TO SWATCH OR NOT TO SWATCH?

I am a Knitter who does not knit a swatch before starting a project.  I will often check my gauge after starting a project and then sometimes rip out the project and start again.  I have also knit several sweaters that did not fit.

I began to wonder if there was a better way to approach this.  I also wondered what would happen if several knitters (nine to be exact) knit the same number of stitches, using the same yarn* and the same needles**.  The yarn label suggested that by knitting 20 stitches with a size 4.5mm needle, we should be close to a gauge of 4".  The swatches ranged from 4 1/4 inches to 4 3/4 inches. We all would have had to knit with a smaller needle to get gauge. 

These two were the smallest and largest swatches.

Now you might think that 1/2 an inches doesn't matter much, it does.  If a sweater has 300 stitches around, then that 1/2 inch difference is going to make the sweater 71/2 inches larger.

The swatches were smaller before I washed and blocked them but since I didn't record those measurements, that now becomes a post for another day.

*The yarn was Diamond Luxury pure wool superwash. 
**The needles were ChiaGoo Red Lace circulars in a size 4.5mm

I thought that my Babette was finished.

I crocheted my edges. I secured all my threads. I clipped off the ends.

I washed and and threw it in the dryer to fluff up the yarn. I started to block it.
I smoothed it out and admired my favorite block. Suddenly, I noticed something strange.

There was a hole where there was not supposed to be a hole. There, in the center of the blanket was a thread that had come undone. I started to panic.

Then I saw another hole, and another one. I began to see other threads that were starting to come loose.

I think I can fix it. I hope I can fix it. Any brilliant ideas and offers of assistance are welcome. At this point in time, multiple prayers to the crochet gods may be helpful as well
.

The Perfect Christmas Gift

In March, I received the kit for this small shawl. DD2 immediately grabbed it and requested that I make it for her.

Now when I say requested, I really mean that the nagging was about to start. All summer long and into the fall I heard about how pretty the shawl was. Did I know that blue was her favorite color? Did I know that "Little Women" is one of her favorite books? Once November arrived, this shawl was at the top of the list.

I knew I would be knitting it for Christmas but I had to have a plan. I could knit it while DD2 was at school but she's very suspicious. I wanted to keep the surprise from being spoiled.

I also knew that there were other people in Calgary who had received the same kit. I had my plan. I borrowed the yarn from my friend and then left it in a very prominent spot in the family room. I had the shawl done and wrapped and still she had no clue.

I started "Babette" and was greeted with a morose "What's that?" Obviously not knitting her her shawl, I answered " A new project."

I knew the deception was working when I was told that since I wouldn't have time to knit it before Christmas, I could just wrap up the pattern and yarn.


The look of pure surprise on Christmas morning told me that the planning was worth it. I should have had my camera ready when she was opening her gifts. I haven't seen a look of happiness like that since she was a little girl.

Her smile put her on the Knitworthy List.

Never say "Never"

Once upon a time, in a land close to home, my friend Alana crocheted a blanket called "Babette". She gave it away.

Then she decided to make another one. The second Babette was crocheted from all the small balls of sock yarn left over from numerous pairs of socks. It was beautiful. Alana decided to enter it into the Stampede where the judges saw the beauty in it and awarded it a ribbon. And a medal. They decreed that it was the best crocheted item in whole competition.

Others decided that the Babette was a good way to use up numerous small balls of sock yarn. Annie started a Babette. Rose and Michelle also thought this was a good idea. I wasn't so sure. I crocheted one square and ripped it apart. I then gave away many, many small balls of sock yarn.

Correna decided to crochete a Babette out of Wollmeise sock yarn. I thought to myself that the project might be a good one after all. I crocheted another square. I gave the square to Annie for her Babette and my balls of Wollmeise to Correna.

I swore up and down and sideways that I was not going to make a Babette. The mere idea of sewing together 120 little squares would drive me to drink and I was not that crazy. Besides, I had given away all my small balls of sock yarn. I couldn't possibly make a Babette.

But, when you knit many pairs of socks, you soon get more little balls of sock yarn. I now had a small ball of red left over from MrB's Grey Cup socks. I had white left over from my kneehigh socks. I would soon have a green ball left over from the second pair of Brainless.

I thought I would try one more square.



Yesterday I asked Correna if she would mind giving back the WM that I had given her three weeks ago.

Also, keeping with the theme of "Never Say Never" DD#1 picked out this yarn. It looked pink in the skein.

I knit Mr.B a pair of socks to wear to the Grey Cup game.



I now have two weeks to knit a new pair...in green and gold.

The Green Mile

One mile = 1760 yards
One skein of Wollmeise lace = 300 grams = 1722 yards



My shawl used 383 grams of yarn. 2198.42 yards

1.249 miles of yarn. Each stitch used 1/2 an inch of yarn.

I'm not sure if my calculations make me feel better or just question my sanity more.

The next project will be smaller because if I make one that's bigger, I'm going to need a bigger room to block it in.

I Should Have Known

My SIL came for a visit. I needed to start a pair of Roundy-Rounds. My lace shawl was too involved for the Thursday Knit night and even though my SIL is a knitter, she has never tackled socks. I thought I had the perfect solution. I would knit her a pair of socks.

I asked her what her favorite colour was. Pink.

That was a good color for socks. But then, I had a momentary lapse of judgment. I told her that she should pick the color that she wanted. I opened the door to my yarn room and told her to pick whatever she liked.

Surrounded by yarn in almost every colour of the rainbow, She found it.



Yes, I had a skein of purple yarn. Not just any shade of purple but the one I most often refer to as "Mother-of-the-Groom " purple.*

It has been tough knitting these socks. Not only have I been knitting with a colour I don't like, I have had to answer numerous questions.

No, I am not going over to the evil purple side. I do not like purple.* The yarn came in a sock club. I did not willingly buy it.

I started another pair of socks. This yarn also came in a sock club.



I can't decide if I kind of like the mix of colours or if it is the ugliest yarn I have seen in a year. Yes, there is purple in the mix.

I decided to knit it because sometimes it's better of get rid of the yarn you don't like instead of letting it take up room on the shelf.

*My SIL wore black to her son's wedding. The dress she wore to her daughter's wedding was the same colour as the socks.

**I've decided that my dislike for purple is hereditary. My Dad absolutely hated purple. The only time that I ever saw my Mom wear a purple dress was to my brother's wedding.

What do you do when you have big boxes of yarn in your house?



Make castles of course!

Invite all the knights and horses over.


And the movie stars too!

The yarn was moved over to the store. The truck almost wasn't big enough.
I hope the kids aren't too mad tomorrow when they find out that their castle is gone.

Just one more pair

I had a sweater in my closet that was taking up room and and thought this would be a better use for the yarn.

The hardest part about knitting these slippers was not matching up the yarn. I really really wanted to make them match.

I had a plan.

My slippers were starting to wear out so I thought I would knit a new pair.


If one pair is good,



and three pair is better,


then why do people think I'm obsessed when I continue to knit slippers?

When I started this project, I had several single balls of Cascade 220 and slippers with holes in them. I thought that it would be good to reduce the Stash and knit some warm fuzzy slippers at the same time.

But a strange thing has happened. Mr. B. who normally does not know what project I am working on has started to pay attention. He has never questioned the stack of shawls or the never ending socks that come off the needles but he has started to ask questions. Questions like "How many pairs of slippers do you need?" and "Don't you already have slippers?" and "Who are you making all those slippers for?"

While knitting these slippers I learned several things. I learned that if I change needles after knitting the first slipper that the second slipper will not be the same size.

I also learned that even if I have knit five slippers, I still need to refer to the pattern so that the sixth slipper matches the fifth one.

I also realized that I need to put the slippers away in the closet as I finish each pair. It is the two-day drying time that makes it obvious that I have been on a bit of a slipper kick.

I am taking a break from knitting slippers. I still have yarn left but I have also started to take apart old sweaters. I have been spotted looking at new colors of Cascade at the LYS. I will not admit to being obsessed but maybe I will knit socks for a few days.

Enough Already!!!!

On Thursday the bread machine died. We decided that we didn't need fresh baked buns.

On Saturday, the shredder decided that it was time to jam beyond all possible hope of unjamming. Perhaps, those tax returns from 1973 were just a little too much for my trusty shredder.

Today, less than 48 hours after the last mechanical malfunction, disaster struck. The ball winder jammed. In my attempt to untangle the "Bugga" it fell apart completely.

Now knitters will readily understand which one I am most upset about. It is also the only one that has a hope of being repaired. If necessary, all three will be replaced.

I could probably learn to make bread by hand. I also know of some very good bakeries where I can buy a loaf or two.

I have scissors and can shred my receipts slowly. I can save those tax forms for a few more years. Perhaps, there was a reason that the sign at the local UPS outlet caught my eye on Saturday morning. They will shred my papers for me.

Winding a 1500 yard skein of lace weight yarn will take at least two hours. That's two hours of knitting time that I'm not prepared to give up.

If you own a ball winder, I may be coming over for coffee.

I have a plan

It's Christmas Eve and once again I am wrapping a gift with the knitting needles still in the stitches. My son will understand that he isn't getting one lonely sock. He will be happy to get the second sock.... eventually.

I thought things were under control and all gifts would be complete. Perhaps I should have started my Christmas knitting before December 1st.

I have a better plan for next year. Before January 1st I will go through my stash and put kits together for gifts. There will be sock kits and scarf kits all packaged together in zip-lock bags with sticky notes attached. It will be my personal gift club.

Another key element of "the Plan" is the calendar that has all the knit-worthy Birthdays and Christmas gifts listed. If I complete one gift each month, I should have all my gifts wrapped long before Christmas.

I realize that there are difficulties with my plan. New babies will not be on the calendar. Any new arrivals might possibly mess up the whole system.
A second more worrisome possible occurrence is that I will find the perfect shawl pattern that I must knit. I might decide that I need to knit myself an extra pair of socks, or I might find another sweater that will not let me rest until I knit it.

It is much easier to get organized than it is to stay organized.

False Advertising

It was December 1st. The Christmas knitting rush had started. I needed to knit another pair of socks and while the logical part of my brain told me that I should knit Roundy-rounds, the insane half said to pick a pattern. After all, I had many simple patterns in my stash and I would be much happier knitting a pattern that had a bit of challenge to it.

I grabbed the pattern and the yarn and I cast on. I ripped it out and cast on again. I ripped it out again. Finally, after the third try, I was happy with the toe. Yes, I was attempting to knit another pair of toe-up socks. I was not happy with the result in the past but this time it would be different.

I continued up the foot. I ripped it back again. I knit some more.

I was at the heel without further incident. Cautiously I started on the heel. The directions seemed to make sense. I knit on. I made stupid mistakes and ripped back. I found the section of the heel where the directions were not so clear and ripped back...again.

I was past the heel and starting on the leg...the home stretch. And I ripped back again. This time I ripped it out because I didn't like the design.

My stitches are all picked up again and I am hoping that I remember all the changes I made so I can duplicate them for the second sock.

And what was this simple pattern? Brainless.

I think the next pattern I knit will be "If I only had a Brain"

Success and changing plans

My wallet went on a road trip. I didn't plan for it to take a vacation and I certainly didn't plan to be without my driver's licence, debit card or various charge cards for the week. My plans for the week had included buying groceries and stopping off at the farmer's market. My plans had to change. And with no groceries, I couldn't possibly be expected to cook anything.

I had a new plan. I had no choice but to cozy up in my favorite chair and spend the week knitting. I finished the Baby Cable shawl. The pattern got a little boring but the yarn was marvelous to knit. 70% bamboo, 15 % bison and 15% silk. It is so soft and the drape from the bamboo is glorious.

I'm in love with this shawl.

This sweater also was cast off....sort of. My original plan was to knit Ruby Red from Knitty, fall 2009. I knit the body and then realised that I wouldn't be happy with it. I changed the sleeves, and the neck, and the front edging. I'm still not happy with the front edging and I have to figure out a closure for it but it needs some rest time first.

Three skeins of Katydid "Bugga" were wonderful to knit with but caused some of the problems. I'm left with maybe 25 yards and I don't think that there is enough to knit the edging that I'm thinking of. There is also more negative ease than I like. I hoping that blocking will help it.

But, I did finish two projects, plus I lengthened the sleeves on P's sweater so I felt perfectly justified in starting some new projects.

This is "Maia" in Wollmeise Pinie. The beads are too small for the yarn and a struggle to put in so while I like the effect, it may hit the frog pond.

I think this yarn really wants to become socks.

"Electra" in Malibrigo sock is also destined for frogging. The beads don't show up and the yarn is pooling. Part of me say to knit it for awhile longer and allow the pooling to shift but the logical part of me says "RIP".

I realise that as I knit things, they don't always turn out the way they were planned. There is a greater possibility of success if I follow the pattern exactly and use the same yarn and color as the original project. That philosophy works if the project is the ultimate goal.

Sometimes the process of discovery is part of the enjoyment of knitting. Experimenting with different colors and beads and stitches may take more time and involve more ripping but it also leads to a greater sense of accomplishment with the project.

Today is going to be busy. My wallet comes home today and I can't postpone the errands any longer. But I also have some new shawls to cast on.

It's Still Not Purple!

The "Jewel " sweater is finished....sort of.


I will be taking the rolled hem off the sleeves and adding an inch of length to them.


Not only is it difficult to find knitting time with toddlers in the house, it is also diifcult to get them to pose for pictures.

All Things Change

On September 12, 2006, I started working at Make 1 Fibre Studio. Since that day, I have learnt more about knitting and spinning and dying yarn than I ever thought that I would. I have also learnt that I still dislike computers and Macs are not better than PCs.

What I treasure the most about my time working is without question the friendships that I have made. I have been amazed by the skills and talents of knitters. I have met so many people that I now count amoung my closest friends.
And I have laughed. It has been four years filled with much laughter. There have also been moments when I have worried with my friends and sometimes cried, but there have been far more hours spent laughing.

This is where I now draw a cheesy comparison to knitting so feel free to skip the next sentence.
Would we really enjoy the finished knitted project, if we didn't have to rip out our knitting once in awhile?

I am taking an extended leave while I wait for my name to come to the top of the list for Cataract surgery. This doesn't mean that you won't be seing me. I will be around. I will still be going to Guild meetings and various knitting days. I just won't be at work on Tuesdays.
Thank you Amy and Sandra for opening the amazing store that is Make 1 and for hiring me initially. Thank you Bess for buying the store and and for letting me continue to work there. Thank to everyone who ever worked there and helped me in my never-ending battle with the computer.

Excuse me while I now climb onto my soapbox.
Cateracts are often thought of as a disease of the elderly. They are becoming common in younger people because of lack of eye protection in childhood.
Get those sunglasses out! Put them on your kids. Protect your eyes.
Cataract surgery is a fairly routine proceedure and my eyesite should be corrected completely. Surgery dates are not actually being booked yet for for next year but I am looking at a seven month wait. This strikes me as slightly ridiculous.

So for the next year, I forsee that I will be driving less, and knitting more. I guess it's not all bad.

The "It's Not Purple" sweater



I have proof. The ball-band tells me that the colour is "Jewel". I sure hope that Paige likes her pink, fuchsia, and magenta sweater.

FOR SALE
Only used for eight days and 113 miles.

I'm back from my little walking trip across England. I now realize that I had several misconceptions when I started this whole trek.
I thought I was in fairly decent physical shape.
I thought I had done enough training. We had been up and down the ravines of Nose Hill several times.
I had seen pictures of English landscapes and thought it was going to be gently rolling countryside that we were walking through. I had even been to Stonehenge before. I had seen the terrain.
Someone even told me that it should be easy because England is a small country.
I thought I was prepared with good boots and my wool socks.
I was wrong.

I actually thought that I might have time to knit while stopped at a lovely English meadow while we had our lovely sandwiches and tea. We would have time to check out some of the towns and perhaps even have a chance for a pint in one of the local pubs.


We started out and I soon realized how wrong I was. There were no rolling hills. They are straight up...and straight down.
While we did walk through some pastures, we carefully stepped around sheep and cow droppings. Sometimes we missed.

There were paths through the woods where we crossed streams and dodged tree roots.


We did have time at the end of the day to stop for a pint, and this was the only time on the walk that the sock actually got pulled out and knit upon.

This was the Roman Road. Now the term "road" makes it sound like it should be easy to walk on. Another misconception. Approximately seven miles of hills and stones. Each step was on a loose stone that twisted our feet and made us sure we were going to twist an ankle. That was the first day I seriously began to doubt the worth of my boots. I began to develop a third layer of blisters.

Each day the bus came to get us to take us back to our B&B for a wonderful dinner and a rest before the next day's walk.....except for the day they forgot us. I was going to visit the Fish and Chip stand across the road but was told it would spoil my supper.

See that path up the hill? We had just walked down that path after walking up one equally as long and steep on the other side of the hill. That was also the third hill of the day.
We walked up many similar hills. We saw fields of heather, monuments to Cook and the patchwork quilt that is the English landscape.

But we finished. There were thirteen of us and our leader when we started and only ten of us made it the full way.
English walkers are completely different people. Their idea of fun is to go for a 15 mile stroll on a Sunday...every Sunday.

For example:
Ann (front row far left) walked 1800 miles last year and her goal for this year is to walk 2000. She's 76 years old and never quit. We would sit down every chance we got but she would stand and then keep going. She never said a word of complaint even when we were walking through the pouring rain and all getting soaked.
Next to her is Sarah. She climbed over every stile even if there was a gate we could walk through. and kept track of the numbers. There were 150 stiles on our walk. The rest of us probably went over only 100.

I realize that it may sound like I had a horrible trip. Not so.
We had great weather. The first seven days, the sun was shining and there were a few clouds so that it didn't get too hot. The last day it rained but that only proved to us how fortunate we were for the first days of our walk.

It was an incredible trip and while I have never been so exhausted in my life, I'm glad that I did it. There were days when we would sit down to eat lunch and I was too tired to eat. The last mile of every day was torture. I felt like sitting on a rock and crying rather than continuing on. I knew that there was no choice but to have a drink and a snack and continue on.

Would I walk across England again? No way! Once was enough.
We have talked about doing other walks and I would recommend the trip to others IF they have trained enough before.
It was a walk that I'm glad I made but I don't want to make it again.
My next vacation will be on a beach where I don't even have to walk to the bar for a Margarita.

Not Everything gets Ripped

You may have seen this picture before. It is my Heroine jacket. It was quick to knit and the perfect project to take knit on it the car. It has nice square pieces and is knit on big needles.


Okay, you may have looked at the picture and have wondered why I didn't rip it out. It's seems like it is the perfect candidate for the RRRRIIIIPPPPP.

This is what Heroine looks like after having a vigorous bath in the washing machine and drying for three days.
The sleeves were still a little long after the original felting so I wet them with my plant mister and threw the whole thing in the dryer for ten minutes. They shrank another inch and are now the perfect length.

I am going to make another slight modification. Instead of the front flaps being folded over, I will be removing the buttons on the right side of the jacket and sewing buttons on the inside. The two front flaps work perfectly when overlapped to create a very warm jacket.


Ahhh Moonfleet. This was a mystery stole based on the book Moonfleet. It was interesting to knit because the pattern changed several times, but unlike may other shawls and stoles, the patterns all flowed smoothly so there was never a distinctive break between the patterns. The borders are two completely different patterns but they still match each other.
My one disappointment with this shawl is with the color of yarn that I picked. I knit from four closely shaded yarns but they were so close in color that It appears as though I only knit from two mismatched balls of the same color.

And socks have been knit.

Green Roundy Rounds out of Fleece Artist Casbar (81% merino, 9% cashmere and 10% nylon).

After ten months of allowing the yarn to age and mature on the shelf I knit the teal Roundy Rounds out of Bugga (70% superwash, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon)

The orange socks are Glynis and are knit out of shibui.


I now will go rip out my Geodesic cardigan.

"Ophelia, you're breaking my heart.
You're shaking my confidence daily" *



"Using the long-tail cast-on, Cast on 626 stitches." ** The next step was to join the stitches and knit in the round. I thought that if I used a provisional cast-on, I could then graft the stitches at the end and avoid a seam down the middle of the shawl. After five rows, I decided it wasn't going to work.
I went back to the original design and cast on 626 stitches with the long-tail cast-on. I joined them in a round and started knitting. Five rows later, I checked to make sure that the stitches weren't twisted. You know they were.

Again I cast on all 626 stitches and started knitting again. I pinned the cast on edge onto a pillow so I could be sure they weren't twisted. I knit, I increased stitches and after two days I checked.

They were twisted again. I don't know how. I don't know why. They should have been straight.

I forced them into the right direction and continued on.


I have been knitting this shawl for ever. It never ends. It needs some time out in the basket.


Aeolean had been rescued from the basket but it is going back until I can get more beads. I have knit one and a half tubes of beads so far and I have ordered more. The last half tube of beads will be kept until the new ones come in and I can mix them together if there is a color difference.

The only thing I can do now is start a new project.

*with apologies to Simon and Garfunkle.

**Ophelia is started at the center, knit in the round to the outside edge and then seamed in the middle.