Flagel Knitting Files

There has been a break between my posts and this time it has nothing to do with traveling; work is the culprit.   Don't take this as a woe-is-me complaint, but rather a description for why posts have been slim.  All that being said some knitting has taken place in the last week. Here's another version of the Button Panel Pullover, deconstructed.  It is in the finishing process of drying after a quick dip for blocking and is now ready to be sewn together.  You can see the back at the top with the right side panel of the sweater closely pinned in place.  The patch at the bottom of the photo is one of the sleeves. The yet unassembled Button Down Pullover You can also see the front with the flower pinned and the buttons placed on it.   I took the flower motif from another  60 Quick Baby Knits  called Ruffled Top and Pants.  The picture above doesn't show the curving and trailing running stitch very well. The Ruffle Top and Pants with its flower motif The button hu

I cannot believe I have not yet written about Debbie Macomber, until now.  She writes r omance novels and contemporary women's fiction .  Macomber’s books are sensual and sensitive with wholesome qualities. She avoids all the details and descriptions of a book like 50 Shades of Grey.  If you check out her bibliography you will find more than 170 titles to her name.  Plus she has been #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers’ list several times and recently was awarded the Romance Writers of America lifetime achievement award as well.  Additionally four of her stories have been made into Hallmark Channel TV productions, most shot right here in Vancouver, British Columbia. Debbie and a few of her books I most like the Blossom Street series because of the focus on knitting and a particular yarn shop.  The name of the shop is A Good Yarn and it’s owned by Lydia Hoffman, a young woman who has survived cancer.  Her dream upon recovery was to open a yarn shop in Seattle, Washington

Jargon is that shorthand language that allows people who are like-minded or work in the same fields to communicate clearly yet succinctly with one another both verbally or in written form. Every specialty field uses it's own lingo and of course knitting is no different.  Pattern designers use abbreviations in the instructions to cut down on the size of knitting pattern books, and even when a pattern is digitally distributed abbreviations continue to be used because they've become so ubiquitous. Like any other jargon, if you know the abbreviations you're fine, if you don't you are left in the dark wondering what is being said.  Add to that the fact, as I've mentioned on several occasions, the English-speaking knitting world uses different terms and thus different abbreviations to represent the same thing.  It can be very confusing, but doesn't have to be. These are called knitting eye tests Each one of these eye charts uses abbreviations that most in

I have been knitting despite my lack of writing about it for a few days.  The new project is named Button Panel Pullover, found in 60 More Quick Baby Knits by Cascade Yarns. A completed Button Panel Pullover The front panel can be completely removed and from my POV this design will be easy to get baby in and out.  And if I do it right I should be able to knit a couple of panels so just in case there's an accident a new panel can be placed on the back of the pullover.   Instant clean up with no fuss. Here's my panel placed on top of the black background My version is being knit in black acrylic yarn with a panel in one of my favorite variegated blue/purple/yellow black colour combinations.  I think it is masculine yet speaks of baby boy and since the baby boy I'm making this for is a big boy, I'm going with the 12 month size hoping it will fit him for a bit of time. The only dynamic is the yarn I'm using doesn't meet the gauge in the pattern, whi

I knit food, so perhaps I have given up a right to talk about what others knit in a disparaging way.  This photo, however, caused me to wonder "what were they thinking" so I had to see what was behind the design: A knit snood with red leopard print short and hugely over-sized knit mittens I can say this is one of the most "unusual" (perhaps I really mean terrible) knit designs I have ever seen.  The super chunky yarn is very unique and must be knit on needles the size of broomsticks. (The yarn I don't mind that much, although I have an aversion to using chunky yarn because it stretches easily.)  And might I add, if it is cold enough to need a snood and mittens, don't you think the chest and midriff might need to be covered or am I just being too darn logical?  There is no man I know who would ever wear this in public unless they were paid to do it (and even then there are some who wouldn't do it no matter what the pay).  So it is unclear to me ju

Overnight this blog broke through the 30,000 views mark.  Woo-hoo, I can’t believe it.  Here’s a brief recap of the numbers:    Date                 Posts         Views Oct. 2, 2012     133 5,894 Dec. 7, 2012     157 10,000 Apr. 23, 2013     202 20,000 Aug. 6, 2013     243 30,000 So it took a year to get to almost 6,000 views and then only 2 months to hit 10,000.  After another 4.5 months the numbers doubled to 20,000 views and in just over 3 months it hit another 10,000.  I know I have talked about this a lot, but this is a self-indulgent enterprise, these numbers just fascinate me and overwhelm me at the same time Unlike many other bloggers, I have a silent readership, which is fine with me.  (I know I very much dislike the fact that Blogger requires that you have an account with them to comment.  I wouldn't like it either if I didn't already have such account.  And many of y

You know a picture like this would get my attention.  (Unfortunately it is a photograph of a newspaper article that I was not able to find electronically.  P.S. It is from the Washington State magazine called Getaway.   Discovered it on my way on a ferry to Port Townsend.)  Kim Thomson is the owner and creator of this portable yarn ball hat.  I love that it would certainly allow one to move and knit almost effortlessly.  So with her name and a location of Port Townsend, Washington I decided to find out more about Kim. Let's start with the city.  Port Townsend is located in the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula  and is known for the many Victorian buildings remaining from its late 19th-century heyday.  Captain George Vancouver found and named it in 18th century, so this place has been around for some time.  Here's a couple of geographic maps to help locate Port Townsend, Jefferson County in Washington State. The red above is Jefferson county and the red dot, Port