Author Archives: pdxknitterati

Car knitting

Posted on April 12, 2010 | 11 comments

On Friday, The Teen and I went with a group of his friends and their parents to tour the University of Oregon. We had a great info session and tour. No pictures, because that would have been embarrassing, right?

Lucky me; I wasn’t the driver so I had four hours of car knitting, round trip. I didn’t want to work on my shawl, because I didn’t want to have to keep track of the pattern. And I wasn’t ready to start the April Fool’s socks yet. But I did knit all of the garter stitch band for a Quincy hat.

This is Quincy in Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, the color is Red Hot Passion. My sister requested this hat for her birthday. I finished the garter stitch band in the car, and finished the hat at home that evening. A one day project!

I originally started this hat after Christmas with Lamb’s Pride Bulky, but even though the yarn knit to gauge, it was much heavier than the specified Classic Elite Ariosa. I wasn’t happy with it, and it made my hands tired to knit to that gauge. After avoiding it for a couple months, I decided to start over with the thinner yarn. The worsted is a little light for this project; the perfect yarn would have been somewhere between the two. But it was all about the color; Sis wanted it to be the very red of the OXO Cable fingerless mitts (see sidebar) I designed for her Christmas present.

Here it is with the original bulky garter stitch band underneath. The first one was close to done, but I was running out of yarn, and didn’t love it enough to buy more. That’s telling. Using the worsted on a size 9 needle resulted in a slightly floppy hat, but that’s what I had on the trip. I think I may felt it down just a little. It still needs to be blocked, anyway. My hands were much happier knitting to this gauge!

What else did I do with my weekend?

I put a new trellis on the front of the house, and planted a clematis vine on it. I’m looking forward to vivid purple flowers. Our previous trellis had a climbing hydrangea growing on it, but it wasn’t happy with its newly sunny location (we took down a huge birch tree a few years ago; it was stressed after being hit by a pickup truck). The hydrangea and its trellis has gone to live at a friend’s house. Everybody wins!

What did you do with your weekend?

11 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, quincy hat

April Foolishness

Posted on April 9, 2010 | 13 comments

We were spoiled by a spectacular early March; warm and sunny. I could get used to that. Alas, March went out like a lion, with lots of wind and rain. It’s still cold in April. But even the cold doesn’t make me want to finish my Heather Hoodie right now. I don’t want to knit with bulky yarn; it makes my hands tired. What’s a girl to do?

Ummm, cast on a new project? Sure! This is a shawl using Knitted Wit‘s fingering weight merino wool. Lorajean calls this color Blue Sky. It’s a cheery color, and knits like a dream. I love it! I started this project with an idea that’s been percolating in my mind for quite a while. I had several false starts, but it’s finally working out the way I want it to. I’ll show you what it really looks like, later.

The other bit of April fun comes from Star Athena. It’s her Socks for All Seasons Pattern Club. The club runs for 12 months, and you can choose to buy each month separately, or sign on for 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. I’m in for three months of fun. I used to say that I’m not a sock knitter, but apparently that’s not true since I have a lot of hand knit socks. Not as many as Shannon at Twisted (50 pairs, oh my!), but enough that I don’t wear store bought socks very often. I just don’t knit socks with fingering weight yarn; I’m too impatient!

This month’s pattern is written for four different gauges, so it’s perfect for me. I happen to have a ball of Fly Designs Monarch sport weight in Sailing (see how I love these blues?). The pattern is called April Fool, and it’s simple yet crazy. The socks are knit in one piece, the first one toe up, with a bit of waste yarn in between at the edge of the cuffs, and then the second one top down. No second sock syndrome here! This will be my simple project when I’m not knitting the shawl, which requires some counting.

Happy spring!

13 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, knit socks, shawl

Coincidences

Posted on April 5, 2010 | 15 comments

I delivered my Felted Slip Stitch Tote to Twisted last week. My original tote has come home and is now carrying my current project. If it looks familiar, it may be because it’s the knitting in my blog header.

While I was at Twisted, Shannon and I realized that we were both wearing Leyburn Socks. And Dansko clogs.

Shannon’s (on the right) were knit with BMFA Socks That Rock Lightweight; I’m guessing toe-up. And mine were knit from the cuff down with Mirasol Hacho, which is a DK weight yarn. We love our Leyburns! Thanks to Shannon for the picture!

15 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged dansko, Knit, leyburn sock

The rest of spring break

Posted on March 29, 2010 | 23 comments

Knitterly stuff first:

The Felted Slip Stitch Tote. I felted this a couple nights ago. The colors are a bit muted compared to the pre-felted bag, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! It’s still bright, but not too bright. I’m pleased with it, and I hope Shannon & Emily at Twisted are, too. It’s a shop sample. Now my original tote can come home! It’s been on loan for a while.

While I was up in Seattle, we went to Uwajimaya for groceries for CollegeDude (one more term!). Yes, I know there’s an Uwajimaya in Beaverton, but we weren’t going to have time to get there before he headed back down to school. There’s a Kinokuniya bookstore in Uwajimaya, so I had to go check out the extensive knitting section. I bought this stitch dictionary.

I really like the way it’s organized. There are sections for leaves/diamonds, lace, stripes, flowers/bobbles, zigzags, pyramids/checks…nice. The introductions to each section are really pretty.

I also met up with Kathy one afternoon before the guys came up. We went to the Japanese Garden at the Arboretum. Even in the rain, the flowering trees were gorgeous.

These seed pods were a little eerie.

The rain didn’t bother the koi.

When the boys came up, we visited the very cool Seattle Public Library.

and the market, of course. We needed more spices from Market Spice!

I love the market. Even onions become art.

On the way home, we stopped by the Museum of Glass in Tacoma.

It wasn’t open, but we really just wanted to look at some of the exterior art, and the footbridge that goes to the courthouse (full of Chihuly works, but I didn’t take a picture on the bridge). The US Courthouse is adjacent to the old Union Station, which showcases some of Dale Chihuly’s works. This chandelier hangs in the center of the rotunda.

And I love this window that looks back towards the museum.

A fun getaway, and now it’s back to work!

23 Comments

Posted in Knit, travel

Tagged spring break

Spring fever…

Posted on March 27, 2010 | 11 comments

This week I finished a couple projects, including the straps for the felted slip stitch tote. I felted it last night. It’s drying, so I’ll take pictures tomorrow. This project took more yarn in the heavier Brown Sheep Lanaloft than the original KnitPicks Wool of the Andes; I’ll edit the pattern notes to make reflect that.

I had a fun day at Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. I taught an entrelac class in the morning. We even purled back without turning our work! This saves so much time when you’re working stockinette over a small number of stitches.

I also took a drop spindle class with Deb Accuardi. We worked with wool roving and with top, and mixed in some other fiber, too. My goal was to spin a more consistent single, and I did. And then we plyed some of it, too.

Stevanie Pico taught dyeing. All in all, a fun day.

The days are getting longer and lighter, and the air is getting warmer. Weeds are springing up like crazy in the garden. The boys helped me weed the front flowerbeds, and we’re in the process of taking out all the Japanese anemone. It was only slightly invasive when we had a big birch tree to shade it, but when we had to remove the tree, the anemone got too happy in the full sun and took over the garden. Buh-bye.

With spring, I’m also feeling the urge to jettison my unfinished Heather Hoodie (bulky yarn) and cast on something breezy and new! But I’m afraid if I set it aside, I’ll never go back to it. Yikes. I think it’s all a result of spring break.

I headed up to Seattle last weekend to play guitar with a piano friend. Yes, that sounds nonsensical, but it’s true. We met in 2000 at September Sonata, a piano camp in Bennington VT. We were roomies then, and have been friends ever since. In fact, there’s a whole group of us west coast “Piano Babes” that get together at least annually. Some of us aren’t playing the piano a whole lot right now (moi, for one), but we still have a lot in common.

Last fall, I bought a new guitar, and Sheryl did, too. They’re both Takamines with the same body style (NEX); mine is cedar and mahogany with a satin finish, and hers is spruce and maple, with a gloss finish. We’ve been trying to get together to compare them, and finally did. Hers sounds warmer/mellower from the back (playing) and more forward/pushy/rock from the front, and mine is mellower from the listener’s point of view, and brighter from the player’s perspective. I happily played them both!

Some of the other piano babes came over on Saturday; we played/sang Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. We also web-surfed to check out kd lang’s version (she opened the Olympics with it), Jeff Buckley’s (hailed by some as the best) version, Bon Jovi’s acoustic version (my favorite), and of course, Leonard Cohen’s version (Live in London). C played this last year in Carmel, so it seemed like good common ground.

We had a great time! Thanks to Sheryl for hosting. There was more spring break activity, but I’ll leave that for another post.

What is spring inspiring you to do?

11 Comments

Posted in Knit, music, spinning, travel

Tagged dye, guitar, Knit, piano, spinning, spring

Last of the last of the last minute!

Posted on March 26, 2010 | 6 comments

Lorajean thinks she’s last of the last minute, but I’m posting after her…

I’m teaching at a fiber fun day at Pico Accuardi Dyeworks here in Portland tomorrow. There will be classes in spinning, plying, dyeing, and knitting, as well as some shopping opportunities (Lantern Moon, Knitted Wit, Pico Accuardi, of course!).

I’m teaching entrelac in the round, specifically Athena.

And hoping to take a drop spindle class with Deb.

Deets on the day are here.

6 Comments

Posted in Knit, spinning

Tagged Athena entrelac, dyeing, entrelac, fiber fun day, Knit, spinning, yarn

Simple Pleasures

Posted on March 25, 2010 | 10 comments

In February, Amanda from NH Knitting Mama Yarns contacted me to ask if I’d consider having my ZigZag Lace Pedi Sock pattern in her new yarn club offering. Oh, yes! Knitting is a simple pleasure, and Amanda knows it. Her new yarn club is a little different from most, in that there’s no advance commitment. There will be five offerings this year, and you decide if you want to order one of the club packages. You don’t know what’s in it, but you know it will be good! I love the thrill of a yarn club surprise. A Simple Pleasures package includes an exclusive yarn colorway (never listed before) and goodies centering on a theme.

This month, the theme is pedicures. Amanda knit up a sample in her sport weight yarn line (see below), and I added pictures of her socks to the pattern, and also added a toe option to my existing sock pattern. (If you bought the ZigZag Lace Pedi Sock pattern online, an update is coming through Ravelry.) Besides the pattern, there’s a really pretty sport weight yarn, colorway “Winter Buster” which is red, black and white, a project bag, red nail polish, emery boards, and a chocolate. Perfect for beating the winter blahs. If you’re on Ravelry, you can see the colorway here.

It was a pleasure working with Amanda. If you want to order a Simple Pleasures package, they’ll be on sale on the first of the months of May, July, September, and November.

10 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, ravelry

Tagged Knit, pedi socks, yarn club

Color riot

Posted on March 18, 2010 | 14 comments

I finished the knitting on the shop sample of the Felted Slip Stitch Tote for Twisted.

I love this riot of color!

It’s interesting how the darker part of the blue yarn made a diagonal line across the body of the bag. It looks like a wrinkle in the knitting, but it’s perfectly flat.

I’m looking forward to felting this, but I have to knit the straps, first. I’m only about 5 inches into the first one, but they go pretty quickly. Soon!

14 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged felted slip stitch tote, Knit

Crafty Mom Weekend 7.0

Posted on March 10, 2010 | 17 comments

What I didn’t tell you about the Portland Yarn Crawl: I wasn’t going to be there! I had a Pippi Hat at Happy Knits in the scavenger hunt, but that was it for me. I was at the beach for Crafty Mom weekend. This was the seventh annual getaway; there were 10 of us this year. The weather doesn’t matter much. If it’s nice, I get some good walks in. If it’s not nice, the view from the window is enough.

I had a very productive weekend. I started my Felted Slip Stitch Tote shop sample for Twisted. I love the vibrant colors of Brown Sheep’s Lanaloft. And the pattern just flies along. I would have finished it, but I had a few other projects that needed work, too.

I started and finished a secret project; I’ll tell you about that someday soon. I played the guitar. I wrote lyrics for a song. I did a little spinning with my drop spindle. I enjoyed the view!

I worked on my Heather Hoodie. The cables are lovely. I love how the cable pattern ended at exactly the right place to make an “O” when I joined the shoulders. Serendipity!

But even before the weekend, my hands were already aching from knitting cables with bulky yarn. Manipulating the stitches makes my hands tired. I’m cabling without a cable needle (see tutorials on the sidebar), but I don’t think it would be any better if I used one, because I’d still be manipulating the stitches. I’ve been playing a lot of guitar, too, so my hands feel used and abused!

I joined the fronts to the back, and I did the math to knit sleeves down from the armholes. I’m going to make the sleeves plain stockinette rather than cable some more. I’d like to finish this and wear it before it gets too warm! It snowed on us on the drive back over the Coast Range, so there’s still time…

What did you do this weekend?

17 Comments

Posted in Knit, spinning, travel

Tagged beach, bulky yarn, cable wthout cable needle, heather hoodie, Knit

Portland Yarn Crawl this weekend

Posted on March 3, 2010 | 8 comments

There’s a mega-yarn event happening this weekend in PDX. It’s a yarn crawl, with sixteen local yarn stores involved. There’s a chance to win an amazing goodie basket (a Lantern Moon basket filled with yarn, needles, books, wool wash, patterns, not sure what else was in there) from each of the stores involved. And a scavenger hunt! The theme of the hunt is “Hats off to Local Designers,” and I have a hat somewhere in the hunt. Go find it!

The event begins this Friday, March 5, and runs through Sunday, March 7. You can find more info about the event at PortlandYarnCrawl.com. You know you want to.