… Bad Day…. Need More Knitting
M
Miriam Felton
Unique Designs & Technique for the Handknitter
Spinning, Spinning, 1-2-3
1. Don’t spin combed top for your first attempt. It will all end in tears. Buy some roving and save the combed top for later when you know how to draft.
2. For a knitter, you should spin with a Z twist and ply with an S twist. The reason for this is that the act of knitting minutely twists the yarn in such a way that if you DON’T spin your yarn like this, your yarn sort of unspins itself as you knit. Anything that threatens the integrity of the yarn you have spent so much time on should be avoided. Susan says so. For a crochetter, the opposite is true.
3. You see how the third skein sort of twists back on itself? The reason for this is not because I plied with too much twist, but because I spun the singles with too LITTLE twist. I must learn to twist my singles more so that the ply makes them balanced instead of making them crazy.
4. My spinning varies a lot… I can understand how this might just be the case with all beginners, but I’m convinced some of it is fiber prep. I will take the time to prepare my fiber in a more consistant manner. If I’m taking the time to make the yarn, I might as well be taking the time to make it well, yes?
What do you think? Worth sticking with? I haven’t set the twist on any of these skeins, so it’s possible that they’ll fluff up quite a bit. I guess we’ll see.
The cabley socks that were in the picture with the spinning book in the last post have been resurrected. I needed to spend some serious time swatching some things and coming to my senses about what is and isn’t possible in the scale I was looking at. So they’re now moving along with as much gusto as I can manage to give them (not much so far today, but hopefully some later this evening). And all you clean freaks would be proud of me! I cleaned my apartment…. well at least the public areas. My living room was even VACUUMED! I vacuumed the cat hair off the back of the couch too. THAT’S dedication, my friends! And I canned pears and salsa and THOUGHT about making plum jam, but didn’t. OK, time to go home!
M
Laughing Rat has finished her Seraphim Shawl! The colors are beautiful!
I admit it….
So flash forward to my visit to Estes Park, where I watched Amanda spin effortlessly by rolling the spindle along her thigh. My instructor had us all twist with our fingers and that’s probably why I didn’t do so well. I saw a lot of cool fibers and even went back to the market to try and find a spindle, but didn’t see anything that struck me.
And then I went to Great Basin Fiber Arts Festival and I found a Greensleeves spindle that spoke to me. I wish I had a picture, but I’ll have to show you one next week. It’s the loki model from Greensleeves, with an amboyna top (with a violet cast where most amboyna has a yellow cast) and bloodwood underneath. So I’ve been spinning and enjoying myself… that is until SnB last week.
I was spinning away, quite happy with my progress when Margene said “Why are you spinning down your thigh?” and I did’t have an answer for her. Turns out I was putting the wrong direction of twist into my yarn if I hoped to be able to knit with it in the future. So I wound off, and plyed the bugger with much cursing and started anew, this time spinning in the correct direction, giving the singles a Z twist.
But my pride being wounded, I decided maybe I needed help, so I took Margene’s recommendation and bought Spinning in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. Oh.My.God. I love this woman. I have never met her, but I love her. And I love her book and I’m very VERY happy that I got it. All this time I’d been thinking “I really need a wheel if I want to produce enough yarn at an even tension to do something nice with” when really, all I needed to do was learn how to use my hand spindle! So I’m reading through it quickly (it’s quite short), and I feel suddenly re-energized to spin. I have some Icelandic Lambswool that Anne gave me for test knitting a pattern for her, and it’s just LOVELY to work with, but I find myself wanting to sample different breeds of sheep, or to buy some of the beautiful rovings I’ve seen around recently.
Friends, I have caught the fever! And the poor neglected sock up there has only a partial toe despite the fact that I cast on 3 days ago.
M
I meant to post something real today, but I got sort of busy. I had this driving urge to clean off my desk at work and I’m just ITCHING to get home and eat the pork ribs I put in the crockpot this morning and maybe can some pears… or clean the living room… or set up my drafting table as a bookmaking workshop…. Feeling strangely domestic. There are suddenly so many things I want to do that I may just explode. If I don’t post tomorrow, you’ll know I exploded. But here’s some other people’s finished objects! YAY!
Jen knit some Blessing Socks! You can see her picture here in my flickr album. They’re beautiful Jen!
Grace is just churning out my shawls! She just finished Adamas in South West Trading Company’s Optimum DK on Size 9’s. It looks great and very cozy!
Green Gable FO
Hey everybody! Guess what I’m wearing RIGHT NOW!?
That’s right! Green Gable!
I finished it just moments before leaving for SnB, and it’s GREAT! C even likes it and he’s indifferent at best about most of my knits.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton, 20% wool) in Mariner Blue.
Pattern: Adapted from Green Gable from Zephyr Style, modifications listed below.
Needles: Size 6 KnitPicks Options and Size 5 Addi Turbos (I did like the KnitPicks options needles for their pointiness and diversity, but they really are noticibly heavier than the Addis of the same size. I passed needles around at SnB and it was agreed upon. I did find my hands fatiguing more often than with Addis, but still not nearly as bad as with bamboo circs. So really, worth a shot, but if I were knitting something huge and heavy, I think I’d splurge for the Addis.
Gauge: 20 sts per 4″, just like the pattern calls for. Woot!
Modifications: LOTS! I did a different cast on (cable instead of backward loop), I added some extra stitches to the sleeves by picking sts up under the arm. I added a couple of rows to the sleeves and did all the ribbing in Size 5 rather than size 4. I added short row bust shaping, and I made up the shaping since there were only 2 rounds of waist shaping and that would CLEARLY not be enough for me.
Verdict: I like the finished object, although I was quite frustrated with the pattern. C thinks I look quite nice in it, and so I’m happy. And I’ll do the tutorial in the future on how to shape something for yourself to fit your measurements.
Thanks to The Lady K for taking the pic! And just in case someone asks, I am wearing a tan colored tank top underneath.
M
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCMENT:
Kris asked me to post a blurb about this colletion she’s doing, go check it out! You can get yarny prizes and warm up babies!:
Kristi of Red Dog Knits (www.reddogknits.wordpress.com) is having triplets. It’s her first pregnancy and she is a knitter. Now as all knitters are inclined she likes to knit for family and this now includes three little babies. Her mother is an avid knitter, but is still recovering from carpal tunnel surgery. Kristi by herself won’t be able to knit enough little tykes clothing for the babies before they arrive and I wanted to do something to help her out. So I started a “Warm Up the Dutchicans” campaign of sorts with a blog www.dutchicans.blogspot.com.
Sarah (www.handknitter.sarahpeasley.com) and myself are hosting it and we have at least 14 people contributing to the baby knits pile. We are offering yarny prizes if you contribute even a pair of booties or a small toy.
Kimberly did a modified Icarus to be worn by a woman climbing Mt. Everest! Holy CRAP! Best wishes to the knitter AND the recipient!
Riverwide Scarf is now available
I figured it was probably time to get this out and available!
Check out the store for more details and to purchase, the cost is $5.50 USD and the pattern is charted AND written out.
*edited to add* There have been a couple questions in the comments, so I’ll answer them here for all to see. The yarn is from Renaissance Dyeing, and it is absolute HEAVEN to work with. It’s soft and strong and the colors have depth and are so lovely! However, the yarn is used doubled throughout this pattern, so you could sub a fingering weight yarn (scraps from socks maybe?) or any other yarn really and just make a different sized scarf. It would be lovely however you did it.
I wanted to make something that even beginning knitters could do, but something with some sort of lace. So I did a simple eyelet pattern that evokes winding streams and river deltas. The pattern takes advantage of the broad range of shades and tonality that Andie’s line of naturally dyed wools have, and the back (not pictured) is just as beautiful as the front, making this scarf truly reversible.
Gee… that was a downer
Sorry to leave the weekend on such a whiney note. Blame it on the hormones. Anyhow… here is my progress (and I do mean progress) on Green Gable!
When you’re used to knitting things only on sizes less than US 3 (3.25mm), with yarn no larger than fingering weight, working on US 6’s (4 mm) and with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, things just go MUCH faster! The color of the Cotton Fleece is Mariner Blue in case you were wondering.
And so that I don’t forget, here’s the list of mods I’ve made.
1. I used a cable cast on. The Zephyr Girls suggest that you use a backward loop method, but I HATE HATE HATE dislike the backward loop method for the fact that I have to fight it and curse a lot to get the first row knit. So I did a loose cable cast on, which gave the same necessary properties that a backward loop would give in this case.
2. Moving down from the top, I also added a couple of rows on the sleeves so that they would be just a smidge longer in hopes of keeping them from riding into my armpits. I also did these last 2 rows plus the ribbing with US 5’s instead of US4’s as suggested. I want a nice soft sleeve cap, not one that digs into my upper arms.
3. I added short rows for the bust, because frankly, the bust on the model led me to think that this would NOT be good for me unless I did. She’s very cute, but definitely not as well endowed by Boobula the Breast Goddess as myself. So I did some short rows until it looked like it would be good (that’s why the front looks rather floppy).
4. All that side shaping? Made it up. I measured where green gable hit me when I got to the point where they suggested the shaping begin and I measured the difference in the circumferences, and then the distance I had from the point I was now to the place I wanted the decreases to stop (my natural waist) and then worked out the numbers. Then I did the same sort of thing for the hip shaping. I wanted this to be much longer than the original pattern, so I measured the difference, this time from my waist to the place I wanted it to sit on my hips and then measured how many inches I had to accomplish that increasing. I worked out the increases and voila! Made to fit shaping! Perhaps I’ll do a tutorial some day. Let me know if you’re interested. I’ll probably do the final ribbing with a US 5 like I did the sleeve ribbing.
M
Sue J has finished her Icarus! It’s so pretty! I’m glad you like it, Sue!
Green Gable Woes
So knitting had sort of stalled after I finished those last 2 FO’s and had swatched for my Black Pearl Yarns Design, and the idea of swatching some more and ripping out and swatching again, and doing knitting maths just seemed so onerous. So what’s a girl to do!
Cast on for Green Gable, that’s what! I had wanted to start it earlier, but I didn’t have acceptable needles to use, and so I took the plunge and ordered some of the interchangeable ones from KnitPicks. They showed up this week (along with some Gloss and the yarn for a Picovoli T) so I pulled though out and started on it. I thought for a second about swatching again with these new needles, but then I figured I could always tweak the thing as I went and it would be ok. So I cast on.
{Imagine a picture of it here, except there’s not because it’s been raining for a WEEK straight and I can’t get any good light}
Anyway, I’m getting almost done with the upper portion before the dividing for the sleeves and already I’m thinking I might need to lengthen it. I find it rather irritating that this pattern has neither schematics NOR row gauge. If you had a schematic you could extrapolate row gauge. If you had a row gauge, you could extrapolate a schematic. But alas, neither. It’s not a HUGE problem (I can figure it out) but what about those beginning knitters who don’t know how all of this stuff interacts and will be left with an ill-fitting or non-fitting garment?
M
Susan has finished her Hidcote Shawl! You MUST look at it! It’s more beautiful in a dark yarn than I could ever imagine!
Andrea has finished her Icarus (take the time to click through her images) it’s just lovely!
P is for….
Pastry! The pictures are some of the jam tarts I made for our birthday edition of SnB this week.
I’ve loved pastry all my life. My mom makes a mean apple pie and I used to “help” by eating the skins of the granny smith apples as she peeled them. As I got older, it became my job to dump sugar, cinnamon and tapioca pudding mix (the key to a really good pie, imo) into the bowl with the apples and to mix them up. When I started making my own pie crust, mom started asking for MY help making pies.
I’ve been mildly obsessed with the idea of becoming a pasty chef since then. I love that pastries can be either sweet or savory or a cunning blend of both. I love that pastry can be made into ANY kind of food. From a chicken pot pie, to a savory quiche to pain au chocolat. I’m a really big fan of tarts, something about mushy, sugary fruit and a crisp and flaky pastry crust just makes me smile. But tarts are a delicate thing. Since the filling for tarts generally has a lot of liquid content in the form of juice or sugar syrup, you need a special kind of pastry to stay crisp when it’s got a thick layer of something juicy on top. Normal pie crust won’t work. So here is the recipe I use for Pâte Brisée, a basic tart pastry, from The Complete Book of Pastry: Sweet & Savory by Bernard Clayton, Jr., which I purchase for the vast sum of $1.75 from a library book sale. I’ll give you the “by hand” version rather than the electric mixer or food processor version because I’m a purist 😉
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar (optional for savory tarts)
4 ounces (1 stick) of unsalted butter, chilled
1 ounce (2 Tbsp) lard or vegetable shortening, chilled.
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp ice water (possibly more if you live in a dry place like I do)
Instructions:
In a medium bowl place flour, salt and sugar. Cut the butter and lard or shortening into small pieces and drop into the flour. With the fingers, a pastry blender or two knives, cut and work the fat into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles course meal. In a small bowl combine lightly beaten egg, lemon juice and 1 Tbsp ice water. Slowly pour the liquid into the flour-fat mixture while stirring with a fork. The mixture should hold together in a rough mass — moist but not wet. If crumbly (dry), add water. It will stiffen considerably when chilled. Wrap the dough in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. Makes one 9 inch, two 8 inch, or twelve 4.5: tartlet shells.
If you’re baking the tart blind (or unfilled) then place pie weights, or dry beans or rice in a piece of muslin folded up and plop them into the crust. This keeps bubbles from forming and keeps the bottom of the tart nicely flat. Bake at 425º until golden brown, remove the weights then let cool and fill.
I made the jam tarts by using my wee tartlet pans as cookie cutters, then I pressed the dough into the corners of the pan and up the sides, then filled each one with rice. When they were golden, I removed them from the oven and filled them with jam while still warm, that way the jam sort of melted into a flat filling. I made them on Monday night and the crust was still crispy on Tuesday night. Also note that it’s not as finicky as it might seem. If you only have salted butter, just omit the salt (or don’t worry about it if you’re filling them with something savory anyway), and if it’s not hot in your kitchen, you don’t really HAVE to refrigerate it for an hour. I didn’t refrigerate mine at all because I was short on time and it was fine.
Happy baking! Pastry is GOOD!
M
Let your abandoned WIP's become ART!
Hey all, my sister is trying to put together a collage on fiber arts. This is what she said about it:
This montage I’m making, it’s called “Fiber Art Dreams” and it has four sheep on it, one with wool made out of roving, one made out of yarn, one woven and one embellished being chased by a pair of scissors. The background is snippets of various fiber arts embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint, spinning, felting, knitting, crocheting, etc… When I picked my montage topic, the original topic was “chasing dreams” so I thought I’d focus on fiber art dreams since I dream of doing all these different fiber arts but I’ll never get to do them all. So now I’m on the lookout for unfinished projects, if you know anyone who has some projects that they’re never going to finish, gauge swatches, etc. I’ll take them for my montage.
She’s looking for:
embroidery
cross stitch
needlepoint
crewel work
needlepunch
weaving
spinning
knitting
crocheting
tatting
quilting
trapunto
cutwork
lacework
hardanger
macrame
Old clothing that has any of these fiber crafts as trims or embellishments would be cool too.
If you’ve got a box of half-finished projects that is moldering away in your basement, and you know in your heart you’re never going to finish any of them but you want something good to come of it so you’ve never thrown it out, now’s your chance to have it included in a work of art!
If you have something that could help her, please e-mail her.
