First Year of Retirement = Lots of Distractions

My first full year of retirement is coming to a close. I retired on December 15 last year. It's been such a full year, I wonder how I managed to ever work full time!

Hiding in the sunflowers

In April, Pat and I became foster parents to my grandson. It is a temporary situation while we help him get his study habits under control, but I anticipate having him for about a year. However, that meant at the age of 60, I became an instant parent of a pre-teen.

My grandson has been a great help around here. If you flip over to my Bungalow Blues blog you will see photos of him helping with the garden, both the growing and the processing of our crops. (http://grannytilla.blogspot.com)

Dressed for Game Day

Besides becoming a "farmer", he has taken to sports. I got in a lot of knitting while going to baseball practice and watching games. It was a bit harder to knit at the football games, but I was there for all the home games. Most of his basketball games have seemed to be on the road. My knitting is in my purse. When there is a home game, I

'm ready!
In September, Pat and I agreed to get a divorce. It was a surprise to me, but the grandson and I will muddle along without him. Pat has returned to Oregon. It sure shortens my Christmas knitting list. One decision removes a husband, two kids and five grandkids from my shopping list.

Joe and Lisa's wedding day

On a happier note, my son and his fiance were married in October. Since they couldn't afford the big church wedding they wanted, they opted for a fun wedding instead. They were married on Halloween and all the guests came in costume. The groom came as Herman Munster. His bride was Lily Munster. They are posing with niece Lala, who came as Wednesday Addams. Her brother was Pugsley.

Now it is November. We have already had the first snow of the year, on November 16. (Does that mean 16 snows this winter?) I have several knitting projects lined up. The south bedroom will soon become my hobby room, complete with sewing machine, serger, and all those boxes of fabric. I can see a cozy winter ahead.

I do wonder where all that free time went that I was supposed to have upon retirement. As I look back over the year, I've been too busy to even KNIT. That's just not right!

How to Knit a Chihuahua Sweater

Have you ever wanted to knit a dog sweater? The lady who posted the pattern at https://web.archive.org/web/20170119230054/http:/www.redlipstick.net/knit/chihswe.html gives us a great basic pattern. She wrote it for her chihuahua, but it can be adapted to any size dog.

I've made two of these so far, and plan to make a couple more before Christmas. Two of my daughters have dachshunds. They shiver even in August!


The best part of this pattern is that it is totally adaptable. The pattern as written is plain stockinette. The first change I made was to give it a garter stitch border to keep the edges from rolling. The second sweater I made had a cable pattern across the back. It's amazing how nice that looked!

Hm... what will I do with the next ones?

2022 update: And now the pattern is not longer available at that website! Why didn't I save a copy somewhere????  

FOUND IT at web.archive.org!

 In August, 1999, I lost my best canine friend Wylie to heart disease. He was an incredible dog, we always thought he was a very large dog trapped in a 9 lb. body. He had an exquisitely pronounced personality, and a very gentle nature. This sweater was inspired by, and designed for him. At one point he had 12 of them in all kinds of stitches, colors, styles and fibers.

He wore them with pride and a cocky attitude.

This is a basic pattern, open to creative interpretation. After you've knit one or two, you'll understand how to incorporate texture and colorwork. The pattern can be used for any size dog, male or female.

For those of you interested in the results of Wylie's one day love life, here's a glimpse of the consequences of his hot date with the beautiful and bewitching Diva in Spring of 1996.

-- GLAMOUR ALERT -- One of the offspring has forsaken the ordinary life for one of snapping flashbulbs and beautiful people, first class trips to Paris and Milan, and all of the fluffy purple angora sweaters a 10 pound girl could need.

The Friends of Wylie Chihuahua Sweater Gallery has opened!
...If you'd like to add your dog-in-a-sweater picture here, email it to me. Digital pictures are fine, however, if you have no access to a scanner, you can send it to me snailmail (contact me to arrange), and I'll scan it for you. Please include the names of both the knitter and the lucky dog. Thanks.

MATERIALS:

(1) sizes 5 and 7 knitting needles.

(2) Worsted wool, about 4 ounces.

LET'S GO:

(3) Measure your pet's neck. I usually use a size 5 or 6 needle for a tightly knit ribbing (not too tight!). Wylie's neck is 10", and I cast on, loosely, 40 or 42 stitches.

(4) Knit 1x1, or 2x2 ribbing for 3" for a mock neck, or 6" or 7" for a turtleneck.

(5) Change to a size 7 needle, and commence in the stitch of your choice. After you've knit one or two of these, you can see how easy it is to add cables, colorwork, or other texture stitches in this back area. For the first one, let's knit in my favorite basic stitch, garter. That is, knit every row! Can't beat it for simplicity , stability, and rustic good looks.

(6) Measure the animal's back length, that is, from the back of his neck, just above the shoulder, to the top of his tail. That's how long you will knit straight, in garter stitch. That's right!, No shaping yet! When you have reached 2" short of the correct length, switch to size 5 needles, and knit 2" of the same rib you used for the neck. In garter stitch, this isn't really necessary, but looks good, and if you use another stitch, it keeps the edge from curling. If you used another stitch, you should also have knit the first 4 stitches of every row, to keep the side edges from curling. BInd off.

(7) Now, we will knit the chest piece. Using the size 5 needles, cast on 3 stitches. You will increase 2 stitches every other row, until you reach the width comparable to the distance between your pets front legs. You should increase 1 stitch 2 stitches from each edge. The magic thing about this, is that is usually exactly the length you need to cover that tiny chest. It's really amazing! Now: for a male, knit straight until you get to 1" shorter that where the ribcage stops, and add 1" of ribbing, bind off. For a female, you can knit as long as the body of the sweater, to cover her bald little stomach. (ending with 2" of ribbing, just like the back.) Bind off. The reason I usually knit this piece on the smaller needles, is, it has a tendency to get wet in the snow, and stretch. A slightly smaller gauge helps. If your not using garter stitch, knit the first 4 stitches of every row.

FINISHING:

(8) Seam the neck ribbing, remembering to seam halfway, and switch to the inside, if you've made a turtleneck. Now, place the point of the chest piece at the bottom of the neck rib seam, and sew a seam down both sides, until you get to the point where you stopped increasing. Leave a slit for the front legs there, about 2" long, and continue the princess seams down each side. Tuck in your loose ends, wash and block carefully.

COMMENTS:

Don't forget to experiment with your favorite stitches. I highly recommend using natural fibers like wool, alpaca or cashmere.

Happy Knitting!

©1995-2007 Staceyjoy Elkin, all rights reserved. Permission for electronic duplication of this pattern is granted with the limitation that this entire notice remain intact. This pattern may not be reproduced in hard copy, with the exception of personal use, or for profit without my written permission.

Advice for Beginning Knitters

I posted the following message to one of the knitting lists I read. A woman who learned to knit as a child was returning to knitting and wanted some pointers. This note is one spot where I put together everything I usually tell beginners. It's worth posting here, as well.

Knitting is a great way to keep your hands busy. I got back into it a few years ago when I was dieting. Can't do mindless eating when you have two sticks in your hands. :)

Since you are refreshing dormant skills, start with something basic. Don't be too hard on yourself if there are mistakes at the beginning. Frogging (Rip-it! Rip-it! ) and Tinking (Knit spelled backwards which refers to unknitting stitches one at a time) are a very real part of knitting.

I'd suggest a simple garter stitch scarf. I start beginners with size 15 needles, worsted weight yarn of their choice, and have them cast on about 20-25 stitches depending upon how wide they want the scarves. Garter stitch is created by knitting every row. By the time you have a five or six foot scarf, you will have the mechanics of tension and stitch creation under control. Your second scarf can be a k2, p2 rib to let you practice the purl stitch. After that, check some online sites, such as Lion Brand's website ( http://www.lionbrand.com/ ) or www.knittingpatterncentral.com to find new projects to create. The Lion Brand site rates their patterns by difficulty. I'm sure you will find other sites that do the same.

Two mnemonics my grandkids use to remember stitch formation are these ditties:

Knit stitch:

In through the front door,
Run around the back;
Out the window,
Off jumps Jack.

Purl stitch:

Under the fence,
Catch a sheep,
Back we come,
Off we leap.

A note on needles: metal and fiber (bamboo, wood, etc.) needles each have their purposes. Fiber needles work well with slippery yarns because they grab them better than metal. Metal, on the other hand, lets rougher yarns slip off the needles easily. My beginners usually like to start with short, size 15 bamboo needles because they feel good in their hands. It's part of the tactile experience of knitting. You should pick the needles that you like. Many experienced knitters only use circular needles, even on flat project. I prefer circulars when I'm traveling. I can't loose a needle if I drop it. (I can guarantee I will drop a needle at the most awkward moment, in the most crowded situation.)

Another note on yarn: don't work with too cheap yarn. After you put hours of work into a project, you don't want it wasted on a yarn that doesn't hold your stitches well, or that is scratchy and uncomfortable to work or wear. My mother made me a pull-on vest when she was a beginning knitter. She worked too tightly (it's a common problem with beginners) and she literally stretched all the spring out of the yarn. The vest couldn't stretch enough to go over my head and shoulder! I was never able to wear it. We always felt half the problem was her too-tight stitches and the other half was cheap yarn that didn't have a lot of memory. (Memory is the quality that lets yarn spring back after stretching.) Your work is worth decent yarn.

By the same token, don’t be a yarn snob. Every yarn has its purpose. Some folks who start knitting with the “good yarns” such as wools, wool-blends, and other animal fibers, decide they are too good to knit with acrylic or plant fiber yarns. The animal fiber yarns are lovely to touch and work up beautifully, but they require special care and they cause some people to itch. Don't forget to look at the other yarns. Suit the yarn to your project.

If you are making a baby blanket that will be washed constantly or a hat for a rough and tumble child, acrylic is a far better choice. Acrylics and other synthetic fibers can be made to feel like animal fibers, but the are wash and wear. Many of your fun furs, ribbon yarns, and other specialty yarns will only be available in some sort of man-made fiber. If you don't use man-made fiber, you will never have the joy of making items from these yarns. Lower priced acrylics often feel scratchier than those that are more expensive. The oils and sizing used in the processing of the yarn will generally wash out over time and the product will become softer, but that doesn’t help your hands while you are making it. Touch your yarns and see which ones feel better right now. After all, you are going to be handling this yarn a lot while creating your project.

Plant fibers don't have the spring that animal fibers have, but they are cooler, they wick moisture and they breathe better. A summer tank top or a kitchen dishcloth is far better made from plant fiber (cotton, linen, bamboo, etc.) than from wool. If you want to make socks or something that needs the springiness of animal fiber, but you want to make it from a plant fiber, look for a blend that has some elastic in it. The elastic will help your socks keep their shape.

You can check further on my blog for hints and directions for doing the thumb cast on (a variation of the long-tail cast on) and other helps for beginners.

Happy Knitting!

Summer of Distractions

I am proud of Reyes. He has gone from a couch potato to a real kid this summer. He played summer baseball; has gone swimming nearly everyday; and started weight-training to prepare to football in the fall. He has firmed up, lost a bit of weight (about 10 lbs.) and is a happier kid. He helps me with the garden and has been a real help with the houseful of kids this week. Guess living with Grandpa and Grandma is good for him. :)

I haven't been knitting a lot, except when we are on the road. I have a pair of tabi socks about 1/2 finished. During Reyes' baseball season I worked on the llama-wool sweater (until it got too warm to work with wool.) I have put it away till cooler weather.

Then I started a string bag. It's in the bottom of one of my knitting baskets. I vaguely remember something about needing to frog a bit because I couldn't watch baseball and keep track of the pattern. (Oops!) Guess I'll get back to that one later as well. The socks are better when I am distracted. I'm in the section that is all stockinette for 8 inches.

It's been a busy summer. I am canning or freezing something from the garden every day. This picture shows just ONE DAY'S produce! I managed to "put by" all but the tomatoes that day, and turned them into sauce the next day. Since I have just planted peas and salad greens for a fall garden, the garden will be with us for quite a while yet. (For more on the garden, see my other blog: http://grannytilla.blogspot.com). I want to sew, but have no idea when I'll get time to do it. I really need to get started because school starts in 2 weeks and Reyes needs school clothes.

This week Pat, JJ, and Ashley have gone to Florida to check on Ashley's inheritance after her father was killed. I am watching Kayleigh and Emily while they are gone. Jen expected to be working, so I have Lala, also. Reyes, of course, lives here, so there are 4 grandkids to feed, watch, and entertain along with the other projects. I wish I were twins.... I would like to have a time to let Kayleigh sew a blouse. She is like Lala and loves to sew. Both of them have toy sewing machines that have been a big disappointment. Getting to use a real machine should be much better. Oh, well, you can see I found a way to keep the kids busy. When they weren't at the swimming pool, they helped me process garden produce. This was the day we made ketchup.

There are so many things I want to do and can't get started: refinish a few pieces of furniture; strip and repaint the stained glass window from the front room; transplant the irises, peonies and lilies from the front flower bed; the list goes on. Hm... I am going to be very ready for winter and a lot of quiet knitting time. Just writing this posting is making me tired.

Go, Lala! She Makes Her First Dress

Didn't Lala do a good job on her first big sewing project? She did 80% of the sewing on this dress. As she puts it, "Grandma did the hard parts."

Several years ago, when Lala was six, Uncle Robert gave her a toy sewing machine. Neither Jen nor I thought she was ready for it, so it stayed in the Christmas paper until recently. Lala has been watching her mother sew this Spring and she wanted to sew, too.

Out came the toy machine. Immediate frustration! It wouldn't work right. Stitches broke. It couldn't handle two thicknesses of fabric to sew a doll dress. The experience was horrible.

Her last bad experience was at my house around Easter time. We were making scrunchies for her hair. The toy machine couldn't even handle that simple a project. Remembering the advice "Don't start a beginner with inferior tools. It can kill the desire to learn," I gave Lala a REAL sewing machine -- my old Singer Merritt zigzag machine. She was overwhelmed! It was so big; so fast! It was really hers? She wasn't sure she wanted to sew with it, yet, so she decided it would continue to live at Grandma's house.

Fast forward to her visit this month. She has continued to try to sew with the toy machine at her Mom's but is totally disgusted with it. Now she's ready to use HER machine. I had some pink calico left over from a nightgown I made her. She picked the pattern and I cut out a summer dress for her. She was expecting me to make the dress, but I pulled out the Singer, and said, "Okay, Lala. You're going to make this dress." Her jaw dropped; her eyes got big. She had never made anything larger than a pillow before.

The dress was a Simplicity pattern. We read the instructions step by step and she did most of the work. I did the tricky things, like sewing the bodice lining and inserting the zipper. She and I both laid the hem using the built-in hem-stitch. Lala loved it. She's ready to make something else next week. Well, Hancock's Fabric has a 99 cent pattern sale going on. Perhaps we can go to Lawrence to the fabric store tomorrow...

World Wide Knit in Public Day, June 13

Several KansasKnitters met at Whimsical Wool yarn store in LaHarpe on June 13 to Knit in Public. We combined KIP Day with our KansasKnits picnic. Elizabeth was kind enough to offer her shop for us to meet.

We had planned to have a picnic in the grassy area north of her building, but the day was cloudy, cool and a bit damp, so we made ourselves at home inside. The company was pleasant, the shop was cozy; later we had a small feast and ate ourselves silly. It should be KIP Day every Saturday!

Knitting German

When I was learning to knit all of the books taught you how to "knit American" which is the throw method of knitting. The yarn is carried in your right hand. Many of the older knitters in our community "knitted German" carrying the yarn in their left hands much as it is carried for crochet. "Knitting German" is now called "Knitting Continental."

It seems during one of the World Wars the name got changed out of patriotism, like the failed effort to change the name of French Fries after 9/11. Well, my dog is still a German Shepherd, not an Alsatian, and I still knit German when I carry the yarn in my left hand. I think Great-Grandma Yeager would approve. :) (Hm... I wonder if she knitted? I never got to meet her.)

I know how to knit with both methods, but I use the American method most often. I use the German method when I am two color knitting or double knitting. I will carry the dominate color in my right hand and the secondary color in my left hand. Lately I've been hearing that the German method is used for speed knitting. There are so many things I'd like to make, it would be great to knit faster!

It is pretty easy to form the knit stitches, but the purl stitches slow me down. When I complained about this on one of my chat lists, the members suggested I learn the Norwegian purl. This looks better! I haven't mastered it yet, but I think I'm going to like it.

Here are the Knittinghelp.com links for both knit and purl for German and American knitting. (If you haven't found knittinghelp.com, BOOKMARK THIS SITE! It's wonderful!)

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knit-stitch
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/purl-stitch

Lion Brand Flattering Knit Jacket, Mom's White Sweater and Hurricane Carla

Flattering Jacket from Lion Brand

Since I talked about my finished object, I'll add a note about my on-going project -- the Lion Brand Knitted Flattering Jacket. It's working up nicely with the Montero yarn. I'm about 1/3 of the way up the back. The stitches are more pronounced than they would be with Homespun. I'll need to check gauge again when the section is a bit bigger. The gauge seems right, but the stitches look tighter than I remember the Homespun working when I tried this before.

I started this pattern about eight years ago in the crocheted version, using the recommended Lion Brand yarn in "Denim." I crocheted the back and the left side of the pattern, but could never wrap my mind around reversing the left side instructions to create the right side. It just didn't work out. I ended up frogging the entire sweater and making a Basket Weave Afghan for Reyes. He loves it and still has it on his bed. At least the yarn wasn't wasted.

But I still really like the look of that sweater. When I was a kid, Mom spent nearly a year crocheting a white sweater. It was sewn together but never worn when Dad took a "road job" with Navion, in Galveston, Texas in 1960. (Dad was a tool-and-die maker who did contract work in the aircraft industry. Our home base was in Kansas, but the whole family might travel out of state for periods of time when he had a "road job.") Here is the whole family posing before the palm tree in our front yard. I'm the short one. :)

That fall, Hurricane Carla (a level 5 storm) was heading straight for Galveston. The neighbors told us that our house was high enough that we shouldn't worry about water getting too deep. If we put the important stuff up higher than, say 12", we should be fine. Mom put all of our clothes, including the white sweater, in the moving trunks that we always used. She tucked other valuables inside -- Dad's guns, any breakables she didn't want to lose, that sort of thing, and stacked the trunks on top the kitchen table. Since most of our possessions were still in Kansas, she didn't have a lot of things to rescue from the water. There was no furniture in the house that we were concerned about losing. The "good stuff" was in Kansas.

Carla went in at Port Aransas, south of the Island, but it was the worst storm to hit Galveston since 1900. In today's parlance, it was equal to Hurricane Katrina. A young weatherman on one of the Houston stations did a master's effort keeping everyone informed and reporting the story of the storm. (CBS was impressed enough with his work to put him on national TV. He's still around. His name is Dan Rather.)

Dan Rather and the Weather Bureau told folks to evacuate and we believed him. We went west toward Austin, but danged if the Hurricane didn't follow us. We were in a building in a state park when the eye of the storm when right over our heads. The storm veered north and played havoc with weather systems clear to Canada for a goodly time afterward. We worked our way back to Pearland, Texas and stayed with friends until people were allowed back on the Island.

Houses tossed into a jumble by Hurricane Carla

The devastation was mind-blowing. They had taken bulldozers and pushed debris off the streets to allow cars to move. The piles that lined the boulevard as we got off the causeway were as tall as a building. Boards, mud, pieces of furniture, toys -- everything was caught in those piles. One-ton concrete benches that were bolted to the seawall had been ripped loose and tossed across a six lane road. Many houses were destroyed or totally gone. Murdock's Bath House, a landmark from the turn of the century, didn't survive. The Pleasure Pier with its drive-in theater over the water would never be the same. The picture posted here shows houses that sat on the beach below the seawall. They were picked up and tossed together like abandoned toys. The City was under martial law. We lived on the airport which had been a World War II military base. Armed National Guardsmen manned the gates just like in the war years and we had to prove we lived there to get inside.

The seawall held and none of the direct water from the storm reached our house, but Offat's Bayou backed up and got us from the rear. We had three feet of water in the house. When Dad opened the front door the kidney-shaped vanity from my room and my accordion were crumpled in the mud. It looked like they were trying to get out. The moving trunks that held all our clothes and important things had floated around the kitchen and the sheet rock was dissolved from the walls as high as the water had stood. Dad told us to watch out for snakes and be careful as we started cleaning up.

The snakes worried me. I was twelve and from rural Kansas, but I didn't like snakes. That first night, I pulled my camp cot into my brother's room and tried to coax his dog onto the cot with me. My dog was already curled against my legs. I don't know how fourteen-year-old Skip or his dog Dixie could have saved me from a snake in the night, but I was sure they would do it.

Dad and Skip grabbed shovels and started pushing the mud out of the house. Mom and I rummaged through the muck to salvage anything that could be cleaned. It took weeks. When Mom got to the trunks, the guns had rusted all over the clothes. The white sweater was ruined. She boiled it on the stove with Rit Color Remover. The fiber didn't felt, but it stretched badly. However, the rust went away.

I LOVED THAT SWEATER! It stretched to tunic length, had great boxy pockets and was warm enough to wear as a jacket. I grabbed it and wore it all through high school. I don't know why I didn't take it off to college with me. Mom, on the other hand, saw the sweater as a failure. She took it to Goodwill when my back was turned. Whimper.

So now, 40-some years later, I'm going to replace that sweater come Hell or High Water. It looked much like the Lion Brand Flattering Jacket. (If I ever find Mom's crochet pattern in her stash, I'll post the picture to this blog entry.) Since I didn't get the crocheted version of the Lion Brand sweater to work, I'm back to it with the knitted version. I'm using llama-wool yarn called Montera that is wonderful to touch. I just want to snuggle it! I purchased it at the Emporia Fiber Fest from Ann O'Neil. From her stash to mine...

Since Spring has arrived, I haven't done much knitting at home. Most of my knitting has been done in the car when we are running errands. I've found a bag big enough to carry the sweater, so it may become my traveling project. I'd really like to be able to wear it this fall. Hm... Reyes has all those baseball practices and ball games coming up... KNITTING TIME!!

First FO Since Starting the New Blog

I have finished the Cascade Fixation socks that I made from the Socks a la Carte book. I like the pattern and I like making them ankle length, but I'm not so certain I like the busy-ness of the colorway. It looked so lovely on the skein. :(

The next socks are ready to go on my needles. They come from Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. The pattern is called Sheri's Posies Socks.

When Pat and I were in Olathe Monday we stopped at Knit Wit. Being my first time to go to the store, I didn't know they were closed on Monday. :( Fortunately one of the owners was there. She let me in and sold me some Happy yarn by Wendy. (Wonder if it's the same Wendy? It appears to be an English? or at least European yarn.) The yarn is called Aquarius and is 75% bamboo, 25% nylon.

The hand of this yarn is more like the merino sock yarn I used to make socks for Reyes. The Cascade yarn, being cotton, is far denser and not as soft to the touch. I believe I'll enjoy this pair even more than the Cascade socks when they are finished. The swatch I made to check gauge let me see how the colorway tracks. It a lot less daunting than the turquoise in the Cascade yarn. That's good. I'm not certain what I'll be able to wear with the other socks!

A Whole Lot of KIPping Goin' On

Our 12-yr.-old grandson is living with us for a while, which means I'm the one who takes him to this meeting, that meeting, doctor's appointments, and baseball practice. I've created an On The Go Bag just for these trips. It's a beach bag with the following inside: two yarn projects, my day planner, wallet, cell phone and room for stray comic books, caps, or other mysterious items that appear. (Sorry. No frogs. No snakes or slimy things.)

Thanks to all the knitting time I've finished several dishcloths (restocked my stash, yeah!) and have about six more rows to go to have the socks finished. If I'm brave, I may toss the sweater I'm working on in the bag next. :)

It's nice to get projects finished in weeks, not months!

Iris Knits

I'm moving my blog. The Iris Knits blog has been posted on Yahoo, but it frustrates me that I can't add extra pictures to a blog. It's a bit traumatic. The Yahoo blog was my very first blog! I've been with it since 2006.

Hm... wonder if I can repost the entire blog here? I'll do some experimenting.

Yes -- it can be done, but I have to move each posting individually. I've started moving posts from the 2006 beginning of the first blog and will get them all here in the fullness of time.

If you want to see the old blog, it's http://360.yahoo.com/tilla2

Easter and Grandma Iris' Boutique

At Christmas, I gave the Kansas grandkids gift certificates from "Grandma Iris' Boutique." Each child got 2 certificates, one for a knitted hat or scarf, and the other for one outfit. Ashley traded her clothing certificate for a trip to Merle Norman.

Reyes and Lala got their fabric first. I took Kayleigh and Emily to the fabric store last Saturday and found their fabric. It's a good thing Pat traded a camera to Steve for his late Mom's serger. I'm going to be a busy woman now! Lala's outfit was the first one I made. I finished it in time for Easter. I'm not certain who will be next. Reyes could use more pants, but the outfits for the girls are so-o-o-o cute! Hm...

I was trying to get a shot of Lala's full Easter outfit but Joe started pestering her. The next thing I knew, everyone was in the shot.

We had a houseful for Easter. There were about 14 people here. (That's getting to be the standard number.) I'm glad we have a big living room and lots of folding chairs! Pat barbecued hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwurst outside on the grill. We had the usual fixings -- baked beans, mac n cheese, jello, chips, dip. The hit of the day, however were the fresh strawberries and chocolate that Jennie brought. Gonna have to remember that when our strawberry bed starts producing.

Sock Love

I have a new love -- socks! Nothing fits me as well as handmade socks. My feet aren't happy with store made socks anymore. I would have come to this awareness sooner but the first eight pairs of socks that I made were all given to my grandchildren and my husband. I didn't make a pair for myself until January. I hate to part with them long enough to wash them. However there are members of the household who do let me know when it's needed.

I developed my own toe-up design because I couldn't figure out the patterns that I found. Now I'm brave enough to convert top down patterns to toe-up. Wow! Jo told me I could do this. (Jo and Carmen from KansasKnits are my mentors.)

I may have another mentor. The book Socks a la Carte by Jonnelle Raffino is wonderful. It lets you mix and match patterns to get the socks you want. I am presently making the Short Row Heel/Round Toe foot, Eyes on You body, and Peek-O cuff. That's only the beginning. I have so many other combinations that I want to try.

I have just finished five Spirit hats for my Kansas grandkids. The hats are quite easy to make -- there are only about 40 rows in a hat. I can make one in about four uninterrupted hours. Yeah -- as if that is going to happen!

I'm sharing the pattern in case others would like to make hats for themselves or a family member. I apologize for not being able to include a sample of the graphing of the letters. There are some limitations to blogs. If you use it, please recognize me as the developer of the pattern.

School Spirit Hat


This might be a good project for beginning knitters. It gives practice with the knit and purl stitches and introduces Knit2Together decrease, knitting in the round, and Two-Color knitting. If creating words seems too advanced, the 5 rows of lettering could be changed to a solid band of Secondary color.

Any washable worsted weight yarn may be used for the hat. Red Heart works up stiff but softens a bit after washing. It will have a more defined shape that some other yarns. My favorite, Lion Brand Wool-Ease, is soft from the beginning and makes a hat that can be jammed into a coat pocket or worn with pride. Check your stash. You may have yarn on hand that will work.

Equipment needed:

• 16” Size 8 circular needles

• 1 set Size 8 double pointed needles

• 1 stitch marker that will fit size 8 needles

• 1 yarn needle

• ¼ inch grid graph paper

• Pencil

Yarn needed:

Worsted weight, any washable yarn:

• About ½ skein Primary color,

• About ¼ skein Secondary color

Step 1: Planning lettering

Using the graph paper, sketch out the letters that you will need for your hat. If either the school mascot or the person’s name is long, you may have to use some creative abbreviations to get everything to fit within 72 spaces. Remember you will need 3 spaces between Go and the Mascot name and at least 4 or 5 spaces between the “Go Phrase” and the person’s name as well as 4 or 5 spaces after the person's name.

Some mascot names may be too long to squeeze into 72 spaces if you include the wearer’s name as well. Experiment with the graph paper to see if you need to shorten “Wildcats” to “Cats” or just use the mascot and omit the person’s name. (“Go Trailblazers” would probably fill the entire hat.) Do try to include the person’s name. If an entire group of people – such as a pep club or a sewing class – wears identical hats, it will be hard to recognize your own if it gets misplaced.

I used block letters 5 stitches high to shape the letters. Most letters were 3 stitches wide (A, C, L, E, etc.) Some letters need more space to shape them: G, M, N. Y, but nothing required more than 5 spaces in width.

Directions for Hat:

Cast on 72 stitches with Primary color. Being careful not to twist the stitches, insert stitch marker between the stitch 72 and stitch 1 and knit in stitch 1 to join the circle. Weave in the long tail from the cast on as you knit or later (your choice.)

Rounds 1-8: *K2, P2* ribbing to form cuff.

Rounds 9-16: Knit each row.

Rounds 17-21: Two color knitting

Following the graph you created for your lettering, pick up Secondary color and knit the letters with the Secondary Color and the spaces with the Primary color. Carry the second color behind the one being used; catch it every 3-4 stitches so it doesn’t cause the back side of the fabric to become a snarled nest of yarn. When Round 21 is finished and all letters have been formed, cut Secondary yarn leaving a long tail. Carry the tail, catching it behind the primary color, for at least 3 inches to secure it completely.

Rounds 22-30: Knit each row.

First Decrease round: Round 30: Knit first two stitches together (K2t), knit 10 stitches, K2t, Knit 9 stitches, K2t, Knit 9 stitches, K2t, Knit 9 stitches. There will be seven decrease sections. These will form a pie shape wedge as you taper toward the top of the hat.

Round 31: Knit around.

Repeat rows Round 30 and 31, reducing one stitch between the decreases each row. For example: Round 32: K2t, knit 9, K2t, knit 8, K2t, knit 8, K2t, knit 9, K2t, knit 8, K2t, knit 8, K2t, knit 8. :

Round 34: K2t, knit 8, K2t, knit 7, K2t, knit 7, K2t, knit 8, K2t, knit 7, K2t, knit 7, K2t, knit 7, etc.

Continue in pattern until the last round is: K2t, knit 1, K2t, K2t, K2t, knit 1, K2t, K2t, K2t.

(This assumes you are knitting with 4 dpn.) When it becomes uncomfortable using the circular needles, switch to the double point needles (dpn). Insert the first double point at the beginning of a decrease. Put two sets of decreases on the first and second needles and three sets of decreases on the third needle. Use the free double point to knit from the ones carrying stitches.

After the last round, cut the yarn leaving a long tail. Thread the needle with the tail yarn and thread it through the stitches on the needles. Remove each needle after the stitches are on the yarn. Pull up the drawstring to tighten circle at the top of the hat, slip the yarn needle through to the back and tie off the yarn. Leave a short tail (about ½”) so it doesn’t unravel, and enjoy the hat!

Machine washing the hat will help even out stitches and soften the yarn. If you have a wig stand, let the hat dry on the stand to shape it to your head. (That’s nice, but not required.)

Tricks for Two-Color Knitting

Carrying yarn: I carry the color that is being used the most (dominant yarn) in my right hand, knitting American, and carry the second color (carried yarn) in my left hand, knitting Continental. This allows me to catch the “carried yarn” behind a knit stitch periodically. I do this by laying the second color over the top of my knitting needle, throw the yarn with my right hand to form the knit stitch, then the draw the dominate yarn through the loop. The carried yarn stays behind the fabric, but is caught in the knitting so it can’t be pulled loose. This technique may also be used to weave in tails from casting on or joining yarn.

Switching hands: If you have a run of carried yarn that is more than 4 stitches long, switch the hands that carry the yarn. If blue yarn has been the dominant yarn and gold the carried yarn, put gold in the right hand and blue in the left. This lets you continue to catch the carried yarn every 2-3 stitches. It makes for a neater backside to your work and prevents loose threads that may catch on something.

Need more help for knitting with circular needles or Continental or American knitting? Check out http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/advanced-techniques (circular needles) or http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knit-stitch (Continental and American knitting).

Copyright 2009 Iris Jones

Lining the Drawstring Bag

I mentioned my drawstring bag pattern to someone on a list I read. One of the readers asked how I would line it. Here is my answer. By the way, the bag in the picture is the small bag I made first. I used my medium sized bag as the "guinea pig" when I developed these instructions.

You wouldn't need denim for the lining, but you will need a woven fabric that won't stretch. I'd use a closely woven fabric that I liked. If I wanted it a little slippery, I'd buy dress lining fabric. If I want it more casual, I'd chose a sturdy cotton. The biggest requirement would be to have a dense enough woven fabric that needles don't poke through. Even muslin would work. (Do you have any old sheets you'd like to re-engineer into a purse?)

I haven't tried this yet, but here's how I'd create the lining:

1. First remember the formula for determining the circumference of a circle is pi (3.14) x diameter. If the base of your bag is 7" across, you multiple that times 3.14 to get 21.98. Round up to the nearest inch to get 22 inches. Add another inch for seam allowance (23" is how wide your fabric needs to be.)

2. Now measure the height of the bag. My bag is 10.5 inches tall. I will need 1 1/2" for seam allowance and hem, so the height of the lining needs to be 12".

3. Cut a rectangle the height and width that you have determined. Mine is 12"x23".

4. Cut a circle 1" larger than the base of your bag. My base is 7" across, so my circle needs to be 8" across. This allows a 1/2" seam allowance all around.

5. Make a 1" hem on the top of the rectangle. (Fold the fabric 1/2" deep twice, then sew.)

6. Now -- do you want the drawstring to go through the lining as well as the fabric? If so, measure your knitting to see how far apart each eyelet is. Measure how far down the eyelets of your knitting are from the top. Mark dots on your fabric to identify the location of each eyelet. Make a small buttonhole (about 3/8") at each mark. Cut them open.

7. Right sides together, make a 1/2" seam to turn the rectangle into a cylinder.

8. Baste the bottom of the rectangle just outside the seam allowance -- say 3/8" in from the edge. Leave long tails on the basting thread. With right sides together, pin the rectangle to the circle, easing the basting thread to make the rectangle fit.
9. Sew in place.

10. With both the lining right side out and the knitted bag right side out, tuck the lining inside the bag, lining up the tops of each so the buttonholes and eyelets are in line with each other.

11. Sew the top of the lining to the top of the knit bag.

12. Thread the drawstring through bag and lining. If you see a need, tack the lining to the bag along the base seam in a few places.

Here's a Great Blog for Knitting Questions

I joined a Sock Knitting group recently. (ColinSocksKAL) When I complained that I have never been able to master the Kitchener stitch, one of the members put me on to this blog.

http://techknitting.blogspot.com/

What a wonderful blog! Everything is clearly illustrated and explained. We should all bookmark it for future reference.

Hat for Michelle's Baby

Jennie's best friend from junior high and high school is due to have her first baby this month. It's a girl. Who knows? She may even be born on the same day as one of Jen's two children. Reyes' birthday is Mar. 15 and Lala is Mar. 16.

I've knit a hat for the baby. It's from pink baby yarn that was in my stash. The label is long gone, but I'm sure it is a machine washable acrylic. I don't buy anything else for babies.

I started the hat on a road trip between hither and yon. It was going to be booties, but the gauge was off. Not having a pattern and feeling the need to knit, I cast on 100 stitches, joined them in a circle and let the yarn tell me what it wanted to be.

It wanted to be a soft cable knit stocking hat. I made it large because winter is nearly over in Texas. It should fit next winter when the baby is a toddler and be with her for several seasons.

Heartbreaking

Pat just tried on the finished Oregon Vest.

It's way too small.

I made it to gauge; I thought I was using the right type of yarn, and I made the size for his chest size, but it is way too small. It's probably going to be a vest for one of the grandkids. It certainly won't fit an adult, and it may not fit Reyes.

It's not fair!!!

Oh, well. I've still got the pattern. I'll try again later. AFTER I do the sweater coat for me. I'm not ready to start this one again at this time.

Next Project Is About To Be Started

I know what I will make next. I have always wanted to make a sweater coat. Lion Brand has a pattern called Homespun Flattering Jacket. It comes in both a knitted and a crocheted version.

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chs-flatteringJacket.html
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/khs-flatteringJacket.html

I tried making the crocheted version when I was in Texas and got bogged down on the directions for the second side panel. I could not get my mind around what they were telling me. I intend to knit the pattern this time. I will do both side panels at the same time on a large circular needle. That way everything should come out even. (Well, the concept almost worked with Pat's vest...)

I'm still stash-busting with this project. Sort 0f. The Homespun I purchased for the first effort turned into an basketweave afghan I gave my grandson. (He still keeps it on his bed). However, I purchased some llama/wool blend from Ann O'Neill at the Emporia Fiber Fest. It's a lovely blue -- a little more blue than teal. It is also wonderful to touch and so far Furball hasn't noticed that it isn't my usual yarn. (Furby wants to live in the alpaca yarn I bought. I have to hide it from her.)

You ask how can I be stash-busting if I bought this yarn a few weeks ago? Well, I'm busting Ann O'Neill's stash!

Now -- to get those last seams finished on Pat's vest so I can get started on this!

Giant Straight Pins

I'm finishing the seams on Pat's Oat Couture "Oregon Vest." I'm very proud that I'm FINISHING SOMETHING that was bigger than 1 skein of yarn.

When I did the left side last night, it was late and I was too lazy to go looking for the right tools to hold the fabric together as I worked the seam. Did you know a knitting needle is a great, over-sized straight pin? I was crocheting the seams together, so the needles that I used to make the vest were just laying there. They held the pieces together, they didn't hurt the yarn, and one needle could "baste" an entire seam prior to stitching it.

I think I'm onto something here!!

Nearly Finished with Oregon Vest

I've nearly finished Pat's vest. Finally. I started it before we left Texas in 2006. When we got here I decided Homespun wasn't the yarn for this pattern, so I frogged the Homespun and put it back in my stash. Months later, while in Lawrence, I found some Bulky Wool-Ease by Lion Brand that seemed perfect for the pattern. I was distracted regularly, so it took about a year to get all three sections made. Whimper! When I went to put it together, each section was a different length! I threw it back in the bottom of the knitting basket and focused on all those socks I had promised the grandkids. Nine or ten months later, I was ready to frog the vest and get back to work. This time I took a page from my sock making: I knitted the left front and the right front at the same time on one large circular needle. What a simple solution! Now all of the sections are the same length! I did find I got confused at some point and knit only on one side and nothing on the other. Fortunately this was after all the decreases and pattern changes had been done. I'm only adding length to reach 23" on each front now. It's time to take them off the circulars and finish each front piece individually. Then -- put them together, finish the collar, add the zipper and it's done!!! I can hardly wait -- I already know what I want to do next.

What, No Dish Cloths?

How did this happen? Making dish cloths is one of my favorite "no brainer" projects. The other day, I went to the dish cloth/tea towel drawer in the kitchen and there wasn't a dish cloth to be found! Have Brownies been here? I found a few in the clothes dryer (affectionately dubbed "the other bureau"). Still -- I used to have so many dish cloths they attacked when you opened the drawer. Looks like it's time to take the socks out of my purse and insert cotton yarn. I'm on a mission to restock! And it lets me stash-bust a few balls of cotton yarn, too. Pat and I drove to Stark, KS today to find an upholsterer who could fix the bucket seat of his pickup. I rode along because he had never been to Stark, and I had been there thanks to library functions in the next town over, Savonburg. (You see, Savonburg is too small to have any eateries, so we would go to Murphy's Merchantile in Stark for sandwiches after visiting the Savonburg library. Ah, the hidden benefits of being a regional library consultant!) We took the long way (via Burlington) so it was about an 80 mile drive out and a 65 mile drive back. I nearly made an entire dish cloth while we traveled. Since we seem to run around a lot (and no place is closer than 45-60 min. away), and since Pat rarely lets me drive, I should get restocked on dish cloths in no time. By the way, if you are trying to get to the dishcloth pattern, click on the highlighted link "Grandma's Dishcloth" in the tag cloud.

Mom's Crocheted Shell Edging

The edging above was my Mom's old standby. She used it to put an edging on pillowcases or a handkerchief, even a shawl. I use a variation of it to edge baby blankets made from the Grandma's Dishcloth pattern posted elsewhere on this blog.

If the edging will be on fabric, such as a pillowcase, you will need to lay a foundation row of single crochet around the edge of the fabric. If your crochet hook is too dull to punch through the fabric, use a darning needle to start the opening. Space the stitches evenly. You will want a total number divisible by 5.

Definitions of abbreviations:
sl -- slip stitch
sc -- single crochet
dc -- double crochet
ch -- chain stitch

Openwork foundation:

1st row: * Ch 5. Skip four stitches. Sc in next stitch.* Repeat between ** to end. Adjust stitches at the end to accommodate the pattern. End with sc where first Ch 5 began.
2nd row: Sl 2 *ch5, sc in center of 5-st. chain. ch5* Repeat between ** to end. End with sc at base of first ch5.

Repeat row 2 three to five times, then finish with one of the Shell Rows. The sample used 3 repeats of row 2 and the Ruffled Shell row.

Ruffled shell row: ch3, dc 4 in first sc, ch 1, sc in center of 5-st. chain, *ch1, dc5 in sc, ch1, sc in center of 5-st.chain* Repeat to end.

OR

Flat shell row: ch3, dc 4 in first sc, ch 1, sc in center of 5-st. chain, *ch1, dc5 in center of next 5-st. chain, ch1, sc in center of 5-st.chain* Repeat to end.


If you want a picot in the center of your shell, use this pattern for the shell part:

Picot shell: ch1, dc3, ch 3, sl last chain to loop of last dc (picot is formed), dc3, ch1

Snowflake Detail of Hat

I am pleased how the snowflake worked out on the top of this hat. I graphed the long ends, but didn't really think about how the decreases would look. I placed the decreases to fall at the center of the long and short arms of the snowflake. I love the way the swirl adds an extra dimension to the snowflake.

Fortunately-Unfortunately Hat

It's done! Above is a picture of the Fortunately-Unfortunately, as well as the At Last They Are All Mine Socks that match it. Right after this photo was snapped, I had the Bright Idea to wash the hat and put it back on the mannequin. Perhaps the hat would stretch while it was being blocked.

The technique seems to be working. The hat is dry now, but I haven't taken it off the wig stand yet to try it on my head. I'm afraid it will still be too small for me. I'll try it -- tomorrow -- at Tara. Fortunately/Unfortunately Hat.

Fortunately there was nearly a skein of sock yarn left over to make a hat.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to finish the hat.
Fortunately, I visited Whimsical Wool and Elizabeth found me a white merino to use with the blue-green hand-dyed yarn.
Unfortunately, I had 2/3 of the hat finished and the snowflake design I imagined wasn't working into the crown of the cap as I wanted.
Fortunately, I don't mind frogging.
Unfortunately, I can't count. -- The new snowflake border didn't work, either.
Fortunately, I have graph paper. Several sheets of paper later, I have the border and the big snowflake for the crown graphed so it comes out even. I knit merrily away over the weekend. The hat goes everywhere with me.
Unfortunately, we were traveling when I finished the green section and I didn't have any scissors to cut the yarn to finish with white.
Fortunately, Pat has his handy-dandy Coffey County Library pocket knife that includes a pair of scissors.
Unfortunately, I'm not finished, so I can't tell you how this saga ends, but I'm doing the decreases on the crown and it's looking good. [I finished it at 4:00 AM Thurs. morning. What else do you do when you wake up to go to the Juan and can't get back to sleep?]

AND Fortunately there is enough green left to put a tassle on the top! [The tassle looked wimpy. I removed it.]

Unfortunately -- I'm afraid the hat is knit too tightly to fit any person in the family. Oh, well. Maybe there will be more grandkids -- someday. I can save it for them. [Blocking was the key! I washed the hat and left it on the wig head to dry. When I took it off, it fit! Now my hat will match my socks.]

Pleasant Day at Whimsical Wool in LaHarpe, Kansas

My daughter, Jennie, and granddaughter, Lala, and I spent the afternoon today with fellow KansasKnitter Elizabeth at her yarn shop Whimsical Wool in LaHarpe. She has a neat little store that's cozy and inviting. She's starting small, and is only open 3 days a week, but if you are around LaHarpe on Tues., Thurs., or Saturday, you should stop in and visit.

Remember all my talking about discovering drop spindle spinning? Elizabeth invited me to the store to teach me how to use my new spindle. Boy, does she know her stuff! I can't begin to tell you all she taught us but it sure had my interest. Not only does Elizabeth understand spinning, she's up on spinning history. Like me, she isn't a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, but we both find elements of the group intriguing. (For me it's costuming, crafting and creating a persona that is interesting. I have no desire to wear armor or joust.)

Elizabeth showed us how to work the roving and stretch it to get a thread going, then how to work the spindle to spin it. I had expected my spinning to be as thick as worsted wool. She explained that what we were spinning was just one ply of the final yarn. Individual plys are put together to build yarn. Different weights of yarn have different numbers of plys. Ah! The light dawns.

Lala began talking about Sleeping Beauty and the spinning wheel, so Elizabeth showed her a real spinning wheel and how it worked. She also showed Lala a different wheel used for making fine yarn, such as cotton or silk. This wheel had a needle spindle, such as the one in the fairy tale. Lala touched it very carefully and agreed that would be sharp enough to prick the princess' finger.

I know this is the Year of the Stash, but I had to buy some yarn. Being a good girl, I started making a hat to use up the sock yarn left over from my latest pair of socks. I did use up the yarn -- before the hat was finished. So that was a valid reason to buy enough yarn to finish the hat, right?

So now I have a new interest (spinning) and a fantasy of raising angora rabbits (don't have space for sheep) so I can grow my own yarn. Hm... no, Pat has sworn he doesn't do rabbits... Maybe I should perfect the spinning before I worry about a source of fiber...

Shawl Stick

I found a neat goody Saturday at the Settler's Farm yarn store in Wamego. It's called a Shawl Stick. The stick I bought is about six inches long, and tapered to a dull point. The thickest part of the barrel is about the size of a #10 knitting needle. There are decorative turned knobs on top. Other sticks that were for sale were flat with scrolled decorations on top. The possibilities for decoration are endless.
Why is it a neat goody? It keeps my shawl on my shoulders! I love my shawls but never wear them very long because they slip off one side or the other. The stick works like cloak pin. It slides through some of the decorative openings in the knit or crochet and secures the shawl around me. I even took a nap with my shawl on and nothing came loose. It was great!

I can really enjoy my shawls now.

Wamego Oz Museum

Many of my KansasKnitters friends who went to the Wamego Wool Fest also zipped over to Manhattan to pay homage at the Wildflowers yarn store. We didn't. After a leisurely lunch at the Friendship Restaurant with Carol and Carla, two of my long standing friends, Lisa, Lala and I toured the Wool Fest and the Settler's Farm yarn shop, then we took in the Oz Museum. The minute we arrived in town L
ala had declared she wanted to go there. We kept our promise that we would see it before we left.

It's a cool little museum. There was a lot more stuff to see than I anticipated. There are life-sized replicas of the characters from the Oz film and a lot of movie memorabilia as well as copies of the book in various editions, English and other languages, as well as Oz spin-offs such as dolls and games. I never knew there was an Oz version of Monopoly! Lala wanted to take home the Glenda the Good Witch doll. It was at least 20" high and fully costumed as Glenda. I'm glad there was a glass case around it or my doll lover would have been checking it out up close and personal.

We asked Lala which was her favorite character. She couldn't decide, so I took her picture with all of them. She likes Dorothy and the ruby slippers (the slippers on display had hundreds of rhinestones handset on them), Tinman, Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow, but she decided the Wicked Witch was scary. The Wizard was temporarily unavailable (or hiding behind the curtains) so we didn't get a picture with him.

Ever since seeing the Oz movie as a child, I have wondered how they got the flying monkeys to fly. I couldn't decide if the monkeys were real people in costume or models. Sometimes they looked one way, sometimes another, but the transition was seamless and it was hard to tell what I was seeing. This was especially true when I was watching on a small screen and was wearing glasses with old prescription lenses.

The mystery is solved! The Wamego museum has two of the last surviving four miniature monkeys used to film the flying scenes. The figures are about four inches high and appear to be made of clay. They are modeled and painted to look like the actors who dressed as monkeys. The flying was done as some version of claymation.

A video clip discussed other movie animation tricks. There were several techniques invented for this movie. It had some of the most intensive special effects of its time, the Star Wars of its day. The video clip was discussing how the tornado scene was done. The funnel cloud was created by making a gauze funnel and attaching the top to a runner across the top of a sound stage while the base was on wheels on the floor. This allowed special effects men to operate top and bottom independently while the film crew got shots of it long distance and coming straight at you. The flying debris was added via blue screen later.

The visit to the museum was enjoyable. Lala just had to have her own Toto from the gift shop. On the drive home she sat in the backseat happily playing with Toto and singing Oz songs.

Yarn crawl, grandkids, a good museum. It was a good day. I'm going to have to take Lala to Sedan next. They have a Yellow Brick Road.