Poor Craftsmanship

Aren't manufacturers in the USA supposed to create products that strive toward a higher standard? Supposedly these were "hand made". Magically, the manufacturer warranty ran out just before calamity struck. Now I'm stuck with an expensive repair bill. Who's for signing a recall petition?

Now For the F Word

F is for Felting. Felting is Fun.


Following SissyPrincess' recommendation that these felted oven mitts are far superior to any other oven hot-handling device, I decided to make some for my Dad. He's kind of a klutz - a lovable one, yes - but there tends to be more accidents when he's around, and not just in the kitchen (boat sinking - twice). He's been banned (his choice) from washing my expensive wine glasses, although he was quite generous in replacing them as needed. Good thing wine glasses tend to come in groups. So, this might prevent any potential burning incidents for him. Safety first.

Anyway, these are Univeristy of Florida (UF and not FU) GATOR colors, not the suck-ass Denver Broncos colors, thank you very much so please quit asking.

I also plan to make a mitt and trivet for our kitchen, but we can't decide on a color scheme (have you seen my kitchen?! There's no #$**! color scheme). Both the trivet and the oven mitt are from the Felted Knits book by Ms. Galeskas. I used my favorite felting fiber, Cascade 220 Wool, which I prefer over the fuzzy wool/mohair standby, Lamb's Pride Worsted.

To the right are the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs, also by Ms. Galeskas (talented, that one). I think I've made these clogs almost 10 times, enough so that I've nearly memorized the pattern. I certainly got my money's worth on that...

So these are a Christmas present for someone who has actually worn out their original slippers. This particular person LOVES them, and I have to say that I love mine too. Great pattern. I used Cascade 220 Wool, doubling the yarn. The recipient should get another 5 years from these I hope. It's nice to change the colors, don't you think, Ms. Recipient? (I know you're watching)

Roberto's clogs are also in the queue for Christmas. He wants black with Charlie Brown yellow zig-zag on the top. He never wants anything simple, sigh. I'm also working on some green lacy socks (shocking), another pair of quick thick worsted socks (double shocking), and hopefully finish up an afgan. yep.

Left Foot, Right Foot, repeat

There's a pattern I've been working on lately. Some may call it obsessive, some may call it crazy, some wonder when they're gonna get some, but it's definitely sock lovin' season. Now that I've convinced others that they want a pair, I figure that these lucky folks will now turn their otherwise raised-eyebrow opinions of my latest fanatical objects of affection into something like: 'oh, for me? really? you shouldn't, it's so much work, well I do like green, yadda yadda'. Guess what? It's working! They're fooled, never realizing that it's just another reason to knit another pair. And so it goes.

First victim up is to the right (not politically, thankfully). Patsy from Florida. Poor Patsy didn't know that I just needed an excuse to some really awesome yarn, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, a soft, strong 4-ply merino. REALLY GREAT YARN. She chose this beautiful pattern, Spring Forward.

Naturally, I needed to reward myself for this outpouring of generosity. What better way than a quick fix as illustrated to the left. This yarn is yummily soft and stretchy. It's Universal's Classic Worsted Tapestry in China Blue. I'm extremely partial to blue/yellow combos and it cost $6 for a ball of yarn that would make two whole socks. Say no more.

So who's next?

And so it goes...

The other S word

I'm taking another spinning class - this time solo. The other purl girls are just too lame busy to join me.

The first week she had us spin a bit of fiber, just how we usually spin, and measure the wraps per inch (WPI). Mine was ridiculously fine, but that's how I've been spinning for months. Close to 8oz of 3-ply that's between fingering and laceweight. I know, I know.. only one spinning project? I kept at it just to have the fiber be consistent as I got to know my wheel and improved my drafting skills. Anyway, back to class.

Maggie had us each adjust our wheel to make yarn that was different than we're used too - get us out of our comfort zone. For me that was bulky. I struggled with it during class, but things went better when it was time for the homework.

It was hard at first to be consistent, but it got easier as I kept going. I certainly got some bulky yarn! The white came out at 4 wpi, the pink varied between 7-10, and the bottom was mostly at 10. I'm amazed at the wonderful squishiness of these bulkier yarns. Maybe I do like more than skinny yarn.




For the second class we played with amount of twist in the yarn. She showed us a couple ways to measure twist. Her favorite is to let freshly spun yarn twist back on itself and measure the number of bumps per inch. There's also a card with lines at various angles. You can measure twist by holding the single up to the card and trying to match the angle of the fibers to one of the lines on the card. Fine with worsted, but not gonna work with laceweight.

Then we measured the drive ratios on our wheels. If you know the drive ratio (i.e. 10 to 1) and you feed a specific length of fiber for each treadle, you know how many twists per inch you have.

I'll stick with Maggie's bumps per inch.

In class she pulled out a lovely orangy-red fiber for us to spin. Not all that soft but a nice rich color and easy to spin. I was quite focused during class and got quite a bit of it spun - she had to give me extra, then gave us some to take home. It goes so quickly so spin fatter yarns, that I could get addicted to this flavor of instant gratification. It's always so hard to photograph reds, but this is appropriately called Vine Maple.


Next we learned a new kind of drafting. Well, new to me. Double-draft or English long-draw. It's hard to explain and impossible to control but it makes the squishiest yarn ever. Some people hated it, I thought it was kinda fun. I'll probably never use it because it creates a very uneven yarn. It doesn't look pretty, but I'm showing you anyway. The point though, was to get better at regular long-draw, which everyone did. Try double-draft for 10 minutes and long-draw becomes a breeze.






For homework, we're supposed to spin yarn at 3, 6, and 10 bumps per inch, then spin enough yarn of any weight for Thursday's plying class. We have to bring 3 bobbins with yarn, with most of it on one for practice with navajo plying, plus one empty bobbin. I own 4 bobbins, and the store is out of stock. That means I had to get everything off my bobbins. Easy enough. Then I should have started my homework, but nooo.

Then I spun and plied my Louet Northern Lights roving into this:

My worsted spinning is still less consistent than my woolen, but at this rate I should improve quickly!

Maybe I should have focused on the homework yarn. Maybe I should have packed for my trip to Argentina. But I don't care. I make pretty yarn!

At Least My Cell Will Be Padded With Yarn

I just couldn't allow myself to label this post, yes another post, with the word s-o-c-k. SP & I are hopelessly addicted and it's too late to blame her or anyone else after making 4 pairs in the past 6 months. However, in our defense (not that SP needs an excuse, but I do), I'm starting to think that those things I just spelled out are the perfect summer/warm season project due to their portability and size. They're not super warm and some yarn is not even wool, so you don't mind knitting when it's hot. So, on with it already.

Here's my latest finished project - Embossed Leaves (at left). Oddly (or not) Pam & Kathryn also knitted the same pattern (and with the same yarn) as shown in the previous post. Kathryn's feet warmers are on the right - I'm sure she's further along now as this photo is a few weeks old. I really loved the intuitiveness of the lace pattern. It went quick and the yarn (Pagewood Farm Chugiak Hand Dyed Sock Yarn) is soft and shiny. I picked the Camo color. It's not really camo-colored (that would be ugly).

My latest s-o-c-k project is for my Dad's girlfriend, Patsy. She's nice and she bought the yarn and picked out a really great pattern (Spring Forward), so what the hell... everyone should have at least one pair of great foot sheaths. This is my first time using Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Lightweight. I LOVE this yarn more than the Pagewood. Guess I'll just have to buy some more.

I know that some of you (including myself) are wondering when this fettish is going to end. Well... see this photo of yarn? Well. Each skein/ball/project is for one pair of s-o-c-k-s. That's nine (9) pairs. NINE. And I'm willing to bet that Pam is already trying to scheme how to get me to buy some more. To make her feel better about her own habit.

Summer of Socks

It's been the summer of socks. There's the lovely Pagewood Farm Yukon yarn. I'm dreaming of what socks this will become.









I just finished this pair of Embossed Leaves socks in another Pagewood Farms yarn - Chugiak. I can't say enough good things about this pattern and this yarn, they were both a joy to work with. I got to learn a new cast-on for this one, along with the star toe. It was just plain fun.

















Then we have the Coriolis socks. The first one (left) turned out fine with the swirling band just grazing over the corner of the heel, but somehow on the second one the swirl slammed right into that corner. Sigh. Couldn't have been knitter error. No way. Not a chance. It couldn't be the yarn, that's the lovely Sea Wool from Fleece Artist. It's amazing. Maybe it's the pattern. Yeah, that's it. never mind that no one on Ravelry mentions the issue I'm having. Fine, maybe it is knitter error.


The Jaywalkers are a fun distraction from the evil Coriolis. The Zitron Trekking yarn is decent. I'm enjoying the colors, but the yarn itself doesn't compare to the Fleece Artist or the Pagewood. I'm becoming spoiled by all that hand-dyed goodness.

Now summer is almost over. It's cloudy again here, so I went to the yarn store at lunch to cheer myself up. That's a bad idea. I bought yarn for 3 more pairs of socks. Maybe the summer of socks can last until fall?

Gratuitus Cat Picture:



At least someone around here shaved this week.

Lace Love

It's been over a year in the making, but it's finally done.

Pattern: Oriel Lace Blouse by Shirley Paden.
Interweave Knits Summer 2007

Yarn: Elann Lara in Antique Blue

Things I love:

• The process. Knitting lace is so fascinating that other knitting just seems ordinary now.
• The cotton yarn was much cheaper than the silk the pattern called for.
• I don't have to worry about it snagging on any little thing - in spite of the lacey knit, this is a sturdy garment.
• It's gorgeous!

Annoying stuff:

• The sleeves, armholes, and neckline needed major modifications to fit properly. MAJOR.
• The cotton doesn't stay blocked. To keep it's shape I'll have to block this every time I wear it. Even when I have it on, it loses length as the lower part contracts. You can see this in the above picture. The lace around my waist has a shorter, wider pattern while toward the top the pattern is longer and narrower.
  
• The size varies so much depending on how aggressively I block it that it was hard to predict how it would fit.
• The collar won't stand up.
• The style isn't particularly flattering on me.

Also, it's warmer than I expected. I thought an open-weave cotton knit would be quite cool but this is too warm for summer day-wear. This isn't a bad thing - just unexpected.

I loved knitting this and don't actually mind the negatives too much - Some of them I realized very early on and yet I kept knitting because I was having so much fun.

Hands down the most challenging and the most fun project I've knit to date. It took a year, but there were a few distractions. A peek at Ravelry tells me I started and finished 22 projects from the time I cast on Oriel to the time I finished it.

Now I'm almost sad that it's done.

Sock It To Me

It's official. I'm a little sock crazy.

Seeing as how it's summer and it's hot I decided to make some 'summer socks' using
Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Wool Print (bamboo, wool & nylon). Naturally it had to be an anklet sock to stay cool, so I chose to modify the Vog On pattern with a shorter anklet edging. This is a great sock. I started it in Morocco and almost finished it on the day we returned.

Oh look - more socks! I brought these socks as my 'backup' project for our Morocco trip. Good thing since we spent a lot more time than we thought we would in the airports. Or resting during a hike (above). I finished these in Morocco, most of it on or waiting for the plane. The yarn is Zitron Trekking (XXL) and the pattern is the ever famous Monkey.

Here's my latest pair of socks. They look somewhat similar to someone else's socks.

Internal Dialog

This morning as I'm getting ready to leave for work:

Oh good, I might finish knitting these socks today!

Hmm, better take another project along just in case.

Nah, I can just take a book.

You're almost done with that book, and knitting is better anyway.

So true. I should take another project, but there's nothing ready to go. I'll just take a different book.

GO NOW. RUN. You're going to miss the bus.

(Barely catch the bus)

I'm definitely going to finish these socks today.

Well then, you'll just have to read on the way home.

What if I don't like the new book?

You can handle it. It's ok to sit quietly with still hands for 45 minutes.

Sounds like torture.

Then you'd better stop by the yarn store after work.

Seems reasonable.

Buy sock yarn.

If you insist.

How I Scammed SP's Hat

Or made one for myself.

This is the Amanda Hat, created by some knittin chick named Gina House. I saw SP's Hat, which I'd be happy to link to but I don't see a blog post about it. Ok, so there's this...



Anyway, I had to have it because it looks so awesome on me (and it's really too small for Pam's big noggin - or maybe I was jealous). So both of us went to Shuttles and after too much deliberation I finally chose a suitable color. I bought some Manos del Uruguay in color 100.