Sweater Weather

Things go in cycles, but one constant is that I don't update my blog regularly enough. It's Thanksgiving week, which usually means a few days off. Really off. Not running the farmers' market, not getting kids off to/from college. And, the weather has turned. The freezing fog and threats of snow lead me to dust off my knitting basket and see what I've left abandoned during the hot weather.

Sunset over Circus Circus

The longest running WIP is my Noro modular sweater. It's probably been taking so long since I've been making up the pattern as I go. I'll get a section done then need to cogitate how the next bit fits on. I've finished the fronts and am starting saddle shoulders to connect the fronts and back. This should set me up for the arms, the collar, and the peplum. I'm not sure how I want any of that to look. The sweater is so riotously colorful.

The second longest running WIP is this yoked cardigan. After suffering endless boring brown and the actual loss of one sleeve on a car trip, I completed the yoke this summer. It really doesn't need too much more before it's done. Yesterday I slit the front and wove the ends, so it's button bands and a collar then into the wardrobe. I hate finishing work, but I want to wear it.

This third sweater in progress is a new animal for me. Nearly all of my sweaters to date have been warm woolly things that are predominantly worn for warmth. I've never had an "office weight" sweater, although my office is frigid enough that I wear warm sweaters frequently and take them on and off as the temp varies. This sweater will be short sleeved! Primarily because that is all the yarn amount I have. It's been a beast to knit the gauge properly. I've had to rip the body section twice. My fingers do not like knitting fingering weight yarn at the specified dk gauge, but that is what the pattern states. I have been able to work on this during the summer due to its light weight and size. It fills the slot for the mindless knitting project. I have round and round and round of straight purple to go, sort of the opposite of the Noro Modular.

Tiny Sweater

Last fall my FIL sent me his entire cotton crop. He had one plant.  He joked whether it was enough to knit him a sweater.

So, for Christmas, I have spun and knit this for him. You probably can't see the tiny saddle shoulders, but I used the EPS (Elizabeth's Percentage System - knitters will have heard of that, maybe.)

Back to your regularly scheduled programming. And back to my regularly scheduled, regularly sized knitting. This tiny stuff is pretty fussy, but it came out darn cute.

That 70's Yarn

Ramblings about my bin rummaging yesterday:
I mentioned recently that we had a yarn shop in the house when I was little. I remember when it came to an end and having the 20% off everything sale, then 30%, and so on until Mum gave up and packed away what was left into boxes in the garage.  I didn't really pay attention to where everything went and what all there was, but as time went on the pickings got leaner. There weren't many good colors to begin with in our pile- the smart sale shoppers saw to that.

Good quality 100% Norwegian wool never goes out of style, but let's just say that colors do. I first overcame this obstacle by purchasing a few kilos of white and black yarn in the same brand. It wasn't hard to use a ball or two of a weird color if I diluted it enough. One of my favorite sweaters to this day is a black cardigan with hot-pink, grey, and white zigzags on the yoke. But that's no way to kill off a whole kilo (twenty 50g balls!) of a less-than-favorite color. I became a big fan of RIT dye, and still have several sweaters knit from overdyed wool.

Today's lucky winners

I thought I'd seen the last of the new old-stock many years ago, but I visited my Mum last summer as she was preparing to move to a new house. Lo and behold, a few more bags (kitchen-garbage-sized, not ziplocks) of the poor stuff materialized, and came home with me. I'm proud to have had the good sense to let the 4 other bags go to Goodwill rather than fool myself that I might use them someday.  We're talking stuff that is nearly as old as I am in exciting shades the likes of bubblegum, neon red, pumpkin, and taupe. There is some lime green has actually come back into style and some navy that apparently missed prior raidings. And not so much in the sport or dk weight that I'd want to use for a sweater-much of this is in the 8 stitches to the inch department. Good for mittens, and I'm anxious to try doubling it for a heavier, less-than-lifetime commitment sweater attempt.

The puppet mittens I made last winter- note the uvula on the palm side :-)

But there is still only so much bubblegum pink that I'm going to use in my lifetime, so I've turned back to the dye-pot. This time with some better quality stuff, although I had a few kinks this first time using it.

I made swift work of it.

First it gets skeined out; dyeing in ball format gives terrible unevenness. (You may think that is a nice red, but the photo hides just how much it makes your teeth hurt.)

Maroon, it's what's for dinner.

This is the dedicated dye pot. It has seen more color than the inside of a skittles bag.

Oh, don't these look lovely drying in the sunshine!

I was looking for a kettle-dyed look, but was surprised at the variation in how the dye took. I suspect the first wooly bits to hit the water hogged all of the dye molecules despite all my stirring, which wasn't much actually because I didn't want to felt the wool. I was quite surprised at how blue the bubblegum color turned - where did that come from?

I would will totally knit with this!

I pronounce the experiment a success, although I never explained why I was revisiting the wool bins in the first place. I just got the Zombie knitting book, and was trying to find some dk scraps that would be the right colors.  Let me just state that I am the queen of mis-matched stash. I have bags of leftovers from 30+ years of knitting, bags of yarn that was bought on discount because it was lovely even if I didn't have a project planned, bags of handspun that I am afraid to use for fear of running out mid-project, bags of extra balls that I tossed in to my order from Knitpicks so I would reach the free shipping threshold... but not an ounce of decaying-flesh green dk to be found.  I wonder if that color would have been popular in the 70's?

Unpack - Repack

It's been a busy summer, with lots of travel, and I find knitting the perfect travelling craft. I'm getting ready to head off Wednesday to a cross stitch show in St. Charles and realized I needed to pack up my travel knitting.  More importantly, I needed to unpack these two finished items and the related remaining yarn.

First up, Kindle cover made from some of that unlabeled yarn I scored at Craft Warehouse this summer. Rainbow yarn knit with both ends at once in  2 x 2 stripes created a cool but simple pattern. I found a nifty neoprene Kindle sock at the dollar store for (wait for it) one dollar.  It was ugly and plain, but it performs its job of providing nice cushion to the device, and you can't see it at all now that I sewed it in.

And in the finally finished category, the Drunken Rainbow Scarf. Named as such because the silly yarn would reverse color sequence arbitrarily and because of a peculiar defect that had two balls wound together in parallel, creating a giant tangly mess. This yarn was also from the Craft Warehouse booty. It's a nice scarf, but a bit bright for me, so it may become someone's Christmas present.

Now, the only thing remaining is to decide what to pack for this upcoming trip!

About Face

Continuing evidence of why the mill ends aren't sold as first cuts.  This bag of yarn has been quite nice, but has not been without surprises.  The first ball I tackled turned out to be two parallel strands wound together for the whole length, making a large twisty mess (which I set aside as it was taking 3 people to wind and untwist it into submission.)  Now this other ball...

The color sequence has up and reversed on me!

Has been marching along in rainbow order, although to be picky I would point out in one sequence the yellow portion was about twice as long as the other. Until last night.  Teal, blue, purple, pink, then back to purple, then blue. It's now my lucky DOUBLE RAINBOW.  You did know that the color sequences of the second rainbow (referring to the meteorological phenomenon) are flipped from normal, right?

Fortunately, I don't think anyone will know or care once it is wrapped around the neck and draped about.

It does leave me to wonder what mysteries the third ball will hold. I just hope it's not the "knot every 20 yards" flaw.

Oddball

The screwiest ball of yarn I've ever seen: I tried to pull from the center, but after disgorging half of its volume it became clear that there wasn't an inside end. There were TWO! Picture two strands wound together just slightly twisted, not plied.

To make it a bigger PITA, this discovery was made in the car after our trip started. So instead of getting to knit, I spent the whole time trying to wrangle it into submission. Still not done.

When I got home, I was happy to find the other balls didn't suffer the same defect. I can't wait to see how the colors unfold in this scarf.

Retail Therapy

And I had been behaving so well.  One of the little lies we knitters tell ourselves is that we are working down our stashes and trying to be in control. We would only be tempted to visit the wool shop for altruistic reasons: the gift scarf would be so much nicer if it were in her favorite color and matched her coat, I could mend my poor bachelor neighbor's sweater sleeve if I can find a red that matches, I just knit a sweater with 22 balls from my stash and now I need buttons. You know these lies, although you may reframe them in the metaphors of your different avocations.

I was behaving well. I visited Jimmy Beans Wool in Reno over Christmas and despite having finished the mittens I brought along to work on, I bought nothing. Today, I wasn't even in a yarn shop. I would not normally ever shop for yarn in the big box craft stores. I'm a bit of a yarn snob and don't like the froofy acrylic "novelty" stuff and the dishcloth cotton I associate with the chains.  I was in Craft Warehouse (nicest of the chains IMHO) shopping for frames.  I won't say buying frames, because I was saddened to find out that what I imagined to be a standard size, alas, was not. Frustrated because I now am having to custom order one, I stomped around a bit looking for some miracle to bail me out of my dilemma. I did pick up some acid-free foam core because I am perpetually and inexplicably out of it. One day I will figure out which bookcase I slide the sheets behind and I will find 20 sheets, along with 800 missing ball point pens that had slipped down behind as well.

So there next to the framing department, while I waited for the gal to fetch the foam core, I saw giant bins filled with bagged yarn and signage declaring a grand mill ends closeout. The only think I like less than plasticy novelty yarn is bags of novelty yarn.

Met and started chatting with a lady there who searching for the right color of yarn for a Star Wars character in a bin of loose balls. When I asked if she meant something like a Yoda amigurumi that I had made from a pattern on Etsy, she said "Yes, Yes!"  We had a lovely discussion of which yarns would good Ewoks, and how challenging it was to find the perfect Yoda green.  And then I put my hand in the bin. The black eyelash yarn would be great for making soot sprites (from Totoro and Spirited Away) for Hannah. And a ball went into my basket.

We then discussed a strange netted yarn called Starbella that can be used for making really simple ruffled scarves. And a ball went into my basket. The rust and green and black on used in the example on the link.

Then I looked closer at the bag yarns. They had no labels, no information, no fiber content listed, no weight or gauge info, no hint of brand. They were packaged as 1 pound bags for $8.39. They had to be total crap yarn, right?  Mostly yes, but I saw a bag peeking from a few layers down that looked, to my surprise, like Noro or Knit Picks Chroma.  It looked like a wool blend, single ply with the color shifting and tweeding a bit.  I had bought some Noro Sock yarn a few years ago that was $20 for a 100 gram skein (over $80 for a pound.) I knew this couldn't be as nice, but damn, it looked good and was an amazing deal.  A little more sifting and I found several more bags, including some in a heavier (worsted?) weight.

Plop. Plop. Plop. Plop. (That was the sound of four bags landing in my cart.) I had to stop myself from taking them all. Besides, without being able to properly fondle it bagged as it were, I may not like it at all. Not all the balls in each bag were the same color, which will be important to figure out when It comes to scheming up a project. Also, whoever bagged it was conscientious to ensure there was at least a pound in each bag. One had 6 oz above and beyond!  The good news is that unbagged, it looks and feels like quality yarn. How did this happen? For under $40? In a chain store?

So I blog this score as both a rationalization of an unneeded purchase and the confession of a yarn hoarder. Besides, It was nice meeting someone from the Tri-Cities who actually knows what amigurumi is. Time to turn my attention back to things that I actually need to do, rather than rambling on and on.

Holiday Needles

It's time to get serious and dust off those needles for the holidays. I wish I knew better what all of my friends and family wanted for holiday gifts, but in the absence of specific guidance I will do my best to churn out random crap of my choosing. If you think you are on that short list that gets a handmade something, feel free to cry out "MINE" if you see the ideal thing posted or to drop me a line with a thought on what you would like. I am not psychic; I simply play one on tv.

Totoro Mittens. Lovely, but too small for Hannah. Note: will only be gifted to a true Totoro fan.

Hat, in cream, reds, brown and green wool. Can't have too many hats, now can we.

Flannel lounge pants of comfiness, an idea suggested by Alan, who liked the pair I made him last year and thought everybody should be so comfy. Light blue with fishing/boat motif.

I apparently have a strong need for everyone I know to be warm. :-D

Oregon Flock and Fiber

Road trip last weekend with my son to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. Woot.  Have finally gotten my car unpacked and the laundry working its way through the machines, although I have yet to hide put away all of my new fluff. Started with a little detour through Portland to hook up with a friend and drop off the new cross stitch models at Acorns & Threads. Very nice! The weather couldn't have been more pleasant, which was also true of all the people we met.

Turns out that Paul is a spinner too. He was particularly fascinated with all of the different custom wheels and their mechanisms for converting and transferring power. He was also helping a few folks calculate various drive ratios for different wheels & settings.  (Reminder: math is everywhere!)  He chose some brightly colored wool to continue practicing at home. At this point he says he has no desire to learn to knit or to wear anything knitted. We will have to see where this all goes.

Paul's selection of rovings. His first "stash."

It is hard to not get caught up with all the lovely fluff and stuff. Met a very amazing fellow John Beard who was demonstrating a Native American style of handweaving called Ravenstail Weaving. Saw all sorts of inspiring projects. Numerous things came home with me, including a full raw fleece (which Toaster, our dog, thinks smells just aMAZing.)

Bamboo&Silk whorls, silk hankies to spin

Did I really need another sock book? 

John Beard and my Mum

Silken eye candy

If I spin my Silk&Bamboo right I can make something like this.

Sheep and Goat's eyes creep me out. Those big rectangular pupils look better on octopi!

I have 5.5 lb of this now.

On the way home, we took a much enjoyed break and hiked up Multnomah Falls. Spectacular! It was totally worth circling the parking lot three and a half times waiting for a parking space.

As much as I'd like to jump in and start playing with the new fluff, it seems I have a long list of things that actually need to be done. 

TTFN,
Tracy

Finishes

Didn't mean to be cruel and show only the backs of the recently framed pieces.
Here are two by Hannah. You will recognize (likely) Frederick the Literate, by Charles Wysocki.  I forget who designed the sampler one. She's currently about half way through a tiger picture called Blue Eyes, one of those photo-realistic solidly stitched types.

And you have already seen these fronts, I just had to get them presentable for the Nashville Show. Just Rosy on top (charts at the printer now) and the Oatmeal Quaker (already available) below.

The last three items on the bed are a set of new releases. I'm not sure when I will be leaking photos of them. It's such a strategy game that I don't fully understand.  Share now & get people excited? Make them wait so there is something new at the actual show they haven't seen?

I hadn't posted up all of my Christmas finishes yet, so here are some more pictures.  I knit this hat for my sister -it's shown here modeled by my brother. It was by far the best received hand-knitted gift I've ever given.

Close your eyes for the next picture if you are embarrassed at the thought of animals procreating in the wild. This was the hat my brother got to keep for himself.

Boring ol' socks for my hubby:

Fingerless mitts for my friend, who might appear to be suffering from jaundice, but is not. Also, the computer insists of putting the photo upside down, regardless of the fact I flipped it and saved.

Ah, it feels good to empty the camera.



Hats Off

In my continuing efforts to keep the Horner heads warm, I have added another knit cap to the collection. This a pattern by Anna Zilboorg that has been bastardized to accommodate using a much smaller gauge yarn by adding extra pattern repeats and sneaking in many extra rows.  All in all, I think it came out quite cute.

And, for another fun finish (well, the stitching part is finished, but I've not made it into anything yet.)  I got this idea from seeing a QR code made of a waffle with chicklets and chocolate chips.  I know I am not the first to do this in stitches, but when the idea struck, I could NOT RESIST.

Please, please, pull out your smart phone and scan this baby! I was just so tickled that it worked.  Isn't technology amazing!

Circus

It's been a circus of a week. My laptop died last Wed and I've been slowly pulling my life back togerher. It's amazing how much of my daily activities were impacted.

So with many hours sitting and rwloading software and configuring things, I've had some downtime waiting for things to install. There is still much to do, but I have regained basic functionality.

This has been my knitting project for those moments. It will be the central vertical back panel of a cardigan. The yarn is noro in some colorway that makes me think of a sunset over Circus Circus.

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I've had it up to here

...with the boring part and am happy to say I've moved on to the snowflake band mid-chest. This is a Norwegian ski sweater for my hubby. I will be needing a replacement project for my zombie knitting opportunities, as I will be required to pay attention on this one now.

BTW, I have no idea why the photo came out upside down.

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A Likely Yarn

I started teaching a class on knitting Norwegian sweaters at the local yarn shop last night. I figured it would be only appropriate to have one of my own on the needles, so I started this new sweater about the same time the kids went back to school. It's for my hubby - you can see the finished goal in the leaflet.  I really only get to work on it during those morning times when I'm nagging the children onward through their getting-ready-for-school routine.  In its current phase, I call this my zombie knitting projects, as I need barely be conscious or I can be multitasking (i.e., the movie has subtitles). 

Something a bit more challenging, but only a bit.  Some socks for hubby.  This is the last of a kilo of grey rag wool I had bought. After about 4 pairs of gray ones, I decided to dye the rest maroon to give a little variety. I am making this up as I go along, hence the need to do both socks at once. The calf shaping is done by transitioning the wide cabled rib into regular rib - we'll see how that goes.

Last thing to show is one half of a pair of pumpkin hats for a friend who just had twins. This has been such a cute pattern - I've probably made a dozen of them for friends and family.

One To(k)e over the Line

Sweet Jesus. I was sitting downtown in the railway station and was able to close up the toe of sock number 1.  Because I'm doing them "2 at a time" style, it won't be long before the other is done.  I do so hope the train is on time.

The pattern is a Nancy Bush Mystery Sock that was posted on Ravelry.

I've just realized I need to stage another little project before my road trip tomorrow!

More Purple Goodness

This is coming along nicely - left front is almost done. Yarn is Andean Silk from Knit Picks. It's very soft and drapey - and intensely purple.  Pattern is from Classic Elite and looks cute but is very pissy.  There is shaping at the neck, at the armholes; there are hourglass darts in the lower section; there is a small lace pattern.  Nothing is challenging, but I get so tired of counting rows for each bit of business simultaneously. Decrease 6 times every 2nd row, then 4 times every 6th row, blah blah blah. When I get to the buttonholes on the right front, I'll have one more thing to track. I'm looking forward to my next project - I'll pick one where I can just sit and relax and knit.

On another knitting note, I visited a local wool shop yesterday* (Sheep's Clothing in Kennewick) to find that it had just been sold. The new owners have great plans for things and it sounded all very exciting. As we got talking I mentioned that I had taught classes for them about 10 years ago when they were in an old location. The guy's eyes positively lit up when he learned that I had done a Norwegian sweater class before and that I would consider doing one again.

*Like I so needed to buy more yarn.  (I was actually trying to track down one more ball that I'll need to finish a different vest.  I shouldn't have waited a year to decide I didn't have enough- I'll be on quite a goose chase or have a UFO forever.)