Got the Blues

February 17, 2016February 25, 2017 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ 4 Comments

Boy was I sunny this weekend despite the rain. I finally did it. I talked to the resort next door and asked if they’d carry my knitwear. I’m so excited because they said yes! Then the blues set in.

I’ve considered setting up an online store and decided there was too much competition, not to mention the difficulties and cost to ship from the Island. Living in a vacation destination means people with disposable income visit—frequently. They often want to bring a piece of their experience back, so why not a practical item like a hat scarf, yoga hood, or scarf? Now all I need is a label and I’ve reached out to a local designer for assistance.

For supplies I’ve got scads of grandma yarn (free to me wool) to use for these small portable projects while I’m still commuting and flying around the world for the job that keeps a roof over my head and food on the table. Though I’d never really planned to make a profit, it is still good to have things to keep my hands busy and I’m a bit over hatted, scarved and mitted at the moment. As is my trusty husband.

I’ve already posted about the Yoga hood I cobbled together from gift yarn—which will likely be the first item on sale. The next item I planned to show them was a matching hat and mitts I was making from leftover Tosh DK for my Woolful KAL George Hancock Home and Away sweater in lovely Worn Denim.

Waffle Mitts out of Tosh DK in Worn Denim

Waffle Hat and Mitts in Tosh DK

The mitts are no problem, because that is my own design. But as I was knitting the waffle hat I pulled out the pattern to look to see the decreases and to my disappointment the pattern says that it can only be used for personal use and non-profit use. And while I wasn’t planning on selling it for a profit (just cost) it seems like that would violate the disclaimer.

While I completely agree that you should acknowledge where a pattern comes from. I can also completely understand not duplicating it and serving it up as your own design. Which is why the mitt pattern I created refers back to the Violet Waffles hat pattern as inspiration for their design. And while I completely get why you wouldn’t want a huge conglomerate (e.g., The Gap) taking a pattern and mass producing it as their own design, eliminating low-production, in-person sales of garments is a bit hard to understand. After all, the work of knitting it and the materials are my own. That said, this was a FREE pattern. So that might have something to do with it. I’ve written to the designer to ask her thoughts, just to be sure.

I’ll be sure to check this out before I knit up someone else’s design or design something to match. Another lesson learned the hard way!

I guess my sister-in-law will get this set. *sigh*

Gray Start to the New Year

January 10, 2016January 11, 2016 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ 4 Comments

I hope everyone’s holiday was great! Mine was a bit shaky to start and maybe that’s why my knitting scheme is distinctly gray.

ColdClear — Cold and Clear in the Puget Sound

Of course, it is always a bit gray in the Puget Sound in January, but in this case I’m referring to my yarn and projects. And oddly the weather is quite lovely, if cold. I’m really enjoying my new camera and the two (!) pancake lenses I got for Christmas, a 25MM and a 40MM for portraits.

Treed Quail in Idaho Over Christmas — California Quail Treed by a Cat in Idaho Over Christmas

It’s astounding to me, but it’s only January 10^th and already I’m onto my fourth project this year.

Arm Knitted Capelet out of Brucilla's Mega-Bulky in Linen and Charcoal — Arm Knitted Capelet out of Brucilla’s Mega-Bulky in Linen and Charcoal

I’m only in the swatching stage for the latest cast on, so I’ll post photos once it gets further along. My three completed FOs were quickie projects—mainly because I’ve been traveling and needed a portable set of projects. So they are a hat, a hood, and my first arm knitted project, a capelet.

My New Year’s started off pretty good with a lovely gift of yarn from the mother of my husband’s youngest child—who doesn’t seem very young anymore at 14. Katia Royal Silk is a beautiful baby alpaca yarn. I am actively looking for a pattern to show this beautiful yarn to the best advantage.

Nick's youngest daughter bringing in the horses — Nick’s Youngest Daughter Bringing in the Horses in Micanopy, FL.

The trip was fraught with problems—largely due to the fact I’d been constantly traveling up until we were to go and was too exhausted to pay attention to details. So I only found out the trip was six days long (not four as I was told) after we were there and this meant medication, underwear, you name it, were not right in the right supply for the trip.

The Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center — The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center

Rocket Booster for Atlantis Shuttle — Rocket Booster for the Atlantis Shuttle

On the bright side, I was able to visit the Kennedy Space Center, which was terrific fun for a space nut like me. My one regret was not arriving earlier and staying longer.

Onto the knitting and new yarn additions to my stash.

Last Fall I won a gift certificate to Knitterly from the Woolful blog and picked up some beautiful Sublime baby cashmere, merino, and silk blend in two shades of gray.

The gals at Knitterly helped me find exactly what I wanted and were really lovely when my first selections were out of stock. With this purchase I meant to create some Wurm hats for the fam damily, but when it arrived and realized how soft and beautiful it was, I decided it needed to be something as pretty as it is—I’m still on the hunt for a pattern—but I’m tempted to buy more and knit this Andorra wrap. I’ll need to figure out how to change it to worsted instead of fingering weight.

Gray Wurm out of stashed gray and black wools of unknown origin

I did knit a gray Wurm, but I used a worsted gray and some leftover black from my stash. I’m sure my nephew will only care that it is wooly and warm.

The hood is for those chilly days on island, but I might send it off to nephew’s girlfriend that inspired me to find a pattern for it. I modified it be a normal rectangle—like the one she’s already got—rather than going with the pattern decreases. If I do it again, I think I’ll use short rows to get rid of the pointiness. When I wear it I feel like a character in Lord of the Rings.

Yoga Hood Inspired by my Nephew's Girlfriend — Yoga Hood Inspired by my Nephew’s Girlfriend

This non-gray item was made from a Christmas gift from last year–a skein of Lion Brand Homespun, which is both pretty and washable. I was happy to see lots of folks on Ravelry had used it for this project–so problem solved on what to do with this lone skein.

How are your projects going this year so far?

2015 in review

December 30, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

The WordPress.com stats helpers prepared a 2015 annual report for this my blog. I hope to do better next year with some serious stashbuster patterns.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,100 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 35 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.y

OI/IO-The Secret to a Happy Marriage is Snark

November 27, 2015February 25, 2017 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

It’s been a funny Thanksgiving. For the last month I’ve been traveling all over the place for work. And I knew that I just didn’t have the ability to do more, so I opted out of the family tradition of dinner with the family in Idaho.

Created with Nokia Smart Cam — The Biggest Margaritas Ever!

After spending a whole day traveling amongst folks that rarely travel (going to visit family like I normally would be doing), I was beat. I got to Dallas Fort Worth and found I had a long layover, so I paid for a shower and a nap. After all I did get up at 4AM in Mexico City to catch the first leg of my travel.

Then there was the next flight where I spent most the time looking out the window—when I wasn’t messing up my helix jogless knitting hat; which is now a colorful, messy jumble of frogged yarns. First the desert. Then snow, then clouds, the umbra (earth’s shadow) and finally a nearly full moon.

Yikes! How’d this bug get between the two panes of glass?

Early in the Voyage

Over Colorado?

Umbra Looking East

What really got to me was the two-hour drive followed by an hour ferry to the Island. While we were waiting for the ferry I finally got around to applying my Orcas Island sticker (OI) to the back window of my car. When I showed it to my husband he quipped (since I had two) “You should put one on the other side upside down on the opposite side; after all I do feel like I’m married to a volcanic moon most the time.”

He’s Looking a Bit Guilty, No?

OI Sticker

Along the Ferry Ride to Shaw and Orcas

I was pretty tired after the drive so it took me a minute to put it together—he meant Jupiter’s moon IO. Ha! Ha!

Anyhow, glad to be home, even if my husband is the snarkmaster. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Sequence Knitting Charity Projects

October 24, 2015February 25, 2017 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

I first learned about Cecelia Campochiaro’s fabulous book, Sequence Knitting: Simple Methods for Creating Complex Fabrics from the Woolful Podcast. And, like Ashley, being a techie, I was intrigued. Though I have decided to slow down on buying knitting patterns (um, well someday I will that is…) this was a must have buy. It appealed to me on every level.

Firstly, it is not, necessarily, a knitting pattern book. It has some patterns for knitting objects, but not many given its enormous size (and weight I might add). It is also not exactly a stitch pattern book, which usually disappoint me because they lack the breadth and thoroughness I expect. This book does not disappoint.

So if it isn’t those books, what is it? This is a book about the creation of fabric though pattern and repetition. Though it is not technically a stitch pattern book, it has the depth and thoroughness I have been looking for. Edward Tufte is probably Cecelia’s nearest neighbor—except she approaches her subject with considerable humility.

She says in interviews that she felt there was a gap in the literature and that she felt she needed the information her book contains. If she did, we might as well, and I could not agree more. This is the book I’ve been looking for and could not find.

The result is an encyclopedic array of interesting fabrics that can easily be created from knits and purls. I can only hope that she goes on to cover other topics as thoroughly because I’ll be the first to line up to own her next book—no matter what aspect of fiber work she chooses to catalogue and debunk with understated brilliance and, no doubt, beautiful photography.

The arrival of my copy, which I ordered from Hen Haus Boutique in Petaluma, CA, coincided with a charity campaign at work—to knit baby and premie hats for babies born with heart disorders for the American Heart Association. What better way to work my way through the book—especially for the patterns designed to be knit in the round! Babies get hats and I get to learn more techniques—a better than average win-win!

So instead of casting on a new project, I’m sequence knitting a series of them and for a good cause. What could be better?

Ruby baby slippers I made with the leftovers of the two skeins

Group vs. Guild

October 10, 2015February 25, 2017 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ 2 Comments

When I first moved (back) to the Pacific Northwest over 15 years ago one of the first things I did was look for a knitting group. It turned out to be a local guild (Carnation, WA). At the time I didn’t know the difference between a group and a guild. But I’ve had a recent “ah ha!” moment in the Orcas Island knitting scene and I’m looking to see if others would agree with my notions on the subject.

The Fiber Expo at the Mullins Center, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

In my experience, guilds tend to meet regularly. They have fixed days/times (3^rd Monday of the month). They have announcements and agendas. This could include a fiber tasting, class or lecture, picking and doing knit-a-longs or charity work, or just “good-to-knows” in the local fiber scene. And in some cases, not all, they belong to some sort of registry like TKGA. In Washington state, only one is listed (Seattle), but I know of at least 10 more—many very formal and extremely active despite their lack of association to larger body.

Groups, like the one I formed at work, are much informal. I go to my own about twice a month, but the weekly meeting stays on the calendar so people can show up even when I’m not there. But I don’t go out of my way to make sure there is a person in charge of the meeting. If no one shows, that’s okay too! When we’ve got a big group usually the talk turns to yarn, knit travels, our projects on needles and upcoming shop crawls.

Member of the Orcas Group Teaching Weaving

Some guilds have both formal and informal meetings. For instance in Eastside Knitters (in Bellevue, WA) meet monthly as a guild and some of the same ladies (plus or minus a few others) gather once a week in the same building’s coffee shop for a “knit in”.

On WKIP (World Knit in Public Day) this year I was drinking a local cider and eating at my favorite pub, The Lower Tavern when a young lady asked me if I wanted to join the local knitting group on Thursday nights at Island Hoppin’ Brewery. Knitting and beer, what could be better? Although I haven’t gone yet, the owners, Nate and Becca regularly crab in the bay by our place, so one evening when they were at the beach pulling in crab pots, I asked them about it.

“Yeah. Sometimes people are knitting on the couches—but usually only in winter when there’s not much else to do.”

Definitely a group, not a guild.

What I finally did do this week (after missing several other opportunities) was go to another “knitting group” at Warm Valley Orchard hosted by Maria Nutt, one of the island shepherdesses. The talk was of animals/breeds, natural dyes, swapped fleeces with Australia, fairs where we can submit our work or man the exhibits/booths, etc.

My Warm Waffle Mitts and Hat on Display at the Expo

While there was some trading of tips and handing around of objects (mostly hand dyed and spun wool), but for the most part—it was about the business of fiber, though most, like me, are knitting for themselves, friends and family. And next week, when Maria is away, one of the other ladies who she’s known for 20 years will be opening the studio for the gathering. I didn’t ask if they were a guild, but if they aren’t I’ll be surprised. It’s too bad I spend most Tuesday nights on the mainland, otherwise they could count on me every week!

Riding the Klahowya "Island Hopper" ferry from Friday Harbor back to orcas Island — Riding the Klahowya “Island Hopper” Ferry from Friday Harbor back to Orcas Island

Definitely part of a guild, not a group. In fact, the San Juan Island Textile Guild, of which I am now a member.

And though I can’t make most of the weekday meetings I was able to participate that next weekend in the San Juan Island Craft & Fiber Arts Expo—manning the Knitting and Crochet table to teach people if they had an interest.

So there’s my thoughts on the differences. Both are lovely and have their place and I really like ones that straddle the line best.

What’s your preference? Do you participate in both or are you mostly an online group member?

Mitts and Hat for the Strong Silent Type

September 27, 2015September 25, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

My kayak instructor, a sage and serious young man, is a man of few words. When he speaks you want to listen, especially when you are on open sea. And since Nick and I have become weekenders on Orcas Island, he and his partner are folks we think of as friends.

One mitt done. The other a WIP. The small mitt (left) is the swatch.

The sage came to the island from the Northeast after his lovely partner decided she wanted to live here. And who wouldn’t! If I could figure out a way to afford to stay full time I would too. They make a go of it and I admit their tenacity. And with their joint help and that of the island shepherdesses, this might happen for me someday.

Along with partnership, comes shared laundry responsibilities. And like my Nick, his partner is sometimes less cautious with things that might need more care. Nick remembers to cold wash “technical” clothing, but doesn’t think about separating light from dark. So I’ve a load of once ivory, now gray, Lululemon tops. The sage now has smaller and denser woolens, like a Patagucci hat which now resembles a skull cap.

Upon hearing about the troubles (and seeing him try to force it on) I decided I should make him a set of mitts, to keep his hands warm while leaving his fingers free with a matching hat which would be wash and wear. In grandma’s stash was a worsted weight acrylic, called Softee. While the hand is not terribly nice, these yarns have their place. One is for a person in and out of saltwater all day.

I made with very few modifications—mainly making changes only when things were unclear in the patterns (like keeping the ribs vertical on the hat instead of a swirl pattern—see my Notes for details). They are Robbin Abernathy’s Simple Ribbed Fingerless Mitts and Tammy Burke’s Ribbed Hat.

Finished hat with mitts! — Finished hat!

What I’d do differently:

The thumb gusset on the mitts was a bit tighter than expected. This was acerbated by me adding more length to provide more thumb protection from the elements. I’d make the thumbhole bigger. I’d also figure out a way to have more of a K2P2 pattern. The one lone rib looks like it doesn’t quite fit with the rest and adding a second knit stitch might actually kill two birds with one stone.

The hat perfectly matches the mitts. The ribs worked okay, but not great—they are a bit wonky on the edges. Maybe that was my errata, but I suspect not. Could be a result of the yarn too. I’m tempted to start over as I have enough yarn to do so and treat this as a “sample”.

Island Hardware & Supply

September 23, 2015September 24, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

Two ravens flying overhead while we slave below.

The house is coming along “stepwise” as Nick would say it. And though every owner of this house has been a frequent shopper at the ‘local’ hardware store, buying a plethora of tools, we’ve little to show for it. I’ve brought up what I can spare from the main residence, but we still seem to hunt for this and that. So it was off to the hardware store this morning to enable the days’ activities.

Island hardware in Crow Valley is a true Orcas Island institution and according to its affable owner, Neal, provides insurance and retirement to employees. The folks who work there are no nonsense with a dry humor which means no purchase happens without comment.

So today when we brought up a big plastic pail, a machete, a large pick, large contractor bags, red duct tape and a shovel, the question on everyone’s mind in line behind us was quickly verbalized by the checkout clerk,

“Y’all gonna kill somebody?”

The truth was far more benign though very dirty—inside and outside the house. We needed to bury our internet cable since the installers left it laying across our driveway. And indoors I needed to clean years of filth from under the gas insert.

The first was a straight forward dirty job. Nick dug. I buried. He sweated and I got muddy.

However, the indoor job was pretty gross. The prior owners had both dogs and cats and had not, in the three years they lived there, vacuumed under the living room gas insert. The problem is that they’d scooped rocks and shells from the beach. An interesting idea in theory, but not in practice. And would undoubtedly ruin your vacuum.

So I spent my afternoon (and first day of my vacation) sorting rocks in the living room by size, tossing out extraneous objects and pebbles small enough to be vacuum ingested. The remaining mid-size and bigger rocks got washed in the big plastic pail to remove the fur, dust bunnies and cobwebs. Three hours later, I went to put them back only to find it’s now time to go rock hounding. The pebbles may have been small, but there were lots of them.

Still, a job well done! I won’t run over the cable in the dark and it is now possible to vacuum under the insert. And there was time left to sit and watch the sunset.

My favorite beach log is now available again! — My favorite beach log is now available again until next summer’s tourist season

To Buy the Book or Download the Pattern, That is the Question

September 21, 2015September 19, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ 2 Comments

When one project ends another begins? Hmm. That’s not going so well for me right now. And why is that? Too many choices and this time yarn is less of an issue.

Ella Rae Heather--The Slipper (Yarn) Looking for It's Cinderella (Pattern) — Ella Rae Heather–The Slipper (Yarn) Looking for It’s Cinderella (Pattern)

If you think my stash is extensive, you should see my pattern collection. According to Ravelry I have 3566 patterns as of this writing and rising. Given I have Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campochiaro in route and Free Spirit Knits by Anne Podlesak on pre-order, the number of patterns in my library will continue to rise. For now.

The reality is, whether for reading or crafting, I love the feel of a book or magazine in my hands. Still, with the same online patterns readily available and usually less than $10, and given I knit one or less patterns per book, why I’m buying a whole book? It seems much more cost effective to break this purchasing habit?

Decades of Knitters and Vogue Knitting Magazines

You have to admit a downloaded pattern lacks the aesthetic of a truly well-designed book. There’s something about crisply presented visuals like those in the Madder Anthologies (1 or 2) by Carrie Bostick Hoge or Hannah Fettig’s Home and Away that get the juices flowing.

After a Ravelry Search (of my own patterns) these were the top book contenders

Still, given I’ve successfully executed sweaters with online patterns wouldn’t it just make more sense to stop buying books? And might that reduce the time from planning to starting a project?

Have you made the conversion and what wisdom might you share?

Narrowing by style gave me just the open books

PS: thank goodness for Ravelry’s library. Since I’ve posted my patterns I’ve found beautiful ones in my own collection I never knew I owned.

The Final Contenders--Vogue Knitting Winter 2012 and Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel — The Final Contenders–Vogue Knitting Winter 2012 and Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel

What do you want to be when you grow up?

September 17, 2015September 19, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ 2 Comments

Ah the dream of a having a different lifestyle. I’m part way there since I purchased a second home on Orcas Island, though this creates some new challenges (like commuting and costs of second home ownership). It’s definitely quieter spending half weeks here and I suspect it will get even better when I trade the city house for a pied-à-terre.

November will mark my fifth anniversary with my lovely, brilliant husband. And for the first time in my life, it has been a joint endeavor putting clothes on back, food on table and a roof overhead. I have a great paying job—and have had for many years, but the older I get in high-tech the younger everyone else seems, the faster the pace moves, and the more I feel like I’m slipping behind. A book that has helped is French Women Don’t Get Facelifts by Mireille Guiliano. She found a second career in writing—something I love to do too—after being the CEO of Verve Clicquot USA.

Kayaking with husband in Lover's Cove, Orcas Island — Kayaking in Lover’s Cove, Orcas Island

These days I‘m often asked to speak to young researchers about careers and yet, deep inside, I feel a bit lost. So how can I, in good faith, tell them what they should be doing to be successful when I’m not sure about my own career? Of course we are at different career stages, so my advice works for them. It just doesn’t work for me. Not anymore.

There was one bit of advice that I got early in my career than might still be true though, ‘risk equals happiness.’ If you are willing to risk everything, you are much more likely to find a career that you are enthusiastic about.

Sign on once of my deer proof gardens — Sign on one of my deer proof gardens

So is it time to consider that now?

I look at people like Karen Templer and her small business Fringe Association she moved to Nashville, Tennessee and Ashley Yousling of Woolful who has recently moved to Idaho (a place I worked so hard to get out of) to start a sheep ranch. Both women in tech who followed their dreams. I’ll admit it, I’m green with envy. After all, I’ve been in tech since before they were out of diapers. The point being that younger people can set an example for older ones. You find sages at all ages, no?

Russian blackberries growing everywhere–too many to pick!

Gala Apples from the Garden--Yum! — Fresh Gala Apples from the Garden–Yum!

Baby kiwi's (much bigger now) — Baby kiwi’s (much bigger now)

People, and knitters especially, on the island are lovely. “Borrow my loom, please!” and “Stop by for my knitting circle”. The problem is my split life. I simply cannot be an islander and be a constant traveler, researcher and strategist.

More and more I feel the pull of my creative side and I’ve even been talking to a couple of friends on island on how I might promote this site and potentially start selling things—here and at the local gift shops. Even my husband has gotten into it by telling me I should set up a shop called Fruit and Fiber where we could sell my chutneys and the many fruits of our garden alongside wool from the island wool makers and mitts and bags I make from it.

I've got these prune plums coming out my ears! — I’ve got these prune plums coming out my ears!

The trouble is I’d need the time to *make* these items. I also wonder how it will change my desire to knit when it won’t be for myself or gifts for my friends and family. What happens when it becomes my job. Will I still love it so much? I think so.

I’ve got designs and patterns that my friends say will sell and the San Juans, especially Orcas Island, are a vacation mecca where people come to buy little reminders of their trips (or they get cold and buy it out of necessity). They think that even if I didn’t go “online” I’d still have a market for my goods.

A seed Stitch Bag--partially my own design — A seed Stitch Bag–partially my own design

Well that’s my quandary for today. It makes me want to miss the late ferry back to the mainland Monday night. Perhaps not today, but someday. Hopefully soon.

Orcas Island Knitting

Living, Loving and Creating in the Pacific Northwest

Author: Kristin Tolle

Got the Blues

Gray Start to the New Year

2015 in review

OI/IO-The Secret to a Happy Marriage is Snark

Sequence Knitting Charity Projects

Group vs. Guild

Mitts and Hat for the Strong Silent Type

Island Hardware & Supply

To Buy the Book or Download the Pattern, That is the Question

What do you want to be when you grow up?

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