Friday, April 03, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
i need to knit more
i haven't had much time to knit lately, but have been working the hood of my Tangy Giselle Wrap cardigan (i hate that word) off and on during the past two weeks. i got the most work on it done Friday during the two hours i attended the Mesa State Writers Conference. The hood is now about 12" in height (15" stretched) and fits nicely, is snug without being tight as far as i can guesstimate before knitting more. i've now placed markers and have started the back and arm increases using the KRL and KLL videos as a guide.
i am absolutely loving this yarn. There are some sts that are bigger than others, that look like mini holes, but i don't care, i love the way this knits up. It's really easy to tell that it's hand knit and hand dyed (the color isn't solid throughout, there is slight variegation).
i should be working on homework, have several papers to write (eek), but don't want to put the dang needles down. Luckily, one paper will be the same in two classes, but i still don't want to stop knitting. i've been sooo stressed lately, have been meaning to try yoga and need to knit more. At least i'm making some progress.
i am absolutely loving this yarn. There are some sts that are bigger than others, that look like mini holes, but i don't care, i love the way this knits up. It's really easy to tell that it's hand knit and hand dyed (the color isn't solid throughout, there is slight variegation).
i should be working on homework, have several papers to write (eek), but don't want to put the dang needles down. Luckily, one paper will be the same in two classes, but i still don't want to stop knitting. i've been sooo stressed lately, have been meaning to try yoga and need to knit more. At least i'm making some progress.
Monday, March 16, 2009
slow progress
First off, a Knitty article that i think i've read before, Knitting Yourself Together, about the meditative quality of knitting.
Second off, i have cast on Tangy Giselle and Fair Ginny, as i am now calling my two sweater projects. i am about a third of a way through the hood of the wrap, which i last worked on last Friday during the We Surround Them meetup as Bassett Furniture. As for Ginny, i've knit 5 rows in stockinette and am going to attempt to knit backwards for the purl rows... except maybe for the colorwork.
Spring break was heinous, it was worse than a normal school week is, and just as i had thought to myself "i know my schedule is crazy but it's just enough for me to handle." Stupid, stupid Kristi! Don't you know that when you say dumb stuff like that God throws you a curveball? Now my manager wants me to work during school and scheduled me for five days last week, just when daylight savings and my allergies hit simultaneously. It now seems that i need a new job if i'm going to be able to pass my classes this semester.
Second off, i have cast on Tangy Giselle and Fair Ginny, as i am now calling my two sweater projects. i am about a third of a way through the hood of the wrap, which i last worked on last Friday during the We Surround Them meetup as Bassett Furniture. As for Ginny, i've knit 5 rows in stockinette and am going to attempt to knit backwards for the purl rows... except maybe for the colorwork.
Spring break was heinous, it was worse than a normal school week is, and just as i had thought to myself "i know my schedule is crazy but it's just enough for me to handle." Stupid, stupid Kristi! Don't you know that when you say dumb stuff like that God throws you a curveball? Now my manager wants me to work during school and scheduled me for five days last week, just when daylight savings and my allergies hit simultaneously. It now seems that i need a new job if i'm going to be able to pass my classes this semester.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Fox Coffee Beanie... finished (but now for Sammy)
So i finally finished this hat yesterday in between class and work (you can see the finished product at Ravelry). The RT section has more of a ribbed look to it than the LT section, which used slipped sts to good effect, but i didn't figure out how to do that with the RT. My current stitch guide is as follows:
LT = sl 2 sts as if to knit, then put them back onto left needle. ktbl of 2nd st (which is really the front of the loop), sl 1st st, drop 2nd st. (hope this makes sense!)
RT = k2tog, k 1st st again
Note: during a section you knit the odd rows, and to not make a jag in the diagonal and keep the pattern true will need to start the pattern one st sooner or later at the end of the k row. i went with sooner on the LT section and later with the RT section so that the beg of the row was at the same place in the brim section and crown section.
This was knit up using 16 rows of knit, which was then folded to make a brim casing, 12 rows of LT (which looked like 6 because of the large slipped sts), 12 rows of RT, and about 20 rows of crown knitting all rows while decreases started around row 8. i placed a marker at the begging of the row and the halfway point.
Decrease pattern: k4sts, ssk, k to 6sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, slip marker, knit 4, ssk, k to 6 sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, end of row.
i used a 3 needle bind off after folding the 4 st sections inward and slipping them over the appropriate section sts, but this did not achieve the look that i wanted. The hat wasn't tall enough before the decreases, i should have k 16 rows of the LT and RT sections or gone with 20 row sections instead. The brim section was also uncomfortably loose on me, though it seems to fit Sammy well and she doesn't think it's uncomfortable.
i plan to make this hat again, with bulky yarn most likely, and making adjustments of the brim casing is tighter but the cable section is a bit looser. i REALLY hate this yarn, though it's soft, you can see it's already pilling at the top of the crown in the photos i posted at Ravelry, and i didn't even take the section out (unlike the others, which i had to take out repeatedly, once because i dropped one st at the top of the RT section, which fell to the top of the LT section, and i had no idea how to fix it.
LT = sl 2 sts as if to knit, then put them back onto left needle. ktbl of 2nd st (which is really the front of the loop), sl 1st st, drop 2nd st. (hope this makes sense!)
RT = k2tog, k 1st st again
Note: during a section you knit the odd rows, and to not make a jag in the diagonal and keep the pattern true will need to start the pattern one st sooner or later at the end of the k row. i went with sooner on the LT section and later with the RT section so that the beg of the row was at the same place in the brim section and crown section.
This was knit up using 16 rows of knit, which was then folded to make a brim casing, 12 rows of LT (which looked like 6 because of the large slipped sts), 12 rows of RT, and about 20 rows of crown knitting all rows while decreases started around row 8. i placed a marker at the begging of the row and the halfway point.
Decrease pattern: k4sts, ssk, k to 6sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, slip marker, knit 4, ssk, k to 6 sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, end of row.
i used a 3 needle bind off after folding the 4 st sections inward and slipping them over the appropriate section sts, but this did not achieve the look that i wanted. The hat wasn't tall enough before the decreases, i should have k 16 rows of the LT and RT sections or gone with 20 row sections instead. The brim section was also uncomfortably loose on me, though it seems to fit Sammy well and she doesn't think it's uncomfortable.
i plan to make this hat again, with bulky yarn most likely, and making adjustments of the brim casing is tighter but the cable section is a bit looser. i REALLY hate this yarn, though it's soft, you can see it's already pilling at the top of the crown in the photos i posted at Ravelry, and i didn't even take the section out (unlike the others, which i had to take out repeatedly, once because i dropped one st at the top of the RT section, which fell to the top of the LT section, and i had no idea how to fix it.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
excellent blog article
Knitting and Public Politics, about whether it's okay to knit in public (i feel that it is, but i know that i amaze and offend some people).
And if that wasn't enough, the blog has a great M.C. Escher quote. (:
And if that wasn't enough, the blog has a great M.C. Escher quote. (:
the woes of LTs and trying to salvage the Fox Beanie YET AGAIN
i have been trying to knit this hat off and on for over two years now. The yarn i'm using is 100% acrylic, cost me about $2.50, and it is supposed to be great for cables. i have become a yarn snob and hate using acrylic, this yarn has only reinforced that for me. The pros are that the yarn is super soft and machine washable, the cons are that it splits like crazy and is already pilling a bit after being taken out a couple of times.
i finally found a zigzag stitch that looked perfect in the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 2 but have had nothing but trouble with it. It uses a Left Twist and Right Twist that, when worked, looks nothing like the picture / example. If i knit the st as instructed there is a gap in between the twists that looks far more lacy than i would like. So i have done some research and apparently the LT is the bane of many knitters' existence. No one can agree on how it should be done, there are at least four different methods one can use, and none of them look exactly like in the book (not to mention that the method outlined in the book looks worst of all). My search was not helped by the fact that KnittingHelp.com has no vids on how to knit an LT and while the forums claimed there were videos on YouTube i couldn't find any by searching for "LT knit stitch" (apparently there's a musical group named LT Stitch, however, and i did finally find two videos when i searched for "Left Twist"). i finally made a breakthrough when i found Let Me ExplainKnit's rather lengthy post on the woes of LTs, which verified for me the need to turn every 2nd st so when i ktbl i am actually ktbl i am actually knitting through the front of the loop instead of twisting it. She also linked to the pattern for Cable Twist Socks which instructs the knitter to slip the 1st st as if to purl instead of k2togtbl. This has yielded a stronger unified look, instead of the twisted lacy pattern that, while pretty, was not the look i was going for at all.
This pattern is very much self made though i have used two others as a guide (in a manner of speaking). i used Son of Stitch 'N Bitch's Half-Pipe Hat as a guide for gauge and returned to the idea of encasing the brim instead of trying to knit a shaped case for it (as i did with my Flaming Snowboard Beanie. i used a stockinette st instead of a rib and folded the cast on edge under instead of over. The Half-Pipe brim was far larger than i was wanting to use (the Flaming Beanie's brim is too large, too), so i turned to the Lidsville pattern instead. For the Flaming Beanie i used foam, this time i am using some plastic canvas that i had lying around, and i prefer foam because it is softer and doesn't have jagged edges. It took me the better part of a half hour to trim the plastic canvas so it wouldn't catch the yarn and damage it.
i am currently a third of the way through the LT section and am hoping that the RT section doesn't give me as much grief (though from what i read the RT usually works better than the LT). i'm also winding the yarn for my Wrap Sweater into balls, i'm not sure if i'll actually be casting on today or not, but i have a lot more of Tale of Two Cities to get through, so it's entirely possible that i'll finish the hat or cast on or both.
i finally found a zigzag stitch that looked perfect in the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 2 but have had nothing but trouble with it. It uses a Left Twist and Right Twist that, when worked, looks nothing like the picture / example. If i knit the st as instructed there is a gap in between the twists that looks far more lacy than i would like. So i have done some research and apparently the LT is the bane of many knitters' existence. No one can agree on how it should be done, there are at least four different methods one can use, and none of them look exactly like in the book (not to mention that the method outlined in the book looks worst of all). My search was not helped by the fact that KnittingHelp.com has no vids on how to knit an LT and while the forums claimed there were videos on YouTube i couldn't find any by searching for "LT knit stitch" (apparently there's a musical group named LT Stitch, however, and i did finally find two videos when i searched for "Left Twist"). i finally made a breakthrough when i found Let Me ExplainKnit's rather lengthy post on the woes of LTs, which verified for me the need to turn every 2nd st so when i ktbl i am actually ktbl i am actually knitting through the front of the loop instead of twisting it. She also linked to the pattern for Cable Twist Socks which instructs the knitter to slip the 1st st as if to purl instead of k2togtbl. This has yielded a stronger unified look, instead of the twisted lacy pattern that, while pretty, was not the look i was going for at all.
This pattern is very much self made though i have used two others as a guide (in a manner of speaking). i used Son of Stitch 'N Bitch's Half-Pipe Hat as a guide for gauge and returned to the idea of encasing the brim instead of trying to knit a shaped case for it (as i did with my Flaming Snowboard Beanie. i used a stockinette st instead of a rib and folded the cast on edge under instead of over. The Half-Pipe brim was far larger than i was wanting to use (the Flaming Beanie's brim is too large, too), so i turned to the Lidsville pattern instead. For the Flaming Beanie i used foam, this time i am using some plastic canvas that i had lying around, and i prefer foam because it is softer and doesn't have jagged edges. It took me the better part of a half hour to trim the plastic canvas so it wouldn't catch the yarn and damage it.
i am currently a third of the way through the LT section and am hoping that the RT section doesn't give me as much grief (though from what i read the RT usually works better than the LT). i'm also winding the yarn for my Wrap Sweater into balls, i'm not sure if i'll actually be casting on today or not, but i have a lot more of Tale of Two Cities to get through, so it's entirely possible that i'll finish the hat or cast on or both.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
hitting a wall with Evi ):
i have been really unhappy with this project for over a week now. The cables look awesome, but the thumb gusset it in the wrong place, and i don't like the way the ribs look on the wrist. As much as i hate to do it, i think that i'm going to be taking out the right mitten and start over on it, but probably not before knitting up the left mitten so i can use it for a guide to see where my improvisations went wrong. The crazy thing is that the palm is baggy but i cannot extract my hand from the current slot. i do not think that i'll have enough yard to actually knit the fingers up properly, but i'm not sure. i plan to rotate the thumb decreases 90 degrees. i feel a bit embarrassed when i hit walls like this in my knitting. So far i'm not entirely impressed with this yarn, the gauge seems just a little loose, but i'm hoping that it will work well on the slopes once i complete the project.
Friday, February 13, 2009
woot, the wool is on the way!
i just got an e-mail letting me know that my yarn for the Ginny Cardigan is finally on its way. The Pistachio was on back order, so i had to wait for them to get more in, and i kind of assumed it would take another week or two, so i'm really excited and wondering how long it will take to get here. The nice thing about this project is that, even though i paid a lot for this yarn, there will most likely be left overs on the contrast colors that i can use to make Christmas presents.
The bad part is that now i need to buy some more circulars and dpns because i don't have any in size 10 1/2 (as the pattern calls for). i know that you can't knit a cardigan in the round, but i also know that i refuse to do any seaming, so i will be knitting the back and fronts simultaneously. i'll have to wait until my next paycheck for that. i'll also buy one of these i think (my Harry Potter scarf needs it, if nothing else). i'm dreaming of a swift and a spindle, but don't know if they're currently in my budget.
i meant to post photos of the finished yarn yesterday afternoon, and i took several shots outside, and even wound the first loop length into a ball, only managing to get it tangled into an irreparable knot at the very end (losing less than a yard of yarn in the process). But even before i accomplished all of that, when i first got home, Mom wanted me to refresh her memory on how to knit, and Sammy couldn't remember how to cast on, so i spent more than an hour doing that and then i had to get ready for work. Anyways, i'm starving, and need to pick up the spinning books i reserved from the library. i'll post photos later.
The bad part is that now i need to buy some more circulars and dpns because i don't have any in size 10 1/2 (as the pattern calls for). i know that you can't knit a cardigan in the round, but i also know that i refuse to do any seaming, so i will be knitting the back and fronts simultaneously. i'll have to wait until my next paycheck for that. i'll also buy one of these i think (my Harry Potter scarf needs it, if nothing else). i'm dreaming of a swift and a spindle, but don't know if they're currently in my budget.
i meant to post photos of the finished yarn yesterday afternoon, and i took several shots outside, and even wound the first loop length into a ball, only managing to get it tangled into an irreparable knot at the very end (losing less than a yard of yarn in the process). But even before i accomplished all of that, when i first got home, Mom wanted me to refresh her memory on how to knit, and Sammy couldn't remember how to cast on, so i spent more than an hour doing that and then i had to get ready for work. Anyways, i'm starving, and need to pick up the spinning books i reserved from the library. i'll post photos later.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
It's orange and yellow kool-aid time...
So, finally got the yarn six days ago, and knitted a couple of rows to be sure of my gauge. Last night and today i wound the yarn into big loops and tied them with some old yarn i found:
Then i grabbed a big red pot of my mom's and filled it with enough water to submerge the yarn.
225 grams converted to about 4.4 ounces, and Knitty - Dyed in the Wool told me to use one packet per ounce, so i used four packets of KoolAid, two Orange and two Lemonade.
The color did go out of the water completely, and seemed to be slightly sudsy as i dumped it out. The orange is not completely solid or as bright as in Knitty's pics, but i am pretty happy with the outcome. The yarn has been rinsed and is hanging to drip dry right now; every once in a while i get a whiff of that KoolAid smell. i'll take a photo of it tomorrow when the sun comes back out.
i bought the needles for this project today... it wasn't cheap. i wasn't going to buy the heavy metal ones when nice bamboo and birch ones are readily available. i can hardly wait to cast on, but need to practice stitches with scrap yarn first: i definitely do not want to mess up while the yarn is on the needles as it will be nearly impossible to take out.
This was fun, and perplexed the kiddos; next time i want to use Blue Moon Berry or Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade. Grape and Black Cherry and Lemon Lime look promising too.
Then i grabbed a big red pot of my mom's and filled it with enough water to submerge the yarn.
225 grams converted to about 4.4 ounces, and Knitty - Dyed in the Wool told me to use one packet per ounce, so i used four packets of KoolAid, two Orange and two Lemonade.
The color did go out of the water completely, and seemed to be slightly sudsy as i dumped it out. The orange is not completely solid or as bright as in Knitty's pics, but i am pretty happy with the outcome. The yarn has been rinsed and is hanging to drip dry right now; every once in a while i get a whiff of that KoolAid smell. i'll take a photo of it tomorrow when the sun comes back out.
i bought the needles for this project today... it wasn't cheap. i wasn't going to buy the heavy metal ones when nice bamboo and birch ones are readily available. i can hardly wait to cast on, but need to practice stitches with scrap yarn first: i definitely do not want to mess up while the yarn is on the needles as it will be nearly impossible to take out.
This was fun, and perplexed the kiddos; next time i want to use Blue Moon Berry or Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade. Grape and Black Cherry and Lemon Lime look promising too.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
i can hitchhike in warmth now...
Is it really so late / early? i got caught up knitting the thumb on my first mitten and am getting ready to knit the pinky next, but i have to do a couple more rows of pattern first. After the pinky, of course, comes the ring, middle, and index fingers, then the convertible part. Right now, i just need to get some sleep, cuz i have class in less than eight hours.
Friday, January 30, 2009
yum
Bought the Kool-Aid today, i think i got more than enough if my conversion from grams to ounces was correct. Today i ordered Crystal Palace Kid Merino in Lemon Sherbet (that's a horrible photo, but this is the yarn i hope to dye light orange for the wrap sweater) and 10 skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for the Ginny GoF cardigan. Were i going for colors as close to the movie as possible i would have used Khaki for the MC, but i chose to use Pistachio instead. For the CCs i’m using Orchid Thistle, Wild Mustard, and Rust. it was hard to pick which shades of the yellow / gold and orange to pick, but the Orchid was always my favorite shade of purple. i also ordered a skein of the Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Ink Blue for a Liberty Cap. i can hardly wait for the yarn to arrive!
progressing on Evi
After a false start with runaway cables on the inner wrist, i have cast back on and knitted to the wrist. i dropped a purl st once and had to undo 3 rows worth of cable pattern to fix my mistake. ): Luckily i saw a video on YouTube the other night that showed me an easy way to quickly un-knit my mistake. As it turns out, i accidentally repeated row 5 on my second repeat, but i liked the way it looked so i did it for my fourth repeat as well. i've been decreasing 3 sts every 5 rows and now have 46 sts on the needles: i plan to dec 2 more sts at the inner wrist and start the thumb gusset next. i wish i had the energy to do so now, but i'm really tired and need to get some sleep cuz i have class in the morning.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Evi update
i guess i'll go with the convertible mittens that i've been meaning to do for forever: i'll use Broad Street Mittens as a guide. So far, i am ready for round 11 and to start the cable pattern. In round five i did a cable round like in the Fetching pattern once (instead of repeating it 3 times on the wrist, i just did it once, and because i don't have a knit 4, p1, repeat going on i slip 2 k sts, hold to front, p2, k2 off cable needle). And because i'm backwards and contrary i'm knitting the right mitten first, which is mostly because i plan to reverse the Evangeline cable pattern on the left mitten so that the cables cross the same way i do up my sneakers (outside laces on top). Yes, i know i'm anal.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Casting on Evangeline!
So i actually knitted a swatch for this (twice), and it turned out that for the pattern's gauge i probably need to use needles in size 1 1/2... but i’m using size 2 and will have 24 sts per 4” instead of 20. i decided to have the cuff come to mid-forearm, where my arm measures 10” in circumference. As it turns out, since i have big bones and am overweight, i can’t cast on 40 like the pattern calls for. i figured out that according to gauge i need to cast on 64 sts and will gradually decrease to 44 at my wrist. So i’m still using 16 sts of pattern, but have 48 sts divided evenly on my other two needles (24 sts on each). i also plan to create a gusset and add some interest inspired by Fetching. To cast on i also used the long tail method for the first time, which as it turns out is super easy, but when my Grandma tried to explain it to me some 15-17 years ago made absolutely no sense. Now i think i’ll use it every time.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
knitting for... politics?
Every day that i go to work, i look across the seven square four-caps (i think that's what they're called) that everyone must pass on their way to check out, and see a book on our magazine rack named Knitting for Peace. For a long time i just stared at its pink cover and the dove on it and wondered... how does one knit for peace? So i picked it up one day and discovered: the book isn't about creating world peace or anything like that, it's about knitting for charities. Inside are patterns for blankets (with info about Blankets for Linus) and chemo caps. As far as i can tell, the book isn't about peace at all.
What a let down.
Now, i do not happen to believe in world peace. You see, the Bible tells us that once world peace occurs things are going to get really, really bad. Christians are going to have their heads cut off left and right and people will have to have a "mark" (probably a tattoo or computer chip) in order to buy, sell, survive. Why would i pray or hope for an event that's going to bring radical changes to the world that are exactly what i am against politically?
i don't normally talk about politics here (you can go to my main blog for that); when i go to a knitting blog, i want to read about knitting. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that all the political knitting blogs i have seen were very anti-Bush. i'm not saying that i agree with everything Bush did during his eight years as president, in fact he did a lot to let me down. A fellow student of mine hates him because she voted for him for one reason and regretted it: her issue of choice? She's pro-life. From a pro-life standpoint W was very much a success (of course Obama has promised to undo all those policies). Even if those the strong pro-life policies of the Bush administration only saved the life of one baby, in my opinion that makes it worth voting for W (which i did twice).
Of course, under President Bush the U.S. government has grown enormous, as has the deficit; that's not so good. However, i do not think that President Obama (we can't call him O, Oprah already has the corner on that market) is going to provide any solutions to these issues, from what he has said i think that they are only going to get worse.
According to Amazon, Knitting for Peace mentions Martha Washington spearheading efforts to knit for the troops. How is that knitting for peace? That's knitting for war. The American Girl books about Molly talk about how the girls would knit socks and blankets for the troops. That's very American, but not at all peaceful, it was part of the war effort along with having a garden and collecting scrap metal. The posters of the era were iconic and very patriotic. We've all seen Rosie the Riveter and Uncle Sam pointing at us.
Personally, i would like to knit for freedom. i'm not sure how to do that. Sit ins? Knit Liberty Caps? March in DC with needles in hand? i've never protested, i've never picketed, i rarely sign petitions. Why is it that the people who believe the opposite way that i do seem so much more organized than me? i feel very alone and don't have the slightest idea what to do in response to the change that i can feel is coming. i feel as if the war is already lost. Considering how happy i've been lately, and at peace despite my life's hardships, the prospects for the future could be downright depressing when i think about it.
i think that feeling this way is probably because of the open bias of the media. They want everyone to think that everyone loves Obama. Well this simply is not the case. Not everyone believes in bail outs and nationalizing universal health care and social security. Not everyone wants a third of their paycheck to be taken away before they cash it, and tax dollars going to stem cell research and killing babies. Not everyone believes in closing Guantanamo Bay and giving up on hunting down Bin Laden (as Obama has flip-flopped on his pledge to hunt him down, saying that he's just not that dangerous anymore).
i need to find some friends who believe the same way as me so i don't feel so alone all the time.
What a let down.
Now, i do not happen to believe in world peace. You see, the Bible tells us that once world peace occurs things are going to get really, really bad. Christians are going to have their heads cut off left and right and people will have to have a "mark" (probably a tattoo or computer chip) in order to buy, sell, survive. Why would i pray or hope for an event that's going to bring radical changes to the world that are exactly what i am against politically?
i don't normally talk about politics here (you can go to my main blog for that); when i go to a knitting blog, i want to read about knitting. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that all the political knitting blogs i have seen were very anti-Bush. i'm not saying that i agree with everything Bush did during his eight years as president, in fact he did a lot to let me down. A fellow student of mine hates him because she voted for him for one reason and regretted it: her issue of choice? She's pro-life. From a pro-life standpoint W was very much a success (of course Obama has promised to undo all those policies). Even if those the strong pro-life policies of the Bush administration only saved the life of one baby, in my opinion that makes it worth voting for W (which i did twice).
Of course, under President Bush the U.S. government has grown enormous, as has the deficit; that's not so good. However, i do not think that President Obama (we can't call him O, Oprah already has the corner on that market) is going to provide any solutions to these issues, from what he has said i think that they are only going to get worse.
According to Amazon, Knitting for Peace mentions Martha Washington spearheading efforts to knit for the troops. How is that knitting for peace? That's knitting for war. The American Girl books about Molly talk about how the girls would knit socks and blankets for the troops. That's very American, but not at all peaceful, it was part of the war effort along with having a garden and collecting scrap metal. The posters of the era were iconic and very patriotic. We've all seen Rosie the Riveter and Uncle Sam pointing at us.
Personally, i would like to knit for freedom. i'm not sure how to do that. Sit ins? Knit Liberty Caps? March in DC with needles in hand? i've never protested, i've never picketed, i rarely sign petitions. Why is it that the people who believe the opposite way that i do seem so much more organized than me? i feel very alone and don't have the slightest idea what to do in response to the change that i can feel is coming. i feel as if the war is already lost. Considering how happy i've been lately, and at peace despite my life's hardships, the prospects for the future could be downright depressing when i think about it.
i think that feeling this way is probably because of the open bias of the media. They want everyone to think that everyone loves Obama. Well this simply is not the case. Not everyone believes in bail outs and nationalizing universal health care and social security. Not everyone wants a third of their paycheck to be taken away before they cash it, and tax dollars going to stem cell research and killing babies. Not everyone believes in closing Guantanamo Bay and giving up on hunting down Bin Laden (as Obama has flip-flopped on his pledge to hunt him down, saying that he's just not that dangerous anymore).
i need to find some friends who believe the same way as me so i don't feel so alone all the time.
still dreaming of knitting... and dying too!
No, not committing suicide or going to Heaven through natural means (though i did have an interesting conversation last night with a guildee about the end times and how to become a Christian), but learning how to dye my yarn. This is actually something i have wanted to learn how to do for a long time, whether it be yarn or fabric that i would be dying. i love batik fabrics and it can be a bit of a challenge to find the colors i want for projects. This is especially true of the yarn i want to use for that wrap sweater.
From the beginning, i knew that i wanted the yarn to be fuzzy. That was clear from the photo in Fit Pregnancy that inspired the sweater, that it was soft fuzzy yarn knit with needles a couple of sizes too big so that it is semi-lacy. The closest yarn i could find for a long time was Rowan Kidsilk Haze, which is a challenge to use (i crocheted a hat with it once), and unfortunately expensive. So for the past few days i have been scouring the internet for a cheaper substitute (or any substitute, for that matter) in the color i want. See, in the photo the sweater was a dark orange, kind of on the red side, but in my head i have always seen this sweater as more of a yellow orange: not peach, not gold, not yellow, not orange red, not rust, not red orange, but a light orange that's on the yellow side.
Well i haven't been able to find that color anywhere. So my mind started turning to dying the yarn myself, but i have no idea how to do that! It sounds complicated! What if i buy a bunch of expensive yarn and it still doesn't turn out the color i want?!? But today i stumbled upon KoolAid dying: one apparently mixes the KoolAid to be the color he or she wants, microwaves or simmers the yarn in the said mix, and when all the color has gone out of the water rinses and dry and voila you're done. Sounds easy enough, and it isn't toxic!
Well i found a cheaper yarn substitute finally, after Googling and searching for way too long (i could be lvling an alt or doing homework for crying out loud!). i found Crystal Palace Kid Merino and i eventually found a website where it's on sale and found another color or the yarn that i'm going to be hard pressed passing up (look at the Cocoa Blues at the top of that first page). i was originally planning on buying the Natural, but now i think i'm going to go with Lemon Sherbet because i read on one website that the artifical fibers and cotton don't dye as well (if at all) and that you can also dye pastels and light colors to good effect (hey, maybe i could put some of Grandma's old yarn to use after all...). Crystal Palace is cheaper than Rowan because it uses Nylon instead of Silk; so i might have a bit of lemon in my sweater, too, but that's okay, i want my yarn to be more yellow than pink or red anyway, and it doesn't have to be solid all the way through, i kind of like the hand dyed look after all (lol), i just don't want the yarn to be obviously variegated like Red Heart brand is. ):
In conclusion, i got my mitten yarn today, which is nice and soft, but not quite as turquoise as i was expecting. It's a nice enough blue, but is more on the cornflower side of the spectrum. When i ordered this yarn i almost picked the charcoal grey, now i wonder if i made the right choice (at any rate, it's too late to change my mind now, they are sold out of just about all of the colors now, and don't plan to carry it any longer it seems). Anyways, here's hoping that i get some more knitting done next week, and some of my dream buys will come to fruition. (: i think if i buy the yarn for these sweaters that i will be set when it comes to yarn for quite a while to come. Plus, the leftovers from the Ginny Cardigan will make good Christmas presents.
ETA: i guess that the proper spelling is dyeing... oops.
From the beginning, i knew that i wanted the yarn to be fuzzy. That was clear from the photo in Fit Pregnancy that inspired the sweater, that it was soft fuzzy yarn knit with needles a couple of sizes too big so that it is semi-lacy. The closest yarn i could find for a long time was Rowan Kidsilk Haze, which is a challenge to use (i crocheted a hat with it once), and unfortunately expensive. So for the past few days i have been scouring the internet for a cheaper substitute (or any substitute, for that matter) in the color i want. See, in the photo the sweater was a dark orange, kind of on the red side, but in my head i have always seen this sweater as more of a yellow orange: not peach, not gold, not yellow, not orange red, not rust, not red orange, but a light orange that's on the yellow side.
Well i haven't been able to find that color anywhere. So my mind started turning to dying the yarn myself, but i have no idea how to do that! It sounds complicated! What if i buy a bunch of expensive yarn and it still doesn't turn out the color i want?!? But today i stumbled upon KoolAid dying: one apparently mixes the KoolAid to be the color he or she wants, microwaves or simmers the yarn in the said mix, and when all the color has gone out of the water rinses and dry and voila you're done. Sounds easy enough, and it isn't toxic!
Well i found a cheaper yarn substitute finally, after Googling and searching for way too long (i could be lvling an alt or doing homework for crying out loud!). i found Crystal Palace Kid Merino and i eventually found a website where it's on sale and found another color or the yarn that i'm going to be hard pressed passing up (look at the Cocoa Blues at the top of that first page). i was originally planning on buying the Natural, but now i think i'm going to go with Lemon Sherbet because i read on one website that the artifical fibers and cotton don't dye as well (if at all) and that you can also dye pastels and light colors to good effect (hey, maybe i could put some of Grandma's old yarn to use after all...). Crystal Palace is cheaper than Rowan because it uses Nylon instead of Silk; so i might have a bit of lemon in my sweater, too, but that's okay, i want my yarn to be more yellow than pink or red anyway, and it doesn't have to be solid all the way through, i kind of like the hand dyed look after all (lol), i just don't want the yarn to be obviously variegated like Red Heart brand is. ):
In conclusion, i got my mitten yarn today, which is nice and soft, but not quite as turquoise as i was expecting. It's a nice enough blue, but is more on the cornflower side of the spectrum. When i ordered this yarn i almost picked the charcoal grey, now i wonder if i made the right choice (at any rate, it's too late to change my mind now, they are sold out of just about all of the colors now, and don't plan to carry it any longer it seems). Anyways, here's hoping that i get some more knitting done next week, and some of my dream buys will come to fruition. (: i think if i buy the yarn for these sweaters that i will be set when it comes to yarn for quite a while to come. Plus, the leftovers from the Ginny Cardigan will make good Christmas presents.
ETA: i guess that the proper spelling is dyeing... oops.
Friday, January 23, 2009
knitting on the brain
So no sooner do i say that i don't need a digital camera because i have a cell phone than i have to update the software on my phone because it won't charge and suddenly i can't download photos from my camera any more. So i need to figure out a new way to get that photo off that i promised you last post and i really don't want to text it to my e-mail account but we'll see.
i finished my first sock last night while listening to homework and cast on to the second during lunch today. Earlier this week i ordered the Hauk yarn in color 5943 for my mittens off the internet and used my gift certificate at the local yarn store to buy more sock yarn (in oranges 145 and blues 1606) and cable needles.
i am really tempted to buy some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for Stitch 'N Bitch's Fairly Easy Fair Isle in colors like Ginny's cardigan (from GoF i believe) as well as that lacy wrap sweater that i've been wanting to knit for forever (the trouble is that i can't find the yarn in the light orange shade i want).
i think that it's safe to say that i'm obsessing about knitting a lot this week.
Oh, i also bought some fabric paints and stencils to decorate some thrift store pillowcases that i'm turning into shopping / book bags. Next i need to buy some straps (i'm thinking about using ribbon) and the cuffs that i've been meaning to put onto my blue zipup hoodie for a while now. Oh, i'm thinking about making stitch markers too and selling some on my Etsy store, and ordering the yarn to knit a blue Liberty Cap. Hmm i'm creative lately, the trouble is finding time to follow through on my ideas.
i finished my first sock last night while listening to homework and cast on to the second during lunch today. Earlier this week i ordered the Hauk yarn in color 5943 for my mittens off the internet and used my gift certificate at the local yarn store to buy more sock yarn (in oranges 145 and blues 1606) and cable needles.
i am really tempted to buy some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for Stitch 'N Bitch's Fairly Easy Fair Isle in colors like Ginny's cardigan (from GoF i believe) as well as that lacy wrap sweater that i've been wanting to knit for forever (the trouble is that i can't find the yarn in the light orange shade i want).i think that it's safe to say that i'm obsessing about knitting a lot this week.
Oh, i also bought some fabric paints and stencils to decorate some thrift store pillowcases that i'm turning into shopping / book bags. Next i need to buy some straps (i'm thinking about using ribbon) and the cuffs that i've been meaning to put onto my blue zipup hoodie for a while now. Oh, i'm thinking about making stitch markers too and selling some on my Etsy store, and ordering the yarn to knit a blue Liberty Cap. Hmm i'm creative lately, the trouble is finding time to follow through on my ideas.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
on second thought...
i was looking at digital cameras at Target the other day, then glanced at them at Wal-Mart. i don't want a cheap digital camera that will break quickly, i want a nice one like the one my brother-in-law has. Right now, my cellphone camera will just have to be good enough. Luckily i can download photos off of it directly to my computer.
Here is a picture of my aunt wearing the scarf i knitted for her for Christmas:
CO 16 sts, k every row, bind off when you reach the length that suits your fancy, easy peasy nice and cheasy. i was actually surprised how fast this went and how much easier it was to go back and forth in a garter stitch than knitting in the round with it. Total knitting time was less than five hours, i'm happy with it, but still don't love the eyelash fur stuff.
Here is a picture of my aunt wearing the scarf i knitted for her for Christmas:
CO 16 sts, k every row, bind off when you reach the length that suits your fancy, easy peasy nice and cheasy. i was actually surprised how fast this went and how much easier it was to go back and forth in a garter stitch than knitting in the round with it. Total knitting time was less than five hours, i'm happy with it, but still don't love the eyelash fur stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)