Swatchless

Today is Friday the 13th, and it is a good day!

I went to see the Handloom Weavers and Spinners show and sale (still running Saturday and Sunday 10-4). If you are in the Kingston area, check it out. There are some very beautiful items.

My art of the day is the continuation of the puffy mittens, and the appreciation of the complexities of the weaving I saw today!

There were wall hangings, and polar bears…

handwoven bears

….Felted Angels dressed in handwoven garments…

…beautiful wooly blankets…

…delicately patterned scarves…

…lots of handspun yarn…

…and the cutest little sheep ornaments…

I have belonged to this group in the past, and learned a lot from the knowledgeable instructors who taught me how to spin, and weave

learn to weave workshop--scarf in progres

After getting totally inspired, I headed off to knit at Wool -Tyme, where you will be able to find me on any Friday the 13th.  There were snacks, and coffee and cider, and lots of keen knitters, and beginner knitters.  I enhanced my yarn stash with a lovely skein of Cascade 220 in red.  New mittens are in my future!

dinosaur mitts

There were some interesting projects being worked on this evening:  Dinosaur mittens, a baby bear suit, earflap hats, shawls, a tea cosy, and some were knitting their very first socks.

being "mathy"

Anne, at Wool-Tyme challenged us to determine the number of stitches used in this garter stitch afghan.  We were all given an opportunity to be “mathy” and figure it out.  The winner got to choose any skein of yarn, or any set of needles!  (it is now that maybe being swatchless is not the best plan!  I’m not used to such calculations).

the puffy mitten is getting bigger

The puffy mitten made an appearance, and grew a thumb hole and got a lot longer.  I enjoyed showing others about this thrumming method, and we all marveled at how fast hands heat up when they are surrounded by fleece.  I have to keep reminding myself of how big these mitts need to be!  Lots more knitting to do.

I hope you all had a very productive and creative Friday the 13th!

P.S. Congratulations to Lisa, Noor and Ru who are the three participants in Pay it Forward!

I signed up on The Sweet Sheep blog for the Pay It Forward challenge. Sometime in the next 365 days I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment that includes your name, location, favourite colour, and your willingness to participate. The catch is that you then have to pay it forward to 3 people of your own…and so goes the handmade gifting! Spread the love!

I will notify the lucky three participants by email. Be sure to enter your email carefully when you post your comment!

If you miss the cut-off, all hope is not lost! (visit the blogs from the first three comments frequently, and sign up when they announce the challenge!)

As knitters, we generally enjoy sharing warmth with others. Many of my friends and family members have been recipients of my knitted goods over the years, but I also try to do my bit and knit for those in need, or to raise money for worthwhile causes. Stay tuned for an opportunity to use your knitterly talents to PAY IT FORWARD (this special post will be added sometime in the next 24 hours)

This time last year I was helping a group of high school students knit hats for people who attend a hot lunch program at a downtown church. We knit a total of 30 hats, and brought them to the lunch program toward the end of November. We mixed and mingled with the lunch program patrons, and let them choose a new hat, hand knit just for them. The joy on their faces of the knitters and new hat owners was wonderful to behold.

Donated to the Lunch Program

Some of the same high school knitters had also come together to make a blanket for a local women’s shelter. We delivered the blanket for Christmas 2007. The blanket was made from donated yarn knit up into garter stitch squares and rectangles by beginner knitters, and fancier cabled and intarsia squares and rectangles by the more experienced in the group. The large pile of pieces were put together “Tetris style” to form a very unique blanket.

almost finished (lots of ends to sew in)

This year we are making a blanket for Project Linus, a charity that delivers blankets to children in need of comfort in times of illness or trauma. There are many new knitters in our group this year, so some of the pieces have been more free-form than in the past. It will be an extra challenge to piece them together this season.

next blanket (not nearly enough squares yet)

I challenge you to get together with your friendly neighbourhood knitters and put together a blanket to donate

Linus

Every now and again I get asked to donate some of my knitting for different silent auction tables. I’ve made stranded mittens, thrummed mittens and more recently slouchy hats. I am always surprised what types of things bring in the most money at these types of events. A slouchy hat I made in a single afternoon brought in twice the money that my lovely thrummed mittens did (that took significantly longer and more materials to make).

Auctioned for a school board breakfast program

This week I was asked to knit mittens or a hat for a charity silent auction raising money for “green initiatives” in the local community which is being held at the beginning of December.

What knitting donation do you think would bring in the most money for this worthwhile cause?

knitters anonymous

Today the puffy mitten came to school with me to enjoy lunch with the “Knitters Anonymous Club”. It is such fun to spend time with such creative young minds.

working on squares

Some students are learning to knit, others are mastering different stitches, some are making socks, and others are bravely venturing into the land of lace scarves.

Branching out Scarf in soft blue cotton

While we eat, and talk, and collaborate on pattern ideas, we are actually “knitting together” a wonderful creative and welcoming community within the school. We even have a mascot named Bertha that was created as a result of several “happy accidents”.

Bertha, the mascot

As students learn they make squares that we sew into blankets to donate to various charities (which I will talk about another day…that deserves an entire post to itself!) Some are now getting very good at squares, and are venturing out into the wilds of Ravelry to knit other fancy things.

multi-tasking...knitting and homework!

In the upcoming weeks we look forward to learning new skills like spinning and dyeing

casting on

We keep each other up to date about local knitting related activities and yarn sales

focus

We share our latest patterns and projects

determination

And we usually end up having a laugh!

making sure no extra stitches creep in there!

I think everyone is amazed at how much we can accomplish if we each do a little bit

our "lord of the needles" a very fast learner!

Here is a picture of our most recent blanket which is a metaphor for our group. Each square is unique, some are bright and crazy patterns and colours, some are calm muted tones. Some are conventional patterns, others are invented (on purpose or accidentally). But together, when all joined up, it is a very warm and beautiful object.

blanket (work in progress)

This is the fifth year that I have been a part of this amazing group. We have accomplished a lot, learned a lot, and experienced a lot. We even met the Yarn Harlot!

Knitters Anonymous field trip to meet The Yarn Harlot

Thanks to those anonymous knitters who have agreed to have their photos on this page. You are an impressive lot!

One of the “treats” that I am including in the package for my friend serving in Afghanistan is a friendship bracelet. It is small, and light, and is made with love.

my current collection

Friendship bracelets bring me back to elementary school days, sitting on the playground with embroidery floss pinned to my leg, making knot after knot, leading to the eventual completion of a diagonal striped bracelet. My older cousin first taught me how to make them. She was in university at the time, and I loved spending time with her and learning this new skill. These bracelets do take a long time to make, and I’ve made some complex patterns over the years. I’ll save that for another post though.

Sometimes I think I haven’t really changed all that much from my days at summer camp with a wrist full of treasured keepsakes. Currently there’s the purple one from the First Robotics team I help with, the blue rope one that I made in Egypt, the rainbow rope one I made at camp, A knitted one that C.L. made for me, a beaded one (the white beads change colour in sunlight), the blue beads I bought in Petra (Jordan), and the wooden beaded one was given to me by E.B. and A.F. (they have matching ones too). It might be silly to develop a sentimental attachment to string and beads, but the time and the care, and the people that they represent are what makes them so special.

I have just made a quick bracelet tonight that looks like rope. I learned this skill at summer camp when I was a little kid. It requires 5 pieces of embroidery floss, that’s it. A very simple ART OF THE DAY! I challenge you to recapture your youth, and make one of these beauties!

5 strings needed

Instructions:

1. Measure 5 pieces of string that are double the length from fingers to shoulder. This will give you enough for one bracelet.
2. Tie all ends of the strings together (this forms 5 loops)
3. Attach the knot to something (pin it to your pants, tie it to your toe)
   

   loops tied to my toe

4. With palms down, put your fingers through the loops (right hand 3 loops, on index, middle and ring finger. Left hand 2 loops on middle and ring finger)
5. With left index finger (loopless) weave your finger through the threads on the right hand (over, under, over, under, grab the loop from the right ring finger and pull it through so it now remains on the left hand)
6. Move loops on right hand (loop that was on middle finger goes onto the ring finger, and loop that was on the index finger goes onto the middle finger) to free up the right index finger. (pull tight by moving hands apart)
7. Right index finger weaves through the threads on the left hand (over, under, over, under) grab the loop from the left ring finger and pull it back so it remains on the right index finger.
8. Shift the loops on the left hand (loop on the middle finger moves to the ring finger, and loop on the index finger moves to the ring finger) to free up the left index finger. (pull tight by moving hands apart)
9. Continue this process and marvel at the rope you are creating! (it sounds complex, but your fingers soon can weave through the threads without thinking)

This bracelet is made with love for J.M. I hope he wears it and remembers that we back home are remembering him.

Take some time to teach a craft to a child. I’m not sure which is more valuable, the skill that you teach them, or the time that you spend with them. Sometimes the simplest gestures are the most meaningful. I try to remember that every day.

November 11th is the day we commemorate the end of World War I, and remember all the men and women currently engaged in wars and peace keeping missions all over the world.

I knit myself a poppy following this pattern by Laura Chau (www.cosmicpluto.com)

I like it because I can attach it to my clothes with a safety pin, and I hopefully wont lose it. I always end up losing the plastic poppies, or stabbing myself with the straight pins. It is my very useful (and stylish) Art of the Day

Lest We Forget!

11pm (ETA): Today’s remembrance ceremony was very moving. It inspired me to collect “Dear Soldier” letters from children, and mail them along with some treats to a friend of mine who is serving in Afghanistan. It feels great to do something to show service people that we remember them, and what they are doing to work for peace. I challenge you to do something similar! Remembrance does not have to happen only on Nov. 11th.

After dinner today I met up with some fellow knitters at a local (knitting friendly) eatery. The staff were great! They didn’t balk at the three of us sitting down at the table with our hot chocolate, and pulling out our needles, wool and fleece, and settling in for a few hours. I think many patrons got a kick out of our hobby, and some were even brave enough to come over and ask us what we were making.

L-Bo is making a lovely cabled scarf

Barbie G is making a mitten on 2 needles

And me….I’m making the puffy mittens. Did I mention that they are for someone with large hands? Here’s proof!

to compare hand size

When we last left the puffy mittens they were only a cuff. Since then they have grown and developed a thumb gusset, and become considerably more puffy as more fleece was added.

Gusset: K1 P1 K1 P1 K to end of round.

The purl stitches mark the boundary of the thumb gusset. All increases will happen between these two stitches. Increases are made on each side of the thumb gusset every alternate row.

While working the thumb gusset, thrumming must also begin. Fleece is knit into the mitten over 3 stitches, then 3 stitches are knit. The thrumming round is followed by 2 rows of plain knitting.

fleece knit into the mitten (mitten turned inside out)

Thrumming: Step by step

1. Separate a small lock of fleece. With the working yarn held to the right, position the middle of the lock over the right hand needle (the working yarn will then come OVER the lock, and fix it in place when the next stitch is knit.)
2. Knit a stitch (notice how the fleece is now “trapped” by the wool)
3. Put the top of the lock down over the working yarn, and the bottom of the lock up over the working yarn.
4. Knit a stitch (the twisted lock is now trapped in place)
5. With the working yarn to the right, fold the top part of the lock down, and knit.
6. This is what it should look like. The fleece is affixed in such a way that the locks can be combed out without the lock being pulled out of place.

Progress shot of the puffy mitten.

Disclaimer: This is by no means the ONLY way to thrum mittens. I know of two methods, but the person I’m making these for preferred the “hidden thrums”. The other method I know has white flecks (that to some people look like hearts) that show through to the outside of the mitten.

I learned tonight that not everyone approaches a problem the same way. L-Bo watched Barbie G. wind a skein of yarn into a ball, and saw that it took a long time. She decided that instead of winding her yarn, she’d knit straight from the skein! It was working fine for her so far. I’d be tangled up for sure by now! She surely is a fearless knitter!

Park in February

Do you suffer from cold hands?  In Canada, the winter is long, and cold, and dark, and usually snowy so mittens become very important at this time of year.  But, for those very cold days, or for those with VERY cold hands, sometimes regular mittens are not enough.

Thrummed mittens are perfect for days when it is -30 C and you have to be outside, but don’t need a lot of manual dexterity.  What makes them special is that they are lined with sheep fleece that is knit into the mitten itself.  They are puffy mittens, and they are the warmest I’ve come across.  After wearing them for a while my hands got so hot that they steamed!

Several people have asked me to explain how to thrum mittens, and how to knit on 4 needles.  Over the next few days, tune in to see the mittens take shape.  My goal is to finish them before the snow starts to fall.

sidewalk and snowbanks in February

Materials:

• set of four 4mm double pointed needles
• aran weight wool (this wool was spun and dyed with chestnuts in Serbia, and given to me by a friend)
• clean locks of sheep fleece donated by local farmers (I don’t know the breed of sheep)
• waste yarn to hold thumb stitches

Pattern is based on Robin Hansen’s pattern from Fox and Geese and Fences.  I am making a very large size for someone with very large hands, but the pattern and ideas are the same for every hand size.  The trick is to knit them bigger than normal because they will be much thicker due to the fleece.

Cast On: Use your favourite method of casting on.  I cast on 48 stitches using the long tail cast on method.  I find it to be a very elastic way to start a project.  Divide your stitches among 3 needles.

cast on and divide stitches

Cuff: Join in a round, and rib for 2-3 inches.  Use your favourite ribbing.

A little math might be useful here.

• If the cast on number of stitches is divisible by 2 (if it is an even number), you can do K1 P1 ribbing.
• If the number of stitches is divisible by 3 (add up the digits in the number, and if that can be divided by 3, the whole number can be divided by 3) then you can do K2 P1 ribbing.
• If the number can be divisible by 4 (divide it by 2, and if the result is also an even number, then it is divisible by 4), you can do K1 P1 or K2 P2 ribbing.

I chose K1P1 ribbing and knit 15 rows.

So far so good…. next step is to prepare some fleece for the thrumming.

Fleece Information

(left to right) Combed Roving, Carded Fleece, Locks

Fleece comes in different forms.

1. Combed rovings have fibers all aligned in one direction, it is very easy to spin, and nice to felt, but not so good for thrumming since it is hard to divide it into smaller pieces that will hold together inside the mitten.
2. Carded fleece have fibers in all directions.  It is spinnable, but not as easy to spin as the combed fiber.  It is not so good for thrumming because it is hard to separate into small portions.
3. Locks are the least processed of the three.  (You need to wash them yourself usually!)  The fibers are aligned, and the same length.  It is easy to separate into little pieces, and it will stay together inside the mitten.  If you are lucky you can get locks from a local sheep farmer.  I went to see sheep shearing 2 years ago at Topsy Farm and bought half a fleece.  More recently I have found farmers who are trying to give away fleeces….be careful with this, there is often a lot of plant matter involved in free fleeces.

Shearing so fast they are blurry!

Tomorrow I will start the actual thrumming.  Hope you enjoyed my art for the day!

Today was such a lovely day. A perfect day for a photo shoot with a new hat! My friend C.L. agreed to take a break from studying for midterm exams, and be my hat model. We had a lovely walk today by the lake taking pictures and being silly. Here is my Art of the Day!

C.L. wearing the slouchy hat

Pattern: One Day Beret (free download from Through the Loops)

Needles: 4mm and 5mm DPNs

Yarn: My hand dyed (Kool-Aid and food colouring), handspun merino (rovings purchased from Paradise Fibers)

The process of dying and spinning the yarn is outlined in previous posts.

This may be one of the last days to go outside with no coat….to enjoy the green grass and the calm breeze. It is November after all!

The leaves are almost all off the trees.

Sometimes we have a dusting of snow at this point in the year!

While we were at the water, we decided to skip stones.

The hat is looking nice and slouchy today! Blocking it on a dinner plate was a good fix for the shape issue.

The hat even stayed on while C.L. was “flying”. Nice hang time by the way!

What trip to the waterfront would be complete without a visit to the iron lion. My grandmother remembers riding on this statue when she was young.

This hat will be making its way to someone special sometime soon.

What a lovely morning it is! Paula sent me an award! Such a wonderful surprise…..Thanks so much! I am going to pass the award along to the following lucky recipients!

Lee Ann Petropoulos

Mavis

Lisa

Fadwa

I have enjoyed following their work over the past week. Hope you check out their excellent sites!