Knitting the Knitter's Almanac - July

July's project is a circular lace shawl, which Ms. Zimmermann bills as a great travel project.  She's right too: knit on circular needles from the inside out, the shawl makes a pouch as you knit it that is great for holding the yarn and pattern when you take it places.  I purchased some lace-weight wool yarn in a sand color for the shawl. 



Pi Shawl

Although she calls it just a circular shawl, the pattern is widely known as the Pi Shawl because it loosely uses geometry in its increase pattern.  Basically the pattern has you double your stitches, then knit a number of rows to equal 1/6 (or 1/2π) of the number of stitches.  It roughly uses the formula for the circumference of a circle related to its radius.  It's not perfect: pi obviously doesn't equal 3, the height of a stitch is not exactly the width of a stitch, and it means that the earlier rows after an increase are not proportionate; but happily with knitting, once it's washed and blocked these imperfections disappear.  The simple increase pattern and large sections of equal rows allow a lot of room for variation and personalization.  Any lace pattern can be inserted into each of the sections, and Ms. Zimmermann encourages experimentation. She does give her own simple patterns to insert, however, and I mostly followed the instructions she gave, except for the border. 



Lace Border

For the border, Ms. Zimmermann expands upon a technique we learned in February for knitting a sideways border.  This time, instead of simple garter stitch, she suggests using a lace pattern, but still followed the same technique of joining the border to the main piece by casting on directly from the last row, and knitting one stitch from the main piece together with the last stitch of every other row of the border pattern.  Instead of the loop edging that Ms. Zimmermann gives in the book, I found a lace edging pattern that I thought complemented the lace patterns in the rest of the shawl and used that.

This project was a favorite with my cat Columbine, and not particularly in a good way.  She very stereotypically loves to play with yarn, and frequently steals my projects and takes them to her lair under the couch.  While I certainly don't encourage this behavior, usually her playing with a project doesn't harm the work too much.  But as I soon learned, in the case of fine lace yarn, sharp kitty teeth, even only for a second, can be disastrous.  I was about halfway done the project when I noticed four growing holes in the earlier part of the shawl.  Not seeing how I could repair the damage, I sadly unraveled the whole project and started over, this time carefully guarding my project, by making sure to seal it in a bag before walking away from it. 




First bag, lots of teeth marks

Second bag, fewer teeth marks,
but enough to damage my work

Unfortunately, having had a taste for lace yarn, Columbine was determined to get to my project, and the sealed bag was just an added challenge.  She put tons of tiny teeth holes in the bag, eventually causing the bag to get some larger holes.  So I added a second sealable bag, enshrining my work twice every time I put it aside.  And yet, just as I was about two thirds of the way done, I noticed two holes that were not part of the lace pattern.  This time, I caught it before they were too big, and the placement of the holes was luckily not over a lacy area, so I was able to (inexpertly) fix it instead of starting over.  After that, I purchased a plastic box to keep my work in when I'm not working on it.  A box, I might add, my cat is desperately trying to figure out how to open.

Inexpert mending

Aside from the lessons learned about keeping my projects away from my cats, there was not a whole lot to take away from this chapter.  I've knit lace patterns before, so that was not new to me.  I can see the applications for the pi formula of increases, but as I indicated above, it's not perfect, and I'll probably explore other techniques before returning to this one.  The sideways border we already did, and though the lace application is new, I had already made the leap to that as a possibility.  But I do have a lovely new shawl in a neutral color to add to my wardrobe, so despite the lack of new techniques, I'd call this month's project a success.

Center of shawl

Outer edge



Knitting the Knitter's Almanac - June

June's project from the Knitter's Almanac is hats.  When my sister first learned to knit, all she knitted were hats.  I can't blame her; hats are the perfect knitting project.  They are practical, good for oneself or as gifts, they are neither too small nor too ambitious a project, they don't use up a lot of yarn, and they can employ a number of different techniques, giving one endless possibilities. 

Unlike the mitten chapter, the text of the chapter simply outlines the methods for the three hats whose patterns are detailed at the end of the chapter.  Thus it was quite clear what I needed to do to consider this chapter complete: knit three hats.

Ganomy Hat

The first of the three hats I knit was the Ganomy Hat.  The idea behind this pattern was to use the same miter pattern used in last month's mittens (regular increases and decreases) to make ear flaps.  The end result looks a lot like a Gnome's hat.  When I first saw the pattern name, I was pronouncing it as I read it, with equal length syllables and the stress on the first syllable.  As I was describing the hat to my husband however, I realized, the correct pronunciation is really G-nomy, pronouncing the "G" sound as a sort of separate but quick syllable before the rest of the word, the same way I pronounce gnome, actually.  Yet another example of the way Ms. Zimmermann and I think alike.  I followed this pattern exactly as written using leftover yarn from January's Aran Sweater and from April's Afghan to make the hat.

Maltese Fisherman's Hat

The second of the hats I knit was the Maltese Fisherman's Hat.  This is another ear flapped hat that she recreated from a hat someone brought back from vacation.  The gauge she gives for the hat of 5½ stitches to 2" was impossible for me to achieve with the yarn and needles I had on hand, so I had to adjust the pattern so I was making an adult sized hat instead of a child sized one.  I decided the easiest adjustment to make would be to knit it at a gauge of 5½ stitches to 1", basically doubling the necessary stitches indicated.  This hat's ear flaps are knit first by knitting back and forth instead of in the round, and then more stitches are cast on for the front of the hat and then joined and continued in the round.  The ear flaps are somewhat asymmetrical as a result of the shaping instructions, but they do cover the ears properly.  For this hat I used up some more yarn I had on hand left over from various projects, trying to keep them to matching or complementary hues.  I did not "make the tassel of [my] dreams" as directed, however. 

Three-Cornered Hat

The third and final hat I knit was the Three-Cornered Hat, basically a variation on a tam-o'-shanter.  This one again called for an impossible gauge, so I did the same thing as for the Maltese Fisherman's Hat and doubled the pattern to make an adult sized hat.  This hat again uses increases and decreases for shaping, but instead of four equal points like the Mitered Mittens and the Ganomy Hat, it has three, making a tri-cornered hat.  The hat is increased off the head, and then sharply decreased to give it the flat look of a tam.  I again used up yarn I had on hand for this project.

This experiment in hats didn't really offer a lot by way of new techniques.  I did have to work with adjusting a pattern to meet my gauge, but that is something I've done before.  The shaping techniques were all ones I've already used on projects from this book, though it did show the various ways those techniques could be put to use.  The biggest takeaway for me was how easy and enjoyable hats are, and how useful as a means of using up those last bits of yarn from other projects.  You'll notice I didn't buy yarn for the last two months of projects.  I could easily see the usefulness of knitting a bunch of mittens and hats for gifts every year from the leftover yarn accumulated from other projects. 

Knitting the Knitter's Almanac - May

At this point, it is clear that I will not be finishing the projects in the Knitter's Almanac in a single year, but I'm happy to say that I have at least made it though half of the year, and will continue this project into 2013 to its completion.  I clearly do not knit as much as Elizabeth Zimmermann, but since I do have other things to occupy my time (some more worthy than others) I'm not too upset with only making it halfway.

May's project is mittens.  It seems a little odd to be knitting mittens in the spring, but Ms. Zimmermann notes that this way you are not rushed to finish them as you might be at the end of the year.  Since I was not knitting mine for anyone in particular, I wasn't rushed, even though I started them in November.  It was somewhat unclear how many mittens I should knit to consider this chapter complete.  The text discusses various techniques and talks about knitting three mittens for children, since they are so easy to lose, but there are only two patterns at the end of the chapter, so in the end I knit these patterns, incorporating the techniques discussed into both.

Norwegian Mittens

Close up of cuff

Close up of color work snowflakes

The first pair of mittens I knit were the Norwegian Mittens.  The back has a snow flake pattern in two colors, and the palm has a simple checked pattern.  I decided to use my hand spun, hand dyed yarn for these.  The mittens have a very long cuff, meant to go over the coat sleeve, and they look huge when off your hands, but they fit quite nicely once on.  I knit these pretty much as written, though I modified the color work slightly.  The thumb of these comes off the palm, and it uses what Ms. Zimmermann calls the "Thumb Trick", basically scrap wool is knit in to the area where you wish the thumb to be, then the rest of the mitten is knit, and when finished, the scrap yarn is removed, stitches are picked up and the thumb is knit.  It creates a seamless join for the thumb.  I've used this technique before for sleeves as well.  Since I was working with a limited supply of irreplaceable yarn, I had to be careful how much of each color I used on the first mitten to be sure I would have enough for the second.  I ended up using most of the green and undyed yarn, but with plenty of the red left over.

The second pair of mittens I knit were the Mitered Mittens.  The idea behind the Mitered Mittens was to increase and decrease evenly around to create a zig-zag or chevron pattern in the knitting.  It looks good knit in a single color, but when additional colors are added, the shaping really shows up.  I decided to continue using the red dyed homespun, and used undyed yarn, first my own hand spun, and then yarn I had left over from January's project, as the contrasting color.  For these mittens, I decided to use two of EZ's suggested techniques for mittens. 

Idiot Cord Border

The first was what she calls the "Idiot Cord Border".  Stockinette stitching, the most common form of knitted work, has a tendency to curl in on itself both vertically and horizontally.  To counteract this, an edge must be worked in a different type of stitch.  In the first pair of mittens, I used a ribbed stitch, as suggested in the pattern.  Many of the previous knit projects have used garter stitch as the edging.  The Idiot Cord Border is another technique that can be used to counteract the curling.  Idiot Cord, or I-cord, is basically a thin knit tube.  The border technique is to make the cord with as many rows as you would cast on stitches, then pick up a stitch per row and start knitting. 

Mitered Mittens

The second technique I incorporated into these mittens was to put the thumb out from the side rather than the palm.  EZ suggests doing this so that the mittens can all be knit the same way, instead of mirrored, as I needed to do for the Norwegian Mittens.  As she points out, once you wear the mittens, they mold to your hand and become right handed and left handed mittens, even if you don't knit them that way.  This is why she can knit them in sets of three as noted above.  Personally, I'm not in love with the aesthetic result of joining the thumb from the side on the mitered mitten, since the thumb comes out of one of points in the shaping pattern, but I'm not sure it would have looked better elsewhere either, and I did want to incorporate as many of the suggested techniques in the two pairs of mittens as possible. 

Mittens were pretty quick and easy projects, and great for using up yarn on hand instead of buying (and running out of) more.  In fact, my only complaint with mittens was that I had to knit two of them. Having to do the same project twice in a row is somewhat tedious to someone like me who is constantly looking for something new and different to do. Fortunately, the small size makes it somewhat easier to bear, though I may have to learn how to knit two at once, a technique employed by many sock knitters, if I decide to knit more mittens. 

As a final note, this is the first Almanac chapter for which I did not run out of yarn, so hopefully I'm starting a new trend in yarn usage. 

Knitting the Knitter's Almanac - April

I know, I know, it's December and I'm posting about the April project from the Knitter's Almanac.  Clearly, I'm not making it through the book in only one year. . .

April's project is an afghan, specifically designed to mask it's construction techniques, which I'm going to reveal here anyway.  The design is similar to the "Granny Square" assembly popular with old fashioned (and newer designs as well I suppose) crocheted afghans and blankets.  Basically a number of identical or similar squares are made, joined and a border worked.  This type of blanket is not my favorite in crochet, and it has the same drawbacks when knit.  Knitting the squares is quick, easy and enjoyable, though making them the same can sometimes pose a problem.  However, after you have enough squares, these must be joined, a tedious project, and then a myriad of ends must be woven in to finish the problem.  Think about it, assuming you can knit a square with one skein, or a portion of one skein, of yarn, you have two ends (the start and stop) for each square.  Some of these ends can be worked in while working the project; for example, I always knit or crochet in my start end by knitting with the regular yarn and the end until the end is used up.  And you can use the other end for part or all of the joining work, if you've left a long enough tail, but there will inevitably be ends that can't be worked in this way, that will have to be woven in after, a task I hate doing and which delays my final completion of many projects.

For this blanket, I purchased ten skeins of a recycled wool (which I partly chose because of its cost per linear yard), and vowed that I would make the blanket so I did not have to purchase additional yarn.  Initially I had hoped to be able to knit 54 squares to create a 6x9 ratio, however, it quickly became apparent that I was not getting 5.4 squares out of a single skein of yarn, and knowing that I would need additional yarn for connecting the squares and making the border, I decreased my square goal to 48, for a 6x8 ratio.  At first I joined the squares as I went, but it became clear that I would actually conserve yarn if I did all the weaving at the end, so I stopped doing that after only nine squares were joined.

The squares are knit in a pretty simple manner, they are worked in the round from the inside out with 4 evenly spaced increases to create a square.  This is the same basic pattern as the baby blanket from February.  When knitting from the center out, you must start with a very small number of stitches which cannot be worked on a circular needle, but must be worked on four smaller straight needles, called double pointed needles or dpn for short.  While I have worked with dpn before, usually it has been at the other end of the project, namely as I worked inward from the outside, decreasing instead of increasing.  Since in that direction you have the entire weight of an almost finished project, it is somewhat easier to manipulate and use the needles.  Dropped stitches, a common problem with dpn, since they do not have any stops on the ends, can be seen and picked up easily.  However, when starting a project this way, dropped stitches are harder to identify and reclaim, and it's ends up being easier to just pull everything off and start over.  Additionally, because you're just starting the pattern, it's much easier for the needles to get twisted and you end up knitting some weird formation instead of the circle you were aiming for.  I had all of these problems with the first few squares, but 48 squares means a lot of practice.  I feel I'm practically an expert at starting projects on dpn at this point.  Once I worked out the kinks of working with dpn, the squares were pretty easy mindless work, though I did have to make sure the row count was accurate so the squares came out uniform in size.



Early attempt at weaving -
note the raised area to the right side
not particularly invisible

Later weaving -
much more difficult to see the join

Once all the squares were finished, I faced the daunting task of joining them.  For this Ms. Zimmermann suggests weaving, a technique I learned back in February, but had not perfected.  Again, after 82 woven joins, I'm practically an expert now.  The advantage of weaving, and the reason EZ suggests it, is that it looks like knitting.  Since one of the reasons for the design of this blanket was to fool the eye, the weaving makes it difficult to tell that the seams are such, so it's not clear where one square ends and the next begins.  You can see the progress in my weaving ability by comparing my earlier woven joins with later ones. 



Close up of a portion of the blanket
showing the larger square, the joins
and the smaller corner squares.

To further fool the eye, the corner five stitches of each square are not joined by weaving, instead they are picked up along with the three neighboring squares' corners and knit together in a miniature square.  This was useful because I was able to pick up all the ends from the weaving and work them into the project, but knitting with four tiny strands and a main strand of yarn wasn't particularly easy or enjoyable.  I found I liked the weaving much more than knitting these tiny squares.  Once I had worked and joined the squares, it was time for the border.  Unfortunately, despite my best laid plans I ran out of yarn.  I swear I'm cursed.  So more had to be purchased to do the border, a plain garter stitch one, but with an interesting method of mitering the corners, that I can see myself using again.  After all the work was done, I faced the dreaded task mentioned above of weaving in ends.  This project has actually been done for a month except for that final step.  I knitted several other things (moving on to May and June) before I finally told myself I could not start a new project until I finished this one.

I'd like to say that after dreading the task, it was far easier than I feared, something I find happens a lot with things one dreads to tackle.  But no, it took me several hours to weave in all those ends and create a finished blanket.  However, all that weaving practice earlier paid off.  In addition to getting good at joining using weaving, the process helped me to fully understand the path the yarn takes when knit, making weaving in the ends far easier, and hopefully more secure.



Finished blanket, very large.

The finished piece is very large and I think it is quite attractive.  I've seen some examples on line where people knit the squares in multiple colors or left over yarn, and I think this construction looks good pretty much every way it's been done.  I could see myself doing a blanket like this again, though maybe not quite so large, though I'll admit, the thought of all those ends to weave might well discourage me.

Knitting the Knitter's Almanac - March

I wasn't idle for three months while I waited for yarn to complete February's projects.  Instead, I started and finished March's project in the interim.  March's project is a sweater in three colors.  The pattern is a combination of the color work of Fair Isle knits with the flowing lines of Aran designs to create a trellis type motif.  It's a fairly easy pattern, but of course knitting a large sweater takes time. 



Chainmail Hat

As usual, we started with a hat to get a sense of our individual gauge and to practice the pattern.  My hat came out a little snug for my head, and I'm not as pleased with the tapering at the top as my last hat, but it looks fine nonetheless. 

Ms. Zimmermann starts the chapter with a discussion of how much yarn to buy, clearly an area I've been having trouble with.  I'd like to pretend that I managed to purchase the right amount of yarn this time around, but that would be untrue.  I did realize I had purchased too little before I started knitting though, so I went back and got more.  And I'm happy to report that I had enough to finish the project after that.



Chainmail Sweater

For the sweater, I decided to make some adjustments to the pattern as written.  To begin with, EZ's instructions for the sweater were the same as January's Aran sweater - a large tube with tapered tube sleeves stitched in.  I thought that it would be interesting and educational to use her formula-based baby sweater pattern from February to knit an adult sweater.  So I do the necessary math to create a cardigan sweater using the chainmail motif.  I then adjusted the motif pattern slightly to reflect the ratios of yarn I had purchased to be sure I was using it evenly and wouldn't run out of one color too soon.  After my initial design work I set to knitting (and knitting and knitting - sweaters take forever!).  I knit til I ran out of the darkest color wool I was using for the vertical lines, then finished the bottom ribbing and cast off.  The sweater turned out to be just the right size and I had very little of the other two colors of wool left over, so all around a success in wool purchasing (at least by my standards).



Close up of color change

One other technique introduced in this chapter was a color blending technique using purl stitches on the first row with a new color.  The result is a more gradual color change than simply knitting the row as usual.  It's rather hard to describe, but if you look at the close up, you can see that where the two colors join with knit stitches there's a jagged edge, but where they are joined with purl stitches, there's a raised bump of the old color in the field of the new color.  Close up it's not particularly attractive, but from afar, the color change looks more blended and less sharp.

I feel like there were fewer new techniques and lessons in this chapter than the two previous ones, but I still gained a lot from knitting this sweater.  I'm looking forward to the next few months of practice and improvement.

Knitting the Knitter's Almanac - February

It's July and I've only just finished up the Knitter's Almanac February projects.  To be fair, I've been done most of the projects since April, but (surprise!) I ran out of yarn before finishing everything.  Since the yarn I wanted was on back order until July, I had to wait until it came in before I could complete the last project.

February's chapter is dedicated to baby things, so there are a number of small projects:  A blanket, a sweater, leggings and a shawl.  Each features a different technique, and I learned a number of new things in the process.

Double Knitting Potholder

First up was the blanket featuring a new-to-me technique called double knitting.  Basically, you are knitting two sides of a bag at once.  When the two sides are joined on all sides, you get a very cushy blanket.  The whole time I was knitting it, I would frequently stop to appreciate how squishy it was.  I also made anyone interested in my knitting touch the squishy.  To get a handle on the new technique, Ms. Zimmermann suggests making a potholder first, just a very small square using the technique. 

Double Knitting Blanket

Edge detail - note the poofiness of
the main portion of the blanket

Successful potholder under my belt, I proceeded to the blanket.  I said I wasn't going to order more yarn I was just going to knit up what I had purchased for the project and be done with it, but it really was too small to be useful once I'd used up the yarn, so I bought another skein to make it just a bit larger.  The result is a small but useful-sized baby blanket or tummy time mat and a new technique mastered.

Baby Sweater

Next up was a baby sweater.  In this chapter EZ introduces us to her sweater formula explaining how to make a sweater in any size using percentages.  Her pattern is knit all in one piece and the only finishing seams necessary are the underarm seams.  It occurs to me that even these seams could be eliminated, but I have not yet tested this theory.  Anyway, the sweater knit up quickly, but it used all of the yarn I had purchased for the sweater and the matching leggings, causing the next project, the leggings to be put on hold.

Shawl pattern - more a blanket

I then proceeded to the shawl pattern.  The shawl pattern is knit starting from the center and increasing every other round at four equal points to make a square.  The original pattern is stocking stitch throughout, but EZ suggests that a lace pattern could be incorporated in each of the quarters, which I did.  I found a simple lace pattern I liked and added it as space became available.  In the end, the yarn I had purchased was much too bulky to really make a shawl, so I would call the end result another blanket.  But the techniques learned to make a square piece from the inside out and how to introduce lace patterns will prove useful in the future.

As I mentioned, I had planned to make the leggings and sweater to match, but used up all of the yarn I purchased for both projects on the sweater.  By the time I realized I would need more yarn, the yarn was back ordered and I couldn't get it until July.  Since I knew that would also mean a different dye lot, I decided to go with a different color altogether.  Unfortunately the other colors I thought would look good with the sweater's grey, were also all backlogged, so I had no choice but to wait.  When the yarn finally came in, I started the leggings pattern.  This was my first attempt at knitting pants or leggings, and I can't really say that I found the pattern easily transferable to another size or pattern.  The pattern itself was pretty straightforward, though.  You start at the waist, knit the body and bottom, then separate the yarn for the legs, which are done separately.  The crotch area is stitched.  EZ suggests a technique called weaving, which I had never tried before.  The end result is an invisible seam.  It looks like the area was knit in one piece.  A very clever and useful technique!  The original pattern called for the leggings to have booties at the bottom, but I was running short of yarn (again!), so I left them off. 

There were a lot of projects for February, and a lot of new things to learn, but because baby things are small, none of the projects took more than about a week to finish.  If I wasn't having constant yarn shortages, I probably would have finished this month's projects within the four weeks of February.  Still, I learned a lot, including, hopefully, how to better predict how much yarn I'll need.

Knitting the Knitter's Almanac - January

One of my goals this year is to knit my way through Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac.  For non-knitters, Elizabeth Zimmermann was a prolific and influential knitter and designer whose patterns and work are well known by most knitters.  From what I've observed, knitters either love or hate EZ's patterns.  Her patterns often use mathematical formulas or vague instructions, which give a lot of leeway to the knitter following the pattern, but also require more thinking, creativity and math on the part of the individual knitter.  Depending on a person's reasons for knitting and ability level, her patterns can either be exciting and educational or frustrating and impossible.  Since I fall on the side of loving the creative and mathematical side of knitting, and thus EZ's style of pattern, I thought knitting through her Knitter's Almanac would be instructional and fun, and was a worthy project for the year. 

Unfortunately, I got a late start at January's project, an Aran (or cabled) sweater, because I was working on a non-knitting project that I wanted to finish.  I started knitting from the Almanac on January 24.  EZ's instructions for the Aran sweater include three cable patterns and the information and advice on how to arrange and adjust patterns to create your own individual sweater.  She also introduces the idea of first knitting a hat with exactly half the stitches needed for the sweater to see how your patterns will work together and to get a more accurate idea of the size your sweater will be.  This allows you to adjust your pattern if necessary for a better fit.

I used all three of EZ's cable patterns in my sweater, but I did not like the way she doubled up on the largest of the patterns in the center of her piece, so I modified her suggested pattern by centering the largest cable and adding two medium sized cables on either side.  I then knit the hat as suggested.



Front of hat



Side view

From knitting the hat, I learned I needed to add more stitches in order to make my sweater big enough, so I went back and modified my pattern, adding a few small cables and removing some of the spaces between the different cable patterns to add just the right amount of extra sweater.  I also noted that my added cable was not coming out as nicely as I would have liked.  EZ's patterns instructed me to knit through the back loop instead of the normal way, through the front loop, for the twisted cable.  This created a longer line, and also seemed to prevent some of the gapping that can occur when knitting cables.  The cable pattern I added did not use this back loop technique and thus did not look as clean as EZ's cables.  So, I decided on my sweater I would use the back loop technique to give the added a cable a consistent look with the other cables.

Compare EZ's twist on the left with the
twists of the new pattern on the right.



I knit the hat in only four days, but being twice as big around and five times as long, the sweater took a lot more time.  In addition, I had a few equipment problems while knitting that caused me to set the sweater aside temporarily.

Finished sweater 

Finished sweater

First, after I finished the tunic part of the sweater, I realized that the knitting needles I was using were too long for the sleeves.  I tried working the sleeves on double pointed needles (a technique that uses four or five special needles to knit in a circle rather than two needles with a cable in between), but found that the patterns were too complicated to work that way.  I needed a shorter circular needle set to complete the sleeves.  Then, I ran out of yarn before I finished the second sleeve, so I had to order more.  But finally, at the end of April, I finished all the parts of the sweater. Then came the hardest part.  The pattern instructed me to knit the body as a solid tube, and the sleeves as tapered tubes.  To attach the sleeves to the body, it told me to cut, yes cut, my work and stitch in my sleeves.  I was terrified!  I've never cut my work, and I was convinced it was a bad idea. . .  But I worked up the nerve, followed the instructions for machine basting the area and cutting and stitched in my sleeves.  It didn't destroy my work, and it looks quite nice, so while it's not a technique I truly feel comfortable with using on a regular basis, I won't necessarily shy away from doing it again if it seems the best method for a piece I'm making.

Detail of the front cable pattern

Detail of the other cable patterns.
Note the difference between the hat and sweater.

A lot of my reason for undertaking the project was to learn, so I just want to recap a few things I learned during this project.  Firstly, cables.  I had done a few cables before but certainly not this many or this intricate.  I certainly feel I understand cables better now, and could create my own or modify other cable patterns if I wanted or needed.  Secondly, a swatch hat.  I rarely make swatches to check my gauge, since I think they waste yarn (that's not to say I don't check my gauge, just that I don't make and keep swatches around to check my gauge).  But a hat isn't a waste of yarn, it's a useful item.  And seeing how the patterns work together is also useful.  So, for sweaters I'll probably use this technique to check and alter patterns I knit.  Thirdly, cutting.  As I said, it was new to me and scary.  But having overcome the fear, I see how it can be a beneficial tool in my arsenal of knitting, or rather finishing, techniques.

That it took me four months to complete a project expected to take only a month doesn't bode well for completing the rest of my goal of knitting the entire almanac in one year.  However, I wasn't idle during the times I put the project aside to get the right needles and yarn, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up.  Once I have February complete I'll post some pictures and commentary on those as well.

How to be Smart and Stupid All at Once

Today I took the Graduate Record Examination or GRE test. I can hear your collective groan of sympathy. Four hours of standardized testing! But really it wasn't that bad. Partly because I secretly kind of like standardized tests. I don't think anyone can truly say they're good at such tests, but my scores show that I'm definitely better than average. And I like the challenge of being asked purportedly intellectual questions and trying to beat the system. So really, there are worse ways I could have spent those four hours.

By my estimation, I did well on the exam. I received my verbal and quantitative results immediately. I received a perfect score on the verbal section (I can't believe it!) and a respectable score on the math section. I'll have to wait to see what the graders think of my two essays, but I'm optimistic. Despite doing well on the exam, however, the fact that I took it all indicates how stupid I can be. See, one of the alternate routes I'm considering if I don't find employment soon is to get an MBA. Under the impression that an MBA was a Master's degree, I assumed, without verifying that the GRE was the exam I needed to take in order to apply for programs. I didn't find out until after I'd already signed up for the test, purchased a study aid and created a study plan that the test I need to take is the GMAT, not the GRE. At that point I figured the time and money was already invested, so I may as well continue with taking the exam. But, I'll be back at the testing center taking yet another standardized test in the near future.

There's a lot that can be (and has been) said about smart people doing stupid things. I always tell myself and others that everyone makes mistakes, that as long as there's no lasting harm, it's ok to make them from time to time. But I hate when I make mistakes, when I'm wrong, or do something stupid. So, I'm proud of my scores, but mad at myself for not doing the research I should have earlier.

I'm not really a perfectionist. I hold myself to high standards and am constantly disappointed by them. I have observed a correlation, though, between smart people, their level of achievement and their confidence. Namely, smart people are usually either overachievers or underachievers. [Ok, that sounds dumb, since there isn't much else one could be. But by over or under I mean significantly, noticeably off the mark from their expected performance.] And they are usually insecure about their abilities. I've often thought that our education system is the cause of this. When I was in elementary school, I didn't think of myself as all that smart or exceptional. Until my classmates pegged me as the person to beat when it came to academics. Unlike other students, my test scores were the subject of constant curiosity, and if anyone happened to do better than me on an exam, they would announce it to the world. Great for their self-esteem, but not so good for mine. I think the kind of pressure this behavior puts on top performers causes them to either push themselves to constantly be top (to avoid the embarrassment of not being so, even if they never initially sought that position), or to stop performing altogether (to avoid being in the situation at all). This behavior then follows the student throughout their life.

When I was a campus recruiter, I frequently noticed that the most brilliant students, the ones with the best grades, scores, etc., were also the most insecure. They needed a lot of feedback during the recruiting process. They frequently went above and beyond the necessary requirements to get the job, when really their grades and background had already given them a leg up on their competition. And after they were hired, they showed similar insecurities. They wanted more feedback, they were never sure how they were doing, they would work long hours just to be sure that everything was perfect, and they were hard on themselves when it wasn't, even when it was not their fault.

In the end, good scores are something to be proud of, achievements should be noted with pride, perfection is a noble goal, but sometimes, you have to forgive yourself for making a mistake. Sometimes, you have to say, it’s behind me, I learned something, let's move on. So, yeah, I made a mistake. I took the wrong test. But my scores were good, and it was good practice for when I take the GMATS. Now to get studying again.

A Short Trip: In Which Our Author Learns Something

I recently had the opportunity to visit Palm Springs. My husband was attending a convention there, and I was able to tag along with him. Everyone told me that the only thing in Palm Springs was golf, a sport I've never played before. But I found the city and its environs to be beautiful and full of things to do.

One of the things I love about travel is the chance to learn new about new things. Palm Springs was full of learning opportunities. The only other desert I've ever been to was the Klein Karoo, and while I got to pet a cheetah and ride and ostrich, there was not a lot of explanation about the desert ecosystem. So, in Palm Springs I learned about oases, plant and animal survival, and human habitation of desert and oasis locations.

I hiked in two of the oasis canyons surrounding Palm Springs, and also in several of the locals in Joshua Tree. I was particularly struck by how what qualified as an oasis did not always meet my preconceived notions. In Palm Canyon, the lush palm trees and flowing stream were exactly what I expected an oasis to look like. In the valley it was cool, moist and lush. However, in Tahquitz Canyon, while there was somewhat more vegetation than the surrounding desert, the plants were desert plants, with a minimal amount of green and no tall trees to shade the hike. This second type of oasis seems to be more common at least in the Colorado desert, as up at Joshua Tree, Hidden Valley, which was supposed to be such a lush location that cattle farmers kept their herds here, was equally dry looking to my eyes.

The palm trees in Palm Springs are called Fan Palms. They grow a small fruit that tastes a lot like a date. I got to sample the fruit, and also learned that Palms are not trees at all, but members of the grass family! The Joshua Trees are also related to grasses and palms. Other plants native to the desert were interesting too. For example, the Creosote bush is in most deserts in the Americas, but is different in each desert, including the number of chromosomes it has. I also learned which plants were used for food and medicine by the local Native Americans, discovering that the Cahuilla people ate a lot of ground meals. I got to try mesquite flour and found it to be very tasty. I may purchase some for use in baking, since it is high in protein and fiber.

I was surprised at the number of humming birds in Palm Springs. They were in every garden area I visited. I even got to see a male showing off to a female - he flew high and then dive bombed the bush she was in over and over again. The noise of his decent was a high pitched buzzing.

Overall, my trip to Palm Springs was active and educational. I enjoyed my time there and hope I get the chance to go back to hike in more of the canyons and discover more about life in the desert.

First Post + A New Skill

I've been saying I'm going to start a blog for over a year now, so it really is time I got off my butt and did so. I originally thought my blog would be about professional and business issues, and there still may be some posts about that in the future, but the ideas in my head right now that want to come out are closer to home, so I'm starting with a brief post about a new skill I've acquired.


2009 was the year I learned to knit. I already knew how to crochet, but wanted to expand my abilities with yarn, so I had my mother show me the basics. Unfortunately, when i told my friends and family I had learned this new skill, they all responded with, "I thought you already knew how to knit." So, apparently, 2009 was the year I lived up to everyone's expectations.

Knitting has turned out to be much easier than I expected. I'm already on my second project and feel my work looks as good as any seasoned knitter. A few things I've learned about knitting:

• the basic stitches: knit and purl; as well as decreasing techniques (knitting and purling together); I can't wait to add increasing techniques, I'm assuming it involves knitting and purling more than once in a stitch.


• the basic needle types: straight, circular and double pointed; all with many different sizes.


• making a mistake is disastrous: in crochet, if you mess up, you take your needle out and rip the stitches out til you reach the mistake, then stick your needle back in and resume crocheting; in knitting, you have to unknit to the point you made the mistake.


• knitting in the round is tricksy. This is true of crochet as well, but my first attempt at a hat had me creating a moebius strip. Cool to look at, not easy to wear.


• I don't like bamboo needles. I knit and crochet very tightly, so the bamboo doesn't work for me as my stitches don't slide forward. When I mentioned my dislike of bamboo to my sister, I expected her to agree with me, but instead she told me that her stitches fall off the metal needles, so she likes the bamboo better. I never would have guessed needle material would be a talking point.

Those who know me would be proud to learn that for my first project, a scarf for my husband with a subtle striped look, I followed the instructions exactly as written. This resulted in a rather narrower scarf than I would have liked. For the follow up matching hat, I had to modify the pattern so it would fit him. It's still a little small.

For my current project I found a two color snowflake motif pattern on line and modified it to create a headband pattern. Technically it's not a real snowflake, since it is eight pointed, but I liked it best of all the patterns I found. This headband is for me and matches my new ski jacket. The jury's still out on whether I'll line it with fleece once I'm done knitting.