A Pop Quiz

There is an interview for the S.O.s of knitters circulating on the web. I found it here at Purl Diva: Knitters Are Sexy and traced it back through about 15 knitters, but not to the original source, so I can't properly credit her whoever she may be. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to interview my husband.

First, a little background information: About 9 years ago I knit him a sweater in cotton yarn. The yarn stretched and stretched and stretched until we laughingly referred to it as his "sleeping bag." It was eventually frogged.

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?

Him: The quality of what you make.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?

Him: It takes time away from me.

Me: What is something I've knit that you recall as good?

Him: Everything you've done in the past year or so.

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?

Him: No. (Smile. I guess I've got him buffaloed on that one!)

Me: Do you have any hobbies?

Him: Yes. (No elaboration offered)

Me: Do you have a stash of any kind?

Him: You mean like my liquor cabinet?

Me: Have I ever embarrassed you by knitting in public?

Him: No.

Me: Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?

Him: No. (In all fairness, I don't really have a favorite.)

Me: Can you name a knitting blog?

Him: Well, there's "Knitters of America" (smile -- he means Ravelry)

Me: Do you mind my wanting to stop at yarn stores wherever we go?

Him: No.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?

Him: Yes. That's where you practice knitting the thing you're going to knit to make sure the compression and size are right. That's what you should have done before you knit my sleeping bag!

Me: Have you read Knitting Therapy?

Him: I have once or twice.

Me: Did you leave a comment?

Him: No.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit.

Him: He laughs and says, "Yes!" (We often joke about our crimes and misdemeanors against Good Housekeeping Practices.)

Me: Anything else you'd like to add?

Him: No.

Experiment in Brocade

With this project I am attempting to stretch myself in terms of my knitting abilities. I'm experimenting with circular stranded knitting and colorwork. I'm trying to teach myself how to knit with a color in each hand, to weave in the ends, avoid twisted stitches, and notice the effect of different color combinations. It's a lot. But, I'm having fun, so the end result is almost beside the point.

So, it's a vest knit with a two-color brocade pattern that was designed to be knit in pieces in intarsia. I've chosen to knit it as a stranded pattern on circular needles with two balls of Kauni Rainbow (EQ) colorway yarn.



The pattern is a lot of fun to watch develop as the colors change and the non-repeating pattern unfolds.


The yarn holders are a little distracting -- they are keeping the pocket stitches "live" to be finished later.


The pattern was taken from an old (1992) Kim Hargreaves book.


Oh, BTW, did I mention it has a steek? (Eek!) Stay tuned as the fun continues ...

A Berry Happy 4th!

Here's a firecracker of a sweater for the 4th -- although it's obviously much too hot to wear it. It's already stored away for October. I love the soft hand of this yarn (Knit Picks Andean Silk in Hollyberry).

Project Details:

Pattern: Lily Chin, Knitters' Magazine Fall 2002
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk in Hollyberry (55% Alpaca, 23% silk, 22% Merino wool)

On the Block

The front and back pieces are finished and blocking. I focused my blocking efforts on the seams so they will lie flat for sewing up, and left the gathered and ribbed areas unpinned and did not spray them with water. (I try not to block the life out of my knitting, after having done so in the past.)

For the first time ever, the measurements of my finished pieces lined up almost exactly with those specified by the pattern. A shocking development. It's amazing how a small thing like a gauge swatch can really help.

Now, on to the sleeves ...

Draping Knitted Fabric

Perhaps it's because I learned to sew before I learned to knit that I'm intrigued by the idea of creating knitted garments in a similar fashion to garments that are sewn from fabric. Lily Chin's design, "Ruched Magic," appealed to me for this reason. (Pattern is from Knitter's Magazine, Fall 2002.)

I wear the color deep red a lot and am a big fan of soft, comfortable things to put on my body, so I chose this beautiful KnitPicks' Andean Silk yarn in Hollyberry.

I've finished the back and am three-quarters of the way done with the front. Sorry, no pics yet. Look for a F.O. soon!

A Saga in Stitches!

It's finally done! I put this aside for almost 7 (!) years. However, because I loved the pattern of leaves, I decided to commit myself to finishing it. "Commit" is probably a good operative word here as the steeking process nearly drove me crazy. Never having steeked before, I blithely created a steek by securing only one of the colors! What was I thinking? This gargantuan mistake had to be corrected by a lengthy process of crocheting, sewing, and creating a facing. I guess it was all worth it, as I do love the finished product!



Here you can see the pretty striping that was called for by the pattern when shaping the underarms. I don't know if you can tell, but the first repeat of the pattern is inexplicably shorter than the elongated versions higher up on the body. Did my knitting get looser as I went along?



Here is a close-up of the button placket and the sleeve design. One drawback to this pattern is it defies memorization. I literally had to check each stitch in the stranded body, and really struggled to remember the sleeve design. In the end, I gave up on the cuff design and skipped it. I actually think it looks okay plain.


Pattern: Poetry in Stitches, by Solveig Hisdal, page 160
Yarn: Hifa 2
Needles: US 1 and 2

Knitting Fever

I have been knitting away feverishly in an attempt to finish up some projects so as to allay my guilt about wanting to start new ones. I finally finished the body of the Poetry in Stitches "leaves and vines" cardigan. Here it is saturated with water on my homemade blocking board:

Meanwhile the sleeves are coming along apace!



I couldn't resist trying out the Koolhaas hat, but chose the wrong yarn for it (Karabella Aurora 8). The yarn is much too sproingy for the cable pattern. The pattern actually gave me fits, but I'm determined to make another one with a different yarn and a nicer cable holder.

Given my frustration with the Koolhaas hat, I thought a Zimmerman watch cap would be just the ticket. However, I discovered two things in making these. One, my cast-on style is much too tight. And two, I don't think I decreased correctly as these seem to resemble prophylactics more than hats ...

However, I did love the brioche stitch. I highly recommend it!