2/1/10 2/1/10

Socks for the New Year

(Happy Birthday, Shelley!)I love travel knitting because whatever you wind up working on will bring to mind all the other experiences you had during that trip. These socks will always remind me of hanging out at Seanan's with Deirdre and Diarmuid, and meeting Emma at Foyle's, and that lazy snowy day in Rye, and the sweet ladies in the Ryanair queue (after our flight was cancelled) who had a bet going as to what I was working on (one said socks and the other guessed it was a sleeve on a baby sweater), and knitting with Jenny and John at a pub in Galway that looks like somebody's great-granny's sitting room, and 'crafterevening' with Shelley, and staying up until 4 with Bríd in Dublin.This pattern is fantastic. I really enjoyed working with the yarn too, although I wish I'd read the Ravelry comments about Smooshy before I decided to knit socks, because a lot of people say it doesn't wear well. The twisted rib feels quite sturdy though, so we'll see.Pattern: Julia Socks by Emily JohnsonYarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, spring tickle (one hank with enough left over for a pair of baby booties, yay!)Needles: #1sRaveled here.(Yes, I stuck my feet in the air and took a picture.)

1/30/10 1/30/10

Funkahedron

Look, look--a stellated dodecahedron! I know, I'm a big nerd, but I think nerdiness is kind of a prerequisite here. It's got bells in it too. I hope my little nephew gets as big a kick out of it as I do.(Pattern from Berroco, raveled here.)

1/29/10 1/29/10

Adventures in London, part 4

(Here is the fourth and final installment, unfortunately rather short in the picture department.)I'd been hoping to meet up with the lovely Emma of quelle erqsome, and we finally managed to get together for coffee at Foyle's when I got back from Rye (the day before I flew to Dublin). When Seanan got off work the three of us went to this amazing vegan Asian buffet before catching The Woe Betides at Bush Hall. We felt very old in the midst of so many scantily-clad fourteen-year-olds chugging from vodka bottles stashed in their purses (heck, I would have felt old if I'd been fourteen myself), but it was very good fun and of course The Woe Betides are terrific. (Check them out on iTunes too...I hope that link works.)Anyway, Emma is one half of Made by Loumms, and I have admired their sock patterns and Etsy goodies for awhile now. I finally treated myself to a sock WIP bucket bag, which came in the mail the other day. It's awesome--really well made using adorable fabrics and nifty buttons, and each bag comes with a little lavender sachet (which I could smell as soon as I opened the envelope). I love that they use every last scrap of fabric to make these sachets--very make do and mend-y of them!(The project inside the bag is my almost-finished Julia Socks, and the two hanks next to it are my prize yarn (squee!) from the Electric Sheep podcast for being The Funniest Person on the Internet.Er...okay, One of Two People Who Submitted a Link to The Funniest Thing on the Internet, to be slightly more accurate. (It was the "literal version" of "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which is no longer available on Youtube, alas!)

1/27/10 1/27/10

Olivia's Birthday Cardi, take 2

This child is destined to become a knitter, don't you think?

Knitting sweaters for kids is tricky. Ideally you want the garment to fit them for more than one winter, but you don't want to knit too big a size either.I wanted to make a cardigan for my niece's third birthday, decided on a pattern--Alice Starmore's Secret Garden--and got halfway through knitting the 4/5-year-old size before I realized that, lovely as it is, it would truly look like a big purple sack on her. But if I'd knit the 2/3-year-old size, it would have been quite a bit of work for something she won't fit into this time next year. So I decided to finish the Secret Garden cardi for her fourth birthday, and knit her something quick in time for her party.Which leads me to the other tricky thing about knitting for kids: there aren't enough patterns out there! I guess I'm just used to having tons of choices when knitting for myself or another adult. I had it in my head that she'd like a top-down garter-yoke cardigan (she's very fashionable, for a toddler), but I couldn't find anything to suit the yarn I had in my stash. So I winged it.It's basically a downsized version of Melissa LaBarre's Garter Yoke Cardigan from Knitscene Fall '08, although I substituted the short-row instructions from the Sweetheart Cardigan by Laura Brown. I'd originally bought this Knit Picks Swish DK to make me some witches' britches, but I can always buy more when I eventually get around to knitting them. Or not, because the quality of this yarn is ridiculous--at several points it frayed to a hair's thickness, and I had to cut the yarn and start the ball again from the beginning of the row. (I've used Swish Worsted on several projects, and I like it, so I don't know what the deal is with the DK.)I used buttons from my grandparents' tin--not the cutest option, but cute enough given that I had the right number. I have a half dozen heart-shaped buttons, but I'd rather save them for a project where I can use all six.(Olivia's birthday was back in November, but I only got a chance to snap some photos just before Christmas, and when I went to Ireland and England I left my camera cable at home.)Raveled here.

1/24/10 1/24/10

Hat for a Wise Man

This is one of my favorite pictures of my grandfather--it conveys his personality so perfectly. He is playful and loving and unself-consciously wise; my favorite expressions of his are Don't take no wooden nickels! and What God's got in store for you ain't gonna pass you by.

I've made him two sweaters these last two Christmases, so this year I thought I'd make him a hat, since he doesn't seem to have a proper warm-and-wooly one. I've found a couple of simple hat patterns I can use for quickie gifts, but his hat has to be special.(Kate is modeling--haven't gotten any shots of him wearing it yet.)

Pattern: a mash-up of the Norwegian Star Earflap Hat and Sally Pointer's Owls and Flowers chart (both Ravelry links); I changed the earflap shaping though, and added the chin-strap and buttons.Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, one skein each of galaxy, turtle, and strawNeedles: #6s for the strap and #7s for the hat itself.Gauge: 24 sts and 32 rows over 4" on #6s; 20 sts on #7s.Raveled here.

Most ear-flap hats have long i-cord, chain-stitched, or twisted ties, but I couldn't really see him using the ties on a hat like that. I like it this way because the earflaps can be kept close to the ears using the strap, or held up by fastening the strap over the head, or the strap can just be fastened up on the button on the same side.

If I could knit it over again I'd probably use a finer yarn, cast on more stitches and knit three full repeats. As it is, I ought to have cast on a dozen or so extra stitches, because truth be told it's a little too snug.

(No, he is not having a convulsive fit.)

Grandpop to Grandmom: Turn off the damn light!Kate: You two are cursing up a storm tonight.Grandpop: That's married life for you. Now hand me that shoehorn.

1/21/10 1/21/10

Welcome to Babyville, part 2

I'm home! Been anxious to blog about this:

It's a zig-zag quilt, directions courtesy of Purl SoHo, measuring 40" x by 54" because I didn't want the baby to grow out of it right away (the sample quilt measures 32" by 44").

Ailbhe and Christian want to be surprised, which made choosing colors and fabrics slightly more challenging. Nothing too flowery, but I didn't want something too overtly boyish either. (I couldn't see giving the orange-and-blue Purl sample quilt to a little girl, for instance.)

I found this thoroughly adorable Alexander Henry owl fabric for the backing (from Fabric Worm on Etsy), and I think it's perfectly unisex. (This is what I told my mother, who was surprised to learn that owls are hermaphrodites.) (Edit: this was a really dumb joke!)

I chose the zig-zag colors to match the backing fabric, and decided that using salmon (it's not pink!) and blue would balance each other out. The fabrics are mostly fat quarters from Jo-Ann, though I did pick up two of the three salmon fabrics (and the quilt batting) from Purl SoHo while I was in New York. I used this handy tutorial to help with the binding.

It's not perfect, but it's only the second quilt I've made--this project was definitely an exercise in anti-perfectionism. I'd never have finished it in time otherwise! There are definitely more quilts in my future...Oh, and here's the baby heffalump with his sweater vest.

His name is Edmund (pending baby's approval).

1/15/10 1/15/10

Menagerie

Happy New Year, everyone! I've been traveling in Ireland and England the last few weeks, and naturally I left my camera cable at home. I'll have lots to blog about when I get home next week.But here's something I can share now--awhile back Ailbhe had asked if I'd make her a menagerie of knitted animals for her little one when the time came. Menagerie member #1 was Mr. Penguin, and here is his first comrade:It's Ysolda's Elijah, a terrific pattern I've knit once before, using Knit Picks Swish on #3s. I also made him a little vest with leftover Cascade 220 Superwash, but that photo will have to wait until I get home...(Raveled here.)

12/16/09 12/16/09

Patternmaking with Cal Patch

I'm trying to improve my sewing skills, so to that end I signed up for a patternmaking workshop at the Brooklyn General Store last Sunday. There wasn't actually any sewing involved (yet)--you take your own measurements and plot them on newsprint paper to make a pattern for a jersey t-shirt. As it turned out, I was the only person who showed up for the class, so I basically got a private lesson with the marvelous Cal Patch.Cal has recently published Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified, which I really wanted to buy on the spot, but I must sheepishly confess that I can't bring myself to pay full price for a book when I can get a discount online. (Cal is totally cool with this, and she feels the same way; authors receive the same percentage whether you pay the list price or get 40% off. It turns out we're both published by Crown/Random House, and we talked about how the titles on the Potter Craft list have gotten much better in the last couple of years. Her book being proof of that, of course!) I'm planning to use some of my Christmas loot to order myself a copy.Her book is full of patterns that are fresh and modern without being trendy, and they're designed so you can easily modify them to suit your own taste and measurements. It was raining hard when we left Brooklyn General, but I was feeling really cheerful and inspired despite having no umbrella. Cal is a great teacher, and I highly recommend taking a class with her.

12/10/09 12/10/09

the Aran sweater myth

(Teach Synge, Inis Meáin.)I'm always embarrassed to discover a mistake in my guidebook. I may be well traveled in Ireland but I'm certainly no expert, and I am aching to get back to work on the revision so I can correct all the gaffes I've found so far. (Alas, it's been postponed indefinitely because of the economy.)The latest error concerns the Aran sweater myth, which is so pervasive that it was even included in some of the cultural history books I used for reference. I propagated it thusly on page 339:

In John Millington Synge's heart-wrenching one-act play set on the Aran Islands, Riders to the Sea, a young woman realizes that the clothes of a drowned fisherman (found on the shores of Donegal, and buried there) are those of her missing brother when she notices the stitch she herself dropped while knitting his socks. Art imitates life on these islands, for each family used a unique pattern when knitting pullovers (called báinín, "baw-NEEN") for their fishermen in the all-too-likely event that one should be lost at sea.You probably won't see any shawls, crios (woolen belts), mairtíní (stockings sans feet), or other traditional garb outside the Aran museum, though the scarves and gloves sold in the shops are no less cozy for their lack of authenticity. Of course, the most popular seller remains the fisherman's sweater, knit in the traditional unbleached wool or a variety of jewel-toned yarns, but you have to wonder if the sweater pattern used by Sarah Flaherty and other speedy native knitters is one designed specially for the tourists.Otherwise, as Pat Boran wryly notes, Aran jerseys are "now worn almost exclusively by German hippies, University College Dublin science students, and on RTE soap operas."

This story (about cable patterns being used to identify drowned fishermen) was circulated by the head of an Aran knitwear company in the 1930s. Kate Davies, the very talented knitwear designer and textile historian, has enlightened me here. (The distinction must also be made between a family cable pattern (false) and identifying one's own handiwork.)

11/22/09 11/22/09

High time for a new hat

My grandmother needs a new hat. Every winter she wears this terrible tatty gray thing that has to be twice as old as I am! So I scoured the Ravelry database looking for the perfect beret, but none of the free patterns seemed anywhere near as lovely as Ysolda's Gretel--which is, of course, worth every penny and then some. I was a bit overwhelmed by the tubular 2x2 cast-on at first, but it's like all things in knitting: once you get the hang of it, it's easy-peasy.

I stuck with the smallest size because I figured I'd need a third ball for the next size up, but because I used larger needles than called for I think the beret turned out somewhere between fitted and regular, which is perfect.

Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda, fitted size.Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed Aran, ivy, 2 balls.Needles: #6s for the ribbing, and #9s.Raveled: here.

I think this beret looks great knit in a proper tweed, too; I'll knit one for myself in Kilcarra eventually. (It's one of my favorite yarns, from a mill in County Donegal.)

11/11/09 11/11/09

Too Many Hobbies?

After spending my childhood drawing and painting, I feel that part of me has atrophied—I may be a published author, but in another sense I still feel creatively unfulfilled. I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was a kid, which probably has a lot to do with why I'm so obsessed with knitting now.

Last spring (thanks to Margaret) I discovered Writing Alone and With Others by Pat Schneider, which is one of those great books on craft and practice that can change your life, if you let it. But one of the passages that struck me most concerns everything that isn't writing or reading: the concept of too many hobbies. Schneider proclaims, "I gave up sewing forever," and rather implies that there is no room in a writer's life for any other creative endeavor. I don't know that she meant to say this, but that's the impact it had on me, and naturally I have to disagree.

To a certain extent I think the practice of diverse arts can enrich and inform, like creative cross-pollination; but there's no denying there is such a thing as too many hobbies, leaving one feeling scattered and unaccomplished in the few activities that matter most. There never seems to be enough time to do everything because there isn't enough time to do everything. A couple of recent posts on the Unclutterer blog have driven this home for me (Saying farewell to a hobby, part 1; part 2). (Update, 2024: have removed the links since this blog is defunct.)

The trouble in giving these hobbies up, though, is that on some level we all think we can be Renaissance women and men—if we only devote enough time to each thing in which we think we ought to excel, then we will, and in the process we will become better, more "well-rounded" people. I "ought" to speak at least two foreign languages, play the guitar, sew my own sundresses, knit all my own sweaters, paint and read and write. But we can't all be Leonardo da Vinci, and if you've ever read his biography you'll know that's actually a good thing.

I have a left-handed Fender acoustic guitar in my closet that hasn't come out of its case in years. I guess I should find it a better home. I know I'll never be as good a painter as I am a writer, even if I do take it up again. But I'm not really talking about jettisoning the hobbies you aren't AMAZING at—if you love to do it, it doesn't matter if you aren't "good enough" to do it along with the pros.

Maybe it comes down to this: if you're truly passionate about it, you're already doing it. What do you think?

11/9/09 11/9/09

Little Birds!

I feel a little guilty casting on a sweater for myself while Santa's workshop is open for business, but it is nice to work on something more ambitious in between cranking out the gifts. It's another pattern from Ysolda: Little Birds, from the inaugural issue of Twist Collective. I've been obsessed with this cardigan and itching to cast on for a whole year now. I bought the pattern without really considering if the cut of the cardigan would flatter me, however, and I think I'll find it more wearable as a pullover. I'm using Knit Picks Palette, which is a great value: soft, great colors, and only $1.99 or 2.19 a ball! A slightly different color scheme, too--green is more flattering than beige.Raveled here.

Whenever I think about this sweater, I remember that song from Man of La Mancha:

Little bird, little bird in the cinnamon tree Little bird, little bird do you sing for me?

...which is, of course, completely inappropriate. This sweater is sweet and innocent, and that song is just the opposite!

11/5/09 11/5/09

Welcome to Babyville

Gosh, it feels like it's raining babies! Well, not really, only three in my circle are recently arrived or on the way. I really like knitting things for babies though--instant gratification! ('Instant' in knitting terms, anyway.)

A hat for Alaina, born September 2009 to my stepcousins Evan and Sonia. Used up the pink Cashsoft Baby DK I had left over from Olivia's elephant. I really like this hat pattern by Janet Russell--it's simple and quick, and the crown decreases make a very pleasing swirly shape. (Raveled here.)

A cardigan for my nephew Quinn, born August 2009. (He's already worn it, but no pictures as yet.) The pattern is Debbie Bliss' V-Neck Cardigan with Contrast Ribs, from Baby Knits for Beginners. I used Knit Picks Swish Worsted, and I'm happy with it apart from the size of the armholes--if I had a do-over I'd increase a couple more times than the pattern calls for. Not that I'm an expert at babies and their teeny proportions, but the armholes do seem a bit tight. (Raveled here.)I have made three penguins so far, but this one for Ailbhe and Christian's baby is certainly my best yet:

The pattern is Alexandra Virgiel's Pasha, from Knitty.com. I used Knit Picks Swish Worsted (white and gold) and Lion Brand Woolease Solid (black), less than a ball of each, plus sock yarn leftovers for the garter-stitch scarf. (Raveled here.) This little guy had to make a transatlantic journey to reach the parents of his future owner, but I made sure he was well insulated for the trip:

Hee hee!I am so happy for Ailbhe and Christian--they are two of the very best people I know, and they're going to be terrific parents. And on that note, stay tuned for Welcome to Babyville, part 2...

10/22/09 10/22/09

Make Do and Mend: Tarot Breakfast Tray

When I lived in Boerum Hill I had really cool roommates who were both crafty and thrifty--Rachel made a colorful quilt out of old t-shirts, and Rel found some great furniture and other random stuff on the street (curbside shopping, can't beat it for the price!) She came upon a lone tarot card (I think it was Death), and she cut a small rectangle in the center and used it as a switchplate cover. Rel also found an adorable (if rather banged-up) breakfast tray someone was tossing, but she ended up passing it along to me when she moved out. That was back in 2003, and the breakfast-tray-with-potential had been sitting in my basement waiting for its makeover ever since.

Before: cute but scratched and faded vinyl tray covering and white paint job that was probably never sealed--it was flaking and splintering.

The plan: pull off the vinyl, strip the paint (using an eco-friendly...eco-friendlier?...paint stripper), sand the bare wood, stain it, put on a new lining using the decoupage technique (with Mod Podge Hardcoat), and seal it all up.

After: TOTALLY AWESOME, no?

The eco-friendlier paint stripper worked pretty well, and I applied two coats of a dark stain. I knew the decoupage would be tricky, so I did the bottom of the tray first since most of the time it won't be visible. (Naturally, the reverse side turned out great, but there were a couple of tiny tears on the side everyone sees! Fortunately the pattern on the paper is busy enough that you'd never notice unless I pointed it out.)

I measured the paper, adding a fraction of an inch on all sides (to be removed with an exacto knife later), and applied the Mod Podge with a foam brush directly to the paper before positioning it on the wood. Then I smoothed out the air bubbles with an old credit card. Some decoupage tutorials suggest using wrapping paper, but I think that's a bad idea—I used relatively thick, high-quality paper, and still had a couple small problems with the paper tearing (too much glue and too much friction from the credit card). After the paper was in place, I waited for the glue to dry before trimming the edges. Repeated the process on the top surface, then painted on three thin coats of Mod Podge over the whole tray (over a period of a few days).

I panicked a little when the first topcoat went on though--an air bubble appeared out of nowhere, and it was impossible to smooth it out (as I'd been able to when I initially glued the paper on). I got frustrated--'why does every DIY project I attempt come out like CRAP?! ARGH!!!'--and then decided to watch Pride & Prejudice with my mom and try to forget about it. The topcoat had dried by the time I came up to bed, and lo and behold, the paper had tried perfectly flat and smooth! HOORAY!!!

To my dismay, the Mod Podge Hardcoat instructions say you've got to wait a whole month between the last coat and actually using the finished piece. It's perfectly dry now though, so I'm going ahead and taking pictures, and I'll eventually pick up a can of polyurethane. The Mod Podge people say you don't need an additional sealant, but I don't believe them.

Here's a close-up of the oh-so-appropriate new paper lining, purchased at a stationery shop in Florence in 2002 (and up to now, gathering dust in a roll under my bed). I'm such a sucker for pretty Italian papers.

This wasn't a cheap DIY project (the materials were about $25, although the paper couldn't have been more than a euro or two), but I can rationalize the expense somewhat because I'm planning to use the paint stripper (the priciest purchase) on another project. And it's quirky yet practical—just my style. Yay!

10/17/09 10/17/09

Emily capelet!

Sorry, but I have to gush a little: I fell in love with this capelet as soon as I saw Ysolda tweeting about it. It's so elegant and neo-Victorian, and the attention to detail is really fantastic--the short-row shaping, the intricate cable and scalloped lace, the built-in i-cord edging around the neck. Knitted it to go with this awesome green dress, which I'm wearing to two weddings this year. I was hoping for better pictures, but the weather's been terrible lately, so I just snapped these before I headed off to Jenny and Greg's wedding tonight.

Pattern: Emily Capelet by Ysolda

Yarn: Lana Grossa Chiara, ~ 2.25 balls in color #21, purchased from Woolbearers.

Needles: #9s

Raveled: here.

The pattern calls for 'heavy fingering to light worsted' and Chiara is a DK weight (perfect, you would think), but my gauge was too fine, so I cast on 68 stitches (instead of 52) to get the same length (13"). The yarn is marvelously soft and fuzzy (it sheds a lot, but that's okay), but I still can't figure out what color it is. It was a pale green (so I thought) when I bought it, but as soon as I got it out of the shop and took a ball out of the bag to fondle it again in natural light, it seemed gold, not green at all. Fortunately there's some bronze-ish beading on the bodice of this dress, so it's complementary no matter which color it is.And I happened to have three adorable little buttons left over from Mamacita's 2008 Christmas present, so it's even a bit of a make-do-and-mend.I was chatting to Jenny's friend Brenda at the wedding, and she said I looked like a character out of a Brontë novel. I love it!

10/5/09 10/5/09

Susie Modern

I finished this beret at the end of August, but since it was my mother's birthday gift I had to hold off blogging it. This is one of the most popular hat patterns on Ravelry, and you can see why--it's so lovely! (I will confess, though, that I still haven't learned to knit two-handed. I make an attempt, it's inevitably awkward, and I get impatient and keep going with my incredibly inefficient one-handed method. I'm afraid that's why the colorwork isn't quite as crisp as it could be. Oh well, next time...)Pattern: Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon OsbornYarn: Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply, thistle (1.2 balls or thereabouts), and Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift, hyacinth (less than 1 ball). I had a ball and a half of the Scottish Tweed left over from the dotty tweed pullover I made last year, so that worked out perfectly.Needles: #1.5s for the ribbing and #3s for the rest.Raveled here.Just look at how cute she is!!!!!Happy (week after your) Birthday, Mamacita!

9/21/09 9/21/09

How's this for random nerdiness?

I found this fishbowl in my grandfather's crawlspace. I gave it a good cleaning and now it stores my oddballs. I'm so tickled with this, it's ridiculous.

9/7/09 9/7/09

Plum Truffle Redux

(Plum Truffle part 1, Plum Truffle part 2, Raveled here.)Well, those dimples on the button band were really annoying me, though I can't even wear it for another two months. I really liked the idea of an invisible button band, but on this cardigan it's just not working out. So I pulled out four lovely buttons I got from Jo-Ann ages ago, picked up four more (luckily they're still in stock), and now this button band is 100% visible.I had to reknit the buttonhole band because I'd originally knit it with dyelot #2, which would have been way too obvious to let show. Now the buttons are fastened on the 'wrong' side, but I certainly don't care enough to reknit both bands. Between the buttons and all the cabling, perhaps the effect is a bit busy--but still a big improvement, methinks!

9/7/09 9/7/09

1930s Tennis Blouse

(Tennis blouse, part 1.)This one spent quite a few weeks in time-out before I finally dealt with all the little things that were annoying me about it. First, I have decided that I really do not like knitting with cotton. The fiber has no give, and my fingers actually started to feel a bit sore after awhile. Also, it may not have been such a good idea to stray so far from the original pattern. One word: STRIPES. Since I knit the front in pieces, they were a b***h to match up. Plus, the lace pattern slants to the right (oops), so it was tricky to seam so it laid evenly. I'm not pleased with my finishing on this one either, but it's time to call it a day. It's quite pretty...if you don't look too closely at it.

Pattern: 1930s Striped Sweater with Lace Panel, from Vintage KnittingYarn: Rowan 4-ply Cotton (discontinued) in aegean and fresh, 3 balls eachNeedles: #2s for the ribbing and #3s for the bodyRaveled here (with detailed pattern notes, not that I suggest you follow them!)

Kate took these pics today, a very gloomy Labor Day. No tennis racket to hand, but I found my grandparents' old croquet set in our garage. I think this qualifies as random nerdiness.

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