August 2004 Archives
Lots and lots more to go!
I finished one whole repeat on St Brigid. I'm still in love with the Silky Wool.
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| dark grey yarn + grey day = poor pic |
That's the best pic I was able to get. The yarn and overcast skies is making for bad blog imagery.
Thanks for all your suggestions last week about the wonky single knit stitches. I've been pulling the purls REALLY REALLY tightly and it has been helping. It's not perfect but it's much improved. I'll post a pic when I can get a decent one of the stitches.
Starmore Row Gauge?
I've heard comments about it being really difficult to attain Starmore's row gauge. Does anyone know what a full repeat should measure? My row gauge is tighter than it should be. So even though I'm short I will be doing all 8 repeats. No shortcuts on this sweater!
Funny thing is, I thought people typically got fewer rows per inch than her gauge.
The Cascade 220 couldn't be nicer to work with! Believe it or not I had to force myself to knit on St. Brigid for a while this weekend. There's just something about this yarn and pattern that I love working on.
I could also be the fact that St. Brigid is shaping up to be a year long project and the hoodie -- well, I'd love to wear it in October!
Yeah, yeah, I can hear the laughter all the way over here.
Weekend
We did very little work outside this weekend. It was SOOOO humid out. We worked on and off until about 3 when we finally admitted defeat. We hadn't gotten much done in between the soda and AC breaks. Next weekend is shaping up to be cooler and less humid, so we'll be trying to make up for it then. I guess they don't call it Labor Day Weekend for nothing.
Sock Yarn!
I think shopping for sock yarn is my favorite yarn buying activity. There's virtually no yarn that you can't use. And the colors are amazing.
Leigh mentioned how much she loved her sock yarn from Spirit Trail Yarns earlier in the week. I stopped by and found gorgeous colors!
I've been looking for something a little bit special or unique to buy for a few knitters who have been very kind to me in the past year. I didn't want to just send something like a Regia (or even a Koigu). Although they're both great yarns, I was hoping to find something that they wouldn't have easily found themselves. I hope this is it.
Donegal Cones
Now that I've determined the Donegal yarns are not suitable for St Brigid I've been wondering what I might do with them. Here are a few ideas I've come up with so far:
On the left is Joy and on the right is Salina, both from the Rowan Vintage Style book.
I also can't seem to get this design out of my head:
It's Ava from Rowan 34. I originally bought this issue for Elfin, but Ava seems much better suited for me. The shaping is pretty, and I love the lace up front! I can see wearing this casually with jeans, or dressed up with a long skirt for a client meeting. It's knit up in Rowan Wool Cotton. I wouldn't like Ava in the Donegals though, and I don't think anything in my stash would suit it, so I'd have to make a yarn purchase to make it. *sigh*
Remember my St. Brigid swatch from a few days ago?
The astute observer may have noticed that my single knit stitches are wonky. I don't know what to do to fix it. I've tried making sure I tighten the yarn when I switch from P to K and then back to P. Isn't really working. I've tried wrapping the yarn in the other direction and untwisting it on the WS row. Also didn't do the trick.
What else can I do? I'm really annoyed with the way it looks and for some reason I just can't seem to get it right! Grrrrr.....
- I'm not going to be blogging about St. Brigid today (this is really for your benefit).
- I have plans to meet with Kim today AND I remembered to bring my knitting (bonus!)
- I have a new project to show you.
I cast on for the Phildar cabled hoodie about a week ago. I've been knitting on it here and there.
the color is not accurate.
damn those overcast skies!
I like the cable pattern. After it sets up it's rather easy to knit without even referencing the chart. That is, once you learn the pattern. I did have to rip down in a few places and change some stitches around a couple times because I thought I had it memorized when I didn't.
I wasn't sure about doing two cabled sweaters at once but the yarns, gauges, and even the cables themselves are different enough that they feel like two distinctly different projects. And given that St. Brigid will probably take me 6+ months to complete that's a good thing.
Fiber Arts Yarn Studio & Yarn Shop
315 Ocean St (in the Washington Commons)
609.898.8080
Located in the shopping center that's at the north end of Washington Mall, the new location of this store is very accessible to tourists. And bonus - since it's in the historic district it's walkable from most Cape May destinations. So if you want to stop in but those in your party would prefer to pass there's plenty of other stores, restaurants, and bars to keep them busy.
For a store in a touristy neighborhood it's quite large. Lighting is really good because they're on an end unit and have windows on 2 sides of the store.
I was pleasantly surprised with the yarn selection they had -- Dale, Brown Sheep, Berocco, a small amount of Mountain Mohair, a variety of sock yarns by Regia and others, Plymouth, Woolpak, Wendy, Patons and Encore. I know I've missed some. They did carry a decent amount of novelty yarns but since that's not my thing I couldn't tell you what they had. Their prices were average retail.
The woman who worked there was definitely a knitter (possibly the owner) and was friendly but also knew when to leave me alone. I asked her if the place was busy and she said that it was very busy most of the day except around the 7 o'clock hour. Their hours are great -- 7 days a week and open til 9 most if not all nights.
They had a large pattern selection (both books and leaflets) and a nice sized table to sit at and look through the books. Needle selection was somewhat low, but that seems to be the case everywhere lately.
Because of the location I expected the store to be trendier and focus on large gauge and novelty yarns. While they did carry those, the store felt like a LYS you'd find in any suburban area. While there was nothing special or unusual about the store, it had a solid offering of yarns and materials and I'm sure I'd stop in whenever I stay in Cape May.
I did a few more rows on St Brigid last night and I love the way the cables are showing up!
The yarn is a dream to knit. It's soft and it doesn't split. And at almost 200 yards per hank it's a good value too.
I was greeted by a UPS box swen I went to get the mail before we left for Cape May on Thursday. I had placed on OldNavy.com order and thought it was that. Since I ordered fall clothing I almost didn't even open it. But boy was I glad I did. It was my Webs order!!!! Amazingly, the person who took my order must have went back into the warehouse right then and there to pick my order.
So you know what came with me to Cape May, right? Yup, a cone of Donegal Tweed in grey heather.
It's a gorgeous yarn that reminds me alot of Rowan Felted Tweed. The big difference between the two is that the Donegal is a much harsher yarn. The alpaca in the FT makes for a very soft hand.
I swatched and washed on Friday morning. I got perfect stitch gauge the first time round after washing! Here's the swatch:
I'm not sure how obvious it is in the pic, but I was a little concerned about being able to distinguish texture in this yarn. The swatch is done in double seed stitch and it's not that clear. It looks sorta bubbly but you can't really see the texture clearly.
I cast on and decided I'd see how it looked after a few rows. I got through about 10 rows when I finally had to concede. It just wasn't showing the texture of the cables enough. I think it's a combo of the darker yarn plus the tweed that's just too much to show off cables.
I did go into Cape May's LYS -- Fiber Arts Yarn Shop. I'll write a full review (probably tomorrow) but for now I'll tell you that while they did carry a few contenders I couldn't find a color I liked that had enough stock. This sweater takes a ton of yardage!
So yesterday I decided to stop by another LYS and purchased a yarn I never would have expected for this sweater -- Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. I also thought this yarn felt too silky for my taste, but the store had a sweater sample and the washed yarn was beautiful! I wasn't concerned about cables showing clearly in this yarn since that's what Elsebeth is known for. I went with a medium grey (big surprise, right?). Here's my swatch:
The texture shows up much better in this yarn. In its prewashed state it felt very airy, but it bloomed alot once washed. The yarn is lightweight and spongy. I'm very happy with it.
Once I finished swatching I did cast on for it again, but I only got through a few rows. I'll post pics later in the week once there's something worth showing.
Cape May
We had a great time! I took some pics and I'll get together a mini-album of them later in the week.
A big thank you goes out to everyone who gave me input and advice on my yarn choice. I did some more thinking about it last night as well.
I was very tempted to order some Alice Starmore yarn. The tweeds are amazingly complex and it has a lovely spin to it. But, I've had some bad experience lately trying to choose colors over the web and I didn't want to risk spending all that money on AS yarn and being disappointed.
I do have the Leo scarf kit so I looked thru the colors to see if there was something that jumped out at me. While I did find a reddish brown and a blue that were "OK", none were quite the shade I had in mind.
So, the AS yarn will have to wait for another day.
And then Naomi's comment came through. She mentioned she ordered some Donegal Tweed from Webs. I checked out Webs and Wow! This is it. At $10/pound -- that's 15 bucks with a couple hundred extra yards -- I'm comfortable taking a chance. Heck, if I really dislike them all I can probably offload them on eBay for a profit.
I couldn't decide so I ordered 3 colors: Dark Blue Heather w/med blue nubs (#2012), Dark Grey w/med blue nubs (#2013), and Teak w/rust nubs (#3232). The woman said it can take 2-3 weeks to get the orders delivered. Ugh! I mentioned that I wanted to get started on my knitalong Sept 1st and she said she'd try to get back there and pull the yarn herself if it was possible. *fingers crossed*
So, an extra big thank you goes out to Naomi for pointing out this sale to me.
I was over reading Katy's blog yesterday when I saw she is co-hosting a St. Brigid along. I really shouldn't be starting another project -- especially another big cabley one. But as luck has it I finally have my hands on the pattern. I've loved this one for a long long time. I don't think I can bear to watch the St. Brigids unfolding before my eyes.
Last night I found myself here perusing yarn colors. Can you believe it though, VY doesn't seem to have a good heathery grey! I've been considering grey or a navy. I know you're thinking the navy would be too dark. Be in person I've seen some gorgeous dark cabled sweaters and they look really nice. Plus, if I'm going to be putting in all that effort it might as well be in a color I love.
So, I'm considering a few other yarn choices:
- Rowan Felted Tweed - I've always loved this yarn and its light weight is a definite plus for such a big sweater.
- Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK - Nice color choices as well, but with a heavier hand.
- Jaegar Matchmaker Merino - Large color palette and machine washable
I've also been considering Araucania Nature Wool. I'm making one sweater from a drabby green right now and it does show up cables nicely. It would certainly be an economical choice.
So dear readers, please weigh in with your opinions. Do you like one of the ones I listed? Any bad experiences? Or, have a better yarn in mind?
I'm not concerned as much with price on this one as I am with a yarn that will be a good long-term choice. This will undoubtedly be my biggest project I've ever undertaken and I want to make sure I pick the right yarn to go with it.
I had such a good weekend!
Sunday was the PhillyKnitter secret pal reveal and it was alot of fun. We piled the gifts on a table in the middle of the yard and as each pal's name was called she walked up, took her gift from the table, and presented it to her pal. Then her pal sat in the chair of honor and unwraped the gift for all to see.
There were some really creative and well-made gifts -- shawls, scarves, bags, and sachets. It was nice to see so much happiness and thoughtfulness together like that.
I was finally able to tell Stella that she was my secret pal (although I still suspect she knew before that!). In my last package to her I gave Knitting Tips & Trade Secrets, a canister of Blackberry Sage Tea (great for iced tea), and a knitted scarf.
It's a baby alpaca scarf made from a free pattern from Heartstrings. I like this pattern alot! It makes a very nice non-roll edge by doing a YO k2togtbl (or p2tog) at the beginning of each row. The edge has a long chain along the side.
For fringe I initially thought I'd do a beaded fringe, but once I finished the scarf that didn't seem right. Instead I opted for a simple knotted fringe. I've been wanting to do that kind of fringe for a while and this finally seemed like the right project for it.
I was joking at the SnB yesterday that had I not been on a deadline for this scarf I never would have finished it so quickly. But the thought of showing up with an IOU was too awful so I even finished a few days early!
Lately there seems to be signs of my high school years all around me.
Take R2 for example. If those designs don't take me back to the 80s, nothing will. Every time I see the pic of the girl in the torn skirt I think of Madonna's Like a Virgin videos.
Then, the other night I came across an old patternmaking book I had bought from the FIT Bookstore when taking a Saturday class during my Junior year. It reminded me of such a fun time. I struggled in high school to find my niche unitl I discovered that patternmaking was a creative way to use math. I was hooked.
I use the principles taught in that book whenever resizing my knitting to fit me better.
And then sadly, I had another reminder of high school last night.
While over reading Marnie's blog I came across her post about being on the KnitFlame list. This really saddens me. It reminds me of the days in high school where a girl would pick apart another girl because she was jealous of her.
Marnie's designs are creative and different. She has a passion for knitting and freely shares her designs with us all. I've learned much from reviewing her patterns. She sparked my new interest in crochet and combines the two arts beautifully in her designs. The fact that another person who recently started getting her patterns published would be so critical of a fellow designer in such a public forum baffles me.
We knitbloggers are a small community. What are we -- 400-500 members? We all share a common interest and passion. And for the most part I've loved being a part of this community. The comments are great and seeing progress shots inspires me. The occasional time I'm able to help someone else makes me happy too -- like I'm giving back a little of what blogging has given me. It both saddens and surprises me when I hear of someone posting nasty comments about a design just because it isn't for her.
Good for Marnie for not retaliating.
And yes, I realize that I may very well be adding fodder to the (knit)flame, but I felt this needed to be said.
So I finally got my Amazon order! I think I placed the order almost 2 weeks ago. Sheesh! Every time I'd check it would say shipping in the next day or so. I'm not sure why, but at least it's here!
Knitter's Handbook by Montse Stanley
This is a perfect example of why I love blogging. Had it not been for reading some blogs I never would have purchased this book. None of my nearby bookstores carry it so I've never seen the inside.
Boy am I glad I got this one! It's is CHOCK FULL of charts, instructions, and tips. Heck, there must be over 20 cast-ons alone! One that I was very happy to see - the K2 P2 tubular cast on. I've been wanting to start using that cast on when I'm doing ribbing but I was having trouble tracking down a good site. The illustrations in this book are very clear. They're mostly black and white but they use a bit of color to indicate the part they want you to pay attention to. It's very helpful.
One thing I didn't realize until I got the book in the mail - it's 318 pages! Yes, 318 pages of techniques and instructions. Seriously, if you don't have this book you really should consider purchasing it. Amazon sells it for 14 bucks. You cannot go wrong.
Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd
I like this one too! She gives 6 basic sweaters -- set in sleeves, drop shoulder, saddle shoulder, raglan (bottom-up), round yoke (lopi style) -- in 6 gauges and 15 sizes.
Like her first book, there are examples throughout the book -- 18 sweaters in all.
When I blogged about ordering this book someone commented that they didn't consider buying it because all the info can be found for free. That might be true. But for $18 I'll pay to have it spiral-bound and all in one place.
When reading it occurred to me that this is the perfect companion to 1000 sweaters. Why? Well, I've heard 2 main complaints about 1000 sweaters. First, the gauge is all 5.5 spi. And secondly, the sizing doesn't go up very high. I could see someone using the ideas in 1000 sweaters and executing them via the gauge/size guidance of Sweater Patterns.
At least, that's my plan.
Secret Pal Gift
I finished my Philly Knitters Secret Pal gift last night! I even washed it and blocked it. Well, it's still drying. But this means no Saturday night frantic knitting before the Stitch n Bitch. Yay!
What's next? I need to figure out the right needle size for my Cascade for the Phildar Hoodie. I'm hoping I can run to a LYS today because I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to start! It seems like everywhere I turn bloggers are working on this sweater. I feel like the runt duckling in the back of the pack running to catch up saying "Slow down guys, I'm coming!"
Yarn Pictures
And yes, I still have no pictures. Tomorrow? Maybe. I'm not even going to insult you with a promise at this point. *slaps hand*
Now that I have a little more time I'll give you all the full scoop on what I thought of the shops we visited on Sunday.
135 W 29th Street, Suite 804
212.239.3546
This is more of a showroom than a shop. When you enter the space you're greeted by textiles hanging from simple iron rods. The walls are made of a light maple. Cabinets on either side hold more samples, and simple wooden bowls display tiny balls of yarn. The feeling is very feng shui.
Off to the right is the yarn room. Really, it's more of a yarn corridor. At best it's 3 feet wide and maybe 15 feet long. Along the entire left hand wall hangs hanks of yarn samples for you to fondle -- mixtures of bamboo, silk, tencel, metal, wool, cotton, and nylon (to name a few). Along the bottom they have mini balls and cones of some yarns to purchase. Or, you can ask the woman in the back for a certain weight of yarn (3 ounces of this, 2 ounces of that) and she'll wind it onto a small cone for you.
The yarns are all very unique and interesting. Some can be rather pricey, but I assume it's more expensive to create and spin such unusual combinations of fibers.
I didn't buy anything during my visit though, as I couldn't find a fiber that I liked that I had a purpose for, and I didn't want to just buy something for the sake of buying.
Something to keep in mind -- the lights made it VERY warm in the studio. It was a cool 75 degrees outside (with low humidity) but it had to be at least 85 in the studio. When we left the building and got outside again we all soaked up the cool air.
1201 Broadway (between 28th and 29th Streets)
212.679.3516
This is THE place to check out if you need a large quantity of good quality yarn. During my visit they had cones of cashmere/merino, merino, linen, silk, and cotton blends. Their stock changes quickly as they carry mill ends. But, to give you an example, the 70%merino 30% cashmere cones were 4 spi and approximately 750 yards to the pound. At 50 bucks a pound you could make a gorgeous sweater for $100. No, it's not cheap, but for the quality it's a very good price.
Even though they're mill ends the have WASHED samples of many of their cone products. This is a huge help in choosing a fiber because the spinning oils have been washed away and the yarn has bloomed. The cashmere on the cone looks so limp and each ply is distinct. In the washed swatch it's fluffy and super-soft. I have 2 cones in my stash of this stuff -- one in a classic creamy white and another in a grey heather.
In addition to their cone products they carry a full line of Karabella, a decent amount of Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden, and some Lamb's Pride.
They also have a table of hand-dyed sock weight yarns in wool, cotton, and some boucle. They're dyed in small batches though so it's hit or miss. A few in the group found some they liked. The quality of the wool was very nice. It had a tight spin that reminded me of Koigu.
307 E 14th St
212.387.0707
I know I'm going to go against popular opinion on this one, but the store just didn't meet my expectations. They do carry many nice brands -- Manos, Lopi (regular, not Lite), Koigu, Noro, and GGH for example. And they had a decent array of magazines including a few back issues of Rebecca.
I think it's the fact that most of the yarn is behind closed doors that disappoints me. I love walking into a store that's lined with fiber so I can play with them, put them next to each other, and really daydream about how I'd put them to use. I'm sure that with space at such a premium in Manhattan it's hard to have that sprawl of yarn. They did have a hank of each color of Manos, Koigu, and Lopi on display though.
The amount of seating is nice though (they probably have 6 cafe tables with 2 or 3 seats a piece). After a decent amount of standing and walking we all appreciated being able to sit for a bit. We decided to eat lunch elsewhere though as the cafe only carried a couple of sandwiches and a few salads.
45 Avenue A
212.995.5991
Located in the East Village, Downtown yarns has a very cute space in an old storefront. Typical of many NYC establishments, the yarn is piled high on shelves that go up to the ceiling - at least 12 feet I'd guess.
They had a nice variety of yarns and all were out on display. Lighting was a bit poor though and I kept bringing out skeins to get a good idea of the actual color.
They carry a nice range of brands including Cascade, Brown Sheep, GGH, Blue Heron, Frogtree Alpaca, Joseph Galler (I love the Inca Cotton but still can't think of a good use for it!), Manos, Rowan, and Regia. I was disappointed though because their web site said they carried Alchemy yarns but all I could find was 3 hanks of powder blue silk purse.
Toward the back on the left they have an old farm table for you to sit and knit or swatch. Pockets against the wall hold store copies of many books and magazines for you to reference or peruse.
137 Sullivan Street (they're officially SoHo by just a half block)
212.420.8796
I'm so glad we went to this store! I had been there once before and I just wasn't impressed. It was a hot and busy day in July and I was on the hunt for something very particular that time. I think it tainted my experience. A few of the yarn crawl girls had mentioned wanting to go, so I added it to the list at the last minute.
While I don't think any of the stores we visited that day were unfriendly, this store was ultra-friendly! Both women who worked there knew their knitting and were very helpful. It was the last store of the day (a very long day!) and so we all finally gravitated to sitting around the small narrow table in the middle of the store.
Purl carries many brands you'd recognize and love -- lots of Rowan and Koigu, Cascade, Manos, Noro, Habu, Lobster Pot, Harrisville, Elsebeth Lavold, Debbie Bliss, and Woolpak. I had never seen Woolpak in person. Their 10 ply comes in huge 430 yard hanks!!
Given how much I enjoyed my Purl shopping experience, it should not come as a surprise to you that it's the only store I bought yarn from. You've all been asking for pics and I promise I'll post some tomorrow!
I'm spending Saturday in NYC for a fun-filled day of yarn shopping, knitting, and good food. This has been in the works for a few months now and I'm really excited that it's finally here! Be back on Monday with the full scoop.
Have a great weekend!
While I've always loved autumn -- the colors of the trees, the rustling sound of leaves blowing in the wind, the spicey smell of cider mulling on the stovetop -- it's been my getting back into knitting that has made me countdown the days to autumn. Cool weather and knitting just go so well together. Whether it be sitting outside knitting a big wooly sweater, or in the house cozied up to a roaring fire, the cooler weather just makes knitting that much better. At least, for me it does.
But, we're in the 3H part of summer here in the northeast. That's hazy, hot and humid for those of you fortunate enough to not have to deal with this weather. It's my least favorite time of the year. In my opinion, people were just not engineered to live in this weather! So, as a coping mechanism I've been surrounding myself with as many thoughts of autumn as possible. For example, the pic at the top of this post is my current wallpaper on my work laptop. Everytime I see this background I smile.
Then, there's the pumpkin pie yankee candle that I've been searching for. Nothing says autumn more than a good ol pumpkin pie! And I swear, if I could find a CD of autumnal sounds (rustling leaves, etc) I'd be piping that through my speakers at home. Crazy? I'll let you be the judge.
And as you may have noticed, all my knitting projects have turned to cool weather wear as well. Out with the cotton and microfiber, and in with the wool! The Noro sweater, my knee high socks, the Phildar hoodie, and the upcoming Gerbera-along. All wool and all wonderful.
I don't think I'm the only one with these feelings though. A quick peruse around the blogs shows many of us pulling out the wool -- Carrie's cabled V neck in a brown tweed, Jackie's Phildar hoodie, and Leigh's cabled sweater in Hebridean 2-ply (July 19th entry) just to name a few.
Even if I am crazy, at least I'm in good company!
I was happy to find out that Ann Budd's newest book -- The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns is out! Amazon was listing its release date as end of September so I was pleasantly surprised to find out it's already for sale. I'm ordering my copy today.
In order to make free shipping I added another as well. I'm finally buying Montse Stanley's Knitter's Handbook. For $13.97 and free shipping, I can't really go wrong.
While perusing the knitting books I came across this soon-to-be-released book. It's called Textured Knitting. Even the cover looks enticing! They say it will be released October 1st. I can't wait!
And a funny story (well, sorta funny). About 2 months ago I spotted a link on Amazon for Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting for $39.95. Of course, I had to give it a try. Well, this morning (w months later) I received an email informing me that they would be unable to fulfill my order. Wow - what a shocker.
Knitting Update
I worked on a few projects this weekend. I re-started my cabled sock and have gone through one full repeat. It has been super-slow going so far, but I'm hoping now that I have a block of rows as reference that things will go faster.
I also made good progress on my Philly Knitter's Secret Pal project. I think I'm about 20% done and I'm very happy with this one!
And finally, I ripped my Linen Drape tank and am reusing the yarn in a wrap. I really like the idea of using a wrap around my waist in an asymmetrical sort of way. The tank just wasn't doing it for me, so a wrap it is! I'll post pics once it's large enough.
