Mod-duh!-ular knitting

In which Cady May discovers there are no rules to modular knitting.

     This is a jim-whammy kinda cold. I won't whine, but I will say that it has affected my ability to think clearly, even about knitting, which is my default "comfort" mental state. Some folks curl into a fetal position, some rock back and forth, I calculate stitches and rows..
I had started an off the cuff, no pattern-no plan keyhole scarf with an idea to make it have a pocket in it for aromatherapy, and then I had a brain lock down....

So, I was googling around in a coughing stupor, vaguely wondering if there are "rules" to modular knitting, specifically, if it matters if you have an odd or even number of stitches. Now, if I had not been sick, I probably would have been able to think that through, without googling..but it is what we do when we are miserable, I guess.

I was drawn into this post at The Girl From Auntie Blog, "So who invented modular Knitting" in which she talks about Virginia Woods Bellamy "invention" of the mathematical approach (and patenting there of!!) of modular knitting and I said to myself..."hey, wait a minute, I have this book!" and so I dusted it off  in excitement thinking that of all sources, this one would have a list of "rules" ((it was really, really dusty, I live in an old cabin, so actually, I wiped it off with dilute vinegar))

Shor nuff! it did, but she never said anything about odd or even numbers, nor does she even describe her decrease method (K2tog? sl1k1 psso? or what have you?) but I just love the models and the "look" of the '40s. I also like the subtitle "How to Knit Many Beautiful Articles Never Before Possible"
Wow.
Doesn't that sound wonderful? and all from the wonders of math!

All the patterns in the book are with small yarn on large needles so they are very stretchy and airy. She really impresses the "all direction stretch" of this method...Like this triangle turban...

 

Which I got so excited about when I saw it modeled, and wondered just how you wrap that to look this cool, with the beads hanging down and all.........

 

But this is what she says about that

"To wear Drape on the head to suit. Photographed model starts with bead on the right angle at the right front of the head. Two corners brought up and over the head in soft fold. Beads crossed under at sides to hold in place."

hmmmm...It will have to be knitted and tried on to make sense of that...que.

Meanwhile, back at the sick farm...I have a square and a heart knit for my keyhole scarf, lack just a little of the pocket, then I will resort to hybrid knitting (that is, I will slap it on the LK 150) to finish up the scarf part...now I am off to breath steam while trying to imagine how one "drapes to suit"

Peach "sweatette" done

I finally finished this before the last visit to mom's, she loves the color and it is nice and warm but not suffocating. It was fun figuring out a way to make a button that goes with the band, and am now inspired to work on more knitted closures.

You may or may not remember that this is the "hybrid" sweater that is partly hand knit, partly knit on the LK 150, out of Peruvian highland.

Stress knitting and self policing

A leaf a day keeps the doctor away.


This is what I told myself when I started this leaf edging; that I would sit down and knit one leaf each day and finish this neckline in a timely manner. That having set a goal, I would be forcing myself to give myself the needed "me time" that has been missing from my life lately and causing me some stress and performance reduction. The times we live in are stressful enough and focus and concentration on lifes beauty is easily elusive when we don't slow down.

Oh it worked great for the first two leaves, and then it started to feel like pressure, instead of the stress reduction that it was supposed to be.
This got me to thinking again about our motivations to knit and what aspects of knitting actually bring us the satisfaction we receive. It is a three part thing, I am realizing. The drug like satisfaction from knitting is comprised of 1) the actual act-the relaxing, repetitious meditative art itself, 2) the joy of learning and discovery when we incorporate a new technique and 3) the rush of accomplishment when we finish and hold up a three dimensional, functional object or art statement.

Having written that off the cuff, I realize there are probably more than three main aspects, its just struck me suddenly, and I like "threes"
The real point I am trying to get at is anything you do to yourself to stand in your own way of one of these aspects (like policing your progress, "cheating" on the pattern because you dont' want to have to read "complicated" directions but you really do want to learn the technique, or leaving mountains of unfinished and unsatisfying projects around, diminishes that fullness of your satisfaction in your knitting.

Hybrid Knitting (or, how necessity names a style of knitting)

This peach bolero has been off the machine and on to the needles, off the needles and back on to the machine so many times that I decided to coin a phrase for this technique. I shall call it

....."hybrid knitting" a term for the use of both hand knitting needles and "hand knitting machine" needles in the construction of a single knitted item.

Last post I mentioned that I had picked up the neckline and the hem (of the reconstituted peach bolero) onto circular needles. So for a couple of evenings I knit along on the hem needle, making it up as I went. I didn't like it, it was too bland, and my arthritis in my forefinger is really bothering me and I don't want to waste my knitting time on something bland.

Meantime, my shoulders are cold, I have other shrugs, but I need this one, now.

Then as life has a way of doing, everything changed with a phone call, and Momma's news from her doctor visit was unexpected, so I am hustling to get the shop work done and will be gone to west tenn to be with her the first part of the week.

During the long hours of the procedure, I would like to have my knitting to hold my hand. I would like the hem to be done, so that I only have the one needle dangling and tangling around the knitting bag.

(ok, I am getting to the point here, really)

I slid the peach thing back onto the lk-150 needle bed by pushing each machine needle into the row below the current row on the hk needle. When every stitch was thusly stabbed, I removed the circular needle, ripped back the top row, threaded the carriage and commenced knitting several rows of basket weave stitch (3st x 3rows) Stopping every 3 rows to hand reform the purl blocks with the adjustable multiple latch tool, and the single latchet tool on the center purl stitch. It went pretty quick, finished it with some rows of stockinette, and took it off the machine back onto the double pointed needle for binding off.

This part is now finished, I will be able to concentrate on hand knitting the rest of the neckband in the hospital, without the dangly second needle, and hopefully it will be ready in time to show to Momma.

This is the beauty of hybrid knitting.

Peach progress

Perfecting my invisible seaming technique while working on this peach bolero. I thought I was one of those knitters who didn't like "finishing". But I am found myself actually looking forward to snatching some time to put together the panels into the sleeves, then the raglan sleeves onto the back. It is relaxing and enjoyable to run the smooth chibi in and out joining the hand knit edges to the machine knit edges, which don't really look any different from one another....only the fronts left to seam..

Well, not exactly, there will still be hand knit cable hem to attach..and the button band and neckline...I still haven't decided on them, plain or cabled? hand or machine?

rustica sock chart

I hear tell they are giving cold and snow after the weekend...still have some windows to put plastic on, but me and the monkey

are working on these socks for my cold feet (priorities) I'm a fixin' to put the chart in the free charts portion of my website..it is not what I would call "classic content" (a chicken and two trees) but it is for me, so....!

or the black and white version

you know...seeing it shrunk down like this make me think maybe I need to reverse the trees, like this....
yea, that's more balanced...guess blogs are good for something.