Dress Adventures

I have been working on the Red (I know, it's not red YET) Day Dress a lot and have finally reached the bust zone. It's exciting, as it means I'm nearly ready to work on the sleeves! But before I go further into this I must catch you up on the developments that led me here.

I have mentioned recently the trickiness of the gauge when it gets complex. And I have promised to say more about custom plying...

I'm working on 3.5mm needles and I'm custom plying the yarn. The skirt '5-ply' consists of 1 strand of organic alpaca yarn, 3 strands of tussah silk and 1 strand of shantung silk:


The body '6-ply' consists of 2 strands of recycled cashmere (which roughly is equivalent of alpaca strand used for the skirt), 3 strands of tussah silk and 1 strand of shantung silk:


Although the difference between alpaca strand and double cashmere strand is minimal it actually affects the gauge quite a bit. Custom made charts below show skirt gauge on the top right and body gauge on the bottom left:


1 stitch in skirt gauge measures 35mm x 47mm (H x W)
1 stitch in body gauge measures 32mm x 43mm (H x W)

These charts are quite easy to make and invaluable if you are designing something from scratch. Simply make a table in a word document with lots of columns and rows and then adjust the height and width according to your gauge measurements PER STITCH.

Below is a sample of body fabric gauge and it works out at 31 rnds and 23 sts to 10cm. You need to divide 10cm by 31 (= 32mm) to get the height, and by 23 (= 43mm) to get the width.


I have used this technique to design the hip curve on the skirt. Here is the chart:


It worked a treat (as it does in 99 cases out of 100).


And it is accentuated by the strategically positioned pleat.


Well, now that I'm on the bust level the subject of the next post is quite clear in my mind. It is going to be on charting the breasts :)

Surprise In The Mail!

Well, I have stayed up too late watching "There Will Be Blood" (with Daniel Day-Lewis - I had a crash on him in my teenage years - ooops! should I be sharing this?) on Friday. Very intense. Saturday morning the bell rang and I half thought I was actually dreaming still, but it rang again. So I got up and - half asleep - went to open the door. By the time I clambered down the stairs the postman was already gone. Under the door mat there was an envelope. I picked it up and looked at the addressee (me?) not knowing what it might be...

I have already forgotten a deadline of nearly 1 year ago. And here are the actual books!

One of the Stitchville hats has actually made it onto the cover (hooray!). Styled here (above) like a classic pillbox-style hat, but can be also worn à la française, more like a beret...

I love the surprise moment that is a given of publishing turnover time...

Off to have another cup of coffee now, but will be back soon to talk more about the Stitch Style projects (unfortunately, some of the original instructions were simplified to widen the appeal of the projects). I figure I can still debrief my preferred approach which, given you are adventurous enough and your fingers are agile enough, can be of use to the potential "takers". I will also present a couple of technical tricks involved so that you don't have to look for them elsewhere...

Pirates Love Chunky Sweaters

Hey! The chunky sweater is finished! It got 10 out of 10 in my son's estimation (and he is a severe critic, perfectionist as he happens to be). He practically does not take it off, except at bedtimes - and only after intensive campaign:

Me: "Darling. You cannot sleep in this sweater. You will get too hot. Believe me. Why don't you put on your spaceship PJ's? I promise, you can put it back on first thing in the morning."
Louis: "But..."
Me: "I know, and I promise - first thing tomorrow you can put it on. OK?"
Louis: (sulkily) OK.

The hot hit garment features:
- a side zip with a pully thing to make it easier to zip it up and unzip it,


- an odd cuff,


- and enough fine-stripe-free-space to spice it up with a scull badge, mateys.


Goofing about is something this young pirate likes to do a lot. And, may I say, he does it rather well.


This sweater was actually designed for Kids' Mirasol Collection, which (among other things) is fund raising for the Mirasol Project and the pattern will soon be available to download at the Stitchville Yarn Boutique. I will, of course, let you know...

The Perfect Souvenir

This morning I had to get up early to meet a bunch of friends at the South Bank. It was not easy after last night, as my daughter's friend stayed with us for a sleep over. The novelty thing I discovered is that 7 year old's notion of sleep over has absolutely nothing to do with sleeping. It's more to do with applying ample make up in one's bed at 11.30pm, with a shadow of light available. They both literally looked like ghosts this morning when they appeared in the kitchen with their purple shadows around sleepy eyes accentuated by remaining traces of badly applied make up.

So off I went. The air was crisp and frosty. I ran past the Southwark Cathedral and the Golden Hinde. The mist hung over St.Paul's Cathedral's dome and the place looked quite mystical. I was late. I made an entry, was warmly greeted and spent subsequent 2 hours immersed in a very profound exchange of thoughts (instead of meeting for a gossip we meet to practice dialogue, you see). Afterward one of my friends asked me if I wanted to join her in her pursuit of the perfect yarn for a scarf. Now, this friend of mine is not quite as "touched by wool" as me and I thought that I shall certainly support her healthy if unexpected interest in knitting. A thought ran fleetingly through my mind.

"Remember NOT to buy any more yarn. You are running out of storage space."

Well, I only bought 4 balls of Rowan Classic Extra Fine Merino Wool in bright orange, because it was destined for me!

Picture this... In a chaotic sale section was a mountain of yarns. You name it: tweed, cotton blends, silk blends, wool, man-made stuff. I cast an eye over it and was not particularly drawn to it, frankly. But then I spotted this bright orange splodge and touched it (I know, I should have known better). I looked at the label - 100% merino. It's getting better all the time. After a moment of diving into the Yarn Mountain I tracked down another ball, at which point I thought:

"If I can find 4, I'll take it."

And then I saw a woman on the other side of the Yarn Mountain. She was holding a plastic bag containing 2 more balls of my chosen yarn and talking to a bloke about it. She took one ball out of the bag to examine it closer. All the while I was thinking:

"You don't really want this honey. PUT IT DOWN."

For another minute or two I kept on ploughing through the Yarn Mountain hoping that I might find 2 more balls of orange gorgeousness hiding there, but to no effect. All that time I discreetly monitored the "enemy movements" from the corner of my eye and repeated my "PUT IT DOWN" mantra in as focused a manner as humanely possible. The "enemy" had finally put the bag back onto the slope of the Yarn Mountain and I gracefully and decisively took it and gave her a big radiant smile. Sales can be very exciting indeed!

I am glad I purchased this yarn (even though it shows a slight weakness of will). On the up side I got it in a lady-like manner. Whatever it will eventually become, it will always remind me of this magical morning spent in company of excellent friends and a scouting trip with S.

A perfect souvenir.

4 Days & 21cm In

The skirt of The Red Day Dress (more about this in the fullness of time) is getting more substantial every day. I am officially 21 cm in.
I promised to reveal the source of my gorgeous silks a few days ago and have subsequently disappeared for about 3 days - mostly knitting in every spare moment (let's face it - they are not numerous). A while ago I listened to an episode of Cast-On podcast where a knitter has attempted in a very thoughtful essay to tackle the subject of time relativity in relationship to knitting. I think this is exactly what happened on this occasion. It seamed like an instant, like a blink, but in fact was 3 days! Nevermind.

And to the point.


These lovely silky 'obelisks' are from Fibrecrafts and they are virtually inexhaustible source of finest silk thread. They are really meant for weaving and machine knitting but, as creativity has no limits, they do come in handy on occasion in this strictly hand-knitting temple of fibre worship (also known as my home). I ply them with various yarns and they do work up very beautifully in lace patterns too.


Just to give you an example of the sort of silky lace knitted up with this yarn...

Silk Shawl hand-dyed in safflower, 2002.

And in the next post more on the magic of custom plying...

When Gauge Gets Complicated

As it will, from time to time. Are you ready? Ok. Here I come!
Single strand of Angel Touch Alpaca looks like this:


Plied with 1 strand of tussah silk it looks like this:


Plied with 2 strands of tussah silk it looks like this:


Plied with 3 strands of tussah silk it looks like this:


And ad finitum. Well, maybe not this time.

I'm experimenting with gauge for the next major project - a day dress. And it is very interesting indeed. Just look at this (you might need to click on the picture to be able to appreciate the tiny details :):



Although the strands are so fine, adding just one at a time makes much more of an impact than I have anticipated, and not in any sort of predictable pattern either. I like the subtle gradient effect this gives the fabric and am intending to use it to enhance the design. I will also add a fine strand of shuntung silk, which is shinier and "silkier" than the slubby and slightly "sticky" tussah. These silks combine well with alpaca, which on its own does not produce fabric dense enough for this project. I don't really want to work on needles smaller than 3.5mm. It's only a knee length dress, but still. I am actually giving myself a deadline for this project. Yep! February half-term. I do love challenges!

Today was Day 2 of the project (if I were to discount hours of nursing the idea in my mind over the Christmas holiday), and having sketched and swatched it yesterday, I have cast on today and made a bit of progress on the 250 sts of the hem. Thoroughly enjoying the plying process, though it can be a bit tedious at times.

Do try and imagine my yarn basket for this project.

Tomorrow I shall reveal its gargantuan proportions, as well as the source of my lovely silks...

Wrapping Up...

And I am not referring to the chilly weather (although I must say I am loving the crispness of the air). I am referring to the Advent Calendar 2008. It is time to take stock of what it brought into our family life and into my creative life.

Firstly, it had provided a rich source of fun and excitement for everyone; children (because they adore Christmas time and treats) and parents (because we adore the children and anything, that makes them happy) alike.

Secondly, it has provided me with structure to be creative, disciplined and steady within.

Thirdly, it has inspired countless conversations and became a temporary installation in our kitchen (don't you love temporary installations - I tend to have at least one on the go at any one time!) and a tactile record of the run-up to Christmas 2008 for our family.

Finally, it provided this:


TREASURE!

We had emptied the pouches onto the sparkly piece of material and the pouches lay there, light as empty shells...


We had found a box and stored them away neatly:


This could have been a tricky moment to facilitate with a pile of chocolates in view and within reach. Luckily, I appear to have very sensible children who have agreed without too much convincing that it was an ace idea to put all chocolates in a special tin into which we will dive during post-climax zone of January, whenever our spirits need lifting or we are simply after momentary pleasure. And so we did! The pleasure derived from our tactile calendar continues into the New Year!


Happy New Year!

Warm Christmas Wishes From Stitchville

PS: Having gotten into a blogging drill I am finding it hard not to blog ;)

Day 24 - The Climax

This afternoon I took some time out of the Christmas Eve preparations to make this star. This also complements the advent heart I made to 'anchor' the advent pouches onto. I thought it would be a fine symbolic gesture to crown the tree tonight of all times, which reminds me of my childhood Christmases when we actually decorated the tree on the Christmas Eve morning!


After a special Christmas Eve supper and then sending kids off to bed (at least one night in the whole year it actually is easy!!!) I cast on for the last pouch. Throughout the duration of this 'project' I indulged in a wide variety of yarns to choose from - the colour, fibre, texture and weight of which were all totally dependent on a whimsy, MY whimsy... I would choose freely and sometimes impulsively, knowing that I will get to make quite a few more choices in the days to come. Tonight was quite different. I knew that I could only make one more choice, this year at least. And I felt a bit apprehensive of the deciding moment. So I closed my eyes, stayed still for a second or two, opened my eyes - and chose this...


...because it reminds me of winter berries :) The yarn is Habu bamboo in red (col.5) and I absolutely LOVE it!

Well, this is it for the Advent Calendar. It was first conceived as a KAL project, but that aspect of it did not materialize and, nevertheless, it was perfect just the way it happened. Do feel free to make your own version of the tactile Advent Calendar next year if you like the look of this one and the (slightly off the wall) interpretation. It is fun and it also is a test of sorts. I highly recommend it. It definitely helps to keep track of time and contributes greatly to kids' excitement about Christmas. I particularly like the non-instant gratification aspect of the experience.

Finally, I would like to credit a Norwegian friend of mine who shared with me the Scandinavian Advent tradition of daily storing of little gifts for someone loved. I completely forgot about this conversation which we had quite a few months ago. The idea was planted and has germinated and been adapted quite intuitively in this project. I only remembered this conversation a few days ago and was stunned by how I was unconsciously influenced by it...

Day 23 - Fragrant Home

I opened one of my yarn drawers with a plan in mind - Rowan Summer Tweed in tomato red or chocolate brown... No idea where this thought came from. Anyway, there I was scanning the contents of my extensive stash when I saw this Araucania Pehuen in blue, still in a skein (easily distracted!!!). I took it out without thinking much and wound it into a ball. Out came 3.75mm needles (I needed to compensate for the time spent listening to the choir at St. Paul's Cathedral singing Christmas carols earlier on today and a gorgeous smelling activity I set up for children in the morning. It turned out that O's little fingers couldn't quite cope with the pointy cloves and I was promptly turned into the person in charge of his pomander, which very effectively diverted me from knitting).


I admit I haven't thought this through properly. I should have photographed these pomanders before dusting them with orris root powder, but there you go - I got carried away!

Day 22 - Heightened State Of Creativity

The culmination point is getting closer all the time and I seem to have entered a heightened state of creativity and - it follows - productivity. Having spent about 2.5 skeins worth of time on the sweater, I was reminded politely by my children that the pouch no. 22 was still missing, despite the evening hours drawing in and B.E.D. time approaching.


So I got on the case with the pouch no. 22.

This yarn here is Hotaru by Noro, and if you have been following this calendar adventure of mine you know that I have already been there and done that, except it was green. Nevertheless, here I go again:

I love this yarn, although it doesn't quite meet my 'natural fibre' standard (containing 68%cotton and 32% of polyester). It is like a magical daisy chain - simply entrancing.

And if that was not enough for one day I have about an hour of work ahead of me tonight. I'm looking forward to it... I'm not telling you what this thing is. It smells of lavender :) I shall reveal the secret very soon.

I'm in a swing!

Day 21 - Will Power

Today's pouch is made of Mirasol Sulka in sage.


I spent most of the day working on my son's sweater. I have been caught out. He hasn't got a single warm sweater that fits him well at present. All I can say in my defense is that he is growing rather fast, and I have resisted the urge to resort to an easy solution, i.e. visit this place. Don't get me wrong - I do like Boden, but not for knitwear. I am a knitter for heaven's sake!
This is a snippet of the sweater in progress. May I say that working chunky alpaca and wool mix on 6mm needle feels like riding a lightning. The progress is stunning!


There is something else I would like to put on record today. It's an excerpt from a book I have found on my bedside table this morning and opened randomly and the first thing I saw was this:

"Will power!" retorted Arkad. "What nonsense. Do you think will power gives a man strength to lift a burden that a camel cannot carry, or to draw a load that the oxen cannot budge? Will power is but the unwavering intention to carry a task you set for yourself to completion. If I set for myself a task, be it ever so trivial, I will see it through. How else can I have confidence in myself to do important things? If I said to myself, 'For a hundred days, as I walk across the bridge into the city, I will pick up a stone from the road and throw it into the stream,' I would do it. If on the seventh day I passed by without remembering, I wouldn't say to myself, 'Tomorrow I'll throw two stones which will do just as well.' Instead, I would retrace my steps and throw in the stone. Nor on the twentieth day would I say to myself, 'Arkad, this is useless. What does it help you to throw a stone every day? Just throw in a handful of stones and be done with it.' No, I would not say nor do that. When I set a task for myself, I complete it. Therefore, I'm careful not to start difficult and impractical tasks, because I love leisure."

"The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason

This book looks very interesting indeed. I think I might read it from cover to cover to find out what's it all about.
The paragraph above struck me as it is exactly what I am doing with the pouches! Exercising my will power.

Day 20 - Pouch Strain

I am feeling it, but bravely ploughing on with the pouch thing. Basically, I have managed to stay on top of things, but the intensity of pre-Christmas prepping is getting to me a little. Mostly in that there seems to be not nearly enough hours in a day to do all the things I want to do!
I'm far from compromising though. Tonight, after a busy day involving dashing across the river to the South Bank to meet a bunch of friends, shlepping all the way to West End, and then to meet a student for an hour of tutorial on Upper Street (I am forgetting to mention the fairy light mission here - yet elswhere, and a stuck District line train, but nevermind that) I have picked up 2mm DPNs (the smallest I own I believe!) and bravely cast on for yet another pouch - using Jitterbug by Colinette - not exactly the chunkiest of yarns :/ I sort of new what I was doing, but could not help myself - the idea was there all day and I just wanted to follow through on it!

May I present pouch 20.

Day 19 - Red Is... Gone

And the thing of today (other than producing this Kauni pouch) was seeing Mother Goose at the Hackney Empire Theatre.

Dy 18 - Red At Last!

And if that wasn't enough back on track again!

Day 17 - Down To The Wire

I continue to be posting 1 day late. Yesterday I went out... All the way to Richmond (it's way out!) to see some friends I haven't seen in ages. The Christmas social commitments list is, shall we say, large. It was a frock night, for me at least (any excuse is good, right?). My vintage 1930's hand made coat came out, and so did my vintage beaded purse - after all it was going to be a night of leisure and socializing (I do manage to kick my habit of carrying everything with me all the time once in a blue moon. The purse is so small that even my mobile phone is too large for it!) My gorgeous friend and "chauffeuse" appeared at the door and off we went... Did I mention a very small secret bag containing a ball of fine pure silk, a set of DPN's, tapestry needle, and small scissors?

Well, the evening was so exciting and full of conversation, laughter and delicious food and wine that I sort of forgot all about my pouch duty.

Until we were back on our way home that is, driving past the Natural History Museum, V&A, Harrods, Piccadilly Circus, and so on. Me and my needles in a flurry of action...

11.40pm - cast-on
11.50pm - increases nearly finished
11.55pm - knitting even and FAST
11.58pm - nearly ready for the decreases!!!
All of this whilst maintaining an animated conversation on tricky subjects and explaining the contemporary Advent Calendar concept.

Say "goodbye" (xx) and get out of the car.
Get into the house.
Throw myself onto the sofa, still fully dressed.

00.03am - darn it! darn it! I nearly did it!
00.05am - finish decreases
00.07am - weave in the ends (where is that needle?!)
00.09am - ribbon
00.10am - go to the advent thing and hang the pouch
00.13am - camera at the ready, I can do it! The post will only take a minute or two.

Darn it! The battery is gone!!!

So here we are. It's 12.48pm on the 18th and the picture is loading now.

Down to the wire. And lost. Nevermind. Today is a new day. I will manage this time.

Day 16 - Back To (Nearly) Black

This pouch is made of Habu bamboo in charcoal. Love it! Actually this tiny pouch is a prelude to the prelude for a dress I am sketching at the moment. It's a great low commitment way to get a feel for this yarn. It's exciting as last time I had enough head space to be designing dresses was a rather long time ago. It's not a gigantic project like this one, but a lot more tailored, a lot less seethrough, and - in case you haven't guessed it already - without seams. Oui. Oui.

Day 15 - The Very Essence Of Subtlety...

... is perfectly captured by this masterpiece of colour dyeing.

I was hoping to be getting into "real" red today, but as it appears with this yarn, subtlety is its thing. So here I am - closer to red than yesterday but still a long way to go. The thing with the pouches is that they are small. I will certainly come back to it, but for tomorrow I have planned something else. A little diversion of sorts to prevent myself from getting into a real state with the Kauni thing.

Day 14 - Carrot!?

Today was a day of creating - totally against the biblical notion of rest. Actually, Sundays are not exactly what I remember them to be when my maternal grandmother was setting the tone! Anything goes these days, and today was mostly about making ornaments for the Christmas tree, which appeared here early this year due to some of our friends not being around this Christmas and visiting today for a special festive hello before flying off... I was all consumed by stringing beads and making fancy chains whilst chatting to friends and being served endless refreshments by our chef du jour.


Today's pouch was inspired by this yarn here. It's the stuff that Kauni cardigan is made of (yarn available here). Well the idea was to try and get to the red layer, but I have clearly underestimated the meterage here. I knitted and knitted and the pouch was getting deeper and deeper... Finally I decided to stop. At least until tomorrow.
Believe it or not, nothing was further from my mind than a carrot when I started this. And here we are - a carrot resembling pouch!
I therefore dedicate it to my son, who adores carrots.

Day 13 - Luxurious Pouch

Today's pouch is made of The Good Yarn Stall bamboo yarn. Pure luxury outside + pure naughtiness inside pretty much sums it up.