Kippalong Redux-How Do I...?

This post has moved to Ms. Yarnaholic's School for Wayward Skeins - Kippalong Redux

Change of Address

Changing YC-The Group Blog over to blogspot.com has caused broken image links. I'll try to get them fixed as soon as I can.

While there won't be any new posts, the archived information will still be available.

UPDATE: I think I've got all of them. If you run across a broken image link, please leave a comment and let me know where.

WIP-The Girlfriend Shrug

(click on the image to see it larger at my flickr account)

Knitting Wendy's pattern in an imported cotton yarn on US2's. The first sleeve was done in the round up to the point where it would have been sewn shut, as the pattern calls for the shrug to be knit flat, but I chose to split it midway between the "seamline" and the shoulder. It made more sense to me. Besides, I'll do nearly anything to avoid seaming!

This will probably be my last post here. The YC Group Blog has served its purpose in encouraging me to start knitting again after nearly a two-year non-knitting fugue. While I doubt that I will ever be the dedicated (read-"insane") yarnaholic I was when I started knitting some 20 years ago, there's still all that yarn stash waiting to be either given away or knitted up. That's certainly a challenge by itself! Those knitting adventures I'll be posting elsewhere and I'll let you know the new address once I've moved.

Bye til then!

Knitting for Sanity

One would think that given recent and current events here at home I'd be knitting to keep my sanity.

Well, I'm not. I find that knitting gives me far too much headspace to ponder things. Instead, I'm revisiting old friends, i.e.books, which keep my head from being filled with black thoughts.

Knitting will return soon, I hope.

Stay safe guys!

Rio Carbon 5G Cozy v2

And the Girlfriend Shrug is on the needles, too.

Hello? Hello? Anyone there?

Wow, look at this place, covered in dust and cobwebs! It's a wonder if no one comes by here anymore with the place looking like this! Feh!

I've been doing a lot of "little" knitting, starting at the end of January with my son's DK wool socks (which he put on and has taken with him to the army and they haven't been seen or heard from since), then the Outgrown Baby Gift Sweater for my grandniece



another kippah from my pattern with lots of new, how-to pictures in the Kippalong set on flickr


and then a cozy for my mp3 player

V2Cozy is nearly complete and I like it much better. Pictures soon!

I'm now starting a Girlfriend Shrug by Wendy for the grandniece and then I'm going to try my hand at a new knitted kippah pattern, the Keppie by Pamela, a great Bukhari style kippah and all-around goodlooking headcover! If you are having trouble downloading the pattern from her link, try right-clicking on the link she gives and save it to your hard drive and then open it.

For those of you who like your kippot small and on the flat side, Joanne Seiff, designer of the silk scullcap/kippah that appeared in Interweave Knits, Summer 2002, on Page 96 and now out of print, has designed a new kippah, which she has available for sale on her site.

Two new kippah patterns for knitters in one year. That's an increase of 100%!

Christmas...er, contests?

As if the pressure of finishing handknitted Christmas presents wasn't enough, if you haven't seen these yet and are interested, hurry up and get in on The Knitting Curmudgeon's "Christmas Crap-Along" and Waltzing Knitilda's "Ugliest Christmas Sweater 2005" contests. Some Luscious Yarn is being given away as prizes in both cases.

(As if you need a reminder about how prickly some knitters get at this time of year, go read "Holiday Stress and Knit Nonsense" over on my Knit Natterings page.)

So Quiet You Could Hear a Size #00000 Knitting Needle Drop

As you can see, things are pretty quiet around here. We're either so busy working on projects that we don't have the time to write about it or not working on projects at all, so don't have anything to write about.

For myself, I'm finally getting around to knitting the pair of plain old, ribbed socks that my son in the Navy asked me for (gulp) nearly a year ago. If I don't hurry up and get them done, he'll be discharged before he's had a chance to wear them! With European size 44 feet (US size 10), that is a bit of knitting to do.

The weather here certainly hasn't been an inspiration to knit. With the exception of a couple of cold days and a rainy day, we've had nothing but warm, sometimes hot, and dry weather. That's one of the upsides of living here on the coast, but it certainly doesn't give you that same urge to knit like my old home state of Minnesota's sub-zero temperatures.

Pictures to come.

Unabashed Self-Promotion

Those exclusive Yarnaholic Confessions gifts aren't going to be around forever and with Cafepress offering Free Shipping through Dec. 6 on orders of US$50 or more, you can't afford to wait!

Go, go, go!



(Remember, prices are never more than a dollar or two above Cafepress's base product price.)

Halloween 2005

Knitting gone wrong, so very wrong. (hat tip Boing Boing)

I could be dead wrong, but I thought those were actually kinda cute.

Here are more links to keep you busy between doorbell rings:

• Superstitions.com - everything from stepping on a crack and breaking your mother's back to black cats.


• Ben & Jerry's - a trip to the Flavor Graveyard is a must! Scream Savers too!


• Anita's Origami - All her origami is amazing, and the Halloween ones are unique. (The paper! The paper! The paper!)


• Halloween Stuff from HP - everything from trick-or-treat bags to T-shirts. Lots of cute ideas.


• The Toy Maker - Vintage style paper crafts.


• Carve a Virtual Pumpkin (Flash Plug-in required), but alas, no pumpkin seeds to roast. (My mouth just started to water. Israeli "white seeds" just don't cut it.)

Happy Haunting! (Yes, I know I'm posting this a bit early. I figure if anyone actually wants to make their own Halloween crafts, a few days head start couldn't hurt.)

so, what's everyone knitting?

On The Needles
one (1) fingerless glove
one (1) Trendsetter Dune scarf

Oh, did I mention David's sweater?
That's becoming a joke around here, isn't it?

Actually, unfortunately, for the first time, my hands ache when I knit. And since I earn my living using my hands (playing the violin) and I have an important recital in less than a week, I've put my knitting on hold for awhile.

At least I finished this before the pains set in...

...knit with my favorite, Noro Kureyon.

I'll have to knit vicariously through you!

So, what're you knitting?

target: knitting

It seems that knitting and yarn are every where. I was in Target yesterday, and granted, this is an enormous Target, the kind with everything including a Starbucks, but they had yarn, needles, project books and knitting journals! And every item was $1. I wasn't tempted, though. I have so many unfinished projects, so many un-begun projects, so many patterns and books, and so many solitary skeins in my stash that I just can't add to the mayhem. I'm going to have to organize my knitting. *faint* ;)

I have had a hankering to knit lately. It isn't the nip in the air; there is none. The weather is only slightly cooler here in the desert. Autumn doesn't really begin around here until late November. It could be the plethora of knitting catalogs delivered daily. I spied quite a few delicious projects thumbing through them and quite a few yarns seem very yummy. I'm going to be strong, though. I must, I must, I must finish David's sweater. (how many years has it been, Jen?)

Now, if you'll excuse me while I knit . . .

Katrina Knitters

Christine, over at Big Pink Cookie and who lives in Houston, is collecting knitted items for the victims of Hurricane Katrina who have been relocated to her area. Head on over to her blog and drop her a note in one of her Katrina Knitters posts so she'll let you know where to send your items.

Thanks, Christine!

In the Aftermath of Katrina

Please donate whatever you can to the American Red Cross or any charitable organization. Also check out The Blog For Relief Weekend.

(Newer posts appear below. This post will remain at the top of the page through September 5.)

We're on Vacation

See you in September.
Stay cool.
(And Godspeed to the crew of Discovery.)

summer un-knitting...

It's hot. Summer is hot everywhere, and like everyone else, I'm too hot to knit. Even my hubby noticed, "You haven't lost interest in knitting, have you?" My eye sweeps the corner where I have huge piles of bags of unknit yarn and my bookshelves housing a plethora of patterns, books and magazines, my minds eye sweeps the dark depths of all the closets that hold my huge unknit stashes (notice the plural), and I assure him that I haven't.

I have taken stock of my WIP's and I'm bound and determined to complete them all before I start another project, AND before I buy more yarn. Oops! too late for that! I couldn't resist trying some of the new yarns offered by Knit Picks. Who can resist that dropped stitch shawl for only $21.26? Well, actually I did, but I did plunk down a bit of small plastic for some of their sock yarns, and I'm waiting for that package as I type.

Back to the WIP's, I'm determined to complete David's Once Again Sweater and the Ballet Top (Teva Durham design from UK Summer 2004), then I'll frog the rest. There! That makes completing my WIP's a bit easier and I can cross them off the list I keep on my blog (it's getting a bit embarrassing since the list hasn't changed at all in a year).

In the meantime, I'm not going to read any books or magazines, peruse any catalogs, or visit my LYS or online stores - I WON'T be tempted, and I AM going to complete my WIP's . . . just as soon as it's cool enough to knit again.

note: I just used the blogger spellcheck and it seems that I've misspelled '21.26' and, get this, 'blog.' The suggested spelling is 'bloc.' Go figure!

Linky Love

As I commented in one of my earlier posts, it's now officially too hot to knit. At 85 degrees F and 85 percent humidity, it's so hot and moist that just the thought of wool makes me sweat. (But then, just sitting makes me sweat!) On the other hand, at work the A/C is cranked up so high that I'm getting a lot of use out of my old and very well-worn shawl.

So what does one do when it's too hot to knit? Surf the Web, naturally!

If all you can do is shake your head at some of the knitting designs offered over the past couple of years, check out, "You Knit What??" Presented by punk rock knitter and knitty kitty, YKW?? aptly points out, as my 23 year-old daughter says, the YUK in HYUK. (via the comments on The Knitting Curmudgeon)

When an old knitting friend showed up from the States for a few day's visit last month, she brought with her a garter stitch, corner-to-corner washcloth made out of a yarn that is new to me; South West Trading Company's Bamboo. Oh dear, this is the first time in a long time that I've had yarn lust, even at USD13 a skein. The hemp yarn looked interesting too. (OK-Step.slowly.away.from.the.credit.card!)

Then this week a friend from my old knitting guild, Oasis, sent me a note saying that she'd just knit her first ever knitting pattern in Hebrew. She received this pattern from her local yarn shop owner.

This is interesting in a couple of ways: one-that she has a local yarn shop owner (after all, we do live in the Yarn Deprivation Zone) and second, the pattern is in Hebrew. To the best of my knowledge, knitting patterns in Hebrew stopped being published about the same time that the local spinneries stopped producing yarn. That was probably about 12-15 years ago. Besides Polgat (a major garment producer here), there was also Vitalgo and Stork Wool. All gone, except in my yarn stash. The Teddy Wool that is being distributed in the shops here now is made elsewhere, lots of cotton from Turkey and wool from Italy, but the local distributor gets to put his own label on, which generally doesn't include little, unimportant things like, oh, recommended needle size or yardage.

(Woah! I just got back from a trip down Memory Lane after hunting up my old Hebrew knitting mags and meeting lots of dust bunnies on the way. Most of the designs look like fodder for "You Knit What??," but to be forgiving, they are the products of the 90's and look like they're trying much too hard to be trendy. Hm, see first paragraph...)

Ever since the London terrorist attacks, I've been thinking about going to London again. Even after visiting there four times, there's still so much I haven't yet seen and done. October/November is my favorite time to visit, especially during The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace (make sure to check out the picture gallery from last year), followed up with a Rowan Workshop at Liberty of London or John Lewis. (You think I might miss my knitting guild? Nah!)

Lastly, this has nothing to do with knitting (other than there's a knitting basket on the floor and Granny's bun looks just like a skein with needles in it), make sure you have Apple's Quicktime installed on your computer and then go watch Le Building.

OK-time to go have an iced coffee and a lie-down. Only 2 or so more months of this heat to get through...

Summer of Lace Redux

Well, at this point I'm having second thoughts about knitting my "Knit 'Til You Quit"; Shawl. I finally tracked down the three hanks of Jaggerspun in my yarn stash and it turns out that I misremembered the source. The yarn was actually purchased from Moonrise, Sandy Terp's website and the Jaggerspun is prescoured. That is a good thing, but it also means that the yarn has "bloomed" as a result of the prewashing and is now closer in gauge to a worsted weight yarn than a sport weight. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that Jaggerspun, like the Harrisville I knit the original KTYQ with, is actually meant for weaving, so there's a bit of sizing left on the yarn surface that needs to be washed out before using it as a knitting yarn.) The bottom line is that the yarn is pretty heavy stuff for knitting the KTYQ, which is a very open and light lace pattern.



So I'm flipping through my books and my magazine stash to see if I can find some potential pattern candidates. So far, the list is:

• the Garter and Lace Shawl that appears in Knitter's "Shawls and Scarves" is my first choice (and I have a vague recollection of having knit this once).


• the Wool Peddler's Shawl in Cheryl Oberle's "Folk Shawls." I also like the Stora Dimun Shawl, but it's a bit larger than what I want. (Provided the eyelet lace pattern along the edging has the right stitch repeat, I could probably leave out one of the garter sections between the eyelet rows, right?)


• the Paisley Lace Shawl in the Spring 2005 issue of IK.


• the Flower Basket Shawl in the Fall 2004 issue of IK. Both are by Evelyn Clark (Is there anyone left out there besides me who hasn't knit these shawls?)

If I don't make my choice soon, it'll already be too hot to knit!

Summer of Lace

June in Israel thus far has been atypical, i.e. it's still cool enough to knit.

I just finished knitting again Jackie Erickson-Shweitzer's wonderful lace Oak Leaf as a bookmark for a friend who is sending us the newest Harry Potter when it comes out in July. This little lace pattern is really a marvel. Jackie has the leaf charted out with distinct landmarks along each row and you can easily tell if you've gone astray. The end result is something "a little off the beaten path". (And, as if you couldn't tell, I'm as thrilled with the results this time as I was the first two times.)

While I was surfing around this past week, I came across "Wendy Knits," Wendy Johnson's site. She's started a Knitalong, Summer of Lace, on Yahoo Groups. Knitting lace really appeals to me right now, since I need something I can throw over my shoulders at work when the airconditioning drops to sub-zero temperatures (I sit in the lowest level of our 3-level office and cold air sinks).

My current philosophy to get myself back into regular knitting is to allow myself to only start projects that have a reasonable chance of being finished. So the lace project I want to work on is another "Knit 'til You Quit"; Shawl from three hanks of Jaggerspun that are relatively recent stash residents, only 8 years or so, since having been ordered from Herrschners after we came back to Israel.

For a while, I toyed with the idea of knitting Jackie's Cascading Hearts Shawl, still one of my favorites, but probably demanding more attention than I can muster right now.

And it's only going to get hotter.

my kippah

Thanks for organizing this project, Jen. With the temps up to 112°, I haven't felt like knitting much, but this was a welcome project.


The yarn is Sock it to Me! Collection: Puzzle (from Elann.com) and I used US 2 needles. I took the easy way out, using variegated yarn and the long tail cast on. At first I thought that it might be too small, but Jen showcased three different kippahs in her flickr gallery and it appears to be an okay size. I'm going to give this kippah to Melissa's and Molly's friend Willie, and I think that I'm going to knit at least two more, maybe three. I was inspired by the mosaic knitting that Jen used, so I'm going to try my hand at it on the next kippah.

Thanks for a great pattern, a great project and a fun time, Jen!