My Silly Little Hat

I finished my slouchy silly hat project I was dreaming of on Friday.  It's so warm!  And truly a very silly look.  It makes me so happy!  There are lots of reasons.

First of all, I really like the way the pattern came out, and I'll definitely use it again.  Second, it's snuggly, warm and soft because it's made from the wonderful Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca Chunky.  Third, it's the first thing I've designed and knit in my new apartment. 

I used to say that you don't really feel like you live in a new place until you've gotten really sick, thrown a great party, and depending on your situation, been home for the holidays.  Now I know that as a knitwear designer I can add design and knit a garment.

As I set up my new yarn swift and ball winder, I was very excited.  But then to settle into a corner of the couch and get this hat finished - it's priceless.  To me, anyway.  I've included the pattern in case you're feeling a little silly yourself.

The Silly Little Hat

Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky yarn in your choice of colors

4 US 7 DPNs

2 US 7 Circulars longer than 16"

2 US 5 Circulars longer than 16"


Cast on three stitches and divide across all three needles. 

Round 1: Knit, make 1, knit, make 1, knit, make 1
Round 2: Knit to last stitch on needle 1, make 1, knit to last stitch on needle 2, make 1, knit to last stitch on needle 3, make 1. 

Repeat round 2 30 times, switching to 2 circular needles as needed.

Round 33: Knit

Repeat round 33 until hat is desired length ( I did 18 rows for mine.)

Ribbed rounds:  Switch to size 5 needles, and knit in (k2, p2) around.
Repeat the ribbing rounds for a total of 12 rounds. 

Bind off! 

Weave in your ends.

Slouchy hat day

The weather in Buffalo stinks today.  It's cold (wind chill around 4) and snowing positively sideways.  As you might imagine, this weather is just the thing to make a girl feel creative about her knitwear. 

In an ideal world, knitwear would help cut the wind on a day like this.  Even the best felting I've ever done wouldn't stand up to these 50mph winds, so I've decided to forgive the felting, and just go for cuddly.  I'm a big fan of alpaca, and I happen to have a lot of different colors hanging around right now.  So this little mountain of alpaca is going to be my project du jour.

I never did jump onto the "big and chunky" bandwagon, but I think today is the day to start.  I'm hoping to post a picture of a slouchy cozy hat tomorrow or Sunday.  I have about a thousand other things to do today, so I'll be looking forward to knitting tonight for the rest of the day!

Does the weather of the day influence what you choose to knit or design?  Or due you knit the next object in your queue?

In Other News...Fire

A LYS in Williamsville, NY (Just outside Buffalo) was severely damaged by fire a couple of weeks ago.  It was not my usual LYS hangout.  I didn't teach there.  But it made an impact on me nonetheless.  The rate of closings of LYSs across the country is still very high, and this represented the loss of another one.  Each loss damages the entire knitting community.

Have You Any Wool (HYAW), like so many other local shops, does more than sell yarn.  They teach classes.  They support charity knitting.  They host a knitting group for cancer survivors.  They give expert advice.  They help the local knitting community stay in touch with each other on a daily basis.  Linda Maslona, the shop's owner and operator, is the driving force behind everything the shop does.

Today I received an email saying that Have Ewe Any Wool will re-open across the street from their former location, and I sighed a sigh of relief.  I'm happy for Linda, and for all of her regular patrons who have suffered along with her.  I'm not changing my LYS from Karma Knitting, but I'm happy to know she's going to be back.  Re-opening is an obscene amount of physical work (and just imagine the paperwork!), and I'm delighted she's making the effort.

LYSs are the lifeblood of most local knitting communities.  Online outlets are fine for those who aren't blessed with a shop nearby, and for those in-a-pinch-times when you MUST have something the LYS doesn't carry.  But with the potential loss of HYAW reminded me again of how important it is to support our local businesses if we want them to continue to exist. 

Buy your needles, notions, yarns, patterns, and tools at your LYS whenever possible.  All of them.  They have a higher overhead cost than the online outlets, so they will have slightly higher retail costs.  For that tiny extra cost, you receive advice, info, camaraderie, the opportunity to touch a yarn before you commit to it, and the ability to compare two yarns side by side in reality.  (Ever have your computer tell you the yarn is one color only to have it arrive as a totally different color?)  And of course, there are the knitting groups and lessons that take place there.  You can't get that online.  The tiny extra cost to you is what keeps the doors open and the lights on.  What would happen to your knitting community if your LYS closed?

The Great Lakes Fiber Show, May of 2012, has scheduled 2 of my workshops for their show!  They're in Wooster, Ohio, which is within 5 hours of lots of the eastern midwest.  I'm teaching my Mitten class, about knitting and designing mittens, and Adapting and Adjusting Patterns.  AAP is about making the changes you want to the pattern you have.  Need to use a different yarn?  Wonder how to estimate yarn yardage?  Gauge off by a tiny bit?  Need a size they didn't list?  Want to change a design element or two?  This class covers the basics of making these changes. 

Until the schedule is published on the site, it is still in flux, but at the moment I will have one class Saturday (Mittens) and one on Sunday (AAP).  This is the first show to put specific dates to classes, so mark your calendars!

If Wooster, OH is farther than you want to drive, make sure to lobby your local show to invite me to teach closer to your home.  My contact info is on this site.  If your show currently has a call for instructors out and you want to make sure I apply, please bring it to my attention here.  esliney@yahoo.com  I can't wait!!!

Ewe and I

Today, just a little while ago, the British Campaign for Wool published a new blog post.  Founded by Prince Charles, the Campaign celebrates and advocates for the British wool industry, which at one point had declined to near extinction. 

I was delighted to see the post, because I wrote it!  They invited me in the beginning of December, and it came out today.  It can be found here.  I hope you enjoy it! 

http://www.campaignforwool.org/blog/

Knitting Resolutions 2012

Sadly, in 2012 I will be working on many of the same resolutions as last year.  Here they are, about the same as they were.

1. Knit during classier TV shows.  As I said last year, I'm going to knit during Masterpiece Theatre and Inside the Actor's Studio. (And pretty much any adult programming on PBS.) This will add an air of class and sophistication to my work, not to mention a pretentious accent.  If I'm going to knit in front of the TV, I should make it more educational. Right now it's still Law and Order reruns and Top Chef.  Old habits die hard.

2. Knit with more color. Also familiar from last year - The intrepid Colleen is still reminding me I need to brighten up.  I knit with subtle, muted colors now, and nature has shown us that this is a losing strategy in evolution. Otherwise, life wouldn't be full of colorful flowers and rocks and animals.  Adaptability and bright plumage are what have allowed the peacock to make it this far. I'm not ready to go "full peacock", but I will take my palate in new directions.  Maybe pastels this year.  (Baby steps.)

3. Knit every day. I've gotten pretty good about knitting in public, but I can't say I knit every day.  There are days I don't knit a stitch.  I would like to have the discipline to knit every single day, forgiving abstinence only in the cases of physical disability.  It's not a religion, I know, but it is a skill as well as a hobby, and I want to continue to improve every day.  Practice makes perfect, or at least makes a lot of scarves...

4. Knit with water or white wine. White wine doesn't stain. Need I say more? And yet, I still find myself knitting with coffee and red wine.  I will learn.

5. Knit with more recycled materials. Reclaimed yarn and t-shirt yarn, and so on.  Right now I knit with my grandmother's WWII era needles as much as I can, and seam up with her tapestry needles.  I've made a little t-shirt yarn, but haven't knitted it yet.  I've been buying my knitting books secondhand. That's a good start.  I will do more.

6.  Waste not beautiful yarns. I've gone for most of two years without buying any yarn.  I've been using up stash, of which I have an embarrassing amount. As a designer I receive a lot of yarns sent from yarn manufacturers to make specific designs, making drawing down the stash a real challenge.  It's brutal to not buy all the beautiful yarns I see, but I'm irked by the waste factor of having so much stash yarn sitting in wait. Others will make brand new yarns into beautiful projects.  I will work from stash even more than this year, if at all possible.  It's good for the soul, the planet, and the state of my closet space.

7.  Knit more for charity.  This was not a good year for getting much charity knitting done.  I want to get out at least 10 charity projects this year.  I used to make hats and mittens for charity regularly, carrying only charity projects in my to-go bag, and working on everything else at home.  I need to return to that.  With oomph. 

That's it. This changes everything (a little)! It's going to be a wonderful year.

Last Call - January Gift Knits Kit Club

The orders need to get packed and out, so if you wanted to start the club with the group, jump in now!  Otherwise, you can pick us up next month.  This will be true until the remaining spots are taken.  January closes on Friday.

Features:
New kit each month including original Liz Marino pattern and premium yarns to make the Gift Knit of the Month, shipped on or about the 15th of the month

Exclusive Liz Marino Club patterns will not be made available to non-club members until 3 months after Club release date

The first Kit makes these!

Kits will not be made available retroactively or to non-members

Jan = Straight needle gloves for her (s,m,l)
Feb = Snuggly Socks - adult (men, women)
Mar = Woven-look Purse
Apr = Eco-Friendly Washcloth Gift Pack
May = Holiday Knit-Ahead Hat
June = Yoga Stirrup Socks - one size

No substitutions are available. Color and size is determined by Liz Marino. Each month's kit is the only kit available for that month. Kits are not available retroactively.
Membership will not be automatically renewed for July-Dec. Membership will be opened to current members in April and non-members in May based on availability.

Membership is open to North American mailing addresses only. The price is $27 per month, for a total of $162 USD. Payment must be received in full; no month to month memberships are available.

Thanks for joining this adventure! I can hardly wait!Thanks for joining this adventure!  I can hardly wait!

After joining, email me at esliney@yahoo.com with your:

Name
Shipping address
Do this even if they are the same as the ones on your PayPal ID, please, just to confirm! I want to make sure I know how to reach you via email and USPS. If this info is not emailed, your membership will be rejected and your payment will be returned. Thanks!

Knitting Sins 1

This is a post from just over a year ago, listing some of my knitting sins.  Sadly, I have committed some of these sins again, and soon I will have to list the sins that didn't make the first list.  I am not worthy.

I have used my knitting needles as a tool for things they were not designed for. I've used the straights for backscratching, my DPNs as blocking pins, and short circs as stitch holders. Needles have been used as bookmarks, and been accidentally put away in the book. I have used needles to grab small things out of nooks and crannies. I have used a needle as a straight edge to draw a straight line. I have used them to hold together my gingerbread houses. (Short DPNs work really well.) Please give me another chance. Things will be different. I promise.

I have done BAD things to my yarn. I have used fine, hand-made fibers to tie bows on doll hair, make a leash for my daughter's cat, and yes, even donated them to diorama projects. I have split plies, and cut tangled skeins I should have carefully untied. I have machine-washed yarns that were not superwash. I have even used hand-made fibers to make pom poms. (I'm mortified!) I don't know what I was thinking.

I have decided I am smarter than the pattern. I have taken shortcuts, like using a different cast-on. I have changed stitch patterns. I have not corrected my mistakes, and ended up with the hideous garments I deserved. I have arrogantly changed needle size and yarn weight without doing the math because I thought I could handle it. (I couldn't.) I have ignored assembly instructions, turning a perfectly good garment into an Escher cartoon. I have started projects on aluminum needles and finished them on plastic. I have knotted and cut yarn ends instead of weaving them in. And after these sins, I have blamed the pattern, because it couldn't have been my fault.

I have entitled this post Knitting Sins 1 because I know there are more sins I have committed that I just don't remember right now. And of course, I know there will be more. I'll admit them as they come to me, and I hope you'll share some of yours with me, too. I'll feel less alone. :)

Gaffs of Christmas Past

Every year my family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve. My dear friend Lisa (special ed kindergarten teacher) comes in from out of town, I make a huge meal, and we dine in candlelight in the evening. Part of the daytime tradition is to deliver trays of handmade holiday cookies to friends and family. It all starts with me getting up very early in the morning to bake bread, pie, etc. In '08 I had more to do than that.

I had knit a pair of fingerless gloves with mitten caps for my youngest, and somehow never got round to blocking the 2nd one. I blocked it 2 days before and it was still wet. I had made sterling silver earrings for my eldest, and they needed polishing. I hadn't finished decorating. My house guests were sick, and one a diabetic vegan which made for a complicated time playing Florence Nightingale. And of course there was the cooking.

I threw pie in the oven around 7am, and moved on to polishing the earrings. The first one went great. The second one disintegrated in my hand. 7:30am. I'd think of something. Oh! Mittens! Darn. Still wet. Gift exchange around 2pm. Dammit.

I checked on the pie. Fine. I washed up from the baking trying to figure out what to do. Apologize to eldest and make another one soon. Ok. 7:45. Take soggy mitten and put in toaster oven at 150 degrees for ten minutes. Maybe it will dry faster.

I went to get the candle lanterns out of the basement and decorate with those so we would have light for our candlelit evening. 8:00. The pie beeped, so I grabbed that, and went back to the lanterns, one of which I promptly dropped and smashed. In my bare feet I put the dog out, and cleaned up the broken glass. I checked the mitten. Now it was a hot wet mitten. Damn again. I turned up the toaster oven. Just a little. Let the dog in. 8:45.

On to making breakfast for the sick house guest, and starting a vegan holiday meal as well as the turkey dinner. I was stuffing acorn squash for the vegans and turkey for the rest. I chopped, I sauteed, and then I smelled it. THE MITTEN! I ran over to the toaster oven. 9:40.

Wool doesn't burn in the traditional sense. It just smells awful and disintegrates. It still looked like a mitten (though a little brown) but when I went to pick it up it just crumbled. Damn, damn, DAMN!

Stuffing almost finished. Gravy started. Squash roasted for soup. 10:45. Vegan Lisa comes into kitchen and asks about the "Weird" smell. "Turkey's supposed to smell like that!" I snapped. She's a vegan - she'll buy that, right? 'Cause burned wool smells so "holiday".

I was frazzled, and decided to go drop off cookies to my LYS. "Lisa, I have to get out of here for about 20 minutes. Help me out; keep the husband out of the pie, the kids out of the presents, and the dog out of the stuffing. I'll be right back in a much calmer mood!" I grabbed a platter of cookies and left for the shop.

"This is all you brought?" MaryAnn (LYS owner) was teasing. I explained my crazy failure of a morning, and sat for a minute gulping coffee. She chuckled, wished me well, and I went home.

When I got to my back door Lisa and my dog were waiting and they both looked sorry. Aw,crap.

"What happened?"

"The dog ate the stuffing."

"All of it? Vegan and regular?"

Yup. This woman can handle 20 special ed 5 year olds for 6 hours per day, but not my family and dog. I called my mother in desperate futile hope of recovering my day.

"Haven't you started drinking yet?"

"It's 11:15 in the morning!"

"Not in Australia. Things will look much more festive after your second glass of wine. Go for it!"  A little weird for motherly advice.

I took my wine and retreated for the tub. And she was right. Things were looking up.

Freebie Friday - Legwarmers!

Created by Stephanie Japel, these are quick and easy legwarmers.  It seems like a good seasonal idea, no doubt in part because I'm wearing a skirt today, and it's darn cold out there.  These are extremely easy, and will look terrific in variegated, boucle, or even eyelash.  The simple patterns open you up to a world of stash-busting possibilities.  Click on the photo caption to be connected to the original patten on Knitty.com.

Postmodern Legwarmers