The Yarn is Gone, But the Joy Doesn't Have To Be

I was tooling around Ravelry this morning and found, to my horror, that Cascade 128 Wool has been discontinued!

Cascade 128 superwash is still around. But that won't work for even lightly-felted items like my Sherwood Slippers.

What to do? You could knit the slippers with two strands of Cascade 220 held together. One skein of yarn might be enough, but you are safer with two.

Want to try the pattern but don't have Cascade 128 Wool in your stash? Leave a comment on this post by midnight (EST) on 11/18/13 and tell me which yarn you would use to knit the pattern.

On 11/19/13, I'll choose a comment using a random number generator and give away a copy of the pattern.

(Interested, but already have the pattern? Let me know which one of my patterns you've been wanting to try and I'll give you that one instead.)

Design Inspiration: Square Route Mitts

Part of the story of my Square Route Mitts is really about the awesomeness level of Shannon Okey. (Hint: It's a high level of awesome.)

I sent the pattern notes to her with some photos of a version of these smocked mitts in a worsted-weight yarn. She emailed me back: Great idea! The gauge, maybe, is not the best, though. 

I love that she saw potential in the idea, encouraged me to pursue it, and published the final pattern.

I made up a version in the scrummy Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino. 

Well, not only did Shannon publish it, she made it the cover of the second issue of Knit Edge magazine.

Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

If You're Thinking of Shopping at Craftsy, Anyway...

Please consider getting there through my affiliate links, like this one: Improve Your Knitting: Alternative Methods, Patty Lyons. It will help me justify the amount of time I spend writing this blog. :)

 

Personal Knitting

It's a rare thing, but sometimes I still get to knit for myself (or my home, anyway).

Right now it's a (free!) pattern I called the Surprise Bitter Knitter Pattern because my knitting group, the Bitter Knitters, used it to make an afghan for one of our members when he moved away.

It's easy and the size 10 needles make the work feel fast. The yarn is such a dark navy, it's almost black, so I have to make sure I have ok light in which to knit.

I will make either four 60-inch panels or five, depending on when I run out of yarn. It's Cascade 128 - a favorite of mine.

I'm using straight needles so that I can knit using the method I learned a while ago from the Yarn Harlot. She calls it "lever" or "Irish Cottage" knitting. It's fast and efficient, but I can only use it with long straight needles.

There are a few videos of the method here.

Sherwood Slippers Are Out!

 

Sherwood Slippers are toe-up, lightly-felted slippers for when you need just a little extra padding and warmth - perfect for when you’ve kicked off your shoes at home. They are felted to fit the wearer.

There is no grafting and you can choose between two methods of casting on. It’s the best of both worlds! I made these slippers just to take advantage of the construction techniques I loved. After I made them, they reminded me of Robin Hood, hence the name. They fold very flat, so they’re great for when you’re traveling with your merry men and ladies.

The final slipper should be about the same size as the foot of the wearer. 

Yarn: Cascade 128 Wool. 128 yards (117 meters)/100 grams (3.53 ounces). 1 [1, 1, 2] skeins. Sample shown in Red, in Women’s Medium.

Needles: Whatever type of needle you prefer for working in the round in a small circumference, plus a spare needle. Size #10 (6.0 mm) needles, or size needed to get gauge.

You will also need: 4 stitch markers; a stitch holder or waste yarn.

Gauge: 15 sts and 22 rows in 4 inches/10 cm of stockinette stitch, after felting.

Sizes: To fit U.S. Women's Small [Women’s Medium, Women’s Large/Men's Medium, Men’s Large]; Slippers are meant to have 0 ease (in other words, actually be around the size of the foot) and are 8 [9, 9.6, 10.66] inches/ 20.25 [23, 24.5, 27] cm around and 8.66 [9.66, 10.66, 11] inches/ 22 [24.5, 27, 28] cm long. The length can be adjusted, simply look for the note in the pattern. 

Ply Magazine

I was late to the game with Ply Magazine and missed out on the first issue, which makes me very sad. 

It is awesome! The Color issue covered, as you might guess, a lot of ways of managing color in your spinning. Some of it is information I've seen before, but it was nice to see it in such a bright, punchy format. There are lots of photos of techniques, so you don't have to guess about what is actually going on when the twist hits the fiber. 

My favorite piece was called Hot Button: Predrafting. Four different spinners gave their take on predrafting. Responses ranged from "I say 'prepare'!" to "Predrafting is the Devil." No matter where you fall on this issue, it is a great read. It's always nice to get more than one complete, detailed answer about the whys and hows of any craft. (For the record, I don't like predrafting, and now Michelle Boyd has given me good reasons to back up my preference.)

Along with all of the spinning information, there are also a few knitting patterns, profiles of fiber artists and reviews of tools. A+! I can't wait to see the next issue.

Design Inspiration: Für Eloise Shawl

Fur Eloise is another pattern that started out as a pattern in a kit for Simply Socks Yarn Company. Sadly, you can't buy more of the yarn it was designed for, individually. But, you can buy the pattern from me. 

This easy, top-down shawl shows off handpainted yarns perfectly. Increases and decreases create zigzags within the fabric.

Where the yarn colors line up and would normally create pools, the stitch pattern transforms them into intricate-looking pops of color.

With that said, sometimes yarn + pattern produces effects that are hard to predict. (But that's what makes it fun!)

Kath Gordon, one of my testers, used a great yarn that I've never seen before  (probably because it's German). It's called Superba Poems and it's by Rico Design. It has super-long color repeats, which make the shawl she made look almost as if it was knit with stripes of yarn. 

Photo by Kath Gordon. Used with her permission.

Another tester, Jan, used all but three yards of a skein (yikes!) of Cascade Yarns Heritage 150 Paints to make her version. 

Jan doesn't mess around when blocking!

Another great yarn for this pattern would be Friea Handpaint's Flux Fingering Weight. It would take three skeins to work, but it would be very worth it.

I would also love to see it in 4 skeins of Painter's Palette Premium Merino by Koigu, 2 skeins of Socks that Rock Lightweight by Blue Moon Fiber Arts, or a very subtle 2 skeins of tosh merino light by madelinetosh. I will probably never have time to knit more versions of this shawl, but a girl can dream...

Now Live: Keys to the Castle and Updated Für Eloise Shawl

I've updated the files on Ravelry and will add them to Craftsy later today. I'll share more details about the process of the shawl on Monday. For now, I'm just really happy to start out November with one new pattern and one updated one!

Buy Now: Keys to the Castle Baby Sweater

Buy Now: Für Eloise Shawl

Looking for Inspiration

I worry about writer's (knitter's?) block a lot less than I used to. Creative work takes practice. The more you work on it, the easier it is.

This isn't one of those swatches. I was too disgusted to take photos of them.

However, sometimes I just can't get the process to work. A design call went out a few days ago from a company that I love. They create truly delicious yarn and I would absolutely freak out if I got to design for them.

I printed out the call, looked at their inspiration boards, and sat down with my sketchpad and pencil.

Nothing.

"Ok, I can do this. I'll try again."

I read over some old knitting books that are full of techniques. Sometimes a technique is enough to set me off on the path to a design.

Nothing.

I swatched a little. It can't hurt. I made four different swatches in different yarns on different needles. A cowl? A hat? Socks?

Nothing.

Blugh. I guess working with this company will have to wait. Maybe I'll have a better time connecting with their next set of ideas. I don't want to force it and end up with something I don't like.

Remembering My Nana

Almost two weeks ago, my maternal grandmother, who we called "Nana," passed away. I feel blessed that I had a chance to see her before she went, and return to Oklahoma to see her laid to rest.

Snowglobe of T-Town.

She was from a very small town about an hour from Tulsa. I keep trying to think of how I can eulogize her properly. My mother did a great job, here.

Under a brilliant blue sky, we met to eat, talk and remember her. Here are some things that I remember:

Nana believed that every person, but especially children, needed spare time and a quiet place to think. Good shoes and a warm coat were also important. For at least some of her childhood, she didn't have any of those luxuries. 

Constant Comment tea with lemon is delicious, but coke from a glass bottle is a special treat. 

The back of your work is as important as the front. You know what's there, even if no one else does. (Embroidery and quilting ran in the family. My knitting is a modern affectation.)

She would get up at 4 a.m. to bake fresh pies for Thanksgiving dinner, because everyone loves freshly-baked pie.

Always respect all people, no matter what. 

Yellow was her favorite color. I was thinking of her as I spun this:

She was gone before I plied it. 

In fact, she loved bright colors, wherever they appeared. A cardinal was a thing of joy. A daffodil, a blessing.

I love you, Nana. I miss you.

It Happens...

I have a new pair of slippers: Sherwood Slippers.

They are a little less structured than some of my others, but I really like them. I decided I wanted to offer sizes, this time. They go from women's small to men's large. Knit on large needles, they are a super-fast knit. (This is good, since every relative who has seen a pair wants some.)

I sent the pattern out to testers and got some notes back - the slippers were unusually large. Like, maybe a whole size larger than I meant for them to be. The ones I knit, in women's medium, fit my size 8.5 feet and Dee's size 6.5 feet (with socks), so I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

I popped open the spreadsheet and fiddled with numbers. I had accidentally figured out the circumference needed for the slippers by using the length measurement. Whoops! No wonder they were too big. I worked up some revisions and will try again...

Design Inspiration: Mediety

“Mediety” means one of two mostly equal parts. I made it as a test to see how far I could take modular knitting and also because I love the way garter stitch looks when it is sideways.

This sweater is made in two halves that are then joined. Both halves start at the top of the shoulder, then raglan increases create the beginning of the sleeves and part of the fronts and backs. Sleeves are knit seamlessly, in the round.

Finally, stitches are picked up and short-rows in garter stitch are made to bring the fronts and backs together, provide waist shaping and create an interesting neckline. I think that garter stitch removes the need for wrap-and-turn or other techniques that reduce holes at short-row turning points.

A knitter who is already comfortable with working  raglan shaping with ribbing, short rows, and  garter grafting will, hopefully, find this to be a very easy project. Knitters who want to have those skills could use this as a learning project.

I used a bunch of test knitters on this pattern. The tech editor I wanted to use wasn’t available at the time, so I released the pattern in “beta.” If you buy it and find a mistake, let me know and I’ll refund your money.

Dreaming

My office window at work.

Most people seem to feel strongly, one way or the other, about hitting the snooze button on an alarm. I, myself, am guilty of being capable of rolling in and out of sleep for over an hour, in-between strangling my alarm.

I tend to have extremely vivid, interesting dreams during my snooze-button interludes. Sometimes I'm reading a book, sometimes someone is telling me a story. They're never unhappy dreams. Part of me thinks it's a trick my brain is playing on me. If it can keep things cool enough, maybe I'll just stay in bed.

This morning, as I snooze-buttoned my way to near-lateness, I dreamed that I was in my office at work, messing with the windows. It takes an old-fashioned can opener to open them, and they only open a little bit. I wasn't upset in the dream, but I couldn't get a window to open.

I don't dream about work very much. Certainly, much less often than I ever dreamed about school when I was in school. (When I joined the swim team in high school, I dreamed about swimming for weeks.) Years ago, I told a coworker that I had never dreamed about using a camera, even though it was such a big part of my life. Then I did have that dream, the next night.

How closely do your dreams reflect your life?

Book Folder, #1

This is the first folder for the book. It's stuffed with yarn samples, swatches, and the scribbles of my notes on quasi-patterns as I knit through what I wrote. I hauled it around in my knitting bag. In quiet morning moments and during lunches alone, I wrote out, by hand, my ideas and formulas, trying to peel back three-dimensional shapes into sets of numbers that made sense.

Stapled into the front of the folder: every receipt for all of the yarn provided for Simply Socks Yarn Company. Stapled into the back: a chart of foot/sock sizes.

When I started revising the book, I made a new folder. It allows me not to be so overwhelmed, but I can still keep my old notes in case I need them for later.

Journalists are terrible about either keeping or losing everything. I'm trying to stay somewhere in the middle. Still, something tells me that I will hold onto this folder for a very long time.

The Light Went Out

I went to use my trusty Nikon SB-28 for some photos and...nothing. Turns out that the Keys to the Castle shoot was its last hurrah.

Bad lighting, courtesy of not having the right setup.

I've seen flashes stop working, and this one is definitely kaput. It served me well for over ten years, which impressed me until I realized I'm still using a Vivitar flash that my mom bought when she was in college.

I ordered a new one, an SB-700. Let's hope it lasts half as long!

Keys to the Castle - Discounted Pattern AND Yarn Discount

One of my friends pointed out that my earlier post made it sound a little as if only people who are planning on joining the Knit a Long can get Keys to the Castle for the discount price. That's not true!

Buy the Preview for the KAL through Ravelry at the lower price (before Nov. 1), and you will still get a full version of the pattern on Nov. 1, when the pattern is released. Get in early to save a little cash. :)

Also (and this is SO COOL), you can get 20% off your Perfectly Posh Sport yarn by entering the code “Castle-KAL” when you checkout at FiberWild! They’ve got every color available, either in house or as a special order color!

Design Inspiration: Sweetest Heart Socks

I designed my Sweetest Heart Socks as part of a kit for Simply Socks Yarn Company in February of 2012. Six months after its release, the rights reverted to me. I re-released it myself after I had a few test knitters try it out.

It was a fun design to make. Allison assumed that I'd written a ton of top-down sock patterns before, but in fact I had only done one - and that was for a Christmas stocking! We talked about how she wanted the pattern to look and a drew a few sketches. I was originally going to stretch a single heart all of the way across the top/front of the sock.

When I knit the swatch, that turned out not to show up very well. The curve of the foot/leg made it hard to make out the heart shape. I again tried with hearts that were half as wide, and I was very happy with the result.

I added one last heart, centered, on the toe, to be worked during the toe decreases. It made the design feel pretty clever to me.

On Ravelry, I saw a great pair made from this pattern by a lady, Anna-Mia Heikkinen, in Finland. I will never get over how exciting it is to see someone knit a pattern of mine from so many thousands of miles away. She used Cascade Yarns Heritage Solids & Quatro Colors and I think it looks great! I messaged her and she gave me permission to use her photo here.

Copr. Anna-Mia Heikkinen, 2012

Cider Apples

I read this poem in high school and it has really stuck with me. 

After Apple-Picking

BY ROBERT FROST

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree

Toward heaven still,

And there's a barrel that I didn't fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three

Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.

But I am done with apple-picking now.

Essence of winter sleep is on the night,

The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.

I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight

I got from looking through a pane of glass

I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough

And held against the world of hoary grass.

It melted, and I let it fall and break.

But I was well

Upon my way to sleep before it fell,

And I could tell

What form my dreaming was about to take.

Magnified apples appear and disappear,

Stem end and blossom end,

And every fleck of russet showing clear.

My instep arch not only keeps the ache,

It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.

I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.

And I keep hearing from the cellar bin

The rumbling sound

Of load on load of apples coming in.

For I have had too much

Of apple-picking: I am overtired

Of the great harvest I myself desired.

There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,

Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.

For all

That struck the earth,

No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,

Went surely to the cider-apple heap

As of no worth.

One can see what will trouble

This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.

Were he not gone,

The woodchuck could say whether it's like his

Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,

Or just some human sleep.

---

I don't know if it means this to anyone else, but I have always interpreted the "cider-apple heap" as the drawer where one stuffs the work they have done that someone else says they don't like. Poetry, writing, and knit swatches have all had their cider-places in my life.

You know it's worth something. Maybe the idea will rise again. Maybe the exact same thing will look like a golden apple to a different judge.

But...but...

It's harder to look at the thing the same way. Even if it is not "not bruised or spiked with stubble." It's harder to see its worth once someone else has seen it and said, "no thanks." (Or worse, said nothing at all.)

Cascadia Winner!

The lovely Jen won out with the random number generator, even though she doesn't seem to believe Cascadia exists!

Call Me Kip

I'm reading The English Patient at night, before I go to sleep. As usual, if you like the movie, you'll probably love the book, since it's better.

I have something in common with Kip.  I work better when I have music to focus my mind. It has to be in a language I don't know. I wrote, and am now revising, my book while listening to various versions of Don Giovanni.

I'm glad I'm untangling my own mistakes and cleaning up words instead of bombs, though.