hanna birke

Gossamer Stars scarf finished

It feels like forever since I've had finished knitting to show - I'm slow with knitting these days.  It's not lack of interest or ideas ...  

But finally I have something finished - Kat Coyle's Gossamer Stars scarf - which will be given to my daughter.

I'll see her in early July and we'll dye her scarf together.  The plan is to ombre dye it in colors she likes - red, pink and purple.  We'll use Procion MX acid dye from Maiwa as she likes bright colors and natural dyes won't give or will take too long to give the color intensity she likes.  

Details on the scarf again are that it's knit with two strands (held together) of Habu Bamboo A-155 1/17 on size 3.75mm or US 5 needles.  A skein of this has 530 yards and I used about 3/4's of a skein.  I cast on 61 stitches and the scarf is 9 inches wide and 60 inches long.  I added a tiny (5 row) ruffle at both ends.

The pattern is designed so that either the stockinette side or the purl side can be considered the right side.  While knitting it I favored the stockinette side but now that it's done and blocked I'd wear it on the purl side.  If it were mine ... 

The scarf feels really nice on - soft and cool.  And it drapes beautifully.  

on color

Woah Nellie what's happening here?

Something like 16 years ago I had a chat with a woman about my life and one of the pieces of advice she had was - stop wearing so much black, wear pale pink and pale yellow and you will be happier.

Pale pink and pale yellow?  This will make me happy?  

It's a understatement to say this wasn't the advice I was expecting.  

I'd been wearing black shirts and white shirts and jeans and not much else since I was 13 years old.  Pale pink and pale yellow had not even been in the realm of consideration.  I tried it though - I went home and ordered a J. Crew pale yellow linen shirt and bought a pair of pale yellow Gap jeans.  I wore these but don't remember feeling any more cheerful in this outfit than in my black clothes.  My black clothes felt comfortable and safe, an embrace from someone reliable.  When the two pale yellow items wore out I didn't replace them with more pale-colored clothes.  Clearly I couldn't make the advice stick.

I think I thought of happiness like weight - you have a set point and while you can work to change things but the barriers to getting outside your set point ...  Better perhaps to make oneself comfortable with what you know is your range.

Besides I didn't think wearing black was making me less happy.  

A few years ago I tried again and bought a raspberry tank top and purple tank top.  I'd put them on but 10 minutes later would be back in my closet digging out the black or navy or if it was summer white.

Then about six weeks ago something happened and I can not wear black or navy or any other somber color.  I want raspberry and purple and coral and peach and lavender clothes. 

If you're a person who lives in black you will know how astonishing this is.  Even things like black socks are getting hard to put on.  Putting on a black or navy sweater now is now impossible.  I've tried and after a few minutes I feel wretched.  

I'm not at the place where I can go out and buy a whole new closet of clothes in a week or even a month but I've been picking up a few inexpensive summer tops and dresses in pale pink, raspberry and purple.  I also found a light weight coral colored Free People shrug at the thrift store.  I'm living it that these days.  Demin shorts, a tank top and the coral shrug.  I have to say the colors are making me happy.  

I've tried a lot of clothes on in the last few weeks and it's true - pale pink and pale yellow look best on me - I should probably stick to these two - I haven't bought much in these two colors though because it's not easy to find anything even semi-chic in pale pink or pale yellow at mall prices.  

Sad hey.  At the malls here most of the pale pink and pale yellow clothes are not inspiring.

I know how to get some lovely shades of pale pink and pale yellow from natural dyes.  So this winter may find me dyeing up some yarn - and maybe even ordering some undyed t-shirts and creating my own anti-old-lady-or-sunday-school-teacher pale shades.

In knitting news I'm close to finished the Gossamer Stars Scarf for my daughter.  I'll see her in two weeks and we'll dye her scarf together.  That's it really - not much knitting going on.  I hope to get back to finishing the redo on the cotton gima cardi soon.  

I'd really like a warm cream or peach colored alpaca cardigan to wear this winter ... I should think about getting on that.  A friend says she lives in her Tangled Yoke Cardigan.  I also really like Hannah Fettig's Whisper Cardigan and Featherweight Cardigan.  As usual - more ideas than execution time.  

knitting now

When I saw my daughter in April she asked for a scarf.  She likes shiny and colors in the red, pink, purple family.  She also likes lacy.  At first I thought well I'll need to buy some yarn but then I remembered I have a ton of undyed Habu bamboo.  It's fine weight and will drape beautifully.  So I decided to use two strands of Habu A-155, 1/17 Bamboo for the Gossamer Stars Scarf.  I'm using bamboo needles size 3.75mm.  I had started with some 3.25mm metal needles but they were too slippery.  Sometimes bamboo needles really help with the thread weight yarns.  

By now it looks like Kat Coyle pays me to knit and blog her patterns but that's not the case - I just love her patterns.  

I've put the  can of Telana Dye in the photograph because once I have this knit I will ombre dye it in shades of pink and purple.   I found a good little video demonstrating ombre dyeing technique here.

Since finishing the Moorish Diamonds wrap I've also been thinking about lace with a contemporary feeling or deconstructed lace.  It's a bit hairy territory because I'm not wanting to create things that look like they marched out of a 1970's macrame class - although give me truth serum and I will confess that I was there in the 70's and I did make a macrame purse.  Well alright a few purses and a couple of belts.  But people wanted to buy them.   Thank goodness we are out of the 70's.

Anyway now I'm thinking more along the lines of Rodarte's sweaters from a few seasons ago, Missoni's recent crochet lace dresses and even some old Vivienne Westwood designs.  And of course there is always that Japanese influence (Yamamoto, Limi Feu, Junya Watanabe and Rei Kawakubo) in the back of my mind.  

Some of you might remember the cotton gima cardi I made about a year and a half ago.  I ran out of cotton gima and so finished the cardigan off with some gold crochet cotton and it was a disaster.  My plan was to frog it all and use the cotton gima for Mel's Chrysalis but once I got the gold crochet cotton off I had trouble frogging the rest of it.  So it went in the back of the closet for awhile and was forgotten about.  I found it recently though and am giving cardigan another go but this time with a deconstructed and wonky feeling.  I can assure you this will not be to everyone's taste - but I kind of like what's happening so far.  It will certainly end up looking odd and wonky and misshapen - kind of wild but that's the idea.  Here are two progress shots. 

On the left front I've used the tiny bit of cotton gima I still had to create some random yo's and decreases and then at the bottom have done a few rows of old shale stitch on large needles.  This section is on waste yarn for now until I decide on a cast off or edging.

I will finish the sides and back with a few different colors of crochet cotton using a stretchy crochet stitch.  You can see the start of this here.

Again I'm not expecting everyone to love this.  

Guernsey Skirt Finished

The Guernsey Skirt is off the needles and blocked.  I even wore it to work one day this week.  

It's super comfortable!

The details on it are that it's a Kat Coyle design published in Ann Budd's book Simple Style.  My gauge was 4.5 stitches per inch so I cast on 240 stitches and knit it in the round from the bottom up. 

The main modification I made was to knit 3 inches of ribbing at the top instead of 1 inch of ribbing.  

Don't look too closely at the ribbing on the sides okay because my decreases aren't very neat.  

I sewed some elastic inside the skirt to help with keeping it up.  If you prefer a drawstring this would also work.  

The yarn is some merino that I dyed with a fermented indigo vat last spring.  

Verdict - a highly recommended knit.

FO and knitting now

I haven't stopped knitting and I haven't disappeared I've just had all sorts of silly knitting mistakes that have slowed my progress.  But I finally have the Moorish Diamonds wrap finished and a new knit started.

I loved knitting the center panel of this (4 repeats of the Moorish Diamonds pattern from B. Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns).  The edging is Wave Edging from the same book and for some reason I did not love knitting the edging.  I messed up the stitch pattern a lot which meant a lot of tinking back.  

I also wasn't prepared for how traditional this wrap looks.  Holy smokes it's old world!

It should be styled with a black leather motorcycle style jacket and a school girl pleated skirt to sexy it up a bit - but lacking either of these items I shown it with a simple black dress that shows off the stitch pattern. 

This is knit in laceweight alpaca dyed grey with an exhausted logwood dyebath.  Like I say - I loved knitting the center lace panel and I'd like to knit more lace - I'd also like to investigate more modern lace stitch patterns.  

Next up is a Guernsey Skirt by Kat Coyle that appears in Ann Budd's new book Simple Style.  

I'm knitting it in some  of the merino I dyed with indigo last spring.  Which means the evil blue hands.  :(  But I know I'm going to love Kat's skirt in this blue-jean blue.  

Kat also has a really elegant Short Row Skirt in Simple Style.  Other patterns that I like in the book are the Kazumi Pullover by Jolene Treace, the Garter Lace Jacket by Ann Budd and the Sixteen-Button Cardigan by Cecily Glowik.

noticed

I've been mentally collecting a list of 'noticed' items for weeks now but haven't had time to put up a post.

This Salvatore Ferragamo crocheted silk tunic appeared in the Feb 08 W magazine.  Olga noticed it too and put an image of it up on her flickr photostream.  W said the tunic is made of silk and chain mesh and I thought the chain mesh part could not be accurate but Olga says in Italy they sell chain mesh like they sell ribbon.   (Note added:  I should have also mentioned that Olga has a new top pattern (the Petal Halter) with an  innovative shape.   Nice work Olga. )

At first I approached the Ferragamo piece as pure fantasy but then I started thinking you know over skinny jeans and a little tank it would look great and it would bring down the louche element emphasized here.  

Although in my eyes mygod wouldn't I be glad to see a little louche in the knitting magazine styling world.  

Opps perhaps I shouldn't open that door, if I got started on how I really feel about the styling in knitting magazines ... 

I know we live in conservative times now but the 1940's was a long, long time ago.  And even my mother never wore an apron.  

Okay moving on. 

Everyone knows I love Kat Coyle's work.  She puts a lot of thought and heart into patterns for wonderful, feminine and very workable sweaters and skirts that are elegant and completely wearable.  And then for fun she creates accessories chocked full of delicious fantasy.  Kat recently got out some Noro and used it for crocheted collars/neckpieces and some wrist pieces.  You can see them here and here. Or on Kat's blog here.  To me these pieces look so romantic and would look lovely with dark full skirts and either little corset-type tops or ruffly blouses.  Think Stevie Nicks walking the moors with Heathcliff.  

The fall 09 Ready to Wear shows have started.  I've been popping over to the Style site to look at a few of them and if you've been knitting loose berets, cowls or mobius's, and long wrist warmers or gloves you'll be happy to know these items appear again and again on the fall runways.  Missoni has also done some really interesting and I think pretty loosely knit dresses.  Similar to the ones Rodarte did last year but in pale colors and with more traditional lace stitches (although knit on very large needles).  I think these dresses look slightly more lady-like than the Rodarte ones (which I also liked).  

One last noticed - it's a Norah Gaughan sweater from her Knitting Nature book knit by a young woman with the flickr id Muskten.  She's either decided purposely to play with color on this sweater or had the age-old issue of bits of yarn and not enough for the whole sweater.  I think she's done an amazing job with both the sweater and the styling of it.  Here. 

 

Sorry I tried to post these images to this blog but I haven't got the knitting blog in the right spot on my flickr profile and I don't have time to sort that out this morning.

My knitting?  Still on the Moorish Diamonds wrap - squeezing in little bits of knitting time as I can.  

knitting now

I finished the socks for my husband.  They are basic toe-up socks in Sheep Shop - modern colorway.  

He likes them.  I just hope the reinforcing in the heels and toes (crochet cotton) does the job.  

Now back to something for me.  

This is the Moorish Diamonds stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.  It will be a wrap and I've knit the first 24 inches of the main section and then lightly blocked it so you can see the pattern.

To create the width I've done 4 pattern repeats by casting on 84 stitches.  I will knit an edging on the whole thing - just haven't decided which edging.  The stitch pattern is a 28 row repeat but the odd rows are purls so that makes it easier.  The yarn is some lace weight alpaca that I mordanted with alum and dyed with an exhausted logwood bath.  

The yarn is so lightweight it feels like knitting with spiderwebs.  But it's such a joy to pick this up and work on it.  And it's relief not to be knitting a sweater right now.

I must say though that I wore the Mr. Lagerfeld Enjoys A Beer Jacket every day last week while I was on holiday and it performed very well.  Warm, comfortable and it held up to travel wear.  What more can you ask for.

dyeing, knitting next and inspiration

A mixed post with some natural dyeing, my next knitting and some knitting noticed and knitting dreaming.

Luisa sent me some merino and milk fiber yarn from Portugal.  The color I wanted to dye it is hard to describe - not rose - not tan - not salmon - something I can only think to call Skin.  It's not always the case that you get exactly what you're after with natural dyeing but this time I got exactly the color I wanted on the first try.

Was thinking of using this to knit a hat but I really like the idea of handwarmers in this color.  And  I need new handwarmers because I gave my Koigu ones away.  The yarn was mordanted with Alum and dyed at very low heat with Lac.

But first I have to knit a promised pair of socks for my husband.  He's not a sweater, scarf or toque guy so he's not been interested in having his own hand knit anything.  Until recently when he mentioned a pair of socks to wear in the house would be nice.  We sat down in front of Webs one night and he chose the Modern colorway from Sheep Shop.

A friend recommended I find something to reinforce the toes and heals so I'm using some left over Coats Opera Cotton from the Flower Power Scarf for reinforcing.  Lets hope it adds longevity to these.  

It's been a long time since I've done a "noticed" post.  Here's a photo of cabled vest found in the January issue of Lucky magazine.  I don't wear vests but I know people who do and so thought a few of you might enjoy seeing this.

It's by Another Important Culture.  Not a handknit but easily could be.  Apology for the fuzzy photo.  One of the things I like about this vest is the unfinished edge at the top.  I think it makes the vest look more modern.

From the Bazaar Runway Report (Fall/Winter 08) I've been eyeing the black sweater below from Yigal Azrouel.

The image in the magazine is quite small so not easy to get a clear look but I really like the loose shape, the big collar and of course the asymmetrical closing.  

I think it might be a while before I launch into another sweater but that doesn't stop me from dreaming about them.  One last photo.  This is Nell from Kim Hargreaves book Amber.  I've long liked this sweater and have been looking at and thinking about sweater/coat patterns.  I'm not sure about those cabled sleeves though.  That's a lot of sleeve for me.  And a lot of cables all round.  I wish I liked knitting cables more.

jacket done - finally

The seed stitch jacket is finally done!

That only took 3 months of monogamous knitting.  But grumbling about time involved aside - I'm pretty happy with it.  

I wasn't going to put buttons on it but looking at the finished photos I think it might need buttons.

The details again - this is a stash bust using hand dyed merino and a merino alpaca mix.  I knit the body from the bottom up and did waist shaping at the sides and in the back.  It's entirely seed stitch and has set in sleeves, little sleeve cuffs and a shaped collar.  I won't be writing up the pattern because I'm an intuitive knitter and I don't keep good notes.  But trust me - you do not want to make this.

When I was thinking of making this jacket I looked at a lot of photos of Chanel jackets so I called this one - Mr. Lagerfeld Enjoys A Beer.  

One final detail shot.

gifts

We left town for the holidays to visit family and hang out at the summer place for a few days.  And when we came back the mail was full of wonderful, unexpected gifts from friends.  Having friends who think about you is really the best gift.  Rose Red sent me some Knittery yarn in just the perfect colorway for me.  Although my husband has also expressed his delight with the colorway and inquired if that might be the yarn for his socks.  No sir it's not - that's still in the mail.

Luisa sent me yarn from a mill in Portugal - she sent undyed yarn so I can have fun dying it myself. It's a combination of milk fiber and wool and it's so soft.  I can't wait to dye this.  Maybe with lac for a pale rose hat.  

And dear Kat sent me a handknit and felted pin with leaves on it (probably because I'd sent her a zillion comments telling her how much I love this pin)  She also sent a summery card with a bathing suit on it to remind me that it won't always be winter.

I can't think of what I've done to deserve such beautiful and thoughtful gifts - but you can be sure I'm not sending them back.  Thank you friends.  

I'm sure you're wondering what's happening with the seed stitch jacket.  Progress is slow but I'm still working on it.  The sleeves have been knit to the underarms and I'm now working on the arm holes on the fronts.  Then it's back to knitting the sleeve caps and sewing the sleeves on.  The whole thing looks really messy right now but here's a progress photo.

Once the sleeves have been added I'll pick up stitches for a little collar and I'll also knit little cuffs for the sleeves.  

Wishing you all smooth sailing with your knitting in 2009.