Yarnia

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Deep, Dark Sky

Dear Mandella,

The photo is looking west from my back yard last night (Hallowe'en). I turned off the flash and propped the camera on the deck, but the image is still a touch blurred -- the hazard of not having a tripod -- but you can see how well a digital camera captures light and the depth of color in the sky, unlike a film camera that needs special filters and aperture adjustments.

I am glad that Hallowe'en is finally over. It's not my favorite of the popular holidays, not because I think it's "satanic" or "demonic" (despite the blatherings of Pope Benedict) but because I've just never been a fan of horror films and ghoulish costumes as some people are. I admit it: I like Christmas and Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day -- those holidays that in general people like to celebrate with joy and love.

This past week I've been working on a pair of socks to give to my dear hubby for Christmas. I'm knitting them from Mountain Colors' Bearfoot sock yarn, which is a blend of 60% superwash wool, 25% mohair, and 15% nylon, and it's about sport weight. I purchased this skein a few years ago when we were in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The colorway is a deep, rich blue, but it's called "Purple Mountains." The pattern stitch is from one of the Barbara Walker collections. It's called "Seaweed" and it's a simple knit/purl combination. I'm working it up on US 2 (2.75 mm) and it's going quickly. Believe me, I had a hard time tearing myself away even to write this blog. I love it when something works!

Seaweed Stitch (multiple of 6 sts, worked in the round):
Rnds 1 & 2: *P4, K2*

Rnds 3 & 4: *P3, K3*

Rnds 5 & 6: *P2, K4*

Rnds 7 & 8: P1, (K4, P2) to last 5 sts, end K4, P1

Rnds 9 & 10: P1, (K3, P3) to last 5 sts, end K3, P2
Rnds 11 & 12: P1, (K2, P4) to last 5 sts, end K2, P3

When it's over the instep you have to add 1 purl stitch at the end to balance the pattern.

Here's the thing that's getting to me, though: I don't want to stop knitting it. I don't want to clean up my livingroom, I don't want to change the sheets on the bed, I don't want to do laundry, I don't want to go over to my mom's and sew, I don't want to go to work tomorrow, I don't want to do anything but knit and knit and knit. It's my refuge, an ordered and beautiful little world of one stitch after another, of silky yarn, of deep dark blue like the sky. That's where I want to live right now.

I'm having trouble getting the annual Christmas letter together. You've seen my previous ones, the successfully amusing missives about our otherwise mundane lives. I usually love writing these, but this year it's hard. What is there to say that hasn't been said? I'm working a lot, I'm knitting a lot, Ed still doesn't have a job, but we're happy and the pets are silly.

Perhaps it is the repetition of these details that I am trying to escape. Let's face it: the repetition of knitting patterns is boring on the surface, but it's a short enough repeat that we can see the pattern as a whole in our minds so the exercise of it is an exciting adventure as we watch it grow under our hands. Life, on the other hand, doesn't seem so exciting. The repeat of each week -- perhaps it's too long of a run? -- is wearing, and it's hard to see the whole in my mind.
Maybe what I need to do is to start knitting one of those huge lace shawls. It will be more like life as it really is: tediously long sections of pattern repeats that seem to go on forever.

Sorry. I don't mean to be depressing. Time to get off the cross (somebody else needs the wood, after all). My life is really blessed if I have the luxury of putting off housework in order to indulge in knitting a pair of socks which, after all, could be bought for maybe $3 per pair instead of what I paid for that skein of yarn.

Yep, I'm OK. I'm ready to head out into this day after all.

Hugs and good knitting to you!

Judith

Gauge Lies

At left is a top-down pullover knit on US 17 needles. The pattern called for Brown Sheep "Burly Spun" yarn and a gauge of 8 sts to 4" in stockinette stitch on US 17 needles.

I held together three strands of worsted weight yarn and knit a swatch of stockingette stitch on US 17 needles. I got 7 sts to 4". I figured the looseness was due to knitting back and forth (instead of in the round), so I soldiered on.

When I checked gauge again (which was when I was nearing the point of holding off sts for the sleeves), I was astounded to discover I was getting 8.5 sts to 4". Thus, a pullover that was meant to be 46" around (finished measurement) turned out to be about 42" around. (It should have been about 40.8" around by stitch count, but that didn't happen, either.)

I am flummoxed. I am finishing the pullover -- it's using up odd balls of yarn in the stash and God knows it will fit someone -- but this is driving me a bit nuts.

I am, however, rather proud of the color transitions, all of which are accomplished with changing out the various strands of yarn held together.

School Scarves

Finished measurement: about 5.25” wide x 72” long (but you can make it longer if you like)

Berroco® Comfort worsted weight (3.5 oz / 100 g; 210 yd / 193 m): 2 balls of main color (MC), 1 ball of contrast color (CC)

NOTE: There will be enough left over to make a hat, so if you plan to do two scarves I’d go with just 3 balls of the main color and perhaps only 1 ball of the contrast color. I made one scarf for a nephew at University of Iowa (gold and black) and a scarf for a nephew at Iowa State University (red and gold), so I bought 2 balls of gold, 2 balls of red, and one ball of black. There was only red and black yarn leftover.

US 7 needles (straight or circular, whichever you prefer)

Gauge is about 20 sts and 24 rows to 4” square in stockinette stitch. It’s not terribly important because when you knit in 1 x 1 rib it ends up looking like flat stockinette stitch except that it won’t curl. In 1 x 1 rib, I get 30 sts (counting each knit stitch as 2) and 24 rows to 4” square.

START KNITTING HERE:

Cast on 40 sts with CC. Work 36 rows of 1 x 1 rib (K1, P1).

Change to MC. Work 2 rows of 1x1 rib in MC and 2 rows of 1x1 rib in CC until you have 18 bands of each color (72 more rows).

Next, work 1 x 1 rib in the MC only. When the whole scarf (laid flat and no stretching) measures 36 inches long (or whatever is half of the length you plan to knit it), mark that row as the halfway point, then keep working 1 x 1 rib in the MC until you can fold the scarf at the halfway point and it meets the stripe section.

Repeat the stripe section: Change to CC. Work 2 rows of 1x1 rib in CC and 2 rows of 1x1 rib in MC until you have 18 bands of each color (72 more rows).

Finish with 36 rows of 1 x 1 rib in the CC.

(PS - Thank you to Mark N. at my office who kindly modeled this scarf for me. He has a nice neck for modeling scarves.)

Bind off (helps to do it in pattern) and work in the ends.

Where I've Been

Here's a fun little ap:



visited 22 states (44%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Happy Dog

Chance, the irrepressibly content black Labrador,

at the dog park.

Aaah, Picture Uploads Successful.

The Leg Warmers

The Shawl

The convertible mittens

Start-itis or Addiction?

Blogger is having some problems, else I'd have uploaded some photos. Suffice it to say that I'm in the midst of a zillion projects once again, and none of them are the projects already on my overly long list of UFOs.

I finished a scarf for one of my nephews and have started in on a similar one for his brother, but no pictures for now since these are to be Christmas gifts.

In other news, I tried and tried and tried to knit a cardigan for my sister M but ended up pulling out all of my work several times because the yarn wasn't cooperating. It's a cotton/silk/acrylic blend. I've started up a simple shawl with it now and it's behaving quite nicely. It's a project started just to prove it can be done; now it will be set aside while I finish my Christmas list of projects.

Another started project is a blanket from worsted weight wool. I have some odd balls of yarn around. I tried several things with it -- mitered squares, pattern stitches -- and in the end it just wanted to be knit as single strands on US 7 needles. Egad, I hate when the yarn starts acting up! Yarn isn't supposed to be so bitchy and demanding!

One project in progress (finally!) is a pair of leg warmers for my friend Dr. T. I was going to knit kilt hose for her, then realized she'd never really wear them for competition. I was going to knit socks for her, but after she and I talked about it what she'd really like are leg warmers. Thus, they're in progress. I'm using the good old standby, the waffle stitch (texture, plus it's easy to keep track of the pattern) and I'm knitting it from leftover balls of KFI Cashmarino (about the same as Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in weight and composition). They're a lovely color of blue.

The Mrs. Gardiner gauntlet gloves have been frogged yet again. I'm just not satisfied with the pattern yet. All I know is that I want a claw cable going up the thumb. The hard part is figuring out what will go with that without numbing my brain.

Oh, and I've made excellent progress on the mittens with the yarn from my adorable and no-longer-Secret Pal, Mia. She sent some handspun that I've combined with a bit of Lamb's Pride worsted. They are becoming a pair of convertible mittens. The first is finished and the second is in progress (nearly done with the thumb gore increases).

And, after all of this, I had a lovely photo of my dog Chance.

But the Blogger software just isn't cooperating at the moment. Dang.

I've Been Busy

Here's me working on it at my mom's house on the living room floor.

This took at lot of planning.

Detail of the phoenix center by maxecat.

Detail of the "stars" (sorry that it's a little bent here)



The Myth & Magic Quilt Top (about 76" square at this point)
Dragon by samtibbs. Unicorn by judyqeen. Phoenix by maxecat.
Spiderweb and potions by PotionMistress.
Potions by auntj.

Secret Pal Revealed!

This is a mitten I've started knitting from the handspun that my lovely, no-longer-secret pal Mia sent to me in the second package. I started it off with some Lamb's Pride worsted, then went right to the lovely yarn she sent to me. These will be convertable mittens.

And here is the "reveal" package Mia sent: another cool bag (the cotton bag with the bird printed on it in pale green), two more handspun yarns, a lavender-scented candle, a little coin purse (which will likely hold my knitting markers -- you never know) filled with candies, and (I can hardly believe I'm writing this) a pair of socks! I am ever so magnificently spoiled by this last especially. No one has ever knit a pair of socks for me, so I felt absolutely overwhelmed. If ever Mia draws your name as a secret pal, prepare to be spoiled out of your mind!

Thank you, Mia! You are a lovely and kind knitting pal. I'll post pix of the mittens when they're done, and I might knit a hat with the other yarns. I don't know. Anything can happen, you know! :)