When Suna's Worlds Collide

8 of Pentacles, Whispering Tarot
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Many of you know that my other collection (besides balls of yarn) is tarot decks. Imagine my reaction when I found this on my newest deck, the Whispering Tarot, by Elizabeth Hazel. The card is the 8 of Pentacles, which usually depicts a young man working hard at some menial task (in my favorite desk, the apprentice is in a workshop churning out pentacle-shaped wooden plates). Here the protagonist is sitting with her cat and knitting a very large afghan. It's still a picture of repetitive work, and she still doesn't look totally thrilled at the task, but in the text, the author suggests she is happy with the product and glad it's almost done. I am really liking how the woman who did these cards did some interesting things without totally obscuring the traditional images in the cards (she did away with a lot of esoteric stuff and religious symbolism, which I do like--though she seems to have substituted Buddhist images for Christian ones, not sure why).

Well, I doubt you came here to read a tarot review (unless you are Jody or Tina), but if you are interested, you can still get signed and numbered copies of this deck, which is small but nice and comes with its book on CD rather than book form.

In good knitting news, happy days, the additional ball of Silk Garden Sock yarn arrived yesterday, so I was able to finish the Silky Kerchief border at Chicks with Sticks last night. When I came home, I washed it in lavender stuff and laid it out on the guest bed. I didn't use pins to block it, since it's garter stitch, but I did smooth it out. I hope washing softens it a little. As soon as it is dry, I will take a picture so you can see how it fits--it came out a medium-sized shawl that I think will stay on well with a shawl pin down by the ends of the borders. And I did get the shawl to come out fairly even. That is the best I could do!

In less good knitting news (technically, crochet news), I have decided to frog the Ocean Pearls cardigan. The back is just too small. I think I will try again one size larger, since the smaller needle fooled me by acting like it was making the right width, but it wasn't. Ugh, having to do all those bobbles will be a pain, but since I am better at them now, doing it over will look better. I am going to take a break from it, though. I will probably try to churn out the second Lace and Cable top that I said I would do for Suzanne.

At least I will soon get to start on new socks. The Hawaiian Leis are fast approaching the toe. I could either try to quickly make socks out of the remaining Silk Garden Sock, so I'd have matching socks and shawl, or do what I really want to do and make something pretty with some seafoam green yarn I recently wound.

And here's a final shocker: I even did a bit of work on Juno Regina last night. I did it sorta wrong, though, since I could not find the pattern. I am wondering if I should re-start that one...no, too much knitting in slippery silk. I'll just go back a few rows and keep plugging away at it. I need to finish that.

Start Hyperventilating NOW: Found Old Treasures!

Formal Portrait, Double Eyelet Rib Socks
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Because I should, I will share photos of my current projects--the finished pair of fraternal Double Eyelet rib socks, which I think came out quite nicely, but I think I can stand to give away, and the progress on Juno Regina Petite--I've knit more on it, but this photo gives a good idea of how it will look. The colors show up on the enlarged view on Flickr, if you are interested. I think it will be lovely once finished and blocked.

Right now I am working on a pair of socks of my own design, and trying to write the pattern down while I am at it. I'll post a photo of that one when I am a little further along on it.I am using my second skein of Fortissima Disco Colori, which is mostly denim blue with a bit of aqua and green in it, plus the extra special silver threads. Disco-y, yes.

But here's the excitement! Lee is re-wiring the house so that we can put in a wireless booster and be able to more successfully use the wireless in the media room (it is as far away as possible in our house from the router, and we lose connection at times). Now that I have a brand-new red notebook, I'd like to be able to blog and do Ravelry up in the room with all my knitting stuff.

So he opened the closet door in the office. Um, it is a mess. So, he started to neaten it slightly, but ended up emptying the whole thing, something I had not been able to do since we moved here, 10.5 years ago. There were boxes of books way in a corner that I never could lift out. So, yes, we had lived here over a decade and not finished unpacking. Sigh. But, Lee got out the books!

First, there were all the Japanese linguistics books I'd used in my studies and dissertation work. Aww. Some very expensive dictionaries in there! Then there were a bunch of interesting linguistics and culture books. A bunch of books on cultures I was interested in. Way too many bad 80s quilt books. And. And. And. The treasured knitting books I had been looking all over the place for.

There, to my immense relief, were my Barbara G. Walker stitch pattern books. From when they first came out. A first edition of A History of Hand Knitting. A pristine copy of Principles of Knitting. Alice Starmore's fair isle book (SCORE!!!!!) all these from the 80s and early 90s. All sorts of fair isle books, a book on Cornish knit frocks...wait, wait--here are some highlights:

* Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting (now all I lack is the Aran book)
* Charted Knitting Patterns, by B Walker (I think I re-bought this one, oops)
* Classic Knitting Patterns from the British Isles by J. Waller (has VERY English looking people as models)
* The Complete Book of Traditional Fair Isle Knitting, by S. McGregor
* Cornish Guernsies and Knit Frocks by M. Wright (a really cool little book)
* A History of Hand Knitting by R. Rutt (first ed.)
* Knitting Around, by E. Zimmerman (yay! I knew I owned this!)
* Knitting Counterpanes, by MW Phillips (wow, I had forgotten about this--a whole bunch of cool patterns, borders and squares)
* Knitting from the Netherlands: Traditional Dutch Fishermen's Sweaters, by H. van der Klift-Tellegen
* Knitting in the Old Way, by PA Gibson-Roberts (glad to see this one again)
*Knitting Lace: A Workshop with Patterns and Projects, by S. Lewis (I had forgotten this existed)
* Knitting without Tears, by Elizabeth Zimmerman (woo! Not lost!)
*No Idle Hands
* The Principles of Knitting, by J. Hiatt
* A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by B. Walker (yay, so glad I didn't re-buy these, as I have been tempted to many times)
*Swedish Sweaters: New Designs from Historical Examples, by B-M Christoffersson
* Traditional Knitting: Aran, Fair Isle, and Fisher Ganseys, by M. Pearson
*Traditional Knitting: Patterns of Ireland, Scotland and England by G. Morgan
* A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, by B. Walker
* A Useful Guide to Irish Crochet Lacemaking by M. Cusson

There sure were a lot of "traditional this and that" books in the 80s and early 90s, huh. And I sure did love Fair Isle, apparently.

One good thing is, knowing what some of these books are going for on Ebay these days, we could live a couple of months on the proceeds of selling them. Not that I would. What great resources I have been missing out on since I moved to Texas! I'd been holding off on designing things until I found all my books. And here they are! I also found some interesting history of quilting books in addition to the bunch of really not-so-hot quilt books that I am not sure why I bought. Oh yeah, and there were my bargello books from my intense bargello design phase. I could never get rid of those!

Finding all these books again reminds me of my dream of running a knitting resource center, with a library of books that knitters could use as resources, back issues of knitting magazines, and pattern collections from as far back as I could get them. I have so many resources, being such a bibliophile, and I do wish I could share them with others. We could all sit around and knit, design our projects, or share inspiration. Of course, I would hate to lose any of them, so I'd have to watch them like a hawk.

I feel like I could never run out of inspiration with all these wonderful resources at my fingertips. How lucky I am! If you live nearby and want to see any of these books, just let me know. I will check to see if I have re-bought any more of them, so I can offer duplicates up for others to use.

Even More Stash Justification

Knit Picks Simple Stripes 23554
Originally uploaded by sunasak

It's clear that I must have Stash Guilt, because I keep addressing this issue. Nonetheless...

I recently appalled someone when I said I had over 100 balls of sock yarn lurking in my house. Now, I have already explained to y'all that this isn't necessarily all going to be socks someday: it's a collection. Or my version of how the Mormons keep a stockpile of food and stuff ready for when disaster strikes. My yarn is ready for when financial disaster strikes: if I run out of money I won't run out of knitting fodder! I may get hungry, but I will be entertained. Someone else posited that I could eat the Maizy and the Tofutsie (corn and soy).

But another aspect of my stash-loving ways has become clear as I upload items from deep at the bottom of the yarn basket: some of that stuff is no longer made! Like Simple Stripes from Knit Picks. The yarn depicted here has been looked at a whole bunch of times on Flickr--I am thinking because it has been discontinued and is not one of the more common colorways. I figure it's going to become more valuable through the years, yeah, that's the ticket. My heirloom sock yarn is just like money in a vault! Some day, just some day, my stash might get me out of a bind, or something.

So I will keep treasuring it, even the Lion Brand Magic Stripes. Poor maligned sock yarn--it has held up well over time, so I still like it, even if it came from a discount hobby store. It's an heirloom too, now!

Good Old Juno, Now Known as Narrow Juno

You may have read in my addendum to my second post yesterday that I seem to have missed a repeat on Juno Regina's set-up rows. I think one of the dogs increased my row counter when playing on the couch. I should have figured it out, but was so happy I was getting the actual pattern to happy that I put aside that nagging question: why are there stitches on that chart that I am not knitting? Now I know--and it is good that my explanation to Lynn was not damaged too badly by my omission. Whew.

Just goes to show you, as I say repeatedly: you never stop learning at knitting. Soon as I find good light and a light-colored background, I will give you an in-progress shot of the Narrow Juno Regina, as I will now call my "dresser scarf." Let's just hope no equipment malfunctions mar my next projects (sparkly blue socks and a cardigan for Lee).

And, keep those job vibes coming. I have nothing yet, but many possibilities in the works. I just need ONE to work out!

Winning the Fight with Lace, Addendum

[edited 11/20]
Here is my answer to Lynn's question in the comments. She wants to know how to parse the sections in Chart 3, which tell you to repeat different sections different numbers of times. The author doesn't really tell you what order to do them in. Here, I will try to do that. Refer to the picture, too:

On chart 3, the first repeat you will work with all the motifs, so you just do the middle section (B) 4 times. Do the edge, 4 repeats of B, the unlabeled section, and then the other edge. For ten rows.

On the second repeat, you begin to get rid of motifs and start adding in plain sections (A and C). So, you'd knit an edge, then section A, move straight to B, repeat it 3 times, do the unlabeled section then do a section C and an edge. For ten rows.

For the third repeat, you would knit two section As after the edge (being careful to note that little extra square at the end, which can hide on you), then two Bs, the unlabeled section, then two As, then the edge. You have two solid strips on each edge going now. (look at the picture--see how they come in one at a time?).

The fourth repeat, you would do edge, A three times, B once, the unlabeled section, and C three times, edge.

Then in the next chart (Chart 4), you are finishing off the top of the last motif you started in repeat 4 of chart 3. You have plain strips on each side of that. When you are done, there are no more motifs.

After this, you do plain strips a long time. Charts 5-8 reverse the process and work similarly.

Let me know if it helps.

Added

Last night I realized the dog must have hit my row counter or something and I only did three repeats of section 2. So, I am a pattern repeat short. No wonder I never knit the part of Chart 3 with no label on it! Amusing. I realized it is now the width I want for a dresser scarf/real scarf, so I am just carrying on, with a less wide version. I have an actual spot I want to put it, so I have now decided I did it on purpose. Tee hee.

Winning the Fight with Lace

Double Eyelet Rib Sock, on a Foot
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Good news is that the holiday gift Trekking XXL socks are moving along well. Look how pretty sock #1 came out! Love, love, love Trekking XXL. It's just endlessly entertaining how those colors change and never seem to repeat. I made this sock just like the WendyKnits pattern, except I twisted the ribbing at the top, for more definition. Again, it's Double Eyelet Rib. There's another view on Flickr, if you click the link on the picture (plus some pix of me singing).

In more sock yarn news, I persevered and spent a few hours (I hope not wasting my time) finishing photography of ALL the rest of my sock yarn. The bottom of the Big Basket of Sock Yarn contained mostly Regia and some older yarns, but now I know what I have. I even took pictures of the solid colored yarns. Turns out I have some weird solids that someone gave me, not even wool. Oh well, they can make fun baby items or something. If you're on Ravelry, check out poor SunaSAK's over 140 stashed yarns. She seems obsessed with sock yarn.

But, Suna also loves laceweight. And worked with it much of the weekend when not singing in the big community choir concert (it was lovely!) or listening to others make music.

Juno Regina tried to kill me, to the extent that at one point I covered up the endlessly smiling model's face on the pattern--she appeared to be mocking me--SHE had made this successfully, why couldn't I? I ended up making a mistake I could not locate to repair, which necessitated a re-start on Saturday evening. That was disheartening. At least I discovered where I was messing up (as usually, a knit stitch on the chart was hiding from me). Charts with different repeats that go in different orders can be hard to parse sometimes, and it's exacerbated by using such fine yarn. I got happier when I switched to a slightly larger needle, though. Nonetheless, nothing is as tedious as erasing lace. I even (gasp) ALMOST put in a life line. But, nah, I couldn't locate the unscented dental floss fast enough.

I am sure I drove Lee insane cursing at the stitches and requesting silence over and over. But, I am happy to report that no only did I figure out what I was doing, I got three quarters through the third chart! I am into sections with mindless parts, which means I will soon be zooming away. I have a lot of fights with lace, but this one I think I am winning!

With the Claudia Handpainted silk, which is finer than the silk/wool the original was made in, the stole is apparently going to be more of a wide scarf. But I can see it draped over a white top very elegantly, anchored by a lovely shawl pin. (I say white, because it is fairly dark so would not show up as well against black, and because Boot Camp is a colorway that does not "match" much other than neutrals.

That's the knitting report from the weekend!

My Crafty Heritage

Progress on Trekking XXL Sock
Originally uploaded by sunasak

As promised, here be photos of the current WIPs. Just a few words on them, and then I will go on about my knitting/craft heritage because I feel like doing so.

Isn't the sock coming out nice? Lee said it was the nicest one I have made so far, and I think if you are a fan of blue, that could very well be true! Trekking XXL is just the most fun yarn to knit with! You never know what surprises those long repeats will bring (like the dark blue heel I ended up with, of course,right where I have to SEE to pick up the wraps on the short rows). These will be hard to give away, but I have a similar colorway in the stash, so I can re-create...some day. So much yarn, so little time.


Juno Regina only got 5 rows worked last night, but I am happy with it and can see that I "get" the pattern. The Claudia Handpaints silk laceweight is a bit fussy, and it isn't as easy to see where I am on the pattern as I would like, but so far I have not messed up too badly and have been good at counting. I am enjoying the patterned section, but will also enjoy the "mindless" middle, which I will be able to do outside the confines of the quiet media room.

Those Who Came Before

This morning I was thinking a lot about my mother. She had a pretty hard life--lots of abuse when she was young, followed by lots of illness from her 30s onward (much brought on by self medicating via prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco). What brought my mother the most joy was art--she started as a water color artist, then moved to other things after her schooling didn't work out. I remember her coloring in my coloring books, using shading and lovely color selections--it was so beautiful (and whoa did I feel inadequate, but that didn't stop me from drawing all the time until high school age).

Mom did lots of needlework--those large Erica Wilson embroideries from the 60s (still hanging in my house) and some lovely crewel work (still hanging in my house). I also have a lot of things from her decoupage years. You will not find her crochet projects from the 70s and early 80s hanging around my house...wow that was a lot of plastic-y acrylic in orange, avocado and yellow. I rememer her sitting in her chair, smoking and crocheting these awful pillows, which she would then stuff with plastic newspaper wrappers. Whenever you'd try to sleep on the couch, the pillow noise would wake you if you moved at all!

But, the work gave mom joy, and she had very little joy the last ten or 15 years of her life, other than us kids, my dad and the dog. She was always in such horrible pain from cancer, emphysema, or whatever. But she had the drive to create beautiful things, and it never left.

I guess I feel that way, too. I want to be making things of beauty, no matter what happens. Probably it's why I have such a large stash: if I get poor I have quite a bit of knitting fodder to pass the time.

Mom came by her love of crafts honestly. All of her family of origin were like her (and me). My grandmother (not the nicest woman, by the way) crocheted all the time--my memory of her is that she sat in her rocking chair, talking on the phone, smoking and crocheting all at once. How did she have enough hands? How much damage did all that second-hand smoke do to me?

My grandmother's twin sister knitted more than crocheting, which helped us bond a wee bit. I remember her making lap robes, well into her 90s "for the old people."

They had a sister who died when I was little. She was mentlly ill (kleptomania) so didn't leave the house much. She made a living tatting and crocheting intricate white cotton bedspreads and tablecloths. I do have some of her things. They are truly works of art, and I am sure they brought Aunt Sue comfort (hee hee, my dad keeps making it clear I am named after his sisters, Bettye Sue and Doris Ann, NOT this poor aunt, but I don't mind).

My grandmother's brothers were all writers. Hmm, wonder how I came to be a writer who knits? LOL.

And oh yes, on my dad's side, my grandmother quilted and crocheted--very frugally, as she was from the hills of north Georgia. My grandfather was an upholsterer, as was the uncle who inherited his business when he died young. More fiber arts!

It makes me very proud to carry on this heritage and keep knitting, crocheting, embroidery, quilting and tatting (when I have a moment??) alive in the family. (Yes, I used to embroider and needlepoint a lot--loved to design my own things, and I did go through a quilting phase when the boys were young--I will get back to it when I do not have so much work and music stuff going on.)

Quick Progress Note

Just a note to say I am still here, applying for jobs and being perky at work (in case they ever want me back I want to look good). It is a big singing week, so that slows knitting down, but my community choir performance is on Saturday, which will calm things down! I may be alone most of the Thanksgiving weekend, which will mean lots of knitting time.

I got to the heel on my Double Eyelet socks in Trekking XXL. I do love that yarn, even in mostly orange and blue!

I also got gauge, did a practice beginning, then got going for real on Juno Regina. I now "get" the pattern, so it will go faster now. I'm only in the second or third repeat of Chart 2, but I can tell it will be nice. The yarn is very delicate silk, so it will be sweet. The color is a bit weird, but the lace shows up nicely in it.

Photos of all items are forthcoming. Now you have something to look forward to, right?