A Spinning Wheel

Lately, I've been working on socks.  The same pattern, but different yarns.  As I venture deeper into the realms of textiles, knitting and spinning, I discover nuances I never knew existed.  The green pair of socks are knit up from the wool that I dyed in the green koolaid.  They came out beautifully and I love the softness of this pair. The blue pair I knit up next.  This wool was spun and dyed by a friend of mine and it was done "in the grease" which means the wool was picked clean, but spun with the lanolin still in the wool, and not washed out.  There was a bit of a stickiness to it, which I compensated for by keeping talcolm powder close by and each time my hands became sticky, I put a small amount of the powder in my hand and rubbed it in to my hands to absorb the surplus and knit more freely.

From this project I learned that you have to keep track of every stitch and take your time when you knit socks up.  I also perfected my kitchener stitch, and as you can see the toes have a lovely professional look about them.  It was worth the extra effort to really take my time and learn it well.  For all the previous mistakes I've made making socks, I have to say I've learnt so much.  As well noting down every single row and what it was, keeps you on track and I even develloped my own code so I would know each step that was coming up, how far along I was and that just kept things easy and fun.  Instead of sitting down and trying to get the project all done at once, I divide it up into jobs.  The cuff, the leg, the heel flap, turning the heel, the foot, and the toe, each become a seperate section and after completion of each section I take a break.  I go slowly and don't think about what I've already done and how much more I have to go, and what comes next.  It just takes away from the enjoyment of it and tends to create mistakes.  I just focus on the section I'm working on and it all works well.  I ended up unraveling my lovely lavender socks and have already started making a new pair out of them with the correct tension, (Hint: keep things tight) and the correct size.  I'm almost finished the first one and already it looks so much better.

I had some excitement yesterday, when a dear friend came over with some goodies for me.  A few rubber stamps to make cards with, some spool knitters, a little vintage fabric some other things, including nom-noms, but most importantly and happily a spinning wheel.  It's tiny, which suits this place perfectly This is the side of it, so you can't see the wheel, but you can see the arm that goes up and down turning the wheel, and you can see the bobbin and flywheel on the spinner.  As you can tell it has a triangular shape to it and is very compact.

Here you can see the wheel and the treadle, which you pump up and down to make the wheel go round and round, twisting up the fiber and drawing in the yarn and winding it on the bobbin.  It's pretty amazing the way it works.

It took me a while to get how it all worked.  My foot did not quite grasp how to get the wheel to go in the right direction at first.  As well the early tension was difficult and all over the place. Thick and thin, and it looked unwieldy.  I also suffer from performance anxiety, which manifests itself whenever I'm watched doing something, no matter how well I know someone, I just don't perform well.  Oddly enough as soon as my teacher and dear friend left, I decided to give it one more try instead of waiting until today to play with it, and low and behold it came to me, easily.  In fact, in no time I was spinning away and loving every second of it.  It's so peaceful and mesmerizing when you can just get into sitting at the wheel and working on creating pretty little bobbins full of fiber. :D

So yesterday was the best day I've had in a long time.  While my friend was here, we went for a walk in the park and had a yummy meal together, we talked and laughed, we spent time spinning... ok ok I was learning ... but we did get to spin together, which is something we both had wanted to do for a long time... Next time I think we're taking the wheels to the park... I should mention, I have the same wheel as my friend and they are sisters, much like my kick spindle has a sister.  I feel blessed to have such good friends and the opportunity to spend time with them.

The mind boggle, I mean the Kitchener Stitch

Okay, so I'm working on socks, and everything goes well until I get to the end.  It's grafted together with the Kitchener stitch and as luck would have it every time I get ready to do it, someone logs on with something they need to talk to me about.  Every time it's been stressful and it occurs as soon as I've put on the video to watch and go along with, which in my opinion is to fast to watch and learn, but hey I really know it's me and I'm having troubles with it and I'm not the only one.  It's mind boggling at best and with everyone else tossing crap my way it's never going to be learned without interruptions.  I get them here at the house to.  My well meaning son offers to make lunch.    It's not fair to him... It's not his fault.  My neighbor needs a hand getting to the store.  My other neighbour is having a big fight with her bf and things are being chucked out the window. then there is the clatter of feet and pots, pans cutlery exacerbating me. I'm already frustrated and every noise distracts me because I'm trying to teach these 50 year old hands new tricks, and they are saying mind boggle.... mind boggle... I just want to scream and toss my knitting... Always a good sign, because it means I'm close to an epiphany, that the way to do it is almost clear that once I release the fog of frustration I will see clearly how it works together.  However I'm not there yet.  Using the video is useless, it's like a magnet so I found this http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer04/FEATtheresasum04.html and all I can say is I love you Theresa.  Today I will finish an ugly toe on this sock.  it'sok... I'm good with that... Once it's done I"m going to do a little quicky knitting and knit up something with only a few stitches a handful  on each needle... That's only 5 and I will practice the stitch... then I"ll unravel and start again.  I will learn it slowly and not be afraid that I'm ruining a sock... No I'm learning a trick that will help me loads.  My frustration level is very high at the moment and if I weren't so mad about the interruptions, I would be in tears at my failure, so maybe mad is a good thing... tears often lead to headaches for me.  I'm thinking something fun to watch might help change my mood... Ah yes and the tension in my shoulders yes.. not a good thing for a knitter... I'm going to hunt down my A535, quit my whining and get back on the horse/ewe LOL And with that my sense of humor is starting to return.  At this point my son has heard language from me that he rather would not have and has ducked into his room.  I don't like making him feel uncomfortable... Perhaps I should make lunch today and then work on the sock.  :D  I won't feel entirely better til this stitch has been mastered.  I do know I don't  have to understand how it works.  I just have to let my fingers learn to make it work. :D

Pale Lavender Socks and a Pledge

So here they are, my socks, made from and angora blend.  This was hard to work with, a little slippery so the tension was tricky to maintain, but I persevered.  Also, I should have looked more closely at the pattern.  These were men`s sizes and next pair I make myself will be in extra small.  I enjoyed making these, so here is the pattern I used http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simple-skyp-socks .  I still find the Kitchener stitch a little difficult, but am sure that will come with time.  The best instructional I found for the Kitchener stitch was here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEaM6g4NBc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0 . The instructions are really clear and she shows you what is going on.  I think the big issue for me is that my knitting has become a magnet, the moment I pick it up, there is a knock at the door, or someone needs something, especially when I hit play on this video.

I`ve also noticed something interesting.  When people ask me what I`m doing, I tell them ``I`m knitting.`` `` Oh so you`re just knitting.`` They reply, ``Then you won`t mind giving me a hand.``  I reply back again with the I`m knitting and I`m busy, and they roll their eyes at me.  I love knitting.  I create beautiful things out of my own imagination, or from nothing more than a strand of yarn and a few sticks.  Knitting is no longer done by lonely old Grandmothers any longer.  In fact knitting is beautiful http://www.whiteliesdesigns.com/ as these knitted designs will attest to.  I don`t just knit and purl, I do math in my head as I`m going along  I keep track of stitches, rows, rounds.  This is more than just a mere past time.  I`ve made a pledge to create all my own clothing from the source or from local friends sources, doing as much as I can on my own, including shoes.  That the articles of clothing I make will be practical, wearable, durable, pretty, fun, unique and keep me occupied.   Slowly I will be phasing out all of my old clothes and replace it with something hand made by myself.

Learning Curve

So above is the first pair of socks I knitted.  Not perfect, but not bad, just basic little socks.  They fit well and I used an alright yarn I guess.  It's a mystery yarn, not sure of the weight, but it worked fine.  They seem to lack some shape, but I did want something simple for my first time, and that's exactly what I got.

After making my socks, I decided to make a pair for my grown son.  I used the same pattern, same math and got that monstrosity of a sock.  It is too lose at the top, fits all right at the foot, but it's so misshapen.  I was disappointed and frustrated the whole time I was knitting it.  I could see it was not doing what it should even though the bag of wool said that this was sport weight... yeah right, it was not sock weight, more worsted and it looks terrible.  I also used the wrong needles.  With the socks for me I guess I lucked out.  For both socks I used DPNs 3.5mm my favorites for knitting up a hat on the fly.  Yeah socks are not a knit on the fly type thing.  

  Now I'm working on a sock with a pattern, Skyp socks to be exact.  I have some very lightweight fluffy wool in a color I like.  I also have some DPNs 2mm this time around.  So far this looks much more like a sock and I'm feeling better about the thickness.  I'm going to find some grey or another dark colour (anything but black) so I can make my son some socks, and I'll see from there.  

Things I've learned:  *make sure you have the correct yarn and gauge

                               *make sure you have the correct needles to get the gauge correct.

                               *with socks size matters, triple check the gauge.

                               *when starting with socks, math is for mathematicians, use a pattern.

I'll be posting when the socks are done.

Finally completed the sock.

It has taken me a bit to grasp the making of this sock.  I suspect part of it is that I'm not up to par, everything is kinda achy and I'm feverish. However, a little flu will not get this knitter down.  I'm going to make it's match a little later, but it's good to see that math was true to the pattern.  What is interesting about this sock, is it was made without a real pattern, just an idea of what a sock is, with math for stitches to make it fit, and information on knitting the heel, the gusset, and the toe.  After that it's all easy. :D

The sock is a good fit, no tightness, but perfectly snug.  Also, the garment breathes well, and my foot is warm, but not overheating.  Who could ask for more.  I'm going to be working on some more different patterns as time goes on, but for now, I'll just settle on creating the mate over the next couple of days.

Adventures in Sockery

I have to admit, I have never made a sock.  I don't know why, but I always put it off.  Lately, my views on sock making have changed and I had some yarn.  I have no idea what it is, it's mottled and actually knits up prettier than I thought it would.  I've only started the ribbing, but I found a basic sock making pattern that just explains the math and how to make the heal and toes and all.  That's what I wanted.  I know that once I get the rhythm I will figure out a pattern.  For now, I'll be wearing bright socks because I have plenty of the mottled mystery yarn and the desire to really get it down to a fine art.

Yesterday, I finished the blue hat.  It's a pretty little thing, and I'm pleased it knit up so easily.  The pattern, as always came from my head based on what I wanted in the hat, which was a couple of cables, some ear flaps, a slightly loose fit and braided ties. And here it is in all it's simplicity.  It's actually a darker brighter blue, and the cable is so beautiful on it.  I wish the photo did it justice, but I'm working on creating a studio to better show my creations, and today was not the day to work on it... Today was for socks.