Taking Stock

One of the best parts of moving (only in retrospect can I deem this as a positive) is the inevitability of taking stock of all those nasty WIP knits that we so easily find ways of ignoring (hiding from ourselves). In organizing all the stuff that needed to move from one Brooklyn walk-up to another, I tried hard not to shudder as the pile of unfinished knits continued to grow exponentially. One room gets cleaned and 3 more stow-aways rear their ugly heads. Repeat for every room of the apartment.

Sure, despair and hopelessness are the first feelings to descend, but leave it to the great momentum you achieve while moving to blow past those feelings of defeat and move right on to the moving-on.

A frog-fest ensued and I have to say I feel absolutely liberated and excited again about good yarns that had gone long forgotten. The biggest mountain to scale was my old friend Demi.

taken july 2006. ugh.

On first consideration, it seemed like there were too many sinuous cables and twisted stitches to ever justify ripping something so beautiful, but in the spirit of being brutally honest with myself about what would and would not be worn... I knew what had to happen.

After trying on the body several times (there was only one sleeve left to complete the thing!), I knew what had to be done.

Too thick. Too warm. Too constricting. These are the things I repeated to myself as the wool carnage ensued. And, my friends, Demi is no more.

Don't be upset - because the best part of the story is yet to come! Almost immediately after the final stitch had been dissolved, I fell in love with the yarn all over again (it wasn't difficult). And it just so happens that I was in desperate need of a new sweater project. Do you see where this is going? Well lets just say that the Yorkshire Tweed and I are taking a second honeymoon, and I haven't looked back since.


Despite having the busiest schedule I can remember in years, I'm getting a surprising amount of knitting done. Evening knitting has been adopted as the most effective way of relaxing in a short period of time.

What am I trying to say today? I guess that a little frogging goes a long way - and there's no better time of year to do it. Liberate (yourself) some of that gorgeous yarn that has been too-long imprisoned in a doomed project (we all have them) and I promise you'll be justified. I still can't believe I've been sitting on 10 balls of this discontinued wonder-tweed for almost 2 years with no finished sweater to call my own. That's all about to change.

And as for Big Blue, we're rounding the home stretch.



As it turns out, sweaters are everywhere and that's what Fall should be about. Back to my wool-crazed euphoria. Happy Knitting.

Squeaking By

Isn't it a bit sad how dependent we are on the internet? I never really notice it until the precious life-blood of blogging is ripped away from me. I won't have any regular access to internet in the new BT headquarters until *next* Saturday, which I'm trying to pretend isn't seriously effecting my daily life.

I've been doing my best to keep up with everything, but I'll warn you now if you send e-mails or comments my way, there may be delays (even longer than usual!). I didn't want to go, however, with yet another week of silence here induced by the absence of any connection to the outside world - so I'm taking another quick opportunity to update you on what's goin' down.

That week-long cold snap at the end of August was such a treat. And such a tease. It was all I needed to get my Fall gears turning. Of course September so far has been relentlessly hot and humid and I'm feeling a bit of remorse for letting myself indulge in that early Autumnal preview. Either way, I started the first of hopefully several Fall Sweaters and I'm not ashamed of that.


It's a seamless cardigan in one of my favorite tweeds (the same I used for this - it's definitely good enough for multiple sweater projects) that I'm designing as I go. It's a beautiful yarn, isn't it?


I've also been collecting sufficient stock for the spinning machine to keep a-whirrin' through the season. The most recent acquisition looks a bit like frosting to me, but maybe that's the sleep deprivation talking.


I don't think I've mentioned it earlier, but I am officially a full-time student again. I started a 2 year MFA program this past week. To say I'm overwhelmed is a bit of an understatement, but it's all very good. And I'm keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed that I'll be able to keep knitting as much as my sanity requires. Which is a lot.

The BSJ is done and just needs buttons. More to come on that in the near future.

Knit on!

A Quick Pop-In

Hey everybody! I'm just peeking my head around from a huge pile of boxes for a quick update. We've spent the last week moving from one Brooklyn walk-up to another, in the late August heat. Oy, what a week. I'm happy to report, though, that everything (including every last bit of wool) has made the journey safely - now there's just the matter of unpacking, which is actually the fun part.

Knitting has been almost non-existent for obvious reasons, but I did grab a skein of my handspun to cast on for a small project to keep around for sanity's sake.


This is 4 oz of pure merino from Amy over at Spunky Eclectic that I spun up to be a worsted weight 2-ply. I prepared the fibers so that it would be self-striping. I love how the colors go together.


I've really had BSJ on the brain and when the finished yarn came off the wheel I knew these two were destined for each other. I'm hoping I can squeeze one full baby surprise out of this skein. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I'm enjoying every stitch. Limited couch space and all.


In other BT-related news, a knit-a-long has been started up for the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I've been absolutely overwhelmed at the response to this project, I'm glad to see so many wool flowers blooming all over the world already. If you'd like to join the KAL, visit the start page here and sign up. If you've been thinking about starting one of your own, I'm sure this will give you just inspiration (temptation) you need.

Sorry to drop by for such a short time - I hope to be back to regularly scheduled programming very soon. Enjoy the long weekend!

Fiber Fix Friday: Handspun Edition

I've had a great time getting acquainted with my wheel and have been rocking the handspun many a late-summer night. I figured this Friday Fiber Flash would focus on the handspun yarns that seem to be accruing in every vacant nook and cranny in sight. Click the images for more details.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Hemlock Ring Blanket

Walking around Brooklyn the last few days, I've noticed the slightest change in the air. Autumn is beckoning and this knitter can't think of any better reward for making it through another hot summer. My inaugural Fall project is draped over my lap as I type and I find myself ready for cooler winds, wooly knits and fresh transitions.

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket*
Source: My modification of the Hemlock Ring (link no longer works, see note below) vintage doily (1942), with added chart repeats and heavy weight yarn. [See full post below for details]
EDIT: THE ORIGINAL VINTAGE DOILY PATTERN IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE AT THE SUGGESTED LINK ABOVE. TO FIND A PDF OF BOTH THE WRITTEN PATTERN AND MY CHART, FIND ONE HERE, AT THE RAINEY SISTERS BLOG.
Materials: Cascade Ecological Wool in "Latte" (8063)
Needles: US 10/6.0mm 40" Circulars; KnitPicks Options
Amount: Approximately 311g/11oz; About 600 yards (less than 2 skeins)
Finished Measurements: Just shy of 4 feet in diameter
*Ravelry users, queue it up here.

Start Date: 27 July 2007
Finish Date: 9 August 2007

This project was born from my love of working heavyweight lace and my desire to spruce up my new place. And probably also from a sale on Cascade EcoWool which, in my eyes is the lord of Yardageland and the true definition of a wooly workhorse.


I searched high and low for a lace pattern that would both size out right and have a repeatable chart that I could work ad nauseum until I felt like binding off. I love how Feather-and-Fan Stitch looks and had that in the back of my mind too while searching around. I found a lot of great circular shawl patterns but most were already huge when worked in lace. Knitting one of those in a heavy worsted yarn would result in a room-sized blanket which, as intriguing as that sounds, wasn't what I was going for.


I was pretty set on Meg Swansen's "Feather and Fan Shawl" from A Gathering of Lace. This shawl, however, epitomizes the idea of giant lace, so for my own sanity I ruled out modifying it. Doilies, though, are a great place to look for hidden gems and perfect for working up a bit bulkier than directed. So when I came across this vintage doily pattern from The Canadian Spool Cotton Company (1942) I felt like I hit the jackpot: a repeatable 5-row lace chart, a whole lot of feather-and-fanning, a perfect size for tweaking and some great vintage accents to play around with (oversized wool floral motif anyone?) - perfection.


I was shooting for a lap blanket, something not too large that I can use to warm up while knitting or watching movies (or both, they're usually happening concurrently anyway.) A lap throw is also a great size for doubling as a table cloth, shawl, or general decorator-in-a-pinch (see photo below to dress up a bowl of yarn). When you live in a small space, multi-purpose knits are a wonderful thing. After blocking, the diameter of my blanket measured just an inch or two shy of 4 feet. The pattern as-is guides you through 87 rows of lace knitting, which I expanded in order to transform the doily into a blanket. The great thing about feather-and-fan is that you can just keep doing it in order to make a larger piece. Also, it's purdy.


As far as 'expanding' the pattern that's given you, I've already done the grunt work of charting out the expandable feather-and-fan section here for your convenience (When it comes to lace, I have a serious aversion to line-by-line pattern writing). A special note about the chart: I did not chart out the entire pattern, only the feather and fan section. Row 1 of my chart corresponds directly to Row 47 of the original doily pattern. (You'll still have to do a little line-by-line knitting). Also, the beginning of the round in the pattern starts in the CENTER of my chart. This will be more clear while knitting - just follow along with both pattern and chart until you orient yourself to the new setup.


I worked through row 55 of my chart (highlighted in Orange) before working the edging bind-off. I have included additional feather-and-fan repeats beyond where I concluded mine for those of you who would like to work a larger blanket. You can easily continue adding repeats beyond the final row of my chart - it's all up to you. (You'll need more yarn, though)


The lace edging in the pattern is awesome. The most beautiful thing about it, though, is that you can work it whenever you want. Just finish your last pattern repeat and work the edging. It blocks beautifully.


And warm under the newest creation here at BT headquarters, I welcome Fall with open arms. Happy knitting one and all.

Taut

Don't you just love this part?

Round and Round

I'm housesitting. They have central air, cable, and good beer in the fridge. What do you think I've been doing every night?


Circular lace is a blast - no purling! A Top Chef Marathon kept me company through the last slough of repeats, (lets just say it's probably better that I don't have TV at my place.) and at this rate I'll definitely have a new blanket before the autumn chill gets here.

Everyone expressed so much interest in this project, I thought I'd give a quick update for fun. It isn't my pattern, but I'll be sure to post all the juicy details upon finishing so anyone can make one!

Until next time, I'll be feather-and-fanning myself into oblivion.