Sunday, October 21, 2007

The Origin of Suffering: material goods

I did a noble thing this week-- I stared long and hard at my stash, and then I picked up a large bag and started piling in skeins. All said, about a third of my museum.

Cheating, slightly: about half the bag was taken up by the mondo-skeins of Jo-Ann Sensations. I tell you, that yarn is immense like it has something to prove. There were about a dozen other skeins of various providences, re-purposed or unused or little bits of both.

So, I did a good thing; I gave to a friend and made it possible to walk to my closet.

But it had a downside: This has made it very hard to justify not buying new yarn.
Behold my latest purchase; two skeins Malabrigo lace weight, color "pearl." I've never encountered lace-weight malabrigo before, and I must say that this is very fine stuff. Soft and smooth and with lovely hints at darkness despite being such a pale colorway. I have utterly no idea what I'm doing with it yet; but more to the point, I don't care. Its loveliness defies purpose. It's like... well... a clock that's all jammed up but someone took off the cover and hung it up on the wall just to see the gears. Arrested in a stage of splendid uselessness that may some day obtain purpose.

To think that this malabrigo came about because I wanted to pick up some Noro, either for Klaralund (if I could find the pattern book as well), or for an adaptation of the obi from the Norah Gaughan collection. I went to the Weaving Works, and had the best experience there that I've had since... well... a few years, at least. They've hired a young woman about my age, and we chatted shop and our love of the above-mentioned collection. It was entirely pleasant.

In more utilitarian dimensions, I also have enough Cascade Fixation to make a nice stretchy shell/tank. I need to get to sketching that out.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Anais, The End


Disregard the image to the left (to some extent); Anais is in fact finished, and quite lovely. I just can't get a good shot of it lying flat, so anyone interested will have to wait to see the final thing once I can pin someone down to take shots of me in it. Another post.

As you may have observed reading my previous post, I made a pair of gloves for a certain Brenna, who got the gloves by virtue of being awesome. They're based off my Trilobite gloves, but I tried a few different things-- mostly, the short row thumb gusset, of which I am absurdly proud.

This has, overall, been the cap of an absurdly crafty weekend for me-- not only did I finish Anais and seam it together, but I started two other, new projects (a gift for my sister and a skirt for myself, because I am first and foremost a selfish knitter) and banged together a earring/necklace holder from a cheap picture frame, some wire mesh, tacks and some s-hooks. It is serviceable, but I want something better to string necklaces and watches from. Ideally something I can put in plain sight, because otherwise my jewelry (actually, most of my wardrobe) disappears into a black hole of sorts. Out of sight, out of mind, truly.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Brenna's Gloves



Materials:

1 skein New Tweed ( 034)
Set of 5 #8/5mm dpns
1 cable needle.

Comments on re-sizing: as worked, pattern should fit average-to-large hands comfortably; the yarn stretches well width-wise. Naturally, add extra repeats of pattern in lower/upper hand as needed to gain preferred length. New Tweed has enough yardage for about 1.5" increased length per glove (I'm eyeballing this-- let me know if I'm off). Knitters with hands significantly smaller than approximately 8" around lower palm (below thumb) will want to decrease in increments of 2 sts, taken from the circumference as evenly as possible-- 4sts for 7" inches around, etc. BO 2 fewer stitches for thumb. I'll write this into the pattern eventually.

Gauge: 4.5 stitches/6 rows=1"/2.6cm

Stitch pattern

Rows 1-3: p1, k10, p1

Row 4: p1, 5LC (two stitches held in front), 5RC (two stitches held in front), p1

These four rows and 12 stitches will be repeated throughout the pattern.

The Right Glove (for all you non-mirror knitters)

CO 30 sts and divide evenly between 2 dpns. Join and purl in round for two rows.

Choose one needle to be the top of the glove, where the cable will be worked (needle a).

Set-up row for cable pattern: k1, first row of stitch pattern

Set-up row for cable pattern: *k1, p1, k10, p1, k2. Knit across remaining stitches, and continue working the stitch pattern with the k1… k2 stitches framing it on needle a.

When glove measures 1 ¾ inches/44mm long (longer for a longer cuff), work first increase row on the bottom needle, needle b:

K1, kfb, knit across to second to last st, kfb again, k1.

Work one full round in pattern, then repeat the above increase.

Thumb Gusset

When glove is 3”/76mm long, work across 9 stitches on needle b, then pick up another dpn and, with it, work the last 10 stitches. This new needle will be needle c; needle b will be the thumb gusset.

Work until you reach needle b again. K7, kfb, k1. Continue in pattern as normal to the end of this round and through the next; k7, kfb, k1.

Work two more rounds in pattern as set, then (if not already done) work across needle a.

Row: K1, sl1 st knitwise. *P 9; p2 sts on needle c. Sl1 stitch knitwise, wrap st, slip back onto needle c. Turn work and knit back across all non-slipped stitches (11 total). Wrap slipped st, turn, repeat from * Next short row: BO 11 sts. Slip wrap onto needle and knit; work in pattern as set until you reach next wrapped stitch. Slip this one back onto needle b and knit, then, as if there weren’t any bound off stitches there, knit stitches from needle c onto needle b. You are now back to two needles with a nice, minimally-shaped thumb.

Continue working in pattern as set: you will have 29 stitches on your two needles now, 15 on needle a (the stitch count here never changes) and 14 on needle b. Work until glove is approximately half an inch/13 mm short of desired length, preferably ending with row 3 of cable pattern. Work two full rounds of purl. BO all stitches. Weave in ends.

Other Glove

CO as for right glove. When working set-up row for cable, reverse numbers of knit stitches: k2, p1, k10, p1, k1. Otherwise, work in pattern as set until:

Thumb Gusset


When glove is 3”/76mm long, work across 10 stitches on needle b, then pick up another dpn and, with it, work the last 9 stitches. This new needle will be needle c; needle c will be the thumb gusset.

Work until you reach needle c again. K1, kfb, k7. Continue in pattern as normal to the end of this round and through the next: k1, kfb, k7

Work two more rounds in pattern as set, then (if not already done) work across needle a.

Row, starting on needle b: k7, sl1 st knitwise, *p2 on needle b, p9 on needle c. Sl1 st knitwise, wrap st, slip back onto needle c. Turn and work back across all non-slipped stitches (11 total). Wrap slipped st on needle b, turn, repeat from * Next short row: BO 11 stitches. Continue in pattern as written for right glove.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Life is A State of Progress(ion)

I'm still ploughing through several projects, but that isn't stopping me from buying yarn. I have an excuse: holidays. And tam patterns by Mary Jane Mucklestone. And Lorna's Laces getting exact gauge. Yes. Those are my excuses.

I'll excoriate myself anyway, with a picture of Anais stretched out on the rack so you can see every lump where the ends aren't yet woven in: