SistahCraft

This Time, The Moose Tried To Run!

Should I Have Left It Alone?

(Lola's* okay, but it could have been worse; all pics enlarge.)

I revisited this Moose Lace stole a week ago, after abandoning it last summer. A distraction, and it ran from my fingers! The yarn is Berroco's Boho, and the pattern is Star Rib Mesh, (using a vertical double decrease). The first stole, knitted in white, turned out fabulously, and I gifted it to my friend, the fabulous Yvonne Alvarez (happy Puerto Rico Day 'sis)! Seeing it on her, produced a bit of envy of my own knitting––talk about narcissism––so I decided that I needed one in red. Well, don't you just hate it when the same project you knit for other folks…anyway, it became a UFO. So, when my memory of it was revived while meditating upon completion, I figured I had the pattern tamed enough to finish––but you can see what happened.

What The Hell Am I Talking About

Moose Lace, is a description (derogatorily used, by some), for the knitting of lace patterns using very large needles. I became aware of this technique a few years ago, at a knitting circle. An older, experienced knitter who seemed slightly off her gauge, remarked on a stole that a young woman was working on. I thought it was rather pretty.

"Hmmph. It's moose lace," the older knitter said.

"What the hell is moose lace?" I asked, "I didn't know moose could knit."

You don't even wanna know, the look this woman gave me. But her attitude towards the young knitter's lace was worse than toward my smart mouth, so she stiffly explained why she thought the stole so horrible, heightening my interest in this technique; a lace that's a time saver as well––why not?

If It Looks Good, Knit It

Now, I love lace and small needles, but why the narrow definition? Is this a generational thing? Can you achieve a good looking article from a blown up lace pattern? I chose a stole for its simplicity. Keeping in mind the big picture, I considered the optimum effect. First, I wanted a lace that would repair easily if snagged. It also had to compress to be conveniently carried, yet expand enough to wrap cozily, on a cool summer night. The mesh rib won out, and I went to town using size––gasp––11, 24" circular needles. Six balls later––success! What happened the second time?

If You Stick Your Hand in A Moose's Mouth, Have Nice Fingers, and Other Lessons

One: Boho contains 3 types of yarns, two of which will produce visible snags from your fingers; make sure your manicure stays on point. Two: stay focused––don't get caught up in the beauty of the yarn. Star Rib Mesh is a simple, 2 row pattern, but one that can trip you up big time, as there are no obvious clues that you're messing it up; check often to see that you are indeed knitting a star shaped mesh, because, you can't hide a mistake on a moose. Three: please use needle guards!  One of the yarns is rayon, which will fall apart with lightening speed if you drop a stitch. If you do make a mistake, rip back slowly to either the nylon or the cotton section, preferably on a purl row.

Moose Lace Rescue Plan

Notwithstanding the aftermath of the fracas in the photo, the stole is on my needles again. It won't be a constant travel project––too dangerous to get jostled around in my bag, but I should be able to let it out in another week or two at most. Moose lace, using a suitable yarn and pattern, really is a time saver––and beautiful! Just be gentle, and take the proper precautions.

*Lola, is the name of my dress form.

The Home Twister is Back!

Go, Go Gadget––Twist!

(You can even twist outdoors; all pics enlarge.)

A New Generation

Originally named the Daruma Home Twister, I sold beaucoup of these in the eighties, as a sales associate at School Products Co. Its popularity spawned a mélange yarn fad, prompting a few shops to even offer a twisting service for their customers.

Then a decade later, the capriciousness of fashion precipitated a decline in the home knitting market, and the Daruma was cast off by its original producers, the Yokata Co., Ltd..

Hey, nothing lasts forever.

(Mélange magnifique; twisted balls)

Or does it? When my own appliance started approaching its end last year (its housing now glued together), I started searching for a replacement. Ancestors! I learned that interest in this device had attained cult status among fiberphiles. Sightings on Craigslist and Ebay were but a blink of an eye, being snatched up. Vintage sewing and needlework sites, who knew the value of this doohicky, listed prices as high as $100 (for serious collectors, the Daruma in it's original red housing, can be purchased at the fabulous site for vintage housewares,  Pinky LaRue. )

Well, I posted about my own, in the hope that the laws of attraction would bring one to me––and it did. Now, I bring it to you!

KrisKrafter To The Rescue

(It's jim dandy; the new Home Twister)

My girl Kris is now manufacturing and selling the Home Twister! It's a fraternal twin to the second iteration, the only difference is the casing's coloring. It still holds several strands of yarn in a slit in the cone's top, enabling you to create marls and mélange's in weights from lace to bulky. Simple to assemble (just 2 parts), it stores easily.

Now, some of you may find the price of $70.00 not very frugally fabulous. Check this out.

If you're a machine knitter with cones of yarn that are too thin to hand knit with, the twister can extend your creative range. Ply together small amounts and knit mini swatches until you arrive at a pleasing color combo; it's how I came to knit my V neck. I wanted to hand knit a sweater, looked at all of the cones of yarn I had, then said "Gee' maybe I'll twist some strands together and see what happens"; it's like painting!

(Happily twisted; for details see my projects on Raverly; there's a tutorial in the sidebar too.)

Now, if you're not inclined to spin yarn, this is the next best thing; experiment, throwing in lengths of yarn to catch in with ones being twisted. Ply together different weights and textures. You can create blends just as nice as many handspuns; this super device, is designed to ply your yarns together evenly, no matter what weight or type.

The Home Twister is a great way to extend your stash, and to create new fabrics. And it won't fall apart on you. There aren't any parts to break, and trust me––mine has lasted 23 years. How frugally fabulous is that?

Ready everbody? Let's twist with Kris!

Speak On it, My Sistahs––The "Speak Out!" Show

In The Eye Of The Calm

(the pupil of "Peace Meditation of the Third Eye", by Robyn Mahone-Lonesome; All pics enlarge.)

A lot of self-help guides advise you to express your feelings to the intended, in the form of a letter, if you can't communicate them verbally. "Speak Out!", the exhibition attended by myself and Mr. K at the
Frank H. Williams Caribbean Cultural Center last weekend, had me thinking about the shows description as a correspondence, giving voice to a group of women––The Harlem Girls Quilting Circle––addressing issues affecting them, me, and whether you know it or not––you too.

I am largely a knitter, but I like to look for the connecting threads between diverse mediums to obtain inspiration. This show had my head spinning. The issues, investigated through the modern manipulation of a trad feminine form––the techniques, color, power, size, and beauty––bum-rushed my brain in a kaleidoscopic convergence.

The result, was a viscerally, sensory experience; your first thought is not the "gee, these are really nice quilts," kind of pleasantness you get from other shows of similar medium. When you enter, and the first quilt you see reflects the past and present state of Harlem, N.Y., now a real estate epicenter, depicted in a marvelously cohesive member-assigned block quilt––it's more like "Wow, what the *&#@?!"

Harlem On Their Minds

(Harlem 2008, in a nutshell; the HGQC group quilt; machine pieced by Ann Alvarez, machine quilted by Laura R. Gadson)

The messages, while personal to the circle, were certainly not intended for an inaccessible audience; and believe me, the audience came out in force! The issues––injustice, the criminal system, economics, health-care––aren't new, but that's not the point. As the blandness of email makes it easier to delete what you don't want to deal with, the attraction of these quilts, is quite the corollary; like letters written in a sensuous hand, on handmade rice paper with a
Faber-Castel––their beauty renders the subject matter even more compelling to read, no matter how chilling.

(My Country, Tis'  of Greed, by Laura R. Gadson. Flag. Cotton with mixed media embellishments; 2008)

But unlike paper correspondence, this is too powerful to be mentally balled up and thrown away as some of the same guides advise, the importance being "closure". No y'all, this is a trad form of expression turned on its head, to express everything from outrage to a mechanism for coping. And true to our sistah selves, the imagery was bold and to the point––but hey, how else are some folks eventually going to "get it?"

(You GO, grrls; artists Robyn Mahone-Lonsome and Michelle Bishop, in front of a meditation quilt by Paula Wynter).

"Speak Out!" isn't all about facing confounding issues. As in life, there are ways to cope, and these methods are displayed in works that soothe and heal, through balance and meditation. Paula Wynter's diptych, "Meditation: All The Pain And Suffering In the World", and "Meditation: All The Happiness In The World", is inspired by the practice of Tonglen. Unfinished works, they invite the viewer to add to the sending out of the pain and suffering of themselves and others, and then to send out happiness to us all. "Peace Meditation of the Third Eye" comes with an actual mantra to repeat.

At The End Of The Day, Why You Should Go

(Detail of HGQC's group quilt; transfer, magic marker, applique, machine stitched)

The HGQC is an independent circle of Harlem based sistahs who meet regularly to quilt. Together for a number of years, their works grace many private collections. In order to share their refreshingly modern perspectives with the public, they raise money for, and mount many of their own exhibitions. This group effort enables you to enjoy a stereotype-free experience, lacking censorship from the technique dominated, lulling shawl of passivity of many local group shows. I'm sending a HUGE shout out to the Cultural Center for hosting this show; and to my girls at HGQC, for inspiring me with new ways to communicate.

Now, I'ma say this once more. If you're looking for new ways to communicate, there will be a panel discussion with the artists about their way of working together, on April 30th, and then––African-inspired quilting workshops on the 7th, 14th, and 21st of June; for more info, contact Monthina Williams at the center––RSVP early for these, my friends, the instructor is Ife Felix, one of the founders; these workshops don't happen often, and they fill up quickly. So be there, or you're only a square!

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!

UFO Sightings––The End Is Near

Gee, Is This All That's Left To Do?

The best thing about re-visiting your UFOs––there isn't much left to finish; it's great, if you're an eleventh hour knitter, like me. All pics enlarge).

This hooded cardi for Mr. K's nephew Loughlin's first birthday this September, was next, after my shell. The pattern is from a Sidar kid's book I bought when Mr. K and I were visiting his family in Sydney, Australia this past January. The yarn is my current favorite, Heirloom's Heatherwood, in #545 (Cream Spot). Of course, in American knitter style, I bought yarn, without even thinking about any corresponding book of patterns for it. By contrast, the majority of the Aussie knitters I met, were very diligent about getting the pattern, then finding the corresponding yarn, needles, and notions. It may not seem particularly creative, but they are very skilled, good instruction readers, and enjoy not worrying about the desired outcome. Hey, nothing wrong with that.

I, on the other hand, am worried. I knitted a smaller size, to accommodate the larger gauge achieved from the yarn I'd bought.  As I don't understand the proportions of children's clothes––is a one year-old's head that big?––I figured Sidar can take the blame for anything that goes wrong (how 'bout that? I'm knitting a smaller size of the pattern, with larger yarn, and I'm already blaming the pattern company for the outcome). But…

Cheaters Do Win Occasionally

(The SimFlex sewing gauge)

This tool is worth every penny (about $14US). How many of y'all have UFOs, simply because you're flummoxed by buttonhole instructions, or placement? Just pin out your button side band to its proper length, then stretch out the spacer according to the number of buttonholes you need, and mark their places. Now, you can figure out how to knit the buttonhole band, by simply counting the stitches between the markers. Don't worry if the number of stitches between holes isn't exactly the same; trust the accurate measurements on your gauge; it's never let me down!

Buttons––Miniature Works Of Art

(Buttons, Buttons, in Sydney, NSW)

The fun part for me, will be running off to my favorite button shop in New York City––Tender Buttons, 143 East 62nd St., NYC; 212-758-7004; in Chicago, 946 N. Rush Street, 312-337-7033; Cash only. Robin and Clotilde are both knitters, and are wonderful; tell them I said hello. While in Oz (Sydney's nickname), I found Buttons Buttons; 25 Nurses Walk, The Rocks; Sydney, NSW; (02) 9252 0833 (Carson, have you been?). This button shop is absolutely recherche´! Located in a little tree lined street, it's minimalist interior allows for quiet wonder. The owner (who was away at the time), travels globally to find buttons. Prices vary. Here are some of my favorites.

 

I'm loving the Salvador Dali buttons.

And last, some of the jewels!

Heirloom yarns can be ordered on-line from Tapestry Craft, (a big shout out to my girl Kris, the manager), for the frugally fabulous price of $ 5.64 USD. It's  a totally machine washable wool (cold water), and takes four balls for a 12 month size hooded cardi. The swatch itself, with corresponding info, is up in SwatchOut.

New Additions To SwatchOut

(Pictured, is Bernat's "Lana," a 100% wool, in Marine. The stitch pattern is called Wheat Ears. The needles used were size 7. All pics enlarge).

First, An Addendum

The Tracey Ross shop no longer has the clogs I posted about because, I bought the last pair––sorry. They are Täos tabitha clogs, $65.00US, and are available at the following retail outlets: in North and South Carolina, at Lebo's. In Wisconsin, at Wilkins and Olander. In the San Francisco bay area, at Footwear Etc. All, have on-line ordering.

Library Acquisitions

I have finally been to add new fabrics to the swatch library. For those of you who are new to knitting and/or to this blog, here is some background info.

SwatchOut was started to answer the question of what to do with the numerous swatches I had accumulated, that no, wasn't gonna become an afghan, or a bedspread. It is also my response, to folk's  disdain for the most important step in knitting and crochet. I figured if I put up swatches with their relevant information, in the form of a reference library, it may inspire y'all to try––as in swatch––a particular yarn, or decide whether to buy it.  

Fabrics are categorized by fiber, with a brief introduction to it's classification and use. Moreover, they are cross-referenced, enabling you to look up blends.

Now, this library should not encourage laziness. The final gauge I obtained, is not a guarantee. There are no guarantees in life; this is only to give you a boost.

Here Are A Few of The Latest Boosters

I am currently knitting an collared, halter-style tank for the summer. I want a 'hint' of pattern, hence the purl dots. Cascade "Sierra," an 80% cotton, 20% wool mix, is a good year round yarn, especially for those experiencing menopausal "power surges." It's absorbent, while keeping you cool. The brand is discontinued, but Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece is the original. I used a size 5 needle.

Catalina's Alpaca Bulky is so soft, that rubbing it for a while, will put you to sleep. The big brother to their baby alpaca, this is also value for money, because of the good yardage. Needle size 8. The pattern is from The Harmony Guides: 250 Creative Knitting Stitches, vol. 4.

I picked up this wool blend at Rubi + Lana, in Sydney, Australia. Turns out, this is Beaumont "Kitty," an American novelty. As of post time, their website (www.geoyarns.com) was not to be found. You may have to call the shop in Sydney, who will be happy to ship this gorgeous, inexpensive yarn to you. Needle size 11 (it's more lush than the photo shows).

These swatches and more, will be posted by Friday, but do take advantage of perusing the numerous swatches that are up already. If you have inquiries about any of them, feel free to email me. Ancestors know, I knitted all of them. In fact, swatching still remains my favorite pastime. Don't look at me in disdain.