Something for home

Every time lately that I've had a few minutes (or hours) to sit and spend as I'd like, I've been knitting. Lots of knitting, not so much on the photography, blogging, etc. So, somewhat to my chagrin, I'm posting an entry I wrote a while ago (for such an eventuality), just so I don't go an entire month without posting.

How can you tell you're in a knitter's house (besides the obvious, like the swift and ball winder that seem permanently installed on the dining room table)? By the presence of knitted things - socks, sweaters, blankets, dish cloths, tea cozies, cushions, etc. (I have yet to meet a knitter who doesn't keep at least some of their handiwork).

In an effort to improve my fiberly street cred (because, you know, having a blog and knitting at work leave that in doubt), try a new technique, use up some scraps, and protect my furniture, I made coasters.


They're actually crocheted (which isn't the new technique) rather than knitted. I used the scraps from the Baby Bright afghan and what is very nearly the world's simplest crochet pattern (ravlink). My new technique? Felting. I started by hand felting them in the sink, where I got some of them to fuzz up before giving up and deciding that they were going in the washer. Now, for reasons having to do with my unwillingness to part with my laundry quarters and my sense that a load consisting of four coasters is wasteful, I threw them in the wash with some regular laundry (not in hot water). As you can see, they're hardly felted at all.

Coasters before felting

Coasters after felting

But that's okay - they still save my furniture from water rings!

A bit of lace

I promised a finished object post for the Arabesque stole I made for my friend. I believe my stated time line was "soon." Does a week and a half qualify?

I apologize up front for the lousy full-object pictures. There was all of 28 hours between when I finished it and gave it to my friend, and all of them were either nighttime or really cloudy (and therefore pretty dark). I don't think I've ever taken so many bad pictures in my life as I did of that stole. Anyway, without further ado, I give you the Arabesque stole.

Almost finished - just needs blocking and the ends woven in.

Pinned out on blocking wires. This is, sadly, the only semi-decent picture of the entire thing in its finished state. I can't believe I didn't get even one in focus.

To recap, the pattern is Arabesque (ravlink). I knit it in Jojoland Harmony (ravlink, again) and US size 3 Addi lace needles. I added an extra repeat to the center panel, and if I had it to do again, would probably add more. The finished stole was somewhat shorter than I'd intended - a little over five feet, I think, and I was shooting for six something. This is what comes of not swatching, I guess.

Even though I was little tired of it by the time I finished the knitting, I really couldn't be more thrilled with the finished product.


The lace came out perfectly balanced, in my opinion, between being substantial and airy, solid yet holey. And I love the colors.


Perhaps best of all? I have more of the yarn.

Ahoy maties!

Avast, there, ye scurvy bilge rats! Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! For some reason, pirates generally not be known fer their knittin' but that doesn't mean they can't appreciate some good fiber. And we wenches are especially appreciative.

We wenches like the baubles and the pretties, especially when they be gifts! This be a gift from me mother. Who doesn't love dolphins?


A wench also needs a little something for her feet, to keep those pretties warm and comfy. Despite the lovely blues and oceany cables, this sock turned out to be a lubber and had to be keelhauled.


Fortunately, this pair came to a better fate. Looking like a nighttime lagoon where mermaids live, they adorn my feet like (uncursed) Spanish gold.


Then there's this piece of treasure. Like a whirlpool of spun silver, it's actually wool and silk. And far less treacherous than a real whirlpool!


Arr, me hearties! I'm off fer some grog and knittin'!

Painting Yarn

In my last post, I promised to tell you about my process for the Pepper Flat.

It started out as a 100 g ball of Trekking Pro Natura, in white. Pro Natura is a wool/bamboo blend, so I wasn't sure how it would take the dye, but I figured since it's mostly wool I'd be okay. I cast on about 100 stitches and knit until I ran out of yarn. (Yes, I know you can buy already knit blanks. But in this case, I think the miles of stockinette were actually good for may sanity.)

To prepare it, I soaked the finished blank in a sink of warm water, no soap.


While it soaked, I prepared my dyes - in this case Paas Easter Egg dyes, mixed per Paas' instructions with vinegar and light on the water.


The actual painting was a bit messy. I spread the damp (I squeezed out most of the water from the soaking) blank out on my counter (granite countertop) and used a teaspoon and a syringe to paint the blank with random blobs of color. The goal was to have no white yarn left anywhere.


To set the dye, I spiraled the flat up to fit into a Pyrex pie plate with as little opportunity for dye seeping to fabric below it as possible. I stuck the whole thing in a plastic bag and microwaved it, I think for about two minutes.


Then I let it cool (keeping it covered), and nuked it again. After cooling from the second application of heat, I rinsed it out in cool water and spread it out to dry.


I can't wait to hear from my sister how it looks knitted into something else.

P.S. I did finish the Arabesque stole in time to send home with my friend! Pictures soon.

Hello September!

September's here and it's already starting to feel like fall. It's no longer oppressively hot during the day, and at night it's cool enough that long pants and sleeves are warranted. With little exception (ragweed comes to mind), I love fall. I like the cooler weather and the changing colors. I like the farmers' markets and that it's cool enough to knit sweaters again.

Speaking of farmers' markets and knitting, I was poking around one of my local ones recently in search of peaches (found, and made into cobbler!), where I saw this:


Which reminded me rather strongly of this:


I knit and painted the flat as a gift for my sister (it was for her birthday, and yes, it was late). I'll share my method later, but for now, I'm off to knit furiously on a stole. The recipient's going to be in town this weekend, so if I finish it, I don't have to mail it to her! I just have to finish the edging and block it, which is totally doable. I think.

Texture and the miracle of blocking

Back in February, I acquired some lovely yarn and started a scarf for myself. Then school and work and my desire to both graduate and remain employed intruded, and somehow it was July before I had the scarf finished. On the upswing, besides having a great scarf for the winter that I swear is coming (I'm so ready to be done with this 90 degrees stuff), finishing it when I did made for more fun photography, since I'd just gotten a new camera.

Blocking has always amazed me. You take some wrinkly, misshapen, unfortunate-looking piece of cloth, apply some water and pins or some careful steaming, and suddenly there's this amazing thing before you. It's like knitting achieves enlightenment and only through blocking can it reach its full potential. I'd just never satisfactorily captured the process until now.

The pre-blocking amorphous pile of stitches.

Which by magic turns into a neat, orderly, smooth, scarf.

I probably shouldn't admit how much I love the contrasts here, the directions, the differences between stockinette and dropped stitches, between front and back sides...

Not such great photography, but I love how it's trying to masquerade as a pair of pants. It's like it saw "The Wrong Trousers" too many times.

Meet Leky!

At the end of May, my sister and I took a trip across the pond to London, Cardiff, and Dublin. Like any sensible tourists, we had a guide:


Leky showed us many sights (although not nearly as many as I can show you, since a lot of the photos were on my sister's camera and she takes after me when it comes to timely dealing with photos). One of Leky's favorite places was the Natural History Museum in London, where he had it out with a T-Rex. I intervened before either of them got hurt.


My favorite moment with Leky was when we were getting on the Eye. Leky had been traveling in my bag, so he was the first thing the security guard saw when he opened my bag. He cracked up, pulled Leky out and turned to the other security guard with "Look, mate, it's a Dalek!" The other security guard just looked at him and me like we were both nuts. Fortunately, once we got on the Eye, Leky behaved himself and didn't attempt to destroy any of London's landmarks in a futile attempt at exterminating the human race.


Leky's favorite afternoon (and one of mine as well) was one we spent in the castle park in Cardiff. I spent the afternoon knitting while Leky enjoyed the miniature daisies (he may tried to exterminate a few).


Now that we're back (and have been for months), Leky's duties have changed from tour guide to desk guard. He does an excellent job watching over my pen collection at work.