Thoughts for the season

An excerpt from "Machinery Doesn't Answer Either, but You Aren't Married to It" by Ogden Nash Life will teach you many things, chief of which is that every man who talks to himself isn't necessarily out of his wits;  He may have a wife who knits. Probably only he and his Maker  Know how many evenings he has spent trying to raise a conversation while his beloved created sweaters by the acre. Ah, my inquiring offspring, you must learn that life can be very bitter,  But never quite so much so as when trying to pry a word out of a knitter. Sometimes she knits and sits,  Sometimes she sits and knits, And you tell her what you have been doing all day and you ask what she has been doing all day and nothing happens, and you tell her what you would like to do this evening and ask her what she would like to do this evening and nothing happens, and you think you will disintegrate if you don't get some response, and you speak tenderly of your courtship and your bridal,  And you might just as well try to get a response out of an Oriental idol, And you notice a spasmodic movement of her lips,  And you think she is going to say something but she is only counting the number of stitches it takes to surround the hips; And she furrows her beautiful brow, which is a sign that something is wrong somewhere and you keep on talking, and disregard the sign,  And she casts a lethal glance, as one who purls before swine...

Some new work

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. Life has just gotten in the way. But I thought I would document some of my recent completed projects.

In May of last year I began a sweater that I hoped would accompany me to New Zealand in November. Well, it wasn’t meant to be, and it turned out that New Zealand would have been too warm for it anyway. But this month we’re leaving for an extended trip to the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies, and a heavy sweater is really in order. “Kiwi” was finished except for sleeves when I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago, and those have now been completed. I think I’m more proud of this sweater than I’ve ever been of my others. I usually know every mistake I make, and there are always places that I wished I had done differently. This isn’t the case with “Kiwi”. I’m a very proud parent and will wear it happily!


In addition to “Kiwi” I’ve made several shawlettes. These small shawls are perfect for my size, and they’re really fun to make.


This shawlette is called Arrowhead and is from a pattern presented by Knitting Daily in a free booklet entitled “7 Free Knitted Lace Patterns”. The yarn is a New Zealand yarn (purchased on my trip last Fall) that consists of New Zealand Possum, merino and silk. It’s absolutely scrumptuous, one of the softest yarns I’ve ever worked with!


This second shawlette is called Tracy’s Shawl (no, not my daughter) and is a pattern by Wendy D. Johnson. The yarn is wool and is variegated which blurs the patterning unless the light is shining through it.


The third shawl is patterned by Anne Kuo Lukito and is called Weekend Shawl. The named it that because she was able to knit it in a weekend. Not me! The fiber is wool. I absolutely love the shape because it has a neck hole and sits on the shoulders. No slide! It hangs beautifully. (If you’re curious as to what I’ve used to block this, they’re foam tiles sold by BJ’s for children’s play areas and are really cheap!)

Cottonwood

There’s so much cottonwood fuzz in the air that it looks like it’s snowing - at 82o!

It's a lovely day ...

The sun is shining and the sky is blue. The flowers are out of this world! I just have to share some of them.

These are wild azaleas that we found on a woodland walk.

Baby iris in our yard.

This magnolia just keeps blooming and blooming!

And back in our woods, a Jack-in-the-pulpit!

A new sweater

About a month ago DH and I decided that this was the year for a "super" vacation. With that decision made we chose New Zealand. We'll spend three weeks there in the Fall. Need I say that we're a bit excited?

In honor of this occasion I designed a new sweater and have named it "Kiwi". I began with a selection of cables that I really liked, put them together in what I considered to be a pleasing design, and knit a sample swatch.

The yarn is, once again, Lion Brand's Wool-Ease. I can't take a chance on using a yarn that can't be easily washed. I love the dark green color. There's nothing like this in my sweater chest. At this point I've knitted the saddles, picked up and knitted the back and front to the armhole length, and picked up and knit the sleeve stubs. I'm ready to start knitting the body in the round. Stay tuned!

Spring!

Flowers and then snow - it must be Upstate New York!

And yet another pair

This pattern is available for free on-line:  Seaweed Socks by Wendy Johnson.  It’s another pair from the toe-up.  I can’t imagine doing socks from the top down now that I’ve mastered this!  The yarn is Wool-Ease in color #234 Pines.  It’s a bit more green than what shows in the pictures.

Did I mention that I love my socks blockers from Knit Picks?

 

 

Another new book

I’ve been waiting for this booklet to become available.  Unfortunately it must be ordered directly from www.tahkistacycharles.com, but their service is super.

All designs are knitted with their cotton yarns.  The designs, however, are crisp and neat with added little touches.  There are two that I want to do soon:

And more socks …

I decided that my Olympic knitting would take the form of a learning experience.  I wanted to learn to knit socks from the toe up.  And I wanted to learn the different kinds of cast-ons as well as the different kinds of heels.  I prowled on-line and found a lot of info, but one book made a LOT of

difference.  This was Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson.  What a book!  It’s full of information and beautiful socks.  My creativity came in when I had to adjust patterns for the socks I was making. 

I make socks – heavy socks – to wear instead of slippers around the house in the winter.  I use Wool-Ease yarn so that I don’t have to hand-wash the socks.  Most of my socks are based on 44 stitches and size 3 needles.  So, when I see a pattern and graph that I like I often must adjust to have the proper number of stitches.

 

My first toe-up socks were a variation of “Traditional Gansey Socks” from Wendy’s book.  These were a variation as the original pattern called for 66 stitches.  I opted to use 42 stitches for these socks in order to preserve pattern. 

These are Wool-Ease #102 Ranch Red, and red is really difficult to photograph, so the close-up is in black and white.  The toe was cast on using a Figure 8 cast on.  The heel was one I found during my “surfing” phase.  It’s in a post entitled “Toe Up Heel Flap Sock Formula”, and this created a flap heel that looked just like a top down sock.  Binding off was the final hurdle in doing a toe up sock.  Most bind offs are too firm, so I decided a “Lace Bind-off” would work best.  And it does!

 

Wow!  This is fun, so I’m off to my next pair.  These are a variation on Wendy’s “Riding on the Metro Socks”.  Done in Wool-Ease #171 Gold, they’re done the same way as the previous socks except I used 44 stitches.  And I used a different cast-on.  I’ve now learned how to do “Judy’s Magic Cast-On", and what a difference it makes!  Once you get the hang of it, it flows.  You develop a rhythm and it only takes a couple of minutes.

 

 

Over the years I’ve collected piles of sock patterns, and one that I have admired for a long time is called “Fascine Braid Socks” by Tiennie.  I also deviated from my beloved Wool-Ease and used Paton’s Decor, Color 82231 Woodbine Variegation.  Cast-on was with a Figure 8, and the major change with these socks was using a slip stitch heel.  I wanted to see if I liked it any better here than I do with top down socks.  Still not my favorite!

 

 

 

Okay, the Olympics ran from February 12 – 28.  I finished Fascine Braid during the closing ceremonies.  Not too bad!  Especially since I was learning a whole bunch of new stuff.  But I can’t stop now.

 

Wendy’s “Southwestern Socks” are available as a download on-line.  The pattern was in the stack that I had “grabbed” over a period of time.  I didn’t like the yarn she used, but I did like the “v-ed” design.

Once again I’m using Wool-Ease in a turquoise color.  Somehow or other I lost the ball band.  Oh well …

 

This can be addictive!  I hate to graft the toe on a sock, so I must say that I really like having a sock just about finished when it comes off the needle.  And, yes, I do use just one needle - a 12” circular that’s just right for sock knitting.  When I’m doing the heel I use a second cabled needle.  And some have questioned my use of a size 3 needle with this weight of yarn.  All I can say is that I knit loosely, so I have to go down in needle size.

 

My newest book is probably my most exciting buy in a long time (and that’s really saying something!).

Knitted Socks East and West  by Judy Sumner has some fantastic socks.  They’re inspired by a book of Japanese stitch patterns.  Some are a little different (like the cover socks) but nothing would keep you from knitting toes onto the socks!  I’m already planning some up-coming knitting, using finer sock yarn for summer wear.

Socks …

January was sock-knitting month.  They’re good fillers for that time when it’s too cold and gray to even want to go outside.  We did do some x-c skiing, but the socks were always there.

“Black Wavy Rib” were the first completed.  These are based on a stitch pattern from Annie Maloney’s The Knitter’s Guide to Stitch Design.   I also wanted to play with a picot edge at the top of the leg.  The socks are black Wool-Ease and taught me that I don’t like to knit something like this with black yarn!!!  Really hard to see.  But I love the finished product.

 

Socks I call “Upward Bound Lace” came next.  The stitch pattern is found in Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns, and I carried the pattern into the heel flap.  Again the yarn is Wool-Ease #104 Blush Heather.

 

 

And the end of the month brought me back to a sock I’ve wanted to knit for a long time:  “Brigid” from godessknits.  This is the same clever designer who did the Cable Medallion Socks that I’ve done before.  Brigid was knit on 48 stitches in cream color Wool-Ease.  The pattern specified size 4 needles and finer yarn, but my size 3s were just right with the yarn I used.  These socks are wonderfully comfy!