About Rayna

Newfoundlander, returned home from Toronto a few years ago after 14 years in exile! Knitter of pretty string, spinner of fluff (mostly wheel), sometimes designer and newbie dyer. Occasional stringer of shiny rocks. Wife, and doggie mom.

Knowing When to Say “I Give”

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Rayna

In the summer of 2011, the indigodragonfly group on Ravelry hosted a summer KAL. It was a lot of fun for me as I was a mostly new knitter and had never done one before. I didn’t win the prize for “Most Overcommitted” but I did win the prize for “Best Enabler”. In addition to enabling others, I managed to squeeze in some time to knit a few things for myself, although admittedly far fewer than I had planned.

One of them was a lovely cowl from MCN Sport, a most lovely and squooshy DK weight yarn that I have adored ever since, using a Chrissy Prange pattern called “It’s Only Geometry”. I had purchased two skeins of a gorgeous burgundy red called “When I Bit Into Him, I Could Hear The Ocean” (fans of the TV show, “Angel”, will recognize that as a Drusilla quote from the Season 2 episode, “Darla”), and used most of one skein for the cowl.

Geometry Bites

I kept the remaining skein, promising myself I would make gloves from it to go with the cowl. I dutifully put the cowl away in a drawer, so that when the gloves were done, the cowl would be pristine and I could wear them as a pretty set.

Fast forward approximately two and a half years…you have three guesses where that second skein of yarn is. Yep…still right where I left it, in my stash. This morning, I felt like wearing red in honour of Chinese New Year, so I went into my drawer and hauled out the cowl and wore it. The yarn has been queued for months now for a pair of fingerless mitts, but maybe I will use it to design my own “matching” pair of mitts.

Or maybe, this time next year…the yarn will still be sitting in stash. Yep…that seems a lot more likely.

Disruptions in “The Schedule”

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Rayna

Most of the knitting I do is for me. Occasionally, I knit for my husband….hats mostly, but I have knit him some worsted weight socks and most recently, I have on needles for him a pair of fingerless mitts that should have been done months ago, but that for some reason I am just not digging. Progress on those has been glacier-like.

I have been known to knit for friends, but since most of my friends are knitters, it sometimes feels like bringing coals to Newcastle.

Most recently, I fell into knitting socks for my Mom and my Dad. It happened by accident when my mom admired a pair I was working on (that I didn’t love) at the exact time when I could still alter the WIP to fit her. Once she received them and loved them, she asked for another pair. I have a strange sort of compulsion…I can’t really do something for one parent and not the other. Since Mom had two, I had to knit two for Dad. I gave him one at Christmas (which I am told he is going to wear out at this rate – YAY!!) and have another pair in the queue. He wants brown. Oy!

When I was at home for Christmas, my dear friend Karen gave me a bunch of Malabrigo that she was never going to knit. She’s a knitter of heavier Mal Worsted and Mal Mecha, but had somehow obtained several skeins of Mal Lace and a few of Mal Sock. When I compared one of the Mal Sock skeins in a colourway called Archangel to Mom’s new leather jacket, it cried out to be knit into a light, airy, lace scarf to go with the jacket.

The picture doesn’t entirely show how well the skein matches with the leather, but they’ll co-ordinate extremely well, I think. I decided on the Foreign Correspondent’s Scarf as it’s a basic 4 row repeat, it has lots of nice open airy fishnet lace, and it won’t fight with the variegation inherent in that colourway. In any case…one more thing to knit.

So when I say I have a “knitting” schedule, it’s not entirely accurate. It’s more of a list of thing to start/make/finish, in the approximate order in which I wish to start/make/finish them. The occasional gift item falls in there, which means I sometimes have something that resembles a deadline. Overall, I have to say that I am not much of a deadline knitter.

I got an email from Porter Airlines the other day, advertizing a 50% off sale. I figured it seemed like a good time to get my parents to come visit, as they like getting away from Newfoundland in April or May. It’s warmer here around that time, as spring has sprung in Toronto, but there’s still frequently snow on the Victoria Day long weekend (that’s May 24th, for you Americans!). Dad mailed back and said they were going to come for a week around Easter, if that suited, which it did just fine, thank you! Except…that means one thing. Two planned projects now need to move up the queue. Mom will want to have the scarf for her spring jacket, and the last time I mailed a pair of socks to Newfoundland, it set me back over $13. So frankly, if I can have them ready for mid-April, more’s the better for me! So, tonight…I wind!!

Do you have a knitting schedule? Do you actually keep to it? What sorts of things disrupt it?

The Mid January Blahs

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Rayna

So, if any of you run into my knitting/spinning/fibre mojo, can you send it home please? I believe it has hopped a plane for Cuba where it is sitting on a beach, drinking mojitos. Because really, if you had that option, wouldn’t you??

I traditionally struggle with January and February. I get a little blue and kinda lazy and it’s hard to pick myself up and do anything. My friend Christina, over at Lone Maple Studio, blogged about this very thing this weekend. In her case, a new hobby has taken her attention; in mine, I am looking into new hobbies in hopes that something grabs my attention because my interest in my current habits is definitely waning.

Last year, I purchased a couple of Craftsy classes, including a class on Lace Shawl Design. In an attempt to engage my brain in something interesting, I finally hit it the play button on it and started watching. It’s interesting so far. Miriam Felton, the instructor, has talked yarn and needles and yarn overs and decreases…and now we are at the part where we are charting stitch patterns from stitch dictionaries. I may have given in and purchased a recommended one from Abebooks – one of the Barbara Walker treasuries. I also may have gone to Staples for graph paper, and a new note book because what troubles can’t be solved with yarn can frequently be solved with office supplies.

Additionally, my friend Shireen dropped by for a bit of a knit night on Friday, and she and her metal-working hubby, Tito had picked me up a little gift while shopping that day: the cutest teensiest, tiniest jewelery anvil you ever saw. Looks like this and fits in the palm of my hand:

This acquisition meant that I needed to stop by Bead FX on Saturday to add a chasing hammer to my collection of tools, so I can get practicing at some simple metal forging. I grabbed some 16 gauge wire, and am now going to start looking at creating some fibula pins, and maybe eventually learn how to do more complicated things. I did get a book from my mother in law for Christmas called “Simple Soldering”…that would be next.

So, while I did a very small amount of knitting this weekend and no spinning at all, I did spend an inordinate amount of time designing lace cowls in my head, and hanging out on Pinterest, looking for shawl pin ideas.

Maybe this is one of those “If life hands you lemons” things.

So much for that…

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Rayna

So, 10 days into the new year, and already, I have broken my pattern moratorium. But really….can you blame me??

@Lucy Hague

Pattern: Carradal by Lucy Hague

Perpetuating the Delusion

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Rayna

If you are a knitter who uses Ravelry, you are likely aware that you can store all your project records there. You can attach your stashed yarn, track start dates, end dates, notes about and all sorts of other random information about the project that you want to remember for later.

One feature is the “status” feature and it’s used by different people in different ways. Thanks to my friend Caryn, I adopted, early on, a practice of marking something 100% once the item was fully knit, but not changing the status to “Finished” until the ends were woven in, the item had had its customary bath and the final photos had been taken. That time frame can be as little as 24 hours or as long as a week or so.

There is another status that I have been using somewhat frequently: “Hibernating”. Traditionally I have used this one for anything I haven’t touched in a few months. (I have been pretty loosey-goosey with the time frame.) The problem with this status is that it fools me into thinking I have fewer projects on needles than I really do. Ravelry’s sorting mechanism buries those projects below all my FOs and as such I don’t see those entries unless I go looking for them. So my, say, eight projects “In Progress” isn’t too bad, I think, until I realize I have another six in “Hibernating”. Suddenly, I have fourteen things on needles, which I think may be a bit much. (Your mileage may vary, of course…it’s all personal preference). This is usually brought home to me when I am looking for s specific project bag or a certain needle that I cannot find and cannot for the life of me locate in my WIPs.

So, I am going to stop using that status. Seeing that I currently have sixteen items OTN – more right now than is reasonable for one person (again, YMMV) – this might keep me a bit focused on finishing at least a few of these before casting on something else. If I already have five pairs of socks on needles, do I really need a sixth? And perhaps I might like to finish one of my five shawls/scarves and four cowls, hmm??

Time to get busy knitting or get busy froggin’.

It’s Nice to Have Goals

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Rayna

So on New Year’s Eve, I took a quick look at what I did in 2013, and mentioned there were some things I’d like to do in 2014. I cannot say I actually set goals, because they were all pretty darned vague, and I would like to have something to work towards.

“I am planning to start spinning again in January and am considering saving up for a Woolee Winder to make my spinning that much easier”. I will spin 5 times a week for the year; I am never going to get any good at this if I do it in constant fits and starts. If I do keep to this, and I think it will improve my spinning, I will get a Woolee Winder in the spring.

“I have nine WIPs and four projects in “hibernation”, so I do need to get back at some of those.” I will cut that number in half by January 1st, 2015 and have no more than 7 WIPS/hibernating projects at that time, whether I finish the ones I have on needles or frog them.

“I am also planning to knit from stash a bit more. I added quite a bit towards the end of the year, factoring in several yarn-y gifts, and I have some great plans for some of those skeins.” For every two skeins I move into “All Used Up”, I can add one more to stash. (This will be by far my most challenging goal, to be certain, as I am completely given to fits of “ooh shiny”!)

“My last goal of the year…to at least start, if not complete, my first sweater. I have two sweater quantities, a coupon for Custom Fit (kindly given to me by my friend, Jenn) and measurements taken for me by Kim. All I need to do now is do some new swatches and I’ll be ready to go.” This goal was nice and specific.

And there was one I forgot. My dear friend Val has sent me three separate stashes of light fingering weight handspun over the past year…all gorgeous and all deserving of being knit into something awesome. I have queued two of them and I will knit at least one of these projects this year.

So, goals for 2014…there they are. I am not going to set goals of how many yards to knit or pounds of fibre to spin, mostly because I don’t want either of those activities to become a chore, and I fear that for me, goals that specific might make them so.

Let’s see how far I get with these 🙂

The State of the Fibre

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Rayna

(I’d have said “The State of the Knitting”, as ganked from my friend Jocelyne, but it seemed more appropriate to include spinning in this update!)

I did a quick count this morning, and I completed 27 projects this year. That’s one shy of the 28 I completed last year. But when one considers that last year I did 12 cowls, and this year I did 15 pairs of socks, I am okay with that.

On quick count, those projects included:

the aforementioned 15 pairs of socks (7 of which were gifts, 1 of which was a sample knit for a the Rock and Roll Collection by Kate Atherley, and 2 of which were my own design which I published in December, Shireen)
3 cowls
5 hats
1 pair of mitts
1 shawlette (test knit)
1 TARDIS dishcloth
1 Calorimetry hairband

My goal had been to knit six pairs of socks this year…and I had exceeded that before the first of June.

Another goal I had had at the beginning of the year had been to learn colourwork, but realized somewhere along the way that I was not really all that interested in it just now, so I let that one slide.

I had planned on doing more spinning and started off the year that way, but the minute it got even slightly warm, the wheel got put aside. I am planning to start spinning again in January and am considering saving up for a Woolee Winder to make my spinning that much easier.

I have nine WIPs and four projects in “hibernation”, so I do need to get back at some of those. I am also planning to knit from stash a bit more. I added quite a bit towards the end of the year, factoring in several yarn-y gifts, and I have some great plans for some of those skeins.

My last goal of the year…to at least start, if not complete, my first sweater. I have two sweater quantities, a coupon for Custom Fit (kindly given to me by my friend, Jenn) and measurements taken for me by Kim. All I need to do now is do some new swatches and I’ll be ready to go.

What are your yarn/fibre goals for 2014?

25 days to the end of the year

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Rayna

It just crossed my mind that I did a year in review post last New Year’s Day where I counted the number of projects I completed in 2013. The final tally of 28 was, I thought, impressive. I always think I should do a calculation of yardage knit as well. (I will not be doing a comparison of what left my stash vs. what was added to my stash. Even though I was more selective in what I added to my stash this year, I still think I have more in the cupboard than this time last year. That’s ok, though…I am stashing for my retirement, right? But I digress.)

Out of pure curiousity, I just did a quick count and at this point, I am pretty sure I will complete at least 26 projects by New Year’s Eve. (I still have a few gifts on needles and at least one small project which can probably be cast on and off in a weekend.) Maybe I will do that yardage calculation after all.

Evolution

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Rayna

In my short time as a knitter, I have frequently noticed that I can see a design and think (if I am honest with myself) “Now why would anyone want to knit that?” I put the item out of my head and keep going. Then later, I go back to the item and wonder what I ever disliked about it.

The biggest example of this that I can think of: any object that fell into the entire category of cowls. When I started knitting, I thought they were the silliest thing in the world. After all, who wants to knit part of a turtleneck sweater? Funnily, years later, I haven’t a clue what I was on about. I knit a few early on for friends and remember thinking, “These are great! You don’t have all that fabric under the front of your coat. They can’t fall off and get lost…always a bonus. They take up less yarn and are faster to knit than scarves. And they are in the round, which generally means less purling.” As someone who is highly purl-averse, this is not something to be taken lightly.

Calorimetry seems to have fallen into the category of something to which I once didn’t give the time of day but is something I am now seriously considering. When I saw my friend Shireen on the weekend, she showed me one she had knit and it was pretty cute. Because I wear ponytails a lot, especially on weekends, hats don’t tend to sit right. (Plus I generally look like a giant dork in hats!) And weekends are the exact times I need something to cover my ears when I take my dog, Kayleigh, outside or I just want to take a walk in the snow. (Stop laughing…it could happen.)

And best of all, they take less than 100 yards of worsted weight yarn. So now I am stashdiving, as I know I have a couple of small skeins of worsted weight yarn that I remember thinking, “These are so tiny…whatever will I do with them?” Perhaps this is the answer.

I also found a small 50 g skein of single ply worsted that I handspun on my spindle. After I soaked it and skeined it, I recall thinking “The yardage of this skein is so small. Pity it’s never going to actually be anything”.

Fleece Artist BFL Handspun

Now, maybe it will.

FO: Hofner Socks

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Rayna

One day in August, I received a very flattering email from one of my knitting idols. The wonderfully clever Kate Atherley emailed to tell me she and Kim of indigodragonfly were in cahoots on a pattern collection, and might I be interested in knitting a sample for them? Gee, let me see, one of my favourite designers paired up with one of my favourite indie dyers…how could I possibly resist?

The collection included a hat, a shawl, fingerless mitts and lacy socks, all interesting, but still easy to knit. Kate asked if I might be up for the socks. I picked up the yarn from Kim at her annual Fibre Fling that weekend (Merino Nylon Sock in a heavenly orange called “Safety Pin or Safety Pint: Discuss”) and cast on before the weekend was out.

The one catch? The whole project was sooper seekrit so my morning Starbucks ritual of tweeting my WIPs was out. No progress pics posted to Rav…nada.

As a result, pics like this one taken at 30,000 feet got tweeted:

Flying the friendly skies…in seekrit!

As with all of Kate’s patterns, it was easy to follow and I encountered no issues. Once they were completed, I was in love!

Completed Hofners!

Awesome colour…adorable heart-shaped lace pattern down the outside of each sock. People stopped me when I knit it public and asked to see them. It pained me to turn them over to Kate when I was done. I am seriously considering another pair in a skein of the same base I have in a special edition, charity colourway called “Canoe Up To The Beer Store”.

The rest of the Rock ‘n Roll Collection is great as well. I have at least one other item planned from that collection. So many things to knit…so little time.

Pattern: Hofner Socks by Kate Atherley

Yarn: indigodragonfly Merino Nylon Sock in “Safety Pin or Safety Pint: Discuss”

Who Was It Made For? Sample for Kate

Were There Changes Made To The Pattern? None – that would defeat the purpose of a sample knit.

Did I Learn Anything New? No

Anything Else? Not that I recall.

Would I Make Another?: Definitely…finding the time is another story.