tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-369300632024-03-07T12:23:37.019-08:00Knit KnigelNigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-63830289114929579642008-12-16T22:32:00.002-08:002008-12-16T22:36:47.163-08:00Where have I been?It's been a long time. I have not felt the inspiration to blog as I should even though I have been knitting up a storm. Blame it on nothing. But today I put my Twitter feed up on my blog, so at least there will be new content. <br /><br />Knitting up a storm: Designed and knit a pair of socks last week, knit two hats yesterday and today, finished off several other hats that needed additional decoration, started another sock today - same design, new yarn, hand-dyed, new recipient. <br /><br />I think I may be coming back from my depression. That's what this has been about - the non-participation I mean. I have other ideas to kickstart myself too. You'll be hearing from me.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-44361505309834791682008-07-18T22:47:00.008-07:002008-07-19T22:37:43.371-07:00Anarchist Knitter Me!I have a confession. I have considered entrelac one of my least favourite looks in knitting. I have seen some bad entrelac - a sweater in pale blue and white that made the woman wearing it look a lot like the Michelin man. It somehow seemed to be a technique that was more interesting in the theoretical sense than in real life. <br /><br />But recently I have been guilty of actually knitting entrelac myself. And why? Because I feel that I need to learn more about knitting - to become a better knitter and to add to my knowledge of how knitting works. I have been discovering a few things and have recently been inspired by Anna Zilboorg's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Knitting-Anarchists-Anna-Zilboorg/dp/0966915372">Knitting for Anarchists</a>. I told a friend that and he looked at me as if I had two heads - and immediately told me that I was no anarchist - to him I was a rule bound knitter who thought there was a right way and a wrong way to knit, and perhaps even that I thought that my knitting was the "right way". <br /><br />(I have included a link to the Amazon entry for Zilboorg's book because if you scroll down far enough you will find several reviews that give you a better understanding of the book's premises. One of the reviews is actually by Cat Bordhi.)<br /><br />I admit it, I am certainly a rule follower, I like to follow a pattern, even though I have certainly done without. And I think I have been breaking out of that rule-bound shell. If you look back at my recent blog you can see my Elizabeth Zimmerman Seamless Hybrid Shirt Yoke sweater, which gave me a lot of unease, but which I feel I completed very successfully, even though I needed a little hand holding by a few fellow knitters to get through it.<br /><br />But that wasn't the first time I had knit an EZ sweater. I don't have pictures, but in fact, about 20 years ago, I knit an EZ ski sweater in the round, using two colours, steeks and my own blocked out designs. So I certainly had a sense of adventure back then. I have also thrown myself into knitting lace, from a pattern, yes, but bravely, learning the ins and outs of the pattern as I went.<br /><br />But let me get back to Entrelac. That friend I mentioned earlier has knit several entrelac pieces recently, including a sweater from a book called <a href="http://www.interweave.com/knit/books/Knitting_Africa/">Out of Africa</a> which he adapted as he went. The sweater is redeemed as well by the fact that it was knit in very fine yarn, so there is none of that puffiness that a larger yarn makes almost inevitable.<br /><br />So I decided that I was not afraid to knit entrelac and that I would find a project to do. And since I have been knitting socks, and reading about knitting anarchy, I searched around and found the perfect project, the Entrelac Socks, designed by Vickie Starbuck, in Socks, Socks, Socks, edited by Elaine Rowley. The socks are done in the round, they are toe-up, they are entrelac - what more could I want. And I took my anarchist lessons to heart and taught myself how to purl backwards so that I could do the socks without constantly switching from one side to the other. <br /><br />I was also inspired by the Yarn Harlot. A few weeks ago she posted a <a href="http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2008/06/29/happy_pride.html">blog entry</a> about the Toronto Pride Parade, and shared some of her yarn recommendations for Pride. And I happened to have a ball of Rainbow dyed sock yarn from Lorna's Laces which has been in my stash about two years. Time to do something with it. So here's your first look.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMjz8HGHrI7WB5egc_uTVV1UGRTPNnNigBoJ49-nX-CAHey2xtwN4fkCMNrBdZJZAe177oh4w5qjqRr1B1TK20RSJZ9RKUej5IKck5h1j4GdiJO7KH_uKu6wov1fJAu1U7gQh7w/s1600-h/sockstart.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMjz8HGHrI7WB5egc_uTVV1UGRTPNnNigBoJ49-nX-CAHey2xtwN4fkCMNrBdZJZAe177oh4w5qjqRr1B1TK20RSJZ9RKUej5IKck5h1j4GdiJO7KH_uKu6wov1fJAu1U7gQh7w/s320/sockstart.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224603557021737106" /></a><br /><br />I have already finished sock number one. But there was I a little problem - sock number two would be a challenge since the yarn for it had already been knit into a hat. That hat was <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATThalfdome.html">Half Dome</a> from Knitty.Com. And I posted a picture of it on my blog way back in 2006. <a href="http://knittingknigel.blogspot.com/2006/11/new-gay-rainbow-hat.html">Here it is.</a><br /><br />And here it is next to its friend the sock.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2uxCb8YS_rnhslzOEideM6kRsBq0wKgcYEsPMadeWnQOHyrVetCANjBtnDfYbDfrRup7XtAMomJZjyUJCS8b154yBItEJD9tmhMmCNmuI-3xz67nQgYko72dvu-VMhFdKx95pw/s1600-h/sock+and+hat.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2uxCb8YS_rnhslzOEideM6kRsBq0wKgcYEsPMadeWnQOHyrVetCANjBtnDfYbDfrRup7XtAMomJZjyUJCS8b154yBItEJD9tmhMmCNmuI-3xz67nQgYko72dvu-VMhFdKx95pw/s320/sock+and+hat.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224606732968706898" /></a><br /><br />So obviously there was a dilemma here. But easily solved. I would rip the hat back, because to be honest I was never going to wear that hat, and nobody I knew was going to wear it either. And that gave me another challenge - what to do with yarn that has been a hat for two years. Boy, is it crinkly when it is frogged. <br /><br />However, still acting as anarchically as possible for me, I remembered reading about how to get the crinkles out of knitting, so I first wound the yarn into a hank over the back of one of my chairs, then ran a nice sink of hot water, and after tying off the hank, I hurled it into the water and swished it around for a minute or so - and to my delighted surprise, it seemed that the crinkles came out instantly. I took the hank out, squeezed it to get out some of the water (someone suggested maybe I didn't need to be as vigourous with the drying as I had described in an email), and then laid it on a towel to dry. A day later, that yarn was ready for knitting and I was happy because I could really consider that I could wear my Rainbow Entrelac socks at our upcoming <a href="http://www.vancouverpride.ca/parade/index.php">Gay Pride Parade</a> here in Vancouver.<br /><br />So here I am, working on my anarchist skills, and knitting up a storm with some wild Rainbow socks. For those of you who like to get up close and personal, here is another look at my sock as it was growing under my needles. I'm working on sock two and it will certainly be finished in time for the parade. Look for me on the street - look down to see my socks, worn with Pride and a sense of accomplishment.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA52brmkUvrCmHK7Gqn2UCgU61GJ8fX9R8pY6G7LRdOtlbEYxD4Oy1gYhyMacx4MnBrBKrk7vGUFUGKYV35KJeb7NULqVzFnfo3xUBMbQtbR22RXV1OpcaoKVD8oyqI-sF-zzIiA/s1600-h/close+up.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA52brmkUvrCmHK7Gqn2UCgU61GJ8fX9R8pY6G7LRdOtlbEYxD4Oy1gYhyMacx4MnBrBKrk7vGUFUGKYV35KJeb7NULqVzFnfo3xUBMbQtbR22RXV1OpcaoKVD8oyqI-sF-zzIiA/s320/close+up.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224609661094036290" /></a><br /><br />OMG - I just discovered that our friend The Yarn Harlot has knit the same <a href="http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/archives/2004/04/20/dear_vickie.html">entrelac socks</a>, but her experience was somewhat interesting. Just for the record, I followed the instructions (such an anarchist) and had none of the problems that the Yarn Harlot had first, but which she apologizes for misunderstanding.<br />iNigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-92148701425237269062008-06-24T22:12:00.010-07:002008-06-30T18:06:59.543-07:00Victoria Fibre Fest 2008There's nothing like spending a weekend with yarn. This past weekend, June 21 - 22) was therefore a real treat. With my step-daughter Holli, I travelled over to Vancouver Island on the Spirit of Vancouver Island, one of the newer ferries in the BC Ferries fleet, where we did a little knitting after gorging ourselves on the Pacific Spirit buffet. We arrived in plenty of time so after getting ourselves settled in our accomodation, we made a fast trip to <a href="http://www.beehivewoolshop.com/">Bee Hive Wool Shop</a> to check out the possible merchandise. <br /><br />I couldn't resist some lovely <a href="http://www.fleeceartist.com/">Fleece Artist</a> yarns which were a steal at $11.00 for 100 grams of lovely coloured Merino 2/6 sock yarn - one in green tones and one in brown/pink tones, which will look lovely on my feet.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfCeVAbyoCULDYqa5IzgO0yoJn5Ub0GSQJXc73MZVRn5jOQZUN9xoaU_7aRbrD-fLcpwni8zC3GPe_sD-8_BMWZ9xsW-Yar5cG2V829tX6Le2IoHy9BLMEp4VTgQrzrt_eXT_vg/s1600-h/Merino+2:6+green.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfCeVAbyoCULDYqa5IzgO0yoJn5Ub0GSQJXc73MZVRn5jOQZUN9xoaU_7aRbrD-fLcpwni8zC3GPe_sD-8_BMWZ9xsW-Yar5cG2V829tX6Le2IoHy9BLMEp4VTgQrzrt_eXT_vg/s200/Merino+2:6+green.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215684573145040914" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHLCB3Tu_alGEhAFeHSasl36QZaiEvOD0vC1yDDorCZ789Wv_fqNg63WvTLwsW4AJ2suuajS9muWeQNwZPiRTqvSSUEXglqJFkwu3dmSpf7hpxb1p_8sRhBiuXhIVr1oV5uU0JA/s1600-h/Merino+browns.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHLCB3Tu_alGEhAFeHSasl36QZaiEvOD0vC1yDDorCZ789Wv_fqNg63WvTLwsW4AJ2suuajS9muWeQNwZPiRTqvSSUEXglqJFkwu3dmSpf7hpxb1p_8sRhBiuXhIVr1oV5uU0JA/s200/Merino+browns.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215684576937125026" /></a> <br />I couldn't spend much more though because I needed to save some money for the Knit Out on Sunday, or maybe just Saturday when I was free. Holli and I enjoyed poking around though because I was looking for ideas for a sweater I'm planning to knit once the one on the needles is done. I found some good candidates, so I'll be looking again in Vancouver when I'm ready.<br /><br />On Saturday I had some time to spend before I met up with a couple of knitting folks from the GLBT knitting list, so I poked around on Government Street where I saw this <a href="http://cowichantrading.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1">shop</a>. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEIG0frXqcxj6zbc7iWEJK7qNunh3V-I90NDIZ29W2qh7nJXM9va50lksNYCq_EuvckIK2eW7A8q9Kc_OGvxrbrhn5Fndj90_gte9f1dizY0hSRohNh70McE-S3AfNB4Cr3PxnA/s1600-h/Sasquatch.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEIG0frXqcxj6zbc7iWEJK7qNunh3V-I90NDIZ29W2qh7nJXM9va50lksNYCq_EuvckIK2eW7A8q9Kc_OGvxrbrhn5Fndj90_gte9f1dizY0hSRohNh70McE-S3AfNB4Cr3PxnA/s320/Sasquatch.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215688671731562978" /></a><br />Sweaters by First Nations Canadians have been part of the knitting heritage of BC for a long time.<br /><br />Finally the hour came and I walked into the QV Cafe and immediately spotted <a href="http://vtknitboy.blogspot.com/">Chris</a>. No, I'd never met him before, but the yarn on the table was a big clue, as was his big smile in greeting. Chris and his partner Jeff are travelling in the Pacific Northwest and we've been planning this meetup since I've known about his plans. It was great to finally meet him and a short while later my pleasure was doubled when Allie arrived with her partner Haley. Allie lives in Victoria, while Chris travelled all the way from Vermont.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP1kuDjQZktGTLSmc2ZcazcARhF60siQ1f3HppsgmePEHMGwbrDyhon4gR1GamemNqWEPsgrFs7vOVaSfKEv3oHxO77vwSXSsvZo_vrtkjv6RpXGoJMTQrpVTGeTTjTloCPWgig/s1600-h/Chris+Jeff+Haley+Allie.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaP1kuDjQZktGTLSmc2ZcazcARhF60siQ1f3HppsgmePEHMGwbrDyhon4gR1GamemNqWEPsgrFs7vOVaSfKEv3oHxO77vwSXSsvZo_vrtkjv6RpXGoJMTQrpVTGeTTjTloCPWgig/s320/Chris+Jeff+Haley+Allie.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215688682206568242" /></a><br />(Back: Chris, Jeff. Front: Haley, Allie)<br /><br /><br />We had a great visit - we talked knitting, we knit a few stitches and Chris vamped with my Hanging Garden Stole which I had brought to show off.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyC7Fps2wZS2HLtu21qIqgPbMPFO0Z2Rt17eUqbnJaJ1m2QSceV1pkdB547TcEFAJD6uRLz1k75rcDWNYfHwu1vYeLGr4Eikpo-b5RC_l5qXyo_0ejb11c1kVWRI5E3xVqSTy8w/s1600-h/Chris+vamping+with+stole.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyC7Fps2wZS2HLtu21qIqgPbMPFO0Z2Rt17eUqbnJaJ1m2QSceV1pkdB547TcEFAJD6uRLz1k75rcDWNYfHwu1vYeLGr4Eikpo-b5RC_l5qXyo_0ejb11c1kVWRI5E3xVqSTy8w/s320/Chris+vamping+with+stole.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215688684365437554" /></a><br /><br />Of course we had to head to Beehive again so that Chris and Allie could check out the sales. Allie got some lovely yarns, Chris added to his collection and I bought two more skeins of yarn, Hand Maiden Casbah - which I have knit with before and at the time swore I would never knit with anything less! I am so looking forward to new socks with these two yarns - they are so delicious on the needles and underfoot.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5NSJWNRMfIXWiviTLypFvJ9UYTDe8PruobucLFR0xvlxmaCsNVP_4aljw9y-rWclrwVj0oLai-XDVCStErKIWdFfs6sGbp3Kvc-AkxA7UgvW3szSbteOtYvD50SEtNnP54sBaw/s1600-h/Casbah+greenblue.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5NSJWNRMfIXWiviTLypFvJ9UYTDe8PruobucLFR0xvlxmaCsNVP_4aljw9y-rWclrwVj0oLai-XDVCStErKIWdFfs6sGbp3Kvc-AkxA7UgvW3szSbteOtYvD50SEtNnP54sBaw/s200/Casbah+greenblue.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215690976634813362" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikt9OBPwzRA25Jy4VPAX7njDMyjy22qpPbK_vx63URbSYyZqRdG2ykuLaBnFb3swMUPvG9g8fBNhEvyfe6uxZNfp3-gywmrtu8WMTgGWQLtiG6lJHO2qa0kUotyE9bMn6ltozIDQ/s1600-h/Casbah+pink+brown.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikt9OBPwzRA25Jy4VPAX7njDMyjy22qpPbK_vx63URbSYyZqRdG2ykuLaBnFb3swMUPvG9g8fBNhEvyfe6uxZNfp3-gywmrtu8WMTgGWQLtiG6lJHO2qa0kUotyE9bMn6ltozIDQ/s200/Casbah+pink+brown.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215690984964356690" /></a><br /><br />After our SEXpedition, Chris and Jeff insisted that we visit <a href="http://www.butchartgardens.com/the-gardens/">Butchart Gardens</a> together. It's a gorgeous place, an old quarry that has been transformed into a Garden of Eden starting about 100 years ago. Chris and Jeff were very impressive with their knowledge of the plants we saw in the garden - they have an extensive garden back in Vermont. <br /><br />Saturday night saw Holli and I attending the special presentation by <a href="http://www.siviaharding.com/">Sivia Harding</a>, the special guest of the Fibre Fest. Sivia talked about her journey from artist in oils to artist in yarn. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zcg2Qft1xGds9dIMUDQkvE_cxpF1mm1w9vx8xiF_OheeHqe1eXSf6rzV_uhLloHnGzPVEUlJSAjOU9guUxxhpssS1nzQfBMOu_kw3gFGkz-eTBl-sQ5FabPsFxBG5JykozPsvA/s1600-h/Sivia+Harding.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zcg2Qft1xGds9dIMUDQkvE_cxpF1mm1w9vx8xiF_OheeHqe1eXSf6rzV_uhLloHnGzPVEUlJSAjOU9guUxxhpssS1nzQfBMOu_kw3gFGkz-eTBl-sQ5FabPsFxBG5JykozPsvA/s320/Sivia+Harding.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215694006276133394" /></a><br /><br /><br />What's amazing is that Sivia has only been knitting eight years. When one sees her work, it's almost impossible to believe that eight years ago she borrowed a video from the Vancouver Public Library and taught herself how to knit. That simple act must have been an amazing cartharsis, to produce the beautiful work she is creating today.<br /><br />For the Fibre Fest, Sivia was asked to create a special piece - which she had unveiled the night before at a dinner and fashion show. The work is exquisite, and the piece on display was raffled off. Someone is a very lucky person. Sivia's shawl is called Harbour Lights and evokes images of lighthouses and ocean spray.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvAOiHQzF-bGX6C4MOzw96FspqMwWO-bZ6kRpI1iSaXyIBCj7_NF1pQVsl0as40LH7pFo5CM4Rlcvl4gbmcvScCYrD6A5A1FlZdySMZUnKd0GXs6_Hc_qkNg68T7DV6NZzdmr6Q/s1600-h/Harbour+Lights.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvAOiHQzF-bGX6C4MOzw96FspqMwWO-bZ6kRpI1iSaXyIBCj7_NF1pQVsl0as40LH7pFo5CM4Rlcvl4gbmcvScCYrD6A5A1FlZdySMZUnKd0GXs6_Hc_qkNg68T7DV6NZzdmr6Q/s320/Harbour+Lights.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215694008697468082" /></a><br /><br />Of course there was an audience of knitters in attendance. Here's a few of the folk who travelled from Vancouver to see the show.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWkLmsGwCG1A7OJiZXzYpdWP29lld8rVlkJR_WW0_zF1DPjVqgITTv9h-AqxqcrDiOh6hwCryi29LeIXXE2Qo3F-M_C5Xl1eYjzFlqUiS9D8-yqSjlRA-e_yK5ba8ipARbJYL_A/s1600-h/At+Sivia%27s+presentation.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWkLmsGwCG1A7OJiZXzYpdWP29lld8rVlkJR_WW0_zF1DPjVqgITTv9h-AqxqcrDiOh6hwCryi29LeIXXE2Qo3F-M_C5Xl1eYjzFlqUiS9D8-yqSjlRA-e_yK5ba8ipARbJYL_A/s320/At+Sivia%27s+presentation.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215694014076566162" /></a><br /><br /><br />Sunday morning dawned bright and early. My stepdaughter <a href="http://holliyeoh.com/">Holli Yeoh</a> had a booth at the Knit Out in Saxe Point Park, so we had to get out to the site to set up her new tent. We did a great job, but it took a lot of work to get the booth ready for the first customer. We were still organizing kits when they arrived. There was a good number of booths at the Knit Out, with lots of opportunity to buy yarns, admire knitting and visit with the folk who came to mingle and buy. I had some great conversations and enjoyed meeting lots of fibre fixated people.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FvM4d3ZEuKsInKm6PcsE8pyYSwaANzuRSBmdbrGKcVavwUnnE-1plwmmbDoaHT5F2SJn-LD2bz_Cd-ci4GlMAJBHr3gJJfDFtXZoRx82qWnuTqd2R0lbuIWCx6sgO9YnIRcsHA/s1600-h/Holli+Yeoh.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FvM4d3ZEuKsInKm6PcsE8pyYSwaANzuRSBmdbrGKcVavwUnnE-1plwmmbDoaHT5F2SJn-LD2bz_Cd-ci4GlMAJBHr3gJJfDFtXZoRx82qWnuTqd2R0lbuIWCx6sgO9YnIRcsHA/s320/Holli+Yeoh.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215699456896656354" /></a><br /><br />I'd spent money on Friday and Saturday, so I was a little reluctant to spend even more, but I found some great yarn by <a href="http://rabbitch.blogspot.com/">Rabbitch</a> of <a href="http://www.fibrestudio.net/store/">Rabbitworks</a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlq-b5nNOGeEDegCzh1FpzjMS_ooh7c0IF6_ZtP4DWJCnpmL9tT_EZTHVTK86WXTmhLpMXLyfeZ510w4sCMfl6BDwOzpSN3cRw4IvbAgXEl0_lf0HFZYeSsmMklJlHpGR1RutVFQ/s1600-h/Rabbitch.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlq-b5nNOGeEDegCzh1FpzjMS_ooh7c0IF6_ZtP4DWJCnpmL9tT_EZTHVTK86WXTmhLpMXLyfeZ510w4sCMfl6BDwOzpSN3cRw4IvbAgXEl0_lf0HFZYeSsmMklJlHpGR1RutVFQ/s320/Rabbitch.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215699465929745042" /></a><br /><br />which I couldn't leave behind. After all, any yarn named Coffee Bean must have been dyed especially for me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjup5ANAeoSdKR8d73CzU1xqp5Oa8ClO5Gp8WVNOwO6boVWABVKPVeDgUi3bRWl9j5PT4HTWmhf-msg-1kEo7favNygReSXeYN-IT3XATL-PpFNtAWtSM2oXiM8MznYI6pP0CEN5Q/s1600-h/Coffee+Bean.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjup5ANAeoSdKR8d73CzU1xqp5Oa8ClO5Gp8WVNOwO6boVWABVKPVeDgUi3bRWl9j5PT4HTWmhf-msg-1kEo7favNygReSXeYN-IT3XATL-PpFNtAWtSM2oXiM8MznYI6pP0CEN5Q/s320/Coffee+Bean.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215699469387509378" /></a><br /><br />One yarn which I left at the Knit Out, but which I coveted greatly, was a hank of the most beautiful, natural silver grey, yak and silk blend, lace-weight yarn. I couldn't convince myself that it should be in my stash without an idea to use it, but now of course, I rue the fact that I left it behind. But I know where the vendor lives, and since it's very near where my brother lives in Kamloops, I have the feeling that the next time I visit him, I will be doing a little shopping.<br /><br />Of course no Fibre Fest could be complete without a little fibre on the hoof. I wish I'd been fast enough to take a picture of the sheep we saw cropping a lawn on our way back from Butchart Gardens. But at least someone knew that we needed to see fibre in its most natural state so they brought a couple of lovely, graceful, miniature llamas to hang out with us for awhile.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAEb_KOTFFr0OCemryiG4yCXYixhdVng9akjaqb_Pmf1M1Y7iH-IjbVJA1e3rQZikbCisM43Cazssk040SpHEZTMJFri4h2yPm_Z1wVXLBa9qRRTTk5OTY_7vBUGeDn6s9_p9iA/s1600-h/Miniature+llamas.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAEb_KOTFFr0OCemryiG4yCXYixhdVng9akjaqb_Pmf1M1Y7iH-IjbVJA1e3rQZikbCisM43Cazssk040SpHEZTMJFri4h2yPm_Z1wVXLBa9qRRTTk5OTY_7vBUGeDn6s9_p9iA/s320/Miniature+llamas.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215699484260311074" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-88782345587869661502008-06-16T21:08:00.008-07:002008-06-17T22:37:41.969-07:00A tale of some yarn and some sweatersJust a week ago I was writing about my Seamless Hybrid Sweater from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears. The sweater was finished more than two weeks ago, and I really love it. It fits beautifully and looks really good on. I think I've finally found the sweater that is the best compliment to a man's shape and build. Not that all my sweaters will be made that way from now on. I do feel the need for variety. So I've already started a new project and it's well under way. It's another EZ, and I'm as usual, having a little trepidation as it grows.<br /><br />And here it is.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsP0hgNvx4ktD31H0QQ6aRb-uZX3Mp3r7dF9D_rzA3FELIxitPxXAc256b74GBIMV05rbSY7kEDlodKFr9AthFMjx9MmFIpxYDntRZDx8sPgPX9JxpVGhcnIidH1yuCWdNZHAavQ/s1600-h/P6160004.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsP0hgNvx4ktD31H0QQ6aRb-uZX3Mp3r7dF9D_rzA3FELIxitPxXAc256b74GBIMV05rbSY7kEDlodKFr9AthFMjx9MmFIpxYDntRZDx8sPgPX9JxpVGhcnIidH1yuCWdNZHAavQ/s320/P6160004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212698732401869202" /></a><br /><br />This sweater comes with a history - and I don't mean the design, I mean the yarn. It started last year when I first found the yarn on sale at Urban Yarns here in Vancouver. It was Rowan's DK Tweed, 100% Pure New Wool, in 50 g hanks, which is no longer on their list of available yarns. I gathered it all up to buy since the price was great and was ready to pay when I got the news that the yarn had already been spoken for, just not removed from the shelves quickly enough. I was a little distressed, but instead of crying and going home I asked if I could leave my name and number in case the original purchaser changed his (yes, his - what were the odds?) mind. And darned if I didn't receive a call the next day that the yarn was mine after all. I rushed over the next morning on my way out of town, (holding up my husband who really wanted to be on the highway at 8:00 am, not 10:30 am which was what happened.<br /><br />And at the shop I got the news that there was more of the same yarn available and did I want it too? Well, I didn't want to end up with not quite enough of a discontinued yarn so of course I bought it - the price was right, did I mention that? And then I took it with me to fondle in the car on the way to <a href="http://www.discovernaramata.com/">Naramata</a> on Lake Okanagan in BC wine country. But it took awhile for me to start knitting the yarn.<br /><br />Yes, this yarn started its knitting life as another sweater entirely. I had decided that I would design my own sweater and that the tweedy yarn would look good with a cable. So I found a plaited cable chart in one of the standard knitting books and set out. I swatched, and I measured, and I cast on. And I knit. I knit the piece until it was about half way up the armholes when I decided that it was going to be too small. The cables pulled the sweater in and it was not going to look right. So I frogged the entire piece and spend an afternoon swatching again, to work out the correct size. <br /><br />Now, you'll think I wasn't using all my brain cells when I decided that I could cast on fewer stitches and have a wider sweater, but that's what my swatching was telling, and I have been taught to believe in swatching. Of course you know this is not going to work out, but did I? Oh no, I knit one full piece for the back and then half of the front before I realized that this sweater was not going to fit me either. I'm blaming this on the frogging - the yarn must have stretched when it was knit up the first time, and looked much wider for a time. But then the yarn relaxed back into its original dimensions and became the narrowest sweater imaginable. That cable didn't help a bit either.<br /><br />So I frogged both pieces this time, and left myself with two huge balls or yarn, because I had spit-spliced the whole thing and I wasn't going to take that apart. And then I set the yarn aside again to rest, and get back it's original size again, perhaps. I wasn't about to swatch the yarn too soon.<br /><br />That all happened over last fall and this spring after my trip to India. (Read about that, with no knitting content, <a href="http://www.travellinlight.blogspot.com/">here</a>). And then I started reading EZ's Knitting Without Tears and begat the Seamless Hybrid (described earlier in this blog). But I wanted to get this yarn back on my needles with a sweater I could love. I looked at several different books. all my books with men's patterns, books from the library, and then found a pattern I admired in the Green Mountain Spinnery (GMS)book - knit in the round, very plain, set-in sleeves. I could do that, and wouldn't have to worry about cables pulling my sweater in to make it looked stuffed if I was wearing it.<br /><br />I did a swatch (it seems to be working), I cast on the requisite number of stitches on my circular needles, and I began to knit. And I really had intended to knit the sweater in GMS, but in the back of my head there was a nagging thought that I could do something else. And then I remembered the Kangaroo Pouch sweater in EZ. It's a set-in sleeve design knit in EZ style with circular needles, but another kind of innovation - a sleeve that knits from a steek, and is shaped by making a sock-heel like construction. And I thought, why not! Why not, indeed. <br /><br />Here you see the odd construction which explains EZ's naming it the Kangaroo Pouch sweater. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAEvze3nFNKOkWI7ls3svd4QSstrlo0v7ZRMSq0sxAjMWqZm-6bnXZg1OoraV1RYoGYXwR9yyUZICBL7RbcMXtYUpDHYxAAWsSFuyy2YEvwk6G8FZhXzG3CIspCfeOMZD5VxHMg/s1600-h/P6160003.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAEvze3nFNKOkWI7ls3svd4QSstrlo0v7ZRMSq0sxAjMWqZm-6bnXZg1OoraV1RYoGYXwR9yyUZICBL7RbcMXtYUpDHYxAAWsSFuyy2YEvwk6G8FZhXzG3CIspCfeOMZD5VxHMg/s320/P6160003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212708082098523090" /></a><br /><br />You knit until you have the length you want in the body of the sweater and then you do something quite odd. You remove a number of stitches from the knitting path (the pouches - 30 stitches on each side in my case), hold them on some waste yarn, and rejoin the sweater with a few cast-on stitches over this space, so now you are knitting on 60 fewer stitches and there are odd gaping holes where the arm holes will be. And you just keep knitting around until you reach the armhole depth you desire, and shape for the back neck, before joining the shoulders. It's then that you get brave and prepare the steeks for cutting, cut away, then pick up stitches to begin knitting the sleeves, at the same time reincorporating those leftover stitches which have been waiting so patiently back on their yarn.<br /><br />That's as far as I've gotten. I have about three inches of the planned nine inches of my sleeve depth done, and I will continue knitting around. I have checked out some steeking methods and have decided to use the <a href="http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2006/01/the_steeking_chronicles_part_i.html">wonderful tutorial</a> offered by Eunny Jang on her blog. Eunny is the editor of Interweave Knits and a very talented knitter. I think I'll trust her.<br /><br />There's lots of work left on this sweater. I'll be blogging more when I get to the cutting and adding the sleeves. So stay tuned. But one more part of the sweater saga I've left out. When I started looking at the yarn, before I began this sweater, I discovered something shocking. Something I had not noticed before - how could I have missed it? There are two dye lots in my stash and it's obvious that I had been blithely knitting along in the old sweater without noticing. I'm compensating for the problem in this sweater. You may have noticed the two balls of yarn in the first picture. I took the advice of a friend and decided to knit alternate rows with each ball of yarn to blend the colours as I go. And it's working. Just one little thing - when I reach the sleeves, because of the construction, I will have to use one ball at a time until I finish turning the shoulder cap, so I'm crossing my fingers that no one will notice, or if they do, they will kindly think that it's a design element. And that's what I'll tell them if they ask!Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-17373363634016728282008-06-15T21:29:00.009-07:002008-06-15T22:55:08.610-07:00Swan LakeLast fall at <a href="http://www.threebagsfull.ca/">Three Bags Full</a> I saw and fell in love with the <a href="http://pinklemontwist.blogspot.com/2007/09/swan-lake.html">Swan Lake</a> stole by Melanie Gibbons of <a href="http://pinklemontwist.blogspot.com/">Pink Lemon Twis</a>t. My <a href="http://www.siviaharding.com/HangingGarden.html">Hanging Garden</a> stole was a great knitting experience so I knew I wanted to knit lace again. And I had a hank of wonderful lace weight yarn, Baruffa Cashwool, which I had purchased at <a href="http://closeknitportland.com/">Close Kni</a>t in Portland when I was there for the Knit Camp West event our knit list celebrated. If you are a Ravelry member, you can see the yarn in my stash at knitknigel.<br /><br />While I was visiting Three Bags Full, I met <a href="http://christagiles.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_archive.html">Christa Giles</a> who just happened to have the pattern unknit. So she gave it to me. That made me happy. And I was ready to knit.<br /><br />A little background about this stole. It was the third in Melanie's series of Mystery Stoles which are knit from clues provided weekly via the Internet. Now I had the whole thing at hand so didn't have to wait for each week's post before I could go on. But of course I had to follow the pattern which was broken into weeks anyway. I began by printing out the charts for the shawl and then started knitting.<br /><br />The stole is knit beginning from a point so the knitting certainly zooms along at the beginning. From three stitches to 98 stitches happens fairly quickly. I discovered after knitting the first week's chart that the charts for subsequent weeks didn't fit on one sheet, so I had to attach them so I could knit a complete row. I used Scotch Tape. <br /><br />The stole is also knit with beads and unlike the beading on the Hanging Garden, after the very first one, the beads are inserted using a crochet hook. I loved learning this technique. When you arrive at a place where a bead needs to be inserted the first thing you do is ready the crochet hook by threading a bead on it. Then you slip the stitch off the left hand needle using the crochet hook, slide the bead down the hook and off onto the stitch itself, then pop the stitch back on the left hand needle and it's ready to be knit. Simple and worth the trouble.<br /><br />I found quickly that if I wanted to knit this stole without disaster, I had to find a method to tell me where I was in the pattern. At the end I found I was knitting sitting at my dining room table, with a heavy metal ruler marking the line of the chart I was knitting. That worked really well, although my back complained some. I also found that I couldn't knit many rows in a sitting - I needed a break after a couple of rows so I could maintain my sanity.<br /><br />One of the amazing things was that I made very few mistakes - a good thing, since tinking the work was challenging. I even got brave enough to fix a few of my errors by going down to the row below where I'd made it. I certainly had much more success in keeping the errors to a minimum and as far as I'm concerned, every stitch in the stole is where it is supposed to be, because I fixed any errors I found.<br /><br />As I mentioned, I began this stole in early November, 2007. On November 13 I left for a four month trip to India. So my stole sat at home waiting patiently for me to come back. I arrived home on March 5 and it took me more than a week to get back to knitting it. But I finally got it out and began to knit again. It didn't take me long to get back into the swing of things, so I was moving along really well, very soon. <br /><br />I needed to get the stole done. I had plans to take it to the <a href="http://www.westcoastknitters.org/">West Coast Knitting Guild</a> meeting at the beginning of April to unveil it, and then deliver it to its proper recipient, my very good friend Midge King who lives in Kamloops, BC, Canada.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCDVq_91gWPqK2RM9Lqq96DSCtsB-jbb2wwOOUvQx_UbvmbBX1pqk_bgB8AHDSJvE0EilDgIGNL9CkoFO8CM_N_jCWOTiVWi3gR8k3RcjX3wPAKX5Bgweq9qG_8ZKlws7wDH1pzA/s1600-h/front+spread+out+1.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCDVq_91gWPqK2RM9Lqq96DSCtsB-jbb2wwOOUvQx_UbvmbBX1pqk_bgB8AHDSJvE0EilDgIGNL9CkoFO8CM_N_jCWOTiVWi3gR8k3RcjX3wPAKX5Bgweq9qG_8ZKlws7wDH1pzA/s320/front+spread+out+1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212342598610866866" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAosAsX72zgueqNVEMthuaO5O_oLGXOJtqMp2ewgM2eS2qB9q1joBV_cNVBFjiVWfHuMkhy1RySIpQOk3WHlMzdpq9ZQnND6PtmoidxV76rIItydT0nvGhDZRbFRI9mA5AGYiEPg/s1600-h/stole+back+view-wing+out2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAosAsX72zgueqNVEMthuaO5O_oLGXOJtqMp2ewgM2eS2qB9q1joBV_cNVBFjiVWfHuMkhy1RySIpQOk3WHlMzdpq9ZQnND6PtmoidxV76rIItydT0nvGhDZRbFRI9mA5AGYiEPg/s320/stole+back+view-wing+out2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212343912583473714" /></a><br /><br />The stole was a great success at the guild meeting, and then it was off to Kamloops to give it to Midge. Being the kind of guy who likes an audience, I waited to give it to her when she had her sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew-in-law and her great nephew over for dinner. It felt so good to give the stole its new home. The stole was really a pleasure to knit, I loved the challenge, I loved seeing what was coming next, I loved placing the beads, and I loved giving it away.<br /><br />I can't leave without showing off a picture of the stole as it was being blocked. The blocking did make a difference, of course. But being down on my hands and knees using every single blocking pin I owned was a labour of love. My back is not as young as it once. I also want you to see the beads I used, so there are two pictures here. The picture with the beads is before the stole was blocked. It also gives a nice idea of the detailing in the point of the stole.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8ob7VGgjourfrl04tDDMNm-3rMCUF7pQXOA7gxJm2yeSRtihMwSY0lTAhC_Lx5RAH87fdpDulpZcp44s_5fQS7gQDZB7NI_LmzbhpFG-048ZcaHcL6K17VUtEQEzO_T8iAI8rA/s1600-h/blocking+with+wing.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8ob7VGgjourfrl04tDDMNm-3rMCUF7pQXOA7gxJm2yeSRtihMwSY0lTAhC_Lx5RAH87fdpDulpZcp44s_5fQS7gQDZB7NI_LmzbhpFG-048ZcaHcL6K17VUtEQEzO_T8iAI8rA/s320/blocking+with+wing.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212346077768210994" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73uR0Zw7SSFYRIik5Ed2GrhMzeLrODCHie1kMmvyWVlKoJTWtdddYRpS3J7BjOKDsFH8Ui4zY0YosZz181KnNaq6H0U3dqQKpbCkbZI0CUP30Pt0yY3fPiyJJyWibauNw3ay7nw/s1600-h/point+preblocking.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73uR0Zw7SSFYRIik5Ed2GrhMzeLrODCHie1kMmvyWVlKoJTWtdddYRpS3J7BjOKDsFH8Ui4zY0YosZz181KnNaq6H0U3dqQKpbCkbZI0CUP30Pt0yY3fPiyJJyWibauNw3ay7nw/s320/point+preblocking.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212348492565997298" /></a><br /><br />I will leave you with a final photo. Midge is a crossword aficionado and in this photo she is comfortably wrapped up while she searches for a word. I am imagining her this coming winter using the stole as she relaxes at home, or maybe at the theatre some times. She just has to make sure she keeps it away from her cat.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid62MspybrxdyDn3h_dN_6n06auyLd-Z_ahcGT7qboHuFcHziv8HrxdvjrWwVna_6odp3s3S6RAZLThejyIhMEJRC-ErAcvLGFLs1EvOAuPrEB07B-4yfjrnGei2hgF9G7gT-f-A/s1600-h/crossword+puzzle.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid62MspybrxdyDn3h_dN_6n06auyLd-Z_ahcGT7qboHuFcHziv8HrxdvjrWwVna_6odp3s3S6RAZLThejyIhMEJRC-ErAcvLGFLs1EvOAuPrEB07B-4yfjrnGei2hgF9G7gT-f-A/s320/crossword+puzzle.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212348499724275634" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-47972263669855482432008-06-02T15:55:00.007-07:002008-06-02T16:46:33.518-07:00The Seamless Hybrid<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeK2TMgP3JGVJpfZVDYYZ-c4rFDklvv5LQjWOiQYos4YtjrDtfMCbQEqyeT-XSybAzKLPQPtVDt95R91we7HxmTinMWixwH6E8Bz7GvVeXDGVlqm3hFuuCBtm2rkdSDODMFwh_A/s1600-h/P6020006_1.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeK2TMgP3JGVJpfZVDYYZ-c4rFDklvv5LQjWOiQYos4YtjrDtfMCbQEqyeT-XSybAzKLPQPtVDt95R91we7HxmTinMWixwH6E8Bz7GvVeXDGVlqm3hFuuCBtm2rkdSDODMFwh_A/s320/P6020006_1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207432323313169426" /></a><br />Elizabeth Zimmerman's Seamless Hybrid sweater has always intrigued me. I have known about it for years, but recently I have been thinking about finally knitting it. I borrowed the book from my stepdaugher, <a href="http://holliyeoh.com/blog/">Holli Yeoh</a>, and after reading the pattern went out and bought the yarn at <a href="http://www.threebagsfull.ca/">Three Bags Full</a> here in Vancouver. I chose "The Heathers" by Cascade 220 in purple, and added an accent in orange using Rowan Pure Wool DK. The needles were 4.5 mm Addi Turbos for lace - I love those needles.<br /><br />I started with excitement and trepidation and surprised myself by finishing it in six days. The colours look great together. The orange was an inspired choice, picked out by Christa Giles at the shop - the bonus was that it was on a half price sale. I used 4.5 mm needles, Addi Turbos for lace knitting which I love. I do think that I could have used smaller needles, which may certainly have taken me longer, but might give a tighter looking stitch.<br /><br />I also need to express my thanks to the members of my Gay and Lesbian Knit List, who did a little cyber hand-holding while I was knitting the sweater. I had a little panic attack about beginning the shoulder - EZ's instructions are a little vague - it's a challenge to knit a sweater when the instructions are somewhat cavalierly written in a "oh, you'll figure it out" style. But that's EZ, and in fact, if I had trusted her, I would have had no problem - things do unfold as they should. But I trusted my friends in Cyber space and they were right, things worked out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcd5jlouw3UoDsigGCrvuW2ONutMA2MdfwthnTystozWsV1ogqMa8UYmUzNu2rJQFh8___ykQBTByRHQHGJ-TzBxdTF7x9EJk5Q_VRpJ-d64hHJV8SuFqzXOd5X4bPBasb5unww/s1600-h/P5190038.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcd5jlouw3UoDsigGCrvuW2ONutMA2MdfwthnTystozWsV1ogqMa8UYmUzNu2rJQFh8___ykQBTByRHQHGJ-TzBxdTF7x9EJk5Q_VRpJ-d64hHJV8SuFqzXOd5X4bPBasb5unww/s320/P5190038.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207422661568632594" /></a><br /><br /> I love working in the round. Grafting the shoulder was fun, since I did my best to make the stitches match where the slipped stitches appear on the edges. I also enjoyed the challenge of making the underarm grafts look smooth - not so easy on the triangle. Now that I've taken a few pictures I realize that I need to work on the graft on the shoulder back - there's a visible line where I didn't take the care I should have to ensure the stitches were blended perfectly. I'm going to have to tug and pull on that area to make all the stitches look the same. Seems to be working for me so far, but I haven't seen it on since doing that so can't say for sure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEyn4FGumC_FJFnZiUz1BvT8S0vrQxYBpJQ3v4bQopE4N84ICarj6xHq0Z8f2PG6ucQ6sueNeD_tu3IZuTSMm6dct5TrN_Gat5hgEaUpi3HySa51bcfGMb6JJEGApMVLXfFyX6Q/s1600-h/P5190040.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEyn4FGumC_FJFnZiUz1BvT8S0vrQxYBpJQ3v4bQopE4N84ICarj6xHq0Z8f2PG6ucQ6sueNeD_tu3IZuTSMm6dct5TrN_Gat5hgEaUpi3HySa51bcfGMb6JJEGApMVLXfFyX6Q/s320/P5190040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207422709479587922" /></a><br /><br />One flaw - I should have paid attention to EZ and did the bottom band in 10% fewer stitches. When I did the swatches, it appeared that the accent yarn was about 10% less, so I thought it would work. Wrong. The bottom flares out a bit. I did it right on the sleeves and the neck.<br /><br />The neck was another challenge. When I picked up the stitches I had 120 which was way too many. I solved the problem by decreasing on the first row to 80 stitches which really improved the look. I was glad I did the plain hemmed neck rather than a rib as others seem to have done. It just makes the sweater that much more of a complete work of art. I sewed the neck by stitching down the live stitches as I slipped them off the needles. It looks a little loose, but I wanted to make sure it was not pulling in any way.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41_CvRUxSxXI2_gZeM9s9BtgacZUOwGbHTWu2ftg0wo5-I5ZgpjzemL3oWpNflQtNNhrK_ZjLTL74GUlnaQQSnPopeKLgz7wFkSaYelXxMnk6JiqfDn1KhfPcIygM-KHC-_kP-Q/s1600-h/P5190039.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41_CvRUxSxXI2_gZeM9s9BtgacZUOwGbHTWu2ftg0wo5-I5ZgpjzemL3oWpNflQtNNhrK_ZjLTL74GUlnaQQSnPopeKLgz7wFkSaYelXxMnk6JiqfDn1KhfPcIygM-KHC-_kP-Q/s320/P5190039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207422690903084082" /></a><br /><br />Now that I've completed this sweater, I want to do another one. While wandering through my own stash on Ravlery, I noticed that I have a whole bag of yarn in Gedifra Tweed. Bet that would look good in this sweater too. Hmmm, wonder if I have enough yarn. I'm also imagining doing the sweater in a fingering weight yarn - but for a child, not an adult. I'm not quite a masochist. I'll have to think about that - and maybe measure my grandson for size.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-44104123071877750442007-09-21T23:09:00.001-07:002008-06-17T22:39:06.902-07:00More socksI've been very busy knitting socks. Since the most recent post about socks, I've finished at least five pairs. I bought Cat Bordhi's new book, New Pathways for Knitters and the first sock I had to do was Coriolis. I knit it in a beautiful yellow-green yarn from Nature's Palette and while it dyed my fingers green, it looks beautiful and I love the way the spiral curls up the leg. For the next Coriolis I knit I will add a couple of plain rows before knitting the purl row for turning so that there isn't that little pook-out where the spiral ends.<br /><br />The other sock, on my right foot, is Ambrosia by Anne Budd, published on Knitting Daily a while ago. I enjoyed knitting the cables and even got brave enough to do them without using a cable needle. I just dropped the stitches that needed moving, knit the appropriate stitches then picked the hanging stitches up with the needle and continued merrily along. I did have a problem with the socks though. The cable pulled the socks in so much that when I finished the heel I couldnt' get the socks on. After some consultation, I ripped the socks back to below the heel, and added many more stitches to make the instep bigger. It worked, although the socks are still a little tight around the instep. I need to wear them a bit to make them stretch.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQGHNrMHH4LoiRoxXTqM5ncuWUi7MGF9QG12a7KEtLh6omuypMAQK_jHctIhZkaB1lkIe2jDi5-virfs2qJL9LW9Okzb0N_D0W9sgbtHPO2p1KqSHh8p4J5Jd9UElGDR4uUAPgA/s1600-h/20070904_2397.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQGHNrMHH4LoiRoxXTqM5ncuWUi7MGF9QG12a7KEtLh6omuypMAQK_jHctIhZkaB1lkIe2jDi5-virfs2qJL9LW9Okzb0N_D0W9sgbtHPO2p1KqSHh8p4J5Jd9UElGDR4uUAPgA/s320/20070904_2397.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112909513438344322" /></a><br /><br />I've also knit two pairs of socks using the Canadian dyeing company Hand Maiden - a delight to knit because it is so soft. I love the feel of the yarn, with it's blend of Merino, Cashmere, and nylon, and the socks are great. Both the socks are from New Pathways again - this time Upstream and Riverbed whose only difference is where the increases are - on the top for the first, and the bottom for the second. Upstream is the purple one, Riverbed the brown one. Riverbed was made for my husband and after I gave them to him to try on I told him he couldn't really wear them till after they were introduced at the next West Coast Knitters Guild meeting a couple of weeks from now. He was very dutiful and gave them back to me, even though I know he wanted to wear them. Shame on me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2pvW2ZWrNLpnHRcIdTxy887N5-ZYg_afIgtvSuntyJJh6atAXdItx1fjPA22ZnTilAK6bFJYEzv7HC22aWhny5NQA5ZsrGBU1FD276RhlMZJyuhAD61DWn6H4ezr0CO5_nLZow/s1600-h/P9190001.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2pvW2ZWrNLpnHRcIdTxy887N5-ZYg_afIgtvSuntyJJh6atAXdItx1fjPA22ZnTilAK6bFJYEzv7HC22aWhny5NQA5ZsrGBU1FD276RhlMZJyuhAD61DWn6H4ezr0CO5_nLZow/s320/P9190001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112912189202969746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBIfePoHTNCaV8DXCGrs43iVEbWLp3z6ED7ScIsjmDe9YRl-HBrEkZ2esnx0J6oU357s4OsnGGfkfb5B55r2V32qSnfe8BN4apgiAMYlmQS-ONgT64PBBqyJOJwWy7q2741XXJQ/s1600-h/P9190009.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBIfePoHTNCaV8DXCGrs43iVEbWLp3z6ED7ScIsjmDe9YRl-HBrEkZ2esnx0J6oU357s4OsnGGfkfb5B55r2V32qSnfe8BN4apgiAMYlmQS-ONgT64PBBqyJOJwWy7q2741XXJQ/s320/P9190009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112912202087871650" /></a><br /><br />Here's another pair I finished at least a month ago. I bought the yarn in Victoria, BC when I was there for the Fibre Fest. The yarn is Jitterbug. Too bad they are now a little too small for me, since I washed them. I love the colours.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAi1G68e16SW3_lGjfhnEvpzEhFYfoPe5oupZCdh0R0S85gxObC6UAR6vdH-8bCKTccR06eB6Bwfwta9wsGjtEPSdL3-Fuvmm7wpvOgpFctkwGDbaD2OvKx5zGgoXVrM19VgK_Q/s1600-h/P8050019.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAi1G68e16SW3_lGjfhnEvpzEhFYfoPe5oupZCdh0R0S85gxObC6UAR6vdH-8bCKTccR06eB6Bwfwta9wsGjtEPSdL3-Fuvmm7wpvOgpFctkwGDbaD2OvKx5zGgoXVrM19VgK_Q/s320/P8050019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112913232880022706" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-11013944423589185982007-09-07T22:00:00.000-07:002007-09-07T22:23:53.427-07:00Socks, Socks, SocksI've been sock crazy for months - or as my GLBT list says, "I've gone over to the dark side". Many, many socks have been knit, and yes, I do manage to complete a pair before I knit another. The socks you see here are a pair I knit after I first saw someone knitting with Koigu. I had to have some - it was like a drug - get it to me now. I knit these socks like crazy and they are certainly wonderful. One little note - I wore them once and after taking them off noticed that there was a line of soft abrasion right over my big toe on both socks. This yarn is obviously very soft. However, they have been washed a number of times now and they are holding up just fine. And another little note - they were knit toe-up with no picking up stitches on the side of the heel flap. Yes, there is a heel flap and a short row section to make the rounded section where the heel turns upwards. I love that.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_I6iuqelvNLDWa6eqbaBXsMb_0FdoA6XAHaSSIL2EGmmAUq1L1IHlPNehjSGyowHQ7spj7sn81V8Td9nB7xQAmrnGCYlKV7-PPWPi2lrX_rAHDZAFicWtLARO3m6j4ekGT2IXQ/s1600-h/P5120018.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_I6iuqelvNLDWa6eqbaBXsMb_0FdoA6XAHaSSIL2EGmmAUq1L1IHlPNehjSGyowHQ7spj7sn81V8Td9nB7xQAmrnGCYlKV7-PPWPi2lrX_rAHDZAFicWtLARO3m6j4ekGT2IXQ/s320/P5120018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107694557083312930" /></a><br /><br />The interesting thing about these socks is that they are part of a series I have been knitting using a left foot/right foot pattern which I adapted from an explanation of top-down socks knit this way. It took lots of concentration to get the pattern adapted - somehow it felt like knitting in a mirror; every thing I wrote had to be considered backwards from the way the pattern was written. It felt quite wierd.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66tIlXNTuNlzfomrqteTPazKnRPmUAKNHG-pIDEnOBPg3JR7PMvHEelL82LXB6a5Oev3kLFg487dNElpRxNARNTvgMr2Z7Kj_4uwuptnGxLti4xJxc_6uF9YpOIVrP6vEC3musQ/s1600-h/P5120015.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66tIlXNTuNlzfomrqteTPazKnRPmUAKNHG-pIDEnOBPg3JR7PMvHEelL82LXB6a5Oev3kLFg487dNElpRxNARNTvgMr2Z7Kj_4uwuptnGxLti4xJxc_6uF9YpOIVrP6vEC3musQ/s320/P5120015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107694574263182130" /></a><br /><br />Here's a detail of the heel and the gusset. The gusset is knit right in and is very simple. It was taken from the sock design in Knitty.com for Widdershins socks, a pattern I loved. It was my first foray into toe-up socks and I found it a revelation. I have avoided socks because I didn't want to deal with that heel flap - oh have I mentioned that I hate picking up stitches already? And look - a slip one knit one heel gusset, just like in a top down sock. I'm such an innocent - I didn't even know it was possible. I have grown so much. (lol) Now I'm thinking I'm an expert, but then again - there's more to come in future blogs about that...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhyphenhyphennEiKsWKP_wL9UziovmOAo_AUBZTXR37-KR-c8kqHmR2GLKtzYglD-wpuGpRSNGQkOxADceZDSPEtyuzwEdrywx7g818NWcUd9S4aMNPe_ZWRGIqUvuyCNLbQi0ec1vUhDEhg/s1600-h/P5120014.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhyphenhyphennEiKsWKP_wL9UziovmOAo_AUBZTXR37-KR-c8kqHmR2GLKtzYglD-wpuGpRSNGQkOxADceZDSPEtyuzwEdrywx7g818NWcUd9S4aMNPe_ZWRGIqUvuyCNLbQi0ec1vUhDEhg/s320/P5120014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107694578558149442" /></a><br /><br />And look - here is my very delicate heel and foot - a mere size 10.5 inch foot. That's about average. Note the short leg above the heel - I'm not into tall socks ever since I started running and discovered short running socks. The top was cast off using the knit 2 tog thru back loop technique which gives a nice stretchy finish. One of the early socks I knit I cast off the normal way, but that was another lesson learned, since I could not get it over my ever-so delicate ankle. Thank heaven for yarn stores - I learned the technique I used here at one of my favorite yarn shops here in Vancouver - Three Bags Full, thanks to Francesca and Linda.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cnmIhpckQNAOcspr8U3ZtLowMoO7eXauy9sMM8JQH72FzNLk4QOJ7WOGkafLR1RGOgny89x0e2YJNQCD_-sO2x3aaZsta4CF5TNIxogp80YtXconMg8F3h325wnlu9eYm45YwA/s1600-h/P5120017.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cnmIhpckQNAOcspr8U3ZtLowMoO7eXauy9sMM8JQH72FzNLk4QOJ7WOGkafLR1RGOgny89x0e2YJNQCD_-sO2x3aaZsta4CF5TNIxogp80YtXconMg8F3h325wnlu9eYm45YwA/s320/P5120017.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5107694587148084050" /></a><br /><br />There are more socks waiting their turn to be blogged. I must be happy with this one for now. If I try to do too much, nothing will get done. That's my style, and I have to live with it.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-85177769512247701842007-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:002007-07-03T13:35:57.187-07:00Hanging GardenThe Hanging Garden has been hanging fire for some time now. I saw this beautiful stole on display at my favourite yarn shop and it called to me. I didn't buy the pattern then, but two days later I went back and looked again. Francesca, the owner, showed me the yarn and that clinched it for me. When I saw it I knew I had to knit with it. Such a beautiful yarn.<br /><br />The stole was designed by <a href="http://www.siviaharding.com">Sivia Harding</a>, and the yarn came from <a href="http://www.threebagsfull.ca">Three Bags Full</a> Yarn shop on Main Street in Vancouver, a wonderful resource. <br /><br />I started the stole about two and a half months ago in April, 2007, and finished it in two weeks. Then things got in the way, and I could not show it off to my guild (<a href="http://westcoastknitters.org">WestCoastKnitters</a> in Vancouver, BC) at the May meeting (May 1, 2007)because of a "little" medical problem. I hadn't even blocked it when my medical problem took over my life for four days, so maybe it was for the best.<br /><br /><br />A month later - the day before the next guild meeting (June 5, 2007), I blocked the stole, which turned out to be both easier than I expected and made the stole even more beautiful. I had to block it on the floor, using two large towels and 176 quilters pins. My back was hurting when I finally hauled myself back up.<br /><br />So now it is time to unveil my work. It was a labor of love, made with lots of swearing because every now and again I made a little mistake that required me to unknit row after row, no lifeline in place, (tried that and hated it). With a 54 row repeat, done 12 times, there were lots of opportunities for errors, so the fact that I still completed it in only two weeks is even more remarkable. <br /><br />I used Fiddlesticks 50-50 Merino-Silk yarn in Copper and 70 small orange beads at cast-on and cast-off, 3.5 mm Addi Turbo circular lace needle, and lots of stitches to produce this work. Now I just have to figure out how to display it in my apartment since I didn't make it with a ricipient in mind - I just wanted to do it.<br /><br />The model is my beautiful niece Kara Pottle who was visiting me from Kamloops, BC. I took her down to the park in front of my apartment, so we could use English Bay as a backdrop to equal the beauty of the stole. It was a cool day, but she told me the stole actually kept her warm. Must be the merino.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPZB6jblXc7r3vuYJ64yIu6LtkHyXdM5lsdng6db_Y0arqsW6iWmIFAgn1qEXBYK195dXePzetqdq39kfpbiU5YRjxRpqqtjsGExyZfxypSAlgEaZyi47dhklcQoiYdd9Egqmfg/s1600-h/stole+back.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlPZB6jblXc7r3vuYJ64yIu6LtkHyXdM5lsdng6db_Y0arqsW6iWmIFAgn1qEXBYK195dXePzetqdq39kfpbiU5YRjxRpqqtjsGExyZfxypSAlgEaZyi47dhklcQoiYdd9Egqmfg/s320/stole+back.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083061687586931362" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5iOMngVvjFKg1wcP92qpvB1qb0zOjiJnvSygwFnbEEoVwRueS4CWLuXdYje-K0sP0s8qtWz9Mm8rbEFsY00YaJYk1lrkNPsSd_wkIWdBacy1xLERFmcXqXpdMUecun2ET4815g/s1600-h/stole+front.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5iOMngVvjFKg1wcP92qpvB1qb0zOjiJnvSygwFnbEEoVwRueS4CWLuXdYje-K0sP0s8qtWz9Mm8rbEFsY00YaJYk1lrkNPsSd_wkIWdBacy1xLERFmcXqXpdMUecun2ET4815g/s320/stole+front.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083061696176865970" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3YAAVPUiSgSW0KDpyHcnKuwi5ObrzHpnGChPFg0FBmPvM8ZpTModfslZG7_uzjdYPDjQZGGO-hutQk_zAX_30gL9VN7kbaOUda7Uiad0vrEjsBquy7IUA93T2AyBOQLGi6Q1jg/s1600-h/stole+open+front.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3YAAVPUiSgSW0KDpyHcnKuwi5ObrzHpnGChPFg0FBmPvM8ZpTModfslZG7_uzjdYPDjQZGGO-hutQk_zAX_30gL9VN7kbaOUda7Uiad0vrEjsBquy7IUA93T2AyBOQLGi6Q1jg/s320/stole+open+front.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083061704766800578" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-27553296913620105852007-04-26T14:25:00.000-07:002007-04-26T14:32:54.364-07:00Getting back to it!I have been so remiss. After three months in Mexico, I've already been home a month and have yet to blog any of the projects I have either worked on or am working on right now. Shame on me. I am very busy right now with an amazing lace stole which I plan to hang on a chair in my living room, just to look pretty and allow itself to be admired. I should be working on it right now, because I've given myself a deadline, so this is a quick and dirty entry right now, until I have the time to get all the photos of knittingI took while I was in Mexico.<br /><br />Hang in there faithful readersNigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-88544987401426334132007-01-26T13:34:00.000-08:002007-01-27T08:55:49.706-08:00Knitting in heatNot cats, but temperature. I am in Puerto Escondido and the heat is opressive right now. I spent two weeks sunbathing nude on the beach in Zipolite, near Puerto Angel, then moved to Puerto Escondido where I have done hardly any sunbathing. Because of that my skin is starting to dry out and flake even though I smear lotion on during the day.<br /><br />Since I don't really like to look too much like a lizard, I am going to knit myself a cotton washcloth called <a href="http://www.jimsyldesign.com/~dishbout/kpatterns/lacymockcable.html">Lacy Mock Cable</a>. I found the pattern in the Dishcloth Boutique. Of course I don't have the kind of cotton recommended in the pattern - mine is some mercerized cotton I bought in Pochutla, the main town near Puerto Angel and Zipolite. It's purple, that's no problem, but it's finer than I would like.<br /><br />No matter, I cast on one repeat more of the pattern (48 stitches) and it looks like it will be a decent width - I just have to knit it long enough. It will be a skimpy cloth though, very little heft to this yarn. One complaint about the pattern - it says to cast on 40 stitches, or a repeat of 8 plus 2 stitches. Well, the pattern is an 8 stitch repeat and that incorporates the edge stitches, so what's that 2 stitches for. At least the author could have said something about a selvedge stitch, although that is certainly not necessary since the edge has three knit stitches anyway. I hope no unsuspecting new knitter finds this pattern and tries to make sense of it.<br /><br />I have to go work on my project now. I'm only in the first half of the first pattern repeat, so there's away to go. Time's awasting.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-55442470227458962412006-12-18T02:02:00.000-08:002006-12-18T05:19:10.903-08:00Men in hatsI had to knit Half-Dome again. I love that pattern, even if I do knit it in the round and not flat like YarnBoy Jesse Loesberg designed it. I was in one of my favourite restaurants a while ago, (The Dish, on Davie St. in Vancouver BC, and overheard Andrew, one of the owners, say he could use a hat to wear under his bike helmet. <br /><br />I couldn't resist and offered then and there to knit it for him. He asked me to use grey and black so I headed off to one of my favourite knitting stores, Three Bags Full on Main, in Vancouver where I discovered that they had no grey. I did find a wonderful green yarn though so I called Andrew and asked him if that would work. Thank heaven he agreed.<br /><br />So I use Lorna's Laces again, with a green body and a black brim and it turned out so well, even if I did have to knit it three times. The first time I knew it was too big, so I ripped back and made it with eight fewer stitches, and then it was too small, so I ripped back and made it with four more stitches than the last time and finally it was just right.<br /><br />I delivered it to Andrew one day and then told him he had to have it with him the next day when I brought in some friends to see it and to take photos.<br /><br />Here's Andrew showing off the wonderful colour of the hat from the side.<br /><br />Andrew side view<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jFhIhPrcZBqrGJaAyVfFpkCZJB25hvTQvdhRqDXtq-zrz_matrHBoZYJkstDDiHZ-5AgKVd7hRA3O3mDUp9RemzZuhRFudCBf4WdRYMNBFsMXrOpVSTRmDbZY1xUhXe9Jfmusw/s1600-h/sideviewandrew.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jFhIhPrcZBqrGJaAyVfFpkCZJB25hvTQvdhRqDXtq-zrz_matrHBoZYJkstDDiHZ-5AgKVd7hRA3O3mDUp9RemzZuhRFudCBf4WdRYMNBFsMXrOpVSTRmDbZY1xUhXe9Jfmusw/s320/sideviewandrew.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009807243468926850" /></a><br /><br />And here's Andrew at work. I haven't got a picture of him with his bike helmet, but then it would be invisible anyway.<br /><br />Andrew at counter<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UJQVvUmVQP8gI6d9j2wf1HH5ISeJDuV-wQuCfdxLrAmmNKkUwYApSGlTKMrWw5RIPBnBi7X8M2JV1qQ2tP-0lsgwZX9GidCW-HUtaguL-TfwW6A7C3x-pEqclLmm6-owxfE6Ww/s1600-h/andrewcounter.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UJQVvUmVQP8gI6d9j2wf1HH5ISeJDuV-wQuCfdxLrAmmNKkUwYApSGlTKMrWw5RIPBnBi7X8M2JV1qQ2tP-0lsgwZX9GidCW-HUtaguL-TfwW6A7C3x-pEqclLmm6-owxfE6Ww/s320/andrewcounter.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009805834719653746" /></a><br /><br />Andrew is a cyclist and runner, and when I last saw him back in the beginning of December he was getting ready to go to Las Vegas to run a marathon. I don't know if he'll need his hat there.<br /><br />A little history now. I met James over 26 years ago when I visited him with my new partner Geordie in San Francisco. We had a great visit, and invited him back to visit us in Calgary. He arrived in February - not the best time to visit Canada and he was not prepared for the weather. It being cold, and snowy, he was freezing, so I knit him a hat from a lovely Briggs and Little homespun yarn I happened to have lying around. <br /><br />James came back into our lives just a year or so ago. He was now with his partner Terry of 26 years and they had decided to buy a pied a terre in Vancouver to get some respite from their hard difficult lives in Hawaii (yeah, right, a likely story).<br /><br />But James and Terry love Vancouver and luckily for James, he had held onto that hat for the last 26 years and finally had a reason to wear it again. Why it didn't get moth eaten after being stored for so long is a mystery to me, but I guess it means that this Canadian yarn is indestructible.<br /><br />James<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlRkUuES4IBO76Vzkbrv3-3TykMUXcgF9R1ZvecUWikI7WF6KAoJBWPLU_dq2Jqp73Wk4BCucCOjt1yGFlUPmJTnrdzJL3cMxjjcJ-5XTE2MBz2dQf3TY_mDnJlsWSQoQ3wMLmw/s1600-h/James.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlRkUuES4IBO76Vzkbrv3-3TykMUXcgF9R1ZvecUWikI7WF6KAoJBWPLU_dq2Jqp73Wk4BCucCOjt1yGFlUPmJTnrdzJL3cMxjjcJ-5XTE2MBz2dQf3TY_mDnJlsWSQoQ3wMLmw/s320/James.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009807260648796066" /></a><br /><br />Mind you, Terry was in Vancouver too, and he needed a hat, but didn't have one from way back like James did. So I had to knit him one too. His is quite unique. I designed it myself and for some unknown reason I made it reversible. I wonder if that is any advantage.<br /><br />So here is Terry's less than a month old hat - but one he got to wear during our freak snowstorm which brought cold weather for days.<br /><br />Terry<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3FbAaKSopWuxuvUk0rHt2NP7P69TbCh3r8j4wjGEYVcRIEFBlDjztLUKLqtOZ978EYbqz1rW8H_QB-25dC1FycClcldLKC2bn3t7-ozixfkm_Tnm3KaZVp2LWQvBH15lyhmloA/s1600-h/terry.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3FbAaKSopWuxuvUk0rHt2NP7P69TbCh3r8j4wjGEYVcRIEFBlDjztLUKLqtOZ978EYbqz1rW8H_QB-25dC1FycClcldLKC2bn3t7-ozixfkm_Tnm3KaZVp2LWQvBH15lyhmloA/s320/terry.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009807252058861458" /></a><br /><br />Finally, we needed a group picture. Here you see all of us. Andrew with his green and black halfdome, James with a 26 year old brown hat, me with my first halfdome in green and black, Terry with month old purple hat, and my husband Geordie with a Half-Dome in Blue and Black (yarns from Lorna's Laces on that one, too.)<br /><br />Men in Hats<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiDcULfg1S5s6jcRmwGlTnvj9Cf4WfOJGMHrRjDz7cVm9w_JfWDozi-z89h-OOoHGK0Vgr5fy8aYZibgu9unb3yKfLKoFgBu2VgJ8eM-9M7bEVCUg0Nq4hr14yM2pFPvw-vmk0A/s1600-h/groupwhats.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiDcULfg1S5s6jcRmwGlTnvj9Cf4WfOJGMHrRjDz7cVm9w_JfWDozi-z89h-OOoHGK0Vgr5fy8aYZibgu9unb3yKfLKoFgBu2VgJ8eM-9M7bEVCUg0Nq4hr14yM2pFPvw-vmk0A/s320/groupwhats.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009807269238730674" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-66832496340649761512006-11-20T21:11:00.000-08:002006-11-20T21:39:30.195-08:00The new Gay Rainbow HatI love the <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATThalfdome.html">Half-Dome</a> hat by Jesse Loesberg in the Summer 2006 issue of <br /><a href="http://www.knitty.com/">Knitty.com</a>. My first one was a great success and I love wearing it, even if I don' fit the criteria (having a decent head of hair).<br /><br />However, one really wants to improve on an original sometimes, with apologies to the originator. I'm sure Picasso didn't appreciate all the people who followed him but he had to put up with it, so apologies to Jesse right now. Anyway, what I came up with by accident started at the top instead of at the bottom and since I am not a believer in sewing up much, I knit this one in the round with no seam to sew up at the end, just two ends to sew in, one top, one bottom.<br /><br />The yarn for this one is from <a href="http://www.lornaslaces.net">Lorna's Laces</a> again - like the Heavenly Camisole. It's Shepherd Sport weight again, but the rainbow repeat is done from red to purple and back to purple so it's not just a simple red to purple, red to purple colouration. The colour sections are very short too, so one gets a lot of colour over all.<br /><br />My design skills need work, of course, since when I was doing the math to work out the increases, I made a tiny error and instead of increasing on both sides of a quadrant of the hat, I managed to do my increases one at a time giving me not quadrants but octrants (oh I don't think that's a word, but it looks good so I'll keep it).<br /><br />Here it is on my head - it's a little small for me but I stretched it over my big head anyway, just so I could show it off. It may have to go to my grandson, who is only five. Maybe it's too big for him.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/1600/891973/P1010025.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/320/977701/P1010025.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />And here it is, stuffed with a towel to show the increases in a better light.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/1600/958707/PB160022.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/320/842106/PB160022.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />This may not be Jesse's original hat, but I like it anyway. Any questions? Ask away.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-67053420637149779492006-11-20T20:59:00.000-08:002006-11-20T21:11:19.661-08:00The Amazing Multi-Purpose WashclothWhen I purchased my skein of this purple Euroflax linen, the intention was to make myself a washcloth to use in the swimming pool. I had already purchased some man-made fibre and used it, but since my gay knit group always introduced the new knitters to a simple washcloth to practice their new skills, it seemed that I was the only one without one, since I wasn’t a newbie.<br /><br />I wanted to do something with a challenge though and I found it in the book Knitter’s Stash ( KS)which I had already used to make the Heavenly Camisole as a Christmas present for my friend Midge. The pattern that called to me was the Dragon Scales pattern which is found in other books as well – I found it most recently in the Vogue Knitting Stitchonary, (VKS) although there was a minor variation in the knitting instructions. KS called for an SSK decrease, while the VKS called for a K2tbl in its place. Seems I must have been psychic since I was actually using the K2tbl by mistake anyway. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/1600/778287/PB160018.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/320/57747/PB160018.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Since I had a full skein, it seemed logical to use as much as the yarn as possible. The original pattern called for casting on 71 stitches to make a square washcloth. That gave a 5 pattern repeat. I didn’t need the piece that wide of course, so I cast on 45 stitches which gave a three pattern repeat instead. And I knit, and knit, and knit until I couldn’t stand it anymore and cast off with probably enough to do one more 12 row repeat. But who needed it? The washcloth was already 42 inches long which certainly was enough for me to hold in both hands and give my back a good scrub.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/1600/989706/PB160010.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/320/569850/PB160010.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/1600/685075/PB160013.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/320/451522/PB160013.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Here you see me demonstating the wonderful length of my washcloth. Forgive the partial nudity, but I am wearing my swimsuit which seemed to be the appropriate way to demonstrate the success of my endeavour. Just forgive the not quite perfect body. You do get to see my smile in the second picture of course.<br /><br />Now what makes this the multi-purpose you ask? Well the next picture demonstrates how this lovely 42 inch washcloth will double quite nicely as a small but effective scarf. The good thing is that when this cloth is washed and dried in the dryer, or ironed with a nice hot iron, the linen softens up so that it is no longer scratchy as it is in its first iteration. Apparently the linen will continue to soften over time. The only disappointment is that although one can wear it to the pool on a cool winter’s evening, after using it as a washcloth it can’t be worn home quite so comfortably. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/1600/276694/P1010028.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/320/461872/P1010028.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Me on my balcony with my rather mediaeval looking linen neckcloth.<br /><br />Notwithstanding, this is a great success. I am very happy with my natural fibre washcloth and its alternate use as a scarf is just gravy. Good tasty gravy.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-55254161316050433282006-11-16T22:26:00.000-08:002006-11-16T22:26:59.060-08:00Done Doily - Morning GlorysMy mother and aunt<strong> </strong>were both addicted to doilies, but my mother liked to crochet them. I was always impressed with the amazing doilies my aunt produced using her knitting needles though - I always wondered why she didn't crochet like my mother. Now I think that she actually didn't crochet anyway - knitting was her forte and if that meant she wanted a doily she had to knit it. So knit she did.<br /><br />The doily here is one I made following the Knitalong provided by KnitterguyKev in my GLBknit list. He provided the pattern eight rows at a time and since in the beginning that meant knitting very little, I was somewhat impatient for the next week's pattern because I would finish the work very quickly. Things progressed though so by week four the rows were getting longer, the design a little more complicated and the challenge harder. And it did not do to make a mistake. Unknitting when one has done double yarn overs, and k3togs was more than a little difficult with the small gauge crochet cotton I was using.<br /><br />This doily was knit using number 20 mercerized crochet cotton, and size 1, 2.25mm needles. A fine piece of work and when I was knitting something else and came back to these small needles it felt as if I was suddenly in the land of Brobdinag with Gulliver, attempting to work these tiny designs when I had such giant fingers.<br /><br />In any case, I finished the doily on time, pinned it out finally and sprayed it with cotton starch today, ironed it out and it now takes pride of place on our side table. And I have come to an even better appreciation of the dedication my aunt made to her craft since her doilies were at least twice as big as this one, which is only about 9 1/2 inches in diameter, not including the crocheted chain edging.<br /><br />I attempted to photograph it on the oak side table, but got a terrible reflection, so laid it out on my large ottoman which gives a much better view of the work. Thanks Kev, and congratulations to the other people who also finished, especially Renate who finished first!<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/1600/768731/uploaded_images%2FPB160021.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/527/4508/320/926591/uploaded_images%2FPB160021.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-45216783787796663872006-11-07T23:22:00.000-08:002006-11-08T07:52:59.421-08:00Dragon Scales and Country living<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB070005.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/160/PB070005.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB070009.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/160/PB070009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Our time in the country is at an end. It was a great getaway. We saw bighorn sheep on the way up four days ago, geese flying across the lake at sunset today, and lots of little quail, their topknots bobbing, running across the roads. And up here we had plenty of time to get in some good video watching, Mystery with the Inspector Lynley series, and tonight the first half of Painted Lady, a departure for Helen Mirren, but great television. (And there's even a gay character, although as it happens oh so often, we last saw him hanging, gagged and tied by a trick he picked up. But we think there's hope. We'll see when we watch the conclusion.)<br /><br />Well, away from that gory image. I also got lots of knitting done and lots of ideas thunk through. Above you see my linen washcloth, which is another pattern from the Knitter's Stash book (home of the Heavenly Camisole). This one is in a lovely soft purple, although I've found that linen is not so soft to knit. I am promised that it will soften up in the wash. I will be the most expensively washed man after my swim workouts with the English Bay Swim Club, once this is finished. Since starting it today or was it yesterday? its at least double what you see here. I've given you two pictures, just because the lighting I used in them show the patterns differently and I thought that was worth a look. The yarn is Euroflax for those who were wondering and the pattern is called Dragon's Scales, which appealed to me. I have a feeling I saw it in one of those pattern books (Barbara W?) called Dragon Skin, but I haven't confirmed that.<br /><br />I'm planning to make this piece at least a metre long - or rather, as long as I can make it with the yardage I have. That way I can use it to wash my back, that being the whole point.<br /><br />Back to the city tomorrow, and my yoga class tomorrow night, my physio on Thursday - all those things I do to get my back back into shape. <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-52704196446348929832006-11-07T17:44:00.000-08:002006-11-07T17:53:57.538-08:00Me knittingI wanted to have a picture in my profile. It doesn't seem so easy to do, but I did get one in. Now Idon't know if I can delete the picture here, but hey, why bother? I'm sitting in our friend's cabin working on my dragon scales washcloth. More to come on that soon, with pictures. It's a gorgeous evening, after rain; we had a lovely sun spell, and then, just as the sun was setting a flock of geese flew by past the trees, over the lake and back again. Silhouetted against the sky they were a magnificent sight.<br /><br />I've gotten lots of knitting done here, as well as some thinking about some things I want to knit. I have an idea for a hat, I'm thinking about knitting a jacket, (which I'll have to design myself), I want to knit two hats as Christmas presents, I still have my felted clogs to think about. I may have to take knitting needles with me to Mexico so I can knit on the beach, in Puerto Vallarta at the Blue Chairs, over Christmas, or in the New Year, on the nude beach at Puerto Angel. (That should look funny.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB070003.jpg"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/160/PB070003.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-13395126591873587532006-11-06T22:36:00.000-08:002006-11-07T14:41:55.573-08:00The mystery doily and the Camisole in closeup<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB060005.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB060005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I couldn't resist putting in a picture of my work in progress. The doily is coming along and I have knit about six more rows since this was taken this afternoon. It's looking good.<br /><br />Here's a better view of the pattern detail in the Heavenly Camisole. The original was a little fuzzy, you may remember. Thought folks would like to see it again.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB060007.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB060007.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-56296927280520409412006-11-06T22:30:00.000-08:002006-11-06T22:30:12.184-08:00Blast from the past<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB060001.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB060001.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB060002.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB060002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I went shopping at a thrift store in Pentiction today and found these. I have a feeling some older person left her house to be cleaned up and the person doing the cleaning found these and delivered them to the thrift store. They were not there the last time I visited the shop about six weeks ago. It was odd to see these old needles, although a couple of them call them knitting pins instead (how British - or probably how Canadian since we are members of the Commonwealth).<br /><br />Perhaps someone has some information about these that they can share - of course Aero is still available, but not in these wonderful packages. The backs have a lock so that the needles don't fall out. I picked up a size 14, a couple of 13's and a 12 as well as one 9. Not all the needles are original, and may not even be the same size in at least one package.<br /><br />Also in the store were some old circulars with rather rough metal coiled lengths between the needles - they certainly would not give AddTurbos any competition. I left those in the store, although I did buy a couple of other circs that were not quite so old. Oh, and one last detail: I paid $1.00 for the the needle in the large pack and 50 cents each for the rest. Probably cheaper than the original.<blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote></div> <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-27357266692287286882006-11-06T15:00:00.000-08:002006-11-06T15:00:18.438-08:00Balls in waiting<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB060006.0.jpg"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB060006.0.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br />Here are the next few balls of yarn waiting for work. The greens and oranges are destined to be felted clogs, while the purple linen is my potential linen washcloth for my swimming bag. I'll be the best washed person in the shower at this rate. I think I'm going to start this one today, since it's a rainy afternoon. A good cup of coffee, some light over my left shoulder and I will be on my way.<br /><br />The multi-coloured (rainbow) yarn is from Lorna's Laces and needs a project - something gay? Well of course, suggestions welcomed. <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-1162789081143047252006-11-05T20:41:00.001-08:002006-11-05T21:23:04.468-08:00Speed Demon<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB050003.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB050003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB050006.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB050006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/1600/PB050001.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 317px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 241px" height="182" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/527/4508/320/PB050001.jpg" width="258" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>My husband and I drove to Naramata on Friday. It's in the wine region of British Columbia and about a five hour drive from Vancouver. It was raining very heavily when we left and it was good to finally get out of the rain, somewhere about four hours away. While we drove I was thinking about how I love to be speeding just a little too much. Even though I wasn't driving, having someone slow in front of us was a real frustration. The fact that the last couple of hours were on a winding mountain road made it even more challenging for me to hold my horses.<br /><br />That made me think about my need for speed in knitting too. I have been knitting a "camisole" for a friend for Christmas and it has been a little like driving a freeway and a country road at the same time. There were 270 stitches on the needle and I was knitting in the round. The back is stockinette stitch and I just roared along knitting up a storm. But then I hit the slow road, the little country lane of lace, a 10 row repeat, every row different from the last and each one bringing me up short as I slowly worked out the pattern rhythm. And then, when the rhythm was moving along, I hit the straight-away again and off I went, speeding again for just a few minutes.<br /><br />Of course then I hit the point where I had to divide to do the front and back separately. The straps in front nearly drove me crazy. My need to speed was compromising my need for accuracy, and I made so many mistakes. I wanted to be accurate and it seemed that on every row I discovered that there was a problem with the row below and I had to back up or find the error and fix it from above. I'm surprised I stuck with it, but of course I had to, since this was a Christmas present after all.<br /><br />But now it's finished. I had the time here in Naramata in the cabin/cottage we are borrowing from a friend where I finally had the time to concentrate, get the two sides of the front done and then got to do the back - in stockinette stitch although even there I was slowed down on every purl row.<br /><br />But hey, as a speed demon, I'm proud of the fact that the sweater took me only two weeks to complete. I started it just two Saturdays ago, the same afternoon I bought the yarn, so it has been a success. Now I just need to steam block it and crochet a nice edging round the outsides - not a thing I'm looking forward to, but at least it's not going to be a really big challenge.<br /><br />Now I'm off to get other things done. I bought yarn to make some felted woolen clogs, some yarn to come up with a hat/tuque design that's running through my head, and I also have my knit-along doily to work on. I just got that transfered to circular needles, which should speed things along a little bit there too. Those bamboo needles were slowing me down, although that may have been a good thing since I shouldn't be rushing a lace design.</div></div>Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-1162361320116775522006-10-31T22:08:00.000-08:002006-11-05T21:13:01.119-08:00More hair pulling - I mean unknittingI don't get it, I work on my knitting diligently but suddenly I have something screwy going on. Today I sat knitting with my friend Andre at Delany's Coffee Shop, beginning with my lace doily knit along. Made about three stitches and realized a) I was already having a problem knitting two together with the life line in the way, and b) it was too dark in the place to knit well. Since my two (no, four) cataract surgeries, I have had difficulty reading or knitting in low light. Maybe I should take one of those Itty Bitty reading lights with me in my knitting bag.<br /><br />Anyway, decided it was safer to put the doily back in the pack and pull out the Heavenly Camisole. I was in the process of adding a new ball, but forgot so after getting the pattern worked out for the row I was knitting, I knit merrily along until I ran out of yarn - whoops. So I backed up, began again and got things moving - knit four rows of the first strap when I realized that back there where I had cast off four stitches for the neck, was a forlorn stitch that I'd left behind - I'm sure it felt like the little piggy that was left at home.<br /><br />I was so p-o'ed that I just put the thing down and did a crossword puzzle instead. And then worked on a Sudoku. Better than swearing at a sweater that should be made with love. I'll get back at it tonight under my Ott light.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36930063.post-1162361268822994712006-10-31T22:06:00.000-08:002006-11-05T21:13:01.052-08:00Knitting addict comes clean?<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3762/4137/1600/P6180348.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3762/4137/320/P6180348.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I decided this weekend that I was addicted to knitting. I didn't realize until then even though the symptoms were right out there in front of me. Had to have the needles in my hand, or if I didn't, had to be looking at a knitting book, or visiting a yarn store, or thinking about what I would like to knit. And if I didn't have knitting I was fretful and edgy. And I bit my nails. In fact I think the reason I need to knit is so that I don't bite my nails. After 56 years I need something to get over this terrible habit. <br /><br />And I am not really that prolific. What about right now? I am knitting a sweater for a friend for Christmas. I have to have it finished and in the mail by December 1, because I'm leaving for Mexico for three and a half months on December 1. Mind you I started the sweater only a week and a half ago and I'm a long way. It's called Heavenly Camisole and is a design by Lucky Doan in the book Knitter's Stash which I borrowed from the library.<br /><br />I'm knitting it with a Sage yarn from Lorna's Laces, in Shepherd Sport - it's probably too heavy for the design, but it does fit the guage and that's my main criteria anyway. It's a beautiful colour and I know it will be treasured by Midge. It's one of her favourite colours.<br /><br />This sweater is knit on circulars - 270 stitches per row, the back half in stockinette and the front in a leafy lace pattern, with a 15 stitch repeat. At the moment I am knitting the upper front, having finished the major portion of the body. I only have about six more rows on that section and then I begin the front straps which should go nice and fast. Then I only have the back to knit, the shoulders to bind off, a couple of yarn ends to sew in and it's finished. A cinch. Not that the pattern is a cinch, I have had lots of fun working it out and correcting my errors as I go. I may be addicted, but I'm not perfect.Nigel Pottle http://www.blogger.com/profile/06349666331960966968noreply@blogger.com1