SURPRISE!

Heroes 3KCBWDAY3

How could anyone have just a single hero in such a diverse craft as knitting, practised by so many different types of people?  There are cutting edge knitters, knitters whose interests lie in structure, those who love vintage and those who just love the comfort of knitting and knitted clothes.  My knitting heroes divide into three groups, family, stars and the experts

Family? two people, one who taught and encouraged me to knit,  and one who wrapped me and mine in the warmth of her knitting love.  Beginning with my grandmother, because you have to start with your first teacher don't you? I remember red, some old red yarn and a pair of short red plastic needles with black button ends and Gran repeating 'in, over, off' into my left ear.

Apart from a brief flirtation with Phildar yarns in the middle 70s when, living in France, I did not pick up the pointy sticks again until expecting my first baby, and encouraged by the frenzy of knitting the news pitched my mother in law into, I made a few tiny hats. But MIL did so much more. She made a perfect shetland shawl, every sort of baby clothing (and ne'er a lemon yellow lacy matinee jacket in sight) and she went on to supply jumpers, cardigans, dresses and even a toddlers coat! But it's the shawl that I remember her for, I tell the full story here

I'm sorry there is no photographic evidence of the 'red thing'

Stars?  About the same time as I was knitting baby hats Kaffe Fassett burst on the scene.

All that colour and pattern (and knots and leftovers!) At the same time my mother was learning to spin and experimenting with vegetable dyes. I asked her to spin and dye the yarn for a sweater with an all over design of poppies, cream with two shades of red and two of green. I'm afraid to say neither of us was up to this particular challenge and the half knitted sweater languished in my craft basket for years and eventually got thrown out (much to my regret now)

Lastly the Experts and this brings me to about three years ago. A new interest in knitting and a discovery. There are serious crafts women out there! The Yarn Harlot who writes so wittily and sensitively, Erica Knight who deigns such elegant and contemporary things (that cause squeals of delight when given as presents). Then there is the queen, Elizabeth Zimmerman

What can I say? A woman who can see a garment in rows and stitches. I have just finished my first baby surprise jacket, every stitch, every increase and decrease a marvel. And once done, flip the thing you have made over (it looks like a giant flatfish) and voila! It's a baby jacket. And i-cord (does this really mean idiot cord or did Ez get there before Steve Jobs?) I intend to finish off as many of my future projects with an i-cord.

She writes so well too, sometimes with an acid tongue (perhaps she did mean idiot cord!). She died in 1999 but her books and work live on through the work of The School House Press. Now that's true immortality

'Pass by the synthetic department, then, with your nose in the air’

Elizabeth Zimmermann not sparing her contempt for synthetic yarns in The Knitters Almanac 1972

xx

c

Knitting for all occasions and circumstances

There comes a stage in knitting a sweater, shawl or afghan when it is simply too bulky for carrying in one's handbag, to take up in snatched moments on the train, waiting in the dentist or even between meetings.  That is when you must begin something else.  Others may criticise you for always having too many projects on the go but we knitters know, just as there is no such thing as a stash too large, there is no such thing as too much work in progress.  And so it was last Thursday that I realised that the two Christmas projects...

The Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater

and the mohair shawl

had simply got too big for knitting on public transport without the danger of overwhelming the person sitting next to me.

On the shawl's last outing I did get into an interesting conversation with a lovely lady next to me who asked why I brought the yarn forward every so often.  There followed a short explanation on lace knitting being based on an infinite variety of k2tog yfwd combinations...

before we got onto more mutually interesting things.  We were so deep in conversation that I had to hurriedly bundle my work into its bag with one row only half completed as the train drew into my stop.

So the possible inconvenience to my fellow passengers (of being nudged by needles and irritated by fluff) is the excuse for starting yet another project.  At least it is in the (slow moving) Christmas queue.  A tiny shrug from Debbie Bliss' Knits to Give for the Little Model

I'm using almost the same shade of Angel as illustrated in the book

And beginning with the sleeves, knitted magic loop fashion

I am still working hard on the other projects in the evenings and weekends.  I estimate that if I get these three done by mid November I shall just have time for the other projects I have in mind.


The Elizabeth Zimmerman Project - part 5

I mentioned in part 2 how I needed to add 10 stitches to the sleeves to make them roomy enough for wearing a thick shirt underneath.  This meant that at the point at which you decrease each end of the sleeve section until 16 stitches remain for the saddle I had to make a decision.  Do I continue for another 5 rounds to get to the correct number of stitches for the saddle, or do I keep more than 16 stitches for the saddle?

I decided to compromise, and decrease down to 18 stitches.  It worked out fine.  And the sweater is finished!  It looked a bit rough before blocking.

But now, all done and modelled by JTH, it is fine and ready to wrap and put under the tree when the time comes.

Lessons learned

1. obey the rules on gauge/tension
2. knit loosely
3. keep knitting following EZ's chat and it will work out well in the end
4. sleeves knitted exactly as per the instructions are a little narrow, reduce the number stitches cast on for the rib (by 10%) and increase across the last ribbing row to get a more modern look 

How are everyone else's Christmas presents coming along?

xx

C

I'm loving the new needles

I may have said this before but there was a time when I would have been very surprised indeed to find myself enthusing over a set of knitting needles. 

After all, since amalgamating all my mother's and mother-in-law's needles, I could be said to have more than enough

But so many knitting friends (not to mention the lady in my local wool shop) have been extolling the virtues of Knit Pro interchangeable needles.  The cables come separately in several lengths and the needles in every size  imaginable, all ready to screw into the right length cable for the work in hand.

Well for Plug and Play Pembrokeshire we were asked to bring our own needles (if you read my last post you will already know that the lovely Brenda and Amy provided everything else!).  So - here we have it - the ideal excuse for a treat.

The starter kit had three sizes of needles and I added size 3mm as extra - we were after all going to knit lace.  Well, I knew they were Very Pretty and with all the interchangeability (including the option to use the set in the manner of two long needles using a on one end of each cable) Very Practical but it was not till I began knitting my lace that I found out how Fabulous they are to knit with.

For me knitting is all about tactile pleasures.  In the wool shop, I trail my hand over the alpaca, touch my cheek with the cashmere and test the pure organic wool against my neck for scratchiness, all the while following Elizabeth Zimmerman's advice to pass by the acrylics with my nose in the air.  When I sit down to knit with one of these gorgeous fibres I let out a yoga like sigh of relaxation.  But what joy to find needles that add to the pleasure.  These beauties are so smooth and shiny that the yarn positively glides over them as if on oiled wheels - sooo brilliant. I would like to say that I will never knit with anything else again but it will take me awhile to collect a full set

The Zimmermann project - Part 3

Although I haven't mentioned my Zimmermann sweater for a couple of weeks I am still making progress.  I have completed the body as far as the armholes, simply miles of straight knitting, currently parked on my longest new Knit Pro cable with stoppers on both ends

And have begun the sleeves.  I ripped out my first attempt.  The instructions, to cast on 20% of the body-stitches making the first increase (M1 each side of three stitches marking the underarm) after four rounds then every following fourth round gave me too tight a fore arm.  Not that it didn't fit but I didn't like the look of something so close fitting, particularly as in winter my father wears his sweaters over long sleeved shirts.  

So I began again, still with 40 stitches for the rib (20% of 200) but increased ten stitches evenly over the last rib row then began the increases as described by EZ.  I have also used the two cable needle method to knit both sleeves together in the round for the first time.  Thank you U-Tube! where every knitting technique is explained.  Actually to begin with it was not as simple as it looks in this video clip. I kept getting the yarn looped the wrong way around the needles and the two balls twined around themselves.  On Sunday night, knitting while watching Spooks I managed to knit all the stitches onto one cable, I've no idea how I did that!  But eventually I got the hang of it sticking to three rules

• follow the needle back to its end each time you change from front to back - you are aiming for two Os one along side the other not a figure of eight
• hold the needle with the stitches you are about to knit close to the cable with the 'just knitted' stitches - this stops a ladder forming at the changeover point
• Keep the yarn you are not knitting with at the back of the work

I began making this sweater before I knew the joy of my new cable needles and on a size I don't yet have (4.5) but hopefully when I get to the yoke my local yarn shop will have got the 4.5s back in stock and I can finish the project in style.  

I know I shall have more stitches than I should have when I reach the point of joining sleeves to the body and knitting up the yoke but I will deal with that when I come to it (and let you know!)

xx

C

New beginnings and new lessons

Given what a grubby disaster last week's effort was, I was really heartened by all the people who read and commented, thank you so much all of you.  It was lovely to read all your comments, including the ones on twitter and facebook.  Even one of the tutors from the course I am going on in two weeks reads my blog - wow!  Despite your encouragement, sadly the one thing I cannot do is up-cycle it in some way.  Neither use it for a cushion cover (well not one that I would display proudly) nor unravel it and make something else.   Because although it did not felt, it did mat and shrink and the colours ran to variable tones of sludge.  Currently it is chucked under my desk, perhaps I can use it for a foot warmer as the weather gets cooler!

It was Sarah who got it quite right, you cannot felt wool described as super wash.  Obvious really.  And Jenny at knitting group reminded me of the perennial must - 'you have to make a test swatch'. So I have now, just a tad late I admit.  I don't really have time to do more experimental stuff, I must get on with making Christmas presents, but I just wanted to have one more go.  In my original effort I used some left over alpaca for the top row of crochet - it was the only bit that felted, giving the bag a slightly drawstrung effect.  So rummaging through my stash I came across three more balls and made this, 14 cm square.

I started gently this time at 30deg with woolite

 Not there yet so back in at 40deg and a big towel to give it the required bashing

Done - to 9cm- and a mental note that if I buy say three more balls I can have another go at the bag once I have some time.

Now, to Christmas presents!  

It's a little tricky to blog about this because some projects may be destined for friends and family who might just read about their presents first here and that just will not do.  I am a stickler about presents being surprises.  But I am quite safe with my father's sweater, he's 85 and never owned a computer in his life!  

One of the regular readers of this blog and someone who occasionally e mails me to ask a question asked last week about knitting a baby cardigan from one of the books by Elizabeth Zimmerman. This sent me flying to my introductory book by EZ - Knitting Without Tears and I realised perhaps I could answer Caroline's question, make my father one of the seamless sweaters in the book and blog along the way.  

Caroline's question was to do with sizing.  She said that the only information E Z gives is '5 stitches to an inch' and, as she said, how does that translate to all the various sizes a baby can be?  

Elizabeth Zimmermann, is a huge inspiration and practically the Empress of knitting.  I think what I love most about her writing is the joy she can project, even in her chapter on washing your knits.  But one thing that is said about her that is so true is that her patterns contain not so much instructions as suggestions.  At first it appears she is not very precise in her suggestions but once you get into her way of thinking the results can be brilliant.

5 stitches to 1" is about tension (or gauge as EZ calls it) not sizing but it is where everything about the correct fit begins.  So here is what E Z says about 5 stitches to an inch and what I did

What E Z says	What I did
[No instructions as to what weight of wool given] If the directions specify a gauge of 5 stitches to one inch, take any size 16" circular needle from 3.5mm – 5mm and cast on about 90 stitches, work 3-4 rows in pattern	I am knitting with Sirdar Balmoral (DK in wool, alpaca, silk mix).  Using a pair of size 4.5mm needles I cast on 22 stitches and knit 28 rows.  This is what the ball band said I would need to do to knit a 10 cm (4”) square
Take out the needle and lay the work flat	I cast off loosely.
With a ruler measure off 3” in the centre of the knitted fabric and place two pins exactly 3” apart	I pinned the square out on a flat cushion being very careful not to stretch the work and keep the sides and top and bottom square
Count the exact number of stitches in between the two pins.  Do not neglect to count half stitches or even one-third stitches, if there are any	I placed a ruler over the whole square, it was 2 stitches more than 4”.
Divide the number of stitches by 3,     15 sts will give 5sts to the 1”	I have 20 stitches in 4” - so 5 stitches to the inch
Keep changing needle size until you achieve the correct gauge	yes!

I didn't exactly follow the E Z suggestions mainly because I was too impatient to cast on 90 stitches but I did follow in spirit, knitting  loosely and counting carefully and precisely.

That's gauge (tension), next week I will work out how many stitches I need to begin with, cast on the body and begin knitting.

xx

c