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!

inspired by Anthropology...

First up, a wonderful addition to the stash from Japan!


My friend Julie in Seattle sent this (along with some fantastic Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab oils) yesterday. I can't read the Japanese on the label, but it is definitely sock yarn DongBao colour 286, and feels like superwash merino, incredibly soft. Interestingly, the symbols on the side say it is 100% something and 10% something else! So it is 110% something. The universal washing symbols indicate that its superwash. The colour, that ocean teal, will be perfect for the socks I have in mind, with a wave's crest of white around the edge using the handspun she sent...

Also in the mail was the latest Anthropology catalogue. I make no apology for being inspired by Anthropology...many and better knitters have gone before me, adapting these imaginative but horribly expensive knits (some of them are almost $400) for general consumption (just Google "Anthropology-inspired capelet" to see what I mean!)...

There are several sweaters in the new catalogue that make my knitting needles itch:

This one seems fairly easy to adapt; a V-neck empire-waist cardigan with a ribbed high waist. Kfb every other stitch after the ribbing to create the slightly gathered peplum. Add ribbing on the 3/4 length sleeves... 100% alpaca for that soft glow. I'd use A Touch of Twist natural alpaca.



This one is also a pretty straightforward cardigan with a low scooped neckline and elbow-length sleeves. I'd lose the ruffles on neck and sleeves, and substitute a simple, loose K2P2 ribbing. It looks like it would work up well in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran....



And finally, my favorite, a bed-jackety-looking sweater, almost like a shrug/capelet thingy... very vintage-looking. This one would take a bit of time to work out the construction: perhaps start with the circular yoke/collar, top-down, and then add the lace bodice, increasing stitches for an A-line and keeping the sleeve stitches on holders. Then go back to those sleeves, those wonderful bell sleeves, picking up the stitches seamlessly and creating the lace pattern while increasing frequntly enough to make the big bell. The picot edge I might crochet on afterwards around the whole sweater and sleeve edges.... Rowan Soft Baby for this one - I think they even make this very vintage powder blue!



{{sigh}} So many ideas, so little time...

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!

Foxfire

yesterday I took an idealic trip to Massachusetts for the Deerfield Craft/Quilt/Fiber Fair. The drive was beautiful because the maple trees are beginning to be that deep gorgeous crimson, and the other trees along the way were varying shades of pink, yellow, orange, and purple. I wasn't doing the driving, so I could gaze out the wondow at the scenery! We saw lots of wild turkeys, including some baby ones.

One of my favorite booths was the handmade baskets. I love baskets for my knitting projects and saw a couple that I wanted. Unfortunately, someone else also had their eye on them, and I missed out.

I did get some yarn, from Foxfire farm. The woman at the table recognized me! I guess that means I've been stalking the fiber festivals a bit too regularly these last couple of years!

I got one skein of the lavender yarn on the left (they only had one skein) and a couple skeins of the coral. I hope to make a short coral shrug/capelet for myself for the fall.

Lunch was a definite high spot at the fair. Food was provided by the local Ukranian Church and I had potato and cheese perogies with sour cream and some sweet bread with apricot filling. So good! During lunch, some children put on a play of the Phantom Tollbooth. The singing voices of these 12-year-olds was unbelievable...

not too much except socks...

its a quiet early fall day here in the northeast, with sunshine and shadows. I don't have too much to report except that my sister had a birthday, and - among other things - I made her some lacy socks:

This yarn came from Nadine in Germany and was a dream to work with! I loved the dark blue colour and the self-patterning yarn leant itself well to a horizontal lace stitch... These were knit with size 1.5 DPNs and were my own pattern. I did them toe-up with gussett heels, which is all I do these days!

I also sent the Professor's socks, and here is photo of me trying them on before they were washed and blocked to make sure they turned out okay:

You can't see it very well, but they have a lace pattern of entwined leaves down the front. I call them "Dark Garden". The yarn is silk and merino from STR lightweight and I made them on size 1.5 needles.

They all ask me where my money goes....

Unraveling Sophia

HOORAY!!!

I got my invite to Ravelry tonight!! I don't have anything posted yet but I'll be filling it up soon... my Ravelry name is UnravelingSophia....

I've also captured Unraveling for Etsy, so I'l have someplace to highlight my original patterns...and I've started this purely knitting blog, Unraveling Sophia, as a place to muse about designs that are percolating inside and slowing appearing from my needles!

The entries here, up to this point, are re-posts from my original Lj (Livejournal - another blogging system). I didnt want to lose the history of some designs and also wanted new readers to be able to get to know me by reading back through the posts... It looks like no one has ever replied to my blog, but thats only because all the replies are over on the old journal...only the posts themselves were tranfered over to here. Hopefully, friends will follow over here!