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.

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!

Pop That Bottle Top for 2012

I know I'm stating the obvious but 2012 is right around the corner! 2011 wasn't such a horrible year, all things considered, but I am so looking forward to 2012. I feel optimistic and bright at the thought of "starting over" for lack of better wording.

Naturally, I have a laundry list of resolutions for the upcoming year. One of these that falls into the crafts category is to:

Choose one pattern from one of the many craft books in my personal library to make each month.

I purposely made it vague. I don't want to feel too confined because I'll be less likely to follow through. I made this resolution because I own an obscene amount of knitting, crocheting, spinning and sewing books that I rarely use. By use I mean actually make items from the patterns offered as opposed to flipping through the pages and saying "Oooooo, pretty!" Plus I may get some inspiration for the blog if I'm actually finishing stuff. If all goes well, I should have 12 new items by year end.

My other craft resolution is to:

Finish or frog (rip out) at least one WIP (work in progress) per month.

That one is pretty self explanatory. I don't know how many WIPs I have but I think at least more than five and less than ten.

I have a few other craft related resolutions that I may get into at a later date. For now, here are some pics of recently finished object for this year in ni particular order. 2011 seems to have been the year of baby sweaters and hand warmers. Have a great one yall and Happy New Year!

I made these for a nice MTA worker that gave me a break when she really didn't have to.

Believe it or not, that there's handspun! I ran out of hanspun yarn as you can probably tell, hence the short sleeves and yellow borders. Thankfully, the shower was in August.


Finally finished this sweater. Wasn't too pleased with how it came out but the mom to be loved it and that's all that matters.

Made this potholder for charity. Its kitchy and I love it!

Made this baby set in record time. I think I found out about the shower on Wednesday and had it done by Saturday in time for the shower.

This hat was en experiment in gradients. I used three strands of sock yarn in two colors to gradually change from one to the other.

Made these for my son's teachers for Christmas.

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.

Insomnia

Happy July! For some reason, I can't sleep right now even though it's way past my bedtime. I guess I can blame it on a restless mind. I've got like a million insignificant things running through it right now and I can't seem to find the off switch.

While I'm up, lets talk crafts. My crafts have pretty much been as erratic as my thoughts right now. On Monday I knitted, on Tuesday I spun (well actually plied), on Wednesday I quilted and on Thursday I sewed(sp?).

I'm knitting a newborn christening gown requested by one of my coworkers. The pattern is called Floral Trellis and can be found here on ravelry. There's an error in one of the beginning rows but its pretty obvious. All in all, its a good pattern but I just wish I would've read the pattern before I started because the whole thing is knit on a background of purl. Had I known that before hand, I would have knit it from the wrong side on a background of knit. Either way, I'm about 90 percent done.

I plied some ashland bay fiber on my wheel this week to make room for Tour de Fleece. For those who don't know, rules are simple, you spin every day the Tour de France spins. There's a ravelry group with prizes and such. I've joined about three groups already so we'll see how it goes.

I started my first quilt, I think over a year ago. I'll have to check my blog to see when exactly that was. But anyhoo, I got discouraged when it came time to quilt because I suck at it. I decided to pick it up and try again. I watched a lot of you tube videos and I still suck at it, but I'm getting better.

I'm working on sewing project for my cousin right now. She's getting married at the end of this month and wants these cute satin roses to throw birdseed out of when they leave the church, Her mom was supposed to make them but she passed away last year. My aunt loved to sew so I felt so honored when my cousin told me I could have her sewing machine. It took me a while to get the machine calibrated but I finally got it with a little prayer. It also helped that her machine is a Singer which is the same brand as my original machine.

I apologize for the pictureless post, I really do. I'll make it up next time. Now its really past my bedtime so I'm going to try and get some rest. g'night or g'morning, whatever suits your fancy.

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.

Its magic

I had no idea that all I have to do is mention something on the blog and *poof* I'll get it done. I don't know if it works all the time but I'm glad it did.

After I turned off my computer I sat on my comfy couch and glanced over at my craft corner. I thought to myself "just grab the friggin darning needle and get the darn thing done" and I did.

I closed up the top of my hat and wove in the ends.


Basic formula is that I made a swatch, multiplied the stitch count by like 19 inches, casted on magic loop, two by two ribbing for an inch or so then mistake rib stitch until the length looked right, decrease 8 times evenly spaced every other round. The yarn was spun from Spunky Club by the way.

I was so motivated after that that I grabbed my socks and finished them off using EZ's sewn bind off while watching my housewives (don't judge me).


Basic formula is that I magic casted on 8 stitches for the toe (two at a time) and increased until it fit my foot. I was at a barbeque at the time and Bean helped me work out the cable pattern. I used the heel from that Two at at a Time socks book but the toe up one. I knit until I started to run out of yarn and ribbed until I got bored. The yarn is Socks that Rock in the Beryl colorway (I think)

I'm going to go out on a limb and try to challenge myself to blog this whole week (gasp). Lets see if the magic from this blog hasn't faded just yet.

Something New

I'm going to try something new and actually post to my blog...what a novel idea right?

Now that I'm officially an old married lady, I have time to get back into the swing of things. I went through such a crafting drought while working on the wedding but I think my mojos back now.

The last thing I knit was a pair of socks and I only started them because I needed something to keep my hands busy during my commute. They're practically done and have been done for a while but I've just been taking my time binding them off. I'm hoping that blogging about them will get me to just suck it up and get it done. I don't know why I have such an aversion to finishing but I feel drained just thinking about pulling out my darning needle. Its so bad that I started another project rather than finish those socks.

{sigh}

And the bad part of it is that I just finished my current project, a mistake rib hat made out of handspun, this evening on the train. I should bind it off and weave in the ends as soon as I finish this post.....but I won't.

I guess I'm done complaining about myself. I'm not a fan of pictureless posts so here's a pic from the honeymoon. Cross your fingers for yarny posts this week.

glutton for punishment

So I decided to unofficially join Le Tour de Fleece. I know, I know I hate joining stuff but what the hay. You can find more information on Le Tour here but its basically like spinning wool all the days that Le Tour de France cyclist spin. I say unofficially because I haven't joined a group yet. I'm spinning just to use up the stash and get back on track.

I got a head start by spinning on my spindle this past week. It felt good to be back in my element. I hadn't spun for a couple of months and it was nice to get back in the groove of things.

I wanted too spin something glitzy so I went stash diving to find something to fit the bill. I think i bought this fiber at last years Webs tent sale but it is an 8 ounce super batt from Applegate Country Fibers. The contents are wool, mohair, angora and glitz.


My process is to grab a chunk, fan it out a bit, roll it into a rolag, spin it kinda semiwoolen and immediately andean ply the singles. So far I have three mini skeins and i'm working on the fourth.

I have no particular plans for what to spin next. I'll be dusting off my wheel (literally) and putting it to work for the next couple of weeks. Hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day. I'm about to stuff my face with some burgers and dogs....and maybe hop in the sprinklers with my son :-)

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 Yarny Post

The thing I dislike most about not posting regularly are these marathon posts. Usually, I'm trying to fit a couple of months worth of progress into something that doesn't take days to read. I'm going to try something new and see how it fairs. This post will be focused on yarn. Maybe the next one will be about FO's since I have a few WIP's that are nearing completion and maybe another one about dyeing or whatever shiny thing that happens to hold my attention at the moment.

So, yarn....lets see, where do I start. I'll start with my pretties. These are my most recent spinning projects.
I joined the Spunky club again this year because frankly, I just love the way she dyes fiber. This is the March offering of a Dark BFL called Myrtle. I spun it a bit thicker than usual because I was in such a rush to finish it. I wish there was a such thing as squish-o-vision because this skein is so freakin' soft. I only have enough for maybe a hat or a baby sweater but its still satisfying none the less.

Specs
Weight: 3.7 ounces
Yardage: 121 yards, 523 ypp (yards per pound)
WPI: 10wpi or worsted weight

Next up is a skinny skein that I spun after a dye experiment I applied to some fiber from my stash. You can read about how I dyed the fiber here on Ravelry. I'll admit that I made a big boo-boo when I dyed it but thankfully the fiber still turned out wonderful. Here's the skein.And the stats...
Weight: 1.9 ounces
Yardage: 81 yards, 682 ypp
WPI: 12wpi or light worsted/sport weight

I am in love with this skein and I have absolutely no idea what I can make from it. I wish they had a feature on ravelry where you could put in the weight and yardage of the yarn you have and it'll automatically pull up all the patterns that qualify. Maybe they do and I'm just too lazy to have found it as of yet. Point is, this yarn is so soft that I keep it under my pillow so I can have sweet dreams at night.
Speaking of yarn, recently I took the fam on a little road trip to yarn heaven, better known as WEBS.
I went to their tent sale last weekend and spent waaaay too much money. I got great fiber but here are the irresistable yarns that just jumped right into my shopping bag.
I picked up that huge cone of unmercerized cotton for a song. The price was so unbelievable that as Kathy was ringing me up I asked her if she was for real. She said "Yeah, why do you want me to charge you more? I can if you really want me to." I quickly declined, paid my money and snatched up my winnings. I'm thinking of balling it up as needed to knit last minute baby shower gifts. The other four skeins are a bulky wool/cotton mix. A nearby friendly shopper helped me figure out how much I'd need for a sweater based on her handy dandy yarn requirements chart. Can I just say that knitters are some of the nicest people I know. During the sale, people were all bumping into each other and no one got an attitude. As if yarn fumes have a calming effect. After I purchased it, someone asked me how I plan to dye it and I didn't even think of that. I guess I'll use RIT because I think I read somewhere that it contains both ingredients to dye animal and plant fibers.

The next purchases were made inside the store and all I can say is WOW. I didn't really have a chance to explore the way I wanted to because it was just jammed packed with people but it was definitely an unforgettable experience. I'm a sucker for sock yarn so here's what I got:Sorry for the blurry pic but what you see here are two skeins of Regia Design Line - Kaffe Fassett, One big ball of Beroroco Sox in which this picture doesn't do the colors justice and the most incredible skein of Dream in Color Smooshy. I'm so glad sock yarn doesn't count as stash.

I definitely want to make another trip to WEBS. Maybe after my bank account recovers. As an aside, if you need a ride from hubby and he hates hanging out in yarn shops, you can point out that the basketball hall of fame is only a 20 minute ride away from WEBS. He can drop you off, go there and pick you up hours later. Ask me how I know? Thats about it for yarn....until next post.