Forgotten Projects

Spring is coming.

At least that’s what my girlfriend keeps saying. I think she might be ahead of herself, willing the weather into some semblance of warmth when in fact the ground outside is blanketed with white. It snowed a few days ago, recent enough that the dog walks are pleasant and not too slippery.

When she was tidying the spare room I began organising my yarn stash. Some of it I had to let go but I’m still left with plenty. There was, deep in that stash, a bag I’d forgotten.

It must have come from England with me but moving to Canada is a blur now. It feels as though I’ve always been here. Looking back, this is the bag I shoved in my suitcase because it was full of half-finished projects and I didn’t want to send that through the mail.

Inside that bag I found this.

This is a half-finished shawlette made from some Handmaiden Sea Silk. I bought this two years ago at Martina’s and it has been languishing ever since. I’ve tried to knit a few things with it but nothing has worked yet.

The colours are sublime but that’s nothing compared to the texture. It’s smooth and cool and light. It’s squishable but slinky. I love it.

Yet… I don’t think this project is right for it. I think I might be ripping it back to try something new once more. Thankfully it seems to be holding up quite well to the abuse, though I won’t rip it back until I find something that it wants to be.

Sometimes yarns don’t listen to you when you tell it what project it should be. I get this a lot, actually. Sometimes I’ll buy a yarn with a project in mind and the yarn will flat out refuse to cooperate. It’s fortunate I don’t have a problem with frogging projects (I’m a process knitter) because otherwise I would be in a constant stream of tears.

This sea silk needs to be something beautiful but more importantly it needs to be something I can use a lot and admire. I’m not the sort of person to put things away to gaze at with distant adoration. I knit to use my knitted goods.

If only I could figure out what this sea silk wants to be.

A Little Bit of Inspiration: Knitting Behind Bars

Whilst ambling aimlessly around the interwebs as I am prone to doing on my days off, this little beauty found its way to me. It’s the story of a woman who found new purpose in inspiring convicts with knitting.

The men were reluctant at first, complaining that knitting was too girly or too difficult. But Zwerling assured them men had invented the craft, then gave them a five-minute knitting lesson she swears can teach anyone. Suddenly, Zwerling says, the men “found the zen,” and got hooked. Now, every Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., they come to class, leaving their crimes and the hierarchies of prison life behind.

Now it’s no surprise to anyone who reads this that knitting could be used as a form of relaxation, community, and even meditation. We all know it, that’s why we’re here at all. Still it’s amazing to see how a woman took that idea and ran with it, using sticks and string and patience.

Also I’d like to see this five minute lesson. I’ve tried teaching people to knit before and let’s just say the only times it takes less than five minutes is when they give up and throw the yarn across the room.

Credit goes to the article. Click the pic.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of people teaching knitting in unusual places but every time I hear about it I’m pleased. I know that knitting has done me the world of good and the thought of it helping people who might otherwise not be reached is excellent. It’s just knitting. It’s not a miracle but if it brings peace to people for even a few minutes then surely it’s worth it.

The prison’s assistant warden, Margaret Chippendale, believes the men involved with KBB get into trouble less often. “It’s very positive because you can see when you go into the room, the dynamics of their conversation; very calm, very soothing,” Chippendale says. “It radiates even when they leave the room and go out into the institution.”

Looks like the benefits are already being felt.

The Best of Quick Knitting: Geek Edition

So I’m wrapping up the Quick Knitting posts this week with one that transcends the topic. This is in line with both my knitting and my nerd interests. I’ve been poking about and finding the best quick knitting projects out there that are as geeky as possible.

I’ll warn you in advance: this post got a little out of hand.

There are so many awesome geeky quick knits out there, man. So without further ado, here we go.

INSULATE

by Amy van de Laar

copyright Amy van de Laar

I mean, COME ON. Is this not a thing of wondrous beauty? A hat! With Daleks all around it! Knit in a subtle and yet unmistakable way!

You could be wearing this and be giving Whovians sore necks from double-taking for weeks. There is nothing I don’t love about this pattern and I will be trying it just as soon as I can get it together enough to get contrasting yarn.

Cunning Jayne Hat

by Renee Peterson

copyright Keiyla on flickr

Anyone who knows what this hat is knows the scene. Jayne Cobb, hardman extraordinaire, dons the fabulous hat from his mother and doesn’t flinch (or understand) when his friends poke fun.

This hat is a staple for any geeky knitters out there and, should you end up knitting for someone again in the aftermath and lethargy of giftmas, this is an excellent one for any fellow Browncoats. Plus it’s knit with enormous yarn and would appear in seconds.

Near enough.

Tarragon the Dragon

by Knit-a-Zoo

copyright Knit-a-Zoo

When I was a child I thought there was a dragon curled up and sleeping beneath the island on which I lived. Though I was sure he or she was friendly, it still frightened me occasionally.

I don’t know where I got the idea – probably from people telling me how many caves were under my feet – but if I had to have a dragon sharing my space it would be Tarragon. Not only because I put that herb on anything that stays still long enough.

TARDIS Beanie

by Morgan Kenia Andrews

copyright Morgan Kenia Andrews

Before TARDISes and Daleks, what on Earth did people knit into hats? That’s what I want to know.

I think this hat would also look amazing with a black yarn. Except I have a white cat, so maybe not.

Invading Your Earspace

by Catherine Paul

copyright Catherine Paul

Quite aside from having a fantastic name, this pattern is adorable. It’s also versatile because how many people are going to love this design? Everyone, that’s who!

Well, not quite. But the reach of retro gaming goes far beyond those who have actually had the chance to play Space Invaders. I have vague memories of it on some crappy website in my teens but missed the real thing, and I would still wear this.

Lego Man Mitts

by Carissa Browning

copyright Carissa Browning

I’m just going to come right out and say it: these are disturbing and creepy. That said, they would also be super warm and the construction is interesting.

They would make a great part of a costume or as a way to thoroughly creep out people who glance at you in the street for reasons they do not fully understand, but yet will carry with them all day.

R2D2 Beanie

by Carissa Browning

copyright Carissa Browning

So… I think we as a group should be keeping our eyes on Carissa Browning. She’s clearly some kind of evil genius.

I’m also not sure why so many fans want to stick their fandoms on their heads. I guess as a beacon to other fans? It is the most visible part of the body for most people.

This pattern is clever and most certainly will get you noticed by people. Some of them will even be fellow geeks.

---

 

Okay. Wow. I’m going to stop now because I have spent all morning going through the best patterns on Ravelry and I should probably do something more productive.

In the meantime, please share your favourite quick geek knits! I bet there is so much more out there – after all, there’s a huge overlap between knitters and geeks and I love it that way.

Thoughts on Sock Sizing

I have a problem.

No, that problem isn’t my raging addiction to knitting socks that’s been taking hold lately, though that’s certainly part of it. No, the problem is that I always knit exactly the same default socks. I cast on 60 stitches on whichever sock-relevant DPNs I have near (usually my 2.75mm cubics) and have at it.

This is not working for me.

You see, I have always had tiny ankles. My stepdad used to say they looked like matchsticks with the wood shaved off. Even when I was quite a bit larger on the rest of my body, my ankles were spindly little pins beneath it all. Skinny jeans look ridiculous on me, baggy around the bottom. I often wonder how they keep me upright without snapping.

And it turns out 60 stitches is just too much. I am sad about this because I don’t have to think about it; the sock just comes off the needles and I love the results. I’ve knit three pairs for myself in the past month, however, and not one of them fits right around the ankles.

I could continue as I am, letting the baggy ankles be a thing. Or I could suck it up and cut it back a few stitches so that they actually stay up on my leg. Of course it’s always good to allow for shrinkage considering my tendency to throw them in the wash without looking, but I need to find a good balance.

This might be the last time for a while that I make a vanilla sock; I’ve got Maureen Fould’s Poirot sock designs to play with once I get some new solid or heathered sock yarn. But I hope that when I get back to the plain sock kick (pun intended) I remember to cut back on the stitches.

The Best Of Quick Knitting: Baby Edition

I don’t know about you but it seems like a lot of people are pregnant around me these days. I’m not complaining; it’s plenty of opportunity to whip up some quick knitting for the sprogs.

Of course I’m a certified aunty so I don’t have any of my own but as I’m sure a lot of you do, here are some of my favourite ridiculously adorable instant gratification baby knits I’ve found.

Owlie Hat

by Teresa Cole

copyright Teresa Cole

The owl knit trend is huge. It’s been around nearly as long as I’ve been knitting and with hats like this I can see why. Just imagine how cute this would be with little embroidered eyes! No buttons of course – that’s a choking hazard.

See, I know some baby stuff. Honest.

Magic Slippers

by Caroline Hegwar

copyright jiltedballerina

I don’t know what makes these slippers magic but don’t you want to find out?

These only take under 200 yards of fingering weight yarn so they would be a perfect way to use up scraps of leftover socks. And they’re magic. Gotta love magic slippers.

Showsy Toes Baby Sandles

by Stephanie Lotven

copyright Stephanie Lotven

I don’t even know what these are but I still want to make fifty of them.

Max Baby Cardigan

by Marianna Mel

copyright Marianna Mel

If you’re feeling a little more ambitious, try out this pattern. It’s adorable and yet it still only uses less than 200 yards of DK yarn. It will knit up in no time and you’ll be left with a very snuggly baby if you use plush yarn.

Okay. That’s the babies decked out in the best of hand knitted items. Feel free to share your own, I’d love to see other ideas for quick baby knits!

Let’s Discuss Our 2015 Knitting Plans!

I don’t do New Years Resolutions. Or rather I make resolutions all the time and it’s not limited to the New Year, mostly because those are the ones that fail the fastest.

Still the beginning of a year is a good time to step back and take a look at your goals and whether they’re still going where you want them to and whether you need to make any other adjustments.

Knitting and crochet combined take up a large chunk of my time and passion so the smaller craft-related goals are what drive me forward to become better at what I do. The only non-living thing in my life more important to me than knitting/crochet is writing and I’m working at improving my skills in both those areas.

So here are the yarn-based skills I want to learn in 2015.

1. Beading

I have never beaded my knitting. Honestly, it sounds skin to torture. I’ve looked into both the threading version and the crochet hook version of applying the beads and both make me want to roast my own head but I love the look of it.

© Jane Heller

Given the choice I would love to make a Celestarium, a beautiful shawl with the constellations beaded into it because that appeals to both the knitter and the nerd in me. However that’s a bit much for a first time beader so I’m looking at something less intense.

2. A sweater for myself

Though I’ve knitting garments for myself before, I’m being quite specific with this goal. The only thing holding me back is the fact I cannot afford the yarn needed for a project I’ve had my eye on since I spotted it in a magazine.

© Knitscene/Harper Point

The East Neuk Hoody is everything I love in a piece of clothing. It is simple and yet filled with interesting texture that does not overwhelm. It is cosy, it has a hood, and a kangaroo-pouch pocket. The moment I saw it I knew I wanted to make it.

I’m going to make it out of the suggested yarn in the suggested colourway too (purple Cascade 220), which is not how I usually roll.

Feel free to point and laugh at me when I realise how much I hate miles and miles of stockinette.

3. Socks. All the socks.

See, the problem is not that I am unskilled at knitting socks. I’m not. I knit them all the time and I love it. HOWEVER, I absolutely suck and knitting socks to a pattern. I deviate, I give up, I decide I know better.

Ninety percent of the time I end up with ordinary stockinette socks knitted to my usual top-of-my-head recipe with very little variation.

While this is fun, there are hundreds – nay, thousands! – of awesome complex sock patterns out there just waiting for me to have an attention span. Since I’m sincerely working on that problem (I am of the ooh-shiny brain consistency), promising to knit myself and others socks out of interesting patterns will help. And I won’t deviate.

Much.

What are your knitting goals for the new year? Or do you disagree with the concept of resolutions?

The Best Of Quick Knitting: Hats Edition

There are times in any knitter’s life – like, say, immediately after giftmas – where the thought of an intricate and complicated pattern makes them want to scream. It is at that time when quick knitting takes hold.

My go-to projects when I’m bored of big things is hats. I love them. I knit hats quite often because they’re pretty, they’re pragmatic, and most importantly they’re quick. They are excellent projects when you’re in need of instant gratification. Cast on, knit a while, decrease, cast off. If you start brim-up (which, why wouldn’t you?) then you don’t even have a whole bunch of stitches to cast off. It’s fun.

So here’s a list of hats for you knitters in need of a quick fix for the post-holiday lethargy.

Barley

by Tin Can Knits

© Tin Can Knits

Shut up, I know this is the most popular hat pattern of Ravelry. That’s because it’s there for a reason. It’s quick and versatile. It would work with both plain and variegated yarn. The wedge of garter in the middle makes it less monotonous to knit than it would be if it was all stockinette.

It’s a good pattern for newbie knitters with loads of instructions available. I’ve made it and I love it.

Star Crossed Slouchy Beret

by Natalie Larson

This is hands-down my favourite hat pattern. It is in fact one of my favourite patterns of all the body parts.

Christmas 2012 was a difficult time. I had just left Canada and discovered my six-month wait would be more like a year, maybe longer (it ended up being 18 months before I could return). I was extremely upset and desperately missing my girlfriend and cats that I’d left behind in Ontario.

Thankfully I had knitting to distract me. In the course of three days – Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day – I made three of these hats. No sooner were they off the needles than someone in my family snapped one up.

Yes, this terrible quality picture is of me modeling one that ended up going to my big sister.

Little Scallops

by Maria Carlander

If you’re on the look-out for something even more quick-fixy, look no further. This little hat is for the tiny heads in the world. I knitted one for a friend who had a very cute baby a while ago. Most of the hat was knitted during a train ride from Newcastle to Nottingham; the scallop bit was finished in the Sheffield train station once I realised I would not have time to visit a nearby yarn store.

© maria carlander

The hat I made was from a cashmere/merino blend which was a sheer delight to use. The hat knit up fast and easy even if the colourwork made me feel super fancy. It was a wonderful instant gratification knit.

So guys, what’s your favourite hat pattern? There are so many out there I don’t know where to start!

Hat.

This is not the hat I knit for Martina at Kniterary, but it’s made from the same yarn in a different colourway.

It is not a hat for this weather. I tried: this morning I pulled it over my ears and about thirty seconds later sincerely wished I’d brought a real winter hat. As much as I try to kid myself it really is time for the hardcore clothes here in southern Ontario.

Still, it’s pretty.

This is a lovely yarn. The colours are awesome and the pattern it makes is pretty. Making a hat doesn’t take up a whole skein either (especially impressive since I have a large head).

As I mentioned in my last post it’s Cascade Color Duo. Colour? Color? You know what I mean.

For the Love of a Yarn

When I went to The Little Green House for the Thursday knitting group, I had just finished a commission and didn’t have anything else with me to knit – I’d been flustered after my bus home from work had been late and didn’t have time to grab something new.

Martina suggested I knit something out of a new yarn for her to show in the store. That yarn is Cascade Duo Colour, a 70% baby alpaca/30% Merino blend and oh my goodness, this yarn. It is lovely. Just lovely.

First of all the colours are beautiful. I started a hat for Martina out of the middle colour, a gorgeous burnt orange with black in it. I knitted a Barley hat from it which I’ll take pictures of once I get around to sewing in the ends – which usually takes me longer to bother with than the entire knitting process.

I also bought the red one since the rich blood red mixed with the black is striking. Knit up, it’s even better. The black and red fade between one another, speckled in places and plain in the other, and it’s subtle and lovely.

As for the texture?

Well.

I already love baby alpaca. One of my first fancy projects was some fingerless mitts in a baby alpaca blend. It’s soft with none of the itchiness of the mature alpaca and I have had many people at work wandering over to give it a pet. It’s a pleasure to knit.

The only downside to this yarn is that it splits quite a bit but if you’re careful it’s worth it.

So readers, get out and try this yarn if you’re in the mood to spoil yourself. It’s lovely and you won’t regret it.

(P.S.: believe it or not, Cascade isn’t paying me for this post. Honest.)

A Finished Shawl: My Favourite Creation

It’s been a while since I posted a finished object.

As I explained before it’s been difficult what with knitting primarily being for commission and therefore not appropriate for this blog. Thankfully I happened to be wearing my favourite knitted shawl out to the dog park today and had brought my camera along to take pictures of our gorgeous puppy. Since Van promptly leapt into the muddiest puddle he could find, I used the camera to take pictures of the shawl.

It’s made from Cascade 220 and is the Brandywine Shawl from Ravelry.

It was a pleasure to knit. The scalloping was a lot of fun once I got the hang of it (I’m a little slow sometimes – I thought I was doing it wrong because there was so much reverse stockinette. D’oh) and the smocking… oh, the smocking.

Let me be clear: I LOVE the smocking. I love everything about it. I love how it looks, I love how you do it, and most of all I love the word. Smocking. Smock. Smocking.

I get a lot of compliments when I wear it. On Thursday I bought a shawl pin for the first time ever since my coworker wondered why I was using one of my knitting needles to hold it on and thought I’d better get past that amateur stage and take shawls seriously. Apparently shawls are a thing I wear now.

This shawl is my favourite thing I’ve knitted so far. It was fun to do and it’s fun to wear, too. It’s versatile in a way I didn’t expect. Honestly, I expected to cast it off then gaze at it for a while before storing it away somewhere but nope, I’ve worn it lots. I wear it at work around my shoulders with my shawl pin and I wear it like a scarf when I’m out and about. It’s wonderful and I love it.

Did I mention I’m a bit fond of this one?

Oh, and for those who are wondering… yes, there were other dog walkers around while I was taking these photos and yes, they laughed at the crazy lady taking photos of a scarf hanging off a tree.

I don’t blame them. I would have laughed too.