FishyKissKnits

Kismet and Emmatrude

Kismet.  The Universe speaks, and I listen - well, usually.  

For some time now I've been searching for the PERFECT loom.  I have had the help of many different people - mostly from our local Kitchener-Waterloo Weavers and Spinners Guild.  My new friend Sharon was most helpful in directing me.  Through her, I decided that I did indeed want a countermarche loom, and it needed to be 12 harness and also I wanted a well-loved used loom and a good deal.  That's a huge bill to fill.

Add to that, the fact that I'm not that able to get under a loom, and a countermarche requires many, many more tie-ups than a jack loom.  Most people would say - well stick to a jack loom.  You're not getting any younger, nor are you getting more agile.  Uhh, uhh.  Nope.  Not me.  I kept searching until I found something called a 20+ by Woolhouse Tools.  This device allows any back-hinged treadling system to be converted to a tie-up system in the back (and is advertised to add 20 years to any weaver's weaving life - hence 20+!).  A perfect solution for me.

In researching this, I also found Woolhouse Tools, owned by John Low out of British Columbia - a fellow Canadian - yes!  And he produces 2 of the most gorgeous looms you'll ever lay eyes on, the Kirsti and the Gertrude, shown here.

Okay, so I'd now found the 20+, and the loom I really wanted, but all together they were VERY pricey, which meant I had to go looking for a used one.

Google search.  Found several ads and emailed all of them, but received a reply from only one.  And here's where the Universe takes over.  My reply was from another weaver, from B.C., Susan Harvey, who had actually taken her loom off the market several years ago.  Turns out I had replied to a very old ad, but the weird part is that she had just given her loom a 'spa treatment' and then found out that she was going to have to put her loom up for sale because there is a new loom in her future and she won't have space for both.  The day she decided to sell, she went to her computer and there was my request about her loom.  Kismet.  Seems the Universe was speaking to us both.

We emailed back and forth a couple of times, but when Susan called me, that clinched it for me.  She loves her baby, but has to part with it and I definitely want to adopt her.  So, my new loom is Emmatrude.  (I'll have to ask about the name - must be partly from 'Gertrude' but I wonder what the rest is from? - Susan????)  I'm awaiting shipping information, but I don't anticipate any problems there.  So now I have to reorganize my sunroom to make room for MY new baby.  This is very exciting.  Here's a photo of where Emmatrude will have a new home.

I find that I am using the word 'weird' too frequently, but it seems that the older I get the more that 'weird' things happen to me.  Call it the Universe talking, call it Kismet, or maybe it's just that I'm finally listening to that inner voice which inevitably leads me in the right direction.

As Susan was the one who suggested I write these events on my blog so that we could both document the coming events (Emmatrude leaving her home and arriving at mine), I'll turn this over to her now.  Susan . . . . . . .  (see Thrums, by Susan Harvey, aka weeverwoman).

 

The World of Coincidence

Been a while.  Weaving has taken over my life, and blogging has been less important.  That said, a strange thing happened yesterday which connected my past life - knitting, with my present life - weaving, and I just had to blog about it.

At the home of Sharon Gardiner, a member of our local KWWS (Kitchener Waterloo Weavers & Spinners)  I was given a tour, which included a large selection of looms and her work for a Master Weaver course.  She is quite amazing and very inspirational - and reserved.  But she opens up when asked about her weaving and is so pleased to show her work and her looms.

On the way down to the basement, I discovered this hanging on the wall.

I asked if it was a piece that she had done.  Turns out it is her tapestry project for the weavers' course interpreting the photo below.

She then volunteered the name of the piece - and here's the weird part - it's called FISHY KISS.  (if you don't get it - look at the title of my blog).

So, the thing is that I never chose the name for my blog.  It comes to me via my daughter Belinda Fireman, who is an artist.  She named her blog after the faces that her twins made while eating - fishy kiss (a puckered lip kind of thing with cheeks drawn in).  I joined her in that blog and she has since moved on to other things, so now it belongs to me alone.  I thought the name was unique.  Imagine my surprise when Sharon told me the name of her piece of tapestry.

My life has been full of these coincences, but sometimes I get the feeling that I'm supposed to understand why they are happening.  I don't, but I enjoy the moments all the same.

 

Weaving - Where have you been all my life?

I'm obsessed.  Officially.  Up to this point in my life, knitting has been my passion, when it comes to hobbies, and even for work (I owned a knitting store in the 80's).  My thoughts in my down time are often about the next project or design - the next FABRIC!!!!  Don't ask me how this happened at this stage in my life, weaving threatens to take over knitting.

All I can say is that for the last 6 months, a good part of my design/knitwork has been related to the linen stitch.  Several people have commented about how much that stitch looks like weaving.  So I'm guessing I've been drawn to the process for longer than that.  I swim everyday with a lovely Swiss woman who is a weaver, and when I showed her my work, she commented that I should try weaving and that there is even a guild in town that gives lessons to beginners.  At first the dates didn't work for me, even though I was interested, but due to a change in our vacation plans everything suddenly clicked.  And guess what?  There was one stop still left - it definitely had my name on it.

There were 7 classes - 1 per week, 3 hours a night.  From the very first throw of the shuttle, I was in love.  Every part of the process intrigues me.  Classes finished last week.  I completed my requisite acrylic steel wool-like scarf, along with another student's piece, who had missed a class.  I have bought many, many books; I've scoured through journals on everything from patterns to techniques; I've researched purchasing a new vs. old loom.  I'm hooked.

I own my own loom.  It's a 32" 4 harness table model, with treadles which can be adapted to an 8 harness.  I've joined the Guild, and I've warped my first floor loom at the guild - a 4 harness, 6 treadle baby, with the help of my swimming buddy.  The warp is a gorgeous reddy/purple called Plum, by Sundara Yarns in the Fingering Merino Cashmere base.  I had 3 balls, and used 2 for the warp.  There will be 3 scarves when I'm done.  The first one is finished - the weft is Black over Violet FMC.  The second scarf on the same warp has a different pattern but same threading.  It uses Yellow Heirloom Tomato FMC.  I haven't yet decided what colour to combine for the 3rd scarf.  Here's some photos of my work to date.

à la Ouest - a Scarf

Here's a unisex scarf which I designed as a submission to an online pattern publication.  I love the way the short rows work in this pattern, showing off the long repeats of colour and creating a 'stained glass' effect.  The scarf is knit with 1 skein of Sundara sock in black, and 1 skein of Crazy Zauberball.  The alternate colourway uses  1 skein each of Indigo Moon sock and Noro Kureyon sock.  The short row technique is very easy and does not use wrapping.  There is a video link in the pattern to Cat Bordhi's site for reference, as I used her technique and modified it a bit.

Download this pattern for free on my Ravelry site.    FREE DOWNLOAD

Pattern & images © 2011 Esther Budd. This pattern is for personal use only and may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Herringbone ZigZag Cowl

A gift for Belinda last year, I finally got around to writing up this pattern.  Two beautiful stitches adapted from one of Barbara Walker's stitch books - Herringbone, and Banded Rib.  Both are easy to learn, but produce a beautiful effect.  This cowl is worked mostly in the round.  The bands are worked flat at each end.  I've used a Fingering Merino Cashmere from Sundara Yarns.  The project takes about 1.5 skeins.

Purchase the HERRINGBONE ZIGZAG COWL Pattern  $3.95 US     

Pattern & images © 2011 Esther Budd. This pattern is for personal use only and may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

 

PRISM MOBIUS COWL

 

A stash buster for sure.  This project is a great way to use up small bits of yarn left over from other projects.  It was originally designed to use the scraps from three different swaps in the Ravelry group Sundara Yarn Love and uses just over 2 balls of sock yarn in oodles of colours.  It can very easily be adapted to any number of colours, as they were used in a random manner with no pre-planning.  The ends are worked into small tassels creating an interesting design feature on each side of the reversible mobius cowl.

Here's a photo of some of the detail in the cowl:

Purchase the PRISM MOBIUS COWL Pattern  $5.00 US     

Pattern & images © 2011 Esther Budd. This pattern is for personal use only and may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

 

Baseball Jersey ... a Knitting Nightmare

I don't often knit another designer's pattern, but last month I decided to make my youngest son a sweater for his birthday.  He chose the Baseball Jersey by Bruce Weinstein from the book Knits Men Want.  This is a gorgeous sweater.  As an experienced knitter I made a cardinal mistake.  I began knitting without checking for errata.

NEVER MAKE THIS MISTAKE.  Read the pattern.  Check Ravelry for any errata.  Check the publisher's site for errata.  Check the projects already completed for any problems.

So.  I didn't do this.  To the designer's credit, all went very well, and I was nearing completion when it occurred to me that the sleeve caps and the saddle shoulders looked very large for the body of the garment.  But you would think I had never knit a sweater before, because I that didn't stop me.  I completed the sleeves.  I blocked the pieces.  And then the problems started.  No directions for assembly of this project.  None.  Well, not exactly.  I quote: "well, knit all the pieces first. then lay them out and you’ll see how they fit together. doing it is easier than thinking about it." was on the designer's thread in his group on Ravelry.  Huh?  What does that mean?  I know how they SHOULD fit together, but man, they just don't!

After 2 attempts to get the sleeve caps and saddles to fit, I decided to check the finished projects pages on Ravelry.  Almost everyone who wrote any comments at all, made note of the fact that there were issues with the sleeves.  One Raveller in particular was extremely helpful and had posted photos and descriptions of how she had adjusted the sleeve caps and saddles.  After two more attempts at tinking and reknitting the adjustments, the pieces finally fit together.

Bruce himself did answer me on his thread about the subject, but was less than helpful.  I finally figured out what needed to be done to correct the mistakes, and gave my son his birthday gift last week.  But I have yet to see any proper errata posted about the size of the sleeve caps.  Nor has any explanation about assembly been added to any of his published pages.  His few comments on the subject seem to blame the publisher for any errors, but make little effort to correct the problems with the pattern.

Which brings me to this.  There are a lot of people publishing these days.  There are good patterns and bad patterns.  But please, if you put something out there for sale or for free, remember your obligation to those people who have put their time and money into knitting your patterns.  If there is an error, publish proper errata.  And make sure they are available easily to anyone who has had access to the pattern. 

Everyone makes mistakes.  Not everyone takes responsibility for them.  Lesson learned.  Venting complete.  And btw - my son loves the sweater.

WILLS, Scarves fit for a Prince

I just finished publishing my first ebook on Ravelry called WILLS, An ebook of 3 Scarves.  They are the result of a month and a half of knitting and pattern-writing to beat the fall deadline when everyone wants to start knitting for the holidays.

Based on the stitches I used in the HRH Kate's Shawl, the name was chosen to honour HRH Prince William and the princes and kings in our own lives.  I think they all deserve something for patiently watching as we knit along, day after day.  These patterns can be purchased separately for $2.75 US each, or as an ebook for $6.00 US.

Version 1 - using Sundara Yarn, Fingering Merino Cashmere in Ruby Port, 1 skein:  

 

 

 

 

 

Version 2 - using Sundara Yarn, DK Merino the 2nd in Lichen over Slate, 2 skeins:

 

 

 

 

Version 3: - using Sundara Yarn, Fingering Silky Merino in Granite Falls, 2 skeins, doubled:

 

 

 

 

All three have great stitch definition and are suitable for beginner knitters.  Stocking stitch, garter stitch and slipped stitches are all that are used in these patterns.  Click on photos for enlargement to view stitches.

 

The ebook which contains all 3 patterns can be purchased on Ravelry.  The link is below.

 

Kate's Shawl CKAL

The sign up sheet for Kate's Shawl CKAL (katesCKAL) is now up and running.  To enter you must be a member of Ravelry (no cost involved), and then a member of the group Kate's Shawl and All.

My own shawl, HRH Kate's Shawl is just one of the many beautiful versions to choose from for this CKAL.

There are 4 prizes so far:

• first prize of $100 gift certificate from SUNDARA YARN
• 2nd prize is a $75 GIFT CERTIFICATE from Carol Sunday of SUNDAY KNITS
  
• 2nd prize is a skein of Sundara silk lace, donated by me
• 3rd prize is a book donated by Judith27 called Gossamer Webs - The History and Techniques of Orenberg Shawls by Galina Khmeleva and Carol R. Noble.

Over 10 designers on the group page have been given their own thread, and they have each designed their own version of Kate's Shawl.  All are unique and all gorgeous.  Such talent.  And let me say, it isn't easy to knit, test and pattern-write a design in under a 1 month deadline, and each have accomplished this.  Congratulations to all of you.

There are patterns for sale, free patterns, crochet patterns. There are Kate patterns, Kate-like patterns, crocheted Kates, and Katelets. The list of shawls if very comprehensive and if you can't find a shawl you like here, well    ....   you just don't like shawls.

There have been 2 podcasts done about our group, Knitabull's Episode 11 Where's the Sunshine, and Prairie Piper's  Episode 46 Kate's Shawl and other Ruffles as well as a mention on Susan B. Anderson's blog.  All very exciting.

The group itself has grown from just a few members on the first day to almost 1300 members in less than a month, and it's been very exciting to administrate and moderate.  I have 2 wonderful moderators, Jane and Leslie who have been very helpful and encouraging.

We hope you'll join us.  To access the sign-up sheet link you must be on Ravelry and a member of the Kate's Shawl & All group. 

HRH KATE'S SHAWL

 

Modelled by J. Ginsler

Finally.  I have to say that this project has been an all-consuming labour of love.  Just ask my husband.  We were on vacation for most of the pattern writing, and he didn't see very much of me.  Fortunately he is good natured, and very encouraging.  Three cheers for my DH.

So.  To business.  Here is my HRH Kate's Shawl.  Designed to honour the beautiful shawl worn by Her Royal Highness, Catherine,  the Duchess of Cambridge who wore a gorgeous machine-knit green ruffled shawl shortly after her wedding.  She caused a huge stir in the knitting community.  We were all rushing to try and come up with designs to reflect just how we SAW it.  Thing is, every photo I looked at seemed to have a different stitch.  I know that isn't possible, but I started to think that it would be unique to write a pattern showcasing a number of stitches.  The thought of many yarn bases came later, as requests started to pour in to our group site Kate's Shawl and All.  Things like: "I can never find anything in a lace weight."  or "I know that worsted won't even be thought about".  I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea.  When I put out a call for test knitters, and they each came back with a different yarn they wanted to work with (5 testers, 5 bases) and that clinched it.

The pattern is worked up in 2 ply lace, sock, fingering, light sport and worsted weights.  OMG.  In addition to that, I knew that I wouldn't be able to knit the shawl, and write the pattern in a timely manner, so I designed a 'Katelet' (shoulder shawl) version which is actually an extra small size.  This worked well, as the other testers were working small, medium and large sizes.

There was also talk about the ruffle.  I designed a mock rib stitch ruffle for the purists who saw that in Kate's version and used that for my Katelet.  But I knew that others would want a plain ruffle with a bit more flounce.  Hence the stocking stitch version of the ruffle as well.

All this as well as the work having to do with the Kate's Shawl and All, has kept me very busy.  I expect I'll get quite depressed now with so much time on my hands.

Hmmm..... what to do next.  Anybody see a baby bump yet????

Purchase the HRH Kate's Shawl pattern   

Pattern & images © 2011 Esther Budd. This pattern is for personal use only and may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.

 

Kate's Shawl & All

A long time since I last posted.  So much knitting has been accomplished that I'll have to work backwards to post it all properly.

There is a tremendous amount of excitement around Kate Middleton and the knit shawl she wore to the grocery story over a week ago.  Almost every group I am active in on Ravelry (the huge social network for knitters/crocheters) mentioned it in one way or another.

I am a Royalist.  Have been since Queen Elizabeth was crowned Queen when I was in Kindergarten.  I had her Coronation photo on my wall for years.  So forgive me, but everything Royal interests me.  I know its corny and out of fashion to enjoy this show of wealth and priviledge, but I can't help myself.  If fascinates me.

I am also a knitter and have been from about the same time in my life.  My grandmothers each taught me a handcraft - one knitting, the other crocheting.

Well, the two passions converged big time for me when Kate wore that shawl.  I started thinking that if everyone is going to talk about it, we needed to have a group on Ravelry devoted just to that.  I asked for 2 people who would join me - that's all it takes to set up a group.  So, I became the administrator/moderator for Kate's Shawl and All.  No big deal.  I was happy to have a home for it, and I mentioned it in one of my other groups.  I left for dinner and had 6 members.  When I returned I had over 100 members.  Everyday after that for the next week or so, another 100 members were added and at this point there are over 830.

To add to the mayhem and excitement, there is tremendous interest in creating a handknitted Kate's shawl.  I started one, and so did several other designers.  I've called my HRH Kate's Shawl and I'll have it ready for publication very soon.  The test knitters are still working away, as am I.  My version will have 2 stitch patterns to choose from, as well as 3 sizes.

I mentioned the excitement in the group to Sundara of Sundara yarns.  Her fingering silky merino in Frost over Blue Spruce is the yarn I'm using, and it is a beautiful bluey green, quite dark and sensual.  The yarn itself is extremely soft - a 50/50 mix of silk and merino wool.  I just love it, and am so happy to have found the appropriate project for it.  Sundara has generously also reduced the price of 2 skeins of FSM by 15% for a limited time to allow others to purchase and make the shawl.

Kate's Shawl and All has a CKAL (Crochet/Knit A Long) in the organizational stage, with a contest for the 3 best shawls form any of the many 'Kate's Shawls' designs that are out there.  The voting will be done by the group, and the winner will be announced sometime in September.  Sundara has donated a first prize of $100 gift certificate; 2nd prize is a skein of Sundara silk lace, donated by me; and 3rd prize is a book donated by Judith27 called Gossamer Webs - The History and Techniques of Orenberg Shawls by Galina Khmeleva and Carol R. Noble.

We all want to have Kate's shawl.  All 830 of us.  So next fall, when you see every woman who walks past you in a dark green shawl, you'll know the reason why.

A la Missoni - My Rainbow Ripple Cardigan

Finally finished this garment.  With all the colours and the choices that I had to make along the way, there were times that I thought I'd never find the answers I was seeking - design-wise.  But here is the end result.  My good friend Marcia helped me to photograph it, and I think she did a very good job.  Thanks, Marcia.

I love the ripple stitch - its' very Missoni, and is knit throughout most of the body.  Then I incorporated the linen stitch for the collar and the front bands because it looks great on either side, even though they are very different.  I might make this design again, but in pastels.

Basted, Stitched and STEEKED.

Before Steeking                                         After Steeking

I have been reading about steeking for the last couple of months.  I have talked to several people who have performed the surgery and lived to tell the tale.  I have had nightmares and daymares about doing this.  But... finally, I got up the courage this week

The planning began with my decision to try this 'new' technique, steeking (new to me, that is), when I started designing this garment.  I really wanted to stick to my plan and try something new with each major project this year.

The only major glitch was that my sewing machine went on the fritz and I was not prepared to sink any more funds into it.  So, last week, I traded it in, and brought home a brand spanking new Jenome.  Having planned on only buying a basic machine (don't laugh too hard, Belinda!), I of course, walked out with something much closer to the top of the line, knowing full well that I'll NEVER use most of the deluxe features, but wanting them anyway.  What is that???

Back to the story.  I had knit my tube, sleeves and yoke up to the neck, and so now I had to put everything I learned into action.  After talking with the experts one more time, I sat down to do this daunting task 2 days ago.  If you don't know what steeking is - the definition is basically cutting through knitted pieces to achieve the shape wanted, and then sewing them together, or knitting them together.  In my case, I wanted to turn a tube of knitting into a cardigan.   Of course, it's not as simple as that, and much care has to be taken so that the knitting doesn't unravel, and all the work and yarn goes to waste.

What I learned:

1. Leave a column of at least 3 stitches wide - I used 5 stitches - when knitting in the round
2. Crochet a chain up column on either side of the centre stitch that you plan to cut
3. Sew over this chain on the sewing maching
4. Pick up the stitches on each side of this sewing and crocheting
5. Cut through the column of stitches between the sewing

Works like a charm.  All that tension and anxiety and really, it is such a simple technique.  I'm going to use it on several sweaters that need more shaping which I can't be bothered to re-knit.

These are a couple of photos of the crocheted edge prior to the cut:

 
contents © Esther Budd 2011

 

 

 

Design Dilemmas

As you can see from the photo, I'm almost finished knitting the cardigan.  Problems so far:

1.  My knitting is NOT to the gauge I figured out when I began (is it ever? - but that's a whole other topic), and because I foolishly decided this was going to be a steeked cardigan, I will have to add about 6" to the fronts after I finally make the fatal cut - that is if is don't chicken out and decide to reknit the whole thing.  Frustrating.  I've been percolating over the different ways to add these extra inches every time I swim.  That is my thinking time, and most every design problem is solved during that alone time.  This one has taken many, many days to figure out, but I am getting closer to it now.

2. Looks like I might run out of one of the colours because I used more of it in the body of the cardigan - so a reknit of part of the garment might have to occur anyway.

3. The sleeves have been reknit twice because I didn't like the way I had decided to do the increases.

Funny thing is that this is usually what occurs when I design a garment.  I knit, tink, reknit, tink, reknit and voila - it finally emerges if the yarn holds up to all that ripping.  So, don't be surprised if the finished garment is nothing like the photo I'm posting now.  Happens all the time.  Like my daughter has said to me in the past - "more knitting bang for the buck" - well she didn't use those exact words, but that is the gist of it.

Beach Knitting

Anyone who knows me, is aware of the fact that I don't go ANYWHERE without my knitting.  That includes the pool, the beach, car, airplane - doesn't matter.  It's like a security blanket for me.  Having said that however, I have to mention that some locations require much more 'set-up' time than others.

The beach is one of those locations.  Here, the sand and salt water can be a very real problem if you aren't careful.  I've dropped many balls of yarn in the sand, and can attest to the difficulty of getting out those tiny little grains.  My solution - I keep everything except the piece on the needles in a bag, tied up in the umbrella stand, out of reach of sand and surf.  If works quite well, but the problem is that progress is slow.  Every row, or so, you have to get up and pull more yarn from the skein, straighten things out, make any notes that are required to keep count etc.  Most people would consider this too complicated to be workable.  Not me.  There is NOTHING that compares to the splendor of knitting on the beach.  And here's proof.  When you look up - this is what you see: