Knitting

Repurposed

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This may be one my best ahas. I made a pair of mittens a few years ago while on Seguin.

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They were a problem from the get go. They were different lengths and one thumb was in the wrong place. I wore them for a couple of years but decided it was time to find them a new home. I had them in the back of my car and drove around with them for a few weeks before inspiration struck.

I brought them back home, cut the palms off both, cut the wristbands open and sewed them together into one band. This is what steeking is all about – cutting up your knitwear with abandon- or with caution, depending on how much you love the item coming under the blade. I didn’t even stitch the raw edges because they were going to be sewn in a seam.

I still needed a top for the hat. I cut open the palms in the middle and preserved the side decreases. I discarded the thumbs, sewed the opened palms together, then sewed them onto the band and voila!

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My knitwear finds a new use.

Strings and strings

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I worked on an overshot pattern I had on my floor loom for as long as I could tolerate it and then decided it was time for something else. Since I still had a lot of yarn warped, I decided to rethread it. It went easily but I made a bunch of mistakes in an 8″ warp!

Two threads were in the wrong heddles and I couldn’t just slide the right ones over because the area was closed in by threads. I needed to insert a new heddle and I remembered reading about string heddles. So I improvised and made a couple and saved the day – or at least the hour.

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They work quite well and now I’m off weaving some huck lace from Judith Davison’s book of patterns.

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There’s still a mistake, which is way more obvious in the photo than in real life but I couldn’t figure out, so it remains and becomes a design element.

My Ashford reed holder, double weave wall hanging is progressing slowly but nicely. It’s probably a good thing the lower layer will be against the wall.

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I got a chance to use my yarn swift and nostespinne and wound a few balls of cascade 220 to begin Alice Starmore’s St. Brigid. I went down a needle size and eliminated the first chart to make a more fitted sweater.

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At this point, I’m very proud of the ball of yarn. I’m not sure if the sweater will be done by Christmas but certainly by winter’s end.

I’m on the Knitpicks podcast!

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One of the first podcasts I listened to was Kelley Petkun from Knitpicks describing what knitting she would do on a deserted island. I still have that podcast on my iPod. She introduced me to the idea of a Pi shawl as great island knitting and I cast my first one during a hiking trip in the Grand Canyon when I couldn’t possibly take another step. . Since then, I’ve listened to episodes about the creative process, knitting, designers, yarn lines, football, spinning and life in general and I am hooked. I began listening during my hour long commute into Manhattan to work.

I remember trying to describe why I listened to knitting podcasts to my stepson. He couldn’t imagine what would possibly capture my (or his) attention for 30 minutes. But it’s so much more than knitting. And now it brings me back to the Knitpicks podcast because on their 200th celebratory episode, Kelley revisits deserted island knitting and refers to MY BLOG as an example. Because I knit on deserted islands! And love it. And hope to continue doing it because, after the first time, it keeps getting better and easier. Food planning and packing gets simplified.

Some of my best projects were envisioned and completed in remote settings. Like Tim’s Christmas penguin! knit while on Deal Island Tasmania with some beautiful organic merino roving gifted to me by a new friend in Tasmania, which I spun and knit during my three months there. Or the four pairs of socks I have knit for myself on Seguin Island. Or the warm vest I modified and knit on Deal Island. This podcast makes me appreciate and remember what a wonderful life I live.

Today, in the mountains, I worked on three projects: a pair of socks for my daughter’s friend

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A double weave wall hanging with pockets to hold at least some of my weaving tools

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And I continue to work on the overshot sampler

To think, I was working and commuting when I began listening and now I have given most of it up am living the life I never dreamed of!

Sandy swung west

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And missed us. Many others were not so lucky. I was glued to the weather channel and CNN as water swept over some of my old haunts and harbors. 8.5 million people without power for several weeks due to damaged wires and transformers, which exploded. Cars floated in lower Manhattan and houses were destroyed by floods or fires.

We were spared but the County had taken emergency preparedness measures: schools, offices were closed and a talk I was scheduled to give today was postponed. And it turned out to be a beautiful day with a mild breeze.

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I finished a pair of felted clogs for myself, which I may embellish with embroidery.

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Then I headed to the wood pile and chopped wood until I couldn’t stand up straight. Maybe a week’s worth.

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My knitwear is on CNN!

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The real focus is Seguin Island Lighthouse and Life as a Remote Island Lighthouse Caretaker. There was a video filmed on that hectic day when the work party came to work on windows and help close up. You can see the video here.

However during the video I managed to wear threefour of my handknit items. It was very cold and damp on the day of the taping, so I wore a handspun headband made with yarn spun by a friend of mine who took care of my wheel when I was living in Australia for five months.

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The project information is here.

There’s a very brief glimpse of my fingerless gloves when we haul the dinghy up the beach.

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Their project info is here. They are very special because the fiber was gifted to me by a new friend in Tasmania and I spun (on a turkish drop spindle) and knit them during my 3 months on Deal Island, Tasmania in 2010/2011.

At the end (and the beginning but it’s hidden under another layer) is my first sweater, an Aran pullover made, too small, for Tim, so it is mine.

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Pattern info is here.

What you can’t see are my hand knit socks. I think I actually wore two pair because my feet got wet in the morning. At least one pair were these, knit on Seguin Island in 2008.

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So there’s a hidden story to life on remote islands as well.

Of fish and fiber

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I spent the past couple of days holed up inside finishing a number of fiber projects. I completed a zipper baby cardigan which I just love.

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The Marble Chunky yarn by James Brett is beautiful and will be machine washable. I knit a garter stitch button band as I went and it was so easy to insert a zipper by machine.

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It has a seed stitch yoke so I didn’t mind back and forth knitting but otherwise knit a bottom up raglan as one piece. Then to top it off, I made care labels by computer, printed directly onto fabric with Jacquard inkjet Fabric sheets. . The only drawback is I have to set the ink before I sew it on and don’t have any Scotchguard on hand.

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A favorite little summer dress of mine deteriorated and I decided to make a copy. I roughed out the pattern pieces on an old sheet and stitched away. I am pretty happy with the finished product.

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I finished a set of rag placemats on my rigid heddle loom. I may have worked up the courage to approach my floor loom again.

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So this morning I went fishing and spent most of the time trying NOT to catch the little minnows that were attracted to my lure. Not the elusive trout though.

Speaking of placemats and water, I devised these for the boat. I used that rubbery non-skid shelf liner and bound it with upholstery fabric. Hopefully it will keep the dishes in place.

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Finally, my clothing sewing began this summer with this cute little wrap dress. The rayon fabric is pretty but not quite stretchy enough so I look fine standing still but can’t reach for things too well.

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Bing, bing, bing. That’s a typical week for me. What will it be today?

Back to homework

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Our farm share now includes cream cheese and we decided to make cheese blintzes for breakfast. I found a low(er) calorie recipe online at MyRecipes.com. They were a smashing success. I’m pretty proud of the presentation as well.

I finished this lovely Na Craga sweater after we got home from sailing. I knit both sleeves while on the boat. It’s been assembled, blocked and the collar was modified a little bit. Instead of a rolled funnel collar, I made a crew neck. I fear it may be too big. So I will hand deliver it and figure out what alterations need to be made. My gauge was correct but my son wanted it longer and now I could wear it as a dress (and I don’t like showing my knees). It’s also the first time I made a drop shoulder sweater and didn’t really account for the part of the sweater that was part of the sleeve, so the sleeves double as hand warmers for me. We’ll see. At least I know I have the means to alter it and make it smaller if I have to. Much better than having to make it bigger. It took 21(!) skeins of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes.

I’m working on a pair of socks for a Friend’s birthday. I am using the embossed leaves pattern from Favorite socks. I made a pair for myself in the summer of 2008, while at Seguin Lighthouse, and I still wear them at least weekly. They are one of my nicest pairs and I thought the pattern goes really well with this yarn, Melody by Jojoland.

Since the sweater is complete I am ready to tackle a quilt for my daughter. I’m using beautiful batik blues and greens from Hoffman fabrics. It seems one of the good things about batiks are you can’t tell the front from the back. I think this will piece together pretty quickly and may even try to bring the top to her next week so we can pick out a border and backing. I may be too ambitious but it’s supposed to rain and/or snow all next week.

Works in process

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I am a work in process.  I have started physical therapy, actually put a sneaker on my foot and used an exercise machine!  Yeah.  I was given permission to throw my crutches in the Lake and am walking about on my own two feet, with the aid of a walking cast.  This goes in the Lake in three weeks.  My mobility has enabled me to tackle and almost complete a myriad of projects and now I can cook and bake in the kitchen without the aid of a chair in the middle of the kitchen.  I am still not getting out too much due to the layer of ice over everything so all my recent adventures have taken place at home on the range.

On the knitting front, I am working on two Santa Cruz hoodies as an overdue gift for two young boys.  One is taking up a ton of yarn and I ran out of one color on the sleeve so did a sleeve-sleeve transfusion.  I used the yarn from the long sleeve as I ripped it out, to knit the short sleeve.  So while one shrunk, the other grew until they were even, then I had to add a stripe.  As soon as I finish them, I have given myself permission to begin work on a Aran sweater for my son.  He has approved the pattern and yarn and if I can stick to the pattern and knit the gauge, all should go well. (ha ha ha)

Circle of Loki

 

 

 

 

 

On the quilting front, I finished the cat quilt and Loki spends a lot of time sleeping on it curled into a tight ball.  Once that was finished, I tackled the machine quilting of my kaleidoscope quilt.  I had to   wrestle the queen size quilt through my sewing machine but now have only the borders left.  I devised a quilting pattern that avoids dragging the whole thing through the machine again.  I am having mild panic that the marker I am using – now like an artist’s paintbrush all over the quilt- won’t come out as easily as the manufacturer says it will.  Why do I always ignore the suggestion to try a test patch first?

 

 

Quilting

Weaving has had mixed results.  I was able to use my walking cast to work the treadles of the floor loom but felt a bit like Herman Munster.  So my twill scarves remain on it.  I have been weaving with my rigid heddle loom and am trying to master a table runner for my daughter.  The first was a disaster.  I used rayon, which looked so pretty and shiny, but didn’t stretch – at all – and wasn’t able to hide my weaving errors.  Now I am using recycled cotton and applying the lessons learned from the rayon disaster.

Weaving in progress

 

 

Baking is going well.  I used my new crumpet rings with great success, make sandwich rolls regularly, have found a source of rennet to continue making mozzarella cheese and think I may have perfected the art of bagels.  More about that later because it involves broiling, boiling and baking.

Crumpets

 

Rolls

Did I cut a steek or just steek?

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One major barrier I was reluctant to tackle in knitting was the concept of steeking.  To steek is to knit an item, then take a sharp scissor and cut the knit fabric (which may have taken months to create).  I had some practice when I cut an old sweater sleeve  for Shirley to make a cat coat.  But there was no risk there.  The sweater was already rejected by all who came in contact with it.

Why would one want to steek?  There are lots of times in knitting when it is easier to knit something in the round – in one big circle.  Fair Isle garments, with their colorful patterns, are knit in the round, which is fine for a hat or a pullover, but if you want a cardigan, or even sleeves in the pullover, it has to be cut.  In my case, I wanted to knit a cardigan with a striped yarn.  So I added a few extra stitches in the middle, knit the whole sweater in the round and then stitched two protective seams just off the middle and cut between them.   I fiddled around with adding a button band and sewing down the cut edges and voila, a cardigan knit in the round.

I’m off to cut up all my knit items.  Or to learn how to knit backwards.

 

Mementos

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Everything around me has meaning or memories.  That’s why I keep them.  China in the cabinet is from my aunts, grandparents and parents.  Although I don’t use the pieces often (mostly because I have inadvertently  juggled stemware while washing), I can remember using them when we were younger.  When I became single again as an adult, I chose to use my heirloom silver forks, knives etc., daily, and continue to do so.  Better than keeping them in a box stored away where they have to be polished before use on special occasions.

I have feathers and rocks, which used to be organized by where I collected them.  There were  Pacific and Atlantic collections.  Somehow over the years, and endless moves, they’ve become jumbled together into a couple of baskets but they still remind me of where I was when I found them.  I think I can still tell them apart if I had to.

Most of the handknit items I made for myself have distinct memories.  I have the Pi shawl,  started when I was near death in the Grand Canyon (well I felt like it anyway) and finished while we were living on our sailboat. I can still remember getting anchor mud on it when I went back to knitting it after I acted as a windlass and hauled the anchor off a muddy bottom.  I have at least two pair of socks, knit while caretaking Seguin Island in different seasons.  And a summer top and tee shirt as well.

Deal Island produced a cowl, headband, socks, vest, stuffed penguin and socks. Many of these items were knit from yarn I spun through the generosity of a fellow knitter I met in  Tasmania.

And now I have polished nails.  I traveled south to New York City last weekend for a reunion with some of my dearest friends from medical school.  We were celebrating a significant birthday for one of us and had a spa day.  I had a facial, where at least 20 creams were applied to my face in thirty minutes.  Or perhaps one cream was applied 20 times in thirty minutes.  Who could tell?  Once the first coat was applied, I had to keep my eyes closed.  I also had a manicure, which is a novelty for me.  Now I can look at my polished nails and remember good times with friends.