Fiber Fool

Infinite Scrunch is now available! It is a FREE pattern, part of My Sister Knit’s February/March newsletter, which can be downloaded at http://www.mysisterknits.com/newsletter-archive.

I opted to make this infinity scarf generously sized so that it could also be worn as a shrug. It fits Amanda beautifully. If I were to knit one specifically for me and really wanted to wear it in the shrug style, given my plus size I’d purchase an extra ball of yarn and do an additional 2-3 repeats. I can wear it as is, but it doesn’t have the drape as shown here.

This version is knit from 4 balls of Rowan Kid Classic, a blend of wool, mohair and nylon. You could also carry a mohair yarn along with a DK or worsted weight wool yarn. I can envision using two analogous colors for a nice depth of color. Or, carrying a solid color with a variegated one. Other fuzzy yarns, such as those with camelid yarns (alpaca, llama, camel) would create a similar look and feel as well. You’ll want about 625 yards.

I used larger than called for needles - US 10.5 to increase the drape of the final fabric so it was flexible and light enough to be scrunched and worn in the variety of ways one can wear an infinity scarf.

I love this scarf and am so sad that I had to give it up to be on display in the store. I wore it a bunch until I dropped it off. I’m very tempted to cast on another as it is fantastic TV or SnB knitting and I don’t always have a project like that on the needles. The only question is what color… Hmmm…..

Can’t blog. Finishing this free pattern up. It’ll be out later today or tomorrow. Keep an eye here for it.You may remember this peek I gave a few weeks ago.

Also there is a photoshoot for Nourishing Knits this morning and a goodbye lunch with a dear friend and sometimes model for my patterns who is leaving all too soon.

I’m hoping for a bit of breathing time this weekend, but yet more deadlines loom in addition to more NK stuff so we’ll have to see. Regardless, I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

A while back, Sarah, a friend in my SnB asked about yarn getting over twisted and plying back on itself and if there was anything to be done about it. A few of us suggested that she pull yarn from the outside rather than the inside. But, really the answer isn’t that simple. Yesterday I stumbled upon three interesting posts at TECHknitting™ on just this subject (see post 1, post 2 & post 3). And it was quite timely too as I was struggling with the same issue on a current project.

If you were not aware, not only do all those twists and kinks in the yarn get annoying, they can negatively impact your final project! The biggest problem is a case of the fabric biasing and will be most notable when a project is worked in the round. Instead of nice, straight alignment of the pattern it will start twisting around. Sometimes singles yarn will also produce this effect.

Because I am also a handspinner I have been aware for some time that twist is either introduced or taken away in the process of winding the yarn - onto a niddy noddy, off of a swift and onto a ball winder depending upon the manner in which you feed the yarn to the next device. But pulling the yarn from the yarn cake in the manner most of us do from the top or bottom, either from the center or outside does as well. I had never taken the time to think through how best to take all those steps to ensure my yarn is as close to my intended result as possible. Thanks to TECHKnitter™ and her experiement in using flexible tape measures it has been concluded that to not impart any twist (in either direction) one needs to spool the yarn from the outside of the yarn cake much like sewing thread or toilet paper.

Do scroll down and read “Sara”’s comment on this post as you can use this to your advantage. If your yarn is not balanced and you need to either add or remove some twist from the yarn. Even commercial yarn can sometimes have too little or too much twist in it.

The bigger question is how to spool yarn from the cake smoothly. There are a couple good suggestions in the final post and its comments. A yarn lazy susan and a toilet paper holder are possibilities. Some suggest yarn bowls and other yarn containers - many of which I’ve found do not promote spooling. Either way, none of these options are very portable. Enter, the box bag!

I was already working out of my 3am Enchantments Dala Horse bag from The Loopy Ewe, so at first I just tipped my cakes on their side. There was too much wiggle room though and they tended to flip back onto a flat side. The natural skein at some point got kind of caught up on my scissors and I realized it was staying correctly oriented for spooling, if not turning horribly smoothly. So, I grabbed a straight knitting needle and ran it through both cakes and ta-da! It works great. I did orient the balls different (one coming over the top of the caken and one coming from under the cake) so it is easier for me to see if the two colors are twisted together or not. The first part of my project involved a blend of intarsia and colorwork so knowing the twist between the two yarns was critical.

This project is also undergoing some shaping via a change in needle sizes so I have three of my Radius toothbrush holders that I use to store and organize my sock sized DPNs in the bottom of the bag. They may be aiding in the smooth spooling. I suspect you could achieve a similar result by cutting down a flexible cutting mat to size and slipping that inside the bag, or maybe some oil cloth? Those should aid smooth rotation without adding as much weight as my sets of DPNs. Any box bag makers out there reading this? Perhaps some box bags with oil cloth interiors would be worth while!?!? Some testing would likely be required to see if it introduces static though.

I do find that sometimes when I get the very edge of the cake the yarn likes to slip down to the needle rather then continue to spool. It isn’t horrible to fix, but it does mean an extra thing to pay attention to. If you have any great ideas for solving that part of the equation, I’m all ears! :-)

If you are in need of some fun box bags (or perhaps you just need more box bags), I pulled together a citrusy and floral group of favorites at Etsy in this treasury.

We love movies around here and watch a fair number. We also own a large number of movies (and TV series). But I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to take part this week as I really have little recollection for what may or may not have won an Oscar or not. But, thanks to Wikipedia’s list of Academy Award Winning Movies I am able to play along! So, now you have no excuse not to play along too :-)

In alphabetical order as I read through the list:

1. The Bishop’s Wife is a holiday movie we watch every year. It had 5 nominations and won the award for Sound in 1947. I just love the ice skating scene. The taxi driver had to have been some skater to skate so poorly so well!

2. The Cider House Rules has to be on the list with all the great knit inspiration, right? Michael Caine won Best Actor in a Supporting Role and the writer won Best Adapted in Screenplay in 1999. It was nominated for 5 others.

3. Laura, which stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews is a household favorite. So much so we have the movie poster for it decorating in the TV room. It was up for 5 nominations and won the award for Best Black and White Cinematography in 1944.

4. Moulin Rouge! won two awards for Art Direction-Set Decoration and Costuming from its 8 nominations in 2001. We watched it in the theater twice (which almost never happens) and several times in rather rapid succession when it was released on DVD so we haven’t watched it recently at all. We’re both suckers for musicals and I adore the colors and costuming and am thinking it is about time to queue it up again. For a new experience, if you have the DVD with the “Audio Description Track for the Visually Impaired” give that a try, LOL!

5. On the Town is “twice as gay as Anchor’s Aweigh” according to the reel that is on the Anchor’s Aweigh DVD. Though I have to confess that I can’t really choose a favorite between those two and no wonder, given that they both won Oscars in 1949 and 1945 respectively. What is not to love about the dancing of Gene Kelly, the singing of Frank Sinatra? The comedy of Jules Munshin may just push On the Town over the edge.

6. The Philadelphia Story is another 1940’s classic we watch fairly regularly around here. There is something about the humor at that period of time that is a refreshing contrast to today’s. It won awards for Best Actor (Jimmy Stewart) and Best Writing, Screenplay in 1940.

7. Another double winner from 1940 that I love is Rebecca, based on the book by Daphne du Maurier and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It won both Picture of the Year and Best Cinematography, Black and White.

8. Sabrina is another that we have honored with a movie poster and was one of the first classic movies I fell in love with. It won Best Costume Design (Edith Head, an oft seen credit in our collection of classic movies) out of its 6 nominations in 1954.

9. Sleepy Hallow is a film we watch almost every fall to get us in the Halloween spirit. It won the award for Best Art Direction in 1999.

10. Taking home 3 awards of 8 nominations in 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird is an all time favorite that I’ve loved since we were assigned the book in English class (I read it one night and the re-read according to the assigned pace). Gregory Peck won for Best Actor and the film also won Best Art Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay.

DH is to thank for many on this list as he grew up watching a lot of classic films and has introduced me to many, many more than I ever watched as a kid.

It was interesting to wade through the list of winning films. I was reminded of many that I either enjoyed and would like to watch again or that I had on my “to watch list” at some point but had forgotten about. I think our NetFlix queue may be grow significantly… Though today is quite cold again and snowy and I’ve got a deadline with much knitting ahead of me thanks to having to rip out everything I knit yesterday because of two skipped rows so I may just have to put a couple of these in the DVD player to keep me company.

I don’t know if it was the extreme cold of much of last week or what, but words were not flowing whatsoever. While I did not feel I had the time for any fun, I did more or less take the late afternoon and evening on Saturday off. There was a wonderful celebration of ribs at a friends house so I left DH working on a take home exam and attended with a friend who is leaving us shortly. The ribs were fantastic as were all the sides and of course the great home brew of our hosts! The night was capped off with a showing of Real Genius at the local cheap theater, which is always a nice way to end the day. Sunday I multi-tasked once the Superbowl began and had that on in the background. It has been many, many years since I had watched football. Of course I had to put down the work when Glee came on :-)

Crafty:

• Download some freebie valentine printables - a light blue and white gingham treat box, some fun cards and tags, fruit stickers perfect for those who pack lunches for their loved ones
• These look like some fun legwarmers to knit and the pattern is free.
• A fun project to brighten these later winter days and use up scraps of yarn with pom pom flowers!
• I’m loving these lace printed stationary projects and wondering why I didn’t think of it since I used to teach home printmaking techniques. It really is a classic. There are some good tips in the instructions though.
• These gift toppers made from coffee filters would be great on spring shower gifts which will begin popping up shortly!

Yummy:

• When I first met DH I swore up and down that I hated lentils and beans. Likely because my mom did so I wasn’t exposed to them much. But I now love both. I have yet to find a lentil soup that I *love*. But the simplicity of maya*made’s recipe has me intrigued
• When using beans I’d prefer to not use canned, but I rarely am organized enough to get the beans soaked properly overnight, so this article on how to soak them both traditionally overnight and a quick method is going to come in handy!
• DH *loves* risotto, but I’ve been slower to warm to it. Poor Girl Gourmet’s butternut squash recipe in her cookbook has won me over and I think the key is for us to mix up the types we make. A slightly sweeter one with crunch sounds like an interesting twist so I think we’ll be trying the Apple Rissotto with Toasted Pecans sometime in the near future.

Pixely:

• Learn more about RAW files.
• PhotoFocus has 10 suggestions to improve the sharpness and focus of your photos.
• If you follow Gail at We Heart Yarn and enjoy her gorgeous photographs, she’s been applying textures recently. If you like her look, learn how to use textures!

Lust Worthy:

• Loving this collection of photos to brighten the gray/brown days of winter put together by my friend Jeannine of four rooms.
• This mustard Harris Tweed messenger bag would also brighten these days quite nicely!
• This knitting gnome print appeals to my Scandinavian and my knitting side!
• I’m not usually into heart stuff, but I can’t stop thinking about lillyella’s ebony hearts necklace.
• For some reason, week after week I keep getting drawn to printed tea towels. Here is another orange, Scandinavian-inspired one.
• While our kitchen is not nearly kitschy enough to pull off these serving pieces, I can’t help but love them!

Here’s to a better week than the last!