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...

Spinning Luxury Fibers

Yum, luxury fibers.  One of the wonderful things about spinning, knitting and fabric is all the textures and colors.  My local fiber arts studio, Stringtopia, has been having a series of classes that are basically advanced spinning studies.  It has mostly been the same group of people and we have a lot of fun while we are learning about and spinning different fibers and yarns.

The latest series of 4 classes was all about spinning luxury fibers.  The last class in the series was this week and was incredibly fun as well as being very educational.  We discussed several fiber bearing animals, some properties of the fibers and had an opportunity to spin several of them.  The sample fibers were short lengths of roving of natural dark brown bison fiber, 2 colors of natural colored yak, a dark brown and a sort of grey/taupe/medium brown, an incredible blend of cashmere, muga silk and possum, and finally a handful of unprocessed possum fiber.  The yak fibers and the blend had been obtained from another Ohio fiber company, Lucky Cat Craft.  There are not very many sources for these fibers.  All of them but the raw possum were a joy to spin.

I have spun both bison and yak before, and I like spinning them very much.  Bison is quite short, very soft and can be spun into a very fine yarn.  The yak is a bit longer and smoother, and is slipperier than the bison.  Both fibers are from the down, the shortest, softest, undercoat of the animal.  It is a lot of work to collect, dehair and process these fibers, and they are correspondingly expensive, especially the bison.

The possum by itself while incredibly soft and fine was a bit slippery to spin by itself.  Because the fibers are short it takes a lot of twist to make a yarn that will hold together, and more yet to keep the slippery fiber in a yarn.  We agreed that the possum did best in a blend.

I hadn't been sure about the final blend (photo 1, photo 2), as in the braid the roving didn't seem to be especially soft and luscious.  Visually it reminded me somewhat of tow, which is not soft.  Part of the issue for me personally was the natural creamy taupe color of the fibers.

While beautiful, my personal color preferences do not include cream or gold, but the point of this class was to learn about the fibers so I pushed on and further examined my section of roving.  The roving had a bit of sheen from the muga silk.  Not a lot, but especially in the yarn there is some.  The ends where the roving had been broken were quite open and fluffy.  Not in danger of shedding the fibers all over, or the roving slipping apart, but the simple act of pulling the roving into pieces had opened the fiber and it looked like it would be easy to spin.  And it was.  This blend was really luscious, spinning very easily.  I really liked this blend.

The silk helped to trap the shorter fibers in the twist and gave that typical silk sheen to the yarn.  The shorter possum and cashmere are very fine and soft.  The final yarn samples have sheen and drape, and I believe that the possum would provide a lovely halo as the yarn blooms.

This week at Stringtopia there will be a couple of interesting activities.  First there is a Silk Tasting Party on Wednesday, then Saturday is a class on Spinning Spectacular Silk Singles.  I took that class a few months ago and it's a really informative class.  Lots of great info on spinning silk in general, and specifics about spinning and using silk singles in projects, whether knitted, crocheted or woven.  A very fast way to create yarn for a special project!

Bobbins Up!

As a spinner having more bobbins to hold yarn is important.  To make a multiple ply yarn you usually need to have multiple bobbins.  Even with a simple 2-ply yarn you need 2 bobbins of singles plus a third bobbin to ply onto.  Bobbins for spinning are fairly expensive, so having a less expensive alternative for storage and to ply from is a nice option.  This rewinding not only frees up your spinning bobbins for reuse, it also helps to equalize the twist through your singles which makes plying more even and thus more successful.

So I have been considering options for some sort of bobbin winder.  These tools aren't cheap, but with the price of spinning wheel bobbins it doesn't take to many to make the bobbin winder a relatively inexpensive option.  And storage bobbins are much less expensive than spinning wheel bobbins, making the long term cost much less.

When one is working on a large spinning project, say spinning a fleece, being able to store the singles until all the singles are spun can be a useful option.  My personal preference is to keep track of the order bobbins of singles are spun then mixing the order when plying.  So say you spun 6 bobbins of singles.  I would then either spin the first and last, or first of the first half and first of the second half together.  So numbering the bobbins in order by date of spinning, bobbin #1 would be plied with either 4 or 6.  Bobbin 2 with 5, and bobbin 3 with either 6 or 4.  This isn't a hard and fast rule, but since quite a lot of time can pass between my spinning sessions I prefer to average out differences in the way I spun the singles by mixing up the plying.

Some time ago I happened to learn of a product called Bobbins Up.  It looked like a very nice idea, nice large storage bobbins that could be filled with the use of an electric drill or screwdriver.  But I didn't order any at that point, figuring to do some more research before making a purchase.

Several months went by, then Spinzilla came along and I got to thinking more about bobbins.  So I did some more research and thought that I would just get a winder through a local shop.  Only due to Acts of Nature none were available for over a month.  I decided to try to find the other bobbins, only I couldn't remember what they were called!  Did some internet searches, but didn't see them.  Finally found the right reference and ordered some.

I've been really pleased with these bobbins.  I have weighed most of the ones I got and they were all between 30.15 and 30.19 grams, most were 30.18 grams.  Since they are made of a recyclable plastic I just marked on the end with a Sharpie the weight of that particular bobbin so in future when I weigh them with yarn I'll be able to tell just how much the yarn itself weighs.

Each bobbin comes with its own bit that fits into your electric drill or screwdriver.  You really only need one, but it is nice to be able to store each bobbin with its own bit so you always know you have everything you need.

Another really nice feature of these bobbins is that one end has a whorl.  Having a whorl means that you can use your tensioned lazy kate when plying to keep it from back spinning.  Ingenious.

My order arrived in 2 days.  In fact, before the mail came that day I had sent an e-mail to the supplier asking for an estimated arrival time.  I was sent a tracking number but the package had since arrived.  I thanked them for the fast service and was told that if an order is placed before 3 PM ET it will usually be shipped out the same day.

Just in case you are wondering, no, I am not affiliated with this supplier in any way other than as a satisfied customer.  So, if you are looking for a nice, affordable, option for storage bobbins, consider trying Bobbins Up!  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Final Spinzilla Results

Finished measuring the last of the Spinzilla singles yesterday.  Here's my final submission photo.  I tried to insert that as an image, but it wouldn't accept it.  Weird.  In all I spun 3217 yards in a week.

I've got a bobbin winder on order, which I'm waiting to come in so I can put some of these yarns back onto bobbins ready for plying.

Spinzilla!

The first full week of October is Spinning and Weaving Week.  So this year there was a contest called Spinzilla.  I joined Team Stringtopia (#teamstringtopia) spinning up a number of different fibers during the 7 days the contest ran.  Each team can have up to 25 people, and the Spinzilla pages explain about all the details.

As someone for whom spinning is a relaxation, a way to relax and enjoy fiber going through my hands to become yarn, enjoy the process as much or sometimes more than the end result, the production spinning for yardage was a bit of a jolt.  However, I put aside all my knitting projects and spun as much as I was able.  Now mind, I work full time outside the home, we have a multi-pet household and I take some classes of an evening, so the amount of time I had to spin was limited.

Knowing myself it was important to have multiple projects to work on during the week so I selected a number of different fibers.  Some were single batts, some larger amounts.  Prior to the beginning of the week I cleared my spinning equipment of yarn so I could start from empty bobbins/spindles, making it easy to keep track of just what I did during the week.

I have 2 spinning wheels, a double treadle Lendrum, and a Mazurka, and a Butterfly Electric Spinner.  The Butterfly I have been spinning up some bouncy carded dark grey wool, so using an empty bobbin I spun more of this.  As of noon on Sunday I had spun 732 yards of this wool.  The Mazurka I spun some light grey CVM cross batts.  I had recarded the wool the week before so it would be soft, fluffy and easy to spin.  And it was.  I ended up spinning 901 yards of this.

The Lendrum I used for all the other bits of fiber that took my fancy.  In September I took a class at Stringtopia called Color Blending on Drum Carder.  We made a number of interesting blends as well as batt structures like layered batts and taking a roving off through a diz.  Several of these were spun up as part of my Spinzilla spinning.  I found it very helpful to be able to switch around to different projects either as my eyes got tired or I just needed to do something different for a while.  All in all I spun over 1168 yards of singles on the Lendrum.

In addition to all this wheel/electric spinner spinning I also took a carbon fiber micro trindle spindle and bison down fiber with me when I carpooled to work.  Over 4 days of commuting I spun 3.15 grams onto one spindle then 6.63 on another.  The 3.15 grams yielded just over 61 yards of yarn.

I still have to measure how many yards are in the 6.63 grams of bison fiber and how many yards I spun on the electric spinner last evening.  However, as of this writing I measured over 2800 yards of singles spun over last week.  In addition to the measuring of yardage I also need to get a photo taken of what I have spun.

Tour de Fleece 2013 and other fibery things

I've been a member of Ravelry since February, 2008 but haven't used it extensively until this year.  Oh I'd added some of my books to the library area, put a few yarns into the stash and made some projects.  I even took some photos of my work and yarns and attached them in the appropriate places.  But I didn't use it extensively.  Then for various reasons I put my fiber stuff on the back burner for a few years.  I missed it, but was so busy with other things that there just wasn't time to do much about it.

Then in December 2012 my older son graduated from Marine boot camp at Parris Island, SC.  There were several days of family activities before Graduation Day, as well as a very long trip there and back.  Lots of time to knit and not lots of other things that had to be done!   So I dug into my languishing WIP's (Works in Progress) and found a pair of socks that were a few inches long with lots yet to do and some pretty purple yarn that I decided would become a hat.  I had a book with an interesting construction for a hat, so that's what I took.  I made a small version of the hat to better understand the construction, then made a full sized one.  I finished the hat on that trip except for the I-cord strings, which I finished shortly thereafter.

In the process I reaffirmed how much I love knitting and the fiber arts.  I kept knitting, on the way to and from work, in meetings, on conference calls, while walking the dogs, whenever I had a few minutes with nothing else that had to be done, and whenever I could multitask and do it.  Finished the knee socks.  Knit garters for knee socks.  Made another pair of knee socks.  Started another pair.  Got sidetracked by shawlettes, a shorter, crescent shaped shoulder shawl.  Made 2 of these in very different yarns using the pattern English Ivy.  I now keep them at the office as a bit of extra warmth in the A/C.

Right after Easter my new local fiber studio, Stringtopia, had a 'seasonal activity' where we dyed some tussah silk using Easter egg dyes.  I started to spin up one of the 2 lengths on a trindle, thinking to make a reasonably softly spun 2-ply.   Then a little at a time I started to get back out more of my spinning equipment, first my Mazurka wheel then the Lendrum.  The Lendrum needed new drive bands and treadle connectors, so those got replaced.

Then along comes the end of June and there is talk on Ravelry about Tour de Fleece.  The basic premise is to spin every day that the racers in the Tour de France race.  I decided this was a good way to help me focus on spinning some every day.  I'm posting photos here on Flickr.

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?

Socks and such

Lately I've been knitting socks again.  I've always enjoyed knitting socks.  They are small projects, portable, and with enough things going on to keep me interested.  Cat Bordhi came out with a new ebook, Cat's Sweet Tomato Heel Socks.  This book describes using a new short row technique based on multiple wedges instead of the usual 45% angle wedges that result from traditional short rows.  I quite like the results and it is very simple and easy to do.  No wraps, just turns, and a very simple pick up technique to prevent holes.  This is probably going to be my go-to heel from now on, and what I've learned from this book will change how I look at all short rows and how I decide to construct them in future.

Some other interesting links I've run across are this one, which lets you upload images and get knitting charts.  And here is a link to a blog post with a lot of size information that could be quite useful when you are knitting for a foot you don't have handy to try things on.

A couple of days ago I learned that there is a fiber shop in a town not far from where I live.  It has apparently been there for a few years, but I've been so busy with non-fiber stuff that I haven't noticed.  Well, I also never go into the downtown part of the town, I just go through on the highway to the grocery and then home.  Anyway, the shop is Stringtopia Studio, in Lebanon, Ohio.  They have an upcoming weekend workshop the end of the month which sounds interesting.  They also have a couple times a week when they are open for people to drop in and work on their projects.  I'm hoping to get over on Thursday to check it out.

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!

Alka Seaman's Scarf

Here is a picture of my latest alpaca scarf. I think the yarn is called Oceans. It is a lovely, soft sport weight yarn It was left over from making an Alka shawl. I had started it a long time ago, and this winter the scarf I've been wearing for many years had the yarn on the selvage break. I know I have about 10 inches of the yarn left over someplace, so the damaged scarf is put away until I figure out where it's filed. In the mean time I needed a new scarf. I found this very lost WIP, untangled the yarn and started knitting again. I'm sure the tangle was why I stopped working on it so long ago. I should have rewound the ball when I finished the shawl, but I didn't and it fell completely apart. Too late smart, as they say!

I was traveling when I was working on this, so I didn't have my book with the pattern in it, so I made up the pointed edges as I went. I've no recollection if the original book pattern had a point or if it was squared off. At some point I will get a real camera out and get better pictures.

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!