Phew!

Yesterday was the last day of September. This is normally a pretty quiet time around here, but this year? What a whirlwind!

Since posting has been a little sparse except for raffle updates, I thought I’d post a few pictures and notes to document this month that has just passed.

• Finished Sweet Caroline’s sweater, though delivery hasn’t taken place yet - so no pictures for a few more days!
• Hosted a great raffle fundraiser for my 3Day walk (a few more prizes yet to be posted tonight or tomorrow before we leave!)
• Celebrated 10 great years with Tad and had some great time off. Already blogged, but here’s a few pictures from our adventures. We enjoyed the time off so much we thought we’d do it again in a couple weeks (in the middle of another month that’s approaching whirlwind status before it’s even begun!

 Rising Meadow Farm

Sera Cahoone

The Cloud Chamber

This is one of my favorite places in Raleigh (it’s a pinhole camera that you walk into and close the door, letting your eyes adjust until you see the trees overhead projected on the walls and floor - I could hang out in here for hours).

Pilot Mountain

The Goats of Humbug Farm

• Between the first of September and Sunday evening, I somehow knit 106,110 stitches (a bit more than that actually, if you count swatches and the first inch or so that I ripped back after a stressed-out-too-tight cast on). I’ve never recorded the number of stitches in a project before, but it was necessary to closely estimate yarn needs so as not to repeat a recent mistake. And it was rather fun - That’s a LOT of stitches! I say this with amazement really rather than pride. I knew I could do it - I planned it all out. But even still, it was a pleasant surprise. On the list of things I love about knitting - feeling a little bit of wonder even when what you accomplish is exactly what you set out to do.  I knit in my house, on various long & short roadtrips, in coffeeshops and restaurants and waiting rooms…

And Monday, I wrapped it up and shipped it out - my first project for print publication (”first” being an optimistic statement of course!) I hate to talk about something that I can’t actually show you for a few months, but this project has absorbed so much energy over the last month that it seems strange not to document it in some way. I’m both nervous and excited. But mostly, satisfied. As design processes go, it was very enjoyable and came out just as I’d envisioned - I’ll blog about it a bit more when it finally comes out (March-ish).

A few rows in…

• Mathias rallies - that poor boy has been through some tough times, but he is hanging in there! He’s a really special pup and we’re so relieved. Funny that I’m more willing to mention it here when he’s improving - things were pretty bleak for a couple weeks there, but they’ve been bleak before and here he still is. Dogs are amazingly resilient creatures.

Mathias

• Had a super-quick trip to Atlanta & back this weekend for my cousin’s wedding, this guy flew into RDU from the west coast Friday night & drove down with us. We spent some great time with my cousins and their lovely wives, saw some other family members we don’t see often enough, and I somehow dropped the ball and left the camera in the car (crap!)…

My awesome older brother

• Last night I had a fair-isle class with Nancy Shroyer (designer of the Tidewater Wrap and owner of Nancy’s KnitKnacks), we worked through corrugated ribbing, steeks, steek covers, buttonholes, etc. - a great experience and capper to the month - we have a little homework remaining, I’ll show my little project when it’s complete.

• And it’s officially Autumn (my favorite time of year, without a doubt) - the weather is getting cooler and so pleasant and the leaves are beginning to change.

I’m not sure how in the world October could possibly top September…. but we will see…. We thought we’d kick off the month with a light 60 mile walk, follow it up with some great music, another big family event, and round it all out with a fiber festival and some hiking…  And of course, some knitting!

Happy Fall everyone! Have you all been just as crazy?

—————-
Now playing: Rogue Wave - Everyday
via FoxyTunes

One great remake - it’ll make you happy, I bet! Check it out!

I think that Summer Sky needs a re-knit. Or a test-knitter at the very least. Maybe both.

I was really pleased with the original sweater.  But the written pattern was backed into based on that sweater, which was just a top-down, knit-till-it-fits kind of thing. And the sizing was based off that and basic raglan percentages, which as some others smart knitters have discussed, don’t always work for real women’s bodies. The original schematic was very basic and did not give many measurements. So now, a year later, I’m trying to work through all the measurements of my own size and all the others based on stitch counts that don’t necessarily fit real proportions as well as they should, and since the sample has grown a bit with wear (important to note in for the original sample yarn - Reynold’s Soft Linen) it’s a good reference only when counting stitches. And working backwards? It’s no fun.

There’s also this:

That bunching right there has always bothered me. Thing is, now I know how to fix it. And now as I’m learning more about build and sizing, I think I can improve the pattern from those aspects as well. If I take that action on paper however, it means that the re-written sweater may not knit up exactly like the one in the pictures. The main design elements of the linen stitch insets and borders would remain the same of course, but the raglan lines would be a little different, and placed differently for the different sizes. And there’s the additional tweaking and such required for the math to make sense and tie out. All this before we even get to the detailed stitch counts, actual writing, charts, etc.

Maybe I shouldn’t be admitting this publicly, but… I am new at this and I have a lot to learn. I don’t say that as any excuse, just a statement of fact. I want to handle this the best way that I can and I’m thinking I can’t change the pattern this much without re-working the sample. Which will take more time. I had hoped to have the pattern complete and up for sale by this time. It’s been a bit frustrating - my own tiny knitted albatross - especially when I have swatches and sketches for new things that I’m dying to work on. The question is - Will the excitement and happiness of working on a new idea outweigh the discouragement of knowing this one could have been handled better? Of course I already have my answer.

I’ll be back to working on this next week - no promises on timeframe, but with some taxing work deadlines finally out of the way, an upcoming long weekend in the woods to recharge, and some sample yarn arriving shortly after my return, I expect there may be some progress soon.

So there’s my long overdue Summer Sky update! I’ve sent out many copies of the free version and will continue to make it available until the new pattern becomes available - thank you for your understanding and patience.

And if you’re here in the states and are off this weekend, have fun and be safe - see you next week!

—————-
Now playing: Brandi Carlile - Have You Ever
via FoxyTunes

But very much appreciated:

Shawl of the Week: Chrysalis

What a nice write up Meg, thank you! I’ve been glowing for days.

**Edited to update - The draft version PDF is now available**

As most of you know by this time, MagKnits is no more. Enough opinions have been shared on the subject so I’ll refrain from giving mine here, except to say that despite any difficulties MagKnits gave me a chance and published my first design, and I’m thankful for that opportunity. The good news is that many of the designers who have been featured in the publication over the last few years are actively working on ways to make their patterns available to the public again (indeed, some are already available for download on Ravelry).

I’ve been weighing out how to handle Summer Sky, my pattern that was originally published in the August 2007 edition of the magazine. Ironically, just last weekend I was answering some questions from a kind knitter (Janel, thanks so much!), which brought to my attention a rather glaring error. I was in process of writing an update to post here and on MagKnits when I got the news of the magazine coming down.

If you are working on the pattern or had it in your queue, please email me (melatpurlingplansdotcom), or PM me on Ravelry if you are there and I will get you a working copy (gratis, of course) just as soon as I can correct the error and pdf it - a couple of days at most. Again, an error has just been discovered - if you do have a printout from MagKnits, the error was not corrected prior to the site coming down - please contact me and I will make sure you have an updated copy to work from. I’ve contacted the folks in Ravelry with open projects - and I’m hoping that between this post and one to the Ravelry MagKnits pattern thread I can catch anyone else who may be working on it.

I had not anticipated MagKnits becoming unavailable, but it does offer me the chance to improve the pattern and the layout. In light of the error, and other enhancements that I plan to make, Summer Sky will be re-worked with improved instructions, charting and formatting, and tech editing (I am actively seeking a tech editor for a review once I have re-worked the pattern. I’ve made some inquiries, but if you know of anyone you can recommend or do any tech editing yourself, I would love to hear from you). Once complete, I will offer the updated pattern for sale. This will take some time, so I will keep you in the loop through updates here and on the pattern page in Ravelry.

Summer Sky was my first design, and my first pattern-writing experience, and I learned a lot. It’s not a difficult knit, but the pattern writing was challenging due to the different gauges, short rows, insets etc. (that’s what I get for choosing a rather ambitious idea to pursue for my first pattern! Like I said, I learned a lot). Now that I have slightly more pattern writing experience under my belt, I feel like there is room for improvement from the pattern as it was published in previously and that a rework is necessary for Summer Sky to be on par with the quality of Chrysalis and the PS Mitts patterns. I think this will make for a more knitter-friendly, enjoyable knit, and I will feel more comfortable making it available once again. I will keep you posted!

I’m very pleased, and so excited to say that my P.S. Mitts pattern is now available through The Sanguine Gryphon’s Etsy Shop!

**3/17/2008 - Edited to update pattern link above to Gryphon’s front page on Etsy - my apologies for the link to the sold out listing!! This one should work much better - Thank you GaussKnits for calling my attention to this!**

P.S. indeed, as it seems that spring has sprung here in North Carolina! I have it on good authority that it is still winter in many parts of the world though, and so perhaps this little pattern will be right on time for those of you who may still be in the mood for mitts!

As is the case with so many things, the pattern took me a fair bit longer than I had planned with calculating the additional sizes and the actual pattern writing, which I wanted to be as clear and informative as possible. Add to that some short winter days and rainy weekends and it took even longer to get some suitable pictures, but I am quite pleased with the time spent and the result! Gryphon’s yarn again is a huge draw (this is her Eidos merino sock yarn, in colorway Meno), it was the inspiration for the design, and the two-ended knitting shows it off to lovely advantage. I really enjoyed working in this technique - I have been exploring and researching it further and intend to do more with it in the future, the design possibilities range from simple and classic to innovative structures and geometric patterns - very, very cool.

As with Chrysalis, a tutorial and technique analysis will be forthcoming (There is a VERY brief intro to two-ended knitting here in the WIP post) - I intended to include more detail here but to do it justice, as with the pattern, I need a bit more time I’m afraid!

Oh yes, P.S!

Thank you to all who have so kindly inquired and given your thoughts, advice, etc. about our little man, thank you so very much for your thoughts and good energy. He continues to improve (exhale!), and there’s a update over at tadandmel.com.

And, my very talented husband has created a new video/photo splash page (best viewed with the music!), which may be best appreciated by family & old friends, but thought you may like to see it as well.

—————-
Now playing: eastmountainsouth - Winter
via FoxyTunes

Everyone, meet Sylvia!

Sylvia, this is…… Everyone!

She was a bit of an impulse - the need for a body double coupled with the not-flattering thought of myself wrapped in duct tape, added to a good buy equals a new friend for me! Sylvia was so dubbed by her former owner’s spouse -so Sylvia she will stay - She comes with excellent karma from the years she spent modeling for my spinning teacher. As a re-purchase, she nicely fits into the Wardrobe Refashion initiative and will be helpful with it to boot. She does need a little ah…. enhancement in some key areas to be a true double, however - but that too will be a fun “refashioning”!

There have been some tough times with our Little Man over the last couple of weeks, but as of now he is improving (mel emits a huge sigh of relief), and we’ve had a lovely weekend, spending QT with him and the Sweeter, enjoying some mild weather and looking ahead to the warmer months. We’ve been planning for this year’s garden:

And I’ve been imagining the colors and details of a summer project:

I hope that your weekend has been just as hopeful!
—————-
Now playing: Cloud Cult - Living on the Outside of Your Skin
via FoxyTunes

Who are coming to Local 506 in April - and somehow, the tickets are only $8. This is one of the most under-appreciated bands out there, IMO. Great music, lyrics, themes - and they’re out to make the world a better place. What’s not to love?

This is rather belated, but I have been wanting to take a time out to say thank you all so much for your positive feedback and comments on Chrysalis. I appreciate it more than I can say - it’s one thing to come up with a design that you yourself are happy with, but it’s quite another to hear positive feedback from other knitters! I understand that a few folks have purchased the pattern (and I’m so thrilled at the thought of seeing other Chrysalises - Chysali? - out there!) and this post is in an effort to offer some support to you as you knit or simply to provide a little technique study for those who might be interested.

But first, a little sidebar - If you have considered making this pattern, or if you just love Gryphon’s gorgeous yarns, this is a great time to purchase. Through February 20th, she is generously donating 50% of all yarn sales to help a family who desperately needs it. She has some gorgeous new colorways of Gaia, the fabulous cashmere/silk yarn used in the Chrysalis pattern. This one’s all mine - Moss on Bark. I love it every bit as much as the original and perhaps more!

So here goes - Two videos. Increasing and decreasing in Brioche Stitch as used in the wrap is not difficult, but is challenging to describe with the written word. I have done as clear a job as I can in the pattern, but it’s hard to tell how another knitter will interpret these instructions and you may read it differently. I am a visual learner myself - so for any others of you out there, here are guides to decreasing and increasing in Brioche Stitch. The videos do assume a basic knowledge of Brioche Stitch itself as described in the pattern, which will be discussed here in greater detail at a later date. (These are up on my YouTube page as well if you should have trouble viewing them here, however the picture quality is not as nice.) *

The first video below walks through decreasing in Brioche Stitch, and the second walks through increasing.

 

 Decreasing in Brioche Stitch: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Increasing in Brioche Stitch: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(*)Although I’d like to just throw these clips out there and pretend it was no big thing - it actually was! The videos themselves weren’t hard, but figuring out conversions from my camera format so you can see them here without degrading the picture to the point that it was not at all helpful was something - if I told you how much time I (and, let’s face it, TAD - my in house tech support, what a guy!) have spent on it, you’d probably shake your head and tell me exactly where I could have found the easy answer! Anyway, I’m so glad we figured it out because I enjoyed the video-making process itself, Midnight enjoyed doing some voice-overs, and though there are things I would change or do over now that I see them here, I hope that they are clear enough to be helpful. I also think it might be a nice study for the PS Mitts when the pattern is ready or for future projects. So, this is a long way of asking - What do you think? Helpful? Not? Did you have any trouble loading or viewing them?

—————-
Now playing: Garden State - Such Great Heights - Iron And Wine
via FoxyTunes

I’m pleased to announce that Chrysalis is now available for purchase at the Sanguine Gryphon’s Etsy Shop. Chrysalis is a versatile wrap that can be worn multiple ways dependent on your mood and your style. It is worked in a circular brioche rib, with a spiraling pattern providing visual and technical interest. This piece is worked in Gryphon’s gorgeous cashmere and silk yarn, Gaia, in the Turk’s Cap colorway.

Many thanks Gryphon, for your interest in my design, your kind support throughout the process and the enjoyment of working with such a lovely yarn - What a positive experience! Read more about my impressions of the yarn here.

I’m sure you can tell by my uncharacteristic brevity that I’m a bit at a loss for words…. Just very, very pleased!

*Some pictures used with permission (the ones that aren’t me - heh!) - copyright The Sanguine Gryphon. Click on the smaller photos to enlarge if you please.

My dear Sis gave me an old store-bought hat that she no long wears for my frogging pleasure:

That in and of itself was a very kind and thoughtful thing to do (Thanks Sis!). But… It’s cashmere. It’s so soft. What a wonderful surprise for a knitter! I suspected when examining the hat that the yarn might be doubled. But look closely my friends:

It’s tripled. I don’t think Tess could possible imagine my excitement upon this discovery (which included a fair bit of squealing. And some bouncing around. As if I weren’t already excited enough!) That means the 190 yards of worsted that I unraveled is actually 570 yards of cashmere laceweight. Hmmm…. the wheels are turning… Hands, Shoulders or Feet? Oh the possibilities! Doubled at 380 yards would make a lovely cozy pair of bed socks, leaving 190 yard of laceweight, perfect for a petite lace scarf (like the airy scarf from LMKG?). Or all of it at laceweight would make such a decadent shawl! What would you do with it? And… To dye or not to dye? My inclination is not to dye, mostly because I’ve never done it before and I’m scared of ruining this lovely yarn with an unfortunate color rendered by inexperienced hands. Tell me your ideas!

A couple more photos, as I tried in vain to capture the cloud-like softness (and the color - which by the way, is most fairly represented in the hat pictures above - a slightly tweedy oatmeal):

P.P.S I suffered from ADD on the title for this one, because I can’t even tell you which part makes me the happiest - some of the softest yarn I can imagine? The fact that I’m re-using & repurposing it? Or the fun of deciding what to do with it?!

P.S. I made Tess a felted keychain from the remaining Foliage leaves to say thank you. Even though on it’s own it’s quite sweet, somehow it doesn’t seem like a fair exchange, now does it? I’m not quite sure what would be an appropriate reciprocation for this, although I know that’s not what she’s looking for. Sis, you are the greatest, and I’ll take any used knits off your hands anytime

—————-
Now playing: Elbow - Scattered Black And Whites
via FoxyTunes

This has been a big week for projects - and for blog love - I can’t tell you all how much I appreciate all of your kind words and thoughts about my Chuck’s Cabled Socks! Finishing them made my day, but all your kind and positive responses truly made my week! There really is something neat about finishing a project you are proud of and hearing positive feedback on it from other knitters - who I get so much inspiration from every day on your blogs! THANK YOU so much for stopping by and letting me know if you liked them. I’m particularly excited to hear that there are more Chuck’s Socks that are about to or even may have already jumped onto the needles - I would love to see more of these, and I think you’ll love knitting them. Once they get going, they are such an enjoyable project - hmmm I hear it’s Socktoberfest, they might be the perfect project! In fact, I just came across another pair the other day, so for those of you who may want to see more - Check these out!! They are knit as written with the contrasting heel and are absolutely incredible - the color combination makes me swoon. Anyway, some more cable-y goodness for you - Enjoy!

Here’s one of the other September projects - a teaser of the Gryphon design. It is finished and you’ll hear more about it just as soon as the pattern becomes available! I’m very excited - it’s a rather simple item (though not without some challenges for those unfamiliar with the stitch pattern). This is a case where the yarn elevates the project, it’s wonderful stuff. I hope you’ll like it! This knit took me a bit longer than it probably should have, and that’s in part because my attention has been a little divided.

I finally see the value and enjoyment of having more than one item on the needles (or wheel!) at a time. That’s not to say that I don’t have some languishing or indefinitely shelved WIPs - I certainly am not immune to that. But in general, I tend to commit to one project until it’s done (or shelved, I get sick of it or I run out of yarn - in general!) But I have to admit, these last few weeks, it has been really nice having a couple different things going on. Chuck’s Socks stayed in the car or on the trail for the most part, which was great because I honestly was afraid to bring the Gryphon design out of the house. Afraid. It’s cashmere and silk. This is the nicest yarn I have ever worked with - and I am clumsy. I wouldn’t even eat around it - and eating occurs pretty much without regard to any other activity that happens to be going on here at any given time. That’s not to say that a few dog hairs haven’t been knit into it, but it has NOT been dropped in the dirt or on the floor of the coffeeshop. It hasn’t been spilled on, shut in the car door, snagged on a pen in my bag, or otherwise abused.

I’m not sure if Gryphon should be reading this. She may not have realized the type of person that she was sending her lovely yarn to! I was bored for a moment or two last week and took one of those quizzes - “How Gross are You?”, I think it was… Let’s just say I’m pretty gross. Don’t ask for the results, I’m not telling. Anyway, once Chuck’s were completed, I picked up Foliage by the talented Emilee for my car project (which lasted all of a couple of days - FO pics on the way!). If I needed a mental break from the design project, I could work on something else - and if the something else hit a snag, I’d put it back in the car and work on the design project. And it’s been so nice to have a spinning project going, so that if I needed a break from knitting altogether, there it was (not that I touched it once I started the Gryphon design, but still, there it was in case I felt urge!). Having other exciting projects waiting in the wings has been motivation to get to a certain point, or to finish a current project. My spinning project is waiting, as are the Festejakket (I wound yarn this weekend for swatching!) and Belle; I have handspun that wants to be used; a couple of WIPs waiting to be finished or resurrected (Bobble Blue & Vanille); and other projects are calling me too (ahem. Cinderella - look for info on a KAL soon!). Now I see how it’s possible to get SO many projects going at one time - they each suit a purpose or fill a current creative need. And if they don’t, well, those are the ones stuck in the bottom of my stash drawer that haven’t been touched in months!

So I’ve been doing a little spinning - my reward for finishing Chuck’s & the Gryphon design! I still have an ounce of the silk left, then a couple more ounces of the merino-tencel - yumm!

What projects are you excited about right now?