Around the World Blog Hop! Tag! I'm it.

My incredibly intelligent friend with the curious mind and infectious giggle named Heidi, who also happens to write an inspiring blog of her own (DIY-- check it out!) has invited me to the hop. The Blog Hop, that is! To explain, I am going to re-blog Cora's Quilts definition in her August 20th post:

What is the Around the World Blog Hop?

There's a super fun linky party, of sorts, going around blog land called the Around the World Blog Hop!  I was invited to join by Cheryl, the Texas Quilting Gal - a new blogging pal I've really enjoyed getting to know over the past few months.  In turn, I'm inviting some friends to join in sharing their responses.  Next Wednesday, Shauna at Shauna's World, Heidi at DIY and Live to Tell, and Rene (Hi Mom!) at Quilting Nona will be answering the same questions about their creative processes.  

Just about to enter the magical land of Disney!

I received this wonderful invitation while on vacation with my family in Anaheim, California at Disneyland a week or so ago. I was having a world of trouble with my smart phone--I couldn't even get it to navigate from the airport to the hotel, but I did manage to get this exciting message! (After I got home, I took my phone to the Verizon store to see if it was broken and the young man at the counter gently let me know that my two-year-old phone was a dinosaur ... but I digress from a potential middle-aged story about patheticism. And yes, I just made that word up. I'm entitled. I'm middle-aged.)

So I am joining! Here we go!

About me

Okay, so you poor guys always have to hear tons and tons (and tons) about me, all the time. I am a blabberer, even on my own blog. In fact, my whole life can be outlined in blabbering:

• Talked early and to the chagrin of my parents, who wished they could turn me off.
• Spent most of my grade school career in the hall in time-out for talking out of turn.
• Sub-story: 2nd grade teacher moved me from the girls table to the boys, hoping to curb my talking, but only increased it; thus the transition to the start of a long hall-dwelling career. You know the "bad egg," Maisy, in the movie Uncle Buck? That's me.
• In junior high, distracted and impressed kids at my table by showing them my "double-jointed elbow." More hall dwelling.
• My high school career included speech team (stand up comedy was my area, and I even won a few tournaments,  if you can believe that) and class time was punctuated by outbursts with certain best friends (you know who you are). We knew each other too well; so well, in fact, that we could execute private jokes from far across the room after being placed at very separate desks. 
• Had a 12-year career as a fitness instructor and loved it; loved most of all the fact that I got to wear a mic headset in front of a group of 10-80 participants and only I was heard. 
• Went to college (finally) at 31 years old to be a dental hygienist. This career has been the most enabling of all for me. While my hands are actually in my patient's mouth, I get to talk for an hour straight. I must say here that while I usually win in these situations, it is good to remember that there is always someone better than you are in any skill and I am occasionally beaten in the blabbering department by patients who can accomplish speaking over me, even though the circumstances should be to my best advantage. 

Now I am working on knitwear design and teaching knitting to spread the cozy, the love and the joy it has brought to my life. To read the story of how knitting came into my life, click here. It has everything to do with a little German lady and a church Christmas bazaar. Knitting as a career is truly the end game for my retirement and I work at it all the time. I figure if I stand in front of a class, my blabbing can be continued into oblivion. I believe me, I want to enter into oblivion while knitting or talking about it.

What are you working on?

Right now, I am working on some socks. Big surprise, I know, but I do love them so. I have a mental bucket list of things I want to knit and these are on the list. They are called, simply, Knee Socks, from Ann Budd's book Getting Started Knitting Socks. They are on page 128. I love this book in its simplicity and I go to it again and again. I can't wait to wear these! Fall is on its way!!!!!

In addition to knitting, I am also working on some patterns. I am revamping some oldies (really, firsties who desperately need facelifts) and writing some new ones. My goal has become to read or make another's pattern, take away something I have learned (e.g., a technique) and try it myself in an original way. I will be posting about these new additions in future posts this week.

How does your work differ from others in your genre?

These types of soul searching questions always stump me. The first thought that pops into my head is this: I don't know what I am doing ... and everyone else does. I must admit that I have felt pretty good at writing (that may come from the constant verbal practice that blabbering brings) but writing knitting patterns, that's another matter. 

I was so excited when I started knitting. The sights, sounds (even the smells) and endless possibilities in the world of knitting! I wanted it all and I wanted it right now. This included the actual skill of knitting and all the hundreds of techniques and styles therein, group joining, event attending, garment design, pattern writing, blogging ... there have been more than a few times I have put the cart before the horse. And, while I don't expect my excitement to die down anytime soon (it has, after all, been nearly 6 years), I do believe that I have learned to control my urges to go too, too many steps ahead of myself. 

While some of my initial tries in pattern writing were total, stupid flops (Fountains of Portland was un-knittable at first), I really like my latest few and feel they are more in line with what I had in mind when I first thought I wanted to try designing patterns.

Since I don't have a large body of work yet, let me share what I hope to be. For starters, the name of my design studio will be "earthtogs," and my tagline is "cozy knitwear designs for people living on earth." Those words mean it all for me.

I love practical knitwear that fits well and is timeless and classic. I want to create designs that are not going out of style any time soon, for it takes too long to knit something to justify wearing it for only a year or even two. I love rustic earthiness: tweed and heather fibers; cables and fairisles; and houndstooth, glen or tartan plaids are favorites of mine. 

I also have a playful and mischievous streak and love the idea of expressing things like my love of microbiology or 80's video games in knitwear.  Being a lover of things random and tangential, unusual and quirky ideas will surely find their way into my repertoire. After all, this is art and anything goes ... sometimes.

In some ways, I do not wish to be different from others in my genre. Why reinvent the wheel? When we have such wonderful examples such as Ann Budd, Hunter Hammersen, Wendy Johnson, Alice Starmore (have such a girl crush on that Scottish lass) and EZ, it is my opinion that we should learn from them, not necessarily make a conscious attempt to be more original. That comes naturally in one's individual expression and interpretation of those solid ideas.

As for writing, I adore Erma Bombeck and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, for who could not adore them? I will just say that I hope to aspire even part of the way to their great writing. That would be reward enough for me, to reach even half-way. 

Why do you write/create what you do?

I suppose I have leaked the answer to this question into my last answers a bit. Why do I knit and then write about knitting? Photograph my knitting? Catalogue it? Smell it? 

Because I can't help myself. Since that fateful day with Mona Polanski, my own personal Yoda, I will never ever be the same. And I don't care why. 

It just feels so good. 

How does your writing/creative process work?

Well, sometimes it doesn't. But when it does, it usually is in an off moment. I was looking (again--it

I will photograph anything knit-worthy... even my bff Tina
with suggestively dangerous dpn's. And aren't they?

relaxes me) at one of my stitch dictionaries recently and came across one stitch pattern in particular. Suddenly, my mind was flooded with ideas for cowls, mitts, hats, sweaters (which to pick? pullover or cardi?), all containing a single stitch pattern. My problems usually lie in good ideas vs. skills not-yet-learned. But the drive to see the end product seems to be winning lately. Maybe I'm making some progress.

For me, and so many others, I think, photography is the same way. For example, you might be incidentally outside on the front porch and suddenly the light is perfect and your child, who has been playing in the yard, is suddenly more beautiful than ever in that moment and suddenly you must--you absolutely must--get the camera. As it relates to knitting photography, I think I am learning when those rare light moments are more likely to occur (and where) and I try to use them accordingly.

As for writing, it is one of those things you sometimes need to be in the right frame of mind for. Taking a walk/run or being alone with my thoughts helps that.  Sometimes I return from a walk and am practically pushing my family out of the way, "Move! I have to write it down!" I mean a blog story, but they are like, "What.....?" They usually shrug. I am pretty impulsive and they are used to it. 

I think.

As for the blogs that inspire me, I would put at the top of the list The Sampler Girl's blog by Tanya. She is a cross-stitch designer, a lover of Jane Austen, a mom of two boys and she lives near a former home of mine in Virginia. Her blog makes you feel homey and cozy. Once I open it up, I always want to stay. 

My lovely Jo. I LOVE to take her photo!

My second blog tag goes to Hunter Hammersen, knitwear designer and blogger extraordinaire. Her books, the series starting with The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet, draw me in. I love the themes, the art, the imagery and the writing--the fabulous writing.  In other words, you may buy her books for the patterns, but you will keep buying them for the writing. She seems like a gal I would to hang out with--I might be agape and staring at her, but before the restraining order came, it would be fun.

My third blog tag goes Jona Giammalva, sewist and designer whom I worship. She is not only a sewing designer who has a popular blog and has written a great book called The Essential A-line, she is also a personal friend. She attended high school with my husband and now lives in Arizona with all her five kids and hubby. I feel close to celebrity whenever she is around.

I am adding a 4th blog tag for my daughter, Jo Winner, because I couldn't choose only three. And not just because she is my kid. A new blogger and is only 26 years old, Jo has always been described by those who know her as an "old soul," and she is an artist through and through. She has been creating her whole life and has inspired me over and over again with her fearlessness to take on new adventures. Her blog is called Pilates for the People. Check it out.

Whovian Mittens: A Lesson in Size, Gauge and Blocking (plus a little tutorial)

The thin, white lines on the edge were lost a
bit in my first pair. These look much better.

Hello, all! In our previous episode, there were Whovian Mittens on my needles. Well, now they are on the hands of a very surprised (and happy) recipient.

My friend's nephew was delighted and surprised to get them--he "didn't know they were going to be so cool." And I ask you, what hand-knitted original design (or semi-original) is NOT cool? Made just for you?! C'mon!

When my friend asked me to knit a copy my own pair, I saw an opportunity to play with the pattern, and see if I could make it better/different/more functional, etc. I also wanted to try the stranded colorwork again and see if I fix some of the too-tight tension problems I was having before. My recipient also had much bigger hands than me. 

I needed to make some changes.

I began by switching needles. My original gauge on my first pair was 10 sts/inch but simply switching from a US1/2.25mm to a US2/2.75 (only .5mm!) made a huge difference. The new tension was only 8 stitches to the inch. This, in turn, created a large change in the scale for the chart. I had to make the "bigger" sized chart "smaller" to make it work and fit--pattern and person. So I removed columns and rounds here and there and cleaned it up.

In addition to these changes, I needed to further improve my knitting tension. I needed more help than just loosening my "grip," so to speak with the new gauge. With my first pair, I had problems with some of the stitches around the needle transitions being way too tight and thus hiding

Using the "star toe" concept from sock knitting,
I added a "vortex" thumb just for fun.

some of the narrower colors in the finished fabric.

Through some reading for my Master Knitters research, I serendipitously found this very helpful tip in the Big Book of Knitting by Katarina Buss:

To keep your tension even when knitting in the round, knit the last few stitches leading up to the next needle a bit loosely. Knit the first few stitches of the next needle a bit more snugly. (paraphrased by me)

This worked like a charm. 

I also decided to make a learning experience out of this for my blocking studies. To stretch colorwork, I noticed that I had great blocking success with my Rassilon knitted Tam (a free pattern on Ravelry) when I put the huge called-for dinner plate inside. It was scary as it was my first time, but wow did it even out the strands! My solution for blocking my mittens was to cut out large, mitten shaped cardboard forms and wrap them in plastic. 

So...here is a picture tutorial of my ideas for stranded mitten blocking:

Trace your mittens but cut widely around the edges a bit to stretch your fabric.

I just used an old Amazon Box. I have like 2,000 of them.

I recorded my details in my River Song journal.

Wrap your forms in plastic so they don't get wet. That would definitely
put a damper on your blocking :)

Upon trying them in, I realized that the thumbs were okay without the forms
and they didn't really fit anyway. I cut off the thumb parts and it worked just
fine.

I am in the process of refining the pattern for these, to be made available to all Whovian friends (and to those who know and love one of us and also happen to knit). They will be a free pattern in my Ravelry shop, probably by early September. 

Happy Knitting, everyone, and remember to get your cozy on, in spite of the summer heat. Cozy is always a state of mind.

Janell-o 

I am not an expert: lessons in steam

Heat and steam relax the fabric, NOT
pressure. Barely hover over the fabric
with the steam (iron or steamer). 

I used to work at Fred Meyer, a local retail chain here on the west coast of the U.S. My department was apparel, specifically women's RTW--you know, "ready-to-wear." This job consisted mostly of picking up after shoppers: hanging things back up in the dressing rooms; cleaning up kid food spills off the sales floor; tidying the sales rounders; and re-folding (and re-folding and re-folding...and re-fold.....you get the idea) all the shirts, etc. on tables. It was pretty much like being at home with my 6 kids. 40 hours a week.

Except on freight days. I left behind the dirty diapers in the fitting rooms and angry customers at the return counter and headed to the stockroom. There, we had new ladies' clothing, hot off the press, as it were. Boxes and boxes of it. We'd hang it up and then use the elegant, slender, magical floor steamer to make it all lovely. It was a quiet respite from the retail craziness, standing in the quiet stockroom with racks and racks of new smelling fabrics, ready to be smoothed, soothed, by our steamer.

It was a slow, relaxing process, almost hypnotic as the steady steam rose silently, warmly to the high, open ceilings of the large room. It was like a spa for clothes. And once they were dressed and pressed and beautified for the public, the spell was broken and we would once again dive back into the world of merchandising and customer service.

Since right now, my Master Knitter's Level I research centers around blocking and care of hand knits, I decided to try out steam as a blocking tool. I have been reading quite a bit about it and as you might imagine, the reading flooded my memory with those good feelings I experienced with it at the store.

Before

After

Through the magic of internet searching, I did find out that one can purchase one of those floor steamers online. But they come at a cost and my Rowenta iron just had to do for now.

As I began, there was steam rising, to be sure, lots of it. But no clouds parted and no angels sang and I did not feel hypnotized in my very small upstairs laundry room while steaming the once very wrinkled up, unblocked skirt of my newest test knit for Gabrielle Danskknit, Spin Round and Round Tunic Dress.

I was nervous.

The left shoulder got pretty stretched

And apparently I should have been because, true to my nature, I forgot something. Something I intuitively knew, but left behind while driven to distraction about lengthening and smoothing the skirt on the dress: if you hang a garment on a hanger, and pour tons of hot steam on it, there is a pretty good chance the rest of the garment will get steamed too. Not just the intended parts, eg. the skirt.

To make matters worse, I knitted the dress to be quite long. Amy Rose wanted it "to look like Elsa from Frozen." So the skirt made the whole thing pretty heavy, especially when wet. Combine that fact with the slowly dampening shoulder "straps" and voila....recipe for a dress that is way too big.

Once  I noticed what was happening on one of the shoulders as I worked around the skirt, I stopped immediately and hung the dress over the rack at the waistline instead of on a hanger from the shoulders. This removed the tension on the yoke. I should have started out in this position, or used a blocking board to steam only the skirt.

I later ended up washing the whole thing in warm water in a lingerie bag to get some of the

Amy Rose loves her dress

spring back. I reshaped it wet and re-blocked the top.

I learned at least two things this week: it is true that blocking--at least to some degree--indeed makes some things permanent. (Even after washing, my skirt was still nice and smooth) But it is also true that you can get some of the original spring, size and shape back in some cases.

While I made a pretty big error, it was not irreparable, and Amy can certainly wear the dress, which is adorable. (I even threaded some ribbon through the waistband for extra femininity) It is just a bit big in the armpits now, and she just will have to wear a lacy cotton slip underneath it till next winter. Then she can wear a sweater over it, just like Elsa.

Unless she grows. And we all know that's going to happen. Then she can wear a sweater for fun, not to cover her armpits.

I have added a new board to my Pinterest just for info on the things I am learning or plan to learn. There are lots of links to blocking, steaming, and what have you. Hopefully it can help someone else out, too.

What's on my needles now? Another pair of Dr. Who mittens for a friend's son. Hopefully I will remember all the steps this time and not get caught up in the granular minutia.


Random Fact of the Week: 

Rayon fiber is not synthetic. Well, it's man-made, but men make it from cotton lint and wood chips. Really?! I think MacGyver invented that one.

Amy thinks we should bring fancy hats back. I agree. You UK folks already do
this very well. We are jealous of your hats. 

Spaz knitting will get you nowhere.

Wadded up, a sad--and expensive--
kidlin shawl

I'm admittedly a total spaz. And my knitting style is no exception to that rule. I'm in a hurry all the time (which makes me prone to making mistakes), I don't like extra steps (I have historically been really, really bad at blocking and caring for some of my hand knits) and I am basically a goober.

One of the things that I must do in the Master Knitter's Program is undo this lifestyle. I must now confess my sins and repent of my wicked deeds. This post is part I of II posts (who knows...I may need III. And a trip to confession...) about how it is a bad idea to live your knitting life this way.

Today, I am undoing an evil. I am going back in time and finally blocking a lace shawl that I knitted late in the first year of my knitting life, which makes the shawl about 5 years old.





This would-be, lovely Monica shawl by designer Trudy Van

I now know that Eucalan Wash is my friend.

Stralen has been tossed in a pile, folded, yet crammed, in drawers (at least they are cedar) for all this time. This is pathetic, considering it took me between eight and nine weeks to finish it as a newish knitter. That's no way to treat what feels practically like one of your first children.

I did try to block it back then but I lacked the tools and know-how to do it and I lacked to patience to find out which tools and know-how were needed. So, I made it sort of wet and laid it out in a dark hall by the upstairs bedrooms. I didn't know anything about stretching out lace or pinning properly, I just let it sit there and dry. It was....just okay. It was still a bit fluffy and, when I wore it, it quickly went back to its scrunched up self.

No more pins in the house!

So, yesterday I washed it in Eucalan and lukewarm water for the recommended ten minutes. Then I carefully rinsed it so as not to stretch it in the same laundry sink. I did not twist, wring, pull or otherwise distort the shawl. I squeezed the water out against the side of the sink and then lifted it out with both hands, transferring it carefully to a large, very absorbent towel. I rolled it up in said towel and, like Elizabeth Zimmerman says you can, I jumped on it. Then I let Amy Rose jump on it.

It was fun and the water was pretty well out of it after that. Just a little left, enough for proper blocking.

The shawl turns out to be bigger than I used to think it was (I know, duh.) and took up nearly the entire length of the dining room table, which is no small feat. It used all of my T-pins and then two more boxes of rust proof sewing pins and both of my sets of blocking mats.



I carefully, dutifully, put the pins in at about one inch intervals, squared my corners straightened

stretched out--FINALLY!

and re-straightened my edges. Then I patiently forced myself to wait overnight to check for dryness.

Once off the blocking pads, I now get it why people are tempted to take photos of shawls in trees. Flowing, soft and pretty against a green background, my purple shawl has finally come to life.

One of those silly tree/shawl poses

For more information on blocking, here are just a few resources that I found helpful:

1. The Principles of Knitting, June Hemmons Hiatt
2. Vogue Ultimate Knitting Book
3. Knitty  on blocking (they have several stories on that topic)
4. Knitting Tips&Tricks by Lily Chin

Finally! It lays flat. Whew!

Indices are really helpful for topics like this. Check out the back of the book first!

I am not an expert: Level I

Hello, all!

My husband and two of the kids on Father's Day

This past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind around our house. Of course, today was Father's Day and I sincerely hope all you fab dads out there had a great and relaxing day full of attentive pampering. At our house, we also have one daughter heading to high school, which means her 8th grade awards ceremony is this week and a 5-year-old who had a pre-school graduation this past week. Adorable beyond words.

Amy Rose at Pre-School graduation. She's a "school-ager
now, mom."

In other news, on June 11th, I turned 45, which means I plan to pretend to be Molly Shannon's 
SNL character for the next five years and go around saying, "I like to kick! And strrrrrreeeeetch, and KICK!" while kicking in the air and stretching in inappropriate postures whenever I feel like it. It's my prerogative and I have to use it or lose it since 50 is only five years away and I intend to act like a dork forEVER!

In honor of my own personal aging, and in addition to my chronic silliness disease (I think I picked it up from touching the floor and not washing my hands after visiting the Ministry of Silly Walks...), I am doing something exciting, something newish...something terrifying.

I signed up for and am already studying madly for The Master Knitter's Program through The National Knitting Guild Association.

I don't know how ready I am for this, but I do know that I do my best learning through structure, especially when I can combine group brainstorming with going off on my own and pondering/analyzing what I have heard. This is the best possible combination for me to move forward, challenging myself as a knitter.

For the group piece, I will be joining the Tigard, Oregon knitting guild (they are thought to be the hard core folks around Portland and I hear there are several people going through the program there) and I have already joined the Ravelry group for Master Knitter students.

For the thinking on my own piece, I am apparently in luck since I went through that earlier period of what seemed like an incurable urge to purchase all sorts of knitting literature (to my husband's chagrin at the time). It turns out, according to the Master Knitter's reading list, I have already accumulated some good study materials.

I have purchased the large, required binder, 250 page protectors and another wave of reading material from the Master Knitter bibliography (mostly on the history of knitting--I can't believe I didn't have them all). Finally, I have also collected over the past few years what will now be some very helpful classes on Craftsy.

I am armed and ready. And I will be using the blog as a journal (as it should be, right?) for my learning experiences.

I will be posting weekly (or more often maybe, depending on how frustrated or excited I get...I'm pretty excitable.) with my progress, what's on my needles, something new I have researched and learned, where you can find certain helpful resources, etc. You may notice that there are a few new blogs under "blogs I love" to the right margin---> Each time I find a new one for learning, I will add it.

I also want to start a random fact of the week addition to the blog.

Let's start that now.

Random Fact of the Week:

Both wool and silk are very poor conductors of heat. This means that your body heat will be trapped inside the fabrics produced by either one of these fibers, sweaters and stockings alike. Your fancy silk thigh highs may not stand alone as winter wear in International Falls, Minnesota, but they may be hotter it more ways than you think.



Now....let's get knitting!