Swatchless

I knit a wool hat today.

It is close to 35 C with the humidity.  It’s the kind of heat that makes you want to go outside and lay on the grass under a sprinkler…if only we could have sprinklers.

This is the kind of heat that conjures up memories of being in a phone booth at noon in Kyoto in August.  It’s a sticky muggy heat when sweat seems to trickle at even the thought of moving.

And I knit a hat……I must be going crazy.

Now, to find someone crazy enough to model it….

Note:  The pattern will be coming soon, in case someone in the southern hemisphere feels like wearing wool.

In the middle of Eclipse, during the tent scene, I found myself reaching for pen and paper to jot down the design for Bella’s striped hat.  I paused, realizing what a geek this action made me, but continued to write furiously, until I had figured out most of the striped pattern.

image source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com

For some reason, this picture shows the hat in green and white stripes, but in the movie I’d swear it looked more grey.  In any case, I came home and rummaged through my stash, and came up with this design.

Here’s the pattern, in case you’d like to make your own. [Ravelry]

click to get .pdf pattern

Bella’s Eclipse Hat

Needles: Size 4.5mm – 5.5mm DPN (what ever size you need to achieve gauge)

Yarn: grey and white worsted weight yarn

Gauge: 4.5 sts per inch

Cast On 88 stitches in grey.

Join in the round, being careful not to twist. Work 2 inches of K1, P1 ribbing.
Knit 5 rows white
Knit 3 rows grey
Knit 2 rows white
Knit 1 row grey
Knit 3 rows white
Knit 5 rows grey
Knit 2 rows white
Knit 3 rows grey
Knit 1 row white
Knit 2 rows grey
Knit 3 rows white

Working in grey yarn only begin decreases:
(K9, K2tog) around. 80 sts remain
K round (K8, K2tog) around. 72 sts remain
K round
(K7, K2tog) around. 64 sts remain
K round
(K6, K2tog) around. 56 sts remain
K round
(K5, K2tog) around. 48 sts remain
(K4, K2tog) around. 40 sts remain
(K3, K2tog) around. 32 sts remain
(K2, K2tog) around. 24 sts remain
(K1, K2tog) around. 16 sts remain
K2tog around. 8 sts remain
Break yarn and draw through remaining stitches. Weave in all ends.

Goal setting is a difficult art.  Setting a challenging, yet attainable goal is something I struggle with, particularly with my knitting.  The nice thing is that I know that if I don’t meet my knitting deadlines the world isn’t going to end, yet I continue to make lofty goals to challenge myself.

photo souce: Julie P. Miller's Flickr

My self induced challenge this month was to knit a pair of eclipse socks for the movie release June 30th.  Yes, I’m a grown up that lined up to see Eclipse….yes, I’m a grown up that went to a pre-party to watch New Moon again before Eclipse…..We did this before the New Moon movie, and I’m sure that we’ll be doing the same for the next in the series!

The past few days had been far busier, and I was far more tired than planned, and my poor little Eclipse sock was not much more than a toe on the morning of June 30th. It had been carried around in my bag most of the week.  Every time I reached in to grab my keys, or wallet I got jabbed by those double pointed needles.  (I am sporting a bandaid now from a key finding mission).  It was a constant reminder of how I should really take a minute to knit a bit and breathe a bit.

Finally at 4:00PM I had my chance.  I sat in a friend’s blacked out living room, and knit, watched New Moon being projected on the big screen while we all munched on delicious snacks, and had moments to breathe, and be silly.

I knit through the car ride to the theatre (I wasn’t driving).  I knit in line, and was glad that we were inside this time!  Arriving 1.5 hours early to the movie has its perks.  I knit in the theatre waiting for the big show.  I even turned a heel during the movie!  It’s not a perfect heel, but that’s proof that it was done in the dark. I knit at a coffee shop after the movie, and when we got kicked out–they were closing, we weren’t rowdy–I knit at a friend’s house.

Such dedicated crazy knitting allowed me to complete an entire sock by midnight on June 30th.  I’m halfway there!

What is the most important thing to do when you plan a vacation? Well, after figuring out where to go, who to go with, and where to sleep, my mind started wandering to where I can find good roving and yarn.  (I MAY have a bit of a problem!)

If you are traveling with another knitter or spinner, then you are set!  If you are traveling with non-knitters, you might need to disguise your itinerary a little.  Get your groceries at a farmers market that just so happens to sell wool too.  Go to a farm (that sells fleece and roving) to see the animals sheep and goats.  Find a good restaurant that might be across the street from a yarn store.  All of this takes quite a bit of planning…

Here’s my approach

Step 1:  Check on Ravelry to find local yarn stores near where you are staying.  Search the “people” section for people from the area, and ask them where they get the best quality yarn.

Step 2:  Search for local farms.  I found farmfresh.org to be very helpful.  Search by the product (veggies, honey, roving etc), or search by the town.  Maps and websites and farmers market details are all listed.

Step 3:  Ask on Twitter to see if anyone has recommendations of area farms to visit, markets or sheep and wool festivals to go to, or local yarn stores that are not to be missed.

Step 4:  Put all the locations on a Google map.  It is a great way to keep all the information in one place.  Link to websites, keep track of business hours or market days.  Use streetview where available so you know what the yarn store looks like when you “stumble upon it by chance”.

So far my plans include visiting alpacas on Martha’s Vineyard, pygora goats near Providence Rhode Island, llamas at Journey’s End Ranch in Middleboro MA, and sheep at River Valley Farm in Lennox MA.

If you know of anywhere in the Cape Cod Area that’s worth a visit, let me know.

The ground shook today….

…and of course, someone whipped out their camera to film…

fish tanks were rocked from Quebec to Cleveland!

There was some damage close to the epicenter

source: canada.com

But here in Kingston, it just felt like someone was shaking my chair. I have never felt an earthquake before–once I was sure that things here had stopped moving I called my family to ask if they felt it too, and then turned to Twitter to get updates.  Breaking news flooded in from so many shaken people way before anything popped up on the USGS map.

I learned something today….I had no idea that we had fault lines near Ottawa.  I thought the Canadian Shield was pretty solid.

New top secret project, inspired from today, is on the needles.  Photos to come once there’s significant progress made!

Download the .pdf for $5.00 CAD

Eilidh (Ay’-lee) is a Gaelic name that means LIGHT.

When my friend told me that she was choosing a Gaelic name for her little girl, I knew I needed to knit her something with lots of cables.

This celtic cabled vest will look charming on any little one, and could even be worn, over tights, as a dress by a very young girl.  Knit almost entirely in the round in double knitting weight yarn, this vest is quick to finish.  The cables are predictable, which is great for beginners, but each row is different enough to keep the expert entertained.

Here's Eilidh, who is just learning how to sit up!

The pattern is explained in row by row instructions, and also in chart form.

Download the .pdf pattern for $5.00 CAD

Thanks to Eilidh and her mom who met me in the park today for the pattern photo shoot, and thanks to Jean for test knitting this pattern and providing excellent feedback.

If you like this pattern, check out my others!

Have you been asked that question before?  I never know how to answer.  The truth is, in my free time, my hands are rarely without knitting, weaving, or spinning.  When asked why I’m NOT knitting, my first instinct is to pull out my knitting project from my bag, or desk drawer, or trunk of my car, and start an intense conversation about the intricacies of turning a heel, or working fairisle colourwork.  Eyes often glaze over pretty quickly.

Tonight, I showed a lot of restraint, and stopped myself before I entered into such an eye-glazing conversation.  I was really excited to share my ideas about my latest project, but I don’t know that people were ready to listen to all the details.  You see, I’m a bit of a geek.  I’m currently knitting a model of DNA[Ravelink], and toying with ideas of how to join the knitted base pairs so that the proper pairs fit together, and that the DNA strands can unzip to show the replication process.  Eyes glazing yet?

photo credit: Kimberly Chapman

Right now there is not much to show for all of my knitting.  I have started one of the twisted tubes, but since I’ve run out of stuffing I’m taking a bit of a time out.  I’m taking a break from knitting, and spending my time catching up on all of the other things that often get put on the back burner.

So….here’s a question for ya….

So, why aren’t you knitting?

any guesses?

A colleague had mentioned a while back that after cancer surgery her arm is getting swollen, particularly in the warm weather.  As lymph nodes had been removed, some of the lymph fluid pools in her arm instead of following the usual path around the body.  In a conversation she mentioned that she wanted to suspend her arm from something while she sat at her desk….that got the wheels started.

Note:  All loops or noose-like ideas were rejected, as were things that could injure you if you accidentally ran into them.

The end product of my brainstorming was this contraption (any ideas for a name?)

Here are the instructions (if you’d like to make one)

Cut a pool noodle into a ball (about 2.5 inches in diameter).  This will be the core of the device.  We chose pool noodle foam because it is light and flexible and easy to cut with a box cutter or exacto-knife.

Choose your favourite sock yarn and needles.  I used Kroy, and 2.25mm needles.

Cast on 6 sts.

INCREASES

Row 1: knit into the front and back of each stitch [12 sts]

Row 2: *kfb, k1* 6 times

Row 3: *kfb, k2* 6 times

Row 4: *kfb, k3* 6 times

Continue to increase (adding stripes if you wish) until there are 90 sts. total

Knit for 1 inch (graph a pattern for yourself if you are interested)

DECREASES

Row 1: *K2tog, K13* 6 times

Row 2: *K2tog, K12* 6 times

Row 3: *K2tog, K11* 6 times

Row 4: *K2tog, K10* 6 times

Insert ball and knit around it.  Continue to decrease (adding stripes if you wish) until there are 6 sts remaining.

Knit a 6 stitch i-cord for 1 meter.

Hang this device from the ceiling.  We tied it around the supports for the ceiling tiles.

as seen from below

I’m not sure if it works this way for people of any height, but fortunately for my colleague, this device can be suspended in the correct position to grasp from a seated position, but when the force of the hand is removed, the elasticity of the i-cord raises the very light ball up above the height of her head when she is standing.

If using material that is heavier than foam, be careful–it could give you quite a goose egg if you run into it.

I got mail!

To arrive home after a busy Friday at work, before an even busier Friday night and see a package stuffed into my little mailbox was the sweetest surprise imaginable.  I know that this kind of squishy package can only mean more wool, or knitted stuff, or fibery goodness.  This package is part of the Pay It Forward Challenge that I signed up for in November.  Each person that signs up for the challenge will get a handmade gift, but they must promise to give 3 handmade gifts over the course of the year. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Michelle from TheSweetSheep.com who sent me the most scrumptious blend of merino, silk and angora yarn.  It is soft and warm–hard to imagine wanting to wear something warm now that May is almost over…

click to enlarge

Self striping, softly spun singles…..the most perfect alliteration….almost too perfect to knit with.  I need the perfect project.  I wonder if it will go well with my impulse purchase of discount merino/alpaca/silk

It would certainly be a vibrant project….

I have given away one pay it forward gift to Lisa who told me that these mitts were useful for this past cold snowy winter.

It warms my heart to know that there are people out there who are paying it forward, spreading the joy of handmade crafts far and wide.  I hope that the chain that we’ve started will continue.

How can you pay it forward today?

The wonderful thing about long weekends is how long they are, and how wonderful they are when the weather is warm, and there’s a relaxing place to be.  My family gathered at our cottage to swim and enjoy nature, good food and great company.  I had a chance to wander along the lane to see what’s growing.

Even dandelions look more spectacular on a long weekend in the sunshine.

My socks are steadily growing, and I took time between flower picking and going for a very chilly swim to knit lots more.

These socks are my new favourites.  I like how they match.  I like how the stripes are not all the same size.  I like how the wool was dyed with natural things.  I like how nobody else in the world will ever have socks that are just like this.  I like how I finished them and had only one meter of wool left over.  I like how they fit me perfectly, how they stay up thanks to the calf shaping (I increased 2 stitches at the back of the sock every 6 rows until the ribbing).  I like how this picture makes me look like the wicked witch of the west–I feel like there should be a house dropped on me!

I like how as soon as I sat down on the lawn to photograph the finished version, I found several four-leaf clovers.

Is there a rule about wearing wool socks after Victoria day?  If there is, I think I might have to break it.