PDXKnitterati

At last…

Posted on March 26, 2009 | 23 comments

I finally seamed Hey, Teach. The knitting has been done since February 8 at Crafty Mom Weekend. The pieces have been languishing in a bag. But yesterday I realized that I needed something red-ish to wear to tonight’s Loop & Hoop event at the Blazer game, and that was finally the impetus forgetting this done.

This was not my best seaming effort; I just wanted it to be done. I started last night at around 11:30 p.m. and finished around 2 a.m. Yes, I’m a night owl. I backstitched the sleeves into the armholes because the last time I tried to seam them from the right side, it didn’t look good at all. I mattress stitched the side seams. This morning I wove in all the ends, and sewed on the buttons.

Hmmm, the sweater is a purplish red, or reddish purple, somewhere between the first and second pictures. I bought these beautiful buttons at the Button Emporium. They’ve moved recently, and their new shop is lovely.

I tightened up the buttonholes by stitching around them, because they were pretty loosey goosey. The only mod I made to the pattern was to shorten all the ribbing from 6 rows to 4 (I think). The actual knitting was between mid-November and Thanksgiving, and then one day in February. I kind of lost interest at Thanksgiving with the decreasing in the lace pattern, and then just slogged to finish last month and last night. I like this sweater, but I don’t love it. I think I’d like it better if it were an inch longer, but there’s no way I’m going back! I also find the neckline to be a bit saggy, and should have used a smaller needle for the edgings, even if they weren’t called for.

But it’s done, and I can check it off my short list of WiPs!

Oh, the Loop & Hoop? Very fun. More on that soon, after I photograph the swag from my goodie bag!

23 Comments

Posted in Knit

Knit? Knot!

Posted on March 24, 2009 | 14 comments

Not knitting, knotting. I learned to string pearls! Pretty cool. I had a choker length necklace that broke, and it’s been waiting for about a year for me to fix it. I finally decided to give it a try. New silk cord (comes with needle attached), an awl, really pointy tweezers. Check.

It looks as good as new! There is a knot on either side of each pearl, and about 1/2 inch of silk cord between each pearl. Here’s how it goes: Start with a length of cord twice as long as you want the necklace. Too much is better than too little! Tie the non-needle end of the cord around a seed bead. I can’t tell if I have a square knot, or not! It’s too small for my eyes. So I tied 3 or 4 times. Then add the bead tip (the clamshell shaped thing that the bead sits in; this will also attach to the clasp). You don’t have to tighten it at this point; just let it hang there.

*Make a simple overhand knot about 1/2 inch away. I used the awl to slide the knot close to where I wanted it, and then just my fingers to tighten the knot in place. Add a pearl. For the knots after each pearl, I used the awl to place the knot, and then used the tweezers to slide the knot against the pearl. The tweezers were really helpful in getting the knots snugly against the pearls. Repeat from * until the strand is the desired length.

Add another bead tip, and then tie cord around another seed bead about 1/2″ away. Dab some glue (Elmer’s is fine, according the the helpful woman at the bead store, but superglue is not; it cracks) on the end knots (the ones on the beads). Let dry, clip the excess cord. Close the clamshell bead tips around the beads. Attach clasp to the hook on the bead tip; pinch closed. Voila!

I did have to do this twice. The first time I got to the end, I put the end bead on before the bead tip that it sits in. The end beads should always be LAST. They’re the ENDS. Oops. I couldn’t get the knot out to fix it. And of course this happened 15 minutes after the store closed last night. I had to wait for morning to buy more cord and re-string the whole thing. Practice makes perfect.

I think I could actually do this without a little bead in those end thingies, if I tied a triple or quadruple knot to go inside the bead tip. That would make it easier to close the clamshell completely. My original necklace didn’t have bead tips at all; the cord was just tied around the jump rings. I don’t trust my knots enough to do that, yet.

I completely winged this, so if there’s a “right way” that’s different, I don’t know. But I liked it so much that I made a necklace for my sister’s birthday, too!

I also made these stitch markers with goodies from my trip to the bead store. Cat Bordhi suggests stitch markers labeled by letter for some of the socks in her New Pathways for Sock Knitters book. I plan to use these soon!

14 Comments

Posted in beading, Knit

Tagged beading, knotting pearls, stitch markers, stringing pearls

A long time coming…Seafoam Socks Pattern

Posted on March 20, 2009 | 13 comments

I just can’t stop knitting this pattern. It makes me really happy! The pattern is so logical, so easily memorized, so easy to track. I had to make another…

The Fly Designs Monarch sport on top is my favorite yarn so far. The colors are even more vibrant than in the picture. The yarn is really springy and fun to knit with.

The pattern has been written for a while, but I wasn’t happy with my pictures! Pictures that looked good on the screen didn’t look good coming out of the printer. It’s been a frustrating couple days, but I think I have what I want now.

The pattern is available as a pdf download through Ravelry. See the pattern page for more information.

13 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, ravelry

Tagged Knit, seafoam socks, socks, yarn

It followed me home, can I keep it?

Posted on March 19, 2009 | 13 comments

I got a tweet on my phone from Twisted the other day. It said, “BLUE MOON IS HERE!! Mucho Socks that Rock is right now being put on the shelves!”

I was at work, and had errands to run after work. But somehow I made it. There were 20 colors of Socks that Rock Mediumweight, the skinniest yarn I’m willing to knit with. I wanted one colorway to join the second quarter STR KAL on Ravelry, but I had a hard time deciding.

This color is called Bleeding Hearts. It looks like the dicentra spectabilis that grows in my garden. The stems are just peeking up through the soil now, and they’re the color on the dark end of the skein. The flowers will be a glorious pink when it’s time. This colorway is well suited suited to the pattern, Shur’tagal. It seems to want to be somewhat monochrome.

But the Alley-Oop was so pretty, how could I leave it there? It has many of my favorite colors in it, as well as a green that adds just enough zing. Yes, I bought it.

Somehow I made it out the door without Tidepooling…

13 Comments

Posted in Knit, ravelry

Tagged Knit, knitalong, socks that rock, yarn

Random thoughts on yarn weights

Posted on March 16, 2009 | 16 comments

I’m playing with gauge and fabric. My Seafoam Socks are twice knitted, twice edited. I’ve done my swatching with four different yarns, all on size 2 needles. I’m getting 6.5 sts/inch with all of the yarns.

Gauge is a funny thing! The first time I knit these socks, I knit them with Mirasol Hacho, a dk weight yarn, 137 yards to 50 grams/1.76 oz (78 yards/oz). (Blue sock at the bottom of the pile, foot showing.) I like the hand of the fabric, a bit firm, but not stiff. My hands were tired by the time I finished knitting the socks though, as I was trying to keep things fairly firm so the socks wouldn’t be too big.

My next purchase for this sock was the Butternut Woolens Super Sock yarn above, 341 yards to 113 grams/4 oz, (85 yards/oz). This yarn is listed on Ravelry as fingering weight. It feels bulkier than the Hacho! I would call it a sport weight yarn, at least. It’s making a nice wooly feeling sock, but definitely a winter article. The ply is looser than that of the Hacho. Here’s the Hacho sock on top of the Butternut Woolens sock; although the circumference of the sock is essentially the same, the Butternut Woolens sock has fewer rows per inch, so the sock is a bit taller and a bit longer, same number of rounds. See the green peeking out from behind the blue?

I also swatched with my leftover BMFA Socks that Rock Mediumweight, also considered to be a fingering weight yarn at 380 yards to 155 grams/5.47 ounces (69 yards/oz). This knit up to a slightly loose but still very nice feeling fabric.

And I couldn’t help myself. I was at the LYS and wanted to check out one more sport weight yarn, and chose Monarch by FlyDesigns. This colorway is called Sailing. The yarn is listed as a sport weight yarn, although it feels a bit lighter than the STR Mediumweight. It’s 370 yards to 126 grams/4.44 oz, (83 yards/oz). My gauge? Also 6.5 st/inch, and isn’t this lovely? The fabric isn’t as dense as I usually knit my socks, but it’s quite acceptable, very similar to the Socks that Rock Mediumweight.

By the numbers, the Monarch should be closest in weight to the Butternut Woolens, but look at the difference in appearance. By numbers, the STR Mediumweight should be the thickest, because it has the least yardage/ounce. I’ve read that if the yardage of the yarn required for your pattern is within 10% of the yarn you’d like to substitute (similar fibers), it should work. All of these knit up with a decent hand, some thicker, some thinner, but all result in a sock of about the same size, so what does it all mean?

(Hacho DK, Butternut Fingering, STR Mediumweight Fingering, Monarch Sport)

I think it means that if I specify sport weight yarn for this pattern, you still have to decide if you like the fabric you’re getting with the yarn you choose. Labels by the manufacturer are just the first step in choosing your yarn. A yarn labeled fingering may knit up thicker than a yarn called sport at the same gauge. A tight twist can make a yarn feel thinner, or a loose twist can make a thin yarn look thicker. You may like your socks thicker or thinner, firmer or floppier. Ultimately, you are the boss of your knitting, and you get to decide how you want the fabric of that sock to feel. Knit on!

16 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged gauge, Knit, sock yarn, yarn

Are we there yet? Seafoam Socks

Posted on March 15, 2009 | 16 comments

I love how these turned out. Just the way I wanted…after much trial and error!

Seafoam Socks
2 skeins Mirasol Hacho, size 2 Lantern Moon ebony Sox Stix

See the waves? The bubbles? And the sea foam at the rippling edges? I like how the pattern doesn’t fight with the variegated yarn. I’m playing with different yarns and gauges to finish writing the pattern; it will be along soon. By the way, I’ve started a sock with the Butternut Woolens sock yarn. Gorgeous! But it’s pretty heavy for a fingering weight yarn. It actually feels heftier than the Hacho, which is listed as dk weight. Funny how fingering can feel thin, thick, or in-between!

One more contortionist picture:

16 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, Mirasol Hacho, socks

Let’s Duet

Posted on March 10, 2009 | 19 comments

I made another pair of Star Athena’s Arctic Blast Mitts as an auction item for our youth mission trip fundraiser.

They look just like the ivory ones, except they’re ice blue.

A quick knit! Malabrigo Silky Merino on size 3 needles, so wonderful to knit with.

And I had a craving for shortbread, so this happened.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or butterscotch chips (I used mini chocolate, but I’ve also used butterscotch)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and salt, and then beat these with the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in chips. Press into an ungreased 9 inch square pan.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool 20-30 minutes in pan on wire rack.

Score shortbread with sharp knife into desired size servings, but do not cut all the way through. Invert onto rack and cool completely.
Break into pieces.

Enjoy!

19 Comments

Posted in foodies!, Knit, recipe

Tagged fingerless mitts, Knit

I feel lucky…

Posted on March 6, 2009 | 9 comments

The Lantern Moon “Beat the Winter Blahs” event on Thursday was really fun! They were well organized, and that’s saying a lot for a first time event. Nine local yarn shops were there, each featuring something from their stores. Twisted featured socks and local designers, and I was thrilled to see my patterns and Athena sample there, too. Thank you, Shannon & Emily!

Yarn Garden was giving away yarn and patterns for chemo caps and scarves, and I scored a ball of Katia Cindy, a worsted weight acrylic.

The other yarn pictured is Lantern Moon Silk Gelato, a silk taffeta ribbon that knits up to super-bulky gauge. Leigh Radford was there signing books, and I believe she developed this yarn in collaboration with Lantern Moon. She asked me if I had ever knit with it, and offered me a ball to try. Sweet! It’s really pretty; I’ll have to find a good project for it.

I finally met Nancy, who works at Close Knit and designs and blogs at GettingPurlyWithIt. We talked a bit about designing; I’m glad to have met her.

Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks was there, too. I visited their shop last Friday for the first time*; Sellwood is a long haul from my neighborhood! They have beautiful yarns, and their staff is loads of fun.

There were about 200 knitters there, including many of my favorite knitfriends (knitfiends?). A fabulous party! (I forgot my camera; no party pix.) Shopping in the warehouse; that was a great opportunity to see the full product line. I am in love with the Bindi tote, but resisting so far. There were raffles throughout the evening, and I was a winner! Didn’t I say that I feel lucky? I won a Lantern Moon Gidget bag!

It’s gorgeous. And it holds a lot. I think it’s going to be my new teaching bag, for my supplies when I’m teaching at Twisted. Or going to knit nite. Or wherever!

I really am lucky. Lucky to win, lucky to live in Portland, which is a knitters’ mecca with so many great yarn stores and the home of Lantern Moon, which makes my favorite needles and bags. Lucky to be supported as a fledgling designer by my LYS. Life is good.

*Oh, my trip to Abundant? What could lure me to Sellwood before I knew about the Butternut Farms Super Sock Yarn? Deb Accuardi was having a launch party at Abundant for her new newsletter about spinning, cooking, gardening…she does it all! She even made a fabulous vegetarian risotto for us that evening. She’s multi-talented; check out her blog at Deb on the Web!

9 Comments

Posted in Knit

Like Cleopatra…

Posted on March 5, 2009 | 16 comments

Queen of Denial.

Um, I bought some yarn. Now, you may remember me saying that I don’t stash. And I don’t.

Because it’s sock yarn. And so many of you have said that sock yarn doesn’t count as stash.

Besides, I’m not a sock knitter, right? At least not with skinny yarn. Like this stuff.

Butternut Woolens fingering weight, Ocean colorway.

It looked thicker than fingering, more like sport. We’ll see. I wanted to make another pair of the Seafoam Socks that I’m designing, with lighter (but not too much lighter) weight yarn. So it’s not really stash, it’s next in the queue.

Did it matter that I’d bought this, earlier in the week, for the same reason?

Not really. Because I subsequently realized that the Lanaloft isn’t superwash, which I like for socks. (Although I do have worsted sox that aren’t superwash, and they do fine. Shhhhh!)

But here’s the other thing. I need to make something for the church’s youth group dinner auction. I think it’s going to be another pair of Arctic Blast Mitts, but this time in icy blue instead of off-white. Like this Malabrigo Silky Wool that I, uh, bought yesterday afternoon.

Stop laughing! It’s not stash unless I don’t knit with it this month…

16 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, yarn

Little Sky Sox

Posted on March 1, 2009 | 15 comments

In preparation for Sock Summit, I thought it would be a good idea to get Cat Bordhi‘s book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters, just to try to wrap my mind around different ways of seeing things.

There are top down and toe-up socks in here. Bordhi begins with a sample sock of each kind, but they’re not your usual top down or toe up. I decided to go for the top down first, since that’s my usual modus operandi. Here are the Little Sky Socks made out of worsted weight Dream in Color Classy.