Back on the Needles

Two years. That's a long time for a hiatus on a blog. In that time Facebook has become queen of social networks, and iPhone the king of network mobility.

Royalty came to the Kumquat household in that time as well:


Our little future goddess, born July 10, 2009. Up until then, my nesting frenzy was on the needles. I made her coming home outfit. It was a thousand degrees out, but that little girl was wearing the kimono, hat, pants and socks I knit!!!

I also made her mitts and booties:

...annd then there was a drought. Taking care of Bugaboo, and then going back to work, and learning to juggle everything took its toll on my craftiness. I no longer had a "craft room," we had a nursery.

Now, after a whirlwind year of learning and loving this bundle of joy, I'm slowly working the things I did before Bugaboo back into my life. For her Dedication Ceremony in two weeks, I'm making the Short-sleeved dress and had by Drops Design (b10-7):
The directions for this outfit have been translated from...Swedish? As I cast on and attempted to begin, I understood why such a sweet dress has only had 11 people make it on Ravelry. I could not figure out the chart. The amount of stitches in the chart did not fit the number of stitches. I pulled out, tried again. Same thing. I called my mom. She, too, came up with the same discrepancy.

I realized that the chart was facing the right side. The knit/purl/knit rows on the beginning of the chart? Really knit every row for an edging. Rip out, cast on, try again.

I went to facebook and Ravelry for advice. And, as it's always the way, as I hit "Post," it hit me: I was reading the chart backwards. Knitting charts need to be read in the direction you are knitting for that row. So, when on the right side of a garment, you read the chart right to left; wrong side left to right. Once I recast, I was gleeful. I figured it out! HA-HA! Maybe I hadn't been out of the knitting game so long! The row finished perfectly, matching the chart!

I forgot to add the four stitches on either side for the garter band. I made a judgement call to not rip out a fourth time and kept going and started the next row.

Since then, things have been going well! Progress so far:


I'm using stitch markers in between every other repeat of the pattern, which keeps me mindful of where I am in the repeats. The stitch markers are a combination of freebies from Simply Knitting magazine, and these adorable little beauties from a yarn shop in Falmouth, MA:


I think it's the curlicues that I fell in love with. Having purple beads doesn't hurt, either.

I took the project photos with my iPhone. I plan on adding a link of this blog to my Facebook page. I've been able to do all this while Bugaboo naps. Sometimes, it all comes together.

Finished...

February and March proved to be busy months for me. In that time, I completed a major project at work, and performed in a community theater's production of "The Wizard of Oz." Here's me in costume:

I did manage to finish a few crafty things as well:

Knitting Rules by the Yarn Harlot: A good book for beginners. I loved that she suggested making a hat for a first project, or anything other than a scarf.

Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman : It was interesting to read this right after the Harlot's book. There were a LOT of similarities in tone and sections, that I felt almost like I felt like I was cheated by the Harlot. I don't think it's intentional. It has to be hard to come up with a fresh way to write a "how to" knitting book.

From both of them, I did get the same message: Be fearless in your knitting. Don't be apologetic if what you knit isn't highly complex, or not like anyone else. Think about creating a pattern all by yourself.

I also finished a project:

If you're not a geek, this is a Dalek, from Dr. Who. We have a friend who's a big Dr. Who fan, so it seemed appropriate to make him one for his birthday. We wrapped it in this:

This is a Tardis, which in the show, is the "spaceship" the Doctor travels in. Tom was very appreciative of his present!


With all this, my 2nd sock has suffered. It's going to suffer some more, since making the Dalek, I've been commissioned to make another one.

That's what I like about knitting. Even when something is finished, there's always another project waiting to be completed.

When geek meets knit

As I mentioned last week, I was making my husband's Valentine's Day present. Here's what I did:

For those non-geeky folks, it's a dice bag. But not just any dice bag. It's a dice bag with the Green Lantern logo on it.

I charted the logo myself a few years back, when I made him a pair of Green Lantern Socks. In fact, it's the same yarn for the socks! Waste not, want not - A great justification for your yarn stash.

The bottom I put in short rows. This gave it a nice curve to look more like a bag, and the bottom didn't have to get sewn up.

I'm thinking of writing a pattern up for it. I haven't written one before, so it would be something new to add to my crafty repertoire.

I love knitting "Geeky" things. So far, I've made a Dr. Who scarf, GL socks, GL dice bag, a few Knithulus, and Wonder Woman bracelets. I haven't made a "Jayne" hat yet, or a knit Dalek. I've got a few ideas up my sleeve, however, for some more geekiness in the future.

Now that the present is done, I've gone back to the "mundane" knitting, Pomatamus. I've finished the leg, turned the heel, and in the final stretch of the foot. These will be done and on my tootsies hopefully soon!

Hearts a'knittin'

My sock has been taking a holiday on my computer desk this week, so I can knit my husband a Valentine's day present. I cannot show you progress on that , in case he reads this and then the whole surprise is ruined!

Instead, I'd like to share some fabulous Valentine-themed patterns I've found:

Heart-Felt Necklace found here: Coats and Clark

I love this, because it's not just knit. The mixed mediums of this little piece wants me to rush down to the local craft store to get the materials!

Conversation Hearts Scarf on Crochet Me

I'm a sucker for conversation hearts...and granny squares!

Handful of Hearts from Mochimochiland

must...not...die...from the cute...of leetle hearts...SQUEE!

Lovemeknot illusion socks at slippedstitch's blog

This pattern reminds me I need to try illusion knitting...and what fun on socks, when you see the pattern when you wiggle your toes!!!


If these patterns didn't hit you like Cupid's arrow, try Knitting Pattern Cental for some heart-themed patterns.

And finally, for those who celebrate "Black Thursday," The AntiCraft has a pattern to express how you feel about Valentine's Day, or to get your Buffy on:

Stabbity Stabbity!

Whatever you do on Thursday, be sure to stay warm, whether it's snuggling with a loved one, or some warm wool and needles!

Passing of the needles

One night this week on my way home, I was happily knitting my sock on the subway. Across from me was a little girl, watching. She tugged on her Mom's sleeve and said, "Mommy, that woman over there is doing something wonderful!." I looked up, and said thank you.

"What is it?" The girl asked. I told her it was a sock. To prove it, I turned it upside-right so she could see it in a more sock-like pose.

"WOW," she replied, eyes filled with awe. "How did you learn to do that?" I said my Mom taught me when I was little.

"Mommy," she turned to her and asked, "will you teach me to do that?"

"As soon as I get someone to show me how, sweetie," her Mom answered.

I decided there I would make this week's post in praise of my Mom, the craftster who started me down this path with yarn. When I was little, she taught me to crochet first, then knit. I did both off and on through my life, but it's only the past ten years or so it's become a passion for me.

Mom taught me other crafts as well; sewing, baking, embroidery...except tatting. She kept telling me she'd teach me to tat when I was older. I'm 34 now, Ma, am I old enough? :)

I hear from a lot of people who talk to me about crafting that their grandmother would knit, sew, or crochet, but their mom didn't, and so they never learned. Somehow, fiber arts skipped a generation.

In today's society, we don't need to pass on skills or trades to our children for their livelihood. I think that's why a lot of people in my age group weren't taught these things as kids. Although I am grateful for the advancement of women in society, and the other advancements we've made, I'm sad about this loss. I hope the current "craze" with knitting, and now crocheting, will be passed on, both to sons and daughters (Mom was ahead of her time there, too; my brother was taught cross-stitching, and made a quite a few great bits of art).

All of this makes me so lucky that I had a Mom that didn't skip on the crafting, and was able to pass it on to me. I also realize that I've never asked her how she was taught, something I should rectify in the future.


Until I have kids to pass this on to, I'll do my part by giving lessons, and inspire awe in kids on the subway.

And the sock, so far:

(Picture quality is due to being taken with a cell-phone; my digital camera is in mood, and won't work today.)

Old Trick, New Lesson

Last week I mentioned starting a new sock. So far, I have finished the cuff, and one pattern repeat of the leg.

In one of the knitting panels I was in, someone mentioned when doing lace or a repeated pattern, it was a good idea to put stitch markers in between the repeats.

GENIUS! Of course, I did this with the "I do" shawl, but that's only because the pattern told me to. On the next round I could, I quickly added the stitch markers in between the repeats, and oh man, did it help!
You can see the stitch markers between the repeats, two per side.

This is the lesson this week: What works in one pattern, will work in another. If you always just follow a pattern to the letter, you may not get fearless and take risks in your knitting.

New Year, New Crafting Goals, and Geeky crafting

It's 2008, do you know where your knitting is?

I am coming into this year, as the Year I Get Serious about knitting. Not that I wasn't serious about it before, but just that I would like to make it a bit more of my life.

I started that this past weekend at Arisia, a science fiction convention in Cambridge, MA. I printed up some flyers and business cards, and left them around the "freebie" tables. As I was leaving on Monday, I noticed some of the cards were gone, and some of my name and email addresses were taken as well.

My flyers were to offer help on knitting, or to give lessons, or to even take commissioned work. I created an email address for it (knittingkumqat at gmail dot com). We'll see how it goes.

What I didn't do this year was sit on any crafty panels. Due to the wedding that sucked up a majority of my time (a reason this blog has been neglected), I did not want to overextend myself going into this con. It was hard for me to sit in the audience of the panel, and not want to chime in with my two cents every few seconds. Instead, I concentrated on the set-up row of my sock.

I also had a bristling run-in with a crafty vendor. The last run-in I had with this person, they sat in on a panel I was on, and kept interrupting and trying to sell their yarn during my panel. This year, I went in looking for some yarn, and I asked about a skein I was holding up. The vendor came over, grabbed the skein from my hand, and scolded "Let me tell you how to read a band on a skein of yarn!" And proceeded to do so in the most condescending tones imaginable. I walked out of their room, vowing never to buy a bead or a stitch marker from them, ever.

Now that the con is over, I'm going to get the name "The Knitting Kumquat" out there more. Look for me here, and also on Ravelry!