KnitMe

Go Ask Alice (or not...)

St Enda is photographable this week. For the first day or so I stuck with it just because I didn't know what else to do with myself, but the combination of the yarn and the pattern grew on me and now I'm quite convinced. I just hope I can get some good progress made before it gets warm and I feel more like working on my totally neglected silk Flower Basket.

The Bluefaced Leicester has a lovely sheen to it, and the fabric is coming out drapey and elastic. I'm knitting this on size 7 needles, because once upon a time I made a project out of this yarn using size 8 (which is the size recommended on the ball band) and it was too loose. Nice sweater, but it bagged a little.

The yarn is a true sage green - the photos make it look a little blue but it's a nice saturated sage. I had knitted about 1 1/2 chart repeats when I took the photo. It's about 3 1/2 chart repeats to the front neckline (actually, it's supposed to be 4 1/2, but why would a 64 inch tall person want to make a 25 inch long sweater this heavy??). Sometime before I get there, I have to decide whether I'm smart enough to try what Janine is doing with her version of 'Fern' - doing shoulder shaping on a saddle shoulder sweater. I like saddle shoulders but don't like all the bulk so I would really like to do it but I just don't think I've got the brain cells to figure out where to start the underarm shaping. We'll see if she convinces me.

The pattern is from Aran Knitting by a (formerly) famous Scottish designer. As I was starting this, I thought how this was the first St*rm*re design I have knitted in quite some time. I can't exactly recall the last one I made. Then I thought - goodness, this designer seems to have become an ex-designer. I don't believe she's designed anything this DECADE. When I think how much conversation her work used to stir, and how whole yahoo groups were formed to talk about her designs, which she then tried to have shut down because we discussed yarn substitutions and maybe occasionally (gasp) shared an out-of-print pattern.... and now she seems like just one of many designers whose stuff I like, and not a current or prolific one either. Now, Elsebeth Lavold, there's someone who's current and prolific. (Anyone else excited about her new book?) It almost makes me want to say, Gee too bad about Alice, she used to be great.

Here is Latvian sock number one, minus a toe.

It's minus a toe because I've pushed myself on the yarn yardage and want to see how far I get with the other sock before I go farther on this one. They may end up with bright blue toes out of Patons Kroy. The pattern calls for one 350-yard skein of Satakieli and size 0 needles. I have one skein of Lisa's Sock! which is 488 yards, and size 0 needles. Wouldn't that make you a little cocky?? I gave myself one additional repeat of the 10-row lace pattern on the leg. Then after turning the heel I weighed the yarn left in the ball. 2.6 ounces. Eek! I knitted the foot then stopped when I got to the toe shaping. 2.2 ounces. Hm. So I am going to knit the second sock, probably in a state of nervous tension that I will run out before I get to the toe shaping. Why do I keep doing this to myself on socks? I love tall socks but is it really worth it?

Continuing my Year of the Sock Yarn, I got two hanks of Lisa's wonderful Merino Sock! on Saturday.

What gorgeous yarn - what a luster! That's Shade Garden on the left and St Valentine on the right. I have so much wonderful sock yarn waiting to be knitted, I hardly know where to begin.

Saturday afternoon I took my wheel apart and put it back together. It had been acting cranky and I decided to do what some folks had been suggesting all along, and just break it down and rebuild it. I got out my Kromski video and all my tools and lubricants and set to work. About 45 minutes later it was back together and seemed much happier (although I have to say I still have not figured out how to be sure I have the wheel and flyer lined up the way they're supposed to be).

For some reason, I bypassed all the wonderful color in my fiber stash, and started spinning this.

It's a pound of tussah silk that I bought 2 1/2 years ago from an eBay seller that I think was called Spinsters Cottage, when I had been a spinner for less than 4 months. What was I thinking?? At the time, I spindled up a little hank of it, which was quite a learning experience, but ended up producing quite a pretty yarn.

This is about half an ounce, sort of a DK weight. I'm keeping it beside the wheel to remind me what I'm after. So I am reacquainting myself with spinning from the fold, trying consciously to make a single that's a bit thicker than what I've been spinning lately, and it's actually going quite well. I hope I'll have a skein to look at next weekend. I'm thinking some kind of summer shell, if I get the yardage. Anybody have any thoughts on spinning pure silk? It sometimes feels like I'm pulling taffy if I let the twist go too far up. For something slippery it sure seems to hold together well! I think I'm putting a moderate amount of twist in it, I don't really have much idea whether I should spin silk high twist or low twist, I'm just winging it. We'll see!

Where to, what next

Eris is done. Too bad it's spring and I can't wear it right away.

This is the cuff and the side of the shirttail, which shows where I did the hem band graft, just to the left of the end of the cable pattern.

This is the center front of the neckband.

This was really fun to knit, and the handspun yarn gives it a chewy look and feel that is very different from commercial yarn. It probably looks more rustic than it should for the character of the design, but I like it.

I dithered and dithered about what to knit next. Lace? No, I already have a stalled silk Flower Basket I need to get back to. Sock? Already have one going. I needed something at a healthy gauge. After a day or two of dithering I finally cast on for 'St Enda' from St*rmore's Aran Knitting, in sage-green Berroco Bluefaced Leicester. We'll see if I stick with it. I should have cast on for a Dulaan hat while I was dithering.

Kerry was a bad influence on me and led to me getting another spindle.

This is a Tabachek, and I got it from The Wheel Thing. It's walnut, and it weighs about 1.25 ounces, my favorite weight in a spindle.

The shaft is very long, very finished and smooth, and has lovely detailing at the bottom.

I tested it out with a little handcombed Targhee. It is a long, leisurely spinner - it doesn't make a vortex like the Bosworth that I have, but it seems able to go on and on and on in its calm fashion.

Getting that sixth spindle put me over what will hang on the bottom of my wire basket. I was always knocking a spindle off of there anyway whenever I went to change the whorl on my wheel. So, inspired by something I saw at Spindlicity, I made my own.

An oak bathroom towel rack from Home Depot, and a bunch of cup hooks. I probably put the hooks too close together, but there's still room on there for a handful of spindles. After much cursing and stomping I finally got it attached to the brick wall in my fiber porch.

I finished the rest of the teal silk/merino (speaking of cursing and stomping) and I will show a picture of it all together next week. I think I have about 1000 or 1100 yards. What a pain it was to ply, though! I'm glad it's done.

I think before I start another spinning project I'm going to take the Symphony apart and put it back together. It's just been so out of tune lately, and I had the whorl unscrew itself while I was plying yesterday, which it hasn't done in ages. There was hardly any tension on anything, so I'm not sure what was up, but I think I need to do a breakdown and rebuild before I do any more spinning. So that's on for next weekend.

Here's a Sock! sock in progress, the Latvian Socks from Folk Socks (I am continuing my Nancy Bush craze). The color is 'Pacific.'

Isn't it cool? The streak of purple really makes the whole thing zing. It doesn't really show in the photo, but there's a streak of purple in the blue sections. Very cool.

We seem to have joined the Virus of the Week club at my house. After not getting sick the entire school year, Emily has had a different something-or-other every week that is causing me to drain my leave and cool my heels at home. At least today she's in bed, instead of swinging from the rafters like she did on the day she was home LAST week. Sigh.

Meanwhile it's mostly spring here although I hear there will be an inch of snow tomorrow. Here's a picture of my little daffodils and crocuses before the kids next door decimated them for fun.

Not as pretty as the pictures Mary has been showcasing, but it's what we've got here. Hope there's no snow on your first day of spring. No viruses either.

Arches, Part Deux

But first, in the acquisitions department, I've got a brand new spindle, and it's a real little honey.

This is a Flowers Overlay 0.9 oz. spindle, made by Tracy Eicheim of Woolly Designs. The 3" diameter whorl is walnut with a Baltic birch overlay with flower cut outs. The shaft is 7.5" long. This baby just spins, and spins, and spins. I run out of arm before I run out of spin. That's a bit of merino/quiviut on the spindle.

It's a pleasure doing business with Tracy. He asked me some questions about what weight and shaft length I would like, and it's all perfect. He suggested that I try a notch at 3:00 instead of 6:00, and it works very well. He bends the hook slightly off the vertical, so that the yarn can be perfectly aligned with the shaft when spinning. Very nice.

And here is Arches:

I'm so glad I took Prudence's advice and started the lace a bit higher up. After separating the front and back at the underarm I added four more cable twists before starting the lace. The sweater is knit with Elann's Peruvian Alpaca on a 4.5 mm needle. I spool knit the bottom i-cord edging and picked up the stitches from it instead of adding the i-cord at the end. Because I wanted the sweater to be longer than the pattern, I had to add some width at the bottom as well. I added two stitches in each of the stockinette panels and then reduced one stitch in each panel at 5.5" and 6.5". The length to the underarm is 15" instead of the 11" that the pattern calls for. Now I am hoping that the alpaca doesn't stretch. I've worn it twice and there has been no growth so far. I really don't want an alpaca dress.

A while back we were talking about sock heels; specifically a Dutch or square heel vs. a round heel. The Dutch heel doesn't suit Prudence, but I must have square heels. It feels a bit roomier than the round heel, but they both seem to fit my foot about the same.

Life has been just a little crazy lately, and the strangest thing happened to me. I found myself with nothing (nothing!) on the needles. No UFOs anywhere. Wow, that hasn't happened in decades. I'm swatching for Am Kamim (no luck yet), and I'm joining the Diamond Fantasy Shawl knit along. Maybe see some of you there?

Mommy's got a brand new hat

The pattern is from Twists and Turns, I linked to it in last week's entry.

I did the applied I cord as directed, half expecting that it would not stretch enough to get the hat on, and I was right... So I ripped out the I cord and attached an inch of ribbing instead, and it was much better. I even still have maybe 100 yards of yarn left, too, so this emerald BFL is the gift that keeps on giving! Maybe I'll do a collar or cuffs on something.

I plyed another hank of the teal silk/merino. I didn't take a picture of it because it looks the same as the last one, except a little smaller and a lot less aggravating. This time the center pull ball center-pulled quite nicely and there was only one teeny barfglob right at the beginning. I have maybe 2 1/2 more ounces to spin.

I finished the shirt tails of Eris.

It was really not difficult to convert it to a symmetrical shape. I started out with the suggestions that came from the designer, and worked out the specifics myself. I'll post them in the extended entry (down where it says 'continue reading...') for anyone who is making the pattern and wants the details.

Two sleeves to do. I have about 500 yards of yarn left. Will I make it?? Will I end up with ballet sleeves??

Ten minutes after finishing my hat, I wound this (sorry it's blurry).

It's Lisa's Sock! in the Pacific shade - absolutely gorgeous, even more beautiful in the ball than the skein. This is going to be the 'Latvian Socks' from Folk Socks. I cast on already.

Eris Symmetrical Shirttail

She says, in her suggestions:

"When you reach the point where the short rows are begun for the hem at step 11, divide the stitches into four portions: place the four stitches centered at the right-hand and left-hand side "seams" on holders or waste yarn; place the remaining stitches for the back on waste yarn; place the remaining stitches for the front on your working needles."

I followed Step 11 more literally - I continued with the next round till 2 stitches before the NEXT SIDE SEAM, put those 2 stitches and the 2 on the other side onto a pin, purled back till 3 stitches before the OTHER side seam, wrapped and turned, and put the 2 stitches AFTER the wrapped stitch plus the 2 on the other side onto a pin. So I had 4 stitches at each side on pins, the back on the cable of the circular needle, one wrapped stitch on the needle, and working yarn ready to work a wrong side row across the front.

IMPORTANT: Keep your center front marker in as you do this. You will need to count stitches from it below. In fact, go mark the center of the back now, while you have a second.

She said:

"Work the short row instructions of step 12 across the front only. Repeat for the back. You should now have a conventionally-shaped, symmetric, shirttail hem."

To make that a bit more specific:

I then followed step 12 across the front only, and also step 13 and 14. When I had done all of that, I had a curved shirt tail on the front, plus I had purled the 4 stitches off the pin. I haven't done anything with the back yet, it's still hanging out on the needle. Not to worry.

She then said:

"Follow steps 15 and 16 for the right front cabled corner, but stop working the hem band in step 16 when you're about three-quarters of the way across the front. Do not break the yarn. (However, you can estimate where the left front cabled corner will end, and work the hem band to that point, then break the yarn, leaving enough for grafting.) "

That's what I did, with a small addition: When I finished working the chart, I counted how many stitches before the center marker I was. That is how far out the corner will come on the other side and it tells you how far beyond the center stitch to go before you break the yarn as she says above. I happened to end with about 18 stitches left between the end of the chart and the center marker, so as I was applying the border by repeating rows 83-90 of the chart, I went 18 stitches beyond the center marker. Then I just cut the yarn and put the border stitches on a pin for later.

She said:

"Follow steps 15 and 16 for the left front cabled corner, but use Chart N (right) instead and stop after row 90--do not repeat rows 83-90. Go back to the hem band that you had worked after the right front cabled corner, and continue working the hem band until you reach the left front cabled corner. Graft the hem band closed."

To expand on that a little, what I did at that point was work step 17. Count 20 stitches up from your last wrapped stitch before the held side seam stitches. Attach your yarn there so you can begin knitting on the right side. Do step 17. The only change is that when you reach the end of your live stitches, you should knit the stitches on the pin at the side seam (that flipping up and picking up is what you'll do when you are doing all of this on the back). I did the little contrast thread thing, but I didn't find that it helped me much when it came to picking up from the back side of them. If I were doing it again, I would be sure I put that contrast thread on the back side of the stitches.

From here you will see what to do - knit the corner chart as directed, and when you have used up all your live stitches, graft it to the held stitches coming from the other side.

Finally:

"Follow the instructions for the back cabled corner, making similar modifications."

To expand on that a little:

Once you finish the front, you have your live stitches for the back still on the needle. Attach the yarn so you are ready for a wrong side row, and do the second half of step 11 (a wrong side row with a wrap and turn at the end). Finish step 11, and do steps 12 and 13 and 14 as written. Do step 15, but instead of taking stitches off a holder at this point you will pick up stitches from the back of those pesky marked stitches at the side seam that used to be held.

Do step 16 (work the chart), and again determine how far to go past the center by noticing how many stitches are left on your side of the marker when you finish the chart. Do step 17 as written. Graft. You are done. Wasn't that easy?