Process
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Ya know that sweater I’m working on?
A certain lack of success, and an exciting new project.
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February, oh February
February is where winter starts to feel very…long. We have a blizzard warning tonight. I see continued crafting in my future. So what am I working on? Re-knitting a sweater and a blanket that will be quite the bit of exuberance by the time I’m done. When I knit this the first time, I just kinda winged it. Sad to say it did not go well for me. So, yesterday I got up the gumption to unravel it. I got a book, “Strange Brew” by Tin Can Knits, and it has a nice formula for knitting a top-up Icelandic-style sweater. We will see how round 2 goes. 2 colors of…
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My Magnum Opus and what I’m learning
This sweater is a challenge, both technically, and for the persistence it will take to finish it. It is, for now, my magnum opus. I am making progress, and I am figuring things out–I think. There is puckering in the lower color section. That section uses a stranded background with intarsia color blocks. My challenge has been to figure out how to prevent the puckering as a color doubles back on itself. Typical intarsia has you wrapping the two adjacent colors as they head off in their separate directions, thus holding them in place. If the background color is stranded, that doesn’t work. The lower arrow shows where the pucker happens,…
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A knitting challenge–Accepted!
A friend suggested/challenged us to do a project this year that would challenge us. I’ve had the yarn collected for an amazing Rowan for a while, but, well, was waiting for the conditions to be perfect to start. You know, lose 20 lbs, finish absolutely everything else first, that sort of perfections. The kind that will really never happen. So, I have begun. I am doing Maple from Rowan #50. There will be challenges. Intarsia and stranded, 1 million loose ends, and tiny needles. Wish me luck!
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All the maths that are fit to knit
I am working on a new pattern. I am just about done. (Yay!) The last thing I need is a good picture of one of my hats on an actual human. That seems to matter when selling hats. Go figure. Back to the pattern-making process though. In drafting patterns, and trying to be thorough and accurate, I have been struck by how much math is required. There is sizing, calculating proportions, stitches per inch and how they translate into this that and the other. It is a major stress point and one of the reasons this pattern-making thing moves slowly. On this last pattern I wanted to add some extra super-useful information. It…
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An interesting discussion around superwash wool
There is a discussion going on around superwash. I started tracking it through Webs FaceBook feed. I’ve linked to the original blog post that started it (or this round of it), as well as a more technical, thorough discussion of how superwash is created. www.woolful.com/fiber-conscious-superwash-wool www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyeblog/C1307213733/E20091119090430/ My purpose here is not to pass judgement on superwash. I do, however, feel there is value in being an informed consumer. My inclination has always been toward minimally-processed yarns. I like how minimally-processed yarn handles in a garment and I love the feel of lanolin. The colors allowed by superwash are stunning, though, and I usually put my minimally-processed hat off to the side when buying…
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To stash or to let it go, how can I know?
I, like many knitters in the U.S., have a considerable stash. Between good intentions, “omg that is beautiful yarn!”, picking up sample yarn for designing, winning yarn (whee!), failed projects, and leftovers, the stash has become daunting. Oh, and then I used to work at my amazing LYS Yarn Harbor. It is so hard to resist yarn when you are surrounded by all that goodness all of the time, and I am a wee bit (ahem) compulsive. More than just daunting, it has become paralyzing. I could knit for the next four years just to get caught up on all my good intentions. After that long most projects feel like drudgery and obligation, not joy…
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In this new year? Knitting for the pleasure of the craft.
I have been reflecting on my craft. I’ve asked the questions why I knit, what I take the most pleasure in knitting, how I knit. I have, like a lot of knitters, quite a backlog of yarn and projects I’d like to make. I also have a lot of scarves, shawls, and mittens, so I really do not need more. I do need more socks, but that is another story. So why do I knit? I love beautiful things. I love pattern, fiber and texture. I have always loved matching fiber and fabric to a project and have it all come together. I love the pleasure both in simple garter…
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Visible and not-so-visible progress
I have a few photos of progress from last week. As I grow near the day I move into my new apartment, things grow a bit more erratic. Still, I knit on. My Big Foot Knits sample approaches completion. The pattern is working, which is hugely cool. I can see that I will want to redo the heel, it bags a bit, but in her instructions she does encourage one to knit it over until it works, record what one has done, and then ta da, you have a heel that fits your foot that you can refer back to as long as you have your foot. I am liking…
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Two steps forward, one step back
I have no photos for this week right now. That may change (hopefully). I have worked on three projects, and have had mixed success. First, I will report the happy news. The back panel of the Bathrobe of Eternity is now 33 inches. It will eventually be 41 inches, so I am hitting the home stretch. Yay me! Once the back is done, I can figure out the angle of the decreases on the front panels, finish them, and then figure out what else is going to happen. The nice thing about designing something on the fly like this is that it is all based on squares and rectangles. It…
