Conversation Piece

This past weekend was for using up leftover yarn. Last week while putting things away in the office to ready the room for my father, I stumbled across another ball of Malabrigo Merino Worsted, which was immediately fished out and put with the remaining ball of yarn. After finishing Dad’s gloves, and needing something to knit while maintaining eye contact during conversation, Just Enough Ruffles (ravelry link) seemed to be perfect. And it was. Started and mostly finished while chatting with Dad yesterday, it required little attention during it’s stay on the needles. It needs a good steam blocking to keep the garter band from rolling on the neck side of the piece, but other than that, it’s good to go.

Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Greenella ~1.5 skeins.
5.5 mm needles, straignts and circulars
Modifications: ruffle stitches reduced by 1/3 to produce a less bulky, more undulating edge. Garter stitch ruffle instead of stockinette.

It's beginning to look like a big stash organisation is required, since I can't keep track of what's there.

Peameal bacon and scrambled eggs

Because I got an email about this:

Peameal bacon is pork loin that has been trimmed of almost all of the fat. It is then cured (and never smoked). The curing process is generally a brine, although there are rubbed cures too. After curing, the pork loin is then rolled in corn meal (it looks like corn meal). Gently pan fried it's a great breakfast or sandwich go-with. It is usually sold in chunks which are cut at home by the cook, although some butchers do sell it already sliced. In my house, it is cut into about 1/2 cm slices (1/4"). Great for luscious bacon and tomato sandwiches, or any other purpose. Moist when cut, moist when cooked. Does not really compare to what is sold in the US as Canadian bacon - which is something I personally have never seen except for in the US. The cured loin is also great roasted or on the bar-b-que. Some people cure their own as well. When I was young, it was not available in Nova Scotia grocery stores.

French method scrambled eggs are done on a double boiler with a whisk. It is best to use a home-made double boiler - a pot with a mixing bowl. This is so the whisk can get into every bit of the pot. Melt a bit of butter into the pot and add some salt and pepper. For every 3 eggs in the mix, add 1 tbsp of cold water. Whisk the entire time the eggs are on the double boiler, taking them off before you think they are totally finished. Residual heat will finish the cooking by the time you get the eggs to the table. While whisking, the eggs will cook on the side of the bowl - that's what the whisking is for. This produces a creamy, small curd egg which is my father's favourite. Since he lives so far away, and cannot be readily visited, feeding him his favourites is my priveledge.

Virtue. Yeah, virtue!

Wow. It feels, e-ehem, virtuous and frugal to make use of oddments from stash. Which is really a weird feeling since the words virtuous or frugal in no way apply to me. Yarn that otherwise would have just waited there. Forever. Imagine it longer occupying valuable stash space because it was simply too good to dispose of, and there’s not really enough for anything. Well, not until that brainwave you’ve been missing happens along. While organising the office (putting stuff away) for Dad’s visit last night, 2-1/2 balls of Karabella Aurora 8 left over from Wisteria just popped out of the stash, leading to this:

Hmmm…I thought there was only a ball of that left over. Worsted weight? Is the colour manly enough? Sure. Dad doesn't really care anyway just so long as it's not overtly girly or bright. It is burgundy, and I've seen him wear a burgundy shirt. That half ball means no running out. So what if this is a summer rule breaker. It's getting rid old of stash isn't it? Besides, you love using that yarn and it's a quickie (get your head out of the gutter). Dad doesn’t ask for anything, but last year he asked for mittens and you didn’t deliver. Goves it is! Move over Blueberry – you’re out of luck.


Cigar from Knitty. Again. Yes. As in the same week again.
2 balls Karabella Aurora 8 in colour 2. Not enough for full fingers.Show all
3.5 mm bamboo dpn’s

It's peaceful in here for the moment. Peter and Dad are both upstairs sleeping for now. That will be over soon enough and it will be French style scrambled eggs and peameal bacon time. Love it.

Internal Debate

What’s next? Hmmm…. Returning to Peter’s socks seems like a good idea. Too brown. You just finished his brown and dull gloves, not to mention that Silver Birches colour was somewhat dullish as well. What about La Digitessa? They’re going well and the colour’s bright. You love that colour. Hands are still a bit problematic with that twisted stitch and cabling thing. Can you keep yourself from casting on something new? I know you want to start Grant Park for Peter. But that would mean 3 brown and relatively current projects for Peter in a row, and you did just make Silver Birches for his sister. No for now then? No. It would also mean breaking this summer’s knitting rule anyway (no new cast-on’s unless totally necessary). How about Gytha? That’s been lingering for a while. Really, it’s now too hot for that and you still haven’t decided on exactly how you’re going to change the pattern. Besides, Lismore has to come before Gytha. Babette? Too many colours to tote around to make it a back-yard project. You need a new winter hat and some gloves. Nope - those are new cast-ons and can wait for September. More lace? Yeah! That’s the ticket. Perhaps the Berry Blue-tiful Stole? Like the colour? Check. On the WIP list? Check. Guilt-factor high? Check? Feel like it? Yeah, the love is there. Looks like a good knit.

Berry has been bearly started. It’s been slow going so far. Why it’s so slow is a bit of a mystery. The edging is only 14 stitches wide, and it’s a 10 row repeat with basically 5 rest rows per repeat. 109 rows complete the bottom right half and corner turn of the edging, and that's nowhere near a whack of knitting. It’s a very clever construction, with YO loops on one side that allow for an easy stitch pick up once half of the band is finished. The stitch pattern produces a lovely looking leaf with scalloped border. Berry will most likely proceed at a rather leisurely pace since other things need some looking after around the house. My father is making a surprise visit. Surprise as in thanks for letting me know today you'll be here tomorrow. Not enough prep time!
Year of Lace 2008, installment 2
Helen's Lace from Lorna's Laces

Project Procrastination.

The Cigar gloves have been ignored practically on a daily basis for more than 3 years. I’d made a pair for Peter about 6 or 7 years ago after a long hiatus from knitting. That project was used for learning a new-to-me technique for knitting in the round that really sped the process up. Thank you internets for teaching me new tricks. Each glimpse of Cigar resting on the office table brought to mind thoughts of what a tedious project it had been and that it was a time hog to knit. With the finish of Silver Birches earlier on Sunday, some obligation knitting was in order. You know – a bit of punishment to stave off the wrath of the knitting gods. Learning that technique and all that sock knitting has paid off. The gloves were re-started (tension issues) on Sunday afternoon, and by the evening, there was a glove and a half. Peter’s been asking for these for a long time. It’s going to be so good to stuff them into his coat pocket. And the bonus - it’ has not been a trial to make them what-so-ever. The fingers were fiddly, but that’s to be expected with so few stitches. Punishment will surely follow with the next lace project. Despite evidence to the contrary below, the knitting is finished. The ends need darning in. I know. Sew those ends in right? Unfortunately all of the darning needles were lost last week in the go-knit bag and going out to get new ones is a big errand when there is no car.*

1 skein Atryarns Ultramerino 6
3.25 mm dpn's

Speaking of lace, last week Lorraine needed some help with a bit of de-stashing. The yarn she sent is gorgeous, and she was overly generous in adding 2 skeins of Socks that Rock Lightweight to the box. There were also treats for Tikka. Too bad the note Lorraine wrote wasn’t read before tearing into the treats. A reprimand from the cat has since been delivered. Tikka sends her love to Kitten Chow, but regrets she is unwilling to share the treats. She’s so much like me.

Non-knitting babbling below.
*We’ve been without a car since September, 2008. Most of our errands (weekly groceries and general household needs) can easily be carried out using local transit or by walking. Our house is close to major bus routes, which makes this very easy. Since I work close to the downtown core, a stroll to the farmer’s market during lunch for spur-of-the-moment items is likely when it isn’t icy or hot. The occasional cab is used for errands where it might be awkward or backbreaking to carry something on the bus (propane for the bar-b-que, kitty litter). Since going car-free, we have become a lot more efficient in bringing home the necessities in one trip. That’s important when you know it’s going to take at least an hour to go downtown and back to get that paprika you forgot for the paprikash that was planned on for supper. We also take the bus when we go on a date, but have been doing that since we moved from downtown into the house. This is an experiment, and we might consider getting another car sometime in the future. It takes 1-1/2 hours to get to the closest yarn store (Ancaster) on the bus. While it’s only about 10 km from the house, it runs by the university and a couple of schools, making almost all the stops along the route. It also runs through Ancaster only once an hour, so timing is everything in getting both there and back. Of course, it's about 15 minutes from the time the bus drops you off until the pickup occurs. It’s easier and more fun to head to Toronto for such things.

We also do not have a clothes dryer and are slowly working our way to more energy efficient appliances. During the summer, things are hung on the clothesline, and on two racks that are put outside on laundry day. In the colder months, the wet clothes put a little moisture in the air and dry fairly quickly inside. Sheets are hung over doors, and shirts hung on the shower curtain rod. No fuss.

4 Rows and a Cast-off

Yes, Four Weddings and a Funeral was on yesterday afternoon while Silver Birches and I were spending some quality time together. I was left with 4 rows and a cast-off when it was given up for bed last night. After all of the trouble experienced near the beginning of Silver Birches, all it took to get this thing moving was a concerted effort not to let the edge stitch count get all crazy, a couple of rainy days and the Coronation Street Omnibus this morning. Aside from several froggings and tinkings, this was a good knit. As the first foray into large scale 2-sided lace, the pattern was simple enough to follow on the back rows during the main patterning. That’s thanks to the geometric nature of the piece. The border pattern on the bottom of the shawl, fortunately, had patterning only on the front side of the work. It was good to dedicate Friday and Saturday towards this effort. Monogamy to the project made it fly off of the needles. Total dedication was easy because it’s just soooo good to knit with cashmere. There are some mistakes in the centre panel, which were not discovered until the border was started, but they can be lived with. With the mental WIP list seemingly stalled, it also feels good to move it off the list, and it certainly eases the guilt level of finally finishing one of last year’s Year of Lace projects. Guilt, however, doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun. While there's time to block today, it's going to wait for next weekend. We've spent enough time together for now - it's time for a small break.

A Strange Combination of Plumbing and Knitting

The majority of our plumbing issues were resolved yesterday. There’s still something comparatively minor left to do, but budgetary restraints and the it-can-wait nature of the remaining problem will allow us to recuperate for a few months. The beloved tree on the front lawn has been encroaching on the plumbing, leaving no where for waste to go. The tree belongs to the city, they will resolve the rest of that problem. In the mean time, we’ll have to live with gaping walls on three floors until we recover from this. The good news is there’s finally a reason to paint the living room and dining room. We’ve been living with the paint the former owner’s laid on shortly before selling to us. It was hard to justify painting it just because we were not nuts over the colour – it’s only been on the walls for 3 years. Any bets on when we start arguing over the colour? Peter will want a white/cream/light grey thing going on, and I want something bright and lively. Needless to say, with the plumbing worry out of the way for now, last night’s sleep was deep and relaxing. That loose-limbed and dozy feeling after such a night is really working wonders for me this morning.

There was a really cute father/son pair on the bus this morning. It was a joy to see how respectfully that man treated his child. It’s really quite amazing how little bits of life's beauty can just cross your path like that. They have nothing to do with you, yet they provide a little boost for the day – something sweet to reflect on. That time of morning it’s usually harried mom’s getting the kids off to school or daycare, fussing about this and that.

Peter’s first sock has come along quite nicely. Adding 12 rows to the pattern though has not made much difference in the length of the foot – there’s still about 6 cm (~2in) of knitting to go before toe shaping can start, and he’ll need a custom toe. As mentioned above, it’s going to take a little rest for a week or so.

Last week’s Brainless socks and the two active WIP socks involve twisted stitches (Rick and La Digitessa). These hands and wrists have started to complain vociferously. So much so that dpn’s have been put down for a while so the hands can recover. Working with straights seems to have done the trick so far and Silver Birches has been returned to its pre-frogging state. Enchantment with that project has been restored. Well, for now. Hopefully all will go well, since the stress level both at work and at home has been extremely high. Without the soothing rhythm of knitting, madness will surely follow. And fast.

Poxed

As in a pox is upon my house. The weekend was a whirl of activity all with the focus being the household’s plumbing. Add to that a miscommunication about funding requirements for the weekend that left us with less than $100 in available cash. There’s not much plumbing you can fix with that, but you can stop the ruinous leak from the upstairs bathroom. Thank goodness. Now there are large holes in the dining room wall, the upstairs bathroom, and the spare room. The third floor bath has a hole in it too. Fortunately, moving artwork around can temporarily camouflage the holes in the dining room. On top of that, an online meeting was scheduled with a client for 8 pm Friday evening that lasted well into the night.

The weekend’s knitting did not go well either. Certainly the Silver Birches shawl has a pox. What is it with this project? The pattern is simple enough to read from the knitting, yet somehow I keep ending up with extra stitches leading to more negative progress.

Peter has become aggressive with the sock issue. He tried to pinch a pair that were made for Marci. To prevent that action, I had to promise to cast on socks for him immediately after finishing the Brainless pair. No sweat off of my nose. But really. Poor, poor Peter. Stooping to sock theft? Here's the start of Rick from Cookie A's fabulous book in Downpour, Socks that Rock Lightweight.

In carrying on with the poxy theme, this morning I once again lost my goknit bag. It had an almost completed no-sew square in it and my darning needles. It was a beautiful square, most likely lost on the bus. Apparently, carrying a Mary Lou project in a goknit bag is a no-no. The last time I did that, a sock and the bag were lost, and I floundered in a snowbank. There was a lot of stuff to carry to work today, and I was busy daydreaming. Go figure.

Brainless
2 skeins Shibui Knits Sock in Arbouretum
2.5 mm bamboo dpn's

Thin, thin, thin

From TextileGlossary.com: Organzine a raw silk yarn used for warp thread in fine fabrics.
Raw silk yarns comprised of two or more twisted singles, which are then doubled and given a tight twist in the other direction.

From habu textiles: “Dyed by an indigo dyer in Japan without any synthetic chemical in the vat.” 100% silk, dyed with indigo.

No synthetics? Does that mean the dyer peed in the dye pot? Hmmmm…. Pee or not (see note below), who could resist? Certainly not me! It was evident I would cave once this beauty was spotted. There are 1400 yards, approximately, so a large project is in order. Maybe Mystic Waters? This yarn defines gorgeous. Totally and absolutely glowing, sparkling like a blue topaz. Wonderful in colour, and very, very thin. Admit it. You’re jealous despite the pee.

Sock yarn and sock included for scale. The blue shown is too bright - it's a bit greenish.

Note: Someone told me that urea was a requirement for an indigo vat. A small bit of research leaves me doubting the veracity of that statement. It was just fun to mention it regardless of truth.

Peter's Complaint

Peter has been asking for pair of socks for almost a year. I have been resisting this request because he likes the idea of hand-knitted socks, but not the reality. He doesn’t like that they are shorter than his regular model of sock, and tends to complain about the fit almost every time he puts a pair on. Add to that the fact that he will not throw the worn out socks away (because I made them, he’s sweetly over-sentimental, and is a pack-rat extraordinaire that totally adores overflowing dresser drawers) tends to put me off making him more. When he’s reminded why they tend to be shorter and that there is no elastic in the fabric he stops, eehhhemmm, whining. Peter also has a very shapely foot that requires change in stitch count mid-foot and then again at the ball. That he wears a size 12 shoe is also an issue, but those are not reason enough to not make him socks. Of course, he would prefer that they be drab. As in all black, navy, dark brown or olive. You know the colours. Those man colours. In no uncertain terms, he knows he will probably never own a pair of socks like that from my hands.

All of Peter’s sock-yearning angst was stirred up because a pair of socks were impulsively given to a young woman I met on the bus last Friday evening. She lives a couple of houses down from us, is far from home, without family or friends, and was cold. She’s attending a year of prep school before heading (hopefully) to McMaster University, in her first month here from Nigeria. Having the finished Willamette Hop socks on me at the time, it was a why not sort of moment. Especially since the socks were going to go into the comfort basket anyway (small knitted items awaiting their turn to give someone a bit of support). Needless to say, this gift to a total stranger provoked a rant from Peter about how he’s not had anything new knitted for him in a while, and how socks and stuff gets made for others, but never for him. Never (insert Henry VIII here (ravelry link) ). Poor, poor Peter.

We struck a bargain where 2 worn out pairs of socks would be pitched if one pair of socks gets made over the summer. I must witness the pitching, which must occur on garbage day with the socks placed in the bottom of the bag before the yucky stuff goes in. Yes. I am serious. He would so dig them out when I am not looking.

This is the sort of bargaining that occurs over things worn out:
Me: No you cannot have new shoes unless you throw the old shoes out.
Peter: But I could use these shoes for painting.
Me: You haven’t painted anything since before we moved into this house. That’s been several years now. Why do you need painting shoes? Besides, you already have some painting shoes. If you’re not going to use those painting shoes, then you can throw those out and keep these.
Peter: But, but, I might need more than 1 pair.
Me: For what? You have two pairs of feet now? And you haven’t joined a freak show yet? No pitchy, no new shoesy.

In searching through the sock bin stash for something suitable, the second ball of yarn for the Garden Socks was found. That sock was almost frogged last weekend, but laziness prevented it. Who knew the yarn had been put away in the sock bin? Duh! I’ve been looking for that ball of yarn for a several months.

Ella Waves Goodbye

This post is late, but what the heck. Here she is, all closed up, ready to make her way to California! It’s been said here before, and now it’s being said again. This was a fun project. The yarn was lovely-soft to work with, the colours were scrumptious, and the end product is very, very sweet. The pattern was easy to understand, and error free. The one silly question I had was very quickly answered by the designer herself.

Ella and the Legume by Noni
Stonehedge Fiber Mill in 10 colours
5.5 mm needles

As for the peas, Peter asked me to leave them off. Since this is a gift for his niece, his request was honoured. They were knitted and felted. Just to let you know.

Since Lilou, the soon-to-be-owner of this coat, is already 26” in the chest, a decision to make the coat 30” was made in consultation with her mother. The largest size given by the pattern would result in a 28” coat. This meant adding a few stitches to the circumference of the coat and slight changes to the sleeve sizing as well. The end measurements of the coat are as planned. There’s very little yarn left. About 200 grams of the original 2200 grams of main coat colours (not the pea colour – that was hardly touched).

Felting the coat rendered most indications of shaping invisible, and cleaned up a few irregularities in the knitting and seaming. When sewing up, a 1 stitch selvedge was taken on each side of the seams, resulting in a bulky ridge down the sleeve and around the armhole, which were carefully trimmed after the coat had dried. If I had known how profoundly the seam would have been tidied up in the felting, there would have been a ½ stitch selvedge instead.

After felting Ella, the result was so delightful I wrote a tiny note to Noni expressing my joy with the pattern and the project. Nora Bellows replied with some further recommendations on closing the coat. Thoughts she’s had since the pattern was published. Nice.

There are many things to love about Ella. The belled shape, the ruffled edges, the colours and the resulting fabric are all delightful. Let’s hope Lilou finds it as charming as well.

Can you tell me how to Knit Everything at Once? Please!

That Cookie A’s Sock Innovation now lives with me is a big problem. Not that it isn’t a wonderful book. It’s all that and then some. However, the desire to cast everything aside for the projects contained within said book is nearly overwhelming. Sigh. It’s not that it’s a real issue. Several of these will make it to the sock drawer sooner rather than later. It’s still the same whine over here - whittling down that pile of stuff on my table is this summer’s priority.

To my continuing surprise, I am still having a great time working on these old items. Clearly resting them for a while was good for me. That some of them have become other than what was originally intended has been helpful. The lack of commitment to any one project for more than a few minutes though means slow progress for everything and it feels like little is being accomplished. This past weekend was supposed to be devoted to Silver Birches. Only a few rows were knitted on it, and due to a nap-induced fuzzy head on Saturday afternoon, most of them had to be tinked. Several misplaced YO’s have been resolved from that misadventure, and the pattern has been re-established from last week’s frogging session. It should be smoother going later this week.

Yarnissima’s Brainless socks and La Digitessa were worked on over the weekend as well. Some small modifications to the Brainless sock were made. The whole leg was supposed to be worked in a 2x1 twisted rib. Mine are stockinette in the front, ribbed in back. The purl stitch in the cable above the ankle was left out too. I like ’em and think this pattern was a good choice for the yarn, even though the side cables disappear into the colour. Peter likes them too, but the foot is too short for him and the cuff a too small as well. The second foot is almost to the gusset. With all of that stockinette, these move along fairly quickly. This second sock should be knitted to at least end of the gusset before putting them down, so forgetting what was done on the first sock doesn’t become a problem. We’ll see if I am smart enough for that move or not.

Unlike the Brainless socks, La Digitessa is very slow going, but it’s so very pretty it’s hard to put down. That the patterning moves into different motifs over the course of the sock is really charming as well. The first gusset is currently under construction.

Concentrating on Silver Birches with a side of No Sew Squares this week would be good. 6 of the centres for No Sew Squares have been knitted. At 2 hours each, what I really want is to just crank these out. There’s something wrong with my left index finger that prevents much time on larger DPN’s and circulars though. By the end of a session with a square, it aches and must be rested for several days before starting another one. Knitting the border on each square as it gets made is what I would prefer to do as well, but it’s too much for that troublesome finger. Getting the borders on with straights is no problem, so it looks like following Mary Lou’s instructions for joining the squares is in order. There’s nothing wrong with a small change in plan. Perhaps returning this to an at-work project would help with getting it done. It would limit square working time to ½ hour a day, without experiencing difficulty. One square a week is better than none. This blanket has also been reduced in size by 4 squares - some of the yarn has been misplaced. What did I do with it? Maybe it fell out of the bag on the bus? Can't tell you for sure.

Avoidance Tactics

I’ve been trying to clean up the WIP list to clear space on the office table where they reside whilst waiting their turn. This is a constant struggle for me and my short attention span. Who knew that such satisfaction could be gained from picking those old projects up and rendering them useful? In truth, some of the items listed as WIPs are not even started. They are commitments from long ago that weigh on my mind. Must haves that could not wait at the time, yet have been hanging around for quite some time, maybe even many years.

Consider the Year of Lace subscription from last year. That was an expensive undertaking, yet not one of the projects has been completed. And oh, how I longed to renew that subscription when the time came. Sigh. Until last week, 1 of the kits had not even been opened up, the yarn not even fondled. Starting Silver Birches, installment 3 of that subscription, felt good. Despite the large amount of frogging that was necessary last weekend, it is a lovely project that will be nice to have in hand again come Saturday afternoon. Clearing up various sock club subscriptions over the past months has also helped relieve some unnecessary guilt as well. Only 2 club kits remain to be worked – 1 from last years Socks that Rock club, and 1 from Knit-Purl.

The WIP that actually bothers me the most is Lismore. I know, I know. Just do it. It will feel good, be fun to knit, and should go well once underway. Since the weather is still cool, this should be on the top of the pile, but it’s not. Instead, it’s staunchly being avoided and any avoidance tactic will do. Such as working something else from the list. Or staring at it. Yeah, yeah. That’s it! Stare at that basket full of Lismore’s yarn. That’s sure to get it done, right?

In keeping with the avoidance tactics, the Willamette Hop socks are a nice, easy knit after the Kitri’s. No fancy jigging around to accommodate technique, no problems with the pattern that could not be lived with (there’s a ribbing mismatch issue between the ribbing and the leg patterning that does not bother me in the least). It’s a simple, near-brainless, straightforward sock. The only thing not to like is the k3tog required every round for every pattern repeat. Not impossible, not unpleasant, but just a bit of a pain every now and again. Not enough of one to ditch the pattern though, and loosening up on the tension helped a lot. The resulting sock is quite pretty. The colourway is called Microbrew and the dyer has managed a clever translation of colour from beer glass to yarn that is drool worthy.
Colour is darker in this pic than it actually is. Think wheat beer through to a darkish amber one. And speaking of beer, I think I'll get one out of the fridge. Now.