SistahCraft

Knits And News

And The Knits Just Keep On Coming

(The Purple Haze Tweed; All pics enlarge)

Occasionally, I like to make my own tweed combinations. For me it's like painting, combining different yarns in order to achieve an amalgam of luminosity, texture, and color. It also uses up some of my machine knitting yarn stash––that I have pounds of.

The sweater Lola's wearing, is made up of one end of 2/32 Linea PIU mohair (the haze) and the remainder: 2 ends of 2/18  wool/silk, 1 end of 2/24 wool/alpaca and 1 end of 2/18 merino, from my all time favorite supplier,   JaggerSpun! Here's a huge shout out to Chuck! The tweed effect, was made using the amazing accessory shown.

The Daruma Yarn Twister, has been around since the eighties (in my memory). I don't t know when the company ceased to make this gadget, but it was a damn shame, that they did. The twister allows for the the threads or yarns to wrap around each other evenly; you don't get "runs" of one color or another, as when you either knit or crochet, slipping the strands through your fingers. And the twist doesn't bias when worked. Valerie, I'll have the full instructions for assembly and use under the Project Working Notes in the sidebar tomorrow.

I've put up the first part of the blocking tutorial in the sidebar  for Twist, speaking on the why and what of blocking; The how is next. Stay tuned.

Big Up Time

My sistahfriend Trina Michelle Robinson, knits together phenomenal occurrences throughout the African Diaspora and presents them on her blog The Passage Project. It's my go to for an aggregation of awareness and consciousness lifting news and events; check it out. It'll become yours.

It Hasn't Unraveled Me

Yes, I'm finally on Ravelry! Now I can see what all the fun is about. I very excited to be a part of this sub-universe, and maybe that's what's motivating me towards completion. I can't wait until I'm finished with the spring publishing cycle at work, and I get some time off; then I'll time to revel!

The Last Twister

Slow and Steady, Made The Cardi

(Colored pearl and semi-precious stone necklace, Shimoda Accessories; suede and mock croccodile satchel by Marie Elanne; boots, Dumond; photo by Mr. K; all pics enlarge).

Bonne Marie's Twist, is the first sweater, not of my own design, I've made for myself.

During the 23 years I've been knitting, I generally supported the work of sweater designers by purchasing their garments. Knitting patterns involved labor, and at the time, I had enough of my own work to do. But, once I changed careers, I found I could relax my mind to faithfully and uncritically knit another designer's pattern––and the timing couldn't have been better. The blogosphere has given rise to some very good knit designers, the major benefit being,  I haven't worked for any of them! Now surrounded with a plethora of interesting knits, I looked for precise instructions with no errata (pattern mistakes make me crazy), and a good schematic and/or pattern chart. Twist, gave me exactly what I was looking for.

Twist is a well balanced design in terms of knitting interest, the fringed cable collar giving it a youthful sass. And, it was classic enough not to date by the time I finished. Given the numerous daily deadlines I face at work, why impose any on an art I enjoy? 

I did resist a strong urge to run the cable pattern along the sleeve, and stayed true to the pattern; the discipline was not to re-design or embellish. If you are already knitting someone else's idea, why create more work for yourself?

Anyway, I started knitting this almost a year ago, and finished this past fall. I've worn it on a number of occasions, and it is indeed a chic-knit, receiving many compliments. Now, to elaborate on a few details.

Penny Wise and Button Foolish

I wanted to prove to some of my thriftier knitting friends, that you can make a beautiful and inexpensive garment out of 100% wool, if you're not too lazy to take care of it; knitting is too much of a labor of love, to use a cheap acrylic. Panda Woolbale 8 ply, an Aussie import from the famous Smiley's Yarns, was my choice, and this baby clocked in at $36.00US. So I splurged on the buttons!             

They are copper, with a green patina finish, from an Italian boy's military academy, circa 1940's (no, they are not fascist); from Tender Buttons, 143 E 62nd St NYC, 1-212-758-7004, my favorite source in New York (in Chicago, 946 N. Rush, Chicago, IL, 1-312.337.7033).

Here is a close up of the collar, and my friend's necklace.

The knitting pattern contained no errata, and Bonne's instructions were very easy to follow, accompanied by a nice cable chart and a good schematic drawing, especially important when you are ready to block your finished pieces. I gotta say, it was a good knitting experience, for a pattern virgin––although of course, the key––was to knit a large (8" x 8") swatch in the cable pattern first! Remember, if you don't ignore this step, your sweater won't ignore you!

For a blocking tutorial and a novel way to attach the collar, my tutorial page will be in the sidebar shortly.

Saying Ha-a-a-a-a-a-y!

Knitters At Work

 

Leonor Mamanna and myself; My former "Student of the Month" is now part of the Saartje KAL at work. We are fashionably outfitting the feet of some of the new babies of our co-workers. All pics enlarge).

Girl, How Ya' Livin'?

Although the temperature is 42º at present, and the view of the park across the street looks pretty bleak, my internal clock feels the beginnings of the subtle transition toward spring. Or maybe it's just menopause. Anyway, it's been a minute, so here's a report on my own doings, while the devil's playground has been closed.

Shout Out Time

First, I want to big up a few new subscribers––Pooch2, Brokedown Tiger, and MissDavis! I also say welcome to any new unpublished subscribers! I'm happy y'all think my blog is worth the time to check out regularly.

No Idle Hands; A Onsie for Karen

Ancestors! I'm just in time for the arrival of Tawana's daughter, Karen Joi! Plymouth Encore D.K. Colorspun, is my favorite Acrylic/Wool mix; there's enough wool to give the yarn a nice hand, and the synthetic lends machine wash-ability; the yardage (150 yds) is value for money. The contrast yarn is Knit Picks' Merino Style in Harvest. Three balls of the main color, and 1 ball of contrast color was used.

The original pattern, is from Minnow Knits, Too by Jill Eaton (Pottercraft). Her instructions are clear, there are detailed schematics and excellent photos of a diverse range of tykes. I chose the 3 month size, in order to adapt to the larger gauge fabric my needles (sizes 3 and 6), produced; the finished garment is sized for a one year old. Here's a close-up of the buttonhole and Crab st. finish.

I don't have a vision of a button yet, but I'm sure  Tender Buttons will have a miniature work of art which will leap out at me. I'm considering a duplicate stitch embellishment of Adinkra symbols denoting blessings. Powerful devices, when rendered in a juvenile color––such as the contrast yarn––softens the viewers response, while maintaining the strength of their definition.   

Chante´ Put Me In A Spin

(My first handspun bulky yarn)

A refresher lesson from Chante´ last summer, revived my long dormant interest in spinning. I dusted off my very old Ashford Student wheel––no longer made––then got busy. I now own a new Kiwi, and a Bosworth Journey wheel (for cotton), an adaptation of the original Charka book wheel, endorsed by Ghandi to promote South Asian independence.

My yarn is spun from Halcyon's Corriedale top, using the long draw method, while simultaneously creating thick/thin spaces. The swatch shown, is a rib using size 11's. I tell you, it's uber-lofty,soft, and with excellent memory. Ultimately, my intention is to spin and knit items for myself and Mr. K, and to give yarn as gifts to friends.   

Folks, before I check out, I want to hip y'all to a few interesting people, places and things.

Support the Handmade

My girl Stephanie Syjuco has it going on! Her site Anti-Factory, features beautiful recycled jersey tops that knock the hipness quotient clean off the charts! All are handmade by her, and if you're slow you blow––her pieces sell that fast.

Places To Knit and Crochet

I love Tribal Spears Gallery & Cafe 2167 Frederick Douglass Blvd. (8th Avenue) bet. W. 117th & W 116th; 212-666-6550.
It's spacious and cozy at the same time. There's a nice group seating area that looks like your living room, cubiclesque enclosures along the wall for laptop users and the outer part of this large room is multi-purpose, encompassing a gallery/performance space. Good lighting, coffee and desserts round out the offerings. They're open daily until 8 p.m., and is where the nimble-fingered sistahs of the Harlem Sistahfriends Knitting Circle currently meet. We will be in the building again next Sunday, February 9th, at 4p.m.

Computerized Knitting

I've become a laptop knitter meaning, I now occasionally carry my laptop, in addition to my knitting and other essentials. I wanted an accomodating bag, that would offer seroius protection for my Macbook (felted bags look nice, but to be honest, I don't trust them; New York at rush hour is way to brutal). I was becoming flummoxed by what I thought were the lack of options out there for women. That is, until I hit upon Kate Trgovac's lens, and found a bag that completely satisfied my needs. In fact, there were a number of laptop bags to suit all of my needs. Kate diligently and fairly reviews an amazing number of bags; she doesn't merely reprint the press release, like some other shopping lenses.

Ironically, the bag I chose, is made by Spire. Kate informed that the owner is married to Lexie Barnes, who is, as you know, a primo craft bag designer. Ah, there's that thread that  binds us all again!