Tag Archives: process

ahh, to rest

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it looks like

there is much needed

sleep ahead for both d and i.

yesterday he came home from the doc

with a cast and permission to go back to work.

while the brace and wrap from the hospital was lighter and easier in ways,

the full cast meant that the wrist was protected enough from moving covers and such

that he and i were both able to get decent sleep last night.

it’s amazing how different a little shut eye

makes the next day look.

it’s been hard to watch him in pain

and to be able to do so very little to ease that.

so, when he told me that his exposed fingers were cold

(hanging out the end of the sling, not able to be gloved or even zippered into a coat),

i jumped in to help.

IMG_4086crop2 vintage bulky from berroco,

three double pointed needles,

necessity (which is the mother of invention after all),

a little knit forward, pull backward, repeat…

and a thumbless mitt was ‘born’.

the velcro of the sling is already reeking some havoc

on the lower stitches near the binding off,

but overall, i’m happy with it.

the shaping keeps it in place without being uncomfortably snug

and knowing he’s warm and feels loved is he best part of all.

note: i did not forget

the ‘saga of the jagged edges’.

give me a few more nights of solid sleep

then i’ll be able to continue that tale.

thanks for your patience with things.

until my head clears,

i’ve got my 14 yr old’s fo’s to show you.

more on that tomorrow

(for real, tomorrow).

i don’t need much sleep to be proud of her

and i sure am proud of her.

‘necessity’ taken from 9:7 in 2nd corinthians.

saga of the jagged edges: part 1.5

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addendum:

my knight in shining armor, has fallen.

the result is both dented armor and a broken wrist.

tomorrow the storyline of the saga will continue,

IMG_3953filmbut for today we rest

filling our weary, battle worn heads

with dreams of the progress soon to be gained.

until next time, don’t forget to

keep your castles in the sky and your feet on solid ground.

‘weary’ taken from 16:14 of 2nd samuel.

saga of the jagged edges: part 1

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once upon a time,

in a castle not so very far away,

there was a grand,

dare i say unequaled twine

that landed in the willing hands of a knitwear designer.

said maiden had in her noggin a vision

which longed for just such a fiber to set it free.

excitedly the designer and the twine set about releasing the vision,

until they tripped as one upon the jagged edge

of the need for a matchless zipper.

having scouted

about the village, they were

only able to obtain the proper shade.

 alas, the count of the teeth was too many

(too many by far…about 15 inches too far…)

IMG_4006and, but for the internet,

our tale might have ended upon this point.

instead, the ‘saga of the jagged edges’ continues tomorrow.

until the dawn, keep your sword close at hand, and your dragon well fed.

‘tomorrow’ taken from 14:25 of numbers.

nearly, and then…

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it was almost done.

just waiting for me to bind off

and for the zipper (more on that soon),

so i put it down for a day.

IMG_3956cropthen, when i came back to it,

i wasn’t so sure.

this happens to me.

i can get so caught up in the forward motion

that i forget to step back, take a deep breath,

and give it a good hard look.

the color, the needle size and the ribbing i still love.

it’s the drama i think stepped into overkill.

big yarn, bright color, wide rib, big shape, heavy zipper…

you see what i mean.

so i ripped back to start again.

casting on a few less stitches and deciding

 to work from the bottom up, instead of the from the top down.

if i’m gonna redo, i might as well redo in a big way.

here’s to new beginnings.

‘bright(ness)’ taken from 22:13 of samuel.

the starry (grown-up sized)

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unexpected,IMG_1795crop quirky things happen.

they just do and

that can be good.

i had been poking around

at a yarn shop one afternoon.

it was a few years ago.

i no longer even

vaguely remember where i was,

but i bought a couple of skeins

of worsted weight yarn that was calling to me.

i rolled it into balls and started knitting right away.

the name of the pattern i was knitting

is as lost as the name of the shop.

whatever it was, the yarn

didn’t take to it the way i wanted it to, so i ripped it back to roll it up again.

IMG_1814cropi finished writing ‘the starry‘

as i rediscovered the frogged yarn

and thought, ‘i want one of these hats for myself’.

i wasn’t feeling very adventurous at the time.

here’s what i wondered (and hoped to be true).

if i knit the 3-6m size, only in worsted weight yarn and

on bigger needles (i used 7’s for the ribbing & 8’s for the rest)

IMG_1799cropwould it fit my

women’s sized head?

and it actually did!

my gauge was

16 sts = 4”

in stockinette st

(knit in the round)

on the larger needles.

now you know

that after you knit

a teeny tiny

newborn version,

you might want to whip one up for yourself.

i’m so glad that i did especially with all the chill this winter…

note: my head is 23.5″ around

which is usually a women’s size extra large.

in the pics you see me wearing the ‘3-6m size] and it’s more of women’s medium.

i liked it, but it’s a snugger fit than i wanted.

later i tried again and knit the 6-12m size for me, (in cashmere),

it has exactly the slouch i wanted and is a true women’s l/xl.

‘wondered’ taken from 6:51 of mark.

photos by wendy randolph taken at in the loop.

contrasted

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they say that

taking a black & white photo

will give you a good idea of whether

the yarns you’re considering will ‘pop’ enough

when you mix them together for colorwork, or not so much.

IMG_3752

above is my shot at knowing.

4 worsted wt yarns (thanks in the loop!)

set in the southern sun of my kitchen windows.

now you’ve seen what i’ve seen, so what would you mix together?

and

do you want

to try to guess what the actual colors are?

i’ll give you a hint.  the darkest one is actually true black…

‘sun’ taken from 29:7 of genesis.

cey & i: a question of shaping

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fit counts.

the catch for me

is that it counts differently to different people.

everyone seems to have their own opinion of something fitting ‘right’.

and it changes for any individual depending

if you’re talking about a sweater,

fingerless gloves,

or socks.

IMG_3893brighturbanso, when i design i make a judgement call.

sometimes i pick shaping to fit something the way i’d like to wear it,

sometimes i shape something a way i’ve not seen many other patterns done,

sometimes i’m just challenging myself to see

if i can make something fit

in a different way.

and any way you look at it, there’s math to be done (and checked and rechecked)

to be sure that i hit the mark on

whatever fit i aimed for.

so back to it.

‘fitting’ taken from 26:1 of proverbs.

picking the pieces

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the yarn is decided.

it’s the yummy ‘yotta’ from julie asselin.

stitch pattern of choice is in the works.  i’ve been playing with ideas.IMG_3852cropi know i want an overall rib, but which rib?

broken rib, mistake rib, 1×1 rib? twisted rib, 5×2 rib?

i am so very undecided,

but the swatching sure is fun.

next, i must choose something quirky (must because i really, really want to).

i want something that will make me want one of my own.

there are so many great patterns out there,

why do i want to spend my time on this one

(besides that it’s a great ‘excuse’

to play with the ‘yotta’)?

i was gathering up the ‘usual suspects’

(buttons, handmade pins, closures)

when i figured out what

i wanted.

IMG_3864shadea zipper.

(get a load of the silver sparkly one!)

not sure which zipper yet,

but i am sure about one being involved

in this newly forming pattern

whatever stitch it winds up being knit with.

but, i’m getting ahead of myself.

one piece at a time.

back to ribbing.

‘ahead’ taken from 14:7 of 1st samuel.

remains of the new

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swatches don’t always do it for me.

texture-wise they can’t be beat, but as to overall shape, not so much.

admittedly, the negative space that something fills up is fascinating to me.

the one art class i ever had found me carefully penciling in

the quirky empty spaces around the live model

IMG_3648frameshadewhile everyone else drew

the actual model.

go figure…

in my search

for mock-up materials

i have landed on fleece and

fleeced jersey fabric

(on clearance).

of course.

cutting out miniature

versions of big ideas

gives me a real solid sense of what will work and what just won’t.

today, both tiny replicas worked once they were masking taped into shape.

for me, this is a really good day for designing new ideas.

it’s usually more like a fifty/fifty success/failure rate.

now i’m back to the knit for a little

with a very motivated feeling

tickling at the corners

of my smile.

‘shape’ taken from 38:14 in job.