A Race Against Time

Pattern: "Tomten" by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Materials: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 8

I don't know how it happens, but somehow I always manage to turn a nice gentle knitting project into a race against time. Maybe I just have this deep desire to add spice to a simple project or perhaps I just get a kick out of self-imposed deadlines? Who knows. What I do know is that my glorious garter stitch project, which was supposed to lead me gently, in a 'California cruisin' style into the autumn, has suddenly become a race against time to complete. Maybe it's just because I'm on the homeward stretch, always the time when interest starts to wane and I can easily end up with an eternal 'Work-In-Progress' (WIP)! Or perhaps it's because my parents are returning to England on Sunday and I really don't want to have to post the Tomten jacket to my niece?

Whatever the reason, I am now knitting like a woman possessed. I knitted the hood last weekend in between trips out with the family and sat grafting it late on Sunday night while watching a DVD of Dale Chihuly's fantastic Glass Art. I followed EZ's Kitchener tips in her book, "Knitting Without Tears," but I know that "Knitty" and "TechKnitting" also have great articles on this easy sewing technique. (Video Tutorial at You Tube.)

So far, I have resisted the urge to alter Elizabeth's pattern. I wanted to stay true to her original jackets, the ones she knitted for her own children back in the '60's. You can see pictures in her book "The Opinionated Knitter" along with a reprint of the origional newsletter that she published.

Now I'm on the sleeves.

One child went back to school today, the others go tomorrow and with soccer practice tonight, I think I have a rainy date with the car and my Ipod later today. Should be able to make some headway........I hope.

A Knitter's Note

Pattern: 'Tomten' by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Materials: Plymouth Encore

Needles: US 8

I write a lot of notes. I am always afraid that I'll forget something and so my house is littered with bits of paper decorated with my semi-legible scrawl. I have lists of groceries, a general daily 'To-Do' list and a liberal sprinkling of reminders to clean out the cat's litter tray, pay the bills or drive the kids to an event. In fact I really should write myself a note as a reminder to put my son to bed at a decent time (or actually 'at all!') Last night, I forgot and he was up until I went to bed. Not a very good omen when school is about to start back next week!

My life also consists of knitting notes. Sometimes I run out of row counters and so I revert to scraps of paper marked with roman numeral chicken scrawl. It's extremely effective and has served me well for 35 years. As long as I remember to put the note back into the knitting bag at the end of my session, I'm good.

It is not surprising then that I have had to write myself a rather large 'Note To Self' just so that I don't forget that I now have a man downstairs! Yes, having barged in on several important business calls during the past few days, I have reverted to the 'visual reminder' method of mental prompting that I know works so well with me. My note is kingsized and is working like a dream.

I've also taken advantage of a few moments in the car at soccer practice working on 'Tomten.' Despite the blazing sunshine, I was determined to make headway on the hood and spent a peaceful 45 mins knitting in the heat. In fact, I feel that I really owe EZ a knitter's note. I'll send it as a prayer, I think. It's very simple really. It'll just say:

"Thanks!"

Knitting With Confidence

Today is the end of the month and it is D Day for us. As well as having house guests from England at this stressful time in our lives, I am racing around organizing physicals for the children in case I end up without a doctor and doing all those things that one normally does to try to prevent major fallout.

I am also, I'm very happy to say, knitting again!!

Yes, EZ has been my saviour. Cracking open Elizabeth Zimmermann's book to research her "Tomten" pattern has got me back up and running in the knitting department. The pattern is perfect as a social project. Its simplicity lends itself perfectly to those occasions when you want something to work on but need to have your wits about you to converse with fellow knitters or your mother!

I leapt into my stash this weekend and pulled out several skeins of Plymouth Encore, an acrylic/wool blend, in a gentle shade of pink that will make a perfect warm winter jacket for a little girl. I'm using size US 8 needles and coming up with a gauge of 4sts per inch. After one false start when I swear the item could have stretched to fit around me(!) I have now cast on 104sts and am merrily producing pink garter stitch while my mum brings me up to date on all the news back in "Ol Blighty."

As to the rest of life? EZ even has an answer for that. She says: "Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crisis."

Sounds like good advice to me.

Kid's Keyhole Scarf

I finally finished creating the PDF for this scarf which I originally designed for my cousin's 3yr old son. They had been everywhere looking for a scarf suitable for a small boy and in the end they asked me if I could knit one for him. I spent several weeks just mulling the project over in my mind while I got on with other things. What yarn should I use? Which stitch pattern would look good? How could I make my little friend feel independent when he got himself ready to go outside?

Unsure if he was sensitive to wool and needing a yarn which would hold a stitch pattern well, I settled on Encore by Plymouth Yarn. I figured this acrylic/wool mix would be easy to clean in the event of an accident and the vast range of colours it comes in was another plus. I settled on blue.

The Mock cable stitch gives the scarf a warm cosy look and the keyhole design means that small hands can slip one end through the large hole unaided encouraging independence. It also means less bulk at the neck, enabling the child to still be able to swallow or move their head whilst wearing the scarf!

Older children seem to like it too. If the length is too short for them, you can just make it longer, but remember to adjust the placing of the keyhole too. My son actually likes the shorter scarf because it doesn't get in the way when he's playing, but keeps his neck draft free. He also thinks it looks cool!

To access the PDF file just click on the picture in the side bar. Enjoy!

While I'm Waiting

It was a beautiful day here on Saturday. The sun shone but it was still cold enough to wear my Central Park Hoodie. Yes, I wore it, it's now had its first outing. I put it on in the hope that DH would manage to take some stunning pictures of me outside in the glorious sunshine. Sadly it was not to be. Having been away from home for 6 weeks, the other jobs that had accumulated over that time took all his attention (not to mention the 3 children!) so there was no time for a relaxing photo session. I'm a pretty good photographer myself (spent 4yrs at Uni taking Media Arts), but I can't model and photograph at the same time, without the aid of a remote button and a good deal of contortion.


So I'm waiting............patiently............for him to get round to doing his Strobist thing.


In the meantime I'm cracking on with the little Matinee Jacket that I'm making. Yesterday I spent a lot of time ripping back to get my sizing right on the sleeves. I'm using an old handwritten pattern as inspiration that I wrote up back in the early '80's, but I'm making a smaller size. This is requiring some adjusting as I go. Then ofcourse, I have to knit the second sleeve exactly the same!


It's all good fun.

Life And Art

I've hardly had time to knit a stitch recently, hence my blogging absense during the past week. I have been painting. Not quite in the Michaelangelo way (although I did do two ceilings!) but more like in the roller and masking tape way. I just spent our four day weekend painting my daughter's bedroom. It was backbreaking work and to be honest by the end of the day I was so tired and my hands ached so much that I just couldn't pick up my knitting at all.

I then devoted the earlier part of this week to teaching a class on Illuminated Manuscripts, a totally fascinating and very inspiring topic. I absolutely adore the history of art and could spend hours just researching around my given subject for the month.

Last night I finally got back to knitting.

I'm fiddling around a bit right now, creating a matinee jacket, which was one of the first items I ever knitted. I've not made that many in recent years so it's quite interesting to go back to creating something so small and beautiful. I'm using an acrylic yarn from my stash, because baby items really need to be easy to wash and dry and I'm just making it up as I go along. It's proving quite interesting with it's delicate openwork, artistic in fact!