WolfWeave

In all the iPad weekend excitement, I forgot to mention that I had totally unexpectedly won a giveaway on [Barb Parry (sheepgal)’s blog. If you scroll back to March 26, you can see my prize: Celebrating her Sheep Shares, I will be getting 2 “fresh, crisp skeins of our hot-off-the-sheep Cormo wool lusciously blended with alpaca from a local farm and bombyx silk,” as well as the new book HandDyeing Yarn and Fleece (Storey Publishing) by Gail Callahan, Kangaroo Dyer.

Thank you so much, Barb, for quite an unexpected and delightful surprise! Barb’s sheep are lambing at the moment and her blog has absolutely the most adorable lamb photos on it. Plus, she owns Foxfire Fibers, which created the wonderful Cormo Alpaca Classic that I am using to knit Amy Swenson (Indigirl)’s Slow Curve sweater (see below).

(note 4/28: My prize arrived today and the 2 skeins of yarn are a creamy white color and feel as soft as can be; I almost don’t want to try to dye them! But I do want to read Gail Callahan’s book and am glad to finally see a copy of it.)

Okay, don’t all laugh at once. In a burst of energy yesterday, I put away all my winter knitting projects into giant ziplok bags with their patterns and shoved the “winter project” bin to the back of the closet. I took out the “summer project bin.” Then I went to Target and bought 2 more Sterilite bins with locking lids to hold all the cotton or cotton-blend yarns I’ve purchased (lately?). I organized as much of the yarn as I could into giant ziploks by project with pattern included. I seem to have cornered the market on Schaefer‘s Laurel—a single color or variegated (my favorite) cabled yarn that is a delight to work with and which is surprisingly hard to find for sale. So, I have THREE bins of summer projects to work up! NOW you can all laugh.

Another month gone. And what do I have to show for it…pretty much nothing but a lot of frogged yarn. I really need to blog more and I have such good intentions but somehow using WordPress on a daily (or even weekly) basis is so much more cumbersome than just tweeting what I have to say when I think of it.

Having finished Stefanie Japel‘s Fit Your Knits class, I am finally beginning to understand how to alter knitting patterns so that they will better fit my shape: how to nip in at the waist and back out at the hips; how to slope the shoulders but allow for more length in the back than the front so the back won’t ride up; how to keep the sleeves from being too wide or the collar too open. There’s generally a lot of math involved but I’m taking that as I come across it! I thought that I would start with one of Stefanie’s own patterns: Short-Sleeved Cardigan with Ribbing from her book, Fitted Knits. I decided to knit it in Noro Silk Garden Chunky because I thought it would make a good transitional winter-into-spring sweater. It took a while figuring out the measurements but most of the adjustments would take place in the length to waist and from waist to hip. However, due to family circumstances beyond my control, my knitting time was limited and the project dragged on through March without getting near the waist.

Finally the weather started to warm up and I thought that I might as well start knitting it over again (with some additional alterations) in a mostly cotton and silk yarn from Noro, Furisode. Well, I ordered this yarn, unseen in person, from Webs and, through no fault of theirs, I hate it. It is like a cotton rag yarn with very little shimmer noticeable from the silk. Many areas are so loosely spun that they just fall apart at the slightest pull and each skein has had at least 1 knot in it. The colors are gorgeous but the yarn is pure garbage. However, I finally washed my swatch and I do have to say that it improved upon washing (and although it grew an inch in length, the width didn’t change at all, thank goodness). The gauge was slightly off, so I went up a size in the pattern from the one I had been knitting. I haven’t made it very far in this version either and just noted a mistake in the raglan eyelets that will require me frogging almost back to the collar (arrgghh!!!). It is so hard to keep those raglan increase eyelets small—I would like to find a different method of making raglan increases, so I’ll be searching the web today. Doesn’t it often seem that we do more research and figuring and note-taking than actual knitting? But I am going to press on and use the Furisode; it was too expensive just to toss (and I had already wound the skeins into balls, so I can’t return them).

For the icing on the cake, I am knitting this sweater in Combination Knitting style, so I am using the skills I learned in Annie Modesitt‘s class also. Oddly, the last time I did a lot of Combination Knitting, I remember it going much faster! I also need to do some short rows across the upper back and found two excellent tutorials by Cat Bordhi on YouTube on not only learning to make the short row wrap&turn, but on learning to neatly hide the wraps on the return rows. Only, I need to “wrap” my head around how to make this work in Combination Knitting by “turning” the stitches around the right way!

According to Eliza of The Book Case blog, Daina Taimina’s monumentally inspiring book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, has won an award from the British industry magazine, The Bookseller. Surprisingly, it isn’t exactly the award you’d expect for a volume that has guided many of the crocheters who have contributed to the IFF and Margaret and Christine Wertheim’s crocheted coral reef displays around the world. The book has won “the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year!” Seriously? I mean, Daina’s book is certainly worthy of winning a prize, but this one? Surely its title cannot be any more odd than The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification (as Eliza points out)?

So, apparently I’ve lost 2 whole months of 2010, today being March 1st. So much for the New Year’s resolution of blogging more regularly! What can you do…sometimes real life just gets in the way of knitting, crafting and the online world. Family obligations have been keeping me busy.

In order to catch up, I’m just going to upload the photos that litter my desktop, with a brief description (maybe I’ll fill in details and links later), so you can have some idea of what I’ve been up to. Then we can hope for more consistent reports from here on out (yeah, right!).

First of all, a photo of the finished 24 mo. size baby sweater for my husand’s niece, Ada Louise. This is knit from a Shibui pattern out of Shibui sock yarn with a large hand-dyed silk ribbon that matches the yarn colors. I sewed a button on the top front of each side and crocheted a corresponding button loop out of matching embroidery floss to the gathered silk ribbon, so that the bow would be removable when one wanted to wash the sweater. It turns out the Shibui sock yarn worked quite nicely in the washer and dryer. With hand washing, the sweater grew…so it should fit for a couple years. Even though she is 14 months old already, walking and talking and as adorable as only a 14-month-old can be, Ada is still admirably tall and thin, so the sweater is large on her and should continue to fit for a good long while. The edges all around are trimmed with crocheted picots. It took way too long to knit. Next time I make a baby sweater, it is going to be in worsted weight yarn!

I actually managed to finish my winter scarf for the year (sometime along into January!): Mary Heather Cogar (rainydaygoods)’s triangular-shaped Simple Things Shawlette. I knit mine by holding two yarns together: 1 strand of Miss Babs red merino sock yarn and 1 very thin strand of Shibui silk mohair yarn. The shawlette came out rather grand, is unbelievably soft, matches my gloves and hat, and is very warm. It has been a godsend this cold winter and I just love wearing it Generally I wear it bandito-style, tying it around the back of my neck.

I enjoyed knitting the shawlette so much that I began a second one as part of a Twitter knitalong: the Traveling Woman Shawl by Liz Abinante: However, I have barely started the first lace portion of the shawl because I seem to have developed quite a problem with dropping my yarnovers and then being unable to figure out how to pick them up after I’ve purled them on the wrong side row (being unable to “see” them and the way they should go). The shawl is being knit from Spirit Trail Fibers “Frija” sock yarn (80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon) in the glorious blues of the Tierra del Mar colorway. Somehow I don’t think it will be finished before spring arrives. I also joined Kitchen Sink Dyeworks knitalong for the Pavo Real (Spanish for “peacock”) Shawl by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark, which I planned on knitting out of Kitchen Sink Dyeworks’ Luxe Merino Fine fingering/sock yarn in a mix of soft tidepool blue-greens. However, I haven’t even had a chance to wind my yarn skein into a ball yet!

I also made a halfway decent start on the back of Amy Swenson (indigirl)’s Slow Curve sweater, knit from Foxfire Fiber Cormo Alpaca Classic in Loon color. (I’ve had this aran weight yarn for several years and been loathe to knit with it because the skeins are so unbelievably soft and squishy!). However, after I’d reached this point, I began to worry about my sizing and decided to wait to continue until after I’d finished my Stefanie Japel “Fit Your Knits” online class. Held in January and continuing until Stefanie had her baby in February, this class was invaluable for figuring out how to alter a knitting pattern so that it exactly fits your own measurements. No more nasty surprises with sweaters that are too small or too large and ill-fitting. In February, I also subscribed to Annie Modesitt‘s online class on Combination Knitting as a refresher course for the in-person workshop of the same name that I took a few years ago when Annie visited with the Windy City Knitting Guild. Annie’s videos and information were very helpful and the online chats twice a week were filled with useful information not covered in the class handouts.

So, it isn’t like I’ve been totally idle. I’ve been in more of a learning and sampling mode than a completion mode I guess…although it’s practically time to put away the winter yarns and start a nice sweater for the summer!

So…knitting. I have spent the last month (when not otherwise occupied, which was, admittedly, most of the time…and included clothes shopping for the new slimmer me) trying to finally finish up the Shibui Vintage Baby Sweater which has taken forever. It’s an easy knit but has certainly killed off any idea I had of ever knitting myself a sweater out of sock yarn—no way! It is all seamed and I’m in the middle of a simple crocheted edging. Then all I have to do is wash and block it and sew on the gorgeous impossibly matching 2″ wide hand-dyed silk ribbon ties (purchased from Joggles (which I took the precaution of Scotchguarding). I purchased a bunch of Baby Gap clothes (and the cutest pair of shoes) that match the colors of the sweater to send along with it so dear baby Ada will have nothing less than interchangeable matching outfits! I think I will post a photo of the finished sweater when I am ready to post the package (I hope by Friday) just in case her mom reads my blog.

I also began Ysolda Teague’s Ishbel scarf made from Wool Candy’s Lollipop Blue-Faced Leicester superwash sock yarn in the wonderful color called “Moss Rock.” I have several inches knit and can take a photo of this as soon as we have some sunlight. With the weather we’ve been having, I can’t wait to wrap this around my neck.

However, all knitting came to a screeching halt upon a virtual order from StitchDiva (Jennifer Hansen) to join the knit-along on Ravelry for her remarkable Endless Knitted Cardi Shawl. It was perfect, as I already had a supply of the Stitch Diva Studio Silk in “Poison Eggplant” which I must have purchased for another project. And for the coordinating ribbing, I pulled a ball from my stash of discontinued Blue Heron Yarns Rayon Seed in Black Plum. The colors match perfectly, but the Rayon Seed is so thin that I have to triple it to get it to match the size and gauge of the Studio Silk, which means weighing the ball while I rewind and divide it into 3 separate balls. Thus, I haven’t gotten much farther than staring at my swatch, while Jennifer (during her Wednesday Live Chats) and the knit-along group are probably ready to start the sleeves. We’re more than halfway through the knit-along month but I’ll get there eventually.

At the same time, my attention was captured by a new design from Amy Swenson of indiknits titled Slow Curve. It seems like the perfect winter sweater—long, form-fitting, and warm—and I believed I had the perfect yarn for it sitting in my stash. Finally, after 2 years, I would use my Foxfire Cormo Alpaca Classic (in color “Loon”) which, although declared on the ball band as a worsted weight knitting up at 4 stitches per inch on #8 needles, looked more like a soft, fluffy, bulky yarn. I knitted and washed my swatch, being mindful of Clara Parkes’ (of Knitters Review warning about the yarn blooming upon washing from 4 stitches per inch to 3.25 inches. I was so disappointed in my washed swatch–the gauge was fine and I had a lovely drapeable fabric but the magic of my soft fluffy yarn skein had disappeared and been replaced by an ordinary-looking worsted. Oh well, I am still going to use it.

Then I remembered that last year I had worked up and washed a swatch with Noro Silk Garden Chunky but never did anything further with it. I pulled out the project and was amazed to find out that I’d intended to knit another sweater by Amy Swenson—Emerald—from Knitty! This would make yet another perfect winter cardigan. So it looks like I have my 2 winter sweaters (and size 8 and 10 needles should make for quick knitting!).

Of course there are also a few smaller projects on my list (such as the Kathryn Alexander Designs Doo-Dad Scarf from Jimmy Beans Wool. Looks like I’m pretty set with my winter knitting!

Now I just need to get to it.

Okay…nearly 1 month since my last blog post! I HAVE been knitting, albeit slowly, and will try to post at least what I’ve been working on, if not an actual photograph or two—tonight or tomorrow. Sorry. (blame it on twitter and a daily surfeit of email)

I just rec’d the new Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Noro: Meet the Man Behind the Legendary Yarn book from Amazon and I thought you’d be interested in my scathing review:

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Should Be Ashamed!
September 11, 2009 By: Susan W. Swartz “beadmomsw” (Highland Park, IL United States)

What a rip-off! After waiting anxiously nearly a year for this book to be published, what do I find? Approximately 12 skimpy pages (out of 148) (really 6 pages of information and 29 photos, most of them small) telling about Mr. Noro (2 paragraphs and a quote) and the Noro Yarn Company . This “Meet the Man Behind the Legendary Yarns” is then followed by 40 recycled projects from Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton’s various Noro project books. Unbelievable! She couldn’t even be bothered to create new projects for this book! There should definitely be a disclaimer in the book description: WARNING: IF YOU OWN THE AUTHOR’S PREVIOUS NORO PATTERN BOOKS, DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS VOLUME!

I have never before returned a book to Amazon, even when I have mistakenly ordered duplicates…but I am going to send back this book. It is a total waste of money. I suppose if you are new to Noro yarns and have none of Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton’s knitting pattern books, then you will find it worthwhile. But if, however, you are, like me, one of those knitters who has devoured every Noro pattern that has come along for the past ten years or so, you already have every pattern in this book…so save your money. The 12 pages about Eisaku Noro and the company aren’t worth what even Amazon is charging. I am outraged that a travesty like this could even be published.

Now, maybe if you don’t have any of her pattern books, you might like to own this book, but otherwise, seriously, save your money! Some of the photos in the patterns aren’t even reprinted as in focus as they were in the pattern books!

And that’s my rant for this weekend!

I guess you’d have to call this (as many are) the year of the non-summer. Even here in Chicago, the temperatures still mostly hovered in the 60′s and low-70′s (with the occasional 80º weekend) and we had an extraordinary amount of rain, as witnessed by the overgrowth of trees, bushes, grass, etc. In spite of the persistent landscapers, the entire North Shore looks like a forest or jungle.

It was, in many ways, a disappearing month as well. The days slipped by from one chore to the next: organizing, running errands, getting the boys ready to return to college, helping my Mother. We did make a trip to Cambridge to visit Aaron, which was extremely enjoyable, as I had a wonderful few days spending time with him and re-connecting with my oldest son whom I hadn’t seen since Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, personal affairs in his life changed soon after I left, throwing a pall on the good times we had shared and leading to more than a few days of stress.

On the creative front, I didn’t accomplish much. Haven’t caught up on any of my projects from Bead & Button, nor from my 3-d landscape felting class. Haven’t had a chance to do any carding or spinning. We are off to California this weekend for a wedding, some business and a mini-vacation on the oceanfront at Big Sur (let’s hope the views are magnificent). I plan on wine, total relaxation and 2 massages…then I just want to sit on my balcony overlooking the Pacific, glass of wine at my hand, and do a little knitting: I have a Shibui baby sweater overdue for finishing, but am also taking Ysolda Teague’s Ishbel shawlette pattern and a skein of stunning Lollipop BFL superwash sock yarn in “Moss Rock” from Wool Candy—it looks perfect for fall.

As a matter of fact, with nighttime temperatures already dropping nearly into the 40′s, I figure I might as well pack away the Summer Projects bin (didn’t even make a dent in it this year) and pull out the Winter Projects one. The one summer project I started this season, Kat Coyle’s Linen Top is knit, washed, blocked (and let me tell you, trying to stretch and block linen is a bitch!) and softened. I just need to seam the sides but, as I will be wearing it over a tank top and, frankly, I don’t foresee any 90º days coming up, I can’t see any rush to finish! However, the colors of the Claudia’s Handpainted Linen are lovely (despite all the dye that leached out into the sink).

(Photos tomorrow maybe!)

So…California and autumn, here I come!

I also meant to show you the 1/2 bobbin of Corriedale wool that I spun in an overtwisted attempt to make a thin single for plying. Not good, it feels like string:

Another supply we have to bring to Camp Pluckyfluff this weekend is some felt “nubbies” or beads, so I spent this morning winding some lovely dyed Falkland wool into balls and then trying to felt them in a sinkful of hot soapy water by rubbing and rolling them in between my palms. Fail. The wool unwound from the ball more often than not and the balls refused to felt down. I had to leave the house so I finally squeezed them out and left them on a towel. Tonight I broke down and am resorting to using felting needles to attach the fibers. Maybe I should have started this when I was first winding the balls because “break” is an appropriate verb! So far 3 felting needles have snapped as apparently some of the wool did indeed felt hard enough. Once I have the balls stabilized, I think I’m just going to throw them into the washing machine (if I could just find where I hid that mesh lingerie bag!).

The other project I’m working on (slowly) at the moment is Kat Coyle’s Linen Top Pattern out of some Claudia’s Hand Painted linen in Caribbean Blue. This should be a quick knit but I hardly ever have time to work on it and have only achieved this much:

It does make for a pretty picture though, doesn’t it?