The Iditarod (the famous 1,000 mile Alaskan dog sled race) and its knit-a-long companion, the Iknitarod, are long over now and are well past yesterday’s news. But it’s what I think of whenever I catch sight of this cute, silly hat I created during those events. It always makes me smile, even if I do know the disproportional amount of work that went into making such a small, utilitarian thing, and all it’s various hand spun yarns. I’m especially pleased with the dog that’s knit with Chiengora. Yes, that’s right: I knit the dog on the hat with yarn that I spun from the fur of my dog. The original pattern for this hat did not have a dog. However, I’m not the first person to think it’s a good idea to stage a herding dog among this flock of sheep. Meg Warren did it, and published her version as a separate pattern on Ravelry. Her dogs, however, are very clearly border collies, and well -I wanted the dog in my version of the hat to look like MY dog, a Cardigan Corgi. My thinking was that learning the colorwork technique was enough to manage at one time, without worrying about the pattern, too. I subsequently decided to re-chart the entire pattern for this hat, so I wouldn’t have to think about it while I was knitting. It took me a surprisingly long time to make a digital version of the pattern that was in my head, and creating it on a computer was its own learning process. Here’s how it turned out:
Cardigan Corgi Baa-ble Hat Pattern, Screen Shot
Now I’m working on the accompanying mitts, and as soon as I look up Elizabeth Zimmerman’s method of casting off by casting on, this first one is going to be finished. Here’s ripping out, last week:
I knit more dogs – Baa-ble Mitt #1
Both mitts really should be finished by now, but with things being what they were last week, the mitts were set aside for several days and I made a lot of progress on swatching, instead. My new pattern is nearly done, and then it will be on to knitting a real sample of it. In the meantime, here’s a teaser:
~on trying new techniques, and learning to carry all the things
Hand spun, hat knitting
The thing nobody told me about colorwork knitting is that it’s really quite easy – especially Fair Isle colorwork, where you only have to orchestrate two strands of yarn at any one time. It turns out that working with several colors at once is enjoyable, relaxing, and rewarding. In fact, it’s the most instantly gratifying kind of knitting there is. Even after working a scant ten rows, you can clearly see a motif emerging. As soon as you notice it, you immediately have the feeling of having accomplished something. After all, the whole point of colorwork is what you do with the colors; without that, it’s just plain old stockinette!
Generally speaking, when I knit things, they only come in one, single, absolutely correct color at a time. Once having seen the finished item in my mind’s eye, I’ll go to great lengths to get exactly that color. For the sake of that one perfect skein, I will spend hours upon hours searching for and sourcing from multiple destashes (yarn other people don’t want anymore), hopping around to yarn stores that are hours apart, over-dyeing yarn I am already in possession of, or dyeing and spinning my own yarn, from scratch (which is sometimes easier, and less time consuming!). And that’s just for one skein. When there are multiple colors, plural, in a project, I can easily get caught up for well nigh on a month or more, setting straight every value, tone, and shade before even considering picking up a pair of knitting needles.
Like this hat. It should have been simple; it IS simple. Gloriously simple, in the way only an incredibly well-designed thing can be. And as with so many of my projects, I had a vision. Of fluffy, curly-locked, natural-wool-colored sheep, on a handknit field of some-colors-or-other (the colors of that certain spin-a-long fiber, in particular…), with softly glistening, slightly sparkling, snowy white “snow” yarn falling gently from a cloudless “sky”. Essentially: I excel at making beautifully simple things artfully complicated. Lucky for me, I had the perseverance (and coincidentally had sufficient time during a vacation) to create the yarns of my dreams. Color problems solved!
Then I started knitting.
I’m just going to come out and say right now, that when those Shetland and Fair Islanders hit upon creating elaborate-looking colorwork patterns while only using two colors in any single row, it was – and is – sheer genius. I, on the other hand, in my untried, untested, and inexperienced foray into such things, took a nice three color pattern and inadvertently turned it into a seven color pattern, with five of those colors appearing in a few single rows. Oops./Whee!
Hat! Because it’s cold!! (Rose’ – because it’s spring!)
On the one hand, the finished product came out great, and I love it, and accompanying mitts are already on the way. On the other hand… well, let’s just say those seven colors made two color knitting seem like a breeze (which it is, really). Truly, carrying five colors wasn’t hard or bad, it was just a lot more like Tetris than I fairly want my knitting to regularly be. And also – I need to have an footnote here about BFL. For some reason, every spinner I know jumps all over BFL (Blue Faced Leicester, a breed of sheep). It’s the “background yarn” in this hat (the “meadow” and the “sky”). Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice fiber to spin, and it dyes very well, and the finished yarn looks great, especially when it has silk added in. I just can’t seem to be able to wear it, except on my head (although, for certain, I’m going to go through the itchy agony to wear these glorious mitts for a few hours at a time, once they’re done). Even just thinking about putting a BFL scarf around my neck makes me squirm; and BFL is soft. I’ve seen people snuggle up in high collared grey masham sweaters and not even twitch. I am amazed by, and envy, those people, and I would spin and knit what I consider “wool with character” for them, all day long. Not so for me. I’ve spent the past several weeks picking stray BFL fibers off of everything I own. Not because they look bad, stuck to whatever they’re stuck to, but because I can feel them, and they’re irritating! I do believe I’m about to become a very picky crafter when it comes to my own skin. The personal wearable wools campaign is ON.
~ another 1,000 mile dog race – another late week-night music concert
Pile of handspun yarn for colorwork hats
The Yukon Quest sled dog race, which happened a couple weeks back, was a huge distraction from life as usual. I followed the race, I posted about the race, I spun up some yarn for a special project and daydreamed about knitting that special project while following the race – and in the middle of the race, musicians showed up at my house and a Live Recording took place, and I got distracted from my distraction.
Tuner – among the fun oddities brought by musician friends
Now, believe it or not, every bit of that is happening all over again. The Iditarod, which is taking place right now, is another 1,000 mile sled dog race which is held in Alaska over the course of 8-15 days. In the midst of that race, musicians are once again about to descend upon my (very uncleaned, somewhat cluttered, very old kinda-falling-apart) house – this time, for a concert. I would be extremely alarmed about the latter, if I wasn’t so distracted by the former!
I know – sled dog racing is a very, very small niche in the world; but, this is the end of it’s prime season, so bear with me for a moment! This year’s Iditarod race is being covered in more ways than ever before, and in more ways than any other sled dog race. In part, this extensive coverage has to do with the invention and acquisition of amazing technology; mainly, video cameras that are able to shoot HD images in minus-zero degree temperatures, then broadcast those images to the world from the middle of an un-networked wilderness, via satellite uplink. I find these technological advances fascinating – but that’s a story for another time. The fact is, that when you take place as vast as Alaska, and zero in on a very small part of it, most of the time: nothing happens. But when you’re watching that small part of it and something does happen, it’s really, really exciting!!
Whatever the reason you’re drawn to the Iditarod, the fact is that more and more of the fan base lives outside of the race’s home state of Alaska. What the extensive media coverage really means is a whole lot of screen time for race fans. The official race site offers videos, fan forums, and frequent race updates; there are also many forums on unofficial fan sites, multiple pages on Facebook to follow, as well as regional and international news coverage of the event. I also treat myself to the “Iditarod Insider” package deal (my birthday gift to me, and also a way to help support the race). As an “Insider”, I get access to Live GPS race tracking, special video interviews, and Insider race coverage. Also this year, for the first time ever, there is Live coverage at all the checkpoints along the race course. Again, keep in mind the sub-zero temperatures and remote locations. The official GPS tracker for the race automatically updates every 4 minutes. This gizmo basically gives you an at-the-moment rundown of the race standings, and shows you when something exciting might be about to happen at a checkpoint. Combine that with the Live coverage at a checkpoint, which shows you the exciting things that are happening right now!, and add in all the other updates out there on the www (all open simultaneously in separate tabs, of course), and you’ve got a sure-fire way to keep yourself glued to a chair in front of your computer for a very, very long time!
Snow dog hat #1 – casting on
Here’s where having a really good reason to tear your eyes away from the computer screen, is essential. For my Iknitarod project during this year’s race, I spun up a pile of yarn, enough for two colorwork hats. If I finish these during the race, they’ll be my first ever colorwork items. I’m well on my way on hat #1, but as fast as the teams are traveling down the trail this year, it looks like I’m going to have to up the ante to get these done before the last team crosses the finish line. That is another unknown; since any team can scratch from the race, or be officially withdrawn at any time, the deadline for my projects (the end of the race) is an undefined and ever-moving target. The truly ambitious and fleet-fingered members of my Iknitarod group are knitting sweaters, afghans, and skirts. I am trying just to get through a hat or two! Combined with the hosting of house guests, assisting with late-night concerts, and – oh yes – St. Patrick’s Day is next week: I’m hoping for the best, but I know I’m not going to have a whole lot of extra time for fiber play. But, in case you couldn’t tell: I’m having a ton of fun with it, anyway!
Cold weather and snow have finally arrived here in the Mid-Atlantic, and even as a self-proclaimed hater of cold temperatures, I’ve got to admit – I’m loving it!
Iris blooming for New Year’s – Jan 2016
With temperatures generally being in the upper 60’s since October, I was starting to worry that winter had taken the year off, and that the arrival of spring was going to be the most anti-climatic season change to date. Both the potted dianthus on my front porch and the iris in my garden were blooming on New Year’s Day, for crying out loud.
Now, a scant two weeks later, here we have found ourselves -finally! – in winter. Except what we’re having today is not just winter, but a full on blizzard. I’m hoping our neighborhood is an example, in miniature, of the whole, and that everyone in the area has similarly found shelter inside and is staying off the roads.
VIew out the front door – Jan 2016
The pantry is stocked, extra water and batteries and candles at the ready, and we are seriously hunkered down. The heat is turned up (thank you, thank you, blessed heat!), and I’ve dragged every piece of fleece-lined clothing I could find out of the closets (note to self: create a fleece lined skirt). I’m currently curled up on the couch, with the dog over my feet, working on my third cup of hot cocoa, and watching it snow sideways out the window. Speaking of hot cocoa, did you know that the word “whiskey” is a long ago Anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic word for the same, “uisce beatha”? (pronounced “ish-key ba-ha”)
To go with my front row seat, I have several projects within easy reach, of course (so I don’t have to disturb the dog – he’s so cozy!). Today’s picks are a shawlette, two spindle spinning projects, and #1 on the project list – a sweater. After ripping back an entire sweater sleeve last weekend because Himself decided (after the whole thing was done, of course) that the cuff was too tight, I’m having trouble getting started up again. But, at least I’ve cast on.
This is the Avast sweater, with some mods on sizing, as well as design, for my no frills boy-O. It’s a bit of a noteworthy event on my knitter’s timeline: completely without any hints or suggestions on my part, he actually asked me to make him a sweater. So, I made him choose both the pattern (I set him loose on Ravelry!), and the yarn (we went shopping at the LYS). And as if that weren’t enough, he bought his own yarn! Even the shop gals looked a little starry-eyed at that.
A few notes on techniques, for those interested – for this sweater, I’m trying something a friend suggested, scooping the knits (continental style) and flipping the purls (Portuguese style). So far, I think the fabric is coming out quite nicely. I also tried a new turning edge for the hem; on the WS: p1, sl1, *k1, sl1* to end, p1; continue in stockinette. I think it looks neater, less frill-y, and more masculine, than the regular old turning purl row.
Avast hem – turning row
In other news on the project-finishing front, I’ve taken photos of the spin-a-long yarn I finished and set last Friday, and expect to finish another spin tonight: the last of the Corgi Hill Farm braid I was gifted for Christmas, on the keepsake spindle it came with. Truly, Ed Jenkins makes such beautiful spinning tools.
Jenkins Spalted Apple Egret – Birthday, Dec 2015
This one was a birthday gift from two of my best friends. They have heard me clamoring about this particular wood since the first time I spotted it, about four years ago, and they probably decided it was time to shut me up! I’m kidding; I probably won’t ever stop talking about this amazing wood. 😉 I believe the Jenkins’ got it from one of their neighbor’s storm-toppled apple trees. You just never know where you’re going to find the most beautiful, useful things.
‘Sea Flowers’, 300 yards, handspun yarn BFL/silk – Jan 2016
The Iditarod (the famous 1,000 mile Alaskan dog sled race) and its knit-a-long companion, the Iknitarod, are long over now and are well past yesterday’s news. But it’s what I think of whenever I catch sight of this cute, silly hat I created during those events. It always makes me smile, even if I do know the disproportional amount of work that went into making such a small, utilitarian thing, and all it’s various hand spun yarns. I’m especially pleased with the dog that’s knit with Chiengora. Yes, that’s right: I knit the dog on the hat with yarn that I spun from the fur of my dog. The original pattern for this hat did not have a dog. However, I’m not the first person to think it’s a good idea to stage a herding dog among this flock of sheep. Meg Warren did it, and published her version as a separate pattern on Ravelry. Her dogs, however, are very clearly border collies, and well -I wanted the dog in my version of the hat to look like MY dog, a Cardigan Corgi. My thinking was that learning the colorwork technique was enough to manage at one time, without worrying about the pattern, too. I subsequently decided to re-chart the entire pattern for this hat, so I wouldn’t have to think about it while I was knitting. It took me a surprisingly long time to make a digital version of the pattern that was in my head, and creating it on a computer was its own learning process. Here’s how it turned out:
