January 3, 2009 at 10:34 am · Filed under musing
I have joined the 52 books in 52 weeks group on Ravelry.com. (Come visit me there – I’m greenheron.) This goal is going to be a wonderful thing for me in 2009. I was always an avid reader, but recently I’ve realized I haven’t been reading as much these past years. Especially with non-fiction, it’s just hard to stay focused.
Sometimes I think knitting so much has pushed reading out of my life. I like to knit in the same room where my kids are watching TV. I love to leaf through knitting books, reading here and there, drooling over pictures. I scan through the newspaper, reading bits and pieces. I’ve learned to fragment my attention and multi-task, and that mental mode just doesn’t work for reading.
So, my plan is to get started with some yummy fiction and build up my attention span so I can get through those non-fiction books I’m longing for. Finished first book last night – Magic Street, by Orson Scott Card. Very worthy of being my first book of the year. (I can’t remember exactly when I started it, so I’m planning to finish my 52nd book sometime between Xmas 2009 and New Year’s Day 2010.)
Just started “Burning Bright” – historical fiction about William Blake and his era (book starts in 1792). I hope to follow it up with “Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience” by Blake, and then maybe some Jane Austen. Then back to science fiction/fantasy.
Non-fiction in the wings is 1491 and a book about religion in the early history of the United States. Hot diggety. Stay tuned.
December 29, 2008 at 11:26 am · Filed under Uncategorized
The winter solstice was extremely cold here in Chicagoland. Single digit temps with a strong wind and lots of snow and ice making walking, driving, and parking all very difficult. I braved the weather and had a beautiful musical day – bell choir in the morning and a recorder recital in the afternoon. A wonderful way to celebrate the shortest day.
The rest of the week was mostly spent being iced-in at home. Before Xmas I was knitting madly away at some plain green socks for my honey. Dub helped by trying them on periodically (he and his dad both size 12), but then after the gift-giving it turned out the foot was too short. No big problem because Dub will be happy to get them.
I bought myself three new knitting books – they are all fabulous and will be fueling 2009 with lots of good knits.
First, the new sock book from Cat Bordhi, “New Pathways for Sock Knitters.” This is a knitter’s dream with so many new ideas to try. I’ve made over 20 pairs of Simple Socks (per Priscilla Gibson-Roberts’s book of the same name) so I’m ready for a change and the fun of learning something new. Though I’m sure I’ll never entirely stop making Simple Socks.
Then, “Knit One Below” by Elise Duvekot. This book is both inspiring and frustrating. Inspiring because the author has taken one very wonderful stitch pattern and exploited it in a huge range of designs. She shares what she has learned about the stitch and about how to design with it.
But, it is frustrating too. For my taste there is way too much space in the book given to number-by-number instructions for all the designs with not nearly enough space left for the theory part. Lots of the good information is scattered around too. But still, I love the basic “knit one below” stitch as presented and am soaking up all I can.
The “knit one below” stitch pattern is part of the waffle stitch or rose fabric family of knitting stitches. Back in the last century (around ‘97) I started a sweater in one of the sibling stitches called “Checked Rose Fabric.” This is a beautiful two color pattern that I started making up into a top-down raglan cardign in pink and blue yarn from stash.
Really, the pink and blue not as bad as it might sound – the blue is a lovely gray-ish tone and gives overall sophistication when the pink is added. I really must dig up that sweater and take a photo (and re-learn how to post photos too, haha) to show.
I abandoned the sweater in mid-stream. I can’t remember exactly why. Running short on yarn may have been part of it, and also changing my mind about the sleeve shaping. The fabric is very hard to rip back without confusion, so when I found myself wanting to re-do the whole sleeve that may have been enough to send it to the bottom of the unfinished object pile.
Well, the Duvekot book has got me thinking about Checked Rose Fabric again. I made a sample swatch yesterday and am hot about starting a new sweater, and even resurrecting the old one (maybe rip out the whole thing and start over, eh?). There will be lots more on this for sure.
The third book was “Knitting Lace Triangles” by Evelyn A. Clark. This is a lovely little book with exquisite triangular shawls using four laces (ripple, medallion, flower, and leaf) - individually or in combination. I’ve been wanting to do another shawl. I think I will be shopping for some yarn – either fingering or lace weight, I haven’t decided yet – in a nice lavender to make the four-lace version that the author calls “Garden Shawl.”
I always think of this week between Xmas and New Year’s as a piece of time outside of the regular year. I time to think both back and forward, to get ready for the New Year to begin. I wish you all a very good New Year.
November 4, 2008 at 10:44 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Hey, all you U.S. citizens out there – if you haven’t voted already, it’s time to get out and do it.
I just got back from voting and I’m all a-tremble, even a little weepy. This has been such an emotional election – I’m much more vested in the outcome than I’ve ever been before. I’m going to be glued to the television all evening to hear the returns.
There was barely any wait at my polling place, and no glitches to be seen – all the machines were working fine. I wish the same were true at every polling place throughout the nation. Thank you to all of you who have to persevere through a more trying process but vote anyway!!!
October 21, 2008 at 7:01 pm · Filed under Uncategorized, socks
I have knitted many things since I last wrote – I want to have pictures posted soon.
Socks, of course. Especially an intarsia pair from Cat Bordhi’s “Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles”, and the Mermaid Socks from Lucy Neatby’s “Cool Socks, Warm Feet.” I hardly ever make socks from patterns, but here I am, making two pairs.
I love the Estonian Fishtail pattern from the Mermaid Socks (also featured in Nancy Bush’s Estoninan knitting book). It twists around in spiral fashion, but one never needs to move the end-of-round marker or transfer stitches from needle to needle to accomplish the k2tog’s. One of those utterly fascinating knitting mysteries. The socks seem almost garish, but I think in a good way. I like the Neatby book because it has many ideas to use patterned sock yarn.
What I need to do now is go and hide a million intarsia tails – that pair will be so beautiful when finished.
February 4, 2008 at 9:56 am · Filed under Uncategorized
I’m currently in Pearl Beach, Michigan, with Hawkeye and Dub, visiting Grandma and Grandpa. The view out my window is of a beautiful wild river with a marshland and forest on the other side. The river is always changing – sometimes iced over, sometimes running free.
The birding has been fantastic – we saw a merlin right ouside our windows! That is a new bird for me. It looked much bigger than I would have imagined. We’ve seen lots of ducks too – canvasbacks, common goldeneyes, common mergansers, mallards, I think a bufflehead or two. Also mute swans. All this from the comfort of our living room!
Of course I’m knitting a lot too. Working on a wonderful four-color stash sweater, though it looks like I’ll have to buy a skein or two to finish it. Also a very delicate scarf in pink lace-weight yarn – the Trellis-Bordered Openwork Diamonds pattern.
We went to Mary Maxim’s retail store in Port Huron and I got more of the beige Invicta for the strange-gauge socks. For now, I’m having fun working on the sweater and scarf – the socks can wait a bit longer.
The kids are great – field trips with Hawkeye for train watching and sledding, learning to build fires in the fireplace, Dub providing play-by-play commentary for the Superbowl. We’re all getting lots of quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. Life is good.
January 14, 2008 at 1:32 pm · Filed under gauge, socks
I’ve just proved to myself that it pays to walk on the dark side, sock-knitting-wise. I knit myself a lovely beige sock (Invicta) in the Hartshorn pattern from the 2nd Barbara Walker treasury. I finished the first and turned to other knitting – a hat in bulky yarn, a slipper in super bulky, another slipper in worsted, and then a pair of wristers (fingerless gloves) also in worsted.
Then I went to make the second sock. I steamed along merrily until I finished the heel (starting at the toe). Then I compared it to the first one. Hmmmm…..looks smaller.
Tried it on – egad! no way can I get my foot in that. Look at the socks again, more closely this time. Holy cow – how did I manage to tighten up my gauge so much? It’s hard to believe the same person knit both socks.
I should have stuck to my “chain smoking” method of knitting the second sock right after the first.
Right now, my plan is to make two pairs. It’s a good excuse to go to Mary Maxim’s when I’m back in Michigan at the end of the month. Hope they’ve got more of that yarn.
January 12, 2008 at 12:16 pm · Filed under socks
Upon reading about my sock knitting, joVE commented that her knitting friends refer to sock knitting as – the DARK SIDE. Hmmmm, I wondered, never thought of it that way.
Then, I remembered that I had just told a friend that my sock knitting method is similar to chain smoking – those needles are never empty. Finish one sock, start the next, finish the second sock, and bingo – the first sock of the next pair is cast on quicker that I can say Jack Robinson. I have my next four pairs all planned out and ready to go.
I really must take some time to work on some other projects. I have a stole (rectangular shawl) in the works, and a lacy cardigan all ready to be put underway. Not to mention my felting. I also have a fabulous blue pullover that is 95% completed – just needs the bottom ribbing re-done and a bit of finishing.
Several months elapse………Well, I wrote this back in August, but never published due to my ineptitude in adding pictures. My Very Smart Friend, Kim, said I should just write and never mind about the pictures. So, here I am, just writing.
I’ve done several more pairs of socks – but also finished the blue pullover (I’ve been living in that all winter) plus slippers and a hat. I think I’m finally becoming more balanced in my knitting. Hurrah!
August 19, 2007 at 7:39 am · Filed under the wonderful world of color
I notice all the pictures I’ve posted so far show green knitting. That’s because, a couple of years ago, I was suddenly attracted to the color green. I have a strong affinity for the cool colors – blue has always been my favorite. And, for the last 20 years or so I’ve worn an awful lot of purple. In a yarn shop I instantly zeroed in on the purple yarn. Then, all of a sudden, I didn’t care so much for purple and I wanted green.
Above is a basket of yarn to make the Elizabeth Zimmermann sampler-type ski sweater.
And below, my mom is modeling a green shawl in Koigu. (It’s “Susan” from Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves.) (I know, it still needs to be blocked.)
Color preferences are interesting things. I have a dear friend who absolutely detests green. She loves plants and leaves and summertime, but still can’t stand to have anything else green. Then I know some others who are so conservative in their color choices – their clothes all come from a very limited palette of neutrals. Then again, there are people who choose to paint their houses in some pretty ghastly colors.
I used to wear a purple shirt almost every day. Talk about being in a color rut! My flirtation with green was very exciting – I felt almost daring choosing green yarn. The world even looked a bit different, and I felt more free, more creative.
I’ve noticed that my attraction to green has started to wane. I’ve come through to the other side of my green period – but I’ve changed. For one thing, I now have a lot of really cool green items to wear, and I’m ready to experiment with other colors – perhaps orange will be next.
August 15, 2007 at 9:13 am · Filed under felting
I finally felted the green bag – and here it is!!!!
I feel terrifically accomplished, even though I see that I had vowed to felt three things by now. The green bag turned out so beautifully – so what if I’m 
behind schedule?
Kim is right – it really is like knitting for Hagrid. Or Bigfoot. Then comes the alchemical process of the washing machine and the grand transformation. I see why so many knitters are in love with felting – it’s like transfiguration for Muggles.
And the secret to good results is so simple – stop the washing machine every five minutes to check on progress. I know this is a bug “duh” for some of you, but maybe it will help other reluctant felters. Now I’ll be ransacking my stash to put new felting projects together.
The bag is lovely to wear – it caresses the shoulder and hangs just right. The contents are very secure even without a zipper or flap or other closure at the top. This is a great design by Cat Bordhi.
July 24, 2007 at 10:30 am · Filed under felting, musing
I’m ready to get serious about felting. I’ve done two felted projects before. The first was a sling bag from Cat Bordhi’s second Moebius book. I totally overfelted it, producing an unlovely object. Actually, I had put two half turns in the strap – instead of one – so it wasn’t even a real Moebius. I think I will cut off the strap, sew a zipper in the top, and it will turn out to be a Useful Bag to Put Things In.
My second completed felted project was slipper-socks for my dad. I hovered over the washing machine, checking every few minutes. Fortunately my dad was nearby and he could try them on repeatedly until they had shrunk the perfect amount. Success at last!
That was last summer, and I have since then knitted another Moebius bag (see here), a hat from a Fiber Trends pattern (thanks to friend Judy for lending me the pattern), and a gigantic shoulder sling bag from a Two Old Bags pattern. BUT……I haven’t felted any of them yet.
At first, I didn’t really understand the appeal of felting. I don’t much care for knitting miles of plain stockinette stitch, so I thought I would be bored by the knitting part. But after seeing friends’ felted bags, and reading about felted slippers, bowls, baskets, hats, and even cat beds, for gosh sakes, I was intrigued and soon determined to join the happy felting throngs.
I plan to felt all three unfelted objects in the next two weeks. I’ll post the results.
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