Knitting News

Katie and I are in St. Louis at a conference, but these two items came up on my Facebook news feed today and I thought I'd share.

1) Get Spun--a spinning/knitting exhibit at the Ridge House Museum, near my home town of Chatham, Ontario. I'm sorry I'll miss this!

2) In other news, male congressmen are being inundated with handknit vaginas and uteruses (uteri?). You can join the Snatchel Project to make your own contributions. The ideas is that if they have their own, they will keep their hands (and rules) off of ours.

Find knitting patterns here.

Knitting in Miniature, Part II

You may recognize this sweater from Vogue Knitting, Fall 2008. It’s the very popular Green Gable hoodie (below), only this one is knit in size xxxxxxxxxxxS by IrinaOnno, who knits in Moscow, Russia.

I stumbled across this while looking at Green Gable projects. Turns out there’s a whole community on Ravelry of people who knit these intricate garments for dolls. (I guess “small” and “miniature” are two different categories here—miniature knitting is 1/14th scale, while small is more like 1/4th). Check out these Fair Isle sweaters by Oddstitch.

(Knitting in Miniature, part 1)

Children Knitting

These photos are from the Billy Barnes Collection at the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina.

Children knitting circa 1966.

It doesn’t say who this lady was, or why she was teaching kids to knit (on super long needles), but it was apparently part of the WAMY Community Action project to address poverty in Western North Carolina.

I liked that the photos had the following tags in the catalog:

Children
Knitting
Aged persons

Update: And here’s a modern-day parallel!

Fiber Facts: Mercerized Cotton

In 1851, British chemist John Mercer discovered that treating cotton yarn with sodium hydroxide brought about changes in the fiber. Mercerized cotton is stronger, shinier, and smoother than untreated cotton. You can see the difference in the microscopic images of regular cotton and mercerized cotton below.
Regular cotton (above), appears coarse and uneven.

Mercerized cotton (above) appears smoother.

Unfortunately for John Mercer, mercerized cotton didn't really take off until later in the 19th century, when Horace Lowe added an extra step to the process and drummed up interest in the British cotton industry. Mercerized cotton is now widely available to knitters.

I don't want to scare anyone, but the sodium hydroxide used to make mercerized cotton is highly toxic. This is not to say that mercerized cotton yarn *itself* is bad for you, but it might be worth checking where and how these yarns are manufactured, since prolonged exposure can negatively affect workers. The CDC lists a wide array of health effects from exposure to sodium hydroxide:

Sodium hydroxide is very corrosive and can cause severe burns in all tissues that come in contact with it. Inhalation of low levels of sodium hydroxide as dusts, mists or aerosols may cause irritation of the nose, throat, and respiratory airways. Inhalation of higher levels can produce swelling or spasms of the upper airway leading to obstruction and loss of measurable pulse; inflammation of the lungs and accumulation of fluid in the lungs may also occur.

Ingestion of solid or liquid sodium hydroxide can cause spontaneous vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, and difficulty swallowing. Corrosive injury to the mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach is very rapid and may result in perforation, hemorrhage, and narrowing of the gastrointestinal tract. Case reports indicate that death results from shock, infection of the corroded tissues, lung damage, or loss of measurable pulse.

Skin contact with sodium hydroxide can cause severe burns with deep ulcerations. Pain and irritation are evident within 3 minutes, but contact with dilute solutions may not cause symptoms for several hours. Contact with the eye may produce pain and irritation, and in severe cases, clouding of the eye and blindness.

Long-term exposure to sodium hydroxide in the air may lead to ulceration of the nasal passages and chronic skin irritation.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) limits exposure in the workplace 2 milligrams of sodium hydroxide per cubic meter of air (2 mg/m³) per 8 hour day/40 hour work week. Nonetheless, in a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, textile workers in the cotton and wool industry in Croatia had higher rates of respiratory problems. In addition to sodium hydroxide, these workers were exposed to the following:

• direct dyes (sulfonated azo compounds)
• reductive dyes (indigo and indigo disodium salts, or anthraquinone derivate)
• disperse dyes (azo and anthraquinone structure of low molecular weight)
• naphtol dyes (azo with azochromophorm components)
• reactive dyes (azo and anthraquinone derivate-Cibakon E, Cibakon F)
• cation dyes (diphenylmethane derivate, triphenylmethane derivate, or triazine colors)
• sulfur dyes (sulfur compounds)
• acetic dyes (sodium salt of organic acids)
• acetic acid (CH3COOH)
• formic acid (HCOOH)
• sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
• sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS)
• potasium bicarbonate (KHCO3)
• chromium salt or ormaldehyde (HCHO).

Yikes! We might question the environmental effect of all these chemicals... In fact, after researching this I'm starting to wonder about non-organic yarns in general, as much as I love the wide array of intense colors and interesting fibers we can buy. Good thing there are plenty of organic yarns out there, not to mention ways of recycling yarn from sweaters and such!

Plath Cropped Cardigan

My new summer pattern, Plath, is now available at for $4.95. The pattern comes in 8 sizes, from XS-XXL!



Born in 1932, Sylvia Plath was both a prolific author and sweater wearer. She attended Smith College, where she also later taught poetry. She is best known for her autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, and for her poetry collection Ariel.
This sweater was inspired by Plath's classic 1950's sweater girl style, shown above.

Plath features a simple, but pretty, ladder stitch rib pattern, an easy and quick two row repeat.

The sweater is knit top down in the round. The bottom edge of the cardigan features a curved edge that you create by decreasing strategically at each end. After completing the body and sleeves, you will pick up stitches first along the placket and bottom hem, and then along the collar. In keeping with the 1950s “sweater girl” look, Plath is a fitted sweater. If you’d rather have a looser sweater, you can either knit one size up, or adjust the number of increases and decreases in the shaping. Or, use a larger needle size (as I did with my first attempt, below, knit on size 8s).

Yarn Recycling - Start to Finish

I went to the thrift store yesterday and found this gorgeous alpaca sweater. The sweater itself was a stupid shape, but I had my M.A.P. try it on just in case. But I was right, dumpy shape. So I ripped and ripped it out.

Here's how it started. Look at all of that yummy yarn for $4:


I've only ripped one front panel. There was a lot of loss, so I probably will only end up with about 1000 oz. of yarn, instead of 1500 or so. Darn. 1000 oz. of like-new alpaca for $4.

It's fingering weight, so I'm going to make socks with it. I'll post a follow-up when the yarn is dry and wound, and the socks are WIP.

Mohair Cable Scarf

[Update June 18, 2008: This pattern is called Bryher. It's now available on Ravelry, for free.]

Here's a project I just finished. I bought an odd lot skein of Artful Yarns "Portrait" mohair blend and mixed it with a worsted weight merino. I used size 10.5 needles, and realize now that I could have used an even bigger size, because the gauge is still a little tight. But it's not too tight by any means. Just a note for future ref., or for anyone interested in making something like it.



The pattern I stole from an episode of Knitty Gritty, when Lily Chin was on talking about a nine-block baby blanket. She showed us how to make a double-sided cable using k1-p1 rib (otherwise the rest stays the same). Brilliant!


I ran the cable off-center for kicks, and kept it skinny because it's fairly warm here down south and this is mohair, and now I just want cool weather to kick in.

This Alpaca is Killing Me Softly

Here's the latest and final reincarnation of the Classic Elite "Alaska" yarn, yarn that has seen two prior lives on this very blog here and here.

I tried another pattern out of Twinkle's Big City Knits, the Magic Shawl. I was, as I said before, careful with this pattern.

I can't decide if I like it.


My sister, my M.A.P., and my friend Rinku from San Francisco love it.

My friend K. from Austin called it "The Flying Spaghetti Monster." Because it started out looking like this:


Sigh.

Cotton Shrug = Shrug Addiction?

I love shrugs. I bought my first one at Nordie's last summer and then lost it last fall, around the same time that I learned how to knit. A shrug is a strange, dismantled sort of sweater, without a front, simply sleeves and a collar of some sort.

But they fit my lifestyle: southern living; ducking in and out of over-AC'd cafes to read and write; layers of clothing rather than large, heavy pieces; small enough to tuck into a shoulder bag.

This one I made out of Schachenmayr Nomotta "Maxi Cotton" using size 8 needles.


To start, I used the principles of the top-down raglan construction from Stefanie Japel's Fitted Knits, reconfigured for this larger yarn and needle size.


I ribbed the sleeves, then brought them down to a 3/4 length. The variegated yarn makes it lots of fun, and cotton is nice too, in this climate of ours down heah.

CLARISSA SUMMER SHRUG

[update 12-2009]

Available now in S, M, and L, for $3.00




Clarissa is now available in an expanded .pdf format with sizes for S, M, L.



This shrug is named for Clarissa Dalloway, the title character of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, one of my favorite books.



This pattern is a great first-sweater project, because it is simple and easy to fit to your body.


The cotton-blend yarns make it perfect for summer. I wear this shrug all the time--it was perfect for my early-spring trip to New Orleans this year.

$3.00



Check out Clarissa on Ravelry:

Rip It, Rip It Good

I made the diamond scarf out of Wenlan Chia's Twinkle's Big City Knits, but I realized I would never wear it.

(According to Pearl-McPhee's quiz in Casts Off, I appear to be "product" knitter. That means I care about the usefulness of the end product. Or, it could mean I'm incredibly cheap about yarn. Because I also have never knitted a gauge swatch in my life.)

I love Chia's book, but thus far have been stumped by it, or rather, by the goal of making something that makes me feel awesome when I wear it.

I made the scarf, then ripped it out.

Around the same time, I saw a re-run of Stefanie Japel on Knitty Gritty, demonstrating a chunky cardigan project (the "better sweater").

Whoa, did this come out badly too. I've realized what my problem is. I think if you put chunky yarn on an amazon then you'd best be careful. And I was not careful in selecting this project--because I am not a careful knitter.

Don't misunderstand: Japel's Fitted Knits is my favorite pattern book of all time. It changed my (knitting) life. I recommend it to all of my acolytes. But this chunky cardigan just was not for me.

So I put the cardi on my small-boned slightly shorter friend S. and had her model it for me so I could photograph the work, before I ripped the yarn yet again. Here it is, nearly complete (pardon the stitch-holder in place of button):


As you can see, I made it out of two colors of yarn -- Classic Elite "Alaska," an alpaca blend. I also shortened the sleeves. Here's the sleeve detail:


And the back view:

I told S. that if she thought she would wear it, she could keep the sweater, but she wisely observed that in our southern clime, an alpaca-wool short-sleeved sweater-coat seemed chock full of clothing contradictions. (Not exactly her words, but you get the point.)

So I have ripped yet again, and have chosen another project from Chia's book -- the "Magic Shawl." This time, I'll be careful.

Check Out my Booty...uh...Bootie?

So my best friend in the world is pregnant.

This is excellent news on the knitting front. There's nothing like sitting down to an episode of Jon Stewart on the TiVo with a new project, and having it done by the time the episode is over.

Ah, the joy of baby booties.

I have made exactly one bootie, from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, a book my mother bought for me when I told her I was engaged. Ah, mothers.



It is the cutest thing I've ever made. It's on display, and my M.A.P. walks by it in the house and glances at it out of the corner of his eye with a combination of dread and uncontrollable excitement. I keep reminding him it is not for us.

But it is so cute, I can understand his temptation.

Does Erika Knight have a blog? I can't find it if she does.

Free-Form and Knit v. Crochet

There are a few things I've discovered over the few months I've been on hiatus from this blog.

I am a free-form fiber artist. That's all there is to it. I hate following a pattern and counting stitches, and I'm most happiest when I'm knitting or crocheting an item without any pattern at all, with only an inspiration and a tape measure. When I do use a pattern, I start following with the best intentions, and then just diverge. I'm the Roberta Frost of knitting.

I read Dominitrix, and tried to take her advice, but it just didn't stick. And it's not that I don't like creating slim-fitting items or precision knits, I just like to do it differently than line-by-line patterns. I prefer a three-dimensional architectural approach.

You know how people fall into two camps when you give them directions to a place they've never been? Some just want to know when to turn right, and when to turn left. Others want to know the full picture, the cardinal directions, plus they want to see a map to discover where the voyage fits in the grander geography of the area. I'm a cardinal direction person. Left and right don't mean anything except in a very narrow context. But if you know where north is, you can always get home.

Same with knitting--if a pattern doesn't provide the overall structural context of a garment, I don't bother with it, because then I can't make modifications. And eventually, when the modifications surpass the pattern, the garment becomes something completely original. Imperfections can be incorporated into your work. (Wrong turns can be made right, without backtracking.) I'm not sure if the metaphor holds, but you see what I mean.

Second discovery: I'm far more confident with crocheting than with knitting even though I hardly do it any more. Time and experience matter after all. That one seems pretty self-evident, but I didn't figure it out until today.

Hat-to-Purse Reinvention Idea

Here's a reinvention / recycling project to try.

Go to a thrift store and buy a cheap, ugly, 100% wool knit hat. Felt the hat. (Look up felting instructions on internet.)

Sew straps and zipper into hat in coordinating colors, total cost: $3.00.

Use purse, and when people ask if you made it, say "Yes!"

The one I have here was not a "cheap" or "ugly" thrift store hat to begin with -- my friend C. knitted it. Then she felted it and hated the results. I rescued it from the trash and made the purse you see here.

I used inexpensive nylon webbing by-the-yard from a craft store for the straps and bought a zipper in the exact same color.

(And C., whenever anyone asks me if I made it, I always tell them that you did the knitting, of course.)

Twinkle's Diamond Scarf in Alpaca - Finished

I just finished my first profject out of Twinkle's Big City Knits by Wenlan Chia. I started with something easier -- the Diamond Scarf. I used Classic Elite's Alaska yarn, an alpaca/wool blend that was the right weight for her projects. (Got that, C?)


I followed the pattern just right, but i'm disappointed with how the edges curl in when it is hanging -- the weight of the knitted edges overcomes the lace pattern in the middle and it curls. I'm not sure what to do about that. But hey, it looks all right on the table.

"Two-Tone Ribbed Shrug" from FITTED KNITS - Finished Pics

UPDATE 5/2008: I revised this project--the new project is posted on this blog here.

Here are pics of the finished product, the "Two-Tone Ribbed Shrug" from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel, page 45. I used merino wool in two different shades of blue, following the pattern mostly, except the sleeves are longer and a little more full than the pattern allows. I want to be able to wear it over short-sleeve shirts.

The front view:


The side view:


and the back view:


I'm okay with the sleeves being a little full because the bodice area is slim-fitting. I wear it all the time. So it passes the "I want to wear it test," which is the only one that matters, really.

Current-Project-Self-Motor-vation

This post is for me, mostly.

(Ha! Like all of these posts aren't "for me". Blogging is self-serving, self-aggrandizing, self-centeredness at its best. Anyone who says differently is kidding themselves.)

This post is for me because, like all fiberartists, at least the ones I know, even Dr. Fibersmarts starts and starts and starts projects and does not finish them.

There are a variety of reasons for this. Boredom. Season change. New and exciting books. (Can anyone say WENLAN CHIA?)

So, here are some projects in process that I will finish, and will post when they are finished, because now that I've put them here, the world will hold me accountable.

ONE: Soy-silk Skinny Scarf

(Slip one, k1, p2, k2 p2 rib, repeat to end; sz 9 needles, Patons soy/wool blend, variegated, in "natural blue." This would be one of those "boring" projects. Actually, I love it. But now it's summer and I don't need a scarf. I'll do this one during Grey's Anatomy.)

TWO: Black Crochet-Rib Mittens


(I'm using the Lion's brand microspun doubled-up for thickness, sz 9 hook. Front- and back-post double crochets. I have one arm done. Must finish other arm, add thumb and finger pockets. Total time remaining: one-two hours. What is wrong with me?)

THREE: Japel's "Boob Tube"

(I'm using this dreadful shiny blue yarn I bought at a cheap-o craft store on a whim one day thinking it was "just lovely" -- but I doubled it up and I'm using my brand-new Denise interchangable circular needles in size 17 to warm up for my first Wenlan Chia chunky knit project and this is actually turning out okay. The pattern is on Japel's web site here.)

These are my "other" projects -- not counting my "real" project, the shrug that is almost almost finished.

Oh, and the recycled-yarn afghan that is currently packed in a box because my house was on the market. Jeez. I certainly hope none of you were following that project.

Knit Shrug #2 - from Fitted Knits

Who doesn't love Stefanie Japel's new book Fitted Knits? I certainly do. Top-down construction (raglan-style), circular knitting, slim fits. What's not to like. Seriously.

I started with another shrug, using worsted-weight blue yarns. Here are some pictures of the work as it has progressed.

First, look at how the kfbs make the beautiful raglan structure -- growing and shaping without seaming. So cool. I love knitting.


This is the shape of the shoulder piece, as I continue to work on a sleeve. Yes, it looks bat-man-esque.


Here's the sleeve laid together, with the arm opening aligned with the raglan "seam" and the edges just waiting to be seamed (after I've put the ribbing on)...


And here is the seamed sleeve -- my first seaming! It looks just like those seams I used to rip out so gleefully when I would salvage yarn. Note the rib edging.

Here's that sleeve from the outside, with that lovely ribbing. (oh, I do love this project. and knitting. did i mention i love knitting? i've slipped into lower case letters.)

Just a side note: My friend and I are working on our dissertations, and our other friend is here studying for his comprehensive exam. We have just reached a consensus that novels about knitting are dumb. And I'm a knitter. I have a knitting blog. I still think this literary trend is dumb.

Go knit. Then read a romance novel.

Here is where I am at the moment -- the ribbing and increases around the bodice. Same 24 rows as the sleeves, but with increases at the four angles -- I'm very excited about those.

Also, I wonder if those people who write novels about knitting actually knit. I can't help but think that if they did knit, they would knit, instead of writing novels about knitting. And if they DON'T knit, but instead write novels about knitting, they would be ridiculous poseurs.

Actually, I must confess. I know a novelist who wrote a novel about knitting. We don't get along. And I've never seen a set of knitting needles in her hands. So, to temper my strangely strong opinions on this topic, I should have provided this information up front. This novelist is not a nice person. She was mean to my very-nice-person friend. Don't be mean. It isn't nice. I digress. ("Dramatic Irony.")

Back on topic: here's how the shrug looks now (on my faux leather desk chair). It will be finished soon -- like, this weekend, since I have nothing better to do. I'll model it for you then. Then, on to the next project -- the shrug from Wenlan Chia's new book -- Twinkle's Big City Knits.