Eek Steeks!

 I like to think I'm a pretty accomplished knitter, but there are many things in the knitting world I have yet to try. One of them is steeking, or taking a tube of knitting and slicing it open. I struggled to get my head around the idea of taking scissors to a freshly knitted project.

Despite that concern, steeking is a useful technique, especially with some color work projects, so I wanted to give it a try. I had a couple of patterns using steeking on my to-do list, and I needed a good tote bag for when I finally get a real teaching job (fingers crossed, it's hiring season), so I settled on Kristin's Favorite Carry-All (rav link) from Interweave Knits. This knit tote bag combines two techniques I've been wanting to try, steeking and lining with an old favorite, fair-isle style color work. Plus, it is made of worsted weight wool, so it would be a quick knit.

The tube that will become my new bag

Close up of the checker pattern at the steek site.

Surprisingly for me, I stuck with the suggested color combination, brown and orange with green accents. It gives the bag a fun, retro, seventies look.

So I embarked on the first step, knitting the tube that would become the front and back sides.  On either side, between the front and back, is a section  of stitches in a checkered pattern, which would become the steeks.




Now, if you are at all familiar with knit garments, you know that if you cut into knitting it unravels. To avoid this, most steeks are reinforced on either side before cutting. So my next step was to dig out my seldom used sewing machine, and stitch on either side of the planned cut.

Ready to sew! Note the trusty diet coke in the background.

However, I failed to realize how unprepared I was to undergo this task. My first attempt was with white thread (the only color I had in the house) and a lightweight needle (also, it turns out, the only one I had in the house). I should not have been surprised when the needle broke within the first two minutes of attempting to sew through heavy, wool fabric.


So I had to make a supply run. I stocked up on heavy duty needles, regular needles (I figured I would need them sometime down the road) and brown and black thread. And, in a flash of brilliance, I also remembered to grab some bobbins, as I have no idea where my extra ones are.  Now I was prepared to sew.

A close up of the reinforcing stitches.

With the proper supplies, the sewing went much more smoothly. I used a fairly wide zig zag stitch, set at a short stitch length and stitched away (even with the supply run, I'm pretty sure this still took less time than hand sewing would have). To be extra sure that the stitches would hold, I ran a double row of stitches on either side.

Here we go!

Okay, now I was ready to cut. Despite the precaution of the extra row of stitches, I still felt like I needed a couple of beers, but figured this was a job better done sober. I got out my trusted scissors, took a deep breath, and cut.

And, the pieces did not unravel! I had successfully cut steeks in my knitting without ruining the entire piece. My front and back panels were now two separate pieces.

Success!

The bag is far from finished, I still need to knit the gusset, strap, add the green accents, assemble the bag, and then take on lining the bag. But a mini-celebration was in order.

The tote bag has been the main knitting project since I started it, only six days ago. But also on the needles right now is a summer weight cardigan, knit in fingering weight yarn, and as always socks. There are also the projects that are on hold, the tree of life afghan, and the ever present scrap sock yarn blanket, but those are content to sit and wait for me.

Next, I'd like to knit a cute handbag for going out, especially since my purse is huge. And I have some fun rainbow yarn and a nice chain handle all ready for it. As always, I have more projects lined up than actual time to knit, but that's how I like it!

Book Review: The Millennium Trilogy

Titles: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, The Girl who Kicked the  Hornet's Nest
Author: Stieg Larsson


These books have been popular for awhile, so I decided to find out what the fuss was all about. At first, I found the books a little hard to get into. About the first third to half of the first book is spent establishing background of the characters. While necessary to the story, it seemed to jump back and forth between characters with little or no connection to each other. Also, at first, my American-centric brain had some difficulty adjusting to the Swedish names, especially those that seemed similar. 


After the characters are established, the rest of the book moves along at a pretty good pace. Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist convicted a libel is hired by aging Swedish industrialist, Henrik Vanger. Vanger is searching for answers in the disappearance of his great-niece, Harriet, who went missing 36 years ago.  Blomkvist agrees to live on the island where Harriet disappeared and look into her disappearance for one year. 


While researching, Blomkvist seeks the help of Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant computer hacker. Salander is a social misfit with authority issues, a dark past, and no desire to conform to society's norms. 


Blomkvist and Salander form an interesting investigative team, though not always believable or likable. The second part of the novel follows the duo as they dig into the disappearance of Harriet Vanger and uncover dark secrets about the Vanger family.


The second book and third books in the series, "The Girl Who Played with Fire," and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," bring back the characters of the first novel. The books explore Sweden's sex trafficking underworld, corruption in Sweden's secret police force, and violence again women.  These books jump into the action much quicker than the first, mainly because they build upon already established events and characters. Because all of the books are so closely connected, I'm not going to give a plot summary of these two books, in order to prevent spoilers.


Bottom Line:
Larsson's books are filled with action, intrigue, murder, and violence. The characters are multidimensional, and are both extremely likable and maddening at the same time. They are entertaining and engrossing reads.

Project Talk: General Updates

Farmer's Market Cardigan

Every winter, I overestimate the amount of knitting that I will be able to accomplish. For some reason, I think I'll be able to whip through large projects and create a mountain of finished goods. Sadly, that is never the case. I'm human, I get distracted, I decided to watch t.v. or read a book, I have to rip out and reknit entire sections of my work, I have less time than I think I will. You know, life happens.

Still trying to get a
decent picture.

Since the beginning of January, I completed a sweater and a pair of socks. The Farmer's Market Cardigan took forever to complete, especially the shawl collar, but was totally worth it. I love, love, love the finished product (though I've been struggling to get a decent picture of it). It is warm and super comfortable.

See, nothing is really
wrong with them.

The socks also felt like they took forever to complete. By the end of the process, I hated the pattern, hated the yarn, and even hated the knitting needles. I have since found other needles, but that is entirely another story. Even though they are finished, I still haven't warmed to them. I still haven't bothered to take them off of the blockers or even try them on. There isn't anything wrong with them, I'm just rather apathetic toward the entire project.

Cat's Paw Lace Socks

Currently on the needles is another pair of socks. These are Cat's Paw Lace socks, knitted in Poems Sock by Wisdom Yarns. The yarn is a cheaper version of Noro's Silk Garden Sock Yarn, and is pretty roughly spun. But the colors and beautiful and the pattern is easy. The socks are done from the toe up, with a short row heel. It just has a simple, single lace repeat on a stockinette background. It goes fast and I'm already past the heel of the first sock, so I will carry on.

Coming Soon!
Super Secret Project

My current non-sock project is a gift, so it is under a media blackout. But it is going well, and I'm pretty happy with the results so far. Pictures and project details will be posted later.

On deck, are a number of projects. I'd like to get another sweater done before abandoning heavy woolen knitting for the summer. I'm torn between making another Wicked Sweater, this time in a nicer yarn or finally taking on the February Lady Sweater. I'm leaning toward the February Lady Sweater, because I have been wanting to knit that one for a long time, but it always seems to get pushed back as other projects shove their way to the front of the queue.

As far as summer knitting goes, I need to make some washcloths for around the house, but I also have a number of summer weight projects I want to work on. And we cannot forget those unexpected last minute projects that always seem to crop up.

Book Review: Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today

Title: Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today

Author: David Clark

While I try to find a balance between both fiction and nonfiction, if I'm being completely honest, I would have never read this book if it had not been offered for free from amazon.com. That being said, I am glad that I read it. 

I'm not a microbiologist or epidemiologist by any stretch of the imagination (I may have taken a couple of biology classes in college, but that would be the extent of that). However, I do watch television and read the newspaper. I'm in the know about the global AIDS crisis and outbreaks of SARS, bird flu, swine flu, and so on. This book is geared toward people like me, with a basic understanding of epidemics, biology, and history. No need to be a scientist.

"Germs, Genes, & Civilization" (GGC) explores how epidemics have shaped the history of humankind. Author David Clark makes connections between illness and politics, religion, warfare, social development and empire-building, many which I would have never seen without reading this. GGC starts with ancient civilizations, including Egypt, the Indus River Valley, and the Greek and Roman Empires, goes through the spread of the plague and tuberculosis, follows along with malaria and smallpox to the new world, and explores the future pandemics humans may face. 

While all living creatures suffer from illness, GGC also suggests that humans present a unique opportunity for diseases, "No other large animal in the know history of our planet has provided such crowds of individuals, packed closely together, just waiting for some pestilence to move in and multiply" (18).

Don't be fooled by the seriousness of the subject matter here, Clark shows a great deal of humor in the pages of the book as well.

Bottom Line:

While stories about plagues and illnesses may not be well received at your neighborhood cocktail party, the information could come in handy if your ever a contestant on Jeopardy (which is a goal of mine). The book is an interesting read and the information is not too dense for the average reader to absorb. 

Product Review: Amazon Kindle

I love to read, I've pretty much always loved to read. Books have been a major part of my life pretty much since I learned to read (just ask anyone who has ever had to help me move about the number of books that I own).

This is why the Kindle from amazon.com was such a wonderful gift (from my wonderful husband, of course). I've loved it from the moment I got it, but I like to hold off on reviewing things until I've used them for awhile.

Now, I've had the kindle for over 4 months, and I still love it. I love the portability, the size, and being able to have multiple books with me at any time. I love that I can load knitting patterns onto it, I love that I have the New York Times crossword puzzles on it, I love the notebook feature where I can make notes on it, I love that I can highlight the text and post both quotes and book information to facebook and twitter (not that I have a twitter account, but I keep thinking about it), I love the e-ink pearl technology that really does allow me to read in bright light without a glare, I love, love, love it!

Right away, I had to add a couple of, in my opinion, must have accessories. My in-laws were kind enough to give me an apple green lighted leather cover and I went ahead and purchased a second cable (so I have one upstairs to charge it and one downstairs to hook to my computer, I'm weird like that). I've only had the cover for about a month, but I do plan on reviewing it later on.

Before selecting the Kindle, I did read reviews on ereaders, trying to make sure I chose the best on for me. There are a lot of options out there, and which one works best it dependent on  individual needs. I specifically wanted an e-reader, something to read on, I didn't want to surf the internet, go onto facebook, or anything else. I wanted a reader, which in my opinion, amazon makes the best one.  I'm also very loyal to amazon, having purchased many, many things from them and having experienced their excellent customer service. Amazon is a company that I'm happy to do business with. 

Blog Renovations

I started this blog with the best intentions and I still have the best of intentions about it. I mean to blog, I plan on blogging, and then I get distracted by something else. Knitting, reading, television, you know, life.


So, after a long hiatus, I've decided to give the blogging thing another go. And while turning over a new leaf, I figured I'd revamp the blog.


Starting with a new name, The Fifth Step was a great name, while the blog was primarily about my teaching experiences. But, lets face it, the blog isn't about my teaching experiences, so I thought about adopting something more knitting related. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that I didn't want to paint myself into a corner with the blog title, so I figured Mental Scribbles has a nice ring to it. After all, this blog is a place for my mind to express itself (plus I like the doodles on the background).


Then I worked with some design elements, and found a look that I was happy with, for now. I'd also like to set a goal for a minimum number of entries. Currently, I'm shooting for at least on entry a week. So, we'll see how that goes. In addition to knitting updates, I'm planning on posting about the books I'm reading, my teaching experiences, and the life events of an almost thirty year old girl from Wisconsin.


So, here we go again.

In Need of Brightness

Brightness as in bright, cheery colors, not as in intelligence. I finished up my circle scarf, Encompass.

It is hard to capture the awesomeness of the piece in photos, I need to get some action shots of it. The scarf is a large circle (hence the name circle scarf), and can be worn several different ways. I am partial to looping it around my neck twice, so it forms a thick, squishy scarf. I also can take one of the loops up over my head like a hood. It works great.

Encompass is knit from Malabrigo yarn, in the colorway SFO sky. Which matches my Jack-in-the-Box mittens. The colorway is made of shades of white, black, and grey, which goes with any winter gear that I own.However, as much as I love it, the colors are a little drab, especially for knitting in the middle of a Wisconsin winter. It didn't help matters that I was also working on this pair of socks during the same time frame.

Both the pattern and the color are called Hedwig, named after Harry Potter's beloved snowy owl. The yarn, dyed by Dani at Sunshine Yarns, is a cream colored base, with black, greys, and a hint of brown. It captures a snowy owl perfectly, but again can be a little drab to work with in January.

A quick aside, Sunshine Yarns is one of my favorite sources for hand painted sock yarns. It is a one woman company in Colorado. The dyer gathers inspiration from a variety of sources, including Harry Potter, Twilight, and natural scenery. I've purchased many colorways from this site and never have been disappointed.

Having completed a couple of grey toned projects, I knew my next adventures would have to be done in some brighter colors.

I'm still working on my Farmer's Market Cardigan, which is a beautiful rust orange color, but I needed inspiration for a pair of socks.  I finally decided on a pattern that I have had in my Ravelry queue for sometime now, Pomatomus. Named after a fish, the pattern resembles fish scales, which led me to select a blue yarn for socks.  I selected a skien of Sterling Sheep Yarn, from a dyer on Etsy. The sock yarn is spun with a silver thread, giving the finished project some added sparkle. The colorway, Castiel, is a collect of blues, ranging from pale sky blue, to a deep, almost navy blue (Castiel, being named for Misha Collins' character on the tv series Supernatural) Of course, my camera did not accurately capture the colors, but you get an idea of the fish-scale like design. It'll provide a much needed break from the grey projects I had been working on.