Houston International Quilt Show 2007

Every year I visit the International Quilt Show along with 50,000 others. It's probably the largest quilt show in the world & well worth visiting. The convention center is halved with the quilt show on one side & the vendors opposite. This year featured The Quilt of Belonging which is approximately 160 feet long and has a block for each country of the world. If you visit Houston the first week of November, be sure to add this to your agenda. Photobucket's slide show is limited. Here are additional pictures.

On Hiatus

Taking an ArcGIS course. Knitting on hold.

Knit At Night Guild Member Needs Discontinued Yarn

I am posting this plea for one of my knitting guild's (KANG) members in Houston, Texas:

HELP!
Knitting the Oat Couture Celtic Cardigan and looks like I am running out of yarn. Have 2 1/2 skeins and the entire front of the sweater to do.

Need Rowan Calmer in their old purple color from a couple of years ago. CHECK THAT STASH. Color has been discontinued. Will buy or trade.

Color # is 478. Dye lot doesn't matter. I can blend with what I have.

Thanks, Sally Wickes
sockgoddess@aol.com

First Blooms On My Orchid Tree

Spring is like a perhaps hand
(which comes carefullyout of Nowhere)arranging
a window,into which people look(while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here)and

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there)and

without breaking anything.
--E.E. Cummings

More Fish

Fish and more fish!... and one poser named Winnie.

Here's another cool fish link.

A Fish Blanket

I recently surfed into the fish blanket on Stephanie’s blog (great color flow) and in the Knitter’s Review forum. Since this would make a good, quick baby blanket, I searched for the pattern. The original pattern appeared in a knitting magazine years ago. Here’s an example.

More surfing returned other pattern variations featured here, here, and here. I’m starting one in acrylic (washable) for my niece who is expecting here first child. There is a good link at Knitter’s Universe to colorize a fish blanket and just for fun I’ve added a tessallation aquarium.

Here's my first fish – it's quick and easy to knit up.

A Sampler of Increases & Decreases

Somewhere in your progress, you want to knit to the next level of techniques.

For a beginner, one of these is a lesson of increases & decreases. Sure, a 'make one' gets the job done... but it's just the basic beginner increase. After reviewing two good samplers on the net (Knitting Helpand NonaKnits),

I combined their shaping stitches with ones gleaned from my reference books: Mary Thomas's Knitting Handbook, Vogue Knitting, the Knitter's Handbook (Reader's Digest) and the Knitter's Handbook (Knitter's Magazine). I have bought tags to attach to the sampler to record the stitches until I can discern them by sight.

I've left the tail on the bind-off. The second picture bottom rows show the beginning cast-on and garter stitching.

Beginners, please note that abbreviations do not appear to be standardized.

• Multiple references may use different abbreviations for the same stitch.
• Multiple references may use the same abbreviation for different stitches.
• Some references give the increase or decrease a name without abbreviations.
• Others use their own terms as reference (June Hiatt for example).
• ALWAYS, check your source pattern to determine which method their abbreviation is referring to be used. For example, compare M1L in Mary Thomas’s Knitting Book to the Knitter’s Handbook. Same abbreviation, different stitches.

SHAPING	LEFT SIDE	RIGHT SIDE	NOTES
Bind-off leaving tail.
Decrease	yo dec rs	yo dec ls	KnittingHelp.com
Increase	MI	MI	Vogue’s median increase
Decrease	k2tog	k2tog tbl	Vogue
Increase	M1	M1	EZ’s method
Decrease	k2tog	ssk new improved	NonaKnits
Increase	yo	yo
Decrease	krpr	skp (s1k1psso)	KnittingHelp.com
Increase	M1R make 1 right	M1L make 1 left	make one
Decrease	k2tog	ssk improved	KnittingHelp.com NonaKnits
Increase	M1L lift stitch before	M1L lift stitch after	lifted increase
Decrease	k2tog	ssk
Increase	M1B	M1B	bar increase, k1f&b or kfb
Cast-on			long tail method

My First KAL

I joined my first Knit Along (KAL) earlier this year - February is for Finishing. Finishing a project should be easy, right? I only have three projects in progress to consider. So I sign up to finish the Soda Capelet (see below), then promptly worked and finished this sweater instead. Hope this counts since the capelet is still in a holding pattern. Just don't seem to know which edging to use. The pattern calls for fringe which is too seventies.

Any ideas?

Building A Yarn Stash

Building a stash is a hard thing to do for a beginner -- mostly a matter of what & where. What type of yarn do I buy & how much? Where do I go?



When a friend mentioned a yarn sale in Spring, TX; she could have told me we would visit the dark side of the moon -- Greater Houston covers Such A Large Geographic Area.

I made plans the night before. I knew I wouldn't go That Far Away For Yarn anytime soon. OK, which patterns do I add to my list? OK, calculate the yardage sizing, add the pattern name and yarn weight/stitches per inches. Armed with a shopping list of Multiple projects -- you never know what you'll find -- we went, we saw, we stockpiled.

Why, oh, why is the number of available skeins just one short of the pattern requirement? I went through four yarn choices (each short one) for the Oat Couture Celtic Cardigan alone. The lime/teal yarn combo above is the Santa Fe Shawl for my mother-in-law. The coral/lime/pink yarn is for my husband's grandmother.

So, an all day trip to Twisted Yarns and also the Hen House netted my first yarn stash for 2 shawls and 4 sweaters! Since I have always bought end-of-season for the following year, it made sense to do the same with yarn -- especially since it will take that long to knit for Christmas!

Knitting To-Do's

2007: Finish UFO’s, samplers/swatching, lace (scarf), socks, entrelec dishcloth, small EZ almanac project, fairisle (hat), Shadow knitting (scarf), raglan sweater, Abigail's dishcloth

2006: My Second Sweater, Cables, Diagonal knitting

2005: Teach Myself to Knit, Knit in the Round, Felting, My First Sweater

KANG Meeting During the Holidays

KANG Houston, December 2006

" A knitter's guild is a staggering, incredible thing. It is a room filled with men and women who have in common one obsession. They are possessed enough by the manipulation of two pointy needles and some yarn to give up whole free evenings, not just to knit, but to talk about it. The first time you find yourself having a conversation about moss stitch with a group of people who aren't desperately trying to escape you . . . it's like coming home." Quoted from At Knit's End, Meditation for Women Who Knit Too Much by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (The Yarn Harlot)

An Inspiration

This sweater has been a motivation to learn knitting for years. My good friend's mother, Mrs. Adams of London, knit it for my daughter, who regularly wore it to school. My friend's knitting however, has gone to the dogs!

Work in Progress - Raglan Coat

Pattern - Mary Ann's Coat
Source - Nancy's Knits, Houston, TX
Yarn - Unikat from Germany -- 160 m -- 100% Merino wool -- blue, grey, turquoise colorway # 05 22300
Note - This is to be knitted as a sweater-jacket, rather than a coat.

Unfinished Object - Capelet

Pattern - Orange Soda Capelet
Source - Cast On Magazine, August - October 2005
Yarn - Classic Elite Bravo! -- Silk & Mohair -- Royal blue # 3721

I know, I know...not another poncho! But it's not a poncho, it's a capelet!
One simple, mindless knitting in the round project serves as a filler between the more challenging ones. Good to knit while watching TV.

Future Project - My Own Sweater Design By Percentages

Pattern - The Sweater Workshop
Yarn - Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk

Unfinished Object - Poncho a la Banana Republic

Pattern - Novak Poncho sans fur
Source - Berroco
Yarn - New Zealand --100% wool
Note - I revised the pattern for a few reasons. 1) The featured yarn was too soft & drapey. I want this capelet to look more rustic like an Aran sweater. 2) I also flipped the pattern in Excel because the poncho was too long for someone just over 5 ft. Knitting from the top down will allow me to try it on periodically and stop at a proportionate length for me.
Learnings - Cables (Thanks Nancy!), reversing a pattern

Future Project - Shawl or Lap Throw

• Pattern - Reversible Rib Shawl by Lily Chin
  
• Source - Vogue Knitting American Collection
• Yarn - Classic Elite's Bravo, Silk & Mohair, 48 yd. skeins

Support Your Local Yarn Store (SYLYS)

Thirty years ago, there weren't a variety of yarns available. I remember well -- I crocheted and did needlepoint at the time. Now, we have so many choices! Eye-candy!! What would the knitting community be like with only a generic, big box store selection? I've added a pic of my favorite LYS, Nancy's Knits -- great expertise, wide variety, and conveniently located south of the Galleria (5-10 minutes away for me)!

I couldn't ask for more -- well maybe I could, two additional hands.

And yes, I have become a yarn snob.

Project 8 - Newborn Sweater

Another sweater without buttons... hmm... do I see a pattern here? I've placed it on my first baby quilt which is still unfinished -- the piecing was fun, but the stippling wasn't.

My neighbor, Carole, knit the blue one below. Isn't it cute? I wanted to show that the same pattern knit in different yarns produced disparate results. Cool!

Pattern - Baby Bolero
Source - Oneskein by Leigh Radford
Yarns - Red Heart, 100% acrylic for baby burp and an unknown fuzzy for the border
Learnings - One piece knitting for body, picking up stitches for border and lastly, if you're picking up stitches for a border feel free to add/subtract stiches to enchance your sweater. On the purple sweater, I followed the pattern which caused the sweater to pucker . I should have added more multiples for the ribbing.

Project 7 - Washcloths for Baby

These are fun to knit for a beginner. Knit a square in a stitch pattern from one of the Harmony series, or buy a pattern book. Given that cotton's not elastic, this wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Patterns - Baby Washcloths
Sources - Kitchen Bright Dishcloths & Dishcloths from the Heart by Leisure Arts
Yarn - Sugar 'n Cream -- 100% cotton for multiple washings -- Lazy Daisy #02718, etc. -- 120 yds solid, 95 yds mix
Learnings - Knitting diagonal, new patterns (ex., diamonds), long-tail cast-on, knitting with cotton

Project 6 - Shrug For A Teenager

My daughter chose the yarn and on-line pattern for this shrug. Quick knitting with sleeves attached to a ribbed cowl. P.S. Even a photo op can't distract her from her favorite movie.
Pattern - Cleaves
Source - Knitty.com
Yarn - Still looking for the label. Update later.
Note - She does not wear this 1/10th as much as the green sweater above.

Project 5 - Same Sweater

My husband's grandmother liked my sweater. So I knitted her one, too, in a smaller size. Same yarn as previous - different color #415.

It's kindly modeled by one of our petite KANG members since I couldn't squeeze into such a small size.

Project 4 - My First Sweater

I chose this sweater for it's design simplicity -- no button holes, sleeves that would fit (quarter- length) -- and practice -- the knit/purl action with the basket weave pattern. An added plus was the yarn itself which camouflaged a variety of mistakes. I noticed the most obvious one too late to correct. Since I am doing combination knitting, I inadvertently twisted my stitches (which wasn't part of the pattern)!






Pattern - Nicole Jacket
Source - Queensland Collection by Jane Ellison
Yarn - Kathmandu DK Tweed -- 85% merino wool, 10% silk, 5% cashmere -- 147 yds skein -- color #419
Learnings - Major lesson in FROGGING (rip it, rip it, rip it) stitch by stitch on the needles & row by row off the needles, Basket weave pattern, increasing, decreasing, piecing flat knitting, following written directions, charting sweater pattern, knitting both sleeves simultaneously on one circular needle

Project 3 - Felting Failure, Another FUI (Finished Ugly Ignominy)

My next knitting project was another knit- in-the- round. I'm addicted, right? Too bad I didn't view a copy of Pursenalites first. Since I didn't have a pattern or knowledge, I goofed -- add this one to my FUI list. The mistakes I make!
1) I didn't know how to eliminate the color change jog at the beginning of the new round, 2) the knitted proportion was way off (the height shrank too much & the width not enough for a purse), and 3) I didn't have any notion for finishing - all ready-made handles seem too small. What's do you think? Should I cut it to make coasters?
Postscript - I ran a search on felting failures & mistakes. Ladies, I join your league: Major Knitter, Keeping Me in Stitches, Knit Once, Purl Forever
Pattern - I wish!
Yarns - Lopi, 100% wool, 110 yds, 3st / in
Learnings - Felting, striping, color changes

Project 2 - Knit in the Round

This is the project that hooked me on knitting. Knitting in the round is soothing, and great for a beginner - a lot of practice in continual knit stitch.

The pattern called for simple decreases and yarn overs at the neckline. Since I had not discovered the concept of gauge yet & the pattern was one size only, I was surprised that the cape didn't fit me. It did fit my co-worker, Karen, though! Here she is modeling her new poncho.

Pattern - Poncho
Source - Hobby Lobby free pattern leaflet
Yarns - Lion's Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, Charcoal #149 -- 80% Acrylic, 20% Wool -- 108 yards -- 3 st/ / in
Learnings - Knitting in the round, decreases and eyelets, bulky yarn creates an instant-gratification project - good for a beginner, correcting mistakes, picking up dropped stitches, etc.

Project 1- Learn to Knit (or Don't Feel Bad, See! We All Start Somewhere)

I began knitting in 2005. Whatchamacallknit is my knitting journal – an odyssey of what I call beginner’s 'obstacle knitting' (so much to learn, so little time).

Knitting has been such an illusive dream for thirty years --
I don’t remember how many times I attempted to learn without success. I learned to sew, crochet, macrame (remember that?) and needlepoint. But why not knitting? Then three elements converged -- an experienced knitting buddy, the discovery of circular needles and on-line information -- the Internet knitting community.

And now I’m happily knitting, learning, knitting...

This is a picture of my first project... Hereafter, I will call such a mishap a FUI (pronounced fu ee, like buoy) for Finished Ugly Ignominy (or Ignomiknity). Notice the holes, uneven rows, mistake on my initial, bad choice of colors (primary colors in the border for an adult scarf? What was I thinking?)

Pattern - None
Yarn - Red Heart, 100% acrylic
Learnings - Knit, purl, using two yarns, stocking stitch, garter stitch border, charting (my initial “R”), cast-on, cast-off.