Friday, December 29, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tagged!
Auntie Ann tagged me a while back, to my astonishment and delight. Playing along, here are:
A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Network Technician
2. Programmer Analyst of Mainframes
3. Dev-Test Engineer of Network Routers
4. C/C++ instructor
B) Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. The march of the penguins
2. One true thing
3. Austin Powers Goldmember
4. There's Something About Mary
C) Four places I have lived:
1. Los Angeles, California
2. Karnataka, India
3. Jersey City, New Jersey
4. Santa Rosa, California
D) Four TV shows I love to watch (all for their creativity):
1. Debbie Travis' Facelift
2. Simply Quilts
3. Mad Money
4. Surprise By Design
E) I have been on vacation:
1. Ooty, India
2. Kumarakom, India
3. Coorg, India
4. New Delhi, India
F) Websites visited daily (ah! frequently enough):
1. Google personal page with RSS feeds and widgets
2. Lightreading
3. eweek
4. local Convention Center event calendars
G) Four of my favorite foods (I can list 4000!):
1. Sweet corn chicken soup - served in Indo-Chinese style
2. Wolfgang Puck's grilled vegetable sandwich/panini
3. Shrimp shumai
4. Cheesecake
H) Four places I would rather be right now (sighhh!):
1. Catching the newest flick in the movie halls with DH
2. Poker night with friends
3. With nieces, crafting
4. Among my yarn, my laptop and knitterly books, planning the next project
I) Four people I’m tagging with this questionnaire:
1. mrsfife
2. [All Other Bloggers reading this.. ]
3. [please plzzzz drop me a comment.. ]
4. [and I'd LOVE to tag you!!]
A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Network Technician
2. Programmer Analyst of Mainframes
3. Dev-Test Engineer of Network Routers
4. C/C++ instructor
B) Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. The march of the penguins
2. One true thing
3. Austin Powers Goldmember
4. There's Something About Mary
C) Four places I have lived:
1. Los Angeles, California
2. Karnataka, India
3. Jersey City, New Jersey
4. Santa Rosa, California
D) Four TV shows I love to watch (all for their creativity):
1. Debbie Travis' Facelift
2. Simply Quilts
3. Mad Money
4. Surprise By Design
E) I have been on vacation:
1. Ooty, India
2. Kumarakom, India
3. Coorg, India
4. New Delhi, India
F) Websites visited daily (ah! frequently enough):
1. Google personal page with RSS feeds and widgets
2. Lightreading
3. eweek
4. local Convention Center event calendars
G) Four of my favorite foods (I can list 4000!):
1. Sweet corn chicken soup - served in Indo-Chinese style
2. Wolfgang Puck's grilled vegetable sandwich/panini
3. Shrimp shumai
4. Cheesecake
H) Four places I would rather be right now (sighhh!):
1. Catching the newest flick in the movie halls with DH
2. Poker night with friends
3. With nieces, crafting
4. Among my yarn, my laptop and knitterly books, planning the next project
I) Four people I’m tagging with this questionnaire:
1. mrsfife
2. [All Other Bloggers reading this.. ]
3. [please plzzzz drop me a comment.. ]
4. [and I'd LOVE to tag you!!]
Friday, December 15, 2006
Goodies off the assembly line (with instructions)
OkaY! Can you believe it, I actually checked off quite a few trinkets off my list and here they are (proudly) on display. Clearing up my living room 'studio', I was suddenly struck by how much sq footage I really have!! :)
Here you'll find:
* a tinsel wire pompom - simple enough
* a knit curly whirly - read my previous post for a howto. Notice the jingle bell. This stretches out the CW nicely when hung, having it spin at the slightest breeze.
* a stocking as promised - some red and brown felt makes the base and curling ribbon gives it the added zing. For the knit piece, I used a stitch technique I found in the pattern for this adorable Woolie Ewe which in itself will make a lovely ornament. I knit a rectangle using the 'loop stitch' to give it the furry woolly look and the dimension. Tell me I'm brilliant!! ;)
* Check out the sweaters. Pattern here. To add to the look, I shaped a tinsel wire into a hanger each.
I am might proud of how these party shoes turned out. The basic pair of shoes is crafted using these origami instructions. I glued glitter, stuck them onto a felt cutout reinforced with card paper and shaped the red tinsel wire into an arch.
Here are some mirror trinkets and tinsel spirals. The wire is sandwiched between 2 mirrors using glue. The jingle bell gives each a finished look. To create those spirals, I wound the wire around cylindrical objects, slipped them out and stretched carefully just a wee bit.
How about some glittery spheres? This is just styrofoam to which glitter is glued. I diluted white glue with some water and brushed it on using a sponge brush.
To prep the styrofoam ball with string and bells, this is how I went about it: Tie a bell at the very middle of a length of string using knots. Once done, fold the string over and stick the open ends together to a toothpick. This you then use to pierce the sphere through until the toothpick emerges from the diametrically opposite point. I then knotted a couple of bells more before I tied the string ends to create a loop using which the ball can be hung.
These are 8 different ideas. I've been browsing for ideas and here are some more that can be employed:
Felted apple
Jingle Bell
Miniature Socks
Fair Isle Christmas Ball
Two Peas In a Pod
Happy Holidays!
Here you'll find:
* a tinsel wire pompom - simple enough
* a knit curly whirly - read my previous post for a howto. Notice the jingle bell. This stretches out the CW nicely when hung, having it spin at the slightest breeze.
* a stocking as promised - some red and brown felt makes the base and curling ribbon gives it the added zing. For the knit piece, I used a stitch technique I found in the pattern for this adorable Woolie Ewe which in itself will make a lovely ornament. I knit a rectangle using the 'loop stitch' to give it the furry woolly look and the dimension. Tell me I'm brilliant!! ;)
* Check out the sweaters. Pattern here. To add to the look, I shaped a tinsel wire into a hanger each.
I am might proud of how these party shoes turned out. The basic pair of shoes is crafted using these origami instructions. I glued glitter, stuck them onto a felt cutout reinforced with card paper and shaped the red tinsel wire into an arch.
Here are some mirror trinkets and tinsel spirals. The wire is sandwiched between 2 mirrors using glue. The jingle bell gives each a finished look. To create those spirals, I wound the wire around cylindrical objects, slipped them out and stretched carefully just a wee bit.
How about some glittery spheres? This is just styrofoam to which glitter is glued. I diluted white glue with some water and brushed it on using a sponge brush.
To prep the styrofoam ball with string and bells, this is how I went about it: Tie a bell at the very middle of a length of string using knots. Once done, fold the string over and stick the open ends together to a toothpick. This you then use to pierce the sphere through until the toothpick emerges from the diametrically opposite point. I then knotted a couple of bells more before I tied the string ends to create a loop using which the ball can be hung.
These are 8 different ideas. I've been browsing for ideas and here are some more that can be employed:
Felted apple
Jingle Bell
Miniature Socks
Fair Isle Christmas Ball
Two Peas In a Pod
Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Ornament Factory
No, I didn't say it's gonna look pretty!! :) You'll find paper, felt, styrofoam, tinsel wire, balloons, mirrors, glue (but ofcourse!), string, scissors, jingle bells, multi-hued glitter and.. hold your breath... knitting!! :)
The mirror ornaments were the simplest to put together, the knit ones very unique and the origami, the most brilliant. (I'm modest, aren't I? Haha) Do not want to reveal too much as they are meant as a surprise for my nieces but once they're gifted, I do intend to put up all the information, I promise!
The knit ones, I can talk about - I have creative license coz this is a knit blog after all! So well, I made teeny sweaters and I made curly whirlies. Both look so very cute. I wish I had some knitting beads to include some sparkle. Planning on a pair of miniature socks as well.
The sweater patterns are available on the web. For the curly whirlies, I CO 25 stitches, knit into front, back and front again of each stitch for the next row. BO. That's it. You'll have the cutest little whirly curly ready for the tree.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Ornaments frenzy
Is it just me or are many out there getting caught up in making ornaments with an urgency? :) I visited the LCS recently and stocked up my 'craft studio' with glitter and glue. (Never mind that the studio I'm so proud of is my living room - DH is putting up with it with angelic patience!!)
The irony is that after spending $$ on crafting goods, I've gone right ahead, pulled out my scrap yarn and started knitting up little thingies that can serve to adorn any tree. Like small curly whirlies with shiny beads on the edge and a jingle bell at the very end of it. And who can resist the miniature sweater? Also, a small stocking of red felt trimmed with a small piece of knitted white (for the fur).
Do you have more ideas for making knitterly ornaments?
The irony is that after spending $$ on crafting goods, I've gone right ahead, pulled out my scrap yarn and started knitting up little thingies that can serve to adorn any tree. Like small curly whirlies with shiny beads on the edge and a jingle bell at the very end of it. And who can resist the miniature sweater? Also, a small stocking of red felt trimmed with a small piece of knitted white (for the fur).
Do you have more ideas for making knitterly ornaments?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
A peek into my other interests
One of these three is me:
If I've been absent from blogging - which I have - now you know why. It took relentless practice to present this dance - a folk dance from the Eastern parts of India.
My teacher - artiste Dipanwita Sengupta - gifted me this lovely kit for my performance:
On the yarnsy end of things, Burst - my overly colourful tank - is still underway but making progress of a row a day on an average! I also designed and sewed a cover for my sewing machine and an apron for the man in the kitchen.
If I've been absent from blogging - which I have - now you know why. It took relentless practice to present this dance - a folk dance from the Eastern parts of India.
My teacher - artiste Dipanwita Sengupta - gifted me this lovely kit for my performance:
On the yarnsy end of things, Burst - my overly colourful tank - is still underway but making progress of a row a day on an average! I also designed and sewed a cover for my sewing machine and an apron for the man in the kitchen.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Burst
Burst is what I'm calling this project. It's an interesting pattern from 'Just One More Row' designed in geometric shape. What you see in the picture is the front neck-shoulder portion completed. The matching piece for the back is under construction.
The way this pattern is written makes it as easy to size for an infant, as for any-size adult. That's what grabbed me. Besides the geometry in it, ie.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Knit (r)elated
Elated - that's how I felt when I saw my friend's completed projects. She, who was proficient with crochet, had never learnt to knit. And now, she has a blanket, 2 teeny sweaters and matching baby caps to her credit. Another friend has now re-caught the knitting bug and has picked up the needles again!
I'm now reading up on how to instruct young children. Anout turned 5 recently and I'm most excited about being able to introduce the craft to her. :)
You know, knitting quite changed my life. It set about a chain of events - first, my shoulders turned sore. The pain ofcourse was a combination of strain of knitting and that which the shoulder bore with daylong 'keyboard-tapping-and-mousing'. This was followed by chiro treatment, which worked very well but did not stop the problem from recurring every so often. This was about the time when I was 'expanding' my knitting horizons, visiting knitting conventions, social knitting groups, wildly studying the online material and generally going berserk with the possibilities of the craft.
To support the chiro's cause, I started working out at the gym 5 times a week. And surprisingly, the shoulder troubles tamed. And how! That just meant that, if I wanted to knit, I had to exercise as well. Really, I didn't mind that. In the end, I was physically more fit and mentally stimulated by the workouts. Who wouldn't love that?
It's funny how things fall into place. Right at this time, the company I work at gifted me an iPod - it was celebration time and every employee got one. A 30GB video iPod at that. I call it 'Gollum'. Installing iTunes opened a new avenue, that of podcasts. Gollum just allowed me to be tuned in to podcasts while I was on the treadmill or the elliptical or pumping (light) weights.
What started as a revisiting of a craft I'd learnt as an eager 12 yr old has taken a life of its own. I'm loving every moment of it! I have about 5 readers to this blog and you know, the number did not decrease while I was on a break; a break that stretched a bit much, I admit! Thanks for sticking around!! :)
I'm now reading up on how to instruct young children. Anout turned 5 recently and I'm most excited about being able to introduce the craft to her. :)
You know, knitting quite changed my life. It set about a chain of events - first, my shoulders turned sore. The pain ofcourse was a combination of strain of knitting and that which the shoulder bore with daylong 'keyboard-tapping-and-mousing'. This was followed by chiro treatment, which worked very well but did not stop the problem from recurring every so often. This was about the time when I was 'expanding' my knitting horizons, visiting knitting conventions, social knitting groups, wildly studying the online material and generally going berserk with the possibilities of the craft.
To support the chiro's cause, I started working out at the gym 5 times a week. And surprisingly, the shoulder troubles tamed. And how! That just meant that, if I wanted to knit, I had to exercise as well. Really, I didn't mind that. In the end, I was physically more fit and mentally stimulated by the workouts. Who wouldn't love that?
It's funny how things fall into place. Right at this time, the company I work at gifted me an iPod - it was celebration time and every employee got one. A 30GB video iPod at that. I call it 'Gollum'. Installing iTunes opened a new avenue, that of podcasts. Gollum just allowed me to be tuned in to podcasts while I was on the treadmill or the elliptical or pumping (light) weights.
What started as a revisiting of a craft I'd learnt as an eager 12 yr old has taken a life of its own. I'm loving every moment of it! I have about 5 readers to this blog and you know, the number did not decrease while I was on a break; a break that stretched a bit much, I admit! Thanks for sticking around!! :)
Third time lucky
Hopefully! The 'cherry' top fit Anoushka perfectly. Anout is the 5 yr old I've been referring to often as my 'older niece'. Regarding the fit though, the lace finishing at the very bottom was not stretchy enough to get in and out of easily.
The newest avatar:
That ofcourse was about an hour's worth of tink-and-knit.
The other most recent project was Knitty's Duo for Annika, the 2yr old in my life. (The 'younger niece'). For lack of sufficient yarn, I did not knit sleeves and knit it vest-style. While I do not have a picture of how lovely it looked on her, here's a pic of the yarn I used:
A minor modification was my use of stockinette in place of garter as the yarn was quite bulky to begin with. I should add that a neck such as this is very kind on the kiddos while wearing the garment.
I'm onto a new project. Don't believe me? Lookie!
You've seen this yarn in my early posts - can you guess which one it is?
The newest avatar:
That ofcourse was about an hour's worth of tink-and-knit.
The other most recent project was Knitty's Duo for Annika, the 2yr old in my life. (The 'younger niece'). For lack of sufficient yarn, I did not knit sleeves and knit it vest-style. While I do not have a picture of how lovely it looked on her, here's a pic of the yarn I used:
A minor modification was my use of stockinette in place of garter as the yarn was quite bulky to begin with. I should add that a neck such as this is very kind on the kiddos while wearing the garment.
I'm onto a new project. Don't believe me? Lookie!
You've seen this yarn in my early posts - can you guess which one it is?
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Hi there!
I'm still around.. although mighty slow on the knitting and blogging front. There is some knitting update though. 'Pepper on Paper' socks (derived from Knitty's Thuja) are nearly completed. Toes are underway. Recipient is having to wait for them while I am taking a small break from all things knitting to spend some time with Mum and Dad. Recipient of the jaywalkers LOVED the pair. Recipient of a vest I'd knitted is positively thrilled and recipient of the felted handbag is amazed. :) Nice reactions, eh?!
Pictures of the completed Pepper on Paper will be posted as soon as they're completed. Till then, ciao.
Pictures of the completed Pepper on Paper will be posted as soon as they're completed. Till then, ciao.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Microsoft's MeTooooo
Folks, have you downloaded the free version 7 of Microsoft's IE? I finally got around to installing it a few days back.
For the effort, I got this:
- tabbed browing
- integrated search field
err.. yeah, that's it. Hooboy, what was I expecting?!
Some features of firefox I'm hooked to:
- Folders in the 'links' bar which I can right click and select to be opened in tabs. (IE has no such feature)
- CTRL+L selecting the URL field (IE brings up a dialog box - aarrgh)
- CTRL+F shows up a little field attached to the browser, at the very bottom (IE brings up a dialog box - aaargh)
- characters are searched just as soon as I start typing. (IE has no such feature)
- the unbeatable firefox extensions. Most favorite: del.icio.us tagging extension. (IE has no such feature)
So Microsoft's attempt at a 'metoooo' falls short by far. Get firefox folks. If you so want a link opened in IE, there's an extension that lets you open an IE tab from within a firefox browser. How neat is that!
For the effort, I got this:
- tabbed browing
- integrated search field
err.. yeah, that's it. Hooboy, what was I expecting?!
Some features of firefox I'm hooked to:
- Folders in the 'links' bar which I can right click and select to be opened in tabs. (IE has no such feature)
- CTRL+L selecting the URL field (IE brings up a dialog box - aarrgh)
- CTRL+F shows up a little field attached to the browser, at the very bottom (IE brings up a dialog box - aaargh)
- characters are searched just as soon as I start typing. (IE has no such feature)
- the unbeatable firefox extensions. Most favorite: del.icio.us tagging extension. (IE has no such feature)
So Microsoft's attempt at a 'metoooo' falls short by far. Get firefox folks. If you so want a link opened in IE, there's an extension that lets you open an IE tab from within a firefox browser. How neat is that!
Dirty little secret
I have been pondering over how readily knitters and spinners in the States exchange information, share their inventive techniques and help each other along in the process of learning. The picture painted is very rosy. Everybody is in love with the craft, with the materials, with the social extensions of the craft such as social knitting or knitting for charity, with the taking of classes, with the related online world of patterns and yarn purchases and blogging and podcasting, with yarn fairs and fiber conventions - I could go on. Knitty love is in the air.
This is all perfect. Except, it isn't a fair picture. Doesn't anyone endure muscle/tendon/nerve issues with the repetitive motion? Many of us work on computers and this, along with knitting is a potent combination of repetitive strain. Why then, do I hear so little discussed about this? Why isn't this information shared in the same way? Is rapid knitting really a virtue? Are knitters out there trying to achieve/break the record and injuring themselves?
I have been knitting for about 9 months now and just like anyone out there, I am passionately into it. It took me squarely 3 months to get to the point of so much pain that I had to get medically treated. Since then, I have looked up online and at knitting conventions for information. Knitty has an article on posture (which I have listed in my side bar) and in all of Stitches West, I found one product alone relating to injuries. It was a hand glove and really, it's not a knitting-specific product.
There is a ton of information on computer related RSI (repetitive strain injury) and so very little on knitting. And you cannot really use the former to help the latter coz the requirement of working needles and yarn is very different from tapping keys or clicking mice. Is this our dirty little secret? Are we too afraid that we'll be asked to stop pursuing the hobby if we admit to this problem? What is it? Why aren't we screaming out loud for some information?? Or sharing it vociferously? I am perplexed. No podcaster is talking about it, dammit!
As my contribution to bringing this to the table, in my future posts, I will detail out my experiences with the RSI issues I had to deal with and my findings from the process.
Please do leave a comment on what your thoughts are about the physical problems associated with passionate knitting.
This is all perfect. Except, it isn't a fair picture. Doesn't anyone endure muscle/tendon/nerve issues with the repetitive motion? Many of us work on computers and this, along with knitting is a potent combination of repetitive strain. Why then, do I hear so little discussed about this? Why isn't this information shared in the same way? Is rapid knitting really a virtue? Are knitters out there trying to achieve/break the record and injuring themselves?
I have been knitting for about 9 months now and just like anyone out there, I am passionately into it. It took me squarely 3 months to get to the point of so much pain that I had to get medically treated. Since then, I have looked up online and at knitting conventions for information. Knitty has an article on posture (which I have listed in my side bar) and in all of Stitches West, I found one product alone relating to injuries. It was a hand glove and really, it's not a knitting-specific product.
There is a ton of information on computer related RSI (repetitive strain injury) and so very little on knitting. And you cannot really use the former to help the latter coz the requirement of working needles and yarn is very different from tapping keys or clicking mice. Is this our dirty little secret? Are we too afraid that we'll be asked to stop pursuing the hobby if we admit to this problem? What is it? Why aren't we screaming out loud for some information?? Or sharing it vociferously? I am perplexed. No podcaster is talking about it, dammit!
As my contribution to bringing this to the table, in my future posts, I will detail out my experiences with the RSI issues I had to deal with and my findings from the process.
Please do leave a comment on what your thoughts are about the physical problems associated with passionate knitting.
The wiki experiment
This one deserves a post. I had briefly encountered wikis several years back and have been curious about them ever since. Other teams at my workplace maintained wikis as informal information bases and this especially suits teams that write a lot of code.
What is a wiki? For those in the dark, it's an online application that looks a lot like a regular website. Except that it lets you edit your content online. This nifty application lets you focus on the content more than the nitty gritties of getting the files published. A great side-effect is that we can now have more than one person editing the content. Anyone with permissions can modify/add to the content and create new webpages within the site. But watch out - it has its own little syntax shortcuts that influence formatting of text or any other content.
Just recently I chanced upon wiki services online and found that one could launch a wiki just as easily as a blog. Or so I thought. The registration was simple enough. But very quickly I have uncovered the challenges.
A wiki is no fun without a bunch of people updating it. And you want this team or group to be as excited about logging in information as you are. ie, despite the learning curve in understanding the formatting of text. For a programmer, this might be trivial but I surely cannot see non-software folks warming to the idea of watching every punctuation mark that gets interpreted as a text formatting cue.
Despite all, I am continuing to give my wiki an honest shot! Documenting my many experiments can get a boost with this. Do check out my Deep Thought Workshop wiki.
What is a wiki? For those in the dark, it's an online application that looks a lot like a regular website. Except that it lets you edit your content online. This nifty application lets you focus on the content more than the nitty gritties of getting the files published. A great side-effect is that we can now have more than one person editing the content. Anyone with permissions can modify/add to the content and create new webpages within the site. But watch out - it has its own little syntax shortcuts that influence formatting of text or any other content.
Just recently I chanced upon wiki services online and found that one could launch a wiki just as easily as a blog. Or so I thought. The registration was simple enough. But very quickly I have uncovered the challenges.
A wiki is no fun without a bunch of people updating it. And you want this team or group to be as excited about logging in information as you are. ie, despite the learning curve in understanding the formatting of text. For a programmer, this might be trivial but I surely cannot see non-software folks warming to the idea of watching every punctuation mark that gets interpreted as a text formatting cue.
Despite all, I am continuing to give my wiki an honest shot! Documenting my many experiments can get a boost with this. Do check out my Deep Thought Workshop wiki.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Pepper on Paper
News Flash:
A new pair of socks is in the works. This time it's Knitty's Thuja. I am calling my version 'Pepper on Paper'.
A new pair of socks is in the works. This time it's Knitty's Thuja. I am calling my version 'Pepper on Paper'.
A personal database of patterns and recipes
I was recently confounded with a serious problem. I needed to organize my patterns and recipes in a database as things were pretty much out of hand. They were all over the place - in books, magazines, in notebooks, on 5 different accounts sitting on 3 different computers and even some residing in my memory, waiting to be documented. A little dire, yeah.
So I put together a wish list for my database:
- centralized so I can access it from anywhere in the world without having to keep separate copies (no installed applications, please.)
- easily searchable
- highly categorized
- picture upload capability
- possibility to include comments in journaling format
- feature that allows emailing of my recipe/pattern at the click of a button
First, I looked up online personal databases for recipes. Kraft Foods has one. FoodTV has another. What I did not fancy was the requirement that I 'submit' my recipe to the message board to be able to add it to my collection. That, or I had a limit to the number of recipes I could collect. In anycase, what about my knitting patterns?
So I contemplated starting a new blog. Which reminded me of another important item for my wishlist:
- restricted access
Blog with authentication was a candidate. I did much research. The issue here? Only TypePad has an authentication service. And it's too expensive for me. Wordpress can be installed and configured for access but what about the domain name and web account I'd need? Much too much overhead.
I slept over this issue and woke up with a solution which I tested out today: Gmail. This is how it'd work: Start a new Gmail account. Write out the pattern/recipe in a new mail and send this to yourself. Upload pictures if you like.
Gmail's response to my wishlist:
+ Great search
+ Easy tagging (using labels and filters),
+ I only need to 'reply' to the main message to include additional comments to the recipe/pattern,
+ thumbprint of uploaded image shows up in the body of the mail. Perfect for recipes and patterns
+ emailing the content out to family/friends is the original intent of Gmail!
+ restricted access is part of the deal
Oh, and the best of all, I can finally make good use of the content-sensitive advertising!
The catch though is that I am not aware of how to export a bunch of mails in a document format so I can create a PDF or e-book of sorts. You see where I'm getting at? A personal printed cookbook or pattern book with my gmail account as source. Wouldn't that be awesome? Any ideas?
So I put together a wish list for my database:
- centralized so I can access it from anywhere in the world without having to keep separate copies (no installed applications, please.)
- easily searchable
- highly categorized
- picture upload capability
- possibility to include comments in journaling format
- feature that allows emailing of my recipe/pattern at the click of a button
First, I looked up online personal databases for recipes. Kraft Foods has one. FoodTV has another. What I did not fancy was the requirement that I 'submit' my recipe to the message board to be able to add it to my collection. That, or I had a limit to the number of recipes I could collect. In anycase, what about my knitting patterns?
So I contemplated starting a new blog. Which reminded me of another important item for my wishlist:
- restricted access
Blog with authentication was a candidate. I did much research. The issue here? Only TypePad has an authentication service. And it's too expensive for me. Wordpress can be installed and configured for access but what about the domain name and web account I'd need? Much too much overhead.
I slept over this issue and woke up with a solution which I tested out today: Gmail. This is how it'd work: Start a new Gmail account. Write out the pattern/recipe in a new mail and send this to yourself. Upload pictures if you like.
Gmail's response to my wishlist:
+ Great search
+ Easy tagging (using labels and filters),
+ I only need to 'reply' to the main message to include additional comments to the recipe/pattern,
+ thumbprint of uploaded image shows up in the body of the mail. Perfect for recipes and patterns
+ emailing the content out to family/friends is the original intent of Gmail!
+ restricted access is part of the deal
Oh, and the best of all, I can finally make good use of the content-sensitive advertising!
The catch though is that I am not aware of how to export a bunch of mails in a document format so I can create a PDF or e-book of sorts. You see where I'm getting at? A personal printed cookbook or pattern book with my gmail account as source. Wouldn't that be awesome? Any ideas?
Monday, July 24, 2006
Soup is served - piping hot!
I'm referring to this soup:
Project details:
Socks Pattern: Magknits Jaywalker by Grumperina (except for the toes).
Toes Pattern: Spun Magazine's Geisha sock by Kate Atherley (only the toes).
Yarn: Lang Jawoll Superwash 75% wool, 18% nylon, and 7% acrylic from Yarn Market
Gauge: 38 sts over 4 inches / 10 cm in zigzag pattern stitch, 32 sts over 4 inches / 10 cm in circular stockinette stitch
Needles: 2 of Addi Turbo US #1 circs 16"
What I might want to change the next time I knit this:
- more number of stitches for thumb toe and fewer for the rest of the toes.
- fewer rows in the toe-section for the 4 toes.
- US#0 (a size smaller) for the ribbing and heel flap.
What I like about this pattern: The fit is good and the chevron pattern looks great on socks.
What I dislike about this pattern: For someone with a cranky shoulder, the chevrons in the pattern induce much strain and pain too, need I add? The knitting is slow owing to the chevrons grabbing more rows and stitches than stockinette gauge. The knitting is painful in the increases and the decreases.
Notes on knitting technique: Knitting 2 socks on 2 circs rocks! There is no scope for the second-sock-syndrome, and the symmetry is to die for.
Notes on split toe: I used the instructions of the Geisha socks without tweaking any of it since my gauge matched with that in the pattern. To achieve this with 2 circs, I first moved the non-thumb-toe stitches of both socks onto stitch holders and completed the thumb toes of both. And then I resumed with the other segment of toes.
Project details:
Socks Pattern: Magknits Jaywalker by Grumperina (except for the toes).
Toes Pattern: Spun Magazine's Geisha sock by Kate Atherley (only the toes).
Yarn: Lang Jawoll Superwash 75% wool, 18% nylon, and 7% acrylic from Yarn Market
Gauge: 38 sts over 4 inches / 10 cm in zigzag pattern stitch, 32 sts over 4 inches / 10 cm in circular stockinette stitch
Needles: 2 of Addi Turbo US #1 circs 16"
What I might want to change the next time I knit this:
- more number of stitches for thumb toe and fewer for the rest of the toes.
- fewer rows in the toe-section for the 4 toes.
- US#0 (a size smaller) for the ribbing and heel flap.
What I like about this pattern: The fit is good and the chevron pattern looks great on socks.
What I dislike about this pattern: For someone with a cranky shoulder, the chevrons in the pattern induce much strain and pain too, need I add? The knitting is slow owing to the chevrons grabbing more rows and stitches than stockinette gauge. The knitting is painful in the increases and the decreases.
Notes on knitting technique: Knitting 2 socks on 2 circs rocks! There is no scope for the second-sock-syndrome, and the symmetry is to die for.
Notes on split toe: I used the instructions of the Geisha socks without tweaking any of it since my gauge matched with that in the pattern. To achieve this with 2 circs, I first moved the non-thumb-toe stitches of both socks onto stitch holders and completed the thumb toes of both. And then I resumed with the other segment of toes.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Preview
Thumb toes are ready. Let me get back to knitting up the rest so I can post the completed project. Kicked is not the word!
Saturday, July 22, 2006
A soup of 3 ideas
When 3 ideas converge, it can look like this:
A pair of socks jay walking to completion, hand in hand. But wait, a pair? That's the second ingredient here - 2 socks on 2 circs. The third element is the splitting of toe which is designed and will soon be knit in.
Psst: this is my first with any of the above. Is it the first timer's luck that's brought me this far this safe with such an endeavour? I'm excited to find out.
A pair of socks jay walking to completion, hand in hand. But wait, a pair? That's the second ingredient here - 2 socks on 2 circs. The third element is the splitting of toe which is designed and will soon be knit in.
Psst: this is my first with any of the above. Is it the first timer's luck that's brought me this far this safe with such an endeavour? I'm excited to find out.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Rose Twilight unveiled
Project details:
Pattern: Original, inspiration derived from 1000 Sweaters, Square Neck Ribbed Sweater for the ribbing pattern, and sleeve designed using the principles from The Advanced Knitting Architect
Yarn: Handpaint Flake Cotton from Just One More Row used in double strand
Gauge: 20 stitches and 24 rows in stockinette per 4"x4"
Needles: US size 5 circs
What I might want to change the next time I knit this: nothing!
What I like about this pattern: A neck reinforced by crochet, the length of the sleeves, the lightweight yarn, the 100% cotton, the ribbing on the sides for clever contour and the color! Love all this! Pictures follow:
Pattern: Original, inspiration derived from 1000 Sweaters, Square Neck Ribbed Sweater for the ribbing pattern, and sleeve designed using the principles from The Advanced Knitting Architect
Yarn: Handpaint Flake Cotton from Just One More Row used in double strand
Gauge: 20 stitches and 24 rows in stockinette per 4"x4"
Needles: US size 5 circs
What I might want to change the next time I knit this: nothing!
What I like about this pattern: A neck reinforced by crochet, the length of the sleeves, the lightweight yarn, the 100% cotton, the ribbing on the sides for clever contour and the color! Love all this! Pictures follow:
Friday, July 14, 2006
waist shaping without shaping waist
A clever way of achieving a contoured waist without using decreases and increases is to have a few columns of rib on the sides. It doesn't show conspicuously from the front and yet, the top looks shapely and un-boxy. Take a look:
The waist of the top was more prominent this morning - this top has taken the wear of a day at work. And it's 100% cotton which explains the stretching.
This is the Rose Twilight - finished, ready to wear and lovely to wear! YAYYYY!!! My first ever knit thingie that I made for myself. This is just so precious!! Have I told you yet how much I love knitting?
I'll post the project details in another post. What I'm most proud about though is the reinforcing of the neck with 2 rows of crochet. No picot, just plain ole crochet. Love how it added to the look.
The waist of the top was more prominent this morning - this top has taken the wear of a day at work. And it's 100% cotton which explains the stretching.
This is the Rose Twilight - finished, ready to wear and lovely to wear! YAYYYY!!! My first ever knit thingie that I made for myself. This is just so precious!! Have I told you yet how much I love knitting?
I'll post the project details in another post. What I'm most proud about though is the reinforcing of the neck with 2 rows of crochet. No picot, just plain ole crochet. Love how it added to the look.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
What a week and a half!!
Wimbledon men's finals was nail biting. I was nervously working on my socks-on-2-circs endeavour, trying to channelize my irritation into creating something. Federer's victory seemed almost apologetic and really the hero in the match was Nadal. He made Federer sweat for the cup alright!
So getting back to my socks, I have a skeleton in the closet. Since then, I've learnt an immense lot on yarn, gauge, needles, techniques, stitch patterns. Heck! The number of cast on methods themselves can throw one in a tizzy, if one were to document all. So when I now took up socks, I did a lot more reading than usual and found this tutorial on knitting 2 socks simultaneously. Seriously, who wouldn't want to complete a pair together? And get them to match row-for-row in pattern and gauge. That's too much of a treat to pass by. I might be talking too soon though - I'm yet to get to the heel maneuver. Well anyway, I'm making a jaywalker pair for my mum-in-law who herself is a knitter. Now, do I need to declare that I love to sink my teeth into a juicy challenge? :)
The July 4th weekend warrants a mention here for many reasons. First, it was my birthday on the 4th. Has anyone noticed how the day of the birthday just flies by? Never mind that you're just lazing, doing nothing - which typically would end up a slow day - it just flies when it's a birthday. When one is already dazed about how quickly a year passed, the day tries to pull a practical joke on you. And gets the last laugh. This birthday, I had to mentally prepare myself for the new number corresponding to the 'Age' field in bureaucratic forms. I had to mentally prepare starting 3 months in advance. Sigh.
Move on girl! My team at work treated me to a Vietnamese feast on the Friday before the 4th. And on the 5th, more friends got together at work and suprised me with a birthday cake. My DH gifted me a stand mixer for my birthday - it had been on my wishlist for a long time. It was put to good use today, to make some whipped eggs for a scrumptuous omelette and also some dough for rotis. I'm a happy girl. Happy happy girl indeed!
So getting back to my socks, I have a skeleton in the closet. Since then, I've learnt an immense lot on yarn, gauge, needles, techniques, stitch patterns. Heck! The number of cast on methods themselves can throw one in a tizzy, if one were to document all. So when I now took up socks, I did a lot more reading than usual and found this tutorial on knitting 2 socks simultaneously. Seriously, who wouldn't want to complete a pair together? And get them to match row-for-row in pattern and gauge. That's too much of a treat to pass by. I might be talking too soon though - I'm yet to get to the heel maneuver. Well anyway, I'm making a jaywalker pair for my mum-in-law who herself is a knitter. Now, do I need to declare that I love to sink my teeth into a juicy challenge? :)
The July 4th weekend warrants a mention here for many reasons. First, it was my birthday on the 4th. Has anyone noticed how the day of the birthday just flies by? Never mind that you're just lazing, doing nothing - which typically would end up a slow day - it just flies when it's a birthday. When one is already dazed about how quickly a year passed, the day tries to pull a practical joke on you. And gets the last laugh. This birthday, I had to mentally prepare myself for the new number corresponding to the 'Age' field in bureaucratic forms. I had to mentally prepare starting 3 months in advance. Sigh.
Move on girl! My team at work treated me to a Vietnamese feast on the Friday before the 4th. And on the 5th, more friends got together at work and suprised me with a birthday cake. My DH gifted me a stand mixer for my birthday - it had been on my wishlist for a long time. It was put to good use today, to make some whipped eggs for a scrumptuous omelette and also some dough for rotis. I'm a happy girl. Happy happy girl indeed!
Monday, June 26, 2006
Stash Flash with a difference
Here's my stash:
Surprised? Fabric!! What's that doing in my collection? Be not anxious for my yarn stash. It is doing well, thanks for asking! In fact, it's growing faster than I can keep up - I'll address this matter eventually, there is no running away.
Regarding the fabric, I fancy garment design. Period. Obsession of the moment is knitting, sure, but fabric is where I learnt all my charting fundamentals. You really have not much use for knitting in the climates I've lived in for most of my life. And who can resist such vibrant cottons anyway, huh??
That was some eye candy. Now for some updates. Rose Twilight is nearly finished. For your reference:
The first Rose Twilight picture has many pieces one laid out on another. If you can figure out what the exact shapes are in that pic, you are genius!! One sleeve is completed as you can see in the other picture. The other one is underway. Looking at the top as it stands now, my only concern is a shabby neck edge. I gartered a few rows below and a few stitchs to either side of the neck but that's not helping much. Picot could be a solution and I'm betting the success of my top with it.
Okie. The yarn stash. New addition: I've ordered enough sock yarn to make 2 pairs. Also, a pair of US #1 circs so I can use Cat Bordhi's method of knitting 2 socks simultaneously on circs. That's going to be an adventure alright. One of the pairs will have a split toe. I tracked the parcel - it's on its way, scheduled to reach me on the 29th. That'll give me just enough time to complete my current predominant WIP, ends woven, label attached and all.
That reminds me of the labels that I have found a way of creating. Or atleast, the prototype turned out well and withstood a wash too. A separate how-to post on that will be published soon. Until then, cheers!
Surprised? Fabric!! What's that doing in my collection? Be not anxious for my yarn stash. It is doing well, thanks for asking! In fact, it's growing faster than I can keep up - I'll address this matter eventually, there is no running away.
Regarding the fabric, I fancy garment design. Period. Obsession of the moment is knitting, sure, but fabric is where I learnt all my charting fundamentals. You really have not much use for knitting in the climates I've lived in for most of my life. And who can resist such vibrant cottons anyway, huh??
That was some eye candy. Now for some updates. Rose Twilight is nearly finished. For your reference:
The first Rose Twilight picture has many pieces one laid out on another. If you can figure out what the exact shapes are in that pic, you are genius!! One sleeve is completed as you can see in the other picture. The other one is underway. Looking at the top as it stands now, my only concern is a shabby neck edge. I gartered a few rows below and a few stitchs to either side of the neck but that's not helping much. Picot could be a solution and I'm betting the success of my top with it.
Okie. The yarn stash. New addition: I've ordered enough sock yarn to make 2 pairs. Also, a pair of US #1 circs so I can use Cat Bordhi's method of knitting 2 socks simultaneously on circs. That's going to be an adventure alright. One of the pairs will have a split toe. I tracked the parcel - it's on its way, scheduled to reach me on the 29th. That'll give me just enough time to complete my current predominant WIP, ends woven, label attached and all.
That reminds me of the labels that I have found a way of creating. Or atleast, the prototype turned out well and withstood a wash too. A separate how-to post on that will be published soon. Until then, cheers!
Friday, June 23, 2006
An Inconvenient Truth
Folks, this one's a brilliant movie. An Inconvenient Truth is a movie that lends perspective to the global warming phenomenon. It talks to the audience and takes us to be thinking individuals with the power and will to act on the causes we stand for.
Global warming is an issue I'd been very passionate about in my teenage years. Making a movie of this kind on an international platform was my absolute dream - it seemed foolish then and perhaps even now, considering that I'm no Angelina Jolie (or Al Gore for that matter) to have people want to listen to me. This is my contribution to the cause - to encourage friends and all to watch it inspite of conflicting political beliefs and skepticism.
The website to visit: climatecrisis.net
Global warming is an issue I'd been very passionate about in my teenage years. Making a movie of this kind on an international platform was my absolute dream - it seemed foolish then and perhaps even now, considering that I'm no Angelina Jolie (or Al Gore for that matter) to have people want to listen to me. This is my contribution to the cause - to encourage friends and all to watch it inspite of conflicting political beliefs and skepticism.
The website to visit: climatecrisis.net
Sunday, June 18, 2006
What a steal!
Actually, let me make that 2. ie, 2 books at incredible discounts:
Big Book of Baby Knitting (Mary Healey) - love it for its vintage look, feel and content. From a first look, this one seems to be a dependable reference.
Wrap Style - coz I'm wrap-challenged. My mind finds it easier to design a regular garment but when it comes to a rectangular piece that sits on the shoulders, it balks. So, a reference. Now my mind can take a hike and I'll still be able to make wraps for gifts.
What made the Big Book of Baby Knitting irresistible:
Big Book of Baby Knitting (Mary Healey) - love it for its vintage look, feel and content. From a first look, this one seems to be a dependable reference.
Wrap Style - coz I'm wrap-challenged. My mind finds it easier to design a regular garment but when it comes to a rectangular piece that sits on the shoulders, it balks. So, a reference. Now my mind can take a hike and I'll still be able to make wraps for gifts.
What made the Big Book of Baby Knitting irresistible:
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Peaches and Cream Pinafore
I made good progress with one of my WIPs last night knitting and playing friendly poker among buddies. The big idea was to inspire them to learn knitting but as a convenient side-effect, I finished the second half of Anouk. This morning, I knit the neck band, wove in ends, sewed on wood buttons, knit the pocket in intarsia and crocheted around the neck band and the pocket. Phew! That's a lot of work for a dress for an infant. I enjoyed every bit of it and quite like the final look.
Project details follow:
Pattern: Knitty's Anouk
Yarn:
MC peach: TLC cotton plus worsted weight, 51% cotton, 49% acrylic 'tangerine'.
CC1 cream: Valley Yarns Longmeadow 60% cotton, 40% microfiber 'Natural'
CC2 green: Valley Yarns Longmeadow 60% cotton, 40% microfiber 'Olive'
Gauge: 4 stitches and 5 rows per 1"x1" square
Needles: US size 8
Alteration: I mattress stitched the sides waist down. I attached a second button on the right shoulder for the symmetry, although only the left shoulder opens, just as in pattern. I omitted the side tabs and attached only 1 pocket instead of 2.
What I might want to change the next time I knit this: use a lighter weight yarn for the MC and one with very little or no acrylic. TCL cotton plus just is wee bit heavy. I rather like the cotton-microfiber blend from Valley Yarns and I just might knit the entire garment with this.
What I like about this pattern: the 'grow-as-you-go' design, and the button on the shoulder giving the mom less grief while putting it on a wriggly baby. I also love the flower on the pocket - isn't that adorable?
Project details follow:
Pattern: Knitty's Anouk
Yarn:
MC peach: TLC cotton plus worsted weight, 51% cotton, 49% acrylic 'tangerine'.
CC1 cream: Valley Yarns Longmeadow 60% cotton, 40% microfiber 'Natural'
CC2 green: Valley Yarns Longmeadow 60% cotton, 40% microfiber 'Olive'
Gauge: 4 stitches and 5 rows per 1"x1" square
Needles: US size 8
Alteration: I mattress stitched the sides waist down. I attached a second button on the right shoulder for the symmetry, although only the left shoulder opens, just as in pattern. I omitted the side tabs and attached only 1 pocket instead of 2.
What I might want to change the next time I knit this: use a lighter weight yarn for the MC and one with very little or no acrylic. TCL cotton plus just is wee bit heavy. I rather like the cotton-microfiber blend from Valley Yarns and I just might knit the entire garment with this.
What I like about this pattern: the 'grow-as-you-go' design, and the button on the shoulder giving the mom less grief while putting it on a wriggly baby. I also love the flower on the pocket - isn't that adorable?
Friday, June 16, 2006
Whatever happened to monogamy!
I'm slipping.. slowly, yet assuredly. Yeah well, there are benefits to project polygamy (Ha! I know my acronyms!!) but let's face it, the so called 'benefits' do nothing more than justify a weakness. Everyone's guilt conscience knows this for a fact!! Yet, here I am, with 3 projects on the needles, and a few experiments needing more attention. To add to the confusion (which my dear friend chooses to call 'creative chaos'), are many ideas just waiting to get drafted into concrete patterns.
Now, the evidence for my claim:
1. New project: Anouk for a friend's baby girl. I plan on joining the front and the back using additionally knitted side-panels so the pinafore not open at the sides. And I've used different colors and yarn. I like how it's looking so much that I had to reveal the pictures.
2. New project: A swatch begging to be knit into a version of the vest. But I'm adventurous and will probably structure the vest to suit my frame, add a hood and some feminine touches to make it all mine!! The stitch is from VK's Stitchionary and is called 'herringbone rib'. The stitch pattern shows much more character in the swatch than in the pictures. You say it's my knitting doing that? Ah! I'm flattered.
3. UFO #1: Rose Twilight - it's been beckoning me but my loyalties are elsewhere currently. Babies come first. Twilights happen everyday!! Maybe not the rose ones but they're out there.
4. UFO #2: Triangles. This one gets me all excited. Now if only my shoulders allowed me some more time with my needles etc without getting all cranky on me..! Sigh.
5. UFO #3: Ruffle scarf. This is a project I'm saving for public/social knitting where I can multitask between knitting and a reasonably intelligent conversation. But what can I say.. ever since I kept this project aside for the 'occassions', they've been eluding me.
6. On the threshold: yummy yarn purchased at the Oakland TKGA convention. Some have been turned into knitwear but the others are hankering for my time. Especially the denim blue cotton and the variegated cotton.
Everything aside, what all the 'evidence' does establish is that I have not had to deal with a single vacant moment of boredom ever since I dived into knitting. And do I love it!
Now, the evidence for my claim:
1. New project: Anouk for a friend's baby girl. I plan on joining the front and the back using additionally knitted side-panels so the pinafore not open at the sides. And I've used different colors and yarn. I like how it's looking so much that I had to reveal the pictures.
2. New project: A swatch begging to be knit into a version of the vest. But I'm adventurous and will probably structure the vest to suit my frame, add a hood and some feminine touches to make it all mine!! The stitch is from VK's Stitchionary and is called 'herringbone rib'. The stitch pattern shows much more character in the swatch than in the pictures. You say it's my knitting doing that? Ah! I'm flattered.
3. UFO #1: Rose Twilight - it's been beckoning me but my loyalties are elsewhere currently. Babies come first. Twilights happen everyday!! Maybe not the rose ones but they're out there.
4. UFO #2: Triangles. This one gets me all excited. Now if only my shoulders allowed me some more time with my needles etc without getting all cranky on me..! Sigh.
5. UFO #3: Ruffle scarf. This is a project I'm saving for public/social knitting where I can multitask between knitting and a reasonably intelligent conversation. But what can I say.. ever since I kept this project aside for the 'occassions', they've been eluding me.
6. On the threshold: yummy yarn purchased at the Oakland TKGA convention. Some have been turned into knitwear but the others are hankering for my time. Especially the denim blue cotton and the variegated cotton.
Everything aside, what all the 'evidence' does establish is that I have not had to deal with a single vacant moment of boredom ever since I dived into knitting. And do I love it!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Rose Twilight
I've christened my glowy cotton top 'Rose Twilight'. As promised, below are some pictures.
The inspiration for this top was derived from a pattern 'square-neck ribbed sweater' from 1000 Sweaters (Amanda Griffiths). The neck, sleeves and all size-related matters have been altered to suit my mood! This is where the top stands now:
The inspiration for this top was derived from a pattern 'square-neck ribbed sweater' from 1000 Sweaters (Amanda Griffiths). The neck, sleeves and all size-related matters have been altered to suit my mood! This is where the top stands now:
Friday, June 09, 2006
This is Addictive!
If you're reading this entry in my blog, you'd already have noticed a few changes to the look. My eyes were tiring of the colour-rich page, with too much empty space and room for better arrangement. So, I got on with the style changes and now I'm hooked to it! In fact, once every few months, I just might give my blog a facelift.
Knit-wise, I'm currently reading up on combination knitting - just curious. I'm a continental knitter who began as an English knitter. Now that I've come this far, I figure, I might as well go the extra length and judge the combination method first hand.
My glowy dusty pink cotton top is making headway. Pictures next time. Promise!
Knit-wise, I'm currently reading up on combination knitting - just curious. I'm a continental knitter who began as an English knitter. Now that I've come this far, I figure, I might as well go the extra length and judge the combination method first hand.
My glowy dusty pink cotton top is making headway. Pictures next time. Promise!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Onto another experiment (triangles)
That's what I do when one.. uhmm.. fails. Which leads me to believe that I am better with maths than I am with hosting radio shows!
Among the methods ofcourse, I went in for the three I know: short rows, k2tog-SSK at the edges and mitering. The picture shows the triangles I made using first two techniques. I am yet to knit one using mitering, for which, I'll have to cast-on enough to make the entire length of the perimeter and do double decreases in 3 corners for the 3 angles.
Returning to the subject of the 'test' scenario for this experiment, the 60 degree set-square sitting on top of the knitted triangle screams out loud: PASS.
Okay, so my intentions with the funky maths: to be able to control the 'flatness' of a knitted geometric shape. I should be able to derive - using maths - how much pucker I want at the center of the symmetric shape. For caps and likes, I might want a curvature, with a giant triangle sitting atop my crown. See where I'm going? It's insane, how we can accurately manipulate the structure without having to make 'guesstimates', 'educated' or otherwise.
This series of fun-with-maths will be pursued with much excitement.
I'll prove this to ya:
See those triangles? Perfectly equilateral. Using high-school trigonometry. How cool is that! Here are my objectives with making equilateral triangles:
- user defines the length of the sides
- user defines the stitch and row gauge
- user chooses the method of making a triangle
Among the methods ofcourse, I went in for the three I know: short rows, k2tog-SSK at the edges and mitering. The picture shows the triangles I made using first two techniques. I am yet to knit one using mitering, for which, I'll have to cast-on enough to make the entire length of the perimeter and do double decreases in 3 corners for the 3 angles.
Returning to the subject of the 'test' scenario for this experiment, the 60 degree set-square sitting on top of the knitted triangle screams out loud: PASS.
Okay, so my intentions with the funky maths: to be able to control the 'flatness' of a knitted geometric shape. I should be able to derive - using maths - how much pucker I want at the center of the symmetric shape. For caps and likes, I might want a curvature, with a giant triangle sitting atop my crown. See where I'm going? It's insane, how we can accurately manipulate the structure without having to make 'guesstimates', 'educated' or otherwise.
This series of fun-with-maths will be pursued with much excitement.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
I'm trying something new today
Folks, here's my first ever audio recording, unscripted and unedited! It's a small tutorial on how to pick up dropped stitches. Please please plzzzzzzzz give me your feedback - it will be hugely appreciated and constructively applied. Oh, and the name of my audio alter-ego is 'the knitwork engineer'.
powered by ODEO
powered by ODEO
Monday, May 29, 2006
The Advanced Knitting Architect
This is my first book-review blog entry and I had never intended to do one. That is, until I read this book, The Advanced Knitting Architect, by Sion Elalouf of Knitting Fever.
How did I chance upon this book? I was at Stitches West early this year and desperately hunting down books on knitting garment design. After an exhausting search for some/any such book, I found a few copies of Elalouf's books at the last booth I went to. In addition to this one, there also was 'The Knitting Architect' on the stand. They looked - how shall I put it - modest. No fancy images/colors and no marketing spiel on the back of the book. I peeked inside and found some matter-of-factly sketches on body-measurements and decided to go for the 'Advanced' issue. That's because I have had priceless training from Mum and Sis, both of who are excellent at fabric garment design/architecture and so, I'm not someone nervous about the process. I just needed a knitting-related reference.
It was only yesterday, that once I completed blogging about my newly completed project, did I sit down to read this book cover-to-cover. It starts with basic tape measurements and how to take them. And then, introduces the reader to one basic shape of a knitted garment. The instructions on how each stitch/row count is arrived at are clear, simple and elegant. The counting is simplified by using certain 'constants' depending on body-type. For example, you can either choose to measure the exact depth of armhole for your sweater or use a constant given in the book based on chest measurement.
Once the basic shape is drafted, the author then delves into a number of necklines, a variety of sleeves, and different styles of sweaters too like the dolman and the wrap sweater. What follows this is the side-knitting and top-down knitting techniques. This book is an amazing first-read and as good a reference. I like it so much that if there comes a time when I am asked to discard all knitting books but one, I'll keep this. This one teaches you how to fish. I mean design.
I firmly believe that there is no knitting without mathematics. Well, actually, 'math' is too big a word to use here. In all languages I know other than English (and I know 5), the word used is 'laek' or 'ginthi' - or a small variation of either. Translated, this means 'counting'. And I think that's what we do in knitting. We count. Most times, we use the simplest arithmetic and sometimes, the simplest of all geometric alogirthms. What we learnt until grade 9 is more than sufficient, really. How that is applied to charting a wearable design needs just a little more study. And knitters who want to be designers but are stopped by a mental block about garment design principles should take heart in that designing knitting garments is far, far simpler than tailored fabric garments. Well, one can make it as complicated, but the learning threshold required to begin designing is much smaller than the one required in fabric design.
Sion makes a point that I could completely relate with. He has observed that "In the other developed countries of the world,... the customers at the retail level are the architects. All they need is the yarns and the needles and they will custom design and knit." (I personally do not appreciate the terms developed/undeveloped since it presents a prejudice but that's another subject.) In India where I've lived most of my life, I've never seen a knitter refer to any book/magazine for row-by-row pattern for sweaters, shawls, caps etc. For that matter, I've never seen my Mum use a purchased paper-pattern for the million clothes she has designed and stitched. Knitting is so tightly bound to designing, that you cannot learn one without the other. Same with sewing. And inorder to simplify the counting, there are rules of thumb used - which Sion has presented as 'constants'. So, really, it's not a new concept but an incredibly useful one.
You can find 'The Knitting Architect' online here.
How did I chance upon this book? I was at Stitches West early this year and desperately hunting down books on knitting garment design. After an exhausting search for some/any such book, I found a few copies of Elalouf's books at the last booth I went to. In addition to this one, there also was 'The Knitting Architect' on the stand. They looked - how shall I put it - modest. No fancy images/colors and no marketing spiel on the back of the book. I peeked inside and found some matter-of-factly sketches on body-measurements and decided to go for the 'Advanced' issue. That's because I have had priceless training from Mum and Sis, both of who are excellent at fabric garment design/architecture and so, I'm not someone nervous about the process. I just needed a knitting-related reference.
It was only yesterday, that once I completed blogging about my newly completed project, did I sit down to read this book cover-to-cover. It starts with basic tape measurements and how to take them. And then, introduces the reader to one basic shape of a knitted garment. The instructions on how each stitch/row count is arrived at are clear, simple and elegant. The counting is simplified by using certain 'constants' depending on body-type. For example, you can either choose to measure the exact depth of armhole for your sweater or use a constant given in the book based on chest measurement.
Once the basic shape is drafted, the author then delves into a number of necklines, a variety of sleeves, and different styles of sweaters too like the dolman and the wrap sweater. What follows this is the side-knitting and top-down knitting techniques. This book is an amazing first-read and as good a reference. I like it so much that if there comes a time when I am asked to discard all knitting books but one, I'll keep this. This one teaches you how to fish. I mean design.
I firmly believe that there is no knitting without mathematics. Well, actually, 'math' is too big a word to use here. In all languages I know other than English (and I know 5), the word used is 'laek' or 'ginthi' - or a small variation of either. Translated, this means 'counting'. And I think that's what we do in knitting. We count. Most times, we use the simplest arithmetic and sometimes, the simplest of all geometric alogirthms. What we learnt until grade 9 is more than sufficient, really. How that is applied to charting a wearable design needs just a little more study. And knitters who want to be designers but are stopped by a mental block about garment design principles should take heart in that designing knitting garments is far, far simpler than tailored fabric garments. Well, one can make it as complicated, but the learning threshold required to begin designing is much smaller than the one required in fabric design.
Sion makes a point that I could completely relate with. He has observed that "In the other developed countries of the world,... the customers at the retail level are the architects. All they need is the yarns and the needles and they will custom design and knit." (I personally do not appreciate the terms developed/undeveloped since it presents a prejudice but that's another subject.) In India where I've lived most of my life, I've never seen a knitter refer to any book/magazine for row-by-row pattern for sweaters, shawls, caps etc. For that matter, I've never seen my Mum use a purchased paper-pattern for the million clothes she has designed and stitched. Knitting is so tightly bound to designing, that you cannot learn one without the other. Same with sewing. And inorder to simplify the counting, there are rules of thumb used - which Sion has presented as 'constants'. So, really, it's not a new concept but an incredibly useful one.
You can find 'The Knitting Architect' online here.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Another vest off my needles
.. And blocked too.
Yarn: wagtail 60% mohair 40% merino 8 ply purchased during the Knit and Crochet Show, Oakland, CA.
Pattern: Knitty Petrol
Swatch Gauge (in garter-rib pattern): 16 stitches and 20 rows for a 4"x4" square
Pattern tweaking:
1. This is a bottom-up pattern and so, I started with 2x2 rib for the first 1" and then started with the garter rib pattern. This gives a stable base.
2. I studied Petrol and created guidelines out of the row by row pattern. I then customized everything from width and length of vest, shoulder width, width and depth of the neck and also the depth of the armhole. Ofcourse, before I began, I had with me all desired measurements obtained from the recipient of this vest. Some highlights follow:
2a. Width x stitch gauge = number of stitches to cast on. But take note, for the 2x2 rib, you need a multiple of 4 but the stitch pattern on the body needs a multiple of 7. So at the end of the 1" rib, make necessary adjustment to the number of stitches. I cast on 148 stitches for the rib and then decreased 1 to have 147 stitches for the garter rib pattern.
2b. The row at which to begin armhole decrease and neck decrease (in case of the front of vest) can be easily computed. But note that both armhole and neck will have additional 1" bands of 2x2 ribbing during the finishing.
2c. Some care taken while dividing stitches for the front and back will give an impressively symmetric geometry to the front of the vest. The trick is to get the tip of the V (of the neck) at the very center of either the vertical knit-bands or the 2-stitch 'troughs' caused by the 2-stitch purl. My earlier version of the same vest pattern had the tip of V in the center of the 5-stitch knit band. Now that was easy because 5 is an odd number and you mark the 3rd stitch for your V. Now since this vest could not achieve that (owing to the number of stitches in all), I had to make a stitch between the 2 purls and mark the new stitch as center of V. That worked out nicely. Just make sure you have as many stitches before this mark as after it for the front of the vest and that front and back of vest are nearly the same number of stitches. It's easy, really. The symmerty achieved is worth it.
3. Okay, my 3rd point here is about picking stitches for the ribbing on neck and armholes. I've been watching Knitty Gritty for a bit now and have learnt enough that you should not try and follow exact number of stitches to be picked. This time, I marked on the edge, once every 2 inches and picked 8 stitches for every 2 inches. (My gauge gave 4 stitches per inch). This method removes the guess-work out of picking stitches, regardless of the shape of edge!
4. And finally blocking. The garment is not complete unless it's blocked. Just block it and bask in praises for the super-professional look of your newly knitted creation. Click here if you want to learn more on blocking.
Now, the pictures:
Back done, front being worked on:
Being blocked:
And, voila!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
A taste of cookie-cutter fashion
I ventured out today to shop for clothes. The expedition was marked by much walking (inside the store), much disappointment and a very (I can't stress it enough) occassional pick. From my most recent experience, here's some feedback to the designers of garments that line the many miles of clothes-racks at 'fashion' stores in the US:
1. All brown is not of uniform color value!! Let me explain: Brown although is one single color, it does have many shades and hues to it. So also pink. And orange. And every single color I found out there. So then, why did I not find the many shades/hues? Why ONLY 1!????? (Ok, I did see 2 different pinks but 2? That's no different from 1.)
2. 100% cotton is the best for Summer. Where is the cotton? I don't like/wear capris - but it just so happens that that is the only garment I find cotton being profusely used for. Why can't I see any with summer tops? Or skirts? or sun dresses dammit??!!
3. Back to color: Teal and brown. I'm literally nauseated by the combination after seeing so much of it. And if you understand point number 1, you'll also understand that one teal+brown is EVERY teal+brown! Other combinations I saw: hot/pale pink with beige, hot/pale pink with brown, teal with beige, beige with beige with beige, brown with brown with brown, beige and teal and brown and there stops the entire range of colour combination. Oh, I forget pink with orange. Don't get me wrong.. I have nothing against the colors themselves - I'm only concerned about the number of hours I spent at the store in order to find some color (value - to be precise here) not already in my closet.
4. Alright.. between turtle-neck/high-neck-collar and scoooooooooping necklines are modest necklines which show the neck and just a little more, enough to look feminine without having to reveal. Now ask me, how easy was it to find a piece that fit this bill? Take a wild guess.
5. Repeat after me: 'feminine does not have to mean frills. or gathers. or synthetic fabrics.' How I hate frills and gathers! An elegant tailored cut with soft drapey fabric - now *that* is feminine. And no, it does not have to be pastels or beige. No, does not have to be brown either.
I tell you knitters - if you're in a knitting slump, just take a hike to one of your favorite warehouse-style fashion houses. Avoid walking into any small retail store along the way - keep the focus. Spend a good few hours at the store and see how rejuvenated you feel about being able to knit your choice of colors, with your choice of yarn, to create your choice of drape, with your choice of pattern and - most importantly - your choice of neckline!
I'm all ready to cast on for a glowy 100% cotton summer top in a unique shade of pink. :)
1. All brown is not of uniform color value!! Let me explain: Brown although is one single color, it does have many shades and hues to it. So also pink. And orange. And every single color I found out there. So then, why did I not find the many shades/hues? Why ONLY 1!????? (Ok, I did see 2 different pinks but 2? That's no different from 1.)
2. 100% cotton is the best for Summer. Where is the cotton? I don't like/wear capris - but it just so happens that that is the only garment I find cotton being profusely used for. Why can't I see any with summer tops? Or skirts? or sun dresses dammit??!!
3. Back to color: Teal and brown. I'm literally nauseated by the combination after seeing so much of it. And if you understand point number 1, you'll also understand that one teal+brown is EVERY teal+brown! Other combinations I saw: hot/pale pink with beige, hot/pale pink with brown, teal with beige, beige with beige with beige, brown with brown with brown, beige and teal and brown and there stops the entire range of colour combination. Oh, I forget pink with orange. Don't get me wrong.. I have nothing against the colors themselves - I'm only concerned about the number of hours I spent at the store in order to find some color (value - to be precise here) not already in my closet.
4. Alright.. between turtle-neck/high-neck-collar and scoooooooooping necklines are modest necklines which show the neck and just a little more, enough to look feminine without having to reveal. Now ask me, how easy was it to find a piece that fit this bill? Take a wild guess.
5. Repeat after me: 'feminine does not have to mean frills. or gathers. or synthetic fabrics.' How I hate frills and gathers! An elegant tailored cut with soft drapey fabric - now *that* is feminine. And no, it does not have to be pastels or beige. No, does not have to be brown either.
I tell you knitters - if you're in a knitting slump, just take a hike to one of your favorite warehouse-style fashion houses. Avoid walking into any small retail store along the way - keep the focus. Spend a good few hours at the store and see how rejuvenated you feel about being able to knit your choice of colors, with your choice of yarn, to create your choice of drape, with your choice of pattern and - most importantly - your choice of neckline!
I'm all ready to cast on for a glowy 100% cotton summer top in a unique shade of pink. :)
Monday, May 22, 2006
podcasts and ipod
Yeah yeah, I know, you don't need one to use the other but, you see, I do!
End of last week, I stumbled upon this wide world of knitting podcasts. I hadn't thought I'd have the patience to just listen to ramblings without visuals. So I just put 'find more on knitting podcasts' on my to-do and carried on with life. (Isn't that why check-lists exist, anyway?)
As an independent event, just today, what do I get as a gift but a black video ipod! 30 GB, mobility (crucial) and no choking of computer resources (with the itunes activity) while I'm trying to do other (more important?) stuff like work remote!! Perfect for podcasts as far as I'm concerned.
I'm having fun discovering, and sifting through podcasts to select my favourite. My WIPs are moving in slow motion as I'm giving my shoulders much needed rest to recover from their cramped state-of-existence. Nevertheless, there is some progress on a vest - pics next time. Until then, if you need me, I'm the girl blogging (or lurking) and listening to knitting podcasts all at the same time!
Added later: Relenting to the request for a picture.. here's the sexy ipod(der)!
End of last week, I stumbled upon this wide world of knitting podcasts. I hadn't thought I'd have the patience to just listen to ramblings without visuals. So I just put 'find more on knitting podcasts' on my to-do and carried on with life. (Isn't that why check-lists exist, anyway?)
As an independent event, just today, what do I get as a gift but a black video ipod! 30 GB, mobility (crucial) and no choking of computer resources (with the itunes activity) while I'm trying to do other (more important?) stuff like work remote!! Perfect for podcasts as far as I'm concerned.
I'm having fun discovering, and sifting through podcasts to select my favourite. My WIPs are moving in slow motion as I'm giving my shoulders much needed rest to recover from their cramped state-of-existence. Nevertheless, there is some progress on a vest - pics next time. Until then, if you need me, I'm the girl blogging (or lurking) and listening to knitting podcasts all at the same time!
Added later: Relenting to the request for a picture.. here's the sexy ipod(der)!
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
A bag 'full' of surprises
I felted - no, the correct term is 'fulled' - a mosaic pattern handbag recently and posted the entry here not so long ago. This is how it looks.And yesterday, I very idly turned the bag inside out to see how the pattern had felted from the reverse. And was I surprised! Look at this!! Isn't this just so sassy? That's Vickie Howell's favourite word but you know what, 'sassy' was the word that comes to my mind when I see this bag inside out.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
On a beautiful Sunday in Spring..
I saw some curious sights. A car driving down the road which got me..err.. curious and the bark of a tree that also got me curious (uhmm.. excuse my prolific vocabulary today - or the lack of it).
We barbecued - hurrayyyy. For all fellow-knitters who've also posted pictures of their weekend bbqs, I have only this to say: "Me tooooooooo...!!" We had endless skewers of veggies, mushrooms, and potatoes. We also had grilled burgers, asparagus and tandoori chicken on the grill. Yumm food and many friends - that's what I say makes for a beautiful Sunday in Spring. Do I hear 'touche'! :)
The remaining three artifacts need explaining. While sipping on some warm chai after the barbecue, I was knitting ofcourse. The ruffled scarf is made with short rows. It's a free pattern given by Knitting Arts. The yarn is just about perfect for the pattern and I'm enjoying knitting it even though I had sworn off scarves and shawls.
In the next picture is the fabric of the skirt I was wearing. Posting it here to comment on it's beauty. It's a block-printed (or wood-stamped) fabric that is hand-made in India. Paisleys and flowers are a common motif with these patterns. What I like here is how the subtle colours and the fading in and out of the orange shades enhances the beauty.
The very last picture is a really cute gift I got from my friend Janani. It's a green oil-lamp - a working miniature! It has a tank at the base where you fill kerosene and a thick wick that you move along with a knob at the side - just like the full-size ones. Isn't it so so SO CUTE!!
We barbecued - hurrayyyy. For all fellow-knitters who've also posted pictures of their weekend bbqs, I have only this to say: "Me tooooooooo...!!" We had endless skewers of veggies, mushrooms, and potatoes. We also had grilled burgers, asparagus and tandoori chicken on the grill. Yumm food and many friends - that's what I say makes for a beautiful Sunday in Spring. Do I hear 'touche'! :)
The remaining three artifacts need explaining. While sipping on some warm chai after the barbecue, I was knitting ofcourse. The ruffled scarf is made with short rows. It's a free pattern given by Knitting Arts. The yarn is just about perfect for the pattern and I'm enjoying knitting it even though I had sworn off scarves and shawls.
In the next picture is the fabric of the skirt I was wearing. Posting it here to comment on it's beauty. It's a block-printed (or wood-stamped) fabric that is hand-made in India. Paisleys and flowers are a common motif with these patterns. What I like here is how the subtle colours and the fading in and out of the orange shades enhances the beauty.
The very last picture is a really cute gift I got from my friend Janani. It's a green oil-lamp - a working miniature! It has a tank at the base where you fill kerosene and a thick wick that you move along with a knob at the side - just like the full-size ones. Isn't it so so SO CUTE!!
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