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*

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

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.

My Yarn in my Stash Must Be Breeding… Like Rabbits!

September 11, 2015February 25, 2017 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been doing a lot of knitting this year—more than in many years—trying to whittle down the Too Much Yarn—So Little Time stash. I’ve been on a trade/donation kick too. Ravelry shows my trades/gifts for the last 12 months at 28 (!). Two people approached me about hats and scarves for the homeless and got more than they bargained for (massive piles of yarn). Mostly vintage mohair and “virgin” wool.

Some yarns are so old, I’ve had a tough time finding the yardage and proper weights. This week I forensically discovered the weight of a Scheepjes Diamond 2/4 because even though the yarn wasn’t on Ravelry, a pattern for it was.

My most recent sale/donation was a gentleman from Chico, CA who is knitting wool socks for donation to a shelter. He didn’t tell me he was a charity knitter until after we agreed on a price so in addition to the skeins he requested, I stuffed a big box full before I sent it off which meant his funds only covered the shipping. And I friended him on Ravelry so that I can send more as I dig through the vast wasteland of my grandmother’s lifetime of knitting leftovers—mostly odd balls of worsted weight, superwash in 300-600 yard lengths. Enough that if I went into Etsy business of knitting hats, mitts and scarves (as I threaten to do), I wouldn’t need to buy yarn for years.

Natural (Undyed) Handspun Alpaca from Warm Valley Orchard

One of the Orcas Island shepherdesses, Maria Nutt of Warm Valley Orchard, suggested I start weaving. This after I told her I’d recently came across 1200 yards of beautiful (undocumented) natural color alpaca I bought from her more than 10 years ago. She even offered to bring by her loom to get me started.

I Found 11 Skeins of This Bucilla Yarn in an Unopened Box

And just when I think I’ve seen all of my collection and I’m sure I’ve posted it on all Ravelry, suddenly more appears. Two weeks ago I found in box that hasn’t been opened for three house moves which contained Eleven 100 gram skeins of pale yellow—2500 yards of it. How the heck did I miss it when I spent weeks photographing and cataloguing “everything” I owned last Fall?

So I’ve come to this conclusion—they must be breeding away—making new little skeins; growing them like nodes on the side of an epiphyte.

Partly this is because people also give me yarn. One friend I made a mock turtleneck for (nearly identical to this one by Karen Templer) gave me a small box of yarn from her grandmother. “She’ll know what to do with it”, her grandmother said. But I didn’t. I left it in that little white box for four house moves—never opening it after that afternoon tea with my friend–until now.

Last week, after years *blush* of it sitting as a box in a box, did I take a look at the magic inside. 17 colors—most shades of pink and purple—of worsted weight angora. They are mostly dribs and drabs—some as small as 30 inches the longest is a 99 yards of fuchsia, but I think they might provide “fuzzy” interest paired with a masculine color like burgundy or navy in a Sally Melville’s stashbusting Topher’s Pullover.

Another box I dredged out this weekend was a kit I’d tried to give it away without opening it. After my discovery of the angora, I got curious and opened it up. Wow! Another huge surprise. Inside a cheesy looking square dance sweater kit (my gramps and gram used to cut a rug to the caller at least once a week) was the most beautiful ivory colored Scheepjes wool with matching 7 matching colors for the little people dancing around the hem. And let’s not forget the cowhead buttons! Yee Haw!

I’m hoping that they measured on the generous side, because this is coming off the donate pile and going onto the looking for a good worsted weight pattern—maybe I’ll even mix them it into the Topher pullover and use the ivory for another sweater—possibly something from Madder 2 which I’ve been angling to dig into now that my Home and Away, George Hancock Cardigan, is done.

Sometimes my stash makes me feel tired just looking at it. Have any of you inherited or been given yarn, supplies, cloth and/or other items and wondered what to do with it?

Ivory Wool--the Main Color — Ivory Wool–the Main Color

Keeping Wurm in Seattle

June 13, 2015June 13, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ 1 Comment

Apologies for the long lag between posts, I was finding it hard to post from the Inner Hebrides and the business trip before and after I went. Oddly, when I used to write a travel blog, this was the easiest thing in the world. I met my husband on my blog. No joke! And I‘ve thought about resurrecting the site though having two blogs, if I struggle to keep up with one seems a bit silly. I’d love your feedback—separate or together?

Clouds over Tuscaloosa, AL--thought I saw a funnel cloud! — Clouds over Tuscaloosa, AL–thought I saw a funnel cloud!

I thought I was being so original—knitting a Wurm hat in Seattle sport team colors. But alas, I found no less than eight more Seahawks versions of the Wurm hat by Katharina Nopp on Ravelry.

This said, each one has its own uniqueness, including mine, which was started as a travel project because I thought my husband’s Blue Skye sweater was too much to pack on a recent business trip to Tuscaloosa, AL. In retrospect, it would have been better to bring it and return with it finished—I ended up having more time in the evenings and on the plane than expected—not to mention plenty of room in my bag despite being on the road for a week with only carryon luggage—a trick I’ll talk about in another blog post.

One of my favorite Seahawk Wurm’s is Early Robyns Get the Wurm by Traevynn which uses not only the green and blue, but a dose of white as well—just like the logo. AuntieDi did a Wurm which is literally the reverse of mine. Blue with green, instead of green with blue, out of local yarn manufacturer, Cascade Yarns’ 220 superwash.

Working on the Wurm while I wait for my pontoon plane

My Wurm is a mix of boutique yarns—one local, one from San Francisco. The blue is a DK from Warm Valley Orchard on Orcas Island. The owners of WVO do everything from raise the sheep, shear, card, spin and dye the wool on island. It’s a bit itchy, but warm and the rich blue color is amazing. The green is the now sadly defunct Art Fiber’s sport weight Peruse, a soft baby alpaca. This softness is why I selected to have the green parts closest to the face and head.

Two projects--taking up a whole bench at Kenmore Air Harbor — Two projects–taking up a whole bench at Kenmore Air Harbor

What I loved about this pattern was learning to do a double headband. I’d heard about doing this for collars, but I’d never tried it, so doing it on a project like this one with leftover yarns took almost all the stress out of it. Though it did take a couple of tries to get it just right. Knitting it was fine, the problem was picking up the stitches from the edge. You have to align it perfectly or it looks weird.

After trying a failing twice, I finally took a contracting color, slipped them through all the “known” stitches and only took stitches that were on that string—no more no less. Got it perfectly right that time. Whew!

Cockpit of the de Havilland Otter. I got to ride up front!!

I’m still sewing my husband’s sweater together and next will be to pick up the collar. I started with that before the sleeve sewing, but ran into trouble. Now I think I have a technique from the hat which will make that go much better.

Forgive the quality of my photos. All of these were taken with my phone and many under very jittery conditions—mostly in flight on a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter pontoon plane. If I could afford it I’d always commute up with Kenmore Air.

A San Juan Islet with Mount Baker in the background

Boats darting all directions in the San Juan Islands

Moving Day–Round 1

April 28, 2015February 25, 2017 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

My favorite perch on the beach — My favorite perch at West Beach

I came into work this morning to find boxes. This after having to unpack boxes this weekend at the new place on Orcas. I had a lovely time on the island and I think that what I really wanted was just to stay there—not come back to “reality” of work, politics, life in the city.

It’s a funny thing, I’ve always loved living on the urban side of the pond. Though I feel a change taking place now that I have a home on the island. I feel a bit “displaced” in my city home.

As I stared at the pile of boxes–that were not going to unpack themselves–and the dirty desk (courtesy of the office movers), I knew it was stiff upper lip time, despite not feeling that way. In fact, the only things stiff were my back and shoulders from lifting boxes and weeding the garden.

That's my buoy! — That’s my buoy! Atta buoy!! It’s a buoy!!! The one far right is the one for my house.

Mount Baker catching the last rays of sunlight after the rest of the hills are in twilight

I found it a bit lonely out there, but connected with a couple of friends who I will hopefully get to know better as I spend more time at my little slice of heaven at West Beach.

There was not much time for knitting at the house. I did get some done on the ferry and I was thankful for the plentiful natural light on the ferry rides–both ways. I’d been struggling with a Kitchner stitched shoulder seam–seven tries with no success, though I’ve done it several times before–including the other shoulder! Thankfully, on the way over from Anacortes I had it in the bag first (re)try.

A bit of "cancer" on the Hyak ferry between Orcas Island and Anacortes — A bit of “cancer” on the Hyak ferry between Orcas Island and Anacortes

Though the weather and time was lovely, it was tiring too—all the cleaning, packing, unpacking, weeding, etc. only then to have to turn around, come back, go to work and unpack my office after an unnecessary office move which will, in turn, make my job harder.

Water, bars and decking aboard the Hyak on the way to Anacortes from Orcas Island

Still, the scenery was lovely getting to and from the new place as well as while I was there. I got some really great shots—both artsy and not. I also finished a book I was reading in the quiet hours Sunday morning.

The Phoenix moored near the ferry terminal on Orcas Island

The thing I need to remember is that this is temporary and that someday I will rise like a phoenix.

Orcas Island Broken Rib Sweater

March 29, 2015March 29, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

My job is very taxing, so I’ve probably got only one big project in me every year. In 2014 it was my fitted Einstein coat. In 2013 it was this VERY warm sweater. So warm Nick wears only in place of a coat on cold wintry days—something we don’t get a lot of in the Puget Sound.

Nick looking sunny at sunrise in his sweater

The shop where I bought this yarn is Warm Valley Orchard on Orcas Island. We often pass by it on the way to and from the ferry and see the very sheep who grew the wool that was spun into the luscious bulky, undyed yarn that later became this sweater. In order to buy wool, you have to go to the island—they don’t ship (at this writing). What I found most charming was the color of the yarn was the sheep’s name. The yarn has all the natural oils and even had a slightly sheepy odor when knitted.

The owners of Warm Valley Orchard run a sustainable, organic business. Whether you want fruits and nuts, meats and sausage or wool (fiber, yarn or knitted garments), this small, unobtrusive shop carries it all. I’m sure once we move to the island full time, we’ll be regular customers.

Nick taking a last look at West Beach before returning to the mainland

The first thing I had to do was find a stitch pattern that Nick liked. This is much more challenging than you might think. It took weeks of showing him patterns in books and magazines, knitting swatches with the wool with different patterns and sized needles. The guy is particular! He settled on broken rib, which is not only easy, it created a “masculine” looking fabric. I chose the sweater pattern, wanting something not too complex—so the yarn could ‘speak’ for itself. After I got my gauge right where I wanted it, I used Knitting Fools’s Set-in Sleeve Pullover to generate the pattern—just fill in the blanks! If only it were that easy!

I knit a hat from the leftover yarn in the same pattern as the sweater

I’m not sure if I knit it looser than the swatch, but the body was a bit bigger than hoped for when I followed the pattern. A large was more like an extra-large. Also, the sleeves were a bit shorter and wider than expected. The left the body alone, with the weight, it seemed like loose was better than snug.

I tore out the sleeves (twice) until I figured out the right number to cast on to create a tighter cuff and followed the directions to increase to the number the pattern recommends for the neck join. They are a bit long, but he’d rather roll them over than pull them down, so it all worked out.

Making the Move

March 2, 2015March 2, 2015 ~ Kristin Tolle ~ Leave a comment

To be candid, I don’t live on Orcas Island—right now. I live near my high-tech, high stress day job which requires quite a bit of travel. My current home, which I spent years gutting and getting just right, is in the shadow of my office; so close I could walk—if I had an hour to kill.

I’ve lived in or near my present home for almost 15 years, before that graduate school in Arizona, before that in Idaho where my family is presently on their 10^th generation (or more). So you could say, the Northwest is my ancestral home.

Kayaking on the small bay my new house sits above last September

I’ve been going to Orcas Island ever since I arrived in the Pacific Northwest and as an avid kayaker, I find Orcas to be the most ideal for the sport, less shipping lane traffic, more places to go and see by human-powered craft and a range of conditions from exciting to peaceful. Having nearly died of hypothermia when a shipping container ship’s bow wave capsized my kayak off San Juan Island, I have learned the value of better equipment, knowing the tides, dry suits and avoidance of big ships.

We’ve been looking for land to build on Orcas, so that we could potentially build a place to retire to when, presumably we could better afford it, and talking about it for far longer, so finding a house with close water access right on the bay we wanted to live on was unexpected. We were staying at West Beach resort. On our way to look at a lot up the road we passed by the house directly next to the resort and Nick said “This place is perfect. I wonder if we can turf these people out.” On the way back the guy that lives there was hanging up a “for sale” sign. It was fate. What else could we do but make an offer? Now there is just the boring stuff—loan, inspection, moving…

We know we will eventually live there full-time. Because there is a house it is likely to be sooner rather than later. For now the plan is to split the time between both places a three-day/four-day plan since our jobs keep us on the mainland. That is, if the inspect tomorrow works out okay. Fingers crossed!

Orcas Island Knitting

Living, Loving and Creating in the Pacific Northwest

Island living

Got the Blues

Mitts and Hat for the Strong Silent Type

Island Hardware & Supply

What do you want to be when you grow up?

My Yarn in my Stash Must Be Breeding… Like Rabbits!

Keeping Wurm in Seattle

Moving Day–Round 1

Orcas Island Broken Rib Sweater

Making the Move

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