| weaving magic |
friday 04.02.2004 |
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i had promised to show you how the seamless beanie is finished two weeks ago. i've been putting it off because i didn't get very good pictures. also because i had mistakenly deleted half the progress pictures.
i should clarify: this hat is knit up and down instead of side to side or round and round. meaning the rows are knitted to and from brim and crown.
in order to keep the stitches on the cast on edge live, i use the open edge cast on method. i hope that's what it's called. i learned it from ez.
so, this is what it looks like once i removed the red holder yarn from the cast on edge and put the stitches on a needle:
live stitches
note that i put stitches of both edges on very fine needles. weaving is easier with room on the needles for the weaving yarn to pull through.
ready for weaving
as this is garter stitch weaving, i always make sure that one edge is at the valley row and the other edge is at the hill row. in the above picture, the top edge is valley and the bottom is hill. otherwise, the weaving will not yield a seamless appearance.
regretfully, i have to omit showing you the very first stitch of the weaving. it is a bit convoluted to be captured in pictures. i will sketch it out clearly on a later entry.
so, here it is, weaving in progress. same exact hat, different lighting. i stuck a piece of white paper under the fabric so you can see how the brim of the hat looks absolutely continuous.
note that the row weaving the two edges together blends right in with the rest of the fabric. this is the best part about this hat.
for some geeky reason i'm real proud of this trick. if you've seen this or know of someone who has pulled this stunt before, please drop me a note. i don't want to go around humiliating myself by telling people it's my seamless hat.
before i forget, i should show you the hat from which mine evolved:
i loved the way the hat looked and knitted it exactly to its pattern. while i thought it was a clever design, i knew it could be better. i was particularly unhappy with the finishing technique; it required the knitter to sew a half slanted edge to a straight egde. the fact that i'm terrible with sewing made it intolerable.
and that's how i unvented this hat.
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| afghan one |
monday 04.05.2004 |
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i started a new project this weekend. an afghan per elizabeth zimmermann in her book knitting workshop. i've crocheted many afghans. this will be the very first one i've knitted.
this is an impulse project. i had ordered ten skeins of worsted weight yarn but was mistakenly sent the yarn in bulky weight. instead of returning it, i kept all ten for $15.
brown sheep lamb's pride 15% mohair 85% wool
i have always wanted a simple white afghan. i knew it would have to be in bulky yarn. otherwise, it would take me forever to knit one up. i seized the opportunity with the mistaken yarn.
i'm using size 13 needles. all garter stitch. the finished afghan will be 4'x6'. may be 4'x8'.
this is what it looks like after one complete skein is knitted up:
afghan skein one
that image looks a lot like the beginning of the seamless beanie. this is where the short rows would reverse if this was the hat. as this will be an afghan, the short rows will continue to decrease to create a triangle before reversing. you'll see.
i must admit the more i knit with garter stitch, the more convinced i become that it's the best stitch in knitting. it just can't get any simpler. as attractive as stockinette stitch is, it can't rival garter in terms of fabric body and flatness. and the fact that garter works up to a 1:1 ratio makes it my all time favorite.
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| inspired |
tuesday 04.06.2004 |
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i bought 25 issues of old vogue magazines on ebay and they arrived yesterday. i bought them mainly to get my hands on ez's column (which has now evolved to be her daughter's). so far i've only paged through four issues and i had fun looking at the patterns. most of the 80's designs were ridiculous. i'd even say monstrous. big amoebic sweaters modeled by people with poofy asymmetric hairdos. god. i really should take some photos and show you.
but, so far, it's worth every penny reading ez's writing. it's nothing new, really. the ideas and opinions she submitted to vogue are the same stuff she published in her books. i just love her brand of knitting; i want to read everything she had ever written.
other than shifting through old vogues, i did some knitting on the white afghan.
afghan skein two
it's too big to be photographed on a nice well lit surface. anyway, i really like the way it turned the corner. it looks like it will take three skeins to knit up a 24" square. this afghan will either take six or eight of these squares. hm. 18 to 24 skeins. hm...
last night i also looked through knitty archives and found a few simple patterns. i'm going to try making a hooded sweater, one of my top two favorites patterns on knitty, both by rebecca hatcher. i was sold on this bit:
"Almost all finishing is worked as you go so when you're done, you're done..."
i wonder if i could start a knit-along on this sweater. may be i could talk q into it. how about you?
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| sweater one |
wednesday 04.07.2004 |
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well, the bpt has started.
hooded sweater by rebecca hatcher
i emailed the designer to see if she had more photos of this sweater featured somewhere on the web. she replied promptly and, because she doesn't have a website, helpfully suggested that i google "knitty" and "bpt." sure enough, i found a handful of blogs addressing this pattern. only mariko at supereggplant has finished making one. she actually redesigned it to have a regular collar instead of a hood. very inspiring.
i'm winging it with a different yarn than the one the designer used. first, i don't like how the mottled yarn drowns out the cables. second, i heard that the recommended yarn costs $50 for 8 ounces. i wonder why it's so expensive. the yarn i'm using is superwashed wool in a creamy mocha brown. i was going to use lamb's pride yarn in a lime green but, as this is my very first sweater by pattern, i need a color that's more forgiving in case i fubar.
here's what mine looks like so far:
bpt day one
the blue yarn is a stitch holder. i'm keeping the cast on edge open despite the pattern's instruction. speaking of which, i've already got ideas on how the pattern can be improved. i'm taking notes but i'm going to stick to the instructions for this run.
sblys
this afternoon i left work early to hit a yarn store called in stitches. this is the only yarn store i know here and it closes promptly everyday at five. anyway, i went to buy a few of their very last 11 inch circular needles. i'm hoping to avoid using double pointed needles for the sleeves of the bpt.
two pairs each sizes 8+10
i was so surprised to find that they still have four copies of this magazine on the shelf:
knitter's commemorating ez
i had been searching for this particular issue for years. i've seen it a few times on ebay but could never succeed bidding. i just can't be happier to have found a copy at last. one in pristine condition, no less.
while i paid for the goods, i tried to convince the store attendant to change the shop's business hours and keep it open past five. she's an older lady and she sort of snorted at me. i guess it's a crazy idea to keep a hobby shop open for nine-to-five people to visit after work. i've been to this shop about four times now and i've never felt welcomed. the people behind the counter are always slow to help. when i first went there i thought, oh, these aloof and unfriendly people can't be working for this shop. i've read articles upon articles about how local yarn stores in other cities are hip places to hang out and exchange ideas, etc. no such thing here.
i sneaked in 15 minutes before 5pm. at 4:55, the lady said aloud toward my direction of the shop, "i'm closing the door now!"
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| fudge+frog |
sunday 04.11.2004 |
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this marriage thing cramps my style.
last night while i was knitting jg decided to talk about our life plans. i kept on knitting, of course, and managed to keep up the discussion pretty successfully. regretfully, i learned that i cannot knit while making big life decisions. look what happened:
abandoned one stitch three rows ago
taking live stitches off the needles made me very uneasy. the saddest part is that i lost two entire rows of finger breaking purling. i laid it out and took some decent progress photos before i put them back on the needles.
front
back
note the 'o' in the back double cable. i decided to change the direction of the twist because i had followed the pattern backwards so all the cables twisted in the opposite direction. while i don't mind that in the single cables, i do want the double cable to look like it opens upward. it's a minor fudge and i actually like the 'o' effect.
i'm still mourning having lost an hour putting all those unruly stitches back on the needles and reknitting the three frogged rows.
so far i've done very little fudging. the following is one part of the pattern i'd definitely change if i made another bpt:
raglan increases
pattern calls for making the increase 1 stitch before the cable begins. the result is what you see to the left side of the cable. then, the pattern calls for the increase to occur one stitch after the cable. i made the mistake of increasing it immediately after the cable. and the result is what you see to the right of the cable.
i don't like how the left increase makes irregular holes. i like the mistake increase better. it's tighter and less obvious. i increased by lifting up the yarn between the two stiches below and twisted it. i wanted to do the knit to the front and back of the next stitch but i didn't want to stray from the instructions. i wonder why it creates the same holey effect as yarn overs. may be i didn't execute the increase correctly.
anyway, i repeated this mistake at all four raglan cables so at least it's consistent. i believe elizabeth zimmermann said that a mistake repeated becomes a design. hahahahaha. i have to admit that i'm glad i fubard; now i know what to do it better next time.
friday evening i made decent progress on the afghan while watching the movie solaris.
afghan skein three
the lighting is terrible but it's the only place that's big enough to spread a 24" square in my humble home. it looks like each square takes up exactly three skeins of yarn. neat coinkydink.
here's a closeup of it folded up on one of jg's chairs.
corner detail
i hope to make substantial progress on the bpt today so i can show it to you tomorrow. meanwhile, happy easter!
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| bpt day five |
monday 04.12.2004 |
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i have to say, making this sweater has been an exercise in purling, which i had satisfactorily avoided for so long. my stitches are a bit more uniform now in the body than it was at the yoke. even as i'm getting better at purling, it still takes me twice as long to purl than it does to knit a row. otherwise, i'm moving right along.
skein five day five
the pattern has been rather easy since i separated stitches for the sleeves. i've decided not to shape the body because i'm like a tree trunk where most people have waists. also because i like the free form of cropped cardigan look.
i started the right sleeve. that's right, a sleeve! i couldn't wait to use the 11" circular needles i got last week. it's a bit clumsy but, boy, it sure beats having to wield five double pointed needles. that sleeve is progressing like it's on fire because, yippee, there's no purling!
i am sad to report that i will be short on yarn. this far the yoke+body has taken five 77 yard skeins. i have seven left to make the rest of the body, sleeves, and hood! i suspect the seven won't cut it. either i'll have to omit the hood or use some other brown yarn. this could get interesting.
in other knit worthy news, i learned from supereggplant that there is a chapter of knitter's guild in slo, which is 100 miles from here so it's a bit inconvenient. still, it got me very excited. i'm marking my calendar to attend their next meeting. at mariko's wise advice, i found a knitting meetup for sb. i immediately joined the group. i've been rather adventurous, actually. last week i joined the yahoo group knitlist. today i joined knitter's review forum and meetup. pretty bold for someone who's no good at social gatherings.
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| some usage for yarn |
tuesday 04.13.2004 |
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i browse through a handful of different knitting blogs everyday. the inspiration is priceless. i love it when people come up with their own designs. a lot of people feature professional patterns to show their future projects. even though i'm terrified of patterns, i do find them inspiring.
so far i've gathered these from the expert knitters:
1. hand bag with braid handle.
2. 4x4 ribbed raglan sweater.
both makes me want to cast on right away. the simplicity in the designs just can't get any better. it could just be the novice in me that find these projects so appealing.
i whipped up a little spread sheet for the raglan sweater. q is set on knitting one so i'm helping her with the pattern generator. once i have it fine tuned and documented, i will post it here to share with you. hopefully i won't get arrested for it.
i've also been looking at various links google gave me on "knitty bpt." i emailed everyone who has ever mentioned bpt on their blogs. so far, the feedback has been tremendous; everyone sends encouragement and compliments on my progress. it makes me want to stay up all night and finish my bpt.
special thanks to linda for having signed my guestmap! check it out. she's in the uk!
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| unsleeved |
wednesday 04.14.2004 |
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bpt update: yesterday i spent the entire evening at g's knitting the right sleeve. when the ball of yarn ran out, i made eight inches of progress. only to realize the sleeve's circumfrence is huge. HUGE. it was 11 pm. i was sad.
i followed the pattern exactly, which looked pretty reasonable. and i wouldn't have minded the size if i had enough yarn. it was bad news.
g didn't want me to rip it. i told her i wouldn't so she would let me leave her house. it was way past my bed time but i stayed up and ripped it all back.
i should have taken a photo of it before i took it apart. i was crying too hard to think clearly so now i have nothing to show you. i had put it up against my favorite hoodie and the bpt's sleeve was about an inch too wide, which means it was two inches too big in circumfrence. i'm sure most folks prefer loose sleeves. lucky me, i like them fitted. i seriously considered leaving it alone. but the fact that i'm running short on yarn made the frogging inevitable.
so, the sleeve is about an inch long right now. i'm going to decrease two stitches at every fourth row. i'll stop decreasing once i hit the elbow. that's the plan for now. we'll see how many more times i have to reknit this sleeve before i'm happy with it.
yay, sylvie from versailles signed my guestmap! yay!
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| resleeved, yay! |
thursday 04.15.2004 |
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the sleeve the sleeve!
i decreased every fourth row twelve times. sounds a bit extreme but it feels better now. it would have been a lot better if the raglan hadn't increased as much as it did for the arm hole. i'm learning.
arm wrestle
i hope i'm not breaking some code of knitting ethics by comparing a handmade garment to a mass produced product. i just want to show you their relative size.
as much as i don't want to, i'm going to have to fess up another booboo. i put the bpt on last night to test the sleeve and discovered that the sweater is tight around the bust. i'm so glad i didn't decrease the body. i think i can stretch it out to fit when i block it.
the good news is: i found two balls of comparable brown yarn to add to the bpt supply.
cleckheaton vs mccalls
the bottom yarn is the one the bpt currently uses. the top is the supplemental brown: two balls, 104 yards each. it's a bit heathery but it's pretty darn close to the mocha. i may be able to make the entire hood out of the cleckheaton.
last night i was supposed to hang at g's again but i bailed. i hung with ez and meg instead.
virtual masters
these are taken from the schoolhousepress vhs series called knitting around. i love it when meg says to me:
"thuy, you should make this when you're done with the bpt."
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| commentability |
thursday 04.15.2004 |
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a quick note to let you know that the add a comment function is, well, functional again!
please leave me a comment. i'd love to hear from you. and, while you're feeling generous, why not sign my guestmap too? please?
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| bpt day nine |
saturday 04.17.2004 |
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first and foremost, hello to josh in new york and vanessa in malaysia! thank you for having signed my guestmap. you make me want to blog everyday!
i'm going through a lull on the bpt. i'm plugging ahead though, because look what kara showed me:
kara in her perfect bpt
kara is one of the knitters i found from google and bugged about the knitty bpt. she sent me a generous email full of elaborate notes she had taken while knitting her fabulous hooded sweater. i wish i had started my bpt after i received this wealth of information.
i just can't say enough about how impressed i am with kara and her bpt. she pretty much rewrote the pattern. if you'd like to read kara's knitting notes, see her website. she shows different angles of her sweater there, too.
the novice's bpt in progress
so, i'm plugging along. i haven't looked at the pattern for four days now. lull. i plan on knitting both arms before i knit the body. i still wish i could knit the body in the round instead of having to purl every other row.
speaking of which, i believe sylvie is going to attempt to knit a bpt in the round. she's trying to avoid purling and using a zipper in one fell swoop. i am so pleased to have met such savvy intrepid knitters.
i've discovered that i'm very impulsive in my knitting habits. as with kara, i knew enough to search out bpt knitters but i wasn't patient enough to configure the pattern before starting. then with linda, upon reading that i had found a different shade of brown yarn to implement my supply, she immediately emailed to advise that i use the mismatched yarn for the icord edging so it would look more like it's by design than by mistake. i hadn't even thought about it let alone conceiving this brilliant idea. if i had taken the time to soak in the pattern, i would not be short on yarn to begin with. right?
i'm learning.
thursday night, while i was at g's watching the apprentice, my 35" crystal palace bamboo circular needles gave out. i'm now using the 26". it works except it makes the garment difficult to try on because it bunches up the hem. today i'm going to use superglue to fix the 35" so i can switch back.
i'm also going to email kara more questions, notably about the zipper. if you have any advice or comment on the bpt, please share.
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| the beat goes on |
monday 04.19.2004 |
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yay! i have a reader in canada! hi, sermom! thanks also to rob and queerjoe* for having signed my guestmap! you made my day!
*joe is a star. when i first found his blog, i remember how he had replicated a knitted ear flap hat which he saw in a movie. i thought: this man is a knitter! i want to be just like him!
i'm happy to report that the bpt is coming along very well. the left sleeve is a cinch. it's so nice when i don't have to purl. and the 11" circular needles are priceless.
bpt day eleven
the left sleeve is also on hold right now. i'm knitting the body because jg fixed the 35" circular and i wanted to test them out. they work better now than they ever did.
surprisingly, i have no additional gripes about the bpt today.
remember this? the neglected the middle child, the b side, the second best:
afghan skein four
i spend all my time on knitting the brown sweater. i only knit this lovely afghan while watching dvds in the dark. i finished the fourth skein during the movie sylvia. speaking of which, may be i should have paid more attention to the movie but, i don't get sylvia plath. it's a sad story but i have difficulties understanding her life and work. i'm not going to get in depth about my dislikes because i know she has a large fan base. i'm going to shut up now because i don't want hate mail and, of course, i like having readers.
have i ever mentioned how much i love this yarn? it's like handling clouds. lamb's pride, everyone. excellent yarn!
back to the bpt. the talented kat replied and suggested a bpt knit-along. i would really like that. i hope she'll use her published influence to start it up. i do think the design is elegant and clever. i hope to swap and collect notes on the pattern so i could share them here with new bpt knitters.
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| nervous |
wednesday 04.21.2004 |
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i'm going to attend a knitting meet up tonight. on one hand i'm excited. on the other, i'm full of trepidation. i will be meeting and hanging with five total strangers! i must be very brave.
here's the line up:
isn't the firedude character curious? i'm going to find out. if you're in santa barbara this eveing, join us!
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| metup* |
thursday 04.22.2004 |
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i have knitting friends, everybody! yay for me!
knitting meetup was a raving success last night. i showed up late because i couldn't find the venue. i made it inside starbucks around 7:15 and panicked. there were about ten patrons scattered around and none was knitting! i was happy to see my ups man. i stopped to chat with him for five minutes all the while scanning around for signs of yarn or needles. nothing.
when the ups man left, i went to order a small house coffee. the attendant was a good looking boy who took my mind off the meetup for a minute. after i paid i was filled with dread. i thought i would have to go to every table asking, "knitter? knitter?" thank goodness i decided to doctor up my coffee before making the rounds. that's when i saw someone outside the window taking her knitting out of a bag. phew!
so, to make a long story short, i made knitting buddies! rachel, melissa, jessica, and erin. i'm ashamed to report that none of us were knitting except for rachel and melissa. also, firedude was a no show dud.
we sat around and gabbed for two hours. i enjoyed learning about everyone. i don't know what i was reading but i didn't clue in that rachel is pregnant. i sat right next to her but i didn't notice her little belly until she expressed discomfort. you wouldn't believe how tall melissa is! i imagine if melissa was to blog about the meetup, she'd say "you wouldn't believe how short thuy is!" melissa is a teacher in training, along with jessica. very noble careers. turns out jessica used to work at muddy waters, a coffee+deli right across the street from my office! i must have ordered several red eyes from her years ago. small world! erin is my fellow crocheter**. (pronounced how? crow-shay-uh?) i need to stick with erin; she taught me how to put enthusiasm into saying "structural engineer!"
it was an evening with super girls! we made two hours go by in a snap. i was sad that i didn't have my camera. it would have been nice to show off the line up with pictures. i hope to get photos of our next meetup. we're a great bunch, you'll see.
i'm bummed that i'll have to wait one whole month to see them again.
*to erin, jessica, and melissa: meetup.com is trying to make me pay for your email addresses. i'd like to stay in touch with you. please email me.
**if you're in sb county and your craft meetup is too few to organize, please join us! either express your interest at the sb county meetup forum or leave me a comment.
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| super eggplant |
friday 04.23.2004 |
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tomorrow i'm going to meet mariko, the creative force behind www.supereggplant.com. we'll be convening for the san luis obispo knitter's guild. wanna join us? it's at the main library on palm. 10 am sharp!
this morning i realized that my right index finger is calloused. i picked up a warm sugar donut and i could feel the warmth in all the other finger tips except the index finger. i spent all morning wondering how this could be. guess what? it's from pushing the point of the left needle while knitting! i've been doing that a lot while knitting the bpt sleeves with the 11 inch circular needles. they have sharp aluminum points!
speaking of which, i finished knitting both sleeves! i'm ready to icord their hems. i think i'm done with the body too. all hems are ready for icording.
if i had a photo*, i'd insert it here, titled skein eleven, day fifteen.
*did you hear that my camera is out of commission? it's in new jersey right now being fixed. i've been mourning the sad state of my blog without the dud i once fondly called my f401. i'd love to know the brand of your digital camera and if you'd recommend it. i'm in the market for a better one. please let me know.
i am somewhat okay with the absence of the camera though. this blog can sure use a break from the bpt love fest.
last night i was bouncing around on the knit bloggers ring and stumbled on this:
sexy cables that i can never wear
that's taken from ariadfil. they offer a boat load of free patterns. all the designs remind me of the clothes sold in european shops: very bold and fussy. i found a few simple looking ones i really liked though. it's a great site for inspiration. and free patterns! no one can refuse that!
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| slo'ed |
monday 04.26.2004 |
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it was surreal to be at the san luis obispo knitter's guild. i was hanging with not five, not ten, but thirteen knitters! holy moly. there were these two adorable little girls, i'd guess ages seven and nine, knitting! when the older of the two showed off a knitted cell phone caddie she made for her mom, i clapped!
the best part was meeting mariko. she was a bundle cuteness with her hip self made sling bag, her neon green shoes, and her tiny little orange spy camera. and she's super nice, too, sharing her latest knitting magazines with everyone.
i also got to meet nancy, a very bold knitter! she made these fantastic knitted slippers with outrageous color combinations complete with pompoms. mariko is currently showing a nice picture of them along with a short write up of nancy's method of style. check it out!
i was so thoroughly inspired. two hours at the slokg seemed like 15 minutes. i was super shy about showing my brown pile of bpt madness. i rather enjoyed watching everyone and her individual way of knitting. catherine the founder knits english style most elegantly. and adair, the other founder, is some sort of magic knitter. she showed us these beautifully colorful and impossibly immense pieces of knitted garment. these two ladies along with the two little girls keeled me over with inspiration!
unfortunately, they won't meet again until may 22nd. but that's good because i can use the time to come up with something decent to show them. i'm hoping to show off the finished bpt then. but we'll see.
the rest of the weekend i spent knitting the white afghan. i'm almost done with the sixth skein. it's getting to be a bear to drag around the house. i'm putting the bpt on hold because i need to decide what to do with the hood. i'm having a heck of a time trying to stick with the pattern. i don't mean to rebel. i really wanted to knit this sweater exactly to its pattern because i wantd to learn to deal with instructions. but i just can't. do you have this problem?
i have something to show you:
my very first sweater
yes, that's right. my very first sweater. i had just finished re-reading elizabeth zimmermann's knitting without tears and i had to get knitting. that was toward the end of april 2003. i actually came up with the design, the fit, etc. in other words, i knitted it without a pattern. i employed ez's seamless theory and the process couldn't be easier. i finished the sweater within two weeks. i can't say enough about elizabeth zimmermann.
the pink yarn i used is 100% wool hand dyed and hand spun. i love the imperfections in the coloration. i bought one pound of yarn and used every last yard of it. i made the sleeves super long because i like being able to pull the sleeves over my hands. it's the best sweater on earth!
except i'm ripping it apart. you can see that i took the picture after i had already begun frogging it. i designed it to have a loose body but i learned that i don't like having the hem flapping around at the waist. i've grown to prefer fitted sweaters. i've worn it for almost a year now so it's just about time for a new look, anyway. don't you think?
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| knit groupie |
tuesday 04.27.2004 |
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these days i'm all about knitting groups. in fact, i went from a nervous sheep to a regular knit group whore within five days! i'm a kgw, everybody!
yesterday about 5:30 pm i received this irresistible invitation:
Hi Thuy,
My name is Laura. I came across your blog because I am a regular reader of Mariko's. I gathered that you are in Santa Barbara and that you are looking to meet up with other knitters. A growing group of us have been meeting at the Java Station (Hollister right near Modoc) at 6:30 every Monday evening. It is getting quite large through word of mouth. A few of us started gathering there a few months back and invited friends. Soon friends were inviting friends and people started showing up none of us knew who had heard about us at the craft store! Last week there were 11! This week it may be very small [...] My friend Joanna said she'd probably be there. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess. Anyway, I wanted to welcome you to stop by, if not this week, since it's such short notice, any other Monday after 6:30.
I'm off now [...] but I just had to write you and let you know you are more than welcome to come by! Hope to see you there!
Laura
isn't it wonderful? i got pretty excited. i forwarded the invitation to everyone in my meetup group immediately. i had to work late so i thought i might not make it.
but, being a kgw, of course i made it. i even dragged my colleague with me! by the way, do i win some sort of award for successfully bringing an unrelated non-knitter male to a knitting group? i drove around lost for about 15 minutes before i found the coffee shop. if it wasn't for hands, i would have given up. he was my navigator.
java station is an earthy joint. it was flooded with students. i found two knitters: mary jean and tish. we asked each other a few questions and i briefed them on the meetup group. we exchanged contact information before i had to leave. i would have stayed and waited to meet laura and others if hands and i didn't have to get back to work.
isn't the internet a wonderful thing? i feel like i've traveled a big loop to find something right under my nose. first the meetup, then the java station. this whole craziness also resulted in a reconnection with my old high school buddy through her knitting sister!
speaking of buddies, look at this postal goodness:*
knit art just for me!
i opened up my mail box last night and, whoop, there it was! i actually said YAY and waved it in the air high above my head. i don't think my neighbors saw me. i really don't care if they did. i was elated! i love snail mail, especially julia's!
tell me, wouldn't you love to get this?
original cat art complete with nudity
*please pardon the horrible quality of the images. i have to use a decrepid old camera in lieu of my useless pos fuji which is getting fixed right now.
so, to recap this incoherent blog: if you are in or near santa barbara county, consider joining at least one of the two knitting groups. i'm looking for proud fellow kgws. come on, you know you want to be one!
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| random |
wednesday 04.28.2004 |
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i saw this down by the beach the weekend before last:
kelp roots
the way the roots intertwine instantly made me think of cables. can you see them? some fancy cable work, yes?
i have a soft spot for cables. there's something very oraganic and elegant about them. unfortunately, they're still small feats for me. my stitches are very irregular when i knit cables. i wonder if there's a trick to them.
how about you? what inspires your knitting?
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| kissed+made up |
thursday 04.29.2004 |
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i came to terms with my bpt two nights ago. you may or may not know that i was not on speaking terms with it for days. anyway, instead of working the hood, i decided to apply the icord to the hem of the body. these are ass images so please bear with me. note that i used the mismatched yarn for the edging a la the knitting wizard linda.
front hem
back hem
it took me a few tries to get the right gauge. five to be exact. i'd apply the icord, try it on, rip, change needle size, icord, try it on, rip, change needle size, icord, try it on, rip... well, you get the idea. five times.
each time i applied the icord, i'd go for a quarter of the length of the entire hem in order to see if it would stretch or pucker the fabric. the gauge of the icord doesn't matter, i learned. the hem will roll no matter how tight the icord may be.
in the end i thought the icord felt best when i used needles that are two sizes smaller than the ones i used for the sweater. us6 and us8 respectively. and i had to knit it pretty tightly.
if i wrote the pattern, i woud add:
apply icord *for 8 inches, stop, take a good look at it,
try on garment if the mood suits you, rip, change needle size,
re-apply icord, repeat from * four times.
last night i applied the same icord to one of the sleeves. i was relieved to see that it fit the sleeve's opening perfectly. and, no surprise here, no rolling.
i hope to start the hood this weekend. i suspect i'll be arm wrestling with the pattern some more before i can hang my head low and follow it. stay tuned!
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| i see yarn! |
thursday 04.29.2004 |
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seareed
isn't it a beautiful green? wish i could just go down to the sea shore and harvest yarn. don't you?
a quick post to announce that i got my camera back today. can't wait to post decent knitting pictures again.
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