~ Carl Friedrich Gauss, on his engagement
Carl Friedrich Gauss, a German mathematician, was born on April 30, 1777.
Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/12915907335
A place to share ideas on knitting, design, art, craft & life in general
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Midweek Meditation
~ Carl Friedrich Gauss, on his engagement
Carl Friedrich Gauss, a German mathematician, was born on April 30, 1777.
Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/12915907335
Friday, April 25, 2014
Bigger Stuff (1 of 2) -- In Which I Install a Zipper
There has been a gap.
My last post "Small Stuff" was on April 8.
"Small Stuff" was about a handful of smaller FO's that I made mostly in the first 3 months of this year. In April, I finished some "Bigger Stuff".
I finished stitching the zipper into my Taiga #2 on April 12, 2014. (I noticed when I entered this date on Ravelry that my finish date for the project was exactly 1 year after the start date.)
Some of you may remember that in my sleeve post on this project, I mentioned finding two different zipper insertion tutorial-type posts. I ended up using neither, but bookmarking them for the future.
The first, for me, has a great idea for pinning in a zipper -- but with a selvedge edge being attached to the zipper. It does also show using a hand stitched back-stitch to actually sew the zipper in place. This is the stitching method that I do use most often; however, I hate the way it looks on the inside of the garment, and I usually end up adding a facing of some sort to hide the stitches. My Taiga #2 already had a folded front facing made from a partially steeked edge. Pinning the zipper to a selvedge edge was in no way possible, but also out of the question, was applying any sort of additional facing to hide the ugly hand stitching.
The second zipper post was, surprise!, in Swedish, but do scroll down to see it translated into English. Now this is a zipper insertion I love for not having ugly uneven hand-stitching show on the inside! But, I could not see using it on my Taiga, because of the Taiga's bulk and a little bit because it would be so very time consuming. I know that I will use this on another sweater someday.
My final decision was to, surprise!, machine stitch the zipper in place. Machine stitching with a thread closely matching the zipper color would certainly show the least on the wrong side. First, I carefully replaced my "pin-basting" with a hand-stitched basting in contrasting white thread.
The white stitches were made exactly where the machine stitching would go through the knitting on the facing fold line.
If you look very closely in the next photo you can see the cranberry color machine stitches.
After removing the white thread, I folded the facing back and sewed it in place for the length of the neck ribbing, and from the lower edge of the sweater up to the top of the pocket facing. Except for the yarn ends used at the very top and very bottom, I used the cranberry colored sewing thread so as not to add any more bulk.
A close-up photo may show why I like the stitching to look good on the inside. If the top of the zipper is worn a bit opened, this stitching will show.
I consider my zipper application to be the best possible for this particular project. A very important point I like to make about making (anything) is that what is best for one project might be very different from what is best for another.
Happy knitting (and finishing) to you!
My last post "Small Stuff" was on April 8.
"Small Stuff" was about a handful of smaller FO's that I made mostly in the first 3 months of this year. In April, I finished some "Bigger Stuff".
I finished stitching the zipper into my Taiga #2 on April 12, 2014. (I noticed when I entered this date on Ravelry that my finish date for the project was exactly 1 year after the start date.)
Some of you may remember that in my sleeve post on this project, I mentioned finding two different zipper insertion tutorial-type posts. I ended up using neither, but bookmarking them for the future.
The first, for me, has a great idea for pinning in a zipper -- but with a selvedge edge being attached to the zipper. It does also show using a hand stitched back-stitch to actually sew the zipper in place. This is the stitching method that I do use most often; however, I hate the way it looks on the inside of the garment, and I usually end up adding a facing of some sort to hide the stitches. My Taiga #2 already had a folded front facing made from a partially steeked edge. Pinning the zipper to a selvedge edge was in no way possible, but also out of the question, was applying any sort of additional facing to hide the ugly hand stitching.
The second zipper post was, surprise!, in Swedish, but do scroll down to see it translated into English. Now this is a zipper insertion I love for not having ugly uneven hand-stitching show on the inside! But, I could not see using it on my Taiga, because of the Taiga's bulk and a little bit because it would be so very time consuming. I know that I will use this on another sweater someday.
My final decision was to, surprise!, machine stitch the zipper in place. Machine stitching with a thread closely matching the zipper color would certainly show the least on the wrong side. First, I carefully replaced my "pin-basting" with a hand-stitched basting in contrasting white thread.
The white stitches were made exactly where the machine stitching would go through the knitting on the facing fold line.
 |
| I blame the bad lighting effect on my sewing machine light. |
If you look very closely in the next photo you can see the cranberry color machine stitches.
After removing the white thread, I folded the facing back and sewed it in place for the length of the neck ribbing, and from the lower edge of the sweater up to the top of the pocket facing. Except for the yarn ends used at the very top and very bottom, I used the cranberry colored sewing thread so as not to add any more bulk.
A close-up photo may show why I like the stitching to look good on the inside. If the top of the zipper is worn a bit opened, this stitching will show.
I consider my zipper application to be the best possible for this particular project. A very important point I like to make about making (anything) is that what is best for one project might be very different from what is best for another.
Happy knitting (and finishing) to you!
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Small Stuff
I have not posted about any of my FO's (finished objects) since right around Christmas. All of the FO's in this post were the "small stuff" that I made as samples for teaching in February and March.
In January, I made my first Colormatic (from the free pattern designed by Michelle Hunter) as a shop sample in less than two weeks. Ann at Gosh Yarn It! takes the best photos.
I taught the one-session class on February 1, and I made my Colormatic 2 for my lovely daughter as a teaching-project-in-the-works. I have a difficult time with indoor photos after dark, but this one is actually better than others that I have attempted.
Each cowl was made with four different colored skeins of "Kenzie" (50% New Zealand merino, 25% nylon, 10% angora, 10% alpaca, 5% silk) from the HiKoo by Skacel Collection, Inc. A lovely, beautifully balanced yarn, and very easy to work with. The class was well attended and great fun!
And then there were socks! I do love teaching from my own patterns. In March, I taught a three-session class in making a basic toe-up sock from my TATU Try A Toe Up) patterns: TATU Sock and Fingeringweight TATU Sock. The class created a perfect opportunity for me to both start and finish a pair of socks for Mr K (whose 'Sad Socks' are still quite that).
The yarn that I used was Cascade Yarns Heritage 150 Paints (75% merino, 25% nylon). The fantastic 492-yards allowed me to make the tallest socks ever(!) I rolled the skein into two equal-weight balls, and I knit the sock cuffs until I thought that they should not be any taller. You can see that there was a decent amount of unused yarn in the remaining two balls (How opposite is that from those sad socks?)
I also made a second child's sock. This photo shows a blocked and unblocked sock. The blocked one was a part of the pattern photography. The unblocked one a class sample.
I had a total of three in-the-works socks as I taught the three classes which focused on (1) the toe cast-on, foot and gusset, (2) short rows, and completing the reinforced heel, (3) my favorite toe-up sock bind-off (the Kitchener Stitch Bind-Off) along with alternate bind-off possibilities.
The sock knitters were a smaller but very enthusiastic group! I hope to offer a couple more classes before summer.
In January, I made my first Colormatic (from the free pattern designed by Michelle Hunter) as a shop sample in less than two weeks. Ann at Gosh Yarn It! takes the best photos.
 |
| © Gosh Yarn It! |
I taught the one-session class on February 1, and I made my Colormatic 2 for my lovely daughter as a teaching-project-in-the-works. I have a difficult time with indoor photos after dark, but this one is actually better than others that I have attempted.
Each cowl was made with four different colored skeins of "Kenzie" (50% New Zealand merino, 25% nylon, 10% angora, 10% alpaca, 5% silk) from the HiKoo by Skacel Collection, Inc. A lovely, beautifully balanced yarn, and very easy to work with. The class was well attended and great fun!
And then there were socks! I do love teaching from my own patterns. In March, I taught a three-session class in making a basic toe-up sock from my TATU Try A Toe Up) patterns: TATU Sock and Fingeringweight TATU Sock. The class created a perfect opportunity for me to both start and finish a pair of socks for Mr K (whose 'Sad Socks' are still quite that).
The yarn that I used was Cascade Yarns Heritage 150 Paints (75% merino, 25% nylon). The fantastic 492-yards allowed me to make the tallest socks ever(!) I rolled the skein into two equal-weight balls, and I knit the sock cuffs until I thought that they should not be any taller. You can see that there was a decent amount of unused yarn in the remaining two balls (How opposite is that from those sad socks?)
I also made a second child's sock. This photo shows a blocked and unblocked sock. The blocked one was a part of the pattern photography. The unblocked one a class sample.
I had a total of three in-the-works socks as I taught the three classes which focused on (1) the toe cast-on, foot and gusset, (2) short rows, and completing the reinforced heel, (3) my favorite toe-up sock bind-off (the Kitchener Stitch Bind-Off) along with alternate bind-off possibilities.
The sock knitters were a smaller but very enthusiastic group! I hope to offer a couple more classes before summer.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Midweek Meditation
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“Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
~ Hans Christian Anderson, The Complete Fairy TalesHans Christian Andersen, born April 2 1805, was a Danish author and poet. "Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales." ~ Wikipedia: "Hans Christian Anderson", 04-02-14
Wikimedia Photo Credit: By Charlesjsharp (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Winter, Go Home!
Winter 2014 was the "worst winter ever" and then became the "winter that would not end".
I took this photo from my back window the week that I came home from my February trip to southern California.
Fortunately, those icicles are long gone. This past Wednesday night, locally, our record low temperature for the date was broken by 2 degrees. (Many records were broken this winter, but I took note of this one because now it is truly spring. Right?) The record low had been 15° F and now is 13° F. I have decided to declare a win for Winter 2014: You won. You beat us in a record breaking way, and now it really is time for you to go back where you came from... OK? Winter, go home. Now! Do not turn back! The southern hemisphere might be your kind of place right now.
I know that spring is here because I saw two robins (together) in our yard last Saturday. That felt lucky, because even though I usually see a single robin by the first week of march, I really do not remember ever seeing two (together) as my first robin sighting of the year.
Thursday morning, as I drank my coffee, the sun was shinning very brightly and I got caught up in watching a pair of smaller, I think, finches seriously engaged in nest-building in a tall pine tree through my front window. I tried very hard to get a photo and I failed.
The robins and the finches reminded me of the hawk's nest at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. I remembered that eggs were laid in past March's, and I went to check it out... I learned some very sad news at the "Hawkwatch at the Franklin Institute" blog. But there was also news of reason for hope. Let us all have hope for the Philadelphia Hawks. I do.
Later in the day, after lunch, my outdoor thermometer read 42° F, and that meant it was one of the warmest days of the week. I went out to get my mail and newspaper with my camera in my pocket.
It was very windy. I tried one last time to photograph the pine tree where I had observed a couple of steady hours of nesting activity. No birds there. I was cold. It was windy. (No birds. No photos.)
Nearby, I checked out a flowerbed, which had a fantastic crocus bloom a couple of years ago, and then, I walked up to a daffodil bed on the other end of the property. (No buds, no sprouts, no anything. No photos.)
No luck at all. Winter did his thing and he won and his photo is my only photo today. But he is done. I sent him home.
I took this photo from my back window the week that I came home from my February trip to southern California.
Fortunately, those icicles are long gone. This past Wednesday night, locally, our record low temperature for the date was broken by 2 degrees. (Many records were broken this winter, but I took note of this one because now it is truly spring. Right?) The record low had been 15° F and now is 13° F. I have decided to declare a win for Winter 2014: You won. You beat us in a record breaking way, and now it really is time for you to go back where you came from... OK? Winter, go home. Now! Do not turn back! The southern hemisphere might be your kind of place right now.
I know that spring is here because I saw two robins (together) in our yard last Saturday. That felt lucky, because even though I usually see a single robin by the first week of march, I really do not remember ever seeing two (together) as my first robin sighting of the year.
Thursday morning, as I drank my coffee, the sun was shinning very brightly and I got caught up in watching a pair of smaller, I think, finches seriously engaged in nest-building in a tall pine tree through my front window. I tried very hard to get a photo and I failed.
The robins and the finches reminded me of the hawk's nest at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA. I remembered that eggs were laid in past March's, and I went to check it out... I learned some very sad news at the "Hawkwatch at the Franklin Institute" blog. But there was also news of reason for hope. Let us all have hope for the Philadelphia Hawks. I do.
Later in the day, after lunch, my outdoor thermometer read 42° F, and that meant it was one of the warmest days of the week. I went out to get my mail and newspaper with my camera in my pocket.
It was very windy. I tried one last time to photograph the pine tree where I had observed a couple of steady hours of nesting activity. No birds there. I was cold. It was windy. (No birds. No photos.)
Nearby, I checked out a flowerbed, which had a fantastic crocus bloom a couple of years ago, and then, I walked up to a daffodil bed on the other end of the property. (No buds, no sprouts, no anything. No photos.)
No luck at all. Winter did his thing and he won and his photo is my only photo today. But he is done. I sent him home.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Paper Lanterns
I am very pleased to introduce you to a very happy little shawlette (that I designed, and) which I named "Paper Lanterns"...
This is a very fun and fast knit! And when knit with this most amazingly round and lofty, and smooth and drapey, and vibrantly colorful yarn called "Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight", you will love every minute of you knitting! I have not yet ever enjoyed the "work" of sample knitting more!
More photos from Blue Moon Fiber Arts...
This pattern, released in January 2014, will be available only to Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin’ Sock Club members for one year. It is still possible to become a 2014 club member, but only until the end of March. The pattern will become available to everyone else in January 2015.
Happy knitting, and thanks for reading!
 |
| © Blue Moon Fiber Arts |
This is a very fun and fast knit! And when knit with this most amazingly round and lofty, and smooth and drapey, and vibrantly colorful yarn called "Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight", you will love every minute of you knitting! I have not yet ever enjoyed the "work" of sample knitting more!
More photos from Blue Moon Fiber Arts...
 |
| © Blue Moon Fiber Arts |
 |
| © Blue Moon Fiber Arts |
This pattern, released in January 2014, will be available only to Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin’ Sock Club members for one year. It is still possible to become a 2014 club member, but only until the end of March. The pattern will become available to everyone else in January 2015.
Happy knitting, and thanks for reading!
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Really Rockin'
Rockin' Sock Club® Spoiler Alert--
This post includes some details about the January 2014 yarn club kit.
I really cannot wait any longer to start talking about my latest design! I am very proud of this one. It was one of those designs that happened effortlessly... like it was meant to be...
First, some background on the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club®... This is a sock yarn club that is going strong in its 9th year. I learned from a Blue Moon Fiber post (by Tina Newton who is the creative spirit that founded and runs BMFA) that the current membership number is in the thousands. Members in the club receive six shipments each year which include one 405 yd skein of Socks that Rock® lightweight or mediumweight yarn in a unique club colorway, along with two patterns commissioned exclusively for the club. In the early years of the club, only a
sock pattern came with each kit. Beginning a few years back, a second
non-sock accessory pattern was also included.
I learned from a March 2011 Knitter's Review post by Clara Parkes, that, in that particular year, she was one of the designers along with Lucy Neatby, Cat Bordhi, Mary Scott Huff, and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.
I learned from this October 2013 Call for Submissions thread in the Designer's Group Discussion Board on Ravelry that in 2014, for the very first time, Blue Moon Fiber Arts would be sourcing designs for their sock yarn club through an open call. The submissions call for January included a link to this inspiration board.
I learned from this October 2013 Call for Submissions thread in the Designer's Group Discussion Board on Ravelry that in 2014, for the very first time, Blue Moon Fiber Arts would be sourcing designs for their sock yarn club through an open call. The submissions call for January included a link to this inspiration board.
"Designer Inspiration Board - January 2014 Sock Club Shipment
We're taking our inspiration from the Chinese Zodiac. 2014 is the year of the wooden horse. Since wood is about trees, it is also considered the year of the green horse. Which makes it the Year of the Green Wooden Horse.
Lanterns. Wood. Green. Horse. New Year. Luck. Hope. Number 7."
Do you see that little bit of an image of paper lanterns all-in-a-row on the right? It totally reminded me of "The Queen's Edging" from Babara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns that I had been swatching. And that, along with some recent design exploration in a sideways-knit shawlette, clicked in my mind... I quickly put a submissions proposal together.
Not so very long later... my design was selected as the RSC non-sock pattern for January! This makes me one of the very first "open call" designers, and I am both proud and exceedingly humble to join the ranks of other RSC designers such as those named above!
I am sharing my design "spark" before the design itself. Let's just say that I am putting my green-wooden-horse in front of my cart until the end of the spoiler period. I am looking forward to next time (in just about a week) when I will introduce you to my "Paper Lanterns".
I am sharing my design "spark" before the design itself. Let's just say that I am putting my green-wooden-horse in front of my cart until the end of the spoiler period. I am looking forward to next time (in just about a week) when I will introduce you to my "Paper Lanterns".
Friday, February 21, 2014
The Best of the Rest
Photos from California.
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| Huntington Beach |
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| Surf at Huntington Beach |
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| Huntington Beach Pier |
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| A Road Stop on the way to Oceanside |
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| Venice Beach |
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| Sidewalk, Venice Beach |
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| Venice Beach Skate Park |
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Grauman's
Chinese Theatre, Hollywood
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From the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014
My Great Escape
Now, I could be wrong, or I could be right, but...
One thing that I got from the comments to my last post "The Lantern Festival" was that (though the pictures were enjoyable to look at) it was not necessarily perceived that I actually took them, in person, on Rodeo Drive, in Beverly Hills, California.
I really and truly was there! On Sunday, February 9, 2014.
My footwear on February 12 (my last full day in CA) working by the pool...
My footwear at home on February 15...
The trip (obviously!) should have been much longer. It was a working trip for Mr K. I tagged along, but I also brought my work. Our sightseeing, and my photos, were somewhat limited... most of it happened on that lovely Sunday. I will share the best of the rest another time.
One thing that I got from the comments to my last post "The Lantern Festival" was that (though the pictures were enjoyable to look at) it was not necessarily perceived that I actually took them, in person, on Rodeo Drive, in Beverly Hills, California.
I really and truly was there! On Sunday, February 9, 2014.
My footwear on February 12 (my last full day in CA) working by the pool...
My footwear at home on February 15...
The trip (obviously!) should have been much longer. It was a working trip for Mr K. I tagged along, but I also brought my work. Our sightseeing, and my photos, were somewhat limited... most of it happened on that lovely Sunday. I will share the best of the rest another time.
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