Norsk Strikkedesign and Anatolian Knitting Designs

Now that I have two new knitting books, I am putting a moratorium on that as well! I have done fairly well with the destashing rules, although I haven’t put a button there in the sidebar. I’ve bought one ball of sock yarn for emergency gift needs, a few pairs of needles, and two presents for myself.

Norsk Strikkedesign arrived a couple of weekends ago, and several people can attest that for days, I took it everywhere I went. “Have you seen this yet??” Twice, three times I would ask people. I may have even shown it to non-knitters. I ogled. I drooled.

Just look at these designs. And of course, there are more.

I love the fact that each featured designer has a portfolio of pieces, that some are small like socks and therefore palatable, and that some are practically beyond imagination.

For an idea of what the work-in-progress looks like, go see Deb Robson’s two entries about her project.

Amazing.

One day, after I find that one magical ball of orange Tiur to finish Bjerk, I will consider these projects.

In the mean time, I have some designing projects under way, and am also busy drooling over Anatolian Knitting Designs by Betsy Harrell.

Margaret from SnB introduced me to the idea of Anatolian socks prior to my trip to Turkey in September. I perused her Anna Zilboorg book and wrote down this title from her intro. Although I visited several bookstores in Istanbul, I couldn’t find this title, which was published there in 1981. But when I came back, I finally found a copy at Halcyon.com. It is indeed from 1981 - a tad shopworn, a tad aged, typescript pages, and the Istanbul publishing house info on the back.

There are a few pages of color photos, even one of a woman named Ayse who is spindle-spinning her yarn, and endless motifs for my imagination to chew on.

If only I had read this book before traveling, my poor travelmate would have been dragged off to Hisar Utsu, the part of Istanbul where apparently some Anatolian women have settled into a cottage industry - of course, this info is 26 years old, but I imagine it could be easily verified. He only narrowly escaped a bus trip to Herekke to investigate the silk industry as well.

You know what is on my itinerary should I ever have another opportunity to go to Turkey.

Next post: photos of the two pairs of Anatolian socks (and one pair of knitted slippers) that I bought in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

So close, but so far away

After I found my rust-proof T-pins, I lost my little notions kit. It was of course in plain sight, but not in the right spot. So, although my Jaywalker socks are supposed to be finished, they are still on the needles. You won’t see them again till they have feet in them and some more lively background of some sort, I assure you.

Also, I don’t know why it is so difficult to get a decent photo of a red object - any advice? But below is the embarrassing FO photo for my Red Scarf. I mailed a batch of eight out today, two of which were mine. One doesn’t really count as an FO though, since it’s been finished for a year. I’ve never worn it, so I sent it along.

In the smaller photo, you can’t see the nice moss stitch and ribbed squares at all - here you have a slight chance of picking out the pattern!

I finally blocked my Swallowtail Shawl, but I refuse to post a bad photo (it is also red…), so I’ll wait till I have daylight and a partner in crime to model or photo me modeling it. Again, I am marveling at the wonders of blocking. A pathetic pile of scrunchy lace has become something of which I am pretty proud!

Blocking and needle sizing redux.

Blocking.

Here is Mary’s wedding shawl, blocked basically following the same method as in Eunny Jang’s tutorial, only I used the measurements on my contact-paper-covered cardboard quilting folded thingy. Pattern - Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark from the Fall 04 Interweave Knits.

And the bad over-the-shoulder shot.

The blocking stretched it out to what seems like twice its unblocked size. But when I pulled the pins out, there was still some shrinkage. The consistency of the shawl has completely changed, though - there is drape where before there was snuggly elastic pull. The latter is nice but you can’t see the lace design… (Can you see that there is nearly 1 1/2 inches between the unpinned point and the hole where the pin was? I pinned the shawl to 25 in. in length and it is now 23 1/2 in.)

OK, on to needle sizes.

So, Andrea posted this for me, which is a comparison of her needle sizers. And I took this photo, which says that my #3 needles ought to be 3.25mm, but had different mm measurements for #4:

And Ann commiserated but confused me more by telling me that she has two different mm gauges for size #2…

It seems that some real answers were beginning to be revealed with Kanuck’s link to a table of “observed diameters” for various US sizes, which was very enlightening.

The Craft Yarn Council of America has designated industry standard mm measurements for knitting needles, but this doesn’t solve the problem of European sizing (Addi Turbo, anyone?) or European designations in patterns (*cough*DaleofNorway*cough*).

ps. The shawl is the second FO of 2007. This pair of socks is the first. I promise that they are for someone with two feet that are the same size, even though they look a bit wonky in this photo.

Back in business

In October I traveled to Africa for work and had no problem bringing needles from the US to Europe and from Europe to Africa and from Africa to Europe again.

But in Paris, the airport authority took away my VEYRY VEYRY DANGEROUS (plastic)(bamboo) needles.

Not only did my Jaywalkers face that challenge, but they also faced the challenge of the brainfart whereby I LOST THE SECOND BALL OF YARN!

When I finally decided that I wanted to wear them sooner than later, I tracked down a ball of Diakeito Diamusee Fine #107 at the Knitting Shack and they sent it to me practically at the speed of light. At least in my world. Let’s say that I had it within 5 days of placing my order. If that. Which in my slow knitting world where I am just now getting around to finishing October projects, is about twice the speed of light.

And what a relief - Jaywalkers back on the needles, back in business. I am planning on wearing them next week at the latest. Yes indeedy.

ps. Finally found the t-pins and just blocked the shit out of the flowerbasket shawl (white) but I am too pooped to take a photo. Blocking is amazing.

Need socks? Donate to Doctors Without Borders with your purchase.

Stephanie McPhee / Yarn Harlot has a post up today in which she mentions Sweet Sheep yarns. If you buy yarn from them before the end of the month, they will donate a portion of their proceeds to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Here is a link to their sock yarn. Match it up with my Basic Bamboo Sock pattern, all proceeds going to MSF, and you will have donated $7.00 to MSF without even trying!

In summary:
Yarn here. Oh, and here.
Pattern here.

You know what to do.

The 5% nation of blocking your shawl and when are we going to switch to metric?

Two shawls are waiting patiently on my new cutting table (thanks for the car service, Kathryn!).

I have a measuring board as well that I covered in contact paper upon sage Kathryn’s advice.

Finally found a store with rust-proof T pins in stock over the holidays. And I have big plans for soaking these babies in some water and a dash of lavender loveliness from my new big bottle of Eucalan. Everything is ready.

But where oh where are my two boxes of rust-proof T pins? Alas, they have hidden during the shuffle that I have termed ‘rearranging my junk.’

I had a mild crisis over the weekend that did not involve preparing to block, but rather of the running-out-of-yarn-and-holy-crap-have-I-been-knitting-on-the-wrong-size-needles-
THIS-WHOLE-TIME???? variety.

Here are the salient points:
- Dale of Norway told me to use #4 for colorwork and #3 for the rest.
- Dale of Norway gave me gauge only for #4s.
- I finished everything except the second sleeve cap, and now I have no more orange yarn.
- I reread the directions and it says, #3 (3.0mm).
- At the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, I discovered #2.5 needles (3.0mm), and realized that my #3’s are 3.25mm.
- My gauge on 3.25mm is what they recommended for 3.5mm.
- 2+2 = I might have run out of yarn because I’ve been using the wrong size needles!

I have no idea whether this is a reasonable analysis, but the fact remains that what Dale calls #3 is not my #3, and I have no more yarn, so I can’t finish Bjerk. Sniff.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I have created a similar problem for myself with a pair of knee socks that I was working on - I may have accidentally switched out the #3 for a #2 when I needed the #3 for Bjerk, and not switched back, and kept on knitting. So this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN, my sock knitting dpn collection now looks like this (the circulars may not be rounded out yet…)

But I still need to pin down which size equals which mm and get a correct needle gauge. Mason Dixon Knitting has a needle gauge on a recent post that lists #2 as 3.0mm, but my circlular needle holder calls that a #3. Ack!

In the mean time, does anybody have an extra ball of orange #3436 Tiur?

Knitting along

I haven’t actually joined the Zimmermania KAL or any others that might lead me to EZ, but I have caught the fever nonetheless. I purchased Knitter’s Almanac some time back, and each time I pick it up, it’s like I am having a familiar conversation.

After seeing b r o o k l y n t w e e d ’s gorgeous seamless sweater,

I didn’t run out and buy Knitting Without Tears, since I am trying to discourage that very quick and powerful tendency in myself, but I did talk to Amy about her version of the sweater. I like the fact that Amy has to adjust hers, that EZ is fallible, that her ‘directions’ are more like recipes or guidelines. We’ll see if I feel the same way once I attempt a seamless sweater for myself.

At the end of the workday, sitting in my kitchen with a nice cold glass of Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout and some peach salsa and chips, I read this bit from the copy that I borrowed from the local spinning guild, which I thought simply delightful:

Twisted stitches, dropped stitches, split yarn stitches, or inadertently “made” stitches may be neatly remedied by your trusty crochet hook. Trace the offending stitch up to the needle, work to this point, and then let the stitch run down to where the trouble is. Actually, the word “run” is inaccurate, as, contrary to superstition, a dropped stitch does not immediately zoom down to the bottom of your work like a run in a stocking. At the most it will slither down one or two rows, and cling there, moaning piteously, and waiting to be picked up….

EZ, Knitting Without Tears, p 41

I can just imagine such a fragile little loop of wool, clinging for dear life to surrounding fuzz, begging to be rescued! Eh, what am I thinking - wool is tougher than that!

On a totally different note, some mysterious soul is playing bagpipes right outside my apartment. Where is my kilt?

Diverging from knitting content

I am knitting when at home, but I can’t seem to concentrate on knit blogging lately. There is too much to distract me, and when I get home, my head hurts and I don’t want to turn on the computer. Scroll down for the progress report, but frankly I think these items are more important. Read no further if you don’t want a dose of reality - I realize that is not what you came here for.

[Apologies to those of you who know me in my other blogging capacity, not to be mentioned here, who have already seen my rants on the first bit below.]

1. The US has decided that an appropriate reaction to receiving ‘credible intelligence’ that three al-Qaeda member responsible for US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam back in 1998 are hanging out in Somalia is to launch airstrikes that have killed 31 civilians in two Somali towns.

2. The following is from Riverbend’s Iraq blog. Just for some perspective. The latest horror is the study published in the Lancet Journal concluding that over 600,000 Iraqis have been killed since the war. Reading about it left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it sounded like a reasonable figure. It wasn’t at all surprising. On the other hand, I so wanted it to be wrong. But… who to believe? Who to believe….? American politicians… or highly reputable scientists using a reliable scientific survey technique?….Let’s pretend the 600,000+ number is all wrong and that the minimum is the correct number: nearly 400,000. Is that better? Prior to the war, the Bush administration kept claiming that Saddam killed 300,000 Iraqis over 24 years. After this latest report published in The Lancet, 300,000 is looking quite modest and tame. Congratulations Bush et al.

[Emphasis mine. For those of you not familiar, she has been anonymously blogging from Iraq since the "end" of the war in Iraq in August 2003. You can read her blog entries in book form through 2004 in Baghdad Burning.]

3. I would like to write something about seeing Blood Diamond the other day, but I can’t - suffice it to say that you should all please please PLEASE consider the ramifications of your actions should you choose to support the diamond industry in any way, which I strongly discourage. Even though this movie was set in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s, and the blurbs at the end would have us believe that the war is over and everyone is happy, and you’re all set as long as you demand “certification” from your local jeweler, it is not over. Children and adults are still risking their lives and being exploited wherever there are natural resources. Just in the past few days, over 40 people were caught in a collapsed diamond mine in DR Congo, and 30 are still unaccounted for. Thirteen are confirmed dead.

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I can barely stomach typing about knitting now. But here it is. I finished some socks for a belated Christmas present. I still have to knit button bands for the short sleeve cardi from Sarah Dallas’ Vintage Knits. I am on the LAST sleeve of Bjerk. Still working on my red scarf. And even though I am trying to keep the rotation down to only a few (hah!), I started a shawl that I can’t say anything else about just now, since it’s a gift for someone who might be reading this…

Knitting book sources

I have been reading along as a lurker on a self publishing listserv, since I would like to do more pattern publishing in the future, and one issue that recently came up is that of Amazon in the publishing world, specifically as it pertains to knit publishing.

First of all, full disclosure: I am a big Amazon user. I tend to be a spendthrift, but I like to emphasize “thrift,” so I enjoy the discounts and the savings on shipping. And as much as I resent the nonstop advertising flashing into my brain when I visit their site, I do get something out of recommendations on occasion. Several books in my collection have come from Amazon and from following their links from other books.

That said, I found the listserv discussion interesting and one main point that I took from it is that many knitting publishers don’t use Amazon at all.

For those who do, they may gain in profits based on the sheer volume that they sell, and they may target the market that only knows how to search through Amazon. But they profit much more from direct sales, and most sell through their own websites.

Another interesting point is that knitting designers who choose not to use Amazon or whose books are out of print may still find their books for sale through the Marketplace, by independent sellers who may ask upwards of $100. Most of us are aware that some of Alice Starmore’s books are out of print, and people are asking over $300 for copies of some of her titles. While some people would never dream of spending this money, some people really want the book!

But a word to the wise: shop around before you pay anyone $300!

I can’t vouch for the availabililty of Ms. Starmore’s books, although Amazon does have some titles, but I found at least two other authors’ books at Halcyon.com that Amazon does NOT have, and for which Marketplace sellers were asking over $100.

Additionally, if you are like me and tend to focus your search in one place, branch out and try other suppliers like Unicorn Books, Halcyon, Schoolhouse Press, or Interweave Press.

And if you believe in supporting the people who do this work, rather than the corporations, buy titles directly from their websites. Here are a few titles to get you started.

Knitting with a Smile by Inger Fredholm

I don’t own any of these, so if you do, let me know what you think!

Where do you buy your knitting books?

Final FO count for 2006

Predictable. As soon as I woke up on Christmas Eve and got ready to travel, I came down with a cold. Thera-Flu and taking it easy and lots of hot tea last week didn’t hold it off, but I think it was pretty benign considering the three weeks of hacking and sinus problems that other people have gone through. I was at home yesterday still hacking a bit, and this post should have gone up, but of course, on my free day at home, my internet was frozen most of the day. Why? who knows - my next door neighbor and former roommate has all the info, I just pay her but I don’t talk to the internet peeps.

But - on to knitting!
I have one new photo for you - this is Mike’s hat, the last FO of 2006, which should have been finished around Christmas 2005. Oops. Even more embarrassing, it only took me one evening to knit. Coming soon - some kind of coordinating scarf, that is overdue as of Christmas 2006. *Sigh.*

Though I missed all deadlines on those gifts, I’ve just updated the gallery, which has been really satisfying - the FO count has increased from 11 to 24 for 2006! Here is the breakdown:

Socks: 9
Hats: 5
Shawls/scarves/shrugs: 5
Sweaters: 4
Other: 1

Ratio of Adult to Baby - 1:8.

Ratio of gifts to things for me - 13:24. Wow. I gave away more than half. I have more gifts planned, but I would also like to focus on all the unfinished objects that abound in my life. Here is a smattering of projects that are definitely getting some attention in the next couple months.

Bobble Cardigan
Little Majolica
Bellflower knee socks
Top-down leaf cardigan
Bjerk

Also, perhaps this week I’ll have a photo for you of a project that I pulled out of storage. I’ve made tracks on this short-sleeved cardi in the past couple weeks. In fact, all the pieces are together except for the separately-knitted button bands, which don’t yet exist.