My Knitting Life

Halcyon Aran

All knitted up.  Front, Back, Sleeves.  Ready for seaming, blocking, neckband.  A pure joy to knit in Blackwater Abbey Yarn, color Moss, 8 skeins.  Finished sweater photos with knitty details shortly...

Last week I received an email from Kelley saying "...I don't know if you've ever done an entry describing your blocking techniques but wonder if you would consider it.  Seeing the difference in the blocked vs non-blocked photos on the February 7th entry show me (someone who's always been too lazy to block and not really understanding the necessity) that I have a lot to learn..."

Well Kelley, given that I have been a one-project knitter for the past few weeks and lacking for blog topics beyond another 6" complete on Halcyon, I was thrilled to have something to talk about!  First thing I did was consult with the ladies:  Elizabeth, Alice, Ann, Sally, Nancy, Beth, and Priscilla.  Everyone seems to have their own approach to blocking, but it seems certain principles do apply...

Before any blocking, always check the yarn label and the pattern instructions.  The pattern will tell you whether to seam before or after blocking, and the label will give you lots of information about how to handle that material, be it wool, acrylic, cotton or a blend.  I'm just going to stick to wool in this discussion.

First, why block? 

• Blocking cleans the yarn from any oils, dirt, organic matter left in, allowing the yarn to "bloom", the fabric to relax, and to smell nice
• Blocking allows you to get the measurements stated in the pattern, to get the proper fit
• For Lace, blocking is absolutely essential in opening up the lace knitting, and for cables, it sets the cables so they show their best.

Methods: 

1.  Soak & Spin - I use this method when I feel the yarn has a lot of natural oils and other matter in it, and for lace (because the yarn will really expand when soaked through).  Fill the machine on the lowest water setting with cold water.  Add wool wash, swish a little, add knitted pieces and let soak for a bit (half hour).  Remove, spin water out of machine, put knitted pieces back in and spin the rest of the water out.  Pin damp pieces to pattern measurements on a padded surface (a bed covered with a sheet or towel, or a blanket) and allow to dry.  For lace, this will involve getting fairly aggressive at stretching the piece so the lace opens up.

2.  Pin & Mist - Pin pieces to pattern measurements on a padded surface .  Spray very lightly with a fine mist of water, smoothing cables and straightening edges, allow to dry.

3.  Pin & Cover - Pin pieces to pattern measurements on a padded surface.  Cover with a damp towel and allow to dry.

4.  Steam Iron and Towel - Pin pieces to pattern measurements on a padded surface.  Place damp towel over knitting and go over it lightly with a steam iron, barely skimming the surface and not pressing down.  (Do not use this method with cabled or textured knitting as you might flatten the design.)

Which method to us when?  I think it's personal preference.  I use soaking for wool closer to its natural state, ie, closer to the farm, or where I want a good cleaning and to make a more dramatic change to the shape.  Gentle dampening is good for yarn that is more processed and might just need a little freshening up and shaping.  Blocking can totally soften the feel of the fabric and accentuate the beauty of all your hard work - it's so worth it! 

Flower Basket Shawl, before and after blocking.

Spotted this morning, 8 a.m., front yard.  Spring can't be far off!  Schools are off next week, so we're off cavorting for a few days. There will be skiing, shopping, eating, sleeping and knitting, of course.  Have a great weekend! 

Progess Update:  Halcyon AranI've completed front and back, and a bit of the first sleeve (not shown).  The photo on the right shows the blocked back vs. not-blocked front on top - quite a difference in size, cables still popping, though.  I will not block the front until I finish the sleeves, so that I can measure the saddle length as I knit them.All I can say is that it has been a joy to knit this sweater!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm spending a quiet day with my kids in school and my husband away on a trip.  As a sign of my love and devotion to him, I let him take my digital camera with him.  What was I thinking?  If I had not done that, I could show my finished front and back of Halcyon Aran - it will have to wait.

So today, I will just ramble a bit about a subject which I have much experience with, brought up by Katy, ripping back Arans.  Here are a couple tricks which I have found useful:

• If you decide to rip back, vs. tinking, go back until the end of the row of your mistake, and maybe another row.  To pick up, you want wrong side is facing, and working yarn to your left.  This way you will be picking up knit or purl stitches, rather than dealing with the cabled row.  Resist the temptation to say to yourself "there goes yesterday's knitting, and the day before that, and the day before that...."
• Lay the work flat.  It is best to minimize twisted stitches if you start from the left, but this only works with a circular - otherwise you have to start from the right.  Use a smaller needle, preferably a slippery addi, just to get the stitches back on the needle - they will go on easier and you will have less splitting.  Don't be an idiot by starting up again with the smaller needle.
• I just get them on and worry about any twisted stitches as I knit the next row.

If you need to unknit a sizable section, get out some double points.  Unknit (I just did this back 16 rows!), put the live stitches on a double point and re-knit with a double point.  I find the double points give me a lot more flexibility in which direction I want to work - smaller ones work well for the same reason as above.

I bet a lot of people have other great tips on this subject.  Correcting mistakes can be fun.  I usually start thinking really bad thoughts like "it's ruined!" and "there is NO WAY I can fix THIS!", and low and behold, in notta-lotta time I find myself right back to business.  Well, better get preparing some pink delicious treat for dessert tonight!  Great day, all!

 

I missed my own blog-birthday.  It was January 29.  Typical.  WHY am I so bad at remembering birthdays?  Am I subconsciously repressing my feelings of anger and resentment at having one of the worst birthdays in the year - December 27.  The only thing worse would be December 26.  I don't think anyone really has that one.  Oh well, happy LATE birthday to my blog.  And to all who I have forgotten over the years, please forgive me, I am birthday-challenged.

As you may know, C&C Knitting works has closed its doors for now.  I know I will miss the fun mother-daughter knitting exchange that went on over at C&C.  Cindy - I'm happily listening to the sounds of WXPN as I blog, thanks to you!  Cindy and Carrie - don't be strangers - we will all miss you!

Ring Around A Gansey...

Gansey or Guernsey, whatever you prefer, my latest preoccupation.

A few years ago, I added a few of the Yankee Knitters Gansey Patterns to my collection.  I made one in red for a child's first birthday.  Knit flat, they give you the look of a Gansey and they work up quickly in worsted weight.  Now, I want to make a real gansey, knit the traditional way, in the round, patterned, at a tight gauge.

Why, you ask?  Besides the fact that they are beautiful and traditional, and rumor has it, indestructible, I think it would give my husband something to rotate with Na Craga (and Halcyon, soon) which he keeps wearing day-in day-out.  He continues to maintain his status as knit-worthy.

I have consulted Beth Brown-Reisel's Knitting Ganseys, and Gladys Thompson's Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys and Arans.  With Brown-Reisel's book, I could try to design my own, or try her At Sea Gansey which can be seen in Melanie Falick's Knitting Across America.  Another favorite book of mine, Knitting in the Old Way by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts gives a nice history of the gansey and endless possibilities to create your own.  Starmore talks about her love of the guernsey here - Stornoway caught my eye - so timeless (and stain-resistant) in navy.

Yarn?  Well, there's Frangipani, Wendy Gansey, Poppleton, British Breeds, Scottish Fleet.  And Needles?  Even though they were traditionally made with 5 steel wires or "pins", I think I will go with some slick Addi circulars - size 1 32" and 16" should do the trick!

I know that you know what is happening here.  It is a fantasy, a delay tactic, a diversion which happens when you are smack in the thick of a project - Halcyon Aran for me - when instead of plowing along you come up with new project ideas and spend hours researching them.  Procrastination at its finest.  Will the Gansey stand the test of time, will it have lasting value and re-surface as a stand-alone project once HA is done?  Or will it be cast out to sea, forgotten, as a new whim takes over and I decide I must knit, um, Latvian mittens or something in Morehouse Merino, or Twined socks? 

 

The good news is that I am making nice progress on Halcyon Aran - that's a completed and blocked back and two out of the five repeats for the front.  The bad news is that it is all I'm working on, and so it gives me very little to talk about.

The photos above are meant to show the pre-washed vs. washed and blocked versions of the Blackwater Abbey Yarn.  At first I thought the yarn was rough, but now I am used to it, and it actually feels soft to me.  Isn't it strange how we adjust to the fibers we are working with?  I'm used to working it around the needles, turning it into cables, taking in all its lovely color variation, and I know I will miss it when the whole thing is done.  That is, unless I get me some more...

Photo on the right shows how much it relaxed after blocking, but how the cables are still very well defined.  It became much lighter and drapier.  Photo left, an attempt to show how it softened and the fibers puffed up after blocking.  I have had a terrible time capturing the color - it is really a much deeper green/brown/blue mix.

OK - I'll try not to bring this up again until I have something interesting to say about it....

Two Red Scarves, ready to be sent to The Red Scarf Project.  Both were made using size 13 needles, a strand of hand-spun worsted and two strands of mohair from my stash.  The scarf on the left is a simple rib, very long and skinny, an adaptation of the Purl Scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.  The scarf on the right is plain old garter with a ruffle edge.  Not my greatest knitting accomplishment ever, but it feels good to contribute something to the cause.

Have a great weekend! 

Yesterday my first issue of Twists and Turns - The Newsletter for Lovers of Cable Knitting arrived.  The newsletter is on heavy stock, hole-punched to store in a binder.  There are five patterns and a yarn review.  Although none of the patterns are for me right now, I am glad I subscribed and look forward to future issues.  Newletters offer a great alternative to magazines and expensive books. 

Does anyone subscribe to a newletter worth knowing about?  Let me know and I will compile a list!

Maddy has been making these fluffy scarves for herself and to give as birthday gifts.  Kids need quick projects for instant gratification.  Helps if the yarn is soft and colorful, too!  This is Patons Divine, available at Michaels, two strands together, maybe 10 stitches on 17s.  Two skeins make two scarves, and an 11 year old can make one while watching a couple hours of TV!