Woo Hoo! Greetings from Knit Cafe!

Long ago and far away (about two years ago), my friend Suzan Mischer of the Knit Cafe was approached by Melanie Fallick about publishing a knitting book. Much chaos and excitement ensued, and one by one, all of us who had been involved at the store became involved in the book, in one capacity or another. The result is this wonderful, personal collection of patterns, full of friends and memories for those of us who have been a part of it all, and a great book of color and inspiration for all of you haven't had a chance to stop in on the Knit Cafe yet. It's truly exciting, and I am very happy to have been included. Look for my designs when you get a chance - I have a hoodie, a bikini, and knee socks featured.

Playing Around

Click me for a closer view.

Although I've been absent from the blog, I've been accomplishing a lot in my absence. Looking back on my aspirations from earlier this year, I'm proud to say that I've done pretty well. I wanted to work more on my own designs rather than answering the siren call of commercial patterns, keep a realistic number of projects on the needles, and balance my life out by reading more and exercising more regularly. In the months since I first "aspired," I've designed seven new pieces, three freebies and four that will be published, read several great books (I highly recommend The Life of Pi and The Kite Runner), and run a half-marathon (slowly, but the next one can be faster, right?). Three of the designs that I completed this weekend are going to be in an upcoming book that a friend is working on. I can't tell you what an amazing experience it is to really put your nose to the grindstone and finish such an endeavour. My hat goes off to Harlot and the girls over at MDK - I can't imagine what it must feel like to finish an entire book. All I can say is that if you've been making modifications for a while and dreaming of designing - go for it! It's a very rewarding experience once all the math and ripping is behind you.

Still, I haven't been all work (yes, even knitting is work if there is a deadline - trust me!). Even when I'm cramming to finish something and working crazy hours I have to cheat every once in a while and play around with something that I don't have to work on. Hence, the cables you see above.

A few months ago my best friend and I met in Charlottesville for a half-marathon (a word to the wise: if the race is called "bad to the bone" or some other scarily descriptive name, it may well be a good idea to avoid it and instead opt for the "flat as hell" race the following weekend). I was supposed to work on one of my submissions while we were there - cabin in the mountains, best friend who knits, hours of productivity, right? But she mentioned that she would like to make the cable-eight top in Interweave Knits in a finer gauge. And the fabulous LYS we visited had Tahki Cotton Classic in a lovely leaf green (por moi) and light orange (for her). So it really had to be done.

We sat around under the covers in our cute little cabin (it was still cold then and we had run over 13 miles, so staying under the covers the next morning sounded like a great idea), and re-gauged the pattern. It was very fun, and the swatch that I made (above) turned out beautifully. Most of all, it was fun to do with a friend.

Even better, we learned some things. Usually, if I make modifications to a pattern I usually feel they make the piece better, or at least better for me. This time the result was simply different. I love what we came up with using a new gauge, but I also had a really fun time "rediscovering" why the designer did what she did.

Originally, I thought that the piece was a bit bulky, and I thought it would look better at a smaller gauge. I also thought that it would be more flattering if it draped, rather than stretching as it is designed. The thing is that the large gauge really does give the cables a much more dramatic look (our version is lovely, but more subdued) and the stretch that is incorporated opens the cables and gives them the figure-eight look that they have (ours have nice drape but the shape is elongated). It was very fun to walk in the designer's footsteps and learn a little about the design.

Anyway, that was my playtime, and just as I aspire to design work, I also aspire to this kind of play. Anyone else have a similar experience during their playtime?

Where I've been

Things have been hectic here in MindofWinter world, so as a little treat and retreat, Moxie and I decided to head back to the Lake House for the week and enjoy some quality R&R and much-needed together time. Much knitting was accomplished. I was able to polish off the second of Bob Marley's Grandma's Footies in the car on the way up, and came close to polishing off my book submissions during the week. When those are done I should be able to return to my former blogging schedule. If you check out the sidebar you'll see that much knitting has been done, though little could be shared.

Once the book stuff is off my plate I'll write up the footie pattern. It's easy and fun. I can't get enough of the koigu footwear. It's cute, and perfect for lounging:

Depending on who you are at heart, either the background or foreground of this picture will peak your interest.

As much as I love knitting, I have to admit that the background has my heart, so here's another view of the dock, taken last fall when we were at the lake.

Here's another shot from the fall, to give you an idea of the bigger picture.

In my mind, Lake George is rivalled only by the most splendid of landscapes, such as our lovely Margene can claim. As soon as my world stops spinning, I'll have to gather my LG pics into an album for everyone. There's nothing I love more than seeing the wonderful places you knitters live and go, so one of my future goals is to share more of the beautiful places I've been with all of you.

Also, for those who might be wondering (::cough:: Marnie::cough::) we are also the crazy kind of people who are afflicted with the need to take our animals everywhere with us, so Moxie and I weren't the only ones who enjoyed the beauty and wonders of the lake. Here's a shot of Townie and Caia on the dock:

We brought Tuna as well, but she is more suited to the pleasures of the couch...

Believe it or not, Caia is "fishing". One of the many unique things that our sweet Caia does is spend hours on end staring into the still water at the striped bass that live beneath the dock. When one comes close, she growls menacingly, though I doubt that the bass notice this. Since the lake is still in the early morning, it is a ritual of ours to spend at least the first hour of every day on the dock watching Caia as she watches the fish. Townie does it as well, though I don't think he actually recognizes the bass for what it is. His philosophy on such things is that if Caia is involved, he'll be there participating, whether he really gets what he's participating in or not. He's an odd little cat, but nothing if not loyal. Since we're speaking of the Townie, here's another picture of the little boy:

Be vawy vawy qwiet... I'm hunting dwagonflies...."

I'll post more soon - I just wanted to let you all know that I was thinking of you and to share a bit of the joy that is a lake vacation. xox

More On Asana

A few people have asked me about Asana's construction, and specifically what it's going to look like as you're working on it. I'm no expert with schematic software, but it will look something like this:

You start knitting from the bottom, and work the bottom and top wraps as one piece with the main body. The waist wraps are knit as seperate strips and then seamed onto the body during finishing. The top and bottom wraps are identical in length, with the waist wrap being a bit shorter, since your waist is significantly smaller in circumference than your bust or hips. (All of this gives the illusion that the straps are of equal length when the piece is worn.)

When wearing the piece, you'll have the right side of each wrap wrapped all the way over to the left side of your back and the left sides wrapped over the top of the right sides. This will give you a substantial portion of overlap - most of the back, depending on your personal measurements, of course.

Divide the velcro into equal portions for each of the tabs. I'd recommend using at least two 2-inch vertical strips (one at each edge) for each wrap. When you get to the point of sewing on the velcro, it will all be a lot more obvious. Just be sure to plan out the placement of the velcro and make sure it works prior to sewing it on!

Asana can be, and in fact, was, worn with a bra. It's not really suited to a bra with straps, but it will easily cover a honkin' big strapless. The upper wrap is bigger to cover the ladies, and if you have any doubts, just check your gauge on the lower wrap. You can always start the upper strap a little early and make it extra thick if you have "special needs".

For those of you looking for a little company while knitting your Asana, Ms. NoNoKitty has kindly started a knitalong here, which will lift off on May 9th. I will also be hosting at least one knitalong night in early June with my LYS for those of you knitting Asana in the DC area. More on those details as we get closer to the date.

Time to Stretch Your Horizons

Run [!!!] over to Knitty and see what's new!

Knitted Feats and Knitted Feets

First the knitted feat, though it really wasn't a big deal: Asana is finished!

Aren't these labels cute? My "happy 3rd anniversary of my 30th birthday to me" gift last month, courtesy of The Yarn Harlot's Christmas Gifts For Knitters links.

Well, at least the knitting and seaming portion is done. I have a wee (very wee) bit of sewing to do, and then I just need to size it for others, send it off to Knitty and hope for the best. Not to jinx myself, but I will be shocked if it doesn't get published - I'm very excited about the way this one turned out. (But I'll still love ya regardless, Amy!*)

Wallce, on the other hand, is not finished, but perhaps I'll get to work on it during the SuperKnit. I mean Bowl. Superbowl.

Now for the knitted feet. First, for all of you who have been coveting the fresh baked bread that my little tootsies recieved last month, my friend Mary has kindly provided the "recipe", which you can find in the extended entry. It is a recipe in Southern style - an amalgam of sockish wisdom, though not perhaps something for the sock uninitiated - my favorite kind!

In addition, I have been busy getting ready to knit some feet myself. After scouting around my Sockapalooza sock pal's blog to figure out what colors she likes, I picked out a bit of koigu for her while we were in LA. She likes "bight colors." I'm guessing these will fit the bill:

Loverly, eh?

Since she also likes ankle socks, I thought Crusoe would be a good choice. I may have to make a pair of these for myself as well....

Finally, I could use a little fabric moral support. I found this great stuff at G Street Fabrics the other day and am planning to use it to make fabulous curtains for the bathroom:

I think it's rather hard to resist....

Moxie has made exactly two comments:

"It looks like a flower threw up."

and the real winner:

"Don't get creative in my environment."

Ours is a candid marriage.

*Speaking of La Knitty Queen, did you see that Amy re-worked my teeny tiny sweater pattern to fit her Blythe dolls? Too cute!

Mary's Sock Recipe and Yarn Info

"Here's the sock poop:

I wasn't following a specific pattern when I made your socks. I generally cast on 64 stitches on size one (2.25 mm) when I'm going to do stockinette with sock weight yarn. (When you work with 5 needles, a cast on multiple of 4 will make ribbing easier.) I work about 1 and 1/4" with whatever ribbing I feel like, then I do stockinette until the leg is about 7 and 1/4". I work a heel flap of 32 rows over 32 stitches, turn the heel and pick up and knit the gusset stitches. I pretty much use the same heel and toe methods that Sally Melville writes about in her sock pattern in her "Knit Book," except that I make the toe more round (by decreasing every other row down to 5 stitches on each needle), and I pick up a couple extra stitches on each side when I do the gusset. I knit down the foot until it is about 2" short of the length I want, and begin decreasing for the toe. I graft my toes following the directions for Kitchener stitch that you can find in the back of every issue of Interweave Knits. It's the clearest instruction I've ever seen for Kitchener stitch. Unless I'm knitting for someone I know has larger or smaller feet, I start doing toe decreases when the foot is about 7 and 1/4 to 7 and 1/2" long. That will fit most women who wear a size 7-8 shoe.

The yarn I used was Froehlich Wolle - Special Blauband that I bought at Cloverhill Yarns in Catonsville, MD. In August. I was there on Friday, and they don't have any more of that color, although they do have several tweeds in other colors. Aylin's Woolgatherer in Falls Church also carries that yarn, but I haven't been there in a while, so I don't know what the current color choices are. Special Blauband is one of my favorite sock yarns."