Old Projects / New Projects

Even though I'm pretty good with dates, I still often have deadlines sneak up on me. And, not surprisingly, it's worse when I'm really busy like I have been lately with work. So the other day I was startled by the thought that when my mom comes to visit in a few weeks, I should have all my Christmas knitting ready to go back with her in case I don't make it home for Christmas.

So that go me to thinking, What do I have to finish for Christmas?

The first and probably most time consuming has already been finished! (And no, I'm not telling here what it is...she's probably reading.) But I do have to wrap it yet so it still gets added to the "to do" list.

The second is these hat heel socks:

I've been working on them since the middle of July. They've been my "car knitting" lately as they were easy to pick up and I knew the pattern. But I haven't had any car knitting lately. So they were languishing. When this deadline occurred to me, I started to focus on them and then they went like gangbusters!

I think I finished the second foot over an evening at small group. And then it sat in my car for a while because I had to weigh what was left to know how much I could use for the leg. When I finally dragged it all inside and got it together with the scale, I measured 25 grams left. Ok. I would knit the leg until 13 grams were left. Which I did. (I think in one evening again; these socks really are fast.)

Then I started the leg of the second foot, while not cutting the yarn. (I'm not pessimistic, I'm just cautious. And experienced.) And sure enough, the second foot was about four rows shorter! So I undid two rows of the first sock (while congratulating myself on not cutting the yarn), knit two more on the second sock. Then still ran out of yarn and had to undo one more row on each sock. Then they were even and done.

Now you know why they are attached like children's mittens in the photo. I just have to work in all the ends and these puppies will be done.

As I was considering the WIPs that I had and which had to be finished by this deadline, I remembered my blue lace scarf:

I started this scarf just because it was a nice pattern and I had the lovely blue Malabrigo lace wool. It's the perfect blue for my mother and that was always the idea in the back of my head. But she's not really a lace person (although she can certainly appreciate the work) and she didn't go crazy over it when I showed it to her. (I hope you're not too disappointed reading this, Mom!)

And then I thought of my grade school sewing teacher. I think I'll send it home with mom to give to her just as a thank you. I know she'll appreciate the work and I can't imagine the colour not really being to her taste.

I haven't worked on the scarf very steadily but I have managed to make progress. It goes a lot faster now that I've found my way in the pattern. I wrapped it around my neck tonight and I think it's just about long enough to hang around your neck and fill in the "crack" of your coat collar and that empty V above your buttons.

I looked at the pattern and it instructs you to make the scarf 68" long. That seems crazy long. I have about 35" right now:

and I think that's just about enough. I'll finish with the border soon and then block it. That will make it look a lot better, I assure you.

This lace weight wool is really lovely. (I know, I say that about a lot of wool!) It's very soft and as plush as string that thin can be.

While I love finishing projects, it usually frees me to think about starting other projects...

I follow a group on Ravelry called Obscuriousity. The group's goal is to promote great but obscure patterns. Their definition of obscure is fewer than 50 projects on Ravelry, older than 6 months and readily available. It's been a fun way to check out patterns that don't have a large "band wagon" to jump onto. (You know I'm really not into trends, right. Sometimes to my own detriment, but there you have it.)

I'm technically a member, but since I've only been lurking so far it's more "following" than "participating." Until now. Each round (usually 2-3 months) they run a sophisticated nomination process and I have occasionally voted my admiration of a pattern, but never a commitment to make it.

Well, this round, they just may have gotten me! I really like this sweater:

from Drops Design. I really like the style. Simple but not  boring. Feminine but not too girly or fussy.

And I voted for it. Not a vote for "I like this" but a vote for "if this wins, I will make this." (Not that they have police for this or anything.)

The second and final round of voting ended today and it looks like this pattern won. Now I feel obligated!! With a 2-3 month time frame I still have time to decide. (And the group actually does not enforce end dates at all. It's a very "whatever you like" sort of group.) I don't really need another project, but I don't have a KAL going currently and would enjoy the company. And I could time it so that I could make it for NaKniSweMo in November.

I'm thinking of going with the called-for yarn instead of finding a substitute at Red Purl (still deciding though). One advantage of this yarn is all the colours available. Check them out here (scroll down just a bit) and let me know if you think any of them especially suit me. (Nothing too dark, please.) Aren't all those delightful options just intoxicating?! I love options.

Hat Heel Sock

Last chance to join the Hat Heel sock class. We still have room for one or two more.

This Friday and next, 6 pm, at Red Purl.

Hope to see you there!

Time for Class!

Remember my Hat Heel socks? I knit them in a weekend when I went to the AQS show in Des Moines last fall.

Last week I knit the pattern again in Lorna's Laces worsted, in a two colour pattern that really shows the different sections it's constructed of.

And why did I do this? (Besides getting a lovely sock to wear.) Because I am offering a class on this interesting and comfortable sock design.

Classes are on the Friday nights of April 16 & 23, starting at 6 pm. We'll go to 7:30 "officially," but Friday night knit nights go til 9, so we can stay later if we want. If we need another week, we can do that too. (I'd say, "I'm easy," but I wouldn't want you to think I was a pushover as a teacher--I like to think I run a tight ship!!)

I've converted the pattern for worsted weight, so they go fast. I made the sample sock Saturday to Sunday even while going to work on Saturday, church on Sunday and performing all my other regular weekend duties. In other words, they're really fast!

I did add a slip-stitch/moss stitch pattern to the foot of my sample sock

(it doesn't help anyone to get bored), but you can do yours in stocking stitch if you'd like to keep it simple.

If you'd like to sign up for class, contact Red Purl. I've got tips on the pattern and can show you how to get a good start knitting circles that start from the center. (It's tricky, but we'll do it together!)

Hope to see you there!

Hats on my Feet

I have to say, "Hats off!" to Kathleen Sperling for this ingenious sock design! Instead of starting at the top or at the toe, you start in the middle. Simply revolutionary.

Knitting a "hat" to fit the heel, you then add "earflaps" (shall we say) which narrow and meet at the top of the foot to form gussets. Picking up stitches on either side of the heel/gusset piece and knitting out gets you a foot and a cuff. It's so crazy it works.

It not only works to actually make a sock, the sock is very comfy and easy to size. These are the best fitting socks I've made. Wonderful.
Speaking of sizing, however, I did have to make some modifications. The pattern is written for sock yarn and I decided to use some worsted. Worsted is a lot thicker than sock yarn, in case that's notProject Stats
Started: 27 Oct 09
Finished: 31 Oct 09
Pattern: Hat-Heel Sock, free from knitty.com
Materials: 2 skeins Wooly Stripes by Nashua Handknits (colour WS09 Faded Blues), $9
obvious.

I started with the woman's size just to see where I was at. After knitting the heel, I took some measurements and started again in the "small child" size. This worked like a charm. If anyone else is thinking of trying the same thing, I was working with size 3.25mm (3 US) needles and got 6 sts and 8 rows to the inch. (And I wear size 8.5/9, although that's not crucial since you can make yours any length you need.)

I altered the toe shaping slightly as well. There were 44 stitches. I decreased on every other row for 8 rows, and then every row for 4 rows. This left me 12 stitches (6 on top, 6 on bottom) which were kitchenered together. The shape fit me well.
Worsted weight socks are too thick to wear in most shoes, but they'll fit great in my winter "duckies." These socks will probably mostly get worn over another pair, in part because they came out so short. (I only had two skeins, so when the first one ran out, that's as tall as the sock was going to get.)

If you've been reading along in the blog, then you know that I got these socks knit up during my travels to the AQS Quilt Show in Des Moines. As well as being handy warm socks, they will also make a wonderful souvenir of the trip.

My feet dance in their new warm socks!

AQS Des Moines Show: Final Day

A nice surprise for me after I came around a corner in the skyway this morning.

I got myself out of bed and packed in time to get to my 9:00 class. Actually I was so early I had time to do some knitting just outside the Iowa Hall of Pride. (Class was in the IHP theatre.)Like the night before, I got a lot of peaceful knitting in while a whole slew of other people lined up to get into the hall. Well, I was peaceful until I came to this:A knot in my ball of wool. Not only a knot--which I can deal with--but a complete break in the colour pattern. The blues are supposed to fade gradually from dark to medium to light and back again. Not slam-on-the-breaks-now-blue-is-white. I was....well, outraged might be a bit strong, but it's on the right track. But I decided that I should just be grateful I was just making a pair of socks and not a carefully planned sweater or gift or something where it really really mattered. (Although it does matter to me, a small voice in my head replied.) I told myself to get over it it.

And mostly, I did. After I dealt with the knot, we were let into class. (Everyone in line got a seat, and I did too.) The lecture was given by Marti Michell. The name didn't mean anything to me, but I learned that she is a mover and shaker in the quilting world and has been for a long time. The topic of the lecture was "Low Carb Quilting" based on her book Machine Quilting in Sections. She explained that the "Low Carb" was because by quilting in sections, you reduce bulk. (Groan...) She had a lot of quilt samples held up by a couple volunteers and explained several ways you can quilt a full-size quilt in sections. I had seen other methods which I definitely didn't like. Her methods give a good result and look agreeably doable too.

Her handout did not describe the methods, however. That's when I realized it was a lecture, not a class and that meant for the full details I would have to buy the book!! But I got enough notes that I think I can get started on my own. I may even be able to apply one method to my Hawaiian Star even though it's already all assembled.

I'm so happy I stayed the extra day and caught this class. Class did run a little late so I cut out so I could catch my flight. No problems there. (I love flying out of small airports!) I had enough time for more knitting at the airport.I finished the second sock at the Chicago airport while waiting for my second flight. Got called to board just as I was finishing my sewn bind off. So I worked in all the ends at the beginning of the flight and called them done!As I laid them on my lap to take pictures, the woman next to me asked if they were my first socks. No, I said, (a little embarrassed) I just take pictures of everything...

AQS Des Moines Show: Day Penultimate

Another busy and packed day. Fortunately the morning wasn't quite so early and Clures and I could get into town after rush hour traffic. No accidents and no rain (and only one U-turn). We'll call that a good commute.

We started in the Historical East Village, a neighbourhood of nice [touristy] shops, and we started at Pure Paper. I am addicted to all things paper! I found some nice things on the discount table, including a pack of assorted greeting cards.

I couldn't see which cards were included and bought it solely because I liked the top card. (The "Tic Tac Snow" card, right side.) Imagine my delight when I went through and found this fabulous mitten card--could there be anything better?! Love it!

We visited a few more shops doing more admiring than buying. By then it was time to return to the car. Unfortunately we had forgotten to feed the meter (despite my purse being weighed down with change the whole trip) and we had a parking ticket. Bah!

Not a good note to end on, but it was time for Clures to fly away home. She dropped me at the hotel and then I was on my own. I had nothing scheduled til 6 that night, and some knitting calling my name so after I got myself settled into my room, I settled in my room. There's nothing like some good knitting time in front of reruns and...getting a project done!

I finished my first sock:And here's the hat-heel:

Isn't it fabulous!? And fits like a dream. The leg ended up a lot longer than I thought it was going to be when I considered how much yarn was left after finishing the toe. Eight rows to an inch gets you pretty far, I guess!

Then it was time to get out of the hotel room. I decided to head to the Iowa State Capitol Building:
There's a free shuttle that runs across the downtown. I missed the first one by seconds. I missed the second one because it didn't see me huddling in the doorway out of the cold wind and I didn't see it coming. I did catch the third one. Considering they come every 10 minutes, that's 20 minutes out in the cold I'll never get back...

My visit to the capitol building was a little strange. The building is nice and has some very nice things to see. I wanted a tour so that I could find out all those interesting things that I don't know I don't know. The stories behind the things. The three people at the tour desk told me a tour could start in 10 minutes but that the rules prohibited them from giving a tour to just one person.

I laughed because there was like nobody around and there was no way more people were going to show up in the next 10 minutes. And nobody did. So I did the self-guided tour while the three of them sat at the desk and talked about what they ate for lunch, or what they were going to have for dinner, or some other equally important topic.

Sorry, does this sound too much like complaining? It was just too weird. (Is this where I say, "That's government for you?" Well, I'm not going to.)

I visited both chambers (House and Senate--that is what you call them in this country, isn't it?), but the most impressive room was the library.
Look at all those rows and stacks and balconies of books! What intricate railings! And strictly for the librarians is a matching spiral staircase to get to all the levels:
Also included is a dumbwaiter so they don't have to carry all those precious books up and down the narrow stairs:
And lest you think I've completely lost the "crafty" part of this blog, there were quilt blocks everywhere in the building:
Surely you see the quilt blocks there? It's not just me, right?

And this window in the dome of the library:
And even the common stairway:
Look at all those great quarter-square triangles and the fancy quilting "motifs" represented in white.

When I decided my tour was over, I grabbed the free shuttle again (did a little better with the timing this time) and swung by the River Walk to show you a new bridge they're putting in:
See how the two halves swing apart before coming back together at the other side? It's so elegant. One of the pedestrian bridges they're building/improving along the river. I'll need to come back so I can walk out on it.

After admiring the bridge, I went back into the show and took another look at the quilts. I also took my first real look at the vendors. I swung by Cheryl Barnes' booth and caught part of her lecture about how and where to quilt. (Can you tell that's something I'm thinking a lot about right now?)

I ended up buying two books, Distinctive Designs in Continuous Line and More Than Celtic both by Shauna Thompson:
They're both basic books of beginner designs, which is where I'm at, so that's good.
I think the designs are a little faint in the picture, but basically the designs are laid out with directions on how to adapt to machine and continuous-line designs.

One thing I've picked up at this show is that I need to build a "stash" of quilting designs as much as a stash of fabric options. Now, I try very hard to keep my stash "reasonable" (understanding that everyone draws the line at a different place) and I expect I'll do the same with quilting designs. But zero is not really reasonable if you want some options or something to get the ideas going. Three books this trip will get things started!

When I had seen about as much as I could take in, I went to wait for Ami Simms' lecture on Living with Quilts. I think I was about an hour and a half early (which was fine because I needed to start that second sock) and was just in time to see the line start. And grow. And grow. Pretty soon they had a second line because the first one ran out of room.

But I just sat on my bench (padded bench) and let them line up. As far as I knew there were chairs for everyone with a ticket and you can hear Ami just as good from the back of the room as the front. So I let them line up. I bonded with some other women who came and shared my bench and my attitude about lines.

I have to say even if I had had to wait in the line--standing the whole time--it still would have been worth it. Ami was very funny (her delivery resembles Ellen's if that gives you any idea). She started late but had everyone eating out of the palm of her hand right from the start. Very fun.

Then it was a good long walk through the elevated skyways that Des Moines has. The whole downtown is accessible by weather-impervious "sidewalks." Pretty clever of them, isn't it!?

AQS Des Moines Show: Day 2

Day 2 started with another 8:30 class. We left even earlier, not because we were counting on getting around another accident but because they were forecasting torrential rains.

The rains didn't show up (and in fact pretty much all day we were inside when it rained and the rain held off when we were walking outside--good for us!) and we got to class with 30 minutes to spare.

The class was called, "Show Off!!" (yes including two exclamation points), by Renae Haddadin. She not only discussed, but also showed us all kinds of way to fill in the background of a quilt in order to highlight the areas you don't fill in. It's kind of ironic that the "background" areas can take the majority of quilting time. The more you quilt something, the more it is pushed to the back so the areas that you want to recede and not have people pay attention get the densest quilting. In general, anyway.

Back to the topic at hand, Renae had the class set up so that she could quilt on the longarm as she was talking and someone else (her husband, we presume) used a video camera to capture image that was projected onto the large screen at the front of the room.
Here, Renae is just starting to fill in one area of the motif. (Please keep in mind that I captured Renae in the worst possible lighting; she is a very good looking woman.)

It was an interesting talk which gave me lots to think about but probably not a lot that I will put to use right away. It was more applicable to longarm quilters and I "just" have a domestic machine (as they're called).

Renae had some incredible quilts hanging. I took pics but don't feel like I have the right to post them. However, I have found some links which will show you what I saw.

My absolute favourite is "Sugar and Spice." Best whole cloth quilt ever, IMHO.

There was "Beauty from Within" which included some subtle fabric painting to highlight the quilting even further. (Click on "Beauty from Within" from the AQS website.)

"Ring around the Rosie" was another whole cloth with embroidery.

Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea. There was time in the class to try out some of the ideas on the longarm machines too. (It was sponsored by HandiQuilter, after all.)

After class, we went into the exhibit hall again and saw some more quilts. (I'll repeat that AQS forbids me from posting pictures; very sorry.) Then we ran for the shuttle to take us to the Quilt Walk at Valley Junction. About 10 shops, galleries and eateries had set up special quilt displays and were offering discounts and specials to AQS attendees.

Clures and I walked all around town and stopped at every place that caught our eye. Some purchases of mine:

First, some beads (for knitting with) and some silver supplies:
Then I found some beautiful blue fabric with little boomarang shapes in different tans and browns. I'm thinking it may be a good border for the brown/tan quilt I started buying for in July. I also found some more browns and tans:
I found some gorgeous reds. I'm collecting them just because. The second from the left is especially nice (and unusual):
A book. Quilting Inside the Lines by Pam Clarke. Helen Squire recommended her technique when she was talking about my quilt yesterday:
And two little fat quarters for two quilters I wanted to give a souvenir:

Are you one of the quilters??? You'll have to wait to see!

Now what about my socks? I did get some knitting in today. Finished the toe:

and started the leg.

I even thought I might get this sock done today. (I am running out of wool after all.) I was just going to knit the leg as far as I could get and bind off. Sounds simple, right?

Well, I got back to the hotel room, took another look...and do you see what I see?
Let me circle it for you:
My 2x2 rib has a 4 in it. Oh, big sigh. (The really sad part is that when I picked up stitches for the leg I added two stitches because I didn't think my total was divisible by four. Can this math major ever do arithmetic? Or count how many stitches I have? Like I said, :sigh:)

So I ripped it all out. Now I'm starting the leg all over with a real 2x2 rib. I should be knitting on it now....

So good night!

AQS Des Moines Show: Day 1

We made it to our first class of the show: Quilting Queries with Helen Squire. (A little late due to some traffic issues, but I won't get into that. It's just good to remember that if you're in the stop and go traffic in an unfamiliar city with an 8:30 class, you're still having a better day than the people in the crashed vehicles.)

Helen was very fun and energetic. She spent most of the class looking at student's quilts and giving ideas of what area to quilt, what to quilt there and why. Lots of lessons by example. It was great looking at everyone's quilts. Most were wall hangings.

Mine, of course, was not. I went ahead and packed my mongo Stars and Spikes (she hated that title, by the way, but oh well...) and submitted it to discussion. She focused on the outer area between the border spikes and the corner spikes. (Sample area outlined in orange below.)

She pointed out that the red/pink should be treated together with the light blue as one area. They're both "background" to the spikes which are the items to be highlighted or featured. I had come to this same conclusion, so I gave myself a pat on the back for that!

She first mentioned feathers and I said that that's what I'd seen in other Hawaiian Star quilts. But she must have heard something in my tone, because she asked how I liked it. I said I didn't really like feathers. (Now, before you go crazy on me, I think feathers look good, but I feel no calling to do them myself. There's a difference.)

So she gave some other ideas and techniques to use and the "light bulb" comment that what I am dealing with is basically a swag. Swags are very common in the outer borders of quilts and that's what would fit in the shape outlined above (roughly). That idea alone will help a lot with what patterns I look at and how I think I can use them.

Yeah!! I'm so excited. I really needed a place to start with this one.

Helen ended the class with a very quick review of how to apply a border design to a quilt, the various corners you can make from the design, and how those "corners" can be used to quilt in the blocks. Let me tell you, the lady's good.

The classroom itself was freezing but that is one thing you don't really need to worry about at a quilt conference:
There were lots of quilts to go around!

After lunch we went to the "Coloriffic" lecture from Mickey DuPre. No pictures, sorry. But she was entertaining, had lots of great pictures of blocks in different colours, and knew her stuff. What more can you ask for? Oh, well, she had a lot of gorgeous art quilts on the wall too. So even more than you could ask for.

Then we walked through the main exhibit hall. I have lots of pictures, but I can't show you even one! :-( Sorry, AQS rules forbid it. Clures and I walked through about half of the quilts on show. (We needed to pace ourselves.) We haven't visited any of the vendors yet.

Then we fit in a visit to the Des Moines Botanical & Environmental Center. There was a quilt display there as well (again no pictures allowed), and lots and lots of succulents (and a few orchids).
I must say it's a little odd to see common houseplants growing over 10 feet tall. A little too Little Shop of Horrors for me! But they were gorgeous. Textures. Colours. Patterns. (And it was warm--not like some classrooms I could mention.)

A pretty full day, right? Whew, it was!

Meanwhile, I did get a little knitting done.
Got the heel done (twice) during and between the flights yesterday. Started with the woman's size but since I was using worsted wool instead of sock yarn, they were way way way too big. Thought about making adjustments, but decided going down a couple sizes would be a better way to do it. So I ripped it all out and started over.

And it seems to be working.
Another 8:30 class tomorrow morning and more quilts to see in the exhibit hall...