Fibery Exhibitionism

I’ve been knitting for almost ten years now, and my skills have developed considerably from the time I started. Like any artist, I’m proud of my accomplishments and try to take advantage of opportunities to showcase my work. Usually this comes in one of two forms, either posting pictures on various social media outlets (primarily Ravelry, Twitter, and Facebook) or dragging the knitted goods around with me and showing them to anyone who looks even remotely interested. This year, I took advantage of another method of showing off my work, I entered several pieces into the county fair.


I come from (and still live in) rural Wisconsin and I can remember while growing up, the county fair was an extremely big deal. It has lost some of its luster now, but still includes a variety of events, including a needle work contest. Every year, I think about entering items into it, but usually not until after the entry deadline has passed.

This year, I managed to be on top of things and got the entry form in on time (and by on time I mean the day before it was due). I decided to enter pieces in five categories (knitters are limited to one item per category). I entered my Invisibility Wrap, my Llama Chullo hat, my Spatterdash fingerless gloves, my Carry-All Tote and my Cubist socks shawl. That seemed to offer a fair cross-section of my knitting abilities.

By the time I dug out the pieces, washed and reblocked the ones that needed it, I was pleased with my entries. I felt there were a couple of pieces that had a chance of winning a ribbon. I dropped off the pieces at the fairgrounds and went back Friday after the judging had been completed.

I was surprised to find that out of five pieces, I had won five ribbons. Yup, every piece had one something. My Llama hat and my Carry-All tote both took firsts, with the Llama hat also winning a Special Merit Award. The socks, Invisibility wrap, and Spatterdash mitts all took seconds.

Entering the pieces in the fair wasn’t about winning ribbons, and with my prizes adding up to a grand total of about $9, it certainly wasn’t about the prize money. However, I would like to think that it wasn’t just about ego, either. For me, a big part of knitting is the tradition. Knitters today are doing basically the same thing that they’ve been doing for generations. We might be doing them for different reasons (because we want to rather than we need to), we might have newer tools, and a wider variety of materials available; but the process is still the same. Generations of knitters have been making socks, mittens, hats, purses, and other things. And generations of knitters have been entering their best work into county fairs and other exhibitions for the feeling of pride that comes from knowing that you have a skill and you are good at the skill.

And, a lot of it is ego.

 

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Long Overdue Sheepcote Photos

Okay, so I finished this sweater way back in March.

I just never got around to posting the pictures of it, which have been sitting on my camera since March. But here they are now. Late winter/early spring was a bit of a blah time for me, but hopefully spring and summer will renew my interest in both knitting and blogging and get me back on track with some other things as well.

Anyways, I am vey happy with the way the sweater turned out. It could have been a size smaller, but it is still very cute and wearable. There is something satisfying about finishing projects and about being able to say, "Thanks, I made it," to compliments.

I have two sweaters currently on the needles. The much anticipated February Lady Sweater is about halfway done. However, it is on pause as I race to finish another cardigan, the Teal Top-Down Cardigan (in yellow) for a wedding in the beginning of June. I also have the Citron shawl on the needles, but I'm waiting for another ball of yarn to arrive in order to finish it.

Hopefully, updates n those projects won't be so delayed.

 

Project Talk: Some Assembly Required

As a process knitter, I’m not a huge fan of finishing work. Why waste the time doing silly things like blocking, weaving in ends, and sewing seams when you could be actually knitting. I would think finding the motivation to finish would be easier for project orientated knitters, as it is a vital step in having a completed project (but seeing as I’m not a project orientated knitter, I cannot be sure. Anybody want to verify?).



Spatterdash Mitts, Done!

Thankfully, most of the projects I choose to work on don’t require too much in the way of finishing work. There are exceptions, the Carry-All Tote and Hey Teach! cardigan being the freshest ones in my mind. Thankfully, the Spatterdash fingerless gloves from Knitty.com didn’t require all that much finishing work. Just the usual blocking, weaving a couple of ends, two seams, and some buttons.  Okay, not some buttons, many buttons, a lot of buttons, 14 buttons per glove.

Definently worth the finishing.

But the end result is worth it. They turned out beautifully! The yarn is Imagination Hand-painted Sock yarn from KnitPicks.com in the colorway Wicked Witch, and it is amazing! I’m not a huge fan of it for socks, I have trouble with shrinkage and felting (I line dry, but machine wash, which might be part most of the problem), but the colors are amazing and the yarn comes out so soft after blocking! I think I’ll stick to using it for non-sock accessories. Stroll, also from Knit Picks, is my absolute favorite for socks, just in case anyone was wondering.

Sheepcote sleeves and start of the main body.

In other project news, I’ve completed the second sleeve and cast of for the body of the Sheepcote pullover, from the Twist Collective and am on the leg of the second of my Surfin’ Peacock socks, so I’m making progress, little by little. Once finished with the Peacock socks, I’ll be (hopefully) testing my Packer Sock pattern and after Sheepcote, I am absolutely, no excuses, finally getting to the February Lady sweater.

And a side note about the sleeves of the Sheepcote, the are 3/4 length sleeves on a yolked sweater. So I know that they look short and chunky, but I've tried them on and they are going to work out great for the sweater.

626? A Bit of a Lofty Goal

It's not really a secret, I'm a big fan of Ravelry, a website geared toward knitters and crocheters. It is a giant database of patterns, has a ton of information on yarns, provides a place to show off finished products, allows you to keep track of your yarn stash, and has very active forums, with groups geared toward not only tips and tricks for fiber artists, but also just about any topic imaginable. I'm continually amazed at just how much time I can spend browsing around on Ravelry. 

It seems that the pattern database and queue feature is where I tend to get in a little bit over my head.There are multiple ways you can search or browse patterns on Ravelry. You can search by pattern type, availability (free, online, in my collection of knitting books, in other print sources, etc.), by yarn types or weight, project type, intended age, the list goes on and on. When you find a pattern that you like, there is an option to add it to your queue, your personal list of patterns that you are planning on. or would like to knit. I've spent many hours looking through patterns and adding them to my queue. Currently, my list spans over 20 pages and contains 626 items.

In considering the size of my list, combined with the fact that the rate of adding new patterns to the list is exceeding by far the rate of finishing projects and starting new ones, this is going to be a never ending list. Clearly, I need to either knit faster, or add less patterns to the list.

Project Update: 

I've finished the first one of the Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang. They are a pretty simple project, but have given me the opportunity to learn some new techniques. I've learned a new method of both casting on and binding off ribbing, the tubular cast-on and tubular bind-off (or Kitchener rib bind-off). And, I always enjoy the chance to do some color work. The picture quality is not good, it was taken in poor lighting, but the combination of the brown and orange looks really good in real life. (and I probably owe a special thank you to Lily, who allowed me to set the mitt on her back while photographing it)

Adventures in Sock Design: Episode One- A Bad Start

I've been knitting for some time now, eight years, give or take. During that time, I've tried my hand at designing some really simple projects, mainly iPod cozies, and modified some designs, like Sophie's Avatar inspired hoodie. However, I never really have tried to create something of my own design from the ground up.


For my first ground up design attempt, I'm doing something very familiar to me, socks. I've made lots of socks (lots of socks by my standards, not by a professional knitters standards) so I know the basic elements that go into the creation of a sock. I know roughly how many stitches to cast on, how to make a cuff, how to knit a heel flap, how to turn a heel, the amount of gusset stitches to pick up, and how to decrease for a toe. 


I've been wanting to design my own socks for awhile, but lacked that final kick in the pants motivation to actually start designing. My mom frequently requests socks from me, and her birthday is at the end of the month. So, a perfect chance to try my hand at designing.


Anyone who has met my mother knows, she is a huge die-hard fan of the Green Bay Packers. So what better for a birthday gift than a pair of Packer socks. Find some green yarn and some gold yarn, do a little stranded color work or striping, and easy-peasy a pair of socks.


Right?

The colors look better in real life!

Wrong. I should know by now, if something is easy in my head there is no chance that it will actually be easy. 




My first hurdle came in finding the correct color of sock yarn. I flipped through catalog after catalog and poured over websites with no luck. Anything I found in the right shade wasn't the right weight or was way too expensive. Finally I came across the Solid Series by the Loopy Ewe. This sock yarn comes in 90 different colors, including Kelly Green and Sunshine Yellow, which turned out to be the perfect colors that I needed. 

Inspiration Pile

I had my yarn, the next step was to pour over my resources for inspiration and ideas. I had an idea about what I wanted to do, but needed to look around and be sure. Armed with a clipboard and some knitter's graph paper (normal graph paper has squares, but knit stitches are not square), several patterns, and Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks for reference, I began to sketch, erase, doodle, and curse. 


I had my ideas, yarn, needles, and some scribbled notes that would start to serve as my pattern, I was ready to cast on. I cruised along through the first cuff, and a stripe and started on my first chart. That's when the next problem cropped up. When I cast on, I used 64 stitches, but for some reason my chart was based on 65 stitches. Some minor modifications and onward. The I realized that when following the chart, I needed to account for a cuff-down sock essentially coming out upside down. Another rip back and more modifications.


Then I started making real progress. I finished working the first chart and the next stripe underneath it. Then, I tried on the sock to check the fit (my mom and I have about the same sized feet), and couldn't get the sock past my heel. When working the stranded colorwork, I didn't think about stretching the float (the yarn carried behind the work) enough to account for the stretch of the knitted fabric. 


And now we're ripping it out and trying again.

Finishing Touches

One panel done, one to go!

After successfully steeking my new tote bag, the next step was to knit the other pieces (gusset, strap, and button band), and then tackle the finishing work.


The first of the finishing steps was the addition of green accents on the bag. The accents came in the form of green trim on top and green duplicate stitches throughout the front and back panels of the bag. Duplicate stitches are tedious, slow, and in general a big pain. But the green added so much to the bag, that it was worth all of the trouble of the work.

The Carry All Tote, some assembly required!

The next step was the assembly of the bag, first gathering all of the pieces together, then sewing the gusset to one panel, then to the other. After that, adding the strap and the button flap, creating the bag.

A fun spotted lining!

But, it wasn't finished yet. Knit fabric stretches, which can be a problem for a tote bag, but this problem is easily remedied, with the addition of a lining made from woven fabric. The lining adds durability, strength, and shape to the bag. For the lining, I selected a fun black fabric with brown and orange spots. A smarter person would have selected a lighter fabric to make it easier to find things inside the bag, but I'm not going to dwell on that.


After some debating, I also decided to line the strap, to prevent it from getting stretched out of shape during use. Especially if I loaded the bag with anything heavy.


Finally, I added the last touch, a button, which I discovered while searching in my button collection. And, viola, my carry all tote is complete!

The finished product!

I am absolutely thrilled with how this project turned out. It was a quick knit (only 10 days, start to finish), and looks great! I love how the colors turned out (the last picture represents the colors the best). I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I think it should be highly utile and should make a great bag to haul teacher supplies to and from school. Now, if only the job hunt turns out as well as the bag!