A Nifty Finish to My Necklace

I ran out of toggles! and I'm in a cheap mood, so what could I use? Buttons!! I found a great source for vintage buttons at a great price and I bought a few. Add a beaded loop and voila! a one-of-a-kind clasp for my necklaces. The button is vintage Czech slag glass. In natural light, it matches the vintage Lucite beads. I bought some really super buttons for other necklaces- enameled, with Swarovski rhinestones and cabochons, transfer patterns on porcelain (like on dishes), oh I could have spent a fortune there; fortunately I didn't ;^D.

Here's Claudia

I promised a shot of Claudia knit in the round, and here it is. Tah dah! It is almost done, I've started the dec (though I may run out of Jo Sharp, hmmmm.... will probably finish it off with some navy tweed Harrisville orchid line, being a silk/wool blend that knits to the same gauge). Navy and burgundy- a nice color combo. PS- no bias on this hat, must have been the st I used that cause the biasing with the other hat I made out of the Jo Sharp Silkwood. Knit and learn.
Speaking of color combos, here are some yarn duos I picked un on sale for more Ships Project hats. First, Beaverslide wool/mohair in Indian Fire and Deep Creek.

Next, Lamb's Pride in Winter Blue and Turquoise.

I'm going to try a bicolor brioche with 1 combo. Never was into multi-colored knitting, but there's a request out from the troops for brightly-colored hats, so I'm willing to try. If I really hate it, at least I have gorgeous bright colors to work with. I decided that I won't make any more hats out of acrylic yarn, only wool or wool and other natural fiber blends. Read somewhere that synthetic fibers are like plastic: they never break down. So call it my push for greener knitting.

A Makeover for the Caudia Hat

Since sending wool hats for the Ships Project will recommence next week, I've been knitting as many hats as I can to send. The website has links to acceptable hat patterns, and the Claudia Hat is very attractive. Now, Smariek designed it to be knit flat. I started it flat, then decided I wanted to knit it in the round. So spent a few hours charting the pattern on Excel, and started knitting. The proof of the charting will be in the knitting. The yarn is the lovely Jo Sharp Silkwood Aran mix. Needles are 5 mm Addi Turbos. The chart is below. Note that on rounds 15 and 25, the right twists are split in half, if the rounds were to start on the same stitch for those rounds. To compensate, I whipped the 1st sts of those rounds around to the back needle (I use the Magic Loop technique), then did the right twists as the last 2 sts. If you know a better way to explain this, please tell me.

Right twist: Slip next st to back, k1, then k slipped st
Left twist: Slip next st to front, k1, then k slipped st
Note: When working in the seed st part, I did either k1 or p1, depending upon what was required for the moss st. I didn't want to make the chart very complicated with separate symbols for the crossed twist sts.
I haven't taken a photo yet of the hat, but works, it really works. Once you start the pattern and get into the flow, you can figure it out quite easily; in fact, I stopped looking at my chart after a couple of rows! I'm up to row 30-something, so the pattern is just about finished. Will take a photo and post when the pattern part is finis.

Major Destashing Underway

I didn't realize how out of hand the stash had gotten (plus VA benefits for employees are really minimal; I have many more expenses than before, when I worked for the state)! So I'm selling off 19 skeins of Yarns Brunswick Germantown, plus 3 colors of SheepsWool, plus a full bag of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran, and more. See them (and some non-knitting items)
here.

Details of the big stuff:
10 skeins Rowan Magpie in Boggy
10 Skeins Rowan Magpie in Rose
9 skeins of Brunswick Germantown in Rust $6/skein
10 skeins of Brunswick Germantown in Plum Wine Heather $6/skein
10 skeins of SheepsWool in Cream $4/skein
9 skeins (1 missing ball band) of Sheepswool in Dark Oriental Rose $4/skein, $3 for skein missing ballband
7 skeins SheepsWool Heathers in Bisque $4/skein
8 skeins of SheepsWool in Teal (really seafoam green); 2 were partially knit, then refrogged $4/skein, $2/skein for rewound skeins
10 skeins of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran in Darkside (bought to make the Bressay jacket from Jamieson's Book 3)

Free stuff:
Look at the Flickr site, I have some Canadiana, Berella, and Classic Elite Tapestry I'll send free with purchase of other yarn (as long as it fits in the box).
Or if you just want this stuff for crafting, I'll send it for the cost of postage.

Needles:
1 pair in looks like mint condition Brittany walnuts, on their card, size 10 1/2 (6.5 mm); 12" long, $36 plus postage
the Stretchy circulars, 2.75 mm and 36"long, you know I used them for about 2 rows of sock ribbing, $5 plus postage
Holz & Stein ebony, size 8 and 16"

Books:
brand-new, just sitting on shelf Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel, $10
2 Patricia Roberts hard-bound books (these are hard to find, in excellent condition), take them both for $18

While you're cruising my Stash for sale on Flickr, do check out the unique beaded jewelry I make with new and vintage beads. I'll be putting more on in coming days and weeks.
Open to offers on everything. Shipping in the US only (too hard to hassle with international), will combine to save you $$. I accept Paypal of all kinds (but for credit card funded, I have to add 3% plus 30 cents to recoup the fees), personal checks, money orders.

VA Training, Part II

Also known as knitting at taxpayers' expense. Well, I had to spend the past 2 days at the VA sitting through the remaining part of orientation. Which consisted of 10 out of 18 mandatory training sessions, most of which have nothing whatsoever to do with my job (or the jobs of most attendees). So I wouldn't be too antsy (and in the spirit of the VA), I brought along hats for the Ships Project, now that mailing of wool things will begin again in September. See the hat I completed above? It's made of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, a yummy blend of wool and cashmere and silk. The baby cable rib biased though, that never happened when I made this hat before with other yarns. I have another ball of it; I'll do something different and see.
Now see the trio below?

The sock I worked on a little yesterday when I finished the hat (worked from the gusset dec start to where it is now). Both hats were only casted on (first 2 rows worked in the flat), then the rest was done today at the VA. I am not kidding! Had I not run out of wool, I would have finished 1 of them. That is how I spent 8 1/2 hours today in stultifying ennui relieved only by my knitting. The details: the hat in the middle is the Blueberry Waffle hat (yes, it is based on the famous sock pattern), and it is being made of merino wool, Zegna Baruffa Maratona. The hat on the right will use up the remaining Plymouth Galway I have in stash; it is the Zig and Zag hat.
And now for a little jewelry treat, another Dutch spiral necklace:

The purple and gold flower beads are vintage Lucite; I've been waiting for the right project to incorporate them. They really aren't that pink but closer to the heliotrope color of the main set of beads. Really. I'm going to make a special clasp for this; ordered the special accessory for it. Check back to see it and tell me what you think.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I finished the necklace! See the neat sparkly beads along the sides? Those are vintage Lucite beads I found at Ozzy Beads. I love to mix vintage with new beads when I make these things. Check out the beaded toggle- I had a bunch of sterling circle parts left from some project, so I took some sterling wire, and beaded it up, with a loop in the center and loops at the ends. Got the idea from reading how to make woven beaded toggles. But when I wove some beads into a toggle, it was too fat to fit. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.

On a new knitting note, I started a hat for the Ships Project out of luscious SilkRoad Aran Tweed wool/cashmere/silk yarn by Jo Sharp that I got from a fellow KR member for a song. Nothing but the best for our troops doing the hard stuff.

Beadazzled

Returned to my other avocation, making beaded jewelry, the other day. The WIP above is the beginning of a necklace in a stitch called the Dutch spiral. I'll stop when it's about 9"long, then string sterling Bali and other interesting beads up the sides to the clasp. These look best, to me, when they are about 18" long. I'm getting some new handmade lampwork beads in and have new ideas. Can't wait to try them out.
I've posted a few of my other creations below; these are for sale and the details are given in my Stash Flickr album (link is on the left). I'll be posting more pictures in the coming days. I've made some sets, cell phone charms, ID lanyards, and more. I made a lot of these pieces 2 years ago to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina (raised nearly $1000 on eBay selling mainly ID lanyards, raised a few hundred more through some special jewelry auctions). After putting it away for 2 years, the beading bug is back!

Knitting on Inox Pryms

Well, now that I've tried these cheapie Inox Prym needles, I must say that they are quite nice. Oh the joins aren't as lovely-smooth as on the Addis but the cord relaxed without needing to be heated to near 100 deg C, and the Teflon coating moves the yarn along with just enough grab that I don't fear dropping sts (Addi Turbos are a little too slick sometimes; not the Golds though). And besides, Addis do not come in 2.75 mm, so there! And you can see how one knits a watermelon out of wool. It's fascinating to watch the pattern develop just by doing stockinette st over and over and over again. I do find the wool to be a bit on the scratchy side; Marian says it softens and fluffs up with washing, so these will be washed in Eucalan until they soften enough.

Ah, the reason for the mindless knitting project - Tuesday night, the neighboring town's council decided to pull the pending ordinance in the face of impending implosion from the flood of at least 50 of us who opposed it - and a lot of us came from out of town. Good to see democracy in action.

Fresh Watermelon From Fresh Isle Fibers

With the completion of the Lilacs socks (which I might give to a certain daughter) and in need of a mindless sort of pattern as I sit during tonight's Town Council meeting (more on that later), it was fortunate indeed that my single-ply mixed-breed yarn from Fresh Isle Fibers came yesterday. The luscious cake of yarn will knit into these: Socks that have slices of watermelon on them! I love watermelon, eagerly anticipate the first one hitting the market each summer. It's my preferred dessert during the steam-bath we call weather right now. Simple stickinette st will turn itself into slices of melon, complete with seeds, how clever! The pattern is here; scroll down for the single-ply apttern for the one at top is for the worsted-weight yarn. Marian from Fresh Isles is very nice to deal with; spinning and dyeing are a passion of hers. As before, I did the unjoined cast-on, knitting for 1 rows then joining to work in the round. For this sock, I casted on the 2x2 rib in K-P cast-on, but did it as K-K-P-P cast-on. Seemed to work out from what I can see. And I'm trying out my new Inox Prym needles, since Addis don't come in 2.75 mm and these do. So far I like them, maybe not as much as Addis (certainly not as much as Addi Gold), but much more than the stretchy needles. When the socks are done, I'll wear them with this sweater and this pin
Town Council meeting tonight is in the town east of me; I don't want it spreading west so I'm taking an interest and showing up. The Council will discuss a proposed ordinance to ban all tethering of dogs. Lest you think this is a good thing, just listen to the owner (moi) of 2 large-breed dogs. Even Collies, those near-geniuses of the canine world, do not come equipped knowing every rule of the house. They need training, they need discipline (until they pay the mortgage and household expenses, yes they do). Tethering on a long lead while working in the garden was a method I used to train each dog the boundary of the property; to leave joggers and walkers passing by alone; to ignore cars (and hence not give chase to them). Most towns have dozens of ordinances preventing homeowners from fencing in property. You read that right. I was lucky; my backyard was all fenced in before I bought it years ago, before the ordinances restricting fencing were passed. Nowadays, a homeowner around here needs a variance to put a fence in to protect children - and dogs. Makes a lot of sense, right? You pay over $10,000/year in property taxes (I pay considerably more), yet your property is not your property to protect. The benighted ordinance, moreover, requires a kennel with floor of 10 by 15 feet per dog and with fence of 8 feet high. In a town with a fence ordinance that decrees fences shall be no more than 5 feet high. You don't have to be a lawyer to see that there is a problem here. Kennel with floor- ever put something on your grass for even a day? Ever notice how quickly grass underneath dies? Everybody will want to kill lawns, I'm betting. 10 x 15 feet per dog, that's 150 sq ft, that's over 10% of my total property including house footprint per dog. And renters will be able to do, what? They rent houses in part to own dogs. How many landlords be willing to comply with dead lawns, unsightly kennels, and the rest? Better to enforce existing anti-cruelty laws and go after negligent owners who tether their dogs all day while at work. That's wrong, that's illegal, that's enforceable. And that's why I'll be there, knitting my watermelon sock during the discussion of the ordinance.

Everything Old is New Again

Saturday the Fall 2007 Vogue Knitting arrived. It's the 25th anniversary issue, and it is packed with patterns. Including a look-back at some of the greatest VK patterns, rewritten for yarns available today. And look what made it to the short-list:
Also on the short list: Deborah Newtons' hauntingly-beautiful toque and gloves from Fall 1987, the Aran issue, one of my all-time favorite issues. Interesting that both of these were reworked in greens from their original Aran colors. Looks like EFA is more fitted this time around too, not such a tent (good, that's how I made mine). I must say that I prefer the Deborah Newton in the original though. Maybe I like the pose of the model or the angle of the toque or the way it was shot with the model wearing other Aran pieces.
Just love this cover.

The rose-red lace hoodie cardi (pattern 40) in the mag grabbed DD#1's attention; she wants it instead of the Gita Schrade cabled cardi I started for her a couple of months ago. Good thing I spent most of the summer working on socks instead of on her cardi, not much to rip out. Hers will be seafoam green; she refuses to wear reds and roses, though they flatter her immensely.

Just had to add 2 thoughts on the VK Fall 2007 to this post: 1) Did anyone else notice that the "Old Guard" interviewed for the issue consisted of innovative if not revered designers? And the "New Guard" consisted of commentators, rather than designers? Seriously, I would have put Elsebeth Lavold and a bunch of others into the New Guard before I put, well, I won't mention names. Yes they are for the most part enjoyable to read, but seriously, how much knitting did you learn from them? How many of their patterns are on your needles now? 2) Back to the Old Guard. It struck me as disingenuous for one of their number to rant and complain about what constitutes intellectual property, when that particular OG personage has gone out of his/her way to shut down any and all internet discussion of his/her genius as a designer! And has gone to extremes to lock up all intellectual rights to his/her native island, including any references to said island in the context of knitting, even filing lawsuits in courts. And has steadfastly refused to republish books of patterns, even though they fetch mighty big prices at auction and from booksellers; and has gone so far as to shut down auctions by individuals looking to sell books no longer wanted or needed. Just a little disingenuous. Now I believe in intellectual property; I have to! I file patents on my "scientific inventions" when warranted; I do not download music or films illegally (and have been known to sound off to my daughters' friends on why it is a crime to do so)- I actually count how many CDs I burn off an iTunes download! But extremes are extremes, and much as I love this OG's designs, I don't relish the extremes to wish he/she has gone to make sure that the designs can be knit only with yarns purchased from such and such firm, rather than with the lovely worsted wool I have now.

Where Did Summer Go?

Hard to believe it is August already. Where did summer go? Almost time to plan winter knitting, but when it's nearly 100 degrees and sticky, sticky, sticky, I find it hard to think about bulky Icelandic wool. How about you? Speaking of sticky and hot, last night, DH and I went to a concert in NYC. When we pulled out of the Lincoln Tunnel, the thermometer on the car read 103 degrees. Yikes! Then DH decided that the only place he can park on the entire island of Manhattan is at Lincoln Center, even though the concert was at 75th and Broadway, nearly a mile north. Parked, then walked to 72nd and Broadway for dinner in a state of near-collapse, fortunately, was revived by the Arizona Sunrise served at Mike's Bistro (and even more revived by the warm apple Annie and Starbucks Frappuccino Mudslide for dessert). A Mudslide is a frozen confection, really not just a mere cocktail, made with a shot each of: over crushed ice and milk, cream, or soymilk (meat restaurant, so soymilk it was) in a fancy 12 oz cocktail glass. DH, who normally doesn't go for these drinks (single malt Scotch is his tipple of choice, followed by draft beer), couldn't stop tasting mine.
Thus fortified, we marched on to the Beacon Theater for 2 hours of this:

Alison Kraus and Union Station doing their Hundred Miles or More tour. Great album; the concert consisted of only 3 songs from that album plus a bunch of old favorites; 2 hours of music and no intermission, just music. That's a promotional shot of Alison Krauss and Union Station for the tour above. See the guy with the guitar in front? On the left? That's Dan Tyminski; he did George Clooney's voice for "Oh Brother, Where art Thou?" He also was George Clooney's, er, body double in the same movie. DH loves Alison, I love Dan; it's a perfect match.

With the heat wave continuing through the weekend, I'll be lucky to finish sock #2 of Lilacs (heel turning done, need to pick up gusset sts, do the dec, and finish the foot). Then oh boy! pick another sock pattern. Maybe make this pair out of the Meilenweit I used for the toes on Lilacs. At first I thought Meilenweit would be too thin to knit with, for my ease, but I'm knitting on 2.5 mm needles anyway, so might as well make cool socks (as opposed to wool socks in lacey patterns in an effort to make them air-conditioned- sometimes my lab is 55 degrees, sometimes it is 85 degrees; since Maintenance can't figure it out, I have to dress for anything and adpatable socks in summer are essential).