Bona Fide Knitter . . . BACK!

I'm ba-ack! I'm a knitter again. No baking for a week now, although I did just order two new pans yesterday. But I digress.

I've been knitting. Here's the evidence.



Okay, so it's not the Great American Afghan. It's a dishcloth. Whadidya expect? It's a start. While looking through my cotton yarn stash for something suitable with which to make facecloths, I found this lone ball of Lily Sugar 'n Cream in a colorway I remember buying because it said "Cape Cod" to me. The colors fit right in with the decor up there. Actually they also match my powder room here . . . hmmmmm . . .

Anyway, you will notice in the picture that although I am at the end, I did not bind off. You might also have been able to gloam in on a couple of mistakes. My tinge of OCD reared its ugly head and I just might frog the whole thing and do it over. It only takes a couple of nights in front of the TV. We'll see.

However, on a more substantial knitting note, my copy of the new Knitter's (Summer 2009, K95) arrived last week and I actually got an urge to knit, really knit. The magazine had been leaving me cold luke warm in recent issues. Even the big Soxx contest didn't stir me much. This time I have actually ordered yarn to start one of the sweaters pictured. It's the butt ugly shrug pictured on pages 74 and 75. Ooops, perhaps somebody who reads this intends to knit it as is. I'm sorry. It's not "butt ugly." It's just that the colors as combined are not to my liking. But (to use a different "but"), it is exactly the kind of shrug pattern I looked for during last winter. I even faved a few on Ravelry and never went farther because they just weren't it. I'd been looking for a BIG shrug and did not find the right one. I think this is it. I want something big to wrap up in and a shrug, at least any I'd ever seen before, was more of a skimpy shoulder and arm cover. Hmmmm, I guess that's why it is called a "shrug"--because it's for your shoulders--shrug your shoulders. Get it?



I think this more substantial one in Knitter's is just what I was looking for and I have ordered yarn for it from KnitPicks. I changed the colors trying for color harmony using a color scheme based on warm analogous colors. I can picture myself keeping the heat down low next winter wearing some flannel pajama bottoms (which I am going to make from my fabric stash) with coordinating tees (which I will buy from Chico's on sale) and wearing my coordinating hand knit or machine knit socks with Fit Flops (if I ever knit a pair of thong socks) or Birkenstocks, while working in my newly completed garage-turned-studio. I have just created an image that should get my knit back on for sure!

Hurry, KnitPicks! I need that yarn yesterday!

Bona Fide Knitter (needing instant gratification)

Knitting Roadblock

I don't know what's the matter with me. I seem to have hit a knitting roadblock. Nothing is coming out right. SFS Sweater continues to kick my butt. The last three, maybe four, pairs of socks (that's six or eight socks in a row!) on the circular sock knitting machine have had dropped stitches. Even my last dishcloth had a couple of funky stitches. What's up with that?

As for Sally's Favorite Summer Sweater, I am seriously considering giving up on it completely. It is definitely not destined to be my favorite sweater of any season. The last problem was that I took it with me yesterday while visiting at the nursing home. I forgot how fast I knit now and with my lightening quick Knit Picks needle, the hours flew by as did the rows of knitting. I knit too far for the sheer part. When I got home I decided to unknit instead of ripping back. But before I took out rows unnecessarily, I decided to follow Sally's directions and press before measuring for the final determination. Hell and damnation! My work slid off the needle. The fabric made with Linet is so slippery that when I gently picked it up from the floor some stitches started to ladder. I got them all back on the needle, but I am not happy with the whole mess. I came this close to taking a picture to label "now you see it" and then ripping the whole thing back to a ball to label "now you don't." I decided to sleep on that decision and this morning I'm not convinced that I should start over. I have some very nice looking inches of sheer fabric. Before deciding its fate maybe I'll let it rest while I recollect my knit vibe.

The second sock of a pair I started a few days ago has some issues. Aside from the fact that each machine-cranked sock had a dropped stitch (time-consuming latching up involved), last night's second sock is a different size than the first. Was I making women's medium or women's large? What's the matter with me?!!!

Bona Fide Knitter

A Warrrshrag Wednesday

Okay, so as not to bore you silly with my washcloth/dishcloth mania I will limit such pictures and talk to Wednesdays. Here is the first of my Warrrshrag Wednesday offerings.


Like most of the ones I've knitted, this picture has meaning to me. It's a reminder of my short-lived camping days. When I retired we bought a travel trailer. We had it for a few years and really enjoyed the trips we took. We traveled on our own and belonged to a couple of RV clubs that we met with for many weekend campouts and a couple of "campventions." It was great fun while it lasted. My dream of traveling cross country never became a reality and eventually we bought a stationary summer retreat and sold the travel trailer. I still think fondly of my little travel trailer and the fun times we spent RVing.

I was deeply into quilting back then and never left home without my Featherweight sewing machine and a travel guide that listed quilt shops along the route. Now I never leave home without knitting needle sets, an antique sock machine and the Knitter's Magazine yarn shop guide.

Time marches on.

Bona Fide Knitter

Still Here

It's been a busy few days what with knitting socks and dishcloths. The SFS Sweater hasn't had a play in those few days. I'm really working on a sock 'thing' and it's coming along nicely if slowly.

What happened to Spring? We're having a very wintry April for the past week with cold temperatures and topped off by a nor'easter that is still raging as I type. Perfect knitting weather. But what weather isn't? One of my favorite places to knit is on the beach. That's when sock yarns with cotton content come in handy. This year it could be cotton dishcloths as well.

Speaking of which, here is my latest. Can you guess what the picture is?

I still can't get the pictures light, bright and clear enough. They are either too dark or washed out completely. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Did you ever try to wind yarn using a swift and an electric cone winder? It can be a real trial. I managed to wind quite a few cones over the weekend, but it was trial and error all the way. I guess if I had both swift and winder in the right positions and at the right heights it would be easier. I was working on the ironing board, both tools there. I was using my little table top swift, guiding the yarn with my hand, bypassing the winder's automatic shutoff coil. Sometimes the winder pulled faster than my swift turned because of yarn hangups. Those times I had to flip the switch and catch the winder before it fell off the narrow end of the board while still holding the yarn and grabbing the swift. It was a sight to behold. Once I got the right rhythm it was great--smooth sailing! Other times my equipment and I were in great peril. I must get back to de-cluttering so I have more room to set up my gadgets and tools.

While the wind howls and until the rain and snow stops completely, knitting is my game.

Bona Fide Knitter

Happy Easter

Spring has turned back into winter here. The closest I will come to an Easter egg hunt is this:

I'm still working on getting pictures that show the true color of the yarn and the stitch picture in these dishcloths I'm obsessing over. Anyway, this is my latest. It's really lighter, dyed-egg turquoise color, but I played with the exposure to get the egg to show up.

Further on the knitting front, the SFS Sweater is coming along, faster now that the dishcloth craze has slowed. Instead of one dishcloth every couple of days I'm doing one per week or per picture design I discover that I absolutely have to knit. Wait until you see the next one!

Today will be a quiet, reflective day, one for knitting and marveling over the fact that I actually re-joined the gym and went for a workout this morning. I plan to make a nice dinner for six for the two of us. That way there will be leftovers. Less cooking/more knitting.

Bona Fide Knitter

Knittin' and Grittin'

I've been walking. No walk this morning because I hurt. I really hurt. Not muscles, I'm trying to find those. It's my bones that hurt, my shin bones, my foot bones. Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. I should rest a day. But no, I would have gone, but it was teeming at 7:30 a.m. . . . Thank God!

I've been knitting. The SFS Sweater is coming along, not by leaps and bounds at the moment, but by a few rows and another few rows. Dishcloths! Washcloths! Dishrags? Washrags? "Warshrags"? Whatever you call them they are a joy to knit. I'm especially fond of the picture ones, especially the pictures I find that mean something to me. I am also pleased with how quickly my Elmore-Pisgah orders arrive (Sugar & Creme), almost instant gratification. Certain pictures scream for certain colors--always a color or shade I don't have. With so many free patterns on the Internet, I thought I'd never buy any. Silly me. I've bought two already. Had to have them. They were made for me. You'll see them later this week.

I'm reading and enjoying The Friday Night Knitting Club. It's right up there with The Knitting Circle. If you haven't already, read them both. They are enforcements of the notion that knitting brings people together and that knitting can hold a person together. A dear friend of mine, a co-worker long ago before my knitting days, had an expression she used when she jiggled her crossed legs and puffed mightily on a cigarette, "What are you doing, Bert?" I'd ask. "I'm knittin' and grittin'," she'd reply. It meant that under the stress of a work project or a personal problem she was figuratively wrinkling her brow and gritting her teeth. I've taken it and changed the activity since I don't smoke or want to encourage wrinkles. It's what I'm doing when the going gets tough, knittin' and grittin'. The miracle of it is that really knitting alleviates the need for gritting.

Bona Fide Knitter

Back on Track

I accomplished all I set out to do yesterday. The dishcloth is finished and is so appropriate for me. What do you think?



It's socks! It's purple. It couldn't suit me better. After all, in addition to being a Bona Fide Knitter I am also The Sock Lady. The pattern is from Knitted Kitty Creations. Check 'Freebies' for the picture. You will have to join the Yahoo group to get the pattern.


I swatched the Cotlin from Knit Picks for another SFS Sweater and the gauge is a little too big using needles a size up. I will swatch again using the US 5 needles called for. However, this freed up my new US 6 needles to cast on again for Sally's Favorite Summer Sweater in Linet. I even got a few rows done. I think I am finally on my way with this sweater! Now if only I have enough yarn for the sleeves . . . but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Linet is not a joy to work with, at least not to cable cast on with. The opaque rows using a size 6 tip and a size 11 tip is going much easier. By the end of the week I should know whether this sweater is a go or a no-go.


On the knitting agenda today I have more rows on the sweater, another dishcloth to start, socks to Kitchener and the Abundance Afghan might get a row or two this evening. I walked for an hour today. The endorphins are kicking in. I hope I don't crash this afternoon.


Bona Fide Knitter

The Weekend

The weekend begins. My order from Knit Picks arrived yesterday and I could have kissed the mailman. So I have a new set of US 6 needles and I could start the SFS Sweater once again, this time on larger needles and at a larger size. However, I also got a ball of Cotlin that I want to swatch on those US 6 needles, for another SFS Sweater perhaps. Yes, that's how I am. Contemplate knitting another of a sweater that I can't get the first one knit in three years time. Anyway, in the meantime, while trolling blogs, I found a dishcloth pattern I just had to make. You'll see why when it's finished. And it is on the new US 6 needles at the moment! I thought I could whip through it, then do the swatch, then cast on for the sweater in Linet. I didn't figure in my luke warm attempt to de-clutter for a few hours yesterday (I got rid of tons of old bills. How long do you keep old, paid utility bills anyway?!!!) or the loads of wash I finally got around to washing, folding and almost putting away. I also didn't figure on having to cook two meals. Me? Cook? When I have knitting to be done? Is he kidding? I did it. I must be getting soft.

So today I will knit and sustain myself on Chinese take out. I don't work on weekends. No de-cluttering, not even a luke warm attempt. Not even a half-hearted swipe with a duster at the Spring spider webs linking the picture frames together on the shelf and window sill. You can only see them for a short period when the sun shines in the window at a certain angle anyway. Furthermore, the spiders put more up right away. I don't know why they want those pictures linked together. Maybe because they are family pictures? Family/relatives/related/linked together. Get it?

The weekend is mine.

Bona Fide Knitter

Another Day, Another Dishcloth

I made another dishcloth yesterday. They can become addictive! In keeping with the theme, I found this pattern online:



The first was a bunny made from corner to corner. This one is a chick made side to side. I have to learn to photograph them better so the picture stands out more. Anyway, do you see an Easter or Spring theme developing? While marking time until my Knit Picks order arrives I'll be Kitchenering toes on socks and knitting dishcloths it seems.

I've received the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival Catalog and see the Circular Sock Knitting Machine Demo will be in the Main Exhibition Hall on Saturday from 2 - 6 p.m. That demo is being done by the people from MARS of which I am one. Stop by to say hello and see how these old machines work.

Bona Fide Knitter

"Warshrag" Wednesday

I completed my first dishcloth! When the cosmos worked against me and SFS Sweater, my Peaches & Creme order arrived and I immediately pulled out a ball of Baby Pink and started the Monthly Dishcloth KAL for early March.

There it is, not blocked, but all finished! It took only a short time to complete even though at the half way point I decided it wasn't perfect, frogged and started over. It's a picture dishcloth. Can you tell what the picture is? There are two dishcloths per month. Since I joined so late in the month, I thought I would tackle only the one that caused me to join the KAL in the first place. They are so fast to knit I will probably do the mid-March offering as well.

Back to the SFS Sweater: I gave up on finding the needles and placed a KnitPicks order right away. I only needed the size six tips, but what good is free shipping if you don't take advantage of it? So instead of the $4 for needles, I spent $45+ to get free shipping. It's very easy to fill up a cart at Knit Picks. I ordered the big needles that do not come in the set, sizes 15 and 17, and some sock yarn. I can always use sock yarn. I also ordered one skein of Cotlin to swatch and determine if it is something I might want to make a SFS Sweater from. The swatch will be a dishcloth.

Works in progress: six or more pairs of machine socks waiting to be Kitchenered, SFS Sweater waiting for needles, Abundance Afghan needing some attention (rows knitted) this week.

I'll be out and about today. I need a portable project. I'll make a "warshrag." Look out socks! You've just been replaced.

Bona Fide Knitter

Oops! I've Done It Again

I've seen something else I want to do. I was first tempted with the ball band "warshrags" in the Mason Dixon book. Now, through blog trolling, I've found a new subculture: knitted dishcloths! I joined the Monthly Dishcloths KAL! Yes, I did. I think the dishcloths or "warshrags" are great little portable projects and since I'm doing so many socks by machine right now and my other hand knit projects are too large for KIPing, I'll knit dishcloths. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I've placed an order for Peaches & Creme cotton yarn, the order I delayed based on my decluttering constraints. Now that Richard has his socks I was free to place a yarn order. Yarn out/yarn in. When it comes I should be able to work a few dishcloths into my modified Rule of Three. They'll take the place of hand knit socks.

What is my fascination with knitted little cloths? I don't know. I just know I like what I've seen, various little motifs. They are a good way to try out new stitch patterns without a big commitment and probably just enough of a challenge for me before I long for mindless knitting again. What am I going to do with them? We have to see how many I make first, but some ideas are: wash dishes with them, wash my face with them, wash my . . . maybe not. I could knit some together into a baby blanket. I could give them away as gifts and let somebody else worry about what to do with them.

So many interests/so little time.

Bona Fide Knitter