Noro sea urchin

I promised photos of the Hats I made for the local elementary schools, and here are the ones I've completed so far:



Starting clockwise at 3 o'clock (which is, in fact, the order in which I made them) is the top-down pattern of my own design (pattern in sidebar at left) except that I used a very thin DK weight, Reynolds Whiskey, on a size 7 needle. This yarn has a raspy, substantial feel, so even though it's finer in weight, it will be warm. And the colour is exceptional! The little stripe is from some leftover sock yarn, which was sadly orphaned and anonymous...

This next one at 6 o'clock is my personal favorite. I made it up as I went along from a vague memory of a hat in the last Harry Potter movie (there were a lot of wonderful knits in that movie!). I knit it bottom up, 68 CO, size 8 needles, Noro Kureyon. K2 P2 for approx 7.5 inches and then began decreasing. I decreased every 4th and then every 3rd and then every 2nd row in the Purl stitches only until all the purl stitches were gone, then decreased in Knit stitches every other row for 4 rows, then in every row until I had four stitches left on the DPNs. You can see this last section of Knit-only decreases in the vibrant blue part at the top of the hat. I then knit all around the four stitches, over and over, until I had a cord long enought to make a nice knot at top. I threaded the tail through the stitches, pulled it tight and secured it, weaving in the end, then tied my top-knot. I love it, if I do say so myself!

The third one is another that I'm really pleased with! It's the ZeeBee from Schmeebot and what an accomplishment to master this seamless beanie technique!! It's a take-off on Elizabeth Zimmerman's brilliant techniques and is truly fast, fun, and easy!. I used the rest of the one skein of the Reynold's Whiskey and size 7 and 6 straight needles. The top yarny-ball is more of the orphaned sock yarn. It looks quite jaunty! The ZeeBee is knit side to side in garter stitch, with short row shaping to form the crown.

My final hat is a bottom-up free-style hat, Noro Kureyon again. This colourway had a brilliant peacock blue and green strand in it, but when I got to those colours, I skipped them so I'd have a repeat of the more muted browns, greys, blacks, and dark greens. It is K2P2 for 7.5 inches on size 8 circular and DPN needles and then I decreased in pattern (very tricksy for me) so that the ribbing continues to the very top of the hat, where the tail is threaded through the remaining stitches and pulled tight. This made the top of the hat look like cable stitching. All it really was, was decreasing the Purl stitches purlwise, and decreasing the Knit stitches knitwise so that a demarcation between knit and purl was visible all the way up. As you go along, you come to places where you are decreasing a knit and purl stitch together, and I always did this by favoring the first stitch on the decrease, i.e., if I decreased P1K1, I decreased purlwise. If I decreased K1P1, I decreased knitwise. At the end Knit stitches predominated and the very top is an interesting delta of knitwise ribs... It looks like the top of a sea urchin shell:
(sorry for the blur, it was the best I could get in my my be-fuddled post-midnight-knitting brain fog)

and Finally - a photo of my Black Rose yarn from Tausendschon in Germany!

Here it is resting gently amidst my vintage knitting needles, waiting patiently for its transformation in to Rose Socks! You can see that the colours Nadine chose for me are so perfectly dark rose colours, with none of the blue or orange that other skeins in this colourway show! I love it so much. My idea for this yarn includes a pattern of roses. I can't wait to finally get to this design!

I have no spindle, but…..

Today, my AOL news told me that the Leonardo da Vinci painting, Madonna with the Yarnwinder, which was stolen several years ago, was recovered in Glasgow.



“The oil-on-wood painting, which shows the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus on her lap holding a cross-shaped spindle for yarn, is one of several versions of the same scene painted between 1500 and 1510”, they said. I thought the yarnwinder looked a bit like a drop-spindle, but with only one spoke. I suppose it could be something similar to a niddy-noddy but without both ends. And we all know that the Madonna was often portrayed as a knitter, with various knitting implements, including double-pointed needles. Her Son’s seamless garment is even mentioned in the gospel, isn’t it, when it talks about the events leading up to crucifixion, and the Roman guards casting lots for his robe, which was especially prized because it was a seamless garment – something that can only be produced through circular knitting….

So, we’re in good company – spiritually speaking – as knitters and spinners. It’s interesting to think of Mary, at home, in the evening, with her feet up, knitting away on a little shirt using DPNs and saying “Oh Christ! I just dropped another stitch!” just like I do.

Okay, that last part was totally tongue-in-cheek and probably sacrilegious, but…well… I have no excuse.

It is really and truly Autumn now.... those warm, summery days and those cool, shivery nights. You know, I'm an old-fashioned type of girl, and I like Edwardian bedsocks and sleeping caps, warming the sheets before I get in, but sleeping with the window open. I chalk it up to visiting my great aunt who was in her 90's when I was 10 and the only heat in her house came from a combined wood and oil stove in the kitchen, with vents in the ceiling above it to warm the upstairs.... So, this kind of weather is in many ways comforting weather for me...and knitting weather, too – second only to deep winter snow-days when you can’t go out.



Here I am on the road to the apple orchard, in my funny handmade, flannel jumper-dress, knitted vest, and silk scarf around my head. I think I look quite Russian! (my true heritage on my father's side). This is a digital photo of a regular photo that my sweetheart took, so its kind of grainy-looking... and the shadows make my nose look hooked, but I can assure you, that is not the case! Its appropriate for October though, coming on to Halloween...

Every summer at work I organize a Hat and Mitten Knit-out, where we all make items for the elementary schools. In mid-October (coming right up), I give them to the school nurses and they hand them out through the winter to kids who need them. Its subtler that way. Last year we made 80 hats. This year I have only about 20 – and I made four of those! I don’t know why people were less knitty this year. Its really too bad, though. I’ll post pictures and design notes on the ones I made soon: two from one skein of Reynolds Whiskey DK and two in Noro Kureyon.

I finally got the yarn for the Fall IK Duster: Sublime’s extra fine merino:


Now, if I can just get my sock-knitting obession under control, I can cast on!

Ah...the Ocean...

Life has been pretty good these last few days, especially this weekend. I saw The Pirates of the Caribbean last night and the ocean views just washed right into my heart! I LOVE the ocean! I want to marry the ocean!

I have Nadine's yarn swap box full to the brim but am waiting for one more thing to come in at the yarn store before I send it off.... its very intriguing and enticing-looking! I'll post a photo when I have everything wrapped up so it doesn't give the whole surprise away! Nad lives in Germany, so I don't know how long the actual posting will take, especially since its not going by owl, but by USPS....

in other knitting news, my office has been asked to knit hats and mittens for the poorer elementary schools in town and have them ready for fall. so I have organized a knitting group at work and we'll start next week. because of this, I've been sorting out my stash of yarns to find ones that would be good colours for kids and I've also put together a book of patterns for folks to use... people are work are excited and those who aren't knitting are contributing a skein of yarn! two months isn't very long, but we'll do our best! unfortunately...making something requires more effort than setting the yarn in a pile, pointing a needle at it and saying an incantation. I want to be the Hermione Grainger of knitting so I can do that!

must go make pancakes now....