On losing and failing

The large pink cowl I knit, got lost in a day of shopping a few months ago, after being a daily staple in my winter wardrobe. It was the right width to pull my head through, it was warm and cozy but easy to open up when it got too hot inside. But alas, I took it off and stuffed it in a pocket and lost it forever. So I cast on a new one.

However, the new one failed to live up to satisfaction. I didn't want to make the same pattern again, since I didn't have the same yarn, so I decided to make a two toned triangle cowl. But stranded knitting with thick yarn for a sideways cowl knit as a long grafted tube meant I would be wearing something that had more in common with a concrete collar than something I'd want against my neck, and so I frogged it.  Then I tried a striped cowl, and unknit it when it was obvious it would be way too long. Finally I decided that I did want to do a stranded knit something and settled on a pair of mittens... and once I finished the first I realized it was too short for my long fingers, and so now I'm unknitting it and adding extra repeats to the complex pattern to make them longer. And then I'll do the other mitten as well.

Knitting a stranded knitting project that requires looking at charts means that it is not a project I can easily knit in public. I need to sit and spread out where I can see both charts (for the front and the back of the mitten). On my lace knitting front I have a shawl, but as it also requires charts, I don't usually take it out. So I cast on a mobius cowl that I'm knitting with the same batch of mystery worsted yarn, striping it and it is coming out nicely. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I think it will get worn once it's off the needles.

This is my normal knitting and crafting process. I make things and unmake them. When sewing, my seam ripper gets a lot of action. When knitting, I unravel and reknit a lot of times before landing on something I like. I am used to going back to square one and taking it as a lesson learned. Crafting has taught me about failure and how to overcome setbacks, and that when you lose something you've made with your own hands, the sadness is great, but there's always the chance to knit it anew.  Or knit something else entirely.

Sewing set-up

There has been no blogging in a while, but there has been a flurry of crafting. After I finished the cowls, I finished the baby blanket that had sat unfinished for years. Sewed up  4 pajama pants and a drawstring backpack for my nephew, fit a skirt sloper and then altered it to make a full skirt as well, and made muslins of both. Also made a tailor's ham and a roll for pressing. Then started a new crochet basket.While I feel like I like the "making of stuff" is something I can do well enough, the sharing and showing side is not as strong, so I slack off instead of "practicing". I also forgot to take pictures of the pajamas before shipping them which was exactly what I wanted to avoid when making this blog... I wanted to have a record of my crafty products, and by not blogging, I forgot about making one for them!

I still have these two pictures of the making-of PJ's: First, using an existing pair of PJ's to create a simple pattern.

Then pinning and tracing the pattern on the new fabric. Sewing them up, adding elastic and pressing all the seams. BOOM! Done. And well received, by the way, although I have no further picture evidence.

The tailor's ham and roll

For clothes-making, it seems that ironing every seam improves results. I don't have an ironing board, but these will help to press curved seams on any old surface.

I don't have a dedicated craft area. Mostly I sit on my couch to knit or crochet in front of the TV, but for sewing, I need a larger surface. Hence, my dining room table. It makes for a mess that is always sitting there. I would love to have storage for my fabric, machine and notions that made it easy to clean up. But in a one room apartment, this is as much space as I'll have, so I make do, and clean things up as necessary.

I took some pattern drafting classes many many years ago, but I don't remember much of what I learned, and it didn't cover how to modify commercial patterns, so I am trying to re-teach myself from books and internet.

Cowls Galore

After the Kuusk cowl, I cast on the swatch for a new lace shawl, but halfway through I realized I needed an easy knit pattern that didn't require a lot of thought, fiddling and was a quick knit. So I cast on and knit the Grace Jones Cowl with some rough spun single ply yarn I had in my stash of free yarn.


Kuusk Cowl

Before and during blocking 

I don't have blocking wires or a surface, so I just placed a towel over a cardboard box, used cotton thread to straighten the sides and then blocked it aggressively overnight.

Such a wrinkly mess!

 Stretching it out the long way, so that it hugs the neck. I'm assuming it will widen with use.

It turned out light and airy, which I'm sure will be perfect for fall. Then I got thinking about winter, and I cast on for a different one.

The Grace Jones Cowls

Actually, there are two of them. For one I cast on more than was required, as I thought it would come out too skinny and wanted it wider. The second I knit as suggested. I am planning a third in double width, to wrap around the neck twice or let it hang down if it gets too hot.  I used the pink and a dark tweedy blue. I followed the pattern, very simple, just rounds in knits then purls and knit until I ran out of yarn.

This is the stash of free yarn. It is thick and thin, spun unevenly and slubby in spots, which I think worked with this simple pattern. Although it broke off in several areas, it was easy enough to splice it together and avoid knots.

Wide one and a slimmer one.

The cowls all together!

Same color, very different look!

 

Making Woven Newspaper Baskets

Last semester I took some classes with Knowledge Commons DC, a volunteer run initiative where people volunteer to teach classes on any subject of their interest, and anyone can take classes for free. I loved sitting through some classes, and wanted to share what I know what to do, so I signed up for volunteering. I heard back from the organization and had to come up with my specific lesson. I decided the easiest craft to do with the most inexpensive materials was the woven paper basket class.

I made some newspaper baskets last year, following the tutorial on It's in the News and they are still going strong. I use them all the time to catch odds and ends and corral little bits that would clutter my bedside shelves. With no glue and only folding required, it was the perfect craft. I've been practicing at home to make some smaller baskets to figure out what the best size would be to teach, and to make some samples to show different variations on the same theme.

I no longer have a source of newspaper, so I decided to use the last month's Hill Rag with good results. The previous baskets had been made with 4 inch wide newspaper strips folded down to half an inch, this batch uses only 2 inch wide strips to make them faster to fold and make for class, making thinner baskets which is OK since they will also be smaller. I had forgotten little details, such as the best way to weave in the ends so the tops are sturdy, and while with the larger baskets it was easy to weave the ends on the inside, with smaller openings, weaving to the outside seems the way to go. I like the patina that the first baskets have acquired, makes them look nice and worn in, fuzzy around the edges.

Mindless TV watching and Simple Knits

I like watching TV while knitting. I used to listen to audiobooks, but that was when I had easier access to them. Now with a tighter budget, and no library card yet, I have instead turned to TV. I like things I can listen to and understand what is going on without having to keep my eyes on the screen, documentaries and DIY shows require too much attention. I don't enjoy reality TV, I think most of it is very catty and it encourages really negative behaviors and competitiveness instead of collaboration so  that leaves mostly series. I started watching Supernatural and then my husband jumped on the bandwagon, so we keep the series to watch when we're both home. So I needed a show I could watch on my own and knit to. And then I rediscovered my love for Korean dramas.

A knitting/crafting friend in Costa Rica got me hooked, by recommending The Coffee Prince, which I watched on YouTube in a week long splurge. I tried watching a different one, but it was incomplete, so I stopped and then life happened and I kind of forgot about it, except as an anecdote.

 I was channel surfing one day and found by accident a show called Secret Garden on Mundo Fox. I love the book The Secret Garden, so I wondered if it was a dramatized series or something. I found a completely different Korean drama, dubbed in Spanish but with English Subtitles! So I set my TV to record the episodes and I sat to knit lace while watching.

 

I am loving it. It is fascinating how culture is portrayed in shows, and I'm sure that Korean dramas have as much to do with Real Life as Telenovelas have to do with life in Latin America. I sometimes wonder if something I see has roots in reality or if it is soap opera fiction... I watch a webshow called Eat Your Kimchi that is made in Korea by Canadians explaining bits about culture and life in Korea, so now I'm kind of hoping I'll get to visit some day!

Back to the series. With only an episode a day and more knitting to be done, I decided I needed some more. So I did a quick search online, and found several on Netflix.  I picked one of the highest rated ones, Boys Over Flowers and after a couple of episodes, I was hooked.  However, my lace knitting was all but forgotten on my lap, since lace charts and subtitles (Series is in Korean with English Subtitles) do not mix.

So I brought out from UFO storage: the baby blanket I've been working on for close to two years. The pattern is easy enough that I can knit without taking my eyes off the screen for more than a few seconds, and I'm really enjoying the show, and feel happy about getting closer to finally completing the blanket. Win-Win.

Knitting the Kuusk Lace Cowl

 As soon as I cast off the shawl, I swatched for a new lace project, the Kuusk cowl, not because I wanted to see the gauge, but because I wanted to try out the pattern and nupps before jumping in.

The swatch was made with this cone of mystery fiber, which I then unraveled.  I had to do 3 repeats of the pattern: the first time, this swatch here, I forgot to adjust the lace pattern for the fact that I wasn't knitting in the round, so I ended up with garter stitch lace. I then did a second repeat making sure to purl on the way back, but the weave was too open. So the third time I adjusted to a smaller needle size and decided I could handle the pattern.This tiny square I didn't want to reclaim, it was from yarn I had unwound from the outside because it was decolored and stained, but knit up, you could hardly tell. In any case, I think there is enough of this yarn so that I won't need this extra bit!

The actual cowl is made with a lucious 100% alpaca skein I got at the sheep and wool festival. I have decided I need more color in my life, and pink looks nice and warming. So a pink lacy cowl it shall be, just perfect for fall and winter. 

 I have a hard time selecting yarn for a project and not doubting my decision.

At the Sheep and Wool festival I bought two skeins of alpaca, 550 yards of it, in this pink and a purple.  I didn't know which one to use for this cowl. In my mind I had an idea for a striped lace shawl, taking into account that the purple and pink go lovely together, but I just didn't find a pattern I liked enough... mostly because I don't actually think I'll wear a shawl, and also because I don't have the budget to buy one when I'm not sure about the result.  So I decided to make a cowl, which I know for sure I will wear and the pattern was free. 

 Now I feel I'm having regrets, after knitting the swatch with the cone, I kind of wish I hadn't bought the purple alpaca lace, considering that I now have two very similar yarns in purple in my stash, and no chance to make my stripey dream. I can't unknit or frog, because the yarn is so grabby, and also I'm not sure I want to! I love the way the cowl is turning out, I just feel sorry for the lonely purple lace that will no longer have its chance to shine in a striped wrap of some sort.

I want to use the yarn on the cone... I feel like I'll be able to make one of those ginormous shawls without joining any ends or running out. Because I kind of know I won't wear a shawl, it won't necessarily matter if it isn't next-to-skin soft... But do I want to put in the effort for a lovely intricate shawl and then never wear it because it is scratchy? Does it even matter?

I hold onto the hope that there is some of this pink lace left over, so I can maybe include it in a future project with the purple alpaca. At the end of the day, I really like the way this pink cowl is turning out... so I'm happy for that, and I'm sure that once I'm wearing the cowl, I won't even think about this any more.

Blocked Holden Shawlette

Finally finished the Holden Shawlette!  For my first triangular shawl, it went pretty well.

 I used some vintage Indiecita Alpaca that is labeled as  "approximately 50 Grams", no yardage given, and though it says it is 3 ply sports weight, it acts more like fingering weight. The shawlette took 2 balls and a bit extra, since I ran out of the second ball of yarn about 5 inches short of picot bind-off. Thank goodness I had extras. After finishing the shawl, there are still 8 balls of this yarn to go, and I have no idea what I'll make with them... maybe a really big yarneating shawl, since it was nice to work with.

It's interesting to me how labels have changed, back them it didn't seem that necessary to add as much information as they do now. Note where it says Natural Color, Not Dyed, and right next to it Dyed Color, and no yardage information. 

Although it came off the needles a while back, I wasn't ready to block it. I have nudged other knit projects in the past, the last time it was a woodland scarf that I pinned on a towel on the living room rug. Although it stayed there overnight, I removed it the next day while it was not completely dry and it didn't stretch out as much as I wanted, or perhaps it just shrunk back. So with that in mind, I was a bit apprehensive about the process, but braved it anyway.

I did notice that this yarn bleeds a bit. I put it in water to wash it and the water was bright pink! It reminded me of a visit to Bolivia, when we first saw cochineal bugs, and discovered that's where carmine color came from. To keep it from crazy bleeding over other clothing once it's worn, I added white vinegar to the water and hope it helps. In any case, this happens to be a shawl for my sister, who I always kid about her love of these dark reds that bleed in the wash. 

I don't have blocking wires or a dedicated surface for blocking, so for the shawl I decided to block it over the afternoon on the bed. I laid an extra sheet over the end and started pinning starting at the corner of the bed with the triangle's 90° angle.  Halfway through the drying process I wove in some  cotton yarn through the long edge to straighten it up, after realizing I didn't have enough pins to make sure I didn't get scallops.

Here is the finished shawlette, measuring 62 x 24 inches, just perfect for wrapping around the neck and shoulders.

The color is a lot redder in person.  I shall package this and send it off to my sister, in thanks for some sewing patterns she bought for me and mailed!