Swatching with a purpose

After doing all those little learning swatches, I felt the need to make something usable. I have some pink acrylic that's on my list to disappear. I think some little 10 year old might like the color. At least I hope so. So, this makes hat #5 and scarf #1 for the guild's charity drive. Always amazes me how slowly the yarn gets eaten up when you really want it to be gone. The scarf is the English rib racked. Mind numbingly boring to knit, but the edges don't curl. If you make a scarf, it is a good idea to start with waste yarn, then at the end make a hung hem on both ends. Otherwise I can't see a way to make both ends of the scarf look the same.



This little flower comes in handy to embellish things. It takes just a few minutes to knit. Here's how. Ewrap cast on 3 or 4 stitches. Knit one row and hang onto the yarn tail with your left hand. Push in one part button so that the carriage knits one way and slips the other to make the I Cord. Knit 30 rows (which is actually 15 rows of knit). Pick up row one and hang on the middle of the stitches in work. Repeat, making 5 "petals". Bind off. When you attach it to a hat or scarf, use the yarn ends to tidy up the flower. Sew to the back and out to the front again. Make a French knot for the middle of the flower and knot again on the back side. Hide the yarn end. Made larger, this flower looks good felted too.

Next up is to practice Mary Anne Oger's WarmUp SOX from issue #39. Hope I can make a sock without dropping any stitches this time.

Rolling on the ribber!

More swatches!


First I tried a racking pattern. You rack from zero to 10 and back again. I don't know if it was my yarn or what, but when I got to the 10 extreme side, the ribber stitch fell off. A friend tried it and had more success racking to just 8, so if I use this again that's what I'll do. I like it. I think it would make a cool scarf if I could figure out what to do with the curling edges.

Next I tried a tube. Ugly yarn, but got the concept. Need that for circular socks.



I really really like the English rib racking pattern. It lies perfectly flat. Interesting on both sides. Would make a great shawl or scarf.








I think I did something wrong when doing the 5 x 5 pattern. The knit stitch at the far right in each group doesn't look right. Will try that one again.





Spurred on by my meager successes, I tried doing a circular sock. Very good practice, and the thing even fits me. Looks like it belongs to Bigfoot, doesn't it? I did a short rowed heel, a circular foot and decreases for the toe, which I really liked. Just one small problem. I dropped 3 stitches when transferring to circular after the heel.You can't see the whole thing because it's squished under the lid of my scanner, but you can see where I lost my stitches. Using this as a prototype, I now have kind of an idea what size to make the socks. Now if I can just get that transfer right. I have a feeling I hung too much weight. Not going to bother grafting the toe stitches together. Here's another view of the toe. Looks better in person, honest.

Amazingly, I'm having a good time with this. Just hope I get better at it with practice. Sure helps that the static is gone!!! I realize this is a boring post, but somehow reporting on my ribber progress helps keep me on track. I might even make something with one of these patterns. Soon.

New Year's Resolution: Overcome Ribber Revulsion

Actually, I made two New Year's resolutions this year in regard to machine knitting. The first was to use up yarn, donate items made from it, throw some away, whatever was needed to reduce the stash. The second, which is the topic of this post, was to learn my ribber better. When I first got my 970 +ribber, I tried various cast on techniques and didn't get attached to any of them. So, my usual thing was to start my piece with waste yarn, finish the piece, turn it upside down and knit the rib downwards. I liked the cast- off look when going between the beds better than any cast- on I found. I purchased a garter carriage about a year ago and used that a lot too---making the ribber even less enticing. But, that is how I got "ribber challenged".

So, I got my ribber out the other day and proceeded to set it up. To my consternation, I found that I was missing the setting screws that fit into the setting plates to attach the ribber to the main bed. They are very distinctive---flat but nice looking, if a screw can be nice looking. (NO SNICKERS, please.) I looked everywhere, searched every conceivable nook and cranny in my knitting room --- to no avail. I must have put them in a safe place, so safe the FBI couldn't find them. I went to the local, old-fashioned hardware store and had a nice young man help me find the right metric screw size. $.17 each. Put them on, attached the ribber and ouch. Didn't fit exactly right so the ribber wasn't adjusted the way it was supposed to be adjusted. No ribbing that day.

Thinking these setting screws for the Brother ribber would be easily obtained, I emailed several Brother dealers. Not so easily obtained, I found out. Did manage to snag four of them. Two for now and two for good measure. It appears that they are as scarce as hens' teeth. Bought all four so that I'd be less likely to find myself in this pickle in the future. Lo and behold, I screwed them in, attached the ribber, and the setup looks exactly like the picture in the manual. Moral of the story, don't hide things in such remote safe places. Or something like that. My friend Sandy screws hers to the setting plates when she takes the ribber off. Makes a ton of sense. They are at least bigger and not as likely to get lost. As for me, however, it's unlikely I will ever remove this ribber again in this lifetime.

That hurdle over, I decided I would begin my ribber journey. A friend gave me this book. If you are ribber challenged, but want to get better, I would recommend it. I decided to go through each example, one at a time and not proceed until each came out fairly well. Meticulously following directions, I thought surely victory would be mine. ICK! Nothing was turning out. Had random stitches tucking in the middle of the swatch, all on the ribber. So, I took the center 20 ribber needles and exchanged them for the 10 end ribber needles both sides. I see a big truckload of shiny new ribber needles coming to my house in the near future. Anyway, no more tucking, so onward and forward I went.



Here are the first two techniques in the book: a 1 x 1 with the manual's cast on. The edge fluted a bit at first, but after it sat for a while it shaped up. And then I did a 2 x 2 rib with the manual's cast on. Boy, that was not easy getting the weighted comb in the right spot. So, I ewrapped on, knit a row, transferred stitches to the ribber and knit away. Easier and looked ok.
Gathering courage, I was ready to move on to the next one when the dreaded static monster struck. Having had this before, I recognized that awful grating sound when moving the carriage in one direction. I misted the room, rubbed down the beds with dryer fabric sheets, oiled everything in sight, had a gin and tonic (to eliminate the possibility of the static coming from my body of course), used Cathie Sanders' copper mesh and wire, misted the room some more, sprayed the yarn and beds with anti-static spray and NOTHING WORKED! Really bummed out, I had to quit for the night. Didn't want to wreck my machine, doncha know.

Thinking there must be valid reasons for my ribber avoidance syndrome that shouldn't be ignored, I was actually thinking maybe I'd forget about this resolution of mine. Then I happened to be talking to Amanda at Knit and Sew World in St. Peter about a yarn order when I mentioned my frustration with the static. She said, "Have you tried putting your yarn on a piece of rubber?" Long story short, I hadn't, I did and now all is heavenly.

Next two swatches: English rib and Fisherman's rib, knit one after the other.
and after that, full needle rib.

Not wanting to tempt fate, I'm quitting the ribbing for the day. Thanks for hanging in with me to this point. Can you tell it has been a bit traumatic? Will move on tomorrow to bigger and better things.

Still hat weather here...

Winter has let us know in no uncertain terms that it is still with us. The temp was 17 F today, but it felt like minus 17 F with the wind as strong as it was. I'm ready to call it a done deal and get on with spring. At least the sun was shining today. That helps.

I had promised myself that I would use up some of my yarn this winter and contribute to our guild's kids' hats Salvation Army donation. So far, I've got two done. I'll share the pattern for the long stocking hat in case anyone is interested.

Made for charity 2-09-to fit 10 yrs and older.
Standard gauge
Yarn: Mary Lue’s Symphony/Solo -- teal, red, purple, turquoise, tan
Gauge: 7 st x 10 r = 1”
Finished size: At brim, 18” wide, 24” long with brim rolled up
Directions:
Mock rib - Cast on eon with waste yarn, knit a few rows, T 7, 130 N. One row ravel cord. Start with main yarn keeping to eon for mock rib. Knit 36 rows. Hang hem. OR do a regular hem on every needle, knit 36 rows and hang stitches. OR do regular ribbing. Put all N in work. Change to T 8 and add one stitch both sides. RC 000. Knit 20 rows in stripes x 4. RC 80. *Decrease every 6th stitch across, knit a row same color, take off on wy and rehang so there are no empty N. (Or, use garter bar.) Knit 20 rows new color.* Repeat from * to * until you have about 20 stitches left. Draw up on a long piece of yarn to be used for seaming. Remove waste yarn, run in ends. Mattress stitch the side seam. Make a tassle and attach to end.

I rolled the brim up, but it could stay down too. Uneven stripes or fairisle would make a dandy hat too.

Lazy wench that I am, I didn't photograph it but just stuck it under the scanner. So the picture above is kind of wimpy. The hat reminds me of stocking hats from many years ago. I think you could make it even longer and use the end to wrap around the neck as a scarf and hat all-in-one deal. Maybe I'll do that next and use up even more yarn!

Happy Valentine's Day

I've been knitting more ski hats for a local high school, so there hasn't been a lot of knitting time for me. No silk painting lately either! I'm done with the hats for another year, so now I can play.

In honor of the day, I thought I'd offer you a pattern for a knit hot pad. It can be either hand or machine knit. I was knitting these up in all sorts of patterns a while back. They make nice stocking stuffers, especially if personalized. I did a lesson on how to design things in DesignaKnit for my machine knitting guild retreat and also included directions for them in a Beginner's Style File article for Knitwords a few years ago. I aimed for a 8 x 8 inch size, but size doesn't matter so much as long as they are utilitarian. You need to use cotton or wool because synthetics would likely melt. I put a layer of heat resistant material inside. I can't remember what it's called, but you can purchase it at any sewing/fabric store. I did designs that were personalized, for different holidays and occasions, some with funny sayings and even college logos. Easy to do in DesignaKnit. The floats are enclosed. You don't have to do anything to them and in fact they help with the insulation factor.

To copy the graph, click on the picture above so that you get a larger version. Then right click and save to your desktop and print from there.

Knitting directions: The pattern is 53 stitches by 137 rows. Use a mk tension or hk needle size appropriate for your yarn. Note: If knitting by machine, it's a good idea to have the end needles select so that you don't get a hole at the side of the end hearts. If knitting by hand, twist the yarns at the beginning of the first heart in each row. I have the DAK <.pat> file if you want it. Just write to me and I'll email it to you. After knitting the piece and binding off, fold in half with right sides together. Cut a piece of insulating fabric making it 1/16" smaller all around and place it on top of the knitted piece. Pin everything together. Seam through all layers with a sewing machine (a very small seam allowance), leaving one side open for turning and turn right side out. Slip stitch the final edge together by hand with matching yarn. You can make a small I cord so that it looks like a typical hot pad and include it in the seam, or just skip it.

I have made some out of wool and felted them, but they get kind of thick and unruly. Also, most of the time when you felt something with longish floats, you get some funny puckering.

It's kind of a fun and mindless project. Sometimes a person needs something like that, ya know?

Hope you have a lovely day!

More silk scarves...a few triumphs, a lot of blunders

I'm trying out some new (to me) techniques. The first is done using Pebeo black and bronze (which you can't see very well) water soluble gutta. Not too happy with the black, because I think I snipped off the tip too far down, making the hole too large, causing the lines to be too thick. Always something with being a newbie. The butterflies are a little overwhelming, even though I adore the colors.

On the second scarf, I had a lot of fun because it wasn't so taxing. Just blobs of color, let them spread, put a teaspoon of salt in the centers. Easily entertained, I was fascinated by the salt as it both repelled and attracted the color, ending up looking like real flower centers and adding texture. Then I painted the whole thing with Jaquard no flow, I think it's called, so that I could outline the flowers with black and not have the ink spread. Then finally I ironed it to set the dyes and washed it in Synthrapol.

Just like when you photograph knits, the items look lots better in person.

Here is a closeup of the salt effect.

I think you also need that touchability to appreciate.


Still having fun, but I REALLY need to get back to my knitting machines.

Another Fan Lace Scarf

This is a scan of my second fan lace scarf. This one was knit on my standard gauge with Brown Sheep Nature Spun, 100% wool, in white-white. Hardly ever does my husband comment on my knitting---in a positive way, anyway----but he liked this one. I used Jaquard Textile Paint on it and then heat set it. I really need to wash it in Synthropol to soften it and get the excess dye out, but I'm doing a presentation on the technique at our guild tonight and don't have time for it to dry, I don't think. Always doing things at the last minute. Hopefully, when I do get around to the Synthropol, the vibrant colors will stick around. I also want to sew on a button because this is cowl-sized, rather than scarf-sized like the red one I showed previously. I can't decide if I like the midgauge or standard gauge version better. I actually did block it exactly like the red one by pulling out points. When I painted it, the points disappeared and went back to their natural bent, which is a rounded edge rather than a pointy one. It's nifty how the 3 stitch edge curls a bit and looks finished. I guess both gauges are equally appealing, other than the midgauge produced a longer scarf faster, naturally.

For the guild, I'm bringing my midgauge because it's so portable. I'll crochet the first 3 rows the width of the cowl, which will be a repeat of 9 stitches plus 3 at the end. I'll do that at home to save time. I think this hand crocheted edge looks more finished than the end of the red one, which is just one row of stitches crocheted with the latch tool. Easy to do and I think it looks more sturdy and more decorative. I like how the edges fan out a bit too. Also easy to make both ends of the thing look absolutely identical, which isn't always so easily accomplished on knitted stuff.

I hope my guild likes it. It's hard to find things these seasoned knitters don't know about!!! If you missed the directions, see my previous post about it and you can watch Cheryl's You Tube videos to learn how.
Later...OK, now I added 3 blue buttons, buttoned up the thing then folded over the top and buttoned again. Added a little flair and give the chin some breathing room. Seems like you could button this in a number of ways. Now I'm ready for tonight, just have to pack up my machine and accessories.