Why couldn't I design a HAT?!?

For several years, I have wanted to knit myself a poncho. If I voiced that wish out loud, it usually brought quizzical looks. Then this season, ponchos began appearing in department stores. Although I doubted I could get one knitted before winter's end, I embarked on this journey.

First, I pulled out a pattern from my Ravelry queue, then bought the required amount of yarn. Given the size of a poncho, I went economical and purchased Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool, in Oak Tweed, on sale. Only later did I realize the "tweed" would not work with the big fat cables of my desired poncho, as the stitch definition is non-existent. That's when I veered into design-it-yourself territory.

One advantage of DIY knitting is if I don't like something, I can change it up. Unfortunately, that is a disadvantage as well, as I keep second guessing my design decisions. Currently, the poncho has three panels, front and back, with the center ones in seed stitch. The side panels are 5x1 ribbing, with the plan to pinstripe the purl columns in contrasting yarn. During a brief period of insanity, I considered switching from the wide rib to a lattice stitch, but swatching again revealed that lack of stitch definition.

Why panels? For one thing, I think sewing them together will provide some "backbone" to the fabric, hopefully preventing too much stretching. Also, I can knit the panels on straight needles, which I find easier when having to purl much. The width of the poncho will be elbow-to-elbow, with each "sleeve" ending in ribbed cuffs, like the original pattern. The back will be a bit longer than the front.

Another plan is to use i-cord in contrasting color for edging and for the seams. We'll see how that goes. The front center panel includes short-row shaping for the neckline. I'm debating on either a cowl collar or a hood.

Oddly enough, as the design was taking shape in my head, my daughter showed up with a store-bought poncho that greatly mimicked what I had in mind, purchased for about $20 at the mall. *sigh* But mine will be better, warmer, and a work of art (I tell myself).

Meanwhile, I'm slogging along, wondering why I couldn't be inspired to knit something smaller. Thank goodness for books on CD.

Last pair of xmas socks

My SO is always understanding when his xmas socks are the last to be finished. And usually that finish date is after xmas, sometimes soon, sometimes far after. I started these xmas eve day, and now over a month has passed and I am just now getting them finished. It's not like they are the only WIP on the coffee table.

Pattern: Short-row heel and toe basic sock, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: SSYC Poste Yarn, Striping, in 'Island of Misfit Toys' and SSYC Simply Sock Yarn in 'Silver Lining'
Needles: US1
Modifications: None really, other than to knit the toe and heel in contrasting yarn, as self-striping yarn does not work well with short rows.

One of my sock-knitting techniques that has evolved over time is to make the leg about as long as the foot, when folded in half. Otherwise, the recipient complains that the leg is too short. Sometimes longer legs means extra yarn, which in this case takes the form of contrasting heels and toes.

I'm pleased with my efforts to match stripes. This yarn makes it easy, as the length of the color runs is very consistent.

I shouldn't say these are the last of the xmas socks; they are the last of the xmas *gift* socks. I have two more colorways of the Poste Yarn, to knit socks for moi. After all, we can't let everyone else have all the fun socks.

OMG! These mittens are SO warm!

I started these mittens over a year ago, reached the point where all that remained was to knit the second thumb, and stopped. If memory serves me (a big IF these days), I struggled through the first thumb, then there was a tear in the fabric of the space-time continuum. Suddenly, almost fifteen months had passed. What possessed me to finally finish these? Your guess is as good as mine.

But finish them I did, and today, when the temps were in the single digits and the wind chill WAY below zero, was I glad. That wind chill did not penetrate the fabric AT ALL. Me thinks all future mittens will be double knit, one way or another. (Except the current pair I am working on for g'daughter - one is done and I'm not redoing it.)

Pattern: The Red and the Black, by Laura Ricketts
Yarn: Cascade 220, in gray and black (colorway numbers unknown - this was leftover yarn)
Needles: US5
Modifications: Not intentionally. The two thumbs do not match, nor are they the same length. Thumb #1 is not according to the pattern, and I chose not to reknit it. I did reknit thumb #2 and still it came out the wrong length. Wabi sabi.

These mittens were my first (and not very colorful) foray into colorwork. I am particularly proud of the floats (although I have to be careful not to snag them with a thumb nail). I assume the mitts will felt a bit with use, and then they will be perfect.

Happy New Year!

I've come to the conclusion that there is no point in New Year's resolutions. I usually make the same ones each year - eat less, exercise more, keep a cleaner house, etc. - and usually fail. Instead of calling them "resolutions", maybe I will refer to them as "habits of the heart", some general goals to strive for without treating them as make-or-break commandments.

Regarding my knitting, here are some "habits of the heart" I am going to strive for:

Quality over quantity: I simply enjoy knitting, and sometimes get caught up in cranking out yards and yards of knitted products without paying close attention to the quality of what I am knitting. Consequently, there are sweaters that are too big and shapeless to wear out of the house, socks too small to wear at all, gloves made of too-stretchy alpaca, mittens that don't match, etc. Going forward, I resolve to pay more attention to knitting with the appropriate yarns, on right-sized needles for the desired fabric, in correct gauge.

Let's be practical: Over the years, I have knit a variety of items that never see the light of day once finished. For example, when my g'daughter was a baby, we could dress her in all manner of hand knits, but now she has opinions and a fashion sense that does not include the sweaters I so lovingly provided. Another example are shawls: fun to knit, not so much fun to wear. Going forward, I resolve to knit only what is asked for or agreed to, in colors and yarns the recipient approves. (The only exception to this is xmas socks - I get to have fun with those.)

Break away from patterns: I developed the habit of slavishly following patterns because 1) that is one way to learn, 2) it is quicker than coming up with my own patterns, and 3) if the results are not so good, I can blame it on the pattern (whether that is an accurate assessment or not). Now I have plenty of sweaters and blankets. Everyone I knit for has socks, gloves, scarves, hats, afghans galore. And I am retired, so time is no longer of the essence. Going forward, I resolve to invent my own designs, experiment with how to construct them, enjoy the journey instead of the destination.

What about you? Are there any knitting goals you would like to achieve this year?

Knitting binge

Even though my family celebrates xmas on xmas eve, I usually feed someone on xmas day. Not this year. Some might think it sad to spend xmas day alone, but after all the flurry of xmas preparations, I was ready for a day of R&R.

To get through all the holiday knitting, I listened to a lot of books on CD, the most recent one Stephen King's Under the Dome (30 disks!) Not quite done with that story, I binge-listened while I binge-knit this hat for my g'daughter.

Pattern: Official Kittyville Hat, by Kitty Schmidt
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, in colorway 838 (pink)
Needles: US7
Modifications: worked and reworked the ear flaps until I was satisfied (see below); also, no ears.

I've knit this hat before, but always in dark colors. In pink, the ear flaps just did not look right along the edges. I tried this, that, and the other thing, and finally settled on slipping the first stitch of each row knitwise, then always knitting the last stitch of each row. That seemed to clean them up, at least well enough.

Ordinarily, I would knit this yarn on US8 needles. Since my g'daughter is but five, I used US7's with the hope that the tighter gauge would mean I would not have to adjust the pattern to get it to fit her smaller head. She hasn't tried it on yet, but the styrofoam head is close to the same size as hers, so here's hoping.

Christmas Island socks

This pair of xmas socks went much smoother than the others, helped by the absence of ribbing except at the top of the leg. They were for my daughter, so they are also in a smaller size than the other xmas socks, so knit up relatively quickly. Thank god.

Pattern: Short-row toe and heel basic socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Co. Poste Yarn, Striping in 'Christmas Island' and Simply Sock in 'Silver Lining'
Needles: US1
Modifications: Used Turkish cast on

The quality of the dyeing of the Poste Yarn makes stripe matching a breeze. Again, the 'Silver Lining' was a good selection for the contrasting heel. I've also learned that, when folded at the heel, the sock leg should be about the same length as the foot, or there will be complaints about them being too short.

So, three pairs of xmas socks were ready and waiting on xmas eve. I am knitting a pair for my SO, and may just have to knit a pair for myself, as the colorways are so enjoyable. Then I may take all the leftovers and knit up a crazy pair of socks or gloves with them. Wouldn't that be fun?

Santa Claus, IN socks

Xmas is over, and per usual, I didn't quite finish all my xmas knitting. Most, but not all. I'll post what did get done over the next several days, before the xmas spirit departs for the North Pole.

I think I knit these socks twice over, as I struggled with needle size and fabric density and angry knitting gods. I even managed to bind off too tightly, despite using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off. The needles were a square set which I grew to detest, not because of the shape but because of how sharp they were. Note to self: save them for lace knitting.

Pattern: Short-row toe and heel basic socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Co Poste Yarn, Striping in 'Santa Claus, IN' and Simply Sock in 'Silver Lining'
Needles: US1
Modifications: Used Turkish cast on

The chicken-legged men in my immediate family prefer ribbed socks, another annoyance, as I have never fully mastered the art of the purl, despite much practice. Fortunately, the troubles of this pair were balanced by the wonderful yarn in wonderfully xmas colors, enhanced by the contrasting heel. 'Silver Lining' worked with every pair of xmas socks I knit.

These socks were for my son-in-law, who is usually non-committal on my knitted gifts. I later asked my daughter if they fit okay, and she said, "I guess. He's wearing them." That is a good sign.

Holiday, FL socks

Because I hate the pointy square needles I am using for one pair of xmas socks, this pair, started at a later date, reached the finish line first. This pair is also the largest to be knit, so I am happy to have them done early. Theoretically, the others should be a breeze. (HA!)

Pattern: Short-Row Toe and Heel Basic Sock, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Company Poste Yarn, Striping, in the colorways 'Holiday, FL' and 'Silver Lining'
Needles: US1
Modifications: Surprisingly Stretchy bind off

Since these are knit big (80 stitches around), I knew I would need some extra yarn. A worker bee at Simply Socks recommended the 'Silver Lining' colorway, and I *really* like how it looks with the stripes.

Honey cowl for my little honey

I decided to knit my g'daughter a Honey Cowl. Since she is but 5 years old, I chose the middle length and made it only half as wide, but I think I could have gone with the full length - kid heads are not that much smaller than adults. She loves pink, so pink it was, pretty much guaranteeing that she will actually wear this handknit.

Pattern: Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, in 'Rose Petal' colorway
Needles: US8
Modifications: Half the width, used worsted yarn instead of DK

Trying to photograph a cowl without a live model is not easy. Mr Manly and The Head helped, but in a rather macabre way.

Had I had knit this with US8 needles on DK yarn, it would have had more drape, I'm sure. Something to keep in mind if I make another one of these. And I might: this is my second one (first one is here), and it is an easy, relatively quick knit.

Socks will be the death of me

I don't know why I am having so much trouble knitting socks this season. I have reknit as much as I have knit. One plus of reknitting is, after ripping back one heel turn and two gussets, I decided to preserve the yarn striping from the foot to the leg by knitting a short row heel in a contrasting solid color. One of the worker bees at Simply Sock Yarn recommended the Silver Lining colorway, and I am quite pleased with it.

I'm using a set of square DPNs (by Kollage) that are adding to my misery. It's not the shape but the fact they are the sharpest needles I have ever worked with. They pierce the yarn plies, making the yarn seem splitty when it really isn't. The needles also pierce my finger tips on occasion. I'm sticking with them for this pair of socks because I'm afraid to change needles midstream.

Since I have another set of US1 DPNs, I started a second pair of socks for Big Foot, aka my son. I'm using Silver Lining for not only the heels but the toes and maybe some stripes on the leg if I seem to be running short on yardage. The first toe has been knit twice, but the second toe required only two rows of reknitting.

Maybe I am finally getting the hang of sock knitting? (Knock on wood.)

Two steps forward, three steps back

The xmas sock knitting efforts have not been going well. First, I thought I would knit plain ordinary socks with ribbing for the instep and leg. That just didn't seem to be going very well, so then I got the idea to knit Jaywalkers, a very good pattern for self-striping yarn, but toe up, so I didn't have to worry about running out of yarn. I ripped back to the toes, and the knitting went well, but the socks seemed HUGE. I kept telling myself that it would be okay, but after reaching the heels, I could lie to myself no longer. I ripped all the way back to the beginning, switched from US2 to US1 DPNs, and reverted to plain ordinary socks but without the instep ribbing; I plan to rib the legs.

I blame all this back and forth on Irish cottage knitting, aka lever knitting. A while back, I switched to this style from continental and was very pleased with the resulting fabric. However, initially my knitting was tighter than usual, so developed the habit of upsizing the needles. Well, my Irish cottage knitting must be more relaxed these days, as one needle size up is one needle size too far. I suspected this might be the case, as I knit the bathroom curtain on US6 needles because upsizing to US7 felt too floppy, but at the time I blamed the cotton yarn.

There is something hinky about gauge and my knitting, though. Sometimes my gauge is spot on, as with the Jaywalkers, but the resulting fabric feels unsatisfactorily loose. This is particularly troublesome with socks, where the fit should be snug and the fabric dense. I'm wondering if, instead of aiming for the pattern gauge, I should figure out what gauge produces the fabric I want, then work the pattern according to that. There is some sweater knitting in my future, so I may have to experiment with this idea.

And now I am also wondering if my dissatisfaction with continental knitting might have been resolved with a similar strategy. Hmmm.

What to do with all that leftover yarn

I picked up a copy of Mini Skein Knits from the library as it looked interesting and useful. While I probably will not directly knit any of the patterns, they do give a knitter lots of ideas for small skeins and leftovers.

One oddity about the book is it provides instructions on how to make a knit stitch, a purl stitch, an increase, a decrease, how to cast on and bind off, etc. But nowhere are there instructions about colorwork, which abounds in the patterns. I don't find Fair Isle to be all that intuitive, but hey, maybe that is just me.

Don't do this at home

Knitting a curtain is about the dumbest thing I can think to make out of yarn. Blankets are larger, but at least they are cozy on cold winter nights. A curtain could be sewn from cloth in about an hour, max. This thing took *forever*. BUT it is an excellent stash buster of a project.

Pattern: My own concoction (using chart A from Hybrid Vigour Shawl on knitty.com)
Yarn: Dem-N-Nit Pure Indigo Cotton, about 9.5 skeins
Needles: US6

It shrank about two inches when washed, which I planned for (although the rod pocket is a bit tight). The indigo is kind of dark for my decor, but I expect it to fade as time goes by. I learned from another curtain project to make it wide enough, so it provides excellent coverage. All and all, I am satisfied. And *relieved* that it is finished.

The race is on

Breaking with a relatively new tradition, last year I did not knit xmas socks. To make up for it this year, I am not only knitting socks as xmas gifts, they will be knit from xmas-themed colorways. Unlike the Yarn Harlot, who can knit a couple of pairs over a weekend, socks take me much longer. Before I retired, I might complete a pair over the course of a month. There aren't enough months between now and xmas, though, so I'd better double up that effort.

I'm fairly dedicated to toe-up socks these days, but discovered the hard way that self-striping yarn is not conducive to short row toes.

Then I had what I call a stupid day, one of those days when I can't seem to do anything right. In this case, despite have executed a Turkish cast on multiple times in the past, I simply could not get it to work; after a couple of rows, I consistently came up one stitch short and was unable to figure out where that stitch went. So I tried some other toe-up cast ons, each a big FAIL. I wasted HOURS on this fruitless task. ARGH!

Fortunately, the stupid day was followed by a better one, and I figured out that I needed to hold onto the tail to keep from losing that stitch. Two Turkish cast on sock toes coming right up.

To avoid the dreaded second sock syndrome, I knit both socks in parallel. To complete my xmas mission, I need a schedule to tell me how many inches to knit per day. Ordinarily, I do not set knitting deadlines, but between the desire to return to tradition AND to knit these gifts in xmas-themed yarn, I am making an exception. We'll see how that works out.

Who needs Rhinebeck?

I have yet to make it to the mecca of all things wooly, the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival that comes to Rhinebeck each October. Through various bloggers, I visit vicariously, so I know what I am missing. Some day I will make that journey.

Meanwhile, that doesn't mean I can't buy me some yarn now and then.

From Simply Socks Yarn Co, some of their own Poste yarn, destined to become socks for xmas giving:

From Hancock Fabrics, lots of this Fisherman's Wool (it was on sale!), that will become a poncho (which are back in style!), most likely this one, although I have been recently distracted by this pattern:

From The Fifth Stitch, Defiance, OH, comes some Cascade Heritage Prints sock yarn, that will be for moi:

And that is my reward for finishing the black lacy socks.

Black socks are done

The almost-most-boring-socks-in-the-world are done. The only thing that might have made them more tedious was to knit them in plain stockinette. I didn't want to use a pattern that was too fancy - these eyes are old - so this one fit the bill.

Can't see the lacework, can you?

• Pattern: Dead Simple Lace Socks, by Wendy D. Johnson (in Socks from the Toe Up)
• Yarn: Lang Yarns Jawoll Superwash Solids, colorway 8304 (black)
• Needles: US2
• Modifications: Used Turkish cast on - 16 stitches total - then increased *every* round (to make toe more rounded) until up to 32 stitches , then started alternating a knit round with an increase round, up to 64 stitches. Used Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy bind off.

Now can you see the lacework?

Side note: I hate-hate-HATE it when toe-up sock patterns end with "bind off loosely". Using a standard bind off, I have never been able to bind off loose enough for socks. For a while, I used EZ's sewn bind off, which worked well, but now I am a devoted fan of Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy bind off. Well done, Jeny, well done.

Now. NOW. I get to knit some colorful socks.

The Fifth Stitch

My SO and I took a ramble toward Clyde, OH, and on the way, stopped in Defiance where we enjoyed made-from-scratch cheesecake at A Little Slice of Heaven, cafe au lait from Cabin Fever Coffee, and YARN, lots and lots of yarn, at The Fifth Stitch.

Over the years, I have discovered that one can tell the health of a yarn shop by its inventory, and The Fifth Stitch is very, very healthy. I wish I had taken some photos (too busy yapping with the owner, who has been in business for over 40 years) because the walls and shelves were simply full. If memory serves me correctly (a bit IF these days), most of the yarn is grouped by color instead of weight or brand, a concept I think I have not seen elsewhere. The main exceptions to this were the sock yarns and baby yarns. There were also plenty of samples, and in the back of the store, many samples from the past, including complete sweaters.

Alas, the building has been sold and the owner is contemplating retirement in the next year or two. What will become of the shop then is unknown at this point. However, if you follow the store on Facebook, you may get lucky if/when there is a moving/retirement sale.

I dream of color

I have been working on a pair of black socks. Not variegated, not sparkly, just plain black. And are they ever BORING, not even worth photographing. To maintain my sanity motivation, I am promising myself a trip to Simply Socks Yarn Co in the near future, to pick out bright and colorful yarn for xmas socks.

What do you do to stick with a particularly tedious stretch of knitting?

Blue, I'm blue

I've attended several dye workshops, all geared toward yarn and roving, but ever since reading about shibori on Mason-Dixon Knitting, I've been yearning for a class on resistant dyeing. Yesterday, my wish was answered. Fort Wayne Parks sponsored just such a workshop, at the Botanical Gardens. Yee-ha!

The instructor, Lorelei VerLee, was the offspring of missionaries and spent most of her childhood in Japan, where her fascination with intricate fabric design began. She is now the Executive Director of Creative Women of the World (whose store front I must visit for xmas shopping). Both she and her assistant wore skirts of shibori.

Lorelei made a point of using equipment and ingredients that we could easily procure, including an indigo dye kit she purchased from Dharma Trading Co. To provide the resist in resistant dyeing, one can use just about anything, from ceramic tiles to cardboard tubes, from rubber bands to binder clips, from marbles to chickpeas. We each received a length of cotton to experiment with and a hemp scarf for a "final project".

For my experimentation, I tried several methods: folding the cotton like an accordion, first in one direction, then another, then sandwiching the cloth between ceramic tiles held in place with rubber bands; wrapping cloth around marbles and chickpeas, holding the objects in place with rubber bands; gathering the cloth like shirring, using needle and thread (this technique was a fail for me - too loosely done); wrapping rubber bands successively around the cloth to form a little tower; and folding the cloth like a flag and clamping with binder clips. (For the record, this step and the step of removing all the resistant materials can be quite tedious.)

Next came the fun part: after wetting the cloth, it was dipped in indigo for a while (a few minutes?), then the magic happened.

(It was during the post-dye bath rinsing where my hands turned blue-ish - it would have been nice if we each had a pair of latex gloves for this step. Most of the dye washed off when I did dishes that night, though.)

For my scarf, I wrapped the cloth around a cardboard mailing tube and secured it with rubber bands. I am not very happy with the results - too much white - so I may take it to the store and re-dye it, as Lorelei will have the vats available for a couple of weeks.

All this was accomplished in about two hours, which was just barely enough time. I didn't get a chance to chat up any of the other participants, although (from eavesdropping) I learned there were at least one or two knitters, some master gardeners, and who knows who else.

I always come away from these workshops with grand(iose) ideas of future projects. One that might actually happen is making a shibori sampler using 12" squares, sewing them together in a patchwork, then quilting the result to use as a curtain in my bedroom. I am also curious about using other dyes, like henna.

So many ideas, so little time.

WIP vs UFO

What exactly constitutes a work-in-progress (WIP) vs. an unfinished object (UFO)? Does a certain amount of non-productive knitting time need to pass to transfer a particular project from WIP to UFO? Or maybe it is location, WIPs floating to the top while UFOs sink to the bottom of the knitting basket? If something gets transferred from knitting basket to closet, then it definitely becomes a UFO, but what about all those good intentions that remain? Maybe if the knitter gets a grip on startitis, those quasi-UFOs can bubble up and return to the realm of WIPs.

The Easy as Pie blanket is a case in point. What usually happens to stall a project is a snag of some sort, and in this case, I could not reconcile the instructions to pick up 49 stitches along the edge of a square with the fact I could come up with only 48. That, and the onset of summer when knitting wool feels just plain wrong, relegated this project to the bottom of the knitting basket. Now that autumn is trying to ease summer out of the way, the blanket squares have emerged. Some commentary on Ravelry verified that there really are only 48 stitches to be picked up, so I feel vindicated on that point, but now I seem to be short a square. Did I lose one or what?

Fortunately, between my notes on Ravelry and this blog, I was able to ascertain that an earlier snafu left me with the choice of either making a 3x5 blanket or knitting another square to create a 4x4 one. My circles are not divided between two motifs as the pattern dictates but spread out over seven, so I have two squares of most motifs and three of two of them - except for the missing square, of which I have only one. No one else would probably notice, but my knowing that one motif would be represented only once in the blanket is something I can't live with. So now I need to make another square, but it has been so long since I knitted that part of the pattern that I am feeling a little stuck, AGAIN.

Meanwhile, the bathroom curtain is almost done, STILL. All I need to do is bind off while picking up stitches along the way, to create the sleeve for a curtain rod. That is ALL. What holds me back is the need to baste that row of stitches to be picked up, to make sure I stay on course while binding off. Why is that so difficult for me to do?

Sometimes I think my issue with finishing a project is that the end marks the Day of Judgment. Will this knitted object turn out how I envisioned? Will it fit? Will the recipient (even if it is me) like it? Will it look homemade vs. handmade? Will others mock? Will its flaws scream at me every time I look at it?

Despite all the socks I have knit, even they can be daunting to finish, but since they are usually meant as xmas gifts, they get done, the results be damned. I haven't knit many pairs this year, but they are the epitome of portability when it comes to knitting. I might not actually work on them while dragging them hither and yon, but I like the idea of having something at hand in case the need arrives.

What about you? What's your excuse for all those UFOs? I know you have some.