Clocks September 30, 2008

I’ve been working on and off on the Estes Vest.  I’m almost done with the waist increases on the back!  Any time I actually devote a few hours to working on it, it goes very fast.  Sadly, I haven’t been devoting as much time as I’d like to it.  I was hoping that it would be finished by the time I left for the Balloon Fiesta next week, but unless I knit my fingers to the bone, I doubt that’s going to happen.  And of course I’ve thought of 5 other projects that I want to do at the same time.  Like this sock!

 

     

 

This sock (which has yet to find a name) was inspired by a number of things.  First and foremost, stash-busting!  I’ve still got a lot of Louet Gems Fingering yarn left over from an abandoned project.  I’m not really sure that this is the yarn I would choose for this sock normally, but it’s working out alright.  Second, I love the look of traditional/historical European socks with “clocks.”  Clocks are small twisted stitch or knit/purl patterns that go down the side of the leg and then split at the heel. One side goes down the heel flap and the other goes down the length of the foot.  The theory is they’re called “clocks” because they look like the hands of a clock.  Third, I’ve been reading the History of Handknitting, which is fascinating to me.  (I love the library!)  The pictures are all in black and white, which is unfortunate, but the author includes charts for a number of the early two-color knitting fragments.  The pattern above was found on one of the earliest known pieces of knitting.  (I added the second and third colors.)  Unlike traditional socks, my unnamed socks won’t be knee-highs.  I’ll probably knit a little further on the leg and then start the heel.  Actually, when I reach the end of the almost-finished ball of yarn I’m using then I’m going to start the heel.  I hate changing yarns in the middle of the heel flap.

 

Hopefully at least one of these socks will be finished before I head off to NM.  I’ve been thinking pretty hard about what knitting to take with me.  I think the vest will stay here because it just takes up too much space.  I want to start on a scarf/wrap using some of the Argosy yarn I got a awhile ago.  But I’m not sure that’s going to be portable enough.  I also have some Socks that Rock that I have a good idea for.  And a hat that I want to get done soon… Oy!  Too many projects and not nearly enough time.  And I have to be careful, because if I run into a problem with a project and want to change something (which happens at least twice a project) I won’t have my stitch dictionaries!  Scary thought.

 

In blog-related news, you may have noticed that I added a tab at the top of the page titled “Knitting.”  That page has a list of all the knitting patterns and tutorials on the site.  Last night I went through and added thumbnails to the list.  Much prettier.  Now I just have to do that for the other tabs!  Oh, and I added some progress bars for projects in the sidebar, since I’m working on multiple projects at once now.

 

Oh, and the jury’s still out on the Knit Picks needles… but when I’ve used them some more, I’ll be posting more information about them.  Actually, the needles are good, it’s the cable that I’m undecided about.  More on that later.

Vest Update! September 25, 2008

I worked on the Estes Vest for a while last night and I’m now halfway between the waist decreases and increases.  I knit a few more rows (7 to be exact) before starting the waist shaping because I wanted the vest just a tad longer.  I’m really enjoying the project so far… but that could be because it knits up so much faster than sock yarn!  If you’ve got the pattern yourself, you might notice that I accidentally reversed the cable twists on either side of the stag cable.  But if that’s the worst “mistake” I make, I’ll be very, very happy!

  

 

As you can see, I’m using the snazzy Knit Picks Harmony Needles.  These are the interchangable ones, which I love.  I used to use the metal ones, but apparently, my hands eat nickel needles.  I swear!  I bought an Addi Turbo circular needle last year and look what happened to it after one project. 

Those tarnished areas are not only ugly but they keep the yarn from sliding nicely, which is the “turbo” part of “Addi Turbo.”  So far only one of the Knit Picks Nickel tips has started to show this tarnish, but I don’t use the larger needles that often and not for very long.  I’ve heard that Skacel will refund your money or send you a new set if you contact them, but I haven’t tried it.

 

It’s not too much of a problem, because I generally prefer wooden needles to metal anyway.  I like the slight grip of the wood as well as the warmth and weight.  I find wooden DPNs particularly much easier to use than aluminum ones.  The only problem is that it’s hard to find a wooden needle with that nice sharp point that metal ones have.  I especially hated knitting the Danube socks with the duller points.  Really, any time I have to do a k2tog those dull tips are an issue.

 

I had forgotten that Knit Picks made wooden needles until I was ordering the yarn for the Vest.  I had kind of steered away from them because I really don’t like the multi-colored look.  But I swallowed my aesthetics, ordered some, and I’m glad I did!  Their Harmony wood needles are almost as sharp as their metal ones.  I’m not sure how I feel about their cable for smaller needles and I think I’ll really miss the swivel action on my KAs, but I’m going to try to knit some lace socks with the Knit Picks needles and see how it goes.

 

Just for comparison, here’s the three brands of wooden needles that I have:

The top is Takumi/Clover, size 1; the middle is Knit Picks, size 1; and the bottom is KA, size 1.  See the nice sharp point on the Knit Picks one?  I’m excited.  I’m pretty picky about my needles, so I’m sure you’ll hear much more about my search for the perfect needles.  Probably more than you ever, ever wanted to know.

PSA September 22, 2008

Say you want to design a scarf or a sock or a hat.  And let’s say that you don’t want to own ten different stitch dictionaries like a certain blog author.  This author doesn’t really understand why you wouldn’t want to own so many dictionaries… after all, there might be one or two stitch patterns that you don’t have in other books, even if most of the patterns are the same.  This author is insane.  Actually, this author might be heading over to Amazon to order the Barbara Walker Treasuries.  Hm, maybe she shouldn’t, due to the previously suggested insanity.

 

So, what if you’re one of these knitters without dictionaries? Can you never design that perfect item? Wait, there is hope!  A light at the end of the ball of yarn!  Check out these cool online stitch dictionaries for all your stitching needs!

 

Lion Brand Stitch Finder – About 45 stitch patterns, plus some trims.  The patterns are mostly knit/purl or cables (not much lace) and aren’t too complicated.  The pictures are good and show the whole swatch.  (Actually, now that I look at the pictures even closer… they look just like the photos in the Vogue guides. Hmm.)  Also has crochet stitches.

 

Knitting on the Net – A good collection of different stitch types, from knit/purl to cables, lace, and even some mosaic/slip stitch patterns.  Some of the stitches link to free patterns that use the stitch, which is nice.  Good pictures, but most don’t show the edge of the swatch.

 

Knitting Fool – This was my favorite before I started obsessively collecting dictionaries.  It’s a fairly massive collection of stitches but not all have pictures.  You can look at just the stitches with pictures here.  Looks like now the site has a fee to see all the stitches; you can only see about 400 of them for free.  Good pictures and you can browse by number of stitches, pictures, or alphabetically.

 

Jessica Tromp – This site has some amazing color work charts; Fair Isle, intarsia and more.  She’s also got some Aran cables, crochet, and knit/purl stitches.  The site is a little hard to navigate around.  It reminds me of websites back in the ’90s, just a bunch of text and maybe some tables with a sidebar.  But, if you can get around the page, it’s pretty worth it.  My biggest tip:  Don’t forget to scroll down.  The thing you’re looking for is most likely at the bottom of the page.

 

Abracadafil – For the really adventurous.  This is a French site with a number of pretty stitches, about 170 of them.  The biggest category is lace. There’s a few here that I really like and you’ll probably see them on a pair of socks soon!  You can find the translation of French knitting terms here.

 

Some of these sites I had used previously but some, like Abracadafil, I found through a forum post about online stitch dictionaries on Ravelry.  I love Ravelry!

And Now For Something Completely Different September 19, 2008

There’s been lots and lots of knitting going on.  Unfortunately, I can’t show you any of it.  Seriously, this effort to get some patterns published is really putting a dent in my blogging efforts.  I’ve got 3 projects on the needles right now (a record for me- knowing myself very well, I try to only have one project going on at a time) and I’ve finished two.  Now, not all these projects are top secret; the Aran Tam was a fun project and I’ve cast on the Estes Vest and have a whole 7 rows done!  (I’ve stopped to consider if I want to make the vest a little longer before starting the waist shaping.)  But the mystery finished project and two of the in-progress projects are (hopefully) destined for one of those pattern-a-day calendars.  I’m really excited by the idea that my designs will be in a “book” that anyone can buy at their LYS or bookstore.  But I can’t show you any of the things I’m working on which makes blogging about them a little tricky.  Because, really, what’s a blog without fabulous pictures?  Or at least adequate pictures.  However when these last two projects are done, I’ll go back to designing for holiday gifts and posting free patterns more regularly again.

 

The weather is getting colder in the evenings and there’s a delightful nip in the air.  Enough of a nip that I wish I could work exclusively on the Estes Vest.  This time of year always makes me want to bake.  Growing up, there was always something baking in the oven, from cookies to cakes to pies.  Mmm, delicious.  Around the fall, I get these killer cravings for pumpkin-based desserts.  As previously mentioned though, there’s some weight loss going on over here.  Chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin pie are out of the question (for everyday eating, anyway.)  I’ve stumbled across a great low-fat, low calorie, filling pumpkin muffin recipe that actually tastes good.  I swear, no one believes that these muffins are only 150 calories! (Actually, they’re a little less.)  I love these muffins so much that I have to share them.  I’m not kidding, I’ve been eating at least one of these a day; they’re fantabulous.

 

Pumpkin Bran Muffins w/ Cream Cheese

 

These muffins are moist and slightly chewy.  They’re not light and fluffy by any means, but not nearly as dense as other “low fat” muffins.  Pumpkin is a great source of beta-carotene, vitamin C, and tastiness.  You can either use wheat or oat bran for this recipe.  Wheat bran is higher in fiber than oat bran, but oat has more protein.  Oat bran also has more calories.  Personally, I like a combo of the two.  Same with the cream cheese.  I like to use a half and half combo of fat free cream cheese with reduced fat cream cheese.  I think the taste and texture is better than using just fat free cream cheese but in a perfect world I’d just use reduced fat cream cheese, which brings the calories up closer to 200 instead of 150.  I use unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze instead of milk because I like the slight almond flavor it adds and it’s lower in calories.  I originally found this recipe here, but I added the cream cheese filling and tweaked a few other things.  This recipe makes 12 muffins (and they’re very filling!)

 

Ingredients

Muffin Batter

• 1 1/2 cups wheat or oat bran
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or combine your own spices)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup – 1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (depending on how pumpkin-y you’d like; I use the max amt)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg plus 1 egg white

Cream Cheese Filling

• 3 oz fat free cream cheese
• 3 oz reduced fat cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix together first six ingredients (bran, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, spices, salt) in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients (pumpkin, milk, vanilla, eggs).

Pour the small bowl into the large bowl and stir just to combine.  Set aside while making the cream cheese filling to allow the batter to hydrate/dissolve lumps.

In the bowl of a hand or stand mixer, beat both cream cheeses, egg, sugar and vanilla on medium-high until smooth and creamy.

Grease muffin tins well with non-stick spray or preferred method.  Spoon muffin batter into tins (I find that 1 heaping spoonful is a good starting place, then divide up the remaining batter.  The cups should be about 3/4 full.)  Make a little well in the center of each muffin, then spoon in the cream cheese filling.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutritional Info (Wheat Bran)	Nutritional Info (Oat Bran)

Pumpkin Chai Version

This is a twist I just came up for today’s batch.  I love a pumpkin-chai combination.  Really, it just adds black tea and cardamom to the pumpkin pie flavor, but it’s delicious.  Heat up the milk in the microwave (not too hot, about 40 seconds maybe?) and soak 1-2 tea bags of your favorite chai in it while combining the dry ingredients (ignore the pumpkin pie spice in the dry ingredients.)  Give the bags a little squeeze to get all the goodness out and throw them away.  Combine the wet ingredients and follow the rest of the instructions above.  I used 2 bags of Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai in mine (I like my muffins spicy).

 

   

(Look at my wonderful food photo-taking ability. :/)

Finito! September 16, 2008

What’s this?

Is that a swatch in Wool of the Andes Bulky Scuba?  Why, yes, I believe it is!  Any day you get yarn is a good day and 8 skeins of this stuff took up a nice-sized box.  I love the color.  Sometimes it’s very blue, sometimes it’s kind of green and it’s nicely muted.  I spent much of the morning knitting a swatch, because I seem to have left my brain down by the mailbox.  The first time through, I got perfect gauge.  But then I realized that things didn’t quite look right… Duh, I had crossed the cables wrong, two sts over one instead of one st over two. So, rip out and try again.  This time, I got something close, but not quite right.  Too many stitches per inch.  And here’s the funny part:  I tried to fix this problem by swatching with smaller needles.  What am I, an idiot??  Apparently yes, because I spent a good 15 minutes doing some very creative math and trying to figure out how I had gotten more stitches per inch than before.  Sigh.  Rip out, cast on again, do the cables right this time… No matter how I measure this last swatch, I keep coming up with different measurements.  I’m serious, sometimes it’s 19 sts/4 in, sometimes it’s 17, and a few beautiful times, it’s the correct 18sts.  Even when I measure it in the same darn place, I get different gauge!  I’ve decided to just cast on and hope that it resolves itself into something resembling 18 sts/4 in.  So, I’ll play it a bit fast and loose with the gauge.  I might regret this decision, but it’s a vest.  What’s the worst that happens, right?  (I really hope the Gauge Demon didn’t hear that!)

 

After a marathon session of knitting on Saturday night, and I do mean marathon, I finished the Aran Tam.  (It’s amazing what kind of motivation  “Every row I have fewer stitches to knit!” is.  I really barreled through this once I reached the cables.  Although it still took me 3 or 4 hours to finish.)

  

I really like the diamond cables I substituted, but the rice stitch I used for the half-diamonds doesn’t really pop like I had hoped.  I haven’t decided if I’m going to add a pom-pom on top, as is traditional. (I probably will.) The yarn on top there is the tail that has to be woven in. 

Here’s another picture of the original to compare:

  

And here it is on my big head facing, of course, away from the light source.  Really, I’m a special kind of stupid today.

I think I’m going to run a few strands of elastic through the ribbing at the bottom.  I’m not sure if it’s the grip of the yarn on itself or the provisional cast on (probably not) or the fact that the brim was knit on size 3 (!!) needles, but it’s not very stretchy.  But other than that, I’m quite pleased with my first tam!  Thank you again for the yarn, Norman!