G’day

So I am back from my travels.  After around 30 hours of traveling I made it back from Australia to my home.  I was not excited at the prospect of returning to the working life (already thinking about the next escape).  So a brief overview of the trip (got some practice): long flight, great weather, welcoming and helpful family members, time on beaches, dove the Great Barrier Reef, held a koala, met plenty of new people, ate some kangaroo, sunburn, exhausting, and took a surfing lesson.  Now that list would bother me if I were to read it again because its not uniform, but I have decided to move on.

So I did not do much knitting when away, because no knitting needles allowed on Qantas flights and most of my downtime was when flying.  I did pull it out a couple of times and got questioned about it.  I remember when I was first in Melbourne I was finishing my cousin’s gloves on the train going into the city and a boy asked his father what the lady was doing.  I also got asked a couple times if the yarn was Australian, and no it was not, except that it was 100% australian merino wool.

So why did my cousin get gloves.  Well you see we are friends on facebook, and when he saw one of the messages I put up about the trip and knitting he told me I could make him gloves.  I responded to that cheeky suggestion back asking him what colors he wanted, and he responded earthy tones.  Then in what I see as amazing comment he said that he prefers alpaca to wool.  I was so impressed with that, I shared it with other knitters who understood my awe.

So the next day I took a trip to Old Town, bought a ton of salt water taffy (which seemed to be appreciated by how quickly some of it was eaten), and went to Knit Happens.  I first wandered the store, and then ended up in the Rowan area looking at the Baby Alpaca DK.  It was so soft.  I picked two colors (brown and pale blue) and the dithered trying to figure out if they were masculine enough.  I finally asked an employee, and was told they would work.

So I had looked around for pattern, but there were not any for gloves that appealed to me and would be worn by a guy.  So I improvised.  And since it was for my cousin I just asked a coworker to hold up is hand and estimated how much bigger it was than mine.  I feared I was going to run out of yarn, but had no time to get more.  When I was finishing the second thumb and had about 10 stitches left to go, I did run out.  So I just used the brown to finish that (you will see it if you look closely at the top one).

So I was hanging out with my cousin Michael and Matt called saying he would give us a ride to the family dinner.  Once we get in the car he goes “So did you bring my gloves (I keep almost writing mittens) ,” and I tell him I did.  I think he was a little surprised (which was part of what made it worth it).  And then Mike wants to know why Matt got gloves, and when he saw them he said he wanted a pair, so I will make another set (different colors)  Matt said he liked them so much he was going to wear them the whole night and put them on.  I like when my gifts are appreciated.

Bum, bum, bumblebee, bumblebee tuna

It should be safe to share this because according to delivery confirmation it has reached its destination. Oh that brings up a tangent I need to share. So a few weeks ago I sent the package of green socks priority mail since they were already late. I also got delivery confirmation because it might not be picked up for a few days and I wanted to know that it had arrived (past mail has not always arrived). By the delivery confirmation I was able to follow its path. Riddle me this post office. Why would you send something from (A)Arlington to (D)Lancaster via (B) Richmond and (C) Swedesboro, NJ. When I used google map for the directions I came up with a 2.5 hour driving trip changed into 8.5 hours. Visually compare the trips. Now I understand it needed to go through a hub, but would there not be a hub in Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Harrisburg. Why first Richmond? When I sent the package to my mother, it went directly to Swedesboro, NJ which makes the Richmond aspect seem like a mistake.

Okay the rant is done.

So back in the fall I got the idea in my head to mimic tartan for a scarf. What I knew from the beginning was that it would have to be knit in the round or seamed because the wrong side was going to be a mess of yarn. Here, I present forecasted mess. I at first attempted in the round, but that ended up too tangled. I then admitted I would have to seam the scarf at when finishing. After some internal grumbling, I proceeded. It still was a hassle and I put it aside to finish some other projects. And failed to go back to it.

Then earlier this year I asked my mother what she would like as a birthday gift, socks? She turned down the socks and asked for a scarf. I had no scarf plan in mind and put the idea on the back burner. Then her birthday gets closer and closer, however I was in the middle of the socks which had their own deadline. Yes poor planning. So I finish the socks and then think about what to do. I decided why not the tartan scarf, since I was basing it on McLeod Dress and my Scottish Heritage does come from my mother, that was one of my maternal grandmother’s clans.

So I dragged out the few inches of scarf and reassessed. I realized I would progress most quickly if I went back to the tiny center pull balls of the diamonds blanket. So I sat down, reorganized, and proceeded. I then thought about continuing this fun for a scarf long enough to wrap around and tie, which would be long because of the thickness from the construction of the scarf. The thought was so frustrating my fingers almost rebelled and stopped knitting. Then in a brilliant moment, I decided on a keyhole scarf.

Now to quickly share how I mimicked the tartan affect. During all rows, I was working with 3 balls of yarn, but there were 4 in total. When I needed a solid color, I would use the 2 of the same color and for the mix I would use one of each. Therefore at all times I was knitting with 2 yarns. Add that to the material being folded and seamed and you have a super warm scarf. Hopefully, not too warm. To add the red stripes, I over stitched the yarn. And the finished project is what I have entitled the Bumblebee Tartan Scarf, because while knitting it I wanted to sing “Bum, bum, bumblebee, bumblebee tuna…” oh and did at some points.

Bye, Bye Love

I realized as I was working on these socks at the Saint Patty’s Day Parade (how have I already been to a Saint Patty’s Parade, well Alexandria does their’s a week early), that once again I was finishing a pair of green socks around the holiday. Of course the fact that probably half of my collection of sock yarn includes some for a green, does make that more likely. Sadly I will not be able to wear them for going to ShamrockFest or next Tuesday, because they are meant for another pair of feet (hopefully they fit). It is very good that I was committed to knitting them for someone else, because I grew to love them.

The pattern is Marilinda by Cookie A.  It was well designed, especially neat to have a pattern altered to continue on the heel. That of course made the usual mindless quick heel flap take longer, but was well worth it. I really enjoyed her knitting pattern and am doing my next pair of socks from another. I hope I love those socks as much as I love these.

The yarn was ShiBui Knits sock yarn in Dragonfly.  It was quite interesting because the darker green pooled around the cuff and on the foot, but for the leg it striped. It was the perfect subtle variation of color to work the pattern in. The subtle changes gave the pattern depth. My friend Rebecca worked a pair of plain socks in the same yarn and colorway and it was fascinating to see the different ways the changes worked. Did I mention I love these socks? What if I sent a mangled up envelop with a hole in the bottom and kept the socks, not that would be wrong.

So when knitting the second sock I encountered a problem. What I encountered has been termed by my knitting group an “Ashley”. This is when somehow a nice skein or ball of yarn becomes a big tangle that requires time and patience to undo. Not I hold to the fact that this was not my fault. I put the yarn skein on the swift and wound it from there with the ballwinder I got for Christmas. The ballwinder I requested to avoid “Ashley”s. After that I proceeded to begin knitting pulling the yarn from the center and suddenly there was resistance. Okay this may be my fault, when I face resistance I simply pushed ahead and pulled harder and then continued on. Here is a picture of me at the parade undoing the tangle so I could get back to knitting the sock.  That is Brynn’s awsome skirt serving as a blurry background.

Well sadly I am sending these out, so bye, bye love.

Okay, okay, no pom-poms

So I never did share the project I made for the baby shower back in January.  Probably because I had already made it, the Teddy Bear Suit – made into a Teddy Bear Cardigan.  The change this time was that I used Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice.  That is an acrylic washable yarn, much more mom friendly then Rowan Calmer.  I feel bad enough giving my sister something that was handwash, I could not do that to an expectant mother. I am uncertain how I feel about the yarn, at first I found it rough on my hands (which may have been dry since it was winter) and given oddly to the seed stitch, but I no longer can claim hatred.  All I’m saying, is that it will get a second chance.  I of course cut this close to the wire, apparently I thrive on that energy.  I sewed the ears on the way to the shower.  I had put the zipper in by machine and made a slip up when backtracking, but had to dry my hair.  So I got my father to fix it, how awesome is it to have a father who can fix simple sewing mistakes and will go to musicals with me, wouldn’t not trade him for a yarn mogul.  So here is the second version of the Teddy Bear Cardigan.

So what I really wanted to share today, was my Ski Bunny.  I decided to name the sweater that based on the picture of the Lace Yoke Pullover by Sandi Prosser in the Winter Vogue Knitting.  The pose and the sweater looked like the model would be called Muffy (that’s Stacy’s contribution) and be delighted to join Biff for a run on the slopes.  Now I am not a skier (been only once and while not a catastrophe, did not grab me), but I figure there always those girls who just spend time in the lodge. I think I could do that.  I’m not sure it would be my chosen activity either, but what a pretty sweater.

What I found out and could have conjectured (used that earlier today in the office and was told it was a SAT word, I was thinking oh its just part of my vocabulary) from looking at the picture was, what an enormous amount of stockinette stitch in white wool, Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Winter White to be specific. What a mind numbing, bean counting excitement amount of knitting.  Did I think this when starting, no I thought look at the yoke and pom poms.

So the great thing was the sweater was knit in the round from the bottom up.  What this means is I only had two small armpit seams to Kitchener stitch at the end. I have been informed by the type of people who pop small children’s balloons that from the top down there would be no seams, but I am happy with what I got.  I may have to work on having less tension in my color work, but it still turned out wonderful.  I am so happy with my Ski Bunny, even though I admit I will not add the pom-poms.

And the hat came back

So I know in previous posts, I have discussed the issue of my mother’s hat. How, she asked for a hat so I knit her one and sent it off. After it arrived she sent me an email and a picture thanking me for the hat, but it was a bit large. Yeah it turns out she was right. The reason this happened was, because it at this point I was old hat at knitting the double knit hats and did not check the gauge even though it was a different yarn. So the hat came back.

The problem with when I knit double knit hats is that the two yarns are twisted between stitches and when ripping out the stitches the yarn (which was wool) kept the twists and was going to be a massive project to undo. Of course by that time I had other projects that grabbed my interest, and then it got to be March. Once it got to be March I did not see much need for a winter hat, so it slipped my mind. Then my mom sent me an email before Thanksgiving that something she would not mind receiving for Christmas was a hat. Now I do not mind suggestions of what I make, but I am not a knitting monkey and will not knit on command. (Also I would like to ask a question of the audience, why would my sister send me a link to what appears to be an easy chefs hat sewing pattern saying wouldn’t Trey like that, when she has her own sewing machine? Just asking my opinion or making a suggestion?).

After I got over the idea of being a knitting monkey, I remembered technically I did tell my mom I would replace the too big hat. So at first I was going to make a new version of my argyle hat, but then I realized I was tired of that stitch pattern. I needed a break, I was not quitting argyle forever. I love argyle. So then I started looking around for patterns and nothing caught my eye. I decided I would like to make my own two color stitch pattern (there was a time when I did not enjoy knitting with more than one color; that has obviously passed). So I decided that I would like a pattern that was similar to a Moorish design. I am fascinated by the beautiful works of art that can be created simply by repeating geometric designs. I began to try to create such a pattern would let to questions like “What are you doing?”, when I was working on it at the knitting group. Some designs were too complex to be translated into the limited amount of stitches, by this I mean that the circles would not look like circles. I finally found a pattern by translating a frieze pattern found on the walls of Alhambra.

After that I began knitting the hat. I used the leftover Knitpicks Merino Style in Fedora and Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Hollyberry. The difference in weights did not cause a problem. At this time I had recently learned about color dominance and made sure to make the Hollyberry dominant.

However, I got distracted by other projects and kept forgetting to pick the hat up again, because it did not fall under stupid knitting. The socks and baseball hat could be knit without constantly looking at the chart, the hat however could not.  If you like to see the chart of the whole pattern, the pattern is available on the Pattern Page.

Of course my mom after Christmas once again inquired about the hat. I promised her that it would be finished for last weekend when I had to go to my parents house for a baby shower. Of course it ended up that I had a more pressing project, and did not pick the hat up until Saturday night. But I fulfilled my obligation and stayed up late yet again to complete the hat. Then I tried it on. It is a snug hat but definitely long enough and not too wide. I have yet to here about how it fits my mom’s head.

An Einstein/Rainman Project

So finally I have started on a sweater for myself. But before I talk about that, (especially considering at the current stage it is only 2 by 2 ribbing) I will discuss the projects that I had to finish first. I suppose chronological order will be best.The Phillies Throwback Champion Family Socks!

I had an idea sometime this spring or summer that it would be fun to make socks that I could label as Phillies Socks. Of course even more great would be a matching set with socks for my brother-in-law, sister, and nephew. Imagine with me a family of socks, ahh. As I thought about this I realized I did not want to make red and white socks (barber poles or candy canes), and decided that maroon and pale blue – the former color scheme for the Phillies. So then I began to think about how this would work. At first I was going to just knit from two balls of yarn in the right colors, but sometimes it is so hard to find the right colors of yarn.

So to counteract this, I decided to dye the yarn the proper colors. And I decided to dye it so that it would self stripe. I found again directions online for a warping board to section the yarn correctly but then as time got closer and I still was not certain about exactly how it worked I decided to go a different route. But before I could make my contraption, I first needed to know the amount of yarn for each section. I wanted there to be even rows, even when there were more stitches on for the heel. So I started making a sock to determine the amount of yarn in a row. Then I turned it over to the fun of math. I determined the amount of yarn per stitch and figured out how much was needed for each set of rows and also for the heel to all be one color.

Then I needed find a way to measure out those lengths. At first I tried to just measure out the yarn by hand and make loops. That unsurprisingly turned into a big mess of tangled yarn when I realized it was not going to work and tried to rewrap the yarn. So then I decided that with some wood and dowel rods I would be able to make something to easily wrap the yarn around. So I figured out all the distances I needed spokes at and made my adjustable wrapping tool.

I next proceeded to wrap the yarn in the appropriate intervals. After that I tied figure eights around the yarn. And then next I repeated the process. After that I lay the two skeins next to each other and attached them with figure eights.

Next I prepared the Jacquard Acid Dye diestock using Vermillion and Sky Blue. For the later I used less than the prescribed amount in order to achieve the pale blue. I put each in a mason jar and then dipped each half of the skeins in each accordingly. After that, I place the yarn on cellophane, wrapped it up, and rolled it up. I let it sit for 15 minutes and then steamed it for half an hour. After it had cooled, I rinsed the yarn and place is on the drying rack outside.

Once dry, I place it back on the wrapping tool, reskeined it, and then wound it into balls. Then I proceeded to knit. I as usual had constrained my project time and even knit while walking to join my friends for dinner. Why did I bring this up, oh for the amusement factor. The yarn was wound in an egg shaped ball and for some reason when I was a block away from the restaurant fell out of my purse. I of course did not realize right away and proceeded to continue walking about 15 yards. Then I saw what had happened and had to back track to find the ball. I was running behind schedule and once picking up the errant ball I proceeded back in the original direction with a loop of loose yarn trailing behind me as a rewrapped the yarn.

So that was all the week before Christmas. I still had another pair of socks to go. So I repeated the process this time figuring out the requirements for a pair of men’s size 11 socks.

Then came the Christmas celebration. And I will admit that my brother-in-law opened a package with only one sock and a note. The note said something along these lines:

“Now you may be wondering about why you only have one sock. Well I decided that instead of you only getting a gift every other year*, that instead you would get half a gift each year. Just kidding, the other sock is not finished yet and you will receive it soon.”

*Previously I had a discussion with Courtney and Joe about how it was unfair that I only got one gift from the pair of them, while they each got a gift. Joe concurred that it sounded fair. However, gifts are not actually about getting equal value and that is not the appropriate spirit, so I never enacted the plan.

Don’t worry the sock was finish late Saturday night, and since they came up on Friday it was only a day and half late.

How were they received, enthusiastically which means there will be more socks in the future. My sister provided me with a picture displaying the socks. She included the bare toddler feet to point out that I am still short of pair to reach the family definition. I know I know, but I have yet to dye yarn for the pair.

In by the wire

So it’s been quite a while since I shared anything. I have been expanding my skill set and not wanting to share the process of the creation of gifts for people who look at the blog. My sister absolutely wants to be surprised with her gifts. So I figure even if I claim the sock are for someone else, she may guess that they are for her if it is near her birthday and the colorway is one she loves. This was the case with the socks I made for her birthday.Now I started with excellent intentions of being ahead of the game (of course that did not last). I bought the yarn at the end of July when up in Philadelphia. What I learned from my trip to Philadelphia yarn shops was that there is an excellent supply of Koigu  (Rosie’s Yarn Cellar  and Loop). As usual when exposed to the beautiful colors of yarn piled, I spent some time just making sure I had a good overview of what was available. After that I began to look closer at the color ways that sparked my interest. That is when I saw and orange and browns color way, most likely P338. Anyone who has witnessed a good selection of my wardrobe and yarn choices for myself knows that oranges do not fall into my preference. However, the yarn did seem like something my sister would really like. This is the girl who had me make an orange cardigan (which will be talked about in the future) which I had to tell myself a couple times when knitting that of course she would like it, she choose the yarn through the usual process. (The usual process being I send her images of the yarn color choices in order to find the exact one she wants. This involves multiple emails and I’m to sure if she gets annoyed, but there are so many variations of a color, I don’t want to make something in deep purple when she wanted violet). But even I loved the colors working though the sock yarn, just not to wear.

So I originally saw the Interlocking Leaves pattern in Knitty’s fall issue and decided to use it for her socks. So I cast on the toe stitches and begin knitting. This was September and her birthday is November 2, so plenty of time. Unfortunately, my mind and the pattern were not a good match, the problem being my brain not the pattern. I had to try about 10 times before I could successfully knit 3 rounds without issue. And this is not just because I started it at a bar (the time where the “I can’t believe you are knitting in a bar” story comes from, if you want to here that wait to you see me in person so you can hear my attempt of an Irish accent), because it was the afternoon and I only had one beer. I finally get it going a bit, still frustrated, and I look at and realize I do not like how it looks. So I decide to take a break for a few days and reevaluate.

Of course the decision to scrap that pattern was made shortly later. However, I did not have a definite plan of what pattern to use in place. And when trying to decide that, I got distracted by other knitting projects. Knitting projects that had definite plans. Knitting projects that were argyle and enraptured me. So I let my good intentions slide until it was a little over a week to my sister’s birthday. Now one time I did not give my sister her gift until February, and I really don’t want to become known as constantly late. So I decided to translate the leaves stitch pattern I am using in my still not completed (maybe it is best to plan the whole article before starting) from Vogue Stitchionary I into patterns for the leg and knit the foot regular. And with those plan off I went. Luckily the stitch pattern was easy for me to remember and did not require too much concentration. So I knitted on the metro and bus, I knitted while walking, I knitted while reading (yes I can do that with a hardback book), I knitted while waiting in line, I knitted while watching television, and I of course knitted at knitting group. It is a good thing that I can multitask. And do you know what, I managed to send the socks on Friday to arrive Saturday and she got them on time. The good news is they fit and she can wear them for Tangerine Tuesday.  As you can see by the picture my nephew no longer just wants to remove his own socks, but also others.

The one where I am all matchy matchy

So another hat I made before my mother’s, the reason I started with that thought was I had a conversation with my sister on Sunday and told her about the process I was going through and she interrupted me to ask if Mom was ever going to get a hat. Well yes theoretically she is going to get a hat. I say theoretically because until completion, who really knows. This other hat I was talking about was for me. Because I was walking to the metro one day in late October and my ears were cold. Now I did already have a nice warm hat, but it failed in one way. What way, oh it did not match my snazzy new vest.  So I took the stitch pattern from Eunny Jang’s Deep V Argyle Vest and used it on a beanie style hat. I was uncertain how to handle the decreases and was thinking about going with the blue, but the opinion of the three knitters I asked when considering this was to go with the brown, since the ribbing was in brown. So I listened, because why else would I have asked. The hat is not quite perfect. I might unknit a little to make it tall enough to cover my whole ears. Right now it leaves the bottoms of the lobes uncovered. On the really cold days, this is not desirable.

So what more could a girl want? Oh I know fingerless gloves for her cold work place and so she can knit when outside and its not so cold that all skin should be covered. And would it not be wonderful if they matched her snazzy new vest and clever new hat. Oh yes, oh yes indeed. I was asked on Thursday what pattern I used, I was like none. I knitted some, then slipped my hand through and figured out how much further to the thumb, then how much further to the fingers. Oh and when I say fingerless gloves, I mean they have half fingers. Otherwise I would call them fingerless mitts. When I got to the fingers, I placed the work in progress on my fingers with only two dpns spilling the stitches and then shoved other dpns in the crevices to figure out where to split the stitches. I then made figure eights with a circular needle. The figure things out as I went method worked pretty well, and I am quite happy with the results.  And yes maybe now I do need a short break from argyle (a short one).

Petable

Okay so I guess the next project I should post about it my new favorite addition to my wardrobe. When I last talked about the vest it was on the verge of being steeked. Now steeking is a fearful process at least the first time it is done, because it involves cutting the garment. Cutting seems like an awful idea, won’t it unravel. Well not if done properly because first there is a crochet chain added to the steek stitches to prevent such a horrible occurrence. So I decided to steek when in the Starbucks for the bright lights and moral support. As you can see I am carefully concentrating when making the tiny snips.  On the other side you can see how deep the cuts went and just looking at it again is slightly terrifying.  But its okay because it turned out wonderful.

After I finished that, all I had left to do was the ribbing around the armholes and the collar. Smooth sailing to the finish line, right? No of course not. Because with 7 rows left of the collar I ran out of the main color yarn. I hate it when I follow the directions exactly for how much yarn and I run out. Not only that, I ended up with and extra skein of the contrasting color. It was just really annoying because I was so close to being finished and I already had the idea of wearing it in my head. Since I was using the wonderful Merino DK from Knit Picks, it was not like I could run to the yarn store and pick up the extra yarn immediately. No I had to wait the shipping time. Luckily Kate was nice enough to add my request to her order so I did not have to pay shipping and have her wonderful boyfriend drop it off at her work so it was brought to the next knitting group. And then finally I finished the vest. And let me tell you it makes me so happy. I have already worn it several times, and it will be my thanksgiving outfit and for Scottish Walk. When wearing to a gathering where other knitters were, I was petted. But I understand, it is lovable.

I have to say the pattern was amazing other than the issue with yarn quantity that could have something to do with me or Knit Picks. It was a great way to learn fair isle knitting, steeking, and knitting the round. Things that go well together.

In other news, the new living situation is great. My room is a nice blue and that makes me happy. I have a great size closet to hold my craft supplies. Oh my how the tupperwares have multiplied. My new roommate Angela is great to talk to, she also lived Erie for a brief period which is odd. She also will go to Smithsonians with me. I must say the Native American Museum was a bit disappointing to me, maybe I expected the wrong things. The other two roommates I don’t see that much, but we are having a roommate dinner (Angela and I’s idea) this weekend, so that will give a chance to get to know them a little better.

Tis the season for…

hats!!!  Don’t worry I won’t say the other words yet.

So my sister says things to me like, “Trey’s ears are getting cold,” or “You are lucky it has been warm this week.” Yes I have been a neglectful aunt letting it get to the middle of the November before sending off what will become his annual hat. Hey he did not get last years hat until December 24th, so if we extrapolate a very tenuous conclusion considering the small data set, next year he might receive it before he needs it. Of course my mom technically never got her hat last year because it did not fit (it was about 4 inches too big) and then I still have not gotten around to reknitting it. So it depends if we add other people’s hats to the data set of not, and if we do, mid November is pretty good.

So there are a few legitimate reasons for the timing. One being that when I first knit the hat in October, it turned out a mite too big. As you can see it easily fit on my head. Now my sister will tell you that Trey has a big head, but I believe it is not horribly out of proportion to his body. He is not one of those large headed aliens. So I down graded the needle sizes to make a smaller hat. The second road block was my sister’s birthday, which I had all planned out and started the present early, I then decided to go a different direction and ended up in a time crunch. Yup just the universe righting itself. Also other things came up, like a World Series and a parade. What is better than a parade. If I had to choose between a highway named after me and a parade, I’d go with parade. The third issue was that I could not figure out the right way to do the overstitching and then in order to give myself space to make a clear headed decision, I accidentally buried the hat under everything possible in my room.

But now the hat is done. I was allowed to put in ear flaps, though a yarn Mohawk was ruled out. Maybe I can incorporate that when he has input in the design. And in hone of the first Phillies World Series Victory of his life and mine (hopefully not the last) I present the baseball hat.

More posts to come shortly, I have been slacking. And yes being the bad aunt that I am I did finish my hat before his, but you will have to wait to see how that turned out.