Knitting – Page 20 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Old Vines Scarf

Last week I completed a scarf I had been knitting for awhile, using up some of the stash I “discovered” (read “rediscovered”!) out in the garage: 3 balls of a handpainted Paton’s yarn I bought some time ago.

Once finished, I did something I have never done in my life – I blocked a knitted item! To do this, yet another item was excavated – the cutting board from my sewing days. T-pins were boughten from the nearby JoAnn’s. Then, into the washing machine on the washable woolens cycle, soaked and rinsed, spun out, and given a final soak in hair rinse before the final spin-out. Then, out to the patio, to the picnic table, and the process began. The old cutting board was spread out, the scarf was flattened and blocked out. It sat there from about 8 a.m. to the end of the day.

The scarf wanted to curl up on itself, so the first step was to move along its very long length (just over 6 feet), and begin patting it flat.

Next decision on how wide it was going to be. I decided on 8 inches wide, and pinned it out so that the curves created by the pattern were enhanced. I pinned each crest on the edge out to 3 inches apart. Making the scarf 8 inches wide opened up the eyelets – on the needles, the scarf was about 6 inches.

The scarf was too long for the cutting board, so I folded it over on itself. Dried, there was a bit of a crease, but easily enough steamed out.

On the backside of the scarf, you can see the pattern of the eyelets. These next pictures give a better idea about the color of the yarn, as well as the overall pattern.

The picture below is a pretty good approximation of the real color of the yarn – soft and misty.

Normally, I don’t really like variegated yarns with lace or textural patterns. Everything gets lost in the color, so why waste the energy on a fancy design as well? This, though, worked out. The colors are soft and subtle, and make me thing of vineyards in the fall and the fog rolls in. Soft colors, subtle shadings.

Next on the agenda: write up the pattern, take “professional” pictures (ha!) with my husband modeling, and create the pdf file. This, and my Clouds beret are nearly ready for publication and offering on Ravelry! Tomorrow, my in-laws are coming for brunch, and my MIL, Judy, will be bringing her Clouds for show and tell.

And in the meantime – ARF! I’m actually knitting Continental, using what I learned from Heather’s Norwegian Purl video. Sweet! The only thing I do differently is how I knit – I knit through the front of the stitch, but do that oh-so-easy Norwegian Purl. (What a pearl of a video!) Pictures at a later date!

Old Dog

I am a hopelessly English-style knitter. I’ve been doing it forever. I keep my hands very close to the needles when I knit, moving my hands forward along the needles and use motion to wrap the yarn around the needle before popping the new stitch off. Unlike many English-style knitters, I don’t “throw” my yarn by making a big, sweeping circle around the needle. My purling is not so graceful.

I’ve tried learning Continental, but have never found a method I liked. So many people have their index finger sticking straight out, like a flag pole. It looks tiring. Trying it, I got exhausted and frustrated. The same with flipping the yarn to the front of the needle.

And then, in the middle of the night, looking at YouTube, I came across a really cool video called “Norwegian Purling” – and a light bulb went off! Heather (hsailormoon on YouTube and Ravelry) has produced a very clear clip. She knits very nicely! Her scarf in the demo has very even tension (the link to the scarf is here: http://www.cometosilver.com/patterns/palindrome.htm).

Watch Heather knit!

This was pretty informative and impressive – and even better, easy.

Cat Bordhi also has a type of purl she does for tightening up purl stitches when knitting Continental, and like Heather, she keeps the working yarn for the purl on the back side of the needle. Here is her video:

If you look closely, you will see (and hear) Heather wraps her yarn differently than Cat. Heather wraps her needle over the top of the working yarn, and Cat goes from underneath.

These next two videos are very short, but once you understand how the Norwegian purl works, you can observe what is being done by elsteffo.

Knitting:

Purling:

As I said above, knitting Continental with the left index finger sticking out is uncomfortable and tiring for me. Here is a video which shows the hands close to the needles, knitting and purling with the yarn on the back of the needles:

Ribbing:

Efficient, easy movements!

Now, something else to learn: watch the Knit Witch:

Arf!

And Sarah:

Arf! Arf!! Arf!!!

Life in the Stash Lane

The other day while I was walking through the garage – which is something I seldom do, and generally avoid – I noticed a number of my plastic storage bins, which I had not seen for quite some time. It’s not that they have been hidden or anything….I just don’t see them. They are there, but not accounted for, therefore, invisible.

Until the other day.

Now, as Josh chops up bacon and fries it for carbonara, as the pasta boils, as the eggs are prepped, as the parsley is chopped, I have sneaked out to the garage, curious as to what is in there.

Fortunately, no spiders.

There are lots of UFOs – mostly socks – a scarf, balls of yarn without any labels, some beautiful stuff, but only one skein, and then enough for a hat or some other small item. Some handspun. Lots of needles, too – any wonder why I have to keep buying more??? And I only looked at two boxes. I think there may be at least 5 or 6 more.

It’s been crossing my mind that I should go on a yarn diet, and use what I have (with buying only what I really need). That would take the rest of my life!

So, I pulled out a few things – no matter that I have a hat to finish, a scarf, lots of other socks, some of this and some of that….but I have gotten some things done! See this?

Alicia in the Clouds

The second beret – now known as “Clouds” – and some photos, too, of it. The PDF is done – it just needs another picture or two, and proofing by the test knitters, and then – corrections? And publication! I can hardly wait!

Isn’t it good?

There is just something about color knitting – stranded knitting – that gets me more than anything else. Of late, I’ve been enjoying the making of hats and mitts and gloves, in cables and in lace, but ahhh! Color! Truly addicting. This WIP is from Terri Shea’s book Selbuvotter, and this is NHM #7.

NHM 7 - d

NHM 7 - c

I’ve only been working on these for a few days, but I think I should be done in about a week, between work and classes and life….

NHM 7 - b

Designing a Pattern: Berets

I’ve been making hats and socks for what seems forever – certainly since high school and college. Both are rather formulaic. Socks are easy enough – if you know how to make socks, you no doubt have your formula, and adapt based on weight of yarn, design elements, and for whom it is being made. Hats are the same – toques, watch caps, berets – all have basic principles, and you move on from there. However, there is a big difference in trying to write down a pattern for someone else to use!

Basic Beret Formula

This is my basic formula for a beret-style hat, and from it have sprung many.

Measure head of intended recipient (if possible). If not possible, I use 18-20 inches for an adult woman, average size (meaning me!).
Figure out the general gauge of yarn in stockinette.
Multiply stitches per inch of yarn, and multiply that number. Example: 6 stitches per inch for a 19 inch head results in 114 stitches.
Determine the ribbing or bottom edging of the hat. If ribbing, I usually will decrease my total cast on so that the hat will be snug, and the stretch of the ribbing will allow for comfort at the same time. If the bottom border of the hat is not in ribbing, I still decrease a bit, but not as much perhaps. A decrease of 1 to 2 inches is normal.
What is the pattern going to consist of after the ribbing or lower edge is completed? If the design has definite elements of obvious knit and purl, I try to work the ribbing into the first row of the pattern, to allow for a smooth transition between the two.
Berets require some expansion from ribbing to the pattern, and this also means increasing stitches. I usually like to increase the number of stitches anywhere from a third more, to doubling, depending on how the pattern knits up. This can be done by increasing stitches in the ribbing or band, as well as moving from smaller to larger needles.
Finally, I knit the hat. As I knit, the hat sort of creates itself, even if I have an idea in mind. Sometimes a hat starts out as slouchy and loose, but the pattern may change that. Or vice versa. Sometimes I consider if I want to block out the hat pattern – easier to see once knitting begins – or not. And take it from there.
Ending the hat is perhaps the most complicated part of the pattern. Where there are decreases, such as SSK or K2TOG, it can be advantageous to the design to K1B. How to incorporate YO can also be a design challenge!

Beret in Design

So, there we have it – a brief outline on designing a beret as I do it. Pretty soon I hope to have a pattern available . . . and let’s see how well it takes off! I have written out the pattern in a rough manner, and have a test knitter in the person of my wonderful mother-in-law, Judy, and hopefully in my friend Donna will be available for the final draft.

Next task: creating a nice publication for the pattern!