Finished

Ta da.

Cable Baby Hat

This is the matching hat for the baby poncho. I had planned to do a nice, detailed explanation of how this hat is made, but I only took one picture. Oh well. Basically, you make the earflaps first, then cast on between the earflaps to connect them. This little hat was actually very quick to make.

Picking up Stitches

I've actually finished this project, but I haven't had time to update Pins and Needles. In this picture, you see the collar marked every inch with safety pins. I needed to pick up five stitches per inch.

For picking up stitches instructions, continue reading.

In the Knitter's Handbook, which I use all of the time, the thing that helped me understand picking up stitches most was when I read that one should think of it as "knitting up" rather than"picking up" stitches. You don't just go around lifting loops up from the edge of the knitting. This is a step-by-step to picking up one stitch.

First, pick up a loop from the edge.

Next, loop the yarn from the ball of yarn you are using over the needle.

And pull it through the loop.

This is what it looked like when I had picked up all of the stitches and was ready to do the ribbing for the poncho's collar.

Flared Legwarmers

although I am not a fan of the multicolored version here, I am working on a pair of flared legwarmers to wear under skirts as the weather turns chilly...

I am not going to rib at the bottom, but I am going to make a ribbing (almost garter-ish) at the top. Does this need to be particularly tight, or am I safe making a pretty standard/straight cyclindrical knit thing which will reveal itself as a legwarmer?

(I will be purchasing a digi-cam for my trip to barcelona! and then I can accompany my posts with some pictures!)

mittenmitten! bazaar bizarre!

beth and I got into the bazaar bizarre! we had a very quick flurry of activity around the application process (read: ann had a flurry of manic activity, beth is a practiced and professional vendor and has already been selling through ebay), and built this petite site to show our wares: mittenmitten!

It's Magic

My friend Macky loaned me the pattern for this hat, which I am making for Warren. It is incredibly simple to do, but how the heck does it work?

I hope some day to understand knitting deeply enough to come up with something like this myself.


You can make the hat any size, but you have to cast on a multiple of four.
On circular or double-pointed needles (DPN) start with a cable cast on, which I demonstrated for the green baby poncho (scroll down). Put a marker on the first sticth after you join.
Work two rows of the dark color as follows
K1, P1, K1, YTF, SL1, YTB repeat
Work two rows of the light color as follows
K1, YTR, SL1, YTB, K1, P1 repeat
YTF means "yarn to the front." YTB means "yarn to the back." SL means "slip."
Basically, what you do is you move the yarn to the front as if you were going to purl the stitch, but instead of purling, you just slip that stitch without knitting it or purling it, onto the right-hand needle (or left if you're a lefty). Then you move the yarn to the back in order to knit the next stitch.
Tip: When you change color you can tell if you're doing it right because you will always purl the stitch that is the same color as the yarn you are using on the first and third rows.

Progress

The baby Poncho is coming along nicely. This is the first head hole I've ever made. I screwed up a little bit on it, but no one will be able to tell by looking.

I've left a few mistakes in, which I don't think will be very, very noticeable. I've had to unravel so many times on this project that at some point I just decided to let some small errors slide. That's part of the handmade charm, after all.

It's been very interesting learning to read the cable chart. I'm going to do a scarf for myself with cables of my own invention. There is an excellent article in knitty about designing cable trees.

I've gone from reading the chart to reading the knitting. I'm now almost to the point of being bored by the repetition, since the difficulty has vanished.

Stalled Sock

I was trucking right along on this sock for Erik (I plan to make two), when I did a very dumb thing. I completely forgot to turn the heel. Just plain forgot. I picked up the stitches on the side and started knitting in the round again for a day before I realized. Then it took me a week to get around to the unpleasant job of unraveling it, and I still haven't gotten back to it yet. Time to turn the heel.

Animation Made Easy

Use this site to make incredibly easy flip-book animations. My first one is called "Birth."

People You Know in Art

"Cheyney and Eileen Disturb a Historian at Pompeii"
by Lucy McKenzie

I ran across this on ArtMoCo this morning. I know Cheyney and Eileen, so I found it funny. Actually, I know Cheyney. I've only met his wife Eileen once.

You Knit What?!

Some things are begging to be made fun of.

(From the knitters tribe.)

My first Cables

This is the baby poncho I'm making for little Lucas, to learn how to knit cables. The pattern is from a Norwegian book of baby knits from Sandnes Lanette Superwash (number 9). I'm using CascadeYarns 100% Superwash Wool 100g yarn color 850.


The first thing I needed to do was to find out how to knit cables. I went online and found a good written explanation, and a video. (I think Beth posted about these videos months ago.)
Next, I made myself a cable needle by bending a hair pin.

This is the chart I have to follow.

I knit about 15 rows, but something was terribly wrong. The simpler cables were coming out all right, except for one small mistake where I knit when I should have purled.

But the more complicated cables looked just terrible.

Finally, I figured out that I was reading the chart backwards. It's obvious, of course, but I hadn't realized that I had to read the odd-numbered lines of the chart from right to left and the even rows from left to right.
I took out all of my 1,980 finished stitches, and started over. This time I numbered the lines of the chart, writing the odd numbers on the right side and the even numbers on the left. I'm also using a mini-post-it note to underline the row I'm in the process of knitting.
And this is how that chart translates into fuzzy green reality.

Socks

Knitty, excellent as usual, has a very good article about your basic sock, from last Spring. This issue's article about mittens looks pretty interesting.

Nip and Tuck

I had this red cotton jersey shirt I had found in the bulk pile at the Garment District, which was too big for me. I couldn't wear it because whenever I leaned forward the top gaped and exposed my chest. It's been in the mending pile for almost a year. I finally got around to doing something about it.

Get a closer look.

Cable Cast On

I just started a a baby poncho with cables. After making a swatch to check my gauge, I decided that I didn't like the edge left by my regular cast on. It's too loose and loopy. So I went to The Knitter's Handbook by Montse Stanley to find a better-looking edge.

(I use this book almost every time I do a project. It's totally no-frills and the instructions and illustrations are utterly comprehensible. It's detailed and fairly complete. The chapter on casting on has detailed descriptions of 54 different variations.)

I chose the cable cast on. It's tidy and tight and makes a clean edge. For detailed instructions how to do it, click on "continue reading."

Cable Cast On

1. Start with your regular old slip knot.

2. Hold the needle with the slip knot in your left hand (unless your're left-handed, in which case reverse). Put the right-hand needle through the slip knot loop and knit a new loop.

3. Slip the loop from the right-hand needle onto the left-hand needle.

4. Now, slip the right-hand needle behind the loop you just made.


5. Knit another new loop

6. And slip it onto the left-hand needle.
Continue steps 4-6 until youo have cast on your desired number of loops.

New

I am new to pins and needles, thanks for the invite, I hope you all don't feel like I am an intruder. I sort of feel like an inturder but I am sure it's all gonna be okay.

These days I am working on a few projects. One, my favorite one, is a t-shirt. I got the pattern off of knitty.com. the pattern is called bad penny. I changed the pattern a lot, used different yarn and will do something different on the bottom. Keep your eye out for a picture. I am almost done. I tried it on the other day to see if I like the neckline and I found that it matched the pants I was wearing very well. So I will have an instant outfit when it is done. I want to make a pair of pants to go with it. Brown pants. I have some stretchy yarn that I want to make sort of yoga-like pants. I am also working on a tank-top to sell to this woman. Unfortunately, it seems too big and I am afraid I will have to take it out and re-make it, again!! I have already taken the whole thing out and re done it once before. But it's really nice yarn and I enjoy working on it. It would be great if it worked out this time.

I just finished a crocheted hat for women that are going through chemo and have lost their hair.
I finished one sock for Jaman and need to make the secound one but am putting the secound one off for now.

Bicycle Cozy

I haven't done much knitting this summer, but I did work a little bit on my bicycle cozy. I'm using a lot of the scrap ends I've had for a long time to make it.



I think I will have the coziest bike in the greater Boston area by the end of the winter.

Knit Out

When I was at the Mind's Eye yesterday, I was informed of the Boston Knitout & Crochet. (Crochet. Knitting's poor cousin, being taken under her wing. "Sure, Crochet, I'll share my party with you.")

October 2, from 12-4 on the Boston Common. If you want a quick project to get you back into the swing of knitting, you can crochet or knit an 8"x8" machine-washable afghan square for charity and sew it onto the collective blanket they will be making at the event.

Tripping over Kidney Stones

Here are some of the entries in this years Biomedical Images contest.
I love this stuff.

Diaper Pins & Needles

Finally! A place for baby body modification.

No Sewing Required

Duct tape prom gowns. In case you were wondering what today's fantastic nerdy youth were up to. This site offers more evidence that goths are another nerd form.

space creatures in 3d!

there is a 3d film festival at the Coolidge Corner Theatre this week! and both The Creature from the Black Lagoon and It Came From Outerspace are showing on Thursday as a double feature... I am not sure I will be going to both, but I will be seeing at least one... anyone else want to go?

Dig, If You Will, The Pictures

Trixie is dipping into Socco's till!

Week before last, I took some photos of Pins & Needles in action. (Click on the thumbnails to see the full-size pictures.)

Viva, Trixie, and I came up with a mastermind scheme on our way out of the bowling alley: Pins and Needles will take a black and white group portrait photo, frame it, and surreptitiously hang it (prominently) in the bowling alley with the other bowling team portraits.

Flip Flop Sock

I know that there are people who cling to a small-minded aesthetic opinion against the wearing of socks with sandals. I imagine such people live in warm climates and have hearty circulatory systems. Or maybe they were scarred with mortification in their childhood years when their fathers wore black dress socks at the beach, with sandals made from old tire tread and black leather. Perhaps I am just a fashion permissive.

I'm not the only sock lover on the internet, knitting for sandals. At any rate, my latest work in the sock genre is this flip flop sock which I made for Vigo. To find out how to make them, click on "Continue Reading."

I'm first going to give the pattern for the exact socks that I made for Vigo and then a general recipe which can be adapted to any size. Both of these instructions assume that you have already knit a basic sock before. For example, instead of describing how to turn the heel, I just write "Turn heel." For instructions on how to turn a heel, check out the basic sock recipe.
Child's size 8-9 flip-flop sock
Use 6 size 0 dpns
lightweight yarn.
1. Cast on 56 sts
2. Double Rib 11 rows
3. Knit 20 rows
4. Seperate half of the stitches onto one needle and the other half onto another needle. One set will be the heel, the other will be the instep. Keep the instep sts on the same needle until the sock is finished.
5. Knit a square for the heel.
6. Turn the heel. The last row of the heel should be knit, not purl.
7. Pick up every ohter stitch on the right side, knit across instep, pick up every other stitch on the left side. Knit around one time.
8. Decrease for the gusset. Decrease every round, not every other round.
9. Double rib 22 rows.
10. Knit 3 rows.
11. Begin decreases on left side for left sock or right side for right sock. Knit two rounds, decreasing on only one side each time.
12. Seperate the big toe stitches from the rest of the other toe stitches.
On the right side of the left sock or the left side of the right sock, take 8 sts from the insole needle and place them on a new needle? Take 8 sts from the sole needle and place them on their own needle.
13. Starting from the end of the 8 insole big toe sts, pick up one st, cast on 6 sts, then pick up another st right before the first of the 8 sole-side big toe sts.
14. Knit around the big toe 7 or 8 rows. Begin decreases on both sides of the big toe. When you get down to 2 or 3 sts on each needle, close the hole like a simple hat.
15. Tie on yarn inside the sock on the insole side, near the big tos/other toe seperation point. Use this yarn to knit around, continuing the decrease on the side. (the last three needles on the insole side k2tog, k. first three sts on sole side k, slk2)
16. When you get around to the big toe, knit the hole together, pick up six stitches along the between-toe, close the hole on the other side, and knit around.
17. Now, decrease on the side only every other round.
18. Knit 7 rounds
19. Begin decreases also on the center of the between-toe part.
20. Continue decrease until there or only 2 or 3 sts left on the between-toe needle.
21. Close toe.
General Recipe
Knit the top of the sock and the heel normally. Decrease for the gusset.
Knit around one row.
The sock has a ribbed foot, to help it stay up better. Start your double ribbing now. Continue the ribbing until the sock foot reaches just under the ball of your big toe.
Knit around until the sock foot reaches about a quarter inch below the in-between of your big toe and the next toe. Begin to make decreases on the little-toe side of the sock.
Knit until the sock foot length reaches the between-toe.
Look at your foot and estimate how much of your toe-width is your big toe. If it is a third, take a third of your instep stitches and a third of your heel stitches to make the big toe. If it is a quarter, take a quarter of the stitches, and so on.
Cast on for the betwee-toe as many stitches as are on each of the other big toe needles.
Knit around until the big toe holder is almost as long as your big toe. Begin decreases and close like a simple hat.
Tie yarn onto the inside of the sock on the instep side, at the toe divider.
Use that yarn to knit around. Continue decreases on the pinky-toe side only every other round.
Pick up sts on the between-toe and knit around the rest of the toes. When you get almost to the top of the toes, begin to decrease at the center of the between-toe, to make a nice, rounded shape.
Close toe.

How about a New Wardrobe.

I've photocopied the A-line skirt pattern for all the Pins and Needlers, and I'll bring it tomorrow night. Maybe we can set a date for our sewing party.

For inspiration:

Lots of pictures of the Paris Prêt-à-Porter show. The text is in French, but it's not that interesting anyway.

Design your own clothes. Sort of.

Novel Materials

My latest Goodwill trouvaille is a series of Time Life books on "The Art of Sewing," published in 1973. There's some genuinely great stuff in them, along with a few really kooky howlers. Halfway in between, we have this "campy but tasteful conversation piece," featuring circles crocheted onto kitchen sink drainers. This is from the volume entitled "novel materials." They aren't kidding.

The instructions for making these is under "read more" in the form of jpg images scanned from the book. I know there has got to be a better way to do that, but I'm not sure yet what it is, so for now, try not to strain your eyes.

Spark Survey

We've been to Spark. Fill out a survey for them, and enter a raffle to win a gift certificate.

Don't do it for the gift certificate. Do it because we would all like for Spark to become the kind of place in which we might enjoy hanging out. Also, it's our most conveniently located yarn supplier.

Cat Socks

After working on the baby booties, I thought it would be neet to use the leftover yarn from Vigo's socks to make a tiny pair of socks, which I thought might fit Jobie's freshly born baby. Those freshborns are really very tiny. Unfortunately, as you can see, I went a bit overboard on the tininess and made a pair of socks which in fact are just about the right size for an adult housecat.

I did get to experiment with a spiral ribbing on these, though you can't really see it in this picture.

Lawn Bowling, anyone?

Sacco's seems to have been taken over on Wednesday nights with bowling leagues and teenagers and will probably be pretty crowded throughout the summer, according to Matt (young, sarcastic Sacco's employee, not old cranky guy). So we were thinking about lawn bowling for the summer, maybe at the field on Holland Street. Or switching nights to one that is less crowded. What do you all think? Parasols and knit bikinis?

Itty Bitty Baby Booties

While I've been mostly off line for the past month or so, I have been playing around with the sock knitting recipe (scroll down). These booties, which I knit for Jobie's baby shower present, were based on the sock recipe I used to make Vigo's socks.

I knit them on 000 size double-pointed needles, with mandarin Petit brand 100% cotton yarn color 4300, which I got in the sale basket at Mind's Eye. (They're having a sale next week.)

I ribbed the foot, thinking that might help the booties stay on better. I also closed the toe by making three decrease points rather than two. I found that for the gusset of a child's sock it is best to decrease on every round rather than to knit around every other time.

To see the pattern, read more.

Itty bitty baby booty
needle size 000
manderin petit brand cotton yarn, fingering weight
gauge 3.5st per cm.
Cast on 36 onto dpns
knit 8 rows
knit 10 rows of double ribbing
seperate half of the sts onto needle for the heel
and the other half onto needle for instep
knit a square for the back of the heel.
turn the heel
Purl to the middle of the row. (If you have an odd number of stitches, purl the middle stitch, too.)
Then, p1, p2tog, p1, and turn.
Slip 1, k back to the middle, k1, SSK, K1, and turn.
Slip 1, P back to the middle, p2, p2tog, p1, turn.
(You should be doing the p2tog across the gap created by the slipped stitch.)
Slip 1, k back to the middle, k2, SSK, k1, turn. (SSK across the gap.)
Slip 1, p back to the middle, p3, p2tog, p1, turn.
Slip 1, k back to the middle, k3, SSK, k1, turn.
And so on, until you reach the edge of the heel. If you haven't finished with a purl row, then turn your work and knit across
Pick up stitches on the side of the heel -- 1 stitch for every 2 rows.
Knit across the instep stitches that you set aside earlier.
Pick up more stitches on the other side of the heel (the same as on the first side of the heel).
Knit one row around in order to get things moving again.
Re-arrange stitches on your dpns
The round now begins in the middle of the heel, and instep stitches should be kept on their own needle(s): 1 needle if using 4 dpns, 2 needles if using 5 dpns.
Knit the Gusset and Foot
Now, decrease away the extra stitches.
Starting from the middle of the heel, k all the way up the side of the heel and K2tog the last two stitches at the side of the heel.
Knit across the instep needle(s).
SSK the first two stitches on the other heel needle and finish
knitting the round.
Continue until you have 36 stitches again.
Knit 10 rows of double ribbing
knit ten rows
Toe decrease
Rearrange the sts on four needles so that you have nine stitches on each needle, as if making a square with one side being the instep, another the bottom of the foot, and the other two the sides.
round one
on the first needle:
knit two together, knit until the last two stitches, ssk
on the second needle:
knit two together, knit until the last two stitches, ssk
on the third needle:
knit two together, knit until the last two stitches, ssk
on the fourth needle:
knit two together, knit until the last two stitches, ssk
round two:
knit around
repeat the two rounds until you have only three stitches on each needle. Close the toe by cutting the yarn about 20 cm from the bootie, then with a yarn needle, slipping it through all the stitches and pulling it all together from the inside like a drawstring. (the same way you close a simple hat).

Change of Venue

Maybe we should consider a change of venue for the summertime? Although we are technically a bowling and knitting club, we could take the summer off, or some nights of the summer off, from bowling... sit outside, have a picnic, have coffee, and do some knitting and talking... Sacco's might get a little steamy in the summertime, and I confess I have the fresh air bug... What do you guys think? We could even have rotating venues!

bowling movie!

I know you are all eagerly anticipating the bowling movie website... or... eagerly awaiting your "I Hate Gutterballs" tshirts... For an idea of the kitch and typography that I have in mind, look here: bowlingmovie.com

Mermaid Parade

Last week I made a suggestion that it might be fun for us to try to organize a road trip to go to the Mermaid Parade. It's being held on June 25th this year.



Check out parade pictures on this site and on this site.

Before the Mortgage

Not sure if I have posted this before, but these gals just uploaded some new stuff.

Two good friends of mine, Rachel Hutton out of Minneapolis, and Christina Amini of SF (temporarily in Providence) have a zine called [Before the Mortgage]. They have a quirky fresh perspective on the "btm" stage of life, mid-transition, getting shit together, coming of age, and all of the weirdness; they take submissions of writing and art/images, too. Check it out:

http://www.beforethemortgage.com/index.html

Tiptoeing octopuses

Check out this article + movie of these octopuses who can walk on two feet and look like coconuts doing it.

Your Basic Sock

Finally, an actual knitting project on our knitting weblog. Many of us are digital camera impaired, which inhibits the internet sharing of our work. My camera has died, but I got Erik to let me use his camera to take a picture of the sock I just finished knitting for Vigo.



I knit these on US1 double-pointed needles with Fortissima Colori 9070 sock yarn, which I bought at the Knitting Room in Arlington. The Self-patterning yarn is slightly cheaper online (minus shipping), but at the yarn shop they have little sample socks knitted up so you can see the colors and patterns really well. One skein of yarn was enough for one pair of socks for Vigo. I plan to use two skeins to knit socks for Erik.

Knitting socks is very enjoyable. When I got to turning the heel, I was so excited about it that I stayed up until about 1:30 in the morning knitting, and watching this incredible movie called The Happiness of the Katakuris.

(I can't describe this movie in any interesting way, but I very highly reccomend watching it. Especially the opening claymation insanity.)

I found a recipe for this sock on Woolworks. It is much easier to do than it is to understand by reading it. Just follow the instructions step by step and it all comes out like magic. Easy sneazy. Click on "continue reading" to see the sock recipe.

Generic No-Frills Sock Recipe
Here is a basic pattern for socks, made on double-pointed needles, using
whatever size yarn and needles you feel like using. This makes socks that are fairly short, so there is no need to shape the calf.
Getting Started
You need a few measurements from the target (the potential sock-wearer). Measure the length of the foot and the approximate circumference of the ankle -- maybe an inch or two above the slenderest area.
Take your desired yarn. Worsted weight or bulky yarn makes thick socks; use sports weight to fingering weight for thinner socks.
Make a swatch to determine your gauge. Try a few different sizes of needles, because sometimes the yarn looks best knit at a different gauge. Usually, the thicker yarns end up at 3-6 stitches/inch, while the thinner ones look better at about 6-10 stitches/inch. You don't need an exact gauge--you can often be off by up to plus or minus half a stitch per inch without making too much difference in the size and fit of the final product.
If you knit loosely and can't get a tight enough gauge, you can always make the sock too big and full it (ie shrink it) after it's done. You might want to try this on a swatch to see how much shrinking will occur. You can also use two strands of yarn to make a thicker sock.
Measure around the ankle and subtract one inch. Cast on enough stitches to go the circumferance of the ankle minus one inch.
Another method I've seen is "measure around the ball of your foot, and subtract 10%." For adults, this usually turns out to be just about "ankle minus one inch."
I've also simply used ankle circumference, with no adjustments. This seems to work fine, especially with a few inches of ribbing at the top. I've only done this with wool, so I don't know how it would work with cotton or other materials. I'm more likely to use this measurement if I think the socks might shrink a bit.
Another thing to be on the lookout for is the yarn thickness. A thicker yarn is more likely to be close to "ankle circumference," while a thin yarn is more likely to be "ankle minus X."
Cast On and Knit the Calf
Cast on loosely onto double-pointed needles (dpns).
Join, and knit a ribbing for an inch or two. (Use your favorite rib - k1p1, k2p1, k2p2-- it doesn't really matter.)
Then, switch to stockinette stitch (or your pattern stitch) and knit until the top of the sock is long enough (usually from 4-8 inches long).
Divide for the Heel
Now, divide for the heel. Half of the stitches (the instep) are left on the dpns or put on a holder. The other half go on another needle, and will become the heel. Unless it's important for your particular pattern (cables, symmetric patterns, etc.), it doesn't matter which half of the stitches becomes the heel and which the instep.
Put the heel stitches on one needle. Knit back and forth on the needles in stockinette stitch (k 1 row, p 1 row) until you end up with more or less a square. End the heel with a purl row.
Turn the Heel
Purl to the middle of the row. (If you have an odd number of stitches, purl the middle stitch, too.)
Then, p1, p2tog, p1, and turn.
Slip 1, k back to the middle, k1, SSK, K1, and turn.
Slip 1, P back to the middle, p2, p2tog, p1, turn.
(You should be doing the p2tog across the gap created by the slipped stitch.)
Slip 1, k back to the middle, k2, SSK, k1, turn. (SSK across the gap.)
Slip 1, p back to the middle, p3, p2tog, p1, turn.
Slip 1, k back to the middle, k3, SSK, k1, turn.
And so on, until you reach the edge of the heel. If you haven't finished with a purl row, then turn your work and knit across.
(The Secret Heel-Turning Formula
What you are doing in heel-turning is the following:
(a) you are setting up two decrease points, which are spaced equally far from the middle of the sock heel.
(b) once the decrease points are set up, you simply decrease across the gaps. After the first set of decreases, careful stitch-counting isn't really necessary.)
Pick up Stitches on the Sides of the Heel
Pick up stitches on the side of the heel -- 1 stitch for every 2 rows.
Knit across the instep stitches that you set aside earlier.
Pick up more stitches on the other side of the heel (the same as on the first side of the heel).
Knit one row around in order to get things moving again.
(I often pick up an extra stitch in each corner of the instep, to help prevent a hole from forming there.)
Getting Ready to Knit the Foot
Re-arrange stitches on your dpns
The round now begins in the middle of the heel, and instep stitches should be kept on their own needle(s): 1 needle if using 4 dpns, 2 needles if using 5 dpns.
Knit the Gusset and Foot
Now, decrease away the extra stitches.
Round 1:
Starting from the middle of the heel, k all the way up the side of the heel and K2tog the last two stitches at the side of the heel.
Knit across the instep needle(s).
SSK the first two stitches on the other heel needle and finish
knitting the round.
Round 2:
Knit the next row around.
Repeat these two rounds until you're back to the number of stitches you started the sock with.
For kids' socks, skip round two and decrease every round, to make a shorter gusset. The sock will fit more snugly that way.
The Toe
Knit the foot of the sock until it's about two inches less than the final length of the foot. Then, decrease for the toe.
Starting from the middle of the heel (or bottom of the foot, at this point):
Round 1:
First needle: K until the last 3 stitches on the needle, K2tog, K1;
Instep needle(s): K1, SSK, K until the last 3 stitches on the instep, K2tog, K1;
Last needle: K1, SSK, K to the end.
Round 2: knit evenly around
If you think this toe is a little too pointy, here is a slight variation:
Knit the foot of the sock until it's a bit less than two inches less than the final length of the foot. Then, decrease just like above. When you're down to about half the original number of stitches, decrease every round instead of every other round.
Grafting the Toe
When you're down to the last inch or so of stitches on each side of the foot (usually 4-8 on each side of the foot or 8-16 total stitches), break off sufficient yarn and graft the remaining stitches.
If you can't stand grafting, you could finish the sock like a hat. Continue the toe decreases until only 6-8 stitches remain. Break off sufficient yarn and run it twice through the stitches, pulling it snug.
For those of you who like to understand percentages and proportions:
The heel is done on half the stitches.
About half (or half plus a few) of the heel stitches will remain after turning the heel. Heel-turning decreases are symmetric around the middle stitch(es) of the heel.
The number of stitches picked up on each side of the heel should be about one half of the number of heel stitches (i.e. - one quarter the original number of stitches, picked up at each side).
At this point, you have about 1.25 times the original number of stitches you started with (plus maybe a few more).
Decrease the sock back to the original number of stitches for the foot.
The toe decreases start about 2" from the end. You'll need to use your row gauge and your toe-decrease plan to figure out when to start toe decreases if your sock is very large or very small.
Happy knitting!
--jp
jpa@agora.rdrop.com

Street Art

Looking at this street art weblog, I came across this project which I found pretty ballsy.

Ah, Kids

"He shoots his toenails at everybody and he is Van Diesel's brother. He can also turn boogers into sail boats and he is french"

Welcome to the Toy Zoo.

No one Suspects the Turtle

A turtle named Lucky is the only animal to survive a petshop fire. The petshop owner sees the image of Satan on his back and now says, "The marking on the shell was like the devil wanted us to know he was down there. To me, it's too coincidental that the only thing to come out unscathed would have this image on it." Coicidence, or Satan. You decide. Now on DVD.

On the subject of turtles, this turtle is a professional painter. I have underestimated the mighty turtle.

A League of Ordinary Gentlemen

Sorry to have missed bowling and knitting night! But, I can make up for it... As I think Beth and I have told you all, we have an advance (whew!) copy of "The League of Ordinary Gentlemen," a documentary about the PBA coming out in a couple of months... It is VHS format, and I have a VCR (in the closet) that I can hook back up and host a viewing party for... plus, I will make treats! I have comfortable seating options, three televisions, one sad ghost lamp, and a baking penchant...

I am snowboarding (or trying to) most weekends until mid-april, but I am happy to host a weekday evening fest... what night works well for people? Or, we could do it as an alternate Wednesday activity... you all get to pick!

Tupac is alive... see?

Here's all you need to know about 2PAC and "his death". I read it on the internet. It must be true.

The Blackhole

Like I was saying...The Blackhole exists... maybe. And get this, "Ten times as many jets were being absorbed by the fireball as were predicted by calculations." It's from the BBC - that's very newsy!

Broccoli salad + Fruit Pizza

Here's the broccoli salad recipe:
lots of broccoli florettes (i love that word)
raisins
sunflower seeds
chopped red onion

Throw above ingredients in a bowl.

Dressing:
1+1/2 cups mayonaise
1/2 cup sugar (or less)
4 T red wine vinegar
2 T curry powder (or so, as much as required for a nice maize tint)
Combine. Toss with broccoli & company.

Fruit Pizza

This one's from memory so I'm not sure it's completely accurate.

Spread sugar cookie dough (I usually get one of those pillsbury refrigerated rolls) across pizza pan (or other circular pan if you don't have a pizza pan). Bake as instructed for sugar cookies. While crust is baking, combine half cup of lemon juice and a half cup of sugar and cook over medium heat. (This is the part I'm not so sure of so if you have a different method for making lemon curd you should probably use that.) Once sugar is dissolved and mixture thickens, remove from heat.
Melt a couple of tablespoons of raspberry (or blackberry or strawberry...) jam in microwave. Cut up some fruit, any kind you like.
Spread lemon curd over crust, then jam, then fruit. Sprinkle sugar over fruit and broil a minute or so until sugar melts and fruit looks glazed. Remove from oven. Cool. Eat.

X-celling Over Men-Maureen Dowd-NYTimes

OP-ED COLUMNIST
X-celling Over Men
By MAUREEN DOWD

Published: March 20, 2005
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Men are always telling me not to generalize about them.

But a startling new study shows that science is backing me up here.

Research published last week in the journal Nature reveals that women are genetically more complex than scientists ever imagined, while men remain the simple creatures they appear.

"Alas," said one of the authors of the study, the Duke University genome expert Huntington Willard, "genetically speaking, if you've met one man, you've met them all. We are, I hate to say it, predictable. You can't say that about women. Men and women are farther apart than we ever knew. It's not Mars or Venus. It's Mars or Venus, Pluto, Jupiter and who knows what other planets."



Women are not only more different from men than we knew. Women are more different from each other than we knew - creatures of "infinite variety," as Shakespeare wrote.
"We poor men only have 45 chromosomes to do our work with because our 46th is the pathetic Y that has only a few genes which operate below the waist and above the knees," Dr. Willard observed. "In contrast, we now know that women have the full 46 chromosomes that they're getting work from and the 46th is a second X that is working at levels greater than we knew."
Dr. Willard and his co-author, Laura Carrel, a molecular biologist at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, think that their discovery may help explain why the behavior and traits of men and women are so different; they may be hard-wired in the brain, in addition to being hormonal or cultural.
So is Lawrence Summers right after all? "Only time will tell," Dr. Willard laughs.
The researchers learned that a whopping 15 percent - 200 to 300 - of the genes on the second X chromosome in women, thought to be submissive and inert, lolling about on an evolutionary Victorian fainting couch, are active, giving women a significant increase in gene expression over men.
As the Times science reporter Nicholas Wade, who is writing a book about human evolution and genetics, explained it to me: "Women are mosaics, one could even say chimeras, in the sense that they are made up of two different kinds of cell. Whereas men are pure and uncomplicated, being made of just a single kind of cell throughout."
This means men's generalizations about women are correct, too. Women are inscrutable, changeable, crafty, idiosyncratic, a different species.
"Women's chromosomes have more complexity, which men view as unpredictability," said David Page, a molecular biologist and expert on sex evolution at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass.
Known as Mr. Y, Dr. P calls himself "the defender of the rotting Y chromosome." He's referring to studies showing that the Y chromosome has been shedding genes willy-nilly for millions of years and is now a fraction of the size of its partner, the X chromosome. "The Y married up," he notes. "The X married down."
Size matters, so some experts have suggested that in 10 million years or even much sooner - 100,000 years - men could disappear, taking Maxim magazine, March Madness and cold pizza in the morning with them.
Dr. Page drolly conjures up a picture of the Y chromosome as "a slovenly beast," sitting in his favorite armchair, surrounded by the litter of old fast food takeout boxes.
"The Y wants to maintain himself but doesn't know how," he said. "He's falling apart, like the guy who can't manage to get a doctor's appointment or can't clean up the house or apartment unless his wife does it.
"I prefer to think of the Y as persevering and noble, not as the Rodney Dangerfield of the human genome."
Dr. Page says the Y - a refuge throughout evolution for any gene that is good for males and/or bad for females - has become "a mirror, a metaphor, a blank slate on which you can write anything you want to think about males." It has inspired cartoon gene maps that show the belching gene, the inability-to-remember-birthdays-and-anniversaries gene, the fascination-with-spiders-and-reptiles gene, the selective-hearing-loss-"Huh" gene, the inability-to-express-affection-on-the-phone gene.
The discovery about women's superior gene expression may answer the age-old question about why men have trouble expressing themselves: because their genes do.
E-mail: liberties@nytimes.com

Brunch Report

Four men learned a bit of knitting on Sunday: Aaron of the fast hands, quick-study Brian, slightly tipsy Mr. Wild, and Reluctant Erik.



I found this very well-maintained man-knitter weblog this morning. When Knitting Was a Manly Art:

"Another wet and cold day on Pumpkin Ridge. A young friend showed up at 9am this morning to help me clean out a much ignored horse barn. Luckily the John Deere 420 was up to the task and three hours later we got the barn done. Both with aching backs and cold bodies.

Restarted the Moebius this morning...The Moebius is a bit too feminine for me, but I'm really tempted to buy some more Qiviut for a nice scarf for myself. I will continue on the Moebius for now. I've got two washcloths already finished and the Zigzag is close enough that I should be able to finish it with occasional evenings working at it. The slip stitch cloth is really close to being ripped out. I dislike the yarn, I dislike the patterrn and I'm thinking it's not worth the effort."

One of the best things about Sunday was all the food. Heres the muffin recipe I use. I just put in whatever fruit I want, and I vary the amount of sugar on whim.

Justine, how about that broccoli salad recipe, and fruit pizza recipe.

Eventually we will need to have a Teach a Man to Purl Party. And a Casting-On Cruise.

Creepy Crafty

I meant to post about reborning dolls after reading this article in the NYTimes Sunday magazine, weeks ago. Unfortunately, I never got around to it until today.

Some of these dolls are almost as ugly as real babies.

Some of the supplies are creepier than the dolls themselves. Like the beating heart (scroll down) and the tushy fat.



Do it yourself.

Linky linky.

Men, Get Some Balls...

of yarn.

The Teach a Man to Knit Brunch, our first event, is coming up this Sunday. Last night Katie and Hiral and I bowled a string and then went to The Burren and made adorable invitations.

When I got home, I started thinking about cool TV shows Pins and Needles could make for Cambridge and Somerville community access cable. One idea: a five-minute show every two weeks or once a month, filmed at a different bowling alley each time. Each show we teach our audience one new stitch and we each give a review of the bowling alley.

Who has a video camera?

Mexican Milagros

Sorry for not posting this info sooner. I'm sure you've all been waiting anxiously for this link about the milagros. This is the best page I've been able to find about them, but I also didn't spend very much time. Let me know if any of you find out anything more. Enjoy!

Local Knitting Blogs

Knitty

Martha

Blue Blog

Mind's Eye

The Mind's Eye is located right across the street from Star Market, in this pretty pink house. Their classes are very reasonably priced and they're very friendly.

Tracy: Mind's Eye has a surprisingly large selection of yarns spread through the two rooms of the store. Most of the needles I saw there were wooden, except for a few very large guage ones in plastic. I prefer metal needles personally. They also have some knitting magazines. I bought some neet yarn from the sale basket (25% off!!). We should definitely go and sit in on an hour of their Wednesday knitting group sometime. It starts at 7pm.

Looking for links, I found this site reviewing a lot of yarn stores in our (general) area. I also found another local knitting blog. And a Massachusetts knitting and spinning blog.

Newly discovered random facts

I just found out yesterday that my dad used to be a pin boy! When he was about sixteen, but only for a few months because he claims the job was very dangerous due to flying pins. Like being a fighter pilot or spy. Not for the faint of heart.
He also told me that duckpin is different from candlepin and was the most popular type of bowling in Rhode Island when he was a pin boy. They use the small balls but the pins are fatter on the bottom half - like a squatting duck. Seems like I should have been able to figure that out, but I always thought candlepin and duckpin were the same.

Magpie moves to Davis

from many of the creators of Bizzare Bazar, Magpie is moving from Huron to Davis Square!

loose bind-off!

I (finally) finished my sweater! Very exciting, very warm, not entirely flattering, but quite wearable... I will post pictures tomorrow! I did learn a very valuable lesson in the finishing though: the magic of the loose bind-off... as the bind-off edge has less stretch than a regular knit row, this comes in handy for neck edging and waist seams:

loose bind-off works like this: knit your two stitches, and slip the first over the second, as with normal bind-off. Then, slip the single stitch back to your other needle: you will knit it again, and then knit a second stitch, slipping the first over the second as before. You can alternate regular bind-off with this loose bind-off (every other stitch or so), or do it ever stitch for extra stretch!

supercool!

news baskets

some very neat recycled product/building ideas here... I was thinking of having a paper mache party, but maybe basket making would be better?

Knitanon

I finally got around to adding the blog of my knitting mentor Heather Lester to the links.

Rehabilitated Crockery

A craft that combines thrift store shopping, graphic design, and printing. It's very appealing.

Needles on the Cheap

I made a couple pair of experimental homemade needles from dowels I found in the trash a while ago.

I got the idea from my sister-in-law Iris and from the Crafty Vixens Tribe. Of course, I had had the idea myself before, but all this talk about it in the space of only a few days made me want to try it. And I had the dowels.

Non-Bowling Event Ideas

1. Teach a Man to Knit

Brian and Aaron are interested in this. It could be cool to do it in a public place. Maybe the Someday or the Diesel or somewhere else. I'm thinking take the participants to the yarn store and then settle in for a knitting lesson. Women also welcome, of course.

2. Clothing Exchange Brunch, End of March/ Early April

Spring cleaning clothing exchange party. Knitters and non knitters all welcome. Friends and friends of friends. All leftover clothing donated to the Goodwill. Non-clothing also welcome.

3. March 4: opening of the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill at the Kendall Square Cinema.

Does anyone else have any ideas?

hiding places

I just discovered yesterday that palimpsest has a corollary in the art world - pentimento.

Minutes

Seminarwhal



Yesterday we were all so tired that we skipped bowling and went to check out the Spark Craft Studio. We sat around in their lounge area eating cookies and drinking tea and talking. Most of us helped support the local yarn trade.

We talked about the beautiful narwhale and it's unicorn tusk, and how much such a treasure sells for on the internet. (Generally not available in the USA.)

We agreed that the so-called craft of rubber stamping, as it is currently practiced, is really pathetic. (These look kind of cool, though.)

We discussed the meanings and pronounciations of the words "solipsistic" and "palimpsest."

There were a lot of other very interesting topics of conversation, but I don't have any more time to hunt for links. Anyone remember anything else? I know I had said I would look for something I had posted on my other weblog a long time ago, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was now.

Knitting Xtras

So for those of us who sometimes need a little extra help during the week, or just want to learn some new things I present to you Knittinghelp.com. It is a really cool site because it actually has videos! Plus I love because it shows all of the stitches Continetal style(the flipped around way I learned to knit) as well as English style (the way most people knit). Enjoy.

yarn grab bag...

anyone want to have a yarn scraps exchange? like an old lady hoarding her tea cups, I have lots of leftover yarn from over the years -- most of which, I am not sure what I will do with! So I will bring along my leftovers crate next week, just in case anyone is interested in using a new color for a cuff or stripe... Please be kind and adopt these lonely scraps! no trade necessary!

tonight? 05.02.02

is it a knitting/bowling night tonight?

I am out of the loop, the loose stitch, slipped of the needle, so to say... so I feel a little lost with our weekly gathering... are people planning on tonight? should I bring snacks?

see you soon!

the knitting room

I think we were all talking about it before, but...

I found a super cute new knitting store this weekend, near the capitol theatre in arlington... take a left just before the theatre, and on your left will be "the knitting room." it is pretty small, but they are quite nice, and run evening classes... and have reasonable prices on bamboo needles, yarns, and so on...

crotchet my heart

http://www.thekitchen.org/k04_lectures.html

Actually, it's "Crotcheting the Hyperbolic Plane". I think this piece is gorgeous, swirling and twirling. Where are these lectures in Boston? I was homesick for NYC and did my visit this last weekend and picked up the 88 sparkly blue camry wagon activity-mobile.

Walking over the Manhattan bridge to Brooklyn from the Chinatown bus town was the highlight of my trip. Lot's of ice chunks filled the river and the steamers pushed through them. The lowlight was witnessing a disintegration of my girlfriend circle. I have a list there called NYStudettes through which I connected a bunch of cool, independent minded gals. We hung out a lot and had a loose circle connected through activity postings to the yahoogroup. I went back for brunch and coffee shop hang-out in DUMBO and saw the distance between them and between myself and some of them.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.

On Sunday, I did a dumpling/dessert run through Chinatown-Lower East Side with good friend Page. Eldrige dumpling house to Il Laboratorio del Gelato, where I saw Jon Snyder, the entrepreneur extraordinaire was working away in the back. He started Ciao Bella when he was 19 and sold it, and now it's one of the most prosperous loveliest dessert companies. He's off doing another indie project. I feel like I have to meet this fellow and get inspired! He's a cutie too.

http://www.laboratoriodelgelato.com/press.php

Party Favors

Brian and Aaron suggested last weekend that they would be interested in Pins and Needles doing a "teach some men to knit" party.

Chupacabras

This one is for you, Trixie. An eight-part online documentary about the Chupacabras.

Ski Masks

I found the patterns for these wildly strange ski masks on Swapatorium. I found Swapatorium through the Crafty Vixens tribe.

Fig and Plum

I just ran across this weblog with a nice index of projects. It looks pretty Moveable Typish. We need to do something like this. I mean, if we ever finish any knitting projects (except Ann).

New In Town

Davis Square has a new locale for crafters, called Spark Craft Studio. I haven't seen it yet. Maybe we should pop in before bowling on Wednesday. They sell yarn.

Necco Knows

Everybody loves the candy heart generator.

Flaky

Cut your own digital snowflake.

Which Is More Lovely...

origami creations, or the creases in the paper? Check out Crease Pattern.

Valentine's Day

I've published a dirty coloring book for Valentine's Day. (All the way at the bottom of the page.)

bowling paraphernalia

http://www.bowling.com

Some nifty bowling items at this site. I particularly like the bowling gloves and bag dogs.

Links

Look to the left, I have added some links.

Henry Darger

Last night, instead of bowling and knitting, a few of us went to the Museum of Fine Arts to see a documentary film about the artist Henry Darger, called In the Realms of the Unreal.

A lot of books have been written about him. I had read this one, by Michael Bonesteel. This newer book, by John M. MacGregor, looks like it might be pretty interesting. Here is a review of it from Salon.

I didn't learn very many new things about this artist from the film, except that Darger had also kept a detailed weather journal for ten years.

The movie was described by the MFA as follows:
In the Realms of the Unreal by Jessica Yu (2003, 81 min.).

In the Realms of the Unreal captures the haunting imprint of an extraordinary, ordinary man— legendary outsider artist Henry Darger. Reclusive janitor by day, visionary artist by night, Darger’s “magnum opus” was a 15,000-page illustrated novel detailing the exploits of the Vivian Girls, seven angelic sisters who lead a rebellion against godless, child-enslaving men. Eschewing expert opinion, Jessica Yu’s film employs vivid animation and narration to immerse us in Darger’s world and illuminate his artistic process. Brought to life on film, the works reverberate with universal themes: the search for meaning, control, connection, and moral direction. Featuring the voices of Dakota Fanning (I am Sam, Cat in the Hat) and music by Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal. "

Chris wondered yesterday evening how much one of his paintings might sell for.

And, of course, there is a rock and roll band called The Vivian Girls.

Lace...

those books look great, Tracy... I want to learn how to knit lace, and she has a very highly rated "finishing" techniques book which I might invest in.

I found a lovely little sweater in the new "stitch 'n bitch nation" book (those knitting for hipster books that you can find at urban outfitters -- but, actually, I really like a number of the projects in them)... the sweater pattern looks very simple despite the terrifying prospects of being a "wrap" sweater with a "lace" pattern... maybe I should learn how to do button holes first.

Trixie says...

very cool tracy... our own place to trade knitting secrets...

K's UPDATE/CONFESSION:
1. My gun-metal grey scarf project is no closer to completion than it was last week.
2. I was hoping to practice Ann's "swiss methodology" of knitting - but have again failed to make time.

here's to hoping my next post is a bit cheerier... just testing out the blog.
Looking forward to tonight film gathering at the MFA.
k. (aka : trixie)

Nicky Epstein

I think I might buy one of Nicky Epstein's books. Has anybody used her stuff before? I was looking at a pattern in Vogue Knitting while I was at my friend Heather's place this weekend, which used one of Epstein's flowers. I borrowed the magazine and I'll bring it on Wednesday.

three cheers!

and a bonus strike for Tracy! this is supercool!

and now for a hot link! I saw this place out in Western, MA... and it turns out they sell yarn on-line... I haven't peeked around much, but it looks like a good resource: (or do I put this link below? I will try both!)