Walkabout knitting

Yes, I really do walk down the street and knit. So what am I working on? Currently on various needles as of 6 July 06 Blog's seeing most of the updates that can be written about so mea culpa for ignoring the needles now. In my defense, I am keeping the knitting events and shops info up to date. And, per usual, stuff about me is back burnered. Lots of stuff has hit needles, left needles and languished on needles since late March. About to be back on needles (once I pick up stitches for the trapezoids, is a linen version of the Polynesian Popoki. Detailed progress can be found at the blog. Picking up stitches is not a walkabout activity but winding a centre pull ball with a nostepinde is -- for me anyhow. The centre pull balls were created for the pentagon sleeves sweater body revisit. I'm just starting the ribbing after the long process of casting on for front and back -- count, count and count again. The blooming bikini top round 2 is still on the needles but waiting for the other heather to sell her house and have time for a fitting consult. Also on needles but less active two Ain't that a Shane bags -- First the hexagon bag that ran into an oops copyright concern. Same soy/wool blend stuff but this time it a geometric hexagon that's about 10" in diameter. I was working a complex cable pattern from BW's Charted Treasury when a nagging voice told me to check the status of the stitch pattern designs. Sure enough, unlike the majority of the stitch patterns from the other Treasuries the majority of the patterns in Charted are her own designs. Arguably it is fine to use the stitch pattern but I'm not comfortable with it so I'm looking for more public domain patterns that suit the bag's concept. I "auditioned" a number of stitch patterns before settling on working a a two colour stitch pattern in one colour. The Soy-Wool blend (same as the pentagon bag from last year) is nasty to work with -- well, probably no worse than the linen -- and I need to go back and figure out where I was with the pattern, chart it up etc. The other bag is Missy Shane's stalled triangle. The yarn is very pretty but not very suitable for any stitch pattern I've explored to date. Ain't that a Shane bag or is it a hat? aka the TNNA walkabout knitting. In the Cestari wool/silk/cotton blend. I still haven't decided whether it should be a hat or bag because I had to figure out what the heck I actually did in decreasing on the original bag, chart it (the better to produce what I refer to as the pentagon pagoda hat) but also to work out some of the other design options I'd considered for the top. My solution to the chart issue comes in the just off various needles below. Doing the DNA -- scarf that is. For some reason or another I got it into my head that I should knit up some of my stash yarn and send it to colder climes. To that end I thought that a nice twist on the DNA scarf would be to widen it enough to accommodate the initials and birth dates of family members. I considered using Braille, the better to include birth dates too, but opted to go for simple knit/purl initials and leave the birth dates element to a different DNA project like a throw or pillow. In a shock to the system of many folks who know me, I've got a sock on the needles. Yes, an actual can be worn by humans sock. I needed brainless knitting and I was weary of the never ending stream of topless mitts (pair number eight also on the needles btw) so I decided to try to knit a sock with a cuff pocket wrong side shown here and right side shown here. I'm at the gusset point and while I decide how I want to work the bottom of the foot (commercially produced inspiration piece had ribbing) and finish the toe the sock is taking a back seat to more pressing knitting. The wrong side of the heel stitch (controversial as Mary Thomas says knit the wrong side row and BW says purl) shown here with the garter stitch turned round heel has inspired the rethink of the hexagon bag. Here's another shot of the pocket and heel stitch Pretty in pink. I've got a cotton bag in the works that I'm not loving. It might need a circular needle or it might need additional inspiration not sure but it is considering a timeout. Also in the sort of pink school is some Mexican Wave that can quite decide whether it wants to be a leg warmer or a sleeve for a sweater. Now that the initial couple of balls have reinforcements from Cleveburg it has the luxury of choice. Penta sleeves -- okay this is more than a little weird in the construction scheme of things, but I did a centre out swirl medallion, reached a certain point and decided it would make an awesome sleeve with a bit more increasing, a little short row action etc. Since that picture, I've frogged the denim sleeves and body, and worked several different versions of the minty green cotton. One of the sleeves is technically still on the needle but the other has all live stitches on a holder while I work on the body. So one of the flowers had a bit of a "nipple" problem at least that's how the good old dirty girls saw it. Pollyanna me? I saw potential for facial features and I immediately thought witch but it sort of rambled into something that looks a bit more like a funky founding father or some such. The chenille hair is especially cool with attached curling icord and detached oval clusters. Anyhow, I'm letting it sit on the needles at the neckline until I decide what gender it is and how to costume it. Not totally nuts about how I shaped the head so I'll probably revisit soon. And yes, it started as a centre out hexagon. Staying in the medallion module mode, I'm working on a design inspired by the IK themes -- working in crap acrylic. Thus far there are lots of lace triangles and squares with more in the works -- mostly mindless stuff at this point. Poncho/capelet or counterpane some details of tulip squares and the poncho/caplet mock up Two triangle bags have become three because Missy Shane wants a triangle out of some lovely hand dyed stuff which I just wound into a honking huge centre pull and started knitting. What a difference a day makes in the world of walkabout knitting -- the centre pull is still honking huge but the triangle has grown and it is time to consider body of the bag stitch patterns. Another off shoot of the polygon project that actually builds on the geometric triangle I knit as a sample for the seminar. In one I've mixed it up with some knit/purl combos and a touch of baby cables -- semi-mindless and I probably should have documented the early rows a bit more carefully but for now it is just play. I actually like the "wrong" side more than right for this application, but I also like the shaping I'm getting so it is sitting on the needles while the new guy takes centre stage. This one is at the hmm, need to reinterpret the colour/slip stitch pattern for in the round. Rayon Kilimanjaro Kat variation is still on timeout. I earlier said that it needs a crochet hook repair for one laddered stitch and a lace repair in another area. I've revised my opinion based on how well the boundary between picked up stitches and original triangle on Swarmy looks by comparison so I can see frogging trapezoids will be happening soon and it may well be that I'll need to knit the trapezoids and edgings and then sew them to the body rather than go the pick up stitches route. I'm not convinced that the problem I see with the pick up line isn't just the nature of the yarn. More short row experiments with cheap 32 gauge bead wire and Habu's silver wire. I am liking the silver more than I did the first time I tried knitting with it but still finding it not worth trying to work a stitch pattern -- much better to just shape with increases/decreases or short rows. Transparent nylon cording that I have this vision of combining with transparent beads to do a doily/web piece or maybe just a really weird scribble lace piece. Two scribble lace projects that I started thinking I'd do them for the DAE auction. Although I didn't use them for that, at least one person I showed them to was inspired to play with the technique and has made several scarves as a result. A stalled sampler scarf. I discovered that certain combinations of creating triangles produced a wonderful automatic right curve but I've not been able to find a combination that produces the mirror version. Short row lace motif panel. It works but the lace doesn't show off the geometric shapes produced with the short rows so it may get frogged. Still more mini-experiments with short rows including some odd flat shapes and some odd sculptural shapes -- some in pine paper, some in floral wire, some in cotton, some even in wool A feeling unloved adult sized version of a K's K that has been sitting on my desk nagging me for weeks -- make that months. Ready to hit the needles Yet another bag or three -- I think I'll septagon and octagon before going backward with square and triangle. I just need to cast on for each and hope inspiration for the side stitch treatment speaks to me. The proposed hexagon that morphs in Denn-M-nit for hummingbird of a neighbour's halter top. Her mum finally got the well laundered swatches back to me and when compared to the original sizing, the shrink factor was not, in my eyes, the big deal so many people have made of it. My concern was that the irregular shrink ratio would make it unsuitable for medallion knitting that actually lies flat -- those concerns proved unfounded. Another camisole/tank as I'm thinking that I've got some fine gauge cotton in both a pale blue and a deep blue green that would pop the colours of the Linda Walsh cardigan more than the Berber does. Sally's lace edging from the gorgeous christening gown. One more shot at getting a good white elephant hat -- this time in Encore. A what am I insane? Beaded shapely shawlette out of some appropriately aged STASH rayon. Yes, all rayon is evil and this stuff being a seductively shiny silver and already slithering off the put-ups has every sign of being just a real "joy." Just off various needles The Habu Bamboo Build a Better Baby Bonnet and its relatives have been FOs for quite some time and at the moment they are in heather needs to check her design notes purgatory. After working out how I did the short row lazy lace diamond baby bonnet it occurred to me that I could improve on the lacey nature of the beast by making more diamonds. I did some drawings, wrote some notes and picked up needles and appropriate yarn. The notes have been updated multiple times based on the actual knitting and what I thought was about three variations has morphed into 32 different top combinations and 32 bottom variations that can be combined in even more ways -- eeek -- I've fallen down the short row mine shaft again. I've got a oops let's revisit that when I'm actually paying attention one sitting by the keyboard and small gauge shell version with picots that is destined to become a bag although it reminds me rather a lot of a leaf of lettuce at the moment. I haven't completely explored the shell options but I'm sure the siren call will tempt me soon. Actually I'm also revisiting my theory that you couldn't reasonably produce a flat fabric using this technique and finding out that I may have spoken too soon back in 2003. Ain't that a Shane bag aka the pentagon bag project -- or you never know when icky acrylic will come in handy. When designing stuff that's supposed to lie flat without massive blocking acrylic can be your friend because if it works in Red Heart it'll be even better in a fibre that blocks without needing to be killed. I revisited the chart in some 8 ply and it was okay but not perfect and could be a problem. Red Heart to the rescue and two versions later I have altered the stitch pattern to have fewer rows so I can stay in pattern and get the appropriate decrease ratio for two versions of the same design and another bag lid/top solution I had originally envisioned. A short row "fortune cookie" purse. After working out how to do the diamond hat variation I started wondering what would happen if I just knit the triangles and trapezoids that form the crown of the hat. What happened was a pretty neat little shape that could be used as either sculpture or a more practical application. Short rows return or how to build a better baby bonnet. A couple of years back I designed some hats to go with my short row scarves and I thought I wrote all the variations down and/or emailed them to a few of my test knitters. Turns out I didn't write up the diamond variation and although I did knit this variation in pine paper and beads the end result was a bit too lacey to decipher. Well, I fiddled around a bit while on walkabout over the last couple of days and not only worked out what I did but a couple of other variations on the same theme. This time I took pictures as I completed each module so the Baby Ull prototype is off the needles, blocked and photographed Top view rear view side view front viewThe diamonds and the crown shaping are created by knitting triangles A, B & C and then reversing them by knitting triangles D & E and trapezoid F Triangles A, B & C complete. Triangle D complete. Triangle E complete. Trapezoid F complete. Going Topless -- preparing for the most recent trip to the land East of the Mississippi, I decided I needed some portable mindless knitting. Since the shadow knit roses were designed and knit for two young ladies in Hudson it seemed inappropriate not to knit something for their mum. She being a perpetually cold creature I thought fingerless gloves or topless mitts would be a great project. Armed with a bit of left over Opal and oddments of sock yarn, I started out with a prototype and now that pair number seven is just waiting for some end weaving I'm taking a mitt break. They are mindless and easy but they are also dangerous because it seems like every time I explain what they are there's another hand outstretched seeking a pair! Shadow/Illusion Knitting-- Roses supposes -- the light on dark version is on the needles but taking a backseat to a pentagon bag project. I suspect that it will either jump to the front of the queue shortly or it will be the in flight entertainment for an upcoming business trip. It and its dark on light sibling will eventually join the other illusion/shadow knit stuff in the Shadow or Illusion Knitting section. No photos for the moment, I still have to figure out where I was in the chart before I set it down. Shadow/Illusion Knitting-- Roses supposes -- well that should be Moses supposes but who cares? This was a free chart on the web that I had to really mess about with to use and after a few false starts it is taking shape. Eventually it will join the other illusion/shadow knit stuff in the Shadow or Illusion Knitting section but for now, do the now you see it and now you don't. A skull photo can be found in Unsorted Miscellany section. Vintage crochet/tatting thread and size US 0 or 1 needles and I played. There's medallion action, short rows, decreases and although I'm not 100% thrilled with the outcome, it is mostly okay and I'll be revisiting. Shadow/Illusion Knitting-- The second Band O Bones is done. It has been joined by its twin -- courtesy of a test knitter who tells me that no one in her neck of the woods would wear a cotton skull cap. Photos of both can be found in Shadow or Illusion Knitting section. In all photos twin is on the left. Still flowering with medallion/short row flowers out of Twilley's metallic thread and other materials. Centre out pentagons become flowers with short rows then become perimeter in pentagons that finish off with icord stems or start with icord go to centre out and then perimeter in. Check out this bouquet for a sampler of the current crop. The original ones shipped off to the other coast but the others have other possibilities including knitted jewelry and other offshoot projects. Swarmy Scotsman aka the Highland Triangle Shawl -- Combine some discontinued Rowanspun 4-ply in the colour is "swarm" (charming eh?) with the Highland Triangle Shawl from Folk Vests, the Lace Holes edging from Heirloom Knitting a 3.25mm needle, just yards under six 25g hanks, a cross country and round trip, a seven weeks gestation period and a Swarmy Scotsman shawl is born. He isn't a very big shawl (centre back drop about 38" and the longest edge of the triangle is 67") weighing in at a bit under 5oz (150 grams) it took less than 978 yards of the fingering/laceweight yarn. And yes, there are 73 points of that edging and my calculations of edging rows to live stitches were only 1 stitch off. Not very clear close up snapshot of the initial triangle's lace field. Some blocking shots full size and an edging shot or two okay, how about three? Vera's shawl. Quite the world traveller this shawl. The mohair came to San Diego from Yorkshire via Washington State. It then journeyed to Santa Clara and Stitches West where, with the help of the Interweave Press folks it finally got going. The actual knitting didn't take that much time (after all 7mm needles) but there were design decisions and reconsiderations (read frogging) that delayed progress. Still it combines garter and stocking based lace stitches and three different increase ratios but still forms a lovely triangle shawl. I took it with me to the DC area before finally sending it on its way to Staffordshire. Bucket O Bones and Band of Bones Fixation FOs. I did a less than fab-o kitchner of the Skull and cross bones headband before Stitches West and worked on the Bucket hat during Stitches. I was calling the bucket a skull cap while working it but the shape is more a bucket hat. Images of these finished and some of the swatches leading up to them can be found in the Shadow or Illusion Knitting section. iPod Cosy -- vintage sock yarn in chocolate brown and newer sock yarn in turquoise in a modified slip stitch pattern turned into just the right thing for an ipod toting friend into the whole mod-scene. Lots of fun to knit. Dreidel dreidel, or what can I say a friend in. . . Pal Paulette Lane has taken on the almost as thankless as being a Knitlist mom task of trying to feed the beast that is the Accord pattern a day calendar. I'm finally getting with the programme and putting my knitted dreidel into the mix. Problem? The copyright of the original crap acrylic prototype's photo doesn't belong to me, a hard drive crash ate the photo quality image of the pic on the web page and that dreidel lives in No. Cal so I'm knitting another one for its photo shoot and inclusion in the 2006 calendar. Alien Illusion Pillow. I used some near day glow green acrylic combined with a mid green Handcrafter cotton. Took me a few false starts but now that I get it I can see how to adapt most intarsia motifs into illusion knitting. I had planned to do a bit of applied icord to finish it off but just went with the crochet sew and get it delivered plan B. More on this and other illusion/shadow knitting can be found in the Shadow or Illusion Knitting section of the Projects page. Stars and flowers. These are an off shoot of the polygon project and rather a lot of fun. Right now they are mostly based on pentagons but I also finished an experiment with a hexagon that morphed into a six pointed star and out into a circle. The star was solid and the transition to circle was lace and eventually I want to reverse the lace & solid and see if the shaping still holds up. Christmas Decorations. I found that three colour (red, white & green) junk acrylic when worked in six stitch icord can magically become candy cane decorations and braided wreaths. Hey, I needed g mindless for walkabout and why not used crap acrylic for seasonal door decorations? Also used some red shot with silver to form two five pointed stars that, when combined, produced a rather attractive stylised poinsettia that was a decided upgrade to my long past its time usual door decorations. Prototype Panda hat. Delivered on the 3rd of December. I took a few snaps (sans fuzzy/fluffy balls and buttons) that morning before heading into work so check The Menagerie for a look see. Were I to do it gain, I would, at a minimum cast on at centre back with something like a white cotton to have something more substantial for picking up stitches for the applied icord ties. Polygons -- polygons and more polygons -- four centre out squares using four different increase methods, three pentagons, three hexagons, one heptagon, two octagons, and three triangles. Lace bookmark for the one lace bookmark exchange co-ordinator as I know what a thankless job that is, I figured a bit of thanks was in order. Overdue lace bookmark for the one lace bookmark exchange partner I've contact with. Red perle cotton and the lace is vertical lace trellis which just happens to be a stitch pattern I'm "auditioning" for another long planned project aka the surprise scarf. I've decided I'm done with knitting exchanges. In the last year I've had more trouble than in all the years before. So bookmarks from here will just be test swatches for lace stitch patterns and gifts. Berber cotton camisole to go with what will forever be known as Linda Walsh's cardigan. I opted for a minimalist skinny straps with Vee necks front and back. Made a happy oops when I divided front and back that makes it clear which is front and which is back. Needs ends woven in as does its companion cardigan. Second geometric medallion that morphs has joined forces with the first and is an official worn in public FO. Wire torsos -- three more. Another Denn-M-nit swatch knit during walkabout on Saturday. A feather & fan pine paper pointe shoes in a minimalist interpretation of feather & fan. They arrived in Boise safely. Entrelac and Stocking swatches in Blue Heron beaded cotton colourway Hydrangea. What can I say these will need to be measured, washed etc. and I do need to do laundry. Seduced by Kathleen Power-Johnson's jacket and top in Handpaint Country, I've gone to the dark side that is Entrelac. A use up leftover Chelsea Silk bag -- using the same textured stitches as the haori, I just need to weave ends and consider whether to line or do a light felting treatment. Another experiment with Steph of the Desert's Dragonskin experiments but rather than a cable in the centre I added a single motif of bamboo stitch thus producing a very subtle symbol of one's Chinese astrological sign if you just happen be be born in the year of the dragon and have a wood element. Did it in the vivid green acrylic I quanahed years ago. Lace bookmark -- per agreement sent it unblocked to show my "target" the texture. She agreed with my blocking suggestion and it is lovely. Steph of the Desert's Dragonskin experiments although I want to revisit since I had that great idea of doing a cable instead of a stocking stitch centre panel. A white elephant hat. White Lion Brand Wool Ease, in my hands at least, knits up to a different gauge than pink, dark grey & light grey -- pish. I knit it during Stitches West but without my models or diagram to compare couldn't verify that until I got home. I think the elephants will take a rest for the moment. Lace bookmark for my knitted lace bookmark exchange "target." The metallic thread and tatting thread combo got dumped for a nice purple perle cotton. Lace bookmark -- bottle stitch from BW 3rd. Done not as a 10+1 but as three 5 stitch motifs in what I consider a bottle green. Two elephant hats -- pink & light grey. The pattern is corrected and proven correct FINALLY. Look for snaps soon A short rowed boxy jacket inspired by a cross between Norah Gaughan's jacket (#21 in the Holiday 2003 issue of VK) and my own K's Ks and short row panel experiments. Doing it up in some Blue Heron cotton that I was doing the short row experiments back in Winter Park in 2002. Also using some 1824 cotton to augment the yardage of the Blue Heron. Sleeves came out wonderfully, did a Monty Python (aka now for something completely different) with the yarn I used to pick up stitches and knit the panels together and it is reversible, gorgeous and just warm enough for San Diego Winter. More snaps forthcoming but here's a quickie preview of one of the front panels Overdue pillow for cat sitters. Really, really cute and Mike loves it. Sewing the pieces together, attaching the embellishments (icord and knitted pine trees) and doing the pillow itself is on the agenda. More snaps to be posted but a preview of the vertical side and the horizontal side are just a quick click away. Swatch samples in cr*p acrylic for a proposed class -- colour coded to show how four different techniques combine to produce different results. Boring but helpful. Pine paper and beads experiment in what I'm calling lazy lace -- short rows provide both the shaping and the design motif -- ready to block. Check the lazy lace section for more. Telephone wire short row bell shape that I'm planning to combine with a knitted female torso -- no not the one shown but an even smaller one to sit on top of the bell/skirt. A miniature Aran for a friend. Finished, blocked, delivered, adored. Two short row bell shapes in metallic yarn -- starched up and debating whether they should be bells, skirts or what. Check the lazy lace section for more. Miniature female torso knit out of pink floral wire, size 5mm needles and, yes, short rows. I actually started this on a Sunday afternoon, walked home from the Whistlestop while knitting it and finished it Monday. Several short rowed hats to match the various multi-directional scarves I've designed this summer(2003) Pine paper lace ball with beads -- my raffle prize for work art show. How that came to be can be seen in Check the paper lace section for more. Two metallic lace balls (one with beads) that I donated to the local cathedral's silent auction Kureyon and Lamb's Pride version of my short row shell seaman's scarf. Chelsea Silk Haori's the bands that wouldn't end finally did. After last entry on this topic, I found some additional known to be same dyelot and it was just enough to do the trick. All panels are now waiting on the same on order and enroute from Canada needles as I want to pickup stitches and knit the panels together. If I get the panels knit together I'll probably take it to Stitches West even if it is unlined.

Home Page

Projects