Flagel Knitting Files

Since I was on a roll with the green/gray combination I thought I'd make a new tea cozy for Paul for Xmas.  It was a great idea except for one thing.   Gauge , yes I didn't do a swatch to check the gauge before I started knitting and here's the results. Two Tea Cosies  Let's start from the beginning.  There was some green and gray yarn left from the birthday pair of socks, but I was afraid it might not be enough to make another pair.  Then it came upon me, I remembered Paul suggesting sometime back a new knitted tea cozy would be appreciated.  Next step was finding a pattern.  There are a lot of knitting patterns for cozies and after a fair bit of looking I landed on this one called Terrific Tea Cozy .  If you click on the link you'll note the pattern lists the yarn type, needle size, the number of beads needed and tension (another word for gauge).  It is clear the knitter should be getting 22 stitches and 30 rows to 10 cm (4 in) measured over stocking (stock

Knitter's Night Before Xmas (with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)   T’was the night before Christmas and all around me Were unfinished knitting not under the tree The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ’cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds but I had not finished the caps for their heads. Dad was asleep; he was no help at all, And the sweater for him was six inches too small. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I put down my needles to see what was the matter. Away to the window, I flew like a flash, Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash. The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow Reminded me how much I still had to go. Out on my lawn, I heard such a noise, I thought it would wake both dad and the boys. And though I was tired, my brain was a bit thick, I knew in a moment, it must be Saint Nick. But what I heard then left me perplexed-ed, For not a name I heard was what I

I finished gift wrapping this morning, just in time for the family to arrive tonight.  Some of us are challenged when it comes to wrapping, I'm in that camp.  I get the job done, but it is generally not a stellar job.  For starters, I don't like to put items in boxes it makes for bulky gifts and since I often have to travel with them bulky is bad.  Second traveling with wrapped gifts often means the packaging has taken its licks and looks like it.  In the end I find decorative bags are a nice choice. And really, I just don't enjoy the wrapping process, it seems so pointless because most wrapping is literally ripped apart.  Wrapping gifts isn't my forte.  That's not to say I don't really appreciate the work of those of you who do a really great job, I do, but I'm not one to do it. So many of us struggle when it comes to wrapping odd items and nothing seems more odd to wrap than a live cat.  The video below showed up on one of the knitting chat rooms I

Remember the elf shoes and the discussion about the hat that went with it?  If not here is a link to the original post about the shoes.  Thursday was the day these items were worn for a Xmas party.  Mrs. Santa, an Elf and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer  I have chosen to share this photo because one of my co-conspirators, Rudolph, as well as the Elf himself are included.  (Sorry Mrs. Santa, you were great but not a part of this post.)  Rudolph approved of the elf shoes and hat styles plus financed the entire enterprise.  A coworker and I merely supplied the labour. It is hard to see in the photo, but the elf shoes have small bells attached to each of the diamonds on both the shoes and hat so Elf did jingle although it was a bit hard to hear over the din of the crowd.  There were also non-skid caulk on the bottom of the shoes; we didn't want any accidents. Sole of the elf shoes to make sure the Elf didn't slip Some items are meant to have a long life, the elf shoe

This is how it all started on Sunday with hail and heavy rain, snow followed . The Lower Mainland in British Columbia does occasionally get snow.   And it is always close to the holiday season when the worst of it hits (I know those of you from real snow country chortle at the thought that 3-4 inches (7.5 to 10.25 cm) of snow will snarl up traffic but it does here.) Yesterday was such a day of snow and it took me just under two hours to drive to work (a usual 15 minute trip) due to the back ups created by drivers who don't know how to prepare for (no snow tires or extra weight in the car) and drive in up and down hill terrain and snow.  Many, many cars were left on the side of the road turning two-lane roads into one-lane and I saw a 7 car pile up as cars slid down a slope on icy roads into one another.  And as I'm driving up the single path to get to the top of the mountain; some young buck (boy that makes me sound old) in a Jeep, with obvious 4-wheel drive, off roads on

A lifeline can be a life saver and it just might be the technique I need to use to help the False Creek Cowl and I make amends.  According to Heart Strings Fiber Arts :  A lifeline in knitting is a temporary thread inserted through a row of stitches. The knitting lifeline serves as a checkpoint if we have a calamity and need to rip out and re-do several rows.   See the white lifeline.  This is a relatively complicated lace and a very appropriate use for the lifeline  This technique is most often used when knitting lace to help the knitter avoid having to frog an entire project because it is so difficult to pick up yarn over and knit-2-together stitches.  (Like I said the lace in False Creek Cowl is simple, but perhaps not simple enough for me.  Just using a lifeline could have saved me all that wasted effort.) A lifeline is pretty easy to use.  See this video  for the specifics of the technique.  The key ideas to remember: The lifeline should be done in a contrasting colour

I took a class last week Thursday on how to knit this lovely False Creek Cowl . Alexa's photo from Tin Can Knits - Scarves The class was a mere 3 hours in length and many who took it were able to complete the cowl in that time.  But no, not me.  I could whine that it was a long workday, that the class started at 6 pm, that I was caught in stalled traffic caused by an auto accident and barely made it on time, that there was no time for dinner, that the chair was uncomfortable and the class was too loud; but frankly those would all be lame excuses.  Look at that pattern, it is a very simple yarn over and knit 2 together combination lace-like look.  Heck there were beginning knitters in the class speeding through it.  But no, not me.  Here's what I got done in 3 hours. My purple version with purple/teal buttons to be attached. It seems if you can't remember to reverse the knit and purls when you are reading a chart as you move from right side to wrong side, you ha

OK perhaps this post should be called using glass to make an object appear knitted, but that's far too wordy.  Carol Milne  a Canadian-born sculptor now living in Seattle, Washington (U.S.A.) painstakingly creates objects like the following.  (See photos below)   The production process includes four parts:  1) make a wax sculpture of the knitted piece, 2) cover the wax with a material that will act as the form for the piece, 3) melt the wax away and 4) place the mold in a kiln where glass crystals are added, polish and presto the process is complete . (Click on the link to see  the process.)  And I thought knitting lace was complicated, it looks like child's play in comparison.  I don't suppose any of these projects can be frogged like yarn projects can; one must just get it right the first time. Carol describes her Knitted Glass in this way:  A metaphor for the fragility of life and the power of social structure.  Individual strands are weak and brittle on their own, but

I haven't been out of town since late August, meanly due to my inability to walk.  Truth-be-known, I haven't really gotten downtown Vancouver that much either.  That all changed this weekend when I took a half-day off on Friday and we drove to Seattle.  As many of you know, I live with a retired guy who has lots of excess planning power to use.  So you'll note this weekend moved from item to item to item. We started by eating at Ponti Seafood Grill ; it has one of my favorite seafood happy hours in Seattle.  We arrived just about 4:30 pm and left by about 5:45 pm full of dishes like Grilled Marinated Calamari , made with olives, watercress and gremolata, and Sriracha-Lime White Prawns.    Then we headed off to a Jung lecture about synchronicity .  I love these lectures because they give me something to think about for days, but they are dense (or is it just me?).  It was the type of event I could knit at so I did and perhaps that helped the evening move along so very qu

I know for real blogger aficionados 10,000 pageviews is truly insignificant, I get that.  But this number is no small feat for my little blog.  I do no real advertising on it or about it.  People know me or know of my knitting and look for it and that's the full extent related to its promotion.  I've used my last name in the title, if you know how to spell it and know I have a knitting blog, odds are you'll be able to find this thing. How Google Analytics looks for the blog  Remember my first anniversary post?  I was so thrilled when on October 1, 2012 I had just under 5,600 pageviews.  In less than two and one-half months that number has shot up to over 10,000 pageviews.  I'm experiencing a combination of awe, wonder, shock and disbelief about this dramatic increase in readership.  How are people finding me (my key words and labels must tweak for some readers), why are people reading this (do they really have that much time to kill), and do I need to start worry

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting.  It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008.  (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.)  See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles.  And what about the yarn?  It is truly ex-bulky.  It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space.  Or how about the longest piece of finger knitting that measured 4,321.4 m

This will be the last post pertaining to needles, and I think I hear a subtle "thank goodness" from some of my readers.  Let's start with the wide variety of materials used to make knitting needles. The oldest of knitting needles were made from wood stakes sharpened at one or both ends.  Two problems with wooden needles are their weight and potential for splinters.  Some needle manufacturers continue to use wood but have found lighter weight wood and finishes that greatly reduce potential splintering.  (See the rather colourful wooden DPNs by Options Harmony below.)  Bamboo has become a recent newcomer to wooden needles because of its abundance and very light weight.  Beautiful wooden DPNs Needles are also made from metal generally aluminium; and it is metal needles that add the click, click, clicking to one's knitting.  Metal needles are very strong, meaning they aren't apt to warp over time like wood or plastic needles.  Having said that they have one

The newcomer to the hand knitting world is circular needles.  They were first used as a part of knitting machines in the 19th century focusing on the production of seamless socks.   However, their usefulness for hand knitters prompted an introduction as individual needles in the early 20th century to make particularly large items like afghans.  There are three sets of circular needles here with their characteristic coils/cords  Circular needles are great for large and/or heavy projects because as you can see from the photo above, the needle points are really short which means the bulk of the weight of the project is held on the coils/cords that attach the two needle points.  These coils are much more flexible than straight needles and allow the weight of the project to sit in the lap of the knitter.  But just because the needles are circular doesn't mean projects knit on them have be done in the round.  The back and forward, right side, wrong side approach I described

Paul's birthday has come and gone.  He was surprised by the socks I knit him because, as I suspected, he wasn't reading the blog.  The colours very much pleased him; and here's a photo of them on his petite little feet. The gift has been delivered There was in addition to the surprise pair of socks, a surprise birthday party for Paul in our home .   Here's the major steps in planning such an event. First, it is relatively easy to start the surprise by not holding the party on an actual birthday.  Check, I held it before his birthday.  Second, I had to get him out of the house long enough for me to get the place set up for the party.  Check, I had a friend of his ask him out for drinks, an opportunity I knew Paul wouldn't refuse. (I had an hour to get the house ready.) Third, pick a menu that works.  It took me longer to come to an appropriate solution than it should have about this item.  I had illusions of cooking and baking everything outside of the hous