Knitting Pharm

Well hello there, 2013!

It's been a blur of work-parent-knit-repeat.

2013 opened with a really cool opportunity: to attend Vogue Knitting Live in New York City in January. My dear friend, Sandra McIver, author of knit, Swirl! (previously reviewed here) was a headline sponsor of the event, and had TWO all-Swirl fashion shows. She needed a little extra booth help, and given my proximity to the Big Apple, I flew in, bunked with her lovely assistant, Leslie Cumming, and worked the Fine Points / knit, Swirl! booth.

Over the last two years or so, I have gradually fallen into a terrific new role as one of Sandra's primary sample knitters. The demand for appearances has long since eclipsed Sandra's ability to travel, so she has a number of trunk shows that travel when she can't. It's a revolving door of garments that need constant replenishment, so I've been making samples like a mad woman.

Seven of my pieces appeared in the Vogue shows, 30 garments in all, and it was simply amazing.

See footage from the fashion shows here.

Was it all work? Absolutely not. I flew in early enough to take in the Carnegie Deli, Dylan's Candy Bar, FAO Schwarz and Wicked on Broadway (a longtime obsession). Buckets of fun and very, very busy.

Much more to come, at least two book reviews and lots more. Happy May to all!

The tale of the (possibly not-so-) secret bicraftual

I'm not sure if it's a secret that I'm a former crocheter who still occasionally hooks on the side.

I learned to knit first, then discovered that the mad speed of crochet was a better fit for my pre-teen need for instant gratification. As a leftie, I had to learn first by watching my mother, who was very skilled in the area, then trying to mirror her movements. It wasn't so hard. The first big project I can remember was, at 13, when hospitalized for a freak infection - a set of crocheted flowers for the nurses' station . This was followed by a grannie square lap afghan that, only a year later, gave great comfort to my grandfather in his final days.

Through the years, I have always come back to crochet: an edging here, a small project there, even an afghan-selling spree in the late 1990s that resulted in a wrist injury. My poor extremities can't take the strain of crochet for long stretches, but it sure is fun to come back to once in awhile.

A few months ago, I was approached by a friend of a friend about the possiblity of making blankets for her daughters. She had seen a pattern on Pinterest and wondered if I could do it. I had her purchase the pattern for me, then mulled it over for a bit. Then I remembered my favourite mercerized cotton at Halcyon Yarns in Bath, Maine. Then I had a trip planned, and behold! I had yarn, I had pattern, and I had a plan.

And now, 379 flowers later, dear little Addy will have her blanket.

It's bright and cozy and HEAVY. And the next one, for her sister, has already been started.

Hook on, my pretties.

Simply Sockupied

Last summer, while strolling the marketplace aisles at Sock Summit, I received a submission call from Interweave for Sockupied, their innovative emag all about (what else?) sock knitting. I was unable to meet the deadline with my travels, and informed the good people at Interweave of that fact. They asked me to submit a more specific design, built around one of my Sock Summit classes, with a later deadline. This was for the issue that would be released as Simply Sockupied.

That stripy design on the cover? It's mine!

Speed Bump socks are perfect for the beginner, and the pattern contains a bunch of tips and tricks that will allow you to let the yarn do the work. A bit of polish, a smidge of texture, and a lot of fun.

If you knit a pair, drop me a line and let me know how you do!

Welcome to 2012

Well, hi there!

In welcoming 2012, I am pleased to bid a fond "screw you" to the year that was 2011. In the absence of closure, I instead have chosen to make peace with where I stand in early 2012. Things are GREAT, most notably:

• I have grown up and taken a day job. While not full time, it puts me into the work world more days than not (a 60% position largely fulfilled over 5 mornings and one afternoon per week). I am busy and interacting with people and, most importantly, necessary.
• I am approaching my continued physical recovery as aggressively as I possibly can, with all the boot camp and yoga classes (5-10 hours per week, people!) I can cram in between work and kid commitments.
• I am knitting like a madwoman, doing sample, test, and design work for a lot of others. A highlight:

photo (c) 2012 Interweave Press

Hester pullover, designed by Amy Herzog - Knitscene Spring 2012 (cover!) - sample by moi!

Much more to come, including a book review, a giveaway and some more design work news. Happy New Year!

Yeah, I did it.

I went for a Swirl. A Swirl for me!

Between knitting Swirl samples for Sandra and various other jobs, I managed to carve out enough knitting time to make my very own Swirl.

Her name is Tangerine Rose and, true to form, I went slightly off-book.

I decided that I wanted a plain, unembellished jacket, no bells, whistles or eyelets. However, I loved the shape and proportion of the Tangerine Rose in the book: a shorter, fitted, lovely, swingy silky extravaganza. So I omitted the eyelet and condo rounds and didn't bother making the corsage.

And I found the perfect yarn sub: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Luscious Single Silk in Cozy Fierce and Dirty Orange. I love to say that name as much as I liked knitting with it. And it's divine.

Here she is!

It's true sweater love.

Must. Knit. Socks.

At a time that's been anything but ordinary, I crave the familiar.

The comforting.

Things I could knit in my sleep.

Perfection in each tiny stitch.

You can take my health, but you can't take my socks.

Screw you, Cauda Equina Syndrome.

And [to quote my beloved mother] the horse you rode in on.

We heart knee socks

In almost eight(!) years of motherhood, I have yet to deny a request for knits for the little ladies. I can't help myself.

 

Knee socks in Lamb's Pride Superwash, in their favourite colours of yellow and blue. These didn't make it under the Christmas tree, but have been worn a great deal since.

Happy kids in handknits.

A summer sock sequel

Wow!  I went digging through my un-Raveled and unblogged projects, and wouldn't you know?  I found more socks!  A friend reminded me today that not sharing projects is really not good for my street cred among knitters.  After all, I'm supposed to be this insanely prolific knitter.  If I don't have that, I'm just some weirdo with way too much yarn.  I'm not OK with that.

Toe up vanilla has been the order of the day for me.  As I've posted in the past, I've wandered back to the self-striping wool-blend sock yarns that got me started knitting socks almost ten years ago.  There is something soothing about knitting a sock that does the work for you.

Has anyone ever noticed that, to the non-knitter, self-striping socks are the most impressive ones?

My friends and family have long since become accustomed to raiding the "sock boxes" in my laundry room, usually on their birthdays.  The boxes are where I keep the random socks that I knit between projects.  I tend to keep a pair on the go much of the time.  Having small, manageable, no-brainer projects in my pocket can be a handy distraction when I don't know what the next big knit will be.  I can rest my brain while I mull over my options for the projects that will be larger commitments.

It seems my brain has had a summer of rest.

I'm getting tired of typing the text, "Toe-up vanilla socks.  Worked from my "Toe-ups for the Stubborn" template, magic loop on a 32-inch Addi Turbo.  Stockinette with 1x1 ribbed cuff."  However, it's a formula that works for me.

I still try to convert the staunchly cuff-down to this method, most notably Ms. Carin of Round the Twist fame.  While having Carin (and her remarkably awesome mom Vicki) in my classes at Sock Summit 2009 didn't yield two more toe-uppers, I gained two friends, one of whom even answers to "Ma".  So Carin, you can continue to work your beautiful cuff-down socks, but I'll continue to link my projects to your Ravelry group.  Consider it a gentle ribbing (perhaps of the 1x1 variety, with a tubular bindoff).

 

It's business as usual, as I seem to have worked my way down to a 2mm needle for these yarns.  Does anyone remember me scoffing at this notion?

With all of these socks, I must be ready for the next great knit!

Doodling with cables

No paper, no pencil, just sticks and string.

 
Me and my Cascade 220 Superwash.

 

Lots of twist, crosses and jogs.  And sadly, no pattern to share.

 

Just some serious pretty.

What did they call the knitter...

who insisted, one hot July, on working...

 

a bulky-weight,

 
cabled,

 

hooded

 

full-length coat?

 

Very warm.

 

Also, very prepared for the coming winter.

Sylvi, from Twist Collective Winter 2008.  Briggs and Little Atlantic (suggested yarn) in Fern colourway.  Ready for the colder weather?  Check.