Don't you just love the oldies? The Chordettes will no doubt cringe at this but here it goes...
Ribbon Edged Jacket
While pretty when done, and trimmed with expensive ribbon, knitting it is a slog. After a week, the back and one front are finally done.
I've just started a sleeve, because I want to make sure that the finished sleeve fits in properly to the armhole. Debbie Bliss patterns are notorious for their lack of schematics, which makes it a bit touch and go as to what dimensions you're knitting to. (The new Debbie Bliss Pure Silk book does have schematics though, so it looks like these books are finally getting into line with the rest of the market and about time too). This pattern is particularly bad since I substituted the yarn and the pattern tells you how many rows to knit to start the armhole... so I guesstimated the length.
These are the best photo that I got of the yarn colour. It's definitely not grey. Ivy is a green shade.
It's hard for me to go nearly a month without a finished object. None of the things that I am knitting are that inherently interesting to photograph, nor that difficult to knit, so I'm not sure why I seem to be on the slow coach to nowhere... maybe this is a sign that I ought to stop knitting everything, go find the loudest yarn that I have and cast on for something bodacious....
but you know, if I could cast on for something new now, it would be one of these ...
The blue and grey jacket is from the Season of Darkness and Winter Light from Norskstrikkedesign. Kits are available from Nordic Fiber Arts. I have always loved this jacket but do you think it's a bit too dramtic for every day wear?
The winter cardigan is the Austrian Cardigan from Harrisville Yarns. I've seen this design over and over again in my knitting magazines and suddenly, it's become an obsession
The red pull-over is a design called Danish Nattroje by Beth Brown-Reinsel from Interweave Magazine Winter 2004 . When I do knit it, it'll probably be in Rowan's 4 ply cotton, which coincidentally I have in stash. I didn't give it much thought when I first saw it in the magazine. The model is completely swamped by the jersey.
Which reminds me, I really ought to put together my list of 100 things that I must knit before I can die page ;-)
No, I didn't finish saffron yet, and please don't ask about the Debbie Bliss Ribbon Edged Jacket. I tried hard to resist the lure of the Douceur and Soie that Mary had sent me, but as as the Borgs say, resistance is futile... especially, when you are RAOK'ed with the gift of a beautiful pattern by someone as nice as Susan.
May I present to you the start of the Mountain Stream Scarf, a brand new pattern recently designed by Susan and available at the Knitting Zone. I was waiting in hopes of a knit-along, but on Tuesday I cracked and cast on.
The pattern is so well written that it is a pleasure to see the design develop, so intuitive too. Of course, I would like to point out, even well written patterns could be problematic, especially with a gung-ho, over-eager, over-anxious, lace project deprived knitter that has been working on the 'project that will never end' (saffron) and the world's most boring and tedious stitched jacket.
Why did I not read the pattern properly, jumping into the 1st corner and then try to pick-up over 20 stitches from 1 stitch? I should also mention that I was stone sober at the time.
The pattern only takes 1 ball of Douceur and Soie (or Kid Silk Haze) and is designed a l'Orenberg style (which means no fiddly working on the edging). I will very likely knit this again, adding additional repeats on the center to make a lovely shawl.
I am indeed a lucky girl... and thank you Susan and Mary... clearly you're going to think that I'm completely pathetic when I tell you that, this was the perfect pick-me-up for a rather fraught week.
First, to thank all of you for preventing my gung-ho'ness from ruining saffron with the bias tape. Then to thank Bronwyn and Dotty for offering to help me acquire some grosgrain tape. Fortunately, I knew where to go get some, so on Saturday, a visit was paid to VV Rouleaux. VV Rouleaux is a fantastic shop for trimmings. I shelled out for 3 meters of grosgrain to sort out the button band and to stitch around the inside of the collar.
I wasn't surprised by the fantastic selection, but was pleasantly pleased to find such a good match for the yarn.
I also got some buttons from Peter Jones. PJ's has a reasonable selection of buttons, but the ribbon selection while much more affordable was a bit scant.
I'm going to follow Jacinta's advice to measure the ribbon and sew down one side before putting in the buttonholes. Now, I need to find all my sewing machine attachments and figure out how to do buttonholes. Saffron is turning into quite a production. Maybe I'd better stock up on strong alcohol while I try and get up the courage to do this. It's waited 3 years to get the second sleeve, surely a few more months to get the buttons and ribbon attached isn't entirely unreasonable.
Pulla Pulla (so good you have to say it twice)
One of the really, really good things about doing swaps is getting introduced to new blogs. When I'm assigned someone to swap with, I usually take time to go through the blog and get a sense of the person that has been designated my victim.
I joined Beth's Magnificent 46 in the Unloved Yarn Swap
The goal was to swap enough yarn for a pair of socks with one of the Magnificent 46. I got to 'meet' Project Knit Mary and Dances With Wool Lene . While going through Lene's archives, I found her recipe for Pulla.
I thought, yummy, got to make. I halved the recipe. (To get around the 1 large egg, I used 1 small egg). The proofing was the hardest bit because the house was so cool. Even with my baker's eye, I can see that these pulla needed more warmth and moisture. After 4 hours of mixing, proofing, sprinkling and baking ... voila... Pulla!
I've been lusting after this jacket for years, since the book was first published. The ribbon edged jacket seems so stylish, the perfect thing to wear to work or over jeans for the weekend.
I ordered the yarn (and some other yarns as well) from an unscrupulous UK vendor that promised to deliver but never came up with the goods or the refund. Yeah right, the cheque is in the mail... I think that we can all agree that this is shameful behaviour. It has been a long time and I refuse to become bitter and twisted over a petty thing like money. I'm not going to publicly name the vendor because the site no longer exists and I prefer to not have my blog to turn into a public denounciation forum.
Suffice to say, that if I would ever see this vendor in person, I would personally escort her to the nearest cashpoint and demand refunds for myself and others that I know that have paid up and not received their goods. Unless of course, if she should happen to read this, and suddenly decides to do the right thing... because we all know 'what comes around, goes around'.
Due to this unpleasant episode, I have always found it hard to knit this jacket. Would wearing it always remind me of this betrayal of trust? In the end, I'd decided to go for it, using some stashed yarn, that has very pleasant memories. I'm using some discontinued Ivy magpie tweed that I bought in a sale, ages ago. It's in 2 different dyelots, and I still have yet to figure out how to divide up to break up the shading, because what fun would it be to be able to knit something straightforward and not have to think?
I had stashed the yarn for the Tide Cardigan from the Rowan Tweed Collection and one day, I saw the completed cardigan on Alpaca Woman. You see, Alpaca Woman and I have a tendency to knit similar styles. We both made Fruity (Mine, hers) and the fluffy Garnstudio Alaska & Eskimo pull-over without that horrid rose motif and planned to knit Eriskay and Grace. Since we know each other in real life, see each other in real life, the probability of looking like 'tweedle dee' and step-sister is higher than I would like. You remember Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito in Twins?
Added Later
Because a few of you had asked (and a picture is worth a thousand words)
The stitch for this jacket is a modified waffle. It's alternating 1 row of 1x1 rib with 1 row of stocking stitch, so it's real slow going. I mean, this is all I got done after watching CSI-NY, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Officer and Gentlemen (all on Saturday night TV, can you tell I live the exciting life?) and using 4.5mm needles!
Here's a close-up of the stitch. It's so hard to photograph. The colour in the top photo is more representative of the yarn. The fabric is pretty stiff and I am getting concerned that I'm going to look like I'm wearing a bullet proof vest with sleeves and frilled ribbon. I've looked everywhere to see if anyone has made it and was happy with it, but I guess the expensive ribbon and stitch might had put most people off.
The recommended ribbon is hideously expensive and may end up costing more than the yarn (I know that the yarn was on sale, but still...) , so I'm out to look for some possible alternatives. I am so looking forward to ribbon shopping this weekend. VV Rouleaux, here I come!
and another thing ...
Geek, if you sponsor me for £5, I will wear my woolly hat every day next week to work. In fact, I will sponsor you too, if you promise wear a woolly hat to work every day next week.
If you click on the Woolly Hat picture, you'll find out that British & International Sailors' Society (Biss) is collecting knitted woolly hats for seafarers. I'm going to email them to see if they would get Patons to support us for a hat-along. Surely a few able minded knitters can rack out a few hats, right? If only so that we can say .. 'Hey sailor, is that a Noro/Patons/Rowan hat that you're wearing?'
All Noro Afghan
Did you see how well the 'All Noro afghan', being auctioned on ebay for the Afghans For Afghans Charity is doing? I'm amazed on how many bid that it's got, already. Please, please, please don't forget to go and put a bid on it. It's for a worthy cause and don't you think that your significant other would love it for Valentine's Day?
Saffron
To add the couture touch (and to give a bit more substance to the edgings) I went in search of grosgrain ribbon.
I couldn't find any that was narrow enough or in the right colour, so I opted for some bias tape. I don't really sew but I do know that grosgrain is a stiffer fabric. I asked at the shop whether bias tape would be a good substitute and was told 'no' as :
'Bias tape is used to finish curved edges such as armholes and necklines. It fits smoothly around the curves without adding bulk. You can get it around curves easily by steaming it with an iron. For a knitted garment, it's not going to be stiff enough to make the edge lie flat, but it's if you want to give a bit of support to the fabric.'.
So rebel that I am, I bought it anyway. (It is Liberty purple, how could I refuse?.) I wanted ribbon to ease the edging a bit to hold the blocking better (I should had probably increased the band by 3 or 4 7-8 stitches). I haven't figured out how to get the holes (yet to be cut into the tape) to line up with the buttonholes yet. Does one cut and then sew or sew on the tape and then cut? Good thing that I can't wear this for a few more months because I haven't even got to the agonising bit about which buttons to use yet. (No doubt whatever I want, is going to be too big or small for the buttonholes.)
Added Later - Thanks for all your advice, I'm going to hold out until I get the grosgrain ribbon...sometimes 'gung-ho' can be bad.
All I know is that I've got to finish it completely in February on account of the stash inventory. Inspite of my restrain in purchases, I'm still gaining yarn at an alarming rate, much faster than it is being knitted up. I joined Beth's Magnificent 46 in the Unloved Yarn Swap
The goal was to swap enough yarn for a pair of socks with one of the Magnificent 46. All the yarn in my stash is loved, but some are less loved than others for one reason or another. It sounded like a great idea and I was hoping that this would mean that I would get my hands on something that I could love more than what I had.
Well.... I did. I received my package from Project Knit Mary this weekend, and I am completely overwhelmed, over the moon, in a state of shock.. . not just because Project Knit Mary was so generous, not just because the yarn she sent is gorgeous, but because these would had been exactly the kind of yarns that I would had chosen for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! For your generosity but for also inviting me to come play in your stash... you never know one day that tap on the door might be me! .. ;-)
Seriously, these yarns are all going to be loved by me... if love makes the world go round, I can fuel the earth for the next decade with the love I have for my stash!
Blue/Green Sockotta Cotton is just so lovely. I've been wanting to try this for a long time, but haven't gotten around to it.
Cascade fixation is perfect. I once bought this some years ago but gave it away to encourage someone who was highly allergic to wool to do her first socks. I'd always meant to get more but never got around to it.
Douceur and Soie ... it looks and feels just like Rowan Kid Silk Haze. Gorgeous, soft and just wonderful stuff.
Debbie Bliss Cathay ... lovely blue and orange... yummy. I find the cathay line tends to call to me.. the colours just feel so 'chinese-y' to me. Reminds me of when I was a kid, playing around wearing my mom's very expensive cheong-sams. (we had fun but mom was horrified).
Thank you Beth for all your hard work organising this exchange. Now off to see if my recipient has gotten her goodies yet.
First things first, don't forget to bid on the Mason Dixon Knitting 'All Noro afghan', being auctioned for Afghans For Afghans Charity. I don't want to name drop, but some of that Noro came directly from the house of Debbie Bliss. Here's your chance to not just own a Noro work of art that can keep you warm, but something that was once in the possession of the great Debbie herself (no, she didn't knit any of the squares, I just got some of the yarn in one of her workshops). I personally took part in knitting some of these squares and then in helping assemble this blanket using Noro yarns contributed by many Rowanettes ( Jill, Louise, Helen L., Monica W., Emma, Stéphanie), but don't let that fact that I did some of the knitting put you off. Here's your chance to take part in a good cause, as Kay said, it takes a lot of money to charter planes to deliver those afghans to the Afghans.
I should also add my thanks to everyone that knitted a square or sent some of their Noro to help make this 'all Noro' afghan a reality.
Aren't these pretty? They were contributed by Monica W.. all the way from Finland!
200(Sox)
The hubby's socks are done. Let's say I'm not going to be using Dale Tiur anytime soon again for socks. Don't get me wrong, the sock are lovely and warm. The mohair has a great sheen. The knitting hasn't been fun and the reality that they have to be hand-washed is only just sinking in...but hey, he loves 'em and they will keep his feet warm, so that's good enough for me... for the moment.
Thse photos are pre-blocking but that's because I finished them late in the evening and wanted to photograph them before they were worn.
Really that bit from gusset to toe, took forever.
OK, the art-y shoot. You know, it's difficult to photgraph this green. It tends to disappear into the foilage.
Have you read the Orchid Thief?
Orchid collectors are notorious for their passion obsession, no, compulsion to have an unique specifiment. Dr. Sian Lim was recently convicted of smuggling over 100 rare orchids into Heathrow from his native Malaysia. The fire that burns in an orchid collector's heart ... is not so different from a knitter and her stash!
February is orchid month at Kew Gardens. We were very fortunate to get tickets to one of their Orchid Evenings. The setting was so romantic. You get to wander around the Princess of Wales Conservatory. There was a nice selection of drinks (and a rather stingy selection of canapés).
The display this year was themed on art.... and everything was artfully displayed.
There was water ... and orchids in the middle..
a riot of colours everywhere ...
lots of varieties, clustered together.
Taking photos in the dark, really captured the splendour and exoticness of these beauties.
The yellow is so vibrant.. so lively...
each delicate petal could be ...
captured, when there aren't a lot of people with cameras ...
around, fighting to get ...
the same shots.
As we left, we saw this... a light projecting an orchid image on the pavement. This is my second picture, I didn't think to switch the flash off the first one... and flashing meant I got a well lit photograph of the pavement... and no orchid.
So if you have a chance to go, just do it...
I can't get it out of my head, but for some reason Minnie from Rowan 39, reminds me of the Dilophosaur the did away with Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park (the original movie.) I tried to find a photo of that Dilophosaur but this was the best that I could do.
It just seems so wrong that a frilly Rowan cardigan should remind me of a frilly, spitting carnivorous dinosaur, but there you go.
Chinese New Year
Speaking of carnivorous activities, I thought that you might want to see the spare ribs that I made. I always try to make something red to go with the meal. These were really easy and perfect for 2. Well, we might had been a bit piggy because we ate them all.
Chinese Style Spare Ribs
Ingredients
8-10 oz Spare Ribs
1 carrot , cut in chunks
1 leek, cut in chunks
1 onion, halved
1 small piece ginger
pinch salt
1 jar Chinese roast pork Sauce
Boil the ribs for 20 minutes with salt, carrot, leek, onion and ginger. Leave to cool. You can stock for soup or for making pot stickers.
In a flat pan, marinate the the pork for at least 3 hours, the longer the better, using the Rib Sauce. If the ribs have curled a bit from the boiling, stick a skewer through it to force it to be more flat.
Heat oven to 175 C, place ribs in a foil-line a tray (If you do not foil line the tray, you will get a sticky messy tray that will be impossible to clean). Turn and baste using rib sauce every 15-20 minutes. The ribs will be done in 60-75 minutes. If you see them getting a bit burnt, you can cover with foil.
You can buy the roast pork sauce in most asian supermarkets. I used about 4-5 ounces. The roast pork sauce tends to have red food colouring. It's got a pretty high sugar content too. I would recommend avoiding any that has MSG. You can make the sauce yourself, but I didn't bother since I already had enough going on that night.
Yarn Count
Just when I thought that I was doing so well ...
I finished 3 pairs of socks in January, and gave away some yarn too, so that's
450g or 1241 meters out
But I also managed to acquire some yarn. Amongst the acquisitions...
Well, there's actually a bit more acquired, but this all that I'm confessing to at the moment.
Naturally, I wrote a little javascript to graphically represent my excesses, but I haven't had time to intergrate it yet. (This actually means that I made a few attempts unsuccessfully and have decided to not waste more time on it at the moment, since it does work stand-alone)
I would also like to point out that February will be a much better month, as I will have in the completed column, Saffron and the husband's Tuir Limbos. (who am I trying to kid? All the new books are out too and I am just itching to start something new)
If I squint, I can pretend that the button band has been knitted up, the sleeves have been set in and all the loose ends have been woven in. Well, let's say the button bands and neck band has been knitted up at least 2 times already, but ripped because it's not lying flat.
Saffron is a delicate creature that will need quite a bit of care to get it to work properly. (I might have to got and reblock the sleeves, I don't have gorilla arms but these sleeves are bracelet length.
The finished result should look like this --
except --
- my tummy would not be bared (I don't want to frighten small children)
- I've made a much larger size (it measures 41 inches on the bust line, which should prevent any peek-a-boo incidents) because I'm a lot fatter than the model.
- I plan to button it and probably wear it with a camisole (to prevent bare tummy).
- I did an extra 2 rows on the button bands... because I think it will look neater.
- no embroidery. I am not wasting precious knitting time to sew...anyway, I've got nice beads on it, so I'm not going to go overboard.
- so far so good, only 7 balls used and that includes lengthening the body by an inch. If only I finished it in January, I would had had a much better yarn out vs. yarn in count.
I hunted out a few finished saffrons and all the knitters look very slim, so this might be a dreadful mistake when I finally try it on.
Vintage Fusion Hand Crafts
Au Fils des aiguilles
Stella at Gratefulcad
Pretty nerve-wracking, don't you think? I might need some bailing out if I have to rip any parts of it again... or if heaven forbid I look like Captain Ahab's nemesis in the little number!
thanks for all your New Years wishes!