P U L S H

For Sale or Will Trade Blue Moon Fiber Arts Discontinued Skeins: Two colorways:

Sun, 04 May 2008 14:56:24 GMT

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Lil’ Loops (now discontinued)
1 skein each available in two colorways, each skein is 8oz, full 1,050 yards.

Panzanite Colorway

Carbon Colorway

Fiber contents of this yarn:
56% kid mohair/24% silk/20% nylon
Handpainted fiber
Colorway: Panzanite (blueberry, berrypink, vanilla) OR Carbon (grape, merlot, vanilla)

Purchased for $32 each, will sell for $50+shipping or trade for same quantity of merino/hand painted fiber (I'm looking for a monochromatic mix, wool, sport weight.)

They can be knitted together and they would look spectacular! If you buy both, shipping is less! Shipping charge will only what the USPS charges.

If you are interested, contact me at onemorerow AT charisamartincairn DOT com (remove spaces and add in the symbols noted in caps.)

Woooooooosh - Schacht Matchless takes up residence!

Sat, 03 May 2008 19:18:27 GMT

New Wheel!

A complete splurge, I purchased a new Schacht Matchless wheel last week. And, wow, does it go whoosh! Known as the caddy of wheels, even as I break it in, it performs up to it's reputation. So, now I am the proud owner of two wheels -- let's hope this obsession STOPS with 2!

Spring, Photos soon, and Music for now.

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:11:30 GMT

I know I' ve been quiet, and I'm about to rectify this immediately. I'm photographing work today.

In the meantime, I've been working on music a bit. (I am a jazz singer too.)

Have a listen: click the arrow twice, then hover over a title and click it to listen to the full preview.

If you like what you hear, click here to view my page and go add some tags and comments. Thanks!

Kauni Yarn Swatch (Hat)

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:57:48 GMT

Download this pattern here.
This is the experiment that came out of the Ruth Sørensen class (link to photos of the 20 Feb class in North Seattle). The students received their choice of two Kauni yarn colorways. We were to swatch with the yarn to get a feel it and see how the colors interact.

I started my typical top down hat, then decided I might need a plan to get to the finish line. So, I went to Excel and plugged a few simple geometric patterns for an impromptu chart. I decided to increase 16 stitches every 4 rows instead of my standard 8 increases every other row.

I had seen a fun slouch beret with a wide band at knit group last Wednesday, so I decided to do corrugated ribbing for a while to make a wide band. When the green yarn started to go neon yellow, I pulled the yarn out of the center pull ball until it was a more desaturated yellow. Broke the yarn on the hat, and restarted with the mellower yellow.

I then opted to use a traditional Nordic Braid (opens cool book worth the $8 download) for the edge (it's fussy!), then bound off with EZ's sewn bind off*, using both threads that were held to sew the bind off. This gives a very elastic but firm edge. The yarn is light, so the hat is not heavy, even though it is two strands throughout.

I loved how the hat looked on my head...then I blocked it. Now it seems more formal, and less slouchy. I photographed the tam in this "stand to attention" state, but I'm going to go soak it and let the edges soften back to it's pre-blocked state.

Quick Overview of the How

Cast on 8, increased (in pattern) until I reached 200 stitches.

Then, did a decrease row: K2, K2tog, all round, to reduce circle size by 25%.

Knit corrugated ribbing for about 3 inches.

Knit Nordic braid.

Did EZ’s sewn bind off.

What did I learn?
• Take more time to think about how the patterns will look as they grow on a hat (where the wedges meet are less-than-elegant.)
• I really like Kauni yarn (good thing, I have quite a stash of it now.)
• It's time to knit a different colorway than blue and green.

* Scroll down, way down on this Knitty how to page to find the example of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Bind Off

Lizzie's Bday Hat

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:12:41 GMT

My youngest turned 22 on Thursday. Happy Birthday Hat!
(click photo for big)

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Labrador, Lagoon colorway
Started/Ended: 14-15 Feb 2008
Needles: 10
Pattern: Lifestyle Hats (swatchless pattern, for free), knit in stockinette until size = 90% Lizzie's head, then K1P1 for body of hat; Garter edge for a bit, then EZ sewn bind off.

Ruth Sørensen Class

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:43:30 GMT

Took a class yesterday from the happy Dane, Ruth Sørensen (of Kauni Cardi fame - opens a PDF for the cardi).

Here are a couple of snapshots from the class (click for big):

The class was about designing with Kauni Danish yarn - a fine weight shetland wool that has very very long color repeats (take that, Noro!) When you knit with two colorways, it looks like you worked really hard, when in fact, you only did a little.

Bonus for the class was that Ruth is geniuine, funny, and a very generous person and makes one want to take her home for dinner. She also taught me a thing or two about designing with Excel! More pictures and examples to follow. This is a fascinating process that builds on my latest obsession: working two yarns with subtle color changes.

View more photos and couple of short videos where Ruth describes how to create a garment from the class (and be forgiving, I was using a point and shoot camera). The short video is Ruth talking about how to make this cardigan:

Old Hats, New Model

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:48:06 GMT

Marie D. modeled a lot of my hats and I have new pictures! As always, click for big! Thank you Marie, you look great!

Pixies Rise Again!

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:41:10 GMT

Started: 15 Jan 2008
Finished: 25 Jan 2008

This hat was inspired by several short row Nordic berets I’ve seen. Building on my current obsession (started by Jared Flood, damn him) theme of using two subtle colorways to create a color dance.

Knit in garter stitch, in short rows with a brim and a “poof” factor. However, as I knit it became very apparent that gauge lied! I was not going to get a beret that would fit a human head. So, I stopped at wedge 5, seamed the thing, and “fulled” the hat until the brim would fit me.

I got a fun little beret with a point! I'm a pixie, you're a pixie....

At a reader's request, here is a bare-bones pattern for this garter beret. Click to download. (PDF file)
If you knit it, please let me know! If there is demand, I'll create a proper pattern.

K1 P1, You're Dead

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:37:26 GMT

Hat Attack (modeled on Sock Wars) - see the rules below
Pattern received 9 Feb 6:20am Pacific Time
Yarn had been procured and swatched, ready to engage at 6:20am
Hat finished: 10pm 9 Feb

Target, prepare to die! The package will be tracked, I shall see when you accept your fate!

Hat Attack! Rules, by the Oracle

Assignment
• Your assignment is to kill your target by knitting and mailing to them a specific hat, as quickly as possible.
• When murdered, your target must post their death on the Yahoo! Group by updating their status in the Battle Roster (database). Then the dead must send to you, immediately, their work in progress and target’s details so you may assassinate their intended target.
• Remember: you are also someone’s target…

Pattern
The pattern will be provided by The Oracle in February 2008. Murderous hats must be knit in the weight and size specified. The hat will be Advanced Beginner level. For a greater challenge, you may customize your weapon with colorwork or beads.
Delivery
Delivery may be made any way you choose. An effective assassin will request proof of mailing.
Rules
• This battle is orchestrated by the Oracle. She is all‐knowing and unable to be killed.
• This is for entertainment purposes only.
• You may not take yourself or others too seriously.
• Bloodshed will be in the form of yarn and words.

Update 24 February 2008: My "victim" died by my "weapon" within the first week of the hat attack, when she received the hat. I, on the other hand, have not been "killed" and am still awaiting my death (in the form of a mailed hat.) Such silliness!

Knit Map - and Open Street Map

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:10:43 GMT

Maps are wondrous things, aren't they?
Today I discovered a map for knitters, and it is International! Never be left wondering if there is a knit store near you, wherever you are.

Knit Map - look for stores in your area, and add 'em if they aren't on the map. The screenshot below is Tokyo, Japan yarn stores. What I wouldn't have given for that info in 2006!

Want to annotate your universe? Have GPS, will edit: Open Street Map
My son, Brandon has been involved in a map making project that is a map wiki. He wrote some original software and contributed it to the Open Street Map (OSM) project. Unlike the US, the folks in the UK don't have easily accessible non-proprietary street maps. The project was initially focused on the UK. However, on Thursday, after seven months and six days of constant grinding on the United States dataset* the import to the Open Street Map project was completed. The OSM is here (all data is in the database but not all tiles are rendered: that'll take a little longer). If you wish to edit the map, zoom in to your favorite region and click the "edit" tab.

*every street in the US

Seattle-to-Portland Yarn Crawl - oh so much fun

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:02:59 GMT

Last weekend I led a train car FULL of knitters to Portland for the day. It was delightful, it was bawdy, it was economical. I want to tell you more about it, but work has gotten in the way. So, in the short term, I will let the knitters themselves tell you of this adventure:

http://alyknitsandknits.blogspot.com/2008/01/yarn-crawl.html
http://theknittingmama.blogspot.com/2008/01/portland-yarn-crawl.html
http://rhondaknitting.blogspot.com/2008/01/portland-yarn-crawl-recap_20.html
http://www.poormissfinch.com/?cat=1
http://www.xanga.com/pamelamama/638560096/a-blog-entry-in-two-parts.html
http://zombie-mom.livejournal.com/122467.html#cutid1
http://www.pdxyarnhoknits.com/?p=12
http://www.persistentillusion.com/blogblog/archive/2008/01/20/1227/1227

I promise to process photos and tell you about breaking my yarn diet in my next post. But, I'll close with one word that decribes the day last Saturday: magical.

First Look: Pixie Driving Gloves

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:02:09 GMT

Eloquent Communication with the Wave of a Hand
Designed for a pixie, so that with a wave of her hand, she can eloquently communicate her opinion. Included in the package, the ability to easily make one positive, and one negative gesture.

Method: Top down, of course! In the round, using two circular needles.
Yarn: Rowan very-thin-really-meant-for-two-colorwork wool
Needle: Size 1US
Quick and dirty instructions:
Inspired by Meg Swanson's I-cord gloves from her book Handknitting. Although I did not use I-cord to knit the fingers, I followed her method for the rest of the glove.
Cast on for each digit using Emily Ocker's cast on, 4 stitches.
Increased every couple of rows until the tube fit the digit. Knit plain in-the-round until the tube reached the connection point. When all 10 digits were knit, I put the index, middle, and ring finger on two needles, hold 1 stitch from the inside of the digit out of the work. Knit a few rows, then added the pinkie digit. Knit until I hit the thumb space, added the thumb (hold 3 stitches out of work.) The held-out stitches are then grafted together to close the hole. (Meg describes this in detail.)

Edit: 8 Jan
Forgot to mention, I added a gusset (really, just increases) to accomodate the width of the palm. Refer to Meg's description in her book, she really walks you through the process. The only thing I changed was knitting tubes for the digits instead of Icords. For an eloquent description of creating Meg's Icord gloves, see Nona's blog entries about it.

When I had knit it long enough, I knit a cable cuff, K 4 stitches, P2, Twisting the Knit stitches 2 over 2 in a consistent direction (not using a cable needle.)

Finalized with some embroidery to make the message easier to swallow, whatever hand-given message gets communicated.

7 Feb 2008 Update: If you are on Ravelry, you are welcome to join a Driving Gloves Knit Along.

Shapely Tank by designer Joan McGowan-Michael

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:35:40 GMT

Easy stockinette sweater that fits (if you pay attention!)

White Lies Designs | Tank Top with Added Sleeves
free pattern, click to view (sleeve pattern is an additional free pattern, click to view)
This was a project for me to try shaping at the waist and bust. I knit the front and back per the pattern and seamed the garment.

Modifications: Sleeves were knit 3/4 instead of the short sleeve per Joan's free tank sleeve download.

The sleeve is knit in the round.

The shaping of the cap sleeve was done with short rows instead of casting off so that prevented "stairsteps" in the cap sleeve rise,

I love the garter edges. Beautiful!

What I learned from this:

if the sweater feels like it is too short, keep knitting before you start the bust shaping. Although it looks fine on the dress model, I made this too short.
don't waste your time with crappy yarn. Just don't. This cotton/acrylic pills and pills.
I would add more short rows in the bust area, and upper back too. Try Cat Bordhi's You tube video on how to hide wraps, brilliant!

This was a fun knit, and I'd do another with the above mods.

Scarves - Early Handspun and Alpaca Rescued

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:00:45 GMT

Early Hand dyed, Handspun, and Navajo-plied
I kettle dyed the merino roving with russet and blue dye. The yarn makes a space-dyed, sort-of striping pattern. I am knitting a double moss stitch scarf with the yarn, It is a very smooth yarn and almost feels like cotton. It is light and springy, but has the wonderful properties of wool. The scarf is nice and flat. For this scarf, I used a US 4 needle. Finished off the edges with a single crochet edge (to help compensate for less than perfectly consistent yarn.)

How to knit the scarf (updated 29 Dec 2007):
Cast on a multple of 4+2. First and last stitches will be edge stitches. (I usually use a longtail cast on.)

Row 1: Slip 1 edge stitch knitwise, K2, P2 across, K last stitch.
Row 2: Slip 1 edge stitch purlwise, K2, P2 across, P last stitch.

Row 3: Slip 1 edge stitch knitwise, P2, K2 across, K last stitch.
Row 4: Slip 1 edge stitch purlwise, P2, K2 across, P last stitch.

Repeat rows 1-4 until length you want it.

Cast off: I prefer an EZ sewn cast off.

Ahhhh, much better. Color Revisited.
This very labor intensive scarf (alpaca yarn I hand warped, hand dyed, then knit - but gawd-awful color).

Scarf info:
Palindrome scarf. Very cool, free pattern. This reversible scarf knit up very fast. Be forewarned, this reversible cable pulls in A LOT. So, use bigger-than-called-for needles so the scarf is not too heavy. I did not! Combined with the fact that it's alpaca and heavy, this will be a scarf for only very cold weather, as it is VERY warm!

The self striping yarn was my first test of creating self striping yarn (see how to instructions here.) When I made the yarn, the colors were clear, but there was too much value difference for my taste between the yellow and the blues, so I overdyed it with grey, which gave it a very muddy look. Yeach.

Red comes to the rescue!

After a dunk and soak and cook in red:

Thank goodness for the miracle of Jacquard acid dyes!

Hat Weather

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:59:09 GMT

Hat! [click for bigger]

Hat Info
Stats on Ravelry (click to open, must be a member of Ravelry)

This is a hat that I cast on to simply play with the unspun yarn and see what happens when you do a short row hat with unspun Icelandic wool. The brown wool is three strands of unspun wool wrapped in a wool cake. The cream wool is two strands of unspun wool. The wool has no spin in it and pulls apart quite easily.

The end result is a nice firm hat that is the knit stitch only, knit "flat".

I cast on 35 stitches, using a needle smaller than what I thought the wool called for (US 9) so that the hat would be firm. At each row, I knitted one less stitch, wrapping and turning until 16 stitches were "short". I then knit all stitches on the needle with the cream colored yarn, and then one more row knit with the cream. And started all over again.

When I finished it, I knit the two rows in cream and cast off in cream. The hat was longer than my head, so I got a brim!

Then I seamed up the hat. The seam was so bulky that I decided to hide it with embroidery and wear the seam in the back. I liked the end result so much that it is now the front.

What would I do differently next time?

Make the cast on a crochet provisional cast on
Final cream garter row would woven/grafted for a seamless finish.

For a protoype, I'm pleased!

Happy Holidaze! A gift for you

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 16:15:11 GMT

For You: A Dec 2007-Nov 2008 Knit Calendar
(Why no Dec 2008 image? To keep you coming back!)

          Thumbnails of the images:





          Download the files and print yourself, or order prints from Flickr. (You have to sign in to Flickr to order prints. A Flickr account is free.)

          These images are high resolution and optimized for a 4x6 inch desktop calendar, and are all my original images.Order all 12 in 4x6 size, add a 4x6 frame that sits on your desk, and there you have it! Enjoy.

PS: Please do not sell or reproduce these images other than for personal use. Thanks!

Oh Mah Gawd - does this yarn make my butt look big?

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 04:14:48 GMT

I have this week off and with the holidays near and Fall weather requiring outerwear, it is an inspirational time to start a new knitting project.

As holidays go, the first thing that comes to mind is to head to the local yarn store and SHOP. Before I grabbed the keys, it occurred to me that I might have something in my stash that would suffice for the next project.
In no time, I found myself inventoring my entire stash. Really inventoring the stash. It took me more than one day to do it. Included in inventory was all the yarn in the yarn closet. Not included in inventory was all my handspun/hand dyed yarn or novelty yarn sitting in various storage containers around the house.

As of today, 20 November, the inventory equals 92,275 yards of yarn.

At the rate of 1800 yards per sweater, that equals 51.26 sweaters. If I knit the equivalant of 4 sweaters a year, it will take 12.8 years to knit through this stash.

I am,by personal mandate, effectively, cut off from buying another skein for the foreseeable future.

Join me?
Are you finding yourself a bit on the heavy side when it comes to yarn? Feel free to use this Excel 2003 blank spreadsheet to check out your stash. If you have more than you can reasonably expect to knit in your lifetime, you are invited to join me in my Yarn Diet.

Knit with what you got!
-- Charisa

Trip down memory lane

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:09:19 GMT

My knit group, the Monroe Bitch and Bitch knitting group, went on an excursion last year (train trip to Portland to visit, what else, yarn shops). I realized I never gave a trip report. So, here you have it - pictures worth much more than words
(click pictures for big):

View from inside the train at dawn

Lots of time to knit on the way down, work in progress

No shortage of inspiration at Portland Knitting Stores within walking distance of the train station.
Knit Knot Studio, Portland, Oregon

Knit Purl, Portland, Oregon

Habu Textiles Scarf

And, it's always good to know where you are (lunch)

Everyone could use a little therapy:

Walking around the Pearl District:

As the beautiful Winter day closes, we make our way to Dublin Bay Knitting:

Dublin Bay Knitting Store, Portland, Oregon

We head to the train station at night fall. When we are all re-assembled we view the stash.

It was so much fun, we are going to do it again. Let me know if you are interested in joining us for our 2nd annual all-day knit trip to Portland in January.

My 15 minutes of fame just extended to 20.

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:40:34 GMT

I didn't make it into the Knitty 2008 calendar, but I got honorable mention!

See page two of the non-winners.

Specifically, this one - Knit Hallowigs (me and my girls mugging):

My 15 minutes of fame, kinda.

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:17:08 GMT

I caught someone's eye and I'm published somewhere other than my very own blog:

Spindle and Wheel - November 2007 Edition
my articles in this issue:
Charisa's Quick Knit Fix
Folk Art for Your Head

And,in the same issue - I am delighted to share the limelight with Brooklyn Tweed himself! :
Jared Flood's Noro Scarf

Ha!

Nordic Knitting Conference Photos

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:41:39 GMT

Although procrastination nearly prevented it, I managed to get into Elsebeth Lavold's Viking Knits class at the Nordic Knitting conference in Seattle, early October 2007. Below are photos from the conference. There are a few photos of Vivain HØxbro, as she was teaching in the classroom next to Elsebeth's.

Best learn of the day: how to cable without a needle....which inspired the Gully Wash Socks!

Elsebeth Lavold:

Some of her examples:

Elsebeth and student:

Elsebeth instructing a student about how to move cables on the ground, and do it without an additional cable needle:

Vivian HØxbro:

Some of Vivian's examples for the class:

It seems that knitting and high tech are a perfect fit. A knitter shows another knitter an example of what they are discussing online - via her I-phone:

More Two Color Scarves

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 16:51:49 GMT

Buildling on a theme, I've knit up a couple more of the two-skein-two-color scarves. Click an image to see big.

Although it is still Fall, it looks and feels like Winter today. Especially as I battle an awful cold.

Gully Wash Socks (free pattern)

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:33:20 GMT

Toe-up socks that form rivulets on your feet
   Designed by: Charisa Martin Cairn | October 2007
    note: if you downloaded the pattern prior to 14 Nov 2007, please re-download.
    I caught an error, and it has been corrected.
    Click here to download the free sock pattern.

Overview
Please refer to the "Lifestyle Toe Up Socks", a tour guide for building socks that always fit.

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Socks That Rock, Lightweight, 360 yards

Needles/Method: Size 1, US
Using 2 circular needles, socks knit in the round

Gauge: Depends, but about 8-10 stitches to the inch

What you know or will learn using this pattern:

A magical cast on
Making cables without a cable needle
Knitting socks that fit
An easier short row heel
A stretchy bind-off that will always wear comfortably

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why Gully wash? Experimenting with cables and this wonderful yarn, the cabling looked just like water rushing through gullies in the streams around where I grew up in the Texas hill country. The colorway that I used only reinforced the visual by being the color of the washed gully.

Wedge Hat for Fall

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 21:11:42 GMT

Click to download this pattern as a printable PDF file
The stats:
Started: 17 Sept
Finished: 19 Sept
Yarn: Zitron Turmalin, 2 skeins, colorways: [300 3475] & [340 3669]
Pattern: No Swatch Method of Hatmaking, knit top down

- Increased 8 stitches, every other row

- When circle was big enough, worked a 2 rows of garter (K1 row, P1 row) then picked up each stitch two rows back on the inside/back side, and continued knitting (this makes a gater welt on the external side of hat)

- Decreased using SKPSSO (slip 1, knit one, pass the slipped stitch over the knit stitch.) I wanted a wedge shape, so I decreased 10% (K8, skpsso) about every other row until the diameter fit my head.

Note: I tried lots of decreases, looking fo the most subtle to use, and placed the decreases randomly. However, with a bulky yarn, it is pretty hard to hide a decrease. The only thing I would change is to decrease consistently rather than randomly (K8, skpsso at each decrease row ). Note! Since I made this hat, I saw Cat Bordi's video on You Tube about how to neaten decreases -- looks like I could have made them look neater by knitting SSK in the decrease row, then knitting in the back of the stitich in the next round above the decrease. See Cat's video tutorial here.(she shows this in the last minute of the video).

- The edge was about 4 rows of garter (in the round: K1 row, P1 row), then bound-off with EZ's sewn bind off. (This garter edge is folded back when the hat is worn.)

- I finshed the hat a touch snug (you can try on as you go) - because I knew that blocking the hat would relax it some. It did.

Subtle Striping, Sometimes
Inspired by Brooklyn Tweed's 2-color scarf using two beautiful yarns. Designed on-the-fly from the top down, using the technique of alternating every row with yarn 1, then yarn 2.

I purchased the yarn while on holiday (you always do that, don't you? Buy yarn and needles on holiday?) It is a slightly-felted pencil roving. I wanted a firm fabric, so I knit it on size 10 (US) needles rather than the recommended 15 (US). See my previous blog entry to view the yarn.

Note on the needles - I bought Bryson flexible circular needles and I'm enjoying knitting with them, and I am a dyed-in-the-wool lover of Addi Turbos!

I used the no-swatch method of hat making (you design as-you-go and the hat always fits).

The two important design elements to make the hat work in the wedge shape: firm fabric, and decreases from the top of the hat to the brim.

A final note, this is expensive (!!) yarn, running at $22 USD per skein. I didn't want to waste one bit, so I knit a dickie to go with the hat and ended up with about 2 yards of yarn left!

Both hat and dickie are knit in the round, using two circular needles instead of dpns.

Update: Warm colorway using a bulky yarn "Loft" by Zitron. It was about half the diameter yarn as the original hat. I knit the hat brim a bit deeper - as the yarn seemed to need it. The beauty of knitting from the top down - make it work for the yarn you are using!

Signs of Fall

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:39:58 GMT

Chill in the air, running about 48 degrees F in the morning.
Time for a hat that offers color - as nature goes to seed and leaves only beige bones.
[as always, click image for big]