One of the managers where I am currently working will quite often greet us worker bees with this odd-for-an-Englishman greeting.  Every time he says it it makes me laugh as it sounds so….. odd, coming from his mouth.  Just think about it for a little bit….

Not a lot has been going on in my life of recent to tell you the truth.  I can’t say that I’m really knitting anything right now other than a sock I have been half-heartedly working on for several weeks (and haven’t gotten past the ribbing). Most of the reason is heartbreak.  One day, after having had Malcolm for only a very little while, I ran over to the neighbor’s house for something.  I wasn’t gone for very long but when I came back, the little project bag that I had been keeping the lace stole in was on the floor, yarn like cobwebbing everywhere and both needles on the circulars were broken.  Mal, who lived up to his name in Latin, had removed the project bag from another bag, opened the closed drawstring top, and proceeded to try to eat my lace stole.  Long story short, I think that it is salvageable, but I’m just yet up to opening that bag and working on it yet (and I need to get a new pair of needles!).

This is the last picture taken with the stole before the unfortunate event. It was taken a couple of months ago when the hubby and I went into London to meet-up with some friends. At least the stole has been very well traveled!

I finished a scrapghan right before Christmas for the neighbors and I have another crocheted blanket in the works, but nothing that I can write about as it is for a gift.

However, I may not be knitting right now (and my poor spinning wheel is gathering some serious dust too!) but I certainly will be this summer!  I am now officially registered for classes at both Knit Nation and UK Knit Camp!!!  Here’s a rundown of what all I’m going to be learning about:

Knit Nation

SPINNING FOR LACE with Janel Laidman, ESTONIAN LACE SAMPLER with Nancy Bush (!!!) and

Now, for another completed and Christmas-themed project!  Ilmar’s socks from Nancy Bush’s Folk Knitting in Estonia.  I love this book, I’ve even lost count of how many projects I have made from this book.  (Finally!  A knitting book for which I have recouped my investment several times over!)

I started (and finished) these socks ages ago, but haven’t had a good photo until now.  And maybe just as well, as this post would have looked a little odd in June.  I didn’t plan to make Christmas socks; rather this was an exercise in making good use of stash yarn.  I had enough red, and enough white.  And scraps of green.  (Yes, it seems obvious now; but no harm done.  You don’t really wear wool socks other than this time of year anyway!)

In case anyone’s wondering, these are indeed men’s socks, made for my husband (and sock model).

Now dad’s feet match little e’s head!

Bonnie was one of the attendees at our recent Skein Lane Retreat. There are many reasons why it was such a joy for her to be there…one of which is that she brings  inspiration wherever she goes.

We met, four or five years ago in my retail knitting shop,  about a year after she was in a serious automobile accident.  She was (and still is) a young vibrant working mother who was driving to work early one morning on an East Bay country road …I believe she had at least two jobs and a young son that she was and is raising. Her car went off the road and hit a guardrail…and that guardrail  severed her leg and then pressed against her body and saved her from bleeding to death.

Nancy and Bonnie

She now works with seniors, teaches dance, performs, and knits while she raises her son! Here is she is with Nancy Bush  at our recent retreat showing the yellow socks project that was featured on Ravelry.

I am still knitting away on my lace shawl.  Almost to the last color, and then the I-cord edging, which will take an eternity in itself.  I had hoped to have this done by Halloween, it was the 25th anniversary of my husband’s & I first date together.  We went to a nice restaurant to celebrate, and I would have loved to wear this.  It is an easy knit, just a lot of stitches at 395/row!

I also cast on for another pair of socks, using Malabrigo, the color is Impressionist Sky, and it is a beautiful semi-solid blue..  I am making the Gentlemen’s sock with Lozenge Pattern by Nancy Bush.  I think that I will have to purchase another skein of this yarn.  It is knit up on size 0 needles.  I love the color, and will give these to hubby for Christmas.  Good thing he never reads my blog!

Skein Lane Retreaters

Well, it’s been a week from hell and I have not had the chance to get back to tell you about the two fabulous workshops we had at the Skein Lane Retreat earlier this month. But there is a lull in the hubbub – at least until the phone rings again – and I’m gonna give it a shot.

On Saturday, the only full day of the retreat, we 40-some knitters split into two groups, and half of us went to Sally Melville’s Knit to Flatter and Fit class and the other half went to Nancy Bush’s Estonian lace class. I drew the Melville card first, so off I went.

I have taken two or three classes with Sally and I am always impressed by the very

In Sally's class

original way she thinks about knitting. Her approach is unlike that of any other instructor I have encountered – very contemporary, “fashion-forward” (as they say on Project Runway), and strongly influenced by current fashion lines and trends. She also thinks simple – basic shapes, structures, stitches and materials. What flash there is (and there is quite a lot) comes from the understated quality of most of her work. Now, I know that sounds like an oxymoron – flashy understatement – but it is true of Sally’s work. By focusing on knitting’s foundations – the shape of the garment, the way its pieces come together, the drape of the fabric created by the yarn – and simplifying those things, the end result is as impressive (if not more) than a complicated piece of lace, cable or color work because Sally’s garments FIT. They enhance, rather than obscure, what is underneath – our bodies. In her workshop, she set out to show us how she approaches the shape and fit of her designs and how we could incorporate that into our knitting.

Taking our measurements

And what fun it was to do this! Basically, Sally had us play paper dolls. Our homework was to have someone take a picture of our bodies from head to toe in a form-fitting outfit (like a leotard and tights). As you can imagine, this was excruciating. But she took pity on us by having us trace in bold marker the outline of our bodies before we came, so that we could leave the awful pictures at home. She then went through some basic garment shapes for both top and bottom and we cut them out from colored paper and laid them, in different combinations, on our outline. This way, we could see shapes in combinations that we otherwise might not think we could wear and would not otherwise try. Then, in the best part of the workshop, she taught us some formulas using out own measurements that we could use when knitting a garment that would ensure the sleeves, waist, length, etc. hit us in just the right places.

More measurements

Now, no words I write about this workshop here can possibly do justice to how great it was. I left that class feeling like my knitting had been revolutionized. It made me rethink my body shape, my propensity for “busy” knitting, and the clothes I like to wear. I am going to pull out all of Sally’s books and review some of her garments and rethink knitting them for myself. I cannot tell you how much I loved this class. Let me leave you with one of many things Sally said that just rang inside my head. “Knitting is not a bible you should follow. You have to work out each pattern just for you.” If you don’t she went on later, you don’t wear what you knit because you are unhappy with it. And she wants “to reconnect our knitting with our closets. Because to wear what you knit is to honor your craft.”

Paper dolls!

After Sally’s class, the whole group met for another great meal at the dining hall – I had some delicious, fresh salad and a great slice of homemade pizza. These Marconi Conference Center people really know how to fatten one up. Not that I am complaining! After lunch, we had an hour or so to sit and knit on our own, and then it was off to the afternoon session. In my case, this was Nancy Bush’s Estonian Lace knitting class.

Nancy with a map of Estonia and all those shawls!

While Sally’s class was all about innovation and style and contemporary lines, Nancy’s class was all about tradition, history and upholding the work of our forebears in the craft. I really dig this kind of stuff. While I love to knit what’s “new” – say, what’s in the latest Vogue Knitting – I really get off on carrying on the tradition of the craft. No one is a better spokesperson for this than Nancy, who has spent years traveling back and forth to Estonia, learning the history, loving the people and deciphering their knitting tradition for the rest of us who are not so lucky to get to go there.

Nancy taught us that Estonian lace knitting, which has about a 200-year history, has

Part of the lace sampler we made

certain telltale characteristics and stitches. First, it is always bound by a garter-stitch frame, second, it requires a knitted cast on, and third, it usually makes use of one or more of four basic stitch patterns. I could tell you more, but it’s all there in Nancy’s fabulous book, and she’s a better interpreter of this kind of lace than anyone.

In the class, Nancy showed us the four basic Estonian lace stitches – the lingonberry pattern, the leaf pattern, the twig, pattern and the lily of the valley pattern. This last one makes use of a distinctively Estonian stitch called the “nupp.” This last one is tricky – but so gorgeous when done – and requires making 5, 7 or 9 increases in a single stitch (!!!). Nancy had us make our own Estonian lace samplers and she showed us dozens – literally – of knitted shawls and scarves, some of which she brought from Estonia and some of which she made herself. Each one was more lovely than the last. Just fantastic. A great class – and I could not wait to start my own shawl!

Nancy knit most of the these!

After Nancy’s class, we headed back to our rooms for some adult beverages. I love adult beverages. I especially love adult beverages and knitting. Put the two together and you come up with some pretty whacky things. Over our beverages and cheese, we had a planning session for next year’s retreat – we knew we wanted to have Sally and Nancy back and they both wanted to return – calendars permitting – and we talked about the possibility of adding another full day. I sure hope that comes to pass. I felt like I learned more in that single day of workshops than I had in a long, long time. And more importantly, I was inspired.

Planning party

More about the fashion show and the last day of the retreat to come. I got a barking dog that I need to whallop. Knit on.

Nancy and Sally are the best! They are terrific instructors……and a joy that they are good friends. Here they are!

Nancy Bush and Sally Melville

Photo compliments of Bonnie Baskin…thank you Bonnie!

]]> http://knittingbeforeknittingwascool.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/provisional-cast-on-395-stitches/ Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:04:07 +0000 knitting1105 http://knittingbeforeknittingwascool.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/provisional-cast-on-395-stitches/

I started making the Volt shawl from the new book The Fine Line, by Grace Anna Farrow.  The cast-on and first row took me a bit of time.   Seems my counting abilities were a bit off.  That has proven to be the only difficult thing about this shawl.  I changed the lime green accent to a turquoise (and in doing so, had to use a slightly thicker yarn, but I think it will block out nicely), as I did not like any of the accent colors that they had at Stitches when I bought the book and yarn.  This is Isaeger I lace yarn, and I love it.  The shawl will be very fun to wear.  I already have another pattern in mind to make from this book when I am finished with this one.  I would also like to use this yarn for a Faroese shawl aka Myrna Stahlman.  This photo is a bit wonky, and just shows the first 2 sections with the black yarn being knit up.  The bright blue cotton is my provisional cast-on waste yarn.

I also finished Dan’s socks with the Zauberball yarn that he picked out when we were away for a weekend.  I thought that the colors would be too bright, but it works out nicely.  the yarn is fun, but you could not do any patternwork with it.  It is also a bit splity at times.  I knit them in the Madder pattern from Nancy Bush’s Vintage Socks book.   They look skinny, but have a lot of stretch, and hug your foot nicely.

Off we go - Sheri, Jan and Sally

Last Friday, I had the good fortune to be one of 42 knitters to head off to the glorious Point Reyes National Seashore area for a two-night Skein Lane Retreat with Sally Melville and Nancy Bush. I have attended several Skein Lane Retreats before – two with Chris Bylsma, one with Melissa Leapman – and all were lots of fun, lots of work and lots of inspiration. But this weekend’s trip was my favorite, by far. I would even call it revolutionary in terms of my knitting.

We left on Friday morning – me, my friends Jan and Sheri and Sally Melville, who spent the night before the retreat at my house (shall I auction off the sheets?). We took my “senior fun bus,” otherwise known as my minivan, and headed out through a very foggy morning, across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, over which we could see nothing but the grey gauze of the fog, and on out to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. But once we hit West Marin County, the fog disappeared and there we were driving through the green field and the deeply shaded redwood forests that make that part of the San Francisco Bay Area among my favorites.

Our first stop was in Olema, where I showed the girls the beautiful back yard behind the

We walk the plank (bridge)

Point Reyes Seashore Lodge and Conference Center. Why did I do this? Both Sheri and Jan are big hikers (okay, Jan is a big hiker) and it is hard to tell people how to find the path that leads from this yard over a creek and a fence, through a cow pasture and on to Bear Valley Trail. The four of up tip-toed over the plank bridge that spans the creek and navigated our slippery way up a damp slope to the pasture. There was the mountain looking at us – a great intro to the area and the weekend.

Pine Cone Diner

Next we drove into Point Reyes Station, as no trip to this part of the Bay Area is complete without a stop at Black Mountain Artisans. The owner, Marlie de Swart, has been making and selling her fabulous knits and ceramics for as long as I can remember. We got lots of inspiration here and promised to see Marlie and Mimi, owner of Windrush Farm, at the retreat that night, where they would both be talking about their individual approaches to wool. Then we met up with Carolyn, our fabulous hostess and owner of Skein Lane, and Nancy Bush. We had lunch at the Pine Cone Diner – “good food, prickly service” – and on to Cowgirl Creamery – another must-do here. I picked us up some Pierce Point, Mt. Tam and Red Hawk cheeses (all handmade on the premises) and off we went to the retreat.

We buy cheese!

The Marconi Conference Center, where the retreat has been held for years, is on the north side of Tomales Bay. As we drove along the winding shore of the bay, we saw alpacas, horses, cows, bay birds and lots of boats. The conference center sits on a hill overlooking the bay and is woven with paths over and among the hills, many with beautiful views, all padded with pine needles. We checked in – my gang was in Sandpiper 104 for the second year in a row – and set off to find a place with a view to sit and knit. Boy, did we ever find it.

The view

DNS - "Does Not Suck"

At about 4, it became time for some adult beverages, so back to our room we went for some, and, thanks to our roommate Cameron, who brought a small stereo system, some fabulous tunes. We were joined by the girls from our Friday knitting group – Ellen, Karen, Emily (an honorary member) and by Sally and Nancy, who both immediately decided they had to have some of this fabulous cheese to take home. The knitting came out, and we partied down, glasses in one hand, yarn in the other.

At 6, we all trudged up the hill – the mountain! – to the dining hall. The tables were set for the two groups conferring this weekend – us crazy knitters and a group of faculty member from the University of San Francisco. GUESS WHO WAS MORE FUN???? As usual, the food was good – but any food I do not have to shop for, cook and clean up after is good food. I had barbecued ribs and vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce. Yum!

Foooooooood

After dinner, we all made “the Trek.” The Treacherous Trek, as it might best be called. This is the journey all retreat knitters must make from their rooms on the hill to Buck Hall halfway don to the road. There are three paths you can take, Grasshopper, but all of them require a flashlight. And durance brave. But once you get there, an oasis of knitting fun awaits you. The hall is lit, warm and full of fibers for you to buy and try. And there are 42 women – (and one token man, a spouse who apparently couldn’t be trusted to stay home on his own for what was his birthday weekend!) – just as addicted to the stuff as you are. Heaven!

In Buck Hall

This first night at Buck Hall is given over to introductions, first of Sally and Nancy, who sat knitting away in the back, and then to Marlie and Mimi, who brought with them many excellent wonders and goodies – piles of yarn that they had sheared, spun and dyed for our knitting pleasure. There was angora, merino, goat locks, silk, wool and bamboo. There was worsted weight, lace weight, bulky weight. There was drool. Mimi talked first about how she had given up her life in Berkeley to buy a farm – a lifelong

Mimi!

dream – where she now raises sheep and alpacas and holds spinning, dying and weaving classes. She took American sheep farmers to task for not raising more sheep for their wool than for their meat (alas, but they taste so good, too!). Then Marlie gave us an exhibition of art sweaters she had recently shown in a

Marlie's art sweaters

gallery. There were audible gasps of pleasure and joy.

We surprised Marlie and Mimi with a fashion show of things we had made with yarn purchased from them in previous years. This was so much fun, and I hope it was better than any verbal “thank you.” There were hats and sweaters, ponchos and afghans, scarves and neckwarmer-thingies. All were luscious to the feel and beautiful to the eye.

The Marlie and Mimi Fashion Show

THEN THE SHOPPING FRENZY TOOK HOLD AND THERE WAS PANIC IN THE AISLES!!!! Okay, not really. But it was really fun! People bought a lot of cool stuff. And we left a little bit for the rest of you, which you can purchase from Marlie at Black Mountain Artisans, or from Mimi, who has a table at the Point Reyes farmer’s market every Saturday – conveniently located just across the street from Black Mountain. GO THERE.

Windrush Goodies!

Marlie's Goodies!

After the shopping frenzy passed, it was time for us students to introduce ourselves. And this was one of my favorite times of the weekend! This year, we were joined by some really wonderful first-time retreaters. There were two sets of sisters, one woman who had only been knitting for about two years (more on her later), and one woman who found out about the retreat THE NIGHT BEFORE and was lucky enough to get a place due to a last-minute cancellation. The distance award went to a woman who came all the way from the Bahama Islands. Now, that’s a knitter!

Then the trecherous trek again – uphill, in the dark (both ways!) and we hit the sack. Breakfast was at seven (HAHAHAHAHA) and class was to begin at 9. Check back for more. And just for fun, one more picture . . . .

Fall foliage outside our rooms

This morning I woke up bright and early, gathered up my son and drove to Charleston. He had an appoinment with a specialist. A series of bloodtests, an ultrasound, a diet he’s ready to choke me over, a couple prescriptions and more appointments for more diagnostics later, and we were on our way. This is most likely a lot of precautionary ruling-out of things which will lead to monitoring diet until we figure out what’s triggering his problems.

I drove him directly to the Green Dragon after all this torment. The Green Dragon is a store where they sell lots of miniature figures, die of many sides, tiny little bottles of energy drink made to look like potions, dragon in ceramic and pewter galore, interesting board games, movies, comic books, card games, tons of roleplaying guides and other generally neat stuff. I’m playing Dungeon Master at a D&D party for him and three of his friends tomorrow. They are all very excited. They’ve been working on their player character’s background stories – brainstorming and tossing various ideas. I let him get a new set of red die for the party.

Then we met ControlFreak (by which I mean my mother-in-law but not because she is a control freak in the obvious sense of the word – though she can be (ha!) – but because she sells Beauticontrol products. They are nice, they are. If you are in the market for skin care stuff follow the link and buy stuff from her) for her birthday lunch. Unfortunately, it took us too long to break free of doctor stuff and we didn’t realize the place she wanted to eat closed very early. We had to go with plan B which was still pretty tasty. I gave her the Robin’s Egg Mitts. She loves teal. I mean, loves it. Like, I wouldn’t be surprised if everything was teal when we visit next week for round two of doctor’s for Teen Wolf. I was very elusive about who those were for when I was knitting them.

We also visited her knitting store. They just happened to be about to start a sit and knit. Teen Wolf decided to be kind and let me stay for a little while. What a nice bunch of ladies! What a nice spread. Nice shop. Nice seats. Nice workers. Nice yarns. Amazing teachers there knitting. So many lace experts. They had crackers and cookies and homemade dips and fruits and WINE. They had WINE. It was fancy! I was impressed and jealous – very very jealous. I may have to try to get more of his appointments on their sit and knit night.

One of the ladies was their lace teacher. She was working on a Queen Silvia. I think she could knit nupps in her sleep. I may have to stalk her when I pick up the Triinu People Eater again. So far the only thing it’s eating is me. I was also lead to a nice beginner lace pattern (Peasant Shawl – free here) that I might try to put together to teach at my local store. Simple pattern with enough lacey hole parts at the edge to wow.

Our last stop was Cracker Barrel but not for food. I wanted to find a silver lining in the long list of things he cannot eat for a while…and bought him some hard candy. A little hard candy is okay. We got huge jawbreakers! Just look at that thing. It makes my jaw hurt just thinking about it.

Look! There is a little Dragon in my Dragon’s N Lace today. Mmmm nerdy.

Update: ControlFreak emailed me a bad link! I figured out what it should have been and corrected it though.

Jag stickar ganska löst så jag brukar välja mindre stickor för att få rätt stickfastighet. Men jag lyckas nästan alltid göra uppläggningen för tajt. Det är speciellt irriterande vid resårstickning. Nu har jag letat på youtube efter olika uppläggningssätt. Funderar på att använda mig av någon av dessa.

Nancy Bush är en favorit när det gäller sockmönster och den här uppläggningsmetoden måste jag prova.

Ysoldas sätt känns lite mer komplicerat eller iallafall mer tidskrävande.

I finished my September Mystery socks by Nancy Bush:

I made no modifications to the pattern.  They are knit up for a friend with small feet.  I really truly love the Malabrigo sock yarn.  It has a few great semi-solid colors, and knits up so nice and soft.  It is a very fine gauge yarn, and I think will work well for Fair Isle sock knitting.  I am really curious how this compares to the elusive Wollmeise sock yarn.  I would love to get my hands on some of that and try it out.  Alas, it is not available in this country.  The colors that I have seen people use online are amazing.  Lots of variety.

Here is my daughter wearing her sweater—finally.  The color is beautiful, one of my favorite.  The yarn is very soft (Sheffield by Valley Yarns from Webs), we will see if it pills and how it holds up over time.  I think that she was happy to have it finished.  Me too.

I finished up Clue #3 on the Nancy Bush mystery socks.  She uses a honeycomb slip stitch back for the heel (which I used on the orange socks that I made of hers).  I really like this heel, and had been thinking about doing something along this line when I knit up the Ilga’s socks and it was used there.  I also incorporated it in my Maraschino Cherry socks.  It has a better look, doesn’t seem to bunch as much, and spreads the extra wear coverage out over the heel.  Then she used a Dutch heel.  I am knitting her Madder ribbed socks for my husband, and she uses the same heel there.  It does seem to hug the heel better.  Not sure if there is a good/bad way to do the heel.  The one issue that I see with this heel is that you don’t have as many instep stitches.  So, if the fabric is not stretchy, or you have  a very high instep (me), it might become problematic.  It is interesting to see the complaints on the Ravelry thread.  Either knit the way the pattern was designed and try something new, or change it the way you like.  Not sure why people feel the need to complain.

Here is my heel, (I had 17 picked up stitched on the instep, so finished 2 full repeats.  I seem to always get 2 more than the number of slip stitch ends—like to close the gap) now waiting for clue #4 on Tuesday:

I cast on the mystery socks (designed by Nancy Bush for the Sock Knitters Anonymous forum on Ravelry) on Friday, and finished up through clue#2 on both socks by Sunday.  The top band is a 1×1 rib, then a “Vikkel” braid before you start the lace pattern on the front.  the back of the sock then continues the 1×1 rib for 3 repeats of the lace pattern.  Not sure the rational behind this, but that is part of the mystery.  Knit first, ask questions later.

I am in LOVE with this yarn (Malabrigo Sock yarn).  It is so incredibly soft, and I love the semi-solids that I got.  I have another pair of socks in mind with this yarn when I am finished.  Clue #3 was posted a bit ago, and it is a beautiful day.  I think that I will sit on the porch and knit away.

Knitting and wine don’t mix too well.  So, I have projects that allow me to knit without thinking, that I consider my “wine projects”.  I love a good glass of red wine in the evening, and still want to keep knitting.  This is my current “Zen” project that allows me to not have to follow a pattern closely.  I am making the Madder Ribbed socks from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks book.  The yarn that I am using is Crazy Zauberball.  My husband picked the colors when we were in Decorah (see earlier post), and I wasn’t sure.  But, it is knitting up very nicely.  Here is a description of the sock yarn that I liked:

Schoppel Wolle Zauberball is a wonderfully colored yarn with long color repeats that fade into each other. You’ll love the finished socks you get when knitting with Schoppel Wolle Zauberball. One ball will make a pair of socks with most patterns, but you want to be sure to check your pattern requirements to be sure you have enough yarn.

I am also progressing along on my Poetry in stitches sweater.  Started the sleeves, and decided to knit them up side by side to make sure that I have all of the increases matching perfectly.  I had to add an additional stitch before working the flower section, as they ask for the center stitch of the flower pattern (odd number of stitches) to be centered.  Without doing this, the sleeves would not have been perfectly symmetrical.  I still am holding back judgement on how the body of the sweater was broken up in the blue leaf pattern.  I also waiting to finish the sleeves to see how much blue I have extra to make the sweater body a tad bit longer.  The design is a very cropped sweater, and I think it would be more usually longer.  The other kit from this book that I knit up had a lot of extra yarn, and I am assuming this will be the same.  I am already thinking of mittens with these colors in the left over yarn, and using the flower motif.

A really, really, good friend of mine is getting married in October, and for their present I’m making the couple a pair of almost matching mittens.  Hers will be blue and cream, his will be green and cream.  I’m borrowing the Scandinavian custom of giving mittens for wedding presents, and since these two aren’t the type to get registered anywhere, I think this type of present is perfect.  The wedding is going to be on the French River, near Sudbury, in October, which is high autumn in Ontario, a fact which I’m very excited about.  Its been too long since I’ve been in a real Ontario fall, with the smells, the sights, it’s so beautiful!! 

My friend, who I love dearly, just became a surgeon, she passed her exams in June, she was already a Doctor for 5 years.  How cool is that, my lovely friend, who loves cutting people up, wants to do lung transplants, who once declared spine surgery “kinda boring”.  Her fiance is another wonderful Doctor who is a leading kidney and liver transplant surgeon, who also makes my friend dinner, and tidies the house when she spent the last five years basically living at the hospital.  When someone steps up and looks after your friend when she needs it, even though he has a demanding schedule, that guy is a good guy. 

I’m using a pattern from Estonian Folk Knitting from Nancy Bush, mostly because the pattern in the book has a band around the bottom that I’ve changed up.  The left mitten has “Dr. A +I”, and the right mitten will have the date of the wedding.  I was going to put their full names, but it turned out a bit too long, so I hit upon the shorter idea.  I think its kinda cute. 

The mitten pattern is incredible, and requires a stiff cuppa a tea and a few hours of quiet to get started.  In the first three rows I had to learn 3 new techniques.  A different cast on, a different join, then the yarn over braids with two colours.  The afterthougtht thumb was new to me, and took some pondering before the light dawned, the decreases at the top are new to me.  Whew, no wonder it took awhile to finish the first one.  Already the second one is going a big quicker!  It is fun to learn new things, even if it can be daunting, and takes a few times to practice. 

Another challenge is the sizing, with the motif on the top of the mitten which is 16 stitches wide, repeated 4 times, its extremely challenging to upsize the ladies mitts to mens sizes.  What I plan on doing is going up a needle size for the mens pair, which may also help the ease of knitting.  The needle I’m currently using is a bit small for this yarn, on the flipside I’ve got an extremely tight knit, wind proof mitten to give!  The women’s pair may also be felted down slightly to make them a slimmer fit. 

A word on this style of mitten.  I think I prefer a mitten with a tight cuff, however this open mitten could work well with my parka as it has a tight cuff which will fit inside this mitten design.  Another idea is to knit a separate cuff in ribbing, and sew that on the inside of the mitten to block wind from going up your wrist and making your hand cold.

Pattern: Norfolk Ramblers, by erqsome knits

Yarn: Oceanwind Knits Sock Merino (100% super­wash merino; 185 yds/50 g)

Needles: 2.25 mm

My granddad and his wife, the incomparable Diane, once rented a small cabin in Norfolk, right near the Broads and were so taken by it that they decided to buy a small cottage there, a ramshackle little getaway from the everyday. Avid walkers, they would plot out elaborate rambles across the countryside and swiftly grew to know every nook and cranny of the county. They were two halves of the same coin; Granddad-and-Di. They had been smitten with each other for nearly 40 years; it was the sort of love you aspire to. Earlier this summer, Granddad-and-Di became just Diane.

As any other knitter, I picked up my needles and numbly knit my way through this period. I knit and knit and eventually found I was knitting these socks for her.

‘Norfolk Ramblers’ incorporate the Ringwood pattern from Nancy Bush’s Gentlemen’s Half Hose, which I had made for my granddad’s 80th birthday back in May. To add a feminine touch, the Ringwood pattern is complemented by subtle lacy panels.

My two favourite features, however, are the round Welsh heel and the decorative toe. While you can take or leave the interlocking diamond pattern that adorns the toe (I do understand the concern surrounding dressing fragile lace around the tips of toes), I urge you to try out the Welsh heel, which cups the bottom of the heel for a perfect fit.

Diane has always been one of the strongest, most generous and caring people I know. While I can’t be with her all the time, I hope these socks will remind her that she is never far from my thoughts.

‘Norfolk Ramblers’ is the seventeenth pattern to be released under the Loumms Year of Socks. It’s available on Ravelry as a free download, but you can download the pattern here.

Please note that while we’ve done our best to make sure there are no errors, we can’t guarantee there aren’t any. If you find something that looks amiss, get in touch! We’ll be posting updates if we find any, but we are always grateful for feedback of any sort.

Errata

Norfolk Crossing Chart A round 9 should read:
p1, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, p1, k1, yo, ssk, k1, p3, k7, p2, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, p1, k1, yo, ssk, k1, p1.
Norfolk Crossing Chart A round 10 should read p1, k4, p1, k4, p3, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p3, k4, p1, k4, p1

Norfolk Crossing Chart B row 9 should read:
p1, k7, p2, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, p1, k1, yo, ssk, k1, p2, k7, p1

I am preparing to begin what I will call the Purple People Eater – mostly due to what I’ve learned about the potential difficulties with what is on the surface an easy pattern. One of the first questions I had (beyond the dreaded nupps) about this Triinu Scarf pattern by Nancy Bush was what kind of increases am I supposed to be doing when preparing to start the lace edging. The book is unclear. It simply tells you to increase X number of stitches evenly. This means I must do math and pick a type of increase to use. I first thought yarnover (at something o’clock in the morning when I couldn’t sleep). I later realized that would create holes. I studied the pictures in the book. In the first picture it looks like there are small holes prior to the lace edge but in the close up of the lace edge it does not look like there are any eyelet type holes.

I noticed a number of people using beads instead of knitting nupps. I think the beads would be pretty but I am determined to try the nupps. I’m a tight knitter by nature, so this should be interesting.

I’m not normally much of a purple person but the color has started to grow on me a little. I chose Knitpick’s Gloss Lace in the pinot color for this project. I haven’t worked with Knitpick’s Lace before.

In spite of my feelings about the Ravelry motto, I am really starting to like this site. It enables me to be in touch with other people who have completed similar or the same projects. I can see variations. I can talk to people about questions I have like what kind of increase they used and various tips on knitting nupps. One user pointed me towards a correction in the Knitted Lace of Estonia Triinu pattern.

I also found a video from Knitting Daily in which Nancy Bush demonstrates the nupp stitch.

I’m going to jump straight into this lace & nupps business and hope for the best. Wish me luck!

Below is a link for Nancy Bush’s favorite cast-on video.   I needed a something stretchy cast on for a new pattern and found this video.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frc5_9AIVy0

Also found this on youtube.  My husband and I just watched Bruce Campbell in his latest B-Movie, My Name is Bruce.    He’s hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af1OxkFOK18

I finished my Ilga’s socks yesterday.   I went with friends back to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see the Rohlf’s exhibit and 8 American Masters again.  What a truly wonderful exhibition.  So, I had lots of car time for mindless stockinette knitting, as I was already done with the stranded part on the second sock.  Now, I just have to weave in all of those loose ends.  The socks look a bit big, as there is no ribbing, but fit the foot nicely.  I used a size 1 needle for the stranded color-work, and a size 0 for the stockinette.  Here is a photo of the inside of the finished knitted socks.  Now to those ends…

I love how the inside of a well executed fair isle project looks almost as good as the outside.

I got a new book this week that I’m falling in love with. Knitting author Nancy Bush has created another masterpiece. Knitted lace of Estonia is simply a gorgeous and uplifting knitting book. In my opinion this is the way lace knitting books should be written. The 14 projects in this book are visually stunning, heirloom works of fiber art.

I find it particularly interesting reading about the traditions and historical significance of these patterns. In the beginning chapters she writes about the women living in the town of Haapsalu in Estonia. My family on my dad’s side came to the U.S. from Russia, so I like reading about Northern European culture. I also enjoy knitting lace, so this is a perfect book for me.

The book itself is a love story for us lace knitters; Part history lesson, part technical reference. The techniques, charts and patterns in this book will inspire any knitter. There are lots of knitting books on the market, but I highly recommend picking this one up.

OregonLive did this awesome interview with the author Nancy Bush yesterday.

Bookmark this on Delicious

Jill P.,

Yes, I am way behind on blogging about these projects.  (My Mom disapproves!)  It feels like once something is up on Ravelry for weeks there’s almost no point.  But here we go.

My neverending Spring and Summer project was this:

Pattern: Mosaic Yoke Jacket by Veronik Avery.  It was in Color Style and in Interweave Knits Fall 2008.

Yarn: Lamb’s Pride Worsted in Bulldog Blue, Grey Heather, Ink Blue, Medieval Red, Wild Oak, Sunburst Gold and Creme.  It took much more of the Main Color than I thought it would.  That double layer collar and bands really ate up the yarn!

I started it in the beginning of April and it took me until the beginning of July.  Part of the time it was on hold because I needed to buy more yarn or work on baby projects.  There was a large chunk of time where I was stalled out because of the colors.  I ended up buying yarn that looked like the colors of the chart key.  But of course the yarn combinations together ended up being awfully contrasty.

The intial plan had the Sunburst Gold and the Wild Oak next to each other, and the Creme and the Ink Blue together.  The gold and the brown together ended up being very 70s colors and not enough contrast and the white and the blue was too stark of a difference.  I hemmed and hawed about it for a long time, but Melissa helped me figure out a better combination.  When I look at it up close it seems a little bright, but I think it works pretty well overall.  Especially when you stand back from the sweater.

This was my first time doing a slip-stitch/mosaic pattern.  I understood the concept but I got very confused during the yoke pattern.  The way the pattern changes, you will have to slip some stitches more than just two rows.  The chart would show a new color, but I wasn’t working with that color yet.  You just have to slip them and work them on the next set of rows.  The rows will condense down and what was four rows of slipped stitches and knits will become two rows of just knits  (or purls as the case may be).

I had some trouble picking a good size.  I’m about a 36″ bust, or sometimes more.  I thought there should be some ease, so I went to the next closest size and made the 39″.  I think this is a good size for wearing stuff underneath.  But I almost wish I had made the smaller size and then added afterthought button loops for closures.  Let’s not even discuss how I’ve been irrationally making extremely warm sweaters with 3/4 length sleeves!

So, here she is:

I wish I had cropped my face out of that one, but don’t really have the energy for that.

My more recent finished winter project, are these knee socks:

Pattern: Evening Stockings for a Young Lady by Nancy Bush from her Knitting Vintage Socks book.

Yarn: ShibuiKnits Sock in Chinese Red, about 2.6 skeins.

I made a few little mods.  As written, the socks are a bit shorter than knee highs.  I decided to go all the way.  I didn’t cast on with the yarn doubled.  I had the 5×1 ribbing match up with the 2×1 ribbing.  This didn’t go very smoothly on the first sock, but I didn’t go back.  I just fixed it on the second sock.  I also did the calf decreases in pattern instead of in stockinette.  I kept a little p1,k1,p1 down the back of the leg until the extra stitches were decreased out.  To make the sock fit my calf, I changed needle sizes.  I started with a 2.25mm for the top ribbing.  Went to a 2.5mm for the lower ribbing, then went to a 2.75mm for the lace pattern.  After the calf decreases, I decreased the needles down again for the ankle and foot.  The pattern calls for a longer heel flap.  I made it a traditional height of about 3o rows.  I used the same directions, just picked up less stitches for the gusset and decreased at the same rate back to the original stitch count.  I also used a wedge toe instead of the round toe.

I like them a lot, but have only found one outfit that they will go with.  Maybe when the weather cools down a bit I’ll take them out.

These were my first pair of socks for the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry.  I am currently working on two pairs of socks for July/August.

It’s all socks and shawls for me right now.  I am itching to make a garment but will have to wait.

Jill B.

This took a few months to finish up, mostly as I didn’t work on it.  A good solid week in San Diego took care of that however!  I made 13 repeats of the lace pattern, and the length is perfect for a good office/spring/fall scarf.  The lightness, softness, and warmth of qiviut are unmatched!

I wore this with my summer dress in the office today as the air conditioning was on full blast, which made for a chilly morning.  The natural brown coordinates with many outfits, and is a lovely soft colour.  The pattern is from Lace Knitting of Estonia by Nancy Busy, the yarn is from Cottage Crafts Angora in Quebec, I used one ball of yarn. 

Well, its official: Mr. J and I are shacked up, living in sin, etc.  We’re on Day 2, and so far no one has killed the other yet, in fact I think we’re both enjoying it.  It will be much better once he’s all moved in, and the boxes get out of the garage.  Tuesday was all about moving vans, so yesterday, Canada Day, was very low key for us.  We worked around the house, took it easy, and worked on getting things settled, and stuff put away.  It was also Mr. J’s birthday, so I bought him beer, and made him dinner.  Men can be so easy to please at times!  He already learned a very important family rule (this one goes way back, way before my time in my family) “When ya take a cold beer outta da fridge, youse put a new one in”. 

I hope all my Canadian friends had a great Canada Day, and to all of you south of the border, Happy July 4th!