knitting blog archive: Spring/Summer 2007

August 30, 2007

This lovely handpainted 55% mohair/45% merino blend was aging in my stash (origin: Sheep City USA booth at Stitches West 2003!). I wanted to see how the colors would move if knit sideways, hoping the color changes would be more flattering than if knitting around the body.

So I made up this Slink in the longer length to illustrate the point, and modified my own pattern to add a zip front, making this into a versatile little vest that could be layered in colder weather. That's right, I live in San Francisco, so I even in summery August I am planning for the chill. After installing the metal zip, I said to my husband, "Isnt' that punk rock?" He gazed at it steadily for a moment and said gently, "I don't think there's anything you could do with that handpaint that would be punk rock, but it is a nice sweater." Diplomatic, eh?

If you want me to post the mods so you can put a zip in your own Slink, just e-mail me and I shall.

I find it freaky that no matter how much de-stashing I do, the stash never seems to get any smaller! I wonder if the yarn is breeding in there, but I haven't come across any odd colors or blends yet, so have concluded it's supernatural. It's been a banner year for de-stashing. For 2007, the stash has so far yielded: Zipper Slink above, burgundy Hepburn cardigan, avocado green Hoodie (from L'il Red Hoodie pattern in the book) with blue fleur de lys on the back, one red Elfin Bride and one pale green Gothlet, five nice long scarves, and two baby sweaters! By any measure, that should mean some empty drawers, but no!

August 16, 2007

I spent an awful lot of time with Eunny's first issue of Interweave Knits and the Knitting Daily site last weekend. This discussion forum about knitwear sizing was fascinating. I read 700+ posts on the topic and it got me thinking there's a market for a new magazine (or more patterns, for sure) targeted directly at plus sized knitters. One recurring theme was a desire to see designs shot on larger models. Having made a knitting book myself, I know making a single sample under deadlline pressure is stressful. Making a second would double the trouble.

Production challenges aside, if a large segment of the knitting audience is large, the industry should cater to it. Even the book samples I had made to fit 40" bust were pinned on size zero models against my wishes. When I protested, I was told "that's the size models come in." How infuriating! We all know you can hire a model of any size. In my publisher's defense, I understand that they will be using more real-sized models for Stefanie's future books, so they are coming around too.

When deciding which designs to include in my book and how to size them, I found myself challenged to scale up. For example, consider the Charlie Brown sweater: would you increase the number of peaks across the front, or would you make each peak wider? Now think about grading that pattern into 5 (or 10) sizes and you can imagine the challenges involved. As many posters pointed out on the forum, designs that work on flat-chested waifs are unlikely to scale up well for many reasons. Designing for larger sizes from the beginning could yield designs which are more flattering to the zaftig figure. However, those designs are unlikely to work for waifs. So why not two publications? Food for thought!

Last weekend I also read Amy Singer's No Sheep for You from cover to cover. I enjoyed her conversational tone and the book is packed with great info. I found it interesting that she glossed over the reasons knitters avoid wool (Amy's allergic, but many have ethical or environmental concerns). I often hear from vegan knitters looking for substitution yarns, and the fiber substitution info here is helpful. For example, one knitter wanting to make my Diva halter purchased GGH Goa instead of the Karabella Merino recommended. She could not get gauge swatching Goa, because there's hardly any elasticity in the cotton/poly blend. Amy's charts on pages 24 and 26 would have helped. I steered that knitter toward a synthetic yarn, since I knew Goa would never hug the curves like the Diva should. I think Amy is a little hard on polyester in the book. The old poly has its stretchy charms.

Exciting news! The first DomiKNITrix tattoo has been inked! For want of a printer, Fiddledee drew the logo by hand. Nah, I'm not going to go after her for trademark infringement! But if she were using my name or logo on her web site as her own, that would be quite a different story. ;-)

August 2, 2007

Often in the goth, emo, punk and deathmetal scenes, we glorify death and the iconography surrounding it. We wear skulls and daggers and make ourselves up to look like we're dead already. We mope.

When people kill themselves, they are gone forever, except for the scar left in a family, in a community, in a circle of friends. And the memories of their lives.

Death is forever. Tragically, my cousin Mark took his life a week ago today. I'll miss him. A lot. He was every bit as pierced and black-wearing and angsty as any of you, creative, funny, irreverent, and smart. Apparently he thought death was his only option.

Here's the thing about choosing death: When you think you are at the bottom, there really is nowhere to go but up. Please call for help and don't stop until you find it. You won't be there to see us weeping at your funeral and to hear the kind words we say. You won't be there to see how much you hurt everyone with this choice. Death means gone forever. There's no glory in that. Please don't go.

When you wear black from head to toe every day, no one knows when you are in mourning.

July 25, 2007

Once upon a time, I wished for a web site: a place to show off my original knitting projects. I so enjoyed making them and friends and family just didn't get it. Yet I wanted to share. I thought if I could show the world, someone would think they were special.

Well, that worked! I was asked to write a book and it's a success (hurrah!). But somewhere along the way, the pleasure I took in designing sweaters dissolved as my knitting became a product. I grew secretive and stopped showing my progress on new designs. I feared that others would run with my ideas before I could.

Well. I'm getting back to my roots. I have something new to show you!. Her name is Irma. Irma La Douce. I'd love to know what you think. E-mail me! (link at bottom of page)

July 16, 2007

Look! It's my first baby sweater! Hate to disappoint you kitten, but it's NOT for my baby (though there is a bit of fertility going around in knit-blog-land, as mentioned here). Motherhood's not a path I plan to take, but when my dear friends choose it, what's a girl to do but knit for their tots?!

This first one is for Gemma, the 6 month old daughter of my BFF from high school, Danielle and husband Frank. Though I began with someone else's pattern intent on not thinking too hard about the project, I was immediately bored and deviated into my own design. Frankly, my seed stitch texture is lost in the angora fluff, but at least I wasn't bored.

Is angora a good choice for a baby sweater? Hell no! It will felt like crazy in the washer. But there it was in my stash and the pink matched the baby announcement. I'm making a second now to finish up the pattern, but this time in a nice washable cotton. My favorite Provence shows the stitch work very nicely, and the remnant from the pale green Gothlet will accomplish a bit of de-stashing at the same time. Baby projects are good for that, no?

July 5, 2007

Hoowee! I love me some fireworks and grilling and a little trip out to the river! Here's proof of a well spent holiday. In this pic, Ethan is deflating our 16 foot long canoe so we can fold it up into our 12 foot (3.6m) long Mini Cooper S. I see more inflatable adventures in our future, for sure! We do live in the midst of an awful lot of bay and marshland, so there is much to be explored.

June 25, 2007

OMG! My Knitty Gritty episode aired today on HGTV. It will air again on both HGTV and DIY Network this summer. The DIY Network schedule will show the date for my episode 706, "Devilish Knits." [NOTE: One very cool viewer captured the show to DVD so that I could see it myself. Here's a shout out to the tech savvy Fixette!]

DomiKNITrix schwag! Get your DomiKNITrix t-shirts and hoodies here!

I've just finished the eyeball pattern, which is designed for a 22" inflatable ball. Get your free eyeball pattern here. Why eyeball? See below...

June 19, 2007

I am thrilled to now be seeing as clearly as I've ever seen in my life! I had the popular LASIK procedure done on Friday and I am very grateful that it worked perfectly. Even glasses and contact lenses have never given me the clarity of vision that I now posess. A few misplaced cells on my cornea have been fuzzing it up for me all these years. Well, I showed them, huh?!

I was standing in line at the grocery store last night, gazing off in the distance at the fish display. The cashier thought I was zoning out, but really, I was reading the price tags and names of the beautifully-arrayed fish from a whopping 20 feet away. There are all these other subtle differences I do not miss: the dust and reflections muddying my view, the lack of peripheral vision, reaching for lenses the moment I get out of bed. I left my sunglasses on the counter when I was fetching dinner the other night and just thought it was the most hilarious thing. You see, in the past I would never have removed my prescription sunglasses from my face or counting my cash would have been a challenge.

So what did I do the day after surgery? Well, I knit myself an eyeball! It just seemed like the thing to do: therapy, as it were. I used my small Pilates ball as the support inside, inflating it just before I knit the final rows to close it up. I even wrote down the pattern for you, since I know there is a huge demand out there for more knit eyeballs. So if you're dying to knit this eyeball, here is the pattern!

June 3, 2007

Woo! Happy Birthday to me!

I had a lovely walk in the Rose Garden at Golden Gate park and took a pile of photos for everyone's viewing pleasure. Click the photo to see them all.

The Rose Garden is in full bloom right now, so if you are just a walk or bike ride away, go check it out! The Rose Garden is just a few steps away from the de Young Museum (admission is FREE the first Tuesday of the month!), where the Vivienne Westwood show is closing on June 10.

If you haven't been to the Westwood show, it is absolutely worth the price of admission, the only US stop for this exhibit which was put together by the esteemed Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This is a comprehensive collection of her work; many pieces are on loan from the designer herself. Witness the intersection of fashion and pop culture: gorgeous, sexy and provocative, with plenty of innovative knitwear and corsetry galore!

While you're at the museum, be sure to pop up to the observation tower, which rises 9 stories above the surrounding park. Stellar views in 360 degrees!

May 31, 2007

I'm excited to finally post photos of the Hepburn jacket! I've been refining this design for awhile now and the pattern is 90% complete. It is knit from the top down with Classic Elite Montera, which I love for its drape.

Hepburn is an elegant fitted jacket with a double-faced shawl collar, pockets, zip-front and set-in sleeves. A few rib stitches define the princess lines of this classic jacket and faced cuffs and hem give it that couture finishing touch. Knitting the collar from contrast yarn Colorado by Muench hints at vintage Persian lamb, as you see in the blue sample. Check out how differently the design fits based on chosen size: the burgundy is size medium while the blue version is small.

---

Now I'm working on a variation with a 5 stitch cable in place of the ribbed stitches. It's worked wrong side out so that the cables stand out nicely on the purled background. Same pattern, fit and shape, very different look.

May 22, 2007

DomiKNITrix podcast interview now live on Craftsanity! Around the time of the DomiKNITrix book release, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood and I chatted about many things, like meeting my man in Prague, rediscovering knitting during a long cold winter in Germany, and my oft-referred-to but rarely defined day job. If you don't have the book yet, be sure to check out the free Strings of Purls pattern. It'll be available on Craftsanity for a limited time only.

Jennifer's podcast was on brief hiatus while she reshaped her body for a series of fitness stories she wrote for her newspaper. Her success story about taking off over 21 pounds is empowering to read. Personally, I'm a slave to Pilates, the exercise discipline that keeps my pain at bay. Anytime I slack off, my shoulder pain creeps back and cracks the whip on me!

May 17, 2007

I am getting ready for LASIK vision correction treatment, just a few days after the above event. When I first started planning this, I was approaching it with all the gravity of scheduling a manicure. Duh! Now that it's getting close, I'm up to my myopic eyeballs in information and test results, head swimming with questions, and excited!

Do you wear glasses and notice your head dangling over your lap, tilted down so you can look through those lenses? Consider the impact hanging your ten-pound head vulture-style for hours on end is having on your neck, back, and shoulders. If you've never tried contact lenses, check them out and notice the difference it makes to your neck. I found I was able to look down with my eyes, not my neck. I think switching to contacts was one key to resolving the RSI I had developed in the prior year, leading me to the LASIK conclusion.

What's on my needles? I'm having fun swatching, evolving a lace pattern, seeking the perfect yarn for the Mermaidress, playing around with cables, and knitting a scarf. This is a scarf I'd knit once before, then left in a taxi on St. Paddy's day! That's the last time I wear an FO out of the house before it's been photographed.

May 5, 2007

So would you know I'm still working out a spot of karma from the book? In the DomiKNITrix book, you’ll find a note on p 137 promising “more details on bag construction.”  Well, I wrote that after completing the Homegrown Purse right there in the F&W Publications photo studio with the photographer pointing her camera over my shoulder.  My editor and I had agreed that this chopstick thing was tricky and readers would need to see the step photography to get it.

So weeks later, I received a CD with purse photos and put it away all tidy-like, saving them for book launch and then completely forgetting them.  Then a reader contacted me about it, asking for clarification.  So I went to my files and found the CD, tucked it into the drive and found a mere 3 photos: two of me and the third was (horrors) the same image you see as figure one on p 137 and not clarifying bag construction at all.  So I contact the publisher asking for the rest of the photo set and am told, sorry, we only keep the photos that end up in the book; everything else gets tossed.  Jinkies!

Meanwhile, dear reader, who’s gone to some trouble to acquire the ingredients for the purse, chomps at the bit.  Apparently these elements are far-flung and spendy to acquire in the UK, though they add up to less than $30 here in San Francisco, where chopsticks come free with any take-out order and cheap bamboo placemats and purse handles* overflow from the storefronts of half the shops in Chinatown.

*OK, technically, I got the purse handles at Mendel’s Fabrics; they’re also available at Britex Fabrics in SF and online.  Don’t come to Chinatown just for purse handles, but do be sure to grab a year’s worth of cheap umbrellas, China Mary Janes and cheongsams while there.

What to do?  Well, there was little choice but to deconstruct the bag and then re-make it for the camera.  It was either that or break my word, which was right there printed in ink in tens of thousands of copies of a book with my name on the spine.

SO!  I painstakingly removed the grafting around one stick, then felt compelled to re-knit the back of the bag while I was at it, since a dye lot discrepancy was first unnoticed and then pointedly ignored since the bag would be photographed a few hours later (see p 132).  You think I can let that kind of thing slide once an FO is back on the needles?  No way!

Back flap re-knit, I then set to documenting the chopstick insertion process, which may seem needlessly complicated by this two inch circle of fabric.  Well, chopsticks are pointy (the better to eat you with, my dear) and can easily poke through the loose stitches at the ends of the casing. So please review the Homegrown Purse assembly gallery as a step-by-step guide. The purse pattern starts on p 133 and these instructions pick up at "Assembly" on p 136.

More to come very soon. Isn't that gallery sweet? You'll be seeing a lot more of those around here, so come back soon!

May 4, 2007

TONIGHT! -- trunk show and book signing
Where:  Stash, 1820 Solano Ave, Berkeley
Time:   7pm

See you there!

Check out the DomiKNITrix KAL. There's even a button! See Amanda's blog link for her finished Black Hoodie.

Over here on Punk Knitters, Jules rose to the challenge and has done a gorgeous job on her Elfin Bride. I was highly amused by the comment: "What did you find so difficult about it?" either asked by a new knitter, or one so experienced that she yawns at the thought of a sweater knit all in one piece on the diagonal with mostly short rows and only two seams. The gallery reveals just how challenging this knit will be.

I promise photos this weekend! The photo process and new gallery software are almost ready to fly. That means you'll see one new project this weekend, if I have any restraint, with more to follow. If you were thinking of adding a zipper to your Slink, I've done it and will be posting pattern mods so you can too.

May 2, 2007

This morning I was bummed to find an email in my box forwarding me the password and download link for the Elfin Bride pattern. This reader obviously meant to send this info to someone else. That's stealing. I spent more time on this single complex pattern than all of the others combined, and I'm disappointed that any knitter would give it away so thoughtlessly.

The pattern is available for free download to those who own the book. If you don't own the book and get the password from someone who does so you can download for free, you're a thief. If you see people requesting or posting password online, please smack them down. If you need the book, consider purchasing it first from your LYS, or online here. Yes, this single pattern is worth every penny you'll spend on the book.

April 24, 2007

Check out the awesome reader knits!

Finished Slink at Yarnmule with thoughtful commentary about the design. What a gorgeous yarn choice: Filatura Lanarota Summer Soft, 60% rayon 40% acrylic, color #221, 6 skeins for the short model in size Small.

Tia used the skull chart to knit this awesome blanket for her lucky nephew. Maybe if you're really nice to her, she'll share her crossbones chart with us all.

Keep 'em coming! With any luck my photo process will be back up soon and I can post the accumulation of photos. I have three new sweaters to show you and a few more reader knits. The NEW Hepburn jacket pattern is almost ready. I can't wait to reveal her. I've also made a new Slink with a zip-front, pattern to be made available shortly.

Friday (!) April 13, 2007

 

I love Fridays which fall on the thirteenth. Do you cringe, thinking they're bad luck? Try to think about it from a different perspective. I'm sure you know how self-fulfilling prophecies can be. You get what you expect. So if you expect bad things to happen to you, when they do, you grab onto that as evidence that they are indeed bad luck. So take a different tack today and see how the thirteenth treats you. Expect good things, and you will find them. All that good luck is just lying around waiting for you to find it, because the superstitious types (and I am one, my dears, just not about this) are leaving that good luck lying around for you because they aren't expecting to find any.

That's a vintage photo over there of an old sweater I made with a big 13 on the back of it (sorry, never shot the FO). Thirteen has always been my lucky number. When I was 13, I went down to the T-shirt shop and had a tee made up that said: "13 is my lucky number." As adolescence took over and 'the girls' began developing, the word lucky was ultimately hidden by the crease that formed under my new breasts. Lucky indeed!

Speaking of tee-shirts, I've gotten a spot of mail about the tee-shirt sizing available in my Spreadshirt shop. Spreadshirt has a funny way of showing their shirt measurements. They lay the shirt flat on a table and measure it flat. Many have looked at the flat measurement and pitched a fit over the puny sizing. Well, take that flat measurement and multiply by TWO! That is a width measurement, not the circumference. I've just added some Women's tees as well, but they only offer ONE tee in women's sizes! Feel free to share your feelings about this matter with Spreadshirt directly.

I'll get to some pattern errata questions this weekend. The day job has been ultra-demanding of late and I have been focusing my night job energy on a new pattern for you. The Knitty Gritty episode I taped in December could air in less than two weeks. It's episode 706! I am busting my ass to get the new Hepburn pattern posted before then. If you brought me errata and you used a lot of words to explain it, your extra words got me hopelessly confused. Succinct explanations which include how you think it should appear are most helpful.

April 2, 2007

Newsflash! Webs has Provence on sale for $9.25 a hank (and it was already a steal at $12.95 for 100 gm/ 205 yards)! Why should you care? Really, were you planning to knit the Elfin Bride from your stash? She deserves better than that!

[Important note: the Louisa Harding Grace wool silk was a BAD recommendation (unless you plan to hang your Goth up in a museum and never wear it). Single ply silk will fuzz up very quickly and not wear like iron as mercerized cotton will do. My personal apologies to Alma.]

March 28, 2007

First things first:

the patterns for Elfin Bride and Gothlet are available!

For more info, click here.

The first reader-knit Elfin Bride has been finished by Arlene in Germany! Lovely work! (Be sure to scroll down for English translation). Though Arlene lists two errata, I am only able to verify the missing SSK. Find all errata here.

Here's a shot of the Sweetheart, one of the most popular designs found in its pages. I asked my good friend Miriam Tegels (world's fastest knitter) to whip one up for my massage therapist, Pilates instructor and dear friend Eleanor (who was quite smitten with this sweater). Why on earth, you may ask, did I not knit it myself?

If you are a long time reader, you surely recall what a physical wreck I was upon wrapping up the book: the typing, the knitting, and the stress of working my full time job too took me to the limit. Well, after a year of weekly physical therapy, rigorous physical training, massage therapy, and tragically limiting my time with the sticks, I am finally on the mend! I plan to keep it that way by outsourcing as much of my knitting as possible. As you know, my design process is organic, so new designs will continue to busy my needles, but whenever I want to make something I already have a pattern for, I'll pay someone to knit for me.

Miriam cranked out Eleanor's Sweetheart in about a week's time, and in another week an avocado green Hoodie made from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino superchunky with a turquoise fleur de lys on its back. I'm eagerly awaiting this newest package from the Netherlands, my own new sweater. I wear the red one way too much. We wouldnt want people to think I only have one sweater now, would we?

On my own needles is a project (codename Hepburn) that I meant to put into the book, but the pattern was just not up to snuff. There was no time to edit that one into submission, so we simply cut it. This shawl collared jacket had been one of the designs the editors and my friends were most excited about, one of my most wearable. I hope to have news of its progress for you soon. It will be the first new pattern this site has seen in awhile!

PREVIOUS