Fashion: Yarn Style

Reflection, an Update of 70’s Style + Flaming Hydrogen!

 

My husband and I often walk around our Eichler neighborhood pointing out vintage color schemes in the paint of some of the homes. One day, we noticed a vintage van that completely reminded us of the 1970s. So when I finished my Reflection pullover by Kim Hargreaves, my husband insisted we include the van in the photograph. I'm wearing bell bottom jeans which I adore because they're high waisted and actually fit my shape. After years of low rise jeans, it seems the good jeans are back!

 

 

I made a few modifications to Kim Hargreaves’ pattern. I increased the amount of waist shaping, and decreased the exaggerated bell shape of the sleeves. It was very easy to modify the sleeve, as I cast on the number of stitches for the size small, but then shaped the sleeve the rest of the way up like a size large. I think I decreased an extra 8-10 stitches to bring the waist in more, as I wanted it to be a flattering, date-night sweater.  I really like the fit and will wear it a lot.

 

 

The pattern features a split hem, which provides a modern update to the bell-sleeve look, and has a fully finished neckline. That made the finishing particularly easy and enjoyable, which I appreciated, as the sleeves were a bit fussy to make.

 

 

I am not entirely in love with the Rowan merino alpaca dk yarn I used to knit this pattern. While it is soft and lovely to wear and creates a beautiful, smooth surface, I found the yarn very splitty. This meant that I had to really take my time knitting each stitch which made it a slow process. Since the pattern required oceans of stockinette, I found myself putting the sweater aside several times. It took me about nine months from start to finish to complete it but I am happy to wear it now.

 

In other news, two local yarn stores have allowed me to display my Enduring Hearts Sock samples in store, so if you wish to see them in person, you can view the socks up close knitted in Manos del Uruguay Alegria at Uncommon Threads Yarns in Los Altos, CA and at A Verb for Keeping Warm in Oakland, knitted in AVFKW Gather yarn. AVFKW recently added a gorgeous blue shade to their yarn line, using indigo, as well as some yellow-toned hues:

 

 

I am so grateful to those who have purchased my pattern, thank you from the bottom of my heart! As you know, I designed the sock pattern to support what I felt was a really worthwhile cause of trying to bring more California wool into the hands of knitters and the sustainable mill that spun the Gather yarn is also noteworthy. We all have our pet projects that are close to our hearts, so to those of you who purchased the sock pattern and/or Gather yarn, I am really touched! The Manos del Uruguay nonprofit is also doing amazing things with their yarn and I look forward to a later discussion of their efforts. As I mentioned earlier, I am not in any way affiliated with AVFKW and I just designed the sock to support their courageous business venture.

 

 

 

Do you remember my student, E, who wrote the western about a Banana bandit armed with a smaller banana? Last week his science class had to give a presentation on an element with an attention-grabbing intro. So E dressed up in a transparent cube-shaped top (hydrogen is colorless) and acted out setting himself on fire, waving red handkerchiefs around his face, and then making exploding sounds (hydrogen is volatile) while throwing himself onto the floor. After this, he launched into a scientific analysis of hydrogen. What I would have given to be a fly on the wall in that classroom!

 

Stitches West is currently going on so expect some fun haul photos and a recap soon!

 

Enduring Hearts Pattern is Live!

 

I released my Enduring Hearts sock pattern on Thursday, hoping this would give anyone who wanted heart-themed socks for Valentine’s Day some time to make them. It was a huge learning experience and I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of my test knitters!

 

 

The sock features a panel of hearts, created with a simple knit and purl pattern. The hearts are framed by twisted stitch “cables” knitted without a cable needle as I enjoy knitting socks on the go and don't want to fuss with a needle when I grab a quick moment to knit. The purpose of this pattern was to direct my love to the special yarn, Gather by A Verb for Keeping Warm. As I mentioned in my last post, Gather is the product of local California wool and Arizona alpaca, milled sustainably in Arizona, scoured with rain water and available in natural tones as well as hand-dyed colorways.

 

 

The above sample was knitted by me in the Fig colorway of Gather, which is sourced from the madder plant. A Verb for Keeping Warm has dyed up plenty of Fig in time for the pattern release. Also, my test-knitter FrenchieCanuk made a lovely sample in the Smoke colorway, which is one of the undyed colors of the yarn and would be a good choice if you knit the socks for a man:

 

 

When you knit with this grey, you know it directly reflects the coat colors of the sheep in Lani’s Bare Ranch flock, combined with the colors of the Alpacas herded by Mystic Pines. It is a remarkably pretty grey color for a natural yarn shade. I am currently also knitting a sample in the Lighthouse colorway of Gather, as I think it will show off the pattern stitches very well:

 

 

Perhaps I would never have written a knitting pattern if I didn’t like the Gather yarn so much. But then I did, and since I felt the pattern had merit, I wanted to make it accessible to people so I decided to bring in the Manos del Uruguay sock yarn Alegria. I know that everyone does not have my interest in California fiber and might want to knit the Enduring Hearts socks with something easily purchased from their LYS or with yarn from stash. Here is a sample in the Celery colorway of Alegria, knitted by my test knitter, Valbou: 

 

 

Manos del Uruguay is a remarkable, woman-owned cooperative that I will write more about later. But for those of us who have oodles of sock yarn in our stashes, any fingering weight fiber that gets 30sts to 4”/10cm on a US size #1.5 needle (2.5mm) will work for this pattern. I have not gotten bored of knitting this yet, because the twisted stitches and heart motif make it kind of entertaining to go on to the next round.

 

test knit by Valbou

 

Next step: I must knit a pair for my husband in time for Valentine’s Day! Wish me luck!

Creativity, Bananas, and My Upcoming Knitting Design!

 

Somehow I have finally gotten up the courage to cease designing knits in secret. I will be publishing my first pattern on Ravelry around Valentine’s Day and it will be a vintage-inspired pair of socks. I would probably never have found the gumption to go public with my creative activities if it had not been for my students. They come up with the wackiest ideas and they are so uncensored and joyful in their inventions that I’ve finally decided to give up my shyness and share more with others.

 

 

Take my twelve-year-old student, E, for example. We often study word structure and spelling/sound patterns to help him with his dyslexia. To entertain himself though his sentence writing, he kept adding in a postscript about people dying because of bananas. The more he did this, the more he giggled, and since he had completed all his grammar studies and had 10 minutes left over, I gave him the free writing prompt, “A dangerous masked banana strode into the post office.” To my astonishment, this is what E wrote: 

“A dangerous masked banana strode into the post office. He pulled out a smaller banana and held it up to the officer.

"Tell me where the nearest local supermarket is!"

""It's just up the street," said the officer.

"Thanks," said the banana and pulled the trigger. The postman died because the acid from the gun had melted him. The banana holstered his weapon and strolled down the street….”

Where did E get the idea of the banana bandit carrying a smaller banana to use as a weapon? I never know what my students will think up next!

 

 Then there is Kristine Vejar, founder of A Verb for Keeping Warm, who has inspired me with her boldness. She saw how little California wool was being used and she just went out on a limb and started making California yarn with few resources or supports. I think that must have taken an enormous amount of courage.  Maybe some of that has rubbed off on me as I contemplated designing with one of the beautiful yarns she now sells.

 

The above yarn is called Gather, a light sport-weight Rambouillet (75%) and Alpaca (25%) blend, which is available both in the natural colors of the animals, ranging in some lovely naturals, browns and greys, as well as hand-dyed colorways using natural plants, such as Madder. Above you see Red Pear, and below is the Fleur colorway. That is the one I have chosen for my pattern:

 

 

Valentine’s day is coming up and I feel this color is just perfect for an old-timey, heartfelt message of love. So I’m designing some socks which I hope to make available on Ravelry on Valentine’s Day or before, depending on when the test knitting/tech editing is complete. It is funny how when you feel deeply enough it helps you push past your own barriers, and my heart just hurt for all that California wool being produced and then left to rot in barns all over our state. Rambouillet is very similar to Merino, and it is lovely and soft to the touch. The bit of alpaca in the yarn makes it even more enjoyable to knit with.

 

 

Gather is 75% California Rambouillet, produced at Bare Ranch, and 25% Arizona Alpaca, milled by the same family that raised the alpacas. You can find out all about the yarn if you are interested, as A Verb for Keeping Warm has just released two podcasts about Gather:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reverberate/id1439713745?mt=2

 

The January 7^th podcast, “Breaking out of the Wool” features an interview with Lani, who raises sheep in California, and has taken the bold step of selling her wool to local yarn and fabric producers instead of shipping it to the commodity market in Roswell, NM where it will then be sent to China. It was really fun hearing all about Lani’s farm operation, and how she partnered with North Face clothing company to create the Cali Wool beanie and scarf.

https://www.thenorthface.com/featured/cali-wool-collection.html

The January 28^th Reverberate podcast, “Making a Wool Alpaca Yarn” features an interview with an owner of Mystic Pine’s Mill in Arizona. The mill scours wool entirely with rain water! Hearing the sustainable nature of the mill and their step by step process in creating the yarn was totally fascinating!

 

https://www.mysticpinesfiber.com/

 

I should probably mention here that I am not employed or paid in any way by A Verb for Keeping Warm or any other California Wool producer. I am simply a knitter who lives in California and is pained by how much of our local wool is going to waste. After listening to the two Reverberate podcasts, I was profoundly touched by the number of hands and hours involved in the production of a local yarn like Gather. I feel that by designing the first sock pattern for Gather I am adding to that total and making it possible for more people to become involved in supporting our local economy and environment. I will keep you all posted about the pattern release date. One of my test knitters has finished the first sock and I’m guessing at least three pairs will be finished by the end of this week! In the meantime, Happy Knitting Everyone!!!!!