Knit, Swirl!

I've been doing quite a lot of knitting over the last year.  Hats, mobius scarves, wrist and ankle cuffs for a bit of added warmth at these pulse points, socks, lots of socks and I've become enamored of a new sort of jacket called a Swirl.  These were introduced in the book Knit, Swirl!  I learned about it when a LYS had a Ravelry post about a class for making Swirls.  So of course I did some research, found the book and really liked the look of the garments.  For several years I've been interested in a longer jacket sort of knit garment and this looked like a nice possibility.

After reading the book I ended up purchasing a kit for the Coat of Many Colors, in the Clemantis colorway.  I figured that a kit would let me try things out without having to do all the yarn selections myself, since this pattern calls for 9 different colorways.  This kit pushed my color preference boundaries, as it includes some colors, like orange and yellow-green, that I never wear.  But the overall effect from this while very colorful is of purple.  Purple is good, I like purple, so I went for it.  And with a few minor points of confusion loved knitting the Swirl with this yarn.  It is Mountain Goat yarn, by Mountain Colors, a wool and mohair blend.  This is not a brushed yarn, so while there is a subtle raising of fibers in the completed Swirl it isn't hairy like many times we think of mohair.

I found the knitting to be simple but interesting.  It starts out with the entire outside edge of the Swirl, so a whole lot of stitches, but then as the welts are knit and decreases made it gets smaller and smaller, and thus knits faster and faster.  Then after the outside edge and collar are done it switches from knitting in the round to knitting flat, back and forth, but now getting faster yet because in addition to the regular decreases at the markers the opening for the neck decreases are also being done.

There are all these mini-milestones.  The Swirls are knit with welted fabric, sort of like sideways ribbing.  Several rounds of knit stitches follow several rounds of purl stitches, 4 or 5 of each, to make this rich, flexible and visually interesting fabric that is extremely simple to knit.  Decreases are all k2tog or p2tog, dead easy.  So finishing a welt is a mini milestone.  Then switching to flat knitting is a milestone.  Then there is the milestone where all decreases for the outside Swirl part stop and you switch to knitting the bodice, which is knitted flat with increases.  Then come the sleeves, where rather suddenly the number of stitches increases quickly.  But this is a milestone and it's very exciting because by this time you are actually very close to being finished!

When the increases for the sleeves are done you knit straight for a while, this is the actual sleeve and cuff of the Swirl and it's a lot of stitches.  But you're almost done!  Part way through the sleeve section it's time to cast off for the back of the neck and do neckline decreases, so suddenly it's tearing along like gangbusters, faster and faster and faster and you're done!

Swirls are such great fun to knit, and are very beautiful.  I am really enjoying wearing my Coat of Many Colors.  So much so that I am currently knitting another one, a Strata Sphere in Lamb's Pride yarn in Jack's Plum, a very deep, dark purple.  And following that I plan to make one out of Cat Mountain Fusion yarns in the color Aurora Borealis.  Blue to green to purple, just my sort of colors!  The yarn is lovely and the skeins have been washed and are dry.  Just need to swatch to verify gauge and finish this Strata Sphere...

Springtopia Spring String Thing, more knitting

Over the weekend I attended Stringtopia's Spring String Thing.  This was primarily a spinning related event, but there were also knitting and color related classes, which is what I took.  Carol Sulcoski, author and owner of Black Bunny Fibers, did a wonderful job.  I highly recommend her classes.  I now better understand how to use various sorts of hand painted, variegated, self patterning and striping yarns.  This is a topic I'm quite interested in.  I enjoy knitting self patterning yarns, but it is nice to know more about how to manage the results.

I have some quite nice hand painted yarns that I have been trying to decide what to do with them, and these classes have helped me make some decisions regarding projects to best take advantage of them.

Currently I'm in the middle of a sort of sock analysis project.  Having several balls of the same brand of yarn, Regia, in different colorways, I am experimenting with how needle size affects durability in the toes, heels and foot.  Initially this will be in stockinette, later I expect to do some tests that use heel stitch or EOP (Eye of Partridge). Using Regia Blitz Color 02530, a grey-blue self patterning yarn I used 2.0 mm needles for the toe and heel, and 2.5 mm needles for the rest of the foot.

About the time I started to work on these socks I realized that I had missing gaps in my needles in the smaller sizes.  I had 1.5 mm (US 000), 2.0 mm (US 0), 2.5 mm (US 1 in some brands), 2.75 mm (US 2), 3.0 mm (US 3) and so on.  What I finally paid attention to is that it is possible to get needles in between some of these US whole numbers.  Note also that the size of a needle in one brand is not always the same as that same size in another.

Because of this I am stopping using US sizes to reference my needles and instead trying to simply use the mm size.  I also ordered more needles.  I now have 1.75 mm, 2.25 mm as well as a full set of 1.5 and 2.0 mm.

Since I prefer knee socks I am doing a concurrent experiment with a ribbing I read about on Ravelry.  It is quite stretchy and thus far I really like the bounce back that it has.

This ribbing is a multiple of 3 sts:
Rnd 1: k2, p1
Rnd 2: k1, yo, k1, p1
Rnd 3: k3, p1
Rnd 4: sl, k2, psso2, p1
(note that your st. count changes for rnds 2 and 3 and then is restored on 4)

Many thanks to author Barb Brown who posted this ribbing.


So, on the blue Regia 02530 socks I used that ribbing from just after the ankle (toe up) on up the leg starting with 2.0 mm needles.  At the point where I started to need more room for my calf I switched to 2.25 mm needles.  This really did give a lot more stretch than I expected.  However, as expected it wasn't enough for the calf itself, so I increased up the center back around the middle column of stitches.  This really made for a nice fabric.  Stretchier and more flexible than the same ribbing on the 2.0 mm needles.  I just can't believe how much difference there is between fabric made with 2.0 and 2.25 mm needles.

Above the calf my leg tucks back in below the knee, so I switched back down to 2.0 mm needles and also did decreases.  I took out half of the increases I'd put in for the calf, then continued on the smaller number of stitches up to right below the knee itself.

These socks with this ribbing stay up quite well.  I wear my hand knit socks mainly as bed socks.  Often hand knit socks will fall down unless held with a garter, but at least thus far this pair stays up.

To continue the experiment I want to know more about durability on the foot and sole, so my next socks, currently still in progress, are Regia Blitz Color 02526, a nice green with some dark grey and purple.  This pair I'm doing on the smallest needles I've ever knit socks with, 1.75 mm.  The gauge is quite dense, as one would expect.  I plan to use the same ribbing, although since I'm using smaller needles and thus more stitches on the foot I will likely adjust the needle size through the ankle and calf a bit differently.

After this I will probably take a short break from socks and work a shawlette/crescent before getting back to socks.

Things I still want to check:

- What happens when a larger needle is used on the instep?  How does this affect fit and durability?
- What happens when heel stitch or Eye of Partridge stitch is used on the heel alone?
- What happens when heel stitch or Eye of Partridge stitch is used on the whole sole?
- On the toe and heel?

More Wrist Warmers

I like my Cabled Wrist Warmers (details on Ravelry.com) so much that I am using some other handspun Merino to make another pair. This project is serving a dual purpose, to make another pair of wrist warmers, and to see how the K1B technique may work with socks. These K1B Wristlets are a simple tube with no shaping or patterning. I'll get an idea how the fabric behaves with the K1B.

I've finished the first one of these, except for weaving in the ends, and started the second. A fast, satisfying and useful project.

I've found using wrist warmers/wristlets to be a great way to keep comfortable on a chilly day, indoors or out. Since these leave the palm of the hand open they work at the computer, too. Styles that cover the palm interfere with using a mouse.

K1B Knit One Below, Wristlet

I've been working on several projects lately, mostly Spudnick's fleece and the Pink Spiral Dance Shawl, but this is one that I just restarted as a completely different garment. I had started this on size 3 US needles as a hat, using these small needles to make a more dense fabric for warmth. It made a thin, but pretty tight fabric, but the colors from this yarn spun from Ohio Valley Natural Fibers Merino core roving in black and white, was streaking shades of grey.

When I realized that I had made a mistake a couple rows below, not getting enough increases in, I decided to try something else, using the techniques from the Knitter's articles and what I've learned reading the book 'Knit One Below: One Stitch, Many Fabrics', of which I've posted previously. I decided to start another pair of wrist warmers/wristlets. I really like the way this lofty hand spun is knitting up in K1B fabric. It's very flexible, but feels like it will be thick enough to stop some wind, and yet thin enough to wear well with other clothing.

Finished the Quiviuk Feather and Fan Scarf, Thoughts about Ravelry.com

I finished my travel knitting project yesterday. It is a Seaman's Scarf with a Feather and Fan Pattern that I knit out of Quiviuk, a quiviut yarn. All the gory details are here on Ravelry. I'm finding Ravelry to be quite a good way to keep records about my various knitting projects. It's all in one place, and since I'm online all day while I work, a few minutes now and then give me a knitting 'fix' at times I'm not able to actually knit. I don't tend to do as much with the social networking aspect of Ravelry, mostly just keep track of my library and projects.

While I don't often use it, there is a huge amount of information and access to other knitters with all sorts of skills. It is nice to know it is there should I need it.

Spring Day has us all busy

We have had a busy day today, enjoying the lovely sunny spring weather. It is cool, but the sun is warm and the sky clear. Perfect day to walk the dogs, sit out and crack hickory nuts and do some handspinning.

I've put a new bobbin on the Mazurka wheel as I spin up the final few batts of Spudnick's wool. I've gotten several batts spun up this weekend, as well as making progress on the Pink Spiral Dance Shawl and the Knit One Below Reversible Vest. I even got a little work done on the quiviut scarf when I walked the dogs this afternoon. Now it's time to work on the spinning for a bit before the last of the late afternoon sun goes.

Knitter's Abacus Bracelets and other neat tools

I have on a pretty Knitter's Abacus Bracelet that I'm using as I knit. I have picked up several of these over the past few years, and enjoy wearing and using them. I'm not much good at keeping paper and pencil by my knitting, probably because I usually knit as I'm riding in the car, or walking the dogs down the road, or....

Until I found these little bracelets at my local shop I would just periodically count and put in stitch markers. I still do that, but now I also use these handy abacus to help me keep track of things.

Since I live a fair distance from anything, and nearly an hour from my favorite local shops, I love mail order. 'Deliver to my door'. Fantastic! When I decided I wanted more bracelets in different colors to coordinate either with my project or with my outfit, I started looking online. I found these nice bracelets at Hide and Sheep, along with various stitch markers.

Simple, neat and efficient tools.

Knit One Below - Reversible Vest

The article about the new book "Knit One Below" in the Spring 2009 Knitter's and pattern in the Winter 2008 Knitter's have really been inspiring me. Yesterday my husband reminded me about some of the machine knitting yarns I've got, so as soon as I got home I started through my stash to see what took my fancy. These are all coned yarns, mostly Yarn Country. I found 3 different black yarns that I thought would be fun used together, 100% Tussah Silk, Designer 737 80% wool 20% silk, and CashWool which is 50% cashmere 50% wool. I thought they would be a nice background for some purples. The real interest yarn for the contract color is Violet Night, a variegated rayon chenille in purples, violets and green. With that as a base I added 3 other yarns for my first swatch, Hilcasa, a 20/2 waxed cotton in a dark purple, a Ming Blue 2/17 wool, and Concord Designer 737 WoolRay, a wool/rayon blend.

The vest calls for 14 st and 42 rows for 4 inch/10 cm square. The vest has a 2 stitch garter border and an odd number of stitches so I cast on 21 stitches (14+1 to be odd, +1 stitch per side so the garter stitches didn't distort the gauged, and 2 stitches per side for the garter border). This swatch gave me a chance to learn the pattern, learn how to cross these yarns at the edges to make the edges neat and pretty, and get used to correcting mistake. I recommend a crochet hook for this!

As the article said, this is a quick, fun technique that doesn't take long to master. The fabric is thick, but not stiff. Both sides are pretty, with very different but interesting looks. The first swatch is finished, measured and has been washed. I'll measure again after it's dry.

In the mean time I'm working on a second swatch, with only 2 yarns as the contrast, the Violet Night and Hilcasa. It is only a bit over an inch long, but is a much thinner fabric and drapier. I think I will like this better for my vest, but that remains to be seen after measuring, washing, and remeasuring.

I'm not usually one to do this much swatching, but since I'm not using a regular yarn, but instead just knitting 2 or more yarns together as one, and because I don't want to do all the various math to figure out my own pattern, it's worth it.

More k1b (Knit One Below, not knit through the back loop)

I often do not read my knitting or spinning magazines right when they come in. I've always got a lot going on, and the size isn't easy for me to read much of the time. So I stack them up and when the mood strikes I'll start going through them, usually reading several one after the other over the course of several days. Then it will be months before I read them again.

Well, the new Spring 2009 issue of Knitter's came in, and for some reason I actually opened it and started to browse through, The inside cover had an interesting looking little diagram showing a knitting stitch technique called Knit One Below. There were some really beautiful multi-color sweaters on the same page, and a book cover with a stunning sweater on the facing page. The publishers of Knitter's, XRX, Inc, also published this book, "Knit One Below: One Stitch, Many Fabrics" by Elise Duvekot. It can be found at the Stitches Market and on Amazon.

I haven't yet purchased the book, but probably will very soon.

"Knit One Below" review by Knitters Magazine has caught my attention

I've been enjoying Knitter's Magazine, among others, for many years. I don't often actually read it when it arrives. I quickly flip through to look at the pictures, then put it in my stack to get to when the mood strikes. The Spring 2009 issue arrived the other day, with a good, big review and lots of pictures from a new book called 'Knit One Below: One Stitch, Many Fabrics' by Elise Duvekot. The picture of the front cover of the book, the little graphic showing the k1b (Knit One Below) and my attention was caught.

I'm not usually much of one for multi-color garments other than socks, which I basically wear at home, usually as bedsocks. I don't much like horizontal stripes, and the pictures showing columns of color, many in colors I love, really caught my eye. The description of the fabric and construction techniques are rolling around in my head, and several of the yarns in my stash seem to suddenly be calling my name and saying 'k1b'.

I do love all the unvention/invention that has been happening in the knitting community. I consider myself so lucky to have all these wonderful, inventive people helping all of us be better, happier, knitters.

I've got to get a copy of this book!

Kid Mohar Shawl

I've been slowly getting pictures taken of various things I've made. Here is a Kid Mohair Shawl that I knit a few years ago. This picture doesn't do it justice. It isn't as long as some I've knit, but the length is very convenient, coming to middle of my forearm rather than down to my wrists or farther. The pattern is Anne from Stahman's Shawls and Scarves.

Wrist Warmers

Sunday I finished up the Handspun Mitts I've been working on, and since I was riding in the car with another hour or so in front of me, needles and yarn in my lap, I decided some more comfort was in order. The Mitts were knit in double-knitting, at 4.5 stitches per inch, so I made a rough estimate at 4 1/2 * 6 3/8 and got 29 (28.6875). I wanted ribbing, both for elasticity and for added depth to the fabric, so I decided to cast on 36 stitches and start off in 2x2 ribbing. I wanted cables, so ended up with 7 baby cables and 2 cables crossing over each other every 8 rounds to make a chain, crossing over the purl stitch next to them accordingly.

I finished the first one later in the evening, and started its mate. It's comforting to start and finish projects so fast, and I really need the added warmth sometimes. More details are on Ravelry.

Handspun Mitts

The white mitts are made from my own hand spun yarn, from Targhee wool. The pattern is one I've been working on for a while. I've actually made several pairs of these mitts, but the others I've given away as gifts. I'm still doing some minor tweaking to the pattern, and may have to make another couple of pairs to decide what will make it 'perfect'. My goal with this pattern is for the backs of my hands and wrists to be kept warm while my fingers and the palms of my hands to be open, free to knit or do whatever other activity I may feel like doing. I often walk and knit, and when it's cold out I sure appreciate some additional warmth! Oh, and these are accurate for my historical reenactments, too. Sure hope life eases up soon so I can get to some!

Quiviut Feather and Fan Seaman's Scarf

The brownish thing shown on top of the pink shawl is actually another Seaman's Scarf, this one in Feather and Fan stitch, one of my favorites. The yarn is quiviut (aka Musk Ox down), which is very light but very warm. I like knitting on this kind of scarf, which is knit from both ends of a ball of yarn. When it's close to being finished, I weave in the beginning yarns, then when I'm done knitting it's ready to wear. A nice, neat, way to finish using a ball of yarn completely up.

Pink Spiral Dance Shawl

The pink circle is a cotton shawl I'm knitting for my niece that I'm calling Pink Spiral Dance Shawl. It uses her favorite numbers 8 and 16, and is her favorite color. Someday I'll document the pattern, if I get time. The little bit of yarn you can see at the bottom is the tag end of the 6th ball of the yarn. It is over 32 inches across now. I've 10 balls of this cotton Mandarin Classis yarn.

Knitting Rules

I finally got around to getting some (very bad) pictures of some of my current knitting projects. I'll do a separate post about each.

This blue on black, which is difficult to see, is a Seaman's scarf, knit in the Alka pattern from 'Stahman's Shawls and Scarves', one of my favorite shawl knitting books. It is the only time I've used this pattern for the scarf, although I've used it any number of times for shawls. I'll try to get a better picture soon.

I need my Mitts!

It has been cold at the office lately, so I've brought in a pair of mitts to wear. They are described on Ravelry.com. I've made 2 pairs of these, one for a friend and this pair for me. The yarn used was less than a skein of Berroco Jasper, a randomly space died single ply Merino wool yarn. I need to get a better picture (this was taken with my phone under fluorescent lighting).

It sure helps to have something cozy to keep my hands and wrists warm, while leaving my fingers free to type.

I'm working on another pair out of handspun yarn, using a pattern I made up that a couple of years ago. These will leave the palms of my hands open, which will make using the computer mouse much easier. This is probably the 4th or 5th pair of these I've made, but I've given all the rest away as gifts.

Shawls are wonderful

The chill weather has been uncomfortable for me the last few weeks, as it so often is. Since I work in an office I have taken to wearing some of my shawls the last couple of days. It has really helped. Yesterday I wore a white kid mohair lace shawl and today I've got on a lovely blue alpaca lace shawl. Both of these shawls are knitted from Myrna A. I. Stahman's book "Stahman's Shawls and Scarves: Lace Faroese-Shaped Shawls from the Neck Down & Seamen's Scarves". The blue is the Alka, which I've made several times in various weights of yarn, always lovely. I don't find the pattern I used for the white one on Ravelry, but it is a similar diamond pattern as the Alka, only the interior of the diamonds contains 3 vertical k3tog's, making the shawl even airier than the Alka. I only had so much of that white kid mohair, and using that very open pattern managed to get the shawl long enough to reach about to my waist.

I highly recommend the book and love the shoulder-fitted Foroese-shaped shawls. They stay in place well and are very comforting to wear.

Woolgathering

Sunday, September 21 was a lovely day to visit Woolgathering at Young's Dairy on Ohio State Route 68, north of Yellow Springs, Ohio. I took some of my young friends up to select yarn to learn to knit. One knit already, and plans to make some hats, the other 2 haven't knit before, but wanted to learn. We selected a lovely, soft, worsted-weight merino wool yarn, and 2 circular needles each to use the 2 circular method. Since one of them already knew some knitting, we jumped right in and started a from-the-top hat. I expect them to have to rip back and start over a time or so, since that seems to be the way of things, so instead of getting several inches of the full diameter of the hat and having to start over, we decided having to redo less made more sense.

They sure are doing well, each having a couple inches of fabric by the time it got too dark to see and I took them all home. They all go to school together with my son, so will be able to help each other if need be. With luck I'll get some photos of their knitting to post.

Spinning again

Over the weekend I finished spinning and plying the last of a dark gray/taupe CVM fleece on my Mazurka. This is the fleece I wanted to finish spinning before I started back on Spudnick's fleece, as both have been spun on the same wheel. The carded weight was 3.2 lbs. I've got 6 huge skeins of fluffy yarn. It was spun fairly softly, with lots of loft and will probably be knit on a size 8-10 US needle, maybe larger, when I get around to swatching. I've got in mind a mid-thigh length jacket/coat, probably garter stitch similar to some that Elizabeth Zimmermann or Meg Swanson have written up in their books. At least those were the books I ended up pulling off my shelf and finding what I was looking for!

Haven't decided if I should do some big cables on it, which would preclude the garter stitch, or if I should spin up some of the other, lighter gray CVM I've got around to make a contrast color to make it more interesting. Decisions, decisions!

Once I finished that on Sunday I got out all of Spudnick's carded fleece, putting part of it into the now-empty box that the dark gray/taupe was in. If I stack all 4 boxes/tubs that these carded batts are in they'll be about as tall as I am! Woohoo!! I got out some of the darkest set of batts, 3 or 4 of them in that bag, and started spinning to match my sample. The texture is a little different, not quite as smooth and soft, but otherwise similar. I need to get some pictures of the 2 shades crossing each other to show the color variation. I've really got my work cut out for me with this fleece, but it is so wonderful to work with. I definitely won't have my sweater done for this winter, but maybe I'll finish the spinning and knitting in time for next winter. Or the one after!