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Restingmotion

  • Regression

    Once upon a time I was a pretty good knitter.  I knitted a lot.  This has not been much in evidence of late.  I will admit that much of my knitting was done while travelling, when there was not much else demanding my attention.

    Lately I have accomplished less and my accomplishments have been hard won.  Every project seems to get ripped and re-knit.  I find this frustrating to no end.

    If you look at the picture of the blue scarf you will note many errors.  It is not wavy due to sloppy placement on the table, it is wavy due to sloppy knitting. 

    I am still entranced.  Lace knitting  is taking me longer.  I am still not completely comfortable with fine yarn and large needles.  Part of me thinks that big metal needles might be easier but I am afraid that all those loose floppy stitches might slip away.  A large wooden needle with a sharper point my be better.

    Meantime this is not a project for late night knitting when attention is not at its peak performance level.  But only late night knitting has been available of late.  The cuff of Rogue is suffering from the same lack of attention — once I get past the sleeve detail it will be mindless sailing.

    Perhaps it is time to return to the sock, or start a stockinette project for those days when the hands need knitting therapy and the mind needs rote repetition with little energy requirements.

  • Update

    Still no sewing but in my dreams.  Thank you for your patience, for sticking with me, if indeed anyone has.  I have thought about it.  I stated on Sewing World  that I would drill the holes in my countertop, install the hole grommets and hook up the sewing machines during the past week.  It has not been done.  Work got a little out of hand.  There is, in fact, still a big pile of it on my desk, at the moment sitting where a sewing machine should be.

    The house is coming back together though.  I have thought about hiding in my sewing room, shutting the door, playing with thread and fabric, and pretending the external chaos did not exist, but I have resisted that urge.  Sewing should be my refuge not a way of avoiding life.  I will appreciate the ability to sew so much more once a little more order has been maintained.

    Besides I want my workspace together; finally finished, ready to work and play. 

    My mind was preoccupied early in the week by the fear that the dust which has blanketed everything in our house had also penetrated the fabric stash.  These fears were unfounded.   The fabrics piled on the guest room bed, those that had been removed from the sewing room, had a light coating of dust, easily dealt with.  They have been restored and put away.  The fabric already in the fabric closet were fine.  The acid-free boxes in which they are stored were tight and the dust did not penetrate through the closet doors and the tightly fitting box lids.  I was greatly relieved.

    It has been nice to finally get all the fabric and yarn organized and put away.  I am very happy with the storage solutions I have come up with, some in the sewing room, some elsewhere, and feel I have achieved a happy balance between display and hidden storage.  Occasionally I get overwhelmed but the more I accomplish, the more I see how well this is working out and the happier I become at the prospect of the final outcome. 

    There will be pictures soon.

  • Soft is my new love

    And what of Rogue?  Abandoned for a new love, a lovely soft scarf of GGH Soft Kid.

    Bluescarf2

    Truth be told, this project was started while Rogue was itself unavailable — waiting for space on the cutting table to set up the blocking board and measure the sleeve length — unwilling to commit to another sleeve until we were sure the first was a good fit.  By then, by the time we knew it was a match well made, it was too late.  Soft kid had captured me.

    It was not an easy start.  The lure of the soft yarn was strong.  The pattern is simple, a printout distributed by Amazing Threads with purchase of the yarn.  Start up was a little rocky though.  I have knitted lace trims on sweaters in the form of edges on cardigans, decorative borders, even bits of firm cotton lace to adorn sewing projects, but this, this was something new.  I was not sure we were destined for each other.  Fine yarns on large needles seemed uncomfortable in the hands, the stitches twisted and turned, avoiding easy knitting.  This is definitely not a project to be knit in the dark in the car.

    And yet, once a few inches were completed, enough to see a pattern emerging, the charm of the work took over, the easy repetition of the pattern, the attention needed yields such lovely rewards.  Not mindless knitting this, yet totally entrancing.  I am hooked, sitting in my chair late at night churning out a few more rows.  Even tonight, falling asleep between rows, head lolling back on the strings of the hammock chair now rigged up in my fiber room, the enchantment remains strong.  I was at least awake enough to tink the last two rows, accounting for the dropped stitches just made, aware enough to stop and put the knitting aside until tomorrow.

    Rogue will return.  The thrill of a simple lace scarf has won my heart for now.

  • One and a half sleeves…

    Lest you think nothing has been done in my absence, Rogue is finally on the blocking board, although not yet completed.

    I present to you the body and one sleeve:

    Rogue3

    Please pardon the bowl head.

    Your really can’t see the detail on this photo, but better
    pictures will be forthcoming. 

    The first sleeve was an entertaining exercise in
    knitting. At first I just sailed right
    through it, at least until I got to the sleeve cap shaping. Luckily I was aware enough that day to look
    at the knitting on my lap and think that it looked too short. I did not have the body of the sweater with
    me and I did not remember how deep the armholes were, or how broad the
    shoulders, so it was somewhat difficult to guess. Still, the sleeve looked short. This, in itself, is an unusual
    occurrence. Although I am moderately
    tall at 5’9”, my arms and legs are not proportionate to my height. Legs are longer than average, an advantage
    truly, but short compared to the rest of me, and my arms, well they are pretty
    much average to short. Still that
    doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I
    often have to shorten sleeves on expensive RTW and lengthen them on the cheaper
    stuff. In sewing patterns the sleeves
    are usually long enough or too long. Knitting patterns are all over the map, some too short, some too long, rarely
    just right; generally though I have to shorten more than I have to lengthen.

    While I was waiting to compare the sleeve to the body of
    Rogue (I was not at home) I grew bored with sitting and staring at a pile of
    knitting on my lap on which no progress could be made, an actual improvement
    for me as there have been times when I would have thrown caution to the wind
    and knit on, hoping for the best outcome. Luckily I did have my Chibi needles so I thought I would turn up the
    sleeve hem. A good thing that. I had not been certain that I liked it as I
    knit and as I seamed my indecision was quickly resolved.

    Rip that sleeve and start over.

    This time I knitted a stockinette hem much as I did for the
    hem of Rogue, knitting slightly less than 2 inches and then picking up the cast
    on stitches and knitting them together to begin the first row of the body of
    the sleeve. Much nicer. No floppy hems or cuffs for me. Give me firm and close fitting sleeve ends
    whenever possible. 

    By the time I got back to the shaping the sleeve cap I had
    determined that I needed another two inches despite the decidedly low armscye
    on the body of Rogue. Then I needed
    another inch at the top of the sleeve cap to fill in the shoulder area. Yes my row gauge was the same as on the body
    of the sweater. At least it seems very
    similar, perhaps not similar enough. Row
    gauge has always been my downfall.

    When I finished the sleeve I basted the sleeve to the body
    to try on for fit before blocking and beginning the second sleeve. Success!!

    The second sleeve has been started and will be finished
    soon. Not soon enough however for there
    to be a high likelihood that this sweater will venture beyond my closet for the
    next six months.

     

     

  • Of beads and trims

    I finally decided what to do with trims and beads, the
    little things that had been cluttering up my cutting table for several
    days. Everything has been stowed away in
    a drawer of the under-table file cabinets:

    Trimstorage

     

    On the far right are the heavier textured and beaded
    trims. These gave me the most
    trouble. I had them rolled up or folded,
    tossed in a big plastic tub. Inevitably
    they would get tangled so I put them in Ziploc bags. But then I still had to sort through the
    whole tub to find anything. It occurred
    to me that I could make bobbins – larger versions of the little plastic things
    that embroidery floss is often stored on. It worked beautifully. I can see
    everything and I have lots of space for expansion (of course whether or not I
    need more trim is another question entirely).

    Here is a close-up:

    Trimbobbin2

     

    The wooden box in the middle of the drawer contains flat
    ribbons and lace trim. I don’t have a
    big collection of either so they fit easily in that small box. Again, there is lots of room for expansion,
    but I have not in the past, been a big lace or ribbon user. Of course these things could change at any
    time.

    Here are the ribbons:

    Ribbon

     

    On the left are two plastic sweater boxes, one holds
    feathers and fur trims and pieces, as well as some leather pieces for
    trim. The other holds belting, cording
    and similar items. No photos.

    I have accumulated a fair number of beads over the years, most of them for trimming garments, but a few just because I love them.  I suppose someday I will have to actually try and string something.  Meanwhile I love just looking at them.  Most of the beads are stored in small, tackle boxes made by Plano.  You can see them stacked on the shelf here:

    Beadstorage

    These boxes have adjustable inner compartments.  Each box is about 7 1/2 by 10 1/2 inches and can be divided into up to 36 compartments but mine aren’t divided up that small.  These are an older model, the new ones look different, and were originally meant for fishing lures.  I use them for a bunch of stuff such as storing sewing machine feet and the cams for my old Elna sewing machine, buckles and interesting decorative hook closures, and other small things that need to be kept together.

    Here are some of the beads in their boxes:

    Beads

    I also have a fair number of tiny beads, size 6,
    seed beads and a few delicas. They are
    too small for the tackle boxes and would make a mess. They are in plastic bags and jars in a drawer
    now, but I have ordered these storage tubes for sorting them out.

     

  • Weekend Progress…Not

    As usual I’m still not sewing and still haven’t plugged in
    the machines because I haven’t dragged the big drill up from the basement and
    haven’t denuded the shelf above the desk of its supposedly temporary contents.

    Friday evening was quiet. I knitted and we stared at the TV, both in a state of stunned silence
    having just gotten the new quote on the work to be done outside on the deck
    that ate Dutchess County.  You know what they say about figuring the
    cost for a construction job and then doubling it…well, you get the
    picture. I have never spent this kind of
    money on one thing in my life and G, well, the deck costs more than he paid for
    the house in 1978. Of course the house
    has appreciated substantially since then. We can easily understand that it is not just a deck, we are putting in a
    hidden under-deck electric pool cover system, which will make the pool much
    more useable as removing the pool cover now is a two person job. The pool is free form and about 3 feet from
    the house, if that, and substantial construction and excavation is required for
    installing the pool cover as well as a substantial increase in deck space. 

    Have I mentioned that our house is on the edge of a ledge or
    “cliff”? Really, it’s more of a steep
    slope and not a true cliff. Is there an
    official dividing line between steep slope and cliff? What percentage grade constitutes a
    cliff? If you can’t walk up or down it,
    does that mean it is a cliff even if it slopes rather than drops
    precipitously? Whatever we call it,
    half of the pool is now exposed on the edge of the cliff, and the exposed
    concrete is cracking and needs to be reinforced. 

    The status of the pool is what prompted this whole mess,
    along with a small 20 year old rotting deck, but it is the pool cover that has
    elevated it into mind-numbing territory. We’re not complaining; we both immediately saw that if we are going to
    live here and use the pool we have to put in the cover. G is 77, I have a bad back; pulling a big
    heavy cover on and off the pool is not going to be feasible in the future. There is no way to put in any kind of
    automatic cover without extending the deck over the cliff.

    Anyway I am glad I have a fabric stash. Eventually I will have time to sew it.

    Saturday was errand day and I finally finished cleaning the
    concrete dust out of the kitchen and dining room, floor to ceiling, including taking everything
    out of every cabinet and washing it. That fine concrete dust was everywhere. My kitchen has never been so clean.  The rest of the house awaits, dust is everywhere.  It is probably in my fabric too, I know it got into the clothes closets.  What a picnic that will be.

    Sunday was gardening day: I cleared out the front flower beds and applied a generous helping of
    compost and weed killer. I also planted
    pansies around the emerging tulips in the iris bed. Tulips and pansies will be pulled up in late
    May to be replaced with summer flowers. I spent hours and the beds look good but the yard as a whole is still
    mostly dormant and dreary.

    The labor that took the least time and provided the biggest
    thrill was the quick and stupid job of cutting “trim bobbins” from a leftover
    piece of ¼” MDF that was in the basement:

    Trimbobbin

     

    Silly to be thrilled by such a silly thing and a few minutes
    work. They sit here, waiting to be
    used. 

    I wrapped my flat ribbons around small cardboard “bobbins”
    and liked that method of sorting them in the box that I wondered if I could do
    something similar with the thicker trims. I measured the inside of the trim box and decided to try making “trim
    bobbins”. Later today I will wrap the
    trim and hopefully be able to file it by color and/or style of trim.

    Meanwhile, beads and trims are piled up all over the worktable.

  • Gardening day

    I spent most of the day in the garden and a glorious day it was. As usual I hoped to get more done than was actually accomplished but I tend to always think I can do more than I actually seem able to.

    I cleaned up the new stone bed under the kitchen window and topdressed with compost.  It is looking lovely now.  The coral bells are beautiful, the hyacinths are blooming and the daylillies are coming up as are the daffodils. 

    April2kitchenbedlengthwiseview

    Daffodils weren’t in the original plan but I had a few extra bulbs and space so I took advantable of the opportunity.    They had some beautiful and lush snapdragons at Adams when we went shopping on Saturday so i  bought them and planted them, knowing full well that it is too early.  That corner of the house is about 1 zone warmer than the rest of the property, but it is still likely that they won’t make it.  Still, for a few dollars I hope to get some pleasure out of having them there.

    April2kitchenbedwest

    Then I cleaned up the iris bed and planted a border of pansies around the tulips.  Both tulips and pansies will come out later in the spring to be replaced with summer annuals.

    April2irisbedpansies

  • Almost done

    It doesn’t quite look like it has always been there, but it is going to be pretty good:

    Cabinet

    A couple of doors and hardware still to go.  A little fiddling with the doors, which don’t quite line up right.

  • It’s Back!

    Stitcher’s Guild is back online!! Click the link on the sidebar.

    I’m buried in my own little version of renovation hell and will back as soon as I can clear the dust out of my eyes.

    Any good ideas on ways to store trims?  I haven’t found a solution I am happy with but that could be due to exhaustion and excessive inhalation of fine particulate matter (otherwise known as concrete dust).

  • VK Spring2006

    When I mentioned that the Knitters and the Vogue Knitting
    both came on the same day, I fully intended to write about both. But my exposition on Knitters grew too wordy,
    as is my wont and so Vogue Knitting got pushed aside. I had every intention of returning to it
    right away. But the call of the garden
    has been strong, and as usual, life has intervened.

    As opposed to the Knitters, I found the Vogue Knitting to be
    very interesting even though there are probably no more sweaters in this issue
    than I would actually knit than I found in the Knitters.

    I had mentioned that I am not going to keep my collection of
    Knitters Magazines. Not so Vogue Knitting,
    which will definitely grace my shelves for many years to come. I cannot imagine not having these magazines
    in my knitting room. I do love looking
    through past issues, and although my collection is not complete — I am missing
    a few of the early issues as I really wasn’t knitting then — I am quite
    attached to it, whether or not I knit sweaters from the issues. Vogue doesn’t really have good technical
    information all that often, but what I love about them is the way the combine
    knitting and fashion. Vogue Knitting of
    all the knitting magazines I have gotten, most consistently and successfully
    combines knitting and fashion. Most of
    the knitting magazines seem totally out of touch with the world of fashion,
    kind of existing in a yarn-market vacuum. That may not be a completely bad thing. Most of us wear the same pretty basic kinds of things most days and
    knitting magazines sometimes appeal to that.  Fashion sometimes does silly
    things, and yet I still find fashion endlessly fascinating and I love flipping
    through the pages of Vogue Knitting. I sometimes wish that the knitting
    magazines showed more work inspired by the more interesting things one can find
    in the market. The eternal compromise
    seems to be how to blend art and craft with fashion, style, and taste and still sell magazines (and advertising space).

    Back to Vogue Knitting:

    This issue, Spring/Summer 2006, was interesting and
    entertaining. There are several sweaters
    I think are cute and nice. Unfortunately, a lot of the sweaters I find darling are just that,
    darling. I don’t do darling very well,
    or feminine, romantic or flirty – looks heavily represented in this issue. I can and do mix a little ethnic, boho,
    sporty or dramatic in with fairly classic basics, I am not exactly a purely classic
    kind of girl either but definitely not the feminine frilly type. I am more Armani than Ungaro. Throw in a bit of Gaultier, Yves Saint
    Laurent (the original), Ralph Rucci and a touch of Dries Van Noten and Issey
    Miyake and I would be in style heaven, or at least that is how I imagine
    myself. I don’t think I actually pull
    that off, more suburban matron if truth be told.

    Now I love Ungaro’s combinations of color and texture. I love some of the clothes but they aren’t
    me. This issue is kind of like an Ungaro
    collection, not style-wise, but because there are lots of things I love but
    they aren’t me. Still it is entertaining
    and feeds my fantasy life, if not my knitting life.

    But what would I knit?

    Vk2006romewrap_2Korspop_1


    Vks06rivera1sm_1

     

    I guess boring is just my middle name. 

    And Yves Saint Laurent? He occasionally threw feminine looks in the mix, but they were so
    combined with strict tailoring that frilly and girly rarely come to mind. I love the soft tailoring of Armani but I
    sometimes miss the hard tailoring of Yves Saint Laurent and Gaultier.  When I was younger that hard sharp tailoring fit well to my body, now that I am softer with more fluff, soft tailoring is nice.  I still miss the lines and angles though.