MG: uninspired

once upon a time, there was a little footlet. it was an innocent little red footlet. some stressed perfectionist came along and ruthlessly frogged said footlet despite nice comments and kind testimonies of lovely people on its behalf.


but then little red footlet re-emerged, phoenix-like, out of crumpled, frogged yarn to henceforth be known as fawkes. (as you can see, evil mastermind--clawed paws and all--approve)

this is my third sock in contiguous projects. i'm restless for something big, but knitting ennui has seized me. feeling uninspired. fawkes stalled; i swatched linen for a warm-weather cardigan, and the swatch lingers unwashed and unmeasured...

spinning continues unabated, thanks in part to lovely new fibers to play with.


books who improved my cotton longdraw: The Ashford Book of Spinning (scroll down). a nice book of basic terminology, materials, and techniques. wools, carding, wheel parts, fine versus bulky, wpi, twist angles, plying, dyeing. includes photos for short backward draft; short forward draft; medium draft (what Simmons calls point-of-contact?); and long draft.

Paula Simmons' Spinning and Weaving with Wool. a lovely book with abundant information. carder porn, wheel porn, spindle spinning, wheel spinning, Great Wheel spinning, weaving, even building your own wheel and loom. sections on fine spinning, heavy spinning, overtwists, consistency, and speed. includes photos for short draw; long draw (found this one a little vague); unsupported long draw; and point-of-contact long draw.

some things i learned:
a) over-the-fold is not so much a drafting mechanism as a fiber position in contrast with spinning from the tips. over-the-fold is often done longdraw, but spinners also spin shortdraw from the fold. other fun things in this category are rolags and punis.
b) i'm usually an over-the-fold, point-of-contact, longdraw spinner.
c) shortdraw can be done backwards (fiber-supply hand drafts) as well as forwards (front hand drafts, i.e. inchworm).
d) there are many many variations on the longdraw.
e) Simmons' point-of-contact hand position was particularly helpful. i realized--for me--longdraw from the tips works best with the back of my hand (towards the pinky) as the pulling force, while the thumb and index finger (and sometimes middle finger) press gently on the fiber supply. the opposite is true for over-the-fold.

i now know the wherefores of Lendrum quill heads. i covet one, for cotton spinning... and maybe plying. i've also been spinning shetland (mmm... shetland). made a sample card this time; it really helps!

larger version here

MG: cotton attempt

last time i saw Kitty Kitty, she handed me a generously over-sized bag of fibers--souvenirs from this year's trip to MS&W. her benefaction included naturally colored, organic cotton from Carolyn Partridge (in addition to spinner and shepherd, she is also a Vermont State Representative. very cool.) of The Good Shepherd.

i love this fiber because: conventional cotton, grown on 2.5% of farmed land, consumes almost 25% of all insecticides and more than 10% of all pesticides used world-wide; it takes 1/3 pound of chemicals--some of which are extremely toxic, endocrine-disruptors, carcinogenic, cause much illness, and creep into our food chain--to grow conventional cotton for a single t-shirt; it grows in pretty colors; supports biodiversity, cultural diversity, crop rotation, companion planting; and helps to alleviate poverty amongst small farmers in poor nations.


my first attempt. i alternated between shortdraw and from-the-tip, point-of-contact longdraw (though i didn't have this terminology at the time). you can see neat, little bands of shortdraw interspersed with sad bands of longdraw (labeled, large photo here).

the shortdraw yarns are dense, strong, and even, but handspinning any appreciable amount of cotton this way isn't quite practical. the fibers are extremely short (less than an inch; that's why so much twist is needed to hold the yarn together), thus shortdraw-drafting requires an infinite number of itty-bitty movements.

i was under the impression of having an adequate longdraw... with bluefaced leicester... at some point, but my cotton longdraw was a mess. tufts of thick bits; constantly falling apart. i couldn't seem to put enough twist in it with the longdraw. you can see the contrast below.



but then i ran to the library, checked out some spinning books, and improved! learning much about drafting methodologies and dispelling previous misconceptions along the way... more next time.

MG: edging

almost finished with the baby blanket i've been working on for months. this is the first time you are getting a peek since it was all garter stitch until recently and photographically uninteresting. i think i cast on about 100 stitches and knitted about 200 rows. 100 x 200 = 20,000 stitches of garter.

a few more leaves, and the edging will be done. it's "Tulip-Bud Edging" (pg. 357) from Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. oh, here is a useful database for Walker's first three stitch references.


there will be a moment of truth when this blanket comes out of the dryer. it's Blue Sky Alpaca's dyed organic cotton, 100% cotton that will shrink in various ways. fingers crossed for straight edges.

MG: Karenina sleeves

hello there. i ran away on a little trip--traveling meant airplane knitting, which meant a less tedious journey and this:


it's one of the dishcloths for hubby's mom. made out of KnitPicks Shine; 60% cotton and 40% modal; color of butter; soft soft soft and squishy like marshmallows; simple eyelets in garter background. hubby's mom is a quilter, so i thought she would enjoy a geometric pattern.

there is another ball in the color sky waiting to be a dishcloth. plans were for twin cloths in different colors, but after seeing Kitty Kitty's beautiful stitchwork, i'm discontent. now i'm thinking something different, maybe a fancy stitch pattern i've not tried before.

Karenina--the little cardigan of my own construction--is progressing enjoyably. design, knit, design, knit, rip, redesign, knit. structually, it's working out not a little like the celebrated One Skein Wonder, which is lovely because i love the OSW. procedurally, it's quite different; i hope it works out well. first pass at the sleeves (a free-floating arm!):


three-quarter length, straight tube (no decreases) on minicircs, and eight rows of 2-by-2 ribbing at the cuff. it looks unfinished and loosey-goosey to me.


i've ripped back to add decreases for a slight taper and a picked-up, ribbed edging for some shape.

MG: very little knitting

i feel like i spend a good deal of time on my knitting--reading, learning, planning; even moving those needles quite often--but i seem to have very little to show for it. hmm... maybe it's because i'm a slow knitter. maybe it's because i frog a lot. maybe it's because i don't like to follow patterns. maybe i'm just not very brave and spend way to much time plotting perfect projects--knitting in my head. in any case...

hubby's mom attended a retreat where someone brought a handknit dishcloth for every person present (another example of knitterly generosity). the said dishcloth thoroughly impressed hubby's mom. her store-bought kitchen towels paled in comparison, so she ordered some more from the knitter in her life, i.e. me.


this is a test scrubby using KnitPicks Shine. Kitty Kitty looked up modal a while back; it's beechwood cellulose and extremely absorbent. she suggested the yarn for this project, and i'm glad she did. the photo above was taken after a week of dishwashing duty. the little scrubby is wearing well. it wrings out nicely, dries quickly, and holds a good amount of soapy water. i think the garter-texture gives enough scrubbing power for most kitchen tasks.

i've been crawling along on a sheer, laceweight scarf using KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in sunlight. this yarn is so so soft; i love it. it's 136 stitches wide and will take some time.


the scarf is extremely crinkly at the moment, as laceweight fabrics tend to be during knitting. i like that word--crinkly--like cafeteria french fries, like candy wrappers, like the eyes of someone smiling and glad to see you. i was nervous about the crinkliness, so i spritzed a corner with water.


much better... but... um, i may start over. i had trouble with this scarf on my clover bamboo circulars, which are usually my favorite needles. there was a lot of wrestling and tugging with the laceweight. serendipitously, Wendy Knits recently blogged about finding the perfect lace needles. i happen to have some inherited Boye circulars--no tugging with the alpaca cloud and not overly slippery.

however, my Boye is 29 inches long, and the scarf is only a bit wider than that. knitting in the round still involves scrunching stiches around. i'm not having much fun. i may start over on different needles... maybe change to a less subtle eyelet pattern too.

the August Eat Local Challenge is long over, but all the reasons for eating locally are perennially valid. also, my farmer's market goodies make me happy, so i think i'll keep showing them to you. here are some photos from august i never managed to post.


fresh, yummy eggs from free-range chickens who live in Santa Rosa; asian pear; pepper; avocado; shitake and crimini mushrooms; sage; basil; and an asian leafy green (hollow stems, crunchy, often called ong tsai or some variation thereof).


those shitakes and criminis went into spring roll wrappers along with dried tree-ear mushrooms, cellophane noodles, silken tofu, and sesame oil. oh, and a little sliver of sage.

MeowGirl: hatty hatty hats

happy first day of February. Secret Pal 4 commences today, and i know Kitty Kitty is feverish with excitement. enjoy spoiling each other!

thank you, Tux-Gal, for leaving me that comment asking about the baby hat. i needed the nudge; other than being a slothy slowpoke, i had seaming anxiety. the idea that someone out there was waiting to see my FO made me giddy, and i hurried to completion last night. here my little yellow cotton baby hat:

summary statistics: Ironstone Warehouse Flake Cotton, color 1171 (buttery yellow), label gauge is 6sts per 1", 136 stitches in 2x2 ribbing, and seamed (3-needle bind off, actually 2 needles and a crochet hook) into a 4 corner cross at the top like this:

while i'm on the move, i'll share WIP photos of my other hats. first, a link for hubby's watchcap (if you are married to MeowGirl, please exercise won't-power and do NOT click): here. this hat has been frogged a couple of times, but it's finally back on track... i think.

i haven't yet put kitty ears on my Kittyville as i'm still convinced it looks too snug on my head. yes, i'm easily waylaid by imperfections. Kitty Kitty gifted me with enough Manos for a second attempt, so i will knit a larger one to compare before any kitty ears are considered. this will take a while, so here is what i have so far:

that was the serious-so-you-can-see-the-hat-properly pose. here is the can-i-go-play-in-my-hat-now pose:

i modified the shape of the earflaps just a bit:

ok, wish me luck with the remaining 2 hats... meow

meow: blah blah blah

project-updates and photos!! you thought my promises were a bunch of poo, didn't you? i had doubts myself.

first, strawberry cream and chocolate ruffle... it hasn't been going well. in fact, i've hit a plateau. i'm wondering if my design isn't a bit lame after all and perhaps i don't really like it. hopefully it's just a phase.

also, the side-edges are driving me crazy. the side that begins w/ a knit stitch is never as neat as the side that begins w/ a purl stitch. i've adjusted tension; i've even tried twisting the end stitches. nothing helps. they still look terribly imperfect. it bothers me. does this happen to you? or is it just me?

in any case, i'm knitting on. it has grown a bit more, but here is a photo at 35 inches:

as you can see, the edges curl like mad. it's a skinny scarf--just shy of three inches across--so the stockinette stitch rolls itself into a tube. vigorous blocking should hopefully fix this. close view of actual width and curling:

as for my oregano sweater, preparations have begun. i've swatched on desired needles and taken about 25 measurements--circumference of locations along my trunk/arms and distances between circumferences. i have a clear concept of the sweater: 3/4 raglan sleeves, ribbed cuffs and collar, fancy button things at the neck. i'm ready for graph paper.

now for something completely different (hee): i'm in love...

i had read about the virtues of knitted dishcloths--machine washable, durable rather than disposable, and no more yucky dish sponges. Also, Kitty Kitty still talks about a knitted cotton chenille washcloth she had once upon a time, so i decided knitting was in order.

this meant cotton yarn (water-friendly and quick-drying), but current cotton agriculture is a damaging practice. conventional cotton farming/processing takes a host of carcinogenic pesticides, herbicides, sometimes even formaldehyde; a cotton t-shirt takes about 1/3 lb. of chemicals to make, for examples. here is an article on the PANNA site if you want more information.

what to do? Blue Sky Organic Cotton! no agri-chemicals! no dyes! i bought a ball of sand (color #81) at Imagiknit the other day, feeling good about my ecologically sound and practical purchase.

then, after knitting just a few rows, i became hopelessly enamored. i never knew cotton could be so velvety and squishy. i wish i could carry around a blanket of this yarn (like Linus from Peanuts!). here is a fiber close-up, though i can't do the tactile sensation justice:

don't you want to swaddle yourself in it? my needles immediately began clicking on a washcloth. i enjoyed every marshmallow-y stitch and stopped often to snuggle the cloth against my cheeks. here is what i made:

it has already seen a long, hot bath, and i'm very pleased with the results. it's absorbent, soft, and wrings/dries well. it's silly how much i enjoy the washcloth. i love this aspect of crafting; conventional products don't usually reveal what i miss until i set out to create my own version.

the rest of the ball is for dishcloths, and i will add some rough yarn for a scrubby section. the idea came from this dishcloth forum. i never knew there were dishcloth forums until i started reading up for this post!

ok, this is a bit long. thanks for sticking with me... meow.