Mixing Stitchery

Combining crochet and knit in a project makes me happy.  Years ago, there was the ribbed skirt with the crochet edging.  I still love that one and wear it every winter.  More recently, the blue afghan was a fun way to connect sections with no seaming (or ends to weave in) at the end.

This weekend, I cast my eye at a left over ball of Noro with the few orphan bits of color from other balls and decided to try a hat that has been twirling through my mind.

 The  band is TSS (Tunision Simple Stitch) worked  to a length that was about three inches longer than needed to go around my head.  TSS makes a lovely chain on the edge which is just perfect for picking up stitches for knitting.  From there, I used my regular hat pattern and let the Noro Silk Garden do its thing.

Finishing was simple.  The  band was crossed over itself and pinned for a perfect fit.  The two buttons are non-functional, but really do add a bit of style and hold the band in place.  One large statement button would work also.  

Making this took one afternoon.  But it will probably take a few weeks of procrastination before I write up the pattern.  In the mean time, this will become my new charity hat pattern for the fall.  

Thinking Required

Today should have been the end of my new summer sleeveless shell.  All that is need is to pick up stitches and work three rounds on each arm hole.  Very easy.  But alas, my brain started to explore possibilities.  Or perhaps the better description is that my brain started to think, "and then what?"

That is all it took.  How could I possibly finish the only project on needle or hook and be faced with nothing?  As previously confessed, I do not do well with nothing in the work stream.  Oh, yes.  My brain started thinking.  So, I sat and thought my way through back issues of favorite publications.  I made a pot of green tea with the hope that the thinking would be enhanced. 

I even - please insert your own huge gasp - checked out the stash for inspiration.

Nothing.  

I could not think of any  thing that made both my fingers and my brain happy.

I'm still thinking.  And hoping.  That inspiration is close at hand and  will present as just the perfect next project.  Because I really, really do want to finish the cotton shell and strut the simple beauty of cotton in the summer.

Encouragement is humbly solicited.

Sentimental Knitting Journey

Gonna take a sentimental journey
Gonna set my heart at ease
Gonna make a sentimental journey
To renew old memories.....

Memories of knitting long ago. One reason to be truly enamored by all things yarn - spun, knit, crochet, woven - is that everything old is still wonderful! Witness this family treasure that I am honored to own. Knit by my mother's sister-in-law over 40 years ago. She was the only person in our extended family who knit.

"We crochet," was the way Mama explained it to me. As though somehow Aunt Lydia did not quite fit in the family because she used two sticks, and we only use one hook. Please know that at the time I was probably about ten - maybe twelve years old. We crochet. Got it. Francois family tradition. Crochet. Only crochet.

I clearly remember when I broke the family tradition of hooking (oh, get your thinking out of that gutter). It was a knit hat. Ribbed and knit flat then sewn. A festive white and bright orange. It was a grand experiment that almost got me demoted in the family because I flirted with the knitting arts. Oh, the shame of a daughter gone to the other side. Mon Dieu!

Isn't Aunt Lydia's cardigan beautiful? Time can't diminish the look, fashion trends return, and once again a Francois is wearing this beautiful red knit at during the holiday season.

Sentimental journey........To renew old memories.

Mitered Madness

A good time was had by all! Isn't that the right saying? The Patchwork knitting workshop with Joyce Renee Wyatt was wonderful.

Joyce claims to be Los Angeles born. Well, maybe so. But that accent is pure south. At one point during the day, Joyce was holding forth on how she translates knit into crochet - and vice versa. She is bi-yarn you know. In talking about how to deal with the crochet slip stitch and picking up for the next mitered piece, she was so specific on which loop to work so that there was a line on the right side of the fabric.

Oh Wow! Exactly as my mama taught me over 40 years ago. I just had to open my mouth and tell Joyce that her crochet style was exactly like I learned in Louisiana and I questioned her belief that she is Los Angeles pure. Turns out that her mother was raised in Bunkie, Louisiana! Bunkie is only about 40 miles north of my beloved hometown of Eunice, La. We are practically related, in that way that only true southerners understand.

"Where yo' mama from?"

But don't go thinking this makes Joyce Renee Wyatt to be a Cajun. Everyone knows that if you come from north of Turkey Creek, you are bordering on being Red Neck. Which brings me to Joyce's hillarious story of rooming with Lily on "the cruise" and discovering that everyone - no matter your heritage nor your skin shade - must use sun block all over. Let's just say that Joyce had to wonder why her mother never told her that sunburn happens!

Oh. And we knit. We looked at the sweater that is featured in Great Garter Stitch. Not the blanket on the cover, but the triangle sweater inside. Joyce talked about how she creates via the fudge and smudge method but then has to get real exact when writing for publication.

Got a hole when you picked up for the next mitered piece? No problem - add a stitch and decrease it out on the next row. Fudge and smudge. I bet her mama taught her to think like that. It's a southern thing.

So this piece on the right is not going to have anything circular. That's just the needles making it look that way. The black part will be another 'L' shaped piece once it is finished. I only got this far before we started talking crochet . . . .and fiddling with hook sizes to get drape in fabric . . . . and looking at samples . . . . .and playing . . . . .and learning.

Yep, a good time was had by all.

Homework is Due

Today is the day. My homework is due. I'm off to a 6 hour workshop taught by Joyce Wyatt. We are doing patchwork knitting.

The homework instructions call for worsted on size 10. Well, what a shock when I could not find my 10s. Found 10 1/2 circulars and the 9s are currently busy. The 8 circulars were available. So it was decision time. Go up just a bit or way down. HMM. Tough call.

So I did both. You can compare the swatches for your self. I thought there would be a bit more difference in the two given that there are two needle sizes between the swatches.

I'm thinking that for the class the looser patch will be best. Much easier to pick up stitches along the side. As you would expect the patch done on the 10 1/2 is floppier. Well, as floppy as possible when you are made of worsted weight and only 3.25 inches along the side. (as always, click the photos to enlarge)

But I like the results of the 8's better. Stitches are more uniform right off the needles and it just looks better to me.

The real question - - - What will Joyce think?


Oh, managed to get a little laundry done this week.

Felted to the Finish Line

Four and a half hours of measuring, cutting, sewing, ripping, re-sewing and sore fingertips. And now I get to jump up and down with glee. You first saw the messenger bag ready for felting in this post.

My process for felting has an extra step. Boiling water in the washing machine. This was such a huge project that it took two kettles of actual boiling water for the magic to occur. Our hot water heater is set just hot enough for bathing and clean dishes. This is how it is set. Just two clicks past Warm. Thus, the shot of boiling water any time there is a felting project.

Snowy, the grandcat, enjoyed helping while I sewed lining. It is so easy to plot the lining for rectangles. Don't laugh, but the bottom of the bag is a sturdy 1/8" thick wood length from the craft store. The front panel and both sides are reinforced with two thickness of plastic mesh canvas. There is no reinforcement on the back side, because I wanted some flexibility to curve around the hip.

First, I cut the wood and plastic guts and fit them inside the bag. When those were exactly right, then I cut the lining fabric with seam allowances. The planning and thinking and fiddling all worked out. I was so very pleased when the whole thing was finished that I actually took time to put away the sewing machine and pick up all the bits of thread and clean the mess.

Look carefully at the top photo of the completed messenger bag. Only one grommet on the flap shows. I've added a second and when my patience returns, a third grommet will go in. Pure decoration and no practical purpose. Sure does look good.

Knitters Everywhere You Look

Today I joined a few friends for good old fashioned social knitting. We met up at a local eatery for casual conversation and relaxing. With caffeine and sugar for fuel, we tried to sip, munch, talk and knit all at the same time. Isn't it wonderful that knitters are so good at multi-tasking?

Turns out that my server moonlights as a knitter. We had a lovely conversation about the blue ribbons she has won. She even triumphed in a speed knitting contest. How thrilling is that?

So we friends settled down and pulled out our current "public knitting" projects. For me, public knitting is something small and portable that does not require much attention. I am this far on the socks for which Bert selected the yarn:


Another sock knitter was there and working on these self patterning socks.

Socks in southern California make a lot of sense. Cool evenings mean that you can wear socks year round. Not at all like other things. Not at all like caps made with three strands of mohair. Oh no. Not at all like that.

Even though some folks do knit with three strands of mohair when it is over 90 degrees outside. See..........
When the hat in progress came out of the bag, our group increased in number. Suddenly we were visited by another coffee addict who also knits. She popped over from another table to check out the yarn and pattern and swap stories for a few minutes. Yep, knitting in public is magnetic. All the other yarn-a-holics come and confess - oops - they come and chat about what is on their needles.

We had one group member working on this scarf. The color is off in the photo. It is a soft lavender and quite beautiful. Only about twelve inches long at this point, but it will surely be a keeper when finished.

All in all it was a relaxing and festive two hours. We encouraged each other. We encouraged the restaurant staff. We encouraged the customers.

Maybe this is what life is all about. Maybe so.

Blew the Budget

Yep, I spent the whole yarn budget for the month in one fell swoop. Not that any of you have ever done that. Surely you have restraint and internal control. You probably understand how to pace yourself. You have learned the meaning of moderation.

Not me. Nope. Can't apologize for it either. Won't apologize is more the truth.

And I LOVE IT! As in the Love It kit from Colinette.

Sue at Knit 'n Stitch is quite the sales person. Stopped in for a lovely conversation. Just conversation and catching up. I was ready to walk out of the shop and then she just happened to tell me that "__(insert name of any knitter you admire)___ has such success with this yarn!" Well, talk about an invitation to break a Commandment or two. Thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not drool. Thou shalt not have any other .... You get the drift.

So of course I blew the entire budget for the month and I still love it. Hand-dyed fibre. Three patterns. Personalized service. And maybe a little competition thrown in to boot. I love it. Stash, patterns and options all rolled into one bag of possibilities.

Planning to cast on for the Jacket, or Pullover or Throw - - who knows. Any guesses? Leave a comment.

Clearly keeping organized for the project will be a challenge for me. This one required making a yarn guide for staying on track. And if I am actually going to try to follow the pattern exactly, it is imperative to stay on track and use the supplied yarns as indicated. Failure to do so will surely result in not enough yarn for the recommended pattern repeats and then life would circle back around to blowing the budget on more yarn. Breaking commandments yet again. It is a vicious circle.

Look carefully past the yarn in the photo above and to the right. Are you wondering about the map in the background of the photo? That is a framed poster of the plantations of the Mississippi River from Natchez to New Orleans. It's a southern thing.
And a reminder to never forget that mankind is capable of inhumane actions.

Interested? It is still available and one source is here. Surely there are others.

Ahead of my time

I am ahead of my time. Yes, already moving quickly through the gift making rush for the end of the year. Mid-October and I am on a roll.

It is my privilege to chair a committee of amazing thinkers and workers. The organization we belong to focuses on doing for others; thus we don't make a big deal of gifting our volunteers. But how can a little cotton string be interpreted as doing too much for self?

Each of my committee members will receive a washcloth and soap as a reminder of all the work we have done to "clean up" some issues and wipe out old practices to let the new shine through. Using Cathy Waldie's Two Hearts as One Dishcloth pattern and Bernat's Organic Natural Cotton.

Three down and one to go. It was all going so smooth and fast. Then, Bert happened. Bert is a dwarf macaw who likes yarn. He often enjoys the end of the skein and decorates his cage with lovely abstract hangings. Today, Bert tried to get more than his fair share. He went straight for the ball and started to pull. At least he had the courtesy to pull from the center and not mess up too much.

Back to the cage for Bert.

Wet and Wooly

Think ahead. Knit or crochet fast - as in maybe a mistake or two and then felt, felt felt. It is so easy to whip up a rectangle that is too big to be useful and then felt it to fit your favorite bottle. I’ve made a slew of these in a color way that will make any UCR friend happy.

It does seem that for stripes to felt and still have color “pop”, it takes at least two rows of knit or a good double crochet. My current no thinking pattern is to produce a nice rectangle measuring approximately 15 - 16 inches wide and about 12 inches tall. Then use a good single crochet to seam the cast on edge to the bind off edge and close up a bottom. Of course if you crochet the whole thing, sew the beginning chain to the last row. This is done so that stripes run vertically on the finished wooly sack. I even like the little feet that you see in the photo above.

Don’t like the feet? Then fold up (or to the inside ala fake gusset) and stitch down.

Guess I got to feeling a bit cocky. Fast knit, fast felt, fast dry was not good enough for me. I could do better - more fancy. Turn the whole thing on its side and look at it differently. You should have seen the Birthday girl’s face when she opened this purse and found a quite special bottle of Merlot. OH, Wow! This brown one is knit like a clutch purse in the style where you bind off the center stitches on one row and then cast back on on the next row. This results in a “self handle.” I did make contrasting side gussets that were only about 1.5 inches wide prior to felting. The whole thing is even lined with a fabric to match the gusset merino and closes with a zipper! Felted i-cord can make any design you want to add on and VOILA! Gift wrap to equal the gift inside.

Wool Smells Better

Terrible wild fires here in soCal. Let us all hold dear thoughts for those who are personally impacted by loss. The smell of smoke is everywhere and here in Riverside, we have brought the dogs indoor - too much smoke in the air. We are closely watching a fire in San Bernardino near the freeway.

So today I actually had almost an hour to work on what will one day be a thick felted messenger bag. This one has i-cord bind off as contrast. All that is left to do is finish the flap and i-cord all around that, make a strap and then felt.

My plan is to worry about lining later. First I have to decide who gets it and then customize for the lucky man. Look for the pattern at Knitty all the way back in Summer 05

I have looked at different possibilities for the strap. Right now I am leaning toward a purchased adjustable with the felted strip sewed on. And should there be a buckle closure, or magnets, or snaps or nothing? Way too many possibilities and this one is not yet speaking to me.