February 2006 Archives

Hallo! BF's mom is safely back in Nuremberg. She sampled a lot of Asian food (even lumpia, Teri), met my awesome nutty family, and got to visit the Getty Villa. Lots of pictures; I'll post a few in time. So it's back to the program now.

Sweaters & Vests
◊ Jill has finished her sweater! Woo-hoo! Nothing like a 16-day limit to spur you on, Jill. It looks fab-you-lous!

Socks & Stockings
◊ Kelly has made considerable progress on her stockings. Check out the colors, so rustic.
◊ Prim of The Prim Optimist is knitting the ubiquitous stockings in dark grey, red and white. Nice start, Prim!
◊ Kerry has posted the latest pictures of her stockings. Great colors, Kerry!

Mittens & Gloves
◊ Terri has a sneak peek of her gloves! And a post about a vendor (the previous day's). Opinions, anyone?

Hats & Headbands
◊ Monica of Two Left Needles has joined the hat group and will be knitting Adrian's Pirates hat as well.
◊ Kim is "getting there" with her Sweetheart hat! Looking good, Kim!
◊ Eva has finished her Traditional, yay! See what you can get done in 16 days easily?

Miscellaneous A new category!
◊ Andrea of Mellow Trouble will be making a colorwork bag. She can't get enough of color!
◊ Jennifer of Pie Knits has joined the knitalong; she's designing her own hat, but she's started with armwarmers. Go Jennifer!

Last year I made references to some squares I knit but never took pictures of. I never did think about them again until I looked through Kerstin's blog photos and found this. The floppy pink square with the upside-down heart in its middle (bottom left in the picture) was one of three I sent in to Annie. I love the way the blankets look, don't you?

Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions on edgings for my sweater! I played around with different types this past weekend until it occurred to me that the edgings were knit from the bottom up. Of course, with this being a top-down sweater I could always graft, but you know, I'm not a fan of grafting. So guess what I stuck with?

It's a classic edging. If I change my mind later on I can always unravel that bottom section.

I'm glad I borrowed Miss Walker's book from the library. The last two sweaters I knit flopped terribly--sizing was the problem--so I set out to make a sweater that fit my body. It feels great to be knitting a sweater that actually fits! Making your own involves a bit of math, nothing terribly complicated. The calculations you make are definitely worthwhile. I totally endorse the book.

Now I have to go pick up stitches for the sleeves. Fun!

BF's mom is here! She brought me yarn (of course) and some other things I'll show you later. She's never heard of weblogs and I'm not about to explain the concept to her in my pidgin German, and she thinks that my taking pictures of "things" is weird enough, so I'll do a little show-and-tell when she's gone. We've done quite a few things with her (and my mom) already: walks along the South Bay beaches, a few hikes in Palos Verdes, road trip to Santa Barbara (with a side trip to Solvang), and shopping at various places. Today BF's taking her to the Friendship Bell in San Pedro and tomorrow we're headed to the Getty Villa. What a long week it's been!

Turn up the volume, okay? Click on this. And This.

In other news. The top-down experiment is going swimmingly well. I must be channeling some of that Olympic spirit because I've completed the armholes and neckline, and am halfway done with the body shaping. (Hee hee, I'm "fast"!) I tried it on; it fits! The shoulders are just right; the armholes too. They're not loose and they're not tight. They're perfect. The v-neck is low but not scandalously so. I'm doing some subtle body shaping--just 6 stitches each side.

As for the hem. I thought about picots or lace or some other decorative border--Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge is a great resource, so many choices. Right now I'm stuck on 2x2 or 4x2 ribbing, which I know isn't very adventurous, but perhaps it's because it's classic? Anyone have any edging suggestions and pictures I can take a look at? Remember, this edging will be on the hem, the cuffs, and the neck.

Have a good 3-day weekend, everyone.

Here are your Norwegian Knits-Along updates! The list is getting smaller and smaller as people finish their projects. We've got two more months to go, so if you feel like it, please don't hesitate to join.

Socks & Stockings
◊ Kerry has swatched for her stockings using white and peach yarn. They'll be the first pair of light-colored stockings I've seen, Kerry.
◊ Kelly of Drago[knit]fly is making those Norwegian Stockings from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks. Take a look at her progress.

Hats & Headbands
◊ Pixie of Pixie Purls has joined us! She'll be knitting Adrian's awesome We Be Pirates hat!
◊ Eva can see the pattern emerging on her hat. Looking good, Eva!

Terri found this YouTube video on folding t-shirts, "secret Japanese method". Sweet!

In Olympic news, who makes the brooms for curling? The Shoe Company (you know who I'm talking about, they've got their logo plastered everywhere)? Or are they commercial products? Just wondering.

Rock climbing is being shown as a demonstration sport in Bardonecchia, Italy. This is one of the competitors' journals. Huh. I'm not sure I like the idea of a dirtbag sport such as rock climbing (specifically, sport, ice, and bouldering) being in the Olympics.

Happy Valentine's Day! Howzabout a little (violent) comic relief? From one of my favorite sites, cartoon episode Blind Date and a Valentine Smoochie. Enjoy!

Below is the beginning of a top-down, v-neck, fitted sweater with slightly-belled sleeves. I'm using Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top as my guide; specifically, the Top-Down Vest and Inset Sleeves chapters.

It's fun, in a nail-biting sort of way! I'm a very slow knitter so every minute, every hour that I spend on knitting is precious and must be accounted for. BF helped me with all my measurements and I did a few gauge calculations, then cast on. I'm using Gedifra Modern Cotton, which may look familiar to some of you. This used to be the Eyelet Sweater of last year. Sad to say, but I wore the sweater all of 5 times. :-( The sleeves, being made purely of eyelet, stretched until it seemed like I was dragging them on the ground. So earlier this year I bit the bullet and frogged it. (This is the second sweater I frogged. I hope I strike gold with this third!)

I'd been wanting to experiment with top-down construction and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity. Also, because I wanted to purchase this pattern, and when I checked Knit Pixie this weekend they were out, so I resolved to make my own version. As it turns out, they're selling the pattern again, but I'm already on a roll here. So, let's see how this turns out. (Thanks Jillian for helping me out here!)

Late last week I received my yarn from Bea Ellis Knitwear for Eunny's Argyle Vest! I'm just waiting for my needles from Elann, and then I'll be off and running. Steeks, here I come! (By the way, Bea Ellis Knitwear is having a 20% off sale on Dale of Norway's Heilo, at just $4/ball. I ordered a color card as well. I just discovered the usefulness of color cards! Where've I been?)

Last Friday I all of a sudden got in the mood for dyeing. The market near our apartment was tragically low on the Kool-Aid flavors/colors I wanted (blues and greens) so I just got Grape (purple), Black Cherry (a nice red, red) and Tamarindo (I feared it would be yellow, but turned out to be a nice gold). Enter 4 ounces of merino. Pewter merino, to be exact. I thought of spinning it as is, but it was grey and boring. Overdyeing would bring in subtle excitement, right?

From left to right, the methodology of someone slightly anal:
1) Single color. Purple in various dilutions, randomly ladled over the fiber with a teaspoon. Nuked one dilution, ladled another, then nuked again. I like the subtle layers of color.
2) Two-color. Purple and barely-there spatterings of red. The red turned out too light--hey, pink!!! I need some more of that.
3) Two-color. Red and gold, laid out in a glass loaf pan and dye poured in along the long side. Interesting how the colors divide themselves so neatly in the braid.
4) Three-color. Purple, red and gold, laid out in said pan and colors poured over in three equally divided parts.

I do not like the smell of grapejuice or grape-flavored drinks, unless it's been crushed, bottled, and aged, then decanted and poured into a glass. But it makes a pretty color, doesn't it? ;-)

Okay, so I have this feeling that because I only dunked them in water a half-hour before dyeing that the dye didn't get through to the inner layers of fiber. Maybe that's good, maybe the colors won't dominate so much (I'm going for beautifully subtle colors. At least, I'm trying to.) They're slightly felted because I poured the fiber into a bowl of warm water instead of letting it rest in the pan to cool. I know it's salvageable, just more pre-drafting and spreading the fibers out. Maybe I'll go over it with my Mason Pearson brush (he he). Kerstin, can I borrow Liv?

Claudia pointed me to Two Sheep June's blog when I asked her about consistency in spinning. Thanks, Claudia. Of course, I went through June's archives (sooo consistent!) and found this amazing wheel. Isn't it beautiful?

Cute Overload ;) makes me want to scream, there's so much sweetness. Since I found the site, I've been going back daily. Those huge, huge eyes!

Knitalong news! Yes, there *is* still a knitalong going on here. And the KAL gallery has been updated. So, without further ado...

Sweaters & Vests
◊ Jill has entered her colorwork project into the Knitting Olympics (a double entry here and there) so she'll try to have an FO in 16 days.

Socks & Stockings
◊ Kerry of One Eye on the Knitting and another on the Subtitles (heh!) is knitting the ubiquitous Norwegian stocking. Welcome, Kerry!
◊ Meow Girl is hard at work on her stockings in a great blue and brown. She's concerned about the thinness of the yarn in places, but I think it's a matter of needle size, MG!

Mittens
◊ Katie has finished her mittens! They're the Frostrosen pattern and they fit her (and her mom, and her grandma) perfectly. Go take a look!

Hats & Headbands
◊ Susan's halfway through her hat pattern. She had to frog a bit but, he he, that's what makes colorwork exciting!
◊ Kim is still working on her Sweetheart hat; will she finish before Valentine's Day???
◊ Caitlyn's finished her Traditional hat! Yay! Props to Caitlyn for frogging back *half* the hat to fix the pattern, too.
◊ Phoebe's finished her Traditional too! Props to Phoebe too, go read about her frogging! Three times!
◊ Eva's entered her Traditional hat into the Olympics. Another FO in 16 days!
◊ Your host has finished her third and final hat:

Pattern: Bea Ellis Knitwear Ufserud hat
Yarn: Hat: Dale of Norway Heilo in #9335 Olive and #0020 Natural. Lining: Garnstudio Muskat in #53 Green.
Needles: US4 16" circular and dpns, US2 dpns; bamboo

Gratuitous float photo. Eek, I messed up on one spot, but I'm not going to tell you where!

The hat fits. I brought it out climbing this past weekend, but it was *hot*, even by California winter standards. Grr. Where's the rain?

Reading about: Company branding. (This site has a bunch of good articles if you're interested.) I'm in the middle of 3 re/branding projects, so this was particularly relevant to me. Kodak, Intel, and AT&T have recently rebranded themselves. Kodak's is a soft launch, meaning the rebranding is introduced in phases. Sprint recently rebranded itself and became not only a telecom company, but a sports entertainment one as well. Climbing products company La Sportiva also "rebranded" themselves; it may be a phased rollout. (I'm kind of divided on their new identity.) I just received a shoe order from them and while the tissue had the new logo, the box was the same.

Methinks I need a Lendrum plying head. And the fast and very fast flyers.

I obviously still need practice with consistency. This merino turned out fairly well, though; I enjoyed working with such wonderful softness. Over the weekend I looked back at my first spinning effort, which was a semi-tightly spun dk single, and wondered how I did that. It must have been the fiber, Colonial I believe, so maybe I should practice spinning worsted with anything but merino for now.

Methinks I will buy a camera kit so I can take gorgeous shots like this one. Or maybe I just need a Holga.

BF's birthday is coming up. I think I'll get him this shirt!

Reading: William Gordon chronicled his time in the Philippines working as a designer of home products for various high-end American companies. Looking through the pictures, I was impressed by the beauty of the finished pieces. He took advantage of native raw materials, textures, and cultural inferences and made beautiful art.

But.

More than anything it was the images of the people and the landscape that made a big impression on me.

I am Filipino. My immediate family left the Philippines when I was three, and after living in several places around the world, my family finally settled here. There isn't much to my cultural heritage other than speaking colloquial Tagalog and eating Filipino food. Lately I've been thinking about going back, to Manila, and to Batangas City, and to the Northern province where my remaining grandparent lives. I want to eat taho (tofu pudding) and banana cue (roasted banana on a stick) and pancit (noodle stir fry) from street vendors. I want to walk around Rizal Park, to the school where my mom taught, to the marketplace where my nanny would take me when she went food shopping. I want to sleep in a bahay kubo and wake up to chickens clucking and palm leaves rustling in the wind.

When I was younger I sought out art, music, people, places that were exotic to me; now I've been looking inside for what makes--or made--me who I am today. In the (far) future, possibly when we're living somewhere in Germany (or Spain, if BF gets his way, which is usually), my child will ask where he or she comes from. And I hope I'll be able to give the best possible answer.

Just a quick post to say hello. I am bizzy. My days sound exactly like Jackie's, just a lot of freelance that never ends. Some days I don't change out of my pajamas (sorry, too much info, but I do brush my teeth! :-)). So no Norwegian Knits updates this week, but if you're curious you can go to all the participants' pages.

I finished my Ufserud hat and have started to think about what to knit next. I know I'd love to do a Starmore (Margene has started Rosalie and it's a *beautiful* pattern) or Rosendal (I saw it on Wendy's blog and now I want it) and they're both big commitments, but I think I need a little more experience with steeking before I start them, so my next project will be small. Maybe a vest (I know Eunny's just designed a beautiful one) or Wendy's Baby Norgi... Just thinking out loud at this point.

Claudine wrote that she knitted a pair of Mirabella socks, woo hoo! They look great, Claudine! She did have problems with the toe; I know at least one other person did so I'll have to redo the instructions sometime soon. My apologies to those who've tried knitting them and have thrown the instructions out in frustration!

Speaking of self designs, it turned out there was a Craftster knitalong for Liesel (blushes). (And Claudine is in the process of knitting that as well.) I guess I need to do more searches and create galleries in the future.

Soon, soon, soon! *sigh* In the meantime, you can read about the New York Times article on spinning (if you haven't already), or how to be a horrible troll on the internets. There's also Girl from Auntie's posts regarding Stich 'N Bitch and Sew Fast, Sew Easy. And books coming up from Mason-Dixon Knitting and Wendy Knits! My, I'm missing quite a few things, aren't I?

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