Knitting

Where’d It Go? or Seller’s Remorse

~ Kristin Tolle ~ 2 Comments

My stash is prodigious. It’s mine and my grandmothers with a few of my friends’ grandmothers thrown in. There was a time, in the not too distant past, that knitting was a dying art. So when people saw me knitting, I would get given all the spare yarn that hadn’t been used up.

Yarn Collage
Just a fraction of the yarn from my stash

One Fall when I was on sabbatical I took to photographing and cataloguing all of my yarn—at least the small portion of it that remained after I donated most of it to charity—about 75%. But don’t let that fool you, I’ve still got an immense supply which grows every time I go to a knitting event—much faster, I might add, than I can possibly knit it with a very busy full time job that never seems to end at the end of the day.

To second the Ravelry post on January 6th by MaryHeatherB “Tip: 3 Things to do on Ravelry in the New Year”, Tip #1 is to catalogue your yarn on Ravelry. I highly recommend that you go through the exercise. Now I tend to shop at home because I know what I have and in what quantities. And now that you can “slurp” in photos you won’t have the added hassle I had in photographing 200 yarns.

I’ve been knitting things for the women members of my team and trying to pick up a few new skills along the way leveraging free patterns on Ravelry. One didn’t go so well. I attempted to give Aran Cabled Shrug in Kaya Wool by Crystal Palace Yarns a more modern look by switching the ribbing to garter and adding increases to compensate for the lack of give. I love how it came out, but feel it is a bit too misshapen to give away—not to mention way too small for its intended receiver. I’m still trying to work out a closure for it that helps hide the underarm “bump”.

Watson Shrug

Next I turned to a different project that I ended up falling in love with—a Bias Scarf by Shelby Dyas. It came out so pretty (and heavy) that it hard to part with. I bought some Lion Brand Homeland in Bryce Canyon and paired it with an unidentifiable yarn in my grandma’s stash—a slick, nylon, ribbon yarn in burgundy by Malibu Mark which reminds me a lot of Anne Blatt’s Antique.

Ribbon yarn of unknown origin
Close up of Sushma’s scarf

That’s when I got the idea to make a shrug from the pattern—a square you can wear. If it were wider it would be perfect and I knew of just the yarn to pair up with a bit more ribbon yarn—but this time of KNOWN origin, Lane Borgosesia Diamante in a variegated black-taupe-white and/or solid black. On the hunt I went and I came up empty. I searched by stash and it was not to be found. Where was it? I sold it!  And no doubt now these two beauties are probably knitted up, possibly together, in some gorgeous creation.

And there was this VERY old Berroco Glace variegated cotton-blend ribbon yarn which barely deviated from white in the palest of pinks and blue. I was purusing Ravelry, as I often do on weekends, and found a great summer top to use it up with, feeling so proud to be shopping in my stash. Firstly, I couldn’t find it in my stash, but I was certain I still had it so I went to my storage rack… Gone! Well, it wasn’t my color, I rationalized. Er, um. *sigh*

I’m happy to have them get used and there was no telling when I would have used them, so it’s for the best, of that I’m certain. What it did get me to do was “rethink” my trade or sale portion of my stash on Ravelry.

Copyright, Creativity and Crafting

~ Kristin Tolle ~ 2 Comments

The song Donna Summer song “She Works Hard for the Money” is rolling around as I write this post. And work hard I do. And in spite of this, I’ve mentioned I wanted to start selling my extra produce at the local resort. Well, they’ve put me off just long enough that I’ve gotten the message—not interested. They are nice people, they just to keep things neighborly. So rather than say “No”. It’s always, “We’ll get back to you.” Only they never do. So I’m looking for a new outlet.

Happily, many of the samples I knit up fell into the hands of my family members for Christmas, saving me a huge amount of time shopping and bringing lots of joy. The other reason I didn’t sell them was that I noticed (and wrote about) that some of the items had the stipulation that they “cannot be used for commercial use”. I assumed this referred to the knitted garment, but a person posted on that blog I should read up on it because that was not the case citing US copyright law.

I didn’t have time to check it out at the time, but this weekend I decided to research and found out—they are quite correct. According to US copyright law, this stipulation cannot apply to “useful articles” produced following a recipe or pattern. The UK (of course!) has a similar rule specific to knitting and croquet items.

You certainly don’t have to take my word for it–after all, I may have many advanced degrees, but I’m no lawyer. So here’s where you can read up on it yourself:

You might also find a couple of articles helpful to parse the legalese. I really appreciated Jason M. Krellenstein’s brief description in his “Ask a Lawyer” column in Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2012 issue. To summarize: any statement about “no commercial use” in a pattern has no legal precedent and is unenforceable on knitted items. This article, from 2014 in “Plagiarism Today”, spells out in understandable detail why socks, hats and sweaters fall under “useful objects” and can therefore, not be restricted by a designer.

The bottom line: A designer cannot, as of this writing, legally enforce a “no commercial use” clause in the UK commonwealth (Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, etc.) or in the United States on articles generated by following the pattern.

In retrospect this makes sense. The pattern and all the hard work that went into creating it belongs to the designer—and they should profit from the sale of that pattern. For produced item based on that pattern, a knitter’s cost of materials, time and effort, modifications/customizations belong to the knitter–full stop. Effectively, the knitter may not be restricted from earning a profit on their labor, clause or no clause.

This said, while you (and I) can sell these items (until there is a legal decision to the contrary), be mindful of what the copyright protects–the pattern itself. The law is very clear that this intellectual property belongs to the designer.

A pattern should not be resold or given away, in whole or in part.  A pattern must be purchased and it should not be shared, unless the designer gives you permission. You also cannot reproduce or publish it without express permission. Speaking from personal experience with my own *very simple* designs, designers work hard for the money.

Christmas Knitting for my Crew

~ Kristin Tolle ~ 1 Comment

My crew at work are some fantastic folks, so I decided to knit them all a gift this year, forgetting I’ve got my own friends and family to cover off on. That’s a problem for another post.

The knitting for the crew is going wellish. I flubbed the first effort project I call the Watson shrug because I made it too fitted and at least a size too small. And because it was yet another experiment–as usual. It has other problems as well in that the back doesn’t lay flat against the body. I’ll have to rethink it a bit and see if I can set down a workable pattern, but only after I buy more yarn and remake something whilst following a pattern—not creating one.

Watson Shrug

For one of my other ladies, I made a bias scarf. It’s meant to be worn with a Sari and I hope the receiver likes it, because I fell in love with it. I had to buy at my LYS—Lion Brand Heartland in a heathered gold color called Bryce Canyon (her favorite color is yellow and I didn’t possess any) but I paired it with a burgundy shiny ribbon yarn (of unknown origin called Malibu Mark) from grandma’s stash. Still trying to whittle it down.

The ribbon yarn was so slick I could not weave in ends or use typical methods for ball changes—it would unravel almost immediately. I literally had to sew, using thread, the yarn into the scarf, but the combination of colors really turned out great and I love the drape and heft of the finished product. Too bad I don’t have enough yarn left to make one for me! But those are the best gifts—the ones you love yourself.

Close up of Sushma’s scarf

Two more gifts to go as long as I limit my knitting to the ladies on my team. I’ve got a few more of the Malibu Mark in cream, gunmetal gray and taupe, so maybe I’ll use of the stash, by pairing them with other similar yarns.

How’s your Christmas knitting coming along?

Summer Knitting in Winter

~ Kristin Tolle ~ 1 Comment

The not so new job is still keeping me very busy. So much so that it was really starting to be Fall before I started my summer knitting. And I’m thinking, it is this sort of thing that creates so many UFOs. You scheme and plan and get things gathered and before you know it *POOF* Summer is gone.

I managed in September to whip up a Sleeveless Mock Turtleneck Tube Vest by Stefanie Japel in a dreamy Bernat Panama Natural Flax (AKA oatmeal) color from some of grandma’s stash. So yes, I’m still “shopping” mostly from home, but that hasn’t stopped the buying new yarns. :-/

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It took two tries. The one I made in August was HUGE due to a brain fart I had on sizing. I swatched and fixed the gauge with the different yarn, but somehow I thought what stitches per side was just the stitches for the center pattern. Needless to say I was off by several inches (12 stitches each side of the center stockinette panel).

Try 2 in September was a winner, but it was already getting a bit to chilly to wear it. Don’t be fooled by the photos–it was a cool breezy day and my jacket was close at hand.

And what of the Smitten Tee I was planning to do next? *sigh*

Well, I cast it on with another grandma stash yarn, Lane Borgesesia, Cotone del Borgo in navy, when it was still warmish, but then I started to feel the pressure of Christmas knitting. So now after working so hard last year to punt UFOs and getting down to a project or two in progress. Smitten, is now firmly on my “to-do” list.

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Anyone else run out of time to finish their summer knitting plans? Did you carry on, frog or just tuck it away?

Big vs. Little

~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

I’m mainly a long time knitter of sweaters. And though I’ve only knit one afghan, I’m in the mood to knit another “big” project. It’s hard to explain the drive to do it mid-summer. I live far North (for the US) and this summer it’s been pretty rainy and cool in the San Juan’s. And though the chilly nights might explain some of it, I think it is more about size than the chill of summer evenings.

Moving to little Orcas Island has been a challenge for me—a good one. And though I have so far kept my home in the big city, I’ve definitely moved my flagpole. I still work—a lot—so downsizing to a city apartment just hasn’t been a priority—especially in the last two months when I’ve been averaging 80-hour work weeks. It’s a new small job at the same company and I love it—much better than my big job where I felt idle, unnecessary and depleted. And though it might seem counterintuitive that a small job takes more effort than a big one, it is a good metaphor for knitted projects.

Along the Ferry Ride to Shaw and Orcas
Cold and Clear in the Puget Sound
OI Sticker

Since the beginning of the year I’ve been knitting a lot of small projects—picking up new skills to make socks and such with the intent of having lots of easy-to-carry on the ferry and quick-to-finish items. I was also sussing out whether to sell items at the resort next door—and they only carry small items—hats, gloves scarves and the like.

So with the new job, finding out the resort is only selling the owner’s mother’s (and friends’) items and running into too many “no commercial use” pattern restrictions, I feel it is probably time to switch back to my bread-and-butter of big knits. And one of the lessons I’ve learned recently is that small, doesn’t mean quick. My Project’s page in Ravelry reminded me I’ve been at this last pair since early May.

Socks in particular are my nemesis. They take FOREVER. And sure, I’ll get faster at it when I’m not spending so much time ripping it out and fixing things, they are still a very big project for me right now. I don’t mind smaller needles. Give me a sweater on fours and I’m fine. But knitting with toothpicks and featherweight yarn is definitely putting me off socks. Definitely not a quick, little project.

To reassert my big knitting skills with so little time for knitting, I’m thinking I’ll picking up one of Frankie Brown’s afghans that grow organically like her Ten-stitch twist or Ten-Stitch Blanket. Which will challenge me on joins, but not on the knitting itself. And I think both might be great stash busters—particularly of sock yarns I might decide maybe aren’t for scarves or socks anymore. 😉

Brioche in Plain English

~ Kristin Tolle ~ 1 Comment

I’ve struggled with two color brioche and for someone that has been knitting brioche for many decades without a hitch—both in the round and flat—this is a huge source of frustration. I decided to take multiple classes until I could master it. The upshot is that this approach did not work, so I hope to save you the trouble and expense and hopefully a lot of angst.

The problem isn’t you, it’s the lingo.

Recently there has been a largely unnecessary adaptation from standard knitting terms which might sell books and patterns, but stymies people that just want to do these techniques without having to learn new terminology, take classes or buy books.

*deep sigh*

I was bewildered when a member of my guild said that Nancy Marchant “had to invent new terms” because there weren’t any, the only thing I could think would prompt such a remark is that she wasn’t aware that brioche knitting is technique had been around for centuries. And while vintage patterns use multiple methods of description (the rational for creating a new “standard”) each of these ways is easily more comprehensible to me, but most lack the colorwork I want to learn.

At no small expense I flew to Colorado for YarnFest to take my second (and third) class on the topic from Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark (the first was 4 years ago from Nancy herself at Vogue Knitting in Seattle). Once again I failed to learn the technique.

Admittedly part of the problem was I sat next to a tardy 20-something “troll” who had taken the class before and poured scorn in a loud whisper on other attendees who failed to grasp it. She had lots of fodder since that happened to be the majority of the ladies there—all of whom were knitting veterans with decades of experience looking for a way to bridge this unnecessary gap. Needless to say, I left early just to get away from her competitive, obnoxious behavior.

I’m not the type to give up, especially when it is something I know well, like brioche. So I immediately turned to the web to uncover a solution—right there in my hotel room—knowing I was going to have the follow on course the next day and would need to know how to do two color to move onto increases and decreases.

If you’ve also struggled, I want you to know that I’ve discovered that others are still willing to use the standard terminology to teach these fairly basic techniques and give you equally good results—at no charge.

That evening I came across a YouTube video by a lovely young lady, Stephanie of Milk Shed, and learned, in ten minutes, exactly what the first 2 hours of the class covered. And the lingo? Good old fashioned slips with yarnovers and knit/purl to togethers. There is also a written tutorial that comes with a free cowl pattern. Even Jo-Ann’s is getting into the plain English act with their online tutorials—not a BRK (brioche knit) or a BRP (brioche purl) in sight!

And not to worry if you want to knit a newer pattern. I found that once I mastered the techniques it was fairly straight forward to work in reverse. All you have to do is to map normal knitting terms onto the newer patterns.

*deep happy breath*

Socked In: Knitting on the Road

~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

I’m beat today. I’ve been on the road for a week and a half and still have a few more days to go on my trip—a full two weeks in transit.

What I’m most embarrassed about is my lack of knitting. I did knit waiting for planes and sitting on them, but when I was at my destinations (DC, Columbus, Amherst and Calgary), I simply couldn’t muster the energy. So my progress on my socks has been quite slow. Perhaps if I’d spent more time knitting than shoe shopping and real key lime pie eating, I’d have gotten farther.

New scuffs from DC

I’m using Socktacular by KnitPicks book as a pattern. And though it was a bit less convenient for travel, it was so worth it to bring it along because there are so many fun choices to make. After much dithering, I selected top-down, afterthought heels with standard toe with a moss rib style.

Just starting out
One done (except for the heel)
One Sock Down; One on the Way
At the placeholder for the afterthought heel

Because it is a first pair in a long time and the second pair ever, I chose to use a “free” yarn that was gifted to me by the San Juan Fiber Guild,Zitron Trekking XXL Farbenspiel. This way I could experiment on the socks, make whatever errors I might and not care about the cost.

Dyed in the Wool by Spincycle Yarns in Shades of Earth
Hiding the $$ because my hubby reads my blog.
Admiring the Kestrel at Tolt Yarn and Wool–especially the Togue Pond Class

I’m making a one-day stop at home to get a few fresh clothes—but leave again this afternoon. Still I had enough time to drive out to Carnation, WA and get to Tolt Yarn and Wool for a bit of retail therapy. The socks that will come from these Shades of Earth, Dyed in the Wool by Spincycle Yarns in Bellingham, WA will be quite a bit more precious.

SOCKS: Es lo se que es

~ Kristin Tolle ~ 2 Comments

When I was a very small child my dad used to say the phrase “Es lo se que es” right after Walter Cronkite intoned “And that’s the way it is.” For the longest time I thought he was spelling socks—S-O-C-K-S. Finally, my mother explained it was Spanish for what the newscaster was saying.

My latest learning project is socks. Inspired by Rainier Knitter’s progress in this area—to not only overcome her knitter’s block, but to master it well enough to teach! I’m suitably impressed.

Years ago, around 20, I made my first and only pair of socks. It was prior to existence of Ravelry, so I don’t know where the pattern came from or if I invented it myself. I used to try and figure out stuff from garments back then, so I might have just done that. Suffice it to say, I made them and I was terribly proud of the work.

The yarn was some Noro left over from a sweater. I was careful during the first wash not to shrink them and on the first wearing, they developed holes. I darned them up thinking it was an issue with the that part of the skein, only to find that the holes developed holes the next time they were worn.

NOTE TO SELF: Don’t use single ply 100% wool yarn for socks!

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Zauberbal Sock Yarn in Harvest, Stonewash and Heilix Bleche

Feeling that it’s time to get over this knitting block and inspired by my Instrgram pals like @thevaultblue, I picked up three beautiful balls of sock yarn at Stitches West. In part because my take along project was a pair of Mary Jane slippers for my mother’s birthday gift and I was struggling to get it to work. I thought it was the Zitron Trekking XXL Farbenspiel I was given by my (San Juan Island) guild so I could create the socks and not care about the cost (lovely ladies that they are!).

The problem turned out not to be the yarn, but the ancient Bernat pattern I was using. After three attempts I made the slippers with a design of my own creation out of some Caron One Pound I had left over from pillow covers teaching myself double knitting in the process. I hope to create a pattern to share, but explaining double knitting techniques, especially for increases and decreases is challenging.

The socks are underway and they are now my take along project for Interweave’s YarnFest in Loveland, Colorado.

Just Another Scarf or a Lesson in Short Rows

~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

I’m on a learning bent of late. I’m doing things for the simple reason of educating myself to new techniques. Maybe it’s a holdover from Stitches West. Maybe it’s the upcoming Fiber Fest in Colorado coming at the end of the week. Probably, it’s just that I find that small projects are really helpful to teach new techniques. Suffice it to say that even though last year was the year I made myself make all new clothes and not buy any, this year I’m making more items overall. More items = more learning.

I’ll post several activities (hopefully!) in short order, but let’s start with my Leftie Scarf. I’ve always wanted to master short rows (though I did rely on them for my Fitted Einstein Coat) and there’s probably no better way to become completely proficient than by making the Leftie scarf by Martina Behm. Each little leaf is a quick exercise in wrap and turns, so by the time you are halfway done, you are a pro!

Work in Progress
Finally done!
Adding the beads

Today I’m sewing on beads (as I haven’t really mastered beading in place yet). I love how they do two very helpful things. Make use of the ends you create with the colorful rows AND make the leaves a bit pointier. I also add them to the ends to weight them for wearing to keep the scarf in place.

The yarns are both vintage from grandma’s stash. If I could change one thing, I would not have paired the scarlet Melrose Italian Silk with Bernat Carioca. The oatmeal color is nice, but the oatmeal feel is a bit rougher than I hoped it would be.

What are you learning these days?

Purposeful Purchases–or not!

~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to Stitches West I go!

I was on the fence about it, but I decided I needed to spend some time with my fellow stitchery folks at Stitches West. Not to mention I am way overdue for some time off from work.

Last year felt a bit solitary, but this year I managed to stay at the conference hotel and run into lots of singles—not unmarried folks—but knitters there on their own. So each night I had dinner with a different crafter from a different part of the country. It was MARVELOUS fun.

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Zauberbal Sock Yarn in Harvest, Stonewash and Heilix Bleche

This year I had plans in place to avoid the purchasing frenzy that happened last year (mostly project bags). So while I waited for the Marketplace to open on Thursday night, a couple of other “singles” and I swapped strategies (over Chardonnay) for keeping ourselves in check. Mine was, don’t buy anything you don’t a project in mind for and no more bags, which for me meant I could buy a few sock yarns—which I did.

A half hour after the market opened we moseyed over and subsequently threw all those strategies to the wind, dashing from aisle to aisle, burdened by purchases. Perhaps abstaining from alcohol before visiting the Marketplace should be next years’ strategy.

The Stitches organizers were far from sympathetic self-proclaiming to be “devils” and querying what was in our bags as we left the market floor. But as we all know those are really in the details of what to knit next!

I have excuses for each purchase. Miss Babs was because of a scarf my neighbor made out of it in my Ridge Heddle Weaving class. The Malabrigio is screaming to be made into a Spiral Staircase Scarf for resale at the resort next door (no restrictions!). Though I have to call “uncle” on the Louisa Harding. That was simply a fabulous price and fills a hole in my stash for light fingering projects.

Next week I’m back to work, but for now I’m hanging out at home dreaming of what to make and filling up my queue on Ravelry!

Happy knitting!

Malabrigo in Azul Profundo. I bought two skeins and some matching beads to make a beaded Spiral Scarf
Louisa Harding Light Fingering in Pansy
Louisa Harding Light Fingering in shades of brown
Miss Babs Sugar Maple Gradient in Yummy Two Ply Toes