« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »
I received a package from my Aunt who has been holding onto my Grandmother’s Knitting Gear. Staights, dpns, circulars. These things were a major part of her life and I feel so close to her just holding them. Thanks to Aunty for entrusting me with her mom’s needles.
Tally ‘em up. Cute, but I’m a paper and check-mark girl.
I finished re-knitting the fern chart on the shetland tea shawl and started a new sock last Thursday. The next day, two of my fingers on my right hand were a little red and swollen. It freaked me out so I took the weekend off from knitting. I was using size 1 Addi’s, knitting a pattern from an IK magazine from last year, using regular sock yarn. Nothing unusual. I don’t think I’m allergic to, gasp, koigu. Maybe I was knitting too much. Maybe my hands couldn’t handle using 5 very very small double pointed needles. And I am knitting the shawl on size 3. ? (In the last year it seems like the needles I’ve been using have been getting smaller and smaller. They don’t come in negative numbers, do they?)
Anyway, not to be superstitious or anything, but I’m taking a little break from knitting socks. (We'll see how long that lasts!) Whah! I really want to knit these!
Far into the night, while the other creatures slept, Charlotte worked on her web.1
I started knitting Dale Long’s Shetland Tea Shawl over the weekend. Learning Emily Ocker’s circular beginning was a new challenge. It’s a clever way to start, but I had trouble knitting a round with only 9 sts. After multiple attempts and sloppy results, I decided to make things easier for myself and increase the number of stitches. (I used Spellingtuesday’s picture tutorial as a guide for this cast on.)
I already have mistakes in the Shetland Fern chart. (Such an easy chart – my knitting confidence just plummeted!) Keep on knitting? No. I think I may rip. As the picture shows, only two ferns are right, the rest are totally off. It may take me the rest of the week to re-do this web.
1Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Pattern: Birch by Sharon Miller for Rowan Knitting Magazine Number 34
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze Shade 579 Splendour
Needles: Inox Grey Circular 4.5 mm 29”
Gauge:
Modifications:
Blocking: Yarn Harlot's method
Started: 2.5.06
Completed: 3.16.06
Notes: Stocking Stitch version
Thoughts:
This shawl was one of the most pleasurable projects I’ve knit to date. I felt really sad when I was on the last four rounds. Ever get attached to a project?
Music: I knit the bulk of this shawl listening to Rachmaninov by Lang Lang. I'm a mad knitter.
watercolor 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches
Inox needles are the recommended choice for knitting lace.
I’ve been using them to knit birch. I’m almost finished -which took me a little by surprise.
Speed. I’m not sure it’s a good thing with knitting. I don’t care if I knit slow or fast, whatever. I just love to knit. But when you find a needle that allows you to knit a little bit faster and with greater ease it makes all the difference.
Circular needles with a nylon cord often require a bit of care before you start knitting.
Inox Pearl Grey circular needles out of the package coiled up.
Fill a bowl with water and microwave for a few minutes.
Submerge needles in warm water and let sit.
Ready to do some serious knitting.
pattern: embossed leaves socks design by Mona Schmidt IK Winter 2005
yarn: koigu pppm, 2 skeins & a bit of Lorna's Laces
needles: lantern moon rosewood dpns size US 2
modifications: used a different CO than the one specified in the pattern
notes: I started knitting the second sock on Thursday and by late last night I was almost finished, with just the toe left to knit. Usually I would listen to the obsessive-compulsive thoughts of perfection in my head and wait to finish this sock next week, after checking my LYS for more yarn, so the toe would be perfect. But I decided to make due with what I had at home and consider it a lesson in accepting imperfection in an object and my knitting. It also seemed wasteful to buy another skein for only 13 teeny-tiny rounds, so Lorna’s Laces from my stash completed the toe.
thoughts: The variegated yarn I used overpowers the pattern. Solid colors serve as a better canvas for knitting lace designs.
My grandmother knit, but she also crocheted, cross-stitched and made quilts.
I don't have memories of actually seeing her do these activities. I recall seeing works in progress poking out of the top of a bag by her chair, but mostly finished quilts and afghans would magically appear on special occasions. Everything she made was a gift. To her children and grandchildren or to the ladies at her church who collected quilts for charity. I recently discovered in a book of her papers that the quilts were for Lutheran World Relief, an organization that works to combat poverty, advocate fair trade and provide disaster response. Making a quilt is one way this organization gets people involved.
Quilting in my future? Maybe. It's fun to think about...
watercolor 5 x 8 1/2 inches
I still have one sock left to knit of the embossed leaves. Leah asked if they fit or are saggy. The first sock knit up having texture and dimension, but when on it fits quite nicely. It doesn’t seem to slouch down. (Maybe it would with wear?) Must finish second sock!
This pattern is funny. I was speed knitting leaves and then after I turned the heel it took me forever to finish the foot and toe. Which reminds me – I’m going to start keeping a list of projects I want to knit in the future because….I’m knitting socks and a shawl in the same motif. Ever interpret your knitting like you would a dream?
Koigu yarn and rosewood dpns (US2) …I’m sure I’ll get back to this pattern soon.
I made some good progress on birch while flying. I switched to Inox before I left which made the k2tog tbl’s a lot easier - and the join is amazing. This pattern is pretty simple, but after a few of the decrease rows, I’d count the stitches to make sure I was on track. On the two-hundredth or so stitch I realized that I was hunched over and a few inches away from my knitting. Like getting that close to the stitches would make the count accurate! I’m knitting the stocking stitch version of this shawl and love purling back on the even rows. One ball finished, two to go.