May 2006 Archives

Woke up late and had lazy breakfasts, followed by lazy walks. Did one errand (food shopping). Skipped outdoor climbing for gym climbing because it's too hot and traffic in and out of L.A. is a nightmare. Walked down to the pier for the annual Fiesta Hermosa, which is a celebration of massively embarrassing consumerism and not of remembrance of our war veterans. BF liked the Led Zeppelin cover band; I thought they were pretty good. Watched 3 DVDs, all of which were ho-hum and forgettable ("Stunning!" claimed one DVD review. Yeah, it stunned me). Baked an eggless, butterless Moist Chocolate Crazy Cake (scroll down this article), my first *ever* baked item! I may have overbaked it a little and I think it needs more chocolate. But I made it! :-) And BF ate it! Started on a new top-down project, details to come soon. And of course, blocked the beeg shawl.

I love how the pattern emerges with blocking, don't you? Lace, above all other knitted projects, gives the best knitter's high.

I stretched this thing to within an inch of warping. I told you I'm merciless!

Perfect symmetry. I've got 8 ends to weave in, no biggie compared to the 46 million ends of the top-down deep v-neck sweater! I'm curious about the Russian join that I've seen around the blogs; I'll try it next time I've got a shawl project.

I've found another Forest Path Stole, this time knitted by Krys in lovely green! She also kindly pointed out the errata; I've got it bookmarked for when I start on mine.

Blogworthy: If you can believe, this is design and illustration company. That's a lot of work. A lot of free time, perhaps? Here's a BIG boo-boo: if you scroll to "the dark side" (right), you'll see... Half Dome. Apparently there are dragons flying near Half Dome.

but pretty. Plus it doesn't curl up like stockinette.

I hemmed and hawed about the edging. See, the feather-and-fan is a 17-stitch repeat, and the edging is a 12-row repeat. The resulting knit edge would not follow the graceful curve of the feather-and-fan, so I left it out. I can always add it later, but right now I like what I see.

I like the gentle point here. It's really beautiful just the way it is, but of course I'll block it mercilessly! I have ice in my veins when it comes to pinning helpless things to the ground, he he.

Eet ees beeg, oui?

Blogworthy:
◊ 1,500 year old Peruvian mummy of a woman found with "bejeweled spindles and spindle whorls for spinning cotton".
◊ Get the best software and hardware for design.
◊ Robert J. Lang's origami sculptures in natural-colored papers. Neato.

Pattern: My version of the drop and garter stitch "pattern"
Yarn: Patons Divine (79.5% Acrylic, 18% Mohair, 2.5% Polyester; 3.5 oz; 142 yd) in #06740 Floral Fantasy, 1 ball
Needles: US17
Finished Size: At least 10" x 66" without blocking

A quick weekend project, started while reading Wendy Knits! (my copy happens to have a 20-page folio that was bound upside down) and finished while watching Crash. About 4 hours from start to finish. My co-worker gave me the yarn because she'd tried crocheting with it and, predictably, gave up. A bouclé-mohair yarn is *definitely* not a beginner yarn. She wanted to make a scarf for herself. That was all I needed; I knew exactly what to do with it.

With complicated textures and variegations, it's better to work a simple stitch or pattern to allow the yarn quality to shine. This yarn was surprisingly soft to work with, and with my honkin' size 17s, the knitting went quickly. I was almost tempted to keep the scarf!

A freebie, but of course it's just a drop stitch and a garter stitch. However, if you do find yourself with a single ball of Divine and want a quick project, here you go.

Divinely Soft Scarf
Materials: Patons Divine, 1 ball any color; US17 straight or circular
Gauge: Not measured (how irresponsible). Just remember that this is bouclé and mohair, so loosen up to allow the stitches to pass through.
Finished Size: At least 10" x 66". If you want a longer scarf, cast on less stitches. I wouldn't go less than 14 stitches, though.

Directions: Cast on 18 stitches. *Knit 4 rows. On the next (5th) row, knit, looping your yarn twice for each stitch. On the next (6th) row, knit, dropping the extra loop, and pulling its base. (This ensures that the lengths of all the drops are even.)** Repeat from * to ** until you are almost out of yarn, making sure you finish the 6-row pattern repeat. Knit 4 rows. Cast off. Blocking isn't necessary. Enjoy!

© 2008 Mary Joy Gumayagay and Indus3ous.com. All rights reserved. This pattern may be freely distributed as long as the pattern, images, text, and this copyright notice remain intact and no profit is made from its distribution or use. Read extended copyright here. For pattern assistance please post in comments below.

Hey, thanks for the shawl comments! I loved knitting with cashmere (even though it's just 10%) and this was a labor of love. It went to my upstairs neighbor and good friend, who had a baby just a few months ago. I have lots of women friends to knit for. I just found out another one is pregnant! So there will be lots more baby socks in the future.

Another crappy flash photo, since I'm working onsite these days. I've only been able to take photos at night.

I completed the field of flowers and the row of eyelets. I'm just getting started on feather-and-fan. If you think stockinette's boring, think again! At least stockinette's knit and purl! Garter stitch is just knit and knit and knit and....

Elsewhere: Hunter discovers that a bear that he shot is a polar-grizzly mix. So what does he say? "It'll be quite a trophy." I'd like to have a hunter's head over *my* fireplace.

Webstuff: I just found Josh Spear's website, which lists lots of cool design-, fashion-, and web-worthy links. Here are a few good ones:
◊ Felted Conphorm bag
◊ Are You Generic?. Interesting. I like branding, but complete world domination is so tacky.
◊ Vlieger & Vandam's Hungry Jack bags.
◊ MUSUC's human-shaped down bag; allows for walking! I need one of those!
◊ I Heart Guts! A little twee.

Reading: Historical fiction (see my book list link in the sidebar)! I exhausted the main library's stash of Donna Leon's books, so until I can go to the other libraries around here, I'll start on another genre. Steven Pressfield and Bernard Cornwell write incredible stories (granted, there's a lot of war in them) and I had BF pick up 6 books for me. I spotted what may be an error in Mr. Pressfield's Gates of Fire (I re-read stories I like when I'm bored), so I may write to him about that. I also have Wendy's book on my list, because it's not just about patterns, but her life and knitting. I've skimmed the book, and I know I want to make her Grape Arbor Shawl! Lastly, I got Gnomes, an illustrated book from my childhood. If you have any book recommendations, please feel free to comment. I need more reading material!

Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark, Interweave Knits Fall 2004
Yarn: 6 balls Elann's Peruvian Collection Baby Cashmere (60% Baby Alpaca, 30% Merino Wool, 10% Cashmere; 0.88 oz; 109 yds) in #0100 Parchment
Needles: US6 and 7 for the body, US9 for bind off
Finished Size: 13 pattern repeats; 76" wide x 38" long (a perfect equilateral triangle!)

(You can compare this image to the unblocked one; I've size the images so that they're the same proportion. Then you can see how much larger it is with blocking.)

My second FBS; like the first one, this was knit in under 2 weeks. The pattern is so easy and I didn't have to tink back or use lifelines. I missed a few yarn-overs here and there, easily remedied with a flip under with the needle. So my mods, my mods! I settled on a smaller needle with a thicker yarn because I wanted more stitch definition, not just lots of holes. So a US6 needle. Halfway through I decided the stitches were a bit small (and there was no way I was going to frog it) so on the 7th repeat I alternated between a 6 and 7. From the 8th repeat onward I used the 7 needle. There wasn't a big difference size-wise between the 2 sets of stitches, but using the 7 definitely speeded things up! I bound off, as is my practice, using a needle 2 times bigger.

The reader must note that I didn't bother to do a gauge swatch, as this is lace. It's also my second FBS, so I'm familiar with my knitting style when it comes to lace. The pattern called for 437 yards on US9; I had 654 yards and knew I'd be making more pattern repeats, even with thicker yarn. It's one of those things you just have to experiment with. Always buy a little extra for lace, you know. One last note. When the shawl I was partially dry, I sprayed on some linen water, verbena in my case, to impart a bit of freshness. I highly recommend this finishing touch.

It occurred to me that all the shawls I've knit have been gifts for others. The shawl I'm planning for myself, Faina Letouchaia's Forest Path Shawl, is a little daunting. I ordered the magazine and read through the instructions. Aside from its being lace, it's entrelac, which is a whole 'nother thing I'm dying to learn. But it'll be a while before I touch that project. So many other projects to do. In the meantime, I'll just drool over Amy's incredible shawl (whoops, link fixed! thanks Amy!).

Here's what I have so far.

Fiber Trends' Field of Flowers pattern is a square; I'm knitting the triangular version (my own experimentation). It's quite simple, really, if you know how to knit a neck-down shawl. The pattern is knit first as a square of flowers, then knit all around with the classic feather-and-fan pattern, followed by a nice edging. It's easy to chart the flower pattern to fit a triangle, then you just follow the feather-and-fan and end with the edging. I've added a stable 2-stitch top edge and a middle rib, as befits most neck-down shawls.

The yarn? It's black and oh so difficult to photograph! Ergo, the crappy picture. I hope my pictures will come out as beautifully as Cara's in the end! I'm using Misti Alpaca Sport in #7000 Black, a nice flat black that will work with basically anything in a professional or personal wardrobe. (Like the other shawls I've knit, this isn't for me; it's a present. Ssh!)

Reading: It's been a while since I had one of these. I'm totally hooked on Donna Leon's Brunetti series, which is based in Venice, Italy (so many corrupt Italians!). BF's mom gifted us with 2 of Miss Leon's books while she was here. I'm on my 3rd in 3 days. I just finished reading Edward Dolnick's The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece, in which he writes about the theft and recovery of Edvard Munch's The Scream. It's a meandering sort of tale, going into side stories, always coming back to the subject at hand. Quite interesting.

Flash now: The 2006 edition of the May 1st Reboot is on. See what's being done with Flash now. Cool stuff.

Fiber: Pewter Grey Merino, 4 oz. Dyed with K**l-A*d flavors Cherry, Grape, and Tamarindo
Purchased from: Copper Moose
Yield: 356 yards (from left to right: Grape 86 yards; Grape & Cherry 80 yards); Cherry and Tamarindo 95 yards; Grape, Cherry, and Tamarindo 95 yards)
Weight: Sport

I should've carded all the fiber because there were little felted pieces. However, there is a certain charm with imperfections like that. Almost tweedy. Speaking of which, I am totally getting into tweed--the little bits of color, the whites--maybe it's because of the crappy weather we've been having so far. Scarf and jacket weather. It's May and I feel like knitting a nice, thick sweater in Southern California. Isn't that absurd? (Of course, the very day I post this, it's frickin' sunny outside. Not that I'm complaining! I'm wearing flip flops, woo-hoo!)

My first try at Navajo plying, ta-da! Why had I never tried this before? It was easy; I had the kate between my legs and pulled the yarn up as I created the daisy chain. I wanted it to end up the same thickness as the other skeins but obviously it didn't work out. Oh well! Still, I think it looks great for a first try.

Blogworthy:
◊ YouTube has great Sesame Street episodes online; my favorite is Ernie painting Bert, which is followed by Ernie sculpting Bert out of clay. Fabulous!
◊ Cool advertising concept.

Wow, thanks everybody! I'm bowled over by all the comments. I'm wearing it right now, in fact. Nobody at work believes it was handknit, he he.

Pixie Purls Brandy mentioned my using a larger size needle for ribbing--I did that to avoid the tapering effect ribbing makes. I wanted the ribbing loose, and upsizing one needle size was enough; not too loose. Wouldn't want the unnecessary tapering around the hip area, you know what I mean.

Spaazlicious Wendy remarked about independent design and thinking--she has a good point there. I had knit a cardigan and two sweaters prior to this; the two sweaters were absolute failures due to sizing issues. I had gauge and followed the patterns but the sizing was just not right for my body type. I frogged both and looked around for a good, basic pattern that could be modified at any point to fit me. This is where Miss Walker's book came in, and the idea of knitting in a completely new technique (to me). She had great, although dated, examples in plain stockinette, cable, and lace patterns, which showed that the technique was completely flexible, and off I went. People, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! Geddit! You will not be sorry.

So now I look at patterns differently. Can I knit everything from the top down? Perhaps not. However, now that I know my measurements I can confidently change a pattern's specifications to fit my body. Lauren and I discussed knitting sleeves--I will probably be knitting most sleeves from the top down. The technique is smart: I can do decreases at a faster rate, and I can make the sleeves as long or as short as I want without worrying whether I have enough yarn.

Independent design, independent construction. I like that. I feel like I've rediscovered knitting. This may sound stereotypical, but I feel empowered! He he.

While I'm at it, let me direct you to Keyboard Biologist Theresa's beautiful Liberty wrap-around jacket. My god, it's beautiful--colors, striping, a bit of cable detail, the structure, everything. You have to know, it's on my list of projects; I even have the yarn. I've been thinking of knitting it in the round and steeking, but of course I'll have to think some more about that (yarn stickiness, etc.). It's doable, but.... :-) Anyone have additional thoughts on this?

Oh, one more thing! If you or anyone you know has knit either one of my designs, Mirabella or Liesel, please let me know! I've put together a Yummy Yarn Designs gallery.