Two Lessons about Your Own Patterns

Lesson One: Test That Pattern

You know what? You really should test-knit or test-crochet your pattern BEFORE putting it on the dang Internet. Luckily as far as I can tell, no one made the snood pattern I wrote a couple of weeks ago, so no harm was done...but I wrote the instructions by "reading" the first snood I made, and I mis-read a round. Following the original instructions would get you a snood, but the increases would not lie flat. I fixed it, so what is currently on the Snood-Tastic page is right. I know this, because today I fixed the pattern and followed it, and the finished item came out just fine, thanks.

Back of Gray Snood

Side view of gray snood

I made this one out of Patons Grace 100% mercerized cotton thread, which has the same gauge as the yarn on the brown bamboo snood. It also took just over one skein of yarn. I'd make the snoods smaller, but the drape would not be as nice.

I found really nice thin headbands at the grocery store, and used one of them for the elastic. It worked just great. This snood is VERY comfortable (I am still wearing it) and will be perfect for doing outdoor activities on windy days. And it goes just fine with my graying hair.

Lesson Two: Look at Your Own Pattern

I made another snood earlier this week, out of Classic Elite Cotton Bam Boo left over from another project. I was very confident, and just started crocheting away assuming I had memorized the pattern. By about round 4 I knew something was off. it was very wavy, as if it were ruffled. That is because I had been increasing too quickly and did way too many rows of doubling the number of spaces. I kept going anyway, hoping the snood would even out. Sure enough, I ran out of yarn on the last row, again. The finished product, though, was not quite right.

Not my best picture

In addition to making my ear look really weird, you can see how lumpy it ended up being. And it is not long enough, so the bottom doesn't drape nicely. Well, if I ever need a hair net...or I may frog it and re-use that nice, white hairband that's in there. This is pretty ugly.

I really need to read the instructions, even for my own things. Duh.

Good thing I have the instructions all fixed up, since I ordered some nice bamboo-blend yarn to make another one for one of the people who asked for one. I need to figure out who else wanted one...and maybe someone else will make one! But, no, kids, I am not making them and putting them on Etsy. Not cost effective.

I also have an exciting commission for some hand warmers for a neighbor. Maybe after that I can get back to my nice, gray cardigan. With my spouse gone to his dad's for much of next week, I should be able to get a lot done this week.

Converging Ribs Done! And Finding New Projects

I did finish my Converging Rib socks on Wednesday and am wearing them now. They fit really well and look smart and stripey. I regret that I don’t have a photo of both of them, but it has been raining here for three days, and I am trying to get photos of them in the right light so the patterning will show. I really need to design socks using less patterned yarn, but in my defense, when I started these I wasn’t going to do the fancy decreasing, but rather plain ribbed socks. That does mean, though that I have completed one whole pair of socks this year. My previous pair had actually started in November, because I dawdled over it. As a reminder, I put a little recipe on how to do these socks in the blog a few weeks ago. A couple of people have asked me to link it on Ravelry, but really it’s not a pattern—just hints for doing the design element. Maybe I will just go ahead and do it. If it's boring, no one will make it, and that's fine.

I think I’ll go faster on the next pair, the Charybdis , that I mentioned last week was designed by Fiona, who was inspired by my Glacier Lake socks to design her own pair. They are lots of fun, and look way more complex than they are to knit—just what I like in a sock! I may even go ahead and do the short-row heel, just for a change of pace. It’s nice to get back to toe-up socks, since I took a little break from them with the last few pairs.

There are a couple of factors that I hope will keep me interested in these socks. First, the yarn is very different. As I mentioned in a post a little while back, it is Araucania Ranco Multy, which comes in all sorts of nonstandard colorways and is randomly dyed, with lots of splotches and spatters to break it up. The colorway I picked is one I got fairly recently from The Loopy Ewe, even though I already had two skeins of it in my stash. I just liked the way the aqua and lime green blended with the more dominant berry color. So far, it’s just fine to knit with, not splitty or harsh.

Note: I took a picture with my camera phone of the sock toe and have tried to email it to myself, but it isn’t here yet. So, come back later to see the work in progress.

The knitting itself is interesting because I decided to use my new needles that I got at Fibers. They are Chiaogoo stainless steel circulars in size 00, which I hope will make my sock gauge just a little tighter than it has been lately. I am very fond of the clear nylon cable on these. It’s a bit more flexible than KnitPicks or Addi Turbo, but not as overly flexible as the Kollage square ones. This means that I can push the yarn toward the tip without the cable bending back on itself like the collage ones do, but it doesn’t annoyingly insist on poking out like some thicker cables do. I am, however, not sure that I love the slightly bend tips. They remind me of some of those old Aero aluminum or nonstick needles. However, I am getting used to sliding the yarn around the bends, and it isn’t slowing me down. In any case, it’s always good to try a new needle, in case you love it. And these were not at all expensive (I actually think they were just $5), so I didn’t break the bank getting 00s and 000s. That’s a bargain compared to some of the other needles I’ve bought!

I have a tiny project I will probably work on Saturday, then I should be heading into my next UFO completion project, the Itchy Shalom. More on that later!


What Are You Doing Next?

Looking for things to knit? Here are some online magazine ideas (some of which I have already discussed in greater detail, but wanted to group together):

• Spring 2009 Knitty , featuring a scarf called Fit + Flirt by my friend Birdy in San Antonio and the lovely Decimal sweater by an Austin resident.
• Spring 2009 Twist Collective, which also has some great patterns, including good ones for guys.
• Spring 2009 Knotions, which has a lovely scarf and socks, plus a “Spring Kimono” that reminds me of the Decimal pattern, in that it will look good on petite or statuesque folks.
• Ravelry, every day: What I do most days is click the Patterns tab, then click the small link above the selection of latest patterns that says “see more.” This shows you everything that’s been added, from most recent to dim past (if you have the patience to click that long). It’s a fun way to find inspiration, or to see if someone just published the idea you had (has happened to me). And it can give you a good laugh sometimes. For example, this morning I went to look and up popped a crochet pattern that I think was supposed to be a calla lily, but looked to me like the cup on a lacrosse stick. Ravelry will eventually have all the patterns in each of the other things listed above, but you would miss the articles, so do the advertisers a favor and check out the online knitting zines! I must say I enjoy the ads, too!

Question of the Day: What online knitting magazines have I left out? Tell me more!

Friday Randomness

Like some of my blogging friends and acquaintances have been saying of late, “I gots nothin’” in the way of fascinating blog content for today. I am not burning with passion about a particular issue, and my knitting is fun but just getting bigger, that’s all. So, here are a few tidbits about things I’ve noticed or am interested in these days.

1. Yes, the Kauni Jacket is coming along just fine. I am about halfway up the right half of the back, heading toward the start of the right arm. The stripes are very wide, since there are only 64 stitches on that half. It’s a neat contrast to the thin stripes on the other side. I hope to get quite a bit done over the weekend. And maybe I’ll finish my socks, too. I just have an hour or two left on those socks. Just have to get motivated.

2. One motivation for finishing the socks is that I have the next pattern and yarn chosen. That’s the yarn in the picture--which was hard to locate, because I'd apparently forgotten to add it to my stash on Ravelry--and it's one of my most recent purchases, too! The pattern is called Charybdis. It is so cute, and I’m flattered that I actually inspired the designer to try her hand at designing! I think the yarn will look as good on the pattern as the yarn Fiona chose for her prototype. Heck, if she knitted a pattern I did, the least I can do is knit hers, right?

3. I even have another sock pattern to love. One of the ladies on the Texas knitting list I read posts patterns she finds, like every day. On Wednesday, this one, called Seriously Southwestern Socks, came up. I like it way more than some of the other two-color ones I’ve seen. I think I will try to find a suitable dark semi-solid, perhaps a very dark green, to make this with one of my many lighter colors of indie dyer sock yarns.

4. I’ve been reading a few of my magazines, and I enjoyed the latest Piecework, which came yesterday. If you are a fan of historical re-enactments, you really will want to get this issue. There are socks, a “vest” and a kind of shawl called a sontag, with authentic directions. I did find lots to like in the new Interweave Knits, too. Tonight I will look through it again to see if there’s anything in it I am just dying to make, so I can get yarn for it tomorrow. I’ll let you know if I choose a pattern.

5. Yep, tomorrow Deana, Dawn and I are going to head back out to Paige and Brenham. This time I will have a list of things I am looking for. Since there isn’t enough yarn for many large projects at my LYS, I hope to get a couple of projects’ worth of yarn. I’ve been carefully studying my queue on Ravelry, too.

And here’s a random blogger hint. I’ve noticed that on blogs with word verification, occasionally the word just doesn’t show up. Just type something random in and try to submit. Words will usually appear the next time. I do the verification of comments, because I was concerned at first that inappropriate things might get posted. I did get a spam comment last week, but it has not been as bad as I feared, not at all. I thank ALL of you who have commented lately, too. I learn a lot from you, and I feel better when I read your words of encouragement!

This Makes Me Inordinately Happy

Kauni Multicolor
Originally uploaded by sunasak

What just happened makes me so happy that I am posting twice in one day. I think I got an inkling of what must constitute my happiest knitting moments.

I was taking a break and looking through the new patterns on Ravelry, because I just like to do that. I'm always on the lookout for that perfect shawl, mitten or cardigan (the obsessions of the moment). I'd been looking at some DROPS designs, from the most prolific Scandinavian pattern makers out there. I'd seen a crazy little pullover from sock yarn that I liked, but as Dawn the Wednesday Wonder had pointed out, it was not a design for "fluffy" people. I was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that perhaps even I am a bit too fluffy for all the stripes in that pattern (I'm linking to a picture of it here , since they own the photo).

Then today, lo and behold, they'd posted another sock yarn sweater, this one a very simple cardigan, half of which was knit vertically and half horizontally. The stripes were busy, but less so than in the other pattern. (Click here to see what I mean.) I debated whether I should purchase 5 balls of their sock yarn to make it. I actually DO want to buy some of their yarn, to thank them for all the nice patterns. But right now, I have that New Year's vow to use my stash nagging away at me.

So, I wandered off to my quite hefty Ravelry stash page to see if there were anything in there that was a) self striping and b) over the 1220 yards I needed for the pattern. I looked at my red and blue Jojoland Melody, which I have way more than enough of. But really, I want that to be a shawl, which I already have one of yer wonderful patterns picked out for and everything. Then...there it was. The yarn I had bought from the place in the Netherlands, because I loved it, but that I didn't want to use to make that same sweater the Yarn Harlot had made. The rainbow-colored Kauni. The beautiful, wool, fingering weight, rainbow Kauni.

What you see in the photo is just SOME of the coloring in this yarn. It's a whole rainbow of nice, long repeats. Perfect for...A CARDIGAN.

And that was my happy, happy moment. The moment pattern and yarn came together in my mind and made something as-yet unrealized, but beautiful. I had a match!

And I think that magical moment of matching yarn to pattern is better than buying yarn, better than choosing a pattern, better than getting gauge, better than the actual knitting of the project, and a long sight better than sewing pieces or blocking!!

Ahh. I will go home and print my pattern and touch my yarn. Maybe I'll even swatch this one AND the revision for Bridget tonight!

I forgot to say this little tidbit about Bridget: I have ordered some hand-made buttons for it. I sent Wednesday Wonder Georgia Morgan a sample of the yarn, and she's going to make me buttons! Won't that be nice?

Quick Humorous Ravelry Item

So, I was taking a break and browsing new patterns on Ravelry, when I found a baby hat based on the king in the Katamari Damacy video game. Oh do click on the hat link--it goes to the author's blog and has extra cute photos. The baby is precious. And the baby is just a hoot. (On the blog, the nekkid baby photo looks a lot like my first son as an infant, other than obvious equipment differences.)

I think this hat could be used to make all sorts of Halloween costumes for the little-uns. Katie, should I start crocheting on this for next fall???

This proves to me that, underneath my current aversion to being a parenting counselor due to a previous unfortunate career choice, I still really like babies.

Also, my boss is cold. I guess this calls for a shawl.

Looking Around

I haven't had time to post this week, due to a new job that featured no Internet access until today, and things to do in the evenings this week. I am faithfully knitting along on the Ripples and Waves socks, and they should be done by the end of the weekend. And don't laugh, but when they are done, I once AGAIN vow to work on some of my unfinished projects, the ones that seem so sad and deserted in my Ravelry queue.

All the ladies in my Texas email list are signing up for a Ravelympics (I have no clue how that is actually spelled), but I'm going to decline that. I am just no good at these mass hysteria knitting things. I'll enjoy watching the others, like I have on Sock Wars, numerous mystery shawls and such. I still think of myself as not much of a joiner. Even if I occasionally do join things...like Ravelry (note that I resisted that bandwagon oh, for at least a month or two).

Mostly these days I have been looking at patterns. I see so many things I want to knit in magazines and online. Sometimes nothing really grabs my attention, but right now LOTS does. The Hey Teach! in the new Knitty Surprise, for example. I know it looks like stuff I have been making, but those items are so flattering! And the mitered square vest on the cover of the new Creative Knitting (that's today's illustration). That looks so nice and there are so many yarns it would be fun to make in...and I love modular.

I even want to make some crochet items! The Interweave Crochet magazine has two items I would LOVE to make. The Ocean of Pearls cardigan uses yarn I didn't like knitting with, but I think would be more fun to crochet with. Of course, the only color the LYS has enough of is pink. But, I need something pink. It is such an elegant looking cardigan! And then there's this Gladiolus Square vest. It says it is "granny squares" but it does NOT look like the vests my grandmother made for me as a child! It is sophisticated and plain old pretty. Both of these are enough to make me grab a hook and see how long my wrists hold out. So...sure...I will work on finishing some unfinished projects, or starting the ones in my queue. Maybe I can hold on and make these lovely items later, now that I have bookmarked them all.

And don't get me started on the next Interweave Knits. Thankfully a lot of those items look too hot for Texas. Whew. An excuse to not make stuff.

I have one more topic stored up that I wanted to mention, and that is how much I enjoyed reading the book I just finished. It was Shear Spirit, the one that takes you on visits to a number of places around the US where sheep, alpacas, goats, and such are grown for their fiber. It was fun to learn about the variety of settings, the different people and the variety of passions that led them all to make fiber and do stuff with it. Most of the people seemed to be weavers more than knitters, but that didn't stop the author from putting together knitted projects from each place. This type of book is probably read by more spinners/knitters/dyers than weavers. I liked looking at the looms and their output, anyway, even if I think I'll probably not end up a weaver. I especially liked weaving from all sorts of different natural wool colors. It's obviously a hard life raising all the animals, but there are many advantages to being out in all that nature, no matter whether you're in Maine, Texas or the northwest!

OK, I'll be back to more regular posting in the future. I just needed a break to transition into yet another new job. I hope to stick here for 9 months, fingers crossed.