Yakkety Yak (sorry, couldn't resist)

Highland Yarn from Prl Jacob on Vimeo.

A Post For Helena

Don't mind me, I just need a place to post a diagram and notes I'm helping a (Portugese!) friend out with.  I'm too cheap to pay $5 so that I can upload photos to Ravelry's forums.  We're designing Seamless Hybrid Sweaters for ourselves and this is her first time, so this is for her:

Does this make sense, Helena (click on it to see it bigger)?  When you send me the other measurements I need (see my notes on Ravelry), I'll add them to this.

Knitterly Faff

I have finally (fingers crossed for good luck) made some serious headway on my recipe binder.  I had to go through and weed some of the recipes out already, to make sure that there aren't any major references to tomatoes, onions, honey, etc (the whole fructose malabsorption and FODMAP-intolerance thing).  I have a feeling there will be a rotating series of recipes flowing through it at any given time, but it's been a real godsend, so far.

I also stole/borrowed some ideas left here in the comments and on Rav about getting a binder to store knitting patterns in.  Not sure why it took me so long to do that, but there it is.  I think it's because when I was growing up, we didn't really get new school supplies.  I always seemed to have recycled binders from my mom's office as school notebooks.  I feel guilty about buying new notebooks and binders.  It seems wasteful, even though I have no source for recycled binders, now.

Is the fact that I feel guilty about that weird?  Probably.

Anyway, in doing the Spring Cleaning of my knitting, I found a slew (how many units of something constitutes a slew, btw?) of old patterns I no longer really like, some that I tried and didn't enjoy, some that weren't really patterns, but articles on technique.  Everything got filed or recycled.  It felt fantastic!

Then I moved on to organizing my Ravelry stuff.  Found a bunch of knitting stuff I never told you about or never followed up on.  So, here's a little list:

 1.  Fingerless Mitts for my sister's birthday.  I used this pattern.  It was wonderful (first time using a picot edge and I must say, it's quite pretty).

2.  The yarn I bought from Knit Picks to make into socks for yours truly.  It's sport weight, so they'll be a little bulkier, which is fine by me and my slightly-too-big Doc Martens.

3.  I don't think I told you, but I've added Caller Herrin to my Rav queue.  I can't afford the Alice Starmore yarns that Kate recommends, so I got some from Knit Picks. I tried to match the colours up, but also bought a few extras that seemed as though they might look good.  I'm still playing with the combinations, but I'm getting excited.  First colour work of this type for me.  Eeeek!

4.  Can I just tell you how inspiring I find Kate to be?  She makes me want to go outside right now, find a mountain, and climb it.  Also, I want to steal that camper van of hers and go joyriding.  I won't do it because that's just bad karma, but still.

5.  At the risk of appearing like a Kate groupie, I also want to point out that her pattern for Deco is ready.  As an architecture/design geek, this makes my heart pitter patter.  I want to make one out of Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes in "Ash": 

swoon

6.  Let's just for a moment contemplate that yarn choice.  I will need just upwards of 1000 yds to knit that sweater.  Each ball contains 137 yards.  Let's say I decide to buy 9 balls, which gives me ample overflow in case something goes wrong.  Dudes.  That's $18 worth of yarn.  And the pattern will cost me somewhere in the neighbourhood of $10.  $28 for a sweater.  A wool sweater.  A beautiful, custom-made wool sweater.  Knit Picks, I love you.

7.  I discovered a few new designers the other day.  Can I share them with you?  

Rose Beck and her blog

Fallmasche

Olga and her blog

8.  Did you see that the spring 2011 Twist Collective is up?

Oh, and I finally saw The King's Speech.  Wonderful.  I loved just about everybody in that film.  Now I'm just impatiently waiting for True Grit to make its way to my local video shop (aka the gas station in our village).  I missed out when it was in theatres and I'm getting antsy.

A big fact lecture on organization

Have I ever told you guys that my mom is a professional organizer?  Yup.  My mother is that mother.  The one who walks around at any given time with 5 lists in her (impeccably organized) purse.  The kind of mother who labels all the photos in her photo albums so that she knows when each one was taken.  The one who knows where everything in her condo is located.  If I call her up and ask her if she knows whether or not she still has that small pink angel tree ornament that my great grandfather gave me for my first Christmas, she can say with 100% certainty that yes, she does still have it - it's in the clear plastic bin in her storage locker that also contains the tree skirt and the manger (which is in its own labelled cardboard box, each piece carefully wrapped in tissue paper), but not the one that has the glass ball ornaments.  My mother labels all of her spice jars in her perfect little neat-and-tidy handwriting.

Why yes, it is very annoying, thanks for asking.

Annoying, but handy.  Having lived with her for 19 years, I picked up a few things by osmosis.  And I'm going to share one of those things with you.  You lucky lucky people.

I'm going to show you my knitting journal.  Or rather, the notebook that I drag everywhere that contains, among many other things, very important notes on most of the major knitting projects I have ever undertaken.  I'm showing you this not because it is a perfect example of how you should document your knitting (the word "perfection" is not a word I use in regards to anything I do...ever - you could say I am an "imperfectionist", in fact).  Rather, I am showing this to you in the hopes that it may help you in coming up with your own "perfect" system.  Plus, it's kind of like snooping through your host's bookcase when you go over for a dinner party.  Please tell me you do that, too.  Anyone?

Ok, moving on.  Here's where I'm going to start my tour:

 This is my painted wooden Ikea drawer organizer.  I took photos of townhouses in Montreal (that's "mun-tree-AWL" for all English-speaking folks residing outside Canada, not "MAWN-tree-awl) and used them as inspiration when I painted this in 1999.  The top-right drawer contains knitting goodies:

Every single band band (I don't bother keeping multiples) from every major project I've undertaken in the past 4 years is in this box, most with notes scribbled on them, so I can tell what I used them for.  The swatches for all those projects can all be found in my yarn stash box, with leftover bits of yarn and such.  Except, I've got a couple of swatches here for some reason.

By the way, this is what happens when you own a dog.  Dogs do this sort of thing all the time and then poop all over your apartment while you're at work.  If you are interested in getting a dog, you must embrace the chaos or else your dog-owning days shall be numbered.

The second and most important stop in my tour is my Moleskine notebook.  I don't keep the ball bands in the notebook because there are too many and the spine started getting a little strained when I tried.  I used to use a large, hard-covered notebook with blank pages, but it proved to be way too big.  So, this is what I use now:

First page: standard body measurements for women.  Go here to have your mind blown with information overload.

If you're going to start using a book to jot down your knitting notes (and I strongly recommend that you do, otherwise why would I bother showing you this, duh?), it's really important that your notebook not be too "precious".  Honestly, this notebook has been everywhere with me.  There are grocery shopping lists in this book.  I let my husband doodle in it.  I've stapled business cards into it.  It's not just my knitting book, it's my pre-iPod Touch junk drawer.  That's the only way I can stick to the notebook resolution.  I can not carry 3 books around.  Geez, I have a hard time remembering to bring this one.  

I have designs for magazine racks in here.  I have notes from when we were negotiating our mortgage.
 

There are doodles in here.  Design ideas for stuffed animals and toy monsters for a friend's toddler.

Notes from a design conference (totally mindblowingly awesome, btw).

Here's where we get to some actual knitting:

The page on the right contains some ideas for quilt blocks, but the page on the left contains my notes for the ribbing in a baby tunic I designed.  I knew I had a certain number of stitches in the yoke and needed to lay out the cables and ribs properly.  You see why the grid pages come in handy?

Blog notes alongside notes on the last pair of mitts I knit for my husband.  The ball band for the tunic I'm working on right now (it will graduate to the drawer when I'm done that project).

Some cable patterns for my next pullover sweater.  These were done while I was sitting in bed with a cold and perusing a stitch dictionary.

VERY GOOD IDEA ALERT:  I was contemplating knitting a Hybrid Sweater for my husband and though I have Elizabeth Zimmermann's book (Knitting without Tears), I wanted to walk myself through her pattern and write it out in my own words, using my own gauge.  That project was reconsidered, as I came to the conclusion that my husband needs a wool sweater like he needs a hole in the head.  Someday, those notes might come in handy, though.  You just never know.

Some sketches and notes for an incarnation of a sweater that got frogged about half-way in.  Doodles, isn't it a little frightening how similar this sketch looks to your own sketches for Hibernate?

Good thing I dated that page, so I could safely say that I did not copy you.  Phew.

So, that's what I have in the notebook.  I carry it with me when I'm travelling and it stays in a safe place when I'm home.  It has saved me much aggravation and I hope that seeing it will demystify the concept of a knitting journal for those of you who don't have one and help you take the next step. 

I want to show you one last thing before we go:

If you're new to knitting and you're taking on a new project that you've never attempted, please do yourself a favour and make a photocopy of it.  You're allowed to make a copy for your own use - you will not be infringing copyright, I swear it.  Take that photocopy and mark it up.  Circle the notes pertaining to the size you are making.  Cross out instructions that will not apply to you.  Add notes to the margins.  Write down what size needles you are using.  If you switch needles, note the reason on your pattern.   Jot down the recipient's body measurements right there, so you don't have to hunt them down mid-way through the pattern when you get confused about which size you're supposed to be knitting.  If you've based the size on measurements taken from an existing garment, write that garment's measurements down.  Tuck the pattern into your journal and take it with you.  When you're done with it, staple it in.

In short, I write everything down.  I make lists.  I keep everything together.  I don't throw my ball bands or swatches away.  Heck, I could take photos of my projects and paste them in, if I were so inclined (that's actually where I use Ravelry instead of my notebook).  I could tape or staple a little length of my yarn into my book.

{Just don't do what I tried for years to do: remember all these minute details without notes.  I don't think it's possible and you'll just make yourself cry if you attempt it.  Better to spend a few $$ and get yourself a cute little notebook instead.  You have my permission to go to your local bookstore/stationary and get one tomorrow.  When your spouse questions your expenditure, tell him/her to take it up with me.  I'll set 'em straight.}

So, what about you?  Do you have a craft or knitting journal?  Any cool tips for me?  Come on, I know you do!  Give 'em up!

If I show you mine, will you show me yours?

I'm currently working on a tutorial for provisional cast-ons for our cowl knit-along in Ravelry (go here to check out what's going on and join in, if you'd like).  But in the meantime, I thought I would give you another little peek into my world (scary prospect, I know).

As I mentioned on Ravelry, I recently discovered the KnitPicks podcast, by Kelley Petkun and I am very quickly burning through them, as I'm knitting.  If you go onto iTunes and search "knitpicks podcast", you will find it.  There are 149 episodes (you can see them if you click on "see all") and I've already listened to at least 18 (in 2 days).  What can I say?  I'm learning a LOT from her.

Anyway, I was listening to her talk about her stash (she's the owner of a knitting catalog company, so you can assume it's probably pretty ample) and I recently read the Harlot's posts about her "stashroom" (for the record, I don't think that's the only stash Stephanie has - that's probably just the largest accumulation at the moment...I'm sure she's got several additional closets full of yarn and works-in-progress).  It kind of got my mind reeling about just how much fiber some people have stashed away.  Though I totally drool at the idea of entire rooms dedicated to yarn, I can not imagine owning that much unspun fiber and unknit yarn.  My house is 864 s.f. (80 m2, so says my iPod Touch).  That's slightly larger than a shoebox.  Most people's 2-bedroom apartments are bigger than my house.

What I'm saying is that I have a very humble stash.  Up until this past weekend, it was all contained in one large Rubbermaid tote (you know, the large blue ones that regularly go on sale at the hardware store or Zeller's and you buy them, knowing you'll need them for something).

When I took over the living room with my craft area, I needed something a little smaller, so that I could tuck it into a corner.  What I got was a couple of black plastic bankers boxes (from Staples).  They're stackable and attractive, in their own tidy way.  Bonus.

So, I took the opportunity to take some photos of the stash, so you could see that you don't need to have rooms full of fiber to be a Serious Knitter:

A bag full of cottony/flaxy/synthetic yarn donated by my grandma, last summer.  It's actually quite lovely and I'm thinking I might knit up a lacy lap blanket with it someday.  The hemlock blanket, perhaps?

The most luscious aubergine-y superwash (enough for a long sweater).  I'm not sure which pattern I want to make with this one.  Maybe something Veera-inspired.  Or maybe something Cecily Glowik MacDonald-inspired.  Ladies, you're killing me.

Next door to the aubergine is another sweater-worth of a beautiful navy/slate blue in the same yarn.  I have to take a good look at it and figure out if it will be suitable for a sweater for my husband.  Tora inspired this one, with the beautiful sweater for her husband. If I don't have enough, it will become another sweater for me.  Blurg, I hate it when that happens.

A pile of leftovers from several projects.  They look nice all mixed together, don't they?  I'm feeling another freeform blanket/wrap thing coming on...

Two hanks of O-Wool cotton/wool blend (grey) which I don't like and some local sock yarn that I'm not crazy about, either.  Lori, you want?

A tiny collection of odds and sods that I keep to use as scrap yarn (for provisional cast-ons, for example).

A sweater's-worth of this delicious chocolate brown Lamb's Pride which was earmarked for a Sunrise Circle Jacket, but now I'm not so sure.  I'm letting that one evolve...

Another little pile of odd bits.  I keep these around for those times when my husband feels like knitting (he starts little squares of garter stitch and works on them for a few weeks, before casting them aside...at which point, I unravel them, put the needles away and wind the yarn back up until next time).

That's the corner of my new stash box in the photo, see?

And the remnants from my yarn swap with Wood, last Christmas.  That charcoal is going to become my cowl for the knit-along.  It's not going to knit up to the same gauge as the pattern, but I'm just going to knit more repeats until it's the cowl is the same size as everyone else's.

That's it.  That's the almighty stash.  Despite the fact that I live a 45 minute drive away from the nearest yarn shop.  I don't order yarn online, I don't buy stuff unless I need it (ok "need" is subjective, I will allow) and I don't collect yarn.  I don't care how beautiful something is (qiviut, I'm looking at you), if it's financially painful to consider, I don't buy it.  I've never spent more than $75 or $80 dollars on a project.  Ever.  And I don't buy synthetics (anymore).

I just wanted to show you that it's possible.  This is the biggest stash I've ever had and to be honest, it feels a bit excessive to me.  I need to go on a bit of a stash diet in order to make me feel more comfortable with it.

Having said that, are we still going to the mill on the weekend, Lori?  I will have to show some serious self-restraint, but I am strong.  I shall conquer the temptation!

Off I go, to work on provisional cast-ons, while sucking back inhuman amounts of peppermint tea and other fluids.  Fightin' off a cold, I am.

A Fine Frenzy

Ok, so can someone tell me what it is about autumn that brainwashes me into thinking that NOTHING is more important than knitting?
NOT that I'm complaining, mind you.  I just think it's a little creepy, on Nature's part - the whole mind meld thing.

If I say "out loud" that I am finally {FINALLY} starting to physically feel normal, for the first extended period since May, can I be assured that the Universe is not listening, waiting to prove that I'm so obviously not in charge of me?  You hear that, Universe?  I swear I'm not thumbing my nose at you!

I bring this up because my new-found comfort allowed me to churn out the bulk of the knitting I still had to do on my cardigan: 

Which has led me to ask a question.  This is perhaps one better suited to a designer (Tora and Chris, I'm looking at you, here - but anyone is invited to jump in with their two cents' worth): 

I find the neckline to be too small.  I'd like to create a cowl-y collar, a bit like this.  However, I knit this from the top down, with some ribbing in the sleeves.  Result: I can not rip back the neckline and pick up the stitches without making a mess of it... or can I?  How big do I want to make the neck opening, so that it sits right?  I've never knit a cowl neck before, but they usually look great on me, so I'd like to try it.  I just don't have a good example at home to measure.  Also, do I still want the neck hole to dip down in the front, or can I get away with a boat neck shape, instead?

Would it be easier to {gasp} sew the neck hole with my sewing machine and {gasp gasp} cut the fabric, pick up stitches and proceed up the cowl?  Sort of like a steek, I think...

Anyway, if you could help me out, I would really appreciate it.

Next up:

And with this latest venture, I think I can safely say that I have a lot to learn about garment design.  That's ok, it's not really something I aspire to.  I think it looks really weird laid out flat like this.  But, it was fun and a good learning experience.  I've got to make some revisions to the pattern but once I do that, I'll publish it in case anyone else is desperate trusting enough to knit it.  It's not a difficult pattern and I found that I was able to knit most of it up while watching movies on my iPod Touch.  And of course, it may look totally ok when displayed on a little human.  We'll have to wait and see, won't we?

Other than that, I spent the weekend puttering around my new "studio" space (photos to come).  I went through my needles and updated my Ravelry needle inventory sheet.  Did you know this was available?  http://www.ravelry.com/tour/knitters-crocheters (check out item #4 in the list for more info - you can find yours under the "My Notebook" tab in the top-left corner of the screen)

What a fantastic idea!  You can log on anywhere and find out what you already have at home and avoid buying thirteen 4.5mm dpn's {AHEM, that doesn't sound like ANYONE WE KNOW, does it? *cough cough* Seriously, who DOES that?  Geez.  Pathetic.}.  You can even print it out in a small card format, to carry around in your wallet.  I haven't tried that yet, but only because my computer was out of commission and the printer is set up to use on my husband's laptop.

{By the way, my computer is back from the "hospital" and you know that scene in Forrest Gump, when Lieutenant Dan shows up at Forrest's wedding and shows Forrest his new prosthetic legs and Forrest says "Lieutenant Dan, you've got new legs.  New legs!!"?  That's how I felt about my iMac today, when I booted her up.  She's got new legs!  Not sure why I felt compelled to share that with you, but there you have it.}

Hey, speaking of Ravelry, have you been reading Wood's blog?  {Or maybe I should say Wood's blog being ghost-written by Jim?}  Did you see this most delicious little sweater she made for Juniper?  Yeah, I know.  Totally gorgeous.  Seriously.  Even the photography is lovely.  My point in sending you over there, besides shaming her into encouraging her to blog about her projects more, was to let you know about the group she has set up in Ravelry.  I totally snuck in and crashed the party {that's me, getting shitfaced and dancing on the table in the corner} and I must tell you, it's really FUN!  People are so enthusiastic to learn how to knit that it is quite contagious.  {FYI: you don't have to be a newbie to join - jump on in, the water's fine!}  We're going to start up a knit-along of this awesome cowl in a little bit, as soon as I can put together some instructional pages on cabling and provisional cast-ons.

If you'd like to knit (and/or learn) along, we'd be happy to have you!