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June 29, 2008
Dilapidated dpns
The stitch definition is absolutely remarkable. A tightly spun, cord like yarn will do that: knit itself into stacked columns of yarn beads. Does that mean the socks will be particularly long-wearing? They better be, considering knitting with this yarn occasionally pains my left hand and shoulder, just like when I knit with cotton or linen.
It looks and feels just like BMFA Socks That Rock lightweight. But I don't think any colorway in the Socks That Rock family approaches the beauty of this moss. The variegation is subtle enough to support a very complicated stitch pattern (as we'll see below). At the same time, the little bursts of red color keep the hands moving - what color will the next stitch be?
And it's all somehow reminiscent of food! Rhubarb? Strawberry patch? Lettuce greens? Watermelon? What am I missing? Some other yummy?
But the patterns inside are good! Intriguing enough to make me open my wallet, despite having enough sock patterns in my library to last a lifetime! I figure, if the cover of the book proclaims "Revealed inside... the secret of knitting two at once on one circular needle. Works for any sock pattern!" then I can go ahead and knit their patterns, one at a time, using dilapidated dpns. Right?!? Right?!? ;)
And that's exactly what I'm doing!
Posted by Kathy at 01:49 PM | Comments (59)June 23, 2008
Ode to the Stimulus
Five-thirty today
a pretty check had shown up:
seven years endured.
Quick, walk down Mass Ave.
to Craigslist Joe's apartment:
it's time for an upgrade.
The machine sews well,
bobbin tension is shaky:
tune-up fixable.
Ask for a discount.
It's granted, hands are shaken.
The check is enough!
Six-thirty today
lug Bernina to her home!
Oy! Twenty-two pounds!
Goodbye, POS!
No more shaking while stitching!
You have served me well.
Perhaps it's sad that
the Stimulus was on hand
for only one hour.
But did I mention,
the old Singer snap-on feet
fit the Bernina?!?
June 20, 2008
Let's count the buffalo
There are four on the left front of the sweater.
And four on the right.
Eight more stomp across the back, including the biggest one right in the center.
Four on each sleeve, of the smaller "accent buffalo" type.
And each of the seven buttons is a molded buffalo nickel coin.
Thirty-one buffalo. Buffalo-licious!
Pattern: Mary Maxim buffalo cardigan, ©1957. A little kitsch, a little tobacco pipe, a little Mr. Rogers... but somehow gorgeous at the same time!
Yarn: Cascade 220 in 8012 (oatmeal), 2403 (burgundy), and 2435 (rust). I don't know the precise quantities used, unfortunately.
Needles: Bryspun single-pointed needles, US 5. I wouldn't ordinarily use straights for a sweater, but I was trying to match Cari's mom's knitting tension, and these gave me the right numbers!
Gauge: after blocking, about 19.5 stitches and 28 rows per 4".
Row gauge was critical for the success of this project, since I needed the fronts of the sweater (knit by me) to match exactly to the back (knit by Cari's mom). Otherwise the bands of buffalo around the bottom of the sweater and the yoke wouldn't line up! (Our stitch gauge ended up being a bit different, actually, but I fudged a few stitches and no one's the wiser ;)).
Finished dimensions: approximately 34" around the chest, 14" from ampit to hem, and 23" from shoulder to hem.
Cari's mom was a genius for choosing those nickel buttons, don't you think? They tie the whole sweater together, and they are just darling! I used the one-row buttonhole from the Knitter's Handbook
I was surprised that the shawl collar was knit separately and then seamed to the sweater body, but I followed the pattern without question and I think it came out exceptionally well.
I know you will ask, so here's a shot of the intarsia mess on the inside of the sweater. It's not bad, I think. After blocking (in this instance, steaming), the ends matted down quite well.
Last, I would like to thank three people. First, Cari's mom for choosing this pattern, selecting wonderful colors and buttons, and getting me started. Second, Cari for passing the project to me when her mom couldn't finish it - this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope you enjoy wearing this collaboration - a little me, a little your mom, not too shabby overall (I'm hoping!). And last, my friend Susan - not only a gorgeous and willing sweater model, but an incorrigible camera ham.
Posted by Kathy at 09:50 PM | Comments (94)
June 16, 2008
Three fixed, four hemmed
I've come to (begrudgingly) accept the gaping waistbands of most store-bought pants. I also fully understand that (annoyingly) most store-bought clothes must be altered before I can wear them. (Also, my mirror could use a little Windex, I know.)
But tell me, am I the only one who sees a gazillion poor choices all rolled up into one crappy pant over here? Poor choices above and beyond gaping waistbands and simple alterations.
- Flap pockets for the bum-endowed.
- Flap pockets which don't lie flat against the body.
- Flap pockets which have hidden swaths of fabric and a button, to ensure that they stick out regardless of ironing, flattening, patting (by you or others), etc.
- The button and its fabric encasement? Yeah, you can't operate that while wearing the pants, unless you have spider-like fingers (or have had a drink or two).
- This monstrosity attached to a thin, summer pant, thus defeating the flowing, carefree silhouette.
- All covering up back pockets sized to fit a credit card and a pocket mirror, nothing more.
So, yeah. Out went the button, and the extra bit of fabric. Then I stitched down the flap pockets and put some elastic into the waistband.
Better, no?
And since I shop just like Norma does, I fixed up the navy pair, too.
Followed by eliminating the drawstring in the brown counterpart to the taupe pants I showed you a few weeks ago.
By the way, those (identical) brown and taupe summer pants? They also had flap pockets at some point, with velco, no less. I stitched those down as soon as I got them.
And then I hemmed four pairs of pants.
Wide-leg Mimosa jean trouser from Lucky Brand Jeans. Love. Which of course means, discontinued (bastards!).
Classic Rider from Lucky. A little more slim through the hip and thigh compared to Easy Rider, and a little more flattering on the belly, since it's zippered (as opposed to the Easy Rider, which is button fly). My new favorite. I may have been about ¼" too ambitious in hemming this pair, but they're perfect for flip-flops and flats.
The 'before' photo is more of a work-in-progress, so please use the pant leg without pins for reference. Another ridiculous item from the GAP, though it didn't need any elastic in the waistband or flap-pocket removal, thank goodness. These super lightweight, wide-leg denim pants came with an itsy-bitsy 3/8" rolled hem. Of course it looked ridiculous and didn't give the leg opening any movement or substance. Since I needed to shorten them anyway, I gave them a nice 1.5" blind hem. Much better.
I didn't manage to take a 'before' for these cotton pants. The only pair left in my size was "long" so I chopped off, like, 3 inches. I trust you to use your imagination. Amazingly, other than the length, this pair fits great!
Posted by Kathy at 09:34 PM | Comments (58)
June 10, 2008
Helical stripe socks, in 8 simple steps
- Contemplate sock yarn leftovers. Wouldn't some of the colors go oh-so-well together?
- Investigate the helical nature of knitting.
- Try knitting some jog-less stripes, remembering to go with the flow!
- Insert a short-row heel.
- Or a flap one!
- Accept Lorna's Laces' offer to create a colorway which blends all the helical sock colors into one (this step is optional, hehe).
- Consider ways to maintain proper tension across dpns; make a little video.
- Finish the sock, wash the sock, and blog about it. BLOG about it. Grandma wants her birthday socks (even if 2 weeks late), so get out your camera and do it!
Pattern: in simplified terms, this is just stockinette, knit in the round (over 66 sts, starting with 20 rnds of K4, P2 ribbing, round toe from Folk Socks
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, 80% superwash wool, 20% nylon. A pair of large women's socks (a bit wider than average, and 10" long) used up the following amounts:
- blackberry (4ns, main color) - 40 grams
- navy (24ns) - 13.5 grams
- lilac (12 ns) - 12.5 grams
- natural (0ns) - 12 grams
I'm not sure why I needed a bit more of some accent colors than others, but in any case we're definitely in the "leftover" category - I often have as much as 20 grams left over after finishing a large pair of socks (from a 100 gram skein). Just the main color needs more than scraps.
Needles: Susan Bates US 0 dpns, set of 5. (Well, I actually used four US 0 needles, and one US 1, because apparently having 3 sets of these needles is not enough for all my WIPs, but who's counting?)
Ladders: Present, but not important in the least ;).
Posted by Kathy at 10:46 PM | Comments (36)June 07, 2008
When good knits go bad, and then become (really, really) good again
It was about a year ago to the day that I abandoned knitting Alpaca Twill, an undeniably gorgeous sweater coat designed by Norah Gaughan. The yarn I purchased for this project, Classic Elite Princess in Ladylike Leaf, languishes in my stash, but today we'll talk about what happened to the two sleeves I actually finished knitting.
At first I wanted to frog them, and holding two or three strands together, recycle the yarn into a little garter stitch blanket for our kitty. But when I showed the sleeves to Her Royal Furriness, she was interested in them just as they were!
And... she doesn't just rest her furry little head on the sleeve or cuddle with it! She kneads it! I've never seen a cat do this before - she plants her little bum, grabs a corner of the sleeve, then digs her front paws into the fabric, all while generously purring. She usually kneads right before going to sleep or resting.
This "bad knit turned good" was especially important over the past few days - our furry baby had surgery on Tuesday, and the sleeve accompanied her during her stay at the vet. (You can see where they shaved her paw for the IV in the photo above.) Kitty is recovering wonderfully (knock on wood!) and this morning I was able to capture the sometimes elusive kneading on camera.
When Kitty is kneading, all is well :).
Posted by Kathy at 12:28 PM | Comments (96)June 01, 2008
Carrot cake... no, sunshine!
When wet, like carrot cake.
When dry, like sunshine.
Pattern: Linked Rib from Knitting New Scarves
Yarn: Sundara Yarn Aran Silky Merino in Sunshine, a bit less than 2 skeins (180 grams, 400 yards).
Needles: set of 5 Bryspun dpns, US 8.
Finished size: about 2.5" wide and 96" long (the fabric definitely grew a bit during blocking - the scarf was 85" before).
When you mix beautiful yarn, perfect needles, and a pattern whose brilliance could make a brain surgeon feel like a simpleton, everything just works.
I can't think of a single thing to add!
P.S. And to see this beautiful scarf in its full form, modeled and everything, you're going to have to ask Sundara! The scarf is hers, and she promises a proper debut very soon!
Posted by Kathy at 08:22 PM | Comments (23)
