My Pocket Wheel finally arrived - and I picked it up yesterday. It's so little! The opening of basket to the right of the wheel measures at 10", and the measurement from orifice metal opening to where the pocket wheel sits is 18". I'm already on my second bobbin. Fun!
Then guess what followed me home? Big Bertha! You can't quite tell that it's BIG, but to give you an idea, the trim on the wall is at 36", and the floor-to-top-of-wheel measures 45".
The top-down-set-in-sleeve-sweater I started last month is complete! It was a dream to knit and fits Carol to a tee. You can see how the colors work with her palette. View Carol's artwork here.
The Stats:
Pattern: Top Down Set in Sleeve Method by Tuulia Salmela (no pattern yet, send Tuulia an email saying how much you want it!)
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 6
Started: 3 November 2008
Finished: 28 Dec 2008 (and that is with knitting the sleeves twice to get them to my liking.)
I love love love making a sweater this way. The set in sleeve fits nicely on the shoulders, the faux seams provide structure to the entire sweater. Best of all, you can try-on-as-you knit, to ensure it works!
Hat from the yarn leftovers:
Hat pattern: A modification of my own "Folk Art For Your Head" - but I used the "Lifestyle Top Down Hat" method.
Yarn: Same as the sweater above.
Needle: US 6
May you be surrounded with light and love this holiday season!
So, I'm using training wheels to figure out where I am. And they are:
- Highlighter tape on the knit chart so I only work the row I mean to work.
- Row counter at the beginning of the round, so I remember what row I am on.
- Stitch markers, placed at each repeat so I double check that I have the correct number of stitches per repeat.
This is Anne Hanson's Spiralucious.
Yarn: Frog Tree 100% Alpaca, Type 2310; Fingering Weight; Made in Bolivia
Needles: Lovely Fixed Harmony Wood, size 3US, from KnitPicks
I'm 50% done. Wish me luck.
The Knitting Mama, aka Katie Kent, shows off her perfect timing with her tilted blocks scarf (from Lynne Barr's book, Knitting New Scarves) in October 2008. Mother Nature supplied the same colorway as the scarf Katie dyed, spun and knit. MN's tree was sitting in Bellingham, WA.
Apologies for the less than perfect photo -- this was a serendipitious moment on the street when tree and scarf aligned, and only a point-and-shoot camera was at hand.
In other news, progress on current projects:
Thanks Tuulia!
Note: this video is available on Youtube too.
This pick up method is specific to continuing kntting in the opposite direction. In this particular instance, Tuulia is demonstrating picking up stitches at the underarm of the sweater I'm currently knitting using her top-down-set-in-sleeve-seamless sweater method. (Link to previous blog entry about this method.)
Work in Progress: Full Sized Top Down Set-in Sleeve Sweater (Women's medium, 40")
The neck will be picked up and knit with a rolled-edge. The sweater starts at the shoulders, then is picked up all the way round, including the sleeve caps and knit in the round, increasing every other row for the sleeve cap. (Link to previous entry about this method.)
Detail:
Finally, getting a Shawl posted that I have let sit in the "to be photographed" pile for too long:
Pattern: Simple Yet Effective Shawl by Laura Chau (click for pattern)
Needles: US 7
Wool: Mixture of Cascade 220 and Paton Classic Merino
Finish: Single crocheted edge with hand dyed Cascade 220. Despite the many many colors available in both these brands, I ended up needing something slightly different and handdyed the edge wool myself.
Notes: Fast mindless knit, blocks beautifully, and certainly there will be more to come. I discovered that if I add buttons, I can wrap the points around my arms and button it up for mock sleeves, they don't get in the way when I'm working and it becomes a shrug.
Pictures, top to bottom (left to right as you go) - links to previous blog entries on these items:
Dew Rag (eggplant hat); Kauni Beret (blue green colorwork hat); Dew Rag, back view; Kauni Beret view 2; Verdant Scarf (green hand spun); Transition Gloves - Wow, guess I never posted about these!
Pattern: Transition Gloves by Kerin Dimeler
Wool: GGH Merino Soft, 1 skein each color
Photos continued:
My So Called Scarf (warm colors); Shadow Tam (warm color shadow stitching)
From the Allspunup fiber challenge Oct - Nov 2008 (on Ravelry, consolidated photo page here.)
Finished fiber stats: Wraps per inch: 18-20 | 8 ounces | ~ 800-900 yards | thinnest I’ve spun thus far
The sample on the notecard is navajo-plied, but the skein is 2 ply. I plan to knit a wrap with this beautiful stuff.
If you spin, run-don't-walk to Kristin's shop and get some of the goodness from her hands. You can afford it, yes you can.
Above:
Pattern: Lifestyle Top Down Hats, Pillbox hat; Fingerless mitts: I made up the design as I went
Yarn: Dyed Romney fiber, colors combined by the Knitting Mama (who also happens to be a spinning mama), then sold to me; I spun it into a thick/thin single, then plied it with an almost lace weight single, black mystery wool (probaby Romney too.).
Needles: 7 US
Notes: This is my favorite hat shape to knit. I love knitting from the top down. It just works!
Above:
Pattern: Vivian Hoxbro Rainbow Tam
Yarn: Jamieson's Spindrift, 4 skeins: Madder, Poppy, Ginger, and I think the last one was Curry
Needle: US 1
Notes: This required a lot of attention, but developed a rhythm as I got into it. I did it to see if I could work with Jamieson's for long (Shetland is not terribly soft, but it is hard wearing), and to see if I could meet the requirement of constant attention to a chart. I want to make the Rainbow cardigan by Vivian Hoxbro. I have all the wool, now I just need the will.
Hat pattern: Just Like a Peasant Cap by Amber Daniels-Cook (click for pattern - this is an Adobe PDF file.)
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, 2 skeins
Needle: Size 6 US
Notes: Very easy to knit. Note, VERY warm in alpaca!
Merino roving. I dyed it with Jacquard dyes in blues and browns. (It was beautiful.)
Spinning: I spun thick/thin singles, then set the yarn in hot water. When I went to pull the skein out, the color was gone.
So, back to the drawing board. All blue was gone. I had an striated oatmeal/brown skein. I dunked it in a chartruese dyebath. And, presto, I have a verdant woodland skein.
Knitting pattern: K1P1. The front and back of the scarf are the same. Slip the first stitch, purl the last stitch, every row.
Size needles: US 4
It's so lovely. Soft. Green. Yum.
Last weekend I spent it with the YaYa sisterhood and we had a good time.
We laughed and we knit:
We were bandits and we knit:
We were daughters and we knit:
And we were amazed at the method that Tuulia Salmela has come up with to make a sweater from the top down, that fits, that has a set in sleeve, and WORKS!
Yes, Martha, this REALLY is knit in one piece and you can try it on as you go. Look for a pattern from Tuulia in the near future.
We also did a bit of enjoying of the Fall, and went to a Northwest Regional Spinner's Annual Spin-In and, of course, visited all the local yarn shops!
Update 7 November 2008 | Finished the Sweater Sample from this class
My ever-present Ben
Tuulia Salmela, an incredible knitwear designer from Finland, dyed, spun, designed, then knit this incredible shawl. Then, for some completely unfathomable reason, GAVE it to me. The least I could do was photograph it in all it's glory. Tuulia is the model. Read more about Tuulia's adventures in knitting at: http://tuulia.blogspot.com. She calls it the Red Dragon. (More photos of the Dragon here.)
A pattern will be available shortly! Check out her blog or her Designer page on Ravelry. Click a photo to see it big.
And for fun, another kind of tale-- Ben, one of my cats is VERY social. See him hanging all over Tuulia as she spins. Hilarious!
But I have found myself with more than one. Several more than one. And I find that I am drawn to each one, compelled to spin, on each one for very different reasons.
Lendrum is a workhorse. It will spin at my bidding. Thick and thin, lace, spiral yarn, more. It keeps going, needs no maintenance, is beautifully plain and just keeps on giving. Really, it is all I should ever need.
But the sirens sang, and there I was - enchanted, drawn to the elegance of Schacht. Beautiful, stands heads above others. Insistent on elegance, quietly whispers in my ear. Never pulls hard or drags, smoothly executes and dances with me. The yarn we create together sings. All I should ever ever need.
And yet.
Suzie gave me a glance, called my name. Said she could travel, was flippant. Dared me to try her, to play. Came home with me. What to do? She has joined the household. She is finicky. She wants tension here, release of tension there. She wants adjustment over there. Oil now. Well, she is entertaining, she is engaging. I keep coming back to her, despite my queen Schacht. Despite my sweet hard-working Lendrum. I am afraid that Suzie will be the death of me.
And still....
There is a new gal coming to town. I walk to the end of the drive everyday in anticipation, looking for her. She'll be here soon. Lithe, athletic, limber. She promises to slip into places no other can. She fits in a pocket. I await her arrival.
Summer is near the end, evenings are cool enough to require a wrap or scarf. I'm gearing up for the Winter with hand-dyed roving, ready for spinning. Click the image to see notes on it with fiber info.
Are you ready with plans for winter projects?
Chalk it up as inspiration.
Normally this blog is focused on knitting and spinning and all topics related. However, today, I just have to share with you some photos I shot this summer. They are straight out of the camera with the exception of some noise reduction. No color added. Where did I have to go to get these loverlies? I stepped out my front door.
Two different sunsets in August 2008; Pacific Northwest/Washington State. Image on left with Canon 20d pro camera, image on right, point-and-shoot Canon Powershot.
I admit it, unabashedly, undeniably, I love knitting scarves. And hats. And socks. But, you already knew that.
I live in the Pacific Northwest where those accessories are something that can be worn almost year round. Even today, 24 August 2008, it has poured rain all day and it's cool enough to throw a scarf around your neck if you head outside.
Knitting small things means I can do lots of them, try lots of colors, and textures.
Finished a few months ago - the Christine Vogel drop stitch scarf that 488 people on Ravelry have made (and another 1645 people have it queued up to do).
Yarn: Rayon Metallic by Blue Heron Yarns (Ravelry link)
Needle: Size 6 or 7, US (cannot exactly remember!)
Up close:
Creating a simple 4x6 index card with some info about how you got to where you got to on a finished project and putting a few inches of the spun yarn on the card helps if you ever hope to repeat it.
Download the template here.
A basket of my handspun of the past couple of years below. You can kind of see (in the index card box) that I stapled locks of the unspun wool on the cards, as well as any knit samples from the yarn.
Spun singles at about worsted weight for a total of 290 yards.
Before, courtesy of Allspunp:
During (on then off the niddy-noddy):
After a sit in water brought to about 190 degrees, then whirled in a salad spinner, yanked at a bit and hung to dry:
After After - So in love with this colorway, that I went out into my dye studio and duplicated it while my yarn was drying:
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