April 20, 2009
January 28, 2009
Lotus mitten
I've been making this little mock-up of my lotus mitten, inspired by the logo of my local yoga studio. I was more concerned about the look of the lotus than I was about gauge and size, so the mitten is a little snug on my hand. I also want to move the lotus up the palm a few more rows and I'm going to change the color gradations to mimic those on the cuff. So, this is just one small step in the creative walk. I also hope to try out different background colors (a light camel, perhaps) and maybe even a different cuff pattern. The corrugated ribbing has a nice look and makes for a snug wrap around the wrist, however, it is predictably inelastic.
The unusual thing about this week is that I've set the knitting aside to work on other deadlines. More to come.
I plan to use this as the back of the mitten with the lotus revealed when the palms are "up".
January 12, 2009
Slow Knitting
Have you heard of the slow food movement? I read about slow money yesterday in the paper. The slow movement seems to be gaining traction in the media now. I think that slow knitting is another facet of the whole concept and as rapidly as I knit, I think I could found the segment. Quality garments, made by hand, with an emphasis on the process of the making.
I thought about this as I finally completed my own Selva, designed by Angela Hahn. What I could say about this project could certainly be read in her blog comments about the project, but I will dare the repetition. This skirt was a delight to knit because lots of repetitions (30, no less!) of the pattern stitch worked in the round made for a great knit. I was listening to all sorts of books on CD. The project did take hours and hours of this sort of slow knitting.
I like the way this skirt fits. When I began Selva, I was dubious that a hand-knitted skirt could look good, but I think this one does. The heartsof oak pattern does help smooth out any bumps in one's figure. The final test will be in the actual wearing of the thing.
I also must thank my husband, for the fantastic sweater (not knit by me) to coordinate the whole outfit, and to Anne from The Grey Colt , who helped my husband find the sweater to give to me at Christmas.
January 05, 2009
Mitten Class
January 03, 2009
Chunky Cabled Tam from Knit 1
The forecast is for temperatures around 30 F with little or no precipitation. I'll be walking the mile to Miss Chickpea's Funky Fibers wearing my new hat. Yeah!
I blocked the tam on the plate base of my mother's soup tureen. Before blocking, the hat was definitely tight around my big head and not looking too slouchy. After blocking though, the hat works on me. Very exciting. Also, the ten-year old wool seems to have weathered the past decade without moths or rust. Thank you Morehouse Farms!
January 02, 2009
Cabled Chunky Tam
You'll notice that Selva provides the background for the hat-in-progress. Once again, Selva takes a back seat to deadline-based projects. Will Selva ever be complete?
December 29, 2008
hats
When one of my children asks me to knit something for them, there is no hesitation. I jump right on it. Amy requested a slouchy tam back in November and we decided on the Cabled Tam from the "Vogue Knitting Holiday 2008" issue. I finished it as we drove to New York City to visit Amy mid-December. The crowning glory of this project is that she said it was exactly what she wanted and that she actually wears it.
Then, in order to keep walking to work at my LYS, I need a hat. So, I cast on for the Chunky Cabled Tam from the most recent issue of "Knit 1" using Morehouse Merino from my stash. Honestly, I've had this beautiful fiber so long that I'm not sure which of their current yarns it is, but I'd guess bulky. The truth of the matter is that I need a hat badly, and will not stop till its done. The weather in NE Ohio gets cold after Christmas, if it hasn't already done so prior.
You may be wondering about Selva. She is almost done. No, I didn't finish it by Thanksgiving thanks to a knitter's error. I had to rip four inches of waistband shaping and reknit but was hit by pre-Christmas necessaries. It will be finished this break.
Selva
Selva called to me for over 10 months. Selva looked like a challenge in more than one regard being a skirt in a relatively small gauge with a large number of repeats. I've been wanting to make a skirt for a long time, dubious that a hand-knit skirt could look good and wear well without "pouching" in the rear. Many patterns looked more bohemian than my tastes would allow. When I saw Selva, I thought that the styling was good but the detail made this a "big" project - not a quick-knit, immediate gratification sort of undertaking.
I decided to use the yarn called for in the pattern so that I could control the outcome. I had also taken a cue from the photos and purchased a velvet-type jacket in dark olive green with Selva in mind. I wasn't ready to cast on til October.
Now, I've determined to finish it by Thanksgiving. I have one and a half more pattern repeats before I begin the ribbing at the hip for waist shaping. Here's the challenge of this project. My size has 30 horizontal repeats. That's enough repetition to enter a meditative state and every other row is just knit and purl. The increases and decreases are over three stitches, however, and that slows me down. I tend to tense up, draw my knitting close up to my face, and clench the needles. Every time I become aware of this, I relax my grip, let my hands rest lightly near my lap and unfurrow my brow. I must do this repeatedly. Does anyone else have this syndrome?
The beauty of this project is the fabric itself. Hearts of oak creates a lovely, thick, nubbly fabric. I've seen other fabrics of this texture in women's suiting as recently as last fall. I can't wait to try this on.
November 21, 2008
Selva
Selva called to me for over 10 months. Selva looked like a challenge in more than one regard being a skirt in a relatively small gauge with a large number of repeats. I've been wanting to make a skirt for a long time, dubious that a hand-knit skirt could look good and wear well without "pouching" in the rear. Many patterns looked more bohemian than my tastes would allow. When I saw Selva, I thought that the styling was good but the detail made this a "big" project - not a quick-knit, immediate gratification sort of undertaking.
I decided to use the yarn called for in the pattern so that I could control the outcome. I had also taken a cue from the photos and purchased a velvet-type jacket in dark olive green with Selva in mind. I wasn't ready to cast on til October.
Now, I've determined to finish it by Thanksgiving. I have one and a half more pattern repeats before I begin the ribbing at the hip for waist shaping. Here's the challenge of this project. My size has 30 horizontal repeats. That's enough repetition to enter a meditative state and every other row is just knit and purl. The increases and decreases are over three stitches, however, and that slows me down. I tend to tense up, draw my knitting close up to my face, and clench the needles. Every time I become aware of this, I relax my grip, let my hands rest lightly near my lap and unfurrow my brow. I must do this repeatedly. Does anyone else have this syndrome?
The beauty of this project is the fabric itself. Hearts of oak creates a lovely, thick, nubbly fabric. I've seen other fabrics of this texture in women's suiting as recently as last fall. I can't wait to try this on.
October 15, 2008
The Vest
Anyone who lives in the general vicinity of The Ohio State University knows about "The Vest". Head coach Jim Tressel wears a sweater vest at every game, no matter the temperature or humidity. Jim is The Vest.
So, with great trepidation, I unveil "The Vest", made for my son, John, OSU grad and Bucks fan.
