NaKniSweMo Update!

Cumulus is off the needles as of Saturday!  It looks like I'll actually finish NaKniSweMo in the official Mo!  :)  The Ravelry page for it is here.

And from the back!

I love how the yarn showed the detail in this pattern.

And of course the buttons!  Zach is probably so sick of hearing my talk about these buttons :)  No, they're not sewn on yet, just laying in place on the sweater.  I wanted a picture where you could see the colors in the shell with the yarn.

I will graft the 7 stitches under each arm, and then figure out something for the pockets.  I don't really want to use the same yarn for the pockets - reading reviews, it says that the pockets can be very bulky. And let's face it, who really needs extra bulk around their hips?  So, I think I'm going to use a worsted yarn from my stash knit on a narrow gauge.  I also want the pockets to be densely knit, since I tend to stick a lot of stuff in my pockets, and don't want to worry about things falling through.  So, the project may or may not be done "on time" depending on how long it takes me to figure out my pocket situation, but at least the bulk of the knitting is done when it 'should' be! :)

And of course, I would be me if I wasn't starting a new project as I finish up another!  This time it's a shoulder wrap (small shawl) which could easily be a short scarf as well.  It's actually free online, if anyone's interested :)  I've Raveled it here.

It's a Red Heart pattern, using one of their yarns, Shimmer.  And I'm pleasantly surprised with how it's working up!  It's a bit fuzzy to work with, and can be a little splitty, so be careful when working with it.  On the plus side, though, it's got a nice little bit of shimmer, is pretty soft and not scratchy, and (being Red Heart) is nicely affordable.  Also, neither here nor there, it's kinda thin - others on Ravelry have said it's almost a DK weight yarn.  Just something to think about if you're substituting it.  Personally, I liked it better than some of the other shimmery yarns I could find in stores.  Berroco Lumina, for example, is much more metallic - good for some projects, but not what I was looking for here.  So, for once, I actually stuck with the yarn recommended in the pattern!  *gasp*  :)

 

It's a diamond-shaped shawl, with soft-pointed (blunted?) ends - start narrow, widen and knit straight, then narrow back down at the other end.  The lace runs down the middle, adding two more rows when the shawl is wide enough.  When I took these pictures, I had just started the two outside lace repeats, so it's almost as wide as it will be (not that you can tell on the needles, of course).  You can just barely see the new lace sections at the needle in the pictures.  You can also see a little of the shimmer in the yarn - no, that's not dust on the yarn or the camera!

 

Oh my goodness! The cuteness!!

Such adorable food!!  Some people are so clever at these things.

Hello Cupcake is blog by a pair of cupcake bakers.  They have a pair of books, too:  Hello, Cupcake and What's New Cupcake?  Such clever decorations on these cupcakes!  I personally love the corn/Indian corn cupcakes, and the mini-pie cupcakes.  Lots of creatively arranged jelly beans on these.

Hello, Adorable is another website with lots of cuteness.  They have office and home supplies and so forth as well, but the section I really like is the edible section.  Cute cupcakes from Hello Cupcake, and some adorable bento boxes too.  I really like the Totoro bento on the first page, and the Cookie Monster cupcakes on page 2.

Speaking of Totoro, Icanhazcheezburger has a food picture spin-off site, called My Food Looks Funny, which featured this coffee art.  Awesome!  But would I want to drink my coffee when it looks so cute??

And of course bento is a wealth of cute food ideas.  Cooking Cute is a great intro to bento site, and check out the bento on the main page :)

And the piece de resistance, the Knitting Basket Cake at Cake Journal.  Too much fun!!  Now to find someone to help me make it for my next birthday...

I can't wait til I'm able to help friends and family make fun cupcakes and cakes for young folks' birthdays :)  Zach doesn't appreciate the wondrous fun of corn-on-the-cob cupcakes...

X is for...

eXtra large!  Or, eXperience is the best teacher!

 

This was my second project ever.  Well, second project following a pattern (I'm not counting the doll blankets I made when I learned at age 10).  And believe it or not, I did swatch.  In fact, I'd already made the matching scarf the same pattern (ribbing) and same yarn.  And yet...

Looking at it later on, I think the biggest problem was that I really had no idea about sizing.  The gauge wasn't bad, but having never made a hat before, I didn't realize how you want sizing to run.  With hats, you want a certain amount of negative ease, right?  Well, I do.  I don't really make berets or slouchy hats.  I like the closer fitting ski or skull sort of caps.  This was supposed to be along those lines.  Except, being a new knitter (like I said, my second project), I was worried about making it too small.  Heads in my family run on the larger side, and mine is no exception.  So, I tried to err on the side of caution.  I ended up being VERY on the side of caution!  It was a very long, very large hat.  A friend in college with a head even larger than mine laughed that he didn't think it was possible to make a hat too big for even his head, so this project was noteworthy for that reason alone! 

This project has since been frogged.  I've already reused part of the yarn in my Traveling Woman shawl, and the rest is waiting to be reused as a cowl.  Still, a good learning experience about how much ribbing stretches, and about the importance of proper ease in a project :)

W is for...

Warm!

 

I know that lots of knitting is warm, but I'm specifically, I'm talking about the set I made for Zach back when we were still dating.  They are double knit in a wool-acrylic blend, because I wanted something to be a good wind-blocker for him, but at the same time something he wouldn't felt into a potholder either!  He's still wearing both pieces 5  years later, so I think it was a success :)

Yes, yes, I realize we live in the desert, but we do travel a good bit, so Zach does get to use it from time to time.  The scarf he actually does wear on post semi-frequently - the double-knitting means that it's basically 2 scarves you're wearing at once, so it's a good wind block.  And we certainly need that on this post! The hat is a little loose, he says, but he likes wearing it as a sleeping cap when we camp, so it all still works out.  He's wearing the hat on the left there at Spring Valley State Park in NV from our trip in 2008, and the scarf in the picture on the right is while we were snowshoeing at Sequoia National Park last January.

 

He does also wear the set when it's not as warm, but when it is seasonally appropriate.  And I mean sports seasonally appropriate.  This picture is from the day he received the set.  65ish outside, he's headed to work inside, but dangit, it's Game Day!  Nice to see your work appreciated though :)

Dye Day! And the pretty results!

Back at Stitches in February, Sarah invested in a set of dye powders.  Not just Kool Aid Dyeing for us - we're going high tech!  The colors you can get are different too.  Kool Aid gives you a lovely range of brights - every neon color under the sun - but the dye powders include black and brown and navy.  You can get richer colors from the powders.  Different effects too.  Talking with the girl from Creatively Dyed Yarn at Stitches, she gets a cool speckled effect on the yarn by using the straight powder to dye, dusting the yarn so to speak, not mixing it up as a liquid first.  Something to try in the future!  We'll start with the basics first, though :)

Proper precautions first!  The dye powder irritates lungs, so you have to handle it with mouth/nose covered.  Dyeing banditos are we!

The dyes we were using the basic rainbow, plus brown and black.  Some of the colors' names were creative, though.  For example, we have no idea what "working purple" is :)  Below, you see them in the powder case, and all mixed up, ready to go!

 

We also had to take some other precautions, lest we had unwanted helpers!  Sarah has 3 pups, and one especially wanted to be in the kitchen helping.  Her "pibble" is the sweetest dog EVER, and I would definitely run off with him if she wouldn't notice (Zach would help, too!  We both love this guy!)  He definitely wanted to help with the dyeing, though, so we had to set up a blockade.   It was so hard saying "No" to that face!  Her kitchen, though bigger than mine, isn't big enough for 2 full grown people, lots of yarn and roving, AND a 60 lb pit bull.  He watched us forlornly from the other side of the blockade.  Sorry, Buddha!

 

I had 5 skeins to dye, 3 lace/light sock weight and 2 bulky.  The lace weight yarns are possum!  Not opossum like in the States, as who would want to harvest hair from those mean little critters and would it even be worth the effort, but a New Zealand possum.  Pretty soft and warm, and it falls in with my interest in unusual fibers recently :)  The possum lace is in the bag on the counter (the picture below on the left) and the bulky yarn is the one hanging like spaghetti as I lay it out (the picture on the right).

Sara also had some pink yarns that she wanted to over-dye, so she decided to kettle-dye them with red.  Kettle-dyeing boils (simmers, really) the yarn in the dye.  You end up with relatively uniform yarn instead of stripes or blocks of color, but mottled all in the same color, based on which sections of yarn were most exposed to the dye.  As we were dyeing the week before Halloween, we laughed that the kettle-dyeing set-up looked very seasonally-appropriate with all the red liquid steaming with unknown things floating in it!

Two of the possum yarn skeins I decided to try and get W&M colors in (green and gold).  Didn't quite work, but I like the results nonetheless :)  After the first dye-day,  I dried the yarn to see what I had, and it wasn't quite what I wanted.  There were still bits of blue where the colors hadn't mixed properly, and there were still natural sections as well, since the possum yarn I started with was more natural than white.  So we decided to try and kettle dye it in yellow to even it out.  Didn't end up with blocks of yellow and green like I thought I'd get, but an all-over mottled grass green (below right).  Apparently the blue bled a little...  The resulting yarn is very bright and springtime-y.  I rather like it, actually.  Amazing how much you appreciate green after being in the desert a few years!

The last of the lightweight yarns I just played at painting.  This was pretty close to what I was aiming for, and I'm happy with the results with this one.  I was aiming for an autumn-y mix - browns, a little black for shadow, red, yellow, orange,  and an olive green that I mixed together myself.  The picture on the top is while it's still wet, and the other shots below are after it's dried.

The last of my yarns was a bulky weight, Lion Brand Kool Wool.  I picked up the two skeins on super-sale when the yarn was being discontinued.  Hadn't decided on a project yet, so decided to use them to dye!  It's a 50-50 wool-acrylic blend, so it won't take up the dye as strongly as a 100% wool (or other natural fiber) yarn, but it will take it up sufficiently.  I spooned and dribbled blue and cyan and purple dye on the yarn, so it was small color sections on the yarn, and painted the dyes back and forth with a paintbrush, to mottle them up a little more. 

We did have a second dye learning experience, though, besides the kettle dye yellow (...er, green).  We lost one skein of the bulky wool to the microwave when heat setting.  Oops :(  Zach stopped by as we were playing, and stood there asking "what's that smell?"  We'd been smelling the vinegar and dye all afternoon, and didn't notice the burning hair smell until we were standing right by the microwave, where it was rather noticeable.  All damage was to one skein only, though, so not too disastrous a learning experience!  Lesson learned:  make sure your yarn isn't too dry when heat-setting the dye; if it's more dry than not, burning results!


Still, though, we had a successful skein of the Kool Wool survive, so I still have enough for a small project - more on that later though :)

V is for...

Vendetta!  I think that joke every year, but it's the first time it made it to post.

No, really, though... V is for Vests  :)

Living where we do, it's a very short season where you can really wear full sweaters.  Granted, it's windy enough that you appreciate the full warmth, but it's a relatively little section of the year that you're not overheating in any sort of knitted garment.  However, a little warmth is appreciated. So, since moving out here, I have developed a definite love of shrugs, small shawls (the type you can use as a scarf too), and vests.  Just a little warmth outside, but not so much that you overheat.  

And, as an added bonus, these are all small(er) projects and you can find a lot of instant gratification projects within these categories.  You can find more involved projects too, obviously, but if you don't have sleeves to worry about, it does cut some time off a project :)

 

The vests I've pictured here are all Raveled, of course. The one up top is the Cloud Bolero by Ysolda Teague, from  Yarn Forward Magazine's free web patterns (my project Raveled here).   I lengthened it, so instead of a cropped little cardi, it's more vest-ish. The middle vest is Abrazo by Laura Nelkin, Knitty Fall 2008 (my project Raveled here). The bottom one is Cable Front Tank by Charlotte Quiggle, Knit It! Magazine, 2003 (my project Raveled here).

Friday Feline!

 

Tired kitty face-plant on the sofa!  Just in case you needed something fuzzy and funny today :)

Review: Bridge on the River Kwai

A find from the post library. Was one of the classics on my to-see list, so worth the rent. Don't know why I hadn't seen it at some point before, but there you go. So many movies, so little time :) Here it is now, though: thoughts on The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Plot (adapted from the IMDB summary): The film centers on WWII British prisoners of war who are ordered to build a bridge to accommodate the Burma-Siam railway being built by Japan. Under the leadership of Colonel Nicholson, the prisoners are persuaded that the bridge should be constructed (as opposed to  spending their energy on delaying  the operations, sabotage, escape attempts, etc). The prisoners treat the bridge as a symbol of British discipline and spirit and ability to overcome adverse circumstances, but  Nicholson becomes more and more obsessed with completing the project, whatever the cost. Meanwhile, unbeknown to the prisoners, the Allies have sent a mission into the jungle to destroy the bridge...

This movie totally deserves it's reputation.  It won 7 Oscars in 1958, and was nominated for an 8th.

Alec Guinness is great in this movie, making a complex character seem very real.  Nicholson starts out very concerned for his men, enduring severe punishment for what he sees as a proper cause.  Through the course of the movie, though, he become blinded by the short-term goal of building the bridge, making his mark despite the cost to his men.  Guinness makes the character almost sympathetic, really - you can see why he's willing to collaborate with the enemy to give the men focus during their imprisonment, but then you see how it turns.  He has had a full military career without being outstanding; the bridge is his chance to make an impression, create his legacy, even though it means working injured men, collaborating with the enemy, etc.  His realization of what he has done at the end is all the more powerful, when you keep in mind how hard he has worked for his men previously.  One of those "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" moments.


Sessue Hayakawa, who portrayed Col. Saito, the director of the POW camp, was another Oscar nominee, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.  I really liked the scene where he concedes to Nicholson about the officer's duties.  The public bravado and collapse in private were both so well done, one of those scenes that just sticks out in the mind.

I honestly didn't like William Holden's character, though.  Kinda interesting, as he was the top billing.   Biggest name, I suppose.  Not the first case, though, where I've liked the supporting characters better than the lead.  Shears (the Holden character) was just a little heavy handed in the flirting, sarcasm, cynicism, etc. and somehow just grated on me instead of earning my support.  Holden's Sgt Sefton in Stalag 17 was a much better cynical, anti-war service member.

The cinematography was very well done as well.  Very epic.  The same way you feel cold watching Dr. Zhivago, you feel hot and sticky watching all the jungle scenes.  And I liked the repeated vulture images - though a little heavy-handed (almost silly) early on, when Shears was first rescued by the villagers, I liked the pairing with the vultures later in the movie.  The pacing is on the slow side, but that's common with "epic" sort of movies.  It also helps you appreciate the strain on the men at the camp, and the gradual descent by Nicholson into obsession, so slow that you don't notice it at first.

The music was another strong point, and earned another Oscar for the film.  Of course, everyone remembers the Col. Bogey March from the film (the song the prisoners are whistling) but the music overall adds a good depth to the film.  Of course, you do have the warning that watching this movie does mean that you'll be singing the Col. Bogey March for the rest of the afternoon... 

Side note:  apparently the "Comet: It makes your teeth turn green..." lyrics to the Col. Bogey March are a GS camp thing - neither Anne's guy nor Zach had heard of these lyrics...

The movie is an interesting history lesson too, not so much as fact itself, but as a starting point for  learning something more.  Reading up on the actual events on which the movie is based, the real officers involved in the project were nothing like Col Nicholson. Lt Col Philip Toosey was the real commander involved at the POW camp, and was not a collaborator as Nicholson was portrayed to be. Toosey was actually highly decorated for his efforts in WWII. It angered a lot of other survivors how the officer was portrayed in the movie, but Toosey didn't like the publicity so did not protest much himself. Several books have been written, however, based on his notes and later interviews, so more accurate tellings of the story are available.

More historical trivia: The actual Sergeant-Major Saito (not a colonel), unlike the character portrayed in the film, was said by some to be one of the most reasonable and humane of all of the Japanese officers. Saito and Toosey actually had great respect for each other; Toosey even spoke up on Saito's behalf at the war-crimes tribunal after the war, saving him from the gallows. Toosey and Saito corresponded for many years, and after Toosey's death in 1975, Saito made a pilgrimage to England to visit his grave. (Thank you, wikipedia and IMDB trivia!)

In short, treat this like any other Hollywood production - take the story with a grain of salt, and if interested in the story, do the research on your own afterward. Truth is often more interesting than fiction!

Overall: 5 of 5.  Great movie, and certainly worthy of all the Oscars it earned.  It's an interesting bit of history, especially when you start reading on the real story behind it all.  So, full marks for entertainment and as an educational jumping off point :)

Adventures in DIY Knitting Accessories - Part 2A (a follow-up)

I know I said back when I started doing stitch markers, that I wasn't as fond of the wire-and-crimp-bead stitch markers, but after having been playing around with them a little, I have found that they do serve their purpose :)

These markers are really useful for larger needles.  Most of the time, I work in worsted weight yarn or lighter, and my other beaded stitch markers fit those needles.  The rings fit up to size US 9, and the lobster claws up to US 7.  But every so often, I want a quick and easy, chunky or super bulky project.  Those bulky projects give my hand a break from the smaller yarns and needles, and usually are pretty instant gratification as well.  However, they are on US 11s, 13s, etc.  In other words, too big for my pretty stitch markers.

With the wire markers, though, you have more flexibility on how big you are making them, so you can make them as big or as small as you'd like.  The owls below were made because I needed 6 big stitch markers for Cumulus, so ta-da!  And, let's face it, those beads are cute as the dickens!  Another nice thing about these stitch markers for the larger needles is that you can use larger beads on them.  Like the adorable owls, for example :)  Not that you can use enormous beads, or anything, but when the project is using bulky yarn on size 11 needles (or 10.5, in the case of Cumulus), the project itself is heavy enough that you don't notice the weight of the beads!

 

Oh, and another note about the owls.  The beads are all the same; I just have some facing forwards and some facing back, so that you can see both their cute little faces and the little feathers on their backs :)

There are two very good tutorials for this style of stitch marker, if you're not familiar with these bits of beading equipment.  I wasn't familiar with them at all, and just played around with the wire and crimp beads until I had sturdy stitch markers that held.  The folk below, though, have some good discussions and photos for those that need to see something before jumping in :)

• Spindle and Wheel has a good basic tutorial, and includes an additional set of instructions for some fancier beaded ones too. 
• Knit Purl Gurl has another good basic tutorial, lots of nice step-by-step pictures and a few videos, too, on using the crimping pliers, for example.
• The podcaster Sticks and String has another basic tutorial, along with an interesting discussion on using the beads to help counting pattern repeats.

And while I'm talking about stitch markers still, I've found a few more variations out there too!

• Knit Powers to Peace explains how to make shrinky-dink stitch markers - even printing your own pictures on the shrinky-dink paper!  How much more personalized can you make them?  :)
• Wikihow has instructions (and video!) on making the curled wire markers - you know, the ones that are open, not closed rings, and can be placed actually in a stitch.  I've always thought these look really cool, but am curious as to how much they snag your yarn.  I suppose it's a matter of practice, to make the coils smooth enough that they don't catch.

NaKniSweMo!

And it's really gonna be in a month this time :)

I tried last year with Mom's raglan sweater remake, but real life took over, and it was closer to 2 months to finish that, not just November.  Still, not to be discouraged, I am trying again this year!  And I think I can do it this time :)

I will be tackling Berroco's Cumulus.  I swatched up the yarn at Knit Night on Friday, but waited til today to cast on, to make it officially all in November. :)

The yarn I will be using is Filatura Di Crosa Air Wool.  I actually received it from Sarah in a destash.  This lovely yarn she thought was grey turned out in some lights to more purple-blue-grey (I think the name of the colorway is "Sterling").  Sarah's definitely NOT a purple person, and since this yarn can appear almost lilac in some lights, it wasn't one she was going to ever use.  But it definitely falls in my colors!  Thanks again hon!

 

I'm knitting it up on US 10.5s, so it's a little bit denser gauge than what's called for in the pattern.  But, it works out well that way, as I fall between sizes in the pattern.  By making the bigger size at the smaller gauge, I'll end up with both a warmer sweater and one that's closer to my desired size.

The other change I'm making is that it will be a long-sleeved sweater.  I'm not gonna make a dense wool sweater and not make it covering, you know?  If it's gonna be in this yarn and this gauge, it's going to be a jacket sort of sweater, so it'll need long sleeves.  I'm thinking bell-sleeves, but if it's just straight long sleeves, that'll be good too.

Still, even with a smaller gauge and longer sleeves, I think I can get it done in November.  One of the notes from Berroco website is that this sweater can be knit in 24 hours (not one day, but 24 hours knitting time).  So, I think I can get it done in a month!  And as added motivation, I'm borrowing Sarah's long 10.5 circulars, so I need it get it done to return her needles :)