What's on Sandi's Needles?

In Which I Resist Temptation and I Choose A Yarn Color

2009-11-19T17:13:00Z

Dear Interweave Knits,

I love you. I hate you. I both hate and love you at the same time.

My faithful and clever readers have just spent several weeks carefully choosing a sweater pattern for me to knit, and a color for me to knit the pattern in, and here you go, publishing the new Winter 2009 IK with a cover sweater that makes me breathless with desire, so that the first words out of my mouth are, "I want to change the sweater pattern from the Farmer's Market Cardi to Nora's Sweater! Can we do a re-vote?"

Naughty, naughty Interweave Knits. How could you do this to me and my readers?

(deeeeeeep cleansing breath)

I shall hold fast to my resolve. My readers have spoken. The Farmer's Market Cardigan it shall be. The Farmer's Market Cardi is a gorgeous cardi and I love it and it will be mine.

However, on the bright side, at least I know what I am going to be knitting after I finish the Farmer's Market Cardigan. It's not like it's going to suddenly be 70 degrees in January here. It's not like I won't need a second warm cardigan.

All right, my beloved Knits, I apologize for having a moment of hate because you are so generous with beauty. That was small-minded of me. I can learn. I can grow.

I can knit more than one sweater this winter...

Friends again?
(The Winter issue ROCKS. Just being clear about that. It ROCKS. Thank you, Knits staff!!)

Color, Color, Color

This color-choosing thing was harder than I thought it was going to be. I guess I imagined that everyone would link into the Psychic Sandi Network or something and we'd all end up picking the same color, and then the birds would sing and small animals would dance on the lawn under my window.

But noooo. You folks are so creative that you came up with a total of 24 color suggestions. (There are only 43 colors available. You chose more than half of them. Whoot!)

Your colors ranged from the pale wisps of Beach Fog to the cheery delicate petals of Chinatown Apple to the mysterious Wisterious, finally moving on to the bold Lipstick Lava, the intricate shades of NIghtwatch, and the lush red/purple tones of In Vino Veritas.

There were more, but folks, a girl has to draw the line somewhere.

I've been to my local yarn shop to view the colors in person, and to get opinions from the good people who work at the shop as to what works best with my skin tone, and after careful consideration, the color I choose is: In Vino Veritas.

Besides. I just bought some awesome red cowboy boots. I don't have anything red to match them. Jeans, white shirt, In Vino Veritas Farmer's Market Cardi, and red cowboy boots.

Winter, bring it.

– Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

The Winning Sweater!

2009-11-12T19:05:00Z

And the winner is...

The Farmer's Market Cardigan, by Connie Chang Chinchio! Whoo-hoo!

Everyone please give Connie, the designer of this fine cardigan, a round of applause for designing something so unusual and so flattering. I love this sweater, and I'm thrilled that you folks chose it for me to make for myself! You have such good taste :)

Actually, I was very impressed at the level of comments that came in with your votes. Many of you took the time to go over various fit details of your choices, explaining why you thought that particular shape would flatter me. I was quite amazed, not just at the time you took (thank you!), but at the insights you all had into garment choice. I think, needless to say, we've all learned a TON about shaping and fit and body curves over the past three years. (Perhaps we all deserve a round of applause, too!)

So the Farmer's Market Cardigan it is. And by the way: If any of you would like to join me in knitting this cute cardi, the pattern is in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits magazine.

What's next? Well, we have to choose some YARN, my friends! I know I said I would ask for help choosing yarn...but I'm wicked. I've already chosen the yarn. Not that I meant to choose the yarn, you understand. I meant to have all of you make suggestions and then vote and all that...but I was in my local yarn shop, and, well, let's just say that some yarn fell on me. Yes, that's what happened, some yarn fell off the shelves and landed on me. Now, it landed very softly on me, a whole skein of it barely brushing my skin...and that's how I noticed how cushy it was, and how soft-to-the-skin it was.

I had a yarn accident. You understand. Maybe you've had one yourself in your own local yarn shop?

Now as it happens, there wasn't enough of the color I coveted any particular color for a whole sweater, so I put the yarn back neatly on the shelf. But I knew it was The Yarn–thus, I present to you Dream in Color Classy, a gorgeous worsted weight yarn that comes in all sorts of glowing colors. Why don't you go look at the colors here–and then would you come back here and tell me which color you think would look best (leave a comment; I really do read them all!)? I'll be honest and say right up front that I have a color already in mind, but I am open to suggestions. No, I won't tell you what color I am thinking of, I don't want to influence your thoughts on the matter. Suggest away! You never know; I might be persuaded to pick the color you suggest.

Once a color is chosen, I shall ask the wonderful Megan, owner of Lettuce Knit, my local yarn shop, to order the yarn for me! And whilst we await its arrival, let's choose a size and take a look at the schematic to see if I need to make any alterations for my particular curves. I'll blog about that process here–partly to demonstrate how I go about it, but also to solicit your advice and help along the way. I've learned that you folks often see things about myself that I cannot see because I am too close to that girl in the mirror. :)

Report: The Pretty Little Thing

I finished it! I finished the little cowl made out of my very own handspun, and it's drying now after being lightly blocked. Someone asked me in the comments how one blocks something knit in the round, as it is impossible to spread it flat in a single layer.

Answer: I lay the garment flat (as a double layer) on either my blocking board or a couple of towels. I gently pat it into shape, making sure that the bottom layer is just as carefully nudged into shape as the top layer. If there are points or scallops, I pull them out together so that they match in length. Either way, I make sure that the edges line up and the whole thing is even and as symmetrical as it is meant to be.

So my pretty little cowl is still drying. Once it's dry, then I can play with it a bit to see how much memory the lace pattern gives the 50/50 silk/alpaca blend. So far, though...I love how it turned out! (Pattern: Pretty Thing, the Yarn Harlot's lace cowl design.)

There's more I could blog about–a little Bolero comes to mind–but I made quite a stellar mistake in that cute little mini-sweater, and I need some time to recover my dignity before I post about it. Next week, I promise.

Knit with joy...

– Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

Knitting For SOAR (plus VOTE on my next sweater)

2009-11-05T19:00:00Z

Knitting For SOAR

You might have noticed that I did not post last week (bad blogger!). My excuse? I was at Interweave's Spin-Off Annual Retreat, learning all about my most favorite thing: Yarn. My SOAR adventure was, in part, a mission to find out more about this beloved substance, to see if I could make better yarn choices in my knitting. I figured the more I knew about yarn, the better knitter I could become.

My very first day there, the instructor hands me a puff of cashmere fiber and tells me to make some yarn with it. Yes, really. (And it just got better from there–we even made bunny fur yarn!)

That's what it was like. For SIX DAYS, people. For six days, people like Abby Franquemont and Judith Mackenzie McCuin and Maggie Casey and Amy King kept showing me things about yarn that made my little knitter's head explode.

Learning About My Own Knitting

As I was packing for SOAR, I realized that I needed a knitting project to take with me. The white starry baby blanket wouldn't do, as it is too big (and too white) to take on a plane. I finally decided to start a new project, just a bitty one (no, really, I can finish this one, honest I can...really...). In honor of SOAR, I chose to use some of my own handspun yarn–a 50/50 alpaca silk blend that I spun up into silky soft 2-ply sockweight yarn. For the pattern, I chose Pretty Thing, the Yarn Harlot's lace cowl design. That's a photo of it–I love how the pinks softly change from light to dark, like the petals of a rose. Makes me happy just looking it it!

By the time I got to SOAR, I had the cowl nearly half-done (see?). I set the knitting aside during the classes in favor of my spinning; once I got home, however, I was ready to knit again. I picked up the cowl project...and with all that SOAR knowledge so minty fresh in my mind, I realized that my lovely rose-colored yarn might not be a good choice for the cowl after all. (Rats.) Here's why:

What Have You Learned, Dorothy?

I took Robin Russo's three-day workshop on Exotic Fibers–including, of course, alpaca and silk. Robin challenged us to think of fibers and yarns in terms of words like elasticity (or memory), strength, softness, and sheen. A yarn made entirely of silk, for example, will have high marks for strength and sheen, but low marks for elasticity, as silk has no ability to "bounce back." Likewise, alpaca gets high marks for softness, but relatively low marks for memory when compared to its woolly cousins.

And therein lies the problem with my little pretty cowl. My cowl by its nature needs to be elastic–I want to pull it on over my head, and then have it snuggle charmingly against my neck. My handspun yarn is half silk (thus sheen, strength, and softness, but no memory); and half alpaca (thus softness and sheen, but not a lot of memory). While the yarn is a great choice for wearing against my skin, it may not be a great choice for something that needs to keep its shape over the course of a lot of stretching and pulling.

What might work better would be something with a little wool in it–say, an alpaca/silk/wool blend. (I'll keep that in mind for next time. It's Canada. The first snowfall is mere days away. Surely I will need more than one warm cowl during the next six months.) However, my cowl might be fine as is, because it's all lace. Lace has a bit more structure to it than plain stockinette, and this structure can bring a bit of elasticity to the mix, depending on the stitch pattern and the gauge.

As my SOAR instructors kept saying: It Depends. Try It And See.

I've decided to finish the cowl, block it, wear it, and then See What Happens. It's an experiment, a learning experience. If I learned anything at SOAR, it's that you never truly know anything about yarn until you try it out–because as we knitters know all too well, our mistress Yarn certainly has a mind of her own!

Stay tuned. I'll show you the cowl when it's finished and maybe do some stretch tests with it. That ought to be interesting...and give us all some good information for yarn choices along the way.

Sweater Poll: Choose Which Sweater I Knit Next!

Two weeks ago, I asked you to submit ideas for my next on-the-needles sweater project–and you responded with dozens of pretty sweaters! So the nominations are in, and I've counted your votes. Here are the top five sweaters you suggested I knit next: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang; Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky (big girl sizing by Lisa Shroyer); Farmer's Market Cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio; Curry Cabled Cardigan by Cathy Payson; and Sienna Cardigan by Ann E. Smith. Great choices everyone! Thank you.

Now vote for the final choice! Which one should I knit next for myself? (Go ahead, boss me around. You know you want to.)

Choose my next sweater project!

Knit with joy...

– Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

Knitterly Heaven: Fiber Festivals

2009-10-22T16:54:00Z

I went off to Rhinebeck, New York, last weekend, to immerse myself in the fiber world at the huge annual NYS Sheep & Wool Festival. Did I have fun? Does a knitter have dpns under her sofa cushions?

It was fabulous. One llama tried to pick me up and get frisky with me on the first date. The llama kissed me several times on the face, then nuzzled my, uh, chest, then snuggled into my arms. (This caused a riot of giggles from the small folk around the pen.)

So, I tell ya. Llamas these days. No roses, no chocolates, not even a movie. Just kiss -n- nuzzle, then thank you ma’am.

As for me, I tried to be Well Behaved when it came to buying pretty things. I really did. I even managed to keep myself squeaky-clean as far as customs limits goes, although I admit that the total did hit three figures. It was rather worth the look on the customs agent's face, however, as he looked at my customs form when I landed in Toronto:

Customs gent: "How much did you spend while in the States?"

Me: "Blah-de-blah dollars."

Him: "Uh, huh. What did you spend it on?"

Me: "Wool. Oh, and a book."

Him: stare

Me: sheepish grin

Him: recovering "You spent blah-de-blah dollars on WOOL?"

Me: "Yes, sir. Wool. You know--yarn. And a book, too."

Him: shaking head "Are you going to sell all that yarn?"

Me: "No sir. I'm going to knit with it."

Him: stare

Me: amused grin, makes knitting motions with hands

Him: stamps paperwork "You can go."

So why should you go to a fibre festival? I give you SIX great reasons:

YARN! Yes, there is actual yarn at a fiber fest, not just fleece. There will be so much yarn that you will feel like you have died and gone to Knitter's Heaven. Take your time. Browse around. Breathe deeply. If you feel faint from yarn fumes, go have a cup of hot chili or a big coffee at the 4-H booth.

THE LOCAL FIBRE FOLKS! It is great fun to meet people who make their living creating pretty yarn for us to knit, or producing the fleeces that will become beautiful yarns for us to knit. And then there are the crafts folk (handblown glass needles, carved ball winders, hand-stitched knitting bags) who make so many beautiful things that enhance our knitting joy. A fiber festival allows us not only to meet these talented folk, but to support them financially so they can continue to support their families and to make cool stuff for us!

SEE! TOUCH! SNIFF! Sure, you can buy stuff online, but at a festival, you get to Touch and Fondle. (Yeah, baby.) Colors are their own bright cheery selves in person; you can tell immediately if that green is YOUR green or not. And if you are a spinner, there is no substitute for being able to put your hand into a bag full of luscious fluff. (I petted some Icelandic wool/alpaca/silk fluff and had to be dragged away bodily or I would still be there, petting and cooing softly to it.)

MEET THE KNITTERS. Oh my goodness, the friends you'll meet there. If you are on Ravelry, be sure to wear a nametag with your Ravelry name on it so other Ravelers can find you. Bring friends, meet new ones...and keep an eye out for your favorite designers and bloggers, too!

FUN! There it is folks, the most important reason to go. You will have a TON o' fun, or my name isn't Sandi Wiseheart. Really. Go. Watch the clever sheepdogs outwit the dumb sheep; pet some outrageously soft buffalo fluff; meet angora bunnies who should not be allowed to be That Cute; fondle gorgeous yarns dyed by talented local/indie dyers; eat local treats; and of course: Enhance Your Stash.

And finally, Reason Number 6, which is voiced so eloquently by my friend Mardi that I'll just quote her:

"Even just showing up and only spending $20 is a show of support for this community. The more bodies that walk through that gate, the louder the message is that this is important, that it’s not just a hobby but it’s history and heritage. Represent, people!"

Festival Tips: Wear comfortable shoes; drink lots of water; scope out the restrooms early and often; bring your family; and above all: Decide on a budget ahead of time and stick to it. (Don't forget that YOU are part of the fiber community and it's important to support yourself as well!)

You know you want to go. Rhinebeck's over for this year, but use your keen detecting skills to find out if there is a fiber festival within a day's drive of your home.

The alpacas say: You won't be sorry. Go to a fiber festival and Support the Wool Arts.

I'M STILL ACCEPTING SWEATER NOMINATIONS!

Here's the deal: You pick it, I knit it. I need a sweater, so you get to choose the pattern from Interweave's entire family of books and mags. Go for it! My only preference is that I'd like a cardigan rather than a pullover.

Leave your suggestions for The Sweater You Think Sandi Ought to Make For Herself in the comments, and I'll compile a list of your faves--and then you'll all get to vote!

Knit with joy...

- Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

I'm Chilly & I Need a Sweater: Which One Should I Knit?

2009-10-15T18:43:00Z

The leaves aren't just falling outside, they're dumping themselves in huge thick carpets on my lawn. I've started wearing a coat when I walk the dog, scuffing my waterproof boots through the rivers of leaves on the sidewalks.

Autumn has arrived here in southern Ontario.

I've started mentally inventorying my cold-weather gear, and, given the lessons I learned last year during my first Canadian winter, my closet could use a little knitted help. I have a lovely thick down coat, but no hat. I have thin leather gloves, but the dog ate one of my thick winter mittens last spring (the vet bills were shocking--now we keep all knitted goodies out of Buddy's reach). I could wear The One Mitten, but then I'd feel like some sort of knitterly rock star. Thankfully, I have two or three scarves for caulking purposes, plus several shawls to tuck around me. (My friend D. believes that scarves are the essential Canadian piece of cold-weather garb. She has the most awesome collection of knitted and handwoven scarves, and wears them with panache, sometimes two or three at a time. Now THERE's a woman who knows how to dress warmly and well.)

Thus, at minimum, I need one hat and one pair of mittens. Given that the temperatures have already dropped below freezing several nights in a row, methinks I need these knitted goodies as fast as I can knit them.

Happily, one of my UFOs was a set of thrummed mittens--remember those (that link takes you to the main post and pattern links, here are tips and a tutorial)? The poor things had been abandoned at the point where they were all knit up...except for the thumbs. The line of waste yarn marking the thumbholes seemed to crook a mocking smile at me, chiding me for leaving the mittens undone so long, when all that was needed was a set of thumbs.

So I sat down one night and thumbed them :) And now they are done, and not only do I have some nice fluff-lined mittens, my UFO count is down to 16. Whoo!

Except that my WIP number may be about to creep up, from three (Bolero--still working on all that ribbing; Star Light Star Bright Blanket--fifth row of stars!; and socks--halfway through the first one) to four...because I'm about to cast on for something else I need.

A sweater. A nice, warm, Toronto sweater.

I know it might seem to you that I, of all people, must have plenty of sweaters...and I do. They just don't fit me anymore. As many of you know, I've lost a lot of weight since in the past year...and so my closet is filled with Extra Large sweaters when I am no longer an Extra Large Sandi.

My current sweaters are quite lovely for slopping about the house in; Tim, the kitten, has even discovered that one of them forms quite a lovely, warm cat tent when I am wearing it whilst watching TV. ("Your sweater is rumbling." "Yes, dear, I know." "Are you hungry?" "No, but I think perhaps Tim is.")

However, as much as I like sharing my sweaters with my cats, I'd really like a sweater that fits just me, thank you very much.

Given that there are a gadzillion wonderful sweater patterns out there, I thought it might be fun to have you help me choose the next one I make. What do you think? Have any ideas? The only two parameters are: I'd prefer a cardigan, and given that we're playing on Interweave's playground here, how about an Interweave pattern?

Leave your suggestions for The Sweater You Think Sandi Ought to Make For Herself in the comments, and I'll compile a list of your faves--and then you'll all get to vote!

Hee. This could be fun. (Would you like to choose the yarn and the colour too? Why not? Let's choose the pattern first, though. One thing at a time.)

All right then: A bit of knitterly fun for all of us, as the leaves skydive to the ground and the temperatures drop with them.

Knit with joy...

- Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

A Tale of Toe Woe: The Zombie Socks

2009-10-09T02:17:00Z

One UFO Down: 17 Left To Go

I've had a pair of socks sitting in my knitting basket for, oh, I think it's been over a year now. Way back when, I wanted to make a pair of socks to be for Nicholas, so I opened up the bin containing my sock yarn stash and told him to Pick Something. He chose a lovely yarn (Socks that Rock) in a bright colorway that reminds me of that rainbow sherbet I ate as a kid. (He says if he has to wear boring professorial styles to teach, he might as well have nifty creative socks to wear so he doesn't feel too much like a Stepford Husband.)

The fact that these socks have been sitting unfinished in my knitting pile for OVER A YEAR boggles my mind--what's the problem? They really are Just Socks. They're not a complicated sweater, or an intricate lace shawl...in fact, the pattern is as close to zombie TV-watching knitting as you can get short of plain stockinette. It's not even a "real" pattern--I cobbled together a basic heel flap, and a basic heel, and a basic toe, all from the person who taught me how to knit a great sock instead of just a good sock: my former boss and co-worker, Ann Budd. (If you're interested in basic sock patterns and basic sock construction help, her Getting Started Knitting Socks is killer. And I'd say that even if I didn't work for Interweave, I promise.)

My Zombie Knitting Socks, I called them. They are so easy that I can't even say I designed them, because I'm sure if I looked on Ravelry I'd find that several people have thought of the idea before me. But they're my personal "go-to" basic pattern when I Just Want To Knit Some Socks.

So why did these really simple, really pretty socks remain Zombie Socks for so long? This was unusual, even for me. Thus, I sat down to examine the silly things--was there a mistake I had to undo? A gauge problem? What?

Turns out that the socks were ABT: All But Toe. That's my personal term for a pair of socks stalled by the K-word: the dreaded Kitchener Stitch.

Oh, please. What is UP with me and the darn K stitch? It's not like it's all that hard--so why do I get stuck on it so often, with socks languishing for months due to that one silly technique?

Upon reflection, I think it's because I know two things about myself and The K Stitch: I can't do the K without looking at the book, and I can't do the K well. It always comes out looking sloppy, completely out of step with all my other careful knits and purls.

I can knit a killer lace shawl. I can do twisty celtic knot cables. I can size a sweater up and down, I can tech edit, I can do lace charts and work out knitting problems in my head.

I just can't quite manage the K yet...and right now, there's other things going on in my life, and I don't have to be The Perfect Knitter Right This Minute.

But I did want to finish those socks rather badly. I could have grafted them on the needles, but I wanted to be daring and try out a new-to-me technique I learned from Lucy Neatby at Sock Summit: the Toe Chimney.

Want a little Toe Chimney Tutorial? Good, because I've made one for you. :)

It's fun, and it makes you feel like you've done something really clever, so what's not to like?

Sure, we all need to learn the Kitchener Stitch, because it's really useful for grafting everything from hoods to shoulder seams to the two halves of lace stoles. (In fact, here's a video tutorial on the Kitchener stitch from Knitting Daily TV episode #208. You can order the entire season on DVD here!)

But if the dreaded K stitch is all that stands between you and a finished pair of socks, at least now you know at least two other ways--grafting on the needles, and toe chimneys--to finish off those UFO toes!

Knit with joy...

- Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

Sorting Through the UFOs

2009-10-01T13:36:00Z

After last week's post, many of you sent in the most amazing, supportive, you're-not-alone emails and comments...thank you. Beyond the compliments (blush), I found much wisdom there in your words, much strength, much companionship as I embark on this new part of my life. Each email, each comment seemed to express something worth pondering about our shared journey as knitters. I found myself wanting to quote first one of you, then another, then another on today's blog...until I realized that I wanted to quote all of you. You are all so inspiring to me.

You are so inspiring, in fact, that I decided to not put things off any longer. This week, I spent some time sorting through my unfinished objects pile, and doing a little reality check on each project.

I discovered that I was really doing a reality check on myself--on my philosophy of knitting, if you will. As I handled each project--some begun recently, one or two begun decades ago (ouch!)--I found that I was asking myself: Why did I want to knit this in the first place? Is it still important to me to finish it? Why? What do I need to change about my knitting habits now to make it possible for me to finish this? If I don't want to finish it--what do I do with it? If it's unfinished, but too pretty or too precious in some way to rip out, can I transform the piece into something I can finish--or even something I want to finish? Do I have the courage to make that first tug on the yarn, to hear those made-long-ago stitches start to come unraveled?

When all was said and done, I had questioned my way through 27 projects in one stage of creation or another...yessiree. 27 projects in my knitting bin. Now, to be fair, 6 of those are only "projects" in my imagination--those 6 are "in the queue," so to speak: planned or dreamed of but not yet started in any way.

So that leaves 21 projects actually started, and thus 21 decisions. Hoo boy.

3 of those 21 are easy decisions: The Star Light, Star Bright Baby Blanket for my niece Delaney, which is two-thirds finished; the black Bolero from Feminine Knits, which I'm determined to complete, and a sock that I use as my car or waiting-in-line knitting. So those 3 projects all are truly "on the needles" and have regular progress being made on them.

That leaves 18 UFO's: Projects I have started, but wich are stalled for some reason; projects that have been sitting neglected for weeks, months or even (gulp) years.

Eighteen unfinished projects...that's a lot of knitting left undone. What ARE these orphans hanging around my knitting closet?

Ten--more than half--of the stalled projects were intended as gifts: a shawl for my mother, a hoodie for my sister, socks for a dear friend, a cabled hat here, a fancy bag there. These projects seem not much different than anything else on my needles, so why do they languish in my knitting closet and the others grow to completion? I take a closer look and realize what these projects share in common: None of them are simple, or easy, or even quick "one skein" stashbusters. Each gift is as unique, as special as the person it is intended for. I've chosen each gift project as though it were the only knitting project in my queue, as though I really could and would devote my entire knitting life to that one special thing, in honor of that one special person's place in my heart.

The reality is, of course, that I can't devote either my heart, or my knitting time, in that way. My knitting projects have to timeshare, since I knit for work as well as for pleasure. But that reality, the reality of my limited time, goes right out the window when I choose to knit a gift for someone...and so my own lack of resources, my own inability to be SuperKnitter, is the source of more than half of the stalled projects.

However, the truth is that not finishing the gifts is equivalent to not giving my loved ones anything at all. So, I reluctantly face reality and consign four of the ten gifts to the frog pond. As for the other six, I'm relocating them to the shelf near my knitting chair, so that I can rotate projects more easily over the course of my week. (I'm also considering making a schedule of sorts, a la the Yarn Harlot and others: Spin on Tuesdays, work on UFOs on Fridays, that sort of thing. We shall see.)

Now, I admit that this is as far as my philosophizing has gotten me, although I did finish going through the rest of the project pile. To date, a total of 7 out of the 18 UFOs have been tossed into the frog pond. The six gifts are now back on active status; that leaves five more UFOs--all goodies for myself: a ridiculously easy, stunningly lovely, but deadly boring shawl; a challenging pair of stranded colorwork mittens, a couple of easy peasy pairs of socks, and a simple-but-fiddly pair of mitts.

Hm. I wonder if I am having trouble justifying time to knit for myself when I can't even finish gifts for those I love?

And so I ponder the lessons my knitting is teaching me--even the knitting I am not doing is a teacher, it seems.

I'm tired. It's time to go curl up with some knitting in front of the TV with my husband...

I wonder which project I'll reach for, and why.

Knit with joy...

- Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

Work In Progress? Or UFO?

2009-09-24T12:37:00Z

We have arrived at the place in my knitting where it's all about steadfastness. Despite endless rows of sameness on the back of the Bolero, I must be unwavering in my vision of cuteness and Just Keep Going.

This is the point where I sometimes abandon my projects--the long stretches of stockinette, the endless sleeves, the Back Without Boundaries. There is a reason I have accumulated a shameless pile of UFO's...

Well, actually, there are a couple of reasons an object moves from On The Needles to UnFinished Object. One is boredom, no doubt about it. But another reason, equally as common, is what I call The Needy Needles, a project so complex that it requires every synapse I own to be focused on it, every stitch along the way. There's a pair of socks in the UFO pile that falls into The Needy Needles category--four charts, every row different, no memorization possible... They are lovely socks, I adore the pattern...but I adore it In Theory. I adore it From Afar. Up close and personal, it wants too much of me. Despite whatever fantasies might abound, I do not have long uninterrupted stretches of time where I sit in the world's most perfect knitting chair, with the perfect amount of light, with classical music playing in the background, a cat playing serenely at my feet with a felted mousie, and all the quiet in the world to concentrate on four charts for one sock.

In reality, the chair hurts my back if I sit too long, the light is never enough, the cat is gnawing on my spare dpn, and the noises around me distract me so that I forget to move the chart markers in my knitting at the end of rounds.

However, something about this year is different for me, and I'm looking at that pile of UFOs with a different eye. Maybe it's the fact that I've reached Year Six of my marriage, a milestone that was never reached in what I now refer to as "my practice marriage" way back when. I'm wanting to build a Real Life now, to set down roots in a way I've never been able to previously, due to a life of constant moving around, a life lived half out of boxes from childhood onwards.

This year I want to unpack ALL the boxes, and sift through things, keeping what deserves keeping and giving away or tossing the rest. That bad chair that hurts my back? Why keep it? And if I need more light, I can find another lamp instead of, well...instead of cursing the darkness.

But it takes courage to unpack some of the boxes, the ones with old wedding invitations in them (invites from the practice marriage, I mean really--those have gotta GO), or outdated home decor items. It's hard to accept that some things are just Over and need to be put to rest...and perhaps harder still to work out how to keep something without simply packing it away again. Can I find a place for it in my new life? Does it need updating, or repainting, or simply a new button to make it wearable?

And suddenly, I am no longer talking about just boxes of old things...suddenly I am talking about my UFO pile as well. If I approach that UFO pile the same way I am approaching the rest of my life--with an eye towards building something permanent, with the steadfast courage required to put down roots--then what will happen? Will I have the wisdom to give away or unravel those project that no longer fit my life and my body? Even more: Will I have the guts to finish projects I really want to keep?

Perhaps if I can learn to persevere through endless rows of Same in my knitting, then I will learn something valuable about the skills required to build the life I long for in my life away from the needles, a life of rootedness, of family, of community.

Or perhaps the imagery of "life away from the needles" is just an illusion for a knitter? Perhaps our needles are our lives in miniature, where we work out, in small stitches, the same struggles and puzzles and triumphs that are going on in the larger fabric of our lives...

Today, I have no answers for you, no pithy sayings, no clever tips. Today, there are only questions, questions about how to live a life where things last longer than a few dozen rows, where good things are seen through to fullness, where dreams can be lived out instead of cast aside.

I'm on Row 41 of 64 of the back. I can do this. I can knit on, until the knitting's done.

Knit with joy...

- Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

A Whole Lot of Frogging Going On Here...

2009-09-17T12:01:00Z

This is so embarrassing.

How many posts have I written about putting a lifeline in one's lace knitting?

Maybe you could be gentle and just not answer that. Because I could go back and count the lifeline posts myself..I'm going to guess there's at least three of them, probably more like five. Could be more, who knows. (Eek. How many posts have I written over the years, total? The mind boggles.)

OK, so I've given the lifeline advice over and over and over again...so can someone please explain to me why I am now faced with ripping back not one, but two projects where I did not use a lifeline? TWO PROJECTS. No lifelines. Not in the cute little Bolero from Feminine Knits, not in the Star Light Star Bright baby blanket.

I am chastened. I am humbled. I'm tempted to say I grovel, but that might be a bit much.

Nevertheless, in the service of the Greater Good of Knitting Everywhere, I hereby do confess and explicate my sin, in the hopes that somehow, the gospel of lifelines will be heard all the more clearly.

(Heard more clearly BY ME, anyway. Earth to Planet Wiseheart. Important message coming through...)

In which I get very close to finishing the Bolero before splashing headfirst into the frog pond...

I've got two sleeves and two fronts done, and I had four inches of the back done. Thus, I was feeling rather smug about my ability to knit a simple (ahem) little lace pattern and watch TV and chat with my husband and pet the dog all at the same time. (You can see what's coming, can't you?) Halfway through a really great movie (Serenity, second time I've seen it, O how I love thee, Joss Whedon), I looked down at my knitting and swore rather fluently (sorry, Mom). Two rows back, I had gotten off by half a repeat, so that now the designs no longer "stacked up" properly.

And of course: No Lifeline. "It's such an easy lace pattern," I said. "The yarn is so nicely spun it will be easy to fix any errors," I thought. "I'm really good at fixing lace errors," I said.

Phooey. It is an easy lace pattern, and the yarn is nicely spun, and I do know how to fix lace errors, but phooey. This error was so big there was nothing for it but to rip away--not gently tink back stitch-by-stitch, mind you, but just whack those needles right out of the stitches and let 'er rip.

I ripped slowly. And I made sure no stitches got dropped...or so I thought. I put the stitches carefully back on the needles, started to repair stitch mounts...and found several dropped yarnovers and double decreases and oh...nevermind. I couldn't fix this mess to save my life. (I blame it on the black yarn being hard to see. Work with me here.) Now, I am tinking back over a hundred stitches, one at a time, carefully catching the loops of each stitch before they have a chance to get away from me.

If I had used a lifeline...I'd be done knitting the back by now, instead of starting at Inch Three. (Chagrin fills my heart.)

But wait. There's MORE.

In which I find a Problem in the Stars...

I was knitting along on the Star Light, Star Bright baby blanket, looking forward to having a fifth row of stars to show off to you today...and then I noticed a Flaw about 22 rows back (yes, I counted...EEK!). I'd never produced this particular mistake before (how ingenious of me!): In the midst of a stockinette row, as I whipped along, knitting without looking at my work as I am wont to do, I split a stitch. Not only did I split the stitch, but I knit the two halves of the split stitch as though they were two separate stitches...creating an increase right in the middle of the whole blanket. (Clever girl.)

There are no photos. I discovered this problem about half an hour before bedtime last night, and I was so annoyed that I dove right into Ms. Fixit mode before I thought to get out the camera.

Fixing the split-stitch increase: First, I turned the fabric this way and that, trying to decide if this was an error that could be Left Alone. I could, after all, simply decrease a stitch quietly near the edge before the next band of stars, and likely no one would be the wiser. (Meg Swansen does not show up at my house to randomly check my knitting, I'm sad to say. Or perhaps I'm glad to say. Tough call. I'd be thrilled to have Meg in my home, but not so thrilled to have her find all my silly mistakes.) However: The split stitch created a noticeable thin spot, which I worried might quickly become a hole in the hands of a toddler.

I tried dropping the stitches down to the split and re-working them with a crochet hook, but it left 22 rows of loose tension resembling a spider's web smack dab in the middle of the starry blanket. Not even blocking was going to erase that horror.

The end result, as you have guessed, was a late-night frog session, including a good 45 minutes or so putting 181 stitches in the midst of the lace star band back on the needles, correcting mounts and rescuing yarnovers and ssp stitches.

And the obvious omission? Ayup: No lifeline. My favourite lace trick and I forgot to put one in. Sheer laziness, no other excuse...and I paid for it with a lot of frustration (and loss of sleep! I love my sleep time...). All I can say is: Lifelines: Just Use Them. (Also: Do as I say, not as I do. Sorry about that one.)

And if you have any creative ways of remembering to use a lifeline, help a girl out here and leave a comment, pretty please?

Knit with joy...if not with lifelines :)

- Sandi

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com or you can leave a comment.

Working Increases into a Lace Pattern

2009-09-10T12:00:00Z

Greetings, all! Things are getting back to some semblance of normal here, which means not only fewer boxen lurking about, but more time to knit...

We'll catch up with my progress on the Bolero from Feminine Knits and the Star Light, Star Bright baby blanket next week. But for now...more lace fun!

Last week, I started a little mini-series on Shaping in Lace Patterns, giving you Part 1: Wee Lace Primer and Part 2: Stockinette Side Panels.

This week, we're going to up the ante: Instead of just working new stitches in stockinette, we're going to slowly incorporate the increases into the lace pattern, so that at the end of the swatch, we end up with an all-over lace pattern instead of a single vertical lace panel.

If you have time and some spare yarn, it might be really helpful for you to "knit along" with the examples given below...

Sample lace pattern

As our sample pattern, I've been using a very simple lace pattern, given here in both text and chart form (for help in reading charts, go here):

Screamingly Simple Lace
Multiple of 6 + 2
Note: Work first and last stitch of every row in garter stitch (knit all sts).
Row 1 and all odd-numbered rows: (WS) K1, purl to last st, k1.
Row 2: (RS) K1, *k1, yo, k2tog, ssk, yo, k1; rep from * to last st, k1.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 for pattern.

Part 3: Working Increases into Your Lace Pattern

1. Divide and conquer: Examine a single repeat of the lace pattern. Divide the repeat into equal (or nearly equal) smaller segments so that each segment contains a single yarnover/decrease pair and a few surrounding stitches. You will use these segments as "building blocks" for gradually working new stitches into the overall lace repeat. This means that every time you add a stitch, you will be wrangling only a single "building block" segment, instead of trying to wrangle the entire pattern repeat. ("Making your life easier, one yarnover pair at a time.")

In the Screamingly Simple Lace Pattern, there are two yarnover/decrease pairs in a single repeat: [yo, k2tog] (stitches 3 and 4) and [ssk, yo] (stitches 5 and 6). If I divide the repeat down the middle between the two pairs, between stitches 4 and 5, I can create two equal building block segments:

The blue is Segment A (stitches 2-4), and the green is Segment B (stitches 5-7).

2. Increasing: Adding more and more stitches

Here's an imaginary pattern for a gradually increasing swatch (it ends up looking like a mini-sleeve):

CO 8 sts.
Rows 1 and 2: Knit.
Rows 3-9: Work Rows 1 and 2 of Screamingly Simple Lace three times, then work Row 1 once more so that you end with a WS row.
Row 10: (RS) Working rem of sts in patt, increase one stitch at each end of needle.
Row 11: (WS) K1, purl to last st, k1.

Whoa. What are we going to do with the new sts on Row 12?

The new sts we have added are the "seeds" of new segments, so let's draw in the ghost segments (lighter colors, not in bordered boxes):

NOTE: Be sure to add the correct segment on either side of the original repeat! You are working in half-repeats, essentially, so they alternate: blue green blue green blue green. Two blue segments (or two greens) are never side-by-side, if that helps.

What to do with the new stitches? Since we only have one new st for each new ghost segment (stitch #4 for the new green segment and stitch #11 for the new blue segment), we just work those in St st.

Now it's time for the next part of the swatch and the next increase row:

Row 12: (RS): K1 (garter border), k1 (new st), (6-st simple lace repeat), k1 (new st), k1 (garter border).
Rows 13 and 15: (WS) K1, purl to last st, k1.
Row 14: (RS) Working rem of sts as established, increase one stitch at each end of needle.

What to do with the new stitches: We still don't have enough new sts on each side to form a complete segment, so we work the new sts (#3 and # 12) in St st:

Row 16: (RS): K1 (garter border), k2 (2 new sts), (6-st simple lace repeat), k2 (2 new sts), k1 (garter border).

If we work four more rows, including one more increase row, then we will have enough sts to work one new segment at each side of the needle--or HALF A PATTERN REPEAT on each end: stitches 2-4 and stitches 11-13.

If we continue as above, it will take three more increase rows (12 more rows overall) to complete a full pattern repeat on each side, ending up with a full three repeats across.

Clear as mud, eh? Then let's do the decreasing next time.

Knit with joy,

- Sandi

Next week: We'll do decreasing, and I'll answer any questions you leave in the comments!

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can leave a comment below or even email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com.

All charts created with KnitVisualizer software from www.knitfoundry.com.

Instructions for Increasing Lace: Stockinette St Panel

2009-09-03T16:19:00Z

Chart and Instructions for Swatching:

Increases in Lace Using Stockinette Stitch Panels

Refer to Tips on Increasing in Lace, Part 1 for more information

Cast on 8 sts.

Rows 1 and 2: Knit.

Row 3 and all odd-numbered rows: (WS) K1, purl to last st, k1.

Row 4: (RS) K1, *k1, yo, k2tog, ssk, yo, k1; rep from * to last st, k1.

Rows 5-9: Repeat Rows 3 and 4 twice more, then work Row 3 once more.

Row 10: (RS) K1f&B, work in pattern to last st, k1f&b--2 sts inc'd, 10 sts total.

Row 12: (RS) K2, work in patt to last 2 sts, k2.

Row 14: (RS) K1f&b, k1, work in patt to last 2 sts, k1, k1f&b--2 sts inc'd, 12 sts total.

Row 16: (RS) K3, work in patt to last 3 sts, k3.

Row 18: (RS) K1f&b, k2, work in patt to last 3 sts, k2, k1f&b--2 sts inc'd, 14 sts total.

Row 20: (RS) K4, work in patt to last 4 sts, k4.

Row 22: (RS) K1f&b, k3, work in patt to last 4 sts, k3, k1f&b--2 sts inc'd, 16 sts total.

Row 24: (RS) K5, work in patt to last 5 sts, k5.

Row 26: (RS) K1f&b, k4, work in patt to last 5 sts, k4, k1f&b--2 sts inc'd, 18 sts total.

Row 28: (RS) K6, work in patt to last 6 sts, k6.

Row 30: (RS) K1f&b, k5, work in patt to last 6 sts, k5, k1f&b--2 sts inc'd, 20 sts total.

Row 32: (RS) K7, work in patt to last 7 sts, k7.

To see pattern more clearly, work Rows 31 and 32 once more, then BO loosely. Steam block, pinning out lace firmly.

Tips for Increasing in Lace Patterns: Part 1

2009-09-03T16:11:00Z

It is so good to be on the OTHER side of moving, the side where all your stuff comes out of the boxes and you finally get to eat with Real Forks again. I also love the dreaming part, where I get to stand in my new craft room and dream about how I want to organize it, what I want it to look like... So the worst is now over (yay!) and there are Fun Times ahead for putting together my little craft studio.

Meanwhile, I have been able to do some Actual Knitting in between the unpacking and the faucets exploding--in the photo at right, Nicholas is holding up the Star Light Star Bright baby blanket (free pattern!) in our new backyard, in celebration of me reaching the halfway point! Whoo! Seven rows of stars total, so three more to go. I've got my redesigned star charted, but there's still one stitch I am unhappy with, right at the base of the bottom two legs. I'm going to take some time to study it and see what the problem is and how I can fix it. So stay tuned!

Until then, it seems to me I promised you all some tips on wrangling increases and decreases in lace knitting...

Part 1: Wee Short Lace Primer

I always like to start from the beginning, just to make sure we all have the same basic toolset for our little knitting adventures...

Lace knitting seems like it is some sort of magic, but truly, it's not that hard. If you know how to do a yarnover, an ssk, and a k2tog, you can do most of the knitted lace out there.

The yarnovers create the holes; the k2togs and ssks create the surface designs and textures.

In most lace knitting, each yarnover is paired with some sort of decrease stitch nearby. Why? Well, a yarnover, while it creates pretty holes, also increases the stitch count. So in order to maintain a consistent, stable stitch count (and thus maintain the overall shape of the shawl, stole, or scarf), every time you make a hole and increase the stitch count, you also must work a decrease to get things back to normal on your needles.

Thus, each yarnover/decrease pair has two jobs: to create the actual lace designs, and to maintain the shape of the overall piece.

However: Some garments, such as lace sweaters, require actual real increases and decreases, for shaping armholes, waists, sleeves, and necklines, for example. How do you manage all those increases and decreases in the middle of the piece of fabric that is made up of increases and decreases without losing the shape of the garment, the integrity of the lace pattern--and your ever-lovin' mind?

I'm going to show you two ways to tackle all this and keep your sanity. If any of you knitting gurus out there know better/faster/more ways to handle this stuff, please chime in!

Here's the first way...

Part 2: Stockinette Side Panels

Increasing

You could, of course, just simply add extra stitches to the end of your needle as specified in the pattern (for a cuff-up sleeve, let's say) and then work the new stitches in stockinette. This would result in a panel of stockinette at the sides of your knitted piece as in the illustration at left--not really a problem, if this is part of the intended style of the sweater.

The chart at left is a sample "swatch" illustrating this technique. (Row-by-row instructions for this chart are here.) Notice how the lace becomes an isolated section surrounded by stockinette as the increases continue.

NOTE: I think it is very helpful to do this sort of thing as an actual knitting exercise, sooooooooo: Check out the knitting homework below!

On the other hand, if you want the lace to be an "all over" pattern, then you have to find some way of gradually working those new stitches into the pattern repeats of the lace pattern you are using.

Decreasing

While working a shoulder-down sleeve, if you just started decreasing at the ends of the needle, within a row or two you'd be "cutting into" a lace pattern repeat. If you don't wrangle those partial repeats properly, you can end up with a very strange stitch count along the way--extra yarnovers, or decreases gone AWOL.

To prevent this, some patterns plan ahead and require you to work enough edge stitches in stockinette from the very beginning so that you only decrease within the pre-planned stockinette side panels and never cut into a lace repeat. Again, this requires panels of stockinette at the undersides of your sleeve, or the side seams of your garment, in order for this technique to work.

But again, what if you want an all-over lace pattern?

If you like, we can make this a little Virtual Lace Classroom...and here's your (very optional) homework:

1. Work the chart above, where the increases are incorporated using Stockinette Stitch panels on either side of the lace repeat. (Row-by-row instructions for that chart are here.) Since this swatch is essentially a mini-sleeve, ask yourself what you like and do not like about how the mini-sleeve turns out. (Hint: Block the swatch for best viewing.)

2. Now, see if you can work the same chart, except that instead of using stockinette stitches as you increase, see if you can incorporate the lace pattern into the new stitches as you go. See how you do, and leave your questions, comments, suggestions, and discoveries below!

Next week: I'll present my version of incorporating increases, with a full-color chart and instructions. The week after that, we'll tackle decreases...unless some new fab knitting project catches my eye, in which case we could be talking about ANYTHING yarnly in two weeks!!.

Knit with joy,

- Sandi

P.S. I am proud to announce the birth of Savannah Marie Pengelly, who is my newest niece, born last Thursday afternoon while her Auntie was climbing in and out of a U-Haul. Savannah is as beautiful as can be...oh, the knitting I can do for these two new baby nieces in my family, first Delaney and now Savannah! Welcome, girls!

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can leave a comment below or even email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com.

Quick Tips: Packing and Moving Your Stash

2009-08-27T12:33:00Z

It's The Big Day, the day when The Big Truck shows up in our driveway. This move seems like a teensy, tiny one (40 miles) compared to the two other moves I've made in the past six years--California to Colorado (1211 miles) and Colorado to Toronto (1508 miles).

But it's still pretty crazy around here...which means I'm a bit crazy, too. So I feel as though this isn't a Real Sandi Post, it's just a little mini-post--just me waving hello at you all before I run back to check that no one is using a hockey stick to launch the box with Grandma's china into the back of the van.

(waves hello!)

However, even in a mini-post I feel compelled to say something worth your time, so here it is:

Sandi's Quick Tips On Packing Yarn and Fiber for a Move

If it is hot, or if the moving van will be traveling a long way through hot areas, do not put your wool yarn or spinning fibers into sealed "ziplock" plastic bags for the trip and then pile all those airtight bags into a box or bin! The heat (intensified by the bags) can draw out any bit of moisture caught in the fibers, the movement of the truck can cause things to shift around inside the plastic bags, the wool can rub against itself and against the bag...and you could have lovely felted balls and skeins and rovings at the other end of your trip.

Ask me how I know this.

Ask me how much spinning fiber, how much lovely lovely knitting yarn, felted up and had to be thrown out after moving from California to Colorado (across the desert...).

Yeah. Ouch.

Plastic bags are just not good packing enclosures for yarn, especially if you seal them tightly. Better just to place the um, "naked" yarn (or fiber) gently into "locking" plastic bins. Leave some airflow space around the yarn, toss in a few cedar sachets, and then send the bins on their way.

Sealable plastic bins are preferable to cardboard boxes, ESPECIALLY if you are using a professional moving van service. Why? Moving van services may carry two or more loads on a single truck. If the other loads have a moth infestation, or interesting smells, or sticky leaks, then your precious yarn is better protected in a plastic bin. Choose sturdy bins, and make sure that the bins are not at the bottom of a big stack of heavy book boxes.

Identification: With spinning fibers, often the original plastic bag has a label affixed to it--a label that tells what the fiber is. If you pack the fiber separately from its bag, you might forget what that pretty roving is! I make a little card for each bit of roving that tells me what it is, then I fold the card in half so the ink can't come off on the fiber in the heat. I unroll the roving a bit, place the card in the folds of the fiber, then roll it back up again with the card securely inside.

Yarn labels: Most yarn labels these days are some sort of uncoated paper or cardboard, which aren't slick enough to cause much friction. I leave those on, provided they are loose enough and don't squeeze the skein too tightly (a recipe for rubbing). If the label is slick, or coated, or plastic, or too tight, I slit the label and leave the skein cradled in the now-loose label.

Finally: Keep it loose. Don't shove down on the yarn to get as much in the bin as possible. Just drop the skeins in and let 'em play nicely with each other on the trip.

Am I being too paranoid? This is YARN we're talking about, my friends. Pretty, fuzzy, soft, colorful, wonderful, amazing YARN. My stash is a considerable (!) investment; I learned a hard lesson six years ago and so perhaps I have good reason for a little bit of OCD behavior when it comes to packing my yarn. I know that yarn companies ship yarn in plastic bags all the time, but those bags are much thinner plastic than regular ziplocks; usually the bags also have holes or openings in them to let the air flow through to prevent "chafing." After talking with the experts, and after a successful stash move last summer (no felting! yay!), I'm OK with a little paranoia, if it protects my beautiful--and much beloved--stash.

Time to go!

Knit with joy,

- Sandi

P.S. Yes, I will be knitting in the U-Haul truck all the way to our new home...

Next week: I promised you a post on what I learned about wrangling a lace pattern as you add or decrease stitches, and I'm going to keep that promise. "See" you next Thursday!

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can leave a comment below or even email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com.

A Life With Actual Knitting In It

2009-08-20T11:48:00Z

Note from Sandi: Welcome to my little corner of Knitting Daily! Every Thursday, I'll be sharing stories of my knitting adventures, as well as some tips and tricks I've learned along the way. Thanks for coming by!

It's been a bad week for knitting in Ye Olde Wiseheart House. Sock Summit left me gloriously mind-boggled with new techniques, new yarns, and new friends. However, the day I arrived back home, it was ten days until Moving House Day—and since then I've found myself wielding a tape gun and Sharpie rather than a spindle or knitting needles.

At night, when the packing is done-for-the-day, I've been too weary to keep the needles moving. In the evenings, more often than not, I've looked down at the knitting in my lap only to discover that I'm merely holding the needles in my hands, yarn loose at my side. Twice, I've fallen asleep in my chair with my knitting needles cradled in my hands like some sort of talisman against bad dreams. Other times, I stow the knitting away...but my hands then wander and fidget and fuss, as though seeking solace from the needles that are usually their constant companions.

I miss my knitting.

...

I typed that sentence, and re-read what I wrote...and it stopped me cold. What am I doing here? Why am I living a life so crazy with moving and writing-about-knitting-for-work that there is so little space for actual knitting in it? After all, I'm boxing up my house, not my heart. Knitting is far more to me than just a paycheck; knitting feeds my spirit, relaxes my mind, calms my body, and helps me stay sane in a rather insane world.

Pretty important stuff to be giving up on, don't you think? And yet...I bet I am not alone. How many of us knitters (or spinners or crafters of any sort) give up our crafting time when the world presses too closely around us, demanding more and more of our precious energy, like an overgrown (and rather spoiled) toddler? Usually, our beloved crafting time is one of the first things to go when our to-do lists start exploding...

I suppose that would make sense if knitting was "just a hobby," as so many people might say. I don't know about you, but that word "hobby" stopped applying to my knitting and spinning probably within the first day of learning to do the knit stitch or draft that marvelous fiber out into yarn. From that day forward, I was in love—and love in all forms helps keep us healthy and strong for whatever else life might toss at us.

So this evening, after having a little talk with myself, I put down the tape gun and went in search of my little black Bolero project, the one from Interweave's book Feminine Knits, and promised myself one uninterrupted hour of knitting time as medicine for my cranky, tired, yarn-hungry heart.

In that one hour, I worked 29 rows, all in all—one-third the way through the right front piece. Such a small thing, and yet I feel a bit clearer, a bit more feet-on-the-ground, a bit more ready to face the moving truck.

Making time for knitting every day (or spinning, or whatever yarnly craft has stolen our hearts) isn't just making time for ourselves in a selfish sort of way—it's making time for that which nourishes our hearts and hands, ensuring that we then have the strength to lend those hearts and hands to others as our crazy lives demand.

I'm off to do a few more rows before bedtime now, late on Tuesday night. On Thursday, as you read this, and as we load up the moving truck, my knitting will be on the kitchen counter, ready to have a few stitches worked in tiny stolen moments, to keep my heart fed during a busy, crazy day. I hope you also find time to nourish your own yarn-hungry heart this week.

Knit with joy (as shall I!)...

- Sandi

Next week: If I haven't been eaten alive by self-multiplying zombie moving boxes, I'll try to write a little on what I learned about wrangling a lace pattern as you add or decrease stitches. I found a couple tricks that work for me, so maybe they'll be of use to you, too!

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can leave a comment below or even email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com.

What I Wish Was On Sandi's Needles

2009-08-13T10:35:00Z

This past weekend, I fell in love with a pair of socks. Given that I spent last weekend at Sock Summit, if I hadn't fallen in love with at least one pair of socks, you folks would have likely thought that poor Sandi had lost her little stitch markers, and needed to be gently wrapped in wool and carted off to the Home For the Knitterly Insane. (No fear: Sock love still intact. All good.)

The socks were not by Cookie A (although, she is as funny and charming as you would expect); they were not by Nancy Bush (who is lovely and passionate about folk knitting traditions); they were not by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts (who ended up being a total hoot, with her unexpected South Texas drawl and her story-telling). In fact, these socks were not designed by any modern designer.

The socks I love are 175 years old, knitted by a long-dead lady's maid. They belong to Judith MacKenzie McCuin, who showed them to us as part of her classes on spinning sock yarn. One of the socks is pictured in the photo above.

These lace socks are knee-high, creamy white, and knitted on needles so fine that we would refer to them as "wires." The socks fit one's foot and leg like a glove, hugging curves and holding their shape, even after 175 years (Judith still wears them occasionally).

This is all pretty amazing...especially given that they are knit, not out of wool, but cotton. Cotton thread, in fact.

This surprised all of us in class. We knitters are taught from Day One that cotton has no memory, that it will not hold its shape, and that it is really a poor choice for socks--and probably a pretty stupid choice for anything that is supposed to hug curves, like a knee-sock.

Nonetheless: Delicate cotton lace knee-high socks. Still wearable after 175 years.

I should be so lucky as to knit anything that will be wearable in the year 2184. (Think of that!)

The secret, as Judith explained it to us, is in the stitches themselves: The knitter, a humble maid servant, knew which stitch patterns were inherently stretchy, no matter what yarn was used; and which stitch patterns were firm, lending structure as needed. See the toe? Our lady's maid knew that stockinette, knit at a wee gauge, will withstand much wear. Now look at the cuff: She also knew that some rib and lace patterns have so much give that they will provide "memory" in the fabric even if your yarn lacks any memory itself.

It is still true that a good sock yarn must have two things: elasticity and strength. However, as our maidservant's sock show us, it is possible to use a yarn without one of these qualities, if the stitches make up the difference. I knew this in theory, but to see such a dramatic example of the clever usage of stitch patterns to provide elasticity in a cotton sock was amazing.

So: In my fantasies, these amazing socks are on my needles...except that I really couldn't knit on piano wires, and even if I did get past using the wires, I would finish one sock--just one--in, oh, about...175 years. :)

Who else did I see at Sock Summit?

None other than our very own Kathleen Cubley, editor of Knitting Daily! We chattered like old friends until it was time to go--and she posed for a photo with Nikki, my little traveling lamb friend (a gift from my husband to keep me company on long plane rides).

But wait! There's more!

Meg Swanson (!!) hugged me. I also got Barbara Walker's (!!) signature on a book, and I learned an entirely new way to increase (!!) in Lucy Neatby's sock class.

In the marketplace, I spotted Abby Franquemont showing that yes, indeed, she can spin yarn on anything (shown here: she's spinning on a cheap ballpoint pen!).

As for those of you who were worried that there wouldn't be enough space in my suitcase for new purchases...uh...shall we just say I am an expert packer? ;)

There was more--but I have to go over to the new house with some things so I can start organizing my new studio...

Knit with joy,

- Sandi

Next week: I'm moving, so I'm trying to keep it simple. More baby blanket stars? Or perhaps I just ought to knit up some large squares of garter stitch and sew them into a straitjacket--moving makes me feel crazy!

P.S. Let me know what you think! You can leave a comment below or even email me at sandi@knittingdaily.com.

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