Knitacious

Swap it to me

2009-08-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've been busy with some small project swaps over the last month or so.

It all started with dishcloths. The purchased kind do not seem to last forever, and I needed to add some to my kitchen drawer to replace those with holes. I read about swap-bot so wanted to give it a try, and also signed up for a dishcloth round robin on ravelry through the dishcloth round robin group.

The first swap up was an international Dishcloth and Tea Swap..... on swap-bot. I was matched with a partner in Croatia and had one month to knit or crochet a dishcloth for her. I had fun looking through the dishcloths patterns and decided to knit up a starfish cloth. My first one was in green, but I found out that my partner did not like green, so I made another using the same pattern and a cherry swirl colourway. I hope she likes it! I also sent a selection of tea and some very cute heart buttons.

I liked the starfish cloth so much that I knit some more for my aunt and second cousin who had both recently moved into new digs. They are quick and easy to knit on road trips.

Then I signed up for an international "homemade bookmarks swap". I was matched with a partner in Illinois, USA - I read her profile and found that she liked Harry Potter, so I knit up a Dobby Style Sock Mark.

I had fun rummaging through my sock yarn looking for the correct colours. And of course this was good practice for toe up socks and wrapped heels. I finished the sockmark last Friday, and the heat had finally arrived in Ottawa. I did not enjoy knitting with the wool sock yarn, as with the high humidity my hands stuck to both the yarn and the needles. It also took forever to block and dry the Sockmark. But it was really lots of fun to knit. I knit both parts from toe up, and then grafted them together so that the toe ends pointed in opposite directions.

I also made a Diamond Lace Bookmark, using crochet cotton. This was easier on the hands. I had fun with these two, and will probably make more for family!

Leave it to me

2009-06-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus I am back to blogging. I lost my camera over the Christmas holidays and found it this month, so I can take pictures again.

I'm working on a baby shawl, using some yummy Malabrigo Lace. I'm thinking of a traditional shetland square shawl model - with center square, a lace border and then lace edging. I recently completed a heritage shawl and was quite pleased with it, but this time I want to make it my own...so I'm letting the yarn inspire me.

The verdes 203 colourway makes me think of ivy and lace.....so that is what I'm looking at. I'm considering ivy leaves, rose leaves, beech leaves, ferns...and am plowing through stitch dictionaries looking for just the right pattern.

Fortunately I'm able to start on the center square, actually a diamond that starts with 3 stitches, increasing one stitch at each edge. So while I ponder what lace border pattern to use I am still able to knit away, though at some point I will have to determine what my stitch repeat is and how many stitches I need on each side of the diamond, so that I will begin decreasing at the right spot.

I usually do not design on the fly like this, but I've decided to give it a try. I'll keep you posted on whether this is a successful method for me.

Dyeing to Knit

2008-11-26T07:42:00.001-08:00

Been experimenting with handpainting yarn. In October, took a course on how to handpaint yarn at a great new knitting store in Ottawa, Wabi-Sabi. Along with seven other fibre enthusiasts, painted my first two skeins of yarn. Been hesitant to do this at home - what with white cabinets everywhere - and decided that an alternate location would be preferable.

Had lots of fun - and managed to create two lovely handpainted skeins. Introducing skein #1, a purple, blue and turquoise mix, and skein #2, a monochromatic green mix. Not yet re-skeined, you can see the application areas for the different paint colours.

In mid October came across a great find at Value Village - 10 balls of Medil Kid Seta in a cream colour, which is very much a Kidsilk Haze look alike. Immediately thought about handpainting this yarn. Decided to book the Wabi-Sabi studio for a dyeing session (therefore saving my home kitchen from paint spills and vinegar overload).

Started with the balled Kid Seta.....

In preparation for dyeing, re-skeined and tied the 10 balls....

And then the studio session (sorry forgot the memory card for the camera!) Three friends came along, and two of them dyed yarn as well. Was a lovely way to spend a Sunday.

It took about three hours to handpaint the yarn. Decided to graduate the colouring of the skeins, by creating a base colour which used moss green and yellow colouring. Then diluted the base colour into three strengths, then handpainted on the colour.

Yes, I really like greens......

Here the skeins are drying. Need to re-skein, then grade according to colour and then ball into centre-pull balls for knitting. Plan on making one lace cape and one lace shawl.

Tagged

2008-11-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

Black Star Knitting tagged me to share 7 facts about myself. I'm somewhat new to the blogging game, but I'll play along.

Here are the rules:

-Link to your tagger and list these rules
-Share 7 facts about yourself (random or unusual)
-Tag 7 other people at the end of your post by leaving their names and links to their blogs
- Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Here are my own personal 7 facts. I decided to share some of the less known things I love:

1. I love the movie "The Way We Were" starring Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand. I adored this movie when I first saw it 1973, and have since bought it in VHS and DVD versions!

2. I love the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I've read the 6 books in the series (a total of 6,053 pages) three times from cover to cover, and also listened to the audiobook.

3. I love Bob Dylan songs, mainly from the 1962-1975 period. I have most of the discs for this period in vinyl and CD.

4. I love margaritas. After watching a bartender named Victor (at a Cuban resort), hubby now makes margaritas that rock!

5. I love the TV series "The Waltons" which ran from 1972-1981. Good night Scott-Bob.

6. I love shopping at thrift stores like Value Village, St. Vincent de Paul and Goodwill. My most recent best finds were 10 skeins of Kid mohair silk and a Bob Dylan CD.

7. I love soaking in the bathtub, watching a movie with a glass of wine. Stayed at a boutique hotel in Montreal several years ago that had this feature, and asked hubby for Christmas for the same setup. He made it so!

These are the next 7 tag players:
Hired Hands, Deblog, Wool Power,
Canadian Guild of Knitters, Gennoel, betseydoodle, Andrea Wong Knits

Surprise!

2008-11-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

I've been knitting Baby Surprise Jackets like mad. It all started with a request from my husband for a baby gift for a colleague who was having a baby. I had noted that the Elizabeth Zimmerman BSJ was a very popular ravelry pattern, and decided to check it out. Coincidentally there was a BSJ Knit Along just about to start, so I joined up and began my first BSJ. I used a variegated fingering. I decided that the first BSJ was too small, so I decided to use a more substantial weight of yarn, and moved up from fingering to sport weight yarn.

I checked in the stash and found some Patons Astra that I had left from a Franklin the Turtle sweater which was 100% acrylic and would be totally washable. I just started in, playing with the colours and making my selections as I went along.

It was fun to imagine what the jacket would look like when done. I was pleased with the resulting BSJ, and then looked through my button box for four buttons that would match. Would you believe that with HUNDREDS of buttons I did not have four that would work? So I decided to make dorset buttons. They were a nice touch.

By this point I was addicted. Two done ... but more yarn left in all of the colours ... so I decided to keep on going ... and made another ... and then another. It was interesting to see how DIFFERENT each of the jackets was, using the same palette of yarn, but adjusting the balance of colours, and making different coloured buttons.

This became a real stash buster experience and in the end I used up almost all the colours. In fact, I did not put a button band but decided to insert a zipper in the last one, as I decided to use brown yarn around the jacket and found I did not have enough. I was worried!

In fact I did not have any brown left. I used it all when I crocheted around the jacket and then sewed in the ends. This little bunch of yarn is all I have left!

Now I have two BSJs completed, waiting for the next baby shower. Surprise!

More Hugs and Kisses

2008-10-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm in GST deferral mode. I should be completing my financial account for the month, but decided to take a brief rav/blog break. I'm still trying to decide what big project to work on next. Christmas present? Baby gift? Not sure, so in the interim I decided to knit another hugs and kisses cap for charity. I'm having fun with the bits of mostly no-name wool in my TV stash basket - still working on the boy colours, browns, greys, etc. Here's number 2.

Decided to knit another one (they are addictive). Here's number 3, in process, that I started last night in soft grey and brown. Now I love the effect, but I must say, the grey yarn (who knows what it is...) is quite soft and keeps breaking - which will mean some ends to sew in. Now, I wasn't sure if I would have enough yarn for a double band, so I did a provisional cast on and then will knit the band at the end. I'm picking up stitches for the band now.

Here's a picture of the first Hugs and Kisses cap, finished with the double tassel. one of things I've been playing with is the tassel, or shall we say tassels. My first had a double tassel, second a single tassel - now I think this time a multi-coloured tassel is in order! I'm going to make it up and attach it before I proceed with the band, so that I don't run out of yarn.

Hugs and Kisses

2008-10-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

My first finger workout. This past weekend I decided to work on a quick charity project - the Hugs and Kisses Cap design donated by Mags Kandis for afghans for Afghans. I'll be donating this to the Warm Hands Network.
This knit up quite quickly. As my last two hats were pink ones, for girls, I decided to knit up a male version, and I used a DK weight 100% wool yarn in my stash in dark grey with teal green for the accent.

I knit the seed stitch band, but didn't like it, as I found it was a bit loose, so I cut and removed the band.

I now needed to knit a conventional K1 P1 ribbing band from the picked up stitches. I also added a turn up row, and doubled the band as it would make a much warmer hat. Even when charity knitting, it is easy to go back and make modifications in order to be 100% pleased with the final product.

Just waiting to finish the tassel at the top and sew in the ends.

Ready, set, knit

2008-10-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

I'm ready to get back into knitting again after a two week holiday. The stitches on my left index finger were removed this week, and it's actually healing quite well. The fingernail does not look pretty, but if you look at my hand with palm facing it actually looks quite normal. So that's what I'll show you!

While watching the Canadian English debate on Thursday night I did a little swatch to see if I was ready, but I decided that another few days rest were needed. Today, things look good and I'm without either a band-aid or splint. I'm actually keyboarding using the finger now, so this is a good progress. The initial estimate was no knitting for six weeks.......so I'm very relieved to be ahead of this estimate by a month.

I guess I'll sew up my BSJ (Baby Surprise Jacket) and then start another BSJ, this time one that will fit an infant rather than my bunny! I must say that I didn't know why so many people talked about this jacket until I made it myself. It is fairly straightforward, fun to knit, and each knitter produces a different version, through the yarn weight and colours selected. I really enjoyed seeing the pictures of the BSJ's that other knitters made, plus all the little extras, such as collars, tabs, etc., and will paw through my stash for inspiration.

Finger Paper Scissors

2008-09-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

No, not a new version of the popular strategy game "Rock paper scissors". I wasn't paying enough attention last Saturday and managed to cut my left index finger with a sharp paper cutter blade . A visit to the emergency room, much waiting and finally stitches rounded out the day. I did manage to meet friends at the NAC Theatre at half time to see the remainder of the show later that same evening.

But it's been a challenging week. Keyboarding is much more difficult, though I have managed to work around the not being able to bend, and therefore use, my very useful index finger. I've opted out of most food prep around the house, and have only begun my regular clean-up duties.

It's been quite strange not being able to knit. At our local guild meeting on Monday night I was able to hold up some items I knit earlier in the month, but I'm dying to sew up the Baby Surprise Jacket I finished the night before the finger injury, and under normal circumstances I would have finished and shown that jacket, as I had two days to sew the shoulder seams and sew on buttons.

Here's the jacket waiting for me to sew it up.

Here's Popsy with a preview of the finished product!

So I'm continuing to let the finger heal, think about new designs and wonder what project to proceed with next.

Stretched to the limit

2008-08-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Had some fun yesterday blocking outside, using the deck railing and patio furniture for support. Let me explain...

The afghan which I finished knitting over a month ago was sitting in the living room waiting for blocking. Now I'm used to blocking using blue Styrofoam sheets, blocking wires and lots of pins, but this afghan was just too big. Plus even if I did have enough Styrofoam sheets (though I found two more in the attic a month ago...), there is nowhere in my small house that I could lay it out. I'm expecting company again in a couple of days, so the family room and guest room were off limits. At first I thought I just might skip blocking...but I knew that the feather and fan pattern stitch, like all lace patterns, would not look great until it was blocked.

So, lacking inside space, I looked to the outdoors. In good weather I let all my knitting air dry outside on my deck. The weather had been clear, so I thought, why not. I also remembered that there was a technique called string blocking, also called frame blocking, in which shawls are strung on string and stretched on a frame. I decided to approximate this technique, and let my deck and some furniture play the role of the frame.

I first threaded some light cotton yarn along both sides of the afghan. Then I threaded the top and bottom of the afghan, but only the tips of each scallop. I had all four sides threaded, with an extra few feet at each end for fastening. At this point I wasn't quite sure what I would fasten this thing to, but I knew I would figure it out.

Now, I guess I forgot to mention that we are undergoing deck repair, so I was restricted to using one rectangular section of my deck area. Fortunately the length and width of the deck and my finished afghan were compatible, though there wasn't a lot of extra space at the sides.
I started by tying both ends of one lengthwise thread to the deck railing structure. Now I had a problem - there was no corresponding railing on the other side, so I decided to use the deck chairs. I lined up a chair at either end and then tied the other lengthwise yarn to the respective chairs. I moved the chairs further apart to get some tension and then surveyed the situation. Good for a start.

Next I needed to stretch the top and bottom threads, so I followed the same process, tying the ends to a table on one side and chairs on the other. Things were still looking good, but I now no longer had any space to get around the afghan to tighten up the strings. I either had to crawl under the afghan or go into the house and out the back door. As I worked through the blocking I did a little bit of both, for variety and exercise! Oh, and I found I was short a chair, so I had to find another and throw it over onto the lawn so that I could place it where it was needed.

Now I needed to lace around the sides, to pull and tighten, much like you tighten a corset or shoes. I took more cotton yarn and laced the first long side of the afghan, in a zigzag pattern, threading through first the long running thread and then the deck railing. I continued this all along the side. I then did the same on the opposite side, though in this case I was alternating between the long running thread and the deck chairs. Finally at the bottom and top of the afghan I threaded through each peak.

Now the afghan was ready for wet blocking. I used my garden hose on a fine spray and thoroughly soaked the afghan. This caused a major sag, as the wool stretched a bit. So I tightened each of the zigzag string yarn sides and ensured that the afghan was square. With water dripping off the afghan I no longer crawled under it to get to the other side, so I had many trips in and out to fine tune the look of the afghan.
I also decided to help the natural drying, and brought out two fans which I placed under the afghan pointed upwards. I let them oscillate and circulate air. With the sun shining on a lovely afternoon, the afghan was dry within a couple of hours.
I cut the strings and removed the afghan from the deck framing.

Perfection! It had wonderful stitch definition and looked fantastic.

If I made many afghans, I might be inclined to make a reusable, collapsible frame. But for this situation, my improvised solution worked out just great.

Did I mention I am a Girl Guide?

Foot therapy

2008-08-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

I can tell summer is almost over and fall is coming when my toes start to get cold again - during the day, in the evening and during the night.
I bought a pair of toeless foot therapy socks this summer which I have been trying out. After a bath or shower I apply foot cream then slip my feet into these socks, therefore keeping the moisture from the foot cream on my heels. The storebought socks have a gel pad on the heel area which is supposed to help, but I have also heard that plain cotton socks are good as well....so let's see if I can come up with something that will do the trick, but this time with toes, as now my toes are cold.
Tomorrow I will look in the sock box and also look at all fingering weight yarn that I have in my stash and see if there is something that will knit up into a warmer pair of socks. Perhaps some reinforced nylon in the heel area will help with the cream retention.
Also thinking of socks, I've been thinking of knitting a pair of Austrian twisted stitch socks. I purchased the 3-volume set Uberlieferte Strickmuster, by Maria Erlbacher and was inspired by the Bayerische socks on See Eunny Knit!
I'll have to pull out those books and play around with some patterning.