Wendy Bernard's Blog, page 7

Selfies

I think knitters are the ones who invented the selfie. Thank goodness no one knows.

I tell you what: It's impossible to take a picture of a newly knit hat when you're alone and without a remote.

I have a new hat pattern and I want to show it to you before the official photos (of myself-ie) are done. 

Here's try number one:

Ugh. Try number two:

Great shot of my phone case. Try number 3:

No comment. 

So I got wise and here is your money shot:

Top down and in the round. Malabrigo Arroyo. Finished the pattern today and it's with the tech editor.

BTW: I will be a guest knit designer on a CAL/KAL with Marly Bird, who's a crochet and knit designer. She also does these cool web casts. (Even did one with Outlander's Diana Gabaldon!) If you're interested in getting the details of the CAL/KAL via her newsletter, you can sign up here. There's also a new Ravelry group that you can join here. The patterns will be available for sale on February 25th and the official KAL/CAL starts on March 1st. Lots of prizes, and we'll both be knitting and crocheting with you and providing support and tutorials. We're calling it a Learn-A-Long because the theme is entrelac and let me tell you, I've never done it before and designing for it was a learning experience!

Funny How all of a Sudden One Gets off Their Butt

Well, I haven't actually been on my butt--in the sense of being on one's butt that is. Because, unless you have one of those desks you stand at or walk under (treadmill, ha ha), one has to sort of be on their butt to work in this business. But you know what I mean. Yeah, I've been sitting on my butt for two years writing a book and knitting for it. I don't knit while standing too often unless I have to hop up because one of the dogs begin to sound like they might throw up, but generally speaking, yes, I have been on my butt--actively--yet, I've been only focused on one thing for a long, long time: writing, knitting, procrastinating, swatching, and not cleaning the house.

Something did happen a few weeks ago, though. It was like the clouds parted and my brain decided that it was okay to let an old love in. So, I began to start knitting for fun again. Without realizing it, that is. (See photo above. This is the first mindless, happy, fun and easy design that I just knit and jotted down for the heck of it. Girlfriend won't take it off.)

And this is a good thing. One always wants a job that they enjoy. And yes, I do enjoy what I do. But knitting hasn't been a hobby for me for a long, long time. It has been a job, although a job that I enjoy.

Which brings me to allllll the things that I did in between finishing the book (which I will tell you more about soon) and absent mindedly picking up the needles for fun again. I:

Embroidered like a mad woman
Folded paper folders for which I have almost no use (but, but. . . I have a bone folding tool!)
Continued embroidering those crazy balls
Sewed stuff, like lots of stuff
Nagged Girlfriend to stuff the stuff under her bed into a box for sorting
Planted about twelve poppy plants
Decided that all I want to cook and eat are two fares: Mexican and Indian
Made lots of pickles

I also decided to try something new that I told you about last week: Entrelac. The capelet is finito. And here it is, in all its glory, along with some spiffy sweat pants, a tank top, and a top knot that will knock your socks off. (A KAL/CAL will be announced soon. It will be a super-fun knit and I will love to see all the color combos people come up with.)

Sorry you don't have a great view here. It's just that I have a need to photograph pretty much everything in front of my gold mirror after I get home from the gym. Plus, the lighting is good in that room. (Despite the hobo-chic attempt at fashion. *No disrespect to hobos intended*)

 

Trying Something New

When my grandmother was not as old as she is now (she's nearly 100), but when she was probably a little older than I am, perhaps in her early 60's, she'd forget something and I'd remind her of whatever and she'd quip, "Oh! That's okay! The thing about forgetting things is that a lot of old stuff becomes new again!" and then move on.

I know I've talked about it, so it isn't news, but she has Alzheimer's Disease. I often think of her because she was a knitter. She actually taught me to knit. And one of the last times I visited her, I put my knitting in her hands and she told me that she wished she knew how to knit. 

Anyway, I've been reading a lot about how to keep your brain healthy, like doing some brain puzzles to keep it fit. On the other hand, I've also been reading that the reason some people become forgetful is simply because their brain is so full it can't keep all the stuff in. Kind of like an overstuffed pillow or a burrito with too many beans in it.

I think my brain is pretty full and I'm not yet wandering around wondering who I am (although somedays I'm pretty close), so I'm going to bet on the "learn new things" approach to keeping my brain healthy.

When a friend of mine suggested we do something together using entrelac, my first thought was that I'd much rather learn how to tap dance (which is true), but in the interest of trying something new--especially using a technique, to be honest, that I've never admired--I decided that yes, I will learn entrelac! And it will be fabulous!

So I'm giving you a sneak peek here of what I've come up with. I did take a great course at Craftsy by Gwen Bortner to get me started, though. I'd highly recommend it.

I can't tell you why I've never tried entrelac before, but most of it is that I knew that I needed to turn my work a lot. I also wasn't interested in learning to knit backwards to speed things up. Not to mention, there isn't a lot out there made with entrelac that spoke to me.

But taking Gwen's class made me want to learn how to knit backwards. Do you ever knit backwards? Seriously, it is so crazy-easy that I'm surprised anyone ever purls.

Which reminds me of a gal who says she's knit for years . . . and then follows up her claim with the fact that now she's finally ready to learn to purl. This is a true story, friends. If you want me to prove it, I'm still buddies with the gal who was there when this story was uttered.

More details on this to come. Marly Bird and I will be doing a K/CAL with our respecitve entrelac designs soon and with lots of prizes and tutorials...

BTW: Freia Fine Handpaints Ombre Lace in Denim. One skein. This is an in-progress photo.

Yen Jacket Pattern

A few months ago, Sundara from Sundara Yarn wrote me and asked me if I would like to use her yarn in a design of my own. She sent me this gorgeous cashmere and silk blend in a new color she has named "Passion." So, I thought the color and drape of this wonderful fiber lent itself to a sweet jacket perfect to pair with a pretty dress, tank or top.

Knit in pieces and seamed up and dressed up with a touch of attached i-cord, this jacket features a completely reversible nine-row lace pattern so that, should the jacket fall open, the wrong side will be just as pretty as the right side.

This jacket is meant to be loose, so when choosing sizes feel free to size up a bit.

I'd say this project is suitable for an advanced beginner. The only skill that is intermediate is the attached i-cord that can be skipped if you want to. There are many on line tutorials for attached i-cord, so if you're wondering how to do it, there are plenty of resources.

SIZES

X-Small (Small, Medium, Large, 1X Large, 2X Large, 3X Large)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

30.5 (32.75, 35, 37.25, 39.75, 44.25, 51)", after blocking

YARN

Sundara Yarn Sport Silky Cashmere (65% white cashmere / 35% silk; 320 yards / 100 grams): 2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4), skeins, Passion

NEEDLES

One pair straight needles or one 30" long or longer circular needle US 5 (3.75 mm)

One pair double point needles (dpn) size US 3 (3mm)

NOTIONS

Stitch markers, yarn needle

GAUGE

28 sts and 28 rows = 4" in Lace Pattern, before blocking

21 sts and 36 rows = 4" in Lace Pattern, after blocking

Note: After-blocking gauge is given for the purposes of swatching; pieces will be blocked to specified measurements rather than to gauge.

Click on the button below to buy a pdf copy. It will be sent to you in a zipped PDF file via email when payment is made or eCheck clears. Thanks!

 

$6.00

Earworms, Dreams and New Socks

You know how it is when a song is in your head. It makes it worse when you can't recall the lyrics in total. But your brain hums it as you go through your day and at some point you feel like subjecting yourself to "It's a Small World" to break the monotony.

But enough of that. I'm going to tell you of the epic dream I had last night. Maybe you can help me make sense of it.

The song that has been in my head is "Stardust" as sung by Nat King Cole. At the end of this post, I'll give links to the song as sung by others. I apologize if you walk away from this and can't get it out of your head, either.

So, I'm in a bedroom and laying on a big bed with lots of white sheets, pillows and a fluffy duvet (much like the one I sleep in every night). Behind this huge bed are windows and they're open. The wind is blowing through the windows and the curtains sail above my head. It is still light outside. In fact, it almost feels like it is sunrise. On my right is a salesman wearing a red shirt (I don't know who he is; he's just a salesman). On my left is a docent I work with. He's an old guy, probably about 90 and I'll call him "Mullen," who bears all the markings of a war gone by. We lay there, all three of us, staring up at the ceiling trying to sleep and all of a sudden Mullen starts singing:

"Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song . . ."

And I sit up, lean over to him, look into his eyes and join him in song (with a really good Julie Andrews voice):

". . . The melody 
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new 
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song."

Then, two good looking dark-skinned men wearing Calvin Klein white underwear come behind us and lean through the open windows, reach over to Mullen, and begin to rub his shoulders. Mullen smiles at me.

Next thing I know, I'm in nursing school. I am told that I'm wearing the wrong uniform. The one I should wear should be all white but I'm wearing a smock that looks like an 80's ugly sweater with big shoulder pads. I go home to an apartment building with one of the other trainees to spend the night. All along, I wonder if I should really be a nurse because I don't want to give people shots. Maybe I shouldn't be a nurse? Maybe I should do something else? As we get onto a mattress on her floor (I can see the kitchen in front of us), and we lay there staring up at the ceiling trying to sleep, I hear her begin to sing:

"Sometimes I wonder, why I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song . . ."

And just as I begin to sing along, the doorbell rings, she pops out of bed to answer the door. She's wearing a bikini. Before she answers the door, she hoots and does a kick like a Rockette. A young man with long hair comes in, and they go into the bedroom and I wait for her to come back to sing with me again but she never comes, so I leave.

But I can't find my car.

So I wander through the apartment complex and pass by the pool. Lots of people are swimming and drinking and the steam is rising above the water. It's dark outside.

Next, a young man with dark skin finds me and brings me up to his apartment. He says I can sleep there. We get into bed and as we lay there in the darkness and stare up at the ceiling, the young man begins to sing:

"Beside the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms . . . "

I reach for his hand and join him and know all the words, and again I sing like Julie Andrews:

". . . The nightingale 
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew."

He turns his head my way and I can see his teeth in the darkness. He's smiling. We sing together:

". . . Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain."

After that, I find myself in the parking lot again.

And I can't find my car. I'm still lost.

The end.

Hoagy Carmichael version (He wrote the song)

Nat King Cole's version

Willie Nelson's inspired version. Wow.

A delicious ukulele version

BTW: Girlfriend has new socks. Tipsy Sheep Yarn. This yarn is fab and great to knit. I just know these will be sturdy, too.

What We Did for Christmas. An Essay.

What We Did for Christmas: An Essay the Old Fashioned Middle-School Way.

    Christmas comes one time each year. Each year at Christmas, we go to Colorado and hope for snow. The last three years, we had some snow. This year we did not have snow. We drove in a caravan of cousins and brothers and sisters up the Rocky Mountains to about 11,000 feet and finally found snow. When we were up there, we sledded, we froze, and then after that, we went all the way home back to California.

    Once we found snow, we pulled our sleds out of the back of our cars and dragged them up the sledding hill. It was rocky and icy. We broke three sleds going down those rocky slopes. HWWV got a bruise on his butt. Girlfriend hit it like a pro and was one of the cousins who went up and own the most times. Her uncle Marc said that Girlfriend was an old pro not only because she went down and up so many times but that she never complained that her younger 3-yr old cousin got more attention than she did.

    After about an hour, my sister and I discovered that wearing our snow boarding outer layers was not a good idea at 11,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains. When I wear the inner layers, which are slippery, my outer layers fall down when I ski or sled. Thinking that because it was so warm down at about 6,000 feet, that it would also be warm at 11,000 feet, I left my inner layers behind so that my pants didn't fall down while sledding. They fell down big time, anyway, and I got wet inside and outside when we sledded down the hill. When we sledded down the hill we'd kick up snow and it found its way inside every crevice. One time, my sister and I went down the hill and took out a tree trunk. We also almost knocked over about 20 children. (Parents, hello: Don't walk your kids up the center of the sledding hill.)

    After we went back to my father's house, we ate Indian food and got on a plane back to California. The following day we did what we do when we're at home-home. Seafood. Beach and sunset. Winter is the best time for the beach where we live.

    To summarize: It is always fun when there is snow where you go. And if there is no snow where you go, it is also fun to climb a hill with cousins, brothers and sisters to finally find it way up high, even though it gets cold. Parents should not walk up the middle of sledding hills with little kids, otherwise, they could get hurt. Indian food is good after sledding. Going home and hanging at the beach is even better.

Happy, happy new year, friends. Be warm.

Red Solo Dixie Cup. A must.

Playing the ukulele and eating chips. (P.S. I insist on no Hawaiian music. I like jazzier fare.)

Girlfriend, having the time of her life with her bestie.

Surfers, enjoying the sunset. Did you know there are sharks out there? I know this because I saw it on the news the next morning.

I waited until two days later to tell Girlfriend about it. I assured her that they were just baby Great Whites.

Loretta Gets a New Sweater for Christmas

Lately, I've had the urge to work stranded colorwork. 

I usually don't like doing it because I find it a bit fiddly. But since I knit continentally and I also know how to throw, I thought I'd give it a whirl with a strand of yarn in each hand and it works for me quite well.

[BTW: Awhile back in a crafting group that I attend, someone who knits and is from another country stated that I must be a very slow knitter. I asked her what made her think so. She then said something to the effect: "You're American. You throw." Assumptions aren't cool, people. Not to mention, there are fast knitters and slow knitters. It doesn't matter how you get there. /BTW.]

Anyway, I grabbed some Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport--one of my faves for this type of thing, measured Loretta from neck to mid-back and from under arm to under arm and came up with a measurement of 7" x 7". I figured out my gauge and how many to cast on, found a simple fair isle pattern with a multiple of 4 and got going.

Since I like working stranded colorwork in the round, I added a steek so that I could later cut it and end up with my 7" square.

This is what it looked like before I cut it.

This is what it looked like after I cut it.

After that, I made a ribbed section that will connect the two sides together and finish the body. I just sewed the ribbed rectangle to either side of the steeked portion (I tacked down the steeks to the underside first), leaving openings for Loretta's little legs.

After that, I picked up stitches in the round and made a ribbed neckline.'

Loretta loves her new sweater. After all, she hardly has any hair, poor thing.

Merry Christmas.

 

Tipsy Sheep

If ever there was a name of yarn that I can glomb onto.

I have heard of people tipping cows over. Is that a thing? I was born in Minnesota but grew up mostly in Texas and California where you don't see a lot of cows, at least not daily while in "cities," so the idea of tipping a cow over never occurred to me. But if a yarn is called "Tipsy Sheep," I can totally relate.

Especially since Lizzy, the individual behind this brand-new indie yarn, names her yarns after cocktails. 

The one I have here is called "Mint Julep." Oh, and believe me, I have already told her that my favorite cocktail is gin and tonic. Imagine the possibilities with that one! (The colors could be reminiscient of that vase there behind my skein. My grandmother made that vase for me in her ceramics class back in the day when she took classes at her mobile home park. I miss her so much. She is still alive but suffers from Alzeheimer's Disease so she doesn't know me. I know her, though. I know her. I know her very well.)

I haven't ever tasted a mint julep cocktail, but I do love the colors in this skein. They are muted and remind me, once knit up, of my beloved Koigu KPPMmmmmmmmm.....  The yarn base reminds me of Wollmeise. Yes, Wollmeise. I checked the fiber content of the Wollmeise I have on hand, so it's most likely not the same base, but it has a nice twist and I think, once knit into a pair of socks, it will be durable.

The other day, I grabbed a skein of Opal sock yarn that I have had on hand for years and thought I'd knit a pair for HWWV for Christmas. Friends, do yourself a favor and invest in a scale. Or force yourself to use one.  Even though I have one, I didn't weigh the remainder of the skein after I had knit beyond the heel, and what do you know? I have only 66 grams left. Which means:

Sad Trombone.

Time to rip back quite a bit.

Which brought me to this Tipsy Sheep.

I do love this Tipsy Sheep Yarn. (And with every skein, Lizzy includes a cocktail recipe on the yarn band; but if you're a club member, she includes dye notes, instructions for a new knitting technique and CANDY.)

The Tipsy Sheep Socks will go to Girlfriend.

HWWV will have to wait for his.

So This is What Happens

So this is what happens when you just allow yourself to knit without a plan.

I'm usually so caught up with:

Will it work?

Can I make a pattern?

Will people want to wear this?

Will people want to knit this?

Does it make sense?

Is it easy enough?

It it too figgly?

Will knitters get mad if I add elements they don't like like lots of ribbing or crochet or cables?

Is the yarn readily available or substitute-able?

I just finished my fourth book that will come out in May. After spending over a year working on it and being in that weird mode, first, I stopped knitting and started to embroider things. Next, after a few weeks, I found myself knitting a square on the bias. Then I knit another square that was bigger. Also on the bias. Then, I sort of seamed them together, added two bottom borders and finally, sleeves. Last, I added a cowl turtle neck.

I did not write down the pattern.

I didn't even count stitches.

Did I do a swatch?

I think you know the answer.

This is what happens when you allow yourself to just go with it.

This is a good thing to do.

Not every time, but once in awhile.

To give yourself a breather.

Now this other thing with which I allowed myself to "just cast on and go with it," well, let's just say I'm not so sure.

I hope you had a nice weekend.

BTW: For this "not so sure,"  I just found some wool on a cone and a skein of this variegated Kauni which is sold at The Loopy Ewe. I steeked the thing so that it can have armholes. Beyond that, it's just a lonely tube. I will say, however, that it was fun to knit so if it becomes a big pillow or just a knit tube, I'm okay with it.

 BTW #2: Yes, that's Chuck in the picture. He's very, very old now. We are sort of counting the days but he's still hanging in there. I'm writing this because old Knit and Tonic readers are probably wondering.  : )

A Couple Books You Might Like this Time of Year

Ever since this book, Paper Play by Lydia Cook, arrived at our house a few weeks ago, Girlfriend has been bugging me. She's been wanting to take a pair of scissors to this book, to color in it, and to make all sorts of fun crafts with its pages.

But I kept telling her to hold off, that I needed to find the time to give it a review, and after that, she could go to town.

Today is that day.

Paper Play is one of those books that will appeal to pretty much anyone who enjoys drawing, cutting and imagining, but especially kids from probably around four years old to early teens.

There are old-school paperdolls, ones that soooo remind me of how my mom used to tear out pages of underwear models from the Sears catolog and tape them on a sunny window. After that, she'd place a plain piece of paper over it and ask me to trace the image.

If they turned out really nice, she'd transfer what I drew to watercolor paper and then paint them for me. Like, really beautiful painting.

Once they were done, we'd tape the painted doll back up on the window and trace clothing--with tabs for folding over--on top of the doll. 

And again, if the clothes turned out nicely, she'd transfer them to heavier watercolor paper and we'd paint them together.

Of course, this was before electronic toys came on the scene.

Or X-boxes.

Or more than three or four channels on the TV. (And if you were truly lucky, the bunny-ear antenna would give you more than a view of a grey blur--oh, and did I ever tell you that the first TV show I watched on our first color televesion was a variety show with Tom Jones? He was wearing lemon yellow slacks while singing "It's Not Unusual." Ha!)

So, this book: it's charming! It would make a great gift for someone during the upcoming holiday or for something to do to pass the time rather than sitting, staring at some television show or playing Nintendo.

Another book I have on hand I'd like to share with you is Uncommon Cards by Jeanne Williamson.

Uncommon Cards is one of those books you'd find at the local book store (they're a dying breed) and pick up to look at because it is so unique.

Within its pages, Jeanne shows you how to create your own sewn cards with found objects or recycled materials from our own home. Things like leftover lengths of thread, unused pencils, fabric motifs and old paper maps. (Who needs those anymore?)

Anyone who enjoys passing the time making handmade cards rather than going to the local five and dime--especially crafty types like us--will be inspired to create or make, rather than buy. I can imagine using the instructions to create my own gift tags for presents.

The book contains all the necessary instructions that kind of look like simple recipes with pictures, and at the end of the book there is card stock that you can actually use. There are a variety of cards that you can make, but they do require simple sewing, so there's one caveat. (I didn't really know that one could sew onto paper!) There are also instructions on how to make your own envelopes, two different kinds, and they are straightforward.

Phew! Now that I've written these reviews, guess what I'm going to do? That's right: Sit down next to Girlfriend while she tries her hand at making a card from this book using her sewing machine. . .