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Ever on a Monday

The Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann (available as Spun Out #1 from Schoolhouse Press) grows and grows! We've finished the seemingly endless decreases and have begun the end-in-sight increases. I photographed this indoors and on the beige carpet, so the colors aren't true, but you get the general idea, right?

I think it's going to be a very smart jacket, once finished, and I thank Terri for her excellent idea to use Kureyon every time I pick it up to work a few more rows. It's downhill knitting from here on out!

Sunday

I spent the loveliest afternoon with my dear sister; I wish everyone had a sister so nice. We dined macrobiotically at our favorite restaurant, Casa de Luz, then went to the Oriental Gardens to view the giant Koi Carp.

It's not unknown for koi to live up to seventy or more years. Awesome. You can see more koi at sister's blog. Oh, here. We brought you some flowers.

Unexpected Knitting

The book by Debbie New has an excellent write-up in the Toronto Globe and Mail. If you've been dithering over whether to buy, read this for some motivation.

Pups

Even though it's very hot and humid here, we've had a lovely weekend, and hope you've had the same.

Monday. Della says: "When you're hungry, eat. When you're tired, nap in a sunbeam. When you go to the vet, pee on your owner."

Cheers to all.

Link-o-RaMaMama

Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann update: another 10 double-decreases whittled away on Thursday. Because I don't have a photo to show you, I thought perhaps you'd like to look at some completed ASJs.

Best bet for most to view, the Knitbabysurprise EZ knitters. You'll have to join the group, but the photos are fun and the tips are so worth it. This group has a public site here, with additional photos.

A lovely one with a Pi Shaw photo as a bonus here. The beginnings of Dot's in handspun. One by Sarah. Here's one by Liz.

And some cute Baby Surprises!

I think mine is working out splendidly in the Noro Kureyon. In fact, mine is my favorite! :-)

Techno-Linkapalooza

Hot socks, warm feet, smart wool. And No smelly socks.

Linkalinkadingdong

We're enjoying watching these projects progress—

Intarsia: Shobhana's TomTom progress

Fair Isle: Brent's Burrastow

Lace: Antonio's Silk SOB

Pups

Della says Spread a Little Sunshine Every Day.

Do you have a three-day weekend? We do. Happy Friday, happy weekend, and happy knitting!

Return Tray to Upright Position

Did you have a wonderful wooly Wednesday? I hope so; I certainly did. A nice day, good friends, and your lovely comments more than made up for my grumpy post about Unsolicited Comments from Strangers on My KIPing—thank you for chiming in!

My visiting-from-New Jersey pals and I went to the greatest local museum, and while the art collection is small and superb, the floor tiles gave me the greatest idea! Look! Spanish Fair Isle motifs! Some three-color rows, but.

These tiles line the walkways of the building that houses the art collections; here is the courtyard-heart of the place.

Isn't it great to sometimes act like a tourist in your own environment? While none of us got any knitting done, we did get some shopping in, and when I got home, I had nice mail, too.

Any day with Rodins, green Rowan Wool-Cotton, and new patterns in the mail is officially splendid in my book. You know what else is splendid and speedy? The service provided by Jill Vosburg of Just One More Row. I ordered the Lightning Lace Jacket pattern on Monday, and it arrived on Wednesday. Sweet!

Birches!

Yes! My Rowan Kidsilk Haze (RKH) "Jelly" really is that green! And from the comments and emails, it sounds as if there is a gracious plenty of a population for a new Birch-along. I have my Adult Surprise by E. Zimmermann and the Knitted-Stitch sweater by Meg Swansen to finish, but after that, I'd be delighted to Birch-along with you. Just takes three puffs of the RKH and Rowan No. 34. Let us know when you'd like to start. I'm thinking July? Maybe August.

Pups

What to get for the pet who has everything? Check here.

Thursday. Back to work for me; we hope your day is swell. Little Jack says Go for the Green!

To and Fro, Fro and To

The Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann, brilliantly conceived in Noro Kureyon by the intrepid Terri, is taking a lot of time to knit. I can't figure out why; it's just garter stitch. But there are a lot of stitches on the needles right now; and even though I knit a bit every evening and KIP (Knit In Public) at every opportunity, I am still working double-decreases. I have a few more miles to go, then the design will take another interesting turn.

I KIPed on the ASJ while getting my hair cut today. Comment from an ancient woman: "I'm waiting until I get old to do that." Comment from an elderly woman: "It makes me hot just looking at that." Comment from a middle-aged woman: "I don't have the patience to do anything like that." Comment from Jerry the salon tippler: "Is that crochet? My grammy knows crochet (hic)."

Wassup with that?

I thought knitting was the new yoga, and that all the celebrities were doing it :-) I had to knit with my eyes closed and with one hand practically behind my back to impress these people.

By the way, here's some of my new haircut. I'm gradually returning to what I think of as my natural hair color (and I'd prefer that you didn't argue with me about it).

Sister says I am the cutest Cyclops ever!

Regarding the ASJ, you can see that I've added another couple of inches, and you can also see that I have added some new mohair-silk yarn to my collection. It's Rowan Kidsilk Haze, in the deliciously green color "Jelly"! I love this color! It's to knit Birch later this summer.

I missed the Birch-along last summer, but I'm here now. There were so many pretty Birches around the knitblog-ring that I can no longer resist. Better Rowan than Never.

"Jelly" is Little Jack's favorite color, too.

It's Wednesday! We've got the day off, and we're going to go hang with our pals who are visiting from Jersey. Would you KIP a bit, and see if you can get some more appreciative responses from our adoring public than me? Cheers!

We Are the Wool

Busy busy here knitting back and forth on the Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Several blog readers have asked where to find this pattern, and I'm pleased to direct them to Schoolhouse Press. The design is from Spun Out #1, Summer 1981, and you can have your very own copy for a buck. Meg Swansen recommends working the Baby Surprise Jacket first in order to see how this design comes together—you can do that for only another buck and a bit of wool. That's what I did, and I'm glad; I think knowing how to knit the BSJ makes the ASJ all the more easy. The ASJ directions are, as EZ used to say, pithy.

Morbid Thoughts

So. We were reading this story from the Salt Lake Tribune, thinking how pleasant it was that the author *didn't* write "Knitting! It's Not Just for Grandmothers Anymore!" A bit of history, the difference between knitting and crochet, a little bit of an interview with our hero Nancy Bush--very pleasant reading indeed. The last paragraph shifts the mood; the author tells of a prodigious knitter who actually died stitching the toe of a knit sock together. (Not from stitching the toe of the sock together, I hasten to add.) I reproduce it here:

When Groves became ill, she continued knitting swatches of new yarns to be displayed at the craft business she had created. Moments before her heart gave out in November, she lay in a hospital bed, stitching up the toes of a sock a nurse had knitted. Groves was laid to rest with a prized skein of blue cashmere wool and two fine ebony knitting needles.

Laid to rest with a skein of cashmere and a pair of ebony knitting needles. Isn't that marvelous? And really, I find it only slightly morbid on my part to think I'd also like to take my ebony needles with me, and my beloved Georges Picaud puffs of black angora plied with silk. Or a colorful skein of Colinette Point Five might be nice, too. But what if someone got it wrong? And I spent Eternity as a dearly departed with a skein of Red Heart Super Saver? Will there be acrylic in heaven?

Pups

The pups got to romp around with their Geoffrey Monday afternoon, and a romp with Geoffrey is always a wonderful thing. He's sweet to the pups, and that's always another wonderful thing.

Cheers. It's Tuesday. Della says C'mon. You Know You Want To.

What a Wonderful Wool

I knit away on the Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann over the weekend, and have about 42 double decreases remaining. I'm enjoying the Noro Kureyon (color no. 71), in fact, I think to myself, what a wonderful wool. It's a wonderful design, too. Pre-Falkenberg, but it's looking rather elegant so far, I must say.

For those who have knit the Adult Surprise Jacket, is the double-decrease creating a miter? Is the ASJ perhaps the beginning of mitered knitting? We don't know, but we like knitting it. I like what the Kureyon is doing with the skinny stripes that flow together. Today's photos were taken Sunday afternoon in bright sunlight; the colors are fairly true.

Cool, right? I've realized that I need to work on it more to see significant progress, so I'm making it my primary knitting this week. Unless I change my mind. Last week's limited knitting broke my knitting stride, so to speak. I've had a hard time getting back into my daily knitting groove. But I feel so full of creatknitivy that I want make more and faster progress on my two big knit projects, so that I can feel less encumbered when I let my imaginknition run amok.

Machine Knitting

When I think about knitting machines, I think about the ability to crank out yards of stockinette. But apparently I've been seriously misinformed about the utility of a knitting machine—take a look at these Vanity Blankets. I love knitters!

Pups

The pups and I enjoyed blackberries and sunshine this weekend. But now it's Monday. Della says Put Your Toys Away.

Wishing you a wonderful day, and a wonderful wool.

Faraday-Fingerprints-Friday

Thanks for the kind words about my latest degree; I appreciate your thoughts. I have a little reformatting to do, according to the Graduate Office, so it's not quite as finished-done-kaput as I would like. But at least the writing and thinking part is over! Now we can devote our brain and fingers to knitting fingerprints. I'm completely crazed over Ann's idea for fingerprint pillows, and I simply must knit Kendra's idea, 10 pillows, each with a correct fingerprint.

The pattern is definitely an interesting one, and from what I understand, mostly unique. I'm going to try to figure out how to make grids per Kim's instructions and then I'll be off on another manic knitting adventure. Isn't knitting great?

I was playing around with the idea of knitting tatoos on the back of gloves for a while. This new idea reminds me of that. There is so much I want to knit right now!

Speaking of interesting patterns. I saw this on Metafilter the other day, and while it has nothing to do with knitting or fingerprints, it is a little movie of a demonstration of Faraday waves on the surface of a shaken cornstarch and water mixture. Talk about your interesting patterns! It's worth watching if you have time today. I'm still thinking about how to graph that.

And, because we love knitted art, here's a link to an artist who knits very sculptural items. Cool. I like it. I'm especially fond of Outfit for an Aviator.

Oh, and one more thing before I forget, check Emma's comment from yesterday's entry—a very nice url, and it just so happens I'm taking a little class on that very subject in June. Great minds, Emma. . .thanks!

Pups

We're all so happy that it's Friday. It's been a hectic week, and we are planning on indulging in as much sloth-like behavior as possible this weekend. There's a blackberry festival on our calendar of Saturday events, and we plan to eat lots of them.

Mike and Della say A Pint of Blackberries a Day keeps the Blues Away.
Happy Friday! Happy Weekend! Hey! Knit something cool!

Free to Be

Hey! Thanks for the good wishes on my revisions yesterday! Your good vibes helped, and the thesis is past my committee and just has to clear the graduate office administative bs. So it's all over but the shouting (for joy, on my part). I celebrated by knitting and knitting and knitting on my Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I still have dozens of double-decreases to make, but miles of garter stitch are a great opportunity to practice knitting without looking. It's odd how quickly your fingers *know* what to do, isn't it! Like Wendy and Queer Joe and others, I've sometimes dozed off while knitting, only to wake and find that my fingers had kept going. I'm surprised we don't poke our eyes out! but we don't (at least not yet).

So about this double-decrease. I make mine by slipping one stitch, and knitting the next two together, then passing the slipped stitch over, but I suppose you could knit three together. (Could you mirror decreases if you did that?) Do you have a favorite method for double-decreases? I've decided to put EZ's Afterthought Pockets on this jacket when I've finished; they'll be my first, so I'm looking forward to the process.

Regarding the Knitted Fractals

Weren't they interesting? I enjoyed trying to imagine the knitterly thoughts behind the pieces. Kendra left a comment remarking on the similarities of some of the knitted fractals to fingerprints, which was exactly what I'd been thinking about all of Wednesday when I wasn't biting my nails over my thesis.

Would you want to knit one big fingerprint? Or would you create bands of fingerprints, rather like peeries? How would you chart it, if you were going to graph it out? So many wonderful things to think about in knitting. Seeing the knitted fractals by Eleanor Kent gave me a lot of ideas, and I want to knit all of them. You can see a larger version of the graphic above, along with an explanation of fingerprint analysis, here (in case you want to knit them).

Pups

If the pups could knit, I'd have it made in the shade. But they seem to consider that their function is merely decorative.

Thursday! Not a moment too soon. Mikey says Kick up Your Heels!

Cheers! and happy knitting!

Stop the Music

The six-months-in-the-making data analysis project that we merrily fired off Monday night came back to us Tuesday afternoon, needing a revision that required no knitting whatsoever. Isn't that a shame? A day without knitting is unusual around here. But the very important paper describing the very important study had to take precendence once again, and I'm telling you, if it wasn't a minor revision involving minor statistical work, I'd be annoyed.

While working on my personal boomerang-paper, I came across a knitting artist on the web that I hadn't heard of. I thought perhaps that if I hadn't seen her work, maybe you hadn't either. So let's look together, shall we?

Here is a tiny portion of what this woman is knitting, and I hope you'll go to the website to see the rest of her amazing work.

That's right! Eleanor Kent knits fractals. She also knits mathematical formulae.

Aren't knitters the most amazing people? Every time I think I've seen everything there is to see about knitting, something like this turns up, and I'm amazed all over again. What would you knit if you weren't busy knitting sweaters or bags or gloves or socks? What would you knit if your personal sense of creativity compelled you to knit outside the box, so to speak? It's a subject at which Debbie New excels, and it's obvious to me after looking at knitted fractals that there are still uncharted knitting-waters to navigate. By the way, there is the most wonderful review by Cat Bordhi at the Amazon.com entry for Unexpected Knitting; scroll down to the reader reviews for an enjoyable read about an awesome book. And knit on, you outrageous knitters.

Pups

Wednesday! Mike and Della say You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile. (Little Jack adds that no outfit is complete without dog hair.) Enjoy your day!

Magic Tuesday

Yet another day with minimal knitting; we are vexed! However, we are also finished, as of 11 p.m. Monday night, with the very important paper we've been working on for the last six months. And as of 11:01, it's electronically submitted.

I feel like this:

I'm going to hang out with the pups in the shade today until I feel more like this:

Happy Tuesday! and happy knitting! We'll see you on Wednesday.

Flow Chart

Very pleasant weather here this weekend; so pleasant, in fact, that the pups and I spent most of our time relaxing outside. Rather than have my two big knitting projects (EZ's Adult Surprise Jacket and Meg Swansen's Knitted Stitch Pullover) out in the very warm sunshine, I instead picked up a ball of wool for a sock. Not just any sock, mind you, but the charming Godzilla Lace Socks.

I'm not sure when I began to prefer charts for knitting rather than line-by-line instructions. I know I've been happily knitting from charts for several years, though. Charts work in any language, which is a delightful thing for all knitters all over the world. And, nine times out of ten, if there's a mistake in a knitting pattern, the mistake doesn't show up in the chart. Charts rule! That's why I was surprised this weekend when I realized my charted knitting wasn't producing what I expected.

Cute, but not quite right. I wrote to Noriko, and she very kindly sent me a translation of the text version of the first seven rows. Aha! I was knitting the chart upside down! Chart-mystery solved! And a slap on the forehead for me. It's little stuff like this that makes a difference in knitting. Thanks, Noriko!

Mihoko-san created this easy lace pattern by deconstructing a Finnish lace sock she had purchased ; its name came from one of its knitters thinking the lace pattern resembled Godzilla's back. How could anyone resist Godzilla socks? Surrender, and see Noriko's here, and another knitter's here (scroll down to the yellow socks). Even though I was knitting this sock upside down, so to speak, it is a very fun pattern. I intend to knit a pair correctly this week.

Must-See Knitting

Françoise's Cromarty is finished, and it is exquisite! Look here, you'll swoon!

Pups

The weekends fly by so quickly. Little Jack would prefer that they lasted a bit longer.

We hope your Monday is pleasant, and that all your skeins are tangle-free.

Green Onion Grumble

Green onion grumble. Isn't that the loveliest weirdest phrase? Austin knitter Latifa ran one of the Korean pages from Wednesday through Babelfish and posted the results in the comments on Thursday. Green onion grumble is my favorite, although I'm also smitten with The Nose of Magic. Thanks Latifa!

Today's green onion grumble is over crochet. I think I've found a reason that I must learn how to do it:

Isn't that splendid? The bag is knit, and the colorful raised additions are crochet. You can see the whole bag (with its amazing price tag) at the Peruvian Connection website.

Also at Peruvian Connection is a knit called the Arroyo Kimono. Very beautiful knitting. However! If you read the catalog blurb you'll see that it is knit in a technique called Floatless Jacquard. We looked it up, and found this explanation, but we are not satisfied. If machine knitters can create floatless faux-Fair Isle and Jacquard, why can't handknitters? Do we have any machine knitters as readers? Could you please enlighten us? Or, if you are a handknitter who knows how to do floatless-knitting that is not intarsia, but that is more than two colors in a row, well, hip us to that, dude, okay? Mosaic knitting is only done with two or three colors a row, I think. Can you do mosaic knitting with multiple colors in a row? How difficult would that be? Or, does the catalog description simply indicate that this is a machine-knit sweater? Dear me. The lengths to which I go to avoid thinking about what's in the news.

For the Cat Lovers, Since it's Friday

This is an interesting project and enjoyable to look at. Perhaps you'd like to add your cat to the mix.

Pups

Della suffered very dramatically through Good Canine Citizen class Thursday night. Dachshunds are very dramatic (and that's an understatement if there ever was one). Cousin Dyna, on the other hand, almost passed her Level 2 tests! She's only four months old, but she was sitting like a champ. Della sits like a champ, too, but only so she can turn her back on the rest of the dogs. Still, she's a sweet pup, and sends you a virtual slurp.

We wish you a merry Friday and a happy weekend! Cheers!

Words Words Words

Thanks for the input on the crochet/or/knit sweaters yesterday; I'm still a bit undecided about the first one. Please see the Wednesday comments for Cyndilou and Kim's helpful links. Cyndilou pointed out that the woman astride the crochet hook is actually riding a tool for Locker Hooking. It sounds painful, but it's actually a way to use up scraps and bits of fabric that you might otherwise discard. A locker hooking implement looks like a crochet hook, but it has an eye on the opposite end of the hook. You thread your rags, bones, scraps, what have you, and off you go, happily recycling.

So many things to learn! And so many things to recycle.

Adult Surprise Jacket

No, there's not a lot of progress; it's been an exceptionally busy week, editorially-speaking. But the sun was out for a bit in the afternoon, so I wanted to show you how nicely stripey it is. The Noro Kureyon used on a single piece of continuous knitting, as this design is, makes marvelous long skinny stripes.

Nice, isn't it! A close-up? Why, yes! We have one!

Sweet. I like it.

Bears

Our knit-blogger pal in Germany, Christine, sent me some photos yesterday of some new bears she had made. Scroll down for the one named Monty; he's knit, I think, and he's very furry and cute, as are the others. Christine was knitting Teddy Bears out of eyelash yarn a while back; remember the pink one? Bears are special, aren't they. I don't have one, because of my jealous dachshunds, and I don't remember having one as a child. But my son cherished his (and may still). Thanks, Christine!

Pups

Thursday! Della's school day! And she hasn't realized it yet!

Little Jack knows he can take it easy, relieved of the burden of being a Good Canine Citizen. In the meantime, Della waves her tail like a proud dachshund flag, the equivalent to a dachshund-good-hair-day.

We hope you are having a good hair day. Happy Knitting!

We Have Questions

I found a fun knitting site to surf Tuesday, but we have questions. First! Who is this woman and why is she riding a crochet hook?

Actually, this is the cover of a book that seems to be one of a series of needlecraft books. In this one she appears to be teaching cats how to do embroidery.

You can see these plus a shelf-full of other interesting-looking books here. How we wish we were multilingual!

The main part of the site shows what is called knit-school, but tell me, is this knit? Or crochet? Or this, for that matter—knit or crochet? I like them both. The photos says knit-school, but I've never seen knitting like it. Some days I'd like to know a bit more about crochet structure, at least enough to recognize it.

If you click on the little knit- and crochet-stitch squares to the right side home page, you'll see wonderful clickable symbol charts for how-to illustrations for knit and crochet basic stitches.

Cool.

Personal Knitting Content

My wrists were a little sore yesterday, so I switched over to the Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann. You may recall that I'm knitting mine in a (discontinued shade of) Noro Kureyon. I've got a couple of inches knit now, and the general impression I'm getting from the random stripes is that it's going to be a wonderful-beautiful jacket! Yeah! My thanks again to Terri for the terrific idea. By the way, you should go look at the cute photos of Terri and her mom and dad :-)

Pups

Another rainy day. We're glad we enjoyed the sunshine while it was abundant.

We hope your day is sunny and sweet. Cheers, and happy knitting.

Energized Single

I remain very energized about my weekend class with Carol Rhodes and my new skills at Tvåändsstickning. I feel so lucky to have had such a wonderful instructor—there's really something to be said about excellent instruction from a master knitter. It's invigorating to work with a pro, and my knitting truly feels different to me at this point; it feels new again, and accompanied by a sense of discovery and expansion. Very exciting stuff! I'm eager to refine my spinning ability so that I can spin my own z-singles. In the meantime, I undulate along with my Knitted-Stitch cardigan by Meg Swansen. Aren't the big stitches groovy-wavy-looking at this point? It's a genuine delight to knit—entertaining as well as soothing.

Not a lot of progress, because my brain is still jumping around over two-end knitting. But some progress. Say, if you want to look at a LOT of progress, go see Françoise's Poetry in Stitches and Cromarty. Wow! Everytime I visit Françoise's blog, I am astonished at how quickly and beautifully she completes her projects. Knit on, Françoise!

I don't have the exact words at hand, but Elizabeth Zimmermann wrote in one of her books that you could always learn something new in knitting. (Even while paraphrasing,) I agree. Isn't it wonderful to have a hobby in which you can always be learning? New tips! New tricks! New techniques!

Bring it!

Pups

The pups had a pleasant surprise Monday afternoon; not only was their Geoffrey here, but also Cousin Dyna! Dyna, like most young pups, is extremely excited about everything, and it's loads of fun watching her interact with her cousins. Mike, Jack, and Della try very hard to be dignified and aloof, but they are fascinated with her and her four-month-old energy, and very quickly get worn out from trying to keep up with her.

Tuesday! Mikey says Relax. Time Out.
Happy knitting!

Revisiting Tvåändsstickning

I went to a workshop on Saturday on Tvåändsstickning , or Two-End Knitting, and I expect I'm going to become quite obsessive over this old Scandinavian technique. Carol Rhodes, translator of the newly revised and released Two-End Knitting (ISBN 0-942018-23-0), was the instructor of this fascinating skill, and I can't say enough nice things about her. She teaches around the country and turns up at SOAR frequently, so if you get the chance, you'll very much enjoy a class with her.

We started our workshop with a tutorial on winding our Z-spun Swedish wool on a nostepinde. Achieving the desired egg-shaped ball of wool is a matter of angling the yarn as you wind on.

Why Z-spun wool? Z-spun wool is spun counter-clockwise and then plied clockwise. As you knit with an end from inside and outside your egg-shaped wool, the yarn will twist more and more. With Z-spun wool, the wool begins to un-ply itself, resulting, believe it or not, in fewer tangles. While you can use an S-spun yarn, as you knit two-ended with it, it's going to twist itself in the direction of its ply, getting tighter and tighter, and creating a heap of twisted, tangled wool.

We knit a sampler, and Carol had Swedish wool and New Zealand wool for us to use. (Both were Z-spun; the New Zealand yarn is known in the US as Mora, and you can get it at our hero Nancy Bush's store, Wooly West.)

Here's my sampler, which contains all the stitches you need to know to do two-end knitting, but which you can't really see because the wool is white and my camera focus isn't very crisp.

I'm sure you can see my Purl Braid in green and white, but (going up) the hook stitches, chain stitches, deep knit stitches, deep purl stitches, and regular stitches are very hard to make out. I wish you could see my beautiful two-color cast on— it was gratifying lovely, and I know I'll be using it on gloves! It's known as (the famous) Cast On No. 1.

Luckily, Carol brought samples. Here you can see a little of everything two-end:

and

Knitting with two-ends yields a different fabric; it's very tight, and the stitches are slightly flattened and skewed. You know you are doing it correctly when you turn your work inside out and observe pronounced horizontal lines rather than purl bumps. You can also tell you are on the right track when your wool ends are twisted like barber poles and peppermint sticks. One of the remarkable refinements made by the author of Two-End Knitting is using two colors to work the hook and chain stitches; that's what makes those spectacular labyrinth-looking pieces.

Of the group of about 10 knitters I was knitting with, approximately half thought the tangling part made this knitting too labor-intensive. About one-quarter of the group thought it was interesting as a historical artifact, and the other quarter of the group was wildly enthusiastic and couldn't wait to get home and try out every pattern in the book and make deep-knit two-color hats, mittens, and gloves. (I imagine you know which group I was in!)

This is an exceptionally interesting traditional technique; I'm pleased all over again with my copy of the book. Anne-Maj Ling reports that an example of two end knitting (a glove) found in 1984 dated the glove to pre-1680. Her instructions are exceptionally clear, and the designs take an old idea to fresh new heights. I admire that kind of knitting spirit and want to support it.

Bagatelle has a mini-lesson on basic two-end knitting (and one on detangling your wool). Nanette has also investigated this style of knitting, and you can see her description with photos here. Fascinating.

One last thing: Carol Rhodes advises using a loosely-spun yarn like Heilo if you are going to go the S-spun route rather than the traditional and less-tangly Z-spun way.

Pups

Ho! Monday. Della says Try to Keep a Low Profile.

Easy for her to say, right? Cheers!

Look Book Hook Checkbook

I forgot to tell you yesterday about another upcoming book; it's mentioned in the back of the latest Wool Gathering (#70), from which I'm knitting the Knitted-Stitch Pullover (which will be a cardigan). Here's yesterday's progress, with another big stitch beginning to emerge:

I've add one 14 round repeat since we last looked at this cool pattern. And I repeat another round of praise for this charted design; it's just fun to knit. The designer writes in the pattern directions that she tried to chart a dropped-stitch and a knit-two-together to work into the body, "but that the scale was so large that the joke would have had to be explained." Even without dropped-stitches or K2TOG, it's still a good joke and a clever design. I wish I could get a nice daylight shot of the wool; it's very pretty and not at all dowdy, as it seems to me in the photos I've taken so far. The Rye color is lively with pale yellow and green flecks, and the Marram Green is a vivid complement.

So! About the new book coming. The title seems to tell it all: The Newsletters of Elizabeth Zimmermann, Designs from 1958 to 1968. Dozens of patterns, including EZ's Pillbox, the Baby Surprise Jacket, Footed Baby Longies and Baby Boodies, and the Four-Part Sheepsdown Afgan. No mention of when it will be available other than "Upcoming" but I'm sure it will make nice reading and knitting when it arrives.

Wendy's Ingeborgalong is coming up soon; I'm still so tempted to join! But I think I must save my Dale $$ for the Daletta for NYGÅRD. Choices, choices. We hate multiple choices almost as much as we dislike consequences. But we love Dalegarn Daletta designs. I don't think I've ever seen one I didn't like.

Pups

Della was the most irascible yet at Good Canine Citizen class; is it possible that my little sweet pup doesn't want to be a c-a-n-i-n-e? She planted herself in the tunnel during agility time again, preventing the other dogs from getting to have a turn, and at recall time, she made a beeline for the car. At all other times she was the Dachshund Anvil, and would not be moved. Dyna was simply adorable. Della's favorite part was when we left.

Friday! Della says There's No Place Like Home. We wish you a wonderful day and a merry weekend, whether at home or away. Keep those needles clicking!

Stitch-Enrich

I bought the new issue of Cast On last week when I was picking up my 40-in circular needle; I had time to look at it tonight and there are a couple of very interesting patterns and articles. The best and most interesting is a lacy surplice top by knit-blogger Annie Modesitt. I'm eager to read her book; I always enjoy her patterns. And, in the mail on Wednesday was my new Dalegarn booklet Nr 132 from Bea Ellis, it, too, has some interesting designs, and a veritable bunch of very cute hats. It's a Svale-heavy booklet, but the tanks and hats are very summery-chic. And! Rowan Yarns has a buy-4-back-issues-for- £10.00 happening right now. Oh! And (God Bless) Dover is reissuing Sheila McGregor's Traditional Scandinavian Knitting! It's a great time to be a knitter.

Aren't there a lot of books! I'm completely mad for books, especially books about techniques, or stitch patterns, or charted motifs. My knitting library is just about to outgrow the bookcase in which it resides, in haphazard alpha-ordered splendor. The books that make me curious (but as yet, not curious enough to spend the money on) are the ones about knitting as a spiritual practice. I wish I got that; I'd like more spiritual exercises in my life. But I think of knitting as an engaging hobby; as a relaxing type of mental work that measures out my free time in inches knit. Like working the The Times crossword puzzles, only the result is something wooly and wonderful you get to wear, rather than inky fingertips. I never think of working The Times crossword as a sutra or mantra. Is that horribly Prufrockian of me? When I observe my progress on the Knitted-Stitch cardigan (from Wool Gathering 70), I feel satisfaction, but I don't think I feel a Zen moment. I do feel rather regretful about being, evidently, a knitting philistine. But I'm quite glad that there are so many new books, and new yarns, and new ideas. And knitting blogs, of course.

No photos today for the Meg Swansen or Elizabeth Zimmermann designs, I've worked on both, but forgot to recharge the camera batteries. Not very meditative on my part, right?

Pups

It's the pups' eagerly anticipated Thursday, when Geoffrey comes over for belly-rubs galore, and then Della and Dyna and Sister and I go to Good Canine Citizen class.

Little Jack is looking forward to not being a Good Canine Citizen. We all say Happy Thursday! Thank you very much for stopping by!

Surprise

I had time to wait on Tuesday and so there was time to knit. I'm traveling with the Adult Surprise Jacket by E. Zimmermann, and it's striping nicely. But there sure are a lot of stitches to get back and forth on at this stage. I understand that the Baby Surprise Jacket is so perfectly proportioned that it can be knit on large needles to create the Big Baby Surprise, and would like to try that sometime; I've seen photos and I like it. I also wonder about taking Debbie New's Scribble Lace idea and knitting it on big needles into a Big Baby Surprise. It might be make a very fantastic (and surprising) lacy jacket.

Today's few rows equal more stripes and a bit of progress:

I also worked on my Knitted-Stitch cardigan, but it looks much the same as Monday's photo, so we'll skip that today.

What's new in the Knitting World right now? I'm waiting on Viv Høxbro's book on Shadow Knitting, and also on 1000 Great Knitting Motifs. I'm looking forward to both of these books, because I'm a Høxbro fan, and also because I simply can't get enough of charted motifs. And meanwhile, here in Austin, my workshop on Two-End Knitting with Carol Rhodes, the translator of Two-End Knitting, is happening this coming weekend, and I'm very excited about that. Such a proliferation of knitting books! Hamilton Books has over 50 remaindered titles right now, and while very few of them are up-to-the-minute-current, none of them are very old. Amazing when you think about it—I guess all those cliché-loving journalists are correct: it's not just for grandma anymore! (hee!)

Pups

Della, not to be outdone by racing dachshunds, has been practicing her Elvis impersonation.

Wednesday! Sometimes it's good to be a nothin' but a Hound Dog. Rock and roll, you knitters.

Tuesday Knitting

I've progressed past the beginning of the chart for the Knitted-Stitch Pullover, and the knit-stitches are beginning to appear. This is fun-knitting! I'm at the part of the chart now where I will cruise along on a 14-round vertical repeat up to my desired neck shaping.

The directions say to start the Purl-When-You-Can parts on a one-size-smaller needle, but I was in such a hurry to start seeing the stitches take shape that I completely forgot. I think the bottom "loops" would be rounder had I followed the directive for a smaller needle. However, I'm still delighted with it, and that's what knitting's about, right?

Peg asked if I was knitting this as a pullover or a cardigan—a cardigan is my choice, since I run a little hot these days, and I'm living in a hot spot. I divided the 26-st horizontal repeat in half, added 8 steek stitches, and took off from there (after doing a bit of math for a larger size).

Meg Swansen's designs are unique in that they are so open to interpretation; of course, her mother, Elizabeth Zimmermann, sought to liberate all knitters from patterns and minute directions and from being Blind Followers. I find that's the case with this playful new design, and similar in that respect to the Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan (GLMC). You can knit an MS or EZ design in any color, any size; you can vary the neck, the sleeves, the cuffs—what have you—and it will still turn out to be a well-engineered sweater that becomes uniquely your own.

Donna asked about a difficulty-rating for the GLMC, with one at the completely easy end of the scale and five being extremely challenging. The GLMC was my first big colorwork knitting project, and only my third colorwork project. So I give it a 1.5 for me, but experienced color knitters would sail through it at barely a 1, I think. Chery was working on it for a while, but set it aside somewhere around the short-rows on the shoulders, which I cleverly omitted, because I couldn't figure out how to do them gracefully. So, the shoulder bits might be challenging, if you do them as Meg Swansen did them. If you do them as I did them, by ignoring them, the design is as simple as pie :-)

As you can see, I'm doing my Knitted-Stitch sweater in two colors, but Nathania's comment re: yesterday's photo (that the charted stitches resembled spirals at that point) made me think how awesome this sweater could be if done in a colorway like the Donegal sweater by Alice Starmore (this one knit by one of our Japanese knitting friends). And, as I mentioned yesterday, somehow a Meg Swansen design doesn't feel like knitting-work, as some designs do, at least to me. Flora, for example, is a beautiful, painterly design, and it's a vest I will enjoy very much. But the actual knitting of the thing started to feel like work after the first pattern-repeat was finished—I couldn't seem to get into a comfortable rhthym with the knitting for that, but of course that may have been just my state of mind at the time. This project, the Knitted-Stitch sweater, already has me hooked with its repeating, mirrored, cheerful, clever chart. The Mimbres Vest was like that too, in that the motifs felt familiar to my fingers, and thus it felt easy to knit.

Pups

How swell that so many of you saw the clip on weinerdog races and thought of us! Thanks! That made me smile. Buda is a small town just south of Austin, and unbeknownst to us, they've been holding dachshund races for seven years. Even though we've missed this year's races, I'm still sorely tempted to buy one of these Weinerstock tees.

Dachshunds are funny when they get excited and run fast-fast-fast. We refer to it as Turbo-Dachshund-Mode around here. Little Jack demonstrates; you'll have to imagine the crazy-figure-eights he runs:

Tuesday! We hope your knitting is at the soothing stage. Have a great day.

We Get By

Our yarn shortage goof was easily resolved by way of Kate's comment Friday on the charm of the Adult Surprise Jacket. It is a charming design, and that is the whole point of it! I have 20 skeins of Noro Kureyon no. 71, and 14 skeins of no. 57. Both colors are discontinued, and since they share some colors, I'm going to combine them in the Jacket. That was easy! Thanks, Kate!

I also cast on for the Knitted-Stitch Pullover by Meg Swansen from the latest issue of Wool Gathering. I'm using some stashed Campion that I have a lot of for some reason, as I didn't have enough of the Rowan 4 ply Yorkshire Tweed, as it turned out.

The colors I'm using are Rye (the light one) and Marram Green (the dark one). I'm liking the combination so far. The image below is very close to the true colors (on my monitor).

As with the Giant Latvian Mitten Cardigan, I notice there is something very lyrical about designs by Meg Swansen; I find it easy to get into a knitting groove when I'm knitting one of her sweaters. Color-knitting has a definite rhythm; some designs are easier to sing along with than others.

Pups

We had mixed weather over the weekend, ranging from the completely soggy to the very beautiful, so the pups were okay with being in when it was raining and being out when it was sunny. They hate it when it's the other way around. We also discovered that there are Dachshund Races in Buda, TX. We're intrigued, and plan to be ready next year. You can see photos from 2001 here (pop-ups warning). The pups have begun training on their personal Stairmaster:

Mike, Jack, and Della say Back To Work. We hope you are able to make the most of your Monday. Cheers!