Feral Knitter

Random Musings Designed to Disguise My Lack of Progress

I'm writing you from California (Berkeley, to be exact), which is my only excuse for the lengthy lack of verbiage. A relatively short trip in miles but long in mental and emotional displacement....

Plus, I forgot to pack the camera adapter.

So, in roughly sequential order, I give you the following:

--A week ago Saturday I taught a 6-hour workshop called Personalized Fair Isle at Churchmouse Yarns & Teas on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle. I saw two seals poking their heads out of the steel-grey, still water as I headed across Puget Sound, which seemed like a good omen. I had a great time working with 8 knitters, who gamely rummaged through the collection of Shetland yarns while they tried to set aside their natural desire to know ahead of time exactly what the outcome would be. I am looking forward to meeting up with them next weekend to see what their swatches look like.

--An apropos quote from the artist Julian Schnabel: "Everybody can make up their own rules--they just don't know they can....what's personal is always what's best."

--Kit and John, owners of Churchmouse, took me to dinner at Cafe Nola. I have to tell you that, in addition to the wonderful company, I had one of the best meals I've had in years. Highly recommended if you are in the area and want a tablecloth-restaurant experience. 

--On Monday I packed up the car, strapped Shadow into his seat belt (that's right, he's now got a little harness contraption so that he won't go flying at sudden stops or turns--he was markedly more relaxed on this trip, although he resisted, as any self-respecting dog would) and set off for Berkeley. The drive south through Oregon was marked by pouring rain punctuated by a few pauses. When the light had a chance (I can't in honesty say the sun shone, but now and then the day would brighten a tad), the gray of the skies was mirrored in the standing water in the fields--it felt a bit otherworldly, like Frodo in the Dead Marshes.

--When I crossed into California the weather cleared up. It was obvious that it has been a dry year, even in the northern parts of the state. In places, the dried grass stubble had caught pieces of plastic bags, which waved in the wind like ghostly Buddhist prayer flags on a high Tibetan plateau.

--Thanksgiving was a quiet celebration with John and Gingko. Along with the usual turkey and stuffing, I prepared a Tofurkey for Gingko and some vegan mashed sweet potatoes and a walnut green bean salad.

--We celebrated Buy Nothing Day the day after Thanksgiving--we are truly among the fortunate of the world and we damn well know it. I was truly appalled by the relentless advertising of stores that opened at 9 on Thanksgiving night! We did purchase some plants at the local nursery, though, having determined over the years that buying things locally that help us be creative fall outside the no buying rules (known as the Yarn Loophole). We've been happily marking out paths and garden beds in our previously unloved back yard over the last few days.

--I'm knitting away on the Near Solstice Shawl and am nearly at the place I was when I abandoned the first attempt. I'm much much happier with the merino/silk yarn for this design than the thinner, less resilient Baruffa Cashwool I had been using!

--I've been on Ravelry for about a month now (user name: Feralknitter), and I've got to say that I love it! I especially like the Friends Activity and the Favorites features. I'm not sure about the etiquette of Friending, though--there are a few people I'd like to friend because I enjoy their blogs--Franklin, for example--but I don't know them and I'm pretty sure they've never visited this blog. Is it OK to friend them anyway? Opinions welcomed. I've tried to respond to everyone who has friended me, but I'm also worried that I have missed a few here and there. Worries, worries....

--John and I saw What Would Jesus Buy? yesterday, a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (of Super Size Me fame) about Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping's comedic yet serious crusade against the commercialization of Christmas--and by extension, the commercialization of our relationships. Highly recommended if it ever comes to a theater near you.

--Also rented Black Sheep ("There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand--and they're pissed off"). A fake-gory horror/comedy about a genetic engineering experiment gone wildly awry that had us laughing out loud--a lot. Reminded me of Monty Python in some ways.

--I'm expecting company today: Rachael, Maia and Brooke. Time to get cleaned up....

Get 'er Done Month Continued

You know how you can work long and hard on a project that you have envisioned as being exceptionally wonderful, only to feel let down when you cast off? Well, Sashiko was that project. I found that, although I was generally pleased with it, I never chose to wear it. The sign that something was not right. Well, I fixed that something and I now love it!

Sashiko with a front/neck band. This was knit in seed stitch with a double strand of yarn. I have the perfect closure in my chest of drawers in California....

Selbu Christmas Stocking

Reader Becki asked me to share my construction notes for this stocking. There was nothing groundbreaking about it and I'm happy to oblige.

I cast on enough stitches to accommodate my pattern at the top edge. I knit downwards to the end of the cuff, whereupon I cast off. Without breaking the wool at the end of the cast off, I picked up and knit the stitches all the way around. The pickup was a bit unusual: I looked behind the cast off "hearts," that is, the two sides of the cast off stitch, and pulled the working yarn through the little bump that was the top of the stitch of the row below the cast off (sounds complex, but if you look at your knitting it will be clear--the goal is to force the two sides of the cast off stitch to roll forward so they look like a braid on the surface of the fabric).

I then knit down to the heel, where I placed 50% of the stitches on waste yarn to make an afterthought heel. I continued knitting for a short bit. When I reached the area that I thought the toe band should go, I knit one round of red and then did the cast off/pick up manoever again. Knit the band pattern, cast off/pick up yet again, and shaped a toe (I don't think the toe shaping style makes much difference in a Christmas stocking, which to my mind ought to be short and stumpy--although I used a standard double-decrease each side every other round shaping, I'm thinking that a Christmas stocking could benefit from the decreasing being placed top and bottom, which would make a flatter stocking). Go back and insert the heel of your choice--I did the same decrease in the heel that I did for the toe, going only far enough to make a bend in the stocking, not as far as I would for a real sock. I then added a hem to the top of the cuff (my name is knit into the hem--the year is knit into the toe band). The hem gives structural support to stocking when it hangs filled with goodies.

The final proportions of my stocking were: circumference 16.5 inches; cuff 6 inches deep; leg 6 inches deep; foot (including toe band) 5 inches; toe 4 inches. If I were to make this again, I would shorten the leg to 5 inches--it is a little too long, and it's not quite right to have it the same length as the cuff.

I'm sure there are many other ways to build a Christmas stocking--I was afflicted with a desire to just start, so much of this project came to me as "flashes of inspiration" as I was knitting. Always dangerous, but like many dangerous things, it was fun.

Upcoming Workshops

The two workshops I'll be teaching at the Madrona Fiber Arts retreat are full, but I'm very excited to announce that I'll be speaking at the Tigard (Oregon) Knitting Guild in October 2008 and offering two classes there. 

Celtic Knot Yoke Sweater

Celtic Knot Yoke Sweater

Based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's percentage system sweater as found in The Opinionated Knitter.

Yarns: mostly Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumperweight Shetland yarn, with a few Jamieson's Spindrift colors in the yoke

Patterns: from Celtic Charted Designs by Co Spinhoven (still only $4.95! One of the best resources out there.)

After all the blood and tears shed over this sweater--and without exception every problem was caused by my lack of attention--I love this garment!

Now my attention has moved to the Denim Raglan Pullover and the Near Solstice Shawl. I seem to have a strong urge to start 2009 with a clean knitting basket.... Plus, I've requested the Wild Apples Bohus kit for Christmas and I want to be ready! 

Dogged Perseverence Saves the Day

Look what's blocking:

The Celtic Knot Cardigan is--with the exception of the buttons--done! I've got to say, between the multiplication error that had me knit the body some 8 inches wider than it needed to be

and the underarm stitch miscalculation that resulted in a yoke that was 7 inches to wide

I've demonstrated many important principles of knitting:

1. You should always check your calculations.
2. You should check your gauge in the garment.
3. You should listen to that insistent little mosquito voice that is telling you something is wrong.
4. You should be confident that any and all egregious errors can be solved by inventive thinking. 
5. You should not be afraid of steeks because they can be your salvation.
6. You should take your time. On July 26th I realized that my yoke was in deep trouble; on October 17th I felt equal to the task of fixing it.
7. But you should finish the job eventually.

And with that said, it's time to clear a few more projects off the decks!