Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy

Tenney Park

2011-09-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

My new pattern Tenney Park is now available in the Deep Fall issue of Knitty! Enjoy.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

2011-09-02T07:39:00.001-07:00

Oh my. So much time with so little posting.

I went to my annual Alt Knitting Camp with my regulars at Devils Lake State Park. While there, I started knitting a basic top-down raglan for myself so that I'd have something relatively mindless to work on. It's dark brown, from Jo Sharp Classic DK. It's the kind of sweater that doesn't look all that great on the needles, but I will probably wear all winter long.

We had visits from my parents in May, Scott's brother in July, and my sister and niece in August. Here is the younger son with his cousin:

I spun a bunch of 3 ply yarn. I'm not exactly sure what it will be good for, but it was fun spinning.

I sewed a one strap back pack and then I sewed a two-strap backpack. The pictures of the two-strap one, which I sent off in a swap, seem to have been deleted from the camera card without being saved to the computer. D'oh!

I took my younger son to the city pool a couple of times and to Devils Lake several times.

I spent most of July hiding out indoors, in the air conditioning. I spent too much time on Facebook.

I took my kids to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago to see the Jellies.

Then we went to Millennium Park to see the Bean.

I don't know of any other sculpture that seems to invite so much public interaction.

On the way back to the car, I saw a Maserati parked near the school of the Art Institute.

I guess art students have more money now than they did in the old days.

I finished a sweater for publication and it'll be appearing this fall. Had to do pictures twice. Also knit something smaller for an upcoming book, but I'm not sure when that will be public.

I've been thinking about sewing, about weaving, about spinning, and not as much about what to knit next. But now school has started and I can finally get my brain focused on my stuff, I hope that will change. There's a creative zone I seem to be most able to tap into when I know I won't be intruded on for at least 4 hours. I wonder what will happen next?

Self-Promotion!

2011-09-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I got an email from Robin Hunter to contribute an interview for her blog How to Become a Professional Knitter. My interview is up today. Take a look.

I really don't like summer

2011-08-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

So much for my determination to be a more consistent blogger.

I've had a few irons in the fire, so some of my knitting and other projects are not yet for the public. Stay tuned for those updates as they become public.

Meanwhile, I have a short prose piece in the new issue of Entangled magazine. Entangled is a new online magazine published by New Zealand knitter/fiberista/pod-caster Genny Stevens, a.k.a. GrannyG. Entangled is about all phases of fiber production, crafting, and artistry. It doesn't feature patterns per se, though some patterns are occasionally published as part of an article. The content is not free, but the price is reasonable for the excellent content. Check it out! I'm planning to have a longer article with photos in the next issue, that is, if summer ends and I find myself once again able to string together a paragraph or two with some semblance of coherence.

Long Overdue Updates

2011-05-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've posted, I had to go back and see what I've already mentioned!

Knitting
First up, some recent knitting:

This is the beginning of a scarf, knit the long way in linen stitch. I'm using this yarn that I spun a couple of years ago:

The yarn was spun from BFL top, hand-dyed by Sandy's Palette. I'm using US #4 needles and 400 stitches. The rows are long, but I only have to work 8".

Sewing
Earlier in the year I was in a fun swap group. We all agreed to make multiples of something and send them to the central organizer. We got back a box with at least 10 different things made by the other participants. I made these little zipped pouches:

Spinning
I've been puttering at spinning a bit here and there, too. This was a quick little skein from random fibers I kind of cadged together:

It's not really enough yarn to be useful for much, but if I combine it with other yarns, maybe it can be a fun accent.

Several weeks ago I went digging through my fiber stash. Some of you may recall that not too long after I started spinning I stumbled on an amazing Craigslist bargain. A local spinner was trying to liquidate her stash in a hurry. My friend Fern and I split the cost and the goods. There is a lot of natural colored wool in various browns and creams, but also, some odds and ends of more colorful choices. This is some kind of top from that lot:

The colors are certainly quite strident in the unspun state! I'm finding that as I spin, there's a bit of blending going on that's taking the edge off it in a nice way.

Singles of same:

There's very little of this: only about 60 grams total. I considered chain-plying to avoid muddying the colors any further, but now I think I want to buy some red top and ply it with that. Red would work with both the purple and the orange and not fight too much with either. Plying with something else would also make it go farther. Stay tuned.

Weaving
Back in the winter, I wove this length of cloth:

Valley Yarns 3:2 cotton, 12.5 dent reed. After machine washing and drying, it became incredibly soft to the touch. I like how the white flecks on the black ground look like a loon's feathers. I'm going to turn that into a throw pillow soon. It's been languishing unfinished for long enough.

Website!
This might be the most exciting part of this post! I finally have a separate site set up for selling my patterns. Visit Sweater Studio and take a look! Be forewarned: people who use IE8 or earlier for a browser might encounter some glitches and frustrations. If you don't see the banner, it would be a great time to switch to Firefox or Chrome. The pattern sales are set up through the Ravelry hosting and downloading service, but you don't need to be a Ravelry member to buy them. For my sales volume and the number of items in my shop, they give the best deal I've found for me as a vendor.

In Other News
We did finally find a buyer for our old house. We will close on May 26. It will be a huge relief to close that deal.

As we sail into summer my hope is to continue the process of purging our excess stuff, throw a big yard sale, and be inspired for lots of new patterns.

Roughhousing Vest Pattern

2011-03-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

Sporty zip front vest. Recommended yarn is a machine wash and dry cotton/acrylic blend. Shrinks about 10% so plan ahead!
Shown in Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed DK; 500 - 1000 yards (457 - 914 m)

Gauge: 22 stitches and 28 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

Needle size
US 5 - 3.75 mm
US 3 - 3.25 mm

Child S [M, L, XL]: 26 [28, 30, 32]" chest

$5 Instant Download

Angularity Vest Pattern

2011-03-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

This classic V-neck silhouette is updated with a zigzag twisted stitch texture.

Shown in Gjestal Superwash Sport
Yarn weight: DK / 8 ply (11 wpi); 880 - 1430 yards (805 - 1308 m)

Gauge: 22 stitches and 28 rows = 4" in Twisted zigzags

Needle size
US 5 - 3.75 mm
US 7 - 4.5 mm

Mens S, M, L [1X, 2X]

Instant Download $6

Stone Henley Pattern

2011-03-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

This outdoorsy pullover is an easy choice for any guy.

Shown in Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort
1620 - 2340 yards (1481 - 2140 m)

Gauge: 22 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches in Grid and cable pattern, after washing and blocking

Needle size
US 4 - 3.5 mm
US 2 - 2.75 mm

Sizes available
Mens S-2X, 37-53", in 4" increments

Instant download $6

Almost March

2011-02-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture I took the day after the Big Blizzard of '11, early this month:

I'm not quite sure how the wind was blowing to cause this formation, but I suspect it was coming from the south, under the fence, and scooped all the snow up into that nice crisp ridge. If the wind came from the north, it would have hit the fence, curled down, and scooped the snow. In either case, it was cool while it lasted.

Knitting News
I finally finished the Socks That Would Not End. My Ravelry projects page tells me I started these in September. Here they are, hot off the needles, unwashed, unblocked, un-anything.

Yarn: Universal Yarns, Ditto. Now discontinued.
Knit on US #1 needles.
68 stitches, ribbed cuff and instep

Earlier this month, in the deep cold that followed the blizzard, I decided that my 3201 wool hats were not doing a good enough job keeping me warm and I probably should make myself an alpaca one. Fortunately I found some yarn in my stash that seemed perfect.

This is just a basic watchcap, k2, p2 ribbing throughout.
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Melange
Knit on US #2 needles
120 stitches.

In Other News
The dissatisfaction with our governor has grown steadily since Feb 11. If he thought this would all settle down and go away, he really underestimated the people of Wisconsin. The Teabaggers he recruited from out of state to counter-demonstrate put in a pretty pitiful showing in comparison. There were very few of them and they were back on their motor-coaches, on their way home, within 24 hours. I try to keep my politics off the blog, but recent events go way beyond politics-as-usual around here. It should get more interesting before it's all done.

Some Sewing

2011-02-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a bit of sewing lately.

This tote bag was for a Something Handmade swap. It's red ultrasuede and lined with a colorful cotton print I got in a remnant heap a few years back.

The webbing for the handles was also in my stash. I can think of a few things I should have done better, but on the whole, I think it's ok.

My younger son has been wanting a wallet lately. I'm not sure why, because he never keeps money long enough to need somewhere to store it and he has only one card, his library card, that would go into it. We searched a few thrift shops with no luck. Not too surprising that there were many women's wallets and no men's. The men get one and wear it out. The women replace it as the mood strikes. Anyway, after poking around online at other folks' handmade wallets, here is what I came up with:

Again, room for improvement, but it was my first effort at this, I was working without a firm set of directions, and I was committed to only using stuff I had on hand. So, for a prototype, I call it a win. My son would like some velcro or a snap to hold it shut, which is a good idea.

In Other News
It has been a crazy time in Wisconsin lately. The kids have been out of school since Wednesday while the teachers, and many others, have been protesting downtown. I think the governor is wrong about this bill and doubly wrong about his approach in forcing it through. I can accept that political decisions get made that aren't the ones I support: I can't accept an attempt to rush through something as complex and important as the items in this bill on less than a week's notice.

Kelebek Vest

2011-01-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

This complex-looking color pattern is a snap to memorize and knit. Shown in 9 colors. Charts are drawn from Anatolian Knitting Designs by Betsy Harrel. Worked in the round with steeks at front and armscyes.

Easy-fitting vest suitable for men or women. Allow 2-4 inches of wearing ease.

Sizes: S, M, L XL, 2X, 3X

Finished measurements approx. 32, 37.5, 42.5 48, 54, 59 inches

Harrisville Designs New England Shetland

Gauge: 27 stitches and 32 rows = 4" in Fair Isle stockinette

Needle size
US 3 - 3.25 mm
US 4 - 3.5 mm

Ravelry instant download link: $6 US
You do not need to be a Ravelry member to buy.

Kate Cardigan

2011-01-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

This feminine fitted cardigan has lace panels accenting the front, fitted sleeves, worked top down from body with short-row shaping on caps, and simple lace trim on hem and sleeves.

Shown in Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted Tweed

20 stitches and 26 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

Needle size
US 5 - 3.75 mm
US 7 - 4.5 mm

Yardage
1100 - 1800 yards (1006 - 1646 m)

Sizes available
Womens S, M, L [1X, 2X, 3X]; 36, 40, 44 [48, 52, 56]"

Ravelry Store link: Instant download $7.50 US
You do not need a Ravelry account to purchase.

General Housekeeping

2011-01-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

In the next couple of days I'll be adding several posts with Purchase Download links for patterns. These are patterns that appeared in Knitcircus over the last couple of years and I'm just now getting around to offering for sale here. Thanks for your patience with this process.

Moving Forward...

2011-01-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

Well, that's another year done with! When I stop and think about exactly what decade this is, I feel like a real old fart. Considering I turned 49 on my birthday in November, I guess that makes sense.

Since I last posted, I wove this scarf for Owen:

I'm still not very good at planning for how much extra warp thread it takes to get the finished length you want when weaving, so this is a bit shorter than I was hoping. But it is long enough to be a scarf.

I also finished knitting this scarf:

That's some chunky weight Noro Silk Garden I bought from a de-stashing sale last year. I tried a few different ideas with the yarn, and it seemed like entrelac was the only one that really worked. I'm not sure I'm the greatest fan of entrelac, but it is an addictive technique: just one more square...

I've also knit some socks, done some spinning, and made a little cowl-like thing from some hand spun yarn. That still needs a button and some finishing before I show the world.

In the past couple of weeks, I've suddenly (finally?) been struck with inspiration for new sweater patterns, which I hope to submit for publication. I knew that once I started to feel like my new lair was settled, like it had become my space, the gears would start turning. Still, it was uncomfortable when people would ask me if I was designing much lately.

I don't make resolutions, but I do have a few goals for 2011. I really hope we sell our old house this spring, as that would be a huge relief. I need to get Mr. SABLE to finish building my website and then get all my patterns available there. And I would like this to be the year I get a bit more serious about marketing myself to the knitting world.

Stay tuned!

December Updates

2010-12-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

I wonder if everyone takes as long as I do to feel at home in a new place. I suspect that on a bell curve of adaptability, I would fall toward the end of slow-to-adapt. That said, I feel like I'm getting there in our new house. I have my new lair just about set up and almost always know where to find stuff I need within an hour of starting the search. Of course, if I had less stuff, I could find things within a minute or two. I'm working on the "Less Stuff" goal, but it's slow progress.

On Saturday, Mr. SABLE and I made a quick trip out to St. Vincent's to see if there were any couches we could live with. Our couch and comfy chair from our other living room are in the family room here. The living room here has been a big empty space, with some of my equipment camped out in it, but no real comfortable place to sit. Until we sell our old house, it was out of the question that we would go buy new furniture. We found a couch we both really like, in good condition, at a good price. Suddenly, the living room feels more like home. Then I was keeping an eye on Craigslist for a small table to go in the dinette area of our kitchen. Monday evening, Owen and I went and got a nice round table and two chairs that works perfectly. $30 for the set. Those two purchases have done so much for my morale, I might actually tackle some of the random boxes stacked around in corners and such.

Even though there's been little action in the blog, I've been doing stuff to keep my hands busy. I did a fair amount of spinning this fall and a bit of weaving.

Here's a scarf I'll be giving to my mom for Decemberween/Giftmas/Festivus/what-have-you:

She only reads my blog if I send her an actual link to a post, like when I compose a rant I think she'd enjoy, so I think it's ok to post it here.

I also knit a scarf for my mother-in-law, whom I also believe does not read my blog.

This is from the book 60 Quick Knits, which features projects using Cascade 220. I used some mystery yarn I found in my stash. I believe it's a wool-dominant blend that came to me in a big thrift-shop grab bag more than 10 years ago. Mr. SABLE and I agreed the color was completely right for his mom, though I seem to get different results on the color every time I photograph it.

I also knit a blue ribbed watch cap for my mother-in-law's husband and, finally, after months of dormancy, fixed and finished a sweater I started to machine-knit for my dad in March. I just need to get some stuff packed up and taken to the post office and then brace myself for the two-week school vacation which is fast approaching!

This and That

2010-11-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a little knitting, though not much. I finished some plain green ribbed socks for me, started some purple and black socks for me, started a couple of hats, and I think there are few other things in progress right now. I don't have any new knitting pics today, though.

Last week I wove this scarf:

And a close up:

I used a hand-painted 100% merino sock yarn for the warp and a solid black 75% wool/25% nylon for the weft. I'm pleased with the resulting fabric, though I have still got a lot to learn about creating nice selvedges. In this case, I was trying so hard not to have my weaving draw in, I ended up with a lot of slop along the edges. Sooner or later I'll get that down.

Today I finally finished a shirt I started sewing several weeks ago. There's no reason that this should have taken more than two days, except that I think I was avoiding it out of fear that it would be a disappointment.

This fabric is a bit of a mystery to me. I think I bought it on a remnant heap somewhere, without any clue to fiber content. Since I know I paid next to nothing for it, it was kind of a test run for the pattern. I'm not entirely happy with the pattern and not sure I'd use it again. The front view looks ok, but the fit in the back is pretty sloppy. It's made to be a shirt-jacket and have enough ease to wear over other clothes, but even so, it's probably not the best choice for a woman with a lot of curves. It'll be a nice extra layer in transitional weather, so worth the effort of sewing it. But it's more for comfort than style.

Our cat Guy Noir had a close call with a car in mid-October. He spent nearly a week at the emergency animal hospital. He had broken his pelvis in two places, and the base of his tail. They did surgery to put a pin in his pelvis, to keep the worse of the two breaks in proper position for healing. He came home October 20, and is to be in confinement with minimal activity for 4 weeks. He has about 10 more days of confinement, then a slow re-introduction to normal activity.

That's the news here.

Proof of Activity!

2010-10-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I finished the weaving on the plaid pillows project. Now that I have it off the loom, I'm less certain about making it into throw pillows. The colors are awfully strong and I'm not sure they would fit in to many living spaces. I do like the resulting fabric: it has a nice weight and handle. I'm just not sure yet what it should ultimately become.

Some details:
Woven on my Ashford Rigid Heddle loom, with a 7.5 dent reed.
Used Tahki Cotton Classic, in blue, green, and yellow.
Finished weaving: about 20" x 68"

There are definitely a few screw ups and glitches, but it's all part of the learning process.

I stumbled on some mystery yarn in my lair the other day. It appears to be a wool/acrylic blend.

I think it's a color my mother in law would love. I'm making the Leaf Scarf by Mary Beth Temple from the book 60 Quick Knits. This is my kind of lace! Very easy to memorize and intuit and action only on the right side rows. I like the stability the garter stitch columns give the finished fabric and the way they contrast with the lace panels.

I also did a bit of spinning that defies photography. Seriously, this mini-hank must have a photographic deflector shield. It was an attempt to turn some crappy fiber into something better, but I wouldn't say it succeeded. Several years ago, my friend Fern and I bought a large lot of spinning fiber from a local spinner who needed to clear out her stash fast. There was a big batch that she told me was polypay and really only good for felting. After our move, I was looking at several large balls of purple roving from that stuff. I wondered, how bad could it be? I tried to spin some and instantly understood why she said that. It had a lot of little nups that were unsightly and frustrating. Then I wondered if I ran it through the drum carder with something else, would that help. Well, it did help, but probably not enough to be worth the trouble. I made a very wooly three-ply mini-skein from my sample bat. I'll knit a swatch out of it and decide then if it's worth pressing onward. Otherwise, I'll have a whole bunch of lavender-purple roving suitable for felting to give away.

More Words Than Pictures

2010-10-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while, eh?

I've been weaving a bit, knitting a bit, puttering in my fabric, thinking about piecing a quilt top, trying to establish a new lair in the new house.

Also, I had a small ventral incisional hernia repaired on Sept 14, which has healed up pretty well. Even relatively minor abdominal surgery can make you pretty uncomfortable for a bit. Mostly, I was tired, though. My mom came to help out for the surgery.

The very early morning of the day she left, we had a big hail storm, so since then I've been thinking about the roof, lining up the repairs, talking to the insurance company, finding out the bank's protocol for getting access to the money the insurer will be sending to pay for the roof. It turns out that on large claims, the check is made payable to both the home-owner and mortgage holder; I guess so I don't just pocket the money and not do the repairs. But it means the bank has hoops for me to jump through, too.

Also, since we still own our other house, which has generated very little interest in this very dead market, I've had a little money anxiety, too. I know how to be a tightwad, but we had gotten out of practice. And I must say, tightwaddery does not come naturally to my husband or kids.

So, we are very happy in our new house. I wouldn't say completely settled. When you have as much crap as we do, that takes a while. But getting there. The Little Guy is much happier at his new school. I think his new teacher is a much better fit for his personality than the one he had last year. Owen seems happy to live so close to his school and so many of his friends.

Owen took Driver Ed and got his learner's permit in August. That was pretty hair-raising (or greying?) at first, but he's doing pretty well at it now. He can get his actual driver's license in February when he turns 16.

Mr. SABLE succeed in obtaining a shitload of grant money for his employer, so his job security is pretty good these days. Even if this company doesn't make it (unlikely), having gotten these very large grants will look pretty impressive on his CV/resume.

So, that weaving up there... I was itching to get my loom warped with something colorful and easy. I really like the hand of the fabric I wove for my messenger bag in February. I dumped out a box of cotton yarns and picked out a few for a little attempt at plaid. These are Tahki Cotton Classic. I'm planning to make some throw pillows out of the yardage when I finish weaving it. I screwed up my intended pattern when warping, and didn't feel like backing up to fix it when I noticed the error, so now it's a design feature, as they say.

I've been knitting some socks, working on a (very dramatic) hat for Owen, spinning a bit more of the yarn in the previous post, and thinking about a project for that yarn. Also, early in the summer, sewed a plush microbe for the Little Guy, and have managed a few other small sewing projects along the way.

And now, we're into October. The school year is well under way: the kids are accepting the daily inevitability of it. Everyone's sleep is just about on a school year schedule. I've been doing little jobs for Knitcircus: photos, drawing schematics, and such. I hope to get focused on designing again, but for me, that takes a certain amount of solitude and time to let ideas percolate.

Stay tuned.

Out of Practice

2010-08-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

Both at blogging and at spinning.

This little test hank is navajo-plied Blue Faced Leicester Top, Color Plum Toast by Frabjous Fibers. I bought it at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool in Sept '09 and dug it out when I went rummaging for something fun to spin. I definitely had some issues (singles broke a few times while plying. Grrr) but on the whole I like it. I think the rest of the fiber will be fun to spin and make a luscious yarn.

New Pattern Preview Pics

2010-08-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some preview pics of my new pattern coming out in Knitcircus #11. The issue should go live on August 4 at Knitcircus.com.

Stone Henley
Men's sizes S-2X, 37-53" in 4" increments
Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort, 80% wool, 20% organic cotton

View from the back yard...

2010-07-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

This evening after dinner, Mr. SABLE told me that there was a hot air balloon passing over. I found my camera and snapped a quick picture. The camera gave me an error message: No Card. Back in the house and found the card.

Just in time.

In knitting news, today at Last Saturday Knitting I finished some socks I promised a fellow Raveler last spring. I hope to get those mailed in the next day or two. It was wonderful just to go to Last Saturday Knitting because last month we were so deep in the thick of things there was no way I could go. And I haven't made it to any late nights at The Sow's Ear in months, either.

Look for the new online issue of Knitcircus on Aug. 4. I have a pattern for men in there that I'm pretty pleased with. Teaser pics coming soon.

In non-knitting news, we are free of our off-site storage lockers for the first time in 5 years. It's amazing how much money we spent over that time keeping stuff. Some of the stuff was worth it, but a lot of it probably wasn't.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

2010-07-17T07:58:00.001-07:00

We've been insanely busy since the middle of June. We're mostly moved to the new house, but there's all kinds of stuff to sift through at the old house. A lot of it is junk, but not all, so it makes it hard to just shovel it all into the dumpster with wild abandon. Yes, we did get a dumpster.

Word to the wise: every five years pretend that you are going to move and go through your possessions ruthlessly.

We really do seem to be in the home stretch now, but there's an awful lot of stuff still left to deal with. So expect more dead air around here for at least a couple more weeks.

4th Annual Alt Knitting Camp

2010-06-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

In case any of you ever wanted to go to a knitting camp, but not The Knitting Camp, we still have 5 places left for this year.

Alt Knitting Camp will be held at Devil's Lake State Park, near Baraboo WI, July 12-14, 2010.

Here's a picture I took at the south beach yesterday.

Alt Knitting Camp features: No Big Fees! No Structured Classes! No Famous Knitting Personalities!

We come. We knit. We eat and drink and be merry. And make smores.

Send me a message if you want to join in the fun. Cost is $25 for the entire trip, which includes share of camping fees and all meals. Camping supplies available to borrow and/or share if necessary. No prior camping experience necessary.

Pictures This Time, But Not Knitting

2010-05-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

First year of these yellow irises our neighbor gave us in the fall. We planted them in the place where the big silver maple had been in the front yard.

While I was out taking pictures of the irises and peonies, I noticed one of the strawberries is just about ready! We're going to have a bumper crop. We'll have to make jam before we move.

A big opulent white peony with magenta trim on the petals, only in black and white.

Lambs ear

I love these siberian irises even more than the big showy ones. I hope we'll be able to find a happy spot for some in our new yard.

No photos, just words...

2010-05-24T20:51:00.001-07:00

A brief recap of things around here:
The little guy got sick and missed a nearly a whole week of school. Then he got better and I got sick.
No one is doing much toward our goal of moving in mid-June: I guess the panic hasn't hit yet.
Actually, I'm doing stuff, but most of it is stuff like emailing the lawyer or the mortgage guy.
And I'm placing Craigslist ads for a few things, like fancy wooden trains and old bikes.

I've been knitting some. One thing I'm working on is a pair of solid dark green 2x2 ribbed socks. And I'm making another entrelac scarf out of some bulky yarn I bought from a destashing sale. I honestly tried to come up with other things that yarn could be, but it really just wanted to be entrelac. And I realized I really really need to get my butt in gear on a sweater for the autumn Knitcircus. I got yarn support for this last year. I have a good start on it, but it's been sitting for a while. Fortunately, I was able to find my notes and pick up where I left off.

The kids are sailing into the end of the school year, with all that that entails. Field trips and recorder concerts and such for the little guy; preparing for finals and completing big end-of-year assignments for the big guy. And lots of bickering.

The weather turned very hot kind of suddenly, after a mostly cold, wet spring. Wisconsin isn't a state of moderation, I guess.

Tomorrow I'll try to get some pictures together. There are lots of things blooming and sprouting in the garden.

Third Time's a Charm?

2010-05-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

This entrelac scarf is the third go-around for this yarn. I think it's finally done. Well, I mean, I'm done with it. This is the crappy iPhone pic of it blocking on the porch on a grey rainy day.

The yarn is Rowan Tapestry, which really doesn't like to get frogged. I think I had two balls of it.

The entrelac squares were eight stitches wide.

I think I worked on US #6 needles.

Who da thunk it?

2010-04-27T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've never been interested in making knitted or crocheted toys. Never really got the appeal of amigurumi, either. Or maybe, especially.

But yesterday, the younger son and I were looking at LOLcats and there was an ad on the site that featured an amigurumi octopus. Well, they said it was a squid, but it only had four legs, so who knows what it was. My son says, "Hey, look at that cute octopus! I want one!" and I said (foolishly), "I could make one of those." He replied, "Today? Can you do it today?" Well, then I was in over my head. I searched the toy patterns on Ravelry and found this one. I had some Cascade 220 Superwash around from an aborted sweater design last year.

A few hours of tight crocheting later, it's done.

Pattern: Tiny Octopus, by Takara
Hook: size H
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, in a turquoise blue
Eyes are black pony beads

Notes: Pretty simple little project for anyone who can do single crochet. Hard on your wrists to work so tightly if you're prone to carpal tunnel troubles.

Dale Harriet in Multnomah

2010-04-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today at Last Saturday Knitting, I gave Dale Harriet her new Multnomah shawl. Doesn't it suit her perfectly?

Not a Boomerang

2010-04-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

That thing from the last post is growing and doesn't look so much like a boomerang any more. It's a Multnomah Shawlette, with one modification. I'm making more repeats of the feather and fan part than the pattern specifies, to make it more like a shawl and less like a scarf.

I can't decide how hard to block this once I get it off the needles. I'm thinking not as vigorously as I would block lace that's all based on stockinette stitch.

This is a quick and fun little knit. I'm embarrassed to admit that I did need to restart the feather and fan section after I was about 4 repeats in. The second time through, my hands and brain were working together and I became able to do it on autopilot.

Spring Updates

2010-04-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

I finished these socks last night, though I still need to darn in ends and give them a little wash. It's a simple twisted rib stitch on the leg and top of foot. I think there are patterns out there for the same thing, though I didn't use one. The yarn is Turtle Feet by Turtle Cove Farm. I really enjoyed working with it. Nice saturated color and a pleasingly dense fabric on US #1 needles.

This morning I cast on for this thing. No, it's not a boomerang. I think I'll be giving it away when I finish it, as I know a person who it will suit perfectly. Stay tuned.

Out in the yard, lots of stuff is in bloom!

I want to know why "pansy" was an old-time insult for a man who was considered weak. These pansies apparently overwintered in Wisconsin! These are tough flowers! They might be the toughest annuals around. Don't be messin' with pansies.

All we can think of is that we had an early and thick snow cover that stayed there all winter, thus protecting them from a deep freeze. Our soil seems to have warmed up much earlier this year than it has in many previous years, so I think it never froze as deep or hard as it would in a typical winter, even though our temperatures were fairly typical.

Mr. SABLE is off in Phoenix this week. The boys and I are doing ok so far, but it's only been one day.

Evidence of Knitting

2010-03-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

A Sweater For My Dad

I'm most of the way done with this Grandpa Sweater for my dad. I'm machine knitting it on my LK-150. Jo Sharp DK Classic in color Muscat, which is a very dark purple-ish. I picked up stitches around the armscye to work down to the cuff with short row shaping. Unfortunately, I think I did too many short rows and it creates a bit of a puff sleeve, which isn't a good look for a 74 year old man. Hmm. His birthday is today. I kind of wanted to have this done to send along with Owen when he flies out there tomorrow, but if I redo it, I'll need at least three more days. Well, crap.

A Sock

I frogged the sock I started from this yarn and am doing this one instead. I had been doing another pair of my Making Waves socks and it was turning out pretty well. But I screwed up a bit at knitting group and when I tried to undo a few rows, the twisted stitches refused to cooperate. That was at the February Last Saturday Knitting. This new sock is just a simple twisted stitch rib. I'm pleased so far.

In Other News
The SABLE clan is preparing to move to a bigger house in Madison. There's a lot to do and will be a fair amount of waiting and stressing before it all comes together. If posts get even thinner on the ground than they have been, that's why!

All the News

2010-03-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

I guess my blog posts are kind of thin on the ground these days, eh?

I have been knitting. I'll try to get some pictures in a bit. I'm making a machine knit sweater for my dad, some socks, some handwarmers, a men's sweater for a future Knitcircus... I think that's all the current projects.

But the big news is, we have made and had accepted an offer on a house and plan to move in June. When I look around at all the stuff we own and all the chaos, I can't quite imagine how we're going to pull this off. But we will. The house is very convenient to all kinds of stuff: all the schools, Mister SABLE's work, many shopping options, and most of Owen's friends. It's generously-sized and will give us a bit of breathing room. We'll have a real family room!

Spring has come to Madison this last week or so. Of course, we'll have a brief return to winter this weekend, but still, I'm encouraged that the snow pack we had since December pretty much vanished in last week's warm rain/fog misery. And we've had abundant sunshine and warm days so far this week, so the mud is drying out.

In early December, right before the first big blizzard that kicked off the winter, the little guy had lost an iPod in the yard. We looked for it that night, but in the dark without a real clue as to where it might be, it was hopeless. We weren't even positive it was lost in our yard, but retracing our steps of that night did no good. Then the snow came and we assumed that even if we found it, it would be toast. When the snow pack was mostly melted, he went out looking for it in the yard. He was about to give it up as hopeless, but glanced over toward our neighbor's fence line and saw something orange. BINGO. We dried it out overnight in a baggie of dry rice. Plugged it in to charge the next day and it works just fine.

Now I must start the phone calls and other details. Phone the mortgage guy. Phone the storage place. Phone a house inspector. And begin the purge. I might even do some yarn give-aways: we'll see.

Finished Bag!

2010-03-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

Today's mail brought a little padded mailer in record time. It contained the hardware I needed to finish this bag.

The elusive hardware:

It to doesn't look like much, but it was easier and faster to order these things online than to find them locally. I highly recommend Strapworks for all your webbing and hardware needs like this. Awesome fast service, reasonable rates, reasonable shipping rates! They are going to be my go-to-first place from here on out.

What I needed and couldn't find locally: rectangular loops. Yeah. Something that basic. Also, while I was at it, I bought some metal slides because I thought they would look better and last longer than the plastic ones I found at Hancock Fabrics.

Interior view before finishing

The bag is a bit smaller than I first envisioned it. I didn't figure on the weaving drawing in quite as much as it did. I did learn a thing or two about how not to handle the lining, but that's ok. It worked out. There are some sloppy sections inside, but the public side is fine. All in all, I'm quite pleased with this project and it was nice to weave something other than a scarf.

Actual Knitting Content!

2010-02-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

I've been knitting a bit! I'm making another pair of my Making Waves socks using this wonderful yarn I bought at YarnCon in the fall.

It's Turtle Cove Farm's Turtle Feet; colorway Standing on the Shore.

This yarn is really wonderful to knit with and the colors are so deep and enchanting, I feel like I'm snorkeling on a coral reef, not standing on the shore.

I also decided to take out an earlier effort to make the best of this Rowan Tapestry.

First it was a simple garter stitch scarf, knit the long way. Then, it started to become an oversize entrelac. Now, I've decided on just a normal-scaled entrelac pattern and I hope to never frog it again. This yarn really likes to stick to itself, so it's a bad candidate for frogging.

And there's been some weaving.

This is a piece of cotton cloth from which I'm going to sew a messenger bag. I had a cone of 8/8 cotton (knits at worsted weight) hanging around a while. The black stripes are Tahki Cotton Classic. I'm still thinking through all the details of the bag construction, so stay tuned for that.

Have you all noticed (well, Northern Hemisphere Dwellers, that is) that the days are getting longer? I'm eager for spring this year, even though there might be a lot of upheaval for us. We're hoping to buy a bigger house, still staying in the Madison area. We've been in this house for 13 years, which is longer than I have lived in any one place in my whole life. I'll add that I am not the only one in the family with pack-rat tendencies, and you can imagine what we're up against. Getting a loan? Piece of cake. Packing and moving? That's another thing altogether.

Spin Spun, Almost Done

2010-02-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

A non-spinner would probably be unimpressed with this photo. A little pile of natural brown yarn? Big deal.

Well, yeah. It's about 420 grams of fingering weight 3-ply yarn that I've been spinning on and off over the course of nearly 2 years. Is that nuts or what? Of course, I've done a lot of other stuff along the way.

Right now I'm trying to decide if I should keep going on this and get a whole sweater's worth done, or if I should use it with a natural white fingering weight factory-spun yarn and make a nice Faroese-style stranded design.

Here's the obligatory coin shot. Hmm. I'm leaning toward a nice two-color stranded design because it would be fun to spin some of the other fibers that have been building up in the last two years.

In Other News
I've resigned from my position at Knitcircus. It's been an incredible learning experience for me and lots of fun along the way. My family is hoping to move to a bigger house this spring/summer (the grant-gods, willing) and we have a lot of work to do to make that happen; like, 2 full time job's worth of cleaning, sorting, purging, and packing for at least several months. And I think my kids need some more of my attention than they've been getting. The younger son has had behavioral issues at school and at home that I can't continue to gloss over. I'll still be helping out with Knitcircus here and there: maybe doing some of the photos, definitely designing an occasional pattern. Stay tuned!

Dr Science Zipped Jacket

2010-01-31T20:16:00.000-08:00

While knitting this ~~cardigan~~ er, jacket, I learned that if you call it a "cardigan" men won't wear it. Now, I think, historically, there's been nothing particularly feminine about the word "cardigan." I even think it sounds kind of masculine. I think that's why people use the cutesie term "cardi" for ones that women wear: to make it sound more feminine.

So, yeah. This garment opens in the front and has a zipper to keep it closed, so go with jacket or cardigan as you prefer.

The pattern is now available through Knitcircus #9, . Click on the little flipping-page magazine thing to see the nifty online virtual paper version! The patterns are available for purchased download in a complete set for $7.50. Current subscribers will be getting a notification about where to download the pdf.

Specs on the Dr. Science Zipped Jacket
Written for sizes S-2X; Finished chest measurements 36 [40, 44, 48, 52]"
Suggested yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool. Lots of great and easy substitutions available, too.

Still More Weaving

2010-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

If I keep this up, I might start losing the knitting fan base, eh?

This is a simple houndstooth check scarf for Mr. SABLE

And a closer view:

I used black Jaggerspun Maine Line, a 2/8 fingering weight wool yarn, and Knit Picks Palette in a medium grey. I used a 10 dent heddle on my rigid heddle loom, which seemed a bit too open in the weaving. I fulled the scarf slightly in the washing machine, which gave it a nice body.

Finished size: about 7" wide by about 7' long. This was a fun and super easy weaving project. It took less than 24 hours from warping the loom to finished.

New Years Eve Weaving

2010-01-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I warped the loom for this project and was done weaving and was fulling it a bit when 2010 came through Madison. A new scarf for the new year.

Weaving Geek Details
66 ends
7.5 dpi reed on Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom

Warp
Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, colors 111 Plumberry and N80S Mountain Purple, less than 50 grams each
Pomfret Mark II Sport yarn (ancient!) Brick Heather, about 15 yards

Weft
Pomfret Mark II Sport Yarn (also ancient) Grape: just over 1 50 gram ball

I really love this scarf!

Road Trip to Hartford WI

2009-12-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

Today I met up with my knitting buddies, Kathy and Sue, plus meeting two new folks, Patrice from Beaver Dam and Lois from Waukesha. We met for lunch and knitting at the Perk Place in Hartford WI. This delightful coffee shop is next door to The Main Street Yarn Shop and two doors up from a big St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop. It doesn't get much better than that, if you ask me!

Here's the yarn shop:

It's a wonderful shop with comfy places to sit, a nice selection of yarns, and a very friendly owner. If you find yourself up that way, plan to stop in.

Winding Down 2009

2009-12-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

We are about half way through the winter break from school. Having cleared Christmas, we have cleared the worst of it with our kids and their seasonal craziness. Mr. SABLE is taking this week off from work, so we have a lot of unstructured time, which can be both good and bad.

Earlier this year, I accepted a meme on Facebook: agree to make a handmade something for someone, and they agree to reciprocate, sometime before the end of 2009. I'm getting down to the wire on 2009, eh? I keep getting ideas of things that would be fun to make, but then, talking myself out of actually doing them, thinking the recipients won't like the result. Finally, I just had a moment of inspiration and made these handwarmers for my friend Leslie:

They are from Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport, color Monument Green. US #3 double point needles. It's a very simple twisted stitch. The pair weighs 28 grams, so you could definitely get a pair out of one ball. I was working off a cone that Heather at The Sow's Ear bought for me on deep deep deep discount. It's nice to have friends who manage yarn stores. Although the finished mitts are extremely similar to an existing pattern, I'm probably going to write mine up and make it available free. I use a different number of stitches and have a different thumb treatment from the existing pattern.

In Weaving News
Owen wanted to make a project on my loom after he saw my first scarf. (See previous post.) I had a bad feeling that he wouldn't really have the follow-through for something so contemplative and repetitive. It's not that I want him to fail, but I've seen him start a lot of fiber-related projects over the years and never complete any.

We warped the loom with some sport weight acrylic yarn I had acquired along with a larger batch of cones of wool yarns. Sure enough, Owen lost interest after about 2". I took over so that I could free up my loom for my projects and get some practice, too. By the end, my selvedges were much more even.

Here's Mr SABLE modeling the finished scarf:

Even though it's baby-melting acrylic, I still think it turned out pretty nice.

I hope you all are enjoying the last few days of 2009. We have abundant sunshine today, but cold. It's nice to look out at the fresh snow sparkling on the ground from a warm vantage point indoors.

Now With Weaving!

2009-12-15T13:51:00.001-08:00

It's not like I needed One More Thing To Do and it's not like I needed One More Piece of Equipment, but I finally caved in to a little urge that's been lying dormant for 30 years, but giving me occasional little nudges. I used my birthday money and bought an Ashford 32" Rigid Heddle Loom and stand. Yesterday I warped it for a simple scarf and today I took my first piece off the loom.

It's not anywhere close to perfect, but not nearly as flawed as I feared it might be while I was working on it.

The warp yarn is Knit One, Crochet Too Parfait, in a kind of dusky lavender color. The weft is Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worsted in a rich dark purple. These pics show it before I washed it, and the flash gave the yarn a sheen it doesn't really have. It's soaking right now, and with a little luck, I'll be able to get some natural light pics soon.

In other news, last week, while Mr. SABLE was in San Diego, we had about 15" of snow. It was a record-breaking snow event for Madison. The kids had Wednesday off from school and everything ground to a halt. Mr. SABLE had parked his car in the surface lot at the airport, thereby saving his company a whopping $2 a day over the cost of the garage, so Wednesday night after we were plowed out, we went out to the airport, found his car, dug it out, and then stayed to meet his plane. Remarkably, it was only about 40 minutes late.

In knitting news, I had to make another handspun wool/alpaca hat for Mr. SABLE because Owen claimed the first one for himself. Owen tried to claim the replacement, too, but I think he got told a thing or two.

First Snowfall

2009-12-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got our first real stick-to-the-ground snowfall of the season. Here's the little guy preparing for a run at our nearby sledding hill.

And here are some galls.

These are both iPhone pics, so not great as far as photography goes.

Mr. SABLE's gone to San Diego until Wednesday evening. Should be an interesting couple of days ahead.

Handspun Hat for Mr. SABLE

2009-11-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

And just in time, too, as it's downright wintery feeling out there today. There's a brisk wind and an occasional snowflake or two blowing past.

So this just a simple watchcap, 108 sts, k1 p1 ribbing, on US #3 needles. The yarn is three ply wool and alpaca blend that I spun with a hat in mind, about 150 yards/50 grams. It used maybe 60 grams.

As usual when we are all home together, tempers are thin. I promise that when my kids grow up and find Significant Others and announce that they will be spending holidays with the families of those SOs, I will very gratefully say, "Go! Have a great time!" and then I will eat pizza for Thanksgiving dinner and spend the day knitting and spinning. And I will enjoy the silence.

Watchcap in Progress

2009-11-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

This is Mr. SABLE's handspun wool/alpaca watchcap, about 6" along. I'm using #3 needles, 108 sts, just k1, p1 ribbing. He likes a nice generous fold-up brim.

This is probably a first for me in my spinning: spinning a specific yarn for a specific immediate goal, then actually starting the knitting right away. It's a very cushy yarn, mostly. If he doesn't like it, I know I will.

I also recently finished a sweater for him, but I have to keep that one under wraps for a while. But I'm really pleased with the fit and final result.

Happy Thursday

2009-11-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided to make some inroads on the spinning fiber backlog. In the spring I bought a Louet Julia spinning wheel (second wheel for me) and I was never as happy with it as I hoped I would be. Finally, I sent it in to Louet America and they did find a few things to fix. It does run more smoothly than it did, but honestly, I'm not sure I'm ever going to love this wheel. The bobbin vibrates a lot while I spin. The shaft is only supported at one end and there's a lot of play in the bearing that mounts it to the upright. I told this to the Louet people, but I don't think any of the stuff they fixed had to do with this area. Anyway, the technician there proclaimed it "spinning fine now" and sent it back. So, it came back earlier this week and I decided to give it a trial run.

I had some alpaca roving that was frustrating me and decided to give myself permission to not carry on with it as it was. It was kind of sticky, and clumpy, and there were sections of short cuts. I just couldn't get in a rhythm with that fiber. I decided to blend it with some wool from Brown Sheep mill ends I bought a few years ago. My mill ends are a thick rope of natural white roving with a thinner rope of black running along with it. I stripped off some of the white, to balance the ratios more toward The Dark Side and blended it with the charcoal grey alpaca. The resulting batts were a joy to spin.

This is a 50 gram-ish sample skein of my yarn. I'm guessing sport weight. I still need to wash it and let it hang. And do all the quantifying. But I like it. I think it'll be a nice soft watch cap for Mr. SABLE.

Field Trip!

2009-11-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

Today was a glorious fall day and Jaala and I took a little field trip. I'm doing an article for the next Knitcircus about Rainbow Fleece Farm, outside of New Glarus WI, for our series on small scale yarn and fiber sources.

We then went up to Mt. Horeb where we ate a delicious lunch at The Sommer House Cafe, after which we mosied down the street to Dane County's newest yarn and fiber shop, The Cat and Crow (no website).

Co-owner Mo Brown

The Cat and Crow specializes in locally grown and/or fair trade products. Right now, most of the yarn comes from co-owner Mo Brown's own sheep. Mo dyes yarn and roving, and will be getting a nice dye studio space in the back room of the shop soon. The Cat and Crow also carries some yarn and supplies that are neither locally produced nor fair trade. When they sell these items, they give a percentage of each sale to a local cause. If you are looking for a special yarn that you might only find in Wisconsin, check it out!

Miscellaneous

2009-11-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

I finally took a few pics of the yarn I bought at YarnCon. Better late than never, eh?

This is the Turtle Cove Farm sock yarn, colorway: Standing on the Shore. It makes my feet serene just looking at it!

This is Sophie's Toes worsted weight; colorway: He Saw Her Across a Smoky Bar. I bought three generous skeins of this, so can make something bigger than a hat and smaller than a sweater... Hmm.

Here are some Halloween pics:

Owen had a very ambitious project in mind. This is as far as we got by the Halloween deadline. He's a character from a video game, Assassin's Creed 1, named Altair. Altair normally carries a lot of weapons and such, wandering around 12th century Jerusalem. I figure a 6', deep-voiced kid showing up at houses asking for treats shouldn't look too threatening. The younger brother wore the same bat suit as last year. I didn't get a picture of him because he was already out the door when I got back from taking Owen to his friend's house.

On the whole, I think trick or treating is dying out.

This is the little guy's Jack O Lantern kitty face. He grew the pumpkin in the back yard. It turned out to be a little ooky inside, but that's ok. The inside doesn't show.

These two pumpkins were Owen's. He had planned to make what he called a Steam Punk-in, but the steam engine didn't make enough power to keep the LED lit. Alas. Scott bought the skull at Walgreens and put an LED hooked to a battery in one eye socket. The little guy put a rubber eye in the other socket. I decided to photoshop it all up a bit.

Happy November 1. Don't forget to reset your clocks!

Some Autumn Entrelac?

2009-10-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of a scarf from some yarn I spun maybe a year and a half ago. It's softer to the touch than it looks. Blue-faced Leicester. I can't decide if I like this enough to go forward with it. But I don't dislike enough to stop and frog. Oh me, oh my.

This is an experiment: making one oversized entrelac motif down a scarf. It's Rowan Tapestry, which I recycled from a sideways-knit scarf that really never made me happy. I'm not sure this is working for me, either.

I've got to get out of my cave more. Look what's right out my back door:

And this is out front:

Making Waves Socks

2009-10-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

These socks will be in the next Knitcircus, Issue #8, which should be arriving in Madison for mailing to all of you around the first of November.

Size: Men's L. Fits approx size 10 shoe.
Needles: US #1. Use 0's for a snugger fit through ankle.
Yarn: shown in a vintage sock yarn from my stash. Cascade Heritage Solids would be a good moderately-priced substitution.

A fun pattern with a simple twist pattern. Suitable for someone moving up from the most basic socks to a bit more of a challenge.

YarnCon, Chicago

2009-10-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

In spite of my ongoing good intentions, I have to say, I'm not winning any Consistent Blogger Awards these days.

Knitcircus went to YarnCon 2009 and had a great time!

This is our cute little booth, or should I say, table. We were well-positioned in the line of sight from the entrance to the first room.
YarnCon is a small-ish fiber/yarn festival that meets annually in Chicago at the Pulaski Field House, just northwest of downtown. It's a cool old late 19th century (I'm guessing) building in the Bucktown neighborhood. The room we were in had this interesting mural surrounding the stage:

It should get bigger if you click the picture.

There were 35 vendors, most of them small or micro-businesses. There was a lot of hand-painted yarn and spinning fiber, a lot of knitting accessories, some folks who ran actual yarn shops, a surprisingly good food vendor, and a good time over all.

Click here to see a craptacular panorama I stuck together from three iPhone pictures.

Here are three of my fellow Rubberneckers on Ravelry. From left to right, CyberFiber, eryn, Ogirl.

This was an interesting community art project:

Yarnies were invited to sit a spell and knit or crochet on to the skirt, as they wished.
Another view of the same:

For Knitcircus, it was a good show. We connected with a lot of folks who knew of us a little and were curious. And a lot more who had never heard of us and seemed favorably impressed.

After the show, we had a little comedy of errors with our dinner rendez-vous plans. It all worked out in the end, but the take-home lessons were a. get cell phone numbers before you split up and b. do your restaurant research before you leave home.

Weekend Update

2009-10-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

In addition to the Great Pumpkin on the front step, there are a few more nice big pumpkins out back. And then there's these strange things.

These are snake gourds. Owen planted them. I think he and Scott were expecting some small decorative gourds we could put in the middle of the table or in a bowl, or something, you know, decorative. I think they look a little menacing. Like maybe they could have been used as props in Dr Who circa 1966? One vine climbed right up the apple tree and grew its gourd there, hanging. Seriously, it's as big as a baseball bat.

I've been puttering away on knitting that I can't show you yet. So, you get phallic snake gourds, instead.

Today, Jaala hosted the Knitcircus Hat Event. It was a great success! We had a bunch of volunteers come to cut and sew and cranked out about 35 hats and 20 no-sew scarves in 2 hours. We had a hat that a knitter in California mailed to us, too.

The past couple weeks have been a bit busy, some good and some bad. We've had the little guy to Urgent Care twice. We've had sick days. Car appointments. School events. Other volunteer events. Last Saturday Knitting and Friday Late Night knitting. Between all this, I've got about 85% of the next Knitcircus pasted in and formatted. I think tomorrow I'll get to sit and breathe for a while. Oh, yeah, and catch up on laundry and go grocery shopping.

600th Post!

2009-09-27T09:40:00.001-07:00

It's just a funny coincidence that I even noticed that this is an even-hundreds post. Considering how ambivalent I was about the whole blogging thing before I started, I'd say that's some kind of a milestone.

That pumpkin up there was grown by my younger son in our back yard. It's a magnificent, perfect pumpkin.

Knitcircus Hat Event

Saturday, Oct 3, 2-4 p.m.
Jaala's House on the west side of Madison
(contact jaala@knitcircus.com to RSVP and get directions)

We'll be stitchin' (and not too much bitchin') to keep school kids warm. Come sew hats from fleece fabric (or knit and crochet hats if you prefer). Snacks and goodies provided, plus I think Jaala has some door prizes and other fun planned. If you want to take your hats with you to donate to your local school, that's fine. We'll be donating to various Madison public elementary schools, to be distributed to kids in need.

What to bring
Your sense of humor! Sewing machine, scissors and/or rotary cutter and mat, thread, polar fleece fabric, easy hat patterns.
We will have a bunch of supplies to share, so if you arrive with just your sense of humor, that's fine!

Meanwhile, get free pdf instruction sheets for two quick easy polar fleece hats
Half Hour Hat (shown above)
Cozy Dome Hat

See you then!

Long Time, No Post

2009-09-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

And even in spite of the passage of weeks, I'm afraid it'll be a No Photo Post.

School started on Sept 1. Of course, the first couple weeks were a bit abbreviated and I spent way too much time alternately playing domestic catch-up and navel-gazing. I also did some knitting for the next Knitcircus, but I'm not supposed to show you that stuff just yet. Yesterday I had all good intentions of great productivity, and even planned to go out and get some nature pics in the gorgeous fall weather, but I went back to bed for a bit after the kids went to school. Then I was putzing around online, and next thing I knew, the school day was almost over.

So, now we're far enough into the school year, that I should be settling into the New Normal any day now.

What I have been doing the last couple days is getting a project together for a Knitcircus event the first weekend in October. We're planning to make a couple very quick and easy fleece hat sewing patterns available and have a charity Hat Drive at Jaala's house. Our plan is to donate the hats to area elementary schools. Even though Madison enjoys a generally high standard of living, with relatively low unemployment, many area elementary schools have significant numbers of children who receive free or reduced lunch. Whether because of poverty or parental flakiness, or both, a lot of kids show up at school without adequate warm clothing for a Wisconsin winter. At first we thought about a charity knitting event, but realized that we could sew a stack of warm hats much faster than we could knit even one. Of course, folks are welcome to come and knit to participate, but the sewing machines will be humming. And if you can't sew, you can always cut rectangles of fleece fabric for those who do sew. Details will be forthcoming soon. To sign up for Knitcircus updates, join our Yahoo group.

About That Entrelac Hat...

2009-08-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

This post is to answer Ruth's question, asked in the comments of the post Et Voila.

Use US #2 double points. Cast on 120 stitches. Work ribbing for about a half inch.
Set up base triangles: work the base triangles following your favorite entrelac tutorial. You will be making 15 base triangles, 8 stitches each.

When you get to the end, begin making squares, heading back over the round just completed, the opposite direction. Again, consult your favorite entrelac tutorial.

Note: it really helps to teach yourself to knit backwards, that is, with the right side always facing you. It will feel awkward for a short while, but save you a ton of time in the long run.

Make three full sets of squares.

Make a round of triangles to fill the gaps. When you finish with all this, you should still have 120 stitches.

I wanted the top of my hat to lie fairly flat. I knit 2 together, 12 times evenly around, every third or fourth round. I staggered the placement of the decreases to minimize the effect of spokes. When I got to 12 remaining stitches, k2tog around leaving 6 stitches. Break yarn, leaving a 12" tail and use tapestry needle to pass tail through last 6 sts twice. Draw tight and secure to inside.

I blocked by draping damp hat over a medium sized plate positioned over a small pitcher. The plate held the top flat and the entrelac section just hung dry.

Those with smaller heads could try making 13 eight-stitch squares instead of 15, casting on 104 sts.

Happy knitting!

Some Pictures

2009-08-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

The vacation sock. This pair will probably be for my dad when done. It's a Regia yarn I bought on deep discount somewhere.

This is some yarn I spun this summer. I'm not entirely happy with it, but the worst flaws don't show in this picture. Coincidentally, the colorway is very similar to some roving I got in a swap earlier this summer, but I believe they are from different sources.

This is our top secret swimming place in NH. It was a gorgeous hot afternoon when I took this, yet we were the only ones there. Of course, right after I took the picture, a bunch of other people came.

Playing Catch-up

2009-08-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the vacation is done. Some highlights include meeting Poops, swimming in our favorite top-secret pond, seeing my parents. Some low points include cleaning up kid-barf twice, getting up at ungodly hours both to go there and to come home, and trying to referee nasty behavior between my kids while we were there.

I only took a couple pictures and wasn't too thrilled with the few I took.

While there, I made many inches of progress on a sock, including the part that has the heel, and some progress on a cardigan for the Mister.

Since we've gotten home, I've done some spinning, a bit of knitting, a lot of yelling at my kids, got both kids' school registrations settled, and have mostly been ticking down the time until the morning of September 1.

Public Service Announcement
If you are within a half a day's drive of Madison and could welcome an adult cat into your home, please let me know. A friend of mine suddenly needs to re-home her cats on short notice.

And a slightly amusing non-sequitor...
I phoned our family doc's office today to schedule well-visits for both boys. I've been flaky about this and they are both overdue. The receptionist told me that they were booking quite far out. No surprise: she's a popular doctor. I mentioned that the appointments didn't need to be together and in fact, would prefer them to come separately. She offered a date in late October for Owen. I said fine. Then she offered another date a few days later for the little guy. I said fine, and wrote that down. Then she thanked me for being easy! She said usually the caller wants appointments for next week, and they have five kids, and they want them all seen on one visit. She was really genuinely tickled to deal with someone who said, "October 21? Great!"

Leaving, On a Jet Plane...

2009-08-14T10:54:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow a.m. (at an obscenely early time), my kids and I are flying to NH for a visit with my folks. I'm not sure if I'll post from there. I'll be back on the 21st.

Mr. SABLE will hold down the fort here, feeding the cats, the fish, the gerbil, and the hermit crabs... did I forget anyone?

Be good for Mr. SABLE while I'm gone: I don't want any bad reports of mischief!

Et Voila!

2009-08-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I might become an entrelac convert, but only in a limited way. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, first attempt at a fiddly new technique and all.

I don't think I can stand to write a pattern for this because I sure don't want to talk anyone else through Entrelac 101. And in the round, at that. But if you already know how to do it or can handle looking up a tutorial on your own, I'll probably make a rough guideline to making a similar hat. But not a word-by-word pattern. Because I surely don't want to hear about it when it goes wrong, which it's likely to do!

Some Details
Yarn: Mini Mochi, 1 50 gram ball. I can't find the ball band for the colorway right now.
Needles: US #2 double points.
Size: pretty darn big: it fits my head!

Never Say Never

2009-08-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

There's one knitting technique I have always said did not interest me. I didn't particularly like the result most of the time and the effort involved seemed way too fiddly for my taste. Well, after 20 years of saying I'm not going there, guess what?

I'm going there.

I think it's going to be pretty sloppy, but it's my first time with entrelac and in the round, too. It's all because of this darn Mini-Mochi yarn. Stay tuned.

In other news
The Gourmet Schmores Alt Knitting Camp was a rousing success! We had a few last minute cancellations and two no-shows, so our standing line was, "You're eating for 12!" And eat we did! The weather cooperated, the campers were in good spirits, the food was abundant, and the knitting progressed.

Kathy gave me this nifty little thing:

Inside view:

It's an Altoid tin she covered with polymer clay, then filled with all the knitting essentials! And she thought of everything! Little pen, little tape measure, stitch markers, darning needles, nail clippers, emergency yarn, and a little bitty knitting needle with a crochet hook on the other end that she made. I'm impressed! Thanks Kathy.

As we head through the rest of August, blog posts might continue to be sparse. I'm going to NH with my boys in a week or so, then we'll be careening into the school year! (YES!) But come September, lets hope I can get back into the spirit of it.

Some Teasers of Upcoming Attractions!

2009-07-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here are my contributions to the upcoming Knitcircus: Issue #7! We expect to be mailing out issues to subscribers and yarn shops the first week in August! Stay tuned.

The Sivas Pullover

The Pooled Pebbles Scarf

Fountain Lace Scarf

We're Keeping the Cat!*

2009-07-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

(Click pic for bigger image)

This summer we've been befriending this cat, whom we've dubbed Guy Noir. He has half a tail, a tough-guy swagger, and a heart of gold. On Monday we got him to the vet and had him neutered and since then, he's showing all signs of being a great pet. He's still pretty jittery and rarely relaxes completely. But he's getting there. He prefers to spend his nights outside still, but I expect that to change in the fall when it starts to get chilly at night.

In other news, I've been working on getting Knitcircus #7 ready for the printers between battles on the domestic front. It's all coming together nicely!

Don't forget, Alt Knitting Camp happens August 2-4, at Devil's Lake State Park, campsite #110. We still have room for 6 more overnight campers, and day visitors are welcome, especially if they bring some goodies to share with the pack! Just email me at elizabethmorriso (at) gmail (dot) com.

*The Ravelry Rubberneckers will understand what this means.

Some Spinning, Some Garden Pics, and a Broken Appliance

2009-06-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

First off, this brown yarn hanging out to dry on the clothesline is part of a very long term project to make myself a sweater from my own handspun.

This is three-ply, probably something like sport weight, and I think (would have to dig in my archives to verify), from a merino/romney cross fleece. This fiber came to me in a tremendous Craigslist deal a couple years ago. (Was it actually that long?) I'm sure this will be a very favorite sweater when I eventually finish it. But it's a lot of plain brown spinning.

This is a 7 gram mini skein of two ply yarn from Sarah's yearling lamb Spooky.

I bought this fleece from Sarah's recent sale. I have a bit to learn about processing a raw fleece for spinning, but I'm excited about this. It is next-to-the-skin soft! I'll probably make a nice three-ply yarn out of it eventually.

Next up, a bunch of nice flower images, taken over the last couple of weeks.

And finally, a broken appliance:

This is what a washing machine looks like without the big rectangular shell. Last week mine started making an ominous noise and yesterday I realized that it was no longer spinning out the water. It pumped out the water that sank to the bottom, but it was hard work moving all that sodden laundry out. I decided to hang it on the line, rather than stress my dryer because I think the dryer is next to go. Mr SABLE, being the handy guy he is, ordered the necessary part online last night, and should get it working by Wednesday or Thursday of the coming week. There might be one laundromat run in my near future.

Tempis Fugit and all that...

2009-06-20T08:46:00.001-07:00

I feel like I'm so far behind, I must be ahead, or something...

Anyway, I've been knitting, but I can't show you that stuff quite yet.

I've been muddling along. Trying to keep the most basic of needs met for my family: clean clothes, milk in the fridge, and something to eat every evening around 6:00.

School ended June 12. My folks popped in for a quick visit last weekend. Owen left for a school trip on Monday. We helped out a friend with her day care crunch on Tuesday and Wednesday (her son gets on well with my younger one, in general). Took the little guy to the dentist on Thursday. Skipped book group Thursday evening. Went to the airport late Thursday night to pick up Owen. Found out the plane was delayed due to weather. Found out the plane returned to its last departure point when it couldn't land in Madison. Found out the plane would not, in fact, arrive in Madison until 8:30 the following morning. Then, left the airport around 12:30 a.m. Friday, drove through some of the most scary heavy rain I've ever driven in, got home a bit after 1:00, set the alarm to get up and be at the airport again by 8:30. Fortunately, this time the plane did land, and the 28 middle-schoolers and two teachers were able to get home. Owen slept for seven hours yesterday. I crashed on the couch before 9 last night and made it official by going to bed a bit before 10.

That's the recap in brief. I omitted all the tantrums and whining that I've mostly ignored.

This weekend, I hope to get a few patterns written and make a serious dent in laying out the next Knitcircus. And move my computer to the basement, where it's cool and quiet!

Garden Goodness!

2009-06-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

The strawberries are ripening! I think in a few days, we'll have a whole bunch at once. This was the first one:

I ate it two nights ago. It was so good!

For some reason, we have this one solitary great big dark purple iris:

It's not a Siberian Iris: it's a way more substantial flower.

I was strolling around my neighborhood the other evening and I was quite impressed with all the big stands of irises in bloom. There must have been some great bargains on iris corms last fall, because I don't remember seeing so many around in previous springs. They sure do look nice, though. I think I might need to buy a dozen for Mr. SABLE this fall and see what he does with them...

Garden Pictures

2009-05-31T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a few images I took in the garden this afternoon.

The ~~Russian~~ Siberian Irises

The Strawberry Patch

Fernland

Celebrity Sighting!

2009-05-31T09:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Jaala & I trotted on down to The Knitting Tree to meet Ysolda Teague and give her our big Wisconsin Welcome! We may have slipped her a few copies of Knitcircus, too, while we were at it. She has a new self-published booklet of patterns, Whimsical Little Knits, and it's really cute. The projects are indeed, whimsical and little: hats, toys, slippers, accessories. Give it a look.

In other news, I've finished the main body section of one of my big secret projects. On to the sleeves... It's pretty realistic to count on getting this done by mid-June if I'm diligent. I realized that the other big project I hoped to get done for the August Knitcircus will just have to wait until the October issue.

By the way, if any of you have any nice patterns for fall garments for adults that you would love to see in print, send them along! We could definitely use a couple more to round out Issue #7.

Yarn!

2009-05-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

I've been working on lots of quasi-stealth knitting lately, so not a lot for the blog. Also, I've been writing an article for the next Knitcircus that actually took a bit of research, so that had most of my attention last week. The knitting is a race to the end of the school year, after which it's a total crap-shoot whether I can get much done until September.

I did get a pleasant little treat in the mail the other day: two sample skeins from The Green Mountain Spinnery. They've agreed to give us a bit of yarn support for Knitcircus. I'm going to design something from one of these yarns for Issue 8, which will come out in October. Not sure yet what, as I'm knitting frantically for Issue 7 right now.

This is Yarn Over, which the Spinnery creates from various left overs in limited edition colors. It's a 2 ply heavy worsted wt, mostly wool with a bit of mohair.

This one is Cotton Comfort. 80% wool, 20% organically grown cotton. It's a 2 ply DK weight.

I'm eager to get my fingers into both of these, but have to stay focused on the projects already on the needles.

Injuries on my mind

2009-05-13T14:53:00.001-07:00

Monday afternoon the little guy convinced me that a little bike ride around the neighborhood would be fun and good exercise. I should know that nothing good will come from exercise, but I'm trying to be a good example.

Off we went and it was great for the first two and half blocks. Then the little guy made a reckless move, cutting me off. My front wheel grazed his back wheel. I attempted to stop and correct and maybe a few other things all at once and the result is that I hit the pavement. On the way down, my, um, delicate parts got slammed onto the bike frame. My left elbow and knee both got a good scraping. The little guy was very contrite and when we got home he got the first aid stuff out and set about bandaging the elbow and knee. Since then, I've had some generalized aches and pains, but it mostly responds to ibuprofen.

On Monday evening, I was catching up on Molly Bee's blog and read all about her sudden impact. Must have been something in the air.

So, last night, I do one last email check and my chat window opens on gmail. My friend Kathy leads with this, "I have 22 stitches."
I responded with the first, most natural thing I could think of.
"Ow!"
Then her second line appeared. "Row 2, k5, kfb 3 times, k5."

"OH," I think. "Those kind of stitches."

I guess I just assumed that if injuries were in the air, Kathy would be joining in the fun. Thankfully, her knitting problem was a pretty quick fix. Much faster than a wound involving 22 stitches would have been.

Some Garden Pictures

2009-05-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Blossoms on the Mother's Day Apple Tree. We might even get more than one apple this year!

The dried oatgrass from last season. New stuff hasn't come up yet.

Some tulips getting ready to do their thing.

Bleeding hearts. These are looking so happy, we might need to divide them and spread the love around.

This year for Mothers Day, my guys brought me a couple of pink spireas, after I dropped a few totally-not-subtle hints that I would like them for a particular space near our porch. This morning, while the air was cool and crisp and sunny, Mr. SABLE and I dug and loosened up the intended weedy patch. We removed a big garbage barrel full of dandelions and such and got the spireas planted. I need to go get some magenta petunias to go around, but at least there's a lovely bed all ready for them. It was nice out digging around with the Mister. By myself, I get kind of overwhelmed, plus, I'm never really sure where he might have something special that I shouldn't destroy. The little guy was playing with the neighbors and Owen was chatting with strangers online or something.

All in all a satisfactory day, though some muscles I'd forgotten I had are talking to me now.

A small little loss

2009-05-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about where I live is the way that the seasons bring certain color combinations into my life. In the fall, I drive by a park where the dark red-brown of changing oak leaves mingles with dark green pines and a dusky plum of other tree trunks. In winter, there's a boulevard with crab apple trees planted on the median. The view of bright red crab apples, dark brown trunks, and white snow pleases me tremendously. And in the spring we get a delightful array of flowering trees juxtaposed against the budding leaves of trees with more subtle blooms.

When we built our porch, I found I noticed certain views from our yard for the first time. One of these was a pink flowering tree that bloomed just in front of a dark red maple, both surrounded by new chartreuse greens. I never got a picture of this view, though I often thought I should try. I tend to think it would be one of those views that never looks as interesting in a photograph as in reality. Mostly, I enjoyed sitting on the porch, taking in these splashes of color and feeling so blessed and wealthy to have this view for the taking.

This spring, I was looking out in that same direction and noticed that the pink flowering tree was blooming, yet, something seemed different. Then I realized that the dark red maple behind is gone. Obviously, neighbors and city workers have control over most of the trees I see from my porch, so changes are bound to happen. But still, it's a sad little loss.

A Couple of Works in Progress

2009-04-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

This is a simple seed stitch scarf from the Malabrigo Worsted, worked the long way, in which I intentionally induce pooling.

This is a Kauni Surprise, worked with Jamieson Spindrift. Stay tuned on that.

Owen and I went to the Digger's Outlet over the weekend. I found this sign on the wall amusing.

It appears that all the $5 wedding dresses are currently sold out. I wonder how many Madison area brides have been married in Diggers Outlet dresses. (photo courtesy of Owen, who took it with his cell phone.)

Some of My Recent Stash Acquisitions

2009-04-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was nice enough that I actually took some pictures of some of the yarn I've bought over the last couple of months. And I even added some yarn to my stash list on Ravelry. I absolutely do not aspire to have a thorough and complete stash inventory on Ravelry or anywhere else. I don't want to spend the time and energy and I don't think I really want the world to see just how bad it is. Plus, maybe I don't want to really know, myself. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, as they say.

Anyway, here's some yarn-ography of a few recent acquisitions:

Malabrigo Worsted, colorway Stonechat, bought at the Knitting Tree in Madison.

Yarn From the Barn, from Rainbow Fleece Farm. These have 400 yards in 4 oz, work up at about sport weight. I think they may become a stranded hat and mittens.

Also from Rainbow Fleece Farm, 85% Targhee Fleck Wool/15% silk. I have 9 oz in all, at 350 yards/4 oz

Shokay Yak Down. I splurged on this at The Sow's Ear's spring sale. Even at 30% off, it was still an indulgence.

LittleFreak Sport from CableFreak's ArtFire shop. These are organic merino sport weight wool. They are two different purples, which I thought might be more different than they turned out to be. It will be more challenging to make them work together in one piece than I originally hoped, but I have ideas about that. The base yarn is wonderful and her dyeing is terrific.

Now, I should actually go knit or something, eh?

Tightwad Sewing

2009-04-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, my friend Leslie and I hit the Diggers Outlet for a morning of thriftshop recreation. One of the things I grabbed was (apparently) a tablecloth made from this fabric. It's a home-dec weight, maybe not quite upholstery weight, but kind of thick. It was pieced to make a large circle and clearly a home-sewn project. I used about a third of it making this bag. The brown cotton webbing was already in the house, though I didn't have enough to make the shoulder strap, too. I'll have to see if I can find more at one of the local fabric stores. I had multiple packs of black piping in my sewing cabinet, too, so didn't need to buy that, or make my own.

I used a pattern from Terrific Totes & Carryalls: 40 Bags to Sew for Shopping, Working, Hiking, Biking, and More , by Carol Parks. I check this one out of the library about once a year and haven't actually sewn something from it before. This bag is the small duffle.

The pattern instructions call for stiff interfacing on all the major pieces, which I skipped. I thought the fabric had enough structure. Now, I kind of wish I had used it. The pattern is not lined, though I'm considering making a lining and adding it. It just seems not quite complete without it.

Because this fabric has a directional pattern, I also modified the main section and large side pockets to have a seam in the center bottom. Otherwise, the elephants on the other side would be upside down.

The bag is about 14" long and calls for a 12" zipper. I wanted to finish last night and didn't want to run out on a zipper errand, so I substituted an 11" zipper I found in my sewing cabinet. It makes the opening a bit tight, so probably if I make another, I'll try to use a 14" zipper and really run it to the edges of the top.

One thing I would definitely do differently is make the handles a bit longer. I wonder if there was a typo in the book, because it said to use a 75" length of webbing, leave 20" loose for each handle, and attach the webbing in one long continuous loop, with the ends lapping at the bottom. 75" just wouldn't have done all that. Next time, I'll allow 85".

The other modification I'll make on any future versions is to attach D-rings with webbing sewn into the top end seams. The pattern instructions say to just sew the webbing onto the bag itself, but I think it would be stronger and more elegant to catch a loop of webbing into the seam.

Overall I'm very happy with this and can imagine making more bags along these lines.

Catching up a bit...

2009-04-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Jaala and I took our kids to Rainbow Fleece Farm's Spring Shearing Day. I took Owen's little camera along, rather than my big one, and didn't get my pictures off of it until just now. So, somewhat belatedly, here are some highlights of that trip.

A very strange looking set of horns on this dude!

Some adorable spotted lambs.

A black sheep getting her haircut.

A Black hen!

My little guy with each of Jaala's kids.

I may have bought a little yarn there. The kids enjoyed lamb brats and playing with a visiting puppy. I bought some meat to take home: about a pound of brats and a half-leg of lamb. The lamb brats were ok, but the leg of lamb was amazing. So much better than the ones I get at the supermarket that have been vacuum sealed in some solution and schlepped from New Zealand. Fortunately, Rainbow Fleece Farm sells their meat pretty regularly at one of the local farmers markets, so I don't have to drive all the way out there next time we need a fix.

Preview of a few items from Knitcircus #6

2009-04-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

Goth Gauntlets by me.

Roughhousing Vest also by me.

Orchid Lights Shrug by Jaala Spiro.

Pivot Shawls by Michelle Miller

Spring Daisy Cardigan by Jenny Snedeker

More to come... Stay tuned!

A Little Finished Object!

2009-04-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

The younger son wanted me to knit him a Sackboy for Easter. Never mind that I've been trying to get away from turning everything into another gift-giving occasion. It was something I could make from things I already have lying around the house. Except the metal zipper.

Details:
Sackboy Pattern by Alan Dart.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Worsted, color Wild Oak (had in stash forever).
Needles: US #5

Stuffing was from a toy Sponge Bob my husband eviscerated to make a Sponge Bob suit for one of his robots (don't ask).

The buttons were in stash and the embroidered details are from odds and ends.

The hat was one I made years ago from some cheap-o acrylic in a thrift shop grab bag. I thought I might make baby hats for the hospital, but then Owen got a hold of the hat for a stuffed bear, and it was buried in his room for about 12 years. The hat surfaced in a recent purging. It fits Sack Boy very well.

In addition to this, I've been working on a new stranded knitting project, which I hope to finish up for the August 1 Knitcircus (Issue 7), and I've been assembling Issue 6, which should get mailed in very early May.

More sewing...

2009-04-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

So, here's another project for the 5 People/5 Things Note on Facebook.

I sent Erica H. in the Bay Area this double point needlecase. Seems like I just mailed it and she got it already.

She told me she likes pink. We got that covered.

Happy knitting, Erica!

Kate Cardigan Knitters

2009-04-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to make sure everyone gets the word. There's an errata sheet available for download here.

Sorry for any confusion and inconvenience.

New Lace Scarf; New Photostylist

2009-03-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

This is the Fountain Lace pattern from Barbara Walker's The Craft of Lace Knitting, which I'm sure was rolled into one of the re-releases of her stitch dictionaries. I just don't know which one. I am loving this so far for several reasons.
1. I like a knitting pattern that gives a pretty good effect for minimal mental outlay.
2. This stitch pattern has only four "action rows."
3. I'm using some yarn from a sweater I got at the Digger's Outlet last week. So, my cost for this project will amount to about 25 cents when it's all done. If that. The sweater was a wide-ribbed cowl neck with the biggest cowl I've seen in a while. Seriously, that cowl could almost double as an afghan. (OK, I'm exaggerating. But just a bit.)
4. The yarn is proving to be very lace-friendly. The manufacturer's tag says that it's 43% rayon, 39% nylon, 10% angora rabbit, and 8% cotton. I'm honestly not feeling the synthetic content at all.

So, I was barely out there, taking my pictures, when my "helper" arrived.

All Your Lace Are Belong To Me

It's a nice sunny day for a roll on the bricks, eh? Don't you just want to rub that belly?

Happy Family Moment

2009-03-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

A Sewing FO

2009-03-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

I made this very pink tote bag for a woman who worked with Mr. SABLE at his previous job. It has two zipped pockets on the inside and it's very pink.

While I was out taking photos, my neighbor came over to see what I was up to, so I got her to model it for me. Isn't she the cutest girl in the world?

An FO!

2009-03-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

I started these socks a long time ago: not sure when. Maybe early last year? Anyway, I finally finished them just in time to send to my dad for his birthday, which is on the 27th.

Yarn
Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Color 4-ply /4-fädig, 1 100 gram ball, with a bit of leftovers.

Needles:
US 1 / 2.25 mm dbl pts

Pattern: just the totally generic 2 x 2 ribbed cuff on 68 sts. Why mess with success?

The yarn is actually much darker, more black/dark grey dominant than it appears in these photos. I don't feel like fussing around trying to get accurate colors for a project I just need to mail right away.

Some Secret Spinning

2009-03-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

I made this yarn for my friend Jaala. She loves bright colors. When I saw this roving at the Sow's Ear last week, I knew it would be perfect for her.

detail

You can see in the detail shot that it's not perfect. I have some very thin areas and some thicker areas. But it's pretty nice.

This is from Mountain Colors Targhee Top. The color was Ruby River. It was four ounces to begin with and there was very little lost along the way: maybe couple of grams at most. I Navajo-plied it to keep the color areas mostly together. Approximately 380 yards: my guess is it would be a nice sport weight yarn.

It was a fun burst of color to work up.

A Sure Sign of Spring...

2009-03-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

In Other News
I've been working on some Top Secret spinning (it's a gift for someone) which I'll show you in a week or so. It's coming out very nicely.

My Lair is such a disaster area that I go down there and I'm overwhelmed with possibilities. I read an article a while back on various working styles. Some of us (frequently the ones accused of being messy) need the visual reminders of what needs doing, what we're working on, what's possible. So we leave our stuff out because if it's all put away, we don't see it and we forget that we're supposed to be doing anything. But I've been dragging so much stuff out lately that I've overwhelmed my brain with possibilities. Too much yarn. Too much fiber. Too much fabric. Alas, I think I need to spend a few weeks making things worse before they can get better. That is, I need to open up all the various boxes, purge, resort, relabel, and then put away. But that's such a daunting task that I just sit at my desk and make little swatches. If I start to seriously start organizing, usually Owen appears and demands attention when I'm about 15 minutes in, so I have learned helplessness about the whole thing. But maybe this week I can at least put away about half the distractions so I can focus on getting a few things done.

Knitting
I've also been working on some socks that go in and out of dormancy, depending on what else gets bumped to Priority One. One of these is the Charade Socks I started a few months back. I finished the first, cast on for the second, got about 2 inches in and stopped. Last night I got a couple more inches done, so maybe that'll get done before barefeet season is really and truly here. Also, I'm hoping to finish some socks that I'll send to my dad for his birthday later this month. The first one is done and the second over half done, so just the home stretch there.

Rant
I have a little rant about the time change to get out of my system, too. I always thought the time change was a minor inconvenience until I had kids. But ever since I became a parent, I've come to despise the time change. When I'm in charge of the universe, we will just have one time all year round. We'll split the difference between so-called Standard Time and Daylight Savings Time. I know there are nice, easy, flexible children out there somewhere. Children who fall asleep when put to bed, and wake up cheerful when it's time to get up, but not before it's time to get up. Well, those are not my kids. I am not exaggerating when I say that it takes my kids at least a week to really make the time change. The Little Emperor has been awake until 11 p.m. several times in the past week and we wake him about 7:30 on weekday mornings. Yeah, this is not a good sleep pattern. Honest-to-Maude, we start him moving toward bed at 7:30. This is a kid who had night and day reversed his first 4 months of life, so no real surprise that he's still bent that way.

So until someone appoints me Time Czar, I have a plan that could be put into place quickly and effectively and would improve school behavior and learning in every community that adopts it. Schedule Spring Break for the week following the time change! Is that just too darn logical for any modern bureaucracy? The kids would have a week to adjust. They would not have this week of rampant tardiness and tired, fidgety kids. The teachers might even enjoy it, too.

So, there you go, a rant and a solution! How often does that happen?

Enjoy the approach of spring.

Fiber Reveiw and Weather Report

2009-03-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of producing a magazine is that people send us stuff to review. At Knitcircus, we recently received a box from PhatFiber with samples of yarns and fibers from small-scale producers. One of the fiber samples was Merino Wool Top from Sweet Pea Fibers Etsy Shop. This sample (colorway Sea Otter Play) was about 1 ounce: enough to make a small skein and get a feel for the quality of the fiber and the dye job. I noticed lately that I have several long-term spinning projects stacked up and I wanted a short fun little project. This sample was perfect.

It was a joy to spin. The fiber maintained the nice crimp merino is known for. A gentle tug here and there was enough to make the fiber flow through my fingers.

I made this sample skein yesterday afternoon and evening. It's about a sport-DK weight, weighs in at 25 grams, Navajo-plied to keep the colors pure.

I'm sure I could think of a lot of creative ways to use an ongoing supply of sample-size skeins. But more importantly, by getting a sample I was exposed to a new source of hand-dyed spinning fibers and was able to experience first-hand the quality of the fiber. I'm definitely going to cruise the Sweet Pea shop for future offerings.

And Now The Weather Report

In spite of a trend toward spring-like conditions, and the premature switch to Daylight Savings Time, winter has not entirely surrendered its grip. This connect-the-dots scene was taken under the giant silver maple tree in my front yard. Drips of melting snow and ice are landing in the thin coating of snow we got last night. As a rule, I don't believe in complaining about the weather: it's not as if I can do anything about it. And, in general, I would rather be too cold than too hot any day of the year. But Chez SABLE we are all well and truly ready for spring.

An Orchid

2009-03-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

Mr SABLE got this plant from his old work place back in September. Whatever he's doing, that plant really seems to approve.

A Picture!

2009-03-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

This is the Jayne Hat I made for Owen a few weeks ago. I followed this pattern, mostly, though I was sorely tempted to give it a good editing. Not that there are any errors; it's just that it could be expressed quite completely in about one-fourth the space. Owen truly loves this hat.

Edited to add:
Those of you who were at Last Saturday Knitting and are dreading the photo that might appear: rest easy. None of them are flattering enough to most of us to print. I'll try again another day.

Updates

2009-02-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

Blog posts are getting kind of thin around these parts lately, eh?

I'll see what I can do about that.

Last night I made this double point needle case for my friend Cindy.

Cindy's been cleaning house the past couple of months. At Last Saturday Knitting in January, she gave me some fabrics she was clearing out. I told her I'd give some of it back to her in a needle case. While I was taking pictures just now the camera battery told me it needed charging, so this is the only view I have to show.

In knitting news, I made Owen a Jayne hat, but haven't yet gotten him to pose for a photo. One of his school friends wants one, too, so I think I'll make another out of the left-over yarn. If you don't know what a Jayne hat is, a quick google search with the terms Jayne and Firefly will enlighten you.

I've also been making projects for the next Knitcircus, so those aren't available for public viewing yet. But speaking of Knitcircus... Jaala has set up a Cafe Press shop for Knitcircus stuff. I'm particularly interested in the messenger bag.

I've also been reconnecting with old friends on Facebook. I've found a few folks who were truly lost to me and I'm well pleased to chat with them again.

I also got roped into making a quilt for the 8th grade American history class at Owen's school. Did I already post a picture of that? Anyway, here's what it looked like, sideways, before it was fully complete:

There were four quilts assembled by volunteer parents, one for each of the sections. They raffled the quilts to the students and families at the presentation night on Thursday. Thankfully, we did not win, because I really don't need one more thing that just hangs around in storage forever.

I dusted off my wheel and started spinning again this past week. At first I was very frustrated, trying to spin a merino/silk blend I bought in NH last summer. I took a couple nights off and came back to it yesterday, and it was fine. When the battery is recharged, I'll get a picture of the singles. This will be a long-term spinning project: very fine singles, spun worsted. I think I have about 6 ounces of the top.

That's the news.

Alt Knitting Camp '09

2009-02-19T14:21:00.000-08:00

Hey Listen Up! I have an announcement.

Kathy, Sue, and I have made the reservations for Alt Knitting Camp 2009. It will again be held at Devil's Lake State Park, near Baraboo WI. This year it will run Sun Aug 2 - Tues Aug 4. We have room for 18 campers, total. Twelve spots are spoken for. If necessary, we might be able to book additional sites to accommodate more campers.

Alt Knitting Camp features No Classes! No Workshops! No discernible schedule! Non-stop eating, drinking, hilarity, and knitting. Optional activities include swimming, hiking, canoeing, building large fires, roasting marshmallows, and the ongoing search for the perfect S'more.

Modest fee of about $25 a person includes food and share of camping fees. Admission stickers are required to enter Wisconsin state parks.

To reserve your spot, email me. Or p.m. me through Ravelry or Knittyboard. Or just put it in the comments here. You could even phone me if you know the number. Or track me down through Facebook, if you need more choices.

(Edited June 20, 2009 to keep info current.)

Still More Updates

2009-02-16T09:37:00.001-08:00

In no particular order...
Mr. SABLE has found a job! It just fell down from the sky on Thursday. We don't have to move. He's starting tomorrow. I didn't realize how anxious I was until I felt the relief. The job is with a fairly new biotech company, across the street from his old employer. He'll be a Principle Investigator, i.e. head of a lab. This will be his first (people) management job and gets him back in the lab, which he's been wanting. Thursday morning, the call came. Thursday afternoon, he went for the interview. By the end of the afternoon, he had signed the offer, accepting it.

I'm busy on projects for the next Knitcircus, so not much to show you in photos. Yet. This issue will be heavy on kids stuff, but we could also use a few more items for adults. If any of you have any patterns you want to send our way, that would be great!

I've also been busy preparing an online pattern shop to be added to the Knitcircus site. We'll be making pdfs available for immediate download of some patterns from previous issues.

And I got roped into doing a sewing project for the 8th grade American history class at Owen's school. The teacher had each of the 8th graders embroider a quilt square with their names, birth dates, and some images that represented their interests. She needed parent volunteers to sew them together. I thought I was signing up to piece together a quilt top, but in fact, I was volunteering to assemble the whole quilt. Hmm. I'll get it done, but it might not be too elegant.

Additionally, Owen's 14th birthday was on Saturday. Yes, he's my Valentine kid. The great thing about teenagers' birthdays is that, as a parent, you don't need to do much at all. I dropped him and three friends at Ultra Zone, a laser tag place. I bought them each three games (and they all got great discounts for bringing their report cards and having lots of A's), left Owen with $20 for for the vending machines, and went back and got them 2 hours later. At home, they played video games, ate pizza, and played more video games. Parents came to fetch them around 5.

We've had wonderful sunny warm weather lately. Today is colder again and we may get snow later in the week. But, I tell you, it does wonders for our collective Midwestern souls to see sun in the sky after 5 p.m. and know that spring really will come again.

Book Review

2009-02-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Knitting the Threads of Time
Casting Back to the Heart of Our Craft
By Nora Murphy
© 2009 New World Library
Amazon Link

Knitting the Threads of Time is a memoir infused with history. Murphy tells the story of knitting a sweater for her son, which becomes a metaphor and life lesson for her as she becomes discouraged, learns new skills, and ultimately rises to the challenge. Along the way, she examines the history and mythology of textile production from ancient cultures to modern sweatshops, embracing simultaneously a pagan-feminist sensibility, a scholar’s interest in accuracy, and a deep respect for many differing spiritual traditions.

As long as there have been humans, there has been a need for clothing. Often the production of textiles has been women’s work and often, too, the resulting objects have risen above merely meeting utilitarian needs. Clothing has denoted power and status within a community since before recorded history. Textile production—once a rare skill infused with sacred power; later, an economic bedrock of empires; at times, a revolutionary act of rebellion, and, eventually relegated to the most oppressed workers as unskilled disposable labor—is a calling that modern fiber-lovers pursue out of love and reverence for that past.

For every knitter who was ever asked, “Why bother knitting when you can buy it at Walmart for $5,” Murphy gives an answer. There is a deep spiritual connection to our past, made physical through our ordinary activities. Yes, I could buy a sweater at Walmart. But I couldn’t buy this sweater. In our industrialized age, with its abundance of throw-away consumer goods, Murphy compels us to consider the importance of one garment: to the knitter, to the recipient, indeed, to our entire unsustainable global economy.

Updates

2009-02-02T13:58:00.000-08:00

What have I been up to?

Last Saturday Knitting was a blast. We had quite a crew, including Molly B, Cindy G, Jen, Kathy, Linda, Brenda (no blog name), Dale-Harriet, and ... I am quite certain there was one more person, and I'm going to feel terrible for leaving someone out, but I cannot come up with one more name.

edited to add: It was Sheryl. Silly me.

I know that YarnThrower wasn't able to make it. Hmmm. Now, doing the count, it makes sense. 7 people plus me. There was much laughing and hilarity. Molly Bee's description of her first encounter with a naturalist named Tom had me in such a fit, I was crying from laughing so hard. Truly good for the spirit on a Saturday in mid- to late-winter.

The new Knitcircuses have nearly all been mailed. Jaala still needs to take a few that need international postage to her P.O. If your local yarn shop doesn't carry it, we'll happily send them a sample issue and try to persuade them to do so. We really hope that this will be the issue that breaks even on printing and postage costs. The last one came darn close.

We'll be hosting a Kate Cardigan Knit-along on the Knitcircus group on Ravelry, starting March 1. There are a few technically challenging aspects to the pattern, so I figure if I'm around to walk folks through it, we'll have more success stories.

I've got a couple of boy things in the works for the next Knitcircus. We're hoping to have a cluster of kids items as a focus, so the issue will be useful beyond the season in which it gets released. We're definitely still looking for patterns for the next issue. We will be paying a very modest fee this time, so if you have a pattern you've been sitting on that you would love to see in print, send it along!

I've been chatting with the Sow's Ear about teaching a class this spring. The class will be on working with color: not the techniques, but the design end of it. This should be interesting. I've never taught a class before, except for a bunch of grade school girls learning to knit 9 years ago. I have ideas, but I'm a nervous quasi-public speaker. (You don't believe that, but it's true.)

Finally, I've decided to start offering graphic design services for knitting designers. I can make charts and schematics in Illustrator, create a pattern template, work on logo options, do ad layouts. I don't know how great the demand is, but I figure it might get me a job or two here and there.

Mr. SABLE is still searching for his next job. He had one encouraging call from a person he knew through his old employer. At the very least, it should lead to some freelance consultant kind of work, if not permanent salaried employment.

That's the new.

Itty Bitty Handwarmers and other news

2009-01-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

Ah, let's see.

We are in the throes of Too Much Winter already, and it's only late January. I don't mind winter for myself, but I sure hate the effect it has on my family life. We just wrapped up two ridiculously short school weeks in a row, most of it for no real good reason. Everyone hangs around indoors picking fights and sniping. My coping strategy is just to tune it all out, which seems to really annoy my Better Half. I think because he doesn't tune it out, and he feels like he has to make everyone happy. I already know that that is an impossible task and a thankless project, so I don't bother. They won't be happy because that's the human condition.

Well, I did briefly make my kids happy. They were coveting my handwarmers.

Here's one of a pair for the little guy. He loves them.

See how pilly and ratty they are getting already?

I also made Owen a pair of plain black ones from the same black yarn. He's being very teenly today and doesn't want to model.

While I was on a roll with sewing week before last, I also made myself some new pajama pants. I don't have any pictures of them, but they were a great success. The fabric was a piece I found at a thrift shop a while ago, kind of brushed, flannelized knit, with a subtle paisley design. And it only cost $1.

The next issue of Knitcircus ships from the printer Monday. It usually takes 3-4 business days to get here, then we'll get them posted to the subscribers A.S.A.P.

That's the news as we wait until spring and the mental and emotional space that warmer weather will bring.

Evidence of Activity

2009-01-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

After all the flurry of work, getting the next issue of Knitcircus ready for the printer, it's hard to believe I have other stuff to show you.

My friend Jim asked me to make him a hat based on my Iron Mountain hat quite a while ago. He picked out the colors from yarns I had in stash, and I started late last winter. Then I parked it. Finally, I dug it out and finished it up. (Shown here on The Little Emperor.) Yarn: unknown stash yarns, around sport or DK weight.

While I was getting all the formatting done on Knitcircus #5, I noticed that my hands often got bone-cold while sitting at my computer for hours at a time. And I thought, maybe after all this time being the last hold-out, I could get in on this trend. So, the world's quickest project: a pair of wristwarmers.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Naturespun worsted wt. superwash. Color: Sable (naturally!) that I picked up in a swap at alt knitting camp last summer. (Thanks Kathy!) On my next pair, I'll make the wrist cuff ribbing longer. For most other women, I'd make these a bunch narrower.

These dishtowels are just a silly little filler project. I found a dress in the bins at Diggers Outlet last summer (all textiles, $1 a pound!) that was really ugly in the sum of its parts, but I liked the fabric. A nice seersucker in a grey-green kind of cotton. As it turned out, I also had a baggie full of cards of vintage rick-rack from a different thrift shop jaunt. This black and white rickrack just seemed to go so perfectly with this fabric.

Another quick sewing project...
Yesterday, I was pawing through all my knitting needles, trying to get sets together and organize them in some retrievable way. It occurred to me that I need another double point case. After digging out the rest of the striped fabric (seen in some shopping totes a few months back), and some remnant heap quilting cotton, I made this one.

The concept is very simple. Two rectangles, one of lining and one of main fabric. Sew together, right sides together, leaving an opening for turning. Don't forget to get your button loop inserted in the seam! Turn, press, fold over ends. Topstitch flap in place. On the other side, sew parallel lines to hold needles. Sew on a button.

Voila!

Knit Circus Issue 5 Preview!

2009-01-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here are my three contributions to the upcoming Issue 5!

The Rosepole Cardigan

The Kate Cardigan

The Angularity Vest

See the entire Issue 5 Preview Page!

Pre-order Issue 5! Expected ship date Feb 1.

Socks!

2008-12-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I started the Charade Socks, by Sandra Park. This pattern is a free Ravelry download. I was playing around with the LittleFreak sock yarn, trying to make the best use of the long sections of color. Each length of color in this skein would make about 1 round of a 72 st sock. I was hoping to make a cool effect with pooling, and played around with a few ideas before I hit on this plan.

This sock is worked on 68 sts, on size 0 needles, which creates a bit of overlap on the brown color. This is resulting in a very subtle spiral winding down the sock, which otherwise alternates a round of green, a round of brown. The herringbone columns in the pattern are subtle (and would be great in a solid yarn) but I think they add a nice touch to this and make a play of texture in the color that works pretty well. It's also a fun pattern to knit: quick to memorize and, so far, not boring.

Knitting Content!

2008-12-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's not the most awe-inspiring knitting ever, but, hey, it's knitting. This is a hat for my brother. Just a basic watchcap, 2 x 2 ribbing, over 120 stitches. This is Blue Sky Alpacas 100% alpaca. It took most of two skeins because I wanted a nice generous fold-up brim. This yarn is so soft and warm, I might need to make one for myself!

Here it is on Owen:

And then, I cast on for another hat for Owen. We've had some hat attrition lately, plus his head has grown to what I think will be his final adult size.

This is Gjestal Superwash Sport, worked on #3 needles. Just a basic 1 x 1 ribbing, worked on 108 stitches. I'm getting a little worried that it might be too small, but I think it'll stretch nicely without being tight.

Stash Enhancement

2008-12-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

Not like I needed more stash, but a gal's gotta do these things sometimes.

One of the folks I see often on Ravelry has just set up shop as an indie dyer. I hope she'll be able to make a go of it with her hand-dyed yarns, so click on over to her shop: LittleFreak Yarns. Look, she even included a couple of nice stitch markers with my skein!

This colorway is called Inference. You'll notice a lot of her color names are a bit unorthodox. Many of them have been named after running jokes on the Ravelry Rubberneckers forum. She put up a good selection of yarns, from vivid to subdued, pastel to saturated, for the opening. Hurry on over before the good stuff is gone. (Don't worry: there'll be more!)

What a difference

2008-12-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

24 hours can make...

Owen's been getting a little fed up with his long hair lately. Tonight I gave him a cut. Not too bad. He didn't scream at me and try to glue the old hairs back on one by one. So this is progress.

In spite of the angry teen look he's making in that photo, he was really just goofing. He was laughing about 2 seconds before that picture was taken.

lulz

2008-12-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

O hai, all your blogz are belong to me, Owen! Mua ha ha!
Kthxbai