In the studio

Scarf, black and white tweed, mixed fibers: 46% Acrylic, 33% Wool, 9% Polyester, 8% Cotton, 4% Nylon; rib stitch; size 6 wood needles

I get a lot of pleasure out of knitting a classic pattern with a classic yarn now and then. This is part of a group of pieces that I am doing on needles smaller than size 10. It ends up being a lot of knitting, but I love the substantive feel of the fabrics.

I've slowed my pace of knitting due to taking up other arts and I'm also taking time to sort my stash by color. So I may get back to "progress" photos rather than all sorts of different projects. I'm not starting much these days.

In the studio

Scarf and hat, wool yarn: "Shriek" size 9 aluminum needles and Basketweave stitch for the scarf, size 9 cable needle, 16 inrib for the hat

I know this is a sort of one of a kind thing for me. This set may be one of the last garment projects I start. Once I'm finished with what I have started now, I think my knitting is turning a very significant corner into more explicit textile design and fabric art.

This has worked up very quickly and the yarn has been very dreamy to use. I've been interested in watching how different the yarn looks when worked in the different stitches.

Knitting not blogging

I have been knitting like a deranged fiend. Feels good! It's the afghans - I've taken leave from my day job and have been able to camp out in my studio with all the bags of yarn it takes for these huge pieces. They don't travel well at all, and since I'm in the middle of things photos are rather boring. One is depicted on Oct. 30 and one on Nov. 6 2006. They're much bigger now.

The technique involves sitting among heaps of yarns. For the teal-purple one I'm using a yarn for two rows and then switching. I'm paying close attention to making broad bands of similar colors. The woven stitch (also called linen stitch) makes the colors blend in a lovely way, so I use many rows of teal with aqua, or instance, then start blending in another color. It's very amusing to play with the color and try to make sure it keeps my mojo interested.

For the black-white-red one I'm switching yarn every row. I'm working it in k1 p1 rib stitch. I use a black wool and hemp blend and black cotton chenille and now a black Peruvian wool as what I call "base" yarns. They have a matte finish. They make up the most of the piece. Then I use black yarns with very interesting textures, some fuzzy, some shiny, some with little flags, and occasionally a red row or a white row and sometimes a gray row. But I always go back to the base yarns so that they make up the greater part of the fabric.

Just thinking about it makes me want to log off and get back to the studio!!!

In the studio

Stole, seed stitch, acrylic and viscose yarn size 11 wood needles

I stalked this yarn for months, looking at the store sample in one of may favorite shops, Saratoga Needle Arts during each visit. It has a very strange feel, but works up beautifully into lacy fabric. It's by Diakeito and it's called "Diamist". I'm not sure I'd like it on smaller needles as a more dense texture. It's actually quite heavy.

This is a piece I am making for myself, and it's a stole that I will wear in the manner of Punjabi traditional costume for women, with the stole draped from the front to the back. I think it will work beatifully that way with dressy trousers as well as with skirts and dresses. I'm planning on wearing it a lot, and not reserving it for special occasions. Since I wear mostly black all the time, I think it will work well with most of my daily outfits.

In the studio

Scarf, wool, "curry" and "raisin", rib stitch, intarsia color work, size 5 plastic needles.

I started a scarf with this wool that was a twisted stockinette stitch, but I couldn't enjoy the weight of the fabric, even though I loved the stitch pattern. It was too flimsy for my taste. So I ripped it out and began with this rib stitch version and the fabric is the perfect weight. I also like the neatness of the color change.

Finished scarf

Yellow mohair scarf, garter stitch, size 9 wood needles

I had to get a little extra red into the yellow to get close to the deep purple color. I actually have not finished the purple, but sold the yellow scarf by itself. I had plans to fasten the two together with buttons. But that's for another day.

In the studio

Scarf, purple mixed synthetic fibers, rib stitch, size 8 plastic needles.

This strip will be combined with several others to make a scarf of purple and gold.


One of the yellow strips is posted in the Nov. 27 entry. Another is very fuzzy. I also have a dark purple wool strip, smooth like the Nov. 27 yellow one. So the idea is to have four strips with complementary colors and contrasting textures. Each strip is nine stitches per row. I'm going to attach them together with crocheted circles using the yarns from the strips.

I spent a good deal of the past few days combing through stash, organizing colors for projects that I'm doing that require lots of different yarns. I got a lot of things off my studio floor because I'm done with lots of projects, or using the yarns in different ways so that they don't need to be sitting in open shopping bags ready to be selected any more. I put lots of things up onto shelves so they are out of the way. I collected a group of whites together and I'm ruminating on doing several projecs involving a lot of white. Of course it will have flecks of something else.

I worked a bunch on the blue/green/teal/purple afghan, but because I'm in the middle it still basically looks the same as the Nov. 6 entry, although bigger -- yay!

I also worked on the "Shriek" projects. So far a hat, a big scarf and planned fingerless gloves, each with a different stitch pattern. They will be interesting as a set, if someone doesn't mind the way they each look different because of the stitch pattern, but the same because they're done with the same yarn. I guess I have to photograph this, don't I.....

Borrowed questions

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love silk yarn - it has that dry feeling that I like very much.

Acrylic yarn is the yukkiest, I think.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I decided to use the top drawer of a small chest of drawers in my knitting room (my spare bedroom and studio). It works very well and is large enough to hold the entire 30-year collection.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for 45 years and my mother taught me to knit. I'd describe my skill level as advanced - I'm designing things now. But I still learn new things frequently thanks to all the cool knitting bloggers!

4. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I crochet, tat, embroider, sew, quilt, a little weaving and paper arts.

5. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I don't wear ponchos, but living in upstate New York requires being able to wear lots of things to keep warm. A hat is necessary most of the winter, and scarves do a wonderful job of keeping the cold away.

6. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Simple shapes made of fabulous fabrics that I invent as I go along. I also like intarsia color knitting.

7. What are you knitting right now?
Er...umm...about 20 different things.

8. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

My current faves are wood straight needles.

9. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Both!! They are wonderful! I recommend getting them to anyone who is pretty much continually knitting.

10. How old is your oldest UFO?
I would have to say at least a year, but I don't really care to keep track. Eventually if it's become totally uninspiring I rip it out and make something else that holds my interest.

11. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn and interesting hand made papers.

12. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Book: Knitting Beyond the Edge by Nicki Epstein
Yarns: Just about anything by Colinette
Needles: I'm starting to try smaller guages, so I'd like to get some nice wood needles in size 7 and smaller.
Subscriptions: I don't subscribe but buy interesting issues of Knitter's, Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Knit1, and others that are attractive.

13. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Gloves.

14. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
No - they scare me!

Stash

Willow, by Tahki; the fiber content makes me giggle: 66% Linen 34% Cotton I'm wondering how they come to those exact percentages.

I'm getting a substantial amount of linen yarn, so I'm wondering what sort of interesting textiles I can create with that fiber, maybe mixed with both cotton and hemp. At this point I have quite a wide variety of colors and textures. So I'm wondering both about intarsia, which I've been practicing, and my usual mixing by rows. I'm also starting to think about wall hangings and doing either mixed media on top of the fabric or some sorts of beads and embroidery embellishments.

Books

Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun ; Mel Clark and Tracey Ullman ; 2006 ; Stewart, Tabori & Chang ISBN: 1-58479-534-4 ; 168p. ; $27.50(USD)

I found this to be quite an interesting book, but I haven't purchased it yet. I like Tracey Ullman's work, and her kntting seems to be quite sophisticated, but I'm still not certain why I'd buy the book - what do you think?

Stash

Rowan Chunky Print; color: "Shriek"

I couldn't help myself and got another grab bag from Webs. This is my most problematic yarn, so of course I tried to start working with it immediately. I made a beanie that's a k4 p1 rib and the inherant wildness of the yarn makes it nice and exciting. Then I thought about making a "set" of beanie, scarf and gauntlets. So I started a basketweave stitch on the scarf: Nice and exciting. I think I'll do the gauntlets in garter stitch. Because of the chunky weight it knits up very quickly.

The other yarns in the grab bag are yummy and inspiring, so I'm sure they'll end up in the blog too.

In the studio

Tote bag, single crochet, fabric strips, size N crochet aluminum hook

Crochet with fabric strips is a good workout for the hands in two ways. The cutting gets to be very challenging after the first 10 hours or so, then it's always a bit harder for me to pull loops of fabric strips than yarn. Lots of breaks are necessary. But I love this bag. Its weight is quite wonderful, and I'm going to continue to keep the colors very bright and gaudy.

In the studio

Handbag, cotton tape, seed stitch, size 9 wood needles, braided strap

I didn't get this finished in time to have it at the little craft fair held by my food coop on Saturday. Well, this along with about 10 other projects. But I had a table full of things! You've seen them all here in the blog. I displayed them on a table draped in black velvet (thank you again, Dr. Brat) and the colors popped out like jewels.

A friend recently let several other friends comb through her hand-made bead rejects and we all thanked heaven that she has very high, exacting standards. We were all crazy over the "rejects". So I'll be using one wonderful bead from that stash to make the fastener for this bag. If I can stand to let it go.

I also mailed off six hats to another friend over the weekend. In the misty past I gave her a hat on impulse and since she has many indications that it is much coveted, we made sure she'll be able to keep hers by spreading around similar hats through her group of friends.

After the little fair and shipping off all the hats I felt oddly free of obligations on Sunday. I mused over getting back to paper arts again and not doing another show and sale until our annual Art on Lark fest in June. I need a break from the pressure of trying to make things by certain deadlines.

Knitting magazines for the young

Ok, I can understand the knitting magazine publishers wanting to pick up the younger crowd. But do they all have to do it in exactly the same format with the exact same publication design ideas? I'm sorry to have to say that they look like brainless idiots in the way that they have copied each other.

Bravo for Rowan, coming up with something really fresh and innovative a couple years ago.

Booooo! to all the others for being merely copy cats.

You'd think with all the new fresh talent abundantly available they'd be able to use some of it.

*sheesh!*

In the studio

Scarf, forest green kid mohair and silk, rib stitch, size 9 plastic needles

I love the way the rib stitch works up in this yarn!

I've also begun to collect short straight needles for doing scarf projects, and I like them a lot. I think these are 9 in and they are perfect. Sometimes the cables make me nuts - if the cable is too short it's a drag, causing more stress on my hands to hold the needles in place, and if the cable is too long it is flopping all over the place. The only problem I have with plastic is that I tend to bend them. I'm even bending a pair of wooden size 5 needles as I knit.

In the studio

Scarf, wool, rib stitch, intarsia color work size 7 aluminum cable needle, 24 in.

I'm so bent out of shape with Blogger Beta right now,......argh

In the studio

Blogger is busted, so no photos today.
Mostly I'm digging into my incompleted projects and trying to get ready for the show and sale at the coop this weekend.

Wheee!!!

In the studio

Scarf, raisin and curry, wool, rib stitch, intarsia color work, size 5 plastic needles

I got several inches along with these yarns in a twisted stockinette stitch months and months ago, but I ripped it out because the texture just didn't feel substantive enough. This rib stitch is producing just the color effect I want, and it produces a bit heavier fabric than my previous attempt.

Finished Scarf

Scarf, black kid mohair/silk, seed stitch, size 9 wood needle

Voila! The sequins don't show, with the exception of the one little glint in the upper left corner, but I'm really enjoying this scarf. Threading and managing the sequins was somewhat of a drag, but I'm glad I tried it. I think beads might be a little bit easier, or even larger sequins. It was very difficult to get the little blighters to separate once they were threaded. So there was a lot of fumbling with teensy pieces of plastic every four stitches. It makes be appreciate Borocco's carry-along sequin strands, which make it all very easy.

I'm doing a forest green scarf with a similar kid mohair/silk blend, and I'm doing it in rib stich, which makes a delightful fabric, and I have no idea how I'm going to embellish it. I'm wondering if beads would pull it out of shape all the time.

In the studio

Collar, Angora, size 8 cable needle, 16 in. rib stitch

Like the black mohair, this yarn warmed my fingers as I knit it. In spite of the fluff, it's very well behaved and I do love the feel of it going through my fingers. It's a little bit too big in circumference, so I'm thinking about taking it out and starting over or putting a button on it so that it can be tightened. I supposed I could do the same thing with an interestingly placed draw string.

In the studio

Scarf, yellow wool, rib stitch, size 8 cable needle, 16 in.

This strip will be combined with several others to make a scarf of purple and gold.

I worked on it and several other "in progress" projects over the weekend in Germantown Ohio with a small klutch of knitting friends and one crocheter. We were tipped off about the Yarn & Needle shop nearby at the intersection of 725 and 48 and took a little trip. What a great shop! I picked up three balls of Ironstone "Paris Nights" yarn and look forward to working with it.

In the studio

Scarf, black kid mohair/silk, seed stitch, size 9 wood needle

This scarf has been altogether a very pleasant experience in knitting. I caught the last couple balls of this yarn at the Woodstock Wool company and I'm soooo glad I did! I wanted the photo to show the sheer nature of the fabric. The way it works on the wood needles feels quite nice in the fingers, and it clings to itself because of the mohair so that it never slips around and becomes unwieldy. If I had my druthers I'd knit with it all winter long because of its superb insulating qualities. My fingers have been kept warm as I knit. This is the Rowan Kid Silk Haze, I think it's called, and there are a few other brands that are also very pleasant. I'm knitting up something in a deep forest green from France that is satisfying my ever-growing fondness for this yarn.

I've tried knitting the kid mohair silk yarns with smaller needles and I'd recommend something larger in order to get the lacy effect, and a fabric that is not too warm. As it is, I'm not sure I'd knit a sweater with it. I'm not sure anyone could keep it on for long. If I wanted something that warm I'd use something that is also rugged and could be worn outside. This seems too dressy/fussy for that somehow. That's my sense of the aesthetic qualities and choice of what to make with it.

I'm crocheting a single crochet border with sequins spaced every four stitches.

Finished Scarf

Scarf, mixed fibers, purple and gold, garter stitch, size 11 cable needle, 24 in.

I started this one immediately after I completed the first one (in the previous entry). It is another playful design based on school colors. This time I tried for an asymmetrical stripe with the gold, and added some flashy gold. I cast on with the purple, knit three rows then knit two rows of gold. Then I knit about 20 rows of purple and cast off with gold. I want to try much more playing with asymmetrical stripes.

The photo captures the purple a little better, however I had to do a lot of pursuasion with Photoshop.

In the studio last night all the struggling with sequins paid off and I now have tried threading sequins onto a yarn strand successfully for the first time. It's a kid mohair and silk yarn which is a very fine strand, so it went easily through the holes of the sequins. But more later on that... Photo is coming up!

Addendum: this purple yarn I keep praising is GGH "Madonna", which is no longer produced as far as I can tell. Hence the 70% discount when I got it. I couldn't find a better photo than this: http://www.woolworks.com/Knitting/Yarn/Disc%20Yarns/GGH/madonna/?M=A

Finished scarf

Scarf, purple and gold, garter stitch, size 11 bamboo cable needle, 24 in.

I cast on 130 stitches or so and made long rows for this interesting scarf. What makes it most interesting is the wool purple ribbon yarn, which I got at 70% off in Lenox, Mass. at Colorful Stitches. Yum! It is a very springy yarn when knitted, and it's important to be very careful while knitting, as the needle tip must be guided in order not to split the ribbon. The deep purple of this yarn is impossible for me to capture with my camera, so I tried fiddling around with Photoshop, but to no avail.

It's a school colors scarf, and the first of many that I'm doing for the heck of it this year.

The scarf is a very nice rendering of our school colors due to the beauty of the purple, and I can't wait to wear it to the next basketball game.

Finished capelet - circle scarf

White and pink capelet, reverse stockinette stitch, size 11 cable needle, 24 in.

Although I feel like the capelets are by now a well-worn cliche for me, I think this is lovely because of the pale, pale colors. I'll be using this combination of yarns again soon, because they all feel good in my fingers as well. Yummy!

I haven't worn them until recently. I wore the autumn one (September 11, 2006 entry) to a party over in Connecticut recently and not only got a lot of compliments but felt very special. It's putting on those gorgeous yarns that is a wonderful feeling. I wore this one a few days ago and it, too, made me feel quite regal. I hope everyone who is wearing them is getting that same boost.

Meanwhile, last night I threaded a few hundred sequins onto a strand of kidsilk mohair and I'm planning to crochet a fringe and intersperse the sequins. Previously I've tried sewing them in with a needle and thread, and I've been less than eager to try it again. So I'll be trying this experiment, which only works with a very fine strand and big sequin holes.

hats! with twirly things!

New project frenzy

I'm not sure what hit me, but I started a black kid mohair scarf, a forest green kid mohair scarf, a purple and gold scarf, a handbag, and a shawl within the past week or so.

In the studio

Dress, linen tape, rib stitch, size 11 cable needle, 24 in.

This is the second shift in what might become a series. They're for wearing around the house and being very comfy. The first one was a silk and cotton blend (see September 12) and was stockinette on the bottom and rib from the waist up. I began that piece by thinking of a long cylinder, but in the middle I decided to do a halter top and have an open back. While it looks good as a piece, it looks really bad on me, so I'm going back to my original garment design ideas for this one.

I also decided to do this one entirely in rib stitch, because I think the linen tape looks really good in the rib stitch and that the garment will have an overall better shape - like a big sock. I'll see.

Stash confessions

When I was standing in line at the Web's tent sale this summer, oggling the great buys that my fellow shoppers had nabbed, I sniffed when I heard a newbie saying "I have a *drawer* full of yarn that I haven't used.

Yes, all you seasoned knitters out there know what I mean. All the knitting writers and bloggers have written about it, contemplated it and just given in to it. Stash is unavoidable after you truly fall in love with yarn.

I've been guiltily stashing art and craft supplies since 1977, so it has sort of been not a surprise to acknowledge that I have a lot of yarn. But...I have a *lot* of yarn. It's not crap, either. Also not terribly expensive since I get an extra little thrill from scoring at yarn sales, scrounging sale bins and wandering around shops until I find the sale areas.

Lately I have been wondering about my increasing efforts to slow down on collecting. This is serious. I've never thought so hard about cooling it in 30 years. Could it have been tripping and falling into the 10 very large shopping bags crowding the studio floor? Honestly, I felt like one of the characters in the classic scene where the protagonists end up sliding down a long chute into the whatever-it-is thing that begins to attack a few minutes after everyone settles down and stops screaming.

Finished hat

Hat, wool, rib stitch, size 9 double pointed needles

This is one of my favorite yarns ever. Or maybe to state it more accurately, it's a yarn by one of my favorite yarn manufacturers ever: Noro. I hope I never find out bad things about this company, because I love their yarns for their colors, their fibers and their textures. This yarn is a wool that doesn't look like it's spun very much actually. It's appearance is more like a felted strand.

But the colors. The color changes and combinations are some of the more intriguing and attractive available today. Yum!

I knitted this using a set of plastic dpn that drove me crazy. I'll try to remember to produce a photo to warn you off them. They have a long slender tip with a slope that suddenly broadens to the actual needle size. It produces an audible "thup" as every stitch slides onto the needle from the point and it takes considerable pressure to force the stitch from the point to the needle. They'll be donated soon.

In the studio

Scarf, mixed fibers, size 10 wood needles, seed stitch

This is one of the complex scarves I've been attempting over the past month or so in the studio. This is one half. I will knit another piece the same size and attach the two using buttons as embellishment at the attachment points. It will be twice as wide as the piece shown when completed. The buttons are hard and shiny, about 3/4 in. in diameter. I have used pieces of approximately 20 yarns, each about 18in. to 24in. in length. I have not woven in the knot ends, so they act as small tufts on a surface that is very rough, hairy and fuzzy. I've got two bags of these autumn color yarns and it's been fun making hats scarves and bags.

My fiendish knitting has been abated only by a little housework and library work. As a result I'm getting places as far as really trying many of the ideas that inspire me.





I picked up Knitting Over the Edge by my current knitting heroine, Nicky Epstein. The bookstore lady from my favorite independed bookstore gave me a sort of mysterious discount, which was wonderful. Yeah, I'm drooling over that every day. But for some reason I haven't tried any of her patterns yet. Go figure. They're steeping.