December 1, 2009
I’ve been working my way through sleeves, shoulders, and hopefully today I’ll get cracking on the hood for this newest sweater I’m knitting. Its inspiration is largely rooted in science fiction, but even a normal Earthling could enjoy wearing such a cozy knit. I know I haven’t been around much lately, so I must seem a little alien to some of you. Rest assured, there hasn’t been any cases of body snatching going on in my neighborhood.
Aside from knitting? Well, I’m not sure, but I recall cooking a huge amount of food not too long ago. There is a shining moment of clarity when I took a bite of a pecan pie I made with help from a friend who is master of The Crust. Oh, oh my. Pecan pie is definitely my favorite pie. I’ve never had a favorite pie, I liked all pie. Pie was a democratic affair for me, most pies were worth a slice or more. But pecan pie? Such a contrast! Crunchy, sweet, buttery, sinfully decadent and totally not heavy. If you’re curious, I used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe which is right here. Do not fear it, it is incredibly delicious! And even I, who am terminally bad at making pies, whipped the filling together without any trouble at all.
The biggest problem with my futuristic sweater is…buttons, or zippers? A zipper would probably be cleaner, but I do so hate to sew them in. A garter stitch border? I-Cord? Lots and lots to decide still, and the sweater’s almost done!
On this particular sweater I’ve also unvented a little method for making SSK practically a good twin instead of the evil twin to faithful K2Tog. A small tutorial should be coming up soon enough!
November 25, 2009
I’ve been getting a lot of knitting done lately on my newest sweater idea. It’s the biggest reason I haven’t been blogging.
I haven’t had a big garment to knit since I finished my blue sweater and I was missing the thrill of having a garment waiting on the needles for me. I’m knitting along at quite a healthy clip, I finished the torso up to the armpits in about 4 days and this sleeve should be done by the end of today barring any mishaps.
I’m planning on cutting this sweater open to make a cardigan again, but this time I’m making it a hoodie. The PRIDE coat is also a hoodie, but I was not satisfied with the fit of the shoulders due to the anatomically incorrect placement of the sleeves. Perhaps it’s only noticeable to me since I’m a man with broader shoulders than most women, but I felt the fit could’ve been improved a hundredfold by moving the sleeve increases forward on the sweater, placing them in the natural fall of one’s arm. 4 stitches on either side would’ve given nearly two extra inches in the back and subtracted from the front, where I currently experience some unfortunate bunching on occasion. Still a marvelous sweater, but not as perfect as I could make. Not my best work, though I say so myself
During the knitting of this garment I’ve had a multitude of ideas flowing around and this one may just have sparked a collection of patterns that would be about a year in the making, however I currently find myself with quite a lot of free time in which to consider and create such a thing so I will make the best of it if this idea holds up as well as I hope.
This is the first sleeve, I’m knitting with Northampton from Valley Yarns which is a brand I really enjoy a lot. They’re super affordable and all designed especially by the folks at Webs in Massachusetts which is a great place to order from. A part of any knitter’s east coast visit if they can manage it.
November 17, 2009
Yesterday I released a new hat pattern called Kerry.
The cable pattern in this hat has been kicking around my head for about a year, and I loved knitting it. I kind of wanted to put it on everything because the way the repeats interlock into a seamless, overall pattern is incredibly mesmerizing.
My challenge was really in the decreasing at the top. I don’t mind telling you that I didn’t plan it ahead of time. It was purely a rip and reknit scenario. This is such an uncommon methodology for me to use, but I felt a little at sea with decreasing naturally into a pleasant conclusion. The cable intertwines with its neighbors, and I didn’t want to lose that as the decreasing began. I thought that it would be a little sad to use a boring decrease pattern when the rest of the hat is so interesting.
I’ve knitted two of these hats now since a friend saw my red one made out of Berroco’s “Vintage” wool and expressed a strong interest in it. I asked him if he liked blue and made him some from the copious leftovers of my shawl-collared cardigan. That yarn, you may recall, is “Amherst” from Valley Yarns.
The yarns, let’s talk about the yarns for just a moment! “Vintage” is really rather lovely, in truth. I was surprised since it is a little more than 50/50 synthetic, but the team at Berroco has selected an excellent source for their materials because even with the less-than-half wool content I found this yarn just as wooly and pleasing and flexible as any pure wool I’ve ever worked with. It has the added benefit of being machine washable without being superwash. Superwash yarns tend to stretch out of shape awfully when you wash them and frequently need to be dried or handled with great care to prevent Great Growing Knitting mishaps.
My color is “Black Cherry” I believe, or shade 5181 if you like.
Kerry costs $5.00 and includes two sizes along with a chart and written out instructions.
- Gauge: 5 stitches to 1 inch in stockinette
- Yardage: 220-200 yards
- Yarn: “Vintage” by Berroco or “Amherst” from Valley Yarns
November 16, 2009
I’m sure that many of you have heard of BBC, probably you enjoy a BBC America television program now and then or you’ve heard the World Service news clips on the radio.
Did you know that you can listen to different BBC Radio stations online for free? A live stream of tremendously British programming coming to you right across the digital ether. My favorites, in no particular order, are Radio 4, Radio 3, and Radio 7.
Radio 4 is a bit like a a homier version of NPR. Where NPR focuses on world events from a large-scale perspective, Radio 4 looks at things through a more domestic lens. The Food Programme – which is quite excellent – talked today about the way that food grown in the United Kingdom affects the world food supplies. Fascinating, really. Issues of social import in the U.K. are also discussed. Yesterday I had to switch off a very good one about good parenting because as it turns out we do not have the monopoly on batty social conservatism. I will say that listening to a calm, measured, British voice saying nasty, horrible things about other people is a tiny bit more frightening than listening to a screaming, raving lunatic on FOX news saying the same things.
Radio 3 is music and arts and, well, I think that my favorite program so far is Paul O’Grady. He’s a nice man who reads letters that listeners send in and plays a wide variety of music. It’s a bit like a newsletter/variety show and he makes it quite entertaining, an entire production is made out of every moment. I like it quite a lot. There is classical music all through the night and frequently very good collections, yesterday I listened to a teaser for a show celebrating American music. They were focusing on George Gershwin. I love that!
Radio 7 is, to me, the auditory equivalent of the Sci-Fi channel, Turner Classic Movies, and the Game Network all combined and given a British flair. Last night there was a spaceship with a computer called Mother who spoke as an electronic English Granny. She says things like “Well far be it from me to criticize, being a simple baking program, but that is not what I would have called a braking parabola.” or “You’d know about these things if you read my manual.” It was a very clever program, however I also like listening to the Crime Catch Up on Radio 7 on Saturday mornings at 6 AM my time. You might think that’s a bit early to wake up for, but it’s a 3 hour chunk of knitting and listening to fantastic and sometimes funny mysteries.
BBC has been my newest companion as the light grows less and less everyday. We’ve only 9 hours of sunlight a day now, and it’s not even December!
November 12, 2009
A short while after my post yesterday I had the hat finished and wore it about feeling very snug and secure in it. This morning when I awoke I realized that perhaps some of you might be in the same predicament I was describing, where none of your knitting calls to you and you long for something interesting and pretty quick too.
You can download the pattern as soon as you like, just click right here.
I used a skein of Amherst from Valley Yarns, which is a tremendously soft yarn that I think is imminently suitable for hats and scarves. The orange is bits and bobs of Cash Vero from Cascade Yarns. It is identical to Cashmerino Aran from Debbie Bliss in every way, except I think Cascade does better colors overall. Between these two yarns my hat is ridiculously soft and would be a suitable gift were I not so enamored of it myself.
So, enjoy! This one’s totally free and easy. I knit mine in just two days in a fit of sleeplessness, so you know it’s quick if you’ve got a short plane trip or something to while away when you’re zipping all over the place in the upcoming holiday season.
November 11, 2009
Sometimes I just need a change of pace from what I’m knitting. Nothing sounds good, nothing sounds fun. I pick up one project and put it down over and over again. It’s like being stuck on repeat.
So I usually start a hat. I knit only The Hat. For a few days everything in my knitting is about The Hat. The Hat is usually pretty simple. Garter stitch brims with stockinette. My favorite thing to do is to do one row stripes. Don’t ask me why, I’m not sure, but the thrill of neatly switching between two colors every row is enough to keep me knitting on The Hat even when other knitting starts to sound more attractive. The Hat must be finished. It’s not a trick, exactly, more like an odd quirk in the process we call Creativity. When nothing else will do, I must knit a hat.
November 2, 2009
Dear Stash,
I hope this letter finds you well, even though I know we’ve had some troubling times recently. We’ve been spending even more time than usual together in the past few months since I lost my job. I understand that until then you had held out some hopes of growing. That you had been getting teased by the other stashes for being so small. Puny, they called you. My small income prevents me from expanding your territorial claim in our apartment, but I have been cutting back on yarn acquisition for some time now. Something you have no doubt noticed.
Now you have become…I think the best word would be depressed. The wools seems to have lost some of their bounce, the cottons are sloppier than usual, and I worry about the little scraps who drift aimlessly through the house now. Where once there was vigor and vibrancy, I see now that you feel limited and uninteresting.
My dear stash, my lovelies! I have chosen all of you with great care. The stash is small because I want to give the best of my abilities to your wondrous qualities. To drown you in a sea of excessive fiber would deprive me of knowing you as well as I do. I know where every skein of that plant dyed Shetland resides, and I even remember what I planned to do with the cotton blend living next to my chair.
I recall the glorious days of purchase, the lustful planning deep into the night. I treasure the angora-like glow that comes over us in moments of solitude and the hum of industry when we are zipping through the rows. Many stashes exist in a state of luxury, of decadence. Like a French aristocrat before that nasty guillotine business. Not you, my woolies, oh no. You are sleek and nimble, each skein immeasurably more valuable to me by its rarity. I give you all of my talent, all of my cleverness, in an effort not to waste you. Not to let you linger in the merely beautiful but to become truly exceptional by giving you purpose and utility.
That is why the stash is small. To devote all that there is to give to you, that you may have the best benefits of my attentions.
Fondly yours,
Rodger P.M.
October 30, 2009
A new arrival has come to NEXT SIGNAL. I’m happy to present the PDX Hat! The official hat of Portland, Oregon. A simple top-down construction makes it easy to alter for any combination of heads and yarns. Fussless shaping keeps the knitting meditative and low maintenance, and the opportunity for embellishment high. Mine has some simple embroidery and vintage buttons sewn on, but you really could do nearly anything. Needle felting, stripes, colorwork, applique, stitch patterns, anything!
This idea’s been rolling around my head for a while now, I’m glad to finally have it on my head. I love this yarn, which is a non-commercial yarn I bought out of a stall at the state fair in Salem two years ago. It’s not available anywhere that I know of, and I can’t locate her anywhere on the internet.
It’s an aran/heavy worsted Shetland off of the sweetest little ewe. I’ve been fascinated by this idea of using Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Pi Shawl to shape other things, sweaters, hats, maybe even a pair of socks. I love the meditative nature of knitting longer and longer stretches of plain knitting in between flurries of crazy increasing. In this hat I’ve used an increase I discovered in one of my Barbara Walker treasuries that mimics the look of a backwards loop increase really well – it’s a yarn over that you knit through the back loop on the following row. I don’t think it’ll become my go-to increase, but I do like the way it works in this hat by adding visual interest to the shaping rows. A more invisible decrease would make the construction even more mysterious to the uninitiated.
You can find it on Ravelry, or you can even download now
