One down, one to go

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell
I present to you all…..the finished product! I didn’t travel to the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, WV just to take a picture of a sweater, but it was an excellent backdrop. Also, to the intended recipient of the larger sweater, I did wear it while I was in the jail because it was a bit chilly but as long as you’re not incredibly superstitious, no harm done. These photos were taken by an incredibly game gift shop clerk but she was quite busy so I ended up taking the back shot myself in the hotel room, hence the artistic styling. Did the trick. This one took a little longer than I intended because it turned out more like a prototype. My basic idea works as intended, although I had to shift some percentages around to make it work. I’m already at the waist shaping on the second one (brought plenty of yarn with me on vacation), and it’s smaller than the first so I’m not worried. I wish I had taken a picture of it before I blocked it because it makes such a difference in a design like this. Before, the front was shorter and more voluminous, but after giving it a good wet block (and I do mean wet, it was still quite damp when I wore it to the prison) everything settled down and it looks just as I imagined it. On to the next!

500 million yarn ends to weave, 500 million to weave, take one in, braid it all in, 499 million yarn ends to weave…

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell




Constantly baffles me that I can make a sweater out of four basic parts and four skeins of yarn and have enough yarn ends to weave until my fingers fall off. Decided to add another inch or so to the bottom edge because although I double-checked my measurements, it seems a tad short. The hem is garter stitch and it’s currently flipping up on me so I’ll pick up about 90 percent of the hem stitches and knit down, that should solve the issue. I have next week off work so I’ll have plenty of time to get this knocked out and get some decent progress done on sweater number two.

This may be the most epic photo of a crochet bottle bag I’ve ever taken. Finally took the advice of many over the years and made an Etsy shop. My main focus is going to be woven bags but in the mean-time I’m listing crochet bags. Next I reckon I need some business cards, huh? The shop is called ATEOMY. Guess where that came from. Struggling a bit to take good pictures of my work, which is incredibly important when selling online. I volunteer at an art gallery in the historical district of Fredericksburg and used the FCCA‘s garden for a backdrop. The gallery is in a building from 1785 and right on the Rappahannock river.

How to stand out in a world of kitsch…

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell




First things first, expect great news either this Friday or over the weekend regarding a certain epic sweater project. Ended up going with two-at-a-time knit on two needles to save time. Setting in the sleeves as we speak, and this time you’ll get photographic proof. Hard to update a blog when your hands are full of increasingly expansive sweaters.

I also am brainstorming on what kind of items I want to sell in an online shop. Probably going to go with Etsy but I know there are different options. If you’ve got any suggestions, let me know! Definitely going to start with woven bags, not sure what my price range is going to be, yet.

On a side note, the LED powered light (not my idea, was there when I moved in) in my kitchen has been flickering for weeks, now. After messing with it, hitting it with the broom, smudging it with sage (why not, couldn’t hurt), I ended up ordering a new one with actual proper light bulbs that can be changed came in today. Only had a half hour of daylight to work with and ended up standing in the dark, itchy from fiberglass insulation, and grumpy. I am bound and determined to do this myself, so it will be a weekend project so I’ll have more daylight to work with. I am woman, hear me roar! And curse. And itch. And be singularly stubborn.

The Knowledgeable Knitter

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell




Margaret Radcliffe is the best kind of picky. Prepare to be dazzled with the sheer amount of thought she’s put into the this book. The Knowledgeable Knitter is all about the details of knitting construction, from designing your own patterns, understanding one written by someone else (and how you can tell if it’s badly written before you start), to seaming up your finished work without a flaw.

A woman after my own heart, she wants to teach you not just the how, but the why of things. As the blurb on the back reads, “As Radcliffe demystifies the ‘why?’ behind every technique, you’ll gain the confidence to customize your projects.” I think that Radcliffe and Elizabeth Zimmerman have quite a lot in common. They both teach us to knit for ourselves and to fully understand what we’re trying to create so it comes out exactly how we meant it.

There are sections on swatching, getting gauge, different borders and edgings, and plenty of casting on-and-off methods. This is a seriously invaluable book if you want to further your knowledge of knitting and yarn. She writes in a technical, but warm manner, so you feel like she’s your own personal knitting tutor.

Her mind is staggering. Reading through this book, you can tell how much time and thought she’s put into the methods she describes. Want to know how to best seam edges? She’ll show you all the ways she knows. The best way to center a pattern stitch while increasing and decreasing? She’s got plenty of ideas. She sets out to help you to make your project the best it can be in every way. The only thing this book lacks is a section on the basics of knitting like knit and purl stitches, but to be honest I don’t think this book needs it. In order to use this book, it’s already assumed you are comfortable with the basics. The Knowledgeable Knitter will take you far beyond, and is a book that would fit in any fiber library.

Pick The Knowledgeable Knitter up on Amazon here…

Mary Thomas’s Knitting Book

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell




Mary Thomas’s Knitting Book, written in 1938 is a general knitting how-to book and reminds me of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitters Almanac in the tone and style.

Mary Thomas starts with a little bit on the history of yarn and knitting, from the days of ancient Egypt and naalbinding, although she doesn’t use that term because at that time not much was known about it. That technique is like a combination of knitting and crochet. A large needle or hook is used to draw the entire length of the working yarn through each stitch. Take a look at the Coptic naalbound socks from Egypt (link leads to Wikipedia).

Knitting was the provenance of men at first, with guilds, apprenticeships, and a desire to keep women out of the professional knitting scene. Yes, there is and was one. Women were still expected to knit at home, making their own clothing for themselves and their families but not make a living off it.

She then moves on to Shetland knitters and the tremendous amount of knitting they produced. She mentions a Shetlander woman being able to produce “200 odd stitches a minute!”. They would tuck one needle into a knitting pouch worn around their waists like a brace, so one hand could be free for everything else they were expected to accomplish in the course of their day.

Mary Thomas moves on through the decline of production knitting, as it was, with the advent of sock looms and knitting machines to produce the bulk of knitted clothing.

There is information on needles, point guards, more on the pouches, knitting spools, circular needles, etc. The next chapter is on yarn, how to start a center-pull ball, fiber types, ways to join yarn when you need to start a new ball, and tension. Keep in mind that this information is what was around in those times and hasn’t been updated so there isn’t anything on acrylic, polyester, etc.

There is a lot on the stitch techniques like the knit stitch, purling, increases and decreases, and casting on and binding off. The patterns are basic and the charts are outdated, but that’s the caveat you get when you’re using a book written 81 years ago. The book hasn’t been updated to include the standard symbols used in knitting but that’s a huge part of the charm.

There are a lot of photos and hand-drawn illustrations that give this book tons of character. While much has changed, the basics have stayed the same.

Without a doubt, it’s a worthy inclusion in any fiber library.

Pick it up on Amazon here…

Houston, we have a vest!

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell




You’ll have to picture it and trust me on my word because it is far too hot in my house to contemplate doing anything with wool other than knitting it, and the only reason I can stand to do that is because I’m under a smidge of a time crunch. I am not wearing a wool sweater long enough to get a good photo right now for love or money.

Also it’s a tad alarming on me because the intended recipient has a shorter torso than me so it’s cropped on me. So far, however, my idea for the fronts to be long enough to wrap around the back has worked, which is really good news. You know when something works in your head, mathematically (eventually), and on paper it’s nice, but to see it in real life is grand.

On to the sleeves! And I promise, no matter how toasty it is when I’m done, you’ll get some photographic proof.

Dream a little dream of gray…

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell




Nearly at the point on the wedding sweater where I’ll split the back and fronts and work back-and-forth on straight needles up to the shoulders where I’ll graft them together,

Then I intend to pick up the stitches for the sleeves at the shoulder and knit both at one time on a circular needle which will cut down on time.

After this, when my world no longer revolves around miles of gray wool (which isn’t to say I’m not honored by the request and I fully intend to write up the pattern when I’m done) I will start concentrating on weaving bags to sell in an Etsy store. Does anyone else have suggestions? I know there are other online storefronts to use but I don’t have much experience. Let me know if you have any advice?

Mason Dixon Knitting

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell

http://masondixonknitting.com


Can’t start on this book with out mentioning the blog that started it all. Mason Dixon Knitting is what you get when a woman from Tennessee and a woman from New York bond over a Rowan yarn chat forum, email back and forth, then eventually start their own blog. Over the years the blog has morphed into a wonderful source of patterns, information, and anecdotes. So, it only made sense that from them blog sprang books.

They’ve written at least two knitting books, but I haven’t picked up the second one yet although I did check it out at the library a few years ago. The books read like the blog, in a very conversational style that I always enjoy.

The sections in the book follow the projects discussed in the blog pretty closely, especially the earlier posts. The projects themselves range from the classic ballband dishcloth written with a spot of info about kitchen cotton yarn that I still reference frequently, to a baby kimono, linen hand towels, felted boxes, nightgowns, two log cabin blankets (a classic look and the aptly named Moderne Log Cabin blanket that explores the technique and twists it, scribble lace (alternating rows of very thin and very thick yarn), and more.

That reminds me! Unfortunately it’s not in this book but I first read about the quilters of Gee’s Bend from Mason Dixon and the last time I went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond I saw that they had acquired some of the quilts as artwork. Gee’s Bend at the VMFA. I think that’s pretty fabulous. What a way to recognize the creativity and ingenuity of quilting like that.

Check out Mason Dixon Knitting at Amazon here…

Folk Vests

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell




Okay, you all knew this was coming. I recently picked this one up after realizing how much I enjoy her other two books I’ve reviewed so far. I remember checking this one out of the library when I was in college and ended up knitting the Many Button Vest, which is a darling cabled vest meant to showcase a button collection. Of course, this was before I really got the hang of gauge and the finished product ended up being way too large for me, but good luck it fit my best friend. It was a smidge heart-breaking, though.

Looking through this book again (and having cast on the Stone Walls vest) I noticed that even though the Many Button Vest has a great design, there are so many other patterns that deserve attention just as much.

This book follows the same vein as the rest of her Folk series in that each pattern is based off the history or textile designs of different cultures of the world. They range from a stranded colorwork vest based of the Prince of Wales’ famous portrait to a vest with sweeping curves near the neckline that she based off Audrey Hepburn’s wardrobe in the movie Funny Face. Each one, as always, is entirely knittable. Like I’d expect anything else.

I cast on the Stone Walls vest the night Folk Vests arrived in a great burnt-orange color. Can’t wait to wear it when it gets cooler. Assuming it ever does. We’re stuck in a heat wave right now and even the thought of wool on my lap is more than I can handle right now.

Having said that, progress on the wedding sweater proceeds as scheduled. I’m up to the waist-shaping now which gives me hope.

Pick up Folk Vests on Amazon here…

Makin’ Bag 2: Electric Bagaloo

Posted on by Rebecca Tyrrell

Sorry not sorry. I know what I said last time about the wedding sweaters taking precedence but sometimes a girl needs a break from miles of gray wool. I got plenty of knitting done on the sweater today as it is so I don’t feel bad.

So, the purpose of this bag other than fun was to make something more suited to carrying around my water bottle, wallet, phone, keys etc., so I made it a bit more narrow that the last one. It’s about nine by twelve. I also hoped to finally use up that sock yarn that has been languishing in my stash for years but I still have some left over. It was a bit too expensive for me to feel okay about tossing it so it may be a main color component in bag number three.

I went with a more stripey-plaid look to experiment with my warp yarn choices and also to create a more even weave. This one will have a magnetic snap closure but like a ninny I accidentally grabbed the snaps that don’t have holes for sewing so I’ll be breaking out the heavy duty glue.

There are d-rings on the side and a crocheted band that will hopefully not stretch as much as the first bag I made. I made it shorter than I was looking for on purpose to help with the stretching, banging-against-my-knees-when-I-walk problem. I also made the lining larger than the bag itself so it can hold a little more without stretching out. I pleated the fabric on the sides to eat up the extra width but I’ll experiment more on that. Overall, quite happy,

What do you think?