Knitting Sutra

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!