Knitting Sutra

On Projects Less Finished

While I finished at least a handful of projects last season, I also started and set aside a couple more. Unless I have to finish a project (or just really, really, really want to), sometimes very small set-backs will send a project to the wayside. Case in point: the silk daisy scarf I started nearly three years ago.

Two such projects have been languishing. One dates back to sometime around September 07, and the other is not quite a year old, so I could still finish them with some dignity.

Behold! Unfinished socks!

First on deck: Secret Socks.

What you see is my first attempt at color work. I picked up the Lang Jawoll yarn on my trip to Berlin two summers ago. The color work pattern is a portion of a pattern from a German flier I picked up on the same trip.

I actually started and finished these in 2007, well almost anyway. I had been knitting them in secret because I so wanted to just show off the FO. I was looking for a big reveal, natch. This was going to be a big deal because not only did I knit two colors at once, but I knit both socks at once! You were going to be so impressed and proud of me.

The problem? I spaced out completely when I cast off. What I mean to say is that I spaced out and just cast off when I should have been doing Elizabeth Z's sewn cast off. One sock is still on the needles, while the other is off and won't fit over the ball of my foot.

Bugger! I don't know how to undo a cast-off. So, this project sits, but probably not for too much longer. I'm really itching for a new pair or socks, so I may drag these down to Knit Happens and get one of the fine ladies to help me out.

Next up: Mocha Socks

These have fallen victim to an even more pathetic excuse for setting aside a project: I'm not sure they look right.

The yarn is a lovely hand dye that Meghann sent me last year for completing a survey on her site. The pattern is the Uptown Boot Socks from Favorite Socks.

I followed the pattern exactly, and it just doesn't look right. Rather than knit a few more rounds to give the pattern more time to emerge, I just set them down much the way a deer freezes in your headlights on a lonely, West Virginia road. To continue would waste time, but I really didn't want to frog them just because I wasn't sure.

It has occurred to me more recently that I might actually be messing up the pattern because I'm knitting them toe up. As soon as I finish another big project this season, I might do some investigating and see if that's it. Or I might just suck it up and work a few more pattern repeats... you know to give the pattern as chance to emerge. sigh I exasperate myself!

Lost Hat

Funny (not funny haha) thing happened the day after I posted my last post. Nat, of Nat's Hat fame, rang me up to inform me that she lost the hat! Seriously! I dunno what that means, one day I show it off and the next day it's gone.

On the up side, I was poking around in my copy of Favorite Socks and found the notes I made for the hat. Nat knits, so I'm going to try to piece together the pattern so she can knit herself a new one. I'm afraid that even though she's offered to pay me - crazy lady - I really am on a big deadline for my current project, which I will reveal shortly.

The upshot for all of you who like the hat (Thanks, BTW!) is that I'll type it up and post it for yins to enjoy.

How do you like them apples?

FO: Last Year's Winter Knits

So let's see... somewhere back in September I was hoping to get back on the blog train. I feel like such a flake. I have some excuses, but you don't want to hear those. So, I'll give you some keywords instead: lost camera battery charger, quickie trip to Vancouver, new & intense work project, Thanksgiving, B out of town, insane pets.

Recently, however, events have turned - thanks in no small part to last week's Black Friday sales bonanza. The background is this: Rather than struggle to buy each other presents for Christmas, B and I tend to just buy a big item, wrap it, and put it under the tree. There's definitely a certain lack of mystery with this scheme, but no shortage of anticipation come Christmas Day.

This year we decided to go completely digital and update our fancy SLR camera. I've had a nice point and shoot, but have long been frustrated by it's poor excuse for indoor, flash photography. Given the store's return policy, of course I had to pull out the camera and take it for a test drive before stowing it under the tree. Of course. ;)

So, ta da! I took a bunch shots of old FOs, some new(er) WIPs, and even a bit of stash. Mmmm stash.

Without further ado, behold Last Year's Winter Knits:

Ho Hum Hat

Pattern: My own, based on a formula in "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" by Ann Budd.
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky, Aquamarine
Thoughts: Meh. Sure it's soft and snuggly, but I really wish the cables were chunkier. They look wussy in this yarn.

B's Manly Striped Scarf
This has been uploaded to Ravelry for AGES. I didn't show it off for no good reason other than I really wanted to get shots of it in action. B never quite cooperated, and now it's full of lint and pet hairs. You'll have to believe me that it looks super sharp with B's overcoat. Very manly.

Pattern: 1x1 Rib
Yarn: Mysterious Berliner Yarn

Nat's Hat
This was my big project last Winter (I know, a hat, right??) - the copycat hat for my friend's birthday. Promised to her in November, I didn't hand it over until March, just in time for the last cold weekend of the season. Everything conspired against me from having difficulty finding the colorway she wanted, to knitting and ripping it out about four times. You may recall that I was trying to reconstruct the Peruvian Hat listed for $259 in an issue of "Real Simple."

In the end, I didn't include the garter stitch, but the rest was pretty close.

Pattern: My own (wish I wrote it down) with a bit of help from Ann Budd
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky, Monet Melange

Not Sure I Deserve to Post Anymore

I've been away far too long. So long, in fact, that my Blog software has been upgraded, and I'm not entirely sure how to use it.

That's really pathetic.

I've basically been way overbooked, which is good in that we are once again a two-income family here at Casa O'Postraphe. I didn't have a job for a year and half while we lived in Holland, and that... well that sucked on a lot of levels. I did knit and blog A LOT. But, we didn't have much cizash, and all my pals were virtual. It's good to have money, but I miss some of the free time I used to have. I'm hoping to restructure things a bit in the coming months, relax a bit more, snuggle up in front of our new fireplace, and knit - lots!

Oh, yeah. You didn't even know that we had to move - AGAIN! One day last July we were negotiating a renewal on our lease, and then the next day they were kicking us out. We were only in the house 10 months! That wrecked my whole summer, and I'm only just now catching up. Oh and then there is the Wii. --shakes head in shame--

Needless to say, I haven't been knitting. Like at all. Way back when, I did finally finish the Peruvian hat that I was ripping off from "Real Simple." I frogged it several times, but finally came up with something that worked. It turned out AWESOME and the recipient loves it, even though I gave it to her the last wintry weekend in DC. I want to write out the pattern and knit another for myself this Fall. Any excuse to knit with Misti Baby Alpaca Chunky is a good one.

I also finished my "secret socks" only to totally ef up the cast-off. The leg holes are so tight that I can't get them over my heels. I must have lost my mind because who does a regular cast off for socks? I tossed them into my basket in a huff, and am too scared to look at them again. We're talking two colors, two socks at once - a hefty project. I don't know how to recast a cast-off. Anyone?

I plan to start knitting again tonight - working on B's sweater, the one he no longer believes he'll ever wear - while we watch the presidential debates tonight. I'm actually pretty close to finishing the back, and I'm hoping the sleeves will move quickly.

I have another pair of socks on the needles using the hand-dyed yarn Meghann sent me last year. I started them sometime back in the winter, and now I don't remember what pattern I was using. D'oh. Sigh.

What I really want to knit is a wrap - specifically the striped poncho thing from "Wrap Style" (Ravelry link). Problem is that I don't have the yarn for it. And I really should be knitting with all that yarn I have. Bugger. What to do? What to do?

Anyway, I plan to photograph old FO's, and post them over the weekend. Then I hope to transition back into my knitterly/bloggerly life. I hope some of you still have my pathetically untended blog listed in your Bloglines, and that you'll eventually come back.

Knit On, ya'll!

In Memoriam: Gigi Silva

While I haven't been blogging much at all lately. I do peak at Ravelry every now and then. I was stunned to learn this evening that Gigi Silva of Socktopia fame passed away recently.

Of course I didn't know her personally, but I did exchange a few emails with her last year when I started learning to knit socks and I joined Socktopia. You'll recall that I knit her Bellatrix pattern last summer, ugly ole things that I love so much.

She was a prolific sock pattern designer, and late last year it looked as if she was going to make a go of starting a pattern design business. Imagine suffering from a terrible illness and still having the hope to start a new venture.

We should all have such strength and sense of purpose.

Many thanks to all of you who have checked in with me over the past couple of months. Me and B, Nigel and Guy are all fine. Nigel, who had eye surgery a few weeks ago, may not agree, but I assure you he's all better and you can't even see the scar.

I've been dragging a lot trying to manage my freelance jobs (all with deadlines that are hitting at the same time in spite of my best efforts to prioritize better) and yoga teaching schedule. Shortly after we returned to Alexandria last September, the studio owner asked if I would manage workshop and event scheduling. I like doing this kind of thing, but it sucks up a lot of time. More than I thought.

It's funny. I was practically a shut-in while living in Holland. I had little to do, no friends, and I couldn't even watch much TV. You all got me through it, and you don't even know me! So, I feel very touched by Gigi Silva's death. She was also part of my global support network of strangers who gave me a reason to get out of bed everyday for those eight long months that I waited to come home.

Thank you, Gigi for your beautiful and challenging sock patterns. Thank you all for being with me over the past year.

I promise I will post more knitting content soon.

FO: Little Miss Muffet Beret

And another one down. Another one down.

Pattern: Rollin' Beret from Wooly Wormhead
Yarn: Misti Baby Alpaca Chunky, Aquamarine
Needles: 5.5mm DPNs
Size: Large
Mods: None really. The pattern offers you the choice of two sizes, with or without an I-chord tail thingy. I didn't need an umbilical chord coming off of my head, so I knit a little nubbin'. The last hat I made kept coming undone at the center, so I think the I-chord nubbin' will keep it together.

I've been lusting for this yarn for awhile, and generally keeping my eye out for something to knit with it. I don't need a sweater or a wrap, so I'd been a little stumped. Then cute berets and beanies started appearing on the knit interwebs, and of course Real Simple did the spread 'o ridiculously expensive machine knit hats.

It was a no brainer to run down to Knit Happens immediately, and I cast-on right there in the store. Many thanks to Holly for helping me to come to terms with the fact that not only was a baby blue hat going to match my own baby blues*, but it matches my brown coat too. People, I'm not a pastel kinda girl. This is huge.

Naturally I found the pattern on Ravelry. There's nothing much to knitting a beret, but it was helpful to find someone who'd typed up the maths for a chunky weight yarn. My only regret is that I didn't knit the smaller size. If I were to do it all again, I'd knit the smaller size, and I'd work more than 5 inches before starting the decreases.

The final result is a bit more milk-maiden than swingin' hep cat. But it's cute and warm, and it works. Another satisfied customer.

Yet... yet... there's a small part of me that is already thinking I might need to do this one over. If it's smaller, it might actually fit more like a beret. Baaaaah I hate frogging and starting over! But... but... I wanted a beret. I'm also a bit lazy, and I'm a far cry from a perfectionist.

Should I stay or should I go? What would YOU do?

Mail Call

I got a wonderful little package in the mail this weekend. Meghann, the sweetheart behind Radiant Twist Yarns, sent me two skeins of her superwash merino sock yarn in the Iced Mocha colorway, just enough for a snuggly pair of socks. Definitely check out her Etsy Shop to pick up some for yourself.

Thank you, Meghann! You're a doll!

Sadly, the yarn doesn't smell like a cuppa, but the creamy color more than makes up for it. Iced Mocha is part of her semi-solid, monochromatic collection, and quite honestly I'm not sure what to knit with it. I think I can do something a bit lacy because the colors won't compete with an intricate pattern, but then again, the colorway might be manly enough for B.

I've got three sock pattern books burning a whole in my bookshelf. I think I've got too much to choose from, and I haven't even looked around Ravelry for this one. Ya'll got any ideas?

Already In The Frog Pond

A few weeks ago I may have mentioned a certain pair of secret socks that I had underway. Well, the whole thing is still all in my head and ready to be committed to stitches, but wouldn't you know I had to frog the toes? Even though I swatched, I ended up with hugemongous socks that might have fit feet twice my size.

I haven't yet mustered up the energy to start them over again. Meh, they're just socks right? But you see, I'm the crazy person whose doing color work on two socks at once. That's a four-stranded tangled mess at every turn.

I apparently cannot, under any circumstances, knit one sock at a time. I knit my first pair of socks two at once, and I'll knit all socks two at once. I'm a stubborn ole jenny, if you know what I mean.

* I've taken poetic license here. In the interest of full disclosure I must confess that my eyes are actually steely-gray-blue.

FO: Universal Headband - Star Stitch Version

Did I not say that it is FO central around here? OK, maybe I didn't say that exactly, but that's how it is in these here parts. FOs abound at Casa Jen.

Pattern: my own pattern for shaping plus star stitch
Yarn: Alchemy Yarns Silken Straw (aka $$ raffia), Teal Tide
Needles: 2.5mm

Back when I first returned to town, I was lured by the inky blue of this very strange yarn. It's silk, but it's raffia, or at least it looks and feels like raffia. But the color. It really hit me. It's just so pretty.

I do not care if someone knit an entire top for Knitty in this here yarn, no chance I'd ever let it scratch against my skin. Welcome to Itch Town. Seriously, it's possible that it would chafe some delicate parts. To be fair, it does soften after knitting and frogging and washing, but I'm not sure I want to wash something half a dozen times before I can wear it.

But I do like the Silken Straw for decorative items... like a much needed headband to keep my sheared locks in check during those upside down moments.

Behind the Headband

I originally set out to knit Wendy's Dream Swatch (check left column), but after working a few pattern repeats, I decided that my yarn was just not working with the pattern. Too much chris-cross. Too easy to drop stitches.

Of course, it's back to Ravelry for a little squiz around the patterns page. That's where I found the very cute, Star Stitch Headband from Jen La. I like the star stitch, but really this is just a long, skinny scarf that you tie around your head.

But me, I rarely like things as they are, and my biggest problem with the sash-around-the-head style is that I don't like a bunch of bunchity bunch around the back of my neck. It mashes my hair in a weird way that sometimes actually hurts. Go figure.

Armed with the expert I-chord knowledge I gleaned from knitting the Ogee Skirt, I added some ties to what amounts to a small rectangle of stitch pattern. The stitch pattern ends somewhere around the top of the ears, then morphs into I-chord. Too easy.

I have gobs most of this yarn left over, and the best I can think to knit are headbands. Expect a few more of these sporting various stitch patterns (can you have too much Vogue Stitchionary?) as my need for quick gratification increases. Dude, this knit up in a couple of hours. Cha-ching!

A Quick How To

If you're itching to add ties to rectangles (cool for headbands, belts, and maybe chokers???), all you do is this:

• cast on 2 stitches (for even numbered stitch patterns) or 3 stitches (for odd numbered stitch patterns)
• make an I-chord for your desired length
• switch to stockinette, adding M1s to each edge of the knit rows until you have the desired width
• knit one row, purl one row
• work stitch pattern until desired length
• knit one row, purl one row
• then start decreasing 1 stitch on each edge on the knit rows until you have the same number of stitches you cast on
• work I-chord to desired length
• cast off, sew in edges.

Public Service Announcement

I feel the need to apologize for my abysmal, blurry photos of late. It's tricky finding the time to get shots of my projects in fun settings and with good light. I need a tri-pod. I used to have a tri-pod. A very nice tri-pod that went missing a year or so ago. I also want a nicer digital camera. I used to be a film camera purist, only turning to my point-and-shoot digicam for "happy snaps," as B says. But I love me some instant gratification... blah

I say blah because I think it's about time to upgrade my laptop, too, and no chance I have the cizash for all of these things, plus more yoga teacher training, plus this and plus that. Life sure was cheaper when I was essentially a shut in. At least I have luxury, hand knit hair adornments.

Mea Culpa

Some of ya'll were right to point out that I had the wrong idea about the origins of the My So-Called Scarf from Sheep in the City. I dearly apologize for spreading mis-information and coming across as snarky, jerky, sour grapesy.

What makes it worse, is that I had read the paragraph about the origins of the scarf at some point in the past, but it didn't stick. When I went back the other day to look at Stacey's blurb, it was familiar. So I'm lazy and lame. I know from my days in editing that I should check my facts before I commit bytes to pages. I know from practicing compassion that I should pause before reacting to a perceived injustice. Things are more often not what they seem at first.

And to be fair to myself, I wasn't angry or annoyed that someone would pass off a stitch pattern as a pattern pattern. I just didn't think about what I was writing at all. Part of my own personal yoga/Buddhist practice is to cultivate mindfulness, that is total awareness of my behavior in the here and now. Clearly, this is something to practice over a lifetime.

I'm reminded by my own actions how easily it is to inadvertently and without malice spread ill will. I hope that the next time I feel wronged by someone else, I will remember my own faults and short comings and approach that situation with the compassion that I hope ya'll will give to me.

The Truth Will Set You Free

So, had I re-read Stacey's blog before I wrote my post about the so-called finished object, I'd have told you that she received the pattern for the scarf in a kit. She received so many compliments about the scarf, that she rang the shop that sold her the kit asking if she could distribute the pattern. They admitted it was just a stitch pattern they pulled from a book, so no worries about posting the pattern on her blog.

Had I been mindful, I'd have only said "Voila! The stitch pattern is the woven rattan stitch. Now we know."

Now I know.

Enabled

Many thanks to the November 2007 issue of "Real Simple" magazine! In short order I'll have a snuggly warm beret to keep my thoughts from freezing over.

And, uhm, couldn't you just die for that purple sweater in the last photo?? Yummmmm-my!

FO: My So-Called Awesome Woven Rattan Stitch Wollmeise Scarf

Love it! love it! The colors. The smoosh. I have no words.

Click here for the post with the close-up shot.

Pattern: Woven Rattan Stitch (aka My-So Called Scarf)
Yarn: Wollmeise Merino-Lammdochtwolle (worsted), Krauterbeet
Needles: 7mm

Mods: Well, not a mod per se. The other day I was flipping through my copy of Vogue Stitchionary Vol. 1 for an idea for a scarf for B. Low and behold, in the "unusual" section, there features on p. 152 the stitch pattern for My So-Called Scarf. I'm not one to quibble over little things, but when you knit a scarf (aka big, long rectangle) out of a stitch pattern, are you really making up a garment pattern? I think not. So, my only mod is to give the scarf it's proper name, Woven Rattan Stitch. Editor's Note: I got this completely wrong. Please read my follow up post before you believe my misinformation about the origins of this scarf pattern.

Musings on a Perfect Knit

I couldn't have finished this project at a better time. Winter has finally arrived, and I got a wild hair. And then I cut it off. Bye bye 10-12 inches of old hair. Hello bob-type thing that is maybe, maybe just ever so slightly too cute for my age.

So, uhm, yay the scarf. It's great. Thick, but still soft and supple. Warm, but not overheating. The woven rattan is perfect for keeping out the wind, unlike those pesky garter stitch scarves I knit when I was first learning.

Winter Knitting

So I started this puppy during a wild run of Indian Summer. I never knew a 90F Indian Summer I didn't like. But I'm not one to shun cool temps either... as long as the sun shines. The greatest thing about DC winters are the brightest blue skies you'll ever see. All this crisp weather has me itching for scarves, hats, mittens and gloves. So, expect those to feature prominently in the coming weeks and months.

I also really need to smack myself around, and get back on B's sweater. I should be ashamed, but now that it's cold I do feel motivated. And my yarn has finally arrived for my Cabled V, all 18 gazillion skeins of the Bergère de France Berlaine. More on that later. Gator. I've got cable scarves to knit first. Remember, the practice?

FO: Minty Fresh Bathmat

File this under "better late than never."

Pattern: Absorba the Bath Mat from Mason-Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Peaches 'n Creme Double Worsted, Mint Chocolate
Needles: 10mm, long circs

As you know, I announced the completion of the bath mat ages (yonks for the Aussies) ago, but I'm only just now getting around to showing it off. You know, in all it's bathroom light, CFL bulb, slightly blurry, not the best photo, but it's what I got, glory.

Here's a close-up -- now with more blur!

Absorba with wooden, not-so-pointy needles was a bit of a challenge on the hands. I mean, you are knitting three strands of already pretty thick yarn together. But it did get easier with silky-smooth metal needles. Still, my gnarly talons were screaming for mercy by time I bound off my last rectangle. This seemingly simple project is not for the faint of heart.

The result is all that we'd hoped and dreamed. As the days grow shorter and the temps begin to dip, our pruney tootsies are grateful for the protection from the cold tile floor when we step from the shower. It is as absorbent as its name. At an inch thick, could it be anything else?

FO's On Parade!

While I have been writing some of the best blog entries ever known to the blogosphere in my head, I have scant time to commit them to bytes. Hopefully that will change now that our office is organized.

Though I haven't been blogging much, I have been knitting. Hold onto your hats, people. The FOs are coming!