Molecular Knitting

Anniversary Junket

Brenda — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:04:17 +0000

M and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on May 8. We drove to a nice hotel in Santa Rosa for the night and dinner. The next day, since Santa Rosa is adjacent to the Sonoma Valley and the Russian River area, we went to a couple of wineries. I didn’t take a lot of photos, but here are a few.

M enjoying our balcony.

M does not like extra, non-sleeping pillows on the bed. Fortunately, while we were at dinner, the maid turned down the covers, and stacked all these pillows in the corner. M would have thrown them off the bed in all directions: “They’re throw pillows.”

Dinner was very nice. You can’t see my chocolate truffle cake with salted caramel gelato because my water glass is in the way, but it was really good. M had the gelato trifecta: salted caramel, chocolate and vanilla.

There were lots of flowers at the hotel.

We saw some vineyards.
The winery had a fancy garden.

And another winery, Artesa, has quite the fountains. It is one of our favorite wineries.

It was a short trip, but we had a good time, and it was fun to take time off during the work week.

A Little Startitis

Brenda — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:55:23 +0000

Having finished the first Cinco de Mayo sock (note grafted toe!), which was all stockinette, and having started the second Winesap BFL sock, which is 3×1 rib, I was feeling the need for a little more stitch pattern variety. I also want to get some of my multicolored sock yarns knit up. I’ve decided I don’t have to be real fancy and have a new pattern for each sock pair, so I went with two favorites, Monkey and Pablo Deep:

That’s a Monkey cuff, but a stockinette foot, which I decided to do when I saw how nice the Purple Iris (Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock) looked in stockinette. Plus that allowed me to rapidly decrease 8 stitches in the last round of the leg going from 64 to 56, which seems to have worked well (I decreased 2X each repeat in the center, leaning toward each other). Now that the gusset decreases are done, I’m bored with the stockinette, even though it looks pretty, and even though I can knit stockinette and read at the same time.

So, I started another sock in the Pablo Deep pattern.

The yarn is Pagewood Farms St. Elias, a BFL/nylon (80/20) blend, in Crayon. I had seen Crayon in a different base yarn on Ravelry, and it looked much brighter than the BFL I got. At first I was disappointed, but the other day it seemed perfect for another pair of Pablo Deep socks, and I am pleased with how it is knitting up. BFL is my favorite yarn now for socks. Perhaps I just needed to knit a sock in neon colors for the muted palette of Crayon to appeal to me.

I like both of these patterns for multicolored yarns, and I am thinking of knitting a pair of socks that is one of each pattern, as a bit of a scientific experiment to compare the two. Time to rummage in the sock yarn drawer!

The other day, we had dinner at our friend Briana’s house. She has a lovely garden, but she also has a lot on her plate right now, so her roses were in serious need of some deadheading. I offered to deadhead for her (she was very happy about that), and I took some snapshots between snipping. I thought this pink rose was quite lovely.

A perfect wrap for a cool spring morning

Brenda — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:59:35 +0000

We have been having a cool spring (although we should be in the low 80s this coming weekend), and this Guernsey Wrap designed by Jared Flood has been a nice change from a jacket. I like how it looks with the plumberry cardigan my parents gave me for Christmas.

M took these photos of me at the UC Davis arboretum on Easter morning. I have no idea what any of the flowering shrubs and trees are, but they sure were pretty.

My wrap even matches these flowers! I knit this out of Quince and Co. Lark yarn in Lupine. I love this yarn. The stitch definition is fantastic, and the yarn has a good bit of bounce and spring. It is also not in the least bit scratchy. Just wonderful!

The pattern was fun to knit and very well written, although it was clear that Mr. Flood has much younger eyes. The chart row numbers were very small in a fine, sans-serif font. Artistically very lovely, but I had to write bigger numbers at the changes in pattern stitch. The pattern also took pretty much all the yarn it said it would, but that was fine with me. Due to the nature of the pattern stitches, there really isn’t an easy way to lengthen (I doubt shortening would be a good idea) the pattern, although with a little thinking, motifs could be repeated in a symmetrical order. All in all I am very pleased with how this turned out.

To close, I want to show you the dessert I made for our Easter dinner. Pineapples were on sale, so I made some pineapple sorbet and served it with strawberries and some mocha shortbread I baked. I even garnished the plates with a sprig of mint! If only I had made some contrastingly colored sauce that I had drizzled all around, then we could call the plating “fancy-schmancy;” instead I think we just have to go with fancy. M liked this!

Stripes and Daisies

Brenda — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 21:26:55 +0000

While looking for lightweight knitting projects to humor my bad elbow, I found a sock cuff started on wooden dpns, so I thought I would work on those. The colorway is Cinco de Mayo in Panda Sock from Seacoast Yarns. Maybe I can have the pair done by the holiday.

It’s not self-striping per se, but it’s turning out pretty stripey! These are the craziest colored socks I’ve knit; they really are highlighter bright, but they are also very cheerful. I’m trying the gusset decreases on the bottom of the foot, a trick that I learned about from Cristi Brockway. She has a sock pattern Tortuga Twist that uses these gusset decreases. She’s been using them a lot, so I just remembered how she had blogged about it, although I really like the pattern and plan to get it. She claims they make a nice cup shape to fit the heel.

I also found some ink/navy yarn I had bought years ago when yarn shopping with a friend who thought I should knit lace gloves. Well, I really didn’t want to do that, but we were in a small yarn shop, and I felt the pressure to buy. The shop went out of business years ago, so this has been in stash for ages, and the friend dropped me when I wouldn’t read The Shack for her book group. Oh, well. I also had 2/3 of a skein this semi-solid burgundy, and I thought they would go together well in a chevron scarf. Plus it gave me a project for my cute knitting-sheep project bag.

I am using the simple pattern I made up from a chevron stitch pattern I found on the interwebs. That’s where the first 1/3 of the burgundy skein went. It really looks different when used with Woodland multi-color.

And what Easter Weekend post would be complete without some flowers? My three gerbera daisy plants survived our “winter” and two are blooming. They put up the flowers on four inch stems, like they weren’t real sure this was a good idea with our unseasonably cool spring, but the flowers are gorgeous.

Cool Things

Brenda — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:23:54 +0000

My elbow is healing slowly. I was getting so bored that I’ve been trying a little knitting. A few rows at a time doesn’t seem to make matters worse. So over a week, I’ve managed four inches of a new Tudor Grace scarf:

The yarn is Madelinetosh Sock in Tart. This photo doesn’t do justice to the reds. If you are a lover of red, I suggest looking for some Tart. I’ve knit Anne Hanson’s Tudor Grace scarf before, but I wanted one a little longer, and I wanted to wear this red near my face.

Since, I don’t have much knitting to show (although I do have a couple FOs that need a photoshoot), I thought I’d share a couple of things that I really like using:

At my parents’ Christmas open house, my mom’s friend, Meg, tipped me off about the Working Hands cream from O’Keefe’s. A lot of hand lotions irritate my skin, but Meg assured me this one was different. The formulation attracts water from the air to rehydrate the skin without smothering the skin in any mineral oil or petrolatum, both of which irritate me. It really works well. You use it before bed and it leaves the skin a tiny bit tacky–it doesn’t stop me from reading a book or using my iPad–but by morning your skin is as soft and smooth as a baby’s bottom. I gave some to my mom, and she loves it too. She uses it on her feet also.
The book darts are so handy for marking places in cookbooks and knitting books and the like, where finding a place quickly is good. They are so thin that one would have to use a lot of them to distort the spine, and they are much more subtle than a post-it. I keep the sock toe grafting instructions in Sally Melville’s The Purl Stitch marked, as I can never remember how to get the grafting started.

M and I only own one vehicle, a 2003 Ford Ranger. If we ever have to get a second vehicle, or when we have to replace our Ranger, I would like to get something with this sort of duochrome finish that looks like a soap bubble or oil slick:

When I showed this photo to M, which really doesn’t do the finish justice, he said, “Hmmmmm…” I’m taking that as an enthusiastic yes!

Bad Elbow = Reading – Knitting + Crows + Cocktails

Brenda — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:07:29 +0000

The little knit top I was knitting in Classic Silk did a number on my elbow, and tendonitis has flared. I haven’t knit in over 1o days, and that is very sad. I think my elbow is slowly improving. I can’t stop using it entirely, as then I couldn’t work, brush my teeth or drink a cocktail (actually glasses of water are much heavier than cocktails).

I think once it heals up some, I shall try to knit the second sock of this pair, which I have knit on wooden needles (Harmony dpns from Knitpicks). The wood slows me down a bit compared to my nickel-plated favorites, and my grip must loosen, or I would break them. In any event, I love this sock with its stripyness and its BFL wool (which I can’t find the ball band for at this time, but I will by the time I finish).

I have been doing a lot of reading (very easy on the elbow), and I owe thanks to the people who recommended I read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy and John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War, when I requested good space opera titles to read. If you are a reader and are on Goodreads, look me up there! I know I am already friends on Goodreads with several of you, and I have gotten very good suggestions from your reading. Old Man’s War is great fun; I highly recommend it if you like science fiction (or just like a great adventure story). I still need to write my review for Goodreads, but I am giving it 5 stars.

At this time of year, parking in the tree-shaded parking lots at work is a hazard if you leave after sunset. The crows fly into town every evening to roost in the trees. It’s quite a site (and noisy!). I took this photo parked in the middle of a lane, and I hoped nothing flying over my head felt the need to relieve itself. They start at the top and work their way down (pays to be the early bird), so those trees are just starting to be filled.

Also at this time of year, the narcissus are in bloom!

Finally, M and I continue to try new cocktails. The Diabolo was quite tasty (rum, Cointreau, dry vermouth and Angostura bitters).

Block and Swatch Weekend

Brenda — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:22:55 +0000

I have blocked my Guernsey Wrap, which was to come out at 17 x 74 inches. I got 17 x 73.5. Blocking wires are a wonderful thing.

I also blocked my Celtic Cable Neckwarmer, which has an “error” in the middle repeat (repeated some rows), but I’ve decided that is fine. I found the error just before doing the ribbing at the end with the buttonholes; no way was I ripping back.

I also swatched for 2 sweater projects, and I washed the swatches and left them to dry to see how washing affected the gauge.

On top is Blue Moon Fiber Arts BFL Sport in Star Sapphire, and on the bottom is Classic Elite Classic Silk in navy.
The classic silk gave me correct gauge after washing, so I went ahead and cast on (the color is truer in the swatch).

I think I may have entered a blue period.

FO: Notre Dame de Grace on a Sunny Day

Brenda — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:23:08 +0000

I’ve had my Notre Dame de Grace pullover done for months. It was a great sweater to take to the Midwest over the holidays; I could wear it without a jacket when driving between north-east Wisconsin and southern Illinois. However, I never seemed to get it photographed. So this Sunday, on a bright sunny morning, M and I headed out for coffee and errands, and I wore the sweater so we could get it recorded for posterity. I tried so hard not to squint, but clearly my light grey eyes decided on protecting themselves rather than on looking pretty.

I usually wear it this way with the collar up (keeps my neck warm), although below you can see it below with the collar down. I couldn’t find a decorative button I liked. A mediocre plastic one was priced at $8.50 at Joanne’s, so my Notre Dame de Grace remains button free.

Because the pattern was written for alpaca, I had to make a fiber sub, and I went with Cascade Ecological wool. I think this yarn came from a lovely hued silver-grey sheep, and I enjoyed working with this yarn very much. It is also holding up well with wear.

This sweater is meant to have positive ease for a casual fit, and so I made it wider at the bottom than in the bust to accommodate my bottom-heavy shape, and that was the least successful aspect of it. It should have zero ease at the hip-line and about 2 inches positive ease in the bust. However, it actually swings out a bit at the hip, and is correct at the bust.

This leaves me a bit perplexed as to what to do on my next sweater. Anybody have any experience with this sort of thing, and have some advice? I’ve measured myself repeatedly, and I always get the same numbers. And I can adjust sleeves to the right length, so why not horizontally? BTW, a quick read of Ravelry posts about this sweater indicates that almost everyone had to shorten the sleeves. I had to make them 3 inches shorter than called for.

Anyway, I am otherwise very pleased with how this turned out, and I enjoyed knitting it quite a bit. I’d definitely use this yarn again. Maybe I can find some from a beautiful charcoal grey sheep?

I have to share this photo I took one morning enroute to our local greengrocer. Hot air ballooning through the clouds.

Updates with a FO

Brenda — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:39:23 +0000

I don’t exactly remember when I finished these socks which I call Corn on the Cob. I think it was around Thanksgiving time, but I love how they turned out.

Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah (80% merino/10% cashmere/10% nylon) in dandelion
Pattern: Pablo Deep by Knitting Pixie–it’s free!
Mods: I split the repeats at the heel flap differently than the pattern; instead of 2 repeats for the instep I did 1/2 + 1 + 1/2. I also did an eye of partridge heel flap.

The dandelion looked great in all the stitch patterns, and the cashmere made it so wonderfully soft.

I like patterns where the cuff pattern feeds well into the leg pattern, and Pablo Deep does this really well.

It’s hard to take pictures of one’s own feet! But the socks fit really well.

In WIP news, the Guernsey Wrap is 5/6 done! Here it is on the couch-o-meter. Soon a FO!

I did get a little bored knitting this, so I took a little break to start a Celtic Cabled Neckwarmer by Lindsay Henricks (another free pattern) in some Malabrigo twist in grapes.

I had to knit some cables! This is a fun and easy cable project. And purple cables are the best.

The knitting is helping to keep me sane, as is, somewhat surprisingly, the codeyear course in Javascript from Code Academy. Finding two professional jobs in the same location is a bit of a trick, but M is confident we can do it. I keep reminding myself that he is almost always right, and this is one time when I won’t find that annoying!

Forward into 2012

Brenda — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:31:49 +0000

As usual, M and I spent two weeks over the holidays in the Midwest visiting family. It was fun but exhausting. I have to show you my parents’ Christmas tree. I took this photo with the camera on the floor looking up. The tree was over 15 feet tall.

I had some nice presents under that tree on Christmas morning including enough of this lovely Quince and Co. Osprey yarn in Cypress to knit Leaflet by Cecily Glowik MacDonald from Knitty First Fall 2011. I love the dark blue-green of the yarn, and I may start this vest soon.

You may remember my disappointment with the Rose Quartz colorway in the STR lightweight, a.k.a. the lunchmeat-colored yarn. Well, Kristy of Eleven Stitches, who has a delightful blog, mentioned that she had recently purchased some STR in PeePee Weepkins, and she thought it was a lovely pink. M decided I should have it, and he also bought me a skein of Jabberwocky, which due to my keeping a list of STR colors I like on my Evernote, he knew I would also like. PeePee Weepkins, is NOT a lunchmeat pink, and I am looking forward to knitting with it.

Even though, I had NO TIME to knit even ONE stitch over the holidays, I have since picked up my string and sticks and have made some progress on the Guernsey Wrap by Jared Flood, which I am knitting in Quince and Co. Lark in Lupine. I didn’t think I would have enough yarn, even though I have 100 yd more than the pattern called for, and I have gauge, but I needn’t have worried; I have enough.

And if that doesn’t keep me busy enough, I signed up to learn how to code in Java during Code Year at Codeacademy. It’s free, and I should be able to code in Java by the end of the year. We’ll see how it goes. I like the mental challenge, and with a PhD in biochemistry, I think I should be able to learn how to do this. The logic is different, but the coding is logical. I did go out and buy a book about Java, but I don’t know how important that will be (it wasn’t suggested by the course).

If I start writing blog posts with lots of semi-colons and curly brackets, you’ll know the coding drove me off the deep end!

I hope your New Year is off to a great start!