Knitting – Page 2 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Vagaries in the Real World

In my perfect world, I would paint every day. In my real world, I have limited time just because I have so many interests. Little things can become big things, not necessarily bad, but in the sense of taking more time than planned. Also, life can produce some interesting lessons.

For example, I have recently found that 3M 101+ tape is the best tape for watercolor paper borders. Lightweight, seemingly impervious to unsticking with a lot of water from a wash, easily removable without tearing paper even when not using a blow dryer to warm it as you pull it off . . .

We bought a motion-activated infrared trail cam to determine what critter was destroying our plants in the side garden. Mouses! Traps caught one with cheese – ours seem to dislike peanut butter. I think they have learned their lesson. The leaves are returning to the plants they ate. They also figured out not to go into the traps otherwise chompy chompy. Fortunately, I don’t deal with the traps or dead things.

The 818S is going along nicely. Brakes are the first big addition to it. Josh has been riveting and blogging away at 805-818.com if you want to see.

I am sewing masks again, this time on my Singer 403A. Threads need cutting, something that a computerized machine automates along with back stitching. Technologies have changed since the 1950s for sure!

The ham will be used to iron out the masks I am currently sewing up. Thanks to AVWalters for that suggestion! I don’t tend to iron them, but why not as it is waiting to be used, looking very ham-like and hamsome.

I have also decided on the pattern to use and material for my 1920s dress. Now, after the masks are done, I will dig out the pattern and determine if I have enough material in my stash for it. If not, what?

Also, decided to do more medium format photography with my Big Beast cameras – the ones that have modular parts or interchangeable lenses. They weigh in at 500 lbs. easily, so a neck strap and a tripod or monopod make photography life easier.

With the sewing project and photography project, as well as oodles of appointments – 3 this week, 2 next – painting and drawing of course have gone to the wayside. I don’t see this as a bad thing, but something to return to refreshed by not being there. I see it as a vacation. Go away. Come back. Refreshed by the differences. Eager to begin again.

Oh, and I have a sweater to dye with indigo, another one to start work on, some spinning to do, and some shibori to plan when I do the indigo dye day.

And a bike to ride.

Ciao for niao!

Wooleryness

My box of knitting – a sweater in the round, to be steeked into a cardigan. The whole process of steeking entails sewing down a bead on either side of where you CUT THE SWEATER. From there, well, let’s wait until then! Too scary to contemplate for a first-time activity.

Oh, how Covid-19 makes you bored and brave (or foolish) at the same time!

Fish Hat: Dead or Alive (Revisited)

Years ago I made a fish hat for my husband. It’s in the shape of a real fish, complete with eyes, fins, and a tail. That was some 10 years ago, and over time, I have probably made another half dozen. The fish hat is clever and a fun way to use up your stash of left over yarn. The pattern was published in the online knitting magazine, Knitty, and you can find it here: Fish Hat: Dead or Alive? Because the dead fish hat was so popular, the designer even opened up a special website for more information about her ingenious pattern. The beauty of this last link is that you can find the fish hat in crochet, for charity, using a knitting machine, in different languages. If you don’t want to knit, find the crochet version at that site.

I even created knitted, rather than felt cloth, eyes for the dead fish. The pattern is below:

Fish Hat [Dead or Alive?] Eyes

Cast on 4 stitches. Knit front and back of each stitch – 8 stitches. Transfer to double point needles, place marker at round beginning.

Rnd 1: Knit

Rnd 2: Knit front and back each stitch – 16 stitches.

Rnd 3: Knit

Rnd 4: *Knit front and back, knit 1,* repeat to end – 24 stitches

Rnd 5: Knit

Rnd 6: *Knit front and back, knit 2,* repeat to end – 32 stitches

Rnd 7: Knit

Rnd 8: *Knit front and back, knit 3,* repeat to end – 40 stitches

Rnd 9 and 10: Knit

Bind off.

Here is the first fish hat I made. I made it around 2008 for my husband. It has the knitted eyes, which look pretty good, I think.

The most recent fish hat is all stripes and has crocheted eyes. The eyes were all done with single crochet. For these eyes, follow the same ideas as the knitted eyes, but crochet. It works.

I like the knitted eyes better.

With limited amounts of yarn for the most recent fish hat, I had to be pretty careful about what I used. For instance, the tail is in two colors, not one. The pectoral fins are smaller, too, because I was running out of black yarn.

I spent the last week knitting up this most recent fish hat – good way to listen to an audio book or watch some TV and do something productive and satisfying while riding out a head cold.

If you need something to do with your stash and have worsted-weight yarn, make a fish hat! I’ve made a Nemo (clown fish) and others, and everyone has liked them. The yarn is worsted weight, and my preferred yarn is acrylic, specifically Vanna’s Choice, which I find to be a very nice yarn altogether. The original fish hat is about 10 years old, and has been washed multiple times.

This one is for my SIL who, at Christmas, said, “I’d like a fish hat, too!” So, here it is, ready for her birthday next month.

Below, a rogue’s gallery of the fish hat in action!

Clean Out Stash, (Re)Start a Sweater

This weekend was a very busy one as we cleaned out things, such as old computers (taken to an e-waste recycling place), sold a bunch of books, and finally hit the stash of yarn and spinning fleece in the garage. From 45 boxes, I am down to 22 with yarn and fleece. Some things were thrown out – such as a bag with a big, black spider, most likely a black widow. Other things were boxed up so my MIL could come and take what she wanted. The rest is going to be delivered to a local senior center where they use donated yarn for charity work, or they can just take yarn home for fun – not everyone has a big income, and yarn can be a luxury.

Oddly enough, going through everything didn’t take that long. I think I spent about 6 hours at the most. It was easy to choose, too. Nearly anything that was unfinished was cut off the ball of yarn, discarded, and the yarn ball put into the “to be donated” bin(s). Tacky or sticky or scratchy fleece was discarded as not worthwhile. All balls of handspun yarn were saved, regardless as to length, unless they didn’t feel good to touch.

And in the middle of this, I have a sweater that has been sitting in the knitting pile for some time. It is a cardigan, but I decided to try steeking with it. Well, that fell by the wayside. I ripped out the entire sweater, re-balled the yarn, and started over. Much happier, even though purling is not my favorite knitting stitch.

I restarted the sweater, an Icelandic pattern, and have done a few inches. I think this will be my night knitting, when we are watching TV. The lower edge, as with most Icelandic sweaters, is a patterned border, but the main body a plain color. Instead of using Icelandic wool roving, which pills and is too itchy for me, I am using an acrylic yarn with a bit of halo. Yeah, not the most sophisticated of yarn choices in a “natural” world, but for me, right now, it is perfect. I need a cardigan – and one with as little sewing as possible! I hate sewing things together, and never finish anything that requires too much of it.

It feels good to have a knitting project on hand again.

Blues

I’ve pulled out a few old lenses. This is a Vivitar 30-80mm from the 70s. I took this checking out the focus, to remember how to use it, as well as check for lens creep. Knowing all these helps when out shooting. This lens has lens creep, but it is a really sweet lens to use, with film or digital. Pure happenstance occurred when I took this – I was focusing on the ridges in this shawl, and didn’t see the notebook next to the folds. Only when I saw the picture did I realize the coincidence.