The Continuing Sock Saga

I feel like people who don’t “get” knitting are screaming at me “get a life!” I have spent so much time knitting, ripping, starting over and just plain trying to understand this particular sock construction. Some people have crossword puzzles, I apparently have this sock puzzle.

This week’s problem (that’s the “sock” on the right) arose in how long to knit before turning the heel. First time out the shoot, I did two things wrong. First, I used a gauge obtained on double point needles and knit using circular needles and, secondly, I followed the pictures and not the words in the pattern book. I swear that Cat Bordhi knit more than two inches before beginning the instep increases based on the photos, so that’s what I did. Both mistakes doomed me to a huge piece of knitting that won’t fit anybody. Did I mention there was a third mistake? I used a very pretty lace pattern on dark, multi colored yarn. I thought you’d be able to see the pattern, but you can’t.

So, where am I now. Following the pattern’s words. Doing a cable instead of lace. Using a gauge obtained by knitting on circs. What’s the next problem? I decided that the two inches was measured from the end of the toe. Nope. Wrong guess. It is measured after the toe is worked. So, now my sock is too short. Tough! I added an inch and continued on. I just couldn’t bear to tear out again. Now that I’m past the heel turn, I tried them on and they fit just fine. In defense of the book, I think the words really reflect a traditional decreased toe and I am using the garter stitch toe because I think it will fit my foot better.

The upside? I’m close to having a pattern that will work for me. I’m almost there. The next sock post will have a photo of the finished product on my foot. Promise!

Paddling Upstream

Preparing for this Cat Bordhi class has been consuming my knitting time. I finally decided where I was going  with my first sock using one of her Master Patterns and set about to make it happen. Yarn: Opal 6Ply some experimental mohair/wool from Louet that I dyed a couple years ago (experimental because I was considering switching from our current Millington to it, but decided I didn’t like the weight of it as a replacement). Needles: Crystal Palace double point bamboo Addi Lace and Natura. Upstream inset: cables and faggotting a mini lace leaf. Toe: garter stitch. Okay, so I waivered a lot. But the planning is half the fun!

Next I had Christel measure my foot so I could do my calculations using Cat’s worksheet. Then I had to figure out how her Master Patterns work. I’m still working on the specifics, but at least I’m knitting now. The Upstream architecture is from the toe up. I got to select any toe I wanted and I picked the garter toe because my foot is sooooo square. We’ll see how it works in reality on my foot. The toe is where I always wear out my socks - and I go through them quickly (thank goodness mom makes me so many pairs that I haven’t had to mend any lately, but the pile to be fixed is growing). Here’s what the toe looks like as a toe and “head on.”

  

I’m just getting ready to begin the instep increases and start inserting the lace. But, I have to chart it first!

The real miracle here is that I am knitting socks on circular needles because I’m ready to admit that knitting the Cat Bordhi way seems to work better with them. Ana will be proud of me!

******

Over the weekend my daughter and I went to visit Christel in Indianapolis and we spent a morning at the Indy Children’s Museum. Mostly we visited the exhibits about Ryan White, Anne Frank and Ruby Bridges - kids making a difference, which were quite wonderful. However, the very, very first thing we saw when we entered was this:

I can’t escape it! This was the very first scene in a miniatures exhibit. This room is a room from Colonial America. At any rate, if you are ever in Indy, don’t miss the Children’s Museum - it is great for children of all ages.

More Socks

The exploration continues. Since the last post I’ve knit Marcelo’s Seven League Boots for my grandson (but I think they look like Robin Hood boots). When I showed them to my mom she said, “they’re cute.” Then I asked her, “where are the gussets?” Gone! I think mom will stay a traditional sock knitter. And, there’s nothing wrong with that - it is mom who’s responsible for just about all the sock samples in our sock room at the shop. Her latest was knit with Crystal Palace’s new Panda Silk. When someone asked her how she liked the yarn she gushed about how nicely it knit and how she enjoyed working with it. And that from someone who has knit with LOTS of different kinds of sock yarn. I’m sure she knits at least 30 pairs a year (on top of mounds of prayer quilts, grand kid quilts, etc.). Pretty special mom.

The next sock I tackled is full-size following the Cedar architecture - Ocean Toes. I learned a lot and confirmed at least one thing: I don’t follow a pattern well because I go on my merry way where I think the pattern ought to be going. That’s not usually where Cat is going! This sock was a sample. Notice I didn’t say “pair.” I actually used sock yarn with a pattern that calls for larger yarn because I wanted to start NOW and I didn’t have other yarn at home. The sock is too loosely knit to really be servicable. However, it will look just fine hanging on the wall and it told me what I suspected: I need to make a larger size than her standard pattern in the book. That means I need to do some math following her formula at the end of each of the chapters to make them fit me. The Ocean sock did “just” fit my daughter who has a narrow size 8 foot.

 My next sock is going to be following the Upstream architecture, will have a patterned inset of my own design and will fit me. I’m looking forward to it and will keep you posted.

Revolutionary Knitting Explored

 First, I have to I am confess I am not a “sock knitter.” I have knit socks, enough times that I can knit them without a pattern, but I don’t consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool sock knitter — the passion just isn’t there!  That said, this book intrigued me. Cat Bordhi intrigues me. She has an interesting link/project posted on her website about knitting treehouses that has stayed in my mind since I first read it. It looks so cool and one of these days I WILL make a knitted treehouse or at least hammock. I’ve not read her other books because knitting a moebius never captured my imagination (Treasury of Magical Knitting) and I don’t knit much from patterns and knitting socks with circular needles annoys me (Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles).

However, I have a healthy respect and admiration for Cat’s brain. It is artistic and she’s really, really smart. I enjoyed reading about how she came to redesign socks as we know them. It was very serendipitious. What is wonderful is that she took that thought and ran - no, flew with it. The result is her book New Pathways for Sock Knitters and she’s promising two more books in the same vein to follow this one.

I decided that if I signed myself up to teach a class from the book that I’d be forced to check it out more closely. I’m so glad I did! I have been having a blast. So far I’ve only knit two sample socks in the picture above. Now I think I’m ready to begin a full sized sock (yeah - now I can pick out yarn!). It’s just plain fun! Easy to understand all the time . . . not exactly. That’s part of the fun of it - figuring out Cat’s artistic brain.

I think the reason I am enjoying this self-imposed exercise so much is that it is fun to watch the socks develop and at the same time to see how her brain works (which isn’t like mine at all). I love figuring out people riddles. Cat is a people riddle. How does she THINK of these things? Because our brains work so differently, it has been more of a challenge to work with her directions than to knit the socks! If your brain isn’t quite so artistic as Cat’s, perhaps you are struggling with these new concepts, too. If so, join me on March 8 and we’ll knit together from the book and I think you’ll come to enjoy it for the treasure it is as much as I do.

Just another reminder that easy isn’t nearly as fun as a challenge. And, when you get done you have an even bigger sense of accomplishment.

PS Don’t forget to download the errata for this book from her website. And, if you find problems with it, she asks you to let her know.

Enjoy the holidays!

With Hanukkah behind us, Christmas just around the corner and New Year’s not far behind, the staff at Heritage has been very busy - just like most crafters. Gifting socks, handwarmers, hats, and sweaters, there were many busy hands (and will be many lucky recipients). Here’s a photo of most of the crew when they paused yesterday for our annual holiday gathering. Apparently, someone sent out a memo about dressing in red!

Pictured standing from left to right: Joy, Annie, Christel, Deb, Jenny, Lisa, Chris, Anneliese, Sammie, Gina, Laura. Seated: Suzanne, Sharlene, Cindy, Barbara, Su and Ann. This isn’t everybody, but it is more than we have in one place at one time at any other Heritage event. It takes a lot of people to tend the Heritage community!

Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope you have time to take a minute for yourself over the holidays. In the midst of all the busy-ness, we often tend too much to others, leaving ourselves ’til last. So, breathe. Work with some fiber without frantic-ness. Let the tension go out of your shoulders. And, above all, for those of you who are Christian, remember the reason for the season. Let your light shine under His.

Fiber Explorer

One of my very favorite things about working with fiber is that each project offers a chance for exploration. Different fibers, different sheep, different finishing techniques, different colors, and so much more all ensure that no two handmade projects are exactly alike.

For the past couple weeks I’ve been working on a deflected double weave project that I hope will eventually be published in Handwoven. You can see the first sample in my last blog entry. Since then I’ve woven a scarf, which was nice, but not “it.” Then we wound a new warp using a finer yarn and I’ve just finished a sample.

 Yesterday I ordered some merino wool that is nearly 2.5 times as fine as the Jaggerspun Merino. We’ll see what happens with it. Amazing how I’ve been finding the time to do all this sampling. It really is fascinating. It’s that fiber explorer thing again.

So, are you a fiber explorer? You might be if:

Your hands itch (not from allergy) when you get near something fibery.

The smell of wet wool is tantalizing.

Dyepots call your name.

You can never knit a pattern according to the directions.

You make lumpy bumpy yarn and love it.

You spin super fine just because you can - not that you may ever use it.

You understand how to use the computer to develop a weaving pattern, but you really love getting on the loom and seeing what will happen.

You push the fiber limits: lumpy bumpy, collapse, felted/fulled, dyed, painted, knitted/dyed/unknitted/woven or knitted, you get the idea . . .

You find inspiration everywhere (gee, that rock is a pretty color, what a great colorway!; the man’s coat in front of me in line is really interesting and you simply have to touch it but you’d really like to take a photo; your cats fur inspires a spate of spinning; you buy banana fiber yarn just because it looks cool).

You see a gossamer shawl and know you can not only knit it but spin and design it.

You dream of fiber - whether you are awake or asleep.

When I was supposed to be ( _________ )

Do you have projects that just scream at you, “It’s time to finish me! Please, play with me. Come, have fun!”? I think my problem is I have too many of them. Yesterday I was captured by three of them. Two weaving, one spinning. I think that’s too much for one day!!!!

I did, however, have a learning-filled day! The first project was the bamboo baby blanket I’ve got on the Octado. As you can see from the image, I’ve got some work to do on my consistency. The problem arose when I decided the selvedges were drawing in too much and I should use a temple. Well, maybe I shouldn’t. Or, perhaps I just need to practice more. I’ll work on it more this evening and see what I come up with! My guess is that the fiber is so slippery that it will all come out “in the wash.” Worst case is, Luke has a baby blanket. Best case is I can send the sample off for a friend and she’s going to kit it. Troubleshooting will continue!

The next project up was a deflected doubleweave (sort of) scarf I have been noodling over for a very long time. It started when a student brought a sample scarf that that she bought in China in to show me. Then I found a similar scarf at Convergence. Now I am trying to figure out how to make it for myself. The structure simply fascinates me. It was fun reverse engineering and making it fit the loom I have. The sample is over fulled because I got sidetracked reteaching a young man to knit a scarf for his (grounded) girlfriend. He’s off and knitting, but my swatch suffered. I also decided that I will stick with a one color scarf.  Now I’m ready to weave “for real.” Fun stuff!

 

Then I went home and some handspun called me to it. I’ve been working on these spinner’s socks for a while. They are to be totally whimsical. This one is coming along - hopefully they’ll be done soon. I’m having too much fun with them to stop!

Welcome, Baby Luke!

 

Over the weekend, I joined the club. The Grandma Club! It is a wonderful club, too. Great cuddles, much more relaxing than parenthood (not my problem . . . dirty diapers . . . 2 a.m. feedings . . . ) and just generally pretty cool. It is also very nice to see your child as a parent. Even better to know that he’ll do just fine.

Peter called us on Friday and said they were going to the hospital on Saturday morning to induce labor because the baby was growing quite big. I was teaching Saturday morning so knew I couldn’t leave right away, plus we had the 7th anniversary sale going on, so Mariah and I finally left about 1:30 p.m. Michigan time bound for the far side of Chicago. Turns out we got there simultaneous to his birth and was in the waiting room when Peter came out to announce the birth. We saw Luke a bit later and Jeannine shortly there after. The photo above shows Luke less than 2 hours old, and the one below was taken his first morning.

Baby Statistics:

Luke Thomas Husby

11/17/07 at 7:33 p.m.

8 lb. 15 oz. and 21″ long.

Did I mention very cute?

Welcome, Luke!

WIP (Work is Progress)

Conversation on Knitting Daily recently centered on UFO - unfinished objects. Well, I’ve got my own fair share. Thought I’d share the spinning and weaving ones with you this week.

I learned my lesson at SOAR this year: don’t leave your project for the gallery until the last minute. You might not be happy with what you get. I did and I wasn’t! This time around I am starting early. This is the beginning of a shawl. The yarn will be sport weight when it is done. The fiber I began with is merino 60 and bamboo 40 - really quite scrumptious. It is Bonkers fiber that I purchased at Michigan Fiber Fest last summer. Yes, I loved the colors, but I also was intrigued by the fiber content. So, I purchased two four oz. hanks. One hank is on the bobbin, the other is almost half spun. I’m making good progress. Only been at this one for a little over a week - which, of course, means everything else has come to a stand still. That’s my only spinning project, really. Oh, there’s some “demo” roving hanging around, but that doesn’t count. That’s the roving I grab when I spin in public - like at the Tiger game, or whatever. It never looks really nice when it is done and I never have plans for it. Some day, maybe, it will turn into something. In the meantime, it doesn’t count: it’s value is in the demo-ing!

Just off the Baby Wolf  is this piece of fabric. It is a color and weave project that I played with using 10/2 cotton (solid purple) and our handpainted silk (2,000 ypp).  I allowed myself to have fun and play with the tie up and treadling. It is ultimately bound to be needle cases, or perhaps eyeglass cases. Maybe even Christmas presents (sshhhh! don’t tell anybody!).

On the big loom in the living room - the 72″ Cranbrook - I have a very special project. It is a doubleweave blanket that is from wool from a Corriedale ewe Mariah “mothered” at Mt. Bruce Station when she was in elementary school. We purchased Melanie’s wool for two years and I had it spun at Stonehedge Fiber Mill, well, a while back. I first started putting this project on the loom two years ago. I have all the errors worked out of the threading, figured out how to tie up a countermarche loom and I’m ready to go. Just like I’ve been for at least six months! If I took two days, I could have it done. Done and I wouldn’t have to look at it every time I walk past and Mariah would be happy. She’s starting to take it personally! Maybe after I finish the spinning I’ll get back to this.

Another loom at home still has the farkle bag project on it. Enough for two more bags. The bags that were finished (like the one above), were in Handwoven in the Sept/Oct issue, which means that loom has been sitting there staring at me since July. I just haven’t been able to waste the warp (as much as I want to some days), so there it sits. That’s an afternoon’s work. Could happen soon too.

The last loom with a project on it is in my office. It’s got a baby blanket on it that is just about ready to weave. I should be able to finish it up over the weekend or maybe even before. The warp is Bambu 7 and it weaves beautifully. Just beautifully. The first project on the same warp was cut off today. It was a shawl woven in a waffle weave. Now I will resley the reed and make a denser fabric for a baby blanket working with the point twill threading. I’m looking forward to playing around on the computer tonight to come up with a plan for finishing it. Fun stuff!!

 Okay, so, I’ve confessed. No dogs to cut off, just a bit of work to be done. Good thing I’m not allergic to it. I’ll show you the projects when they are done! Sooner rather than later.

Connecting to our (Weaving & Knitting) Past at Greenfield Village

     

It is always fun to go behind the scenes and twice in the last few months I’ve been honored to do just that at Greenfield Village. Local weaving couple Chris and Richard Jeryan have been volunteering at the Village for the last several years. Richard retired from Ford (where he worked across the road from the museum complex) last year and they both upped their volunteer time to help make a dream come true: to get more of the looms working, especially the Jacquard loom. Slowly this is becoming a reality. Since their involvement, the weavers have been doing more weaving on textiles for use around the Village, including rugs and toweling. Interpreters are currently making “bed rugs” aka rectangular wool shawls at the Daggett House, a pre-revolutionary homestead at the sound end of the village. Research is underway to find and make a historically correct rug for the Firestone House. But, while all this is well and good, their real passion is the Jacquard. It was first thought that the Jacquard loom was brought by Henry Ford to the Village, but Chris found blueprints for it and learned that it was commissioned by Henry Ford and built by his workers. They also built a card punching machine to support it. In addition to the Jacquard, there are many two and four shaft looms, a spinning jenny, a twenty-four shaft power loom and a room devoted to knitting machines, both flat and hose type knitters.

In the early days of the Village school children learned to weave on a small rigid heddle looms specially built for them and high schoolers apprenticed to a commercial weaving venture where textiles were produced for sale. We visited the Benson Ford Research Center (part of The Henry Ford Complex along with Greenfield Village, the Henry Ford Museum, and the Rouge Plant Tour) and were able to see textiles from this commercial weaving venture. My dream is to resurrect the patterns for these textiles and make them available to modern day weavers.

Following are photos from my first visit in August with Christel and Mariah and my second visit with Anne Field earlier this week. 

 

The head of the Jacquard loom as seen on the second floor of the weaving shop.  Pictured L to R, Chris Jeryan, Anne Field, Richard Jeryan.

The Jacquard Loom viewed from the “draw boy’s” perspective. It is partially threaded for weaving a pattern - the plastic bags at the top are holding yet-to-be-threaded linen draw cords that will allow the pattern to develop as the weaving is done. This is a 600 head Jacquard, meaning that 600 different threads can be manipulated individually. Look waaay down on the lower level and you can see the warp on the loom ready to be threaded.

The head viewed from above. Can you count to 600?

The punched cards lined up and ready to weave . . . or they were the last time the loom was used many years ago!

This is the card punch machine that makes the pattern cards used for weaving. Each of the holes in the card tell a group of threads to do something. That “something” ultimately turns into the pattern in the fabric.

Cubbies full of little looms once used to teach elementary students to weave.

This is one of the working looms on the first floor, public area of the weaving shop. It is a “barn loom,” so called because the construction is like that used to build a barn! This loom is equipped with a fly shuttle mechanism - that’s what the handle attached to the rope in the middle of the picture is. A linen pattern was being woven.

 

The mystery loom that’s hidden away in the carding mill attic. My theory is that it is a converted small 4-shaft loom trying to grow up to be a draw loom of some sort.

  

Some pattern notes are well recorded, others aren’t. These are for the woven bands pictured on the right. The following are just a few samples of the woven cloth in the archives.

  

  

Finally, once upon a time I studied photography and I still like to play around with the camera. These are some of my fun shots from my two visits. Mulberry trees in the Village and a spinning jenny (6-head) in the weaving shop.

 

 We’ll keep you posted on the progress. In the meantime, do get out to the museum complex and spend some time. If you haven’t been there in a long time, you’ll be surprised at how great it looks and what you’ll learn.