craftitude

Finished this vest a couple of weeks ago but am finally getting around to posting it. The kids' winter break and a little traveling have put a dent in my blogging.

This is Craftitude Vest by Kirsten Kapur and can be found in a great little book called Craft Activism. In the book there are bios of interesting artists and crafty folks and the projects don't just include knitting, there is sewing, embroidery, recycling all kinds of materials to make cool stuff like a plastic bag skirt, check it out. The photos in the book are by the craftiest of photographers Gale Zucker.

Craftitude is total comfort knitting with an interesting juicy cable up the front, worsted weight yarn and a great color, it doesn’t get better. I’ve been lusting after this vest since the book came out last fall and it seemed like the perfect way to relax after my Shuffle vest.

Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Candlewick gave me 18 stitches and 28 rows on size 7s so I went down a size as I was aiming for 0" ease and knit the small. I knit it in the round from the bottom up to the armholes and then knit the tops of the front and back separately back and forth. The only other mod that I made was to add 8 stitches as I cast on for some more room for my bum. I worked the decreases every six rows instead of 8 (for a total number of the same rows). After the waistline I used all of the pattern’s own numbers.

I massacred row 25 of the first repeat of the cable pattern but realized much later and didn’t feel like going back to fix it, I don’t think it’s hugely noticeable. The yarn shows off the cables really nicely and I am totally in love with the color, the fit is very nice and I think I'll get tons of wear out of this one. I'm a bit curious to see how the Madelintosh will wear, it doesn't seem pilly at all yet. The pattern is wonderfully written, I highly recommend the pattern and the yarn.

shuffle vest

Picture heavy post beware.

My Shuffle vest is finally and completely done, woo hoo! This is a completely reversible stranded vest. Above is a shot with the "wrong" side out and closed with a shawl pin.

The vest is knit in the round from the bottom up with steeks at the front opening, neckline, and armholes and then grafted at the shoulders. The covered steek binding hides all the ends so there is nothing to be woven in and no steek edges to sew down. If you want to learn more about the covered steek I did a whole post on it here.

Turning the vest inside out (where is my stylist?!).

Detail of the "right" side worn out with a belt.

The pattern is based on a simple Fair Isle peerie but it is a very universal geometric shape and can probably be found in most global traditions of stranded knitting. The colors are inspired by Turkish kilims.

I don't love this photo of me but wanted to include one full body shot. I do love seeing all those colors peeking out from inside my coat.

Here is a the kilim in Selcuk, Turkey that inspired the patterning on the vest.

comfort knitting

Oh the joys of worsted weight yarn, a lovely color, and a great pattern with a nice cable. I've started Craftitude vest, one juicy cable up the front, and the yarn is Madelinetosh Vintage in Candlewick. This feels like a nice break after my never ending colorwork vest. Completely massacred the first cable repeat but am not going back.

My colorwork vest is blocking as I write this. I ended up doing the covered steek on each side of the front opening TWICE. Apparently the problem is that I can't count. I picked up uneven amounts of stitches on either side of the steek sandwich and counted them more than once. oy. rip. rip. rip.

unraveling and knitting the other way

Finally got up the guts to unravel the bottom of the sweater. I picked up the row that I wanted to unravel to on my circulars and then cut away at the cast on edge and had to pick at the yarn quite a bit to will it to come away. I also cut the yarn away at the steek where it was crochet reinforced and left that chunky bit of yarny indigestion to be dealt with after I reinforced the new steek and cut it open.

Tarelkaz on flickr (I love getting knitting feedback all the way from Moscow!) suggested that I knit a new section, unravel the bottom, and then graft the new section on to the existing body. I thought this was a great idea and was tempted to do it but was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep the tension on my grafting row even enough. So I went with knitting in the other direction even though the stitches would be upside down.

What happens when you pick up and knit in the other direction?

The white line in the middle of the circle is where I began knitting. Luckily this is a simple Fair Isle peerie where the fact that the stitches are going the other direction is not really noticeable except where you see the single line of light and dark stitches. Compare the pink and white line within the circle to the brown and white one just above it and you'll see the the pink V of the stitch is pointing in the other direction. The white line within the circle is where I started knitting down. The whole pattern also shifts over 1/2 a stitch, also not really noticeable but I did adjust for it.

With an more intricate or larger pattern the direction of the stitches changing might have been much more evident and then it might have made sense to try and graft a piece on.

It's harder to rip a sweater out than Weezer thinks.



Steven tagged me. I'm supposed to share a secret single behavior, a behavior that might be small, odd, funny, whatever, that gives me pleasure and that I wouldn't do with others around. With two kids, a menagerie of pets, and a husband I don't have a lot of alone time but when I do I watch B grade romantic comedies and knit. These are the kind of movies that I wouldn't wish on my family or friends, the kind of movie where she thinks she's bad but we know he's good, I'm yelling at the screen "Don't do it!" but they do it anyway, there's a horrible misunderstanding that is gleefully apparent to everyone and the outcome of the movie is obvious, they get together. Any John Cusack movie from the 80s or vintage Tarik Akan (famous Turkish movie star) flick will do.

now what?

 

When you're knitting a garment that is steeked up the middle, the neckline, and the armholes, a certain amount of faith that everything is going to turn out OK is involved. And mostly everything did which is rather amazing. There is nothing sweeter than cutting that baby open, trying it on, and realizing that it looks pretty dang close to what I imagined it would look like when I was designing it. The only thing left to do is the covered steek finish on the front opening, which I've already done on the neckline and armholes. Once the front is finished this garment will be reversible. Depending on how I feel I can wear the "right" side or the "wrong" side of the vest with the collar that is laying open showing the other side of the garment. That's right ragazzi, a completely reversible stranded garment!

But, I think it's too short since I would like to be able to wear it with a belt. In the photo I have it pinned with a giant safety pin.  As it is, it's not quite short enough to be a cropped garment and not long enough to wear with a belt. So now what? I'm going to try to unravel the garter stitches at the bottom, join it in the round again and knit in the other direction. This seems a little daunting since I will have to tug at some of the reinforcement for the steek that has been cut already, but this wool is so nice and sticky that it just might be doable. Wish me luck!

This a sketch that I drew last summer when I was swatching for this garment. Not too far off, right?

The mother of my high school roommate is Swedish and eventually returned there after a number of years. I haven't seen her in ages but my roomie pointed out my blog to her and she felt moved to send me this cute card and the Swedish stamps that feature knitting. She is really the loveliest lady and it's was so sweet of her to send me the note. I LOVE those stamps! It's nice when a country takes such pride in knitting. I also love that the socks in the big stamp at the top are nothing fancy, just fun, striped socks. Thanks Mommy Rowley! xoxo

blogiversary and other reflections

This is a nice chair to photograph things in but I almost never sit in it. Mostly I sit on the floor to knit while watching TV with my back resting against the couch. I think it's better for my posture and I'm hoping that sitting cross-legged will encourage my hips to loosen. If you look closely you can see bits of the guinea pigs' hay under the chair.
 
My fourth blogiversary was yesterday. Four years seems like a lifetime in some ways and a blink of an eye in others. In that time I've discovered the level of blogging that I'm comfortable with, which is once a week most of the time. I know that I'll never be one of those bloggers who posts everyday or even frequently or I would burn out and wouldn't blog anymore. I also found my voice, it isn't funny like I would like it to be, but more matter-of-fact and to the point. The way I write can't be forced it seems, it's just the way it is and I've come to accept that. If you want funny, great writing, I highly recommend Steven's blog, he'll make you laugh and cry. Though I do occasionally wonder why in the world I am blogging, I think I still have things to share that aren't covered by all the other social sites that I frequent and I have met many wonderful people through blogging. So, I will continue to blog and see where it takes me. Thank you all who take to time to stop by and leave a comment, you make it all worth while.

For the last couple of years I've had New Year's Resolutions lists and they've hung by my desk. In 2010 I did a great job of getting through them but last year I didn't do as well. Maybe this is why I've been hesitant to make a list for 2012. Here it is, mid-January, and I'm still wondering whether I should write one up. I actually did fairly well with my knitting resolutions but not quite as well with my professional and personal ones. What this has made me realize is that I need to cut myself some slack. The demands of parenting and family are actually greater than I tend think and particularly in the last year, with my husband's new job, a larger load came my way than I was used to. Parenting and partnering-wise I think I do a pretty darn good job, or at least the best that I can possibly do and it's something that I never pat myself on the back for, it is just the way it is. When I look back on my resolution list from last year and all the spots in which I didn't quite achieve what I wanted (I don't set hugely unrealistic goals, except for the "do the dishes every night" one), I need to remember that it wasn't a failure on my part and I need to celebrate all that I do every day.

 Last year's knitting resolutions:
1. Knit selectively, choose projects wisely. check. Though I reigned myself in so thoroughly on this that now I just want to knit something just for the hell of it, not because it's a learning experience.
2. Design a knit that has letters in it. not done. I wish I had, maybe this year.
3. Rework my fingerless chevron mitts pattern. check. see #5.
4. Knit myself a colorwork hat (I've knit several for others but not for myself). check. I knit Mary Jane's Castaway Tam.
5. Write up a pattern (I've slipped this one in the middle because frankly, I'm a little terrified) check, I published my Vagabond Mitts pattern last spring and it's done really well. It gave me new appreciation for how much work goes into writing up a pattern, I'm proud of having done it.
6. Take more photos. check. Not sure if I've taken more photos or just better ones, I got new lenses for my camera which are amazing.
7. Finish Manos blankie. check. This is the everyone's favorite couch blanket.

This year's knitting/creative resolutions:
Give myself the license to knit or make whatever I want because it gives me pleasure, and yes it's for me, it is my moment of zen and it is not selfish. Top of the list is a pullover for me. I have some light blue (The Square on the Hypotenuse) Sanguine Gryphon QED which I waited in line in Rhinebeck for TWO HOURS to buy and it has just been taunting me from my shelf since October. I'm not good at working on many projects at once and this yarn has been waiting since then for my other projects to be done. Other than that, I'm not going to plan ahead.

If you're still reading after all that, I hope this year brings you lots of time to do what gives you pleasure and the ability to appreciate it when it happens.

last FO of 2011

Fittingly it's a baby blanket to keep little baby 2012 warm. This is an awesome and free pattern, called Baby Blanket Latvian Garden by the Needle Lady, available on Ravelry.

I started it last spring and it took awhile only because I kept putting it down to work on other things, it was some comfort knitting to slip back into when I needed it. My friend was pregnant when I began and I fear that the baby may have grown a mustache by now.

The original pattern has hearts on the either end which I replaced people and hence it is called Latvian Garden Party. Since long periods would happen between knitting it some mistakes in the pattern were made, like the orange people got taller but I forged ahead. This will be a little detail for the baby to puzzle over.

Learned a new technique, working the steek stitches in purl which apparently a common way to work the steek in Norway. A bit of a pain to purl stranded in the round but it works much better if you can master the Norwegian purl. The nice thing is that it will cause the steek stitches to naturally fold to the back. Crochet reinforced steek, cut it, and then machine reinforced too as I was worried that the sock wool would be slippy. The background reds are Wollemeise and the white is Cascade sock, these two yarns are almost identical in weight and work really nicely together. The other colors are all leftover scraps of sock yarn from other projects. I did the binding like a quilt binding and should have given myself bigger strips to bind with because I had to pull it tight in some places and squish it in and unlike a quilt, it’s not so easy to trim it down.

Happy 2012 all!!