Adventures of a Desi Knitter

All it took was a sudden wet, cold and windy spell to snap me out of endless and restless startitis. Indecision about wanting a hat at all was swiftly overtaken by the urgency to finish and wear one. Instead of the deep red, however, I chose the deep blue. Wouldn’t you know it, Malabrigo worsted in “Azul Profundo” makes for a very warm Koolhaas hat.

Soft, snug and very quick to make, in spite of the intense cabling every other row. I love this hat.

My friend and knitting prodigy ManDuka, who, if you remember, embarked on her first ever hat just last November, took on this Koolhaas pattern as her next [you can see her gorgeous, green version in Cascade here.(Ravelry links.)], and is now totally into planning an EPS sweater for herself! Way to go, ManDuka. I loved the pattern after talking to her about it, and am glad that it overcame my ennui. Of course, it does help that the yarn has such lovely tones:

Details:

Pattern: Koolhaas, by Jared Flood, in Interweave Knits Holiday 2007.
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in shade Azul Profundo. I used just over 1/2 a skein, I’m estimating.
Needles: Size 6 for the ribbing and 8 for the main pattern.

Notes:
Not much about the pattern itself, except that I cast on fewer stitches (100). When I came up to the decreases, therefore, I had to do some footwork and calculating, which resulted in a slightly different crown than in the pattern; I made half an extra repeat and then decreased more rapidly. But the maths worked out, so I don’t care that my crown is a little different from the other 800 - odd Koolhaases out there!

It’s the yarn that bugged me. Have you seen the adoration for Malabrigo out there? Nineteen comments on the Ravelry yarn page that are gushing, to put it mildly. Sure, it’s incredibly soft, and as you can clearly see above, the shades are gorgeous. These colours are to die for, and I totally get the joy of the finished, subtly variegated look. But shades apart, the look is unfortunately not *that* finished in the end. I am surprised at how loosely the yarn is plied, and what a worn look it takes on even while it’s being knit. It’s not just the gentle, fuzzy halo of some loose fibres, but an almost felted look that well-used handmade items have. If you click on the photos above, and on the flickr page click on all sizes, then large, you’ll see what I mean. Here’s the loose cast-on end before I weaved it in:

Doesn’t it look nearly felted? Just from the agitation of two days of knitting, it was a little stiff, even! I wonder how people make sweaters with this stuff, because even at a very tight gauge, tough as that is to do when you have such a thick yarn, it must not hold up very well. That said, it surely is the softest wool I have ever knit with, and boy, right now, even in the northern California winter, I am grateful for the warmth of the azul profundo.

Tags: Caps, Hats, Etc. by desiknitter
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Over the last week, I must have knit thousands of stitches in total. A few furious inches here, some leisurely centimetres there. The days were crazy and involved much running around reading endless admissions files and preparing syllabi and course-packets. But the evenings were quiet. My Netflix supply was well-oiled, with lots of long, mindless, Hindi melodrama on full tap. I knit an awful lot of stitches. I should have not one, but two Cobblestone sleeves to show you.

But of course, I do not. It is the first sleeve, back to where it was last week. It made the trip all the way up to the armhole and slid right back, like an unlucky Snakes-and-Ladders player. Reason? The increase gradient was too gentle, and the sleeve threatened to be a bit too tight. In keeping with my new virtuous, gauge-and-fit-cautious 2008 self, I figured it was too early to slide back to my bad habits myself, and frogged.

It was a bad omen, no doubt. But in rash optimism and disregard, I cast the sleeve aside, and bought three skeins of a gorgeous forest green in Cascade 220 to make another Back to School Vest. Remember the one I made last month? I gave it away to a friend, and decided to make a better fitting one for myself. I cast on with size 7s like before and was an inch or so into it when a thought rose, unbidden, that the fabric was too loose, and that I might try with size 6 needles instead. A Counter-Thought naturally presented itself: did the first vest feel that way too? The thought, now stronger, insisted that it did, especially around the waist. Counter-thought, weakened by its adversary’s confidence, wilted and began doubting its own doubts about this apparent looseness. So I cast on again, with a different skein, with size 6s.

Thought and Counter-thought were clearly fucking with my mind and enjoying it, because now, an inch into both versions, I am thoroughly confused - too loose? Too tight? Not sure which one to do, I am altogether sick of this pattern already. But I can’t tell you how lovely this shade is - it reminds me alternately of moss and henna, which I feel I can almost smell or touch when I sniff or knit with the yarn.

No doubt my mind is mimicking the whole moss sensation, because yet another thought keeps forming threateningly in a deep recess somewhere, flinging more doubts and alternatives at me. Will this really look good as the BTS Vest? Wouldn’t the forest green rather be a comfy hoodie instead? Walk in the woods after rain; jeans, sneakers and green hoodie, maybe a cardi with pockets? Or, perhaps another Fitted Knits project - the feminine cardigan, in a dark green to minimize the overly cutesy look? It was this foolish thought that led me to rashly buy three skeins of another shade yesterday in charcoal grey for the Vest. Now my indecision is even worse - grey or green? Both are quite lovely, you gotta admit, but I’m too afraid to even wind the grey for fear that it will develop an identity crisis of its own.

Enough of Cascade, I told myself. Find a mindless, easy project to keep you occupied. I idly picked up a skein of Nashua Worsted and cast on for the Koolhaas hat for some instant gratification. No sooner had I done that than the alpaca strands got up my nose and created a fuss about too much fuzz, too little stitch definition, and there I was a day later, with the same project, but this time in Malabrigo Teal. I did two rows of the cabled pattern and another nasty thought, no doubt from the same subversive brigade, began to play in my head - do I really want this hat? I haven’t quelled the thought yet, and the two yarns are poised, waiting:

Socks! Always the last refuge, reliable, simple socks. My friend Madhavi got me two skeins of Regia from Germany this Christmas, and I brought them out this morning to pick one to cast on with. Just the thought of picking one over the other made me so superstitious, though, that they got photographed and went right back into the drawer. I’ll deal with them later.

This madness, it is hoped, will not last. I will sensibly match yarn to project, even progress a couple of inches, and not let the damn A.D.D turn me a complete, indecisive A.S.S. I just wish I could figure out which yarn to tackle first….

Tags: sweaters, Caps, Hats, Etc., Socks by desiknitter
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It’s Diwali: the annual festival of lights, spread over these four days from now until Sunday. Diwali wishes to all! May the new year bring good cheer and happiness, renewal and fulfillment all around.

This is the one festival that my family celebrates with abandon, and the one festival I can never be home for, given the dratted semester system. To be sure, there are religious ceremonies, and a mythical tale of good triumphing over evil that ensures renewal and prosperity - but what is Diwali without new clothes, fireworks, and food? The centrepiece is a snacks package called faraal in Marathi - about twenty different types of eats are made specially in each family, depending on their resources, taste and enthusiasm. Everyone exchanges faraal over the Diwali weeks and you give yourself over entirely to fried dough, powdered sugar and clarified butter. It is a good time. I am attempting an ambitious faraal myself this time, but more about that in the next post - cross your fingers that I manage to get it all together.

My festivities began spectacularly today. I had a very intense, exhilarating graduate seminar class, and came back home to open a package from Finland, containing this:

Silja sent me the most gorgeous sock ever in the whole wide world, encased in a wonderful little bag, along with a spare skein of Regia silk for me to knit the second one in the pair.

I love the colour, the fit, the pattern - thank you, thank you, thank you single sock partner! You chose everything just right, and this is just the perfect, timely festival gift. I cannot wait to knit its pair. I have been wearing the lone sock all over the flat already. That Cookie A. is a genius designer, just look at the twisted flower stitches:

Finally, this evening concluded on a pleasant note with this finished object:

Although not mine, I am proudly featuring it on the blog, as the first FO of my friend who learnt how to knit not two weeks ago! Isn’t it gorgeous? Just look at the elegant shape. She switched to DPNs in our neighbourhood Chinese restaurant this evening over dinner, and we walked home to cast off and photograph the hat amidst much squealing and glee. I am amazed at how smoothly she transitioned from circulars to DPNs, and from ribbing to stockinette to decreases. Definitely a natural at the craft! I think I have some idea of what evangelists feel like, finally. She left the house muttering, “cabling without a cabling needle…” even without my broad hints about knittinghelp.com, Ravelry, Zimmermann, etc….. I think we might have a convert!

It’s not for nothing that all the photos in this post have a warm glow, eh?

Tags: Food and Drink, Caps, Hats, Etc., Uncategorized by desiknitter
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Wow, thank you all for the responses to my blog poll! The crimson won out with 66 % of the votes, out of a total of 38. I am looking longingly (one last time?) at the forest green, but also looking long and hard and very meaningfully at the crimson! I like Opal’s suggestion that I could overdye it later, but let’s see. Quill, you were right that the green was being made into the BPT cabled cardigan from Knitty, but I am so bored with that project! Plus my cables were getting all puckered up at the increases and I was generally dissatisfied with it. Even if I don’t end up Ogee-ing it, it is not going to be BPT-ed any longer, alas.

Recently I got a couple of photos in my inbox, representing afterlives of my knitting adventures here. One is from the lovely Mary, who is the first one to make my Rangoli Hat! I am so excited! Thank you so much Mary for braving the pattern, and for turning out this absolutely gorgeous hat:

She didn’t block it over a plate because she likes this billowy look to it, which doesn’t give her hat hair! Mary it looks great on you! I love the flat picture of it in the sun, too.

(Now, if only the recipient of the original green piece I made would take a picture for this blog….)

The second picture is of my dear friend Madhavi, who is unfortunately braving mountains of snow and bitter cold in the northeast after years of living in friendlier climes. Many years ago in hostel she once persuaded me to design a nose-warmer for her (she hates the cold more than I do, which is something). I think I had crocheted one, but I am sure she never wore it. I wonder why, it even had strings to go over the ears! But as a mark of my sympathy for her freezing bones I sent her my Turkish balaclava hat. Here she is, totally wrapped up and surrounded by snow, but warm and smiling! Medu, stay warm!

Tags: Rangoli patterns, Turkish Balaclava Cap, Caps, Hats, Etc. by desiknitter
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So I finally got round to writing up the pattern for the Cabled Rangoli Hat, and I also made another iteration of it. This time in Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, in Asparagus. I have written up the pattern and uploaded it to my sidebar on the left, where it is available free for download. You can also click here. Do let me know if you make it, I’d love to know your feedback and comments. Here’s what the latest iteration looks like:

As I had said last time, the cables definitely show up more clearly in the wool than in the alpaca. The hat also retains its shape better, I think. I love it! It looks a little more like the Queen’s headdress than I had thought, but in a nice way!

I made some changes to the pattern: I abandoned the separation of the two lines and went with a standard k2 cable line amidst the purl stitches simply because it’s more convenient when it comes to crossing cables. I also decided to have the lines dovetail into the ribbing to keep things neat. The bobbles too, are purl bobbles now and sit better, somehow.

I was a little worried that the hat might not be deep enough, but it just covers my ears without being too tight, which is exactly what I wanted with it; this is not a 20 degree fahrenheit hat, but an it-might-be-chilly-out-this-evening hat, I guess. There are more pictures with the pdf pattern. It’s about 7 inches deep and 22 inches in circumferences, perfect for my big head. 

Specs for this iteration:
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, Asparagus, 1.5 skeins (approx. 160 yards)

Needles: 5 Susan Bates circular and DPNs. I imagine anybody else in the world will need larger needles than that for this yarn, or slightly finer yarn for that gauge.

Gauge: 6 stitches per inch.

Took me about 2 days of sustained knitting after I’d got the pattern all worked out (which took a *lot* longer!)

Am feeling maha pleased that this is finally done. This evening I also finished writing a rather critical review of a book for a journal that I had been putting off for weeks, because I am not fond of writing reviews for one, and highly critical reviews, for another. But all in all, a weekend of accomplishment, if not of fulfilment (read earlier post about not getting any bhang for holi…)!

Tags: Rangoli Hat, Rangoli patterns by desiknitter
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Remember I made a balaclava hat (or a monkey cap as it is called in India) sometime last year? Mercifully, I haven’t had much occasion to wear it of late. It’s wet here, but not cold and much as I miss it, I’m glad I am not walking towards the waterfront in Jersey City braving the chilly sea wind at night. But last night I was talking to my old roommate from college who, unfortunately, is currently braving some seriously low temperatures back east. I decided to send her the monkey cap instead. It will also be an improvement on the many failed attempts at a crocheted nose-warmer we tried to design for her back then.

That made me think, a lot of people come to this blog through searches for "balaclava pattern". I knitted mine as I went along and borrowed the motif from Charlene Schurch’s Hats On! book, but before I sent it off to my friend I thought I might look at it again, dig out my notes
and write up the pattern. So here it is. Just a note of caution, though: this is not a test-knit, proof-read pattern, but one that
worked well for me in terms of the basic structure of the balaclava. I can’t provide the motif from the book, but I think this pattern would look great in plain stockinette in a variegated yarn. Do let me know if you make it, and if you encounter any problems. I am
knitting one again based on these very instructions, and I’ll put it up later on the sidebar for .pdf download.

Pattern for Balaclava Hat:

Materials: Any yarn and needle combination that gives you a gauge of 6 stitches to the inch. (I used Knitpicks Andean Silk and Elann Sierra Aran on size 3s, but my gauge is always off from that suggested on the ball band).

The hat is knit from the neck upwards.

Neck ribbing:

1)    Cast on 112 stitches. Join, taking care not to twist the stitches. Knit k2,p2 ribbing for 6 inches, or the length you want the neck of the balaclava to be. The top should ideally sit snugly at the chin.

Back of the head:

2)    Next round, continue in k2, p2 ribbing for 70 stitches, then cast off 42 stitches in ribbing for the face opening. You should be back to the beginning of the round.

3)    Now continue to knit back and forth on these 70 stitches in stockinette. Knit back and forth for 24 rows, or 3.5 inches. End with a purl row.

4)    Turn work. Cast on 42 stitches and rejoin at the other end. You should have 112 stitches in the round once again. Continue to work in stockinette in the round for 22 rows.

Decreases for the crown:

5)    K11, sk2p 8 times around. 96 stitches remaining.
6)    Knit next 3 rounds.
7)    K9, sk2p 8 times around. 80 stitches remaining.
8)    Knit next 3 rounds.
9)    K7, sk2p 8 times around. 64 stitches remaining.
10)    Knit next 2 rounds.
11)    K5, sk2p 8 times around. 48 stitches remaining.
12)    Knit one round.
13)    K3, sk2p 8 times around. 32 stitches remaining.
14)    Sk2p round. 16 stitches.
15)    Ktog around. 8 stitches.

Draw yarn through remaining 8 stitches and pull together tightly.

Edging for the face opening:

16)    From the left bottom corner, begin picking up stitches evenly around the left edge (ear flap), the top cast on edge (forehead), right edge (ear flap) and bottom cast off edge (chin). I picked up 73, but the actual number is not that important as long as you pick up evenly (skip one edge stitch for every three you pick up).

17)     Knit in the round in reverse stockinette (purl) for three rows, and cast off all the stitches in purl. The edging should curl inwards nicely. Weave in all loose ends.

18)    Wear the balaclava and stay warm!

Tags: Turkish Balaclava Cap by desiknitter
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This is what I exclaimed to myself last night, after I finished my Rangoli beret, wore it and looked at myself in the mirror, and burst out laughing. The funny thing is that a little earlier, as I began the decreases for the beret, I held it up and said, hmm. It’s actually looking like it might be a bit too large, I hope it won’t end up too slouchy.

As you can see, slouchy it is not, nor is it a tam. But I am not going to tamper with it (heh heh) because I quite like what I ended up with. It’s a slightly loose-fitting hat, and on the walk over to school early this chilly morning, has established that it can keep my head from catching a cold without giving me hat hair. I love it, despite how off I was with my calculations. I’m going to soldier on with the pattern, but only after some more serious swatching. Here I stretched the cap out over a bowl so it looks a little larger than it actually is.

And here’s one of the crown:

I really liked the idea of the bobble for the dot, and the way I was able to separate the two lines of the petals by two purl stitches. The 8-petal division also works, but I might try a 12-petal division the next time. I also worked the decreases into the straight knit lines leading into the crown, which makes them look more raised and really gives them definition. Will retain that. One of the reasons the hat looks puffy but not shapeless, I think, is that the decreases are concentrated up at the crown. Will probably retain that too, since I like this more than the idea of a flattish beret.

I am not, however, happy with the way the two petal lines cross each other at the ends of the petals. I tried two tactics, and as you can see below, neither of which are neat enough and need some work. The single 1×1 rib clashes badly with the double petal lines, maybe a 2×2 twisted rib the next time.

But well, there you have it, my first FO of 2007. As I’ve probably said before on this blog, der aaye, durust aaye (Late, but worth it!)

EDIT: my apologies for the screwed up formatting, multiple pings and and the large photos. I really need to find another bloghost, this Typepad thing just won’t give me a correct preview.

Tags: Rangoli Hat by desiknitter
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If you’re familiar with the rangoli drawing process, it’s really fast. Bits of rice powder flow from between your fingers as you swiftly draw straight lines between two dots here and curlicues around the dots there.
Yarn, I’m afraid, is a much stickier proposition, as each stitch laboriously twists its way right and left.
Flourish and speed are not words that at least I associate with cables. Nimble fingers, however, are a requirement in both media, and the end result in yarn, I’m desperately hoping, is going to be just as worth it:

My rangoli tam/beret (what’s the difference, btw? just English and French?) which is advancing painfully slowly, but which might be completed soon. Before I forget, need to swear jot down some thoughts. I have frogged this project seven times, six times due to incompetent arithmetic and the seventh because of an error seven rows down that I couldn’t fix by rolling down an individual stitch. It’s not the pattern, it’s me. But I think I have the formula now. I’m going to complete this particular iteration, but to keep in mind for a final, more finished pattern and product:

1) No matter how beautiful and soft the alpaca yarn, cables and rib are nicer in springy, stretchy wool
2) For a pattern that requires a 1/3 increase in stitches after ribbing, it’s still a good idea to knit the ribbing with a smaller sized needle
3) Bavarian stitches will probably work a lot better with these single, free-form cable twists.
4) When a bobble is required exactly in the centre of two lines, it helps if the number of stitches between them is odd.
5) Likewise, if two lines are to cross neatly and symmetrically, it helps if the number of stitches between them is even.
6) Mixing up this odd and even combination invariably leads you to draw on particular words from your vocabulary again and again.
7) Swatching is good, even for a small project like a hat.

Deeni, if you’re reading this, I saw pictures of the Sunflower Tam, and I actually have an almost identical rangoli pattern like it that my mum named "Padmakamal" (Lotus). I might look at the pattern (don’t have the Norah Gaughan book) if I decide to adapt another pattern after this one. Thanks for telling me about it!

Tags: Caps, Hats, Etc. by desiknitter
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I’m sorry for neglecting the blog, friends. I said to someone that this semester was going to kick my ass, but I didn’t think it would start doing so, that too enthusiastially, quite so early on. It’s taking me a while to get settled back in, but in trying to get a routine going with all my new resolutions to spend less time online and get more serious work done, I’m finding a lot less time to knit. Also, it’s been bloody cold here, with my landlord being rather stingy with the heat, and it’s not fun to knit when your fingers threaten to fall off. (okay, it’s not that bad, but you get the point).

I did start one small thing though, after several false attempts, including one where like an idiot I twisted the round. It is not fun to cast on 136 stitches thrice over, so hopefully this one will continue:

It’s an attempt at a cap, a beret, actually, with this motif over the crown.

The motif is a rangoli pattern of a lotus roughly sketched by my mother a while ago (on a rather special date as it turns out, the birthdate I share with Spud!). The plan is to make it either as twisted single stitches or celtic-style two-stitch cables, am not sure yet. I won’t reproduce it just as it is, the end squiggles in particular need some work, as I’m not overly fond of bobbles or nupps, but the dots in the middle of circles and squares made by the rangoli lines are quite essential to that form. So let’s see. This one in any case is not a classic rangoli pattern, it’s a more free-form type, but one I’ve seen her outline quite often on our front doorstep.

The yarn is Knitpicks Elegance (Alpaca/Silk) and is behaving itself so far at a gauge of 6.5 stitches
on size 3s. Hopefully I’ll get time this week to make progress on this project, about which I am quite excited!

edited to add: I just looked at the picture, and apologize for the smudge. I need to get my camera lens cleaned properly. Also, what is it with me and red alpaca yarn and size 3s? But at least, this one is not on an overambitious deadline, what?

Tags: Caps, Hats, Etc. by desiknitter
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Remember the blurred picture I showed you of a project I finished for a friend last week? I went on a brief visit to upstate NY earlier this week for a talk, and met up with her. Hanging out with her and giving her the gift, and the stunning fall foliage totally made up for the dismal work trip. Seriously, flying cross-country and airport food apart, there is little more depressing than not getting good questions or feedback on some research that you present to an audience of your peers with great enthusiasm.

But, here’s what I made for her, Grumperina’s Odessa Hat:

Specs: One skein of Louet Gems Merino Sport (100% wool) in black and one skein of 80% llama/20%silk from Double K Diamond Llamas & Fiber, held together. It took me approx. 160 yards of each skein to make the hat.

I bought the llama blend at Estes Park a couple of years ago (Spud, this was when we went together.) It’s not that soft, but blended with the Louet, it makes for a very squishy and warm hat. My friend had asked for a black hat, but I added the greyish flecks with the llama to give it some body and texture.

Gauge: slightly bigger than that specified in the pattern, but it didn’t matter too much since the hat stretches anyway. I used size 6 addi circulars.

This pattern is great! Grumperina’s blog is just a teeeeny bit annoying at times (I can’t place my finger on why, exactly, and I still do read it regularly), but she is one talented designer. This is such a simple, intuitive and elegant pattern and the ribs swirl beautifully into the crown. Very neatly conceived, and a smart twist (heh) to the standard ribbed watch cap. Took me 2 days to make and I’d definitely make one in a lighter colour again. I left out the beads, though, because they looked a little gaudy to me.

After a long time, I had one of my favourite comfort foods, which said friend made for me: Thalipeeth (lit. Marathi for "flour-in-a-pan"). Hot, crisp and nutritious, it’s a quick dinner fix when you don’t want a whole meal, and with Marathi kakdichi koshimbir (cucumber raita with crushed peanuts) it was just heaven.

Tags: Caps, Hats, Etc. by desiknitter
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