Tofutsies Tried

Here is my D.B., sporting socks finished in mid-August, 2007. I used Tofutsies by Southwest Trading Company and #1 needles, using a pattern I designed for her very own legs and feet! And, she loved the cheerful colorway.

I wish the socks looked as good now. In just four months of wearing they've become rather drab. Luckily my D.B. still likes how they feel and doesn't seem perturbed by the change. I did not enjoy knitting with this yarn at all. Not only did it smell of shrimp peels during the humid summer when I was knitting with it, but it split more than any yarn I've ever used. I grew to loathe it. Unfortunately, I have two more skeins.

Present For My Sister

Materials: Ritratto by Filatura Di Crossa, color red #44 dye lot 2091. 3 balls, each 198 yds/1.75 oz.; fiber content: 28% mohair; 53% viscose (rayon); 10% polyamide and 9% p0lyester. I'm not certain which of these fibers adds the subtle metallic glittery element. Knit on #2 needles (wooden), 70 sts in k1p1 rib to give it structure. It's about 60" long and about 10" wide.

Above you can see my sister A. , sitting in the architecturally exciting lobby of the building in which she works. There is so much light and space, both luxuries in the middle of Manhattan Island. I love the way she looks in the scarf and was so pleased that she likes it.

I worked with a number of sizes of needles before deciding that the rich yarn needed the simple structure of k1p1 to show off the beauty of this yarn. It took a long time, actually, to knit it, and confess that I almost kept it for myself.

A few years ago I'd knit a scarf for my aunt, using the now discontinued and impossible to find -- and perfectly lovely -- lavender shade of Ritratto. However, because it was knit in stockingette with only a few stitches on either side on garter, it did curl. Even though I'm an experienced knitter, I failed to avoid the dreaded stockingette curled-up scarf.

Neck Hugger

Last year my sister Angela gave me a very generous gift certificate to String, http://www.stringyarns.com/ my favorite yarn store -- at least before it moved. (Now it's up a flight of brownstone steps which are very hard for me to manouevre on all but my best days. ) Anyway, I treated myself to some qiviuk yarn. Lydia, the brilliant knitter at String, had created a wonderful pattern for a neck hugger I fell in love with. Rather than experimenting with the expensive qiviuk, I made a trial version with some KPPPM Koigu I had in my copious stash. [Color 435 dye lot 34; 100% merino wool, 50 g/ 175 yds.] KPPPM is a tightly plied 2ply and can make a stiff fabric.

This is double knitting at its best and I was eager to try Lydia's beautiful pattern. Because I believe this might be a proprietary pattern, despite it's not having any copyright on it, I will only tell you about the changes I made.

With the recommended #3 needles I used a provisional cast-on to start which made a very clean tubular beginning. The pattern promised a dimension of 5.5" x 27" but no gauge was mentioned. The dimensions after washing, which relaxed the yarn, are 4.75" x 29". This is better for me. Instead of 11 ridges noted in the pattern, to achieve almost the desired width I had to make 14 ridges. I decided not to use Lydia's cast off of * ssk, pass 1st st over* . I painstakingly divided the two sides of the tubular knitting onto two #1 needles and kitchener-stitched the entire 118 sts on each side -- yes a vast total of 236. I wanted to match the tubular cast-on edge. It worked out beautifully, actually. For the side borders, I picked up what worked, not the recommended 42 sts.

To finish I stitched the two layered button hole together.

Because I really like both sides and can't really decide which is the right and which is the wrong side, I decided to make it reversible and bought special buttons for each side. My favorite is the darker silver rounded one which reminds me of the buttons on loden felted coats, jackets and capes I'd had as a child.

The side border is thick so I made certain to buy buttons with posts and sewed them on firmly with a little extra height, wrapping the thread around the extra height. The button is probably supposed to be at the edge of the opposite side border but I didn't quite understand the directions. It works quite nicely with the button in the middle.

So, now I'm ready for the qiviuk.

Afghan for Jeanne: A Work In Progress

The 8 colors in the afghan

The very first square, about 16" x 16". You can see the vestige of the original log cabin plan, although to be consistent, the lavender and olive green would be switched.

The current and 2nd sqare, a variation on the first. Thus far I really like this one as the greens really complement the lavender. But, you never know how the whole will look until it's all put together.

Jeanne knows only too well that I don' t happily take to process, preferring definite decisions or, ideally, solutions. This afghan will be an opportunity to engage in process as I make this afghan for my dear friend. Jeanne is always so supportive of my knitting and most appreciative of anything I make.

Again, I'm being inspired by the techniques in Mason Dixon Knitting (see earlier blog entries for further details). First I began to make a classic log cabin, with the large lavender center as the center of the entire afghan. I chose the llog cabin design as a metaphor for Jeanne's newly-built house in the wild, wild West (brave soul that she is!). That's why the center much bigger than the usual center of a log cabin block. I now think of the llarge centers as evoking the wide open space and large sky of her new home. And, her large heart.

As I knit the first block, I had three thoughts about my original plan. Cotton yarn is quite heavy, doesn't hold its shape well and would benefit greatly from the structure provided by smaller blocks. Secondly, the variation in the size and color of strips around the center of each block would add great visual interest. And, finally, the large centers could be a unifying element depending on how I arrange them.

Planned: 16 blocks. The center four will be blocks with purple and lavender centers. Because Jeanne's feng shui calls for purples and greens, these colors will predominate. I'll see what happens and if I have enough to make four each of the dark purple and lavender center blocks. I have a lot of this yarn and part of the challenge (and fun) is working within the constraints of what there is in the stash.

Next installment: Yarn brand and colors, needle size and progress.

One More Afghan by the Stettenheim Stitchers

The Stettenheim Stitchers finished their third afghan since 2005 for the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services' Sanctuary Stitchers Project. This worthy organization gives these blankets to children entering the foster care system. At the moment, a fourth afghan is being put together and we have enough completed blocks for one more. I've ordered 15 skeins from Yarn Forward, in Canada, which offers a wide variety of Paton's Canadiana acrylic yarn. On January 16 the JBFCS will hold its blanket ceremony where I work so we'll be able to attend.

From left to right in the photo above: L.S., D.M., and W.H.; D.M. and W.H., along with H, who is D.M.'s sister and W.H.'s aunt, made many of the blocks that make up this afghan. Look for their interesting stitch and color patterns. H.L. is our designer who decides how the blocks will be assembled into an afghan. She also does a a big share of the knitting. R.L. cheerfully and efficiently crochets the blocks into strips and then joins the strips to create a whole new afghan, as though by magic. To finish off the project, L.S. sews in the yarn ends and crochets the border. See previous posts for H.L.'s andR.L.'s photos and that of J.R., who'd made a few blocks when she had time in the past. Photo credit: R.W., another Stettenheim Volunteer!

Favorite Washcloth Pattern

Eeek!!! I can't remember which knitting book this came from but I do have several photocopies I made. If anyone recognizes the pattern, please let me know so I can ascribe it properly. My notes say it came from a sock pattern book but the fabric doesn't seem right for socks.

After trying lacy and loose washcloths, I finally realized that because cotton stretches out when its wet, a firm fabric that has texture and is fairly thick makes the best washcloths.

Notes:
Pattern name: III.10 -- a slipped stitch pattern.
Special stitches: C4 (Cross 4) plus slipped stitches.
Pattern is knitted in multiples of 7 plus one.
Better not to have a garter border for this pattern.
Materials: various but at least one with an old skein that's been in the stash for at least 20 years. Bernat "Gloucester Sport", 100% cotton, 1.75 oz / 50 yards; #4 needles. This was finished in June, 2007. I've made several others, including one from a white mystery yarn -- probably acrylic or worse. The D.B. is happy to use it as a dishcloth.

Felted Flower Pin

A couple of years ago I bought two of these kits, one in pinks & purples and this one in earthier tones. Made by KnitWhits, the kit includes directions, about 1 oz total of 4 colors of alpaca / angora yarn and a flimsy pin back. I knit it with #7 needles and felted it by hand, using a glass washboard. To sew it together I tacked down all the loose bits so gravity wouldn't make the petals and leaves flop down. After felting the dimensions are c. 6" wide by 5.25" high. ( 'spose I could have felted it even more but the alpaca/angora blend was a little fragile.

The colors are perfect for M., my friend, mentor and yes, boss. I admire her sense of style and was so pleased she put it right on her coat! I made it to thank her for asking my D.B. and me to a special birthday celebratory lunch -- twol months ago, I'm afraid.

Footlet Socks for a wide foot

I bought this lovely yarn in Las Cruces, NM, visiting my dear friend Jeanne. I loved the shop, Unravel Yarn Shop & Gallery . The very helpful shop owner was happy to point me to yarn manufactured in the region and probably hard to find in the East. There was plenty in the skein for at least a 6" leg at the width knitted, 8" for a narrower leg and ankle. There's enough left over for booties.

Materials: 1 skein LoneSome Stone's Mountain Feat in "Shades of Lavender" 100% superwash Merino in the company's "Premier Color Collection." 400 yards. (no weight on yarn band)
Needles: Addi Turbo #1 because they are at the top range of the #1 size, probably closer to #1.5
Gauge 7 st / 1"
Ease: 12% or 1.42"
Ankle circumference: 12"

I need socks that will fit wide feet and swollen ankles so I designed my own pattern. Next time I'll try Lucy Neatby's double knitting to the method I used, just in case it's easier. My method resulted in a very tidy cuff but was a little painstaking.

Cast on 66 + 1 stitch to allow for the round jog. You may use a provisional cast-on if you like.
Folded-over cuff: knit in k1p1 (using whatever needles or method you like) for 1" or 14 rounds. Purl next round, knit another 14 rounds in p1k1 ribbing. On next round fold over the cuff and pick up one stitch from the live stitches and 1 from cast-on edge. Knit 2 rounds. Next round, increase 6 sts evenly (*knit 10 sts, inc 1 in next stitch* six times). Continue on 72 sts until 3/4" from bottom of cuff.
Heel: used traditional heel with heel stitch ribbing.
Gusset: continue on until 60 sts. Knit until 6" (or desired length -- my food is short).
Toe: decrease 2 sts. at each half of round (4 sts) every other row. When there are 8 sts left, graft sts with kitchener st.

Finished: early November 2007

Third Scarf for the Women's Auxiliary Charity Project

Judy B. is once again my model for a lovely (if I say so myself) dropped stitch scarf, about 6' long, made from Manetto Hill Yarnery's "Awaken", 60 yards / 50g; 100% nylon. I cast on 16 stitches and used #11 needles and 2 1/2 balls The colors on this are hard to see in the photo, which is slightly blurred. It's lovely space dyed ribbon yarn, mainly fuschias to purples. The pattern was to have 2 or 3 garter bumps on each side before a dropped stitch row.

Luckily, the wonderful, generous Phyllis H. who organized the charity project fell in love with the scarf. Phyllis' close friend has bought it for her birthday as a surprise. That's good because Manetto Hill Yarnery seems to be out of business. Oh well.

Spinning Guild Paper Bag Project for 2007

Last spring each North Country Spinners Guild member received a bag with 4 colors of Romney roving, 2 dyed and 2 natural. When I opened my bag I almost cried; one of my colors was school bus yellow . Luckily a very sweet guild member traded me for either the blue or the green - I can't remember now which one.

First I carded each into into about 17 combinations, trying to get as many colors as possible. I didn't photograph the rolags with all their variations. I did get very involved n making sure that each of the four colors was combined with each, sometimes 4 colors altogether.

For the spinning I carefully, albeit totally intuitively, arranged the rolags so that they would alternate dark to medium to light and then spun it woolen.

I began with 4 unmixed colors which you can see in the center of the upside-down bowl. To maintain the colors' distinctiveness I Navajo plied the single and ended up with about 34 yds.

My D.B. loves containers in various places for loose change and sundries. I decided to knit a bowl, using 4 wooden #13 dp's, beginning from the center. I fulled the finished bowl in the washing machine.

Originally I had not looked forward to this project and tried to finish it as soon as possible. These photos were taken on August 3. In the end, however, I really enjoyed the color blending. The little bowl reminds me of the North American Indian baskets which lined the walls of our Anthropology lab at Bryn Mawr. A small version, that is. The subtle differences in color add to the interest, along with the big, thick stitches which look like basketry. And, the D.B. loves it, which is what matters.

More Mats for the Cats or....Whatever

2007 was definitely the Year of the Mat, floor and other. My D.B. has been delighted by the myriad mats. Not being as categorically compulsive as I, she uses them how and wherever she needs them. Unlike me, she is constrained one iota by whether this or that mat was knit for a cat to sit on, humans to stand on while washing dishes or for a kitty placemat.

Materials: the last of the Sugar 'n' Creme by Lily in
Method: Mason Dixon Knitting log cabin technique. 2 strands of worsted weight on #9 needles. Finished 2007 .

Rhinebeck, My Daughter Learns to Spin and I Give Myself a Present

My New Golding Spindle -- "Vintage Sterling Silver" Ring Spindle bought directly from the artist himself. Wow! It's 1.21 oz and works like a dream. It was my present to myself for my 60th birthday. A work of art -- and an indulgence.











Top: Caroline waits in line at Toni's The Fold for Socks That Rock Yarn.
Bottom: Caroline learns to spin on a spinning wheel -- in about 5 minutes she had it down. The vendor, of The Wool Room, Brewster, NY, was a very good teacher and very patient. And, she's off and running! I mean, spinning.

Mermaid for Maria

My friend Maria is a glittery kind of girl (yes, she's a woman and proud of it but it just isn't alliterative, is it?)

For some reason Blogger hasn't uploaded the photos I have in this message. Click on the title to see the mermaid kit and completed project.

About 4 years ago -- maybe longer, our friends from Australia, Joan and Di, gave me this great little kit by a well-known woman artist from New Zealand , Jennifer Pudney. I just couldn't leave well enough alone, could I? So, I removed the gentleman from the lighthouse, fixed the architecture somewhat and added glitz to the mermaid with beads and glittery embroidery yarn. I'd never worked with the shiny embroidery thread I used for the hair and fishtail and will not use it again. It split, ravelled and was awful to use but feasible for a small project. And, it turned out just as I wanted, which is the important thing.

Now I just have to sign it where the signature will be seen when Maria frames it.

Cotton and Hemp -- a discontinued yarn

In the summer of 2006 I bought some lovely sale yarn from Yarn Forward -- their house brand of Cotton-Hemp Chunky. It's a fabulous yarn but has, alas, been discontinued.

Top: First I put two Mason-Dixon Knitting log cabin squares together, intending to use this as a small mat. However, it's so elegant that it's now a table runner. Also, because on washing it shrank together nicely -- I don't think "fulling" or "felting" apply to vegetable fibers but that's what it looks like. I went on a hunt for more but could only find it from a company that took 6 weeks to send a similar yarn.

Middle: a place mat -- small, luncheon-sized place mat.

Bottom: with the left over I made a dish or washcloth. Who knows how the D.B. will want to use it! It works for either purpose but she avers that it's too pretty for a dish cloth. Perhaps it can be hot pad?

My hope is that with the popularity of household knitting, this yarn will be re-issued. It isn't a bargain by any means, however.

Modular knitting conquered

A washcloth and a bathmat -- more household knitting from this past summer, this time from Modular Knits: New Techniques for Today's Knitters by Iris Schreier. Her directions are much more logical, not to mention simpler than a technique I used previously. The edges come out very neatly, too.

Click on the title of this blog to see my previous attempt.

Yarn: Peaches 'n' Cream worsted in yellow and two multis (I ran out of one).
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Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line

This past summer was the summer of mats, rugs and household knitting. I am in love with Mason-Dixon Knitting, especially the triple-stranded Elmore-Pisgah Peaches & Creme mats and rugs. On the recommended #15 needles they come out thick and bouncy, very nice underfoot. Top: Mountain Colors and bottom, Red. I'm now finishing the second red rug. They're about 24"x18" I'm planning at least two more for winter weather's slush. Another good thing -- they're very fast to knit up.

The yellow mat (one of two) is made from two strands of regular worsted Sugar 'n' Cream by Lily on #10 needles. It's very tight -- perfect where you need a small, thick mat.

Using the log cabin technique really prevents cotton's inclination to warp out of shape.

Note: the thicker the mats and rugs needs at least one extra spinning cycle in the washing machine to get out all the extra water. And, they may take VERY long to dry in the dryer. Taking them out just before they're all dry and patting them smooth allows them to lie flat when dried.

I couldn't resist trying the round rug pattern in this multi ombre worsted-weight Sugar 'n' Cream by Lily. Two strands with #9 needles. It's about 24" in diameter

And, these are the Mason-Dixon ball band dishcloths, using one strand of the yellow and multi. Lots of fun

Potholder presents

My infatuation with Elmore-Pisgah's Peaches & Creme continues. I ordered a bunch of double worsted single balls in various colors to experiment with, hoping to find colors and combinations for more rugs. For swatches I made potholders. The colors are 1. Potholders left to right: Pink Lemonade and Winterberry; 2. The yarn samples top to bottom are Fiesta Ombre and Mardi Gras. There are no photos of the potholders made from Mardi Gras and Fiesta Ombre as I gave them away before photographing them. The Pink Lemonade and Winterberry potholders now live with Morgan and Sue. Fiesta Ombre & Mardi Gras live with Adelaide and Jack.

Each ball contains 50 yards and makes a thick, usable potholder. I cast on 24 stitches and knit plain garter stitch on #7's for the thickness. The edges are in chain edge stitch.

Dye Pot Day North Country Spinners, September 7, 2007

These are the skeins I dyed at Dye Pot Day, an eagerly anticipated annual event at North Country Spinners, my spinning guild. Here are the skeins hung up to drip and dry at home. Please pardon the funny white splotches on the photograph -- I believe it's water spots from the skeins.
My osage orange pot produced the deep golden skeins, to the right of the trunk. The four skeins are lace weight, unidentified wool, 1 oz/c.1400 yards. I soaked 4 oz of osage orange chips overnight in a recycled stocking and brewed it for about an hour. It went a very long way, successfully dyeing a huge skein of cotton and many skeins and scarves. The dye was not even exhausted by the end of the dyeing session.

Jean brewed up goldenrod which makes a beautiful yellow, especially on my skeins mordanted in alum the night before. (I mean the 3 skeins towards the middle and left of the tree trunk.) The middle one of these skeins is a greenish yellow, as it had been in the pot with Greta's skein, inadvertently mordanted in her iron-rich tap water. It's always fun and a wonderful experience dyeing with Jean. She' s a genius with dye and colors.

The guild provided the indigo vat and the cochineal dye pot, along with an alum mordanting pot, with Jenny in charge. Each member also received a silk scarf. It took some time for Jenny to prepare guild's pots and vat as the indigo turned out to be trickier than expected. But as three of us had brought dye pots to share the delay wasn't wasted time. I wish I'd been able to get to May McCay's osage orange which was dyeing a deep, almost olive green.

I used the cochineal pot for the magenta skein, which came out a pale, almost pastel shade. The problem was that it wasn't allowed to stay in the pot long enough to attain the richer shade that my silk scarf had. (no photo of the scarf yet.)

The indigo was fun, as usual, as it seems like magic turning wool from green to blue, merely by waving it in air. Two of my skeins were Norwegian yarn I'd originally dyed at Peter's Valley. They'd had some logwood blotches which looked like spilled grape jam on the pale blue. Now, the indigo has made the purple richer and the blue a good dark medium -- sort like Copenhagen blue. Now I can seriously plan a sweater.

Knitting for the Women's Auxiliary

This scarf was knit last March for a charity project chaired by one of my favorite people at my place of employ, Phyllis H. Yarn: Gedifra Teco Hair; 50 g / 90 m; 100% nylon. I used about 3 balls. The scarf will be sold at Ronald McDonald House in November. This is a corkscrew scarf. The model is Judy, my lunch buddy. Thank you, Judy.




I'd agreed to knit three scarves. altogether. However, the second scarf was a total disaster and very surprisingly so. I'd used a wide rayon ribbon yarn, space dyed and frayed at the sides Gedifra Costa Rica; 50 g. / 31 m.; 100% nylon. Using my hairpin lace loom and working at a great pace, I'd used two balls of the yarn before I took it off the loom. Unfortunately only the bottom fourth had worked. The rest was useless, giant loops. And with that kind of yarn you can't tink it because you'd end up having to iron 100+ yards of the stuff to get the kinks out. Oh well. But, the good news is that the third scarf, also knit with novelty ribbon yarn, is going to be a great success. Thank goodness.

More Beer Cozies for Sam

Well, I finally finished two ribbed beer cozies my son asked for. Click on the title of the blog to see the ones I gave him last January. Sam insisted -- and emphatically -- that the cozies sport his name. After needle felting one cozy and fulling the other in the washing machine, I painstakingly cross-stitched his name with gold novelty yarn. The inside isn't so tidy (which is why I didn't photograph it). I gave them to Sam on Rosh Hashanah and he was delighted. Apparently he really did want the cozies monogrammed. I used yarn I'd spun from some naturally dark brown merino (?) my sister gave me which she'd bought for felting. It was one of my early attempts, spun as a raw newbie on my trusty Louet. Sam wants the toasty cozies to take to ball games in the fall or early spring, to keep his hands warm as he drinks the cold beer. Would you believe that?