Conversations Between Workers (5KCBWDay4)

So I have this ball winder.

I've had it since I learned I needed more yarn than one project at a time would suffice.  That puts it at about 5 years old, which is getting up there for plastic ball winders.  It came to me at Christmas and has always had a bit of a lofty opinion of itself.  It was not content to wind yarn off of the backs of chairs.  No, it needed a swift.  But it also refused to properly clamp onto a table or said chair back and so needed to be held.  It's very demanding, my ball winder, and we've developed a bit of a co-dependent relationship it and I.

Take this week for example.  I'm doing some test knitting and so needed to wind up some yarn rather immediately, which the ball winder did not like.  It likes to be prepared for anything as strenuous as winding yarn.  It needs time to stretch its gears and size up the skein before it begins winding.

Me: I need to wind this yarn

Ball Winder: I'm sorry, I must have misheard you.  You need to wind this yarn tomorrow?

Me: No, I need to get going on this swatch so I need to wind this yarn now.

Ball Winder: But you already have a garment on the needles that you swore you'd be monogamous to.  Clearly this is you just falling back on your promises.  You do not need to swatch.  You do not need to wind this yarn.

Me: Who is the knitter around here?  Designer needs this test knit and I'd like to have it done before June so I need to get swatching.  Please.

Ball Winder: Sighs dramatically Fiiiiiine.  But you'd better remember this next time I say I don't believe you can be a monogamous knitter.

Me: Just wind, will you?

Ball Winder: Sulks its way to the swift and starts winding.  Immediately begins clicking.  Oh, I don't think I can do this, my gears are clicking.  Didn't I tell you I need to warm up or my gears will click?

Me: Grits teeth and tries to ignore the whining

Ball Winder: Continues clicking and finally separates.  See! I told you this wouldn't work.

Me:  Seriously?  You did that on purposes.

Ball Winder:  I did not!  You take that back!  

Me:  You are getting to be too much of a hassle.  I think it's time you finally retired.  Picks up pieces and looks at them.

Ball Winder:  No!  I can do that.  Sucks in breath while I put it back together and begin winding again.  See?  We're winding.  We're almost done!

Me: Looking unconvinced.  Ok.  We'll see.

Ball Winder: Aaaand we're done!  Whew!  I'm tired.  This is why you have to let me warm up to these things.  Put me back on my shelf!

It goes like this.  Every time I go to start a new skein.  But somehow my little ball winder keeps working, denying me the ability to buy a new one.  It's manipulative like that.

This post is a part of the fifth annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To see more posts from fiber lovers around the world, just Google this tag: 5KCBWDay4

This will also be my last post for the week -- I'm off to Into the Wool in the early morning and will be having far too much yarnie fun to write.  Thanks to everyone who took part and to Mimi for coordinating once again.  It's been fun!

Experimental Photography and Image Handling (5KCBWDay3)

This post is a part of the fifth annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To see more posts from fiber lovers around the world, just Google this tag: 5KCBWDay3

Dating Profile (5KCBWDay2)

Unfinished Sweater Seeking Knitter

Hi, I'm Rosemary.  I am a green sweater knit out of Cascade 220 and am approximately half completed.  My age?  Well, we ladies don't talk about our age, you know that.  But I promise, I look as good as I feel.  You won't even notice that I came from destashed yarn. I still need sleeves, but I promise I can make your cables pop.  And my stockinette?  Soft as a feather and flat as a board.

I'm a bohemian girl.  I like walking through fields of tall grass and ducking into local coffee bars.  Doing both of these things on a mountaintop would be ideal.  My heathered green goes well with flowing skirts, high-waisted shorts, and I love a good pair of boots.  I see myself one day on an epic road trip.  Just me, a single carpet bag, and a good book hitting the road.  Care to join me?

Turn offs include country music, the use of carpet bag fabric for anything other than carpet bags, and novelty yarn.

This post is a part of the fifth annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To see more posts from fiber lovers around the world, just Google this tag: 5KCBWDay2

A Day in the Life (5KCBWDAY1)

You told me I was special.  You told me I was your favorite.  And like a fool I believed you.  I came to you like an innocent fool, content in my skein, looking forward to spending time with you.  You wound me up and I thought we could really be something.  Socks, you said.  Alright.  It sounded like an interesting joint venture.  We spent hours together, curled up at home watching tv or reading a good book.  You even snuck me into work, sneaking me out when no one was paying attention.

And so I became socks for you.  You bragged about me to all of your friends.  Calling me your favorite and showing me off.  I even let you take pictures of me to put online.  I'd never done that for any other knitter.  I really believed that I was your one.  For a time things were great.  I fit in great with all of your other socks, sliding nicely into the space you made for me in your sock drawer.  Even when they whispered to me that your affection was fleeting I paid them no mind.  What did they know of our connection.  It was deeper than that between sock and wearer, I would swear it.

But then, slowly, the months warmed and your heart grew cold.  No longer would I get washed first so as to go back to the top of the rotation.  No, now I went into the pile, with all your other cast off socks, discarded and unwanted.  You started wearing sandals and talking about the impracticality of wool socks in a Southern Summer.  Had you lost your mind?  Surely you cared too much for me to mind a bit of discomfort.

So now I sit, just like all the other socks, watching pair after pair enter our drawer.  Some are striped, some even sparkle, all are drawn to your professed dedication.  All believe that they are the one, the only pair you will ever need for the rest of your life.  They do not notice as you glance slidelong at your yarn cabinet.  They are oblivious to your insatiable need for more sock yarn.  But I notice.  I see.  And as you turn out the light on our once happy home I wonder, how much more could you possibly need?

This post is a part of the fifth annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To see more posts from fiber lovers around the world, just Google this tag: 5KCBWDay1

Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 7: Looking Forward (4KCBWDAY7)

One year from now, when the 5th Knitting & Crochet Blog Week rolls around, where do you hope your crafting will have taken you to? What new skills, projects and experiences do you hope you might have conquered or tried?

Last year when we were asked what new challenges we wanted to conquer in our knitting I said colorwork.  It was the next major hurdle I had to tackle and the idea of knitting more complicated items in a rainbow of colors was very appealing.  I did not think I would actually do it, but I thought why not shoot for the moon?

I used this sweater as an example, and then I ended up knitting it, much to my excitement and enthusiasm.

I must have started this post five times, trying to decide what I want to take on before next year. Do I want to master a certain skill? Tackle a certain project? Work with a different fiber or color? Honestly, I have no idea. I love to just go with whatever inspiration hits me.  Who knows what I'll try next. You can guarantee that it will have color!

*Knit and Crochet Blog Week is an annual event hosted by Eskimimi Makes. To find the rest of the posts, type today's tag 4KCBWDAY7 into Google or your preferred search engine.

Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 6: A Tool To Covet (4KCBWDAY6)

"Write about your favorite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc.) tool."

I am not a big tool collector, probably due to the organic nature by which I became a knitter.  I am completely self-taught.  I learned how to knit out of a sold at a gift shop I managed back in college and I usually learn new techniques based on the pattern I am currently knitting.  So it took a while for me to realize that you can have more than just sticks and string and that sometimes these extras help you to be a more effective knitter.

November of 2010 my family came to me for Thanksgiving because my comprehensive examination was the following week.  On Thanksgiving Day I wanted to start a new project, so I brought the yarn with me to wind up.  After watching me struggle for a while to wind the yarn with my knees my dad took pity on me and offered to hold the yarn for me (his mother was a knitter and had taught him how).   My poor father spent the entire football game holding the yarn for me while I hand wound it into a ball.

Fast forward a month and I am home for Christmas.  Our family traditionally does assorted smaller gifts and then one large gift at the end.  My dad hands me a box, the look on his face so excited, he just can't wait for me to open it.  Inside was a swift!

Turns out that my darling father vowed never to help me handwind a skein of yarn again and had specifically picked out this gift from Knit Picks.  In their own way, buying me a real "knitting tool" was my family's signal to me that they had accepted that knitting was now a part of my life and not a passing hobby.

Over the past two years I have gotten a ton of mileage out of this swift.  It has sat proudly on tables and bookcases in every apartment, and I have knit 86 projects since receiving it, most using yarn it has wound and some using multiple skeins.  Some could argue that my ballwinder is more useful.  I find it impossible to use a ballwinder without a swift, but I can quite happily hand wind off of the swift.  It's getting a little tight and squeaky, so I have started to look at others.  Maybe I'll ask for an upgrade for Christmas.

*Knit and Crochet Blog Week is an annual event hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To find the rest of the posts, type today's tag 4KCBWDAY6 into Google or your preferred search engine.





Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 5: And Now For Something Different (4KCBWDAY5)

Knit and Crochet Blog Week 2013 Day 5 from Faith tVS on Vimeo.


Helpful Links:

Roam Cowl by Jennifer Dassau
Marigoldjen
Perpetua Shawl by Romi Hill
Unwind Yarn Company
Entangled Vines by Alana Dakos


*Knit and Crochet Blog Week is an annual event hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To find the rest of the posts, type today's tage 4KCBWDAY5 into Google or your preferred search engine.

Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 4: Color Review (4KCBWDAY4)

What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects. Have a think about what colours you seem to favour when yarn shopping and crafting.

  

I love color.  I've tried to be one of those people who has a basic wardrobe that they just accent or who decorates their home in a specific color scheme, but it never works out.  I'm never happier than when I am surrounded by all different colors.  The same applies to my knitting.  As I thought about today's prompt I tried to decide what color I favor more than any other, and I came up with nothing.  I like to knit in variegated yarns, reserving solids and tonals for garment knitting.  Even then I tend to try for variety, looking to knit a different color every time.

Clockwise: Umbre Lovre, Trillian, Lady Sybill's Wish, Socks on a Plane

A glance over my Ravelry project page shows similar results.  In 2012 I seemed to favor greys, blues, and some browns.  This year I seem to be leaning towards orange and pinks.  I know that when I go to buy yarn I try to think of what kind of project this yarn could make.  Then I try to determine what colors I already have to see if I can fill any holes.  This is how I ended up with bright purple for a sweater and brown for a pair of socks.  For me it is all in what strikes my fancy and that I cannot find already in my wardrobe.

Left to Right: Shipwreck Cove, Byzantine Cowl, Rocky Coast Cardi

At the same time, the fact that I tend away from solids means that I have a lot of variety in my knitting.  I have a pair of socks on the needles that are neon green, hot pink, and black.  At the same time I have soft grey lace weight waiting to become a light cardigan.  All of this fits in with the House of Bees.  We bees love variety.  It allows us to keep finding new interesting things in the projects we already have on the needles.  If our knitting was all about one color, it would be a lot harder to stay focused on the same series of knits rather than constantly looking for something new.

Left: Lightening Shrug, Top to Bottom: Chutes and Also Ladders, Twigs and Willows, Pretty in Pink

*Knit and Crochet Blog Week is an annual event hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To find the rest of the posts, type today's tag 4KCBWDAY4 into Google or your preferred search engine.



Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 3: Infographic (4KCBWDAY3)

 

 
 

There are many ways of conveying information on a blog; text and images being the two most widely used. Many infographics combine both these elements to provide a visual way of presenting text information.

Make your own infogaphic (no fancy imaging software needed, you can draw it on paper and photograph it if you want) to convey any element of your craft(s).

 

 

*Knit and Crochet Blog Week is an annual event hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To find the rest of the posts, type today's tag 4KCBWDAY3 into Google or your preferred search engine.

Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 2: A Mascot Project (4KCBWDAY2)

"Your task today is to either think of or research a project that embodies that house/animal."

 

As we established yesterday, I am a proud card-carrying member of the House of Bees.  I love knitting many projects, the brighter and more exciting the better.  I believe the word "flit" was bandied about? 

 

Knitting for me can often be a compulsive thing.  My fantasy knitting often gets the better of me.  I'll come up with an idea and then end up on a tear, determined to bring that idea into fruition despite a lack of adequate yarn or practicality.  Most recently this was evident when I knit Drizzle.  No matter the fact that I had other projects on the needles that absolutely had to be completed, I insisted on knitting this hat and finishing it in time to wear at the beach.

 

This most recently struck again as I began to work on a wedding gift for my cousin and go dress shopping for myself.  My cousin's favorite color is orange, so I am knitting her an orange shawl as a gift.  Her wedding will be outdoors in the middle of summer, and the dress I found is a halter top in a great shade of green.  Suddenly I was seized by the notion that I needed to make myself a fraternal shawl.  There was no way I could spend the entire wedding and reception with bare shoulders.  I just absolutely needed to make a shawl.  Mine would be variegated but still have some orange in it as a nod to the bride's preferences.  Never mind that I did not have any such yarn and have several shawls already queued up for myself.  This was it.

Fortunately this inspiration happened just before I headed down to stitches and so I picked up a gorgeous skein of Sweet Georgia at Eat Sleep Knit.  Never mind that my dress had not even arrived in the mail yet (I think another characteristic of Bees is that we love instant gratification, which is much better found in online shopping than in dragging oneself out to the store to try on things and become discouraged)  As I browsed shawl patterns, I kept returning to the Triptych Shawl by Liz Abinante.  "It has beads.  I've never knit with beads.  Beads are shiny."  And with that bit of logic the idea took root and no lack of beads or broken ballwinder will stop me from casting on for this pattern very soon (Though we all know I will get distracted, procrastinate, and find myself desperately trying to finish at the eleventh hour).

*Knit and Crochet Blog Week is an annual event hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To find the rest of the posts, type today's tag 4KCBWDAY2 into Google or your preferred search engine.



Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 1: The House Cup (4KCBWDAY1)

"Post about your crafting outlook/style and why you chose this house"

The sorting cap has dictated in it's great knitted wisdom that for the duration of Knit and Crochet Blog Week I belong to the House of Bees.  Bees, this illustrious cap told me, are "busy and industrious" mental nod "but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright and shiny things capture their interest."  Flit?  The wondrous cap thinks that I flit?  Glances at the basket of WIPs in the corner  Ok, maybe I do flit a bit.

I cannot stand the thought of only having one project on the needles.  What if something happens?  What if I break a needle?  Or get confused by the chart?  Or just want to come home and crash and knit a stockinette sweater in front of the tv?  Once I figured out that there was no greater knitting power who would punish me for indulging in too much knitting, I left project monogamy and never looked back.  I love to surround myself with things that make me happy, and nothing makes me happier than beautiful colors that I can experience in a tactile way.

My general knitting style is to have one of everything on the needles -- one sweater, one hat, one sock, one shawl, etc.  Plus, I try to have projects of differing difficulty.  For example, I actually have two pairs of socks on the needles, but one of them is a charted pattern and one can be knit while at the movies.  I may have one sweater only half baked on the needles, but I am already swatching for the next project and winding yarn for a third.  If only you could experience my knitting fantasy life.  I have knit so many more projects in my imagination than I have in physical reality, and  I'm sure many members of the House of Bees would agree that this is a key way in which we connect with our house.

*Knit and Crochet Blog Week is an annual event hosted by Eskimimi Makes.  To find the rest of the posts, type today's tag 4KCBWDAY1 into Google or your preferred search engine.

3KCBW Day 7 -- Crafting Balance

Crafting Balance
Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both?  If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it?  Is it because the items that you best enjoy crafting are more suited to the needles or the hook?  Do you plan on ever trying to take up and fully learn the other craft?


A little known fact about me is that I learned to crochet before I ever attempted to knit.  When I was in high school we went to visit some family friends, one of whom, Mary, was extremely crafty.  The woman could craft anything.  As a kid when my parents desperately needed to get a night away we would be deposited with Mary and her husband for fun-filled crafting, activities, and old movies.  I learned a lot of different crafting skills from Mary.  And just like card-making, the crochet never stuck.

I have tried my hand at many crafts.  I experimented and dabbled with just about every crafty thing you can think of -- but only knitting has survived.  I don't even know where my old crochet pieces are, but I still have all my knitting, right down to the hideous and embarrassing.  As a consequence, I have no crafting balance.  Whenever I can, I'm knitting.  When I can't I am talking about knitting.  Or thinking about knitting.  Or devising ways to be able to knit next time I am stuck in this situation.  People who find this a bit overwhelming and obsessive (and there are a lot of these) did not know the child Faith, who tried to sit still and be good but was constantly fidgeting and doodling and getting herself into trouble.

In a lot of ways you could say that knitting provides it's own sense of balance.  I may not balance it out with another activity, but I don't need to because the knitting is already creating a balance.  Just take my knitting away during my lunch break and you'll understand -- the knitting is not there because I am a balanced, patient person.  It is there to balance out the crazy person who is unable to hold still, let alone stop biting her fingernails.

The above is a hint at what I have been working on this week.  I've really enjoyed participating again this year in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and I cannot believe that it is over!  I hope all of you continue to come back to this space.  It has been awesome getting to know other bloggers over the week and finding new ways to communicate.  A big thank you to Eskimimi for pulling all of this together yet again for another year of fun! To read more on this last topic round search for 3KCBWDay7.

3KCBW Day 6 -- Improving Skillset

Improving Your Skillset
How far down the road to learning your craft do you believe yourself to be?  Are you comfortable with what you know or are you always striving to learn new skills and add to your knowledge base?


I don't know if I will ever consider myself to be a proficient knitter.  I joined Ravelry in the fall of 2008 and that is when I feel I became a Knitter rather than someone who knit garter stitch scarves with hanging ends because I never learned to bind off (yeah, I was that person).  One of the nice things about teaching myself to knit is that I had no concept of what was "hard."  For me everything was hard and maybe that was just because I had no idea what I was doing.  I've had some spectacular failures -- there's an alpaca lace halter top of which we do not speak.  Do not immerse alpaca.  Lesson learned.  But there have also been some great triumphs when something just clicked and I realized what I was doing made absolute sense.  Those moments are not super frequent, but they do happen more often (expect a fabulous screw up sometime soon -- I set myself up for that one).

One thing I really want to do but that I have only dabbled in is colorwork.  I've done some striped shawls and hats, and I knit the Cairn hat and mitts which use mosaic knitting, but I want to do more.  Really, I want to do a sweater in more than one color.  The dream is to one day do intarsia (complete with steeks), but stripes would be just grand.  Like say Allyson Dukhuizen's new Umbre Lovre?

Striped, mod, and done in Knit Picks.  It looks like something I'd see in a magazine and wish I had a pattern.  I have the pattern, I just don't have the yarn.

Then there's the idea of colorwork socks.  Like the Crystal Socklet pattern by Lynn DT Hershberger.  They look perfect for using up some leftovers.

But probably the only thing I will actually make in the next year or so is Ysolda Teague's Hendreary.

It's a hat with a knitted button.  It must be mine.

Don't forget to read other Knitting and Crochet Blog Week posts by searching 3KCBWDay6!  And thanks to everyone for the positive comments left on yesterday's video post.  It was a lot of fun to make!

3KCBW Day Five -- Something a Bit Different

Something a Bit Different
This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create. There are no rules of a topic to blog about but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog.

Last year's "something different" post was a rousing success with Mr Irish Bear's great Yarn Heist. This year, in an effort to step once again out of my comfort zone I decided to do something I have absolutely never done -- video

Knit and Crochet Blog Week 2012 Day 5 from Faith tVS on Vimeo.

If you like what you see please let me know by way of a comment. And if you think I'm deserving, feel free to nominate me for today's prize here.

3KCBW Day Four -- A Knitter for All Seasons

A Knitter or Crocheter For All Season?
As spring is in the air in the northern hemisphere and those in the southern hemisphere start setting their sights for the arrival of winter, a lot of crocheters and knitters find that their crafting changes along with their wardrobe.  Have a look through your finished projects and explain the seasonality of your craft to your readers.  Do you make warm woolens the whole yer through in preparation for the colder months, or do you live somewhere that never feels the chill and so invest your time in beautiful homewares and delicate lace items. How does your local seasonal weather affect your craft?


My philosophy on knitting is to knit as inspiration strikes.  Actually, this is not true, I usually have a plan of things I intend to make, but I never stick with them.  Instead I get myself sucked into things like the Great Cowl KAL or sidetracked by some pretty yarn that I must knit RIGHT NOW.  But as a whole, I tend to knit whatever I feel like, regardless of the season.

As a caveat, I do live in North Carolina.  Nine months out of the year I do not knit with bulky wool.  It just isn't fun.  Instead I knit mostly lighter weight sweaters and smaller items like socks, shawls, and hats.  I hear a lot of knitters, even those who love to knit socks, claim that they cannot wear their socks in the warmer months.  I work at a place that requires socks and shoes, so I've always got some on.  And to keep ahead of any blow outs, I've pretty much become a year round sock knitter.

I keep playing with the idea that I am going to knit ahead by a season, but that really is not practical around here.  I might feel like knitting a worsted weight hoodie, but only if I drape myself over an air conditioning unit in the middle of the night and have a lot of ice standing at the ready.  Looking at last year's knitting I can tell you exactly when we went from chilly to hot.

I knit Rondeur in April and did not go back to warm knits until October when I knit up Twisty Frosted Violets.

As we are moving into summer I have already pulled out my tank tops and skirts, put away my sweaters, and settled my Rocky Coast Cardi on the wip shelf until I am ready to work with worsted weight again.

To learn more about knitting in other climates, search for 3KCBWDay4 on Google.

3KCBW Day 3 -- Knitting Hero

Your Knitting or Crochet Hero
Blog about someone in the fiber crafts who truly inspires you.

I am one of a breed of knitter who seems to be unique to the internet age.  Or at least that's the impression I get when I meet people.  I taught myself how to knit with pattern kits and dusty library books.  I can't remember the name of the book I actually used, but it taught me how to bind off -- after a year of attempts can you imagine how magical that was?  There are many people who were lucky enough to be taught by a family member.  A grandmother, an aunt, a cousin, their mother.  I had no such concept of a knitting heritage.  Until my mother gave me this.

Taken in California in the late sixties/early seventies, this is a snapshot of my grandmother.  Knitting.  Evidently when my mom was a kid my grandmother was always knitting, in the same way that I am now knitting in every spare moment.  I have vague memories of my grandmother before she was diagnosed with a debilitating disease that slowly took her memories of who we were.  Put into context, these are memories from when my sister was learning to walk -- she's now turning 21 on Friday (do not get me started, I can't handle it).  But after she died I started to learn more and more about the crafting legacy that I unknowingly inherited.

For example, my grandmother was a very thrifty lady.  After she had made the year's woolies, she would take her leftovers to make mittens.  My mom talks about them every year  and she was thrilled when I made my Sparkly Skid (above) and told her it was knit from shawl leftovers.  Evidently I am fitting into a pattern I did not realize existed.  Like a fairytale character who cannot figure out why she is so different until she finds out that she is a princess and had been living with the kind woodcutter's wife all this time to keep her safe.

I do not have any of my grandmother's knitting, but I do have a scarf knitted by my mom.  Turns out that she was the only one of the four daughters to refuse to knit.  But a few years ago she asked me  to teach her.  And she's not the only one returning to her knitting roots.  All three of her sisters have once again picked up needles and hooks.  My aunt, who made the bag below, described it as a way to connect with their mother who is now gone.  She might have left us several years ago, but they find tactile ways to remember her -- and the sense memories are strong.

They might not have returned to knitting until later in life, but the women of my family -- even those who do not knit -- are a crafty lot.  My one aunt was an artistic quilter, the other two create beaded jewelry that sells in craft shows in the North East.  Even my sister and several cousins have caught the bug.

Even though I barely knew her, I do think my grandmother inspired this legacy of creation.  I keep this photo in the center of my inspiration board so that I'll always connect back to my roots.  Because even in this internet age of self-taught knitters there is still heritage -- you just have to look.

Find other knitting and crochet heroes by searching 3KCBWDay3 in Google.