Size Matters

I've just had an experience I'd never dreamed would happen.

I knit a doily on size 000000 needles (yes, that's six 0s) using size 100 cotton.  Looks like any other doily, no?  Well, it's not.  Click on the picture to see the stitches up close.  Still not convinced?  Try this one:

As you can see, that's a penny in the middle.  Need more?

It's a little hard to see the white on white but if you click it, you'll see the little guy is the same pattern as the middle of the big guy.  Big guy was done using regular bedspread weight crochet cotton, the stuff you see in all the stores.

I have to be honest and admit that I picked the absolute worst pattern to go micro with.  Here it is:

Cast on.

Knit 2 rounds plain.

Knit 1, make 3 stitches in the next stitch.

Are you blinking kidding me?!?!?!?!

Yeah, make 3 stitches in 1.  Repeats through the whole pattern.  I had trouble doing that with the larger thread and larger needles.  Ooops, forgot about that.  Plus it's not lacy so you know I've got to try it at least once more with a lacier pattern. 

Oddly enough the cast on wasn't the hardest part (I leave you to guess the hardest part).  The needles are so small and so light, they just don't fall through the stitches like the larger needles can.

So I guess the adventure is really just starting!

Heritage Knitting Retreat

I meant to be posting a bit more about our upcoming Heritage Knitting Retreat coming up June 18-20 but haven't done much yet.

For those who don't know, my friend, Jane, and I discovered quite by accident that we're both besotted with antique patterns and knitting.  We happened to show up at Knitorious is St Louis where Deborah was doing a program on Civil War-era purses and got started talking.  As things fell into place, Jane had the idea to do a Heritage Knitting Retreat and asked me if I would like to work with her on it.  Of course I did and here we are.  We've got a lovely place in hand for it where the owners are into Civil War re-enactment and are excited to have us and we've got lots and lots of plans.  There will be a ton of resources the participants will go home with to carry on the journey after the event, too. 

Have a look and maybe you, too, will come join us in beautiful Petersburg.  Oh, and we're listed in the events section of the new PieceWork magazine, too.

Scared silly

Before I start, let me just answer a question from Tricia about the Vintage Rocks Baby sweater and the sizing.  I'm not that good at baby sizing but I would say the pattern as written is probably 6-9 months.  But the nice thing about the way it's worked is that it's really easy to adapt.  The top part is worked from sleeve to sleeve so you can just make it longer, if needed, and the 'skirt' part can be knit longer or fuller by completing more pattern repeats.

Now to the purpose of this post.

I got my 000000 and 00000 double point needles in the mail yesterday.  When I opened the package, I realized just how glib I've been, talking about knitting a project with size 100 crochet cotton and US size 000000 needles.  Good googly moogly, these suckers are tiny. 

How about this:

Even seeing them in context like this makes it hard to communicate.  You've really got to hold them in your hand to get the full effect.  I've included the yarns, too, just as an added bonus.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  All I know is that I'll have to have a quiet period with no pressure to do anything else before I start the new pattern.  More about that later...

I did finish a skein of the spindle-spun natural color so I could start my Norwegian mittens.  It came out a lighter weight than the blue but when I washed it (it was just a quick wash) it bloomed quite a lot.  I'm thinking it will fill out a bit more once it's worked up and given a proper wash.  Nevertheless, it's still going to be a lighter weight.  The mittens I'm doing (more about that later, too) are knit on size 0 needles so I've got them started and I'll see how I like it.  I've got more of the blue and the natural so I can always spin another skein if I feel like that will work better.

Exceeds expectations

You may need to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see the  motif but I'm pleased beyond all measure.  That center diamond just looked naked without this little bit in the middle.

My original idea was to knit this medallion in which I could have done had I had the patience to find the pattern and if I had been a little more confident of how this center diamond would work up.  But having it done and attached afterwards gives it a nice textural feel, I think.  The downside is that you have to sew it on.  Actually, I have to sew it on and that bothers me more than you having to sew it on, sad to say.

And next?  This little tea cozy:

Big, big news

I have big news.  Perhaps even big, big news.  The Amish Center Diamond Afghan is finished!  Well, finished for all intents and purposes.  The afghan part is finished and the center diamond motif is finished and blocking but it still needs to be sewn on to be final finished.  I'm counting it.

This is a motif from the Elsebeth Lavold book one - The Viking Knits Collection and it was the perfect size for what I wanted and it worked up quickly.  I'll get a good photo of the whole thing later once this is dry and attached.  I've been using the afghan on my bed the last few days and, boy, is it warm and light.  Who'd've known?

And I got highjacked with my latest newest project.  I was straightening up my books the other night which, of course, led to looking at some old Spin Off magazines.  I don't know if this happens to you but I can read some of these articles but if I don't have any context for what they're talking about, I don't really take much of it in.  So, since I'm starting to learn more about spinning, I like to have a look back from time to time.

So there I was quietly thumbing through the magazine, sipping a cup of tea (because I am a tea drinker) when I got hit with this:

Have you ever seen anything quite so cute?

This is from the Fall 2006 issue.  Carol spun this yarn out of silk and cotton.  I didn't want to spin something new to make it but I just happened to have some silk that I'd spun up and had no idea what I would do with it.  Ha!  And it was just the right weight.  I'd love to have a real t-shirt made out of this.  Wish you could touch it and feel how gorgeous spun silk is.  This silk roving (which I'd had for donkey's years) was spun on my Kromski Minstrel using the 12:1 ratio in a 2-ply.  I didn't check the wraps per inch but the pattern called for 17 wpi and this is knitting up to the gauge so I'm guessing it's about that.  I started it last night and just have the last part of the back, the sleeves, the pocket and the neckband to go.  I'll be sure to get a photo once I've finished.  I've got a white teapot that will go great with this!

Mini Knitting

I really got into this mini-knitting thing.  Here's the tablecloth just after blocking. 

I'm actually a little surprised that it came out because there were a few challenges.  First of all, I was working on size 0000 needles and size 80 tatting thread.  Next, there was a mistake in the pattern - not huge but it did throw me.  Fortunately, the errata was posted on the Interweave website so it was easily fixed but it's not so easy to un-knit once, never mind un-knitting several times until it got through my thick skull that I should count stitches.

Next was the needle incident.  This involved one of the needles, which are quite small and light, getting caught in my sweater and pulling completely out.  Round 28 or so and I've got a whole bunch of stitches hanging out.  Not a pretty sight.  Fortunately cotton doesn't unravel as badly as some other fibers and I was able to pick the stitches up again.  I did have to unknit a row to fix it but, after some hyperventilation and naughty words, the mission was accomplished.

It looks pretty good on my made up table but I got a little tied up with the fact that it's not the thread and needles called for in the pattern.  So I hopped on the internet the other night and ordered some size 100 mercerized cotton and size 000000 needles.  I actually ordered size 00000 and size 000000 needles, but that's beside the point.  Once I get those, I'm going to do a picture putting the sizes into perspective.

Very Folk

Sometime late last year my friend, Karen, and I started going to some meetings at the Three Sisters Park up in Chillicothe, IL, where a group was working hard to establish a Folk Art School in the midwest. I've enjoyed this group so much.  It's made up of really talented artists in all sorts of genres from quilting to wood carving to doll making to knitting to jewelry making to goard carving to weaving to just about anything you can imagine.  There are people who grow things and cook.  A really talented, fun group.

They've already had a series of classes and have some more coming up that you should really check into.  There's a mountain dulicmer weekend coming up later this month and then a weekend of classes on April 23-25.  The class list will be posted soon on the Three Sisters Folk Art School home page pretty soon but here's a preview list of classes:

• Beginning Tapestry Weaving
• Hand Building Clay
• Beginning Spinning
• Sculpt a Garden Statue
• Quilting
• Copper Jewelry
• Dogwood Flower Relief Carving
• Autoharp
• Create a Native American Flute
• Gourd Decorating

I've got my eye on several of them, in fact!

One of the things we talked about yesterday was developing a group project that all of us could contribute to.  What we talked about developing was a representation of the school with rooms that contain miniatures of the various things that each of us do.  As we were talking about it, I remembered that a recent issue of PieceWork magazine was dedicated to miniature textiles.  I had a look at it last night and, sure enough, there are several patterns for a variety of textiles in miniature. 

I got so excited about it that I got it cast on this evening.

Doesn't look like much, does it?  It's actually 70 stitches around, 16 rounds completed (a third of the way) but made with 0000 needles and size 80 cotton.  The pattern calls for 000000 needles and size 100 silk but I think this will still work!

And we all love socks, right?  This sock represents the beginning of a master plan.  I bought one skein each of blue, white and wine.  I can't find my ball bands so have no idea what the yarn is but there's a little over 200 yards in the skein.  That's enough for me to make a pair of socks with each skein.  So here's the plan.  With these 3 skeins of yarn, I'm going to make 3 pairs of socks, each with a different base color and a little something different with the color accents for each one.  We'll see how that one works for me.