04.16.08
Posted in Knitting, Photos, Techniques at 6:07 pm by delipics
This is not a blog entry about the University of Kansas men’s basketball team winning the NCAA championship after twenty long years*, that tie-making, three-point shot (me screaming wildly) that sent the game into overtime and then the glorious, sweet taste of victory. No, this is not what this blog entry is about.
Instead, this is an entry on the completed Fair Isle Hat! (Pattern specs via Ravelry.)
We’ve been having a cold spring here in NYC so this hat is being put to good use. (Notice the sweatshirt - rock chalk jayhawks!)
Here are the obligatory various-point-of-view shots -
And for a different attitude, Darren turns up the brim -
*How scary is it that I remember exactly where I was when we won in 1988? It was my college spring break and I was in Fort Lauderdale, wearing a sparkly, red bathing suit and when we won I ran around the house whooping it up!
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03.30.08
Posted in Knitting, Photos, Techniques at 6:35 pm by delipics
I was so close to finishing the Fair Isle Hat - but one does have other priorities at times - such as the Elite Eight.
This is me right after Kansas beat Davidson.
All I have to do is sew down the brim. I decided to try sewing down live stitches rather than binding off then sewing the hem. I know I have just started to do this but I am already thinking I should have picked the second option. I like the look of sewing down the live stitches though, it seems much neater.
I have until April 5th to finish the hat. Oh, to be in San Antonio!
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03.17.08
Posted in Knitting, Photos, Techniques at 4:48 pm by delipics
This is my third cold of the season - d*mmit! I cannot believe I caught another chest cold. I am so irritated with myself. I’ve been so careful but those little germies just love me. I want to be well!
This is how things were before I got sick.
I finally picked up the Fair Isle hat project again. I decided that even though I did not fully understand the technique, I would just go for it and figure it out as I knitted. Alex reminded me there is no right or wrong way to knitting, as long as it works. I think I am finally understanding the weaving technique. My tension is not the best but the hat does not seem to be falling apart or looking like something the cat coughed up.
Tra la tra la.
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03.10.08
Posted in Knitting, Photos, Spinning, Techniques, Textile(s), Yarn at 7:25 pm by delipics
I spied a little skein of hand spun Peruvian wool on my shelf from my lounging position on the couch. Something shifted internally and I could feel my lack of motivation moving gradually about an inch (visualize a large concrete block). I spun this yarn in July 2006 when Caroline still taught spinning at The Yarn Tree. (She’s teaching a class here this May.) I always wondered what this would look like knitted.
Voice in my head,” I’m going to knit this baby up and see what happens.” Voila . . .
It has been a long time since I have knit for knitting’s sake. No planning, no agonizing over a pattern, no swatches, no decisions, just knit. I grabbed the first needles I found, cast on and let myself enjoy the process of knitting - one loop through another loop, sliding the stitch over from one needle to the other needle, finishing the row. Each row, in fact, was a discovery - what it was going to look like as I used up the yarn? I looked at the yarn as it made its way onto the needles - a thick section or a thin section of the yarn could produce such different results.
I took the time to look at my knitting - from the micro - how the stitches and rows were different from each other - to the overall effect of the knitted fabric. I remembered how much I like garter stitch. I think garter stitch gets over looked too often, as if it is too basic. It is one of the building blocks of knitting - yin to purl’s yang. I took my time knitting this yarn; there was not much yarn to begin with and I wanted the experience to last as long as it could.
I felt many things when I was done: proud, pleased, joy, curious, peaceful.
This knitted piece is what it is - the spaces between the stitches, the random slubs, the twist in the knitted fabric that resulted from being over-spun, the wonderfully uneven texture - all from two sticks and some string.
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01.27.08
Posted in CTS/RSI, Knitting, Photos, Scarf, Socks, Techniques, Yarn at 7:13 pm by delipics
Furniture shopping for dining tables
and wardrobes.
Going to The Point with Alex,
Buying yarn,
And eating.
Learning the Fair Isle technique at The Point, also with Alex,
which you can see is just a mess for me!
The good things from that day are: Barbara Kerr is a great teacher (her enthusiasm is contagious!), I learned how to knit on two circular needles and learned handy tips on provisional cast-on and knitting-in-the-round BUT I just couldn’t get the weaving technique. You know how it is - you understand it when you do it with the help of the teacher but the minute she walks away - poof! - the technique is gone from your head. I went home, ripped the whole thing apart and started over. I may take this class again if I can’t get this on my own at home.
I’m also trying to finish up Patty’s Scarf. I ran out of the yarn and it took me a while to buy additional skeins. I’m still working on small projects due to my CTS/RSI. It’s actually only RSI. I started back with physical therapy this month because I had a relapse. Things are on my mend and I will see an occupational therapist next for my thumb/index finger pain - fingers crossed - luckily it doesn’t hurt to do that!
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05.11.07
Posted in Brooklyn, Photos, Techniques at 4:08 pm by delipics
This past week I have been so busy, and I am now catching up. Last week I tried out modular knitting . . .
. . . and I think I am finally understanding the mysteries of gauge. I won’t go into the math details but I am trying to think of inches instead of stitches.
This is why I’ve been so busy . . .
. . . that’s right - I’m 14 years old! I call this my madonna look. Actually I’m trying to decide on my wish before I blow the candles out. (Thank you, Shawn, for sharing your birthday cake with me - you’re sweet and HBD to you again!) It was a great birthday week - spending it with my honey, hanging out with friends, family, and for the big night - dinner and Cymbeline at BAM. I feel I do not attend enough theater or dance performances. There’s just no excuse, especially with BAM so close and so many talented artists performing there. That was the best!
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04.29.07
Posted in Crochet, Knitting, Lace Knitting, Music, Photos, Techniques, fashion at 4:04 pm by delipics
I changed my mind about my project for The Knitting for Pleasure class because I was concerned about what I could actually complete within the time frame. I’m aiming for a lacy vest/tank combo - empire waist, ribbon laced at the bustline, good for layering. Bit vague sounding but it’s still in the developmental stage.
I decided on the Chain Stitch from the Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionary. Yes, the same yarn as for my Lace Shawl. I thought about buying more yarn but common sense prevailed and I decided to go with what is already in the stash.
I want to use this pattern for the body and a rib pattern for the bust area. The first time I did the rib, it didn’t line up with the chain stitch. See how it is all the way to the right at the top?
I frogged and and re-knit the rib pattern to line up with the eyelets. I did a practice decrease on one edge so I could envision what a v-neck may look like. Learning how to do all those ssk and K2tog tbl from the Lace Shawl was good practice for figuring this part out. (Does anyone else find this kind of stuff exciting? I figured out which way to do the decrease - on my own - and I was just so pleased!)
I also did that picot bind-off as a possible edging. Not sure if I like it, maybe if I space it out more? The wrong-side of the swatch - hmm, maybe I should do the rib for the body and the chain stitch for the bust area?
I’m also going to sent this off (finally!) to my sis - another Santa Cruz Hat. I really enjoy knitting this pattern. I used up the free Patons SWS soy/wool yarn from The Yarn Harlot event at FIT. It looks a little blobbish here on the ground . . .
. . . so I took a quick pic (actually, not so much quick as acrobatic arm-wise so you don’t see the camera in the mirror) of me wearing it so you can see the pattern stretched out over my head.
End Note:
Bjork wearing this incredible crochet costume designed by the Icelandic Love Corporation, and Bjork wearing a crochet mask here (click on photo on the right to see a larger pdf version).
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