I’ve talked about.

Notes
Yarn: EcoWool, Cascade, 4 skeins
Needles: US 7 KnitPicks
Pattern: Garter Rib in body, stockinette on sleeve, 2x2 ribbing for collar
Collar needed short rows to fold over, then some increases in the front purl ribs to lay open. Body has short rows in front for bustline, and in upper back so the whole thing lays flat. The beauty of knitting in one piece top-down is that one can make little design decisions as you go along so your sweater works! I added width to make the body a slight A-line. Edges have integrated I-cord knit while making the garment. No seams were sewn in the making of this garment!
Final note: my dress display has narrower shoulders than I have, and although it does not fit her shoulders, it fits mine perfectly.

Sheep-to-Shawl Demonstration at the Evergreen State Fair

2009-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Demonstration at the Evergreen State Fair, 8 Sept 2009. 11am – shear the sheep, all day – prep, card, spin and weave the wool 4pm: finished shawl cut off the loom. I got to help spin the wool. Woot!

If you'd like to see the videos of the event, click here.

What’s Your Vision?

2009-09-12T21:41:00.001-07:00

One of the annual exercises we go through this time of year at work is to sign up for commitments that we’ll achieve during the fiscal year. After many years of doing this, it is obvious to me that by focusing on where you put your energy goes a long way to getting you there.
Last Saturday we got together with friends and created “vision boards”. The idea was to create visual representations of what we want to see in our lives in the coming year. If you search on the term “vision board”, you’ll find lots of folks selling you things. However, Christine Kane has a nice blog entry about creating vision boards.
I finished my board and put it up in my office, but it occurred to me that I could share it with you via multimedia. Here is my vision board – it’s a 5 minute video. Not rapid-fire like a music video, but a meditation of a few images and thoughts, delivered over the course of a a song written by James Taylor and sung by Shirley Horn that has become the theme to my life. Take five minutes of time to sit back and enjoy. Then, create your own.

Stitch N Pitch – Knitters 1000, Mariners - 4

2009-08-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

Knitters were batting a thousand last night when they showed up in droves at the Fourth Annual Stitch ‘N Pitch at Seattle’s Safeco field. A few photos of that beautiful night – He’s man enough to knit, and she draws superheroes who save the world by knitting.

It’s always wonderful to see someone learning the art:

Luscious Seattle summer sunsets

A sad knitter’s note: I frogged about a month’s worth of work on Tuulia Salmela’s Red Dragon pattern because I am, quite simply, a lace flunky.
Now a little something special – pull out the project that’s on your needles, push play and enjoy the magic of Jami Sieber. I may not be able to knit wings, but she will carry you on invisible ones with her art. Click track 6 and you'll be off.

Lush Mechanique by Jami Sieber

Lopez Island Holiday

2009-08-23T11:34:00.001-07:00

We spent the last week enjoying the perfect August weather of Lopez Island. A small island in the San Juan chain of islands near the Washington/Canadian border. We left our car at the Anacortes parking lot and cycled to our short term destination, “Cozy Cabin” in the woods. Here are just a few of the sights and sounds that are likely to fuel dyepots and knit projects for the future.

(all photos copyrighted by me, Charisa Martin Cairn. Please do not use without permission)

Extra-Ordinary Day!

2009-08-16T23:44:00.000-07:00

For the past few years I've become acutely aware that were we put our energy is where our life is. Such an obvious statement, yes. But I forget this simple principle again and again.

Two years ago my friend Kristen introduced me to Betty Roberts Spinning wheels. They are beautiful handmade works of art and engineered as beautifully as the aesthetic they are created with. Betty Roberts makes accelerated wheels (rare). She is a treasure and lives in the state of Washington. In the past year I have joined both the Ravelry and the Yahoo Groups dedicated to Betty Roberts wheels, thinking that maybe someone would put one up for sale. There are so few of them in the world, I had become convinced that I would never own one.

Then, yesterday, I was at the Snohomish Library doing some knitting guild business and stuck my head in the library's conference room. A group was just leaving and as I looked closer - I realized that there were several Betty Roberts spinning wheels in the room. Let me cut to the chase and give you the goods.

I am now the proud owner of Betty's "Cotton Eater" wheel (meaning, many ratios, can spin very fast). And today, I not only purchased the wheel from Betty, but got to spend time with her getting to know her. Now, tell me my friend, is that not an example of "Ask. Believe. Receive."?

Betty Roberts - The Spinning Wheel Lady

Betty Roberts with the Cotton Eater (my wheel!)

Betty tells how to tie a new wheel band

Betty describes the inlay in the Cotton Eater:

And, then, like the hero she is, she opened her shirt and revealed her super powers!
Proverbs 31:13: "She seeketh wool and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands." (That she does!)

Betty Roberts and many Betty Roberts Spinning Wheels

Sock Summit!

2009-08-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the big West Coast "Sock Summit". All the Knitterati Illuminati were there. I did not take classes, but convinced Carol to head to Portland for the weekend so we could attend the Ravelry party on Saturday and then spend hours and hours at Powell's books. And that we did.

At the entrance at the Sock Summit, a lovely shawl in lovely colors. It's a simple two color
pattern titled:

Ulmus, and is available from Through The Loops.

The marketplace was overwhelming. Man, who knew there could be so many yarns and tools dedicated to sock making? The stroke of brilliance was having a bar cart in the marketplace. Shop while you stroll with wine. Hmm.

A sentiment I can get behind. Order your twisted t-shirt here.

There was booth set up for knitting help, called the Lucy Booth. I heard it was staffed by some of the most famous knitters around. Below, the booth is staffed by anarchist knitter Anna Zilboorg. (Buy her books while you can.)

Then the Ravelry Party. Lots of wonderful folks were there, but a big shout out to the three people who have almost single-handedly transformed the knitting universe:

Jess and Casey, Ravelry parents were there with their very capable crew. I'm in the middle.

(By the way, I'm wearing the original Red Dragon Shawl that Tuulia Salmela created --she dyed and spun the fiber, then designed the shawl, then for some completely crazy reason, GAVE it to me. You can order the Red Dragon pattern here.The shawl is pinned with one of Romi's beautiful pins (purchased at the marketplace at the Summit). You can get one of her beautiful pins here.)

Amy Singer, of Knitty fame (left). Despite the lousy photo of both of us, I"m posting it because she is my hero.

When knitters gather, there are many things to go ga-ga over. Look at these
lovely things:

And this fun sweater knit of Noro silk yarn, by FeistyKitty of Ravelry.

Jess and Casey bid us good night:

Next day, Powells City of Books (they have an entire bookcase dedicated to knitting.)

And we capped the day with yarn I had "made" at Yarnia. That's my yarn being wound.
It is going to be a wild shawl.

Do you think's it's a sign that I should move to Portland? (Carol thinks so ;) Below: Pothole in Portland and Street Sign (or is it, sign from the gods?)

Party, party, party, indeed.

2009-07-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

The whole month ended up being a birthday celebration. On Thursday, the actual bday, my kids made a meal for a queen.

Yesterday we capped the long celebration with a knit/spin/eat/drink party that lasted the day
and most of the night. We just did not want it to end. And laugh we did! Below I'm catching Tuulia modeling one of her amazing top-down set in sleeve sweaters (link to the pattern, you need it!) as she is saying something naughty, and I'm getting her good. The whole day was like that.

My sweetheart, Carol, had a special bracelet made for me - made with antique typewriter keys.
It is so cool! She knows me, don't you think?

You too can have one from TAB Typewriter Key Jewelry.

Just see what a wealth of talent we have in this area. Doesn't it make you want to knit, spin, or dye fiber? This was the fiber loot I got from my fiber buddies yesterday:

A colorway just for me by Kristin, of Allspunup:

Handspun yarn by TheKnittingMama, roving dyed by Allspunup:

Then, Tuulia overwhelmed me with a ton of her beautiful handdyed roving. Oh my.

A photo of all the loot together. The unlabeled stuff on the left edge is roving and yarn I dyed myself (yesterday morning.)

Many thanks to all my friends and family who made the month a wonderful celebration. Special thanks to Barb for the candles and cinnamon/lavender soap and to Linda for the amazing
mini sock blocker key chain!

It's my birthday and I'll party if I want to.

2009-07-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly my birthday yet, but close enough. I figure turning 50, I
get to celebrate as long as I want. So, you may ask, what did I do? I bought a miracle machine.

Start with a mixture of handdyed alpaca roving and mohair locks. (Can you believe how vibrant the mohair locks are? They take dye so beautifully. All those locks were in the same dye bath.)

Feed into one miracle machine (aka, Strauch finest drum carder, newly arrived at my doorstep on Thursday.)

Out comes a basket of beautiful fluffy stuff to spin.

Too hot to knit - Lemon Bars!

2009-07-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

It is the most beautiful day of the year. We are celebrating with Lemon Bars.

Lemon Bar Recipe:
Pastry Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar (plus you'll need a little more for the topper.)

Lemon Custard:
2 1/4 cups plain sugar
1/3 cup flour
6 eggs, slightly beaten
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)
Zest from those 4 lemons

Directions below:
If eggs are straight out of the fridge, submerge in warm water to bring them to room temperature.

Mix pastry crust ingredients until crumbly.

Pat into 9x13 pan that has been buttered and floured. (I made a double batch, do not sneak it up the sides like I did.)

Cook the pastry crust for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, and while you wait, remove the zest from 2-3 lemons.

Then, squeeze the lemons to get the juice for your bars.

Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, eggs, pinch of salt and flour well (this is the custard topping).

Pour the custard topping mix into the cooked pastry. (See the bottle of lemon juice in the photo, you might have to augment your fresh lemon juice, so, good to have on hand.)

Bake the custard about 20 min at 300 degrees (custard should stand up but not be terribly hard, just slightly firm). Let cool. Cut into bars, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Serve cold.

Cookie A. comes to town

2009-07-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last week Cookie A. of Monkey Sock fame* was in town and I caught a class on designing socks at the Village Yarn & Tea shop. Man, that girl is technical. It was such a pleasure to hear how she engineers a sock. Imagine what she could do for world peace. Maybe she already is!

Her new book, Sock Innovation (now on sale at Knitpicks), is great if you want to design socks. She is a big advocate of top-down and has some great arguments for the top-down method - you will still have to swatch. You know I'm the opposite, a big fan of toe up, but I'm willing to try her method. It's brilliant if you want to design every detail.

Some shots of Cookie:

I am still working on my Worryfree Cardi (nearly done!) So, I'll be gearing up to knit some freshly-designed socks. To prep: hand dyed this sock yarn. It is blue and light blue and should self stripe.

And, recently off the wheel, some blue/brown 30% Angora/70% Merino roving from Allspunup. I handspun the fiber and created a 2-ply. Next to the handspun (left) is purchased 50/50 Angora/Merino 2 ply yarn that I dyed to work with the handspun. I'm thinking a lacy scarf? I have about 600 yards between the two skeins.

*Look at all these monkey socks on flickr!

No Muss No Fuss Short Row Heel – Variation with Stitch Markers

2009-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve had lots of requests from folks that like the short row heel in the Lifestyle Socks pattern – but they often get lost between the “held” stitches and the “active” stitches. Here are a few tutorials using the same short row method with stitch markers to help hold your place. The instructions and videos below are for knitting a heel in a stranded colorwork sock. The heel is knit in one color of yarn. Assumption is that you are knitting in the round on two circular needles. The heel is knit on only one of the circular needles, and the other half of the sock stitches sit on the other needle, ignored while you create the sock heel.

Don't be daunted by the long-winded instructions - skip right to the videos. It's easier to see how to do it than to explain how to do it!

Knit the “short rows”
1. On needle 1 knit to one stitch before the last stitch on the needle (you do not knit the last stitch).
2. Place a stitch marker in front of that last stitch on Needle 1.
3. Turn the work.
4. Slip the first stitch as if to purl.
5. Purl all the stitches down to one stitch before the last stitch on your needle. (you do not knit the last stitch).
6. Place a stitch marker on the left needle, in front of the un-knit stitch.
7. Turn the work.
You will now continue knit rows and purl rows over the stitches on Needle 1, knitting or purling one stitch short of the stitch markers. Move the un-knit stitch in front of the marker to the right needle, remove the marker, move the un-knit stitch you just place on the right needle to the left needle. Place the stitch marker on the left needle. Turn the work, while making the short rows, always slip the first stitch as if to purl. Continue until you have reduced down to 12 “active” stitches and have just finished a purl row.

Video illustrating knitting the short rows:

Add held stitches back into the work.
Turn the work, slip the first stitch, and knit 11 of the 12 center active stitches, your needle will look like this:

Left needle Right needle
[000000000000000 M X] [XXXXXXXXXXX M 000000000000000]
0 = held stitch; M = stitch Marker, X = active stitches
To help orient you, on the right needle you have held stitches, a stitch marker, and 11 active stitches. On the left needle you have the un-knit last active stitch, represented here as X on the left needle. A stitch marker (M) sits in front of the held stitches. Dependent on size of yarn and your foot, the number of held stitches will vary.

You will now begin adding the held stitches back, one row at a time, continuing to knit back and forth.
1. Move 1st stitch on the left needle to the right needle (this is the last active stitch you have not yet knit).
2. Remove the stitch marker on the left needle.
3. Slip the first stitch on the right needle back to the left needle (that last active stitch you have not yet knit.)
4. Knit 2 together.
5. Make 1 stitch (go under the entire next stitch, not just one side or leg of it, and pull up a new stitch.) Pull that new stitch pretty tight.
6. Place the stitch marker on the left needle.
7. Turn your work.
8. Slip the first stitch (this is the M1 stitch you just created.)
9. Purl (or knit, as appropriate) one stitch short of the stitch marker.
For a colorwork sock (assumption is that you are doing colorwork on the foot and the sock leg, the heel and toe are knit in one color) – you will repeat steps 1-9 until 2 stitches are still held on each side of the marker and you have just completed a purl row. Turn, knit to marker, remove marker, and knit the remaining 2 stitches on the needle. If you are knitting in one color, you will add in all the held stitches.

Video illustrating adding the held stitches back into work:

Also, here are a few videos to help with colorwork management:
How to knit with two colors using two hands:

How to catch or weave in the yarn when it must be stranded over several stitches:

Time for a Snohomish County Knitter's Guild?

2009-06-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

My knit group has been pondering the creation of a Snohomish Knitter's Guild (WA state, USA). Do you think it's time Snohomish had a guild? Click here to answer this poll and help us figure out if the time is right!

View the latest results of the survey here.

Four is better than two.

2009-06-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm doing something really incredible: attending two baby showers, back-to-back, each for a woman with twins. We all worked together back in the day, and now have dispersed in our careers. But here we are, celebrating their new family members in quadraphonic sound. Wow.

Well, I would like to report that I knit four amazing sweaters for these wee ones. If you read this blog, you know that was my intent. But, as life would have it, little knitting transpired. Still I have a little something I did knit to share:

For the girls, completely, unabashedly, against the color scheme noted by the decorator Auntie, a pink and brown ensemble that looks good enough to eat.

And strawberry - chocolate booties to boot:

For the boys, no knitting, but oh so cute: Ugly Dolls and Ugly Doll-inspired baby blankets:

Secret O' Life

2009-06-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

A reminder, that time isn't really real...

The above video is a live version of James Taylor singing his tune. But listen to Shirley Horn's version because my friends, she nailed it.

This keeps my mind off my troubles...

2009-06-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Read this interesting MSNBC article that tells the world what we knitters already know:

"It is good for self-esteem and it is calming and therapeutic."

Evidence of Industry

2009-05-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

I just celebrated the start of my 13th year at my job, and as a result, I'm accruing vacation time at a higher rate. As a result, my manager suggested I take every Friday off during the summer. BRILLIANT! Yesterday was my first vacation Friday of the summer and I give you evidence of my personal industry!

First: two skeins off the bobbins:
Below: Merino/Tencel Two Ply

Below: "Forest floor", Wensleydale single. Verrrry long staple.

Next, purchased merino yarn dyed to make a scarf inspired by this brilliant Cork, Ireland fiber artist.

Also, some luscious super soft BFL yarn, dyed a Chestnut warm brown

Then, onto fiber in the dye pots: "Ocean", Merino/Tencel blend

More Merino/Tencel "Merlot"

Below,"Girly" Silk/Merino blend - dyed with purple and fuschia. Most of the hot pink
fuscia ends up going down the drain in the rinse as it does not bond well to the fiber.

Next, "Butterscotch", Silk/Merino blend

And finally,purple! Silk-Merino that I overprocessed and now I'm having to hand card the
whole thing into rolags in order to spin it. Argh.

You may have noticed a little shift in the photos. I bought a new (cheap!) 50mm lens and love the narrow depth of field it offers at low aperture settings. Tuulia made me do it. (Hmm, so that's how Jared does it!)

A Perfect Memorial Weekend

2009-05-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

It was the most luxurious weekend I have had in ages. The weather was perfect. PERFECT. Sunny, high 60's, low 70's, with a hint of coolness in the air, and time to play with color and texture.

I started with two nearly full bobbins of a 50/50 split of a merino/tencel blend. I finished with a full bobbin of two-ply of the same. As always, click the image for big!

I also completed a project that I've been thinking about - you know, always thinking about the next project when one is clicking on the needles.

I love to dye and spin, but I don't want to become a production spinner, toiling over bobbins and bobbins and bobbins of singles in order to spin enough for a sweater. I love handspun, but a full sweater of it is not as appealing as having it in bits and bites. Why not dye white yarn in a colorway to work with a handspun - then handspin a related colorway with a specific design in mind? Maybe cuffs and collars in handspun? Or stripes in handspun? Or....you get the picture.

Here is the result of dyeing 1600 yards of 50% alpaca/50% wool two-ply yarn in a purple colorway, and several colorways of roving that I might spin up to work with the purple. Designs to mull in my head and to come at a later date.Your comments and ideas and pointers to inspiration welcome!

The roving below started as a light grey fiber.

The roving below started as white and is now a mixture of greys, pinks, and purples.

The roving below started as a gradient-dyed yellow Falkland roving and I overdyed with crimson and purple. It is really electric!

And lastly, I'll show you this wonderful caramelly-plummy yummy roving I dyed late yesterday. Believe me, it feels as good as it looks. (Carol laughs and says I see colorways in terms of food. Don't you?)

And to wrap this blog entry, I'll show you a fun snap that I caught as we were heading into the Folklife festival in Seattle. A bride and her maids - her wedding must have been at the EMP
(Seattle's Experience Music Project museum). See a few more of the festival here. Ah, to Spring, and youth and everything ahead of you.

Proud Mama = Kiddos on parade

2009-05-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

I finished a hat a long time ago - it's knit in short rows. It was an easy knit, I was just surprised by the point on the hat and put it away when completed. My daughter, Aden, found it in the stack at the house of hats and claimed it as her own. Perfect for her. She puts her dreads up and off she goes. And, side note, look how good her nose looks (it's the underside that was removed due to the melanoma, and has been grafted)! It's healing well - reconstruction in the near future.

Pattern: Strawberry Joe
Book: Going Straight - A New Generation of Knitted Hats
Author: Woolly Wormhead
Yarn: Soy of some sort (Not Paton's)
Needle size: US 5 or 6 (can you tell I wasn't paying much attention?)

Also in the news, my son, the map fanatic (if only I could make him a spinning wheel fanatic), gave a talk at the Where 2.0 2009 conference in San Jose this week. See his fascinating talk about Maps in 4 dimensions below (it's about 10.5 minutes in length.) He's wearing a hat I made for him during the presentation. (Looks like it's time to knit him a new one.)

And lastly, I heard from my baby today - looks like she got a gig cooking full time. I don't have a recipe of hers to share with you at the moment, so I'll give you a shot of her cooking for us and a promise to share a recipe of hers in the future.

Lifestyle Socks: Videos

2009-05-17T06:57:00.001-07:00

Videos to assist you in making socks that fit the way you want 'em.
The Pattern: Lifestyle Socks

Click the photo below to see the pattern and download it. It's free.

Not a pattern, but a lifestyle
My sock making guide with a great formula for toe-up socks:
• Judy Becker's Cast On +
• Priscilla Wild's No Muss No Fuss Short Row Heel +
• And any pattern you choose +
• Any weight yarn of your choosing = Socks that always fit.

Technique

How to knit on two circular needles, brought to you by Stitch Diva
She shows you multiple ways to knit small diameter tubes.

The Sock
Toe: Judy Becker Cast On for Toe Up Socks
Cat Bordhi demos, and unfortunately, you cannot elect for viewing in "high quality", but she uses large needles so you get the idea.

Heel: I walk you through Priscilla Wild's short row heel in my Lifestyles pattern

Updated: See a variation of this short row heel using stitch markers. You'll never lose your place between held and active stitches.

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Bind Off
You need a tail of yarn at least three times the length of the distance you need to bind off.

Inspiration - where do you get yours?

2009-05-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Definitely inspring! Friday night - Amy and Emily, strong as ever. They are kind enough to allow photos and recording and I caught this with my point and shoot. Small venue, great sound, perfect. Their songs about justice, love, and learning how to do the journey are all food for thought for the art that I create.

What inspires you?

Happy Birthday!

2009-05-06T13:52:00.001-07:00

My partner, in life (and crime), has a birthday today! Happy Birthday Carol! See the wonderful inspiration she brings to my life - view her beautiful artwork here. Have her incredible work inspire you in your own home - click to purchase a catalog of her art.

Geeks in motion, or well, not much motion.

2009-05-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

From my son's blog:

I pulled a muscle in my back today, doing nothing more strenuous than standing and wiggling my shoulder blades around to stretch. It feels fine, unless I move or breathe, in which case it hurts terribly. Later on in the evening I went to meditation class. I started going last week, and found it calming and pleasantly novel. This week I discovered that sitting cross-legged, upright, and still is the perfect way to make nearly every muscle in my body scream in pain or go numb. Also, listening to my own breath makes me drowsy right quick. So there I am, half asleep, writhing in anguish, and the meditation instructor, who's oratory style can be complemented as nasal and rambly, is talking about how pain is a good thing because it provides contrast for pleasure and because it gives us something to focus on to bring us into the present. Instead of calming me down, this mostly just annoyed me, because I didn't feel the pain I was experiencing was really necessary or productive. So there I am: annoyed, distracted, half asleep, in pain, and my phone keeps buzzing.

The instructor tells a story about a study where they submerged meditator's hands in ice water to gauge their pain and fear before and after a three-month meditation class. They found that after the meditation class that the meditators did not feel less pain but they did experience less fear as a result of the ice water hand bath. This was attributed to the effects of meditation. I thought: was there a control group? You can't make any conclusions unless there's a control group. If there was a control group, the study probably would have found that repeated exposure to an ice hand bath reduces one's ice-bath anxiety because you learn that an ice hand bath is not harmful. I am going to make a tee shirt. The shirt will say, "Was there a control group?". Whenever someone makes a bold statement, I will point to my shirt.

So, I had the shirt made and sent it to my son. He found it on his doorstep today. You can get one too. (click to order) Oh, and I knit the hat on his head too!

Handspun Shrine

2009-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yarn I've handspun in the past couple of years
Someday I'll actually cast on and knit with it! (Click on image to see it big).

Some yarn I'm not that fond of, scratchy romni wool I think. Fun color: denim with pink shot. Used it as an opportunity to practice woolen spinning. About 350 yards, 2ply, 5.6 ounces.

Helluva a Week and Good News

2009-04-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

This blog is not, generally, a journal of the details my life. It is a collection of thoughts about knitting and spinning and working with fiber. I generally keep the family comments off the blog so you, dear reader, can get what you expect.

But, sometimes, life just throws you the unexpected, and it's worth writing about. If this is the first time you've been here, let me bring you up to speed. One month ago today my middle child, Adrienne, was diagnosed with melanoma. She had an innocuous mole at the tip of her nose removed, and per standard procedure, the dermatologist sent the excised tissue to the lab. Much to the surprise of the dermatologist, the mole was cancerous.

In the past weeks, we have spent many anxious moments waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Finally, on Monday Adrienne had the tip of her nose removed, skin taken from behind her ear to graft onto the nose (for a short term fix, can't fully reconstruct it until it's confirmed no more needs to be removed), and had two slices into her neck to pull tissue from the nearest lymph nodes to see if they had seeds of cancer in them. If yes, the disease had spread, if no, all that would be left is to reconstruct the deconstructed nose.

Wednesday was Adrienne's 25th birthday. Friday Adrienne's bandages were removed. We had expected to wait until the following week to get the full results of the biopsied tissues. The surgeon came in, removed the bandages, then had his assistant tell Adrienne how to clean the wound. He then turned to the computer in the room and looked to see if the results were in. He read them to us: negative, negative, negative, all negative. Music, music, music to our ears.

Thank you for all the well wishes we've received. The cancer was local, has been removed and Adrienne is now officially cancer-free. She will still need your positive thoughts and energy as she goes through the many months process of getting her face back. She is not ready to show her current face to the world, so I give you a recent shot of the day before her surgery. The photo was taken on 19 April and her smile then seemed to indicate that she knew good news was on the way. Indeed, it was.

Worry-free Cardi: Phase 1

2009-04-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day spent sitting in the hospital, waiting to hear about my daughter's melanoma surgery.

I decided that it was a day to start a project that would take my mind off worry, hence, the "Worry-free Cardi".

The good news: Adrienne did great with the surgery. Dr. Peter Neligan removed the underside of her nose, used skin from
behind her right ear to graft onto the area, then incised two areas to gather material for a biopsy. No negative reactions, everything went as planned.

The dressing on her nose comes off on Friday. Results from the biopsy will be 1+ weeks. Dr. Neligan thinks there is a very good chance the biopsy will be negative. Then, all that will be left is to reconstruct the nose area in about 2 months.

For now, let me show you the quick progress on the "Worry-free Cardi".

The swatch above: I am using Cascade 220 EcoWool. A bulky moderately-priced wool that knits up quickly. I tried a couple of stitch patterns and settled on a simple pattern repeat that creates a vertical line and won't take much calcuating when I'm adding/removing stitches to make sure I stay in pattern. I also tested an integrated i-cord edge (click to see video) for the edges of the cardi. The sample above has a 3 stitch i-cord, but I'm going to knit a less bulky version using 2 stitches. As is normal for me, I'm happier with the knit fabric knit at a much tighter gauge than the manufacturer notes on their label. I'm using US 7 KnitPicks needles.

If you follow my blog, you already know that I love a logical method and something that doesn't waste my time. So, I'm knitting from the top down, using Tuulia's "The Tailored Sweater" method. I'm loving it. Despite the fact that I did the spreadsheet for this pattern, I get no kickbacks, no payment. I really just love this method!

The image below shows that, in one day, I have arrived at the stage where I pick up the sleeve stitches. Now, isn't that logical? You can get to the point that you know the sweater will fit in a few short hours. Intrigued? Yeah baby.

Here the Worry-free Cardi sits on a model:

A close up of the faux seam at the sleeve cap. This method gives you a good strong "seam" at the shoulder and supports the sweater well.

I'll keep you updated on the progress. I plan to knit the sleeves in plain stockinette, and knit a big glorious 2x2 ribbed collar that looks fabulous on women of, ah-hem, a certain age!

Reminder: Click the photos to see a bigger version. Also, did you notice the little holes in the gauge swatch (first photo)? I knit in the needle size by creating yarnovers that equal the needle size. How: On one row *K2tog, YO*, repeat for number of needle you are knitting with. Next row, knit in pattern as usual. You'll then have an easy built-in reminder of what needle size you used.

Spring - new work

2009-04-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

Finding time to spin and dye here and there.

Fresh Green - Silk Merino, single, spun a little smaller than sport weight. Drying here, weighted (not usually a good idea, we'll see how it goes.) This was the last of about 8 ounces previously dyed.

Girly pink. Merino/Bamboo hand dyed by me, the plied with Aunt Lydia's 100% bamboo commercial yarn. Nice little sprial going there. Almost 300 yards. I was going to overdye it, but decided to leave it this happy striated pinky peach.

Some color play - first up: Wensleydale (I think), dyed by me. Yummmmm.

Next, merino/silk, dyed bright purple and goldenrod, then tamed with an overdye bath of olive. This screams autumn. I'll probably save it for Fall knitting.

Last up, good ol' grey superwash Merino, dyed by me.

Tomorrow my daughter Adrienne goes in for surgery/sentinel-node biopsy. I'll be starting a sweater to try and take my mind off the worry while I sit in the waiting room. Her 25th birthday is Wednesday. Please send out a prayer to the universe that her melanoma has not spread.

Only the first steps are clear

2009-04-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Adrienne started the process of learning about the melanoma on her face, and what the steps are for her. At the end of many appointments (most of the time spent waiting), we learned this: only the first steps are clear, the rest will present themselves as needed.

From my daughter Adrienne's journal:

What is typical of surgeries for melanoma is to take an extra margin of
tissue around the tumor. A centimeter is typical. I have an unfortunately-placed
tumor. So there isn't a centimeter to take on all sides. There is going to have
to be more than one surgery. Which isn't what I'd been hoping to hear. He
doesn't want to go doing some in depth reconstruction of my nose to find out
they hadn't taken enough tissue and have to rip it all up again to get
underneath.
So it's a step by step play it by ear kind of deal.
Here's what I liked the least about the best case senario: my healing time is
substantially longer than I had hoped for. So best case scenario, the first
surgery is done. They got it all and my sentinel node biopsy (that will
determine if cancer has spread) which they will do at the same time as my nose
surgery is negative.
They have done a simple skin graft onto my nose. (They'll
be taking this patch of skin from behind my ear. It will leave a scar. I'm
already thinking about getting a tattoo over it as a memorial of all this,
should things go well.) Now I'm supposed to wait and let it heal up around two
months to see how things go before they go back in and FINISH the
reconstruction of my nose.
I'm lookin at some serious healing time here.

Next steps:
Surgery 20 April
Results: 27 April

Baby Cardi, done In-between-projects Beret, done

2009-04-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

This, finally off the needles: Garn Studio Baby Cardi. It took forever. But it's done. No baby to wrap it in for the photoshoot, so a pillow will have to do.

Notes:

• Knitting this with US 3 needles takes a very long time in cotton

• However, the cotton adds weight and is very “swingy” so it’s lovely. The Norwegian cotton is beautiful, has a sheen, and the drape in garter stitch is cool.

• I crocheted over the edges because they look unfinished if left as-is. If I ever knit this again, I will always knit the last 2 stitches in the main color so the carried color threads are not at the end of the garment.

And, in-between- projects, a Beret.
Pattern: Lifestyle Hats Top Down Method
I have a basket full of my favorite colors of Cascade 220. I pull several balls out and create a hat on a whim -- hmmm, what can I think up today? Knitted while sitting in the hospital while Adrienne waits to meet her surgeon.

Adrienne

2009-03-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sending out a call to the universe to bring health to Adrienne, my 24 year old daughter just diagnosed with melanoma.

Please join our family in surrounding Adrienne with good thoughts and lots and lots and lots of love as she embarks on this journey to wellness.

And go round and round and round

2009-03-24T16:51:00.001-07:00

In the circle game.

Still knitting the lovely garter cardi to test it (click link to view). I won't be knitting four of them. It is very slow going. Lovely, but sloooooow. I just checked, and I've only been knitting the lovely cardi about 50 days, it feels like 150. And at this rate of speed, the kids-about-to-be-born will be starting college before I'm done. I'll come up with an alternate plan. Like baby hats and purchased garments. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Course, it could be the cardi isn't coming along so quickly because I've been spinning yarn too.

Just finished up some super fine stuff dyed by Kristin of Allspunup (above image = before, below image = after). Thinnest I've spun to date. What did I learn? Spinning thin reduces the color intensity. Lovely Merino, 4 ounces of it.

Below is Ch-ch-ch-cherry pie. This was one of the first rovings I dyed. The color is a little yellow here -- in person the red pops. This is a sproingy bouncy two ply, BFL I think.

Ok, as Katie says, it's time to quit displaying my yarn like it's a museum installation,
and start knitting with it.

The Tailored Sweater - Available for You

2009-03-06T04:36:00.000-08:00

Don't you love it when you think something up in your head and the Universe delivers your dream - first class, overnight - to your door? Some time ago I started dreaming about a way to knit a sweater that always fits. See evidence of my obsession from a previous blog entry. The theme continues with all my patterns - Lifestyle hats, Lifestyle socks. I think well-fitting knitted items should emerge from our needles - it should be our lifestyle to knit simply and get exactly what we want. We all-too-often have nothing of the kind due to the "backwards" way most knitted garments are designed - in pieces, from the bottom-up.

Enter the gift from the Universe: Tuulia Salmela. Tuulia is a friend and knit designer from Finland, and a member of my local knit group. One summer meeting I was, once again, talking about finding a way to knit an elegant sweater that was knit top-down so I could try it on and design-as-I go. The following meeting, she brought one such sweater, completely designed and knitted in the span of 2 weeks. A method was born!

Over the next many months Tuulia took the very good idea of Barbara Walker (Knitting from the Top Down) and developed a very well documented and illustrated method to knit a seamless set-in sleeve garment from the top down. She presented a "beta" class to our knit group in the Fall of 2008. After the class, Tuulia and I collaborated and devised a spreadsheet edition of the method that enables you, dear knitter, to simply input the measurements of the finished garment and, *bling* out comes a pattern. Design what you want, knit what you want. Thank you Universe!

And now, the Universe offers the same gift to you:

The Tailored Sweater - Tutorial and Spreadsheet Now Available: $25.00

You don't have to wait - it's available as an electronic download. Note: You'll need Excel (1997-2003 or later versions).

See more photos and info at Tuulia's blog. Many thanks to Tuulia and her willingness to let me push and push and push and push to get this tutorial out.

Simple Pleasures

2009-02-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

I spent a little time recently figuring out how to knit a ribbed beanie from the top down. You know me, fit is everything, and swatchless is even better. I wrote up the directions to share. See the right sidebar for a link to the free pattern.

Sticking with what works, I knit this with two color ways, alternating colorway every two rows.

Stats
Pattern: built on my Lifestyle Hats Top Down Method, available for free here.
Yarn: Armytage by Sierra Crafts (bulky, single ply with gradient colorways, 1 blue, 1 green)
Needles: US 7
The hat took less than 1/3rd of each ball.

Seems like lots of folk like the simple things in life. Within hours of placing this pattern on Ravelry, 68 people had favorited the pattern, and 79 people downloaded it. I have this hat on my head right now, and it feels like it's destined to become a favorite.

Lace: Grade A-

2009-02-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

Finished my lace project. With all my "training wheels", it flowed pretty well. Just two little errors in the making. The end result works and looks great on the recipient.

Stats
Pattern: Spiralucious by Anne Hanson
Needles: US 3
Yarn: Frogtree Alpaca, fingering weight

Spirals

2009-02-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

Recently off the wheel - alpaca/wool blend, dyed by Allspunup (Kristin). Spun as singles, and plied with black (left) and gold (right) silk thread. Plying with very different weights results in a spiral yarn. You see that the yarn on the left has more "spiral" effect, as it was a bigger single than the yarn on the right.

(I thought I'd show you some spiral work, since that's what I seem to be in using blogger -- a downward spiral -- blogspot doesn't seem happy with my images on my photo site, smugmug, so I'm trying linking to a few flickr images. Can you see me now?)

I <3 You

2009-02-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

We set out to play yesterday, Valentine's day. Photo assignment: shoot all the hearts we could find, and use only a point-and-shoot camera. Post-edit processing ok. It was sunny and beautiful, and we spent most of the day laughing. To see the heart-themed project, view the photos here. Oh we did play. Videos even.

Baby, baby, baby, baby

2009-02-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

All this inspiration in my knitting library...

And I still find myself combing through the "Webs" (as my friend Tuulia likes to refer to the Internet) and finding baby jacket inspiration elsewhere. I'm up to my neck in babies-on-the-way -- and mostly twins, if you can believe it. Thank you to the modern miracle of in-vitro fertilization and baby-planning saved for mid-life. I have to hurry, four are due in the time it takes to knit four sweaters!

Currently, I'm testing this Drops sweater pattern using mandarin Petit cotton
yarn from SandnesGarn. If I love the result, I'll be making a slew of them.

Oh? Did you notice that all the books on the bedside table were not about babies? Well, spinning seems to slip it's way into the task list, the reading list, and every list.

Seattle-to-Portland Yarn Train Report!

2009-02-01T21:09:00.000-08:00

This was my second year to pull together a Yarn Crawl that starts in Seattle at 7am, crawls via train to several wonderful yarn stores in Portland, and then pulls the 59+ knitters back to Seattle by 10pm. All in a day!

Prepping for the Crawl, Uh Oh.
The cabinet below is a new acquisition to my studio. Four hours of putting it together the week prior to the crawl, and several more hours placing my best yarn in it made it abundantly clear that I did not need to buy yarn. (Notice, I did not say all my yarn...there is more in the yarn closet. OMG, I have to incorporate my yarn into my will, I'll never outlive it.) So, the yarn crawl had to serve other purposes than stash enhancement.

Read about the Yarn Crawl, See Photos, Blogs, and More. Be inspired.
Read about the crawl here. See photos from the day from many of the participants here (on Flickr). Follow the rabble on Ravelry here

The Day Did Not Disappoint.
Here are photos of my loot from the day. (With my everpresent Ben, overseeing the photoshoot. Kinda.)

Yarn gift bags prepped for the Seattle-to-Portland Yarn Crawlers. The bag had two skeins of Knit Picks Swish yarn and chocolates in each bag. We had a hat knitalong on the train with the yarn. By the way, purple was the first and foremost pick of this knit crowd.

My hat made with the knitalong yarn. I love this shape.

Gifts from Portland Indie Dyers Abstract Fiber, and Stitchjones

The "boobie prize" yarn (top) from last year came back to haunt me as a scarf. (The winner of the "dud" yarn last year, Ialiuxh, knit it and brought it to me.) Ben doesn't seem that wild about it either. The remains for the day (bottom): baby colors were not so popular - the only leftover gift bag.

Book acquisitions from Dublin Bay (top), Knit/Purl (bottom)

And one more, too intriguing to pass up: a Knitter's Graphic Novel, whoo hoo! (Also from Knit/Purl)

ShiBui (created by Darcy, owner of Knit/Purl) offers the coolest knit totes and needle cases too:

Knit Knot is famous for carrying local artist's jewelry - so I made a beeline there first. (top) Shawl pin and earrings. Last but not least, a knitter needs to see the stitches! Knit/Purl comes to the rescue with eyebobs reading glasses (bottom).

All in all, an amazing day. I can't wait for next year!

Knitted on I-Cord

2009-01-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

A benefit of the Yarn Train trip last week: Elizabeth Prusiewicz of Knit Knot Studio yarn shop in Portland, Oregon shows us how to do an applied I-cord. See her Web site at: http://knitknotstudiopdx.com/

Excuse the dust

2009-01-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

This blog is currently being migrated to this wonderful new location.

Old location: http://charisa-martin.livejournal.com/
New Location: You are here -- http://pulsh.blogspot.com/

Please excuse any oddities in links bouncing from the new-to-the-old. Sadly, an artifact of the migration is loss of previous comments.

In the meantime check the right column and sign up for PULSH announcements, enjoy the free patterns, translate PULSH into your own language, and feel free to comment on any post!

Pocket Spinner! Plus a New Adoption

2009-01-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

My Pocket Wheel finally arrived - and I picked it up yesterday. It's so little! The opening of basket to the right of the wheel measures at 10", and the measurement from orifice metal opening to where the pocket wheel sits is 18". I'm already on my second bobbin. Fun!

Then guess what followed me home? Big Bertha! You can't quite tell that it's BIG, but to give you an idea, the trim on the wall is at 36", and the floor-to-top-of-wheel measures 45".

And for entertainment's sake, see the two together!

Sweater = Done! Top Down, Set In Sleeve, & Seamless

2008-12-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

The top-down-set-in-sleeve-sweater I started last month is complete! It was a dream to knit and fits Carol to a tee. You can see how the colors work with her palette. View Carol's artwork here.

The Stats:
Pattern: Top Down Set in Sleeve Method by Tuulia Salmela (no pattern yet, send Tuulia an email saying how much you want it!)
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 6
Started: 3 November 2008
Finished: 28 Dec 2008 (and that is with knitting the sleeves twice to get them to my liking.)
I love love love making a sweater this way. The set in sleeve fits nicely on the shoulders, the faux seams provide structure to the entire sweater. Best of all, you can try-on-as-you knit, to ensure it works!

Hat from the yarn leftovers:

Hat pattern: A modification of my own "Folk Art For Your Head" - but I used the "Lifestyle Top Down Hat" method.
Yarn: Same as the sweater above.
Needle: US 6

Happy Solstice!

2008-12-20T16:57:00.000-08:00

May you be surrounded with light and love this holiday season!

Training Wheels

2008-12-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

I am bound and determined to get lace right. I have waged a battle with lace for over 20+ years. Friends tell me to give it up, be happy to do texture, two color. But no, I want to get it right.

So, I'm using training wheels to figure out where I am. And they are:

Highlighter tape on the knit chart so I only work the row I mean to work.
Row counter at the beginning of the round, so I remember what row I am on.
Stitch markers, placed at each repeat so I double check that I have the correct number of stitches per repeat.

This is Anne Hanson's Spiralucious.
Yarn: Frog Tree 100% Alpaca, Type 2310; Fingering Weight; Made in Bolivia
Needles: Lovely Fixed Harmony Wood, size 3US, from KnitPicks

I'm 50% done. Wish me luck.

Art Imitates Life Imitates Art

2008-12-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

The Knitting Mama, aka Katie Kent, shows off her perfect timing with her tilted blocks scarf (from Lynne Barr's book, Knitting New Scarves) in October 2008. Mother Nature supplied the same colorway as the scarf Katie dyed, spun and knit. MN's tree was sitting in Bellingham, WA.

Apologies for the less than perfect photo -- this was a serendipitious moment on the street when tree and scarf aligned, and only a point-and-shoot camera was at hand.

In other news, progress on current projects:

Spinning - Ain't for the Faint of Heart

2008-12-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

Made at bighugelabs, click on the image, and save the big one for computer desktop wallpaper.

Pick 'em up beautifully - Tuulia shows you how

2008-11-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

Tuulia walks us through the simplest of ways to pick up stitches and make sure it's beautiful. Take a look at this video:

Thanks Tuulia!

Note: this video is available on Youtube too.

This pick up method is specific to continuing kntting in the opposite direction. In this particular instance, Tuulia is demonstrating picking up stitches at the underarm of the sweater I'm currently knitting using her top-down-set-in-sleeve-seamless sweater method. (Link to previous blog entry about this method.)

Whole Lotta Catching You Up to Do

2008-11-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Work in Progress: Full Sized Top Down Set-in Sleeve Sweater (Women's medium, 40")
The neck will be picked up and knit with a rolled-edge. The sweater starts at the shoulders, then is picked up all the way round, including the sleeve caps and knit in the round, increasing every other row for the sleeve cap. (Link to previous entry about this method.)

Detail:

Finally, getting a Shawl posted that I have let sit in the "to be photographed" pile for too long:

Pattern: Simple Yet Effective Shawl by Laura Chau (click for pattern)
Needles: US 7
Wool: Mixture of Cascade 220 and Paton Classic Merino
Finish: Single crocheted edge with hand dyed Cascade 220. Despite the many many colors available in both these brands, I ended up needing something slightly different and handdyed the edge wool myself.
Notes: Fast mindless knit, blocks beautifully, and certainly there will be more to come. I discovered that if I add buttons, I can wrap the points around my arms and button it up for mock sleeves, they don't get in the way when I'm working and it becomes a shrug.

And, some photos of previously posted items, modeled by Marie:

Pictures, top to bottom (left to right as you go) - links to previous blog entries on these items:

Dew Rag (eggplant hat); Kauni Beret (blue green colorwork hat); Dew Rag, back view; Kauni Beret view 2; Verdant Scarf (green hand spun); Transition Gloves - Wow, guess I never posted about these!

Pattern: Transition Gloves by Kerin Dimeler
Wool: GGH Merino Soft, 1 skein each color

Photos continued:
My So Called Scarf (warm colors); Shadow Tam (warm color shadow stitching)

Autumn

2008-11-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

From the Allspunup fiber challenge Oct - Nov 2008 (on Ravelry, consolidated photo page here.)

Finished fiber stats: Wraps per inch: 18-20 | 8 ounces | ~ 800-900 yards | thinnest I’ve spun thus far

The sample on the notecard is navajo-plied, but the skein is 2 ply. I plan to knit a wrap with this beautiful stuff.

If you spin, run-don't-walk to Kristin's shop and get some of the goodness from her hands. You can afford it, yes you can.

Recent Additions to the House of Hats

2008-11-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

Above:
Pattern: Lifestyle Top Down Hats, Pillbox hat; Fingerless mitts: I made up the design as I went
Yarn: Dyed Romney fiber, colors combined by the Knitting Mama (who also happens to be a spinning mama), then sold to me; I spun it into a thick/thin single, then plied it with an almost lace weight single, black mystery wool (probaby Romney too.).
Needles: 7 US
Notes: This is my favorite hat shape to knit. I love knitting from the top down. It just works!

Above:
Pattern: Vivian Hoxbro Rainbow Tam
Yarn: Jamieson's Spindrift, 4 skeins: Madder, Poppy, Ginger, and I think the last one was Curry
Needle: US 1
Notes: This required a lot of attention, but developed a rhythm as I got into it. I did it to see if I could work with Jamieson's for long (Shetland is not terribly soft, but it is hard wearing), and to see if I could meet the requirement of constant attention to a chart. I want to make the Rainbow cardigan by Vivian Hoxbro. I have all the wool, now I just need the will.

You can never have too many....

2008-11-07T14:56:00.000-08:00

One more hat and scarf.

Hat pattern: Just Like a Peasant Cap by Amber Daniels-Cook (click for pattern - this is an Adobe PDF file.)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, 2 skeins
Needle: Size 6 US
Notes: Very easy to knit. Note, VERY warm in alpaca!

Scarf notes:
Merino roving. I dyed it with Jacquard dyes in blues and browns. (It was beautiful.)
Spinning: I spun thick/thin singles, then set the yarn in hot water. When I went to pull the skein out, the color was gone.
So, back to the drawing board. All blue was gone. I had an striated oatmeal/brown skein. I dunked it in a chartruese dyebath. And, presto, I have a verdant woodland skein.
Knitting pattern: K1P1. The front and back of the scarf are the same. Slip the first stitch, purl the last stitch, every row.
Size needles: US 4
It's so lovely. Soft. Green. Yum.

A Brilliant way to knit a sweater - make it fit, make it seamless.

2008-10-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I spent it with the YaYa sisterhood and we had a good time.

We laughed and we knit:

We were bandits and we knit:

We were daughters and we knit:

And we were amazed at the method that Tuulia Salmela has come up with to make a sweater from the top down, that fits, that has a set in sleeve, and WORKS!

Yes, Martha, this REALLY is knit in one piece and you can try it on as you go. Look for a pattern from Tuulia in the near future.

We also did a bit of enjoying of the Fall, and went to a Northwest Regional Spinner's Annual Spin-In and, of course, visited all the local yarn shops!

Update 7 November 2008 | Finished the Sweater Sample from this class

I've already knit a swatch to get an adult sweater going with this method. I'm jazzed!

My ever-present Ben

Got a Dragon by the Tail

2008-10-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Tuulia Salmela, an incredible knitwear designer from Finland, dyed, spun, designed, then knit this incredible shawl. Then, for some completely unfathomable reason, GAVE it to me. The least I could do was photograph it in all it's glory. Tuulia is the model. Read more about Tuulia's adventures in knitting at: http://tuulia.blogspot.com. She calls it the Red Dragon. (More photos of the Dragon here.)

A pattern will be available shortly! Check out her blog or her Designer page on Ravelry. Click a photo to see it big.

And for fun, another kind of tale-- Ben, one of my cats is VERY social. See him hanging all over Tuulia as she spins. Hilarious!

More than one, REALLY? A review of a very different color.

2008-09-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about why I have more than one spinning wheel. I can really make all the yarn I want with only one wheel. One could argue that I reallly needn't even bother. I can buy all the yarn I want. There are shops full of skeins and skeins of beautiful yarns. There is no necessity to make it.

But I have found myself with more than one. Several more than one. And I find that I am drawn to each one, compelled to spin, on each one for very different reasons.

Lendrum is a workhorse. It will spin at my bidding. Thick and thin, lace, spiral yarn, more. It keeps going, needs no maintenance, is beautifully plain and just keeps on giving. Really, it is all I should ever need.

But the sirens sang, and there I was - enchanted, drawn to the elegance of Schacht. Beautiful, stands heads above others. Insistent on elegance, quietly whispers in my ear. Never pulls hard or drags, smoothly executes and dances with me. The yarn we create together sings. All I should ever ever need.

And yet.

Suzie gave me a glance, called my name. Said she could travel, was flippant. Dared me to try her, to play. Came home with me. What to do? She has joined the household. She is finicky. She wants tension here, release of tension there. She wants adjustment over there. Oil now. Well, she is entertaining, she is engaging. I keep coming back to her, despite my queen Schacht. Despite my sweet hard-working Lendrum. I am afraid that Suzie will be the death of me.

And still....

There is a new gal coming to town. I walk to the end of the drive everyday in anticipation, looking for her. She'll be here soon. Lithe, athletic, limber. She promises to slip into places no other can. She fits in a pocket. I await her arrival.

Gearing up for Cold Nights

2008-09-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Summer is near the end, evenings are cool enough to require a wrap or scarf. I'm gearing up for the Winter with hand-dyed roving, ready for spinning. Click the image to see notes on it with fiber info.

Are you ready with plans for winter projects?

And now for something completely different

2008-08-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

Chalk it up as inspiration.

Normally this blog is focused on knitting and spinning and all topics related. However, today, I just have to share with you some photos I shot this summer. They are straight out of the camera with the exception of some noise reduction. No color added. Where did I have to go to get these loverlies? I stepped out my front door.

Two different sunsets in August 2008; Pacific Northwest/Washington State. Image on left with Canon 20d pro camera, image on right, point-and-shoot Canon Powershot.

Scarves, Scarves, Scarves and...a Drop Stitch Scarf

2008-08-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

I admit it, unabashedly, undeniably, I love knitting scarves. And hats. And socks. But, you already knew that.
I live in the Pacific Northwest where those accessories are something that can be worn almost year round. Even today, 24 August 2008, it has poured rain all day and it's cool enough to throw a scarf around your neck if you head outside.

Knitting small things means I can do lots of them, try lots of colors, and textures.

Finished a few months ago - the Christine Vogel drop stitch scarf that 488 people on Ravelry have made (and another 1645 people have it queued up to do).
Yarn: Rayon Metallic by Blue Heron Yarns (Ravelry link)
Needle: Size 6 or 7, US (cannot exactly remember!)

Up close:

Tracking Your Spinning - Spinning Template Cards

2008-08-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

In an effort to get organized and hopefully see improvement of my spinning, I created some spinning project cards. Help yourself to them.

Creating a simple 4x6 index card with some info about how you got to where you got to on a finished project and putting a few inches of the spun yarn on the card helps if you ever hope to repeat it.

Download the template here.

A basket of my handspun of the past couple of years below. You can kind of see (in the index card box) that I stapled locks of the unspun wool on the cards, as well as any knit samples from the yarn.

Calico Yarn finished

2008-08-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Started with Allspunup roving, 8.55 ounces, Alpaca and Wool (Merino I think) blend
Spun singles at about worsted weight for a total of 290 yards.

Before, courtesy of Allspunp:

During (on then off the niddy-noddy):

After a sit in water brought to about 190 degrees, then whirled in a salad spinner, yanked at a bit and hung to dry:

After After - So in love with this colorway, that I went out into my dye studio and duplicated it while my yarn was drying:

Back to basics: Spinning singles, mostly

2008-08-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

Gallery of recently finished yarns that I've spun and/or handdyed and spun. Destined to become hats, scarves, gloves. As always, click the photo for big.

I dyed, then spun this BFL roving into a bulky single: 130 yards total, about 4 ounces.

I purchased this 70% wool/ 30% seacell blend from Fleece Artist in the form of pencil roving (2 hanks at 100 grams and $12.75 USD each). All I did was spin and ply it. 400 yards total, two ply, about 6.5 ounces. I had a small hank of navajo ply from the same lot at 97 yards, making the total spin at just under 500 yards for the full 200 grams. I was not fond of spinning the pencil roving -- nothing really to hold in your hand. I named the colorway "Forest Floor" for all the browns and greens with occasional blue.

Wool/Seacell is very expensive - so I'm playing with wool/tencel to see if I can get a similar feel. It too is expensive, but not so bad. This I hand dyed and spun into medium-bulky singles: 175 yards for about 4 ounces. The superwash version seems to take the dye much more readily than the non-superwash version of the same fiber blend. I can't wait to knit with it to see how it works up. This is a sunny colorway with intense orange, yellow and shades inbetween.

Allspunup Fiber Challenge: First to post!

2008-08-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

Probably due to me reading the instructions wrong rather than being johnny-on-the-spot, I was the first to post my spun fiber in the Allspunup Fiber Challenge. (link to Ravelry entry). See the many ways spinners spun up this wonderful fiber.

[click photo for big]

So fanstastic was the roving that it almost spun itself. Amazing colorway (a hallmark of Kristin's of Allspunup on Etsy.) I started spinning this fiber at noon yesterday, and it was set and hanging to dry by 5pm. Sweet!

Stat:
80% Merino, 20% Silk
230 yards, single ply
12 wraps per inch

I tagged it with the name "Ocean Seaweed" as it looks like something from the sea - most certainly a reflection of the fact that I live near water.

Scarf Heads for the Hills

2008-08-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

Photo taken on 22 July 2008, an hour after my daughter told me that she was heading out to do a bicycle tour of the Western United States in less than 48 hours. Surprised by the news, I found myself gathering whatever I could to send her off. I pulled a scarf from my recently finished works-in-progress, and a camera out of my purse, gave her a hug and a kiss and off she went.

Oh, to be 24 again!

Fiber: 80% Merino, 20% Silk; kettle dyed and spun into singles by me (this fiber is a DREAM to spin.)
Scarf pattern: Lynne Barr "Tilted Blocks" from the book: "Knitting New Scarves"

As of 3 August 2008, Aden has made it to Boise Idaho (origin: Seattle, WA - a total of over 500 miles), and has uploaded some photos of her trip. Here is one of her shots along the road:

Think good thoughts for Aden as she makes her way South to Colorado on her bike!

24 August update: Aden decided that one mountain pass in a month was enough. In Idaho she caught a bus and went to Reno. Then she cycled out to Gerlach, NV to take a job working at Burning Man for a month or so. She put on about 1,000 miles on her bicycle in a month. Go Aden!

Knit 'em, Two at a time, Toe Up. No Problem.

2008-07-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

I figured out how to solve the problem of knitting two toe-up socks at a time, using two circulars. (Phew, that's a lot of the letter "t".)

1. Wind off your skein of yarn so you have it divided equally into two balls.
2. Stick them in a zip lock bag.
3. Zip it shut except for the corners on each side. Leave those un-zipped.
4. Knit to your heart's content.
5. Flip the bag as you go from front to back to keep strands always uncrossed.
Easy, peasy. Click this link to get the Lifestyle Toe Up socks guide. Then, get knitting.

Follow up: 9 August 2008
Finished these socks at the end of July. This method knits up really well - and I loved having a pair of socks at the end of the project. No second-sock-syndrome here.

When I got to the heel, I took one sock off the needles and put it one of the circular needles to hold it. I then knit the heel for each sock, and when I was ready to start knitting in the round again, I put them both back on the needles as illustrated above and finished up. This is the only way to do socks!

Sock Stats
Yarn: Fortissima Colori Socka Color, 1 skein, 100 grams, abour $20 USD
Color: 11/Lot 420025
Needle: Size 1

Judith Mackenzie McCuin's Novelty Wolf Yarn

2008-07-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

Poor Miss Finch, aka Laura, demos how to spin "wolf" yarn - and tells the startling genesis of the name.

meme: Me Me

2008-07-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Not one to do memes, but I saw this one, and finally, was intrigued enough to do it: a photo meme. And, as the rules would have it, my name is the answer to the first and last question. Click on the photo to open the flickr page and read the notes/answers to each of the questions.

This meme's rules

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

No Muss No Fuss No Wraps No Holes Short Row Heel

2008-07-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

This heel is the unvention of Priscilla Wild and is included in the Lifestyle Toe Up Sock guide. It's so easy, that you really have to see how easy it is so you just quit thinking and keep knitting!

You'll have to forgive that I start off using the royal "We", and as I only do this for fun, there are a few lagging moments, but you will get the idea!

Stepping up to the "I'll show you mine if..." challenge

2008-06-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

Answering the call to show all the different ways that we knit (and purl) I videotaped myself knitting (video length is just under 3.5 minutes). If you are a member of Ravelry, see the discussion thread here. My submission to this thread was post #245.

You can view many ways of knitting, purling, spinning on You Tube. Just search on "knitting" or ["spinning" "yarn"] for a long list of short videos.

Yes! But, of course.

2008-06-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, of course, knitting helps you visualize the universe.
And it helps to calm the spirit when waiting in a long queue too.

Spinning: Wrap and Roll technique

2008-05-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday I had an impromptu spin-in at my house, and Katie, The Knitting Mama*, demostrated how to do local fiber goddess Sarah Anderson's "Wrap and Roll" plying technique. View a short video of Katie showing how:

This technique is described in detail in the Spring 2008 "Spin-Off" magazine. They also have videos of the process - Click to view their videos. This technique creates a novelty yarn spun on a core fiber (the core fiber does not show). The core is wound onto a hand spindle and serves up the core while you wind/ply a yarn onto it and feed it into the wheel. The trick with the handspindle is that you get it spinning in the opposite direction of the plying wheel, inherently creating a balanced novelty yarn.

*Visit Katie's blog, view the 15 May 2008 entry and see more details about how to do this plying technique.

Humble Handspun

2008-04-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Pattern: My "Lifestyle Hats" method, top down.
My variation: When increasing 8 stitches, every other row, I paired increases so they were 4 sets of two increases each, making a square top. When the square measured about my head circumference, I quit increasing, went to a seed stitch, and knit until it was the length I wanted. I finished the hat with stocking stitch (stockinette) so it make a curl. Then bound off loosely.

This was yarn I spun, mixing two colors: a dull brown and a gold. The result is a nice enough hat, but I would not give this hat an A+.

Confession. I have tens of thousands of yards of fantastic fiber in my studio. But, when I go to make a project, for some ridiculous reason, I feel compelled to use the crappiest of the stash. I'm from the dumb old school of "save the best for last'. The only way to fix me is to get rid of less-than-great fiber so the only choice I have is the good stuff. Enough arm-chair psychology.

The roving was acquired, if you can believe it, from a used book store. I purchased a book on spinning, and the bookstore owner asked me if I knew something about spinning and would I help him figure out what to price some misc. fiber. Of course, I helped him price it, then I bought the whole bundle of roving (mostly undyed, but bits and pieces of dyed roving.) The hat above is from some of that roving. I have no idea what it is or how old it is. I do know that it had NO spring, at all. Completely lifeless. But, due to my "save the best for last" illness, I dutifully spun it up. Alas. On to better fiber.

Mobieus Angora Ring: Easy Scarf

2008-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Used Cat Bordhi's DIY pattern, modified by making a “good” mistake. I cast on then increased using yarn overs, then knit the pattern.

The end result is a slightly more lacey “ring” rather than cowl. I love it.

What did I do?

I cast on per the pattern. Then I mis-read, and started on the "lace edging", doing this:

Lace edging:
Round 1: *[Yo, k1] 2 times, [yo, k2tog] 3 times. Repeat from * to end of round.
Round 2: Knit.

Then, I realized I had an error, but I was damned if I was going to rip a Mobieus out. So, I went forward with the simple diagonal pattern:
Begin diagonal lace pattern:
*Yo, k6, k2tog. Repeat from * to end of round.
Knit one round.
Repeat last two rounds 10 more times.

Then, because I had but one skein of expensive 100% angora, I ran out of yarn. Not to worry. I knit the garter edge in black angora yarn. And, really, really, even if I had had enough yarn, I would probably have elected to do a black border.

I am not a huge fan of mobieus garments, but in this case, it's a winner. The way you knit a Cat Bordi mobieus is to actually knit it, rather than knit a rectangle and do a half twist, then join it. As a result, you knit one round, and you've knit in two directions - half knit side, half purl side. (You have to see it to believe it, and even then, you may not believe it.) For this scarf, this enables you to fold the circle in half and still have knit side facing. This was such a fast knit, I want to make more, more, more.

Got on the bandwagon

2008-04-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Like 2644 others before me (on Ravelry), I jumped on the bandwagon and knit "My So Called Scarf" by Allison Isaacs with the only 2 skeins of Malabrigo in my stash.

I suspect that this single ply yarn will work well as a scarf, but never as a sweater (unless pilling is a design feature.)

That said, it is soft, soft, soft.