Category Archives: FYI

… Or Not…

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Well, it was fun.  Spinning is great.  My wool is lovely.

But, someone in my household had different plans.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALook at that dumb face… he doesn’t even know he did anything wrong.

I got home from work on Monday, and Ollie was happily chewing on his new chew toy.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOh, wait.  That’s not  a chew toy.  That’s one of my spinning wheel bobbins.  Ollie, how did you get that?  It was attached to my Lazy Kate, which has been in the living room for months and you’ve never looked at twice.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOh, I see.  You destroyed my Lazy Kate.  Fun.  Actually, it’s kind of impressive… Ollie fully chewed through a 1/2″ dowel rod in less than three hours.  If I wasn’t so pissed, it would be funny.

So, I guess my spinning will have to wait for a bit, at least until I can get my hands on a couple new bobbins and a new Lazy Kate.  At least he didn’t chew up my lovely wool.

Thanks, dog!  You’re the best!

Emergency!

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I’ve had a streak of bad luck lately, or at least a streak of poor planning.  It seems that every time I leave the house to go somewhere I end up with a ridiculous amount of  downtime (meeting up with a friend who’s late for coffee, sitting in a waiting room, or just getting to work early).  And even worse, I haven’t been able to use that time for knitting.

I know!  The horror!

Either I forget my knitting bag altogether, or I run out of yarn, or I left by pattern book on the coffee table at home. It’s very frustrating, because as a knitter, time not spent working on a project is wasted time.  And I hate wasting time.

So, I’ve decided to make myself an Emergency Knitting Kit to put in the glove-box of the car.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOK, it’s just a little project bag and the half-finished socks I started a couple months ago, but it’ll still work.  Socks are perfect for this- simple, easy to do a row or two and put down, and small enough to be stashed in my car.

I know it’s silly, but I’ll definitely feel better knowing that I always have knitting ready and waiting.

Do you have Emergency Knitting?

Sheep and Sheep and Sheep and Sheep!

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This year for Christmas I received a gift that blew my mind.  Like, literally.

It was a poster.

I know, I know, that doesn’t necessarily sound like a mind-blowing gift.   But, look at it!

AlphabetPosterhorizontalevenspacingIt’s an alphabet poster, and each letter is decorated with a breed of sheep that begins with that letter!  Did you even know there were that many breeds of sheep?  I certainly didn’t.

I think my favorites might be:

C for Cotswolds (I mean, look at those emo bangs).

CotswoldsH for Herdwicks (What amazing horns, and fuzzy hair!)

Herdwick-Head-DS[1]And W for Whitefaced Woodlands (Because, come on, a “woodland” sheep sounds like something out of a storybook.)felinsychgethin2[1]But, really they’re all gorgeous.

I wonder what the zoning laws are in Seattle for owning a small flock of sheep.  I wouldn’t need many- maybe just one of each?

You can order your own poster here!

Do you have a favorite breed of sheep?

Picture Picture on the Wall

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I was going through my backlog of projects that needed to be photographed for Ravelry today.  (You know- the projects that you forget to get a picture of until they’ve already been worn or given away.  They just sit there in your Ravelry queue with their big blank photos taunting you.  Drives me nuts.  It’s not just me, right?  Right?)

Anyway, it struck me that I’ve never shared my highly-technical photography setup.

And by highly-technical, I mean not technical at all.

I use a simple little point-and-click camera (I think it’s actually more than 5 years old, and its battery only holds a charge for about a half hour at a time, but it still works!) It’s an Olympus FE-360, if anyone cares.91eCSgUhEcS._SL1500_I really like it because it’s simple to use (and I know next to nothing about cameras).  And, I like it for taking pictures of knitting, because it has a macro and a super-macro feature for taking closeups.

Macro is used for taking pictures less than 4 feet away:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd super-macro is used for taking close ups from less than a foot away:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt’s not fancy, but it works for me!

The other part of taking decent knitting pictures is the light.  I always use natural light, and try to avoid any light that’s too bright or direct (luckily, in Seattle, that’s not usually a problem).  If you use a flash, or overhead lights, or try photographing your project in bright, direct sunlight, the colors go all funny, and everything gets weird and shadow-y.  (Like I said, technical.)

To get indirect natural light, I set up a big piece of foam core on a little rolling shelf, set up next to a window.  I can roll the shelf around to get the right amount of light (if it’s a gray day, like today, I’ll set up right next to the window.  If it’s brighter, I’ll move further away).

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And then I take my pictures!

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And that’s basically it! It’s not a fancy setup, and I’m not a professionally trained photographer by any means, but this is what I’ve figured out works for me.

I hope this helps with your photographs!

Do you have any tips or tricks you like for your photographs?  I’m always looking for something new!

Portuguese Knitting

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The other day, at Knit Fit, I took a class from Lisa Ellis (if you live in the PNW and get a chance to take one of her classes- do it!).  And in it, I learned two things:

  1.  How to spell Portuguese.  (Did you know it has two u’s in it?)
  2.  How to knit in the Portuguese style.

Have you ever seen someone knit like this before?  It’s crazy!  I’ll try to explain it, but I can’t promise it’ll make sense:

You have your ball of yarn on your right side, and kind of weave the yarn through the fingers of your right hand, then wrap the yarn over your neck or through a pin (like this one) attached to the front of your shirt. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Then, instead of throwing the yarn like you would while knitting continental, you kind of… flick the yarn with your left hand.

It blows my mind.

Here’s a video (if you want to teach yourself, this YouTube-er has some pretty good videos, but they’re not all in English):

The craziest thing about this style of knitting is that you end up knitting inside out!  Since your yarn is basically tied to the front of your shirt, it’s hard to get it behind your knitting (for the knit stitch).  So, since it’s so much easier to purl, when you’re working in the round, you just purl all the time!  I started making a hat, and it’s inside-out!

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Then, when it’s finished, I’ll turn it inside-out!

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And, bonus, knitting stranded color work inside-out like this means that you don’t have to worry about your floats making the fabric all pucker-y.  Don’t ask me how- it just works!

Magic!

Have you ever done Portuguese knitting?  What style do you like to knit?

The Clangers!

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I did the thing the other day (and don’t act like you haven’t done it) where I was buying some yarn  from KnitPicks, and I was this close to $50, so I had to buy myself a little present to get the free shipping (even though the shipping probably cost less than the present… But it’s the principle).

Well, I was browsing the books, and would you believe it?  There was a Clangers knitting book!!!  And it was only 7 bucks!31918[1]What’s that?  You don’t know about the clangers?

Well, clearly you never were a kid in British public school.   We lived in Essex for a few years when I was in elementary school, and they showed old VHS tapes of The Clangers when they didn’t feel like teachign.

The Clangers was a kids’ BBC show from the late-60s/early-70s (which explains everything) about a family of knitted, pink, mouse-like creatures that live on a tiny, papier-mache moon and eat soup (cooked by the Soup Dragon-obviously) and blue string pudding.  They don’t talk, instead they communicate by whistling.  Also there’s the robotic Iron Chicken and tiny Froglets, who live in the center of the moon in a pool of pink soup.31918101[1]It all makes sense.

Ish.

Maybe watching an episode will make it clear:

Clearer?

OK.  I’ll be honest.  I thought this was a really great show when I was 7.  Now, I think it’s…well…  Yeah.

But, still, there’ll always be a spot in my heart for The Clangers, and a spot on my bookshelf for this knitting book.

Have you ever revisited something from your childhood that you thought was great, but turned out to be… well… not?

Game Knitting

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Last weekend I went to a fun little knitting convention in Seattle, and I did something awesome that I’ve never one before!

Game Knitting!

Game+Knitting+©+Lee+Meredith[1]

Game Knitting was originally developed by Lee Meredith of Leethal Knits, and it’s a super fun, goofy way to knit.

You pop on a favorite movie (or TV show, or podcast, or audio book), and get ready to knit.  Then, decide what “thing” you’re going to watch for.  Maybe you’re watching Law and Order and you listen for each time the soundtrack goes “chung chung!” Or, if you’re listening to a Harry Potter book, you could look for each time they say the word “magic.”  Basically, think about it like you’re doing a drinking game, but if you were actually drinking, you would end up in the hospital for alcohol poisoning in about fifteen minutes.

Anyway, we watched Clueless (one of my favorites)! And we had a whole list of “things:”  90s slang, crazy hats, baggy pants, Paul Rudd, giant cell phones etc.11168928_800[1]So, once you’ve picked your “thing” and you’ve got your yarn and needles, start knitting something small and simple.  There were folks making hats, mitts, coffee cozies, and washcloths.  I decided to make a simple garter stitch scarf with my hand-spun multi-color yarn.

Then, every time you come across your “thing” you do something to change your knitting.  I switched from knitting to purling.  Some people added a yo/k2tog eyelet, some people knit a bobble or switched colors.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMy scarf (or at least the first 6 inches of it) is super cute and squishy.  The random knit/purl pattern is great with my less-than-perfect handspun, and is going to be an adorable winter accessory.  (And a great excuse to watch more movies!)

Basically, it’s a simple knitting recipe for when you want to make something silly and fun!  I love it!

Would you ever try Game Knitting?  What movie would you watch?  What would your “thing” be?

Swap, swap, swap. Swappy, swap, swap.

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I was trying to think of something new to talk about today, and it occurred to me that I have never written about Ravelry swaps!    Shocking!

I don’t do them as much as I used to, but every year I try to get in at least one or two.  When I was in college and grad school, I almost always had a swap or two going, just so that I had something fun to work on in-between all the lab work and exams.

So what is a swap?  You remember having a pen-pal as a kid? It’s kind of like that, but instead of sending a crummy letter that your third-grade teacher made you write, you send a whole box of amazing crafts!

There are swaps built around themes (favorite books, TV shows, movies), favorite crafts (spinning, knitting, weaving), locations (German swaps, English swaps, American swaps), and there are swaps for every budget.

While the rules change depending on which group you swap with, generally, you are required to do the following:

  1. Sign up through a Ravelry group, and commit yourself to sending your swap package by a certain day.
  2. Then, post a general likes/dislikes listfor your swapper to use to tailor their package to you.
  3. Check in once a week to let everyone know you haven’t run away or died.
  4. And, after you’ve done your planning and stalking (and crafting and shopping), you send your package off to your partner, and someone sends a package to you!

Super fun!  Everyone loves getting packages, after all!

Here are three groups I’ve swapped with in the past, but definitely look around on Ravelry for more swaps- there are dozens!

Swap on a Budget:  This is a general-interest swap for people who don’t want to break the bank.  Fill a shoebox with less than $20 worth of goodies (including a skein of yummy yarn!) and send it on its way!

indexThe Odd Duck Swaps of Ravelry:  This is a group of special one-time themed swaps.  Each month they’ll change their theme (usually based on TV shows or movies).3985242220_7b67999d12Reducio Sock: Mini Sock Swap:  This might be my favorite swap group!  But, that’s because its theme is so perfectly aligned with my interests.  Miniature Harry Potter packages!  If you’re an HP nerd (or a miniatures nerd), like me, then definitely check this one out!

Reducio_Sock_banner_copyHave you ever participated in a swap on Ravelry?  How did it go?

An Open Letter

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To the Creators of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries:

Greetings from a huge fan! I love your show. I love the characters. I love that Season 3 is now available through Netflix. The strong female characters, the fashion, and the delightful storytelling. There’s not much I enjoy more after a long day than snuggling up on the couch with a cup of tea (or a stiff Tom Collins), a sock-in-progress, and a new episode of Miss Fisher.

Imagine how excited I was when, in Episode 4, Season 3 there was a knitting story-line! A young street kid has a sweater that had once belonged to his father. When he comes to live with Miss Fisher and Co for a few days (because of reasons), Dot discovers the sweater and offers to re-knit it in his size.DotWhat a fantastic gesture! And totally something that a knitter would do (we are a sentimental lot). Dot rips out the sweater, winds it up and casts on, all in (I think) an evening.

Then- and here is the first problem with this episode- the boy demands (demands!) that Dot finishes the sweater by the next day!Dot3Oh my god! I can’t even.

The gall of someone to demand knitting! Nothing makes me less inclined to keep knitting more than someone demanding knitting, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. If someone comes up to me and says “Make me a hat,” you can bet your best pair of Addi Turbos that I will not be making that person a hat.

But, does Dot respond like a normal knitter- nay, a normal person? No! She just smiles and gives the kid a look that says, “Oh, you scamp.” I know that Dot is an obliging and sweet young lady, but honestly, show a little backbone!Dot4And here’s most ridiculous part:

She actually finishes the sweater the next day!Dot5What?!

Dot’s sweetness and helpfulness aside, that’s just physically impossible. To knit an entire sweater for a 13-year-old boy, seamed, finished and blocked in what is clearly aran weight yarn (a thin worsted, at most) in 24 hours, even without breaks for sleeping, eating, or catching murderers is physically impossible. Seriously? Who fact-checks your knitting?

So, here’s my advice: next time you have a knitting-related storyline, please fact check it with an actual knitter.

Sincerely,

An Avid Fan

PS.  What’s up with Hugh this season? He’s being a butt. Make him stop.

PPS. Where does Phryne get her earrings? I need them.

PPPS. I still love your show.

Button Trouble

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It has been well-documented that I have a problem with buttons.  The same way someone with a caffeine addiction has a problem with coffee, or a shopaholic has a problem with shoes.  It won’t kill me or anything (and thank god they’re not too expensive), but, well, I can’t stop myself.

And so, despite the fact that I have an entire jar of vintage buttons, a Zip-loc bag full of sets of buttons I just “couldn’t pass up,” and I find cards of buttons sprinkled here and there around my studio, I “had to” get a new set of perfect buttons for my cardigan.

We had friends in town, and they wanted to ride the ferry and visit one of the islands (they’re from Texas and riding a ferry is a fun, new experience for them.  I’m from the Midwest, and even though I’ve lived here for almost 5 years, I still love it, so I’m not going to argue.)  We went over to Bainbridge Island and spent a day beach combing, shopping and eating.

On Bainbridge there is a gorgeous knitting shop, Churchmouse Yarns and Teas (they make lots of patterns that you might have seen.  I love their Turkish Bed Socks.)

And they have a gorgeous selection of beautiful (and super-classy) buttons.

I almost got a set of vintage-looking silver buttons, but changed my mind at the last minute because I was afraid they’d be too heavy and weigh down the front of my sweater.  Instead, I picked out four beautiful gray mother-of-pearl buttons.  They are subtle and classy, and pick up on the beautiful variegated blues of the yarn.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOf course, mother-of-pearl buttons are hard to photograph, so you’ll have to imagine their color being a little less silver, and a little more rainbow-y and beautiful.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat do you keep collecting, even if you don’t need to?