Knit AND Lose Weight

This is no late night TV promise. It’s a fact. How could this happen? Get a colonoscopy! I don’t normally discuss my medical procedures publicly, but in this case I want to encourage all of you reading who should be making that appointment to pick up the phone. It wasn’t bad, really. And the drugs are great. Like totally man. I was motivated to make my appointment when my husband’s friend Solveig was diagnosed with colon cancer that had already metastisized into her kidney and liver. She had a family history, but wouldn’t go for the test. Even when she was having troubles, she refused. She died in August. Now her purple motorcycle is parked in the garage and her husband is in their new condo alone. This is preventable cancer. So just do it. The prep isn’t awful, it tasted like bad instant lemonade with artificial sweetener. Plus, I got to stay home and knit for the better part of two days.

Here’s what I accomplished — I took the advice of all, including Susan the designer, who should know, and ripped out the edging on the Forest Canopy Shawl. I added three more repeats of the main pattern and an extra repeat of the edging. I now have only a teeny tiny bit of yarn left.

Playing the Lace Card

I have recently finished two lace projects for patterns with shop models. The Fir Cone stole in Kidsilk Haze,

and the Feather and Fan scarf in Malabrigo Laceweight.

I wanted to write up some patterns that were simple enough for beginner lace knitters, but not too boring. I loved working the Fir Cone pattern. I didn’t want to put a complex edging on the stole, in part to keep it simple, and in part because I like the cleaner line. I’m not a ruffle-y kinda gal. I did add a little yarnover selvedge to make blocking easier. I threaded the wire right through each hole before pinning out. (Sorry it’s so dark.)

 

I went with Feather and Fan for the Malabrigo only after several failed attempts at using other stitch patterns. The color I chose, Alpine Pearl, is more strongly variegated than some of the other Malabrigo laceweight colors. Feather and Fan really works with multicolors, in my opinion. The other stitch patterns I swatched just didn’t show up very well.
These projects were fun, simple knits, but working with a fine laceweight like Kidsilk Haze is fairly slow going, even in a simple pattern like Fir Cone. The finer yarn requires more attention. I have to look at what I am doing much more closely than with a heavier yarn. This is why I’d recommend a first time lace project to be worked in a slightly heavier yarn. It is easier to see and to feel what is going on. It is harder to accidentally knit a yarn over into the next stitch on the wrong side row. (Not, of course, that I didn’t do that.)

Several posters asked me for recommendations on good patterns for beginner lace knitters. Here is one I’d definitely suggest. It must be one of the fastest knits ever – the Forest Canopy Shawl, by Susan Lawrence. I was looking for something to do with the one skein of sport weight singles from Plain and Fancy Sheep and Wool Company that I bought in Virginia. After the Fir Cone Stole, moving on to a sport weight singles on a size 5 needle felt like I was turbocharged. Even without caffeine.

People often ask how long it takes me to knit a particular item. I can’t generally say, it’s bits of time here and there. But this triangle went so fast that here’s an estimate on this small triangle. At the point in this photo, it took the US Open Women’s tennis match and A Streetcar Named Desire, featuring an amazingly young and svelte Marlon Brando.

Here’s the finished project, un-blocked, which took an additional neighborhood block club meeting, an old Star Trek (the one where Spock goes into heat) and two 20-minute truck trips hauling horses to a trail ride. That’s my measure of time.

 

The question I am asking myself now is this: see how much yarn is left? Should I rip back the cast off rows and add a few repeats? I think the shawl/scarf might be nice a bit bigger, and what else will I do with this small amount of yarn? Anyone made this? Thoughts?

MLE

Un-knitting in China

Once I had a knitting discussion with some Chinese friends who were studying in the US as post-doc engineering students. One couple hosted a meal and I had my knitting along. All the engineers (male) were quite interested when they observed that I knit in a different way than they had seen their mothers knit. I knit continental/picking. They stood behind me, watching as I switched back and forth between left and right hands to demonstrate. Continental was pronounced “very efficient” by these brainiacs. They asked what I was knitting. I explained it was to be a cardigan sweater. It was fair isle, worked in the round with a steek. “But how can you make a cardigan in a circle like that?” I explained stitching and cutting. They looked confused. My hostess said, “Oh, she’s just joking.” No, I really am going to cut it. Now they were shocked at my profligate ways. “But you will never be able to re-use the yarn!” I think of that from time to time when I rummage through my stash. Then, the other day, I saw this video on Sunboat. If I were any good at copying tonal language, I could now explain what I would not be doing…

Brown Paper Packages or Why I Love Indie Businesses

Brown Paper packages tied up with ribbon. Little gifts enclosed. Have you ever ordered a book from Marcia White’s NeedleArts Bookshop?

Not only does she have a great selection, but the personalized service makes you feel like you are getting a present from someone who cares about you. A secret pal who just happened to know exactly what you wanted (and charged it to your credit card.) The last time I ordered from NeedleArts, I received a laminated set of directions for hand and wrist exercises along with a rubber band of the right size to assist with my workout. I have no affiliation with Marcia White, but I really like to patronize independent businesses, especially bookstores. There are so few left. I also really appreciate small businesses that emphasize good service and customer relations. I can buy almost anything anywhere. But I really like to support someone who knows I can order another book and get free shipping from Amazon and goes the extra mile to show me that she cares about my business. The books from Amazon don’t have to cross the border, and will arrive faster, too. However, Amazon never sends me little presents and nice notes along with my order, and NeedleArts does.

Regarding the book itself. I have long wanted a Japanese stitch dictionary, but have never seen one live and in person. Ordering from a website is difficult when you can’t browse through a book, and there are several of them available. So I figured, 500 is better than 250, take that one. I always like to use my stepmother’s birthday check for an actual present that I can then report to her.

This year it is 500 Japanese Stitches. The book has no explanation of patterns, which is all the same to me, since I have no knowledge of Japanese. The pictures are not great, and some of the charts are hard to read because the lines of the graph and the symbol are the same weight and width. Maybe with 250 Stitches they aren’t packed in as tightly. But I think it will be fun to browse through and try out. Any tips on using Japanese charts are most welcome!

MLE