WIP: Baby Belle

Good News: I am almost done! Bad News: I will probably run out of the red yarn for the sleeves.


What I am hoping to do in order to compensate for this complication is lengthen the main color and use just a tiny amount of red to balance out the sleeves, maybe ruffle it or something. I don't know, I should be done in the next few days so I will definitely put up the finished object. This is really my first time working with a pattern so I feel bad having to variate from it but I don't see any other choice. We shall see, we shall see!

WIP - Baby Belle Update

I was soooo wanting to have this done by the end of the year and I totally think I could have. Only I didn't. By mid month TheBoy was getting out of school for holiday break and was the unfortunate recipient of a cold. Colds spread. Especially when you kiss little children good night before bed. So got sick and so did my husband. My lovely husband however managed to keep it together as well as the house. (I am so thankful to have such an awesome partner in life!)

What does all that have to do with my current unfinished object... a baby sweater... you say? Everything because I was so sick I couldnt think straight, which lingered through Christmas. Then by the time I was feeling better we tried to visit my parents and the car water pump exploded. No time for serious thinking and I wanted serious thought put into my first knit sweater. Plus, after being sick I totally lost my motivation for like... well... everything. So now I am getting it back.


I would say I am about a quarter of the way through the Baby Belle sweater but having never completed one its hard to guess percentages. My new goal is to complete it in the next two weeks. Okay, three weeks. I agreed to do career day at my son's school this Friday and I have to prepare so I don't embarrass my son and myself both.

Experimenting in Fiber

The last few days have been about experimenting with different things. Some techniques, some not. I love sharing the results of experiments, be they good or bad so here is a tiny glimpse into my laboratory. (Okay, no fancy lab but lots of fibers and tools sitting around looking for use.)

Knitting:

Knitting is hard enough for me without all the technical aspects creeping into my life. Sure I can knit and purl. Heck, I've even made a pair of socks... once. But cables, intarsia, entrelac... heck no. Yeah, I'll get there one day. Probably sooner rather than later to be honest but for now its a taboo knitting world once you pass Stockinette Avenue.

However, I did do a not so technical thing with knitting this past week. I took some left over yarns from an order I was working on and made swatches.



Okay... I haven't blocked them yet, but that's because I have one other yarn I intend to swatch. Once that is done I will block all three and take another photo. Not that I need another photo of yarn, spun, swatched or blocked on here. (Plus my blog seems to suffer from bad photos... my shop photos are better though not perfect... something to work on.)


My other experimental knit is based more on playing with technique and needles. It's just a simple garter stitch made with what I call my "Mugly" yarn. It's mugshot ugly. Really, its just a combination of samples and bits and bobs of handcarded fibers that I had laying around and decided to spin.


I've considered doing some coordinating fibers and spinning several more but haven't committed. For now I am working on this:


It doesn't look like much right now but when it is done it will span several types of yarn and consistencies and (as of this moment) 3 different needle sizes. The large needles I am starting with are a #19 and yes, the yarn is pretty laceweight if you ask me. (See ask me what I think, not for reality. It works best that way.) I plan to go from #19's to #13 to #10 (possibly eight for more dramatic effect... haven't decided yet.) Again, will update with pictures as we go.

Spinning:

On the spinning front, (as if you couldn't read the bold print that signifies a subject change instead of a normal and gradual verbal transition....) I was inspired by a thread on Ravelry's Fiber Prep group about gradient carding. I have seen people tackle this before but never gave it a second thought.

This time, however, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with some wool that I dyed prior to selling off my drum carder. So I broke out the handcards (at which point I wish I had just broke the handcards) and went to blending the fibers together. (Yes, I miss having a carder... and a wheel that doesn't break when I use it more than two days at a time but... that's a whole other story.)


This picture may be a bit deceiving. I was working with cheviot dyed Mulberry (Gaywool acid dye) and Cormo dyed with Baby Blue (Cushings.) On one end is an all cheviot rolag, on the other end is three all cormo rolags. In between are various combinations that should represent a gradual change. Well, let me tell you... Cheviot and Cormo do not blend well together. Period. In all actuality, I had to place the purple on one end and the blue on the other just to make it look like there was more transition then there was.

That all said.... it was a great spin! Plus, the cheviot still had a little lanolin in it and with the cold winter my hands have been super dry but not after spinning that. (Well, at least for the rest of that day.)


This is the finished yarn on the bobbin. Since I ended with the cormo you can sort of see the bits and bobs that are present in the cheviot on the left side.


The yarn itself looks lovely to me as well. I quite like the striping and difference in colors. There is just one thing, and of course my husband pointed it out. I knew it was there... I just didn't notice it as much until he said it. Cormo and cheviot have two different textures. The cheviot is not course like Scottish Blackface but its not soft like merino. The cormo is soft.. maybe softer than merino. So put the two together and its a bit of a stark contrast.

But that's it. These are the fibery things I have been exploring. What about you? What explorations are underway in your world?

My first sweater

Well, for my first post back after being AWOL I decided to show you a work in progress.



This is the Baby Belle designed by Cosette of Cosymakes. I have never ever knitted a sweater before so I am working really hard to do it right and per pattern. On that thought, I have never knitted anything to pattern before. Well, my socks, but I was walked through it week by week with the creator before I ever knew there was a written pattern. So this is really important to me. I'm even willing to frog back things if I make a mistake. (none to date that I know of though.) I must say I am quite impressed. Many people suggested that when I do my first sweater I make it a baby sweater because it will be quicker and easier and you will see the progress sooner. Boy were they correct. I can see this developing along as I knit and love it, even if the colors don't match the way I imagined they would. Don't worry, I will post more pictures when this cutey is complete.

Repurposing Old Handspun

I have been working on this project for a few months now. This isn't a time constraint issue as I am unemployed at the moment. The issue was that due to the number of stitches my hand was falling asleep or going numb before I could get through just one row. Since I had the corrective surgery I picked up this project and suffered none of the same aliments. Yea for progress.
Okay, to be honest, I haven't progressed that far since the surgery but I am looking forwards to getting finished with this project. I love red and I believe this will make an awesome scarf. I'm not sure how long it will end up because of I am knitting it lengthwise to create long rows.

I started out with these handspun yarns:




This is actually just three yarns since I split the 2 ply and blended yarn to go on either side of the solid red. All of the yarns were made from commercial merino wool dyed, you guessed it, red. The blended yarn is made up of the wool plus tussah silk plus some soy silk (I believe, its been a little while) that was hand carded prior to spinning.

Here is the scarf so far:



Here is close up:


I'm going to have to give myself a deadline if I want to get this done. I'm convinced that without a job I have lost a lot of structure in my life. This is sad though because you shouldn't have to rely on outside factors to provide your daily structure. Certainly, if they impose limits on you then you have to take that into consideration but when those factors are not there you should still have a sense of structure. Or so I would think. So, its June 7th. I think I can safely say that I can have this finished by July 1st. Cool, now I have set a deadline... call me on it July 2nd! ;P

UFO's vs WIP (Part 2 UFO's : It's a funny thing really)

So, I'm back! I'm sure many of the two people who read this blog figured that I wrote a half funny post with promises of more only to fail. Well, you would be partially right. So, lets get right to it.

Unfinished objects are the inspiration of our lives and the bane of our existence. Whenever I have a UFO, it usually starts out as this wonderful idea but turns into a grueling battle of mind over matter. What was supposed to be a simple v-stitch crochet blanket sits at the bottom of my personal yarn hell. What, oh what went wrong. It had lovely colors, a rough draft in my head and the motivation to start hooking away. Or even that simple garter knit scarf (from 2 winters ago that I promised my son.... ) that's sitting in a storage tote STILL on the needles. Really, I don't have that many pairs of needles I cant have them permanently occupied.

So I'm not really sure what happened. BUT... If I pick that scarf back up and knit a row before I go to bed... does that make it a WIP? Seriously, I think I can do that every six months or so. What about if a previous UFO suddenly becomes useful in the state that it is in. Take this blanket to the left. I started this back in 2004 or 2005. I started to run out of a color and I was no longer sure where my symmetry lie. (Yes, I'm huge on symmetry. It's a terrible habit that I have to break.) I didn't know what to do because my plan was wrecked. So I did what any sane crocheter would do. I took a step back, took a deep breath and walked away for a while. Well, at least I thought it would only be a while. Fast forward three to four years and the blanket/rug or whatever it was going to be is still connected to a ball of yarn. The only difference is instead of being at the top of my finish soon list its on the "oh, I should really finish this project ... at some point in time" list.

Your probably wondering what that blanket has to do with my statement about UFO's being useful suddenly. Well, currently, that pretty purple crocheted rug blanket is used whenever I spin on the Louet S51. Since the house has hardwood floors I noticed a subtle rocking whenever I spin. (Did I mention the floors are ever so slightly uneven?) Also, the slickness of the floor allows for my treadling motion to slowly push the week backwards. However I was able to remedy this situation very easily. I simple grabbed some scissors and .... get ready.... I ... cut... the ball of yarn loose. So this left me with a few loose strings and a blanket rug just wide enough to sit under the wheel. Trust me, this comes in handy for those outdoor on the sidewalk events. No one wants to scratch up a spinning wheel.

For another metamorphosis example.... 3-4 years ago I was crocheting this huge 2 strand crochet blanket. I started out just crocheting but then stretched into the belief that I wanted a bed size crocheted blanket. This my friends, was the beginning of the end. I ran out of yarn and was destined to buy more from my dreaded local Walmart. I found my color, purchased another 2 skeins of Red Heart and retreated back to the luxury of my abode. Then I finished up the previous skeins and started in on my join. To my horror these colors were nothing alike. I was so naive, so young and reckless and it ruined another good project. This was tragic and so the blanket was "put away" until I could find a subtle color to border the blanket. As of last week, this blanket is sitting on my son's full sized bed. I had made him one when he was younger but he outgrew it. My husband figures it will keep him warm and be a mommy reminder when he lays down for bed.

So is my wheel rug any less a finished product just because I didn't weave in the joined yarns? No, its being put to use. Any time something is being put to use and not sitting in a basket of unfinished objects they become finished objects. Sure I can pretty it up if I want... or pick it up later and re-envision the project all together. These are just examples to show how subjective it really is to say something is unfinished. I know that the blanket on my son's bed has a few loose strings but that doesn't make him love it any less.

In the end, that's the real funny thing about an "unfinished" object. They become finished objects when you decide they are.

UFO's versus WIP (Part 1)

So a question came to mind and I decided that I wanted to explore the difference between Unfinished Objects (UFO's) and Works in Progress (WIP.) Sorry my alien geek friends, this is totally a crafting post.

So the first thing I did was Google "UFO versus WIP" which had a surprising amount of entries.... only five of which were not omitted due to repetition. Also because I used quotes, none of them had anything to do with an Unidentified Flying Object. Though I often think that is what my UFO's will become as I fling them across the room instead of working on them. So I was thinking before giving my very objective and yet incredibly subjective opinion on this I would go with the technical aspect first. (This is for our none knitting friends, its like having the IT guy explain the inside of a computer.)

First is the WIP. WIP stands for Work in Progress. I have no knowledge of a predetermined definition for this so I will make one up. A Work in Progress (WIP, must remember our acronyms they come in handy later) is a project that is being worked on at a steady pace during the current point in time. I didn't want to exclude other artists or crafters so that is the general description.
For knitters (and crocheters) a work in progress is that arm wrist, sweater, pajama pants, baby blanket or tunic vest that is currently on the needles/hooks. Yes there can be, and most often are more than one WIP. For the multitasker in all of us that's not usually a problem. (Unless your me and be happy your not.)

However, there is a very important part missing that makes this a Work IN PROGRESS. That project on the needles has to be making a forward motion toward completion at a steady pace and during the current point in time. Simply put, next week that vest or sweater or hat really should be a bit more complete then it was at this exact moment. Even if its only a row, its a little more done and closer to making you or someone else extremely happy. That is current point in time. Now when you have made another row by the week after next, then you are setting a steady pace.

But wait, I am not unreasonable. I know that sometimes a yarn just calls out and you have to put aside that project that you were working on. The project is so great and so gratifying that you find that you have completed the whole thing without working on your lonely ol' hat. Perhaps you knit or crochet for a living and your suddenly bombarded with a rush of orders for Warm Fuzzy Christmas gifts and its several weeks (3-4 not 52) before you have a chance to even look in the direction of that lonely ol' project... hat... blanket... whatever. Does that suddenly mean that the project has slipped into the despair of an unfinished object?

Of course not, we're flexible people and this is subjective. Remember?

Speaking of WIP.. this post is about to become a two parter so I can work on a certain baby blanket. So tomorrow, or later on tonight "Part 2: UFO's - It's a funny thing really." Oh, and to break up the post a bit I included some pictures of some old WIP's or in progress shots.
So, come back okay?

Soft and Squishy

The last few days I have been working on a baby blanket for a co-worker. I was recommended for the job through word of mouth. I don't actually knit terribly fast but I accepted the work anyway. It's awful funny that I never said how much this was going to cost and she never asked. Not really expecting it to turn out very good in that respect.


The blanket is a knit stitch on size 11, 14 inch straight needles. The LYS owner prefers circulars but I wasn't in budget for that. Really, I wasn't in budget for any of it but I never said that the lady had to buy the yarn before I would start. That doesn't really make sense anyway, she wouldn't know what to get. Also, she was letting me pick the yarn because she is just ready for the grand baby to get here. I got to choose the colors as long as it was neutral to the normal color associations. No pink, no blue, no purple.

This project is so soft and squishy that I hate having to sell it. It is made with Plymouth Yarns "Heaven" which is a 100% nylon yarn. Not inexpensive, just not wool. What I do hate so far is that of the two full skeins I have knit through (total of 5 skeins but I am working on my third now) there have been knots in the last fourth of both skeins. I know that the company wants to minimize waste but when you pay $5/skein for something like 50-75 yards you expect something better. I have Red Heart, I expect that from Red Heart. I do not expect it from the higher end yarns. Blah!

Overall this is an enjoyable and easy project. However, from the last 5-6 years spent as a desk jockey in corporate America, I can't make more than a row before my hand starts to fall asleep. If I try for a second row my hand becomes painfully numb and lacking of proper nerve sensation. So much for ergonomics. I don't even like the corporate peon job, especially since it manages to make what I do like extremely difficult. Great, just great. On the other hand, no pun intended, before I go nutty and quit this job I plan to have my workers comp claim finished out. Preferably where I would never have to file a claim again (third times a charm?)

Taking a break between the madness

Granted this little break has stretched about 3-4 days but after all that moving I really was starting to tense up. So, as a little stress relaxer and treat (once I made it past the frustrating part) I finished spinning the roving I purchased from Julie Spins. Now I am attempting to free hand knit my first hat on a pair of circular needles. That's right, no pattern. I am just armed with my basic skills of knit and purl. I laugh in the face of common sense! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!


Okay, now that I have gotten past the madness I will get to the specifics. The first picture is the finished yarn spun into a 2 ply. I didn't bother to set the twist because I wanted to start knitting before I changed my mind.

Ohh, and this second picture is me daring to attempt a little pattern, some ribbing even.

Finally, here is my new craft area. Craft area and other stuff at the moment as we are still surrounded by packed boxes. Besides this is more like a storage area for the crafts I have. I just have to deconstruct, pick something out of a storage bin and take it in to another room to spin or knit or crochet. Yep, its much much (much) smaller than the space I was occupying at the apartment but its probably for the best at the moment anyway. Still, having a yard is a fringe benefit of renting this house that I'm totally going to take advantage of. (i.e. - Dyeing and Drying!)