Flagel Knitting Files

The oldest type of knitting needle is the straight double-pointed kind often referred to as DPNs.  Below is a painting created somewhere between 1400-1410 depicting the Madonna knitting with four DPNs. Detail from 'Visit of the Angel', from the right wing of the Buxtehude Altar. Meister Bertram von Minden (1340 - 1414) The key characteristic of these needles is the ability to knit off of either end.  And as you can see even from the painting above, the things created with DPNs are circular in shape.  So DPNs are a great way to knit small-circumferences and are most often used to knit socks, crowns of hats, sweater sleeves or if you're me, cupcakes. Light-weight bamboo DPNs DPNs are frequently used in sets of 4 or 5 and vary in length from 4-8 inches (10-20.5 cm).  This means they are relatively short and allow whatever is being made with them to be very portable.  It is not unusual to see knitters in public using a set of ...

Before I write about double pointed needles (DPNs) I must post a picture of some cupcakes I've made in the past.  These cupcakes were my first venture into using 4 DPNs to knit.  Three different cupcakes with a cherry, heart and flowers on top The pattern  for these extra large cupcakes is available for free (just click on the word pattern), and they are seamless which means there's no messy sewing up to do when you finish.  The biggest trick is to be sure you put in the stuffing, batting or fiber-fill before it is too late.  The instructions direct one to start at the bottom of the cupcake with very few stitches and increases to the ribbing which represents the cupcake paper.  There's a couple of rows of stockinette  for the cake and then the billowy frosting is done with the purl stitch  adding a bit of texture.  I love the fact  there was freedom to decorate the tops as I pleased. The cherry p...

Needles are the tools of the trade you simply can't do without when it comes to knitting.  Trust me I've tried substituting BBQ skewers (ok I was desperate because my needles were confiscated at the airport) or toothpicks for very small needles, and as you can imagine these substitutes utterly and completely failed. Although all knitting needles essentially perform the same basic function, there are different kinds and styles available. Some needles are specific to a certain type of knitting project while others can create a variety of knitted items. Knitting needles can be made out of a variety of materials, and they come in a variety of types.  The major types are single pointed, double pointed, circular and specialty needles.  So even the mere selection of the needles to use to knit a particular project can be complicated. During the next few posts I'll be discussing each  type of needle, when each type of needle can be best used...

There will be a photo of the Wall Flower in a moment.  I don't want to oversell it, the progress is moving, but slowly.  For now I want to pause and create a list of my top 20 things I'm thankful for: A great partner - Paul tolerates all my idiosyncrasies and obsessions and loves me anyway. Great kids - all four of them.  Life gave me two sons and they gave me two wonderful daughters. My parents - at my ripe old age to have both parents still living in my home of original, what a gift. My siblings - both brothers with whom I have solid relationships even though as adults we've always lived apart.  My friends - some I've known for more than 45 years, across Canada and the U.S. Having an opportunity to go to college - and a good one for my undergrad degree, the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Growing up on a farm - it grounded me, taught me some hard realities about life and death and gave me an appreciation for a good work ethic. ...

This weekend Paul returned and we were busy.  He taped four television programs on Saturday and I went downtown with him.  We ate dinner out at a wonderful new-to-us Vietnamese restaurant, Broken Rice .  Dinner was unique, contained very fresh ingredients and was affordability priced.  I highly recommend it. We also went to the movie Lincoln .  I was amazed that when we arrived 25 minutes prior to the movies' start all the good seats were taken.  We didn't anticipate interest would be that high, but then there's been a paucity of good movies in the last couple of months.  Going with a history major (Paul) is always intriguing, and the woman next to me wasn't sure whether the 13th Amendment would pass until it actually happened in the movie.  (Since the movie was quite clear what the amendment intended to do, I was perplexed why she wondered about its passage and still am.)  All the good things said about Daniel Day-Lewis', Sally Field's and...

If you are inclined to want to really light up any crafting chatroom, ask a question about copyrights.  Individuals from around the world, without the benefit of a law degree, are more than willing to offer an opinion.  One problem is copyright laws in one English speaking country can be different from another and in most chatrooms it is difficult to determine the country of residency of the writer.  Luckily for me copyright laws in the U.S. and Canada are similar (not exactly the same, but for my purposes close enough). There will be those who are emotional in their approach to copyrights and state with much fervor that using someone else's knitting instructions (pattern) for profit is unethical or immortal.  They say if the pattern indicates it is copyrighted or states something to the effect it can be used only for personal use, then things made using it should only be given as gifts and never sold. O...

It took most of Sunday and aside for eating, the complete focus was on sock #2, but it worked; the present is DONE.  It took a lot less time the second time around because I avoided all the redos required in #1.  With about 20 hours of total knitting time, I succeeded in getting something I really hoped would work done before the due date.  This is one of those few projects that actually turned out better than I had hoped it would. Yet to be blocked, but that can be done in minutes. And as promised here's a photo to show the heathered effect in the gray yarn.  Note the green that shows up randomly. There is what I think is enough leftover to make a small pair of socks using these two yarns.  May the knitting gods smile on me again to help me find a small sock pattern that works as well.   Perhaps I will actually measure the length of each yarn before I start; what a novel idea.

If you were in the house earlier today (and luckily for you, you weren't) you'd have seen me doing a modified happy dance because the Ribbed Stoller Sock gift idea is working out.  In fact it is actually heading toward exceeding my expectations.  Enough of this banter, a picture is worth a 1,000 words: 50% on the way to success  What you see is one of the pair of socks completed and my prototype sock (in black) to guide me into making sure this pair will be big enough.  You'll note my knitted sock is a bit bigger and for good reason.  The manufactured sock is quite stretchy, my sock is not so forgiving.  This is the colour combination Paul said he liked.  I will save for later a close-up so you can see that the gray yarn is heathered with green.  The light green does a nice job of pulling the green colour out of the gray.  (My photos have yet to captured it.) The Gramps Sweater, Paul's colour combination inspiration Considering I ...

One of the consequences of having written nearly 150 posts is that some readers, once they've determined what you're writing about, how your writing about it, and understand your overall tone of writing, will lose interest.  It is to be expected, there are only so many ideas, projects, insights, comments one writer (in particular this writer) can make.  And for me after about 150 posts, I've done almost all of that already.  Having said that I will not be giving this up any time soon since the writing offers me a degree of personal satisfaction.  I am, nonetheless, realistic about the draw or attraction to this blog. All this leads me to feel pretty confident I can share with you what I hope will be a surprise knitted pair of socks for Paul's birthday.  I think I've lost him as a reader.  Really, how much knitting minutia can one man be expected to tolerate?  He lives with me which...

I am not overtly political and you know that if you follow this blog or if you know me; but today, today I must talk about politics.  As a dual citizen I have the opportunity to pay taxes in two countries as well as the privilege of voting in both.  And yes I did use an absentee ballot to cast my U.S. vote. My American friends might be surprised to know that the Canadian press has been covering the entire U.S. campaign throughout the months leading up to today.  People north of the 49th know the names of the two presidential candidates and their running mates and where all four call home.  Many can list the important swing states and what makes them so important and speak intelligently about the U.S. campaigns' talking point.  Not many Americans would know the same sort of details about Canadian politics. I've determined why Canadians are so focused on this race.  The obvious reason is this, how the U.S. economy goes so goes Canada's...

Creativity finds many avenues through which to express itself.  Some of us can use a paint brush, others are skilled with food, some use yarn and others, words.  My friend Jami, a poet in her own right, forwarded this poem. Covers by Kathryn Cowles I learn to knit so I can knit covers for things, easy things at first covers for my hands covers for my feet for my head and neck soon I am making covers for friends as well I am adept at covering I cover handles on doors I cover the tops of pots, themselves covers, covered with knit yarn, I cover things for my daughter, small things, I make a cover for her eye and a cover for the eye of her doll I make a cover for her doll covering the whole thing except for the eye, for which I have already made a cover, I cover her dollhouse in great patches I connect the patches I am on a roll, I learn to knit in my sleep with the aid of a sleep knitting machine I cover my bed over and over again at night I become more and more adept until ...

It is unavoidable in knitting, you will run out of one ball of yarn and need to add another one.  Or the pattern may call for a colour change forcing you to make a new join. It has been a long-held taboo to put a knot in your work to accomplish these changes.  Although it might feel comforting to tie the two strings together, it has been proven that as the object/project is worn the knot more often than not, will work itself loose.  (I will admit I cheated with the Wall Flower and used knots to tie the strands of intarsia yarn together.  See how unsightly it is?  Unsightly yes, put the Wall Flower won't be worn.) I count a total of 9 knots on the back of Wall Flower If you are knitting with wool or any other animal fiber, a spot felting technique can be used to join together yarn of the same or different colours.  This technique is often called the Spit Splice because many knitters use spit to start the felting process.  I have found it just ...

There has been a total of 9 hours this week spent on the Wall Flower (I'm sticking with this name).  The first 3-hour attempt was a total failure and had to be removed with a scissor.  It was a really picky business thus taking all that time.  What I'm about to show you represents 6 hours of embroidery. November 2 - Wall Flower Pretty underwhelming isn't?  But then I have to say the clear, clean lines are such an improvement over the previous look supporting my decision to frog the project using intarsia .  I'm pleased. You can see the graph at the top of the photo.  It is being closely followed to determine what colour each of the 126 vertical stitches should be in each vertical column.   That is how the embroidery is done by following one vertical line of "Vs" from the bottom to the top.  Today's photo shows there are 10 out of 90 horizontal rows completed.  Applying mathematics, in only 54 more hours I'll have this proje...