El Camino de milagros

Big projects can be a real odyssey.

Well over a decade ago (and nearly coming up on two decades ago) I walked the pilgrimage route from the town of Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela in Northwest Spain. It was a hard journey, both physically and mentally. I was 22 years old, and a young 22 for all that I lived in Brooklyn and had spent my teenage years trying to look like a punk rock girl.  I walked over 200 (125 miles) kilometers in about 6 days with a 40 pound pack on my back, no reservations, and a high school's education of Spanish. I was alone.  I was tired most of the time and undernourished, with heels blistered beyond the capability of wearing boots (thank goodness I brought Tevas along).  Though not religious, I experienced the little miracles that the pilgrims talked about - suddenly finding yourself several miles from where you started but not really noticing the miles covered, the unexpected discovery of food in your pack when you could have sworn you had nothing left, or one last bunk unfilled for the night because everyone else was walking in pairs.

I learned a lot from that trip.  As cliche as it sounds, I learned that it does take lots of little steps to make a big journey.  And that perseverance is rewarded in unexpected and spectacular ways.  As I walked into the valley of Santiago de Compostela I could see the cathedral spires calling me to the city center.

And I can see the spires now, as I bring a big project home.

I would love to finish this by the end of October, but I am not going to rush it. I want to enjoy the last few steps.

Autumn inspiration

Trail Walk, October 2010

I hope to get out on the trail again soon.  It has been a busy busy month so far, and won't quiet down again until November, at the soonest.  I want to do everything, and I want to do nothing. I need to get so many things done before winter really begins, but I also want to be able to enjoy the sensation of the seasons changing and slow down time for just a little while.  

I am now trying to plan out my last classes for the year.  It is always hard to predict what knitters may want to learn or explore.  I have some fun ideas brewing, and I can't wait to try them out.

Somewhere between "Bucket" and "Cloche"

I have been meaning to try my hand at felted hats.  Felting a knit item almost seems akin to alchemy. You take a big floppy garment, add water, heat, and agitation, and after a while your fabric is solid and unyielding.

Pattern: Felted Bucket Hat by Bonne Marie Burns. (Chic Knits.)

Yarn: Stonehedge Fiber Mill's Shepherd's Wool Worsted in garnet. 1 skein.

Needles: US 10s, US 10.5s

Mods: none.  If I make another one I am going to leave off the turning row at the crown, and maybe play with the brim with short rows to force a more "cloche" shape into the finished hat.  I can honestly say that Shepherd's Wool fulls like a DREAM.  One moment I still had knitted fabric in my hand, the next, fulled perfectly!  And since Woven Art carries every color of worsted, I certainly had a fantastic selection.  Since I have a front-loading washer I decided to felt my hat by hand.

Here are some pointers for anyone else needing to do their felting and fulling by hand.

You will need:


 a clean sink or bucket
 a hot AND cold water source
 a few teaspoons of dishwashing liquid
 a wooden spoon, potato masher, or other sturdy heat-resistent implement
  a pair of latex gloves or rubber dishwashing gloves (optional, but good if your skin is sensitive to high heat.)

1. Fill your sink with the hottest water that will come out of the tap – you only need enough water so that your project will float free
2. Let your project soak for about 10 minutes
3. Pick up your project and squeeze the water out. Add a dribble of dishwashing soap, and knead into the project firmly so that the whole project is foamy.
4. Immerse in hot water (replenish to keep temperature high) and agitate with hands or wooden spoon for about 5 minutes.  Knead your project like bread dough.
5. Rinse in cold water, agitating, wringing, and kneading.

Repeat steps 3-5 several times, checking the size and shape of the project as needed.  When project has been felted to the correct size, make sure the soap is completely rinsed out.  Roll in towel and stand on it to remove excess moisture.

Blocking

For a true “bucket hat” look, accentuate the flat top by blocking your hat around a large can or bottle wrapped in a towel, with brim resting on a flat surface. For a more “cloche” style, carefully ball up dishtowels inside the crown of the hat, balance on top of a container, and don’t allow brim to touch the counter. Pull the brim to get a smooth edge. Pull and tug out any wrinkles that formed. Let dry.

For Emily

I want to post a picture of the sweater I have been working on, but it is a Christmas present, and even though my sister picked the pattern out of a book, she still hasn't seen HER SWEATER all knit up. So that, at least, can be a surprise.

So, I am just going to post a picture of this:

The ends.  About halfway through the sweater I remembered that Rowan Big Wool will felt, so I started spit-splicing. I still had ends to deal with, but not nearly as many as I could have.

This sweater (Tough, by Kim Hargreaves in her Shadow pattern book) has been a lovely companion in the evenings while watching really old episodes of Nova, or the Star Wars (IV-VI) marathon I had last weekend.  The cable was entertaining, the size 15 needles were impressive, and the shaping and finishing provided just enough brain-power to keep me focused.

I am seriously thinking about boxing it up and wrapping it now so that it stays clean and (relatively) cat-hair-free, but it is going to a cat-owned house, so a few stray cat hairs will not be unusual. Just the wrong color. I am just waiting to hear from my sister about her button preference.

So, an official picture of Tough will appear sometime at the end of December. I would love to get a picture of my sister actually wearing it.  But if you seriously can't wait you can see it on Ravelry, here. (NOT YOU, EMILY.)

The rise of the knitting

Fall is arriving, and I want to knit everything. I am knitting for Christmas presents, knitting for Single Skein September, knitting for the shop, knitting for classes, and when I have time, knitting for me.

Maybe I can sense the days are getting shorter. The weather is certainly getting cooler, and the squirrels are getting squirrelly-er. I have started looking at my soup-pot with eager expectation, and actually caught myself contemplating the attributes of different types of lentils at my local health food store. (What is it about bulk items that makes me so happy?)

Meanwhile, my pile of in-progress knitting is getting bigger, and my queue for future projects is getting longer.  I will soon be buried in my knitting, and I can't say I am dreading the day.

Do you see what I see?

A detail of 16th century decorative carving on a farm house at the Folkmuseum in Oslo.

If you are a knitter you will definitely recognize the design!

Scale

I am still stuck in the seed stitch mines, but took a break to knit a gauge swatch for my next large project.  I couldn't help but be amused at the comparison.

Sakasama Jackets vs. Tough