Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from all the SpyraGirls!
It is life, love, family and friends that I am thankful for in this new year. These are the very things that enrich my love of knitting but often impede my progress. (Do I really have to cook another meal? I'd rather knit tonight, thank you.) But after the gift projects were completed for the holidays, I had a chance to knit something for myself. How many of us fiber folk EVER make anything for ourselves?! One of my recent yarn faves is Misti Alpaca- hand painted, chunky weight. Winter has officially arrived in Maine and I needed something warm and soft, delicious and decadent, to get me through the darkest, bone-chilling days/nights of this looong season. I revisited Spyra's Nantucket Basketweave Scarf pattern and worked it up with #10 needles and some Misti fiber. Even before I finished that, I fiddled around and worked up this matching hat, using #9 needles for a little more structure. Below is a picture and pattern for a gauge of 4 sts/inch. Grab your Misti or other yummy fiber favorite and knit up something cozy for yourself. Make it a resolution this New Year to treat yourself- you deserve it!

All the best in 2009..
SpyraGirl Mary

Basketweave Beret

The Scoop: Misti Alpaca is the softest, yummiest fiber we've recently come across. A lightly twisted 2-ply knits up quickly and is perfect for accessories. Use any 4 sts/inch-gauge fiber and you can make a perfect beret-scarf set for yourself (or a VERY deserving recipient). The hat is sized as an adult medium but it has sufficient stretch for hair or head size differences. The scarf pattern- Nantucket Basketweave Scarf- is available in an earlier blog entry (everyone loves freebies).

Materials: For a matching hat and scarf, use 4 skeins of the Misti Hand Painted Chunky (108 yds/100g). For the hat alone, you will need 2 skeins. (There will be some left over.) 16 inch circular needles, #9 for hat and double pointed needles #9. (I used #10 needles for scarf.) A blunt end tapestry needle or crochet hook for finishing. (Color shown: #11)
Gauge: This pattern is written for 4sts/inch, which is why I used a #9 needle with the Misti Alpaca for the hat (see above comment). Adjust needles to obtain gauge.

Instructions: Cast on 72 sts.
Place marker where joined and be careful not to twist the stitches when joining the ends.
Knit all stitches for 1 inch. (approx. 5 rounds)
Then *K1, P1 and repeat from *, work for 1 inch. (approx. 4 to 5 rounds)
Increase: Place marker and K8 sts, *K2, M1 and repeat from *. (104 sts)
Begin pattern: work it for 4.5 inches or 3 pattern sequences of rounds 1-8.
Rounds 1, 2, 3: P5, *K3, P5 and repeat from *.
Round 4: Knit all sts.
Rounds 5, 6, 7: P1, * K3, P5 and repeat from * until last 4 sts, then P4.
Round 8: Knit all sts.
Work rounds 1-8, 2 more times.

Crown: (concentric circles)
Next Round: Knit all sts.
Small decrease round: 4 sts decrease total – evenly spaced – K2tog approx. every 24 sts. (you now have 100 sts)
Decrease 1 round: *K3, K2tog and repeat from *. (80 sts)
Knit all rounds for 1 inch. (approx. 6 rounds)
Change to dpn’s
Decrease 2 round: *K2, K2tog and repeat from *. (60 sts)
Work in knit st for 4 rounds.
Decrease 3 round: *K1, K2tog and repeat from *. (40 sts)
Work in knit st for 4 rounds.
Decrease 4 round: *K2tog and repeat from *. (20 sts)
Work in knit st for 3 rounds.
Decrease 5 round: *K2tog and repeat from *. (10 sts)
Decrease 6 round: *K2tog and repeat from *. (5 sts)
Cut yarn and leave a 10 inch tail. Draw the yarn through the remaining sts and pull through and secure on the inside. (Here you can make a chain with a crochet needle and the loop it on the outside center then secure.) Weave in any loose ends.

Finishing: Block hat by using a piece of 10” round cardboard. Place in hat and shape by spritzing water on it and letting it air dry.

Level of difficulty: EASY
Care Instructions: hand wash using a wool-friendly soap (such as Eucalan). Air dry- flat.

Nantucket Basketweave Scarf Pattern

Nantucket Basketweave Scarf








The scoop: This scarf can be made in several lengths and widths, it is up to you. Soft and natural, it’s the perfect lightweight accessory for fall or spring.

Materials needed: As shown, 1 skein of Classic Elite’s Provence, 100% Egyptian cotton, 100grs/205 yds (5.5sts/inch on #5 needles). Use any similar fiber.
Knitting needles size 5 or 6, whatever gives the best look.
Gauge: Can vary and isn’t too important for this project. Just make
sure that you like the width and length.
Directions: The pattern has a moss stitch edge and a basketweave
pattern for the body of the scarf. Basic knit and purl stitches are used for the entire project with an 8 row repeat in the basketweave pattern. Cast on in multiples of 8 plus 5 for any change in the width.

Cast on 29 stitches.
Edging: (Moss Stitch)
Row 1: *knit 1, purl 1; repeat from * until last stitch, then knit 1
Row 2: *purl 1, knit 1; repeat from * until last stitch, then purl 1
Row 3: * p1, k1; repeat from *, then purl last st
Row 4: *knit 1, purl 1; repeat from *, then knit last st

Body of Scarf: (Basketweave Stitch)
Row 1: knit all stitches
Row 2: k5, *p3, k5; repeat from *
Row 3: p5, *k3, p5; repeat from *
Row 4: repeat Row 2
Row 5: knit
Row 6: k1, *p3, k5; repeat from * until last 4 sts, then p3, k1
Row 7: p1, *k3, p5; repeat from * until last 4 sts, then k3, p1
Row 8: repeat row 6

Repeat rows 1-8 of basketweave pattern until desired length or 50”.
Finish with the 4 rows of Moss Stitch as in the beginning. Bind off stitches and weave in any loss ends. Block, using warm iron, if needed.

Skill level: Beginner

Care Instructions: Hand wash cool or warm water using Woolite or other mild soap. Dry flat.

Enjoy!

Knitting- Pass It On

I remember 3rd grade for 2 reasons: 1) I was the first kid in my class to get glasses, thus earning me the nickname "Granny", and 2) my teacher, Mrs. Tryon, she of the tennis-ball perm and endless patience, taught each and every kid in my class how to do basic needlepoint. This was my first introduction to gender-neutral craft skills. I find it hard to believe that in the 70s, this was part of mandatory grammar-school curriculums, but I can say honestly that I took to those lessons like a duck to water. Back-stitching, cross-stitch, etc.- all was cause for creative pride by every kid in my class. My Dad, the executive, proudly displayed my cross-stitched rendition of his company logo in his office until he retired.

Those embroidery lessons have stayed with me better than any home-ec class ever could. Can I operate a sewing machine? No. Can I mend anything other than the errant button? No. The pinnacle of my adventures with embroidery floss was a stitch sampler that took me 13 years of sporadic productivity to finally complete, but it is proudly matted, framed and hangs in my house to this day.

Numerous articles have been written about the "nesting" impulses and attention to "hearth and home" that came post-9/11. While I am not in a position to say whether I was affected by those world events in the same way, I can say that knitting is a skill that I have come to treasure over the 8 or so years since I have dedicated myself to it in earnest, finding it satisfying to my senses, and therapeutic in many ways. It is truly a life skill for me, one that will outlast social trends, "returns" to home-ec-type skills, and whatever else may come our way in the years to come. Since I have learned to knit, I feel like I have plugged into the perfect combination of creative and practical energies that I harbor that had been looking for an outlet for a long time.

Where am I going with all this? Do I have a case of "blogorrhea" here? I hope you don't think so, and that you will read on. During our recent vacation, I was struck by the fact one day that our son, who is on the downhill slide to the ripe old age of 5, does not identify me as a health care professional at all. He only knows me as his Mommy who knits. There is something refreshingly simple in the assessment of a child. Tommy has never known me as the professional I was once; he only knows me as I am now. For that, I am truly grateful. (If you want to know more about the metamorphosis, email and I will answer those inquiries separately.) He only knows that his Mom has this strange attachment to yarn and knitting, that yarn (except for designated scraps) is strictly off-limits to his busy little hands, and that she is often knitting and does not want to be interrupted.

That being said, Tommy is not easily dissuaded. During our recent vacation, he took his designated yarn scraps and with the help of a roll of Scotch tape, "knitted" a set of socks and a blanket for his best friend, Blue Dog. On the ferry ride home, I relented and gave him his first knitting lesson. Putting those busy little fingers to a pair of needles and some red wool yarn was the moment it came full circle for me. Will it stick? Will he ask for another? Only time will tell. But the introduction of a craft which may become a lifelong skill or passion is truly priceless. He may only cash in on the intial introduction years from now, but it was a pleasure to be the one making the introductions.

Lace Knitting- Love It or Leave It

OK, I have just finished testing 2 new Spyra Designs patterns, created by the ever-inventive SpyraGirl Barbara. Both of them involve knitting in lace patterns, with lovely results. I say that now, after more than a few tear-outs and do-overs. I can't possibly be the only somewhat accomplished knitter whose feelings about lace can resemble a poorly executed cable twist stitch, or can I?

I freely admit that among the SpyraGirls, I am the least technically proficient knitter- I provide the perspective of those we design for- beginners to intermediates. I love knitting, but my strongest contributions to this little enterprise are color, styling, and writing. Unfortunately for me, in this world that is full of noise and endless distractions, I am one of those people who require almost total peace and quiet in order to be able to achieve a high level of concentration. Counting stitches and following a repeating pattern (i.e., knitting lace) is something I have to really focus on, at least until I am familiar with the pattern and can recognize it in the piece I am working on. This sometimes takes about half the project. Therefore, I think my block with lace is as much mental as anything- it intimidates me.

It is embarrassing to admit (but fiber folk are very kind about these things, so I think I can say this) that even with ideal environmental conditions, I STILL can be stumped by something as simple as a yarn over! It is absolutely maddening that those stupid loops which require no dexterity to execute, no extra needles, NOTHING special, can be so easily overlooked, and are therefore almost always the culprit when my stitch count is off by one or two at the end of a row. To add insult to injury, I almost never catch the off count for another row or 2, because I've convinced myself I'm finally cruising along, getting the hang of the pattern, no problem-o, so I don't bother to count for awhile, then I come up a stitch short and can't find where the error was.

Try, then, to tear out your work, especially if it is in a fuzzy yarn like mohair, without losing still more of your stitches, and pick them back up again! Even more fun if you are trying to knit something that requires a cast on of 100+ stitches, and God forbid you try and do this on that rare quiet evening at home with a glass of wine to keep you company. While I'm confessing my bad knitting habits, I am also guilty of trying to pick up a stitch here or there to correct the deficit, rather than going back and tearing out, which I think I have finally learned is actually less frustrating. I've also tried the crochet hook trick of pulling the missing stitch up through to the row where I am currently knitting- talk about a compound error (in Maine this is known as a cluster....)! We're not in the land of garter and stockinette anymore, Dorothy.

Now, I love lace- always have. Used judiciously, it adds a delicate touch to wearables and household items, and of course, is irresistible when applied to baby things. My husband calls it a "doily fixation", referring to my lovely, gossamer-light cashmere lace wrap (which I did NOT knit) as a "wearable doily". What a GUY. Clearly, he is ignorant of lace being one of the hot new trends and skills to be mastered in the world of knit and crochet. This old, old craft is undergoing a renaissance and I WANT to be part of it. SpyraGirl Mary gave me "Victorian Lace Knitting Today", and between the gorgeous fiber creations and the amazing garden settings for the photos, it is a serious dose of eye candy.

Unable to contain myself, I ran right out and bought some luscious, obscenely expensive Tilli Tomas silk yarn with sequins to try and make one of the smaller scarves in the book. It never occurred to me to knit a swatch with another, less precious yarn to learn the pattern BEFORE casting on my first stitches and casting off all knitterly caution. What I have ended up with is an $80 frog (or cluster, if you will- see photo). I am so scared to try and tear out the existing work, lest the sequins somehow tangle the silk strands and leave me with what looks like a bad disco-era wig, that I've decided to leave it as a reminder of how NOT to learn lace knitting.

SG Barbara has got it right, I think. The lace projects she has developed are SMALL- fewer stitches to cast on means fewer to count, and less to tear out and pick back up when the inevitable (for me, at least) happens. As I got the hand of her patterns, I actually had so much fun I made multiples of each! Who can resist a lovely lace-and-cable baby blanket or a lacy tank top for a special little princess?

So despite seriously considering leaving it, I've decided when it comes to lace I love it- yarn overs and all. When I've done up a few more smalls, maybe I'll gather my courage (which will require a glass or 2 of wine) and open "Victorian" again. But I'll be careful- swatch the lace first and save the glorious hand-dyed indigo fingering yarn fin my stash or maybe my 2nd or 3rd foray into that seductive book- promise!

News! News! News!

Yesssss! The sort of news tiny businesses like ours live to hear! We have another magazine mention.... the much-anticipated Interweave Felt 2008 Special Edition has mentioned Spyra Designs on its "Notions" page (page 10). Our First-Time Felted Booties got some ink!

SpyraGirl Barbara is in the process of driving her youngest daughter to college and called me from Minneapolis last night. She was in a LYS there and apparently the mag has hit the stands there ahead of the 9 September date listed on Interweave's website. So the news is hot off the press and we are so thrilled.

So check out our website- spyradesigns.com and see what the fuss is about.

Cheers!

Knitting- In the Mood?

Well, well- I have just looked back at my previous blog posts and am ashamed to have been out of the blogosphere for so long. Actually, I have been out of a lot of loops this summer- in April, I entered what I can only call Relocation Limbo. My family moved to southern Maine, and it has been quite the experience, overall a good one, and worthy of a blog all its own (which I would have written, except that general contracting a big interior renovation, organizing temporary housing, coordinating what amounted to 2 moves, school/childcare stuff, you get the idea).

ANYWAY, all of the above has really sapped my knitting mojo. I suspect there are a lot of knitters out there whose productivity slows in the summer, for weather reasons, among lots of others, but since I am part of a knitting business enterprise I was especially conscious of my perceived need for creative Viagra. The fount of ideas was taken up by my fabulous and talented fellow Spyra girls, so new designs are in the pipeline. Stay tuned to the website for those updates.

By the beginning of August, I had reached renovation saturation and was ready to claim my newly improved turf, put some of our lives' routines back into place. Thankfully, it was time for our annual trip to that place where preppiness springs eternal, Nantucket Island. This is our designated time to do Nothing- my husband and I hoard magazines, novels and other reading material, I stuff my knitting bag with yarn and patterns and a growing sense of anticipation of the always elusive UKT (uninterrupted knitting time). Our son packs a ridiculous amount of cars, trucks and sand toys, and after coping with all the departure details, off we go.

We all look forward to the predictability of this time away every year, and as F (ferry) Day drew closer, I was approaching desperation for time to spend on the activity I find to be a creative outlet, a source of satisfaction, comfort, and for lack of a better term, therapy. I was ripping into a new Spyra test pattern and casting on before our car reached the end of our street. The cute lacy pattern sparked another blog topic I'll get to soon (I promise) but what I was really mulling over as I knitted as if my life depended on it was this emotional chord knitting seems to strike with me. Am I overly sensitive or do I have company in this conclusion?

Knitting is something that seems to be a sort of therapy for me. As my fingers warm up, I can feel myself slide into the knitting groove- it is a sort of mental detachment (in a good way) from my surroundings. As I find my stitching rhythm, the sense of satisfaction at creating something beautiful and (usually) useful, kind of takes over.

Lest I sound too Zen there, my moods do affect my knitting. I actually have to pay attention to my gauge (I tend to only give it its cursory swatch and then move on)- particularly when I am stressed or upset about something, because my usually tight gauge (personality- or hand size related?) becomes ridiculously tighter, to the point that slipping stitches becomes really difficult on anything other than an Addi turbo needle. It's like my negative energy is coming out my hands- like Harry Potter's wand, only much less cool. Whatever unfortunate project I am working on suddenly starts to look like something totally different. A sweater sleeve becomes sock ribbing- that sort of thing.

On the other hand, if it is a mellow weekend (rare, but they do happen), and I've had a couple of glasses of wine, with the scent of the ocean in the air, my knitting starts to look really, really loopy (reflecting my mental state). These are the times I really feel like connecting with my needles and yarn, and whatever I am working on ends up looking like a throw- loose, comfy- you get the picture. I rationalize the occasional mistake, and try stupid things to compensate for dropped stitches. The next morning, with my inner perfectionist awake and alert, I look at my work and cringe, and have to tear it out. Knitting for work does raise the bar, both inwardly and outwardly.

I felt cravenly vindicated when SpyraGirl Barbara, that model of knitting consistency and ever-flowing fount of creativity, came over and showed me a sweater design she was testing out. Barbara is notoriously loose in her gauge (and nothing else, good Catholic girl that she is), but this piece, I've forgotten if it was a front or a back- it doesn't matter because the bottom half looked like a person-size piece, and the top part tapered to the point that it looked like a sleeve. It was so funny-looking, we had a good laugh and when I asked her what had happened, she said she had been knitting while on the phone with one of her girls (she has 3, all in their early 20s).

So knitting quirkiness loves company. Know whatever your mood, with us, you're in good company. Happy stitching....

Procrastination and the Pattern

There are myriad ways to avoid doing things that need to be done, and working from home provides a whole new set of procrastination strategies. I think I have discovered all of them.

I was one of those students who was able to put off major projects and papers of any kind (except the group ones, a whole 'nother story) until the very last minute. As long as I had an intro. paragraph composed in my head, I was golden. The amount of cooking and baking (my favorite distractions) I got done was amazing. My friends loved the end of semester crunch time.

Fast forward 18 years. I am into my second career doing knitting design and have found that the urge to procrastinate on work seems to be hard-wired into me. When you work in the medical profession, there aren't many times when putting things off is really appropriate- patients need stuff all the time, and most of the time they need it NOW. When you are the mother of a colicky infant, you can't put off comforting them- you risk your sanity by letting the crying and fussing continue (not to mention your sanitation if you wait on a diaper change). The demands may change, but they keep coming fast and furious as children get older.

So despite many years of being galvanized into action at the slightest expression of a human need, when I am free to set the pace of the work, the "last horn" is when I finally get cracking. Case in point: the Spyra girls have had this cute throw pillow idea in the hopper for nearly 3 years. We have made 2 prototypes (with different yarns, different trims, etc.), discussed creating a knit kit around the design, and finally decided on a pattern-only option, as of fall 2007. I had already written a draft pattern last spring (again, early 2007!)

Things really started to reach crunch time in January (this year) as I am in the thick of organizing my family's relocation out of the area, the sale of our house in the current market, buying a new house which needs a major renovation. All this on top of the daily nuttiness that is my household. Do I sit down and just finalize the pattern? No.

February... I took a trip to one of my favorite LYSs and bought more yarn (truly eye candy- yarn shopping is an addiction) to make another, more photogenic sample, and to test the draft again since it had been so long since I had spent time with it (really, I knew it worked fine, just another business-acceptable form of writing avoidance)...

March! I have decided to start packing up the house, even though it hasn't been listed with a realtor yet. Weeks of wrangling over the terms of the new house purchase. Knitting has been my therapy, a comfort for years. Pillow is started and quickly finished. Super-chunky yarn is great that way. Do I take photos? No, that would mean I have to load them and then there is nothing left to do except finalize the pattern.

late March...packing continues. General house purge is in full swing. Renovation crew is assembled. Laundry is caught up. Correspondence? check. Finances? all in order. Started another couple of projects- need to have something to work on for car trips, conference calls, plane rides and knitting group's weekly meetings. LOTS of baking to do for thank you gifts to people who have been wonderful to us over our years here (much more interesting, and tastes great too.)

April- OK, time to begin transitioning my business role to one of official "off site" partner. Have packed as much as I can without leaving us wearing spring clothes with snow still on the ground. Baked goods have been distributed. I have gained 4 lbs. from licking bowls and sampling. No more excuses!! I drag myself to the computer, after wandering around looking for something that looks like it needs to be packed, checking the (empty laundry baskets), walking my dog (in the pouring rain)...

...and update the pattern! It only takes 30 minutes, after all that. Hitting "send" to have my partners review my writing and check for accuracy- like a weight has been lifted. Relief. Sweet relief.

Next up? Writing this blog post- 4 days later! Gotta run- grocery shopping awaits...