Never Felt Better

Last night I finished the felted bag I have been working on. I am excited about it, but I am not 100% thrilled.

A couple of weeks ago I completed the knitting portion of the project and was geared up to embark on the felting. I got online and researched how to felt and thought I had a pretty good grasp of the technique. Essentially it boils down to these easy steps:

1. Toss knitted item into washing machine
2. Use hottest water setting and gentlest cycle
3. Add a little soap
4. Turn on machine
5. Check periodically

Not exactly rocket science. So in went my knitted bag. I sprinkled in a little powdered soap and turned on the machine. After several minutes of swishing I lifted the lid and checked out what was going on. The bag had gotten HUGE, which I had been forwarned of in my Internet research. No big deal. I shut the lid and kept checking at five-minute intervals until the bag was as felted as I wanted it to be.

The yarn I used felted very well and I was pleased with that part. However, the green portion of the bag was noticeably bigger than the brown part. My inner perfectionist beat on her chest and screamed “Nooooooo!!!!!!”

When I laid the bag out to dry on some towels I tried to stretch the brown portion so that the differences between the two portions wouldn’t seem so noticeable. No dice. So I laid it out to dry and thought about it for a while.

I considered just starting over again. Since I had felted the bag it wasn’t like I could just frog everything and start all over again with the same yarn. I figured that I could always use the felted material from the bag for some other project; it wouldn’t go to waste.

But then something inside me said “Hey, what the hell? You’re a crafter, so craft the damn thing.” (Apparently my inner voice has a swearing problem.)

So I cut off an inch or two of the green section so it didn’t look so gargantuan next to the brown side. I slit the brown side on the seam then stitched up both sides with their corresponding yarn colors. It didn’t make it look perfect, but it made it look better, at least in my eyes.

When it came time to do the embroidery, I thumbed through a book I had checked out from the library and saw a fern pattern that struck me. I tossed out the original leaf motif that the pattern writer had used and  free formed my own fern pattern. Instead of doing just one side, I embroidered both sides with contrasting yarn for a more symmetrical feel. I had to assuage my inner perfectionist somehow.

This project helped me to remember what crafting is all about. Usually when I decide to take on a project I do so because of the finished product that I have seen someone else make. I want my item to look just like the picture and I am not happy when it doesn’t. But that isn’t what crafting means. Crafting is seeing something you would like to make then making it your own, molding and massaging the piece until it becomes what you want it to be, using whatever means available to do that. It’s not about making cookie cutter projects that look identical. It’s about putting a personal stamp on what you have created.

Endings and Beginnings

The Sojourn Falls Scarf (aka Fluffy Beaded Cloud)

It’s a beautiful day. Temps in the high 60s and Virginia blue sky as far as the eye can see. A perfect day for taking photos outside of my latest creation. The pattern is called The Sojourn Falls Scarf but I like to think of it as the Fluffy Beaded Cloud. I used a creamy white mohair yarn that is super soft and, with the knitted cables, downright puffy.

This was my first knitting project using beads and I think it went swimmingly, if I do say so myself. I was a little concerned that I would be all thumbs when it came time to string on the beads, but it got easier as I went along. It was tough at first to stop knitting and switch to using my little bent piece of wire to put on a bead or to grab my cable needle and do some cables. My stitches wanted to slide right off the needles but I managed to hold it all together.

I used sapphire blue beads for this project. If I could I would like to make endless scarves like this using every bead color of the rainbow. But, alas, my time is finite and there are lots of other projects I would like to pursue. Such as………….

a felted bag.

I looked through lots and lots of felted projects on Ravelry and I decided on the Falling Leaves Felted Bag as my next project. After all, I do need somewhere to stash all the various scarves and other things I make!

Actually, I chose the bag pattern for several reasons. First of all, I like the pattern. I think its beauty lies in its simplicity. It is a two colored bag with leaves embroidered on the front. Secondly it involves embroidery. I would like to become better at that particular art so I figured I would do this project since it will give me a chance to practice. Thirdly, this is a felting project. I have never felted before and I am looking forward to trying this particular technique.

And Now, for My Next Trick………..

Bolstered by the success of my first knitted sweater, I decided to undertake a knitting project with beads. I have crocheted with beads before and it wasn’t that big of a deal. I looked through numerous knitting projects that incorporate beads and I decided on the Sojourn Falls Scarf. I was attracted to this project because of the beads but also because of the two cables. I am going through a major knitted cable phase at the moment. I can’t get enough!

Beautiful blue beads on a white knitted mohair cloud.

Knitting with beads isn’t really all that challenging. It is an exercise in patience mostly. Every so often I have to stop what I’m doing and slip a bead onto a stitch before I work it. There are several ways to slip a bead onto a stitch and I am using the “little bent piece of jewelry wire” method. Pretty catchy name, right?

Hank?

Since I am spending a lot of time with this two inch piece of twisty wire I have considered giving it a proper name. After some thinking, I settled on Hank. What can I say, he just looks like a Hank.

The most interesting aspect of this project for me is that it involves more than just yarn and two knitting needles. I work a few stitches then grab Hank to string on a few beads. After that I have to switch tools and put my cable needles to work. Repeat. It’s more labor intensive than most items I have made.

 

Behold, for I Have Knitted a Sweater!

The first (and most likely not the last) sweater.

I’m still not quite over the shock of knitting my first sweater. It is slowly sinking in, though. I dragged James out in the cold this morning to a neighborhood park to have some photos taken. Luckily the weather has turned cooler down here. I would hate to have knitted a big bulky sweater just at the start of an early bikini season!

I am proud of this crafty accomplishment but my roving eyes are even now looking for the next big thrill. What can I do that I haven’t done before? What technique can I try next? I think that is what amazes me the most about knitting or crocheting. With a couple sticks or a hook and a pile of string I can keep myself occupied and challenged for eternity. There is an endless combination of projects and materials.

But there is still something special about the first time……

Broke Back Sweater

I finished my very first ever knitted sweater this past Sunday. I blocked all the pieces Saturday afternoon by pinning them to beach towels and spritzing them with water. It was very painstaking to pin the sweater bits. Hunching and crouching on the floor doesn’t do much for my back, shoulders and legs.

Sunday morning I woke up, opened my eyes and spied the blocked bits on the floor. I knew that it was going to be the day that I would finally have a sweater and I was excited. I putzed around the house awhile, psyching myself up for the task to come. I am not a seamstress by any means and I was worried that I would start stitching my sweater seams together and it would look like absolute crap.

With pattern in hand and armed with my tapestry needle I went upstairs and set to work patching together the sweater bits.

I started with the shoulder seams. I followed the directions in the book and they turned out pretty good. With that success under my belt I progressed to connecting the sleeves to the armholes. This was the part I had really been dreading. I didn’t want to end up with wonky sleeves flapping off my sweater like some sort of deformed yarny octopus. I followed the instructions to the letter and it turned out OK. It wasn’t quite as smooth sailing as the shoulder seams because there was a curve to follow and a little more shaping involved.

I was once again crouched down on the carpet, orbiting my way around the sweater as I worked. Knitting is really a back-breaking hobby. I thought about taking a break but I wanted to power through and get the final result in my hands.

The final step was to knit a few rounds for the collar, which I completed fairly quickly. I tried on the finished garment and was stunned.

I had knitted a sweater.

Me.

Wow.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror then went downstairs to show James the miracle I had wrought.

Like any crafter, I am my own worst critic. I don’t think the collar turned out perfectly and the sleeves are a little long. But I was very impressed with myself. My deepest, darkest knitting fears had not been realized. I worried that the sweater would be too short, the sleeves would be too short, the sleeves wouldn’t be big enough around for my arms to fit, the hole for the head would be too small and I wouldn’t be able to even put it on at all. But those things didn’t happen. Praise God!

I do have a confession to make: I did not knit a gauge swatch. I should go out back and cut my own switch; I deserve a few licks. I knitted on faith and the idea that hey, even if my sweater doesn’t fit ME, it is bound to fit SOMEONE.

There will be photos soon. I just had to take a moment to crow about my success.

Full Frontal

I finished the front portion of the sweater yesterday. I was quite pleased. I think the cable down the front looks great. Cables are just awesome. Every few rows I knitted four stitches from the cable needle and just that one little difference created something that looks so intricate.

I was a little nervous about the neck shaping. The pattern said to use two balls of yarn to work each side of the neck. I wasn’t too sure about that, but I just followed the pattern and tried not to think too much. It’s sort of like having a fear of heights. If you’re up really high and just don’t look down, you’ll be fine. That should be my knitting motto: “Don’t look down!”

As always, knitting this sweater has gotten me thinking. No one really notices what they buy when they buy a sweater, or any garment for that matter. You go to the store, try some things on, pick those you like and pay for them. If anybody asks what you bought, you say “I bought a sweater” or “I bought socks.”

After knitting several pairs of socks and working on this sweater, I realize how much goes into creating clothing. A sock is not JUST a sock. It’s the cuff, the leg, the heel, the toe, the gusset. I don’t think I will ever be able to look at a sock again and think of it as “just a sock.”

The same goes for a sweater. You’re paying for the convenience of someone else (usually a machine) to crank out all those sweater parts and put them together for you. I try to imagine what life must have been like before industrialization when families were self-sufficient. How does a body keep up with the task of outfitting her entire family year after year?

I am all for modern conveniences and technology. However, that same technology has placed so much distance between us and our world. While I wouldn’t want to make all of the clothing I wear, knitting garments helps to remind me of the importance of the human touch.

Baby Got Back

This, my friends, is the back of my Twisted Tahoe Pullover:

This piece was as easy to knit as I expected it to be. It’s nothing but stockinette stitch with a little binding off for the armholes on the side. Not exactly rocket science. Nevertheless, I am proud that I have completed at least one section of my first sweater.

*Loud cheering breaks out*

I have been working away at the front panel for the past day or so. The cable pattern up the middle looks very nice. There will be photos to come once that is ready for viewing.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

I think about doing it all the time. It scares me but it excites me at the same time. I wonder if I can really do it. Will it turn out OK? Will I totally goof it up and completely embarrass myself?

I try to rationalize it in my mind. Lots of my friends have done it and it worked out OK for them. Some of them are even really super good at it. I have seen their work and been mighty impressed. Why shouldn’t I try it, too?

Of course I am talking about knitting a sweater. What did you think I was talking about? Let’s keep our minds out of the gutter people………..

I crocheted a sweater a few years back. I was scared then, too. I bought the yarn and it sat on my kitchen table for several weeks. I would tiptoe past it lest I anger it and cause it to come after me. Finally I came down with a really terrible cold and spent most of the week home from work. I figured I should use that time in a productive manner and I started in on the sweater. It was a surreal experience. I just started hooking and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, I was crocheting the sleeves. It was as if a higher power had seized control of my arms and I kept thinking to myself: “Holy crap, I’m crocheting a sweater!”

And ya know what? It looked great. What was I so worried about?

I am asking that question now as I get ready to knit my very first sweater. I can do this; I’m a knitter. I have done plenty of other projects and I have been looking forward to finally knitting a sweater.

I have done a lot of pattern perusal and I have decided to make the “Twisted Tahoe Pullover” from the book The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting. (I will wait while all my knitting compatriots run to their bookshelves to see the pattern for themselves. Good. Like it? Thought so.)

It’s a pretty basic sweater. The only really exciting aspect of it is the cable down the middle front. I have cabled a few times and I want to incorporate more cables into my knitting. It looks so complicated but it’s really so simple.

The pattern calls for gray alpaca, but I think there is enough dreary gray stuff in the world. I chose a natural white shade of yarn instead. I figured that would give the cable plenty of room to shine through. The other colors available were either ugly or too dark and would have obscured the cable.

So what am I waiting for? There is a sweater waiting to be made!

Streaks on the China…..

Oh boy! Mr. Belvedere Season 4 arrived in the mail this week from Amazon. I am super excited!

1987 Lives!

I remember watching the show back in the late 80′s, early 90′s. I hadn’t watched it in years and years when I came across season one on Youtube last year. I have seasons one and two on DVD, watched season three on Youtube and I am now working my way through season 4 on DVD.

I loved this show when I was little. Watching it now, in 2012, is a lot different from watching it in 1987. A lot has changed since then. Is the show campy? Totally! Cheesy? You bet! Lots of fun? Yes! Watching the show is like having a heaping helping of warm nostalgia handed to me in a bowl.

The sitcom these days is a much different creature from what it was back in the 80′s and 90′s. For one thing, sitcoms back then were overflowing with morality lessons and family wholesomeness. There was a point to each episode that was neatly wrapped up in a bow and handed to the viewer within half an hour. It wasn’t believable and was often schmaltzy beyond belief, but it at least TRIED to instruct. Sitcoms now are usually loaded with sarcasm, sex and more sex. While I am ALL for sarcasm and sex, there is something inviting and reassuring about getting a daily dose of morality from your television set. I don’t want every show I watch to take place in Mayberry, but it’s nice to watch something that, in no way, could ever be labeled as “reality TV.”

Enough yakkin’! It’s time to get back to the show!

 

My Feet, My Stitches

I finished my second pair of knitted socks that I had been working on for a month or two.

Peaks 'N' Valleys Socks

They turned out well. I am still struggling with the Kitchener Stitch, which closes the toe. I follow the directions I copied from the sock knitting book, but I always seem to get lost somehow with where I am in the process. It’s not difficult, it’s just hard to remember which stitch gets which treatment in which order. Gahhh…..

But I am happy with my socks. There is something to be said for wearing homemade items. When I put on my very first knitted pair of socks I couldn’t get over the fact that MY stitches were on MY feet. Without me, those stitches would not exist. I took a pile of string and used several pointy sticks to make something functional. Amazing.