| this just in |
tuesday 06.01.2004 |
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maura from the meetup knit group is sharing her photo album with fellow knitters. she's the craziest knitter i've ever met, knitting furiously on at least five projects simultaneously. she simply jams on two circulars!
she's in chicago this week and will be joining the knitting in public group. she promised to send pictures so check back in a week for those. meanwhile, check out her successful felted hand bags!
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| tooty booty |
wednesday 06.02.2004 |
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i had a terrific time hanging at the unofficial meetup last night. rachel graciously hosted us in her living room. we had pizza and did more talking and laughing than knittting. i should add that i think rachel is a star. the more i learn about her, the more i am fond of her. and she's got abs of steel!
these days i'm knitting aimlessly waiting for the next stroke of inspiration. i can't knit seamless sweaters forever so i'm looking to pan out. i thought about knitting a shawl. then a poncho. seeing how i would wear neither, i resorted to something less ambitious.
 my very first bootie
yes, i'm knitting booties. and they fit like a dream! can you believe it? i got brave and decided to overcome the fear of having to knit two identical things, aka pairophobia. thank goodness it's a super simple pattern.
 elizabeth zimmermann's add-a-bootee
i was hesitant with the sew bit but i figured that if ez could do it, it can't be too bad. in fact, i overcame all sorts of fear knitting this bootie: following a pattern, picking up stitches, cutting yarn, etc. the best part is, of course, no purling!
i'm on the third bootee now. i'm just going to knit until i run out of the acrylic/wool blend yarn. rachel suggested using a spray that will give the soles grip. it's a great idea except we don't know what the spray is called. jg thinks that clear silicone caulk could work. i'm not sure if it would stick permanently.
if you have suggestions for a non-skid sole, please share!
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| handbag pattern |
friday 06.04.2004 |
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at the request of jenn and q, i have drawn up the pattern for the handbag i used in the experimental felting project. for your visualization:
it's a basic tube with strategic slits for handles and a flat base. see how simple the pattern is:
yarn: 1 skein of reynolds lopi
needles: 16" circular us size 13
gauge: hm?
1. cast on 62 stitches.
2. knit 1x1 ribbing for 4".
3. next round: knit 7, bind off 11, knit 20, bind off 11, knit 13.
4. next round: knit 7, cast on 11, knit 20, cast on 11, knit 13.
5. continue ribbing for until total length is 6".
6. stop ribbing. start knitting stockinette for the next 12".
7. next round: knit 25, bind off 6, knit 25, bind off 6.
8. next row: knit 25, turn.
9. purl 25 back. turn.
10. repeat steps 8+9 three times, creating a flap for the bottom.
11. sew edges and weave live stitches to close up bottom.
12. darn in all loose ends.
this pattern could be knitted bottom up by knitting the bottom flap first. the bags i've seen at the java station are all knitted that way. personally i don't like to pick up stitches so i wrote this pattern top down. jenn commented that my bag looks a lot like the one in stitch-n-bitch. you might want to take a look at that book before using this pattern.
in retrospect, knitting is the easy part. the nail chewing part begins with knowingly putting a diastrously shrinking material into the washer, the hopelessness of which can only be surpassed by pulling out a wrinkled wad of stinky wet wool. this stiff amoebic mass then has to be wrestled into a recognizable shape of a bag. this process should be called traumatizing instead of felting.
overall, it was a good experiment. now i know to:
a. make a swatch and wash it to get a better idea of the shape+size of
the finished bag.
b. knit very loosely to allow yarn to felt. i knitted this one a bit too tightly
for effective felting.
c. expect drastic shrinkage in height.
d. watch for mismatching handle openings as bag felts. shape bag after
each wash to achieve better symmetry.
feel free to send me your questions, comments, and suggestions. good luck.
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| elena j |
wednesday 06.09.2004 |
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remember this post? well, guess what?!
my hat worked its magic. tiny fingers, tiny wrinkles. amazingly tiny little person. hooray for elena j!
 thuy+the hat wearer
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| amendment |
thursday 06.17.2004 |
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i just realized i forgot to add this picture to the previous entry, the one that was posted in a rush because the wireless connection was cutting on and off. i really should try reading my own blog more often.
anyway, this was taken on my way to glen park on monday. it was the first time i took the bart since 1992.
 self portrait on the bay area rapid transit
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| finally, some knitting content |
friday 06.18.2004 |
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these days i knit minimally. the very evening i arrived in sausalito i casted on for a poncho. the cold climate made me start it in haste. i hadn't thought about it much other than i wanted to knit it top down. i'm at right below the shoulders right now. i stopped knitting it since monday. the yarn i'm using doesn't knit up very well.
 horrible yarn
do you know what else is horrible? there is not one single decent surface in this entire house where i can lay down the knitting for a picture. i hate the look of darkly stained wood. makes for really poor images.
monday night i got it in my head to knit an icord doll. so far i've got two legs, a lower body, and one arm. the legs are four stitches each. the arm, 3 stitches. the head will be a trick. and the outfit. if you have suggestions, please share with me.
tuesday i was out driving around town doing errands when i found a small yarn store called the yarn collection. i was overtaken by the a long wall plastered with manos del uruguays. i decided to buy one hank just for the colors of it. i liked how the owner asked me what i'm going to do with it before selling it to me.
 pure wool, 100 grams, 138 yards, color 114, $14.95
aren't the colors something? i told the owner i'd make a beanie with it but i changed my mind. i'm using it for interior decoration.
 nice packaging
last night i made swatches of the wool yarn i have on cones. i bought pounds and pounds of this yarn a while back. i just adore the tweedy effect. i'm going to make all the seamless sweaters i can with it!
 green, green+tan, tan
the green and tan swatches are knitted with us6 needles, gauge is 5.5 stitches per inch. the combo swatch is with us8, 4.5 stitches per inch. they all slant no matter how much i blocked them. i have always thought the slant is caused by the plies' twists. but these are single ply yarns. what's up with that?
i'm looking forward to a good weekend of knitting. i hope you'll have a productive weekend, too.
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| stitch n books |
tuesday 06.22.2004 |
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sunday i walked down to the corner grocery store for a gallon of milk. on the way back i stopped to peer through the window of the neighborhood book store. the bill clinton covers caught my eye.
 one block from south street
i've stopped at this window many times before but i could never tell if the store is open or not. i decided to find the business hours once and for all. i started by reading the closest piece of paper posted in the window and lo and behold!
 wham! right between the fuchsia and the jasmine bushes!
the sad thing is: this calendar has been there for at least a week. i had seen it before but never bothered to read it. it's right at my eye level, too! i have a hard time reading things that don't come with colorful pictures. well, i have a hard time reading in general.
so, what are you doing thursday evening? wanna come hang at the habitat with me?
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| yay, sausaknitto! |
thursday 06.24.2004 |
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i just got back from the book store knit group and i feel like singing "three two one contact!"
remember that pbs show? if you're in your early twenties, you probably won't. but if you're in your thirties, say 33, like i will be tomorrow, you should know how the tune goes.
shameless birthday plug. i know.
anyway, there were five of us: bonnie the book store owner, mary, ruth, catherine, and me. the store has a well stocked shelf of knitting books, even rowan ones. very impressive for a store the size of rachel's living room.
turns out it's a wine+cheese affair. i was the first to show up and bonnie asked me if i wanted red or white. i reluctantly asked for water. she gave my bubbly mineral water. i was served calistoga, no less. then i noticed there was all sorts of good stuff on the table: chocolate pretzels, cookies, cheeses, baby carrots+dip, and fresh cherries! i so wanted to take a picture but i just couldn't bring myself to do it. i didn't want to look all excited and, well, out of class.
i'm proud to report that all four women are genuine. i believe i'm the youngest there. ruth is the master knitter while catherine just learned to cast on. mary made a fantastic poncho which i'm going to copy promptly. bonnie is making her first attempt at felting with booties. me, i brought along my (horrible yarn) poncho. sigh.
i was very impressed with the atmosphere. no one was showy or snooty. the wine+cheese bit made me expect some attitude but there was none. i guess elizabeth zimmermann is still right; all knitters good people. if i'm still here next month, i'll take a picture of the group for sure.
so, it looks like sausalito has something going for it after all. the group meets every last thursday of the month. i wonder if bonnie would go for every thursday.
here's a picture i took on my way home.
 found pet flyers make me happy, too
in other news:
. jg is making mac+cheese for dinner. trader joe's white cheddar.
. i'm going into the city tomorrow for a shopping adventure. i'm going to
hang with janeen and meet thai an for the very first time.
. i read that mariko is in the bay area. i wonder if i could track her down.
. it's my birthday tomorrow.
. all righ all right! i'll stop mentioning that tomorrow's my birthday now.
. good night.
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| schmeebot loves colorful drawings |
sunday 06.27.2004 |
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today i'm going to share with you the poncho pattern i fell in love with last thursday. mary from the habitat books knit group, a beginner, made this fabulous poncho. i loved everything about it: the shape, the drape, the simple origami construction. i don't think it could get any simpler or any more elegant.
here's how mary made hers:
easy, huh? knitted back and forth all the way; no purling! wow, i thought, what an excellent design. except... except...
friday night i sat here sketching up this pattern thinking "hm, sew. hm hm hm. why can't this poncho be knitted without that pesky sewing bit?" right then the force of the righteous elizabeth zimmermann whacked me in on the back of my head. after i regained consciousness, i unvented this:
the vertical slit is for the neck opening. it's shown as a gap for visualization. knitted up, the two edges should be touching.
there you have it, two ways of making the same simple hippie beast. while i prefer the seamlessness of the second pattern, it does present some complications.
. length of knitting is twice as long at the original pattern, meaning twice longer
needles and potentially tedious knitting.
. if you use a variegrated yarn, the stripes may appear out of sync changing
from full to half length.
. there's that uncomfortable second yarn.
. not everyone prefers weaving/grafting to sewing.
what do you think? clever or boneheaded? practical or waste of time? i'd love to hear from you. i'm completely obsessed with ponchos right now. if you made one or are making one, please let me know your choice of pattern and yarn. if you happen to be planning on making one, may be i could interest you in a poncho-along? ponchalong, anyone?
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| schmeebot had a clot |
tuesday 06.29.2004 |
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i'm so darn sleepy right now but i must post this entry tonight. it's 10:13 pm tuesday night. don't mind the date on the top right corner; it's texas time. anyway, about half an hour ago i was just sitting there on the bed knitting the poncho i copied from mary. suddenly the wind started howling and i felt something hit me really hard on the side of my head!
i think it was the spirit of ez trying to tell me how to do away with the awkward second yarn. i wish she wouldn't mess with my head like that.
night!
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