My City Tweed Amna just keeps growing, I hit the waistline over the weekend and now have a few rows to go before the increases for the lower body start up:
Tonight I’m packing for our Thanksgiving trip, and I have to decide what knitting to take with me. The Amna is obviously coming along, but I’m torn about what else to bring. Another sweater project? Something smaller? If you’re in the US, what are your plans for Thanksgiving knitting?
As promised, I’m back this week with a small tutorial for the beaded bow stitch, which features heavily in the Holiday Lights tam pattern. For the curious, this stitch took it’s inspiration from the “Little Butterfly” stitch in Barbara Walker’s first Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Ready? Here we go!
First, you’ll need to string beads onto your yarn. You know that little trick with the crochet hook where you don’t have to string beads ahead of time? It’s very nice, but it won’t work here, so don’t do it. Load up that yarn:
The bow stitch is worked over five stitches and six rows. On row 1, we set up the stitch as follows: K1, then move the yarn to the front of the work and slide two beads up the yarn to the base of the right needle. With the yarn still in front, slip THREE stitches:
Then finish with a K1. You should now have a “float” of yarn across the front of the work, with two beads on it:
Work the next three rows in stockinette. Here’s a better picture of what that float will look like:
On row 5, we’ll finish things off. K2, then insert the right hand needle under the float from row 1, so that there is a bead on each side of the needle:
Make a yarn over, and pull it back through the float, creating a new “stitch”:
K1, and then pass this yarn over stitch over to finish creating the “bow”, then K2 to finish the repeat:
Work one final row in stockinette stitch, and you’re done!
Way back in March I knit up this little swatch:
And made this little sketch:
And sent them both off too Colorado. A few months later I got an email from Eunny Jang.
Delicious yarn arrived in the mail:
(Lorna’s Laces Honor, color Patina. Every bit as soft and lovely as you would expect).
I added beads:
And made this:
And now you can find the pattern in the Winter 2011 issue of Interweave Knits. They’ve done a bang-up job with photography on my piece:
(photo credits: Interweave Press)
And there are loads of other delightful projects in the issue as well, so please, go check it out! I’m especially loving the look of Erica Patberg’s Peplum and Pleat jacket and Amy Miller’s Livingstone cardigan:
(photo credit: Interweave Press)
I’ll be back later this week with a little photo tutorial on the beaded bow stitch used in the tam, so be sure to stop by again!
We don’t really get the riot of fall colors here that characterize autumn in other parts of the US, but even so I’ve been noticing subtle changes marking the movement towards winter:
And as the green disappears from the leaves, I’ve got some greenery of my own on growing on the needles:
I finished the yoke and divided for body and sleeves yesterday, and am now making my way down to the waist. Think I can finish this one by the end of the year?
I finished a sweater in the month of November!
My estimate of stitch count suggests that I might actually be a little under 50,000 stitches, but…whatever. It’s a sweater. I knit it in two weeks. Kind of awesome, no?
This is a perfect California coastal sweater, keeping the core nice and warm, but leaving the arms bare to prevent the overheating that can happen with full-on sweaters. And, it is non-knitter approved, a co-worker yelled “cool sweater!” at me in the hallway yesterday. Nice.
I am working up the pattern for this, if you’re interested in test knitting, keep an eye on my Ravelry group for details in the next couple of weeks.
One of my favorite things about knitting, aside from the knitting part, is using my handknits. So today I thought I’d start something new, with a post about an older piece of knitting and how it’s being used now. I thought this theme would be fun to do as an occasional series, as I often hear people saying things along the lines of “I loved making this, but now what do I do with it?”
Today’s item is a Charlotte’s Web shawl, made back in 2004 (using 5 skeins of Koigu Painter’s Palette yarn–awesome stuff). Here’s how I’ve been wearing it lately:
This photo highlights one of my major strategies when wearing a multicolored handknit: avoid pairing with white or black. I know, they “go with everything”. But I don’t think they go that extra mile to *enhancing* very often. I know I also tend to look a bit corpselike if I put black right next to my face. So, I prefer to go with less extreme neutral shades. In this case, a grey t-shirt goes well with the blue/purple/grey palette of the shawl and keeps the overall look softer than a black shirt would. Deep plum and purple colors also seem to pair well with a lot of other shades, despite not technically being “neutrals”.
As for the actual “wearing” of the shawl: when I initially made this piece I would wear it spread out over my shoulders, pinned to one side. On the one hand, this style displayed the maximum amount of shawl area. However, it was fussy (the shawl would often slip around) and only practical for more dressy occasions where I didn’t need to use my arms much. Now, I tend to wear it more as a large scarf, which is equally dramatic in it’s own way, and much better for everyday wear!
Do you have any strategies for showing your knitting labors off to their best advantage or suggestions for this occasional series? Feel free to share with a comment if you do!
I’ve been giving my library card a good workout lately, these all went back today:
I find that my library use and knitting activity tend to move in parallel–apparently I only watch DVDs or read books when I also have a pair of needles close to hand. I’ve always been one of those people who inhale books, and when I started knitting, I remember thinking how much it would cut into my reading time. How wrong I was. Turns out that you really can knit and read at the same time! The tricks to success are:
1. A simple-ish knitting project (stockinette in the round is the ideal, but simple stitch patterns are also workable).
2. A large and reasonably well-worn book, that will stay open without assistance (library books are typically trade paperbacks or hardback and thus perfect, mass market paperbacks are nearly useless and should be avoided).
In case you’re looking for some ideas for reading or viewing to accompany your knitting, here are my speed reviews:
1. Game of Thrones (Book) I’ve been reading this along with my other half and we’ve both loved it. If you like long, involved books with intricate subplots and characters, you’ll love this book. I will admit my delicate sensibilities are occasionally shocked by the, um, frank, language and descriptions. If this book were a movie, I’d probably give it an R.
2. A Falcon for a Queen (Book) was a bit more of a gamble–I often cruise around the fiction section and pick books somewhat at random. These sorts of “vintage novels” (written in the 1950′s-1970′s) are usually pretty fluff but can still make for fun reads. Summary of this one: young girl travels from China to Scotland to discover the secrets of her brother’s death. Scotland gets under her skin in the process and she discovers love and an appreciation for whiskey, plaid, etc. And of course, there is a dramatic reveal near the end. I don’t think I’d re-read this one anytime soon but it was entertaining (and I may have stayed up a little late to finish it one night!).
3. Small Island (DVD) Eh. Premise is good: a Jamaican couple moves to post-WWII Britain, persevere despite prejudice. Their (white) landlady has had a fling with the Jamaican wife’s cousin, but neither side knows of the connection. Landlady’s husband reappears after going AWOL, adding to the drama. Overall the movie was kind of disjointed and didn’t really develop any of the character stories very well.
4. Pride and Prejudice (DVD 1980 version) Very obviously made in the late 70′s/early 80′s, but I thought great acting and accurate representation of characters. Overall pretty true to the book. My major complaint is that Elizabeth Bennett spends much of the film in a truly hideous dress with a ruffled high neck, which is pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.
5. Foyle’s War, Series 6 (DVD) I love this series so, so much. Set in WWII Britain, Foyle is a clever and rather dry detective, solving murders and other crimes with the help of his driver, Sam, and sergeant, Milner. Series 6 actually takes place after the war ends, in the summer of 1945. For knitters, these episodes are extra awesome as Sam finally gets out of her MTC uniform and into civilian clothing, including several lovely knits.
What do you like to read while you knit? I’m always looking for new suggestions, so if you have a favorite, please leave a comment!
Last night arrived home to a small and unassuming package on the doorstep. I opened it up and found:
A tidy little bag full of fun stuff!
From bottom to top:
My contributor copy of Jane Austen Knits. After leafing through the whole thing, I can say even more emphatically that I’m thrilled to have been included. There are so many great patterns (and some that have not yet been entered into the Ravelry database, so there were some fun surprises in there as well).
I also received a lovely card from Amy Clarke Moore, who edited the special edition, as well as some extra copies of the Fitz pattern (which are now filed away in my little portfolio folder):
And finally, the most exciting part of the package, my sample mitts and the original swatch I submitted back in January:
I often get asked about the changes a pattern might undergo between swatching and the final sample. In this case, you can see that all the major elements of the pattern remained intact, but that the color certainly took a change! If you’re thinking of casting on for some Fitz mitts in a different color, maybe this swatch picture will serve as a little inspiration. The Shetland Spindrift yarn used for the mitts comes in a wide (really wide!) array of colors, so there’s lots of possibility for a little substitution!
I planted all sorts of seeds for my fall garden this year, but so far it seems the only thing taking off is the kale:
Kale was also my big crop last winter, and certainly if I had to pick one thing to do well this would probably be it. Still, it would be nice if a few of those broccoli and brussel sprout seedlings were proving themselves to be as hardy! I’ll now be resigning myself to a winter of kale chips, kale and white bean stew, kale sauteed with garlic, kale smoothies, and so on. Oh, the hardship 
Monday morning I wrapped up my mini-break to the Bay Area, packed up my knitting, and hied myself off to the San Jose train station:
San Jose is one of the more charming of the California Amtrak stations, with high ceilings, murals, and quaint history displays like this one:
After a short wait at the station, the train arrived:
And I was headed back down south! For anyone who is curious, the train I took was the Coast Starlight, which runs from Los Angeles to Seattle (and back). This is the only train connecting southern California to the Bay Area. It’s not a very good travel option if you’re in a hurry (my trip would have taken about half the time in a car), but if you have the time I definitely recommend it. No worrying about staying awake at the wheel, no airport security, miles of legroom, no checked luggage fees, and power outlets online even mean you can bring a laptop and log some time working (if your work is such that it can be done with a laptop). I got more dissertation writing done in a few hours of train travel than I usually do in a week, thanks to the lack of interruptions from internet, coworkers coming in and out, campus construction noises, and so on.
And of course, no mini-break is complete without knitting, and with all that train travel, progress was inevitable:
and:
