Yarn Chicken Time

 I am at the end of a very large shawl. It did not start out that way. I started with a 3 stitch wide key. After the key was completed I increased by 6 stitches every other row. So the rows got very long very quickly.  I have been playing yarn chicken for a while, since I am just awful at the Geometry needed to calculate how much yarn I would use per 4 square inches. Then figuring out my yardage divided by the yarn used in 4 inches. Then factoring in the 6 stitch increase every other row.  Then when to stop when I hit a certain gram weight of the yarn. The designers I know that are mathematicians, engineers, physicists and science types have the easiest time with this.

Yes, I know that they have computer programs that figure all that out for you. Personally the artist in me thinks that is cheating.  It take the spontaneity and creativity out of the process of designing. So I put Yarn chicken. This is also why I give the gauge for before and after washing. I really know that is Quirky of me.

Since I am doing a picot edge on the shawl, I want to make sure that I have enough yarn to complete the edging. If I have a little extra I’m fine with that. I mean the rows are so long and the shawl is deep enough that a row or two wouldn’t matter. It’s better than ripping out a few. On this shawl it’s a demon. I already ripped out 20 rows mid shawl to fix a mistake. 

I want to make sure that I have enough yarn to complete the edging. If I have a little extra I’m fine with that. I mean the rows are so long and the shawl is deep enough that a row or two wouldn’t matter.

So tomorrow I pull out the stitch Bible and find my edging pattern and finish the shawl. By the way here is how much yarn I have left. 

Too Much Tension

It has been a very busy tension filled week. Weeks like this are not kind  to my arthritis.  I find the more tension the worse the arthritis flare up is.  It has really been too much tension for me. We got a lot done which really helps. This being said, I am on day 2 of an awful tension headache. So my game plan for the rest of the day is chores, knitting and working on a new design.

I really want to see how many projects I can get finished today.  Wish me luck.

It’s All About The Tink

Sometimes when designing a new pattern way outside the stitches per inch on a different size knitting needle things can go terribly wrong very quickly.   I am using U.S. size 10 knitting needles on a fingering weight yarn.  I knew my first guesstimate was off so I doubled the amount of stitches that I cast on.  It looked pretty good until tonight. Let’s just sat after knitting 12 rows I know I am way off.  Not wanting to do the math involved tonight it will wait for tomorrow.  Then I will begin again.  I will also have it finished by the Birthday Celebration at Grandmas Spinning Wheel here in Tucson.  Yes, I will be on hand to help you select the perfect yarn for you.

In other news Debra showed me her latest knitting project. She took my Count1-2-3-4 shawl pattern and cast on 81 stitches for a narrower shawl.  Even better she is knitting it in 100% silk yarn in a sports weight.  The drape on the shawl is fantastic.  If you have some spare silk yarn in a sports weight give it a try and post the picture on  Raverly.  P.S. the pattern is on Raverly or your local yarn store.

50 Percent

I am 50% through my new pattern design. This means that I can start doing all that fun math stuff to figure out the rest of the pattern. Then do the math for the larger size. The magic number was 25.5 inches.

Time for a Change

I think I need to change things up a bit. Some of my friends who also design knitting patterns can design anywhere at any time. I have given it a try. Unfortunately it does not work for me. With the latest shawl pattern that I am designing, I tried to take notes and knit while watching television in the evening. after 15 to 20 rows I seem to loose focus. I am also on the 3rd revision of the pattern. So I think it will be back to the yarn store or coffee shop to do my design work. Maybe even the kitchen table.

With that decision made, I am going to make a small bowl or basket to knit hats while watching television at night. It is easy mindless knitting for me. other pluses include playing with color. Making more kids happy. Using up more yarn to get out of the house. At the end of summer I will post a picture of the hats knit so far this year and a count. Then off to the Flowing Well School District Clothing Bank they will go. I REALLY ENJOY making hats for the kids. 

The fall fundraiser that I usually do for Eric's day program is iffy this year. It has been a rough year so far for me. Returns on the fundraiser are going down instead of up yearly. So in the next few weeks I will be deciding what to do with the stock on hand. To sell on EBay? Facebook? Have a garage sale? If there is anything you have been eyeing from, rugs, shawls, earrings, hand spun yarn, blankets, necklaces or hand knit items please contact me. The items that have been give to me for the fundraisers, the money will still go to Eric's day program when sold unless you would like them back. Please let me know. Thank you for your understanding.

The New Shawl Design

I just froged the new shawl design for the second time. Even feeling as awful as I did today, I just did not like the design. So try number 3 has been cast on. This time the yarn is really telling me what to do with it.

Both Eric and I are both sick right now. I have a feeling that his eyrpy night was do to breathing issues. My allergies got so bad that I lost my voice for a few days. I now sound like a frog. I also went to Urgent care on Sunday and have a bunch of stuff that is suppose to make me feel better.

I am really hoping againt hope for some early rain to cut the pollen levels. Until then we will be indoors as much as possible. Breathing is good. High pollen levels and particulate matter are not.

Cleaning When Tired

With Eric sick all of last week, I am exhausted this week. So today, I alternated cleaning and napping. I have to say that I got everything done on my todo list plus a little bit more.

I reworked the new knitting pattern today. I am now 10 rows into the pattern. I think this version will be fantastic.

Oh Well

19 rows into to a new design. Absoulte failure. So I tinked it and am trying plan number 2. Off to cast on.

Knitting

I had a very good day in my personal knitting. I knit 8 more rows of my sweater. The rows are long enough that this took 1 1/2 hours to do. This was also less than an inch of knitting. Then I finished one hat, then started and got halfway through another hat. This I am very happy about.

The part that I am not so happy about was a talk from a local yarn shop owner, whom shall remain nameless. What I took away from her talk other than she did not know the subject matter as well as she should have. Was a lack of understanding of what it takes to design, knit, and write up a pattern, get test knitters and find a model. For me this takes a minimum of 2 weeks, but most of the time 4 weeks of all my "FREE TIME" and then some.  For her to stand in front of a room full of knitters and say that unless you were a major player your patterns should be free is beyond believable.  Does this mean that she is going to give the yarn in her store away free?  I personally don't think that she will, so why should my friends and I give our work away for free? If she asked most of us I am sure that we could cut her a deal like the book publishers. Hey, wait we already do that.  Also for goodness sake if you are giving a presentation with pictures in a lecture hall please don't hold up your laptop to a room full of people and expect the people in back to be able to see. Be professional and ask for a projector.

Please note that these are my impressions of the talk. Also if you are a regular reader you know that the majority of my knitting goes to the fall fundraiser at Eric's day program at the Tucson JCC and the Flowing Wells District Clothing Bank. So I do get offended when a for profit business asks knitwear designers to give away our work for free so that they can sell yarn. I know that we all will design an easy pattern for a favorite shop to help sell a certain yarn, but that is a shop where we are allowed to come in and create or just sit around a table and knit with friends.

My rant is over. Goodnight and sweet dreams.

Guess Who is Sick Again?

7 loads of laundry later Eric is starting to feel better. No the last 2 loads of laundry are not folded yet, would you expect anything more from me.  On the bright side I also managed to write and knit 16 rows of one of the 2 patterns that need to be ready to go by mid June. 

I am 62 rows in and only 9.5 inches deep. I am still hoping that I can make this a one skein quick project. Only more knitting will tell.  It still might need a second skein.  

I am really hoping that Eric sleeps tonight. It feels like it has been a very long day already.  I also hope that everyone has a good and productive week.  

My First Hand Woven Scarf

This is what I have been busy doing this week. I have been having too much fun to blog or much else. This picture was taken before I washed it. By the way if you are in Tucson and have a chance to take a class with Donna  at Grandma's Spinning Wheel you just have to. I did not get to come home with a loom today. So sad. So I caught up on the house work which I have be ignoring all week. I am sure that John knew if I came home with a rigid heddle loom nothing would have gotten done today.

And that pattern I am designing. I have to tink back 6 rows not because of a design flaw, but because I dropped 1 stitch.

Not Sure Which Way To Go

I am not sure which way we are headed with Eric. We did start him back on formula this morning, but it has been very slow going. 12 hours later we are still going at 40 mils per hour. It is not where it should be. That being said he is feeling better than last night.

I on other other hand am dealing with a very stressed out body. I will have to slow down for a few days to give may body time to relax. I did do some knitting today and past the 3/4 mark on the new pattern. I did manage to empty another bag of yarn from my closet. I also went through some old paperwork, straighten my dresser and the black hole of my purse.

I was going to put together the spinning chair today but did not have the energy. I also did not have the energy to spin either. Thankfully I did not have a full load of laundry, so no laundry was done. Hopefully everyone will sleep tonight. I know today will be better.

A Wirlwind of a Week.

It has been a long time since I have written a blog. First off I have been very busy getting caught up around here. Some real progress was made. Projects were actually getting finished in the craft room. You know the kind, with just a few minutes of work and then the project is done. I cleared a bunch of them.

Saturday I got to go see the Pinatas that I had been working on get smashed. It left me with some design changes to mull over for next year. The first will be to add more layers of paper ma'che and maybe even a few pieces of well placed duct tape. The second would be to come up with a different hanging mechanism. Something a little more sturdy. I want to make it a little harder to get to the goodies inside. Eric had a good time at the party, but it left him a little tired.

Sunday was an all around rest day around the house. Everyone took a 3 hour afternoon nap. That did not stop Eric from having a bad night. The wild eyrping started at around 3:30 am Monday morning. By 5;30 am I had hoisted the virtual white flag of surrender. Eric did manage to give me a 20 hour work day. We also discovered how to ramp down a little bit on eyrpy laundry. When Eric was getting ready to eyrp we just powered up his suction machine and got it very close to his mouth. Then when it started, we just suctioned all the eyrp we could. I think it may have been easier on Eric too, as he did not have to work as hard to get everything out.

As bad as the eyrping was the dry heaves were much harder on him. He did not want me to leave his room. Mommy just had to be there for him. So what else was there to do but knit. That lasted a good 12 hours. He is still feeling miserable today, but not as bad as yesterday. Yes, he had to be close by today. Eric was also a little miffed at me for not making him all better. I am hoping to get him back on formula sometime Wednesday. John was so wonderful through this all, he even manage to get me 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep this morning.

As strange as it may seem, during all of this I got my knitting and design mojo back. I am in the middle of one design. I am making the middle size as a sample, this is just by a random act of casting on.  I think I might ask the test knitters to knit up the small and large sized ones. So if you have a pair of US sized 13 knitting needles and a very full scrap basket of odd sized balls of yarn let me know. I also sketched out the next pattern idea in the middle of my hair cut today. I think I should add a small sketch book to my already over heavy purse.

We are hoping for a very good night where everyone gets to sleep. Wish us luck.

A Fantastic Day

After a very slow start to my day, yes I am sure it had nothing to do with being up with Eric until 2ish this morning. Or getting 3 out of the 5 loads of laundry for the day done before 2 am.  I did manage to sleep in until 6:30. I did leave the folding until 7:30 this morning, after breakfast.  I did take a nap too. That must have been my catalyst for the day.

After my nap I got the computer desk picked up a little. Straightened the kitchen counter of all the odd junk mail, did the shredding, and took out 3 loads of trash. Carded a 3 ounce combination of 75% wool and 25% silk, this is when I found out that my carder can only do a 2 ounce batt. So 1 ounce for me and 2 ounces for a swap. The strawberry's got planted and the flowers got trimmed and re potted in to a bigger pot. I started looking at stitch patterns and after dinner worked on incorporating it into a wash cloth pattern. I am a third of the way through the pattern and I like it very much. As usual I am knitting it while I am doing the design. It will debut at the May OPK luncheon and after that for non-OPK members it will be available on my Raverly Designer page. All I can say is that I am having fun with this one.

I did manage to get some knitting for the World Wide Knit in Public Day done at dinner. This was my first venture out of the house for today.

After dinner we did a quick stop at the drug store, yes I know a great date right? This is where my ganga* of the day came in. I got 2 bottles of vitamins at buy one get one free and a small spray bottle for the strawberry plant. The original cost would have been about $29.00 for the 3 items. After the deals and gift card we paid a  total of .51 cents for the whole shopping trip. Now that is what I call a great shopping trip.

Well it is summer so if I get to bed soon I will have another fantastic day tomorrow.

*Ganga is Tucson speak for a really great deal.