That Japanese Swedish Aesthetic

So here's the pretty cross stitch:

Maybe it's just me, but that looks like a snowflake from a wonderful Nordic sweater.

The motif is from a Japanese book called "Stitchworld" that I picked up in Portland when I visited Marnie last May. She has the fortune (misfortune?) of living near a Kinokuniya bookstore. If I want to hit the Kinokuniya here I have to be willing to brave the parking situation. I'm lazy that way, and so able to save a lot of money. Japanese craft books are positively addictive. The original motif is stitched in linen on the lovely tea cozy and napkin pictured below. Since my cross stitch experience is limited to "Babies Suck," I thought it might be prudent to practice on Aida cloth before butchering expensive linen. I was also unable to determine the thread-count on the linen used in the book, so I was concerned that the design might be distorted on the 28-count linen that I have. It is, and I have to say that I do prefer the original, but this version is rather pretty, too. And it could probably be modified a bit to elongate it and give it a more organic feel.

Makes you want to cross stitch doesn't it? I'm ready to embroider the entire house.
Moxie will love this.

Cross stitch is a pastime that I sorely underestimated. There is skill and intellect involved beyond what I imagined. I am finally getting to the point where I can see why I should cross all my stitches in the same direction (there is a spot where I didn't - it glares at me!), and I am learning a little of the game you have to play to stitch from one area to another neatly. It's fun to try to maximize the areas of hatching and back-hatching (my terms) and to figure out how to move from stitch to stitch within an area without having to skip a single space. It's a spatial puzzle, really, and I think it's got to be satisfying once you realize you've really got it. I have a way to go.

A sampling of projects from the book.

This little book has opened up an entirely new domestic world for me. It contains hardanger embroidery, which I had never heard of. (You can find hardanger 101 here.) I had seen it before, but it never really clicked with me that real people could make linen look like that. It's definitely on my list. It's a great deal of fun, but let me warn you - if you get this book it can be hard to step away from the thread. ISBN 4-579-11018-8 (The book is NOT in English but the photos and diagrams are excellent.)

Judy's Grandmother's Baby Sweater: Pattern Notes

So here it is the end of February and I am just trotting out the first FO of 2008. If you had asked me in December what my first FO's of the year would be, I would not have guessed this! I have three to four designs in the works (depending on whether I decide to back-burner one of them or not) and one is very near completion. But I just have not had it in me to do math lately, so I thought I'd make one of the many baby things that I have planned for the spring and get a jump start on things. Voila!

A little sugar, a little sarcasm. Perfect.

Before I dive into the baby sweater pattern notes, however, I just have to put in another plug for Julie Jackson's Subversive Cross Stitch Book. Very few things could have driven me into the arms of cross stitch. It was just never a craft that I had as much interest in before. Howsomever, between this wonderfully saccharine book and the incredible single-color (almost Swedish) designs in the Japanese craft books I have, well, I just had to go there. And I'm so glad I did. Cross stitch can be a really fun diversion, and used sparingly on a beautiful linen backdrop I find it charming. I would definitely recommend Julie's book. Even if you never stitch a thing, the laughs alone are worth it. I will definitely be making another. (To Moxie's great chagrin - he still doesn't get it. Boys.)

Judy's Grandma's Baby Sweater
Greetings From Knit Cafe
designed by Judy Spector's Grandma
Knit with three and a half skeins (123 yards/skein) each of Rowan's Wool Cotton (50% Merino Wool/50% Cotton) in (955) "Ship Shape," on size US4 Addi Turbo Circulars and Clover Bamboo DPNs.
Gauge: 5.75 sts and 10 rows per inch over garter stitch.
Size: 6 months

The designated front.The Pattern:
Extremely well thought-out. If there is an edge on this puppy that can be self-finishing, it is. The construction is interesting, too. You work the sweater from side-to-side, starting and ending with the ties, and leaving live stitches and a bound of edge to pick up for each sleeve later. The sleeves are picked up and knit down to the cuffs, and then seamed along the top edge to finish.

If you've read my previous entries on this (the one on the Observatory), you'll know that there was a point where the sweater became a little tedious for me. The honeycomb stitch can be a little aggravating, because the action happens on the right side while you are knitting the wrong side. The wrong side, for its part, is not easy to read. If you get off by a stitch (which I did four times), you screw up the row. Normally, I am a stickler for fixing errors, but I was in the dead zone when I got off track and simply did not care enough. I kind of wish that I had cared a bit more now, but only a knitter is likely to notice. A six month old baby definitely won't! the honeycomb stitch is worth some effort, though, because it is very, very pretty.

My journey with this knit was not unlike my journey with every single scarf I've made. Somewhere in the second skein I was bored out of my mind, but by the time I got to the third I was into it again. The sleeves zipped by. Highly recommended, especially for those of you who enjoy repeating patterns. I've been in a knitting slump, so I spent three weeks with this sweater, but someone on a roll could pop it out in a concentrated weekend, and definitely over a week of bad TV and re-runs.

"Front" and "back" side by side. Really, it's fully reversible.

Techniques:
Intermediate techniques - cable cast-on, elastic bind-off, slipping and stranding stitches, knitting through the back loop, and picking up along edges.

Detail of the flap.Modifications:
The only mods I made were to use a different yarn, and a different seaming technique for the sleeves. The original yarn is Classic Elite Premiere, which I used for Mishka (same color, too). It has more of a drape to it, which is also very nice. I subbed because I was knitting from stash, but either is lovely. As for the sleeves, I just didn't feel like reading directions. I did a single crochet up one sleeve, across the front neck, and down the other sleeve. I'm sure that whatever the pattern does is fine, too.

Finishing:
Very little. For the most part this is self-finishing. I used the single crochet method to seam and neaten the front neck, as noted above. I didn't block this one and didn't even think to. I don't always block textured knits and the wool cotton is soft without washing. Blocking will add a little drape if you are looking for that effect.

The parting shot.Impressions of Rowan's Wool Cotton:
This is my go-to yarn. I use it more than any other, and especially for baby things. It is soft, classy, classic, has great stitch definition, and is machine washable. Plus it comes in a lovely array of adult colors. I'm not really a pastel girl, so this is a good choice for me.

Possible substitute yarns:
For this particular project, there are a lot of good substitute yarns. The original Premiere is a great choice, but you could use something like Tahki Cotton Classic or Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece. Almost any fiber will do, because the shape is simple and the pattern lends itself to being sproingy or draping a bit. I could see it in a nice bamboo or linen.

I think you can guess where I'm going with this

To say that I've been working a lot lately would be the understatement of the year. I've had time to pick up my knitting only once this week (and it wasn't pretty, folks - I sewed the front of Moxie's Man Hood directly to the back when I intended to sew it to the sleeve. We'll deal with that later!) In such times, I find that I begin to build up a bit of aggression that needs a constructive outlet (lest I drive sweet Moxie to divorce). Normally this outlet would be a hike or a run or one of those great sessions with a bunch of other crazy people on a spin bike. However, when you get home after dark when the gym classes have concluded on a Friday night, no such outlet exists.

The Hoolia gets all subversive with her cross stitch.

Instead, I turned to crafting. Let me just say upfront that I am not a cross-stitcher. This is, in fact, the only cross stitching I have ever done in my entire life. Cross stitching is the last thing that I ever thought I'd be caught doing, and when I was in Phoenix a few weeks ago and my friends there were singing its praises, I have to admit that I was listening to their exclamations because I was feeling indulgent and loving toward them, and not because I actually found the topic fascinating.

Then last weekend, when Marnie was in town, we hit a fantastic sale at Black Sheep Knittery - 50% off everything - books, notions, yarns, everything everything. (It runs through this weekend. If you are in the LA area and can spend a little - go! If you are easily tempted and broke - stay far away!) And I saw this book, and for some reason, probably the promise of the word "subversive," began flipping through it. I laughed my butt off in the store, and since it was 50% off, I bought the thing. When I got it home, I feared that perhaps I had made a hasty purchase (I don't like to misallocate the spending of even a paltry $7), but when I flipped through it again, I was not any less giggly than the first time. Okay, let's be honest. I guffawed. I sat in the girls' room and made Marnie listen to each and every one of these cross stitch sayings twice as I laughed hysterically. (Who's being indulgent now?) They really just hit my funny bone, you know. The saccharine sweet teddy bear next to the words "kill me now" just did it for me.

I am not a converted cross stitcher. In the end, I will probably make one or two of these as gifts and then be done with it. It is hard on my weary eyes, and so far only gives me limited pride in return for my hour of diligence. But I am very happy I bought the book. It totally cracks me up! Now I can go back to work...