blogdogblog

Symmetry

Still thinking about mirror-images and symmetry. Mirror imaging a motif is a type of reflective symmetry. If you are Burning Bright to know more about symmetry, visit this informative site.

Visitor News:

They're only here for a few more days. Today we're off to the Met; wish you were here.

Today's Question:

What's the deal with felted bags? Why are so many people making multiples?

Have a great weekend! See you Monday with an update on the gorgeous Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan.

mirror rorrim

I used to think of myself as a rather timid knitter. But with each passing stranded knit, I find myself becoming the knitting equivalent of Rocky Balboa...sure, I take some hits, but sometimes, I'm completely victorious! Yesterday was a very busy Wednesday, and I only knit two rows, but those two rows delivered a knock-out punch to my former knitting personality.

I was fully prepared to knit my gorgeous new Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan in the designer's size because I was, well, yes, I admit it: I was Scared of Changing the Motifs. I mean, I was sort of okay with changing the colors? But monkeying with the number of stitches in a highly complex design? Scary, knittin-dudes.

So, I remained intrigued by a sentence in the Wool Gathering pattern description. Meg Swansen wrote: "With the mirror imaging described, you can work with any size, any motif, and any number of stitches."

Huh? Any number of stitches? Well! Gottatrythat. Do you know about mirror imaging in a charted design? Right! But do you really get it? I didn't, until last night when I increased stitch count from the first of the four charts to the second chart. Through the magic of mirror imaging, I could start my second chart anywhere in the chart, and so long as I had a center back stitch marked, I could add five, 10, even 17 stitches and still make the chart pattern work out to its original design specs. Work out beautifully, in fact! I'm very excited over this knitting advancement. It's still too fragile in my consciousness to describe fully to you, but if you have the chance to knit a Meg Swansen Fair Isle, you'll have a passport into some very brilliant knitting. G'wan! I dare ya! Take your knitting to a new level! She's simply the greatest. And your knitting liberation is at hand.

Even Della wants to give her a big kiss:

Oh! Note to Carolyn F: It's a Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan because it employs a Giant Latvian Motif.

Small Blogging World!

One of my favorite online people found me yesterday through a linked comment I'd made on Wendy's wonderful site. Karen Berglund! and she has a blog now too! She and her husband John are artists, and if you select this link, you'll see some of the most beautiful and functional wooden art ever. When I bought Sister's birthday present this year, Karen helped me by emailing images of the perfect bowl. If you like useful and lovely things, be sure to check out the awesome woodworking at the Berglunds.

Armchair Adventures Dept:

Today is the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt. Everest. Mount Everest is 29,028 ft high, in Nepal, and named after Sir George Everest. Cubicle dwellers, click here and dream. Happy Thursday, everyone.

PWYC

PWYC is knittin' shorthand for Meg Swansen's Purl-When-You-Can method of working a stranded knit...it's wonderful for knitters like me who don't like to wait for the fun part of two-color knitting! No delay, and look how it lays flat as a pancake. No curling on this edge-baby:

Have a closer look to temper your disbelief:

Please Wind Yarn Charlie?
Purple Wishes Yellow Candy?
Pups Will Yelp Candidly?

No! Purl-When-You-Can! for a non-curling border with no loathsome ribbing. All the details are in the same issue of Wool Gathering (#67) as the beautiful cardigan design. M. Swansen writes that her motifs were inspired by the Latvian charts in Latvian Knitting and Latvian Mittens. But somehow she does something different with her charts; like the Mimbres, this is a song of a sweater. Very rhythmical and pleasant to knit. Added bonus for me that you can't see—the lower border colors are rust and silver, but in the light, the silver has taken on a slightly green overtone, and the rust is more mellow...looks like knitted verdigris.

Pup News:

I think the pups are getting S.A.D. from all the rain and gray weather. Either that or they sneaked a peek at Wendy's copy of the summer Knitters.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! How are you, by the way? I've been so busy with my houseguests that I forgot to ask. Please excuse me, and please send an update soon.

Various

Oh dear what a lot of rain we have had. I think the pups may be getting moldy. Simply days and days of this:

I seem to have caught whatever Teresa had when she was starting the Shirt-Tailed Fair Isle, and had to rip three times before having a proper beginning. But the third time's the charm, and I'm now happily working away at the PWYC border of the Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan. It is so excellent to be able to dive right into the luscious border, rather than laboring over a ribbing. What a beautiful design. I'm eager to show you a progress photo. Maybe tomorrow!

Textile News:

How about this? 80,000 volts for unauthorized contact with the wearer. Designed with princess seams, for her.

Or this? I'd actually like to be able to knit with some of this fiber that can emit its own light. Can't wait!

Or this? Let your knitting work for you for a change!

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Chant for sunshine, please.

ems

Memorial Day

It's pouring, so I think the Memorial Day Parade will be rained out here.

Monday

And Sister has to work. Why not visit her blog and take a look at the art dolls she's making? Leave a comment for her to enjoy while she's at work in Austin.

Mimbres

My Mimbres interpretation is finished, and I'm very happy with it. I've linked it from my gallery of Finished Stuff, so have a look. Here's the top portion of the back, with its reversed colors. I think it's gorgeous, and reversing gives a mysterious and beautiful effect.

I so recommend this Meg Swansen design to you. It is a completely lyrical knitting experience! And I've learned a number of new things: double i-cord, crocheted steeks, and what happens if you combine two handpaint yarns in one design. I like it. If it ever stops raining here, I'll take some better photos in daylight so you can see it in its true loveliness.

Meanwhile

Charts enlarged? Check
Skeins wound into balls? Check
Pattern numbers adjusted? Check
The Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan is ready to go.
Lock and load the Addi turbos.

I've also added a link in the sidebar to my Crocheted Steek experience that captures my blog entry on the subject. Give it a try next time you steek; it gives wonderful results.

Mena

Mena Trott of Moveable Type sent word announcing their new publishing software: TypePad. Check it out if you were considering moving your blog to Moveable Type, but were intimidated by setup and installation. Cool!

Mikey

As mentioned previously, it's pouring rain, so the pups are finding other things to do today. Hope you will too. Cheers!

Heaps

Yesterday brought a heap of happy news to my universe.

Best

My very smart nephew Geoffrey was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. Here he is with his certificate:

I think it's difficult being a very smart kid in our culture; I'm glad that good work and intelligence is recognized. His mom, the beautiful and skull-clad Laura is an excellent mom in the pantheon of Great Moms.

Next-Best

My wool arrived! Pure J&S Shetland by way of Schoolhouse Press. Here's a photo of its loveliness:

Its arrival means I can start winding wool and then swatching for my next project, the incredibly beautiful and intricate Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan, from Wool Gathering #67. I've been coveting this design for quite a while; all that stands between me and it now is some very pleasurable knitting! Sweet!

Pretty Good

I found out at work yesterday that I don't have to go in today; so it's a four-day weekend for me! That means lots of knitting and relaxing time!

Pleasant

And the pups had good news. There was a cancellation at Sandy Paws, the groomer they love, so everybody got to pile into the car and ride to Sea Bright.

They love visiting Dawn and her lovely assistant:

And I love having nice clean pups.

How About You?

Is that heaps of nice news or what? Happy Friday, happy weekend, everyone! What's happening in your world? I know David is playing in his first violin recital. Go wish him luck!

I-cord, therefore I am

Knitting on a second layer of i-cord:

You know what I love about this i-cord business is that it makes you feel so smart! You end up with a nice little tube of knitting as your border. It's a very good finish for the Mimbres vest.

So, as unvented by Elizabeth Zimmermann as Applied I-cord, you just pick up your stitches, cast on two cord or three cord stitches, and you're off to the races. Very cool! Meg Swansen has even made gloves out of i-cord. Geane used it to finish her Celtic KeyKnot cushion. I'm i-cording per the instructions in Knitting Around, EZ's book.

Pup News:

Della had a brief rain-free interval to explore the dandelions.

Thursday Already

Thanks very much, everyone, for your kind comments on the crocheted steeks. This weekend I'll add it to this site as a webpage, with questions answered. Speaking of the weekend, it's only a day away now! Yeah! Enjoy!

I-Cord. U-Cord?

Yesterday, using Elizabeth Zimmermann's clever technique, I i-corded around my Mimbres armholes. My first round of applied i-cord:

Pretty sweet!

But check out the inner armhole with its crocheted steek:

Totally Sweeeet! I remain completely enamored of crocheted steeks! And why not? Can you stand it? No ends! No fuzzy bits! Just a sleek little facing with a crochet-chain edge. I may have to wear my vest inside-out periodically, just because I think the steeks are so splendid!

Now, back to i-cord. I found it very pleasant to work a two-stitch i-cord around the edges. Today I'll cast on another two stitches and add another layer in turquoise.

Do you have Elizabeth Zimmermann's book Knitting Around? It's the one that contains the charming Digressions. EZ must have been the ultimate Knitting Geek, to use my blog-pal Teresa's happy phrase from yesterday's comments. I'm a knitting geek too, because I love clever technical stuff about knitting. Anyway, Knitting Around has more clever uses for i-cord than you can imagine! And certainly more than I could list here in a week of blogging. Check it out and be amazed!

Wednesday Wednesday Wednesday

Della says Woof it up!

Sleek Steeks!

There are some great references on the web for dealing with the wily steek: Flor, Wendy, and Geane can walk you beautifully through a Norwegian or Fair Isle-type steek preparation. But so far, the only reference I've found to crocheted steeks is in the much-mentioned and very excellent Sweaters from Camp. There are a number of reasons to desire a fastidious steek, but mine is that I don't have a sewing machine. And the unsecured steeks on Laura's vest (in which I used the knit-then-whack-with-scissors approach) nearly gave me the vapors.

So yesterday I sat down with my Mimbres and, with book nearby and crochet hook in hand, crocheted my steeks.

Basically, you're chaining the right and left halves of the center steek stitches together:

Because I speckled the steeks, it was easy to alternate picking up a brown stitch half and a turquoise stitch half. However, had I striped the steeks, I could have focused on one light half and one dark half. Here's the front steek in its crocheted glory:

Guess what? All I had to do next was snip the bars between the chain . . .

The result? Sleek Steeks!

Fabulous! No ends to deal with, no weaving--no mess, no fuss! Check out those tidy edges!

When I apply the i-cord a la Elizabeth Zimmermann, I'll just be picking up the brown steek edge stitch. The rest of the steek is sleekly and tidily finished. Awesome! Why do it any other way? Well, actually, there's one good reason to do it another way—if you are using a slicker yarn than Shetland. such as Heilo. As always, for further information on innovative knitting techniques like this, consult the Master.

Today I'll work on the applied i-cord after work, and then will be dreaming of my next project. The wool's in the mail!

It's Tuesday.

Try something different. Jack and Della wish you a good day, and happy steeking.

100% Legit Kniznit

The stranded knitting part of the Mimbres vest is finished:

You can see the effect of reversing the colors in the final repeat of the pattern. I like it!

Jack helpfully points out the steeks, neck shaping, and "kangaroo pouch":

And here is an image of Mimbres (also by the dawn's early light) that shows the colors a bit more realistically, browns and turquoises:

What's left to do? Well, the entire vest is finished with I-cord. I'm using Joyce William's method as described in Sweaters From Camp. Additionally, rather than sew, then cut the steeks, I'm going to try crocheting them, also describe in Sweaters From Camp. The introduction of this book has everything you need to know about fair isle techniques...I highly recommend it!
The sweater patterns in it seem almost like a bonus, because the intro is so full of expert fair-isle tech stuff. Get yer copy at Schoolhouse Press, where you can also see the original Mimbres design.

It's Monday

Move Your Feet!

Friday

I fell asleep over my Mimbres-knitting last night, so no photo update today. I'm up to the neck shaping, however, and as I start the partial 3rd repeat of the pattern, I'm reversing the colors, as per the completely gorgeous original by Meg Swansen. Won't that be cool? I'm eager to see it take shape, and I'll show you on Monday.

Other Knitting:

I remembered last night that it's mid-May, which means it's only a few weeks until the June issue of Pine Mountain Knitting News arrives. I love this little publication! Each issue has a featured charity knitting project, and several easy and functional projects, like Felted Water Bottle Covers, Baby Blankets, Shawls, and Scarves. Joan Hamer, the editor, taught many of us how to knit socks in the dark years before self-patterning yarn with her Joan's Socks, done with Woolease on size 4 or so dps. You can find the sock pattern on Woolworks, and it's not the Humdingers, but a great learning experience for new knitters, and a trip down memory lane for knitters who've been knitting since before it was trendy.

Pup News:

Blustery, rainy, and chilly here today, so the pups have gone back to bed.

Here's stock-Della, though, wishing you a fine Friday:

Have a great weekend everyone—do something thoughtful!

Hello Thursday

Well! Aren't antibiotics swell! I'm much better this morning, thanks for asking!

Indigirl (send her feel-better-fast vibes) had a little quiz up on her blog from SimilarMinds.com: a Compatibility Test. Cute! I was pretty compatible, despite never having worn this. But in my continuing compulsive quest to make work out of the most enjoyable activities, I launched a search for a way to find my own amica blogae, and found Blogmatcher. Just enter your blog url to find your indexed match. My most compatible blog turned out to be just lovely and completely new to me, and so I send a shout-out to Shelly. Check her blog for a very pretty felted tote!

Mimbres News

Thanks Sheila and Carol for the photography tips. I did try to make Mimbres "squint" per Sheila's advice, and as it happens, it did remove a lot of the purplish tones. Excellent!

But that's not so exciting as this:

Observe what's happening directly centered under the underarm steeks! Sweet! When this is finished I'm going to have to walk around with an arm casually draped over my head so that people can admire the beautifully symmetrical scrolls adorning my underarm area. Wouldn't you?

Let's see it again!

Awesome! Is knitting great or what?

Pup News

Sunbathers:

La-la-la! Happy Thursday everyone! Catch some rays if you can. Oh! And check The Times if you have a chance for an article on this, first referenced here in early April.

Steekaleekadingdong

I've been home the past couple of days and so have some Mimbres progress; armholes have been steeked and I decided on Shaped, not Square. So the designated 10% of the armhole stitches are waiting patiently on holders for me to complete the top of the vest.

I'm vexed with the colors in the photo. The vest still looks a bit livid, courtesy of my Nikon. Again, the real colors are a lovely brown handpaint and an equally subtle turquoise handpaint. The sky is clearing this morning, so perhaps there will finally be some sunlight to try and capture the vest in the wild (on my deck). In the meantime, photo tips are welcome. Your reward? Mimbres in its true beauty!

Persecuted Dept.

I've been home because I have bronchitis and a sinus infection, with accompanying fever. I've been to the doctor and have antibiotics, but yesterday my Evil Department Head had the noive to send me a huge stack of e-work, along with an update on his health (Excellent), but with no inquiries as to my health. I ask you, was that necessary? No? I agree, and didn't do the work, but continued suffering (stoically, with my knitting). Now I'm wondering if I have the noive to call out again! Technology has its drawbacks, sometimes. At least he doesn't know how to work IM, eh?

Pup News

Jack and Della assure Lucy that they just want to be friends.

Mike just wants a sunnier Wednesday. Hope yours is . . .

Fancy Knitting

What makes knitting such a flexible art form? This blog paragraph is dedicated to Caroline F, who had the courage to change the colorway of a Ron Schweitzer design to something completely different. St. Michael's, from the Chesapeake Collection, was originally designed for natural shades. But Caroline's is all-blues and all-beautiful. Go look if you haven't seen it yet! Caroline qualifies as a Courageous and Fancy Knitter in my book, plus she's very nice.

Caroline sent me this url recently. It's got some extraordinary fair isles on it and so I pass it along to you. Fair Isle Chickens and Fair Isle Reindeer...cool! See whole pages of fancy fair isles at セーター1.

So here's to all fancy knitters who break the molds and change the rules, you're all bringing the art and craft to new and exciting places.

Mimbres Update

It's up to the arm-shape decision point. Do I want shaped or square? I'm not sure yet. So I'll let you know tomorrow. Mimbres direction are available on a video; do you like knitting videos? I do. Especially when they contain lots of techniques. The Mimbres video has quite a few cool techniques, including pivot stitches, double-applied I-cord, and hidden buttonholes. I like it.

Jack sends happy pup-vibes to Lucy, and I leave you with a silly diversion for the slow parts of today: Bubble Bees. Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Cheerful Monday

The weekend brought news from several areas of cheerful interest to me.

Laura News:
Laura received her vest and pronounced it Perfect, so I'm quite pleased. Here's a photo of my lovely little sister in her new skull vest, on her way to Casa de Luz for a Mother's Day Brunch:

New Book news:

And there was news on the Schoolhouse Press website about a new book: Debbie New's Unexpected Knitting. I'm an admirer of Debbie New's innovative knitting; I'm eager to hold this book in my hands! I can't remember this morning which book it's in, but that knitted boat is something to behold. What an amazing and knitterly mind the woman has. . . I'm looking forward to reading about her process!

Buddy News:
My son Bernard phoned to say he was moving to California, but will be spending a few weeks here with me on his way from Corkscrew Swamp in Naples, Florida, to El Cajon in CA. He's my only child so I'm always thrilled to see him. Here's a photo of him on the bike trails in Florida:

Mimbres (no new news):

It's still flowing upwards toward the arm steeks. No photo today, owing to less-than-lovely weekend weather.

It would be nice to see some sunshine around here. I hope your Monday is sunny and pleasant. Cheers!

friday friday friday

I got a bit more of the beautiful Mimbres done; I'm within a few rows of finishing the first full repeat of the pattern:

but still seem unable to get a true representation of the colors with my camera. No purples, no greens in my knitting, except when I photograph it! I love this design; it's very peaceful to zigzag along up the vest.

While the colors (brown and turquoise handpaint) of my choosing are very non-authentic, the pattern is very authentically 'Mimbres' in its non-repetitive nature. Again, you can see the original design by Meg Swansen here. You can learn more about the Mimbres people here, if you'd like to. That's where I found this cool Mimbres graphic that reproduces a Mimbres design for death that is over 1000 years old. Imagine!

In Other News

The Smart Sweater entry yesterday generated some thoughtful comments, and I appreciated them. I kept thinking about the contrast between networked-with-chips textiles and my Mimbres vest with its thousand-year design history and the pattern that locates it nearly precisely in the 10th and 11th century. Not the same as GPS-locating, but still quite fascinating to think of the contrasts between old textiles and new wired textiles. Larry, Carol, and Janet, thank you for adding to my thought process.

In Pup News

The pups are bored with the soggy weather and so are getting into all kinds of indoor mischief. I'm hoping for some sunshine today so we can all take a nice non-muddy walk. Della especially needs to work off some puppy energy and quit pestering Jack.

A very pleasant weekend to you all.

Smart (Really Smart) Sweater?

Your assignment: read this article and leave a 50-word comment.

Happy thoughtful Thursday to all!

Done!

Laura's skull vest has had the steek edges overcast and the buttons sewn on and it's been blocked and dressed with Euclan Lavender.

I was wishing that I had a wooly-board for blocking, but then realized I might have three alternative wooly-boards already:

A view of the perfect button:

I'm not completely happy with the finishing on Sister's vest; I think finishing a steeked stranded knit must be rather analogous to working on your short game in golf. Not fun, but completely necessary. QueerJoe used gros grain ribbon on the neckband of his beautiful Chock-A-Block Cardigan, and I'm wondering if that's what I should do/should have done. I hope he'll discuss.

In Other News:

My semester end project (the one with all the horrid statistical stuff) was returned to me for "refining." Ack.

Tonight is my last late night class in Newark. Gack.

Mimbres is motoring along (see yesterday's photos, please, and visualize a few more rounds).

And I baked four dozen oatmeal raisin and four dozen chocolate chip cookies for the MSPTC party tonight. Whack!

Have a lovely Wednesday, all.

Mimbres Only

Another inch or so accomplished, and I can't begin to describe what a lyrical knitting experience Mimbres is . . . it's got a very lovely rhythm and knitting it is like singing a song through your fingertips. It's rainy this morning

so not only do the pups look askance at going out, I can't take a photo outdoors to assure the sensitive types that there really is NO purple or green in the background. This camera definitely seems to lie about some colors. The background is full of beautiful browns. Also, there is turquoise dye coming off the yarn and onto my fingers as I knit, so I'm reluctant to lay the knitting in progress out on the wet deck. It's too early in the week for a knitting surprise.

More Festival Photos!

I was so happy with Wendy's photolog yesterday of MDSW that I was nearly delirious when during an unsupervised moment at work yesterday, I surfed by Sheila's site, and saw her plethora of pictures of the Festival! Many are of people we know online! And all are wearing cool knitted stuff! And Caroline's Emily is there too! Awww! She's SO cute! Thanks, Sheila, for the eye-candy post!

And Speaking of Eye Candy

Did you see what Flor is charting while she waits for her wool delivery? Awesome! Flor, I hope your tortie is perfectly well today.

Have a good Tuesday, everyone! Off to Newark for me.

Variegations on a Theme

Remember I mentioned my handpainted wool from Handpaint Heaven's potluck sale at the first of the year? I kept wondering what would happen if they were knit side by side...I've seen faux fair isle that were very dramatic done with one variegated and one solid background. The cover vest on Cheryl Oberle's Folk Vests, for example. But I wanted to use two handpaints. So I did, and the result is Pure Knitted Mojo, in my knitting opinion.

The background is rich and tortoise-shell-y; there's no purple or green in it. The design is from Meg Swansen's Knitting, and it's the mysterious Mimbres Vest. The turquoise handpaint adds a rather Zuni-ish aura to my interpretation, and reminds me of when I lived in New Mexico. Zig-zagging through this chart has been the most knitting fun I've had in a long time. It's a brilliant design from a brilliant knitter. See the original here.

And here's a closer-up of what happening with my handpaint:

I like it. I wasn't sure I would like it, but I do.

Were You Festive at the Festival?

What did you buy at the Festival? Do tell!
I had to take a pass on going because I couldn't finish my must-finish statistical project before today's deadline, but I did finish, finally, yesterday afternoon (the mean GPA of ENG352 students is 2.8, in case you're interested) AND
Wendy posted a whole page of fun MDSW photos!
Plus my Guild members called with shopping updates from the fairgrounds at regular intervals, so I didn't feel completely like Cinderella sitting in statistical ashes. Lola of the beautiful Lhasa vest posted a photo of her spinning experience, check it out! Happily for me, there's only 120 or so days to Rhinebeck.

View from My Knee While Crunching Numbers:

Happy Monday to all! It's the last week of this semester for me!

BONUS! POSSUM PHOTO from Laura!

We Win Again!

Friday! We love it! MDSWool-ers, activate your charge cards!

While much of yesterday was spent whining and sighing heavily over Pearson's r, I did take a knitting break:

Not the much-loved Snail hat, but something equally mysterious and lovely. More on Monday!

In Garden News:

I constantly wonder at the color combinations Nature puts together. Beautiful bleeding hearts. Is there a fair isle in these colors? Should there be?

And in Pup News:

Jack declines the opportunity to be Today's Celebrity Dachshund.

Have an excellent weekend, everyone! Janet, if you're reading, you know what I want . . .

Eeek! Thursday Already!

Normally, I wake up Monday chanting for Friday to arrive. This week, in order to finish up the semester at NJIT, I wake up and hope it is yesterday again so that I can have just a bit more time to work on papers and exams. But no, it's Thursday.

On the other hand, it's hard to stay grumpy when you have dachshunds. There are good things about it being Thursday... MDSW is only a day away! Yeah! All-rightey!

Knitting as Xanax
What do you knit in times of stress or worry? My hands-down favorite is the wonderful Snail Hat by Elizabeth Zimmerman, from Knitting Without Tears. It spirals around into a funky shape and the knitting is mesmerizingly rhythmical. I think EZ was an Authentic Genius.

I mention it because late night nervous knitting on my new project has gone off. "Gone off" is Brit-speak for "it stinks." Any moment now I'm going to rip it out and then put it far far away until this hellish semester is finally over. In the meantime, I'm going to Snail-Hat my cares away.

In Other News

My handsome, clever, and charming cousin Zane has checked in from California with a photo of he and his friend Jerry meeting Rainbow Bright at Earth Day festivities.

Zane (on your right) says: "I think she made her dress, but WHY?"

Happy Thursday to all!