You know it's a knitter's garden when you see handspun alpaca singles used to tie drooping sugar pea vines to their supports. Who on earth has twine in their house? Not a knitter. Why would you have a ball of stringy stuff in your house that you can't knit with?
(Actually, you can knit with twine. It's itchy, but with a little creativity, cute accessories can be made.)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Another long hiatus.
Yes, been gone again from this blog for a long time. We moved into a new house, the midget started at a new school and will be 5 next month, the baby has four teeth and will be 1 next month, and the awesomest of awesome news is that I'm starting a line of handspun yarn that will be the first to be released under my Orange Fibre Company brand. I've already made some progress on my soon-to-be-famous Top Shelf Alpaca (a gorgeous fine 3-ply, hand-combed, hand-dyed, cashmere-soft alpaca yarn), and I've produced plenty of consistently good aran weight merino. I'm getting ready to put in a big order with my fiber supplier in Denmark for more merino, and then I'll have a large batch of the softest, most fantastic merino wanting to go to good, loving new homes.
The alpaca goes much more slowly, as it is entirely hand processed by one person, from raw fleece to finished dyed yarn, and there's a reason it's called Top Shelf. It's like a margarita - you could make it from any old tequila and it would be drinkable, but if you ask for the really good stuff, you'll never want to go back to that supermarket liquor section swill.
Look for more news soon on The Orange Fibre Company's fantastic products!
The alpaca goes much more slowly, as it is entirely hand processed by one person, from raw fleece to finished dyed yarn, and there's a reason it's called Top Shelf. It's like a margarita - you could make it from any old tequila and it would be drinkable, but if you ask for the really good stuff, you'll never want to go back to that supermarket liquor section swill.
Look for more news soon on The Orange Fibre Company's fantastic products!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Ick.
I'm sick. I hate being sick (but doesn't everyone?). The only good thing about it is that I have a good excuse to sit on my big soft leather couch, wrapped up in sweaters and blankets, sipping Cup-A-Soup, and knitting all day. Finished a hat yesterday, a scarf today (will post later) and am working on a beautiful merino baby dress. At least I have enough to knit.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Little Red Riding Hood
See, the cool babies know what it's all about - accessories, accessories, accessories. And ok, it's more of a raspberry color than real red. But I definitely wouldn't call it pink. Doesn't it just beg for a cute little matching cabled cape?
The pattern is Sweater Babe's adorable (and free) crochet pixie hat. The yarn is Schoeller + Stahl WonderWool Tweed (51% virgin wool, 43% acrylic, 6% viscose). And the baby (mine) is just the cutest thing out there, hat or no hat. The only unfortunate thing about the hat is that it covers her golden blonde fluff.
It was wonderfully quick to make, though - I did the whole thing while she napped this morning. Nothing beats a quick and satisfactory project like that to perk you up when you're tearing out almost an entire sweater vest.
It really does want a matching knitted cape... I'll have to see if my local yarn shop still has enough left of it.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Frustration.
I've nearly finished a sweater vest, only to discover my gauge is off by just enough to make it too small for the wearer's tastes. It's about 2 inches smaller around than intended; while this could be remedied by substantial blocking, the wearer would have to repeat the process every time she washed it, and nobody wants to have to do that.
Tearing it out now, and starting over tomorrow. I'll add 1 stitch to my 4"x4" gauge and that will remedy the problem. Very frustrating. I'll soothe myself with a pleasant diversion for the rest of the day - perhaps that 1940's purse pattern I'm making for my sister-in-law for Christmas. I have so been itching to start on it.
Tearing it out now, and starting over tomorrow. I'll add 1 stitch to my 4"x4" gauge and that will remedy the problem. Very frustrating. I'll soothe myself with a pleasant diversion for the rest of the day - perhaps that 1940's purse pattern I'm making for my sister-in-law for Christmas. I have so been itching to start on it.
On The Needles: week of 9.17.08
Awesome quote
Kaffe Fassett: "Why limit yourself to just one shade of red when you can use seventeen?"
Fiber Of The Week
DROPS Kid-silk. 75% super kid mohair, 25% silk. VERY moderately priced (much less than the comparable Rowan Kidsilk), extremely soft, and so delicate. Comes in beautiful soft colors that bring to mind the impressionist paintings of Claude Monet. I'm pretty sure I'll need to buy a couple more balls for the intended project, but that's ok.
Totally Cool Pattern Of The Week
A modular hexagon, knitted circularly from the outside in. I couldn't find a pattern for one ANYWHERE online, so I noodled this one out. Most of the patterns are knitted in an odd way, in kind of a spiral. Since I wanted to be able to pick up stitches from the sides of previously knitted pieces to attach them, instead of having to sew a hundred or more together, I devised this version. Click the image for a larger view. Yes, it's hand drawn on graph paper and then photographed. So fancy.
Vintage Patterns
I'm really in to vintage knitting and crochet patterns lately. The Victoria & Albert has got some really cool free 1940's patterns on their site. If you've got a hankering for old patterns, you can also check out freevintagecrochet.com - they have an fantastic selection of patterns broken down by category, including gorgeous shawls, sweaters, and accessories (with some bags you wouldn't believe). Some of the patterns are crap but still have something to inspire you. Celt's Vintage Crochet has some amazing thread crochet edgings you should try. If knitting suits you better, freevintageknitting.com has got some great vintage knits to try.
Kaffe Fassett: "Why limit yourself to just one shade of red when you can use seventeen?"
Fiber Of The Week
DROPS Kid-silk. 75% super kid mohair, 25% silk. VERY moderately priced (much less than the comparable Rowan Kidsilk), extremely soft, and so delicate. Comes in beautiful soft colors that bring to mind the impressionist paintings of Claude Monet. I'm pretty sure I'll need to buy a couple more balls for the intended project, but that's ok.
Totally Cool Pattern Of The Week
A modular hexagon, knitted circularly from the outside in. I couldn't find a pattern for one ANYWHERE online, so I noodled this one out. Most of the patterns are knitted in an odd way, in kind of a spiral. Since I wanted to be able to pick up stitches from the sides of previously knitted pieces to attach them, instead of having to sew a hundred or more together, I devised this version. Click the image for a larger view. Yes, it's hand drawn on graph paper and then photographed. So fancy.
Vintage Patterns
I'm really in to vintage knitting and crochet patterns lately. The Victoria & Albert has got some really cool free 1940's patterns on their site. If you've got a hankering for old patterns, you can also check out freevintagecrochet.com - they have an fantastic selection of patterns broken down by category, including gorgeous shawls, sweaters, and accessories (with some bags you wouldn't believe). Some of the patterns are crap but still have something to inspire you. Celt's Vintage Crochet has some amazing thread crochet edgings you should try. If knitting suits you better, freevintageknitting.com has got some great vintage knits to try.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
A little diversion
WARNING: this has little to do with knitting.
As I'm knitting my new iPhone case, I find myself compelled to extol the virtues of what I consider one of the best pieces of portable technology mankind has thus far created. I just got the iPhone 3G a few days ago, and every day I find myself amazed by the wondrous things I can do with it. Most of these features have been written about in one blog/site/review or another, but I wanted to put together my own reaction based on my own creative, tech-loving, expat lifestyle and the unique combination of features I use. Everything I currently use on my iPhone is free - I have yet to pay for a single application or feature.
The phone already comes with good built-in notes, email, real web browser, and calendar applications to keep you organized and in touch right out of the box. Then, with a WiFi connection and the App Store that comes with your phone, you can download all kinds of amazing stuff. I have the complete works of Shakespeare; audio phrasebooks in the major European and Asian languages (so far I have German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, plus Jim Breen's wwwJDic (Japanese dictionary)); Wikipedia's iPhone formatted version, 'Wikipanion'; three days at a time of current New York Times headlines; Evernote, which allows you to create text, photo, or audio notes; a small on-screen ruler for quick measurments in metric or standard (perfect for knitting gauges); local and international weather, etc. The possibilities are endless. Then, of course, you have an iPod built in with music, podcasts, and video. There are thousands of great podcasts out there; for little kids, Sesame Street even has some free video specials you can download through iTunes.
Then there's the sudden availability of English-language reading material. eReader, available throught he App Store, gives you access to a great selection of paid books, as well as the complete Project Gutenberg collection, all of which are free and downloadable in eReader format from manybooks.net. ManyBooks is even so kind as to offer up an iPhone-formatted catalog (certain features of their regular site are incompatible with eReader's browser). Project Gutenberg books include titles by Jane Austen, Mark Twain, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carrol, Henry David Thoreau, and many more. They have, I believe, around 15,000 free titles to choose from, and in many languages. I now have dozens of books, all in one convenient device that's barely bigger than the palm of my hand.
No iPhone review would be complete without mentioning the hundreds of fun gadgets you can get your hands on - Othello, Tetris, a virtual cowbell to play along with your iPod music (the application opens with Chrstopher Walken saying "I gotta have more cowbell!"), bubble wrap that you touch to pop, sudoku, Mastermind, a magic 8-ball, and even a flashlight. I have an application that tells me the London tube status (closures, delays, work, etc). I can upload photos to Flickr with one application, post to Twitter with another, chat and IM, control movies and music on my PC wirelessly like a regular remote control, doodle, make digital flipbooks, and even update and check my MySpace page and messages.
And let's not forget SodaSnap! Let's say you're in Paris for the weekend, and you want to send your sucker friends back in the States a postcard to make them jealous. Just open SodaSnap, click a picture with your phone's camera, and enter an email address and some text to go with it. Your iPhone's built-in GPS will stamp the postcard with your current location, in the form of a Google Maps link with a little pin showing where you are.
The absolute coolest thing I downloaded: an old-fashioned labyrinth game. Remember that old game that had a steel ball in a wooden labyrinth, and you had to tilt it around to guide the ball to the end of the maze? They've got one for iPhone. The phone has what they call an 'accelerometer' in it, which is just an odd way of saying it responds to shaking and movement and whatever angle it's held at. For example, if you're browsing the web with your phone held upright, you can turn it onto its side and your browser will automatically rotate with it. With Labyrinth, you hold the phone flat and tilt it to move the little ball, just like the old wooden box (the game also responds well to how much you tip it - the ball will speed up or slow down in a very realistic way depending on the angle of tilt).
Finally, the all-important criteria: can it keep small children entertained on long trips? Absolutely. Movies, music, games, and more will keep even the pickiest hyperactive kid busy for hours.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10
Price: 80 euros for the 8GB model at Dutch T-Mobile stores, with a contract - not bad at all
Now, back to my knitting.
As I'm knitting my new iPhone case, I find myself compelled to extol the virtues of what I consider one of the best pieces of portable technology mankind has thus far created. I just got the iPhone 3G a few days ago, and every day I find myself amazed by the wondrous things I can do with it. Most of these features have been written about in one blog/site/review or another, but I wanted to put together my own reaction based on my own creative, tech-loving, expat lifestyle and the unique combination of features I use. Everything I currently use on my iPhone is free - I have yet to pay for a single application or feature.
The phone already comes with good built-in notes, email, real web browser, and calendar applications to keep you organized and in touch right out of the box. Then, with a WiFi connection and the App Store that comes with your phone, you can download all kinds of amazing stuff. I have the complete works of Shakespeare; audio phrasebooks in the major European and Asian languages (so far I have German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, plus Jim Breen's wwwJDic (Japanese dictionary)); Wikipedia's iPhone formatted version, 'Wikipanion'; three days at a time of current New York Times headlines; Evernote, which allows you to create text, photo, or audio notes; a small on-screen ruler for quick measurments in metric or standard (perfect for knitting gauges); local and international weather, etc. The possibilities are endless. Then, of course, you have an iPod built in with music, podcasts, and video. There are thousands of great podcasts out there; for little kids, Sesame Street even has some free video specials you can download through iTunes.
Then there's the sudden availability of English-language reading material. eReader, available throught he App Store, gives you access to a great selection of paid books, as well as the complete Project Gutenberg collection, all of which are free and downloadable in eReader format from manybooks.net. ManyBooks is even so kind as to offer up an iPhone-formatted catalog (certain features of their regular site are incompatible with eReader's browser). Project Gutenberg books include titles by Jane Austen, Mark Twain, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carrol, Henry David Thoreau, and many more. They have, I believe, around 15,000 free titles to choose from, and in many languages. I now have dozens of books, all in one convenient device that's barely bigger than the palm of my hand.
No iPhone review would be complete without mentioning the hundreds of fun gadgets you can get your hands on - Othello, Tetris, a virtual cowbell to play along with your iPod music (the application opens with Chrstopher Walken saying "I gotta have more cowbell!"), bubble wrap that you touch to pop, sudoku, Mastermind, a magic 8-ball, and even a flashlight. I have an application that tells me the London tube status (closures, delays, work, etc). I can upload photos to Flickr with one application, post to Twitter with another, chat and IM, control movies and music on my PC wirelessly like a regular remote control, doodle, make digital flipbooks, and even update and check my MySpace page and messages.
And let's not forget SodaSnap! Let's say you're in Paris for the weekend, and you want to send your sucker friends back in the States a postcard to make them jealous. Just open SodaSnap, click a picture with your phone's camera, and enter an email address and some text to go with it. Your iPhone's built-in GPS will stamp the postcard with your current location, in the form of a Google Maps link with a little pin showing where you are.
The absolute coolest thing I downloaded: an old-fashioned labyrinth game. Remember that old game that had a steel ball in a wooden labyrinth, and you had to tilt it around to guide the ball to the end of the maze? They've got one for iPhone. The phone has what they call an 'accelerometer' in it, which is just an odd way of saying it responds to shaking and movement and whatever angle it's held at. For example, if you're browsing the web with your phone held upright, you can turn it onto its side and your browser will automatically rotate with it. With Labyrinth, you hold the phone flat and tilt it to move the little ball, just like the old wooden box (the game also responds well to how much you tip it - the ball will speed up or slow down in a very realistic way depending on the angle of tilt).
Finally, the all-important criteria: can it keep small children entertained on long trips? Absolutely. Movies, music, games, and more will keep even the pickiest hyperactive kid busy for hours.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10
Price: 80 euros for the 8GB model at Dutch T-Mobile stores, with a contract - not bad at all
Now, back to my knitting.
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