I’ve been working on Kyoto for quite a while, because I had to rip out and reknit some of it as I mentioned earlier. I have finished the sleeves, which I did as my gauge swatch to make sure I really liked the new gauge before continuing on. Now I am working on the fronts, together on one needle.
I had to regauge this sweater, and resize it too, since I am bigger than the pattern size. But, it’s quite an easy pattern to resize since it’s drop shoulder and most of the pieces are square, but it still involved some math.
Here’s what’s great about the internet. I was reading GADGETS – STUPID STITCH MARKER TRICKS (string-or-nothing.blog-city.com) a few months ago and paid attention and sort of filed away the reference that Kim makes to a knitting abacus. I didn’t really have a need for it … yet … but knew the idea would roll around in my brain and file itself away for later.
Well, later came last week when I was at Stitch ‘n Bitch Long Beach and got out my calculator to figure out how to gradually whittle away 23 stitches from my front pieces, over 156 rows of knitting. Naturally, 156/23 = 6.7 stitches, not a good even number.
Since I only want to decrease on the public side of my knitting, I would have to have even numbers. The closest even numbers to 6.7 are 6 and 8. Using 6x+8y=156 and x+y=23, I came up with “Decrease 1 stitch every 8 rows 9 times and 1 stitch every 6 rows 14 times.” (See kids, you do use some of that math you had to suffer through!)

To make it slope more evenly, I decided to alternate between the 8 and 6 row decreases til I get to the last five decreases which will happen a little faster (14-9=5). This brings me back to Kim’s post about her knittng abacus. I knew that on each piece, I need to decrease 23 stitches, so I placed a marker after the 23rd stitch. Since I know that the last 5 decreases are different from the first 9, I put a marker 5 stitches out from the first – closer to the edge that’s being decreased. Then I made the long chain of markers you see here. The first marker is pink, followed by seven greens, and 6 pinks, for a total of … you guessed it … 14. I start at the lone pink marker and do a decrease on that row. Each time I pass the marker chain, I pass the next link up onto my needle, inching closer to the solid pink end. When I change color to pink, I do another decrease. When I reach the end, I start back at the lone pink marker and do another decrease. When I reach the first marker that’s in the knitting, I will know that I am done with the 8 row decreases and will remove the last 8 markers from the chain, leaving me with one pink and 5 green, and will continue til I reach the second marker in the knitting, at which point I will be done with the decreases. Whew!
If I hadn’t come across her entries on the tricks she uses to avoid counting stitches (something I detest) I would have never thought of doing the decreases this way. It’s been great so far, both fronts are decreasing evenly, and I haven’t had to count anything since first placing the markers.
I just have to re-do that back piece and the collar, and then I’ll be able to put this baby together. I’ve left the sleeves on stitch holders with the balls of yarn still attached because I am not quite sure where I want them to fall. Either longish so the hands can be slipped into the other sleeve, or short so the sleeves are out of the way. I stopped at the short sleeve point and will pin it all together and see if I like it, and if not, I will add a few more inches to the sleeves. Any opinions on the sleeve length?

…and finally have a perfect graft between the two ends of my scarf. Since I always seem to end up with an extra stitch or two at the end, I thought I would try the method where you add some waste yarn and then sort of trace the stitches of the waste yarn as you join the two pieces together.
Well, I added the waste yarn, as you can see, and began to try grafting. It was a disaster. I couldn’t tell if I was even joining the ends or just looping near it. Of course, I had no directions, so that didn’t help. In the end, I just took out the waste yarn, got out my trusty friend and did it the old fashioned way. And darned if it didn’t come out perfect this time? No extra stitches at the end.
Here she is, all blocked and with the lace opened up nicely.
I’m off to Memorial Park in Pasadena, CA for the Knit in the City event, where I will be handing over the scarf, and teaching some new folk to knit. Since I learned to knit just 4 years ago at the Knit-Out 2001, at the hands of a kind woman with a great attitude, I figure it’s now my turn. Trouble is, I knit continental, and really have a hard time knitting English, so that will be hard to teach, but I am sure if I go slow, I’ll be good.
See you there!

I’ve been feeling like some lace, as I mentioned a few entries back. This is the scarf I am working on for the “Knit in the City” event that is happening in a few weeks. I am about at the halfway point, and will be starting from the other end and grafting in the center so that it will look the same from both ends. When it’s blocked out, I am sure it will be even more lovely.
This is some KnitPicks Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor. I’m not sure about this yet, I thought the colors would be a little more subtle, but when I get to it, I’ll find out for sure. I don’t have a specific pattern in mind for it, but it will probably be a Fiber Trends shawl (one of the triangle ones they have) or maybe something from Folk Shawls?
I’m in no hurry, because I also bought some Koigu in shade 1020 which is a nearly solid. I think I may crochet a lacy shrug with it, if there is enough, otherwise, it’ll be a scarf, I guess. And there’s more, I’m afraid. I bought the whole box of KnitPicks Pallette, it’s their “fair isle” yarn. It’s lovely and I am sure I will have fun coming up with something to do with it. There was a cool bag in Folk Bags, I forget the name but it’s the Welsh version of a sporran and I’ve wanted to knit the dragon on there for a while, so maybe I’ll have a go at that and use it somewhere else, or maybe I’ll make the bag, minus the furry loopy bits.
It’s funny, I did all this shopping over the course of two weeks and didn’t even notice how much I ended up with until putting it all in this entry. I guess I should slow down a bit, eh?

I’ve wanted to try creating wire/bead jewelry for quite a while, but have never been able to get the wire parts right. They always looked so unprofessional. Over the weekend, I came across a book that explains it all nicely, and so I had a go with some copper wire I had leftover from a project of my husband’s. Here’s the result.
You may have seen a similar gadget mentioned here. While it wasn’t the inspiration for my attempt, it was a motivation since in the past I would just link those split-ring plastic stitch markers together, and they aren’t that pretty, are they? So I thought combining a need with a desire to learn a new skill would work out nicely, and I like the result.
I bought some silver wire to play with once I am done practicing with the copper, but I think I will keep this one together and use it for now. I added some split rings in the middle so that it can be lengthened or shortened depending on the requirements of the pattern repeat. I plan to try it out on a nice splitty yarn tonight and see how well I filed the wire ends smooth. I used an emery board instead of a jewelers file, but plan to pick up a file asap since I enjoyed what I’ve learned so far.
The book is well written and is somewhere between “I know nothing” and “I already know everything” so that for me anyway, it was a great jumping off point for more bead-y creation.

Last year, at the TKGA conference, or maybe it was at Stitches West, I can’t remember, I bought some Alpaca yarn from Honey Lane Farms. I had no idea what to make with it, but picked it up anyway. I had made a Leaf Cravat from IK a few years ago and liked the pattern so I thought I would try it with this yarn. It would be a little different, since the last time I made it was in Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton, and this yarn is very different. I started working on it right after I bought it and then got distracted by something more shiny. Plus, when working on the scarf, it would make my eyes water like crazy. I must be allergic to Alpaca, or at least whatever it is that’s around when Alpaca is processed, because the KnitPicks Alpaca bothers me too. So, if whatever was more shiny didn’t make me cry, I would work on that for a while and forget all about this project.
I finally picked it back up last week and decided to finish it. The pattern is pretty easy to memorize, and I will probably do it again with another yarn. Here it is right off the needles.
Here it is blocking on my deluxe blocking wires. They aren’t really deluxe, but it sounds more exciting when I say deluxe blocking wires than just blocking wires. Don’t you think? Please excuse the contrast-y towel I am blocking it on, it’s soaking wet after sitting in a bath of Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Castille soap and warm water. Since the scarf had been dragged all over the place while I was working on it, I thought it needed a wash.
And here is the final scarf off the blocking wires. It looks nice, I think. It’s a bit hairy though, so while I was wearing it today it made me itch like crazy. I will be able to wear it over a collar, but not next to my skin. I am too sensitive, I guess. But, after the wash, it didn’t make my eyes water like Alpaca usually does, so I think that whatever was bothering me that way was washed out. That’s a good thing.

This is, I guess, inspired by this pattern: tychus from Knitty.com. I didn’t actually read the pattern, but I looked at the picture and thought, “How clever! I can do that!” I think it’s a really nice design, and once you see how the construction works, it just falls into place. I will probably make some more of these in the future, I like how the pattern works.
I used some Knitpicks Shine in Orchid and Blush. This will be for my new niece, who was born in June. I don’t think her mommy reads my blog, so hopefully the present won’t be spoiled.
I like the yarn too. It’s a little nicer than straight cotton, meaning it has a little give to it so it doesn’t feel like you are getting a workout when you are knitting with it. I only wish it came in black and white in addition to the colors that they do have. I have a perfect idea in mind for one more baby gift for a friend due in February, but I need black and white. I will probably be able to find another brand of sports weight cotton in black and white, but I like to use the same yarn so that it all behaves the same in the garment.
This one is for my new nephew, born in July. He lives in the Seattle area, so I made him some mittens too. He’s new, so he doesn’t need thumbs on his mittens yet. These are knitted in Knitpicks Elegance in Cornflower and Grass. Elegance is a Baby Alpaca and Silk blend, and knits up beautifully. I put a little loop at the top so if the parents decide to wash the hat it can be hooked by the loop to air dry. His mom doesn’t read the blog either, I don’t think. I guess I’ll find out when I finally get to meet him and give him his present!
This yarn is really nice too. Much less hairy than the Andean Silk, so it doesn’t bother my eyes to use it. It feels nice and has a nice shine from the silk. I can see using this for a lightweight but warm cardigan in the future.
I hope that Knitpicks decides to add more colors to the basic lines they started out with. A lot of the shades are a bit… juvenile? They need some Rowan- or Debbie Bliss-like adult pastels. Then I think they will really have something. I did just order a mess o’ shade cards which I will bring to my local Stich and Bitch maybe next week. I am glad I didn’t notice the “buy all shades of this yarn” link when I was looking at the fingering wool yesterday. I might have gone a bit overboard. Besides, once I see the shade card, I am sure they will be happy to let me buy the sampler box.

On the Rogue_Along mailing list, someone asked if KnitPicks Andean Silk would be a good match for Girl From Auntie‘s newest beauty, called Eris.
I replied that I thought it would be to floppy, and that I might try swatching a cable to see if it really was.
I decided to compare the Andean Silk to Wool of the Andes, which has the exact same gauge information on it’s label. 4.5 – 5 stitches/1″ on Needle Size #7-#8.
Andean Silk is 55% Superfine Alpaca, 23% Silk, and 22% Merino Wool. Shown here in the color Olive, which didn’t photograph very well. (I originally bought it to swatch for the Kyoto sweater in Knitty, for the stockinette portion of the sweater, so wasn’t expecting to be taking photos or I would have gone a bit lighter in color!)
Wool of the Andes is 100% Peruvian Wool, in the color Carrot.
I used another of Girl from Auntie’s cables, which she calls Double Knot cable for the swatch, doing the first part in Andean Silk and the mirror image in Wool of the Andes. I soaked each swatch in warm water and blocked overnight, but both curled due to the stockinette edges.
I used a 5.0mm needle (size 8 US) for my first swatch, and the middle sized cable needle from the Brittany Birch set of 3. Unfortunately I have misplaced my needle gauge and can’t report the size of that needle. If I find my gauge I will amend this report. With this setup, I ended up with 5.0 stitches per inch, which is on the tight side of the yarn’s recommended gauges, and the same gauge at which I knitted the original stockinette swatch that made me think the yarn would be too floppy. Please be kind to my mistake on the cables – I was scrolling up and down on the page containing the cable instructions, and I obviously missed something.
For the second swatch I used 4.25mm (Approx. US#6) and the smallest of the 3 Brittany Birch cable needles. This swatch ended up at 5.3 stitches/inch, tighter than the recommended gauge for the yarn.
My Conclusion?
I still think Andean Silk is too floppy for the gauges shown here, especially compared to the Wool of the Andes. Seeing how the cables popped on the second swatch, I can imagine that at a tighter gauge, it might work. But, more than it’s floppiness, it’s the hairiness that would keep me from using it. I think the hair fuzzes out the cables and makes them kind of… blurry? In just plain stockinette, it looks nice, but the cables get lost in the haze of hair.
The real problem though, is that it makes me itch like crazy which wouldn’t necessarily affect anyone but me, but it would keep me from wearing anything made from it.
But, I think I will use the Wool of the Andes – I think it looks great, especially in the second swatch. When I am done with Kyoto, I might start a Rogue or Eris in Wool of the Andes, depending on what gauge the pattern is written for.

I have these great headphones. They still sound good after 6 years, and they have a really long cord so I can roll around my whole cubicle at work while still connected. They were very inexpensive, but about a year ago, the foam pads that protected my ears finally fell apart.
I have been using them “naked” since then, but they always were very uncomfortable that way, which made my ears hurt and made me listen to music less.
Then last week, at Stich n’ Bitch, I had a great idea – why not knit some covers for the things? I have a ball of some imitation Cascade Fixation that someone gave me a while back, it seemed like a great candidate with it’s stretchiness. I started thinking about how I was going to get started on double pointed needles on such a small and stretchy, fiddly thing when it hit me… Crochet!
I am quite rusty, but I figured, it’s just a granny square without the corners, right? How hard can it be? Well, they didn’t quite come out perfectly shaped, and they are a bit lumpy on the edges, but they get the job done. I was amazed at how — even though my mind didn’t know what to do — my hands knew what to do, and I ended up with some decent half-double crochet ear pad thingies. They are quite comfy too. I highly reccomend it if you find yourself with decent headphones and no foamy covers for them.
Thanks to whoever shared the yarn. Was it Sandra?

There are so many babies popping out everywhere, and I see big bellies everywhere I go, so it’s no surprise I have been knitting on some very small things.

For my niece, who was born first in my circle of baby boom, I made these lovely prezzies: A sweater of my own design in Baby Ull, a teddy in a bunny suit from a Debbie Bliss pattern, done in Falk and Baby Ull, and finally some mini converse so baby can be just like dad, also knit in Baby Ull.
For my nephew, who was born next, a sweater re-gauged from a Debbie Bliss pattern in Classic Elite Flash (i think), another Debbie Bliss bear in Falk and Baby Ull, and some creamsicle booties also in Baby Ull. Mom likes Orange. I haven’t actually seen him in person yet, but the photos look promising. He may come south for a visit in August, which will be nice.
And for a coming attraction, whose parents are planning to be surprised at the birth, a sweater of my own design in Cotton Fleece, which I have used before for baby sweaters and I think is quite nice. This is for a girlfriend at work who I am really going to miss while she’s out, but can’t wait to see the baby once he’s here! (Yeah, I think it’s a boy, but red looks nice on a girl too!)
I hate boring pastel-ly baby stuff, so I went for bright and colorful. I hope the moms like the stuff as much as I did knitting them!
I have a few more little things for the new babies, but they may wait for xmas gifts or something TBA.
There you can see my Anacondas snow globe on the right. Scary, isn’t it?