Stop Me Before I Clap Again

I did not mean to do this. I have been swatching and thinking about a shawl for a close friend. Her office is drafty and she is chilly there just about year round. I made some lace swatches and blocked them, and I even liked one of them. Then I saw the perfect shade of Silk Garden for her. This yarn was made for her more than any other yarn that I have seen. I bought it. I knew exactly what it should be. I cast on last night:

I can just about knit this pattern in my sleep now. My fingers know what to do without looking, kind of like they know certain chord progressions and scales on just about about a molecular level. I have two more increase sections to go.  I would like to finish before I see her next weekend and I hope that I am not jinxing myself by setting a deadline.

In other news, a pair of pileated woodpeckers has been with us for weeks now, pretty much at the same time every morning. Today they were on either side of a suet feeder together and I grabbed my camera about two minutes too late – by the time I got back to the window they were in other positions. I am ready for tomorrow.

 

More like a blankie

Yesterday I cast off the Big Kureyon Clapotis. I needed it today. I had to go to work with a cold and a cough. I wanted to stay at home in my jammies. Since I could not, I was wrapped up in what can only be called a giant Clapotis blankie. Possibly this was an overly dramatic representation of my pitiful condition, but possibly it was also a fashion statement. A little ambiguity is sometimes called for.

When I first started thinking about using Big Kureyon, I inquired in the Clapotis group at Ravelry. One very experienced Clap knitter replied that a Clapotis blanket would be an awesome gift. This yarn is bulky weight, which means that there is nothing scarf-like about the final result.

I did not knit all of the increases or straight sections and it is still 28 inches wide and 80 inches long. I used 4 and a half skeins of Big Kureyon. I stopped the increases when the first skein ran out. I stopped the straight section when I knew that it was already ginormous.

It is warm. It is gray with black, maroon, and some other wacky colors thrown in with that noro-esque flair. A detail from part of my favorite section:

 

Big Kureyon is B I G

Last night I finished up with one skein of Big Kureyon. After knitting 5 full sets of increase rows, my Clapotis measured around 27 inches. I started the straight section. I only have 5 skeins, but I think this is going to give me a nice fluffy and quite-large-enough wrap. I am using US 11 needles for a fairly loose stitch so that I do not lose the drapey effect that makes a Clapotis so appealing.

Inventory of the 2007 knitting:

• 6 pairs of socks
• 18 scarves
• 1 Clapotis, which does not count as a scarf in my humble opinion.
• 1 shawl
• 3 baby sweaters
• 2 washcloths
• 1 sweater for Rich
• 6 sets of fingerless mitts
• all the squares for a blanket – waiting to be stitched together sometime soon.

I am sure I forgot some stuff because I did not photograph everything. This is a satisfying list to me. Most of what I knit was given away – which feels just fine. This year I think I would like to knit for myself a bit more but I am also realistic. Knitting for others feels good and I like it.

 

Happy New Year

My wish for everyone: openness to love in 2008. Love comes to us in so many ways, and we do not always recognize it.

Yesterday I received a holiday letter from my friend and teacher Kathleen. She included a quote from Stephen Levine, who wrote this about service:

Act for the benefit of others
Clear the mind so you can see the way
Remind each other of our true nature
Act with grace for no reason
And stop making excuses
Nothing is random or preset
So respond from true freedom
Don’t let fear or beauty block your way
It takes courage to be moral
To give up the dissatisfaction
Compassion is fearlessness.

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Swatch of Big Kureyon meets Clapotis:

This is knitting at 3 stitches to the inch and is already 15 inches wide with only 2 sets of increase rows finished. It could end up in the frog pond. I am committed to knitting two skeins before I make a final decision.

 

weekend update

Finally, after very slow progress, a scarf from Kidsilk Night is finished. Never again. I clenched the needles so tightly the entire time that I was knitting this lovely little cloud that I ended up needing a stick-on magnetic heating pad on each shoulder. However, the recipient is special and I do not begrudge the time or discomfort. Instead I thought of her the entire time that I was knitting and sent many good thoughts her way. Today I will block, but right now it is all puffy:

This morning I cast off a ripple stitch scarf for myself. Still needs to be blocked, but here’s a shot from yesterday, when I was close to finishing:

It is made with alternating strands of a semi-solid, Oasis Yarn Seduction Silk,

and a two-plied sock yarn from Rio De La Plata.

Knitting a scarf with sock yarn takes a little more time than knitting with worsted! My last three scarves have been with very lightweight yarns, all very enjoyable to knit.

I have some Big Kureyon drying – I soaked it yesterday because I plan to knit something with it that does not like to be blocked. That’s right, I am so in love with my first Clapotis that I have to make another one. Every time I wear it I get comments. Casual, but elegant and drapey. It looks great with a denim jacket and still works at the office.

Meanwhile, I will be swatching for a jacket or sweater. I would like to knit one more big winter project before thoughts of spring take over. I think I have knit thirteen scarves this season. Seems like a nice round number.

In the backyard, a sharp-shinned hawk has taken to perching on top of one of the bird feeders every morning. A broad-shouldered hawk and a Northern harrier have also been frequent visitors. I will be trying for some good photos.

If you would, please leave a comment with your favorite podcast. Somehow I wound up with an iPhone. : – )

 

lots of knitting, no photos

Last week I visited my mom. While I was in PA I made some fingerless mitts for her. She loved them and all of her friends are jealous. I neglected to take my tripod with me so no photos. I have a slight hand tremor; camera work on the fly is blurry.

I also finished the scarves that I wrote about in my last post. This week I swatched. Kidsilk Night is enchanting.

It’s Cookie Weekend at our house. I updated my cookie spreadsheets and I am all ready to go. This year we are baking for a homeless shelter and for our usual neighborhood and family friends.

Since there are no knitting photos, last year’s crocheted tree garland:

It’s fine-gauge sterling silver wire and crystal beads.

 

scarves con’t.

I am still in scarf mode. Last night I finished the knitting on a holey-bias scarf for one of my girls. Claudia’s handpainted sock yarn is very very squishy. I used US 7’s and after blocking, the scarf will be barely 60 inches. It’s lacy and delicate. I’ve also been ribbing away on a Kureyon stripey scarf in 150 and 164. This scarf has lots of blues and greens, all slightly grayed and subdued. It will be great with a denim jacket. Rich has his eye on it. Scarves will be shoved out the way now until I make some fingerless mitts and a Calorimetry for my mom. I’m driving over the mountain on Friday morning to visit her for most of the weekend.

Yesterday morning I spent 4 hours with some very smart and fun women staffing the Hillary Clinton booth at the DNC meeting. We had lots of lively conversation and gave out good swag. It was definitely worth getting up early on a Saturday.

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Walnut Dye Results

I couldn’t bring myself to dump out my large pot of walnut-y goodness until I used it all up. On Friday I dyed:

3 skeins of E.Lavold Silky Wool

1 skein of Louet Gems

1 skein of Cascade

I simmered the Cascade for about an hour, and the rest for 90 minutes. I wanted the Cascade to be a medium shade so that I could knit something interesting with all of the worsted weight. I was also hoping to somewhat control my results on the Silky Wool because I have 6 other skeins that I want to work all together.

Except for the baby alpaca, which dried quickly and has already been put away, everything else is here:

and clicking the photo will take you over to my Flickr page, which has notes over the individual skeins.

In answer to a question, my dye recipe is more or less this:

Gather walnuts, hulls and all. The outer hull, which starts out green and eventually turns dark brown, is the important part. Soak these hulls in water at least overnight, but longer is better. The first dyebath that I did with this year’s nuts soaked for a few days. This second batch soaked for 4 weeks. Dump the walnuts and their soaking water into a big pot and boil for an hour. Wait for the pot to cool and strain out the giant mess. I put a large colander in my pot and the walnuts more or less stay put, which makes straining much easier.

Wet out the wool, stick it into the pot, and simmer. Move it about the pot gently from time to time. Because it takes some time for the pot to cool, I usually end up doing the actual dyeing the next day. I don’t want to shock my wool by putting it into a hot dyebath. Sometimes I remove wool from the pot, let it cool, and then rinse. Sometimes I let the entire pot cool off before removing the wool – this results in a deeper shade.  Different types of wool and wool blends take the dye in a range of shades, and the amount of walnut material per weight of goods makes a difference too. No mordant is necessary with walnuts.

I have kept a dye notebook for two decades with fairly detailed notes and samples, but it’s okay to play and not be so obsessed. I have never seen a natural dye bath that was not lovely.  My favorite reference book for natural dyes is A Dyer’s Garden by Rita Buchanan.

Yesterday I cast off on a Clapotis, knit from Silk Garden 252. It’s all soft and drapey and will go to work with me.

 

Live Models!

Last night I finished the collar on Rich’s sweater. He modeled it for me today:

I think he likes it! I used 7 skeins of Plymouth’s Galway worsted.

Right after I took Rich’s photo, I headed south to meet up with Pam. We landed in the middle of a suburban shopping paradise. We ate lunch and caught up on all of the news. She modeled her new scarf for me:

The leaves are at peak color so driving was unusually delightful.

In the weird department, I saw a dead bear on the side of the highway heading south on I-95. I have seen live bears in the woods back home, but this was a first.

 

Hole-y Bias Scarf

Hole-y Bias Scarf

I wrote out some detailed instructions for the bias scarf in the previous post. It’s just a setup with increases on each end of the right side rows, a straight section, and a decrease section.

Using some sock yarn, I swatched another version:

It is knit on US 7s. When finished, I plan to wet block it to make it lace-like.

I finished the neon version and sent it off to my sister. I also finished a feather and fan scarf knit in Silk Garden Lite. I plan to give it to my friend Pam on Sunday when we have our quarterly artist’s date.