Knitter Ditter

Fisher Gloves

Cheryl — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:36:01 +0000

These gloves were made for my BFF LYS, Unwind Yarn. Does that work? Anyway, Stephanie asked me to figure out this pattern and it has been displayed at her shop. It was even a featured project!

I forgot to take photos so I grabbed the one from her site. The gloves were done on size 3 DPNs in the round. The yarn is from two different suppliers who happen to use the same wool, Knitted Wit and Sincere Sheep. They are Rambouillet Wool. Yeah, spell that! I had to look it up. I learned a new technique while knitting these gloves. Joggless Stripes. Yup, no jogging here... Look for the pattern soon in my shop. (Gotta take more pictures. Don't hit me!)

Knitting @ 36,0000 Feet

Cheryl — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 02:32:58 +0000

I'm flying over New Mexico on my way home from San Antonio. The plane was three hours late but I didn't mind. It gave me a chance to catch up on Rex's sweater. I finished the back just now an I'm casting on for the front. I'm going to need some more yarn though. The double stockinette brioche pattern eats yarn like crazy! My hands seem to have gotten used to it. At first they were hurting, so I learned to hold the needles a little less tight.

This weekend was DH's company Christmas party. A good time was had by all at Howl At The Moon. Especially one guy. He danced all night and was still dancing when we left at midnight! I wish I had that much energy!

I wasn't able to knit on the sweater much this weekend so I was happy to sit at the gate plugged in to my knitting podcasts and knitting.

I can't wait to get it done, not only because I'd like to give it to him for Christmas , but I have a design for fingerless mitts in my head that needs to get out. I'm thinking of knitting a mitt a month for 2013. Maybe I could publish an ebook. I think that would be fun!

I'm trying to write the pattern for the sweater as I go too, so look forward to that In the new year.

I forgot to say, how cool is this that I can post on my blog from 36,000 feet! Southwest WiFi is awesome!

Sudden Inspiration

Cheryl — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:44:07 +0000

For a long time now, a couple of years, in fact, I have been looking for the solution to this stitch. My husband had a sweater that he loved. Eventually a hole formed right in front and rendered it unwearable. I thought I could repair it, but I couldn't figure out how the stitches were formed. So I decided to remake the sweater and of course I had to use the same stitch, even similar yarn. (I’m literal that way.) I bought Rowan Purelife Revive in a lovely grey color. One thing that my DH liked about his sweater is that it is comfy and not too hot. The original fiber is a cotton and ramie blend. Revive is a silk, cotton and viscose blend, so I thought it would work pretty well. I asked around, but no one knew what this stitch was. It is obviously knit, but since it was a store bought sweater we thought that perhaps it was a trick of the knitting machine. I tried several things, but nothing was working. I decided to use a different stitch. I worked many swatches, even finally settling on a double seed stitch. I think the needles are too small though because the fabric is rather stiff. I wasn’t happy with it, so it has been hibernating in the stash for a couple of years.

Close, but...

I had discovered in all of my swatching that the Revive yarn has a peculiar odor. My husband is pretty sensitive to odors. He gets upset if I leave his jeans in the washer overnight because they have a peculiar smell. (Maybe that’s what’s in the Revive!) So I decided that I needed to use a different yarn for his sweater. As a result, I have a sweater’s worth of Revive on hand. Then a week ago I started listening to Jane Eyre on the Craftlit podcast.There is a “Jane’s Ubiquitous Shawl” KAL on Ravelry and I thought I would like to make one for myself. Immediately, the Purelife Revive yarn came to mind. Jane’s Shawl takes 1200 – 1300 yards. It is the yarn I have the most quantity of, so I thought this would be a good way to use it up. I was busy working on my shawl the other night and mentioned to DH that this yarn has a peculiar smell. He said, “I don’t smell anything.” I insisted and even mentioned that my instructor at Vogue Knitting Live who designs for Rowan mentioned that it stinks and you can’t get rid of the smell. My husband said he liked the yarn. What!!!

Jane's Unfinished Shawl

Back to the drawing board. I abandoned the shawl for now. :{ I immediately went hunting for the original stitch pattern again. I went to Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. I had gone there before but didn’t really see what I was looking for. Then I stumbled on the Double Brioche Stitch. I happily swatched away and sure enough this one looked a lot like the original. The main difference is that the reverse is stockinette. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to make it stockinette. It always came out reverse stockinette. I looked up at the top of page 157 and there in black and white is Brioche Stockinette. Back to swatching. But the “front” now didn’t look right. Then this morning I got an idea. I looked online for Double Brioche Stockinette and came across this video. Eureka! Just what I have been looking for!

She is working in two colors. I tried swatching with my one, but I kept getting confused. I decided to follow along with two colors and I think I’ve got the hang of it. In addition I may have a Christmas gift for someone else….

front

reverse

Intarsia

Cheryl — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 01:09:37 +0000

I just found these great videos for intarsia knitting. They are very helpful if you have never knit intarsia. Ruth Herring explains the method perfectly, and I love her soothing British accent! I was making this as an experiment.

: Holiday Coffee Sleeve

It's not perfect yet, but a good start. I'll make it a bit smaller with this yarn. I don't like how the side came out. I learned to do intarsia in the round with this video, but I must have done something wrong when I knit the wraps back in. It looks messy.

Hmm...

I just realized that I could knit it flat....

Classy Hats

Cheryl — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 23:22:18 +0000

Hats, hats, hats! I have never knit so many hats as I have these last few weeks! One was Abalone Cove which I talked about in the last post, and two were for a class I'm taking.

"Where are my minions?"

Silly me, I signed up for a beginner class. Part of my reasoning was that I would have an excuse to be at my LYS. A break on a Saturday if you will. I am also interested in how others teach knitting. So far I have not seen anyone articulate any better than I have on how to do something. I don't mean that I make any more sense, it's just about the same. Knitting is knitting. I think it may be more about showing someone how to do it than verbalizing. ...insert right needle into next stitch, pull yarn around right needle, pull right needle back through with new yarn... oops, dropped a stitch! Anyway, hats are a little boring, but a quick knit. Who knows, some of these may end up as gifts...

These two patterns are by Heather Walpole of Ewe Ewe Yarns. We are using her patterns for the class. Most are pretty simple. There are a couple of fair isle patterns that I'd love to work on and an entrelac cowl.

The first hat is Surfer Slouch in Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted. The second is Casual Cable Slouch Hat. This time I chose Classic Elite's Liberty Wool. I love the colors in this skein. It only used 57 grams, so I have most of the second skein left. Maybe some mitts to go with it?

I prefer a tighter gauge than what was called for in the pattern, but it makes a nice light hat for warmer climates.

Abalone Cove

Cheryl — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 03:01:17 +0000

This is a new hat I just completed. It is called Abalone Cove by Stephannie Talllent.

Abalone Cove Hat

It has a really pretty ribbing pattern and lots of back to back cables. I made it with 1 1/2 skeins of Manos Maxima. I love how the colorway came out with the wavy cable pattern. It looks like the ocean. Now, if it wasn't 102 here... This will make a lovely ski hat. It is so warm and soft.

Modeled by Josie

Happy New Year!

Cheryl — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:58:44 +0000

It’s 2012! Another New Year, another new beginning. This year I am going to work at eating better, exercising, playing a little guitar every day and of course READING my Bible every day. Last year I listened to an audio Bible and while that was fun and I got a lot of knitting done, I noticed that I didn’t always absorb what the Word was telling me. There were lots of times that my mind was wandering and I would think, “What was that all about?” So I’m back to reading my study Bible and all the notes. It takes longer, but I get much more out of it. I love the Genesis stories. In the beginning... It seems fitting, doesn’t it? For Christmas, my husband got me a Bible from the 1880s. It is amazing. It weighs probably 20 pounds and has great illustrations. It’s so cool to think that someone was reading this Bible when my great great grandparents were alive! I really want to read the extra articles that are in it. One is world events up until 1884. The pages are so delicate. I really need to find out how to preserve this old paper. I know that the oils from our hands are not good for it. In one of the front pages there is a death notice of a girl of 15. She was the daughter of a Mr. and Mrs. Stroud. It doesn’t say what city, though they lived on Franklin Street. The funeral was to take place in their home the same day the article was published. It doesn’t have a date either. The Bible was shipped from Shreveport, Louisiana. I wonder if that is where it originated. Was the person who sold this a part of the Stroud family? It is so interesting to think about. I wonder what other gems may be hidden in its pages? I haven't done any knitting other than the Hounds-tooth Scarf since November. I had to order more yarn for it since my calculations were off by quite a bit. I'm more than half way now, so I hope I can jam through and be finished by next week. It gets a little tedious knitting the same pattern over and over again. I can't wait to start something new!

Hounds-tooth Snail

...crawling slowly along...

Knit One, Purl Two

Cheryl — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:30:37 +0000

Need I say more?

Quiet Japan

Cheryl — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:57:34 +0000

I started to write a post as we were leaving for the airport, but since we got here there has been no wifi (waifai). I can't even get on in the Starbucks. The web page is in Japanese and alas, me no speakee... The room has intaa netto with a cable for ¥1260 a day. That works out to about $16.00!

UPDATE: How the heck did that happen?!? My post was posted! I had set it to post later and it did. I guess it used my cell data to publish. How do ya like that?

My search for yarn has all but evaporated. Nothing comes up on the Knitmap for Mihama-Ku or Chiba which is where we are staying. I went for a walk today in the surrounding neighborhood and I stumbled upon a small store called Cuore but they were closed.

The first thing that caputured my attention was a scarf in the window:

Then I noticed the fabric and the yarn! But they were closed.

I will try again tomorrow. I'd be really happy if I found some Noro. For a good price. Most everything is quite expensive here and it's so weird because things are expressed in 100s or 1,000 Yen. It really sounds funny. Lunch for 4 at McDonald's was ¥3,400. And when we got cash from the ATM two bills came out for ¥10,000 each! It felt like we pulled out $40.00. In reality it was about $250.00. There don't seem to be yarn stores like we have in the states. They are more like general craft stores with yarn. Knit Map lists the closest ones in Tokyo which is about an hour away by train. I'm a little leery of going alone for the first time. I'm hoping that we can get Friday to do that or Saturday before we leave. Or I can just get the Noro at my LYS. Not as much fun though. This area of Chiba is really quiet. I was struck by how few people are around. At night my view out of the hotel window shows only one or two cars at a time on the road. In Amsterdam there are lots of people walking around or in cafes all throughout the day and night. I guess they are mostly at work here. This is a business/residential district. I haven't even seen any Tai-Chi groups. I was hoping to run while here, but I haven't seen anyone running, even in the park next to the hotel. I'm not entirely comfortable running around in my workout clothes with no one else doing it. I found some routes on runkeeper.com that I might try tomorrow if I get brave enough. Well see... We've had some really good sushi and sashimi. Supa fresh! The guys that have been taking us out feed us way too much! I'm getting hungry now waiting for the trade show to be over.

Turning Japanese

Cheryl — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:50:15 +0000

We're our way to Japan this morning for a trade show at Makuhari Mese. It's a broadcasting show called Interbee. We've never been to Japan before, so we're looking forward to the adventure. My search for yarn stores near where we are staying in Mihama-Ku has proved fruitless so far. Knitmap shows some craft stores in Tokyo. Yey Knitmap! I didn't think to try it for Chiba, so I'll wait till I have wifi access.