Knitting the Blues

Not Going to MDS$W

So, blogging is so much more fun when I have something interesting to blog about. Or educational. Or pretty. Or silly and witty. Or if I am going along on the wool orgy of spending, spinning and knitting. BAAAH! I have none of those today, folks! So, just to let you know I am still here (and not at MDS$W, in case that's what you might have thought) I'll let you in on my works in progress. Oh! Stop Groaning! It isn't that bad! At least it is all new. And heck, next week when the MDS$Wers are back, you'll be one up on 'em. So there.

Believe it or not, I am participating in the ECalong. I even have proof!

Aren't my sheep cute?

But.....these sheep won't be at MDS$W.

My apparent lack of progress on the Retro Prep Cardi is mainly due to this and this. The two knit for hire projects that I currently have going. The first is in Karabella Yarns Aurora 8 (color #2). Too bad this color doesn't show true online. It is a gorgeous color-think a deep red wine. No wonder they call it Cabernet. And no photo can do the yarn justice. It knits into a springy, spongy fabric with excellent stitch definition. Almost too good. Take a closer look. It is super soft as well. See all those cables? My new skill-cable needle free cables-ain't workin' here folks! The stitches want to slide away and I was spending too much time trying to make it all work. It took me a bit, but I figured out that life is way too short! So, my lonely cable needles are pushed back into service. Here them cheering?

Next, to please you is Berroco Pleasure in all of it's plum-y, purple-y goodness. If you love really soft yarn (the angora and merino blend it a tactile pleasure) that knits on a size 10 needle, then you must check it out. I for one feel as though I am growing an angora bunny in my lap as I knit. You might say it sheds a tad.

Just to make it clear-I won't be working on either of these projects this weekend while on the ride to MDS$W.

Have I told you that I will not be at MDS$W this weekend? I am thinking we should have our own Pitty Party right here! Let's all share what we did this weekend to "drown our sorrows", so to speak, and not think about the wooly fun we are missing. So, shopping, knitting, stash enhancing, lounging, whatever.... leave a comment, email me, post to your blog-let's have our own celebration! MDS$W? We don't need no steenking MDS$W! (Sniff, sniff, hold on while I grab my Kleenex!)

Readers of this blog may know that I collect teapots. The news is, I also collect sheep (not the real live ones!) of many kinds. I even have two teapots with sheep right on them! I'll share some of my sheep stash in the days to come. So, since I won't be adding to that stash this weekend, I thought I'd give away some little sheepish fun to another sheep lover who didn't make it to "you know where." Just email me and tell me what spring-time event spawned the photo to left. All correct answers will go into a drawing for a little bit of sheepy something or other. This shouldn't be as difficult as my last game. Whew!

Before I hit "post", I just want to thank everybody for any comment or email you have sent me. I could never manage to reply to all of you, though I really do try! I do appreciate the time you take to say "hey!" And about my girls, they are pretty super, but it would be even better if I could get one of them to pick up after themselves, put a dish in the dishwasher, or (heaven forbid!) change the liner in the waste basket! Yep-they are normal. I'll let you know if that changes!

Check back here over the weekend. I'll warn you now, there won't be any updates from that place I wish I went to! Have a great weekend whether you are going (green with envy) or not!

Warning! Shameless Bragging Ahead!

If you suspect reading past this point may be hazardous to your health (or your surfing), turn back now!

The news has been all good at Chez Blue these last few weeks. Gillian has been cast as Cinderella in Rodger's and Hammerstein's musical of the same name. Actually, unbeknownst to her, the role had been filled when she auditioned, but they loved her so much that they split it up, and she will be performing Cinderella in half of the performances and in the ensemble for the rest. Warning to Gillian: If all I hear is "In my own little corner, in my own little room......" as constant background music this summer, you'll be looking for a corner of a room somewhere else!

Middle daughter Meagan has recently auditioned for and been accepted to the vocal program at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Attendees receive six weeks of extensive music training, in the Berkshires no less! They are also provided with passes that admit them to any and all of the concerts, rehearsals, master classes and performances for the entire summer. A quick look at the schedule shows Diana Krall, Dawn Upshaw and Renee Fleming among the fantastic vocalists. All that and she will be performing in her final concert under condutor John Willliams. Am I turning a little green? You bet I am! The down side? Six weeks without my girl. In an attempt at optimism, the upside: 1. I'll just have to visit often and attend some great concerts, 2. Isn't there some pretty good yarn shopping out that way? (not that I will be able to afford any after sending her-any philanthropists out there supporting youth in the arts? Email me for the place to send your donations!), and 3. No duelling sopranos for six whole weeks! Don't get me wrong, I love them and having a houseful of musicians is a dream of mine, but a quiet moment with my knitting and a cup of tea is a rare commodity in this blue neck of the woods!

On to the artist in the bunch. Erin submitted a colored pencil drawing to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Junior Duck Stamp Competition. She won second place in her division! I keep telling her that she is now an award winning artist! "Mom! Shhh!" is all I get from her. True to her animal loving form, she is attending camp at our local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter. Ah, Bob Barker would be proud! (I hope you are all responsible pet owners and have them spayed and neutered!) Here is a scan of a copy of the original drawing, so much of the detail is lost. So I guess you will have to head to Concord where the winning artwork is on display until May 7th.

You're Gonna Have To Face It......

I'm addicted to something. Knitting? Yarn? Blue yarn? Stash enhancement? Oh, who knows? I am not quite sure what happened here. I went in to purchase a size 6, 29" circular Inox. That was all. One thing. And I coached myself the whole way there. I chanted, "Buy needle only. Buy needle only." No Kerstin, it was not guilt that had me droning all the way to the yarn store. I just really didn't feel I needed to buy any yarn. I was feeling fairly content with the line up of stash reducing projects. Well, maybe not, there was no cotton summery thing in the queue, but I was going to leave all of the hanks and skeins where I found them. I strode right in (buy needle only), went directly to the needle rack (this is good) found my needle (hooray, it was in stock) and headed for the register. But as I turned, I saw them. Looking out at me from the bins and baskets like puppies from cages at the pet store. They were all begging me to pet them! Really, they were! Renewing my resolve, I turned my focus on that register, but I swear-I heard them whimpering and whining. "Please don't leave me here!" I heard them call. "Keep walking!" I thought to myself. I felt my hardened heart softening. "I will just shake off the feeling," I thought. Just shake like a junkie, more like. "No buying today! None!" Well, it must've been right then that I blacked out! It wasn't until forty-five minutes later that I came to, handing over my debit card and seeing this that I even knew what happened! I am pretty sure I bought all of it. I am pretty sure that I have no idea at all what I am going to do with it. I am pretty sure that it makes me feel happy just to look at it. Well then, that is my fix for the moment. Take another look. I'll bet you can see why I fell so quickly off the wagon!

Sally Melville

New knitters today are so very fortunate. I am a mostly self-taught knitter. In my early knitting days the only books available were the basic "Learn to Knit" pamphlets. "Pick up an knit x number of sts evenly spaced" was just that. Where to find the sts, a ratio of pick ups to rows, how to eliminate spaces......well, you were on your own. These days there are many books that address the fine details of the craft. Not only that, new and experienced knitters can take advantage of conferences like Stitches and The Knitter's Guild of America Conferences that have given rise to many gifted writers and designers donning the teaching cap and sharing not only their technical tips and secrets, but also giving a glimpse into the creative process. The generosity of these knitters is astounding. I almost always find them eager to share and willing to encourage all of us to join them in the craft. I sense from most of them that there are no secrets to keep. There is a belief among them that by contributing everything they have, they are not inhibiting their own livelihood, but furthering the art for all of us. It is a wonderful thing to be part of this group, which thanks to the internet has shown me even more how great it is. Before I go on, thanks to all of you for enriching my knitting life.

As a fairly experienced knitter, I sometimes find the classes to be geared to beginner knitters, but I always find at least one (usually more than one) great thing, an "aha" moment, that is more than worth the price of admission. Last week's workshop with Sally Melville was no exception. The first half of the day was mainly technical-Borders and Buttonholes. The photos above are an example of some of what I *picked up* (pun intended) that morning. I love the fine art of finishing my knitting. Being a perfectionist, I scour all of the books, take as many workshops as I can to improve the detail work. When it comes to picking up stitches along a band, working and reworking until I am satisfied is the rule. Sally gave me sample ratios (stitches to rows) for how many stitches to pick up. How much time will that save!? And I usually am happy with my neckline pickups. When binding off along the neck edge, I generally slip the first stitch to make a smooth edge (something learned from another teacher). Sally's method has you knit and bind off the first stitch, giving you a perfect spot to pick up a stitch that leaves no gap to sure up. Depending on the garment, I prefer to have a bind off at the center neck, where Sally would rather have live stitches to knit (when working with a worsted or heavier yarn, I think the stability of the bind off edge helps the garment to keep it's shape). See the last photo above? Pretty neat neckline, no? Sally showed us some alternatives to the basic ribbed button band as well, then led into buttonholes. The first buttonhole shown above is the 3-Row Buttonhole. It is worked vertically and shows horizontally on a buttonband. The real treat with this buttonhole was the trick to eliminate that loose bit of yarn across the eyelet. Pick it up on the next row and knit it with the next stitch. How simple and clever! Really, I must have known that! The next two examples are both sides of the 1-Row Buttonhole. It is a 'bind off' then 'cast on' worked on one row. I rather like the neatness of this one, I'll let you decide which side you like the best. The next is a funky little loop that works well on a reverse stockinette stitch band, reminding me of a frog-type closure. Have a too loose neck or button bind off? Sally showed us how to tighten it up!

The afternoon was filled with Finishes and Fixes. The main finish tip was a list of ratios when seaming stitches to rows. Again, a time saver-do you know how precious my time is? The seaming was not new to me, but I remember when I first was taught to seam from the right side of the work. It really is the only way to seam. I was taught to knit by a seamstress, and became a seamstress myself. We put right sides together and seamed. That was that. To anyone out there who is still doing this I have one thing to say to you-Knitting is not sewing! Knitted pieces are seamed together, not sewn. In almost all cases, a better finished result will be achieved by seaming from the right side of the garment. I did learn this years ago, I just wanted to share it with anyone that is still sewing their knits together. It is simple, quick and a far superior method of finishing. The fixes portion of the afternoon was a more creative, less technical demonstration. This is where I am a neophyte. Mistakes send me to the frog pond, or the project gets set aside for a time, perhaps forever. Sally talked of how she uses mistakes as design elements, reworks old garments to suit changing styles, over-dying out dated colors. I actually felt sort of "freed up" to the creativity that a rescue requires. If any of you picked up my cast offs at the Goodwill......I want them back! By far the best part of attending these things is meeting other knitters and swapping favorite yarn stores, fibers and other tips. And the teacher wasn't even upset that I knit through the whole class!

Speaking of wonderful knitters: Thanks for all the fun compliments on my Rogue! I wish I could reply to you all individually, you really make my day!

Just in time for shorts, tanks and bathing suit season, I have discovered a new passion. My motives for sharing it with you are pure caring and love. Really, my selfless-ness is showing here. For those of you who may be thinking I am luring you to the *white side* so I won't be the only pleasingly plump girl on the beach, you are so wrong! It is out of the kindness of my sweet heart that I invite you to share in the tasty goodness. Come by any time and we can indulge together! Just bring your own container, my generosity does have it's limits you know.

Rogue-abesque!

Wanna see another pose?

Alright, stop laughing! Wearing Rogue sent me leaping out of the house, across the backyard. Leaps, twirls, pirouettes! Okay, maybe not the leaps, but I can sashay with the best of them! The ballet poses were my lovely daughter's idea. I don't lie, she is lovely. And the hair-natural. That is why we loathe um, envy her! Dance through the front, side and back views of my new favorite sweater and check out the Rogue story, complete from swatching to frogging to donning. Off the needles for less than a week and I actually miss this project. I don't usually feel that way about something I knit. Typically, I have to force myself on to the finish line about halfway through. But Rogue.....Rogue, Rogue, Rogue. I miss you already. I don't know if it was the yarn, the pattern, or a combination of both, but I thoroughly enjoyed this endeavor. I taught myself a new technique in the process-cabling without a cable needle. Woo Hoo! Very freeing. Would I change anything? Probably not. It fits just the way I envisioned it would. Check out the back view again, for those that have knitted Rogue-did your hood hang the way mine is hanging? I thought it would lie a little flatter across the shoulders, but I am not totally displeased with it. And those decreases at the top of the hood.... I am sitting the ballet bar on wanting to change them and living with them, happily. It looks as though I will have ample opportunity to figure it out. Rogue is a hit in my home, my girls love hoods, and I may be knitting a couple for them. Not to mention the Jamieson's Aran in Wedgewood that I have for my next one!

Have I mentioned how much I love my Knitting Secret Pal? This was my surprise last week. The yarn is navy with a kelly green thread running through it and a neat spool of reinforcing thread comes tucked in the center of the skein. And look at the card! Fits perfectly with my Blue Willow and other blue and white teapots. Thank you Secret Pal!

Finally! I swatched the DK weight Peace Fleece I got to knit a cardigan along with the Everyday Cardigan Knit Along. I was skeptical about the color (which on my monitor looks more turquoise than it is-really it is more jade), and while I don't think I would wear it myself, the above mentioned daughter loves it. And with that hair! Gorgeous! At the risk of boring you all to tears I have to echo all of the Peace Fleece knitters-after washing, my swatch bloomed and softened to a fluffy, soft fabric. It's just too bad for you that you cannot reach in and fondle it.

Happy Easter!!

The Easter Bunny just hid the eggs for the big morning hunt. Yep, we hid eggs for the 18, 16 and 12 year old. They still want to search for eggs. Hopefully, we will be able to color real eggs in the morning before church. The last two days have been far too busy. Ah well, they want to be more grown up, but they still want to be little kids. It's a good thing, right?

The hoppiness is spreading here at the Blues. Rogue is ready for it's close up! Finally! Check back for the pictorial proof! And for those who observe this holiday, Happy and Peaceful Easter to you!

And The Knit Brain Prize Goes To...

Whew! I didn't think this would be such a difficult question! I have to say though, I am glad it was. It made me feel better about not getting it right the first time myself. So, thanks to an overwhelming response (seven participants) and the flood of correct responses (two), there will be a tie breaker! Mwahahahaha! Only kidding! I will be sending prizes to both Chelsea and mbd. And Alison, you brainy lady you, I think you got it as well, so send the addy along, and I will send a little something out to you as well. Congratulations to these knitters and thanks to everyone who took a stitch at it!

So, the birth of this little quiz? A mistake I made. I was working on a "knit for hire" that I had originally written with a rib at the bottom. It was suggested to me that the rib needed to go. Not wanting to knit the whole piece again, I brainstormed ideas to pick out the bottom and re-finish it working down. You can read the whole dilemma here in the original post. After the grafting I counted my rows and had 28! Where did those two extra rows come from?! Just an example of not seeing the actual end product and forging ahead, I didn't see how the rows of live stitches from each piece would create rows as well! So the answer to the quiz: Cast on and without knitting anymore rows start Kitchenering away! One thing for sure, my grafting skills are improving between this and Rogue. I have pictures and details here. I apologize for the quality of some of the photos. Pete had taken the digital camera away for the weekend (and didn't take one shot with it, hrmph!) and I tried out one of those Kodak disposables that returns your photos with a disc. So some of the pics are kind of blurry, but I think you can get the idea.

This is a finished sweater, but because it is not yet published, I cannot show a full shot of it. I will say it is a cardigan, knit at 3 stitches to the inch on size 11 needles. I'll keep to myself my feelings about knitting that! Here is a close-up, proof that I actually do finish things, occasionally.

Before you surf away, look who's blocking! Yep! Rogue will be worn by the end of the weekend. Hooray! The finishing party just goes on and on at the Blues!

Squeezing Balls of Blue

Chuckle of the day: A google search for "squeezing balls" turns up Knitting the Blues (this post) on the third page! Does this send me into peels of laughter every time I think of the surprised look on that searcher's face when this blog was clicked on? Hey-don't let your imaginations run too wild! I wonder, do balls of wool and mohair stimulate this person as they do the knit bloggers and readers out there? Okay, I'm thinking web-ring here, "Knitty Porn" maybe?. Or possibly a ball squeeze-along (hee hee)....... Any joiners?

More Squeezing

Do You Need A Hint?

Thanks to the brave knitters who sent answers to my knitting brain teaser, but we have no correct answers as of yet. Annie, mbd, and Alison started out on the same track I did (great minds.....?). I found out how wrong I was there after grafting the whole thing! UGH! (I'll be posting the progress soon-it is a FO, off and delivered!) Chelsea-your answer is moving in the right direction, take another look and I believe you will have it! A hint to spur you all along: I am grafting (or Kitchenering) from live stitches. If you want to keep your guess a secret, you can email it to me privately. Come on everybody! Take a guess! Make my first blog contest a success!

A big thanks for the nice comments and emails on Cookie! I am sure I haven't been able to respond to everyone, but please know that I appreciate all of you, and rest assured, I spend much too much time reading all of your blogs! If you haven't started one, what are you waiting for? We are breathless with anticipation! Go! Do it now!

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Quick update: Check out Abigail's blog. She has linked in her most recent post to her wallpaper illustrations. She changes them monthly, but there is always one with a knitting theme. This month's is so pretty and so blue! Go and get one!

Step Right Up!!

Don't be shy! With all the fun over at Kerstin's, I was inspired to have a little game here at The Blues! Just puzzle out the little knitting brain bender below, send me a correct answer, and your name will go into the knitting bag. A lucky blog reader will win a prize! Woo Hoo! Here it is:

This week I am writing a pattern and working up a sweater for a knit-for-hire thing I do occasionally. Initially I had planned a two row rib followed by a section of stockinette stitch. After knitting the back of the garment, the powers that be decided that the rib had to go, the piece would start with stockinette stitch. I continued on my not quite so merry way, knitting up the front, all along considering my options. Re-knitting that back was a very unappealling notion, one that wasn't happening if I could help it. I thought picking out from the bottom and knitting back down might work, but that would have left a bind off edge that wouldn't look the same as the cast on the front sported. Then it came to me! I could pick out from the bottom, then cast on, knit and graft the new piece on! A stroke of genius, right? Yeah, right! The dilemma, and your mission, should you choose to accept it: On the front I had twenty-six rows of stockinette stitch to match up to. After the almost excruciating picking of the back bottom edge, I laid the piece down, right side up and counted the knitted rows of stockinette stitch-I had twenty-three. The puzzle: What to do for the new, to be grafted on piece? You know, how many rows, etc. Be specific in your answers knit-bloggers. My luck, you'll all get it first try (I did not-but I will have some in progress photos to show in the next couple of days) and I will feel a bit thick. That's okay, I hope this is a fun little brain teaser for you all. Remember, studies show that working your brain on puzzle type activities helps prevent Alzheimer's Disease! Anything I can do to help! Good Luck!