February 24, 2008

KnitML & Ravelry

Web technology and knitting have finally come together in a very cool way with KnitML, which is simply brilliant. My technical skills aren't advanced enough to allow me to contribute to the effort, but I can appreciate the uber-coolness of it and Derek can contribute the occasional purl/perl joke.

These two worlds have also been joined with the fabulous knitting social networking platform that is Ravelry. Right now, I'm making Fetching mitts with Malabrigo yarn, and I've just browsed through pages created by knitters making the same pattern with the same yarn to see whether they used the same needle size, etc. Hurrah for organized, community-improved, online knitting data (with pictures!)! Adding all of my completed projects has also helped me realize that I've made nine (9!) baby hats recently and not much else. Time to branch out...

Posted by csageday at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)

September 23, 2006

All Knitting, All the Time

Okay. Time for a knitting post, because I need help deciding what the hell to make out of some yarn as a gift for a Spain host.

But first, since blankets take ages, I've moved on to hats for babies. I did the blankets before because I really don't like following a pattern, and hats are similar -- you can pretty much figure it out as you go. I started with a watermelon hat because I liked the one over at Yarn Harlot. Then, because I had loads of lovely Arabella merino wool in fun colors, I did a little striped hat, too. Both turned out fine, size-wise (I tried them on a baby at the baby shower just to be sure, since I was worried), although one's inexplicably smaller. I think I'd make both a little longer, so they cover the ears, the next time around. I finished them and blocked them just in time for the shower -- here they are in the car, on the way to Delaware (wish I'd gotten better photos! Have to get some of them on the baby when he arrives...):

Unfortunately, I didn't include anything in these photos to show size well. Here they are on a very small whoozit, though:

I think they're pretty cute, but I'm not sure if they're really useful without earflaps or a string to tie the thing around the baby's neck. Next time, I'll have to figure out how to incorporate that.

Next up, I've started in on Yarn Harlot's Snowdrop Shawl. Sadly, the pattern is kicking my ass. Every other row, I realize I did something wrong four rows back, so I have to do intensive, stressful, complex surgery to fix it. I think I prefer rectangular shawls to triangular ones -- I hope the recipient of this 1) likes it and 2) doesn't mind the triangle business. I wanted to make something really nice and pretty for said recipient -- I'm not sure the end product will quite match what I wanted to do, but it should be fine.

Finally, I have two more 20-somethings to knit something for. I want to use this lovely Manos de Uruguay variegated red yarn from Rhinebeck last year, but I'm having trouble coming up with the right pattern to show off the color. I also need to make something wearable. I was thinking of a skinny scarf, so I started out with a double-stranded garter stitch, with some variety thrown in. I don't really like it, and don't think I have enough yarn to do two. So I switched so a single strand, and that looks better, but now it's less scarf-like, so I think the shape might need to be different. Maybe a clapotis-like triangular corner and more width would work? Knitting readers -- thoughts?

Posted by csageday at 04:37 PM | Comments (3)

November 15, 2005

Domesticity

I just came across this set of photos on Flickr: a devil's occupation. Several household items -- my favorite is the dustpan called "don't waste your time" -- have fitted, knitted covers. They're completely encased in knitted, hand-painted yarn. It speaks to the mudane nature of household tasks and the obsessive creativity of knitters, I think. The chair -- "she was allergic to inactivity" -- is just amazing. I wonder if these were all encased in yarn using double-pointed needles? Or maybe the chair was taken apart? It's something else.

Update: The knitter/artist has a blog and did these as part of "a series of knitted sculptures [she's] working on that focus on the mania of being idle." She also makes awesome Monsters.

Posted by csageday at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2005

Baby Blanket #1

I finished knitting squares for baby blanket #1 the day after the adorable baby Keith --intended recipient of baby blanket #1 -- was born. I seem to have a knack for finishing up blankets just as babies decide to be born. I'm very grateful that Keith decided to postpone things an extra week so I could finish up.

This new blanket is the first pattern I designed and used successfully, so I might write it up and post it here. Each larger square has 16 squares with alternating squares, diamonds, and triangles inside. I experimented with shapes while stuck upstate with no knitting patterns, and the result is really cute. If I made the squares bigger, I could probably come up with a bunch of other shapes. I like the idea that the small and large squares remind me of a quilt, and the shapes are a good kid theme. I wasn't planning on using the colors I ended up with (it was what was available from kyarns.com that didn't clash with my original light blue), but contrast is good for newborns, and it's more playful and fun than your average baby pastels. I used Rowan Calmer, a lovely yarn but not one suited to babies, really, since it can't be machine washed. You can barely handwash it -- the brown bled a tiny bit into the ivory when I was wringing the water out. I know it says on the label not to do that, but who pays attention to instructions like that? As it was, it took two days to dry, WITH help from a hair dryer because I was getting impatient. Here's a shot of the finished blanket (here's a close-up):

For baby blanket #2, I'm using a slightly more machine-washing-friendly Cashsoft Baby DK and I'm doing stripes (same pattern, but without the sewing together at the end, which drives me crazy) -- it probably won't be as interesting, but it'll be very "baby".

We delivered baby blanket #1 to baby Keith today and had a great time snuggling with him and talking to his very happy parents and grandparents. Some photos are up on Flickr. Here's a quick video of Keith hicupping, too (beware, it's a big file: 7.3 MB).

The upside of all this is that we have another completely adorable baby to play with. The downside is that about 5 minutes after entering our friends' house, Derek mouthed, with a pout, "I WANT ONE". Yeah, I want one too, but gimme a break! I'm so not ready for that. Why is it that everyone we know is conspiring to have children all at the same time? Why??? I love kids, but the peer pressure is getting hard to ignore. I found myself at a stoop sale yesterday buying up really nice baby clothes for obscenely cheap prices (I won't have trouble getting rid of it all), and I couldn't help wondering if I should pick some up for us, since, you know, everyone else is doing it... But then I figured that was bad luck. Living in Park Slope is like asking for it, though. I pass two nursery schools and a Kids Kutz salon on my way to the train every morning.

Posted by csageday at 11:20 PM | Comments (2)

October 18, 2005

Sheep and Wool (and Llamas and Rabbits and Dogs)

Apologies for the sparse posting. The more blog-worthy events one has in one's life, the less time there is for blogging. For instance, yesterday I went with Rose and Francis to the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. Despite the overly long drive (poor map planning on my part), we had a good four hours of sheep and wool gawking and festival-food eating.

Derek ducked out at the last minute for fear of being stranded in a field with sheep and llamas while the rest of us discussed the finer points of spinning yarn. He needn't have worried. I was completely distracted by festival-food fare for the first several hours. I got some buffalo mozzarella (nothing to do with sheep or wool, really) and some sheep's milk cheese right off the bat. Then I stood in line for some lamb kebobs, but my conscience got the better of me right before I had to order and I beat a retreat, guiltily eying sheep along the way, to a stall advertising "Artichoke French". The line was endless, but the final product -- fried artichoke hearts with bread and collard greens and beans -- was worth it. I love artichokes. I chased that down with apple crisp while resisting the urge to buy fried dough. Finally, I picked up some fresh kettle corn for D and some maple sugar cotton candy. (The stuff is heavenly. Just insanely good.) I tried some wine, but wasn't happy with the sickeningly-sweet samples I got so I gave up.

All the while, I was thinking that I really should start looking at yarn seriously, but I kept getting distracted. There were rabbits, llamas, and sheep to look at and pet. And given that sheep need herding, there were sheepdog trials. I was absolutely fascinated by those -- the dogs look like they were born to herd sheep -- they know exactly what to do and when to do it. I also caught the end of a frisbee dog demonstration which was very entertaining -- hyper frisbee-obsessed dogs can jump VERY high.

Toward four o'clock, I started to panic. I circled desperately around the same four buildings trying to decide which yarn to buy. I couldn't concentrate on finding something for the baby blanket emergency because I needed cotton for that. And since I can only think one project ahead, I didn't have a project in mind that I needed wool for. The sheer quantity of wool on offer -- sometimes for wildly different prices -- was intimidating. After much grumbling and credit card swiping, I ended up with three lovely kinds of yarn: some light brown alpaca (for a sweater) from A Touch of Twist, and blue merino (another Clapotis or similar shawl) and gorgeous Manos de Uruguay variegated red wool yarn (luxurious, tarty scarf) from The Needle Lady. I managed to squeeze the last purchase in while the vendor was packing up (whew).

A few more Rhinebeck photos are on Flickr.

Posted by csageday at 12:34 AM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2005

Knot Lost in Translation

I had a wonderful subway moment on my way home today. I've been working reluctantly on squares for the baby blanket -- which may or may not ever be finished -- with some Rowan Calmer cotton yarn. This is something I like to do on the subway since it's small.

With the last two squares, I've spent the majority of my time untangling the humungous knot that develops, somehow, between the knitting and the ball of yarn. It's endlessly frustrating and I'm not sure how it happens. I've tried all sorts of knot-untangling techniques, but the progress seems to get slower and slower.

Today, I was sitting next to an elderly Chinese woman for most of the ride home. I could feel a few people on the train watching my ongoing struggle and I was doing my best to ignore them, but the Chinese woman was clearly getting more and more involved. She would lean in -- more than is acceptable by any sane follower of the unwritten Subway personal space rules -- squint, and then lean back again.

When I was pulling a long strand of yarn out of the mess, gently, with an expression of extraordinary don't-you-dare-talk-to-me concentration, she started SHAKING HER HEAD. Like she completely and utterly disapproved of my untangling skills. I was in full Subway defense mode now, desperately trying to cling to my shred of knitting privacy. I shoved the remains of the knot in my bag and started knitting with the extracted yarn.

The woman got upset about that, though, and was bold enough to REACH INTO MY BAG and grab the knot. My first reaction was obviously the pick-pocket one, but I realized while discreetly eying my wallet that my next-door neighbor was a perfectly normal woman who wanted to help, but didn't know a word of English.

She took the knotted yarn into her lap, flipped her hand at me, and gave me a quick look indicating that I should keep knitting, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was as if she was frustrated with me for being so inefficient and NOT letting her do the untangling earlier. So I went back to knitting. I felt a little awkward, handing off the hard work and knitting, but she untangled and I knit for four subway stops. I wonder what the other people in the car were thinking. I couldn't help smiling now and then at the whole scene.

True to her earlier criticism, she was better at untangling. I was sad that we had to stop when we got to 7th Avenue. I thanked her many times and showed her the knitting and explained that it was for a baby blanket. She smiled and I stepped off the train. I'm still getting a kick out of it -- I smiled all the way home.

(Note: Clever title courtesy Derek.)

Posted by csageday at 10:46 PM | Comments (2)

September 27, 2005

Two Knitting Posts In One Day!

Last month, I was stuck up in the Adirondacks for two whole weeks with a gazillion knitting needles and only two measly little balls of cotton yarn. I needed desperately to knit a baby blanket, and I had planned to buy yarn once I got up there, but there were no yarn shops around for miles. Luckily my friend Beth brought me a care package of 1) a sweater pattern 2) Addi Turbo knitting needles and 3) yarn (she read my mind -- I hadn't even told her about the no-yarn-shop-dilemma), so I didn't go completely insane in the woods.

In desperation, toward the end of my vacation, I went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought some acrylic stuff for a blanket, but next to the cotton yarn it looked so artificial. To this day, I have two inches of a baby blanket knit up with the acrylic yarn (and substandard needles), and various mis-matched swatches of possible baby blanket squares made from the (expensive) cotton yarn I had. The babies due for blankets in my life (and there are several, all of the sudden) are going to be teenagers by the time I get my act together. I just can't seem to get beyond the "but I already started this one" phase and start all over again. I could sew the swatches together for a quilt effect (I have four that are about a foot square), but I'm not sure if I can coordinate the colors properly. I could also just finish the acrylic thing, but that might take years, since the pattern seems to be for a humungous blanket.

Today (a month too late), I found out about Adirodack Yarns through Yarn Harlot, of all places. My Yellow Page lookup skills must be pathetic. Infuriating. Adirondack Yarns wasn't exactly close, but it was only about an hour away -- not a lot considering that the supermarket's 20 minutes away. They even have wireless internet access, which means I could have been a bona fide knitblogger for once. I swear I asked at all the cute shops upstate if there might possibly be a yarn store nearby, but no, nothing. ARgh.

Posted by csageday at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)

Yarny Happenings

There is a new yarny place in town called Suss Design -- it's an L.A. transplant that sells finished items as well as yarn and knitting supplies, and apparently will cater to fashion-conscious Daily Candy readers: here's the Daily Candy write-up. The fact that Daily Candy is promoting it makes it seem a little snooty, but I have a snooty streak (why else would I subscribe?) so I'll probably have to chance a visit. The finished items look very cute. But that would be cheating.

Maybe going there will make me feel better about Yarnivore closing. I'm going to miss the Friday night knitting shindigs and Sunday chatting.

Posted by csageday at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2005

Tossed and Found: A Good Yarn

My advance apologies for 1) the bad puns in the title and 2) another post devoted entirely to yarn.

Derek and I took a walk around the neighborhood this evening and made an interesting discovery. It's that time of the week when large trash items -- cabinets, tables, chairs -- are on the sidewalk, so we were keeping an eye out for any salvageable items. I checked out an iron-wrought bench and then checked out some boxes near 7th Ave and 15th St. On closer inspection of the boxes, I found old tapes, a vase, and ... bags and bags of fabric and yarn. I noticed one circular needle and some decent yarn and got excited (good yarn can be pretty expensive). I found a needle measurement thing and probably squealed. I started grabbing skeins I thought I could use. Eventually I grabbed one entire bag. I thought, if I can't use it I can donate it all to Church of Craft.

Since Derek knows what I'm like in a yarn store (or any store, really) -- I stand in one spot for minutes on end, staring at two types of yarn, paralyzed by indecision -- he suggested picking up all the bags and sorting through it at home. The stuff looked pretty clean and dry so I agreed. There's always a hazard to bringing other people's junk home, but if we hadn't done that I would probably still be hunched over the pile on the curb. On the way back we speculated that someone had probably died and the person's yarn stash and fabric had ended up on the street after no one was interested in it.

At home, I unloaded hank after hank of good wool yarn. The labels are pretty dated -- everything seemed to be at least two decades old. The knitter clearly had a tweed phase, and some interest in Norwegian wool at one point. There were also some unfinished projects -- the start of a pretty odd-looking (though impressively knitted) cardigan, and the front and back of a child's sweater. The fabric was a combination of some godawful retro patterns (almost cool in their 70s ugliness) and some good quality tablecloth stuff. There was some complicated red silk fabric that could work as an elaborate kimono, and a mishmosh of shiny nylon and felt.

As the pile of usable yarn (in other words, the yarn that wasn't involved in the huge primordial knot I found in one bag) grew, and a number of "moth proof" labels appeared, I considered the worst possible explanation: the whole treasure trove was moth-infested. Since everything looked like it was in good shape, though, I repressed the thought and charged ahead. Still, the threat to my current, expensive yarn stash isn't something I was comfortable with.

Eventually I took a break and sat down somewhere. When Derek came over to see how I was doing, we both noticed something deeply disturbing on my wool sweater: a moth larvae casement. A yellow one (no, I'm not posting a picture). I'm still in a state of shock. From what I hear from other yarn hoarders, moths invade your house, eat all your clothes, cause tremendous heartbreak by destroying handknit objects and NEVER LEAVE. There are things you can do -- boil, freeze, bleach, dry clean, iron -- but they're not guaranteed.

I immediately headed for the computer -- after carefully removing the disgusting little thing -- and looked up moths. Since the casement is not white, it may not be the type of moth that eats wool, so I'm settling into a kind of mild denial. I'm hoping it's the food kind -- a kind of moth we've come to know and kill regularly in the kitchen. The food kind doesn't even like wool. So we're good. But the timing was a bit too coincidental. It appears on my sweater right after I sort through five bags of yarn?

So all of the found yarn is back in bags and may be carted back to the curb tomorrow morning. Someone else can take the risk, damnit. I mean, the yarn wasn't THAT great. Ugh. Then again, it may just stay in quarantine for a while.

Posted by csageday at 12:20 AM | Comments (1)

May 02, 2005

Next Thing You Know I'll Be Baking Apple Pies

Finally, after years of collecting bits of material and old clothes for some vague future use, I've learned to use a sewing machine. I took a sewing class at Church of Craft Saturday, even though it meant missing the season opener at Sebago and getting out of bed before noon on a weekend (I was so tired that I missed the subway stop on the way there and almost ended up in Manhattan). Since I was the only one who signed up it ended up being a private lesson with Mary. This was key for two reasons: 1) I'm a space cadet so I needed the "special attention" anyway, and 2) I got to make a super-deluxe version of the project-of-the-day. The object of the class was to make a knitting needle and crochet hook roll-up case -- mine has 5 needle pockets, 2 DPN pockets, 5 circular needle pockets, and a pocket with a velcro flap for cable needles and stitch holders (!). I know this won't seem thrilling to non-knitters, but this is a killer case, okay?

I signed up mainly because I desperately wanted to learn how to create something using a sewing machine. I love looking at fabric in stores and I tend to want to make skirts and bags with everything I see -- beads, upholstery, ribbon, you name it. Since I only know how to hand-sew and am terminally lazy, things never really progress. I did successfully buy some maroon velour and black fabric and make a shoulder bag once which I was immensely proud of, but since it was all hand-sewn, the thing developed holes at the corners and started to show its age. It also didn't have any pockets or cell phone holders so it wasn't highly practical. The knitting accessory holder I made with Mary yesterday, on the other hand, is FULL of reinforced pockets and properly sewn corners.

Now I'm on a mission to find a good used sewing machine and set up shop on the kitchen table. A set of square red silk couch pillows are next on the list. Then Christmas stockings, and eventually a quilt of some sort ... it's amazing how much this stuff appeals to me. It seems like tedious work -- and not too long ago I criticized someone else for becoming a queen of domesticity and all things Home and Garden -- but my art-class tendencies are making a comeback. Maybe Martha Stewart put something in the water?

Posted by csageday at 01:00 AM | Comments (2)

April 14, 2005

At the risk of alienating anyone not interested in knitting...

I know at least two people who read this blog are knitters (and someone has a troubled knitting past), so here's an update on my latest project: Clapotis (a.k.a. "The Clapper"). This is apparently something everyone else in the online knitting community has already made (take a look at Yarn Harlot's lament, which introduced me to the pattern), but I'm a SLOW knitter so I'm about 2/3 of the way through with it. I just noticed today that Kay over at Mason-Dixon has one that looks very similar to mine, but without all the mistakes (btw, does anyone know how "Clapotis" is supposed to be pronounced?).

I'm not crazy about the yarn, although it's Koigu, because it reminds me of tie-dye and isn't really warm and fuzzy. It's more like string. But the pattern is great -- you get the reward of ripping out a row every so often to create the ladder effect. And since I'm too scared to attempt a project with DPNs again and terrified of trying a sweater (I started one around age 13 and it'll never be finished), it's nice to have something besides scarves, hats, and tiny blankets to add to my skill set.

Since the yarn is light and easy to carry around this has been great subway knitting. Which means my brain is pretty empty these days -- knitting instead of reading will do that to you. I got a compliment from someone on the train for my stich markers, though -- I ran out of the real (somewhat ugly) plastic ones so I dug through my old jewlery box and finally found uses for all the orphaned and outdated earrings and rings I own. I was knitting away, trying to ignore some loud twenty-somethings when one of them turned to me and said "I love how you use unconventional stitch markers." Must be the knitting trend.

Hopefully when this is done I'll be able to wear it without feeling like an awkward knitting model. I'm not really a shawl person and just because it's done and took 500 hours doesn't mean I'll like the colors. Maybe Mom will fall in love with it and it can be her birthday present (the last nice thing I was making for myself ended up as one of her belated Christmas presents, and she did give me the yarn for this one as a gift -- maybe it was a plot to get me to knit nice things for her?).

Posted by csageday at 12:24 AM | Comments (1)

March 21, 2005

The Yarn (and Knitting Needles) Bus

We've seen this yarn bus a couple of times on the BQE, and each time we pass it I try to make a mental note to look it up online when I get home. The URL is on the back -- flyingfingers.com. I never got around to it, but I was surprised to find it written up as a New Yorker Talk of the Town piece last week. It also turned up on TV and in the blue blog. It's basically a free shuttle to a yarn store outside of the city, and I have a feeling there's lots of knitting and yarn-related chatter to keep knitters happy along the way. Interesting concept.

Posted by csageday at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2005

They look so harmless...

Pictured at right is a small, harmless-looking medieval torture device. Give it to a beginning knitter and say that it is used to knit small tubular things, like mittens, in the round. Watch as said knitter casts on and messes up a mitten 10 times before figuring out how the stupid things work.

There must be a better way. How about little tiny circular needles? Circular needles actually make knitting go faster because no rows are involved (you can knit FOREVER without thinking "just another row"). Part of the whole exercise of knitting seems to be to endure the same frustrations our (medieval) ancestors did. Isn't it time for a little technical innovation? The more I knit the more I learn, but the learning process is excruciating. You make half of something, then you rip it out and start all over again. And this doesn't seem to improve with experience -- the legendary Harlot is still plagued by the same problem. What was the POINT of all the concentration and focus you put into the first part? Was I learning anything? Getting some down time to think clearly why occupying my hands? Not really.

For me, knitting is procrastination. I don't have to think about it too much -- I just have to do it for hours and hours in order to gain any benefit. It's like playing poker for pennies. It fills up the time. It helps you feel like your life isn't totally pointless, and it's much more appealing than getting out of bed or dealing with the list of things you should really be doing instead. On a lighter note, it's also creative and can be really rewarding (I've made two tiny blankets, two and a half scarves, and a hat) but after my fight with double pointed needles yesterday, I'm a little resentful.

Posted by csageday at 02:22 PM | Comments (1)