back home from the slopes February 5, 2010

Freezing rain results.

Winter Driving

We’ve slithered back from Quebec, having eventually made it onto the ski slopes. We had to wait a day extra for conditions to improve, but we did actually have a few inches of fresh snow on one day. It’s fun skiing in Quebec; I still find it delightful that simply by driving and not leaving one’s own country, one can wind up in an entirely Francophone world. At one place you can order your Timmy’s (Tim Horton’s is a famous Canadian coffee chain) in English and at the next you have to dredge up long-buried rudimentary French. I feel quite ashamed of my lack of linguistic skill, and I really need to stay longer, as I’m just getting over my shyness and making a stab at it by the time we have to leave.

I have made the discovery of a wonderful, new-to-me knitting aid that I had previously not considered. One aspect of long distance road travel that I enjoy is that my husband likes to drive and I am thus free to knit for many hours. My modest contribution to the transportation stage is the responsibility to navigate any tricky bits (such as Quebec City at twilight in the snow). Now I do love maps, charts and atlases (being formerly a navigator at sea), but the tricky snap questions, such as “Left or right?” always seem to leap out at me suddenly after 1000+ straight kms (lulling me into a relaxed state). I also seem to lack any intuitive sense of direction! And, somehow, these vital decisions are usually required at the most intricate part of a double-knit heel. This is stressful, believe me. Unexpected road convolutions, multiple lanes and which lane to be in, all difficult to predict ahead of time!  So prior to driving through Montreal, for example, I arrange my various maps (on top of all the needles, yarn and notes), gear myself up in preparation, and put down my knitting and concentrate. It’s the least I can do to help. But, guess what: I have just been replaced by a GPS! Yay!

I appreciate the full range of benefits: I can still look at maps if I wish, but from the perspective of an interested spectator, not as a white-knuckle co-pilot. This adds hours of relaxed knitting time whilst Buddy not only determines the route but tells us which lane to be in. An additional advantage, hitherto unconsidered, is that when unable to ski due to inclement weather, the address of a yarn shop may easily be entered into Buddy’s enormous brain and he will guide you effortlessly to the door and then extricate you from the city again.

Hot news! Whilst I was away I heard the wonderful news that Tancook Island school was unanimously voted to stay open and be left in peace for a good long while. The school-board meeting took place on the mainland, on an evening after the last ferry of the day but all the parents of the children in school went ashore by fishing boat in order to be sure that they were there for the vote. That’s dedication.

The school currently has five pupils from Elementary to Grade 5; after Grade 5 the students have to travel by ferry each day to the mainland. Hopefully this assurance will encourage a few new families to settle on the island.

The double-knit sock pattern is coming along well. I just have double-checked (oh no, a bad pun!) the wording of how best to finish the toes. This is one situation when grafting of live stitches is necessary, as you have two layers. I also re-learned the salutary lesson that you should check both sides of the work,  especially when working the gusset decreases. Now to work : it’s the finishing book or bust this month.

I’m so glad I’m a knitter! January 26, 2010

Once again, I’m so glad that I’m a knitter!

I’m writing this blog post from the foot of glorious Mont St. Anne, QC.  My husband drove, and I knit, through a huge east coast storm as we traveled from Nova Scotia only to arrive here in Quebec, our ski destination, in a warm torrential downpour! Knitting kept my mind and hands occupied en route, and I have a partial sock and bit of blanket to show for my day.

We set out from Moncton, NB yesterday morning and within a few minutes (much sooner than predicted) we motored into snow then freezing rain. For those readers in other geographical areas, an explanation is in order: I describe this precipitation as “Comes down liquid, goes on solid.”. It is the scariest phenomenon.

If you are on the road it manifests itself rather like drizzle on your windscreen initially, but when you apply the wipers, nothing happens: it’s stuck on, solid ice. At this point you need to start applying massive quantities of heat to the windscreen to hold this plague at bay. Now of course, the super-cooled rain doesn’t restrict itself to solidifying on the ever diminishing windscreen. What do suppose it is doing to the road surface? Makes it very scary to drive on. Pulling off the highway is even riskier, as the shoulders of the road are not salted or kept even moderately clear by traffic; once you’re on this surface the car becomes a decoratively painted curling rock. It gives a whole new meaning on the term ’slippery roads’.

From my perspective in the passenger seat, once the daylight dawned and the danger was evident, I quickly transferred my next test sock from my lovely stiletto-pointed Signature dpns to my old favorites, Crystal Palace bamboos, as in the back of my mind I surmised that these might be slightly less damaging to flesh in the event of disaster!

As we slithered our way westward, I made significant progress during this unbroken block of knitting time on my new test sock, using yet more lovely yarn obtained at the Sock Summit from Gypsy Girl Creations and our good old Cat’s Pyjamas as the background yarn. I’ve added a fifth size to the range of the Pinstripe pattern now, and wanted another test sock, so this was an ideal opportunity to make one.

Pinstripe Double Knit sock

So you may well ask: why am I writing a blog entry rather than skiing today? The hill is closed to preserve what is left of the snow. I’m so glad that I’m a knitter! Rather than tear my hair out in frustration, I can knit, and have brought several good books* ; so I will patiently hunker down and wait for the weather to cooperate. Who knows, I may go to Quebec City this afternoon to find a yarn shop!

Thank you all for your long and thoughtful responses to the pattern pricing dilemma. I’ve really enjoyed reading them; I’ll get back to this subject and comment as soon as time permits.

*Books: I’m reading a couple by M.M.Kaye (her books are always a good bet in a sweet old-fashioned way), who led a fascinating life and used her experiences to set her novels . The other is an audio book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson, that has me positively riveted. It’s a detective novel but refreshingly different (has a few rather graphic scenes, but they are necessary to the plot). I rate this one highly.

Eeeeck!! January 20, 2010

I had a phone call this morning: “Could I explain if the $6 patterns on my web site were just one pattern or a pattern booklet?”

I confirmed that it was a single pattern, but full of information and detail – I forgot to mention that they had been fully tested and thoroughly thought through, usually in several sizes, and each was a small knitting course in its own right. Unfortunately I’m never very nimble with my verbs when non-plussed or trying to defend myself! Totally brilliant and incisive afterwards, though.

“Oh,” said the lady: “I think that is very expensive.”

This just stopped me in my tracks. I have now spent about 3 full days writing, re-writing and problem-solving with this latest sock pattern (and I’m not done yet by several days, or counting knitting time). In order to write this pattern I’m drawing upon 30+ years of knitting experience, using a computer and four- digit-priced software, and I expect that she rang on our toll free number (which is what it is there for, but it is paid for by me). Yet after all that investment, for the price of three cups of coffee you may obtain this pattern and re-use it as many times as you wish.

One of the challenges that independent pattern writers face is the loss-leader patterns provided by those interested mainly in selling yarn. It’s fine for yarn companies to sell subsidized patterns to promote their yarn sales, but they constantly reinforce the perception that a pattern is only worth $2. Sorry, this would barely cover the manufacturing cost of a multi-page pattern with colour printing, never mind give me a few cents for all the thought, time and technology I’ve put into it.

I’m not sure just how many patterns a day the non-considering public think we can sell, but we would not eat well and would have to get real jobs and stop writing patterns. Patternfish, Knitter’s Vault and Twist Collective are all going a long way to help designers, but the discount patterns are still out there, setting the bar low.

Also, not all patterns are created equal! You do tend to get what you pay for, although this is not always true. Word of mouth and Ravelry comments are helpful in determining the true value and effectiveness of a pattern.

Anyway, enough time on the Soapbox, this doesn’t get patterns written! My latest design snag was the result of a rash decision. Made from the passenger seat the other morning without the aid of paper and pencil, as to how to align the stripes after the heel turning was completed. I gambled and I lost!

Whoops! Pattern repeat not exact!

Look closely at the stripes, see how they fail to match after the gusset decreases are completed? I’ve now spent quality time with my pencil and paper and now all four sizes should be right on! Whoo hoo! (I’m fudging a little in this sock – please don’t tell.)

Design calculations in progress.

This sock has been affectionately fondled by Unbelievers: one and all have been blown away by how wonderful it feels. I’m using our Cat’s Pajama’s and Curious Creek’s Omo 50% silk/wool, both groan-makingly gorgeous yarns.

I have to try some mittens in this combo. I need to give up sleep and grow more arms.

Design Dilemmas January 19, 2010

Designing things is just like falling off a log! Oh, sure. I have two deep-hought projects on the go right now: a double-knit mitten (that has been simmering for an age), and a simple double-knit sock (that I have been wanting to tackle forever). Yes, I’m in a frenzy of DK again. However, at this very moment, both creations need some ripping out.

The DK sock is coming on well. The best approach to the heel flap took some consideration, and I finally settled on conventional slip and knit heel flaps, but joined by colour patterning, with the outer edges left open to allow for easy stitch pick-up. Now, I had decided to incorporate a simple stripe pattern with an eight stitch (four pair) repeat to prevent boredom and also to tie the two layers of the sock together intimately. But in order to have both edges of the heel flap end with two main colour stitches at either edge, the heel flap has to have a multiple of 4 + 5 pairs of stitches. This, whichever way you look at it, is an odd number of pairs. Initially I decided to knit the heel flaps with a decrease in the center to solve this issue, which meant on one side of the heel flap you were slipping the contrast stitches and on the other side working them and the two sides had a subtly different appearance. Not a big deal. . . until I came to putting this into words. Oh my goodness. What a horror story!

Before - Note the different thickness of stripes.

Before (inside) - Note 2 stitch center stripe.

After - Much more even and easier to knit!

Now, why I didn’t think of this before: I can take a simpler approach and simply (simple is meant to be the watch-word here) work the last two stitches on either side. This solves the appearance issue, simplifies the writing, and thus the knitting for the poor soul trying to wade through the directions.

The naughty-bad-girl knitter part of me now says: ‘So why not switch to that now, mid-heel flap’? No one would notice, except when I point it out. However, I can’t live this way: it will be far more attractive if I rip it, recondition the yarn and restart the heel flap. Now that I have bared my soul and taken some pictures, I will rip, recondition and off we go again!

Morning after verdict: Well worth the effort! Easier to knit and a more attractive appearance. Success.

Our best selling pattern January 13, 2010

Sea Lettuce mania!

We have just discovered that the Sea Lettuce Scarf is far and away our best-selling pattern, ever.

It appears that our US pattern distributor, Up North Fiber Art Supply, had a bit of a hiccup in their account reconciliation, with the result that they will be (hopefully) settling with us for a whole year’s worth of Sea Lettuce sales in one fell swoop. The total number of pattern sales is one surprisingly impressive figure! Not enough to retire on, I’m assuring you, but very pleasing.

As I recall, this scarf came about after I taught in CA at Shirley Grade’s Wool Lovers Retreat a number of years ago. It was hatched, and initially swatched , on a Boeing 747 or some other large airplane on my way home. I wanted to create a narrow, widthwise-worked, reversible scarf with beautiful matching ends to showcase handpainted yarns. I was in the height of my picots-on-everything phase. (Picots become really fun if you use the Modified Conventional Bind-Off.) I believe that I may only have had two dpns and one ball of yarn available to me,  and that is all it takes! You can always make Provisional Crochet Cast-On with your fingers.

Having got the concept, once home I spent quite a while trying to make it logical and easy to remember, and then in developing a second width version as well as figuring out how to explain some of the strange antics that this scarf involves.

It now outsells all our other patterns put together. Surprisingly, it has knocked the great Fiesta Feet off their pedestal. The newer Spindrift series is making a strong showing, but the Lettuce bug has certainly struck all over the world. Why? They are fun to knit, the start and finish are very elegantly pleasing, and they can be made in so many different yarns (of any weight). Two widths are available: 20 or 32 stitches wide. Once you have it down pat, the seven row repeat just motors along and along. Done in a fine yarn, the scarf does double duty as “soft jewelry”.

Check this page on Ravelry for a plethora of yarn ideas.

Yarn shops who have had a Sea Lettuce on the counter, partially knit,  can hardly keep the patterns in stock. I do hope that all those that have knit this design have been using the Modified Conventional Bind Off (which forms part of the pattern),  as it revolutionizes the making of all the picots. I really love to teach all the techniques that form part of this pattern, as all the new ideas are used at the start of the scarf so it makes an excellent class.

Emerging from the vortex January 7, 2010

At last I’m emerging from the time vortex that is the Seasonal Holiday Period . I’m always amazed how two perfectly good weeks, with the standard 24 hours a day, seem to evaporate without trace or any evidence of productivity. I will admit that I have finished off a couple of lingering projects that needed nothing but buttons, or a little neatening and blocking, but beyond that the time has pleasantly vanished in flurry of large kids, family meals and comings and goings.

One of my private time absorbers that I allow myself at this time of year is a jigsaw puzzle: once the box is opened, it’s hard for me to tear myself away. I can lose hours listening to a book and fooling around with the pieces. I secretly begrudge the time I spend on it, therefore I like to have a fairly easy puzzle that motors along: the brighter the picture the better, and I like pieces with a variety of shapes and very positive connections. I find it very frustrating to have to question every piece that erroneously appears to fit. My assault on a puzzle is very structured:  first sort and assemble the edges, go as far as possible with colours and texture, and then, when all else fails, sort the remaining pieces into the innies and the outies so that at least a few pieces can be ruled out.

Mr. Cuddles, puzzle helper!

I know I’m not alone. It seems to me that a very high proportion of knitters are secret jigsaw puzzlers. Does it satisfy a certain area of the brain that is also pleased by knitting?

Wishing you all happy and healthy holidays! December 25, 2009

My flock is gathered in. What a relief. I’m rooting for all the other folks who are busy trying to get where they are going at this time of year!  I can’t help feeling that we skipped out of the UK just in time,  as they have now record quantities of snow and it takes only 3 snowflakes to shut down UK roads. They don’t have snow tires or even shovels. How much snow can one move with a broom?

I’d like to express my deep appreciation for the skills of the pilots that landed daughter Holly’s plane in the tail-end of the recent snow-bearing North-Easter. We had both fully resigned ourselves to her spending a significant portion of her few days off in Montreal airport, but apparently her plane was big enough to land (the smaller, earlier one was cancelled) in the mess here.

Wishing you all happy and healthy holidays, delicious yarn and sufficient time to knit!

The comforts of home December 21, 2009

I’m back again on this side of the pond. John and I were lucky with the weather and had no delays in flying home. My poor mother-in-law, who visited us whilst we were in Norfolk, had a far worse journey home to Liverpool on the train, due to the creative endeavors of vandals on the railway line. Apparently the same stretch of track has been damaged four times in as many days. What joy do they get from destroying things and messing up so many people’s work-days and travel plans?
Delays seem to be the norm for UK travel: we set off for the airport a day early, as reaching Heathrow for an 1100 flight is a nerve-racking near-impossibility from North Norfolk; no matter what time you leave, the M25 will be in rush hour when you reach it. You can be parked on the road for hours only miles away from the airport. Things have cooled down here a little, the lakes are starting to skin over with ice but temperature is still going up and down like a yo-yo.

It is quite a relief to be back to the comforts of a warm and fully functioning bathroom. I’m feeling rather like a spoiled North American as I write this, but English bathrooms are eccentric, to say the least. I recall that our bathrooms in Wales (17 years ago) were all sited in external rooms and each as chilly as a witch’s heart: it saved a lot in water consumption! My dear sister’s house is beautiful, but old. Very Old. Bathrooms were not really state of the art in 1600. She now has three bathrooms; however, each has it’s own set of limitations. One would flush at the first attempt but wouldn’t happily consume solid waste (we added a bucket for emergency use). Another would flush provided you flushed twice in quick succession in a very particular syncopated rhythm and then, if this was achieved, the final hurdle was to open the door, which featured a smooth round doorknob: periodically the arthritic door mechanism would seize with extra vigor. The shower situation was also somewhat dubious; the trickle of water from 45% of the original jets left one feeling damp and chilly, but this we (well, my practical husband) feel could be vastly improved to a more widespread dribble with the purchase and installation of a new shower head. I suppose we all get used to the charming idiosyncrasies of our own plumbing!

Pictures withheld for decency’s sake!

The knitting of the Hugs and Kisses scarf is completed apart from the tubular bind off. This I wish to do tonight whilst I carefully compare my actions to my written words as a method of proofing the pattern. (I’ll get my Mac to read the text out aloud to me.) I’m sorely tempted to rename the scarf the “Lebkuchen Scarf”, as the stuffed hearts constantly remind me of the delicious German sweetmeats. (Lebkuchen are little gingerbread shapes, frequently hearts, sometimes with a little jam filling nestled within, all coated in a delicious chocolate.) However, should you choose to knit the scarf in a colour other than Bitter Chocolate you wouldn’t experience the same effect!

I found the scarf fun to knit, I loved the angora yarn (and ache to knit a sock with it) and my reduced shorthand chart made it drive-around knitting: it was always easier to work the tricky 10 stitch x 5 row section with the abbreviated chart on hand! For one who rarely uses paper notes, this was trying.

Now to put the finishing touches to the pattern and get a photograph. I’ve been really unusually good about writing this one up as I have gone along: I’ve already sat down with Susan and read the charts out loud as she checked the text. I was convinced it was all fine, but we did find a couple of gremlins and eradicated them. That is the thing with errors, you are not aware of their presence at the time. I’ve drawn the charts and diagrams and now the next hurdle for me is to format all the text in InDesign. It will be the first pattern of the New Year. Now, of course, I’m itching to knit one in Kauni.

I’ve included a couple of shots of the Tubular Bind-Off in progress. The first shows the preparatory row of purl stitches only (made here in the pink yarn) and the brown knit yarn cut to five times the width of the row (four times the width should be sufficient but I’m just double-checking my figures). The row of pink stitches is worked before the bind-off so that both sides of the scarf will have three plain rows of their respective colour. The third row of brown is sewn into place. (Tubular cast-on creates one row on each side so there is no need to compensate at the cast-on edge).

Prep Row

Move A

Move B

The next two shots show the start of the bound-off edge (it’s just a Stocking Stitch graft like a sock toe) and the two needle movements one needs to make to sew the edges together.

Greetings from Norfolk December 20, 2009

Surprisingly, I have managed to find a little bit of wireless internet in this desert. I am enjoying extraordinarily warm (8C) sunny days here in Norfolk (UK) and conducting a high density relative visitation; thankfully many of them are rendezvousing with us here rather than us rushing around the country.

My dear mother has moved into a home since I was here last.

She seems pretty settled and it seems to have a pleasant atmosphere. The coordination of all the necessary helpers to enable her to stay in her old home was proving too complex. I was going to say that the building in which the home is situated was actually older than the sum of the resident’s ages (but that would make it BC) but it used to be a bishop’s summer residence many hundreds of years ago, and has been many other things since. The building must be a nightmare to maintain and operate, but it does make for some interesting rooms and it’s surrounded by lovely old gardens with abundant paths for easy walking. It seems very strange visiting mum but not staying with her: I feel yet one step further distant again.

I made my annual trip to Norwich with my sister. I go there these days as much to admire the historic buildings as for any other reason. (Although I will admit that the procurement of future supplies of Thornton’s chocolates is a powerful draw.)

Beautiful

The scenery, shops and houses are so delightful in North Norfolk and, yes, you can purchase squirrels for consumption from the butchers!
The double-knit scarf is coming along well, but now I need to spend some quality time with my mitten thumb.

The annual pilgrimage and a slice of Tancook December 15, 2009

Time is whipping by again and I’m off to the UK tonight to see my mum (my annual pilgrimage). I like the UK flight direct from Halifax: it leaves very late in the evening, which means that you can fit in a whole day’s work and put off packing until after dinner!  Over the weekend I’ve been prepping all the Christmas goodies for the various relatives across the pond, now I just have to finish off the cards.

Stollen

Happily, I have two travel knitting projects: I just have to concentrate on the thumb increases of the Lifesaver Mitten this morning. The Hugs and Kisses scarf is coming on well and it’s fun to knit.  Because of the (minor) complexity of the double-knitting in this scarf, I am creating a short form chart that will make it easier to knit the 7 pairs of dissimilar stitches, for the five rows that they differ. It is possible to think them through, but not whilst talking or breathing.

At the end of last week I disappeared to the island for a couple of days: the first day the weather was glorious and I spent a lot of the day outdoors. I helped (in a very minor way) with the improved marking of the heli-pad; it is now marked with eight cones mounted on paving slabs with flashing red lights that may be quickly mounted in the event of an expected helicopter. Apparently there was an incident recently with a newer pilot who couldn’t find the landing area!

There is quite a move afoot to improve the emergency capabilities on the island, fueled sadly by a recent nasty fire that destroyed a precious boat, boat shed, several barns, many years of work, memories, and a lifetime collection of tools (think of your entire knitting stash and all your finished projects going up in smoke to gauge your feelings). Thankfully it was a rare, still air day and the nearby houses didn’t catch fire.

Lobster season began on December 1^st : I’ve never been anywhere where it marked the passage of time so clearly. I can see and hear the boats out in the bay from the comfort of my bed. On Tancook everything hinges around ‘the season’: ‘Must done before lobstering’, ‘he’s not around, he’s out on the boats’, ‘won’t be ‘till after the season’ are the catch prases. Apparently the best catches to be had are immediately the season opens and it tails off exponentially thereafter and although the season remains open, most fishermen work the first few weeks and then call it a day when the catches diminish and it becomes very stormy and rough. This year they were lucky, as the first few days were great weather. It remains to be seen what the prices for lobster will be set at. Last year the price was very low.

Lobster season

The following day was somewhat damp (think monsoon)! So I stayed put and indulged in an orgy of indoor activities: a little hooking with fabric strips (an interest that has been dormant for many years), put up my coat rack (I built it on the weekend), knitting (trying to complete my third Cape Spear Blanket), a little personal writing (Christmas letters), some patchwork with the fabrics from Lambikins, a few bits of jigsaw…. I have the attention span of a gnat!

New coat rack

Ready for patchwork

Attention span of a gnat!

Better get busy here now, probably no further news until after the UK, since where I will be visiting is unfortunately a very internet-free zone.