Knitting Dilemma

I’m stuck in a knitting conundrum of sorts. First, a little history.

Like most knitters, I awkwardly started my knitting journey with clunky straights and squeaky acrylic. I slowly gained momentum knitting with yarn held in my right hand* by going in through the front door {pause}, run around the back {pause}, peek through the window {pause}, and off jumped jack! This was fine for a while, but being a crocheter prior to learning to knit, I soon was able to knit more efficiently with the yarn held in my left hand. I got faster and faster and the knitting possibilities were endless.

Everything was good for a while, a long while I would say. I could knit without looking, some knitters marveled at how fast I was, but I think I even knew then that something was off. I’m what you call a tight knitter. My tension was ALWAYS tight. It was to the point that I would automatically swatch in a needle two sizes higher than the size recommended to get gauge. I could only knit for a couple hours at a time before my left hand would start cramping and my shoulders would get all tense. Also, I always rowed out and my fabric was never even. I usually blocked the mess out of my knits to combat this but it still never turned out as even as I’d seen others knit. I have to admit that although I loved making things, I just didn’t love the process. I fancied myself a product knitter and knitted until the pain in my hands told me something had to give.

I went back to my roots, so to say, and trained myself to knit with the yarn held in my right hand. I figured the best way to train my hands was to knit a project so I dove right into the Tofino top from Knitting in the Sun.

It took longer than usual to finish but alas my fabric was even and my tension was looser. My upper body didn’t feel as tense but it still felt awkward to knit this way. So, I soon slipped back to my default left handed knitting until it became unbearable.

I don’t exactly remember how, actually I think I was reading The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt and came across the term “lever knitting”. I researched lever knitting, watched the youtube video of the YarnHarlot countless times, joined the rav group and practiced, practiced, practiced. Like I said before, the best practice is to knit a whole project so I knit a couple of project on long straight needles with the right one tucked snuggly in my armpit.

I’m not going to lie, it took a couple of months for it to feel less unfamiliar, but you know what? My hands didn’t hurt, and my shoulders were not one bit tense. I couldn't believe how even my tension was and I was falling in love with the process. I like the way my hands flowed, right hand swooping around the needle as it formed each stitch. I was becoming a process knitter.

Silverfox Cardigan

Then I noticed that although I fell back in love with knitting, I couldn't figure out how to knit quicker. I recently realized this when I lever knit a sock and it took me about a month, where it would usually take me about a week or two in my left handed knitting days. I really wanted to finish the socks so I went back to my default to knit the other one, which took me about two weeks. You can really see the difference between my knitting styles in this photo.

Simple Skype Socks

So here’s the question I keep asking myself; am I a process knitter or a product knitter? I like lever knitting, it makes me happy. In the words of KonMari, it sparks joy. On the other hand, I don’t want it to take forever to knit something. I just started a sweater but I’m taking a crack at my default knitting form, being mindful to keep my fingers loose and not tense up. It seems to be working but I’m not enjoying the process as much. I keep on second guessing if I should have done this project knitting the way that makes me happy. Of course I can’t change in the middle of a project, so I’m stuck knitting in my default for a while.

I guess the question will remained unanswered for a while. I’ll knit on hoping that I can soon learn to increase my speed lever knitting and all will be right with the world again.

Peace and Blessing

*I prefer to avoid using the terms "English" and "Continental" to describe knitting styles. I would much rather use the terms left handed and right handed knitting. Yeah, I'm weird like that.

Listen

Do you ever feel like the universe is talking to you? Leaving little clues, that if you're perceptive enough to pick up on, can be decoded into one blaring message thats been right before your eyes for the longest time. I don't mean to get all hippy dippy, but I feel like I'm always searching for answers- answers to everything and maybe all I need to do is listen to the universe. I don't have the slightest idea why this thought just popped into my head and why I feel the need to document it in this blog, but I do so I am.

Since I'm here, might as well talk about crafty stuff. My needles have been click clackin' like crazy. I've been repeating the mantra "knit faster, winter is coming" as I knit warm woolies for the family. I started with hats for the twins,

 then moved on to a hat for hubby

 and recently finished a hat for my older son. 

I had to compromise on his hat because he wanted a yellow hat with black zig zags on it to simulate the hair of his favorite Dragon Ball Z character. I let him have the yellow, but I picked the pattern I liked and omitted the black. I also finished cowls for them too. I made the structured cowl for hubby

 and the ribby cowl for boy wonder.

Next on the needles are mittens and gloves and then I'll have time for some selfish knitting.

Not quite right

Remember the teal and gray baby sweater from my last post? In case you don't, here's a pic.

Nice, right? Let's take a closer look shall we....

Notice anything? I'm not talking about the difference in color between the blue's. I'm talking about the shoulder.

Guess who forgot to sew the shoulder seam before picking up stitches for the hood? Yup, this chick right here.

I just haven't had the energy to rip it out and fix it. Luckily I have a few more months before the boys will be able to fit them. I started the second one, but as usual, I ran out of yarn. I ended up starting a new project in the meantime, in between time.

I have a bunch of pre fold diapers, I mean a BUNCH! I failed to realize before putting a gaggle of them on my registry, that you need a wool cover to go over them. You also have to lanolize the cover which is a whole 'nother story which I won't go into just yet.

The great part about knitting soakers is that you don't need much yardage so I can use up some of the handspun stash. Only downside is most of my handspun is in feminine colors so it was really hard finding appropriate yarn.

I finally settled on yarn I spun from my previous Spunky Club subscription ( which I miss dearly). I'm almost done, just have to add the ribbing to the legholes.

Even though I'm getting some knitting done, I'm still pining for my other crafts. I can't wait to break out the wheel and sewing machine. Hopefully they'll make an appearance soon.

Hiatus

I seem to be a pro at disappearing for long stretches of time, and yet for some reason I always seem to return. A lot has happened since my last post. The most notable is that I had a couple of kids and at the same time even! I just had twin boys two months ago and I guess the monotony of daily life has me wanting to mix it up a bit, hence this post. I probably won't be posting any pics of my little one's faces just because I'm one of those paranoid moms. Since this is a craft blog, I'll oblige with a little craft update.

Since having the boys, I've wanted to knit a whole lot more than my free time allows. I'm one of those knitters that likes to work on one project at a time. I'm currently working on hoodies for the boys. I finished one and working on the second. I'm making both in contrasting colors using a pattern called Hooded Baby Sweater by Halliday Nelson which can be found for free on Ravelry.

I like the simplicity of the pattern which makes it easier to customize. I'm actually following the pattern to a tee but I made it my own by changing the sleeve and band colors.

I'm also using this project to practice my lever knitting. Lever knitting is a way to knit with the right needle tucked under your arm. The Yarn Harlot knits this way and it is known to be a more efficient way to knit. It also produces a more even fabric. In my case, I knit tightly and it has relieved some of the tension I use to feel in my wrist and I noticed that I don't "row out" as much too. Here's a video of Stephanie lever knitting.

The boys are starting to stir so I'll catch this blog on the flip side. Craft on.

The May to December Post

Happy (almost) New Year. I've been trying to write this post for a couple of months now. Had to get it out before the year ended so that I could cross it off my 2012 list.

I've been all over the place this year craftwise. My obsessions have ranged from lever knitting to navajo plying. My creative pursuits have been greatly influenced by what I see on The Rav and what my lovely enablers friends are doing. I somehow signed up for Joji's Mystery Shawl and I don't even like shawls, go figure. I'm using stash yarn so if the color combo looks crazy, blame it on the stash.



I've been pretty good about not adding too much to my already enormous yarn stash. My principle for acquisitions has been quality over quantity since my stash is acrylic heavy. I only bought one skein of yarn at Rhinebeck this year and I got two skeins of yarn from my visit to Chicago on Thanksgiving that I couldn't resist (it was on sale).

I do slip every now and again but it has to be a good reason. Its hard to make sweaters when I'm buying a skein here and a skein there so I bought yarn at this years Smileys Manhattan sale with a sweater in mind. It has been a while since I've bought yarn like that.

When talking about my wool stash for spinning, that's a whole 'nother story. I'm not even going to confess the damage done at Rhinebeck....at least not yet.

Happy crafting and I hope you all have a spectacular New Year!

Happy accident

I went to look for an app on my phone and I must have mistakenly tapped the blogger app icon. I didn't even know my phone could do that!

Maybe I'll post more if its as easy as snapping a pic and pressing a button.

Might as well talk about knitting while I'm here. I just finished a bunch of stuff like a beautiful baby dress, a hobo bag and a summer top. Each item has a story behind it so I'll have to blog about those separately.

I don't like to blog without pictures so here's what I'm currently working on. It's a half granny square shawl made out of zauberball(sock yarn). Its a super fast knit a making it very addictive.

Well this post was quick and painless. Maybe I'll do it again someone soon =)

Pondering Fair Isle

- I think I like looking at fair isle stitches rather than knitting them.

- I realize why most fair isle sweaters are knit in the round and steeked. Purling + Fair Isle = No fun!

- EZ recommends in Knitting Without Tears to put a couple of short rows in the back neck so the collar will sit better. I felt really smart for doing the calcs and executing the short rows all by myself. Then I thought after I knit them, does a baby really need the sweater neck to lay properly? All they do is lay down and sit up anyway right? oh well.


- One must have options when executing a make one to get the effect you want. I tried 3 different ones before I found the one that worked properly.

- Buttonholes? I can barely pay attention to what row I'm on, then to throw a [K2tog, YO] into the mix. Thank goodness for plan B, sew on snaps!

- I found another reason why fair isle is knit in the round. Three words: Weaving. In. Ends.


- I should have done a gauge swatch, but I like living on the edge :-) I still hold the option to eat those words later.

- This is the first time I'm actually looking forward to knitting many rows in stockinette.

Try'in Design'in

I'm not ready to give up on this blog. Even though I neglect the poor thing, I still like to express myself this way every once in a while. I've been up to a lot but I'd rather not be guilty of information overload so I'll just talk about what I'm working on right now.

I have a baby shower to attend pretty soon so I had to think of what I would make for this event. My buddy Maribel from my Barnes & Nobles knitting group has been working on this baby set for her cousin who's due. The set consists of a log cabin baby blanket and the five hour baby sweater all done in shades of purples. I fell in love with her sweater because the increases didn't look like the ones done in the original 5 hour baby sweater. Of course when I looked on Ravelry there were about 80 different versions of this sweater but I narrowed it down to the one Maribel used which is this one (rav link).

I thought this sweater would look great with a fair isle yoke so I decided to try and design one. I'm using all the stitch and row counts from the original pattern but I'm only doing 3 increase rows based on the Elizabeth Zimmerman Percentage System (EPS, they have a group on Rav, go check it out) I'm using 5, 11 and 4 row patterns from Sheila McGregors book Traditional Fair Isle Knitting and Alice Starmore's Fair Isle Knitting book. I have every thing mapped out so all that's left to do is cast on. Hopefully, I'll be able to document the whole process or at least show pics of the FO. Until next time.

Where's the handbook when you need it?

Am I a bad mom because I'm contemplating buying my eight year old a winter hat and scarf set instead of making one? I feel so guilty because it would take me no time at all to whip him up a simple hat from my stash yarn......but I don't know if I want to.

Are moms even allowed to be selfish?

I wish there was a Knitting Moms Handbook I could reference for situations like these.

I guess I could buy him a cheap hat for now to tide him over until I can make him something. Then I can take my time to make him something fit for a knitters kid, yeah that sounds about right.

What the heck happened to the hat I made him last year? I think knitting goblins took it.

He wants an Amtrak hat. When I asked him what that is he drew me a picture. Its a red hat with the Amtrak logo in blue & green. I'm really not feeling it because the design is too simple for my taste but I can't deny my child. I'll probably duplicate stitch the logo since I have yet to try that technique, yeah that sounds about right.

Being the selfish knitter that I am I worked on a swatch today during my commute which is for a vest I'm designing. I love the simplicity of a simple vest over a crisp collard shirt. The yarn I'm using is super elastic so the vest will be pretty fitted. I'll keep you posted.

Wow, three days in a row. I think that's a new record.

Dirty Little Secrets

My mojo seems to be in hibernation mode and I'm in one of the rare moods where I actually feel like blogging. Can you believe it? I haven't finished anything crafty in a while so I don't have anything cool to show. I'm spinning some stuff but I'd rather wait until its finished so I can give the full story about the project. So I'm willing to put my business out there for the sake of this blogs.

The start of a new year usually prompts reflection on the past. I'm choosing to start this year off by posting my throwbacks, also known as UFO's. These are the items that I've put in that deep dark corner with the slightest hope of ever finishing them. I'm hoping that by outing myself maybe it might kick start my mojo. In no particular order:

Circle Shrug
I started this this past summer after seeing a fellow Sit n Knitter working on a black one at a meetup. Like most projects it started out great. The yarn is some old Woolworth type lionbrand yarn that someone gave me from their stash. I thought the color would be great as a shrug so I casted on and worked on it exclusively for a good month. I lost steam when I came to the part where I had to increase twenty billion stitches evenly in two by two ribbing. Its been sitting in the corner ever since and I have no idea if I'll ever finish it.

Handspun Socks
I have no idea when I started this sock, 2008 maybe. I know the fiber I spun was from Crown Mountain Farm but other than that, I know nuh-ting. I have no idea how many stitches I casted on, what pattern I'm using or why I decided to change the pattern to a regular rib on the front leg portion while keeping with the instep pattern on the back leg. Then I switched it back. What I was thinking.



I did it not only once, but twice! This yarn was also spun from Crown Mountain Farms fiber but I'm stumped as far as any other info. All I know is that I casted these socks on a while ago, saw that they were coming out way too big and thew them in a corner. I'll probably end up frogging this project and make something completely different.




Handspun Scarf
I had orginaly started a shawl with this handspun yarn made from Spunky roving. I designed the shawl pattern for this contest knitty had a couple of seasons ago. I was about halfway through the shawl when I got distracted and dropped a stitch and that's all she wrote. I got so frustrated that I ripped the whole thing that same day. I felt a little bad afterwards because its not the yarns fault I dropped a stitch. I casted on for a scarf thinking it would help me feel better but it didn't really. I'll probably end up frogging again.


Two-Tone Saddle Shoulder Sweater for The Boy
According to Rav I started this in March of 09. It started out great but I got stumped when it came to the edging. I can't decide if I want to do a hemmed border or a rib, and if I do choose rib then what kind, 2X2, 4X2, argh! I probably need to add a couple of inches anyway because this boy grows like a weed.




Chocolate Hat
I think I started this hat last winter knowing full well that I didn't have enough yarn to finish it. What was I thinking and why haven't I frogged this yet?



Kettle Dyed Scarf
I scored this beautiful wool yarn about 3 (maybe 4) years. Only problem is that I was only able to get one skein of it so I didn't have many options as to what to knit with it. I decided to cast on a sideways scarf and I promptly put it down somewhere and forgot all about it for no reason in particular.


Japanese Jumper
I started this jumper for my fiance's godson who was born in July of last year. This was quite an undertaking being that I am using a pattern from a Japanese knitting book. I know what the character for stitch, row and gauge are and I can follow along most of the schematics so it wasn't too bad. I missed finishing this in time for the shower so I figured I would have plenty of time to finish it. I'm afraid it may be too small for him once I'm finished.


Big Green
Last but not least, I started this sweater in May of 2008. I finished knitting the pieces by July 08. Its been sitting there all this time just waiting for me to seam it. Yeah, I know, I'm lame. I should just go ahead and finish it already.




So those are my dirty little secrets. Maybe I'll finish them, maybe I'll rip them, who knows. I hope you've been thoroughly entertained. Now go forth and knit!

I still knit...really I do!

It seems like when I post, most of the time it's about spinning and I always promise knitting content in the next one. Even though Tour de Fleece is in full swing, I'm going to try to stick to my word. The only problem is that I'm horrible at taking pictures of my stuff. I want to take pictures of my stuff in natural daylight but its kinda hard to do in my hood (and I do mean hood) and I get terrible lighting in my apartment and a bunch of other excuses that contribute to my procrastination. I'm going to force myself right now to take some pics of my stuff becasue I really want to share. I still knit and crochet, honestly I do. OK, wait right here while I take some crappy indoor pics of my stuff in this dwindling daylight...............

Thanks for waiting. I'm all done taking crappy photos, now on to the knits.

I finally finished my Primavera Shrug (just in time for Verano). The only reason this took me so long to knit was due to my aprehension about picking up stitches around the border. I was dreading it but I had nothing to be afraid of. Sure it took me a while to pick up all those stitches but once I did, it only took my like a week to knit the ruffle collar. I can be a big baby at times. The yarn is wool and its super warm. This will come in handy this fall. Details can be found here on ravelry.

I also recently finished up a pair of socks that functioned as "busy knitting". I only knit these during commutes and standing in lines. Basically anywhere I had time to kill. This is a Cookie A pattern from her book Sock Innovation ( I forget which pattern so check out the ravelry page for details) that I did toe up. I actually ended up doing the gusset heel from Wendy Johnsons Book Socks from the Toe Up. I love both books so I took my favorite from both and kinda remixed it.

The last project I just finished was a cute vest for a baby shower I went to this past Friday. I found out about the shower on Wednesday. I had plans to be in the Lionbrand Studio with my meetup group on Thursday so I figured I'd get yarn then. I casted on that night and finished about 4 Friday morning. I would've been finished earlier but me and my boo went out for dinner and then to see the new Transformers movie. I love the pattern and I plan on using it for last minute shower gifts.

My current project is a shrug that I saw someone knitting at one of my meetups last week and I fell in love with it. I just grabbed some yarn out the stash and casted on on my way to the baby shower. I love the way it's coming along and I can't wait to finish. The pattern is called the shawl collard vest and hopefully it won't take me a year to finish.

So thats about it for now. See I really do still knit! I did lose my mojo for a while there but its back now, all is well. Oh I almost forgot, we just added a new member to our herd. Meet Danny.He is a very active little kitten and adorabel to boot. Took me like fifteen tries to get a fairly decent pic of him too becasue he wouldn't stay still. I'm sure you'll be seeing more pics of him on this blog. Till next time kiddies.

A bit of randomness

Is blogging like riding a bike? I was just sitting here going through my blog reader wondering why I haven't posted anything in a while. To tell the truth, there really is no reason. I just kept on making excuses in my head but that doesn't explain where my blog writing avoidance stems from. I'm kinda thinking aloud here so this may seem very random although it may make perfect sense to me. I think aloud, you could say I talk to myself but this is the way that helps me have a better understanding of a situation. It just bugs me that I enjoy reading craft blogs (even if they don't have pictures) but I can't seem to find the same pleasure in writing one. My nature is to seek logic and this situation makes no sense to me. Maybe it has something to do with me being my worst critic. I avoid things that I don't excel at and expressing myself in written word form is certainly one of them. but on the other hand, when I suck at something, I like to work on it until I have mastered it, then start chasing the next windmill. In all honesty, I partly started this blog so that I would have no choice but to work on my writing so at this point, I'm refusing to give up. Maybe I can use this blog in a theraputic way to help me get over myself. All I know is that I'm not ready to give up this blog until I have this thing figured out.

Sorry for going off on a tangent but inspiration hit and I just figured I'd go with the flow. I don't really have anything crafty to show but its been so long I forget what's been showcased already and what hasn't.

Knitting
Right now I'm working on knitting a pair of Leyburn socks (ravelry link) in some Yarn Pirate sock yarn from the stash. Its really, really thin but nice. I just finished the heel and I'm working my way up the cuff.

I'm also working a labor of love which is a saddle shoulder sweater for my son. I'm trying to work through my stash so I figured I'd knit something for the little one. I'm fashioning it the same dimensions as a sweater that he already owns. I had to do it this way because I'm using the "instructions" from Barbara Walkers Knitting from the Top. I didn't use the word pattern because the book basically gives you the recipe and you have to customize it yourself. I love the way this is working out because I can make certain style descisions as I go along. So far I've done the body and I'm still deciding what I want to do with the hem. I can't decide between ribbing or a folded hem. I'll probably decide by this weekend.

Thats about it for knitting although I have taken a vow to finish my Primavera (ravelry link) by the end of Primavera. I only have the last step to do which is to pick up a gazillion stitches around and knit a cute, lacy border. I just need to knock it out so that I can wear it before summer hits.

This post is already long enough, so I'll end it here. Hopefully it won't take me so long to post again.

Peace

I'm Focused Man

I've been a busy little bee (or sheep) since my last post. I've been so focused on spinning lately its crazy. My wheels and I have become best friends. I wish I had another but I doubt my tiny apartment can hold them all. Too bad I'm not willing to give up one of lovelies. I have lots of handspun yumminess to show so moving right along.....

Let me briefly get the knitting FO's out of the way first. First off is a hat I finished a while ago for my future hubby. Funny thing is that I casted on originally for the little one in mind but I realized about an inch in that it was going to be way too big. I asked the hubby if he minded the color and he said it was cool. I forced asked him nicely to pick a pattern out of my default Japanese knitting book because he's way too picky and I wanted to make sure that he would actually wear the thing. He loves it and its coming in rather handy right about now.
Yarn: Vanna's Choice
Pattern: #032 from Knitting Pattern 300 ISBN:978-4-529-04172-0

Next FO is a special project I made for my Nana. She's the matriarch of our family and she turned 90 years old on the 22nd so you know I had to make her something extra special. Since I was on a budget, I decided to knit a spectacular pattern with economy yarn. Her favorite color's pink so I went with the Hemlock Ring Blanket in Caron One Pound. The yarn doesn't block well but I already knew that before I started.
We all got together and threw her a surprise birthday party. Of course she cussed us all out for not telling her about it (gotta love those southern women) but you could tell she was eating it all up. Here's a picture of her all decked out. Can you imagine experiencing Jim Crow and a black president all in one lifetime? I thank God every day for having her in my life.
On to my current obsession, yarn. I was a member of the Spunky's Fiber Club last year but I canceled when I started to get a little backlogged. Well she's opening the club back up in January (you guys better leave me a spot, I know how you fiberhaulics are!) and I am so psyched. Only problem is that I still have stuff from 2007. So to make me feel better, I'm trying to spin it all up before I join again. So far I have two finished and I'm working on another.

This is Tulips from her May 2007 offering. Its 100% BFL and was a joy to spin. I tried to spin it a little thicker than I normally would. I ended up with almost 3 ounces and about 137 yards at 12 WPI which is about sport weight.

I then tried something different by spinning up a long wool which I don't have a lot of experience with.
This is Harvest Haze which is 100% Lincoln wool. I spun this from the fold to try and wrangle those long fibers. It is rather scrathy but I picture knitting this into a double knit hat with something soft and luxurious on the underside.

Right now I'm working on the the Aspen fiber from the September 2007 installment. Its a merino tencel mix which is really slippery and shiny. I'm also spinning this from the fold but I'm spinning as thin as I can so I can get a great lace weight in the end. I'm thinking of navajo plying it to gain a little thickness in the end.

Once I'm done with this, I only have the July 2007 fiber which is a colorfully dyed Shetland called Celebration. Then more fiber for me!

This post is getting a bit long so I'll try to wrap it up. Thats what I get for staying away so long. I already dipped into my Rhinebeck haul. I spun up the sock wool that I snagged at Little Barn. I had two ounces of both blue and green which equated to two skeins of tw- ply loveliness.

I wanted to share my sheep to shawl project that I'm working on but I don't think I have time. I'll do it briefly:
Step One: Scoured Romney Fiber from RH Lindsay.

Step Two: Hand carded into rolags. (dog brushes really help with picking the wool)

Step Three: Spun long draw on my hitchiker. (Dave is working on a double treadle hitchhiker yay!)

Step Four: Plied and felt blocked for a nice fluffy yarn. (this skein is about 2 ounces and 83 yards at worsted weight)
I just found the perfect project for this project yesterday. I picked up this wonderful British magazine at B & N and all I can say is I am in luv! Its called Yarn Forward and it is a great magazine. I would get a subscription if I could. Anyway, I couldn't find any pictures of the pattern I want to make so here's one straight from the mag.
Its a one piece cable yoked sweater that I can't wait to knit. So far, I've processed about 3 and a half skein so I have a bunch more to go. I'll keep you posted. That's about it, I'm off to read my fifty-eleven blogs in my reader. Be breezy.