Anything But Work

One Blog is Enough

2009-06-19T19:27:00.001-07:00

Keeping up with one blog is a lot, even considering keeping two blogs is too much. So, going forward will be blogging solely on hedgehogstitchery blog and hope that the I will blog a little more frequently

Shameless Kitty or If you could snort this stuff she would

2009-02-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

Watching the cats, especially Cleo, around wool is something to behold.

Pure wool is a favourite. Manos is much loved (but the camera battery was dead)! Sock wool knit into a scarf is quite nice, but still connected to the needles, so stealing it was a challenge.

Rusty orange is a comfort to be sure. Margo, forgive Cleo, but she made your shrug into a bed as I was sewing it up today.

She begs your pardon.

But it was really comfortable, and I was so sleepy!

And off she runs with the ball, right out of the bad. Too bad i didn't get a picture of her prancing around with it in her mouth. See the innocent look

Even hunting it down ....in the bag! Guiness joined for a while, but was too quick for the camera!

Slouchy Trees from Manos and Linda's Scarf and Gloves

2008-12-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

It is a really good thing the world does not revolve around Vickie blogging. Has an audience survived my neglect?

Here is the Martina's Slouchy tree in Manos del Uruguay. The mostly green tree is the slouchy pattern knit exactly as written, alternating two rows of green with one row of multi. Love it!

The redder tree is slouchy tree starting with 88 stitches (instead of 72), purling 9 rows in multi, purl 1 row in green (so the multi shows), knit 3 rows in green (with the decrease on the second row); knit 1 row in multi (so the purl rows have multi sticking out). repeat in this manner two more times, then do a green purl thing instead of multi (because you are afraid you might run out of multi and the tree might look too red); use multi on the next two purl rounds, forget where you put the pattern so improvise when to decrease to 9 rows, 8 rows, etc. of purl. do another section of green. Continue with multi. Decide to finish off the top with a knotted i-cord. So that the seam is less apparant on this one than the first one, cut yarn each time. So work all the ends in as you go. Unless you are on the GO (train), in which case just just leave large loops to cut and work in at home. Let everyone try it on as a hat, because it is big enough. Don't dare try to take a picture ( it looks dorky on dave and cute on kate). It grows on you. They are sitting atop a quilted table topper I made last year from my favourite Christmas fabric (old fashioned ornaments). And we have to replace them each morning after the cats cart them off. Cleo (who doesn't curl up on a couch with us very often) literally slept on the Manos while I was knitting. They love wool.

Oh! And I found the photos I took of the scarf (Fiona Ellis) and complementary gloves (designed based on scarf) made for Linda? Made in Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran it was luscious. Need to check with Linda to see how the are holding up in the cold weather. 6 balls of Alpaca Silk offerings on my floor

Fiona Ellis's Scarf is going to become a cardigan

2008-09-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am not 100% happy with the scarf I started from Fiona Ellis' book. It is lovely, but Martina spoiled me by knitting it in Debbie Bliss alpaca silk aran, and it just wants to be made in alpaca silk. To keep it narrow I am going to use the DK weight instead. It will be lucious. I have to get it started. It is a gift due in 10 days! (so no photos for a while girls). But, I am not giving up, the Mission Falls wants to be knit in the pattern, it just wants to be a cardigan instead. So, I am going to keep going, but use the scarf for two front panels. Then a back with 4 cable repeats instead of two. Perhaps toggle buttons, and I will think about the collar when I get closer to it. We'll see.
Photos will follow, as it progresses. We'll see how it goes. If only there were a few more hours in each day!

New projects: Two shawls and a scarf

2008-09-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Three new project are underway now that the blue blob is finished.

The start of a cable scarf from Fi ona Ellis's Inspired cables that will be a gift, it starts out simple and becomes more elaborate toward the middle, then simple again. Very nice!

The Angel Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark, a gift from Marianne ...(thanks, see I have started it); the yarn is handmaiden Suri Blue, beautiful to work with, and as an added treat I am using my Brittany Walnut needles.

I hae also started a test knit of my Flower Shawl. It is being worked in Handmaiden Sea Silk (I believe it is Ocean, but I have to look it up again), to hang in Kniterary where the design is available for sale.

I also thought I would share a close up photo of the beads on the Print 'O the Waves shawl. They worked out quite nicely.

The Blue Blob gets a new name

2008-08-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

When you are almost finished a project and it has gone on WAY TO LONG, do you start calculating the stitches/rows until you are finished. When it turns out to be 5 1/2 hours on a Sunday and you have just the right amount of time before you head home from the cottage does anything get in your way? 22 times 16 rows to make a point, each section of 16 rows takes 15 minutes (yes, I timed it). 5 1/2 hours until done. Well, let's say the dinner timer went off 11 1/2 minutes too soon! But, after driving home the last 12 rows and kitchener stitch the end to the beginning (went perfectly, I might add). Then, a day of work and blocked it when I got home. The Blue Blob can now take its rightful name, Print o' the Waves. The left photo is fresh off the needles, the right photo is blocked on the living room couch. I improved my spit splice skills as I added beads and had to break the wool to add beads about four times going around. I hope the beads are enough for interest, but not too much to weigh it down. I used two per right side row, at the end and peaking out going down the wave. (I guess a close up would have helped, you can barely see them on the unblocked photo).

Happy retirement Leslie!

Cloths for the Cure - reprise

2008-08-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

The "Cloths for the Cure" have been revisited. After test knitting I have made them wider and am finally happy with the designs. Here are the test cloths and their corresponding charts.

Please note that M means make one PURLWISE, and helps to move stitches along to the left or right without the big gap of a wide cable.

These cloths can be knit with one 50gm ball of cotton (and you can cheat a little on the border if you need to, if your gauge is a bit large.) Visit this link to make a donation to Vickie Hartog in One Degree of Separation

For complete instructions visit Kniterary in Whitby.

Cottage Knitting - Dragonfly - How Appropriate

2008-07-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

I got to the cottage this weekend after many weekends of not bothering, given the Saturday drive and the endless rain. It was well worth the drive! The dragonfly lace cushion cover is finished, so now to do a three needled bind off for the celtic front and lace back. Then I shall sew up the sides and block. I am doing it in that order because (a) I can't wait to sew it up and (b) it increases the likelihood that they will block to the same size. I am going to use a tie rather than buttons again and then need to find a 20" pillow form. With the lace I would like something that will peek through nicely, but we'll see. Since it needs to be 20 inches, that may be the limiting factor or I will have to pull out the dreaded sewing machine. I should have photos tomorrow, and will add them in. A giant dragonfly joined me on the dock as I was working on the cushion cover, how apropos!

Print O the Waves made progress, as well, since the three needle bind off for the aforementioned dragonfly cushion cover. I used up all of the beads that I had strung and thought I would have to pause, because I hadn't brought knitting accessories with me. However, I vaguely remember weaving a sewing needle with thread into the bag that I was carrying this project in and lo and behold, there it was. I broke the Malabrigo laceweight, strung on a whack more beads, spit spliced (say that five times fast!)the yarn and was on my way again. Worked a few more repeats (not sure they are camera worthy) and had to drag myself off of the dock to make dinner! While I was contemplating string beads without a needle I thought I would count the number of repeats to get to the corner. The only thing that did was depress me because I may be two stitches short (where did they go!). I think I can fudge it, but I am hoping my counting is off. Fudge here could possibly require fudge on the opposite side, but I am not going to think about it (too much) now.

Run for the Cure and a Wedding Shower

2008-07-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

I went to a wedding shower today and the wonderful thing is the bride is a knitter, so while some people may consider yarn and a pattern to be an odd shower present, the pattern is a tea cozy designed especially for the couple and the yarn is 100% wool to make the felted tea cozy from. I made her mom a tea cozy a few years ago, so it seemed appropriate. I thought a tea pot would a nice accompaniment and while picking that up I saw some really beautiful plates that reminded me of plates my mom had from her wedding and I just couldn't leave them in the store. It was a great shower so many loving people in attendance! Of course, if you want to post pictures, it is a good idea to take a camera with you. So, no photos, but still a good time.

I have designed two dish/face cloths (depending on the weight of yarn you use) for the Run for the Cure. Full instructions are available at Kniterary and Hedgehog Stitchery and the proceeds will be put toward my team - One Degree of Separation.

If you aren't in the Whitby area click on the images and you should be able to print the image. We will use the honour system, please go to Run for the Cure and make a donation to Vickie Hartog in Toronto. Thanks in advance for any donations. And, please, if you do make a donation and don't mind, let me know by responding to my blog to let me know.

I have to make a sample of this one and then I will take a photo and publish it here as well.

Celtic Dragonfly Cushion Cover

2008-06-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

I have been knitting the Celtic Dragonfly Cushion cover from the design I created a few years ago, based on a necklace my husband bought me. Most of it is straight forward cables, but in order to not have puckers there are a few places that need multiple increase stitches, and these are a bit tricky, and then once the cable is over, the cables are decreased. I am not ecstatic about the results partway through, but I think once it is blocked (aka stretched over a cushion form) it will look better. The first one did, and you can see it if you visit Kniterary. I'll keep going, but I may end up taking it back to the first increase on the bottom part of the wing.

Here is the PNG exported from Knit Visualizer.

And the baby sweater is finished, I still need to block, to hopefully make it wider, and sew the buttons on.

Does this woman need more yarn? YES

2008-04-27T18:59:00.001-07:00

When my son returned from University this week I had to move my stash from it's new found home back to the various corners of the house. It was great having it in once place, where it was visible (mostly, sort of), but I have still added to the stash, because the newer yarns are so beautiful and feel so great. I think I need to destash yarns that I will never get around to using, but it may take a while to come to terms with separating myself from some of my older, dearer (is that a word) stash. Pictured below is the visible and boxed stash, which now resides in my sons closet (not sure he has noticed yet), my closet (yes, it is back to it's pre-university state) and the living room (aka knitting room). stash

I thought I would share a photo of the dear boy who has evicted the stash from it's rightful home (he is 18 years older now than when this photo was taken, and is considerably more teary eyed then due to experiencing his first hair cut), but he is still just as sweet, and tomorrow he starts his first coop job and I couldn't be prouder...nonetheless, I am missing my stash home.

Finishing Class at Kniterary and Cat Blocking

2008-04-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday is the Finishing Class at Kniterary. No, you won't be learning etiquette, but you will be learning three needle bind off, sewing in drop shoulder sleeves (and tips on knitting in drop shoulder sleeves or picking up and knitting drop shoulder sleeves in); mattress stitch to sew up side and sleeve seams (and suggestions on where to do increases and decreases to make this easy), picking up stitches for a button band, button hole band and finallay the crew neck. Lots to cover in just three hours and homework to do ahead of time, or bring a piece you are in the midst of finishing. With working through a mini-cardigan it has taken a few hours to knit the pieces, ad pull the instructions together.

So many people are looking for a straight forward cardigan pattern that they can throw on in the spring or fall or on chilly summer evenings. It has me thinking of just writing one up for the shop.

Speaking of that, I am working on a cable celtic knot dragonfly cushion cover. I have one that I designed and made for the cottage a couple of years ago, and have written up and graphed in visualizer, so now I am doing the test knit. I need a test knitter... I gloss over instructions and invent just a tad too much to be my own test knitter.

And finally, I have seen this particular technique used before, but have not tried it myself until this morning. It is called cat blocking. All it requires is any damp woolen item spread on a blanket. Wait a few minutes and if there is a cat in the vicinity the cat will come lie on your material and flatten it out (hopefully).

Look Ma, no pins!

Thanks Cleo, for your assistance in preparing for class.

Fiona Ellis at Kniterary

2008-03-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Fiona Ellis (the cable girl) visited Kniterary today and opened our eyes with the endless possibilities in cables. What a great sense of humour! It was a fun afternoon, to be sure.

What made it even better was hooking up with people who haven't been in to Kniterary in a while, and meeting some new people.

Here's a link to a bunch of photos of the day.

The Hedgehog is getting closer

2008-03-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have been up late ordering and ordering. It has been a greater challenge than I thought, trying to anticipate what people will want in the way of stitching. I think I have a good cross section of designs and styles. I have made so many new acquaintances.

We will have beautiful stitching stands from Hearthside Craftworks, designs from Xs and Os, Victoria Sampler, Jeannette Douglas, Scissors from Dinky Dyes (along with designs and silk floss from their designers); Scarlet Quince designs, Heaven and Earth designs, a great cross section of fabulous fabrics (linens, aida, wool, etc) , Mill Hill kits and designs, to mention a few. If we don't have something you are looking for just let us know and we will look for it for you. And, if you want all of the parts put together in a kit, so you don't have to search around for anything, just let us know and we will pull it all together and all you have to do is stitch.

I will take pictures and post them here in the days to come.

What am I knitting these days? A pair of socks, started after the magic loop class I caught the sock fever. And, working on the edge, with beads, of the Print o the Wave.

What am I stitching these days? A hedgehog for the store

Hedgehog Stitchery is Coming

2008-03-03T18:16:00.000-08:00

Yay! Time to start talking about the Hedgehog.

We have been alluding to something special at Kniterary and now we are talking about it openly. Hedgehog Stitchery will be joining Kniterary soon at 229 Brock St. N. in Whitby, on the second floor. This will expand the stitching selection available to include stitching supplies and instruction for cross stitch, needlepoint, hardanger, etc. We will carry design that you may only see at needlework shows or may not have seen before.

Your suggestions and requests are welcome.

Hedgehog blog will be found at the Hedgehog Blog

Print-O-The-Wave continues

2008-03-02T20:57:00.001-08:00

I have been working away at a Print-o-the-Wave stole for a friend who retired in January. I haven't been making much progress this past month and feel like I am all over the map, with the hand warmers, socks and other projects. So, with a push I finished the main section. Then I started to pick up stitches all around. First 80...no problem, just knit the stitches from one end. Next 256 (well, let's say that I was supposed to pick up 16 every 27 rows, 16 times, which is to say {[Pickup 1, skip one, pick up one, pick up one, skip one] repeat 5 times, [Pickup 1, skip 1] } repeat 16 times. But, if you do the first pickups so as to get 11 stitches and finally clue in about 60 stitches into the deal, you have to pull back. Then when you pick up 16 stitches for each repeat 6 times and instead of 6 times 27 equaling 162 you calculate it to equal 142, which means instead of 13 1/2 repeats of the 12 row body you think you should only be up to 12 repeats, and you wonder why the heck you are so far off...well, let's just say, thank goodness you recalculated instead of ripping back that time. So, onward and all 80+256+80+256 stitches are picked up. doing the math ahead of time to figure out the exact pickup and skip pattern means no more backtracking, it is precise and no surprises.

Then read directions, and have to work around 3 times for lace effect...rats...hadn't calculated that in the stitch count, is there enough yarn?

Recalculate how many stitches you made with the first ball (80*34*12)=32640. Calculate how many will be needed for second ball (80*2*12)+(80+256+80+256)*4 + (32+10+32+10+4)*(18*16+16) = 31360

Yes...enough yarn, not comfortably excessive, but enough.

5:30 pm already! Still in pajamas! Lazy Canadian winters, well, not exactly lazy, but in winter you can just about always rely on no drop in visitors, so being in pajamas for most of the day is relatively safe. Shower, make dinner, no complaints, except dinner didn't happen until 7pm.

No more knitting today, the next step is to string beads to use in the YOs for the edge. Hopefully it will go well, but probably won't start until next weekend. Being on the secondball of Malabrigo is a victory as I am past the half way point, and feel like I will get there in a reasonable time . I will have to break the yarn and spit splice it back together to add the beads. I spit spliced the second ball to the first, so I know it will go well.

It looks like a yarn blob now that the stitches are picked up....here it is, Print-o-the-Wave Blob

Where has February gone

2008-02-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, how time flies...I can't believe is is almost the end of February.

I taught the Magic Loop sock class on Saturday at Kniterary. Again, a spectacular class. Everyone "got it" and helped each other, reinforcing their own learning. Biggest challenge...not having a proof reader and discovering that I had suggested to knit until 55 inches short of the foot length. Everyone had a great chuckle. Seriously, there were enough typos, and changing my mind about some sizing that I will reprint the instructions and get them distributed correctly.

What I learned this week: Photographing for demonstration purposes is quite a challenge and I have to hone those skills.

What has kept me busy: Experimenting with the Swirl mosaic hand warmers and the Masculine hand warmers. And starting up a new computer, migrating files over. And working on a web site. And other stuff.

Home the long (and pleasant) way around

2008-02-08T22:16:00.000-08:00

I headed off to Vancouver on Tuesday with the intention of coming home on Wednesday night, however, with the two snow falls in Toronto on Wednesday the plane just wasn't getting to Vancouver from Toronto, let alone getting back to Toronto on Wednesday at a decent hour.

I checked out flights through Calgary to see if I could at least make good use of the wait time and found one that would give me a a layover for four hours, with a chance to visit my sister. The storm warnings continued into the evening, so by the time I reached Calgary it wasn't looking optimistic for reach Toronto very early on Thursday either. One of the Vancouver options had even been diverted to Ottawa.

After debating about how to get home in time for Thursday commitments I realized that whatever hour I arrived home on Thursday it would not be reasonable to do anything constructive that day, so I checked and was able to change my Wednesday flight to Sunday and visit.

The added bonus is a stop at Hearthside Craftworks who supply the most beautiful lap and floor stands for cross stitch (www.hearthsidecraftworks.com).

Swirls and Masculine Handwarmers; and a Hedgehog

2008-01-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

At the Mosaic Knitting class at Kniterary on Saturday Sharon requested swirls and Cindy-Lou requested masculine handwarmers. So, I am working up some designs that will fill these requests. Once they are ready I will make them and put them up on Ravelry. This is pretty exciting to work on something based on a thought from another person and then taking it from there.

Martina, at Kniterary gave me a stuffed hedgehog on Saturday, for reasons that will come clear in the coming months. Thanks Martina...it is so cute and thoughtful. The cats (Cleo and Guinness) love it, too...and carted it off. She had to be rescued from cat saliva with a sponge bath this morning. I put it in a place that will be detrimental to their health if they climb up to it.On the needles: Chunky socks for friend Sharon, who wants socks for bed. How is it that we have cold feet and menopause...and yet one problem does not solve the other. Aren't two negatives supposed to make a positive.

Teaching Mosaic Knitting at Kniterary

2008-01-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

I taught the Mosaic Knitting class today at Kniterary. It was enormously satisfying with nine students and one obeserver. The students had great questions; some marvelous aha moments and everyone made great progress on their sample swatch, some even finished. It was great to be able to teach a new technique to people who were so interested in learning it.

Tumbling Blocks

2008-01-25T16:49:00.000-08:00

I tend to be very symmetrical and geometric in my thinking and designs. I find this to be both confining and comforting. Confining because, try as you might, you just have to even things out, so not very much is random or hap hazard. It is comforting because everything is in its place.

I have a stash of wool that I bought for dirt cheap, 6 different colours, that has been calling to me for years. I thought I would do a tumbling blocks pattern, so I started playing with the colours and placement for the blocks. I didn't just want the stair step design, so I started putting colour here and there. I was amazed by the patterns that could be created by the huge variety of colour combinations.

SO..if you are confined by symmetry, take comfort in knowing that there are endless arrangements of colour that won't leave you stair stepping your tumbling blocks.

On another note, I am teaching my first official knitting class for Kniterary in Whiby tomorrow. Mosaic knitting....I am really looking forward to this.