Knitting in the Shadows

Doing it the Hard Way -- Yet Again

Despite my promise to myself to start taking it easy in any number of ways, I find that I've gone off again and done something the hard way.

This time, its a hat.  A simple stockinette watch-cap with a 1x1 ribbed cuff. 

How hard can that be?

Well.  ...  evidently I can make even simple watch caps tricksy.

Time was that my father could pop into the ArmyNavy store and pick up a simple watch cap (a knitted tube with an X seam across the top), and the seam was even and the hat was roomy enough, and it all worked out fine.  Lately, however, my father has complained that when he buys watchcaps these days, he finds that they'll start out fitting nicely around his head, covering part of his ears, just the way he likes them.  At least they sit that way when he first puts them on, and pulls them down into place.

But then, as he wears them, the slowly creep up until his ears are more exposed than he'd like, and there's a funny pointy peaky thing going on that he finds ... unattractive. 

So, I said I'd knit him up a custom cap.

I could have simply measured his head (which I did) for it's circumference and the optimal rise for his size, and cast on, knit a lovely tube (with a cuff his preferred length), and then done a nice seam -- or even a nice kitchenered cross on the top.  Yep, I could have simply tried to replicate the Army Navy watch cap that worked just fine for all these years.

Instead... I measured his head six ways from Sunday ... and started making a hat that will fit him precisely.

Seriously. 

I measured from the line on his brow where he likes the hat to start over the top of his head to the place at the back where he likes it to end.  I measured from the place on his ears that he likes it to reach over the top of his head to that same spot on the other ear.  I noted that those numbers do not match.

I measured around his head at the place that he likes the hat's bottom edge to sit. 

I measured from the bottom edge on the back to the spot at which his head starts reducing in circumference -- and then measured the width across the back of his head and the depth -- from front to back at that spot. (Those numbers don't match either).

See ... six.

I cast on, knit the rib to his depth, knit a turning row (wow, sounds like the start of a regular watch cap to me).  Then, I reduced by 4 stitches to keep the outer ribbing from stretching too far over the inner ribbing (cause I'm a little OCD).

But to get the hat to shape exactly right -- I worked short rows along the sides (cause his ear to ear distance is longer than his brow to occiput distance).   And I did short rows all the way around because the rise in the front

is only about an inch beyond the ribbing while the rise in the back is more like four inches.

  And then I decreased with the decreases offset to keep the back and front narrower than the sides...

And eventually worked kitchener seams across the top for that x seam,

yielding a hat that is exactly his measurements.

And learned that all he really wanted was the replica of the Army Navy Hat.

So I'm knitting one of those too.  (So, hard way first, easy way next)

Fitting -- A Quickie Tutorial..

Okay, okay.  It's not fair to go around saying I'm working with Elizabeth to teach HER the magic of fitting your sweater and not share what I know with the rest of you.

The first step of any modification is to get accurate measurements.  In this case, they're YOUR measurements.  If you're human, you aren't really as symmetrical as most knitting patterns would have you believe.  You'll also need to mark the center of the front of your sweater.

For bust dart measuring, you'll need three numbers (which will take four measurements):

1. The difference between the front length of your body and the back length of your body. (A-B vs A-C on the pretty pictures).

2. The distance from the top of your shoulder (A on the pictures)  to your nipple (D) for top-down sweaters, and the distance from the hemline (B) to your nipple (D) for bottom up sweaters.

3. The distance between you bust points (nipples).

I'm not going to pretend that you'll know exactly what that meant, because even though some of you know, some of you won't.  And what good is a tutorial that doesn't actually show you all the steps?

For the first number, you'll need two measurements: the distance from the top of your shoulder to your hemline down the front and back of your body. To take that measurement, you'll need to find the top of your shoulder.  Ordinarily, I would say that you need that lovely point at the top of the shoulder where that little bump is --

(yes, I know -- exaggerated nipples -- but either my imaginary model is cold, or I've done it on purpose to make it impossible to miss where they are for measuring purposes).   I'd say that you should just go straight in from that lovely knob (formed by the the acromio-clavicular joint)  but I've been noticing that those of us who spend our lives knitting, and typing, and driving, and otherwise living in front of our bodies wind up rolling our shoulders forward ..

and thus using that knob will screw up your measurements unless you change your posture. (And yes, I know, I'm not the best artist in the world, so sue me.) (And yes, I'm likely to blog about that posture thing sometime soon too)

So, you start at the top of your shoulder straight up from the nipple (A), and measure snugly against your body to your hemline down your back (C).  Then, you start at the same place (A), and measure snugly down your body to your hemline down the front of your body (B)over your bust-line (along the nipple line in fact (D)).  For most of us, those numbers aren't the same. 

Why snugly?  Well, because that's how you'll find out the length your sweater will really need to be (unless your sweater falls straight down from your chest).  And why at the nipple line?  Because that's the longest line .... and you need to avoid going straight down from your shoulder, or you'll miss that part. 

This difference is what we're accounting for when we put in bust darts.  Assuming that the front measurement is longer than the back measurement, you'll subtract the back measurement from the front, to discover how much fabric you need to add. 

To figure out how many extra rows of knitting you'll need to do in the bust dart zone, multiply the number of inches you need to add by the number of rows per inch in your gauge (if it's less than half an inch, it's not really enough to worry about, and you can quit while you're ahead).   The trick is that you can't just add these rows any old where.  And you can't actually let these rows go all the way to the seam line (much less all the way around).

Imagine for a moment, that you need to add two inches to the length of the front of your sweater.  The back of your sweater is now 17 inches long.  If you simply knit the front to be 19" long, you're going to have a bit of trouble sewing up the side seam.  There will be this ugly pucker thing. And if you're doing it in the round... ..  Nope, the trick is to add the length only in the middle (pretty much between your nipples), where you need it, while not adding at the side seam, where you don't.

That's where the next two measurements come in.

Okay, short rows.  Right.  But where do you start?

To figure that out, you'll need to know the distance from the top of your shoulder to the nipple (A-D) for top down garments (or the hem to the nipple (B-D) for bottom up garments).  Part of the challenge is that it's not just a given number, since the total depth of the dart does impact the distance before the nipple line at which you'll start your dart. It's not supremely simple, but generally speaking, your figure that out by adding an inch to the depth of your dart, dividing that number in half, and starting that distance above (or below) your nipple line.

So, if you're adding 2" to the front of your sweater, you'd add an inch, getting 3". Divide that in half, and you got 1 1/2 inches.  You'd start your dart 1 1/2" above (or below) your nipple line.  

 NOTE: This applies only when the additional length is all because of your bust!  If you're also adding length to accommodate a belly (or if you're only adding for a belly because you're knitting this sweater for a beloved guy who likes beer too much), then these rules will change.

When you work the dart in our example, you'll work an inch worth of short rows, then and inch normally, and another inch of short rows.

Wait, short rows?  

Yeah, short rows.  And that's where that last measurement comes in.  You'll need that extra length for the full width of your bust, but not the full width of our sweater.  How do you do that??  By starting with your dart about an inch outside that nipple line. 

To get there, you start with the distance between your nipples (D-D).  To simplify where to start, divide that distance in half, and add and inch.  So, if the distance between your nipples is 8", divide that in half to get 4", and add an inch, leaving you with 5". Then multiply that number by the number of stitches per inch your gauge gets for you. (So, if you're working with 5 st/in, you'll need 25 stitches.)  What do you do with this number?  

You make sure you know where the center line is for the front of your sweater (E), and start some short rows:

Once you've reached the row at which you'll start your short rows, work to the center marker (E), and then work the number of stitches you determined above (here it's 25 stitches) that will get you to one inch past D.  Then, using your short row method of choice, wrap and turn (or turn and yo).  Work back to the center line (E), and  continue on for that same number of stitches past the center mark, wrap and turn (or turn and yo).  For the next row, work to the turn, pick up the wrap (or yo) according to your preferred method, knit several* stitches more, and turn again.  Repeat that last "row" until you've worked half the number of rows you need to add. You'll be happier with yourself in about an inch if you mark the place of the turning point on both sides.  (*Note, that "several stitches" shoudl be the same number of stitches every time.  Three will do just fine for aran weight, but you might want six or so for fingering).

Then work an inch even.

Next, reverse your short row shaping.  So... work past the center until you reach the stitch at which you last turned, turn, and work past the center until you reach the stitch at which you last turned.  Turn and work until whatever your "several stitches" were before the last turn.  Repeat until you've worked the remaining number of rows you need to add.  Voila,  Pick up/conceal your wraps on the next round and you're done!

Suddenly, you've added two inches to the center of the front of your sweater.  Voila, a 17" back and a 19" front... and the side seams MATCH.

Doing it the Hard Way -- Again

The Divine Though Blogless Elizabeth and I have embarked on another knitting project together.  This time, it's supposed to be easy.  The point of this escapade is to help Elizabeth master the fine and glorious art of fitting a sweater to her own body, while knitting an otherwise very simple sweater.

We picked Tubey.

Tubey is easy.  Really.  Knit reactangle, join it's ends into tubes, and then keep knitting until you've got sleeves.  Pick up stitches along the edge of the rectangle, leaving a hole for the neckline ... then knit down in the defined rib until you've finished the body tube.

Easy.

So, our plan is to add short rows to accommodate the fact that both of us are women endowed wtih ... well.... womanly attributes.  We aren't the same size, exactly; and we arent' the same shape, exactly.  That means that our modifications will be similar, but not identical.

Easy.  Except ... well... suddenly my body doesn't match up with the plans.  I found that to make that sleeve section fit comfortably, I had to add several inches.  I hadn't been working the largest size, but my sleeve section is several inches wider than the largest size.

So, now, in addition to working the magic bust shaping that accommodates my womanly attributes, I'm going to be doing some other adaptations to get things back down to my size. I've finished the first half of that bust dart, and I'm about to start the other changes to get this thing to fit.

My only concern -- adding those several inches used up yarn I'm not sure I have.  I was cutting it pretty close to the edge on yardage in the first place.  And it's far too late to get more in the same dye lot.

 

Woman to Woman

Far longer ago than I care to admit, a friend of mine took advantage of Illinois' then new law granting same-sex couples the right to have "Civil Unions" (almost get married).  She delightedly referred to the event as "getting gay-married."

With any luck, soon, there will be no difference between "gay married" and married married except for the technical details about the body parts under the clothes.

Anyway -- in honor of this almost a wedding, I designed an afghan.  I think of it, sort of, as a stealth gay afghan.  IF you look at it from one angle, it looks like a rather boring striped afghan...

Lovely yarn -- Malabrigo Rios.  I like the little variations in the blue...

 But.

At another angle, it looks like this:

 

Note the hearts ... and the joined "woman" symbols....

Lovin' me some stealth symbols!

Soon, I'll be able to bestow the gift in person. 

Someday, I'll even post the pattern for this afghan.  But first, I need a test knitter.
I guess I'll need to draft up Man to Man, and maybe even a more traditional wedding afghan....

A new Home

At the beginning of the year, I did a supplement to my traditional "WIP Roundup" in which I posted a bit about a few projects that had been missed in the first go round.  In that list, I included a potential thing: Either I was going to find a new home for this shawl:

Or I was going to rip it back to the "plain" section and make it larger.  While I agree that Laminaria (the shawl) is lovely.  And it is soft and wonderful (what with having been knit out of cashmere), it was smaller than I like to wear.  I've pondered its fate for a couple of months now.

When I first posted about my dilemma, my lovely aunt Susan asked how big the shawl was.  But life got very complicated for her over the past few months, and I'm not sure she ever got my answer.

I took Laminaria, the extra yarn, the needles, and the pattern with me to Texas this past weekend.  I planned to spend Friday evening ripping cashmere, and then Saturday evening relearning that not so plain pattern that makes the lovely basic ground for the shawl.

Before making any bold moves, however, I thought I'd bring it out for a viewing.

I brought it into Susan's quilting studio (why oh why did I not take any pictures!  It would make you swoon with jealousy), and asked her if she thought it was a comfortable size for her to wear.

She allowed as how it would be just PERFECT for summer in Houston, when you want a little something on your shoulders in the air conditioning.

Voila!

Laminaria has a new home!

And I cast on for something else entirely.

Almost Done

When I left the house last weekend, I really wanted to take this project with me... because nothing is quite so pleasing as finishing something.

Alas, this project is more that a bit too big to use as a travel project (especially with tiny planes in the picture).  But I'm so very close!

I've got the last six rows of edging to do, and then I'll be weaving in ends and washing and blocking.

It's a long over due gift, for which perspective and angles are everything.

I'll be sad to see it go, but thrilled to see it in it's true home.

Library Windows

We moved into our house in July 2001.

We put lovely green leather recliners in the Library, across from the lovely fireplace with the green tile.

Ever since then, I've been trying to find window treatments for those windows.  As much as I love the bright sunshine, and the view of my lovely yard, it gets a bit too much in the afternoon when the sun is shining straight in.

I've looked at more curtains that I want to think about.  Finally, I decided to knit curtains for these windows.  And thus began the odyssey that is Dwarrowdelf.

Now, I'm making wonderful progress on these  curtains, but look at those windows again.  We're talking 84" long panels.  In lace. And they're wide too.  Even moving apace, I doubt there will be window coverage until next fall.

Golf Pro, who spends a lot of time in this room, has been very patient.  But as all the other work going on in the house, he began to wish that his space could be put on the list for improvements.  Finally, he asked that window coverings for those windows be next,

 After I got over feeling sorry for myself for having devoted so much time and effort into curtains, I started looking (again).  This time, I found something completely different. (And no, we' are NOT going into a Monty Python Sketch here).

Window fim.  That's different.

It doesn't quite achieve the sun block out goal for the half-round, but I still harbor a fantasy that I'll be able to work out some sort of miracle with the extra bits we have left over.  If that doesn't work, I've got a plan for a half-round curtain to match the Dwarrowdelf Panels.  I'm still thinking that they will work on these windows, even with the cool "stained glass".

If not, well, the dining room windows are the same size ....

We're both very pleased.

I am resisting t

Oldest UFO - Finished

I've been knitting for a while now.  Excluding those years when I knew how to knit but didn't do it that much, I've been actively knitting for almost two decades.  Thanks to the internet and to the KnitList, I became a multiple-project knitter fairly early in the game.  That means, of course, that for almost two decades, I've had multiple projects on the needles.

When you have multiple projects on the needles, some projects wind up being finished faster than others, even accounting for things like gauge and size.  Sometimes, projects seem to falter, and shudder to temporary halts.  They lurk in the background, waiting but not progressing.  We call these projects UFOs (Unfinished Objects).

Usually, UFOs come out of hibernation and get finished or frogged back to yarn before they've lingered too terribly long.  But sometimes they lurk in the bottom of the yarn basket for years.

And years.

And sometimes, they lurk for more than a decade. 

I've had two of these. The first was the Pre-Columbian Shawl.  I started it in about 1996 and didn't finish it until 2008.

 

One can almost understand how a project that big (it's about 6 1/2 feet wide) could take a long time to finish.  But given the speed with which socks can be knit, it's a bit mind boggling to realize that the second UFO of long standing took 17 years to finish.

I'm not claiming to be a super speedy sock knitter - my shortest sock completion was two weeks, but I'm more likely to take up to six weeks to finish a pair, since I'm usually using the socks as my "on the go" project, while time at home tends to be spent on bigger things.  Six weeks.  Not six months.  Not six years.  And certainly not SEVENTEEN YEARS!

The poor things went through a time of neglect, and then they lost their pattern, and then the pattern surfaced, but the socks were in hiding, and then the socks reappeared and I borrowed their needles, .... rinse repeat. 

Thanks to a recent decision to clean out the Yarn Closet, and to resurrect old projects and get things DONE instead of just starting new ones, the Luxury Sawtooth Socks from Blackberry Ridge (no longer available in their kit), are finally finished and ready to wear

Aren't they lovely?

It ALMOST makes me think that a bit of colder weather would be worth it.  Just for a day though.

 

A bit of February Productivity

Over on Ravelry, there's this discussion group for designers.  Each month the moderator generates a challenge, and those who want to play try to come up with a design, and knit it, before the end of the month.

In February the challenge was:

Object: Hand accessory
Theme: Geometry and shapes
Technique: Use more than one color

I found that I had an idea!  And so I grabbed up some leftovers from the frenzy of knitting slippers in December, and worked up what I call Dublin Windows.

I'm working on the pattern for them now, and hope to send them to the testing pool before the month is out.

In the mean time, I've got testers working on two more patterns for the Leg Warmer eBook... and by my next post, I should be able to show you a finished pair of socks that took only 16 years to knit  :-)

 

Sawtooth Success

Many years ago, maybe even before I started blogging, I lived in Oak Park. While I was there, I hosted a lovely little private trunk show in my home.  Mary Domiski brought Blackberry Ridge Yarns, and some kits, and I caved to the temptation.  I ordered Trillium Socks and Sawtooth Socks in kits.

The Trillium Socks, I knit and gave them to my mother. I loved them, but I wasn't savvy enough then to adapt patterns, and found that the original design yielded lovely socks for narrow feet.  I, alas, have wide feet.  My mother's narrow feet won that round.

Then, I started the Sawtooth Socks. 

There was a bit of an issue -  I worked on them and loved the yarn, and misplaced the pattern.  I spent the ensuing years either being able to find the socks in progress or the pattern but never both. 

During the Great Yarn Closet Excavation, I found both, and resumed knitting them.  I've enjoyed them immensely.  But, I've caed to the temptation of minor alterations...

Here's the picture that comes with the pattern -- a clue as to the way the designer intended the socks to look.

A perfectly lovely sock, yes?  And yet, my now finished first sock looks like this:

Better still... I have escaped the dreaded second sock syndrome's worst effects -- sock two is ON the needles:

There is one drawback to enjoying these socks so much, though.

It lured me to the Blackberry Ridge site, where I succumbed to the temptatation of ordering another sock kit.

and.... yarn to knit a pair of Trillium Socks of my very own.

(there was a sale... what could I do)

Bohus - The Gauge Gauntlet Has Been Picked Up

Many moons ago.... (no seriously, it's been like 5 1/2 years) ... ahem, many moons ago, I purchased an amazing sweater kit for a Bohus Stickning sweater from a charming lady in Sweden.

 

 

And in June, 2007, I started swatching for it.

That go round, I'm pretty sure I was using Inox Express needles.  I tried several sizes, and failed to achieve gauge.  I allowed myself to be distracted by other knitting projects.

Sometime in the intervening years, I'm pretty sure I tried again.  And again, the yarn defeated me.  Now this yarn was custom spun to the very specifications of the yarn used in the original Bohus Stickning sweaters.  It was custom dyed to match the very colors of the original designs.  You'd think that the yarn would want to work up to 34 stitches over 4 inches, like the pattern calls for.

You might think, but you'd be wrong.  My yarn has not been interested.

I've resumed the swatching.  When I did so, I did so with vigorous determination.  I promised myself that I'd keep at it until I got it right.  And this time... This time I knew I was ARMED I tell you.  We've already seen that I have needle size duplication out the yin yang, right?  Right.  So I've got slick needles and sticky needles, bamboo and aluminum and laminate and...

... and I was determined to try every brand I own until I found the magic needles to make this gorgeous sweater. In fact, I further determined that if I didn't OWN the right brand, I'd bloody well buy more brands (or at least borrow them) until I found one that would persuade this yarn to YIELD.

The up side?  I get to knit a lot with this lovely yarn.  The down side?  I've been making inroads on a yarn I can't get more of.  I will likely have to frog the swatch in the end... but that will wait.

My first step this go 'round was to purchase KnitPicks Options Metal needles in the two sizes that came closest to being right in other brands).  Yes, that's extravagant, but I do LIKE working in these sizes, and I didn't have that many variations "in stock".

KnitPicks 2.5 mm Options Metal circulars give me 32 stitches over 4 inches.  They almost had me, showing a lovely 34 stitches before I wet the swatch.  But we all know that for stuff that's gauge sensitive, blocking the swatch can save you much heartache.

Blocking revealed the sad truth -- this needle is the wrong size.

KnitPicks 2.25 mm Options Metal circulars were next up on the swatching rotation. See, following my plan... stick to one brand, and one style by that brand until you've worked through the size options.  In theory, I thought, this will give me more stitches to the inch.  I had hope, but didn't dare speak it aloud.

I swatched.  I blocked.

And this morning, I discovered that ..... at least in that swatch, I GOT GAUGE!!!!

I'd show you, but I've been swatching with the black.  I don't own a camera good enough to let you see that.

I'll need to order another length in this size to begin the sweater, since I purchased the most versatile size, and my relationship with magic loop knitting is not good enough to risk messing up either the sweater or the much coveted gauge by messing about with a needle that's too long for the neck or sleeves.  Luckily, KnitPicks fixed circulars are not that expensive.  Even better, I just sold some of my extra needles, so one of the sets I need to purchase has been paid for!

Needle Inventory Part IV: The Discoveries

Taking inventory of something as portable and losable as knitting needles results in a lot of digging about in old project bags, and drawers, and baskets and hidey holes.  Taking inventory of a storage closet does some of the same.  Sometimes you find things that are just a bit ... unnerving.

Take this for example.

That .. is the start of what I seem to remember was a purse of sorts for my then 8? year old daughter.  As you can see, it's primarily made of beads, backed by yarn.

In a way, I'm proud of this never to be finished object.  To set it up, I had to chart the design (which I think was a monogram), and then load the beads, one by one, IN ORDER, onto the yarn.  There are hundreds of beads there, carefully placed in order.  And they were working.  (you can see the strung blue beads at the bottom of the picture -- also there, a rainbow of beads on red yarn -- I don't want to know what I planned to do with that).

Sadly, the child in question is now 23.  As chic as beaded bags are, bags made of plastic shiny beads like these are no longer quite the thing for a soon-to-be college graduate. 

I frogged the bag.  I'm now left with a ball of yarn with hundreds of carefully strung plastic beads.  I may be taking it all to the I.D.E.A. Store.

Thinking of the I.D.E.A. Store reminded me of another discovery (wholly unrelated to inventory).  When you buy pillowcases these days, they come in little fabric bags (at least when you do it in places like Target anyway).  Some of these little bags look an awful lot like project bags to me.

This particular project bag cost me $6.98 plus tax -- and I got two more pillow cases to use in my massage studio as a bonus.  Oh, wait, no.... I got two pillowcases for my massage studio, and got this project bag as a bonus.

Back to the Inventory Discoveries.... As I rather anticipated, I found a lot of duplication in needles and hooks.

I  understand why I have 8 size 13 crochet hooks, but who really needs ten (10) size G Crochet hooks?  or twelve (12) sets of US 2 double points?  I mean really.

Also, as anticipated, having assembled all those sets of five double points, I've got this pile of needles left over.

I know that some of the dpn sets are incomplete because I broke some.  But I haven't broken THAT many.  And I know I haven't broken any of the metal ones or the bamboo ones.  So where are all the missing needles?  I've checked all sorts of unlikely places (having exhausted the likely ones). 

I don't have a clue.  But what I do know is that I've posted most of my spare needles on KnitSwap for sale, and will happily send a current listing to anyone who is interested in buying needles cheap.  The unmatched ones will likely find their way with the above mentioned now beaded cotton yarn - unless, of course I can fill in the missing spaces by reaching others who have spares.  (I figure any set of 3 needs to be filled in; any set of 2 constitutes spares to fill in others' sets).

I also found one last project....more on that later.

The last discovery?

Boy it feels good to have all this stuff organized, and put away. 

And my closet done.

And BOY it feels GOOD to be DONE WITH THIS project!!

Next up - the cedar chest.

 

 

 

Needle Inventory Part III: The Insanity.

When I started this inventory project, I thought it might be a bit tedious, but that was okay.  I'd had a rough week (there will be a full report on the REMEDIATION soon), and I deluded myself into thinking that taking inventory might actually be soothing in a way....

After all, it's a simple task. The steps are all small.  No higher math skills are required.  And frankly, with the tiniest bit of forethought and planning, it wouldn't even take extended concentration.

This idea is the work of the devil. I'm well past the 1/2 way mark for the entire inventory (and even noticeably past the halfway mark on the dpns), so stopping now would be wasteful and disheartening. But Boy Howdy will I be glad when this project is over! It's crazy making.

I was pretty sane about the whole circular needle inventory.  Really.  I gathered the mess, I sorted by size, and I tackled one size at a time -- counted em up, updated the count on Ravelry, and popped 'em into their binder sleeves.  Easy Peasy.

It won't take much to do the straight needle inventory, since I only own about 6 sets of straight needles. (And frankly, if I don't have their inventory I dont' really care since I use them about once every three years.

But the dpn inventory has taken me over the edge.

Perhaps it was having to check each and every needle with the needle gauge.

Perhaps it was the consistency with which I'd find one needle in a sleeve that clearly did not belong there.

Perhaps it was the frustration of verifying that any given set really did have all five, only to realize that if I popped them back in their sleeve, they'd get all mixed up again....but I found myself making little sleeves for every set of needles for which the original sleeve was missing.

Seriously -- as of this posting, every set of dpns US Size 7 (4.5mm) or smaller has been carefully wrapped in a little sleeve made of printer paper and scotch tape and labeled with the needle manufacturer, the size in both mm and US sizing, the length of the needle, and the number of needles in the set (they come in 4 or 5, but some folks give you a spare, leaving 6).  I'm beginning to wonder if I should market these things (in something more durable than printer paper).

I even made those little packets for the ones that I know I'll be offering up for sale -- I figure it will make it easier to locate a given set, and pre-protects them a little for future shipping.  Since I no longer use 8" needles, I'll be offering almost all of them up for sale.  Ditto the sets of 4 (I really prefer using 5).  When I've finished wrapping all stick like objects in the house in little paper sleeves, I'll post the list.

Wait, is that a ball point pen?  Do we have others that color?  I'll make up a set.....

 

 

Needle Inventory Part II: The process.

In my last post, I referred to  my Ravelry needle inventory. It still rather frightens me just how many sets of needles it indicates I own. Ravelry, being the wonderful resource that it is, happily provides you with a little chart of your needle inventory (and a way to print out a copy that you can carry with you to stop you from duplicating things).

My chart looks like this:

Since I know that this chart is not accurate, my inventory process will include rounding up all of the needles that are not in current projects (most of them are actually in the Binders where I store them, but some are in various knitting bags that have come upstairs full of things to be put away in the Yarn Closet, and some are in chair side needle caddies, and some are still in the project bags that housed a project that has been finished.

Once I've rounded up all the needles, I have to count, sort, identify, and then update the data for all the needles I own.  As I mentioned in my last post, I have circular needles, a few straight needles, and scads of double pointed needles. 

Since I started my needle collection, I have also acquired a couple of interchangeable needle sets.  Interchangeable needles have "points" in a variety of sizes, and cables in a variety of lengths.  Using a handy little tool, I can affix the points I need to the appropriate length cable, and create the needle size/length I need for a given project.  In theory, these mean that you don't actually need as many needles (one set of points can be used for a variety of cable lengths).  The Divine Though Blogless Elizabeth is trying to tempt me into acquiring another one of these sets.  'Cause clearly, I don't have enough needles.

Here's a more detailed view of a section of the circular inventory, that also reveals a bit of what I'm doing now:

 

You'll note that I appear to have far too many 4.5 mm(US Size 7) circular needles. I tend to agree. BUT, you'll also note that I have at least five DIFFERENT brands of 4.5mm needles, and that I have them in at least four lengths (there are more size 7's in the list, but you didn't REALLY want to see the whole thing, did you?).

You may also note that some entries say "in Binder" and some don't. That means that I've physically located, and put in the binder where I keep my circular needles, some of those needles. Interchangeable needles have their own binders or rolls.  I have not begun the interchangeable inventory yet. Here's what my inventoried collection of stand alone US 7's look like. (This points out another issue -- circular needle storage around here needs a new plan). 

Alas, this does not really mean that I have all the US 7s in the binder. The chart claims that there's one in a shawl (Pc of Vt), but those may well be the same ones I now list as being in the Binder, since that shawl is no longer on the needles. (sigh).

Even so, I'm pretending the main circular inventory is 90% done. I have to go through and take and input the inventory for the needles that are currently in projects. And I'll have to delete needles I can no longer locate.  Otherwise, until I start in on the interchangeable needles, I'm done with circs.

So I started in on what we in the knitting world call dpns or dps (double pointed needles).

These are more fun.  When you have a set (or three, or twelve) that hare not in little wee cases, the only way to tell what size you've got is often by using a needle gauge to check.  I've gathered a bunch of needles, and sorted them by size.  Here are the smaller ones:

 See that lovley pile over on the left?  Yeah.  That's a bunch of random needles that were in a lump with a bunch of other random needles.  I measured each of them with the needle gauge (the pile on the far left are all 2.25 mm needles), and now have to sort them into sets.  DPNs come in sets of four or five, depending on the manufacturer.  Some, however, come with spares, so there's a set of six.

Once I've sorted these, I'll open the binder and, taking them one size at a time,  get all the needles out of the "sleeve" for each size, confirm that each is actually in the right sleeve (again with the needle gauge) and sort the needles there into sets.  As you can see, the binder sleeves are a bit jumbled:

Once I've confirmed the sets in a given binder sleeve (one sleeve for each needle size), I'll update the Ravelry inventory, showing which ones I actually have in the Binder.  I'm going to update the Ravelry inventory for each sleeve before I begin the sorting for the next.

Next up:  How that actually works in practice (i.e. the insanity).

Inventory Part I: Why I have so darned many knitting needles.

Recently, I've been on a bit of an organizing/cleaning/sorting binge.  I'm tackling closets and storage spaces like a bit of a maniac.  That's okay, every time I finish one I feel so good about it I take it's picture (later this week, I'll show you the Massage Closet - it's beautiful (in my eyes anyway).

I keep meaning to take "before" pictures so that when I get all sentimental and show off the "after" pictures, you'll understand.  But, alas(?), I'm too interested in getting to the work to take pictures.

So.. where is this leading?  Back to the Yarn Closet, where we learn (sort of) that while I'm clearly a bit unhinged when it comes to collecting yarn, I'm not quite as crazy as I look when it comes to knitting needles.

As is true of many knitters, even when I was finished with the Yarn Closet, I wasn't truly finished.  I keep finding yarn lurking about the house, and having to go find it a home in the Yarn Closet (and then update the Ravelry inventory).  Some of this is because there are projects I was planning to start, but then delayed, and the yarn got pulled.  Some of this is because there are bonus storage places in the Living Room.  So... that continues.  But as I find the yarn, I'm putting it AWAY, and logging it into the Ravelry database.  

But... the side-show to the Yarn Closet that is now eating my days is the corollary project - inventorying the needles.

For those of you not addicted to sticks and string, I'll diverge for a moment to explain why so many knitters seem to have large needle collections, and why, for that matter, anyone would want a large variety of needles:

1) The obvious reason: knitting needles come in different sizes. When the circumference of the needles changes, the size of the stitches those needles create changes.  When the stitch size changes, the fabric changes.  You simply can't use the same needles to make socks that you do to make a bulky cabled sweater.  So, since I've never heard of a lending library for needles. tends to want at least one set of needles in every size one has ever been called upon to use. Unless you keep using the same yarn all the time, sooner or later, you need more needles.

2) Knitting Needles come in different types -- There are three basic types of needles:  straight needles (what you see in comics etc. - two sticks with points on one end and a stopper thing on the other), which are great for knitting things in pieces that you'll sew together;

circular needles (two sticks with points on one end joined together by a flexible cable and which range from as short as 10" or so to as long as 60"), which work quite as well as straight needles for knitting pieces, but which also allow you to knit around and around creating a seamless tube -- which is lovely for sweaters, eliminating the need for seams;

and double pointed needles (sets of four or five sticks with points on both ends), which are wonderful for knitting tubes that are too narrow for the logistics of circular needles (like socks and sleeve cuffs and the tops of hats.

There are also things called Flex Needles (of which I have one pair).  Flex needles are a sort of cross between straight needles and circulars - they have tips like circulars from which a cable extends, but they have stoppers on the ends like straight needles.  This lets you create, in effect, a really long straight needle.  I tried the one set, and decided that it's just as easy to use circulars for back and forth knitting.

3) Knitting Needles come in different lengths - Straights are typically no shorter than 8" and get only about as long as 14"; Circulars typically range from 16" (though 12", and even 11" or 9" do exist, they're really hard to work with) to 60"; Double points range from 4" to as long as 10" but rarely go above about 8".  Which length you use depends in part on what you're making, but also on personal preference.  You can use 8" double points to make socks, for example, but I rarely use any longer than 6" and actually prefer 4".

For circular needles, the differences in length are necessary to allow different circumferences in the tubes they make.  You can make something as small as about 14" or maybe even 13" on a 16" needle if the yarn is forgiving, and you can get up to about 25" worth of stitches onto a 16" needle --- but that needle is just not going to hold your 36" sweater.  As you can imagine, the situation is similar for longer lengths, until you get to the really long ones.  There's a method called "magic loop" that will let you knit a sock (9" circumference) happily on a 40" needle.  Some folks love it.  I'm not one of them, but I can magic loop in a pinch.  That means that I have circular needles in about 9 lengths, and double points in at least five lengths (see the picture above). 

4) Knitting Needles are made of different materials, with different finishes.  This is where we get picky.  Yarn slides about differently on different materials and different finishes because some materials and some finishes are slipperier than others.  The shiny metal needles are very slippery; if your yarn is also slippery, you're likely to lose stitches. The slipperiness of the metal needles depends on the finish; some are really slippery, some are only moderately slippery.  Casein and plastic needles are not very slippery. Bamboo needles tend to be a bit "grippy", and birch is somewhere in the middle.  That slipperiness difference can actually change your gauge (the number of stitches per inch you get when knitting a given yarn on a given set of needles).  Gauge is important to making a garment fit.  Sometimes, to get the gauge you really want, you have to change needle material and not needle size.

I periodically go on insane perfect-gauge quests in which I am determined to force whatever yarn I am using for a given project into the exact gauge the designer specified (you'll hear more about this with the upcoming Bohus Report).  This means that over the years I have acquired needles in brushed aluminum, coated aluminum, nickle plated aluminum, birch, wood laminate, two kinds of bamboo, casein (a milk product), and several forms of plastic. If you've got antiques on hand, you may even have bone or ivory needles to play with.  And still, sometimes I find that I can't get gauge with what's in the house, and have to go find a new brand.  Recently, they've started making square needles (which work surprisingly well).

5)  Needle sizes vary a bit by manufacturer.  For most needle sizes, there is a fairly universal size.  US Size 7 needles tend to be, fairly reliably, 3.5 mm in circumference.  But, not every manufacturer has their gauge set precisely the same way (since the error tolerance on that sizing is greater than zero), so some US 7 needles are bigger than others. The difference between a 3.52 mm needle and a 3.57mm needle will show up in your gauge.

Worse yet, for some US needle sizes, the prescribed mm correspondence varies.  US 1s are either 2.25 mm or 2.5mm. And US 2s can be 2.75 or 3.0.  More gauge differences.

6)  Some knitters, like me, have more than one project on the needles at the same time.  Every now and then, this means that a knitter will be working on more than one project that uses a given size needle.  This leads to duplication in the needle inventory.

 

Even so, I've discovered that my early days of buying a new needle when I thought I needed one have come home to roost.  I looked at my Ravelry Needle Inventory and found that at one point, I'd input a lot of information about my needle collection.  It included some numbers that causes one pause (7 sets of the same size circular needles in the same length? really??), but I have no idea whether that information includes double-entered data.

I haven't even tried to maintain the inventory since I input it literally years ago.  That means that even if it was accurate then, it's not all accurate now.  Worse yet, as I go digging up needles from the various temporary holding zones, I'm finding that I have more than I'd inventoried of some of them.  This is not quite offset by the fact that as I've broken some tiny needles, I've not updated the inventory to reflect the loss.  So... I may or may not have 10 sets of 2.75mm double points. (I'm pretty sure I don't, since I rarely use "standard" length double points.)

In my next posts, there will be a tour through the inventory process (what I'm doing differently to ensure accuracy this time), and a discussion of just what kind of insanity doing a needle inventory has led me to.  I anticipate that in the end, I'll wind up selling off part of the inventory.

 

 

Major Achievement Award Leads to Sale

You remember that List I was talking about the other day?

I put five new things on it (making gifts to pay it forward).  But, I took one HUGE thing off of it.  That one line has taken about a week of work.  Admittedly, most of it was done in fits and starts, an hour here, two hours there, but it started with a Sunday of full on focus.

What was that line on the list?

Clean Out Stash Closet and Inventory Yarn.

I really should have taken pictures!

When I started, the closet showed clear signs of haste from parties and over-night guest hosting over the past couple of years.  You know what I mean -- those moments when you realize you're just NOT going to get the cleaning job done in time if you put everything all the way away, so you shove something into a closet.... 

Yeah.

Sure, some of it was me just chucking the leftover yarns from a project into a small project bag and lobbing it into the Yarn Closet.  But some of it was lobbing wholly unrelated things in there.  It had ceased being a walk in closet.  It had become a danger zone in which access to the lace yarn was blocked by bags and baskets and boxes of things like computer cables and office supplies.

So... I pulled everything out of the center "aisle".  I dealt with the boxes of cables and office supplies... putting some things away, sending some things to the garage, and sending some things to Not In My House.

Then, I dug way back into the closet and extracted all things that had been stored in there that were not legitimately fiber related.  The box that holds toys from my childhood and from my mother's childhood has been moved to a different storage closet (yeah, I know, more work for THAT closet, but it really didn't belong in THIS one).  The games have been re-located to the place where games live. Ditto puzzles.

I pulled all the many project and tote bags.  I made sure they were empty, and folded them and put them into two bags -- one full of single/small project bags, and one full of sweater sized project bags.  I put them in the closet.

Then, I started with the yarn.  Ravelry is my friend (again).  Ravelry let me download a spreadsheet of all the yarns I had listed there.  I printed it out (we will not discuss the number of pages), and used it to inventory every drawer, cube, bin, and crate in the closet.  I counted the yarn to be sure that what I said I had, I still have.  I recorded on the list which drawer, box, bin, crate etc. the yarn now lived in.  Then, I updated my Ravelry stash to SHOW where the yarn is located.

And, where I didn't have a photo up in Raverly, I took pictures, most of which have been uploaded to Ravelry.

Sometimes, I found yarn that wasn't in Ravelry -- so I entered it.  Sometimes Ravelry listed yarn that I can't find.  Some of these, I know I used up or sold.  For these, I updated the Ravelry database to say "All Used Up" or "Traded/Given Away".  Some ... well... some I'm pretty sure is in the house somewhere.  For those, the location is now listed as MISSING.

I even dove into the other closet and inventoried the For Sale Yarns that are stored there.

And now, my Yarn Closet is clean,

organized,

and accessible.

Doing this leaves me with a Great Big Feeling of Accomplishment.

But...

As a result, I have come face to face with just how huge the stash has become.  It's time for another Stash Reduction Sale.   Over the next several days (weeks?) I'll be updating my Stash Sale Page.  But once again, I'm declaring open season on my Ravelry Stash.  The stuff I WANT to sell is listed on the For Sale or Trade List there.  But ANYTHING that is in my Ravelry Stash that has a price listed in comments is actually available ...  Heck, for the rest of January -- even if it doesn't have a price tag, if you want it, let me know, I'll consider reasonable offers.

 

Finished! Just in Time for Brrrr

Today, it was fifty degrees.  Seriously.  Outside even.  In Illinois.  In January.

Tomorrow, the high is supposed to be 28.  The low... 11.  Farenheit.

Today, after a lovely day working, I finished Kitty's Gloves. 

They're not the most magnificent gloves, but they are broad enough for her palms, and long enough for her hand and for her long lovely fingers.  Every single finger was carefully fit for length...

Not bad for knitting without a pattern!  The bonus here, besides that I've finished a project this month, and that my daughter's hands will be warm ...  I've learned that I can knit gloves.

 

(Note - That's ONE DOWN from the parade of Works in Progress).

Plugging Along

I'm plugging away on the closets ... and may be forced to admit to a default resolution to clean them all out this year (heck, before the Winter is over).  There is something very rewarding about opening a closet door and finding that it is no longer a hazardous proposition.

 I've moved the closet frenzy upstairs, and have been tackling the Yarn Closet.  Yes, it's true, I have a large closet devoted to yarn.  This past week I got serious, and evicted all non-fiber related objects from the Yarn Closet (they're waiting in the general storage closet, which is due for it's decennial clean out later this month).  This opened up more space than it should have, but not as much as it would have done had I not already cleaned out the guest room. 

Sadly, it also revealed that I've been stuffing yarn and leftovers from finished projects, and WIPS, into the closet in bags and baskets without actually putting them away.  I've also pulled things to consider them for a project, and failed to return them to their proper homes when I decide not to use them.  Therefore, I have also re-inventoried the Yarn Closet. I've taken pictures of almost all of the yarn that is currently in there, and I've updated the Ravelry stash information -- with the specific storage locations identified for everything in the closet.  I've still got to update the pictures of the bags of yarn on the top shelf, and a few more bits that have yet to be put away in the closet.

I'm impressed with myself, to be sure, but I know I'm not done.  You'll know when I'm done when I post the updated Stash Sale Page (and link to it here).  I'm down to the last of it though.  

In the mean time, I'm also plugging away on two of the WIPS - one old and one new.  Kitty's gloves have been frogged back, and I've restarted the fingers.  The pinky is done, and the ring finger will be finished before I sleep tonight.

I've also made visible progress on the long languishing beach cover up:

 

I've finished one sleeve.  I have to admit, I did not enjoy faking a crochet hook with that dpn, but I don't have any 9mm crochet hooks lurking about, and don't anticipate wanting one again.  The edging that goes all the way around is going to be dreadful to do.  I may have to borrow one from someone.

Delayed WIP Revue

Cleaning up the guest room, and poking my nose into the Yarn Closet, I discovered the following projects that I hope will wind up in this year's productivity review. 

There's the beach/pool "cover-up", started years ago by my dear friend JoAnn who got frustrated with working sport/fingering weight yarn on size 13 needles and handed the whole project off to me.

I too found the huge needles/tiny yarn frustrating -- especially since I'm now working on dpns. But on Tuesday, I actually picked the thing up and worked a few inches on that sleeve.

Then there's the long awaited Bohus Sweater.  It still looks like this:

I WILL get gauge this year.  I WILL cast on. 

And finally, there's a shawl that I made in what I must now admit is the wrong size.  Laminaria is lovely...

But I find that because I didn't knit the large size, I never wear it.  This lovely cashmere deserves to be worn.  And, I'm pretty sure I have enough to size the shawl up a bit.  And so... I'm going to do the mad thing -- I'm going to rip back the edging and the nupp section, extend the body, and re-knit the nupps and edging.  Perhaps then the poor thing won't languish in my closet any  more.

Unless, of course, someone I love a lot tells me that she (or he) adores it just the way it is, and begs me to give it to her (or him) as a gift.  That might mean I start over all together, but it might mean that I go on to other things instead.  I do love this shawl, it's just too small for the way I wear them.

 

FO! oops.. maybe not

I was gonna get all gloaty about having finished my first project of the year.

I was gonna show you a picture of my first ever pair of actual gloves.  Then I discovered they looked like this:

Ahem.

One of them is going to be dipping its fingers into the frog pond.

Ahhh. the perils of just winging it and not actually reworking your pattern for glove two BEFORE you knit it.

The WIP Round Up

Once in a while, I find it helpful to go through the various projects I'm working on to see what's what. Those who knit, refer to those projects as WIPs.  It seems to me that the beginning of the year is as good a time as any to do a WIP round up.  Doing so lets me formulate a plan (part of many New Year's tradition is planning ahead for the coming year, why not allow it to be a knitters' tradition?).  I have also been known to show off all the stuff I've finished in a given year, but 2012 was so busy otherwise, that I didn't really finish a lot of knitting projects.  I think this year I'll skip the "look what I made" post in favor of other things.  Like the WIP Round Up.

So, here's what I've got on the needles.

Dwarrowdelf Curtains

I started these over a year ago. In time, they will grace my library window.  I'm a bit shy of half way through the first panel of two.  While it would be lovely to finish them this year, I think my goal for the year will be to finish one panel before years' end.

Florafil Shrug

Yep, that's one of mine.  I know, the colorway is not one you'd ever expect me to work with -- but a dear friend from my childhood gave me the yarn, and I promised to design something for it.  I'm still futzing about trying to work up a shrug style that I'll like.  It's been in time out for long enough that I now have new ideas.  In fact, another dear friend just bought a sweater that has some construction elements I think will work well with this.  This should come to the front again.

Kitty's Gloves

I had fantasies of finishing these by The Day of Gift Giving.  I did not meet that deadline.  However, as of January 5, I had finished knitting one glove, and had completed the cuff, thumb and pinky of the second. I anticipate that weaving in ends will take a long time.

Lionesse

Another bolero in process.  This is one for which I promised to share the ongoing design process.  Alas, I got all side tracked.  In the back of my mind, I was mulling just how I wanted the back to work.  I'll bring that to the front.  My goal - finish the design and the knitting this year, and get it out to testers.  Oh yes, and continue to share the process with you.

Mitts of Flame

I started these ages ago for Bookworm.  I like the corrugated ribbing in two colors, though I'm no longer as sure about the black participating at the cuff end.  I got blocked by a design that did not really want to carry three yarns every round, but that looked coolest if I got that done.  These will either be frogged or revived this year.

Sawtooth Socks

These are so old it's rather scary.  I bought the kit back when I still lived in a suburb of Chicago.  That would be before Bookworm was born. 

pause.

Yes, this poor sock has been languishing for a decade and a half.  It is time.  I know where all the yarn is.  I think I even know where the instructions are.  The biggest challenge will be to figure out which needles to use.  Whatever needles I WAS using are certain to be wrong now.

Sylvia's Leafy Mitts

My design again.  I started these for a dear friend who doesn't know they're coming.  That's likely a good thing, as they've been "in progress" for a couple of years now.  I'm hoping to get them back to the front burner, and to send them to her this year.

Tubey

Finally, someone else's design!  I started this to have some simple mindless knitting in my life.  It's perfect for movies.  So far, I've worked my way to both elbows, and am dithering about just how much bell I want in the sleeves.  I'd likely have gotten much farther had I not stopped to knit a closet full of slippers...

Woman to Woman

This is definitely on the list of things that must be finished this year.  Preferably this spring. It's a long over due gift.

I'm pretty sure that if I go rummaging about in the Knitting Closet I'll find a few more projects lurking.  If I do, I'll parade them out as well.  Showing them in public like this makes me feel more obligated to get back to them (or at least more embarrassed about neglecting them).

Anyone want to predict which ones get finished first?  Or if I manage to finishe them all this year?

Sunday Satisfaction -- on Eleven

Progress is being made all over the place.

Alas, I can't SHOW you any of it.  Words will have to do. <grin>

First, I'm pleased to announce that the State has come through, and I'm not a fully licensed massage therapist.  This is wonderful -- but has been eating into my knitting time.

Despite being distracted by giving massages to clients, I've made progress on all sorts of holiday related fronts.

1.  I've finished and mailed the gift project using these yarns:

and .

(and I have some left, just in case I decide to make something more).

2.  I finished and mailed the gift project using this yarn:

3.  I finished the gift project using these yarns:

and . 

Alas, I sent it off to its recipient without photographing it.  :-(

4.  I finished the gift project using these yarns:

and

5.  I took my family to do this

and mustered two gifts for others out of the process.

6. I cleaned the first floor of my house, and got all the pretty candles set out.

7.  I wrote the family Holiday Newsletter -- and got it approved by the GolfPro for dissemination.

8.  I found, purchased, made personal notes in, signed, stamped and mailed the Holiday Cards.

9.  I found, and purchased, the required annual ornaments for the girls.

10. I hosted a lovely party to celebrate the Solstice (and the fact that the end of the Mayan Calendar did not, in fact, coincide with the End of the World).  AND, got it all cleaned up after....

11.  I've started the last required knitting gift project, using this:

and and possibly .

There are now rumors afoot that I may add to the holiday gift knitting with two additional small projects.  Only one need be done by Tuesday.  (Alas, I fear it really wants to be done by Monday night.)

I will now return to knitting....

 

Back to the Legs

You may recall that I posted last motnh about a Leg Warmer pattern that I worked up when I knit our Band Directors' daughter some leg warmers to help her stay warm after leg-lengthening surgery?

Yeah.  So, it all started with a simple pattern -- 1 child leg warmer using Aran Weight Yarn.

It grew into one basic pattern, in four sizes.  For three different yarn weights.  Which means it's now one it's way to being a booklet (three different patterns, purchasable individually for $1.00, or as part of a booklet for more.)  But I still couldn't leave well enough alone.

First I added some variations -- simple textured knit/purl patterns that one could use to liven things up a bit.  Then, I decided to use up some nice leftovers from other projects, and added color-work to the mix.

This means that I'll have a color-work variation to add to the booklet.  It takes a bit more fussing on sizing, and thus may not have all four sizes in all three yarn weights, but it's still going in.  And, because you know me and leaving things alone .... I'm likely to add some variations there too.

So, I've now worked up an open ankled variation to suit the whims of my daughter Kitty (it did start with her band director...). I'm calling this one Central Style unless I hear a better idea. 

 

And that reminded me that last year, I knit up some cabled leg warmers for Book Worm.  And she's also in that band.

 So now, my little one pattern fund rasier has four essential designs-- each in multiple sizes,  going into a booklet.  Each  design will also be in multiple patterns -- since too many variables makes a pattern impossible to read, I'm not trying to work in both multiple weights of yarn and multiple sizes into a single pattern.

I feel like I need an army of testers!!  I've been doing well on the original set.  Of the twelve different leg warmers I need actually knit to fully test it, I've got testers for 6.  Of course, I can knit them all... but I really like having people who didn't WRITE the darned thing check it out to make sure it works.  I'm likely to just fix a glithch without noticing.

Now I'll need to find another dozen for the color-work, and another dozen for the open-ankle, and another dozen for the cabled design.  Egads!  Who could imagine I'd want three dozen testers for LEG WARMERS???

 

 

The Darkness Before the Light

The gloves are progressing.  But as with many things -- the knitting has hit that really dark spot before the dawn:

yep, the porcupine is taking over.

Luckily, this is the place where the last two fingers are separated at last, and after only a few rounds of really tight fussy work, where one has to avoid tripping over the four needles holding finger one so that you can work on finger two....  things simplify.

In what seems like no time, I'd gone from the above, to two fingers that are all but finished.  Having had Kitty try on the gloves, I'm ready to bind off the middle finger, and have but a few brief rows before finishing off the pointer finger. 

In the mean time, I've started the second glove.  Ahhhh, nice easy breezy ribbing.

Challenge - Accepted (but definitely a challenge)

My kids sometimes feel like cobblers kids.

I knit all the time, but things for them seem to take longer than they'd like.  Part of this, of course, is because they never ask for something for which they're happy with a specific pattern.  If they want, for example, wrist warmers - they don't want wrist warmers from any patterns I can find, they want something ... different.

So, I wind up designing something custom...  And designing takes time.

Recently, Kitty has been swiping my gloves.  Like me, she has hands that aren't quite what women's glove makers have in mind.  I offered to make a pair for her, and she pointed out this delay issue.

I took that as a challenge (though she didn't mean it that way).  I bought the yarn within days, and began knitting.  Again, without a pattern in mind because, well, standard patterns don't fit us.

She has challenged me in another way.  She wants plain gloves.

Plain.

No cables.  No lace. No colorwork. No texture beyond basic ribbing for the cuffs. 

Plain.

That challenge is harder.

I'm trying to persuade myself that the fiddli-ness of the fingers will be enough.