purlsandmurmers

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?

 

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.

Knitters present, and a word about the past

The spring Vogue Knitting and Knitters arrived on the same day last week, in fact the same day as the April Vogue and Bazaar as well. Given the cornucopia of browsing materials and the craziness of my current schedule, I managed to hide the two knitting magazines for a couple of days before settling down to peruse the offerings.

Aside from always reading Perri Klass’s article, the Knitters really did not have much to offer. I have decided that I do not need to save all my back issues of Knitters and they have been removed from the sewing/fiber room and set aside to be either weeded of patterns and discarded, sold, or given away. It was a hard decision but I have been faced with too many things in my room and they have become a yoke around my neck. It is not that there are not sweaters I would knit, more that I am feeling oppressed by the amount of STUFF I have accumulated over the years, and I need to reduce the clutter down to that which I truly love. Knitters did not make the cut even though I was rather fond of the magazine during the 5 or so years that Nancy Thomas was the editor. I think it has become much less interesting under its new editorship. The one good thing is that I have noticed very few drop shoulder sweaters since Rick Mondragon became editor, which doesn’t surprise me having taken a class he taught many years ago about how to convert any sweater pattern to a set in sleeve, or at least modified drop shoulder, and the less than flattering comments he made about the ubiquity of drop-shouldered sweaters.

There were some nice basic sweaters in the mix, many knittable, wearable, perfectly nice sweaters. There were a couple of sweaters that I liked except that the big ugly three letter word cropped up; you know the one, BUT… Do I need to elucidate further? I like the sweater but I think the yarn is crap and the sweater is designed for this multi-colored yarn and doing it in something else will require calculation and math. I like another sweater but the neckline is too wide and the collar is too floppy, the sweater needs more shaping too, especially in a cotton yarn. .. I could go on but will refrain.

Still, there were a couple of sweaters that I would knit, including this one:

 

Cross Country is a nice basic casual shape that I would wear a lot. It has set in sleeves and some shaping. I like the nice wide ribbing and the zipper front. I like the slight shaping at the waist. I also admit that part of what attracts me to the sweater is the color combination in which it shown. I really like these colors; the body in a color I love and can wear next to my face combined with colors that I also love but which are not really so flattering for me. I am always looking for way to combine colors in ways that make favorite unwearable colors fit into the wardrobe. I have a fair number of basic garments in these ginger and paprika colors that I am always blending in with my lavenders, violets, and blues.

 

This cable and lace hoodie from Elizabeth Lavold has also caught my interest, although not as strongly as the cardigan (but what can say that is at least partly a color thing).  This is a drop shoulder sweater, not my usual favorite but there are some designs for which it is entirely appropriate. Looking at the positioning of the cables however, I could probably adapt this for a little more shaping through the armscye, which I might like even better, although looking at the schematic, this does not look particularly broad through the shoulders, so it might work just fine as it is. One thing I do like about Elizabeth Lavold’s patterns, at least the ones I have made, is that they are usually fairly narrow through the neck opening, something I prefer, as far too many knitting patterns are too wide through the neck for me. Even as her sizes go up, the neck stays pretty close fitting and small. 

The cardigan is a wear everywhere kind of garment and the hoodie, for me at least, is the kind of sweater I would wear to snuggle up on the deck, by the pool, in the yard, or on the beach on a slightly coolish day. I see myself in the early morning traipsing around the garden looking at my flowers, cup of coffee in hand in this sweater. Gee, that image alone is enough to get me to knit this sweater.

 

Green

Its always spring in the new sewing/fiber room!

Late to bed and early to rise...No that's backward isn't it?

There has not always been a lot of knitting going on here.  Several other items have taken up my time and hands.  Last night however I was determined to finish the body of Rogue so I could start the sleeves soon.  It is not that I am ready to be done with this project, because I love knitting it, but more that I am feeling an urge to get on with it, to feel the wool in my hands again, to just sit and enjoy the stitches.

I did finish the knitting of the hood and got started with the grafting:

It went well, but I was tired.  I kept losing my chain of thought.  "Did I take one or both stitches off the needle?"  I would ask.  Recount.  Repeat process.  This leads to very slow work and grafting, although really not that difficult does require a modicum of attention. 

At 1:30 I called it quits and crawled peacefully under the covers, snuggling myself under the down comforter.  We call this Spring?

At 5:00 AM I bolted awake, dreaming of painting and grafting, filled with an urge to finish one step or part of somethng.  The birds weren't even up yet.  This was not part of the plan.

Progress??

There is no visible progress on Rogue.  I have been knitting late at night when I am mentally and physically exhausted.  One knows one should not be knitting when says to one self "these instructions are strange, there should be more decreases for the hood to curve over the top of the head", but instead of doing the intelligent thing and looking at the directions, one knits on, oblivious to the fact that  reality is about to come crashing down.

Rip I did.  I am near the end of the hood.  Hood completion and grafting tomorrow or Monday.  Then sleeves.  Since the weather can't seem to decide if it is spring or winter, there may be hope that I will wear this yet; if not it will greet me next fall.

In the meantime I will show you a sampling of the new storage area:

Silk Garden Scarf

Pattern: Wavy Scarves from Knitters Magazine # 69, Winter 2002.
Yarn:Noro Silk Garden, color 230

I love this scarf and its variations and I have made many versions in the past few years. I especially love making it in hand-dyed and variegated yarns, especially Noro.

This scarf is meant to be a gift or donation. It was intended for a child, to be added to my donation box for next winter, as this winter’s contributions have long since left the house. I admittedly bought the two skeins of silk garden used here, a bit of an extravagance for a scarf to be donated to unfortunate children, but a lovely indulgence for the knitter. I love the colors of Noro. Yarn Swift always seems to have a tempting array of Noro colors when I walk in, candy for this knitter. 

This color combination is not one I could easily wear, at least not close to my face, but I still love the colors.  I can certainly indulge in knitting it for someone else. A $20 purchase of yarn for a scarf to be donated to inner city children is more than many would spend and may be excessive.  The color may not what most children would chose, but on that I am no judge.  Is $20 too much to spend for the privelege of spending 7 to 8 hours of pure pleasure knitting an interesting pattern in a yarn whose color changes bring me unexpected joy?  I didn't think so.  I do think I am much too easily pleased.

Weekend Knitting

There is no sunshine today, just rain and more rain. A halogen bulb and fig tree will have to do for props.

Most of this was done on the train to and from NYC on Friday. There was very little done on the weekend, which was highly stressful and, thankfully, done with. The scarf is about 2/3 done; 2/3 of that was done on Friday, the other third in a couple of hours of insomnia very early this morning. Today is filled with gym, work, and more contractor visits, but I have high hopes of finishing this scarf as well.

A trip down memory lane

As I, ever so slowly it seems, move things back into my sewing/fiber room I am taking the opportunity to sort through the various accumulated possessions that have accumulated over the years. After this is my chance to really take stock and determine what is just useless clutter and what is truly loved.

As part of this process I have been looking through my magazine collections. Below is the first cable sweater I knit, from Knitters #4 in the spring of 1986. I wasn’t subscribing then and it was a few more years before my collection of Knitters becomes consistent. I think this was my third or fourth sweater.

I used the yarn called for in the pattern, I was still too nervous about substitutions and I knit the smallest size, for a 36 inch bust and a supposed finished size of 38 inches. At that time, when I sill weighed 125 pounds on my 5’9” frame, I was much closer to a 32 inch bust and it was hard to find sweater patterns to fit. Luckily, being tall and lanky, oversized boxy sweaters were actually quite flattering, and the 80’s were the age of boxy sweaters. I still look good in a long straight silhouette, despite being a good bit heavier. I thought the extra bulk would be flattering just as boxy long sweaters were flattering – I was rather partial to loose oversized long sweaters and leggings and I had the legs and height to pull them off. It wasn’t flattering, and thus continued my education.

Unfortunately the sweater looked like the sweater in the picture in terms of cable pattern, but it did not drape off my shoulders as nicely as on the model. The sleeves came straight out like cardboard and the sweater was very thick and heavy. I felt like a samurai every time I wore it. It was also much too big in the waist and stuck out in back because I hadn’t yet figured out how to take in the back waist while I knitted without destroying the pattern. But I knit it to go with a favorite skirt, a Geiger wool challis skirt in a mustard background with a forest like scene in shades of olive, teal, and chestnut. The vest was mustard to match the background of the skirt and I would wear it with a teal silk charmeuse blouse. Until I came up with another jacket to tie the pieces together this vest had to do. 

Eventually I gave up; the vest did not look good and did not improve as I gained weight with middle age even though it was large enough that it still fit. It went to a local consignment shop and I actually saw someone walking down the street wearing it once, so I hope it found a happy home. It looked much better on its second owner than it did on me, but what did I know when I knit this? I was still learning.

Most of the sweaters in this issue of Knitters look rather dated today, but I am still fond of this vest. Perhaps I am just fond of the memories that have been resurrected. Memories alone are enough.

Your Mission...should you chooes to accept it

Yesterday started out looking like a lost cause in terms of getting on with my own projects, there was much business and a constant influx and outflux of contractors discussing plans, delays, new plans, and start dates.  By about 1 PM I had everyone out of the house, including the masons I had expected this week, but will who will now becoming in another two to three weeks, when the weather is warmer and they can break through the roof.

After a week of constantly interlacing my own projects with interruptions, demands, and expectations of others I was ready to embrace the peace and quiet.  I brewed a pot of coffee, put on some music, and sat, alone except for the cat, knitting away on Rogue.  What relief.

I only got about 2 hours of knitting before the demands of "real life" filtered through to my consciousness but they were 2 hours well spent.  I am now about half way through the hood, finished with the increase rows but not yet to the decrease rows.  It was good that I spent that time knitting, good for my peace of mind anyway as well as progress on Rogue,  as knitting group was somehow more of a distraction this week than a relief and I kept loosing track of my cables and my position in the chart, despite good records and row counts.  I think it may have been because our normal seating arrangement was somehow upset and I ended up sitting by the loudest and most talkative member of the group, we are usually on opposite ends of the table, but it was more likely that my brain was just addled, despite my earlier respite, and my mind was more easily swayed.

I gave up on Rogue near the end and picked up the pink sock instead.  I was near the end and finished the leg of the sock, just before the picot edge, before group ended.

I was determined to finish the sock last night and did manage, after dinner and clean-up duty, finishing up about 11:30, just in time for a little pre-bed relaxation therapy outside in the hot-tub.

Here is the sock in the light of day.  In the end, I went back to plain stockinette, right side (knit side) out.

I love the short-row heel; this or the after-thought heel will probably be my standard techniques as I am finding them very adaptable for fitting my narrow heels.  I also like the picot edge, which might be easier as a starting point than an ending point. I suppose it is a question of sewing the hem down or picking up and the cast on row and knitting continuously.  They are equivalent in my mind.  The jury is still out on toe-up v. top-down but I think I could go either way; the initial cast-on seemed fiddly, but it will probably get easier with time.  I don't see how they go faster or slower or any difference in the knitting either direction.  I seem to like the leg about the same length as the actual fooot between toe and heel.

So, I have learned that I don't mind plain old stockinette socks, stockinette is very relaxing and calming, and there are times when my fngers want to work and let my brain take a rest.  Short-row or afterthought heels and picot edge seem to be givens.  I really don't like ribbed tops on socks, and I don't like particularly long socks, I like them to end just about two inches above my ankle bone, right at the narrowest part of my leg.  Socks with ribbed cuffs must be long enough to fold down, probably dorky of me, but I always liked ribbed cuffs folded over and doubled.

Technically the pink sock is a trifle too long.  I forgot to include the 5 rows of stockinette I added to the picot edge in my total row count, knitting to the desired length before adding the hem stitches. This can be easily remedied in the future.  I suspect I would like a slightly thicker edge too, perhaps 7 rows instead of 5.

Good Things

A good book, Rogue, and a new sewing/knitting/fiber room.  All making slow but sure progress.

Rogue needs to be seamed at the shoulders after which I can start knitting the hood, but the last couple of evenings simple stockingette has been about the extent of my knitting ability and desires.

A last minute decision to paper the blue wall has resulted in my having to virtually rebuild the whole thing, old wobbly paneling which was not attached to the studs or to anything much, replaced with a firm solid, smooth, wall to which the paper can be attached.  There seems however to be a sandpaper famine here at the purling house which means work is suspended til morning.  Even I, inspired by visions of new space, am not driven to go to Home Depot at dusk in the snow; it can wait til morning. 

Which is to say that there may actually be time and energy for knitting tonight; although by the time I get everything cleaned up, including myself  as I feel like a permanent layer of sawdust and gypsum dust and what-ever-else-have-you has embedded itself in my skin and hair, stockinette may once again be the course of the evening.  Simply to knit is enough.