Happy New Year

Well it’s nearly New Year. Hope you had a great Christmas and that you’ll have a wonderful New Year.

My Trellis Rib Vest is complete. I’m currently looking for test knitters to try out the pattern. It’s my first truly “wearable” design (apart from a hat) and am very pleased that it fits the way I intended. As my first multi-size piece, I’m only including three sizes. If they succeed, I’ll feel confident to branch out into more sizes. I’m trying to limit myself to baby steps.

In the mean time, I’ve started work on a new scarf design. It’ll be a fairly narrow, short scarf, with lace at each end. I’ve done most of my calculations, and bought the yarn today. I’m using Heirloom Celone in, what I’d call sage green.

We have baby beans!

Christmas is approaching and so is the end of the school year. It’s that crazy time of year where there are functions left, right and centre. We also seem to be having appointments, car servicing etc ad nauseum. Not much knitting has been happening, but the weather has been very conducive to veggie growing. We’ve got baby beans! I’m sure I must have grown beans once, long ago, but it’s lost in the mists of time. So this feels like my first lot. And they look beautiful. This is a dwarf variety which, theoretically, doesn’t need staking. They’re holding themselves up pretty well so far.

I’m hoping for less commitments soon, so that I can get back to serious knitting. It’s lovely to have these end of year functions, but they do impinge on one’s time so much!

Hot weather and hot bargains

The hot weather went and then came back again. We’ve had a bit of a cool change this afternoon and there’s some lovely steady rain falling now. Love that smell!

My gorgeous daughters picked up these gems for me at the trash and treasure stall at their school fair last weekend. They said there were heaps more, but weren’t sure whether I’d want them or not. It was at the end of the day, when they were getting rid of books at $1 per bag.

They’re “Get Knitting” packs from Marshall Cavendish. One of them actually mentions 1987 on the cover, so I know what vintage they are. They contain pattern leaflets for about a dozen garments and a knitting guide with tips for particular techniques. So I’ve now got issues 9 and 26. I probably won’t knit any of the patterns, but they’re great as reference material. Items like this, that are now 22 years old, have historical value as well.

The back of my Trellis Rib Vest is finished now. I love it. As for the front, due to the weather, all I’ve done is cast on and knit one row. I’ll be doing more every day that weather and circumstances allow.

Too hot to knit

Well, that’s not strictly true. There has been a little knitting, but not enough to report on. Five of the last six days have been over 32 degrees. When it’s very hot, yarn doesn’t run smoothly through my fingers, so it’s time to put the knitting away for some other pursuits. In this case cross stitch.

This is the project I work on when I’m between knitting projects, or when it’s too hot for me to knit. It’s not for any purpose, other than it’s something I enjoy doing. I’m not in a hurry to finish it, so I just do a bit when I want to. I’m certainly not aiming for perfection.

Here’s to some knitting conducive weather over the next week.

First Vest Design Under Way

I’m now working on my first vest design. It’s in a lace rib pattern called Trellis Rib. The garment will have no ease, and no shaping, apart from a shallow rectangular neck line.




I had thoughts of shaping armholes and a v neck, but doing this in a lace pattern seemed a bit daunting. The fact that each knitter has their own row gauge has been troubling me. It’s one thing to achieve the correct stitch gauge, but achieving both stitch gauge and row gauge can be difficult. How will I know that the knitter will reach the shoulders at the same row that I do? I’ve since been looking at more patterns, with lace and without. I’m learning so much. In a lot of patterns the piece is knit until it measures ‘x’, the armhole shaping is done, and then knit even until piece measures ‘y’. Even with a v neck shaping, which I had always thought continued until the shoulders, there seems to be the instruction, and then knit even until piece measures ‘x’. So although the schematic often doesn’t show it, there is some knitting without shaping at the top.

I want my designs to be useful to all knitters, whether they can acheive row gauge or not.

I’ve just now gone Googling on row gauge, and the consensus seems to be that for v necks and raglan sleeves, getting row gauge right is mandatory. I’m not much for raglan sleeves, so that’s not going to bother me. V necks don’t have to slope all the way to the top.

The time where I can see it will be an issue for me is where a high row number pattern is used, and needs to finish at a certain point in the pattern. The pattern I have in mind is the Boxy Tops pullover designed by Lily M. Chin and published in Knitters Magazine Fall 2001 K64, which I have not been able to find a link to. The pattern repeat in this design is 40 rows, and part of the pattern forms the v in the v neck when it gets to that point. It’s a bit hard, in this case, to say knit until work measures around ‘x’ cm ending with row 6. I suppose there aren’t many designs which would have this kind of issue.

In the mean time, I’ve seen a number of vest patterns which are simply two rectangles, and they look lovely. I’ve decided that for my first vest adventure, discretion may be the better part of valour, and I’ll go with simple, rather than my normal habit of biting off more than I can chew.

Gloria Tulip Hat available

The pattern for my Gloria Tulip Hat is now available.
It uses a Tulip Stitch lace pattern from the Creative Knitting stitch dictionary around the bottom, and the crown is in reverse stocking stitch.

I was very pleased to read that an Australian Aboriginal Artist, Gloria Petyarre, has had a scarf design selected and used by the acclaimed French company, Hermes.
Well done Gloria. I thought I’d name my hat pattern in her honour.

Gloria Tulip HatKnitting Pattern
Yarn suggested : Heirloom 8 ply cotton
Gauge : 22 stitches = 4 inches in Reverse Stocking Stitch
Needle size : 4 mm / US 6
Meterage : 100 mtrs / 109 yards

This pattern is available to buy from Ravelry for $US 5.00

A light weight, mid-season hat knitted in the round. The stitch pattern comes from volume three
of a 1980’s English knitting series called Creative Knitting. No details of the publisher are available in this edition. The stitch count will vary from round to round of the Tulip Stitch pattern, as extra stitches are added, then removed in subsequent rounds.

Hat Finished

I’ve finished my sample for the hat pattern, and I’m really pleased with it. The colour, which I wasn’t sure about, looks lovely knitted up. The stitch pattern looks good. The decreases for the crown seem OK to me.

I have a request for test knitters open on Ravelry’s Free Pattern Testers Group. I’ve had two takers so far, and am hoping for a few more. I’m really excited to see how people go knitting from my instructions, and to see other people’s version of the hat.

First Ever Hat Design Under Way

This strange looking creature is the beginning of a hat, which I’m having a go at designing.
I’m using some basic instructions from Debbie Abrahams’ "Design your own knits".

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Design-Your-Knits-Easy-Steps/dp/060061638X

This book is very good, but it will say something like "calculate the number of rounds you need to knit for the depth of the hat", but doesn't actually say how to calculate this.
Yes, if you know the distance and the guage, you can calculate it, but not if you don't know the recommended distance.
This sort of thing happens again and again in this book. "Calculate the number of stitches for the width of the back neck and the shoulders", but the body measurements for these distances are not mentioned. Is it from shoulder point to shoulder point? I'm battling on, but it does seem a bit like it's written for those who already know how to do it.
I suppose it's not "Design your own knits for dummies".

I pored over the page on hat design over and over again looking for information about the recommended amount of negative ease. I gave up looking and guessed, and then when following the steps, one by one, there it was, in black and white, right in front of my eyes.
5cm (2 in). Sadly, this sort of thing seems to be a common occurrence for me lately.

I'm having a look at the Vogue Knitting "The Ultimate Knitting Book", with a view to perhaps using it for vests, pullovers etc.
I do tend to skim over pages looking for key information, rather than methodically reading through each part. I must learn patience in this area.

Since taking this photo, I’ve actually finished knitting the hat, but haven’t yet taken another photo. I don't know if I want it photographed on my ugly head though. I may have to recruit one of my daughters.

It uses the tulip stitch pattern for the bottom of the hat, and reverse stocking stitch for the top.

I'm really pleased with it, for a first attempt. I plotted out the curve of the decreases on graph paper, but it does seem a bit like a star at the top, though not when it's on my head.

I can't find standard measurements for crown of head to forehead or base of skull. Circumference is easy enough to find. All of this is fine when designing for oneself, but if designing for others, what are these measurements for baby, child, woman, man?
The list of questions is endless. Persistence is the key.

Knitting Pattern Available – Crocus Bag

Despite appearances to the contrary, I haven’t disappeared off the face of the earth. Life’s normal trials and tribulations have continued. For now, at least, I have fought my way to the surface to bring my knitting pattern for the Crocus Bag out into the open.

Surprisingly enough, it’s knit in crocus stitch, with an Irish Moss Stitch base, band and strap. It’s a basic rectangular shape. Some woven fabric is required to line the bag.

The crocus pattern is from the knitting series “Creative Knitting”







Crocus Bag
Knitting Pattern
Yarn suggested : Heirloom 8 ply cotton (or any other DK/8 ply yarn)
Gauge : 23 stitches = 4 inches in Crocus Stitch
Needle size : 3.75 mm / US 5
Meterage : 360 mtrs / 394 yards

This pattern is available to buy from Ravelry for $US 3.50



A light and lacy bag for summer, knitted in the round with only the strap to sew on. The bag is knitted on smaller needles to create a firmer fabric. The stitch pattern comes from volume three of a 1980’s English knitting series called Creative Knitting. No details of the publisher are available in this edition. If you wish to top to draw in a little more, use a K1, P1 rib for the band. Some woven fabric is needed to line the bag.

How hard can it be?

My Crocus Bag is nearing completion.
In this picture, it’s about to be cast off.

As I’m knitting it in the round, and because of the structure of the stitch pattern, the beginning and the end of the round have the stitch pattern overlapping.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t conceptualise how to write the instructions.
I had to actually knit it to work it out. Even then I wasn’t sure how to write it. Doing a couple of repeats of the pattern, and jotting down what was happening during the second repeat, made it clear.

It’s amazing that the more familiar I became with the stitch pattern, the more mistakes I made and had to go back to repair.
I knew it so well, I’d relaxed into not concentrating so much. A fatal error.

Since this photo was taken, I’ve cast off, and am not sure how to finish it. It looked nice on the circular needles, gathering in at the top. Cast off, it seems a bit too wide open at the top. The possible ideas I have in mind are

• Folding the top over and threading a drawstring through.
• Weaving some fine elastic through the band to pull it in a little.
• Dunno
  

Once this is decided I’ll know whether straps are required, and think about what type would look good.

Free Knitting Pattern – Lace Border Bag

This is a quite simple bag, knit in stocking stitch, with a lace border and a ribbed edging. It’s a basic rectangular shape. Some woven fabric is required to line the bag.

It would pay to brush up on your slip stitches knitwise, and your p1 tbl or you’ll have the troubles that I initially did in the lace border.

The lace pattern is Wigwams from the knitting series, “Creative Knitting”

Lace Border Bag
Knitting Pattern
Yarn suggested : Heirloom Easy Care 12 ply (or any other Bulky / 12 ply yarn)
Gauge : 19 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches in Stocking (Stockinette) Stitch
Needle size : 5.5 mm / US 9
Meterage : 195 mtrs / 214 yards

This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

download now

A fun, and handy bag, quick to knit, and interest added with a lace border. The bag is knitted on smaller needles to create a firmer fabric.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Monday, August 10, 2009
Make no allowance for the talk (7)I’m pretty sure this is lecture but I have no idea why.
Either my brain is failing, or the cryptic crossword is getting harder.
I’m ready to give it up.

Crocus Swatch

As per standard operating procedures not much action has taken place knit wise.

I’ve done a swatch of crocus stitch using circular needles. I’ve done a couple of measurements on it, but no calculations yet. I like the look of it, and it seems to suit the yarn quite well.



Other than knitting, a lot has been happening.
There’s been an Aussie Rules match to attend.
There’s been a 50th Wedding Anniversary to attend.
There’s been activities to transport children to hither and thither.
There’s been a school music concert to attend.
And of course the usual everyday working, shopping etc.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, July 30, 2009
Exist in macabre Athenian ritual (7)
I must admit, I’ve just this moment opened the paper to find the crossword, so I haven’t done any of it.
This doesn’t immediately jump out at me. I have a feeling it may be an anagram of Exist in
Don’t know much about Athenian rituals. Maybe if I have time to mull over a few other clues, it’ll come to me.

Indian Summer disappears

It’s been a spring-like couple of days, which today disintegrated into a cold rainy afternoon. On the home front life has been very busy, rudely cutting into my knitting and designing time.

We’ve been following Masterchef rather sporadically, but did watch the final episode. It was quite compelling. There’s not much I watch that doesn’t put tears in my eyes these days.

Anyway, knitting wise, the Lace Border bag is nearly finished. I just need to put in a lining and sew in the straps. I’m really happy with the way it’s looking. I hope to have the pattern ready to publish next week.

Yesterday I bought a few balls of Heirloom Cotton 8 Ply with a view to making a Lace patterned bag. I’ve started a tension square. The yarn seems thinner than I expect an 8 ply to be, but it’s knitting up very nicely on the suggested needles. There’ll be enough to measure soon and then I can make my adjustments.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Monday, July 20, 2009
Methodical rearrangement of messy attic (10)
This one wasn’t too hard. It’s an anagram (rearrangement) of messy attic = systematic
Methodical = systematic

Free Knitting Pattern – Lacy Boucle Clutch

The knitting pattern has been available on Ravelry for a few days and now it's here too!

This clutch uses a biasing lace square pattern. It's not exactly obvious from the photo, but not important. It’s more like, a bit of lace here, a bit of lace there. The biasing lace squares create wavy edges, hence the finishing angle of the flap. Rather jaunty, don’t you think?

There is a heavy satin used for the lining, to give some body, and shine. (Sounds like a hair care ad!)

Lacy Boucle Clutch
Knitting Pattern
Yarn suggested : Touch Yarns Boucle Solid
Gauge : 12.5 stitches = 4 inches in Bias Lace Squares
Needle size : 6.0 mm / US 10
Meterage : 40 mtrs / 44 yards

This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

download now

A soft, luxurious, mohair clutch for your evening must haves. The flap finishes with a jaunty angle.
Stitch chart included.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Monday, July 13, 2009
Checked retro model fits some (7)I’ve got no idea about this one, although the last letter must be D

Lace Border Bag continues slowly

Life has gotten in the way of knitting this week.
The remains of my cold, children’s school camp preparations, an impending birthday, and being a parent as psychologist have all conspired to prevent me from doing as much as I would have liked.

However I have done most of the second side of the Lace Border Bag and it is pictured here to show that I’ve done something.
The photo worked better this time. It was pretty overcast at the time, so maybe that’s the difference. Who could have guessed that I’d be wishing for grey skies?


This time I’m using a coarse sewing thread for my life lines. It’s some thread I used to repair the edging stitching on a mattress, so it’s fairly tough stuff. It has lasted well on the mattress, so my choice was good way back then. As it’s much finer, I’m hoping it’ll leave no mark when I remove it.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, July 9, 2009
Let us say it’s a vegetable (7)
This one jumped right out at me. It’s lettuce!

Lace Border Bag under way

I’ve been laid low with a cold this week, but despite or because of this, I’ve managed to get one side of the Lace Border Bag knitted.

Please excuse the awful photography. The red seems to be making things difficult.

You probably can’t tell from the photo, which may be a good thing, but I think I’ve learnt that the thread for my Life Line should be a great deal thinner than the yarn I’m knitting with. Marks have been left where I’ve pulled out the thread. How annoying! :) I’ve tugged it this way and that, but to no avail.


The Lacy Boucle Clutch is in the same state as previously. No magnetic clips have appeared. Next time I’m at Spotlight I’ll see what press studs I can use instead. Or maybe it’s time to delve into my sewing box to see what’s hiding there. There’s bound to be some left over gems that will do just the trick.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, July 2, 2009
It can capture a scene in private (6)
This one’s got me stumped. From another word I’ve got, I can tell you that the 4th letter is “E”. But this doesn’t help me at all. Maybe you can work it out.

Clutch 95% complete

The Lacy Boucle Clutch is virtually complete. I’m still waiting to hear when my magnetic clips come in. Now I’m starting to doubt whether they’ll be what I want. There were none of any size in the shop, so I couldn’t see how to attach them. Maybe you can’t sew them in. Maybe they need to be glued or some such thing. I suppose I’ll just have to be patient and wait and see. If they’re not suitable, I’ll probably end up using press studs, although I was trying to avoid the tugging on the fabric that they tend to entail.

I won’t publish the knitting pattern until it’s completely finished so I can photograph it in it’s proper state, and maybe have some contents in it without it gaping open.



While waiting, I may as well go on with the next idea.

My thoughts are to do a bag with a lace border at the top.
Yesterday I went in to Morris & Sons with the idea to get some Lana Gatto Super Soft yarn. I’d seen it on their website, but it wasn’t in the store. Probably just as well, as it’s not cheap.

I ended up getting Heirloom Easy Care 12ply, which was what I used for the Chunky Sampler Bag. All of which means, I could’ve quickly gone over to Mooroolbark Wool to get that, rather than going all the way into the city and making a day of it. I haven’t been able to find a 10ply wool yarn available locally, which was why I thought I’d go for the Lana Gatto. It wasn’t to be. So I’ll use 12 ply instead. It certainly worked very well for the Chunky Sampler Bag. It’ll be interesting to see how it knits up in a lace pattern.


I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, June 25, 2009
A firm figure put in on the first, a Tuesday (6)
The answer must be “statue”. I already had the second t from another word.
first, a Tuesday = statue
This seems to be drawing a long bow, but who’s to say how these clues are constructed.

Clutch under construction

Well I got further than I thought I would. As it’s small and the dimensions don’t matter too much, I’ve used the piece as my tension square, after first knitting a little piece to see whether lace was visible with boucle yarn.

So here’s the back of the bag, with the flap open and the lining just temporarily stuck inside, to hopefully show up the lace, which is in a pattern of squares, if you can’t tell.


The bag has been sewn up, and the lining almost finished. I need to shorten the lining a bit, and then hand sew the final seam and secure the lining into the bag. When I bought the lining fabric (satin) from Spotlight, I looked for some small magnetic clips to close the bag. I think they’ll be easier to open than studs. With the help of a very friendly staff member, I found where they were meant to be, saw their spot empty, and ordered a couple. All things being equal, I’m supposed to get a phone call when they come in (within two weeks).

Look out for the finished product next time.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, June 18, 2009
Holy man grows older in steps (6)
The answer must be “stages”. I already had the g and the last s from other words. I knew the answer must be stages. I thought it was something to do with a sage being a holy man. But as I was sitting down to type this, it came to me.

Holy man = saint = st
Grows older = ages
Therefore – stages!
Sometimes I know what the answer is, but can’t work out how to get it from the whole clue.

First Post

Here goes with my first entry.
I’m going to try to post once a week. I’m sure I’m not the first to say that, and I won’t be the last.
This blog can be my online coach. It’ll be here nudging me to do more. There’s a word floating… accountability … that’s it!

I was waiting to get my last design finished before I started here.
I want to start fresh with a new project, rather than being halfway through one.

Maybe here I can indulge in free association, one thought to the next.
How pretentious!

Well, onto the project of the moment!

Today I made the 45 minute drive to Wondoflex Yarn Craft Centre to buy a skein of Touch Mohair/Merino Boucle.

It's a dark olive green which you may not be able to tell from the photo.
I have thoughts of using it for a clutch purse.

Apart from when I was doing my own spinning, I haven’t had to wind a skein into a ball. Well now I do, and I suppose tonight’s the night.

Hopefully next week I’ll at least have a tension square to show.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent copy of “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, June 11, 2009
Give the right to name following leaderless men (7)
I have no idea!
Leaderless men could be en
Can’t think of anything else.