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Category: Knitting

When Something Small Does Something Good

I am a selfish knitter. I admit it. Rarely do I knit for others, but that’s because I know myself. You see, I knit, a LOT. What I don’t do? Finish. Anything. In all of 2010, I finished one scarf. A scarf that I started in 2009. This year? Nada. Zilch. Nothing completed. That’s bad, right? Yeah, it kinda is.

So I’ve learned, learned not to make promises when it comes to my knitting. And yet, here I am, about to tell you about yet another promise I’ve made. Guess what? I’m knitting for a charity drive at work. And guess what it is? A scarf:

Beginnings of cable and seed stitch scarf

You see, my office has a longstanding tradition of charitable giving to one of the senior citizen homes in Washington, DC. Among other activities, every year, we host a Christmas luncheon for them, and everyone receives a gift of some sort–maybe playing cards, toiletries, etc. This year, it was decided that a handmade gift should be included in each gift.

And it is no secret that I am a knitter.

I’ve been personally asked to make something, and to tell all my friends. So, I’m doing both. There are not many rules… they’re collecting things that are “keep warm” type items, that don’t have to conform to a size. Scarves, small shawls, hand warmers, lap robes. That sort of thing. And they have to be made from a machine washable yarn. Someone in my knit group yesterday asked if she could make a lap blanket out of fabric, as she’s recently gotten back into quilting again. I certainly wasn’t going to say no to that! So, wow. I’m doing it. I’m making a scarf.

Now, since the last scarf I made clearly took about a year, and this time I don’t have that kind of time, I have to stay focused. I have to stay dedicated. I have to get it done, this dang scarf, so I can say I got it done. I decided to make it with seed stitch and an easy cable, so there’s just enough interest on every row to keep me going. So far, it’s working, but it’s only been 10 days.

Wish me luck, will you? I’m SO really bad at knitting for Good. Even when that good thing is a small thing, it’s usually such a big deal. I can finish this one thing this year, can’t I? Or. make that two things. I’m also signed up to do a Special Olympics Scarf. Oh, boy, am I in trouble.

July 31, 2011
Long Time, Not Much Knitting

I’ve been away from this blog for so long, I was starting to wonder if I’d ever come back. But, alas, here I am. I have so much blogging to catch up on! I never did write about the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year, or my Knit group’s first ever spinning day. Both events were wonderful! And I will write about them. But I’ve been missing some energy lately, so for now, all I have is this:

Shawl Progress

It’s my Pi Are Square shawl, designed originally by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I just started the largest lace section, which is a garter stitch version of the Flame Chevron stitch. I don’t know yet whether it will look good in garter stitch, but I’m hoping so! I made a commitment early on to make the whole shawl using garter stitch lace patterns, sort of as a tribute to the Great Elizabeth, who inspires my knitting so much.

The only problem I see so far is that this is the largest section with tons of stitches per row, so it’ll be slow going. And you know what that means for me, usually, when it comes to knitting! I have a really poor track record with finishing stuff. But, I’m hoping that this time will be different. I really, really want this shawl! So, I will soldier on. I’ll be counting on all you knitters to cheer me on.

Thanks in advance! In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a closeup of my shawl:

Closeup of my shawl in progress

June 12, 2011
Rockin’ the Dishcloth

Start of my little dishcloth
I gotta make a dishcloth. I love these little babies in concept, really I do. I have tons of dishcloth cotton that would speak to my love of such things. But really? I don’t like them. Well, it’s not the dishcloth’s fault. It’s the yarn. I hate the yarn. I really do. it feels awful to knit and makes my arms and shoulders hurt. So why do I do it? Who wouldn’t love those COLORS? That’s why.

The pattern I’m using is a version of the famous Ballband Cloth, the Reversible Ballband Dishcloth (Ravelry link), by Elizabeth Warner of Gorlitsa Knits. It’s sorta reversible, as reversible patterns go, in that it has slipped stitches on both sides of the cloth. It’s sort of interesting. Next time, when I have a little more done, I’ll snap a photo of the back so you can see.

For now, though, I’m busy knitting. I’m trying to get this baby done by May 14. Wish me luck! Maryland Sheep and Wool is this weekend, so I kinda doubt that lots of actual knitting will get done that weekend. So, we’ll see… Wish me luck!

May 2, 2011
Mystery Knitting Tool

I love Fridays. This one was particularly busy at work, but the sun was out, so I was trying not to complain too much. So, I cranked up the iPod and tried to stay on task. I got lots done, but by the time the day was over, I was feeling rather icky. One of the side effects of a beautiful sunny day in April is the pollen count, which is, no doubt, affecting me.

But, I had plans. My son had spent the day with my mom and step dad, and we promised my daughter an only-child night with mom and dad at Olive Garden, her favorite restaurant. This was my favorite part of the meal:

Fried lasagna

Yum! I just love this appetizer, even though I know it’s SO bad for me! Thank goodness I don’t eat there very often.

When I got home from dinner, I found this waiting for me in today’s mail:

Knitting tool I received in the mail today

Can you guess what it is?

Well, in case you can’t, let me tell you about it. It’s literally a double-ended latch hook, hand crafted by the folks at Knitting Today. I know about this handy little thing because I am a former user of the Bond Incredible/Ultimate Sweater Machine. It is a seed stitcher tool. I gave up on the Bond long ago, but not this little thing. I’ve almost always had one, even as a hand knitter. But the one I’ve had for a long time suddenly had gone missing. What do I use it for? Why, fixing garter stitch, of course!

Imagine dropping a stitch. With stockinette stitch, you can use a crochet hook to grab the ladders where the stitch has run down and make a chain stitch back up the line to fix it. With garter stitch, this is a little harder, because you have to feed the stitch from back to front to work up a line of garter stitch ladders. With this tool, you can pull the stitch back and forth as you go, and it makes fixing garter stitch easy-peasy!

No hand knitter who likes garter stitch should be without one of these babies. I like it so much, I got two this time, just to be sure I don’t ever truly go without. I only wish I had had it three or four weeks ago, when a series of mistakes in my current shawl project, which is all garter stitch lace, just about drove me nuts.

Now, I can rest easy. And dropped stitches? No sweat. Not anymore.

April 15, 2011
Not (Really) Another Book Review

Sampler Knitting, by Barbara Walker
Recently I found this project on Ravelry, and I was on a mission. The maker of it showed it almost apologetically, saying that it was the 70s after all, and she was a teenager at the time. Well, one person’s oddball project truly is a thing of beauty to someone else, I guess. Or at least the idea of it. A couple of clicks and I found out that the concept of this design was from a 1970s book by the great Barbara Walker, Sampler Knitting. Luckily, the book is easily available on the used book market, and within a week or so, it was here.

On the surface, the book seems to take bits and pieces from other existing Walker books. I have all of the stitch treasuries, and even Mosaic Knitting. But this book goes a step further, and talks about how to take those stitches and designs, and put them together to actually make a project.

And yeah, the colors and photos in the book, and the designs themselves, really look like 1973. But, just like all of my knitting books, this one will serve as inspiration for me. I’ve been saying for some time that I want to do knitting as art, and this book has certainly given me some ideas. I think I want to play with the concept of mosaic knitting especially, because a) it’s something new to me, and b) it looks like one of those things that LOOKS hard, and looks totally like knitting magic, but it’s easy! That’s my kind of knitting.

Stay tuned… there’s knitted art in my future.

April 12, 2011
Somebody Talk Me Down…

I wanna knit a moebius.

I want to do it, NOW.

I keep watching the video of Cat Bordhi’s amazing cast on, just so I’ll be ready:

I’ve been fascinated by this knitted form for years, but have never acted upon it. I think there could be lots of these scientifically astounding things in my repertoire.

There’s just one little problem. And we all know what it is. I have a SHAWL to finish, plus at least a dozen other things. This always happens to me, when I get to the long, drawn out part of any project. My mind wanders, and I get obsessed about the next thing. Until I can’t stand it anymore, then I put the current thing down, and start on the next thing, whatever the obsession of the moment happens to be. Today, it’s a moebius. Lord knows I’ve knit plenty of them by accident. Every time I’ve ever cast on a project to be knit in the round, and I try, oh I try, to “join, being careful not to twist.” Every time, I fail. At least once. So I rip it out, and try again.

But this time, I want to twist my knitting. On purpose. In that special, moebius-y way. But….

NO! I CAN’T! STOP ME! I really MUST finish my shawl!

Sigh… This happens to me every time. Please, I beg you, you knowing knitters. Help me to stay strong. The moebius can wait.

April 9, 2011