Pretty

Yes indeed, pretty boring that is. Forty-two inches of stockinette in the round.


Go check out Anne at KnitSpot for some excitement. She's having a blogiversary party and a contest. I've offered up a Fiber Fish mitten pattern and a ball of Trekking XXL as one of the prizes. Anne is an amazing knitter and writes some very pretty patterns. Her spinning is pretty too.

So go say "Hi" to Anne. Tell her Laurie sent you.

To Err is Human

I made a mistake in the Fiber Fish Pattern. It is in the large size only and applies to the top row of mitered squares. I am posting the corrections in the post that explains how to buy the pattern which is linked from the side bar. If I still have your e-mail address, I will try to mail out the corrected pattern.

I'm sorry everybody. I know this happens, and that I'm only human. But still, sorry.

That said, I'm not the only one. I've finished my STR Titania:

I love the feel of the yarn, and they look great with jeans, but I didn't enjoy knitting these socks. While any one of these colors would be amazing on its own, together they are too busy. I've learned my lesson and will not be buying any more wild handpainted yarns. Tone on tone is good, and maybe some slight variation, but not this sort of thing again.

Since it's Socktoberfest, I just had to start another pair of socks. And what better pattern to use than one by Nancy Bush, sock-goddess?

They are the Traveller's Socks from the latest Vogue Knitting and the pattern reminds me of the Austrian Patterned Knee Socks. I think that there's an error in the chart for needle 1 and 2. It has a nine row repeat, but I think it works better as an 8 row repeat. It's a pretty minor issue, but I have found errors in other patterns by Nancy Bush. It was a nice reminder that even someone like Nancy Bush, who I admire so much, is only human.

Come to think of it the APKS were full of errors. I guess I'm in good company.

Catch of the Day

Delana recently finished some fish mittens! I'm so excited!

This is the first pair I've seen knit up by someone else. I've seen tail fins and some entrelac worked up by others, but never a whole fish. And it's still cute! Astounding how this process of pattern writing goes. Okay, I'll stop now before I get annoying.

My Cup Overflows

I'm fortunate to report that my life is very full. Here's what's been happening.

I've been given some extra responsibilities at work. It's a cool bit of a promotion that looks to be exciting, and a great learning and growth opportunity. I'm pretty wore out at the end of the day, so my blogging frequency was reduced.

My local yarn store, London Yarns and Machines, is interested in selling my mitten pattern in their store. I'm going down there today to discuss terms with the owner. It's pretty exciting to me. I never dreamed when I woke up that morning with this idea in my head that it would interest so many people. Which reminds me, I want to ask that anyone who has completed some mittens, please, send me a picture. I'd love to create a gallery page. Or maybe I should start a Flickr group. I've seen started fish mittens, but not a whole pair yet.

I've started designing a sock. Which interrupts the other three projects I have on the needles. It's been a while since I've had a finished object, but I know that I'll have a rush of them all at once eventually. Here's the start:

That's my new project bag carrying the proto-sock. I bought the bag Thursday at the Covent Garden farmer's market. Here's a shot of the back:


As I was looking over all the bags, I was telling Diane, the lovely lady who created them, that I like to buy things that speak to me. This bag is whispering softly in my ear. The embroidered bits are recycled from a table cloth and I used to do embroidery like that as a girl. I seem to remember it on pillows and towels and things. The front pocket is lined with white eyelet lace like the kind I wanted for a bedspread when I decorated my room at 14. I think my grandmother may have had a bedspread like that bit of chenille on the bottom of the back of the bag. Those fluffy white ties remind me of the yarn bows I used to tie into my hair. Yes, I'm a child of the seventies. I wish Diane had a website that I could point you too, but her e-mail address is all I have to offer.

We had an in promtu knit night last night, with Maureen and Knitty Kat. Book-end knit nights, Monday and Friday, what a great way to frame the week!

Fresh Fiber Fish fer Sale!

Yep, the pattern for the fish mittens is done and can be yours for $5. My low-tech plan for hi-tech sales is for you to send me payment through PayPal and then I will e-mail you the pattern. My e-mail address is laurie_corriveau AT hotmail DOT com (you know the drill). I've also put the addy into my side bar, for future reference. I will also accept payment through snail-mail, if necessary, and e-mail the pattern to you once the cash arrives or the check clears. Just send me an e-mail if you are interested and I will give you my mailing address.

Some points to consider:

• I rate this pattern for the experienced knitter because of the entrelac and mitered cuff.
• The yarn requirements is less than 100g of sock yarn.
• The name Fiber Fish is courtesy of CeCe who has a blog by that name. Thanks Cece! for sharing your name with me.

I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of fish will evolve from your needles.

CORRECTION
These instructions have been incorporated into all patterns mailed out as of October 15, 2006.

Top Row Squares
Pick up and knit 19 (21) stitches as for middle row squares.

Large Size
1. Knit 1 row.
2. S1K, K8, DD, K9.
3. S1P, P16, w&t. 2 stitches are unworked.
4. K6, DD, K6, w&t.
5. P12, w&t.
6. K4, DD, K4, w&t.
7. P8, w&t.
8. K2, DD, K2. Pick up wrap and pass over stitch. Turn stitch by slipping it purlways, then pass
it back to the left hand needle through the back loop. Then knit stitch together with wrap through the back loop. Stitch should look normal (not twisted) on the right needle. Continue with
remaining wrapped stitches and also knit slipped (unwrapped stitch). 13sts on needle.

Small Size
1. Knit 1 row.
2. S1K, K7, DD, K8.
3. S1P, P14, w&t. 2 stitches are unworked.
4. K5, DD, K5, w&t.
5. P10, w&t.
6. K3, DD, K3 w&t.
7. P6, w&t.
8. K1, DD, K2. Pick up wrap and pass over stitch. Turn stitch by slipping it purlways, then pass
it back to the left hand needle through the back loop. Then knit stitch together with wrap through the back loop. Stitch should look normal (not twisted) on the right needle. Continue with
remaining wrapped stitches and also knit slipped (unwrapped stitch). 11sts on needle.

Continue as written.

We're making progress here people!

The pattern is in the final draft stage and Maureen, the fabu test knitter, has already started work. I've posted about Maureen's work before. Do you remember her shawls? She's not letting me get away with one little inconsistency.

Here's the small sized mitten, knit in Sundara Yarns "Firey".

For size comparison, here it is with the prototype, knit in Trekking XXL:


What I notice right away is how the thumb is curved in the large mitten, but not in the small. The curve adds something to the look, but it uncomfortable to wear because it binds. I corrected the thumb in the small size, but it's not quite as cute. What do you think, is comfort more important than style?

Everything I do, I do it for you...

Kitty Kat wanted to know what color of Austerman Step I bought. Well, they only had one color, and fortunately I like it!


Also, I've been working on the fish mitten pattern, knitting up a new mitten as I go. I'm simplifying the design a bit and I'm trying to put as much detail into the instructions as I can. I'm using Microsoft Visio to create some line drawings of the mitered squares and the entrelac. The final file will be a PDF. I've written a pattern before and I'm a technical writer by trade, so this isn't such a stretch for me, just a lot of work.

Here's a progress shot.

I'm not sure how I feel about the handpainted colors for this pattern. I was hoping it would look like a goldfish but I guess I won't know for sure until I get further along into the body. This yarn is the "Fiery" that I ordered from Sundara Yarns.

Oh by the way, I learned something yesterday when I Googled "fish mittens". Don't try it if you've got kids in the room who can read. Can any one think of a better name for this pattern?

More Fish Pictures...

Wooly fish in a wooly pool

Here it is, my fishy mitten:



I'm very pleased with it. Okay, really, I have a warm and fuzzy feeling and I can't stop smiling. He's cute!

Things I like about it:

• A real fish shape look and feel to it.
• Actually wearable.
• I made it!
  

Things I would do differently:

• Much less entrelac! I should have swatched, but I was going for the organic feeling of creation.
  
• The entrelac is too poofy.
• The thumb gusset is too short. It binds at the top of the thumb.
• I should have cast on loosely to prevent the mitered squares from curling over.

Ideas for the next one:

• Do another in exactly the same manner, but learn from my mistakes.
  
• Use a scalely textured stitch in place of the entrelac.
• Knit a plain body.
• Make the tail longer and more flowing.
• Add fins on the side.
  
• Do a kid sized pair. It would go much faster!
  
• Use different colors of Trekking. This fish was made with 105, but I also have plenty of others:

Creation is harder than Evolution

I wish the fish mitten could just evolve! Seems like nature takes the easier route with evolution. Just try a bunch of dumb ideas and keep which ever one doesn't die. It's harder for me. Creating something takes a huge investment of time. Out of all the things required for creation, such as materials, tools and technique, I'd say time is the rarest. Nature has endless amounts of time.

So yeah, I'm not done the fish mitten, though I'm close. I don't want to show you a progress shot, I want to show you the whole damn thing! Monday night is knit night, so I got the thumb done.

Oh look! It's a blogger blogging a blogger . And another cute dog!

Evolution

The fish mittens evolved from a jellyfish.

I worked on the fish mittens exclusively this weekend. There was ripping involved a couple of times. At some point I decided that this is a prototype and I can always make another if I'm not entirely satisfied. Heh.

Oh look! It's a cute dog.

Dumb Ideas

I've got a million of 'em! The hard part is deciding which ones are worth investing time and effort in.

I joined the Bitchin Mittens group cause I was knitting mittens anyway don't ya know. This morning I woke up with several of my dumb ideas coming together all at once. So I drew a sketch and knitted a swatch.

Okay, actually, it's not a swatch its the start of the mitten, but since the idea involves a gauntlet of mitered squares, it looks all swatchy. I'm also considering an entrelac body with the head done plain so that the shaping can be done and in case I want to embroider a face onto it. I may also add a fin that joins the thumb to the body. I think the Trekking colors have a nice fresh river fishy feel to them.

The ceramic fish in the photo is a piece by my mother. She went through a phase exploring fish, dragons, pine cones and anything scaly. All in clay. I feel like I'm following in her footsteps with this one. If the mittens turn out, they may make a nice Christmas gift for her.

Also, I finished the first Marvelous Mitten last night. Please note that both sides are correctly patterned.


I am however, dissatisfied with the stupid thumb!

I'm going to have to undo it and start kitchenering down a little lower. I'll take the blame on this one, cause I never bothered to check my gauge.

What? They're mittens. They'll fit someone!