Big news, and quite a surprise

It has been a while since I have been here and wrote to you all. A lot has happened since then, some of it fun, some of it not so much (like a broken furnace/heater). As some of you might have noticed, especially if you read here frequently, you will have noticed that I talk a lot about my projects, knitting or otherwise, but not much about my personal life. I like it that way. However, there is something that I figure I aught to share. Some of you who know me through other channels already know, but only to make it fair for those of you who don’t, here is the big news. My husband and I are expecting our 3rd child in early January. Yes, I know you have not seen much baby knitting, and you probably won’t, because I simply don’t have any time for much of anything at the moment.

But, very much related to this, we had a wonderful surprise for Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas is a Dutch celebration (Yes, I know, some other countries celebrate something very similar, but I am from the Netherlands…) on December 5th, where usually children get all kinds of presents and pepernoten, and it is a lot of fun. This year, a package had arrived just before this big day that kind of puzzled me. I was not expecting any thing. And I do mean I was not expecting anything, especially not of this kind. The return address was in the Netherlands, and the name on the package was that of a friend who organizes a wonderful, small, online-based handcrafting club in the Netherlands, of which I am a member. I only know this friend through the club. So I was rather puzzled…

We decided to safe it until the 5th, as that just made it easier for the 2 little ones who are just starting to learn that some events have presents associated with them, and that presents do not just get opened arbitrarily. Imagine my surprise when we opened this box, and it was indeed full of sinterklaas presents:

Then the unwrapping fun began. The box was filled with hand made gifts for the new baby, and some fun stuff for the rest of us:

There was all kinds of gorgeous stuff. Knitted cardigan, socks, crocheted bib, embroidered bib, embroidered hooded towel, crocheted and sewn blankie dolls, a sewn windmill, diaper bag, and diaper pouch, felted booties, felted flower, crocheted bottle holder in the shape of a cow, a quilt, sewn shirt and pant set, pacifier holder with a pocket that looks like a mouse that the paci could be stored in, a tatted bookmark, 2 oncies with prints on them, books and games for Sinterklaas, and decorations for Sinterklaas. So many gorgeous presents! And each is even more wonderful then the next. (Of course this would be a circle without an end…) Each piece is a wonderful example of craft(wo)manship, and we were so excited that we were the recipients of this wonderful present. We are very thankful to this amazing group of friends.

Next time I will tell you a little more about what I HAVE been doing while I was quiet here, because there were indeed some project that at least have been worked on during this time.

Oregon Shawl # 2

Last week I all of a sudden became obsessed. As my family and friends can tell you, I ignored and neglected everything and everyone one. I had decided that I could get Oregon shawl finished before I saw the friend who I was knitting it for this week. At that time I still had about 12 hours to knit, some stitches to catch and secure, and of course washing and blocking to do. And I will remind you that I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old who are with me at all times. So… This was going to be a challenge!

But, on Saturday, I finally finished knitting:

And the corner detail, my favorite part of this shawl:

And on Sunday, I washed and blocked it. Blocking really does make lace from a pile of wet noodles into a wonderful project. I think especially the detail picture of the corner shows what a difference blocking can make, if you compare it to the one above.

Of course I also took some detail shots, one of my favorite part, that corner I talked about before:

And the side:

It took a day or 2 to dry, and then it was ready to be returned to it’s owner, my friend Patti. She was quite delighted with it. This made me happy, because I know it got a good home, where it and my work are appreciated. Of course I forgot my camera, so no pictures of the happy recipient. And of course it is still a bit warm here, too warm to wear a shawl.

Now, what is next…

The skein from the leftover bin

I told you I would tell you if there were any more knots, and well, look for your self.

And 2 more in the skein:

There were precisely four more knots after my last post about them, for a total of 9 knots in a 300 yard skein.

I have now finished the skein, and started a new one, which so far seems to be more promising. And I am up to round number 76. Around knot number 7, I realized the one good thing I could create out of this skein was a picture series showing how I attach a new skein without any knots. I think I may have mentioned it before, I think attaching a new yarn by knotting it to the last one is a rather poor choice. Yet a lot of newer knitters seem to be taught exactly this technique.

I think using a knot for attaching is a bad habit for a couple of reasons:
1. It is very difficult to create a knot that will not loosen and/or come completely undone, creating a hole.
2. It is almost equally difficult to put the knot somewhere where it won’t pop to the right side of the work. And if your reasoning is that you can put the knot at the end/beginning of the row, I would refer to my current project, which is knit in the round. No beginning or end to put a knot.
3. It is actually easier to attach a yarn without a knot, rather then with a knot.

Let me show you. What I do to attach a new skein or ball, or to repair a place where the yarn in the ball was knotted, as was the case here, is to double the yarn for a number of stitches. I have never seen this come apart. I would do about 4-5 stitches on something done in garter or stockinette, but when I do something like lace, I will double as many as 7-10 stitches. This is because lace will be stretched after you are done, and the yarn will shift some. I leave little tails of about an inch, at least until after I block the item, but at that point I either just cut them off, or weave them in with a sewing needle, depending on my patience.

Alright, here we go:
First, I line up the 2 yarn ends (the one coming from my needle, and the new one coming from the ball/skein) as follows:

I leave about an inch on each side, but then just start knitting with a double thread:

Here you can see the double stitches on my needles:

The next round/row you need to be a little careful and make sure you knit the 2 strands at the same time, but once you have done that, you really don’t see where you attached the new yarn.

The place where the yarn is attached is between the arrows.

As I said, I have never had this come undone, and I have been doing it for 29 years. You won’t have knots popping through to the visible side of your knitting, and it is no harder then just continuing to knit, just with 2 threads for a few stitches. If you don’t attach a new skein or ball this way, why don’t you give it a try, the next time you need to attach one. It works for any yarn, but the smoother or more slippery the yarn, the more stitches I would double up. The only time this is not a good method is when you change colors. Then it would be better to use something like the Russian join.

Three quarters of the way

I hit another major mile marker on the Oregon Shawl that I am working on. I have finished 3/4 of the number of rows for the sides. This is what it looks like now:

I have just started the 5th repeat of the sides, and unless I discover something odd, I will be doing 5 and a half repeats of that pattern. So… I also finished the last full (as in 16 row) repeat of this pattern. And on the corner I am working on the last branch of the pine tree. Until now I had been working on 2 branches at a time, but I just finished off the one to the last. After this there will be only the trunk. (and of course 125 repeats of edging…) The end is in sight, and my mind has already been working on new ideas (beyond the cardigan for DS #1).

Enough is enough

I consider myself a pretty reasonable person. I don’t mind a knot in a skein of yarn once in a while. After all, the mill making the skein/ball of yarn winds the yarn from a much bigger quantity, and will occasionally run out, usually not at the same time as the time that the ball is finished. I would rather have them tie a new one on, if that is the only method they can come up with for re-attachment, then have only half a skein. But then I started a new ball of Universal Yarn “Star Light” earlier last week.

Now, I know that my rounds are not short, as this is the yarn that I use for my Oregon Shawl. This means that there is just shy of 900 or so stitches on my needle. But I have had to re-attach this ball of yarn now for the 5th time. Just so we are clear, this is because I have run into 5 knots, within 3 rounds… It is like they emptied the bin of cone ends into this one ball. To be completely fair, this is the 3rd ball of this yarn I am knitting, and I don’t recall any knots, or maybe just one, in the previous 2 balls. And no, I am not taking this ball back, because I am finishing Oregon for a dear friend, and she gave me the yarn she was using. I just really hope that this is going to be the last time I have had to attach this yarn. If you would like to know the rest of my opinion on this yarn, I invite you to look at my post about it in early May. I just read it over again, and was actually surprised to realize my opinion of it has not changed significantly, provided I won’t find a lot more knots… If I do, you can be sure I will let you know.

To celebrate the rain

Where I live we have hardly had any rain since June 21st, and it has been HOT! As in over 100 degrees hot. Makes you not really want to knit, and makes you beg for some rain. But last Saturday, we woke up to the most wonderful sound, even if it was 5:30 in the morning. It was raining. We got all of about 30 mm/1.27inches, but still, it was wonderful, slow, and lasted for several hours. Because I have been looking for something else to knit on (sometimes only having Oregon shawl to knit on is really getting a little…. tedious), and because, even though it is very hard to believe, winter will eventually head our way again, I have cast on a new project. Here is what I have to show for a lovely, grey, dreary Saturday:

When I started out, I was thinking I would knit the famous Tomten jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. (It appears pretty difficult to find a picture/page of the pattern, without having to scroll down a ways. If you are interested in the pattern, you can check here, about one third of the way down.)

But when I actually started making a gauge swatch (I am using some old Sears Wintuk from my stash, the same I used for my son’s sweater last year, though that was blue, and this is white), I also started thinking about the cardigan. I did a gauge swatch, because I really didn’t like the material I ended up with last year. The needle suggestion on the yarn was quite a bit larger then what the pattern for the sweater had suggested, and as a result the material was rather stiff. So, this time I used US 10/6mm needles, and the material is much nicer. But, I didn’t really want a zipper, or knit garter stitch for ever. So, I decided to add buttons, and of course a buttonhole band, I decided I wanted stockinette material, rather then garter stitch, and I wanted to add a cable on each front. And because of the gauge I was getting, I would have to change the stitch counts. And I realized I have actually ended up with a completely different pattern! One I will be designing myself… Oh well, worse things have happened, right?

And it was apparently exactly what I needed, because Oregon Shawl has also made more progress. I actually finished the second skein, and have at the same time done about three and a quarter repeats of the sides:

Something to knit while it is hot

I told you I was working on something that was perfect for this weather. Well, here it is:

These are knitted earrings from this pattern. I attempted to create the 2nd set. I am very thankful to my wonderful friend who provided the thread/wire, the cable thimbles and the hangers. It gave me that last push to try this. It is now really too hot to knit anything made from yarn, but this just fit the bill. It was not as hard as I had been afraid it was going to be, but it was definitely more awkward than I had hoped it was going to be.

Here are some things I discovered:
1. Jewelry wire is more fragile than you might think. You need some sharp cutters to cut it, otherwise it might just break somewhere you don’t intend it to. I had some old cutters for cutting the wire of the first earring, and the wire broke about 4 inches away from where my cutters were trying to cut through the wire. Thankfully not in a spot where it would cause any real issues.
2. You have to be careful not to tighten the wire too tight around the needle, otherwise it will be impossible to get your needle into the stitch the next go around.
3. The stitches won’t run (like stitches in yarn sometimes do), unless you do something really weird. Don’t ask how I found out.
4. It is a rather quick little project, with immediate results.
5. Wire kinks. When this happens, it creates rough spots on the wire that make me wonder if it weakens the wire.

In regards to the pattern, I think the finishing instructions are a bit confusing, or maybe that is just my overheated mind. In any case, what I did was a little different then what the pattern said. I did the following: Cut the wire(s), leaving a 3-4 inch tail. Thread the wire(s) through the live stitches, and through the first and second side of the cable thimble, put/hang the earring hanger on the cable thimble, then run the wire(s) through the live stitches again, from the opposite side, and wrap the tail a few times around the top, just below the cable thimble. Trim the wire. Also, I threaded the beginning tail through first row of beads, to secure it, and hide the ends, and then trimmed it.

I used size 1 (2.25mm) needles, rather then size 2 (2.75mm). This meant they became a little smaller and denser then the original, which suited me just fine. I was surprised how well my Knitpicks Harmony sock needles held up under the abuse. It was a fun little project, and I will probably try something like this again.

Too hot to wear anything but lipgloss

When I first moved to Texas, one of the women who became my knitting friends here told me:”You just wait until the summer (it was November at the time), then it will be too hot to wear anything but lipgloss.” While the first couple of years weren’t too bad, this year, I completely understand what she was saying. In all of July we have had 0.08 inches of rain (that is 2 mm for the metric people among us). The last “real” rain was June 22. With a few rare exceptions it has been over 100 degrees F (37C) for more then a month, with the last 4 days having been over 105 (40,5C). Yesterday and day before yesterday the high was 108 (42C).

What do you do in those temperatures? Obviously, we turn on the air conditioner. I do not understand how people used to be able to survive these temperatures without that modern convenience. Growing up, it would be really hot if the day’s high got to be 95 (35C). But that would never last long, and a rain would bring down that temperature 10-20 degrees, easily. Truthfully, however much I would love to see some rain, I also dread the prospect at this time, because all it does here is just raise the humidity. The thermometer doesn’t budge one bit. All that to say, I am not used to this kind of summer.

One very sad result of this summer (other then all plants in my yard looking like they are dead) is that knitting is just too much. Even something like cotton dishcloths or acrylic scarf is just too much. I will make a few stitches, and my hands get clammy, my yarn starts to get moist and stick. And while I could probably find a combination of acrylic yarn and metal needles, it is just not pleasant. Of course my main project is still an Oregon Shawl I am finishing for a dear friend (the same one of the quote at the top of this post, actually), and with the wool content in the yarn, the bamboo needles and the size of the project, it is just really not much fun to work on right now.

Then last week, one of our other friends brought a new project (with supplies for all of us! YEAH!) that I am thinking might at least temporarily help. The supplies I mentioned were important in this case, because this project uses a few things that I did not have in my stash. And, while I don’t think I have mentioned it, with a different group I belong to, I am participating in a 6 month yarn/stash diet. Until November I am not supposed to buy anything to start new projects or enhance my stash. The only thing allowed is notions and absolute necessities (like buttons or thread for a sewing project). Oh, and this projects does involve knitting…..

Birthday haul and progress report

Last week was my birthday, and my husband and children surprised me with a wonderful gift:

I had mentioned at some point that one of the reasons I was not designing as much was that I could not play with yarns, see how they behaved with lace or cable patterns, feel what they feel like on which needles, etc. They decided to remedy that quite successfully.
And a little progress was made on Oregon, I almost finished the second repeat of the side, and this was the end of the first skein I have used. As you might remember, I started this after the center was finished, but aside from picking up the stitches, I think the skein had just been recently started. I was quite surprised at how much could be knitted with just one skein. We are talking 700 or so stitches a round!

Socks are not complicated

At least that is what I think. (Apparently blog post writing is complicated. I wrote this back in March! March 17th to be exact. And somehow didn’t post it. So, here it is, a bit delayed.) Socks are not terribly complicated, no more so then a sweater or any other item that has in- and decreases. However, if you do not do due process, they may well come out different then you expect. Case in point:

This is a lovely pattern, called Andromeda. They were published in the spring of 2009 in Knotions Magazine, and I fell in love with them, enough so that I started them in early march 2009. That is right, 2 years ago. Yes, they have been languishing a bit. Not because I don’t like that pattern, because I do. Simply because I am a very polygamous knitter. There were other projects that caught my attention. Not even because I liked them better, just because they were new…. I know, shame on me. Or maybe not, I don’t know to get things finished, I knit because I like to knit. However, a week ago, this project almost had me to tears. Almost, because I refuse to let any project bring me to tears. There are better things to mourn. But, a couple of weeks ago, I had pulled this sock out, and decided it was time to spend some more time with it. I discovered that I, I hope, had put some sharp implement too close to the skein, some lovely, soft Knit Picks Stroll yarn in the color “Dusk”. There was one spot on it where several threads were either severed, or mostly severed. Quite annoying, but I hope that it was not bugs. I have not seen any additional damage in anything, and no debris either. So I have my hoped up, and have been knitting several pieces into my sock. Most of the severed pieces are long enough that I can use them and not feel completely desperate. However, sometime in the last two weeks, I took a week long trip to Atlanta, GA. This is about a 12 or so hour drive, and I took these socks along, because the pattern fits in one clear page protector, and the chart is small, unlike the pattern for Casablanca, which spreads over 4 pages. At least I need 4 pages to do one needle. But I digress.
I had almost finished the leg portion of the sock, and was hoping that despite all the planned commotion, I would be able to mostly finish this sock. Then I had the bright idea to try it on… These socks are for me after all, if I don’t fit them, they won’t be any good. I should also tell you that I did NOT do a proper gauge swatch when I started. The top border/cuff did not even make it too my heel, let alone go over it. So I decided to rip the whole thing, and since I had very few options, I decided for the heck of it to do a gauge swatch. As it turns out, I had and extra stitch over 2 inches. My needle was too small. No wonder that the sock didn’t fit me. Unfortunately I did not have any other needles with me, so I ended up going to Joann’s Fabric, in Atlanta, and bought some size 2′s. Thankfully they had them. It is not always easy to find needles that small, and without internet access I was unable to locate a true yarn store. I know, I have at least one set at home, but I wasn’t going to be home for quite some days… What was a knitter to do? I do have a wonderful and understanding husband, who didn’t even blink when I told him I wanted to get some more needles. So I did a gauge swatch with those, and finally got gauge. Then I was stuck, because I used a provisional cast on, using a circular needle instead of a piece of waste yarn, and needless to say, I didn’t bring one. I also didn’t bring a crochet hook to add the beads in just after the cuff.
When I got home that was relatively easily remedied, and after another week, I have gotten this far:

I think and hope that I have almost gotten past the section where all the breaks are, and can finally knit a couple of rows without re-attaching new yarn pieces. But I still love the pattern, despite making the wrong size, not having bigger needles, having to do 2 gauge swatches, and last but not least using yarn that somehow went to pieces.