splityarn

boxbags in the shop!

I quietly added a few boxbags to the splityarn shop yesterday afternoon and there are still a few left if you're interested. I'm going to make more of each of the sold out fabrics, but it won't be for a week or three yet. The next shop update will primarily be camera straps, both point and shoot and SLR.

And on that subject, does anybody have any suggestions or links for some manly fabrics for straps? I know a lot of folks share their cameras and as strange as it sounds, some dudes aren't as keen on aqua and brown.

made from scraps

On the flight home from holidays in Vancouver, I cast on for Thorpe with a scrap ball of Cascade 220 leftover from Husband Sweater #2. I had weighed it before I left so I knew I would be tight on yardage, but I decided to give it a whirl anyway. By the time I changed planes in Houston with only 3 rows left on the second ear flap, I ran out of yarn. I wove in the ends on the rest of the hat, spit spliced the tiny bits together and managed to eke out enough to bind off half of the last row.

When I got home I scoured through the stash, but found no more of the yarn. Not even a scrap. My plan had been to use a contrasting yarn for the crochet edging anyway, so I bound off the last row with my favourite Cascade 220 colour, 9404. It blends in seamlessly with the rest of the edging, so I needn't have bother tearing my office apart looking for a 12 inch snippet of the charcoal.

Because I was running so tight on yardage, I skimped a little on my modifications. I was using a worsted weight instead of the chunkier weight suggested by the pattern, so I worked a few extra increase rounds but not as many as I should have. The result is a tight-ish toque that looks great straight on, but sort of like a helmet from the side. Function before fashion though, right? At least my ears will be warm. (And next time I'll make it bigger.)

Details on Ravelry

coronet revisited

I knit Coronet back in December 2006. Again, like most of my handknits, it didn't see much wear in Austin. Boston, however, gave it new life. If it's cold enough for a toque, this is the one I reach for every time. The cabled band around the bottom is perfect for non-helmet-like toque wearing. It gives it just enough of a chunky weight that it doesn't suck down to your melon giving you that little desired Q-tip look. Plus it's perfect to wear straight across my eyebrows in that old-school ski resort employee way. (Check it out next time you go up the hill. Five bucks says all the employees wear their hats low across their foreheads.)

The only downside to this hat is the yarn I chose. The Cashmerino Aran while soft, doesn't hold up to any sort of wear. It's beyond fuzzy and pilly. So much so that I'm going to eventually knit myself another Coronet in some other yarn that will look nicer for longer than the FO photo shoot.

Original finished object post and the details on Ravelry

stash sale

Most of this stuff hasn't even been in my stash all that long, I've just changed my mind about what I'm going to make in the coming year. All the details and yarns available are on my Ravelry trade/sell page.

pressing issues

There has been a fair bit of behind the scenes email and flickr discussion about irons lately, so I thought jot down and share my own thoughts on the subject. 

I spend a ridiculous amount of time ironing and pressing. Not clothes, mind you (I'm allergic to ironing clothes) but fabrics and fusing interfacing. Over the last few months I've fused more than 100 yards of interfacing to fabric. Add in the fabric prep time and the in progress pressing and that's a heckuva lot of iron time, lemme tell you. My iron is on at least 10 hours a day, 5 days a week.

I'm a huge fan of Rowenta irons despite the fact that my Power Duo pees all over the ironing board when I turn it off. (I'm pretty sure they've fixed that particular issue on their new irons, but I can't find my warranty card. I've also had some trouble getting in touch with someone who can help me at the company and I just don't care enough to follow up. The iron is just that good.) I have a late 80's Professional model too, which still works like a dream.

If you're not in the market for a new iron, I have a two recommendations to help keep the one you have running well. First and foremost, whether you're using it to sew or press clothes, use filtered water. I fill mine with water straight out of the Brita. I get virtually no build up on the plate and the steam no longer turns everything yellow.

Second, I think it's worth it to spend the dough on a soleplate cleaner specific to your iron. I used to roll my eyes and think that it was yet another way to squeeze more crafting cash out of me, but holy doodle, it works like a hot damn. Your iron will run 40 million times better and your fabric will thank you.

Any other tips to keep things running smoothly? (heh, smooth. Iron puns.)

well worn

I've had it in my mind since last year to do a rundown of previous knits. I mean, you post the FO shots, you rave about how happy you were when you finished, but there's so rarely a post-knit, post-wearing review. I think I may just devote January to exactly this point. I'm busy getting the shop ready for the next boxbag update anyway, so FO's are going to be in short supply for the next few weeks.

First up, The Husband Sweater.

Out of the two sweaters I've knit for the Husband, EZ's Seamless Hybrid gets the most use. I finished this in December 2006 and while it didn't see a ton of wear in Austin, it's a wardrobe constant here in Boston. Seriously, sometimes it's hard to get it away from him long enough to wash it. That fact alone makes it hands down my most satisfying knit, ever. (I only got these photos because I told him it was still drying.) This is the sweater that other knitters point out to their spouses to convince them that they need a handknit of their own.

During the first few wearings it pilled like CRAZY. I was worried for a bit, but like a new carpet, it only needed to shed a little and now is back to only minor pilling here and there. After a few washings, the stitches are all perfectly even and uniform. Cascade 220, you're my hero.

Eventually I'll make him another just like it with only two mods:

The bottom hem, because it was knit closed, has a tendency to flip up. (TechKnitting wrote a great post about why this happens.) Next time I'll just bite the bullet and seam it down rather than muck about with the provisional cast on.

The purl gutter on each side of the front raglan decreases is at times charming, but mostly I just think it looks messy. I'll try the next one without it.

There will definitely be another one for him and most likely one for myself. With a little waist shaping? Heaven in a sweater.

Original finished object post and the details on Ravelry.